CC04-19-2021Min LONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION
Longwood City Commission Chambers
175 West Warren Avenue
Longwood, Florida
MINUTES
April 19, 2021
6:00 P.M.
Present: Mayor Richard Drummond
Deputy Mayor Abby Shoemaker
Commissioner Matt McMillan
Commissioner Matt Morgan
Commissioner Brian D. Sackett
Dan Langley, City Attorney
Clint Gioielli, Acting City Manager
Michelle Longo, City Clerk
David P. Dowda, Police Chief
Craig Dunn, Information Technology Director
Judith Rosado, Financial Services Director
Chris Kintner, Community Development Director
1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Drummond called the meeting to order at 6:00
p.m.
2. MOMENT OF SILENT MEDITATION
3. THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. Commissioner McMillan led the Pledge of
Allegiance.
4. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS. Ms. Longo read the following
announcements.
A. Longwood Movie in the Park will be held on Friday, April 23,
2021, beginning at 8:15 p.m. in Reiter Park, 311 West Warren
Avenue. This is a free event and the movie will be TBD.
5. PROCLAMATIONS/ RECOGNITIONS.
A. District#2 Nomination of the Business Person of the Month
Award for May 2021.
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Mayor Drummond deferred the nomination until the next
meeting.
II
B. Presentation of the 41st Annual JOY(Juvenile of the Year)
Awards.
Ricardo Godoy Greenwood Lakes Middle School
Jocelyn Perez Bravo Highlands Elementary School
Sydney Mullin Lake Mary High School
Adrian Szurgot Longwood Elementary School
Alekzander David Jenkins Lyman High School
Diego Alejandro Martinez Mendez Milwee Middle School
Kevin Cornieles Rock Lake Middle School
Kara Sabisch Winter Springs Elementary School
Halle McWilliams Winter Springs High School
Charlotte Fulmer Woodlands Elementary School
Mayor Drummond read the history of the JOY Awards. Each student was
announced and a school representative was presented with the student's
framed certificate.
6. BOARD APPOINTMENTS. None.
7. PUBLIC INPUT
A. Presentation: McDirmit, Davis &Company, LLC will be giving a
presentation on the Annual Audit for the Fiscal Year, which
ended September 30, 2020.
Tammy Campbell, with McDirmit, David & Company, LLC gave a
presentation of the highlights of the 2020 financial report. The
City received the Certificate of Financial Excellence for its 2019
report. She noted the City should monitor the Public Utility
Funds, reviewing the rates being charged to make sure there is a
cash inflow to cover liabilities. She had a recommendation for
improvement with grant management, to implement procedures,
which would include the finance department early on in the
process to have the information readily available and assist in
reporting and speeding up the refund process on grants. She said
the City maintained good internal controls and only had the
recommendation related to improving grant management.
Mr. Gioielli noted that staff was in the process of completing a
Utility Rate Study. Additionally, staff has created a rough draft
grant policy that will help centralize and facilitate some of the
recommendations of the auditor.
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B. Public Participation.
David Rubin, 421 Wekiva Cove Road, Longwood. He said he was
the founder and president of HEROES Strong and just had one of
the most amazing weekends in Reiter Park. He said they rolled out
a gold carpet to honor all of our heroes, educators, medical field
professionals, fire department, law enforcement, the military, and
veterans. He said they are much stronger because of everyone's
support. There were people from Orange, Seminole, and Volusia
County, which came to the City. He thanked everyone and said
they would be back for a Flag Retirement Ceremony on June 14
and November will be a huge "Thank You HEROES Winning
Weekend" event.
8. MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' REPORT
District#3. Commissioner McMillan reported there would be a Seminole
County Commission Meeting in Sanford on April 27 with a hearing
regarding the Emergency Order for COVID-19. They are proposing a
resolution in which County Commissioner Amy Lockhart described in the
Orlando Sentinel as an anti-government mandate resolution, not an anti-
mask resolution. The resolution was going to replace the Emergency
Order assigned by the Emergency Director last year. They are going to
look at the science, vaccination rates, and case levels. If implemented,
there would be a delayed effect based on the completion of both shots
and full immunity. He said last year greatly affected all of us and I see this
as a great move forward towards returning to normal. He also noted that
what was important to him was the reassertion of the elected County
Commission in the process. If there was going to be any movement on
this issue it was going to be from their elected officials not just the
Emergency Directors. He said this was their opportunity as citizens,
whether you agree with this or not, to have your voices heard because
you have the right to be heard in this process. He was glad the County
Commission was taking that step.
Commissioner McMillan thanked all who came out to "Tartan Day" on
April 10. He said he is a member of the St. Andrews Society who hosted
the event along with the City. We are grateful for the sponsorships of
Sports Mazda North and Balani Law Firm. He said the society appreciated
the setup up and Miles, who helped with the sound. Compared to the
Ceilidh event in November, the sound was better throughout the entire
event. He said the band "Off Kilter", was a hit and he saw people dancing.
The Celtic goods vendors were very happy with the event. There were no
complaints about the food trucks that were there. He noted having a
food truck, themed more Scottish would have been nice. He said what
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he liked about the crowd at the event was there were quite a few who
came to stay and brought chairs,tents, and umbrellas. There was a
steady flow to the event. There were also great reviews from the Scottish
Clan tents, which represent families that were along the top of the hill.
They are happy and good word of mouth will bring more of those types
of tents to the park in the future.
Commissioner McMillan noted that through their raffle items, St.
Andrews Society was able to raise a good amount of money to give to the
students of the CDPA Highland Dance Group, who performed that
afternoon. The Society was very interested in continuing the partnership
with the City, keen on supporting Scottish heritage and the Celtic arts.
He said the kids want to dance and perform and their competition
network is run out of Scotland, which has been more locked down. He
noted one of the only events going on was run by the teacher of that
school. It is important to support those students so they can keep the
school going. The Society would love to do an event every six months. He
said they are going to work with Leisure Services on that. He said the ax-
throwing was fun and he was impressed that people from the Orlando
area and beyond attended the event. He thanked everyone who
attended.
Commissioner McMillan congratulated the Lyman Girls' Volleyball Team
for winning the State Championship. He and Commissioner Morgan were
able to attend their banner ceremony. It was a very significant
accomplishment to start that season in a quarantine situation.
Commissioner McMillan gave an update on two of his stated goals at the
beginning of the year. The first was to see greater civic use of the
Community Building for organizations. He said there were discussions
about a potential management company deal with the Community
Building. He reported that last Thursday the Seminole County
Republicans, now chaired by former Mayor Ben Paris, had their first
monthly meeting at the Community Building. The Sheriff was there and
he spoke about the opioid crisis. Attendees were very impressed by the
building. He spoke to someone regarding another group wanting to meet
at the building and would like it to be a regular place for them to meet.
He said he wants to see different civic groups meeting at the Community
Building or Historic Civic Center because he supports free speech and civil
society. He said as we begin to reopen these civil societies and
organizations are going to serve to pull our community together.
Commissioner McMillan had a request he wanted to bring forward. He
noted he received a request from Chris Hamm at The Sharing Center who
was interested in getting a proclamation from the City related to their
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35th anniversary in Longwood and the fact they are having their festival
celebration in Reiter Park. He said if we do it at the next meeting, it will
be proclaimed in time for their event.
It was the consensus of the Commission to have the Clerk prepare a
proclamation for The Sharing Center in recognition of the 35th
Anniversary in Longwood.
Commissioner McMillan mentioned his second goal from January was the
restoration of the Invocation. He requested this be included in the
agenda for discussion at the next meeting. He said he reviewed the
materials provided by the Clerk and it seems as good a time as any with
the National Day of Prayer being that week.
