Public Utility Advisory Board - Regular Meeting

Push to record. Is that correct? So all of that was recorded. That's great. It's Manny's call to order. We're going to start. The time is 03:03. Roll call. So do you want to start? Joan Morgan. Amy Stevens. Theresa Caracello.

Janet Garriglio. Carol Estrada. Aaron Nelson.

Else want to chime in or no? Okay. All right. Pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance Thank you so much, everybody. You may be seated.

Here comes Lisa.

Yay. Public comments. Yay. We waited, but we knew you were coming. I said, I don't think she would mind. You're over here. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hello. So for roll call, just state your name.

Hello, everybody. Lisa's here. Yay. Public

comment. I'm sorry. Did somebody say something over there?

There is none.

There is none. Okay. Approval of minutes. The approval of July 8 Northport nonprofit United Board minutes were attached. I viewed them on the links. I viewed every link you guys sent me, and I took the time to send to sign in. No. It was great. Those links were awesome. Thank you for doing that. So I signed that. And then it says approval of September 12, and I also signed that on page two. I move that we approve the minutes. Right. I'm sorry. I'm sorry? I move that we approve

the minutes.

Okay. Oh, sorry. Yeah. Motion is the second thing? All in favor. All in favor? Aye. Aye. And then same with the September? I move that that we we

approve approve the September.

All in favor? Aye. Next are presentations. Sunshine Law Training.

Reminder. I feel like I've run into these things most days, quite honestly, here in the city. So as far as the meeting procedures and the rules and the ethics, it's going be the same as the commission as it is for the advisory board. So that's just something to hear keep in mind. So obviously, we are open government. Florida is in the sunshine, so everything has to be available to the public, including what you guys are talking about here. Probably the most important piece, if you don't get anything else out from this training, is here. What is a public meeting? So if two of you are having a conversation about something that you may be voting on or a foreseeable action everybody asks what a foreseeable action is. It really just depends.

If it's something that you may be voting on in your future and you're having a gathering between the two of you and just casually chatting about it, it could be a sunshine violation. That could mean, like, Facebook, email, text messages. So there's that. So if you are gonna discuss those things, it has to be in this setting. It has to be on the agenda.

So meetings have to be open to the public. They have to have reasonable notice, must be provided so that somebody can come and offer public comment if they need to or if they want to. And then the minutes of the meeting are taken and recorded. So that's why it's important to never have a conversation, even if it's just a casual conversation that's not in this room because it wouldn't have been noticed to the public. And also, so penalties, most notably is the penalties is why it's mandatory training with ethics, with sunshine you see in the paper all the time.

I know we have certain individuals who are always doing public records requests, especially in Charlotte and Sarasota County. And if they got ahold of any of this, potentially, the lawsuit could be coming down and and hear the proper case for that. These are just random examples. Some of these are old, but it's just to show that there's these people actually went to jail. Two of the council members this was back in 2020. They tried to vote on certain things that night. They decided that they were going to remove the mayor, mayor, and that was going be a huge topic of discussion. They postponed that meeting. They advertised that on the city's website. They still met that night.

They held their own meeting on the notes of the public, and they voted to fire the city attorney, city manager, office to remove the mayor from his position. So, obviously, that's something where they were criminally prosecuted for it. To you can't have those discussions without input. And I know we know all of this, but it could be something so casual that you don't even know that you're doing it. And then somebody gets a hold of it, you're in violation of Sunshine. So public records can really be anything, whether you're texting. I know for us, at least city employees, we have two phones. I could be talking about transaction of official business on my private phone, and I'm still creating a public record. Let's say I'm texting my paralegal, and we're talking about a subpoena, but still subject to retention, and that's still subject to the Sunshine Law. So keep that in mind.

No matter where you're communicating, if you're creating a public record because of your role in the advisory boards, you're going to want to keep that in for it to the city clerk. And I'll kind

of go into that a little bit.

So just some things to ask yourself. Am I receiving this material because of your position with the city or advisory board? Is the material made or received in connection with the transaction of official business of the city? And then is it used to perpetuate, communicate, or formalize knowledge? A lot of times at the police department, for instance, we'll get something on, can I get all of

your

WhatsApp information? A lot of people think WhatsApp just disappears, kind of like a Snapchat. And even though it's done on their private phone, records will contact them and say, hey, do you have any information on your personal phone for X, Y, and Z's arrest? And potentially, how I teach at the police department, at least, they forget how much a public record is creating. And you never run into an issue until, myself, for instance, I'll see all of my emails in a public records request.

And immediately, I'm like, did I need it? But that's spyly based in there. So there's some things where I'm not even being cognizant of the fact that the public is allowed to have anything to that happen. Electronic messages and private computers and phones I put this in here because, like I said, a lot of people think that because you're talking on your private phone or your private Facebook, if it's about anything as your role here, that potentially retention and disclosure. This will most likely never happen, but Michael kept this in here.

I go over it. It's happened to me a few times. I kind of call it the random email or random stop in the elevator as far as copy of something you guys spoke about in here? Then all of a sudden, you're in charge of this public records request. What you could do for that is just forward it to the clerk or the staff liaison and then provide a member of the public.

Like I said, most likely not going to happen. It is, for some reason, happened to me 10 times in the last month. Just like, hey, can I get a copy of such and such? And the problem with that is that if somebody wants a copy of something you guys are discussing and you fail to fulfill it, potentially that could be a public records violation. The cure is to give them the information, but ignoring a public records request is also a violation.

So retention, if you do create a public record, mostly everything you guys talk about is gonna be in this room. But if you do, make sure you give it to staff liaisons and or city clerk so that if for some reason somebody wants a copy of it, it's it's subject to disclosure. This is kinda what I was talking about. If somebody just calls the cops and says, hey, can I get a copy of something you guys are working on? And you fail to ignore it, potentially you can get sued for failure to respond. And the same thing with an inability to comply with a request. I remember when I first started, I was like, oh, well, one of my coworkers was out of town. I said, well, when she gets back, she can handle those public records requests. I was like, that's not how that works. That is 100% not how that works.

