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Record of Proceedings

KUA Board Candidate Interviews and Munoz Settlement Authorization - June 29, 2026

City Commission — Monday, June 29, 2026
BodyKissimmee, Florida
SessionCity Commission
DateMonday, June 29, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 37:08

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

For Desiree, is that it?

0:03

Should we

Unassigned speaker

0:04

be there?

Speaker 1

0:04

Okay.

0:05

All right.

0:06

Alright, so you want to call the first one in, and we'll call this meeting to order at five o'clock.

Unassigned speaker

0:10

And

Speaker 2

0:10

Madame Mayor do you want to discuss this format of how you guys would like to do this or just have them come in one by one and just

Speaker 1

0:17

we're only interviewing two, correct?

0:18

Yes, but not the three of them.

0:20

Um it's just my head congestion.

0:26

Yeah.

0:26

Yeah.

0:27

Um

Unassigned speaker

0:29

I

Speaker 1

0:29

don't know, I guess.

0:30

Does anyone have a specific question they want to pose?

Speaker 3

0:35

I I believe like uh you go to Paradeboard of C UA do most question uh just later what they have to ask so uh when we make a decision based on that.

0:49

I don't know if that's what I hope.

Speaker 4

0:52

Okay.

0:52

All right.

0:53

Do we have the same questions as before?

0:56

We went through that same format.

Speaker 5

0:59

I'll ask a question.

Speaker 1

1:00

Okay, so we'll have you ask a question.

1:02

Um do you have a question you'd like to ask specifically?

Speaker 6

1:07

It's kind of like I've prayed once you start, we'll kind of get the feel and come in in that

Speaker 2

1:10

direction.

1:11

Yeah, typically second interviews, that's what we do because you're trying to drill down.

1:15

You give everybody the same questions the first go around to meet them out, and then when you get the two you like,

Speaker 5

1:20

that's true,

Speaker 2

1:20

then you hit on the specifics to those individuals.

Speaker 5

1:23

Okay.

Speaker 2

1:24

Um like you could talk about some of the differences that you might have had the first time around, like I think um, you know, if can you get a little more in depth about your experience in the community?

1:34

Can you get a little more in depth about your thought process as long as being part of this board, you know, just to see from a personality statement?

Speaker 1

1:42

Okay,

Speaker 2

1:42

the history of guys want.

1:44

Who do we have first?

Speaker 7

1:45

Chapman.

Speaker 5

1:46

Thank

Unassigned speaker

1:47

you.

Speaker 2

1:48

Chat or David?

1:50

Chating.

1:51

Howen is that?

Speaker 4

2:01

So

Speaker 1

2:06

another one board member will move up and then there's a vacancy.

2:09

Oh yeah, because Manny's up.

2:13

Yeah, but it was like anyway.

Unassigned speaker

2:15

Hello, hello, welcome back to the house.

Speaker 1

2:18

Hello everyone.

2:19

Welcome to this chair this year.

2:21

Good morning.

2:22

Yeah.

2:23

Well, thank you for joining us one more time.

2:25

Um we we realized at the last meeting that we have to have a super majority, which means four one.

2:31

Um we weren't quite there, so that just had us bring us back to uh a third interview.

2:37

Okay.

2:37

Um again, I don't know what the vote will be at the very end.

2:41

I think there were some questions, and I'm just gonna let there was a question about customer service or something like that.

2:47

Community outreach.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters████████████████████████████████32%
Community Engagement█████████████████████████████29%
Procedural██████████████████18%
Pending Litigation█████████████████17%
Immigration Policy████4%
Summary of Proceedings

KUA Board Candidate Interviews and Munoz Settlement Authorization - June 29, 2026

The meeting was called to order at 5:01 PM by Mayor Jackie Espinosa with all four commissioners present. The commission conducted second-round interviews for a vacancy on the Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) Board and then considered a walk-on item authorizing a settlement agreement with Deputy Chief Munoz. The meeting was adjourned at 5:38 PM. Official minutes do not reflect a brief subsequent discussion about immigration policy that appears in the raw transcript.

