It's 7 o'clock and tonight's City Commission CRA meeting is dated Thursday September 5th, 2024, 7 p.m. at City Hall. Welcome everybody here and I'd like to have everybody stand for the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance, Pastor Dale Gordon of the First United Methodist Church of Lake Alfred will be presenting tonight. Thank you. Let us pray. Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the opportunity to be here tonight. We look at all the faces in the room, the faces and hearts of our commissioners, and they have agreed to serve this community. We thank you, Lord, for their wisdom and their sacrifice in serving us. We are grateful. Lord, we come together each with our own desires tonight, but we're here as a community. Even though we may be diverse in our thoughts, in our ways, we are community. So bless us as a community, help us to come together in dialogue. And, Lord, we are just so very grateful for this opportunity, for it's not everywhere that we have the opportunity that we have tonight to dialogue and come together as an amazing community. You have blessed this community and let tonight be a blessing in the same way. In the name of Christ Jesus we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you very much. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Pastor. We appreciate you coming this evening. Okay, Linda, Borjeo, our city clerk will now call the roll. Did I call it wrong again? Booth law I spent too much time with your brother and that's he got me on messed up Mayor Fuller here vice mayor daily here commissioner Eden here commissioner dearman here commissioner Maltz be good Okay before we go any further we have a special event this evening. I'm going to ask City Clerk, the Nibbouj-Wah, to apply the oath of office to Alberta's Maltzby as we I'm going to do it right here. Did you want me to use that to get to the center? Oh, yes, you're going to draw it. I'm going to do it up here. Linda, where are you going to do it from the seat? I'm going to do it right here. Yeah. That'll be OK. All right. you can just do it from the seat. Do it from my chair. Yeah. That'd be OK. All right. If you'll raise your right hand please. Stay here, name. I'm Robert Smallsley. Do you hear by solemnly swear? You hear by solemnly swear. Better I will support. No. Protect. Protect. And defend. And defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend, and defend I'm going to do a little bit of a... A full office? A full office? I'm going to a constitution? I'm going to help the police. A state? And the charter? And the town? A graffiti and lake Alfred? I'm the city Alfred, now. And that are Will? And Will? Will and Statefully? Will and Statefully? Perform the duty? I'm the duty. A city commissioner. I'm the duty commissioner. We're talking about to answer. I'm going to have to go to the bathroom. Okay. You have to go to the bathroom. You have to go to the bathroom. I'm going to have a little bit of a deal. Okay, there's a little bit of a surrogate. We are all. It's an honor to have Mr. Malzby back on commission with us and we've been excited to have you joining us holding that into the. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the 7pm right here in these chambers. That will be two weeks from the day. at 9 a.m. That's always our favorite school meeting there and we get to Khanatella, all the city leadership kids about city operations. So that will be fun. Originally the city's interval will be in Zulfa Springs and that will be on Thursday, September 12th and that will begin at 6 p.m. with the social hour and then dinner at 7. Also too, I've got a special guest and the audience with us here this evening. Ian Lopez, if you'll raise your hand and be recognized. Ian is a college student at a 40-poly technique for those of you that may remember. I'm part of the Auburndale Rotary Club and so as a part of that we do like a Rotary, they've got a Rotary right club at the school and every year they kind of assign different members to be mentors to the college students and mentees. So Ian got the luck of the draw there and pulled the city manager out. So I said, you know what, I got a budget hearing next meeting or next week. Why don't you come on out saying, I appreciate you being in attendance. And this is his first official city commission meeting ever so you know he beat me by about a decade so yeah that would have been would have been more interesting for sure and then welcome back a commissioner malt speak you know I've always for many many years he's always mentioned to me that, you know, if we can just get to that population of 7,500, you know, the magic will happen. That's when things will kind of come together and we'll be talking about grocery stores and different projects and the like. And I am happy to announce that the Bieber Population statistics folks with the University of Florida they reached out and just asked us to kind of confirm their estimate which put us right at 8,000 and 37 populations. So Commissioner Malzby, we got there. All the good news. And so I'm glad that he was on the commission when we passed that milestone and I have heard serious conversations about grocery stores and different sites and commercial properties. So within the next several years I think we're going to see a lot of movement on that end. And then also to you may notice the walls are looking a little sparser than usual and of course we are kind of toning over getting ready for our next art show and I believe that reception is going to be on the 30th September 13th Friday, September 13th. So that's going to be next week, next week, next Friday, a week from tomorrow and that will begin here at 5.30. I'll send out the information to the commission and we'll plan on doing that. And that'll always be a nice event and see what the great local artists have come up with. And that is all that I have, no other announcements. I wanted to mention as a side note, my granddaughter will be in that leadership academy this week. So, we'll put her feet to the fire. Yeah. There might be a madameer there. There you go. All right, thank you, sir. And now we'll have city attorneys, that's Clayter, with his announcements. One, I just, the commission could find it and their hearts to keep the population below 10,000 for just a little while longer. And other than that, we remain grateful to represent the grace of the Holy Calcutta. Thank you. We're grateful to have you with us, sir. All right. And now we are going to have our first recognition of citizens. This is for items that are not on tonight's agenda. So if we have anybody that is in the house that would like to come up and speak about anything that is not on tonight's agenda, we've got some time to do that right now. Okay, seeing none, we will move forward to the Constitutional Week Proclamation. I will read that from the Dias as we don't have anybody here to receive it, but I'm sure we've got a place for it to go. Quares the United States Constitution stands as a testament to the tenancy of Americans throughout history to maintain their liberties, freedoms, and inalienable rights. And Quares this celebration was started by the daughters of the American Revolution in 1955 by a petition sent to Congress requesting to set aside September 20, excuse me, 17th through the 23rd annually for the dedication and observance of Constitution Week. And whereas the resolution was later adopted by the United States Congress and signed into public law on August 2, 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. And whereas September 17, 2024 marks the 237th anniversary of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, where members signed the final draft of the Constitution of the United States of America, and whereas it is fitting and proper to officially recognize this magnificent document and the anniversary of its creation. And whereas public law, number 915, guarantees the issuing of the proclamation each year by the President of the United States of America, designating September 17 through 23 as Constitution Week. The Constitution was sent on for ratification, which ended on its final approval on May 29, 1793 years later. In witness whereof I have herein to set my hand in the city seal of the City of Lake Alfred to be affixed on this fifth day of September in the year of years. We have a number of second. We have our consent agenda. Item number one, city commission meeting minutes for August 19, 2024. Item number two, city commission announcements. Item number three, the agreement for PRWC Conservation Project implementation. Mr. Mayor, before we move on, I would like to request a consensus from the Commission to move the agreement number three away from the Consonant Agenda and add it to the number five of the regular agenda this evening. And I would request that the Commission vote on each of the consent items separately. There will be additional revisions to the minutes just to provide the minutes in more of a summary format to be transmitted with whatever documentation will be going to the State for Review. Okay, so then we do a separate motion for the announcements, the minutes and the number three, which we're going to to if everybody's okay with them. We'll start number five. Okay. There are three. Everybody can just on permanent. Yep. Do we need to do a vote to move it or we can just do consensus? A vote would be most appropriate to go ahead and move the item from consent to the regular agenda. Okay. And I move that we move number three to number five of regular agenda. Second. Okay, that is made a motion and second and all in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed. Okay, we will move that item to item number five and the regular agenda for this evening's meeting. So should we go and individually vote on one, two, and three separately? Yes, so number one would be a conditional approval of the City Commission Meeting Minutes for August 19, 2024 subject to attorney review. Okay, so as the city attorney has asked for consent agenda item number one city commission meetings for August 19th, 2024 which will be amended and reviewed by the city attorney and I'd like to make a motion to ex... is there any buddy in the audience that would like to make any statements as to what we're doing here on this particular item? Okay, seeing none, then he comments by the commissioners. Mr. Mayor, would you like to make a motion that we approve City Commission meeting minutes for August 19, 2024? Second. Okay, and'd like to make a motion that we approve City Commission meeting minutes for August 19, 2024. Second. Okay, and that is to be... Tendentive. Tendentive to the updates that the City Attorney will approve. Okay, item number two, City Commission... I'm sorry. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion is Curing. Okay, I'm sorry. Now, Consented agenda number two. The city. I'm sorry. I'm just going to go in. Yes, the announcement. The City Commission Announcements. I'd like to open this for public comments. Seeing none, I'll open it for a motion. Mr. Mayor, I make a motion in the way approved the City Commission announcements. Second. Okay, having a first and a second, any anybody in favor say aye, please. Aye. Any opposed? Say nay. Okay, and that motion is carried. And agreement number three, agreement PRWC Conservation Project implementation. That's the move to the regular agenda. Which is being moved to the regular agenda and we will vote on that at the end at the end. Okay, great. Okay. So the big work. Okay, so we've got that now. I'd like to ask City Attorney Secretary to read a statement that has been prepared by him and if he needs to explain exactly how and why we're doing it this way because I will eventually read this into. Absolutely. So when you have the formal adoption hearing for the for the millage, a mayor statement will be read. The first action item on the agenda is required by law. I was surprised Nancy's not getting ahead. Is required by law to be the adoption of the millage rate. So I'm going to read tonight. It's a tentative approval. There's not a resolution that is going to be presented tonight. But I want to make sure that this information gets read into the record. And as part of the mayor's statement, I will read the foreconsideration of the resolution at the next meeting of the City Commission, Mayor Fuller will be reading in the same language prior to considering the same. State law requires the first substantive issue to be discussed at this hearing is the percentage increase in the millage over the rollback rate and the reasons that the warm taxes are being increased. The City of Lake Alfred's proposed operating millage is 6.750 mills, which is 10.69% more than the rollback rate of 6.0981 mills. The advalorum proceeds resulting from the difference between the proposed rate and the rollback rate will be used to ask city manager to present the analysis please. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Over the past several months the city commission has presented with and approved the draft sections of the fiscal year 2425 annual operating budget, including capital, 10-year facilities plan, expenditures, payroll and revenue. The proposed fiscal year 2425 budget assembles the previously approved sections into the final budget with updates from July's experience and contains the final revenue and expenditure projections. The proposed budget is balanced with the proposed milled rate of 6.750, which is 0.1 mills below the current milled rate of 6.850. The proposed milled rate of 6.75 mills represents a 10.69 percent increase over the calculated rollback rate of 6.0981 mills. And as you can see here on the screen, you can see kind of the differences if we had left it at the 6.85 which would have been the current rate total level orm would have been right around 3.7 million if we had gone all the way to the rollback rate you can see that would have resulted in a reduction in $405,000 the proposed rate is lower than the current rate, but higher than the rollback rate. And you can see there at the 6.75. So that results in a $53,000 reduction in revenue. And this really continues the city commissions trend of kind of like nicking away at the tax rate, when it made sense. And we were able to do so. This is the attachment here that kind of shows the historical trend all the way back to 2006. So you can see the rate at the highest in 2012 through 2014 was at 7.589 mils. And then slowly over the years, the commission has chipped away at 7.589 mills and then slowly over the years the commission has chipped away at it and you can see in the last several we have gotten down you know to 6.7.239 then 6.989 6.850 last year and now proposing 6.750 now. So all told almost I think it's like point eight reduction from the high point. And that's typically the way you want to do it in that way. We balance operational needs while reducing taxes when we can. You know there is a pending amendment to the homestead exemption coming up in the fall that will tie the homestead exemption to an escalator or like a CPI adjustment. So that may kind of take the place of future adjustments going forward. But while the budget made sense to do so, staff proposed in just to reduce the rate 6.75, a tenth of a mill reduction. So the staff recommendation on that is to approve the tentative mill of rate of 6.750 and staff will be happy to answer any questions. Okay, thank you, sir. Okay, this is a public hearing and if there's anybody that would like to come speak on behalf of this particular item, you're welcome to come do that right now. Okay, you're welcome to come do that right now. Okay, seeing none, this is now a time that we can receive city commission comments. Sure, I just make my comment. So for the audience at first, what you hear the attorneys message is like, oh, we're raising rates. What we're actually doing is actually decreasing the rate a little bit. So just for the audience, and the reason why we don't decrease the rate all the way down to what they call the road back rate is just like everything in life. There's always inflation in terms of cost of the money each year. But instead of raising rates, we're still able to actually cut the rate slightly and still cover that inflation that happens. So I just wanted to kind of let the audience know, we're not raising rates. That's not what we're doing here, but I appreciate everybody's job in them. Thank goodness the property values continue to go up and new businesses continue to open up and they help offset some of that inflation. So thank you. Thank you, Mayha. Just to clarify, we are lowering the millage rate, but we are also collecting more money than we did last year because of the values and because of newer developments and that sort of thing. So, that's why we had to advertise that we're actually raising the rate because we're not going to the rollback rate, which would have collected the same amount of money that we've collected this year, which would have been a lower mill, lower mill is rate to... Correct. It looks at the nominal dollar value rather than purchasing power. So it takes out new construction and it says for you to collect the same amount of revenue as you had last year based on what you had last year in terms of previous construction, this is what it would do. So basically takes all of the price appreciation out of it and as a commissioner Eden had suggested, that's great on that side of it but then all of the expenses went up too. I mean if you go on along on a timeline it's like hey can I have $2,024 and pay 1980 prices? You know, sign me up for that. Now, again, it's only one year. But if you were to go to the rollback rate every single year, over a 10-year period, eventually, you would just run a foul of, you know, again, the cost of business to cost to operate continues to increase. OK. Anybody else? Mr. Malsby? Okay. But to give credit back to the commission, you guys have checked the way out it over the years. I mean, again, 7.5 was the high mark and slow and steady wins the race. And so you guys have almost dropped at a full mill, you know, from the high point. And so that's kind of how it works. Reinvest some of that. That's $53,000. That's back into the pockets of the businesses and the homeowners. But at the same time, the cities and the business that providing services and that additional funding will go to police officers and firefighters and parks and everything else that the citizens are looking for. Well, on of this commission before we close this out I just want to thank you and the staff for the hard work that you do every day, every week, every month and every year to maintain our expenses and enable us to run as effectively as we do. So thank you. Happy to do so and proud to serve. Check. Mr. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion that we approve public hearing tenetive milledrate at 6.5. Second. Okay, we have motion in second. All in favor say aye. Aye. And you posed. And motion is carried. Okay. I agenda item number two, public hearing ordinance 1546-24. Fiscal year 2425 annual budget. I'd like to ask the city attorney to read ordinance 1546-24 into the record place. Thank you, Mayor. Ordinance number 1546-24. And ordinance of the City Commission of the City of Lake Alford, Florida adopting the annual budget for the City of Lake Alford, Florida for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2024 and ending September 30, 2025 with appropriations and allocations of revenue for the fiscal year 2024, 2025 providing for the administrative correction of scriveners his errors providing for conflicts providing for severability and providing for effective date whereas pursuant to section 2.1.1 of the city charter of the city of Lake Alfred Florida and laws of the state of Florida a proposed budget of estimated revenues and expenditures and a complete financial plan of all city funds and activities for the fiscal year 2024-2025 has been prepared and reviewed and whereas the city Commission is of the opinion that all of the items of anticipated revenues and expenditures for the said fiscal year are reasonable and proper for the administration of the affairs of the proper conduct of the business of the City of Lake Alpert. And whereas after further review the City Commission desires to adopt said budget, attached to as exhibit a incorporated here and by reference. Now therefore be it ordained by the City Commission of the City of Lake Alfred Florida as follows section one annual budget. The annual budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025 for the City of Lake Alfred Florida for the period beginning October 1, 2024 in any September 30, 2025, set forth as exhibit A and which is attached to and may a part hereof it's hereby adopted. Section two, administrative correctional scried as errors, the administrative correction of typographical and or scripted as errors, and this ordinance that do not affect the intent may be authorized by the city manager or his designated need without the need of consideration by the city commission of the city by filing a corrected or recutified copy of the city clerk. Section 3, conflicts, all ordinances are parts of ordinances in conflict with any provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed, Section 4 severability. If any section or portion of the section of this ordinance proves not valid, unlawful, or unconstitutional, it shall not be held to invalidate or impair the validity force or a fact that any other section are part of this ordinance. The City of Lake Alfred, Florida hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance, the City of Lake Alfred Florida here by declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each section, subsection clause or phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more section, subsection sentences, clauses and phrases be declared unconstitutional. Section 5 effective date, this ordinance shall become effective on October 1, 2024, introducing pass on first reading at a regular meeting of the City Commission of Lake Alfred Florida held this fifth day September 2024. Thank you, sir. Now I'd like to ask City Manager to present the analysis, please. Thank you, Mr. Males. This finished the rest of the analysis over the past several months. City Commission has been presented with and approved the draft sections of the fiscal year 2425 annual operating budget, including capital, the 10-year facilities plan, expenditures, payroll and revenue. And this is on all the various funds that General Fund, Enterprise Fund, Community Redevelopment Agency, Stormwater, and our newest fund that we've added this year is the Restricted Fund. And that's based on changes to the gas-B accounting standards where we've got to track that now separately. Restricted funds are going to be predominantly, you know, the impact fees and the connection fees. So a lot of those are going to be tied to our larger scale projects. So it's kind of easy to track that anyways. The final budget with any corrections will be combined with any associated attachments and supplemental information and presented along with the final millage rate on Thursday, September 19th, 2025. As the City Commission and the audience can see when you add it all up, you know, the 2024-25 budget totals 39 million. Of course, the big jump there is associated with the water plant. That's a full $17 million there for construction and then other capital projects in the second year budget. So that is the largest budget that I have presented to date and probably the largest budget in like Alfred's history just with everything that we've got going on. So staff recommendation on this item is to approve ordinance 1546-24 on first reading. There were no substantive changes following presentation. You know, everything that we presented in the previous sections was funded, including the additional positions, all of the capital projects, all of the payroll adjustments made their way through. The one additional change that we made, and this was mentioned at the meeting when we did payroll, as we were kind of looking at the baseline staff and to see if we could get that number up again, just with the effects of inflation and the higher cost of living. So happy to announce that we were able to do that. If the City Commission approves this budget, then going into October 1st, the minimum wage for any city employee