City Commission - Regular Meeting

All right, let's call this meeting to order.

We'll have Joshua Jackson do the pledge.

All right, please stand and face the flag.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

We'll have Pastor Keith of Club Zion do the invocation for us.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the privilege that you've given us to seek your face, your will, and your purpose for this community. Pray for our city officials, Lord, and all our city workers, Lord, that are here to serve. And Lord, I pray that you give them the wisdom, the discernment that we need to forge forward. I thank you for the blessing that you've given us to dodge any storms or hurricanes this season so far, Lord. I ask that you continue to protect us and guard us Let everything be done tonight decently and in honor for your sake, Lord. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

City Clerk, roll call.

Commissioner Jackson.

Here.

Commissioner Hutchison. Here. Commissioner Tumulty.

I'm here.

Vice Mayor Williams. Here. Mayor Capizzi.

Here. Oh, actually, I called the wrong person for an invocation. Sorry. Sorry about that. That was supposed to be Deacon Joe Pecco.

Well, let's do it again. Joe's not here. All right.

All right, good. I mean, not good, but, you know. All right, can we get approval of the agenda?

I'd like to pull H5 from the consent.

Okay, and Janice wants to pull number four. Four.

Move to approve the agenda with H4 and H5 pulled.

Second. Motion to second. All in favor? Aye. All right. Let's see. Public. Oh, special presentations. We have a proclamation here for water reclamation. So whereas the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association, organized in 1940, is a non-profit trade organization that promotes the sustainability of Florida's water utility industry through workforce development to protect the health of Florida citizens and to preserve the state's water resources. And whereas this organization offers water and wastewater treatment plant operator services, and water distribution systems operator training courses required through the state of Florida operator license, multiple voluntary certification programs, and continued education programs for operator license renewal. And whereas this organization in recognizing the importance of the Florida statutes and administrative codes that regulate water industry acts as liaison between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and industry personnel, and whereas the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association recognizes all who have played a significant part in operating and maintaining drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems in Florida by celebrating Florida Water Professionals Month. which applauds their constant efforts to protect our health and environment. Whereas water professionals are essential first responders as defined by Florida Statute 403.865B. During storms and other catastrophic events, working to ensure safe drinking water and safe disposal of wastewater for our communities. Now, Therefore, I, Keith Capizzi, Mayor, by the authority vested in me as the Mayor of the City of Cocoa Beach, do hereby proclaim August 2026 as Florida Water Professionals Month. A witness thereof, I have hereunder set my hands this sixth day of August 2026. You want to grab this, Brad? Thank you, Brad. Well, that's what is on here. All right, I think I might need some water before, if anybody can give me something. All right, any public comments about items that are not on the agenda? Greg Lund, come on down.

It's only one page. Greg Lund, 411 Burlow Lane. Good evening, Mayor and Commission. I want to talk a little bit about e-bike education. E-bikes, electric scooters, they're here to stay. They're a game changer for many residents. They reduce traffic congestion on Minuteman because moms and dads don't have to take their kids to school anymore. More and more residents prefer to use an e-bike to run errands rather than use their cars. That further reduces some of the traffic in the area. They can also be very, very dangerous, and it's not if not used properly, and in particular for kids who have no fear and do not understand the traffic laws or consequences. Cocoa Beach has an opportunity to be one of the first cities to adopt an e-bike driver education course to be co-developed by the police, the schools, and the county education board. Together, I think we can develop a curriculum and an exam that kids must pass to bring their e-bikes to school. The course should be taught by a police officer to have the biggest impact. The course should be taught during or after normal school hours or on a Saturday at the junior senior high school and be open to all schools in the area not just county schools along with home school kids upon passing the test each student should receive a certificate the course should be a combination of classroom instruction and practical training for using hand signals and learning the rules of the road and in conclusion The city of Cocoa Beach has an opportunity to be a trendsetter in the e-bike scooter education. Cities throughout the county and the state will adopt our forward-thinking policy, and we may save many lives and prevent many accidents as a result. This is a win-win for our community, and I think the commission should form a committee to bring this idea to fruition. I presented this to Chief Kuen back in April, and he's been on my side on this the whole way And I think we just need to take some action on this. The publicity we could get from being the first in Brevard County could be nothing but great for Cocoa Beach. That's all I got to say.

Thank you, Greg. We definitely need to figure out some kind of education for these kids. Personally, it's something I want to do too, as well as try to get at least some kind of education, because the parents aren't educating their kids. They give them the bike, and they just let them go. So I do agree. We need to figure out some form of education for these kids. I don't know about mandatory as far as certificates, but definitely I would love to get involved with this school somehow and get somebody in there to at least tell them the rules of the road. Ah, Terry, Terry H. If I'm too loud, let me know.

