Town Council Regular Meeting

Page 1 of 3 TOWN OF ST. JAMES REGULAR MEETING MINUTES June 4, 2025 The St. James Town Council met in Regular Session at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in the Earl Dye Council Chamber. Council Members Present: Mayor Jean Toner, Mayor Pro Tem David DeLong, Councilors Jim Board, Dennis Barclay, and Lynn Dutney Staff Present: Town Manager Jeff Repp and Town Clerk Jamie Burns Others Present: State Port Pilot Reporter Eliot Duke and 6 residents. Absent: Finance Director Pauline Haran CALL TO ORDER Mayor Toner opened the meeting at 4:01 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE All in attendance joined Mayor Toner in honoring our flag. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mayor Toner asked if there were any changes or corrections to the agenda. Hearing none she requested a motion to approve the Agenda as presented. Mayor Pro Tem DeLong moved to approve the agenda. The motion passed unanimously. Vote: 5/0 APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Toner asked if there were any corrections to the minutes included in the consent agenda. Hearing none she requested a motion to approve the consent agenda. Councilor Board made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda, which consists of the minutes from the April 17, 2025 Work Session, the May 7, 2025 Regular Meeting, and February 20, 2025 Budget Retreat. The motion passed unanimously. Vote: 5/0 MAYOR/COUNCIL/STAFF REPORTS - None OLD BUSINESS – None. NEW BUSINESS 25-11 Motion to Adopt Resolution 2025-04 Assigning $329,000 of Unassigned Fund Balance to Disaster Recovery Fund Town Manager Jeff Repp explained that this resolution would assign $329,000 to a balance in the disaster recovery fund, which was created by the council approximately six years ago. The goal was to establish $1,500,000 in a fund to pay for disaster related expenses, such as hurricane debris pick up, following a natural disaster. This allocation would bring the amount to just shy of the $1,500,000 figure  Page 2 of 3 TOWN OF ST. JAMES REGULAR MEETING MINUTES June 4, 2025 established in the original resolution creating the disaster fund. Mr. Repp noted that assuming that there isn’t a bad year, the council’s consideration next year would be whether to increase the amount or sunset the one cent devoted to this effort. Mayor Toner mentioned that the town had applied for FEMA reimbursement four times, receiving it twice and being denied twice. She noted that they had to use the fund on two occasions. As this was a financial matter, Mayor Toner opened the floor for public comment before a motion was made. Hearing no public comment, she requested a motion. Councilor Dutney moved to adopt Resolution 2025-04, assigning $329,000 of the unassigned fund balance to the disaster recovery fund. Motion was approved unanimously. Vote: 5/0 25-12 Motion to Adopt Resolution 2025-05 Assigning $1,083,000 of Unassigned Fund Balance to Fire Protection Fund Town Manager Jeff Repp explained that this resolution would authorize staff to transfer $1,083,000 from the unassigned fund balance into the fire protection fund for use by the St. James Fire Department for capital purchases. Mayor Toner opened the floor for public comment on this financial issue. Hearing none, she requested a motion. Mayor Pro Tem DeLong moved to adopt Resolution 2025-05, assigning $1,083,000 of unassigned fund balance to the fire protection fund. The motion was approved unanimously. Vote: 5/0 25-13 Motion to Adopt Ordinance 2025-02 the FY 2025-2026 Budget and Fee Schedule Town Manager Jeff Repp reminded the council that a public hearing on the budget ordinance was held at the May 7th public meeting. He explained that by state law, this ordinance is required to be adopted by June 30th of the calendar year, taking effect on July 1st, which is the start of the fiscal year. Mr. Repp stated that this ordinance would allocate expenditures and revenues of $5,936,000 for various operations of the town in the upcoming fiscal year. He also noted that there were two attachments to the ordinance: fee schedule for the event center and for planning and zoning fees. He clarified that there were no changes to these fee schedules from the current fiscal year.  Page 3 of 3 TOWN OF ST. JAMES REGULAR MEETING MINUTES June 4, 2025 Mayor Toner opened the floor for public comment. Hearing none, she requested a motion. Councilor Board moved to approve Ordinance 2025-02 for the fiscal 2025-26 budget in the amount of $5,936,000 and the accompanying attachments. The motion was approved unanimously. Vote: 5/0 PUBLIC COMMENT Gary Tagtmeyer, a resident of 3481 Beaver Creek, addressed the council. Mr. Tagtmeyer expressed concerns about the financial future of St. James, citing issues such as increasing costs for aging facilities and inflation, rising expenses for the fire department, potential costs associated with possible annexation, and the division of responsibilities between the POA and the Town. Mr. Tagtmeyer proposed that the council establish a comprehensive committee to examine how various functions in St. James are funded. He suggested including representatives from the town, POA, fire department, clubs, and potentially the developer. He emphasized the need to review who funds various functions, particularly security, roads, and landscaping. Mayor Toner thanked Mr. Tagtmeyer for his comments. ADJOURNMENT At 4:18pm Mayor Pro Tem DeLong made a motion to adjourn the meeting. All were in favor. Vote: 5/0 Mayor Toner adjourned the meeting. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, _________________________ ______________________ Jamie Burns, Town Clerk Jean R. Toner, Mayor