CC12-04-17MinLONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION
Longwood City Commission Chambers
175 West Warren Avenue
Longwood, Florida
MINUTES
December 4, 2017
6:00 P.M.
Present: Mayor Ben Paris
Deputy Mayor Richard Drummond
Commissioner Abby Shoemaker
Commissioner Matt Morgan
Commissioner Brian D. Sackett
Dan Langley, City Attorney
Jon C. Williams, City Manager
Michelle Longo, City Clerk
David Dowda, Interim Police Chief
Mike Peters, Interim Fire Chief
Lisa Snead, Financial Services Director
Lee Ricci, Human Resources Director
Chris Kintner, Community Development Director
Chris Capizzi, Leisure Services Director
Richard Kornbluh, Division Manager Utilities
Tom Smith, Division Manager Streets
Shad Smith, City Engineer
Tom Kruger, Economic Development Manager
Ryan Rinaldo, Recreation Program Coordinator
Trisha Fuston, Payroll/HR Coordinator
Clint Gioielli, Special Operations Lieutenant
CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Paris called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
2. OPENING INVOCATION. Pastor Andre Tate from the Church on the
Living Edge gave the invocation.
3. THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
4. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS. Ms. Longo read the following
announcements.
A. Announce Results of the November 7, 2017 City of Longwood
General Election.
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Ms. Longo announced for the Longwood City Commission District
#1, John C. Maingot received 871 votes and Abby Shoemaker
received 1,218 votes; Longwood City Commission District #2,
Mike Dodane received 982 votes and Richard Drummond received
1,088 votes; Longwood City Commission District #4, Matt
Morgan received 1,230 votes and Mark Weller received 872 votes.
B. The "Downtown Longwood Cruise -In" Car Show will be held
on Saturday, December 9, 2017 from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
in the Historic District of Longwood located off of Church
Avenue.
C. Breakfast with Santa will be held on December 9, 2017 from
9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Longwood Community Building, 200
West Warren Avenue. Tickets are $2.00 for children and $4.00
for adults. RSVP: 407-260-3497 or rrinaldo@longwoodfl.org.
There are limited tickets at the door.
D. Santa visits Longwood neighborhoods on Friday, December ,
8th, Saturday, December 9th and Sunday, December loth from
6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. or however long it takes to finish each
area. Routes are as follows:
Friday: North of State Road 434 and West of U.S. Highway
17/92 to Ronald Reagan Boulevard (this will include a few
neighborhoods just East of U.S. Highway 17/92).
Saturday: West of Ronald Reagan Boulevard and North of
State Road 434.
Sunday: West of U.S. Highway 17/92 and South of State Road
434.
5. PROCLAMATIONS / RECOGNITIONS
A. Recognizing Commissioner Brian Sackett for his service to the
City as Deputy Mayor, November 2016 to November 2017.
Mayor Paris recognized Commissioner Sackett for his service to
the City as Deputy Mayor. He then presented him with a plaque
and photographs were then taken.
B. Recognizing John C. Maingot for his service to the City as a
City Commissioner from November 1999 to November 2017.
Mayor Paris recognized John C. Maingot for his service to the City
as a City Commissioner. He then presented him with a plaque and
photographs were then taken.
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C. Recognizing Mark Weller for his service to the City as a City
Commissioner from April 2014 to November 2017.
Mayor Paris said Mark Weller was unable to attend the meeting
and thanked him for his service.
D. Recognizing Ardel Cheffer and the Lyman Diamonds Dance
and Band Program for working the carnival ticket sales area at
the Longwood Fall Festival.
Mr. Capizzi presented Ardel Cheffer and the Lyman Diamonds
Dance and Band Program with 10% of the carnival ride ticket
sales. Photographs were then taken.
6. BOARD APPOINTMENTS
A. District #3 Nomination to the Parks & Recreation Advisory
Board.
