City Commission Regular Meeting - Regular Meeting

In just seconds, it gives a full readout on the pulse chemistry. And before this little machine was created, this was a more of a manual

container

and drop them in, like, a certain amount, and, basically, it'll calculate from there what your pH and chlorine is. This is the daily task? Yeah. This is what we do at the start of every day. We're not running everything in the moment. It'll drop it down a couple inches.

Next, he showed me the daily checklist for the part.

And we have our chemical data sheets. So, basically, just making sure, like, at our comp pool, lazy river, kids pool are all where they need to be anywhere between two parts per million or 10 parts. And then pH is somewhere between seven point two and seven point eight for a healthy pool. There you go.

Then came the bag washing and wasting process, flushing the filters to keep the water flowing freely or removing excess water from the system to keep the water levels balanced.

And then it'll start coming out in this pit. So this this whole pit will fill in about three minutes. Really? Over there? Yep.

Next, we changed out one of the strainer baskets, which helped catch large debris before it can reach the pumps.

I'll trace you that one. Thank you. Then new one goes in just like that. We Before

joining the team in Northport, Matt worked as a lifeguard in Charlotte County under Trish Sturges, our assistant director of parks and recreation.

So I've known Trish a very long time, so that definitely was one of the influences of wanting to come work at the aquatic center. Had me go out for an AFO course recently, which is aquatic facility operator course. Basically, anything and everything relating to a facility like water chemistry, safety, rules, that, this and that. So I went there, I just passed that class. So it's a little little bit of knowledge under my belt. It was definitely useful.

Well, Matt, we're we're grateful for your time and your experience and all you put into your career here. You congratulate us on your certification, and you do amazing job.

I appreciate it, sir.

Thank you for joining me today at the North Ford Aquatic Center. It's a great facility. I wanna thank director Sandy Funheller, assistant director, Chris Sturgis. I have learned so much amazing things today. I would like to say that the technical expertise that goes to keep the water safe as well as the people safe is an amazing combination. See you on the next job. Thanks for being here.

Hey, City of Northport. My name is Sandra Boudreaux. I am with AECOM, and I'm representing the City of Northport on this glorious Price Boulevard project. We are here on Price Boulevard at the Blue Ridge Waterway in which we are building the box culvert. As we've talked in the past, we're doing a double barrel box culvert here, and we are currently pouring the second wall of the structure. That wall's gotta cure. The concrete has to cure, and then we can strip form. So it does take some time for the walls to cure and then for us to start building the top. After that, we're gonna build the earthwork and then the roadway.

So at this point, we are currently early on in the process.

If you want further updates, you're gonna go to the Price Boulevard webpage.

Good

afternoon. Today is Thursday, 05/07/2026. It's 4PM. We are in the city chambers, and I call the city commission regular meeting to order. Commissioners present are commissioner Duval, commissioner Stokes, mayor Emerge, vice mayor Langdon, and commissioner Petro.

There is a quorum present for this meeting. Also present are city manager Fletcher, city attorney Foweto, city clerk Faust, board specialist Linder, police chief Garrison, and fire chief Titus. I am requesting that all commissioners, public participants, and staff maintain order and decorum throughout this meeting. City Commission policy twenty twenty one dash zero three states that attendees shall refrain from engaging in personal attacks, boisterous, immaterial, inflammatory, obscene, profane, or disorderly conduct. Of The

United States Of America and to the

Thank you, sir. Need a motion to approve the agenda?

So moved.

I have a motion on the floor made by the vice mayor to approve the agenda. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by commissioner Stokes. Anything to that? Please vote. That passes five to zero. City clerk, public comment.

Dedicated employee. I just wanted to take a moment to recognize the man of the hour, the legend himself, deputy city attorney Michael Gullen. For the last eight and a half years, he has dedicated himself to this city with passion, commitment, and an impressive ability to tell a dad joke at exactly the wrong moment. Truly a rare talent. He has led through challenges, celebrations, long meetings, and probably at least a few emails that could have been meetings.

And through it all, he has brought humor, heart, and authenticity to the people around him. Whether he was making us laugh intentionally or just completely failing to read the room, he always made work memorable. They say every great organization has someone who leaves a lasting mark. In this case, some of those marks were strategic leadership, some were community accomplishments, and some were just awkward silences after a joke landed a little too confidently. But in all all seriousness, his impact on this city has been real and meaningful. He has worked hard, cared deeply, and built relationships that will last long after today. So today, it feels only fitting that we recognize the man, the myth, the proclamation worthy legend himself. Congratulations, Michael. The city is better because of your service.

