01-2026-January-12-2026-Regular-Town-Council-Meeting

TOWN OF OCEAN BREEZE MINUTES REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING Monday, January 12, 2026, at 6:00 pm Ocean Breeze Resort Clubhouse Pineapple Bay Room 700 NE Seabreeze Way, Ocean Breeze, FL

1. Call to Order - President Docherty called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm

- Pledge of Allegiance - Mayor Ostrand led the Pledge of Allegiance

- Roll Call - Present: Mayor Karen M. Ostrand; President Kevin Docherty; Vice President George Ciashi; Council Members; Sandy Kelley, Janet Galante, Margaret Pugsley, and Gail Balogna

- Staff Present - Town Management Consultant, Dan Hudson; Town Attorney, Gemma Torcivia; Town Clerk, Pam Orr; Town Bookkeeper, Wendy Price

2. Approval of Minutes

Council Member, Galante suggested changes to the regular meeting minutes from December 8,2025. Council Member Galante, seconded by Vice President Ciashi, made a motion to approve the December 8,2025, regular meeting minutes with changes.

(All in Favor: Yes: Docherty, Ciaschi, Galante, Balogna, Pugsley, Kelley; No: None; Motion Passed 6-0)

Council Member, Galante suggested changes to the September 24, 2025, Final Budget and Millage Rate Hearing meeting minutes.

Council Member Galante, seconded by President Ciaschi, made a motion to approve the September 24, 2025, with the changes for Final Budget and Millage Rate Hearing minutes.

3. Board and Agencies Appointments - Town Management Consultant, Dan Hudson, asked Council Members to volunteer for vacant/unassigned appointments to various committees and boards.

All vacancies were discussed and were filled by Council Members.

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President Docherty asked Town Clerk, Pam Orr, to forward the Jensen Beach News Biz to all Council Members in the future.

Council Member Galante, seconded by Vice President Ciaschi, made a motion to approve the list of appointees to the various vacant positions on Committees and Boards.

(All in Favor: Yes: Docherty, Ciaschi, Galante, Balogna, Pugsley, Kelley; No: None; Motion Passed 6-0)

4. Charter Review Discussion and Set Workshop Date-Town Management Consultant, Dan Hudson proposed scheduling a date for a Charter review Workshop. Mr. Hudson continued that Vice President Ciaschi had taken a leadership role and had drafted some suggested changes to the Charter.

Vice President Ciaschi recommended discussing the Charter Review at the end of each of the monthly meetings.

Mr. Hudson suggested doing the review at the beginning of each meeting so Council Members would be fresh to discuss issues.

Pam Orr, Town Clerk, asked for clarification if this would be the first item to be discussed at the beginning of each monthly meeting and that Council Members would not come in early to discuss the Charter.

Mr. Hudson suggested setting a specified time period per meeting to discuss the Charter Review.

Council Member Kelley inquired as to whether the discussions regarding the Charter Review would be open to the public.

Mr. Hudson confirmed that they would be open to the public.

President Docherty asked for comments from the public

Liz Reese, 1363 NE White Pine Terrace, inquired as to whether it would make a difference if Seawalk stayed or if they de-annexed from the Town, in the discussions regarding the charter review.

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5. Comments from the Public on topics not on the Agenda

Melissa Heller, 2760 Breezeway Circle, expressed her concerns regarding the inaccuracy of the Seawalk close out matrix and asked that an updated matrix be included in the February 9, 2026 meeting agenda packet.

Mayor Ostrand commented that any paid person that had told residents that they were not allowed to attend a walk-through on the property should not prevent a resident from leaving their home and walking over to talk to them.

6. Comments from the Council on topics not on the Agenda

Council Member Galante stated that the end of the year budget should be added to the agenda for discussion.

Pam Orr, Town Clerk, clarified that the $ ^{1 s} $ quarter fiscal year Budget to Actual Report dated October - December 2025 that was received by Council Member Galante was a draft. Ms. Orr further stated that Town Financial Consultant, Holly Vath, must review and approve it before it was final.

Council Member Galante stated that Mr. Stroud should not be able to have input on the Town holding Zoom meetings as he does not attend meetings. Council Member Galante stated that residents had displayed interest to her for this service.

Town Clerk, Pam Orr, commented that the Town was currently waiting on estimates to incorporate Zoom or live streaming into monthly meetings.

Council Member Kelley stated that she appreciated Mr. Stroud's input that if there was no equipment currently available to perform Zoom meetings, the Town would have to invest in purchasing the equipment needed.

Vice President Ciaschi commented that he was currently reviewing the Charter and that copies of the Charter had been supplied to all Council Members as well as the Mayor.

Vice President Ciaschi stated that he recently attended the NAC/CRA meeting and that the residents were having many problems with Martin County. He commented that he approached them regarding annexing into the Town and added that many business owners seemed to be interested.

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Mayor Ostrand stated that the sidewalk on river side was collapsing. She continued that she would call the local television news station and have them report on the issue.

Vice President Ciaschi mentioned that the Developer near Church Street would be giving 30 feet of their property to the roadway for parking on both sides of the street.