Mayor Paris nominated Crystal Drummond for reappointment to
the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board. Seconded by
Commissioner Sackett and nomination carried by a unanimous
voice vote.
7. PUBLIC INPUT
A. Public Participation.
Judi Coad, 1695 Grange Circle, Longwood thanked Mr. Capizzi
and Mr. Rinaldo for the wonderful evening last Friday for the
event, Celebrate the Season. She said since'the state Legislature
issued how marijuana dispensaries were to be handled within the
state, the Ordinance that was passed in Longwood is basically
void. She saw a sign at the intersection of Ronald Reagan
Boulevard (County Road 427) and North Street advertising a
doctor's office to go to and receive your prescription card for
marijuana right near our high school. She said she has had a
discussion with Mr. Kintner concerning this situation, and right
now we have no dispensaries within our City. She said the only
criteria we have right now will be the same as any other pharmacy.
She said we need to readdress our position in this situation. She
said even more, we need to address these so-called doctor offices
that are soliciting clients to basically purchase a marijuana card, or
the head -shops that are beginning to show up within our City on
State Road 434. She is requesting the Commission to readdress a
pending ordinance and direct staff to bring forward new criteria.
She said a motion for a new pending ordinance allowing the City
to reevaluate our position and not allow for any permitting for
these types of offices until a new ordinance that fits within the state
criteria, is implemented. She said we want to be selective to
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present a great impression of the City of Longwood to all. She
wished everyone a happy holiday.
Francis Dixon, 106 Bearss Circle, Longwood said she bought her
house because it did not belong to a Home Owners Association
(HOA). She said she gets a pretty simple tax bill, except for one
item, Capital Improvements for the low brick fence around
Longwood Groves. She stated she paid $175 a year, which she
paid. She said this year the tax bill said she owed $159 plus $35
for a maintenance fee. She stated she called, and asked about the
maintenance fee and was told that some people volunteered to put
plants out and we are charging for that. She said there is no HOA
and there is no way for you to bill me for this. She said there is
only the capital upkeep. She said she would like to pay her tax bill
of $159, but not the extra $35. She stated she is not aware of any
mechanism that allows it and she does not remember the name of
the gentleman that she spoke with. She asked how she pays part of
her tax bill.
Mayor Paris said he is going to refer her to Ms. Snead, the Finance
Director and he said she will receive a phone call that will explain
how the tax bill works.
S. MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' REPORT
District #3. Mayor Paris said he has been busy attending all our
wonderful events, and he attended a Mayors' Luncheon and listened to
things occurring around Seminole County. He said we are all looking for
the same things, redevelopment, smart development, keeping our taxes
low, and helping people to come to our cities, so it was good to hear we
are all on the same page countywide.
District #4. Commissioner Morgan said he gave a humongous
congratulations to our Leisure Services and Parks and Recreation Team.
He said one of the things he challenged our citizens to do with all these
social events is to bring someone that doesn't live in Longwood to these
events. He stated he brought fifteen (15) different families to our
Christmas Parade, twelve (12) families to our Fall Festival, and he gauged
their opinions on what they saw and witnessed and people they spoke with
in the community. He said we need to start to use this as a magnet, not
just a social magnet, but a business magnet. He said this gives a glimpse
of our City and how tight -knit this community is and what it is about, and
why we are so special. He said coming out of these events, everybody
was raving about how nice everybody was, and how everything was so
well set up, and how much fun everybody had. He said it didn't take a
rocket scientist to look to your right and to your left and see everybody
smiling. He thinks we can do a lot more with these events and start to
utilize them as a place to start to bring people in as far as wanting to move
in and to bring businesses here because it gives outsiders a real firm view
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of what we are about here in Longwood, and why we are who we are. He
said something he has been working on since winning the election is a
Community Outreach Program. He is looking to bring to Longwood as far
as fighting childhood obesity, getting kids' off the video games and
getting them outside to play. He said we have got to start to focus on our
children's future, not just educationally, but physically through health and
physical fitness. He is going to work very hard to bring that to our City.
