[Call To Order] [00:00:04] GOOD EVENING. THE TIME IS NOW 7 P.M. AND I'LL CALL TO ORDER THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING OF TUESDAY, MAY 5TH. WE'LL BEGIN WITH AN INVOCATION, FOLLOWED BY A MOMENT OF SILENCE, AND THEN A PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. IF ALL THOSE THAT ARE ABLE, PLEASE JOIN ME IN STANDING. LET US PRAY. ALMIGHTY GOD, AS WE GATHER... THIS EVENING, WE ARE MINDFUL AND GRATEFUL FOR THE PRIVILEGE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF SERVING THIS COMMUNITY. GUIDE OUR THOUGHTS AND OUR WORDS TONIGHT SO THAT THEY MAY REFLECT THE BEST OF WHO WE ARE AND THE TRUST PLACED IN US. HELP US TO LISTEN WITH OPEN MINDS, TO SPEAK WITH RESPECT, AND ACT WITH FAIRNESS FOR THE GOOD OF ALL. IN ALL THAT WE DO, MAY GRACE AND PEACE BE WITH US ALL. AMEN. WE WILL NOW PAUSE FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE. PLEASE JOIN ME IN THE PLEDGE. MAY WE HAVE A ROLL CALL, PLEASE? MAYOR KORETSKY? HERE. VICE MAYOR CHOI? HERE. COUNCILOR DELANEY? HERE. COUNCILOR GEISINGER? HERE. COUNCILOR SUNDSTROM? HERE. TOWN MANAGER KITZERO HERE TOWN ATTORNEY BAIRD SO TONIGHT'S A REALLY SPECIAL UH MEETING THAT ALL OF US ON COUNCIL LOOK FORWARD TO UM THE DROP SAVER POSTER CONTEST AWARDS IT IS NUMBER FOUR ON THE AGENDA AND WE DO THAT SO YOU GET TO HEAR A COUPLE PROCLAMATIONS IN ADVANCE IN THE PRESENTATION BUT UH WELCOME EVERYBODY UM OKAY FIRST OF PROCLAMATIONS UM I'M GOING [1. National Drinking Water Week, May 3 – May 9, 2026. #] TO PRESENT UH FIRST PROCLAMATION TO MRS. AMANDA BARNES, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES. THIS IS A PROCLAMATION BY THE TOWN OF JUPITER PROCLAIMING MAY 3RD THROUGH 9TH, 2026 AS NATIONAL DRINKING WATER WEEK, WHERE SAFE AND RELIABLE DRINKING WATER IS ESSENTIAL TO HEALTH, SAFETY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES, AND WHEREAS THE TOWN'S PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM AND ITS YOU DEDICATED WATER PROFESSIONALS WORK AROUND THE CLOCK TO ENSURE DRINKING WATER THAT MEETS OR EXCEEDS ALL FEDERAL AND STATE STANDARDS IS PRODUCED AND DELIVERED TO ITS CUSTOMERS. AND WHEREAS SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES ARE VITAL TO SUPPLYING SAFE AND RELIABLE DRINKING WATER FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS, AND WHEREAS THE TOWN OF JUPITER HAS MADE SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS TO DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLIES, UPGRADE DRINKING WATER FACILITIES, AND ADDRESS STORMWATER POLLUTION TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE ITS LOCAL WATER RESOURCES, INCLUDING UNDERGROUND AQUIFERS, THE LOXACHIE RIVER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. AND WHEREAS CONSERVATION AND RESPONSIBLE WATER USE ARE SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES THAT HELP PRESERVE PRECIOUS WATER RESOURCES IN THE FACE OF GROWING DEMANDS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES. AND WHEREAS PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION ABOUT WATER QUALITY AND CONSERVATION INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT THANKS. AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITY'S COMMITMENT TO PROTECTING THESE INVALUABLE RESOURCES. NWAS NATIONAL DRINKING WATER WEEK PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFE AND RELIABLE DRINKING WATER AND TO HONOR THE SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS OF THE PEOPLE WHO PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN PLANNING, OPERATING, MAINTAINING, AND SAFEGUARDING THE TOWN'S WATER AND STORMWATER SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. NOW THEREFORE, I, JIM KORETSKY, MAYOR OF THE TOWN OF JUPITER. TO HEREBY PROCLAIM THE WEEK OF MAY 3RD THROUGH 9TH, 2026 AS NATIONAL DRINKING WATER WEEK, ENCOURAGING ALL RESIDENTS TO RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF CLEAN DRINKING WATER IN OUR LIVES BY SUPPORTING EFFORTS THAT PROTECT AND CONSERVE WATER RESOURCES AND TO EXPRESS APPRECIATION TO THOSE WHO MAKE SAFE AND RELIABLE DRINKING WATER POSSIBLE EVERY DAY. IN WITNESS THEREOF, I HAVE HEREUNTO SET MY HAND IN SEAL THIS FIFTH DAY OF MAY. 2026 GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, MEMBERS OF THE TOWN COUNCIL, EVERYBODY HERE TONIGHT, AND THOSE THAT ARE JOINING US VIRTUALLY. I'M HONORED TO ACCEPT THIS [00:05:01] PROCLAMATION ON BEHALF OF MY STAFF. IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REMEMBER THAT CLEAN, SAFE, RELIABLE DRINKING WATER DOES NOT HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT. IT TAKES A TEAM OF DEDICATED PROFESSIONALS. WE HAVE WATER PLANT OPERATORS, WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM OPERATORS, ELECTRICIANS, MECHANICS, MAINTENANCE STAFF, UM, AND CHEMISTS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES THAT ENSURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO DELIVER SAFE AND RELIABLE DRINKING WATER TO OUR CUSTOMERS. WATER IS OFTEN TAKEN FOR GRANTED. WE TURN ON OUR FAUCET, IT COMES OUT, WE WATER OUR LAWNS AND IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE SHOULD TAKE THE TIME EACH TIME WE DO THAT JUST TO REMEMBER IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK, A LOT OF EFFORT, A LOT OF CONSISTENCY TO CONTINUE TO PRODUCE SAFE AND RELIABLE DRINKING WATER. OUR STAFF IS OFTEN WORKING UNEXPECTEDLY ON HOLIDAYS, WEEKENDS, AT NIGHT TO ADDRESS EMERGENCIES. AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE MY STAFF UP TO BE RECOGNIZED AND TAKE A PHOTO WITH COUNCIL. THIS IS JUST SOME OF MY STAFF. THERE ARE 78 OF US THAT WORK IN THE WATER AND STORMWATER UTILITY. [2. Historic Preservation Month. #] I NEXT, WE HAVE A PROCLAMATION THAT I'LL BE PRESENTING TO HISTORIC RESOURCE BOARD MEMBERS JOSH LILLER AND CHRISTOPHER YERKES, ALONG WITH THE PLANNING AND ZONING STAFF, STEPHANIE PHILBURN, JOSEPH DRE, AND THATCHER HART, PROCLAIMING MAY 2026 AS HISTORIC PRESERVATION MONTH, WHEREAS IT IS IMPORTANT TO CELEBRATE AND IDENTIFY THE ROLE OF HISTORY IN OUR LIVES AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY DEDICATED INDIVIDUALS SUCH AS THOSE HERE TODAY IN HELPING TO PRESERVE THE TANGIBLE ASPECTS OF OUR HERITAGE THAT HAVE SHAPED US AS A COMMUNITY AND WHEREAS HISTORIC PRESERVATION IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR MANAGING GROWTH REVITALIZING NEIGHBORHOODS FOSTERING LOCAL PRIDE AND MAINTAINING COMMUNITY CHARACTER WHILE ENHANCING LIVABILITY. AND WHEREAS THE TOWN OF JUPITER CONTINUES TO DEMONSTRATE ITS COMMITMENT TO PRESERVATION THROUGH THE NOMINATION OF SIGNIFICANT CULTURAL RESOURCES TO THE NATURAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES, THE REHABILITATION AND RESTORATION OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES, AND THE PROTECTION OF ITS TRADITIONAL NEIGHBORHOODS. AND WHEREAS THIS PLACE MATTERS IS THE THEME FOR NATIONAL PRESERVATION MONTH 2026, CO-SPONSORED BY THE TOWN OF JUPITER'S HISTORIC RESOURCE BOARD AND THE NATIONAL TRUST HISTORIC. PRESERVATION. NOW THEREFORE I, JIM KORETSKY, MAYOR OF THE TOWN OF JUPITER, FLORIDA, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM THE MONTH OF MAY 2026 AS HISTORIC PRESERVATION MONTH AND WITNESS THEREOF I HAVE HEREUNTO SET MY HAND IN SEAL THIS FIFTH DAY OF MAY 2026. AND THOSE THAT I MENTION WILL COME UP TO ACCEPT THE PROCLAMATION. [00:10:50] GOOD EVENING MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL, OTHER TOWN EMPLOYEES THAT ARE HERE TONIGHT, AND THE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY OF ALL AGES WHO HAVE JOINED US FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS THIS EVENING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PROCLAMATION WHICH RECOGNIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY AND ITS PRESERVATION. AS A RESIDENT OF THE TOWN OF JUPITER, A LONG TIME FLORIDA RESIDENT, AND A LIFELONG HISTORY ENTHUSIAST, IT IS AN HONOR TO SERVE ON THE HISTORICAL RESOURCES BOARD. AND TO BE ABLE TO ADVISE THE TOWN COUNCIL ON IMPORTANT SITES AND STRUCTURES WITHIN THE TOWN OF JUPITER. FOR OVER A DECADE, I HAVE HAD THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BEING THE HISTORIAN AND COLLECTIONS MANAGER FOR THE NON-PROFIT LOXACHIE RIVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY HERE IN JUPITER. FOUNDED OVER 50 YEARS AGO BY PIONEERS LIKE BESSIE WILSON DU BOIS AND ANNA MINEAR, ALONG WITH CIVIC-MINDED NEWCOMERS TO THE AREA LIKE ETHEL GRAVETT, LRHS CONTINUES ITS MISSION TO PRESERVE AND EDUCATE, NOT JUST WITH THE JUPITER INLET LIGHTHOUSE AND MUSEUM, OR IN COLLABORATION WITH THE TOWN, BUT RATHER THE WHOLE OF OUR AREA IS MORE THAN 5,000 YEARS OF HISTORY. IT IS THROUGH LRHS THAT I HAVE THE RESOURCES AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP THE EXPERTISE WHICH I AM ABLE TO USE ON THE HISTORICAL RESOURCES BOARD, AMONG OTHER WAYS. I WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT HISTORICAL PRESERVATION IS NOT SIMPLY ABOUT SAVING BUILDINGS AND ARTIFACTS. IT IS ALSO ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHS AND DOCUMENTS. IT IS ABOUT OUR EXPERIENCES AND OUR MEMORIES WHICH NEED TO BE RECORDED. RECORDED AND WRITTEN DOWN SO THAT THEY TOO CAN BE PRESERVED FOR THE FUTURE. I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THE TOWN OF JUPITER AND THE LOCAL COMMUNITY. IT IS A NEVER-ENDING PROCESS TO LEARN ABOUT OUR PAST SO THAT WE MAY BETTER UNDERSTAND OUR PRESENT AND MAKE GOOD DECISIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE. THANK YOU. [3. Update on Ongoing Scams in the County — Palm Beach County Clerk of Court and Comptroller, Mike Caruso. #] MOVING ON TO AGENDA ITEM THREE. WE'RE HONORED TO WELCOME MIKE CARUSO, PALM BEACH COUNTY CLERK OF THE COURT AND COMPTROLLER, WHO WILL BE GIVING AN UPDATE ON ONGOING SCAMS IN THE COUNTY. WELCOME. THANK YOU, MAYOR KORETSKY, VICE MAYOR CHOI, COUNCIL MEMBERS, RESIDENTS OF THE BEAUTIFUL TOWN OF JUPITER, AND OF COURSE, OUR AMAZING ARTISTS THAT ARE AMONG US TONIGHT. YEAH, GIVE THEM A HAND. I'M MIKE CARUSO. I'M THE CLERK OF THE COURT. THE COURT OF COMPTROLLER OF PALM BEACH COUNTY, WHEN I GOT APPOINTED BACK IN AUGUST OF 2025 BY GOVERNOR DESANTIS TO BE THE CLERK, I HAD FIVE PRIORITIES THAT I WANTED TO FOCUS ON. ONE WAS TO MODERNIZE THE PAYMENT SYSTEM IN PALM BEACH COUNTY FOR OUR PAYABLE SYSTEM. RIGHT NOW, THEY LITERALLY GO FROM STACK TO STACK, REVIEW, WE DIGITIZE THEM AT THE CLERK'S OFFICE, AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO DO IS MODERNIZE THAT SYSTEM. ADVOCATE FOR A STATEWIDE UNIFIED DATABASE. AND IF YOU'RE AN ATTORNEY HERE, YOU PROBABLY KNOW THAT TO LOOK SOMETHING UP AND TO DO RESEARCH THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF SOMEBODY OR SOMETHING, YOU'VE GOT TO GO TO ALL 67 CLERK OFFICES TO DO THAT. I WANTED A UNIFIED DATABASE. I WANTED TO MAINTAIN CONSERVATIVE AND SOUND INVESTMENTS, PROTECT OUR CITIZENS AGAINST GUARDIANSHIP ABUSE, AND OF COURSE PROTECT THEM AGAINST PROPERTY DEED FRAUD AND ALL THE SCAMS THAT ARE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW. BACK IN DECEMBER, I READ IN THE PALM BEACH POST BY ANN GAGAS, SHE WROTE, IT IS THE SEASON TO BE SCAMMED, AND SADLY IT'S STILL THE SEASON TO BE SCAMMED. IT MUST BE A 12-MONTH HOLIDAY EVERY YEAR. BUT THROUGHOUT FLORIDA, PEOPLE ARE GETTING FAKE PHONE CALLS, TEXTS, EMAILS FROM SCAMMERS THAT ARE PRETENDING TO BE INDIVIDUALS. THEY PRETEND TO BE THE CLERK OF COURT MYSELF. THEY CALL UP AND THEY SAY, HI, THIS IS MIKE CARUSO, THE CLERK OF COURT, OR PALM BEACH SHERIFF'S OFFICE. AND THEY PRETEND TO BE ACTUAL OFFICERS OF THE LAW. AND, OF COURSE, THE IRS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, WHAT THEY DO IS THEY TRY TO TRICK YOU, SCARE YOU, CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY REGARDING SOME THINGS. AND THE ONES I'M GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT ARE SCAMS INVOLVING UNPAID TRAFFIC TICKETS, MISSING JURY DUTY, AND PROPERTY THEFT. IT'S A BIG BUSINESS. THE FTC SAYS IT WAS A $12.5 [00:15:02] BILLION BUSINESS. BUT THEY ALSO SAY THAT IT'S LAST YEAR, AND THEY SAY 95% OF THE PEOPLE DON'T REPORT WHEN THEY GET SCAMMED BECAUSE THEY'RE EMBARRASSED, THEY GOT TAKEN. AND SO THAT WOULD MEAN THAT IT'S PROBABLY A $160 BILLION INDUSTRY. AND OF COURSE, WHERE DOES FLORIDA LAND? WE'RE NUMBER ONE IN THE COUNTRY FOR SCAMS, WITH 21,294 SCAMS LAST YEAR. NO, JUST IN THE LAST THREE QUARTERS OF LAST YEAR. SO THAT PROBABLY EQUATES TO ABOUT 28,000 PEOPLE GOT SCAMMED LAST YEAR. AND THAT'S THE ONES THAT GOT REPORTED. AND NO LONGER ARE THE SCAMS AS OBVIOUS AS THEY USED TO BE. NO LONGER YOU'VE INHERITED $20 MILLION FROM A UGANDAN PRINCE. OKAY, AND ALL YOU'VE GOT TO DO IS PAY THE TAX ON IT. NOR IS IT AN IRS AGENT, SOMEBODY PRETENDING TO BE THE IRS, SAYS, HEY, MEET ME IN THE PARKING LOT OF HOME DEPOT WITH $4,000 OF... OF GIFT CARDS, LIKE YOU CAN PAY YOUR TAXES WITH GIFT CARDS. ALTHOUGH IT STILL POPS UP FROM TIME TO TIME, IT'S GOTTEN SO MUCH MORE SOPHISTICATED. THEY LITERALLY FOCUS GROUP THEIR SCRIPTS. THEY FOCUS GROUP THEM. THEY FOUND OUT WHICH SCRIPT IS MORE EFFECTIVE AT STEALING MONEY FROM PEOPLE. SO, YOU KNOW, OUR JOB AT THE CLERK'S OFFICE... WE'VE TEAMED UP WITH THE STATE PROSECUTOR, TEAMED UP WITH PALM BEACH SHERIFF RICK BRADSHAW TO FORM A TASK FORCE OF EDUCATION, APPREHENSION, AND PROSECUTION. SO THE CLERK'S OFFICE IS EDUCATION, THAT'S WHY I'M HERE TONIGHT. THE SHERIFF ARRESTS THEM AND THE STATE PROSECUTOR PUTS THEM IN JAIL. BUT IN EDUCATION, YOU NEED TO BEWARE, BE SMART, BE SAFE, AND WHEN IN DOUBT, DON'T GIVE YOUR INFO OUT. IF SOMEBODY IS CALLING, TEXTING, OR EMAILING YOU, AND THEY EVENTUALLY GET TO THE PART WHERE THEY ASK YOU FOR MONEY, IT'S NOT MAYBE A SCAM. IT'S ALWAYS A SCAM. GUARANTEED IT'S