day one would be $16.13 an hour. So noting a 12% increase on the baseline position there in addition to the COLA 2% will hit on October and then another 2% in April. So most certainly tried to balance everything out, but we were able to include everything. And against that recommendation on the budget is for approval and we'll be happy to answer any questions. On that last item that you mentioned by raising up the base of the minimum wage, does that also raise everybody else? No, because so, and what the vice mayor daily would be alluding to would be, if you look at the kind of like the organizational chart, the concern there would be if you raised, does everybody have to go up or what we would call compression. So like if you were to raise everyone else's pay, let's say you went from $10 an hour to $15 an hour something drastic. Well the supervisor was making 15 an hour and now the base employees making 15, well what happens to the supervisor? So we track all of that and we had room from the other positions to do that and not run into compression. So there still is a great differential between the admin assistance and the utility billing quirks and the other positions. So we did consider that when we did it. But to answer your question, Vice Mayor Deoli, we had the room to do it and we were able to fit it in. And so that adjustment really applies to the service worker twos who are kind of like the baseline worker for most of the departments and then also our library assistance. So they would receive and all the other positions went through the survey process and they all received targeted adjustments consistent with that methodology and what we found in the survey. Okay. Thank you, sir. This is a public hearing and you are invited to speak. If you have any questions, come up to the microphone, state your name, address, and any questions or comments you'd like to make. Anybody coming to this address, this particular item, should come to now. Okay seeing none I will close that now we're open for city commission comments. I moved at all number 154824, El Vazwin, 25, and the budget be approved. Can we second and still have comments? Absolutely. Second. Okay. So we're seconding that. Do we want to have the comments before? Yeah, just a comment of Man's C&I and mr. Mosley we've been here a long time. We've seen the budgets and and it's a true testament to City manager to every staff person that's worked here in the map that I've been on We we made it happen every year and it's just a testament to the city manager his staff and the department heads working together and we applaud them and this is a good budget. I know it's gone out very extensive from what we had in the past but it's very proud of all the work that everybody does. Only that no matter what it is. I wish it could be more for the firefighters and police officers and people who put their lives online all the time for everybody. There's just not enough money, I think, to do that job no matter how much we raised it up. And I know we're competitive with everybody around us, but someday we would have that ability. That's all. Agreed. And just to follow up with your comments, I so appreciate the value of the time and the years that the three of you specifically have served this commission and Brett and I are both, you know, probably can agree that we're gaining knowledge and wisdom based on just being part of this commission with you guys. So thank you for all you do. It was mostly as great to have you back with us. And so let me go ahead and entertain a motion. We have that. Okay. entertain the motion. We have that? Okay, within I would like to call in favor say I? Hi. Hi. Any opposed? Okay, no opposed. The motion is carried. Thank you for Okay. Great to have you back. Ordnance number three, 1547-24 city commission compensation. I'd like to ask city attorney to read the ordinance 1547-24 into the record please. Thank you Mayor. Ordnance number 1547-24. An ordinance of the city commission of the City of Lake Alfred Florida regarding Chapter 2, Article 2, Section 2-31 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Lake Alfred Florida, which amends the compensation schedule for the City Commissioners and the mayor. Providing for the incorporation of recitals, providing for conflicts, providing for separability, providing for the administrative correction of scriven scripted areas, repealing all ordinances and conflicts you're with, providing for codification and providing for an effective date. Thank you, sir. Now for the city manager to present his analysis. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. During budget preparations, the city commission required about increasing the city commission's compensation for the mayor and commissioners and requested a salary survey from the local labor market be presented. The city commission's compensation was last adjusted in May of 2017 via ordinance 1369-16 to the current levels. And let's see here, the current levels are 6,000 annually for the mayor and 5,000 for commissioners. Before that, the salary was adjusted in 2005 and that was then to 3600 and for the mayor and 5,000 for commissioners. Before that the salary was adjusted in 2005 and that was then to 3600 and for the mayor and 2,400 for commissioners. The proposed ordinance would increase the mayor and city commissioners annual salary based on the direction provided by the city commission. So to draw your attention to the strain and this was of course included in the packet. This was the poll that we had found. So we dropped the highest and the lowest. Bartos is the lowest at 1,019. Haines City was the highest. You can see at 26,000 for the mayor and 22,000 for commissioners. It'd be dropped the highest and the lowest and you go to the averages. You can see averages brought at 7D, 600 for the mayor and 5600 for a commissioner. So you could see based on our survey were under that. So about 70, 8% for the mayor and about 89% for other commissioners. Staff looked at just different options as to what that would do. Obviously, if you kept it the same, that would be the number that you previously saw. If you went up option to 20% option 3 30 40 and then option 5 50. The budget that you just approved on first reading includes funding to take it all the way up to option 5 the 50% there the proposed increases if desired would take effect for all city commissioners at the beginning of May 2025 and are consistent with previous interpretation of the city's charter provision regarding changes in commission compensation. They proposed 24 budget against balance using option five with the growth rate of the city and the infrequency with which adjustments are made to commission salary. There may be some merit in leading the average and what I mean by that is kind of overshooting it and then allowing other cities to eventually catch up and we frog, unlike the city employee salary where we run a survey every year and we kind of fine tune it to keep it in line. You guys then only address it every six or seven plus years and so just kind of an observation there. Additional funding of course is available if the event of the commission was to exceed the options that were presented in research by staff. This is a policy call, so there is no staff recommendation tied to it except the discretion of the city commission. And staff will be happy to answer any questions. Thank you sir. Thank you very much. This is a public meeting and again I would open this up for any public comments. Seeing none I will close that option for public comments and now move to City Commission comments. I did have one comment. Where they have in trouble in Hane City getting commissioners to run or what happened with that one? 26,000, Hane City is its own animal. And that is all that I will say. Well I'm glad you didn't recommend anything crazy like that. So I appreciate the work you guys doing and obviously most of us can't put our day job than any of this but you know it's it's it's it's welcome at the same time so I appreciate the thought and you know I would recommend the option that you proposed there and not go the the extreme route like what Hensie did so thank you. I'm opposed to any salary increase for the question only because it still comes from the taxpayers and it's still people are struggling with paying for insurance crazy rates and things groceries everything has gone up and I feel like it would be presumptuous for us to decide to raise our own salaries and whatever number everybody agrees to, I would vote to the Anybody else? Now I'm going to ask the city manager a question as far as the selection or the whichever option that we choose is that something that we are to decide now between us. You would select it. So the ordinance that was attached kind of left that blank. The budget included all the way up to option five just because that's the most conservative. I don't have to change any numbers if you all go lower than that. So it really just is a policy called if he wanted to recommend approval, you know, with the option, you know, either one, two, three, 4, 5, that would be sufficient for the motion. Number 5 being a 50% raise. Option 5 would be the 50%. Now, the previous years though, I did see that they just doubled the prior salary to what the current salary. So again, it's misleading when you say you took a 50% increase when you look at it, it's based out over the last seven to 10 years. Right. So because the way the charter sets up to where you've got to pass a separate ordinance on it, it can't just be a part of the budget. It kind of creates a disincentive to look at it every year. And so what happens is it just kind of backs up, if you will. And then it gets to the point where, again, you either make a decision or you don't. And again, it's all across the board. You can see the extreme example with Hain City. And then also you can see the other extreme example of Bartow, to where it's all but a volunteer position. I mean, they're getting paid less than $100 a month, you know, that's not even a stipend at that point. So, it truly is a policy decision and it can range from anywhere from a pain city to zero and it truly is just a policy call as to how you guys want to proceed. Okay. Just to clarify, when you said we doubled it in 2017, that was after 12 years of being at the same salary. If we double it now, we'll be only after seven years. Right. I'm just saying it's just something that happens much less frequently than everybody else. So that's all I'm saying. Okay. So if we want to double it, I could be all right with waiting for the 12 years. Well, I'm going to roll those dice. I'd like to make a motion to approve this ordinance 1547-24 city commission conversation using option five. I'm sorry. Second. I'm sorry second. Okay. We have a first and a second to adopt option five. All in favor say I think she would. Okay. We do a roll call vote. Mayor Fuller. Yes. Vice Mayor Daley, may the Commissioner Eden? Yes. Commissioner Dehrman? Yes. Commissioner Maltsby. Yes. Yes. Okay, motion is carried. And I appreciate all the input of everybody. And again, this is not just for what those sitting here, but the future of this commission will be involved in a lot of things going on with the growth and the, you know, the substantial responsibilities that will come with that growth. And I understand totally by Smarram Daly's comments and she's done a wonderful job serving this city. So I think we do plan to serve this commission. It's not a high-paying job, you can see. But it is probably more of a labor of love. And we do love the job and the city that we live in, and we work in. And we don't do it for the money. No. But one land use case, and you've earned your entire. Yeah, last week. Oh, that's me. We also have to keep in mind that the city manager is proposing we also reduce the number of meetings we have for a year. So we're having 50% to our salary and dropping the number of meetings in the same. Well, it drops the number of these commission meetings. But again, as we have more schools to visit, if we have more businesses, we have opportunities to work within the community. It does take time for all of us, but especially, I know you are