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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-26-2025 CC MinutesMy OF SEmod AST �N HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND SEBASTIAN CITY COUNCIL & COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2025 — 6:00 P.M. CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA 1. Mayor McPartlan called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. A moment of silence was held. 3. Vice Mayor Jones led the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. ROLL CALL Mayor Bob McPartlan Vice Mayor Fred Jones Council Member Kelly Dixon Council Member Ed Dodd Council Member Chris Nunn Staff Present: City Manager Brian Benton City Clerk Jeanette Williams City Attorney Jennifer Cockcroft Finance Director/CFO Brian Stewart City Engineer/Special Projects Director Karen Miller Community Development Director Alix Bernard Community Development Manager DOM Bosworth Parks and Recreation Director Richard Blankenship Public Works Director Lee Plourde Human Resources Director Cindy Watson Communications/Social Media Coordinator Avery Joens MIS Manager Barbara Brooke -Reese Lt. Constantine Savvidis Mayor McPartlan recessed the regular City Council meeting at 6:02 for the Attorney -Client Session. 5. CONVENE ATTORNEY -CLIENT SESSION A. Gilliams v. City of Sebastian. Case Number 24-AP-02 Forthe record, Mayor McPartlan read that Council would conduct an Attorney -Client Session in accordance with F.S.286.011(8) in regard to pending litigation in the case of Gilliams vs. City of Sebastian, Case No. 24-AP-02 in accordance with a request made at the March 12, 2025 Regular City Council Meeting by City Attorney Jennifer Cockcroft. The estimated length of time for the attorney -client session would be about 30 minutes. Regular City Council & CRA Meeting March 26, 2025 Page 2 The names of persons attending the attorney -client session included Mayor Bob McPartlan, Vice Mayor Fred Jones, Council Member Kelly Dixon, Council Member Ed Dodd, Council Member Chris Nunn, City Attorney Jennifer Cockcroft, Special Counsel Andrew W. Mai, City Manager Brian Benton and a Certified Court Reporter. The attendees exited the Chambers to convene in the second -floor conference room. 6. Mayor McPartlan announced the termination of the Attorney -Client Session and reconvened the regular City Council meeting at 6:33 p.m. 7. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS - None 8. PROCLAMATIONS. AWARDS, BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENTS 25.058 A. Presentation of First Pitch Baseballs to Mavor McPartlan, Vice Mavor Jones, Council Member Dixon by the Sebastian River Area Little Leaaue. President Jason Patterson, Plaver Aaent Ashlev Wriaht, and Treasurer Amber Cerda Treasurer Amber Cerda thanked Council for their support and Player Ashley Wright with young Luke presented the first pitched baseballs to Mayor McPartlan, Vice Mayor Jones, and Council Member Dixon. Mayor McPartlan wished them a wonderful season. 25.059 B. Presentation by Cindy Diamond and Debbie Schoonover. Traa-Neuter-Vaccinate- Return Camr)aian of Indian River Countv Cindy Diamond reviewed the Trap -Neuter -Vaccinate -Return (TNVR) program for feral cats and asked for the support of Sebastian when they take this proposed program to Indian River County. Ms. Diamond and her colleague, Debbie Schoonover, are both active volunteers at the Humane Society, but they are encouraging the creation of a Trap -Neuter -Vaccine -Return program as concerned citizens. As the population increases, there are more cats that are abandoned, and this program is the most effective way to control the population of feral cats. Currently TNVR programs are not legal in Indian River County, though it is legal in two-thirds of Florida Counties. Without a TNVR program, many cats will be prey for coyotes or will be euthanized. Cats yowling, fighting, and spraying urine are behaviors that are minimized when cats are neutered or spayed. One female cat has the potential to have up to 84 kittens over the course of her life. Their goal of establishing this program is to provide free TNVR services to the community. BriefAnnouncements: Friday, March 28 - Chamber of Commerce Concert in the Park - 5.30pm to 8pm - Tom MocLeor and Renele Saturday, March 29 - National Vietnam War Veterans Memorial Day Observance in Riverview Park at the Veterans Memorial - 11 am to I I.45om Vice Mayor Jones announced the upcoming events. 9. PUBLIC INPUT - None Regular City Council & CRA Meeting March 26, 2025 Page 3 Mayor McPartlan recessed the regular City Council meeting at 6:55 and opened the Community Redevelopment Agency meeting. 10. COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY A. Consider Draft February 26, 2025 CRA Minutes MOTION by Mr. Nunn and SECOND by Ms. Dixon to approve the February 26, 2025 CRA minutes. Roll call: Vice Chairman Jones - aye Ms. Dixon - aye Mr. Dodd - aye Mr. Nunn - aye Chairman McPartlan - aye Motion carried 5-0. B. Consider Annroval of the Annual Riverfront Communitv Redevelopment Association Report for Fiscal Year 2023/2024 The Community Development Director said this is the annual report that has to be sent to Indian River County by March 31" of every year and it details the activities for the past 12 months. MOTION by Vice Chairman Jones and SECOND by Mr. Nunn to approve the Annual Riverfront Community Redevelopment Association Report for Fiscal Year 2023/2024. Chairman McPartlan asked if anyone from the public or on Zoom wanted to speak on this item and no one responded. Roll call: Ms. Dixon - aye Mr. Dodd - aye Mr. Nunn - aye Chairman McPartlan - aye Vice Chairman Jones - aye Motion carried 5-0. 25.047 C. Consider Adoption of a Resolution for a Florida Inland Naviaation District Grant (FIND) for the Construction of Swina and Bench Park The Community Development Director explained that staff have been seeking funding from FIND for this park and it is in alignment with the Community Redevelopment Agency Master Plan. MOTION by Vice Chairman Jones and SECOND by Mr. Nunn to approve Resolution No. R-25-08 for the construction of the Swing and Bench Park. The City Manager added that City staff are still working on applying for additional grants in order to reduce the contributions from the CRA budget for this item. Chairman McPartlan asked public input and there was none. Roll call: Mr. Dodd - aye Mr. Nunn - aye Chairman McPartlan - aye Vice Chairman Jones - aye Regular City Council & CRA Meeting March 26, 2025 Page 4 Ms. Dixon - aye Motion carried 5-0. 25.029 D. Consider Adoption of a Resolution for a Florida Inland Navia_ ation District Grant (FIND) for the Dredaina of the Main Street Boat Ramp Area The Community Development Director reviewed that Main Street boat ramp is near the Swing and Bench Park and this will improve infrastructure and drainage for the waterfront parks and public spaces in accordance with the CRA Master Plan. The grant match would come from the CRA budget. Mr. Nunn said he was very happy this is moving forward. He knows this is work that is very needed at the boat ramp. MOTION by Mr. Nunn and SECOND by Ms. Dixon to approve Resolution No. R-25-06 for the dredging of the Main Street boat ramp. Chairman McPartlan asked for public input and there was none. Roll call: Mr. Nunn -aye Chairman McPartlan - aye Vice Chairman Jones - aye Ms. Dixon - aye Mr. Dodd -aye Motion carried 5-0. 25.029 E. Consider Approval of Resolution R-25-10. ADDrovina an Application for a Florida Boatina Improvement Proaram Grant for Main Street Boat RamD Dredaina and Improvements Alona with Reauired Matchina Fundina and Authoritv to Execute The Community Development Director explained that this grant would also help with the cost of the dredging at the Main Street boat ramp and is in alignment with the CRA Master Plan. Vice Chairman Jones stated this is important because it makes ingress and egress at the boat ramp safer which has been a concern for those using the boat ramp. MOTION by Mr. Nunn and SECOND by Vice Chairman Jones to approve Resolution R-25-10 and the application for the Florida Boating Improvement Program Grant for the Main Street boat ramp dredging and improvements. Chairman McPartlan asked for public input on this issue and there was none. Roll call: Chairman McPartlan - aye Vice Chairman Jones - aye Ms. Dixon - aye Mr. Dodd - aye Mr. Nunn - aye Motion carried 5-0. Mayor McPartlan adjourned the CRA meeting and reconvened the regular City Council meeting at 7:01 p.m. 11. CONSENT AGENDA 25.048 A. Alcohol Beverage Approval - Bedolla Family Regular City Council & CRA Meeting March 26, 2025 Page 5 25.049 B. Alcohol Beverage Approval - Faulkner Family 25.050 C. Alcohol Beverage Approval - Picardi Family 25.051 D. Consideration of Beer Being Sold at the Earth Day Event in Riverview Park on Saturday, April 26, 2025 25.052 E. Consideration of Waiving Rental Fees and Approval of Road Closures for Programs and Events as Detailed 25.053 F. Request for Authorization to Sign Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 25.054 G. Consideration of the Annual Riverfront Community Redevelopment Association Report for Fiscal year 2023/2024 25.029 H. Consider Adoption of FIND Resolution No. R-25-06 for a Florida Inland Navigation District Grant for the Dredging of the Main Street Boat Ramp Area 25.044 I. Consider Adoption of Resolution R-25-07 for a Florida Inland Navigation District Grant for the Construction of Phase One of the Riverview Park Master Plan 25.047 J. Consideration of FIND Resolution R-25-08 for a