City Council Special Meeting January 27, 2018

Transcription

1 City Council Special Meeting January 27, 2018 The Titusville City Council met in special session on Saturday, January 27, 2018 in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 555 South Washington Avenue, Titusville, Florida. The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. Those present included fourteen citizens, Mayor Walt Johnson, and City Council Members Dan Diesel, JoLynn Nelson, and Sarah Stoeckel. City Council Member Matthew Barringer was absent. Also present were City Manager Scott Larese, Assistant City Manager Tom Abbate, Executive Assistant Virginia Blaylock, Assistant City Attorney Chelsea Farrell, Community Development Director Peggy Busacca, and Assistant City Clerk Jolynn Donhoff, who completed the minutes of the meeting. City Manager Larese led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. He welcomed the citizens and played a video of the most recent edition of the Titusville Talking Points (magazine). City Manager Larese also gave a presentation that highlighted the following information: The itinerary and agenda for the meeting The City s Vision and Mission Fiscal Year (FY) Strategic Plan Priority Objectives for FY 2018 FY 2019 Strategic Planning Model FY 2019 Budget Environment o Challenges o Opportunities Small Group breakout Questions, conclusions, and recommendations Public Comment Next Steps Florida Institute of Government Representative Marilyn Crotty highlighted the remainder of the itinerary for the meeting, which included holding a group activity with fourteen citizens that came to the meeting. The purpose of the group exercise was to have a community conversation with the citizens to launch the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Strategic Planning process. Ms. Crotty asked the citizens that were present to organize themselves into individual groups. Six groups were anticipated by staff; however, only enough citizens were present to form into three groups. A recorder from each group was selected to record each group s ideas for making improvements within the City. The groups used large flip charts, paper, and markers to capture their ideas. Page 1 of 5

2 Ms. Crotty led the three (3) small groups of citizens to discuss the City Council s overarching strategic goals for FY 2018 and the following questions: 1. In order for the City to achieve its goal, what actions should the City of Titusville undertake and fund in the next fiscal year ( )? Identify the three most important issues under this goal. 2. Please describe the type of you think will be beneficial for the City to pursue. Identify the three most important issues under this goal. 3. In order to provide, the City of Titusville should: (select 3 priorities for this goal). 4. What is the most important issue the City of Titusville should address in the next year? Select the one thing the City should be sure to accomplish. Ms. Crotty advised that the results of the workshop would be tied to the financial resources that were available in the pending FY 2019 budget, which would not become effective until October 1, After approximately an hour of inter-group discussions, Ms. Crotty facilitated receiving feedback from three of six anticipated groups. The groups were identified as Group Nos. 3, 6, and 1 and presented their feedback in this same numerical order. Assistant City Clerk Donhoff recorded a summary or snapshot of the citizens discussions, as followed: Group 3 (Spokesperson Marcia Gaedcke) Improve infrastructure streets, sidewalks, stormwater, traffic light synchronization Cultural venues and parks via public and private partnership Market the community. Articulate what we want and where we are headed Create instructions for new or prospective businesses how to onboard at the city Research how fast a site could be developed. Invest in the prep of sites and market them Blight of private property Embrace technology Implement feedback systems within processes either automated to save money or time. Follow-up with feedback systems to ensure that no inquiries were left unanswered Clean up infrastructure Clean up infrastructure Page 2 of 5

3 Market community Embrace technology Group 6 (Spokesperson Robert Jordan) Increase revenue due to other costs would rise, even when working within one s means Ask other governments how they dealt with blight. We need a nice looking community to invite others Repaint signs on major routes and Interstate 95 bold colors to attract visitors A sports complex and other infrastructure could invite additional revenue and stir spending in the community Maximize visitors using the Coast-to-Coast Trails. Have beautiful trees, tree-lined streets, and beauty. Build a city garden Have bright lighted areas at night. Make it look like we are home at night Implement municipal broad band internet Have as much technology as possible Repurpose old buildings or tear them down and charge the owners Have beautiful buildings new or old Emphasize the downtown Ask what do we stand for what do people think of when they think of Titusville Keep the City clean and do not cut the grass unless the trash in the grass was picked up first Take advantage of businesses that were already here make them feel important Rename the City Repaving fix potholes and weeds Define stormwater surcharges and educate the public Have one City crew that solely kept the City clean Relocate City Hall to the Titus Landing Mall to be closer to where people spent their time and draw people into community conversations and participation. Find funding and ways to raise revenue Find local level ways to address climate change Find ways to get more citizens involved in this annual meeting Page 3 of 5

4 Group 1 (Spokesperson Todd St. Louis) Safety and crime prevention Effective code enforcement Appearance Environment friendly Enhance cooridors Blight and development Education, higher learning degrees Business owner knowledge to make Titusville successful Influence redevelopment. Address unsightly buildings and areas Have vision plans and zoning placement plans Improve Code Enforcement Community outreach Have two-way communication about everything Study behavior to identify the best way to communicate with the public about items that might occur road closures, shootings, etc. Stormwater management after hurricanes Improve water operations Appearance and pride in the City Ms. Crotty summarized the messages that seemed to be commonly shared by the groups following the group feedback. She would provide the City with a formal report of her analysis following the meeting. Member Diesel commented on his experience to attract participants to meetings and the ones that did come were appreciated for their activism. He thanked the citizens for coming. Member Stoeckel advised that she took notes and encouraged the citizens to stay engaged and be heard. Member Nelson was appreciative of the new ideas that the citizens shared. City Manager Larese advised that between one hurricane that occurred in October 2016 and a second hurricane that occurred in September 2017, these occurrences had caused an $8 million financial impact to the City. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would only reimburse the City part of these costs over a stretch of time. City Manager Larese advised that the Page 4 of 5

5 next budget cycle would be difficult. Clean-up was necessary. The City was rebounding since the end of the Space Shuttle Program and the last economic recession. Some good news included that the employment rate was down. He thanked the citizens for participating in the meeting. Public Comment Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce President Marcia Gaedcke advised that on February 16, 2018, The Longest Table Event would be held on or near the Julia Street parking lot in downtown Titusville. She invited the public to purchase tickets and attend the event, which would host approximately 200 guests. The purpose of the event was to bring members of the community together to allow them to have difficult conversations intended to improve the community. With no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 11:28 a.m. ATTEST: Walt Johnson, Mayor Wanda F. Wells, City Clerk Page 5 of 5