Remarks by Phil Stokes
14 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 1
- Play at 42:18
“Thank you. Commissioner Stokes. Yeah, vice mayor really echoed a lot of my sentiments. I'm all for efficiencies and I'm all for finding ways to generate additional revenues, whether it's promoting more advertising in our playbook, special event fees. I like the idea of the efficiencies in house mowing services, but I have to tell you, Our parks and recs serve the portion of our community. Where folks really aren't afforded the opportunity that a lot of. The folks who live in the 70 some odd gated communities we have in this city have, you know, they don't have community pools. They don't have…”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 58:54
“Commissioner Stokes. I'll just be brief and make one general comment that, you know, when looking at for what in a city like ours where we have this diversity, we have a growing senior population. We also have a growing young population. And while on one side people say, well, why should I pay for services that I don't benefit from and that I don't use? And there is an argument for that as Commissioner Duvall said, it's a perspective and it's opinion. I, you know, all my life I have paid taxes for schools. I didn't have any kids of my own and I gladly paid it because I want each generation to…”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 1:28:31
“Yeah, thank you very much for the presentation. Um, my question, what specific. Costs to a cell are there if administrative approvals were to run past commission? Why is it that it will cost us between 200 and 400,000 dollars?”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 1:29:25
“Well, I said it changed to the flow, though. If we just simply inserted a meeting agenda item or a workshop where the project comes before the commission and the public.”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 1:31:03
“So let me ask you, you know, I appreciate that. And I'd hate to have to spend tax dollars of that amount to modify the system. But at the same time, you know, Let me back up a little because obviously, 1st, and foremost is we obey the law and the reason for this administrative approval change that commission went ahead and agreed to. Back a ways ago was because if something complies with the comprehensive plan and the, then there's no legal reason to deny the applicant. Okay, that's the reality and we all have to obey the law, whether we like a project or whether we don't like a project. The…”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 1:36:12
“You know, it's not that anyone's trying to hide it. It's just that I think that there's nothing wrong and it's important that with all the changes going on in this city, and the concerns that so many people in this city have with all the changes, that there's nothing wrong with airing this, and there's a way to get around and make sure we don't violate 180 and Burr's-Harris. I would like to think there's ways to do this without incurring all this outrageous accele cost, but I don't have the skill set to be able to determine that. It just seems wrong. That you said we have how many, I mean,…”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 1:42:37
“Might come time for some city who has the backbone and the guts to stand up to the state on this. If there was ever an issue that the citizens might be willing to fund, that would be it. Because I have to tell you, I find it pretty outrageous. I really do and and, you know, I still say there's a way to make this happen. And if what we're talking about here is that every project, every developer can now simply bring in an outside consultant to turn around and get before us and say, well, this complies. So you'll just need to rubber stamp our deal. You know, politicians are funny people. They…”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 2:02:59
“I appreciate this is a bit tedious, Mayor, but it's kind of an You know, I appreciate this may be tedious to some, but, but it's actually, I think a pretty darn important conversation to have here if you ask me. So, you know, I appreciate your indulgence. Um, you know, vice mayor made comment about, you know. The value, I don't see the value and stuff coming before us and and, you know, I'm paraphrasing so don't. Don't pick on me for that, but education, education and awareness is what it's all about and. There's gotta be a way. without us having to approve every project, there's got to be a…”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 2:07:39
“You're spot on. I think too makes sense, but not as it was presented in this presentation, which is there's going to be an aggregate group of them and it's going to be, you know, it. It needs to be broken down more in pieces and we need to staff needs to say. Here's some recommended criteria for which projects not every project, like vice mayor says, I agree with that. But, but dig down on 2 more, make it more open, more air it more and make it work better for us. You know. What I'm trying to say, I think a lot of people share that we just want education. We want understanding. We want that…”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 2:28:28
“What challenges would we find, you know, the idea of doing a, you know, that's a special district, a dependent district, and then an independent district out there in 6 and 10 was for the concept of MIDE that it would help us, it would give us some of the tools in the toolbox we needed to develop that area or to attract development. How would, if we were to back off of doing that, How, you know, what new challenges might that present for that area? And I sure get it. You know, the assessment process in that dependent district will create inequities, which will give us some brain damage. I get…”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 2:30:34
“Um, you know, in that, um. You don't have to sort of focus on the idea of of of a comp plan. Review, I think it's a great idea. I really do. We've talked about it in our 1 on 1 and I think I think that's a huge thing. I think it will really help us. Um. It's. my concern it's not really a concern but it's a consideration we're going to have to have is were we to go through this two-year process and find that we wanted to make revisions to our comp plan and then in turn have to modify our uldc to align itself We're going to run headlong into some of the state regulations that have clearly tied…”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 2:47:16
“Quick question, what would be the process for engaging and including the. Uh, landowners out there non residential landowners. Okay. In those activity centers, like, you know. We want to make sure, I mean, if we're moving forward on this, which, which makes a lot of sense, listening to vice mayor and as we've had previous discussions on, we do that is the place for our commercial industrial growth. We've got to do this or. we will end up making this an extremely unaffordable place for residential tax payers. We just can't continue being a completely residential bedroom community. We just…”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 2:49:03
“See, I, I hear you and my concern is this that even more so than in some of the residential areas of our city, where there were quarter acre. Plots sitting around that we resolved out there. God knows. Who owns some of that land? Well, maybe you guys do, but I sure don't. And where do they live? So we can hold all the public meetings and put all the local promotion on Facebook this that the other, but there could be God knows how many landowners that will never have a clue what we're doing. So I would just urge us to give lots of thought to how we take the time effort and if necessary, spend…”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 2:49:59
“I wouldn't, I don't want to use the word mistakes, but yeah. You just did. I just did. So we just want to, you know, do this smarter.”
City Commission Regular Meeting · Oct 5, 2026