October 20, 2025 Regular City Council Meeting (2025-10-20)

REGULAR MEETING DESTIN CITY COUNCIL OCTOBER 20,2025 ANNEX COUNCIL CHAMBERS

The Council of the City of Destin met in regular session with the following members and staff present:

Destin City Council

Mayor Pro Tem Dewey Destin Councilmember Kevin Schmidt Councilmember Sandy Trammell

Councilmember Torey Geile Councilmember Rodney Braden

Destin City Staff

| City Manager Larry Jones | City Clerk Rey Bailey | | --- | --- | | IT Director Andy Peters | Public Works Director Michael Burgess | | Community Development Director David Prichard | HR Director Jaime Haynes | | Finance Director Krystal Strickland | City Engineer Robert Tomasek | | Projects/Grants/Contract Manager Jeffrey Cozadd | Parks & Recreation Director Lisa Firth | | Dep Comm Development Director Steve O'Connor | Principal Planner Daniel Butler | | City Attorney Kimberly Kopp | |

CALL TO ORDER, INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Mayor Pro Tem Dewey Destin called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. Pastor Steve Farris of the First Baptist Church of Destin gave the invocation, which was then followed by the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

AGENDA APPROVAL

Ms. Kayla Wingard, Monitoring Program Manager for the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA), provided an annual update on the organization's partnership with the City of Destin under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. She explained that the CBA is a nonprofit organization housed within Northwest Florida State College, focused on protecting and sustaining healthy waterways through monitoring, education, restoration, and research. Wingard noted that CBA's role in the NPDES program involves public education and outreach, public involvement, and pollution prevention—all aimed at reducing pollution discharged into local waterways.

Motion by Councilmember Schmidt, seconded by Councilmember Trammell, to approve the agenda passed 5-0 (Council members Hebert and Bagby were absent from the meeting).

A. Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance - Annual NPDES/Water Quality Presentation

1. PROCLAMATIONS / RECOGNITIONS / SPECIAL / PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS / ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Over the past year, CBA continued its Grasses in Classes program with Destin Middle School, engaging about 200 fifth-grade students in growing and planting salt marsh grasses as part of a hands-on environmental education curriculum. The organization also conducted presentations for the Destin Leadership class, the Rotary Club, and the Salt Strong Fishing Club, encouraging community engagement in environmental stewardship. CBA participated in cleanup events such as Earth Day at Noriego Point and the International Coastal Cleanup, during which approximately 100 pounds of trash were collected. Residents were encouraged to log independent cleanups through the Clean Swell app and contribute to the iNaturalist biodiversity project to support local ecological research.

Ms. Wingard reported on water quality monitoring conducted monthly at six sampling stations in Destin - two in the harbor and four around Joe's Bayou and Indian Bayou. Results from 2024 showed that all stations met the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's nutrient criteria for phosphorus, nitrogen, and chlorophyll, except for one Indian Bayou station that exceeded chlorophyll levels. She also highlighted CBA's upgraded online water quality dashboard, which allows the public to view results by region or station and analyze trends, including the relationship between nutrients, chlorophyll, and rainfall.

In terms of pollution prevention, CBA collected approximately 25 miles of fishing line from five monofilament recycling bins located in the harbor and at Joe's Bayou, keeping the material out of the landfill and waterways. The organization also partnered with four local restaurants - Back Porch, Boathouse, Brotula's, and Johnny Grits - to recycle nearly 90 tons of oyster shells for use in shoreline restoration projects. Wingard noted that the oyster gardening program, which includes vertical oyster gardens at locations such as Luther's Pontoon, continues to grow and aims to expand toward a "Million Oyster Project." Looking ahead, CBA plans to introduce its Seagrass Restoration curriculum at Destin High School.

Following the presentation, council members thanked Ms. Wingard and CBA for their continued partnership and environmental stewardship. They discussed elevated chlorophyll levels in Indian Bayou and the Florida Department of Health's role in monitoring bacterial levels through the Healthy Beaches program. Council members also expressed interest in promoting the vertical oyster gardening program and sharing sign-up information with residents, recognizing the ecological benefits oysters provide in filtering and improving water quality.

