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CityComm2014
 
CITY COMMISSION HEARS OF
COASTAL CHANGE
 
The Cedar Key City Commission met Tuesday evening, April 1, 2014, at 7:15pm in City Hall immediately after the Community Redevelopment Agency meeting adjourned.   Mayor Gene Hodges, Vice-mayor Dale Register, and Commissioners Tina Ryan, Scott Dennison, and Sue Colson were in attendance. 
PUBLIC COMMENT
Resident George Oakley informed the Commissioners that the magnolia tree planted a year ago in celebration of Arbor Day in the City Park at the corner of A and Second Streets “just doesn’t cut it!”  The tree in question was donated to the City by a resident and is healthy and growing well. A few years ago, when a large cedar tree was growing on this site and became unhealthy and died, Oakley suggested replacing the sick cedar with a palm; no one, at the time, thought replacing a cedar with a palm was appropriate for Cedar Key. Oakley has personally selected and will pay for a Pindo Palm to replace it and, with the help of the Garden Club, cover the cost of planting the new palm. The magnolia tree will have to be properly prepared for removal, replanted it in another location and cared for it until established. A citizen concerned for the plight of the magnolia was “assured” by Oakley that “it would be taken care of.” All Commissioners approved the palm replacement except for Scott Dennison who was concerned about its falling, possibly slippery, fruit. 
 
PLANNING FOR COASTAL CHANGE
Dr. Kathryn Frank presented a PowerPoint highlighting the results of her nearly two-year study of Levy County’s Coastal Change.  Dr. Frank’s research reported that sea levels have risen eight inches during the past hundred years.   More significant, however, is that this rate is projected to progress much faster in the near future; these data are reported by the Army Corps of Engineers and other significant science investigations, cited Frank. 
  
Impacts of this change are economically debilitating, physically destructive, and culturally altering, and they include: more frequent flooding, habitat changes, storm surges, saltwater intrusion into aquifers, erosion and corrosion of infrastructure, and additional release of pollutants. 
Frank recently received a grant that will operate from May 2014 until September 2015 and focus upon the social, environmental, commercial, and hazard changes produced by sea-level rise in the Cedar Key area.
 
Frank invited Commissioners’ and residents’ concerns, saying that she would incorporate as many as possible into her research.   Commissioner Sue Colson asked if the “mean high water” line, used to determine coastal construction setbacks in Cedar Key, should be adjusted to reflect the current sea-level rise and if anyone has addressed this issue.  Frank accepted the challenge, believing that her county, state, and national scientific connections and resources would be helpful securing answers essential questions.  Commissioner Dennison requested that Frank include the Cedar Key Water and Sewer District in Frank’s presentation schedule. 
  
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
Commissioners approved the Interlocal Election Agreement between the City of Cedar Key and the Supervisor of Elections Tammy Jones.  The agreement specifies the Supervisor’s and the City’s responsibilities in detail and includes:  training, testing the voting machines to be used for the first time in Cedar Key, communication between the offices, results posting, and the like.
City Clerk Teresa George reported that should a resident want to have an absentee ballot mailed to an address other than “the address on file,” she could not legally do so; the ballot cannot be mailed to any other address than the exact one on file. Questions arose; George will further check on the concern.  
 
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Library Roof:
After further investigation, Public Works Manager Virgil Sandlin and Building Department Manager Robert Roberson reported that the addition of a hip roof structure to the Library elevator area must be engineered in order to be approved by the Building Department. The hip roof, along with a proper roof covering should provide a long-term solution to the current persistent leaks.   Commissioners approved Sandlin’s request to obtain estimates from the three engineering firms now regularly communicating with the City.
Non-Profit Groups Use of the Library:
Upon the direction by Commissioners at their last meeting, City Clerk Teresa George researched the language that might be used to allow non-profit groups to use the Library at no cost while abating liability and misuse.  She presented the revised Event Form.  Commissioners directed Attorney Fugate to further review the language and finalize the issue.
 
COMMISSIONERS’ ITEM
RESTORE Act:
Dennison reported that he and CHW Engineering consulted in a conference call regarding the RESTORE Act projects for Cedar Key.
CHW has received all of the information regarding the eight RESTORE Act projects. They have also sent a draft of their agreement between the City of Cedar Key and themselves to the City attorney for his review.
  
The first step for CHW will be to meet with the RESTORE Act Committee and introduce themselves as the grant writer for the City of Cedar Key RESTORE Act Projects. Commissioner Ryan Bell is the chairperson for the RESTORE Act Committee.
At the Commission’s April 15th meeting, CHW will present a draft of its plan on how they will develop the grant information.
 
 
The meeting was adjourned at 8:25pm.
The next commission meeting will be on 15 April 2014
 
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