You have to be able to comply whatever that looks like. Again, not something you guys may ever run into, but it just shows the expense if there is a violation. Ethics, common sense. I will say that I ran into a couple of things just as my position here with the city, so it's always good to mention the ethics hotline. If you feel that there's ever a time that you can't vote and I know we have a lot of legal requests pending on this commission right now, for instance.

If you ever run into a situation where it's clear as mud, I don't know if I can vote because my sister's brother's girlfriend is on the board of something, judges have put me in situations where I'm like, I don't think I was supposed to answer that. I call. It's anonymous. If you ever run into an issue, that's great. I put it in don't look at the last two because they're clear as mud. It's not going to explain to you everything you need. If you ever have a question that's not cut and dry. Call to ethics online. Solicitation or acceptance of gifts. You can't accept anything of value, favor, or service based on an understanding that your vote's going to be swayed.

This could be as simple as lunch. Especially when I first started here and did not know all of the usual supply, you go out to lunch or something, they're like, oh, let me grab it. Well, they're technically a client even if they're another attorney, and that's a big no no. Because then it kind of looks like, he bought me lunch, so I'm going to speed this up right now. So same thing.

That could more so happen than not. Any unauthorized compensation, if you're accepting anything of value that's going to influence a voter official action, that applies to your spouse or minor child. And then misuse of a public position, you can't have any special benefit or privilege. I use the example I was a state attorney for a while before this. And the first rule they teach you as a state attorney, and we're all young, fresh out of law school don't slash your cute little badge they give you when you get pulled over by the police.

I can't tell you how many people flash their cute little badge every time they got pulled over by police thinking that they were more special than they were. And then they get fired. So that's exactly misuse of a public position. Abuse of a public position, any disproportionate benefit to yourself or others because of your role here, and then disclosure or use of any certain information. I don't like this one as much because most likely whatever you are talking about is going to be in the sunshine. It's gonna be in this room. So you most likely won't be looking at or reviewing anything unless

it's in this room.

But, obviously, if you are given information because of your role here and it is then prohibited relationships. If anybody, you can't purchase rent lease goods or services for the city from your business, and it supplies to your spouse or your child. All of these prohibited relationships, any conflicting employment or contractual relationship as well, the cure is that you're not voting. So it's not that you can't have these things. Obviously, there may come a time where Northport is growing, but it is a small community.

Lot of us all know each other. And in that sense, that's going to just be something where you abstain from voting. It's not that you're not allowed to have the discussion. It's just you can't make that final decision. And then you actually can you may abstain from voting per Florida State statute if a conflict of interest exists that I had just spoke about, and then in a quasi judicial proceeding to assure a fair proceeding free from potential bias or prejudice.

And that's just something that you're going to have to look at the agenda before it comes out and let your staff liaison or the clerk know if that's something you're abstaining from. And then obviously, you're prohibited from voting if there's any financial interest that applies to your relative or business associate. And there's rules. It'll be fifteen days. You guys are a small group, so I'm sure we won't run into any issues. If you do have to have the same voting, we can kind of walk through this. Relative, I'm doing a large legal response on this right now. Like, you would think it'd be very kind of dry. It is not. But who is a relative?

These are just, like, your general cut and dry. This is who it includes. And I'll let you know at the end of my very long response what I come up with as far as, like, ex stepbrothers and stuff like that. Penalties, why we do the the actual meeting is because of the penalties. And then meeting procedures, you guys go through this each time, but you have to make a motion kind of what you had just said. You're like, what is quorum is a majority. You have to make a motion. It requires a second. You can then do an open discussion. And then the board debates the motion.

Staying on topic, talking about something else would be out of order. This really applies for the commission as far as you guys are a smaller group, and there's going to be more open conversation. But stay at least on what the agenda has you talking about, because anything else could be not noticed, and you could run into an issue later on. Time limits, again, not so much for here. But if you do put a time limit on one speaker, it needs to be consistent throughout.

And if you want to modify that time, then you can do it by your two thirds vote. And then each board member speaks once promotion unless nobody's waiting to speak. Alternate members, I put this in here just to refer back to you if you ever need to look through this, and we'll walk you through it. We being here at the same time, and I'm here most of the times. But so we'll walk through if you need an alternate member.

And then if you guys

need anything that you're looking to you need as your role here, this just tells you how to get information that's not a public record. If you may need confidential information or something that you would like to take a look at, you have to approve unanimously. And then the staff liaison will either send it to my office, the city manager, to the city clerk's office. Any questions?

I got a question. And it's not yeah.

I understand everything you're saying.

Okay. As far as call and this is about another group that I'm on as a county thing. Okay. The one deciding the meeting has to be the liaison. It can't be the, like, the chairman of the group calling out to the other members. Right? That would still be something that should be done if you don't, you know, by the liaison deciding?

So that's a good question. Just as far as, like, when they're going to have the meeting. Yeah. Next meeting. Yeah. I guess best practice would be staff liaison. You will not get violated for non substantive conversations like that. Right. That was that was a big question that came up last time. Well, hey. We had to reschedule it. Actually Chuck English. I know exactly who asked me this question. And he emailed, and he said, hey, we're rescheduling this till next week. And he felt like he was having a meeting for purposes of but it was nothing substantive. I would say best practice is stop these on if they wanna they wanna Well

presented, and thank you so much. Next on the list, general business. Review the fiscal year 'twenty three-'twenty four and fiscal year 'twenty four-'twenty five, Northport nonprofits, United MB2's six month impact statements, and supporting documents. Think that's what's sitting here to the left of us? No? That's what you guys sent in an email? Yep.

Yep. Yes.

