CC11-16-2020MinLONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION
Longwood City Commission Chambers
175 West Warren Avenue
Longwood, Florida
MINUTES
November 16, 2020
6:00 P.M.
Present: Mayor Richard Drummond
Deputy Mayor Brian D. Sackett
Commissioner Abby Shoemaker
Commissioner Matt Morgan
Commissioner Matt McMillan
Dan Langley, City Attorney
Clint Gioielli, Acting City Manager
Michelle Longo, City Clerk
David P. Dowda, Police Chief
Shad Smith, Public Works Director
Craig Dunn, Information Technology Director
Judith Rosado, Financial Services 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 Morgan led the Pledge of
Allegiance.
4. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS. Ms. Longo read the following
announcements.
A. Announce Results of the November 3, 2020 City of Longwood
General Election.
Ms. Longo announced for the Longwood City Commissioner,
District #4, Matt Morgan received 4,510 votes and Kim Carroll
received 2,765 votes for a total of 7,275 votes. For the eight (8)
Longwood Proposed Charter Amendments, Amendment Question
1, the Yes votes were 3,576, the No votes were 3,964, for a total
of 7,540 votes. Amendment Question 2, the Yes votes were
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4,696, the No votes were 2,146, for a total of 6,842 votes.
Amendment Question 3, the Yes votes were 5,816, the No votes
were 1,293, for a total of 7,109 votes. Amendment Question 4,
the Yes votes were 5,171, the No votes were 1,660, for a total of
6,831 votes. Amendment Question 5, the Yes votes were 3,100,
the No votes were 3,399, for a total of 6,499 votes. Amendment
Question 6, the Yes votes were 4,246, the No votes were 2,538,
for a total of 6,784 votes. Amendment Question 7, the Yes votes
were 4,517, the No votes were 2,275, for a total of 6,792 votes.
Amendment Question 8, the Yes votes were 5,519, the No votes
were 1,650, for a total of 7,169 votes.
B. Annual Rotation of the Deputy Mayor.
Ms. Longo announced the Rotation of the Deputy Mayor would go
from District #5, Commissioner Sackett to District #1,
Commissioner Shoemaker.
Ms. Longo read the following announcements.
C. Longwood Movie in the Park will be held on Friday, November
20, 2020, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Reiter Park, 311 West Warren
Avenue. This is a free event and the movie will be Sonic the
Hedgehog.
D. The Longwood Arts and Crafts Festival will be held on Saturday,
November 21, 2020, and Sunday, November 22, 2020 from 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. Artists and crafters will line the
streets in the Historic District of Longwood located off Church
Street. There will be food, beverages, and live entertainment.
This is a free event and additional free parking is available at
Orlando Health South Seminole.
E. Celebrate the Season/Tree Lighting event will be held on Friday,
December 4, 2020 from 6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at Reiter Park,
311 West Warren Avenue. There will be live music, dance
performances, food, and shopping at Santa's workshop. The
lighting of the tree will be at 6:35 p.m. and fireworks show at
8:30 p.m.
5. PROCLAMATIONS / RECOGNITIONS
A. Recognizing Commissioner Brian D. Sackett for his service to the
City as Deputy Mayor, May 2019 until November 2020.
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Mayor Drummond recognized Commissioner Sackett for his
service to the City as Deputy Mayor. He then presented him with
a plaque and photographs were then taken.
6. BOARD APPOINTMENTS
A. District #3 Nomination to the Parks & Recreation Advisory
Board.
Commissioner McMillan nominated Samuel Friedman for
reappointment to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
Nomination carried by a unanimous voice vote.
7. PUBLIC INPUT
A. Public Participation.
Henry Matta, 1315 Landry Circle, Longwood. He said he has been
in two houses in Longwood since September 1983. 1 have been
here and have developed a feel for the culture and the character
of the town. It disturbed me to find out that we have major plans
to cause an upheaval of the character of our town through a lot of
major construction, which I was not made aware of. I pulled
several members of our Board of Directors in the Coventry
Association, some neighbors, and a couple other people. Nobody
had heard anything about this. It lead me to come here and
question what are the proper means to communicate with a
citizenry of a town that is approximately 14,500 to 15,000 people.
