Mayor Urges Professional vs Emotional Approach to “Gun Control” Resolution

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Much of the May 3, 2018 City Council Meeting was not controversial or included much discussion.

State Senator Bobby Powell, as he did last year, gave a very thorough and engaging power-point presentation summarizing the last legislative session. Marcum LLP presented the Fiscal Year 2017 audit report with glowing results. City Manager Ferris presented an award to Deputy City Manager Stephen Stepp (in his former capacity of Police Chief), Laura Schuppert – Tennis Director gave an update on the new Tennis Clubhouse and Crystal Gibson of Code Enforcement described a most recent humanitarian effort by staff coordinating with Christ Fellowship.

Bookending the remainder of the meeting was the subject of “Gun Control”; Council Member Litt later in the meeting described the current ‘proper’ nomenclature to be “Gun Reform Legislation” or “Commonsense Gun Legislation”. During Comments From the Public, Joan Hoffman of Ballenisles gave a heart-felt statement about her former house-keeper Kassandra Morales who was killed recently in a West Palm Beach bar & grill. She spoke representing a few others that were in the room for Mom’s Demand Action. Her said that her personal focus was not necessarily on the guns but the people behind them. Speaking after her was Mary Castronovo, also a Gardens’ resident describing Mom’s Demand Action as the counter-weight of the “powerful gun control lobby”. The final item on the Council’s agenda for the evening was Resolution 26, 2018 – Firearms Control.

This was the first opportunity for the council members to express their positions on the Resolution they asked staff to draft. Mayor Marino, respectful of the passion and emotion on the subject, urged that the council not vote on the resolution that evening and that the council address the resolution from a professional approach rather than an emotional approach. All agreed. City Manager Ferris suggested that each member submit their comments in writing and that those would be incorporated and reflected at the June 7 City Council Meeting.

Public Comment also included:

• Steve Mathison representing the PGA Corridor and congratulating the City for the clean audit
• Paula Magnuson – thanking staff for progress on Gardens East Drive and handing a package to Council requesting that they review her response to what was said about her last month
• Carol Easton and Kevin Easton – expressing their concern that their properties were being targeted with code violations and describing the difficulty of Sunset neighborhood egress with new plans for expanded lanes on Northlake Blvd
• Sandy and Marty Groner of Gardens of Thornbury, asking for assistance on a code enforcement issue with the parking of a non-commercial bus-like vehicle in their neighborhood.

Consent Agenda and Public Hearings and Resolutions:

• Consent passed 5:0
• Resolution 19, 2018 – Frenchman’s Reserve clubhouse flagpole passed 5:0
  Ordinance 6, 2018 – amending Chapter 26, Elections passed 5:0 on first reading; Kevin Easton requested that perhaps petitions could be filed on-line.
  Ordinance 7, 2018 – Referendum Question 1 – Term Limits – passed on final reading 4:1. Council Member Lane described the huge advantage incumbents have and the combination of this question with the recently passed ‘run again’ provision essentially obviates term limits. He voted NO. Vice Mayor Woods once again quoted members of the Term Limits Committee saying that run again was never intended. Mayor Marino gave a lengthy statement essentially against Term Limits and for the need for longer number of years in office.
• Ordinances 8, 2018 (Referendum Queston 2 – Repeal/Replace Charter) and Ordinance 9, 2018 – (Referendum Question 3 – City Manager Residence) both passed 5:0 on final reading with minimal discussion as did Ordinance 10, 2018, first reading (Voluntary Annexation for Richard Road Seacoast Utility Authority Parcel)
• Resolution 24 2018 – in support of the Steeplechase Community in its effort to mitigate impacts of planned Beeline Highway and Northlake expansion projects was passed 5:0 after Tom Berita thanked the Council for the Resolution and Council Member Lane summarized his efforts on the subdivision’s behalf

Note: Also on June 7 at 6pm is a City Council Workshop with Florida Department of Transportation on Beeline Highway