CC12-04-2023Min LONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION
Longwood City Commission Chambers
175 West Warren Avenue
Longwood, Florida
MINUTES
December 4, 2023
6:00 P.M.
Present: Mayor Tony Boni
Deputy Mayor Matt Morgan
Commissioner Abby Shoemaker
Commissioner Matthew McMillan
Commissioner Brian D. Sackett
Dan Langley, City Attorney
Clint Gioielli, City Manager
Michelle Longo, City Clerk
David Dowda, Police Chief
1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Boni called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
2. OPENING INVOCATION. Pastor Jason Laxton with Northland Church gave
the invocation.
3. THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. Mayor Boni led the Pledge of Allegiance.
4. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS. Ms. Longo read the following
announcements.
A. Celebrate the Season event will be held on Friday, December 8,
2023,from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at Reiter Park, 311 West
Warren Avenue. There will be games,food trucks, and a laser
light show for the finale.
B. The "Downtown Longwood Cruise-In" Car Show will be held on
Saturday, December 9, 2023,from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. in
the Historic District of Longwood located off Church Avenue.
C. The Longwood Movie in the Park will be held on Friday,
December 15, 2023, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Reiter Park, 311
West Warren Avenue. This is a free event and the movie will be
How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Food will be available for
purchase.
CC 12-04-2023/1
D. Breakfast with Santa will be held on Saturday, December 16,
2023,from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. at the Longwood
Community Building, 200 West Warren Avenue. This event has
already been sold out.
E. The City of Longwood will host the Annual Barkfest on Saturday,
December 16, 2023 from 1:00 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. at Arbor Park
Dog Park, 1405 North Grant Street.
F. Santa Visits Longwood will be held on Saturday, December 16,
and Sunday, December 17 from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. or
however long it takes to finish each area. Routes are only within
city limits and as follows:
Saturday: East of Ronald Reagan Boulevard
Sunday: West of Ronald Reagan Boulevard
5. PROCLAMATIONS/ RECOGNITIONS. None.
6. BOARD APPOINTMENTS. None.
7. PUBLIC INPUT
A. Public Participation. None.
8. MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' REPORT
District#4. Deputy Mayor Morgan announced the 7 Foot Santa free
event hosted by the Longwood Historic Society was scheduled for
December 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Bradlee-McIntyre
House.
District#5. Commissioner Sackett was honored in Kenya while on his trip
to Africa with a tree planted with a plaque with his name as the first
dignitary to visit the safari reserve. He was not in town for the Longwood
Arts & Crafts Festival, but his daughter, who was a participant, said it was
a well-run event and sales were successful. He thanked staff for their
hard work on the festival. He attended the closing ceremonies for
Longwood Babe Ruth Baseball. League President Patrick McFadden told
him they already have ninety-nine (99) players for the next season. He
mentioned the schedule of the tree lighting at Reiter Park. The tree was
beautiful, but the time and date of the lighting did not work for him, and
the jazz band did not play any Christmas music. He believed the tree
lighting for next year should be held the weekend immediately after
Thanksgiving. He felt more people other than parents of the high school
band players would attend, and the City could kick off its holiday events
CC 12-04-2023/2
at an earlier date. He attended the Longwood Christmas Parade, noting
fifty-two (52) floats, and he spoke with all the participants.
Commissioner Sackett looked forward to the Employee Holiday Luncheon
& Awards Ceremony, the Chanukah Celebration at Reiter Park, Northland
Church's Annual Christmas Show, Celebrate the Season, and Breakfast
with Santa. He planned to attend a MetroPlan meeting and mentioned
he had sixty (60) bicycles ready to donate to the City's school district
families.
Commissioner Sackett requested a WOW! update. He noted that the
new internet service did some work in his neighborhood, but it still
looked terrible with much sand where the water main broke. He asked
about the status of Outfront Media, which addressed the Commission
several months ago, and suggested an update at the next Commission
meeting. Regarding Code Enforcement, he requested more information
on violations brought before the Commission, such as when the lien
started and the total number of liens in the City.
District#1. Commissioner Shoemaker attended many local events with
fellow Commissioners. She thanked Jammie Tackett and Andrew Marsian
of the Public Works Department for decorating her bicycle for the
Longwood Christmas Parade.
District#2. Mayor Boni was invited to help at the Sharing Center's
Neighborly Annual Lunch to give the invocation. It was his third year
participating in the event, and they served meals to over a hundred (100)
homeless people who also got to take a meal with them. He reported
that the Carols & Cocoa event held by the Longwood Historic Society was
a big success, with over seventy (70) people in attendance. They viewed
the tree lighting on Ronald Reagan Boulevard and enjoyed cocoa, cider,
ice cream, and singing.
Mayor Boni had the opportunity to meet with the new Administrator for
the Florida Department of Health in Seminole County, Dr. Ethan Johnson.
