Regular Commission Meeting

Lake Park Town Commission, Florida Regular Commission Meeting Minutes Commission Chamber, Town Hall, 535 Park Avenue, Lake Park, FL 33403 Wednesday February 18, 2026 6:30pm Roger Michaud __ Mayor Michael Hensley __ Vice Mayor John Linden __ Commissioner Michael O'Rourke __ Commissioner Judith Thomas __ Commissioner Richard J. Reade __ Town Manager Thomas J. Baird __ Town Attorney Vivian Mendez, MMC __ Town Clerk PLEASE TAKE NOTICE AND BE ADVISED, that if any interested person desires to appeal any decision of the Town Commission, with respect to any matter considered at this meeting, such interested person will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose, may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations in order to participate in the meeting should contract the Town Clerk’s office by calling 881-3311 at least 48 hours in advance to request accommodations. ______________________________________________________________________________ CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL 6:33 P.M. PRESENT Mayor Roger Michaud Vice Mayor Michael Hensley Commissioner John Linden Commissioner Michael O'Rourke ABSENT Commissioner Judith Thomas February 18, 2026 Page 1 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Michaud led the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion to approved the agenda with no changes made by Vice Mayor Hensley, Seconded by Commissioner Linden. Voting Yea: Mayor Michaud, Vice Mayor Hensley, Commissioner Linden, Commissioner O'Rourke. SPECIAL PRESENTATION/REPORT: 1. Proclamation - Florida Bicycle Month - March 2026 Ms. Kim Glas-Castro, former Vice Mayor of the Town was presented with the Proclamation because of her long-time involvement with bicycling events in the Town over the years including the Tour De Lake Park, of which she is the founder. PUBLIC COMMENT: This time is provided for addressing items that do not appear on the Agenda. Please complete a comment card and provide it to the Town Clerk so speakers may be announced. Please remember comments are limited to a TOTAL of three minutes. -Michael Steinhauer provided comments via Exhibit A. -Kelly Steele spoke highly of recent Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) efforts to find a missing person. -Michael O’Rourke spoke about a recent memo regarding potential sunshine law violations. He spoke about received threats made in conjunction with alleged sunshine law violations. CONSENT AGENDA: All matters listed under this item are considered routine and action will be taken by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Commissioner or person so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the general order of business and February 18, 2026 Page 2 considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. Any person wishing to speak on an agenda item is asked to complete a public comment card located on either side of the Chambers and given to the Town Clerk. Cards must be submitted before the item is discussed. 2. Regular Commission Meeting Minutes - February 4, 2026 3. Resolution 13-02-26 - Escrow Agreement (Renewal) - Palm Beach County Clerk of Circuit Court & Comptroller Motion to approved the consent agenda made by Vice Mayor Hensley, Seconded by Commissioner Linden. Voting Yea: Mayor Michaud, Vice Mayor Hensley, Commissioner Linden, Commissioner O'Rourke. PUBLIC HEARING(S) - ORDINANCE ON FIRST READING: NONE PUBLIC HEARING(S) - ORDINANCE ON SECOND READING: NONE NEW BUSINESS: 4. Resolution 14-02-26 - Agreement (Amendment) - Town Attorney - Jones Foster, P.A. Town Attorney Baird explained that the amendment is so that his litigation partners can charge up to $500.00 per hour for defense against upcoming litigation with the Town and also for the Town initiated litigation against Sales at Sea for not meeting contractual obligations. Commissioner O’Rourke asked for clarification on the proposed amendment because he had a previous version of the document. Town Manager Reade clarified the terms to be that the administrative legal fees would remain the same at $300.00 per hour but the fee for complex litigation was being increased to a cap of $500.00 per hour. Motion to terminate the Town Attorney’s contract made by Commissioner O’Rourke. There was no second to the motion. Motion failed. Motion to approve Resolution 14-02-26 made by Vice Mayor Hensley. Seconded by Commissioner Linden. Commissioner O’Rourke stated that there is a conflict of interest in regards to the attorney’s fees because he believes that the situation was manipulated so that the members of the dais would not make any waves. Commissioner O’Rourke expressed his upset because he believes that the Town Attorney has put them in jeopardy by failing in his legal duty to protect them. February 18, 2026 Page 3 Commissioner O’Rourke stated that the Town Attorney and the Town Manager are working together so that they will never be able to keep up with the lawsuit. He stated that to use the sunshine law as a tool against him and two other members of the dais is not an appropriate action for an attorney. Commissioner Linden spoke about the possible repercussions from the lawsuit. Town Attorney Baird advised the members of the Commission not to discuss this topic in public at this time because it is open, ongoing litigation and anything they say could put the Town in a more difficult position. Mayor Michaud stated that the conversation needs to stop. Commissioner O’Rourke suggested tabling this item to a future meeting date. Vice Mayor Hensley stated that he would like to move