Workshop Meeting

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TOWN OF REDINGTON SHORES WORKSHOP MEETING WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2026 6:00 P.M. AGENDA A. CALL TO ORDER B. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE C. ROLL CALL D. APPEARANCES AND PRESENTATIONS E. OLD BUSINESS F. NEW BUSINESS 1. Building Department Topics 2. Parks and Recreation Topics 3. Town Charter Update for Commissioner Term Length 4. Coffee with the Commissioners 5. Agenda Process 6. Staff Positions G. MISCELLANEOUS Regular Meeting- Wednesday, February 11, 2026 – 6:00 P.M. Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee Meeting, February 11, 2026 – 5:00 P.M. Workshop – Wednesday, February 25, 2026 – 6:00 P.M H. ADJOURNMENT Pursuant to Florida Statutes § 286.0105, if any person or entity decides to appeal any decision made on any matter considered at any meeting or hearing of any Redington Shores Board or Commission, he, she or it will need a record of the proceedings and, for such purpose, he, she or it may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the legal arguments, testimony, and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. ITEM F.1. Date: January 28, 2026 To: Board of Commissioners From: Eve Spencer – Building Official Re: Building Department Topics Recommendations & Compliance Strategy ITEM 1: Discussion Regarding Research of Building Permit Fee Schedule The Department is currently in the research phase of evaluating the existing permit fee schedule. Staff seeks to discuss the parameters the Board would like prioritized during this study, such as comparisons with peer municipalities and alignment with 2026 operational overhead. No changes are currently drafted; this is a preliminary discussion to guide staff research. ITEM 2: Discuss strategies to facilitate and streamline compliance for non-conforming properties As of 2026, many municipalities in Florida have transitioned from recovery assistance to formal code enforcement following the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene (which made landfall on September 26, 2024). The Town's Building Department is now focused on ensuring long-term community safety and regulatory adherence through the following actions: • Permit Compliance: Identify properties where structural repairs or major renovations were initiated without the necessary building permits. While minor emergency repairs (such as replacing under 24 inches of drywall) were initially allowed without permits, larger reconstruction efforts must now meet current safety standards and flood elevation requirements. • Addressing Abandoned Properties: Identify properties that have remained vacant or in a state of disrepair since the storm and begin the process of citing for code violations. These "abandoned" structures often pose safety risks to the neighborhood and may be subject to abatement or demolition if owners do not provide a clear plan for restoration. • Enforcement Deadlines: Various counties have established firm deadlines for compliance. For example, some areas have extended the window for bringing  "substantially damaged" properties into compliance to June 1, 2026, after which daily fines of up to $500 may be assessed. Resources for Resolution: Encourage residents to use official resources, such as the Florida Building Code or local Building and Development Review Services, to verify if their property meets current standards and to avoid further legal or financial penalties. ITEM 3: Proposed Updating of Website and Building Ordinance • Ordinance Realignment: Staff recommends amending the Town Building Ordinance to ensure it is fully consistent with the most recent edition of the Florida Building Code. • Digital Interface: A proposal to update the Building Department website to provide resources and access to local code requirements. ITEM 4: Recommended Action Plan for Expired Permits Staff recommends the development of a "Permit Close-Out Program" to address the cumulative backlog of expired permit applications and issued permits. This proposal includes a recommendation for a streamlined notification process and a potential limited-time amnesty period to encourage residents and contractors to bring expired files into compliance. ITEM 5: Recommendations for Legislative Mandate Compliance Staff is seeking direction on the formal implementation of mandatory state requirements to ensure the Town meets its 2026 legal obligations: • Milestone Inspections: A recommendation to establish a formal notification and tracking cycle to comply with Florida Statute 553.899 regarding structural integrity for aging buildings. • Utilization Reports: A proposal for the standardized collection and publication of building permit fee data to meet state reporting transparency mandates. ITEM 6: Streamlining Recommendation: Express Permitting Process To increase departmental efficiency, staff recommends the Board consider an "Express Permit" track. This would allow for the immediate issuance of permits for "like-for-like" replacements that do not require technical plan review under the Florida Building Code. Proposed categories for this expedited track include: • Water Heater Change-outs: Equal capacity and fuel source replacements. • A/C Change-outs: Like-for-like mechanical system replacements. Action Requested: This workshop is for discussion purposes only. Staff requests Commissioner input on these recommendations and guidance on the fee schedule research to determine which items should be finalized for formal adoption at a future Regular Commission Meeting. ITEM F.2. Date: January 28, 2026 To: Board of Commissioners From: Margaret Carey – Town Manager Re: Projects for Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee The Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee took a break from meeting in 2025 after the hurricanes. The Committee will begin meeting again beginning in February 2026. The Commission has recently touched on potential projects that would traditionally be researched and reported by the Committee. Committee duties are as follows: DUTIES – It shall be the duty of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee: 1. To make a continuing study of the parks and recreational matters and needs of the town, and to make periodic reports to the board of commissioners of its advice and recommendations. 