City Council - Regular Meeting

great good morning it is 9 15 a.m it is september 9th 2026 8 and we welcome everyone here today after our wonderful ribbon cutting thank you so much for showing up today we're going to do a roll call okay and next carl we'll do the invocation please

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we call you Father because we are your children. Father, we know that you hear our prayers and that you answer us. Lord, we are two days away from 9-11. Lord, we come to you with heavy hearts as we try to show the proper respect for all the people in our nation. who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and for all those that have lost their lives from illnesses caused by 9-11. We lift up to you all who perished in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. Lord, we pray for their loved ones. Father, we weep with those that weep, and we mourn with those that mourn. Father, comfort the moms, the dads, the children, and the spouses, the family members near and far, their friends and their communities, as only you can, Father. Please help each of us to feel your strong presence in our lives. and guide us and them through these dark moments. In the 250 years of this great nation, 9-11 was a defining moment. We as a nation will never forget. Father, help us to pass this along to future generations. Lord, I pray that you grant us the strength and love to support one another. Lord, we pray for our city council today. Give them the wisdom in the difficult decisions they have to make. And Lord, we pray for every family that is represented in this chamber here today, that you bless them as only you can. It's in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Next is the Pledge of Allegiance. And at every meeting, I do like to recognize our veterans, but I think we should also be recognizing our first responders as well. So every veteran and first responder, please stand up in the room to be recognized. Thank you for your sacrifices and our freedom. Our next meeting is actually gonna be tonight right here at 5.01. It's gonna be our city council budget meeting. So please come. Agenda approval. Anybody have anything? I'm actually going to add one. We missed our proclamation for the MIA POW, so I'm gonna have that added, okay? It's our first proclamation. Jenny, would you read the Patriot Day, please? And Carla will be receiving it.

Remember to press the button.

Carla, come. Whereas in the morning of September 11th, 2001, the American people endured one of the most devastating days in our nation's history when four commercial airplanes were hijacked and used as weapons of terror against the United States of America. And whereas between 8.46 a.m. and 10.03 a.m. on that fateful day, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, United Airlines Flight 175 struck the World Trade Center's South Tower, and American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into the field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, brought down by heroic actions of its passengers to prevent further loss of life. And whereas the attacks of September 11th claimed the lives of 2,977 innocent men, women, and children, including 343 firefighters, 60 law enforcement officers, eight emergency medical technicians, and 55 members of the military. All brave souls who selflessly ran toward danger in service to others. And whereas the tragedy of September 11th united our nation in courage, and compassion, reminding us of the strength and resilience embodied in our American ideals of freedom, liberty, community, and hope. And whereas we join cities and towns across the nation to pay tribute to those civilians, first responders, and military personnel who lost their lives, to honor their memory and the families forever changed by that day, and to reaffirm our promise to never forget, Now, therefore, the City Council of the City of Punta Gorda, Florida does hereby proclaim the 11th day of September, 2026, as Patriot Day and calls upon all residents to observe this day with moments of silence and expressions of remembrance and recommitment to acts of service and kindness to honor the fallen and uphold the spirit of unity that carried our nation through its darkest hour, passed and duly adopted this ninth day of September, 2026. And Carlo Gargiulo is going to say a few things. He was there. Carlo, would you speak for us?

Thank you. Good morning. I want to thank you for this opportunity to tell a quick story about 9-11. I was listening to the radio this morning on my way here, and the message that I have has been hijacked. When we did a service at the Military Heritage Museum a few years back. I was interviewed by some of the news channels, and I told this story. Well, I heard this story this morning on the radio. But I'm going to give you this story. I'm going to give you this story from my perspective and how much it meant to me. In the days of rescue and recovery, I can't tell you how long or what days because everything just blended together. I was down at ground zero for nine months. I was a supervisor with the fire department. I was in a assistant commissioner's office one morning and he told me, someday, someday you're gonna miss these days. I was absolutely horrified that he could say that to me. I kind of spun around and walked out of his office and I can't tell you the words that were mumbling out of my mouth. It was a year and a half later. It was Christmas of 2002. We had gotten together and we started to talk about what we witnessed and what we saw at 9-11. I turned to him and I said, Joe, how could you have said that to me, that someday I'm going to miss these days? Well, with his finger pointing right at me, he says, I want you to think back. Back in those days, there were no whites. There were no blacks. There were no Hispanics. There were no Asians. There were no Republicans. There were no Democrats. We were all Americans. Flags flew everywhere. They were on overpasses. They were on cars. They were outside people's houses. Our churches in the nation were filled. to overflowing. Those days lasted maybe six months.

And I have to say, I do miss those days.

On behalf of this, do you want to say something else?

Well, we had a chaplain with the fire department. His name was Father Michael Judd. His message, and I'm going to say it's really God's message, not his message, was always the same. He would gather us on the apparatus floor or in the kitchen of the firehouse or wherever he could get an audience of us. And his message always was, boys, you want to make God smile? He'd say, tell him what you're doing tomorrow. None of us know if we have a tomorrow. That's why we have to get right with the Lord today. Ironically enough, Father Judd was one of the first people killed from the fire department at 9-11. His message, and I'm going to say it was his message, but it was God's message, that we never know if we have a tomorrow. Everybody that had heard his message shared that message with families, with people, with everyone they met, because it hit home to them of what his message was. And today, I could say I've brought that message to over 5,000 people in the past 25 years. And it's not my message. It's not his message. It's God's message. We never know if we have it tomorrow. Get right with the Lord today. Thank you.

Do you want all the firefighters in the picture with you? Can we have our firefighters join? Got a couple of tough ones today. The next proclamation is actually going to be our MIA POW. So Chuck and family and friends, please come up for this. Thank you. Whereas throughout the history of the United States, brave men and women have answered the call to serve in defense of our nation, placing duty, honor, and country above their own personal safety and comfort. And whereas thousands of American service members became prisoners of war, POW, or a listed missing in action MIA, enduring unimaginable hardship or disappearing without a final farewell, leaving families, friends, and fellow service members with unanswered questions and enduring hope that never fades. And whereas we recognize that behind every name of a POW MIA list is a family member, a friend, a neighbor whose sacrifice forever changed the lives of those who love them and whose absence continues to be felt across generations. And whereas the city of Puente Gorda is proud to be a community that deeply honors the service and sacrifice of our veterans, active duty military personnel, and their families to ensure their stories are never forgotten. And the freedoms we enjoy every day have been preserved by the courage and commitment of those who wore our nation's uniform. and whereas national pow mia day recognition is observed annually on the third friday of september and the southwest area american legion writers will commemorate this solemn observation with the pow mia memorial ride on september 20th 2026 traveling to five veteran memorials throughout Southwest Florida, and concluding at the Vietnam Wall here in our city of Punta Gorda, serving as a visible and heartfelt tribute to those who endured captivity, those who remain unaccounted for, and the families who continue to wait, remember, and honor their loved ones with an unwavering devotion. And whereas the iconic POW MIA flag is a powerful reminder of our nation's promise that you are not forgotten, symbolizing our enduring commitment to account for every missing service member and to stand beside the families whose resilience inspires us all. Now, therefore, the City Council of the City of Punta Gorda, Florida does hereby proclaim the 20th of September, 2026 as National POW MIA Recognition Day. and encourages all residents, businesses, schools, veterans organizations, and visitors to pause in remembrance, display the POW MIA flag with pride, participate in community observances, and honor those who sacrificed so much for the freedoms we cherish. Passed and duly adopted this ninth day of September. Thank you so much. Chuck, you want to say anything?

Yeah, sure.

Good morning. I am Chuck Lowry. I am the Southwest Area Assistant Riders Chairman for District 13 and 8. So Vicki and myself set this up last year and we had a great response last year. We had 80 motorcycles show up and we went to all of our stops and had a beautiful ceremony down the wall. But what this money that we raise off of this does is gives money back to the POWMIA fund which supports teams going back to Vietnam and Laos and places like that and finding the remains of our fallen service members or missing service members. It funds that organization to go over there and actually bring our people back home and give peace to some of the families. If you have nothing to do on the 20th, motorcycles, cars, everything is welcome to fall in. There's going to be a registration at Cape Coral at Post 90, and we're going to probably do another registration here in Port Charlotte at American Legion Post 110. Both of those probably start around 9 o'clock. I'm winging this off the top of my head. So it's pretty close to 9 o'clock, and there'll be flyers around town and stuff like that. If you're interested or come down to the wall, we should be at the wall, I think, at 3 o'clock and just watch the ceremony. It's a really nice ceremony. Thank you.

More information on a lot of this is also in Dr. Reichert's weekly report. Melissa, yes, okay, thank you.

Would anybody like to join me from the American Business Women's Association? Come on up, Mary, I think you're accepting. Anybody else is welcome to come up. It's my honor to do the proclamation. Whereas the American Business Women's Association has been building a tradition based on its continuing efforts to promote the educational and professional advancements of women. And whereas as the United States Senate and House Joint Resolution recognizing September 22nd, As American Business Women's Day was passed in 1983, a proclamation by President Reagan followed the same year. And whereas this special day gives all Americans an opportunity to recognize the contributions made by working women in such as historical, heritage, civic accomplishments, cultural, and intellectual achievements, betterment of business world and communities, and in the development of an informed and responsible citizenry. And whereas September 22nd, 2026, marks the 77th anniversary of the American Business Women's Association. Therefore, the City Council of the City of Punta Gorda does hereby proclaim that the 22nd of September, 2026, as American Business Women's Day. Pass and duly adopted this ninth day of September. And Mary is accepting this. Thank you very much.

On behalf of the Punta Gorda Charter Chapter of American Business Women's Association, I'm honored to accept this proclamation from the city of Punta Gorda. Thank you very much. Also, I would like to say that our outgoing president is now at a convention where she is running for the vice president position of the regional, of the ABWA region. So thank you very much.

Appreciate it.

Okay, next we have our service award.

We'll do the fire service award first.

And that's Carol Anderson. No, I think they were put at that podium. Sorry, chief.

Come on up here and join me bud. Good morning everyone. It is with pleasure and pride that I stand here to recognize Lieutenant Rhett Anderson and congratulate him on his 20 years of distinguished service with the Punta Gorda Fire Department. Rhett currently serves as a Lieutenant Paramedic and is also a long-serving member of our department's highly esteemed Honor Guard. Lieutenant Anderson has a strong history of helping those in need. Prior to joining the fire service, Lieutenant Anderson worked as a licensed respiratory therapist in a hospital setting. Upon joining us, he shared his knowledge and expertise in this field and was instrumental in assisting the department in developing our advanced life support program in 2012. This program continues to benefit the city and the health and safety of our residents each and every day. During his career, Rhett has received numerous accolades and awards, a testament to his professionalism, skills, and ability. Rhett often receives notes of thanks from our residents who are grateful and appreciative he has been there in their time of need. Lieutenant Anderson has proven to be an exceptional leader and continues to improve our department by guiding and training our newest firefighters to ensure the continued success and growth of our department. Something you may not know about Red, he's an avid baseball fan, Rays fan to be exact. He's also characterized by his coworkers as a strong family man. Rhett is such an inspiration to those around him, so much so that one of his sons followed in his footsteps and is working as a firefighter with the city of Northport. Rhett is supported by his wife, Teresa, three sons, and his mother, Ms. Anderson. Thank you for your love and support during Rhett's time away from home. Please help me to congratulate Lieutenant Rhett Anderson on his 20 amazing years with the Punta Gorda Fire Department, and thank you for your dedication and service.

If we could have your mom and Teresa come up.

Dairy Disher?

Good morning, everyone. Gary, if you want to come up here and join me. So Gary and I have known each other for over 20 years. It goes back to when we worked together at Banks Engineering with the great fallout of the land boom then. We both kind of went our own ways, but we always remained in contact. So a little bit about Gary. Gary's beginning with the city of Punta Gorda was a little different than most employees. In 2008, Gary was contracted through his company to project manage the construction of the city's parking garage. He also oversaw several of the build outs and the retail units within the parking garage. And from there, he went on as a consultant to project manage multiple utility projects, the development of the public work campus, the multi-use recreational trail, and he also did two years performing the city seawall assessment program, just to name a few. In 2011, Gary was hired as the canal maintenance supervisor. In that role, he further refined the seawall assessment program, in determining which seawalls were in need of replacement, amongst many other things during his time there. After four years in the Canal Maintenance Division, Gary transferred to the Engineering Division as a Public Works Analyst. He continued to assist Canal Maintenance Division while also putting his vast knowledge and experience to work advancing numerous engineering and public works projects from inception through completion. In 2018, Gary continued his advancement within the engineering division, becoming the manager of mapping, permitting and compliance. During his time in this position, Gary led significant advancements in the use of geo databases to document and manage the city's infrastructure. He assisted with and in many cases completed the design and permitting of numerous projects. More often than not, he continued to project managers all the way through construction. One of the big ones, Buckley Pass, that's one of Things that Gary was instrumental in getting completed. One of the things that's always distinguished Gary is his willingness to take on whatever project is thrown his way, and somehow he always finds a way to get it done. Even now, as a part-time employee, Gary remains instrumental in the city's efforts to secure FEMA funding through arbitration process with FEMA for the city's seawalls. And it shouldn't go without mention that Gary even played a part in the newly remodeled council chambers that we sit in today. For all his hard work and dedication, knowledge, and commitment to the city of Punta Gorda, we are extremely grateful. For the past 15 years, he has helped make the city of Punta Gorda a better place. His contributions have reached virtually every corner of the organization, and his willingness to step up, solve problems, and see projects through has made a lasting difference. On behalf of the city of Punta Gorda, thank you, Gary, for 15 years of dedicated service. Congratulations. Well deserved.

I think family can come up too. Yeah, come on up. And next, we've got employee recognition. Two employees in the Public Works Department, Nate Larrison and Casey Herrington.

Come on up, Nate and Casey. I think this is the highest this goes, just for the record, just so everybody knows. I've been here just over nine months, and we have some pretty amazing employees here. We wanted to recognize Nate and Casey. I'm gonna read it off here, but amazing stories come across our desk all the time, but this one really stood out to me, so. All right. On July 8th, while traveling to a job site, Nate and Casey of the City of Punta Gorda Public Works Engineering Department found themselves in the right place at the right time. While stopped at the traffic light at Cooper Street and the 41, they witnessed an unusual incident. Although traffic was completely stopped at the red light, a vehicle suddenly rolled forward and struck the car in front of it. As both drivers exited their vehicles to assess the situation, it quickly became apparent that something more serious had occurred. The driver of the vehicle that caused the collision began experiencing what appeared to be a medical emergency. Recognizing that every second mattered, Nate immediately called 911. The individual briefly regained consciousness and was able to speak, but moments later suffered another medical episode. Emergency medical services were dispatched and responded to the scene to provide the care that was needed. Following the incident, Ms. Marsano, whose vehicle had been struck, shared her appreciation for Nate and Casey's quick actions. She explained that she and her husband had recently moved to the city of Punta Gorda and said that this act of kindness confirmed why they had chosen this community filled with people who genuinely care about one another. Public Works employees are known for maintaining our streets, parks, infrastructure, and public spaces, but this story is a reminder that their commitment extends beyond their daily responsibilities. Their willingness to step in during an unexpected emergency reflects the compassion, professionalism, and dedication that define the City of Punta Gorda team. We proudly recognize Nate Larson and Casey Harrigan for their quick thinking, calm response, and genuine concern for the well-being of others. Their actions demonstrate that serving our community isn't just a job, it's a commitment to caring for the people who call Punta Gorda home.

Thank you, that's just an awesome story. Okay, next we're gonna go to public input. Those wishing to introduce themselves as nominees for a board or committee may do so at this time. Those who choose to speak must state their name for the record. So this is for a board or committee. Second time for board or committee. One more time, board or committee. Okay, we're gonna move forward. This is regular public input. Anyone wishing to address the council on any matter must state their name for the record. Each person will be allowed to speak up to a maximum of three minutes. And please press the button before you're gonna speak and I'll leave that on, okay? And come up to this podium. You got it, you got it, okay. Push the button.