I have a tendency to be that way. Sorry. Good evening. My name is Terry Hagee. I've been a property owner and taxpayer in Brevard County for 35 years. I've lived on Riverview Lane just off 4th Street South, which currently puts us right in the middle of the 4th Street lift station construction debacle. I'm speaking tonight in hopes of getting information on this project's status to understand what efforts are being made to resolve what can only be described as a crappy situation. Let's start with what happened. Did we really see what appeared to be raw sewage pumped down the street into a storm drain into the lagoon? What about the overflow in front of St. David's and the Freedom 7 playground? We saw liquids running into these areas, but no information from the city of Cocoa Beach. We saw a crew from the city of Cocoa Beach and a boat in the canal behind us. And when we asked them what they were doing, they said, we're investigating. We don't know what they were investigating, but they were investigating. There's been no communication from the city on whether this was an investigation, whether there's been a problem, or whether we should be concerned. Neither are there any plans or dates to resolve any of this that any of us can determine from the city or calling the city offices. With regard to Freedom 7, this has obviously created chaos and confusion for accessing the school, particularly during afternoon pickup. Perhaps this is the opportunity to reevaluate traffic flow in and around the school and the neighborhood. Since the elimination of school buses, vehicle traffic has increased dramatically in our neighborhood, which has created a challenge for those of us that live there with a single access point. All too often, we see drivers speeding, rolling through stop signs, making illegal turns, traffic obstruction, U-turns, and that was all before the construction started. Now, it's even worse. Combine that with garbage trucks, contractors, pool services, lawn services, FedEx, UPS, you know all these people. And they only come in through one entrance. That's it. That's all we have. And it's now a bottleneck. So bottom line, let's update taxpayers on the work that's being done and remains to be done. Let's get professionals to evaluate the traffic flow issues and look for solutions, not only for this temporary construction mess, but long-term solutions, utilizing and optimizing available public property, Perhaps it's more gated access points at the school. Perhaps it's directional changes or using gym parking or surfside parking. But let's make it work for the school and the neighborhood. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Terry, I'd like to respond. That debacle has come to a conclusion and reconstruction, continuation of construction to finish that project should start next week. And as far as the lane closure, basically the room that construction companies need to do that job requires that. And it will be finished as expeditiously as possible. And it's going to, for anybody that doesn't know, there's a lift station down at 13th Street. And it should look exactly like that, bringing all the valving up above the water level. So maintenance on the valves and all that, and it's all going to be stainless steel, will be much easier. And it's important to the neighborhood, including yourselves, that we... improve that lift station for the future of our neighborhood and i just believe that we just have to go through it the con the contractor was supposed to start as early as last april they took on another job and then they said well we'll be in there in early by and right after fourth of july and we'll knock it out before school starts and they did not uh follow through on their commitment and now It's going to start again, and hopefully it'll be finished as expeditiously as possible. What does expeditiously mean?

Let me get Brad to elaborate, if you wouldn't mind. He's ready after public comment during staff reports. Brad's going to talk about it.

We'll get an answer for you, and thank you for your words. I love that you can complain respectfully. It was awesome. Thank you.

I can do that again.

I appreciate your comments.

Did you say something that was incorrect?

No. No, I just want to kind of move along because Brad already had something prepared. Okay. Janice.

Good evening, Commission, city staff, everyone. I always try and complain respectfully. I'm the kind of person who's interested in when the dog tries to bite the cat, who wins the fight. That's what I'm interested in. So I commented on the election on Tuesday, and the results came in. So only 30% of the electorate participated. So it looks like Byron Donalds is probably the lead candidate for governor. So if you don't like it, well, maybe a lot of you only have yourselves to blame. But Tuesday night, he did comment. that he's going to doge Florida. I don't know what doge Florida means, but we have the amendment coming up on the ballot in November. That'll be very interesting. And I got my trim notice today, so I'm always very interested in that. And specifically, there are four items on the trim notice about the schools. As you know, the schools are putting it on the ballot. to renew the sales tax, which I hope does not pass, because I think that the schools should manage their obsolete properties better. And as far as the city of Cocoa Beach, in addition to the four things on this trim notice, we pay for the resource officer. two of them. Also, we have huge recreation complexes. It's not the school's fault. Things were different back in the day when the public, I would say, participated more. There were a lot more kids here. But just the ball fields, the pool, they get first option for a lot of the recreation places, the golf and everything, when the school's in session. I just think that it's only fair to the residents at this point in time after all these years that somebody else look at the detail of what's going on. I don't think we should be paying for lights at the ball field or for that whatever huge figure to replace the scoreboard. Thank you.

