Light-up McIntosh December 15
Light-up McIntosh will begin at the Civic Center at 6:30 p.m. The event will host Santa Clause and an area choir from six local churches will sing.
03.10.07 -- REPORT: Stop signs not pretty enough for McIntosh
Saturday, March 10, 2007
By CHER PHILLIPS
Councilman Lee Deaderick brought guidelines from the Florida Department of Transportation regarding their standards for sight-lines around corners.
Over the past year, this issue has come before the council twice.
Last May, Fred Del Russo complained to the council because he said that the town's former code enforcement officer wanted his Crepe Mertles removed because they interfered with the 50-foot sight-line rule.
The later, another case involving the sight-line finally came before the code enforcement board in January dealing with a stone wall the Smith-Henderson's built around their home on U.S. Highway 441.
The case brought to light that McIntosh's 50-foot sight-line rule in the land development code was hard, if not impossible to apply in a town where the speed limit is 20 mph and roads were built with hundred-year-old live oaks in the center of them.
The 50-foot rule says that one should be able to see 50 feet in one direction or the other at an intersection, but the contention fell when no one was really sure where those 50 feet should start or end.
The code enforcement board asked the council to look into it. The council sent the issue to the LPA. The LPA shot the issue back to the council.
Last month, Deaderick said he'd research this and brought a report from the DOT for the LPA to use in clearing up the confusion over how the 50-foot sight-line rule in the code should be applied.
His findings: the DOT doesn't even have sight-line rules for roads with speed limits under 20 mph.
Check out the report from the DOT
Deaderick said that since residents have voiced complaints to him about speeding in town, especially around the park, Deaderick suggested the town purchase stop signs and install four-way stops around the four corners of Van Ness Park, where children play.
This suggestion was shot down by residents Thursday night, primarily for one reason: Stop signs are ugly, resident June Glass said.
The report was filed with the clerk for the LPA and the issue was tabled.
Labels: 50-foot sight lines, report, speeding, stop signs, traffic
posted by Cher @ 2:49 PM,
,
03.10.07 -- REPORT: Public hearing to consider large-scale land rezone in McIntosh set for Tuesday
By CHER PHILLIPS
The LPA will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. to discuss rezoning that could open up agricultural land in McIntosh for the potential development of 36 new homes, according to planning reports.
The posting at the town office has been corrected to reflect that the March 13 meeting will be a public hearing, as opposed to the previous posting of an LPA meeting, to discuss rezoning of agricultural land.
Two applications to rezone agricultural land to residential use have been filed, and two planning reports have been completed by Bruce Day, Planning director with the Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council and provided to the LPA Chairwoman Charlsie Stott and town council members.
The applications from Council Vice President Howard Walkup and McIntosh Mayor Marsha Strange and her husband, James are for almost 20 acres of land along the southern town border of McIntosh.
The Stranges own 10.20 acres of land and the WRPC report says there is potential for 19 new homes, located on the south end of McIntosh.
The Walkups own 9.2 acres of land belonging to Howard Walkup with the potential for 17 additional homes, behind his home on the south end of McIntosh.
Day has prepared a list of considerations the LPA should be assessing at next week's public hearing in an e-mail to McIntosh town officials.
Those considerations include the impacts potential growth will have on the town's comprehensive plan, living conditions and traffic in the neighborhood, and ask if granting this change would extend "special priviledge to an individual owner as constrasted with the public welfare."
In January, Walkup initiated this process by asking the town clerk to place this zoning issue on town's agenda. He also took part in the council's vote to send this matter to the Land Planning Agency.
During the February monthly council meetings, the council discussed the town footing the bill for this process. The mayor suggested the individual land owners pay for their own land. However, this has not been voted on by the council.
After the LPA hears the zoning requests, if passed, the amendments to the comprehensive land use map will go to the council in which they can set a date for a public workshop or set a date for a public hearing for the first reading of an ordinance.
Labels: agricultural land, Howard Walkup, LPA, Marsha Strange, public hearing, public records, report, rezoning
posted by Cher @ 1:09 PM,
,
03.09.07 -- REPORT: McIntosh to drop occupational license ordinance
Friday, March 09, 2007
By CHER PHILLIPS
New legislation opened to the door for the McIntosh Town Council to drop their occupational license ordinance, voting to let it expire. The Florida League of Cities sent McIntosh a notice that if they wanted to keep an occupational license, they would need to write and adopt a new ordinance.
The council voted 3-2 against keeping the town's ordinance. Marion County dropped their business licenses last year. Council President Frank Ciotti and Councilwoman Eva Jo Callahan voted against letting the ordinance expire.