forward and they have some litigation coming up that they will need legal representation for. The motion to approve Resolution 14-02-26 was re- stated by Vice Mayor Hensley for clarification purposes. ROLL CALL VOTE; Commissioner Linden voted yes Vice Mayor Hensley voted yes Mayor Michaud voted yes Commissioner O’Rourke voted nay Motion passed 3-1. TOWN ATTORNEY, TOWN MANAGER, COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: -Town Attorney Baird provided updates on current legal matters. He stated that his firm is reviewing and preparing a response regarding the lawsuit from Forest Development. He also stated that a lawsuit has been filed regarding alleged violations of the sunshine law against members of the Commission; Mayor Michaud, Commissioner O’Rourke and Commissioner Linden. He stated that there will eventually need to be attorney-client sessions to discuss both of these matters. Town Attorney Baird also gave an update on a legal matter regarding a possible breach of agreement by Sales at Sea. He stated that they had sent a letter to them requesting they comply with the agreement but the letter did not yield positive results so in order to have them comply, the Town would need to initiate a legal action against them. Motion to move forward with legal action made by Vice Mayor Hensley. Marina Director Jason Tenney explained that the Marina is losing approximately $7,500.00 per month because of this issue. Motion seconded by Commissioner Linden. Vice Mayor Hensley stated that he believes February 18, 2026 Page 4 that if they have to go to court to try to recover the $7,500.00 per month they are losing because of this, then they should do that. Town Manager Reade provided a history explanation of the situation with the barge, floating docks and the reason why the Marina is losing money because of it. Mayor Michaud and Town Attorney Baird clarified that the motion is to move forward with a lawsuit. Voting Aye: Commissioner Linden, Vice Mayor Hensley, Mayor Michaud. Voting Nay: Commissioner O’Rourke. -Town Manager Reade spoke about unfair comments that were made and made suggestions to improve communication moving forward. He stressed the importance of unity. Town Manager Reade announced the Downtown Movie Night event on February 20th from 6-9pm and Sunset Celebration on February 27th from 6 – 9pm. Consensus was provided for two proclamations; Let’s Move Palm Beach County and Harry S Kelsey. Special Events Director Riunite Franks provided an update on a possible Police Athletic League (PAL) coming to the Town and they are in the planning phase with PBSO. Mr. Kevin Leahy, General Construction Manager with Avalon Bay, provided the Commission with a construction update on the Avalon Bay project and anticipate completion in 2026. -Commissioner O’Rourke stated that he is not sure he trusts the leadership in the Town and things that are going on in the Town. He spoke about revenue going down and legal expenses increasing since the Town Manager was hired. He spoke about two members of the dais being interested in other developers and that he feels the Town is in a bad place and does not believe lawsuits are the way to solve the problems and is deeply concerned that the Town is not going to be able to get itself out of the situation it’s in. He stated that other members of the dais don’t look deeper into things. -Commissioner Linden spoke about people working and soliciting in the Town and developing clear guidelines on people soliciting or walking through people’s yards without identification. He also spoke about the Town calendar having bad or missing information. Commissioner Linden asked about the Town Green. Special Events Director Riunite Franks stated that the Town does not pay rent for use of the space. Commissioner Linden asked if the three members on the dais who are mentioned in the Sunshine Law violation lawsuit were to resign from their February 18, 2026 Page 5 seats, would they then be excluded from the lawsuit. Town Attorney Baird stated that would be entirely up to the Plaintiff. -Vice Mayor Hensley spoke about his love for the Town and he finds it offensive when people attack the Town. He spoke about the responsibility of the members on the dais to spend time each week communicating with the Town Attorney and the Town Manager. He spoke about all the positive things going on in the Town, specifically Downtown and does not believe the Town is going broke. Vice Mayor Hensley requested the March 18, 2026 Regular Commission Meeting be rescheduled due to conflicts with spring break. The Commission agreed and an alternate date will be selected after Commissioner Thomas is consulted. Vice Mayor Hensley stated that on March 7th at 5pm, there will be Bingo with the Vice Mayor with prizes, live music and snacks. -Commissioner O’Rourke wanted to clarify that he has not spoken with any plaintiff against the Town. -Commissioner Linden asked if they should attend the ribbon-cutting for Nautilus 220. Mayor Michaud, Commissioner O’Rourke and Vice Mayor Hensley stated they have will not be in attendance. -Mayor Michaud spoke about the importance of unity and how they cannot let things divide them. He made a plea to all watching and everyone in the room to not let things divide us. He asked staff to not let this divide them either. He suggested moving the Town forward in the right, balanced way. REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: Commissioner O’Rourke requested a future agenda item for a dog law ordinance. Town Manager Reade stated that it is in progress. February 18, 2026 Page 6