Commissioner McMillan reported attending the Breakfast Meeting at
Private Business Association of Seminole (PBAS) last Wednesday, which
featured the City Managers from the municipalities in this County. He
said Mr. Gioielli did a fine job explaining the highlights of what was going
on in our City. He appreciated how he pointed out how Longwood was
leading the way for staff safety and accommodations during the
pandemic. He commended Mr. Gioielli for doing a great job, showing
how we are a forward-looking City and community, and mentioning the
impact of the minimum wage increase in our City.
Commissioner McMillan reported on "The true, the good, and the
beautiful". For "The true", he mentioned economics or opportunity cost.
He noted there were significant disruptions in the labor market because
of the $1,400 direct payments. He understands that with the extension of
unemployment benefits and the significant influx of cash per person from
the Rescue Plan, why it would make sense to not reenter the workforce
at a service level job or take as many hours or shifts if you have other
priorities. He said, however, small businesses are feeling the pinch. He
provided examples of different small businesses that were currently
struggling. He recommended everybody be patient with people working
in the service industry. They are feeling a lot of pressure along with small
businesses and they just survived a terrible year of COVID.
Commissioner McMillan reported on "The good". He said over the last
two weeks he has seen a remarkable degree of patriotism in Longwood.
He reported attending a Ribbon Cutting for Sunlight Healthcare Academy
on April 9 and there was an American flag proudly displayed,the national
anthem was performed, and they welcomed the new nursing school
located across from South Seminole Hospital, Orlando Health. There was
a discussion from the nursing profession about all the work they have
done to help our community during this pandemic. He thanked all of the
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nurses out there. He reported attending the Thank You HEROES
Ceremony on Saturday, April 17. He again heard the national anthem
sung by Chad Cartledge, whose son, Zechariah led them in the Pledge of
Allegiance. He mentioned being impressed by this young man because he
has run over 870 miles to raise money in support of veteran causes. He
thanked Longwood's Police Department and Fire Department for their
support of this event, which also honored the Seminole County Sheriff's
Office and all branches of the United States Armed Forces. Lastly, he
heard the national anthem the previous Saturday at the Seminole
Showdown in Sanford. He commended Commissioner Morgan and Chris
Anderson, Seminole County Supervisor of Elections, for their tag team
victory defending the honor of Seminole County. He said it was well done
and considered it a once-in-a-lifetime event. They raised over$80,000 for
individuals defeating opioid addiction. He thanked the Commission and
Sheriff Lemma for the leadership on this issue because patriotism is the
love of country and community and it was good to see it expressed
through these examples.
Commissioner McMillan reported on "The beautiful". He said he was able
to have brunch at F&D Italian Kitchen for the first time. He found the
Pancetta Eggs Benedict to be beautiful. It is a cake of polenta which is
Italian cornmeal topped with pancetta, which is Italian bacon, and a
poached egg with hollandaise sauce.
District#4. Commissioner Morgan reported attending Lyman's State
Champion Girls' Volleyball team banner reveal on Tuesday, April 6. He
commended the school for making it extra special for them. He said his
theory of sports is it is a great metaphor for life. It teaches hard work,
discipline, how to work well with others, and get toward that common
goal. On Thursday, April 8, he reported doing a lot of PR for the Seminole
Showdown event, which was part of his Leadership Seminole class. The
following day he supported The Christian Sharing Center with his wife
and attended their Good Samaritan Lunch with various leaders and
members of the community and businesses. That same day, he reported
attending the Ribbon Cutting of Sunlight Healthcare Academy, 1060 West
State Road 434, in the plaza behind Max & Meme Cafe. He said nurses
are heroes and they have a thankless job in which they take care of
people on their worst day every day.
Commissioner Morgan reported attending Leadership Seminole's Legacy
Project, Seminole Showdown, on Saturday, April 10. He explained the
event and things that had to be done for the event to take place. He
thanked Chris Anderson for wrestling with him and taking it seriously, as
well as, Ben Paris for managing Chris Anderson. He said it was a very
successful event. The result was to help fifteen (15) opioid addicts in
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Seminole County and structural improvements to the new Advent Health
Hope and Healing Center building. He said they raised $82,000 and he
was proud of the work everybody came together to do on it. It was a
team collaborative effort. He commended Leadership Seminole Class 29
and 30.
