City Council - Regular Meeting

Please rise for silent invocation followed by pledge. Amen. Allegian to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Clerk called the roll. Councilman Holey here. Councilman Gilbert here. Councilman Green is here. Vice Mayor Gross here. Mayor Sper

here. Welcome everybody. Appreciate everybody coming out tonight. Item four, public comments on consent agenda items only. Public comments on consent agenda items. Robert, give me give me the pass wave. Robert, I was looking at him. If Robert's going to stay seated, then I'll entertain a motion to approve consent agenda items 5 through 13. I move to approve uh items [snorts] 5 through 13. Actually, I'm sorry. 5 through 12. I set you up for failure. A second. Second. Have a motion and a second for consent agenda items 5 through 12. The court call a role. Councilman Foley.

Yes. Councilman Gford. Yes. Councilman Green. Yes. Vice Mayor Grubs. Yes. Mayor Stilton. Yes. 50. And just like that, we find ourselves on item 13. And I'll be turning this meeting. We're going to recess as council and turn this meeting over to uh Councilman Sean Guppert and the corporate meeting for the Port Development. All right. All right. I call the annual meeting of the members of the board of directors of the Port Orange Development, Port Orange Property Development, Inc. to order. And roll call. Scott Stner here. Tracy Kubs here. Jonathan Foley here. Sean Keeper here. Lance Green here.

Do I have an objection to the notice of meeting? Hearing no objection. The notice is accepted. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes of the March 4th, 2025 meeting of the members and directors? So moved. Second. Thank you. And now we have the election of officers for the board of directors. Point of order. We need a I'm sorry. Thank you. Voice vote. All in favor say I. I. Like sign for no. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Item number four is the election of office of the board of directors. Uh do I have a nomination for the position of chairman? Move to nom nominate Councilman Sean Ger to continue serving as chairman.

Second. I have a motion and a second. All in favor say I. I. Looks like I'm here again. All right. Double pay. [laughter] I like that, Lance. Thank you. Do I have a motion, a nomination uh for position of vice chairman? Make a motion. Uh who was the vice chairman last year? Just I can tell you it was Mr. Green. Yeah, Mr. Green. I'm I like He did a great job. Fantastic job. Thank you. I'm going to make uh I'm going to make a motion to reappoint Councilman Green as the vice chairman. Second. All right. I have a motion and a second. All in favor say I. I. I. Passes. Thank welcome back. Yeah.

I do I have a mo a nomination for the position of president. I'm going to move to nominate um Tracy Grubs, please. Second. All right. I have a motion and a second. All in favor say I. I. All right. That passes. Welcome back. Do I have a nomination for the position of vice president? I'm going to move to nominate Scott Stillner. Okay. Second. All right. I have a motion in a second. All in favor say I. I. All right. Thank you. Do I have a nomination for the position of secretary and nominate Reed Foley for secretary? I'll second that since we don't have any other candidates. Great choice. Yes. Uh I have a a motion and a second. All in favor say I. I.

All right. And do I have a motion to elect Sue Wang, city finance director for the position of treasurer? So moved. Second. All right. Thank you. I have a motion and a second. All in favor say I. I.

Thank you. Any further business to be brought before the members of the corporation or of the board of directors? There are none being I'll go ahead and uh this meeting this joint annual meeting of the members of the corporation and the board of directors is adjourned. Right. Outstanding. Okay. We are back in session now as the city council for the city of Port Orange. Item 14, Government Finance Professionals Week. Can I have a proclamation to read? Whereas the Florida Government Finance Officers Association is a professional association founded in 1937 and serves more than 3,300 professionals from state, county, and city governments, school districts, colleges, and universities, special districts, and private firms. And whereas the FGFOA is dedicated to being a professional resource by providing opportunities through education, networking, leadership, and information. And whereas the government finance professionals week sponsored by the FGFOA and all of its member organizations is a week-long series of activities aimed at recognizing government finance professionals and the vital services that they provide to our state and community. And whereas during this week, government finance professionals throughout the state of Florida will be acknowledged for their hard work, dedication, and leadership. Now, therefore, I, Scott Stillmer, mayor of the city of Port Orange, Florida, do hereby proclaim March 16th, 20 March 16th through the 20th, 2026 as government finance professionals week in the city of Port Orange and extend our appreciation to all government finance professionals throughout the state and here in the city of Port Orange. Signed by Mayor Scott Stoman. Thank you. Did the finance director want to come up and tell us what's going on in financial? Come on. [laughter] We don't we don't get to hear from you too much yet, Sue. So, just kind of give us some give us some positive words of quick encouragement, would you? Not to put you on the spot.

Um, how's everybody in the finance department doing? Well, everybody's doing well. Uh, we are heavily into audit. It's almost wrapping up. Uh, and then we are starting the budget process. So, it never ends. It's either budget or audit. Um but not as simple as it sounds because you know all processes are involved all the financial you know the all this payable receivable and expenses and so yeah we are we are working hard we take our job very seriously. Um so yeah thank you.

Well please know that we don't think it's simple. We have absolutely no we know how complex it is and and it's it's a uh it's quite the task and you're right it never ends. Uh but please express to all the folks in the finance department our appreciation for the job they do. Thank you. Public participation about Kristen Johansson. Welcome.