3. CONSENT AGENDA

Ms. Frost Jones, a Harbor Landing resident on Gulf Shore Drive, expressed concern about the state's proposed $83 million purchase of land at Noriego Point. She questioned the lack of public input and transparency in the process, describing it as a "land grab" and noting the mayor's limited involvement. They cited concerns about the property's escalating value - from $10 million seven years ago to over $20 million per acre- and potential impacts if the land becomes a state park, including increased traffic and parking issues on the two-lane road to Holiday Isle. She asked what actions, if any, the public can take before the sale closes in about three months. The Mayor Pro Tem indicated that this session was only for listening, but public input opportunities are expected in the future.

A. Main Street Betterment Alliance of Destin Veteran's Day 5k

B. Approval of minutes of October 6, 2025, Council Executive Session

C. Approval of minutes of September 15,2025, Regular City Council Meeting

Councilmember Braden made a motion to approve Consent Agenda items 3A through 3C, as printed above, seconded by Councilmember Trammell. Motion passed 5-0.

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4. CITY MANAGER REPORTS

A. FDOT State Funded Grant Agreement G3G09 and Resolution 25-22

The City Manager explained that this item concerns a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) state-funded grant agreement for the $2 million Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) grant supporting the Destin Cross Town Connector project. The council's approval is needed to finalize and return the agreement to FDOT for their signature. Once FDOT signs and issues a Notice to Proceed, the city can move forward with the procurement process for the construction phase. Procurement documents are expected to be ready for the council's next meeting, and they will be presented for approval even if the Notice to Proceed has not yet been received. Tonight's action is specifically to approve the grant agreement.

Councilmember Trammell moved to approve the FDOT State-Funded Grant Agreement GEG09 and adopt Resolution 25-22, seconded by Councilmember Braden. Motion passed 5-0.

Councilmember Schmidt moved to adopt an amendment to the FY 2026 Budget to increase capital grant revenues and expenditures by $2 million, seconded by Councilmember Geile. Motion passed 5-0.

B. Florida Retirement System (FRS) - Motion to Rescind Previous Action by the Council

The City Manager explained that this item concerns the Florida Retirement System and that council members have a chronology of related events in their packets. He reminded the council that at the previous meeting, Councilmember Braden had made a motion to place on the current agenda a motion to rescind the council's previous action regarding Ordinance 25-19-CC. He clarified that the council could choose to take no action or proceed with a motion to rescind the prior decision. If the motion to rescind were approved, the next step would be a motion directing staff to advertise the ordinance for its first reading at the following council meeting. He added that this process would involve two separate motions: one to rescind the previous action and, if that passed, another to instruct staff to bring the ordinance back for first reading on the next agenda.

Motion by Councilmember Braden, seconded by Councilmember Trammell, to rescind the council's previous action regarding Ordinance 25-19-CC - Amending Chapter 2: Administration, of the Code of Ordinances relating to city membership in the Florida Retirement System, providing for membership in the Florida Retirement System for the benefit of city employees passed 4-1, with Councilmember Schmidt dissenting.

Councilmember Braden volunteered to serve as the legislative sponsor for Ordinance 25- 19-CC.

C. Short Term Rental Software RFP Results Update

The City Manager provided an update on the short-term rental software RFP process. He explained that the city had issued a request for proposals in August to help manage short-term rental registrations, particularly as these requirements are now being extended to condominiums. Although several proposals were received, only one met all the required service criteria. However, that proposal's cost was deemed unreasonably high, so staff recommended rejecting all bids. The City

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Manager noted that some components of the proposals may prove useful in the future and could be brought back to council if beneficial. He also reported progress on identifying condominium units operating as short-term rentals, crediting IT Director and his team, for their work in refining the database, which will soon support the implementation of the registration process.

Councilmember Trammell moved to reject all bids received for the short-term rental software RFP, while continuing to research and evaluate viable software options during the interim period. Furthermore, if the newly implemented short-term rental program generates sufficient funding in the future, city staff may revisit and consider entering into a contract for such services at that time. Councilmember Braden provided a second to the motion, which passed 5-0.