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City Council

January 6, 2026 ·4:00 PM Revised

Ocala City Hall 110 SE Watula Avenue Second Floor - Council Chambers Ocala, Florida https://www.ocalafl.gov/meetings

Agenda PDF Minutes PDF 📹 Watch video Official record ↗

Agenda — 71 items

  1. 1 Revised 1/5/26: Added item 4d, pulled 10e.
  2. 1. Call to Order
  3. 2. Roll Call ▶ jump to 1:34
  4. 3 Municipal Officers/Others Present: The meeting was also attended by City Manager Peter Lee, City Attorney William Sexton, Assistant City Manager Ken Whitehead, City Clerk Angel Jacobs, Deputy City Clerk Pamela Omichinski, Fire Chief Clint Welborn, Police Chief Michael Balken, Internal Auditor Randall Bridgeman, Assistant Finance Director Peter Brill, Public Information Officer Gregory Davis, Economic Development Manager Roberto Ellis, Planning Director Aubrey Hale, Budget Director Tammi Haslam, Community Development Services Director James Haynes, Deputy Director Fiber Network Kenneth Jamerson, Senior Planner Emily Johnson, City Engineer & Director of Water Resources Sean Lanier, Senior Planner Endira Madraveren, Chief Financial Officer Janice Mitchell, Director of Public Works Darren Park, Director of Electric Utility Doug Peebles, Director of Ocala Fiber Network Mel Poole, Strategic & Legislative Affairs Administrator Jeannine Robbins, Procurement & Contracting Officer Daphne Robinson, Growth Management Director Jeff Shrum, Chief of Staff Chris Watt, Ocala Police Dept Representative, IT Representative, The Press and other interested parties.
  5. 2a. New Employees ▶ jump to 1:46
  6. 3. Public Notice
  7. 4. Proclamations and Awards
  8. - Public Notice for the January 6, 2026 City Council Regular Meeting was posted on December 3, 2025
  9. 4a. Presentation of the Arbor Day Proclamation to the Presidents of Pioneer Garden Club Jacqua Ballas and Marjorie Hendon 2026-0163 ▶ jump to 3:04
  10. 4b. Presentation of the Newton A. Perry Day Proclamation to Jessica Fieldhouse, Ocala Main Street Executive Director, and to Delee Perry, daughter of the late Newton A. Perry 2026-0291 ▶ jump to 6:18
  11. 4c. Presentation of the Marion County’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Day Proclamation to Ms. Paula Leahmon, President of Marion County’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission, Inc. 2026-0424 ▶ jump to 11:51
  12. 5. Presentations
  13. 6. Consent Agenda ▶ jump to 22:31
  14. 6a. Fiscal Year 2026-27 tentative budget calendar 2026-0285 Approved Pass
  15. 6b. Budget Resolution 2026-119 to amend the Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget to appropriate funds from the Police Trust and Agency Fund reserve account to supplement the purchase of handheld x-ray equipment in the amount of $48,515 BR-2026-119 Adopted Pass
  16. 6c. Certified administrative costs for SunTran’s Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget as required by Section 341.071 of the Florida Statutes 2026-0425 Approved Pass
  17. 6d. Four-year renewal agreement with Truist Bank for comprehensive banking services through May 31, 2030 2026-0429 Approved Pass
  18. 6e. Resolution 2026-10 to accept the donation of outdoor sculpture “Flamingo”, valued at $9,500 into the City’s public art collection for permanent display at Tuscawilla Park RES-2026-10 Adopted Pass
  19. 6f. Resolution 2026-11 to appoint members to the City of Ocala’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee for three-year terms ending December 31, 2028 RES-2026-11 Adopted Pass
  20. 6g. Budget Resolution 2026-120 to amend the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget to accept and appropriate program income for the City of Ocala’s State Housing Initiative Program grant in the amount of $1,152 BR-2026-120 Adopted Pass
  21. 6h. December 16, 2025 City Council meeting minutes 2026-0549 Approved Pass
  22. 7. Consent Agenda Items Held for Discussion
  23. 8. Introduction and First Readings of Ordinances
  24. 9. Public Hearings / Second and Final Readings / Adoption of Ordinances
  25. 9a. Public hearing to review and receive comments concerning SunTran’s proposed budget for Federal Fiscal Year 2025 which includes Section 5307 grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration, Florida Department of Transportation Block Grant funding, toll road revenue credits, and local matches from the City and County for a total budget of $6,300,562 2026-0419 ▶ jump to 22:49
  26. 9b. Public Hearing to consider the issuance of a location permit for the sale of beer, wine and liquor for off-premises consumption for Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, doing business as, Walmart #4245 located on Parcel 29850-001-00 (Quasi-Judicial) 2026-0455 Approved Pass ▶ jump to 27:11
