The regular meeting of the Shalimar Town Commission was called to order by Mayor Gary Combs at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 11, 2000 in Town Hall Chambers. He led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

ROLL CALL FOR THE RECORD:
Mayor Gary Combs – present
Mayor Pro Tem Tom Callen – present
Commissioner Gene Brown – present
Commissioner John Henderson – present
Commissioner Elaine Tucker – present
Others attending were  Administrator Connie Gluvna, Attorney Chris Swanick, Ursel Behnken, Police Chief John Blackburn,  Sgt. Gary Loafman, Chris Langlois, Shalimar Elementary School  Principal Janice Gordon, Meigs Middle School Principal Dennie Byrd, Superintendent of Schools Walter Gordon, Sheriff’s Deputy Fred Cobb, Daily News Reporter Jeff Ayres, Maintenance Superintendent Jeff Dowda and Finance Director Tom Burns.

P & Z RECOMMENDATIONS – Minutes of the March 29, 2000 meeting were made available.

OLD BUSINESS:

II.  STATUS OF LAW SUITS – Mayor Combs said that Max McBrier of Racetrac Petroleum has agreed to pay a fine of $25,000 if the Town drops the law suit and other terms specified. The Mayor wants Attorney Petermann to draft a settlement agreement. They also have had a discussion about selling the Racetrac property to a Raceway subsidiary with the same signage.

III.  STATUS OF PARK GRANTS  - as per memo dated 4-7-2000. Additionally, the pavers at Meigs Park are done. There is a concern that well water with a lot of iron in it will stain the pavers. The Commission should consider sealing them.

IV.  TOWN HALL RENOVATION – Town hall renovation is tied in with the grant. Jeff Dowda and his helper are planning to take the chimney down. They will also take out the trees in the back to allow for more parking.

V.  APPROVE MINUTES OF MARCH 28, 2000 SPECIAL CALLED COMMISSION MEETING – Comm. Callen moved to approve the minutes as written. It was seconded by Comm. Henderson and passed unanimously. Comm. Tucker asked why there was so little detail of the meeting and why many of the opinions were not attributed to anyone. Mayor Combs said that since no decisions were made those details were not necessary.

VI.  SIDEWALK REPAIR – Comm. Callen researched this item (as per attached memo) and said there were several things the Town can do, but he is not sure were the Town’s legal position is. If the cause would be a tree on Town property (ROW), it would be the Town’s responsibility; if the damage is done by a contractor, he will be liable; if it’s a tree on a resident’s property, the Town could ask them to remove the tree or the roots. Comm. Callen said if somebody tripped the Town would be sued, not the homeowner. Attorney Swanick said she would look into the legal ramifications. Comm. Tucker said the Town should remove the cause (for buckling sidewalks) because every sidewalk is on Town ROW. Comm. Henderson moved to accept liability and fix the cause for sidewalk destruction by natural causes and repair the sidewalk. It was seconded by Comm. Tucker and passed 4-1 (Nay by Comm. Brown). Comm. Callen suggested planning for sidewalk repair in the next budget session. Comm. Brown asked for more investigation on what the Town’s responsibility is. He said, in some new developments the owners have to pay for the sidewalks. Mayor Combs and Comm. Callen will walk the area to see how many areas need repair.

VII.  WATTS PROPERTY – Attorney Swanick said that the deed for Mr. John Watts, Shalimar Drive, needs to be signed so it can be recorded.

NEW BUSINESS:

I.  TOWN RESIDENT’S TIME – Two issues are at hand that are inter-connected. Gardner Drive traffic and Richbourg/Eglin Parkway crossing.  The Mayor said it is extremely important to him to protect Shalimar’s kids.  He said he had a group of Shalimar residents on Gardner, Shalimar Drive, Ervin Fleet and Old Ferry Road who feel that our Police Department should look after traffic and speeders in our own streets and let the Sheriff’s Department work the school crossing. If our policemen work the intersection they cannot protect our kids, he said. He wrote a memo to the Sheriff with a deadline of April 17, 2000. Deputy Fred Cobb from the Sheriff’s Department said that their office cannot tell Shalimar what to do but the whole procedure takes only 30 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the afternoon. They in turn provide the Town with communications, back-up in crashes. If the problem is speeding, they are willing to help and set up a smart trailer. But he also pointed out that the school crossing is inside the Town of Shalimar and is therefore, the Town’s responsibility. Superintendent of Schools, Walter Gordon said that every day 150-200 students cross there. He said our police protection is very valuable, it slows people down just to see a patrol car.

The ideal solution would be a cross walk, he said, if the state could come through with the funding. He pleaded to move the stop date back to the end of the school year. The Mayor said that Shalimar residents pay taxes, but the children crossing over from Port Dixie do not live in the Town of Shalimar. Comm. Brown said that common sense dictates that the Town cannot abandon that corner, but that the Sheriff’s department is not 500 ft. from the crossing and could run it. Janice Gordon, principal of Shalimar Elementary School said she would appreciate to be notified before things like this happen. She has parents with children on Sara Drive, Palm Shores and Avalon who are very concerned. Part of the fear is nobody is there for the children because the crossing guard cannot help the kids and handle the lights at the same time. Mr. Gordon said that he is going to work on the issue of overpasses with Bill Smith and the DOT with the Town’s cooperation. Comm. Henderson said that the Shalimar Police Department and the Sheriff’s Department always take care of each other and work cooperatively. Mayor Combs said the Town will continue the school crossing until the end of the school year.

