City Council - Regular Meeting

Our invocation will be offered by Chaplain Joe Hassler.

Good evening. Will you join me in prayer this evening? Gracious God, we are thankful for the opportunity to come and to be a part of your leadership and your direction for your community and your people. We ask that you continue to guide us closer to you and closer to your heart on how to lead and to lead well. We thank you for all that you do. In your son's name we say, amen.

It is now 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7th, 2026. And this meeting of the Ocala City Council is called to order. Clerk, please call the roll.

Mr. Musley.

Here.

Ms. Dreyer. Here. Mr. Holti.

Here.

Mr. Mansfield. Here. Mr. Bethea.

Here. All right, so we have some new employees today. And as I call your name, if you would... Please stand. Leighton Word, electorate. Tama Valente, information technology. Jamil Barnes, procurement. Caspian Cameron, water resources. Camilla Falcon, water resources. Amber Lopez, water resources. WILLIAM NELSON, WATER RESOURCES. PAYTON SCHOOLEY, WATER RESOURCES. AND CORY SHARON, WATER RESOURCES. WHAT HAPPENED AT WATER RESOURCES? EVERYBODY LEFT? A GOOD EVENING TO YOU ALL AND WELCOME TO THE O'KELLER CITY FAMILY.

I have him on my list.

You have a Mateo? Mateo. Right after Corey.

Oh, wait a minute. I'm sorry. Excuse me. He's not here. No, he's not here. I don't have him. Thank you. The clerk will provide the public notice for this evening's meeting.

THE JULY 7, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING WAS PUBLICLY NOTICED ON JUNE 3, 2026 ON THE CITY OF OCALA'S WEBSITE. AS A REMINDER, PUBLIC COMMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS ARE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES UNLESS AUTHORIZED TO STAND BEYOND THAT TIME BY THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT OR MAJORITY OF COUNCIL. ALL MATERIALS FOR THE MAYOR OF CITY COUNCIL MUST BE GIVEN TO THE ATTENDANT STAFF OF DISTRIBUTION. PRIOR TO SPEAKING AT THE PODIUM, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD. AND TO MAINTAIN ORDER, SPEAKERS MUST BE RECOGNIZED BY THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT. Please silence your cell phones and all electronic devices for the duration of this meeting. Thank you.

Item 4A will be presented by Mayor Marciano at a future meeting. Item 4B is the presentation of Park and Recreation Proclamation. If the Director of Parks and Recreation, Kathy Crowell, and Assistant Director... Bill Rodriguez, and division head and members, if you would come forward. Thank you. So good afternoon. It's Park and Reck one again, right? That's right. All right. So we have a proclamation here. And it reads as such, whereas the U.S. House of Representatives have designated July as Park and Recreation Month, and whereas park and recreation is an integral part of communities throughout this country, including the city of Ocala, Florida, And whereas park and recreation is fundamental to the environmental well-being of our community and promotes health and wellness, improving the physical and mental health of people who live near parks. And whereas park and recreation encourages physical activities by providing space for popular sports, hiking trails, swimming pools, and many other activities. designed to promote active lifestyles, and whereas park and recreation programming and educational activities such as out-of-school time programming, youth sports, and environmental education are critical to childhood development, and whereas park and recreation increases the community economic prosperity through increased property values, expansion of the local tax base, increased tourism, the attraction and retention of businesses, and crime reduction. Our parks and national resource, excuse me, and recreation areas ensures the ecological beauty of our community and provide a space for children and adults to connect with nature and recreate outdoors. Now, therefore, I, Ben Marciano, by virtue of the authority vested in me as mayor of the city of Ocala, Florida, do hereby proclaim the month of July 2026 in the city of Ocala as Park and Recreation Month. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and cause the seal of the city of Ocala, Florida, to be affixed the seventh day of July. 2026 now you all know I'm not Ben Marciano right so I'm his counterpart today and I present this proclamation to the recreation and parks director and staff and I'm sure Kathy Crowell and Mr. Rodriguez y'all have something to say

He is Irie Bethea, who dedicated most of his adult life to public recreation and parks. So it's very special to receive this from you, and we appreciate it. And to City Council, I want to say thank you for allowing us to continue to serve our community. We appreciate it. And to staff, the staff does an amazing job. Every single day they come in and they put their hearts and souls into making this a great place to live, play, and prosper. And I greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Do you have anything to say?

I think you hit it on the head.

Item 6 is our consider agenda. Are there any items which council would like to remove from the consider agenda for individual discussion and or consideration? Hearing none, I will accept a motion to approve the consider agenda. So moved.

Second. Second.

Are there any comments from the public on this matter? The clerk will call the roll.

Mr. Musley.

Aye.

Mr. Mansfield.

Aye.

