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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-05-2023 CC WKsp & SpCC Minutesan iv HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND SEBASTIAN CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2023 —12:50 P.M. CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA Mayor Jones called the Workshop to order at 12:50 p.m. 2. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. ROLL CALL Mayor Fred Jones Vice Mayor Chris Nunn (at this point, the Vice Mayor was still in an individual interview) Council Member Kelly Dixon Council Member Ed Dodd Council Member Bob McPartlan (at this point, Council Member McPartlan was still in an individual interview) Staff Present: City Manager Paul Carlisle City Clerk Jeanette Williams Mayor Jones recessed the workshop until 1:30 p.m. to allow the individual interviews to finish. 4. WORKSHOP ITEM At 1:32 p.m. Mayor Jones reconvened the workshop to allow the panel interviews. All Council Members were present at this time. A. Conduct Individual Citv Attomev Interviews Jackson Latimer Mr. Latimer introduced himself and in response to questions from Council, he described how local government can stifle those that can go above and beyond. He looked for opportunities to impress, which he has proven in his career so far. He is looking for a new challenge and can bring energy to the City of Sebastian. He said his personal philosophy is to trust but verify. He generally trusts the people that he oversees but when he encounters a problem, he looks for the least Sebastian City Council Workshop & Special Meeting City Attorney Interviews and Selection May 5, 2023 Page 2 1:44 pm 2:00 pm disruptive solution by giving the employee the opportunity to correct themselves. He said one of the most common things that lawyers encounter is when an individual council member tries to act as the whole body so that situation is always on his radar. He said he believes he is a life-long learner and that by trying, you will open yourself up to mistakes but you will learn. He researched the City of Sebastian through internet searches and the official website. He doesn't use social media. An example where he looked over the horizon in a past position was when he reviewed his current organization's tax abatement guidelines. ii. Rodnev Edwards Mr. Edwards introduced himself and said he accepts criticism very well, he finds that he must just keep moving on and at the end of the day everybody is going to be criticized. In response to how he would handle an ethical situation, Mr. Edwards said in his private practice, sometimes the clients can't make payment so the family will step in with the funds and ask to be briefed on the case which is prohibited with attorney client privilege. In another instance, a developer tried to bribe the council which was also prohibited. He said it has always been his practice to meet with Council prior to a meeting to make sure they are on the "same sheet of music." He said he researched the City through the information provided by Colin Baenziger, discussions with former City Attorney Jim Stokes, the website, Google searches and he has been watching the Council meetings since December. He said he has a very strong work ethic, he can be found working until 7-8 pm at night, he believes in a collaborative approach and investing in employees with what they are doing. He said he has worked on a lot of inter -local agreements between the City of West Melbourne and Palm Bay. In his first 90 days on the job, he would look to meet with the Council Members and Department Heads to see what their expectations were. iii. John Anastasio Mr. Anastasio said he looked at city government as being closest to the people so the attorney has to be human centered. He promised to treat each council member Sebastian City Council Workshop & Special Meeting City Attorney Interviews and Selection May 5, 2023 Page 3 equally on a daily basis. He said he likes to look how the short term solutions will affect the long term, for example how the annexation will affect the long term. He hoped to take a multi -disciplinary approach as the City Attorney to the reactive culture. With regard to work ethic, he said there has to be a work/life balance. He will work 24 hours straight to meet an objective for his client but a lot of what he plans to do is work on relations to avoid litigation and protracted contract negotiations. He will try to answer questions but it is a simple function of planning. He will reach out to the members prior to the Council meetings. With regard to the limited secretarial support to be offered by the City, Mr. Anastasio said he might want to use his budgeted medical benefits to hire part time staff or upgrade technology. During his first 90 days he would develop contacts throughout the City, handle emergencies and review the Charter by meeting with the department heads and Council members. To build on his strength and find those to enhance his weaknesses, he described how he was drafting a contract to