I'm an attorney could afford having that written for him.

Northport employee. I fully agree with the comments made by my colleague regarding city manager Fletcher. Since stepping into the role and navigating the complex situation he inherited, he has brought unwavering professionalism to our city. For too long, progress was hindered by past leadership more focused on internal politics than on city growth. This resulted in critical capital improvement projects being sidelined, leaving us in the position of playing catch up today.

It is time to let the city manager oversee day to day operations and allow our staff to do the jobs they were hired to perform. The commission should focus on high level strategy and moving the city towards full its full potential rather than micromanaging departmental equipment and logistics, like commissioner Petra wanting to know how many lawnmowers the parks and recreation needs. In person, we have Jill Luke followed by Valerie Bollinger and Joe Morgan.

I am thrilled to death to be here today and to witness what is going to happen. Alice White deserves so much. This lady came to our city eighteen years before I did. And I didn't really know all the stuff that she did in those eighteen years. But I think I have got three or four pages of what she did do.

But when I came in, I knew there was this trees being planted along Salford. I knew there was a tree memory lane on 41. I knew there was always a tree expo type of thing. I knew there was kids that were going and learning about trees and all these things. And I knew the tree lady was behind it all.

But then running Patriot, I opened some of my units to nonprofits. She came in for Tour de Northport. All herself doing these things, she stored stuff in that unit. Bicycles were stored in that unit so that she could market the Tour de Northport. She had hundreds of people coming in, would go out and make the trail of where these bicycles would go.

One of my I mean, there are so many memories of Alice that I just cherish. One of them was at one of the tree fairs that she had and I wanted to take a picture of her. So what did she do but hug a tree? Love that picture. Love that picture.

When she finished teaching, I mean, she is a mom plus mom plus mom plus mom when it comes to her son. So she has got a lot of things that she has done with the children, including the teaching. But when she was finished with the teaching, she still wanted to give of herself publicly. She ran for office, became a commissioner, but boy, she did not want to be mayor. I don't think I could do that.

City manager, we talked to her quite a bit, didn't we, trying to talk her into, it's okay. You don't have to be perfect. You just go through. So I am glad you decided that, yes, you served us well. She is a strong woman.

I was so impressed often time on the dais that she would stand strong to her conviction conviction because she felt it was the right thing. That is what they're to do, is to stand for the right thing. Follow the rules, stand for what's right for the most people within the city, to the city's future. She was probably a little apprehensive about me to start with because I was a businesswoman and she was a tree lady. But we got along great. She learned. She adjusted. She accepted. We came up with everything for the tree ordinance. And you guys are doing an excellent job taking care of it.

Love you, Alice.

Valerie Olinger?

Well, boy, Jill has said everything I was going to say.

Okay. Thanks, Valerie.

I joined People for Trees about six months after Alice first formed it. And since then, I've worked with her in so many of the projects that we've worked on. And I don't think Ryan Peeper is here today. Is he? He was one of the first people within the city that I got to know and was a tremendous help to us on many of our projects.

And I think so many people don't realize when they look at some of the tree tree work that we've done in the past, they have no clue. Most people don't even notice that it's there. Except when one of the trees dies and then they call up and gripe and say, oh, this damn tree in front of my house has died. Will you please come and take it out? Well, that's because they haven't been watching it when they're supposed to at the beginning. Anyway, Alice is a wonderful woman. I love her dearly. We've done a lot of great things together. And I wish her continued success. And I will continue to work with her as long as my 92 year old bones will let me do that.

Thank you.

Joan Morgan and then Tim Doyle. Hi,

Joan Morgan. Well, they've covered the trees, okay? But Alice didn't have to be a commissioner or a mayor to get this award. All the stuff she did before, then she already had it made, but it's just phenomenal, all the things she did. Being a teacher, I cannot imagine how she did the tour of the North Port and was teaching and doing it all at the same time.

That is ridiculous. That's insane. That's insane. And environmentalists the tree sales and how much people got trees for, the ridiculously low price. The underground railroad that she does over at the Shannon Staub Center and all that kind of stuff, and again, that teacher and and really just a phenomenal program, and everybody needs to know that. Singing, guitar, and doing all of that stuff. Mommy and Me, another program that she was very involved with, and writing books about Jake and, everything else. I mean, just just phenomenal. And of course, the pies. Of course, the pies.