Florida Inland Navigation District Grant Application Submittal for the Construction of Swing and Bench Park, Provide Required Matching Funding and Authority to Execute 25.044 K. Consider Adoption of Resolution R-25-10 for a Florida Boating Improvement Program Grant for Main Street Boat Ramp Dredging and Improvements Council Member Dodd asked to pull item F. Council Member Dixon asked to pull item E. MOTION by Council Member Dixon and SECOND by Vice Mayor Jones to approve items A, B, C, D, G, H, I, J, and K. Roll call: Vice Mayor Jones - aye Council Member Dixon - aye Council Member Dodd -aye Council Member Nunn -aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Motion carried 5-0. Item E - Consideration of Waivina Rental Fees and ADDroval of Road Closures for Programs and Events as Detailed Council Member Dixon wanted to highlight that additional youth events are being added to the City calendar. The Parks and Recreation Director confirmed that they are trying diligently to provide programs that are appealing to young people and the younger families. For instance, the Junior Tennis Tournament, for boys and girls 12 and under, has recently been added. Also, the i9 Sports League provides flag football, soccer and baseball for boys and girls ages 3 to 13. City staff have been diligently looking for programs with qualified instructors to provide more options to residents. There was also a Pickleball Clinic held last week for youth and there is another one coming up this week for adults. Regular City Council & CRA Meeting March 26, 2025 Page 6 Council Member Dixon noted this is part of the City's Strategic Plan and she is glad this is happening. Council Member Nunn commented on how there are a lot of families in Sebastian, even though people do not realize it. MOTION by Council Member Dixon and SECOND by Vice Mayor Jones to approve item E, waiving rental fees and the approval of road closures for the programs and events detailed in the agenda backup. Mayor McPartlan asked for public input and there was none. Roll call: Council Member Dixon - aye Council Member Dodd - aye Council Member Nunn -aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Motion carried 5-0. Item F - Reauest for Authorization to Sian Memorandum of Aareement (MOA) with Department of Homeland Security Immiaration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Council Member Dodd commented that he does not have an issue with the agreement, but it states the local government bears the cost of this. He recommends that the City Manager look for ways to potentially get some costs reimbursed or recouped for activities that are done for ICE that go beyond normal policing responsibilities of the City, including making a record of what those additional responsibilities will be for the City. He does not see it as a problem to take on this work and these responsibilities, but he sees this as an unfunded mandate upon local governments and he would like the City to get some funding if and when becomes available. The City Manager said he would have a discussion with the Police Chief about this so the costs can be tracked. There have been state funds allocated through an assistance program to provide training, which will be virtual and will take officers away from their daily policing duties during the training. He will make sure a record of all of that kept and that all of the costs are tracked. MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Council Member Dixon to approve item F, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the City of Sebastian Police Department executed by Sebastian Police Chief Daniel Acosta. 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 Council Member Dixon - aye Motion carried 5-0. 12. COMMITTEE REPORTS & APPOINTMENT - None Regular City Council & CRA Meeting March 26, 2025 Page 7 13. PUBLIC HEARINGS - None 14. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None 15. NEW BUSINESS 25.025 A. Consider Purchase Orders for Asphalt Pavina Svstems. Not to Exceed 51,477,223.45, for Phase 3 Road Repavina and Authorize the Citv Manaaer or Desianee to Execute The Public Works Director stated this will finalize Phase 3 of the road repaving and complete the preservation work, in addition to the improvements on Barber Street. MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Council Member Nunn to approve the purchase orders for Asphalt Paving Systems for the Phase 3 road repaving. Chairman McPartlan asked for public input and there was none. Mayor McPartlan commended staff on how much road work they have gotten done and how many roads have been repaved. He said they have done an incredible job. Council Member Nunn pointed out that this work was fully budgeted and planned for years, and he is very happy that it is happening. Roll call: Council Member Nunn -aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Council Member Dixon - aye Council Member Dodd -aye Motion carried 5-0. 