I know maybe some things are posted on the website but that is
not the reality of how the citizenry operates. Something this big
nobody heard about it. This is something that would negatively
affect the character of our town. I keep hearing that we need to
keep up with other towns. I do not know why. Sanford and Winter
Park do not have major buildings and assisted living facilities in
the middle of their downtown. I do not understand. I can
understand the issue of a new Fire Station but the rest of it does
not need to happen. We do not need to be indebted but if it
needs to move forward there needs to be an appropriate notice
and request for comment from the people that are paying
everybody's salaries including the administrative staff. I would
venture to say that the majority of the administrative staff do not
even live in Longwood. They are not going to be affected by this.
They will go get a new job and move on and the rest of us,
especially those who have been living here for a while, are going
to have to live with this. I am not planning on moving. We need to
take into account the people who have committed to this town.
He suggested sending flyers out with our monthly utility bills.
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8. MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' REPORT
District #4. Commissioner Morgan thanked everyone for his reelection.
He also thanked his wife and family. He said it is tough for my wife to sit
there and watch things being said about her husband that may not be
true or half-truths but that comes with the territory. This was not our first
rodeo. Now we are a little bit more seasoned and experienced. He said
on Thursday, November 5, he attended the Seminole County Public
Schools Facility Planning Committee in Lake Mary. That same day, I went
to Longwood Groves Neighborhood. When the Alta Apartments were
being built, Wood Partners hired a third party company to do the
landscaping. When they built the retention pond, there was a lot of
vibration in the ground and five neighbors on the opposite side of that
fence felt some of their properties were damaged because of it. Wood
Partners did the right thing and sent out somebody to come out to these
homes and inspect them. The residents were not very happy with them.
They did not get much feedback from that third party company. I want to
give a shout out to the CEO of Wood Partners, Brian Borland, who was
cool enough to put his inspector on this. I went out to meet that
inspector at Longwood Groves this past week where they conducted
inspections on all of their properties. We are waiting to hear what the
feedback is on that. That is a good partner that we want to do business
with. The following day I had to meet Mr. Chris Capizzi, Mr. Bill Black, and
Ms. Judy Coad in front of Barrington. We had an electric outlet issue and
hoping to have Christmas lights this year. That same day I had a meeting
with the Kids House to try to help further the relationship, get the word
out to our families within the Longwood community, and make sure they
are at our upcoming events so the families know this help is out there.
The next day I was honored to be the Grand Marshall of the Village on
the Green's very first Veteran's Day Parade organized by a veteran at
Village on the Green. In addition, that same day my son, Jackson, had
speech therapy at Central Florida Therapy Solutions in the 455 Building
by Reiter Park. It is not the best building structurally. On the 12th, we had
our swearing -in ceremony. He thanked City Clerk, Ms. Longo and former
multi -time Mayor Ben Paris. That same evening I headed home and took
part in the Hidden Oaks Zoom Home Owners Association (HOA) meeting.
He thanked Commissioner McMillan for bringing in the Ceilidh in the Park
event this past weekend. It was an awesome event with such a different
culture. What was cool was that I spoke with a family that came from
Daytona Beach for this event. Finding creative events is what the biggest
magnet is for this park. When you are the smallest City in Seminole
County you have to have different things that help us stick out to draw
that type of attention. It was such a great time. That same day I had to go
out to Orange County and do this Hope-a-Thon to help raise money
during a 24-hour broadcast on one of our local channels. Different
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celebrity addicts came in and told their stories. The goal is to try to help
others that suffer from addiction who cannot afford to get the help that I
was blessed enough to get 14 years ago. This past Sunday I met Tracy,
our Longwood Historic Society President over at the Bradlee -McIntyre
House where this year the 7-foot Santa has traveled to and will be
appearing socially distanced on December 17 and December 18. If you
want to bring your kids to take a picture with the 7-foot Santa, there will
be a social distance set up for it at the Bradlee-Mclntrye House. We are
trying to get them to open more because if you want people to commit
and emotionally invest in the Historic District of our community you have
to tell them our City's story. The only way to do that is to get them out to
these buildings. I am happy to see the Longwood Historic Society moving
forward in thinking into the future on how to do things. This event will be
one of them. I had a meeting today with a book author, Kathleen Myre.
The name of her book is called Lemonade Stand III about the mental pain
of Post -Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Anxiety, and Depression that
have plagued many of our communities. It is specific to our first
responders (fire and police) and Military Veterans. Different cities use
this to give to their rookie Officers and Firefighters when they get out of
the academy. He suggested setting up a meeting with this author to see if
this would be something they would want to look into giving to our Police
and Firefighters. He congratulated the Girl's Greyhound Volleyball Team
for winning the State Championship. There was a surprise victory
celebration at Lyman High School today and said everyone involved
especially Principal Mike Rice did a great job in setting it all up. The whole
student body was out there. The girls were escorted off the bus by the
Longwood Police Department into the courtyard area, and all of their
classmates were giving them a standing round of applause. It was
awesome and we are proud of our Lady Greyhounds. Winning the State
Championship is not easy. He asked the City Manager where they are at
with the negotiations with Taurus Group.