Thank you. Good evening. Hi. Um Kristen Johansson here representing the Port Orange South Daytona Chamber of Commerce. With me I have Don Bernett, our president and CEO. Um I am here to thank you all as always for your continued support of the chamber and the partnerships that we have that are um thriving with you all and we do appreciate all of that uh that we have with you all. I want to highlight a couple key events that are very key to um close to my heart um that are coming up along with just some other um chamber stuff we have on. I'm going to start with my events if you don't mind. Um, [laughter] so we have on April our events, I'm sorry, our events. And I say our because this particular um brainch project was a brainchild of um our mayor Scott Stilner. We are ready for our third annual youth job fair that we have coming up on April 22nd. Um it is being held at the wreck on a Wednesday evening from 4 to 7 pm. Although we are targeting youth um in our high schools and recent graduates uh from high school, it is also open to the public. So any businesses that do come are welcome to hire, you know, look for um employees from either youth or adults. So that's really beneficial to the um businesses as well. But most beneficial, it's free to businesses to participate. So really, it's an outreach event and we need your help. We really need your help to fill the room with businesses who are able and willing to market and hire young adults. So, anywhere from 16 through mid20s is what we're really aiming for. Um those students getting um ready to graduate from high school that just aren't quite sure what they're going to do yet. So, we need you guys' help. We weren't able to fill the room with businesses last year. So, please um there are some flyers uh that I've left with the clerk. Um please take a flyer. Um they're they're on the chamber website. They're on the chamber Facebook page and there's registration um links right from that page. So we we would love your support and come on out and support us on April 22nd from 4:00 to

7:00 p.m. Uh in addition to that, we have our big event, the Tasteful Affair. It's one of our signature events coming up on April 30th. So we're always looking for restaurants that want to participate in that and of course people who want to come out and eat wonderful food. And this coming Friday, we have the Women's Day lunchon. It's a first event, first year for us to do this and we have a great panel of speakers um that will be representing some really powerful women in our community. So, come on out. There are a few seats left for that as well on Friday. And last but not least, um my last baby to talk about is the youth civic leadership experience. We have our 10th annual youth civic leadership experience coming up this June from June 8th through 13th. Um this is for high schoolers who want to uh learn about leading in their community and how to be commu um engage businesses and um government entities in their community. So that is currently we have applications active in the community in our schools and um links available on the website the chamber website as well. So if you know any high schoolers that are eligible please send them our way and we're available for questions.

Don't go away for just a second. But I I'm literally used my entire three minutes. That's impressive. I was trying to go faster at the end. [clears throat] So, I just wanted to comment for you that the job fair is is something that you guys have done a great job with it and and and I know it gets better and better every year and you're right. We'll do our part to try to recruit businesses. On that job fair note, yes. Um I know that you probably don't watch the Valuchia County Council meetings. I don't blame you. I really don't. Right. I would not. [laughter] I'm sorry. I got a debrief later. But I happen to watch some of that today and I want to share with you that there was considerable discussion about the lifeguard program. Yes, they are already on our list to invite for sure.

So, I want to encourage anybody uh every year the Valuchia County Lifeguards have come out and attended this event and recruited a lot of kids and there's a lot of kids who I think would want to look into this. By the way, it is an incredible opportunity. It is a fabulous employer employer to work for. Um, but this year it seems like they really want kids to understand that even if you're not the best swimmer or a super strong swimmer, they made a special point today to say, "We will work with you in advance. We will start working with you now." If you want, if you're worried about, hey, come May or June, whenever they have to take the water test, you're worried about that because maybe you haven't done a lot of swimming, they are willing to work now. So, even prior to that, as we spread the word, cuz by the way, they have really had a had a hard time filling all of those spots. Um, and it's a good paying job and it is a great opportunity for our young folks. So, I wanted to plug that for you.

Fabulous. We actually backed up our the date of our event specifically. They were one of the businesses that said we could use it earlier before um all of our qualification tests are done. That's awesome. So, so please, please, please if you if you know uh you know a lot of high school I don't know if you that can maybe even be college students too, but high school students specifically that might have an interest in this, please have them reach out to the Bucha County Beach Department ahead of this and so that they can kind of get started if they want to. But great information. Thank you all so much. Always a pleasure to have you. Don Bernett, president CEO of the chamber. Come on up.

Well, good afternoon everybody. Don Bernett, president CEO of the Port South Daytona Chamber of Commerce. But that's actually not my reason for asking for three minutes, and I'll try not to use all three minutes. I wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of one of the best kept secrets in Port Orange. The Atlantic High School boys basketball team has made the state final four.

And it's okay to clap. [applause] I'm a Proud Creek grad. I'm a Proud Creek grad, but I have been doing stadium announcing for Atlantic High School basketball for 12 years and football for 10. and watching these young men grow up uh and mature not just with basketball skills but uh real life skills uh learning how to deal with adversity. Uh I called my last home game of the season uh Saturday night. They were down by eight at the half and they came out on a 150 run after and a 22 spurt to start the third quarter and just took control of the game. Uh what I would ask mayor is that no matter what happens that you bring them in to honor them because they they're terrific young men and represent this community in a terrific terrific fashion. And I would love it if uh that bestkept secret was a little bit more written about uh in the media and of course on social media. And with that, you're also going to be seeing the handout a little bit because u the city of Daytona Beach, I know, has always been able to support Mainland High School because they've got a racing and wreck fund. I know the city of Port Orange doesn't have that, but what we have is a lot of generous people that live here. And next week when they go to Jacksonville for the Final Four, those games are Tuesday and Thursday, they're going to need transportation. They're going to need hotel rooms. and hotel rooms up there cost just as much for the small schools as they do for the big schools. So, and between all that, we want to take care of these kids. So, keep an eye out. I'll be posting something because they're going to be sending me a link as well. But, uh um I'd very much appreciate if you have the opportunity to recognize them as state champs, but at the very very least, uh uh they've gone further than uh uh they've ever gone before and uh they're terrific representatives of uh their school and the city. Thank you.

Awesome. Thank you. Thank you, Don. And and I would echo that uh making it to the final four at any level in high school basketball is an achievement in and of itself. That is a an incredible uh feat to do that. So, absolutely for bringing that to us. All right, council members, we're going to start with Mr. Foley tonight.

