2024-03-19 Exhibit 01, item IV.A• • Exhibit 1
03/19/2024
("VOF-oxFf`'Y CITY OF OKEECHOBEE, FLORIDA
MARCH 5, 2024, REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
s DRAFT MEETING MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Watford called the regular meeting of the City Council for the City of Okeechobee to order on March
5, 2024, at 6:00 P.M. in the City Council Chambers, located at 55 Southeast (SE) 3rd Avenue (AVE), Room
200, Okeechobee, Florida (FL). The invocation was offered by Father Jim Shevlin; followed by the Pledge of
Allegiance led by Council Member Jarriel.
II. ATTENDANCE
City Clerk Lane Gamiotea called the roll. Members present to establish a quorum: Mayor Dowling R. Watford,
Jr., Vice Mayor Monica M. Clark, and Council Members Noel A. Chandler, Robert "Bob" Jarriel, and David R.
McAuley.
III. AGENDA AND PUBLIC COMMENTS
A. Modifications to the agenda were as follows: a revised agenda was published and posted on March 1,
2024; revised Minutes for February 20, 2024, were distributed via email earlier today; and, materials for
Item VI. E. were distributed at the meeting and labeled as Exhibit 7.
B. Motion and second by Council Members Jarriel and McAuley to adopt the revised agenda as amended.
Motion Carried Unanimously.
C. There were no comment cards submitted for public participation for issues not on the agenda.
IV. CONSENT AGENDA
Motion and second by Council Members Chandler and Jarriel to:
A. Dispense with the reading and approve the revised Minutes for February 20, 2024, [added to Exhibit 1].
Motion Carried Unanimously.
V. MAYOR WATFORD OPENED THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR ORDINANCE ADOPTION AT 6:03 P.M.
A. Motion by Council Member Chandler, second by Vice Mayor Clark, to read by title only, proposed
Ordinance No. 1286, merging the Police Officers' and firefighters' Pension Funds and providing for a
retired firefighter medical stipend [as presented in Exhibit 2].
Motion Carried Unanimously.
City Attorney Greg Hyden read into the record the title of proposed Ordinance No. 1286 as follows: "AN
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OKEECHOBEE, FL, PROVIDING FOR THE MERGER OF THE CITY
OF OKEECHOBEE MUNICIPAL POLICE OFFICERS' PENSION TRUST FUND, CREATED
PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NO. 888 AS SUBSEQUENTLY AMENDED, AND THE CITY OF
OKEECHOBEE MUNICIPAL FIREFIGHTERS' PENSION FUND, CREATED PURSUANT TO
ORDINANCE NO. 889 AND AMENDED AND RESTATED PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NO. 1229;
PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY OF PROVISIONS; REPEALING
ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE."
Motion by Vice Mayor Clark, second by Council Member McAuley, to adopt proposed Ordinance No.
1286.
There were no public comments. Plan Administrator, Scott Baur of Resource Center, LLC, attended
electronically via Zoom to answer questions. Clerk Gamiotea stated for the record the proposed
Ordinance and Actuarial Impact Statement were sent to the FL Division of Retirement, with no comments
received to date. Roll Call Vote: Chandler — Yea, Clark — Yea, Jarriel — Yea, McAuley — Yea, Watford
— Yea.
Motion Carried Unanimously.
MAYOR WATFORD CLOSED THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 6:08 P.M.
VI. NEW BUSINESS
A. Motion by Council Member Jarriel, second by Vice Mayor Clark to read by title only, proposed Ordinance
No. 1287, prohibiting smoking/vaping in City parks, adding enforcement of the policy by the Code
Enforcement citation process [as presented in Exhibit 3].
Motion Carried Unanimously.
FEBRUARY 20, 2024, CITY COUNCIL REGU'_AR MEETING, PAGE 1 OF 3
VI. NEW BUSINESS CONTINUED
A. Continued. City Attorney Hyden read into the record the title of proposed Ordinance No. 1287 as follows:
"AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OKEECHOBEE, FL, AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES
AT CHAPTER 30 ENVIRONMENT; ADDING SECTION 30-47 SMOKING AT PUBLIC PARKS
PROHIBITED; PROHIBITING SMOKING IN CITY PARKS; PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEABILITY;
PROVIDING FOR CONFLICT; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY;
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE."
