quiet before we start a meeting you just got to get everyone's attention yeah all right it's seven o'clock so all right so good evening everybody welcome to the city commission meeting of monday december 16th at this time i'd like to call pastor andrew larson there he is from safety harbor community church to please come forward and lead us in the invocation and if everyone would please remain standing after for the pledge to the flag would you pray with me heavenly father How grateful we are for this city. How grateful we are for the men and women who lead us, who give up their time and of their gifts. Father, at this last meeting of the year, may we be able to look back with pride at the way that our leadership responded to the storms that we faced, the way that our citizens took care of one another, and the way that we've come through stronger. Father, we ask that next year would be another great year for the city of Safety Harbor. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Before we jump in, I just want to say it's great seeing everyone wearing their festive attire tonight for the season. Everyone's looking good, including some people there in the audience. Alrighty, so now we're gonna start off with the presentation portion of the meeting. So at this time, I would like to call Cindy Hadley to please come forward. There she is. And this is a years of service recognition. And how many years is this? Five. Five years. All right, great. So we got a couple things for you, but first I'm just going to read a couple things about you, and then I'll come down and present them to you. So prior to joining the library team in Safety Harbor, Cindy worked at the Penn Hills Library in Pittsburgh for many years, gaining experience in the library world. She began her new library career on December 19, 2019, at the Safety Harbor Library as a library assistant one in circulation. Cindy works the front desk fielding questions, registering new library cards, checking materials in and out, employing the book drops, filling the daily hold list, and greeting the public. She is energetic, fun to work with, and always looking for extra things to do. She serves our patrons with a smile. She loves to answer their questions and inspire patrons of all ages to read. Cindy is truly appreciated for her commitment to the library and her community in which she also lives. She's always ready to step in for her team, and we look forward to many more years of working together with her. So, Cindy, thank you for your five years of service with the city. Thank you. It's been very enjoyable. Better than Pittsburgh? Yes. Oh, good, good. All right, all right. Better through. Yeah, all right. Good to know. Anything you'd like to say before I come down? No, I'm good. Just thanks for the opportunity that you guys all gave me. It's been a real pleasure. Hopefully, I'll make it five more. I'm sure you will. Cooper. I think you're back there. I think this is just a fluke that we're giving you this award tonight where Josh just happened to be at the spa and they were doing a ceremony. You got some recognition and now here you are in front of it. If they would have done this anywhere else, we may have never known about this. That is correct. I hear that Josh really enjoyed it. It's a good meal. Good meal. You missed a good meal. And the entertainment. Yep, yep. Yes. I appreciate it on my behalf. I mean, you are humble, so you would never have told us, but it worked out that way. And before I, you know, I just want to show everyone this beautiful plaque here that is awarded to Renee for her, well, for all her efforts that she does in the city. So with Renee, so let me just say this. So this evening, board members of the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operations Association Region 4, are here to assist me in presenting our Public Works Director, Renee Cooper, a plaque in recognition of her service and work. So joining us this evening, we have Pete Covelli, that's Pete right there. We have Jeff Faneys? Faneys. Faneys. And Ray Bordner, you must be Ray, joining us. So what the plaque says is it says, Renee Cooper, Public Works Director, City of Safety Harbor. A special thanks to an engaging Public Works Director that supports our training efforts within Region 4 and the professional development of their staff Congratulations, Renee Cooper. So thank you. I'm going to give the four gentlemen next to me an opportunity to speak as well. Well, great. I just wanted to address the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association, Region 4. And actually, the person that would be best to describe that organization is Mr. Ray Bordner, who's been part of the organization for God knows how many years. He's been the state president. He's just about done everything. ONE OF THE GODFATHERS OF WATER DISTRIBUTION IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. SO I'D LIKE TO GIVE HIM A MOMENT. AND THEN I'D LIKE TO SAY JUST A KIND WORD ABOUT RENEE COOPER AS WELL. PLEASE DO. THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AND CONGRATULATIONS TO RENEE FOR RECEIVING THIS AWARD. AS PETE SAID, I'M PAST PRESIDENT OF THE STATE ASSOCIATION OF THE FWPCA. HOW MANY HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THE FWPCA BEFORE THIS EVENING? Anybody? And that's not unusual. The FWPCOA actually began and was incorporated in 1929. That's how long we've been in existence. It actually started 12 years prior to that incorporation. Well, who are we and what do we do? The FWPCOA is a 501c nonprofit association. And our purpose is to provide training to protect the health and resources of our state. Within the state of Florida, with the FWPCA, our parent company is headquartered out of Palm Beach County. Our training office is located in Titusville. We provide training for utility personnel, which includes wastewater plant operators, water plant operators, wastewater collection systems, water distribution systems, reclaimed water systems, storm water system, as well as maintenance. OF THOSE SYSTEMS. OF THOSE SYSTEMS. OF THOSE SYSTEMS. AND OUR PARENT ORGANIZATION AND OUR PARENT ORGANIZATION AND OUR PARENT ORGANIZATION IS DIVIDED UP INTO 13 REGIONS. IS DIVIDED UP INTO 13 REGIONS. IS DIVIDED UP INTO 13 REGIONS. YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD IT MENTIONED, YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD IT MENTIONED, YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD IT MENTIONED, WE ARE IN REGION FOUR. WE ARE IN REGION FOUR. WE ARE IN REGION FOUR. REGION FOUR INCORPORATES REGION FOUR INCORPORATES REGION FOUR INCORPORATES PINELLAS, PASADO, HERNANDO, PINELLAS, PASADO, HERNANDO Our parent company has two short schools a year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Those short schools are held at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce. But here within our region, we offer a state short school, I mean a regional short school very similar to a state short school every year. Been doing that since 1988. And so we have a history of providing training to our utility personnel. make our utility personnel more knowledgeable and better trained employees of all the municipalities and all the systems around our region jeff who has been doing our state short schools i mean our regional schools for the last two years has been setting up and it's a lot of work to do this training for all the utility personnel within our region But it's not only our region, because we have people come from around the state to us in our short schools. Very proud of that fact and whatnot. And it's often said within a community, what is the most important part of a community? What's the most important makeup of a community? Every community has to have a police department to maintain law and order within that community. Every community must have a fire department. and farm and back are standing back to protect life and welfare within the community. Every community must have parks and