Town of Ft. White March 17, 2025 meeting will be held at the Community Center 6:00 PM

Approved 5/1/25 TOWN OF FORT WHITE, FLORIDA TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DATE: March 17, 2025 TIME: 6:00 PM ALL AGENDA BACKUP MATERIAL IS AVAILABLE ON THE TOWN WEBSITE UNDER THE GOVERNMENT TAB/TOWN COUNCIL AT www.fortwhitefl.com. INVOCATION CALL TO ORDER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL MEMBERS: OTHERS: Mayor, George Jacob Thomas - Present Town Clerk, role vacant Councilmember, Kathryn Terry - Present Town Attorney, Lindsey Lander - Present Councilmember, Monica Merricks - Present Councilmember, Bill Koon - Present ITEM 1 - ADDITIONS, DELETIONS, CHANGES, AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Motion made by Councilmember Koon to add the below items to the agenda. Motion seconded by Councilmember Terry. Motion passed unanimously. Added agenda item 9 - A grant presentation by Glenn Hunter Added agenda item 10 - Mainstreet ITEM 2 - APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion to approve meeting minutes for the January 22, 2025 Town Council Meeting made by Councilmember Koon. Motion seconded by Councilmember Merricks. Motion passed unanimously. Motion to approve meeting minutes for the February 17, 2025 Town Council Meeting made by Councilmember Koon. Motion seconded by Councilmember Terry. Motion passed unanimously. ITEM 3 - PUBLIC COMMENTS Alex Viega - Criticized Councilmember Terry’s recent behavior and asked her to step down. Steve Casto - Said that the Councilmembers continuously bickering was tearing the community apart. Dennis Rivera - Gave reasoning for resigning and criticized Councilmember Terry’s recent behavior. Said Councilmember Terry should step down. Lonnie Harrell - Disapproved with how the mayor followed the appointment process. Said the mayor discriminated against white Councilmember applicants, in favor of the Hispanic. Craig Malzahn - Withdrew his resume for the vacant District 2 Council seat and mentioned that he couldn’t receive guidance on a land use issue due to the clerks not being able to assist him. Alex - Said Councilmember actions on social media are held to a higher standard. Mentioned that there are social media posts every day on how terrible the Council looks. ITEM 4 - NEW BUSINESS 1. Town Clerk Role - Motion made by Councilmember Merricks to select Carrie Schaper as the Town Clerk and her first six months are probationary. Motion seconded by Mayor Thomas. Motion passed unanimously.  2. Assistant Town Clerk Role - Motion made by Councilmember Koon to hire Kelly MacPherson as the full-time Assistant Town Clerk. Motion seconded by Councilmember. Motion pass unanimously. 3. Discuss support for students competing in the State Science & Engineering Fair - Motion made by Councilmember Merricks to decline donating money and revisit at a later time creating a policy on how the Town will donate money. Councilmember Koon seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Sewage update - Motion made by Councilmember Terry that a Town Councilmember attend the Columbia County Commission meeting to request the county’s assistance with the sewage project. Motion seconded by Councilmember Koon. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Update on the Towns two CDBG Grants & Housing grant extension - Motion made by Councilmember Koon to advertise for CDBG sidewalk bids. Motion seconded by Councilmember Terry. Motion passed unanimously. 6. Monthly finance budget - No motion made. 7. Voting process decision for electing new council members - Motion made by Councilmember Terry to have a Town Council meeting on Monday April 7, 2025. Motion seconded by Councilmember Koon. Motion passed unanimously. Motion made by Councilmember Koon to table the voting process until the April 7th Town Council Meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Merricks. 8. Town financial audit bids - Motion made by Councilmember Koon that Powell & Jones be selected as the vendor that conducts the Town’s yearly audit. Motion seconded by council member Terry. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Grant Presentation by Glenn Hunter - Presentation made by Glenn Hunter. 10. Main Street Program - No motion made. Discussion was had about the Mainstreet program it was determined Doug Sanders should be present for further Mainstreet conversations. ITEM 5 - CITIZEN COMMENTS: None. ITEM 6 - COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS Councilmember Koon commented on inviting candidates for the Town attorney position to April 7th, 2025 meeting. ITEM 7 - ADJOURNMENT: Motion to adjourn made by Councilman Koon, seconded by Councilwoman Terry and passed unanimously. Minutes of the Town Council meeting may be obtained from the Town Clerk's office. The minutes are recorded, but not transcribed verbatim. Persons requiring a verbatim transcript may make arrangements with the Town Clerk to duplicate the recordings or arrange to have a court reporter present at the meeting. The cost of duplication and/or court reporter will be borne by the requesting party. In accordance with Sect. 286.0105 Florida Statutes, notice is given that if a person wishes to appeal a decision made by the Town Council with respect to any matter considered at this meeting, they will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceeding is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is based. Persons with disabilities needing special accommodations to participate in this meeting should contact the Mayor through the Town Clerk's office no later than 4:00 PM on the Friday prior to the meeting.