Motion and second by Council Members McAuley and Jarriel to approve the first reading, and set April
2, 2024, as a final Public Hearing date for proposed Ordinance No. 1287. Roll Call Vote: Chandler —
Yea, Clark — Yea, Jarriel — Yea, McAuley — Yea, Watford — Yea.
Motion Carried Unanimously.
B. Council discussed the proposed offer from Landmark Precast, LLC, to purchase Lots 17, 17A, and 17B,
CITY OF OKEECHOBEE COMMERCE CENTER, Plat Book 7, Pages 7 through 10 [corrected from 10
through 141, Okeechobee County public records, located in the 1000 block along Northeast (NE) 12th
Street (ST), in the amount of $325,000.00 [as presented in Exhibit 4]. It was the consensus of the
Council for Administrator Ritter to renegotiate an offer starting at $450,000.000 with Landmark
Precast, LLC.
C. Motion by Council Member Jarriel, second by Vice Mayor Clark to accept the offer from Advanced
Medical Sanitation Inc., to purchase the West one -acre of Tract A, CITY OF OKEECHOBEE
COMMERCE CENTER, Plat Book 7, Pages 7 through 10, Okeechobee County public records, located
in the 800 block of NE 9th ST, in the amount of $140,000.00 [as presented in Exhibit 5].
Motion Carried Unanimously.
D. Motion and second by Council Members Chandler and McAuley to approve amending positions on the
salary, position, and job title page in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Budget [as presented in Exhibit 6,
change Operations Supervisor 1 (1) to Operations Supervisor 1(0); and increase the number of positions
for Maintenance Foreman from (1) to (2) with a minimum salary of $53,500.00 and a midpoint of
$64,925.061.
Motion Carried Unanimously.
E. Compare the City's current pay plan with the recommended pay plan provided by Evergreen Consulting
as presented in Exhibit 7. After discussion it was the consensus of the Council to review the final
report and discuss the implementation of the recommendations at budget workshops for FY 2024-
25.
VII. CITY ATTORNEY UPDATE
• The longevity payment ordinance rescission was sent to the City Clerk on February 22, 2024, for review.
• Continuing to work on the final updates on Stormwater Ordinance No. 1275, based on Morris-Depew's
comments.
• Working on a purchase and sale template for the City's Commerce Center property.
• The Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions for the City's Commerce Center is being reviewed to
amend.
• A right-of-way use agreement is being worked on for the owner of Lightsey's Restaurant [decorative fence
encroaching in the 100 block on the North side of Southwest (SW) 16th ST].
• Working on the revisions to remove tax payments on Cattlemen's Square Opinion of Title.
• Preparing proposed revisions to the Code of Ordinances related to Code Enforcement Magistrate's
authority to change the procedure of Hearings and time in which the fines accrue, as well as correcting
the Business Tax Receipt problem.
Vill. CITY ADMINISTRATOR UPDATE
• The repaving project for SW 5th AVE will begin next week from just South of Central Elementary School
to South Park Street, to coordinate with Spring Break.
• Sidewalk repairs will be starting on Saturday.
• The kayak ramp has been ordered for Public Works Staff to install in Centennial Park along Taylor Creek,
without additional sidewalks needing to be constructed.
• Engineers and Architects will be visiting City Hall on Thursday taking the required measurements to begin
the bidding process for the hardening of City Hall.
• Ms. Connie Vanassche of CAS Governmental Services, LLC, the City's Lobbyist, advised the City's State
Appropriations request for hardening the Public Safety Building is still in the State's proposed budget.
• The job description for the Contracts Manager has been completed and the position will be advertised
soon.
FEBRUARY 20, 2024, CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, PAGE 2 OF 3
VIII. CITY ADMINISTRATOR UPDATE CONTINUED
• Council Member Jarriel inquired about the status of selling two City properties. Administrator Ritter replied,
the SE lot was sold to the owners of Gator Security, while the Okeechobee Utility Authority is interested
in utilizing the SW property for their wastewater expansion project.
IX. COUNCIL COMMENTS
Council Member Chandler reminded everyone the Speckled Perch Festival is this weekend and inquired
about a City entry in the parade. Administrator Ritter responded no; we are not riding in the parade. Council
Member Jarriel added the parade is at 10:00 AM and the rodeo is a 2:00 PM.
X. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further items of discussion, Mayor Watford adjourned the meeting at 7:06 P.M.
