Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 11-13-2007 regular agenda — reading text

weeks ago, and that proper notice and due- process requirements of the Statute were followed. c Mr. Garvie stated his feeling he did not have enough information on this issue and for that reason he could not support this motion.  191 10/ 23/ 07 Regular Council REMOVAL OF CRA MEMBER ( CO NT) c Mr. Hartwell advised that all e- mails referenced were forwarded and disbursed through the City Clerk to ensure it was public record, except for the telephone calls between he and Mr. Rettie that were not documented. Dr. Pullen noted that the one e- mail where Mr. Rettie allegedly mentions government officials as corrupt was not sent to the public by Mr. Rettie and was meant to be a personal e- mail, and that Mr. Rettie has done a good job throughout the years serving the community. Mr. Miller agreed that Mr. Rettie should be present to discuss the allegations against him. The Mayor called for the vote on the motion to remove Mr. Robert Rettie as a member of the CRA Board of Commissioners for behavior unbecoming and it carried by a vote of 4 to 3 with Holmes, Reeves, Hartwell, and Minich in favor and Miller, Garvie, and Pullen opposed. SHORELINE PROTECTION ZONE STUDY Consideration of a request from the City of Fort Walton Beach to direct Community Development Services staff to include a study of allowable uses within the Shoreline Protection Zone as a Major Issue to be addressed in the Evaluation and Appraisal Report for the Comprehensive Plan. i~:~ The CDS Director explained this request was initiated by Mr. James Tucker to amend the Future ' Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan to modify the uses in the Shoreline Protection ' Zone to include boatyards/ marinas. She advised the Municipal Planning Board ( MPB) heard the request and voted to transmit the study to Council and recommend Staff include the study on c the Shoreline Protection Zone as a major issue to be addressed in the Evaluation and Appraisal Report ( EAR) of the Comprehensive Plan. The CDS Director continued Staff is in the process of evaluating its Comprehensive Plan, which is due to the Department of Community Affairs by May of 2008, and the issue of the Shoreline Protection is an appropriatetopic to be revisited, because of the issue raised with marinas and the first 50 feet being used mainly for passive activities. Mr. Minich moved to accept the Municipal Planning Board' s recommendation to direct the CDS Staff to include the study on the Shoreline Protection Zone as a major issue to be addressed in the Evaluation and Appraisal Report for the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Miller seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Miller, Reeves, Garvie, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE FOR NLC CONGRESS OF CITIES BUSINESS MEETING Consideration of designating a Council representative to serve as the City' s voting delegate for the 2007 NLC Congress of Cities Annual Business Meeting on Saturday, November 17, 2007. J Mr. Minich moved to designate Councilman am Garvie to serve as the City' s voting delegate for the 2007 NLC Congress of Cities Annual Business Meeting on November 17, 2007. Dr. ' Pullen seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, Miller, Reeves, Garvie, Pullen, Hartwell, and Minich in favor. c RECESS The meeting recessed at 8:45 p. m. RECONVENE The meeting reconvened at 9: 00 p. m. 192 Regular Council 10/ 23/ 07 INVESTIGATION OF CONDUCT OF FINANCE DIRECTOR c' Consideration of a discussion relating to Charter Section 12 with the Council in regard to conducting an investigation into the conduct of the Finance Director, Lisa Absher. The Mayor explained the procedure to be followed for this item as well as for the following items regarding the conduct of the City Manager and the discussion of Council decorum. He asked that the presenter of each item be allowed to present their issues, then the Council and the I] l~ public will have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions. He stressed that there is no investigation being done tonight, and, that absolutely no questions on investigating should be asked; only the merits of having an investigation. He advised there is a copy of the Charter at Council' s place and he read Section 12, Investigations of Transactions of Departments and Officials, which states, liThe council, the mayor or any committee, duly authorized and appointed by council or the mayor to do so, may investigate the financial transactions of any office or department of the city government and the official acts of any city official, and by similar investigation may secure information upon any matter relating to the city' s business~ " The Mayor continued that when discussions and considerations are completed on Item 20 Consideration of a discussion relating to Charter Section 12 with the Council in regard to conducting an investigation into the conduct of the Finance Director, Lisa Absher), and Item 21, Consideration of a discussion relating to Charter Section 12 with the Council in regard to conducting an investigation into the conduct of the City Manager, Joyce Shanahan), and if an investigation is deemed necessary on either or both, discussion will center on how the r' investigation will be handled, be it Council, the Mayor, or a committee. The Mayor confirmed with the City Attorney that this procedure was appropriate. Mr. Holmes, who requested the item be placed on the agenda, reported that due to numerous phone calls, information he has received from residents, and a telephone call from a city resident expressing concern over the conduct of the Finance Director, he felt the matter needed to be discussed to bring it to resolution and begin to move ahead with the business of the City. Mr. Holmes stated he contacted the City Attorney who advised he with the s labor speak City' attorney, Mr. Mattimore, and after a lengthy discussion with Mr. Mattimore about Section 12 of the Charter, Mr.' Holmes feels the information included in the backup material presented to Council is more than enough to open an investigation and look into the matter of the conduct of the Finance Director. Mr. Garvie requested clarification on what exactly should be investigated, and questioned whether the allegations were in reference to financial transactions or official acts of a city official, and that if a motion is being looked at to investigate someone, there should be a clear understanding of what exactly is being investigated. Mr. Holmes responded the situation regarding the conduct and relationship of the Finance Director with her staff has been discussed previously. ' He cited documentation from a city employee in reference to a conversation the Finance Director had with Robert Rettie involving a directive set forth from this Council and that, in his opinion, is overstepping the bounds of a Charter Officer to intervene in a directive from Council, according to Section 12 of the Charter. Mr. Holmes noted the investigation is in reference to the official acts, and not the financial transaction of the Finance Director, and explained that the investigation will clarify whether the c accusations and innuendos he has received are true. Mr. Garvie questioned whether innuendos made by the public calling certain Council members about the behavior of an employee warrants an investigation by Council.  193 10/ 23/ 07 Regular Council INVESTIGATION OF CONDUCT OF FINANCE DIRECTOR ( CaNT) c Mr. Miller questioned how this investigation relates to the Finance Director' s contract or position description. Mr. Holmes responded he does not personally believe that any Charter Officer or city employee has the right to interfere in the directive of this Council, and that directive was when Mr. Hartwell brought up the issue of removing Robert Rettie from the CRA Board. Mr. Holmes advised that the information contained in the backup leaves him to believe there was conversation and direction or guidance given to Mr. Rettie from the Finance Director. Mr. Garvie questioned if the Finance Director is investigated if it will be for violating a directive from Council by counseling an individual, i.e. Mr. Rettie. Mr. Holmes responded this is not a placeto get into an investigation, and that this is only one issue out of a multitude of issues. Dr. Pullen stated he did not understand the allegations and requested the specific page and issue in the backup that Mr. Holmes was referring to. Mr. Holmes noted a memo dated October 15, 2007, to the Human Resource Director. Mr. Holmes stated he has a lot of concerns about the performance of the Finance Director up to this point. He mentioned the tremendous amount of discord at City Hall, which he feels directly relates to the conduct of the Finance Director, and that is part of the reason why he is seeking an investigation, to look at these issues. Mr. Hartwell asked, for clarification, whether Mr. Holmes' justification for wanting an investigation is because of the general discord at City Hall that he feels is centered around the Finance c Director. Mr. Holmes responded that was correct. Discussion ensued among members of Council that the Mayor felt were an attempt to discount the reasons of Mr. Holmes' request for an investigation. The Mayor stated he