A SCAM. AND JUST DON'T FALL FOR IT. AND IF ANYBODY STARTS ASKING YOU FOR ANY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION, DON'T GIVE IT OUT. WHEN IN DOUBT, DON'T GIVE IT OUT. IF YOU HAVE THIS MUCH BELIEF IN WHAT THEY'RE SAYING, AND THEY'RE GOOD. AND I'M GOING TO GO OVER ONE OF THE SCAMS IN A SECOND. BUT IF YOU HAVE A MUSTARD, SEE THIS OUT. OF DOUBT JUST HANG UP SO TRAFFIC TICKET SCAM THAT'S WHERE THEY PRETEND TO BE MIKE CARUSO THE CLERK OF COURT AND THEY CALL YOU UP AND THEY SAY UM THEY GO AND I'LL I'LL USE MY WIFE AS AN EXAMPLE OKAY SAY HI HONEY UM UM HI THIS IS MIKE CARUSO FROM THE CLERK'S OFFICE IS THIS TRACY CARUSO YES IT IS AND YOU COULD HAVE DONE THAT PART OKAY OKAY DO YOU DO YOUR PART HONEY IS THIS TRACY CARUSO YES. WELL, I'M JUST A COURTESY CALL HERE. WE'RE CALLING TO LET YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAD A TRAFFIC VIOLATION ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO AND THAT WE SEE THAT IT'S DUE TOMORROW. AND IF IT'S NOT PAID BY TOMORROW AT 5 O'CLOCK, YOUR LICENSE IS GOING TO GET SUSPENDED. YOUR FINES WILL DOUBLE, AND YOU COULD GET ARRESTED IF YOU GET PULLED OVER DRIVING WITH A SUSPENDED LICENSE. OH, YES, YOU DID. AND BEFORE I GET STARTED, WHAT THEY'VE DONE IS THEY'VE JUST CREATED A SENSE OF URGENCY BY SAYING IT'S DUE TOMORROW AT 5 O'CLOCK. AND IT REALLY IS, BECAUSE WHAT PEOPLE DON'T KNOW IS EVERYTHING ON THAT TRAFFIC CITATION IS PUBLIC RECORD. AND SO WHEN THEY ASK YOU, DO YOU LIVE AT 220 LAKESHORE DRIVE, APARTMENT 1703, YOU SAY YES. AND THEY ASK YOU IF YOU WERE BORN IN 1983, MARCH 3RD, 23RD, 1983. YOU SAY, YES, OF COURSE. I JUST MADE HER A FEW YEARS YOUNGER. IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT. AND DO YOU HAVE GREEN EYES AND BLONDE HAIR AND ET CETERA, ET CETERA. AND NOW THEY'VE BUILT YOUR CONFIDENCE THAT IT'S REALLY THE CLERK OF COURT FROM MIKE CARUSO CALLING. AND WERE YOU GOING 85 MILES AN HOUR IN THAT 35 MILE AN HOUR ZONE? AND DID YOU GET A TICKET FROM PALM BEACH SHERIFF'S OFFICER DEPUTY BEASLEY BACK THERE? AND SHE SAYS, YES, IT IS. AND YOU BELIEVE THAT. OKAY. UNDERSTAND, THE CLERK'S OFFICE WILL NEVER, EVER CALL YOU. AND THEN THEY ASK YOU FOR YOUR CREDIT CARD. AND THEN THEY RUN YOUR CREDIT CARD, THEY MAX IT OUT. AND YOU NEVER DID PAY YOUR TICKET, WHICH MEANS YOUR LICENSE WILL GET SUSPENDED. SO DON'T, YOU KNOW, WHEN IN DOUBT, DON'T GIVE YOUR INFO OUT. AND YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT THE MOMENT THEY ASK FOR MONEY, IT'S A SCAM. JURY DUTY SCAM. THIS IS PALM BEACH SHERIFF'S OFFICE DEPUTY BEASLEY. CALLING YOU FAILED TO SHOW UP FOR JURY DUTY LAST WEEK THERE'S A WARRANT OUT FOR YOUR ARREST THAT'S ONE OF THE SCAMS OKAY AND AND IT'S SO GOOD I GOT THIS CALL ONE WEEK AFTER I GOT APPOINTED [00:20:01] BY THE GOVERNOR I'M THE CLERK OF COURT I'M IN CHARGE OF JURIES OKAY AND AND I GET THIS CALL AND UM I BELIEVE IT'S SO MUCH THAT I PICK UP MY WIFE'S PHONE AND I CALL RICK BRADSHAW HE'S OUR SHERIFF I SAID, RICK. I'M BLAH, AND HE SAYS, MIKE, HANG UP THE PHONE. IT'S A SCAM. I GO, NO, RICK, THIS IS, THIS IS, THIS IS, SOUNDS REAL. HE SAYS, NO, MIKE, THIS IS A SCAM. AND HE SAYS, TRUST ME, IF WE WANT. IF THERE WAS A WARRANT OUT FOR YOUR ARREST, WE'RE NOT GOING TO CALL YOU, GIVE YOU A COURTESY CALL, TELL YOU WE'RE COMING. WE'RE JUST GOING TO SHOW UP AT YOUR DOOR, KNOCK IT DOWN IF WE HAVE TO, PUT HANDCUFFS ON YOU, THROW YOU IN THE BACK OF THE SHERIFF'S CAR, AND TAKE YOU TO GUN CLUB ROAD. THAT'S THE WAY WE DO IT IN THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, RIGHT, DEPUTY BEASLEY? YEAH, GET A THUMBS UP BACK THERE. BUT THOSE SCAMS WILL MAKE YOUR DAY BAD. THEY'LL MAKE YOUR WEEK BAD. THEY COULD MAKE YOUR MONTH BAD, DEPENDING ON YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION. BUT THE WORST ONE IS THEY'RE NOW COMING AFTER YOUR HOMES. THEY WANT TO STEAL YOUR HOME, AND THAT'S THE BAD ONE, BECAUSE THAT'LL RUIN YOUR LIFE. AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS THEY DOWNLOAD A QUITCLAIM DEED. WITHIN AN HOUR, THEY FILL IT OUT. THEY FORGE YOUR SIGNATURE. THEY HAVE A FAKE NOTARY ON THERE. AND WITHIN A WEEK, THEY FILE IT IN THE COURTHOUSE. WITHIN A WEEK, THEY BORROW AGAINST YOUR HOME. WITHIN A MONTH, THEY SELL IT. YOU FIND OUT WHEN SOMEBODY KNOCKS AT YOUR DOOR. AND THEY GO, WHO ARE YOU? AND YOU SAY, I'M THE HOMEOWNER. AND THEY SAY, WELL, WHO ARE YOU? AND YOU GO, WELL, WE JUST BOUGHT THIS PROPERTY THIS MORNING. WE JUST CLOSED ON IT THIS MORNING. AND THAT'S THE KIND OF SCAM THAT'S GOING ON. AND TO UNDO THAT AT THAT POINT IS TREMENDOUS. IT TAKES FOREVER. NOW, HOW BAD IS IT? DOES IT HAPPEN OFTEN? PALM BEACH COUNTY HAS 650,000 PROPERTIES IN OUR COUNTY. IT'S PRETTY BIG. TWO YEARS AGO, ACCORDING TO ALEXIA COX, OUR STATE PROSECUTOR, WE HAD FOUR CASES OF STOLEN DEEDS. NOT BAD. THAT'S ONLY FOUR, RIGHT? IT'S NOT GOING TO BE ONE OF YOU OUT OF FOUR OUT OF 650,000 PEOPLE. OKAY, BUT A YEAR AGO, WE HAD 32 CASES. LAST YEAR, WE HAD 184 CASES. THIS YEAR, WE'RE OVER 500 CASES, AND THE YEAR IS ONLY FIVE MONTHS LONG, THE FISCAL YEAR. I PREDICT NEXT YEAR, WE'LL HAVE 7,000 CASES, MEANING ONE OUT OF 80 PROPERTIES WILL BE STOLEN IN PALM BEACH COUNTY. WHAT WE'RE DOING, WE'RE TELLING PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR PROPERTY FRAUD ALERT, WHERE YOU ATTACH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO YOUR PROPERTY, AND YOU GO TO MYPALMBEACHCLERK.COM FORWARD SLASH PFA, PROPERTY FRAUD ALERT, AND YOU ATTACH YOUR EMAIL TO YOUR PROPERTY. THE MOMENT THERE'S ACTIVITY ON YOUR PROPERTY, WE SEND YOU AN EMAIL AND NOTIFY YOU, AND THEN WE GIVE YOU INSTRUCTIONS. INSTRUCTIONS IF IT IS IT COULD BE SOMETHING BENIGN AS YOU PAID OFF YOUR MORTGAGE AND BANK OF AMERICA IS FILING A SATISFACTION OF MORTGAGE OR OR YOU YOU'RE HAVING YOUR KITCHEN REDONE AND AND MECHANIC THE PLUMBER FILES A MECHANICS LIEN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND YOU GO OKAY I'M REMEMBERED NOW TO TO UM MAKE SURE I GET A RELEASE A LIEN WHEN I PAY HIM HIS LAST PAYMENT UH BUT IF IT'S IF IT'S YOU LOOK AT IT AND IT'S A QUICK CLAIM DEED WITH YOUR NAME ON IT AND A FAKE SIGNATURE OF YOU AND AND AND IT'S... YOU TRANSFERRED YOUR PROPERTY FOR $10 AND OTHER CONSIDERATION, YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING. AND SO WE INSTRUCT YOU TO CALL THE POLICE, THEN CALL US, AND COME INTO OUR OFFICE, FILL OUT AN APPLICATION FOR A QUIET TITLE, AND THEN WE KIND OF LOCK YOUR PROPERTY DOWN. ONCE A JUDGE SIGNS OFF ON THAT, WE RECORD IT, AND THEN YOU GO ABOUT UNDOING THAT PHONY DEED. SO THAT'S MYPALMBEACHCLERK.COM FORWARD SLASH PFA. ADVISE EVERYBODY TO DO THAT. I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU TONIGHT. I GIVE OUT MY CELL PHONE NUMBER IN CASE YOU HAVE TROUBLE WITH IT. IT'S 561-702-9319. IT'S 561-702-9319. THAT'S THE ONE I GIVE MY WIFE, AND THAT'S THE ONE SHE CALLS ME ON. NO, THAT'S REALLY MINE. AND CALL ME, AND I TELL PEOPLE, IF IT'S 10 O'CLOCK AT NIGHT, YOU'RE TRYING TO FILL THAT OUT ON A SUNDAY NIGHT AND YOU CAN'T GET IT FILLED OUT FOR SOME REASON, YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND OR YOU'RE NOT GOOD ON THE COMPUTER, CALL ME, TEXT ME, AND I'LL MAKE SURE SOMEBODY CONTACTS YOU NEXT MORNING AND GETS YOU SIGNED UP FOR PROPERTY FRAUD ALERT. BECAUSE I'D RATHER GET THAT CALL THAN THE CALL FROM YOU IN A HOTEL OR MOTEL BECAUSE SOMEBODY BOUGHT YOUR PROPERTY FRAUDULENTLY AND HAS KICKED YOU OUT OF YOUR OWN HOME. SO THANK YOU FOR THE TIME TONIGHT. I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK BEFORE YOU ALL. AND I'M EXCITED TO HEAR ABOUT THE ARTIST HERE TONIGHT, [00:25:03] SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. OKAY, AND THAT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE. THANK YOU. IT'S KIND OF SCARY TO HEAR THE SKYROCKETING NUMBERS ON PROPERTY FRAUD, BUT THANK YOU [4. Drop Savers Poster Contest Awards.] FOR BEING PROACTIVE ABOUT THAT AND GIVING US A WAY TO NOT BE ONE OF 80. UNFORTUNATE. SO MOVING ON TO THE DROP SAVER POSTER CONTEST AWARDS, I WANT TO WELCOME MS. HALEY JOHNSON, SPECIAL GUEST, SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR FOR UTILITIES, WHO WILL BE PRESENTING THE DROP SAVERS POSTER CONTEST AWARDS. AND I WANT TO ASK IF COUNCILOR SUNSTRUNG WILL JOIN ON BEHALF OF THE COUNCIL. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL. MY NAME IS HALEY JOHNSON, AND I'M THE SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR FOR THE TOWN OF JUPITER UTILITIES. THANK YOU FOR THE PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING THE ROLE THAT WATER CONSERVATION PLAYS TOWARDS PROTECTING OUR LOCAL WATER RESOURCES AND PROVIDING SAFE AND RELIABLE DRINKING WATER. IT IS A GREAT SEGUE INTO MY PRESENTATION. TONIGHT I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO SOME SPECIAL GUESTS WHO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER CONSERVATION. THEY ARE OUR WINNERS OF THE 2026 DROP SAVERS POSTER CONTEST. EACH YEAR, THE TOWN OF JUPITER PARTICIPATES IN THE FLORIDA SECTION OF THE AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION'S DROP SAVERS WATER CONSERVATION POSTER CONTEST DURING NATIONAL DRINKING WATER WEEK. THE CONTEST GIVES STUDENTS FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOWCASE THEIR CREATIVITY AND DESIGN A POSTER ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION. THIS PROGRAM IS A FUN WAY FOR OUR STUDENTS TO LEARN ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER CONSERVATION AND THE ROLE IT PLAYS IN PROTECTING THE LOCAL WATER RESOURCES NECESSARY TO PRODUCE WATER. SAFE AND RELIABLE DRINKING WATER. THE PROGRAM ALSO SERVES AS A GOOD REMINDER FOR THE COMMUNITY. THOUGH WE HAD OVER 100 LOCAL STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN THE POSTER CONTEST THIS YEAR, TONIGHT WE ARE HONORING THE TOP THREE WINNERS FOR EACH OF THE FIVE AGE DIVISIONS. BEFORE THE WINNERS ARE ANNOUNCED, I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE GENEROSITY OF OUR LOCAL BUSINESS SPONSORS WHO DONATED ITEMS FOR THE PRIZE BAGS EACH WINNER WILL RECEIVE TONIGHT. LET ME INTRODUCE YOU NOW TO THIS YEAR'S WINNERS. STUDENTS, WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME, PLEASE COME FORWARD TO BE CONGRATULATED BY COUNSELOR SUNDSTROM AND RECEIVE YOUR PRIZE BAG. AFTER YOU HAVE RECEIVED YOUR AWARD, PLEASE REMAIN STANDING UP FRONT SO WE CAN TAKE A GROUP PHOTO AT THE END. ALL RIGHT, SO FOR DIVISION 1, WHICH IS KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE, WE HAVE THIRD PLACE, PAIGE MCROBERTS FROM KINDERGARTEN. OKAY, SO SECOND PLACE FOR DIVISION I IS GRACIE KETTNER FROM FIRST GRADE. ALRIGHT, IN FIRST PLACE FOR DIVISION 1 IS ADROON NOVELIS, FIRST GRADE. OKAY, MOVING ON TO DIVISION 02, WHICH IS SECOND AND THIRD GRADE. THIRD PLACE GOES TO WYATT PICORNI, SECOND GRADE. ALRIGHT, SECOND PLACE FOR DIVISION II IS NICHOLAS JOHNSON FROM THIRD GRADE. AND FIRST PLACE FOR DIVISION II IS MAYA HILL IN THIRD GRADE. [00:30:06] ALL RIGHT, DIVISION III, WHICH IS FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE, THIRD PLACE GOES TO HADLEY GIETAP, FOURTH GRADE. OKAY, AND SECOND PLACE GOES TO TESSA DABROWSKI FROM FIFTH GRADE. AND FIRST PLACE FOR DIVISION III IS RILEY FISHER FROM FOURTH GRADE. ALRIGHT, DIVISION 4 WOULD BE OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL WINNERS, 6TH THROUGH 8TH GRADE. THIRD PLACE GOES TO HELEN RAYMUNDO IN 7TH GRADE. SECOND PLACE GOES TO PEYTON LAU IN 8TH GRADE. ALL RIGHT, AND FIRST PLACE, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT OUR FIRST PLACE WINNERS ALL ALSO GOT TO COMPETE AT THE STATE LEVEL AGAINST SCHOOLS ACROSS THE STATE. AND GIANNA LIPSET WAS THIRD PLACE FOR THE STATE, FIRST PLACE FOR TOWN OF JUPITER. ALL RIGHT. SO OUR FIFTH DIVISION IS HIGH SCHOOL. THIS YEAR WE ONLY GOT TWO SUBMISSIONS. SO PRESTON AND CAROLINE, I'M GOING TO NEED YOU TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THIS NEXT YEAR SO YOU CAN GET SOME MORE PARTICIPATION FROM HIGH SCHOOL. SO SECOND PLACE GOES TO PRESTON LAU IN NINTH GRADE. AND FIRST... FIRST PLACE IS CAROLINE MCCARTHY WHO ALSO GOT FIRST PLACE IN THE STATE. CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS AGAIN FOR PARTICIPATING. WE'LL GIVE EVERYBODY WHO WANTS TO LEAVE A FEW MOMENTS TO DEPART. YOU'RE WELCOME TO STAY, BUT I IMAGINE YOU HAVE PLACES TO GO. DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZEN [CITIZEN COMMENTS] [00:35:54] COMMENTS? YES, SIR. WE HAVE ONE CITIZEN COMMENT. ERIC WEITZER. ERIC WEITZER, 230 OCEAN GRAND BOULEVARD, JUPITER. ABOUT FOUR WEEKS AGO, I WROTE TO MARIA MARINO AT THE COUNTY ABOUT BECAUSE ON A1A TO MAKE THE SIDEWALK WIDER SO PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO WALK ON THE ROAD. WE'VE GOT WHEELCHAIRS AND BABY CARRIAGES AND WHATNOT. FOR TWO WEEKS I DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING SO I CAME HERE AND READ THE SAME LETTER TO YOU AND I GOT A ROARING RESPONSE FROM THE FULL PACKED HOUSE AND I WAS HOPING THAT WOULD HAPPEN TONIGHT HERE BUT THEY ALL LEFT. SO THE NEXT DAY, THE VERY NEXT DAY, I GOT A MESSAGE FROM MARINO'S DEPARTMENT THAT SHE'S GOING TO PUT AN ENGINEER OR SOMEBODY ON THE JOB TO SEE WHAT CAN BE DONE BY THE COUNTY. AND I THINK THAT'S GREAT. BUT I THINK I'D ALSO LIKE TO SEE YOU FOLKS CHIME IN IF THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT, BECAUSE THIS IS JUPITER AFTER ALL. IT'S A COUNTY ROAD, BUT THIS IS PART OF JUPITER. AND I THINK THE WHOLE TOWN WOULD ENJOY THAT. I'M OUT THERE FOR NINE YEARS, WALKING IN THE MORNING AND AT NIGHT. I LOVE IT, AND SO DO MANY OTHER PEOPLE. SO WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE, PLEASE CHIME IN. YOU CAN GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK, ADVICE ON HOW TO MOVE FORWARD ON THIS. BUT I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA, AND WE SHOULD HAVE THIS IN THE TOWNSHIP. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. JUST TO ADD ON THAT ONE. WE DON'T NORMALLY TALK ABOUT THESE, BUT I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE IN THIS ONE. YOU'VE BEEN PERSISTENT ABOUT THIS ITEM, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT. WE ALL WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOMETHING DONE. WHEN I SAW THE RESPONSE, WHICH CAME FROM, WAS ROUTED TO YOU, BUT ULTIMATELY WAS INITIATED BY JOANNE KELLER, THE DEPUTY COUNTY ENGINEER, I DID PICK UP THE PHONE AND... SPEAK TO HER I KNOW HER AND UH YES SHE'S FIRST PERSON BELOW THE COUNTY ENGINEER SO YOU GOT THE ATTENTION OF SOMEBODY UM WHO OVERSEES YOU KNOW THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT AND WE HAD SOME CONVERSATION AND UM WHILE I DO BELIEVE RIGHT AWAY IS REALLY LIMITED UM SHE KNOWS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS AND SHE'S GOING TO CONFIRM WHETHER OR NOT IT TRULY IF THERE'S ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE. SO I'M NOT TRYING TO BUILD FALSE HOPES, BUT... BUT I DO WANT TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU GOT THE ATTENTION OF SOMEONE WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT. AND I KNOW, AND I'M SAYING THIS, MY COLLEAGUES ALSO KNOW THIS, THAT THE COUNTY IS GOING TO GENERALLY LOOK AT IT. I'M NOT, AGAIN, TRYING TO FOIL FALSE HOPES, BECAUSE YEARS AGO WHEN THAT ROAD WAS ESTABLISHED, IT WAS A COMPROMISE TO ENABLE EVERYBODY TO USE, I BELIEVE, EVERY INCH OF THE RIGHT-OF-WAY. BUT AGAIN UM JOANNE KELLER IS GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT UH LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT SO THANK YOU I APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH WHEN I LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL BUILDING HERE AND I'M SAYING THAT OTHER PARTS GOT TO BE NICE TOO THE SAME WAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH THANK YOU OKAY UM THAT'S [5. April 21, 2026, Town Council Meeting Minutes.] IN CITIZEN COMMONS CORRECT YES SIR OKAY UM MOVING ON TO THE MINUTES COUNCIL WE HAVE BEFORE US, SOME MINOR REVISIONS TO THE MINUTES. IF THERE'S NO OTHER REVISIONS, I'LL TAKE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS AMENDED. I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF APRIL [00:40:01] 21ST, 2026 WITH THE AMENDMENTS AS SUBMITTED. SECOND. MOTION AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. [CONSENT AGENDA] MOVING ON TO THE CONSENT AGENDA, THIS IS ITEMS 6 THROUGH 11. IS THERE ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WISH TO PULL A CONSENT AGENDA ITEM? NO, SIR. SEEING NONE, ANY MEMBER ON THE DAIS WANT TO PULL A CONSENT AGENDA ITEM? NO. YES. NUMBER NINE. NUMBER NINE. AND I WANTED TO PULL NUMBER SEVEN. SO I'LL TAKE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE AN AMENDED CONSENT AGENDA CONSISTING OF ITEMS SIX, EIGHT, TEN, AND ELEVEN. SO MOVED AS AMENDED. SECOND. MOTION AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. MOVE IT ON [7. Approval of Agreement with Industrial Shadeports Inc. for the purchase and installation of shaded bleacher covers at Jupiter Community Park in the amount of $86,330.] TO PUBLIC. BUSINESS. I MEAN, EXCUSE ME, NUMBER SEVEN, APPROVAL OF AN AGREEMENT WITH INDUSTRIAL SHADE PORTS FOR THE PURPOSE, PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF SHADED BLEACHER COVERS AT JUPITER COMMUNITY PARK. I PULL THIS ITEM. I BELIEVE THAT THIS ISN'T THE RIGHT SOLUTION TO BE USED. I HAVE BEEN INTERESTED IN, YOU KNOW, THIS GOES ALONG WITH UM, THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE ON MULTI-PURPOSE FIELDS 7 AND 8 AT JUPITER COMMUNITY PARK THAT I HAD ADVOCATED FOR TO FIND A WAY INTO BUDGET. THE REASON WHY I'D LIKE TO DEFER THIS ITEM IS I'VE BEEN IN A CONVERSATION WITH STAFF. NUMBER ONE, WE DON'T HAVE A MASTER PLAN FOR THE BENCHES, BLEACHERS, SHADE PORTS. AND SOMETHING IS BEING WORKED ON BUT IT WAS NOT YET AVAILABLE. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ON THE DAIS GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO EVENTS AT THE MULTI-PURPOSE FIELDS, BUT IT WAS MY EXPECTATION THAT WE'D BE PROVIDING SOME AMOUNT OF SHADE AMENITY, MUCH LIKE WE WERE DOING AT THE PLAYGROUNDS. AND I UNDERSTOOD... SO I WAS INTERESTED IN SEEING THE MASTER PLAN TO MAKE SURE IT'S DONE RIGHT AS WE PROGRESS. AND I'M CONCERNED THAT WHAT IS BEFORE US IS NOT THE RIGHT SOLUTION. AND THE REASON I SAY THAT IS HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND GAMES AT THE AVACOA COMMUNITY PARK, THAT WAS SOMEWHAT A STANDARD THAT WAS BEING REPLICATED, IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY. BUT WHILE IT HAS THE... A GREAT BLEACHER OF SORTS WITH SHADING. I'M TALKING ABOUT ABACOA. IT WORKS WELL BECAUSE THERE'S TREES BEHIND IT FOR THE WESTERN SUN. WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET THAT AT JUPITER COMMUNITY PARK. WHAT WE'RE GOING TO GET IS, I UNDERSTOOD, IS WHAT I SEE. IT'S A THREE-LEVEL. WITH UM WITH SHADE AND UM I THINK THERE'S BEEN SOME CONFUSION HERE ABOUT WHAT THE PURPOSES FOR THAT WAS AT ABACOAS AGAIN I'M JUST SHARING FOR MY COLLEAGUES UH BUT WHEN I ASKED I SAID I WANTED TO SEE WHAT THE AMENITIES WERE WITH SHADE FOR THE TEAMS AND THE FANS UH IN THE LAST ITERATION HEARING FROM STAFF WAS NUMBER ONE AND THE ENGINEER OF RECORD WHOEVER THAT MAY BE IS DOING UP THE PLANS SO THAT IT WASN'T YET AVAILABLE. BUT NUMBER TWO, WHAT'S BEFORE US, IS THE THREE-LEVEL BENCHES, IF YOU WILL, WITH THE SHADE STRUCTURE. AND IF IT'S LIKE ABACOA, IT DOESN'T PROVIDE SHADE. AND WHEN I ASKED, ARE WE GOING TO GET, WHAT AMENITIES ARE WE GOING TO GET, THEY SAID THE PRIORITIES, THERE WASN'T ENOUGH ROOM AND THE PRIORITIES WERE JUST GOING TO BE THE THE FANS. SO WE WEREN'T PROVIDING ANYTHING IN THE WAY OF SHADE FOR THE TEAMS. NUMBER ONE, I THINK THAT'S WRONG. I THINK THE PRIORITY SHOULD BE THE TEAMS. SECONDLY, AND I SENT SOME PHOTOS TO STAFF FROM THIS WEEKEND, THE THREE-LEVEL BLEACHERS ARE NOT, FIRST OF ALL, THEY'RE NEXT TO EACH OTHER. IT'S UNCOMMON TO PUT TEAMS SITTING NEXT TO EACH OTHER. USUALLY, THERE'S SOME SEPARATION, YOU KNOW, FOR WHEN COACHES ARE, YOU KNOW, TALKING STRATEGY AND WHATEVER. BUT THE SHADE STRUCTURE IS SO HIGH THAT IN MOST OF THE [00:45:02] AFTERNOON THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO SHADE. SO THE PICTURE THAT I TOOK, YOU KNOW, MY SON-IN-LAW BROUGHT A LOWER SHADE AND A BENCH TO THE GAME ON SUNDAY. AND, YOU KNOW, I ASKED HIM, AND HE'S THE ONE THAT POINTED OUT THERE'S NO SHADE, THE ONE WHERE THE OTHER TEAM WAS USING. SO I DO THINK WE NEED TO GET THIS RIGHT. I'M ANXIOUS TO GET IT DONE, BUT I WANT TO JUST KIND OF, I'M HOPING COUNCIL WILL JUST KIND OF PAUSE THIS ONE. LET'S GET A PLAN. LET'S MAKE SURE THAT THE PLAN MAXIMIZES SHADE FOR THE TEAM FIRST AND FOREMOST. AND THEN TO THE DEGREE THAT THERE'S ANY ADDITIONAL SPACE THAT CAN'T BE PROVIDED, YOU KNOW, FOR THE FANS. BUT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO REPLICATE WHAT'S THERE BECAUSE IT DOESN'T PROVIDE SUFFICIENT SHADE FOR THE TEAM. IT'S FAR TOO HIGH IF YOU WERE TO SEE IT. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN TO ABACO, I SUGGEST YOU GO THERE. IT'S WAY TOO HIGH. I HAVE NO PROBLEM PAUSING SOMETHING OR DEFERRING. I AGREE. YOU'RE GOING TO GET THIS ONE RIGHT. I DO WANT TO SEE SOME RENDERINGS. THANK YOU, I APPRECIATE IT. I MEAN, AGAIN, THIS IS IMPORTANT. SO LET'S GET IT CORRECT. THANK YOU. SO I'LL TAKE A MOTION. AND A SECOND TO, I GUESS, WHAT WOULD THE ACTION ITEM BE? WE'RE REALLY JUST POSTPONING IT? POSTPONING RESOLUTION OR POSTPONING AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN. MOTION. OKAY. GO AHEAD. MOTION TO POSTPONE ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, SHADE PORTS. SECOND. MOTION TO SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. [9. Resolution 41-26, Approving a Contract with Interacid North America, Inc. for Supplying Sulfuric Acid (W2604L) for a unit price of $338 per ton.] MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. MOVING ON TO RESOLUTION 4126, POLLED BY COUNCILOR GEISIKER. WHAT'S YOUR PLEASURE? YEAH, THANK YOU. MY CONCERN WAS I REALIZED WE'VE HAD A 48% INCREASE IN THE COST OF SULFURIC ACID, AND I UNDERSTAND WHY THAT IS HAPPENING NOW WITH THE CURRENT GLOBAL MARKET FOR SULFUR COMING OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND EVERYTHING. BUT MY QUESTION IS, I GUESS TO THE TOWN STAFF, PARTICULARLY DIRECTOR BARNES, WHAT IS THE RISK OF OBTAINING SULFUR? SULFURIC ACID IN THE FUTURE. HAS THAT BEEN ASSESSED BY THE TOWN? RIGHT NOW WE'RE PAYING A 48% FOR THE NEXT, WHAT, 15, 16 MONTHS. WHERE DOES THAT LOOK OUTWARD TOWARDS 27, 28 AS FAR AS WHAT WE MIGHT BE PAYING? DO YOU HAVE ANY FEEL FOR THAT? GOOD EVENING. AMANDA BARNES, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES. AS FAR AS THE FUTURE AND IF... IF YOU LOOK IN THE AGENDA PACKAGE I DID PROVIDE LIKE HISTORICAL PRICING OF HOW IT'S GONE UP AND DOWN AND IT IS HIGHLY VARIABLE DEPENDING ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY AND UM I THINK THE LAST TIME THAT WE SAW A LARGE INCREASE LIKE THIS WAS IN 2022 WENT RIGHT AFTER A COVET AND WE WERE HAVING SUPPLY CHAIN CONCERNS SO I I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS BUT I DO EXPECT UM I CAN'T SAY I DON'T EXPECT IT TO GO HIGHER. I HOPE IT DOESN'T GO ANY HIGHER. WE DO HAVE OTHER CHEMICALS THAT WE'LL BE BIDDING THIS SUMMER, AND I DO EXPECT WE MIGHT SEE SOME INCREASES IN THOSE. AS FAR AS ACID, AND ACID IS A NECESSARY CHEMICAL FOR WATER TREATMENT. IT'S WHAT WE USE TO ADJUST PH AND PROMOTE EFFICIENT TREATMENT THROUGH THE MEMBRANES AND REMOVAL OF HYDROGEN SULFIDE. SO, I MEAN, OTHER THAN IF THE ECONOMY GETS BETTER, IF THE GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST GET BETTER. I THINK WE'LL SEE PRICING COME DOWN FOR SURE. BUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IS SOME OF THOSE OTHER COUNTRIES ARE HOLDING ON TO THEIR SULFUR BECAUSE OF CONCERNS, THE CONCERNS OF FERTILIZERS. THEY USE IT FOR FERTILIZER. AND MINING, YEAH, TOO. YEAH, CONCERNS OF FOOD, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO SUPPORT THEIR OWN ECONOMIES FROM A FOOD PERSPECTIVE. WELL, THEN MY FOLLOW-UP QUESTION, BASED ON WHAT YOU SAID, ARE THERE ANY ALTERNATIVES TO SULFURIC ACID WE MAY BE CONSIDERING? I KNOW THERE'S CARBON DIOXIDE, HYDROCHLORIC ACID. ARE ANY OF THOSE COMPATIBLE WITH OUR SYSTEMS, OR WOULD IT BE A COMPLETE OVERHAUL OF HOW WE FEED OUR WATER? IT WOULD BE A MAJOR RETROFIT. THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES. SOME PLACES HAVE ELIMINATED ACID ADDITION. WE TRIED THAT. WE DID SOME PILOT TESTING TO TRY TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF ACID WE USE IN THE NANOPLANT. IT DIDN'T WORK WELL. WE'LL PUT OUR MEMBRANES IN JEOPARDY AND WE'LL BE CLEANING AND REPLACING MEMBRANES MUCH MORE FREQUENTLY THAN WE ARE, WHICH IS VERY EXPENSIVE. WE DO NOT USE ACID FOR PRE-TREATMENT OF THE RO PLANT, SO IT'S JUST A NANOPLANT, BUT IN BOTH PLANTS WE DO USE ACID [00:50:01] FOR POST-TREATMENT. WE CAN DEFINITELY INVESTIGATE IN OUR MASTER PLAN, OUR FIVE-YEAR UPDATE THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO, OTHER POST-TREATMENT OPTIONS TO SULFURIC ACID. WE CAN ADD THAT. I APPRECIATE THAT. OKAY. THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAD. DIRECTOR BARNES, I HAVE ONE QUESTION JUST AS A FOLLOW-UP. I REMEMBER 2022 VERY WELL, AND WITH SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES ACROSS ALL OF OUR WATER TREATMENT CHEMICALS, CAN WE EXPECT SIMILAR CHANGES? ARE ALL OF OUR WATER TREATMENT CHEMICALS? SIMILARLY IMPACTED BY A GEOPOLITICAL EVENT OR ARE THERE YOU KNOW SOME WILL BE SOME NOT BE BUT ARE WE EXPECTING HIKES IN THE FUTURE ACROSS ALL OF THEM I MEAN I EXPECT SOME WILL INCREASE MAYBE JUST A LITTLE AND OTHERS MIGHT BE A LITTLE HIGHER UM ANTI-SCALANTS ARE MADE FOR THE MOST PART MADE HERE IT'S JUST IT'S GOING TO VARY BY CHEMICAL THANK YOU. I JUST WANT TO MAKE ONE COMMENT ON THIS ONE SINCE IT'S BEEN PULLED. FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO RECOGNIZE I APPRECIATE THE WAY HOW CHEMICALS HAVE GENERALLY BEEN MANAGED AND THROUGH THE VOLATILITY THAT HAPPENS. AND ONE THING, MY FIRST REACTION WHEN I SAW THIS WAS, OH, YEAH, WHEN THE PRICE GOES UP, THEY WANT TO YOU KNOW CHANGE THE CONTRACT BUT WHEN IT GOES DOWN YOU KNOW THEY DON'T UH BUT I'M GRATEFUL THAT AS WAS INDICATED THE CONTRACT HAD 120 DAY ADVANCE NOTICE AND THE FACT THAT UH YOU KNOW SHREVE HONORED THE COMMITMENT TO SUPPLY UH AT THE CONTRACT PRICE RANGE FOR 120 DAYS SO UM WHICH I WOULD IMAGINE AT THAT SO IT WAS NOT IN DEFAULT BUT THEY HONORED THAT UM SO IT'S PROBABLY THE CASE THAT THERE'S ANYTHING THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BETTER THAN HAS BEEN DONE AND IT WAS AND THAT PROVISION PROTECTED THE TOWN AS BEST AS WE COULD YEAH UM SO I DON'T HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS OTHER THAN LET'S FACTOR THAT INTO WHEN WE'RE DOING UPDATES YOU KNOW A YEAR FROM NOW YOU KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING BEYOND WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE IN THE CONTRACT THAT CAN BE DONE AND I DON'T DON'T KNOW OF ANY, HERE'S A GOOD PROTECTION PROVISION THAT WE HAD, BECAUSE TO THE DEGREE THAT I GUESS THE CONTRACTS GENERALLY ARE EVERY YEAR, THE 120-DAY PROVISION GIVES US AT LEAST, AND SO LONG AS WE WOULD HAVE IT RIGHT, IF THE MARKET WAS GOING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, TO GIVE 120-DAY NOTICE, YOU KNOW, SO THAT WE WERE ENJOYING A SIGNIFICANT DROP WHEN AND IF IT EVER HAPPENED. YES, THIS CONTRACT DOES, SO THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT WITH SHREVE, DID NOT CONTAIN UM IT CONTAINED IT CONTAINED A COST ADJUSTMENT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS THIS ONE CONTAINS A COST COST ADJUSTMENT UP OR DOWN ON A SIX MONTH BASIS OKAY BASED ON THE PPI BUT BUT THERE'S ALSO THE 120-DAY UH NOTIFICATION CANCELLATION RIGHT AND THAT THAT'S ENOUGH TIME TO ALLOW US TO REBID THE CONTRACT UNDERSTAND YEAH SO THAT WORKED WELL THANK YOU DO WE WANT TO YEAH WITH THAT I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 41-26 SECOND MOTION IS SECOND ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE AYE MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY MOVING ON TO THE REGULAR AGENDA PUBLIC [12. Resolution 59-26, Adopting an Initial Rate Schedule for a Non-Ad Valorem Assessment For Fire Rescue Services.] HEARING RESOLUTION 5926 TURNED OVER TO STAFF GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. SCOTT REYNOLDS. I'M THE FINANCE DIRECTOR FOR THE TOWN OF JUPITER. AGAIN, WE'RE HERE THIS EVENING TO DISCUSS RESOLUTION 59-26. THIS RESOLUTION ESTABLISHES THE ESTIMATED INITIAL PER-PROPERTY FIRE PROTECTION FEE TO BE ASSESSED BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2026. IT ENSURES A TRANSPARENT PROCESS FOR ESTABLISHING THE FEE. WE'LL BE NOTICING ALL THE RESIDENTS IF THIS PASSES THIS EVENING, ALL RESIDENTS IN THE TOWN, ALL PROPERTY OWNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THEIR FEE. I WANT TO MAKE CLEAR THE FEE ITSELF IS GOING TO BE REPLACING THE PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE THAT PEOPLE ARE BEING ASSESSED CURRENTLY STARTING IN OCTOBER. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE THAT [00:55:02] CLEAR. I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT AS WE GO ALONG, BUT IT REQUIRES A FINAL HEARING. I WANT YOU TO THINK OF IT IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE ASKING. THIS EVENING, SUCH AS THE TRIM PROCESS, WHEN YOU'RE SETTING THE INITIAL TRIM RATE IN JULY, IT'S A PROPOSED RATE, AND THEN YOU HAVE A FINAL HEARING IN SEPTEMBER TO FINALLY ADOPT IT. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS WE'RE PROPOSING AN INITIAL RATE THAT WILL GO OUT FOR NOTIFICATION TO THE RESIDENTS, JUST LIKE WITH TRIM. YOU HAVE TO GO OUT ON THE TRIM NOTICE TO ADVERTISE ANY KIND OF ABALORM RATE TO THE RESIDENTS. IT'S THE SAME PROCESS. WE HAVE TO NOTIFY ALL THE RESIDENTS. THIS WILL REQUIRE THE FINAL HEARING IN JUNE 16, 2026 TO ADOPT ANY FINAL FEE AFTER THE PUBLIC NOTIFICATION PROCESS. SO AGAIN, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE AS WELL. THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT FUNDING OPTIONS. WE HAVE THE FEE THAT'S BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING, WHICH WILL HELP FUND THE JUPITER FIRE RESCUE. IT'S ONLY A SMALL PORTION OF THE OVERALL BUDGET. AGAIN, THIS FEE WILL BE REPLACING. THE CURRENT COUNTY FEE THAT'S CURRENTLY BEING ASSESSED TO THE RESIDENTS, THIS WILL HAPPEN AFTER OCTOBER THERE'S A NUMBER OF FEES THAT WE'LL GO INTO. THERE'S THREE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS TO FUNDING THE JUPITER FIRE RESCUE. WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED THIS EVENING IS THE PROPERTY TAXES, EMS TRANSPORT FEES, AND THE PER PROPERTY FEE THAT IS WITHIN THE RESOLUTION. AND THEN AN ADDITIONAL FUNDING OPTION. IF YOU SO WISH, WHEN WE GO FORWARD, IF WE DO NOT ADOPT THE PER PROPERTY FEE, WE CAN USE PROPERTY TAXES, THE EMS TRANSPORT FEES, AND THEN ULTIMATELY SALES TAX TO MAKE UP THAT DIFFERENCE FOR ANY DEBT SERVICE THAT WE TAKE ON. SO KEEP HAMMERING THIS HOME BECAUSE THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. GOING FORWARD, THERE'S AN IMMEDIATE SAVINGS TO THE PROPERTY OWNER NEXT YEAR WHEN YOU COMPARE IT TO THE COUNTY. THAT THERE'S A $10 MILLION DELTA THERE THAT RESIDENTS ARE ANTICIPATED TO SAVE. AGAIN, THIS IS ALL BASED ON THE FEES THAT WILL BE REPLACING THE CURRENT FIRE RESCUE FEES THAT RESIDENTS ARE CURRENTLY RECEIVING THIS YEAR GOING INTO NEXT YEAR. BUT THERE IS AN ESTIMATED $10 MILLION SAVINGS BETWEEN THE $35 MILLION ESTIMATE FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE NEXT YEAR AND THE $25 MILLION. THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE PROPOSING TO THE COUNCIL WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET. SO WHAT ARE THE FUTURE STEPS? IF YOU APPROVE TONIGHT'S RESOLUTION, THERE WILL BE A PUBLIC HEARING AND WE'LL ALSO BE NOTIFYING ALL THE RESIDENTS, AND THOSE NOTICES WILL GO OUT ON MAY 26TH TO ALL THE PROPERTY OWNERS IN JUPITER TO NOTIFY THEM OF WHAT THEIR FEE WILL BE SO THEY'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THAT. AND THEN THERE'LL BE A FINAL RESOLUTION FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE TOWN COUNCIL ON JUNE 16TH. WITHIN THE NOTIFICATION, EVERYONE WILL GET NOTICED WHEN THAT HEARING WILL BE. THEY GIVE THE PUBLIC AN OPPORTUNITY BETWEEN EVEN BEFORE THE HEARING TO WEIGH IN, ASK QUESTIONS, AND SEND THEIR QUESTIONS AHEAD OF TIME TO THE CLERK, BUT ALSO TO COME TO THE HEARING ON THE 16TH AND VOICE IF THEY HAVE CONCERNS OR IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS. WITH THAT, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL? COUNCIL, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, I HAVE A FEW. DIRECTOR REYNOLDS, I WAS LOOKING AT THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY UNDER ANALYSIS. YOU HAVE FIVE POSSIBLE EXEMPTIONS YOU'RE PROPOSING. IT'S ON THE FIRST PAGE. I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS THE QUESTION? YOU HAVE FIVE. POTENTIAL OR EXEMPTIONS YOU'RE PROPOSING? THAT'S WITHIN THE RATE RESOLUTION AS WELL. OKAY. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF THOSE EXEMPTIONS, THE BUY-DOWN FOR THOSE? WELL, WHAT I DID, I WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT PAGE 25, THE ACCENTURE MEMORANDUM, AND FOUR OF THOSE WERE LISTED, AND IT CAME UP TO $1,497,507. IT DID NOT INCLUDE THE AGRICULTURAL STRUCTURES EXEMPTIONS. SO IS THAT A... FAIRLY ACCURATE ASSESSMENT OF $1.5 MILLION? YES, SIR. YES, SIR. I BELIEVE SO. OKAY. HOW DO WE PROPOSE TO MAKE THAT DIFFERENCE? I'M SORRY. WHAT I'M LOOKING AT HERE IS GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES WILL HAVE A BUY-DOWN AMOUNT OF $180,000. INSTITUTIONAL, $59,000. VA EXEMPTIONS, JUST OVER $11,000. AND THEN WE HAVE THE STATUTORY STATUTORY DISCOUNTS, AND THEN THERE'S ALSO THE DISABLED VETERANS, OR I'M SORRY, THE [01:00:01] SENIORS. I DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER IN FRONT OF ME. SO IT'S A LOT LESS THAN WHAT'S ON PAGE 25 OF THE ACCENTURE REPORT. BECAUSE THAT TOTALED UP TO ALMOST 1.5 MILLION. LET ME TURN TO THAT PAGE. OKAY. IT'S TABLE 16 ON PAGE 25. THAT MAY ASSUME 100% FUNDING. YEAH, THAT IS. THAT'S AT 100%. OKAY, I DIDN'T SEE THAT. ALL RIGHT, OKAY. SO WE'RE NOT NEAR THAT AMOUNT. NO, SIR. WE'RE ONLY RECOMMENDING THE 15% OF THE TOTAL 100% FUNDING THAT COULD BE AVAILABLE. BUT THOSE AREAS YOU'RE LOOKING AT, THOSE FIVE ARE WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING? THAT'S WITHIN THE RATE RESOLUTION, THOSE FIVE CATEGORIES. ARE THOSE FIVE CATEGORIES CONSISTENT WITH WHAT'S IN THE MSD? TU WE HAD WITH PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE? I'LL GIVE YOU A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THAT. ESPECIALLY FOR THE BUY-DOWN FOR THE SENIOR EXEMPTIONS, THE TOWN AND THE COUNTY ELECTED SOME TIME AGO TO GIVE THAT EXEMPTION, THAT $25,000 EXEMPTION, TO ALL THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT MET THAT CRITERIA. THE TOWN SOME TIME LATER GAVE AN ADDITIONAL... EXEMPTION ON TOP OF THAT, THE COUNTY DID NOT. SO WHEN THE MSTU, THE COUNTY MSTU, WHEN THEY ASSESS THAT, THEY DO NOT RECOGNIZE THAT ADDITIONAL EXEMPTION FOR THE COUNTY PORTION. WHEN WE IMPLEMENT THIS, THOSE INDIVIDUALS WILL ACTUALLY RECEIVE THAT BENEFIT OF THAT ADDITIONAL $25,000 BECAUSE IT'S A TOWN-ADOPTED BENEFIT. AND WE'LL FUND THAT BUY-DOWN THROUGH WHAT, LIKE GENERAL FUND? THROUGH THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND EXACTLY OKAY ALL RIGHT NO FURTHER QUESTIONS THANK YOU ANY OTHER QUESTIONS UH NOT A QUESTION JUST ON PAGE 29 UM I APPRECIATE THE CHART BREAKDOWN OF THE SQUARE OF PROPERTIES THE DIFFERENT SQUARE FOOTAGES AND THE FEES UM JUST I MEAN I KNOW WE HAD QUESTIONS LAST TIME ABOUT EQUITY AND ALL THAT SO I I JUST UM IT LOOKS ABOUT AS FAIR AS IT CAN BE WITHOUT GOING WAY INTO THE WEEDS ON THIS. SO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU CAN GET ANY CLOSER. SO COULD YOU, JUST IN A NUTSHELL, I KNOW WE SPOKE ABOUT THIS EARLY, BUT FOR THE RECORD, JUST BRIEFLY SORT OF DESCRIBE THE CALCULATION, HOW IT GETS LIKE FROM THE, SAY, 500 SQUARE FOOT TO 11 TO 1,200 SQUARE FEET, $15 ANNUAL ASSESSMENT. WELL, IT'S BASED ON... THE WHOLE FEE IS BASED ON THE COST OF FIRE RESCUE AND THE NUMBER OF CALLS BY PROPERTY TYPE, AND THEN THEY PARSE THAT OUT BY THE SQUARE FOOTAGE ACROSS THE TOWN BY PROPERTY TYPE. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. I JUST WANT TO SAY I APPRECIATE YOU BEING VERY CLEAR THAT THIS IS REPLACING THE PALM BEACH COUNTY COST. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT. EVERYBODY RECOGNIZES THAT, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARITY. I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. JUST TO CLARIFY, BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF QUESTIONS, WE'RE SEEING A LOT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND ELSEWHERE, AND I'VE HAD A COUPLE OF RESIDENTS ASK ME, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SAVING $10 MILLION, SO WHY AM I GETTING AN ASSESSMENT? SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BEING CLEAR ON IT, BECAUSE WHEN I LOOK AT MY TRIM NOTICE OR MY PROPERTY TAX BILL, WE PAY PROPERTY TAXES TO A BUNCH OF PEOPLE. IT'S NOT JUST THE TOWN THAT COLLECTS ALL OF YOUR PROPERTY TAXES. IT'S A BUNCH OF BUCKETS. A BUNCH OF PEOPLE THAT COLLECT. AND WE HAVE RIGHT NOW WITH PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE A DEDICATED MILLAGE ON YOUR BILL THAT YOU'RE PAYING CURRENTLY. THAT WILL DISAPPEAR AND BE REPLACED BY TWO THINGS. A FEE, POTENTIALLY, IF WE APPROVE THIS TONIGHT, WHICH IS A VERY SMALL PORTION. IT'S 8% IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ACCORDING TO THE PIE CHART. IT'S 8% OF THE COST. FOR JUPITER FIRE RESCUE. SO IT'S A SMALL AMOUNT. THE MAJORITY WILL ACTUALLY BE A LOWER MILLAGE THAN THE CURRENT MILLAGE THAT WE'RE PAYING TO COUNTY FIRE. SO THE SAVINGS COMES WHEN YOU'RE CHARGED, SAY, $100 CURRENTLY, AND THEN YOU'RE CHARGED LIKE $70 THE NEXT YEAR. SO IT'S A LOWER COST. IT GOES TO JUPITER FIRE, BUT THAT'S HOW THE SAVINGS IS GOING TO BE REALIZED. SO YOU HAD TALKED TO ME ABOUT... LIKE AT A HOUSEHOLD LEVEL, BECAUSE WE HAD TALKED ABOUT KIND OF DESCRIBING IT. I KNOW A RESIDENT CAME AND SPOKE UP ABOUT THE HOUSEHOLD LEVEL. [01:05:01] SO IF WE LOOK AT IT LIKE AN AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD, I THINK YOU HAD SHOWN ME LIKE 02,500 TO 3,500 SQUARE FEET, ONE OF THOSE, MAYBE 3,500. AND YOU TALK ABOUT TAXABLE VALUE, BECAUSE THE MARKET VALUE MIGHT BE WHATEVER, BUT THE TAXABLE VALUE IS ANOTHER MATTER. SO FOR A HOUSEHOLD OF WHATEVER, CAN YOU JUST WALK THROUGH WHAT THE COUNTY FEE WOULD BE, WHAT THE TOWNS WOULD BE, AND HOW THE TOWNS WOULD BE BROKEN UP, AND THEN THE SAVINGS. JUST SO THAT ALL OF US CAN UNDERSTAND AT A HOUSEHOLD LEVEL WHAT'S GOING ON. SURE, I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN CARRYING THIS AROUND THE LAST COUPLE OF MEETINGS, BECAUSE I'VE DONE SOME ANALYSIS WITH OUR CONSULTANT TO DO EXACTLY THAT. SO, JUST FOR INSTANCE, THE 02,500 SQUARE FOOT HOME, LET'S SAY THE ASSESSED VALUE IS... $300,000. THAT'S THE TAXABLE VALUE, I MEAN. SO IF WE BREAK THAT DOWN INTO WHAT THE PROJECTED AD VALOREM DOLLARS WOULD BE TO FUND THAT PORTION, IF YOU ADOPT THE NAV, THAT PORTION WOULD BE $347. THE NAV THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, OR THE PER PROPERTY FEE, WOULD BE $50. SO THAT'D BE $407 ANNUALLY. THAT THAT PERSON WOULD PAY. NOW, HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO THE COUNTY'S FEE THAT THEY'RE CURRENTLY ASSESSING? OR FOR FY27, BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT TO COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES, THAT WOULD BE $581.82 ANNUALLY. SO THEY'RE LOOKING AT A SAVINGS OF $174 ANNUALLY FOR THAT ONE PROPERTY. AND YOU SHOWED THE MILLAGE FROM THE TOWN AND THE NAV FROM THE TOWN. THOSE TWO COMBINED ARE... STILL LESS THAN THE MILLAGE FOR THE COUNTY. CORRECT. WILL EVERY RESIDENT SAVE UNDER THIS? EVERY RESIDENT, AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW, LOOKING AT THE FY27, LOOKING AT COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES, YES, THEY SHOULD ALL SAVE. WILL EVERY PROPERTY OWNER? EVERY PROPERTY OWNER SHOULD SAVE, YES. I WILL PREFACE THAT BY SAYING WE DID BUY DOWN THE NURSING HOMES. IF YOU REMEMBER RIGHT, THERE WAS A VERY LARGE... DISPARITY BASED ON THE NUMBER OF CALLS WITH THE NURSING HOMES. THEY MAY SEE A SMALL INCREASE, AT LEAST ONE OR TWO OF THEM IN THE TOWN. BUT THAT'S BASED ON THE NUMBER OF CALLS. BUT OVERALL, YES, EVERYBODY'S GOING TO BE RECEIVING A SAVINGS. OKAY, THANK YOU. OH, ONE MORE THING. SORRY. APPENDIX F. THIS IS A DRAFT OF THE LETTER THAT'S GOING TO BE MAILED OUT. IS THAT CORRECT? I KNOW IT'S IN THERE, YES. OKAY. SO IF WE APPROVE THIS ON FIRST READING, A PHYSICAL LETTER WILL BE MAILED TO EVERYONE WITH THEIR PERSONAL INFORMATION. THAT'S RIGHT. IT WILL BE CUSTOMIZED TO THEIR HOME, AND THEY WILL GET WHAT THEY WOULD BE EXPECTED FOR THIS SMALL FEE, WHICH IS PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR JUPITER FIRE GOING FORWARD. SO YOU HAVE THE DRAFT LETTER HERE. AND I JUST WANTED TO ASK, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU'VE ADDED A LOT OF LANGUAGE. SOME OF IT'S LEGALLY REQUIRED, AND SO WE HAVE IT IN THERE. BUT WE ALSO HAVE, LIKE, QUESTION AND ANSWER AND THAT TYPE OF THING. AND I KNOW WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO PUT MORE INFORMATION ON THE WEBPAGE, ALL OF THAT. BUT I WANTED TO ASK, WE HAVE FOUR BULLET POINTS HERE. IT SAYS WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU, AND IT KIND OF SUMMARIZES IT. AND I WANTED TO ASK IF WE COULD MOVE THE FOURTH BULLET TO THE SECOND BULLET AND JUST REORDER IT A LITTLE BIT. THIS IS APPENDIX F, THE FORM OF NOTICE TO BE MAILED. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE... I CAN ASK THAT QUESTION. I DID... THE CONSULTANT INDICATED THAT WE NEEDED TO SIGN OFF ON THIS FOR PRINTING TODAY, WHICH I DID. OKAY. BUT I CAN REQUEST IF WE CAN MOVE THAT UP. YEAH. I MEAN, I DON'T WANT TO CHANGE THE CONTENT OF THE LETTER. SO THE CONTENT IS FINE. YEAH. I JUST... I DIDN'T KNOW IF WE WERE ABLE TO REORDER. IF NOT, YOU KNOW... I BELIEVE WE CAN. WE'LL ASK THE QUESTION. AND YOU WANT TO MOVE IT UP TO WHERE? TO MAYBE THE SECOND BULLET. SO IT SAYS THE TOWN IS CONSIDERING A NON-AVALORUM ASSESSMENT TO HELP FUND FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES. AND THEN NUMBER TWO, IF APPROVED, THIS NON-AVALORUM SPECIAL ASSESSMENT WOULD BE INCLUDED ON YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL LISTED AT THE BOTTOM SECTION LABELED NON-AVALORUM ASSESSMENT. YOU WILL NO LONGER BE CHARGED FOR THE ITEM ON YOUR BILL LABELED JUPITER FIRE RESCUE, WHICH EQUATES TO A MILLAGE OF BLAH, SO I WOULD I MEAN, THAT'S. THAT'S SOMETHING I THOUGHT MIGHT BE HELPFUL FOR RESIDENTS SO THEY CAN UNDERSTAND THAT. I'LL ASK FIRST THING. I'LL ASK THIS EVENING AFTER I LEAVE THE MEETING [01:10:01] TO SEE IF WE CAN DO THAT. BECAUSE IN SHARING WITH RESIDENTS, THAT CLEARS IT UP. THEY START KIND OF CONFUSED UNTIL THEY HEAR THAT, AND THEN THEY CAN KIND OF UNDERSTAND THE REST OF IT WHEN THEY GO FROM THERE. SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE'S CONSENSUS. THAT WAS JUST A THOUGHT. I AGREE WITH YOU. I THINK THERE'S STILL GOING TO BE QUESTIONS ON THIS. JUST A LOT OF ABSOLUTELY. AND LET'S BE READY FOR THOSE PHONE CALLS OR EMAILS OR TEXTS, WHATEVER WILL COME IN, BE ABLE TO ANSWER THESE. WE'VE PUT TOGETHER A PROCEDURE TO HANDLE ALL THE EMAILS THAT WE'LL BE RECEIVING. YES. AND A PROCEDURE ON HOW TO HANDLE RETURN MAIL AND ALL THOSE KIND OF THINGS. AND, DIRECTOR REYNOLDS, IF WE WANT TO GO BACK TO ALL AD VALOREM OR IF WE WANT TO END IT EARLY, IF WE WANT TO CHANGE OUR PROCESS, I UNDERSTAND THIS IS JUST LIKE A TOOL IN THE TOOLBOX FOR US TO FIND, BUT DO WE HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY OVER THE YEARS IF WE WANT TO MAKE CHANGES? TO THIS PROGRAM? ABSOLUTELY. YOU'RE NOT LOCKED INTO IT. NOW, IF YOU WANT TO RAISE THE FEE ABOVE WHAT YOU'RE CURRENTLY, IF YOU WERE TO SET IT, THAT'S WHERE THE HURDLES START COMING INTO PLACE. YOU WOULD HAVE TO DO PRETTY MUCH THE SAME PROCEDURE WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW. WE'LL HAVE TO DRAFT A RESOLUTION. WE'LL HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT THAT RATE IS. WE'LL HAVE TO NOTIFY ALL THE RESIDENTS AGAIN. IT'S JUST LIKE WE'RE STARTING BACK OVER AGAIN. SO YES, BUT IF YOU WANTED TO ELIMINATE THE FEE. AND DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, THAT IS COMPLETELY UP TO THE COUNCIL. YOU HAVE THAT ABILITY. SO IF SOME FUTURE COUNCIL OR IF SOMETHING LED TO, IT WOULDN'T BE ME, BUT IF SOMEONE WANTED TO DO 100% OR SOMETHING CRAZY, EVERY RESIDENT WOULD BE NOTIFIED, THERE WOULD BE LETTERS. IT'S VERY HARD TO DO. IT'S NOT SOMETHING DONE OFTEN OR EASILY. AGAIN, YOU WOULD START BACK OVER WITH THE NOTIFICATION PROCESS AND DOING THE PUBLIC HEARINGS. EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW. OKAY. IF I DESIGN IT, IT'S SOMEWHAT OF AN ARDUOUS PROCESS. EXACTLY. FOR NOTIFICATION, EDUCATION. CORRECT. YOU KNOW, TRANSPARENCY, THE BIGGEST, YOU KNOW. BUT I WANT RESIDENTS TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT THAT, KNOWING HOW MUCH OF A HURDLE IT WOULD BE FOR ANYONE TO DO THAT, WHICH I THINK IS IMPORTANT. AND ONE MORE QUESTION ON SALES TAX. I'VE SEEN SOMETHING THAT WE CAN'T, WE DON'T DO SALES TAX. THAT'S THE COUNTY, IS THAT RIGHT? NO. SO WE RECEIVE SALES TAX AS ONE OF OUR MANY... STREAMS OF REVENUE, WE COULD USE SOME OF THAT FOR IT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? NO, SIR. OKAY. WELL, I HAVE ONE QUESTION AND I HAVE COMMENTS TO MAKE. BUT, YOU KNOW, AND WHILE I DON'T AGREE WITH THE PROCESS BEING USED AND OPPOSED AND WILL OPPOSE IT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BUDGET PROCESS, BUT ON THE NURSING HOMES, AS AN EXAMPLE, FOR THE UM, NOT OUT OF LAW AND FIRE ASSESSMENT FEE REPORTEDLY TRIES TO SPREAD THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF UNITS. SO SINGLE FAMILY HAS TO KIND OF COVER RESIDENTIAL UNITS, COVERS THE PERCENTAGE OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS, YOU KNOW, CORRECT. BUT NURSING HOMES, TO THE DEGREE WE MADE AN EXCEPTION, I THINK I JUST WANT TO POINT THIS OUT BECAUSE THIS HAD BEEN EXPLAINED THAT THEY. WE USE THE SERVICES FAR BEYOND. AND SO RATHER THAN SET THE FEE, WHAT THEY CURRENTLY USE, LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, YOU'RE SETTING IT LOWER AND THE INTENTION IS TO WORK WITH THEM SO THEY UNDERSTAND. THAT'S CORRECT. BECAUSE THERE'S THINGS THEY CAN DO. I MEAN, I LOOKED INTO THIS WITH MY MOM. THERE'S THINGS YOU COULD DO WHERE THEY COULD BE, EQUIPMENT THEY COULD BE BUYING SO THEY'RE NOT MAKING AS FREQUENT CALLS AND WHATEVER. SO THAT'S A GIVE, BUT THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CHANGE THEIR PROCESS. OTHERWISE, I WOULD EXPECT IT'S NOT BEING FAIR TO EVERYBODY ELSE. TO YOUR POINT, THE CHIEF, AND HE'S EVEN SORT OF THIS BIAS THAT HE IS COMMITTED TO WORK WITH THEM ON. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT. AND WHILE WE APPRECIATE THAT, THEY NEED TO BE MOTIVATED THAT IF THEY DON'T CHANGE, THEN THEIR FEE IS GOING TO BE HIGHER IN SOME SUPPORT OF THAT. BUT, OKAY, THEN. I JUST WANT TO COMMENT ON THE RECORD HERE, AS I'VE DONE ALL ALONG THE PROCESS. FIRST OF ALL, I READ AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND IT SAYS, WITH A TOWN ASSUMING RESPONSIBILITY FOR FIRE SERVICES, A DEDICATED AND EQUITABLE FUNDING SOURCE MAY BE ESTABLISHED. THAT'S WHERE THIS FIRE PROTECTION ASSESSMENT COMES IN. I SUBMIT, IF YOU LOOK UP EQUITABLE, THE DEFINITION SAYS, FAIR TO ALL PARTIES AS DICTATED BY REASONS AND CONSCIENCE. WELL, IT DOESN'T PASS THE SMELL TEST FOR ME. I DON'T KNOW HOW A TWO-FAMILY, TWO-INDIVIDUAL FAMILY LIVING IN AN 1,199-SQUARE-FOOT RESIDENTIAL UNIT PAYS $15 A YEAR VERSUS TWO-MEMBER FAMILY LIVING IN A 3,100-SQUARE-FOOT RESIDENTIAL UNIT WILL BE PAYING $93 A YEAR. THAT'S MORE THAN SIX TIMES AS MUCH. OTHER MUNICIPALITIES THAT HAD BEEN SHARED WITH US GO WITH, HAVE GONE WITH NON-ENVELOPE AND [01:15:24] FIRE FEES THAT USE THE SAME DOLLARS PER YEAR FOR ALL RESIDENTIAL UNITS. WEST PALM, BOYNTON, BOCA, ATLANTIS. NOW, THERE MAY BE OTHERS OUT THERE THAT HAVE DONE IT DIFFERENTLY. I'M JUST LITERALLY GOING BY WHAT STAFF TOLD US ON DAY ONE HERE. SO, WEST PALM, BOYNTON, BOCA, ATLANTIS, THEY USE THE SAME FEE PER RESIDENTIAL UNIT. AND WE'VE GOT THIS SCALE THAT SOMEHOW, I THINK, IS PENALIZING. THOSE THAT HAVE MORE, COULD BE THE SAME TWO PEOPLE. AS AN ENGINEER, IT'S NOT LOGICAL TO ME THAT YOU CAN HAVE MORE, THAT MUCH, SIX TIMES AS MANY FIRE CALLS IF YOU'RE LIVING IN A 3,100 SQUARE FOOT UNIT VERSUS $1,199. THAT SAID, I'VE MADE THIS CASE. I'M GOING TO MAKE IT EVERY SINGLE TIME THIS COMES BEFORE US. I WILL NOT SUPPORT A BUDGET. I'M GOING TO BE THE NO VOTE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS HERE. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT'S CLEAR. WITH THAT, I MEAN, I'M JUST BEING CONSISTENT, AND THAT'S THE WAY THIS PROCESS WORKS. FIVE, MAKE A DECISION, BUT I'M GOING TO SAY, BECAUSE WE'VE REPRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT, HYPOTHETICALLY, WE MIGHT HAVE THIS FIRE ASSESSMENT FEE, BUT FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS, WE WENT AHEAD AND TOLD PEOPLE, LOOK AT YOUR PROPERTY TAXES, AND THERE'S GOING TO BE, EVERYBODY'S GOING TO GET, YOU KNOW, A PERCENTAGE REDUCTION, AND NOW THE YOU KNOW THE RULES ARE DIFFERENT WELL GEE IF YOU LIVE IN A 3100 SQUARE FOOT UNIT VERSUS 11.99 AND YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE THE SAME TAX VALUE NO YOU'RE NOT GOING TO PAY YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET THE SAME FEE BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO ONE'S GOING TO BE PAYING SIX TIMES AS MUCH FOR THE FOR THE NON-ADVALON FEE UM SO WITH THAT UM I JUST WANTED I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TO SAY THIS EVERY TIME ON THE RECORD I'M GOING TO ADVOCATE THROUGH THE ENTIRE BUDGET PROCESS THIS IS NOT EQUITABLE IT'S BY THE DEFINITION WHEN I LOOKED IT UP. FAIR TO ALL PARTIES IS DICTATED BY REASONS AND CONSCIOUS. IT DOESN'T PANTS MY CONSCIOUS. WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 5926. MOTION TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 5926. SECOND. MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? NAY. MOTION CARRIES 4-1 WITH MAYOR KORETSKY OPPOSING. [13. Resolution 60-26, Authorizing an Option Purchase Agreement for 3126 Jupiter Park Drive.] MOVING ON TO PUBLIC BUSINESS, RESOLUTION 6026, AUTHORIZING AN OPTION PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR 3126 JUPITER PARK DRIVE. IS THAT, DO I TURN IT OVER, IS IT THE TOWN MANAGER OR WHO, MR. REYNOLDS? GOOD EVENING AGAIN. SCOTT REYNOLDS, I'M THE FINANCE DIRECTOR FOR THE TOWN OF JUPITER. THIS EVENING WE HAVE A PURCHASE OPTION FOR A PIECE OF PROPERTY AT 3126 JUPITER PARK DRIVE. WE'RE REQUESTING THE AUTHORIZATION TO PROCEED FORWARD WITH THE OPTION TO PURCHASE, TO ALSO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF RESERVE FUNDING TO MAKE THE PURCHASE, AND AUTHORIZE THE TOWN MANAGER TO... EXECUTE ALL AGREEMENTS. JUST TO GO BACK, WHEN WE BUILT THIS BUILDING, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID NOT ENVISION AT THE TIME WAS HAVING OUR OWN FIRE DEPARTMENT. WELL, NOW WE DO. AND WHAT COMES ALONG WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS THEY WILL HAVE THEIR OWN INSPECTORS AND PLANS EXAMINERS AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, WE STARTED RESERVING FUNDS TO POSSIBLY BUILD A BUILDING. IT WAS SPECULATIVE AT THE TIME TO HOUSE BUILDING PERSONNEL, MEANING CODE ENFORCEMENT, PLANS EXAMINERS, CODE COMPLIANCE, FIRE INSPECTORS, AND BUILDING INSPECTORS. WE STARTED EVERY YEAR DURING THE MID-YEAR AMENDMENTS, JUST LIKE THIS EVENING. YOU ALL PASSED THE MID-YEAR BUDGET AMENDMENT, AND ON THERE WE WERE RESTRICTING CERTAIN BUILDING FUNDS FOR FUTURE USES TO BE INCORPORATED INTO FUTURE CIPS, AND ONE OF THOSE WAS FOR A BUILDING. RECENTLY, THERE'S BEEN SOME DEVELOPMENT AT THE STATE LEVEL THAT THEY WILL BE TAKING AWAY THAT OPTION TO BE ABLE TO [01:20:01] POSSIBLY BUILD A FACILITY OR PURCHASE A FACILITY OR UTILIZE THOSE FUNDS IN THAT WAY. WE HAD BEFORE THAT EVEN AROSE AS AN ISSUE, WE HAD ALREADY STARTED SEEKING OUT OTHER ALTERNATIVES FOR COMBINING WHERE OUR PERSONNEL FOR THESE TYPES OF OCCUPATIONS WOULD BE HOUSED. WE STARTED ACTUALLY LOOKING AT LEASING SOME PROPERTY AND ANYBODY THAT'S TRIED TO LEASE PROPERTY IN THE TOWN OF JUPITER COMMERCIAL SPACE KNOWS HOW EXPENSIVE THAT CAN BE. BUT WE DID RESEARCH THAT OPTION AND THEN AT THAT POINT THAT WE STARTED LOOKING AT POSSIBLY PURCHASING A BUILDING. WE ALL KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE CONSTRUCTION COSTS ARE. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT ARE GOING ON CURRENTLY. SO WE DO UNDERSTAND HOW EXPENSIVE THAT CAN BE IN THE TOWN OF JUPITER AS WELL. SO WE DID FIND A BUILDING THAT WE WERE INTERESTED IN THAT CAN BRING ALL THESE DISCIPLINES TOGETHER. THEY CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER. AND ONE OF THE THINGS WHEN WE DID FIND THE BUILDING THAT WE SAW THAT ALSO CHECKED A BOX THAT THE COUNCIL HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR IS A POSSIBLE FUTURE TRAINING FACILITY FOR POLICE OFFICERS. SO THAT CHECKED THE BOX. SO WE PROCEEDED FORWARD. AND LOOKING AT THE BUILDING FURTHER, AGAIN, SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF THE PURCHASE. IT INTEGRATES THE PLANS REVIEW AND INSPECTORS IN THE BUILDING, ALONG WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT INSPECTORS. THESE ARE ALL PEOPLE THAT ARE IN CHARGE OF ENFORCING THE BUILDING CODE, ALONG WITH CODE ENFORCEMENT. IT PROVIDES DEDICATED TRAINING SPACE IF WE SO WISH TO DO THAT, AND IT DEFINITELY CAN FIT THAT MODE. IT'S COST-EFFECTIVE, AN ALTERNATIVE TO NEW CONSTRUCTION. EXISTING USE ALIGNS WITH THE TOWN'S INTENDED USE THAT WE'VE BEEN SEEKING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. SO IN ORDER TO MAKE ANY KIND OF OFFER, FLORIDA STATUTE IS PRETTY CLEAR, ANYTHING ABOVE A $500,000 PRICE TAG, WE HAVE TO HAVE TWO INDEPENDENT APPRAISALS DONE. WE'VE DONE THAT. ONE APPRAISAL CAME IN AT $10,800,000. THE SECOND APPRAISAL CAME IN AT $10,520,000. YOU AVERAGE THOSE TOGETHER. THE PRICE WAS $10,660,000, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT WAS OFFERED. THE BUILDING WAS ORIGINALLY LISTED AT $11.4 MILLION, AND THE OWNER HAS AGREED THAT HE WOULD SELL THE PROPERTY FOR $10,660,000. SO THEN THE QUESTION COMES, HOW WILL WE PAY FOR IT? AGAIN, WE HAD BEEN RESERVING. BUILDING FUNDS FOR THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF, ACTUALLY, FOR A BUILDING. SO THE UTILIZATION OF THE BUILDING RESERVE FUNDS AND THEN SOME PARTICIPATION WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND BECAUSE OF THE TRAINING FACILITY, IF YOU'RE GOING TO UTILIZE THE BUILDING IN ANY OTHER WAY OUTSIDE OF BUILDING FUND USE, YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE FUNDING COMING FROM THE GENERAL FUND. AND SO WHAT I WANT TO SHOW HERE IS THE RESERVES. CURRENTLY, IF YOU LOOKED AT THE LAST FINANCIAL STATEMENT THAT OUR AUDITOR PRESENTED, WE HAD JUST OVER $19 MILLION IN THE BUILDING FUND. THERE WAS 5.3, THAT IS THEIR GENERAL OPERATING RESERVES, AND THEN THE RESTRICTIONS THAT WERE ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA, $9 MILLION FOR FACILITY RESERVES, $3.9 FOR ANY KIND OF SOFTWARE OR GIS UPGRADES, VIRTUAL INSPECTION, WHICH IS THE FUTURE I'M BEING TOLD FROM THE BUILDING OFFICIALS AND TRAINING ROOM AND ANTICIPATE A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY LICENSE TRAINING. THAT'S ANOTHER BIG ISSUE THAT'S FACING THE TOWN IS HAVING THE MULTI-LICENSE TRAINING. SO THE NEXT THING IS THE GENERAL FUND. I ALWAYS LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COUNCIL IS AWARE IF WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT OUR RESERVES, WHERE WE'RE CURRENTLY SITTING. IF YOU REMEMBER LOOKING AT THE RESERVE BALANCE FOR 930, IT'S JUST OVER $62 MILLION. WE'VE TRANSFERRED SOME FUNDS OUT. FOR THE FUNDING OF THE JUPITER FIRE RESCUE AND SOME OTHER OPERATING CARRY FORWARDS AND SOME CAPITAL FUNDING, IT LEAVES US WITH JUST OVER $43 MILLION CURRENTLY SITTING IN THE RESERVE BALANCE. ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT CAME UP IS, WELL, HOW DID WE ARRIVE AT THE SPLIT BETWEEN THE $9 MILLION AND THE $1.6 MILLION? WHEN WE FIRST LOOKED AT IT, AGAIN, THIS WAS SPECULATIVE. WE KNEW THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE WAS THE HOUSING OF THE BUILDING FUND. THE CODE ENFORCEMENT PEOPLE AND THEN THE SECONDARY WAS THE TRAINING FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. SO LOOKED AT USE OF THE BUILDING. HOW OFTEN ARE PEOPLE GOING TO ACTUALLY BE IN THE FACILITY? [01:25:01] THE BUILDING FUND PEOPLE WILL BE THERE FIVE DAYS A WEEK, 52 WEEKS A YEAR. THE TRAINING FACILITY, THEY DO IT IN BLOCK TRAINING 20 TIMES A YEAR. THEY HAVE TRAINING FOR THE POLICE OFFICERS. OFFICERS AND ON ONE OF THOSE WEEKS THAT THEY'RE HAVING TRAINING, FOUR DAYS WILL BE FOR TRAINING. ONE WILL BE ACTUALLY AT THE FIRING RANGE FROM WHAT I'M BEING TOLD. DAYS WILL ACTUALLY BE TRAINING, MEANING THAT THEY WOULD BE AT THE FACILITY. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THOSE PERCENTAGES, IT COMES TO ABOUT 17% FOR THE TRAINING FACILITY AND THE REMAINDER WOULD BE FOR THE BILLING FUND USE. SO THAT'S HOW WE CAME UP WITH THE SPLIT INITIALLY. NOW, THESE ARE ALL SPECULATIVE AT THIS TIME FOR THE POLICE TRAINING THAT COULD EXPAND IN THE FUTURE. BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO PUT AT THE FACILITY. SO YOU IN ORDER TO PURCHASE, THERE ARE SOME STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS, AND IT'S OUTLINED WITHIN THE PURCHASE AGREEMENT. IT FALLS UNDER 166.045, REQUIRES A 30-DAY PUBLIC NOTICE AND INSPECTION PERIOD, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE OPTION TO PURCHASE. IT'S ALSO INCLUDED IN OUR DUE DILIGENCE PERIOD TO COMMENCE, INCLUDING INSPECTION OF THE FACILITY, A PHASE ONE ENVIRONMENTAL, A PROPERTY SURVEY, AND THEN THE CLOSING TO TAKE PLACE. ON OR BEFORE JUNE 30TH. AND WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE QUESTIONS. I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS. I'M SORRY, ONE OTHER THING, MAYOR. I DID ASK CHIEF HENNESSEY TO COME TO TALK HIGH LEVEL ABOUT THE TRAINING. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR TOWN COUNCIL. FOR THE RECORD, DON HENNESSEY, CHIEF OF POLICE FOR THE JUPITER POLICE DEPARTMENT. I JUST WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THOSE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AT THIS POINT. FACILITY WOULD PRESENT TO THE DEPARTMENT. AS DIRECTOR REYNOLDS MENTIONED, WE DO 20 BLOCK WEEKS OF TRAINING PER YEAR. GIVE OR TAKE, WE SLOT OFFICERS INTO ONE. EACH OFFICER DOES ONE WEEK A YEAR TO GO THROUGH THAT TRAINING. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M MOST PROUD OF AMONG MANY THINGS IS THE TRAINING PROGRAM WE'VE PUT TOGETHER AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE TRAINING OFFICERS AND SUPERVISORS THAT HAVE PUT OUR TRAINING CURRICULUM TOGETHER, IN MY OPINION, IS SECOND TO NONE. ONE OF THE ONGOING CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE HAD... OVER THE YEARS AND THIS IS NOT NEW IT'S KIND OF IT'S BEEN PART OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR YEARS TO FIND A TRAINING FACILITY FOR US IT'S BEEN ONE OF MY STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AS WELL AS YOU KNOW MY PREDECESSORS BEFORE ME TO FIND A A SUITABLE FACILITY TO DO THAT SO AS WE TALK ABOUT 20 WEEKS A YEAR AND TRYING TO FIND ADEQUATE SPACE THAT'S DEDICATED FOR TRAINING THEY'VE BEEN CREATIVE OUR TRAINING STAFF HAS USED SCHOOLS WHICH OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW WE CAN'T USE FIVE DAYS A WEEK FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE YEAR. THAT LIMITS US TO THE SUMMERTIME. WE'VE USED TOWN FACILITIES, RIGHT, THAT HAVE THEIR OWN OPERATIONS THAT ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR THAT USE. BY PUTTING A BUILDING LIKE THIS IN PLACE, IT WILL ALLOW FOR US TO BETTER CUSTOMIZE THAT TRAINING AS WE GO THROUGH FOR BOTH NEW HIRES, THOSE GOING THROUGH BLOCK TRAINING. IT'LL PROVIDE A FACILITY THAT WE CAN BE PROUD OF TO HOST LEADERSHIP TRAINING, BOTH FOR OUR OFFICERS AND FOR OFFICERS AND SUPERVISORS IN THE AREA. SO IT JUST PROVIDES THAT PIECE THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR AND GIVES US A SOLUTION TO THAT STRATEGIC INITIATIVE THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING TO FIND OVER THE YEARS. AND, AGAIN, I THINK IT WILL HELP US TO NOT ONLY DO THE TRAINING WE DO IN A MORE CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT, BUT IT WILL ALSO ALLOW US TO EXPAND AND PROVIDE BETTER TRAINING IN THE FUTURE. SO THANK YOU. SO JUST A COUPLE, A FEW QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS TOGETHER FROM MY POINT OF VIEW. NUMBER ONE, I THINK I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DISPELLING SOME OF THE MISUNDERSTANDINGS I'VE SEEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA. NUMBER ONE, BECAUSE THIS IS NOT A SURPRISE TO US, AND I WANT TO JUST POINT OUT IN THE WAY OF WHERE THERE IS TRANSPARENCY. SO NUMBER ONE, THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT IS AN ENTERPRISE FUND, AND THEREFORE ALL OF ITS REVENUES COME FROM BASICALLY BUILDING FEES, CORRECT? BUILDING PERMIT FEES, YES. SO NOT A PENNY FROM THE GENERAL FUND CROSSES. IT WAS SET AS A, IT'S GOT TO BE AT LEAST THREE DECADES AGO, BUT WHENEVER, IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME. SO WE'VE BEEN BUILDING UP RESERVES OVER THE COURSE OF TIME, MORE THAN JUST THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF. AND WHAT'S BEING... PRESENTED TO US TO TAKE ACTION ON IS TO BUY A BUILDING TO MOVE FORTH WITH USING THOSE RESERVES THAT AGAIN NOT A PENNY COMES FROM TAXPAYERS IT'S CORRECT THAT IS CORRECT THAT'S 85 PERCENT I JUST WANT [01:30:02] TO MAKE THAT CLEAR SO 85 PERCENT OF THE BUILDING IS FUNDED BY THE BUILDING FUND RESERVES AND I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW OTHER GOVERNMENTS ARE STRUCTURED I DO KNOW THAT THE COUNTY FOR EXAMPLE IS BUILDING A BUILDING FOR THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT THE SAME WAY IT'S RIGHT NEXT TO THE COUNTY ENGINEERS BUILDING THAT I'VE TO AN OCCASION, CORRECT? AND I THINK YOU'RE AWARE OF OTHER MUNICIPALITIES DOING THE SAME THING, CORRECT? YEAH. AND A BIT OF URGENCY, AND YOU MAY HAVE SAID THIS, BUT LEGISLATURE ACTION WE EITHER GO AHEAD AND FINALLY INVEST WHAT WE HAVE HERE OR THERE'S SOME CONSEQUENCES THAT WE WOULD LOSE THAT. SO I APPRECIATE THE PROACTIVENESS ON THE PART OF STAFF TO MOVE TO FIND A BUILDING THAT NOT ONLY WILL SERVE THE PURPOSE FOR THE BUILDING, ENLARGED BUILDING DEPARTMENT, IF YOU WILL. I THINK IT'S NICE TO BRING IN CODE ENFORCEMENT AND THE FIRE PLANS REVIEWER AND WHATEVER 011 COMMONPLACE THAT, NUMBER ONE, WILL FREE UP SOME SPACE IN THE POLICE BUILDING HEADQUARTERS, WHICH IS A BENEFIT. AND THIS 15% WELL, I KNOW I AND I'M SURE MY COLLEAGUES MIGHT HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT IT. THAT CAN BE WORKED OUT OVER TIME. SO I WAS DELIGHTED TO LEARN THAT THE SELLER WAS JUST FINISHING UP A MILLION DOLLARS AND NOT YET DONE. I HEARD THIS FROM OUR BUILDING DEPARTMENT, A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF INTERIOR UPGRADES, BASICALLY FOR THE OFFICE SPACE, ESSENTIALLY. CORRECT? YES, SIR. AND, THEY BASICALLY DECIDED CORPORATELY TO CONSOLIDATE INTO ATLANTA, THE ATLANTA OFFICE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING. OKAY. SO, I MEAN, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE GETTING, YOU KNOW, FACTS ON THE RECORD ON WHY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ON THE AGENDA AND WHY I'M REALLY SUPPORTIVE OF IT. IT REALLY MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. AS OUR POLICE CHIEF HAD SAID, WE'VE... HAD A STRATEGIC PLAN ABOUT A TRAINING FACILITY FOR A LONG TIME AND TO THAT WE'RE GOING TO INVEST 15% OF IT FROM GENERAL FUNDS. I'M SURE MORE DETAILS ABOUT THAT WE'LL ALL BE GETTING UPDATES THROUGH THE TOWN MANAGER ABOUT THAT. I THINK WE ALL GOT A TOUR OF THE BUILDING. IT'S A PHENOMENAL OF BUILDING. IT'LL SERVE THE TOWN WELL, AND SO I'M SUPPORTIVE. BUT ANYWAY, I JUST THANK YOU. IN NODDING, YOU'VE CONFIRMED WHAT I'VE SAID CORRECT FOR THE RECORD. YES. ANYBODY ELSE ON THE DAIS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I DO, YEAH. I JUST WANTED TO ASK JUST A COMMENT BEING MADE. COULD YOU ELABORATE FOR OUR RESIDENTS OR ANYONE HERE IN THE COUNCIL WHAT LEGISLATURE IS TELLING EVERYONE THAT THAT NEED TO DO WITH THAT GENERAL BUILDING FUND AND WHY, IF THERE'S ANY RATIONALE, SO THAT IT'S CLEARER. WITHIN THE STATUTES, WE'RE ALLOWED TO RESTRICT RESERVE FUNDS WITHIN THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT, THE BUILDING FUNDS, FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF ACTIVITIES. AND ONE OF THOSE IS FOR A FACILITY. AND OVER THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF, WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN DOING THAT, ALONG WITH WHAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING HERE THIS EVENING. HERE RECENTLY, THEY'RE GOING TO BE CHANGING THE LEGISLATION COME JULY 1 THAT WILL TAKE THAT ABILITY AWAY, THAT YOU CANNOT USE THOSE RESERVES FOR A FACILITY. SO WE WERE ALREADY IN THE PROCESS OF LOOKING TO POSSIBLY LEASE A BUILDING. SO WE WERE ALREADY IN THE PROCESS OF PLANNING, AND THEN WE WERE GOING TO PUT TOGETHER A CIP TO BRING BACK BEFORE THE TOWN COUNCIL. SO WE WERE ALREADY IN THE PROCESS. THIS JUST KIND OF EXPEDITED THE PROCESS OF US. I WAS TRYING TO SEEK A BUILDING. AND WHERE ARE THE PERMIT FEES, WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO GO IN THE FUTURE THAT WE COLLECT? THE PERMIT FEES? YES. WE'VE BEEN PUTTING IT INTO THE BUILDING FUND. THEY WILL CONTINUE TO STAY IN THE BUILDING FUND. THEY'RE RESTRICTED. THEY HAVE TO STAY WITHIN THE BUILDING FUND. OKAY. YES, MA'AM. JUST QUICK COMMENTS. I TOURED THE FACILITY LAST WEEK. LIKE YOU SAID, THEY DID THE RECENT RENOVATION. IT'S PARTS OF THE BUILDING LIKE BRAND NEW, AND IT HAS THOSE GIGANTIC WAREHOUSE SPACES THAT CAN BE USED FOR WHATEVER THE TOWN NEEDS. AND IF WE WERE TO BUILD THAT OUT, IT WOULD BE $20, $22 MILLION. BECAUSE ANYTHING BUILDING THAT SIZE, THIS SIZE, EVERYTHING'S $20 MILLION THESE DAYS. THAT'S WHAT I'M BEING TOLD. THIS IS JUST THE PERFECT FIT AT THE PERFECT TIME. [01:35:02] AND, YOU KNOW, IT HAS PLENTY OF POWER SOURCE COMING INTO IT. AND IT'S JUST, I THINK IT'S JUST READY TO GO. I THINK IT'S JUST A GREAT FIT FOR THE TOWN TO GET THE POLICE AND FIRE TRAINING INTEGRATED TOGETHER. IT'S ANOTHER STEP IN THAT RIGHT DIRECTION. YOU KNOW, SO I THINK I'M ALL IN FAVOR OF THIS. THIS RESOLUTION. THANK YOU. I AGREE. I THINK IT'S USE IT OR LOSE IT IS PART OF IT, FOR SURE. I WAS EXPECTING CIP, BUT THIS ACCELERATES ALL OF IT. IT DOES CHECK A NUMBER OF BOXES. WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT TRAINING FACILITIES, OTHER THINGS. I AM EXCITED, THOUGH, FOR THE UPGRADES TO BUILDING GENERALLY, BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT WE HEAR FROM OUR RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES IS THE LENGTH OF TIME IT TAKES FOR PERMITS. I'M EXCITED ABOUT SOME OF THE SOFTWARE AND TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES THAT WE'RE GOING BE FOCUSING ON SO IT'S NOT JUST THE BUILDING BUT IT'S ALSO JUST THE PROCESS AND DIGITIZING EVERYTHING ALL OF THAT MODERNIZING OUR BUILDING DEPARTMENT WHICH I THINK EVERYONE CAN AGREE IS A GREAT THING SO I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT ALSO YET WITH THE POLICE I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE THAT WE CAN DO THIS WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT SHAPE IT WOULD TAKE GOING FORWARD I THINK YOU KNOW WE WOULDN'T HAVE ARRIVED AT THIS OR FOUND THIS UNLESS WE HAD THIS CONSTRAINT. IT WAS KIND OF A HAPPY ACCIDENT IN A WAY. SO I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE THAT. AND TO HAVE EVERYONE TOGETHER, INCLUDING NOW WE HAVE THIS FIRE INSPECTOR AND FIRE MARSHAL RESPONSIBILITY. SO IT'S GREAT TO HAVE EVERYONE TOGETHER. I KNOW WE HEAR FROM OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY. WE REALLY WANT TO SEE IMPROVED CUSTOMER SERVICE THERE. SO IT'LL BE GREAT TO HAVE ALL THE PIECES TOGETHER, MODERNIZE THAT DEPARTMENT, GIVE THEM A SPACE. CODE COMPLIANCE USED TO BE WITH BUILDING. THEY REMOVED THANK YOU. TO JPD, SO NOW THEY'RE GOING TO GO BACK TO BUILDINGS THAT EVERYONE'S UNDER ONE ROOF. SO THANK YOU. IT IS A BIT OF AN UNUSUAL ITEM, BUT I'M REALLY GLAD THAT IT WORKED OUT THIS WAY. IT DIDN'T HAVE TO, AND IT COULD HAVE LOST A LOT. SO THANK YOU. I HAD ONE QUESTION WITH THE BUILDING BEING 20 YEARS OLD. I ASSUME THE ROOF IS 20 YEARS OLD ALSO. HAVE WE ASSESSED THE CONDITION OF THAT ROOF, AND WHEN WILL IT HAVE TO BE REPLACED? THAT'S PART OF OUR DUE DILIGENCE. WE DO UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS 20 YEARS OLD. WE WILL BE ASSESSING ALL THAT. WE'RE WAITING FOR THE ASSESSMENT TO COME BACK, AND THEN WHEN WE DO, WE'LL MAKE THAT PART OF THE DISCOVERY. OKAY. AND IF IT'S DETERMINED THAT WE SHOULD REPLACE IT IMMEDIATELY, WILL WE DO THAT BEFORE WE MOVE INTO IT? WE WILL ASSESS HOW BAD IT IS DURING THE ASSESSMENT PERIOD TO SEE IF THAT'S NECESSARY RIGHT AWAY. AND ONE THING ELSE, DIRECTOR REYNOLDS. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN ANSWER THIS OR NOT. ONE OF THE TOWN'S 2026 STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVES UNDER ORGANIZATION OF EXCELLENCE IS TO DEVELOP A MASTER PLAN FOR THE TOWN MAINTENANCE FACILITY PROPERTY. REMEMBER, WE HAD TWO ACTIONS THERE. ONE WAS PHASE ONE, THE VEHICLE MAINTENANCE FACILITY. WE ALL KNOW HOW BAD THAT CONDITION OF THAT BUILDING IS OUT THERE IN WORKING CONDITIONS. AND ALSO THE ADVANCED PHASE OF ADMINISTRATIVE FACILITY. WILL WE BE ABLE TO RETIRE THOSE TWO ACTIONS WITH THE PURCHASE OF THIS BUILDING? THAT'S ONE OF THE POSSIBILITIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT NOW, COUNSELOR. SO THERE COULD BE A FUTURE COST SAVINGS THERE IF WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT THEN? YES, SUBSTANTIAL. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I JUST WANTED TO CONFIRM THAT. NO FURTHER QUESTIONS? JUST IN WRAPPING UP BEFORE I'LL TAKE A MOTION, I JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE AGAIN AND TALK ABOUT THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT. I KNOW THESE THINGS ARE DYNAMIC AND IT DOES CHANGE OVER TIME, BUT... OVER THE YEARS, I'VE HEARD FROM CONTRACTORS THAT DO SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF VOLUME WITH THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT, AND WHAT I HAD HEARD, AND GRANTED IT'S BEEN PROBABLY TWO OR THREE YEARS OLD NOW GETTING THIS FEEDBACK, BUT WE WERE HEAD AND SHOULDERS FAVORED WITH THE WAY WE HAD ONLINE PERMITTING AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND SO, AND I KNOW. PEOPLE LEAPFROG AND MAYBE WE WERE THE BEST AND MAYBE WE'RE NOT NOW, BUT MY POINT WAS I JUST WANTED TO SAY ON THE RECORD THAT I APPRECIATE THE WORK OF OUR BUILDING DEPARTMENT. AND THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW TIMES, I MEAN, IN RECENT YEARS, I'M GOING TO SAY HERE, IN RECENT YEARS, I KIND OF FEEL LIKE THE LEGISLATURE KEEPS PASSING DOWN ALL THESE UNFUNDED MANDATES AND I WONDER WHO THEY'RE REPRESENTING. BUT I'M KIND OF DELIGHTED. I WANT TO THANK THEM HERE BECAUSE THEY ACCELERATED. IRONICALLY, IF WE WERE TO GO THE NORMAL PROCESS, I MEAN WE'VE JUST ACCELERATED SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO IMPROVE SIGNIFICANTLY EFFICIENCIES WITHIN TOWN GOVERNMENT. SO THANK YOU LEGISLATURE FOR GIVING US THIS JUNE 30TH DEADLINE. THANKS FOR THE NUDGE. [01:40:01] WITH THAT I'LL TAKE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 6026. I'D LIKE A MOTION TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 50 WHAT WAS IT 15 60 26 60 26. SECOND NO MOTION A SECOND ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE AYE MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY THANK YOU STAFF FOR GOOD JOB [TOWN ATTORNEY] FOR THAT MOVING ON TO REPORTS TOWN ATTORNEY THANK YOU MAYOR I HAVE TWO REPORTS TONIGHT UH FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THE COUNCIL TO AUTHORIZE THE TOWN CLERK AND TOWN MANAGER AND I TO COORDINATE THE NOTICE OF A PRIVATE ATTORNEY CLIENT SECTION UNDER SESSION UNDER SECTION 286 FLORIDA STATUTES TO DISCUSS A LAWSUIT INITIATED BY THE TOWN AGAINST EQUIX THIS LAWSUIT HAS TO DO WITH DAMAGE TO A TOWN WATER UTILITY LINE THE LINE WAS DAMAGED BY THE CONTRACTOR FOR PEOPLE GAS, WHO WAS INSTALLING A LINE. THE PEOPLE'S GAS CONTRACTOR AND PEOPLE'S GAS HAVE DENIED LIABILITY, AND THEY STARTED POINTING THE FINGER AT A THIRD PARTY, SO WE HAD TO AMEND OUR COMPLAINT AND ADD THAT THIRD PARTY. WE'D LIKE TO DISCUSS OUR LITIGATION STRATEGY WITH YOU MOVING FORWARD BECAUSE IT IS A SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE CASE, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE RAMIFICATIONS. TO THE TOWN IN THAT REGARD. SO IF I COULD HAVE A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE NOTICE OF ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION, THAT WOULD BE EXCELLENT. TAKE A MOTION. MOTION TO APPROVE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION ON, WHAT WAS THE NAME? EQUIX? TOWN OF JUPITER VERSUS EQUIX. TOWN OF JUPITER VERSUS EQUIX. I'LL SECOND. MOTION SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. AND MAYOR, IF I CAN, JUST FOR THE RECORD, IS THAT THE WATER MAIN THAT WAS STRUCK OUT ON INDIANTOWN ROAD? YES. CROSSING THE CANAL? OKAY. YES. SECOND, WE'VE BEEN IN DISCUSSIONS AS RECENTLY AS THIS AFTERNOON WITH CVS, WHICH IS ONE OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE LAKEWOOD COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATION. THE OTHER PROPERTY OWNER IS CASA TEQUILA, MEXICAN RESTAURANT, AND THEN THE TOWN OF JUPITER OWNS THE NINE-ACRE PARCEL. SO AS WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH THE DUE DILIGENCE AS PART OF THE BUYER'S DUE DILIGENCE, THEY HAVE DISCOVERED THIS ASSOCIATION MAINTAINS A DECLARATION OF COVENANTS. THERE ARE SEVERAL COVENANTS IN THERE THAT ARE SOMEWHAT BURDENSOME AND REALLY IRRELEVANT. JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, THESE COVENANTS WERE DRAFTED BY PULTE HOMES. I THINK THEY PULLED OFF THE SHELF A DECLARATION FROM ONE OF THEIR RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES BECAUSE THEY'RE AN ARCHITECTURAL BOARD AND REVIEW OF THINGS AND ALTHOUGH THOSE SOMETIMES APPLY TO COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, HERE WE KNOW THERE'S ONLY THREE PROPERTIES. AND OF COURSE THE TOWN STAFF DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB WITH ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW OF ANY BUILDING THAT GOES ON IN JUPITER. SO WE WERE TRYING, WHAT HAPPENED WAS PULTE'S HAD THREE DIRECTORS ON THAT ASSOCIATION. ALL THREE PULTE DIRECTORS RESIGNED, LEAVING THE ASSOCIATION WITHOUT ANY DIRECTOR, WHICH MEANS THE ASSOCIATION CAN'T OPERATE. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED WAS THE ASSOCIATION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING AN ASSESSMENT FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE LANDSCAPING. AND ROADWAY THAT RUNS BETWEEN SONOMA ISLES AND THESE PARCELS, AND THOSE ASSESSMENTS DID NOT GET PAID. THE RESULT WAS THAT SONOMA ISLES BROUGHT AN ACTION AGAINST THE LAKEWOOD COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATION AND HAS ACHIEVED A DEFAULT JUDGMENT BECAUSE THERE WERE NO DIRECTORS TO AUTHORIZE ANY LAWYERS TO DEFEND THE LAKEWOOD COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATION. SO THE ASSOCIATION NOW HAS A $17,000 DEFAULT JUDGMENT AGAINST THEM. THE PURPOSE OF THE CALL WITH CVS WAS, AS YOU KNOW, TOWN MANAGER KITTSROW WAS APPOINTED AS THE DIRECTOR FOR THE TOWN. WE HAVE BEEN ASKING CVS TO APPOINT A DIRECTOR. THEY HAVE BEEN, TO PUT IT MILDLY, DRAGGING THEIR FEET. [01:45:03] AND NOW, AS RECENTLY AS MONDAY, THEY MADE A PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST. THEY'VE LAWYERED UP WITH THIS LAWYER FROM A LAW FIRM IN BOCA. I WOULD SAY THE TWO CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD WITH THAT LAWYER HAVE NOT BEEN PLEASANT AND THEY HAVEN'T BEEN PRODUCTIVE. SO WE'RE NOT SURE WHERE THIS IS GOING BUT WE ARE EXPLORING DIFFERENT OPTIONS IN ORDER TO RESOLVE THIS BUT I WANT TO EXPRESS MY UNHAPPINESS WITH CVS. I'D LIKE TO THANK AS MANY FACILITIES THAT CVS HAS IN THE TOWN OF JUPITER, THEY COULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE COOPERATIVE, AND THEY HAVEN'T BEEN. WE WILL CONTINUE TO TRY AND COOPERATE. OUR OTHER TWIST IN ALL OF THIS IS CASA TEQUILA. THE OWNER OF CASA TEQUILA IS IN MEXICO AND LIVES IN MEXICO 90% OF THE TIME. I'VE HAD THREE CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM. HE'S RELUCTANT TO APPOINT HIMSELF AS A DIRECTOR. AND HE HAS APPARENTLY NO ONE ELSE TO APPOINT AS A DIRECTOR UM SO I WANT YOU TO BE AWARE THAT THIS IS TAKING A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME THAN WE THOUGHT WE WOULD YOU KNOW WE HAD HOPED THAT WE WOULD ALREADY HAVE A SITE PLAN SUBMITTED ON THE NINE ACRE PARCEL BUT ESSENTIALLY WHAT'S HOLDING IT UP IS THE RELUCTANCE TO APPOINT DIRECTORS OTHER THAN MR KICHERO AND THE RELUCTANCE TO REALLY FROM MY PERSPECTIVE COOPERATE WITH THE TOWN IN ADDRESSING THE ISSUES IN THIS DECLARATION AND I'M SORRY THAT THAT'S THE THE BAD NEWS ON THAT BUT UH THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT YOU HAVE SOME GOOD LAWYERS ON YOUR SIDE OF THE EQUATION WORKING VERY HARD TO TURN THE TABLE WELL I APPRECIATE THE UPDATE WE ALL APPRECIATE THE UPDATE THANK YOU AND UH WE HAD WE'VE GOTTEN PREVIOUS UPDATES. WE KNOW THE COMPLICATIONS HERE. COULD YOU CONFIRM OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT, SO WHILE WE WERE AN OWNER OF ONE OF THE THREE PARCELS, AS A TOWN WE NEVER WERE OBLIGATED, IS THAT CORRECT FOR ANY OF THE MAINTENANCE? THAT'S CORRECT. THE TOWN WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING ASSESSMENTS. RIGHT. THAT WAS ESSENTIALLY NEGOTIATED WHEN THE TOWN ACQUIRED THE... THE PARCEL THROUGH DEDICATION RIGHT SO WE WERE NOT OBLIGATED BECAUSE NOW IN WANTING TO SELL IT THE PARTY BUYING IT WOULD THEN BECOME OBLIGATED WHICH WHY THIS ASSOCIATION OF SORTS YOU KNOW HAS TO UH EXIST TO MANAGE THAT CORRECT UM I THINK UM AND AND WE DON'T WANT TO GET IN THE WEEDS OF THIS BUT I JUST WANT TO ASK UH I THINK A TOWN MANAGER YOU DID TAKE SOME ACTION UM TO DO SOME MAINTENANCE BY STAFF EVEN THOUGH WE HAD NO OBLIGATION THAT'S CORRECT MAYOR WE UM WE'RE WORKING ON CLEANING THAT AREA UP OUT THERE RIGHT WE HAD COMPLAINTS FROM THE THE NEIGHBORING RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY BECAUSE IT HADN'T BEEN KEPT UP UM AND WE THE STAFF WAS ABOUT TO INITIATE A CODE ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST THE ASSOCIATION I TALKED WITH THE DIRECTOR I SAID WELL YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND INITIATE BUT NO ONE'S GOING TO RESPOND TO IT IN THE MEANTIME MR. KITZER AND I DECIDED THAT WHAT WAS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF OUR RESIDENTS WAS FOR THE TOWN TO EXERCISE THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT BY GOING OUT THERE AND DOING THE MAINTENANCE AND PICKING UP THE DEBRIS THAT HAD BEEN DISCARDED IN THE ALONG THE ROADWAY THERE AND AS FAR AS I KNOW WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT BECAUSE THAT'S IN THE BEST INTEREST OF OUR OUR RESIDENTS AND YOU KNOW WE VALUE OF COURSE THE COUNCIL VALUES ALL OF ITS RESIDENTS AND CERTAINLY SONOMA ISLES IS IS A NICE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY AND BEEN A GOOD PARTNER TO THE TOWN AND WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE AREA IS KEPT UP I THINK ONE THING THAT WE MIGHT DO AND I THINK I WANT TO GIVE THEM A THIRD CHANCE BEFORE WE DO THIS, BUT I THINK IF WE DON'T GET SOME POSITIVE MOVEMENT SOON, I THINK A LETTER FROM THE MAYOR AUTHORIZED BY THE COUNCIL TO CVS MIGHT STIR SOME ACTION ON THEIR PART. YOU KNOW, JUST TO ADD, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE A MOTION ON THAT, [01:50:01] BUT MY WIFE PREFERS THAT CVS. SO I OCCASIONALLY GO THERE WITH HER, PICK UP A PRESCRIPTION OR WHATEVER. AND, YOU KNOW, I HAD NOTICED THE NEGLECT, IF YOU WILL, WHICH REALLY IS BY CVS. SO THE IRONY HERE THAT I SEE HERE IS THAT CVS, REALLY THE ONLY ENTITY THAT REALLY HAD EXISTED THERE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, HAS ALLOWED THE LANDSCAPING TO BE NEGLECTED. AND HERE WE ARE. AND WHILE I APPRECIATE THIS, AND WE'RE DOING THAT FOR THE PUBLIC AND THE RESIDENTS, DOING SOME MAINTENANCE, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO GET CERTAINLY CVS TO WAKE UP AND START TAKING ON THAT OBLIGATION. SO DO WE NEED A RESOLUTION? DO WE NEED A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE LETTER? OR IS DIRECTION SUFFICIENT? YEAH, A MOTION WOULD BE GREAT. A MOTION TO APPROVE A LETTER BY THIS COUNCIL TO CVS. I'LL SECOND. MOTION A SECOND ALL IN FAVOR ALL AYE AYE AYE AND JUST MAYOR IN YOUR LAST COMMENT UH THIS IS COMMON PROPERTY IT MAY OR MAY NOT BE CVS PROPERTY BUT I'M GOING TO EXAMINE WITH PLANNING AND ZONING STAFF I'VE ALREADY READ THE DEVELOPMENT ORDER FOR THAT PROPERTY WE NEED TO EXAMINE THE THE PLANS AND SEE IF THERE IS LANDSCAPING ON THE CVS SITE, WHICH IS A COMMON PROBLEM WE'VE HAD THROUGHOUT THE TOWN WITH CBS MAINTAINING THEIR LANDSCAPING. SO WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THAT AND SEE WHAT WE FIND. YEAH, THANK YOU. WELL, I WOULD IMAGINE THE COMMON ROAD, SOMEBODY OWNS SO I WOULD THINK THAT'S, BUT LET US KNOW WHAT THAT IS, BUT THANK YOU. ANY OTHER REPORTS? [TOWN MANAGER] NO, THANK YOU. TOWN MANAGER? THANK YOU, MAYOR. JUST A FEW THINGS. LAST WEEK, OUR COMMUNITY RELATIONS DEPARTMENT AND OUR ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER ATTENDED THE ANNUAL FLORIDA MUNICIPAL COMMUNICATORS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE AND CAME HOME WITH SEVERAL HONORS, AS THEY DO ALMOST EVERY YEAR. AND I'M PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE TOWN'S CENTENNIAL AT THE BALLPARK VIDEO, CREATED WITH THE HELP FROM ROGER DEAN CHEVROLET STADIUM, WON THE FMCA AWARD FOR BEST COLLABORATION VIDEO. THE TOWN ALSO RECEIVED THEIR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR. AND MEANWHILE, OUR ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER, KATE MORETO, AND DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS, SEAN REED, WERE TWO OF ONLY 18 INDIVIDUALS FROM ACROSS THE STATE TO COMPLETE THE FMCA'S NEW CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATOR PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION PROGRAM. AND I UNDERSTAND IT'S A PRETTY EXTENSIVE PROGRAM. AND THEN FINALLY, KATE WAS SWORN IN AS THE NEW FMCA PRESIDENT, A ROLE SHE WILL HOLD FOR THE NEXT YEAR. AND I'VE BEEN TOLD WE DON'T HAVE TO CALL HER MADAM PRESIDENT OR ANYTHING. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO HER. WE'RE ALL VERY PROUD OF HER. AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MONTH, THE TOWN'S UTILITIES DEPARTMENT PUBLISHED A 2025 DRINKING WATER QUALITY REPORT. THIS REPORT HELPS RESIDENTS UNDERSTAND THE TOWN'S ONGOING EFFORTS. TO PRODUCE ITS AWARD-WINNING DRINKING WATER SUPPLY AND THE REPORT IS BEING MAILED IN THIS MONTH'S WATER BILLS AND IS AVAILABLE ONLINE OR BY VISITING TOWN HALL. I ALSO WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO RECOGNIZE THE JUPITER POLICE DEPARTMENT'S EMPLOYEES OF THE FIRST QUARTER. DETECTIVE NICOLE HANSON WAS RECOGNIZED AS THE INVESTIGATOR OF THE QUARTER. OFFICER MICHAEL DENIER EARNED THE OFFICER OF THE QUARTER. AND CODE COMPLIANCE OFFICER DESTINY JULIAN WAS NAMED THE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE OF THE QUARTER. ON A SOMBER NOTE, NEXT THURSDAY, MAY 14TH, THE JUPITER POLICE DEPARTMENT WILL HOLD ITS ANNUAL MEMORIAL SERVICE TO HONOR MAJOR EDWARD HUMPHREY AND POLICE OFFICER FIRST CLASS BRUCE ST. LAURENT. BOTH OF THEM GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY. THE CEREMONY WILL BE HELD AT RIVERSIDE MEMORIAL PARK IN TEQUESTA AND WILL BEGIN AT 9 A.M. AND FINALLY, AS I ALWAYS DO, I WANT TO RECOGNIZE SOME LONG-TENURED TOWN EMPLOYEES, IF YOU GIVE ME A MOMENT, MAYOR. THEY'RE CELEBRATING WORK ANNIVERSARIES WITH THE TOWN. OUR OWN STEPHANIE THOBER AND ONE OF OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTORS IN THE PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF SERVICE THIS MONTH. 30 YEARS. TWO OF OUR POLICE OFFICERS, ONE OF WHOM GUARDS US MOST NIGHTS HERE, OFFICER MARANUCCI AND JOE BEINLICH, ALONG WITH GIS SPECIALIST WAYNE WALKER, ARE CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF SERVICE. I THINK NOOCH STARTED WHEN HE WAS LIKE 10, RIGHT? IS THAT WHAT IT WAS? SO HE'S GOT 25 YEARS OF SERVICE. AND THEN ONE OF OUR ALL-TIME FAVORITES, POLICE OFFICER [01:55:02] ROBERTO DIAZ-HERNANDEZ WILL BE COMPLETING 20 YEARS OF SERVICE WITH THE TOWN THIS MONTH. SO HERE AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I'M ALWAYS SO IMPRESSED WITH HOW MANY LONG-TENURED EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE AND HOW CLUB 30 CONTINUES TO EXPAND. [TOWN COUNCIL – LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMENTS] THAT'S MY REPORT, MAYOR. MOVING ON TO... COUNCIL, I'LL START WITH COUNCILOR GEISINGER. YEAH, JUST TWO QUICK THINGS. AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE TOWN EMPLOYEES CELEBRATING SERVICE ANNIVERSARIES THIS MONTH. ALSO, I'D LIKE TO PERSONALLY CONGRATULATE AND THANK THE JUPITER POLICE. I ATTENDED THE FAMILY AUTISM DAY THEY HAD ON APRIL 25TH. THAT WAS A VERY, VERY NICE EVENT AND VERY WELL ATTENDED BY OUR RESIDENTS OF THE TOWN. AND WHAT A SPECIAL DAY FOR RESIDENTS. THEY PROVIDED COMMUNITY SERVICE RESOURCES TO FAMILIES. AND ALSO, I THINK GENERALLY THE KIDS HAD A LOT OF FUN, AND I'VE NEVER SEEN SO MANY HANDPRINTS ON A POLICE CAR. I TOOK A PICTURE OF IT. I'LL SEND IT TO YOU. BUT IT WAS A REALLY NICE EVENT IN WELTON, AND HATS OFF TO THE JPD FOR HOSTING THAT EVENT THIS YEAR. SO THAT'S ALL I GOT. COUNCILOR SENSEN. PERMISSION TO GO SECOND TO LAST. COUNCILOR GEISER, I WENT TO THAT EVENT A FEW YEARS AGO, AND IT IS A GREAT EVENT. A LOT BIGGER THAN YOU THINK IT WOULD BE, AND IT'S JUST GREAT SUPPORT FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND EVERYBODY HAS A REALLY GOOD TIME THERE. TOWN MANAGER, YOU STOLE ALL MY THUNDER ON ALL THE RECOGNITIONS FOR TOWN STAFF, SO CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYBODY THAT TOWN MANAGER MENTIONED. AND I HAVEN'T BEEN ON THE WATER IN A WHILE, AND I WAS THIS PAST WEEKEND, AND I WAS ABLE TO GO BY THE JUPITER INLET, THE LIGHTHOUSE AREA WHERE THE STATE'S DOING, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S DOING THE RENOVATION. AND IT'S INTENSE. THEY HAVE YOU KNOW THEY PUT IN THE LAST SUMMER THE SEAWALL WAS ABOUT FINISHED AND NOW THAT THERE'S A TEAR I GUESS IS THAT THERE'S A PATHWAY THEN THERE'S ANOTHER WALL OF A VERY SORT OF LIKE A LIMESTONE COLORED ROCK AND NOW THERE'S AT LEAST FOUR VERY LARGE WOODEN STAIRCASES THAT COME ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE WATER SO WHAT I'M HOPING IS THEY IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE BOATS CAN EVEN GET IN THERE I KNOW THEY'RE GONNA PUT SOME LIVING SHORELINE IN THERE. I HOPE THEY JUNGLE IT UP AND MAKE IT SOFTER, BUT IT IS A FAR CRY. I KNOW SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE. I DON'T THINK WE WANTED SOMETHING THIS INTENSE. I KNOW A LOT OF LOCALS ARE VERY UNHAPPY WITH IT. I'M NOT SURE HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT, BUT I HOPE THEY CAN SORT OF MAKE IT LOOK A LITTLE MORE LIKE JUPITER AS OPPOSED TO A NATIONAL PARK. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GOING FOR, BUT THE RENDERINGS WE WERE SHOWING HERE, IT'S NOT WHAT I SAW, AND I KNOW YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T JUDGE A PROJECT WHEN IT'S NOT COMPLETED, BUT WE'LL WAIT AND SEE. BUT I HOPE THEY CAN KIND OF SOFTEN IT UP A LITTLE BIT. THAT'S IT. VICE MAYOR. THANK YOU. AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR STAFF, THE 30-YEAR CLUBS. IT'S AMAZING THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES. JUST WANT TO ASK, JUST BECAME AWARE OF OUR MEMORIAL OUT ON THE TOWN GREEN. I'D LIKE TO SEE A PLAN FOR GETTING THIS OUT TO OUR COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY KNOW IT'S THERE. I HEAR WE'VE GOT SOME TREES THERE. I REALLY, AGAIN, IT'S UP. IT'S BEAUTIFUL. DID YOU ALL SEE IT YET? IT'S QUITE NICE. A GAME PLAN FOR HOW WE'LL PUBLICIZE THAT. VICE MAYOR, WE WILL BE DOING A RIBBON CUTTING AS WE DO FOR ALL OTHER PROJECTS. SEAN REED AND I HAVE HAD SOME PRELIMINARY CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT. AND NOW THAT WE'VE GOT ALL THE TREES IN AND EVERYTHING DONE, YOU'LL SEE THAT COMING UP VERY SHORTLY. I DO WANT TO GIVE A KUDOS, IF I COULD, TO STEPHANIE THOBURN. WHO WAS OUT THERE THE OTHER DAY IN HER BIG JUPITER STRAW HAT, MOVING POTS OF PLANTS AND ALL THIS STUFF AROUND, AND THAT'S HER SPECIALTY, AND SHE REALLY DID QUITE A GREAT JOB WITH THAT. BUT WE WILL BE HAVING A RIBBON-CUTTING, AND WE WILL INVITE THE COMMUNITY. JUST WANTED TO ASK IF WE CAN BE KEPT IN THE LOOP WITH THE BUILDING NEGOTIATING AS YOU GO FORWARD, WHETHER IT'S THE ENVIRONMENTAL. JUST KEEP US POSTED ON THAT. I'D LIKE TO, YEAH. AND THEN LAST THING, ON SOME OF THE LOTS THAT WE OWN IN AND AROUND OUR AREA, I'D LIKE TO SEE AN UPDATE AT SOME POINT, WHAT WE HAVE, DANIEL'S WAY, IS THERE ANY PLANS FOR WHAT COULD GO THERE? RESIDENTS ARE ASKING, SO JUST PUT IT ON THE TO-DO LIST TO KEEP US POSTED. THANK YOU. COUNCIL SANDSTROM. THANK YOU. MAYOR, I HAVE THE HONOR OF PRESENTING A PROCLAMATION TO YOU THIS EVENING AND I'VE NEVER DONE THIS SO I'M GOING TO TRY [02:00:02] TO READ FAST BUT THIS IS FROM THE FLORIDA LEAGUE OF CITIES IN HONOR OF YOUR 25 YEARS OF ELECTED SERVICE. SO LET ME JUST READ THIS TO YOU IT'S FROM PRESIDENT HOLLY SMITH, PRESIDENT OF THE FLORIDA LEAGUE, THE STATE LEAGUE. SO AS OUR REPRESENTATIVE I JUST WANTED TO PRESENT THIS TO YOU AND READ IT TO EVERYONE HERE. SO, A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE FLORIDA LEAGUE OF CITIES HONORING JIM KORETSKY FOR 25 YEARS OF ELECTED SERVICE AND PRESENTING HIM WITH THE JOHN LAND YEARS OF SERVICE AWARD IN RECOGNITION OF HIS SELFLESS COMMITMENT TO MUNICIPAL LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE. WHEREAS AMERICA'S MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE LONG RELIED UPON THE SELFLESS LEADERSHIP OF THEIR CITIZENS FOR LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT, AND FLORIDA'S MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS SHARE THE SAME HONORED ROLE, ARE THE TIME-HONORED ROLE AS THE LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT CLOSEST TO THE PEOPLE, AND WHEREAS THIS RELIANCE PLACES EXTRAORDINARY RESPONSIBILITIES UPON CITIZEN LEGISLATORS, MUNICIPAL ELECTED OFFICIALS, WHO MAKE SIGNIFICANT SACRIFICES OF THEIR TIME AND ENERGIES ON BEHALF OF THEIR CITIZENRY, MAKING THIS COMMITMENT A TRUE LABOR OF LOVE. AND WHEREAS MUNICIPAL LEADERS STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE GOVERNANCE OF THEIR CITY, TOWN, OR VILLAGE AND COMMIT THEMSELVES TO PROVIDING QUALITY SERVICES, GOVERNING EFFECTIVELY AND WORKING TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE. I SEE WHAT YOU GO THROUGH WITH THESE THINGS NOW. AND WHEREAS THE LEAGUE HAS NAMED ITS YEARS OF SERVICE RECOGNITION IN HONOR OF JOHN LAND, THE MAYOR OF APOPKA, BETWEEN THE YEARS OF 1949 AND 2014, A LEADER WHOSE DEDICATION IS UNSURPASSED AT THE NATIONAL AND STATE LEVELS. AND WHO'S MODELED THE WAY FOR DECADES OF MUNICIPAL LEADERS. AND WHEREAS SEVERAL TERMS IN OFFICE ARE A HIGH COMPLIMENT VOTERS GIVE TO AN OFFICIAL, AND WITH THESE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE COMES A STRENGTHENING OF WISDOM, DISCERNMENT, AND STRONG LEADERSHIP SKILLS THAT BRING TREMENDOUS VALUE TO THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS OF FLORIDA. AND WHEREAS JIM KORETSKY HAS HELD OFFICE IN THE TOWN OF JUPITER FOR 25 YEARS AND IS RECOGNIZED FOR THIS ACHIEVEMENT. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE FLORIDA LEAGUE OF CITIES THAT JIM KRETZKY IS COMMENDED FOR HIS DEDICATION TO THE TOWN OF JUPITER AND IS HEREBY RECOGNIZED AS AN OUTSTANDING PUBLIC SERVANT IN FLORIDA. ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, ASSEMBLED THIS FOURTH DAY OF DECEMBER 2025. THAT'S WHEN THEY DID IT. BUT I AM SO HONORED TO GIVE THIS... TERRI, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME UP? FIRST LADY THANK YOU. WELL, JUST TO SAY A FEW WORDS. FIRST OF ALL, IT REALLY HAS BEEN AN HONOR AND PRIVILEGE, AND PARTICULARLY I'VE BEEN DELIGHTED TO WORK WITH THIS COUNCIL. NOT THAT EVERY COUNCIL DIDN'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, A UNIQUE TEAM GOING, BUT I REALLY ENJOY THE TEAM THAT WE HAVE. AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY, AS I REFLECT BACK, I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT THE PUBLIC HAS ENTRUSTED ME TO SERVE THIS LONG. I THINK [02:05:02] BACK ON SO MANY ELECTIONS WHERE I FEEL LIKE I HAD A BULLSEYE, BUT I'VE COME THROUGH IT. THANKFULLY, THANKING GOD AND SOME OF MY WIFE AND FAMILY FOR HELPING ME IN THOSE ELECTIONS, AS WELL AS RESIDENTS AND SUPPORTERS. AND I THINK MANY KNOW THIS, BUT UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE ALWAYS DONE IS I, EVERY TERM THAT I'VE SERVED, I BRING WITH ME IN MY MEETING BOOK MY PLEDGES THAT I MADE FOR THAT TERM. AND I PERIODICALLY LOOK AT THEM AND MAKE SURE IT'S IN MY BINDER BECAUSE I MAKE SURE I AM FULFILLING. AND I BELIEVE THERE MAY BE OTHERS ON THE COUNCIL THAT ARE DOING THAT PRACTICE, BUT JUST TO KIND OF, I'LL JUST SHARE. SO WE'RE... A YEAR IN ON MY NINTH TERM AND LAST ONE. AND MY FIRST COMMITMENT WAS ON FIRE RESCUE SERVICES. I'M JUST GOING TO READ THROUGH THIS. TO CONTINUE WITH CREATION OF NEW JUPITER FIRE RESCUE DEPARTMENT AND HAVE IT READY TO BEGIN FULL SERVICE THROUGHOUT JUPITER ON OCTOBER 1ST. WE'RE CERTAINLY GOING TO DELIVER ON THAT ONE. MANAGING OVERALL COSTS OF GOVERNMENT, CREATION OF JRFRD ENABLES THE TOWN'S AD VALOREM TAX RATE TO CONTINUE TO BE THE LOWEST OF ALL MUNICIPALITIES IN PALM BEACH COUNTY. AND TO THE DEGREE THAT THE BENCHMARKING WE DID INCLUDED BOTH THE TOWN AND PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE, BECAUSE THAT'S THE EQUAL SCOPE OF SERVICES THAT MOST MUNICIPALITIES HAVE, WE'LL BE ABLE TO THIS YEAR. TO ENACT A REDUCTION, IF YOU WILL. WE'RE ALL GRATEFUL FOR THAT. OF COURSE, KEEPING JUPITER UNIQUELY SPECIAL, PRESERVING OUR QUALITY OF LIFE AND ENHANCING IT, PRESERVING IT AND FURTHER ENHANCING IT FOR OUR CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, AND FUTURE GENERATIONS. TRAFFIC MITIGATION SOLUTIONS, WE'VE CERTAINLY BEEN WORKING ON A NUMBER OF THOSE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, AND IT'S STARTING TO... WE'RE STARTING TO SEE A NUMBER OF THEM GET IMPLEMENTED. AND THEN LASTLY, HISTORIC PRESERVATION, CONTINUE EFFORTS AND COLLABORATIVELY WORK WITH PROPERTY OWNER TO RESPECT AND PRESERVE THE UNIQUE AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL NATURE OF PORTIONS OF SUNY SAND SITES. AND WE'RE WELL ON THE WAY TO DELIVER ON THAT. SO I COULDN'T DO ANY OF THIS WITHOUT FIVE MEMBERS ON THE COUNCIL. I'M GRATEFUL FOR THAT. BUT I AM... HUMBLED BY THIS RECOGNITION AND UH AND AGAIN THANK YOU TO THE PUBLIC FOR ENTRUSTING ME TO TO SIT UP HERE AND REPRESENT YOU WITH THAT THE TIME IS NOW 907 WE'LL ADJOURN THE MEETING * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.