City staff will be coming back Feb. 21 with a recommendation on Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles.

Now we are open to the public. Teresa Abraham is making her way to the podium.

First, she is asking about tonight’s agenda and saying that she is thankful there was additional information posted on it.

Looking at public information, she says that Municode, who the city currently uses, doesn’t have all of the ordinances on the site.

As for Laserfiche, the city will have initial access to the program, then the city’s residents would have access following.

That’s a wrap… thanks for following.

The city staff is about to present an overview of the city’s plans on how this would work moving forward.

Webb Warren, IT Director for the city, is up and saying that Laserfiche offers a public web portal that can be browsed by the public.

Files can be looked at, saved and printed from whatever computer you are using.

March 2012 is the “go live” date, according to Webb. Agenda packages will be digital as of  Feb. 15.

Ustick said this should help with “transparency.”

The Laserfiche program is PC and MAC compatible. Macs would have to use the Safari browser.

When looking at what’s accessible to the public, Trammell wants to make sure that all city departments are accessible to others.

City Clerk Rey Bailey says the entire staff has access to the Laserfiche application and can get the information they need.

Wood said when they were out on Norriego Point planting sea oats Saturday, they picked up a lot of nails and glass on the point.

He said while out on the streets campaigning, he noticed that there are a lot of people out in the city who run stops signs, or come very, very close to running them.

For Councilman Destin, he said he plans to talk about “value engineering” Norriego Point.

Destin is saying they can make a modification to the project so they can have it in a “financial shape” so they can phase it.

“My understanding for the NRDA funding is to show that we are making up for lost recreational opportunity due to the oil spill,” he said.

Destin said he spoke to engineer Matt Trammell, who had ideas on how to increase the recreational aspect, while lowering the cost of the project.

“We do need to do something in a timely fashion,” Destin said. He would like to have Trammell come and speak to the city council.

Ustick is up to the mic, and the city’s new review committee will meet later this week for their first meeting where they will elect a chairperson.

Bagby said his request is to have a workshop where Trammell, Shackleford and the “whole alphabet” in attendance to get the ball rolling on the Norriego Point stabilization plan. The plan has yet to be completed, but Babgy said they need, in the short term, to get a collective resolution from the council to go in a certain direction.

“We owe it to this city and the staff to give definitive guidance,” he said. “I would make myself available whenever… to get all the experts in the room and make a decision on that.”

He is making that his motion. It’s up for vote and passed unanimously.

For Trammell herself, she is saying the city needs to look into the recreational aspect some more.

Seevers is saying that the sea oat planting on Saturday was an initiative of the city’s Youth Council. They worked with the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance.

Seevers was also in Tallahasee last week were she spoke to Sen. Don Gaetz, Rep. Matt Gaetz, Rep. Marti Coley and representatives from the governor’s office about the NRDA Funding. They were all supportive.

Feb. 16 at 5:30 in Annex Chambers is the city’s “State of the City Address.”

That should be an interesting gathering. Last year’s was well done.

Basically, Bagby is cautious that this new process would look not so kindly on behalf of the city.

“I understand the reason we are doing this and I support the rationale, but are we swinging the pendulum to far…” he said.

“I just think there out to be at staff level a place for the public to be heard,” Bagby added. “I just think we are getting away from involving the public…”

For his part, while he “sees” what Bagby is saying, Destin says the system was “slanted away” from the public anyway.

Since the TRC didn’t make any recommendations to the council, Destin said they are not really taking a way too much by removing them.

All documents relating to a project would be subject to public records requests. Wood wants to make sure they are all getting put into the “right place” so they are not floating around.

The motion to approve the ordinance is up for vote and approved 5-1, with Bagby voting against and Hines absent.

This ordinance is looking to streamline the technical review process by ridding of the technical review committee’s monthly meetings and making the process more “flexible.”

City Manager Maryann Ustick said this should reduce the review time to about 7 weeks.

The motion is up and ready for discussion.

Councilman Jim Bagby is asking about the community development staff addressing concerns from property owners.

Gallander said they would provide affected property owners notices and if they want to discuss the project, they can come in and talk to staff about the project.

Bagby is saying that he doesn’t want to see a scenario where the city has to have mini quasi judicial hearings and have to continuously call the city’s land use attorney.

Gallander said if there were problems with the way the code was interpreted, they would go through the board of adjustments.

Shirley said the process would be no different than what it is now.

“Here’s my problem… is completely cutting the public out,” he said.

He said, by cutting out the TRC, there is no way for the public to be involved until it comes to the council.

“We are completely cutting out the public input in my opinion,” Bagby said.

Up next is an ordinance that would help the city in its regulations of electronic power generation.

This ordinance allows the use of small-scale solar and wind alternative energy generation systems as an accessory use in all zoning districts.

