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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-09-2025 CC MinutesCITY Or S mAsrry HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2025 - 6:00 PM CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA 1. Mayor McPartlan called the regular 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 Dodd Council Member Chris Nunn Staff Present City Manager Brian Benton City Attorney Jennifer Cockcroft City Clerk Jeanette Williams Finance Director/CFO Brian Stewart City Engineer/Special Projects Director Karen Miller Community Development Director Alix Bernard Community Development Manager DOM Bosworth Principal Planner Jim Mann Building Official/Fire Marshal Wayne Eseltine Parks and Recreation Director Richard Blankenship Public Works Director Lee Plourde Human Resources Director Cindy Watson Golf Superintendent Greg Gardner Airport Manager Jeff Sabo Procurement Manager Jessica Graham Social Media Coordinator Avery Joens Police Chief Daniel Acosta Police Lt. Roy Cole Regular City Council Meeting June 9, 2025 Page 2 5. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS MOTION by Council Member Dodd and a SECOND by Vice Mayor Jones to move item #13a City Attorney Matters to item #12g under New Business passed with a unanimous voice vote of 4-0. 6. PROCLAMATIONS, AWARDS, BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENTS - None 7. PUBLIC INPUT Tracy Jennings asked if Sebastian cared about building for healthy individuals because the persistent train horn noise disrupts sleep and harms the most vulnerable and valuable population, leading to chronic sleep loss and car accidents. She requested a formal risk assessment for the establishment of a quiet zone in the City. Kimberly Raso, George Street, said she had an issue with the Code Enforcement ordinances that are being violated at a property she owns in town. She said many people are parking on the swale across from one of her properties making the sale or lease of her property undesirable. She expressed frustration in that she abides by the code but no one else does. 8. CONSENT AGENDA A. Consider Approval of Draft May 14, 2025 City Council Minutes B. Approval of Five -Year Agreement with the Sebastian Clambake Foundation, Inc. for the Continued Sponsorship and Production of the Annual Sebastian Clambake C. Consideration of Approval of the Sebastian Historical Society, Inc. Lease Agreement for Portions of the Historical School Building MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Council Member Nunn to approve Consent Agenda Items A, B, and C. Roll call: Vice Mayor Jones - aye Council Member Dodd -aye Council Member Nunn -aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Motion carried. 4-0 9. COMMITTEE REPORTS & APPOINTMENT A. Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee - Consider Fillina One ExAired Regular Member Position MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Council Member Nunn to move Mr. Halleran up to the regular member position and waive the advertising requirements to have Mr. Moore fill Mr. Halleran's now vacant alternate member seat was unanimously agreed upon. Regular City Council Meeting June 9, 2025 Page 3 10. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. First Readina on Ordinance No. 0-25-12 - Consideration of a Land Development Code Textual Amendmentto Modifv the Townhouse Dimensional Regulations within the RM- 8 and RM-10 Zonina Districts. and to Setthe Date fora Second Readina/Adoption Ouasi- Leaislative Public Hearina on June 25.2025 The City Attorney read the title to Ordinance No. 0-25-12. The Principal Planner stated this was the first reading of Ordinance No. 0-25-12 for a land development text amendment for townhome dimensional regulations, specifically in reference to the RM 8 and the RM 10 Zoning Districts. The proposed changes included a different lot size requirement. He explained that residential townhome dimensional regulations were established in 2001 for the existing RM 8 zoning district, which is 8 units per acre. In 2021 with the new comp plan adoption, there was a residential multi -family 10 units per acre district created to meet the density requirements and the policies that were adopted in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. He said some recent submittals that Community Development Department has been receiving for townhome developments have been trending with smaller lot sizes and longer buildings allowing the retention of the same size requirement for living space. This ordinance will adapt our code to be a little bit more amenable for a new townhome development and provide approximately a 2.8% multifamily development that will align with our comprehensive plan and data. He said some of the text amendment changes that they're proposing for the RM 8 and RM 10 specifically is to reduce the lot width minimum from 25 feet to 20 feet and increase the depth of those lots from 75 feet to 90 feet. The lot size requirements will go from 1,875 square feet to 1,800 square feet. He displayed an example of a six plex development. For the residential multifamily 8 units per acre, the RM 8 zoning district, there will be a reduced setback from 10 feet to 5 feet, which was circled