[00:00:01] ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING. [1. CALL TO ORDER] THE CITY COMMISSION, THE REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING IS CALLED TO ORDER. MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. NANCY SIKES-KLINE. HERE. BARBARA BLONDER. HERE. CYNTHIA GARRIS. HERE. JIM SPRINGFIELD. HERE. JOHN DEPRETER. HERE. ALL RIGHT. WE WILL NOW OBSERVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOLLOWED BY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE LED BY VICE MAYOR BARBARA BLONDER. THANK YOU. PLEASE STAND IF YOU ARE ABLE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. ALL RIGHT. ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS [2. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS] MODIFICATION AND APPROVAL OF THE REGULAR AGENDA. MR. CITY MANAGER, DO YOU HAVE MODIFICATION? YES, MA'AM. WE DO HAVE ONE MODIFICATION. ITEM 7A1, THE CITYWIDE MOBILITY STUDY DISCUSSION ITEM HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN. OKAY. I'LL JUST SAY THAT WAS MINE, AND I'LL BRING IT BACK LATER. I JUST WANTED TO TABLE IT FOR NOW. THANK YOU. OKAY. GREAT. COMMISSIONERS, ANY MODIFICATIONS TO THE... REGULAR AGENDA. I MOVE THAT WE PASS THE REGULAR AGENDA WITH ITEM 7A1 REMOVED. SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT THEN. WE HAVE NO SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, RECOGNITIONS, OR PROCLAMATIONS TONIGHT, SO WE'LL GO STRAIGHT [4. PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENTS OR FOR AGENDA ITEMS NOT REQUIRING A SEPARATE PUBLIC HEARING ] TO PUBLIC COMMENT. I'D LIKE TO READ THIS LITTLE PREFACE TO THAT. AT THIS TIME, WE WILL HAVE PUBLIC COMMENTS ON MATTERS THAT ARE NOT SCHEDULED FOR A PUBLIC HEARING. ANY PERSON WISHING TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION SHOULD FILL OUT A SPEAKER CARD, AND I WILL CALL YOU TO THE PODIUM WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN TO SPEAK. YOU WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK AND SHALL COMPLY WITH THE CITY'S RULES OF DECORUM. COMMENTS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE COMMISSION AS A WHOLE AND NOT INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS. COMMISSIONERS WILL NOT ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM SPEAKERS. NO PERSON MAY ADDRESS THE COMMISSION WITH PERSONAL IMPROPER OR SLANDEROUS REMARKS OR WITH BOISTEROUS BEHAVIOR. MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE WILL REFRAIN FROM ANY CLAPPING OR DISRUPTIVE DEMONSTRATIONS OF APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF ANY COMMENTS. AND FINALLY, I WOULD ASK THAT ANY SPEAKER WHO USES THE OVERHEAD PROJECTOR TO PLEASE SUBMIT THOSE ITEMS TO THE CITY CLERK TO BE ENTERED INTO THE PUBLIC RECORD. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WITH THAT SAID, THESE ARE ITEMS THAT ARE NOT PUBLIC, NOT ON THE AGENDA. THE FIRST ITEM I HAVE, FIRST SPEAKER I HAVE IS BRIAN BLISS, FOLLOWED BY TED HILL. ALL RIGHT, HELLO, MY NAME IS BRIAN BLISS AND I LIVE IN DAVIS SHORES AND I OWN A COMPANY HERE IN ST. AUGUSTINE CALLED ANCHOR EATS. WE'RE THE DOOR DASH ON THE WATER. WE DELIVER FOOD AND MARINE SUPPLIES AND GROCERIES AND STUFF TO OUR BOATING COMMUNITY. I WANTED TO COME IN AND TELL YOU GUYS THAT WE HAD AN AMAZING TIME FOR THE 4TH OF JULY. THE FIREWORKS WERE AMAZING. EVERYBODY HAD A BLAST OUT THERE ON THE WATER AND I JUST WANT TO GIVE KUDOS TO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WERE INVOLVED WITH THAT. IT REALLY WAS A GREAT EVENING. WE WERE OUT ON THE WATER DELIVERING AND EVERYBODY WAS HAPPY AND IT WAS JUST A WONDERFUL WAY TO SHOW OFF OUR AMAZING CITY. WE ACTUALLY ORGANIZED A BEACH AND SANDBAR CLEANUP FOR THE 5TH OF JULY AND WE WENT OUT AND WE GAVE, WE PROVIDED FREE ICE CREAM TO ALL OF OUR VOLUNTEERS AND WE CLEANED UP THE BEACHES AND SANDBARS OVER THERE IN SALT RUN AND RIGHT THERE IN HOSPITAL CREEK. AND I JUST WANTED [00:05:01] TO SAY I'M VERY EXCITED. OUR CONTRACT, WE'RE, WE, WE'RE READY TO EXTEND OUR CONTRACT THAT IS AT THE DOWNTOWN CITY MARINA. THAT'S WHERE WE KEEP OUR BOAT. AND I JUST WANTED TO ASK, I DON'T KNOW THE PROCEDURES, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF IT'S AVAILABLE, BUT I WANTED TO SEE IF WE COULD TRY TO SECURE NOT A DESIGNATED PARKING SPOT BECAUSE WE HAVE A PARKING PASS FOR DOWNTOWN, BUT WE DON'T HAVE, RIGHT NOW, DOWNTOWN IS JUST, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO PARK, AND IT'S VERY HARD TO, LIKE, GET THE HOT FOOD OUT THERE TO THE PEOPLE, AND WE HAVE THE MUCH LARGER ORDERS NOW AS IT'S THE BOATING SEASON FOR THE SANDBAR. AND I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WAS SOMETHING I COULD FILL OUT OR SOME INFORMATION I COULD DO TO TRY TO BE ABLE TO USE EITHER THE CONTRACTOR SPOT THAT'S DESIGNATED DOWNTOWN OR MAYBE ONE OF THE OTHER SPOTS. I KNOW THEY'RE REDOING THAT LITTLE PARKING AREA BY THE TRASH DUMPSTER THERE. AND I JUST DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DO, I JUST FIGURED I WOULD ASK RATHER THAN JUST ASSUME THAT IT WASN'T AVAILABLE. BUT THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU GUYS FOR DOING WHAT YOU DO. IT WAS A GREAT. IT WAS A GREAT FOURTH OF JULY. IT WAS JUST A GREAT WAY TO SHOW OFF THIS CITY. AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO. AND LET ME KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT I CAN DO TO TRY TO EXPEDITE THE PARKING A LITTLE DIFFERENT. IT'D BE GREAT. BUT IF NOT, I UNDERSTAND. I KNOW EVERYBODY'S PROBABLY DEALING WITH THE PARKING, SO I DON'T WANT TO BE UP HERE ACTING LIKE WE'RE SOMETHING SPECIAL. BUT IF WE'RE TRYING TO SHARE OUR RESTAURANTS AND STUFF THAT ARE HERE IN THE ST. AUGUSTINE AREA WITH ALL THE PEOPLE THAT COME BY WATER, A LOT OF TIMES THEY DON'T COME UP TO LAND AND THEY DON'T SPEND MONEY HERE IN ST. AUGUSTINE. SO WE GO TO THEM. AND WE GET THEM TO SPEND MONEY IN OUR TOWN AND HELP SUPPORT OUR BUSINESSES AND RESTAURANTS AND SHOPS AND STORES HERE. SO ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE IT SMOOTHER WILL ULTIMATELY HELP THIS CITY AS A WHOLE. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL MEETING. I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO GET WITH THE CITY MANAGER ON YOUR REQUEST AND SEE IF YOU ALL CAN TALK ABOUT THIS PROVISION THAT YOU'RE REQUESTING. YES, MA'AM. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S LIKE AN OFFICIAL DOCUMENT OR SOMETHING. YEAH, THERE YOU GO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT, NEXT SPEAKER IS TED HILL, FOLLOWED BY THOMAS REYNOLDS. GOOD EVENING, MY NAME IS TED HILL, AND I OWN A STORE CALLED BEAR MOUNTAIN OUTFITTERS, MANLY TOYS AND HOBBIES. I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CITY BUDGET AND SOME CHALLENGES YOU GUYS ARE COMING INTO, AND THEY'RE NOT LITTLE, THEY'RE BIG. LAST MONTH, YOUR OWN STAFF TOLD YOU THE CITY STANDS TO LOSE 2.1 MILLION IN GENERAL FUNDS IN THE PHYSICAL YEAR 2028 AND IN 4.2 MILLION IN PHYSICAL YEAR 2029 IF THIS NOVEMBER AMENDMENT PASSES. YOUR CITY MANAGER SAID STAFF IS ALREADY LOOKING AT RAISING PARKING RATES AND DELAYING PROJECTS. YOUR VICE MAYOR CALLED IT DEVASTATING. THESE ARE HORRIBLE CHALLENGES FOR A CITY. WE KNOW THAT THOSE ARE NOT EASY QUESTIONS FOR YOU. AND THE STATE ISN'T WAITING FOR NOVEMBER. SB4F BECAME LAW JUNE 24TH. YOUR MAXIMUM MILEAGE IS NOW ROLLBACK RATE AND EXCEEDING IT TAKES FOUR OUT OF FIVE VOTES FROM YOU GUYS TO DO IT. TO EXCEED IT JUST BY 10% TAKES A FIVE VOTE OR REFERENDUM TO GET IT DONE. AND STARTING IN JANUARY, STATE LAW REQUIRES YOU TO IDENTIFY 10% IN BUDGET CUTS BEFORE SUBMITTING. YOUR BUDGET, THAT'S A, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU GUYS DO IT. I BALANCE MY BOOKS AND MY BUSINESS, AND IF I HAD TO DO THAT, THAT'S A HERCULEAN TASK. SO WE HAVE SYMPATHY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH AND WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO. WE KNOW THAT YOU GUYS HAVE THE BEST THINGS IN HEART FOR THE CITY. AND WHAT I FIND INTERESTING IS SOMETIMES TIMING IN LIFE IS EVERYTHING. SO YOU GUYS WERE KIND ENOUGH TO EXTEND MY LEASE TO SEPTEMBER 2027. BUT THAT'S BRILLIANT AT SOME LEVEL BECAUSE IT GIVES YOU GUYS AN OPPORTUNITY TO KNOW WHAT THE HARD NUMBERS ARE FOR YOU GUYS. BECAUSE IF YOU'RE A $4.2 MILLION DEFICIT AND YOU'RE HAVING TO SHOW A 10% DECREASE OR BUDGET-CUTTING COST TO MOVE FORWARD TO EVEN PRESENT YOUR BUDGET, THIS IS JUST A BEAUTIFUL TIME FOR US TO REEVALUATE AND WHAT YOU GOT TO DO. AND I JUST WANT TO WISH YOU GUYS THE BEST OF LUCK. I KNOW IT'S HARD DECISIONS TO MAKE, AND THE CITY IS BEHIND YOU. SO THANK YOU. TOM REYNOLDS, FOLLOWED BY CATHERINE ZODA. THOMAS REYNOLDS, 1240, 4 MILE ROAD, 32084. IT WAS A GREAT MEETING THAT YOU JUST HAD. SOME REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS. I LEARNED A LOT. I DID WANT TO POINT OUT THE MOST INTERESTING PART WAS WHAT COMMISSIONER SPRINGFIELD SAID ABOUT THIS CITY LOSING THE SALES TAX. I COULDN'T HELP BUT TO WONDER HOW THE COUNTY AND THE CITY OF THE CITY SHOULD HAVE AN MOU. [00:10:01] AND I CANNOT HELP BUT TO THINK THAT YOU SHOULD RECEIVE $250,000 EVERY MONTH FROM THE COUNTY BECAUSE YOU ARE THE COUNTY'S REAL BREAD AND BUTTER WHEN IT COMES TO SALES TAX. SECOND THING TONIGHT, I WANT TO DO A SHOUT OUT TO ALL THE DISABLED PEOPLE. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU FOLKS KNOW IT OR NOT, BUT JULY IS DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH, AND 16% OF THE WORLD POPULATION IS DISABLED. ANYWAYS, JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT TO YOU. AND AS ALWAYS, I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE HORSE CARRIAGES. I'M HOPING THAT YOU'LL DO AWAY WITH THEM REALLY SOON. AGAIN, I LOVE THIS PHOTO OF THIS ELECTRIC HORSE CARRIAGE. I CARRY IT WITH ME. I SHOW A LOT OF PEOPLE. I WANT TO JUST READ TO YOU ONE THING HERE. THE MISDEMEANOR, WHEN IT COMES TO MISDEMEANOR ANIMAL CRUELTY VERSUS FELONY AGGRAVATED CRUELTY, THE MISDEMEANOR FIRST DEGREE IS A MISDEMEANOR TO UNNECESSARILY OVERDRIVE OR OVERLOAD A HORSE CARRIAGE. I'D MENTIONED BEFORE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT HORSE CARRIAGES IN BUSINESS. HOWEVER, IF THEY ARE GOING TO BE IN BUSINESS, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT. THEY GOT TO OBEY THE RULES. AND AGAIN, PUTTING A LOT OF PEOPLE IN A HORSE CARRIAGE WITH ONE HORSE, THAT'S A CRIME. AND THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE TREATED. AND ALSO, TOO, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT RAISES FROM A MISDEMEANOR TO A THIRD-DEGREE FELONY, A PERSON... WELL, A BUSINESS OWNER COMMITS AGGRAVATED ANIMAL CRUELTY IF THEY OWN CONTROL OF THE ANIMAL, FAIL TO ACT, AND IT CAUSES EXCESS REPEATED INFLICTION ON UNNECESSARY PAIN OR SUFFERING. WELL, I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU FOLKS THAT FRIDAY AT 4.45 P.M., THE PAVEMENT IN FRONT OF RIVER AND FORT WAS 156 DEGREES. NOW, I KNOW THERE WAS NO HORSES OUT AT THAT TIME. I CIRCLED THE WHOLE CITY TO SEE IF ANY WERE COMING OUT. BUT, YOU KNOW, FROM THAT PAVEMENT TEMPERATURE TO GET WAY BACK DOWN TO, SAY, 95 DEGREES IS GOING TO TAKE A LONG TIME. SO, TRULY, THIS SHOULD BE NIGHTS THAT ON THESE 94 DEGREES WHERE NO HORSES SHOULD BE OUT, PERIOD. THANK YOU FOR TAKING PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT SPEAKER IS CATHERINE ZODA, FOLLOWED BY MOLLY MALONE. AFTER THIS SPEAKER, I WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT SPEAKER CARDS FOR ITEMS THAT ARE NOT ON THE AGENDA. I'M CATHERINE ZOTA. WITH THE CITY'S RECENT TERMINATION OF ITS LARGEST HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE COMPANY, THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO REBUILD THIS INDUSTRY. IT IS TIME TO WIND IT DOWN. THE CITY MUST STOP... EXPOSING THE PUBLIC TO THE INHERENT RISKS AND CRUELTY OF HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES. IN THIS VIDEO, YOU WILL SEE A HORSE FORCED TO MAKE A TIGHT TURN ON ONE OF THE BUSIEST TRAFFIC AREAS ON THE BAYFRONT. PLEASE PLAY THE VIDEO. THIS MANEUVER IS CITY APPROVED. THE ROUTE IS UNSAFE. IF IT VIOLATES THE MUNICIPAL CODE, ENFORCEMENT IS FAILING. EITHER WAY, IT HIGHLIGHTS THE DANGER OF PLACING A 2,000 POUND PREY ANIMAL IN CITY TRAFFIC. DRIVERS ALSO ROUTINELY NARRATE TOURS INSTEAD OF WATCHING THE ROAD, AS SEEN IN THIS PHOTO. IN JUST SECONDS, A CHILD CAN RUN INTO THE STREET, A VEHICLE CAN CROSS THE HORSE'S PATH, OR A HORSE CAN SPOOK. SLOW-MOVING CARRIAGES ALSO ENCOURAGE IMPATIENT DRIVERS TO PASS, INCREASING THE DANGER TO BOTH THE PUBLIC AND THE HORSES. THE RISKS ARE INHERENT, SO IS THE CRUELTY. THE NEXT PHOTO SHOWS COASTAL CARRIAGE HORSE BARBIE. TWO WEEKS AFTER SUFFERING THIS INJURY, BARBIE'S WOUND REMAINED OPEN, RAW, AND UNHEALED. INSTEAD OF BEING ALLOWED TO RECOVER, SHE WAS RETURNED TO WORK, CAUSING THE WOUND TO REPEATEDLY REOPEN. THE CITY MUST INVESTIGATE THIS CASE BY OBTAINING THE ORIGINAL VETERINARY RECORDS AND ANY CLEARANCE THAT ALLOWED BARBIE TO RETURN TO WORK. BARBIE IS NOT THE FIRST CASE REQUIRING INVESTIGATION. ANOTHER DOCUMENTED ANIMAL ABUSE [00:15:01] CASE INVOLVING A CITY-FRANCHISED CARRIAGE HORSE WAS NEVER INDEPENDENTLY INVESTIGATED BY THE CITY. HERE IS A PHOTO FROM THAT CASE. ALLEGATIONS OF ANIMAL ABUSE INVOLVING HORSE OPERATING UNDER A CITY FRANCHISE CANNOT SIMPLY BE IGNORED. CRUELTY ON OUR STREETS IS UNACCEPTABLE, ST. AUGUSTINE. TIGHT U-TURNS, CARRIAGE DRIVERS LOOKING AWAY FROM TRAFFIC, DRIVERS PASSING SLOW-MOVING CARRIAGES. THIS IS AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. BAN HORSE CARRIAGES BEFORE A PREVENTABLE TRAGEDY OCCURS. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER IS MOLLY MALONE. FOLLOWED BY HEATHER WILSON. OKAY, YOU HAVE A THREE-MINUTE VIDEO. OKAY. THAT'S NOT PEACEFUL PROTESTING, THAT'S HARASSMENT. THE DRIVERS NEED TO FOCUS ON SAFETY OF THEIR PASSENGERS, PEDESTRIANS, AND VEHICLES AROUND. THEY DON'T NEED TO BE SUBJECTED TO THAT. THAT'S HARASSMENT. THANK YOU. HEATHER WILSON. I SAID AFTER THE LAST SPEAKER WASN'T ACCEPTING ANY MORE CALLS. HEATHER WILSON FOLLOWED BY BJ KALADY. GOOD EVENING. THE CITY VET AND OR COASTAL CARRIAGES FAILED BARBIE ON HER MAY 14TH, 2026 PHYSICAL EXAM. BARBIE HAD A SIGNIFICANT NON-UNION LACERATION ON HER RIGHT HIND LEG, WHICH IS WHY SHE HAD NOT BEEN SEEN FOR MONTHS. SHE WAS NOT ON VACATION AS THE INDUSTRY CLAIMED. SOON AFTER INQUIRING WITH THE CITY ON MAY 31ST REGARDING HER WHEREABOUTS, SHE MAGICALLY REAPPEARED FOR WORK. THIS IS HER INJURY ON MAY 24TH. JUST EIGHT DAYS [00:20:03] LATER, ON JUNE 2ND, SHE WAS OUT PULLING CARRIAGES. ON JUNE 3RD, WE WERE ABLE TO GET A GOOD PHOTO OF HER INJURED LEG WHICH WAS DEFINITELY COVERED TO CAMOUFLAGE WITH HER DARK FUR. ON JUNE 5TH, JUST TWO DAYS AFTER SLAVE LABOR, HER LEG WAS AGAIN OPEN AND BLEEDING. THE VERY NEXT DAY, ON JUNE 6TH, SHE IS FORCED TO WORK. AND AS IF THAT WERE NOT CRUEL ENOUGH, SHE WAS ALSO WORKING THE FOLLOWING DAY, ON JUNE 7TH. SECTION 1475, CARE OF ANIMALS. NO ANIMAL SHALL BE USED TO DRAW A CARRIAGE UNLESS THE ANIMAL IS IN GOOD HEALTH AND THE FOLLOWING STANDARDS ARE MET. ONE, THE ANIMAL IS KEPT IN GOOD CARE, HEALTH, AND WORKING CONDITION, SHALL NOT HAVE OPEN SORES OR WOUNDS. BARBIE OF COASTAL CARRIAGES WAS SUBJECTED TO FORCED LABOR WITH AN OPEN LACERATION OF HER RIGHT HIND LEG. FRED PEZZA AND JASON JUDGE WERE WELL AWARE OF THIS ANIMAL'S INJURY AND THEY DID NOTHING. THERE IS NO DOCUMENTATION OF HER INJURY ON HER CITY VET EXAM DATED MAY 14TH. IN TURN, THE CITY AND THE CITY VET DID NOTHING. WHEN WE TRIED TO PHOTOGRAPH HER LEG, WE WERE BODY BLOCKED BY A LARGE CARRIAGE DRIVER WHO OBVIOUSLY DID NOT WANT US TO DOCUMENT. THE DISHONESTY, THE SLOPPINESS, AND THE DISREGARD OF HORSES IS NOW ASSOCIATED WITH THE CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE. HOWEVER, YOU CAN STILL REDEEM YOURSELVES. PHILADELPHIA HAS JUST OUTLAWED HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES. SAN ANTONIO IS IN THE MIDDLE OF A PHASE-OUT. THERE WILL BE NO MORE HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES BY 2028. SEVERAL OTHER CITIES IN THIS COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD HAVE ALREADY HAD BANS OF HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES IN PLACE FOR MANY YEARS. LONDON, OXFORD, PARIS, TORONTO, BEIJING, CHICAGO, SAN FRANCISCO, AND CHARLESTON, AND IT LOOKS LIKE NEW YORK IS COMING UP AS WELL. ST. AUGUSTINE CAN ABSOLUTELY BE NEXT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. BJ KALADY, LAST SPEAKER. BJ KALADY, WEST CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE. CALLS TO CITY AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS ARE NOT WORKING. ACCORDING TO AT&T, THEY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR FIXING THIS SAFETY ISSUE. QUESTION. WHO IS CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE'S CARRIER FOR 825 AND 209 PHONES? THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER. MISS DUNN, THOSE VOTING NO ON PROPERTY TAX REFORM IN NOVEMBER ARE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AND INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BENEFITED FROM MISUSE OF PROPERTY TAXES. THIS IS GOING TO BE ON DISPLAY BETWEEN NOW AND NOVEMBER WHEN WE CAN VOTE. SO I'M SUGGESTING THAT PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION AND THEY VOTE YES ON NUMBER THREE. AND I WANT TO SAY, MAYOR KLINE, NOW I APPRECIATE YOU MAKING AN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT WHO CAN SPEAK AND WHEN THAT HAS BEEN CUT OFF BECAUSE PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE HANDLING THIS MEETING AND WHEN YOU COME IN AFTER THE TIME AND I THANK EVERYONE. BY NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T WAKE UP, I'M THE LAST ONE TO SPEAK AND I APPRECIATE THAT WHEN I HAVE ASKED TO BE THAT. THERE IS A REASON I'M NOT GOING INTO IT. BUT THERE IS A PROCEDURE AND WE NEED TO FOLLOW IT AND HELP EVERYONE THAT COMES TO THESE MEETINGS UNDERSTAND THERE'S A REASON WE DO THINGS AND WE'RE GOING TO FOLLOW OUR PROCEDURES. SO I THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THAT CLOSES PUBLIC COMMENT. [5. CONSENT AGENDA] MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ITEM, WHICH IS THE CONSENT AGENDA. MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, AND COMMISSIONERS, TONIGHT'S CONSENT AGENDA INCLUDES THAT THE FOLLOWING ORDINANCES ARE SCHEDULED FOR SECOND READING ON JULY 27TH. ORDINANCE 2026-15, WHICH IS AMENDING THE ZONING DESIGNATION OF 65 LEWIS BOULEVARD. [00:25:02] ORDINANCE 2026-16, AMENDING THE ZONING DESIGNATION OF 69 LEWIS BOULEVARD. ORDINANCE 2026-17... AMENDING THE FUTURE LAND USE DESIGNATION OF 18 AND 20 SPRING STREET AND FINALLY ORDINANCE 2026-18 AMENDING THE ZONING DESIGNATION OF 18 AND 20 SPRING STREET WE HAVE A REMINDER OF UPCOMING MEETINGS. WE HAVE A JULY 27TH 3 P.M. COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING, A JULY 27TH 5 P.M. REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING, AND AN AUGUST 10TH 5 P.M REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING. AND THAT CONCLUDES TONIGHT'S CONSENT AGENDA. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I MOVE THAT WE PASS THE CONSENT AGENDA. SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. THANK YOU. MISSION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. ON TO THE NEXT ITEM. ALL RIGHT. [8.A.1. Ordinance 2026-10: Amending Vehicles for Hire (Ch27) Ordinance (R. Franklin, Assistant City Manager)] SECOND READING, ORDINANCES AND PUBLIC HEARINGS. WE HAVE TWO, FOUR, WE HAVE TWO, THREE. SORRY, TWO, ORDINANCE 2026-10 AND ORDINANCE 2026-11. AND WE WILL START WITH ORDINANCE 2026-10 MR. FRANKLIN YOU ARE HERE TO PRESENT. GOOD EVENING MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, COMMISSIONERS, REUBEN FRANKLIN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER. THIS EVENING BEFORE YOU IS THE SECOND READING FOR ORDINANCE 2026-10 AMENDING VEHICLES FOR HIRE. WE HAD FIRST READING ON JUNE 8TH AT THE CITY COMMISSION MEETING. PREVIOUSLY BEFORE THAT WE HAD A WORKSHOP AS WELL TO DISCUSS CHANGES TO THE THE ORDINANCE. CHAPTER 27, THE CHANGES THAT WE HAVE SET, WE INCORPORATED FROM THE WORKSHOP AND ALSO FROM FIRST READING. AND I'LL JUST GO THROUGH THEM BRIEFLY, AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THIS ALSO REQUIRES A PUBLIC HEARING. WE SET LIMITS FOR THE PEDICAB OPERATORS AND THE NUMBER OF CABS. A LIMIT OF 15 OPERATORS AND THREE CABS PER OPERATOR IS INCLUDED IN THE ORDINANCE. THERE WAS DISCUSSION AT FIRST READING ABOUT THE ABILITY TO HAVE TOURS AND... POTENTIALLY CREATING ANOTHER DEFINITION A PETTY TOUR WE THOUGHT IT WAS EASIER JUST TO INCREASE THE LIMIT TO THREE TO GIVE FLEXIBILITY FOR TOURS SET MORE RESTRICTIVE NOISE REGULATIONS FOR PETTY CABS. SO, NO MUSIC IS ALLOWED TO BE PLAYED FOR PETTY CABS. SET PENALTIES FOR THE VEHICLES FOR HIRE WE WENT THROUGH THOSE PENALTIES THERE IS AN IMPOUNDMENT PROVISION INCLUDED. WE INCLUDE EXCLUSION AREAS FOR NEIGHBORHOODS THAT CAN BE SET BY A RESOLUTION BY THE COMMISSION. WE SET INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS. SO WE LOWERED THE INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS FROM A COMBINED $1 MILLION TO A COMBINED $300,000 REQUIREMENT. WE INCLUDED A CODE OF CONDUCT, BUT WE MODIFIED IT BASED ON FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED FROM THE ST. JOHN'S LAW GROUP. AND THOSE ARE THE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE AND INCLUDED IN SECOND CHAPTER 27 FOR SECOND READING. COMMISSIONERS, QUESTIONS OF STAFF BEFORE WE GO TO PUBLIC COMMENTS. QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? YEAH. DID I SEE IN HERE, SO IT'S PEDICABS HAVE NO MUSIC. AND THEN THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT 10 FEET AWAY. AM I WRONG ON THAT? SO THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SOLICIT OR MAKE LOUD NOISES LIKE MEGAPHONE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT SEPARATELY? SEPARATELY FROM THE NO MUSIC. NO MUSIC FOR PEDICABS ALLOWED WHILE THEY'RE IN OPERATION. BUT THEY'RE ALLOWED TO TALK TO PEOPLE, BUT THEY CAN'T BE OVER A CERTAIN DISTANCE. OKAY, THANKS. THANKS FOR CLARIFYING THAT. ALL RIGHT. OKAY, QUICK QUESTION. WITHIN THIS ORDINANCE, THERE IS A PROVISION FOR EXCLUSION ZONES, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY, SO HOW WILL WE DO THAT? THAT'LL BE BY RESOLUTION, RIGHT? BY RESOLUTION. OKAY. I JUST WANT TO KEEP THAT OUT IN FRONT OF US, THE TRIGGER, AS SOON AS WE PASS THIS ORDINANCE, ASSUMING WE PASS IT IN SOME WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, I'D LIKE US TO GO STRAIGHT INTO IDENTIFYING EXCLUSION ZONES. [00:30:04] YES, WE'LL HAVE THE ABILITY. WHAT STAFF WOULD DO IS CREATE A MAP AND BRING THAT TO THE COMMISSION TO SHOW THE AREA. OKAY. SOME PROPOSED AREAS THAT YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN CONSIDERING? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE THINKING? OH, NO, WE JUST SET THIS ORDINANCE JUST SETS THE FRAMEWORK UP FOR US TO DO THAT. WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROPOSED AREAS YET. THAT COULD BE A FURTHER CONVERSATION. SO THAT WOULD BE GENERATED BY US. OKAY. WITH PUBLIC INPUT. THANK YOU. OKAY. WE HAVE MORE CARDS BEFORE WE GO TO PUBLIC HEARING. I DO HAVE, I CAN CALL A COUPLE HERE. I'VE GOT ED SWIFT. AND FOLLOWED BY JOSHUA LUKE. OH, YES, PLEASE DO. YOU'RE WELCOME TO TURN THEM INTO THE CLERK. ALRIGHT, SORRY FOR THE INTERRUPTION. WE'RE JUST GETTING OUR DUCKS IN A ROW HERE. YOU'RE WELCOME TO SPEAK. NAME AND ADDRESS IF YOU SO DESIRE. ED SWIFT, 2591 HYDRANGEA STREET, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA, 32030. EXCUSE THE FROG IN MY THROAT. JUST GOT A LITTLE SORE TODAY. BUT ANYHOW, THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SPEAK TODAY. THE STAFF HAS DONE A MARVELOUS JOB ON THE TWO ORDINANCES. I'M GOING TO COMBINE THE TWO TOGETHER BECAUSE THEY REALLY GO HAND IN HAND WITH EACH OTHER, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE EXHIBIT THAT JUST GOT PASSED OUT. THE CURRENT RED LINE THAT JUST CAME OUT THAT'S BEING CONSIDERED FOR APPROVAL, THE ONE BEFORE IT, IT WAS AT 147 OVERALL POTENTIAL LOW-SPEED VEHICLES IN OUR HISTORIC DISTRICT OF 20 SQUARE BLOCKS AND IT HAS BEEN INCREASED WITH THE MOST RECENT RED LINE TO 162 LOW-SPEED VEHICLES IN THIS 20 BLOCK HISTORIC DISTRICT. AS YOU KNOW, LOW-SPEED VEHICLES BY STATE LAW THEY CAN'T GO OVER THE BRIDGE OF LIONS. THEY CAN'T GO ON US-1. THEY'RE KIND OF TRAPPED IN THE DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT WHEN THEY'RE OPERATING. I REPRESENT OLD TOWN TROLLEY. IT'S MY COMPANY. I'VE BEEN HERE FOR 25 YEARS. AND WHAT WE DO, I KNOW WE HAVE A SIGHTSEEING FRANCHISE OF 16 LICENSES CURRENTLY. AND WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR ANY EXPANSION OF OUR CURRENT FRANCHISE AT ALL. BUT WHAT WE DO IS WE DO DO SIGHTSEEING, BUT WE DO IT A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. WE DO A FIXED ROUTE WITH HOP ON, HOP OFF. AND WE WORK AS A TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM, AS SOME OF THE MOBILITY STUDIES IN THE PAST HAVE SHOWN, WHERE WE HAVE OVER 500 PARKING SPACES OUTSIDE THE HISTORIC DISTRICT, WHICH WE'VE BEEN ENCOURAGED BY PAST CITY COMMISSIONERS AND PAST MAYORS AND PAST STAFF THAT I'VE WORKED WITH OVER THE YEARS TO CREATE THIS PARKING OUTSIDE THE HISTORIC DISTRICT, COLLECT PEOPLE WITH SHUTTLES SO THE CARS STAY IN THEIR PARKING LOTS AT THE HOTELS WHERE THEY SHOULD BE, COLLECT THEM, PUT THEM ON THE HIGH-SPEED OCCUPANCY VEHICLES AND TAKE THEM AROUND TOWN. MY CONCERN IS THAT WE'RE LUMPED IN. WE USED TO, IT USED TO BE RIDE FOR HIRE ORDINANCE AND FRANCHISE ORDINANCE. AND NOW WE'RE MOVING A LOT OF THE RIDE FOR HIRE INTO THE FRANCHISE ORDINANCE, WHICH IS FINE. BUT NOW WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE SIGHTSEEING INDUSTRY, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE MY 16 LICENSES. IT'S GOING TO BE 162 PEOPLE, 162 VEHICLES POSSIBLE IN OUR VERY SMALL HISTORIC DISTRICT. AND I JUST DON'T WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN NASHVILLE BECAUSE WE DO OPERATE IN NASHVILLE HAPPEN HERE WHERE REALLY THE RESIDENTS GOT A LITTLE UPSET ABOUT TRAFFIC AND THINGS HAPPENING, YOU KNOW, IN THAT CITY. I WON'T GO THROUGH THE FULL STORY. WE DON'T HAVE TIME. BUT THAT'S WHY I'M VERY, VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS. SO I'M URGING YOU TO LOOK AT THIS AGAIN. I KNOW IT'S SECOND READING AND REDUCE THE NUMBER OF TIER TWO SIGHTSEEING VEHICLES. IT'S GONE FROM 20 TO 30 TO 45. I WANT TO PROTECT ALL THE EXISTING BUSINESSES. DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM THEM. DON'T TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM ME. GRANDFATHER IN WHAT THEY HAVE. YOU CAN LOOK AT THEIR TITLES. YOU CAN LOOK WHEN THEY BOUGHT THE VEHICLE SINCE THE FREEZE, GRANDFATHER IN THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE THREE, BUT LET'S MAKE IT FROM THREE TO TWO AND MAYBE LOOK AT SOME OF THESE OTHER CATEGORIES AS [00:35:01] WELL. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING TO ME. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER I HAVE FOR TIER TWO FRANCHISE WOULD BE LLOYD PIERCE. AM I DOING THIS RIGHT? MY NAME IS LLOYD PIERCE. I'M THE OWNER OF THE ST. AUGUSTINE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE. I'LL SEE YOU HERE IN ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA. I HAVE BEEN BASICALLY DOING THIS POSITION HERE FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS INDEPENDENTLY. SOME OF THE THINGS I WANT TO SAY IS THAT I ENJOY YOUR CANDIDNESS AS FAR AS SUPPORTING US FOR THE TIER TWO. I THINK IT IS A NEEDED ENTITY. IT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE MORE OF A ONE-ON-ONE OR PERSONALIZED TYPE TOUR. I THINK THAT OLD TOWN TROLLEYS IS AN EXCELLENT COMPANY. THEY HAVE BEEN WELL-RECOMMENDED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AND ALSO HERE IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA MANY, MANY TIMES, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO KEY WEST, WHERE I HAVE A LOT OF FAMILY MEMBERS THAT ARE STILL... DOWN THERE ALIVE AND WORKING. SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THIS, WITHIN THIS TIER TWO ENVIRONMENT, WE ARE STILL ALLOWING THE TIER TWO PEOPLE TO STAY INVOLVED, WHICH IS ME AND ALL THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, GOLF CARTS AND SO FORTH AND SO ON. SO WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING, I THINK WE'RE DOING A GOOD JOB. I THINK WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, A LOT OF THE TIER TWO OWNERS HAVE GOTTEN TOGETHER AND WE'RE STARTING TO ACTUALLY TALK AMONGST EACH OTHER TO ACTUALLY HELP CONTROL. AND ACTUALLY POLICE OURSELVES. SO I THINK THAT'S A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION BECAUSE WE ARE ACTUALLY BRINGING FORTH TO OURSELVES WHERE SOME OF OUR FALLACIES ARE, WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY INCORPORATE AND ACTUALLY, NOT INCORPORATE, BUT ACTUALLY ENHANCE EACH OTHER'S MOBILITY OF DOING THINGS TOGETHER WITH THE GRACES OF THE COUNCIL ITSELF AND THE GUIDANCE OF THE COUNCIL. SO OTHER THAN THAT, I THINK WE'RE ALL DOING A GOOD JOB. WE'RE MOVING FORWARD. I THINK IT'S STILL A NEEDED THING AS FAR AS... BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE THE TOURS AND THE ACTUAL SHUTTLING OF THE PEOPLE WITHIN THIS CITY AND I APPRECIATE YOUR CANDOR AND YOUR HELP. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER IS JOSHUA LUKE. HOW Y'ALL DOING? JOSHUA LUKE, 220 LASSA DRIVE, ST. AUGUSTINE ON THE PAIR PATROL TOURS. I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL THE HARD WORK AND DILIGENCE AND ACTUALLY GOING THROUGH THIS WHOLE PROCESS WITH US. I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT BENEFIT TO THE CITY IN THE FUTURE. I THINK THE TIER 2 OPERATIONS ARE GOING TO BRING A GOOD OPTION FOR OUR PATRONS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. I DO HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS, THOUGH. Y'ALL MAY POINT ME IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION TO ASK. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE EVERYONE'S GRANDFATHERED IN. IT'S GOING TO BE A LIMITED OF 15 AFTER THAT, AND AS IT SLOWLY REDUCES. FROM WHERE IT'S AT NOW, THE NUMBER OF FRANCHISES, THAT ONCE WE GET BELOW THAT 15, THERE WON'T BE ANY NEW FRANCHISES ISSUED. THAT'S FINE, BUT I WONDER IF THERE'S A LIST SOMEWHERE OF THE ACTIVE BUSINESSES THAT ARE GOING TO BE GRANDFATHERED IN, IF WE MIGHT CAN GET A HOLD OF THAT. THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS ABOUT THE BACKGROUND CHECKS. I'M REALLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE BACKGROUND CHECKS, BUT AS I WAS READING THROUGH THE NEW SECTION, I DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHO THAT GETS... HOW THE CITY GETS INFORMED OF THAT. IT TALKED ABOUT THE FRANCHISE ADMINISTRATOR RECEIVING THAT INFORMATION IF SOMEBODY TURNS OUT THEY'RE DISQUALIFIED. BUT SOME OF THESE OPERATIONS ONLY HAVE, LIKE ME, THEIR OWN OPERATORS, JUST ONE PERSON. SO WHO HOLDS THEM ACCOUNTABLE? I THINK THE CITY SHOULD BE MADE AWARE IF THERE'S ANY LESS THAN COUTH INDIVIDUAL THAT WANTS TO COME WORK FOR US OR WANTS TO COME DO THIS FOR A LIVING. SO IF WE COULD JUST MAYBE ADDRESS THAT. AS FAR AS THE NUMBERS GO, I MEAN, HONESTLY, WHEN I'M OUT THERE, I KNOW SEVERAL OPERATIONS THAT HAVE THREE VEHICLES ALREADY, AND I'M OUT THERE ALMOST EVERY DAY. I HARDLY EVER SEE ALL THREE OF THEM IN OPERATION AT ONE TIME. MATTER OF FACT, I'VE NEVER SEEN ALL OF OUR FRANCHISES IN OPERATION ALL AT ONE TIME. THE MOST I EVER SEE OUT THERE IS MAYBE SEVEN OR EIGHT DIFFERENT CARS ON THE BUSIEST OF DAYS. SO I WOULDN'T PANIC ABOUT THE NUMBERS TOO MUCH. I DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A BIG DEAL OR INTERFERE WITH STUFF TOO BAD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, SCOTT YORK, FOLLOWED BY GENE WHIRLING. WORKING, WHIRLING. [00:40:05] GOOD EVENING, SCOTT YORK, 29 SPANISH STREET, THE MOST CHARMING STREET IN ST. AUGUSTINE. AS SOMEONE WHO HAS STRIVED TO PROVIDE TOP QUALITY TOUR EXPERIENCES TO VISITORS OF THIS TOWN FOR THE PAST 38 YEARS, I WANT TO PERSONALLY THANK THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION, MR. REUBEN, JABARI, AND OTHER CITY STAFF FOR PUTTING TOGETHER THIS VERY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO BOTH REGULATE AND PROTECT THE TIER 2 FRANCHISE PROVIDERS AND ALSO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR RESIDENTS AS WELL. THIS NEW ORDINANCE GOES A LONG WAY IN REGULATING AN INDUSTRY THAT HAS OPERATED PRIMARILY WITHOUT OVERSIGHT FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. THANK YOU TO MR. REUBEN FOR PUTTING SO MUCH TIME AND EFFORT INTO THIS PROPOSED ORDINANCE. THERE IS ONE AREA WHERE I THINK THE ORDINANCE... COULD BE STRENGTHENED FOR EVERYONE'S BENEFIT RESIDENTS BUSINESSES AND FRANCHISE OPERATORS A SIMPLE PROVISION SUCH AS THE FOLLOWING WOULD BE OBJECTIVE AND EASY TO ENFORCE MUSIC AND AMPLIFIED SOUND NO FRANCHISE VEHICLE SHALL OPERATE WITH AMPLIFIED MUSIC OR RECORDED SOUND AUDIBLE MORE THAN 50 FEET FROM THE VEHICLE LIVE TOUR NARRATION REASONABLY NECESSARY FOR PASSENGERS SHALL BE PERMITTED PROVIDED IT IS NOT PLAINLY AUDIBLE WITHIN RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES OUR BUSINESSES ACCEPT AS REASONABLY NECESSARY FOR THE TOUR. OR, IF THE COMMISSION'S GOAL IS TO PRESERVE THE HISTORIC CHARACTER OF DOWNTOWN, NO EXTERIOR SPEAKERS OR AMPLIFIED MUSIC SHALL BE PERMITTED. AUDIO INTENDED FOR PASSENGERS SHOULD BE CONTAINED WITHIN THE VEHICLE THROUGH ONBOARD SPEAKERS OR PERSONAL LISTENING DEVICES. WHEN I CONDUCT TOURS AT THE CASA MONICA, OUR PREMIER HOTEL HERE IN ST. AUGUSTINE, WE PROVIDE A LISTENING DEVICE FOR EVERY SINGLE GUEST ON THAT TOUR. THEY DON'T WANT TO HEAR MY LOUD MOUTH WANDERING THROUGH THE LOBBY WHILE I'M CONDUCTING THE TOUR FOR THEIR GUESTS. THIS WOULD PRESERVE THE QUIET CHARACTER OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, REDUCE COMPLAINTS FROM RESIDENTS AND MERCHANTS, GIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT AN OBJECTIVE STANDARD INSTEAD OF RELYING SOLELY ON SUBJECTIVE NOISE COMPLAINTS, AND STILL ALLOW OPERATORS TO PROVIDE AN EXCELLENT GUIDED EXPERIENCE FOR THEIR GUESTS. I WAS OUT WALKING ON A TOUR TUESDAY NIGHT, AND AS I WALKED BY WITH MY GUESTS PAST ONE OF THE TIER 2 VEHICLES, MY GUESTS GOT TO HEAR... THE RECORDED GHOST TOUR PLANE IN THE VEHICLE SPEAKERS. MY VERY FIRST THOUGHT THAT WENT THROUGH MY MIND WAS WHAT WOULD DR. ADAMS THINK OF WHAT HAS BECOME OF GUIDED TOURS HERE IN THE NATION'S OLDEST CITY. THIS TOWN IS FULL OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO COME HERE AND MAKE A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY SHOWCASING OUR RICH HISTORY AND I'M ETERNALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES THIS PROVIDED FOR ME. THIS ORDINANCE WILL ALLOW THE NEXT GENERATION OF INNOVATORS AND STORYTELLERS TO SHARE WITH THOSE WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO OR DON'T WANT TO WALK THROUGH OUR HISTORIC STREETS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. JEAN WORLING, FOLLOWED BY THOMAS REYNOLDS. NAME AND ADDRESS IF YOU SO DESIRE. NAME AND ADDRESS. JOANNE WORLING, 222 NORTH WHITNEY STREET, ST. AUGUSTINE. JBL PEDICAB. SO MY FIRST QUESTION WAS JUST KIND OF VERY TECHNICAL QUESTION I HAD THAT POPPED INTO MY HEAD WAS IF PEOPLE HAVE A GOLF CART OR A PEDICAB, THEY GET IT REGISTERED WITH THE CITY. LET'S SAY AT SOME POINT DURING THE YEAR, THEY DECIDE THAT THEY WANT TO UPGRADE IT TO SOMETHING BETTER OR DIFFERENT OR, GOD FORBID, IT GETS DAMAGED. YOU KNOW, WE ALL SAW THE TESLA GO ACROSS THE STREET. STUFF HAPPENS. ARE PEOPLE ABLE TO PERMIT A NEW VEHICLE UNDER THEIR COMPANY IF THEY WANT TO UPGRADE IT OR DAMAGE HAPPENS? REALLY