Occupational license is now going to fall under a new code, called a local business tax. To continue with an occupational license, McIntosh would have to write a new ordinance and the costs for advertising it would be more than $800.
Currently, a McIntosh occupational license costs $5.25.
In the past, Councilwoman Eunice Smith said former councils have wanted to raise this license fee to $25 but ran into problems, because past laws only allowed incrimental hikes. Smith voted for letting the ordinance expire.
Attorney Scott Walker explained that the new occupational license would allow municipalities to charge at the most $25 a year.
"They've opened the door, you can still only establish a $25 license and then only increase it a small amount every year thereafter," Walker said.
"I think it'd be a very viable way to earn money in the town. why not take advantage of an income opportunity?" Ciotti said. He thought it that since the Florida League of Cities had already written most of an ordinance, it would be cost effective for the town to create a new ordinance now rather than later.
But several other council members disagreed.
Council Vice President Howard Walkup said he would rather let it expire now and take it up in two years if they needed it.
Councilwoman Eva Jo Callahan was in favor of creating a new ordinance now, rather than later, noting that it could cost more to advertise and create the ordinance later. Callahan suggested that the expense of creating the license now could be made up in time.
Listen to the discussion about letting the occupational ordinance expire:
(Internet Explorer users may need to click the start arrow twice)
Town Clerk Debbie Miller said that she looked it up and the town only made $297.50. Yet, she said in the meeting that the town only issued 25 business licenses.
In the McIntosh yearly budget reports, the budget line for business licenses has been combined with permits. If there are only 25 permits in McIntosh, at $5.25 a license, the town's current occupational license yield would be closer to $131.25.
However, if the town does make $297.50, as Miller said, strictly in license fees, then the number of licenses in town would be higher -- as many as 56 -- making a new $25 more lucrative for the town. Fees for 56 licenses at $25 would be $1,400 and easily recouping the fees for passing a new ordinance.
"The question is in my mind, coming from a business background and not a governmental background, is why are we doing this?" Miller said. She said it takes her two days to write the business licenses out and that made her want to ask if keeping it was worth it.
Walkup and Walker agreed that historically, previous councils wanted to raise the fees to $25 but it was too much of a hike, and that they'd kept the occupational license in town as a way of controlling who had businesses in town.
Walkup suggested it might be a way of controlling who did businesses during the 1890's Festival.
"In this day of sexual predators, I'd like to know who's in town," said Councilwoman Eva Jo Callahan.
Deaderick argued against keeping an ordinance, because the town couldn't deny anybody a license and he said did not see a reason for it and motioned that the council take no action and let the current occupational license expire.
Labels: occupational license, report, town council
posted by Cher @ 12:17 PM,
,
03.09.07 -- REPORT: Town to reimburse former councilman for legal fees
By CHER PHILLIPS
The McIntosh Town Council voted to reimburse former Councilman Jim Strange for his remaining legal fees from last summer when he sued a committee of residents seeking his removal from office, as well as town and county officials for accepting the paperwork.
The council voted 3-2 for reimbursing Strange, based primarily on the advice of the town's attorney, Scott Walker. Council Vice President Howard Walkup and Councilwoman Eunice Smith issued the dissenting votes.
Walker researched and wrote an opinion he provided to the council at last night's meeting. (Read Walker's opinion here)
The attorney said he thought that though Florida has a statute prohibiting municipalities from paying to defend a council member against a recall petition, he said that Strange's case was in the interest of the town and could make them liable if he sued. Walker said he thought if Strange sued the town in small claims court for the $1,977.99 remaining from his legal fees, he could win.
In August, Strange sued the committee recalling him, the McIntosh town clerk and the Marion County supervisor of elections asking a judge to determine if the recall petition circulated against him was legally sufficient.
During the discussion last night,Walkup disagreed with paying Strange the fees, because he said he did not agree with how the case was closed.
The judge ruling over the case in August deemed the petition was insufficient as it was written because four reasons were listed and one was not sufficient. The petition committee was directed to recirculate the petition with rewritten, clear reasons and bring that petition back to the court. Strange then resigned before another petition could be submitted.
Listen to the council discuss reimbursing Jim Strange:
(Internet Explorer users may need to click the start arrow twice)
Strange's total legal fees were $5,705.12. He filed with the Florida Municipal Insurance Trust and received a check for $3,787.13.
Walker said that he thought if Jim Strange were to sue the town, "he's in a legal position that I think he can recover the $2,000."
Councilman Lee Deaderick made the initial motion to pay Strange's legal fees, noting that he agreed with Walkup but he wanted to follow the attorney's advice.