on the diagram. (See attached) He also pointed out the distance requirements between the buildings will increase from 15 feet to 20 feet to keep the buffer between the two buildings as shown. He said staff recommended approval and the second reading would be held June 25. Council Member Dodd asked if they really wanted to require garages in RM8 for townhouse developments because sometimes those developments use off-street parking or separate carport villages in another part of the complex. He noted that RM10 does have off-street parking or garage or service parking. He asked if staff wanted to think about using the same concept for RM8. The Planner said it could be looked into as well as rear parking with rear -facing garages with alley ways. Council Member Dodd said he liked the Planner's suggestion but asked if a RM8 project could come in with townhouses using off street parking other than providing a garage with each unit which will allow the developer to build a more affordable unit without having the square footage of the entire garage. Regular City Council Meeting June 9, 2025 Page 4 He said there is a five-foot minimum side setback in RM8 but RM10 requires 10 feet for a two- story; he asked if they were anticipating any two-story buildings in RM8 and if so, is the 5 feet sufficient with a 2 story in RM8 since they want 10 feet with RM10, 2 story units? He cited page 48 of the agenda backup. Council Member Dodd said those were his questions: Do they want to have a garage requirement in RM 8 and is there a difference in RM 8 between 1 and 2 story setbacks just like there is in RM 10? And if there is, maybe that can be fixed during between the first and second reading. The Planner offered to keep the same separation requirement in both just to make it cohesive. Council Member Nunn said Section 7 on page two was contradictory if they were going to take off the garage requirement. He said he agreed a garage doesn't need to be required for a townhome as long as they are allocating for parking in some sort of scenario that makes sense. The Planner said they could do some modifications as to where at least two parking spaces, per townhome should be located as well as eliminating the garage requirement if Council wished before the next reading. Council Member Dodd said private off-street parking would be would be appropriate if there are two spaces per home. MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Council Member Nunn to approve Ordinance No. 0-25-12 on first reading, setting the second reading for June 25". There was no public input. Roll call: Council Member Dodd - aye Council Member Nunn - aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Motion carried. 4-0 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None 12. NEW BUSINESS A. Consideration of Resolution No. R-25-19 to Accept FAA Grant Aareement - Enaineer and Desian Terminal Apron Expansion, Givina Approval for Citv Manager to Execute The Airport Director said this was the design phase to expand the apron which sits in front of the Sebastian Municipal Airport Terminal Building. The airport has grown but the apron area has not expanded. This grant will begin the design phase to double the available parking spaces for up to 12 aircraft, for both transient and locals to use, both around the terminal building and also to get to and from the fueling facility. There was no public input. Regular City Council Meeting June 9, 2025 Page 5 MOTION by Council Member Nunn and SECOND by Council Member Jones to approve Resolution No. R-25-19 accepting the FAA grant agreement to engineer and design the terminal apron expansion. Roll call: Council Member Dodd - aye Council Member Nunn - aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Motion carried. 4-0 B. Consideration of CSA-15. Selectina Infrastructure Consultina and Enaineerina to Enaineer and Desian the Terminal Apron Expansion Project at Sebastian Municipal Airport in the Amount of S204,826 and Authorize the Citv Manager to Execute Appropriate Documentation The Airport Director said this item would actually use funds from the grant that Council just approved to retain Infrastructure, Consulting and Engineering to design and construct the terminal apron. He said the firm has completed multiple projects at the airport and he would like to continue the relationship. He displayed a diagram showing the dark gray areas would be the new parking spaces. (See attached) MOTION by Vice Mayor Jones and SECOND by Council Member Nunn to approve CSA #15 selecting Infrastructure, Consulting and Engineering to engineer and design the terminal apron expansion project. There was no public input. Roll call: Council Member Nunn -aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Council Member Dodd - aye Motion carried. 4-0 C. Consideration of Lease Extension for Connection Air, LLC for Office Space in the Airport Terminal Buildina The Airport Director said Connection Air has been a good tenant and expressed wishes to keep the office space as the face of the business. He asked for approval to give them another year and hopefully beyond that. MOTION by Council Member Nunn and SECOND by Vice Mayor Jones to approve the lease extension with Connection Air, LLC for office space at the airport. There was no public input. Roll call: Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Council Member Dodd -aye Council Member Nunn -aye Motion carried. 