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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-12-2025 CC MinutesLin o SST" HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND SEBASTIAN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025 — 6:00 P.M. CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA Mayor McPartlan called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. A moment of silence was held. Council Member Nunn led the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. ROLL CALL Mayor Bob McPartlan Vice Mayor Fred Jones Council Member Ed Dodd Council Member Chris Nunn Excused Council Member Kelly Dixon Staff Present: City Manager Brian Benton City Attorney Jennifer Cockcroft City Clerk Jeanette Williams City Engineer/Special Projects Director Karen Miller Finance Director Brian Stewart Community Development Director Alix Bernard Community Development Manager Dom Bosworth Parks and Recreation Director Richard Blankenship Sebastian Environmental Technician Felicia Gordian Public Works Director Lee Plourde Human Resources Director Cindy Watson Airport Manager Jeff Sabo Communications/Social Media Coordinator Avery Joens Chief Daniel Acosta Lt. Dino Savvidis 5. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS — None Regular City Council Meeting February 12, 2025 Page 2 6. PROCLAMATIONS. AWARDS. BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENTS 25.020 A. Proclamation - Invasive Species Awareness Week - February 24th - 28th. 2025 - Donna Halleran. Pelican Island Audubon Societv, and Felicia Gordian. Citv of Sebastian Environmental Technician Mayor McPartlan read the proclamation highlighting the importance of preventing the growth of invasive species. The City Environmental Technician said that over 200 pounds of air potatoes were removed at the Great Air Potato Roundup and reminded everyone that air potatoes are toxic and not edible for people or pets. Ms. Halleran from the Pelican Island Audubon Society was thankful to partner with the City on the Great Air Potato Roundup and noted they were also able to pick up a whole truckload of the air potato vines. She thanked everyone who came to the event. BriefAnnouncements: Friday, February 14 - Chamber of Commerce Finally Friday on Cleveland Street - 6 to 9pm — Penny Creek Band Friday, February 14 - Valentine's Day Bingo - Senior Center - 10am to noon Saturday, February 15 - Sebastian River Art Club - Art by the River - 8am to 4pm Friday, February 21 - Chamber of Commerce Concert in the Park - 5:30 to 8:30pm - St. John's Wood Saturday, March 8 - Free Star Gazing Party in Riverview Park - 6:30 to 9pm Vice Mayor Jones announced the upcoming events. Mayor McPartlan invited Barry Shapiro, also known as the "Sock Guy", to come forward and speak to Council about the Treasure Coast Sock Drive. Mr. Shapiro highlighted that last year they collected over 15,000 pairs of socks which were delivered to 22 chanties for distribution to those in need. They are not a 501(c)(3) organization, but a local group of people who wanted to do some good. There are sock collection boxes up and down the Treasure Coast and they are hoping to collect up to 20,000 pairs of socks this year. Their website is TreasureCoastSockDrive.com. There is a button on the website with an Amazon link and those that want to help can purchase socks on Amazon that will be sent directly to the Treasure Coast Sock Drive. They accept socks for men, women, and children. Compression socks are also helpful. The sock drive continues to the end of the month, but people can help at any time. PUBLIC INPUT Christie spoke about how quickly people are driving down the street that she lives on and that it is not safe for children to be outdoors because of this. She presented Council with signatures of about 60% of people in her immediate area near Layport Drive that would like the speed limit to be reduced. The speed limit where she lives is 30 mph. The City Manager said he knows that a speed study was done in that area, and he will get back to Council and the resident with more information. It had previously been discussed at a staff level to make speed limit changes, and Staff will consider it again. Regular City Council Meeting February 12, 2025 Page 3 8. CONSENT AGENDA A. Consider Approval of January 22, 2025 City Council Minutes Staff Report January 22, 2025 City Council Minutes 25.021 B. Alcohol Beverage Approval — Duffell Family 25.022 C. Alcohol Beverage Approval — Siegfried Family 25.023 D. Alcohol Beverage Approval — Vieyra Family MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Council Member Nunn to approve items A through D passed with a unanimous voice of 4-0. 9. COMMITTEE REPORTS & APPOINTMENTS 25.007 A. Natural Resources Board - Consider Anpointina One Alternate Member The City Clerk said that that Laura Thompson had submitted an application and there are now two alternate member vacancies. Council Member Nunn explained that Sherida Billman had recently resigned from her regular position on the Natural Resources Board so now there is also a vacancy of a regular member position. MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Council Member Nunn to waive the advertising requirement for the regular member position and placement of Laura Thompson in that position. Mayor McPartlan congratulated Ms. Thompson and welcomed her to the Board of Natural Resources. 