All City Council meetings may be viewed at www.youtube.com/cityofdestin.
June 6th Council Meeting Recap
Proclamation - Mayor Gary Jarvis read the proclamation designating June 7th, 2022, as Rotary Citizens “Service Above Self” Day, and honoring Mr. Cory Fosdyck as the inaugural recipient of the award.
City Manager Report:
Workflow Process for Property Maintenance and Unsafe Building Abatement Code (update) - The City Manager briefly discussed staff’s plan to bring to city council an updated abatement process, including matrix and timeline for demolition of derelict structures.
Resolution 22-07 - Adopting Council Meeting Schedules for the Remainder of Calendar Year 2022 - Motion passed 4-0, to adopt Resolution 22-07 . Regularly scheduled council meetings for the remainder of the year will be as follows:
• Monday, June 20, 2022
• Monday, July 11, 2022
• Monday, August 1, 2022
• Monday, August 15, 2022
• Thursday, September 8, 2022
• Monday, September 19, 2022
• Monday, October 3, 2022
• Monday, October 17, 2022
• Monday, November 7, 2022
• Monday, November 28, 2022 (Inauguration Day for newly elected city officials)
• Monday, December 12, 2022
Staff to discuss the process involved in changing the starting time, from 5:30 PM to 5:00 PM, for the budget hearing on September 8th at the next council meeting.
Resolution 22-08 - Amending Rules and Procedures of Council Meeting - Motion passed 4-0, to adopt Resolution 22-08.
Announcements:
• June 20th @ 5:30 PM – CRA Board meeting
• June 23rd @ 5:30 PM – Budget Workshop #2
• Sports tournaments at Morgan Sports Center will resume this week and run through end of July (with the exception of July 4th Holiday)
• Demolition of the building at 1 Calhoun Avenue is scheduled for Wednesday, June 8th
• The city’s Grants/Project Manager’s request from the legislature for $270,000 for the Linear Trail has been approved by Governor DeSantis
• Clarification to the article in the paper stating that the city was short 40 employees: The city has been short over 40 employees over the course of the year, but, that number is currently at 21 staff positions.
• The boat that was beached near Norriego Point and towards Jetty East has been removed
Councilman Braden - Signage from Airport Road to the Marler Bridge - Item moved to June 20th council meeting.
Councilman Destin - Councilmember Destin has been receiving complaints about boaters exceeding the Destin no wake zones. He asked that the Land Use Attorney come up with some ways to get this issue under control in the Destin waterways; and to possibly include enabling the harbor compliance officer to issue citations.
Councilman Bagby - Procurement Policy - item moved to the June 20th Council Meeting. Requests staff look into and prepare to discuss the following recommendations: Increasing the capital purchase limit from $1,000 to $10,000. If approved in the budget, staff will be able to purchase a truck or a lawnmower without having to bring it back before the council for approval. Issues related to the Friends of the Library has been resolved.
Mayor Gary Jarvis - Motion passed 4-0 by the council to approve a letter of support for the re-nomination of Dr. Tom Frazer to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.
June 20th Council Meeting Recap
Proclamation - Parks and Recreation Month 2022 - The mayor read the Proclamation designating the month of July 2022 as Parks and Recreation Month in the City of Destin, and then presented it to members of city staff and Parks and Recreation Committee.
Request to build a high school baseball park at Morgan Sports Complex - Destin High School - Motion: Direct city staff to work with Destin High School representatives in acquiring a permanent place for the baseball field and sports facility for the Destin High School. Amended motion: Direct city staff to work with the Destin High School in acquiring a more permanent place for the baseball field and sports facility for the high school. Also, to direct city staff to determine the exact cost to renovate the baseball field at the Destin Elementary School to serve as a temporary solution and address the present need of the high school, and to act as a bridge to a more permanent solution for the high school. Motion passed 6-1; with Councilmember Schmidt dissenting.
Presentation - Little Adventures In-Destination - Aleis Tusa - Tourist Development Department Director - Staff will bring item back at the July 11, 2022 council meeting with recommendations to the city council.