4-0 Regular City Council Meeting June 9, 2025 Page b D. Consideration of Resolution No. R-25-20. Approval of the FDEP Florida Resilient Grant Aareement 25PLN23. the Adaotion Plan for the Previously Complete Vulnerabilifir Assessment The City Engineer said the City applied for the Florida Resilient Planning Grant last July and this contract would cover the entire planning grant to create capital improvement projects that will make sure our infrastructure along the lagoon, shoreline, seawalls, and lift stations are all taken care of. She asked for approval of the contract to move forward with the planning. MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Vice Mayor Jones to approve Resolution No. R-25-20 providing for a FDEP Florida Resilient Grant to complete the adaption plan. There was no public input. Roll call: Vice Mayor Jones - aye Council Member Dodd - aye Council Member Nunn -aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Motion carried. 4-0 E. Consideration of CSA #11 for Kimlev-Horn and Associates. Inc. for Adaption Plan in the Amount of 555.000 and Authorize the Citv Manaaer or Desianee to Execute The City Engineer said the previous item provided for the grant funding to complete the adaptation plan and staff would like to continue with Kimley-Horn since they completed the vulnerability assessment. MOTION by Vice Mayor Jones and SECOND by Council Member Nunn to approve CSA #11 to have Kimley-Horn complete the adaptation plan to protect the City's infrastructure within the coastal zones. There was no public input. Roll call: Council Member Dodd -aye Council Member Nunn -aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Motion carried. 4-0 F. Consideration of a Purchase Order in the Amount of 57.000 Pavable to Xtreme FX, LLC to Cover Tariffs and Associated Import Fees on Fireworks Procured for the Citv's Freedom Festival of 2025 and Authorize the Citv Manaaer or their Desianee to Execute all Necessary Documents The Procurement Manager explained that in 2022, the City signed a three-year agreement with ExtremeFX to provide the City's Freedom Festival fireworks and in April of this year she was notified that there would be a 25% tariff increase. She noted that when the contract was signed it did include a section stating the City would cover tariffs if they were imposed. Regular City Council Meeting June 9, 2025 Page 7 MOTION by Council Member Nunn and SECOND by Council Member Dodd to approve the $7,000 increase payable to Xtreme FX, LLC for the City's Freedom Festival fireworks. There was no public input. Roll call: Council Member Dodd -aye Council Member Nunn - aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Motion carried. 4-0 G. Discussion and Direction on Fillina Vacant Citv Council Seat Due to Resianation of Council Member Dixon, Pursuant to Charter Section 2.08 6.45pm The City Attorney said upon Council Member Dixon's resignation she provided an initial opinion based on Charter Section 2.08 outlining the different options they may consider to fill the position. She said there was a little ambiguity with respect to whether an appointment would be for the complete term or whether it would be just up until the election. Council could either appoint a replacement or permit the vacancy to be filled at the next election. In their backup, she provided a legal memorandum outlining the relevant law and some attorney general opinions along with the Charter and interpretation. If their decision was challenged, the court would look to a plain reading of the Charter and the legislative history update of the section. She outlined the four options: appointment until the next general election; appointment for the remainder of the term; call for a special election; or direct that the seat be elected at the next election leaving the seat vacant until then. She recommended that the Charter be amended for clarification. She also suggested they may want to prepare a resolution that would define their legislative intent for how the charter reads and moving forward so that could be considered by the voters as sort of a legislative backup if this were to be challenged. She noted that she did obtain a second opinion from the Special Counsel as directed. Damien Gilliams, 1623 US Highway 1 asked to hear the legal opinion provided by Special Counsel, Andrew Mai. Special Counsel Andrew Mai said he concurred with the City Attorney's opinion, the Charter language is ambiguous, but with the exception of the special election, there were three viable options. Damien Gilliams read a letter he wrote to Council requesting his appointment to fill the vacancy. Grace Reed said after listening to the options, she supports leaving the position vacant until the next election. She said the remaining members all get along, there are seven meetings until the next election and she believed they could come together to make decisions on matters. Regular City Council Meeting June 9, 2025 Page 8 Vicki Drumheller said she too, would like to see the position left vacant. It has been her experience that it takes six months for folks