The Stuart City Council met in a joint session with the Utilities Board on Monday.

During the joint meeting, the Council and Board approved providing an irrigation meter to commercial customer Karl Chevrolet, and donation of utility board employees time and use of the bucket truck to install $3200 worth of lighting for the city soccer fields.

The Council then entered their regular session, where they started by approving liquor licenses for Johnie’s Tap and Ruby’s Pub and Grill. They then held a public hearing on the Stuart Water Improvements Project, where members of the public discussed with the Council about the amount spent on the project, and completion percentage of the project.

The Council then approved having Public Works Director Jim Henderson seek bids for tree removal on 77 dead or diseased ash trees, changing pay structure of Stuart Rescue drivers to $10 per hour at the request of Rescue Director Sean Bovinett, set an Urban Renewal Area and a first consideration of an ordinance introduced by Councilmember Mike Kalbach that would provide division of taxes levied on taxable property in the June 2023 addition to the Stuart Urban Renewal Area. The Council then suspended the statutory rule requiring an ordinance be considered and voted upon in two meetings, and approved the ordinance in its entirety.

The Council then approved a resolution authorizing internal advance for the funding of the urban renewal project, a resolution providing for the approval of a note purchase agreement and for the issuance of $8,320,000 annual appropriation general obligation corporate purpose loan agreement, and cigarette permits for fiscal year July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

The Council also declined change order one for the Safe Routes to School Project, approved Outdoor Concepts to maintain landscaping around the “STUART” interstate sign and the pocket park on NW 2nd Street, three requests from Karl Chevrolet for the Karl Care site plan, the Hotel/Motel Tax Committee’s 2023 recommendations, change order one from McAninch of $804,955.33 for the Wambold Phase 3 Project to extend the Tiernan Trail and allow 15 additional lots to be developed.