recreation for leisure and relaxation. Every community must have a street department to maintain our streets, our traffic signals, and everything within the community. Every community has to have some sort of sanitation as far as protecting the communication from spread of disease and whatnot. But the fact remains, Before we can have a community, we must have what? We must have water. Water is one of the most precious things we have. And so I have been in the water industry, water distribution system for 57 years, working in that industry, trying to protect the health and welfare of our communities. So thank you again for the opportunity to be able to share with you who the FWPCOA is. If you go to our website, fwpcoa.org, It's going to explain in detail everything about us, all the training opportunities that we have around the state. So thank you very much and appreciate it. And I wish all of you the happiest of holidays. Yeah? Yeah, and just rounding this off, I just wanted to really emphasize and identify Renee Cooper as a true professional in this field. I've known her, god, it's got to be getting close to the decades now, more than the years. And we've worked together through things like the American Public Works Association, the Pinellas Education Fund, the Public Works Academy, the Public Works Training Institute, of course, FWPCOA, and just working with her to find scholarships, find training opportunities, finding really paths for people to enter this field of local government and start a wonderful career. Again, it's an honor to know her. And again, you are more than well-deserved in this award. So again, thank you for your time. Anything else? No, I believe you're going to be handing her the award. Yeah, and I just want to say this is very well deserved, and this recognition is awesome. So thank you all for coming out here to recognize her efforts for the city. We all know she's great, but it's great to see you all agree. All right, so now we have a fire department swearing-in ceremony. So at this time, I would like to call Xavier Davila and Maxwell Carman to please come forward. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioner, City Manager. For the record, Andrew Hawkins, Fire Chief. We are here tonight to continue sharing our fire department story and present firefighter paramedic Xavier Davila and firefighter EMT Max Carman their badges and finally swearing them in. Xavier was hired as a firefighter EMT in November of 2023 and completed his probation period last month. Xavier is currently assigned to a shift and is accompanied tonight by his wife Amali and his mom Karen and other friends and family. Xavier was born and raised in Tampa, Florida, and attended Hillsborough Community College for both Fire Academy, EMT, and paramedic school. During Xavier's first year with us, he's completed paramedic school and was promoted to firefighter paramedic this month. Max was hired as a firefighter EMT November 2023 and completed his probation period last month. Max is currently assigned to B-Shift and is accompanied tonight by his dad, Bill, mom... Naomi and girlfriend Reese. Max was born and raised in Palm Harbor and attended Fire Academy and EMT school in Jacksonville. Max is currently enrolled in paramedic school and graduates early spring of 2025. Xavier and Max, we're happy to have you and look forward to your continued great work with the City of Safety Harbor. Congratulations and welcome to the team. Family, if you could please come forward for the painting. Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, state your name. I, Max Garvin. I, David Avila. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will support, protect, and uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Florida. That I will support, protect, and uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Florida. That I will support, protect, and uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Florida. And the charter laws of the city of Sakey Harbor. In that I am duly qualified to hold the position of. In that I will faithfully perform the duties of the position on which I am now about to enter. Right. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioner, City Manager. I'm back again. For the record, Andrew Hawkins, Fire Chief. We're here tonight to present the Firefighter of the Year 2024. This award presented each year to a firefighter who best exemplifies the positive characteristics of a member of the fire service who has notable record of service and achievements. Each year, the Firefighter of the Year is nominated by their peers. This year's Firefighter of the Year 2024 is firefighter paramedic Matt Tilka. Firefighter paramedic Tilka has been with the department since 2018. During his time with Safety Harbor, Matt has promoted the firefighter paramedic, became a driver operator for the engine and the ladder truck, and also has became an acting captain and is currently on the captain's promotional list. This year, firefighter paramedic was nominated by Captain Dan Zemanski, and I quote, I would like to nominate Firefighter Paramedic Matt Tilka as a candidate for Firefighter of the Year. Firefighter Paramedic Tilka wears many hats and was the primary acting officer from the beginning of 2024. During that time, Firefighter Tilka had a boat rescue during one of the first calls in 2024 from a woman who was becoming hypothermic in the bay. He had the first due, correction, he had his first due fire as an acting company officer and navigated a difficult deployment of a courtyard hose leg. Then, this most recent incident involving a boat fire in Clearwater. Firefighter paramedic Tilka showing his poise trailering the boat emergency and controlling the fire boat against wind, current, and nozzle reaction. Not an easy task. Firefighter paramedic Tilka is an excellent paramedic. His bedside manner is second to none. Firefighter Paramedic Tilka has become a mentor to many and is well respected among the department. This year has brought a lot of change and unknowns with our department as we continue to build in the right direction. Firefighter Paramedic Tilka is always a positive source of energy, bringing joy and encouragement to the shift. Tilka is one of the biggest coordinators of department gatherings outside of work, as well as helping bring everyone together. Firefighter paramedic Toca exemplifies the positive characteristics of a firefighter. Congratulations, firefighter paramedic Matthew Toca, recipient of the Firefighter of the Year 2024. you congratulations all right so moving on to audience to be heard if there's anyone that wants to be heard on an item that's not on the regular agenda or that's on the consent agenda please come forward see your name and address and you'll have three minutes to address the Commission Okay, if there's nobody, then we'll move on to the consent agenda. We have two items. The first one is approval of the December 2nd commission meeting minutes, and the second is confirmation of fifth trustee member to the Firefighters Pension Board of Trustees. Does anyone want to pull any of these? Move approval. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Motion passes 5-0. Next up is public hearings. The first one is... ADOPTION OR DENIAL OF ORDINANCE 2024-16. IS THAT SARAH? AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAFETY HARBOR, FLORIDA, ANNEXING CERTAIN PROPERTY LOCATED AT 517 WOODELL DRIVE, SAFETY HARBOR, INTO THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY, PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF LAW AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. AND THIS IS PRESENTED FOR A SECOND READING. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, CAROL STRICKLAND, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR. THERE HAVE BEEN NO CHANGES SINCE THE FIRST READING. Okay. Anyone from the audience wish to be heard on this? Any further discussion or a motion? Approval of Ordinance Number 2024-16. Second. All right. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Motion passes 5-0. Next up is Ole Misses. And the first one is a Hurricane Helene Milton Recovery and Restoration Update. Thank you, Mayor. Just a brief update. Due to the negative effects of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton and tied specifically to our restoration efforts, this evening Community Development Director will provide a brief update to the City Commission on proposed changes to the Downtown Partnership Grant for the Spring 2025 cycle to help businesses in the CRA be more resilient. Thank you. Carol Strickland, Community Development Director. As the Commission is aware, every year the City budgets $100,000 for Downtown Partnership Grants. You recently awarded the three interior renovations. There's about $45,000 remaining for the spring 2025 cycle. But as we've been talking with our business community about their recovery efforts from the hurricanes and the impacts on their businesses, we wanted to come to you and request direction whether to bring back to you at your January meeting on January 21st kind of a special cycle to target those grants to things that would make businesses more resilient and sustainable. The types of impacts that we've heard from downtown businesses are property damage, loss of inventory from loss of power, some flooding, those types of impacts that we feel like we could offer some grants that would help them with whether it's more storm resistant doors and windows, stormwater improvements as part of landscape grants, and even potentially including generators as part of that grant cycle. We feel like we could help our businesses be much better prepared for the next hurricane season this spring. We would like to talk with the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses about their needs. if the commission does wish us to move forward with this concept. And I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Carol, any? I guess I think it's a great cause, I guess, outside of what insurance FEMA may do to help with the recovery for these businesses, because I'm sure they have insurance and coverage. But I think it's helpful to have some mitigation effort so that in the future, whether it's a generator, whether it's shrubbery, whatever it might be to help mitigate, the problem I'm having is there's only 45,000. It's not going to go very far. And so I think financially, I think we're kind of getting kind of tight, I think. So if we go forward with it, I don't want to see us go beyond the 45. And I envision... that with all the businesses downtown, there's just, I mean, I'm all for it, but how do you get to everyone with $45,000? Because I envision some of the businesses taking this up, and I think it's a good thing if it's used properly. And the grants are intended to leverage the private investment. So the grants that we give would probably not cover the whole cost of the improvement, but kind of leverage that business making that investment. And how many businesses do you anticipate getting involved in any kind of mitigation efforts for the future? I don't know. That's why we want to reach out to the chamber and the businesses and see what level of interest there is. I would think one of the biggest things is being proactive before the storm, like you were saying. One of the things is probably maybe generators, but I think I would be against giving equipment or assets over to private business. You know, the library's got a pretty good program where they have tools to rent. Now, I'm just talking off the cusp here. They've got tools to rent, which they lend it out to residents. Perhaps maybe we could retool and maybe arm the library with... hurricane, proactive hurricane equipment, generators. I don't know what else, some kind of shutters or I don't know. That's something, something remains to be seen. But I think, you know, my son down in St. Pete's got a business, like I told you guys, and he just opened up in June and the storms were coming and he goes, I don't have a generator, you know, and he's got a big inventory. He's got refrigerated inventory, new business. He's probably got like, $2,000, $3,000 worth of inventory, of course. So he took my generator. Being a good father gave him my generator. So we lost our stuff in the hurricane. But stuff like that. So I would gather that a generator is probably one of the big things. Because if you have it, especially some of the small businesses that we have, if you have it, where would you store it? You really don't have a place to store it. So some place to store it and have it available. Again, when the time comes, who gets a generator? That's the only thing. That's just one little idea. Just to clarify, the suggestion now is that we reopen the cycle, and people would still need to apply for these funds, and then there's a process for the businesses to tell us what they're going to use these funds for, and then that would be brought back to us to say we approve or deny or distribute how we see fit before it goes anywhere else. So I think I'm all for this because I'm kind of with you, I think. I think generators are a good idea, and that might be where some of them go, and I think some of our businesses may upgrade their signage. They had a lot of signage that was blown away, and if they got, you know, instead of just going back with what they had, if they could come back with something that was more reinforced and less likely to get destroyed the next storm, I'd be interested in that. So I just think, I don't know what these businesses' good ideas might be to use these funds to mitigate the risk of damage for the next hurricanes, but I do like the idea. And I'm with you, Vice Mayor, that I think we're going to need to keep it at that $45,000. But I'd welcome coming back, opening the cycle and bringing it back up to us. Yeah, so I kind of shared some of the, you know, when I heard $45,000 is left and we're talking about generators, those can be $6,000, $10,000 or more. That's, you know, only a handful of generators. at least two, maybe more businesses that didn't have them, and they lost tens of thousands of dollars of inventory. So I think if the generators qualify, I think those are going to be popular. So one way to possibly spread the wealth is to ask for some buy-in from the businesses. And this may help on the demand side also. We'll cover 40% of the generator, or you know, 80% of signage. Maybe there's kind of a scale depending on what kind of feedback you get from the chamber, just so more than just a handful of businesses can, you know, participate in those funds. I do like the idea of stipulating that on the front end because if somebody comes to us and says, I want a generator and I need $10,000, and we redistribute and say we're only going to give you two, they might not be able to get the generator if we only give them two. So if they know kind of what percentage we're looking... We're looking to cover before they apply. They'll apply for something they can... And when do we usually reimburse? What's the rate we usually reimburse? The way that it works is there are caps on individual types of improvements, like a building facade grant for commercials, $5,000. Public arts and murals are $2,000. So we cover up to a fixed... amount rather than a percentage. So if it's like a generator, maybe we kick in, it's a $10,000 generator, we kick in two or, you know, something. Depending on how many businesses want to have a generator because they obviously want to spread it amongst everybody who's going to enhance their hurricane preparedness. So we can come back to you on January 21st based upon your feedback. with agenda items so you can approve those criteria so folks will know going into the grant cycle what their eligibility is. And you'll meet with the chamber between now and then to get an idea? Yes. All right, so you're just looking for feedback on that one. Anyone from the audience wish