10. PUBLIC HEARINGS - None 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None 12. NEW BUSINESS 25.024 A. Consideration of Resolution R-25-04 to Accent FDOT Public Transportation Grant Agreement (PTGA) — Engineer & Design Terminal Apron Exnansion The Airport Manager asked for acceptance of a grant from the FDOT that will begin the the design and engineering process to expand parking spaces for aircraft at the Sebastian Municipal Airport Terminal. Because of the flight school and other transient traffic, there are times when all of the 6 parking spaces are full. The Airport would like to be as welcoming as possible and to be able to accommodate any aircraft that comes in. Using this grant, and with some strategic changes to the existing asphalt, the amount of parking spaces for aircraft will be doubled. In negotiations for the project, the FAA had taken an interest in the project since it is for the greater good of the public and they have offered to fund 95% of the cost. Normally a grant provides 80% and the City would be responsible for 20%, or $45,000, which was budgeted for by the City. Thanks to the participation by the FAA and their offer to cover 95% of the cost, along with 2.5% provided through the FDOT grant, the City only needs 2.5%, or $5,750 to double the amount of aircraft parking spaces. Regular City Council Meeting February 12, 2025 Page 4 Council Member Dodd noted that the total amount for the project is $230,000 and asks for clarification on how that full amount would be paid for if a grant did not come through. The Airport Manager explained that the rest of the balance will be covered through the grant provided by the FAA and said the pre -application paperwork is already in hand. Though there is a lot of turmoil going on with the federal government at this time, these are funds that are already allocated for Sebastian. Hopefully by April the City would have the approval from the FAA and confirmation that the funding will come from them. He assured Council that the Airport would not proceed to the bid process until they have the grant funds. MOTION by Council Member Nunn and SECOND by Vice Mayor Jones to approve Resolution R-25-04 which authorizes the acceptance of an FDOT grant that will cover 2.5% of the cost of the design and engineering process to create additional aircraft parking at the Sebastian Municipal Airport, with an anticipated grant from the FAA covering 95% of the project, and the City only needing to provide 2.5% of the total projects costs, or $5,750. Mayor McPartlan asked for public input and there was none. Roll call: Council Member Dodd - aye Council Member Nunn - aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Motion carried. 4-0 25.011 B. Consideration of a Purchase Order for Palm Bay Concrete & Materials Inc.. Not to Exceed $93.154.64. for Concrete Services on North Central Avenue and Authorize the City Manager or Desienee to Execute The City Manager said the repaving of North Central Avenue was not budgeted for but the curbing on this road is pretty cracked and needs to be replaced, as well as the sidewalk on the east side of the road. There is a total of 5,390 feet of sidewalk that needs to be replaced. The City would like to use the remaining DST funds from the Davita Dialysis Sidewalk Project that came in under budget by $114,319. To complete the repaving and the curb replacement will be a total of $93,154.64. MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Council Member Nunn to approve the purchase order for Palm Bay Concrete & Materials Inc to repave and repair curbs on North Central Avenue. Mayor McPartlan asked for public input and there was none. Roll call: Council Member Dodd - aye Council Member Nunn - aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Motion carried. 4-0 Regular City Council Meeting February 12, 2025 Page 5 25.025 C. Consideration of a Purchase Order for Conlon Landscaoine Inc.. Not to Exceed $868.440.00. for Swale Work and Sod Work in Line with Phase 3 Road Ren_ avine and Authorize the Citv Manager or Designee to Execute The City Manager explained that after budget discussions last year they decided to organize needed roadwork in phases, rather than a yearly repaving schedule. This request makes use of funds that are already allocated specifically to swale and sod work within Phase 3. Conlon will be assessing the swales and the amount budgeted is a worst -case scenario, and the City is hopeful that the budgeted amount is more than is actually needed. Council Member Dodd reminded residents that this is part of the City's attempt to address the issues with swale maintenance, but it is still the responsibility of homeowners to maintain the swales on their property, and if they are not maintained they will not work properly and paving work will have to be done more frequently. Thus, Council made the decision to fix swales before doing some of the needed repaving work in order to contain some of the repaving costs that come up again and again. Mayor McPartlan asked if residents were notified that this swale work was being done for them and the City Manager confirmed that is the case. MOTION by Council Member Jones and SECOND by Council Member Nunn to approve the purchase order for Conlon Landscaping for swale and sod work related to Phase 3 road repaving. Mayor McPartlan asked for public input and there was none. Roll call: Council Member Nunn - aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Council Member Dodd - aye Motion carried. 