City Commission - Regular Meeting

A May 26 regular city commission meeting to order. Deputy City Clerk, can you roll call, please?

Yes, sir. Commissioner Davis?

Here.

Commissioner Dollison?

Here.

Commissioner Birdsong? Here. Mayor Potem Mercer? Here. And Mayor Yates?

Here. Thank you. All right. We'll have the invocation this evening led by Reverend Callie Weber from First Presbyterian Church of Winter Haven, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Please stand to favor.

Let us pray. As we enter this time and space to discern the needs, hopes and dreams for Winter Haven, please grant to this gathering good conversations, discussions and decisions. For the leaders of this community, let them remember this important calling as they engage with matters of the day. For community members present, give them ample voice and engagement with the process. And for all in the community of Winter Haven, we are grateful for the blessings of so many and the reminder for us to seek the lost and hopeless. Give us articulate speech, energy for the journey, and patience with the process. We are grateful for the space to be part of this community and to help make it a safe and nurturing place to live, work, and rest our heads. Amen.

one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Good evening, Mayor and Commissioners. We have two proclamations to present this evening. The first one is for Community Action Month. This will be accepted, I understand, by Tonya Johnson on behalf of ALPE. So if you'd come to the podium, I'll present the proclamation and then offer you time for comments. Our proclamation reads, whereas community action creates pathways to prosperity by helping hardworking families achieve economic independence rather than keeping them reliant on government assistance. And whereas community action is built on innovative, responsive, and efficient programs that are uniquely tailored to meet local needs. And whereas community action delivers high impact, cost effective results that generate a significant return on investment for local communities. And whereas Community Action invests in private sector job creation and career training, ensuring that communities grow through free market solutions. And whereas Community Action agencies are trusted pillars of the community that engage volunteers who donate their time to advance local progress, support working families, and contribute to lasting community success. And whereas community action programs are both necessary and popular, delivering effective, high-quality assistance that strengthens community resilience and fosters local prosperity. Now, therefore, William Bryan Yates, Mayor of the City of Winter Haven, Florida, does hereby proclaim May 2026 as Community Action Month, in recognition of the hard work and dedication of all City of Winter Haven community action agencies. In witness whereof he is here and to set his hand and cause the seal of the city of Winter Haven, Florida to be affixed this 26th day of May 2026, signed William Brian Yates, Mayor, attest Vanessa Castillo, City Clerk.

So on behalf of the CEO, Arlene Dobson, we would like to thank the city of Winter Haven and Mayor Yates for allowing this proclamation to be for the month of May for Community Action Month. Thank you all so much.

Mayor and commissioners, our second proclamation this evening is for National Water Safety Month. Accepting on behalf of the city will be Adam Butler, Aquatic Supervisor. Whereas May 2026 is National Water Safety Month, and the goal is to educate the public, policymakers, and public health professionals about safer water practices. And whereas drowning incidents occur due to a number of reasons, including lack of swimming skills, first aid skills, barriers to prevent unsupervised water access, close supervision, failure to maintain pool equipment leading to entrapment, wearing life jackets, drinking alcohol responsibly, and not recognizing potential hazards such as rain-filled buckets, toilets, bathtubs, water coolers, retention ponds, canals, and neighboring pools. And whereas drowning is the second leading cause of death in children under five in Polk County. Fatal and non-fatal drownings are silent events occurring in as little as two inches of water. And whereas water safety education plays a vital role in the prevention of drowning in recreational water-based related injuries, and whereas it is of vital importance to communicate water safety rules and programs to families and individuals of all ages, including owners of private pools, users of public swimming facilities, or visitors of water parks. And whereas local and national agencies such as the Coalition on Injury Prevention of Polk County, Safe Kids Suncoast Coalition, the City of Winter Haven Parks, Recreation, and Culture Department, and their partnering agencies educate Winter Haven residents on pool and open water safety, And whereas the City of Winter Haven recognizes the important role that swimming and aquatic related activities play in supporting good physical and mental health and enhancing the quality of life for all residents, and recognizes the ongoing efforts of the public and private sector to support water safety initiatives. Now, therefore, William Bryan Yates, Mayor of the City of Winter Haven, Florida, does hereby proclaim May 2026 is National Water Safety Month in the City of Winter Haven and extends continued support for the efforts of local agencies to promote water safety. In witness whereof, he is here unto set his hand and cause the seal of the City of Winter Haven, Florida to be affixed this 26th day of May 2026. Signed, William Brian Yates, Mayor. Attest, Vanessa Castillo, City Clerk.

Good evening. Thank you so much, Mayor and City Commission. For those that don't know, my name is Adam Butler, and I'm proud to serve as the Aquatic Supervisor for the City. Living in Florida, water is part of our lifestyle. Whether it is pools, lakes, beaches, or water parks, we are fortunate to be surrounded by opportunities for fun, recreation, and family memories. But with that privilege also comes an important responsibility, water safety. As we recognize Water Safety Month, I want to remind everyone that drowning is fast, silent, and preventable. Unfortunately, Florida continues to lead the nation in child drowning deaths. In 2025, Florida recorded 119 child drowning deaths, with nearly 80% involving children under the age of three. Here in Polk County, the numbers are also concerning. Recent child fatality review data showed Polk County had one of the highest drowning totals in the state, reminding us that this issue impacts families right here at home. And in a city like Winter Haven, known for our beautiful chain of lakes and love for aquatic activities, water safety education is more important than ever. That is why our Aquatics Department works hard year-round to make swimming safer and more accessible for our community. Last year alone, we proudly provided 880 swim lessons to children and families throughout Winter Haven. Every single lesson teaches more than just swimming skills. It teaches confidence, awareness, and life-saving habits. Sometimes the difference between a fun summer day and a tragedy is simply knowing what to do in and around the water. We are proud of the progress we have made, but we are also committed to doing more. Our goal is to continue expanding swim lesson opportunities and water safety education so even more families in our community can feel confident and safe around the water. As we head into another Florida summer, I encourage everyone to remember the simple layers of protection. Active supervision, swim lessons, life jackets, pool barriers, and CPR training. Together, these small actions truly save lives. Thank you for recognizing Water Safety Month and for supporting efforts to help keep the residents of Winter Haven safe, confident, and prepared around the water. Thank you.

Thank you, Adam. mister mayor item five c on your agenda this evening also falls under presentations this is a update on events that occur chain of lakes park both within our field house facility and at the newly renovated athletic complex the outdoor baseball facilities like to invite scott eilers to the podium to introduce our guests joining us from

central florida sports visit polk county sports marketing whatever name they're using today so good evening mr mayor commissioners i'm going to invite neil duncan from visit central florida sports to come up and present these slides and i'll be available for any questions that you might not be able to answer