Okay? But, actually, Alice and I, to begin with, when I first heard of her, she was going to be competition. That's right. Yeah. She was the one. Okay? She wanted to take the old Northport Mall and turn it into a daycare, and Ed and I were just about to build the daycare on Biscayne, Northport Learning Center and Daycare, which, as teachers, was way out of our comfort area, way out of our budget. We were dying and she was going to compete against us and it was gonna be bad. But it didn't go through, and we did manage, and it was unbelievable. Another story that a lot of you don't know is October 2000.

Alice White and I were in Fort Lauderdale, and Alice was being named teacher of the year by the Florida State, and it was just magnificent. She deserves it so much. She has done so much. The variety of things that she does is just outstanding. I mean, what isn't she involved in? That's the easier way. She is a visionary. She's a hero. She's not done. She's not done. I don't know what her next who knows? Maybe she'll be up there flying with Jake and piloting the plane. You never know. I don't say no. Don't say no.

But anyway, she's magnificent. She's marvelous. She has deserved this for a long time, and, very glad to see her get this recognition.

Thank you.

Oh, I guess I should say congratulations, everybody who's getting stuff, before I go online. So congratulations. Now I'm gonna give my 2¢. I don't know if you guys seen the manipulation in the markets lately with the oil market and the price of gas and stuff, but there is manipulation. Part of manipulation is Trump let go 172,000,000 barrels of oil to be released from the National Strategic Reserve, 172,000,000.

How much money is that on the open market right now? And they didn't pay much for some of that oil. So I'm calling on Rick Scott and Greg Stubbe to send some of that money they're making off that oil they're selling to Europe because they're not selling it to us. Trump asked all the tankers to come here to fill up from our national strategic reserve to take the oil back to Europe. So if we're gonna give up our oil supplies to Europe out of the strategic reserves, which I think is totally ludicrous, but these politicians are letting it happen, I expect some of that money to come to Northport to pay for that air raid siren I want or to the road that some of you guys want to 72.

They can call it, I don't know, 8 75 and make it part of the interstate system. And the reason why I put the eight there, because if you don't know, even numbers go east and west, and north numbers go odd. So that would be the proper terminology to it. Now these politicians said they went to war for all this, and they said on the news, an eight and a half by 11 piece of paper is gonna end this war. I got it right here.

They need me to fill it out. And if if the war is over, they took away my penny to pay for it, right? That means they don't need a $1,500,000,000,000 budget for the military. And I have someone in the military who's a ranger. I don't want his pay cut or anything hurt to him, but we don't need to add all that money if we don't have the things we need in this country.

And if they're gonna sell our oil to Europe after their mistake in The Middle East, then the people of this country should get that money, and that should pay for infrastructure in this country. As what you don't understand with all these wars, we're paying for our we pay for Ukraine's government to run. We paid their pensions. We're paying for roads to be built and all this overseas. That money should stay here. Rick Scott, when you're gonna come home and give us some money and give us back our pennies.

That's all

there. Thank you. Moving on to the welcoming of new employees. City manager, this is your item.

Thank you, mister mayor. I will invite our human resources director, Christine McDade Town, to announce the newest employees we look for.

Thank you, sir.

Hello, everyone. For the record, Christine McDade. It's my honor to welcome some of our newest team members. If you'll please stand when I call your name. We have Daniel Pedersch from Solid Waste, who is rather a solid waste laborer from Public Works. Also from public works, we have Mark, operator too. Daniel Nimally, equipment operator too as well. And Matthew Williams, equipment operator three. Today, it's just a small group we have from the police department. We also have Joseph Eilerman, police officer.

Joseph You're welcome. And also Paul Freeman, police officer. So on behalf of the city, we welcome all of you and wish you the best of luck. Thank you.

Alright. We're gonna go head down and do our proclamations.

It's really an honor for me to be the one to bestow this key to the city on Alice White. Come on down, Alice. Watch your step. I first met Alice White in 2019. I was running to become a commissioner for this city, and I was pretty well connected with the business community, but I really didn't know anybody else.

So I talked with the people I knew and said, who are some of the leaders in the community that I should speak with in order to get a different point of view on what's going on and what needs to be done. So my very first stop was to meet Alice White. I went to her home, sat in her kitchen while she was baking pies. It was nice and roasty toasty in her home. And for two hours, we talked about Northport, and she shared with me the love she had for this city and her deep commitment to the city's success.

My other immediate exposure to Alice, of course, I found out then that she was the tree lady. Everyone knows her as the tree lady. But then I learned about Tour de Northport, and I had the privilege of volunteering. Very early in the morning, we would show up. And again, her motivation for the tour de Northport was to show off her city.

