OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Citizen Advisory Board Meeting – December 17, 2025

City Council & Boards — Wednesday, December 17, 2025
BodyVenice, Florida
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateWednesday, December 17, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:25:09

Transcript — Verbatim
0:17

And uh we're here for the Citizens Advisory Board, December 17th.

0:22

I appreciate everybody uh uh showing.

0:25

We have uh one person absent, and um I assure that uh the good doctor next to me will be here.

0:35

Uh she is scheduled, right?

0:38

Yes, I can do the roll call.

0:40

You're go ahead.

0:43

Okay, Mr.

0:43

Carr.

0:44

Here Dr.

0:46

Davis said she will be late, Mr.

0:48

DeFolis.

0:49

Here, Mr.

0:50

Efron?

0:51

Here, Mr.

0:52

Ellis, here, Miss Mascatelli, Mr.

0:57

Redman?

0:57

Here, Mr.

0:58

Heaney?

0:59

Here, and Ms.

1:00

Panfill will be absent.

1:03

Thank you very much.

1:04

Uh Madam Clerk, is there anyone signed up to speak?

1:09

Yes, we do have one speaker signed up.

1:14

See, her name is Susan Horton, and she'll have to her last name.

1:18

Susan Horton.

1:20

Ms.

1:21

Ms.

1:21

Horton.

1:22

Yes.

1:22

Okay.

1:23

Uh, we're now at the audience participation portion of the agenda.

1:27

Speakers are not to address board members individually.

1:32

Any person making personal or slanderous remarks or becomes disorderly, you may be barred from the meeting.

1:40

This is an opportunity to provide this board with your comments.

1:44

The board will not respond to any questions or comments during this time per the city code.

1:50

A member of city staff will follow up with you if appropriate.

1:55

Any documents shown during audience participation or part of the meeting must be given to the city clerk.

2:03

Mrs.

2:03

Horton, thank you for coming.

2:06

If you will take there and will want to make sure that we can hear you, I would appreciate it.

2:19

Good afternoon.

2:20

Good afternoon.

2:22

My name's Susan Horton.

2:23

Thank you for your time.

2:24

Are you aware of the time limit?

2:26

Yes, I'm well, I'm well under that.

2:28

Okay, thank you.

2:29

Um I'm new to these kind of proceedings, so I'm actually here seeking some information for how to proceed.

2:39

Um, but you just said you can't really answer any questions.

2:43

I know the um the parks master plan is on your agenda for the near future.

2:52

And so my question is is this the body that I would present information to or attend meetings to advocate for a specific park when you're working on the parks master plan.

3:10

So that's what I came to find out.

3:12

How I can proceed with that.

3:16

I is there any uh other thing you'd want us to talk on, or is that no?

3:21

I'm I'm just here to I know you're in the beginning processes, so I wanted to know how I can fill in to advocate for a particular park.

3:30

Okay, I think uh as it says a staff member can answer this, and uh I'm going to turn it over to Mr.

3:37

Clinch.

3:38

Okay.

3:38

Thank you, Chair.

3:39

Well, we don't normally respond.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Technology and Innovation███████████████████████████27%
Public Engagement█████████████████████████25%
Procedural██████████████████18%
Community Engagement██████████████14%
Customer Service Improvement████4%
Active Transportation████4%
Parks and Recreation██2%
Procurement Management██2%
Strategic Planning██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Citizen Advisory Board Meeting – December 17, 2025

The Citizen Advisory Board (CAB) met on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, at 2:00 PM in the Council Chambers. The meeting covered a presentation on the city website redesign project, review and approval of annual priorities for 2026, and public comment regarding the upcoming parks master plan. The board also discussed internal processes for managing upcoming projects.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Susan Horton, a resident, inquired about how to advocate for a specific park during the upcoming parks master plan process. She was directed to the Planning and Zoning Department for public engagement details.

Discussion Items

  • Website Redesign Project: IT Director Roger Navarro presented a high-level overview of the project, emphasizing ADA compliance (deadline January 2027), enhanced user features, and a structured timeline. The current site is nearly eight years old, difficult to use, and has backend challenges. The project will use a government-specific vendor, include iterative feedback from the CAB, and aim for a summer 2026 launch. Navarro praised the board’s earlier feedback and proposed a CAB liaison for ongoing touchpoints. The board discussed the role of the vendor, potential citizen surveys, and timing for vendor presentations (likely February/March 2026).
  • Annual Report and 2026 Agenda Priorities: City Manager James Clinch explained that the CAB chair will present a year-in-review and proposed priorities to City Council in early 2026. The board reviewed the existing list of eight legislative items. Mayor Nick Pejota (who attended) cautioned against removing items given by council without feedback. The board discussed adding topics such as the Venice Community CBOARD (C Board) project and citizen engagement. After debate, a motion to keep the eight existing items passed unanimously via roll call (all eight members present voted yes). Discussions on additional items were deferred pending council input.

Key Outcomes

  • The board voted unanimously (8-0) to retain the eight existing priority items for the 2026 agenda, to be presented to City Council on January 13, 2026 (or February 10, 2026 if the January meeting is canceled).
  • The board did not formally add new priorities; further discussion on a C Board topic and public engagement will occur after council direction.
  • The board agreed to assign “ringmaster” liaisons for each priority after council approval of the agenda.
  • The next regular meeting is scheduled for February 18, 2026, at 2:00 PM.

Meeting Transcript

And uh we're here for the Citizens Advisory Board, December 17th. I appreciate everybody uh uh showing. We have uh one person absent, and um I assure that uh the good doctor next to me will be here. Uh she is scheduled, right? Yes, I can do the roll call. You're go ahead. Okay, Mr. Carr. Here Dr. Davis said she will be late, Mr. DeFolis. Here, Mr. Efron? Here, Mr. Ellis, here, Miss Mascatelli, Mr. Redman? Here, Mr. Heaney? Here, and Ms. Panfill will be absent. Thank you very much. Uh Madam Clerk, is there anyone signed up to speak? Yes, we do have one speaker signed up. See, her name is Susan Horton, and she'll have to her last name. Susan Horton. Ms. Ms. Horton. Yes. Okay. Uh, we're now at the audience participation portion of the agenda. Speakers are not to address board members individually. Any person making personal or slanderous remarks or becomes disorderly, you may be barred from the meeting. This is an opportunity to provide this board with your comments. The board will not respond to any questions or comments during this time per the city code. A member of city staff will follow up with you if appropriate. Any documents shown during audience participation or part of the meeting must be given to the city clerk. Mrs. Horton, thank you for coming. If you will take there and will want to make sure that we can hear you, I would appreciate it. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. My name's Susan Horton. Thank you for your time. Are you aware of the time limit? Yes, I'm well, I'm well under that. Okay, thank you. Um I'm new to these kind of proceedings, so I'm actually here seeking some information for how to proceed. Um, but you just said you can't really answer any questions. I know the um the parks master plan is on your agenda for the near future.

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