Good evening, commissioners. Thank you so much for taking the time for us to really review the good news. And this partnership has been longstanding all the way back to tourism when it got its start with Cypress Gardens here in Winter Haven, of course, in 2022 when we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the sport of water skiing. And that was centered around Lake Silver and all the water activities here. So an update to... project as you know on december 3rd we cut the ribbon officially opening up the chain of lakes park the baseball side of course the field house has been open since i believe it was december of 2019 and then obviously in 2020 we all experienced what we did we got it back up and running a true partnership between the city of winter haven and the board of county commissioners i want to thank staff We could not do what we do without the incredible staff that you have that work through Parks and Recreation and these facilities. Without their tireless efforts and dedication, these events would not be possible, and recruiting these events here to Winter Haven would not be possible. So a quick synopsis. If you look at the Chain of Lakes February through April, of course, that's RUSMAT. And if you remember, the previous year, the facility was open for RUSMAT, had the event, and closed it back down to complete the construction. And once again, the contractors and the city hit the date. So if you look at February through April, these numbers are somewhat staggering. Number of games played there, 270. Number of innings, over 2,000. uh... forty-eight million dollars plus is what the economic impact of rust map baseball is twelve million of that directly impacting the winter haven community but i'll actually argue that that number is greater rust map baseball could not occur in polk county if it weren't for the channel lakes and the renovation that occurred so we thank you for that diamond flex for the spring games so russmat baseball what is it is the largest college baseball spring training event in the country this is the softball version that is hosted in polk county there at the diamond flex 212 games played over 1400 innings 8 million of total economic impact in polk county with 6 million of that impacting the city of winter haven also during that time more than a hundred total tournament days including the spring games as well as rust man and then all these other events that were occurring in the city of winter haven predominantly at the field house and then some supplemental events that are going on at the chain over one hundred event days occurring uh... here in winter haven More than 100,000 visits in three months to the city of Winter Haven. So the true impact of these events coming into the community, again, we thank you for your commitment and your investment in these facilities. Not only is it impactful for the city of Winter Haven and guests coming in and bringing those sports tourism dollars in, but it's also the quality of life piece for the residents of the city of Winter Haven and their ability to utilize these facilities as well. I did want to mention that DiamondPlex, there was over 14,000 additional visits to DiamondPlex from the spring games alone. Let me go back. So we talked about some of the economic impact. Back on this slide, 12 million, 6 million. You see another 9.3 million from these events, from the chain, from DiamondPlex, and the AdventHealth Fieldhouse. We also want to mention the fact that there's a vibrant arts community here in Winter Haven, and these are events that were going on at that same time at Theatre Winter Haven. So if you look at baseball, and you look at the Field House, oh by the way, you have a really good pool facility over there that was active during this time and then the theater again figuring out how to make all this work how to get all those cars in and how to get those cars out how to make sure that they go to all the establishments here in the business community again i want to give kudos to staff you see there are 28 performances and more than 6 000 guests were welcome during that time period one thing spirit been very important to us similar to the campaign we did some years ago with legoland ford resort the turn left campaign taking those guests from legoland and getting them into the business community uh... down cypress gardens boulevard into the heart of winter haven These QR codes are actually geared towards pushing the participants. You see one's at the chain and one is at the AdventHealth Fieldhouse into the business community. We partner with a group called Play Easy. It's a way for us to connect business community to the events. What is Play Easy? It's an all-in-one digital platform used to connect sports destinations with event organizers, facilities, and local vendors. This past year, Visit Central Florida Sports helped to create more than 400 microsites for events occurring in Polk County. What does this allow it to do? It functions as a networking and marketing hub that streamlines sports tourism and helping the user host events, manage hotel bookings, generate event leads, and showcase venues. We've had multiple businesses right here in the Winter Haven community talk about how they go on Play Easy, they print off the calendar of events so they know exactly when to staff up or maybe in some instances staff down depending on what is coming into the community. so they can serve our guests. Because the number one thing that we want to do is have a great experience, whether it's for leisure travelers or sports tourism. Every step of the way, our frontline hotel or accommodations folks need to know what there is to do and how to get folks to Legoland. Our restaurants need to know how to take on large groups when they come into our restaurants and turn it over quickly, either to get them back on the court or onto the ball field. This allows us to do it. Recently we had a testimonial, if you will, from Lucille's, a business right here in town, who is actively using the platform. They print off the scheduled events every week. And they said that, and this still blows my mind, over 50% of their customers at Lucille's are new customers to their business. That is a huge number. This is working. Now, I can't claim all of that for Visit Central Florida Sports, but certainly the messaging and getting people into our community is working. I also recently had a message sent to me from Jimmy Johns. It said, hey, are you hosting a volleyball event over at the Field House? I said, no, but we're hosting the girls volleyball state championships at Polk State College. The response was dot, dot, dot, thanks for the business. They were on Play Easy. They found the information. They were going to that business community. So we've also populated with our visitor experience savings pass. So those local discounts that we want to get in front of our visitors are being utilized through Play Easy. And in closing, and certainly open it up for any questions that you might have, this is the Rustmat baseball page. In the bottom right, you can see where they've added our chat bot to their page. So people are looking for all over the country to come into Polk County, looking for information on what there is to see and do in our community. They can go to the chat bot, get that information, and they're already geared with where they want to go and what they want to see when they come into Polk County.

that concludes my uh presentation i'd be happy to answer any questions or turn it over to scott so i know this might be a tough question to answer and you may not be prepared to answer tonight but are we lacking anything at this point are we short hotel rooms are we short restaurants are we or have we kind of hit a sweet spot with the events what's the view there

Well, I'm going to answer it this way, Mr. Mayor. We're selfish in Polk County. We think everything belongs in Polk County, so I'm always going to answer that question that we're short. But I think on the supply side, development, we've done a really good job in the last few years on the hotel side, certainly on the vacation rentals. But the more that we can pair new opportunities with the existing opportunities and educating all those potential visitors into Polk County on what there is to see and do, we will collectively win as a community.

Thank you.

Thank you. merrick wishes i just had you know the quick math tells me that the engagements that we have with central florida sports in that period between what was shown within the field house facility and then also channel x baseball complex and diamond plex it's about twenty seven million dollar impact back into the community. That's in one year. It's pretty amazing to think how far that's come. The number of hotels that we have that have come online and those that are in the queue to come out of the ground goes back to those types of events being here. It is providing a supply of guests, and they are providing the rooms to meet that demand. certainly the restaurants everybody benefits from that and that i think that when we you know just kind of the sidebar that i've given before when we hear of talk impacting tourist development tax dollars the state legislature the availability of those dollars is what helps market and promote and bring those tournaments to our community And when those dollars, should they go away, everybody suffers. It's not just us as a facility owner-operator. It's not just the restaurants. It's not just the hotel itself, but it's also the staff that are employed there, housekeepers, waiters, waitresses, bussers, our retail partners. So great stuff happening. We've got a great relationship with Central Florida Sports, and I just want to thank the team for sharing the information.

Well, thank you, and if I could, just one other thing on that, Mr. City Manager. Continued investment and reinvestment in these facilities are going to be vitally important because we don't have a beach here in Polk County, and so we always like to refer to the sports tourism industry in Polk County as we've built our beach to go along with all the other great attractions and things that people can experience here. So continued investment, but also the continued funding. So great point. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you. Okay, we've got no developments of note. We do have three sets of meeting minutes set for approval.

Mr. Mayor? Yes. Move approval with all three sets of minutes.

Okay, motion's been made. Any further discussion or questions on the minutes as presented? All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, like sign. Motion carries. Comments from the audience. No one has signed up. However, if you would like to speak on any item that is not in the agenda, now is an opportunity. So I'll give you that opportunity if there's anyone who'd like to speak on the item not in the agenda. Okay, seeing none, we'll move forward. Ordinance second reading public hearing. Ordinance so 26-12. City attorney, will you read by title only, please?

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Ordinance number 0-26-12, an ordinance amending Chapter 21 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Winter Haven, Florida, by rezoning one parcel from mixed-use MX zoning district to commercial highway C3 zoning district, providing for the administrative correction of scourge areas, repealing all ordinances in conflict herewith, and providing an effective date. The general location, 2001 First Street North. The area covered by this request is 0.46 plus or minus acres. Thank you.

Thank you. City Manager?

Mayor and Commissioners, Beacon 6 Holdings LLC requests to see rezone one parcel from mixed-use zoning district to commercial highway C3 zoning district. It's noted this is approximately .46 acres. The petitioner owns the parcels to the southwest and southwest of the subject property, all of which are currently zoned to C3. Those are reflected on the image on your screens in the blue boxes. The parcel under consideration this evening of second read is the parcel in red. Petitioner proposes to redevelop the site with a convenience store with fuel sales in conjunction with the three adjacent parcels under their ownership. This use is not permitted within the MX zoning district, but is allowed within the C3 zoning district. We note in your fact sheet the surrounding uses, which I believe you're familiar with. This is the intersection of First Street and MLK Boulevard. The subject property is designated as a primary mixed use hub future land use. The request for the C3 zoning district is consistent with that future land use designation. All notification requirements for this request were met. The Planning Commission at its April 7th, 2026 regular meeting voted to recommend approval of this request. No members of the public spoke in favor or against the item. Staff's conclusion is that based on the subject property's location at a major intersection, the surrounding pattern of commercial and vacant properties, and the petitioner's ownership of adjacent C3 zoned parcels, the requested rezoning to commercial highway C3 is appropriate and compatible with surrounding area. The proposed zoning will allow for a use that is consistent with nearby development while establishing uniform zoning across the petitioner's properties to ensure cohesive site design and development standards. The request is consistent with the primary mixed use hub future land use designation and will not increase development intensity or create additional impacts to public infrastructure beyond what is currently permitted. Staff's recommending that City Commission approve Ordinance 02612 on second and final reading. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. Commissioners?

