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Sanford — 10-26-2026 City Commission Regular Meeting Agenda (2026-10-21T22:14:25Z)

Sanford — New Agenda: 10-26-2026 City Commission Regular Meeting Agenda

Date: 2026-10-21T22:14:25Z

Agenda link: https://onedrive.live.com?cid=4805F5A6652CD089&id=4805F5A6652CD089!s8a30963744104e7c9207ef4f6a8d482d

Public comment: 3 minutes per agenda item, plus 3 minutes for the Consent Agenda (confirm the City’s current limit). Speeches are written for items flagged as anti-freedom, pro-freedom or worth congratulating. Each speech is ready for any resident to use – just fill in [YOUR NAME].

Summary

Nothing on this agenda mentions Amendment 3, and nothing qualifies for congratulation. The three items I’d object to are the five-year, $65,500-per-year parking lease with 329 Sanford Ave Realty, LLC (Consent 6.B), the change order that more than doubles the Arminius Consultants contract to $137,000 (Consent 6.C), and the state grant for the marina sewer pump-out station, which leaves out key costs and pre-approves future purchases (9.D). The two items I’d support are selling surplus city land at 11th Street and Maple Avenue (Consent 6.G) and waiving lien interest at 2404 South Grandview Avenue (9.C).

🚩 Anti-Freedom

  • 6.B (Consent) – $65,500 a year for five years ($327,500) paid to 329 Sanford Ave Realty, LLC for a parking lease.
  • 6.C (Consent) – Arminius Consultants change order of $79,000 that more than doubles the contract to $137,000, with possible new sewer discharge limits for businesses.
  • 9.D – FDEP Clean Vessel Act grant (Resolution 26-3513). No total cost, local match or ongoing costs are disclosed, and the motion pre-approves future purchases. Grant money is still taxpayer money.

✅ Pro-Freedom

  • 6.G (Consent) – Sells surplus city land at 11th Street and Maple Avenue, putting it back in private hands and on the tax rolls.
  • 9.C – Waives lien interest at 2404 South Grandview Avenue if $428.98 is paid within 30 days, giving a property owner fair relief.

⚠️ Consent Agenda Watch

  • 6.B Parking Lease, 329 Sanford Ave Realty, LLC – $65,500/year for 5 years [ANTI-FREEDOM]: ask to pull for a separate vote.
  • 6.C Arminius Consultants Change Order – +$79,000, total $137,000 [ANTI-FREEDOM]: ask to pull for a separate vote.
  • 6.G Surplus Land Sale, 11th Street & Maple Avenue [PRO-FREEDOM]: support, and ask that the sale price be stated on the record.