He said he has been talking to John Lindsay, Southeast Regional Director
of DARE America. He understands there is something similar here in
Longwood to DARE. He said as a child we had DARE everywhere he
went, grammar school, middle school, high school, and it is a great
opportunity to implement some drug prevention curriculum, along with
teaching kids to resist drugs and violence. He has used that as a vehicle as
a professional athlete to speak to these kids schools all across the country,
grammar, middle and high school. He said it has a lasting effect. The
DARE brand itself sells itself, meaning you can bring in other celebrities,
other athletes to get these kids attention. He said that is what it takes
because you can say whatever you want to these children, but if you don't
have their attention, it's lost in translation. The DARE brand is a very big
brand and is something he is interested in looking more into and possibly
bringing here and coinciding with what we do have here.
Commissioner Morgan asked how can we start setting up and involving
our citizens more in the voting process of every major decision we do here
in Longwood, whether it is robo calls, automated service -type calls where
we can get people's opinions on upcoming issues so everybody is on the
same page. He said more importantly, they get to cultivate the Longwood
they want to live in.
Mr. Williams asked do you mean with land use decisions to solicit input.
He said there are some vehicles out there, you could post for surveys or
something of that nature that you could get the feedback on. He said he
could work with Mr. Langley and explore other opportunities out there.
Commissioner Morgan said the more we can make our citizens
emotionally invested in this City, the better off we are.
Mr. Williams said these meetings are advertised to the public and are
available for the people to come and attend. He said those types of
decisions are done in a public hearing process where they can weigh their
input in. He said we can look at different avenues to communicate these
decisions coming forward and bring back some recommendations.
District #5. Commissioner Sackett stated those were good ideas. He said
as a school teacher in our public school system, the DARE program has
been replaced for about five (5) years with the FOCUS program, which as
a teacher, the FOCUS program is more inclusive in what the education is
for children, such as Internet Safety. He stated it is a better program now.
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He said Seminole County pays for resource officers and Longwood pays
for one in the elementary and high school. He said Seminole County has
done a fine job with the FOCUS program, but if that can be combined
with DARE that would be wonderful. He said he is in Lesson 9 with
FOCUS tomorrow, then the kids graduate and celebrate at a party knowing
how to be safe.
Commissioner Sackett said community involvement is really good
because sometimes he goes into meetings like our Parks and Recreation
Board Meetings, and he is the only person sitting in the audience. He said
the Board is doing a lot of really great things that nobody is really aware
of. He noted we post the Agenda and the Minutes afterward, but he
wishes there was more involvement there, so maybe we can do something
that brings people in just to be aware. He said even Home Owners
Associations meet here to discuss their budgets and what is happening in
their communities. He said maybe they could have the old-fashioned pot
luck meals within their communities. He said Columbus Harbor is having
their light -up of all their candles and homes December 9t' from 6:00 p.m.
to 9:00 p.m. He said they even have pony rides available. They are a
fantastic example of celebrating the community.
Commissioner Sackett said now we have a new Commission and time to
move forward with things. He said he would like to address at a meeting
in the future, prayer at the meeting. He said we moved from a moment of
silence and he would like to have a discussion about keeping prayer or do
we want to go back to a moment of silence. He spoke to some priests and
ministers who have come here. He is a minister also, and the feeling is
yes, they like to do it, but there has to be a fairness to all the groups that
are here. He thinks because it is a new Commission, it is time to open up
the dialogue.
Commissioner Sackett said he has lived here for twenty-nine (29) years,
and there was an ugly building on State Road 434 called the Pic `N Save,
and about four (4) years ago we had that building condemned, and he took
the first sledge hammer to that building. He said Fifth Third Bank bought
it for $5.4 million dollars, and they are sitting on it. He said the owner of
Hotties behind McDonald's on Savage Court would like to make it
contiguous with that property and she owns other properties back there as
well. He asked if the City Manager could reach out to her and have a
discussion and see if they can get something done with that property.