Uh just want to put one thing on your radar. Um, due to some changes in my work schedule, uh, the TPO meetings are going to be really difficult for me this year. I know Tracy, you've been my alternate. Um, I'm good for March, but after that, it's going to get really, really touchand go for me. Um, so, uh, I since council we, you know, self-appoint to these, maybe at the next meeting we can discuss, um, if there's a willingness for someone who could possibly step up because that is an that's one of the most important boards that we are a part of as a city, an organization. It's been an honor to be a part of it and not only at a basic level, but also, you know, as the first vice chair now. In fact, I'm in line to be chairman this year and I just wouldn't feel right taking that knowing how much I'm going to be uh, traveling for work. So, just not important tonight, but something to think about. Maybe we can discuss at our next meeting. Um, and you guys can look at your schedules. They usually meet on the fourth um fourth Wednesday of every month. Um, I'm on the executive team, which meets on the first Wednesday. Um, I don't believe you would be appointed that position as well. I believe that would go to somebody else. You may end up there as well down the road, but just something for you guys to keep in the back of your head. We can talk about in a couple weeks. Okay. Thank you. What else?

That's up, Tracy. So, I [clears throat] want to start off with uh the agenda item resolution 2609. Um, it's funny you brought that up. Uh, the TPO. So, F dot turn lanes approval tonight. One of the things I wanted to point out to everybody is when you go and do turn lanes and the city's involved and FO's involved, it's timelines. So, we're going to be seeing this on the agenda for a long time. The reason I say that is that I get phone calls is when's this project going to get done? What just got approved? So the estimated timeline is like 2030. You know, it's four years from now that we're talking about things going out for. So that's one thing that we need to talk about. And then we go into it's finally coming. We got the sign on Willer. Uh it's flashing. uh sidewalk project is coming into play from harm's way uh down to Clyde Morris on Willer Run and then after that they'll be working on the extension going from Willow Run up and around Williamson to connect into Town Park. So that'll make a big loop which is a phenomenal thing for all the walkers and bikers. That's going to be nice. Um, and then today, today was a big day for the cultural and art grant uh with the county. Um, I was over there uh representing. Uh, but at the same time, I wanted to put a shout out to Mr. Johansson and uh Matt Reinhardt for chairing and keeping that in the go. Um, so that funded 32 nonprofit organizations is what that was. So without their help and keeping it in the forefront, it took over four months to get that approved. So thank

you, Mr. Jansen. Um, uh, VIP's dinner. We, uh, just had the VIPs of Port Orange and one of the things I wanted to point out to that, it's a volunteer base for the police department. And one of the beauties is is 2500 hours of volunteerism that they gave. 6,800. 6,800. Yeah. 6,800. Sorry.

6,800. And you and you start looking at that and it's a ton. It's it's amazing how much work and dedication people do and volunteer for the city. But saying that, there is opportunities. If you're sitting around the house and you're trying to figure out what you can do with your time and you want to volunteer for the city, the VIPS may be a base for you to do. Um, they do so much phenomenal work with all the shows and events that we have inside the city. Uh, lastly is dealing with parks and recreation. Um, coming up on March 14th, if you didn't get the memo, uh, seafood festival, I know you're going to be there. So, seafood festival on March 14th, 12:00 at the River Park. And then one that's a safety item that's actually kind of a cool event is they do a garage sale at the adult center um, March 21st. So, maybe you don't want to have your stuff at your house and people coming over. So, it's a great event that it's a community event in Port Orange um at the adult center. If you're interested in any of these items, you can get a hold of parks and recreation. That's it.

So, I just want to say a special thank you to uh Port Orange Police Department and the surrounding uh law enforcement agencies that uh took care of some pretty bad individuals working their way into our area for things that uh we just can't even speak of. It's just ridiculous what people try to get away with. So, kudos to your involvement and uh our staff and the work they've done to put these people uh away hopefully for a long way a long time. Also, uh got to uh participate in a small way for the Rex um senior ball that they had at the rec center a couple weeks ago. And what a fantastic event uh for for seniors to come out and just enjoy our facilities. And it seemed like they had a full house about 100 people and it was really nice. So I appreciate that. It's uh you know parks and wrecks not just for youth and it's for seniors as well and I just love to see that spread. So uh our parks and wreck person is hiding from me but thank you and your staff phenomenal job there. So that's all I have. [clears throat]

Screen. Nothing tonight for me sir. Nothing tonight for you. I met with I met with staff and said it all good. Yep. Right. Yeah. Right on. Uh just a couple of things and I appreciate those those comments from from everybody on council so far. Those were some of the ones that I had on my mind. But um the Riverwalk area is starting to have some really good events down there. It's there's almost something down there every single weekend now. Um

you don't always know that it's coming, but but there's something down there just about every single weekend. and I had an opportunity to go down there each of the last two weekends uh to check out um the Riverwalk social event that occurs down there as well as the Halifax River Market event. Now, the Halifax River Market event and the city manager will correct me if I'm wrong. Believe that one is kind of being hosted and sponsored by Tiki Docks that's down there. But one I wanted to say about that event, and by the way, the next one is going to be it's a Sunday morning thing. Um I don't think they're having it every Sunday. I think it's like every other, but uh 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and the next one is March the 8th, so not this Sunday, but the following Sunday. Uh it was really nice event. Uh plenty of vendors. Um the weather wasn't perfect yet. There was a really good turnout of of what and I and I and I shared with the city manager. I guess what I wanted to say is is [clears throat] the vision of Riverwalk has been something that's been going on for decades. And I saw it the Sunday. I saw what we've all had that vision, our residents coming down, being connected to the river, the waterway, having an opportunity to be down there with their families, and I mean, there were people down there with young kids, and there were senior residents and everything in the middle, and it was really nice. A little bit of live music, and there was some great stuff. So, I really really uh just wanted to say how much I appreciate that. It is a great opportunity. If you're passing by or you're looking for something on Saturday and Sunday mornings, it looks like there's just about something down there all the time. events that are co-sponsored by the city. You'll be able to find those on our social media pages and our websites. Um but there's um a lot of these other events that are privately hosted. Uh you'll have to look for those on social media as well, but they are out there. Um just wanted to comment the the boat ramp facility is uh that project is underway. It is quite the project. Went down and took a look at that the other day. Um it it's a lot there's a lot going on down there and I've asked the

city manager because that the last not this past Saturday, but the Saturday before. Um, we had one of those February weather days where it was 87 degrees and everybody said, "I'm getting my boat out." And they did and it looked like a July day down there. Um,

it is going to take some patience. um the city manager and his staff. I've asked them to to look I'm not asking them to pull a rabbit out of a hat and do miracles, but just look to to whatever we can do to make it as efficient as possible and and and and keep bottlenecks from happening down there. It is going to be a challenge. Um no doubt, but I've asked them to take a look at that and see what else can be done and just be prepared for the busy season because it's really coming. And lastly, it's bike week. And uh just encourage [clears throat] everybody to be extra careful out there. And um you know, try not to be involved in something you don't want to be involved in and pay attention for those on two wheels that maybe aren't from the area that are struggling to navigate the streets. So that's all I got, Mr. Attorney.