Submitted By:
Lane Gamiotea, CIVIC, City Clerk
Please take notice and be advised that when a person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Council with
respect to any matter considered at this meeting, s/he may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceeding
is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. City Clerk media
are for the sole purpose of backup for official records of the Clerk.
FEBRUARY 20, 2024, CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, PAGE 3 OF 3
Revised/Corrected Exhibit 1
3/19/2024 CC Meeting
y4-rn v. .
OF•OK, CITY OF OKEECHOBEE, FLORIDA
MARCH 5, 2024, REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
REVISED AS OF 3/12/2024, DRAFT MEETING MINUTES
I. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Watford called the regular meeting of the City Council for the City of Okeechobee to order on March
5, 2024, at 6:00 P.M. in the City Council Chambers, located at 55 Southeast (SE) 3rd Avenue (AVE), Room
200, Okeechobee, Florida (FL). The invocation was offered by Father Jim Shevlin; followed by the Pledge of
Allegiance led by Council Member Jarriel.
II. ATTENDANCE
City Clerk Lane Gamiotea called the roll. Members present to establish a quorum: Mayor Dowling R. Watford,
Jr., Vice Mayor Monica M. Clark, and Council Members Noel A. Chandler, Robert "Bob" Jarriel, and David R.
McAuley.
III. AGENDA AND PUBLIC COMMENTS
A. Modifications to the agenda were as follows: a revised agenda was published and posted on March 1,
2024; revised Minutes for February 20, 2024, were distributed via email earlier today; and, materials for
Item A. E. were distributed at the meeting and labeled as Exhibit 7.
B. Motion and second by Council Members Jarriel and McAuley to adopt the revised agenda as amended.
Motion Carried Unanimously.
C. There were no comment cards submitted for public participation for issues not on the agenda.
IV. CONSENT AGENDA
Motion and second by Council Members Chandler and Jarriel to:
A. Dispense with the reading and approve the revised Minutes for February 20, 2024, [added to Exhibit 1].
Motion Carried Unanimously.
V. MAYOR WATFORD OPENED THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR ORDINANCE ADOPTION AT 6:03 P.M.
A. Motion by Council Member Chandler, second by Vice Mayor Clark, to read by title only, proposed
Ordinance No. 1286, merging the Police Officers' and Firefighters' Pension Funds and providing for a
retired firefighter medical stipend [as presented in Exhibit 21.
Motion Carried Unanimously.
City Attorney Greg Hyden read into the record the title of proposed Ordinance No. 1286 as follows: "AN
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OKEECHOBEE, FL, PROVIDING FOR THE MERGER OF THE CITY
OF OKEECHOBEE MUNICIPAL POLICE OFFICERS' PENSION TRUST FUND, CREATED
PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NO. 888 AS SUBSEQUENTLY AMENDED, AND THE CITY OF
OKEECHOBEE MUNICIPAL FIREFIGHTERS' PENSION FUND, CREATED PURSUANT TO
ORDINANCE NO. 889 AND AMENDED AND RESTATED PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NO. 1229;
PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY OF PROVISIONS; REPEALING
ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE."
Motion by Vice Mayor Clark, second by Council Member McAuley, to adopt proposed Ordinance No.
1286.
There were no public comments. Plan Administrator, Scott Baur of Resource Center, LLC, attended
electronically via Zoom to answer questions. Clerk Gamiotea stated for the record the proposed
Ordinance and Actuarial Impact Statement were sent to the FL Division of Retirement, with no comments
received to date. Roll Call Vote: Chandler — Yea, Clark —Yea, Jarriel — Yea, McAuley — Yea, Watford
— Yea.
Motion Carried Unanimously.
MAYOR WATFORD CLOSED THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 6:08 P.M.
VI. NEW BUSINESS
A. Motion by Council Member Jarriel, second by Vice Mayor Clark to read by title only, proposed Ordinance
No. 1287, prohibiting smoking/vaping in City parks, adding enforcement of the policy by the Code
Enforcement citation process [as presented in Exhibit 3].
Motion Carried Unanimously.
REVISED AS OF MAR 12, 2024, DRAFT MARCH 5, 2024, CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, PAGE 1 OF 3
VI. NEW BUSINESS CONTINUED
A. Continued. City Attorney Hyden read into the record the ti'.le of proposed Ordinance No. 1287 as follows:
"AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OKEECHOBEE, FL, AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES
AT CHAPTER 30 ENVIRONMENT; ADDING SECTION 30-47 SMOKING AT PUBLIC PARKS
PROHIBITED; PROHIBITING SMOKING IN CITY PARKS; PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEABILITY;
PROVIDING FOR CONFLICT; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY;
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE."