While he and Deputy Mayor Morgan were at Milwee Middle School, they
met a student on a team that would compete in a construction contest
the following year. The team wants to redesign the skate park at
Candyland Sports Complex. He attended the Longwood Christmas
Parade and believed he saw the most people ever. He reported that the
Rotary Club of Longwood inducted eight (8) new members that morning.
District#3. Commissioner McMillan attended the two (2) tree lightings in
Longwood and was impressed with the first Carols & Cocoa event hosted
by the Rotary Club of Longwood and Longwood Historic Society. He was
CC 12-04-2023/3
happy to see the second tree lighting at Reiter Park paired with a jazz
concert from the Lyman High School band. He thought the peak time to
hold events in the Historic District was during fall into early spring, as well
as non-humid and non-rainy months. He commented that the Longwood
Christmas Parade was wonderful.
Commissioner McMillan, on November 30, attended the Legislative Policy
Conference for Florida League of Cities meeting. The committee selected
mobility plans and sovereign immunity limits as their priority and policy
statement going into the next legislative session. He then explained the
selections, mobility plans as the priority, and the policy statement as
sovereign immunity limits. He mentioned the limit increase proposed in
the upcoming legislative session, which would increase the City's
insurance premiums by at least twenty-five (25) percent. Such a proposal
would affect the City's budget. He suggested everyone reach out to the
office of Florida Senator Jason Brodeur to express their concerns, and he
planned to talk to him on his next trip to Tallahassee.
Commissioner McMillan reported on the true, good, and beautiful. For
the "true," he commented that many people do not realize that the
Eleventh (11th) Amendment to the U.S. Constitution deals with sovereign
immunity, an important concept for states' rights. For the "good," he
saw during Thanksgiving an outpouring of gratitude throughout the III
community with people in person and on social media, both individuals
and businesses. For the "beautiful," he mentioned the Longwood
Christmas Parade. He rode in a Shelby Cobra sports car with his aunt's
dog wearing antlers and got to wave at everyone, seeing many happy
people. He thanked the staff for their help on the parade.
9. ANY ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA. None.
10. CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approve the Minutes of the November 6, 2023 Regular Meeting.
B. Approve the Monthly Expenditures for November 2023.
Deputy Mayor Morgan moved to approve Items 10A and
10B as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Sackett and
carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
Commissioner Sackett mentioned attending the Veterans Day event at
Lyman High School. The minutes for November 6 referenced in his report
that he would not be able to attend.
11. PUBLIC HEARINGS. None.
CC 12-04-2023/4
12. REGULAR BUSINESS. None.
13. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
Mr. Gioielli stated that he and the staff will work on an update from
Outfront Media and see if they are still interested in pursuing a billboard
sign. He reported that residents expressed concern about a fish kill at
Lake Pelican in the Skylark subdivision. Some residents thought the fish
kill was related to a City contractor using herbicides, which was standard
monthly. Staff confirmed nothing suspicious, such as decolorization,
algae blooms, or evidence of petroleum spills. Staff did notify the State
for Wildlife Commission, who asked a biologist from Seminole County to
review. The biologist reported an issue with the oxygen, a natural issue
related to the weather. Staff will still follow up with the contractor's logs
and release them to the State for review.
Mr. Gioielli stated that after several major incidents with WOW! a new
internet service that was putting in lines all over the City, staff put a stop
work order on November 21 until a group meeting was held. Staff
learned that day that none of their work identifying the exact locations of
existing utilities was being passed onto those digging. He said WOW!
realizes now the City will exercise whatever lawful authority they have to
make sure that their residents and utility services are not interrupted.
Commissioner Sackett asked if WOW! would patch up the grass, which
was torn out in several neighborhoods.
Mr. Gioielli responded that he and the staff were told there would be a
final cleanup at the end. He stated he would find out if cleanup begins
after the entire project in the City ends or after each neighborhood
project ends.
Commissioner McMillan suggested having someone from the City watch
the crews from WOW! while they work in local neighborhoods.
Mr. Gioielli responded that Commissioner McMillan's suggestion was a
great idea and that the City could bill WOW! for staff time. He stated the
City had a boil water alert for precautionary measures in the Shadow Hill
neighborhood due to WOW! working in that area. He added that beyond
the impact on City residents, the issues are taking up a great deal of
staff's time.
Mr. Gioielli reminded the Commission to attend the Employee Annual
Holiday Luncheon &Awards Ceremony scheduled for Wednesday,
December 6, at 11:00 a.m., at the Community Building. He reported that
CC 12-04-2023/5
with assistance from the City Attorney, the City has been able to close on
the property behind Acme Comics, now owned by the City of Longwood.
14. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT. No report.
15. CITY CLERK'S REPORT
Ms. Longo reminded the Commission that the nominations for the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Good Citizenship Award will be on Agenda for the
December 18, 2023 Meeting, with the Presentation scheduled on the
Agenda for January 15, 2024.
16. ADJOURN. Mayor Boni adjourned the meeting at 6:35 p.m.
Minutes approved by City Commission: 01-15-20
/
Tony n', Mayor
ATT S
, M
City Clerk
I
CC 12-04-2023/6