REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

HISTORIC TOWN OF EATONVILLE, FLORIDA REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, March 512024, at 7:30 PM Town HalI (Council Chamber) - 307 E Kennedy Blvd. 32751 SPECIAL NOTICE: These meeting minutes are presented in an abbreviated format intended as a public record discussion of stated meeting according to the Florida's Government-in-the-Sunshine law. Meetings are opened to the public, noticed within reasonable advance notice, and transcribed into minutes for public record. **Audio Recording are available through the Town's website on the Council Agenda Page. CALL TO ORDER AND VERIFICATION OF QUORUM: Mayor Gardner called the meeting to order at7:38 p.m. and a quorum was established by Mrs. King PRESENT: (5) Councilwoman Wanda Randolph, Councilman M. Daniels, Vice Mayor Rodney Daniels, Mayor Angie Gardner, Councilman Theo Washington STAFF: (7) Demehius Pressley, Chief Administrator Oflicer, Veronica King, Town Cler\ Clifford Shepard, Town Attorney, Stanley Murray, EPD Chief, Cobbin McGee, Planner INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Rev. Critton led the Invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance APPROVAL OF THE AGENIDA: Mavor Gardner Motions to add a presentation from Polis Institute to the agenda, Councilwoman Wanda Randolph; Second by Councilman M. Daniels; AYE: ALL, MOTION PASSES. PRESENTATTONS - (3) Proclamation - The Town Clerk read the proclamation proclaiming the 2024 Election Day in the Town of Eatonville on Tuesday, March 19,2024 (7arr, - 7pm) during the Presidential Preference Primary election. Proclamation will be posted in three public places for the purpose of informing the public of election. Proclamation - Mayor Gardner read the proclamation recognizing March 2024 as Problem Gambling Awareness Month. Problem Gambling is a public health issue affecting thousands of Floridians of all ages, races, and ethnic backgrounds and has a significant societal and economic cost for individuals, families, businesses, and communities. Floridians need to know that help and hope for problem gambling are available through the24/7 confidential and multilingual helpline 888 ADMIT-IT. The Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling and the Florida Department of Health Resource Center invite all residents of Eatonville to participate in Problem Gambling Awareness Month. POLIS Institute - (Presenter: Dr. Maroon, Chief Executive Officer at POLIS Institute) POLIS Institute is an action research institute focusing on commtrnity engagement and community planning. The presentation will share information on the upcoming community action plan, what a community action plan is, and how it is going to get done in the Town of Eatonville. A community action plan empowers residents and stakeholders with actionable strategies and goals for great social initiatives. Community residents deserve to have community action plans as a vehicle to strategize what your goals and objectives are for the future and to work in partnership with stakeholders to be able to achieve andrcalize those goals. Community action plans take big issues that community residents and the town care about and they identiff a goal around those issues; will 1 of5 03 0524COUNCILMeetingMinutes  engaged residents and stakeholders. Flyers are being distributed in the community and will receive information in your mailbox, an invitation for community members and stakeholders to come out to the March 20th kickoff. There will be action committees where community members will be invited to sign up for one of the action committees. The action committees are made up of community residents and stakeholders working together over a process of time to set concrete goals and objectives. A draft of the plan will be given to the council, administration, and to town residents in a variety of public formats for feedback and recommendations. August and September will be the open comment period. The final plan will be provided in October and November, will be distributed to the public for implementation. The role of the stakeholders and town council, is to communicate the ideas, the vision is, and what should happen, and the POLIS Institute responsibility is to translate that into documents, facilitate the action groups, the public meetings, and responsible for providing the analysis and the reporting. Offering feedback is vital so that the final plan legitimately represents the will of everyone involved. A plan is only as good as the will to implement it, implementing the action plan is the role of the role of the community and stakeholders. The presentation has been requested and sent over to the town council. cITrzEN PARTTCTPATTON - (s) Ryan Noak - (Addressed the need of transparency) request that an itemized budget and expenditures be provided to the public (on website), Budget had indicated for fiscal quarter one, about $1.9 million inbound of which $465,000 or 23 percent of total budget went to the police force (request itemization of the $465,000). LaDw)rana Jordan - as vice president of the Eatonville Chamber of Commerce would like to extend an invitation to the Hobnob, Candidacy Forum tomorrow evening (Wednesday, March 6,2024,5:30 - 8p.m.), have verbal commitments from the four candidates from the town to include representatives from the Supervisor of Elections, also candidates running for the judgeship from the circuit judge ofhce, and for the school board. Come out to speak to local candidates, it is important that we get an opportunity to ask questions of the people that are going to be representing us in Eatonville and throughout Orange County. Hobnob will be located at323 E. Kennedy Blvd (parking lot of the UNITY Credit Union). Concerns: liked presentation on communication, but there needs to be action, need address garbage collection, speed bumps (on Gabriel and Bel Air), couches and bed frames on the side of the roads, town looks horrible after the trash pickup, need people in office who will ensure the town stays clean and presentable. Angela