"I also think that any councilman, whether you agree with Jim Strange's recall or not, you're kind of voting against yourself," Deaderick said. He said that if they voted against reimbursing Strange they could set a precedent for the town, that future councils might not be willing to help them if they faced similar circumstances.
Another factor in the decision was expense.
Walkup would have liked to have Walker research further into the issue. But to continue paying the town's attorney, in addition to other court fees should the town face a lawsuit would outweigh paying Strange's fees.
Labels: Jim Strange, public records, recall, report, town council
posted by Cher @ 10:38 AM,
,
02.14.07 -- REPORT: Rezoning issue comes full circle
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
By CHER PHILLIPS
Last week, the McIntosh Town Council heard a recommendation from the LPA that they could rezone agriculture land belonging to Mayor Marsha Strange, Council Vice President Howard Walkup and Bill and June Glass to R1.
Between Jan. 30 and Feb. 12, the LPA meeting, in which the citizen board voted to recommend rezoning, became an "unofficial" meeting. Before board chairwoman Charlsie Stott gave her findings to the council, she asked if she should since the LPA did not have a public hearing on the issue.
However, at no time during the LPA meeting was the committee informed the subject matter they were voting on was "informal." This determination was made after the fact.
While the meeting wasn't a public hearing, four of the town's five council members were present. Two council members commented during the rezoning portion of the LPA meeting. Council President Frank Ciotti's questioned the amount of development that could be potentially opened up by the rezone. Councilwoman Eva Jo Callahan asked if the land was within the city limits. The three property owners in question were present at the meeting, while other property owners were not present, nor were they included in this first "testing-the-waters" phase of the process.
This point was not brought up in either February council meeting.
While the matter of rezoning isn't as pressing as it seemed two weeks ago, it seems to remain a potential agenda item for McIntosh. After Stott made the LPA's recommendation on the first day of the February council meeting, Councilman Lee Deaderick tabled the issue of rezoning, saying that ultimately the subject could take up an entire workshop meeting.
This tabling came after a discussion launched on who should pay the rezoning fees. If the town initiated the rezoning, then it would have to take on the burden of advertising the changes, paying a planner -- Bruce Day -- to look into the impacts of such zoning and other administrative fees that come up.
If the property owner posted it, he or she would foot the bill.
Initially, during the Feb. 8 meeting, council members batted around the idea of the town paying to rezone land belonging to two elected officials and one citizen board member. This drew the criticism of one town resident, Steve Race, later in the meeting. Race was meeting some resistance when asking the council for financial assistance solving a drainage problem the board had previously voted to help him with. He made note during the meeting to the council they were willing to entertain the town paying to rezone their own land, but not willing to help him with his problem.
Later, during the continued meeting, the mayor asked to readdress the issue and told the council that as long as the town was having financial difficulties, she suggested any rezoning be paid for by the property owners.
Looking at the question of rezoning in McIntosh requires looking back at the issue over the last two years.
Just going back a month begins to tell a little more about the story.
In the January 2007 town council meeting (Jan. 11, audio file 2:11:38 to 2:16:00), Walkup asked Town Clerk Debbie Miller to put agriculture rezoning on the agenda. Councilmen Ciotti and Deaderick both questioned in that meeting how that topic got on the agenda.
Ciotti said, "I have no idea where that came from."
"Where did that land density come from?" Deaderick said.
"That came from Howard," Miller said.
"A long, long time ago, we asked the LPA to consider changing the Land density from 110 to 2 in 1, then they hashed it back and forth and came back with a 1 in 1 with 150 frames, I remember all that," Walkup said. " I don't know whose court it's in now. I spoke to Scott about it the other day and he was almost of the opinion that we needed to start over.
Attorney Scott Walker said he couldn't remember if it was turned over, or denied.
"If it's in the council's court, maybe the council can go ahead and vote on 1 in 1 with a 150 foot frontage and that sort of thing. If that's what the council wants to do," Walkup said. "If it's in our court. I'm in favor of sending it back to the LPA and asking them to start over with it and do what they originally recommended."
"Residential estate is what we called it," Ciotti said.
Deaderick made a recommendation that the LPA look into rezoning and bring them any recommendations they might have. He said for them to "send us something of what they'd like to see. "
A motion passed unanimously to have the LPA reconsider zoning from Agricultural to R1, with Walkup voting to have the LPA looking at rezoning his own land.
In the past, when the issue of rezoning this land came up, minutes show that Attorney Scott Walker advised council members not to vote when their own land was involved. For this reason, many of the votes over the last two years show Walkup and former council member Danaya Wright abstaining from the decision-making process.