Thank you, Janice. Is that anybody else with public comments? All right. Move along.

Staff reports. Okay, Director Calso, can you come on down, please? There you go. Director Calso is going to give us an update on 4th Street South.

Sorry, Brad. Oh, you're good. You're good. You did great, Skip. You did great. He just set the table. Good evening, Mayor, Commissioners. I would like to give you a brief timeline of where we started with this project and where we currently stand and to help answer some of the residents' concerns. So the contractors mobilized on this project July 21st and the full intention of this project was to complete the portion of the project that would get us out of the roadway before August 10th, which coincided with the start of school. Between July 21st and August 6th, there were a lot of issues that the city noticed going on with the project. as it related to project performance, safety, site conditions as a whole, and the progress of the project itself. So as a result of that, I got with the city manager and the city attorney, explained everything that was going on, and we decided to issue a stop work directive to the contractors to kind of have them just take a step back, reevaluate. So after August 6th, we got in touch with the contractor's bonding agency and we gave all of our issues to them. We gave a bunch of documentation to them so that they could do a full review and evaluation of the project. And last Thursday we met with the bonding agency and at the end of that meeting, it was ultimately decided that we should work out an agreement with the current contractor to try to complete the scope of the project and get this project moving forward. So last Friday after that meeting a conditional agreement was developed and it was mutually agreed upon by all parties and then last Monday it was actually executed. So since Monday the contractors have been trying to provide the city the information necessary required by the new conditional agreement so that we can lift this stop work order. So that is where we currently stand. We're waiting on the contractor to give us all the information needed in order for me to lift that work order. With that said, school's been in session for two weeks. I met with school administrators this morning Um, the principal and they are not seeing many issues as of right now with the parent traffic loop. And actually the last two days, the traffic loop has completed by three 45, which has historically been the completion time for the school loop. I understand it's been a frustration. first couple weeks for all the residents and the parents but we are working through it with the help of the police department and my staff we've been able to help control the traffic and we will continue that so as of right now excuse me my immediate my priority is to get the contractor back on site finish the portion of the project to get us out of that roadway, open it up so that they can safely finish the rest of the project within the right of way and on our property. With that, I'll answer any questions.

You have like a timeline, you think, realistic?

So I know the contractors are currently working on one final step of that conditional agreement. And I am hopeful that, as Skip said, we can get them in here next week to restart the project. I don't want to commit to a time frame right now. I think that would be jumping the gun right now. But I'm hopeful before the end of August, not even before the end of August, but two to three weeks we can get off that roadway. I'm hopeful. But I don't want to commit to that.

Is there anything else we can do, like mitigating the traffic flow in there? I understand Freedom 7 traffic is probably one of the biggest bottlenecks, but it's 24-7 with, like you said, the UPS trucks and delivery services. Is there anything else we can do there? I mean, I know we're... It's all right.

They're getting through.

I mean, the stoplights were put in place as the safest means of getting in and out of there, because there's no exit out of there. The traffic lights are about 25 to 30 seconds.

And they're all time-based? There's no traffic proximity?

No, it's all time-based. And I know the police department has been working their butts off out there, and I do appreciate their help. I'm going to stay in constant communication with the school. I've been trying to field all of the residents' calls and giving them updates on projects. I know Commissioner Williams has been speaking with a lot of his neighbors out there, and I'm just trying to keep the city manager and the city attorney advised of what's been going on.

So, Brad, my understanding is that the completion of this project is going to be no additional cost to the city from the initial agreement. Is that correct?

That's correct. And all the additional damage that the contractors have caused out there, even with the church's property, it's all going to be on them to repay.

All right. No city cost. I thought it was important to let the public know that that was the case. All right. Thank you, Brad.

Brad, just to be clear, and I think there was something that Harry had mentioned, just in terms of the types of performance that has led to spills and things like that, That's unacceptable, right? And we have identified that. That was part of what you were talking about in terms of meeting with the bonding agency, having taken clear and significant action to communicate to the contractor that this is their last strike and that this is not tolerable. It's not something being taken lightly by the city.

So this contractor is working on three of our lift stations. They've completed one at 13th Street South, and now they're working on 4th Street South. I've had three reportable spills to report to FDEP. FDEP is fully aware of all of these conditions that have been made. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't notify them. So they are aware that sewage did spill into the canal. It's not something I'd like to admit, but it did happen. And I take pride in trying to protect this river. And that last one was my last straw. And this is what led us to our decision. And I just want to move forward, get this project completed, get off the roadway, and put this behind us. Thank you.

