OFFICE OF
THE CITY COUNCIL
117 WEST DUVAL STREET, SUITE 425
4TH FLOOR, CITY HALL
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32202
904-630-1377
CITY
COUNCIL AGENDA MEETING MINUTES
City
Council Chamber, 1st floor, City Hall
July 24, 2018
4:00
p.m.
Location: City Council
Chamber, City Hall – St. James Building; 117 West Duval Street
In attendance:
Council Members Aaron Bowman (President), Greg Anderson, Danny Becton (arr.
4:05), Lori Boyer, Anna Lopez Brosche, Doyle Carter, John Crescimbeni, Garrett
Dennis, Al Ferraro, Terrance Freeman, Reginald Gaffney, Tommy Hazouri, Bill
Gulliford, Joyce Morgan, Sam Newby, Ju’Coby Pittman, Matt Schellenberg, Scott Wilson
Excused: Council Member
Jim Love
Also: Peggy Sidman, Paige Johnston, Susan Grandin
and Shannon Eller – Office of General Counsel; Kyle Billy, Kim Taylor – Council
Auditor’s Office; Carol Owens and Adri Segui – Legislative Services Division;
Steve Cassada – Council Staff Services; Jeff Clements – Council Research
Division; Sam Mousa, Jordan Elsbury Leeann Krieg and Brian Hughes– Mayor’s
Office; Bill Killingsworth and Folks Huxford – Planning and Development
Department; Kirk Wendland, Paul Crawford and Ed Randolph – Office of Economic
Development
Meeting Convened:
4:01 p.m.
President Bowman called the meeting to order asked for the committee
reports.
NCSPHS Committee: Council Member Newby
reviewed the actions of the committee from its meeting
TEU Committee: Council Member Ferraro
reviewed the actions of the committee from its meeting. On 2018-431
(honoring and commending Vietnam Veterans of America 40th anniversary) Mr.
Ferraro suggested the addition of all council members as co-sponsors, which
will require pulling the bill from the Consent Agenda to amend.
Finance Committee: Council Member Anderson reviewed the actions
of the committee from its meeting
Rules Committee: Council Member Hazouri reviewed the actions of the
committee from its meeting.
LUZ Committee: Council Member Schellenberg reviewed the actions of the
committee from its meeting.
President Bowman noted that 2 bills are being administratively
withdrawn for being in a pending status for more than two years; those bills
may be kept active for another 60 days by a 2/3 vote of the Council.
2018-334 (rezoning on Kings Avenue and Perry Place) – Council Member Boyer
explained her floor amendment to place the parking ratios as conditions in the
ordinance.
Council Member Schellenberg invited the council members to recommend
persons to give the invocation at the start of the council meeting; the dates
through December are filled but slots in 2019 remain open.
2018-238 (Authorizing a Community Aesthetic Feature Agreement with
FDOT) – Council Member Gaffney had attorney Paige Johnston explain his floor
amendment to clarify the wording of several provisions.
President Bowman said that there will be a large Addendum to the
Agenda, including all of the budget bills, two emergency medical transport
CONs, and a request from Council Member Ferraro for emergency action on
2018-499 to authorize the General Counsel to challenge a request by Dames Point
Workboats, LLC to the Florida Department
of Environmental Protection for a dock permit
and submerged land lease to accomplish on the water what the City
Council prohibited on the adjoining upland by denying a recent rezoning request
by the company. Susan Grandin of the General Counsel’s Office briefly
summarized the legal issues involved.
Council Member Anderson reported that the Finance Committee had
recommended approval of 2018-500, the tentative millage rate and rolled-back
millage resolution.
With regard to 2018-498 (authorizing issuance of a Certificate of
Public Convenience and Necessity for emergency medical transportation), Fire
Chief Kurt Wilson explained that the JFRD advertised the availability of 2 CONs
for emergency transport and had 3 applicants, 2 of which were previously
awarded. Since the medical transport ordinance was last rewritten in the 1990s
there has been tremendous growth in the number of hospitals and stand-alone
emergency rooms in the city, and he believes that an additional CON is
justified at this time.
Council Member Wilson said that the new Special Committee on
Historical Remembrance will start up in August with an organizational meeting
and he invited all interested council members to attend. He has invited Matt
Carlucci and Earl Johnson Jr. to address the committee about commemorating the
50th anniversary of city/county consolidation this year.
Deputy General Counsel Peggy Sidman explained the need for the floor
amendment on 2018-485 regarding the Value Adjustment Board’s organizational
meeting.
President Bowman said that the Council has a considerable backlog of
resolutions awaiting presentation at council meetings and he recommended that
consideration be given to making presentations in venues other venues than
Council meetings and, when making presentations at meetings to keep remarks
brief. He is considering restricting council members to 2 presentation
opportunities per year. He also urged council members to not debate persons speaking
in the public comment period and instead to meet with them privately. He noted
that he had distributed the council’s annual electronic communication policy
via e-mail yesterday. The President requested that floor amendments be
submitted by 2 p.m. on Council meeting days so that council members have an
opportunity to review them in advance, and if considerable debate on the
amendment ensues on the council floor he will refer the bill back to committee(s).
Regarding requests to discharge bills from committee at council
meetings, the President asked council members to please make the request at the
agenda meeting to give fellow members fair warning to be able to prepare to
discuss the merits of the bill and the discharge request.
Election Canvassing Board – Mr. Bowman said that Council Member
Brosche has volunteered to be the primary Council representative on the board but
he needs an alternate and asked for volunteers who qualify and have not
publicly endorsed any candidates.
Council Member Gullford said that resolution presentations at meetings
are getting more numerous and may be starting to get out of hand. The former strict limit of 2 presentations per
meeting has expanded to 3, and he recommended that the Rules Committee look at
the policy. With regard to the Canvassing Board, he wondered why the Supervisor
of Elections isn’t responsible for finding a replacement for himself because he
has endorsed his son in the upcoming election and why the task has fallen to
the City Council. Ms. Boyer said that council members may officially withdraw
previous candidate endorsements in writing and thereby become eligible to serve
on the Canvassing Board.
Council Member Crescimbeni said that the Council Rules will need to be
amended to reflect President Bowman’s proposed changes to the public comment
and discharge processes. He also suggested that time could be saved by having
speakers move to the front of the chamber when they hear their names called on
the list of upcoming speakers rather than lingering in the back of the Council
Chamber and making the long walk to the podium only when called to speak.
President Bowman said that he will ask council members to pose their questions
for public speakers to him and he will decide case-by-case if the question is
relevant and of interest to the full council, in which case he will permit it
to be asked.
Peggy Sidman explained the current discharge procedure under the
Council Rules.
President Bowman said that he has asked Rules Chairman Hazouri to
review the Council Rules for opportunities to improve the efficiency of
meetings.
Council Member Morgan expressed reluctance to limit the number of
presentations a council member may request in a year and preferred a limit on
the time allowed for each presentation rather than limiting the number of
presentations because of their importance to the community. Council Member
Gulliford felt that the Council Rules need to be codified to address the
purpose and regulation of resolutions.
Council Member Schellenberg agreed with starting the public comment
clock immediately when the speaker’s name is called so that their walk to the
podium comes from their speaking time.
Meeting adjourned:
4:40 p.m.
Minutes: Jeff Clements, Council Research Division
7.24.18 Posted 5:30 p.m.
Tapes: City Council agenda
meeting – LSD
7.24.18