Commission to ask voters about library, stormwater tiers, zoning and meeting times; special meeting set to finalize ballot language

The Lynn Haven City Commission agreed to pursue nonbinding referendum questions to be placed on the upcoming ballot and scheduled a special meeting to finalize ballot language before the supervisor of elections deadline. Commissioners said the questions are intended to gather citizen input at low additional cost because an election is already planned.

Commissioner Peebles made a motion to add an agenda item to discuss nonbinding referendum questions (agenda item 19); the motion carried unanimously. The commission then discussed a slate of suggested topics and directed staff to draft specific captions and 75-word explanations for formal adoption at a brief meeting the following day.

Suggested ballot topics that commissioners discussed and asked staff to prepare language for included: - Whether Lynn Haven should use roughly $1.9 million in insurance proceeds currently held in reserve toward a local library project or otherwise allocate those funds; commissioners discussed both funding the city to operate a city-owned library (with a property-tax or non-ad-valorem funding mechanism) and partnering with the Northwest Florida regional library system. - Whether the city should consider changes to the stormwater fee structure, including new tier options or moving the assessment onto the utility bill; Commissioner Ward offered a back-of-envelope estimate based on the city’s utility accounts, saying the numbers suggested about $179.53 per year (about $14.96 per month) per utility account in one model, while recognizing final figures depend on the chosen methodology and commercial/residential allocations. - Whether the city should adopt zoning in the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) as an additional regulatory tool. - Whether the commission should move meeting start times to after 5 p.m.

Commissioners emphasized these would be nonbinding questions intended to guide policy and encourage voter engagement: “These would be nonbinding,” Commissioner Peebles said, calling the ballot option “a way to get feedback from the citizens for essentially free because we’re already paying for it.” Commissioner Vandegrift noted the statutory requirement that the commission must adopt a 15-word caption and a 75-word explanation and send the resolution with the final wording to the supervisor of elections by the end of qualifying.

To meet that deadline, the commission set a special meeting for 8 a.m. the following morning and directed staff to draft suggested ballot captions and explanatory text for the range of topics discussed. The mayor and several commissioners indicated they would be present or available by phone for the special meeting.

The commission’s next step is to select the final two questions (or a different permitted number) and adopt the precise ballot wording in a resolution to be forwarded to the supervisor of elections, as required by state statute. Commissioners said they would prioritize clarity about any tax or fee consequences so voters understand whether a “yes” would imply a millage increase, a non-ad-valorem assessment or another funding source.