She was so proud. It was all about promoting the city and what a great place it was to live, work, and play. So I know she's done so much more than that, but those are the things that really touched me personally. And in those two hours, she tried to sort of reset this financially obsessed person who was running for a city commission to make me more aware of and sensitive to some of the other needs of the city. And so any failures of her to do that are not her responsibility.

It's my own. But on that note, thank you to all the public commenters who did, I think, a pretty good job of shaming you on all the things you've done for the city. So it's an honor and a privilege for me, Alice White, to bestow this key to the city on you. It is so well deserved.

Oh, thank you.

And I suspect you'd like to you'd like say a word of a word of truth.

Yes, ma'am. I I heard there's time constraints here, but, yeah, I'm gonna say Those who know me know I'm not comfortable in making I don't make big speeches anyway, but I wanted to thank Joe Luke for being the instigator in this, and, of course, Commissioner Langdon for bringing this forward, having the courage to bring this forward now, because it's an honor to be given the key to a city that, yes, I've called home for thirty five years. I I wanted to I think I should share how I came to find Northport because, thirty five years ago, people didn't even know Northport really existed. I came to Florida and and, moved to Sarasota, and I started I was teaching, of course, in New Jersey. Yes, I have to disclaim that's where I was from.

Okay? But when I was waiting for a teaching job to open, I had to find some work in the summer, so I worked for mosquito control. Yes. So it's the little mosquito that brought me to Northport because I would be teet with techs during the day to check the traps and do all that. And the two female techs, I I realized they had the worst places that they were in charge of.

One was Inglewood and one was Northport because there was always mosquito complaints. And when I came to Northport during one of those times, I said, this is where I want to live. This is real Florida. It's pine flatwoods, palmettos, sable palms, so this is where I want to live. So that's how I I ended up in Northport. But like I said, when I would would go and tell people in Sarasota, I'm gonna build a house in Northport, and they say,

where is that again? Where is that?

We don't have to say that anymore. My son, Jake, yes, I talk about him all the time. Thank you, Jill, for bringing him up. She knows how how much I will never pass up an opportunity to talk about him. He was born and raised here, yes, not literally born here, but we know that's going to change.

And I look forward to the first first person baby that's born in that new hospital who can actually say, I was born in Northport. So, looking forward to that. Jake would be here today, but as as Jill said, he's he flies a a charter jet and he's on two week rotations, and I couldn't persuade him to to give that up for for to come here. But I said, can watch it on you can watch the meeting later. He goes, okay, mom.

I'll I'll see if I can catch it. Yeah. But what this really this key encompasses to me is what I've been involved in. It was mentioned mommy and and me, but when I first moved here, there nobody knew I was here, and I didn't know anything about Northport, really, because I I was living in Sarasota. I taught at Port Charlotte High School, so I bypassed the city all the time.

So when I finally closed on my house, I had no idea what was here, and I said this place could use a welcome wagon. So I started, welcome to Northport, where once a month, I knocked on 50 doors, cold knocks because they didn't know I was coming, and welcome people to town. And this was back in 1992, okay, which is long, way further back than some of you are old, probably, before Internet, so I was using a paper map, rotary phone to call, the builders and, realtors just to find out who they closed on. Yes, Mommy and Me came about because when Jake turned two, there was nothing here for kids. Imagine that.

So, I started Mommy and Me every Saturday. And through those two two activities, I developed some lifelong friendships. In fact, Tony and Rhonda Gustavus, that some of you may know, I welcomed them to town, and I still know them to this day. And, yes, People for Trees started in 1997, and, yes, I stole ideas from other places. For example, Sarasota County had a tree fair.

So I came home and I said, Northport needs a tree fair, and that's how that started. I took part in the first Tour de Parks bike ride for the Legacy Trail, and I said, Northport needs its own bike tour. So I started the Tour de Northport. And as commissioner said, that was to showcase the beauty of our city. People only knew, Northport what was along 41.

They didn't know anything about Northport until they took that bike ride, and it was great. And of course, yes, all the trees that have been planted, it was been mentioned that people don't even know that people for trees and volunteers planted those trees. So other than my son, of course, who is my biggest legacy that I'm going to leave, it's those trees that you'll continue to enjoy for for many generations to come. So again, I thank you for this honor. Thank you for bringing it forward, and thank you for the five to zero vote too.

Steel.

321. One more. I have 321.

Okay. Thank you.

Elaine, this was the crazy lady that welcomed us to town.

I remember Elaine from the opportunity.

Right, Elaine? Yes, ma'am. Over here, Ellis. And I wanna get a hug too.

Yes. Thank you so much.

You're welcome. You deserve it.