Mr. Gioielli said since the Special Meeting on October 26 1 have emailed
the developer twice. I have asked, based on the new parameters
established by the Commission, whether or not they were still interested
in proceeding with the proposal, and if so, which parts of the proposal
were they interested in, compared to something they were not. I have
been unable to establish any serious dialogue that would allow City staff
to proceed. I am not sure where we are at. Unfortunately, we are kind of
at a stalemate.
Commissioner Morgan moved to close the Request for
Proposal (RFP) for redevelopment of City Properties within
the Heritage Village and end formal negotiations regarding
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the proposal from Taurus Investment Holdings. Seconded
by Commissioner Sackett.
Discussion ensued about communication and negotiation concerns with
the Taurus group.
Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
District #5. Commissioner Sackett said at our last meeting, I reported that
I would be meeting with the Babe Ruth Board. We had the Board
President and Vice President along with our staff including Mr. Capizzi.
The membership of Babe Ruth is down to 120 players. The condition of
the fields was something that needed to be addressed. Mr. Gioielli and
Mr. Capizzi jumped on what we could do and what they could do about
updating. It will be updating as much as possible through December's
shut down when the leagues are not playing. That is a positive movement
forward. They are open to dialogue. Babe Ruth is not opening until
March. They will do practices and then the season will start. We have five
months to talk, walk, and make it look like Longwood is a beautiful place
to live, work, and play. Negotiations with the Woodlands subdivision
coming into the community were rejected. They do not want to be a part
of Longwood. It was nice to be at the Scottish fair. You could not have
asked for more beautiful weather. The activities and the Food Truck were
very good. It was a perfect set up, on a perfect day, with a perfect -sized
crowd paying attention to COVID, and everything went fantastically. He
thanked Commissioner McMillan. The Farmer's Market continues to
delight me with its shrimp and vegetable stands. It seems to be working
out well now. The Sunday idea is perfect. I did not expect Lyman
Volleyball to not win the State Championship when they had a 29-1
record. Congratulations to them. It looks like everything is going well for
Lyman High School with the special center being built for vocational
education, the enthusiasm of Principal Rice, the staff, and the children.
District #1. Deputy Mayor Shoemaker said we were all sworn in on the
12th. That was awesome. She congratulated those unopposed and those
who had to work very hard. I attended the Scottish Ceilidh event briefly.
It was a beautiful day and it was laid out so well. I received a phone call
asking me to volunteer in the food tent at the Car Show for the Historic
Society which 1 did. The Car Show was phenomenal. The Ghostbusters
were there and the Scottish bagpipers were also touring the Car Show
and playing. If you were not there, you missed it. It was the place to be in
Longwood. There was an after -party at Connelly's which I did not attend
but I am sure that was good too.
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District #2. Mayor Drummond mentioned the swearing -in ceremony and
said four of us were sworn in. He thanked Mr. Paris for administering the
Oath of Office and Ms. Longo for the setup and snacks that were
provided. The Scottish event was a perfect day. I went in the afternoon
and it was a little bit warm. I went back as the sun was setting and it was
perfect. The transition from there to the Car Show was probably as many
cars as I had ever seen there. The crowd was phenomenal and the
weather was perfect. It was so nice out there. Longwood is continuing to
bring people in and give everybody a sense of community and a place to
go do some things. Many of our sister cities have still not opened up any
events. He thanked everybody that is involved with the events at the park
and Downtown. He said we have both the Juvenile of the Year (JOY)
Awards and the Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Good Citizenship Award. He
recommended postponing those events only because we get huge
crowds in here. He said we want the kids to be able to come in and bring
their family but with social distancing and the things that are going on, I
think we would be better off to postpone those for two to three months
and then reevaluate at that time.
Discussion ensued on options of when and how to hold the awards.
Commissioner Sackett moved to hold the annual JOY
Awards in the Chambers in March. Seconded by
Commissioner Morgan and carried by a unanimous voice
vote.
The Commission agreed to hold the MILK Good Citizenship Award as
normal at the second meeting in January.
District #3. Commissioner McMillan stated as this is his first report he will
thank a few people, go through a few items, and will start with a story.