Commissioner Sackett brought up the billboard on State Road 434 that we
couldn't plant anything within 500 feet of it. He said looking at it clearer,
he said Clear Channel sold it, and he doesn't know if our contract is even
valid with them and stated we need to look into that.
Commissioner Sackett said he is still confused about the money in the
budget regarding our COPS, CERT, and the Assistant City Manager who
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has left. He said we have open positions for police of four (4) or five (5).
He would like to look at that budget again, maybe in a Work Shop, to see
where we are with this, are we saving, and what can we save our people.
He said we need a Fire and Police Chief, not Interims. It is time to declare
them as chiefs. He asked for an update on the State Road 434 Welcome
sign.
Mr. Williams said we do own a sign. He said when we last met with the
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the sign would not be
permitted to be installed at the pond area where we initially installed it.
He said we talked with FDOT about designating some property which we
own, but have not gotten any traction on that. He said we are looking at
other areas at which we can install the sign. He said one of the areas is in
front of the hotel, and another is around Warren Avenue where we can
direct people down into and around the Historic District. He said another
area is at State Road 434 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard (County Road
427). He said the problem there is at some point there will be some
intersection improvements, so it doesn't make sense to install the sign
without knowing how much of that property is going to remain. He said it
is still an initiative, we just have to fmd a suitable location for it.
Commissioner Sackett said regarding Rangeline Road, we walked that
about a year ago and he noticed the yellow paint markings and turn lanes
were faded. He asked if that is expensive to just repaint those.
Mr. Williams said we are not going to repaint those right now because the
road is scheduled for re -surfacing.
Commissioner Sackett asked Chief Dowda or other groups like COPs to
note the dark areas in the City and record them. He said it would be a
great Eagle Scout project.
Commissioner Sackett brought up the medical marijuana subject and said
he does not like where we are going with that, so he would like a report
from Mr. Kintner at the next meeting. He said there are a lot of those little
shops popping up all over the place, and basically a medical marijuana
card is the wrong word to use for it. He said with the State pushing us
aside, he would like some clarification about where we are going with this.
Commissioner Sackett said he gathered twenty-eight (28) bikes to donate
to our two (2) local schools at Woodlands Elementary and Longwood
Elementary. He will be delivering fifteen (15) bicycles to Longwood
Elementary and thirteen (13) to Woodlands Elementary, making
somebody's Christmas real nice.
Commissioner Sackett said we have a lending library at Candyland Park
now. He commended the Parks and Recreation Board for the Celebrate
the Season. He mentioned that the Doggy Station at Arbor Park needs
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fixing as well as the trash cans. He mentioned that he lost his father-in-
law a couple of weeks ago and he lived in Longwood for twenty-nine (29)
years. He commended the Police Department and Fire Department for
their support in these types of situations.
District 91. Commissioner Shoemaker gave her condolences to
Commissioner Sackett and his wife. She said thank you, it is a great honor
and pleasure to serve the citizens of Longwood.
Commissioner Shoemaker went to all of the events, and they were
phenomenal, as usual. She felt the prices were too high for the carnival in
her opinion and it was not Longwood family friendly. She said we have
$1 for fifteen (15) minutes in the ice skating rink and we charge $5 to ride
the Ferris -wheel once. She would like to see if we can find some
sponsorships or something to help alleviate those prices for the next
carnival. She said it was a great event and well attended. She said the
Parade was nicely organized, as well as Celebrate the Season and the Chili
Cook -Off. She also thanked all the contestants and those that participated.
Commissioner Shoemaker said she shares Commissioner Sackett's
concern about wanting to see our Police and Fire Chief to be made
permanent. She hopes the six (6) police positions that aren't filled, are
soon. She said she didn't know where the union contracts are, but she
hopes everything is worked out amicably as soon as possible. She said she
will do the very best she can for Longwood.