And we and I reviewed them. Are we going through item by item? Yes. Yes? Okay.

Item one, Kiwanis Club of Northport. Ms. Carrillo introduced the application, provided clarification regarding financial document submissions, and reviewed application information. We are doing the links. Right. Okay. Yeah.

Awaken. So Awaken. Yeah. Awaken. Awaken.

Thank you. Okay. So for Awaken, what are we discussing? What their six month was? Okay. Does anybody want to add input?

No. They did a good job on that. Fabulous. I mean, they're really you know they're doing it. You're hearing about it all the time besides what you're reading. And they're really doing a good job. Thanks

to support the city of Northport's MP2 grant, we were able to do amazing things for the neighbors in our city. The new large commercial fans and generator helped us run many of our outreaches and special events. Statistics show the impact made in our community in 2024.

And there's less waste. They're saying there's a lot less waste with what they're doing too. So that's great.

Yes. Large fans and the generator help keep them cool. Very very nice. Next item, backpack angels. I love supplying backpacks for over how many kid hundreds of kids. Right?

Yep. They did knife job too. I'm not saying

it in

this handout,

but Over a thousand bags a month.

And then big brother, big sister. I again, I read all of these in detail. I don't know if you guys remember little key points that you wanna bring up, talk about. Oh, here they are. Backpack angels. Just reading the tote bags that the city of Northport through the grant program, MP P Square so generously donated earlier this year. That that melted me to hear all of that. I mean, it it shows that we're doing good for the community, and it it made me reevaluate my time here as a volunteer. And it it really made me feel good that I'm giving to the community. To hear that type of feedback Mhmm.

Is worth all of us taking the time throughout our day to meet and so forth. Yeah. Boys and Girls Club.

They seriously have been doing Boy, what changes are they going to make? Woah.

I skipped over Big Brother, Big Sister. Our goal that our clients have the tools and support needed to achieve academically, he gained the capacity to achieve their potential and live their life resilience, financial self sufficiency, and good citizenship Yep. Among the seven North Fort High School students that received Lenovo notebooks, wow, thanks to this grant, for living at or below the poverty level. And all did not have access to technology at home as to raceethnicity data among the seven students, four white, one black, and two are Latino. Rates are timely grade level. Graduation

will be reported in

the twelve month impact statement. Next. And there's the pictures of the kids with the Lenovo. I love it. Which one is this? I don't see a title for this. Oh, I'm on the mic.

Sorry. They got

a speaker from us, and they were just seeing how everything's running more organized now.

Boys and Girls Club. Boys and Girls Club with their speaker and how they can effectively communicate with staff members. Literacy volunteers of South Sarasota.

They talked about the books and everything else. Seems like they've done good too.

Non Northport Coral. Yeah. They had an impact from COVID, and they had, like, a 100 less people in the audience because of it this year. And so that made up for their loss because they travel a lot. They do a lot of events in churches and synagogues, at the Holocaust Museum, at they do a variety of things

in the community. Right.

And so wanna see the these things that are so important shut down, you know, because of COVID or or because of hurricanes. You wanna see them continue even if you have to help them a little bit.

So now their ticket sales are exceeding their pre COVID statistics. So

fabulous. Northport Forward. Student filmmaking program. Mhmm. Doing a lot with the community and engagement and support, showcasing their work through compelling short films.

And it's like payment for the website, keeping the website going, and and other various forms of communication. Yep.

That's good. Are we still an MP forward? Mhmm. I need to inform you that they have have since informed us that they are no longer currently they disbanded. Yeah. Probably within last month.

Yeah. Say I someplace. Yeah.

They did return the items to us. I did the item Mhmm. Back to us. We are currently looking at repurposing the items, either back out to the community, maybe on, like, a borrowed system, kinda like you do the library, maybe borrow the the items, we still have not identified what's the best use for the items as we cannot return the items and get the funding.

And these were cameras and the software?

Yeah. Cameras and, like, camcorders And

they got mics, and they got

Could it be donated to speaker?

Like, school? The North Park branch seems like they could use that.

I don't know if it could be donated since this is, like yeah. Right.

I have to look into that.

Don't That's what that's what we're trying to currently, staff is currently currently trying to identify what's the applicable and most appropriate use of the item. Ethical. Right? Yes. Ethical. Thank you, guys.

I leave one for you. Perfect.

So would you like to add that to future agendas?

That we see what happened to the equipment? Because these were students involved in

this. Mr.

Rawlings used the equipment. Right?

But No. Rawlings ran it, right? Somebody else? Mr. Rawlings and I read the other adults. Who were Oh, Kevin. John Rawlings, Kevin Shahan, VPA program at Northport High School, and Imagine School along with reporting number of students enrolled in the program. That's what I was thinking about. Do I need to the school a bit? But it just banned it. There's other programs in the school that could use it, like their TV productions class. So after your research, let us know. Yes. We will. You guys are funny.

I love reading about Team Court. Yes. It's a lot right? A program that helps, I mean, just off the top of my mind, a program that helps students avoid integrating back into life instead of going down the path of jail or otherwise. Right? And in order to the court has a standard.

There's a dress code. They supply black pants, black shoes, appropriate shirts. Beautiful. Jean Court has been because I actually worked with that at Lemon Bay when I headed the law program. And throughout the whole United States and even in other countries, the number of students doing other crimes is so much lower. The kids just talk to each other. And it's kind of like, how can this change? But it does because they become part of the system. They have to be part of future juries. So they realize there's consequences. And whatever magic happens, it changes it. And parents have to come in for counseling too. So it really does work.

There's that light bulb moment. They they make a

connection to it.

As long as they do it. You know? Mhmm.

Thank you for sharing that. Women's Resource Center. Introduce area of youth to activities and services that promote feelings of self esteem and self improvement with the development of a healthy attitude towards authority. All organizational activities instill and teach the benefits of law abiding citizenship and civic engagement. Goal is eliminating the clothing barrier, which prevents young individuals and families who struggle financially to purchase. Was this teen court that I'm reading? No. The women's This is still this is regarding okay.