Nothing for you tonight. Nothing there. How about it, Mr. City Manager? I don't have anything either. All right. Let's talk a little golf. Item 18. Report from Kimber Sports on the Cypress Head Golf Course. Speaking of things to do in good weather, right? We need some good weather. Yeah, we're getting it.

Well, good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of council. I'm Jeff Dayton, the general manager at Cypress Head Golf Club. I'm reporting tonight on the three months, November, December, and January. [clears throat] Um, well, November, December weren't bad. November was the first dry month we'd had in three months, and we made some money in in November. December was not a bad month and we had uh we made about 24,000 to the bottom in November. December was a little slower on the on the bottom. We lost a few few thousand and then I guess it's kind of a win that we only lost $10,000 in January given how cold it was. Um now given uh February is not going to be looking great either, I can tell you that because we got off to a rough start with all that that arctic blast. But uh we're going to fight back. Uh revenue year to date, we're under budget by about 31,000. uh we're under payroll by 20 and uh we've got some operating expense issues that we're trying to work out with regards to some fleet expenses. So, we'll get that squared away uh in the coming weeks. But again, we're about through through uh year to date through January, we're almost $28,000 uh to the bat. So, a number we were familiar with from last year and we made up from that. So, we think we can do it again. No, no worries. Just need more of this Florida sunshine. rounds are down by about 400 year to date, but they're up over last year at the same time. So, that's a good good thing. And obviously, you know, the Arctic weather just crushed all the golf courses. I mean, the course is more dormant than it's ever been probably. Uh our superintendent hasn't seen the course that's dormant since he's been there. So, it's just been a rough winter.

But, I will say this, I was in Chicago last week and I just got back this weekend and I noticed the course greening up already just from a week ago. So, it's coming back real quick.

But, our team is performing well. Uh we won some awards in Chicago for camper sports uh for making park club and also for true service. Our NPS which is a net promoter score I always talk about that was 90.6 over the last three months with a service satisfaction of 9.7. So that's solid. Uh course conditions are great. Darren and his team still do a fantastic job. You know we we always always had the top conditions in the area. And with that we won uh the best of Daytona again. We also won three separate categories in the National Golf Foundation Players Choice Awards. So, we didn't win, I should say, we finished in the top five in three different categories, but that's throughout the country. So, those were big big wins for us. But, we continue to see uh you know, solid traffic this time of year. So, all the all the uh surveys are coming in great and we just hope the weather the sun shines all the way through April so we can take advantage and make up some ground. The bunker renovation, it finished in the second week of uh February. It wasn't the easiest process. Uh weather was a factor and uh we had some challenges with the contractor, but the finished product's great. It's better than it was. Sand is top quality. Bunkers are draining. Uh still [clears throat] have some still might have some issues around your hole 13 and 14 because the lakes's right there. And um we'll see when we get a big rain. We haven't had a huge rain since we put them in, but we've had some decent rains and they've held up great. So, so, and the sand is top quality. Everybody, nobody's ever going to, uh, brag about how great the bunkers were, but as long as we're not talking about how bad they are, we're doing great. They are fantastic. Uh, on the horizon, um, next week's a big week. We got a new golf cart fleet next week. So, that's, uh, going to be exciting. There's some new wheels, uh, Monday and Tuesday, and then we're looking at a teeing ground project this, uh, later this spring. And we're also going to be hosting our first PGA hope seminar in March. And that's hope stands for helping our patriots everywhere. And it's a situation where I became PJ Hope certified last year and Dylan's getting it this year. And we're

going to invite uh veterans that have been wounded in battle and what for various injuries to come out and teach them how to play golf in many alternative fashions. So it's it's going to be a great thing. It's the first one we've had. And we have two of them scheduled this year. Excellent. So we're keeping on keeping on and uh things are pretty good at the club. So very good. Thank you. Any questions for Jeff? Yeah, I got a couple questions. So, anyway, just a quick comment. I wanted to say, you know, the course is again looking good. I know you had a one of the little Florida junior the one of the Florida winter tour professionals out there. That was a great event. I saw a lot of players in that. And the junior golf the junior golf tournaments

uh what are they like top 100s or something? It's we have Florida Junior Tour and US kids we run. I mean, some great tournaments and the course looks great. Uh the one question I got is I can't help but notice there's new golf carts uh in with the members. Some of them look like school buses and knobbyby tires and such. Are they an issue for the golf course? So we have a two or three that have bigger wheels, but they're not knobby nubs. They're smooth. Okay. They're they're Darren Boach Baky approved. That's our superintendent. Okay. Anything that's marginal, we definitely get his approval. Um, but the one car you're referring to is is uh a certain guy has a backseater. Thanks. He can't even think he can't even make the turn coming up back turn.

Okay. Just check. I just want to make sure everybody turn. But the wheels are fine. Yes. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Like an opportunity to be a target. Yeah. [laughter] Oh, everybody's jumping on. Hey, I'm riding with him. It looks like your lunches are going to get better, too. I guess based on what we decided earlier. We hope so. Yeah. Yeah. Very good. Thank you, Jeeoff. Appreciate you. Thank you all. That's good. Let's talk some more golf. More golf. Come on up. Golf advisory board. Now, let's get the trip. Get the other Let's get the other half. Everything he said. How was the uh how was the Caribbean islands? You look like you've been down in the I was out pouring concrete today. That's lost my voice. work off.

