Commission Meeting Minutes

Draft Minutes of the June 21, 2021, 6 p.m. Commission Meeting

The regular meeting of the Lady Lake Town Commission was held in the Commission Chambers at Lady Lake Town Hall, 409 Fennell Blvd., Lady Lake, Florida, with Mayor Ruth Kussard presiding. The meeting convened at 6 p.m.

A. Call to Order

Mayor Ruth Kussard

B. Invocation

By Terry Wheeler of the Villages Church of Christ

C. Pledge of Allegiance

D. Roll Call

Commissioner (Ward) Present
Hannan (Four) YES
Kussard (One) YES
Holden (Two) YES
Vincent (Three) YES
Rietz (Five) YES

STAFF PRESENT

Derek Schroth, Town Attorney; Bill Lawrence, Town Manager; Thad Carroll, Growth Management Director; C.T. Eagle, Public Works Director; Pam Winegardner, Finance Director; Lori Sadler, Library Director; Wendy Then, Senior Planner; Becky Higgins, Development Coordinator; Deputy Chief Jason Brough, Lieutenant Nelson Vargas, and Officer Jacob Clark, Lady Lake Police Department; Nancy Wilson, Deputy Town Clerk; and Nancy Slaton, Town Clerk

E. Consent

1. Minutes — June 7, 2021 — Commission Meeting

2. Minutes – June 10, 2021 – Commission Workshop Meeting

3. Consideration of Approval of the Police Pension Board’s Election to Retain Leonard Cieciek as the 5th Board Appointed Trustee on the Police Pension Board with a Term Expiration of April 2023 (Nancy Slaton) (The background summary for this item is on file in the Clerk’s Office.)

Mayor Kussard asked if there were any questions or comments from the Commissioners regarding the Consent items. There were no comments.

Commissioner Hannan motioned to approve Consent Items E-1 through E-3. Commissioner Rietz seconded the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 5 to 0.

F. Old Business

No old business.

G. New Business

No new business.

H. Town Attorney's Report

4. Ordinance 2021-04 (Second and Final Reading) — An Ordinance of the Town of Lady Lake, Lake County, Florida; Amending the Town of Lady Lake Comprehensive Plan to Maintain Consistency with Statutory Requirements and Changes to Local Conditions In Accordance with the Evaluation and Appraisal Review Process as Outlined by Section 163.3191 of the Florida Statutes (Thad Carroll)

Town Attorney Derek Schroth read the title of the ordinance.

Growth Management Director Thad Carroll presented the background summary for this ordinance. He stated there have been no changes since first reading.

Mayor Kussard asked if the Commissioners or anyone from the public had any comments or questions. Hearing none, she asked for a motion.

Upon a motion by Commissioner Holden and a second by Commissioner Hannan, the Commission approved the second and final reading of Ordinance 2021-04 by the following roll call vote:

Commissioner Vote
Hannan YES
Kussard YES
Holden YES
Vincent YES
Rietz YES

5. Ordinance 2021-05 (Second and Final Reading) — Annexation — North Lake Presbyterian Church — Voluntarily Annexing Property Being Approximately 2.79 Acres Owned by North Lake Presbyterian Church, Inc.; Referenced by Alternate Key Number 1629586; within Lake County, Florida (Thad Carroll)

Town Attorney Derek Schroth read the title of the ordinance.

Growth Management Director Thad Carroll presented the background summary for this ordinance. He stated Greg Belliveau of LPG Urban & Regional Planners is present if there are any questions.

Mayor Kussard asked if the Commissioners or anyone from the public had any comments or questions. Hearing none, she asked for a motion.

Upon a motion by Commissioner Holden and a second by Commissioner Rietz, the Commission approved the second and final reading of Ordinance 2021-05 by the following roll call vote:

Commissioner Vote
Hannan YES
Kussard YES
Holden YES
Vincent YES
Rietz YES

6. Ordinance 2021-06 (Second and Final Reading) — Small Scale Comp Plan Amendment — North Lake Presbyterian Church — Change from Lake County Urban Medium Density (2.50 Acres) and Town of Lady Lake Single-Family Low Density (2.66 Acres) to Town of Lady Lake Commercial General - Retail Sales & Services (RET) for Property Owned by North Lake Presbyterian Church, Inc.; within Lake County, Florida (Thad Carroll)

Town Attorney Derek Schroth read the title of the ordinance.

