Council appoints five initial members to DeBary Foundation, manager to finalize sixth

The City of DeBary City Council appointed five initial directors to the newly created DeBary Foundation and authorized the city manager to coordinate with an absent council member to identify the sixth board member, council members said at the May special meeting.

City staff reminded the council that the council previously approved forming the foundation and selected an initial chair. The city’s planning for the foundation included retaining an attorney to establish the corporation and to pursue nonprofit federal tax status. The city manager recommended a ranked-selection method for the slate of 12 applicants but council members debated whether to proceed by each council member naming a single appointee or to use the ranked sheet system. After staff tabulated the submitted rankings, five candidates emerged as clear selections.

The council appointed Kathleen Bishop, Richard Coloney, Anthony Galati, Paul Benfield and Patricia D’Alessandro as initial board members. Council authorized the city manager to work with Council Member Papalardo (absent) to determine his ranking so staff can identify the sixth member; staff said five names were definitive in the tabulation and that the sixth remained to be finalized with Papalardo’s input. City staff said counsel (Jane Callahan) is assisting with corporate formation and the IRS application for tax-exempt status.

Council thanked the applicants and staff; the foundation’s initial board will meet per the bylaws and begin the administrative formation tasks required for a nonprofit board, the manager said.