Garrett Geiger, Punta Gorda, with Gulf Coast Sailing School here in Gilchrist Park. Here with other colleagues that we teach with. I'm a sailing instructor at the school. We are here this year to let you know that thank you for the city for giving us the little storage shed that we operate out of. We are wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-ceiling with all of our equipment. Again, difficult, but this year we had a favorable ceiling session with the boat club helping us get through all this. But we're doing well. Like I said, we're cramped pretty well. So we are here hoping that for a favorable vote on the storage area that we are requesting that we've been working on for two years. We've been operating on that little shed for four years, and it's getting... quite a bit a lot of work. So again, we're asking for 900 square feet. I'm sure you're all aware. I'm just asking for a favorable vote on this so we can expand and make our sailing school more efficient in what we're doing. And that's all we're here for and hopefully we'll get that. Thank you in advance for your approval of that if we're going to get it. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

I think he left that on. Wendy Mueller. Three things. First one, when you look in these screens, the mouths don't match the sound. It's making me crazy. Two things that are kind of bothering me. One is permitting. I have three instances I can give you that I think are ridiculous. One, a historic house that had rotted wood. The permit was turned in in June, and it turns out that it never needed a permit. It only had to go to one department and be accepted, but it took till December for that to take place. That's ridiculous. No communication was made between the permitting office and the person submitting the permit. If they hadn't followed it, they wouldn't know. Another person I met at the water, paying my water bill, and same thing, trying to put a perla up in the back of his yard. The neighbors advised him to not even bother with the permit because it's so ridiculous. Well, it's been a month. and he still can't get through to get a permit to put a pergola up in his backyard. This is ridiculous, the communication and the speed that things are taking. And the third one's the most important to me, because it's a drinking hole that I attended. And they're trying to get back on their feet, and they can't get through permitting. So they've had the money since July, and they still can't start. It's crazy. please do something about expediting, doing something to communicate with these people so they even know why. It's just silly. And the other thing, because I'm here to complain today, so, you know, sorry, is yesterday there was a meeting, well, not a meeting, but a viewing, I guess, of the city's idea on Treview Park. Actually, it's really pretty terrific, and they have a whole lot of ideas about getting grants. However, I wasn't really sure if I had the time right or the place, so I naturally went to our website, the city's website, and the calendar, because that's where all public things should be printed. Anything to do with us, our citizens, should be able to go to one place and see it. Wasn't there. I texted a friend of mine who I thought would be going, and she looked, she says, no, it's not there, because I always check to make sure I'm not the stupid one. A lot of times I am. Please, if you've done such a good job, please, please, please. Improve that. It's nice to have your newsletter weekly. It's great on Friday to see what's going on. All the council people communicate, but that's coming from all different areas. If you're not on Facebook, you don't necessarily know. If you're not on Nextdoor, you don't necessarily know. One place, the city, the government entity is where those should be. Thank you.

Now, Joe Cuomo, Punta Gorda. Item 3C, the golf carts, to continue beating a nearly dead horse. The question is, what are we really seeking to achieve? What is the outcome? What do we want from this thing? And I kind of operate under the philosophy of it's not broken, don't fix it. One thing I look at, and it's slightly different, we've all heard the stories about what it does and what it doesn't do. I live over in Burns Store Isles. I actually live right behind Home Depot and get to look at the Home Depot loading dock every day. But one thing I see every day is a parade of golf cart and golf cart type vehicles. back and forth up and down San Rocco up and down Madrid sometimes all the way to Tripoli because I happen to follow a guy one day with his golf bags as he came down Madrid turned down Tripoli and turned into his house most of these are affiliated with a local country club all of their maintenance vehicles go up and down that road a number of the golf carts personally owned golf carts plus the maroon golf carts from there you can see these golf carts in the public's parking lot in the home depot parking lot everywhere they're getting there somehow and it's both on public streets and on the sidewalks and none of them have license plates so let's not try to enforce a rule somewhere else that we can't enforce right now because what we end up doing is selective enforcement our staff is already over tasked and undermanned to support to enforce what we have now let's not burden them with something else because you're going to have to take somebody away from doing something to enforce things over here so let's just kind of not fix something that's not broke thank you

Do I press anything? Kathleen Davis, Punta Gorda Isles. After all this employee recognition and thanks and so on, kind of everybody in the city is sort of the taxpayers' employees. So I'm one of the taxpayers, and I'd just like to say that I absolutely love this city. I really appreciate everything that you guys are doing. The police 911, the fire, the city council, the city staff, My husband and I absolutely love it here. We love how the city is, all the services that we have. We love all the new things that you guys are doing and the new developments that are happening because they're all in character with the city and they're all going to make our city even more beautiful. And after our fire, we had that wonderful response from the fire and police. And we had such a wonderful response from the neighbors and the friends. We had over 30 people giving us places to live when we were homeless for three and a half months. And we just didn't ask for help. Everybody just showered us with everything. So I went and arranged my funeral and I plan to die here. So guys, I love this place. Thank you.

Niall Siggins, I'm a Punta Gorda resident. I've been here about six years now. And when I first came here, I shortly started to realize that we were being led by a mayor and council that didn't give a hoot about what the people wanted. They were beholden to the developers and the big people that were supporting them. And then I guess about four years ago, and maybe my dates are mixed up, 71% of the vote said we need some change. And then about maybe two years ago, the rest of the people said we need more change. We don't want that old council. We don't want what they did. And now we're under attack. We're under attack by these builders, developers who are putting candidates in for office that are just beholden to them. And that's the last thing that we need. And I will tell you that, you know, you need to open your checkbooks or go online and donate money to Denton and Polk because they're fighting big business here. They want to keep our city small and they want to keep it for us. And if you don't help them, they're going to get overrun by these developers and the people they're putting in. I can't emphasize this enough. They have worked their butts off. I don't need to go over what all the other council did and everything that had to be fixed. You could go to the LDRs. You could go to just about anything. You can look at this council chambers and see how they saved us tens of millions of dollars over what the other council wanted to do and spend our tax money. And all they got to do is flip one of these seats because we can't rely on flip-flop Julian anymore. We don't know where he stands half the time. So we need support. Denton and Polk need all the support that you can give them. Tell your neighbors, tell your friends, get out and vote, do whatever you got to do. Hold up signs, get a bumper sticker for your car, but help them out. The last thing is, I'm not sure about this whole golf cart thing, but my understanding with FDOT is before you can allow golf carts on any public street, you have to have an engineering study done. And I don't know that that was ever done for whatever they're talking about at Red Esplanade. So if you're not going to let golf carts everywhere else, then why should some people have a right and not other people? Thank you.

Good morning, everyone. My name is John Fleming. I'm your new county commissioner for District 2. I wanted to stop by. I wanted to stop by this morning with my wife, Suzanne. I've been going around the county, talking to people, introducing myself. This is actually the second event that I've been to as a county commissioner. The first one was at Mayor Luck's at the airport. What I want to pass along to all of you is that I don't know what your relationship was in the past with the county, but I'm here to tell you that my door will be open for every member of this body, as well as to the residents of Punta Gorda. I was very fortunate in that The city of Punta Gorda came out strongly for me. I got 66% of the vote here. I'm not gonna forget that, okay? There will be a lot of challenges going forward, and I believe that for us as a community, there should be no difference between the city of Punta Gorda and the county of Charlotte. Going forward, whatever problems we have as a county must be looked at, and we also must take into consideration your needs. So going forward, what I would like to express to everyone is your new county commissioner for District 2 will definitely be having an open-door policy, and I look forward in the future to speaking with every one of you. So thank you, and thank you to the residents for supporting me. Good luck.

Thank you, Commissioner.

Okay.

Hi, my name is Melanie. I am the Director and Vice President of Parrot Outreach Society in Punta Gorda. We came here today, yeah. Melanie Abal. We're a nonprofit here in Punta Gorda. We've been operating since 2009. We run a parrot rescue. We currently have about 212 birds seeking homes. We've gone to the county commissioners meeting a lot to ask for help. We are no longer able to afford our rent where we are currently staying. Our rent just increased and it's going up in October to $8,000 with a 7% increase a year and we have to sign a five year contract. we would be paying over $11,000 before the end of our contract. It's not just, it's something we can't afford. We are non-profit, we do not have any staff. There are 36 volunteers at our rescue. Everybody puts in their time, including myself. Eve is our president. I'm vice president of the board of directors. Eve has been with us for 13 years. I took over about six years ago. You know, it's hard work, but it's passionate work, and we do it because we love the animals, but we're now in a crisis. This is us closing and having no idea what we would do with these birds, no idea what we would do with them. County commissioners told us we should euthanize them. We don't want to do that at all. Also, they're protected species, so it's not technically legal to just euthanize them. We want to see if we can be put on the agenda. We want to see if there's any kind of help that we can get from you guys, a building, going somewhere. We can pay rent. We just can't pay $8,000 worth of rent. We've been in Punta Gorda since 2009. You know, one of the biggest things for us is that no one thinks that Punta Gorda or the county has a bird problem. You do. We just take that bird problem. We've rehomed over 1,000 birds in the last two years, which means 1,000 birds have actually entered our facility. We have birds that have nowhere to go, birds that are not adoptable, birds that have disease, birds that can transfer disease to outside parrots. We met with AWOL a couple of weeks ago. They were a great help. We're going to start doing events with them. But that doesn't help our immediate need right now of where we're going to go before our October lease is up and we have to re-sign for five years for something we know we cannot afford. so if anybody knows of a building that's available or if the county could if the city could help us find something we're meeting with the city manager tomorrow the assistant city managers coming to our facility we would really appreciate it thank you

This button here?

No, it's on.

Oh, it's on, okay. Are we started, my three minutes? Okay, first of all, I'd like to say that I do not devalue anything that you folks do. I can't imagine having your job, especially in this small little town. I know it's gotta be so uncomfortable sometimes when 50% of the people probably don't agree with you, 50% do. You're going out in a little town, you're going out to restaurants and things.

Could you please state your name for the record?

What's that?

Could you please state your name for the record? Kurt Havel.

So I appreciate what you do and I do not undervalue it and I hope everybody else in here does as well. We're not always gonna agree on things. But a couple things that we need to agree on is that you guys are our leaders of this city. And we need to do, on March 25th, I had a vested rights presentation at the one hour and 40 minute 41 minute mark, Mayor Lutsch said that we are like judges up here. I agree with that 100%. They as well as me, as well as everybody else in here should tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So I support what you said 100%. I went through my vested rights process. It was a three step process. It took nine months. I got voted 14 out of 14. through the first two. I come in, I give my presentation, I'm super pleased how it went. Mrs. Denton immediately backed me up. She had said quote unquote that at the one hour and 33 minute mark that unique and special situations like mine are why we have vested rights. Greg Julian immediately supported me as well and Melissa Lockhart immediately supported me too. Mrs. Polk had some questions and some statements and as well as Mayor Lux did. My problem is how you present things because I think that sometimes they're a little manipulative and they're deceptive. Jeanine Polk, at one hour 43 minute, one hour 45 minute, one hour 46 minute, you said we are giving these out way too easy. The city is giving these out way too easy. at the one hour 53 minute mark and the one hour 54 minute mark, you said, we are now handing these out like candy. That's a very descriptive way of presenting it. So Monday I had to go in to get my letter. It was not prepared, so I was standing in Rachel's office while she was writing the letter for me. A couple other gentlemen came up and they were congratulating me, and I said, you know, the only thing is, this whole process, I was very, very disappointed how the process went. I felt like my rights were taken from me. And I said, and I did not like how some of the things were said. And I said, I thought that they were manipulative. And I said, you know, when Janine kept saying that they're handing them out like candy on a couple different times, I said that should have had nothing to do with the merits of my case. I should have been judged simply on the merits of my case. It was almost like I felt like she was trying to influence everybody. So I asked them, I said, how many people have got their vested rights so far? I'm thinking it's going to be 10, 15, or 20 people. At that particular point in time, it was one. one single person, so I don't know why it was being described the way it was, and I'm gonna ask you to just tell us exactly what's happening. I know your jobs are hard, I know you guys have personal agendas, every one of you disagree on stuff, but we need to count on you to be our leaders, and you've got to tell us the truth. And I'm gonna refer back to exactly what you said, Mayor Lux, you said that we have to be like judges up here, you actually used the word judge twice, and I support that, but please just say the truth every time.

Samuel, you press the button, please.

Good morning. My name is Samuel Turpening, for the record. And good morning, Mayor and members of the council. I am a resident of Punta Gorda in Charlotte County. I am standing here today because our community faces a real imminent regional threat to our natural resources. And we deserve a proactive public discourse grounded in absolute truth, public safety, and the rule of law. right now regional developers are looking at bringing high consumption hyperscale data centers into our immediate area specifically targeting neighborhood jurisdictions like northport and desoto county the entities pushing these projects want us to believe that because pantagorda doesn't have the land inside city limits to build a hyperscale data center we have no say in the matter but that is fundamentally wrong we live directly on top of our water supply Florida's limestone geography is completely porous, meaning we all share the exact same watershed. A massive multi-million gallon water draw of toxic industrial runoff in a neighborhood county directly impacts the pressure, stability, and safety of Punta Gorda's drinking supply and municipal wellfields. Fortunately, we do not need to wait for a developer to file a permit here to protect ourselves. Under Florida Senate Bill 484, which went into effect this summer , local governments have been handed permanent explicit statutory authority to control comprehensive planning and land use rules regarding these massive utility users. More importantly, SB 484 legally bars water management districts from issuing water allocation permits if a project harms local water resources or violates the local government's comprehensive plan. Therefore, I am urging this Council to utilize the immediate power of Senate Bill 484 to write Parliament well-filled and aquifer recharge basin protection ordinances directly into our municipal land codes. By codifying strict watershed protection rights now, we create a regional defensive shield. We force outside developers to prove to the City of Punta Gorda and our engineering staff that the regional projects will not deplete our water before they can get a single permit approved anywhere near our basin. Let's act with true administrative integrity, look out for our local families, and pass the ordinances necessary to protect our community's water. And I've provided you with a copy of the ordinance. You can please have your lawyer look at that. And I certainly appreciate your time, and this is the time to protect the water in Punta Gorda and throughout Florida. Thank you very much, and God bless each and every one of you.

You know, it's pretty amazing. Good morning, everybody. Tim Ritchie, Citizen Water Czar, founder and president of March Against Mosaic. Absolutely spectacular, Sam Terpening. So what I'd like to do right now is I'd like to see this put up for motion. I'd like to see a second right now. Not only on what Mr. Terpening has presented, but Colonel, I'd like to go back and you can put this up for motion. I'd like Ms. Jeanine or the mayor to do the second. And I want to get back to banning phosphate mining in the city of Punta Gorda. Because we're not done saving this river. And what Sam has presented to all of you today is another solution to a massive problem. I am so proud of Sam. Matter of fact, I'm really proud of myself too. You know what it is to be at a meeting till two in the morning, city attorney? You know what it is to lace your boots up and get back there and stay for another meeting till 10 p.m.? Do you know what it is to actually go out daily? Because my tour of duty is coming up by nine years. I'm a soldier of Christ. I am your citizen, Waters are, and let me tell you something. The work that we've been doing in DeSoto, in the city of Northport, for every one of you, every one of your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren, your great-great-grandchildren, men like Sam Turpening and men like Tim Ritchie. We're the men that make this country great. We're the leadership. We are the voice of our community. And I really want to see it put up, I want the second to put this ordinance he created in effect, and I want the ordinance banning phosphate mining. And then what I want us all to start focusing on is my closed loop system I posted about for mosaic phosphate mining. And I am going to give you the letter you asked me to finish and give it to you, Mayor. And this is the most important thing we have. Thank you, all of you.

Anyone else wishing to speak? Second time. OK, we're going to go ahead and close public input. OK. John press button.

Moving on to 3a quasi-judicial If there is anybody who is wanting to speak on this particular topic, can you please stand up and be sworn in We got one over here Anybody else? All right Do you guys swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I no a request by daniel c cranny if i'm saying that correctly cr c-r-a-n-n-i-e of cranny signs inc dba signs by cranny as applicant and authorized agent on behalf of wmg acquisitions llc property owner for a variance pursuant to Chapter 26, Section 16.10 Punta Gorda Code, from the wall sign location requirements of Chapter 26, Section 11.11, parens O, Punta Gorda Code, to allow a wall sign above the public entrance on the side of the building facing inward toward the existing commercial plaza at 10021 Burnt Store Road, Punta Gorda, Florida, 33950.

Hi, I'm Tori Jones.

Wait, I think we're gonna have a presentation by staff and then, oh, I'm sorry. Okay, no, no, no, that's fine.

Good morning, council. Rachel Berry, zoning official for the record. So as was read into the record, this agenda item is 3A, application number V-02-2026. I don't know if the presentation can be shown. There we go. All right. So the property address is 10021 Burnt Store Road. There is a new dental office that is under construction, which was approved under a separate development permit application. So for some background information, that application was DRC 10 2024. The address was already mentioned. It's located in the same plaza where the Home Depot is located. and the property is zoned highway commercial. The land development regulations require eight approval criteria in order for a variance to be granted. There has to be a special circumstance and so analysis of the applicant's information and the application show the commercial plaza is non-conforming and access to the subject site is most readily available through the internal circulation system. And so with the code requiring the sign to face the roadway, but the building faces interior towards the interior circulation. The undue hardship, the code was changed after the original site plan was approved. And regardless of the current orientation, the code would not allow the placement of the sign above the customer entrance. The third criteria is that that hardship is not generally shared by others. And other recent commercial projects that have been approved do not have the same site-specific characteristics. Fourth criteria is that it would not be incompatible or injurious to surrounding areas and the placement of a wall sign above an entrance is not injurious. The request would not be incompatible with surrounding businesses as others have signs that are much larger than is being requested here. The fifth criteria is that it is the minimum modification required. The applicant provided additional details in August confirming that the proposed size, which is 3 feet 4 inches by 15 feet 10 and a half inches, is the minimum necessary due to the building's distance from the primary entrance. Criteria number six is that this special condition is not created by the owner. And again, the original development was approved before this current version of land development regulations was reinstated. Number seven is that it does not involve a prohibited use, which is correct. Signs are permitted and the variance request is only for the location of the sign. and consistency with the comprehensive plan under the future land use element goal 1.1 and policy 1.1.13.11 both support the request. So in summary, all of the approval criteria have been met and staff recommends approval. The application was heard, I'm sorry. was heard before the Board of Zoning Appeals on Monday, August 24, where they all recommended unanimous approval. And staff does recommend a condition of approval that the applicant obtain required permits within three months of the approval of this variance and have the work completed within six months of the approval of this variance. And so unless you have any other questions for me, we've got the applicant here as well.

