TOBACCO ORDINANCE FIRST READING APPROVED, BOAT SLIP RENTALS REDUCED,
WHEN CRA & CITY COMMISSION MEET
July 3, 2014
The Cedar Key Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) met Tuesday evening, July 1, 2014, at 6pm in City Hall closely followed by the Cedar Key City Commission meeting which commenced at 6:05pm. CRA Director Royce Nelson, Vice Chair Tina Ryan, and members Sue Colson, Dale Register, and Gene Hodges were present at the first meeting. Mayor Dale Register, Vice Mayor Sue Colson, and Commissioners Tina Ryan, Gene Hodges, and Royce Nelson were present at the Commission meeting.
CRA
In addition to approving the minutes of the May 20 and June 3, 2014, meetings, the singular CRA business was Police Chief/Public Works Director Virgil Sandlin’s update on the city’s storm water maintenance efforts. Sandlin reported that the city crew had begun digging through the most clogged lines.
COMMISSION MEETING
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Budget Workshops:
Mayor Dale Register invited the public to attend the upcoming budget workshops now scheduled to occur at City Hall at 6pm on the following dates: July 17, 22, 24, and 29, and August 7, 14, and 21, 2014. September meetings will be announced. At the July 29 meeting, commissioners will propose the millage rate and conduct a budget hearing.
Museum on Main Street (MoMS):
Cedar Key Arts Center Gallery Director Henry Gernhardt requested that commissioners and the public submit photographs of Cedar Key people for him to post in the Center’s six-week ongoing exhibition for the Smithsonian’s visit to Cedar Key from September 13 through October 19, 2014. The fifteen-foot long wall of photographs will contain pictures of people “working and playing” in Cedar Key. Gernhardt’s goal is for all viewers of the wall to find people who they recognize. Five hundred photos are needed and are due August 1, 2014. Photos may be dropped off at the Arts Center anytime or emailed to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Fireworks:
Fireworks will be ignited from Cemetery Point Park after sunset, approximately 9 or 9:15pm, on July 4, 2014. The full $11,000 was raised for the event. No tax dollars were spent.
Fan for the Summer Youth Program:
Commissioner Sue Colson made a plea for a $249 fan to help cool the one hundred students and their teachers who spend all day, four days a week in the un-air-conditioned Cedar Key School gym which today registered 96%. The fan, city property, would be returned at the Youth Program’s closure to be used as needed by the city. Colson made the motion to purchase the fan; Commissioner Gene Hodges seconded the motion. Commissioner Tina Ryan and Mayor Register voted in favor of the motion. Commissioner Royce Nelson said that the fan “would just push hot air around” and voted against the purchase. Other commissioners pointed out that moving air cools perspiring persons more so than nonmoving air.
Colson reported that she was trying to work with school officials to make the gym’s top windows operable, thus able to expel rising hot air; currently they are secured to deter “vandalism.”
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
Cemetery Board:
Attorney Norm Fugate reported that he was conducting a full title search on the Cemetery property. An 1889 deed shows the property was originally deeded to the Cemetery Board. Currently the City of Cedar Key owns the acreage and he wants to determine when and how it became the property of the City. He will talk with the current Cemetery Board members and report back to the Commission at the August 5, 2014, meeting.
Tobacco Product Placement Ordinance:
Commissioners approved the first reading of Ordinance 488 “prohibiting placement of tobacco or nicotine products in self-service displays accessible to minors,” only after extended discussion. Initially, a motion was made to approve the ordinance, no second followed.
As written, the proposed ordinance does not impact adult acquisition of tobacco in any way; it does move tobacco products out of the immediate reach of minors who may be visually attracted to the product and its packaging or who may “steal” it.
Mayor Register reported that the commissioners received an email from Stoney Smith signed “Florida Petroleum Marketers Association” and “Convenience Store Chairman,” urging them to oppose any new tobacco ordinance in the city. Register also reported that Smith told him that he and his lawyer would attend this meeting; neither showed. Commissioners cited several inaccurate statements in Smith’s correspondence.
Speaking in support of the ordinance and refuting some of the specifics of Smith’s correspondence were Tobacco Prevention Network of Florida’s Director and pediatrician Barry Hummel, Jr., MD, and Tobacco Free Partnership of Florida Chair Arthur Konstantino. In attendance supporting the ordinance were Unit Doc Research and Education Foundation Tobacco Prevention Specialist Kristina Zachry, Levy Students Working against Tobacco (SWAT) County Representative Emily Manis, and Concerned citizen Cindy Mulvey.
Commissioner Nelson asked if a law was in place prohibiting minors from tobacco consumption; he was assured that there was. Commissioner and Nurse Sue Colson spoke to her experiences dealing with the ravages of cancer in patients caused by smoking. Commissioner Ryan shared the fact that she is a smoker and started at a very early age. She stated that “If this ordinance saves one kid, it is worth it” and it should be passed.
From the audience, a Cedar Key School teacher and Students Working against Tobacco (SWAT) sponsor Janiece Smith said that CKS students urge the commission to approve Ordinance 488.
The motion was called with Mayor Register and Commissioners Colson and Ryan verbally approving it; no nays were cast; the motion passed unanimously.
CLERK’S OFFICE
Supported heartily by City Clerk Teresa George, Robert Beauchamp of Beauchamp and Edwards, CPAs in Chiefland, proffered a $12,500 contract for accounting services and expressed the logic that future auditing fees will decrease because of his services. The motion to accept the contract was approved unanimously.
PUBLIC WORKS
Because fourteen boat slips in the inner marina are vacant, commissioners unanimously approved reducing the monthly rent to $60 and eliminating the requirement to purchase a launch fee for the boat designated to that particular slip.
COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
Museum on Main Street (MoMS):
University of Florida IFAS Extension Agent and Cedar Key resident Leslie Sturmer presented a video accompanied with an explanation of the aquaculture exhibit previously placed in Washington, D.C. which fully explains the entire aquaculture process.
Commissioner Colson then requested that the commission approve the placement of the aquaculture exhibit in City Hall for the six-weeks that the Smithsonian Institution is in Cedar Key, September 13 through October 19, 2014. The ongoing six-week exhibit necessitates an eight-foot ceiling and wheelchair accessibility. Commissioner Colson reported that she has combed the city searching for high-ceilinged spaces large enough to house the exhibit but to no avail. Housing the exhibit in City Hall would require possibly three commission meetings being moved to an alternate location.
Commissioners requested that the Cedar Key Historical Society review their spaces and ceilings to possibly accommodate the aquaculture exhibit and report back to the commission. It has since been reported that the CKHS space has only 7’-6” ceilings.
Hazardous Waste Day Report:
Commissioner Colson reported that the Hazardous Waste and Hurricane Preparedness Day were successful and resulted in less waste and more visitors.
RESTORE Act:
Commissioner Colson reported that the CHW Engineering representative at a recent RESTORE Act meeting, to present the City’s submittal, was poorly prepared. Commissioners appointed Commissioner Royce Nelson as the city’s representative to oversee the RESTORE Act Projects.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:38pm
The next meeting will be on 15 july 2014
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