establish a brokerage for boats and he used outside help for the framework to build trust between the owner and the workers because he finds the human element makes it work. Mr. Anastasio said he chose to apply at Sebastian because the City is interesting and he has been monitoring the annexation that will create a tax base to reduce the burden on the residents. He said he welcomes criticism because it is all a learning process. He will listen and analyze it to see if it makes sense because if you stop listening to others, you become silo(ed). With regard to ethics, it is a way of life —right or wrong. After he tries to work out the problem he would come to Council for direction. He asked if anyone could think of a reason why he wouldn't want the job, during the one-on-one interviews, he said the Council Members seemed likeable, which is the first element of trust. If Council wanted to pursue a course of action that is not proven, he would recommend a summary execution, and then he would sit down and persuade them to do otherwise. However, the chance of that occurring would be slim to none because he they would be working as a team with an established relationship. Sebastian City Council Workshop & Special Meeting City Attorney Interviews and Selection May 5, 2023 Page 4 1:34 pm He concluded by saying if Council was interested in picking a City Attorney with a different way of practicing law, he was their choice. Discussion followed on the possibility of Mr. Edwards running for judge again and it was recalled that when he interviewed for the "interim city attorney" position he stated he was not interested in running again. Ms. Cockcroft was not present due to an issue that developed at the hotel. Mayor Jones recessed the meeting until 3:20 p.m. iv. Jennifer Cockcroft Mayor Jones reconvened the workshop at 3:20 p.m. and Ms. Cockcroft introduced herself. She said she was a member of the Florida and Georgia Bar and had experience in various capacities as a municipal lawyer. She said during her first 90 days she would like to establish a good relationship with the Council Members and staff, find out priorities and goals, and review anything pending. She has worked on many inter -local agreements with Osceola County, the City of Kissimmee, Seminole County, the City of Oviedo and the City of Palm Bay. She would be devoted to meeting the needs of Council and making sure all of the needs are taken care of. With regard to how she would recommend a different course of action, if she felt that Council wanted to pursue something she thought wasn't prudent, she said she would meet individually with the Council Members to explain the pitfalls and offer a better course of action. She researched the City of Sebastian by visiting the website with their bios and local newspapers and watched several of the Council meetings. She said her experience and personality would make her a good fit for the City. She said she accepts criticism and appreciates knowing when she does something wrong. Ms. Cockcroft said she would have to give 30 days' notice with her current employer in addition to completing a current project with a client in Osceola County that will take till the end of May. 5. Mayor Jones adjourned the City Council Workshop at 3:32 p.m Sebastian City Council Workshop & Special Meeting City Attorney Interviews and Selection May 5, 2023 Page 5 6. Mayor Jones reconvened the Special City Council Meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. 7. Roll Call Mayor Fred Jones Vice Mayor Chris Nunn Council Member Kelly Dixon Council Member Ed Dodd Council Member Bob McPartlan Staff Present: City Manager Paul Carlisle City Clerk Jeanette Williams Human Resources Manager Cindy Watson Deputy Police Chief Greg Witt Also Present: Colin Baenziger, Colin Baenziger & Associates 8. Discuss and Select New Citv Attomev Colin Baenziger recapped that a reception was held the previous night to get to know the candidates, one-on-one interviews were held this morning and at this point if Council was ready, it was time to make a selection. He distributed ballots to each Council Member and asked them to place a check mark next to their top two choices. The following choices were recorded Dodd Dixon Jones McPartlan Nunn Total Anastasio 1 1 1 3 Cockcroft 1 1 1 3 Edwards 1 1 2 Latimer 0 Ventura 1 1 2 Mr. Baenziger read the results and announced there was a tie between Mr. Anastasio and Ms. Cockcroft. He suggested they could talk about it or go to a second ballot. It was the consensus of Council to vote a second ballot. Dodd Dixon Jones McPartlan Nunn Total Anastasio 1 1 2 Cockcroft 1 1 1 3 Edwards 0 Latimer 0 Ventura 0 Sebastian City Council Workshop & Special Meeting City Attorney Interviews and Selection May 5, 2023 Page 6 Mr. Baenziger announced that Ms. Cockcroft was their choice with Mr. Anastasio was their second choice and recommended making a motion to that effect. MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Mayor Jones to move that Jennifer Cockcroft is their selected choice and John Anastasio is