District #2. Deputy Mayor Drummond said he wanted to thank Leisure
Services and Parks and Recreation Board. He said it is amazing what has
been going on in Longwood with the Fall Festival, the Holiday Parade,
and the weekly Farmers Market. He said it is incredible to see how many
people we are drawing into Longwood to participate in these events that
are so well put together.
Deputy Mayor Drummond said he had the chance to tour Rock Lake
Middle School this past week, and he thanked Principal Rodriguez. He
said it is a beautiful facility and a well -run school.
9. ANY ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA
City Manager requests that Item 12D be added to the agenda. He stated
the Item is for approval of a purchase order to LaFleur Nurseries in the
amount of $230,000 for the construction of median landscaping
improvements along State Road 434 from I-4 to Rangeline Road.
It was the consensus of the Commission to add Item 12D to the
Agenda.
10. CONSENT AGENDA
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A. Approve Minutes of the November 6, 2017 Regular Meeting
and the November 13, 2017 Special Meeting.
B. Approve the Monthly Expenditures for September, October
and November 2017.
C. Approve the Monthly Financial Report for October 2017.
D. Approve a Cost -Share Agreement (Contract No. 32300) with
St. Johns River Water Management District for the Septic
Tank Abatement Program Transmission Main Project.
E. Approve a change order in the amount of $100,000 to purchase
order #170256 for Sunstate Meter & Supply Inc. to purchase
water supply meters and related materials.
F. Approve the submission of an application for a Recreational
Trails Program (RTP) Grant from the Florida. Department of
Transportation (FDOT) through the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection requesting $200,000 for a track at
Candyland Park and further authorizing an amount of $50,000
as the City's matching funds for fiscal year 2018/2019.
G. Approve the donation of sick leave from city personnel to
Administrative Assistant Giselle Gonzalez for medical leave
and any remaining unused donated time will be donated to the
Employee Compassionate Leave Bank.
Commissioner Morgan moved to approve Item l0A
through 10G as presented. Seconded by Deputy Mayor
Drummond and carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
11. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. Read by title only and adopt Ordinance No. 17-2126, which
proposes approval of a Large Scale Comprehensive Plan
Amendment (CPA 01-17) to comply with the regional water
supply plan.
Mr. Langley read Ordinance No. 17-2126 by title only.
Mr. Kintner presented the Item.
Mayor Paris opened the public hearing. No one spoke in favor or
opposition to Ordinance No. 17-2126.
Commissioner Sackett moved to close the public hearing.
Seconded by Mayor Paris and carried by a unanimous
voice vote.
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Commissioner Sackett moved to adopt Ordinance No. 17-
2126 as presented Item 11A. Seconded by Commissioner
Shoemaker and carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
B. Read by title only, set December 18, 2017 as the second
public hearing date, and approve the first reading of
Ordinance No. 17-2129, which proposes changes to the
Longwood Development Code to help incentivize
development within the City by amending the land use table
and supplemental standards.
Mr. Langley read Ordinance No. 17-2129 by title only.
Mr. Kintner presented the Item and answered questions.
Mayor Paris opened the public hearing. No one spoke in favor
or opposition to Ordinance No. 17-2129.
Commissioner Sackett moved to close the public hearing.
Seconded by Commissioner Shoemaker and carried by a
unanimous voice vote.
Deputy Mayor Drummond moved to approve Ordinance
No. 17-2129 and set December 18, 2017 as the second
public hearing date. Seconded by Commissioner
Shoemaker and carried by a four -to -one (4-1) roll call vote
with Commissioner Sackett voting nay.
12. REGULAR BUSINESS
A. Read by title only, set December 18, 2017 as the public hearing
date, and approve the first reading of Ordinance No.17-2131,
which provides for the issuance of Series 2017B Project Note
with Iberia Bank not to exceed $2,000,000 in aggregated
principal and cost issuance for the purpose of paying costs of
constructing certain parks, recreational and capital
improvements and for financing the acquisition and
installation of equipment to be located within the City.