to be heard on this item? Okay, moving on to new business, we have consideration of a lien reduction request. Yes, sir, Mayor. I'll go ahead and take that one. The City of Safety Harbor received a code enforcement lien reduction request for the property located at 1432 Oak Haven Drive for case number CEB 18-028. The property is developed with a single-family residential home. On September 19, 2018, the Code Enforcement Board found the owner in violation of Safety Harbor Land Development Code for an overgrown lot and established a deadline of October 1, 2018 to come into compliance. The City of Safety Harbor sent an order advising the property owner that a daily fine of $100 would be applied beginning October 1, 2018, and continuing until the property was brought into compliance. An affidavit of noncompliance was issued on October 1, 2018. On January 16, 2019, the Co-Enforcement Board received evidence the respondent had not complied. The property was found in compliance on September 19, 2024. A lien was recorded on the property on February 1, 2019, in the amount of which includes $410 in administrative costs. Staff reviewed the petition pursuant to the procedure set forth by Resolution 2011-18 and Resolution 2024-02. The petition meets established threshold criteria for processing and qualifies for lien reduction consideration. Overall, staff found the request meets the lien reduction criteria of a 50% co-enforcement lien reduction. If approved at 50%, the lien would be reduced by $109,000 for a new lien total of... $109,425. This would include the $410 administrative costs and $15 filing fees, which are not eligible for the reduction. Resolution 2011-18 requires the reduced amount be paid within 90 days of the City Commission approval date, after which the lien shall revert to the full amount. City Commission may reduce the amount of the code enforcement lien, waive the full amount of the lien, or continue the lien in their full amount. Myself and Community Development Director Strickland are here if the Commission has any questions, comments, or concerns about this case. And the property owner is here as well, if the Commission has any questions. How many prior violations were there on this property prior to 2018? There were two violations in 2005 and 2006, and then this one in 2018. Is the property, I guess, I know it's a dwelling, it's a single family. It's a homestead residential property. So the entirety of the almost five years someone was residing on the premises while they were in violation? Well, I think the violation itself was overgrowth. So it is unknown whether... when the violation was corrected because the resident did not call in an additional inspection, but it seems unlikely that the violation continued for that period of basically five years. Right. It would be nice if we had some information whether they came into compliance, they cut the grass, you know, within a year, two years, three years. I guess there's no input from neighbors or anyone, right, to suggest what happened. We did not receive another complaint until this summer in 2024, and the property owner corrected the violation and came into compliance. I'm only saying this because it makes a huge difference to me. If they're in violation and there's a 200,000 plus, if they're in violation and They didn't know to come down to City Hall and say, hey, I cut the grass, and it just perpetuated for five years, and now they're up against a $200,000 essentially fine for noncompliance when potentially they may have been in compliance earlier. It would make a difference to me whether, you know, I look back and go, well, they violated twice before, and... they waited five years to mow the yard i mean i i'd rather it's it's the holiday season i'd rather i'd rather be nicer about the whole thing and and help someone out and resolve it kind of to their favor if i if i had some information that there was some mitigation a long time ago but we don't know can i jump in I'm hearing, though, that people haven't been complaining. So one would think if they hadn't. They could have given up. I mean, I've got neighbors that, you know, they violate, and I just give up after a while. I'm encouraged about the gap, that if I had heard there were constant violations and constant complaining, it would be different. But I tend to lean toward probably compliance, and they just didn't tell us they had complied. Yeah, I made up my own narrative reading the backup material, too. I think we're going to find out more, probably, if the resident will come up and speak. But I think you showed three previous years, 05, 07, and 16, had violations. And I'm taking that none of those three resulted in a lien on the property. So that tells me it was complained. It brought the compliance right away on all three of those previous occasions. So then when it comes to 2019, I would assume that they kind of know that process. So I would also assume that in 2019 it was probably a complaint and resolved right away, and there was just a miss in coming back and saying they're back into compliance. And then now here we are in 2024, we got overgrown again, and as we go through trying to get back into compliance, they've already said we're in compliance based on the 2024 complaint. So, yeah. I guess we've got four other times where the resident was notified that they were out of compliance and they got into compliance right away. But somehow or another, there was this running fee. It seems to me like something just got missed in that gap. And then also, I know we bring up a lot that these things don't really come in front of us unless somebody's trying to refinance or sell their house. And this just doesn't feel like that. because it's happened so many other times. It never does feel like that. That's my take based on the backup material. We'll hear more about it. This is a homestead property. Mr. Polanchuk's owned it perhaps for 40 years and resided there, still resides there. So it's really, he discovered that the lien was in place. He was unaware of it and made the application. As far as I'm aware, it's not related to any plans to sell the property. Yeah, well, whatever. I don't think that should come into our decision whether he's going to sell the property or not. But I think that the one thing is that what this really doesn't say, the backup here is that there is a process every time there is a lien or there is a complaint. There's a notice, there's a lien, there's another notice. It's like four or five different things. This is not just like, oh, you got a lien, then two years later, oh, you got, no. This is, there's four or five processes here. So if there's five different complaints, multiply that by five times, this person was given notice. I want to give somebody, you know, $200,000 is way too high, obviously, you know, for that. And, you know, obviously, but... TO ME, I'M REALLY WORRIED THAT THE CITY HAS REALLY SHOWED NO KIND OF TEETH ON TRYING TO PREVENT THIS STUFF, BECAUSE AT THE END, YES, WE'RE ALL THINKING ABOUT THE PROPERTY OWNER, THAT HE'S CORRECTED HIS MISTAKES AND WE WANT TO MITIGATE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, BUT WHAT ABOUT HIS NEIGHBORS? WHAT ABOUT THE NEIGHBORS THAT HAVE HAD TO ENDURE FOR YEARS OR DECADES, YOU KNOW, THIS KIND OF TREATMENT, THIS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, TREATMENT OF PROPERTY, WHICH AFFECTS THEM. AFFECTS PEOPLE TO SELL, PEOPLE TO, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST NOT SOMETHING PLEASURABLE TO SEE WHEN OTHER PEOPLE ARE SPENDING MONEY ON KEEPING THEIR PROPERTY UP, YOU KNOW, UP AND, YOU KNOW, PAINT LANDSCAPERS, SPENDING TIME OUT THERE ON THE WEEKENDS, AND YOU HAVE ONE NEIGHBOR WHO'S NOT DOING THAT, YOU KNOW. YOU HAVE TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. ALL RIGHT. DOES THE APPLICANT WISH TO BE HEARD? IS THE APPLICANT HERE? MY NAME IS CONRAD. MY NAME IS CONRAD. MY NAME IS CONRAD. I OWN THE HOME THAT HAS BEEN I OWN THE HOME THAT HAS BEEN