Mr. Mayor? Yes. Move approval of Ordinance 02612, second reading, public hearing.

Thank you. Motion's been made. We'll close the commission meeting, open the public hearing. Anyone wish to speak to this item? Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing, reopen the city commission meeting. Any further discussions or questions on this item? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, like sign. Motion carries. Okay. Ordinance O-26-15. City Attorney, title only, please.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Ordinance number O-26-15, an ordinance of the City of Winter Haven, Florida, amending ordinance number O-25-29 regarding appropriation of funds for deferring expenses of the municipal government of the City of Winter Haven for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2025, providing for severability for the administrative correction of scrivener's errors and providing for an effective date. Thank you.

Thank you. City Manager?

Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Commission. The City Commission awarded RFQ 2515 to Whitehead Construction on June 23rd, 2025 for design build services at the Diamond Plex softball complex with a guaranteed maximum price not to exceed $2,341,306. The general fund transferred a portion of the commission-approved one mil for capital projects in fiscal year 25, totaling $1 million, and fiscal year 26, totaling $1,152,447 for a total contribution of $2,152,447. That money was placed in the construction fund specifically for this project. A budget amendment is required to authorize the additional expenditure and funding sources associated with the guaranteed maximum price. The requested amendment therefore will transfer $100,000 within the construction fund $32,858 from the transportation fund, specifically for roadway improvements associated with the project, and $15,000 from the general fund for the additional expenditures in the amount of $188,859. The balance of the additional expenditures totaling $41,001 is available from cost savings within the Diamond Plex softball improvement project. Staff's recommending the city commission approve ordinance 2615 on second and final reading and authorize the city manager or designee to sign all documents and take all necessary actions related thereto. Thank you.

Thank you. Commissioners? Mr. Mayor? Yes. Move approval of 2615, second reading, public hearing.

The motion's been made for approval. We'll close the commission meeting and open the public hearing. Anyone wish to speak to this item? Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing, reopen the city commission meeting. Any further discussions or questions on this item? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, like sign. Motion carries. Commissioners, you have the consent agenda. Mr. Mayor? Yes. Move approval of the consent agenda in its entirety. Thank you. Motion has been made to approve the consent agenda. We'll close the commission meeting, open the public hearing. Anyone wish to speak to any item within the consent agenda? Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing, reopen the city commission meeting. Any other questions or discussion on any item within the consent agenda? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, like sign. Motion carries. We have two resolutions. Resolution R-26-15, city attorney.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This title is a long one, so bear with me. Resolution R-26-15, a resolution vacating a portion of an improved right-of-way consisting of a 40 to 60 foot wide north-south platted right-of-way lying west of lots 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 16. and east of lots 236, 7, 10, 11, 14, and 15 of the Lake Eloise subdivision, as recorded in Platte Book 3, page 57, public records of Polk County, Florida, lying in section 4, township 29, 5th range, 26 east, Polk County, Florida, and lying east of track Q of Harmony at Lake Eloise, phase 3A, as recorded in Platte Book 208, pages 23... through 28 of the Public Records of Polk County, Florida, in line west of two parcels of land described in a deed in favor of Four Star, parentheses, USA, close parentheses, Real Estate Group, Inc., as recorded in Official Records Book 11483, page 0957 of the Public Records of Polk County, Florida, as parcels 11 and 12. all line within section nine time for twenty nine south range twenty six east pope county florida west of the northern two hundred and thirty feet of the park tract of the bell hollow subdivision as recorded in plat book sixty seven page thirty four lying in section nine time for twenty nine south range twenty six east pope county florida and east of track q of the harmony at lake eloise phase three a subdivision as recorded in plat book two oh eight pages 23 through 28, public records of Polk County, Florida, lying in sections 4 and 9, Township 29, South Range 26, East Polk County, Florida, together with those sections of West Lake Eloise Drive, as depicted on the Polk County maintained right-of-way map, as recorded in Map Book 2, page 306 of the public records of Polk County, lying... within the southern half of Section 4, Township 29 South, Range 26 East, and the northern half of Section 9, Township 29 South, Range 26 East, Polk County, Florida, and providing for severability, the administrative correction of skimmer's errors, and providing for an effective date. The general location, the improved right-of-way is located approximately 1,800 feet north of Eloise Loop Road, northwest of the entrance to the Valhalla subdivision, and south of Shell Road. Thank you.

Thank you. City Manager, do you have less words? I do. Mr. Labby will present this item.

Again, I will summarize all of that. As part of the development of the Harmony subdivision, Four Star envisioned a realigned West Lake Eloise Road. It was required in the PUD. They constructed that new road, and then they requested a vacation of the existing West Lake Eloise Drive. On December 8th, 2025, the City Commission approved Resolution R2552, which vacated the old West Lake Eloise right-of-way and accepted the newly constructed West Lake Eloise Road realignment. However, there was an error found excuse me, in the legal description of that resolution. Additionally, staff uncovered an old Polk County maintained right-of-way map, which should have been referenced within that resolution. Therefore, we have made those corrections to the legal description. The maps that were in that resolution were correct, but there was an error in the legal description. We have made those corrections and referenced the maintained right-of-way map. And so staff does recommend the city commission approve resolution R2615.

Thank you. Commissioners?

Mr. Mayor? Yes. Motion to approve resolution R2615.

Thank you. All right. Motion's been made. We'll close the commission meeting, open the public hearing. Anyone wish to speak to this item? Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing, reopen the city commission meeting. Any further questions or discussion on this item? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, like sign. Motion carries. Okay, resolution R-26-17. City attorney.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Resolution R-26-17, a resolution confirming the acceptance of the remaining improvements, infrastructure, and dedications in favor of the public city of Winter Haven as notated on that certain plat entitled Willowbrook North, recorded in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court in and for Polk County, Florida, in Plat Book 214, pages 4 through 19, Public Records of Polk County, Florida, and authorizing the city manager to release the performance bond posted to guarantee completion of required improvements and infrastructure. The general location subdivision is generally located south of Lucerne Park Road, west of Lake Fannie, and north of the Lake Smart-Lake Fannie Canal. Thank you.

Thank you. City Manager? Again, Mr. Labbe will present this item.

Sir, Mr. Mayor, on March 10th, 2025, the City Commission approved Resolution R2503, platting the Willowbrook North subdivision. There was a performance bond issued in the amount of $7,235,221.79. On August 11, 2025, the City Commission approved Resolution R2534 to accept those improvements, infrastructure, and dedications associated with Phases 1 and 2, and accepted a reduced performance bond in the amount of $5 million. $69,711.08 to ensure completion of phases three and four of the Willowbrook subdivision. Recent inspections by staff found all remaining incomplete improvements associated with phases three and four are now complete. And the water, wastewater, and reuse utilities can now be accepted by the city. The city will not be accepting maintenance responsibilities for the drainage infrastructure or the internal rights-of-way within the subdivision. Staff recommends the city commission approve Resolution R2617 and authorize the city manager or designee to take any necessary action related thereto. Thank you. Thank you.