Thank you, Brad. Thank you. It was a difficult decision to have to do the stop. But you said safety first. All right. Are we done on staff reports? I got a couple more.

Yeah, I would just like to add very quickly the amount of work that Brad and our city attorney put in on this the last two weekends. Essentially working all weekend for two weekends in a row trying to get this worked out with a bunch of attorneys and companies. Nobody will quite ever understand the amount of work that Becky and Brad put in on this. So I just really appreciate both of their efforts on this. Okay, so just two updates tonight. Just very quickly, the skate park is currently closed for coping repair and will be scheduled to reopen on Wednesday, August 26th. And the Cocoa Beach Country Club, the river and dolphin courses will be reopened tomorrow after being aerified or aerification, making all 27 holes available for play. On Monday, the 24th of August, the lakes course will be closed for aerification also and will be reopened August 28th. And that's it.

Okay, thank you. City Attorney?

Nothing, thank you.

All right. City Commission?

I'll just say a comment. If you get a chance to get out and see the bioluminescence, it's so fantastic right now. It's going off pretty strong. So if you have access to the water and get out there, it's really spectacular seeing it.

Yep. Jane has always asked me about it. Sorry. It's going off. Yeah, go ahead.

So Brad mentioned that school is in session. Today was the ninth day. Yes, we're counting. Tomorrow will be the end of the first two weeks. So it's all good. You know, the students... All the kids at Cocoa Beach use our amenities, whether it's the river, the ocean, the pool, the golf course, the tennis courts, Miniman Causeway. These are amenities that the city gives to the community. And the kids are our future. I mean, that's the essence of it, right? And we want to give them a good life and a good start, and that's what it's all about. Um, it's, it's an, oh, I mean, hello.

Hello.

Thank you. I should end it right there. We're done. Thank you very much.

That's good. I'm good. Okay. That was it. Okay. Anybody else? All right. I don't really have anything to say either. Thank you all for coming though. All right. Let's see. Consent agenda.

Okay, this is the consent agenda. Item 1, approve the July 16 Commission Meeting Minutes. Staff Representative, City Clerk Department. Item 2, approve FPL Utility Easement from Tom Warner Boulevard to the Pool Pavilion. Staff Representative, Brad Calzo, Water Reclamation Director. Recommendation approved. Item 3, approve the amendment to Cocoa Beach Main Street, Inc. Agreement. Staff Representative, David Dickey, Development Services Director. Recommendation approved. Items 4 and 5 have been pulled. Item 6, ratify the following memorandum of understanding for the wage re-opener for the period of October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 between the City of Cocoa Beach and the International Association of Firefighters, IAFF, Local 3570. Staff Representative Cindy DiPina, Human Resources Director, recommendation approved.

Move to approve as read. Second.

Motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Motion passes 5-0. Items removed from the consent.

Okay. Item 4, adopt Resolution 2026-13, a resolution of the City Commission of the City of Cocoa Beach, Florida, approving the location of Surfside Playhouse located at 301 Ramp Road for on-premises consumption of alcoholic beverages pursuant to Section 562.452A Florida Statutes. finding that approval of the location for the 11 PAC alcoholic beverage license promotes the public health, safety, and the general welfare of the community, providing for condition, providing for an effective date. Staff Representative Brian Palmer, Deputy Director of Development Services, recommendation to adopt.

Move to approve as read. Second. Okay.

Motion to second. Any public comment on that? Yeah.

Janice Scott, Cocoa Beach. I wanted to take the opportunity, since Surfside Playhouse is on the agenda, to reiterate that 501s are responsible for our taxpayers paying 52% to 54% of the county taxes. Because they're all exempt. So I think there's a big responsibility when you get exempt from taxes through the IRS code. I'm not arguing about that at all. I'm just reiterating what the law is. That you report so that the public can read your tax return. Even the 501s need to report. The IRS doesn't pick on them a lot, but they don't in a timely manner. But I would say some entities, including this one, are more... lacks or whatever in their reporting than others. Particularly, it reminded me of when the auditorium was built on the school property. There was a big hullabaloo over the exemption for the building height. But it was all about and promoted because the Surfside players were going to participate in this modern facility with the curtains that have to go up so high or so low. that the building height had to be exceeded, the 45-foot building height then, which was a big deal. So what I'd like to know, and I've seen a couple of representatives in the audience for the Playhouse, that maybe someone would look into that, and people who are interested and know more about the schools than we do in greater detail, would tell us why or how or if or not this is happening, the interaction between the Surfside Playhouse and the school auditorium with its most modern facility. Thank you.