I OWN THE HOME THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW. DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW. DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW. 1432 OAKAVEN TRIBES, 1432 OAKAVEN TRIBES, 1432 OAKAVEN TRIBES, SAFETY ARBOR. SAFETY ARBOR. SAFETY ARBOR. AND I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER AND I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER AND I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE HOME. OF THE HOME. OF THE HOME. I'VE BEEN THERE OVER I'VE BEEN THERE OVER I'VE BEEN THERE OVER 40 YEARS NOW. 40 YEARS NOW. 40 YEARS NOW. AND I'VE BE I'm not making excuses, but I had some issues, and not with Safety Harbor, but with the health situation. Excuse me. And I also had worked close with your compliance officer, and he was very good. And every time there was a discussion about, or he gave me a note about having the the grass mowed, stuff like that. I said, okay, well, I've completed it. We're done for. But nobody ever mentioned to me that there was a lien, a rolling lien, until I came to the city here one day to correct the issue. And it was, I guess it was a copy of the office, the compliance office showed me the copy of the of the official records that was recorded. And then I'm going like, no, you're kidding. I didn't receive any copy of that. I never had. I would have handled it accordingly. But when somebody tells you that you have a lien on your home property in that size, and that's a total every day, I said, I didn't know anything about it. Perhaps it possibly been overlooked where they haven't. Nobody has sent me a copy of that official records book until I came to safety harbor. And they would look, and they says, well, you can't just. You've got to look at this. You've got to lean on your prop and go, what are you talking about? I really did not know, honestly. And proceeded to take care of what I could on it. you know, came into compliance a short time ago for the last one, and that's about it. All right, thank you very much. Anyone have any questions for Conrad? Yeah, was there something other than just the grass, Carol? It was overgrowth, yes. That was it? Yes. All right, well, thank you very much. Thank you. We don't think. I hear you on wanting to have teeth on these things, and it feels outrageous when we've got $200,000 to not collect something here. But I've got to tell you, in this particular circumstance, I'd want to collect administrative fees, $410, and call it a day. That's just where I'm at. Just the administrative fees? Just the administrative fees. I'm there, too. Yeah, I'm there too. You want to make a motion? All right. I'll move to reduce the lien to the administrative fees only. I'll second. All right. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Motion passes 5-0. Happy holidays. Yeah, you got a good break on this one. So good luck. Yep. All right. So next up is the Museum and Cultural Center. Good evening, Mayor, City Commission, Shannon Schaefer, Recreation Superintendent. Tonight, I'm here requesting direction on the future of our Museum and Cultural Center. In 2011, the city entered into a partnership agreement with the Safety Harbor Museum of Regional History. Over the past 13 years, this partnership has proven successful for both parties and the Safety Harbor community. On November 12, 2024, the Museum of Regional History's board voted to donate the historical artifacts to the city. As part of the acceptance of the donated collection, the museum will undergo a transition DURING WHICH THE CITY HAS BEEN REQUESTED TO TAKE OVER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF CONTINUING THE LEGACY AND PRESERVING THE CITY'S HISTORY. THE TRANSITION WILL INVOLVE DIGITAL DOCUMENTATION, CONSOLIDATION OF RECORDS, PUBLIC POSTINGS AND ULTIMATELY A FINAL DONATION OF ALL THE MUSEUM'S ARCHIVES TO THE CITY. STAFF FULLY SUPPORTS THIS DECISION AND REQUESTS APPROVAL TO CONTINUE COLLABORATING WITH THE MUSEUM'S BOARD AND CITY ATTORNEY ON THE TRANSITION. or any questions and request direction. So we own the building. We own the building. To me, is this just transferring the assets to the city? So we own the building. We operate all the programs, the rentals in the building. We don't own any of the artifacts. So the nonprofit board maintains the artifacts. So it would make the artifacts the cities, and then we would have ownership of them What spurred this, if you don't mind me asking? They have struggled over the past few years to get members and volunteers. So the board is just, some things I heard is they're getting older. We did just see it happen with the city of Oldsmar that happened in July. I'm not sure what the result has been. I've reached out to them to find out, but similar with the city of Oldsmar. They've struggled since. I was actually on the museum board for multiple years, and it was always a struggle. In fact, there was at one point where the city threatened no funding, and the museum was going to give the artifacts to, I think it was Dunedin, I think, at the time. So I think this is a huge win for the city and the citizens of Safety Harbor. The history, all the... all the wealth of artifacts that they've got in the museum. And I'd kind of like to see some sort of like museum board or something. We've got a lot of boards in the city, but just, you know, to go hand in hand with the things they do. I know they were doing tours. They were doing educational things there. It'd be nice to kind of, even if we take everything over for, if they're bored, I know they've, Scott, is Scott around? Yeah, so I know he was ill and he's having a hard time and he was keeping the board together. But I mean, to me, it's huge. It's a huge treasure trove of artifacts for the city. And I would advocate for going for it and somehow creating a new board for the city maybe. where you have a museum board where people in the city have an interest in history and want to somehow get involved, kind of like we do with Parks and Rec, where there are active adults in the community that want to kind of teach. And I think it's a good thing. But, yeah, I'd like to see this happen, I think, in order to perpetuate it. So it's a good thing. Cool. Anyone else? And just to add to it, we don't foresee any additional expenses coming before us. We don't. At this time, we wouldn't be expanding hours. We would just maintain for now. Any other questions? Anyone from the audience which should be heard on this? All right. Anyone wish to make a motion? move approval of, I guess, the City of Safety Harbor. Do you need a motion? Just giving us that everyone's on board. Sounds good. We'll keep working towards it. Would we want to come back with a potential volunteer board for the city? I would look into potentially putting together a board because there's plenty of people in the community that are still interested or would be interested in serving on a city-run board. I don't know. Okay. We will work on that and bring back some recommendations. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Next up, we're looking for approval of a sub-agreement with Florida Division of Emergency Management for FEMA Public Assistance for Hurricane Adalia. Good evening. Mayor's Commissioner Renee Cooper. Public Works Director, I'm here tonight to talk about the Hurricane Adelia grant application, which is very similar to what you approved in the last meeting for Milton, Helene, and Debbie. So this is required in order for us to receive FEMA reimbursement for expenditures and expenses related to Hurricane Adelia. Why is this a year later? We kind of got lost in transition through the city and personnel that we have been through. So our FEMA representatives have contacted us and made sure that this was on our docket in order to get approved. And give us money. Is anyone here opposed to taking FEMA money? Anyone from the audience that should be heard? Any further discussion or motion? What's the motion? Yes? Yes. W. Move to approve? I'll move for the approval. I'm on the wrong one. Move to approve. Move for approval, yeah. