BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Staff Writer
(Note: The agenda item concerning the continued employment of City Manager Dale Walker as the final one of the meeting and, as such, Walker participated in the bulk of the meeting as city manager. )
LAKE BUTLER — The Lake Butler City Commission held its regular meeting March 21 to a full seating section of interested and concerned city residents. There were a number of citizen comment at the start of the meeting.
First to speak to the commission was Joe Stephenson (one of two candidates for the open commission seat). Stephenson told commissioners that he was worried about how Lake Butler was seen from the outside. He questioned why the projected five-year budget showed a negative general fund balance according to the plan and has been hearing a lot of excuses about employee pay. He noted the projected 10% per year increase proposed for resident’s sewer bills and commented on the poor maintenance at Dekle Cemetery.
“I feel like the city is out of control and something must be done,” Stephenson said. “We need to work to restore the faith of the citizens in their city. ”
Next to speak was Rondoll Huggins (the other of the two candidates for the open seat). He congratulated the commission on making progress in some problems he had brought to them in January and asked about needed repairs to remedy the large pothole on Forester Road. He asked if that road was included on a road repair and paving grant the city was expecting to start working with in July.
Spenser Hoover asked if the city would post supplemental materials along with the agenda on BoardDocs (the website the city uses to post meeting notices, agenda and recordings). He was informed that the materials were always posted prior to the meeting.
Roger Hoover asked the commission what was being planned or done with the property at the intersection of S.R. 100 and C.R. 121, across from the Lake Butler Hospital. Commissioners told him that they had no idea as of yet but when the matter comes before them it will be public record.
Questions were raised by commissioners about the consent agenda they were being asked to vote on. (The consent agenda contains items such as the minutes from the previous meeting, financial reports and other routine business not usually requiring discussion.) The consent agenda was missing the minutes from the previous meeting. Commissioners were told that the computer used to take down the notes normally used for the minutes had experienced a software issue and that the typing of the minutes was delayed due to the necessity of having to transcribe them from the audio recording of the meeting.
Commissioner Melissa Hendrix asked which of the city employees was responsible for animal control. She was told by City Manager Dale Walker it was Public Works Director Cody Douglas, who is the only city employee licensed for the position. He also said that Douglas delegated at least part of the work to another city worker.
When Hendrix asked how this other worker was compensated for the work, she was told that Douglas paid him out of the $304 per month he received for the job. Hendrix then asked City Attorney John Maines if this was a liability, with one worker paid for a job and another doing it, and Maines replied that it could be if someone is hurt and that the employee doing the job should be the one paid for the work. She was also told that the other employee had been scheduled for training for licensure, but that the class had been canceled due to COVID issues, but that the city was working to getting the employee into another class to get his license so the job could be transferred over to him.
Hendrix also commented in the number of amended items on the budget.
“Do we need to amend the budget to cut spending?” Hendrix asked. “We need to cut expenses due to the current situation. I am seeing a great deal of movement in the budget. How is this done and why?”
City Finance Director John Sapp said that he received the adjustments from Walker before he finalizes the monthly financial report and that as long as the budget balances overall it is considered to be all right. He said he could provide a log of the adjustments monthly to the commission if they wished.
The subject of allowing the boat races to be held March 25-26, 2023, was on the agenda for reconsideration. Commissioners were told by Walker that the city was getting donations from local merchants to support the races and that, along with the food truck fees would cover the expense. Walker also noted that the property he had leased, without the commission’s approval, had been canceled at no cost.
Hendrix reported to the commission that she had heard at the Union County Board of County Commissioners meeting the previous night that CRA money was used to pay the cost of having a county EMS unit present at the last event, as ordered by the previous mayor. It seems that when the city paid the county CRA monies owed the payment exceeded the amount owed by $375.50. Instead of the money being refunded to the city, Mayor Jack Schenck asked that the funds be used to pay EMS to cover the event. It was also stated that Schenck added money to the funds to cover the EMS cost.
Walker added that the sanctioning body of the races paid some cost for EMS, bringing rescue diver in from Macclenny.
Hendrix also questioned who was paying for the liability insurance for the event as was told that the racing organization paid their own liability and the city paid the liability insurance for the spectators using the park to watch the event.
“With $2,000 in local donations I would love to have the boat races come back, but not at any cost to the citizens,” acting Mayor Annette Redman said.
Motion was made by Hendrix on a contingent motion on conditions that the races could be held only if the sanctioning body would give the city a contract stating that it would make arrangements for and cover the cost of all rescue services required on site and the motion passed unanimously.
The location of the ARPA funds again came up for discussion. Record show that $451,770 was transferred to the wastewater fund in September 2021 and the same amount was transferred the following year 2022. Some of these funds were used to purchase the property for the new public works facility, despite the fact that the commission had already voted to spend the funds on the repair and rehabilitation of the lift stations in preparation for the new wastewater plant.
Walker said the money to do this was still in city coffers, it would just require the city to borrow from itself out of other fund’s surplus.
The commission also voted to extend city hall hours back to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. rather than the 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., a change made by Walker.
