Fort Walton Beach Council minutes — 08-11-09 regular minutes — reading text

he will follow up with the development team to see what is needed. He advised they will be submitting a foundation permit to the City in about 60 days and the construction documents are complete for the deck and about 50% complete for the building. Mr. Reeves appreciated Mr. Houle' s candidness and responses, and stated he is excited about what is planned for the Landmark location. CITY MANAGER REPORTS The City Manager advised he is scheduling the annual review for the Landmark on September 22, 2009 agenda. He also discussed the Soundside Development and that he and Staff have been working closely with the Housing Authority on moving the project forward. The City Manager discussed the Business Retention Panel and advised that two of the appointees, , Robbie Epstein of DRS Training and Control Systems, and John McGee of First City Bank, had to resign due to business reasons, and it was Council' s decision if they wanted to appoint two replacements. He advised the Panel discussed a variety of issues at their first meeting and are very enthusiastic, and are proposing to discuss the permitting process at future meetings. The meetings will be held the last Thursday of each month until the end of December or January. The City Manager further explained he received a Council request to revisit the golf course audit that was discussed during budget on a future agenda, and advised he would place it on the August 25, 2009 Council Agenda. The City Attorney advised an Executive Session is needed to discuss the lawsuit Barber v. Fort Walton, Okaloosa County Court Case 2009 -CA -3822 on August 25, 2009, at 5:00 p. m. MAYOR/ COUNCIL COMMENTS Mr. Miller advised he would like Council to revisit the budget to discuss revenues as he feels they were not adequately discussed during the budget hearings and would like to ensure that the public understands where the funding comes from. Mr. Miller also discussed an article he read regarding police and fire retirement plans and that Staff should look at these two retirement plans and discuss the plans in the future. Mr. Reeves noted that Council spent over 5 hours painstakingly reviewing the budget, that everyone had the same information and revenues as well as expenditures were discussed. He noted the information was published on -line for the public to review. Mr. Reeves stated his feeling that there is no need to keep rehashing issues over and over that have already been discussed and voted on by Council. Mr. Garvie discussed the efforts being taken by Habitat for Humanity to assist the low income find housing; advised the housing authority for the state is having their annual meeting in Sandestin and he will be giving the opening address; announced the educational summit being held by Striving for Perfection next Saturday for minority children in the lower part of their class; and that he attended the annual meeting of PAWS and that he received valuable information about the organization.  267 Regular Council Meeting 08 -11 -09 MAYORMOUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS Mr. Nabors advised he did not appreciate his fellow councilmen speculating his level of comprehension of items on an agenda, and if he has questions he will address them before the meeting and he did not care for an agenda item being placed on an agenda for his benefit to help him understand items others may speculate or feel he did not have a master of the topic. He hoped in the future if there are any questions from Councilmen as to their level of understanding that they would address those before coming to Chambers to address the topics at hand. Mr. Patterson requested that an item be placed on a future agenda to address the problem of panhandling. Mr. Patterson advised that the Northwest Florida Remote Control Flyer Association raised over $ 5, 000 for the wounded warrior project. Mr. Rynearson stated on record he is not in favor of revisiting the golf course audit, that it has been discussed and is a matter of public record, and it is the job of Council to move forward, not backward. Mr. Rynearson also gave his appreciation to the City Staff for their diligent work in preparation of the Council agendas. 4th Mayor Anderson commented for the record on the great July celebration at the Landing. He also advised he was invited to a downtown business meeting and discussed the excitement in the downtown; was invited to the Installation Excellence Ceremony for Hurlburt; that he acted as a server for the law enforcement pancake breakfast at Longhorns; he attended the Small Business Expo in Crestview; announced the Economic Recovery Summit will be held on August 28 at the Conference Center from 8: 30 am to 11: 30 am; and thanked Sam' s Club for giving Parks and Recreation $ 1, 000 in grant monies for the ballet dance room. The Mayor also advised that a pancake breakfast will be held at 9 am in support of the Fisher House at Magnolia Grill on Wednesday morning. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:25 pm. APPROVED: du-q Ive