Say hi to Jake Ford.

I will. I will.

Alright. Now this is a little overdue, but everything's worth the wait. Don't feel? Come on over here.

Right.

I'm gonna present you with this plaque in recognition of your exceptional oh, they spelled that wrong now. Leadership and dedicated service as mayor. City of Northport 2024 to 2025, you did a fabulous job, and you reached out. You had your town halls. You were very, very accessible to the citizens. You did a great job. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, mayor. Appreciate it very much. It is always an honor to serve the city. It was really an honor to be mayor, And I thank you very much for the recognition.

You

haven't done anything yet.

She she gave me one big words. Alright. Do we have anybody here from, for ALS awareness month? Anybody who's gonna come down? Alright.

Whereas amyotrophic lateral sclerosis also commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease is a progressive fatal neurodegenerative disease, which in a person's brain loses connection with their muscles, slowly reducing a person's ability to walk, talk, eat, and eventually breathe. And whereas thousands of new ALS cases are reported every year, Estimates show that every ninety minutes someone is diagnosed with ALS and someone passes away from ALS. Whereas, on average, patients diagnosed with ALS survive only two to five years from the time of diagnosis. Whereas the exact cause of ALS is unknown, there is no known cure for ALS. Whereas people who have served in the military are more likely to develop ALS and die from the disease than those with no history of military service.

Whereas securing access to new therapies, durable medical equipment, and communication technologies is of vital importance to people living with ALS, whereas clinical trials play a pivotal role in evaluating new treatments, enhancing quality of life, and fostering assistive technologies for those living with ALS. Whereas ALS Association is the largest philanthropic funder of ALS research globally and has committed more than $154,000,000 to support more than five fifty projects across The United States and 18 other countries. Whereas ALS Association is committed to making ALS livable and cure it for everyone everywhere, and whereas Amaltotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month provides an opportunity to increase public awareness of the dire circumstances of people living with ALS, acknowledge the terrible impact this disease has on those individuals and their families, and support research to eradicate this disease. Now, therefore, we, the city commission of the city of Northport, Florida, do hereby proclaim May 2026 as ALS awareness month.

Do we have anybody from Salvation Army? Whereas the Salvation Army has been serving the people of Sarasota County for ninety nine years physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and whereas the Salvation Army is present wherever needs are greatest, especially during times of crisis where vulnerable citizens are more at risk of becoming homeless, food insecure, addicted, or spiritually tired. And whereas the Salvation Army invites the people of Northport to show up to their neighbors and help the organization continue to provide life changing aid to those who need it most. And whereas it is fitting and proper during National Salvation Army Day to recognize the tremendous impact of philanthropy, volunteerism, and community service in the city of Northport, and whereas the National Salvation Army Day is an opportunity to encourage citizens to serve the neighbors in need alongside the Salvation Army with the resources and time. Now, therefore, we, the city commission of the city of Northport, Florida, do hereby proclaim 05/11/2026 as National Salvation Army Day and encourage all citizens to join together to give back to the community in any way that is personally meaningful.

Whereas the city of Northport is committed to recognizing that our growth and strength depends on the safety and essential role our homes, buildings and infrastructure play, both in everyday life and when disasters strike. And whereas our confidence in the resilience of these buildings that make up our community is achieved through the devotion of vigilant guardians, building safety and fire prevention officials, architects, engineers, builders, tradespeople, design professionals, laborers, plumbers, and others in the construction industry who work year round to ensure the safe construction of buildings. And whereas these guardians are dedicated members of the International Code Council, a nonprofit that brings together local, state, territorial, tribal, and federal officials who are experts in the built environment to create and implement the highest quality codes and standards to protect us in the buildings where we live, learn, work and play. And whereas these modern building codes and standards include safeguards to protect the public from hazards such as hurricanes, snowstorms, tornadoes, wild landfires, floods and earthquakes. And whereas Building Safety Month is sponsored by the International Code Council to remind the public about the critical role of our community's large unknown protectors of public safety, our code officials, who assure us of safe, sustainable, and affordable buildings that are essential to our prosperity.

And whereas built to last, the theme for Building Safety Month twenty twenty six, encourages us all to get involved and raise awareness about building safety on a personal, local and global scale. And whereas each year in observance of Building Safety Month, people all over the world are asked to consider the commitment to improve building safety, resilience, and economic investment at home and in the community and to acknowledge the essential service provided to all of us by local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal building safety and fire prevention departments in protecting lives and property. Now, therefore, we, the City Commission of the City of North Port, Florida, to hereby proclaim May 2026 as Building Safety Month.