Commissioners? Yes Thank You motions been made we'll close the Commission meeting open the public hearing anyone wish to speak to this item Seeing none will close the public hearing reopen the City Commission meeting any other for discussion or questions on this item Seeing none all those in favor signify by saying aye opposed like sign motion carries we've got no first readings this evening however we do have some new business items first one is our grant made application review committee recommendations for fiscal year twenty seven grant awards city manager

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'd like to start off by recognizing two members of our Grant and Aid Application Review Committee, Tina Summerlin, and I saw Melinda Kalogridis was here and may still be in the building, but those are two of the individuals who serve on that committee to bring this item forward this evening. On May 9th, 2022, the City Commission passed Resolution R2219, officially establishing the Grant and Aid Application Review Committee or GARC, as we call it internally. On September 22nd of 25, the Commission passed Resolution 2548, further refining the structure of the GARC. This committee evaluates the applications and provides a recommendation to the City Commission specific to the external not-for-profit agencies seeking grant and aid funding. Refinements to the process were recommended, approved by vote of the City Commission, and implemented for the fiscal year 26-27 application cycle. So we're discussing grants that would be awarded post-October 1st of 2026, hence being next fiscal year. Those recommendations included excluding schools and foundations from the funding process, Funding legacy agencies at their existing levels, but only after a review of their application proves continued compliance and worthiness. Setting the starting budget level at a 10% increase on last year's total awarded amount. That equates to a total of $382,537 that the committee had to work with in recommending grant awards. And then to prioritize the following factors, programs that serve children, programs that serve the elderly, programs that serve individuals experiencing homelessness, and programs that demonstrate strong fiscal responsibility, measurable impact, and a clear return on investment. Four training sessions were held for potential applicants. Those training sessions are mandatory so that they understand the process before submitting applications. Via those training sessions, 118 individuals representing 97 unique organizations attended. The window for agencies to submit applications opened online March 2nd, 2026 and closed March 13th, 2026. A total of 58 applications were received. City staff performs a completeness or sufficiency audit specific to the applicants attending a training, a minimum of two years serving Winter Haven residents, and inclusion of the required budget document, IRS determination, SunBiz verification, and W-9. Staff worked with applicants whose applications were incomplete to ensure all requirements were met before the end of the application correction window of April 10, 2026. All applications were provided to the committee. On May 5th and again on May 15th of this year, the committee met the John Fuller Auditorium to review and deliberate on the applications. Both of those meetings were properly noticed by the city clerk. For each application, the committee reviewed the appropriateness of the application for consideration of funding or to deny the application. Committee members with conflicts of interest verbally disclosed those conflicts, filed Form 8B, and recused themselves from voting on applicable organizations. Applicants that attended the meetings were allowed to address the committee when recognized by the chair to answer questions or offer additional context. One organization pulled their application from consideration of funding via comment at the meeting followed by a formal request in writing. A motion was made to approve an initial set of award recommendations for 57 applicants, excluding three organizations with a filed conflict of interest. And that motion passed unanimously. So what happened there was the individual that had a conflict of interest on the committee recused themselves from those votes. The rest of the committee voted on everything but those, or they voted, all five voted on everything with the exception of those for which there was a conflict. A second motion was made to approve award recommendations for the organizations where a filed conflict of interest form was submitted. And we're going to recommend the city commission follow a similar process, and I'll explain that in just a bit. That motion passed unanimously, and committee member Abdul Al-Khatib recused himself from the vote because of the conflict. A third and final motion was made to authorize that complete set of funding recommendations and forward the same to the City Commission, which is what you have before you this evening. That motion also passed unanimously. with respect to the twenty seven application the uh... committee recommends allocation of funds is outlined in your fact sheet uh... i'm gonna invite katrina hill to the podium to walk you through this uh... we had a i think a good conversation on this wednesday evening during a gender review but i'll let her take it from here uh... it with respect to actions by the commission this evening following her review of the information. It would be appropriate that if any commissioner has a conflict of interest due to an affiliation with any of those that are recommended for approval, that they identify that and we will have you fill out the correct form AB and then we will identify how to proceed with any voting on recommendations at that time. So Katrina.

Thank you. Yes, the committee met twice, as city manager mentioned, for multiple hours each time. They reviewed each application one at a time, really digging into the details and looking at all of the documents that were submitted and all of the budgets. And for returning applicants, a specific focus on their reporting to make sure that their receipts and their reports matched what they had applied for the year before. And you all have a spreadsheet included in your agenda packet. You can see the breakdown of the awards. A quick summary, they did recommend all six legacy agencies to be funded at the same amount as last year with the exception of Meals on Wheels, which they actually recommended a slight increase to $25,000, citing food costs. Looking at returning agencies, they did not fund all returning agencies. Most were funded at a similar level to what they had last year or a slight increase, with one having a larger increase, actually being awarded slightly above what they asked for due to what they felt was a very strong reporting records keeping in an application. And then of the new applicants, they didn't even fund half of them. They really scrutinized them closely to make sure that they were funding worthwhile projects that aligned with your direction that you had provided for them. So I'm happy to answer any questions on anything.

Thank you. Commissioners?

Mayor, just let me elaborate on that just a bit. So again, the total amount recommended to be awarded was $358,500. So the committee was given more than that, but through their scrutiny and their diligence in reviewing and really evaluating these applications, they're not recommending the full expenditure of the budget afforded to them to work with. It leaves a balance of $24,037 from that original $382,537 budget. And that's noted on page 5 of your fact sheet beneath the table, just for reference. Okay. Commissioners? It would be appropriate to have disclosure of any conflicts.

Right, it would be. I mentioned in our Wednesday meeting that there are conflict of interest for me, and also I'll let him speak for himself. Yeah. And also for me.

For which? First missionary about this. Are there any other conflicts with any of the other agencies that anybody has? So when you follow your deliberations, if there's a recommendation to proceed, we would ask that it be absent the First Missionary Baptist Church recommendation from the fact sheet, and that be handled. Everybody can vote on that, and then that one would need to be...

without commissioner birdsong and commissioner dollison if there is such a motion or action to be taken thank you commissioners is there a motion i'll make a motion that we approve the exemptions for mr dollison and commissioner birdsong

Okay. We don't need a motion on that particular item, right? We would need a motion for approval on this excluding that item.

Okay. I'll make a motion that we approve the grant name application review by the committee for FY26. seven grant awards, excluding Commissioner Dollison and Commissioner Birdsong.

Okay. City Attorney, are we right in that process?

Yes. I think that the minutes will be reflected to that Commissioner Mercer has made a motion to approve the Grant and Aid Advisory Review Committee's recommendations for all of the agencies with the exception of the First Missionary Baptist Church. So that may be voted on separately. so that Commissioner Dollison and Commissioner Birdsong may recuse themselves from voting on that particular item. So before you on the motion are all of the other agencies that the Grant and Aid Review Committee has deliberated on that Ms. Hill has discussed in the fact sheet outlines. Those are what is the subject of the motion that Commissioner Mercer has made to approve the funding levels recommended by the committee.

Okay, so a motion's been made. We'll proceed with the normal process now. We'll close the commission meeting. We'll open the public hearing. Anyone wish to speak to this agenda item? Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing, reopen the city commission meeting. Commissioners, any other questions or comments on this item? Yes, sir.

Okay, so first I want to ask a few clarifying questions. Looking at the applications, I went through and looked at the spreadsheets to see which expenditures were highlighted as using city funds. And I saw some of those had administrative costs, including salaries, pensions, insurance. Would that be correct?

Yes. There are no guidelines against that at this time. Sure. The committee has noted that is something they would like to discuss in the fall for potential future changes.

Okay. And I'd ask that agenda review, I asked Attorney Drew Crawford, who advised the committee, the question as to whether or not we can put stipulations, and I think where we landed was not really. We can express that we'd rather the money not be used on those items, but if they use them, then all we can do is next time around take that into consideration. It would be difficult to put stipulations. So then I also want to ask, that includes I believe one organization wanted to use tax dollars to buy gift cards to hand out to homeless people, is that correct?

My understanding of that application is it's gift cards for incentives to get folks to come in and get health testing.

Okay, so tax dollars to buy gift cards to give to people as incentives to get them to come in for health testing.

but it's my understanding of the application.

And there was, I'm sorry, there was one organization that was handing out turkeys. Do you remember which one that was? I was at the committee meeting and I remember there was a heated conversation that seemed to go back and forth about how that money was being spent.

yes so there is one application that runs a feeding ministry that uh... it was first missionary back stretch i believe that in their reporting had indicated that they had also handed out cooked turkeys as part of an extra thanksgiving feeding ministry uh... and there was there was some discussion around that at the committee meeting as well committee members want to elaborate on that or not alright um... then i'm

Unless there's any other questions, I'd like to make some comments before we proceed with our vote.