Ms. Dreyer. Aye. Mr. Holti. Aye. Aye. Mr. Pathe.

Aye. Item 8A, introduction and first reading of ordinances. Is there a member of the, I'm sorry, 8A is an introduction and first reading of ordinance 2026-21. Is there a member of the city council who would introduce this item?

I'll introduce.

All right, Mr. Manfield.

Okay.

An ordinance of the City of Ocala, Florida, amending and revising Chapter 43, Article 5, Code of Ordinances, City of Ocala, Florida, Police Office Retirement System. TO CONFORM THE 2025-2028 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF OCALA AND THE PATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE, AMENDING MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS, PROVIDING FOR DROP CONTRIBUTIONS, ESTABLISHING THE COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT FUND, REVISING CHAPTER 185 REVENUE ALLOCATION, LIMITING SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS, AMENDING DROP INTEREST PROVISIONS, PROVIDING TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS, PROVIDING DIRECTION TO STAFF, PROVIDING DIRECTION TO THE CAUTIFIER, repealing inconsistent and or conflicting provisions, providing for salvability of ordinance provisions, providing for modifications arising from consideration at a public hearing, and providing an effective date.

Thank you, ma'am. Agenda item nine, public hearings and second reading of ordinances. 9A is the adoption of resolution 2026-42. Is there a motion? Motion. Second. Chief Planning Officer Adaro Mandraviran is recognized for a presentation.

Good afternoon, Indira Madravaran with the Growth Management Department. Southern Vine on Broadway, LLC, doing business as the Black Sheep on Broadway, has applied for a downtown event permit for on-premise licensed vendors located on Southwest Broadway Street between Southwest 1st Avenue and Southwest 2nd Avenue. to be allowed to sell beer, wine, and liquor as part of the Christmas in July event that is taking place on Saturday, July 25th from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The participating vendors include Black Sheep on Broadway as well as the District Bar and Kitchen. This event will be the first event of 2026 within the Downtown Event Center. The applicant has provided certificate of liability, ensuring the city, the organization hosting the event is working with OPD for the road closures and other city departments for event layouts and additional state licensing as applicable. The cup label designs were included in your packet this afternoon. Staff recommends approval. The applicant is also here and available for questions.

Are there any comments from the public on this matter? Council? Call the roll.

Mr. Musley?

Aye.

Ms. Dreyer? Aye. Mr. Hilty?

Aye.

Mr. Mansfield? Aye. Mr. Bethea?

Aye. Item 9B is the adoption of Resolution 2026, that's 43. Again, Ms. Madden-DeVere.

again for the record and your manager baron the applicant lake louise llc is requesting to abrogate portions of public rights of way uh... appearing on the lake louise the states plat as well as the lake louise manner plat these plots were originally plotted for development of single-family residential as well as public rights of way uh... to service these homes the single-family residential and public rights of way remain mostly undeveloped Moving forward, the property owner must vacate plats and easement if future development from the current plat and right-of-way, if it differs from the current configuration of right-of-way and plats. There are no concerns or objections raised by city utilities or any other utility provider. Staff received one letter of objection that was included in your packet. The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval during their meeting in June, and staff recommends approval. There's also a representative for the applicant here and available for questions.

Thank you. Are there any comments from the public, from the council?

Do we need a motion? Do we need a motion?

Council President, can I make a motion to approve?

Thank you. Is there a second? Second. Second. Are there any comments from the council? Call the roll.

Ms. Dreyer? Aye. Mr. Hilty?

Aye.

Mr. Musley? Aye. Mr. Mansfield? Aye. Mr. Bethea?

Aye. Ms. Knapp? Yes, sir.

That's wrong. The 9C is actually Ordinance 2026-19. When you turn the page, the next thing.

We're on B.

Right. She finished B, right? 9C is 2020, ordinance 2026-19.

You said 9B?

9C.

9C.

Okay, yes. Go by the agenda, not by that paper.

Because item 9C is the adoption of resolution 2026-19.

Right, it should say ordinance 2026-19. That's what he just said. It should say ordinance, not resolution.

Oh, okay. It's not resolution.

All right. Are we good?

Yes.

Thank you. We need to do 9C again?

We didn't do it the first time.

All right. Thank you all for y'all correcting me. I appreciate that. All right. So item 9C is the adoption of ordinance 2026-19. Councilman Hilty? Yes. Who introduced this item is recognized for a motion.

Council President, I move that ordinance number 2026-19 be adopted as provided by the Charter of the City of Ocala, Florida, and based upon evidence presented to City Council, accept that adoption by sections on the second reading be waived. Is there a second? Second.

Planning Director Aubrey Hill is recognized for a presentation.

I'm going to read it real quick, the title.

Okay.