"One day a man went to a village and all of the people were hiding. There
was a farmer that came and the man asked the farmer why everyone was
hiding. The farmer said that all the people in the village were hungry and
the children were weak. The man went to the lake and filled a pot with
water. He then took a stone to the pot full of water, brought it to the
village, and put it on the fire to cook. The farmer asked him what he was
making. The man said stone soup. The farmer said he had never heard of
stone soup and asked if he could have some. The man said, of course, it
would taste a lot better if 1 had a potato to add, so the farmer gave him a
potato. Along came another villager who asked the man what he was
making. The man said it was stone soup. The villager said he had never
heard of stone soup and asked if he could have some. The man said of
course, but it would taste so much better if only I had some beans to add.
The villager came back with a handful of beans and added them to the
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soup. A woman came along and asked what the man was making. He said
he was making stone soup. The woman asked if she could have some. The
man said of course, but it would taste much better if only 1 had an onion.
She added her onion to the soup. All the people in the village started to
smell the stone soup and they came to see what was happening and what
was cooking. They all added their vegetables to the soup. After a while,
the soup pot was full of many wonderful flavors. The entire village had a
feast. Everybody thanked the stranger. He was therefor many days to
feed them the stone soup."
Commissioner McMillan said that is a parable of an analogy of what I
would like to see and what I saw on Saturday with our Scottish event that
everybody talked about. We are living in a time where we have social
distancing. A lot of people are suffering and want to be safe but want to
be together. There is this feeling of separation and I was just so moved by
how that whole event came together. I had been elected and was
interacting with the staff. I am a member of St. Andrew's Society. I am
their treasurer. We have been locked down. Usually, we do pub nights
and get together, kilt up, have a good time, and sing some songs.
Everybody has been shut down. We usually do some fundraisers for a
scholarship program for the Celtic Arts for the dancers and bagpipers.
They contacted me because they had been having some difficulty trying
to put together an event in other cities. They asked how much would it
cost to rent Reiter Park. I opened it up by asking staff and received an
open response from Mr. Capizzi and Mr. Rinaldo. They were very anxious
to showcase Reiter Park. We, being a non-profit with limited funds, were
greatly relieved that with having the City as a sponsor, we could raise
more money and put more money towards our programs. We continued
to negotiate with the City. The members of our Society had been wanting
to meet for a long time and get together. He mentioned the Highland
Games in Winter Springs held in January was canceled months ago. He
said everybody was sort of dejected. Some vendors make their living
selling their jewelry and woodwork. By having those events canceled they
were crushed but very receptive and they brought their goods to sell and
for the public to see. They were all very pleased. They experienced good
sales. We even received a response that it was the best day they had all
year. It helped make them happy. We brought in bands and musicians
who have been shut out of areas because of the lockdown with bars and
events being canceled, along with the Center for Dance and Performing
Arts. It is a school that teaches Highland dancing. There are these kids
that study that stuff hard. It is a very technical aspect of Scottish Culture.
They are proud to show it off but had not been able to. We were able to
present that venue so those kids could get out, learn, and experience
Scottish culture and entertain everybody. We also had a couple of
bagpipers. They attended the Car Show and entertained the patrons at
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Connolly's. He thanked Brett Mason of Hourglass Brewery who donated
beer. We had a tip jar collecting donations. We had the Sharing Center
come to provide some of our cards, ID, and wristband checks. I do not
have all of the numbers yet but there is a substantial amount that is going
to the Sharing Center to help our neighbors in need. That was just from
the tip jar. We were able to provide a nice day outside for people,
business for vendors, and raise money for charity and the arts. It is a
model of commerce, prosperity, and generosity. He thanked everybody
with the City staff that made it so easy to work with. He said, speaking on
behalf of the Society, they were over the moon and happy. The Scottish
American Society who run the Highland Games in Winter Park came and
they were happy. One of my concerns was making it not look like we
were poaching on their territory. Everybody was getting along. He
thanked the Commissioners, Mr. Capizzi, Mr. Rinaldo, and the park staff
who was cleaning. He said the hand sanitizer was out there and areas
were being wiped down. It made me very proud to see our Community
come together like that.