very active and the different committees that we work with and I just found out today that Ryan has accepted on my behalf and you might want to, if you want to mention that, for the PRWC? Yes. Eric DeHaven, the Executive Director of the Polk County or the regional water cooperative reached out and asked if Mayor Fuller wanted to serve in the secretary capacity on both the total board and the combined projects board and so Mayor Fuller graciously accepted that so he will be used to those duties of signing agreements and then also having additional agenda prep time with the Eric DeHaven, the executive director's kind of like the city manager of the cooperative. So just additional involvement there and I know the commission's very active in policy roles and TPO and everything else under the sun that we've got going on, not only in Lake Alfred, but but full county and the state of Florida as a whole. And then nobody appears claiming that we're overworked but there is a lot more going on in these seats that you don't see other than what you're seeing here tonight. And I did mention it as the last meeting, but I think everybody was a tire to listen. And by the time it came around to my comments, but I was also asked to be a vice chair of one of the committees for Florida City, Florida, League of Cities under our new president Michael, Blakely. And so I also accepted that and again my my last intention is to take on more than I can successfully do and it's all new to almost anybody that comes into a position like that because until you sit in this chair you don't get a good feel. So again it makes my appreciation for Vice Mayor Daly and the years that she and Jack, Mr. Maltz, we have all sat in this chair and we we do it with, again, the intent of building our own understanding as to how we can be successful. And we learn from very, very qualified people. So again, I'm blessed to sit in this chair today, but I certainly don't feel that anybody is overworked, but I do feel like we enjoy it. Mr. Malsby. Oh, Mr. Mayor, I would like to say that this is not a library as a commissioner, it's perfect service. Absolutely. And I will not be on the commission when you get that raise. So I'm voting, I'm voting yes because there was raised as needed. Our first, my first commission payment was $45, but three months. But I was not doing it, but pay, I was going to give back in my community and the pay increase that he proposed, you know, it feels something that it should have. And thank you very much. Thank you, sir. And I guess I'll close this particular part of this as to say, you know, we all recognize that we do have our employees in this city who are very, very well respected and appreciated. And we do all in the world we can do to maintain their quality of life and their quality of the family time they have. And I don't think anybody in here who is in that position of leadership or the people that are here that are employees with us or management have anything to disagree with how the city takes care of them. I'm proud to say that. I mean, I can say that I think Easily for our police and fire so If I may Mr. Mayor and we we spent a good deal with Tom on it, but even with the The budget that was just passed It's such a pleasure to every now and then I get to get in front of all the employees and Present and one of the things that I always say is that, you know, we are so blessed to have the City Commission that we do that's so supportive because we've seen the articles, I've seen the issues over the years, not only in other cities, but in other parts of the state to where there isn't that mindset, you know, where, you know, the Commission wants to take care of the employees and make sure that we are recruiting and retaining the best and by doing the survey and by going with those recommendations, the commission has absolutely supported that. There could be a day or a city where a city commission might go to the manager and go, why are we even doing a salary survey? Don't even, why are we wasting time on that? Everyone kept their job, you know, just keep moving. And we don't have that. Again, we've all got families and the empathy there. And our employees are a part of the community too. Many actually live in Lake Alfred and are a part of that. And so just to have that level of support, it's allowed us to create that working environment that beyond the dollars and cents were known. We've got a good reputation and we're pulling talent from all over and with the commitment to the plan that we do, we're able to recruit and retain and we're keeping it going. So thank you. Thank you from all the employees and the management team just for the commission's continued commitment to that. That's our pleasure. Okay. Number four. Item number four. Ordnance 1548-24. Sanitation and recycling. I like this. City Attorney to read the Ordnance 1548-24 into the record, please. Where's the word? Did it go? city attorney to read the ordinance 1548-24 into the record place. Where did it go? We'll go to the ordinance second bar. I'm a team for you. I'm a team for you. I'm a team for you. I'm a team for you. I'm a team for you. I'm a team for you. I'm a team for you. I'm a team for you. I'm a team for you. I'm a team for you. I'm a team for you. I'm a team for you. I'm a team for you. I'm a to have to go to the next one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. Oh, it's 48 so 15 48 dash 24. No, that's not it. Next one. No, we could not. I'm not sure. All right, let me pull it up. Technically, we can do that right here. No, that's a resolution. If you can pull it up, I can read it. I don't think you can see the screen. So you have to read it. No, we're fine. No. You're watching this. No, I'm just... No, it's not. No, it's just the title. The exhibit got attached though, correct? Yes. Okay. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go a picture of my third cycle. I like doing that because there are word names on my board. Yeah, I should be. I'm going to do a picture. We're going to do a picture. Oh, good to be right. You can do three additional floor. It's been a while. It's 15th floor. Is it an IU-2 or 10th floor? Yeah. But it's someone who said FJM is huge. There we go. I know it was there somewhere. Ordnance number 1548-24, an ordinance of the city commission of the city of Lake Alfred Florida and Mending Chapter 42 solid waste of the code of ordinances. City of Lake Alfred Florida relating to the residential recycling and updated rate schedule providing for the incorporation of recitals, providing for repeal of conflicting ordinances and resolutions, providing for severability, providing for the incorporation of recitals, providing for repeal of conflicting ordinances and resolutions, providing for severability, providing for the administrative correction of the written as errors, providing for codification, providing for future amendments to chapter 42 solid ways to be made by resolution, providing for a business impact estimate and providing for the analysis please. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. City of Lake Alfred retained Reptilis Financial Consultants to perform a rate study and five-year revenue sufficiency forecast for sanitation and recycling operations. The primary goal of the analysis was to identify sufficient rate levels to generate revenue that provided funding for operating requirements, including operating in maintenance, expenses, ongoing vehicle replacement, and reserves, and transfers. The study also evaluated the option of discontinuing curbside recycling pickup, thereby consolidating sanitation services into the once-a-week trash pickup and addition to the claw truck services. When curbside recycling was first implemented over a decade ago, the value of recyclable materials subsidized the cost of the service to below the regular landfill fee, the initial recycling rate to customers was set up under the paradigm where recycling provided a net credit or at least a subsidy under the standard landfill rate. And so what that would mean is that based on the value of the recyclables, they would provide us a credit because there was value to them whether it was the plastic or the cardboard or everything else. And so then really then what would happen is the recycling rate would be lower than the landfill rate. So the landfill rate was like $28 or $30 recycling might have only been $10. So and that was kind of how would that, these were all initially set up. However, over the past decade with the loss of China's demand and the recycling market as well as tightening margins, we are now paying a premium above the landfill rate in order to recycle. So as of this year, we're paying even after the credit, we're paying $107.49 per ton for the privilege of recycling versus paying $36.50 per ton at the landfill. So it's totally flipped. Whereas before we were getting a subsidy and it was cheaper to recycle, now we're paying almost triple the premium in order to recycle. And that's kind of crept up over the last 10 years and that's kind of where we're at today. The current charges for sanitation services is $21.28 for regular service, $2.68 per month for a recycling and a $2.34 fuel service charge. The proposed ordinance will remove curbside recycling and remove the $2.68 charge. In addition, SAP is proposing to reduce the base rate by $1 to $20 $28 and to forego the cost of living adjustment that would have gone into effect in October and this would be a total reduction there, a riot at $4 and 33 cents and actually more because the fuel service charge actually went down from when this report was first drafted which would be a 17% reduction in the base rates and then again also to the fuel service would probably decrease even further because we're only doing one so we could pick up instead of twice. The existing recycling cans could be utilized by residents for additional trash to be picked up on their regular trash day and no additional charge. No new recycling cans will be added for new customers and add the counts turned over, they would be removed. Other cities are making similar changes to their services. The City of Auburndale discontinued curbside recycling where when their vendor proposed a significant rate hike. I had reached out to the Auburndale City Manager today and just kind of got the exact numbers and that's reflected in the chart there. So, the City of Auburndale, they contracted with waste management to provide their recycling services. So, they did main trash in-house with city employees and city trucks, but then they had waste management do the once a week curbside recycling take-up. At the time, they were paying $5.65 per month. So, that was more than double, you know, what we were charging at our current rate. Well, they canceled it when they got notice of renewal. Waste management was going to go up to $9.75 on the renewal and that's when Auburn Dale terminated the contract and basically did away with curbside cycling. So that kind of gives you a real price point as to what once a week curbside recycling should actually cost. There should probably be about $9.75 or at least somewhere in between the $5.65 and the $9.75. And just to make sense of the chart there. So what we're proposing is this is kind of our current rate system or where it would go in October if we did nothing. We're proposing to go to the $20.28, not do the escalator increase and then have the fuel service charge to 207. That would be a total sanitation bill of $22.35, which would be a $4.40 reduction over what it would be in October if we did it. So we're reducing the rates by the recycling going off and kind of buying down the base rate by a dollar. If we wanted to keep recycling, staff would kind of recommend we would probably need to go up to where the market is. And again, even if we went with Auburndale's old rate of the $5.65, that would increase it by two dollars per month or $1.89. And if you went to where the true cost is, which is where waste management had quoted it, you're probably looking at a $6 a month increase based on using the waste management service levels. And if I can go back, we did, Ralph Tillis did a survey, so you can see here this was a part of the