2. In conjunction with the town bookkeeper and the town clerk, to make recommendations regarding financing and financial feasibility of proposals. 3. To investigate and report to the board of commissioners on any other public lands matters within the town or on any matters referred to it by the board of commissioners. It is important to note that much research has been done already on topics such as the Nature Park sign and landscape. To avoid duplication of efforts, I would like to gather input from the Commission about potential projects and agree on a list of projects to share with the Parks & Recreation members. The Committee and staff can then work together to gather and summarize previous research and findings that can be shared with the Commission in a more complete manner. ITEM F.3. Date: January 28, 2026 To: Board of Commissioners From: Margaret Carey – Town Manager Re: Proposed Charter Amendment – Commissioner Term Length At the November 12, 2025 Regular Meeting, Commissioners voted to move ahead with discussions for a Charter Update to be presented to the voters as a referendum in the November 2026 election. Commissioner Maynard proposed creating a Charter Amendment to change the Commissioner term lengths to 4 years instead of 2 for Commissioners and 3 for Mayor/Commissioner. This item is placed on the agenda to discuss specific details of the amendment and to potentially direct the Town Attorney to update the draft Ordinance for Commission consideration at a regular meeting. Attorney Eschenfelder prepared a draft Ordinance and ballot language – which is attached. He also pointed out that: • To make the even/odd terms work, seats 1 and 3 elected in March 2026 will get 4-year terms if approved by the voters in November. • Since the Mayor term will be also be 4 years, the Mayor will always be running with seats 2 and 4.  ORDINANCE NO. 2026-0* AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF REDINGTON SHORES, FLORIDA, AMENDING § 5 OF THE TOWN CHARTER TO INCREASE THE TERM OF OFFICE FOR THE MAYOR COMMISSIONER FROM THREE TO FOUR YEARS AND TO INCREASE THE TERM OF OFFICE FOR DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS FROM TWO TO FOUR YEARS;; MAKING RELATED FINDINGS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND SCHEDULING A REFERENDUM DATE ON WHICH THE TOWN’S QUALIFIED ELECTORS WILL VOTE ON THE AMENDMENT. WHEREAS, Florida Statutes § 166.031(1) provides, in part, that the governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance, submit to the electors of said municipality a proposed amendment to its charter, which amendment may be to any part or to all of said charter except that part describing the boundaries of such municipality; and WHEREAS, the same statute also provides that the governing body of a municipality “shall place the proposed amendment contained in the ordinance or petition to a vote of the electors at the next general election held within the municipality or at a special election called for such purpose”; and WHEREAS, the Redington Shores Town Charter was adopted in its modern form by Chapter Law 31209, Laws of Florida, 1955; and WHEREAS, since 1974 and after the Florida Constitution’s amendment to provide for municipal home rule, the Charter has been amended 20 times, the most recent being in 2025; and WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of the Town of Redington Shores has determined that having extended terms will allow Commission members to better serve their constituents and to reduce the frequency of elections; and WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of the Town of Redington Shores finds that it is in the Town’s best interests to recommend the revision to the Town Charter set forth herein to the Town’s electors for a referendum vote. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Commissioners of the Town of Redington Shores, Florida, that: Section 1. Section 5 of the Charter of the Town of Redington Shores is hereby amended to read as follows: § C-5. Creation of Board of Commissioners. 1  A. There is hereby created a Board of Commissioners to consist of one Mayor-Commissioner and four District Commissioners who shall be residents and qualified registered voters of the Town. B. Qualifications and term of office. Each District Commissioner shall be a resident and qualified registered voter of the district from which he or she is elected, and the Mayor- Commissioner shall be a resident and qualified registered voter of said Town. Terms of office of all Commissioners shall be for a period of four years and shall commence on the day following their election to office as soon as the ballots have been canvassed and the results certified and declared and shall terminate the day of their successors' election to office. The term of office of the Mayor shall be for a period of four years and shall commence on the day following his or her election to office as soon as the ballots have been canvassed and the results certified and declared and shall terminate the day of his or her successor's election to office. C. Commissioners elected from Districts 1 and 3 who are elected in the March 2026 election for two year terms shall serve four terms through March 2030, it being the intent and purpose hereof that the Commissioners from even-numbered districts shall be elected in alternate election cycles from the Commissioners from the even-numbered districts. D. Vacancies. Any vacancy in the Board of Commissioners shall be filled by appointment by the majority of the remaining members of the Commission for the unexpired term (or until the next election provided that the vacancy not occur within less than 30 days of a Town election). If the Mayor-Commissioner ceases to be a resident or if any District Commissioner ceases to be a resident of the district from which he or she was elected, there shall