One clarifying question was on the gift cards. Is there a max price on the gift cards that we're going to be giving out? And are they exclusive to food, I would assume?

I mean, just a minute. I'm trying to remember the name of the organization so I can.

No problem. Positively you.

I'm sorry?

The Positively You is the organization, I believe.

I will pull their application for you. There wasn't any recommendation to give them any money. Yeah, there is. Oh, yeah, there is. 2,500. I'm sorry. I was looking at the wrong line.

I got them. I believe it was to provide their culturally preferred foods instead of handing them food.

and let's see hygiene products nutrition gift cards and twenty five dollar gift cards for a range of small businesses including markets and groceries that are frequented by the focus population i know we've got a couple of committee members here would you like to say anything on the process or

Did you want to say anything as a committee member?

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'm Tina Summerlin, and I stand for any questions that you all may have of the committee, of the Grant and Aid Committee. I don't have anything to add at this time, but I stand for any questions.

Thank you. I just want to give thanks to the committee members who are here tonight and to all of the committee members who participated. go through this process. We used to do this process on the commission level. We like you guys doing it a lot better because you can take a lot more time into each request. I think the process has certainly been refined over the years. Can it continue to get better? Absolutely. And it sounds like you guys certainly have a willingness to continue to refine it. So just thank you so much for your service on this committee. Um, With that?

Mr. Mayor, may I make just an additional item of note that your fact sheet reflects is that very recently, Governor DeSantis signed into law Senate Bill 1134, which is entitled Relating to Official Actions of Local Governments. It'll be codified into the laws of Florida, and it will take effect January 1 of 2027. So that's during the funding cycle that this action would contemplate starting October 1, 26. It essentially prohibits municipalities from funding or promoting directly or indirectly or taking any official actions that's defined broadly that would relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion matters. And so we have, in conjunction with city staff, developed a certification document that all applicants who are successful in this process must sign and certify that the funds they receive from the city are not going to be utilized for the purposes that are prohibited under the new state law. And that will be something that they'll sign and certify to the city so that we can have at least that certification on file. Certainly as that law takes effect, There's no guidance yet on that that I'm aware of from either our Florida Attorney General or from cases, but there may be as that law begins on January 1st of 2027. Just wanted to make that as part of the record and for your information. I think we briefly talked about that at the agenda review session on Wednesday.

Okay, thank you. Any other questions, comments?

Yes, sir. All right. I took some notes because I wanted to make sure I had this organized. First, I want to recognize that I do believe everyone sitting up here, my colleagues on the commission and our city staff, our committee, that you all care very deeply about this city and you're just trying to help the city. I don't question anyone's intentions and I actually am proud to serve alongside you in trying to help all of our citizens. respectfully i'm going to be voting no on this because uh... because of two reasons really uh... one is more i have some ethical concerns i think we have a fiduciary duty to be good stewards with these tax dollars and as i reviewed the applications i saw uh... administrative salaries pensions insurance benefits gift cards travel lodging restaurants and other internal expenses that have been built into the budgets using city dollars. And these costs, they don't directly benefit the people that the organizations claim to serve. In many cases, I actually believe that our money is benefiting the organizations more than they are the population they're seeking to serve. This creates a real potential for fraud, waste, and abuse, and conflicts, and I believe that this program lacks the accountability measures, and without those clear controls or reporting requirements, I won't be able to support distributing the funds in this way. But I also have more of a philosophical concern. I just don't think it's good public policy to take tax dollars from the community at large and then redirect them to more of a subgroup that does not provide a common good to the entire city. And one example I want to use in how I think we're approaching this is how we deal with homeless. We have quite a few programs here that are addressing food insecurity and those who are unhoused. And while that's noble, we have organizations like the Mission that do that very well. They're not even asking for money. To my knowledge, they have capacity to serve our homeless population, but where we have a common good need is actually in shelter. Not a single one of these organizations help out with the shelter side of things. By the way, that's the biggest complaint I've heard since I've been on this commission, has been dealing with some of the trespass and nuisance issues that come from some folks, whether they're unhoused or not. We just don't have a shelter to be able to take them to that. Stay tuned, I am working on some ideas with that, but that's just one example where I don't believe these organizations are necessarily meeting a common good, even though they're serving some folks in our community. By contrast, I look at the Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team as an excellent common good. They do something that's free for the public, it's open to everyone, they're great ambassadors for our city to those who come from outside of the city. They don't ask for much, but I'd even support giving them more money, because I think what they do is very important to our community, our heritage, and our legacy. So for those reasons, without the accountability, without the structure we need to ensure this money is being used properly, I'm not going to be able to support it this year. And I hope that in the fall we can revisit it and add some stronger controls and criteria to prevent the misuse of funds. So with that, I just wanted to explain to the public why I'm going to be voting no.

OK. All right. Any other questions or comments? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Sorry. Yeah.

Everybody votes on this one. Yes. Everyone votes on this one. Okay.

Aye. All opposed, like sign? No. Okay. Motion carries. With that, we'll move forward to the comprehensive agreement.

You've got one more vote you need to do. Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. My apologies. So that vote, again, was for all the agencies except for those which there was a conflict. Yes. Thus, everybody could vote. Now you'll need a motion to consider specifically the funding for First Missionary Baptist Church and Commissioner... Dawson and Commissioner birdsong will need to recuse themselves I jinxed myself on Wednesday night.

I knew I was in a mess that it's okay. It's complicated Okay, well with that Commissioner Mercer or Commissioner Davis is there a motion?

Okay. Mr. Mayor, I'll make a motion that we approve First Missionary Baptist Church and their funding.