4-0 25.026 D. Presentation on the Citv of Sebastian See My Legacv Memorial Program The Parks and Recreation Director reviewed the details of the See My Legacy Memorial Program, an online platform for memorial programs. He explained that there has been a memorial program within the City for many years but it was all done with paper. It was tough to market, cumbersome, and inefficient. This online platform will enable the City to grow the memorial program and provide control internally over photos and the information that is communicated through memorials. The City will not need a designer and staff will handle the program. The See My Legacy Memorial Program will be accessible through the City website. Through this online platform the City can set up various campaigns, such as the Memorial Bench Program. A campaign has been created, for instance, for the Police Department to recruit volunteers as well as to accept donations. A campaign has also been created to sponsor functional art within the community. Memorials are created through the online platform. For example, the donor can enter the information they want on a bench and pay for it through the platform. If someone does not want to use the platform, they can come into the office and City staff will handle it for them using the platform. Regular City Council Meeting February 12, 2025 Page 6 This memorial program is very unique because it allows more information to be given than just date of birth and death. The plate on the bench will have a QR code. A person can scan the QR code and then they can view all of the information that has been submitted for the memorial. This includes pictures and stories about the loved one, what the platform calls a story card, which really takes the memorial to another level. Once a memorial has been purchased, it will be viewable on a GPS map to help a loved ones to find it. With the approval of Council, the See My Legacy Memorial Program is ready to launched this week. Mayor McPartlan asked if the $1,600 cost was a one-time fee or a yearly fee. The Parks and Recreation Director said the $1,600 was the yearly subscription fee to utilize the See My Legacy platform. Mayor Dodd asked if it will include information about the memorial bricks that have been purchased in the past. The Parks and Recreation Director said the program could include any memorials purchased this year beginning on January 1, 2025. Council Member Nunn said this is an example of modernization that will make things easier and he liked it. MOTION by Council Member Nunn and SECOND by Council Member Jones to approve the See My Legacy Program. Mayor McPartlan asked for public input and there was none. Roll call: Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Council Member Dodd - aye Council Member Nunn - aye Motion carried. 4-0 13. CITY ATTORNEY MATTERS — None. 41NVINUV/ ZF.T61:1 3TI:116#WIM A. Introduction of Finance Director The City Manager welcomed the new Finance Director, Brian Stewart. He has a wealth of experience and will be a help with the budgeting process and maintaining fiscal responsibility within the City. B. Update on Human Trafficking 100% Club Two meetings ago there was a presentation on human trafficking. Prior to the end of January all of the City's current employees completed human trafficking awareness training and the City also implemented a policy that requires all new employees to complete the training during their orientation process. He has submitted an application to the Florida Office of the Attorney General on behalf of the City to join the 100% Club to demonstrate the City's commitment to public Regular City Council Meeting February 12, 2025 Page 7 awareness on human trafficking. The City should be receiving a certificate naming Sebastian as a member of the 100% Club. 15. CITY CLERK MATTERS — None 16. CITY COUNCIL MATTERS A. Council Member Nunn brought up the issue of trailer parking being a concern for residents in Sebastian. In the larger parking lot next to Riverside Park, the CavCorp parking lot, the first three rows closest to the water are for boat trailer parking, but the parking spaces are not marked or designated as being available only for boat trailer parking. There are signs at the Main Street Boat Ramp that say if you park in the boat trailer spaces you may be fined up to $100 based on the Sebastian ordinance. Council Member Nunn said he would like to see more signs being put up in the CavCorp parking lot and more enforcement of the parking ordinance. Perhaps it could start out with