report. You can see the various municipalities. Port County is the lowest because they do an on-abolorum and it's county-wide, but you can see the different service levels there. Auburndale at 21-72 without curbside recycling. If we were to adopt what's proposed, we would be down there at the 22-35. So even lower than what it's at on the chart, pretty close to where the city of Auburndale is. If we were to keep recycling, and you can see our current rates, which are right here. So that's our current level. That's where we're proposing to go, consistent with Auburn Dale, who also doesn't have recycling. You can see other cities that are similar size to Lake Alfred, like a Fort Mead, they're at 2888. That would kind of be reflective if we did like a two dollar increase. And then you can see Hane City, you know, right there at the top of the 34, you know, 97. So that's kind of the full range and kind of the full breakdown. Let's see, the $4.33 reduction or kind of what we're talking about or the $4.40 reduction, that would be made possible based upon the increased economies of scale and service delivery that can be reinvested into supporting existing and growing routes. Maintaining both services is inefficient, especially in light of changes to the recycling market and the associated premiums being incurred. The City can evaluate the accretion of a drop-off recycling center for those residents that wish to continue to recycle as a part of our facility master plan process which is currently underway. At this time let me yield to public works that wish to continue to recycle as a part of our facility master plan process, which is currently underway. At this time, let me yield to a public works director, John Deaton, for additional comment and presentation. We've been talking about this for quite some time and updated the commission previously, and you know, John's kind of been taking the lead and you know us considering or evaluating this option John John Dean Public Works Director and we have had meetings on this we have been discussing this How can we roll this out to where it's best for our residents and for the city? It's we are going to have a campaign to inform all of our residents. We're going to, if we move forward with this, we would be going out and putting papers taping that to the top of their lid. A simple, you know, something to read, to let them know when the service will stop. Now, that's being proposed to stop October 1st, but we would collect until January 1st, like nothing changed, while we're going through this process of educating our residents as to what's going on. Yes, if approved, the ordinance would go into effect, I'll tell everyone, so that would come off of the bill. We would continue to collect normally, though, basically, like, free HR, during an acclimation period and an education period, and really wouldn't discontinue that service until January. I would imagine doing as John suggests, and we would kind of have the flyers or the things that we would take to the cans. We would put things out on social media as well. We would put inserts in the utility bills for several for a couple of months, leading up to it, and then that way, there's always for several for a couple of months leading up to it and then that way, you know, there's always going to be a couple people that just, you know, missed it. But, you know, we'll do, we'll kind of do that education campaign over a several month period as we go through the transition if it's approved. And John, if you would, could you speak a little bit more as to just our operations and where we are with capacity and growth and what this will be able to do for us in order to satisfy future demands. Yes sir. This will allow us to, the current sanitation trucks we have which are now close to between $350 to $380,000 when we add a new truck. This will allow us to get a little more time. We've got trucks in the budget in two years out. This will allow us to keep the levels of service up to our residents and not add that truck immediately and give us a chance to build these routes up. Because as we're growing to the north we're growing routes and we're adding sanitation we're going to have to add drivers if we continue the way we're going we're going to be adding drivers and trucks sooner than obviously later. We really this would help with our operations help us keep maintaining our trucks and cut costs a little bit on that and allow us to keep that moving Just for clarification if when we cut back to one time a week or one one run a week If people use that second barrel and Put it out on their day Is there going to be an additional charge for picking up to? No sir. We will pick up that second can like it's until that can and as we said we'll have to have a procedure if a resident wants to move and a new home owner came in that can would be removed. But and no more cans will go out. But if you are an established customer, you will keep that can and we would dump it for you for your extra sanitation. And on the truck itself, the trucks are not maxed out every day right now. We have it set, but we have a little bit of room. And when we pick up recycle, it's only been two days a week because we don't load a truck with recycle. So that extra recycle is extra sanitation, but it also will pack in with the household garbage to where regular cardboard boxes don't really pack as tight, they're lighter. It's a lighter material, and then the other thing that the city manager didn't mention is in our today we have residents out there as much as we try to educate will still put household garbage in their good blue cans and then I get to the recycle center and then we get hit with a $3, $4,500 fee for a dirty load that we had no idea it was in there. And that's an additional cost that we fight all the time trying to keep that from happening. So to define a dirty load just for the purposes of the... A dirty load is when, let's say the homeowner decides to clean their refrigerator out and use their blue can to do it. And we don't know it and my driver grabs it, dumps it by the time he dumps it. That thing pushes it in the back. And when it gets dumped, they flag us at the recycle center. And it can happen with one can can ruin a whole load of recycle. And then with we catch it, we'll talk to the homeowner. But we don't always catch it, we'll talk to the homeowner, but we don't always catch it. But now if that goes in the regular trash can, that's the last thing. That's the last thing. It doesn't matter. And again, that's just for clarification for people reading the minutes or for inquiring, because I go back to the minutes, occasionally, to respond to people's questions. I just want it in there. So if we do have to go back to respond to somebody. So anybody else have anything for you? Is there still recycling going on? I know where Hayden still does recycling? Is it when they recycle, is it actually being recycled? Or is it being sent off to a... Yes, ma'am. There is a recycle center and the other municipalities do actually recycle but when I talk to other municipalities and other public works and they face the same thing they still get dirty loads they get hit with it we're all we all deal with the same issues so but yes they do recycle and your question you asked me a few weeks ago was is it the same truck that picks up both and it is but it's an empty truck when we go to get the recycle and if we and when not if but when we set a recycle collection point it will be an empty truck that we go get it and we'll have a better idea of what we're loading in that truck. If we had a cycle, a center to go get it from and people are bringing it there, we would be able to get a clean load and take it to the recycle and it would truly be getting recycled. You would never have to worry about it going to the landfill. It would go to the recycle center. Just to kind of expand upon that, Westrendeenteway they do recycle. Now when China was heavy in the market which provided the I don't know what they were doing with that you know they were they were slow-bought and it over to China and whether that ended up in the middle of the ocean or a landfill over in China I mean who knows but they do recycle but where it shows up though is in the credit. So because the demand is so low for plastic and glass, the glass is worthless. It doesn't even put it in the can. They're just going to shatter it out and turn it into sand. And there's almost, it's cheaper just to make new glass. Same thing with the plastic. The demand on plastic is so low. And the problem is we, the issue with recycling, and I've read many articles and seen different reports on it, is that there's only so many recycled benches can you have. Everyone's got like a bottled water or all the plastic that we get from the grocery store. But it's like that waste is generated every single day. What can you really do in the secondary market? Once plastic is used, it can never go back through grade plastic. They've got to turn it into recycled bench or other things like that. Unfortunately, the real solution to recycling is not producing the disposable item to begin with. Going back to the days of reusable containers, even like this Pogo water bottle I got as plastic, but I drink probably four bottle waters a day within it. So that's the ultimate change that needs to happen in behavior for recycling to truly work out. And we're just seeing that work its way out in the numbers to where you're literally paying $107. We're paying a premium in order to recycle the offset for that demand. The last thing that I'll leave the commission was, and it's just kind of an interesting thought that I heard one time from Anna Wood. She used to be the sanitation manager for the Polk County Landfill. And they had a fascinating idea where it's like, we get this idea of like we're wasting something if we put it in the trash. And her concept was, and I've heard this before, there's to where we know where it is. When you put that, if I put this in the trash today, it's by the end of the week, it's going to end up at the Polk County landfill, you know, down there off of the parkway. If this ever becomes truly valuable and we can't make any more plastics, you can go to the landfill and you can mine it out of the landfill, almost like you mine for copper or aluminum or anything else. Just throw it all in the dam landfill and when the market is there to where okay let's go dig that bad boy up and and mine it like we would copper mine or or something else. That kind of blew my mind the first time I heard it and I'm like you know kind of makes sense. So that's anecdotal but I'll leave you with that and any other questions that you may have for John or myself. At least it's centralized. You know where it's at. You know where it's at. In Winnerhaven, I noticed that they allowed to put even glass in their recycle bin. And I thought, this was on their website. I checked it out. Maybe they're not up to date on their website, but I thought, well, they must have to sort it if that's the case because they can't put all that broken glass mixed up with the cardboard and take it to the Recycling that's why I thought it's maybe not being recycled. It's just another I know our recycle Collection point that we haul it to now where it goes from there I don't know but when we take it to the recycle they don't want glass. They don't want pizza boxes in it. Well, there's new technology. I just saw a TV article. There was new technology where they can take all kinds of plastic, even plastic bags soft plastic. It's a machine that grinds it all up into pellets. And then they make these pellets that are able to create any other kind of plastic. There is a trouble is that they can't get it online because they have the technology, they just don't have the money, they have the facility, they have this giant warehouse and equipment, but they just can't make it happen. There's not any financial help, there's not. So it's it may be coming down the road. It's said to me, this is said to me because I see how many blue bows are out every week. And people really bought into the fact that they could recycle. And in your heart, you're thinking you're doing