Thank you. All right. A motion has been made. We'll close the commission meeting, open the public hearing. Anyone wish to speak to this item? Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing, reopen the city commission meeting. Any other questions or discussion on this item? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed, like sign? No. Motion carries. Okay. Now we'll move to the comprehensive agreement. I see you, manager.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Let me just pull up the item here. Just a second. Okay. On October 13th of 2025, the city received an unsolicited proposal from 610 LLC pursuant to section 255.065 of the Florida statutes, also known as the P3 or public private partnership act. The proposal was to construct and sell a new 292 space parking facility on property owned by Urban Action LLC, generally located at the northeast corner of Avenue C Southwest and 3rd Street Southwest. Pursuant to Florida statutes, the City Commission convened two duly noticed public meetings. On November 24th of 2025, the proposal was presented and affected public entities and members of the public were able to provide comment. On December 8th of 2025, the City Commission adopted Resolution 2558, making the determination that the proposal serves a public purpose, using all five statutorily defined factors for determining such, and is a qualifying project pursuant to the P3 Act. and declaring its intent to enter into a comprehensive agreement. A notice of the unsolicited proposal and report of public interest determination was published in the Florida Administrative Register for at least seven days as required by Florida statutes. The proposed comprehensive agreement between the City, 610 LLC, and Urban Action LLC defines the terms, duties, rights, and responsibilities of the parties pursuant to permitting, construction, sale, and purchase of a new 292 space parking facility for public use as a City of Winter Haven capital asset. Pursuant to the comprehensive agreement, 610 shall be responsible for the design, permitting, and construction of the parking facility as a design-build project. 610 has retained Whitehead, a design builder that is experienced in the design and construction of multi-level parking facilities. The city's representatives, which is the second item for your consideration following this, shall evaluate and review interim designs, plans, and permitting documents. And upon permitting of the final design, 610 shall construct the parking facility and cause the final building to be delivered to the city at a guaranteed maximum price of $10,217,496. In addition, Urban Action LLC, the owner of the land on which the facility is proposed to be constructed, will convey that land to the city once the parking facility building is complete and the purchase price is paid. The comprehensive agreement also provides for the following. City approved change orders, city land inspection period of 120 days, permit approval period of 120 days, which runs concurrently with the land inspection period. A right to cancel the agreement due to any conditions discovered prior to construction which render the property impossible for construction or where the cost to cure such condition exceeds 5% of the construction budget. Performance bond, title insurance, and survey requirements, the conditions of closing, liability insurance requirements, and conditions of default and remedies. With respect to the financial impact, the city will utilize $2,279,455 from the fiscal year 25 cash carry forward, $4,409,625 from the construction fund balance restricted for the parking garage, and $3,528,416 from the transportation fund savings from Logistics Parkway Pollard Road Improvement Project. The construction of a parking facility is not specifically defined as a goal or strategy within our strategic plan. However, it is aligned with the responsible government infrastructure and economic development strategic pillars. additionally it's consistent with the findings and recommendations of the downtown strategic and mobility master plan which was completed in 2022. furthermore in november of 2025 after receiving the unsolicited proposal city staff obtained independent analysis of the proposal from walker consultants which evaluated the cost effectiveness of the proposed parking garage relative to current florida market conditions the overall public benefit in the context of the Walker prepared downtown strategic and mobility master plan of 22, and area infrastructure compatibility. Based on that independent analysis, Walker consultants concluded that the proposed parking garage submitted in the unsolicited proposal to the city demonstrated both cost effectiveness and overall public benefit pursuant to section 255.065 of the Florida statutes. Staff is recommending the city commission approve the comprehensive agreement for the construction of a new 292 space parking facility and authorize the mayor and other city officials to execute the same and authorize the city manager or designee to take all necessary actions related to the city's performance under the comprehensive agreement. On your screen, you see renderings of the parking garage from multiple angles and elevations. Again, this is located at the intersection of Avenue C Southwest and 3rd Street Southwest, generally south of the Southeastern University campus and due north of the Grove Roots Brewing Company. The map that's depicted now within the red box, that is the portion of the property that would be ultimately sold to the city following construction of the parking garage. Entrance would be off of Avenue C, generally towards the eastern end of the project. We are working through all of our due diligence on the land. We noted in the agenda review, this is a site that at one time did have a gas station on it and as part of the statewide petroleum cleanups that all of the infrastructure related to that gas station was removed. Ground monitoring wells were installed and there is a closeout process underway with our hopes that that will fully wrap up during this calendar year. However, all the costs associated with that monitoring and related work are funded through the petroleum fund administered by DEP. This is, again, as I explained, a case where what groundwater issues there are underneath where the parking garage is to be constructed, the best solution for that outside of digging down to significant depths and removing it is to cap in place, which is a common mitigation strategy. Building a parking garage on that property certainly does that. There is prohibitions against putting water wells in that area. There's no need for that. This garage will be on the city's water system. There is not any storm water issues related with that. And we have worked diligently through the city attorney's office as well as the attorneys representing 610 and Urban Action on all those matters and are comfortable moving forward with that. The second item that we're going to ask you to consider following your action on this one should you approve the recommendation would be an authorization to bring on Kimley Horn and associates to serve as the city's representative in all of those items related to oversight and working with the reviews and monitoring of the project. the due diligence and the like, and we'll consider that one separately. But when I referenced the city's role in this, we bring in a private contractor to help us manage through that, and that is a requirement of the P3 Act as well. i do know that members of the p3 unsolicited proposal team are here i see mr baker mr strang along with their legal counsel and certainly entertain any questions that you have for myself and staff or to direct towards them thank you thank you

um just a quick statement from myself due to a potential conflict i'll not give my opinions enter into the discussion or vote on this item if this were to pass or fail the mayor pretend would sign any official documents needed

With that, commissioners? Mr. Mayor? Yes. Move approval of the comprehensive agreement for the proposed 292 space parking facility and the implementation of such.

Thank you. Motion's been made. We'll close the commission meeting, open the public hearing. Anyone wish to speak to this item? Seeing none.

Mr. Mayor, just a commission, just as a footnote to what the city manager has said for the record. Following along the comments that were made at the Wednesday's agenda review session, there are a couple things that I just wanted to point out for the record that are contained within the comprehensive agreement. and they are really pertaining to the city's ultimate obligations as it relates to the land in question, and that is that we have a 120-day land inspection period, which is a corollary to the 120 days that the private partner has to obtain their permits, get their construction plans approved, and move forward, hopefully with a permit, to get things going. During that land use inspection period, if the city were to terminate the agreement, for reasons based on matters associated with what has already been disclosed, then there would be some potential exposure to some of the things that have been ordered by this entity. I understand as soon as perhaps tomorrow they may try to place orders on things that are long lead time or to maintain the costs at the $10.2 million at that level. And so there would be a potential for $1,540,000 as a potential, pardon me, $1,560,000. But again, that would be only in the eventuality that there was something that has been disclosed and something further in that area showed up. As you can see from exhibit B, attached to the comprehensive agreement, they have had their environmental folks through CES make certain inquiries and our Kimley Horn folks will do the same, as the city manager noted. There's also a cooperation agreement. that we are calling as a condition of closing. That is a cooperation agreement with Urban Action, the landowner, to make sure that they are on the hook for any costs associated with further cleanup or further closure, and to make sure and ensure that the site access agreement with FDEP that's in place right now remains in place for as long as necessary. If you can look at the red outline piece, there's more land that Urban Action owns, and so there may be a requirement to put monitoring wells on lands that we're not buying in order to come to closure with FDEP. So we want that to be at the responsibility of the landowner as it currently has that obligation under the site access agreement. Just wanted to add that for the record. And Ms. Rubenstein is here as the attorney representing Urban Action and 610 if she has any further clarification on that. But that is part of the agreement.

All right, since we've had those added comments, I'll give one other opportunity for any public comment on this item. Seeing none, we'll move forward. Any other questions or discussions on this item?

Yes, please. This is my first bite of the garage apple, so I would like to ask a few questions. First of all, just to try to understand this 3P process, What we had here, we had our consultants back, what was it, 2021, identify some properties where they suggested we may need a parking garage in the future.

2022.

2022, okay, very good. And then we received an unsolicited proposal from the landowner that was willing to build and develop this garage and then sell it to us. And I believe it wasn't that... going to be added cost savings to us ultimately per space? Was that what our consultants had identified?

Thank you for that question. Based upon the comparative costs of other parking structures being constructed at the same time or in recent months leading up to that proposal, it was a it was a lower cost than what we had seen with other garages and i will also add we had begun to assess what a garage may cost us following the 2022 report just what does that look like and those numbers again the economy drives a lot of that were significantly higher okay

And then there's also, I believe, the timeline. It'll probably be done quicker than we could do it ourselves? Correct. OK. And those renderings are beautiful. I have no doubt it's going to be a very well done garage, thankfully, since it's right in view from my balcony. uh... so i uh... i i i'm actually enthusiastically supporting this project these are the kind of projects we want folks who care about our community who see a need and are willing to provide it uh... so i just want to commend those who are working on this project and thank you for for being leaders in our community helping develop our community and that's all i got

Thank you. Commissioners, any other questions or comments on this item? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, like sign. Motion carries.

The record will reflect that that was a 4-0 vote with the mayor refusing.

Okay, with that, we'll move on to 13C, task order with Tim Lee Horn from Magnolia Park Garage.

So Mr. Mayor, we've talked about this. I'm going to ask Deputy City Manager to present this item as he's been the lead on negotiating this one.

Good evening, Mayor and City Commission. So pursuant to the comprehensive agreement which you just approved, 610 LLC shall be responsible for design, permitting, and construction of the parking facility. The city's representative shall evaluate and review interim designs, plans, and permitting documents. And upon permitting of the final design, 610 LLC shall construct the parking facility and cause the final building to be delivered to the city. CITIES WORKED WITH KIMLEY HORN TO DEVELOP A TASK ORDER VIA RFQ 2001, THAT'S OUR MASTER CONTINUING SERVICES CONTRACT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO THE CITIES REPRESENTATIVE, WHICH WAS NOTED ABOVE, WHICH GENERALLY INCLUDES INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL REVIEW OF DESIGN DOCUMENTS, ADVISORY SUPPORT DURING PERMITTING, CONSTRUCTION PHASE ADVISORY SERVICES AND LIMITED OBSERVATION, COST, SCHEDULE, AND VALUE ENGINEERING ADVISORY INPUT, AND ASSISTANCE WITH PROJECT CLOSEOUT DOCUMENTATION. This work also includes the analysis of environmental site condition assessments and a report that includes recommendations to address any environmental contamination concerns. Kimley-Horn will perform this work for a lump sum fee of $285,000 to be paid from transportation fund savings from Logistics Parkway-Pollard Road Improvement Project. Staff recommends the City Commission approve the task order with Kimley-Horn and authorize the City Manager or his designee to execute the task order with Kimley-Horn and take any and all necessary actions related thereto.