warnings. Enforcement could be waived during large events, but the City has an ordinance in place that can be enforced to prevent problems. The City Manager responded that City staff has made a plan to handle this issue at the CavCorp parking lot, but he explained that at the Main Street Boat Ramp, the City was able to install a sign near the curb of every single boat trailer parking space, but this is not possible at the CavCorp parking lot because it is an open parking lot and there are no curb areas within it. Staff has proposed the installation of signs at all four entrances to the parking lot identifying boat trailer parking only in designated spots per the City ordinance and outlining there is a fine of up to $100 for not following the ordinance. Also, pavement markings have been installed at the Main Street Boat Ramp at the entrance to each parking space. This is black outline with white lettering on the pavement that clearly identifies the space is available only for boats and boat trailers. The City is also looking at the cost and a timeframe for providing the same pavements markings in the CavCorp parking lot. The City Manager noted there will also need to be some education and public announcements to notify people that they cannot park in the spots that are reserved for the boat trailers. He will be working with the Police Department to establish a warning system and enforcement of the City ordinance. B. Council Member Dixon - Absent C. Council Member Dodd said he would like to know where the boat trailers come from, whether they are Sebastian residents or people from other locations. He would like to be cautious about the City enforcing $100 fines and thinks the complaints may not be coming from Sebastian residents. License plates could be checked to see if the issue originates with Sebastian residents or people from out of town. Part of revamping Riverview Park could involve changes to the parking area, and he suggested instead of charging residents $100, maybe the City should charge nonresidents to use the parking spaces. Regular City Council Meeting February 12, 2025 Page 8 D. Vice Mayor Jones agreed that parking issues would be addressed with the revamping of Riverview Park, and he would like to consider nonresidents having to pay for use of parking spaces. If nonresidents are bringing in trailers, the City can require them to put stickers on their trailers and charge for them. The City Manager asked if there was a consensus from Council for the City to look into charging nonresidents for parking since it has now been brought up by two Council Members. There was a consensus from Council. E. Mayor McPartlan noted that the parking really becomes an issue maybe just three or four times a year when the weather warms up and there are more events. He hopes the City does not have to start charging $100 fines. He thanked all of the City staff that he saw at Riverview Park last weekend. He noted how friendly several guys from Parks and Recreation and Stormwater were and how well they interacted with the public. He also mentioned that the MIS did a fantastic job with the video of the Four Chaplains Memorial Event and how much the audio and video quality has improved in recent years. 17. Being no further business, Mayor McPartlan adjourned the Regular City Council meeting at 6:46 p.m. Approved at the February 26, 2025 Regular City Council meeting. y � --- ATTEST: = anette Williams, City Clerk = - To Sebastian City Council, We, the undersigned residents of Layport Dr and surrounding streets in Sebastian, respectfully petition the City Council to change the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph and install speed bumps on the blind curves to slow traffic down. The current speed limit is dangerously high for an area with heavy foot traffic, including children and dog walkers, especially during peak hours and weekends. We believe this change will enhance pedestrian safety and benefit the entire community. We respectfully urge the council to act promptly on this request for the well-being of our residents. Listen to the people of this community in which you serve. Thank you for your time and consideration. 'sty Molledo 698 Layport Dr W(Oe-r� VAArcW.5 2. Uv 4Vor f PR, L-0 © �O'CAA'b PO�foci- �-Cxwlfut� u�� �y I r- M To Sebastian City Council, We, the undersigned residents of Layport Dr and surrounding streets in Sebastian, respectfiilly petition the City Council to change the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph and install speed bumps on the blind curves to slow traffic down. The current speed limit is dangerously high for an area with heavy foot traffic, including children and dog walkers, especially during peak hours and weekends. We believe this change will enhance pedestrian safety and benefit the entire community. We respectfully urge the council to act promptly on this request for the well-being of our residents. Listen to the people of this community in which you serve. Thank you for your time and consideration. ///- lI" w Lck\ �f- 17 lvNtwen j5►oEP- Devon Nodo Isk.' 5,45&-1 P(A\� t U for t 0-11V a oLlks s 144, FbP--r PI- Lo-jporl-�� �Oq20�Sco�f6f