Johnson - Would like to extend an invitation on behalf of 1887 First, who are we going to elect during these defining times for the historic time of Eatonville? on Tuesday, March l2th at 7 p. m.at the Denton Johnson Community Center, there is an opportunity to come out and meet your candidates. The event is co- hosted by Help CDC, 1887 First, Esteem Learning, Tyler Rose accounting and business solutions, bring your children for the scheduled activities, there will be cash prizes, and food. Kelvan Franklin - Inquired about the status of the school board property. Kathy Mills - Requesting a list of the seniors and the needy (would like to provide food); there are septic tanks still in the town of Eatonville that is running from the property and is not connected to the city, found out $700 later, the septic tanks were not known to the children that inherited their parent's property. Grandmother has been paying for sewage to the town that did not give her sewage (she had a septic tank). Many do not know they still have septic tanks on their property and are also paying for sewage. Would like the town to do something about it. APPROVAL CONSENT AGBNDA: Mavor Gardner Motions aDDrove Consent Asenda approving Town Council Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, February 6,2024, Moved by Councilman M. Daniels; Second by Councilwoman Wanda Randolph; AYE: Councilwoman Wanda Randolph, Councilman M. Daniels, Vice Mayor Rodney Daniels, Mayor Angie Gardner; NAYE: Councilman Theo Washington; MOTION PASSES COUNCIL DECISIONS: (None) 2of5 03 0 524COUNCILMeetingMinutes REPORTS: CHIEF ADMINISTRATIYE OFFICER: Demetrius Pressley - UPDATES - Septic Tanks: researching the matter on the septic tanks with Valerie Mundy who has already spoken with Ms. Mills, seeking possible conversion opportunities through the CRA, will have finance check into the validity of the potential charges; Masterplan: Postponed the meeting to start the kickoff due to conversations with several stakeholders and to a ensure information is included properly. For community reference, after meeting with several stakeholders that brought comments to the last meeting, each one has a different agenda. The purpose is to better make sure it is what the community desires. Fire Inspection: addressing several items on the fire inspection to include public buildings (Police Department, Denton Johnson, and Post Offrce); Code Enforcement: Legal is has prepared options for amendments of the process conceming the solid waste containers for commercial businesses, will bring to Council. Mr. Pressley will follow up with staff for status on the next meeting; Homeless Ordinance: Attorney Shepard has sent over some homelessness ordinances that have been established with other communities, reviewing and will present to council, may require one or two ordinances to address the matter; Sewer Services: planning to meet with Altamonte Springs to discuss the current sewer services agreement, draft indicating the update providing the best option for the town based off the quantity that will be established versus a wholesale or an average, this should lower the current bill, the document has been reviewed by legal. Waste: Mr. Pressley will follow up with Ms. Mundy to get information regarding the trash that is being left, there are still challenges; Oath of Office: the swearing in for the two council seats will take place at the Denton Johnson Center, during the Town Council meeting, will start thirty minutes to one hour earlier; Florida Museum: a resolution of support will be prepared for the next meeting to go along with the letters of support received; Election: copies of the sample ballot are available for those who desire a hardcopy, sample ballots should have already been mailed out; Slaff: The current Executive Assistant has given a letter and is preparing for retirement, an in-house advertisement took place for the position, one candidate (Brittani Gragg) from the internal staff expressed interest in the position and has been interviewed, she will start the process of transition to becoming the new Executive Assistant, job description is being updated to provide more accessibility for council. Other Information: Town Clerk provided clarity that the ballot copies provided are draft copies (not the official sample ballot), the content will be pertinent in knowing what the amendments are TOWN CLERK: Veronica King - UPDATES - Chamber Project: Installation of speakers in the Chambers will begin tomorrow (March 6,2024), the audio phase four will be installed this week; Election: A representative from the Supervisor of Election have inspected the chambers and we are ready to go for the scheduled election on March the 19ft; encourage everyone to vote, early voting has started. Precincts for early voting are available on the bulletin board. ATTORNEY: Clifford Shepard - Charter Amendments: had some issues regarding selections when you have a divided council for vice mayor and other positions, there is an amendment that addresses future areas for conflict, some amendments address administerial changes into sections of the charter where they belong and not misplaced, there is an amendments that addresses qualiffing period for candidates (the current charter is silent on this item), the amendment to the charter will give more information on how qualifications will happen, the last amendment addresses two different sections regarding the powers of the town clerk, if the amendment passes, the two sections will be put into one section pertaining to the town clerk's responsibilities. Homelessness: Homelessness is not a crime but a condition, so legislating against it is the wrong idea, the ordinances will address inappropriate behaviors, the idea of homelessness is not a problem that you can criminalize, but a community do not have to tolerate some of the effects of homelessness. Hungerford Property: was under the impression that the school board was ready give property back (this is not accurate), received a letter indicating from the superintendent that they are supporting a