Discussion Items

KUA Board Candidate Interviews

  • The commission interviewed two candidates: Javin Lopez (5:03 PM) and Jordan White (5:11 PM). Each was asked about community involvement, strategic goals, and prior experience.
  • Javin Lopez recounted a 2005 natural disaster experience and praised KUA's community outreach. He noted that KUA's budget shows decreasing costs and growing proceeds, reflecting strong leadership, and stated he and his family have no conflicts with the city, county, KUA, or other government entities.
  • Jordan White emphasized KUA's social media outreach as beneficial for informing the community about events. He has increased his community presence through organizations and believes KUA's public engagement (e.g., movie nights) should continue. He stated no conflicts of interest.
  • After deliberation, Commissioner Martinez moved to appoint Jordan White; Commissioner Alvarez seconded. The roll call vote was: Commissioner Ortiz – NAY, Commissioner Eady – AYE, Commissioner Alvarez – AYE, Commissioner Martinez – AYE, Mayor Espinosa – NAY. The motion failed (3–2) because a supermajority of four votes was required.
  • Consensus was reached that current KUA Board Chairman Manuel "Manny" Ortega was the most qualified to remain, as the KUA bylaws allow members to serve an additional three-year term beyond two five-year terms.

Walk-On Item: Settlement Authorization for Deputy Chief Munoz

  • City Manager Mike Steigerwald reported that negotiations with Deputy Chief Munoz's attorneys over the past six months had concluded. He requested authorization to draft a settlement agreement totaling $430,000: $400,000 to be spread over two fiscal years (inclusive of salary and COBRA payments) plus $30,000 in legal fees. The final agreement would be brought back to a future commission meeting for formal ratification.
  • Mayor Espinosa stated she would abstain due to a pending complaint involving her. Commissioner Martinez moved to proceed; Commissioner Alvarez seconded. The vote was: Commissioner Alvarez – AYE, Commissioner Ortiz – AYE, Commissioner Eady – AYE, Commissioner Martinez – AYE; none opposed; Mayor Espinosa abstained. The motion carried 4–0–1.

Additional Discussion: Immigration Policy Inquiry (present in transcript, not in official minutes)

  • After the walk-on item, Commissioner Ortiz asked about the impact of a state/federal policy effective July 1 affecting Syrian and Haitian immigrants, noting Kissimmee's large Haitian community. City Manager Steigerwald said he would investigate through the police department or the state attorney's office and provide information.

Key Outcomes

  1. The KUA Board seat remains unfilled; Chairman Manny Ortega will continue serving for an additional term due to the deadlocked vote.
  2. The commission authorized the city manager to draft a settlement agreement with Deputy Chief Munoz, with a final vote expected at a future meeting.

Meeting Transcript

For Desiree, is that it? Should we be there? Okay. All right. Alright, so you want to call the first one in, and we'll call this meeting to order at five o'clock. And Madame Mayor do you want to discuss this format of how you guys would like to do this or just have them come in one by one and just we're only interviewing two, correct? Yes, but not the three of them. Um it's just my head congestion. Yeah. Yeah. Um I don't know, I guess. Does anyone have a specific question they want to pose? I I believe like uh you go to Paradeboard of C UA do most question uh just later what they have to ask so uh when we make a decision based on that. I don't know if that's what I hope. Okay. All right. Do we have the same questions as before? We went through that same format. I'll ask a question. Okay, so we'll have you ask a question. Um do you have a question you'd like to ask specifically? It's kind of like I've prayed once you start, we'll kind of get the feel and come in in that direction. Yeah, typically second interviews, that's what we do because you're trying to drill down. You give everybody the same questions the first go around to meet them out, and then when you get the two you like, that's true, then you hit on the specifics to those individuals. Okay. Um like you could talk about some of the differences that you might have had the first time around, like I think um, you know, if can you get a little more in depth about your experience in the community? Can you get a little more in depth about your thought process as long as being part of this board, you know, just to see from a personality statement? Okay, the history of guys want. Who do we have first? Chapman. Thank you. Chat or David? Chating. Howen is that? So another one board member will move up and then there's a vacancy. Oh yeah, because Manny's up. Yeah, but it was like anyway. Hello, hello, welcome back to the house. Hello everyone.

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