Motion and second by Council Members McAuley and Jarriel to approve the first reading, and set April
2, 2024, as a final Public Hearing date for proposed Ordnance No. 1287. Roll Call Vote: Chandler —
Yea, Clark — Yea, Jarriel — Yea, McAuley — Yea, Watford — Yea.
Motion Carried Unanimously.
B. Council discussed the proposed offer from Landmark Precast, LLC, to purchase Lots 17, 17A, and 17B,
CITY OF OKEECHOBEE COMMERCE CENTER, Plat Book 7, Pages 10 through 14, Okeechobee
County public records, located in the 1000 block along Northeast (NE) 12th Street (ST), in the amount of
$325,000.00 [as presented in Exhibit 4]. It was the consensus of the Council for Administrator Ritter
to renegotiate an offer starting at $450,000.000 with Landmark Precast, LLC.
C. Motion by Council Member Jarriel, second by Vice Mayor Clark to accept the offer from Advanced
Medical Sanitation Inc., to purchase the West one -acre of Tract A, CITY OF OKEECHOBEE
COMMERCE CENTER, Plat Book 7, Pages 10 through 14 [corrected from 7 through 10], Okeechobee
County public records, located in the 800 block of NE 9th ST, in the amount of $140,000.00 [as presented
in Exhibit 5].
Motion Carried Unanimously.
D. Motion and second by Council Members Chandler and McAuley to approve amending positions on the
salary, position, and job title page in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Budget [as presented in Exhibit 6,
change Operations Supervisor 1 (1) to Operations Supervisor 1 (0); and increase the number of positions
for Maintenance Foreman from (1) to (2) with a minimum salary of $53,500.00 and a midpoint of
$64,925.06].
Motion Carried Unanimously.
E. Compare the City's current pay plan with the recommended pay plan provided by Evergreen Consulting
as presented in Exhibit 7. After discussion it was the consensus of the Council to review the final
report and discuss the implementation of the recommendations at budget workshops for FY 2024-
25.
VII. CITY ATTORNEY UPDATE
• The longevity payment ordinance rescission was sent to the City Clerk on February 22, 2024, for review.
• Continuing to work on the final updates on Stormwater Ordinance No. 1275, based on Morris-Depew's
comments.
• Working on a purchase and sale template for the City's Commerce Center property.
• The Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions for the City's Commerce Center is being reviewed to
amend.
• A right-of-way use agreement is being worked on for the owner of Lightsey's Restaurant [decorative fence
encroaching in the 100 block on the North side of Southwest (SW) 16th ST].
• Working on the revisions to remove tax payments on Cattlemen's Square Opinion of Title.
• Preparing proposed revisions to the Code of Ordinances related to Code Enforcement Magistrate's
authority to change the procedure of Hearings and time in which the fines accrue, as well as correcting
the Business Tax Receipt problem.
Vill. CITY ADMINISTRATOR UPDATE
• The repaving project for SW 5th AVE will begin next week from just South of Central Elementary School
to South Park Street, to coordinate with Spring Break.
• Sidewalk repairs will be starting on Saturday.
• The kayak ramp has been ordered for Public Works Staff to install in Centennial Park along Taylor Creek,
without additional sidewalks needing to be constructed.
• Engineers and Architects will be visiting City Hall on Thursday taking the required measurements to begin
the bidding process for the hardening of City Hall.
• Ms. Connie Vanassche of CAS Governmental Services, LLC:, the City's Lobbyist, advised the City's State
Appropriations request for hardening the Public Safety Building is still in the State's proposed budget.
• The job description for the Contracts Manager has been completed and the position will be advertised
soon.
REVISED AS OF MAR 12, 2024, DRAFT MARCH 5, 2024, CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, PAGE 2 OF 3
VIII. CITY ADMINISTRATOR UPDATE CONTINUED
• Council Member Jarriel inquired about the status of selling two City properties. Administrator Ritter replied,
the SE lot was sold to the owners of Gator Security, while the Okeechobee Utility Authority is interested
in utilizing the SW property for their wastewater expansion project.