An ordinance amending the zoning map of the City of Ocala, Florida, changing the zoning from 01 Office District to B2A, Limited Community Business District, for a certain property located at 619 Southeast 17th Street, Parcel 2917-002-000, approximately 2.04 acres. Case number 0N26-0002, providing direction to staff, repealing inconsistent and or conflicting provisions, providing for accessibility of ordinance provisions, providing for modifications arising from consideration at a public hearing, providing directions to the codifier, and providing an effective date.

Mr. Hale. Good afternoon. Aubrey Hale, Planning Director for the record. So this is an application to request rezoning from 01 Office District to B2A Limited Community Limited Business Commercial District. The property is generally located along Southeast 17th Street or State Road 464 near the intersection of Southeast Magnolia Extension. Properties to the west are the Churchill Shopping Center, Properties that surround it to the east are also 01 to the south are some RO properties on the south side of 464 with B2A property at the intersection. the southwest corner of the intersection. Generally, the 01 or the B2A will allow for expanded retail uses beyond what the 01 allows. It does not create any additional nonconformities pertaining to the existing use on the site, which is currently a pharmacy. Staff recommends approval and is available for any questions. The applicant is also here.

Are there any comments on this matter from the public? Council? Call the roll.

Mr. Hilty?

Aye.

Ms. Dreyer? Aye. Mr. Musley?

Aye.

Mr. Mansfield?

Aye.

Mr. Bethea?

Aye. Item 10A, General Business. Item 10A is the adoption of the Fourth Amendment for a five-year renewal of the interlocal agreement with Marion County. Do I hear a motion? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Public Works Director Darren Parks is recognized for a presentation.

Good afternoon, Darren Park, Public Works Director. This agenda item supports the city's strategic goal of quality of place. This is a five-year renewal of the interlocal agreement with Marion County to allow city residents to take any household hazardous and electronic waste to any of the county drop-off locations throughout the year. There is a 14.66% increase over the previous five-year agreement. Staff recommends approval, and I'm here to answer any questions.

Any comments from the public? Council?

Can I just ask that we advertise that our citizens are able to do this? Honestly, every time I've ever gone there, they've never asked where I lived. I don't know if that's a new thing that they're doing, but I don't know that our citizens know that this is an option for them.

We'll make sure that they do.

Okay.

That's it. Thank you.

Any other questions, comments? Call the roll.

Mr. Hilty?

Aye.

Mr. Mansfield? Aye. Mr. Musley?

Aye.

Ms. Dreyer? Aye. Mr. Bethea?

Aye. Thank you. Item 10B is the approval of additional expenditures under the contract with Cogent Communications, Inc. Do I hear a motion to approve this item? So moved. Is there a second?

Second.

Fiber Deputy Director Kenneth Jamieson is recognized for a presentation.

Good afternoon, Council. Kenneth Jamison, Deputy Director, Ocala Fiber Network. This agenda item aligns with our council's strategic goal of operational excellence. This item is for approval of additional expenditures with Kojic Communications, who we purchased IP addresses and bulk bandwidth from. As IP addresses have become more scarce, the demand has risen. Due to these market changes, Kojic has increased their monthly charge for this service. This increase has resulted in a need in additional funding. Coaching has agreed to amend our current service agreement with them to lock in our current pricing and to convert our IP addresses from month to month to a 12-month term. Staff recommends approval. I'm here to answer any questions.

Any questions from the public? Any comments? Council.

Go ahead.

Just one question. So basically this is what we buy, obviously. This is our time, and then we resell it?

Yes, sir.

Okay. And this, what is, how many, I mean, again, you'll have to educate me a little bit, but how many spots is this or how much data is this?

So we have multiple legs of Internet that we buy. We have redundancy. So Cogent is one of our tier one providers that we get Internet from, and we also buy IP addresses from them. So every customer who needs to get on the Internet has to have an IP address, similar to like a mailing address. Everybody has their own IP address. So we lease those IP address spacing to provide to our customers.

So is this a finite amount of IP addresses that we're buying, or is it?

It's a finite amount, yes, sir.

So if we go over this and we've got to come back and buy more is what you're saying?

We have to buy more or.

We get more customers.

Yes, sir. Okay. So we have to buy more or as we work on this, we're working on working on implementing the new version of IP, which is IP version 6, which eliminates this issue.

Okay. Okay.

I was just curious, why do we go month-to-month in the beginning of the contract? It just doesn't seem like that made any sense.

At the time this contract was agreed to, at that time COGENT didn't provide the IP address as a service, so it was month-to-month at the beginning of the agreement. Since we have been through this agreement and negotiated with them, they have agreed to change that from month-to-month to a 12-month term, but at that time they did not offer the IP address on the term. All right.

One other question, sorry. So are these already sold? In other words, these are already accounted for?

They're allocated to us, yes.

Do we already have customers for all this number? For the money we're spending, do we already have customers that are buying it from us?