25.055 B. Consider adoption of Resolution R-25-09 for a Florida Inland Navigation District Grant for the Expansion of the Working Waterfront District, Approve Reauired Matchina Fundina and Provide Authoritv to Execute The City Manager explained that the City had previously applied for an Florida Communities Trust (FCT) grant with regard to the Working Waterfront. FCT had a site visit this week with staff. They have been looking for additional funding to make it possible to purchase the Sembler property to add to the Working Waterfront, so staff has decided to also apply for this FIND grant. MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Council Member Dixon to approve Resolution No. R-25-09 for a FIND grant to be used to expand the Working Waterfront. Mayor McPartlan asked for public input and there was none. Roll call: Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Council Member Dixon - aye Council Member Dodd - aye Council Member Nunn -aye Motion carried 5-0. 25.056 C. Consider Resolution No. R-25-11 for the Creation of a Purchase Order for Motorola Solutions. Inc. in the Amount of 592.238 to Provide Public Safetv Communications Regular City Council & CRA Meeting March 26, 2025 Page 8 The City Manager explained that approval of R-25-11 and the purchase order will provide public safety communications and security equipment at City Hall. He noted that there will be additional requests in this year's budget to provide additional security for other campus locations, but this request is to specifically improve security at City Hall and the adjacent parking areas. Vice Mayor Jones asked the Mayor, the City Manager, and the City Attorney if they needed to announce the change to R-25-11 while they are in the public meeting. The City Attorney explained for the record that there is a scrivener's error in the title of R-25-11. The title should read: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA, APPROVING A PIGGYBACK CONTRACT WITH MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS, INC. (rather than Shenandoah General Construction, LLC) FOR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS AND IN SUBSTANTIAL CONFORMITY WITH THE AGREEMENT ATTACHED HERETO AND MADE A PART HEREOF AS "EXHBIT A"; ADOPTION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION by Vice Mayor Jones and SECOND by Council Member Dodd to approve Resolution No. R-25-11, with the correction of the scrivener's error, and the purchase order for Motorola Solutions, Inc. Mayor McPartlan asked for public input and there was none. Roll call: Vice Mayor Jones - aye Council Member Dixon - aye Council Member Dodd -aye Council Member Nunn -aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Motion carried 5-0. 16. CITY ATTORNEY MATTERS 25.057 A. Special Magistrate Aareement for Services under FS Chaoter 162, Code Enforcement The City Attorney stated that during the September 11, 2024 Council meeting there had been a discussion on whether Council would like to continue using a Special Magistrate or if theywould like to consider having a Code Enforcement Board. After that discussion, Council had given direction to the City Attorney to solicit for a new Special Magistrate. Mr. Kelley Armitage has been the Special Magistrate for the past 11 years through a year-to-year contract. The City Attorney explained that there is a limited pool of candidates who can be considered to be a Special Magistrate because the Special Magistrate is a position of the state and it is an office subject to ethical obligations, just like City Council, and a qualified attorney can only be the Special Magistrate for one jurisdiction. She had asked for proposals from local government lawyers within Brevard and Indian River County. She received one proposal from an attorney, Ms. Robyn Hattaway, who has experience on the Port Canaveral Authority Board, as well as experience with contract and government law. Regular City Council & CRA Meeting March 26, 2025 Page 9 Other options for Council to consider are the utilization of a Code Enforcement Board or continue the contract with the current Special Magistrate. The attorney that provided the proposal charges $400 an hour for her services as Special Magistrate. This is high compared to the current contract with Mr. Armitage at $150 an hour, but current market rates for attorneys can be up to $700 to $800 an hour. The rate of $400 an hour is reasonable for a government attorney, and that is the rate of the litigation attorney that the City currently utilizes. A letter has been drafted if Council decides to terminate the contract with Mr. Armitage, and if