The City of Cedar Key Commission met on April 9, 2026. All commissioners were present.
FULL HOUSE; NO SOUND SYSTEM
Between seventy and eighty people made up the audience. The room was full; extra chairs were brought in; folks were standing in the rear of the room.
The sound system, which had been working well for many recent meetings, was not functioning this evening. Only strong voices could be heard beyond the first rows of audience seating.
OATH OF OFFICE
Levy County Judge Luis Bustamante congratulated Cedar Keyans on their democratic showing of some 70% of registered voters to the polls. After recalling some specifics from their resumes, Bustamante swore in the newly elected commissioners, Nancy Sera and Dell Weible.
REORGANZATION
MAYOR SELECTED
The selection of the mayor was started when Jolie Davis nominated Commissioner Mel Beckham for the position.
Beckham thanked Davis, declined the nomination and said that he would like to make a statement.
“I take this seat on the City Commission very seriously and am well aware that as mayor you not only become the face of the commission, but you also become the face of the decisions of the commission. Even if you vote in the minority you must fulfil and follow the commissions decisions.”
“Let me be clear, there is no way on the planet that I’m going to be the face of the commission and stand up in public as though the decisions that will eventually be made by this commission were of my doing. Some of which will probably be made tonight. I respectfully decline the nomination.”
Commissioner Beckham continued: “ On the other hand, at this time, I feel like the voters of our city have spoken loud and clear and many of them are in this room tonight. I think we would all agree that we would be asleep at the wheel, if we didn’t listen to the voters. So at this time, in a gesture of giving the city exactly what it asked for. . . I would like to nominate Dell Weible to be our mayor. I’m confident that he will perform exactly as many in our commission, including myself, expect of him.”
The nomination was seconded by Commissioner Davis.
In a four-to-one nay vote, the nomination for Weible as mayor failed. Beckham was the one “yes” vote.
Nancy Sera nominated Jim Wortham for mayor. Jolie Davis questioned how Wortham, employed as a full-time pilot, would manage to be at meetings as he had been absent in the past. Wortham explained his employer’s recent commitment to ensuring Wortham’s attendance at meetings. Some commissioners made the point that, although Wortham had been physically absent from some meetings, he was an active participant in the meetings by telephone.
In a five-to-zero vote, Wortham was elected mayor.
VICE-MAYOR ELECTED
Mel Beckham was again nominated by Jolie Davis. This time for vice-mayor despite Beckham’s comments just moments before. Beckham was elected vice-mayor with a 3 to 2 vote. Beckham himself, Wortham, and Davis voted “yes” for Beckham; Sera and Weible voted “no.”
DEPARTMENT HEADS RETAINED
According to the city charter, department heads are rehired annually.
Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Robert Robinson, Police Chief Edwin Jenkins, and Public Works Supervisor Jamie McCain were summarily hired with unanimous approval from the commissioners.
Newly hired City Clerk Brooke Smith was rehired for the upcoming year having just completed her ninety-day probation period. Only one commissioner spoke to Smith’s performance.
Wortham suggested that in order to avoid airing personnel evaluations in public and honor the Sunshine law, that the city look into a facilitator of sorts might be used in the future. The facilitator could legally ensure all commissioners’ knowledge of the other commissioners’ ratings and arrive at hiring/firing decision more effectively.
PUBLIC COMMENT
WILLIAMS PROPERTY
Matt Williams of 5010 G Street provided commissioners with a thirteen-page packet detailing the city-funded/directed sea wall erected at the Fifth Street pocket park immediately adjacent to his property. According to Williams, who lives off the island, at no time was he notified that the bulkhead was being constructed. In addition to his packet and color photos, Williams played several audio tapes demonstrating the city’s possible dismissal of its obligations of notification.
Williams left the commissioners with six requests regarding notification, engineering, possible favors, and more. Mayor Wortham acknowledged the presentation and assured Williams that the city would be in touch with him.
LIONS
Greg Mack reviewed the successful Food Patry drive recently completed. The number of personal items and dried goods collected numbered 458; $500 in cash supplemented those items.
CEDAR KEY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT
General Manager John Rittenhouse brought to commissioners the Nextower contract that regulates action on the tower located off the island at the County Road 237 and SR 24 intersection. Currently the land and the equipment is owned by either the city or the Water District, hence they both need to agree on the content of the contract. Rittenhouse presented past actions with Nextower and noted that his general counsel had reviewed the document.
After some discussion, commissioners decided to forward the eight-page contract to City Attorney Norrm Fugate to review.
CEDAR KEY AQUACULTURE ASSOCIATION
Aquaculture Association member Joey Cannon reaffirmed the association’s commitment to the city’s success in its business efforts and requested that the commission consider the association’s input early in its projects. Cannon was asking to be included early on in discussions and decisions that might impact the waters about the island. He believes his association can be and wants to be helpful. Water cleanliness is key to the city’s success and the working waterfront.
COVENANT RELEASE REQUEST
Resident Joseph Vastola of Cedar Key Parcel ID: 0871000000 requested that the restrictive covenant on the property be lifted. After some discussion and the correction of a few misconceptions, the commissioners denied the request.
CIVICPLUS
After a brief break, commissioners listened to Davis’s request to approve the following Civic Plus Online Documents: Post-Storm Permit Process, Temporary Housing Units-Post Storm Recovery, Event Permit Fee Schedule, Policy for Responding to Permit Inquiries, Building Inquiry Request, Standard Written Disclaimers, Technical Inquiry Disclaimer and Acknowledgement, Technical Consultation Summary, Tier 1 Inquiry Log, and Training Certification.
Clearly, much work had gone into this effort; each commissioner echoed that fact. Unclear was precisely what was being talked about: the website or the “kiosk” portal. Each commissioner in turn asked Davis for the next step, what was to occur next. Not receiving a clear answer, commissioners decided to test the program amongst staff.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:10 pm.
LEVY COUNTY 
WACCASASSA WATER AND WASTEWATER 
