Discussion of 2016 Legislative Agenda Priorities

Mr. Bradshaw, City Manager, started by noting now is the time to add anything to last year's list. 
The inter-local agreement will partner us with the County for property acquisition and Port infrastructure improvements. The County has already submitted a grant for acquisition, design, and implementation for Fisherman's Wharf. We may also receive monies from FDOT and Enterprise Florida. Our first step is the formalization of the agreement, which should happen this year.

Ms. Rebecca Grohall, Planning Manager, noted that the approach to our annexation concerns is three-fold; continue to do the FPUA annexation agreements, amend the joint planning agreement with the County to give us the tools that the Florida statute allow, and look at inter-local service agreement that sets boundaries and establishes the level of service. The consensus is that the Commission will take one more review of the map, have staff input and come up with talking points before we go to the County Commissioners.

Performance Evaluation of Linda W. Cox, City Clerk

The Commission highlighted the positive changes since Mrs. Cox has come to the City Clerk's office including strong communication processes, action minutes, public records fulfillment, and Commission calendar assistance. The office is citizen-focused on service, which is tax payer and business friendly. Mrs. Cox urged the Commission to continue to make suggestions.

Performance Evaluation of Robert J. Bradshaw, City Manager

The Commission commended Mr. Bradshaw for his growth into the role, securing great healthcare savings, department accountability, and the hiring / interview process of the new Police Chief. Mr. Bradshaw's focus on economic development and strategic planning, relationship-building with the FPUA, as well as the successful utilization of the Deputy Manager are also applauded. The Commission noted that the role requires dealing with many factions and groups, and made suggestions including the scheduling of short meetings to increase accessibility to citizens, more visibility within the community, and continuing to meet with department heads regularly. Mr. Bradshaw was also encouraged to consider his legacy for the City of Fort Pierce.

Discussion of International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) Report

The discussion was tabled until the next Conference Agenda since the author of the report was not in attendance.

Alarm Ordinance Update - Police Chief

Lt. Chris Bender, FPPD, reported that the current structure is a unified ordinance throughout the County. The County Commission presented an ordinance to the County which was adopted in 2013. We need to determine how the Commission feels about the fees and fines in the proposed ordinance. The recommendation is to re-write the alarm ordinance so that there is county-wide consistency.

Chief Hobley-Burney, reported that there are approximately 2,000 calls per year for alarms and most are business related. We should implement a procedure that requires use of the officer's discretion once on the scene. The proposed ordinance will allow for fining the alarm companies. The ordinance is so new with the County that there has yet to be any feedback if false alarms are cured by fines.

General consensus is to adopt same fee schedule for commercial and to adopt a different schedule for residential. There will need to be access to public education before implementation. The City Manager and Chief are to discuss and determine if a full time position can be funded by the Police Department and/or City Manager.