Yeah.

There's no title. That's why I didn't know who it belongs to. To purchase and stated item from benefiting from our program. Indicators or methods. Since receiving the clothing items from the m p two program Oh, that is

the teen court.

Okay. Yep. Thank you. Yeah. Team court. Okay. Next one. So this is this. We're in receipt of all the items and have been using them. In the case of the paper, it has been utilized. In terms of progress of our clients, in the past six months, we've served fourteen eighty two clients. Four ninety six are making progress on their goals. Seventy one clients indicated they have improved their mental health. 53 clients increased their financial security. 43 clients obtained employment. 32 clients secured stable housing.

That's nice.

That's success. That's the Women's Resource Center. One hundred Community Development Center.

That that is the next fiscal year. So this is this is the first funding cycle. Thank you. That ends the first

funding cycle. Do I need to say that? No. Motion to move on to next year?

We don't have to Shannon? Shannon? Yes. I'm sorry. Do we have to do a motion that we approve this the reports for this funding cycle before we move on to the next one? Yes.

Motion to approve the six month follow-up?

I make a motion that we approve the six month follow-up.

I second.

For fiscal year 'twenty three, 'twenty four? For fiscal

year I '3, 'twenty second.

All in favor?

Aye. I think they've done phenomenal. I'm really proud

of all. I'm very excited about that. That made my

whole day reading that. Before we move on, can I say can I make a request? I was reviewing these, they weren't consistent, and it was hard to measure the difference. So I know we're just constantly getting better. But for our eyes to review this many, and I know there's an opportunity for growth, could we maybe put something together that's a little bit easier to say? What did they look for? What were their goals? Did they I I know it's all subjective, but it would be very helpful. That's what

I wanted to ask. So because they're all different, they provide different services, we weren't sure what to ask them within this first funding cycle. So we wanted to ask you guys what you were looking for as far as, to measure their success. Are you

looking for for a statement, an impactful statement, or are you looking for a specific statistic? Our our main purpose is that the the impact goes to Northport, whether it being, you know, the population or how many meals they serve or how many people walk through the door, that impacts with the funding. But if there's a specific category that you would like to see, we would we would need to know that. Or if there's, like, the impact statement, that you would like

to see.

There was one that I read that raised the red flag because furniture went to Venice. And for a second, was like, wait a second. And then they said, helps to service our Northport people better? Because there's overflow from Northport and Northport will go to that office for service. So what we would like to see in terms of the impact statements Well, just the six months, I mean, the six months.

I love the impact statement. That was eye opening, and it made such an impact on what we're doing as a board is beneficial. But also, the statistics how can you fight statistical numbers? And so I think it needs to be organic based on how they serve the public.

But maybe having a good representation Big Brothers, Big Sisters stood out the most to me, right? Because they told us what we gave them, right, because we're not going to remember all of that. And so we didn't have to go looking for what we gave them. They told us why it was so important, population, and then they talked about the graduation, which are yeah. So I just felt like that. And then, you know, I guess the pictures, you heard people speak to that. That might speak to somebody else, too. But the ones that didn't review what they got, they just kind of us. Then you had Awaken's, which was all of these numbers not captured. I just think it needs to be more formalized in that way.

Because your eye, the therapist in me says, like, Okay, I see Awaken's huge prod. That's a huge number. And you go to big but they're super significant. So it's just making it so that it's equal, I think, is really important. And

the form will be changing as well to add the names up top. Oh, great, great.

That's helpful.

I think a lot of these groups a lot of these groups do not have writers, do not have people that are into this. I mean, they're just doers, do gooders.

Good one.

And they're not and they're not

the ones that are gonna be writing up an official grant or know how to do it and make it eloquent. So I can appreciate that, but it's nice to know how many people we are affecting. And some groups, obviously, are gonna affect more than others. But still, the impact, hey, it helps one. It's helping somebody. You know?

And if we're going keep the meeting concise, we need to know. I think it's helpful to know that more.

So do you want to add that as well to the future agenda item?

For approval? Or do you guys feel like

Like formatting the feedback? Formatting the six month statement? Right. Yes. Okay. Thank you. She always chimes in at the perfect time. She knows. And should I motion to start fiscal year 'twenty four-'twenty five? Motion to start fiscal year 'twenty four-'twenty five?

I motion to start reviewing fiscal year 2425.

I'll second that.

Any nay? All favor. Aye. Sorry, guys. All right. Starting with one hundred Community Center. Our food waste has decreased while daily attendance has increased. In the months since receiving the in kind donation of equipment, we have been able to serve in excess of eighteen oh seven meals to the targeted residents of the community. And I love that they define the targeted residents. Our mission is to provide a daily healthy, quality fresh meal to the community.

I'd love that. I had

a red flag on this one because when we reviewed it, we didn't know who these people were, and now we have a name. Do you have any information information on on that? That?

Is that one hundred Street Church?

Was that the One Mission one?

Remember, we looked it up online, and we were That trying to figure it

one Mission. One Mission. Okay. This is one hundred Community.

They are located in Port. So the meals that are being served are at the North Port location. Near Blue Tequila? Mhmm. Yes. Okay.

I guess I hadn't

seen So you were talking

about somebody

else? I hadn't seen the director's name up until right now. So that's important information for me in the future to know who's running the organization. Do you remember that, seeing his name on there?

No. Yeah. No. Yeah.

They were on the application? Yeah.

I don't recall his name being on there because that would have caught my

attention. Mhmm. Is Dave McClure? Yes. Oh,

yes. Actually, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And then

it was mine. But it was very tiny. That's why. Okay.

Yeah. There's another lady that friends it. Right?

His wife Amy helps a lot.