Are there any questions?

Please state your name again if you want to speak. I'm Tori Jones with Signs by Craney. And I'm here to answer any questions you have on that, if you have any.

I don't have a question, but I have a comment. I don't know if anybody else has been into this office. It's two female dentists. And it's a beautiful office that they've placed there. So it's pretty cool. It's kind of close to me and my heart of what I've done for a living. So I just want to say thank you. OK, well, if we have no questions, we're going to open up to public comment then.

Oh, you had a question? I'm sorry. Hang on. So the purpose of this sign, just to make sure everybody understands and I understand, is for your customers to be able to see your entrance from the parking area.

Yes. Melissa, did you have anything? OK. We're all still learning the system here. So OK, now we'll open up for public comment. Again, anybody want to talk on this? I guess we've only had the two, but we could always swear somebody else in. I need somebody to close it. There we go. Move to close public hearing. We have a motion and a second to close public comment. All in favor, raise your hand, please. Okay, all five have raised their hands. Opposed? Motion carries. Okay, do we have any discussion here? If not, can we have a motion?

Move to approve.

And that is with the condition recommended by staff.

Move to approve 3A with the condition recommended by staff.

Hang on. Sorry. Second. We have a motion and a second on the floor. All in favor, please raise your hand. That's five raises. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you so much. Okay. Next on the agenda, Mr. Leskovich.

Going on to 3B, legislative GA-05-2026, an ordinance of the city council, the city of Punta Gorda, Florida, amending Punta Gorda code chapter 10, yard waste, solid waste, Article 2, solid waste, amending section 10-11, increasing the monthly fee for removal of solid waste and yard waste, providing for conflict and severability, and providing an effective date. And this is the first reading.

Good morning. Kristen Simeone, finance director. As we had discussed during the budget process, The sanitation fund would require a rate increase to again continuing twice a week service as well as the normal operations for yard waste and recycling. As part of that, the rate increase was expected to go up $1.50 and it's being split $1.30 for refuse and then 20 cents for yard waste on residential units. The overall increase for non-residential customers is approximately 9%. The proposed rates are scheduled to become effective October 1, 2026.

Do you have any questions? Okay. This is open to public. So we're open to public comments on second time public comments. Okay, move to close public hearing. Wait, okay, we have a motion a second on the floor to close public hearing. Okay, any discussion? Can we get a motion?

Motion to approve 3B. Second.

OK, we have a motion and a second to approve 3B. All in favor, please raise your hand. All five raised their hand. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you.

Wait a second, Steve. Just a thought. I noticed with the commissioners, what they do is the chair will say, does anybody oppose the motion? Motion carries. It might be easier than all of us having to raise our hand. I just didn't know. Just trying to throw something out that if you say, does anybody oppose the motion and there's no opposition, then maybe that's easier.

I think Sarah wants to see physical with raising the hand so when she looks at records and everything, she can see it.

You have to put Sarah on.

Sorry. There is not a requirement for you to raise your hands physically. That was one of the things we were trying while we were working out the kinks and trying to, because I can't see as well. So we were hoping I could see. But if we can get a verbal, that's acceptable.

3C Legislative, GA-04-2026. An ordinance of the City of Punta Gorda, Florida, amending chapter 23, traffic, article one of the Punta Gorda Code of Ordinances to revise regulations governing the operation of golf carts on city streets and rights of way, amending section 23-7, motorized vehicles prohibited on Tidal Creek Bridge on West Retta Esplanade, exceptions, amending section 23-8, golf carts permitted on West Retta Esplanade, and providing for conflicts, severability, codification, Scrivener's errors, and an effective date. And this is the second reading.

Hello. Carl Bench, Urban Design. Really, we're just bringing forward everything from the previous readings. This is the second reading for approval, and just waiting to see direction.

Any questions?

Yeah, yesterday I acknowledged that I was confused in the last council meeting on the language changes in that ordinance. And I looked into it since then and discovered that on the intersections immediately coming out of Fisherman's Village, Marion and Maud and Olympia and Maud in the last five years have been 95 accidents. I think it's a bad idea to unnecessarily force golf carts out there when, in the same period of time, there have been no incidents on the Tidal Bridge. And I am opposed to the changes in the ordinance.

I think part of the conversation was the liability for the city, if that's correct, Mr. Leskovich. And I guess the question would be, is there a way to negate that? Because obviously we don't want liability for the city. what we're here to do. But I know we also have liability everywhere else. So is there a way to negate that liability? Or is it just like what we said before? I mean, I was a little confused at first as well, because I was under the impression it was just unlicensed golf carts that weren't street legal. This is going to not allow any golf carts legal or not. And then I guess the second question I would have is, you know, how are we now going to enforce this? And are we enforcing that in other areas of the cities because we don't want selective enforcement? So I guess those are my questions.

There could be liability. in terms of the bridge itself. For example, if the golf cart's going across and there's a pedestrian walking and the golf cart hits the pedestrian, could be potentially liability on behalf of the city or towards the city. in terms of if the golf cart is on the roadway with the streets that Councilman Julian just mentioned, that is kind of up for grabs. I mean, if it's a car accident where you run into my car, the liability is going to go between the two of us. But if they can say that it was caused by the city, which could go back to potentially this particular resolution, that's gonna have to be something that's actually determined by the courts. I think it would be hard, but there is that possibility for that liability as well.

So I look deeply into this, too, because I'm the one who kind of brought up the liability. But it was because we were discussing golf carts, if you remember, and we all had discussed that I thought that they are not allowed to be on the streets at all. I mean, that was my impression, unless the city allows them on a certain street. That's why we have this ordinance. If that's not true, then I'm understanding from Chief Smith that it's the bridge that's the issue. It's just the bridge. So I looked back and one of the newspapers had written in 2019, they wrote, in 1979, the city council voted to close the bridge. In 1980, they voted to reopen it as an alternate access way to Fisherman's Village. In 1990, they discussed adding barriers because neighbors and motor vehicles were still using the pathway. In 2009, the use of golf carts were discussed only for special events. The city attorney at the time advised that the city could suspend enforcement of the non-motor vehicle use of the bridge for special events. Then in 2011, so I'm going on and on, I'm sorry, but there's been a lot of changes. In 2011, the city council approved an ordinance rewriting the city code, which reestablished preventing motorized vehicles crossing the Tidal Creek Bridge, except for authorized emergency vehicles. And then it was 2019 where they allowed it to happen again. But there was a lot of backlash about it being an issue, mainly because we have that path that we invite people to walk on and pedestrians to walk on. You know, the only thing I can think of, and Mr. Leskovich, you can chime in here, but one of the things that maybe we need to do is just have Fisherman's Village do this because they're the ones who want to use the golf carts. So how about if they put up some sort of railing, a protective railing across the bridge? I think the bridge is the only issue here, if I'm not mistaken. put up an area for pedestrians to walk or for bicyclists to walk, and they would need to put up some sort of railing to protect them from any golf carts that could run into them. And then also, I believe, I'm sorry, but I believe that any business using it should be paying for anything that goes wrong with that bridge because they have the advantage of using it. So there are ways to rectify the situation. This has been going on for years. And so that's really the end of my statement, my concerns. Thanks.

yeah and i and i don't disagree i think i think the problem with that would be is i'm sure fisherman's village probably isn't the only one that use it probably some other people with their golf cart so and yes you're right it's just a bridge because realistically if you have a street legal golf cart you can be on any other part except for that bridge i think it's considered you know pedestrian like a sidewalk you can't have a golf cart on a sidewalk so yeah i mean unfortunately with this if we can't negate liability and we don't know exactly who's using that bridge, then really the only thing to do is just get rid of it. So then what would happen is that, you know, whether it be Fisherman's Village or any other residents, they just, if they have a street legal golf cart, then they'll just be, they will be on Marion. I don't know if that's going to create a lot more, you know, traffic or not, but that's not for us to say because the state says if you have a street legal golf cart, you can be on those streets. So.

So to kind of answer both of your questions here is one way to significantly reduce liability would be, for example, and I don't know how wide the bridge is, but let's say it's currently six feet wide. Let's say it was expanded to be 10 feet wide and there was some kind of railing or fence that went on the six foot mark where the golf cart could travel on one side and pedestrians on the other side. That way at least you're keeping separate. So if in the event the golf cart and the pedestrian are on the bridge at the same time, there's at least a barrier in between the two. However, you know, then it's going to be who's going to be responsible for maintaining that. Is it going to be the city? Because if the city's maintaining it, city's going to maintain the liability. So then there's a lot of other issues that come about with it as well.

I want to reiterate that in the last five years, There have been 95 accidents on those two intersections, 60 plus on Maude and Marion, and the balance of them on Olympia and Maude. Whereas in the same period of time, there have been no incidents on the Tidal Bridge. I don't think we need to fix something that's not broken. Most of the golf cart drivers will wait until the pedestrians clear the bridge. There just haven't been any incidents. And I think it's a bad idea to force them out onto the roads unnecessarily, and it's a bad look for this council.

Well, the first thing they're going to say in a court of law is, well, it was reasonably foreseeable. And the very fact that we're discussing this on the record could be used against us. So that is now a concern of mine. And I, you know, I don't know how to rectify this other than make Fisherman's Village, pay for the bridge, any fixings, and certainly the railing that could separate the pedestrians from the golf carts.

One thing the city wants to do is certainly reduce the amount of liability exposure that you could have. So Councilman Julian, I agree with you. I don't know what the statistics are, but I'm hearing 90 or 95 accidents. Perhaps, you know, you could put up a yield sign like we see on an on-ramp or an off-ramp. You know, a car or a golf cart has to yield to a pedestrian. You know, have a yield ramp on both sides of it. That's certainly going to put the golf cart operator on notice that they have to yield any kind of pedestrian because we see it at crosswalks, you know, like on beaches and stuff where you have to yield to the pedestrian. That's one way to help reduce your liability as well.

Well, I think, again, like Councilmember Polk said, you know, we're talking about it, so, you know, it's on record. So I think, you know, just like what she just went over, the history of this bridge, it doesn't mean whatever we do today won't be changed or could be changed down the road if we come up with a good alternative, like you're mentioning, right? So I have no problem with, you know, putting this into effect now, knowing that if there was, you know, Fisherman's Village wanted to come with it to us or whatever the case is, that we could always come up with a different Avenue. But right now, I think we need to limit the liability. And this is the only way I see. And that's why I've saved.

Go ahead. need so just to further remind us all that you know we've always been told there are two or three a day it's not like there's a lot of traffic there in fact the mayor Matthews at the time says we are not using these golf carts as an exclusive means of getting back and forth But we all know that the goal for the Military Heritage Museum eventually, I mean, it's no secret, they're going to do something with that building. And there will be a lot more traffic. So let's just say we keep it the way it is. And the traffic increases. There's more parking there. They would like to be able to use golf carts to move people back and forth, which makes sense, right? But then that's increasing the liability on us. So that's something to look at in the future, too. If we go with not getting rid of this old ordinance, then It was under the auspices when it was agreed to that one or two or three people go across there a day. But I don't think that that's going to be in the future the same kind of traffic. I think it's going to increase exponentially from the discussions that I've had with the owners of both the Military Heritage Museum and the Fisherman's Village. They clearly stated that they would like to use golf carts, and that's fine, it's just we need to understand that means the likelihood is going to be much higher than just one, two, or three people a day.

So, I move to approve 3C, which means we will not That's what we wanted to do, approve it, because I agree with you, Melissa. We want to protect the city. So I move to approve 3C. Second.

Okay, we have a motion and a second to approve 3C. Anybody oppose it? Aye. Okay, so we have one opposed. Everybody else approves it. So it's four to one. One saying no is Mr. Julian. Is that what you're thinking, Melissa? Yeah, I think so. Okay.

Sorry. I know, yeah, all he does is says, you know, do we have any opposition to the motion, if that's the case, and it passes 4-1 or whatever it is, yep. I think it just, it makes it easier.

Are you next again? Oh, yeah, ordinances and resolutions.

Moving on to 4A. Resolution of the City Council of the City of Punta Gorda, Florida, authorizing the City Manager to accept, execute, and administer the federally funded 2025 Community Forestry Hurricane Ian Recovery Grant Program contract with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, FDACS, parens number 34278 to plant 125 native wind and salt tolerant trees and restore the tree canopy in the amount of $69,283, recognizing a local match of $23,094, authorizing the appropriate budget amendments providing for conflicts and providing for an effective date.

Let's press the button.

Good afternoon. Rick Lemkuhl, grants coordinator. So this is a second iteration of a grant from FDACS. The first one was through a different funding source. This is the last funding source available through Hurricane Ian Recovery. So this was opening up a larger pot of money for tree recovery, and this was up to about $75,000. Once again, we do have a local match of in-kind services from volunteers for a total of 3,400. So between the two grants and 225 trees, we've got 6,800 in-kind volunteer hours for dollars. And so we're just asking you to approve this and move forward in planting the trees. And we've got one year to plant all those trees.

I think it's great. If there's no discussion, I'll move to approve 4A.

I'll second that motion.

OK, anybody oppose this? Sorry, I'm just trying to catch this. OK, nobody opposes it, so we move in favor of 4A.

4B, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Punta Gorda, Florida, amending resolution number 3862-2025, water and wastewater monthly rates, fees, and charges, section 17-5-3, and providing an effective date.

Kristen Simeone, finance director. Again, as part of our budget meetings and July 8, we had discussed the utilities fund in conjunction with the utility advisory board as well providing recommendations to move forward with the rate increase of 12% by the rate and sufficiency study for water and wastewater monthly rates, fees and charges again to meet the fiscal obligations and infrastructure needs of the utility. Any questions?

Does anybody have any questions for her? I thank you for sending the email yesterday. I think it really clarified a lot of stuff for all of us on the need and the study, so appreciate that.

No problem.

So with that, does any, oh, wait one second.

Well, and I was just going to reiterate what you said in pre-agenda for the record that, you know, we are still as a city looking for those grants and different things that we can do to lower it in the future. But this was a study that was done and this is just what the numbers show. So this is no, by no means something that's going to be a definitive moving forward after this vote. So if there's no further discussion, I will move to approve 4B.

I'll second that. OK, we have a motion and a second. Anybody oppose it? I see no one oppose it. Motion carries. Thank you.

4C, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Punta Gorda, Florida, accepting a bill of sale, release of liens, affidavit of no liens from Peace River Community Housing Partners, Inc., a warranty from HONC Industries, Inc., for water and wastewater facilities at the development located at 6269 Scott Street, providing for conflicts and severability and providing an effective date.

Good morning, Tom Spencer, Utilities Director for the record. This is the product of the subject to sewer grant that we worked with PORCH to allow them to extend the sewer line from Lavilla down to Scott Street, enabling them to have service there and everything is complete and ready for turnover. Do you have any questions?

Oh, Jenny, I'm sorry, I just shut you off. No, go ahead. Oh, wait, you have to shut off.

Okay. Yes, this is the Veterans Triplex that is, I drive by it every now and then. Moving along, it's beautiful. And I'm so glad that the city partnered with Porch to do this. So I'm in favor of approving 4C. And I know that Lockhart wants to say something, so I'll, okay. Okay, if nobody wants to discuss anything on this, I move to approve 4C. I second. I was preempting.

Okay, does anybody oppose this? No opposition, motion is granted. Thank you, thank you for that.

4D, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Punta Gorda, Florida amending the budget for fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025 by providing for supplemental appropriations in the amounts identified in Exhibit A and providing an effective date.

Kristen Simeone, finance director. These are appropriations for grant revenue and donations and the associated expenditures for the FEMA Watershed Master Plan grant, the two USDA grants for restoring urban tree canopy, and the Suncoast Remake Learning Contribution for community engagement. So again, these were items that were previously approved by council. We're just updating the budget.

Any questions? No discussion, I will move to approve 4D.

Second that motion.

Okay, anybody in opposition? No opposition, motion carries, thank you.

For E, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Punta Gorda, Florida, reaffirming transparency and conflict of interest requirements, establishing a process for review of private non-disclosure and confidentiality obligations that may affect municipal duties, providing safeguards, and providing an effective date. This is something that had been brought to my attention here over the last roughly month and it was brought to our attention again at the last meeting. in speaking with other city attorneys and county attorneys throughout the state. Issues like these are becoming more prevalent. It's really becoming more prevalent because of the data center issues that there are some members, there are some elected officials who are somehow involved with and or engaged in data center property. I'm not saying that either one of, or none of you five are, but it's to help provide a process that if a known conflict of interest or nondisclosure agreement is out there, it should be looked at ahead of time, looked at prior to anybody's vote to see if we're able to rectify a problem. I took possible, or I took resolutions from other city governments and county governments, kind of drafted this one the way it is here. for your guys' consideration.

Did you add in camera as requested by the mayor on Monday?

