CC11-04-2019MinLONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION
Longwood City Commission Chambers
175 West Warren Avenue
Longwood, Florida
MINUTES
November 4, 2019
6:00 P.M.
Present: Mayor Matt Morgan
Deputy Mayor Brian D. Sackett
Commissioner Abby Shoemaker
Commissioner Richard Drummond
Commissioner Ben Paris
Dan Langley, City Attorney
J.D. Cox, City Manager
Michelle Longo, City Clerk
David P. Dowda, Police Chief
Chris Kintner, Community Development Director
1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Morgan called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.
2. MOMENT OF SILENT MEDITATION
3. THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
4. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS. Ms. Longo read the following
announcements.
A. The City of Longwood will host the seventh annual "Chili Cook -
Off" in conjunction with the monthly car show on Saturday,
November 9, 2019, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Historic
District of Longwood located off of Church Avenue. A taster's kit
can be purchased in advance for $5.00 or on the day of the show
for $7.00.
B. The "Downtown Longwood Cruise -In" Car Show will be held on
Saturday, November 9, 2019, from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. in
the Historic District of Longwood.
C. A Heroes Strong Event will be held on Sunday, November 10,
2019, from 2:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. in Reiter Park, 311 West
Warren Avenue. This is a free event honoring local heroes.
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D. The "Downtown Longwood Food Trucks" will be held on
Thursday, November 14, 2019, from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at
Reiter Park, 311 West Warren Avenue.
E. Longwood Movie in the Park will be held on Friday, November
15, 2019, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Reiter Park, 311 West Warren
Avenue. This is a free event and the movie will be Angry Birds 2.
5. PROCLAMATIONS / RECOGNITIONS
A. District #4 Presentation of the Business Person of the Month
Award for November 2019 to Country Kitchen, 260 West State
Road 434.
Mayor Morgan read a brief biography on Mr. Rajinder Dua and
then presented him with the Business person of the Month Award
for November 2019. Photographs were taken.
6. BOARD APPOINTMENTS
A. District #2 Nomination to the Parks & Recreation Advisory
Board.
Commissioner Drummond nominated Ms. Teresa Rey for
appointment to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
Nomination carried by a unanimous voice vote.
B. District #3 Nomination to the Parks & Recreation Advisory
Board.
Commissioner Paris deferred the nomination until the next
meeting.
7. PUBLIC INPUT
A. Public Participation.
Susan Geris, 502 Orange Avenue, Longwood. She said the City has
let Maronda Homes build their houses five feet higher than mine.
All the people around me are starting to do the same and now the
streets and sidewalks are higher than my property, so when it
rains, I get flooded. I have been trying to get help from
Commissioner Paris when he was Mayor, and I never got it. They
just took my pictures, and I believe they threw them out. They
never tried to help me, and I have been trying to get help for
many years. My home is being robbed. I have an alarm and stick-
up Cams. I have sent certified letters to the people that are
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robbing my home. They have also cut all the trees off of their
property except for two, one of which already fell on my home. I
need help to pay the $9,000 because I do not have insurance. I
cannot afford it. I am disabled. I got hit by a car and have metal
from my knee all the way to my hip. The City put drains on my
property, and they do not collect one ounce of water. All the
water comes down and into my home. Eminent Domain is what
they are doing to me. If they want me out so bad, they can pay
me for my home, and I will be more than happy to move out. If
not, I am going to have to hire an attorney and go after the City. I
do not want to do this, believe me. I do not want to make
problems for anybody, but they are sure making problems for me.
All I want is to be left in peace. The Raganoonan Family and the
family that lives across the street from me listen to all my phone
conversations and have harassed me for so many years. They go
through my internet, disarm my alarm, and they go through my
house every chance I leave my home. I have many police reports,
a stack of police cards, and now I have to go to court again
because the Police Department is not doing their job. That is a
different story. I am just asking you to please help me. If there is
no way you can fix the problem, then the City can buy my home
and build two new homes there because of Eminent Domain. I
am in a swimming pool, and I have pictures to prove it.
8. MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' REPORT
District #3. No report.
District #4. Mayor Morgan gave a presentation on how to use the City of
Longwood Request Tracker App for those who would like to make a Code
Compliance complaint. After finishing the presentation he gave his
report and said he attended a Meet the Mayors event for the Seminole
County Regional Chamber of Commerce. He said it was a great time to
brag about the City of Longwood and all the improvements we have
made. That same day, I had a productive meeting with Ms. Cheryl
Bryant, a business owner here in Longwood. She is very happy about the
parking spaces we brought in on Ronald Reagan Boulevard. I was
honored to be asked by our Longwood Historic Society to do the
countdown for the Monster Dash 5K Run which was very successful. Our
Longwood Historic Society continues to do a lot of great work for the
City. They are sacrificing time away from their families on weekends to
help our community. He said he had a meeting on the 27th with
Seminole County Chairwoman, Brenda Carey, on how we could get the
Department of Transportation (DOT) to speed up our center islands on
Ronald Reagan Boulevard. We are trying to get new sod put in, and she
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said she would be of assistance. On the 30th, we took part in Winn Dixie's
ribbon -cutting for their Grand Re -opening.
