City of Mexico Beach Meeting Minutes TUESDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2025 - 6:00 PM The City of Mexico Beach City Council met in a regular meeting on Tuesday February 25, 2025, at 6:00 pm at the Public Works Building in Mexico Beach. Mayor Wolff and the following Councilmembers were present: Linda Hamilton, Jerry Smith, Jason Adams and' Tim Linderman. Also present were City Administrator, Chris Truitt, City Clerk, Tammy Brunson and City Attorney Tim Sloan. I. Call to order: Mayor Wolff called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. II. Regular Agenda: 1. Final Plat for the Cottages at Paradise Cove was brought to the table. Chris Truitt discusses the final plat for Paradise Code, recommending approval after planning and zoning's review. David Reisen with Dewberry Engineering was available for questions. Tim Sloan raises concerns about missing covenants and attorney certification in the plat. Mayor Wolff and Tim Sloan discuss the process of signing the plat and the need for further corrections. Open public comment at 6:04 pm. No public comments were made. Closed public comment at 6:04 pm. Mrs. Hamilton raises concerns about off-street parking for 25 houses and 12 townhomes, dumpster usage and the potential for bears to access the dumpster, and a sewer pipe on Paradise Code being in the right of way. David Reisen assures that each house will have a traditional two to three-car driveway, and each townhome will have two parking spaces, each townhome will have its own dumpster, and the city will handle trash pickup for the other 25 houses and clarifies that the sewer pipe is for plumbers' access and will be removed once the house is constructed. Tim Linderman questions if the parking requirements comply with the city land development code. Mayor Wolff and Tim Sloan confirm that the parking requirements were reviewed and met. Mr. Adams motioned, and Mr. Smith seconded to approve the final plat for the Cottages at Paradise cove with the stipulation of language changes in the declarations per Mr. Sloan before signing the plat. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Ordinance 848 Peddlers (first reading) was brought to the table. Mrs. Hamilton motioned, and Mr. Smith seconded to read Ordinance 848 by title only. Motion passed unanimously. Open public comment at 6:14 pm. No public comments were made. Closed public comment at 6:14 pm. Tim Linderman asks questions about the exceptions in the ordinance, particularly regarding tourist commercial and general commercial areas. Tim Sloan explains the intent of the exceptions and clarifies that the ordinance does not apply to residential areas. 3. LDC update, working list was brought to the table. Chris Truitt presents the LDC update and work list, identifying top issues for planning and zoning to address. The council discusses the process of sending these issues to planning and zoning for research and recommendations. Jason Adams suggests that the council should have a large conversation about the zoning issues at the planning and zoning level. The council agrees to schedule a workshop in early March to discuss the zoning issues. City of Mexico Beach Meeting Minutes TUESDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2025 - 6:00 PM IV. Citizen Comments: Adrian Welle stated there was a problem with the Public Works Director hiring process. Any change to the job description should have gone through council. Lisa Logan agreed with Mr. Welle and added there needs to be transparency and not polling to get approvals. Rock Kries said the discussion on beach vending was good. He also has concerns with the beach renourishment project saying they dropped the ball, and asked how people can access the beach with no cut throughs in the dunes. John Harrell said he was confused, and asked if Utilities and Code Enforcement are now included in the Public Works Director job? If sO, this sounds more like an Assistant City Administrator. He ended by saying he did not realize the organizational chart had changed. Jason Adams expresses concerns with the Public Works Director hiring process and the timeline, emphasizing the need for transparency. The council discusses the importance of having a qualified Public Works Director and the need for proper communication. Chris Truitt explains the hiring process for the Public Works Director, including the lack of qualified internal candidates. He assures the council that the hiring process was done with the best interests of the city in mind. The council discusses the need for better communication and transparency in future hiring processes. Chris Truitt agrees to present a detailed plan for organizational changes to the council for approval. The council emphasizes the importance of having a clear and transparent process for making major changes. Chris Truitt suggests tapping into Bay County resources and mentions the potential benefits of Mark Steele's training in Bay County. Mayor Wolff agrees, stating Mark will have two to three weeks in Bay County and then return to Mexico Beach for further training. Discussion concludes with a commitment to address the concerns raised and improve the city's operations. V. Council Comments: Mr. Linderman brings up a resident's concern about the sheriff's department guarding seashells, suggesting private security instead. Mayor Wolff clarifies that the sheriff's department is not guarding seashells but is present for other law enforcement duties. Mr. Linderman reported on the CDC's response to ADA access to the beach. He has asked to use the 15th St beach entrance of what they could look like. The council expresses concern about the current state of beach access and the need for better solutions. Chris Truitt explains the ongoing efforts to provide ADA-compliant beach access and the challenges involved. He outlined plans fori future projects to improve ADA access, including engineering and funding efforts. Mr. Linderman raised concerns about a $100,000 long-range plan that has not been implemented and suggests revisiting it. He recommends applying for a grant to complete the plan and holding a workshop to discuss the next steps. He also mentions the urban forestry grant and the need for citizen input on tree placement in public spaces. He suggests giving the planning and zoning (PNZ) committee the responsibility of determining tree locations and types. Mrs. Hamilton brings up the topic of meeting times, suggesting a return to morning meetings since evening meetings have not increased attendance and it makes for a very long day for staff. Mr. Truitt and Mayor Wolff discuss the financial implications of changing meeting times and the need to gather more input from citizens. John Harrell supports the current evening meetings, citing the difficulty for working people to attend morning meetings. Lisa Logan emphasizes the importance of in-person attendance over online participation for better interaction and decision-making. City of Mexico Beach Meeting Minutes TUESDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2025 - 6:00 PM VI. Mayors Comments: Mayor Wolff discusses the need to have a 5-year plan before moving into budget time VII. Staff Comments: City Administrator - Mr. Truitt discusses the need for temporary beach vending permits while the permanent process is being finalized. He mentions three applications from beach delivery businesses and suggests a temporary process for approving these applications. Mayor Wolff and Jason Adams agree to allow beach deliveries but delay on-beach vending until April 15 or May 1, depending on the completion of renourishment work. Tim Sloan and Tim Linderman emphasize the need for proper insurance coverage for vendors to mitigate liability risks. Chris Truitt proposes a temporary process for beach deliveries, including a million-dollar insurance requirement for motorized vehicles. Tim Sloan suggests different insurance amounts for different types of vendors, with higher amounts for motorized vehicles. The council agrees to set a million-dollar insurance requirement for motorized vehicles and lower amounts for non-motorized deliveries. Chris Truitt will draft the temporary permit process to include these insurance requirements and present it to the council for approval. Chris Truitt reminds everyone that political signs are not allowed on rights-of-way or vacant lots, emphasizing the need for compliance. He announced the installation of new restrooms at Parker Park and Under the Palms Park, encouraging residents to drive by and see the new facilities. City Attorney - Mr. Sloan had no additional comments. VIII. Adjournment: Mrs. Hamilton and Mr. Linderman motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:06 pm. By: Attest: Oammpbwor Mayor, Richard Wolff City Clerk, Taromy Brunson