Where is our emergency management team? I think I saw Ms. Alessio come in just in time, madam. Let me start with the proclamation as she's coming down. Whereas natural hurricane preparedness week is May 3 through 05/09/2026, and whereas hurricanes continue to pose that they're a serious threat to the residents and businesses of the city of Northport, Florida with heavy winds, storm surge, current torrential rains, inland flooding, and tornadoes.

And whereas hurricane preparedness becomes more complex as the city continues to grow, and whereas it is important that all residents and businesses of the city of Northport, Florida be aware of the dangers hurricanes present and remain vigilant to lessen the loss of life and minimize property damage. Whereas people should maintain seven day emergency supply kits, have a battery powered radio, know their evacuation levels, routes, and the locations of official evacuation centers, and comply with local authorities when asked to evacuate. And whereas the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the National Hurricane Center are urging all citizens to prepare for hurricanes and to educate themselves on hurricane preparedness and safety strategies. Now, therefore, we, the city commission of the city of Northport, Florida, do hereby proclaim May 3 through 05/09/2026 as hurricane preparedness week. I answer a few words?

Yes, please.

Gotta raise this up a little bit.

Big difference.

All right.

Thank you, Commission, for recognizing the importance of hurricane preparedness. Today marks twenty five days until June 1, which is the beginning of hurricane season. Resilience starts with our communities. It starts with our individuals, our residents, and their families. And it's important to start now with preparedness. We don't need to wait until we're in a hurricane cone. It's important to be prepared right now. So regardless of the seasonal outlook, we want everyone to take hurricane preparedness seriously. Doesn't matter if it's a below average season, above average season. We like to say in emergency management that it just takes one storm, and unfortunately, we saw that in 2022 with hurricane Ian.

I could stand up here all day and talk about hurricane preparedness. Don't worry. I'm not. But I do wanna do a quick reminders, a couple few reminders. First is to understand your risk, so know what your evacuation level is, know your flood zone, know that those are two different things. Build or refresh your disaster supply kit, sign and up for emergency alerts at alertsarasotacounty.com or on northportfl.gov/alerts and understand the National Hurricane Center products like watches and warnings. The city of Northport is proud to be a storm ready community. We're working around the clock to make sure that the city's prepared, and if we do have to activate our EOC, that we're there and able to respond and recover for our community. Thank you, everyone, and stay safe out there.

Okay.

Talking National Police Week here. We have any policemen in the audience? Yeah. That works. Gotta gated out here.

Whereas the congress and president of the United States have designated May 15 as peace officers Memorial Day and the week in which it falls as police week and whereas the members of the law enforcement agency of the city in Northport play an essential role in safeguarding the rights and freedoms of the citizens of Northport and whereas it is important that all citizens know and understand the problems, duties, and responsibilities of their police department and that members of our police department recognize their duty to serve the people by safeguarding life and property, by protecting them against violence or disorder, and by protecting the innocent against deception and the weak against oppression or intimidation. And whereas the police department of Northport has grown to be a modern and scientific law enforcement agency which unceasingly provides a vital public service. Now, therefore, we, the city commission, the city of Northport, Florida, do hereby proclaim May 10 through 05/16/2026 as National Police Week.

On

behalf of the men and women of the Norfolk Police Department, I wanna appreciate or thank the commission and the, community for for recognizing, our law enforcement officers who gave, the ultimate sacrifice. It's important that, we reflect on this yearly, because there's been a lot of families and departments that have changed over the years because of their loss. Just like our brothers and sisters with the fire department, it's something that after thirty four years of on this job, you know, there's always those names, those stories that go with this. And, I just wanna thank everybody for taking this week to remember and and recognize our our lost ones. So thank you.

Devon, are you gonna bring our special guest down, sir? Recognize me yet?

Of course.

Mama's out there somewhere. She'll give

you a

picture in a little Oh, we got a good crew here. Alright. Alright. Whereas the Parks and Recreation Department, including the North Port Aquatic Center, is committed to increasing community awareness about the dangers of drowning and providing essential water safety education throughout the city of Northport. And whereas learn to swim, float for life, and other water safety programs are vitally important to reducing drowning incidents, ensuring that all residents have access to critical water safety skills and instruction.