Consent Agenda

  • 6.A Procurement: 2027 Ford F250 Pickup; Alan Jay Fleet Sales; $55,945 – Buys a 2027 Ford F-250 Super Cab pickup for up to $55,945 through a cooperative purchasing (NJPA) quote. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.B Parking Lease Agreement; 329 Sanford Ave Realty, LLC; Sanford Avenue/4th Street; $65,500 per Year – Leases parking from a private company for $65,500 a year for five years, $327,500 in total. An attached exhibit is titled “park and shop.” [ANTI-FREEDOM]
  • 6.C Change Order; PO 41786; Arminius Consultants, LLC; Local Limits Phase II Support Services; $79,000 – Adds $79,000 to a consulting contract, raising its cap to $137,000. The contract more than doubles, and the result could mean new sewer discharge limits for local businesses. [ANTI-FREEDOM]
  • 6.D CentralSquare Software Maintenance and Support – Purchase order of $138,427.17 to CentralSquare for annual financial software support and maintenance. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.E Approve SHI as Value Added Reseller for IT Commodities – Allows IT goods and services from SHI International Corporation up to $290,000 under a cooperative (Omnia) contract. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.F RFQ 25/26-18; Marina Isle Breakwater Wall Reconstruction – Ratifies the selection committee’s rankings for the breakwater wall reconstruction contract. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.G Surplus Land Sale at 11th Street & Maple Avenue – Declares city-owned vacant land (Parcel 25-19-30-5AG-1210-0050) surplus and approves a contract to sell it, putting it back in private hands and on the tax rolls. [PRO-FREEDOM]
  • 6.H Special Event: “Florida Vintage Market” – Event permit for November 29 and December 13, 2026, with noise and alcohol permits and a road closure. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.I Special Event: “Sanford Mardi Gras” – Permit for the 13th annual event on February 20, 2027, with noise and alcohol permits and road closures. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.J Special Event: “Shamrock Shakedown” – Permit for March 13, 2027, with noise and alcohol permits and road closures. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.K Special Event: “15th Annual Pints and Paws” – Permit for March 20, 2027, with noise and alcohol permits and road closures. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.L Special Event: “Sanford Food Truck Fiesta” – Monthly 2027 permit, with alternate dates in February and May, plus noise and alcohol permits and road closures. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.M Sales Permit: “Four Season Fireworks” – Seasonal fireworks sales permit for December 15, 2026 to January 1, 2027 and June 15 to July 5, 2027. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.N Special Event: “TNT Fireworks Sales” – Seasonal fireworks sales permit for December 17, 2026 to January 12, 2027 and June 18 to July 6, 2027. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.O Special Event: “2nd Annual Boots & Roots Festival” – Permit for March 6, 2027 at Fort Mellon Park and the amphitheater, with noise and alcohol permits. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.P Special Event: “Mid Florida Cars and Grub” – Permit for the third Friday of each month in 2027, with noise and alcohol permits and road closures. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.Q Special Event: “Sanford Cars and Coffee” – Car show permit for the first Sunday of every month from November 1, 2026 through 2027, with a noise permit and road closures. [ROUTINE]
  • 6.R Special Event: “Sanford Food Truck Fiesta Summer Nights” – Permit for June 12, July 10 and August 14, 2027, with noise and alcohol permits and road closures. [ROUTINE]

3-minute Consent Agenda speech:

Good evening, Mayor and Commissioners. My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a Sanford resident. I’m speaking on the Consent Agenda. Tonight it has eighteen items, 6.A through 6.R, all set to pass on a single motion with no discussion. Most are routine. But three deserve your attention: one I want to praise, and two I respectfully ask you to pull for separate discussion and a separate vote.

First, the praise. Item 6.G declares the city-owned vacant land at 11th Street and Maple Avenue surplus and approves a contract to sell it. That’s exactly the kind of decision I like to see. Government doesn’t need to hold idle land. Selling it puts the land back in private hands, back on the tax rolls and back to productive use. Thank you to staff for bringing it forward. I’d only ask that the sale price be stated on the record tonight, so residents know what the public received for a public asset.

Now the concerns. Item 6.B is a parking lease with 329 Sanford Ave Realty, LLC at Sanford Avenue and 4th Street, for $65,500 per year for five years. That’s $327,500 of taxpayer money paid to a private company for parking. If that parking mainly benefits nearby businesses and their customers, residents deserve to hear why taxpayers citywide should pay the bill. What alternatives were considered? Was the rate compared to the market? Could the businesses that benefit share the cost? A five-year commitment of a third of a million dollars shouldn’t pass without one question asked in public.

Item 6.C is a change order to Purchase Order 41786 with Arminius Consultants, LLC, for Local Limits Phase II Support Services. It adds $79,000, bringing the total to $137,000, which more than doubles the contract. When a consulting contract more than doubles, the public should hear why the original scope wasn’t enough, what the extra money buys, and whether the result will mean new limits or costs for local businesses connected to the sewer system.

None of this is an accusation. It’s a request for transparency. The consent agenda is meant for truly routine business. A third-of-a-million-dollar lease and a contract that more than doubles aren’t routine.