Yes, sir.

Okay. So we already have a return on our money.

Yes, sir. So we pass this cost on to the – it's a part of our business that we pass on to the customers.

Yes, sir. I question that. The way I read it is we will sell these over the next three years. That's when we'll get our money. That's when I get out of it, too.

Okay. So – well, that was my question.

Yeah, I don't – Kenneth, are you sure?

We're buying these ahead of time.

We're buying these as stock to turn around and sell over the next 12 months.

Yeah, so it's the IP addresses and the bandwidth. Yes, sir.

Yeah, the bandwidth is different. Okay. But without the bandwidth and IP addresses, you have no Internet. That's right.

That is correct. Understood. But do we have the backup and the service to actually sell this?

Yes.

Yes, sir. That's what I'm asking. It appears to me we do. Okay. We do. Okay.

Any other questions or comments? No. Call the roll.

Ms. Dreyer. Aye. Mr. Musley.

Aye.

Mr. Hilty? Aye. Mr. Mansfield? Aye. Mr. Bethea?

Aye. Thank you. Item 10C is the approval of the renewal of employee paid insurance plans. Do I hear a motion to approve this item? So moved. Is there a second? Second. HR and Risk Management Director Todd Swanson is recognized for a presentation.

Good afternoon, City Council. Todd Swanson, Director of Human Resources and Risk Management. This item supports the city's strategic goal of fiscally sustainable. Each year, Brown and Brown reviews the city's of employee insurance programs and negotiates renewal terms with their carriers. Staff concurs with the broker's recommendations to renew all current insurance providers. The only recommended change is transitioning the voluntary pet insurance benefit from nationwide to spot pet insurance, which offers enhanced coverage at a lower cost to participate in employees. OVERALL, THIS WAS A FAVORABLE RENEWAL YEAR. MOST PROGRAMS RECEIVED EITHER NO RATE INCREASE OR A MULTI-YEAR RATE GUARANTEE. THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ONLY FEE FOR OUR SELF-FUNDED HEALTH PLAN WILL INCREASE FROM 51.34 TO 52.88 PER EMPLOYEE PER MONTH. THIS IS THE FIRST INCREASE WE'VE SEEN SINCE 2021. The enhanced dental plan will increase 2.6% while providing higher annual benefit maximums to our employees. The group Medicare premiums will increase 8% but those costs are paid for entirely by participating retirees. The city's annual investment and employer-funded benefit totals approximately $1.36 million, which includes the following, $795,000 for the Health Insurance Administration, $353,632 for long-term disability, $183,250 for basic life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance, $19,709 for the Employee Assistance Program, and $8,665 for Flexible Spending Account Administration. The remaining insurance programs are voluntary and employee paid entirely. Staff recommends approval, and I would be happy to answer any questions. Any questions from the public? Comments?

Council? Call the roll.

Mr. Hilty?

Aye.

Mr. Mansfield?

Aye.

Mr. Musley? Aye. Mr. Dreyer? Aye. Mr. Bethea?

Aye.

ITEM 10D IS THE APPROVAL OF ONE YEAR RENEWAL OF CONTRACT WITH TYLER TECHNOLOGIES. DO I HEAR A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS ITEM? SO MOVED.

SECOND.

IT ASSISTANT DIRECTOR KELLY VAN IS RECOGNIZED FOR PRESENTATION.

GOOD EVENING, COUNCIL. KELLY VAN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. THIS AGENDA ITEM ALIGNS WITH THE CITY'S STRATEGIC GOAL OF OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE. This is a one-year renewal for the Tyler Technologies MUNIS enterprise resource planning software. MUNIS is used citywide as the primary financial and human resources system of record, including budgeting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll processing, and employee management. It is also used by the warehouse for daily operations to manage their fixed asset inventory and reconciliation processes. We are required to pay the yearly software maintenance fee to maintain our licensing and support for the system. Staff recommends approval, and I'm here to answer any questions.

Any comments from the public? Are there any comments from the council? Call the roll.

Ms. Dreyer? Aye. Mr. Musley?

Aye.

Mr. Hilty?

Aye.

Mr. Mansfield?

Aye.

Mr. Bethea?

Aye. Item 10E is the approval of the purchase of a four-drum cable puller, tensioner trailer from Altex, Altex, Inc. Do I hear a motion to approve this item? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Leading and Facility Director John King is recognized for staff presentation.

Good evening, City Council John King, Fleet and Facility Director here. To respectfully request your support for this agenda item that aligns with Ocala's strategic goal of operational excellence, our Electric Utility Department relies on cable pull equipment to replace and maintain electric transmission and distribution lines. The current cable puller trailer is 24 years old and its tensioner components have failed. The cost of repairing these components exceed the value of the unit. So we're requesting replacement with Altex TS20P puller. This updated model includes enhanced features that allow crews to install multiple cable rails and conductors simultaneously. And that capability does not exist with the current model. So staff recommends replacement utilizing a competitively priced source well contract. at a total cost of $164,643. I'm here to answer any questions that you might have.