Chris Langlois, 134 Gardner Drive, said he was not present at the March special meeting and would like to know what the outcome was. He was told that stop signs were on order. There will be a 3-way stop on Clifford and Gardner; a 3-way stop at the park, and a no left turn at Gardner and Eglin Pkwy.

II.  OPENING BIDS FOR MEIGS PARK FENCE –  It was decided to go for the

Lower 4ft.-fence. The bids came in as follows: 4 ft. fence 4-6ft. fence

Ft. Walton Beach Fence          $2,710.00 $2,898.00

Sun Coast Fence $1,235.00 $1,500.00

All Florida Fence $4,321.00

Guardrail Inc. $4,707.50

Connie Gluvna said she has been working with the contractors. Sun Coast was difficult to talk to, Ft. Walton Beach Fence paid attention to details and was easiest to work with. Comm. Henderson moved to give the contract to Ft. Walton Beach Fence. It was seconded by Comm. Callen and passed unanimously.

III.  READING OF RESOLUTION 2000-06, PERSONNEL POLICY – If there are no changes in 14 days after each of the commissioners read the policy again the review is passed. Comm. Henderson moved that the Personnel Policy, Resolution 2000-06 be approved on April 25^th including any changes made during the review. It was seconded by Comm. Tucker and passed unanimously.

IV.  REVENUE SHARING – Mayor Combs said that if the County is raising the sales tax by a penny, the Town of Shalimar should attend the meeting on May 30, 2000 at 6 p.m. at the County offices about the dedicated revenue sharing.

I. WEB SITE UPDATE – The Mayor met with Mike Kirk, a resident of 16 Gardner  Drive, who offered to update and maintain the web site for the Town. His e-mail is - kirkm@bsc.net.

II.  TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT – The Mayor lauded the Police Department for last week’s work. They wrote 24 tickets last week and 37 this week, mainly on Shalimar’s side streets.  

III.  CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS – The Mayor would like each commissioner to come up with a list of capital improvements for the League of Cities meeting. He said it would be a good idea to add the  school crossing overpass in case the 1 cent additional sales tax gets passed by County Commissioners. Comm. Brown said that when the 1 cent sales tax was in force for the School Board it brought in a lot of funds to build new schools etc. At the time the County gave us 1/3  on a per capita basis. The Mayor said the Town should get it all on the per capita basis. It would be a lot more for Shalimar.  

IV.  COMMISSIONER ASSIGNMENTS – The Mayor asked whether any of the commissioners wanted a reassignment of duties. He said he had complaints about the job  Comm. Tucker is doing. He said she was in the office every day, whereas Comm. Brown did not even come in to pick up his paperwork all month long and that was not fair to her. Comm. Brown countered that he has tried to come in in the morning, and the office is not open, and there are certain ways supervision of employees should be done. He said that employees need to be treated with more respect and feels that if the office needs more people, they should be hired. He said he has seen some e-mails to the employees which were very demeaning. All this is going to force people to leave, he said. The Mayor said he has never fired anybody and thinks that everyone should be made accountable for the money they are paid. Comm. Tucker said she never had any problem with anybody, and the Mayor asked the employees present to speak up right there if they had a problem with any of the commissioners.   

V.  GOAL – Mayor Combs said he needs help with the 5-year plan. One major item is annexation. Snug Harbour and Old Ferry Road residents not in the Town should be annexed, and legally the Town can do that. The County has agreed to help with it.

I.  FINANCIAL REPORT – Comm. Tucker praised Tom Burns for the work he has done in the short time he has been at Town Hall.

II.  HALF YEAR BUDGET REPORT – Line item changes have been made. Commissioners each received a copy. Most working accounts are at 50% where they should be. Comm. Henderson questioned why the auto insurance was at 104%. Comm. Tucker explained that it is a once a year policy. The parking lot behind Town Hall was a bit pricey.  Comm. Callen suggested to cut the attorney’s budget by 50%.

III.  WISH LIST FOR BUDGET – Next year’s budget list will contain notable changes for the Police Department.

IV.  ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY – Comm. Tucker is still working on it. The police officers compensation will be on an addendum.  They also will interview a new officer tomorrow. The Mayor suggested maybe hiring two officers at different periods

COMM. BROWN’S REPORT: no report

COMM. CALLEN’S REPORT - The storm drainage needs to be fixed on Old Ferry Road. Beavers have dammed up the pipe. This problem needs to be mentioned to county. The County is not a problem but DEP is. The private drive on Petit Court has a agate across the road. The drainage pipe continuous on the side of it. Tom was asked to write a letter. Jeff Dowda was asked to make a list of signs that need replacing. The trees in the parking lot will cost less than $500. The Mayor asked for somebody to review and explain the reforestation requirements.

COMM. HENDERSON’S REPORT – no report – but said that the Police Department stepped up enforcement on the town’s streets.

ADMIN OFFICIALS REPORT:

I.  CONSTRUCTION REPORT – Contractor Tracking Permits – 6; Occupational

Permits – 0; Zoning/Sign Permits – 7

II.  ADVERTISING MEETING – The advertising bill for meetings is very high. If no ordinances are passed the meetings can be advertised on the marquee for 5 days. The Mayor said that the Town will advertise according to State Statutes.

POLICE CHIEF’S REPORT: given by Sgt. Gary Loafman – as attached

APRIL 15 – 22 OKALOOSA COUNTY PRIDE WEEK –

ADJOURNMENT: Comm. Callen  moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m. It was seconded by Comm. Henderson and passed unanimously.

Connie Gluvna, Town Clerk    Mayor Gary Combs