Commissioner Morgan reported an upcoming event in May by the Boy
and Girls Club of America called "Be Great" Gala. This will be an
opportunity to be philanthropic. He suggested giving back to the Boys
and Girls Club and noted the monies collected from this event will go
towards the Boys and Girls Club in Seminole County. He said he would
love for there to be a Boys and Girls Club in Longwood. He also reported
attending the HEROES Strong Event, by David Rubin from HEROES Strong.
He commended Mr. Rubin for putting the event together and the Fire
Department for their help. He thanked Commissioner McMillan, the St.
Andrews Society, and City staff for putting together the Tartan Event.
Commissioner Morgan mentioned he would like to see a third-party
company advertise these events.
Commissioner Morgan made note of House Bill (HB) 7045 and Senate Bill
(SB) 48. He was concerned about the Gardiner Scholarship being
removed. Many families depend on this scholarship for their special
needs children. He suggested talking to your local representatives, for
this area Scott Plakon, House Representative, and Jason Brodeur,
Senator. Lastly, he mentioned his son Jackson doing a great job in his
Buddy Ball game and learning different, new social and emotional cues.
He recommended donating to Central Florida Bambino Buddy Ball and
said they do a good job of bringing buddies from different high school
sports teams or clubs to help these special needs children get around.
District#5. Commissioner Sackett reported attending the Tartan festival.
He suggested sending a thank you note to our Citizens on Patrol (COPs)
for directing people safely across the parking lot. He reported also
attending the Nursing School's Ribbon Cutting. He mentioned he has his
first meeting with Seminole County Public School's Impact Committee on
April 28. He was honored to be asked to be a scholarship reader for
Lyman Kids. Due to COVID, they were unable to hold their annual golf
tournament to raise money for scholarships but they had donations
coming forward. They also received a huge donation to rebuild part of
their rooms and locker rooms. The scholarships went to ten (10)
deserving children. He said he was honored to read what they thought of
IIthemselves and how being a member of a team was important to them.
Commissioner Sackett encouraged Pickleball Tournaments in the City's
parks. He said it was the fastest-growing sport. He said a wood-bat league
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would be coming to Candyland Park. He asked Mr. Gioielli for updates on
the water bills spiking and the corner of State Road 434 and County Road
427 (Ronald Reagan Boulevard) owned by the Florida Department of
Transportation (FDOT). He asked everyone to keep his daughter in their
thoughts. She lives in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and is a neurosurgeon. She
told him it was all boarded up, transportation was difficult, but she
continues to go to work at the hospital.
Commissioner Sackett asked why the white fire truck was still parked by
the fire station. He thought they had gotten rid of it. He noted he has
officially retired last Friday after forty-two (42) years of teaching. He said
he has twenty-six (26) days left.
District#1. Deputy Mayor Shoemaker said she went to Cedar Key and
had a blast but caught a fever and could not attend all of the Saturday
events. She was happy the City is continuing on. She reported attending
the HEROES Strong event. She thanked Mr. Rubin for his passion and
everything he does. She recognized and welcomed former Mayor
Maingot for attending that evening.
District#2. Mayor Drummond reported attending the Tri-County League
of Cities meeting the past week. They presented an overview of all of the
services the League of Cities produces. He said it is a great organization,
we are a long-time member, and he hopes they have a convention this
year. He invited Commissioner Sackett to drive by State Road 434 and
Ronald Reagan Boulevard and said Mr. Gioielli has been working
diligently with the County and FDOT. The City can maintain that property
now. He guarantees he will not recognize it when he drives by. The
bushes are gone, the trees are trimmed, and the grass is mowed. It looks
amazing and we are moving forward to take permanent possession of
that property.