they go that route, she requested direction on who would sign that letter, either the Mayor or the City Manager. Council Member Dodd stated does not have a problem with continuing the contract with Mr. Armitage, but he would like to see if there is a consensus from Council to ask staff to pull and review our entire Code enforcement procedures so that we have an opportunity to review the way that Code enforcement cases are being handled. He is not at all questioning our Code Enforcement Officers, and stated that he knows they are doing a great job. But he would like to continue the contract with Mr. Armitage while staff and Council have a chance to look at the overall process. He is not sure that everything is done that should be done with regards to Code enforcement. He has had conversations with officials at other cities, and they have more effective procedures within their Code enforcement process. Council Member Nunn said he feels the same as Council Member Dodd. He has also spoken to many city leaders throughout the state over the past years and our system is very lax compared to others. He agrees that the process should be evaluated. It seems like the City has a very long, drawn out process that gives so many chances. It seems to take forever to get nowhere. Other cities are getting things done because they have much stiffer enforcement. Vice Mayor Jones was not expressing disagreement with Council Member Dodd or Council Member Nunn, but he reminded Council that the issue before them right now is whether or not to move forward with the current Special Magistrate, to get someone else, or utilize a Code Enforcement Board. He has been present for the majority of the Special Magistrate Hearings over the last year, and he has not been satisfied with how things are going. He thinks it is time to move in a different direction with a new Special Magistrate and then move forward with the recommendations of Council Member Dodd and Nunn to evaluate the Code enforcement process and let the new Special Magistrate be a part of the changes that might be made. Council Member Dodd said that one issue is the timing of doing an evaluation. This would not be a two or three-week process. He is not opposed to continuing with Mr. Armitage continuing to be the Special Magistrate during this time. He thinks we might need to authorize the funds to have the City Manager bring in an outside person to evaluate our process. He does not know if the City Attorney feels such an evaluation is within the scope of her expertise. This is not within the budget right now. Council Member Nunn reminded Council there was a third option that has not yet been discussed which was utilizing a Code Enforcement Board. He thinks we should talk about a board or take it off the table. Council Member Dodd said he was the Chair of the Code Enforcement Board for three years, and there are pros and cons to be considered. A Special Magistrate is a better authority, as far as the courts and the state are concerned, than a Code Enforcement Board. The Special Regular City Council & CRA Meeting March 26, 2025 Page 10 Magistrate is a state -sanctioned authority and not just a citizen board. If we use a citizen board, then the City Attorney becomes the attorney of the citizen board. He said this was discussed in the past when Jim Stokes was the City Attorney five years ago, but when he left, the matter did not get picked up again. Mayor McPartlan agreed with doing an evaluation since Council needs to know the processes and the timelines in order to make a good decision about continuing to use a Special Magistrate or using a Code Enforcement Board. Vice Mayor Jones asked if matters would be handled at the County Court and not here in Sebastian if a Code Enforcement Board was used. The City Attorney explained a Code Enforcement Board could make decisions instead of the Magistrate. It would be similar to other City boards that are staffed by volunteers who meet once a month. There are definitely pros and cons to both. The con to using a Magistrate is it feels more like a courtroom setting and it makes people feel confused, feeling like they are before a judge. With a Code Enforcement Board decisions would be made by citizens from the community based on the facts and their experience and they do not usually get into playing a lawyer. With the Special Magistrate, he only has the authority to determine if the Code is being violated, and if it is, then the matter goes to the courthouse. Decisions by a Code Board can be appealed to the court as well, but the hearings would be like any other City boards that are held in the Council chambers. Council Member Dodd said that he thinks there is a tendency among the Code Enforcement Officers to not bring things before the Special