It can be added. I did not include it in this particular one because it was already drafted in there. So an in-camera review is, let's say for example, there's a conflict that you may have. You may not think it's a conflict, whoever the city attorney is may believe there is a conflict. So before a vote could happen, a petition in court would have to be filed asking a judge to review the possible conflict, whether it's by way of a non-disclosure agreement or a conflict to see if it's in violation of or in compliance with Florida statutes. It can certainly be added in there. It's one more hurdle to overcome if there's a dispute on whether there is a conflict when it comes to voting, but having an in-camera review of documentations, especially if you're subjected to a non-disclosure agreement, and I'll use you, Mayor, as the example. Let's say you have an NDA out there, and you may say, I can't disclose why I can't vote on this, but I can tell you I can't vote, or I'm going to vote. then the city attorney can file a petition into the circuit court asking for a review in camera. It just delays and prolongs the process and the vote on that particular matter that's coming up before you guys.

Yeah, and I think Ms. Denton had actually asked yesterday pre-agenda, what does the protocol look like on this? Like how does something like this work since it's kind of new to us?

So it's not that the protocol is new because the statute already calls for if you have a conflict of interest, you are to bring it to the public's attention and put on the record why you can't vote or why you have a conflict but you're still able to vote because you can still have an impartial view and have an impartial vote. So what it's doing is that it's codifying what the statute says into a resolution to develop a process that if there is a possible conflict that could be resolved ahead of time you still and that's and that's why that it still has the statutes in there because you still have to apply and still comply with the statutory provisions but now that we're having quite a few elected officials around the state who are subjected to non-disclosure agreements that's really where the problem comes in It's not so much hey I have a conflict because I'm a realtor and this property is subjected to it. So it's kind of developing a process to develop the review ahead of time as opposed to after the fact when it becomes known.

So you said known or unknown conflict. Describe what you mean by unknown is that what if it's known by the individual but not everyone else, and so how does, it's on them to be transparent and reveal that there is a conflict, correct?

Correct, so if you have a known conflict regarding item whatever, you know, 4E, you are to disclose to the council, I have a conflict, and here's why I can't vote on this matter. Or you have to say, I have a conflict, a possible conflict, but I believe I can still in my judgment vote on this matter. So it's establishing the procedure ahead of time. Now, an unknown conflict can come in with a family member who may have an interest in a piece of property. And I'm using property as the example. It could be a relative has some kind of interest. Could be someone who you know that as discussions come about during your discussions here, something may come up. Oh crap, I have a conflict of interest and I have to disclose it. So unknown may not be known. ahead of time, it could come up during it. So we still have to figure out a process of how to deal with it.

All right, that's helpful.

i still like you know you're saying that it might delay it but i still think we're being you know dot in our eyes and crossing our t's to look into it so i still think in camera should be on here i just think that if there is a conflict we don't want to vote on it anyhow we want to get it cleared up so i still would like in camera i think the other thing that i did ask for is sometimes we have our statutes on here, but we haven't read them, or somebody hasn't read them, and they're like, oh, I didn't know that it also included a relative, you know, finances. So I think it's just nice for us to have it clearly stated on here so everybody really knows, oh, wow, this is what the statute says, and this is what I'm gonna abide by.

Melissa? I mean, we're on camera anyway, so what's the difference? You know what I mean? So yeah, might as well add it. I have no problem with that.

Stephen?

So what I'm understanding is looking at, for example, Section 2 on this resolution. It lists Florida statutes 112.3143 and 286.012. Underneath that, but still under Section 2, you would like to have displayed in here the language of those statutes?

Yes, sir.

OK. So you're not asking to change the substance, you're just asking that if the public ends up reviewing this, they're able to see the statute information content right there in the resolution.

Correct.

Okay.

And then to have the in-camera review added.

You can certainly add the in-camera review as well. It would go under section four is where it would go.

Anything else? Okay. Janice? Can I move to approve it with those provisions, those additions? Then I move to approve resolution 2026.

Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Anybody oppose this? No. Okay, no one opposes. Motion carries, thank you. Next is a consent agenda. Anybody want to pull anything off of the consent agenda? If no, can I get a motion? If no pulling, I'll move to approve consent. I'll second. Okay, we have a motion and a second to approve it. Anybody oppose it? No. Motion carries, no opposition. Do we need a break? Are we still good? Are we good? Okay, we're gonna keep on pushing on then. Next is our regular agenda. The first thing on the list is Learn to Sail. Carly, press the button, please.

Good morning, Carl Benj, Urban Design. Yes, we are here to discuss Learn to Sail Incorporated, their lease agreement. It's important to keep in mind they currently do have a lease agreement with the city. It was issued January 24th, 2022. It's good for 10 years and expires January 23rd, 2032. So keep that in mind as we move forward. This is more of an amendment to an existing land lease. So this was brought on by the Bayfront redevelopment. Staff has worked with Learn to Sail the whole time in discussion, so these two projects are totally separate from each other. The approval of this project does not affect anything that Bayfront will do, whether we keep it the same size or reduce it, there's plenty of room. Staff designed Bayfront assuming that this was going to be approved, so there's plenty of room and there should be no effect. So this is the current agreement. The current agreement lease, like I said, is 10 years. The rental amount is currently $1 a year. The amendment comes in the proposed boat storage size, which is a little over 900 square feet. So this comes from the existing lease. The current lease mentions a 282 square foot plastic floating dock and vessel platform. This is owned and operated by Learn to Sail. Then there's the upland area, and this area contains the refuse container upland lease area and the boat storage area. That would be the red and blue. The area in green is already part of their lease, their current existing lease. The red and blue isn't mentioned in the existing lease, so we did add those two areas as part of the new lease. So this is where we get to the change. This is the proposed difference. Councilwoman Denton, you asked yesterday about a layout of Bayfront. It's here on the left. That's the approved layout with the restroom. Over to the left, the pavilion. The yellow is the proposed storage that Learn to Sail is wanting to do. As you can see, there's no structures around it. It doesn't interfere with anything. Like I said, staff planned to have that there. So we kind of made it part of the project. And as part of the lease, we are, if this is approved, we are requiring Learn to Sail to landscape it so that the fence that's being proposed will be blocked. And really with that, it's really a discussion between council and Learn to Sail. Learn to Sail representatives are here today. So we can flush this out and move forward. If you have any questions, I'm here to answer them.

I went to visit the site on Monday and met with the Learn to Sail people. They're doing a great work there, and it's a really nice addition to our community. I know it's been around a long time, but one thing I asked, well, I wanted to check that it wasn't blocking any beautiful views of sunsets and things like that from the pavilion, and it's not. So it's kind of tucked away a little bit there. And I also asked about maintenance, because we don't want any more maintenance jobs for our city. So they are going to take care of whatever vegetation they put up and the fencing and that sort of thing. So I'm fine with this. I think it's, as far as the 900 square feet, give or take, it doesn't, I don't think it makes much difference because it's kind of an area that can't really be used by much else. So that's all I have to say.

My question, I think I said at the pre-agenda, it looked like according to this, and I think it was my misunderstanding when he had all this highlighted in green, it almost seemed like that was learned to sales, but it is public parking. So you just kind of had it as a display there. So, and then is it that this whole doc was built and bought by learn to sale? That's pretty impressive. So, um, And then I know that the city does the dredging in the area and everything. Is there room for anybody else to come in there and bring a dinghy or anything?

So the original lease that we were kind of modifying makes mention of a south area dock. Let me... So the south area dock would be, well, if it was up screen, we have the pylons there, but if you see that to the south where those pylons are, that was a concrete dock that was operated by the city that was destroyed during the hurricanes. So we did remove any verbiage that that had that because it did say that once that was redone, they would be willing wanting to expand their services. So right now it doesn't exist. If we left it as is, we could theoretically in the future, somebody could come in. But I believe Learn to Sail would prefer to have the ability to expand.

But where's the public? You know, I think that we still have to have areas for public to come into that area.

And that would be my only concern. And that would be up to council. Absolutely.

One more question. Mr. Leskovich, is there anything that you saw with this that we need to be concerned with? Greg, I'm going to put everybody off. Greg, I'm going to put you off too. Wait, I can't. Greg, please shut yourself off. Thank you. Jenny, shut yourself off. Okay.

So this lease was... This proposed lease agreement was presented to me on July 27th, and at that time I did not give legal blessing to it because I had some concerns with the way the lease was written. First you have to consider the public purpose doctrine, the legal public purpose doctrine. Now I know that they have a lease from 2022 as well, And so first you have to consider the public purpose doctrine, which is, does this serve a legitimate public purpose that can benefit all of Punta Gorda residents? So if, for example, the parking lot is going to be restricted to only learn to sail patrons, then it's not serving a legitimate public purpose and you could have a problem in courts. So I had a concern with that. I had a concern, secondly, with although their first lease, I believe, was 2022, that was for a period of 10 years. This one did not say... how long it did say what it does say for 10 years but is this 10 years in addition to the 10 years that they already have are they running concurrently or is this one going to expire roughly four years after the first lease so if you're going to approve this particular lease, you know, my suggestion would be is that it terminates on the same date as the other one as well. So then we have two leases terminating at the same time and you don't have one lease terminating in 2032 and then this small section, I think it was red and green, that are terminating in 2036. So you want to make sure that the dates are lining up together as well. Their first lease said $1 for 10 years, the one that was currently in 2022. This one says as well, although the amount is nominal, You know, are they going to be paying a nominal amount of $1 from the 22 lease and $1 for this lease here for a total of $2? I mean, it's still a nominal amount, but I have to bring it to your attention because there's inconsistencies between the two particular leases. But the biggest question I think you guys need to rectify first is, does it serve a legitimate public purpose And that's the question that you guys have to answer. But those were my concerns initially when I saw this come through on July 27th of this year.

Greg?

Yes, I just wanted to clarify, isn't the original dinghy dock that was destroyed or damaged in Ian going back into that south area eventually?

but that's a public dingy doc ramp correct it's me so I just want to say I apologize so staff left the dates and the amount that was up to council to debate that's why they're they haven't been changed so it was up to your guys discussion those things would be changed when the new lease was approved

I agree that it should go to 2032 and that they should be joined to the timeframe. The dinghy dock's very important because it's for public use for mariners who come in, anchor, and they want to go ashore and they want to walk over to Fisherman's Village or any of our other beautiful restaurants and shops and everything. So the dinghy dock needs to be restored and I hope we're not going to wait on FEMA for that. I've been asking about it for a number of years now. The ramp is fine, and I believe one of the floats is usable. It doesn't have to be huge to let people come in and get to shore. So I would like to see that restored. I can't see it, Learn to Sail can use it, but they can't monopolize it, in my opinion. It needs to be available for the public.

And we haven't seen, is this a submerged land lease that we have? I mean, obviously we have use of the submerged lands, but it's not. Okay, so explain how that works. And I know if the DEP originally approved it, it was under some sort of stipulation. It would have to be, and I would imagine, I'm just guessing, that it would be for public use.

Good morning. Ron Everts, Public Works. I am not 100% sure about the status of that tract if it does have a submerged land lease. That is information I can get to you, but I don't know that right now.

I apologize. The tract may have a submerged land lease, but this lease does not include any submerged land. I apologize.

Okay, no, I think it would be important just to look at it and make sure that we're not just giving exclusive, and I don't think that's what they're asking for, you know, use of that area. I just want to make sure that we know it should be open to all to use, as it always has been. So just making sure.

Wait, do you need to answer that, Steve? Okay, will you press? Do you need to go out?

So this lease agreement that is proposed to you guys in the second whereas references November 26, 2019, the city received a letter of permission from the US Army Corps of Engineers to install the 282 foot square foot plastic floating dock. And it references the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. So if I'm hearing correctly, if the land lease predates, because this predates the first contract, or the most recent contract of 2022, but this particular lease agreement that you're being asked to consider now, does not necessarily utilize the land lease or submerged land lease, there's no reason for it to be referenced at all in this contract. But because it's referenced in here, I would tend to agree with you, Councilwoman Polk, that you should be seeing how the land lease, the submerged land lease, could potentially affect the uplands if it does. So it raises a fourth concern, but the other three can be rectified. It's all left up to your guys' consideration now.

So if it didn't reference the submerged land lease, it would be simpler, more clear. And then the other thing is that so the yeah back to the dinghy dock i'd like to hear from ron if there's a plan for restoring it also when i went down to speak with them they do adult classes as well i don't know you know how you define public in you know public use i thought it was just for children but i mean adults want to learn to sail too and they have boats that work for both and tn and instructors that work for both adults and children so How do you define public use in this kind of a case?

So there's a difference between public use and the public doctrine. So the public use doctrine. Public use just means the citizens of Punta Gorda can use it. But because you are leasing out public land to a 501 , there has to be a legitimate public purpose behind it. Is the public being, can the public still utilize this particular parcel, this particular piece of upland? Or are they restricted because it's solely to the benefit of Learn to Sail? If it's restricted and it can only be accessed or utilized to the patrons of learn to sale, you're going to have a problem with the public use doctrine because now it's no longer for the public. It's only used for a private entity.

I'd just like to answer Councilmember Denton's question about the bayfront dinghy docks. That's how they're referred to. They are undergoing permitting right now, the evaluation and permitting. At the last meeting, I let everyone know that the bathymetric survey was completed on August 11th there, so that is all in process.

So you start going down the rabbit hole of public use, you would also then need to consider the boat club. You know, boat club, we say is a public purpose, but they're membership only. And I brought this up years ago that, you know, and I know it's a little different because I think they built the building, but you start going down that rabbit hole, we need to look at all of it. And boat club is not accessible. It is a membership only entity.

So I don't think Learn to Sales asking, and they can answer that question, for them to use this exclusively. I mean, obviously they've had some kind of a lease in place. And I brought this up during the pre-agenda meeting. I'm wondering if we couldn't just do a letter of consent. That way they're not bound by a lease agreement. They can use it as often as they want to. They can just move on with life. And we don't have this public purpose versus private. So I think there's a way around it that will be, quite frankly, just less confining.

You can certainly do a memorandum of understanding between the city and Learn to Sail. The way I read this lease agreement, it is to provide Learn to Sail access to this. I'm not reading in here that they're gonna be building on it, they're gonna be improving it. However, if they do, they would need council's approval to do so. That's the way I read this. um so but you can do it either way this is given learn to lease i'm sorry learn to sale access to it that if they want to improve it they have the ability to do so if it's just a memorandum a memorandum of understanding it's just here you go they'd still have to come back but then there would have to be a lot more conditions put into place

So putting a fence around that area to protect their boats, is that considered improvements in this case, Mr. Leskovich?

Putting a fence around it would be an improvement, but putting a fence up to keep the public out could also be removing the public purpose behind it as well.

Would it be advantageous to have, I don't think you've actually sat down with either the president or whomever wrote this lease agreement, would it be advantageous for you guys to have a meeting and bring this back? Obviously I know they wanna get this done, we wanna get this done, but it sounds like you have some concerns. I just didn't know if that would be something we maybe should just do, is have you guys have a meeting.

could certainly help out um you know also if i you know that if learn to sail wants to comment on a few things here is now with kind of with with what their plans are that would help out as well um because we're not you know because they already have an uplands lease in place so it's not you know you're not adding it's not that they didn't have the uplands at all and now wanting to add it. It appears that it's just a small parcel that is extending the uplands component of it. But I would certainly invite them to come up and speak if they have something or we can sit down with them as well and kind of get an idea with what they're thinking.

My, my thought is, is that I think that we all want learn to sail to be there. You know, I think it's just that legally, we have to have the right verbiage in order to have it done. So I agree with Melissa, maybe we should table it and then you all talk. So it's all legally bound, we have the right thing. And then we can move forward to say yes, this is something what I don't think you can do anything anyhow, until we actually get the bayfront going. So it you know, we we still have time, I believe to go ahead and do this. Is that

So, like I said before, these two projects are completely separate. If approved, they would be able to start immediately if they wanted to. It wouldn't affect Bayfront at all.

So, I would like to make a motion to table this but also ask for a meeting to happen immediately that we could bring this back at the next agenda meeting. Would that be possible to get it back? I guess possible Mr. Leskovich, possible for Learn to Sail, and then possible for Dr. Reichardt to put it on the next agenda so we're not delaying this a month.

would be extremely tight to get it on the next agenda because we will publish the agenda before Friday. But it's it's not impossible if if you guys are okay with amending the agenda to add it, I think within the next two weeks, we could certainly get it accomplished.

So I will certainly make do where I can try to get in with them hopefully by this Friday. I don't want you guys to think I'm trying to discourage you from doing this, because I agree with the mayor that it needs to, it's very beneficial, but you just have to be, the lease agreement needs to be airtight so that there's no problems.

So quick question from staff.

BESIDES THE DATES AND THE... REAL QUICK, WE DO HAVE A MOTION THAT WAS MADE TO TABLE CONSIDERATION OF THE LAND LEASE AGREEMENT TO SEPTEMBER 23, CORRECT? YES. FOR CITY ATTORNEY LESKOVICH TO MEET WITH THE LEARNED SALE PROGRAM. WE DID NOT GET A SECOND. IF WE COULD HAVE THAT.

I'LL SECOND.

WAIT, I'M SORRY. I'LL SECOND SINCE MY RED LIGHT'S ON.