Do we have any questions from the public council?

Quickly, if I may. John, just so I understand, when Electric requests these, did they request this specific one or do they just say we need a cable puller, go find us one?

No. We look at their requirements, how it's going to be utilized, so they don't go like for like. We try to get as much feedback from the user department to make sure that what we purchase is what they can use.

Okay. So I see them looking at me. Is this what you want? This is the one that works for you? Okay. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you. So, Mr. King, the old one still works? It just outdated and it only do a single job at one time?

Yes. It has these big cable reels, but even when it worked, only one reel could be used at a time. It had a hoist feature that put the reel on an Eitler pulley so that they could use it. So it's really antiquated for how the lines are pulled today. And if Doug is here, if he wants to add any information, he could probably give us more information about the utilization with his crews.

Actually, I think I was sitting at the table two years ago at the FMEA conference when the one that we have broke and they needed it desperately. Yes. And they wound up having to make several phone calls to find someone with them and got it on loan from another electric utility, if I recall right.

Correct. Yeah, that was an underground puller. It was a different machine, but yes, that was correct.

That was a different machine that they had.

Yes.

Versus what you had, right?

Well, it was the same, basically the same machine we had, but it was GRU that we had borrowed that from.

Yeah, I'm not trying to prolong this. I was just asking that question because, you know, I was looking at you could possibly be doing two jobs if you had both of them. Knowing this is antiquated and it only pulled one thing at a time, it might have been a crew that could have been somewhere else doing something. And the crew that is using the new one could have been somewhere else working until that one collapsed on you. Because eventually it will. And if I heard this correctly, it's not worth any financials. You know, like we send cars to the auction. You can't send that to the auction because it's not worth anything.

We will get what we can for it, but the current puller that we want to replace, it needs over $12,000 worth of parts for a puller that we paid about $40,000 for back in 20, well it's 24 years old, back in 2002. So it doesn't make sense to put that kind of money in a puller that's going to give us limited life in the future. Okay.

so it is important for us for the reliability of our system and to provide power at some point the equipment that we count on uh... to install and maintain and repair uh... power lines in our electrical grid be up and running as often as it can be as much as it can be and when the hundred percent of the time doug thank you And you're right. We have to be able to count on it. And when we're dealing with 15- and 20-year-old equipment that is used regularly, you've got to be able to count on that equipment.

So that's not what I was asking. I was just asking the feasibility. which John answered of utilizing that old piece of equipment to do two jobs at one time if it was capable. You shared that, you know, it's not worth, we have to invest too much money in it, then it's not reliable after that. So I got it. You don't have to sell me no more. We good. We good. I appreciate that, Doug. Thank you. And John, thank you. Did we vote on that?

Not yet.

All right. Let's do it.

Mr. Yolte.

Aye.

Mr. Mansfield. Aye. Mr. Musley.

Aye.

Ms. Dreyer. Aye. Mr. Bethea.

Aye. All right. 10F is the approval or utilization of the Florida Shelf Association Agreement. Do I hear a motion to approve?

So moved. Second.

Mr. King, you are recognized once again for staff presentation.

YES, THANK YOU. AGAIN, GOOD EVENING. THIS AGENDA ITEM ALIGNS AGAIN WITH OUR GOAL OF OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE. OUR SANITATION DIVISION, THEY EMPLOY AUTOMATIC SITE LOADER REFUGE VEHICLES TO COLLECT RESIDENTIAL WASTE. BACK IN 2021, ONE OF THOSE UNITS, 06273, WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT THAT DAMAGED JUST A CHASSIE FRAME. However, the automatic sight load of body remained intact and it received just minor damage. That body has been assessed and deemed suitable for continued use. So what we'd like to do is take that body and put on a new chassis. We just refer to that as a refurbishment. And we would like to do that using a competitively bid contract through the Florida Sheriff's Association agreement in the total cost amount of $299,604. And that's going to... be a substantial saving over buying just a new automatic site loader body. Staff recommends approval. I'm here to answer any questions that you might have. Is there any comment from the public?

Council?

I do have one question.

I had talked to you yesterday about this, and I got the idea. But then I got this question. We were paid from the insurance company for the truck that was damaged. We didn't have to give that back to them?

We had the option of doing that, Councilman Hilty. But what we opted to do, because we felt that that truck still had value, we paid to salvage value to the insurance company, about $4,000. So we retained those parts and pieces because we felt that would be usable to our family.

That was the missing piece that I thought of afterwards, yeah. Thank you for that question.

Any other questions, comments?

Call the roll.