So I respectfully ask you to pass 6.G with my thanks, and to pull Items 6.B and 6.C for separate discussion and a separate vote. Thank you.

Agenda Items

Call to Order

  • 1. Call to Order – Mayor Woodruff calls the meeting to order. [ROUTINE]

Ceremonial Matters

  • 2. Legislative Prayer – Opening prayer. [ROUTINE]
  • 3. Pledge of Allegiance – Pledge of Allegiance. [ROUTINE]
  • 4.A Pints n’ Paws Presentation – A presentation about the Pints n’ Paws event. Its 15th annual edition is also up for a permit in Consent item 6.K. The agenda doesn’t describe any achievement by city officials. [ROUTINE]

Business of the Commission – Minutes

  • 5.A Minutes – 10/12/2026 Work Session and Regular Meeting – Approval of minutes from the October 12, 2026 meetings. [ROUTINE]

Public Hearings

  • 7.A Grant of Cross Access Easement – 4550 St. Johns Parkway (Ordinance No. 2026-4870, Memo 26-214, Quasi-Judicial) – Adopts an ordinance granting a cross-access easement at 4550 St. Johns Parkway that the development and the City need. [ROUTINE]
  • 7.B Second Reading of Ordinance 4865 – Rezoning 401 Placid Lake Drive (Memo 26-215, Quasi-Judicial) – Rezones 30.88 acres from Medium Density Residential MR-2 to Planned Development (PD) for a 113-lot single-family subdivision. [ROUTINE]

Citizen Participation

  • 8. Citizen Participation – Open public comment, five minutes per speaker, on matters the Commission controls. [ROUTINE]

Other Items

  • 9.A Amendment to FY2026-2027 Operating and Non-Operating Budgets (Memo 26-216) – Raises budgeted revenue by $300,000 and the SAA-funded part of the Capital Program by $300,000. Staff says no extra funding is needed and the projected FY27 draw from reserves doesn’t change. The agenda doesn’t mention Amendment 3. [ROUTINE]
  • 9.B Emergency Procurement – North Water Reclamation Facility Bypass & Manhole Replacement; Cathcart Construction Company; $1,100,000 (Memo 26-217) – After-the-fact approval of an emergency, non-competitive purchase of up to $1,100,000 from Cathcart Construction Company – Florida, LLC for sewer plant bypass and manhole repairs. This is core infrastructure, but residents may want to ask why the work couldn’t be competitively bid and approved in advance. [ROUTINE]
  • 9.C Municipal Lien Waiver Request – 2404 South Grandview Avenue (Memo 26-218) – Waives the interest on a city lien (Lien No. 09070, Parcel 31-19-31-517-0000-0240) if the owner pays $428.98 within 30 days. This gives a property owner reasonable relief. [PRO-FREEDOM]

    3-minute speech:

    Good evening, Mayor and Commissioners. My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a Sanford resident. I’m here to support Item 9.C, the request to waive the interest on Municipal Lien No. 09070 at 2404 South Grandview Avenue, as long as the owner pays $428.98 within 30 days.

    This may look like a small item, but it reflects an important principle. A municipal lien exists to bring a property into compliance and to recover what the city is truly owed. It isn’t supposed to be a source of revenue, and it should never become a trap. When interest keeps piling up on an old lien, a modest debt can grow until it’s harder, not easier, for an owner to set things right, sell the property, refinance, or simply move on.

    Staff’s recommendation strikes a sensible balance. The city gets paid the underlying amount. The owner gets a clear, achievable way to clear the title. And the condition is fair: pay $428.98 within 30 days, and the matter is closed. The city collects money it might otherwise chase for years, and a resident’s property rights are restored without an unnecessary penalty.

    I’d like to thank staff for bringing this forward and for recommending relief instead of maximum collection. That’s the kind of common-sense approach that respects taxpayers, and I’d like to see more of it.

