The Melbourne Beach Town Commission held a special meeting to discuss an email notification that the town’s SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant application had been flagged as having had a withdrawal request, and to decide whether to reaffirm the town’s interest in the grant.

Town Manager Elizabeth Mascaro opened the item, saying the commission needed to “reaffirm their direction on this grant” after an email indicated a withdrawal request had been logged and “it wasn’t done by town hall.” Town Attorney Ryan Knight told the commission he had asked FEMA who requested the withdrawal but that FEMA would not disclose that source. Knight also said FEMA’s written response indicated the application had not been withdrawn and “we will proceed with your application.”

Fire Chief Gavin Brown defended the application and its preparation, saying he and retired Chief Micah devoted many hours to the grant and that the application was not fraudulent. “A 100 not true,” Chief Brown said of repeated accusations that the department had lied on the application. He told the commission that the grant was intended to help offset costs of adding staff so the town could move to a hybrid model and reduce load on volunteer firefighters.

Brown described the grant process as labor-intensive and said accusations and repeated public- records requests were imposing “additional stress on the department” and costing town legal resources. He asked the commission for direction on whether to keep the application active, saying, “Is the grant worth, and that that money that that we potentially could be awarded, is that worth, you know, constantly fighting legal battles over the next 3 years about the legitimacy of the grama?”

Commission debate focused on two procedural points: the town attorney’s view that FEMA had not required action and the commission’s authority (the attorney said the commission’s formal role is to accept awards at award time). Several commissioners apologized publicly to Chief Brown for earlier conduct in previous meetings and said they believed the grant should remain active. One commissioner framed the grant as an opportunity to obtain close to $1 million in federal funds for firefighter staffing and said the town “should not run from that.”

Public commenters — including volunteer firefighters and long-time residents — largely urged the commission to support the grant and to provide the fire chief with administrative staff and other resources so he can manage operations and grant compliance. Several volunteers described being overworked and said morale had suffered amid public accusations.

Commissioner discussion concluded with a motion to send a written affirmation of the town’s interest in the SAFER grant to FEMA, to be prepared on town letterhead by the town attorney. The motion was seconded. The transcript does not record a roll-call vote on that motion before the meeting went into recess.

During public comment, resident Lauren Hardman asked whether FEMA had disclosed who requested the withdrawal; Knight said FEMA would not disclose that information. Jason Judge asked the town attorney whether any correspondence showed who contacted FEMA; Knight said he had requested all such correspondence from the clerk’s office and noted an email from an Amy Kroll at FEMA to the mayor acknowledging receipt and providing a contact path for concerns. Mayor Lisonbee Dennington said, “I never asked nor would I ever ask to withdraw the grant. I asked a few questions and asked for a contact where I could address some concerns.”

Next steps were not completed in the transcript. The motion to affirm the SAFER grant had been made and seconded; no recorded vote or final outcome appears before the meeting was recessed.