City Manager Report:
Resolution 22-09 - Maximum Fees for Vehicle Towing and Remobilization - Motion to adopt Resolution 22-09, and to increase the maximum fees for private property towing and storage for Class A, Class B, and Class C vehicles by $25.00:
Class A vehicles - $175 per vehicle
Class B vehicles - $250 per vehicle
Class C vehicles - $350 per vehicle
Passed 5-1; with Councilmember Destin dissenting. Councilmember Braden left the meeting prior to this item being heard.
Draft Solid Waste Franchise Ordinance - Motion to direct the City Manager and City Attorney to bring back to Council the proposed Solid Waste Franchise Ordinance for first reading and set the franchise fee at 3% passed 6-0.
Recommendations/Opinions
• Section 18K: Single stream materials containers may not contain more than 10% non-recyclables or any excluded materials. A container is “contaminated” when, based on visual inspection, it has more than 10% non-recyclables or any amount of excluded materials.
More analysis is needed to determine what effect this section has on recycling. Need to thoroughly educate the public or recycling will stop. (Destin)
• Overage charge of 25% of the residential rate is a little excessive (Destin)
• Not a good idea to memorialize in the ordinance how they would spend the franchise fee as it would not afford them the flexibility (Destin)
• Do not include in the ordinance how the franchise fee is to be used (Wagner)
• In favor of overage fees. Residents need to be accountable. Learn the rules and abide by them. Recommends the city publishing educational materials online. Add a language whereby any new rules and regulations be placed via stickers on garbage cans (Wagner)
• Effective date of franchise agreement should be October 1st and not “immediately upon adoption by the city council.” This will give them enough time to inform the public (Bagby)
• Fine with not dedicating the franchise fee to certain expenditures as long as they have similar wording as what is in the FPL. They need to have money identified for known priorities such as undergrounding the utilities (Bagby)
• Supports the overages and recycling fees. Just need to properly inform the public (Bagby)
• Need to properly inform the public of the changes and new rules. Not supportive of fees for overages as credit is not given at times when the garbage can is not put out or not collected. (Schmidt)
Code Compliance Director Confirmation - Motion to confirm Ms. Kimberly Corbin as the Code Compliance Director passed 6-0.
Lien Reduction Request - Motion to deny the request for lien reduction and charge the full amount of the lien passed 6-0.
Announcements:
• Starting time for budget hearing #1 on September 8th
• Destin Youth Council membership application
• Update on the grant application to FDEP for $70,000 for the city to undertake a vulnerability assessment
• Budget Workshop #2 on Thursday, June 23rd, at 5:30 PM
• City Council Workshop on LDC rewrite on Tuesday, June 28th, at 5:30 PM
• July 4th – City facilities will be closed. Fireworks display at the usual location begins at 9:00 PM
• City’s Annual Bike Parade and Family Day at the Destin Elementary School on June 30th
Councilmember Wagner - Fleet Management Plan - Motion to direct staff to put out an RFP for Fleet Management Program being offered by other companies and bring back information to council passed 5-0. Council members Hebert and Braden left the meeting before this item was heard. Institute for Elected Municipal Officials 1 (IEMO 1) program - Wagner stated the class was amazing. Recommends everyone in the council make an effort to attend.
Councilmember Bagby - Procurement Policy will be placed on the July 11th council meeting agenda.
Councilmember Schmidt - Morgan Sports Center capital project - Morgan’s Sports Center needs some improvements. Recommends looking into a long-term upgrade for the facilities. Recommends having citizens enter their potential code violation complaints online rather than just emailing them to the council so they can easily be followed up by staff.
City Attorney - Motion to schedule a Council Executive Session for advice concerning litigation involving the Destin Fishing Fleet, Inc., v. City of Destin, Okaloosa County Court Case No. 2019-CA-002599, and 2019-CA-000425, on July 11, 2022, at 5:30 PM, passed 5-0.