to figure out what is happening. She would like the voters to decide who should fill the seat in November. Council Member Nunn said he would never appoint someone who was removed by the people; he would like to leave the position open until November and let the citizens make the decision of who should be on the dais. Vice Mayor Jones said the Clerk has to have the candidate information to the Supervisor of Elections by mid -August leaving maybe a month or two to have someone serve; he recommended that they leave the seat vacant and let the citizens decide. Council Member Dodd said he agreed with the statements submitted by the City Attorney in option 4, this it provides for minimal risk, it maintains the public trust, and aligns with the best practices in municipal governance where Charter language is ambiguous. MOTION by Council Member Dodd and SECOND by Vice Mayor Jones to select option number 4 from the attorney's list, that leaves the position open and have the City Clerk work with the Supervisory of Elections put a one-year term on the next election and people will need to qualify and apply for that individual term if that's what they want. The City Attorney clarified that there would be a separate qualification process for the single seat based on Florida Law with respect to dual office holding and that individuals wouldn't be able to qualify for both seats. Roll call: Council Member Nunn - aye Mayor McPartlan - aye Vice Mayor Jones - aye Council Member Dodd - aye Motion carried. 4-0 It was agreed by Council that they would have the next Charter Review Committee clear up the language for the 2026 ballot. 13. CITY ATTORNEY MATTERS - Nothing further. 14. CITY MANAGER MATTERS The City Manager said the Barber Street paving has commenced and he asked the public to be patient for the next 3 to 4 weeks. With regard to the repaving on Laconia Street, he said the rain has created some washout areas on the east side so they were working with the engineers to do some additional design work which should be completed in 2-3 weeks. Then they will have to come back to do a small mill and overlay after they confirm the base is set. The entire project should be completed by August. Regular City Council Meeting June 9, 2025 Page 9 15. CITY CLERK MATTERS - None 16. CITY COUNCIL MATTERS Vice Mayor Jones - None Mayor McPartlan said the Summer Kick Off Concert Series with the band Hot Pink was excellent and he looked forward to future concerts. Council Member Nunn said he was happy with the decision they made tonight regarding the vacant seat and he looked forward to getting everything done. Council Member Dodd - None 17. Being no further business, Mayor McPartlan adjourned the Regular City Council meeting at 7:08 p.m. Approved at the July9,2025RegularCityCouncilmeeting. Mayor Bob Mcpartlan ATTEST.• Jdanette Williams, City Clerk CITY OF SEBASTIAN 4. V �% O � FPELICP� CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT DATE June 9, 2024 TO Honorable Mayor and City Council THRU Brian Benton, City Manager FROM Jennifer Cockcroft, City Attorney SUBJECT Discussion/Direction on City Council Vacancy EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Due to the recent resignation of Council Member Dixon on May 28, 2025, a vacancy has occurred on the City Council. An initial legal opinion was rendered during this meeting regarding the interpretation of the relevant provision of the City of Sebastian Charter, Section 2.08. The City Attorney was directed to conduct research on the available options and bring it back for City Council discussion/direction. RECOMMENDATION Evaluation and discussion of legal opinions and options; provide direction to Staff and Legal on how to proceed. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Memorandum from City Attorney (with Attachments in backup) 2. Memorandum from Special Counsel Andrew Mai FUNDING SOURCE: Expenditure required Amount Budgeted: Funding source Additional Funds Needed: $ 0.00 Cnl' OF SEBASTIAN HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND June 6, 2025 BACKGROUND: Jennifer D. Cockcroft, Esq. BCS City Attorney 1225 Main Street I Sebastian, Florida 32958 Tel. (772) 388-8201 1 email: jocckcroft@cityofsebastian.org MEMORANDUM TO CITY COUNCIL Due to the recent resignation of Council Member Dixon on May 28, 2025, a vacancy has occurred on the City Council. An initial legal opinion was rendered during this meeting regarding the interpretation of the relevant provision of the City of Sebastian Charter, Section 2.08. However, as the current language of Section 2.08 presents some ambiguity regarding the duration of any appointment, and the creation of potential legal and procedural complexities, an in-depth analysis was conducted. Further, per the suggestion of the City Council during the last meeting, a secondary legal opinion has been requested from our complex counsel, Mr. Mai. That opinion will be made available to the Council upon receipt and distributed at the next City Council Meeting. APPLICABLE LAW: Florida Law and Section 2.08 of the City Charter govern the process for filling vacancies on the Sebastian City Council. A. Florida Law/Statutes: Florida Statutes grant municipalities the broad authority to establish their own procedures for