Okay, so we have a motion and a second to table this. And it seems like it's okay with Dr. Misty and all of us to go ahead and amend the next agenda to be put on just so that we can dot our I's and cross our T's and hopefully get this taken care of for you. I know this is government. I'll feel this, but unfortunately we have to protect the city as well and make sure that we're doing the right thing because if we don't do it right here, we don't know what other entity is gonna come in the future and say, look at what you've done here. We want the same thing, so we have to be very careful. So anybody oppose this?

So, sorry, what is it that we're trying to flush out between now and then? Besides the dates and the, well, the amount didn't change, which was left for council to debate, or to decide on, not debate, I apologize. What are the things that staff can focus on, too?

Great, good, turn off, please. Oh, wait, go ahead and turn back on.

Yeah, I'm not opposed, but I'm curious about what the delay will do to the boat club. I've seen some reactions over there and I'm concerned that we're impeding something that they wanted to get done. Could you guys please speak up?

Press the button to speak to, okay, when you do that. Oh, Carl, go off. Please turn off. Sorry. I'll try it. Is that it?

Can you hear me? There we go. All right. Mayor, council members, thank you very much. A delay of a couple of weeks will not do anything detrimental to the program. The, I think we have to look at a lot.

Can you please state your name for the record?

Sure. Tom Cavanaugh, Punta Gorda. As a city, if we are supportive of our maritime programs, our boarding programs, we have to find a way to get behind a way to allow us to continue teaching kids to sail. And I think it's up to you guys, not up to us. It's up to you guys to come up with a plan to support our sailing concept and other concepts as well. Council Member Lockhart mentioned, if you start to talk about public access, you've gotta consider a lot of areas that the city has rented land to, public property like the vote club, like the YMCA, like the folks out at, I forget the area, but it's a huge opening that you have to talk about. All we are asking to do is, up a fence around 900 square feet so we can work on the boats, store the boats, maintain the boats. If the city wants us to have a program, then they have to allow us to be able to store some boats so they don't get stolen, so they don't get floated away in a hurricane. If we can't make provision like that, we really can't move forward as a maritime community.

Tom, do you charge everybody? Does every child get charged for this, or do you have some sliding fees?

We charge them tuition. The tuition is basically to cover our insurance costs, and whatever else beyond that is applied to maintenance on the boats.

What about kids who can't afford it? Do we have any kind of program for them to learn to sail as well?

Yeah, all of the kids are invited to sign up for the program. We give scholarships to those kids that can't afford the program. We have been working through the YMCA for years with this. We've just been in... There's another organization, I forget the name of it, but recently they have, will apply funding to support kids that want to learn how to sail. We've had the backpack kids, we've had the kids from, Crossroads kids out to sail a few years with us. We bring them out on the boats and teach them how to sail. So it's not just a specific issue of what leasing us 900 square feet. It's a bigger issue here that we have to think about. Yeah, it's all volunteers. The county would have similar issues. They have selling programs over there. If the city is going to be talking about this kind of a consideration, the county should be talking about it as well. They're offering public land for people to sell. I'm not sure what else I could add to this.

but you're okay with us putting it on the next agenda. It's not going to harm you. I think that was what Greg's question was.

No, of course. Awesome. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Cavanaugh. Oh, I'm sorry.

You're welcome.

Okay, yeah, Mr. Cavanaugh, I think we're all in agreement. I'm not really getting a vibe that any of us are against it. I think it's just legalities at this point. And if our city attorney wants to change some verbiage in there, then I think that's all it's really going to take. At least I support, you know, I know I support this. It looks like everybody does. It's just legal stuff. So as long as we can get it going, then, you know, we should have this taken care of in the next meeting.

Thank you.

So if I'm hearing correctly, you guys are all in favor... I'm assuming you guys are all in favor of what they want to do. You can approve what they want to do. And all we have to do is is just get the language into the agreement. It's not changing the substance behind it. It's not changing the content. It's just wording that is protecting the city. So you can conditionally approve it so that they can begin the process of what they want to do. Hearing what Mr. Cavanaugh just indicated, it's going to satisfy the public use doctrine that it is protecting the facilities and protecting the amenities and protecting their tangible property that benefits the community. So that was where my biggest question was, is what's the public use behind it? Hearing that it's going to satisfy, I would only want to change a few words that are in here. So you can approve it. It's a matter of whether you want to approve it conditionally upon just a few words being changed in there or whether you want to table it until I think it's the 23rd.

And that was coinciding with the other lease as well, so you coordinated. And I think the only other thing that you questioned was, was it going to be $1 or $2? Like, is it a separate lease?

I mean, it's nominal. I mean, but I would encourage you to keep the dates the same for the termination. So when it does come up for possible renewal, then both of them are at the same time period.

I move to approve the lease.

One moment.

We do have a motion on the floor still.

We do. We had a motion and a second on the floor. So do you want to rescind your motion? Oh, sorry. I will rescind my motion.

I move to approve the. Hold on, Janice.

Do you rescind your second of the motion?

Second. No, you have to rescind your second.

I rescind my second.

And I move to approve. The land lease for the sailing school, Learn to Sail, with the conditions of a few changes, according to Leskovich, and a termination date of 2032. And since we have to charge money, we'll charge a dollar for this one, a dollar for that one, and then figure it out in 2032.

I second that.

Does that work?

I want to make sure I understand what your motion is. Are you saying keep the $1 from the 2022 lease and impose a second dollar for this new lease, or are you just saying $1 total between the two leases?

Yeah, well, whatever. If $1 can cover it, then that's simpler. I thought we had to charge something, so $1.

Just in the lease, it says, if we look at number three, shall pay the city $1 per year. So, okay, I apologize. So it's not just one, okay.

So the new lease will also have $1 per year added to it, but they're both going to end up at the same time in 2032. So we have a motion on the floor. Do we have a second for that?

I second that.

Okay, we have a motion and a second. Anybody oppose this? Okay, motion carries. Thank you so much.

All right, staff will work with legal and get this moving forward. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Sorry. Good? Okay. Nobody wanted a break, huh? Okay, we are going to take a 10-minute break now. Okay, thank you.

I'm going to leave it up.

We are here.

Okay, so you're not pulling them off the agenda, you're just pulling them off of... Yep, because I already dropped them onto the flash drive. Do you want it as a PDF, or do you want me to convert it into a... That can be full screen, and then hopefully I can just cycle through. Full screen, I think it was this one.

This should have a presentation mode.

Go up into the view.

still every other meeting is over there so that's the only thing are these just pictures right yes i wish you guys i know it's got it what am i looking for over there sorry about this you're fine never apologize

And then is it them that switches it to this presentation? Or switches it to this computer? Yes. And they know to do that or are you supposed to cue them?

Yep, they'll do it.

Okay, we're gonna go ahead and get started again. Yes, we're waiting on you, Sarah. Okay, we're going to go ahead and go on to the next agenda. This is with Public Works updating regarding alleyway improvements.

Good morning, Ron Everts, Public Works. I'm here to bring some updates to one of the very important projects that we're working on in Public Works. The city has eight unimproved, essentially unimproved alleyways, a combination of dirt and millings, and they've been variously repaired in various ways over the years. So we have the opportunity by reserving millings from this last paving program and had a contractor come in and do a cut and placing the millings and rolling to provide an improved surface for all of these alleyways so the ones that are highlighted in yellow have been completed now there was those three sections we chose them by the ones that were in the worst condition and then also had the uh easy to find property markers. That was another challenge we faced. And the next set we're going to be doing, it's going to begin next week, is going to be the red segments to the south, to the bottom, lower of those yellow ones. And those have three new duplexes on the west alleyway. And they've also got the newer properties that On the east side, they're on the south side that are utilizing those alleyways for primary access. And so that's why that one's been selected. We have run out of funds to be able to complete any additional until after October 1st. And so after October 1st, the two northern sections will then be accomplished. Over on the west end of town, we have one unimproved alleyway, which is the Tribue Alley. And that'll be the final one that we need to take care of. This one is in pretty decent shape. Neighbors have differing opinions of the surface that they want. So we're going to work through that with the neighbors, but that will be the next one to get accomplished. All of these are being done. are using our labor to move the millings and transport, and so it's saving the city a tremendous amount of money, a lot less expensive than paving these alleyways, and we thought it was a prudent way to take care of them at this time. Do you have any questions?

How much is it that you need until October 1st?

We have come to our spending limit with the contractor as well as our funds. So we have to wait until after October 1st to be able to continue using.

Thank you for saving us money and doing all that you're doing, all the hard work, and finally getting something that's probably been on your mind for a while, finally getting it complete. So thank you.

Yes, ma'am.

Yes, thank you, Ron. I know there are a lot of people in the city, mainly in my district, that were harping on you to get this done, and I so appreciate that you put it on the list. And the linear park is looking beautiful, too. Is it going to be the same kind of material that you're using as you did through the linear park, or is it completely different? Let us know what kind of material you're using.

So the linear park is actually asphalt. It's the same material that's used on the roads. This is called millings, and this is the ground up asphalt that was removed from our streets during our last paving program. Same material, different granular makeup. It is not bound together with a binder like asphalt is, but it is the same material. It'll be compacted. And once the sun hits it and gets it good and warm, it'll really make this a good solid base for traffic.

And also be permeable, which is great too.

Yes, the granular allows water to make its way through slowly.

And another question is, so with maintenance on that, is that material something that you would have to do every five years, four years, or does it depend on how much traffic or it's...

It depends on how many trucks, you know, delivery trucks, UPS, FedEx, and all those travel up and down. It's typically a much better surface than a shell or dirt and doesn't tend to wash out when you've got a puddle. You know, it's got enough weight to it that it doesn't wash out really quickly. So it should last a long time. Easy for our people to maintain.

Great. And I'm sorry, one more question, because one of the complaints was what the tires that the owners of the homes that live on these properties pick up a lot of dirt, and that dirt goes onto their pathway or their driveway, excuse me, and into their garage. I guess it's been a big problem when it gets really wet that it's super muddy. Will this material uphold any kind of that situation? Is it?

Probably depends greatly on the tires of the vehicle the driveway surface that they're driving on to if it'll Tack up. I don't believe it would Be anything like shell or a mud because it's a larger granule. It's not really fine So that is to be determined, but this is definitely going to be a better surface than this currently Exist in these areas

Can I get a motion?

Don't need a motion.

Oh, that's right. It's information.

Sorry. Thank you. Unless you want to give us a motion to really spend a lot of money and get it done.

Only if you're providing lunch for us. Thank you. Okay, next is the approval to award agreement to CNS Chemicals Incorporated of Roswell, Georgia for the purchase and delivery of liquid aluminum sulfate and aqueous solutions of aluminum sulfate and sulfuric acid to the water treatment plant as required.

Good morning, Anaheim Procurement, and thank you for saying that word.

I'll just refer to you. Procurement received a request to put into place a contract for the aluminum sulfate products for the water treatment plant. We did release a contract for the components required by the department. We sent out 264 invitations. The city received one response and then a no bid response. We did contact the company that provided the no-bid response and asked why they didn't bid. We do work with that company on other chemical contracts, and they said they simply cannot be competitive with this company. This company does provide contracts to most of the other municipalities in the area. So we did go to the other municipalities to look at possibly piggybacking, but they did not contain all the components that Panagota needs for our water treatment plant. So we did go into negotiations with them, and we were able to reduce the unit prices for savings of over $20,000 in the next three-year term. Again, looking at the pricing for the piggybacks, we were able to determine that pricing is fair and reasonable. Staff is recommending that you award the agreement to CNS Chemical.

Any discussion? Any questions?

No, I was just going to move to approve 6C if there's no discussion.

We have a motion and a second. Anybody oppose this? Seeing no one opposes, motion carries, thank you. Okay, next on the agenda is road closure request event permit for Light Up the Night, December 4th, 2026.

Adriana Gerke, Planner 1. Are there any questions about this event or the road closures for this event?

Okay, this was just for Council to review and approve the street closures. So if...

Moved to approve 6D.

Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second to approve 6D. Anybody oppose this? No opposition, motion carries, thank you. That's gonna be fun. Okay, next is the event permit for Healing Field of Honor on November 9th, 2026 through November 12th, 2026. There we go.

Adriana Gerke, Planner 1. So the Rotary Club has requested a waiver of fees and then also staff recommends or asks for Council to consider to waive the fees for the next five years.

Oh.

these you all to clean up and and leave everything in good condition i'm assuming okay i moved to discussion then um how much are the fees nine hundred and fifty dollars it includes the fifty dollar application fee the four hundred dollar park rental fee and then the five hundred dollar deposit

So I know that with the 4th of July, we did waive the $500 deposit fee, but they still paid. And the one thing we have to start looking at this is the precedent. Now, if we waive the fee here, are we going to be waiving the fee for everybody else for everything that continues on? And then all of a sudden one day somebody isn't going to clean up afterwards and we don't have these fees. So we really, as much as I'm a Rotarian, I love Healing Field of Honor, I love everything they're doing, I think we have to be very careful on what we're gonna waive and what we're gonna do. So it's just my two cents, and I'm sorry, Rotary, for me saying that.

I don't disagree. Maybe we need to look at what fees we're charging. you know and I know that obviously the city's job is just to recoup staff time and and fees and not you know we're not profiting off anything so if there's any wiggle room with that maybe that's something we look at to the future I think it's important to to remember that I'm not sure do we pay for police for these events sometimes we do sometimes we don't or do they pay is that part of the fee

Typically, the event organizer pays for the police, fire, public works if needed. This is just more of a display, this event. It's a display at the Veterans Wall. At Lashley Park. At Lashley Park, yeah.

I agree with Melissa. Maybe we should start looking. So one of the tough things with doing it is they're asking for a day to set up, then they have to ask for a day to take down. So now we're charging them for a set up day and a take down day. And maybe that's what we maybe need to consider looking at the permitting fees is, do we charge them for those days as well? That's just a thought. Janice?

So not paying the deposit would help a bit, although they get it back anyway. And it does encourage people to take care of the property. With the different things that are going on financially in their state, we may not want to start waiving fees. We've got to be consistent in everything we do. So I'm kind of with you in terms of re-evaluate the whole thing. But at this point, I don't think we should should really, uh, you know, when you're talking about charging for boat launch fees, things like that, we can't start taking away fees that have been there and established for a long time. We just have to watch our budgets.

And so Greg, I'm okay with waiving the deposit in this case. They clean up entirely. I was out there and helped. Um, there's no chance of any damage or, or, you know, clean up needed.

So do you want to make a motion that we waive the $500 fee, but that's all we're going to waive, Greg, I guess? OK. Deposit, yes.

Sure. I move to approve this permit with a waiver of the deposit fee.

Damage deposit, OK. And just for clarification, for the record, Councilman Julian, the request is waiving it for a period of five years.

I think it would be the same situation year after year. There's no chance of damage or cleanup needed.

Is there any way we could just say for this year and then we'll discuss it? I just don't think we should jump into the five-year deal yet, because we haven't had a chance to really talk about this. And aren't we going to go over our permitting booklet? It's hundreds of pages. And I think, Dr. Reichardt, didn't you bring up something a few weeks ago about people having 10 people there? business and it's considered an event if somebody reports it. So there are some things in there that were written, I don't know, I think the last time we looked at it was 2009 or something like that. So we need to update that book.

We had the event manual workshop some time ago and staff has been working on updating that. I do want to let you know, though, that if anything, fees are going to need to go up and not down because we charge based on the time that goes into these applications so when staff requests that they waive the fees for five years it's because if you're waving that they don't want to have to go through this process of putting it on an agenda again and the time and money that it takes to do that so that's kind of that's why we recommend that if if it is something that you think you're going to want to do every year do it go ahead and do it for five years because that saves a lot of processing time and money

So does Greg's motion need a second then? It does. Okay, I'll second that.

Okay, so we have a motion and a second for five years to waive the damage deposit of $500 for the Healing Field of Honor. Anybody oppose this? No opposition, so the motion carries. Thank you. Okay, next is the event permit for Holly Day's home tour December 4th, 2026 through December 5th, 2026.

Adriana Gerke, Planner One. The applicant is requesting a waiver of the $50 application fee. Previously, in years past, whenever the holidays tour was done, it was under an off-premise sign permit. So this year, we're considering it an event. It falls under the criteria of an event. So we have the applicant fill out an event application, which is $50. Do they charge people to go into the home? Do they have a charge for that? It's a fundraiser, but I believe the applicant's here if you want to speak with her.

Just press the button to talk.

Thank you. I'm Julie O'Brien. I'm with the Punta Gorda Garden Club. And we've had this event for the last 20 years. And it's always been under an event application, I believe, because in the past we've had the fee waived by the city council, but we never had to come before the council to do it. And we do charge admission and this is our big fundraiser for scholarships and half of it goes to scholarships and half of it goes to local groups, environmental groups, like Peace River Wildlife Center, for example.

Well, I appreciate all that. There is time that staff takes, and it needs to be reimbursed, so I would not be for waiving the $50 application fee. So you can make a motion on that?

I'm sorry.

So I would move that we deny... the application deny 6F in regard to waiving the $50 permit fee. Again, I appreciate what everybody does when they bring these events in, but it is staff time. And $50 is, I don't think, asking too much to try and have staff have to review and whatnot. So that's my notion.