Growth Management Director Thad Carroll presented the background summary for this ordinance. He stated Mr. Belliveau is available to answer any questions.

Mayor Kussard asked if the Commissioners or anyone from the public had any comments or questions. Hearing none, she asked for a motion.

Upon a motion by Commissioner Holden and a second by Commissioner Vincent, the Commission approved the second and final reading of Ordinance 2021-06 by the following roll call vote:

Commissioner Vote
Hannan YES
Kussard YES
Holden YES
Vincent YES
Rietz YES

7. Ordinance 2021-07 (Second and Final Reading) — Rezoning — North Lake Presbyterian Church — Redesignating Zoning Classification for Certain Property Being Approximately 8.47 Acres Owned by North Lake Presbyterian Church, Inc.; Referenced by Alternate Key Numbers 1629586, 2689552, 3539605, and 2830476; within Lake County, Florida (Thad Carroll)

Town Attorney Derek Schroth read the title of the ordinance.

Growth Management Director Thad Carroll presented the background summary for this ordinance. He stated again that Mr. Belliveau is present if there are any questions.

Mayor Kussard asked if the Commissioners or anyone from the public had any comments or questions. Hearing none, she asked for a motion.

Upon a motion by Commissioner Vincent and a second by Commissioner Holden, the Commission approved the second and final reading of Ordinance 2021-07 with the inclusion of the three amendments as requested by the applicant above, by the following roll call vote:

Commissioner Vote
Hannan YES
Kussard YES
Holden YES
Vincent YES
Rietz YES

I. Town Manager's Report

Town Manager Bill Lawrence announced that the Community Building renovations are now completed. He also thanked Ted Williams and Public Works staff for working so quickly on creating and installing the plexiglass screen between the podium and the Clerk’s desk in the Chambers.

Mr. Lawrence requested a consensus for dates to hold a Closed Executive Session regarding the police negotiations. He suggested July 6th or 7th  as Brian Koji, the attorney, will be available on those dates. He noted that no court reporter would be needed for this session and it should last no longer than an hour.

After discussion, the Commission agreed to hold the Closed Executive Session at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 6th.

Mr. Lawrence also suggested holding another workshop on June 28th or 29th regarding salary grades as this was brought up at the previous workshop (on June 10th).

After discussion, the Commission agreed to hold the workshop meeting at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, June 29th.

J. Mayor and Commissioner's Report

Mayor Kussard asked if any of the Commissioners had anything to report. She stated that it has recently come to her attention that employees are being harassed when going to and from their vehicles. She stated the sign in the back parking lot stating “Authorized Personnel Only” is not working. She stated this concerns her and she asked for a consensus from the Commissioners to have the Town Manager look into having a secure parking lot by possibly installing a fence with a gate that uses a key card for admittance.

Commissioner Hannan was not initially in favor of a fence. He suggested that more signage stating “Town employees only” be considered instead.

Commissioner Rietz clarified that employees have been harassed in the back parking lot. He stated his surprise to hear this and asked if there were cameras in the back.

Mr. Lawrence stated he has witnessed this recently himself with the Rogue Nation group at Town Hall. They also went into the back parking lot and harassed some employees; one employee he spoke to was very upset over it. He requested that Deputy Chief Brough speak on this issue.

Deputy Chief Brough stated that incidents such as this have occurred several times over the years, with groups such as Rogue Nation coming in to deliberately harass employees or the police department in general. He stated it appears to be getting worse in more recent times.

Deputy Chief Brough also mentioned that citizens get confused on which parking lot to go to, and they park in the back and are found wandering around the sally port or pulling on doors. He confirmed that there are video cameras in the back.

After further discussion, it was the consensus that staff should get cost estimates on this and bring it back to the Commission for consideration.

C.T. Eagle stated he will get quotes, although he was unsure how fast this could occur. He asked if a new fence should match the black metal fence around the gas tank in the back. He noted that cost approximately $25,000 about ten years ago.

Commissioner Hannan asked that staff bring back a conceptual drawing.

Mayor Kussard agreed that the fences should match if possible, and asked that this be brought back before them with a cost estimate as well.

K. Public Comments

Mayor Kussard asked if there were any comments from the audience. There were no comments.

L. Adjourn

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:29 p.m.

___________________________
Nancy Slaton, Town Clerk

___________________________
Ruth Kussard, Mayor

Minutes transcribed by Nancy Slaton, Town Clerk