Thank you. City Attorney, did you have anything on this?

No, sir. Nothing.

All right. Well, I will abstain from this one as well for the previous stated reason.

Mr. Mayor? Yes. Move approval of task order with Kimberley Horn for the parking garage and authorized staff to do all the implementation.

Thank you. Motion's been made. We'll close the commission meeting, open the public hearing. Anyone wish to speak to this item? No. Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing, reopen the city commission meeting. Commissioners, any questions or comments on this item? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, like sign. Motion carries, 4-0.

Thank you.

that's all i've got on my agenda so we'll move forward to the uh... city commissioner liaison reports uh... mr davis right it's been a busy couple weeks course we started off with our dc trip right after our last meeting that was eventful uh... but we did have some very productive meetings i really enjoyed getting to spend time with each of you and it was fun in its own way Then, of course, it's been graduation season with my role with the Polk County Public Schools. I got to participate in multiple graduations. I went to Auburndale High School, even though I'm a Blue Devil, it's okay. I went to Lake Regents as well, George Stinkins, and then Winter Havens last Friday, which was just wonderful. I also attended the DARE graduation. Great job. I had never, well, I guess I went when I was in fifth grade, but I haven't been to one like we do now, and it was fantastic. The energy was high. The kids were really into it. I enjoyed that. It'll be a, I can't miss every year for me, so I'm looking forward to next year. I also attended the Public Safety Leadership Council graduation. Briefly, I was there for the opening for that. Yesterday, I went to the Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team Show that they did for Memorial Day. That was very nice. And then today, I attended the Winter Haven Chamber Luncheon. Those are the events I attended, but commissioners, I also mentioned agenda review. I was going to be making a motion. We discussed briefly, I had analyzed the data we had on city commission salaries. I want to move that we put it on a future agenda. That agenda item would be to have the discussion, not to bring back any kind of language yet. I'd like to have that opportunity to have that discussion. So in order to get consensus, our city attorney makes his way back. If you can guide me on the proper way to do this, if I can just make a motion now to add it to the agenda, or if there's anything else I need to do.

Yes, as it relates to the item you've discussed, Commissioner Davis, I think we talked about this on Wednesday, and I think the mayor's preference was to entertain a motion to allow this to be added as an agenda item. And as a discussion.

It would be a discussion on the agenda, and then if we so move then, we could move forward with possible language, but that will give the public plenty of time to weigh in and understand what the conversation is.

So that would be, I think, what the preference of the mayor was, is to entertain a motion. to allow for it, as you just said, to be discussed, and then give further direction as appropriate.

Then I move that we add an agenda item to have a discussion on commission salaries.

Okay. Do you have a particular agenda that you would like to have that added to?

I will leave that to the city manager based on how dense the agenda is. If the next one's light enough, we can take it up then, or if you want to wait until a future one. Relatively soon, though, because we're talking budget right now, and I don't know what the will of the commission might be if we were to move forward with it. I want to make sure that it's part of that conversation.

Okay. All right, so a motion's been made. We will run the normal procedure on a motion. So we will close the commission meeting, open the public hearing. Anyone wish to speak to this item? Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing, reopen the city commission meeting. Commissioners, any questions, comments on this item? I'll give my comment. So while I certainly respect your thoughts on this, I do think that we probably are behind the eight ball in comparison to other municipalities around the county. But in my opinion, I just think we are We're pretty thin right now, not knowing kind of what the future holds legislatively from our state leaders. I just, you know, I never jumped into this job thinking I was going to become a millionaire. Probably lost money, if anything, at this point. But for me, it's always been about serving the people of Winter Haven, regardless of what other ever stipend is within our budget to pay the commissioners. It's my honor to do so. So I personally think we're fine where we're at, although I will say we are probably behind. But we're not there at a point for me to move forward with that discussion. That's just my opinion.

If I can add a couple remarks to that then. First of all, we haven't revisited this since I think we said 2009. We're not looking at a major increase. We just gave $350,000 for gift cards to the homeless. So I respect that we're trying to be frugal and good stewards with our money. But I don't think we're asking for a lot. And for me personally, I'm not looking to become a millionaire by any means. But I was working on my calendar today, and I'm Just about out of leave time at my job and I'm going to start taking on paid leave to do this so I'm certainly not looking to Lose money while trying to serve the city and I don't think what we're looking at is really that much of an increase so I do think it makes sense that we Compare ourselves with the rest of the county we figure out what that you know what other cities are Making and we also consider the fact that as a growing region Not just in the statement in the country that there there are added um you know needs that we're devoting our time to that i want to make sure that we are within the range as other cities in polk county as far as our compensation goes all right with that all those in favor of the motion signify by saying aye aye opposed like sign aye

Motion carries.

Was that for no or yes?

Is that a 4-1 or a 3-2? That's what I'm clarifying.

It was a no.

No. Okay. So it's 3-2. Motion carries.

Okay. So I will, following that motion, It's for discussion purposes. There's not a whole lot that we have to do to get that ready for an agenda, so we'll work to make that happen, certainly prior to budget discussions.

Okay. Commissioner Dawson?

Also, it's good to be here tonight. The DC trip was very, I think, very helpful and very essential to advancing some of the opportunities and things that we are endeavoring to do in the city. I thought it was a very, very helpful trip. The agenda was very packed, but I think that we accomplished a great deal while we were there. Also, stop by to the EMS appreciation cookout and I was trying to compare them with the police department and I think both of them do an outstanding job on the cookout. I really enjoyed that, but also to sit down and have lunch with some of the staff who were there, those men and women who were on the front lines, those first responders. We certainly value and appreciate all their great work and effort. Also, the the Chamber luncheon today. It was good to hear Supervisor Belichick and Melanie Bell just really kind of give a rundown. I think one of the calls was really trying to build turnout. Voting is our voice. It's vitally important. I did raise the concern, or not concern, but the fact is that we're living in a time where You know, people, I will share the fact that in my lifetime, certainly in my parents and my grandparents, who some of them who did not even have a right to vote or their vote didn't matter. And I think some people feel disenfranchised even now with things that are currently occurring. And so it's great concern because I think that That also creates apathy and people feeling as though, you know, their participation in the franchise really doesn't matter. So I think it was very good just to hear her talk about, you know, what we need to do and encouraging people to actually do that, get out and vote. I would say this, and I was kind of quiet about that earlier, and I want to say it because I got to speak from my heart. And that's what happens when you speak to that situation and you start talking about people who are on the margin. I've been serving in this city over 34 years. And around my church there are some people who are living pretty much behind some trees and some bushes.

They have nowhere else to live.