But you approved the permit?

I think it's just asking for the $50. It's just they asked. Yes, I'm I would I would yeah, make a motion to deny.

Do I have a second on that?

Second.

Okay, we have a motion a second to deny the $50 waiver. Anybody oppose this? Nobody opposes it motion carries. And I agree we even all the others like healing field of honor, you know, they're being charged a lot as well for all the days and that actually is for scholarships and everything as well. I think that most of the events to you know, promote it's $50. But thank you. Okay, next on the list is the word of authorization number two to CDM Smith Incorporated of Fort Myers for professional services for force main improvements at the master pumping facility.

Good morning, Anne Heinen, procurement for the record. City Council previously approved the master agreement to CDM Smith for improvements at the master pumping facility and generator replacement at the booster facility. This is a budgeted project. It will be utilizing the utilities construction fund. staff requested a proposal from cdm smith for force main design improvements at the master pumping facility it was determined through authorization number one which was planning and condition assessment the need to increase the size of the existing 14 inch force main to a 20 inch diameter force main from the master pumping facility it will be approximately 8600 linear foot that will be replaced from the pumping facility at 900 Henry Street to the intersection of Henry Street and Education Avenue. The total cost for the design and bidding assistance is $825,648 even. Construction services will be under a separate authorization. The timeframe to complete this phase is 72 weeks.

staff is requesting approval to award authorization to to cdm smith of fort myers florida yeah it was my understanding we already approved this and within the budget and i'm not sure why this has to come for a second approval

Each authorization does have to be approved according to the award authority. These master agreements are put in place to be utilized in a phased approach. So when the original assessment was approved at council, with the master agreement so based on this assessment then we find what we needed for authorization two so now we're coming to you with the results of authorization one to move forward with the improvements anyone else have any questions greg you want to make a motion yeah i move to approve 6g

Second. OK, we have a motion and a second to approve 6G. Anybody oppose this? No one opposes it. Motion carries.

Thank you.

Thank you. Next is the approval for to continue blanket single source with Central Square Technologies, LLC, Superion for the purchase of integrated software products, maintenance, and support.

Do you want it? Yeah. There we go. Again, Anne Heinen, procurement for the record.

This is to obtain approval to continue blanket sole source with Central Square Technologies, previously Superion.

The city has been using Central Square since 1988, and we put in place a blanket source of intended decision for single sourcing to continue with the embedded technology for the city system with maintenance support and integrated software. This software is proprietary, therefore the maintenance and support is a single source and not available at any other sources. The period for this will be from 2012 until abandonment of the software. Last year, City Council approved a fiscal spend of $490,000, which was approved on July 9, 2025. Human Resources is requesting to include a total of $116,656.97 for software licensing and implementation of HR-related tools. HR proposed software and total expenses for this fiscal year will total $659,916.50. So we're seeking approval from City Council for that fiscal spend to include the new HR tools. IT has also asked for a contingency of 7.5% for any increases during fiscal years 26 and 27. So that 7.5% would be approximately $49,400. So they're asking for a total expenditure of $709,410.24. We do have the department here to answer any questions regarding the new software.

Anybody have any questions for HR?

Jeff Payne, HR manager. You know, whether there are questions or not, we do have the two vendors that are here if you do have questions. We've got UKG and Central Square both, right? So this HR software is going to help us modernize a lot of the things that we do, right? From our application process to the annual performance evaluations can be now electronic instead of what you guys have seen over the last several years. I'm excited about the opportunities of what the software can provide. And if you'd like to hear from them, certainly I can have them speak as well.

My question is, why are we having a 7.5% contingency for 2026-2027 included into this? I think that's a Brian question.

Yes, this is Brian, Maine IT. So we've noticed that a lot of the software vendors do include increases over their annual maintenance, and we haven't been keeping track with that. This number's been staying flat, and we're starting to get to the point where we're going to exceed the amount, so I'm asking to increase it so we can cover any additional licensing fees that come in.

But this is fiscal year 26, 27. Well, it was 27, 28, right? The next year.

Correct. Correct. Sorry, 26-27, which would be our next fiscal year.

26-27 is the next fiscal year, yes.

Anybody else have any questions? So it's recommended action. Do you want us to make a motion? Yes.

Yes, to continue the sole source with the total expenditure of $709,410.24. Can I get a motion?

I move to approve 6H to continue the single source.

And extended $709,410.24.

Yes.

Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Anybody oppose this? Motion carries. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Next is our strategic plan.

Can you send the index out to us?

Sorry.

No worries. Good afternoon, everyone. Mike Bonasera, Assistant City Manager. Everyone should have a copy of the specific action documents I handed out at the beginning here. That should provide you more detail. We're going to be going over each of the departments So today I'm going to walk you through the FY2027 strategic plan. This plan is truly a team effort. Each of our city departments has played a part in putting it together, and I think it does a great job of reflecting the character of our community while staying true to our mission, vision, and city values. At the end of the day, this is about keeping our residents informed and giving them a clear picture of what we're working on and where we're headed. The story map received a lot of great feedback, specifically that it's straightforward and easy to follow along. Thank you, Ashley, for assisting me. She's going to be scrolling. All while being transparent. So let's jump in. As many of you would agree, our mission, vision, and values have a deep meaning not only to council members and staff, but most importantly, our residents. Our vision is to continue to preserve our small town character while promoting diversity, economic development, and sustainability. Our mission is to preserve and enhance Punta Gorda's identity as a vibrant waterfront community unique in character and history and a desirable place to live, work, and visit. And our values are community engagement, partnerships, and transparency, respect customer service and ethical governance, stewardship of historical and natural resources, local businesses, support, and fair treatment. Starting out with the city's infrastructure, our amazing utilities department. Goal one, implement the AMI water meter system following the RO plant expansion, surface water plant rehab. Next, to improve our wastewater reliability and finally implementing utilities master planning. The utilities department continues to lead one of this city's largest infrastructure programs. Public Works is next for the city's infrastructure. Goal one is GIS infrastructure modernizations, the downtown flood study, pavement management program to maximize roadway life, stormwater infrastructure program, sidewalk and accessibility improvements. Again, using GIS-based inspections and prioritizing ADA improvements. Goal six, tree canopy expansion, planting at least 50 trees, the solid waste study, and finally the Boca Grande drainage improvements. Public Works safeguards the city's infrastructure through proactive maintenance, technology, resiliency investments, and strategic capital planning. Now moving on to quality of place, the planning department. Goal one, the living shoreline project, followed by historic city hall rehab, which we can all see the wonderful job they've done. So thank you. Next is the building permit software implementation to modernize our permitting platform to improve customer service and reduce the processing times. And finally, long range community planning. The Urban Design Department advances the city's vision by balancing preservation with thoughtful growth. Continuing with quality of place comes the police department. Enhancing community outreach, employee engagement and education, employee wellness, public safety building planning, fleet modernization, and a special response team are the department's goals. The police department's FY2027 initiative strengthen public safety, foster community partnerships, and improve employee wellness and modernize operations. Moving on to the Fire Department, their first goal is the SAFER grant, followed by PPE replacement programs, suppression and ALS equipment, emergency response vehicle staffing, rapid emergency response vehicle, the fire training tower, replacement of the chief vehicle and fire engine replacements of aging fire apparatuses. The Fire Department's FY2027 initiative strengthened emergency preparedness through strategic staffing, modern apparatus, advanced equipment, and expanded training. Next up is organizational excellence starting with HR, human resources. Goal one, continue the annual employee survey program, strengthen the safety program, performance evaluation modernization, supervisor training, and finally a career progression step plan. The Human Resources Department advances organizational excellence by investing in employees, strengthening leadership, improving workplace safety, and modernizing workforce management practices. IT, some of their goals are network stabilization and core infrastructure refresh for better reliability, security infrastructure completion, council chambers AV system replacement, CAD Unify implementation, integration with Charlotte County to enable real-time data sharing, and finally IT service stabilization and prioritization. The IT department enables reliable, secure, and innovative municipal services through strategic investments in infrastructure. All right, now moving on to financial sustainability, beginning with the finance department. The first goal is to integrate AMI billing system, invoice automation, and enterprise resource planning initiatives. The finance department advances financial sustainability by modernizing technology, streamlining financial processes, and improving customer service. Continuing with financial sustainability, we move on to procurement, filling vacant positions, procurement process streamlining, procurement software modernizations, and current software assessments to evaluate opportunities to improve our system functionality. um the procurement department's fy 2027 initiatives strengthen organizational efficiency by investing in people improving procurement processes and modernizing technology next up is strategic leadership with the city manager's office our goal is to publish an annual report highlighting accomplishments financial performances strategic initiatives and organizational goals A CITY WEBSITE REFRESH, CAUGHT YOU BEING AWESOME RECOGNITION PROGRAM, CONDUCT SERVICE LEVEL WORKSHOPS AND RESIDENT SURVEYS, AND FINALLY A TEMPORARY VACANCY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM TO REVIEW ALL VACANT POSITIONS PRIOR TO ANY RECURRING EFFORTS TO ENSURE HIRING ALIGNS WITH THE OPERATIONAL PRIORITIES, BUDGET CONDITIONS AND ESSENTIAL SERVICE NEEDS. The City Manager's Office provides leadership that aligns organizational priorities with community expectations through transparency, innovation, employee recognition, employee engagement, and effective municipal management. And finally, comes the Clerk's Office. Their goals are to revise the business tax receipt process, develop a public hearing guide, perform a citywide record inventory, and then host the third annual Fall Festival. The Clerk's Office supports transparent government through effective legislative services, records management, and community engagement. As I said, this is truly a team effort and a lot of coordination with our amazing directors and staff. All this information is public and available on our city website. That's it.

So I'd just like to talk a little bit about how we got to where we're at with the strategic plan. So we started out early in the year and we held the community conversation event at the library. It was a very well attended event, got a lot of feedback from residents. And mostly what we get from residents are questions about why things are a certain way. So a lot of the strategic initiatives that you've seen throughout the plan are ways to better communicate with residents, whether that be building permit software, whether that's gonna be an HR recruitment tool that's being implemented. Our number one goal is to, of course, be fiscally responsible, but then also to meet the needs of the residents. So a lot of thought went into what was provided as content and what our strategic goals are. We also look at the questions that we get from council members and from our residents. are areas that residents don't have information they need or don't understand the process so those are the big organizational wide things that we want to accomplish is being able to make it easier for residents to get information to have the services that they require done quicker more efficiently and more transparent so I think you'll see a lot of that within the strategic plan If you remember last year, we focused really on a one-year look. This year, we're looking out a little bit further into the horizon. We got the basic framework for our strategic plan under control last year. Now this year, we've refined that. And then with the companion piece, the specific action documents, that's kind of your meat and potatoes as to how all of this is going to happen. So two documents for the strategic plan this year. This is a draft. So we are very open to comments, feedback. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts as we move forward on this.

Anyone have anything for Mike or Dr. Missy? I can say a lot of thought has been put into this and the story map is absolutely fantastic for people to look at. I know that you hear people saying that we're moving slow, but it's people like Wendy who bring up issues that we have that I see Dr. Missy frantically writing down. How are we going to correct this right away? So sometimes if we don't know something's broken, you need to bring it to Dr. Missy so that she can fix it. think that's so important but overall you know considering not only dealing with a strategic plan and finally looking into the future we had two huge back-to-back hurricanes historic flooding so my hats off to all of you for all the hard work that you've done and and for council to work with them I mean I think we've really worked well together and and I think this is a fantastic plan and thank you so much for doing this

now you get to go to project updates okay i want to let everyone know that on september 16th at 5 30 in the lashley community room we will be having a meeting about the boca grand stormwater project i in all of the neighborhood is being invited through the placement of signs we want people to come out and understand what's going to be happening in the boca grand neighborhood as we finally begin that drainage program the bid is currently out with some addendum added for boca grand so we are still looking for contractors on that project the piers and docks field evaluation of pond's boardwalk took place yesterday so we're moving forward on one of the water projects um let's see And we did have a question from a resident about how much these evaluations and permitting and the work that's being done by Hans Wilson and Associates costs. So just as an example, I'm not going to read through every single project, but just as I gave an example of what was done at Ponce Boardwalk, it ends up being $14,180 that's authorized to get us from evaluation through permitting. And some of the other ones are, I would say on average, you're probably looking at a 12 a little over $12,000 average for permitting each of the and evaluating each of the structures. Now we're looking to strategically combine those applications if if the granting agencies will allow us to do that. But that's where having the expertise of someone like Hans Wilson and Associates is really advantageous to the city because he does know how to work with the agencies and can package things where appropriate. Most of the other, trying to, just quick. Really what you're seeing happening are bathymetric surveys right now and then those evaluation pieces in preparation for the permit applications. If you have any questions on a specific peer or doc, please let me know. I am happy to provide that. We will have a full monthly update. Now I gave a pretty comprehensive update on the peers at the last meeting. so i'm not going to go through everything that was on there again but i will do that at least once a month we get our report in and i will make sure that council and public is informed of where we're at each step of the way on piers and docks the permit software the negotiate negotiations are in their last stage that's the best and final offer stage they did their proof of concept which panned out so we're very excited to move forward with that The FEMA Grant Manager Evaluation Selection Meeting will take place on 9-18. The Pedestrian Crosswalk Evaluation Committee meets 9-22. Cooper Street Improvements, FDOT, is reviewing the draft solicitation and the department is developing a cost estimate. The engineering library evaluation committee selected. Bayfront draft approved for release. The department is still completing that independent estimate, which should be completed very shortly. Well field improvements and RO plant improvements, we've established the evaluation committee. The AMI draft solicitation, it's in its final legal review. We don't want to end up in a situation like we did with the last contract on AMIs. So Steven is taking a look at that and making sure that we are very well protected in that contract should anything happen into the future. As soon as his review is completed, that is ready to hit the streets. So it should be fairly shortly. would assume and then you would ask today for an update on IT projects and so Brian is gonna kind of take the show from here and provide a comprehensive overview of his projects comprehensive I'm not sure Brian main IT can you put the best