TECHNICAL QUESTION, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS COVERED. I REPRESENT THE PEDICAB INDUSTRY, AND I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE NOT THE BIGGEST FANS OF SOME OF THE MUSIC THAT'S PLAYED. AND ALL I CAN TELL YOU IS I'M REALLY SORRY FOR THOSE FEW PEOPLE THAT DON'T RESPECT THE RULES, AND I REALLY APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. I DO FEEL AS IF WE SHOULD HAVE JUST A FAIR STANDARD FOR ALL FRANCHISE VEHICLES, OR I GUESS, WE'RE TECHNICALLY NOT FRANCHISED, BUT WE SHOULD HAVE JUST A STANDARD PROTOCOL FOR MUSIC AND AMPLIFIED NOISE TALKING ON VEHICLES BECAUSE IT JUST DOESN'T REALLY SEEM FAIR TO CUT OFF ONLY THE PEDICABS. WHEN PREVIOUS MEETINGS I'VE BEEN TO, AMPLIFIED NOISE AND MUSIC WAS PRIMARILY COMPLAINED ABOUT ON OTHER INDUSTRIES. [00:45:02] I DON'T WANNA BE DISPARAGING TO ANYBODY, BUT I FEEL LIKE HAVING A 10 OR 50 FEET RULE FOR EVERYBODY WOULD PROBABLY BE THE BEST. WE ALL KNOW THE FEW PEOPLE THAT COMPLETELY DISRESPECT THE RULE. SO PUNISHING EVERYBODY FOR THAT. I'M NOT TOTALLY SURE THAT'S THE SOLUTION. AND I FEEL LIKE REGULATING THE MUSIC ON THE PEDICABS COMPLETELY LIKE THAT IS GOING TO ADD ADDITIONAL WORK TO POLICE OFFICERS AND JABARI. THAT SEEMS A LITTLE BIT ARBITRARY WHEN MAYBE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS ARE HAPPENING AND SOMEONE'S LIKE, OH, MY GOSH, TELL THEM TO TURN THEIR MUSIC OFF. IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO HAVE A PRIORITY OF BEHAVIOR AND, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY, WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO JUST KEEP EVERYTHING TASTEFUL. I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN MAYBE WRITE IN A LAW ABOUT APPROPRIATE MUSIC. THANK YOU. THOMAS REYNOLDS. AM I SPEAKING ON AMENDING VEHICLES FOR HIRE OR AMENDING FRANCHISE? YOU HAVE A CARD FOR BOTH, SO. OKAY, THANK YOU. TOM, TOM REYNOLDS, 1240, 4 MILE, 32084. DEFINITELY A THANKS TO MR. GRAHAM FOR ALL THAT WORK HE'S DONE. MR. FRANKLIN SURE DID A LOT OF WORK. AND I'LL TELL YOU SOMETHING, I LEARNED A LOT. AT THAT WORKSHOP AND THEN READING ALL THIS BACKUP STUFF. AND I GOT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING. WHEN I HEAR PEOPLE SAY THE NAME JAVARI, THAT'S ONE MAN. ONE MAN CANNOT KEEP UP WITH ALL THESE VEHICLES. THIS REALLY IS A THREE-PERSON DEPARTMENT. AND TRULY, I KNOW WE DON'T WANT TO GROW GOVERNMENT, BUT I CAN'T. THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT THING. ALL THOSE VEHICLES, 165 VEHICLES TO KEEP TRACK OF, MAKE SURE CERTAIN PEOPLE ARE IN COMPLIANCE. ANYWAYS, FOLKS, JUST THANKS FOR ALL THAT WORK. AND I GUESS THAT'S ABOUT COVERED, BUT I WANT TO TELL YOU I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FEES. THE FEES TELL EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS WHOLE THING BECAUSE THOSE FEES HAVE TO BE SUBSTANTIAL. ESPECIALLY ON AMENDING THE VEHICLES, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY KNOWS THE HORSE CARRIAGES REQUIRE THE MOST WORK TO KEEP UP WITH COMPLIANCE. SO, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW HOW THOSE FEES COULDN'T BE A MINIMUM OF $10,000 PER HORSE CARRIAGE. BUT ANYWAYS, FOLKS, AND I GOT TO DO ONE SPECIAL THANK YOU GOING OUT TO MOLLY MALONE. THAT VIDEO SHE SHOWED WAS AWESOME. FIVE MISDEMEANORS AND TWO FELONIES COMMITTED IN THAT THREE-MINUTE VIDEO. THAT WOMAN IS AWESOME, BRINGING ALL THOSE CRIMES HERE LIKE THAT. THANK YOU. THAT IS THE END OF PUBLIC COMMENT. WE ARE BACK TO... OH, WHOOPS, SOUNDS LIKE WE DON'T HAVE EVERYBODY. JUST TO BE CLEAR, THERE'S... THERE'S GOING TO BE A SEPARATE HEARING FOR THE OTHER ORDINANCE. SO FOR THIS ORDINANCE, UNLESS YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO SPEAK ON THE OTHER ORDINANCE, YOU SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON VEHICLES FOR HIRE ON THIS ORDINANCE FOR FOLKS IN THE BACK, IF IT'S GETTING CONFUSING TO THEM. THE NEXT ORDINANCE WILL BE THE FRANCHISES AND THE HORSE CARRIAGES, IF THAT'S HELPFUL TO FOLKS TO UNDERSTAND WHEN THEY SPEAK ON WHICH. SO RIGHT NOW IT'S VEHICLE FOR HIRE. MR. REGAN, WHAT I HAVE A CARD FOR YOU IS FOR 2026-11. WE'RE ON 2026-10. DID YOU HAVE ANOTHER CARD? OH, YOU DO? OKAY. I DO SEE THAT. COME ON UP THEN. SORRY ABOUT THAT. JOHN REGAN, 24 PARK TERRACE DRIVE. I'M HERE REPRESENTING OLD TOWN TROLLEY. AND I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT WHEN MR. SWIFT CALLED AND ASKED ME TO GET INVOLVED IN THE RULEMAKING, I ASKED HIM WHAT MOTIVATED HIM AND HE TOLD ME ABOUT NASHVILLE AND I LOOKED UP NASHVILLE AND COULD SEE THE SIMILARITIES WHERE A CITY THAT THE PROLIFERATION OF THE, WHAT THEY CALL IN A NEGATIVE WAY, THE TRANSPORTATION, THE TRANSPORTAINMENT INDUSTRY CERTAINLY LOOKS FAMILIAR. [00:50:03] SO THIS RULE IS GREAT THAT WE'RE NOW REGULATING AND LIMITING THE CAPACITY OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF LOW-SPEED VEHICLES THAT WILL BE ON THE ROAD. OUR COMMENT IS VERY SPECIFIC. TO TAKE A CONSERVATIVE APPROACH IN TWO WORDSMITHING CHANGES. THE FIRST TO BE WITH PETTY CABS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER FROM THREE CABS PER PERMIT TO TWO, AND ALSO UNDER FRANCHISES FROM THREE TO TWO. IT IS BASED ON THE PREMISE OF JUST BEING VERY CONSERVATIVE. DO NO HARM TO THE EXISTING INDUSTRY. THERE AREN'T THAT MANY BUSINESSES THAT HAVE THREE. THERE AREN'T THAT MANY BUSINESSES THAT HAVE TWO. MANY HAVE ONE. IF YOU SET IT AT TWO, YOU'RE IN A CONSERVATIVE POSITION. WHERE IF YOU HAVE FINDINGS LATER, YOU COULD ALWAYS EXPAND. BUT IN THE CURRENT CLIMATE COMING FROM TALLAHASSEE, I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY HARD TO CLAW BACK IF YOU DECIDE AT A LATER DATE THERE WERE TOO MANY LOW-SPEED VEHICLES ON THE ROAD. BY DOING THAT CHANGE, YOU WOULD TAKE THE REGULATION OF 162 VEHICLES TO 132. AND WHERE DOES THAT CONSERVATIVE POSITION COME FROM? I THINK IT COMES FROM MY HISTORY OF BEING INVOLVED IN THE CARRIAGE LAWSUITS THAT STEM FROM 2005 THROUGH, I BELIEVE, 2013, WHERE THERE WAS DIFFERENT MONOPOLY ARGUMENTS. AND FINALLY, A MR. MURPHY MCDANIEL PURCHASED A NUMBER OF PERMITS. THE CITY DECIDED TO RETRACT THE NUMBER OF PERMITS FOR CARRIAGES ON THE ROAD AND IN 2013 CLAIMED FINANCIAL RUIN. AND AVALON CARRIAGES WENT OUT OF BUSINESS. NOW, THERE'S A LOT IN ALL THOSE LAWSUITS, BUT THE MORAL TO THE STORY IS THAT YOU HAVE A DIRECT PRECEDENT OF HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO CLAW BACK, EVEN IN THE BEST OF TIMES. AND IN TODAY'S CLIMATE, WITH TALLAHASSEE BEING SO HEAVY HANDED, ERODING HOME RULE, I THINK IF IT WOULD JUST BE MORE PRUDENT TO TAKE A CONSERVATIVE POSITION, OPEN THE LEGISLATION CONSERVATIVELY, AND THEN REEVALUATE DOWN THE LINE. AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO CONGRATULATE THE COMMISSION ON FINALLY GETTING A HANDLE ON THIS BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT RESIDENTS DO COMPLAIN ABOUT RANGING FROM EXCESSIVE NOISE, TRAFFIC CONGESTION, BLOCKED LANES, BLOCKED EMERGENCY VEHICLES. SO LET'S JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE MATCH THE CAPACITY TO THE DEMAND. AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU. AND AGAIN, MY APOLOGIES. ALL RIGHT. SO THAT DOES CLOSED PUBLIC COMMENT. I HAVE NO MORE SPEAKER CARDS. MR. FRANKLIN, WELCOME BACK TO THE PODIUM. THANK YOU. AND JUST TO CLARIFY, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WAS ANSWERED ABOUT PERMITTING, IF THEY HAVE A NEW VEHICLE, NOTHING WILL PREVENT THEM FROM BRINGING IT IN TO GET IT INSPECTED, TO GET A MEDALLION. THAT COULD HAPPEN AT ANY TIME DURING THE YEAR. WE WOULD JUST PRORATE THE FEE. DO WE HAVE FURTHER COMMENTS? AT THIS TIME, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE FROM PUBLIC HEARING. THIS IS SECOND READING, SO... YEAH, THIS IS WHERE THE RUBBER HITS THE ROAD. AFTER HOW MANY YEARS NOW? A LITTLE OVER TWO FOR ME. A LITTLE OVER TWO YEARS OF WORKING ON THIS ORDINANCE, SO HOPEFULLY WE ARE READY TO GIVE IT A THUMBS UP, MAKE MODIFICATIONS AND A THUMBS UP. WHO WOULD LIKE TO START? COMMISSIONER SPRINGFIELD. I DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH. A QUESTION FOR MR. FRANKLIN. THIS LIST THAT WE PRODUCED, THIS ACTUALLY IS GOING TO REDUCE WHAT CURRENTLY POTENTIALLY COULD BE ON THE ROADS BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S SORT OF UNLIMITED, CORRECT? YES, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS IS RIGHT NOW IT'S PRETTY MUCH UNREGULATED. YOU CAN HAVE AS MANY CARDS THAT YOU WANT ON THE ROAD PETTY CABS ON THE ROAD RIGHT WE ARE SETTING CAPS AND LIMITATIONS. OKAY SO WE ARE WE ARE ALREADY REDUCING THE NUMBER THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST, AND WE ARE CODIFYING THE 15 CARRIAGES FOR HORSES BECAUSE I THINK, WE WERE DOING IT MANAGEMENT WISE. BEFORE WE HAD 30. BEFORE I THINK OR AND NOW IT'S 15 AND NOW WE'RE MAX OF PUTTING IN THE ORDINANCE AS 15. WE ARE DOWN TO 15 NOW WE'VE ACTUALLY ONLY GOT FIVE MEDALLIONS ON THE STREET AT THIS POINT. CORRECT. OKAY. AND MR. SPRING, LET ME CLARIFY ONE THING. SO WE'VE NEVER HAD THAT MANY VEHICLES ON THE STREET THAT I KNOW OF. I SAID THE EXISTING ORDINANCE IS UNREGULATED. SO YOU COULD HAVE. I SAID POTENTIALLY. RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT. AND WE STILL HAVE A POTENTIAL FOR 162. [00:55:02] AND ANYWAY, IF WE PASS THIS, I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO CONTINUE TO RESEARCH FINGERPRINTING BACKGROUND CHECKS. I DO KNOW THE SCHOOL BOARD GETS NOTIFIED WHEN ANYBODY THAT WE PUT ON OUR LIST. IF THEY GET HIT ON AN ARREST, NO MATTER WHAT THE ARREST IS, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS NOTIFIED. I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A SYSTEM THAT IF WE REQUIRE SOMEBODY TO GET FINGERPRINTED OR A BACKGROUND CHECK, THAT ONCE THAT PERSON HITS A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY THAT WE CAN GET NOTIFIED. I AGREE WITH ONE OF OUR SPEAKERS WHO SAID ONE MAN CAN'T DO THIS. I'VE SAID THAT ALL ALONG, THAT JABARI WAS HIRED, THAT POSITION WAS CREATED. THAT HE FILLED WAS CREATED FOR A VERY SPECIFIC SEASON TO AVOID A WHOLE OTHER ORDINANCE TO REGULATE NIGHTTIME LIFE AND I DON'T WANT THAT POSITION TO BE WATERED DOWN AND I DO THINK THIS IS GOING TO REQUIRE THAT WE TALK ABOUT ADDING AN ADDITIONAL PERSON. EVEN THOUGH I HELD UP THE SHEET AND TALKED ABOUT POTENTIAL NUMBERS, I DO AGREE WITH MR. REAGAN'S COMMENTS THAT IT'S A WHOLE LOT EASIER TO BACK UP, I MEAN, TO GO FORWARD THAN TO BACK UP. AND THE SHORT-TERM RENTAL IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE. I THINK ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH HAS A MUCH BETTER HANDLE ON THEIR SHORT-TERM RENTALS BECAUSE THEY ORIGINALLY HAD A MINIMUM, AND WE DID NOT HAVE A MINIMUM, AND WE'VE SUFFERED THE CONSEQUENCE OF THAT ERROR. SO I THINK REDUCING TO TWO, EXCEPT GRANDFATHER AGAIN, WOULD BE APPROPRIATE. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WHO ELSE IS READY TO SPEAK? I AGREE ALSO THAT WE SHOULD REDUCE THE TIER TWO LOW-SPEED VEHICLES. WHOEVER HAS THREE SHOULD BE GRANDFATHERED IN AND WE SHOULD KEEP IT AT THAT. THEY INDICATED THAT THERE'S ONLY 20 BLOCKS THAT THESE VEHICLES GO THROUGH AND WITH THERE ONLY BEING 20 BLOCKS, THAT AND THE REGULAR PEDESTRIANS, REGULAR PEOPLE THAT ARE DRIVING, THAT'S GOING TO ADD TO OUR CONGESTION, ESPECIALLY TIMES LIKE ON THE 4TH OF JULY AND NIGHTS OF LIGHTS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, IT'S GOING TO BE A PAIN FOR PEOPLE TO NAVIGATE AROUND BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE STREET, THE SPACE FOR THAT. ALSO, THE PEDICABS, THE SAME THING THAT I THINK THAT WE SHOULD REDUCE THAT TO 30 AND WHOEVER HAS THREE, THEY CAN BE GRANDFATHERED IN, BUT NOT KEEP INCREASING THOSE BECAUSE THEY GO AS FAST AS SOMEBODY CAN RIDE A BIKE. THEY DON'T GO LIKE A HIGHER SPEED. SO I THINK WE NEED TO LIMIT THOSE TWO SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF CONTROL THE ROADS SOMEWHAT BECAUSE IT'S LIMITED. BACK IN THE DAY WHEN ST. AUGUSTINE WAS STRUCTURED, IT WAS STRUCTURED FOR HORSE AND CARRIAGES AND SLOW DRIVING VEHICLES. AND WE HAVE GROWN AS A COMMUNITY, BUT THE ROADS HAVE NOT GROWN. AND SO WE NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT. SO AND ALSO I GOT SOME EMAILS FROM SOME PEOPLE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, KEEPING THE PEOPLE THAT GO OVER TO THE LIGHTHOUSE AREA TO KEEP THEM OVER THERE BY THE LIGHTHOUSE. THEY DIDN'T WANT THEM DRIVING THROUGH THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS BECAUSE IT'S DISRUPTIVE. SO THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT WAS BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION. AND MAYBE THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE MUSIC, BECAUSE I WAS FOR THE MUSIC, BECAUSE I'M SURE IF YOU'RE RIDING A BIKE AND YOU WANT TO HEAR HEADPHONES OR WHATEVER. BUT WITH THAT GETTING THE EMAILS AND DIFFERENT THINGS FROM DIFFERENT RESIDENTS STATING THAT THE NOISE LEVEL IS IT'S A LOT AND I KNOW WHEN THOSE PEOPLE COME DOWN MY STREET WITH THAT BOOM BOX AND MY WINDOWS ARE SHAKING I'M NOT HAPPY AND THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THESE KIND OF VEHICLES. THANK YOU. OKAY. I'LL BE VERY GLAD TO SEPARATE THESE ORDINANCES BECAUSE I HAVE A VERY HARD TIME RESPONDING BECAUSE WE'RE DOING THE FOR HIRE, RIGHT? SO I JUST PROCEDURALLY, I WOULD JUST SAY, OKAY, I'LL TRY TO DO THIS IN A BROADER WAY. I DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE NUMBERS FOR THE PEDICABS, AND I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE NUMBERS FOR THE GOLF CARTS, WHETHER THEY'RE USED FOR HIRE OR WHETHER THEY'RE USED FOR TOURS. I UNDERSTAND MR. SWIFT'S POINT. I THINK THAT THEY'RE BY NATURE, THESE THINGS ARE MORE SCALE-FRIENDLY FOR THE DOWNTOWN. THEY MAKE MORE SENSE, REALLY, IN A SMALLER AREA WITH THE SMALLER STREETS THAT WE'VE MENTIONED. IT ALSO REQUIRES LESS LOADING CURB SPACE. THEY'RE MORE NIMBLE DOWNTOWN. I DON'T THINK THE EXTRA ONES ARE GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, REALLY, WHEN IT COMES TO THAT KIND OF LOW-SPEED THING, [01:00:02] UNLESS IT'S ON THE MAJOR CORRIDORS. I THINK THAT COULD BE A PROBLEM AND I THINK IF THAT DOES PRESENT ITSELF IN THE FUTURE THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER ROUTES FOR THEM. IF MOBILITY IS THE ISSUE, IF SLOWING TRAFFIC DOWN IS THE ISSUE, THEN WE CAN DEAL WITH THAT LATER. BUT I THINK SOME OF THESE ARE GOING TO BE GOING IN AREAS WHERE PEOPLE AREN'T GOING HIGH SPEED ANYWAY. AND AS A BUSINESS PERSON, I THINK THAT THE CREATION OF THE SMALLER SCALE BUSINESSES ARE GOOD, NUMBER ONE, FOR THE SCALE REASONS I JUST MENTIONED IN TERMS OF MOBILITY. AND TWO, IT IS A DYNAMIC WAY TO BUILD SMALL BUSINESSES IN OUR TOWN. A LOT OF THESE ARE LOCALLY OWNED. AND I THINK THIS IS JUST THE NATURE OF BUSINESS. AND IT'S A DYNAMIC MARKET. NEW TECHNOLOGY COMES ONLINE. SO I WOULD SAY WE EMBRACE IT. AND INSTEAD OF TRYING TO CONTROL IT, WHICH I DON'T THINK IS SOMETHING THAT I'M COMFORTABLE WITH AS A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL, WE JUST MANAGE IT. AND I THINK WE HAVE POTENTIAL THINGS WE CAN DO IN THE FUTURE TO MANAGE THAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NUMBER OF BIG ONES, THE NUMBER ON THE STREET, BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL SMALLER SCALE. WE COULD, IN TERMS OF, MR. SWIFT HAS A GOOD POINT THAT HE PARKS HIS PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF TOWN AND HE BRINGS THEM IN. THAT'S A VERY COMPELLING ARGUMENT. AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A POTENTIAL WE COULD WORK WITH THE INDUSTRY THAT THEY WOULD GIVE DISCOUNTS TO PEOPLE THAT SHOW THAT THEY'RE STAYING IN A HOTEL THAT'S CLOSE TO THE AREA SO THAT THEY ARE IN A PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY ZONE ALREADY AND THEY STAYED IN A LOCAL HOTEL. I DON'T WANT TO DISCOURAGE, I WOULD DISCOURAGE PEOPLE FROM COMING AND DRIVING IN THE TOWN USING ONE OF OUR ON-STREET PARKING SPACES AND THEN DRIVING AROUND IN THE CART. I THINK THAT'S COUNTERPRODUCTIVE AND MAYBE THERE'S A WAY AS WE GO FORWARD CAN STRATEGIZE INCENTIVES TO SOLVE THAT PROBLEM BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S A REAL PROBLEM. FUTURE ACTIONS, I GUESS I'M JUST ALL RIGHT NOW. IF THERE'S DEVELOPING COMPLAINTS ABOUT TIER TWO NOISE, I WILL BE ADVOCATING FOR A NOISE RESTRICTION ON THOSE. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE PETTY CABS ARE BEING RESTRICTED MORE NOW, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING I'LL RESERVE A RATE FOR. THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH TOO MANY LOW-SPEED VEHICLES CAUSING MOBILITY ISSUES. WE CAN CREATE SPECIFIC ROUTES AND KEEPING THEM OFF THE MAIN CORRIDORS IF THAT BECOMES A PROBLEM. COMMISSIONER BLONDER, I THINK THAT HAD WRITTEN DOWN HERE, WE START BEGINNING TO THINK ABOUT THE PROCESS WE'RE GOING TO USE TO ELIMINATE THESE FROM NEIGHBORHOODS AND EXCLUSIONARY ZONES. I MEAN, WE HAVE A PROCESS FOR PEOPLE TO APPLY FOR HAVING A RESIDENTIAL PARKING PROGRAM. AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO DO IS START TO BEGIN TO DESCRIBE THIS PROCESS AND WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE. AND I THINK SOONER IS GOING TO BE BETTER ON THAT. I CAN SAY PERSONALLY FROM LIGHTHOUSE PARK HAS ALREADY BEEN REFERENCED HERE. THE PLACE TO COME IN AND OUT OF THE HOUSE PARK IS WRIGHT-CARKS DRIVE. SO SOME OF THAT MIGHT BE EXCLUSIONARY. SOME OF THAT MIGHT BE HAVING ROUTES FOR EGRESS AND INGRESS. AND I THINK THAT POINT IS THERE'S A POINT TO BE MADE, LIKE WHETHER THAT'S FUNCTIONING AS A PEDICAB OR A PEDITOUR. I DO NOT WANT TO DISCRIMINATE. I JUST DO NOT WANT TO DISALLOW PEDICABS COMING AND PICKING SOMEONE UP IN THEIR HOUSE. I THINK THAT'S... A VERY IMPORTANT MOBILITY FEATURE, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS I WANT THE EXTRA PEDICABS. BUT THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN A TOUR COMING AND PICKING SOMEONE UP AND DRIVING AROUND, OR PICKING THEM UP SOMEWHERE ELSE AND THEN DRIVING THROUGH A NEIGHBORHOOD. AND WE GOT, I THOUGHT, A VERY AFFECTING EMAIL EARLY IN THIS PROCESS FROM ONE OF OUR HAARP MEMBERS WHO DESCRIBED THAT YOU'RE OUT IN YOUR YARD AND NOW THERE'S A TOUR GOING ON BY YOUR HOUSE. AND I THINK THAT IT'S SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE. WE HAVE TO DRAW THAT LINE. AND WE HAD AN EMAIL COME IN TODAY FROM MR. PAPPAS, AND HE WAS TALKING ABOUT ALLOWING MORE PEDICABS IN THE FUTURE TO DISTRICTS OUTSIDE OF THE DOWNTOWN SO THAT IF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GET SHUTTLED AROUND, THAT IT CAN BE USED AS A TRANSPORTATION ITEM. AND THAT'S A SAFEGUARD THAT I WOULD LIKE. WE DON'T HAVE TO GET IT IN RIGHT NOW. SO THOSE ARE MY THOUGHTS FOR THIS. I'M GOING TO LEAVE THE HORSES OFF FOR NOW BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THEY'RE NOT SEPARATE, THEY'RE NOT TIED TO MY CONVERSATION. SURE, THANK YOU. I AM VERY MUCH IN FAVOR OF THE NOISE RESTRICTIONS. THE MORE RESTRICTIVE, THE BETTER IN MY OPINION. JUST TO PRESERVE THE CHARACTER OF THE DOWNTOWN AND NOISE POLLUTION IN GENERAL IS A PROBLEM FOR US. [01:05:01] I WOULD ALSO GO ALONG WITH MY FELLOW TWO OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT AT THIS POINT IN TIME, I WANT TO STAY CONSERVATIVE. LET'S NOT LET THE GENIE ALL THE WAY OUT OF THE BOTTLE. LET'S SEE WHERE THAT GOES, HOW WE'RE IMPACTED. SO I'D LIKE TO DO WHAT PUBLIC SPEAKER RECOMMENDED AS WELL AS WHAT I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IS THAT WE CAP IT AT TWO VEHICLES PER, PER WHATEVER VEHICLE FOR HIRE LICENSE. AND THEN WE CAN ALWAYS GO UP TO THREE IF WE AREN'T OVERBURDENED. BUT TRENDS ARE THAT WE'RE GETTING MORE AND MORE VISITORS EVERY SINGLE YEAR. TOURISM IS INCREASING. SOME WOULD ARGUE, AND I HAVE ARGUED, THAT WE AT TIMES ARE FACING OVER-TOURISM. SO GIVEN ALL OF THOSE PRESSURES, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO JUST KEEP AS CONSERVATIVE AS WE CAN. IF AN OPERATOR HAS... THREE VEHICLES NOW, FIND GRANDFATHER. THAT'S GREAT. EVERYBODY ELSE I THINK SHOULD START WITH TWO. AND I IMPORTANTLY REALLY WANT THESE MEDALLIONS TO BE VISIBLE. THREE-INCH LETTERS, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFYING THE NAME OF THE COMPANY AND SO FORTH FROM A HUNDRED FEET AWAY, ESPECIALLY IF SOMEBODY LIKE ME WHO HAS TO TAKE MY GLASSES OFF IN ORDER TO LOOK AT MY PHONE OR READ SOMETHING THAT'S IN FRONT OF ME, I'M NOT GOING TO SEE THAT PERSON WHO JUST YELLED PROFANITIES AT ME. I'M NOT GOING TO SEE THEIR MEDALLION, AND THAT HAS HAPPENED. SO I THINK IT'S GREAT FOR OUR VISITORS TO KNOW WHO IS CERTIFIED BY THE CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE, HAS MET THE INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS, HAS MET THE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS, HAS MET THE BACKGROUND CHECKS. I WANT EVERYBODY TO KNOW THAT THIS IS A VEHICLE THAT YOU CAN GET INTO WITH A HIGH LEVEL OF COMFORT. AND SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DON'T HAVE JUST SMALL MEDALLIONS, BUT THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT IS VERY VISIBLE. AND IT'S GOOD FOR THE SMALL BUSINESSES. IT'S GOOD FOR THE CITY. SO I WANT TO SEE SOMETHING BIGGER THAN A MEDALLION, BOTH FRONT AND BACK. AND THAT ALSO WILL HELP ENFORCEMENT, WHICH I AGREE, WE NEED MORE THAN ONE PERSON PROBABLY AS WE CONTINUE TO EXPAND THESE PROGRAMS. AND I THINK THAT IS ALL I HAVE. RIGHT. YEAH, THAT'S ALL I HAVE NOW. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. SO I AGREE WITH THE FOLKS HERE AT THE TABLE THAT WOULD LIKE TO START WITH A MORE CONSERVATIVE APPROACH, 15 FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS WITH TWO VEHICLES EACH, AND THEN IF WE FIND THAT WE HAVE THOSE THAT HAVE THREE, WE'LL GRANDFATHER THEM IN. SO, I THINK FOR THE MOST PART, WE'VE GOT, LOOKS TO ME LIKE WE'VE GOT FOUR, AND MAYBE YOU WANTED, YEAH, OKAY, OKAY. SO, WE'VE GOT AGREEMENT HERE. WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS WE NEED TO... I THINK THAT'S THE NEXT ORDINANCE. WELL, MADAM MAYOR, WHAT I HEARD FOR THIS ORDINANCE, CHAPTER 27, IS WE'RE TALKING REALLY THE ONLY DISCUSSION THAT WE'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW IS THREE CABS PER OPERATOR OR TWO CABS PER OPERATOR. THE EXISTING ORDINANCE AS PRESENTED TO YOU HAS THREE CABS PER OPERATOR. IF YOU WANTED TO MAKE A MOTION WHERE YOU CHANGE THAT TO TWO CABS PER OPERATOR, I BELIEVE WE HAVE CONSENSUS ON EVERYTHING ELSE. YEAH. WELL, IT'S GOING TO BE THE SAME ON THE OTHER TWO. BUT, YES, I MOVE THAT WE CHANGE THE ORDINANCE FOR TWO CABS PER OPERATOR WITH 15 OPERATORS. SO IT'S 15 LICENSES. WOULD YOU ACCEPT A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT BASED ON OUR DISCUSSION? I'LL CONSIDER IT. OKAY. A GRANDFATHERING IN THOSE WHO ALREADY HAVE THREE. CORRECT. YES, THAT WOULD BE PART TWO OF THAT BECAUSE I THINK THAT WAS ALL WE DEFINITELY NEED TO DO. AND Y'ALL HAVE TO SORT THAT OUT AT THE STAFF LEVEL AND BRING IT BACK TO US. SO IS THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE PROPOSED CHANGES WITH AN ADDITIONAL AMENDMENT FROM THE FLOOR OF TWO VEHICLES PER OPERATOR WITH GRANDFATHERING OF A THIRD VEHICLE PER OPERATOR, IF CURRENTLY ACTIVE AND COMPLIANT WITH THE MUNICIPAL CODE AT THE TIME OF ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE 2026-10. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I SAID. THANK YOU. SECOND THAT. WE'RE TALKING PEDICABS. THAT'S CORRECT. ISN'T IT GOLF CARTS TOO? NO, WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT. YOU'RE RIGHT. OKAY. SORRY. AND I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER GARRIS SECOND. AND I JUST SAY PERSONALLY, I'M NOT A FAN OF THE PEDICABS BASED ON A LOT OF THE BEHAVIOR THAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED PERSONALLY MYSELF, SO. BUT THIS IS IN NO WAY PUNITIVE TO THAT. I THINK THIS JUST MAKES [01:10:01] SENSE. I REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT COMMISSIONER GARRIS SAID ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A 16TH CENTURY STREET SYSTEM. IT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE. IT'S A LANDMARK DISTRICT, AND IT'S WHAT MAKES OUR CITY UNIQUE. IT'S SPECIAL. AND THAT SHOULD NOT CHANGE. EVERYTHING ELSE NEEDS TO CHANGE AND GIVE. SO IT'S THIS THAT NEEDS TO GIVE, NOT THE CITY ITSELF. SO I HAVE TO AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT. BUT DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY FINAL QUESTIONS? WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. JUST A FINAL COMMENT, IF I COULD FOLLOW UP. FINAL COMMENTS. THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN LENGTHY. STAFF HAS DONE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK. WE'VE ALL HAD A WORKSHOP ON IT. AND THE BEST PART IS THAT WE'VE COME TO A PLACE WHERE I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT WE'RE IN A GOOD SPOT. AND THAT'S IN LARGE PART BECAUSE OF THE PUBLIC INPUT AND THOSE WHO HAVE A STAKE IN THIS PROCESS. SO I APPRECIATE. AS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL, IN TIMES WHEN WE THINK THE GOVERNMENT ISN'T WORKING VERY WELL, I THINK THAT CITIZENRY HELPING US MAKE GOOD DECISIONS IS AWESOME. AND I JUST WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR PARTICIPATING. WELL SAID. THANK YOU. MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. NANCY SIKES-KLINE? YES. CYNTHIA GARRIS? YES. JON DEPRETER? NO. JIM SPRINGFIELD? YES. BARBARA BLONDER? YES. FOLKS, I DIDN'T ACTUALLY READ THE SHORT TITLE. SO I'M SORRY YOU ALL KIND OF GOT AHEAD OF ME THERE. I APOLOGIZE. WE HAD A MOTION AND A SECOND, AND THEN WE ROLLED RIGHT INTO THE VOTE. LET'S GO AHEAD AND READ THE... WHO WAS THE MOTION AND THE SECOND? I MADE THE MOTION. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO PAUSE AT THE MOTION AND THE SECOND. ORDINANCE NUMBER 2026-10, AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 27 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE, PROVIDING FOR REGULATIONS FOR VEHICLES FOR HIRE. AMENDING ARTICLE 1 IN GENERAL, ARTICLE 2 VEHICLE DRIVERS, ARTICLE 3 MOTOR VEHICLES FOR HIGHER, ARTICLE 4 TRAILER TRAINS AND SIGHTSEEING BUSES, AND ARTICLE 5 TRANSPORTATION BY ANIMAL-DRAWN VEHICLES FOR PURPOSES OF TOURING, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. SO NOW YOU CAN DO A ROLL CALL VOTE. ALL RIGHT. ANY FINAL COMMENTS? DEBATE? OKAY. MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. NANCY SIKES-KLINE. YES. CYNTHIA GARRIS. YES. JON DEPRETER. NO. JIM SPRINGFIELD. YES. BARBARA BLONDER. YES. [8.A.2. Ordinance 2026-11: Amending Franchises (Ch14) Ordinance (R. Franklin, Assistant City Manager)] ALL RIGHT, THEN MOTION CARRIES, 4-1. THANK YOU. WE'RE ON TO THE NEXT ONE. YOU'LL DO YOUR PRESENTATION, AND WE'LL HEAR PUBLIC COMMENTS. WE'LL DISCUSS. IF WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND, WE WILL READ THE SHORT TITLE AND THEN MOVE ON TO A VOTE. THANK YOU, MADAM MAYOR. BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING IS ORDINANCE 2026-11, AMENDING FRANCHISES, WHICH IS CHAPTER 14 IN OUR CODE. WE HAD A FIRST READING WAS HELD ON JUNE 8TH AT THE CITY COMMISSION MEETING. PRIOR TO THAT, WE HELD A WORKSHOP. WE'VE TAKEN EVERYTHING THAT WAS DISCUSSED AT THE WORKSHOP AND FIRST READING AND INCORPORATED THOSE CHANGES INTO SECOND READING. I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH THEM REAL QUICK WITH YOU. WE'VE SET THE PENALTIES FOR FRANCHISES. THE PENALTIES WERE REVISED AND INCLUDE AN IMPOUNDMENT PROVISION. WE'VE ALSO INCLUDED EXCLUSION AREAS FOR NEIGHBORHOODS. SO YOU COULD ADOPT BY RESOLUTION EXCLUSION AREAS. WE'VE SET THE INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS THAT TIER ONE WILL STAY THE SAME. TIER TWO WE REDUCED TO $300,000 COMBINED. THAT WAS REDUCED FROM A MILLION DOLLAR COMBINED. WE'VE INCLUDED THE CODE OF CONDUCT BUT WE MODIFIED IT. WE SET THE WORK PERIOD FOR THE HORSES. WE ALSO SET THE CUTOFF TEMPERATURE FOR THE HORSES, WHICH WILL NOW BE 90 DEGREES USING THE WET BULB GLOBE TEMPERATURE. WE INCLUDED THE DEFINITION FOR THE WET BULB GLOBE TEMPERATURE. THIS ORDINANCE HAS SET TIER TWO LIMITS WITH A MAXIMUM OF 15 OPERATORS WITH THREE VEHICLES PER OPERATORS WITH 11 PASSENGERS PER VEHICLE. IT'S ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE CITY WILL ALLOW THE CURRENT ACTIVE BUSINESSES TO APPLY FOR A TIER 2 FRANCHISE, WHICH MAY BE OVER THE 15 MAXIMUM. HOWEVER, NO NEW FRANCHISES WILL BE ALLOWED UNTIL THE NUMBER OF FRANCHISES FALLS UNDER THE 15 MAXIMUM LIMIT. WE HAVE SET THE LIMIT FOR NUMBER OF MEDALLIONS PER HORSE CARRIAGE FRANCHISE. A FRANCHISE CAN HAVE UP TO FIVE MEDALLIONS, WITH A MAXIMUM TOTAL MEDALLION SET AT 15 FOR ALL FRANCHISES. WE'VE SET OWNERSHIP TRANSFER REQUIREMENTS FOR FRANCHISES. WE'VE SET THE METHODOLOGY [01:15:02] FOR SELECTING A FRANCHISE. WE'VE CREATED AN INCENTIVE TO USE ELECTRIC CARRIAGES. WE DID MODIFY THIS TO SO NOW IT'S JUST ONE ELECTRIC CARRIAGE. AND WE ALSO INCLUDED A DEFINITION FOR WHAT AN ELECTRIC HORSELESS CARRIAGE IS. AND WE CREATED A REGULAR ADDED A REGULAR USE PROVISION, WHICH IS YOU HAVE TO USE IT IN WITHIN 60 DAYS. YOU CAN'T GO WITH 60 DAYS WITHOUT OPERATION, WITHOUT NOTIFYING THE CITY. THOSE WERE THE CHANGES WE INCORPORATED. ON FRIDAY, WE DID RECEIVE A LETTER FROM THE ST AUGUSTINE LAW GROUP, AND SO WE DID REVIEW THAT LETTER AND STAFF MADE SOME CHANGES BASED ON THE LETTER THAT WE REVIEWED AND WE PROVIDED THE ORDINANCE WITH THE CHANGE, BUT I JUST WANT TO GO OVER WHAT WE DID CHANGE. THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH DISCLOSING THE PRIVATE BARN LOCATIONS OUTSIDE OF THE CITY FOR HORSE FRANCHISES, SO WE DID STRIKE THAT FROM THE APPLICATION. WHEN THEY SUBMIT THE APPLICATION, WE ASKED FOR THEIR BARN LOCATION. SINCE THE CITY WON'T HAVE ANY OVERSIGHT ON A PRIVATE BARN OUTSIDE OF THE CITY, WE DIDN'T SEE THE NEED TO KEEP THAT IN THERE. WE DID ALSO CHANGE SOME LANGUAGE TO ADD A LITTLE BIT OF MORE DEFINITION FOR A SUSPENSION UNDER ANIMALS, CARE OF ANIMALS. BASICALLY, THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE SUSPENSION IF THERE WAS AN ALLEGATION OF ANIMAL ABUSE. THAT THE CITY HAD THE ABILITY, THE CITY MANAGER HAD THE ABILITY TO SUSPEND THE FRANCHISE UNTIL THE OUTCOMES OF AN INVESTIGATION. WE CHANGED THAT LANGUAGE FROM ALLEGATION TO COMPLAINT. AND WE DID PUT A PROCESS IN THERE THAT IF WE DO SUSPEND, IF YOU'RE NOTICED WITH THE SUSPENSION, WE WILL PROVIDE PROVISIONS IN THERE TO LIFT THAT SUSPENSION. IF YOU CAN PROVIDE PROOF OF COMPLIANCE OR IF WE LIST OUT THINGS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED AND YOU ADDRESS THOSE, THEN YOU CAN LIFT THE SUSPENSION. BUT I EXPECT MR. BROOKS FROM THE ST. AUGUSTINE LAW GROUP TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT ON THAT AS WELL. THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'VE CHANGED. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THIS IS SECOND HEARING, SO A PUBLIC HEARING OR SECOND READING, SO PUBLIC HEARING IS REQUIRED. BEFORE WE GO ON, QUESTIONS FOR MR. FRANKLIN ABOUT HIS PRESENTATION. FRANKLIN, DID A GREAT JOB OF RESPONDING TO THE ATTORNEY. YOU AND THE CITY ATTORNEY DID A GREAT JOB OF RESPONDING TO THOSE ITEMS. SO WE APPRECIATE THAT. ALL RIGHT. ED SWIFT, FOLLOWED BY HEATHER WILSON. NO FURTHER COMMENT? OKAY, THEN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. HEATHER WILSON, FOLLOWED BY PATRICIA RAMOS. HELLO AGAIN. SECTION 2713 ADDRESSES PENALTY AND ENFORCEMENT. EVERY SINGLE WEEK WE WITNESS SOME COMBINATION OF CODE VIOLATIONS, SLOPPINESS, CARELESSNESS, DISTRACTION, AND OR DISREGARD FOR THE CARRIAGE HORSES. WE'VE BEEN TOLD THAT UNLESS THE OFFICER SEES IT FIRSTHAND THAT THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN BE DONE. EXAMPLE, SECTION 2734 TO REMAIN WITH VEHICLES. IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL FOR ANY DRIVER OF ANY VEHICLE FOR HIRE TO LEAVE OR ABSENT THEMSELVES FOR A DISTANCE OF MORE THAN 10 FEET FROM THE VEHICLE AND THIS IS ROUTINELY VIOLATED. DRIVERS ARE CONSTANTLY DISTRACTED. THEY'RE TAKING PHOTOS, THEIR BACKS ARE TURNED, THEY'RE SMOKING, PLAYING ON THEIR PHONES, TALKING TO POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS, WALKING AWAY TO GET WATER BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO CHEAP TO HIRE SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT. TRAGICALLY, AN 18-YEAR-OLD TOURIST WAS JUST KILLED IN A RUNAWAY CARRIAGE INCIDENT IN CENTRAL PARK. THE DRIVER WAS DISTRACTED TAKING PHOTOS OF THE PASSENGERS. SECTION 1476, TRAINING PROGRAM UNDER C. ANY ANIMAL PULLING A CARRIAGE SHALL BE DESENSITIZED OR OTHERWISE TRAINED TO TOLERATE URBAN CONDITIONS PRIOR TO BEING PLACED IN SERVICE. THEY NEED TRAINING BECAUSE THEY ARE BEING PLACED IN A COMPLETELY... UNNATURAL ENVIRONMENT, WHICH IS TRAGIC. FIRST, WE HAVE A ST. AUGUSTINE POLICE REPORT. ON 9-5-23, I RESPONDED TO THE AREA OF THE FORT IN REFERENCE TO A CRASH. I MET WITH THE DRIVER WHO ADVISED ME A HORSE FREAKED OUT AND STARTED RUNNING TOWARD HER CAR, ULTIMATELY STRIKING THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE, CAUSING DAMAGE. I THEN MET WITH THE OPERATOR OF THE HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE, HENRY JOE LAMMERS WHO ADVISED THE SAME THAT HIS HORSE GOT STARTLED AND BEGAN GALLOPING OUT [01:20:01] OF CONTROL STRIKING A VEHICLE. THE HORSE THEN RAN UP INTO THE GRASS ON THE BAYFRONT AND STRUCK A LIGHT POLE CAUSING DAMAGE. NEXT, 12-4-25 AT 33 KING STREET. LADDER 47 SELF-DISPATCHED TO CALL FOR BACK PAIN RESULTING FROM TRYING TO STOP A SPOOKED HORSE AND CARRIAGE. LADDER 47 MADE CONTACT WITH AN APPROXIMATE 60-YEAR-OLD MALE WITH PREVIOUS BACK INJURIES WHO HAD GRABBED THE REINS OF A SPOOKED HORSE IN AN ATTEMPT TO CONTROL ITS BEHAVIOR. VERY SAD. SO THE REVISION OF MUNICIPAL CODES AND FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS, AND I APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE ON THIS. HOWEVER, ALL THESE REVISIONS CANNOT CHANGE THE FACT THAT HORSES ARE PREY ANIMALS. THEY ARE PRONE TO BEING SPOOKED AND THEY CAN EXHIBIT UNPREDICTABLE BEHAVIOR RESULTING IN CATASTROPHE. SO PLEASE DO NOT WAIT FOR A FATALITY. EVERY SINGLE TIME A HORSE IS OUT ON THE STREET, THE CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE IS ROLLING THE DICE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. PATRICIA RAMOS, FOLLOWED BY CATHERINE ZOLDER. I'M NOT SAYING THAT RIGHT. MY APOLOGIES. HELLO. MY NAME IS PATRICIA, AND I'M HERE TO SPEAK UP FOR THE AMENDMENT OF CODES IN ITEM 8C. REMEMBER THE REASON WHY A HUMAN DIED IN NEW YORK CITY IS BECAUSE A DRIVER STEPPED OFF HIS CARRIAGE TO TAKE A PICTURE. THE DRIVERS HERE IN ST. AUGUSTINE DO WAY MORE THAN JUST STEP OFF THEIR CARRIAGE. THESE VIOLATIONS ARE TO THE CODE 27-26 TO REMAIN WITH VEHICLES, SHALL NOT LEAVE OR ABSENCE HIMSELF FOR A GREATER DISTANCE OF 10 FEET, SUCH FOR HIRE OR HORSE-DRAWN VEHICLES. THESE PICTURES SHOW WAY MORE THAN 10 FEET, WITH OBSTACLES IN FRONT OF THE DRIVERS WHICH WOULD NEVER ALLOW THEM TO GET TO THE RUNWAY HORSES AS THEIR BACKS ARE TURNED AND SOCIALIZING. ONCE AGAIN, PUTTING THE HORSES AND THE PUBLIC IN DANGER. MORE VIOLATIONS TO CODE 27-139. EQUIPMENT AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. SECTION 8 SPEAKS OF BODY CONDITION AND RUBBER SURFACE WHEELS. THESE PICTURES SHOW PLENTY OF VIOLATIONS, INCLUDING THE RUBBER COMING OFF. THE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT SECTION 5B ALSO STATES THAT ALL VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT SHALL BE MAINTAINED AND KEPT IN GOOD REPAIR AND APPEARANCE AND IN CLEAN SATISFACTORY CONDITION AT ALL TIMES. WE HAVE SHOWN PLENTY OF PICTURES WHERE THERE ARE NO NAME TAGS, ALSO ON THE DRIVERS, ANOTHER VIOLATION OF CODES. THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST EGREGIOUS AND DEFINITELY THE WORST OF THE CODE VIOLATIONS. THE