Commissioner McMillan said he was reflecting on the Holidays and
situations in the City and Country with the disease and the uptick. He
wanted to mention a few people he finds inspiring. We had Columbus
Day. Columbus was a master navigator who was determined to get to
China although he never did. He was disciplined, got himself out there,
and kept trying when he was getting turned down. He did not get what
he was expecting but he overcame so many obstacles. It is that courage
and determination that is the virtue in that story and voyage. I know a lot
of people are concerned about the consequences of the indigenous
people in America after that. Some states have been recognizing
Indigenous People's Day. I wanted to mention an indigenous person that
inspires me. It was a gentleman who had been trained as an experienced
guide with the English, got duped, was enslaved, sent to Spain, ransomed
by some priors then freed, went up to England, worked on the docks,
learned some English, and managed to get over to New Finland. He made
it back to where his village was where everyone had been wiped out by
smallpox. He tried to find another place to live. He did not feel at home
with the other tribes in the area. He was living in the forest on his own
when he noticed starving settlers were in the land and the area where his
village had been. He went out to help them and teach them the ways of
his people. He opened up to them when he had no reason to. This man's
name was Tisquantum who was known as Squanto. You may have known
him from Elementary School from the story of Thanksgiving. Many people
do not know the back -story. This was a gentleman who had very much
reason to have a grievance on those people who showed up but he
opened up and worked with them. He was a diplomat and brokered a
peace that lasted over 50 years. He loved those people and they worked
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9.
10.
together. That brings us to Thanksgiving. There are these voyages,
traveling's, and unexpected journeys in the life we have. All of these folks
experienced diseases. That is really what brought this home to me. We
are living in this unprecedented time of COVID and we have to, despite all
of that stuff, come together and be thankful for what we have. I am
thankful for this community, for the veterans, my parents, my fellow
commissioners, the families, staff, and Mr. Paris for everything he has
done to make it possible for me to be a Commissioner. I did not expect to
be here at the beginning of this year. It is one of those unexpected
voyages. My career took all kinds of crazy directions because of how this
disease impacted my career path, but I am very happy to be here. I am
looking forward to it because for the first time in this City's history we
have three Commissioners that have been elected for four-year terms
and we can do some serious long-term planning in a stable environment
we had not had before. I am very proud to have the ability to serve and
navigate the rest of 2020 and beyond with the rest of this crew.
ANY ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA
Ms. Longo stated there was an update to the agreement related to Item
12C and a copy was placed on the dais for the Commission's reference.
CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approve Minutes of the October 26, 2020, Special Meeting and
the November 2, 2020, Regular Meeting.
B. Approve the Monthly Expenditures for November 2020.
C. Approve the Monthly Financial Report for October 2020.
D. Approve the 2021-2025 Inter -local Voluntary Cooperation
Operational Assistance Combined Mutual Aid Agreement and
Interlocal Voluntary Cooperation Operational Assistance
Combined Mutual Aid City/County Canine (K-9) Unit Agreement.
E. Approve the 2021-2025 Interlocal Voluntary Cooperation
City/County Traffic Enforcement Unit Agreement.
Commissioner Sackett noted a change in the minutes for the
Special Meeting and he did not say $4 million in rental fees, he
said $400,000, which is reflected on page 8.
Commissioner McMillan requested that Item 10D be pulled for a
separate discussion.
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It was the consensus from the Commission to pull Item
10D for separate discussion by a unanimous voice vote.
Commissioner Sackett moved to approve Items 10A, 1013,
10C, and 10E as presented. Seconded by Commissioner
Morgan and carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
Discussion ensued on Item 10D with Commissioner McMillan
stating he pulled this Item to practice pulling an Item and he
wanted his first motion to approve something for the dogs.
Commissioner McMillan moved to approve Item 10D as
presented. Seconded by Commissioner Sackett and
carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
11. PUBLIC HEARINGS. None.
12. REGULAR BUSINESS
A. Read by title only and adopt Resolution No. 20-1545, which
amends the fiscal year 2019/2020 budget.
Mr. Langley read Resolution No. 20-1545 by title only.
Ms. Rosado presented the Item.
Commissioner Sackett moved to adopt Resolution No. 20-
1545 as presented Item 12A. Seconded by Commissioner
Morgan and carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
B. Read by title only and adopt Resolution No. 20-1546, a fiscal
year 2020/2021 budget amendment, which approves a transfer
from General Fund Reserves for $15,056.00 and approves the
issuance of a purchase order in the amount of $15,055.60 to
Teer Engineering for the purchase of an upgraded digital
wireless microphone system for the Commission Chambers
Audio System.
Mr. Langley read Resolution No. 20-1546 by title only.