Put my presentation up, please. So I did a little quick thing last night just to give you guys an idea of what IT has been working on since I've been here for about three months now. Basically, when I started, is something going to work here? When I started here, I looked at how the department had been running. They've been doing a great job with what they had. Basically, what I've been trying to do is bring them into a mature IT shop, get things documented, get modernized, get ourselves more secure with our software and hardware that we have in-house. So basically, I'm looking at public safety, making everything resilient here, making our service delivery with IT to our customers, which are the city staff, be much better, much faster, looking for smart and sustainable products that we can use in IT that'll help us be able to do things faster, quicker, that sort of stuff. Collaborating with departments, I've been going out to the various departments, talking to them, finding out their needs and coming back and trying to find solutions for that. And then just in general being an agile, engaging department where instead of being traditional IT sitting in a closet behind the doors, nobody talks to us kind of a place, right? So some of the projects, this thing doesn't wanna work today. Obviously the very biggest one that I've worked on that you guys have been able to enjoy the last couple of meetings is bringing the AV equipment into chambers. So that's been a big drag of our time. Matt, myself, have been spending a lot of time over here making sure everything works. The project is basically live, we're operational. What we're working through now is obviously the bugs trying to sync up the mouth with the sound in the room, that sort of stuff. So it's gonna take us a little bit of time, which I had mentioned to you when I was going through how things worked here. We need a little bit of time to work through that, get it all flushed out. It'll come together within the next couple of weeks and we'll be able to make you guys look really great on TV. Back in June, I think it was, I came before you guys and asked for a half a million dollars to upgrade our infrastructure, our network within the city itself. It was aging, starting to have a lot of problems. We have a PO has been issued. We have all the hardware sitting up in the computer room right now. We had our kickoff meeting last week with the vendor. We're on a two-week meeting cycle right now where we're planning everything out they'll be coming on site the 22nd of this month to do a walkthrough of all of our IT closets and start their planning and then once they give that to me I'll be able to give you a definitive date of when we'll be starting and finish it finishing it and I'll be working with the departments because we'll be taking departments offline most notably 9-1-1 so we got to really work that out with with the public safety crews so that we get everything transferred to the county and we do our work in a timely manner and get them back in house So that one's moving along the other project that I jumped on was we have fiber that the city owns between here and Public Works I'm sorry here in public safety and actually City Hall annex and this building has fiber Both of which have seen damage and aggregation from the various storms that the city has gone through So we have a vendor that's been coming in fixing things repairing lighting things back up adding as we have think it's six pair I think that's the right way don't quote me on that but we have like six pair of fiber lines going down the public safety we're only using like three of them so we're getting the other three lit up so we can fully utilize all of the fiber that we have within the city so that takes a lot of the time from the network guys because they're coordinating with those teams to make sure we don't take anybody down I also found that we had a laptop replacement program or a laptop desktop replacement program This the city goes through a four-year cycle with that. We had an individual that unfortunately passed away before his time That program became kind of stalled because nobody picked it up. So I've got my computer techs are doing a great job They had to learn how to uh image the machines get all the software on them get everything working right working with our printers working in our network and now we're starting to push those out we are i think we're i think we're down to like the last two machines that we bought in 2025 and we have about 30 or 40 left to do for the 2026 machines that we bought so we should be done with that by the end of this year great And then we'll, I'm evaluating whether we are going to purchase some more or look at a different way of handling that program, but right now it's a four year replacement cycle and I'm thinking that I might like to take it out to five years and pay five years of maintenance on those machines instead of every four. So again, not solid yet, I haven't, I just threw that out and Missy's giving me evil looks over there, so. Disaster recovery enhancements. This is one of the biggest things that I need to solve for. And unfortunately, I have to do some predecessors, like get our network fixed, get these machines out the door, that sort of stuff. But our current state right now is everything is on the two campuses between here and public safety. Not a bad setup, but not ideal. Everything that's in our data center is on the third floor, but everything goes down to the ground. You know, so our power comes up, our Internet comes up, our network comes up, and that's where we have the ability to be damaged, right? So I'm looking at two possibilities, which is managed service, which means we would take the images of our software and put it on somebody else's server, lease their machines, and they would have it in their facility like Lake Mary, I'm sorry, Winter Haven or somewhere up in the middle of the state up north to get it out of Hurricane Alley kind of a thing, right? The other option would be we do a colo which is where we take our physical hardware and just host it in their place So I'm evaluating several options for that once I get numbers down and can figure out what that's going to cost us I'll bring that back to everybody to approve or figure out give me direction I should say the most important need I have though is I've got to get our backup data out of harm's way So our backup data exists here our City Hall annex and public safety building We don't have that somewhere else. It needs to go somewhere else. We are working on a solution with, I can't remember the name of the company, but we already had a company that we were talking to that was on state contract. They were gonna come back with a three-year, five-year deal. I asked them to come back with a one-year deal not knowing where we're going to be in a year. I thought that was a prudent way to handle that with an option to bail out of the contracts if we need to. But I'm looking for some way to get our data out of the city itself into some other location that's more secure. All right, next is our public safety. I labeled this MFA, but it's really our CEGIS requirements. We had an audit last year that there were three things that we were, I don't want to say they failed us, because they let us keep our certification with the state and with the federal criminal justice data, but we had three items that we needed to fix this is the most important one which is basically putting multi-factor authentication on every machine that has public safety data connects to the public safety systems so we literally just signed a contract it was another state contract that we found The hardware for it is sitting in my office right in front of my desk right now. We have a kickoff today at 1.30. So I got to get out of here a little faster. We have a kickoff today at 1.30 to get that hardware installed, get that software stood up, and then we'll be deploying that to police and fire to use on their laptops, on their machines. All right, then physical security was a big one that everybody brought to me. Cameras that don't work, doors that don't work, the gate that closes, that works after, sorry, reader that opens up the gate to the City Hall Annex parking garage after hours does not work. The company that was providing that service for us is out of Tampa. I found one that's down in Fort, so it was kind of hard to get them scheduled to come down and, you know, they got to drive for two hours, spend a couple hours here, drive two hours home. So I found a company down in Fort Myers that is also a state contract. They can take over. We've already started the process of moving to them, uh, onboarding them. And then they're going to come in and do an assessment of everything that we have and figure out how we can get everything repaired. Because I've been the police department, the chief has been bugging me about getting the cameras back at Harold court, uh, get the parking garage backup up online. Um, can't do that without replacing all of those cameras. So we're going to have to get them in here and figure out what we can do to make all that work. And then the biggest one, well, not the biggest one. One of the other big projects that we have, which our current phone system that everybody has a desk phone in the city sitting on their desk, that system is actually being retired in 2028. We have to move to something new. So I've been pushing the gentleman that kind of manages this stuff to help us find another piece of software. We've been actively meeting with various vendors to see what our options are. Hundreds of them out there but we're trying to find one that we can move to quickly and then start getting implemented because it'll you know literally there are like 500 phones in this city and we would have to go to every one of them and pull them out put a new one in and program it and hook the computer back up all that stuff so it would take us a married time to do that so that's a pretty big project for us, but we got to get a vendor on place first and And then artificial intelligence. This is one that, during my interview, I was asked, do I believe in it? I said yes, and now they're making me prove it. I've drafted a policy. I've talked to a couple of municipalities in the state. Local ones and some ones that are farther north, Jacksonville, Orlando, that sort of stuff. I've been talking to their ITs. They gave me ideas. They gave me language to put in there to think about this, think about that. So I created a policy. Missy has already seen it. I've got a meeting scheduled for October 1st to bring the directors together to review it. Then I'll have to assume give it to HR and let those guys do their part. bit that they have to do. But the bottom line is we're going to move forward with a little pilot program. We're going to go with Copilot, which is a product that came with our Microsoft O365 licenses when we upgraded everybody's email system to cloud. And we're going to look at Enterprise Chat GPT. And the reason why I'm doing that is because we have a lot of, I don't know if you guys know the term shadow AI. In my world, shadow AI is where you're using a product that I don't approve, that I can't control, and I can't stop you from putting data in there that shouldn't be in it. And there's a lot of that going on in the city. In my experience, it's a lot of chat GPT. So we're gonna look at those two things as a pilot, develop our guidelines to it, our policy will get updated based on that, and then that will become what we do going forward. I've already got a couple of, some might apologize, I don't remember who gave the information to Missy, but we've got some, local experts that are helping, that I've connected, that they're gonna come in and let me pick their brains and make sure I get the right stuff. And I've got a company called SHI, which is one of our vendors that does other things that are giving me some examples of what municipalities do throughout Florida to use AI to enhance their ability to do their jobs. And then last but not least was the last one that I got surprised with last week, which is putting Wi-Fi in Lashley Park. I am working with a telco company. Well, not a telco company. I'm working with a partner of ours that helps us pull the right resources together to help me figure out how much it would cost to do it. And then I'll present that back to Missy, or maybe Missy will have me present it to you guys as a whole to say this is what it will cost to do. So I don't know anything yet, I just got those conversations rolling with the vendor and he's introduced me to like three or four different companies that I can talk to about putting some sort of Wi-Fi package together to cover Lashley Park. Okay, any questions about IT?

I don't have a question, but I would also suggest that you talk to Altamont Springs. They were highlighted in the year ago um league of cities annual conference for taking advantage of ai they've got they even have driverless vehicles running around the city yes sir i will ultimate springs i will definitely look into that that was fantastic thank you for three months being here and all that you've shown us i think you're very valuable so thanks so much anybody else

Sarah, you're up next.

Good afternoon, City Council. City Clerk Sarah Welch, for the record. Under boards and committees, we have some announcement of vacancies. On the building board, we have one consumer advocate alternate that was created by the recent resolution City Council adopted. We also have one alternate seat on the code enforcement board and one city resident member seat on the police officers pension board. Then under appointments, we have the code enforcement board item that we need to take care of. I'm going to distribute voting sheets for you to be able to vote for two individuals to serve in the regular seats. The candidates are Teresa Desquin, Mark Hunsberger, and Carl Rich. Carl Rich is currently on his second term on the code enforcement board. I would like to note that Teresa Desquin, she has been a fantastic member of the Historic Preservation Advisory Board. We're very thankful for her service. There is the potential that there could be certain conflicts that could come up due to her position on HPAB as well if there was a property that was to be in front of both boards. So my recommendation would be that if she is to be appointed, that she be appointed to the alternate seat, especially given that If HPAB does in fact become a decision-making board, she will not be able to serve on both. So my preference would be to get the people who can serve hopefully a full three-year term into the regular seats. And now I will distribute the voting sheets.

Sarah, I have a question, though. Did you talk to Teresa to see if she prefers one over the other? Because she may prefer to be on code enforcement than the historic board preservation. I mean, I don't know. I don't know if that's...

I told her that she would need to choose one if HPAB did, in fact, become a decision-making board. She did not tell me which one would be her choice.

Okay, so I just feel that we need to give all three of a fair chance instead of recommending one, you know, because she may want to be on code enforcement, not on historic board. So I think that they all should have the equal opportunity to be able to be on a regular spot.

We're choosing to use that.

So we're going to have to have a runoff. We had Carl Rich receive three votes, and both Teresa Desquin and Mark Hunsberger received three votes each. So I am going to redistribute your sheets. And if you could each just vote one more time on the sheet out of those two, which would you want to serve in the second regular seat? Considering these sheets have been used once, if you could mark on the opposite side of the names for the second round, that would be appreciated.

So Sarah, Mark is a regular seat for one? Carl Rich is a regular seat for one, and it's just between Mark and Teresa for the second. Okay, thank you.

All right, for the second round, Teresa Desquin received the majority of votes, so she is appointed to the regular seat. At this time, if counsel is amenable, if we could have a motion to appoint Mark Hunsberger to the alternate seat, that would be appreciated as well.

So moved.

Second that. Motion and a second to move mark for an alternate seat. All in favor? If there's no one who opposes it. Okay, I see nobody opposing it. That's a go. Thank you. Do you want to go through your notes? Yes, if that would be thank you.

All right. Business tax renewals are due by September 30th of this year with a 10% late fee assessed beginning October 1st, and it will increase further 5% each month through January. Businesses that fail to renew their business tax receipt at that point would be subject to code enforcement action, which can include additional fines. So we are urging everyone to make sure you have your business tax renewed in advance of the October 1st late fees. And on a lighter note, We are officially at 37 nonprofits that had registered by the end of the day yesterday for the Fall Festival, which surpasses last year's total of 34. So we're super excited about that because there's still a lot of time for people to join. We also have Logan Light of Amaze Games coming back to provide us with magic performances again this year as a custom donation. He's not going to charge us for it. Very thankful for that as well. Something we are still looking to finalize is a Buzzworthy Bites sponsor for provision of the free meal. That is a $2,000 sponsorship, if I recall correctly. We did have one person offer to pay part of the sponsorship. If it's too much for any one business to take on, we are more than happy to welcome partial sponsorships towards that free meal. Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor or a non-part profit participant should reach out to the city clerk's office to learn more. And that's all. Thank you.

Mike, if you could come up and get the video ready while I'm talking, that'd be great. September 15th at 6.30, we'll have another public meeting to discuss the Treview Park, and this one will be held at the Cooper Street Rec Center, and we will make sure that we put that on the calendar of events. I'm supposed to remind council that you have Sarah's and my evaluation and that HR would like those by Friday. To speak a little bit on permitting, so at the last meeting I may have mentioned this and I apologize if I'm repetitive, but Mike has is chairing a group of our staff members to look at our permitting processes to figure out where things are being dropped if they're being dropped how we can improve and expedite the permitting processes the new building software will help somewhat with that but we are aware that it It is an issue and we need to make sure that we solve it. We're also finding as we dig into these things, like for instance, there was a business that said that the city had just let them know a couple of days before they were gonna start their work that they couldn't do it. Well, it turns out that the contractor never applied for the permit and it does take, you don't come in on a Friday and pick up your permit on a Monday. It doesn't quite work like that. Maybe someday that'll be the case when fully integrated AI or something like that. But for now, I just want council to be aware that we are working on our permitting process and you will see process improvements as we move forward on that. Let's see, the other thing I wanted to mention, the Code Enforcement Board has requested a joint meeting with City Council. If City Council is amenable to doing that, we have to be very careful in how we structure that. I'm sure Dr. Leskovich has some opinions on the two boards talking to each other because they are decision-making boards. And there is the issue of due process. So if you are interested in a joint meeting, let me know. I will work with Dr. Leskovich to figure out how we can do that and make sure that we don't do anything that would compromise the decisions of the Code Compliance Board during that meeting. And I'm very nervous about Sunshine Law and things like that. Approach it cautiously if you're interested, but if you could let me know if you're like is it beneficial I The Code Enforcement Board wouldn't be asking for it if they didn't believe it was beneficial. City staff views it as there could be other ways to accomplish what needs to be accomplished, maybe through staff having Code Enforcement as an agenda item, working with the Code Enforcement Board to find out what the things are that they wish to talk to you about. And if it is an education process, maybe it's a staff education process to city council rather than necessarily the two boards engaging because there is some level of risk.

I like that better. I think there's just going to be too many unknowns.

And we do have the code enforcement board chair here. So if you don't mind, I'd love to invite him up to make some comments.

Press the button, Joe.

Oh, OK. Well put. there are hazards in this meeting and we all understand that and this came up several months ago at the at the suggestion of one of our members and we discussed it at length in our last meeting and one of the big questions that this isn't okay what would be the purpose what would we look for as an outcome and as dr reichardt said there may be options to it that are better than a joint meeting because of the many difficulties we get into in holding a joint meeting with the code board being a decision making and our entire hearing being quasi-judicial So as soon as we enter into that sort of situation, it gets very sticky. One of the options was to present a list of potential subjects that would have nothing to do with code enforcement action, but would be more, information presenting, information gathering, information based, which is why we come back to there may be other ways to do this. The original idea of this was we keep having questions about the code enforcement process. which is cumbersome to say the least, and not made any easier by Florida law. And a lot of people are very frustrated with it. Probably ranks right up there with permitting. But how do we get information out to people? And as such, it would be, would it better to make this an information presentation type of thing than anything else? Because we couldn't have couldn't have a council agenda and we couldn't have a code agenda on the same board we would have to have topics that weren't related to either or so we're more than willing to work with the city in terms of what this looks like to ensure that it served a useful purpose because there's no need in having an unnecessary meeting So that would be the first thing that I would look to establish is what is the purpose and what do we seek as an outcome to the meeting? And if you have any other questions.

So I think you got the direction to...

yes i'll have staff work with the code enforcement board to come up with an educational program see if we can accomplish what uh will be beneficial for our residents at that at the with education versus combining a joint meeting at this time and and exploring if there are ways that a joint meeting could be effective and had good results but i just wanted to bring it to your attention though because it was something that the clerk's office staff was asking about and we needed to get a little bit of discussion on that item, so thank you. And then the last piece that I have today, Mike's gonna show you a video. A lot of times when we hear a question in the community, multiple times or there seems to just be some generalized confusion, we'll go ahead and we'll have Mike make a video to address that. Over the last couple of weeks, we've had a lot of questions about how you can properly place signs right now, what happens to your sign if your sign gets pulled by code enforcement. So Mike created a video about that and I'd just like to share it with you.

Good afternoon, I'm Colin Moran, Code Compliance Officer with the City of Punta Gorda. I'm out here today talking about signage. So this sign here, it meets our height requirement as well as the size requirement of our signage. The issue that we have with this sign is it is too close to the roadway. Per ordinance, it needs to be set back 10 foot from the roadway. This sign would be removed, taken to our public works department for temporary storage. We also wanted to show you a sign that would be in compliance with our ordinance. This is beyond the 10 foot of the roadway. So this sign here, because of the height, the size of the sign, and the setback from the roadway is beyond that 10 foot, it's okay. We're here at the Punta Gorda Public Works campus at the sign drop-off box. I'm going to dispose of this sign properly where I picked it up earlier. It's going to the sign drop-off. These signs are disposed of properly on the first and third Tuesday of every month. For more information, you can go to the city's website on how to pick up your signs.

A public education piece. A lot of times a resident will place a sign on their own and I don't know that they exactly know where to place the sign. So hopefully this helps. And then also I know that signs are very expensive. So if a business or someone has notices that their signs are not where they had placed them, they can go and retrieve them within a short amount of time. So hopefully that's helpful to someone. That's all I have.

See you, attorney.

Mr. Turpening, I believe you mentioned Senate Bill 484 this morning. Um, it was brought to my attention, uh, the other day as well to look into. So I'm going to look into it a little more, um, to, and then I can update. That's what the data centers and the hyperscale data centers, um, to see how it could affect the city and things like that. So I appreciate you mentioning the, uh, um, or when you gave your public comment this morning. Um, I've been talking with City Clerk Sarah about a refresher course on Sunshine Laws. I think the last time we did it was about a year ago, so it's time as well for some of the boards and committees and council to get a refresher course on that as well. So I think, you know, that it may be coming up here soon, but at some point it's going to be coming back up as well. Odalis is continuing to do a fantastic job with legal. And all is okay with the legal department. Lawsuits have been resolved. As I said before, there's still some pending. but they're being handled by the insurance companies. But anything where the city could be out of pocket, there's nothing out there outstanding right now, which is good. And then just to give you guys an update with the Learn to Sail as well and speaking with Carl, We're going to do that contract as an addendum to the original contract. So we're going to take out some of the information that referenced the DEP, the land lease, because it's in the original contract. So we'll make it as an addendum to it. So it makes it a lot simpler for the city to handle that way. Outside of that, everything else is pretty good, and I have nothing else to add.

Do you want to turn yours on?

Me? Okay, go ahead. Did you say me?

You can go next. Oh, I'm so sorry.

I thought you said my name. Comments, yes. So two people called me and said that they had heard or they're aware that our banyan tree's having an issue over by our park. And it didn't look healthy. And of course, I know, I'm not an arborist, but if that's the case, I didn't know if there's something we can do because that tree is really old. So that's number one. I'll let you rebuttal. How about that?

The banyan tree was recently trimmed by our public works department. The owner of that property has also agreed to have an arborist look at that. It's on private property. We were able to trim it because the branch was actually over the public right of way. But according to Mr. Rooney, the owner is having an arborist look at that.

Okay, great. Because that was the concern because it's so...