Magistrate, perhaps because they view it as a court setting. There are code violations that go on and on and we need to evaluate our process and figure out how to make the violations stop. He does not want to become too strict, but he does not want things to go on and on and on with a matter never being addressed. The City Attorney stated she does not want to kick the can down the road even further. Hiring consultants and doing studies takes a lot of time. The goal is compliance. Whichever way they decide on things, funds will need to be appropriated. Council Member Dodd said that we are not getting compliance. Council Member Nunn asked if Council feels that the Magistrate is not as effective because of the Code or is it because the Magistrate is not as effective as he should be. Council Member Dodd said he thinks it is more of a problem with the process. Council Member Dixon said we do not know if the process is the problem since they have not changed the Magistrate. Council Member Dodd pointed out there are hundreds of violations seen in their quarterly report and only three of them have gone before the Special Magistrate within four months. The City Attorney explained that she gets a docket from the Clerk at the beginning of the month with the initial number of cases on it. It will generally be anywhere from around 10 to 20 cases. By the time that the hearing comes around, it has been narrowed down to two or three cases because they come into compliance. Council Member Dodd gave an example of having violated a Code by having something in his yard that is now allowed. The Code Enforcement Officer tells him he needs to be in compliance within five days. The case is brought to the Magistrate three months later, but he decides to Regular City Council & CRA Meeting March 26, 2025 Page 11 just move the item in his yard and then tells the Magistrate he is in compliance. Later, he just moves the item back to where it originally was and there is no action taken as a result of repeat offenses. The City Attorney stated that staff does include those kinds of details in the order and if the Code Enforcement Officer goes back out, there is an enhanced fine. Council Member Dodd said he was not aware there were enhanced fees. He said he wants a white paper on how the process works today and how people are brought into compliance so Council can determine if something needs to be change about that. Vice Mayor Jones said that he believes it was last year when Council had received documentation on how many Code complaints there were and how many were brought into compliance. If there is a repeat offender, there are enhanced penalties for the second and third violations. The cases are not just dropped. Council Member Nunn agreed that the process needs to be evaluated, but the question is whether Council wants to replace the existing Magistrate. MOTION by Council Member Nunn and SECOND by Council Member Dixon to let the existing contract with Mr. Armitage expire, accept the proposed one-year contract with Ms. Hattaway, and then discuss how to fund this going forward. The City Manager asked Council Member Nunn if his motion included additional funds. Council Member Nunn said that his motion said the funding would be discussed if that is the direction Council decides to go. The City Attorney also wanted direction on who should sign the letter terminating the contract with Mr. Armitage. Council Member Nunn said he thought the letter should be signed by the Mayor, who is the representative of the Council, not the City Manager. The City Mayor asked for public input and there was none. Roll call: Council Member Dixon - aye Council Member Dodd -nay Council Member Nunn -aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Motion carried 4-1. Council Member Dodd explained that he was voting nay, not because he disagrees with the decision, but because he does not think they have solved the problem. Mayor McPartlan asked the City Manager for his ideas on funding. The City Manager explained the $30,000 that was budgeted for outside legal costs has already been allocated since the City currently has two outside attorneys, one handling a litigation matter and another handling some pension research. He suggested a $30,000 budget adjustment to allocate more funds for legal costs and for the Special Magistrate. Council Member Nunn asked where that money would come from. The City Manager said it could be taken from General Fund Reserves. Regular City Council & CRA Meeting March 26, 2025 Page 12 MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Council Member Nunn to transfer $30,000 from the General Fund Reserves to the Outside Counsel account. The Finance Director explained that budget amendments have been done quarterly. The last one was done on