The ordinance is designed to: protect and promote public health, safety, community welfare and the aesthetic quality of life in the city. Also, to promote and encourage the use of small-scale solar and alternative wind energy systems.

Community Development Director Ken Gallander is telling the council that the city staff has done research on the subject and is showing the council a slide show about wind turbines and solar panels.

We will get a copy of the presentation from the city.

“The ordinance is very comprehensive,” he said.

He said the standards are evolving on the state level and the city is confident they have everything they need to make sure any structure built meets standards.

Councilman Larry Williges makes the recommended motion to approve the ordinance. He receives a second from Councilwoman Sandy Trammell.

He is asking about adding language that would require an individual to come back to the city if they wanted to modify or change something. Gallander said they would need a permit, but the language is not in the ordinance.

Councilman Dewey Destin said he is pretty sure everybody is in favor of this, but wants to know if this ordinance would make it more likely it would happen in Destin. He is asking if it was previously illegal.

Land Use Attorney Scott Shirley said it was previously unregulated prior to the ordinance.

“Are we in fact encouraging it?” Destin asked.

Gallander said as long as the city is put in properly, which this ordinance would do, the city is looking to ensure that everything is being installed to a specified standard.

Looking at other entities, Gallander said “I don’ think we are stifling it.”

Councilman Jim Wood is saying he is a little concerned about building heights and the fact that “two different standards” are being used.

He said that they are asking for a building height of 150-feet for wind turbines.

Gallander said the Local Planning Agency and the representatives from Eglin worked on that issue.

The motions up for vote and passes 5-1, with Hines absent and Destin voting against.

Alright gang, first up is a proclamation for the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce, naming Jan. 24 as “Member Appreciation Day” in the city.

Mayor Sam Seevers is up to the mic with incoming Chamber of Commerce Chairman Bill Lindsley.

Seevers is thanking the chamber for everything they do, saying that “we can always count on you.”

Thanks for following along, make sure to come out and vote come Jan. 31.

Dixon: Says that during his time at the Fire District, everything they did benefitted the city of Destin. “We developed the fire department into one of the best operating fire departments in the state.” If he is “honored” to be elected, Dixson says he is willing to listen to anything people have to say.

Marler: If elected, Marler says he has no special agenda and will work for the city of Destin, to do what is right for the city. Marler has served the city on council twice in the past.

Monteith: For Montieth, he says he is here to give residents a choice. “I see things and have strong opinions…” He says be wants to let Destin residents know he is here to work for them and to serve them in “any way possible.”

Trammell: She says her time on the council has been educational and humbling at the same time. While they have made some mistakes in the past, they have corrected them. “I would love to continue working in this process for the next four years.” One thing she wants to continue working on is the stabilization of Norriego Point. If there is no place to play, “nobody is going to come here.”

Weidenhamer: For Weidenhamer, the past four years have been a learning experience and he says he has always tried to keep the quality of life factor in the forefront for permanent Destin residents. “One of my primary concerns when I first came on council was to improve the quality of life for the permanent Destin residents.”

Wood: In closing, Wood is telling the group that he has enjoyed every minute of his four years on the council. He is thanking everyone on the council for their service. As a council, they might not always agree on an issue, but they find a solution that is the best decision for as many people as possible.

Now that the boardwalk is under construction what can you as a CRA board member do to enhance business opportunities and further growth along the harbor district? And with all the talk of transforming the harbor district into a festive marketplace. What does a festive marketplace look like to you?

Dixon: He wants the city of Destin to “ensure” whatever development or redevelopment that goes on at the harbor is mixed-use. He said the boardwalk is a good thing for the city and they need to work with harbor owners and see if the city can entice them to do things outside “their realm,” such as putting in a restaurant or a kids play area.

Marler: “We need to think outside the box,” he says. The biggest thing for Marler is to have something to do all the time at the harbor. “We don’t want the harbor to be a place to see, we want it to be a place to see.”

Monteith: Monteith says when he looks at the harbor, he still “sees Destin.” “I’m glad to see that Destin is developing in a quality manner…”

Trammell: What’s going on at the harbor right now is only phase one, she says to sit back and watch what’s going to happen moving forward. For the harbor, she says working with the property owners, the city is going to continue to work with property owners to keep people coming down to the harbor. She said the key is to “unify the brand.”

Weidenhamer: “I think I saw some of it during the summer,” he jokes, saying that they were down on the harbor raising funds for the dog park. He says they need to generate that same atmosphere all the way down the boardwalk. Also, they need to do the same thing in central Destin. Weidenhamer would also like to see more activities along the harbor, expanding past more than fishing. “I think the property owners are going to benefit from this boardwalk, more than they envisioned,” he said.

Wood: “I think its a mix of both residential and business, not just stuff tourists want to use…” he said. He said the harbor needs to be the focal point of the city.