9. ANY ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA.
Ms. Longo noted a correction made on page 10, Item 12D of April 5,
2021, Regular Meeting minutes. It had Judith Rosado listed as Mr. Rosado
and had been corrected in the official minutes to Mrs.
10. CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approve Minutes of April 5, 2021, Regular Meeting.
B. Approve the Monthly Expenditures for April 2021.
C. Approve the Monthly Financial Report for March 2021.
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D. Approve a donation in the amount of$2,000 to the Boy Scouts
of America Central Florida Council from the State Law
Enforcement Confiscation Fund.
E. Acceptance of the Annual Audit for the Fiscal Year, which ended
September 30, 2020.
Commissioner Sackett moved to approve Items 10A
through 10E as presented. Seconded by Deputy Mayor
Shoemaker and carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
11. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. Read by title only and adopt Ordinance No. 21-2198, annexing
and amending the corporate limits of the City of Longwood for a
voluntary annexation by Elevation Longwood, LLC for the
property with Parcel ID: 06-21-30-508-0000-0630 located off
Pineda Street.
Mr. Langley read Ordinance No. 21-2198 by title only.
Mayor Drummond opened the public hearing. No one spoke in
favor or opposition to Ordinance No. 21-2198.
Commissioner Morgan moved to close the public hearing.
Seconded by Commissioner Sackett and carried by a
unanimous voice vote.
Commissioner Sackett moved to adopt Ordinance No. 21-
2198 as presented Item 11A. Seconded by Commissioner
Morgan and carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
B. Read by title only and adopt Ordinance No. 21-2199, an
application for vacation and abandonment of a 30-foot utility
easement on the property located at 829 East Wildmere Avenue.
Mr. Langley read Ordinance No. 21-2199 by title only.
Mr. Kintner noted the work was completed there and Public
Works has inspected it.
Mayor Drummond opened the public hearing. No one spoke in
favor or opposition to Ordinance No. 21-2199.
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Commissioner Morgan moved to close the public hearing.
Seconded by Commissioner Sackett and carried by a
unanimous voice vote.
Deputy Mayor Shoemaker moved to adopt Ordinance No.
21-2199 as presented Item 11B. Seconded by
Commissioner Sackett and carried by a unanimous roll call
vote.
12. REGULAR BUSINESS
A. City Commission request and consideration of a proposal from
the Gibbs Planning Group to update the 2015 Retail Study.
Mr. Kintner presented the Item and said this was a request to
consider the Gibbs Planning Group updating their 2015 Longwood
Retail Study and expanding their focus area to include a
downtown area master plan. He noted this was a high-cost item
and not something he has taken lightly or brought forward very
often but felt it had a lot of value to the City. He said in 2012,the
City Commission adopted the Heritage Village Re-Development
Strategy including the Downtown Master Plan that established
much of what you see now. The 2012 Code was what the Weston
Park and Alta Apartments developed under. In 2015, the Gibbs
Planning Group did a Retail Study evaluating several different
focus areas in the City including the Whitehead Property, which is
now Addison Apartments, and the Auto Nation Auction site. From
the time that the Retail Study was completed in 2015, they have
approved more than 700 residential units and our population has
grown fifteen percent (15%). In the five (5) years before that, the
population only grew one percent (1%). He felt now was the time
for staff to look at what we have, what we should be pushing for
with retail, and what portion of the market we can support now.
This study would be one step towards that.
Mr. Kintner noted going through the Request for Proposal (RFP)
process last year for the Downtown Historic District and the City
properties was a driving force behind this. Through this process,
there was significant discussion within the community about the
future of not only the City parcels but of the Historic District as a
whole. This discussion revealed the strong connection that many
in the community have to the Historic District but also showed
that in many cases, there is no consistent vision within the
community for the District or the City-owned parcels within it. He
said with a proposal staff will get from the Gibbs Planning Group,
their expertise and experience in the field, help with deciding
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what the City wants and their vision for the future, the Historic
District, including the Police Station and City Hall sites, as well as,
other key areas that may support development.