  27. 9c. Ordinance 2026-5 to amend the Code of Ordinances, City of Ocala, Florida, Section 122-1225 to authorize the use of above-ground air curtain burners as an ancillary use to a materials recovery facility as well as establishing conditions and limitations relating to such ancillary use (COD25-0004) 2026-0545 Postponed Pass ▶ jump to 30:06
  28. 9d. Ordinance 2026-6 to rezone approximately 3.57 acres for a portion of property located at 2336 NW Seventh Street (Parcel 22682-000-00) from M-1, Light Industrial, to M-2, Medium Industrial (Case ZON25-0014) (Quasi-Judicial) 2026-0546 Adopted Pass ▶ jump to 37:41
  29. 10. General Business
  30. 10a. One-year renewal of the Construction Services Agreement with Miller Pipeline, LLC, for Water Resources Improvement Program Projects in an amount not to exceed $2,000,000 2025-2161 Approved Pass ▶ jump to 39:13
  31. 10b. Renewal of contract with Art Walker Construction, Inc. for lime sludge hauling services at Water Treatment Plant No. 1 with a two-year expenditure of $180,000 2026-0164 Approved Pass ▶ jump to 40:16
  32. 10c. Cost-share agreement with St. Johns River Water Management District for the Ocala Lower Floridan Aquifer Conversion Phase IV project in the amount of $2,000,000 2026-0444 Approved Pass ▶ jump to 41:25
  33. 10d. Budget Resolution 2026-121 to accept and appropriate funds from St. Johns River Water Management District for the Lower Floridan Aquifer Conversion Phase IV project in the amount of $2,000,000 and transfer the cost share amount of $2,000,000 from the Water Resources fund reserve for contingencies account BR-2026-121 Adopted Pass ▶ jump to 42:09
  34. 10e. Item pulled.
  35. 10f. Budget Resolution 2026-122 to amend the Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget to accept and appropriate 2025-26 State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program grant funding in the amount of $242,771 BR-2026-122 Adopted Pass ▶ jump to 43:40
  36. 10g. Purchase of various inventory items for Ocala Fiber Network from multiple vendors in an amount not to exceed $207,590 2026-0430 Approved Pass ▶ jump to 45:02
  37. 10h. A three-year Agreement with Exceleron Software, LLC, for MyUsage Prepaid Software in an amount not to exceed $1,500,000 2026-0439 Approved Pass ▶ jump to 46:26
  38. 11. Internal Auditor's Report
  39. 12. City Manager's Report ▶ jump to 46:43
  40. 13. Ocala Police Department Report ▶ jump to 62:28
  41. 14. Ocala Fire Rescue Department Report ▶ jump to 65:26
  42. 15. City Attorney's Report
  43. - Legacy contracts update
  44. 16. Public Comments ▶ jump to 68:24
  45. - Business tax revenue
  46. 17. Informational Items and Calendaring Items
  47. - 2050 Vision Workshop scheduled for Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 12:00 pm in Council Chambers
  48. 17a. Power Cost Adjustment Report - November 2025 2026-0472
  49. - Baseball field rentals
  50. 18. Comments by Mayor ▶ jump to 90:27
  51. - Train derailment on Magnolia
  52. 19. Comments by City Council Members ▶ jump to 92:06
  53. - Safe Routes to School meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 8, 2026, at 5:00 pm at Howard Middle School
  54. 20. Adjournment ▶ jump to 95:04
  55. - Overview of Crime and Traffic Stops
  56. - Department Highlights
  57. - Unit Responses
  58. - Service calls update
  59. - Department Highlights
  60. - Shanta Norton, 117 NW 16th Terrace, Ocala, FL, spoke on student safety
  61. - Dr. Kathryn Crowell-Grate and Nathaniel Grate, 2825 SW 34th Avenue, Ocala, FL, spoke on pedestrian safety
  62. - Jason Tolbert, 201 NE 37th Court, Ocala, FL, requested permission to place Wingstop signage near the public sidewalk and street median
  63. - Jerry Lourenco, 9875 SE 58th Avenue, Ocala, FL, expressed concern regarding the City's Roll-Off Compactor Ordinance
  64. - Mayor's Fitness Challenge 2026
  65. - Mental health services for the incarcerated
  66. - Council Member Dreyer requested the City schedule a meeting with the County's Affordable Housing Committee to assist the County in streamlining their process for affordable housing
  67. - Council Member Dreyer commented on the public notice sign posted in front of the strip mall located near State Road 40
  68. - Council President Bethea thanked the City for services provided for Mrs. Mary Sue Rich's celebration of life
  69. - Adjourned at 5:35 pm
  70. 72 Minutes
  71. 73 _______________________________ ________________________________ Ire J. Bethea Sr. Angel B. Jacobs Council President City Clerk