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Motion passes 5-0. Thank you. All right, so now we're looking for approval of a service agreement between the City of Safety Harbor and a clearing LLC for financial services for $160,000. Good evening, Mayor. AND VICE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION, ON NOVEMBER 4TH, 2024, THE CITY COMMISSION RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF AN EXECUTED SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAFETY HARBOR AND OCLARIAN LLC FOR OUTSOURCED FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING SERVICES INCLUDING COMPLETION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 23 AUDIT, PERFORMING YEAR END CLOSING AND AUDIT PREPARATION, AND ANY OTHER FINANCE-RELATED SERVICES. At this time, I'm requesting your approval for the city attorney and me to edit the current agreement with the Clarion to expand services at an increased cost not to exceed $160,500 for the remainder of fiscal year 24-25. Services would include those items already described, as well as the planning, managing, directing the finance department, coordinating an upcoming budget, the budget process. evaluating current business processes to include personnel and technology, and completing monthly bank reconciliations and or reconciling accounts as needed. The need for this increased scope of work is due to the time-sensitive, complex deliverables, which require increased financial expertise and experience, and to supplement and support existing staff. Staff recommends approval of an edited and updated agreement between the City of Safety Harbor and Euclidian LLC in the amount of $160,500 for fiscal year 24-25. I'm here to answer any questions, comments, or concerns you may have, as well as the CEO of Euclidian is here, Mr. Andrew Laughlin. He'd be happy to answer any questions, too. I guess the question I would have is, is this in part due to changes in the finance department? as well, or? So I would say just because of the, I would say the audit, fiscal year 23 audit, fiscal year 24 audit, the fiscal year 26 budget approaching, and we still have a vacancy at the assistant finance director spot. So, yes. I just know we were hard hit this past year. Correct. So since, I'd have to go back, I would say three years we have replaced all personnel in the finance department. So the finance director, the assistant finance director is still vacant, and then the budget analyst and accountant have all been hired within the past year. I mean, I would just say I acknowledge what's going on in the finance department. We are very late on our audit. I mean, I'm just saying this so the public understands the point where we're getting... letters from the board that oversees our CRA where, you know, compared to other cities, we're far behind on reporting to them. We're, you know, at risk or we may be out of compliance with our debt covenants, with our bank. So, and we got the next audit that should be starting ASAP. Correct. And we haven't even got the last one done. So, to me, this is a really... important item that needs a lot of urgency. And I'm not saying, you know, a clearing is the answer, but whether it be focused internally with a clearing and all of the above, I think we just need to get all hands on deck to try to get our finance department caught up and get these audits done. And, you know, so I'm on board with hiring a clearing to do this. And, you know, I just, I would ask, you know, what was your name, Andrew? I would just ask, are you guys up for the challenge? Because it sounds like there's a lot of work to be done here. No, certainly we are, and we've already, you know, our first agreement kind of scratched the surface, so we need to go deeper, and that's some of the additional services that we're talking about. I have a lot of experience already with the city in years past. Some of you might recognize me. I'm the former audit partner for CLA. So some of you I've had some one-on-ones with, went out on the other side of the table on audit. So I'm equipped, well-equipped to be able to kind of dig you out of the ditch and get you out of the rut so we can get caught up on the audit. And then from there, we like to just evaluate, process people and technology to ensure that this kind of situation doesn't recur and that we can be caught up on everything and really improve fiscal operations of the city. So that's really what we do. We provide both technology and people's services. I've performed that for a number of municipalities around Dallas County. I'm happy to roll up our sleeves and do that here. And what do you think, time-wise, we could hope to have the last audit completed by, and we can report to the state? Which audit? Well, there's the 2023 and the 2024. Which one are you referring to? 23. Well, we have a meeting tomorrow morning, assuming you all approve this agreement, to get busy on that. So we're looking through the list of open items, and it's ASAP. Can I give you an exact time frame? I don't want to, you know, point to a date, but I would just say as soon as possible in weeks to short months that we're getting this thing done. Okay. Yeah, I mean, this amount of money, I mean, it's a lot of money, which I agree. We've got to do some drastic measures to catch up and everything, but we need some kind of plan to write the finance department. I understand that he's going to get the nuts and bolts, you know, get us... get us there, but we cannot have this recurring. We cannot have $160,000 every year or whatever, $200,000. We've got to get a plan in place where not only we catch up on everything that we're behind, but we also prevent when we've got the personnel, the right people, and the right tools to make sure that we don't have to go out and spend another $160,000 to outsource. I mean, I'm just, you know, this is just, it's not a wise thing. When we have a finance department, our expectation is a finance department should be doing this work, you know, with very minimal assistance. This is a major assistance, with very minimal outside assistance. Anderson? And I would just say it's not just putting together the budget and the finance department. It's not just getting the CAFR ready and completing the audit. I mean, one thing I've been talking about for a while is getting a hold of our investments, and we're just so far behind in getting our CAFR done that we're not even able to focus on areas where we may be able to look at our portfolio and see if there's room to improve returns or anything like that. Can we get a timeline? Yeah, so I think one of the benefits of having a clearing in to help staff come up, take a breath, so we could try to get caught up, but I think working with... existing staff, Andrew, and then his representative that'll be assigned here to work on some process improvements, technology improvements. I would say over the next two to four months, we could come back, obviously with a, we'll be providing you, you know, constant status updates, but be happy to report back in a couple months, maybe two to four months on what we're looking at for process improvements for the department. And like maybe mid-February. Okay. Is that fair? Yes. I'd like to say, I APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION BECAUSE I'VE BEEN ASKING SOME OF THE SAME QUESTIONS. AND IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH YOU HAVE HAD THE TOUGH TALK. YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE DOING THIS. IS THAT CORRECT? WITH MUNICIPALITIES WHO HAVE HAD THESE ISSUES? I DO. SO, FOR ME PERSONALLY, I PROVIDE FRACTIONAL OUTSOURCED FINANCE DIRECTOR SERVICES FOR A COUPLE DIFFERENT MUNICIPALITIES. CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS, CITY OF SAINT PETE BEACH, And then we also, like I said, provide technology solutions. So I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. So I just