their second choice if they can't reach a contractual agreement. Council Member McPartlan said if the first choice fell through, he would like to have a discussion on the candidates. Council Member Dodd offered to withdraw his motion if it was the consensus of Council to reconsider the candidate. Mr. Baenziger suggested they consider the first candidate and reconvene if the contract negotiations fell through. Council Member Dodd withdrew his MOTION and Mayor Jones withdrew his SECOND. MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Mayor Jones to offer the City Attorney position to Jennifer Cockcroft and have Mayor Jones enter contract negotiations with her. Roll call: Vice Mayor Nunn - aye Council Member Dixon - aye Council Member Dodd - aye Council Member McPartlan - aye Mayor Jones - aye Motion carried. 5-0 Council Member McPartlan advised that he is planning to have surgery on May 23 and may not be available for the May 20 Council meeting and asked if anything is anticipated, could it be pushed back to the June meeting. 9. Being no further business, Mayor Jones adjourned the Special Meeting at 5:13 p.m. Approved at the May 24, 2023 Regular City Council Meeting. Mayor Fred Jones ATTEST: J4 ette Williams, Ci rk Sebastian Straw Preference Poll RE: City Attorney Candidates May 5, 2023 Please place a check mark next to your top 2 choices to become your next City Attorney. 1 John Anastasio 2 Jennifer Cockcroft 3 Rodney Edwards 4 Jackson Latimer 5 Ralph Ventura Submitted by (please place a mark next to your name): Dodd ❑ Dixon ❑ Jones ❑ McPartlan ❑ Nunn Sebastian Straw Preference Poll RE: City Attorney Candidates May 5, 2023 Please place a check mark next to your top 2 choices to become your next City Attorney. 1 John Anastasio v 2 Jennifer Cockcroft 3 Rodney Edwards 4 Jackson Latimer 5 Ralph Ventura Submitted by (please place a mark next to your name): ❑ Dodd Dixon ❑ Jones ❑ McPartlan ❑ Nunn Sebastian Straw Preference Poll RE: City Attorney Candidates May 5, 2023 Please place a check mark next to your top 2 choices to become your next City Attorney. Candidate Select 1 John Anastasio 2 Jennifer Cockcroft Iz 3 Rodney Edwards 4 Jackson Latimer 5 Ralph Ventura Submitted by (please place a mark next to your name): ElDodd ❑ Dixon Cad Jones ❑ McPartlan ❑ Nunn Sebastian Straw Preference Poll RE: City Attorney Candidates May 5, 2023 Please place a check mark next to your top 2 choices to become your next City Attorney. I 1 John Anastasio 2 Jennifer Cockcroft 3 Rodney Edwards 4 Jackson Latimer 5 Ralph Ventura ✓ Submitted by (please place a mark next to your name): ❑ Dodd ❑ Dixon ❑ Jones f McPartlan ❑ Nunn Z, 1 Sebastian Straw Preference Poll RE: City Attorney Candidates May 5, 2023 Please place a check mark next to your top 2 choices to become your next City Attorney. 1 John Anastasio 2 Jennifer Cockcroft 3 Rodney Edwards 4 Jackson Latimer 5 Ralph Ventura J Submitted by (please place a mark next to your name): ❑ Dodd ❑ Dixon ❑ Jones ❑ McPartlan X Nunn Sebastian Summary of Preferences for City Attorney Finalists, Round # May 05, 2023 Anastasio Cockcroft Edwards Latimer 0 Ventura I 'K Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 Compiled by: Sebastian Straw Preference Poll RE: City Attorney Candidates May 5, 2023 Please place a check mark next to your top 2 choices to become your next City Attorney. Candidate Select 1 John Anastasio 2 Jennifer Cockcroft 3 Rodney Edwards 4 Jackson Latimer 5 Ralph Ventura Submitted by (please place a mark next to your name): ❑ Dodd ❑ Dixon ❑ Jones ❑ McPartlanNunn %C J Sebastian Straw Preference Poll RE: City Attorney Candidates May 5, 2023 Please place a check mark next to your top 2 choices to become your next City Attorney. 1 John Anastasio 2 Jennifer Cockcroft L� 3 Rodney Edwards 4 Jackson Latimer 5 Ralph Ventura Submitted by (please place a mark next to your name): ❑ Dodd ❑ Dixon ❑ Jones E9 -K1cPartlan ❑ Nunn Sebastian Straw Preference Poll RE: City Attorney Candidates May 5, 2023 Please place a check mark next to your top 2 choices to become your next City Attorney. Candidate 1 John Anastasio 2 Jennifer Cockcroft 3 Rodney Edwards 4 Jackson Latimer 5 Ralph Ventura Submitted by (please place a mark next to your name): ❑ Dodd f7 Dixon ❑ Jones ❑ McPartlan ❑ Nunn Sebastian Straw Preference Poll RE: City Attorney Candidates May 5, 2023 Please place a check mark next to your top 2 choices to become your next City Attorney. 1 John Anastasio 2 Jennifer Cockcroft All 3 Rodney Edwards 4 Jackson Latimer 5 Ralph Ventura Submitted by (please place a mark next to your name): Dodd ❑ Dixon ❑ Jones ❑ McPartlan ❑ Nunn Sebastian Straw Preference Poll RE: City Attorney Candidates May 5, 2023 Please place a check mark next to your top 2 choices to become your next City Attorney. Candidate Select 1 John Anastasio 2 Jennifer Cockcroft 3 Rodney Edwards 4 Jackson Latimer 5 Ralph Ventura Submitted by (please place a mark next to your name): ❑ Dodd ❑ Dixon fa" Jones ❑ McPartlan ❑ Nunn Sebastian Summary of Preferences for City Attorney Finalists, Round # Compiled by. May 05, 2023