District #5. Deputy Mayor Sackett said Duke Energy finally stepped in
after a year and a half later and lit up Rangeline Road. The kids have
actually called me about finally putting the lights up on Rosedale Avenue
and thanked me. He said Duke Energy has fixed the light situation but
have not fixed the dead shrubs they killed along Rangeline Road
approximately six months ago. He said he did go to the Church Avenue
house discussed at the last meeting. That house is deplorable, and I feel
for the people who live in it. I would be afraid of it falling to the ground
and hurting someone. I did talk to the renters and they are being positive
and are happy that I was there. I was the one that was going to take
them to the Christian Sharing Center or any other organizations to help
them out. They really do not want that yet. They have a "hook" on a
place to move to, but it is still in a communication line with the owners.
Hopefully, something moves forward for them. I am trying to be
optimistic, but I do not know. I could not even go into the building
because it was so dangerous looking and so awful. Luna's Pizzeria was
closed for a while. The owner had a major heart condition and he is
recovered and back at work. They have been a nice sponsor within our
City, so it is nice to see they are open again. He asked the Police
Department if we could get rid of the tractor -trailers that are parking at
Pic N Save. It is a nuisance. Also, Pic N Save has never planted its islands.
Per City Code, you have to maintain standards of what it used to look like,
and it is pretty bad. There are shrubs growing in there that are not being
maintained and it is not inviting as a corner of our City at all. The Winn
Dixie ribbon cutting was phenomenal. He took his grandson. We went
back Saturday and there were fire trucks, Police Departments, and a live
band inside. They were giving food away. Every half hour, they were
giving $100 away, so it was a big event, and it is nice to see the $6 million
improvements to that store. He went to the SMASH Beer Festival event
at Reiter Park and the Beer, Bacon & BBQ Festival in Altamonte Springs
and Longwood's was a better event with more beer selections. He
donated four -foot Buddy Benches to Longwood Elementary and to
Woodlands Elementary. The purpose of those benches is to help kids
understand bullying and things like that. Basically, a kid will sit on the
bench advertising I need a friend or I want somebody to play with for this
recess. Another child or two will come along and pull the kid off the
bench and say come play with us. When the Traveling Vietnam Memorial
Wall was in Longwood, people left behind many mementos, and we
made a commitment that we were going to save that memorabilia for
later whenever we had a little museum or place to store these things and
feature them. It is all missing. I hope it did not get thrown away or
perhaps it got packed up and stored at Public Works. He stated we need
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to locate these items. Mr. Fowler contacted me and he would like to
start a Frisbee Disc Ball Tournament at one of our parks. Regarding
nominations, when we nominate businesses and people to our Boards he
would like to get more information on these people for next year. He
wants to see some enthusiasm and why the person might be interested.
He announced he will be going into the hospital for Thanksgiving week
for a couple of days and he will be fine.
District #1. Commissioner Shoemaker thanked Mayor Morgan for his
help with the Monster Dash. We had a great race, and I did the costume
contest. The best costumes went to the three Longwood Witches and
the Crazy Clown. I only had four prizes I could award. Winn Dixie was
awesome. It is awesome to have businesses that have survived and have
been dedicated to our City. Also, there are a lot of employees that have
been there since the beginning of time. Our own Commissioner Paris
worked there when he was 15 years old. It was really nice to see his
name tag. It is nice to have businesses you can relate to and your kids
worked there, like the schools you go to. Mr. Fowler also reached out to
me about Frisbee Disc Golf, and I said I will send this on to our City
Manager and have him check with Recreation. It looks like fun.
District #2. Commissioner Drummond said Winn Dixie has a fresh, new
look and it is amazing. Their indoor and outdoor remodeling is really
impressive. It is impressive to see a big chain come in and invest that kind
of money back into an existing business. They had District Managers,
their store Manager, and their whole team there for the ribbon -cutting.
Northland Church had Trunk or Treat the Saturday before Halloween and
had thousands of kids there. It was organized chaos. I was very
impressed to see how many families and kids showed up to partake in an
event at a Church. Columbus Harbor does not do anything with the
Home Owners Association (HOA), but it is a drawing place for a lot of
people in this area for trick or treating. I am sure there were at least
1,000 kids there. He also responded to the guy for Disc Golf, so he got
lots of attention, and he thinks we should look into that. His only
concern is having that at our major park and having people dodging
frisbees.
Mayor Morgan said he forgot to point out that Skylark Subdivision did a
really good job on Halloween as well. They had a haunted house there
which was really cool.
9. ANY ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA. None.
10. CONSENT AGENDA
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A. Approve Minutes of August 5, 2019, Work Session and the
August 30, 2019 Emergency Meeting.
B. Approve the Monthly Expenditures for October 2019.
Deputy Mayor Sackett moved to approve Items 10A and
10B as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Paris and
carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
11. PUBLIC HEARINGS. None.
12. REGULAR BUSINESS
A. Read by title only, set November 18, 2019, as the public hearing
date, and approve the Annexation Agreement and first reading
of Ordinance No. 19-2168, a voluntary annexation of 750 North
U.S. Highway 17-92.