want to make sure it's clear. I'm not just here just to put the finger in the dam and say, let's get the 2023 audit issued and I'll be on my merry way and good luck the rest of the way. I want to help be a part of the solution to ensure that we can be successful going forward. And there's a lot of questions to me that I'd like to ask that we can try to get answers for. How long does it take to process payroll? How many resources does that need? Are we neglecting our investments? What kind of reporting can we get out of the system around vendors and payments? All kinds of things that factor into the interplay of the finance department. And so it's not just a quick get in, solve one problem, and leave. So that's why we want to be a part of a holistic solution and help the transition plan long term. We're going to bring additional personnel in as FTEs. I think the city manager's point is let's bring a clarion in to help evaluate that, fix the immediate problems, and be a part of that smooth transition for longevity going forward. Because I'm going to add one more note. This is unsettling to me. I've been a part of this for a long time, and we usually get the stellar report. We're not used to hearing. The problem, no. We're not used to it. We did a report, but we've been late with these CAFRs for a while, and it just seems to be getting later and later. I don't remember this. It's a situation that we've never hit up as a city. I mean, we have lost personnel and finance. I mean, at no fault of anyone's, we've had a change in city manager at the same time that we had loss in personnel and accounting, and there's, you know, I mean, this is what happens. So I think it's a good thing. It's a good move right now. And I think if we have some additional tools that our staff can utilize, they should be spitting out these investment sheets pretty easily so we can see what we have, what we don't have, what we could possibly invest in to make additional income for the city. But again, it is frustrating. But again, you talk about one city manager leaving another. starting, and then in between all that, losing personnel, and it's pretty drastic. I mean, we're feeling it. And I'm going to go to what you said about us being late. I just can't remember ever getting the notices that we've gotten lately. And then I've been concerned, does this have a reflection? You were talking about investments. Does this have a reflection on... are borrowing going forward? Is there something like a Moody's? Not so much Moody's, but if you're out of compliance with the debt covenants, the bank, in theory, can call the loan. Yeah. So this is some serious stuff. So thank you. Yeah, so I would say for Commissioner Basur, in fiscal year 22, we were behind. And so obviously now behind. And then with fiscal year 24, We're behind. We should be probably about 50% into that background work. But we're still trying to resolve fiscal year 23 audit. And I think, you know, the city commission has. We've discussed it. So I feel you could tie this also back to learning about the pay study and recruitment and retention so that when we train up and we retain our high performers is that, hey, we want them to stay. And we've missed so many people that have gone to. Just, you know, opportunities came. Pinellas County Tax Collector's Office or a finance director position up in Georgia or retirement. So it was just, you know, post-COVID, high turnover and trying to get that staff. But, you know, as current staff is trying to figure it out, get the audit done, learn, a lot of these things just keep churning and it keeps coming around and around. I think a clearing has a lot of items to offer. One of the things I like too is the ability to expand and contract. The commission just approved us to pursue grants for four storms over two years. So that takes personnel time to work on those items which we've assigned to somebody here in finance. IF THE CITY COMMISSION DOES APPROVE IT, I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH ANDRA ON THOSE IDEAS, TOO, OF WHAT CAN WE EXPAND, CONTRACT AS TIME GOES ON OF SOME OF THESE. WE HAVE MINIMAL MARGIN, ESPECIALLY NOW WITH REDUCED STAFF. SO I HEAR YOU. I HEAR FOR THE FEEDBACK. I LOOK BACK TO REPORT OUT ON THOSE ITEMS. ALL RIGHT. SO ANYONE FROM THE AUDIENCE WISH TO BE HEARD ON THIS? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION OR EMOTION? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND SAFETY HARBOR AND OCLARANT LLC FOR $160,500. SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. MOTION PASSES 5-0. ALL RIGHT, NEXT UP WE NEED THREE REGULAR MEMBERS AND ONE ALTERNATE MEMBER FOR THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD. THANK YOU, MAYOR. SO FOUR TERMS WILL EXPIRE THIS MONTH. Two of those have reached their term limit. However, ordinance 2015-11 does allow the city commission to reappoint a term limited member. Ms. Terzak and Mr. Poulter have each missed one meeting. We have received two applications. So it's requested that the commission appoint three regular members and one alternate member to the Parks and Rec Board. I would like to move to... REAPPOINT MS. TURZAK, MS. BRENNAN, AND MS. LUBEN FOR ANOTHER TWO-YEAR TERM ALL. I'LL SECOND THE MOTION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. MISSION PASSES 5-0. COMMISSION REPORTS, VICE MAYOR. THANKS. WELL, AS WE FINISH UP 2024, Thank you. It's been a privilege to be able to serve with everyone up here. I want to convey my appreciation to city manager, city staff. It's been quite the year. Two hurricanes. I think we had a tropical storm. A lot has happened in the city, and the city keeps running, despite some audit issues we're having moving forward. But I think... We're getting there. So I just kind of just wanted to convey my appreciation to everyone and look forward to 2025. It's hard to believe that was 2024 up in up smoke. Happy holidays to everyone. I think we won't be back until after the new year. I think we're not having a new year's meeting. So happy new year as well. And that's all I've got. Thank you, Commissioner Burnett. I'll echo what Vice Mayor said. It's been a real pleasure getting to know all of y'all as the new commissioner on the block here. Really honored to share the dais with each of you. I'm really disappointed I missed out on all the holiday festivities, so I can't wait to hear y'all tell me all about them. But I am in town through the holidays, and I look forward to seeing and meeting. greeting all the other folks around town as they come out to celebrate Christmas with their families and the New Year's. I know there's a lot of New Year's activity going on downtown, so you might find me out and about being merry with all those folks. So that's all I've got this time, too. Commissioner Diaz. Yeah, thank you all for 2024. It's been a pleasure serving with you all. And Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everybody. And I look forward to seeing you all. And I'll see you at the gym. You know, I see you guys all around town. Third Friday's coming up and some other interesting festivities also. So Merry Christmas. Thank you. Commissioner Besour. Yes, thank you, Mayor. I was very appreciative of the mayor's breakfast. I don't think we've been up since that occurred. And I also want to say that I'm very happy to hear that the fire service people who were involved in the accident at 53 are progressing. Captain Hans is recuperating. And I guess it's Ryan who didn't have to go to the hospital. But that was quite a shock to a lot of us, and our hearts were really there. And, Mayor, I'm just so happy that you collected more tips. EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE VERY AGGRESSIVE AT THE END, IT WAS FOR A GOOD CAUSE. IT WAS MONEY. THEY WERE PAYING TOWARD THE KIDS, BUT THEY KEPT CUTTING OFF THE DEADLINE AND THEN SLIPPING ANOTHER CHECK. SO IT WAS FASCINATING. THE TREE LIGHTING WAS WONDERFUL. THE SINGING WAS SUPERB. JUST THE CHILDREN DID SUCH A GOOD JOB AT THE