Thank you, Janice. All right. Any other public comment? All right. You guys ready for a vote? All in favor? Aye. All right. Motion passes 5-0.

Okay, item five, adopt resolution number 2026-14, a resolution of the City Commission of the City of Cocoa Beach, Florida, amending the leisure services fee schedule to establish a recurring rental discount, providing for findings, providing for implementation, providing for conflicts, and providing for an effective date. Staff Representative Andy Segarra, Leisure Services Director, recommendation adopt.

Move to adopt resolution 2026-14. Second. That motion is seconded.

Any public comment on that? Any commission comment?

Yeah. I feel I need to recuse myself from this vote. I'm involved with a couple of different groups that potentially use this, and I don't want there to be any ethics or issues about it. So I feel very confident it's going to pass anyway, probably 4-0. So. Thank you, Tim.

I have no problem with this. It just makes sense. If you've got people that are using it more often, they're bringing more people in, more money, I think it's a good thing. All right. All in favor? Aye. All right. Motion passes 4-0. New business.

Okay. Item 1, approve the review committee's recommendation and authorize staff to negotiate a contract with Pro Pump and Controls under RPCB 26-013, golf course irrigation pump replacement to include base bid and all optional services for a total cost of $326,010.88. This item is pending the adoption of fiscal year 2027 budget. Staff Representative Taylor Mottolo, Project Manager Nick Cerikis, Golf Course Superintendent. Recommendation approved.

Move to approve. J1 is read.

Second. Motion and second. Any public comment? Any commission comment?

Yeah, so this, I don't see a hand out there. City Manager, this is coming from the utility fund. This was the pump we moved over. That is correct. Okay, cool. Brad, you're okay with this pump manufacturer? We've used them before.

And then the only other thing is the key word was pending the adoption of the FY27 budget, which is coming up in the next month. Yes, sir.

If I want to interject, Jeremy, I want to thank you for coming up with the idea to redirect that funding through the budget. He has utilities, but it's a basically have fun so that I appreciate that took them out of the city general fund All right all in favor.

All right motion passes 5-0 number two

Okay. Approved task order number one from Sark Architecture LLC in the amount of $257,320 to provide architecture, civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering services for the concept design permitting and construction administration for the new Fire Station 50 to be located at Mobley Park. The design phase is fully budgeted for fiscal year 2027. Staff Representative Brooks Webb, Public Works Director, and Justin Grimes, Fire Chief, recommendation approved.

Moved to approve J2 as read. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any public comment? Any commission comment?

Yeah, just one for, I don't know if it's, is Brooks here? There he is. So do you have a timeline on this, the task order?

Yeah, Mayor Commission, the timeline's actually in the back of the task order. So this design phase is 161 days from the notice to proceed. Construction is 425 days from notice to proceed for construction.

Right, but this is for structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering. Oh, okay. So this is just covering the construction once the design is finalized. Correct.

Yeah, this is the design piece for the fire station.

Okay, so we still have to come before us the construction contract and the timeline for the construction contract. Yes, sir. And then a question for Becky. Back... Ten months ago or so, there was some question about whether the people that had bequeathed that property to be a park were amenable to us using that for a fire station. And you were working that issue. Right. Can you give us the outcome? Because I don't think I ever heard it in the public.

Yes, okay. We were doing that in an abundance of not even so much caution, but to just... goodwill absolutely and they verbally gave us they're okay I got all the documents to them we never got those documents back under Florida law because of the dates when things happened we do not need their written permission we are we are fine with it and I checked with the title company we can get title insurance we're good

Okay, thank you.

Okay.

Wait, wait, wait, wait. I know, I know. I had a question, Mayor. We're going to be on until 642, so I have to. I got you one more question. Get the muzzle, get the muzzle.

Somebody's on draft.

All right, any other commission comment?

We already closed it.

No, I'm not going to let you. No, you're done. Come on, I'm just joking. Come on. I'm just joking.

All right, we're going to make it.

Being that it's a big public green space on the north side, which is the stepchild of Copa Beach, as you all know, is the fire station going to take over the entire park area, the entire green space? Who knows? Does somebody know? Thank you.

We'll let you know to get the design plans.

And I suppose that we could, I don't know if we're going to turn the other one into a park instead or if we're going to sell that property. Yeah, right. All right. Oh, 80 feet. No, just joking.

Okay, so.

Okay. Well, all in favor?

adjourn?

No, we've got to vote. All in favor? Aye. Motion passes 5-0. We are adjourned.