Mr. Langley read Ordinance No. 17-2131 by title only.
Ms. Snead presented the Item and answered questions.
Commissioner Shoemaker moved to approve Ordinance
No. 17-2131 and set December 18, 2017 as the public
hearing date. Seconded by Commissioner Morgan and
carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
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B. Read by title only and adopt Resolution No.17-1450, which
relates to an Off -System Project Agreement, a Locally Funded
Agreement, and a Three Party Escrow Agreement between the
City of Longwood and the Florida Department of
Transportation (FDOT) related to the Ronald Reagan
Boulevard Complete Street Project.
Mr. Langley read Resolution No. 17-1450 by title only.
Mr. Kintner presented the Item. He stated this Resolution relates
to the Ronald Reagan Boulevard Complete Street Project and gave
a history of that project. He mentioned there are a couple of small
changes to the Off -System Agreement that came up a couple of
hours ago from FDOT. One is the words "according to FDOT
standards" be changed to "local government standards" and staff
is good with this change. He also said a sentence in there refers to
"permanent maintenance in perpetuity" be changed to "useful life".
He also stated since they are last minute changes that the last
sentence of Section 1 be changed to "As may be amended to the
satisfaction of the city manager and city attorney ". He said that
small language change will allow us to get it taken care of, and
MOT can move forward with the project. He said if the
Commission is okay with this Resolution and Agreements, the
project start date of construction would be very early summer
2018.
Discussion ensued and questions answered.
Commissioner Sackett moved to adopt Resolution No. 17-
1450 as presented Item 12B, with the changes noted.
Seconded by Commissioner Shoemaker and carried by a
unanimous roll call vote.
C. Commission approval of revisions to Exhibit C of the
Interlocal Agreement pertaining to the shared distribution and
use of the One Cent Local Government Infrastructure Surtax.
Ms. Snead presented the Item.
Commissioner Sackett moved to approve Item 12C as
presented. Seconded by Commissioner Shoemaker and
carried by a unanimous roll call vote. " --
Added On. D. Commission approval of a purchase order to LaFleur
Nurseries in the amount of $230,000 for the construction of
median landscaping improvements along State -Road 434 from
I-4 to Rangeline Road.
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Mr. Kintner presented the Item and answered questions.
Commissioner Sackett moved to approve Item 12D as
presented. Seconded by Commissioner Morgan and carried
by a unanimous roll call vote.
13. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
Mr. Williams said on Friday afternoon he had a conversation with Mr.
Gary Conroy, Business Agent for Teamsters #385 expressing a desire to
come back to the negotiation table. He said the Police contract is open
and was being negotiated prior to the election and was put on hold because
of that. He said preparing to go back to negotiations, he has been in
contact with the labor attorney, and we need to schedule an Executive
Session for the labor attorney to meet with the Commission and the
negotiating team before we get back to the table. He said we can get back
to you to see what your schedules look like leading up to Christmas, but
we need to make this a priority, so we will be doing that this week as well.
Mr. Williams said he needs the Commission's authorization to dispose of
a wrecked police car, Unit #973 that had a tree fall on it. He said we
submitted a claim to our carrier, and another individual was interested in
buying it for more than the carrier at $5,000, but they backed out. He said
Mr. Towers has expressed his desire to purchase the car for $4,000 and
will repair it and then return it to the Citizens on Patrol (COPS) as a
donation.
The Commission approved the disposal of Police Car Unit #973 to
Mr. Towers for $4,000, which will be repaired and donated to the
Citizens on Patrol (COPs) by a unanimous roll call vote.
14. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT. No report.
15. CITY CLERK'S REPORT. No report.
16. ADJOURN. Mayor Paris adjourned the meeting at 7:25 p.m.
BenY4 is, Mayor
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