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2011-09 Redistricting• RESOLUTION NO. 11 -09 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF OKEECHOBEE, FLORIDA; SUPPORTING A REDISTRICTING PLAN WHICH RETAINS INCLUSION IN TWO STATE HOUSE DISTRICTS AND TWO STATE SENATE DISTRICTS WITHIN OKEECHOBEE COUNTY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Okeechobee County, Florida is currently included in two State House Districts and two State Senate Districts, as depicted on the maps attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein by reference; and WHEREAS, the Okeechobee area is predominantly rural, with agricultural concerns; and WHEREAS, the current State House District Plan and the current State Senate District Plan have resulted in representation of the City of Okeechobee by multiple persons with a strong understanding of rural needs; and WHEREAS, having only one State House Representative or one State Senator for the City of Okeechobee would weaken the political influence of rural areas and shift more power to regions with differing demographics and needs; and WHEREAS, without strong voices from representatives familiar with rural concerns, it is likely that rural concerns could be overrun by large market needs and political powers; and WHEREAS, the City of Okeechobee has uniquely benefitted from Okeechobee County being included in two State House Districts and two State Senate Districts. NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved before the City Council for the City of Okeechobee, Florida; presented at a duly advertised public meeting; and passed by majority vote of the City Council and properly executed by the Mayor or designee, as Chief Presiding Officer for the City: 1. That the City of Okeechobee, Florida supports a redistricting plan which retains inclusion in two State House Districts and two State Senate Districts within Okeechobee County, to best serve the interests of the City. 2. That this Resolution shall become effective upon adoption. INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED by the City of Okeechobee this 16th day of August, 2011. 411) REVIEWED FOR LEGAL SUFFICIENCY: John R. Cook, City Attorney Resolution No. 11 -09 Page 1 of 3 James . Kirk, Mayor w"k7---7— ts EXHIBIT "A" 2002 STATE SENATE DISTRICTS 1 ;•.: • 1-, ••., I !'- \ 4,1j1r:,-H4ST \ — 1.11A16:4, 17 District Number County Boundary Interstate Highway Major Highway Shoreline _ . w. , rE ,,,•-•,./- . ,,, _________—_,--- •- (D •.___.-Q.- ' k_.----' Resolution No. 11-09 Page 2 of 3 EXHIBIT "A" • 2002 STATE HOUSE DISTRICTS RAi • � Si+{PA}{IifE 3 + , Y 1.01V It Y BIXIE G4CHRnT PC�Nlu4T _,�, AN .r_AC•C114E ini Legend 7 District Number County Boundary Interstate Highway Major Highway Shoreline DADE Resolution No. 11 -09 Page 3 of 3 9/6/11 Activity Rpt Cont'd — • BRAT Club changes fundraiser — The Club was given latitude to change the original Oct 22"d park use and street closing approval from raising monies for repairing the wooden jungle gym at the park to simply placing the proceeds in the clubs account for later use...see attached. • Legislative Day is Oct 12 — As I explained at the last meeting, the Ec Council coordinates the Leg Day approach and we are having another organizational meeting Sept 12t". Please advise as to any of your specific interests that we need to communicate to our legislators by including it in the book that's prepared. Again, the leg session begins Jan 2012 and ends March 9. • Redistricting — Councilman Williams and I attended the redistricting public hearing in Clewiston on Sept 1 and present the Resolution the Council adopted to rather large legislative contingency. Much literature was distributed at the meeting and I've attached some calendar notes. Further info can be gathered from the web site www.floridaredistricting.orq. • Hurricane preparedness — EOC Director, Mitch Smeykal, will be seeking Council approval on a 5-yr "mitigation strategy plan" at a coming meeting. Again, at some point he will initiate one -on -one conferences (to avoid the open meeting act) w/ each Councilman (and Commissioner) who will act as Policy Advisors in the event of a hurricane. In the mean time, Mr. Smeykal directed our attention to www. FloridaDisaster. orq a web site for Florida's Div of Emergency Management. City Attorney /litigation issues: • Chamber eviction — There is no new court trial date set as of this date. As a result of Atty Cook's motion on behalf of the City to strike the Chamber's filings to date, the attached 2 -pg Order was approved. The trial was delayed as a result of the bullet below: ➢ Recd a copy of an 8/5/11 letter fr IRS to the appointed Judge, Robert Belanger, requesting a delay in the eviction proceedings until the IRS can have representation at the meeting. ➢ Have spoken to a cpl of IRS tax advocates, the latest gave his impression that if the IRS is unable to capture anything for the lease value they could foreclose on the property, but added that that scenario is highly unlikely...particularly after I explained the ownership issue. He expects that the IRS will simply release the property after liquidating the personal assets. He confirmed that if the eviction proceeds are successful the lease value would become worthless. • Carter Pritchett Advertising v. City billboard issue — Recently, there has been some communication (attached 3 letters) bringing the matter to the forefront. Last December, Atty Bob Shearman, representing the City, indicated that Atty Steve Ramunni, representing Carter Pritchett/Centennial Bldrs, essentially said they can't move the proposed sign location easterly (as requested by the City) and proposed the City accept a 20 year (vs 10 year) period before non - conformance provisions be instituted on a proposed billboard. At that time, the City Atty conveyed to Atty Shearman the City's position of unacceptability. Page 2 Redistricting Timeline Legislative Calendar JANUARY 28, 2010 Florida House presented plans to develop a web - based district' building application to Florida media APRIL —JULY, 2010 Florida House's MyFloridaCensus initiative; April 1 was U.S. Census Day SEPTEMBER 28, 2010 Public release of "alpha" version of MyDistrictBuilder at the National' Conference of State Legislature's Fall 2010 Redistricting Conference DECEMBER 21, 2010 Apportionment of 27 Congressional seats to Florida MARCH 17, 2011 Florida received 2010 Census data from U.S. Census Bureau MARCH 25, 2011 2010 Census data added into "beta" version of MyDistrictBuilder JUNE — SEPTEMBER, 2011 Florida Legislature will host statewide public meetings for citizen input on redistricting OCTOBER - DECEMBER, 2011 Likely time for House Redistricting Committee and Subcommittees to begin reviewing public input JANUARY 10 —MARCH 9, 2012 2012 Legislative Session; Legislature officially approves new district plans Legislative (State House and Senate) Redistricting Plans Congressional Redistricting Plan r Between January 10 to March 9 — Legislature approves Legislative plans 15 Days — Attorney General submits Legislative plans to FL Supreme Court 30 Days — FL Supreme Court upholds the Legislative plans 60 Days — US DOJ preclears the Legislative plans Between January 10 to March 9 — Legislature approves Congressional plan June 4 to 8 — Qualifying for state and federal elections in Florida DID YOU KNOW... 7 or 15 Days— Govemor signs Congressional plan into law NO AUTOMATIC COURT REVIEW 60 Days — US DOJ preclears the Congressional plan June 4 to 8 — Qualifying for state and federal elections in Florida ...The Legislature is specifically required to redistrict the State House and State Senate districts during the 2012 Legislative Session. Florida Constitution, Art ill s.16 (a) ...Qualifying for state & federal elections occurs in the same week in redistricting years. s. 99.061(9), Ronda Statutes FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE W W W.FLORIDAREDISTRICTI NG.ORG