Mr. Mansfield?

Aye.

Mr. Musley?

Aye.

Ms. Dreyer? Aye. Mr. Hilty? Aye. Mr. Bethea? Aye.

Aye. Thank you. 10G is the selection of applicants to fill vacancies on the Recreation Commission. Do I hear a motion to make appointments to fill the two empty seats on the Recreation Commission?

So moved. I assume we need a, do we have a ballot?

No, sir, no ballots this time.

So what we're asking is if a council member can make a motion.

There's three applicants, Catherine McKay, Lisa Sprung, and Bob Witter. Councilmember can make a motion to appoint two of those three to the two vacancies on the Recreation Commission.

Okay, I'll make that motion.

We're moving away from the ballots.

Okay. I'll make that motion for... You want me to name the two applicants? You have to.

This is kind of awkward, okay?

What's happening? Do you want the ballots? We want the ballots. Okay.

Well, I think the ballot gives everybody an opportunity to look at it and vote for the two, whereas Mr. Hilty – I could make a motion for two, but then you disagree with it. I may disagree, and we could be here – this could be checkmate. We could be here until 9 o'clock.

We're almost at a record time.

I know.

Almost. Okay.

You still could be.

I think we will be.

See, she brought paper ballots.

Thank you.

Almost hear it anyway.

Angel, don't move our cheese next time, okay?

Okay, I will not.

There you go, sir.

Okay, so council appoints Lisa Sprung and Bob Witter to the Recreation Commission with Mr. – Ms. Dreyer, Mr. Musley, Ms. Hilty, Mr. Hilty, I'm sorry, voting for Lisa Sprung and Bob Witter, Mr. Bethea voting for Catherine McKay and Bob Witter, and Mr. Mansfield voting for Catherine McKay and Lisa Sprung. Okay, thank you.

All right. So we have the internal auditor's report.

No internal audit.

No report. City Manager's report.

Thank you, sir. Speaking of the internal auditor, that position should close, and we'll get to you probably at the beginning of next week to talk to you about interviews for that position. Also, last council meeting, I gave you the executive summary of the strategic planning session. I need a consensus to finalize the executive summary. or to make any edits or changes that you'd like. Or you can go to the next meeting if you want to.

Do you have a ballot for us?

I don't have a ballot. I'm sorry.

I think we can handle this without a ballot, okay?

I think everything was good in it.

Okay. Consensus?

Yes. Consensus.

Thank you. Thank you, sir. You're done? I'm finished.

All right. Deputy Chief, OPD.

Good evening, City Council. Louis Biondi, Deputy Chief, Ocala Police Department. Tonight's report covers the range of June 15th to June 28th, 2026. First slide is going over Baker X and Marchman X Baker X are sitting pretty much where we were this time last year With very little increase and Marchman X even though higher than this time last year are on a downward slope Total calls for service just over 7100 63% of those calls for service are proactive with 44 78, leaving 2,600, uh, for dispatch calls for service of the dispatch calls for service. 290 were reported crimes, which led, uh, the officers to 200 or detectives to 230 arrests. Uh, traffic is sitting at 949 for the two week period, which is exactly zero point one percent from 948 and crashes are at 171 which is 11% increase unfortunately this time last year there was 154 this young gentleman in early May he set up a deal to go purchase some drugs at the sportsplex out off of airport road and instead of completing the deal he did a drug rip and then he jumped in his car and drove away at a very high speed he ended up unfortunately running a stop sign t-boned another car and killed two elderly adults. So since May, everyone's been investigating the crime. That's our major crimes unit along with our traffic homicide investigators. And they ended up arresting him for felony murder. There are other players involved so that the case is ongoing and still under investigation. This is A lot of marijuana right there. And there were a couple handguns recovered in what looks like a traffic stop, but it's actually a traffic crash. Surprisingly enough, the two guys here stayed with the car. So they both got arrested for possession of marijuana with, you know, felony charges with intent to sell. And one is a convicted felon. So two guns were recovered from that scene.

Did they cause the crash or were they the victim of the crash?

They were just an involved party and stayed, which is noble of them.

Yeah.

Very noble, but not very smart.

Right. Uh, let me go back a little bit. So this gentleman. That is Officer Price who's trying to do a traffic stop on him on a motorcycle. As he goes by, he's like, who, me? And so he didn't stop. So a very short pursuit ensued. The pursuit itself was canceled because inherently they're very dangerous. But we figured out who he was and where he lived. He was nice enough to answer the door Again say who who me He ended up going to jail and the only reason he did not stop is he just didn't have an endorsement on his license So all he had to do was stop and he would have been given a ticket, you know, it's not that big of a deal And this last slide in May of 25 every year we do i can't investigations and this is one from may of twenty five the gentleman on the left mister hedge uh... that they they all agreed to come to a cali and me what they thought was a child there were talking with on the phone for texting uh... mister trevor hedge he got convicted and he is going to prison for life the gentleman in the middle uh... he's going away for twenty years And then the gentleman on the far right, Mr. Faulkner, it took us a while to find him because he was on a run. But so he got arrested and his charges are pending through the courthouse. And that is it for our presentation.