DRIVER CODE VIOLATION 27-33, DRIVERS SHALL ADHERE TO THE FOLLOWING CODE OF CONDUCT. NUMBER ONE, BE COURTEOUS, RESPECTFUL, AND PROFESSIONAL WITH ALL PASSENGERS AND THE PUBLIC. NUMBER TWO, AVOID ABUSIVE LANGUAGE, HARASSMENT, BULLYING, OR DISCRIMINATION WITH THE PASSENGERS AND THE PUBLIC. HERE WE SEE A GROSS DISPLAY OF THE OWNER OF OLD CITY CARRIAGES, JOHN REDMAN, ALSO KNOWN AS JJ. NEXT, I WILL BE SHOWING A VIDEO OF THE SAME JOHN. ALL THESE SEEMING SMALL NUANCES CREATE FOR A BIGGER CATASTROPHE JUST LIKE THE ONE IN NEW YORK CITY. WE DOCUMENT AND BRING VIOLATION AFTER VIOLATION FROM EVERY WEEK. SOME MAY SEEM PETTY TO THE PUBLIC OR EVEN TO THE CITY COUNCIL THEMSELVES. BUT EACH ONE OF THESE VIOLATIONS CAN LEAD TO A CATASTROPHE. IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE WAITING FOR? DISGUSTING AND UNBELIEVABLE THAT AFTER A DEATH OF A HUMAN CAUSED BY EXACTLY WHAT WE SEE HERE IN ST. AUGUSTINE, BUT MUCH, MUCH WORSE. YOU WOULD EVEN THINK TO CONSIDER AMENDING ANY OF THE CODES WHICH OBVIOUSLY PLACE THE WELFARE OF THE HORSES IN DANGER BY UNCHECKED INDUSTRIES AS WELL AS THE PUBLIC SAFETY. ALL OF THE ABOVE, MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE VIOLATIONS WHERE THEY LEAVE THE HORSES BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT KILLED A HUMAN IN NEW YORK CITY, SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO ABOLISH THIS DISGUSTING, CRUEL INDUSTRY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. CATHERINE ZOTTA, FOLLOWED BY THOMAS REYNOLDS. CATHERINE ZOTA, AFTER A YEAR OF DOCUMENTED ANIMAL WELFARE FAILURES, INCLUDING MULTIPLE HORSE [01:25:01] DEATHS, THE CITY VOWED TO IMPROVE THIS INDUSTRY. INSTEAD, THESE CODE REVISIONS STRIP AWAY SOME OF THE VERY BASIC ANIMAL WELFARE PROTECTIONS THESE HORSES HAVE. ABSENT FROM THESE CODE REVISIONS ARE TWO OF THE CITY'S MOST BASIC OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS, A CITY HORSE INVENTORY AND MANDATORY VET RECORD REPORTING. WITHOUT THEM, THE CITY CANNOT OVERSEE THIS INDUSTRY. WE'VE ALREADY SEEN HORSES CONTINUE WORKING WITH INJURIES, AS IN THE CASE OF COASTAL CARRIAGE HORSE BARBIE. A HORSE CLEARED BY A VET IN JUNE CAN BE INJURED IN AUGUST. THE CITY NEEDS ONGOING VET RECORDS, NOT JUST PERIODIC CERTIFICATIONS. THE CODE REVISIONS REDUCE ANIMAL WELFARE PROTECTIONS. INCLUDING HORSES ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED TO RECEIVE WATER AFTER EVERY TOUR. REDUCING BASIC HOUSING AND STABLING CARE REQUIREMENTS. THE TRANSFER STATION PREVIOUSLY PROHIBITED FROM OVERNIGHT STABLING WILL NOW ALLOW HORSES TO BE HOUSED THERE OVERNIGHT. THIS HAS BEEN STRICTLY PROHIBITED IN THE PAST, WHY ALLOW IT NOW? ON WHAT AUTHORITY IS IT EVEN DESIGNED OR APPROVED FOR OVERNIGHT STABLING? LAST YEAR COMMISSIONER SPRINGFIELD ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE EXISTING FRANCHISE FEES WERE ALREADY FAR TOO LOW TO COVER THE CITY'S COST OF OVERSEEING THIS INDUSTRY. YET THESE REVISIONS REDUCE THESE COSTS EVEN MORE, SHIFTING MORE OF THE COST OF OVERSIGHT ONTO TAXPAYERS. THESE REVISIONS MOVE THIS INDUSTRY IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. THEY REDUCE OVERSIGHT, REDUCE ACCOUNTABILITY, AND REDUCE PROTECTIONS FOR THE HORSES. THEY SHOULD NOT BE ADOPTED. LET'S NOT FORGET WHAT AN UNSUPERVISED INDUSTRY LOOKS LIKE. ABUSE AND DEATH AT THE CITY STABLE. IT IS TIME TO PHASE OUT HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE OPERATIONS AND UPHOLD YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT BOTH ANIMALS AND THE PUBLIC. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER IS THOMAS REYNOLDS, FOLLOWED BY RICHARD BROOKS. THOMAS REYNOLDS, 1240, 32084. FOLKS, I WOULD URGE YOU TO VOTE NO ON THIS. I JUST CAN'T SEE CONTINUING THE BARBARIC HORSE CARRIAGE BUSINESS. YOU KNOW, WHEN I SEE THESE LADIES SHOW TIME AND TIME AGAIN ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS, I SEE IT FOR MYSELF. I'M DOWNTOWN A LOT. AND THEN THIS WHOLE THING NOW OF NO WATER? HOW DID THAT PERSON NOT GET ARRESTED? NO WATER FOR HORSES? I WANT TO REMIND YOU. AN AVERAGE MATURE WORKING HORSE REQUIRES 8 TO 20 GALLONS OF WATER A DAY. THEY'RE OUT THERE. AND ANOTHER THING, TOO, FOLKS, I DON'T AGREE WITH BULB. NOT AT ALL. ALL THE RESEARCH I'VE DONE ON WET BULBS. SO JUST THINK, IT COULD BE 90 DEGREES, BUT 60-DEGREE PAVEMENT HEAT, 150 DEGREES IT COULD STILL BE ON THAT PAVEMENT. SO I JUST CAN'T SEE VOTING FOR ANYTHING LIKE THIS BECAUSE BASICALLY... YOU ARE, YOU'RE VOTING FOR ANIMAL ABUSE. THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE VOTING FOR. AND, AND IF I WANT TO GO BACK TO IT AGAIN, THAT, LIKE I SAID, AND I, ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS MENTIONED THAT THIS IS NOT A ONE MAN SHOW. THIS IS A THREE PERSON DEPARTMENT MINIMUM. I DON'T KNOW HOW, IF YOU DID PASS THIS, I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU COULDN'T COME BACK WITH HORSE FRANCHISE FEES. NOW THAT I REALIZED 15 OF THEM AT 10 GRAND, THAT'S ONLY $150,000. TRULY, IF YOU'RE RUNNING A DEPARTMENT THAT'S GOING TO BE CHECKING ON EVERYBODY, THAT SHOULD BE THE MINIMUM. THEIR FRANCHISE FEE SHOULD BE SOMEWHERE AROUND PROBABLY $12,000 TO $15,000 PER HORSE CARRIAGE TO KEEP UP ON IT. BUT ALL I CAN SAY IS TIME AND TIME AGAIN, THAT'S ALL I SEE IS ABUSE. THEY SHOW VIDEOS. I SEE IT FOR MYSELF. NO WATER, HORSES, U-TURNS, SMOKING, THE GUY'S CONDUCT. I MEAN, IF ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE TOOK OUT A GUN AND SHOT ONE OF THE HORSES, WOULD ANYBODY DO ANYTHING? AND I ALSO TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH IF THE POLICE OFFICER DIDN'T SEE IT, THAT HE CAN'T MAKE AN ARREST. YOU GOT A VIDEO. HERE YOU GO. AND BY THE WAY, EVERY SINGLE DAY, EVERY SINGLE DAY IN AMERICA, CAR WRECKS HAPPEN AND [01:30:02] THEY SHOW A VIDEO. AND THE OFFICER LOOKS AT THAT VIDEO AND HE CITES THEM. SO IF SOMEONE'S SHOWING THEM A VIDEO OF A HORSE NOT GETTING WATER OF ABUSE, SHOWS THAT TO A POLICE OFFICER, THEY NEED TO ARREST THEM. OR THEY NEED TO CITE THEM. BECAUSE THEY REALLY ARE BREAKING THE LAW. THEY'RE BREAKING THE ORDINANCES. AND IT IS A BARBARIC BUSINESS. PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR THIS. NEXT SPEAKER IS RICHARD BROOKS, FOLLOWED BY JOHN REAGAN. GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS. RICHARD BROOKS, ST. AUGUSTINE LAW GROUP. FIRST AND FOREMOST, THANK YOU TO MR. FRANKLIN FOR HIS ASSISTANCE AND HIS GREAT WORK. MS. KLINE, AS YOU INDICATED WITH ME ON ATTEMPTING TO MAKE AS MANY IMPROVEMENTS TO THIS ORDINANCE AS POSSIBLE. THE ONLY THING THAT I'M GOING TO FOCUS ON WITH MY TIME IS SPECIFICALLY 1475. WE'VE HEARD A LOT OF DISCUSSION THIS EVENING ABOUT MISDEMEANORS AND FELONIES AND, STAFF AND AVAILABILITY OF STAFF AND RESOURCES AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS. AND 1475 IS THE SPECIFICALLY CARE OF ANIMALS SECTION OF YOUR ORDINANCE. AND I HAD PROVIDED TO ALL OF YOU, AS WELL AS MR. FRANKLIN, A REVISED VERSION OF THAT SECTION TO ESSENTIALLY TRACK ANIMAL WELL-BEING, SPECIFICALLY WITH THE ALREADY ON THE BOOKS AND ENFORCEABLE ANIMAL CRUELTY LAWS ENFORCEABLE BY ST. AUGUSTINE PD, ST. JOHNS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, AMONGST OTHER STATE, FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, IN AN EFFORT MOSTLY TO REDUCE THE LOAD ON CITY STAFF FROM CONDUCTING INVESTIGATIONS AND TRYING TO DRAW A LINE IN THE SAND, SO TO SPEAK, AS TO WHAT IF SOMEBODY HAS NOT BEEN CHARGED WITH A CRIME, IS THERE STILL SOMETHING THERE THAT REQUIRES A SUSPENSION AND FURTHER INVESTIGATION AND FOLLOWING STEPS. AS WRITTEN, I BELIEVE IT WAS AN IMPROVEMENT FOR SURE. BUT AS WRITTEN, IT STILL DOES PUT A FAIR AMOUNT OF BURDEN ON CITY STAFF TO CONDUCT THESE INVESTIGATIONS INSTEAD OF ALLOWING THE APPROPRIATE INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITIES TO DO THEIR WORK, CHARGE PEOPLE WITH CRIMES, AND IF THEY ARE CHARGED, AN IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION WITHOUT ANY FURTHER ACTION OF ANYONE. AS MR. SPRINGFIELD INDICATED, THERE ARE EARLY WARNING SERVICES AND THINGS ALONG THOSE LINES SO THAT IF ANY OF YOUR PREVIOUS BACKGROUND-CHECKED MEDALLION HOLDERS ARE ARRESTED OR CHARGED WITH ONE OF THESE CRIMES, THERE CAN BE AN IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION TO TARGET AN IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION. SO IN ORDER TO HELP THE CITY AND STAFF BE MORE EFFICIENT, MY SOLE SUGGESTION ON BEHALF OF MY STAKEHOLDER WOULD BE JUST TO MODIFY 1475 TO TRACK SPECIFICALLY WITH CHARGES OF ANIMAL CRUELTY AND WITH CONVICTIONS, OBVIOUSLY, AN AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION OR REVOCATION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR VERY HARD WORK ON THIS VERY POLARIZING ISSUE. THANK YOU. OKAY, THEN NEXT SPEAKER, JOHN REGAN. OKAY, NO COMMENT. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. MR. REGAN YIELDS HIS TIME. LLOYD PIERCE IS MY LAST SPEAKER CARD. ALL RIGHT, TAKE YOUR TIME, SIR. OKAY, GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. AGAIN, I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS FOR DOING THIS. AS FAR AS SO MANY BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS THAT I WOULD PROBABLY SAY I WAS ONE OF THE ONES THAT PROBABLY PUT THE EAR IN A LOT OF THIS, WAS THAT, YES, JUST LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH MY COMPANY. I AM A STATE-CERTIFIED DRIVER. I HAVE A CLASS A CDL, CHAUFFEUR'S LICENSE, AIR BRAKES, DOUBLES AND TRIPLES AND ALL THAT, AND ALSO A PASSENGER ENDORSEMENT. THIS IS WAY ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT IS NEEDED TO DO A TIER 2 JOB, OKAY? I ALSO HAVE A CERTIFICATION STATING THAT I AM VERTICALLY INVESTIGATED TO BE ABLE TO BE WITH CHILDREN, TO TAKE THEM AROUND TO PLACES SUCH AS WHAT THE CHURCH IS AND SO FORTH AND SO ON, AND ALSO THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS. I GO A LITTLE BIT FURTHER WITHIN MY VEHICLE, OKAY? ALTHOUGH IT'S NOT REQUIRED, I DO A DOT INSPECTION ON MY VEHICLE ONCE A WEEK. WELL, BASICALLY EVERY DAY. WHEN I GO TO THE VEHICLE, [01:35:01] I CHECK THE LIGHTS, THE SO FORTH AND SO ON. I MARK THEM DOWN. AND THEN I TAKE THAT VEHICLE ONCE A WEEK TO MY LICENSED MECHANIC, AN ASC CERTIFIED MECHANIC, WHICH IS HERE IN THIS TOWN FOR ABOUT 30 YEARS FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, AND ACTUALLY HAVE HIM OR THEIR TEAM GO OVER THE VEHICLE TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS TOP NOTCH. SAFETY IS A 100% DEAL OF MINE, OKAY? I HAVE SEEN, BY BEING A FIRE CHIEF AND A PARAMEDIC IN THIS STATE FOR MANY YEARS, I HAVE SEEN A LOT OF PEOPLE GET HURT AND DIE AND GET KILLED BECAUSE OF STUPIDITY AND LACK OF ATTENDANCE TO, YOU KNOW, SAFETY. THE VEHICLE THAT I HAVE IS BASICALLY BUILT AND SANCTIONED BY THE GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, OKAY? IT CARRIES A 100% FULLY LICENSED FLORIDA STATE TITLE. IT IS GOVERNED AT CERTAIN SPEEDS WITH CERTAIN WEIGHT RESTRICTIONS. I HAVE BEEN TAUGHT BY VERY LARGE COMPANIES IN THIS AREA ABOUT WHAT I THINK IS NEEDED TO BE SAFE IN THIS AREA BY SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT I'VE BEEN WITNESS TO AND SEEN IN THE PAST. SO I FEEL LIKE THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB. YES, JABARI DOES HAVE A... A VERY, VERY LARGE, YOU KNOW, PLATE, YOU KNOW, FOOD ON HIS PLATE AT THIS TIME. AND LIKE I SAID IN MY LAST STATEMENT, I THINK THAT WE AS THE INDIVIDUAL TIER TWO PEOPLE, WE HAVE GOTTEN TOGETHER AND FORMULATED BASICALLY OUR OWN LITTLE COALITION OR, YOU KNOW, FOR LACK OF BETTER WORDS, MAYBE LIKE A LIKE AN OWNER'S MARKET, OK, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE POLICE OURSELVES AND BRING FORTH WHAT WE HAVE KNOWLEDGE IN TO TRY AND STAY WITHIN THE GOOD CONSENSUS OF THE COUNCIL IN THE CITY. I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER MY CONDOLENCES AS FAR AS ANYTHING THAT YOU GUYS ARE HAVING HEARTACHES ABOUT RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE THIS IS A VERY, VERY TOUGH POSITION TO BE IN. BELIEVE ME, I'VE BEEN ON YOUR SIDE OF THE TABLE. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. I HAVE NO MORE SPEAKER CARDS. THAT CLOSES PUBLIC COMMENTS. WE ARE BACK TO THE DAIS AND MR. FRANKLIN. MADAM MAYOR, NOW THAT PUBLIC COMMENT'S OVER, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR ADDRESS ANYTHING THAT THE COMMISSION MIGHT HAVE. I HAVE A QUESTION. DID YOU HAVE ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT TERMINATION OF, FOR ANIMAL ABUSE AS MR. BROOKS SUGGESTED? ANY PROVISIONS IN THAT? DID WE HAVE THAT DISCUSSED BEFORE? PARDON ME? YES, WE, I MET WITH AND DISCUSSED TODAY WITH MR. FRANKLIN SOME OF MR. BROOKS'S SUGGESTIONS. I THINK IN A NUTSHELL, AND MAYBE MR. FRANKLIN HAS A DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDING IT, BUT IN A NUTSHELL, I THINK THE PROPOSITION FROM MR. BROOKS IS TO SAY, LIMIT YOURSELF TO WHAT A STATE ATTORNEY INVESTIGATION WOULD BE. DON'T CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY TO HAVE ITS OWN RULES AND REVIEW AND INVESTIGATION. AND THAT I DON'T THINK WAS THE DIRECTION THAT WE HEARD FROM THE CITY COMMISSION. I THINK MR. FRANKLIN WOULD AGREE WITH THAT, THAT WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO CONTINUE TO HAVE AN ABILITY FOR US, INDEPENDENT OF WHATEVER THE STATE ATTORNEY DOES ON A STATE ATTORNEY CASE, THAT WE COULD GO TO COUNTY COURT UNDER STANDARD COUNTY COURT CIVIL PROCEEDINGS, FINDING THAT THERE'S A VIOLATION UNDER OUR CODE AND THAT WE COULD HAVE THE ADMINISTRATIVE SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION COMPLETELY SEPARATE, ESSENTIALLY, IF WE WANTED TO. SEPARATE FROM WHATEVER THE STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. I THINK MR. BROOKS IS SAYING IT WOULD BE MORE SIMPLE IF YOU JUST DID IT IF THE STATE ATTORNEY PROSECUTES THIS AS A PROSECUTED CRIMINAL ABUSE VIOLATION. SO THAT'S A DECISION POINT, AN INFLECTION POINT FOR YOU. WE HAD NOT GOTTEN THAT DIRECTION. I CERTAINLY DIDN'T. I DON'T KNOW THAT MR. FRANKLIN GOT THAT DIRECTION FROM YOU IN THE PAST. I KNOW MR. FRANKLIN WENT OVER VERY QUICKLY SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT WE MADE TODAY BASED ON MR. BROOKS' SUGGESTIONS. AND IF YOU WANT TO HEAR THOSE AGAIN, MR. FRANKLIN CAN GO OVER THOSE. BUT THOSE WERE TO CLARIFY SOME OF WHAT THE NOTICE TO THE CARRIAGE OPERATOR WOULD SAY IN TERMS OF A SUSPENSION, THAT IT WOULD BE A COMPLAINT, THAT THEY WOULD BE INFORMED OF WHAT THE COMPLAINT BASIS WAS. THAT THEY WOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO REMEDIATION AND HAVE THAT SUSPENSION LIFTED AT AN ADMINISTRATIVE LEVEL, NOT AT THE STATE ATTORNEY [01:40:01] PROSECUTION LEVEL. SO THOSE WERE THE CHANGES THAT I THINK MR. FRANKLIN HIGHLIGHTED EARLIER. AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IF THEY ARE CONVICTED OF ANIMAL ABUSE, IT'S AN IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF THE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT. THAT'S IN THE CODE NOW? THAT'S IN THERE, YES. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. CAN I ASK A QUESTION? YEAH, PLEASE. BASED ON WHAT THE CITY ATTORNEY JUST SAID, I'M CURIOUS AS TO WHICH OF THESE, I MEAN, I KNOW THEY CAN WORK IN CONCERT. LIKE, WE CAN DO OUR THING WHILE THE STATE ATTORNEY IS PROCESSING AND LIKELY TAKING MUCH LONGER TO MAKE THEIR DETERMINATION. WOULD YOU SAY THAT'S THE CASE? PROBABLY, YES. I WOULD ASSUME SO. AT THE END OF THIS PROCESS, WHICHEVER DIRECTION IT GOES. WHICH IS MORE LIKELY TO HAVE THE HARSHER PENALTIES FOR ANIMAL ABUSE? WELL, THAT'S A MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION, I SUPPOSE. OUR PENALTY, IN ESSENCE, WOULD BE LOSING THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THAT BUSINESS, RIGHT? SO WHATEVER THAT PROFIT IS FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL OPERATOR WOULD BE THE FINANCIAL PENALTY THAT THEY WOULD BE LOOKING AT. FROM A STATE ATTORNEY'S PERSPECTIVE, IT'S NOT SO MUCH, YOU KNOW, LOSING THE ABILITY TO DO BUSINESS WITHIN THE CITY AS A FRANCHISEE. IT WOULD BE MORE POTENTIALLY CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS. IT'S SORT OF DIFFERENT. ONE IS CRIMINAL. ONE IS YOU'RE GOING TO NO LONGER BE ABLE TO DO YOUR BUSINESS. SO IF WE WERE TO ENFORCE WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE, OKAY, IF WE GO AND PUT THIS INTO PLACE, WHAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US. THAT WOULD NOT PRECLUDE ALSO HAVING A DETERMINATION PROCESS GO THROUGH THE STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. EXACTLY. OKAY, GOOD. COMPLETELY TO SOLITUDES. OKAY, THANK YOU. DEGREE. THANK YOU. GREAT. ALL RIGHT. QUESTIONS? YEAH, I GOT ANOTHER QUESTION. SO THERE ARE, MY UNDERSTANDING OF MR. BROOKS' REQUEST, THERE ARE OTHER POSSIBLE INFRACTIONS THAT DO NOT DEAL WITH ABUSE OF AN ANIMAL. LIKE THEY DON'T HAVE THEIR MEDALLION SHOWING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. IS IT YOUR... IS IT YOUR UNDERSTANDING THAT THAT IS NOT WHAT HE'S ASKING FOR? THAT HE'S ASKING SPECIFICALLY FOR THE ANIMAL ABUSE TO BE DECIDED AT THE STATE ATTORNEY LEVEL? OR IS HE JUST TALKING ABOUT... THE STATE ATTORNEY WILL NOT BE ENFORCING OUR LOCAL ORDINANCE. THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. THAT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN. THE STATE ATTORNEY WILL NOT. THERE'S NO POSSIBILITY THAT IF THERE'S A MEDALLION, IT'S NOT GOING TO GO TO THE STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. NO, CORRECT. THEY CAN'T ACTUALLY STATUTORILY. OUR OFFICE HAS TO PROSECUTE THE CRIMES WE CREATE WITHIN THIS. WITHIN OUR OWN ORDINANCE. CORRECT. CORRECT. SO THE STATE. THERE'S REALLY NOT AN OPTION TO USE THAT ANYWAY. NO. AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHAT MR. BROOKS WAS SAYING. I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY. I THINK HE WAS SAYING THE OPPOSITE. I THINK HE WAS SAYING... DON'T CREATE THIS LIST OF THINGS