And the only other thing I have is can we get an update and if you did this last meeting I apologize since I missed on annexation and where we're at That's it Thank you for looking into SB 484 I was gonna ask your opinion so look forward to hearing about that I hope that Melanie can find a place for her parrots and i've been there with my grandson it's really noisy, but our concrete block buildings were great because they. You can't really hear that from outside so it's just really fun to go there and just look at those birds and I hope people want to rehome them so that's all I have really just I think things are going very well in the city, thank you very much.

Yeah, I've been paying attention to what Northport has been doing in regard to the data centers. And they've imposed a moratorium to give themselves some time to review their ordinances regarding air pollution, noise pollution, and so forth. And we don't have anybody applying for a... data center in Punta Gorda and I don't even believe we have the land that would support something like that. But I do think that as time permits we should take a look at our ordinances in regard to noise and air pollution and so forth. So should it ever come about that we're in good stead. That's all I have.

Okay, just on that note that we do serve water outside of our actual city and that may be a concern of ours that the county could approve a data center and we have to supply the water. So it's something to think about. So thank you for bringing that up. Some things I wanna discuss. How about a date at some time for the comprehensive plan for public or city meeting town hall? I'd like a date and an open discussion dialogue with the public. I think they need to understand, you know, you can either make a comprehensive plan change, you can expedite it, whether it be a large scale or small scale change. And I think that those facts need to come out and let the citizens know that this can be done and be ready for 2027. There's both a small scale, like I said, that would be any parcels of land, 50 acres or less, or a large scale, 50 acres or less, I'm sorry, small scale, and then a large scale, which is over 50 acres. So, you know, those are facts that need to come out, and we need to talk about that. The yard, I think you were talking about this, working on permitting process. The yards, I keep driving by the sign and I'm like, when's that going to take off? There's no brick and mortar. I don't know what the issue is, but I'm hoping that it gets cleared up. I know that there's a lot of money involved in this with investors. And I think the city, the residents are looking forward to that. They're looking forward to going there and enjoying themselves. So got that going on. Vested rights. So the gentleman that was talking earlier today, I think that before someone asked for vested rights, we should have an actual opinion from our city attorney. You know, I don't like to be up here making decisions that, vested rights, what does it mean? Do they have them? Is it ripe? There's a lot of questions, and it's difficult to make a decision on those things if you don't have the facts. If this went through a court of law, would it actually be ripe enough to win? Probably not. And we gave them away anyway. So I just kind of want to know, can we get an opinion on those things before we have it on the agenda and before it's... Also, I would like to say to the public, a lot of people are saying, why aren't our docks fixed first? You approved this big project that involves docks and a marina. Well, that's private property. It's totally different and they had their ducks in a row long before we did, long before the storms even hit. They already had approvals for this and they're up against a deadline. So approving that is not the same as taking care of our docks. I just want to make that clear to the public. And then thanks again to everyone who made the council chambers possible. Thanks for the buy-in, staff. We needed you to buy into this and to push it forward. Everyone from procurement on down, and thank you again for today's ribbon cutting. I think it was a very poignant day, part of our day, and I really appreciate that the Chamber of Commerces were both here in attendance. It was kind of special, so thank you for that.

A few dates that I want to put out there.

9-25 is going to be 9-2-5. You know where I'm going with this, Dolly Parton. We're trying to make it a Dolly Parton day. And who's putting this out is the Imagination Library. The employees, let's say if we did it within the city of Punta Gorda, you pay $9.25 and you can dress like Dolly, which some of you men in the back are laughing at me, but that would be fun.

Or you could wear pink and rhinestones and just really do it up.

But you pay $9.25, and the money goes to the Imagination Library. And I will have, or I would appreciate it if we could have on 9-23 any kind of announcement that I could make on that would be great. I think the county is doing... Oh gosh, my mouth is, yeah, yes, a proclamation. So, you know, we can't let them out to us. So wear pink, dress up. Also on 9-29-2026, if you would like to support the Philharmonic, you just go to the Celtic Ray that day. You've got to have the little coupon tickets that I gave you guys. You use those when you get your meal. 10% of your meal will go to the Philharmonic, so it's in support of them. And I hope to see you all there. Thank you. That's it for me.

Councilwoman Polk, I just want to make sure I understand your question about, or your comment about vested rights. Are you asking for an opinion in general or if an applicant has an application pending to try to have something that you guys can look at that is part of the agenda as well? So it's case specific. Okay.

I think it was a case specific with your opinion, I think is what, yeah, okay.

Janine reminded me that Celtic Ray is today doing the same thing for Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center. So if you're hungry or thirsty, head over there today. And next time. I thought it was the 14th.

They're doing a lot. Celtic Ray does a lot of giving. They're very good about this. Well, I don't know. Double check.

I thought it was today.

Let's just eat at Celtic Ray every day. Takes care of it all. So Janine, I love the fact that I don't know, do we need a consensus about us wearing pink and dressing up and having a proclamation for September 23rd?

We'd have to be careful in how we word the proclamation because we would have to do it maybe in celebration of the Imagination Library because council has that rule that you can't recognize a person. But Sarah says, heck yeah.

Thank you for bringing that up, Melissa. Thank you so much for covering that because that was a concern I did want to raise if you wanted to have a proclamation. Let's try this one instead. That was a concern I wanted to raise. There is that rule that council had adopted that said that we would not have proclamations recognizing individuals any longer. We would do perhaps like a letter if council wanted to suspend that rule for this case. I know that Council's been very concerned about precedents, so just be cognizant. I don't know if you want to have some kind of special consideration for this, and we'll go ahead and do a proclamation for the 23rd.

I think this is more about literacy and her connection with that, because there are preschoolers that the Imagination Library gives thousands and thousands and thousands of books in our area, too. So it was more about the literacy, but mixed in with her. And so it's not just about her.

So we could make the focus on the Imagination Library. Absolutely.

And I can send you the one from Charlotte County, just to have an idea of what they're doing, if that's OK. Certainly.

I'd like to see who dresses up in pink better, Steve or Greg. The other thing, sorry. So the other thing that Janine had said, which I think is really important, is all of us keep on talking about our land development regulations and comprehensive plans, and we're talking that we have to have public input. Let's make sure we've got a date, certain time. I don't know if staff has already found that, but I think it's really important that we get that today. trying to get a date set up. You have something ready. Yes.

We don't have that date yet because we did have a couple of other workshops in September. I will get that date for you. Hopefully by the next city council meeting, we'll have that established.

And thank you again with the SB 484, but I, I do agree to with Mr. Ritchie that, you know, we, we do need to protect ourselves even with phosphate mining, it might not be right here in our city. But I think for us, you know, I know we did a resolution, I believe, or something, but, but let's continue on, you know, stating that, you know, we don't want this in our little town that does affect us that affects our water that that affects a lot. So I don't know if I need a consensus on that to consider having that put on the agenda as well. But Mr. Ritchie, you're gonna have to help with writing it. Is that okay? I need a consensus from everybody. Is that correct?

Melissa? I just wanna make sure on the record though, there is absolutely no available land in the city of Punta Gorda that a phosphate mining could do that, correct? So I don't know why we would do that when it's not allowed to begin with. It's almost like we're gonna do a resolution for everything when it's already stated it's not, any available land is allowed.

I think it's just like partnering and showing our neighboring communities, like DeSoto County and stuff like that, saying that we really don't like this. We don't want it in our area. And unfortunately, it does. The water there affects us here. It goes downriver. So I think that's just the only thing is we're in agreement with not doing it with like DeSoto County and stuff like that. I think that's the only.

But it's not allowed. So are we going to start doing resolutions for everything that's already not allowed? I just find it unnecessary. That's all.

Well, again, I mean, we supply water outside of our area. And my concern is if there are developments like that that are approved by the county, we're on the hook for the water. So, you know, I don't know if we can even legally do that. I don't know. I'm, you know, just guessing here. But supplying water to something like that is very different from just a regular industrial building. Okay.

And in that case, it would be like anything else, no matter what goes outside the county or that would be in the county that would need water from us, it would have to come to our facilities first to get approval that we could supply that water. So that would be, you know, so regardless of what it is, AI or whatever, if it's going to take a copious amount of water, it still has to come to us first. So the county can say all day what they want to do, but, you know, we would have to be able to then also say we are able to supply that water. So...

that's that's really the only kind of feather we have in our cap when it comes to that yeah mr leskovich can you weigh in i i i just i and i hear exactly what you're saying melissa and i don't disagree with you at all i just think that it just puts the word out that we are really trying to protect our community and the water resources and you know it just sends a message yeah thank you

You know, there's not enough land in the city in the incorporated area of Punta Gorda that a resolution would really do anything. Right. I mean, you could certainly pose a resolution that says, you know, we oppose phosphate mining that may affect the city of Punta Gorda. But it's more symbolic than it is of any full force and effect, though, because you don't have the land.

All right. Okay, so are we okay with symbolic? Yes, yes, yes. There's four yeses.

Just write a letter in support. Why are we doing a resolution and taking staff time to write a resolution? Just write a letter and say, you know, we're writing this letter that we all agree that we're in support, that we would not like phosphate mining. I just am afraid, again, precedence. We start opening that door. Now somebody else wants to come in and says, well, I want a resolution for this. I want a resolution for that. I just don't want to bog up staff time. As Mr. Leskovich said, it's not going to do anything.

So we have four yeses and one no for the consensus to do that at this point. And I don't mind having a letter along with that as well. Okay, we're good? I think that's it. Go to the events for 9-11 and then again on 9-20 at the Vietnam Mall for the riders. I think it's important for us to stay involved with the community and I'm not sure if anything else, but I know the weekly report is really great for a lot of information that's put on there. So with that said, public, oh, Janine, sorry.

Yes, no, I would just like to ask about are there positions open right now on HPAB? Are we going to deal with that another time or how are we working that?

Sarah, did it go?

Yes, it did. I'm sorry. I'm just pulling up their board membership at the moment. They do not currently have any vacancies other than an alternate. And one of their seats is vacant, their seat three. So they are made up of Teresa Desquin, David Perry, Charles Noble, and Terry Ziegler at this time. So if Teresa were to leave the Code Enforcement Board, nobody will be able to be absent. Otherwise they won't be able to have a quorum if she does opt to leave HPAB in favor of the Code Enforcement Board when they become a decision-making body as well.

To be clear though, there is one seat open then you said on HPAB? There's one regular seat and one alternate seat.

Okay.

So we need to advertise that?

They are being.

Okay.

public input could i just answer count or vice mayor's uh question about the yard or comment about the yard so i was in contact with david fry yesterday again looking back getting educated about where he's at in the process there was a little gap in time between when building had communicated with him that he needed to provide additional information, and when the additional information got provided. We're actually missing one piece of information, but I gave approval to go ahead yesterday with the beginning site plan work. We have an issue with the fill that we have to work out, but we can allow him to get started with the fill, so hopefully he can make at least some of this next season.

Okay, now we're gonna try it with public input. Okay, we're done. No. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.

And are we ready to go? Okay, again, for the record, my name is Samuel Terpening, and I really appreciate you guys engaging on this issue. I do have a speech here, but I'll just try to talk to you in my, a few little three minutes. Yes, I understand that we do not have land in Punta Gorda for a hyperscale data center. The land is not what the issue is, the water is the issue. And because we all share the same aquifer and the same recharge basin, we need to protect that water. So again, as I had mentioned earlier, and I know that the attorney was very gracious and he'll be looking this up so that you can see that it's just not me talking stuff to be up here, but that we have the ability to protect our water. So it's not a we don't want this, we're actually protecting our water in the city of Punta Gorda. And that's what the ordinance is for. So I stood at this podium and I handed the council the sound blueprint that again is gonna be looked at and it is under SB 484. And the reason that Northport is different than Punta Gorda is because Northport and DeSoto already have permits from the data centers. And so it makes it completely different. So for them, SB 484 is not applicable. It is only applicable in Punta Gorda because we don't have any permits. For them, they have to use a public ordinance doctrine in order to write the things that we were talking about yesterday. That was the whole conversation. I was there if you were watching. you understand. So in Punta Gorda, we need to protect our aquifer and our watershed from the regional imminent threat of regional hyperscale data centers. Again, it's not the land, it is the water that we all share in the entire state. There are already, when you're looking, sir, there are already many municipalities, about a dozen, that already have both well-filled and aquifer recharge basin ordinances written into their LDRs. So there are already several counties that already have that approved. and it's not that they won't accept having data centers or hyperscale data centers in their communities, but what it does say is those hyperscale data centers are gonna have to provide their own geologists and their own engineering in order to show conclusively that they're not going to drain our water, that they're not going to diminish the pressure of our water. For myself, I'm on a well, so if you take that water away, then it reduces the pressure of my well. Even though I happen to have a deep well, many people do not, and many people have already had salt intrusion in their wells in Florida because of the historic drought that we're still facing until October.

Thank you for listening to me, everybody.

Well, good afternoon, everybody. I'd like to introduce you to Sam and my friend. This is Colin Andrews over here, everybody. He does some great reporting around Florida. I really wanna have you all listen to what Sam is explaining to each one of us. This is imperative for everyone. How Sam and I met was protecting the water. Now I've been out for years. Thank God I've got my friend back on the march. And what have I been talking about the whole time? The water use permits that Mosaic uses, that Swift Mud issues, Council Member Lockhart. They issue these water use permits, millions of gallons daily. Within seconds, minutes they take this fresh drinking and bathing water and they dilute their matrix. The matrix is what they blend. It's full of heavy metals. It is full of bad stuff. Let me tell you, when they discharge from the outfalls, it's not just water that comes out that's been diluted to the max. There's tons of phosphogypsum that gets pushed out. Mercury. I have documents from EPA. Now we need to put a motion up to get a second to have this resolution and ordinance created to protect our water fields. We have to do this, everybody. This is not about Samuel Turpening or Tim Ritchie. This is about everybody. I just want to tell you, we're at a place where we should ban AI data centers in the city of Punta Gorda. And let me tell you, Mosaic, don't you think for one minute they wouldn't try to finagle their way to phosphate mine land in the city of Punta Gorda? Hell, they'd like to go in the middle of the Peace River and mine it. Destroy our beautiful peace River in our Charlotte Harbor, and that's what the hell mosaics done for the last since 20 2004 5 and We are going to save our River all of us up here I guess City Council Lockhart won't be with us because she doesn't care about the river of the environment But I can count on all of you And I want to thank everybody. We've had a great meeting today. And Mike, boy, what an asset you have been. And sir, thank you. Welcome to the team. Three months, good stuff.

I gotta tell you about a little joke I'd like to pull, but can't happen. See these little, Wendy Mueller, see these little black spots on the floor? I thought about sneaking in the room when nobody was around and pulling them all up, because they're the markers for the chairs. And just, you know, somebody's showing up and going, what happened? Anyway. It's good, it's good, it's fun. Okay. What's more important or what's got more teeth, an ordinance or a letter? I don't need to, nobody needs to answer that, we know that. But what I really came up here for was to say thank you because everything I complained about, you're already on top of, doggone it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Is it just open, you can come up and see it. I like the old school style.

My name's good citizen Good citizen who's the lady with the coke that doesn't pay attention and just scoffed at Tim Ritchie What's what's her name? I? Can put it on the record as good citizen I was gonna say the IT Director I'm assuming purposes of the record you have to put your legal name Okay, I'll put Colin so the the IT director. I think he's doing an awesome job Colin.

What's your last name? I? It's for purposes of the record.

I have to get full name?

Yes, sir.

All right, just put Colin Andrew then. Can I continue?

Yes, sir.

Okay. Is it funny in some way? You're going to be recorded. And the last person that did it, you're going to get complaints. So I noticed when he said, thank you, brother, you scoffed at him. And you're sipping your Coke and then you're laughing at me. I don't think that's respectful. Everybody else has been paying attention. From what I've observed, this is my first time. You don't have to address me while I'm speaking. Thank you. Everybody up here has been attentive. This is my first meeting being here. Sounds great. I think you kind of give public land away for free. So I'm not a big fan of that. But yeah, I just want to, what is this councilwoman's name? Do you have something against Tim Ritchie or something like that, that you don't look up when he's speaking and then scoff at him when he sits down? I don't understand that. It's not a question and answer, sir. Well, you wanted to participate.

Sir, the purpose of public comment is to address counsel.

I'm addressing counsel.

To address ideas.

My idea is participation and not scoffing at citizens and showing respect. Then please give your comments then. These are my comments.

Right, but we try to be respectful here.

I'm being respectful. I'm just addressing behavior.

Can you continue without taking anybody out, please?

Yeah, but I'm speaking right now. It's not a good first impression for the Coke drinking lady. Everybody else is great. This is my public opinion. You know, I'm being respectful, even though I don't have to be. But addressing issues directly is not being disrespectful. I don't think you should smirk at citizens. The whole time you speak and you're over the writing notes, But I think it's important. You know, the last person in Northport, the mayor called Sam an effing idiot. But then they come in and everything he says, they say, yeah, it's correct. So I think you should listen to him. Like I said, this half, great. Coke drinker, not so much. Thank you.

Your mic's on. Yep. Sir, if you have questions for me after the meeting, I'd be happy to answer them for you. Thank you.

Are we done for the day? Okay, thank you. Oh, yes. 501 tonight back here. So that's for the budget meeting.