REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING (2025-08-05)

HISTORIC TOWN OF EATONVILLE, FLORIDA REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MEETING MINUTES

Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at 7:30 PM Town Hall-307 E. Kennedy Blvd.

SPECIAL NOTICE: These meeting minutes are presented in an abbreviated format intended as a public record discussion of stated meeting according to the Florida's Government-in-the-Sunshine law. Meetings are opened to the public, noticed within reasonable advance notice, and transcribed into minutes for public record. \*\*Audio Recording are available through the Town's website on the Council Agenda Page.

CALL TO ORDER AND VERIFICATION OF QUORUM:

Mayor Gardner called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and a quorum was established by Mrs. King. PRESENT: (5): Councilman Tarus Mack, Councilwoman Wanda Randolph, Councilman Rodney Daniels, Vice Mayor Theo Washington, Mayor Angie Gardner

STAFF: (6) Demetrius Pressley, Chief Administrator Officer, Veronica King, Town Clerk, Katrina Gibson, Finance Director, Lt. Felicita Hernandez, EPD; Clifford Shepard, Attorney; Tara Salmieri, Town Planner

INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:

Invocation through a moment of silence led by Mayor Gardner followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA:

Mayor Gardner Motions to APPROVE the meeting agenda with the amendment to move Item #2 (Resolution 2025-15 - Directing the Finance Department to Provide Monthly Financial Statements, to the Town Council Each Month ) to Council Decision; moved by Vice Mayor Washington; second by Councilman Daniels; AYE: ALL, MOTION PASSES 5/0.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION- (5)

Kelvan Franklin - An ambassador for the Eatonville Chamber of Commerce presenting a statement from LaVonda Wilder, president of the Eatonville Chamber of Commerce thanking the Town of Eatonville and GCI for providing an opportunity for the Chamber to work with the Mayor's Business Development Academy. We enjoyed the experience. The graduation was amazing. Nineteen business owners completed the academy and video remarks from Congressman Maxwell Frost and Mayor Demings were played congratulating the class. Representative Anna Eskamani also attended the event. The Eatonville Chamber Welcome Center in partnership with Community Nook is excited to be chosen as the recipient of a Zimbabwe Friendship Benches. We are proud of Jack Warner and Troop 631 for their leadership skills and collaboration.

Angela Johnson -Regarding the termination of legal services, there are less than 7% of Florida Board Members that earn a distinct designation to serve a municipality; have you completed any other research on firms that have this distinct designation. Is it wise to have the same attorney represent the Town and Community Redevelopment Agency, or would it bring potential conflicts? Also, when considering firms that can handle complex real estate transactions, Mr. Pressley, what is the status of the opinion from Orange County regarding the water rates? Council members, I would ask that you lead and self-govern, and not depend upon that guidance from Orange County, and that you put forth a motion tonight to refund residents for the amount that they were overcharged, based upon what you approved, which is a water rate without the per thousand charges. Mr. Pressley, what is going on with our garbage collection? How do we bill residents that have two containers? What happens when the resident puts the bin on the truck themselves-who assumes the liability? Council yields two additional minutes for Johnson to continue her comments. Johnson continues: We voted to fine HostDime, what was the completion date and have their fines been assessed? Based upon the recent shooting in Catalina Park, I requested a meeting with the Mayor, Mr. Pressley and Chief Murray; and that meeting was not taken \[honored\]. I was requesting it \[meeting\] because there were seniors who were not comfortable with speaking in front of you. I was really taken back that you would not take a meeting with myself and senior residents. Why do we have to continuously wait around for last minute communication from the council? I commend you, Mayor Gardner, for the Mayor's Business Academy, and I invite you to consider inviting the recent graduates to the Founder's Day luncheon. What is the status

Vance Guthrie - On the redistricting, the Maitland City Council are going to do a little more homework and draft a letter to send to the county, asking Eatonville, Maitland, and Winter Park altogether. Second, on a lighter note, I came here to share that the Edgewater High School class of 1985 is hosting its $40^{\\mathrm{th}}$ high school reunion in September 12 and 13, please invite anyone you know out to it, there is a Facebook page called Edgewater High School c/o Class of 85 40th Reunion Group, at ticketstrike.com/ehs85Eagles to buy tickets; lastly, to speak on Mr. Cliff Shephard, he is the guy and you are not going to find anyone better.

Angela Thomas - First, can we get more information on Founder's Day and what to expect. Second, I was reading the line of credit, and if I could get someone to call me back on section 9. Lastly, to Mrs. King, the town website is the easiest website to maneuver, so I thank you for that.