filling vacancies. Specifically, Florida Statute Section 166.031(6): "Each municipality shall, by ordinance or charter provision, provide procedures for filling a vacancy in office caused by death, resignation, or removal from office." (Attached) B. Attorney General Opinion: The Florida Attorney General has opined that municipal legislative bodies may fill vacancies by appointment if the municipal charter provides such authority (AGO 87-27, attached). C. City of Sebastian Charter/Amendments: Section 2.08(e) provides as follows: (e) Filling vacancies. Any vacancy in the office of council member shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of this subsection: (1) If there is a scheduled citywide election within six months of the occurrence of the vacancy, the remaining members of the city council may either (A) permit the vacancy to be filled at that election, or (B) appoint a replacement City Attorney Opinion June 6, 2025 Page 2 of 4 (2) If there is no scheduled citywide election within six months of the occurrence of the vacancy, the remaining members of the city council shall appoint a replacement within 4S days. In the event the city council fills a vacancy by appointment, the person chosen to fill the office shall at the time of appointment meet the qualifications for a member of the city council. An appointed city council member shall serve only until the next citywide election or until city council revokes the suspension and restores the council member or mayor to office in accordance with section 3 below. If the vacancy has occurred in the term of a city council member that extends beyond the next citywide election, the remainder of the unexpired term shall be filled at that election, and the candidate shall run specifically for that seat on the city council. This section of the Sebastian City Charter has been amended on several occasions —from its adoption and its first amendment in 1978 through the most recent update in 2021. A copy of the relevant language changes and associated formatting differences is attached for Council's historical reference and review. The main issue presented to the Council is whether to appoint or elect the replacement Council Member and whether there is guidance as to the length of the term or other restrictions in place for making that determination. When courts review language (i.e., statutory interpretation) contained in documents such as Charters or the like, they provide that you first conduct a plain reading. A plain reading of the City Charter, Section 2.08(e) (1) outlines two mechanisms for filling vacancies when occurring within six months of the next election: 1. Appointment by the Council; or 2. Election. This Section references election procedures only for vacancies occurring within six months of an election, without clearly linking that constraint to appointments and does not clearly specify whether an appointment may be made for: 1. The remainder of the unexpired term, or 2. An interim period until the next general election. This lack of clarity can invite multiple interpretations and presents potential legal and procedural risks. The secondary paragraph under City of Sebastian's Charter, Section 2.08(e)(2) contains language relating to vacancies when occurring outside of six months to the next general election. This paragraph is clearly indented and appears under Section 2.08 (e)(2) and would not appear to apply to Section 2.08(e)(1). 2 City Attorney Opinion June 6, 2025 Page 3 of 4 A plain reading of Section 2.08(e) therefore supports the interpretation that appointments may be made until the end of the term unless otherwise restricted. Due to the ambiguity, however, the reverse argument can also be made that the appointment should only be made on an interim basis. U. Evidence of Scrivener's Error or Codification Issue Firstly, based on a review of the prior codified changes to the Charter, there is no evidence of an error by the codifier. The submitted versions to the voters appear in line with the codified versions. Substantive changes which broke out sections (1) and (2) were initially seen in the revisions made in 2011. A review of the amendments from 2011 contrasted with the amendment from 2021 shows a change in the indention of the paragraph under (2). It is of note that this language was approved as submitted to the voters without further description of this change, as the form of the amendments in 2021 were in relation to provisions related to disqualification; not filling of vacancies. This is the only indication of any legislative action, draft or formatting correction indicating that the current version contains a clerical or codification error. In most cases, Courts generally do not substitute formatting assumptions or perceived intent for the plain text unless legislative history provides compelling justification. C-.e2islative Intent - Intent Cannot Sunersede Clear Charter Tent After conducting a plain reading, Courts may conduct a review of the legislative history. However, Courts are reluctant to apply "intent" from prior Councils or voters to override current Charter language. Importantly, there is no legislative history or amendment record indicating that any formatting or structure changes to Section 