Mr. Kintner said Gibbs Planning Group is an international firm
based out of Michigan. They have done over 500 master plans for
Downtowns big and small. The reason we were interested in them
is the work they did for the City in 2015. He said they were
impressed with their work product and commitment to work with
the City. The Gibbs study has been a crucial part of the City's
redevelopment efforts and challenged long-held assumptions
about how certain parcels in the City were viewed by the market
as opposed to how they were viewed internally by the City, and
the findings of that 2015 study were largely proven correct. Gibbs
Planning Group led a successful community effort to complete
that study, and staff has found that the 2015 study has had lasting
value not only for staff but also for members of the community
including residents and business owners. In order to utilize the
Gibbs Planning Group to update their previous study, the staff is
requesting a waiver of the purchasing procedures that would
otherwise require this to go to an RFP. There are three tasks the
proposal aims to update. Task one (1) is to update the 2015 retail
market analysis to reflect the latest retail trends and data
(allowing, for the understanding that COVID-19 has affected
certain sectors). Task two (2) is a retail policy and merchandising
plan, what hurdles to overcome to make Downtown Longwood a
destination for these uses. Task three (3) is a Downtown master
plan. One of the things we specifically talked about was working
on the Longwood Village Inn, taking it to its next phase, and what
can it be. He said also a master plan for specific uses and site
design for the Police Station site and the current City Hall parcels.
He also mentioned engaging the public as best as possible for
their input.
Mr. Kintner noted that Community Development has roughly
$25,000 remaining from a previous contract they had that was
opened for assistance in reviewing the Taurus Group proposal
that could be redirected to this project. Additionally, staff would
be able to pull from account lines, which were not used due in
part due to COVID-19. If the Commission were interested in the
proposal they could complete task one and task two of the
proposal out of funds available this year and put task three into a
budget request next year. If the full amount were approved for
this fiscal year, approximately$45,000 would need to come from
reserves.
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Discussion ensued about the time frame to complete the study,
how the study would affect the land use map and codes,
implementing the study, the use of reserve funds, and
procurement.
Mr. Langley noted that these sorts of services are not required by
state law to be procured. He said the City does have procurement
policies and the Code allows the Commission to waive, if it is in
the City's best interest, a form of procurement for these types of
services.
Discussion ensued on the price of the 2015 study compared to the
price of the current study, the timing and process of the proposal,
the budget, and the monies to pay for the study.
Commissioner Sackett moved to deny approval of the
proposal from the Gibbs Planning Group to update the
2015 Retail Study in this current fiscal year instead place it
in next year's budget. Seconded by Commissioner Morgan
and carried by four-to-one (4-1) roll call vote with
Commission McMillan voting nay.
13. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
Mr. Gioielli reported the Seminole County Commission meeting will be
held on April 27 to discuss the Executive Order specific to the wearing of
masks and it will be one of the first items discussed. He mentioned a
residential lot the City owns in Lake County as a result of a law
enforcement confiscation. He said it has no use to the City and the City
has paid to maintain it for over a decade. He asked to allow staff to sell
the property to the highest bidder either through an auction or realtor
and allow the funds to be moved back to the Law Enforcement
Confiscation Fund.
Commissioner Morgan moved to allow staff to sell the property in
Lake County to the highest bidder either by a realtor or by auction
and allow the funds to be moved to the Law Enforcement
Confiscation Fund. Seconded by Commissioner Sackett and
carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
Mr. Gioielli reported the City has taken over the maintenance of the
vacant lot on the northwest corner of Ronald Reagan Boulevard (County
Road 427) and State Road 434. It had recently had maintenance service
and looks better than it has in a long time. He noted the City plans to
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continue maintaining that lot. He hopes to eventually take possession or
ownership of the lot. There was some issue with funding the traffic
project and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) was going
to use it as a worksite space.