immediately occur a vacancy in that office and the remaining members of the Board of Commissioners shall fill that office in accordance with this subsection. No elective incumbent office holder shall be qualified to hold or run for any other elective office unless he or she shall resign his or her incumbent office. E. Removal of Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners shall have the power and authority to remove any member of such Board for incompetency, corruption, misconduct, misfeasance or malfeasance in office, absence from four successive meetings unless excused by the Commission for good and sufficient cause after due notice to said member and an opportunity to be heard in his or her defense. F. Rules of procedure. The Commission may determine its own rules of procedure, may punish its own members for misconduct and may compel attendance. The majority of all members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum to do business. The Commission shall hold regular meetings at such time and place as may be prescribed by ordinance or resolution. Special meetings may be called by the Mayor-Commissioner, or in his or her absence, the Vice Mayor when necessary. All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public. Section 2. The foregoing Charter amendment shall be placed on a referendum ballot by use of the ballot language set forth in Exhibit A, attached to and incorporated into this Ordinance. 2  Section 3. The referendum for the Town’s electors to consider and vote on the foregoing Charter amendments shall occur during the Town’s regular election on March ** 2025. Section 4. Should a majority of the Town’s electors voting approve the Charter amendment set forth in Section 1 above, then, on the day immediately following the certification of the results of the referendum, the Town Clerk shall transmit this Ordinance to the Town Code’s Codifier for codification, and, pursuant to Florida Statutes § 166.031(2), shall file the revised Charter with the Florida Department of State. Section 5. Pursuant to Florida Statutes § 100.342, the Town Clerk shall ensure that notice of the referendum is provided by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town. Such publication shall be made at least twice, once in the fifth week and once in the third week prior to the date on which the referendum is to be held. Section 6. For purposes of codification of any existing section of the Redington Shores Town Charter herein amended, words underlined represent additions to original text, words stricken are deletions from the original text, and words neither underlined nor stricken remain unchanged. Section 7. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, provision, or word of this Ordinance is held unconstitutional or otherwise legally invalid, same shall be severable and the remainder of this Ordinance shall not be affected by such invalidity, such that any remainder of the Ordinance shall withstand any severed provision, as the Board of Commissioners would have adopted the Ordinance and its regulatory scheme even absent the invalid part. Section 8. Upon being informed by the Town Clerk of the results of the referendum vote, the Codifier shall codify the substantive amendments to the Redington Shores Town Charter contained in Section 1 of this Ordinance which have been approved by the voters, and shall not codify the exordial clauses nor any other sections of this Ordinance not designated for codification. 3  Section 9. The Clerk is authorized to coordinate and approve all necessary advertisement and election expenses and agreements, and to secure all required translation services and ballot language reviews by the Supervisor of Elections, as may be required to lawfully conduct the referendum. Section 10. The Charter amendment approved by the voters shall take effect on the day immediately following the certification of the results of the referendum. Section 11. Pursuant to Florida Statutes § 166.041(4), this Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon adoption. ADOPTED ON FIRST READING on the ** day of ______________, 2026, by the Board of Commissioners of the Town of Redington Shores, Florida. ADOPTED ON SECOND AND FINAL READING on the ** day of __________, 2026, by the Board of Commissioners of the Town of Redington Shores, Florida. _____________________________ Tom Kapper, Mayor Attest: _________________________ Melissa Fultz, Town Clerk 4  EXHIBIT A CHARTER AMENDMENT – REFERENDUM REFERENDUM QUESTION # 1 HOME RULE AND ROLES OF TOWN COMMISSION AND TOWN MANAGER Charter section 5 currently provides that the term of office for a Commissioner is two years, with the term of the Mayor-Commissioner being three years. Should section 5 of the Charter be amended to convert terms of the Mayor and Commissioners to four years? Yes No 1 ITEM F.4. Date: January 28, 2026 To: Board of Commissioners From: Margaret Carey – Town Manager Re: Coffee with the Commissioners Prior to the hurricanes in 2024, the Town had been hosting “Mayor’s Morning Brew” events. These 1-hour Saturday morning events covered a variety of topics, from resident issues to local business discussions. Recently, a Commissioner inquired about hosting such an event with the town’s Commissioners. I would be happy to coordinate a “Coffee with the Commissioners” event as early as February 2026. Discussion: • What date is best? o February 21 o February 28 • What topic(s) will be covered? Is there a highlight topic? • Other? ITEM F.5. Date: January 28, 2026 To: Board of Commissioners From: Margaret Carey – Town Manager Re: Meeting Agenda Process Just as a refresher… The deadline for submitting agenda topics and supporting materials is noon on the Wednesday before the meeting. The Clerk or I will always send a draft agenda with a reminder about the deadline. From the Policy and Procedures Manual for the Redington Shores Board of Commissioners and Town Officials: ITEM F.6. Date: January 28, 2026 To: Board of Commissioners From: Margaret Carey – Town Manager Re: Staff Position Discussion This item was requested by Mayor Commissioner Kapper.