APPROVAL CONSENT AGENDA: Mayor Gardner Motions to APPROVE the Consent Agenda Items 1 (Town Council Meeting Minutes 7-15-25) and 3 (Resolution 2025-18 Authorizing Issuance of Revolving Line of Credit Note); moved by Vice Mayor Washington; second by Councilman Mack; AYE: ALL, MOTION PASSES 5/0.

COUNCIL DECISIONS:

Approval Resolution 2025-15 - Directing the Finance Department to Provide Monthly Financial Statements, to the Town Council Each Month (Councilwoman Randolph) - Chair Gardner asks to table the item, but your request can still be made. If you want to look at checks, that needs to be done in-house. Randolph - We can table it now, but I request we have a financial report on the second meeting each month. Mayor Gardner MOTIONS to TABLE Resolution 2025-15; moved by Vice Mayor Washington, second by Councilman Mack. MOTION PASSES 5/0. Discussion/comments: Councilman Mack states that he respects Councilwoman Randolph's position in terms of the direction you want to go in. He does not believe that the council needs to make a resolution. Financial statements are available whenever the council asks. Approval of the Paige Corner Preliminary Plat (Planning) - Town planner Tara Salmieri presented a PowerPoint presentation on the Paige Corner Preliminary Plat. Salmieri stated that tonight, the council is being asked to vote

2 of 6 08052025CouncilMeetingMinutes fees? Mr. Pressley stated that impact fees have been established. Councilman Mack requests to yield time to the representatives to speak on the plan. Tom Faber is with Faber Engineering and states that the project was originally started in 2023. Faber - We are not proposing to do anything crazy, this is restating zoning and designation. The site actually has 41% open space. There will be a good amount of green space the residents can enjoy. We are happy to answer any questions. Councilman Mack states he appreciates their involvement and for coming out tonight and appreciates Town Planner Salmieri's enthusiasm. Mayor Gardner MOTIONS to APPROVE the Paige Corner Preliminary Plat; moved by Vice Mayor Washington, second by Councilman Mack. MOTION PASSES 5/0.

Approval Resolution 2025-14 – Establishing a 30-day Work From Home Limit (Councilwoman Randolph) – Mayor Gardner asks that this item be tabled because this request falls under administration. Mayor Gardner MOTIONS to TABLE Resolution 2025-14: moved by Vice Mayor Washington, second by Councilman Mack. Discussion/comments: Councilwoman Randolph asks for the reasoning behind tabling this item. The resolution is for the Town Council to adopt a work from home policy. It is up to the administration to enforce the policy. Councilman Mack – This is an administrative item, should let the administration handle the enforcement. I do agree that we need some stipulations for people working from home, but your requirements need to be tweaked a little bit. I ask that we table it and that the Mayor and administration look at this item and see what they can come up with. Councilwoman Randolph asks Mayor Gardner if she believes the town needs a work from home policy, and if so can you get with administration and come up with a policy? Mayor Gardner – it depends on every situation. Right now, in 2025

Approval of Resolution 2025-16 - Interim Legal Counsel Services (Councilwoman Randolph) - Mayor Gardner-I feel the same way about this because we are not just talking about legal counsel now. We have boards. We have big issues going on in the town. Even with the grants, the town has been doing so well. It does not make sense to change the legal oversight right now.I am asking that this item also be tabled. Mayor Gardner MOTIONS to TABLE Resolution 2025-16; moved by Vice Mayor Washington; second by

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Councilman Daniels. Discussion/comments: Councilwoman Randolph asked Mayor Gardner what the reason is for tabling. Mayor Gardner stated that she has various reasons: (1) the quality of legal counsel, (2) the timing right now is not good, (3) and if he is removed, we still have ongoing legal issues. Vice Mayor Washington – I was in a class last week and one of the things that the FRA spoke of is that you should have different counsel for different agencies. Councilman Mack – The issue that I had, it is nothing personal, I just feel like we are not moving in the right direction for multiple reasons. One is the lack of respect from Attorney Shepard. I want the best interest of the town and when I asked the question: do we have any lawsuits against the town; and when I get a “no” and it is a “yes,” I have a problem with that. In my opinion, even if you did not know, you should have known. Vice Mayor Washington – Attorney Shepard deals with multiple lawsuits, the CRA has lawsuits, so if he did not know, but the Florida League of Cities had a lawsuit

PASSES 5/0.