Deputy Chief, on the first two young men, were all those phones and computers in that car?

That was all of their property. So that's like evidence of some sort of enterprise, if you want to call it that. But yeah, a lot of phones like that, they're burner phones. They just – why they stayed on scene is beyond me because that's a lot of damning evidence. Yes, sir. We appreciate your report.

Can I ask a question about the Marchman Acts? There was a pretty sharp increase in the Marchman Acts that you had on the slide. Is there a drug that you're seeing is causing that? Like is there a common factor with all of those?

I think the most prevalent right now is fentanyl. In everything. It's fentanyl with cocaine, fentanyl with marijuana. We do see some kratom cases. Of course, there's new legislation on kratom. But the problem with that is any of the cannabinoids or anything like that is a law will come out forbidding it, and then something will change within the makeup of the drug, and then it just takes more laws to combat it.

Yeah. Okay. Thank you.

Chief, I've got another question on the one 17-year-old who is looking at a pretty horrible path forward. A couple years ago, we had another 17-year-old on 36th Avenue rear end a car killing two people. Was there a resolution to that case?

That case is still pending. Okay. They are mired in depositions. So a lot of suppression hearings and a lot of depositions still ongoing to this day. So typically it's my experience when kids like that or anyone screws up like that, you're looking at 16 years per death. So obviously a good lawyer is gonna try and fight the good fight.

Cars going 150 miles an hour on 36th Avenue with a speed limit of 45.

Hope he's got a good plan. There's a lot involved in that case, and, you know, the speed issue, the DUI aspect of it all. So it's ongoing. Not surprisingly enough.

I would just cede the DUI issue. You're going 140 miles an hour, whether you're stung cold sober or not. That's crazy.

Yep. I agree with you.

Thank you. Yes, sir. Anything else? That's it. Thank you, sir.

Hey, before I walk away, I do want to say that our captain over here, this is his very last city council.

Oh, no. Yep. He's been with the police department for 32 years.

And he's retiring at the end of the year. Hey, you're welcome.

He doesn't look old enough to retire. He's a young buck.

He's only 56.

Well, that's pretty young.

Our Chief Cliff Wellborn is recognized for his report.

Good afternoon, Clint Walvern, Fire Chief. This will be our three-week update from June 15th to July 5th. There is the call loads, as you can see, Rescue 4 again in the lead there at 244. And on the engine side, Engine 4 and Engine 1 both had 163. 119 motor vehicle accidents responded to by OFR, 221 across the city, 8 structure fires, and 51 community paramedicine and corps calls. Total calls for this period was 1,641, bringing the total for this year 14,139. Just a few department updates over the weekend. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, SIR. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT? YOUR REPORT, SIR. I HAVE NO PUBLIC COMMENT.

I FEEL SIGNED UP.

SO IS THERE ANYBODY IN THE PUBLIC THAT HAD A COMMENT THAT THEY WANTED TO MAKE? YES, MA'AM.

Good afternoon. 2916 Northwest Third Terrace. I see where the city is going to go back to the old way of recycling, where the residents are going to have to take it to the recycling bin. My question is, if the residents decide they're not going to recycle and it all goes in the garbage, is that going to be an additional charge to the city or will it still be the same?

No, ma'am. You mean dumping the recycling stuff into the regular garbage? Yes.

No, it's the same. It'll be the same. It's the same price. We pay the same rate, same gate rate for tonnage.

And the second part, there's some confusion on one of the recycling locations. The one for West O'Kella off of Martin Luther King, if you read the instructions, you wouldn't get to it because my understanding, the way I think it is, it's going to be where it used to be years ago in front of CFCC and the cover site. Is that correct? The gentleman right here is coming up to answer the question. Okay. I didn't know who to direct it to.

Could you repeat your question and I'll catch it? Okay.

The one for West Ocala that you're stating that's at War Memorial Auditorium, where is it located? Because it says the cul-de-sac, and people are confused about that.

You're talking about the one over at Krosky?

Yes, at the Krosky Center.

If you enter off of State Road 40, where the Webfield Stadium entrance is, go right back there. It's in the cul-de-sac.

Okay, so that's in front of CFCC where it used to be years ago. Hampton Campus. In Hampton Campus, yes. Right, okay. Well, for the residents, it's very confusing because they're thinking they're taking it to the CrossFit Center.

We'll clear that.

I mean, it'll walk to the auditorium. There are a lot of questions and issues about it.