Anyways, um it it's all good news as as I hope you guys appreciate. Uh the change to the restaurant management is uh everybody's looking forward to it. I think that's a good change. They're all, you know, very happy to see Kevin coming back. Um he already talked about the new carts coming in. Um course conditions continue to be phenomenal. Um if you've not played recently, uh it's amazing. I had a friend down from Minnesota, so we played when it was 37 degrees. Uh he thought it was wonderful. I was freezing, but uh you know, he thought, "Oh, this is great summer golf." [clears throat and cough] Excuse me. So, um but it is the staff still is just so helpful. Uh when you need something, you know, you got the the uh I think Jeff refers to him as uh can Jeff, what's the name? Oh, Jeff.

He left. He left. Okay. Um the the the staff help the guys running around on the course, they'll look for balls for you, help you speed up, you know, that that kind of thing. Player assistance.

Player assistant. Thank you. Yeah, I knew Lance would get that one. Um so that's really working. [clears throat] Apologies for the voice again. Um if you've not taken advantage of it or if you know people who are trying to learn the game, they do a Saturday group lesson at 10:00. It's $20. It's very inexpensive. Jeffy tried to teach me how to hit a hybrid this week. um failed, but you know, it it was it was inexpensive. Um but it is it's really good. There were about a half a dozen people. Sometimes there's 20. Uh but they have two or three or four of their people helping you, you know, participate. Um it really works out well. [clears throat] And what else have I got here? No, I'm good with it. Ain't going to improve. [clears throat] Um there are two people who are uh leaving the golf advisory board. Um and one is an early termination. The other one is just expiring in April. Uh we have uh three people who will be coming with the applications at least they indicated they will uh before the council to get your approval uh to select two of the three. Uh so that's going well. [clears throat] And uh I guess the last comments on the traps. The traps are really wonderful now with this granulated sand angle cut. Um, what it does is, uh, it really helps if you hit the ball into the trap, particularly if you hit it high, it really doesn't plug nearly as much as it would. Um, the disadvantage is because it's soft, your feet really sink. And so, it's really important that people rake the traps after they're they get out of it. Uh, even if it takes some eight strokes, it still needs to be be ragged. Um, [clears throat] it also gets very hard when it rains. And so it switches from being a very soft thing to a very hard thing. So you really have to get adjusted to that. But they're they look great. They drain well. Um and and everybody's really pleased with it what

they did. As Jeff said, some of the surrounding [clears throat] area uh the grass that was being replaced didn't get done very well. Uh but his crew has come in and and enhanced that and they're continue to do that. There's about three or four more holes that they've got to work on. That's all I got. All right. We're happy. Any questions [clears throat] for Rich? All right. Thank you, Rich. Great. Thank you. Good to see you, man. Take care. That's right. All right. Need you to cook it up out there, Kevin. Ready to go.

All right. Now, to the regular agenda item number 20, removal of historic live oak tree at 164 Sweet Yam Lane. Like if the development director is going to come up, give [clears throat] us a little insight. Can we get a motion first? Oh, yeah. Can I get a motion in a second to put this item on the board? Get a motion. I uh put a motion uh motion to remove the historic live oak tree at 164 Sweet Gum Lane. I just second it. We have a motion and a second for the approval of item 20, removal of historic live oak tree at 164 Sweet Gum Lane. Thank you.

I believe the motion would also include a waiver. That's what's being asked for, right? Correct. Go ahead.

Thank you, Tim Burman, Community Development. Um, again, this is one of the ones where I think the pictures kind of spell the whole story here. This um site is uh you can see this the tree in question is right next to the um quadlex unit here. It's about a foot from the uh porch there and about 5 to 6 feet away from the structure itself. One of the issues that the property owner has why he's requesting that is that over the course of time the root system of this tree has been lifting up that patio and the surrounding area ground around there and pitching it toward his um front entryway then. So water when it rains is going into the h home. He has already replaced the drywall within the home and um the cabinets there. I think he also had a mold test done and it's come back again. So he's probably going to do that repair again. We included that in the report. He got with the contractor before coming to us about the tree removal. They looked at possibly doing some drainage improvements there, but the concern was that is that once those improvements are there, then the tree roots are still in place. Tree is still growing. It would eventually clog damage that um drainage infrastructure. That would be a temporary fix then. So, the last request was to come back with the removal of the tree. Um they did get an arborist there. The arborist did um indicate that the only way to really get rid of this nuisance this tree is causing to this um person's house is removal of the tree then. So therefore, the um property owner is requesting the removal of the tree. Um since this is a quadplex, it is technically considered multif family. Um the way the code is written, it does require city council approval. It also requires a mitigation payment um per the resolution that we have established for multif family. Um that um mitigation payment is around $6,000. I think it's $6,441. Um however the way this structure is this quad pract is set up is not typical of your large apartment complexes which that multif family designation for that tree mitigation was set up for this sim is similar to a kind of a single family um detached home here in terms of they own the unit they own the land around it then so we looked in the code and there

is a single family u mitigation payment which is $2,36 that is what staff had initially recommended when this went before the EAB board, they are required to um make a recommendation on the mitigation payment or replacement of trees. Um they decided to basically side with paying the mitigation payment um since there's no really room for replacement trees on this property. And they also after they made their um recommendation for mitigation payment, they basically also put their comments too that they think that the fee should or the mitigation payment should be waved um there due to the damage that this has caused to the um property owner and also to the cost of removing the tree. I think he has provided us going to be around $30,000 to do the improvements to the house plus to remove the tree and then in addition to that he's got some patio improvements will have to be made then. So um staff is recommending approval of the removal and then basically you know we'll need some guidance on the mitigation payment

and unfortunately the property owner was going to be here but he unexpectedly had to be out of town. Um we found that out this afternoon then. So, he unfortunately is not able to attend, but um he did provide a letter then and we included quite a bit of the information he had provided us in the um report. Yeah. And and and uh for for council maybe that hasn't had a chance to to catch up on those emails, that is in your email inbox. Yes. Uh from this afternoon. So, Lance, let's start with you.