And then there's another lady at the site. They're, like, from the church, and then there's a lady from the site. And they they both kind of from I've observed. Family Promise. Family Promise is, Family Promise of South Sarasota County's mission is to provide housing support to families and children experiencing homelessness. Through shelter case management and supportive services, we help families achieve lasting stability and economic mobility. The appliances of our new bath in shelter were received. However, due to the ongoing renovation this is the one with the renovations. They couldn't use it, permitting delays. They have not yet been installed.

Once the renovations are complete, the bathroom shelter will provide temporary housing for families in crisis. We anticipate serving 16 to 24 families annually, approximately 40 to 60 individuals based on the typical three month stay. Should there be a timeline in place for use of allocated funds? There

could be if you guys decide that you vote on that.

But we've got to be fair too because some of these people, because of

He's dealing

with the aftermath

of the hurricane. Trying to get permits and all this stuff, a lot of stuff you see it around town. Oh my gosh. Precisely. They're sitting there waiting for permits.

Yeah.

And then last year, too.

I'm sorry. Yeah.

Yeah. So I think we have to be fair if we put a timeline on it and they're really trying to do good and it's not their fault.

How about the fact that you guys order it for them? Did they order it prematurely? Or did you just have to go on the timeline?

No. Have Eric can speak on that. But we have purchasing deadlines that we have to abide by. So they have to

receive it?

So they have to receive

it regardless of whether the housing unit can house it or not. And so

that's I wonder what they do with the stuff if they're not ready for it.

Store it.

Where? Yeah. Will. Somebody's house?

And the danger of that is if it shows up broken and you never plug it in, what do

you do? Yeah. Those

are all Yeah. Valid

I mean,

it sounds like they're at the shelter, but just not installed yet. Yeah.

I would say with them that as soon as we can, we need more updates as soon as they can get them.

Or maybe let's keep in mind for the future. Maybe that needs to be something we consider as a team that if it is a major appliance that requires reconstruction or something like that, maybe there's additional requirements or as a homeowner, that's a scary thing to get a piece of equipment and then never plug it in or no. And then the warranty is gone. And then all that money

I mean, is an unforeseen circumstance because they weren't looking at the permitting delays or the renovations not being complete. So I'm not sure how you're going to like, you're talking about I wasn't aware of that at the time of the

purchase, that they were renovating anything. I didn't know that. I don't know if I would have known to ask either. But now going through this, maybe, yes. Mhmm. But at the time of purchase, I didn't know.

When did they apply? Was this something that the damage happened after they applied? And so therefore, I mean, I could apply now. We have a hurricane tomorrow. And and, basically, what I was gonna use this stuff for totally changes, and then I can't get the permits. Yeah. They Not by fall. But

They applied in August, and then came to have

their meeting in September. Yeah.

And then we start start the procurement in October. So they don't get it after that.

So, yeah, it takes some time.

So the hurricane would

have already hit.

Yes. Yeah. Okay.

Questions?

Well, where did we land? Are we gonna

We'd to leave this up. That also as a future item, updates, time frames for family promise? Yes, please.

Maybe just a check-in. I don't want them to feel pressure and, like, threat of loss of item. But it would be nice to know that the item was used appropriately.

I like your idea.

Thank you. Would it ever make sense to have a question about is this permitting situation just so we can have that insights? What do you require

on can it? Pass that to the

way the engineer, when they review the applications at first.

And maybe it's a broader question. Like, is there additional steps that will need to be taken or something like that?

For you to utilize the item that we're asking?

But if they take the appropriate steps to it if they're going get a new fridge, can they have that fridge in their their unit?

Do they need additional things to get this Is that what you're instructing us? Yeah. Because if there

is a second step and you buy the piece of equipment in that step, I mean, what if the permit doesn't get approved or the renovation, that equipment now gets Right?

Or, like, the larger items like the fridges or the freezers?

Yeah. But just in general, like, is there an additional step that needs to be taken in order for this item to be, like, absorbed?

It's confusing to an applicant to read that. Applicant might be confused if worded that way. It makes sense to us in hindsight vision. But when applying for something, they might be like, an additional step. What does that mean? So how can we phrase funds are being put towards something that gets used within a time frame of receipt of funds?

That should be on the application itself, though, is what I'm saying, not on the checklist. They should be on the application. They should be taking off if, there is an additional step or if there's a barrier for them to utilize the item. If there's a barrier in utilizing the item immediately once received is what I would put in the application.

Seeing or unforeseen barrier. Exactly.

Leib, can we do that? Can you guys vote on that to add that to the application? Motion to add to the

application seen or unforeseen barrier to to using the item received.

Right. Because there wasn't wasn't there I'm just wasn't there something about the art center two one at a refrigerator once upon a time? Yes. It was the same kind of issue.

And Yeah. Right. Yeah. With the with the building being removed. Right. Right.

I think we only knew

that because of you.

Oh, okay. Yeah. Wow.

But that that would have been

a good piece of information. Yeah.

Okay. So you guys are voting to change the application? Do we include that question?

I second.

All in favor? Aye. Aye.

Okay. Vote to change the application to reflect reflect that. That. And that was Family Promise, correct? Yes. The next page? Yep.

Friends of Shannon, stop. One question next. Sorry. So

the vote that you just made, you just want for family promise and not in general.

It's a general it's a change to the application.

So it's for one application.

So it's so it is for Yes. All future applications. Correct?

Yes. So it's one application when when agencies apply. It is adding a question to the application to the NP squared program to include that question.

Okay. Got

it. Thank you. Mhmm.

Friends of Chen and Staub. Okay.

They're saying that they, were able to receive the books. And the large print books are great for people with vision problems and all that kind of stuff. Okay? I have a side note, which has nothing to do with anything, but I'm going to say it anyway because that's the kind of person I am. We have another person in town. Her name is Susan Owens. And her book, she has studied studied autism autism for for forty forty one one years. Years. She She is is the expert of experts on it. And her book just came out, Mrs. No No Storybook. And it's on Google as of today or yesterday. And she paid for the whole publication of the book herself.

