COMMISSION MEETS
October 03, 2017
Meeting Specifics
The Cedar Key City Commission met on Tuesday, October 3, 2017, at 6 pm, in the trailer, the temporary home of Cedar Key City Hall after Hurricane Hermine. Present were: Mayor Heath Davis, Vice-Mayor Sue Colson, and Commissioners Dale Register, Royce Nelson, and Nickie Rucker.
Staff in attendance included: CRA Attorney Norm Fugate, Police Chief Virgil Sandlin, Fire Chief and Emergency Operations Manager Robert Robinson, City Clerk Nicole Gill, and Assistant City Clerk Crystal Sharp.
Among those in the audience were: Michael Hancock, Peggy Herrick, Beth Mizell, Denny Voyles, Mike and Connie O’Dell, Buddy Scoggins, Arne and Eve Robinson, Joey Slaughter, John Blouse, Bob and Jeri Treat, and Mandy and Frank Offerle.
MARINA KIOSK ELECTRIC AND WATER BILLING PRICING
To accommodate the majority of the audience and with the approval of all present, Mayor Health Davis moved the Marina issue to the top of the agenda.
Commissioners unanimously approved charging the kiosk lessees a minimum charge for electricity of $7.50 plus a $0.098 per kilowatt beyond the base.
Discussion centered on whether a lessee may sell his lease should he chose to do so during the contract period. Commissioner Royce Nelson agreed with the notion; Commissioner Nickie Rucker disagreed reasoning that the lease is not theirs to sell, and that such a sale “is not in the best interest of the city.” Commissioners eventually approved the selling of the lease depending upon commission approval, meaning that the lessee and the new buyer of the lease would come before the commission to explain the change in “ownership” and operation. The same commission appearance and approval must occur when a kiosk lessee opts to sub-lease a part his space.
Commissioners unanimously approved the length of the leases to be five years.
Marina II owner John Blouse entered the meeting at 6:30 pm; Mayor Davis recapped the past half-hour decision results for Blouse before moving forward.
Discussion occurred whether rental fees should be a flat rate or based upon the actual square footage of the kiosk. Currently the rental rates are $230 for kiosks and $250 for the beach location. Cedar Key City Clerk Nicole Gill recommended that the rental rates should increase by 10 percent over several years.
Tidewater Tours owner Mike O’Dell explained that boat launching is, of course, dependent upon the tides, hence limiting the time he can use the kiosk; the tide, in effect, dictates the amount of money he can make. He said, “We aren’t making a killin’ down there.”
Davis asked who would like to raise the rates. No hand, from the audience nor the dais, was raised. Commissioners unanimously approved leaving the rates unaltered.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Audience member Mandy Offerle announced the Cedar Key Cemetery Clean-Up Day on October 14, 2017, at 8 am, organized by residents Dottie Haldeman and Anne O’Steen. All are invited and encouraged to take part; all hands are needed Hurricane debris and tree removal debris now cover thee Cedar Key Cemetery.
HISTORIC BOARD MEMBER SELECTION
Seat Three, currently occupied by George Sresovich, and Seat Four, currently occupied by George Oakley are open. Both Sresovich and Oakley applied for the next term. Commissioners unanimously approved both.
LOCAL PLANNING AGENCY MEMBER SELECTION
Seat One, Four, and Five are currently occupied by Allan Pither, Jennie Pinto, and Frank Offerle respectively. Pither and Pinto did not submit applications; Offerle did. Commissioners unanimously approved Offerle’s application. The agency will now function with three members.
CEMETERY TRUSTEE SELECTION
As none of the current trustees nor new applicants applied, commissioners unanimously agreed to appoint a director to carry on the work of reorganizing the cemetery. As the current Cedar Key Cemetery liaison is Commissioner Nickie Rucker, Rucker will become the cemetery director.
CEMETERY DRAFT LANGUAGE
PRICES
Excepting a $25 administration fee, Commissioner Rucker proposed price increases for residents and non-residents for plot purchase, Memorial Garden, and burial fee permits. Th schedule is linked below.
Rucker stated her belief that “the cemetery should be self-supporting,” and hopes the pricing structure will help to accomplish this goal. Vice-Mayor Sue Colson urged Rucker to consider “indigent burials.” Those unable to pay for burial have been cremated; local funeral homes have been rotating the responsibility for these burials, which Colson says are not infrequent.
PLOTS AND PERSONS
At the August 5, 2014, Commission Meeting, Boy Scout of America Cory Rudd, asked the commission for access to the Cedar Key Cemetery to complete his project for Eagle Scout. Using the global positioning system application, (BillionGraves.com) and a cast of approximately 25 volunteers, Rudd’s plan was to map the headstones in the cemetery and give each a global position so that, with the help of the free application, families can locate their loved ones. Commissioners unanimously approved Rudd’s request.
This evening, Rucker presented the result of Rudd’s work. She produced a GPS photo of the cemetery broken into 23 trapezoids. Headstones are not visible. The photo is addended by lists of names, possible places on the trapezoidal grid. At the time of the commission meeting, pages seemed missing and locations unclear. Rucker intends to further investigate and clarify. as much as possible, the plots and persons buried in them.
LAWS OF CEDAR KEY
Cedar Key City Attorney Norm Fugate will draft an ordinance altering the current cemetery section of the Laws of Cedar Key for to the commission meeting.
CITY PROJECT LIST:
To focus commissioners’ attention on the breadth of issues before them, Mayor Davis presented his “City Project Update and Discussion” sheet which listed Current, Active Projects, Continuing Areas of Review, and 2017-2018 Review Items. He commented upon how some issues were progressing well; these include the purchasing policy, a regular maintenance schedule, tree ordinance, sign ordinance, and productive meetings.
He commented upon issues he expected still need work; these include the home occupation issue in residential areas, storage sheds in the floodplain, aquaculture docks and facilities, cemetery guidelines, and several others.
The one-page, note-taking-friendly sheet offered commissioners and the audience a handy long- and short-range planning and assessment document.
CITY HALL/FEMA UPDATE:
Work on City Hall has begun with insurance monies. FEMA funds processing is slowed with its preoccupation with Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastation.
ELECTION COMMISSION COMPLAINT UPDATE:
Attorney Fugate reported that the Florida Elections Commission complaint which initially named the city clerk, five commissioners, and the city attorney in the complaint, now only contains the city clerk. The Election Commission has dismissed the commissioners and attorney concerns citing “no legal sufficiency.”
In the September 19, 2017, Cedar Key City Commission Meeting, complainant Scott Demission explained that the Election Commission advised that he name the full seven individuals in the initial complaint and that he took their advice.
MINUTES APPROVED
Commissioners unanimously approved minutes from the September 19, 2017, city commission meeting and minutes from the September 6 and 18, 2017, Budget Hearings.
MEETING ADJOURNED
The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:30 pm.
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