Mr. Langley read Ordinance No. 19-2168 by title only.
Mr. Kintner presented the Item.
Deputy Mayor Sackett moved to approve the Annexation
Agreement and first reading of Ordinance No. 19-2168,
and set November 18, 2019, as the public hearing date.
Seconded by Commissioner Drummond and carried by a
unanimous roll call vote.
C. City Commission to consider and approve a Historic District
Grant Application (HG 01-19) from the Longwood Historic
Society for the Longwood Historic Civic Center property at 135
West Church Avenue.
Mr. Kintner presented the Item.
Commissioner Paris moved to approve the Historic District
Grant Application (HG 01-19) as presented Item 12B.
Seconded by Deputy Mayor Sackett and carried by a
unanimous roll call vote.
13. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
Mr. Cox said we will follow up on the Public Participation item and a few
other items brought up tonight as well. He thanked the Mayor for
bringing attention to the App. I think that is great, and he encouraged
folks to utilize that. It is a great tool and expedites the process. He asked
everyone for their prayers and thanked them for being on this journey. I
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have had cardiac issues for some time, and we have been treating the
symptoms up until now. A recent visit to the doctor ended up with me
being in the hospital for a little while. He shared he has been placed on
the heart transplant list for the State of Florida. Chief Dowda, as the
Commission approved at the last meeting, will fill in at those times I am
absent. So whether on an intermittent basis or when I am actually doing
the procedure and I am out for a week or two, he will have full authority
to act in my place.
Mr. Cox said he handed out a flyer and has two things on County Road
427 to share. SunRail has been installing escape lanes along Ronald
Reagan Boulevard. These are emergency escape lanes. If someone ends
up getting stuck too close to the tracks, they can pull over into these
emergency lanes. They are not to be used for parking or checking brakes.
On County Road 427, the islands will all be ripped up and we will begin
construction of a new hardscape plan. That plan will be approved by the
Commission and at the next meeting, we will have the first presentation
on ideas and concepts for that. There is a request to upgrade that grass
so it is not brown while waiting for the construction to be done. Also, we
will have irrigation in all the islands on Ronald Reagan Boulevard. Public
Risk Management (PRM) has addressed our concerns of being on their
agenda which will be in April. We were too late to make the agenda for
this meeting. I expect Ms. Ricci and I will attend, but if anyone else would
like to attend, let me know. Also, regarding emergency preparedness, we
are working on a new program called Code Red. It is further assistance in
communicating with citizens. It acts as a reverse 911 system, however, it
does have enough functionality that we can broaden it and use it in other
ways. Such examples might be if we have a major water leak in a
neighborhood and we have to close down streets temporarily. We can
shoot out a blast to everyone that has signed up on the phones to receive
an immediate text. The real power of this is dealing with storms and
giving the latest information. The Pickleball court is now operational as of
Friday. Our estimated cost for a new Fire Station is $3.5 million. I have
met with Senator David Simmons and his office has agreed to carry the
ball for us. This past week, we filed an Appropriations Application for the
recommended amount that was one half the estimated cost. I talked
with our liaison with Senator Simmons' office, and she is going to follow
up with him to see if there might be a little more wiggle room.
14. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT _
Mr. Langley said about two weeks ago I sent out an email about the
opioid multi -state litigation. They have certified a negotiating class that
includes all cities and counties that are not already parties in the litigation
against the opioid manufacturers and distributors. There is a cut-off date
to get out of the class on November 22nd. His recommendation would be
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to not opt -out, and to just stay in. I wanted to make sure the
Commission did not think they needed to opt -out. The problem with
opting out is we would have to find a lawyer and file a lawsuit. We do not
have to do anything to stay in. We just have to vote to opt -out.
15. CITY CLERK'S REPORT
A. Consider canceling January 6, 2020, Regular City Commission
Meeting.
Commissioner Paris moved to cancel January 6, 2020, City
Commission Regular Meeting. Seconded by Deputy Mayor
Sackett and carried by a four -to -one (4-1) roll call vote
with Mayor Morgan voting nay.
Ms. Longo also noted there will not be a Mayors and Managers meeting
for November or December. The next Charter Advisory Committee
Meeting will be held on Thursday, November 14th due to the
Thanksgiving Holiday and the December meeting was canceled by the
Committee. She said the Deputy Mayor's annual rotation normally takes
place at the second meeting in November. She reminded the Commission
when Mayor Morgan was elected in May, he was currently serving as the
Deputy Mayor and this was moved to the next District Commissioner
which was District #5. Since Deputy Mayor Sackett would be serving out
the remainder of the current term, the Commission agreed to allow
Deputy Mayor Sackett to serve his full term which would start November
2019. Ms. Longo also noted work has started on the upgrade to the
Chambers audio system.
16. ADJOURN. Mayor Morgan adjourned the meeting at 6:59 p.m.
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