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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_9/2/2025 t MINUTES Workshop Meeting Village of Tequesta, FL Mayor Molly Young Vice-Mayor Rick Sartory Council Member Laurie Brandon Council Member Patrick Painter Council Member Jayson E. French September 2, 2025 6:00 PM Council Chambers CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Mayor Molly Young at 6:03 p.m. A roll call was taken by Deputy Clerk Mary Ann Grieser. Present were: Mayor Molly Young, Council Member Patrick Painter, Vice-Mayor Rick Sartory, and Council Member Jayson E. French. Late were: Council Member Laurie Brandon. AGENDA ITEMS 1. Discussion on Mobility Plan Review Community Development Director, Jay Hubsch, introduced the mobility plan which kicked off in January 2025 and would help the Village take part in the county wide mobility plan. He introduced Alex Reasbeck and JP Weesner of Kittleson and Associates who presented Council with a detailed analysis from public outreach regarding a Village Mobility Plan. The purpose of the plan was to set a vision for multimodal connections across the Village focusing on safety and traffic. Mr. Reasbeck detailed the outreach, traffic data, and concerns which included sidewalks, bike lanes, cut-through traffic, walkability, left turn hazards, and multimodal vehicles. He explained the data analysis and why the recommendations were made. Mr. Reasbeck highlighted three priority projects including a River to Ocean Trail, Old Dixie Linear Park, and Village safety improvements along with flexible cost estimates. Implementation tools included a project identification matrix and corresponding tracking metrics for future updates. He went on to highlight some areas of collaboration with The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Martin County, and the Palm Beach County Transportation Authority (TPA). Council thanked Kittleson for the detailed presentation and were happy with the implementation tools. They had lengthy discussions on the traffic solutions and asked for more information regarding the public outreach. Council was also concerned about mobility fees and their legal uses, as well as a funding amount from the TPA for projects. Council agreed Old Dixie Highway and Bridge Road were areas that needed to be improved. Citizen Comments: • Thomas Bradford, 44 Chestnut Trail, felt the 2023 Master Plan addressed some of the issues and wondered if the consultants were aware of that plan. He was concerned with rush hour traffic on Tequesta Drive and Riverside Drive and the need for turn lanes and the lack of modern architecture to support traffic signals. • Marie Sapirie, 79 Yacht Club Place, agreed with some pieces of the plan however was not for any relaxing of parking requirements for developments, increasing density, or increased travel demands within the Village. • Pat Watkins, 167 River Drive, was concerned with the money and the effort the Village had already put forth on sidewalks and planting of trees. She hated to see any of that ripped up. She also felt Bridge Road needed a left turn lane, lighting needed to be addressed, and a focus on Old Dixie Highway was needed. 2. Discussion on the FPL SolarTogether Program Public Works Director, Doug Chambers, presented Council with information regarding the Florida Power and Light (FPL) Solar Together Program which was introduced in 2021. The Village had been on a wait list and was now being given an opportunity to participate. He detailed the specifics of the program and the subscription cost highlighting the return on investment (ROI) would be extremely modest with a break-even point seen in year five. Council felt the program was very misleading and that the ROI was not worth the initial costs to the Village and therefore declined participation. 3. Consideration of a Ballot Question for a General Obligation Bond for the Purchase of 1 Main Street(Paradise Park Village Manager, Jeremy Allen, detailed the steps taken since the August 4th Workshop discussion on development of the former Paradise Park property and bond language. He announced staffs discovery of two complicated shared parking agreements with both the Tequesta Professional Center and One Main Street building. These parking agreements amounted to 61 parking spaces that would need to be allocated to keep the properties within code compliance. The Village was pending appraisal reports and the parking information was shared with the appraisers. Mr. Allen also announced the property owner had increased the lease proposal amount from $100,000 to $125,000. Council was initially excited about the opportunity to purchase the property, but as information has been uncovered regarding the parking agreements they were hesitant to move forward. Council agreed to continue negotiations with the property owner, move forward with the bond language edits, and wait for the appraisals to come back. They agreed to continue the discussion at the September 29th Workshop which would provide time for a vote in November before the ballot question deadline of December 1, 2025. Citizen Comments: • Marie Sapirie, 79 Yacht Club Place, was in favor of acquiring the land. She felt it was on the current property owner to fix the parking problem and that the Village should not release any properties from the parking requirements. • Pat Watkins, 167 River Drive, thanked Council for doing their due diligence as this was a very complicated property with no clear cut solution. She also felt the appraisal was a must and requested Council get the word out to the public on all issues should this move forward. 4. Discussion on Senate Bill 180 which Places Significant Limitations on the Ability of Local Governments to Adopt or Enforce Certain Regulations Following Hurricanes Mr. Hubsch provided Council with a presentation explaining Senate Bill 180, which places limitations on local government to enforce regulations following a hurricane, and the implications for the Village. Due to Hurricane Milton there are four Village ordinances that could potentially be affected including Ordinance 1-24, Ordinance 2-24, Ordinance 8- 24, and Ordinance 11-24. He explained the options moving forward including repealing the ordinances or re-adopting any versions that are not more restrictive. Village Attorney Keith Davis also weighed in explaining options including a legal challenge that was being brought forward by a Miami law firm, and stated there were costs associated with joining that law suit. He also received correspondence from the Florida League of Cities (FLC) which had begun drafting proposed revisionary legislation to amend the bill. He also felt a wait and see approach pending 2026 Legislative Session was a valid option. Council agreed to wait and see how the 2026 Legislative Session handled the bill before repealing any ordinances or joining a law suit. Citizen Comments: • Marie Sapirie, 79 Yacht Club Place, was glad to hear that Council was not repealing code and felt Village code was legitimate. She did not want any changes made. Mayor Young clarified that she was in favor of other portions of SB180 and the Village should comply as it related to the emergency management aspect. She was specifically not in favor of the restriction on land use. 5. Discuss the Community Outreach Strategy by the Florida League of Cities on Property Tax Reform Mr. Allen explained the tool kit provided by the FLC regarding Save Our Homes and housing affordability. The tool kit was created to help educate residents on the property tax system, dispel common misconceptions and reinforce the value of local services funded through the ad valorem revenues. The Village was able to provide input for the packet. Council did not have any comments or questions. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 PM. MOTION: Council Member Painter made a motion to adjourn the meeting Council Member Brandon seconded the motion. Carried unanimously 5-0. Respectfully submitted, V1 , Lori McWilliams, MMC Village Clerk Note: These summary minutes are prepared in compliance with 286.011 F.S. and are not verbatim transcripts of the meeting. A verbatim audio record is available from the office of the Village Clerk. All referenced attachments are on file in the Village Clerk's office.