THAT YOU ALL WILL INVESTIGATE AND SPEND TIME AND ENERGY. JUST BASE IT ON WHAT A STATE ATTORNEY ANIMAL ABUSE PROSECUTION WOULD BE, I THINK. AND YOU HEARD THE STATEMENT. IT'S MORE TARGETED TO THE DEFINITION OF ANIMAL ABUSE THAN IT IS WHETHER YOU HAVE YOUR MEDALLION UP. CORRECT. I THINK THAT'S WHAT HE WAS FOCUSING ON. BOTH OF THOSE COULD BE DONE AS COMMISSIONER BLONDER SAID. THERE COULD BE TWO. CORRECT. THERE'S NOTHING IN OUR ORDINANCE THAT STOPS THE STATE ATTORNEY FROM FULLY INVESTIGATING ANIMAL ABUSE UNDER STATE STATUTE. CORRECT. OKAY. OKAY, THANK YOU. THERE'S ALSO NOTHING THAT STOPS US FROM INVESTIGATING IF IT DOES GO TO THE STATE ATTORNEY. CORRECT. CORRECT. OKAY, ARE WE GOOD ON THAT PROVISION? BECAUSE WE NEED OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYONE TO WEIGH IN. WELL, I'LL LET YOU GUYS TALK ABOUT THE LIMITS. I AM MUCH MORE FLEXIBLE WITH LIMITS ON THIS THAN I AM THE PEDICABS, BECAUSE THE PEDICABS ARE A FORM OF MOBILITY OPTION. SO I'LL BE WILLING TO LISTEN TO ANYTHING ON THAT. OKAY. COMMISSIONER GARRIS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO KICK IT OFF? YES. I LIKE THE THINGS IN HERE INDICATING ABOUT THE CRUELTY OF THE ANIMALS, SINCE THAT'S BEEN BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION REPEATEDLY. I THINK THAT WE CAN MONITOR THAT MORE. WE CAN GET JABARI. WE COULD PROBABLY. MAYBE HIRE SOMEBODY PART-TIME. WE REALLY CAN'T AFFORD TO HIRE A LOT OF PEOPLE FULL-TIME BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TAXES IS GOING TO BE LIKE LATER IN THIS YEAR. BUT I DO THINK THAT IF WE SEE THAT OR IF IT'S BROUGHT TO OUR CONCERN AND WE CAN MONITOR THE HORSES, WE HAVE LESS HORSES ON THE STREETS RIGHT NOW ANYWAY, WE CAN KIND OF MONITOR, GO BY THEM, JUST MAKE SURE THAT THEY LOOK WELL, THAT THEY ARE GETTING WATER, THAT THEY DON'T, AND DO THE TESTING FOR THE HEAT AND SO FORTH. SO I LIKE THAT WE HAVE THIS IN PLACE WITH ALL THE NEGLECT FOR THE HORSES, THAT IT'S GOING TO BE PART OF OUR CODE SO THAT WE HAVE A LEG TO STAND ON IF WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD BY PENALIZING ANYBODY THAT'S NOT TAKING [01:45:02] PROPER CARE OF THE HORSES. SO I THINK THIS IS REALLY READY TO BE PASSED ON MY BENEFIT ANYWAY. I THINK THAT YOU DID A GREAT JOB, REUBEN, COVERING THIS, GOING TO THE LAW FIRM, AND I'M SURE ISABEL WAS PART OF THAT, OVERSEEING IT. SO I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU GUYS ON MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING THIS HORSE ISSUE. WE'RE NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, HEARING PEOPLE COME IN WITH CONCERNS AND NOT ADDRESSING IT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. COMMISSIONER SPRINGFIELD. OKAY, GREAT. I HAVE NO COMMENTS ABOUT TIER 01, WHICH NOBODY, WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT TIER 1. TIER 2, I WOULD LIKE TO REDUCE THAT, AS WE MENTIONED BEFORE, TO 2. WITH THE ABILITY FOR THOSE THAT HAVE THREE TO CONTINUE. ON THE HORSES, I'VE SAID IT MORE THAN ONE TIME, THE COST SHOULD COVER THE SUPERVISION, NOT JUST OF THE HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES, BUT OF THE WHOLE PROCESS. WE HAVE MONEY COMING FROM TIER 1 ALL THE WAY TO THE HORSE CARRIAGES AND PEDICABS AND FOR HIRE. THOSE FEES SHOULD BE ABLE TO PAY FOR STAFF, NOT INCLUDING ANY MONEY WE HAVE OR LOSE FROM TAXES. SO I, AGAIN, HAVE QUESTIONED WHY WE'RE ONLY CHARGING $2,000 FOR A FRANCHISE FOR THE HORSES. I THINK IT SHOULD BE MUCH HIGHER. I KNOW THAT WHEN WE HAD A DISCUSSION ON THE GOLF CARTS ABOUT INSURANCE, THEY WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS INCREASE, NOT JUST A COUPLE. AND SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE FOR US TO TALK AND HAVE A CONSIDERATION TO RAISE THOSE FEES TO A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT WHERE WE COULD IN THE FUTURE. HIRE SOMEBODY TO DO SPECIFIC CERTIFIED CERTIFICATION OF THOSE HORSES, THE HORSE CARRIAGES AND ALSO THE PEDICABS AND THE CARTS. IT'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO ME. I DON'T THINK ONE OF THE SPEAKERS SPOKE ABOUT HORSES STAYING OVERNIGHT. WE DON'T HAVE ANY HORSES STAYING OVERNIGHT, EXCEPT IT'S AN EMERGENCY, CORRECT? YEAH, WITH THE EXCEPTION IF THEY NOTIFY THE CITY AND WE APPROVE IT. AND THAT'S IN THE TRANSFER STATION. SO WE DID MAKE AN EXCEPTION, I GUESS, THROUGH STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT. THEY MAY HAVE A VETERINARIAN APPOINTMENT OR SHOE REPLACEMENT THAT THEY CAN PAY OVERNIGHT, BUT THAT'S AN EXCEPTION. SO IT'S VERY RARE AND IT'S ONLY BY NOTIFICATION. SO WE DON'T REALLY HAVE HORSES STAYING IN THE STABLES ANYMORE ON RIBERIA. THE WET BULB, I DID SOME DISCUSSION WITH A DRIVER ABOUT THE WET BULB, AND IT WAS REAL INTERESTING. I LEARNED A LOT, TOO, BUT IT IS WHAT THEY USE FOR ATHLETICS NOW. AND IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THIS, 20 YEARS AGO, PLUS 25 YEARS AGO, THE STATE OF FLORIDA REQUIRED ALL HIGH SCHOOLS TO HAVE A PERSON SEPARATE FROM THE COACHING STAFF TO SUPERVISE ALL ATHLETIC PRACTICES. AND THEY CAN CANCEL THE PRACTICE AT ANY TIME BECAUSE OF THAT TEMPERATURE. AND THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE. WE'RE SAYING THIS IS THE TEMPERATURE THAT WE'RE SETTING AT 90 DEGREES, WET BULB. AND THAT IS NOT VERY HOT ON SOME DAYS, DEPENDING ON THE WIND. IF IT'S VERY STILL WIND, IT COULD JUST BE 90 DEGREES. IT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT CLOUD COVER AND A LOT OF OTHER ISSUES. AND WE HAVE THAT THERMOMETER RIGHT THERE AT THE MARINA. SO WE'RE GOING TO BE VERY CLOSE TO THEM. I REALLY AM ENCOURAGED BY THIS PROCESS, EVEN THOUGH IT TOOK TWO YEARS. IT'S GOOD THAT IT TOOK TWO YEARS SO WE CAN GET IT RIGHT. THIS IS DONE VERY WELL. YOU CAN TELL THAT FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE AND BY THE AMOUNT OF EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS YOU GET AND THE NEWS COVERAGE. THERE'S NO CAMERA. THERE'S NO CONTROVERSY RIGHT NOW BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S HAD GOOD INPUT, AND THEY'VE BEEN LISTENED TO BY MR. REUBEN AND STAFF. THEY'VE DONE A... SUPER JOB AND I THINK WE HAVE TOO IN BEING PATIENT AND NOT DEMANDING SOMETHING TOO SOON. AND SO I, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO GET SOME MORE MONEY OUT OF THESE VENDORS, THIS WHOLE PROCESS AND WITH THESE ORDINANCES. OKAY, MY TURN. OKAY, THANKS. I WANT TO START WITH THE TIER ONE AS MY COLLEAGUE DID. NO CHANGES THERE TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN FRONT OF US. TIER 2, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE'VE GOT THIS FINALLY. WE'VE GOT A TIER 2 CLASSIFICATION AND SO WE'RE GETTING A HANDLE ON THIS. WE HAVE DEFINITIONS, WE HAVE EVERYTHING THAT I THINK WE NEED AND THIS HAS BEEN VERY NICELY DONE BY STAFF AND LIKE COMMISSIONER SPRINGFIELD SAID, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF INPUT. THAT'S CRITICAL. FOR THE VISIBILITY THAT I REQUESTED FOR THE MEDALLIONS FOR THE VEHICLES FOR HIRE, I'D LIKE TO SEE SIMILAR CHANGES MADE [01:50:01] FOR THESE. WELL, OBVIOUSLY FOR TIER 1, WE DON'T NEED IT, BUT FOR TIER 02, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT AS WELL AS THE HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES. AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER SPRINGFIELD ABOUT THE LIMITING TO TWO VEHICLES PER FRANCHISEE AND THE TIER 2 WITH GRANDFATHERING IN THOSE WHO CURRENTLY HAVE THREE. PROBABLY THE BIGGEST ISSUE IS THE ANIMAL WELFARE COMPONENTS. THESE IMPROVEMENTS ARE ESSENTIAL. THEY'RE NOT PERFECT. BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO CHALLENGE SOME OF THE ASSERTIONS THAT WE HEARD FROM PUBLIC COMMENT. I SEE THAT IN SECTION 14-74, I BELIEVE IT IS. YES. WE HAVE SECTION G AND H. WATER SHALL BE PROVIDED TO EACH ANIMAL AFTER COMPLETING A TOUR OR OFFERED AT LEAST ONCE PER HOUR. THIS IS IN OUR ORDINANCE IF WE PASS THIS. THAT'S WATER. ANIMALS SHALL ALSO BE PROVIDED WITH ELECTROLYTE SUPPLEMENTS AS NEEDED, JUST LIKE ATHLETES ARE. SO THAT'S A NEW ONE FOR US. AND I THINK IF THE VETERINARIANS LIKE IT, THEN I LIKE IT. 14-78, THIS IS A REQUIREMENT THAT BIANNUAL CITY VETERINARY INSPECTIONS ARE REQUIRED AND ARE PROVIDED TO THE CITY. ANIMALS ARE CLEARED FOR WORK BY THESE VETERINARIANS, AND THAT DOCUMENTATION IS ALSO PROVIDED TO THE CITY ON THAT SEMIANNUAL BASIS, AS WELL AS WHEN REQUESTED BY THE CITY. EQUINE HEAT, ALL OF THOSE PROVISIONS ARE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL, INCLUDING THE WET BULB MEASUREMENTS, WHICH ARE A MUCH FINER GRAIN MEASUREMENT THAN WE'VE BEEN USING IN THE PAST. SO THESE ARE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS. THAT DOESN'T MEAN AT THE END OF THIS THAT I AGREE WITH LIMITING A FRANCHISEE FOR HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES TO JUST ONE HORSELESS CARRIAGE. IF THEY WANT TO GO ALL THE WAY UP TO THREE OR FIVE OR HOWEVER, AS LONG AS WE JUST ARE LIMITING TO THE 15 THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, SURE, GO AHEAD. LET'S GO WITH HORSE, HORSELESS CARRIAGES, IF THAT'S WHAT THE INDUSTRY GOES TOWARD, THEN GREAT, LET'S GO FOR IT. IN THE MEANTIME, WE'RE DOING A... AN EVOLUTION OF THIS PROCESS IN THIS BUSINESS. SO I THINK WE'VE GOT SOME MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS, AND I SUPPORT THIS ORDINANCE. ALL RIGHT. EVERYBODY? SO MY CONCERNS WITH SCALE ON THIS ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BECAUSE IT'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT OPERATION WITH A WHOLE DIFFERENT PURPOSE. SO IF MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS WANT TO LIMIT IT TO GRANDFATHERING. MY UNDERSTANDING IS SOME OF THESE PEOPLE MIGHT ONLY HAVE ONE NOW, BUT IF YOU WANT TO LIMIT IT TO THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE THREE AND THEN TWO, I'M OKAY WITH THAT BECAUSE IT SERVES A TOTALLY DIFFERENT FUNCTION. IT'S MORE OF A COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE STREET THAN IT IS A MOBILITY OPTION. ALSO, I MEAN, AS YOU'RE A BUSINESS PERSON, IF THERE'S LESS OUT THERE, THE ONE YOU GOT IS WORTH MORE VALUE. YOU RESTRICT THE NUMBER, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A LITTLE MORE VALUE IN YOUR MEDALLION. I'M VERY GLAD WE HAD THE LANGUAGE ABOUT THE ANIMAL ABUSE AND I'M GLAD THAT WE WENT. MY UNDERSTANDING IS WE WENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA AND WE GOT OPINIONS ON THAT. I DO NOT WANT TO BE HERE AS A CITY COMMISSIONER BEING ASKED TO DETERMINE WHAT IS ANIMAL ABUSE AND WHAT IS NOT BECAUSE I'M NOT QUALIFIED. SO THAT RELIEVES ME OF THAT. I THINK IT'S A VERY GOOD STEP. ALLOWING MORE THAN ONE ELECTRIC CAR JUST FINALLY MADE ME AND I THINK IT'S A BUSINESS DECISION FOR PEOPLE AND I DON'T WANT TO LIMIT PEOPLE IN THEIR BUSINESS TO WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO. AND MY UNDERSTANDING ON THE PRICE THAT YOU DID COMMISSIONER SPRINGFIELD BROUGHT UP MY UNDERSTANDING UP UNTIL THIS POINT HAS BEEN THAT WE'VE ALREADY KIND OF DONE AN ANALYSIS AND THE FEES HAVE REFLECTED THAT THIS WILL PAY FOR ITSELF IS THAT. WELL WE'VE HEARD THAT YOU WANT THE FEES TO PAY FOR THE PROGRAM. YEAH, RIGHT FROM THE JUMP, THAT'S WHAT I WAS WANTING TO TELL YOU. SO THERE'S TWO FEES. IN THE ORDINANCE, YOU HAVE A FRANCHISE FEE. RIGHT. AND THAT'S STATED AS $1,000 PER MEDALLION FOR HORSE FRANCHISES AND $2,000 PER FRANCHISE FOR TIER 2. SO THOSE FEES WILL BE ADOPTED TONIGHT. IN THE FUTURE, WE'RE GOING TO BRING BACK A FEE SCHEDULE, AND THE ANTICIPATION OF THE FEE SCHEDULE IS THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GOING TO SHOW THE BREAKOUT COST THAT THE FEES ARE PAYING FOR THE PROGRAM, FOR THE ENFORCEMENT, FOR THE INSPECTIONS, FOR EVERYTHING. SO WE INTEND THAT TO BE THE FRANCHISE FEES FOR THE CURBSIDE SPACE, MANAGEMENT OF THAT. IT'S SHARED SPACE, SO THAT'S KIND [01:55:01] OF WHY IT'S A LOWER NUMBER. SO THE ANALYSIS SO FAR HAS SAID THAT THE FEE THAT THE HORSE PEOPLE ARE PAYING IS GOING TO PAY FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE HORSE PROGRAM? THAT'S THE INTENT, IS WE'RE GOING TO BRING YOU A FEE SCHEDULE THAT BREAKS OUT. OKAY, SO NOW WE'RE JUST VOTING ON MOVING TOWARD THAT. YEAH, THAT WOULD BE BY RESOLUTION AT A FUTURE DATE. OKAY, THEN I'M GOOD WITH THAT. OKAY, THANK YOU. GREAT, OKAY. I'VE GOT ONE MORE COMMENT. THE REASON THAT I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A NUMBER OF HORSELESS CARRIAGES BEING ELECTRIC IS YOU CAN ALSO BE A TIER 2 LOW SPEED AND HAVE A HORSELESS CARRIAGE AND HAVE NO RESTRICTION ON WHERE YOU GO. IF YOU'RE A HORSE CARRIAGE OWNER. AND YOU HAVE A HORSELESS CARRIAGE, YOU'RE ONLY RESTRICTED TO THE DESIGNATED ROUTE. SO THERE'S, THAT'D BE TWO ANIMALS. SO NOT BEING A PUN THERE, BUT STILL APPRECIATED. SO I JUST WAS THROWING IT OUT TO SEE IF IT COULD BE A VIABLE BUSINESS PRODUCT FOR THE FUTURE. AND THEN IF THAT IS SO, THEN THE FUTURE COMMISSIONS COULD RESTRICT TIER TWO FROM HAVING A CARRIAGE AND ONLY ALLOW HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGE FRANCHISE OWNERS TO HAVE A ELECTRIC CARRIAGE. THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. THANK YOU. SO I ALSO AGREE THAT WE SHOULD BRING IT DOWN TO TWO VEHICLES PER FRANCHISE AND THEN GRAND FRO THEY'RE IN THE ONES THAT HAVE MANY MORE THAN THAT. BUT WHAT I REALLY WANTED TO SAY WAS HOW REFRESHING IT HAS BEEN AS LONG AS THE PROCESS HAS BEEN. TO HEAR FROM THE INDUSTRY, I WAS QUITE SURPRISED AT THE WORKSHOP BY THE INDUSTRY COMING AND SAYING WHAT THEY SAID AND HOW SUPPORTIVE THEY WERE OF THIS. WE DON'T OFTEN GET INDUSTRIES THAT ARE AMENABLE TO REGULATION AND ACTUALLY MAYBE IN SOME CASES WE'RE ASKING FOR IT. SO I JUST WANT TO SAY I THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY UNIQUE AND APPRECIATED. ALL YOU FOLKS THAT STUCK WITH US AND WORK WITH US, WE APPRECIATE YOU. SO THE HELP FROM THE INDUSTRY HAS BEEN AMAZING. ONE THING I DID HEAR FROM THEM IS ABOUT ENFORCEMENT. THEY WERE, I WOULD SAY THEY FRET THAT LIKE MANY THINGS, WE MAY PASS GOOD LAWS BUT DON'T COME WITH ENFORCEMENT OR AREN'T ENFORCEABLE. I DON'T HAPPEN TO THINK THAT THESE ARE UNENFORCEABLE. I THINK THEY ARE ENFORCEABLE, BUT I THINK THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE VIGILANT ABOUT ENFORCEMENT. SO IN ADDITION TO CREATING THE FEE SCHEDULE AND TRAVELING ZONES AND THINGS, I'M NOT SURE WHAT WE'RE GOING TO CALL THOSE, BUT AREAS WHERE THEY CAN BE IN. SO WE REALLY HAVE QUITE A BIT OF WORK TO DO LEFT. BUT I WOULD, IT'S JUST A REALLY AMAZING FIRST STEP, AND I THINK WE HAVE CONSENSUS TO MODIFY THAT ORDINANCE AS PRESENTED. SO I'D LIKE TO TAKE A STAB AT MAKING A MOTION. DID YOU WANT ME TO REREAD THE VERSION YOU SAID BEFORE? SURE, THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL. SO IT WOULD BE TIER, IT WOULD BE MODIFYING FROM THE FLOOR THE LANGUAGE THAT'S PROPOSED FOR TIER 2. AND MODIFYING IT TO SAY TWO VEHICLES PER AGREEMENT WITH GRANDFATHERING OF A THIRD VEHICLE PER AGREEMENT IF CURRENTLY ACTIVE AND COMPLIANT WITH THE MUNICIPAL CODE AT THE TIME OF ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE 2026-11. THAT SOUNDS RIGHT. DOES THAT SOUND RIGHT, EVERYBODY? OKAY, THEN THAT'S MY MOTION. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? YEAH, SECOND. JOHN? YEAH. ALL RIGHT. I'M FADING, SO IT WASN'T THAT LOUD. OKAY, SO WE NEED TO READ THE ORDINANCE BY TITLE. ORDINANCE NUMBER 2026-11, AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 14, ARTICLE 1 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE, PROVIDING FOR REGULATIONS FOR FRANCHISES, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. NANCY SIKES-KLINE. YES. JON DEPRETER. YES. CYNTHIA GARRIS. YES. JIM SPRINGFIELD. YEP. BARBARA BLONDER. YES. ALL RIGHT. OKAY, EVERYONE, DON'T GO ANYWHERE BECAUSE WE HAVE A THIRD PART TO THIS. IT IS NOT A PUBLIC HEARING, AS I RECALL. IS IT A PUBLIC HEARING? IT'S NOT A PUBLIC HEARING. BUT IT DOES PERTAIN TO THE HORSES. [8.C.1. Resolution 2026-10: Revise and Establish Routes for Animal-Drawn Vehicles in St. Augustine (B. Moore, General Services Deputy Director) ] AND IF I CAN FIND MY AGENDA, [02:00:04] I WILL FIND MY PLACE. OKAY. IT IS A RESOLUTION 2026-10, AND IT WILL REVISE AND ESTABLISH ROUTES FOR ANIMAL-DRAWN VEHICLES IN ST. AUGUSTINE. AND MS. MOORE, YOU ARE WELCOME TO PRESENT. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, MADAM MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, COMMISSIONERS. I'M BARB MOORE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF GENERAL SERVICES, AND AGAIN, I'M HERE TO PRESENT THE AMENDED RESOLUTION 2026-10, WHICH IS REVISING A FORMER RESOLUTION 2012-21, ALTERING THE HORSE ANIMAL-DRAWN CARRIAGE ROUTES. DUE TO THE SEAWALL CONSTRUCTION ON AVENIDA MENENDEZ BY THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, IT'S NECESSARY FOR US TO CHANGE THE ANIMAL-DRAWN CARRIAGE ROUTES. IN DETERMINING THE OPTIONS, A LOT WENT INTO CONSIDERATION. TRAFFIC, INFRASTRUCTURE, IS THERE WATER, IS THERE SHADE, WHAT'S THE CAPACITY OF HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES ON WHEREVER THEY'RE GOING TO BE, WHAT WOULD BE THE EXPERIENCE OF THE RIDER. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES NOW, THEY'RE GOING TO NOT BE ON THE BAYFRONT. HOW LONG IS THE TOUR? SO WHAT WE TRIED TO DO IS KEEP IT 45 MINUTES, A NEW ROUTE. WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO SEE? WE TALKED TO THE STAKEHOLDERS. WE OFFERED THEM, YOU KNOW, THEIR OPTIONS, AND THEY HAD FEEDBACK ALSO. SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO SHOW YOU, IT'S ALSO IN YOUR PACKET, IS THE TWO PROPOSED ROUTES. I KNOW IT'S VERY HARD TO SEE HERE. THE TWO PROPOSED ROUTES. ONE IS ORANGE AND ONE IS GREEN. THERE'S ALSO TWO STARS THAT YOU WILL SEE, AND WE HAVE TO MOVE THE STAND WHERE THE PASSENGERS ARE PICKED UP AND DROPPED OFF. SO I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE STAKEHOLDERS, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE STANDS, BY UNANIMOUS, THEY WOULD LIKE IT TO BE AT CHARLOTTE AND KING. THEY DID NOT LIKE THE OPTION OR CORDOVA JUST BECAUSE IT WASN'T IN VIEW OF MOST POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS. SO WE'RE ASKING FOR TONIGHT, AND I BELIEVE IN YOUR PACKET ALSO, IS THE EXISTING ROUTES. I CAN SHOW THOSE IF YOU'D LIKE ME TO. IT'S NOT VERY DIFFERENT THAN OUR EXISTING ROUTES. IT'S MOVING AT A STREET OVER FOR THE MOST PART. WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR IS YOUR CONSIDERATION ON ROUTE ORANGE. ROUTE GREEN WOULD BE THE FIRST DECISION, OR BOTH. AND THE SECOND DECISION WE'RE ASKING FOR IS WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE THE STAND TO BE. AGAIN, THE STAKEHOLDERS WOULD PREFER CHARLOTTE AND KING STREET, OF COURSE. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME? THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE. IT COULD BE RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TWO ROUTES. YOU CAN PICK ONE, THE OTHER, OR BOTH. PICKING BOTH, THE CAUTION WITH THAT IS ENFORCEMENT, AS EVERYTHING COMES DOWN TO ENFORCEMENT. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? WELL, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS FOR YOU TO GO THROUGH THE ROUTES WITH US INDIVIDUALLY SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF WALK THEM THROUGH WITH YOU. AND JUST A REMINDER, I THINK I MISSPOKE EARLIER, THIS RESOLUTION DOES REQUIRE A PUBLIC HEARING. IT DOES? OKAY. YES, THE EXISTING LANGUAGE REQUIRED IT. OKAY, WELL, AFTER WE HEAR FROM MS. BARBER, WE'LL GO TO PUBLIC HEARING. I DON'T HAVE ANY SPEAKER CARDS. IF ANYBODY WISHES TO SPEAK, PLEASE TURN YOUR CARDS IN NOW. OKAY, I'M GOING TO DO MY BEST TO SEE THE STREET NAMES. OKAY? ALL RIGHT. LET'S SAY WE'RE STARTING AT CHARLOTTE. WE'RE GOING TO GO NORTH ON CHARLOTTE STREET AND WE ARE GOING TO TURN LEFT ON HIPPOLYTA. WE COULD GO ALL THE WAY DOWN TO CORDOVA. I'M GOING TO STICK WITH THE GREEN ROUTE. OKAY. ALL THE WAY DOWN TO CORDOVA. THAT'S GOING TO TAKE YOU TO ORANGE STREET WHERE YOU'RE TURNING LEFT. AND THEN YOU'RE GOING TO GO TO SEVILLA STREET AND THAT'S GOING TO TAKE YOU ALL THE WAY BACK TO KING. YOU'RE GOING TO TURN RIGHT ON GRANADA. AND ON THE ORANGE ROUTE, YOU'RE GOING TO GO ALL THE WAY ON BRIDGE, TURNING LEFT ON CHARLOTTE, AND COMING RIGHT BACK TO WHERE YOU STARTED FROM. BUT ON THE GREEN, YOU'LL BE LOOPING BACK. RIGHT, THE GREEN IS SLIGHTLY LONGER. IF YOU CAN SEE, THE ORANGE ROUTE'S APPROXIMATELY 9,300 FEET IN LENGTH, WHERE THE GREEN ROUTE'S APPROXIMATELY 11,000. WE'VE ALSO SHOWN AT THE BOTTOM THE TWO EXISTING ROUTES [02:05:01] IN LENGTH. SO IF YOU'RE TAKING THE GREEN ROUTE, I'M SORRY THE ORANGE ROUTE, YOU'RE TAKING A TURN ON KUNA STREET. OTHERWISE, YOU'RE FOLLOWING ALL THE WAY ALONG TILL YOU GET TO BRIDGE AND YOU'RE GOING A JAUNT ON CORDOVA AND BACK AROUND. SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT LONGER OF A ROUTE. OKAY, THIS IS REALLY HARD BECAUSE I LIKE BOTH OF THEM FOR DIFFERENT REASONS, BUT I TEND TO WANT TO GO ON THE ORANGE ROUTE BECAUSE IT KEEPS THEM OFF OF CORDOVA MORE. JUST A BLOCK. RIGHT. AND THEN IT ALSO KEEPS THEM OFF OF THE PLAZA AREA, WHICH ALWAYS SEEMS LIKE JAMMING THINGS UP. IT DOES. AND WE WALKED DOWN THERE. SO WE TOOK A REALLY HARD LOOK AND WALKED THE AREA WHERE THE PROPOSED STAND WOULD BE AT CHARLOTTE AND KING. WHAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE OF IS THERE'S WATER, WHICH THERE IS. WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS DRAINAGE SO THAT WE HAVE TO HOSE IT DOWN, WHICH WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE TO DO. THE DRAINS RIGHT THERE. THE INFRASTRUCTURE WE MIGHT NEED TO BEEF UP NO MATTER WHERE WE GO. BUT RIGHT NOW IT EXISTS AT THAT LOCATION. WE HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AND SEE WHAT ELSE WE WOULD NEED TO ADD. WHATEVER DECISIONS MADE, IF A DECISION IS MADE HERE TONIGHT, IT WOULD GO INTO EFFECT HOPEFULLY JULY 27TH. BECAUSE OF THE SEAWALL CONSTRUCTION, WE NEED TO MAKE A DECISION AND MOVE ALONG. OUR SHAREHOLDERS, WE PROPOSED THIS MAP. WE SAID, IF YOU HAD YOUR CHOICE, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? NONE OF THEM RESPONDED TO THE ORANGE OR THE GREEN. IT WAS ALL 100% WHERE THE STAND WAS FOR PICK UP AND DROP OFF. OKAY. SO THEY REALLY DIDN'T HAVE A PREFERENCE ON ORANGE OR GREEN. WELL, PERSONALLY, I'M REALLY GLAD WE'RE MOVING THEM OFF OF THE BAYFRONT BECAUSE I REMEMBER WHEN THEY MOVED THEM ONTO THE BAYFRONT, AND I WAS LIKE, WHY? THE SHADE IS IN THE PLAZA. SO, I LIKE THIS IDEA MUCH BETTER, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY LIKE IT TOO. BUT I WOULD FAVOR, I'M PRETTY FIRM ON THAT LOCATION OF CHARLOTTE STREET WHERE I FEEL IS BEST. IT'S VERY VISIBLE FOR THEM, IT'S SHADED. THEY'RE NEXT TO THE STUFF THAT THEY NEED, THE WATER AND THAT SORT OF THING. PEOPLE CAN GET AROUND THEM IN VEHICLES STILL. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO IMPEED TRAFFIC. RIGHT. IT GIVES US SOME OPTIONS LONG TERM TO THINK ABOUT OF THE BAYFRONT. IF THIS WORKS OUT REALLY WELL, THIS MAY BE, I COULD ENVISION THIS BEING A PERMANENT LOCATION. THAT'S THE IDEA. THIS ROUTE, WHATEVER WE CHOOSE, THE IDEA IS TO BE PERMANENT, NOT GOING BACK. AND THEN THINK ABOUT SOME OTHER OPTIONS FOR THE BAYFRONT SINCE WE'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT TRANSIT LANES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, MOBILITY FUNCTIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. I KNOW WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THE BAYFRONT HAVING ENOUGH RIGHT-OF-WAY BECAUSE THE TRAVEL LANES ARE SO WIDE THERE AND YOU'VE GOT THE MEDIAN AND ALL THE PARKING. THERE MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO A TRAVEL LANE THERE FOR A TRANSIT BUS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, I'M JUST SPITBALLING. BUT THAT'S MY THING. AND THEN I SAID THE ORANGE. I'M MORE FLEXIBLE ON THE ORANGE, BUT I'M NOT THAT FLEXIBLE ON ME ON THE CHARLOTTE STREET, SIGHTING THE HORSES THERE. COMMISSIONERS. WE DIDN'T HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT, DID WE? NO, THAT'S WHAT I WAS SAYING. MAYBE WE GET COMMENT. LET ME STOP TALKING AND TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT. AND WE NEED TO HEAR FROM THEM. SO THANK YOU. OKAY, WE'VE GOT QUITE A FEW. GOOD, GOOD, GOOD. CARLY ZERVIS FOLLOWED BY PATRICIA RAMOS. HI, EVERYBODY. THANKS. FIRST FOR ALL THE TIME AND EFFORT AND EXHAUSTION AND HOMEWORK AND ENERGY THAT YOU ALL PUT INTO ALL OF THE ORDINANCE REVISIONS. I KNOW ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS APPRECIATE THAT. WE APPRECIATE THE CONSIDERATION THAT YOU GUYS GIVE US THROUGH THE PROCESS. I BELIEVE THAT YOU ALL GOT AN EMAIL FROM MR. BROOKS WITH A LITTLE BIT OF FEEDBACK ABOUT THE HACK STAND LOCATIONS. IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE ANYBODY'S REALLY IN FAVOR OF THE GRANADA STREET LOCATION, SO I'M GOING TO LET THAT GO. MY MAIN SUGGESTION HINGED ON ACCESS TO SHADE WATER AND A WIDE ENOUGH PARKING LANE TO FACILITATE SAFETY. WE LOVE BEING AROUND THE PLAZA, FRANKLY, PERSONALLY. I WOULD PREFER TO BE OFF THE BAYFRONT AS WELL. I'VE 17 YEARS [02:10:01] IN THE INDUSTRY, AND I'M A HUGE FAN OF THESE CHANGES. I REALLY LIKE THE AREA AROUND THE PLAZA FOR THE REASONS I SAID, BUT I THINK THAT IT MAY BE WORTH CONSIDERING HAVING AN ADDITIONAL SECONDARY HACK STAND LOCATION ON THE BLOCK OF KING STREET BETWEEN CORDOVA AND ST. GEORGE. THAT WOULD BE THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE GOVERNOR'S HOUSE BUILDING. IT'S EASY. I HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION WITH REUBEN AT ONE POINT ABOUT THIS. IT'S REALLY EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO THE CITY'S EXISTING PRESSURE WASHING PROGRAM, WHICH ASSISTS US WITH MANAGING SOME OF THE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH THE INDUSTRY, WHICH WE WOULD LIKE TO DO AS WELL. SO MY ONLY CONCERN REALLY WITH THE CHARLOTTE AND KING LOCATION IS LENGTH AND ALSO THAT IT TENDS TO BE A TRAFFIC CUT THROUGH. FOR TROLLEYS AND ALL KINDS OF OTHER VEHICLES, IT USED TO BE A TAXI STAND, AND IT TENDS TO BE KIND OF LIKE A LOADING, UNLOADING, MULTIPURPOSE ZONE, ESPECIALLY IN THE EVENING WITH RIDESHARES, TRADE WINDS, THAT LITTLE BAR DISTRICT RIGHT THERE. AND I DON'T NECESSARILY WANT US TO BE IN CONFLICT WITH THOSE VEHICLES IF WE CAN AVOID IT. I WOULD PREFER TO AVOID THAT. I THINK IT'S A LITTLE MORE PEACEFUL, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER AWAY FROM THAT INTERSECTION. BUT I UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, PREFERENCES FOR SHADE AND WATER AND CLEANLINESS, AND WE APPRECIATE ALL OF THAT. AS FOR THE ROUTES, MY ONLY CONCERN WITH THE ROUTES IS THAT BOTH OF THEM TAKE US ALL THE WAY UP TO ORANGE AND DOWN THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD ON SEVILLA. I KNOW THAT A LOT OF OUR GUESTS LIKE TO SEE THE CHURCHES. THEY LIKE TO SEE ALL OF THE FLAGLER CHURCHES, AND THAT ROUTE WAS GENERALLY ACCESSED VIA CORDOVA TO, NOT VALENCIA, IT'S CARRERA, DOWN CARRERA TO SEVILLA TO BRIEFLY VALENCIA TO SEVILLA THROUGH THE COLLEGE. AND THAT GETS US THE GREATEST HITS OF ALL THE FLAGLER BUILDINGS. AND SO WE WOULD HATE TO LOSE THAT. IT'S NOT THAT THAT NEIGHBORHOOD ISN'T CHARMING, BUT IN THE INTEREST OF REDUCING OUR CONFLICTS WITH NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC, I'M NOT NECESSARILY A HUGE FAN OF FORCING US TO BE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD LONGER THAN WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO BE. I'D RATHER BE ON THE MORE COMMERCIALIZED ROUTES WHERE THE TOUR VEHICLES ALREADY ARE, RATHER THAN HAVING ADDITIONAL SLOW-MOVING VEHICLES RELEGATED TO AREAS OF THE CITY THAT WE'RE NOT CURRENTLY IN. AND THAT, I THINK, IS IT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. PATRICIA RAMOS, FOLLOWED BY THOMAS REYNOLDS. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS PATRICIA AND I'M HERE TO SPEAK UP FOR THE AMENDMENTS. WE DOCUMENT AND BRING IN VIOLATION AFTER VIOLATION EVERY WEEK. I HOPE YOU'RE NOT JUST WAITING FOR A CATASTROPHE TO HAPPEN. NO AMOUNT OF AMENDING THE CODES OR THE ROUTES WILL HELP THE HORSES OR THE PUBLIC FOR THAT MATTER BECAUSE, AGAIN, YOU CAN'T TAKE AWAY A HORSE'S NATURAL INSTINCT TO EASILY GET SPOOKED BY THE CONSTANT STIMULI AND DESIRE TO RUN AWAY. AND WE ARE SPEAKING ABOUT AN OVER 1,800-POUND ANIMAL. NO AMOUNT OF AMENDING IS GOING TO FIX THE CRIMINAL, LAZY, SELFISH ACTIONS AS SHALL BE WITNESSED BY THE VIDEOS, BAYFRONT OR NOT, THERE'S ALWAYS TRAFFIC, THERE'S ALWAYS CARS. LEAVING THE HORSES ALONE, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY ARE, IS DANGEROUS. WE ARE NOT ASKING HOW YOU CAN MAKE CRUEL TO YOUR DANGER BETTER. WE ARE ASKING FOR A LAW THAT PREVENTS HARM TOWARDS THE HORSES AND THE PUBLIC. THE ONLY LAW THAT MAKES SENSE WOULD BE THE ONE THAT ABOLISHES THIS CRUEL AND DANGEROUS INDUSTRY, BRINGING THE ELECTRIC CARRIAGES. DANGEROUS ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF THE ALOOFNESS OF THE DRIVERS AND THE CITY NOT MONITORING THEM OR BEING ABLE TO. WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN THAT NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU TRY TO AMEND THE CODES, THE CARRIAGE DRIVERS WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE WITH IMPUNITY, WHICH MAKES THEM THAT MUCH MORE DANGEROUS. YOU AS A CITY HAVE ENABLED THAT. SO WHEN AN ACCIDENT HAPPENS, NOT IF, THE BLOOD WILL BE ON YOUR HANDS AS WELL. DON'T BE A HEADLINE LIKE NEW YORK CITY. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THESE VIDEOS. HOPEFULLY YOU CAN HEAR THEM. SO BASICALLY SAYING HE'S GOT HIS BACK TURNED, TRAFFIC GOING BY, NOT EVEN PAYING ATTENTION TO THE HORSE. THERE WERE CUSTOMERS ON THERE. OKAY, SHE'S LEANING ON THE HORSE'S EQUIPMENT. LOOK AT THE NOISE. SEE HOW HE GOES BACK TO THE HORSE? BECAUSE THE HORSE GOT SPOOKED A LITTLE BIT. [02:15:13] THEY DON'T PAY ATTENTION SO SOMETIMES THE HORSES URINATE AND THEY DON'T CLEAN UP AFTER THE HORSES. HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW, HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THE HORSE WENT ON THE UH, IN THE STREET BECAUSE HE WAS BUSY SOCIALIZING AND SMOKING. FURTHER AWAY FROM THE HORSE WHILE TRAFFIC PASSES BY, WHETHER THEY'RE GONNA BE AT THE BAYFRONT OR NOT, THIS IS WHAT THEY DO CONSTANTLY. I HOPE THESE VIDEOS... WHICH SHOW HORSES CONSTANTLY BEING LEFT ALONE AND IRRESPONSIBLE ACTIONS ALL WHILE CARS RACE BY HELP YOU DECIDE TO ABOLISH THIS ARCHAIC, DANGEROUS INDUSTRY, NOT AMEND IT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THOMAS REYNOLDS, FOLLOWED BY HEATHER WILSON. TOM REYNOLDS, 1244 MILE 32084. YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY INTERESTING. THE LADY THAT DID THE PRESENTATION, SHE MENTIONED SHADE. OKAY. SO GONNA MOVE IT OVER TO CHARLOTTE AND KING BECAUSE THERE'S SOME SHADE FROM THE TREES? TELL ME SOMETHING, FOLKS. HOW COME NOBODY ELSE HAS EVER BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT SHADE ON THE BAYFRONT? NOT A SPECK OF SHADE. ALL THESE YEARS, NOT ONE SPECK OF SHADE. NOW WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT SHADE. I AGREE WITH THE LAST SPEAKER. NO AMOUNT OF AMENDMENTS OR CHANGES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT IS GOING TO MAKE THIS BARBARIC HORSE CARRIAGE BUSINESS ANY BETTER. YOU KNOW, I GOT TO TELL YOU, WHEN I SEE THE HORSES AND I SEE THEM WALKING, IT IS QUITE OBVIOUS THEY'RE HAVING A HARD TIME WALKING. AND THE SPECIAL SHOES, COBBLESTONE ROADS, AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAD TO DO THE BRICK WALKWAYS. SO, I DON'T AGREE ABOUT CHANGING IT AT ALL. IN FACT, REALLY WHEN I'M SITTING HERE AND I'M THINKING, THESE HORSES SHOULD NOT EVEN COME BACK, PERIOD, BUT IF THEY DO, THEY SHOULD NOT COME BACK TO OCTOBER 1ST. THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO WAY THAT ANY HORSE SHOULD BE OUT ON THESE ROADS ONCE IT BECOMES APRIL 30TH. APRIL 30TH, THAT SHOULD END, AND THAT SHOULD NOT START UNTIL NOVEMBER 1ST. IT REALLY, I'LL TELL YOU SOMETHING, FOLKS, WITH THE ELECTRIC HORSELESS CARRIAGE, I JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY WANT TO KEEP DOING IT. BUT LAST, I WANT TO FINISH WITH THIS. THIS LADY BACK HERE IS WORKING ON IT. MR. GRAHAM'S WORKING ON IT. MR. BERTRAM'S WORKING ON IT. ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE WORKING ON IT. AND YOU SAY THE FEE ISN'T THOUSAND DOLLARS AND TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE HORSE CARRIAGE? YOU KNOW, I DON'T REALLY LIKE TO GO BACK AND STARE IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR, BUT WE GOT TO USE THE REARVIEW MIRROR. HOW MUCH MONEY HAS THE TAXPAYER BEEN SPENDING SUBSIDIZING THE HORSE CARRIAGE BUSINESS ALL THESE YEARS? I BET IT'S THOUSANDS, AND THOUSANDS, MAYBE EVEN INTO A MILLION DOLLARS. THE TAXPAYERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM SPEND ONE PENNY, AND THEY HAVE. SPENT A LOT OF MONEY OVER ALL THESE YEARS. SO THAT'S ONCE AGAIN, I DON'T AGREE WITH THIS HORSE CARRIAGE INDUSTRY AT ALL. SHADE, NOW WE'RE GOING TO WORRY ABOUT SHADE. WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN WORRIED ABOUT SHADE YEARS AGO. BUT ANYWAYS, I GUESS IT'S A START, BUT HORSELESS CARRIAGES IS THE WAY TO GO. I HOPE THAT YOU'LL SEE THAT. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, HEATHER WILSON, FOLLOWED BY CATHERINE ZOTA. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU FOR TAKING PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM. WHAT STRUCK ME WHEN SHE WAS DOING THE PRESENTATION WAS SHADE. THE HORSES HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO SHADE RIGHT NOW. SO WHY ALL OF A SUDDEN IS THIS A CONCERN THAT THE HORSES GET SHADE? FOR YEARS, THEY HAVE BEEN ON THE BAYFRONT AND THE SUN SETS. AND IT HITS YOU IN THE FACE WHEN YOU ARE STANDING ON THE BAYFRONT AND THOSE HORSES ARE STANDING OUT THERE IN FULL FUR COATS AND ALL THEIR GEAR HITCHED UP WITH THEIR TACK HOOKED UP TO THESE CARRIAGES. THEY CANNOT MOVE. AND NOW THEY'RE ONLY GOING TO GET WATER ONCE AN HOUR. ENFORCEMENT. THERE'S NO ENFORCEMENT NOW. SO HOW IS THERE GOING TO BE ANY DIFFERENCE WITH ENFORCEMENT IF THEY MOVE LOCATIONS? YOU HAVE ONE GENTLEMAN, JABARI, WHO'S SUPPOSED TO BE OVERSEEING EVERYTHING. AND THAT IS JUST NOT FAIR. SO MOVING THESE ANIMALS TO A DIFFERENT LOCATION IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE THE ENFORCEMENT. I MEAN, THERE WAS ONE EVENING WHEN I HAD VERY SPECIFIC TIMESTAMPED VIDEOS OF BARBIE [02:20:01] GETTING A FIVE-MINUTE BREAK. AND WHEN A POLICE OFFICER WALKED PAST ME, I SAID, SIR, THIS HORSE HAS NOT HAD A 15-MINUTE BREAK. THAT IS A VIOLATION OF MUNICIPAL CODE. AND HE GOT ANGRY WITH ME, AND HE SAID, UNLESS I SEE IT, I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. SO WE ARE EYE-WITNESSING VIOLATIONS ON A REGULAR BASIS AND NOTHING IS BEING DONE. CHANGING LOCATIONS IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE THAT. AND WHO SUFFERS? IT'S THE ANIMALS WHO ARE NEVER GIVEN A CHOICE. DISTANCE, TO GO FROM THE TRANSFER STATION ON RIBERIA ALL THE WAY TO THE MARTINI BAR ON THE BAYFRONT ON AVENIDA MENENDEZ IS 1.8 MILES. THAT'S A 40 TO 45 MINUTE WALK. AND WE SEE HORSES ALL THE TIME APPROACHING THE HACK LINE, STARTING THEIR SHIFT. AND THEY ARE ROUTINELY NOT OFFERED WATER AFTER A 1.8 MILE WALK. OH, BECAUSE THAT WAS NOT A TOUR AND THERE IS NO PASSENGERS. THESE ANIMALS STILL WALKED 1.8 MILES AND THEY'RE NOT BEING OFFERED WATER. THAT IS CRUEL. SO HOW DOES THIS ROUTE CHANGE THE DISTANCE? THESE ANIMALS ARE ALREADY WALKING A LOT. AND PUTTING THESE ANIMALS IN A DIFFERENT LOCATION IS NOT PUTTING THEM NEXT TO WHAT THEY NEED. WHAT THEY NEED IS GREEN PASTURE. THEY NEED TO BE WITH THEIR OWN KIND. THESE ARE HERD ANIMALS. THEY LIKE TO BE WITH OTHER HORSES. WHEN THE HORSES WERE STABLED ON RIBERIA, WE WOULD ALWAYS SEE THEM SOCIALIZING WITH ONE ANOTHER OVER THE FENCES. THEY WANT TO BE WITH THEIR OWN KIND. THEY DON'T WANT TO HAVE BLINKERS AND DIAPERS AND HITCHED UP TO THESE HEAVY CARRIAGES PULLING PASSENGERS THROUGH BUSY CITY STREETS. THIS IS NOT WHAT THE HORSES NEED. CHANGING LOCATIONS DOES NOT CHANGE WHAT THEY ARE BEING OFFERED. THIS DOES NOT HELP THEM WHATSOEVER. THEY WANT FREEDOM, THEY WANT BODILY AUTONOMY, AND THEY WANT TO BE RETIRED WITH DIGNITY. WE HAVE JUST SEEN ON FACEBOOK JENNIFER CUSHION POSTING ONE OF HER HORSES, I CAN'T SELL CINNAMON, SO I'M GOING TO TRY BREEDING HER. THESE PEOPLE JUST SEE DOLLAR SIGNS IN THESE ANIMALS. IT IS ABSOLUTELY TRAGIC. SO PLEASE ABOLISH THIS CRUEL AND OUTDATED INDUSTRY. AMENDING CODES DOES NOT CHANGE WHAT THESE ANIMALS TRULY NEED, WHICH IS FREEDOM. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. CATHERINE ZOTO. HOW WILL THE PROPOSED ROUTE BE ENFORCED WHEN THE CODE ALLOWS SO MANY DEVIATIONS FROM THE PRESCRIBED ROUTE? IF DRIVERS ARE PERMITTED TO LEAVE THE PRESCRIBED ROUTE FOR PICKUPS, DROP-OFFS, AND OTHER AUTHORIZED STOPS, GOING TO THE BANK, COLLECTING CASH, HOW WILL THE CITY ENFORCE THIS PROPOSED ROUTE? WITH SO MANY PERMITTED DEVIATIONS FROM THE PRESCRIBED ROUTE, HOW WILL THE CITY VERIFY ROUTE COMPLIANCE? THE PROPOSED ROUTE IS ONLY MEANINGFUL IF IT CAN BE ENFORCED. WITH MULTIPLE AUTHORIZED OFF-ROUTE DIVERSIONS, HOW WILL THE CITY DETERMINE WHEN A DRIVER IS OUT OF COMPLIANCE? BY ALLOWING SO MANY DEVIATIONS FROM THE ROUTE, THE PROPOSED CODE MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO MONITOR ROUTE COMPLIANCE AND VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO VERIFY COMPLIANCE WITH THE NEW WATERING REQUIREMENT, WHICH NOW... PROVIDES WATER IS REQUIRED AFTER EACH TOUR OR EVERY HOUR. THEREFORE, WATER IS NOT REQUIRED AFTER EVERY TOUR, AND THERE IS NO WAY TO COMPLY TO WATCH COMPLIANCE OF EVERY HOUR. THAT IS VIRTUALLY UNENFORCEABLE. A WATER REQUIREMENT FOR OUR HORSE-WORKING CITY STREETS IS A BASIC NEED FOR THESE ANIMALS, AND IT SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AWAY. THAT CLOSES OUR PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. AND TO THE BOARD, I MADE MY COMMENT. THAT'S RIGHT, YOU DID. LEAVE IT UP TO YOU. OKAY, THANK YOU. EITHER ROUTE IS KIND OF FINE WITH ME. IT'S NITPICKY TO ME. BUT THE GREEN ROUTE DOES GO DOWN AVALESE. AND IF I WAS A TOUR DRIVER, I WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO GO DOWN THAT STREET. STREET IN THE CITY. AND SO I DON'T MEAN TO THROW A MONKEY WRENCH IN ALL THIS. AND I'VE BEEN PREPPED ABOUT THESE TWO ROUTES FOR WEEKS NOW BY OUR MANAGER. I SHOULD HAVE MADE A DECISION BY NOW, BUT I HAVE A PROPOSAL. I MENTIONED A WHILE AGO WHEN [02:25:03] WHEN A PRESENTATION THAT GETTING OFF THE BAYFRONT WAS NUMBER ONE FOR ME. AND SECOND, CHARGING ENOUGH TO MAKE SURE THEY PAY THEIR ROUTE. BUT I ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE SPOT ACROSS FROM THE CASA MONICA BY THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE WOULD BE A VERY FAVORABLE SPOT. AND THAT IS ON THE GREEN ROUTE RIGHT NOW ON KING STREET. THERE IS A PROCESS RIGHT THERE TO SLOW TRAFFIC DOWN. THEY CAN MOVE OUT INTO TRAFFIC. THEY COULD DO AVILESE AND THEN JOIN THE ORANGE ROUTE AND FINISH THE ROUTE THAT WAY. I JUST THINK THAT'S A BETTER SPOT. AND I'M ALSO BEEN INFORMED THAT, AND WE'RE WELL AWARE, 15 CARRIAGES IS A LOT OF ROOM. AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE EVEN HAVE ROOM AT CHARLOTTE AND KING STREET FOR 15 CARRIAGES. SO THAT'S GOING TO BE A PROBLEM ANYWAY. SO, LIKE I SAY, I'M NOT... HARD PRESSED ON ANY OF THIS, BUT I DO THINK THAT SPOT BY THE CASA MONICA, BUT YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE CARRIAGES NOW ARE DONE BY RESERVATION. THEY CAN MAKE ALMOST TWICE AS MUCH MONEY IF THEY RESERVE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT LIMITED BY THE WALK-UP RATE. SO MOST OF THEM ARE MOVING TOWARD RESERVATIONS AND BEING VISIBLE IS NOT AS CRITICAL AS IT WAS BEFORE THAT TECHNOLOGY WAS AVAILABLE. THANK YOU. FIRST OF ALL, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE 15 CARRIAGES NOW SINCE THE CUSHMANS ARE... I DON'T THINK WE HAVE 15. WE DON'T, BUT WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO HAVE 15. OKAY, SO I AGREE WITH THE MAYOR ABOUT THE ORANGE ROUTE, BUT I DO THINK WHAT YOU'RE SAYING BY THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE WOULD BE FAVORABLE. I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT CUTS OFF ON HIPPOLYTA BECAUSE HIPPOLYTA IS ALREADY BUSY WITH THE TRAINS AND THE TROLLEYS COMING THROUGH. IT CUTS OFF AND GOES DOWN KUNA. YEAH, IT CUTS OFF AND GOES DOWN KUNA STREET. SO IT DOESN'T GO ALL THE WAY DOWN THERE WHERE THE BARS AND STUFF ARE AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. SO THEY'RE CUT OFF BEFORE THEN, PREVENTING ANY PEOPLE COMING OUT, THOSE COLLEGE STUDENTS, PEOPLE DRINKING ON THAT CORNER. SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD ROUTE TO CUT THEM OFF AT KUNA AND HAVE THEM GOING IN A DIFFERENT WAY, BECAUSE THAT MIGHT SPEAK TO HORSES. SO I THINK, IF WE COULD JUST ADD AROUND THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE AND THEN ROUTE THEM ON THE REST OF THE WAY ONTO ORANGE STREET, THE ORANGE ROUTE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD. DOES THAT SOUND DOABLE, MS. BARB? ABSOLUTELY. YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE TO CHECK INFRASTRUCTURE. YOU KNOW, I SAW THIS ROUTE ACTUALLY THIS MORNING AND DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO WALK OUT BY THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE TO SEE WHAT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS. WE CAN ALWAYS ADD INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE COMMISSION DECIDES WE'LL MAKE IT WORK. OKAY. ORANGE ROUTE. THE ONLY CAVEAT I SEE IS THAT WHEN CPS HAS SCHOOLS, THEY'RE LOADING AND UNLOADING STUDENTS. IT GETS PRETTY BUSY DOWN THERE. HOWEVER, I THINK THAT, OF COURSE, CARRIAGES WILL PROBABLY ACCOMMODATE THAT SOONER OR LATER. MY GOAL, LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE HAS SAID, WAS JUST TO GET THEM OFF THE BAY FRONT. SO ANYTHING HERE IS A WIN TO ME. AS FAR AS THE LOADING AREAS, I WOULD LIKE TO, BEFORE I DECIDED RIGHT NOW, I WOULD LIKE, THIS THING HAS JUST BEEN BROUGHT FOR ME RIGHT NOW, THIS OTHER AREA, SO I WOULD LIKE SOME KIND OF STAFF RECOMMENDATION ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, OR SAY TO STAFF, OKAY, I'LL CONSIDER THIS IF YOU LOOK AT IT AND YOU TELL ME THAT IT'S A SAFE PLACE TO BE. I DO KNOW THAT GOING DOWN THERE, THE LIGHT. ON ST. GEORGE STREET, IT'S VERY ANNOYING. I MEAN, IT JUST STOPS ALL THE TIME AND THERE'S, IT ALWAYS BOTHERS ME BECAUSE THERE'S NOBODY THERE. SO IT IS A SLOWER CORNER BY NATURE. HOWEVER, IT DOES PACK UP PRETTY QUICKLY IN BOTH LANES BECAUSE THEN YOU HAVE TO SEPARATE TO GO OVER THE BRIDGE, WHICH I DO ALL THE TIME. SO SOME KIND OF, I WOULD NEED TO HAVE SOME KIND OF INFORMATION TO MAKE ME FEEL CERTAIN ON ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. OKAY. OKAY, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, WELL, COMMENTS. I'M FINE WITH WHICHEVER ROUTE WE'RE GETTING OFF THE BAYFRONT. THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. I THINK WE'VE HEARD THAT FROM EVERYBODY HERE. AND I SUPPORT THE ORANGE ROUTE. I WOULD ONLY CAUTION THAT BECAUSE I USE THIS INTERSECTION A WHOLE LOT AROUND WORK, THE KUNA AND CORDOVA STREET INTERSECTION IS BASICALLY A BLIND INTERSECTION COMING OUT ONTO CORDOVA STREET BECAUSE THE FLAGLER COLLEGE BUILDING, WHY I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAME [02:30:03] OF IT RIGHT NOW IS BECAUSE IT'S LATE, BUT THE FLAGLER COLLEGE BUILDING ON THAT NORTH CORNER KIND OF BLOCKS ANY VISUAL ABILITY. POLLARD? POLLARD, THANK YOU. BLOCKS YOUR ABILITY TO SEE ONTO CORDOVA STREET UNTIL YOU'RE ACTUALLY IN THE INTERSECTION. SO I'M NOT SURE HOW WE GET AROUND THAT. MAYBE THERE'S A MIRROR OR SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE PLACED SOMEWHERE ON THAT CORNER. BUT THERE'S A WAY TO DO THAT. SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A CONCERN BECAUSE CORDOVA CAN GET PRETTY BUSY. AND THEN THE OTHER CONCERN I HAVE JUST CAME TO THE FORE THIS EVENING. I HEARD FROM A RELIABLE SOURCE THAT THE CONSTRUCTION ON SEVILLA STREET IS SLOWED DOWN. IT MAY BE DELAYED. AND I WONDER IF WE'RE... ROUTING HORSES ON SEVILLA, THEN ARE WE GETTING NOT CONSTRUCTION BY MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS BEFORE THAT'S DONE? SO THOSE ARE MY CONCERNS. OTHERWISE, I'M IN FAVOR OF WHATEVER THE COMMISSION MOVES FORWARD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY, SO MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE SINCE WE HAVE, AS I RECALL, WE HAVE ROOM FOR FIVE CARRIAGES ON THE LOCATION THAT IS AT THE END OF THE PLAZA THERE AT KING AND CATHEDRAL, I MEAN, CHARLOTTE, WHICH POTENTIALLY WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH LONG TERM. PERHAPS WE SHOULD GO KIND OF GO WITH IT AND SAY, LET'S DESIGNATE ANOTHER AREA THERE SOUTH OF GOVERNMENT HOUSE ON KING STREET WHERE THE HORSE TROUGH IS. I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT THE AREA WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BECAUSE IT'S SHADED, THERE'S WATER. YES. THE SIDEWALK'S VERY WIDE THERE. THE HORSES WERE THERE BEFORE. WE HAVE NOT, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT, BUT WE HAVE NOT SPOKEN TO UF ABOUT STAGING HORSES ADJACENT TO THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE. WE WOULD DO THAT ALSO. OKAY. WELL, THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT. SO LET'S LEAVE THAT DOOR OPEN AND INVESTIGATE THAT. BUT LET'S GET THIS THING PASSED TONIGHT. SO THAT WE CAN GET THOSE HORSES MOVED OFF. AND FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT GOVERNMENT HOUSE. I THINK THERE'S SUPPORT HERE TO LOOK INTO IT. WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT BECAUSE EVENTUALLY WE'LL NEED MORE SPACES FOR CARRIAGES SOMEWHERE. AND THEN I'M GOING TO SAY ORANGE STREET. YES? NO? ORANGE ROUTE. SORRY. GOLLY, IT'S GETTING LATE. THESE LONG MEETINGS ARE ROUGH. Y'ALL, WE STARTED AT 3 TODAY, SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE ALL A LITTLE BIT FRIED. IT'S HARD TO SUSTAIN FOCUS FOR THIS MANY HOURS, FRANKLY. SO WE CAN TRIAL RUN ALL THIS? YES. OKAY. ALL RIGHT, SO I WILL... YOU WANT TO MAKE THE MOTION? YEAH. IS IT AN ORDINANCE OR... IT'S A RESOLUTION. RESOLUTION PASSED. PARDON ME? YOU DON'T NEED TO READ IT. THAT WAS THE JOY I WAS GOING TO GET OUT OF DOING IT. YOU JUST STOLE THAT. I MAKE A MOTION TO PASS A RESOLUTION AGENDA ITEM. A RESOLUTION TO... 2026-10 TO REVISE AND ESTABLISH ROUTES FOR ANIMAL-DRAWN VEHICLES IN ST. AUGUSTINE, AND THAT WOULD BE USING THE ORANGE ROUTE AS PRESCRIBED ON THIS INFORMATION GRAPH WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US, AND ALSO THE STAFF EVALUATING THE POTENTIAL VIABILITY OF THE SITE WE'VE DISCUSSED, WHICH IS ON KING AND ST. GEORGE. SECOND. TALKING TO... TO UF AND ALSO ANALYSIS ON MOBILITY AND SO IT'S GOING TO HOLD MOBILITY UP. SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? IT'S ACTUALLY BETWEEN CORDOVA AND KING, I MEAN CORDOVA AND ST. GEORGE ON KING. YEAH, ON KING. OKAY. OKAY, GOOD. ALL RIGHT. EVERYBODY GOOD? ALL RIGHT. MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. JON DEPRETER? YES. BARBARA BLONDER? YES. CYNTHIA GARRIS? YES. JIM SPRINGFIELD? YES. NANCY SIKES-KLINE. YES. THAT'S IT. THAT'S A WRAP. YAY. LOTS OF WORK TO DO LEFT. NO, SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO READ IT. IT'S A RESOLUTION, SO SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO READ IT. SHE DID NOT HAVE TO READ IT. OKAY, SO WE HAVE STAFF. WE HAVE NO ORDINANCES OR RESOLUTIONS, FIRST READING. SO WE HAVE STAFF REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS. WE'VE HEARD QUITE ENOUGH FROM YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH TONIGHT. IT'S ALL GOOD. WE LOVE YOU. WE LOVE IT. [12. ITEMS BY CITY CLERK] [02:35:01] ITEMS BY CITY ATTORNEY. WE'VE HEARD ENOUGH FROM YOU TOO, OKAY. ALL GOOD. ITEMS BY CITY CLERK. WE HAVE NOT HEARD FROM YOU TONIGHT, SO I'M ASSUMING. HERE'S MY MOMENT. I JUST HAVE ONE VERY BRIEF NOTIFICATION THAT WE HAVE AN OPENING ON OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES 1ST AND ST. AUGUSTINE POLICE OFFICERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM. MR. DAN HILBERT, WHO'S BEEN AN AMAZING LONGTIME BOARD MEMBER, HAS MOVED OUT OF THE CITY LIMITS TEMPORARILY. HOPEFULLY HE'LL BE BACK. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, WE NEED TO FILL HIS POSITION. ALL RIGHT. [14. ITEMS BY MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS] THE ITEMS BY CITY MANAGER. YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. VERY GOOD. I'M JUST MY MAYOR AND COMMISSIONER. THIS IS WHERE IT GETS STICKY. WHO'S GOT SOMETHING THAT THEY HAVE? BURNING ISSUES. WELL, I JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT RICHARD WHITE, FORMER COMMISSIONER RICHARD WHITE, PASSED TODAY. AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK HIM FOR HIS SERVICE BEING ON THE COMMISSION. I THINK HE WORKED WITH YOU, DIDN'T HE, MAYOR? I DID NOT WORK WITH HIM. OKAY, BEFORE. OKAY. BUT HE WAS A GREAT PERSON, AND HE ALSO WORKED FOR US AS STAFF AT THE VIC. AND WE'RE JUST, THE CITY MOURNS WITH HIM AND WITH HIS FAMILY DURING THIS TIME OF LOSS. THANK YOU. OKAY. NOTHING. OH, GOODNESS. I LOVE TO HEAR THOSE WORDS. THAT'S A GOOD ONE. OF COURSE. WE HAVE BEEN BEATEN UP FOR THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF OVER BARBARIC PRACTICES. AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS TO DO IS TO GO TO MAINE IN SEPTEMBER WHEN THEY HAVE THE COMMON GROUND FAIR. COMMON GROUND FAIR IS A CELEBRATION OF CARBON-LESS FARMING. NOTHING CAN HAVE CARBON THERE. IT'S ALL ORGANIC. THEY HAVE DEMONSTRATIONS OF PLOWING AND OX PULLS. AND WHILE YOU'RE GOING TO THIS, YOU PASS AMISH FARMERS ON THE HIGHWAY IN THEIR CARRIAGES. MY GRANDFATHER WAS A FARMER IN GEORGIA, AND HE USED HORSES. USING HORSES FOR OUR ENTERPRISE AND FOR OUR PLEASURE IS NOT BARBARIC. MISTREATING OF HORSES IS BARBARIC. AND SO I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THAT, THAT EVEN THOUGH I SUPPORT PEOPLE PROTESTING. I JUST WISH THAT THEY WOULD UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS AN INSULT TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED HARD ALL THEIR LIFE WITH HORSES TO BRING THIS NATION TO WHAT IT IS. AND WE ARE FORTUNATE NOT TO HAVE TO DEPEND ON THAT AND HAVE TO SMELL IT ALL THE WAY LIKE WE WOULD IF WE HAD HORSES EVERYWHERE INSTEAD OF CARS. BUT IT'S NOT BARBARIC UNLESS YOUR TREATMENT IS ABUSIVE. MADAM MAYOR, IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'M GOING TO IMPOSE ON YOU TO HOLD UP A T-SHIRT THAT I THINK YOU HAVE FOUND AT YOUR DESK TODAY. OH, YES, OF COURSE. THAT'S HOW I'M GOING TO START OFF. YEAH, I WAS GOING TO WEAR MINE TODAY, TOO, BUT I DECIDED NOT TO LAST MINUTE. IT'S THE ST. AUGUSTINE FIRE DEPARTMENT BACK, PLEASE. YES, THE BACK. 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COUNTRY AND CELEBRATION, AND I JUST THINK IT'S A GORGEOUS T-SHIRT, AND I WANT TO COMMEND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE CHIEF. THANK YOU FOR SENDING THEM ALONG OUR WAY AND IT'S JUST REALLY GREAT. SO, CELEBRATING THAT, I DID MEET WITH, I'M GONNA BE BRIEF. I PROMISE. I DID MEET WITH THE ONE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS SARNA, OVER THE WEEKEND AND ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST CONCERNS IS THE PEDESTRIAN LOAD THAT'S GREAT FOR THE, FOR THE ECONOMICS IN IN WEST KING AND THE THE VITALITY AND THE CULTURAL. THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING OVER THERE IN THE CITY LIMITS IN PARTICULAR, BUT THERE'S SOME REAL CONCERN ABOUT PEOPLE TRYING TO CROSS KING STREET SAFELY. SO I DON'T KNOW HOW WE DO THAT, BUT WE NEED TO WORK WITH THE COUNTY IN ORDER TO GET MORE HIGHER PROFILE CROSSINGS AND SO FORTH AND MORE OF THEM. I KNOW THAT MS. PERKINS WITH THE WEST CITY CRA HAS THIS ON HER RADAR SCREEN, BUT THEY JUST BROUGHT THAT TO MY ATTENTION, SO I WANTED TO BRING IT UP. AND THEN LASTLY, I WANTED TO SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO STAFF, J.B. MILLER AND REUBEN FRANKLIN AND EVERYBODY WHO NETTED US BACK NEARLY A MILLION DOLLARS, $967,000. THE STATE REIMBURSED THIS CITY FOR 50% OF THE COST OF THE INITIAL FLORIDA AVENUE AREA CONSERVATION LAND ACQUISITION. SO WE'RE DOING MORE OF THAT. IT'S LOT OF WORK BY STAFF. BUT THAT'S MONEY [02:40:01] THAT'S LAND ACQUISITION FOR CONSERVATION THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY ALL OF. AND THE STATE AGREES THAT IT IS A WORTHY THING TO DO, AND THEY ARE HELPING US DO THAT. SO THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO MADE THAT HAPPEN. LET'S KEEP DOING IT. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. I ONLY HAVE A COUPLE THINGS. WEDNESDAY FROM 5 TO 8 IS WEST KING WEDNESDAY, AND I GOT TO GO, AND IT WAS WONDERFUL THE LAST TIME THEY HAD IT. AND I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY JAMMING THIS TIME. SO I HOPE THAT EVERYBODY WILL STOP BY OVER THERE. ALSO, ON WEDNESDAY FROM 5:30 TO 7:30 AT OUR DINING WITH DIGNITY PAVILION, UF WILL HAVE THEIR HEALTH CARE BUS ON THE PROPERTY. THEY DO THAT ONCE A MONTH. AND SO THEY WILL BE PROVIDING SERVICE TO PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE ANY INSURANCE. AND IT'S A GREAT SERVICE AND IT'S IMPORTANT. AND I JUST WANT TO MENTION. THANK YOU TO STAFF FOR ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING TO MAKE DINING WITH DIGNITY PAVILION BETTER AND SAFER AND A WELCOMING PLACE. BECAUSE THERE'S STILL A LOT OF WORK TO DO, BUT I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING TO KEEP THAT MOVING ALONG. SO WITH THAT SAID, WE'RE DONE. THANK YOU. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.