Okay. Yeah. Fantastic. Yep.

So we have another author in town.

Awesome. They didn't get the books

till March. Is there any specific reason for that?

Yes. The vendor that I was working with, they had to order all the books, and they did not receive them. I was working with them for a while. They ordered them. And then just as they were coming in, it took a while for them to come in because I was purchasing very specific titles that the library wanted. So, they were really the only vendor to reach out to me.

Yeah, they And just

now they're at the library still? Mhmm. Yep. And so they haven't been able to use them? All the books have not been returned, meaning what?

They've been

used and not returned?

They are checking there's people checking them out. Okay. And then, I guess, them not being checked back in.

Yeah. That's what I would assume.

Yeah. So Once the books are in house, we'll set up a display of the new large print novels. An article will be written in pictures. So that

would be, like, a bit.

The one year follow-up. Yeah.

And they did they did do that. I was there for the pictures. So they did they have set that up. And I know that they had to send their books out. Once they received them from us, they had to send them out to be processed by Sarasota County. And then they had to receive them back. That's probably what the return thing meant. And then once they received them back from Sarasota County, people then can start checking them out. So they have a little bit of process on their end too before the books could be checked out. So they're being checked out currently. So we'll probably see in the twelve month report how that's going.

Wonderful. And also, there's a follow-up here. Library manager will begin to collect data on the number of large print books checked out monthly. So that's a larger scale data that they can see over time. And this data will be compared to the previous year's data to determine if goal four is being met. I like that.

And I will tell you something, being a clerk of the election for decades, Okay? It is amazing how many people come in and you have to give them the magnifying glasses or do the express vote in that because they can't see the large print. I know this is important for a lot of our citizens, especially the elderly.

Absolutely. Yeah.

Laurel Civic. They had some adversity. Dedicated to building resilient futures by delivering programs that empower children and families to lead successful lives. The Adult Empowerment Program directly contributes to this goal by providing education, training, and support that cultivates self sufficiency and greater independence with our communities. Through our workforce readiness workshops, clients gain the practical skills necessary to thrive in the contemporary workforce.

Moreover, through our financial education workshops, Laurel Civic actively works to disrupt the cycle of poverty by offering critical financial management skills and resources, believing that financial literacy fosters family stability, mitigates individual and financial stress, and enables proactive future planning. Community It says, While we were still developing robust measures for all programs, we considered the following indicators in the context of our recent financial education workshop and our broader work addressing housing instability. Community need, we use the United Way Atlas report statistics of 33% of households in Sarasota County living below the Atlas threshold as a key indicator of the significant need for financial stability resource in our community. When added to the statistics for Central South Sarasota County, which includes Laurel, Nacomas, Venice, Englewood, and Northport, the percentage of Alice in poverty level households jumps to 45% of households. This highlights the potential population we aim to serve and impact.

Doesn't describe maybe there's more to it. That doesn't describe how the funds were No. That's just, I guess, an intro.

They searched four out of 13. They were aiming for 13 participants in their financial literacy class, only four people showed up. So number three. Yes.

Crucial need for restructure that workshops were scheduled better aligned with the significant time pressures our clients face. The original format was a comprehensive four to five hour session. So where do we leave off with that?

It seems like they need to it almost sounds like it's too bad they just can't withdraw and come back when they have a better setup.

It sounds like they're making modification there.

They have to yeah.

They're making a modification to it, and and, hopefully, we could see that at the at the twelve month. Yeah. Mhmm. Yeah. And see what's the result then.

Yeah. So, like like, on the promise one and that we just wanna see future, what they did.

So what did the money

purchase? Soft skills software.

Okay. Okay. Okay. So we're we're gonna follow-up on the twelfth month on that one? Definitely.

They seem to have a plan in place set for modifications. And in conclusion, drawing from the compelling statistics highlighted the significant financial stability within Sarasota County, especially the elevated need, Central South Region, the necessity for accessible financial resources is evident, although the inaugural financial literacy workshop experienced lower than anticipated attendance. The subsequent after action review yielded critical insights that are directly shaping program evolution. So it's evolving. And it just needs follow-up. How do they do at the twelve month? Yep. Meals on Wheels. Well, I tell you what.

I know a number of people who help on Meals on Wheels, and they have really loved the can opener. I mean I mean, we're hearing how much easier is on them and how much quicker they The better.

There's 800 cans that they open.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I tell you what. This is a

small report, but, you know, it it really did help. Is this? Who is this for?

This is his financial. Laurel.

That's still the previous one. Yeah. Okay. So no child. Sorry.

Just one. And so, yeah, when we read when I read about Meals on Wheels, the can opener was the thing they first talked about. And I was like, wow, that's a lot of money for a can opener. It's an industrial. They did a Facebook know, industrial enterprise improved the efficiency within the kitchen resulting in the improved workflow and overall cost savings, and they're able to serve 12,000 meals 12,305 meals and number of cans open 802.

Yep. Who does see you guys?

It hurt your back, man, opening them. That's really a great thing.

Is one mission disaster response. Provide immediate rescue rescue and relief to the survivors of disaster within twenty four hours of impact. This is the long term recovery through financial assistance, debris cleanup, flood slash water damage, remediation, and distribution of supplies. This was one where we were looking for the six month impact. Right.

Right. We were discussing this one last OneMission's focus area is within the state of Florida and determined upon the effects of a disaster, whether natural met may. OneMission staff and volunteers record data from our immediate response and looking for the outcome. During long term recovery efforts, our team collects data, scanning down to the next paragraph. The coalition of this data allows our teams to conduct so it's real generalized. Yeah. But you didn't see Are there specifics on the next page? Okay. Very good. Yeah.