a good thing. And you're keeping things out of the landfill. And you're going to reuse it. And I see both sides of the problem that the economy of it isn't working. the landfill and you're going to reuse it and I see both sides of the problem that you know the economy of it isn't working and the, and remember the old days when when the republic came and they had this whole they were going to reward people and they had points you could get and then you could cash it in for prizes of things because you were recycling so many pounds of stuff and never came to fruition because and people bought into it. I mean, you know, and now I think we're going to get a lot of low back and a lot of questions and a lot of derogatory comments. And I know we can all be prepared to answer for ourselves, but you know, you kind of see this stuff out there and you can't answer everybody's question. You're always going to hear people tend to talk about the bad and not the good. So I think it's going to be a process. You know, if you even get home, we're going to say five bucks. Well, some people are not going to think that's a good trade. The feedback that we heard from when Auburndale did it, just told me the number one question that they got is Auburndale hadn't kept up with their sanitation rates. And so when they went to eliminate recycling, they actually couldn't even reduce their base rate. They actually went up on the base rate. And that's what they got most of their pushback for. They were like, well, wait a minute. You're cutting the service and you're going up on the base charge. That people could not wrap their heads around that. But if you don't touch your rates for 10 years, you're you're behind the eight ball at that point. So we've actually got the ability to buy down the base rate by a dollar and so that will at least alleviate that part of the concern. And if there is, and we will evaluate looking to put that on site, if we can put like an on site recycling facility for those that still collect the cans or the cardboard or the plastic and they want to drop a load off, you know, like public works or something like that, we will look to do that. And Auburndale has that facility as well. We have to be careful about mentioning to people it has to do with our expanded routes that we have all these new developments that we have to service because that's just going to make a matter. Yeah, the ability to buy down the rate kind of comes from them. It's not because it's because the new residents are paying their producing revenue and expenses equally, but the rate of growth is tough to where this will give us capacity in order to kind of phase into it easier without having to do like, you know, higher two drivers and two trucks immediately. So but your points will take in their vice-merit daily. And really the economies of scale from that is what's allowing us to reduce the pace rate. I just want additional comment I've made too, and I don't know that it has anything to do with, you know, better off in the trash or better off putting the recycle whatever. I think I can keep stuff off the roads too. People just slinging it out the window. You know, if they're driving down the road and they don't see any need to recycle and just swing it. Nothing aggravates me worse than to be driving down the road and seeing stuff coming out of the car ahead of me. I agree with you because we get to pick it up. I know. I know. So anyway, anybody else picking John? Well, I'm just very happy that I can remember before we ever did recycling. You're right. Winner Haven had those big bins. We had bins at the Central Park, didn't we John? Years ago, we had them in some way. We had a bin, but it was that. We had one of the public works years ago for people that wanted to bring cardboard and stuff. And then we're looking as the city manager said, we're looking to actually build a collection point, not just the dumpster set somewhere. We want to make something that's appealing to the community easy to use and that we can maintain. So we're looking to do something nice not just a dumpster drop. All right. I'm good. Okay. Thank you sir. I don't think we have any questions. Thank you, sir. I don't think we have any questions Thank you Okay, this is a public meeting so if there are any public comments that you'd like to address us with Can you please come up to the microphone and state your name and your Address please well my name is Deborah Maltz and I live at Experiment station 817 and This is another this is affecting the the trash or I mean the the trees and The tree limbs and the grass that we put on side of the road right correct. No, they're still going to remain the same Okay, that's that's all that easy Thank you. Yeah. Quadrat continues. Good evening. Ronnie Robinson 301 James Circle. If we could go back to the chart, I just had a comment your suggestion and with these cities, some of us don't know the size of these cities, so if we could propose to put the population, like we just got the 8,000 for us, next to those cities, so we can all get an idea of what we're looking at or listening to when we're not in the meetings. very helpful. But I had a question about how very large cities are less or more than us. Again, every city is going to be different. So it just depends on Hain City whether they've got like either in-house or if they've got a contractual provider. I tend to think that we can provide the service more competitively or keep it the rates relatively lower. So, Haynes City, do you know John of Haynes City outsources? So, they're contracted. And so, what happens is is like no different, like once you get out of the business you're more susceptible to them raising the prices. So, it's like no different than when you get internet and you get the introductory offer. Oh, hey, you get internet for 30 bucks a month and then after six months or whatever, the trial expires and you're paying more. So what happens is once you sell all your trucks, you'll get the introductory offer from like a waste management. And then over a three, five, 10 year period, they slowly boil the frog and then over a three five ten year period you know they slowly boil the frog and then boom you end up at thirty five you end up at thirty five dollars and now you got to cancel the contract or buy drugs or get back into the business so that's why like Alfred's always been supportive of you know keeping things in house because we can keep things relatively more competitive but yet so then you then then I go to Lakeland and there what residents spread the comments? And Lakeland said Lakeland's larger and they're also in-house. So they they they have economies of scale working in their favor. If I had a hundred thousand residents I could do trash for 1904 undercut Lakeland by 110. Yeah, and it gets suggested on the population. So, Hane City probably less 30,000 Fort Meads probably smaller than us. They might be like 6,000 population. Plant cities are bigger. Plant city, what are they like? 60,000? They're big. they're relatively big. Winter Haven, of course, much larger than us. They're probably like, what, 70, 80,000? Done be smaller than us. They're probably 5,000 Lake Wales is probably 20,000. Auburn Dales get close to 20,000 Lakelands, 110,000 Bartos, probably 25,000. And then of course, Pultell County that's all of us so you know 700 plus thousand in County so yeah it's an interesting but if you think about it too in Haynes City I don't know that this is the answer but if they don't have trucks to maintain, they don't have drivers to pay. So a lot of those expenses probably come off other parts of your budget. So it might all wash somewheres, maybe not totally to make up a difference between where we are and where they are. I still think we're doing it the right way. Okay. So are we going to make a motion? Yes. Have we got all our commission comments made? Anitant emotion please. Do we need to say the right in the motion? Can we just approve the ordinance? You can just approve it. The right motion to approve ordinance 1548-24, sanitation and recycling? Second. Okay, with motion in second, all in favor say aye. Aye. And you opposed. And motion is carried. Okay, now we go back to our agenda item number three, which is now number four. Number five. Number five. Number five, correct. Okay, so agenda, consent agenda item number three, which is now agenda item number five, reads agreement, PRWC Conservation Project Implementation. And again, now I would like to have City Attorney, this is me, or this is just Ryan, okay, I'm sorry, City Manager, read into the public comments please. I think this is my Polk County, or the Polk Regional Water Cooperative of the PRWC and this member government seek to enter into a conservation project agreement to implement a conservation program that provides consumer-focused water conservation services to member governments. The conservation program is expected to include the implementation of a water savings rebate program, a system for reimbursement of funds to member governments. For conservation activities, implementation of consumer-focused conservation outreach and advertising, installation evaluation of irrigation conservation members for member government customers, and other potential conservation initiatives. The conservation program for Polk County Regional Water Quarters covers the cost of the administration of the conservation program for the city. The conservation programs cost will be limited annually to a maximum aggregate budget of $150,000 from all funding sources. The conservation program costs will be split each year between member governments and other funding sources. And so then we would pay no member government will pay more than 50%. But effectively, it goes back to your proportion at share of the total water cooperative. So of the $150,000 budget, our cost is only $1,227.69. Staff recommends approval of this agreement and all member governments have to approve the conservation project agreement. And my understanding of this when I sat through their presentation, this is a kind of like seed money to get the ball rolling to kind of establish it. You're not going to be able to do a lot with 150,000, but it's basically to start kind of like planting seeds and then getting this kind of conservation arm of the PRWC up and going is the way I understand it and the way that it's been presented to us. I'll be happy to answer any questions. Although most of them I probably will have to relay to Eric Dave and again we could have him come in and give him an additional presentation if we want it. I have only brought this out for discussion because I wanted more clarification and you know nobody talks of conservation, and I do in all of those meetings and in our meetings too. But my question was $150,000 from all funding sources. I feel like that's... I don't want to say the word joke, but for all of the cities and the county all combined and all the members of the PRWC, $150,000 is what ends up like $2,000 per city. I mean, what kind of incentive is that? And I know they're looking for programs, for instance, like water savings, spickets in your shower or those sort of things. Like we did have that at one time where we had some water saving initiatives that the people could come and take advantage of. The whole thing with the Water Start program and the irrigation, you know, you know, how I want to get rid of St same August scenes. Yeah, absolutely. You know, there's workshops and stuff to show people how to change their lawns and irrigation in their landscaping and to water free zones and things like that. But I just wanted a question that that was not like a misprint and there wasn't like a couple of zeros missing that there shouldn't be a bigger commitment, then $150,000 for the entire water crop attempt. To answer that question, I think the way that their staff presented it. A lot of times when you create a new program, and also much at our level, but like when you get to the county or larger governments, they're concerned about something kind of like taking over. And so, as I think as a part of their salesmanship, it's, oh, we're not to exceed. We won't go beyond that, just to assuage any