Many of them come around the church looking for food and money in order just to be able to get by and do whatever they need to do. The fact is, you know, the city where we're doing well, we're seeing great things happen in Winter Haven, but there are still many people who are suffering and people who are hurting. And I think when the city takes the time to give, the grant in aid is what I want to speak to specifically. I think when I first came to the commission, a few years ago, I looked at Grant and Aid and I tried to understand it pretty much like my colleague, trying to understand pretty much how that works. And it was something that I think that started many years ago and those legacy groups that are part of this, Boys Club, Neighborhood Service Center, Meals on Wheels, many organizations that really meet a need for people who are in fact on the margin And I think that for us, I didn't applaud the fact that money was given back, in my opinion. I think that whatever we can do to try to help, this is what we can't do ourselves oftentimes, but others step up to try to make a difference in the community. And many of them, I know a lot of the groups, a lot of the organizations, and sometimes it's just important that you get out and kind of, if you haven't taken the opportunity, maybe get out and work in some of those groups. Volunteer and do some of the work. You lift some boxes and put them in the back of people's trucks or cars who are hungry because people are certainly in great need. Groceries are high. People are suffering with a lot of needs. All due respect, I don't think one ski show is going to put any food in anybody's mouth. And so it's important that we not forget just that we also serve all of the community, not just those who are doing well, but I think always keep an eye on those who are least among us. And there are many, and somebody's got to speak for them because oftentimes their voices are not heard And I pray and I hope that as a commission and as a people and as a city, we will always step up to that. I recognize what the attorney has shared with what has been sent from Tallahassee and meeting those necessary requirements or whatever is required. But I still think that we should not allow anything to deter or stop us from trying to reach down and reach those who are less fortunate and to make a difference in our city. So I applaud all those groups who continue to do that work. I'll give you this, and I'm going to be finished. Over 30 years ago, the young man who was addicted to drugs, Teen Challenge was actually in this area, but moved out of the area back during that time. It was really a great program helping people get off of drugs, and we had a major problem, an epidemic, if you will, with drug addiction. Still one even today to a great extent. The group came over and actually started on First Street. and started feeding on Thanksgiving Day. We came along with them because this gentleman had been a part of our ministry, and he was clean, and now he was working in our ministry, actually was superintendent even of our church school, just seeing how the Lord had blessed him and his life. We partnered with them. We started helping them actually feed on Thanksgiving Day. Fast forward. Here at 25, we're still actually giving Thanksgiving, hot Thanksgiving meals, pickup, delivery, also passing out turkeys and giving over 100-plus turkeys to people. There's still a great need, and I hope that we see that and never forget just how blessed we are and to whom much is given, much is required. Thank you, sir.

Commissioner Birdsong. Thank you. Well, a lot has been said. And I'll just not repeat some of the things. But I did go on the DC trip. I was at the public safety leadership graduation. Naturally, you all know I didn't miss the EMS cookout because there was food, so you all know I was there. And the Winter Haven graduation, really enjoyed that, shaking all those hands. But I have one piece of good news item from the PRWC, which is our water cooperative, what we were supposed to pay, we're going to pay at least $150,000 less because of what is called true-up. And I said, well, what is a true-up? The true-up is We all are basically, based on the expenses and all of the work that's going to be done, we're projected what we're going to have to pay. And what happened is when it came in, It was less than what was projected. So therefore, instead of us getting a refund, they won't give a refund. But what will happen is it will go towards the next year payment. And so I'm saying that's... Every dollar that we can save on the water cooperative is major because we are talking about millions and millions of dollars for water. So that's a good news item. So I'll leave you all with that. Mayor Person, Mercer.

I also did the D.C. trip. We talked about the airport a little bit. Did the Public Safety Leadership Council and also the Winter Haven Senior High School graduation ceremony. And I did the EMS cookout and we want to thank all of our first responders and especially it was your turn this time. Um, and it was very good. And then I took three days vacation. So that was it for me.

Okay. A couple items, um, reiterate. Yeah. It was a great legislative trip. Made a lot of headway, I think on the Willowbrook road, uh, North Lake ship drive and our airport, you know, the airport, we are going to be cutting edge in the nation with what we have going on at winter Haven airport. And that is super exciting what's about to happen out there. Attended the DARE graduation. Thank you. Thank you to our leadership for continuing to have a DARE graduation in our community. All of those graduates, all of those kids that participated, wow. They were hyped. I might have gotten them a little more hyped, a little more loud, just to give them a challenge, which they succeeded at. But that was a great event. That was a lot more hopping than when I went through there, which was a long, long, long time ago. But some communities have done away with that, and that's a shame. So thank you. uh... lake region winter uh... high school graduation as well as the winter haven high school graduation uh... i see school board member why it is in the audience that just want to give our shout out please extend our our thanks to the staff of the school board great events great graduations a lot of smart kids what he's smarter than me that's for sure you don't have to shake your head like that amazing amazing accomplishments were recognized and the staff of the Polk County School Board did a phenomenal job with the graduations um our own public safety leadership graduation uh i do think that that's a program that's trying to get bigger and bigger so thank you for doing that it'll be right up there with Leadership U. I got the name wrong, didn't I, Katrina?

City U. City U.

Close. Got the U right. Harvard South. Also, Katrina, I apologize. I didn't thank you. You spent a tireless amount of time on grant and aid and trying to do your best to make sure we had the best program we can move forward with. It's not perfect. And I'd love to see a grant and aid program that is perfect in the nation. There isn't one. It doesn't exist. But we'll need to continue to refine it. We need to continue to make it better. And I hope it's something that we can continue to offer. But again, not knowing what the future holds in our legislative battles with Tallahassee, We'll have to see. But thank you for your efforts, and thank you again to the committee members who are here. so with that i will just send a reminder i have a planned family vacation next week so i will be not here mayor pro tem mercer will be running the ship she'll do a much better job than i do so i promise but with that i will return for the city commission meeting the following monday and we will go on to city attorney murphy thank you mr mayor commission i have no further comments this evening thank you see you manager

Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Commissioners. A couple items. Appreciate the sentiments you shared regarding Ms. Hill's work on Grant and Aid. I'll tell you, that second meeting of Grant and Aid happened the friday following our return trip from dc so to say that it was a heavy heavy lift through all that as well as helping coordinate all of our dc stuff just want to echo those compliments of her outstanding work as well as of our deputy city manager and helping coordinate the dc trip state budget has been released It will be voted on I believe Friday is the plan by the legislators and then sent on to the governor for what comes to be in terms of vetoes and the like. Willowbrook Road is included in that budget at $450,000. Florida Citrus Building provides a language is not. So we will go back to the drawing board on that one and request that our local delegation carry that as a bill going into their delegation meetings next year and keep working to make that happen. As far as Willowbrook Road, obviously we have to watch and see what gets vetoed by the governor going forward and we'll know more when that happens. THE THIRD STREET CONSTRUCTION PROJECT HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN. JUST KIND OF A SHOUT OUT TO TUCKER PAVING WHO IS DOING THAT PROJECT. When I came in this morning, a little past 7 a.m., they were putting out the MOT, and by 8 o'clock, they were tearing out sidewalks and curb and all the work you see out there as a result of one day. So they are getting after it fast and furious. We have done a very robust campaign to educate the community on how to navigate this area, depending upon which facility you're trying to get to, as we have a number of them. That road closure is really just 3rd Street from Avenue D to the Senior Center, so we do have access to all of our facilities, although it's a little bit awkward and will be until the project's completed, which is expected to be February of 27. We'll have some more information on some navigation around that ties into our major special event of the summer, which is the Rockin' Freedom Fest, and that will be presented at next Wednesday's agenda review. And then... the e m s cookout uh... i'd like to thank all your for attending that however your comments do nothing but fuel the fire between them and police on who cannot compete who so i think that vance and reagan team are probably already plotting uh... for what to do next of course the fire department will be on standby for any fires that come about as a result of their pursuit of more cooking prowess. But we have a phenomenal team, and you mentioned the Public Safety Leadership Council. That is a reflection of that entire team, to include Tanya Ayers, our Director of Safe Neighborhoods, and Charlie Byrd, our Assistant City Manager. Final thing is... Mr. Carnevale, Ms. Hill, and myself will be out of the office beginning tomorrow attending the Florida City County Management Association Annual Conference. This is part of our professional development. It's also when we fulfill our ethics obligation. So we'll sit through four hours of ethics training tomorrow to meet that requirement and return to Winter Haven on Saturday. I will designate a member of my team to be your point of contact, although we're only an hour and a half, maybe two, as the traffic flows away, that if there's an urgent issue, we can be back as need be. So that concludes my report for this evening. Thank you.

Thank you. City Manager, is there any update on a potential third session in Tallahassee yet?

We're here next week.

Yeah, there's not been a definitive date or topic list yet for that, but I do know that the governor held a press conference in Brevard County, I think it was, last week. um and commented on that and so we expect that to occur but the details are still a little fuzzy okay deputy manager nothing this evening all right deputy clerk nothing sir great job filling in tonight for vanessa with that we'll adjourn