Mr. Gioielli mentioned several events that were coming up. He reported
Lyman High School would have a Senior's parade on May 10 through the
Historic District ending in Reiter Park. Only the Seniors are participating
and will decorate their vehicles or walk along the parade. Their families
are going to be along the parade route to congratulate them on
graduating High School. The Seniors are also going to have their Gala at
Reiter Park on April 24 at 6:30 p.m. That was their graduation party and
the outside event will allow for social distancing.
Mr. Gioielli reported City staff would be meeting with the new owner of
Township Plaza next week. They were going to participate in a
walkthrough to offer opinions, options, and feedback on their
preplanning of improvements to the Plaza. He noted Pennies for Parks
was currently at $1,219. He also reported the Fire Department smoke
detector installment started on April 17 and they hope to service 250
homes in the City. Additionally, City staff would be participating in a
hurricane prep exercise with Seminole County Emergency Management
in June.
Mr. Gioielli mentioned a recent presentation for the property of 1800
Lake Emma Road. There was discussion about multi-family or
condominiums being put on the property after it was annexed into the
City. There has been some interest from the owners about using the
property for horse riding lessons. He said this would require a change to
the City zoning. The advantage to making the change, if the horse riding
lessons were to be used on the five-acre property, was that it would keep
the multi-family from going there in the future and may even encourage
those who have horse farms in the area to annex off Lazy Acres. He then
answered questions.
Discussion ensued on the zoning of this area and the benefit of using the
property for horse lessons.
Mr. Gioielli passed out an update on the Ronald Reagan Boulevard
(County Road 427)/Church Avenue Hardscape/Landscape project. He
mentioned the changes staff recommended to the original project that
would fall more in line with the theme of the Historic District. He noted
the top package proposed changes and the bottom was the original for
comparison. He listed the changes staff was recommending to include
adding trellises along the seating area as a structure that would allow
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some level of shade as well as additional trees and changing the original
imagery from generic images to something more in line with what we see
in the district. The original color plan has been replaced with brick. He
explained the color plan presentation and said this has already been
approved.
Discussion ensued on the color plan.
Mr. Gioielli announced with sadness and joy that Debbie Renfro was
retiring effective April 28, 2021, after almost thirty-five (35) years of loyal
and dedicated service to the City of Longwood. Before she began her
career in Longwood she worked at Central Florida Zoo as a Senior Feline
Keeper in 1982 making$3.35 an hour. There, she did what she still loves
doing today,taking care of various species and animals. She was also the
self-proclaimed plant lady owning and operating a plant leasing and
maintenance business for several years before she began her
employment with the City in May 1986 as a Parks and Recreation
Maintenance Specialist. We believe a combination of the training
experience she gained from working at the Zoo aided her in her ability to
spend the next thirty-four (34) years working in the City for the Public
Works department. Debbie grew to be the syndicator of all things Public
Works. Over the years, she became the go-to person for just about
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anything. She continued to grow professionally and took over many
responsibilities from helping our citizens with concerns, purchasing and
saving every dollar, she even used coupons at times, supervising vendors
and contractors, making sure the City was ready for the next big storm,
cemetery responsibilities, working community events, and various
administrative tasks. Debbie knows how to get the job done and she
always does it right. While over the years her job description has been
ever-changing, her kind and encouraging personality have remained a
constant. Her dedication and selfless hard work for our team and our
community are examples for everyone to follow. Her shoes are going to
be hard to fill but we do wish her the best for her next chapter in life. She
plans on doing what comes naturally to her, which is loving her fur
babies, taking care of her family, and as a retired certified master
gardener, working in her yard. She is retired and admired. He thanked
Debbie for her loyal and dedicated service and congratulated her on her
retirement.
14. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT. No report.
15. CITY CLERK'S REPORT. No report.
111
16. ADJOURN. Mayor Drummond adjourned the meeting at 8:26 p.m.
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Minutes approved by City Commission: 05-03-2021
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(72/ /
Richard Drummond, Mayor
ATT T:
Michelle ngo R
City Clerk
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