concerns that you might have had on another program. I don't think they needed to present it that way, because I think everyone's on board with what we're trying to do. The way I look at this is this is kind of the seed money to establish the baseline or the foundation of the program and then they're going to grow it from there because there I think this allows them to then go after grants other funding sources from the state and then as they get the program online, I would imagine vice-rendality that this program will only continue to expand, and it needs to expand, because that's the best money that we can spend is on conservation, because we know the price tag of alternate water going forward, and the cheapest water is the water that doesn't come out of the faucet. It's the water that we save because we've seen the price tag on these massive projects and conservation is coming one way or the other. It's either coming through $200 water bills and or it's coming from these programs. But from all funding sources, that means from the state and from the grants of whatever and Swift mud and all those, that's what bothered me when I read that. I'll verify that and I'll get a clarification from Eric Daven, the executive director and I'll provide them with detailed update to the whole commission on it. I think that what the analysis is suggesting is that our, we won't exceed the 1,227 from funding sources, meaning like the cities. I think that was their idea of trying to like, again, assuage any concerns we would have of budget overall. Well, we actually spent $500,000 and now your portion, you know, went up. Now again, we're a smaller recipient, but if you had a thirty thousand dollar budget and then they went triple on you know and we need another sixty thousand you're like well heck i already did my budget so i think it was designed to a swage any budget concerns with the idea that they would go after additional funding that wouldn't impact the member governments but i'll get a clarification for that and provide enough just give me the opinion that they were just kind of throwing a bone out there to say, hey, like we're doing conservation, you know, and putting it in an egg box. Just feel like that's the whole intent. I'll get the presentation to, I did not get that vibe when they presented it. I think they're trying to establish the baseline, the foundation, and grow it from there. Well, me and the water cooperative, you know, conservation is the foundation, and growing from there. Well, me and there are water cooperative. Conservation is the easiest, cheapest, most effective way of making new water. So you would think they would put more into it. That's all. Oh, also, and I don't want to steal the city manager's thunder if he was going to present this later. So I have to realize if I'm doing that. But I know that as the interim community development director and slash city manager and slash part of my major and but there's been an active push also to acquire capped agricultural wells which also goes towards that conservation or repurposing of water. So I know that the city, the city manager and the community development department they're exploring all or repurposing of water. So I know that the city, the city manager, and the community development department they're exploring all options and trying to preserve what that one scarce resource. Those are ag permits. We try to go after those. The one-to-grow turns over and things like that. But I don't have any doubt that like Alfred is a leader in the conservation department. I just thought the P.I.W.C. would have a little bit more meat in their conservation presentation. I'm going to get their presentation and send it out because it did not come across as like a limiting factor. They were just trying to say the cost overruns won't come back to the district and that they're going to go after additional funding. But I'll verifying. That doesn't meeting coming up here. Yeah, coming up. Coming up before I think it is either before or right now. The next meeting, so basically. Well, when I was on the PRWC, that was my first thing. Why not more conservation? They had it like way down at number eight, you know, on their list of things to do. And I didn't feel like they were giving it enough credence. And I can't. And I know we spent a decent amount of time on this item, but the final comment on it is just the the water manager, the executive director, Brian Armstrong from Swiftmud came to a PRWC meeting, made the trip down from Brookville or whatever and came to personally thank the member governments in Polk County and the PRWC for us taking the lead on implementing water star standards and that when he went to a national conference you know again not just from Florida or the Southeast he went to a national conference and suggested what we have done and there they their draws at the floor they couldn't believe that we were that aggressive and proactive in putting that forward. And I think we've already started, we've already hit our per capita goals, haven't we, John? Yeah, so the CFWI, the big 30-year water plan that was going to evaluate everything, they established aggressive conservation goals in per capita. We've already achieved our long-term per capita goals on reducing our water consumption and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we've passed those water star standards before the growth hit and so we're that's already paying dividends in producing that conservation. So all that we said that we said that we said that? Yeah. I think from the lakes on, every new subdivision that you see that built to the north has the water star standards. And so that just sets everybody up for success right out of the gate. Thank you. Thank you for moving that to the audience. Thank you. No. Speaking of public meeting, we'd like to offer the opportunity to come up and speak on behalf of any questions or comments you might have to make. Okay, seeing none at this time, I'd like to open for City Commission comments. I move that we approve the agreement with PRWC Conservation Project implementation. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay, that motion is carried as number five on the consent, from the consent agenda to item number five. Okay. At this time I'd like to recess the City Commission meeting and call for orders CRA meeting. So I would like to ask Linda Bouchois to please call the role please. Chair Fuller. Vice Chair Daly. Here board member Eden, here. Board Member Deerman, here. Board Member Maltzby. Here. Thank you. To our first identification of our obligations to tonight is on that to to prove the community redevelopment meetings minutes for May 20th, 24th. This is opening as a public meeting, anybody that would like to address this, please do so now. Seeing none, I would close that opportunity. Any board member comments. Board Chair, I'd like to make a motion that we approve community redevelopment meeting minutes from May 20, 2024. Second. Okay, with motion and second all in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion is carried. Okay agenda item number one resolution 01-24, CRA fiscal year 24-25 budget adoption and capital improvement program. I'd like to ask City Attorney to read the CRA resolution 01-24 into the record please. Thank you Chair. CRA resolution number 01-24, a resolution of the community redevelopment agency CRA of the City of Lake Alfred Florida adopting the CRA budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2024, and ending September 30, 2025, with appropriations and allocations of revenue for the fiscal year 2024, 2025, providing for the administrative correction of scribb and his errors, providing for conflicts, providing for severability, and providing for an effective date. Thank you, sir. I would like to ask City Manager to present the analysis, please. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The proposed capital improvement program for the community redevelopment agency or the CRA is consistent with previous budget presentations. The fiscal year 2425 and 2526 budgets include $200,000 each year being set aside for projects and initiatives from operating revenues. The budget and CIP also have $200,000 set aside each year to fund commercial or residential facade grants. That's an increase of 50,000 over the previous year. Future years in the CIP show a bill left for funds for street safety projects which may partially match or complement future up to your two projects in the downtown area, including signalizations, road diet, design improvements, etc. Staff recommendation is to approve CRA Resolution 01-24 and staff will be happy to answer any questions and this is consistent with the budget that was approved in the City Commission meeting. Okay. Thank you, sir. This is a public meeting. We would like to open this up to public comments or questions. Anybody want to come up? Okay, seeing none, I will close that option. Board member comments. The only comment I had is and I actually made the same comment I think last meeting of the meeting before I've been up here for five years and at the time it was around 60,000,000. I think at that time I said now it looks like it's over 400. I miss both. It looks like it's actually over 500,000. So you know it's a great opportunity to put money back to the community to start to do more with the facade but also put money you know it's a great opportunity to put money back to the community to start the you know do more with the facade but also put money you know in the different blight areas and the parks as well so I just appreciate what we're doing and keep it rolling. Thank you sir second his comments. Okay. But if there's no other comment I'd like to make a motion to approve Resolution 01-24, CRA Financial Year 2425 Budget Adoption and Capital Improvement Program. Second. Okay. With a motion in second, all in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion is carried. And our last item here is Resolution, agenda number two, Resolution 02-24. CRA Capital Improvement Program Amendments. And I'd like to ask City Attorney to read the CRA Resolution 02-24 into the record, please. Thank you, Chair. CRA Resolution number2-24. The resolution of the community redevelopment agency of the city of Lake Alfred Florida, providing for the incorporation of recitals and many of the CRA capital improvement grant program for adoption, authorizing the city manager or his designate to take all actions necessary to affect the intent of this resolution, providing for the administrative correction of scrubbers areas, providing for the repeal of all resolutions and complicate with, providing for severability and providing for an effective date. Thank you, sir. And now I'd like to ask City Manager to present the analysis, please. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Lake Alpher Community Redevelopment Agency's Capital Improvement Grant Program partners with the business community, promote investment in the downtown area. The program incentivizes commercial billion owners and tenants to renovate and update the exterior of commercial properties located within the CRA. Specifically, the downtown area, but we've opened that up by providing financial assistance. The program is designed to provide matching reimbursement grant for these exterior amphissade improvements, but also in the cost of these projects, the CRA hopes to incentivize visible enhancements that would improve building and site aesthetics thereby improving the marketability and value of existing businesses and attracting new businesses residents and visitors to the area. On September 12th of 2019, the CRA approved resolution O2-19, which established the FESOT Improvement Grant Program. Subsequently, the program has been amended to permit ADA improvements, expanded the types of improvements permitted, changed the name to the Capital Improvement Grant Program, allows for two year grant cycles, and includes the entire CRA area rather than just downtown. So we have established the program and we have kind of polished it and sanded it and carved it and involved it as we've needed to. This resolution kind of continues that trend. And so the proposed resolution further amends the program to allow for two reimbursement draws through the grant process. Previously you had to kind of go all the way through to the end and then submit for a reimbursement after we've expanded the process, or the program, it makes sense to allow for an additional draw and then that way kind of reduces the liquidity requirements that a business would have. So if you think about it, if you had a $50,000 matching grant, you'd have to have the full, you know, you'd have to spend the full $100,000 in order to get the $50,000 reimburse. So allowing additional draws kind of, you know, makes it easier on the applicant to complete the program. It also allows for extensions to be authorized by the city manager, does it need upon, you know, request or justification by the applicant and we run into that too. It's difficult to get one of these grants done within a single fiscal year, especially because most of the applicants are contractors by trade. We've already built it into the program but that and if they request an extension or the like, it just allows us to administratively provide more flexibility. So those are the two changes to the program, just don't just do enhanced flexibility. Staff recommendation is to approve CRA resolution 02-24 and staff will be happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Okay, this public meeting and I would like to invite any members of the public to address any comments or questions that you might have. Okay, seeing none, I will close that option and now open up to Board Member comments. Just that I love that we have the bill to do this. You know, it was years that we were trying to build the CRA up and now we have it, and it's doing good things in the city, and it's helping our residents. So with that, I want to make a motion that we approve CRA resolution 2-24, capital improvement grant program amendments. Second. Okay, we have a motion in a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed. Motion has carried. I do have one question I would like to ask just to clarify one thing ahead of the citizen asked me today about the dates and the next time they'll be taking applications. So that comes up. So we open the grant applications open in October and then they close at the end of the calendar year. And then I told them that I could tell them I would follow up and just everybody. We'll be putting that information out, you know, and we're coming up on the commercial cycle. And there's been quite a few interested parties that I've heard from, that's part of the reason why we bumped up the program from 150,000 to 200,000. You know, there's a lot of interest now in the residential and the commercial to make sure we've got enough to go around. Okay. I just wanted to have that on the record and I will get back with that person and so they'll be in touch with me. So you said the application is from October 1 to the end of the year. December. Yeah. OK. Yeah, so they've got three months. We will still take applications after the fact, but anyone that turns their application in, they'll all get reviewed concurrently. If you apply later, you just run the risk of their the funding having all been allocated. Got it. OK. Yeah. and having all been allocated. Okay. This time I'd like to adjourn the CRRA meeting and reconvene the city commission meeting and I'd like to ask the clerk Linda Bouchois to call the roll, please. Mayor Follas? He's here. Vice Mayor Daly? Commissioner Eden? Here. Commissioner Dermann? Yeah. Commissioner Maltsby? Yeah. Okay. And that complete SAS presentation, awesome. Nobody slipped out on us. Okay. Now, we have recognition of citizens, anybody that's here that has other comments or questions to make? Uh-oh. Hello. Hi, Carolyn, I'm doing 745 Lakeswood guy. And I should have said it's up to an earlier, earlier but I didn't but here I am now. I just want to on behalf of our family and our father to thank you for the process and transition of him being appointed to the big and free and then coming back around and being sworn in tonight. You know he loves this place and you have to love this work to be here and you guys are doing good you get up for it. Not a cop tonight but just thank you from bottom of my heart you all which is so great to you. I'm doing this process. Thank you. Thank you so much. You look really good. I love your hair. I was going to say something and I'll say it now while you're all here. I know we've lost a couple but what an amazing family you have. And I understand now where you've got it from. We appreciate your support of our commission and our city and your father. You all spoke on his behalf when we had our meetings and it was very special to me to see the support that he gets continued to get from his family. So thank you all for doing that. I know there was a lot of kids here. There's a lot of people here that night and we really appreciate your support. So thank you. Thank you. Okay, is there anybody else that has anything they would like to add? You can turn your...just hand that to... Oh, see. I don't know if you want to... I just need to just come in there for peace. Okay. Since the recognition of citizens is complete, I will now open for Commissioner questions and comments. Mr. Maltz, but you've had a few months to think about what you'd like to tell us. Okay. I want to thank the lady of five of our comments Thank the LEGO Fire Department for coming to my rescue for my first lesson. I called everyone. They came out and the Kennedy came up and they took me broke pressure to say, we ain't getting to the Orlando. And a minute I held a cop, came when we got me in a few minutes. I was in a... So I wanna thank my girls and boy, taking care of me since I've been a little ill. They ever left me one more by myself. day well at all times with me and the liquor and hospital lighting on the head, real hospital there. They were good and I think they kept me 17 days and I got the best of tier-writing for candy. I don't think the city commission for support is me. And I'm getting better every day. Stronger. And I'm going to come back, but I'm not going to see the conditions. What I'd like to advise you that the next time you want a helicopter ride, let them take you. There's a lot cheaper if they just buy one of those little rides to give you that. You can do that on a link though. I think it's like 80 bucks. Yeah. I mean, you know, it's, but no, we're seriously, we're, we're so do that. I think it's like 80 bucks. Yeah, I mean, you know, it's but no, we're seriously we're we're so happy that it speaks a lot for our local fire and and police and and our our first responders and again, I don't want to jump ahead, but I do want to say we all are going to try to remember them and thank them at our upcoming Tarsho on September 21st, which recognizes the hot rods and heroes, which includes our fire police and first responders. So they're showing up every day for us. We hear almost every meeting, you know, people going by and it just lets us know that they're watching out for all of us. Thank you, Mr. Monsby. Thank you. Vice-merderally. I had a couple things, one that's a welcome Uncle Buddy, of course. I wanted to mention that at the Clark show on September 21st at the Fiber Squad and ski team is planning to do a water ski show on like Alfred for the first time. That will be at noon. It will be a full show and they're working to see if the airport will let them fly the Delta kite. It all depends on how close we are and whether or not they're within the airspace but usually goes up 500 feet and that would be part of the show. I wanted to make sure everybody was aware that Pope County is revising their comp plan and they have some meetings coming up, some workshops and they've invited people to come. I don't know if you've all gotten any emails, but there's a meeting coming up on at the Advent Health Center in Winter Haven on September 10th at 6 p.m., 6 to 8. And if you can't make it, they have opportunities to go online and make comments and get feedback and to read other people's comments and that sort of thing. But this is the next segment of there. Where do we want to go is what they're calling it. And then in October they will have a session of workshops called How do we Get There? And that will be in Barthot, the Civic Center on October 29th. So this is becoming up and I would encourage all of you to just stay involved, even if it's just to go virtually to the meeting or to go to their website and see because a lot of this stuff could affect the city of Lake Alfred and we might see something crazy like that I want to build a golf course on the beach or something, you know, you never know what people might be suggesting. So that would be something that I think we should all get involved with. And I have a curiosity about this. What is this? Is this, it's like there's no, is it a chamber? That is the, the softwa springs. Softwa spring. Oh, this is the, it's originally, originally. Originally, I think you paid just today. Oh, this is the... That's originally. Originally. I think you paid just to that. Yeah, I got one. It's not an audio video. Okay. Anyway. Okay, I've got it. I just didn't know. I mean, I'm neither. I just didn't know who... Who is the sponsor of it. So, that was all. And then I'm looking forward to the leadership. I think that's always fun when the kids come and they do. They're a lot maybe and it's really fun. So that's all I have. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Herb Ice Mayor. I want to thank everybody for coming tonight. It's been a lot shorter meeting than our last one, but it's been a very active and a very productive meeting tonight. And I'd like to thank all of our commission members and our directors in the back. We have our police officer here. I think he got a call to maybe take off. It's just always great to know that they've got our backs when we're up here and we see crazy, crazy stuff going on in this country. I just ask you to, in your own way, say a little prayer tonight for the people in Georgia that were impacted yesterday with the incidents at that school in Winder, Georgia. I used to drive through Winder every time I would drive back and forth from Atlanta to Savannah and beautiful little town. And I was admired it when I came to that little T in the road and I had to turn left. I remember to ride exactly where it was and it's a beautiful little town but they're rocking and rock their world here this last 24 hours so just pray for them. And again the hot rods and heroes saw a lot of them working yesterday and probably in close together as you can get with GBI, FBI, and all the people in Georgia that are responding to stuff like that. They did a great job and got real good information out to us. Even that's not our area, that's something that's available with all of us should we ever need it. Here's the young man that we have just thanked in his absence, so I will say it again. Thank you, sir, for all you do for us. Anthony. Anthony. Say thank you. Thank you for your service, sir. Appreciate it. Okay. I saw it. So I've got, I've got a lot to be thankful for. Next, Commissioner Deerman. Thank you Mayor. Just thank you for coming back and we welcome you with loving arms and that's all I have just exciting times and I'm looking forward to the Heroes and Hot Rod car show and we used to have a lot of things happen. So we do well. Thank you. And Commissioner Egan, you can close that for us. Can we have time yet? No, I think actually it got delayed. So it just started. All right. So we're doing good. I want to welcome back Commissioner Maltsby as well. I thank both chiefs in the back. Congratulations on your promotion. And as well as all the other staff members, thank you guys do a great job. And I just wanted to send a special set of condolences for Senator City Attorney. You know, there's our local Gator fan. And also the Seminole fans out there. It's been rough, rough sled sliding for you guys last couple weeks so it will get better just might not be this year. We still have women softball baby. There you go. Just change forth. Go Chief. That's all I got. Thank you. All right. Thank you again for everybody to come and meeting as a adjourn.