Uh I'm going to just say uh this is like a no-brainer to me. Um, this guy needs some reprieve and I think that we need to let him take the tree down and that we don't need to let him don't charge him anything. I mean, that's just me. So, this is uh I'm all for the way this is presented, which is to take the tree down and no fee. [clears throat] Correct. That's what we are. That's where we have a motion for. Am I correct? That's a motion on the floor. I mean, this guy's This guy's suffering this house. the applicant's asking for a full waiver on the fees. That's just where I stand on this.

Yeah, I I'm completely in agreement with Lance that this is something that we should not um uh charge this uh unfortunate soul a dime to remove this tree.

I have agreement with the council already. You know, this person has already been through suffering and flooding and everything else onto the home. um with some of the things that I've seen inside the city over the years so far. I'm really surprised he hasn't already came forward and try to cut the tree down, you know. So, he's going through the process. He's doing the process right. Um he's to be commended for that, but at the same time, I don't believe um he should have to endure any fees from the city on this one at all. We got it all. We said,

um, just a quick question for you. Uh, on [clears throat] the property here, is there an opportunity? Obviously, the trees got to come down. There's no question there. Is there an opportunity for the resident to replant a new hardwood tree somewhere on the property or nearby the property? I mean, the way these properties are, you've kind of seen that middle photograph where there's kind of like that kind of the fence that's falling apart right there. that is essentially about the um end of the property line then but it goes into the common area of the month there. So there's a very small area that they have probably wouldn't have the property to be able to do it as well. Right. Plus the existing tree root system that probably just there there it would be very difficult to get something in that area. Yeah.

And you and I'm sure I mean this is this this structure has been there since 1977 and I'm sure in 1977 that oak tree was it too beautiful was not a was not an issue back in 1977. Someone thought it was a good idea. I I I think I think at this point it completely devalues the property and puts the structure of the property and maybe even the the contiguous structures at serious risk building come down. So yeah, any other questions for Tim? Anybody in the public want to speak to this item?

Back to council. Last chance for comments. I just want to make sure I just have so you're voting for we're voting on the uh removal acceptance and then you're just needing direction from us as to whether or not he pays anything consens do you need two do you need two different motions or that was the recommended motion providing your report is that the motion that's on the floor today no the motion on the floor was what has it read but I would amend that motion to include that this would not uh that there would be No fees associated with the removal of the tree. There's a second for that. Second. Okay. Is that clear? For that. There is now.

M or actually we don't we just do voice on this. All in favor signify by I. I. Any oppose? 5. Hopefully Mr. Ford will plant one tree somewhere. It would be nice some you know far away from his building. maybe on a a family member's property somewhere. Item 21, uh, removal of historic live oak tree at 5952 Riverside Drive. Tell us about this one. All right, this one is um, again, so properties [clears throat] on Riverside Drive. Let's uh, go back a little. I want to make a motion to approve item number 21, removal of historic live oak tree at 5952 Riverside Drive.

Second, I'll see. We have a motion and second on the floor. Go ahead.

All right. Um, in this case, this property, the property is um was recently bought by the current property owner and they're looking to u construct a new home on the site. Then they started working with us basically in terms of citing that home in terms of meeting setback requirements um on that property and also to to locate the home and preserve the three existing historic trees on the property. it came to be that [clears throat] the there is a historic tree in the city's rightway um directly in front of this property here um that basically in order for the home to be situated plus keep the distance needed to preserve those three existing historic trees on the property the tree within the rightway needed to be removed. So the tree in the rightway is shown as the yellow tree there. The three trees that would be um on the property there are in the green. Then the property owner did have an arburous look at the trees. The three that are on the property are the more healthier trees to remain. Um when you kind of look at the tree go driving down Riverside Drive, it does have a lean. The arish report indicated too that there was some disturbance and deterioration at the base of the tree. Um the concern with this is that they are if that would fall, it would hit the power lines. Also too, you can kind of see where FPNL has throughout the year has basically trimmed that against the power line. So, it's constantly getting cut in by FPNL. Uh, also too, this site does um basically kind of dead in at Riverside Drive. So, if that tree would come down, it would leave about 14 homes without ingress or egress. Um, in a storm there, it came in. So, when we looked at from staff there, their request, then the removal of this tree does help preserve three trees on the property. Um there in addition to that when the home is built and constructed and before CO the applicant will be required to have at least nine trees on the site then so there will be additional trees planted on this property too [clears throat] moving forward. So staff recommendation on this one is um same basically the rem removal of the tree along with the payment of the um single family mitigation payment

that still is that also 2036 2036 that's just our number we've come up with of what it cost to plant one tree. No, that's basically we have a formula in the code um basically and that's um due to the it's basically the size of the tree time there and comes out to be that dollar amount then because they're pretty much this one was 43 in the other was 45 so pretty much similar tree and that's why you have the same price. Got it. All right. [clears throat] This anything else that was it on in this case the applicant or the property owner is also here too.

Okay. This is uh definitely one of those areas where after we have these storms, you see these large trees or segments of these large trees that aggressively lean out over the road and they completely block the road. They're bringing down power lines and um they're definitely problematic for that reason in and of itself aside from everything else. So property I don't want to speak. You're welcome to if you have anything you want. No,

why not? Right. Yeah, why not? Uh 5952 Riverside Drive. Uh just want to thank you guys for the consideration. Uh we were very thoughtful and thankful for working with the city and trying to be mindful with keeping historic trees. Uh we didn't really want to, you know, cut down anything. Um and then when building the home too, we actually where we currently live in South Daytona, we have a couple historic bugs. We just recently lost one over, not this past year, but the last storm. Uh it looked almost identical to this tree and how it was heaving and leaving over. Uh so it was kind of on our mind even when we started like planning the house uh trying to mitigate hazards uh just kind to be uh in the rightway not actually on the property. Uh but definitely thank you for your consideration and uh looking forward to moving into Port [clears throat] Orange.