June 30, 2024. He is working to get the City caught up with any needed budget amendments. When Council approves the quarterly reports, they are approving the budget amendments that go with them. He continued to explain that he has been pulling out the budget amendments and reformatting them to clearly identify what items that Council has already approved as a line item on the budget amendment, what would come out of reserves, and what is an actual transfer between line items and if it has been approved. In this way, it will come to Council as a separate budget amendment item if it had not been previously approved. Since Council has approved the Special Magistrate contract, he will now add this to the budget amendment resolution that will come before them in the next quarter. Council Member Dodd said he realized that the Finance Director would be handling the needed changes through the budgetary amendment process since Council had already given their consensus to utilize the funds for the Special Magistrate by approving the contract. The Finance Director keeps track of the budgetary amendments through the quarterly report, which will include a resolution to approve the budget amendments, so a specific motion to transfer funds was not needed at this time, and Council Member Dodd withdrew his motion. The City Attorney asked for clarification on whether the $30,000 would be for the Special Magistrate and also to cover other things that may go over budget. If the pension attorney was also included in that amount, plus the costs for the new Special Magistrate, the line item will be wiped out for the remainder of the year, especially if it also includes any more outside counsel costs, along with septic -to -sewer issues. Council Member Dodd said these are all things that have already been approved by Council. He can wait for the Finance Director to provide the budgetary amendments to pay for the approved items and then Council can approve a resolution for the adjustments. The City Attorney said that she was fine with that. 17. CITY MANAGER MATTERS - None 18. CITY CLERK MATTERS - None 19. CITY COUNCIL MATTERS A. Mayor McPartlan - None B. Council Member Nunn - None C. Council Member Dixon thanked the Parks and Recreation Director for bringing more youth programs to Sebastian. She particularly expressed her appreciation for his support for i9 Sports, the tennis tournaments, and Sebastian River Rowing. D. Council Member Dodd wanted to know if there was a consensus to ask the City Manager to send a letter to Indian River County expressing Sebastian's support for a Trap-Neuter- Regular City Council & CRA Meeting March 26, 2025 Page 13 Vaccinate -Return (TNVR) program. Council was in agreement with sending a letter of support. He explained that Senate Bill 1264 and House Bill 1175, if passed, could sunset all of the regional planning councils statewide, even though planning councils provide a lot of good services for cities. The Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council has asked for letters to be sent to our state representatives and he wanted to know if there was a consensus for a letter to be sent to our legislative delegation letting them know we do not supportthis. Council was in agreement with sending a letter. He also mentioned that right now there is a move at the federal government level to do away with tax-exempt municipal bonds. He said the City has some very big projects coming up and we might need to utilize bonds to pay for things. If tax-exempt municipal bonds are done away with, this will cause a problem forthe City. The National League of Cities and the Florida League of Cities has a draft resolution that can be utilized to send a response to our federal legislative delegation asking them to oppose that action. Council was in agreement with sending a response opposing the elimination of tax-exempt municipal bonds. Council Member Dodd also let the City Manager know that Representative Brackett called and said he had good news on the CRA legislation under consideration. The City Manager reviewed that he is still working on some letters for the Mayor to sign in support of certain legislative matters that Council had already requested. The letter regarding CRA was completed and he did see that Representative Brackett had the letter on his desk when they were in his office yesterday. E. Vice Mayor Jones informed everyone that Laura Laporte, from Laporte Farms, passed away on Monday morning. He sends his condolences to the family and the community for what Laporte Farms means to all of us in this area. 20. Being no further business, Mayor McPartlan adjourned the Regular City Council meeting at 7:56 p.m. Approved at 25 gularCity Council meeting. Mayor Bob McPartlan ATTEST;: J� nette Williams, City Clerk