And whereas, Manda Swim safe water instruction matters offered through Parks and Recreation in conjunction with Sarasota County Schools and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation provides free swimming lessons for all Northport second graders to build life saving skills at an early age. And whereas youth scholarships provided through local partners and community supporters help ensure that children and teens have equitable access to swim instruction and water safety education regardless of financial circumstances. And whereas the American Red Cross Centennial program further removes financial barriers and expands access to swim instructions for families. And whereas drowning remains the leading cause of death in Florida for children under the age of four with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that eleven children drown every day in The United States. Whereas the Florida Department of Health reported a hundred and five fatal drownings of children 18 in 2024, the second highest number of drownings deaths since 2006, along with three hundred and forty eight fatal drownings among adults.

And whereas May is recognized nationwide as National Drowning Prevention Awareness Month by the National Drowning Prevention Association, and whereas the city of Northport reaffirms its commitment to drowning prevention through comprehensive water safety outreach and education. Now, therefore, we, the city commission of the city of Northport, Florida, do hereby proclaim May 2026 as drowning prevention awareness month.

Just get that position up there. So Devon Pools, aquatics manager. This Saturday, we actually have our, May Day drowning prevention Expo. It's a free day open to North Port residents. We'll have our friends from North Port Fire Rescue, the police department, Jessica and Children's Drowning, the Kiwanis Club, many other vendors there to share with you the opportunities that are out there to take swimming lessons.

I will tell you this aquatics team, before I turn it over to our guests, we have one of the most advanced certification wise aquatics teams in this area. Katie Meyer, our aquatics supervisor, has is a water safety instructor trainer. There's only six of those in the state of Florida. So what that allows us to do is certify our own swim instructors in house versus paying a cost of $400 to get somebody certified every single time there. So we are very fortunate. You give us a platform. You give us the opportunity. We're gonna talk about drowning prevention because it's important. The Centennial program is through the Red Cross. If you were here earlier, we talked about it.

We have the opportunity to provide 200 kids in the community swimming lessons for only $5 So if you're in the community watching and your child attends a title one school, you just need to stop by the aquatic center, show us proof that your child goes to that school, and we get you registered into that program. It's now my honor to welcome Paul D'Mello here from Just Against Children's Drowning Foundation to speak to us a little bit more.

Thanks. 7,000 kids have been trained at the aquatic center since 2018. That's a lot of kids, a lot of good work. That was a long proclamation that you read. A lot goes in that.

I told myself I wasn't gonna cry up here in front of everybody. I probably got the worst phone call any parent, any dad could get. You know, I got a phone call that my twin boys were found face down in a backyard swimming pool when they were 13 old. And I I wish everybody here could have saw how I was with my twin boys. I was just my twin boys were actually born on my oldest son's birthday, nineteenth birthday. They all had the same birthday. I don't think I could do that again. You know? I'll tell you, I was so ready for them. My kids had bank accounts already at 13 old.

I was always one of those dads that was visible, active, and available with my oldest son, and I was just gonna do all that all over again times two. You know? I was usually coach Paul. I managed the team. I coached the all star team. I did the soccer team, the football team. And I just wanted to do all that with my twin boys. You know? One was gonna be a pitcher. The one was gonna be a catcher. You know, one was gonna be a quarterback. The one was gonna be a wide receiver. And I'll never forget getting that phone call. I've never been hit so hard in my life. You know?

I became suicidal. I became homicidal. I'm happy to report I'm no longer there. You know? It's been a long road. These wobbly legs have come really far. And I know it's I I know it's from giving back to the community. I know it's from helping others. You know, there's something to be said about helping other people. You actually help yourself in doing so. I miss my boys every day. I've been here twenty five years. I'm originally from the Boston area, and we had a swimming pool in our first house when we came down here. We knew nothing. I mean, back then, nobody was talking about drowning prevention and water safety.

You know? It's talked about a lot more today. And I hope it's a conversation that we never stop talking about. I keep track of the numbers every year. Last year, we had a hundred and twenty drownings. That's kids that are not coming back. You know, that's a 120 moms, dads, 240 grandparents. You know? It affects the family in a big way, you know, and it's it's like a you know, grief is like like you know, grief is like it's got the key to my heart and it comes and goes whenever it pleases. Right?

It's just and it's like a ripple effect, you know. I I have to talk about this, and I know it's uncomfortable, but my I feel like I'm a daddy on a mission. I feel like my boys gave me a job, and and that job is to hopefully help other families not go through what we went through. We've already had 30 drownings this year in the state of Florida. When my boys drowned, there was no safety fence around the swimming pool. Didn't happen at my house. It happened at the grandparents' house. Today, I've sold out to the safety fence. I believe every swimming pool should have a safety fence, a temporary safety fence around the pool. We're all about, you know, swimming lessons.