All right. In fact one second read anything. Uh yeah actually question for you Tim on the three historic trees that are to remain. There's one it'd be the looks like the western most there number 42. How far is that away from his actual residency, the building that's getting ready to be built? Um, probably about 14 feet, 15 ft. All right. Because we just just because of what we just discussed here with the previous agenda item about, you know, a historic tree encroaching and doing all this damage. Uh, what what type of tree is that? It's a a live oak, too, then.

Okay. So, the roots are going to run under that thing almost the same way being only 14 foot away. I know. I mean, I've got them in my backyard and, you know, they go everywhere. So, um, all right. And so, on this one, the recommendation is to approve the removal of the one and but also to charge the 236, but he's going to be adding trees to his property.

The code requires when you build a single family home, you have to certain number of trees in. So, there will be additional trees um at part of that building print. Then, I think there's a total of nine required. So, there'll be at least, you know, six more have to be planted in. I'm all for protecting taxpayer dollars clearly, but it just seems redundant to me to charge him $2,000 for mitigation and then simultaneously also requiring to put six trees in and that that's the code. That's the way it is, but it seems like we're hitting him twice and and that doesn't add up to me from where I'm sitting right now. That go ahead and everyone else that's just where my head is. Put some input on this as well. Hang on one second. Okay. Anything else for you right now? No, thank you sir.

Go ahead. One of the things looking at the blueprint you're where the tree 42 is that you're talking about that's the cabana on the back side. So that's a soft structural or is that a hard structural? It will have a roof over it. Uh and we are I believe the setback was 15 ft from the tree. Uh it was beyond what the minimum uh there is a setback that you have to be from the store and so we're meeting beyond what that setback is from that tree at East. Okay. So there won't be a slight overhead. All right. Um I have to commend you to try to

you're taking a piece of property, putting a house on it, manipulating it to uh only have [clears throat] to have one tree problem. So you need to be commended for that. I know uh buying property sometimes I I went through the same process back in '94 when I built here. Uh we ended up having to plant trees because there was trees right in the middle of the property. So, the process is uh it's there. Um, but uh thank you for doing what you did as far as getting as close to saving everything. Most people don't do that. So, I I'm more in favor of not charging the fee because it's in our easement. Am I correct? It's in our rightway.

It's on our rightway. Right. So, if that tree came down today, who's responsible for it? We We would have to pick We'd have to clean it up. Okay. it came down. So, so that's why I would be in favor of rem not requiring him to pay uh and it's a payment to the mitigation bank. Is that or is it So, uh because it's our tree really honestly, right? Yeah. Okay. It's our tree. So, technically he's paying to remove our trees. He will be spending his money to remove the tree. So, you will never have to pay to remove the tree. So, you Okay. But but he's removing a tree and then he's getting charged to remove the tree. Correct. That's correct.

So he's remove he's paying to remove the tree and then we're charging him on top of that. Yes, sir. Correct. Just do So I I And he's plant and he's planting six more trees.

Yeah. But I understand why you plant six more trees. That's part of the code. We don't waver off of that. This is in our This is basically technically in our easement or our rideway. And right now we we're fully responsible for that tree if he leaves it there and works around it. So, with that in mind, I would um certainly um be in favor of waving the fee we're charging him because he's paying to remove the tree already that's ours and we don't want to penalize the guy for doing something that we could be responsible for cleaning up. So when you talk about protecting taxpayers money, if he was to leave that tree there and it was to fall, then we're paying for it, which is not cheap when it comes to one of these oak trees hitting the ground and cutting it up because I think the estimate on the one tree was $14,000 or something like that.

The last the last one was I think 10,000 10,000. So all right. So Tim, couple things. So I went and looked at the tree and again the tree looks hideous. I hate to say it. And same deal. I mean, I'm I'm confident with the the finished product and a mature product when it's done that this guy's going to invest a nice product. Um, isn't the code you're saying he's going to be adding six trees? Isn't the code like per inch he's got to have a certain amount of inches? It's basically per area. I think it's 2,500 square feet of the lot and it's slightly under. It's about half acre then. So, it comes out to nine trees then.

But, okay. Okay. So, you're saying it come it's x many square feet and then it says what? You have to be x many trees per square feet or x many inches on the does he get credit for the historic [clears throat] trees on his lot as far as his tree count? The way the code is written basically it counts one historic tree just as a brand new tree a twoinch you know caliber tree. Then the way the code is written that's how we have to apply it. So if he had to have nine trees that's just two of them. So that actually there would be three the three historic trees will count toward the nine then. So that's where the sixth new trees actually come.

Okay, I got you. All right. Well, again, you know, I'm going to tell you guys I'm I'm about the um and again, I've learned a lot about this the last few years, battling historic trees that usually are really old and ultimately will are going to die and people building a house around it and getting damaged. And I would rather we have a mature product when it's done that he puts in and we grow. And so I want to see us try and help our resident, our investor to to build something that's nice that's going to obviously create more value to our neighborhood. So I think we don't charge them to take this tree out and we give them permission to take it out. So

thank you gentlemen. Appreciate it. Anybody else in the public wish to speak to this? You guys have else? Uh just prior to the the motion I want to make sure that we basically include that there's a the license agreement too that needs to be part of this then which would basically if council can allow basically the city manager and city attorney's office allow us to execute that then um if part of the motion then if you if you recommend approval it's basically a formal document that allows somebody to work within our rightway so it covers us from a liability standpoint it's a standard thing that we do and if you put a rock or a mail anything in the rightway you need a license agreement but he's asking permission that with your actions tonight Matt and I [snorts] set that up and sign off on it. Do we need that as a separate motion or can we just amend this motion?