Okay, well, how are most of the people finding, getting that information from?

From what was printed out because when someone was reading it to me and I, I said that doesn't sound like it's at the Cross Center. I said it sounds like it's over by where the Hampton Center is over where it used to be years ago.

We'll clear it up and we'll make sure that the map is very, that the visual helps to show it. Thank you. That's it. Darren. We'll take a, maybe we can take a drone shot of it even and then outline the recycling dumpster.

We could do that. We could also change the name.

Yes.

Might clear it up a little bit.

Thank you. Number 17, informational items. It's on your calendar. All right. Any remarks? Council? Folks, we'll start with Mr. Manfield.

I just wanted a positive. I had an opportunity to ride with our finest... On the 4th, and we had a great time. All those kids are young. Your officers, they're great, but you're young. Phil, old. But anyhow, had a good time, and we have a great department. So I just wanted to, again, just positive feedback.

Thank you. Awesome. Mr. Hilty. I'm good. Thank you. Yes, ma'am.

First, I wanted to thank the city manager and our staff who's responsible for putting the stop sign in at Sanchez and 3rd so quickly. I've had a lot of positive feedback about that with people. This is a weird one. Crossing at Midtown Station from the parking lot, it's a better experience for them now. So who knew? And then can we just get an update on where we are with the business tax receipts?

Yes, and maybe Mr. Sexton can help me out. or Jeff can come on up also. We have, we had pledged that money. We did, we started the research. We had pledged that money and I can't remember what we pledged. We pledged it for some bond, am I correct? Yeah, it's a prior bond.

It was originally pledged, Janice might actually know better than Jeff or I, but originally pledged in like 1985 for an infrastructure bond. And then when that was refinanced in 2022, in relation to the fire fee refund loan, it was continued as part of the pledge. It's captured in a catch-all of all other revenues

So the original bond was pledged that revenue to pay the bond. So when they refinanced it, it was still there. But we also now have our fire fee bond that we have pledged all non-ad valorem revenue. So you're saying that it can never be changed because we've pledged this? We're going through the process. We're meeting this week with our bond counsel so that we can get an answer on if there's an exchange or something, how we can do it.

How much is it?

We have five years left to pay on the bond.

No, no.

How much is the business tax receipts? A little over $300,000.

Yeah. Not a ton.

I mean, it's been my experience that lenders typically on a small amount like that would Wave or release.

Yeah, and it's being held by a bank, so we're hoping that that's the direction that will happen. But that's what we're doing right now is going through that process. Okay, so we'll wait for the update after that.

Yeah, so the plan is to do as directed, right? And so we haven't, have we sent out, we haven't sent any notices out, am I correct?

No, not on that. In fact, right now we're not sending out renewals. Obviously, if someone wants to pay their business tax receipt, we'll take it. We're just trying not to, if we get into rescinding the ordinance mode, I have to pay that back. Yeah.

Okay.

I mean, we just found this out last week. So we're in the process on an ordinance to bring that forward. This kind of threw us a little bit of a curveball. So we're pretty close, though.

Okay. Thank you.

We'll update you next council meeting.

Okay. Thanks. That's all I have. Thank you, sir.

Yes, sir. No comment.

I know y'all want to go home. That's why I'm going to hold you up. So on July 4th, I had the opportunity to go. in Tuscarora Park, and they had an event there. Reckon Parks had an event there for four hours. And there was a great member of people in and out that park during that time. I think it was kudos to all those that participated and those that organized, implemented that activity. Like I'm saying, coming and going, and not just for a few minutes. You know what I mean? So I think that was great. It gave people something to do. I think it was great of the administrative staff. They were going around to various, I reckon, the pools, rec centers, and taking staff a meal. I think that made their staff probably feel very, very good about their job, that their bosses you know, would bring them a meal. So I wanted to ask Deputy Chief of Police, how was the July 4th ambiance around O'Kellar? I mean, did we have any major, you know, crime? I mean...

We didn't have any real big issues. Of course, there were a ton of cops out on the road. We had, just for the celebration stuff, we had 58 officers involved. And then, of course, the compliment on the road, which is another 21. So, no. Aside from the typical... hate to say typical, but things that happened downtown at the end of the night, everything was pretty good. Every year we deal with shots, fired calls that never end up being truly shot, fired calls. So thank you. We were good.

I appreciate that. I just, I just wanted to know, I know I didn't hear of anything. What did hear of one fire? I'm pretty sure they're investigating that, so there's not too much that can be said about it. Yes, sir. Thank you. I appreciate it. Yes, sir. Any other comments?

I delayed it by a minute.

Meeting adjourned.

I delayed it by a minute.

My record stands intact. Which is what? 49 minutes. Hilty was close one time. Hilty may have beat me.

We've had some that were super fast.

This could have been over at 530. 430. 36.