It was a lengthy evening that included marijuana, chickens and prayer.
Doyle Carter jokingly referred to it as a country tune. There was more to it, though — it was a bittersweet song for most of City Council members who had spent eight years on the job. A finale filled with heartfelt notes.
“All of you have really served with distinction,” said Denise Lee, the often-vocal District 8 representative. “It’s been real. It’s been sweet. And I wish you all Godspeed.”
Her two-term colleague Stephen Joost praised the group’s efforts as having left the city better than when it arrived — years marred by a deep recession and declining revenue.
And Warren Jones, the term-limited elder statesmen wrapping up his 28th year, said this particular group was not filled with politicians — they truly were public servants.
John Crescimbeni had another observation: For a final meeting, it wasn’t exactly boring.
The group repealed a moratorium on growing low-potency pot it approved two weeks ago. It began the proceedings for another.
It passed a marketing agreement for water taxis, a service whose survival in recent years led to controversy. A pilot program for backyard hens went full-scale, a passionate subject that started under this group.
Offshore seismic testing was defeated by a tie vote, bringing a quick reminder of another tie vote months before on pension reform.
“I’ve never seen one wrap up like this,” said Crescimbeni, just before midnight. “It’s doesn’t get any better than that.”
And he would know — the council veteran has been a part of several “final” meetings.
Eleven members are concluding their terms June 30, with their successors being sworn in at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Lee said she’s not staging an early exit. Movers would have to wait — she’d be in the office until the stroke of midnight her final day.
More detail on some of Tuesday’s finale:
• By a 16-2 vote, council repealed the six-month moratorium on growing low-potency pot that can be used for medical purposes. Since being passed in early June, there was a backlash to the expediency with which the issue came up and was approved on an emergency basis.
Council members acknowledged as much Tuesday. “I feel like we overreacted and didn’t have all the facts,” said Jones. Council member Bill Gulliford was jokingly contrite: “I was asleep and my head fell on the ‘yes’ button,” he told his colleagues.
The moratorium would have negatively affected potential Northeast Florida growers, of which only two meet the rigorous standards to apply.
In place of that ban, another was introduced that would ban dispensing medical marijuana for 120 days.
It will go through the normal council process and could be voted on by mid-August.
• A marketing agreement for Downtown’s water-taxi service was approved, one that partners the city and vendor in a one-year deal.
The city would provide $120,000 in public funding to Lakeshore Marine, should the company privately raise the same amount. It’s meant to offset revenue and ridership numbers below what the former company garnered.
In addition, the company will typically only be required to have one boat in service at all times. A second boat will be available in an on-call basis. As part of the agreement, the Downtown Investment Authority also has oversight of the agreement.
• Outside of backyard-hen advocates, the public topic du jour was prayer in public meetings. Several people came to the podium to promote changing invocations to include all messages from all faiths. Some pushed for a moment of silence instead of prayer altogether, a way to be inclusive of people from all backgrounds.
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