    I’d also ask the Commission to consider one thing going forward. Relief like this shouldn’t depend on who knows to ask or who has time to come before the Commission. If waiving interest in exchange for prompt payment makes sense for this property, it probably makes sense for others in the same situation. A clear, written policy, applied equally to every property owner, would be fairer and more transparent. It would also save staff and Commission time on one-off requests. Equal treatment under the rules matters just as much as the relief itself.

    Property ownership is one of the foundations of individual liberty and of building wealth in this community. When government holds a lien over someone’s home or land, it should use that power carefully and in proportion, with the goal of resolving the matter, not punishing the owner.

    So I urge you to vote yes on Item 9.C, and I encourage you to offer this kind of reasonable relief to every Sanford property owner on equal terms. Thank you.

  • 9.D Resolution 26-3513 – FDEP Clean Vessel Act Grant Agreement; Downtown Sanford Marina Sewer Pump-Out Station (Memo 26-219) – Accepts a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) grant for the marina’s existing sewer pump-out station. It also authorizes “all necessary implementing administrative actions such as procurements.” The agenda gives no total cost, no grant share, no local match and no ongoing costs. Grant money is still taxpayer money. [ANTI-FREEDOM]

    3-minute speech:

    Good evening, Mayor and Commissioners. My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a Sanford resident. I’m speaking on Item 9.D, Resolution 26-3513. It approves a Florida Department of Environmental Protection Clean Vessel Act grant agreement for the existing sewer pump-out station at the Downtown Sanford Marina.

    Let me start with a reminder that matters every time a grant comes before this Commission: grant money is still taxpayer money. Whether it comes from Tallahassee or Washington, it was collected from working people somewhere, and it comes back to us with strings attached. Calling it free money doesn’t make it free.

    My concern tonight is less about the pump-out station and more about what the public hasn’t been told. As listed on the agenda, this item doesn’t state the total project cost, how much of it the grant covers, or whether Sanford taxpayers must put up a local match. It doesn’t tell us what maintenance, operating, reporting or compliance costs the city takes on by accepting these funds. It doesn’t say how long we’re required to keep the equipment in service under the grant’s terms. Residents deserve those numbers before a vote, not after.

    I’m also concerned about how broad the recommendation is. Staff asks you not only to approve the grant agreement and resolution, but to “authorize all necessary implementing administrative actions such as procurements.” That language is open-ended. It approves future purchases for this project in advance, without those purchases coming back before you in public. Even if every one of them turns out to be reasonable, the public’s right to see how its money is spent shouldn’t be signed away ahead of time.

    The marina is a city asset, and maintaining it is a legitimate responsibility. But good stewardship means knowing the full cost, strings included, before signing.

    So I respectfully ask the Commission to do one of two things. Either table Item 9.D until staff provides, on the record, the total project cost, the grant share, any local match and the expected ongoing costs. Or amend the motion to remove the blanket authorization and require that any purchase under this grant above the City Manager’s normal purchasing authority come back to this Commission for a public vote.

    Transparency costs nothing, and it’s the least taxpayers are owed. Thank you.

  • 9.E Utility Services Request – 158-Lot Single-Family Subdivision at 3750 Celery Avenue (Memo 26-220) – Approves city utility service for a new 158-lot subdivision. The developer pays all application and connection fees and installs water, sewer and reclaimed water lines at its own cost. An annexation petition will be recorded so the City can annex the property once Florida law allows it. [ROUTINE]

City Attorney Comments

  • 10. City Attorney Comments – Report from the City Attorney. [ROUTINE]

City Clerk’s Report

  • 11. City Clerk’s Report – Report from the City Clerk. [ROUTINE]

City Manager’s Report

  • 12. City Manager’s Report – Report from the City Manager. [ROUTINE]

City Commissioner’s Reports

  • 13. City Commissioner’s Reports – Reports from individual Commissioners. [ROUTINE]

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