Approval of Resolution 2025-17 - Non-Rehire of Individuals Dismissed Due to Unsatisfactory Performance or Conduct (Councilwoman Randolph) - Mayor Gardner - I feel the same way about this but with what Mr. Pressley said, if we are updating the manual this will be a part of it. Mayor Gardner MOTIONS to TABLE

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Resolution 2025-17; moved by Vice Mayor Washington, second by Councilman Mack. Discussion/comments: Councilman Mack - I do not agree with this resolution because it is almost like if I am elected, the people decide that. So, how are you going to tell me that I cannot run? Councilwoman Randolph clarifies that this resolution is in regard to employees. Councilman Mack - I know a lot of different companies and corporations who have fired people and hired them back. I do not think this is something that we should be dealing with. Councilwoman Randolph - You are correct, there are a lot of times companies will rehire, but only because they are desperate for workers. We need to demonstrate that we want quality employees and are accountable. This is a way to say if you have unsatisfactory performance or conduct, you will not be considered for employment in the Town of Eatonville. Councilman Mack - That is why we do background checks and other checks, so that those people are not hired. Mack reiterates that a resolution is not needed. Mr. Pressley clarifies that a portion of this will be part of the policy being made by HR.

REPORTS:

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER: Demetrius Pressley - In regard to Orange County's opinion on the water issue, they are not giving an official opinion due to the nature of the item, so they asked us to review the process, and we did. But if this council wants another opinion before we make a decision, that is what I want to make sure. I do not have a yes or no answer I can give you all on whether or not they were in agreement. Regarding the public comments, I will be reaching out to public works to talk to Waste Pro and confirm that process. In regard to Founder's Day, that information has been sent out (3-day event, 14-16). Thank you for helping us to get the line of credit in place to continue to proceed with the improvement to the town's infrastructure. Mrs. Tara Salmieri has been working with CPH in getting a survey to help us proceed with getting it back for council approval. The Town planner and planning coordinator will be working on rezoning; Mrs. Gibson created folders and binders for the budget (there is a workshop scheduled for the next meeting). Also, we are moving at a rapid pace

ATTORNEY: Clifford Shepard - I am happy to meet with anyone of you at any time. Additionally, I really do take to heart the comments about respect. I am a little thickheaded sometimes and other times I do not hear

5 of 6 08052025CouncilMeetingMinutes the tone I am using, but it is not my intention to disrespect you. I wanted to make sure that I checked the docket today; as of today, there are no new cases.

MAYOR'S REPORT - Mayor Angie Gardner- I am going to start by saying a huge shout out to GCI, Mrs. Mundy, Town of Eatonville, and the Chamber for the Mayor's Business Development Academy. I am so appreciative of the time and effort that went into the event. I want to congratulate the scholars who received the Bruce and Winnie Mount Scholarship. Also, condolences to all of the families that have lost loved ones. I have to address the email that was mentioned earlier. I only found out about the shooting at 8 o'clock and the email was sent at 8:25. The Town has to get itself together before getting with the residents and seniors. And the concerns are not just for that area. We were in the process of getting the information when the email was sent Therefore, it made sense to reschedule the stakeholders meeting to include safety and so that it is for everyone in the community. The meeting was not denied; it was scheduled at a time for everyone. The other concern that was stated was that I did not want to have a meeting, so you call each of the council members, and to me that is a threat. We need to

TOWN COUNCIL REPORT/DISCUSSION ITEMS -

Vice Mayor Theo Washington - The Mayor's Business Academy graduation was nice. Condolences to the families of Eatonville who have lost loved ones.

Councilman Rodney Daniels - Can we get Mrs. Mundy to give an update on the alligator issue. As far as HostDime, can we make sure the town is not hindering them? Also, I passed by the night market and it was packed with food and vendors, but Angels \[restaurant\] was empty. The solution for everybody is to include them in the night market. Thank you to everyone for coming out tonight.

Councilwoman Wanda Randolph - Congratulations to the recent graduates of the Mayor's Business Academy. Councilwoman Randolph presented a picture of markings on the street \[tire marks\] on the west end. The photo is about a month old, and if you drive by you can still see the markings. Also, the breast cancer event will be held September 6th. Moving forward, we should just do right by our community and town.

Councilman Tarus Mack Thank you to everyone who showed up to tonight's council meeting. Condolences to anyone who has lost loved ones.A big congratulations to the recipients of the Bruce and Winnie Mount Scholarship.I strongly recommend that we have engagement with Catalina Park residents in regard to the police facility being built there.Perhaps we could have more engagement so that they have an idea of the plan Also, I am somewhat disappointed because we have been doing a great job with Waste Pro and now it is becoming problematic.I am looking forward to my back to school giveaway. There will be free haircuts, food, book bags,and school supplies.My philosophy has always been helping people and changing lives. Thank you to Mrs.Gibson for her assistance.Also,looking forward to Founder's Day and our 138 year celebration.

ADJOURNMENT Mayor Gardner Motions for Adjourn Washington; Second by Councilman Mack; AYE: 9:47pm.

nment of Meeting; Moved by Vice Mayor L, MOTION PASSES. Meeting Adjourned at

Handouts: Agenda, Certificate pertaining to public meetings and no conflict of interest (revolving loan