PARADE. I REALLY DID ENJOY WALKING WITH THE CITY MANAGER, ALTHOUGH HE KEPT TELLING ME, HURRY UP, HURRY UP. I FELT I WAS... really being goaded, but I just had such joy throwing out your double bubble. Your children just love double bubble community. It's just a tub of double bubble, and one would have thought I had gold. They love gum. And what else besides the parade? I help deliver food to the seniors with Maddie Williams. They don't just help children. They also help seniors, and it's just gratifying to go up. You're just giving them a bird and some, you know, a cooked bird and a few things, a package of food and little toiletries, and they're just so delighted. So we help with that. The city helps. People donate, and the city throws in for that, too. I wanted to say we had a library book sale, and even though it was a small one, there were a lot of people there, and that was very fine. And I got to go on fire tours. I got to be in the caboose vehicle, Fire Chief Hawkins loaned his vehicle to the city manager who let me go along one night, and that is a joyful thing. If you can ever do that in your life, people lie on the sidewalk, and they are just yelling for Santa. And so I want to thank Caitlin. I want to thank Brady Hummer, Caitlin, who you were up there. I can't remember. Oh, Charles Russell, new Captain Russell. I know they were on our shift. So it's just fun. You're not as loud with the engine and everything as back in the day or as I used to be in the parade, but you still play the Christmas music, and you just can't beat having Santa along. And I also want to admit that I was at Harbor Bar on Sunday. I don't often slip away from Mom and go do such a thing, but I did. I slipped away, and I had a friend from Turkey Creek Middle School days. She follows Greg Billings. The Stay Up Lates, he calls himself, and I guess he used to be Stranger. So I don't know all the songs, but I know some. He sang Elvis' Superstitious Minds, and I was able to kind of belt along with that. But I don't think we were too loud. If we're getting noise complaints, it's for yourself. But what I want to say about it is, even though it was amplified music, and Greg was up there, and he was belting it out, and I helped, I also want to say that People were so generous. They were throwing 20s and 50s into his buckets. He promised them he would sing a journey song. Last year it was Bon Jovi, but not that I was there long last year, maybe five minutes. But this year he was going to sing a journey song, and I didn't stay for it, but I saw the generosity. And what was all this money going to do? It was going to help a gold star family. Somebody named Flowers perished, I believe, in Iraq, and his family died. BENEFITED, SO HIS MOTHER WAS THERE, AND I THINK HIS FATHER'S BEEN IN ILL HEALTH, AND GREG'S BEEN SUFFERING, TOO, FROM CANCER, PROSTATE CANCER, AND SO HE JUST WAS VERY FORTHCOMING ABOUT THIS, AND HEY, COME ON, GIVE. YOU KNOW HOW HAPPY I AM TO BE HERE HELPING, AND NOW OPEN YOUR WALLET. AND SO IT JUST, IT WAS A REAL PLEASURE, SO IF WE GET ANY REPORTS, HECK, IT WAS FOR A GREAT CAUSE, AND I'M APPRECIATIVE. that Harbor Bar welcomed Greg Billings and other people too. I cannot remember the names of all the other bands, but that concludes my report, Mayor. Thank you. So I guess it's my turn. I want to start off by thanking all of our staff for doing such a great job keeping this city in such good shape. Public Works, Fire Department, everyone through the hurricanes, the tropical storm. I was fortunate enough to be able to join. A lot of you at the holiday luncheon at Felipe Park, which was great. I mean, last year we did it at Folly Farm. The year before it was at the community center. This is a great idea. So Rachel, I know you had a lot to do with putting that together. So good work with that. I want to thank all of you for your service up here. And people ask me, so how are things on the commission? I say, you know, we really got a really good commission up here. I think all of us serve with a servant's heart up here. We're putting the public's interest above any of our own interests, and I think it shows how well we all work together and keep the city moving. I want to thank Josh for stepping up and taking on the responsibilities of the city manager. You've got a lot on your plate, and we've got a lot of confidence in you. I'm sure you'll do a good job. And again, I want to thank everyone that supported and came out to the mayor's breakfast. We did raise a lot of money for underprivileged kids. The holidays aren't about the gifts, but if you're an underprivileged kid and all your peers are getting toys and gifts and you're not, that's a tough one to deal with. So we did raise a lot of money to help underprivileged kids. So that was nice. And as always, the Christmas tree lighting was great. We had a lot of great carolers, the weather was great, and the parade was awesome. So just, you know, happy holidays, Merry Christmas to everyone. Thanks, Mayor. Happy holidays, Happy New Year to the City Commission. Sarah and all staff, I appreciate everything everybody does and where we are today. And I will say that I'm sure I speak for Carol Strickland and Chief Hawkins that... This wasn't how 2024 started for us, and we definitely did not expect to be where we're at at the end of this year, and we are grateful and appreciate the opportunity. Santa Tours continue this weekend, Friday and Saturday, as well as Harbor Holiday Lights is at Fowley Farms this weekend. Just a reminder, your January 6th meeting is canceled. Your next regular meeting is January 21st, and you all have an email for the Land Development Code workshop on February 24th. And Mayor, I have one ask before we do depart. We will have to declare as tradition what the ugliest sweater is of this evening. And then if when we do adjourn, if those who are brave enough to participate, if we could get a group picture, that'd be great. Thank you. Do we have any? He's going to have his birthday. Oh, 60. Yeah, he's got a big birthday celebration coming up. 60 years old. Huge, huge birthday. 50? 30? 40? Happy birthday. Thank you. That's good enough to say happy birthday. You should be proud of it. You're doing great for 60. What's your turn? Happy birthday, dear Carlos. All right, so Ugly Sweater Award, who's... Who's the judge? We should have, oh, yeah. Just give it to Hawkins or? I wouldn't stand up. What is this? What's on there? All right. Wow. It's like, you know, business in the front, party in the back. It's like a mullet, but it's a sweater. All right. What do we think? What do you think? Andy's is pretty horrible too. Josh's is pastel. I thought Andy's was pretty bad, but Josh's is the ugliest. I saw Andy's and it kind of just made me happy. It was funny and goofy and it made me happy. I looked at Josh's and I said, look away. You got the Griswold thing going on there. I got Griswold. Rachel, who gets the award? Carol, can you break that tie? I'm going to go with the mullet. All right. All right. All righty. So you win that award. Well done. Are you all done? Yes, sir, I'm done. Okay, thank you. You bet. Sarah? No, just as the year comes to an end, I'm almost here a year. So just my appreciation for everyone. Really been wonderful working with Josh. I knew I did kind of panic a little bit when I started, and Matt was like, I'm resigning. I was like, oh, good, great, okay. But it's been great working with Matt, working with Josh and you guys. So, no, just thank you. Isn't there an ethics seminar coming up this week? Wednesday. Is it like through the league, I think? The 18th? Yeah, it's a webinar. Okay, yes. Sorry, it's a webinar on the 18th. Sometimes we hold them in person, but I think I did see Rachel maybe send it out, or maybe I saw just their update. If you haven't done your ethics, please do the webinar on the 18th. I know you've raised it. Yes, but that's it. All right. Well, thank you, everyone. Meeting's adjourned. Picture, picture. I signed up for it.