2.08(e) were intended to substantively alter its meaning. As such, interpretations based solely on layout changes rather than formal revisions may be legally insufficient. Furthermore, the Courts have held in the past that under the "last antecedent doctrine" for statutory interpretation, relative and qualifying words, phrases, and clauses are to be applied to the words or phrase immediately preceding, and are not to be construed as extending to, or including, others more remote. This principle would seem to indicate further evidence towards inclusiveness of this secondary paragraph under (2) of Section 2.08. In this scenario, there is no compelling justification to override a plain reading of the Charter based on presumed intent or formatting assumptions. POTENTIAL OPTIONS FOR COUNCIL: Option 1: Appointment Until the Next General Election • Recommended for minimal risk. • Maintains public trust by allowing voters to ultimately decide who serves the remainder of the term. • Aligns with best practices in municipal governance where charter language is ambiguous. 3 City Attorney Opinion June 6, 2025 Page 4 of 4 Option 2: Appointment for the Remainder of the Term • May be legally permissible based on a plain reading. • Charter Ambiguity - Lacking express authority, the action may be deemed outside the Council's powers. • Could be challenged due to the ambiguity and absence of express language. • Carries higher political risk due to adverse public perception as circumventing the electoral process. • May have legal risk -other Florida municipalities have faced litigation in similar cases. Option 3: Call for Special Election • Not explicitly supported in Section 2.08. • No legislative history or charter language authorizes this process. Option 4: Direct that the seat be Elected at the Next General Election • Seat remains vacant until elected by voters. • Recommended for minimal risk. • Maintains public trust by allowing voters to ultimately decide who serves the remainder of the term. • Aligns with best practices in municipal governance where charter language is ambiguous. Option 5: Charter Amendment for Clarification • Strongly recommended initiation of a Charter amendment to clarify the City's vacancy provisions for future scenarios. • Done via the Charter Review Committee or direct Council action and submitted to the voters. Provide direction to City Staff and Legal on how to proceed under the options outlined above. Attachments (PROVIDED IN AGENDA TRANSMITTAL BACKUP): 1. Charter Section 2.08 - Current Text 2. Florida Statutes § 166.031(6) 3. Florida Attorney General Opinion AGO 87-27 4. Charter Amendments (1978-2021) 4 MEMORANDUM TO: Jennifer Cockcroft, City Attorney FROM: Andrew W. Mai DATE: June 6, 2025 RE: Filling of a Vacant Council Seat Pursuant to the request of the City Council and City Attorney, I have had the opportunity to review all materials regarding this issue and concur with your Memorandum to the City Council regarding the process of filling of a vacant council seat. Furthermore, I concur in your recommendations and analysis regarding the risks identified. Background: Council Member Dixon resigned on May 28, 2025, creating a vacancy on the City Council. The process for filling this vacancy is governed by Florida law and the City of Sebastian Charter, specifically Section 2.08. However, ambiguity in the Charter's language has raised questions about how long an appointed member may serve. Applicable Law: 1. Florida Statutes (§166.031(6)): Allows cities to set their own procedures for filling vacancies via their charter or ordinances. 2. Florida Attorney General Opinion (AGO 87-27): Confirms cities can fill vacancies by appointment if allowed by their charter. 3. City Charter (Section 2.08(e)): o If a citywide election is within 6 months: Council may appoint or leave the seat vacant until that election. o If no election is scheduled within 6 months: Council must appoint a replacement within 45 days. o Charter does not clearly state whether appointments last until the next election or through the remainder of the term, creating ambiguity. Legal Analysis: Plain Language Interpretation: Supports that appointments could last until the end of the term. However, ambiguity allows for multiple interpretations. Formatting or Scrivener's Error: No evidence of a clerical or codification error. Formatting changes were voter -approved and unlikely to justify alternative interpretations. Legislative Intent: Courts generally do not use inferred intent or formatting to override plain text. There's no record suggesting prior formatting was meant to change legal meaning. Options for Council: 1. Appoint Until the Next Election (Recommended): o Lower legal and political risk. o Honors voter participation. 2. Appoint for the Remainder of the Term: o Possibly legal but riskier due to ambiguity. o Potential legal and political challenges. 3. Call a Special Election: o Not supported by the Charter; legally questionable. 4. Amend the Charter: o Strongly advised to clarify future vacancy procedures. Concurring Recommendation: Appoint a temporary Council Member to serve until the next citywide election. Simultaneously, initiate a Charter amendment to eliminate ambiguity in future vacancy scenarios.