Why Walkup initiated rezoning and voted to have the LPA consider what to do with his land this year is not known.
What is known is a story told through the McIntosh public records.
In the March 2005 meeting of the town council, when Danaya Wright tried to vote against a general rezoning of land from agricultural to residential, then Council President Charlsie Stott and Attorney Scott Walker stopped her. (March 2005 minutes)
At that time, minutes show that Wright expressed concern because the rezoning was bring fast-tracked. Mintues show she said she wanted the LPA to establish the standards in the McIntosh codes for development before the land was rezoned.
At the time, Day had been hired to help bring the codes up to date.
That year, public hearings were held to consider rezoning to a special land use called residential estate. (May 12, 2005)
Different zoning types were considered and argued back and forth including agriculture 2, residential 1 and something called residential estate.
On June 21, 2005, letters were sent out to the five property owners about the AG2 rezoning. (July meeting) This set in motion another recommendation to the LPA that a new AG2 category be created. When an issue of rezoning is being considered, neighboring property owners must be notified.
The issue at the time was not unlike the current struggle over the historic ordinance.
Council members Wright and Strange read letters into the record from the following residents showing concern over the zoning at the August 11 meeting: (August 11) the DiMellas, the Phillips', the Westergards, the Fellmans, the Glasses, the Weitners, the Aults and Sean Dowie and Tammy Flagg.
Even back then, Marsha Strange said she had no intention of developing her property.
Eventually, the original intent to rezone changed from three owners seeking a zoning change together when Walkup decided to seek zoning on his own that fall.
Yet, even that came to a halt only days after the new council took the helm. During the Nov. 10 council meeting, Wright, Ciotti and former Councilman Joe Phillips voted to deny Walkup his zoning change. (Nov. 10, 2005)
Labels: agricultural land, Danaya Wright, Howard Walkup, Marsha Strange, R1, report, rezoning
posted by Cher @ 8:06 PM,
,
02.14.07 -- REPORT: Former councilman bills town for recall lawsuit
By CHER PHILLIPS
Former McIntosh Town Councilman Jim Strange has billed the town for the remainder of his legals fees from challenging a petition filed last year to recall him.
Last August Strange sued Sportsman's Cove owner Casey Girardin, Marion County Supervisor of Elections and McIntosh Town Clerk Julie Musselman for their roles in circulating and certifying a recall petition against him.
The ruling in his case last summer directed the petitioners to clarify their petition and recirculate it, if they wanted to continue the recall. Before Girardin could resubmit her petition, Strange resigned from his elected position.
According to e-mails sent to the town's attorney, Strange filed a claim with the Florida Municipal Insurance Trust and was sent a check for $3,787.13 under the town's bond policy.
Strange claims in this letter that the judge ruled in his favor and would like the town to pay him the remainder of his legal fees, $1917.99.
The town already paid legal fees defending the town's clerk against Strange's lawsuit. The town's attorney, Scott Walker, will advise the council of his opinion whether or not the town should pay for Strange's legal fees.
Labels: Jim Strange, recall, report
posted by Cher @ 7:27 PM,
,
02.14.07 -- REPORT: Repealing Historic Ordinance 151: "the nits need to be picked"
By CHER PHILLIPS
Listen to the Feb. 12, 2007 Town Council meeting continuation by clicking the black triangle. (Internet Explorer users may need to click the start arrow twice.)
The McIntosh Town Council agreed in a four-one vote to repeal Historic Ordinance 151 Monday night in a continuation of last Thursday's February council meeting.
The grappling over the ordinance began Monday night with Mayor Marsha Strange reporting that an unfounded rumor had been circulating that the town wanted to do away with the historic district altogether.
She told the council she'd been contacted by Vanessa Thomas and that four McIntosh residents went to an Ocala meeting and told their historic board the town was attempting to do away with the historic district.
The mayor asked the council to make this point clear.
Though the mayor declined to give the names of the four residents attending the meeting but did note that they were present, Barbara Fellman said she was one of the four who attended the Ocala meeting.
Council President Frank Ciotti made mention of how some people might be confused by what has been written about the historic ordinance in the McIntosh Mirror.
However, the Mirror has never reported that the town is attempting to get rid of the district. No council member or committee member has said in a public meeting this is the town's intent.
In all of the proceedings regarding this ordinance since Council Vice President Howard Walkup made the motion to repeal 151, the only person to suggest that McIntosh's historic district be "gotten rid of" was Bill Glass in the Jan. 30 LPA meeting, to which Charlsie Stott replied she didn't think that was what they wanted to do.
Public records requests have been made for the minutes of the Ocala meeting.