So do I understand that

they fed them water? No. This is all debris cleanup. That'll have the service received.

It was a trailer. Right? Mhmm. Yeah. Forward that. Oh, yeah. Okay.

Yeah. But and and this is who got helped? Yes. Okay. Perfect. Like, date and times and Yep. Client name. Okay. There's, like, 22 people that he helped. Yep.

And you can see specifically the Northport residents that he helped by

the ZIP code. By the ZIP code. The ZIP Okay. Got it.

Yep. Fantastic. Mhmm. Last on the agenda is Spark. The Dell Workstation funded through this grant has enhanced our ability to serve the Northport community. It has not only allowed our advocate to maintain high levels of service delivery. I feel like there should be a comma there. We are deeply grateful for this support, which has directly contributed to creating a safer community for all residents of Northport. I was looking for a but also. It has not only and then I was looking for a but also, but the statement ended.

Okay. Indicators to measure impact, service provision metrics, total number of services provided to describe. These are their copies or us asking them that? Outreach and education data.

Well, they gave us a lot of data. Yeah. A couple pages, they gave us a lot of data.

We supplied her with a A template? No, a computer so she could provide services, three forty one services to Northford residents. To 80 individuals in Northford? Mhmm. Yeah.

Care counseling, accompaniment in hospital settings, and intakes, 53.

Right. And their age group and all sorts of stuff. Wonderful.

Are there any board questions? On the back, let's see. Okay. Number eight, future agenda items. So we're gonna do the twelve month follow-up. We're gonna do the the follow-up to this meeting, which was the amendment to the application as well as adding the names to the I mean, that's a great feature that you

said you were just thinking

about. And

then what else did she write in there? What else did you add to your You're gonna see here. You're gonna recap for us?

Update. Okay. So everything that you just said let's see. You said how to measure success You said updates for a time frame for family promise. Also, and appropriate steps to use for the item, update the application, and change for daily practice. So that was moving on.

And that's what I have. Okay.

Right. And Northport do with the instruments from Northport forward. Mhmm.

Yeah. And the Northport forward, we gotta figure out what to do with the stuff we got for them.

And she she wrote that down. Yeah. That yeah. She's gonna follow-up.

The format of form.

Mhmm. Formatting. Mhmm.

Add to the

application in question. Two updates.

Two updates with Family Promise and Hello.

And Moro Civic. Moro Civic. And then the statistics on each of them, a little bit more

how they serve the public Mhmm. Which was part of the formatting. And it'll

be more detailed on the statement. Like, when they provide the statements. Like, how, boys and girls COVID, what they got.

Right. That's part of the formatting. Okay. Isn't that a separate thing? It's part of the formatting. Part of the part part of the report. You guys want more detail with the statement and the statistics.

Right? Consistency between all businesses.

Okay. Easy to read. Not long paragraphs. Just very bulleted.

Which is what we gave them. Right. Right. Right. Right. But this is what we received. Mhmm. So, if we can, bring a form or formatting that this is exactly what they fill out and this is what they need

to fill out. Description of length? Mhmm. Use one paragraph to describe how Yes.

Maybe a one pager or something that has some data with the statement, and that's all. It's also

Or just the questions. What did you get? How did it serve

you? Is it used for people?

I'm

wondering if they should be listing their full names, their addresses, just having gone through the sunshade sunshine. Was

on who they serve? Yeah. Yeah. And that's what we request. So the only one that actually submitted it the way that we asked for it. Right? It was Four names. Was One Mission. Yes. So some people don't collect that. But that's the thing. Some some of the agencies, and that's what Carol was trying to explore me, we asked them. We created this form, and we said, this is what we wanna know. We wanna know who you served, client name, how many people are in your household, what's your income, race, ethnicity, services provided, amount, your zip, if you're employed, are you receiving assistance. We ask for this data. Some of the agencies that we have funded do not collect this data.

Well, and Spark couldn't release it. Right? That's confidence information.

So what we need to know is, like, what are what exactly do you want? Do you want the impact statement? Or, like, you had given us, what was the item? What was it used for? What's the data? Maybe maybe it's more of, like, Carol's saying, maybe it's more question based versus

Open editions. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

We can even ask for a client story or I don't know. You know?

Who you serve if privacy allows? If you're not allowed to disclose who you serve.

Yeah. Yeah. I'm going there.

Like, you're saying, like,

I know anybody?

The thing is I

you know, if my name was not here, I don't think I'd want it out at all.

Like No.

Not at

Correct. And and maybe and maybe somebody seeing their name on here would say, well, how come they're doing this? This is this was my business. You know? This is my company.

And it may discourage them from seeking help. Mhmm. Yep. And so that's the opposite of what we're trying to achieve. Right.

Yeah. So So what would what would you all like to see?

When appropriate, include the name, not not mandatory. How can we phrase it?

Or at least numbers. I mean, I want to know that 50 people were served. I might not need to know their individual names. It might be good to know if they were obviously Northport people and maybe some Age? By race, by age, kind of like the clientele. So we get a general idea of

where we're serving mostly Demographics as much as your as much as your agency Right. Levels. Okay. Demographics. Please provide us with demographics such as individual names. Much as your Along with an an impact statement?

Yes. Yeah.

Demographics along with the impact statement.

While keeping an amenity, a priority.

Okay. We can do that.

And I just had a question. We're coming from our year of commitment, and I just wanted to know what it was that you guys were looking for in terms of the advisory board's commitment so that we know what that looks like moving forward.

Yeah. So we had discussed it. Right? So we were looking at, and I believe in the Erin, remind me. In the administrative plan, it it, details a two year commitment.

So, basically, what we're looking at is, the vice chair to get voted into the chair position, maybe that person would serve possibly three years while everybody else would be serving two. Yes? Lisa? She's like, thanks, daddy. And we also have an open chair now because of our resignation from Gail.

Was she the community member?

She was the population. Uh-huh. The, older population.