Mr. Gioielli presented the Item. He noted staff and the
Commissioners noticed there were some audio issues during the
Special Meeting anytime we attempted to use the wireless
microphones. Information Technology Director, Mr. Dunn
researched and learned that the frequencies of the units that
were purchased in 2012 had interference when those frequencies
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were sold to some local radio stations. There was no workaround
or any other cheaper options that allow us to have a permanent,
long-term fix than to request a budget amendment allowing us to
make an immediate adjustment for a long-term fix for that
problem. He said the new system is going to come with
rechargeable batteries.
Commissioner Sackett moved to adopt Resolution No. 20-
1546 as presented Item 12B. Seconded by Deputy Mayor
Shoemaker and carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
C. City Commission approval of a Joint Use Stormwater Pond
Construction and Easement Agreement with United Parcel
Service (UPS) related to the UPS Joint Use Stormwater Pond
Expansion and Bennett Drive Drainage Improvements Project.
Mr. Smith presented the Item.
Deputy Mayor Shoemaker moved to approve Item 12C as
presented. Seconded by Commissioner Morgan and
carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
13. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
Mr. Gioielli said we had a good meeting with Babe Ruth and Leisure
Services staff to come up with creative ideas to help Babe Ruth start to
improve their recruiting efforts to try and help the program return. At the
same time, we have identified some upgrades to Candyland Park that are
based on some grants that we are working on and standard upgrades
that are going to make the park look more presentable. We are already in
the process of renovating the work area that the staff uses as a result of
unfortunate flooding. The flooding has been corrected to not repeat. We
are going to have the staff a new work area. At the same time, we are
going to use the same contractor to give us an estimate on what the cost
would be to upgrade the restrooms and the concession stands at the
park. This gives us an idea of what the prices are and we will bring back a
report to the Commission to see if there is any interest in allocating the
funding for that. We had a Community Forum at the Police Department
on November 10. The next meeting is on December 8 at the Chambers.
Although the crowds and the interest for those who come have been
limited, I think they have found it to be very educational. Chief Dowda
and the staff have shared some of the bodycam footage. I think it is
surprising for some of the citizens to see what our Officers are doing
while the rest of us are at home asleep. Staff is coordinating an
organizational meeting this week to move forward with the Commission's
desire to seek out and hopefully move forward with a new Fire
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Department. The staff has also proposed an agreement to the Blue -Collar
employees in an attempt to get a Union contract finalized. There has
been a lot of negotiation and a lot of back and forth. It is my position that
if the staff were to approve what we have proposed, I would like to start
working on getting the Commission briefed on this completely brand new
contract. If they were to reject what we have offered, I feel we have done
everything we can in good faith to facilitate an agreement in a contract
and would suggest we set up a shade meeting so I can get the
Commission up-to-date and see what options and feedback I can get
from you. He pointed out how excited staff and citizens were at the St.
Andrews Society event on the weekend. It has been our intention all
along and hopefully, the Commission would support -and the St. Andrew's
Society consider, making this an annual event. We did very little, if any,
marketing for this event in an attempt to control the crowds and be
COVID safe. We have had unbelievable feedback. He reminded everybody
about the Longwood Fall Festival this weekend. He said we have 140
vendors and a COVID mitigation safety plan in place each vendor had to
agree to. It includes sanitation efforts, social distancing, and all the
different aspects to keep our visitors, staff, and vendors safe. This
program has been approved by the Florida Department of Health and the
Seminole County Emergency Management. He said there was a question
about some equipment that needed to be repaired at Reiter Park. That
repair is in progress. I hope the Commission is noticing the Christmas
decorations are starting to be put in place in the Historic District. We
anticipate seeing banners along Ronald Reagan Boulevard and there are
some already at Reiter Park. We are excited to see how that looks. He
congratulated the Commissioners on another term and said the staff is
excited to continue working together to make Longwood great. He
wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
Mayor Drummond said he would very much welcome St. Andrew's
Society and an annual event at Reiter Park. He suggested adding Scottish
Games.
14. CITY ATTORNEYS REPORT. No report.
15. CITY CLERK'S REPORT
Ms. Longo said congratulations to all the Commissioners on their
election. She thanked Commissioner Sackett for his service as Deputy
Mayor. She said Friday City Offices would be closing at noon in
preparation of the 2020 Longwood Arts & Crafts Festival. Next week the
City will be closed on Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27
for the Thanksgiving Holiday. She wished everyone a happy and safe
Thanksgiving.
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16. ADJOURN. Mayor Drummond adjourned the meeting at 7:14 p.m.
Minutes approved by City Commission: 12-07-2020
Richard Drummond, Mayor
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is e e o C, FCRM
City Clerk
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