IX. COUNCIL COMMENTS
Council Member Chandler reminded everyone the Speckled Perch Festival is this weekend and inquired
about a City entry in the parade. Administrator Ritter responded no; we are not riding in the parade. Council
Member Jarriel added the parade is at 10:00 AM and the rodeo is a 2:00 PM.
X. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further items of discussion, Mayor Watford adjourned the meeting at 7:06 P.M.
Submitted By:
Lane Gamiotea, CIVIC, City Clerk
Please take notice and be advised that when a person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Council with
respect to any matter considered at this meeting, s/he may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceeding
is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. City Clerk media
are for the sole purpose of backup for official records of the Clerk.
REVISED AS OF MAR 12, 2024, DRAFT MARCH 5, 2024, CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, PAGE 3 OF 3
MINUTE FILF
3�19laoaH c� rne>�,�
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Katie Rogers
From: Katie Rogers
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2024 8:32 AM
To: Gary Ritter; Jacqueline Boer; City Attorney
Cc: Lane Gamiotea; Donald Hagan; Patty Burnette; India Riedel
Subject: REVISED Draft Minutes from 3/5/2024 Meeting
Attachments: 2024 03 05 Reg Mtg.pdf
Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council, John, and Gary,
These are the revised minutes that you will be approving at the meeting tonight.
Katie Rogers I Deputy Clerk
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
CITY OF OKEECHOBEE
55 SE 3RD AVENUE, OKEECHOBEE, FL 34974
PHONE: (863) 763-3372 EXT. 9814
FAX: (863) 763-1686
EMAIL: DEPUPTYCLERK C@CITYOFOKEECHOBEE.COM
Under Florida law, email addresses are public records. If you do not want your email address
released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead,
contact this office by phone or in writing, Florida Statute 668.6076.
CITY OF OKEECHOBEE ELECTRONIC DEVICE DISCLAIMER: Florida has a very broad public
records law. Most written communications to or from local officials regarding city business are public
records available to the public and media upon request. Your correspondence via e-mail, text
message, voice mail, etc., may therefore be subject to public disclosure.
•
•
Lane Gamiotea
From: Lane Gamiotea
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2024 1.28 PM
To: Gary Ritter-, City Attorney-, Jacqueline Boer
Cc: Katie Rogers-, Caya Ortega
Subject: RE: Draft Minutes from 3/5/224 Council Meeting for review
Mayor, Council, John & Gary,
Please note, the draft 3/5/2024 minutes have been revised as of today with these corrections:
Pg 2, item B, " ... Pages 10 through 14 ..." and remove: [corrected from 10 through 14].
Pg 2, item C, " ... Pages 10 through 14 ..." and add: [corrected from 10 through 141.
Footer, all 3 pages, correct date from February 20, 2024 to March 5, 2024.
Don't hesitate to send any additional corrections that are required.
We'll email a final revised copy on Tuesday morning, once I'm sure we've received any further
required corrections.
Best,
X-e. Loire �u�7es �j'ahriotea, CAC
:`.pA.FFcy City Clerk
City of Okeechobee
55 SE 3rd Avenue, Room 100, Okeechobee, FL 34974
Office: 863.763.3372 ext. 9814, Fax: 863.763.1686, Cell: 863.697-0345
Under Florida law, email addresses are public records. If you do not want your email address
released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead,
contact this office by phone or in writing, Florida Statute 668.6076.
CITY OF OKEECHOBEE ELECTRONIC DEVICE DISCLAIMER: Florida has a very broad public
records law. Most written communications to or from local officials regarding city business are public
records available to the public and media upon request. Your correspondence via e-mail, text
message, voice mail, etc., may therefore be subject to public disclosure.
From: Lane Gamiotea
Sent: Monday, March 11, 2024 10:17 AM
To: Gary Ritter <gritter@cityofokeechobee.com>; City Attorney <cityattorney@cityofokeechobee.com>; Jacqueline Boer
<executiveassistant@cityofokeechobee.com>
Cc: Katie Rogers <deputyclerk@cityofokeechobee.com>; Caya Ortega <clerksecretary@cityofokeechobee.com>
Subject: Draft Minutes from 3/5/224 Council Meeting for review
Mayor & Council, John, and Gary,
Please review the attached February 6, 2024, DRAFT Minutes. Should and of the content be unclear,
incorrect, have missing content, grammar errors, etc., kindly let us know as soon as possible so that
we may correct them prior to their approval on March 19, 2024.
Best,
yl,-s, Lane �a�aes��j'a�riotea, CAC