You can amend this one and include the whole ball of wax including the waiver, but we're going to need the waiver addressed as well. That wasn't in the original motion. All right. So, we'll need that one. I can do that. You amend your motion? Yeah. I want to amend a motion to remove the historic tree, the live oak tree at 5952 Riverside Drive to not include the fee that would have been involved and also to allow the staff to go ahead and get the licensing for them to do that because it's in our property. Second. We have an amended motion and a second. Anybody else in the public wish to speak to this? Back to council. Good. All in favor signify by saying I. I. All opposed. 5. Thank you. Thank you very much. Good luck. Thank you.

Council committee reports. Let's start with Lucia Flaggo. Councilman. Um had an issue with the meeting. Uh I tried to attend it virtually and for some reason the stream link down could not join. Um so I don't really have anything to report on that one. All right. How about item B, the fire pension board? Just come back to me on that. I want to actually get some real info on that when I'm ready for it. We want a second. We'll come right back to you. How about item C on the police pension board with Councilman Green?

Had a meeting last week. Uh it's actually the end of the year meeting. We met with the auditor. We met with the actuary. Um and it goes like this. The fund currently sits at 80 million21673. Uh we again voted uh to have a an assumed rate of return at 6.75%. Uh this year alone the uh one-year increase was 7.5 million or about a 12.7% increase in the fund. Um which is which is really well well beyond uh the last few years. So, um the couple things that are coming up though, um that we are going to be meeting on special meeting with uh they're having an attorney change and so the attorney who is our pension board's legal representation has moved to another firm and we currently are in a in an agreement with um Susman and whatever their name is, but

but so yeah, Sugarman Susman. So, we're going to have to make a decision here on where we're going with the legal council um or if we're going to follow the guy that left or if we're going to figure out something else. But, uh that's something that kind of came in unexpectedly. Um, the other thing that we talked about was that I thought was kind of interesting is um they came out with a new F FRS mortality change chart for policemen and that chart basically kind of affects the pension and the overall um and so again just coming up within the next couple of three years we're going to see uh some some increases in the city's participation to the pension of the police department. So, but other than that, the pension's very healthy and uh guys are doing a great job that manage that pension are doing a great job. The actuary, everything came up clean. Um uh everything with the auditor came up clean and um they're in they're in great shape and being managed by a great company.

Wait a minute. Can't leave you hanging. Are old cops going to live longer or not? Nope. Wow. [clears throat] No, I don't know. I didn't get to see the results. I'm hoping that number is going to increase. You're one of the testers. We're testing. All right, we'll see. Item item B. That's Thank you, sir. Uh market value on the plan is up to 54.7 million as of the end of last year. Uh for the quarter was up 2.2 and for the year up 13.3% net of fees, which is awesome.

Um it was some really good numbers there. uh actually been a lot the fire pension board has been swiftly moving some funds from different places and putting money into to work in other areas of the market and it's really starting to pay some dividends um no pun intended. Uh we've reached 73.3% funded ratio on the plan. Uh so back above 70 which is good. Part of that is also uh the city's been making additional contributions to that plan other than what is the minimum required. Um, I believe it was 300,000, but that's just one of the papers I'm missing here. We did have our, um, actuarial evaluation report come in. Um, the actuary showed up and gave us some interesting insight on a couple of things. Um, it looks like the, um, city required contribution, despite all those increases, is still going to be going up from 74.3 to 75.8. Um, and that has to do with a lot of a variety of things. Um it's kind of weird but it's it's sort of like a web and as you pull on one thing everything else moves. Um so you know everything from just pension changes and you know what what benefits are offered to salary increases every single thing um you know changes it. In fact um the actuary was pointing out the assumption that he had for salary increases you know was assumed 4.48% 48% in 21 and basically had been assuming about 4 and a.5%. And we actually end up doing 8% in 21, 15.9 in 22, 11.08 in 23, 11.6 in 24, and 4.31 in 25, which is the first time we've been really anywhere near that assumed amount of salary increases. and that just affects the overall funding of the plan which gets into everything else that we have to talk about as far as you know percentage of payroll that we have to put into the

retirement. So it's really interesting to see something important to bring on the radar for the city manager and for finance is that you know we have an assumed rate of return right now of 7.25 25 and F FRS is at 6.75. And what you don't want to have happen is the state come in and say, "You're half percentage higher than we are. Why are you there?" Because then you're going to have to explain yourself and they could immediately drive you down to that 6.75 and you have no choice. And then our adjusted percentage of payroll goes through the roof. And so we don't want to do that to the city because it's absolutely going to put us behind, you know, you're talking that could be million plus dollars annually. So, um, in order to try to avoid that, uh, I've suggested and I, and I believe the actuary is on board with this as well, to just take it down another.1% and just keep moving closer to that FRS target. You don't want to be, you can be over it, you just don't want to be too far over it. And that seems to be a consensus on the board. They're they're doing a great job and really proud of all the work everybody's been putting in there. So,

uh, so I Any announcements? Nope.

Good. All right. Um, so I actually had a last minute conflict. So I was not able to attend the general employee pension board. So I'll get the followup on that and bring that back to you guys at the next meeting. But just a comment on on on all the the pensions is that it is that is almost like a living thing. It doesn't stop, right? And so there's always adjustments, always assessments, actuary stuff is always going to change. Um, it's just something we got to keep a a really close mindful eye on. I I will just tell you guys that in my opinion that the the councils for us and this council have [snorts] have done a good job nursing these pensions back from where they were um you know 12 15 years ago because they were in trouble. They were in big big trouble and the taxpayers have made a great commitment and investment and the way the boards have managed and the councils have overseen these things. It's it's it's working and it's getting back there. You know, it's going to need always that constant nurturing and that oversight and these decisions like Councilman Foley just said because [clears throat] well, those decisions cost a lot of money and you got to figure out how how to navigate and get them there. And yes, there's, you know, the state can take a look and all that. All that just to say that the pensions are are are doing well and they have trended in the right direction. So, that's a good thing for us. Anybody else have anything else to come before us tonight? That being said, have a good night. Be safe.