Yeah. So we have an opening. We need somebody. How do you pull from people? How do you pull applicants?

So the first time that we created the committee, that was through recommendations of miss Julie King. So you all all of you were recommended by Julie King and approved by city manager. So moving forward, it is your responsibility to approve the next person. So we wouldn't be approving them.

Do we encourage people to apply? Or how do we get the word out that there's an opening on the board for

Shannon, is there a city policy of how we get the word out?

That, I'm not certain. I'm only because it's not a board that we actually handle. So let me see if I can get some information. Okay.

Yeah, all of the boards, there's a list of how many members are needed on, like the environmental board, the rec board, and that there's a list of how many are needed.

And when we say older population, define older because I just had a milestone birthday.

I would say 55 and wiser and wiser. I I've learned from, okay, from mistakes. So 55 and wiser. Okay? The resolution is 55.

Yeah. Seriously? And

that he's wiser. And Lisa, just return back to your question, it is calendar year. And that's less.

Oh, is that

less for us?

Because technically, we've already served two funding cycles. So it's not funding cycles. It's longer.

So you've been done according to the

funding I just want to know what the expectation is because then it sets my understanding. I get it. I'm here for it.

And as with any board, as you're going through the motions and you're learning, this

is

a brand new program and you guys are molding it and establishing it. And so I I feel like as you as we get it down to, you know, run super top notch and efficient, it's gonna be like you're gonna term out, and it's, yeah. Here we go again. I know. Yeah. I would say that about teachers.

Right? They retire. They're the best.

They're the best. Then they retire. They're the subject matter experts. They are knowledgeable. They know exactly what we're looking for. You know? Kind of

a been there, done that field. You know, nothing faces them. Yeah. So no. But it's nice that we're evolving together. That's really cool.

Yeah. Including us. We didn't

get to ask the attorney, but one of the questions we had last time was could we do any of our meetings virtually when we all couldn't make the quorum?

But we did Shannon?

So unfortunately, at this time, that would be no.

Okay. So

then just making this public announcement, Joan and I were here last time. No fault of anybody's, but we weren't able to have the visit. What are we doing to prevent that? I think we did a good job today, but just making sure

Well, know, know I do believe the clerk's office calls everyone They do. They absolutely do. And confirms with everybody. I think the last two times, just had, there was some medical issues. Now we know Gail's no longer gonna be able to, serve them for us.

And then, just the timing was off. And that's why the that's the reason that we had sent you the email with the dates in advance so that way you can put them in your calendar and, you know, unforeseen circumstances, we understand. But as much as we possibly can to meet those dates because then we're gonna have a situation like we had last, last meeting where didn't have a quorum and we couldn't do the meeting. So we just ask that you plug in those dates since they've already been scheduled. Yeah. And it

also helps that Shannon send out the email to us as well so that I that she's not emailing you you and then I'm emailing you that you're not getting bombarded. And then you told me, and then I didn't tell her. So that's, I think, what happened last time too. That helped.

Got it. Thank you.

So we're learning. Okay.

Now the other board, the standard for North Port City is two years, and you can serve two terms. That they're they're they're two years long, and then you can be reappointed for a second, and then you're termed out. So four years, basically. Yeah. That's where all

the other boards are. Yeah. I think that's where we're at, two two years except the the chair. The vice chair that gets voted into the chair, they may serve there may be a time where they serve three years in case they didn't get voted they didn't get voted their second year, you know, but they get voted their third year. So that person might. And that's a might. Possible.

Awesome. Any other comments? Public comment, Chair Kerichola requests the board specialists call on this who have submitted public comment cards. There are none, correct? For general public comment to come to the podium. There is no podium. Small group today.

I don't believe so. Let's ask Shannon. Okay. If there's any public comment that's come through at all.

From there. This is the only board that we don't handle

direct To

bring people in for

a new seat. For the Yes. For

recommendations. For the wise oh,

for recommendations? Okay. So I would work with city manager on that, continue to do that?

Correct. Okay. Well, we can leave it up to Julie King. She's marvelous.

And it's probably where we'll end up?

Yeah. She should be back.

When's our next meeting? Just to have it on record. It's maybe September 15.

September 15? September 15. Okay.

At 03:00. Three. Yes. Okay.

Do I need to motion to end the meeting? Well, first step, do public comment. Oh, public comment. All right.

There is none. Okay.

But you did. She was on the phone when you asked. Oh, good. Yeah. She did ask about it. It.

And this just occurred to me before we end. I have a conflict for the one hundred Community Development Center. I sat on a board that employed the director that I feel like is a conflict. Okay.

And for a previous application? Yeah. That's what you were saying that you didn't see the name. I forgot to say

it earlier. Okay. How do we

work around that? Does she just not comment when we bring that up?

I believe that when the application is being reviewed, I think that at that time, you should be able to Vocalize. Vocalize. That you are yeah. Connection And don't And Yeah.

And you don't vote. Okay. You wouldn't be able to make a funding decision.

In this case, Lisa did not see the name. And so

What do you say in that moment? No comment? What do you say in that moment where you're making a funding decision and you notice a connection? How do you

Conflict of the Conflict of the sentence? Okay.

Right. Or you can abstain from the vote.

Yeah. Just a conflict. You have somewhere some connection. Whatever.

But do you say that you're abstaining from the vote, or do you just sit quiet? The protocols?

You can abstain. You can say that you're abstaining from

the vote.

Okay. Thank you.

Motion

to close the meeting.

I second the motion to

close our meeting today. All in favor? Aye. Thank you all for your time. It's always nice seeing you, ladies.

Thank you. The time is now. Sorry. Oh.

The I'm sorry? The time is The time is now. The time is now 04:11PM, May nineteen and thirty seconds. It's a Monday. Thank you, guys. What's the weather outside? It's a thousand degrees outside.

Thank you, ladies. Thank you for all your