***
On the other side of the grappling fence, the LPA met in January to discuss historic ordinance 151 and voted unanimously to recommend that the council repeal the 151.
At Monday night's meeting Susan Phillips protested that this issue going to the LPA to begin with.
Therein fell the confusion to whether or not the council did or didn't sent the issue to the LPA.
A look back at the Jan. 11 council meeting audio file, shows the council and attorney Scott Walker discussing at length around point 1:23:00 sending the historic ordinance to the LPA for revision.
In the midst of the discussion, Councilman Lee Deaderick tabled in the discussion to February so he could line-by-line read the historic ordinance and gather resident opinion.
It seems that the LPA jumped the gun by taking up the issue in January. During the council meeting, the language regarding the LPA decision used by Walkup was that the LPA had an "unofficial" meeting regarding the historic district.
The meeting, publicly noticed, followed the Sunshine Law, as far as Florida statutes require. But an agenda wasn't posted and therefore, the issues brought up can't be considered a public hearing, which are required when an ordinance is repealed.
***
The interim between the January meeting and the February meeting gave Deaderick a chance to do what he promised: thoroughly read Historic Ordinance 151.
Deaderick provided a line-by-line series of objections Monday night to the ordinance.
(Click HERE to view a PDF Deaderick's original copy noting his objections.)
Deaderick challenged the ordinance on several levels. He said some of the purposes of the ordinance seemed beyond a law's ability, for instance
"I took personal offense to that the word morals ... that somehow morals are tied in with the historic houses," Deaderick said. "The other thing was the this served the spiritual needs of this community and I wasn't sure that that was an accurate portrayal."
Other areas he flagged as problems dealt with landscaping clauses, paint color, ban on the parking of commercial or large vehicles in the historic district and the idea that the historic board could approve what businesses were given occupational licenses. One point he returned to again throughout his criticism was that he said he did not think that a citizen board should have the amount of power that would be granted to the historic preservation board by this ordinance.
Phillips interrupted at one point to tell him that he was just nitpicking.
"What you're doing is really unfair," Glass said.
But the councilman defended his right to pick at the historic ordinance, as he had with previous ordinances like many revisions he's pushed for from the tree committee of the new tree ordinance.
Deaderick said "I've been to a code enforcement board meeting where the nitpicking was as detailed as this, so the nits needs to be picked," he said.
He said that he thought that what was important to the character of McIntosh had very little to do laws and codes but more to do with the civic organizations and people in town.
Ciotti also mentioned that he did not understand the language in the ordinance pertaining to a buffer zone. Last summer, McIntosh residents voted to have a ban against expansion of the current historic district. Yet, ordinance 151's language spells out methods for including homes in the district, even against a home owner's wishes.
Listen to Councilman Deaderick's objections to Historic Ordinance 151 by clicking on the black triangle. (Internet Explorer users may need to click the start arrow twice.).
Ciotti was the dissenting vote in Monday's night's repeal. A surprise vote to repeal came from Councilwoman Eva Jo Callahan. Walkup and Councilwoman Eunice Smith were expected to vote for repeal and Deaderick was assumed by the community to be the "swing" vote on the issue.
The council's repeal of 151 will mean that the ordinance will go under revision. Immediately after the repeal was approved, the council passed another motion by Deaderick to have the LPA and the Historic board meet and made a series of revisions based on concerns he expressed about the historic ordinance.
Currently, 151 is still on the books in McIntosh, but the repeal process -- going next to the LPA -- could yield revisions enough to make 151 acceptable and not have to pass through a second repeal, which would remove it entirely from the town's codes. The process will open up the revision process to the community in the form of public hearings for the combined LPA and Historic Preservation Board members to work on council members' concerns.
Labels: audio file, Historic Ordinance 151, repeal, report, town council
posted by Cher @ 12:05 PM,
,
Editor
Editor and Publisher:
I'm Cher From McIntosh, FL I'm a graduate student at the University of Florida working on a master's degree in Mass Communication. While I was finishing my undergrad degree in journalism last year, I reported on McIntosh, Fla. for an in-depth reporting class. I figured that the reporting and the public record files should go somewhere people can access them. Reporters don't report to keep the information they find to themselves. Some of that reporting is included here in a forum that allows response. McIntosh suffers because with no news coverage, the local government and the rumor mill have too much potential to run rampant over residents. I moved to McIntosh in the fall of 1999. My profile
About This Blog
The primary purpose of this blog is to accurately reflect what happens in town public meetings and dispel rumors. I record the meetings and make them available for download. One of the goals of this blog is to offer residents a place to voice opinions. The comments, views and opinions expressed there are not necessarily those of the editor.