We believe in, you know, as soon as a child can crawl, they should learn how to swim. We believe in CPR. We believe that, you know, even bad CPR saves lives, so so important. And, of course, active adult supervision is so important. It's an honor to be here. It was really nice to be able to lead everybody in the pleasure of allegiance. I'm glad I was able to get through this. I wanna say, during the break, I was listening to the chatter and and the conversations with the young adults, and I went right to my twin boys. How could I not? You know?

They would have been 17 years old. You know? And I wanted to watch the girls chase them around. You know what I mean? I just I just I wanted, you know, I just wanted to be a part of all that. And I never thought I was gonna lose that to a drowning. But thanks for having me here. Appreciate it. Alright.

I mean, real quick.

I

don't know who has the award.

Come on. Okay.

Now, whereas Michael Golan was hired by the city of Northport on October 3137 and promoted to deputy city attorney in 2022. And whereas, mister Goldman was willing to accept the responsibility of serving the commission, the city, and the citizens when he accepted the position of interim city attorney on 09/26/2024 through 10/15/2025. And whereas mister Golan worked diligently to ensure continued delivery of accurate and relevant legal advice to the city. And whereas during this time, Michael Golan oversaw legal review on many key projects, including continued work on Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Milton recovery, referendum for two city charter amendments and three bond referendums, legal drafting and finalization of the Price Boulevard construction contract, restatement and amendment to the Walden Park post annexation agreement, and transfer of related real property, economic development incentives, including ad valorem exemptions, impact fee deferrals and waivers, and the use of economic development funds. Now, therefore, we, the city commission of the city of Northport, Florida, do hereby proclaim 05/07/2026 as Michael Golden Day.

For those of you who

have stuck around, thank you so much, commissioners. Thank you so much for this. Appreciate it. I wanna say just very quickly, I know we wanna we wanna go enjoy my day, that when I started working here, we had three employees in the city attorney's office, and I think those three attorney those three employees, two attorneys would be so very impressed with the team we've built now and that that have helped me get to this point. Through that time as interim, I couldn't have done it without them even half as much as what what we were able to accomplish as a team.

And just as impressive was the team I had at home that helped me every day get here and and be successful and help the city be successful. And I appreciate them. I appreciate you and everybody, and thank you all so much.

Thank you so much.

Normally, we call people. Thank

you. That's

good. Yes,

sir. That's good.

That's good. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Finally, we

I got up here. Alright?

It's a privilege to, accept this proclamation. I wanna, send my appreciation to the commission as well as the, honorable mayor for the proclamation and identifying that we have a building safety month. I'd like to thank all the administrative staff as well as the inspectors, and the the fire marshal's office for working in partnership with me so we continue to make, all the buildings within the city safe, new construction as well as existing construction. Alright. Thank you very much.

One

more. Three,

I still have my 2¢.

We're gonna get change one of these days.

I missed something earlier because I was upset, and I wanted to say something, but, you know, I couldn't go there. On the one of the presentations, you guys bought up geofencing and using geofencing to figure out who goes places. So you're paying $5,000 a year to a tech company to spy on people's cell phones. I'm 1000000% against that. To me, that's a violation of the constitution of The United States Of America.

I have trust in the employees of the, city of Northport to go to one of their locations or one of their events, and they can make the determination whether that event is good or not for the city by the number of people being there. A geofence paying $5 to a check company for a geofence is wrong. But that, to me, that's the only way they can figure out if they're looking at everybody's cell phones. So I'm totally against that. And the other thing on it, you guys brought up AI.

AI is gonna be the death of our civilization. When people call up companies and they replace people with AI and they can't get a real person, they get upset. And the computer won't give you a real person. So I don't know what you guys mean by AI, how you're going to put it in those departments. But to me, it goes in the garbage can and keep your employees.

Totally my perspective, okay? I'd rather see the employee than to some stupid computer when I tell them 100 times I want to talk to a person, and they just keep going and going and going, All right? The other thing is you guys brought up, HOAs. Some people in the public feel we already live in an HOA with all the codes in this city. So I have, some suggestions to update the codes.

Number one, the federal government passed a law that requires a car to have a listening device and a camera pointed at you all the time in your car starting in nineteen twenty twenty seven. I feel you should pass a local ordinance that outlaws any tech company, any car company, any private organization, anything out there from recording and taping in someone's car in the city limits of Northport. No computer, no company has the right to steal my car and record me. So we have to update our laws. If the federal government won't do it, Rick Scott, you won't do it, then you guys should pull pass a local ordinance against it.

Thank you.

Thank you. That it? 508, I adjourn this meeting.