collaborative of effons to get a museum for the town, if we get enough of the property for the museum and get awarded this thing, whether they own it or the town owns it, as long as it is controlled and used for educational purposes will be consistent with the intent 3 of5 03 O524COUNCILMeetingMinutes  for that portion of the properly, there is a pending lawsuit from PEC, a community partner that would need to agree or the suit has to be dismissed in order to deal with the school board without the third party (PEC) at the table. There was an article in the Sentinel, indicating a possible agreement between the Teachers Union and OCPS, this is significant to possibly eliminating a roadblock related giving away a piece of valuable property as opposed to paying teachers more money (one less obstacle). TOWN COUNCIL REPORT/DISCUSSION ITEMS. Councilman M. Daniels - Send condolences to families including the Fedricks family; Trash: talking about this issues for the last two months, resident who call town hall are being told to call the trash company, if the town is having an issue with a vendor, the town should control the data, the underlying issue needs to be addressed, cannot play around with sanitation, an eviction took place at 465 Sunnyview circle and the trash was put out (On a Friday) blocking the sidewalk, have to address landlords not putting a dumpster out due to an eviction; need address public safety with the county conceming the widening of the road; request status on the pay study, in response human resources is at 43 percent completion to include the compensation and classification, this project has taken about 50 percent of staff time over the last two months and expected to be completed in four weeks, Inquiries: inquired about the Juneteenth celebration, in response a MOU has been received; what is being done to plan for the hurricane; in response, preparation for the storm season starts around April and Muy., have created a yearly system of cleaning of the storm drains through contractual services, for trees, storm drains, and finding any areas to help mitigate storm flooding or impacts. Will continue to speak about transparency, integrity, and people over politics. Councilwoman Wanda Raldolph - Juneteenth: want to include Freedom Day; Budget: concerned about the budget and requesting to for staff to look into what driving the budget to $1.6 million; Customer Service: received report that staff is not getting back with people (being addressed); National Women's History Month: March 21st is the National Women's History for elected female women officials in the Town of Eatonville, want everyone to come and meet these dynamic women at the Denton Johnson Center, information is on website and staff is doing a wonderful job; Tenant Landlord Ordinance - inquired about activating the tenant landlord ordinance now that Code Enforcement is back active, there are issues with properties and need to follow the ordinance; Code Enforcement board has all regular members and one alternate available; inquired about efforts being made to get back to individuals on their information requests, in response, received email from resident and met with staff to confirm better options to confirm and respond to requests; inquired about the crime statistics from the police department (still pending information, in response by Chief Murray, Ms. Tarver is working to get the information compiled by the end of the week (will be emailed), want to know where and what type of crimes within the town. Councilman Theo Washington - Condolences to the families and Councilman Mays (Detroit); Speed Bumps: inquired about removing or replacing them, something needs to be done; Trash: when landlords kick people out, the town need to put a charge on or lien on the property to get it cleaned up, if trash is picked up for a resident by the town, the town should charge them or put a lien on their property; Juneteenth: inquired about the attorney being informed, why when the event was done last year (do the same event and use the same people that was involved), some stuff the attorney need to be cut out of; Other: want to bring back the townhouse ordinance; Septic Tanks: those with septic tanks, either wanted it or not during the time the streets were paved between 1970 and l975,we need to take care of this issue, . Vice Mavor Rodney Daniels - Condolences to the Fedricks' family; Trash: garbage is an issue, let us put it on Code Enforcement, need to put ordinances in place; Communications: would like to see a digital marquee, need to ensure that accurate information is being communicated; Other: acknowledged Wes Hodge on his endeavors (give prayers, blessings, support, and vote); MAYOR'S REPORT 4of5 03 0524COUNCILMeetingMinutes Mavor Ansie Gardner - Crime Statistics: inquired about information provided at the Meet the Chief 100-day update, the information was not broken down as being requested by Councilwoman Randolph; Special Events Coordinator: would have been a help to Mr. Pressley (it was turned down), the Human Resource coordinator is helping with the National Women's event, when requests come, ask that consideration if given, public record requests can require several hours; Stakeholders Meeting: was informative, learned about Vision Zero, talked about the trafhc concerns once road has been widened, the initial plan may be outdated and need to be revisited, is the widening the best practice; if having a problem with solid waste, you should call waste management because they are providing a service, there is a contract and it is administrative, but there is also customer service, residents calling Waste Connection directly might a difference; many of the comments are being addressed but communication is important; the benches at the bus stops have been removed, they are being restored and willbe retumed; ADJOURNMENT Mayor Gardner Motions for Adjoumment of Meeting; Moved by Councilman M. Daniels; Second by Councilman Washington; AYE: ALL, MOTION PASSES. Meeting Adjourned at 8:49 P.M. rpectfully v L T , Mayor 5 of5 03 O524COUNCILMeetingMinutes