Florence City Council approves pool hours, engineering contract, personnel actions and budget committee in June 23 special meeting

The Florence City Council met in a special session June 23 and approved a slate of administrative and project actions, including temporary pool hours for ACE events, authorization to execute documents for the West Main Street Project and the award of an engineering services contract tied to the CDV23-0102 grant.

Mayor Pro Tem Mary Condon moved to open the municipal pool from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on July 7 and July 9, 2026, to accommodate ACE; Council Member Mary Jane Swope seconded the motion and the council carried it with no opposition. The pool schedule change was recorded as a formal motion and approved for those dates.

Swope also moved to authorize the mayor and/or the city administrator to execute documents related to the West Main Street Project; Debra Bivens seconded and the motion carried with no opposition, giving city officials authority to sign project documents. Separately, Council Member Ashley Gilland moved to award the engineering services contract connected to the CDV23-0102 grant to Eckermann Engineering; Jose Perez seconded and the motion carried with no opposition.

Council members voted to table selection of a city engineering firm, postponing that decision for a later meeting. Council Member Ashley Gilland moved to open a bank account for the 287‑G Taskforce; Mary Jane Swope seconded. Mayor Pro Tem Mary Condon registered the sole recorded opposition; the motion nevertheless carried, authorizing the account.

On personnel and administrative matters, Mayor Pro Tem Mary Condon moved to accept the resignation of Treasurer David Tropea (motion carried). The council also voted to remove Tropea from all financial institution signatories, and approved paying 50% of employee Amy Crane’s family coverage as part of her compensation package. Council Member Debra Bivens moved to create a budget committee; the motion carried, establishing the committee to address budget matters.

In finance and procurement actions, the council voted to retain QuickBooks Desktop rather than upgrade to QuickBooks Online, and approved a quote from Associated Time. The council also tabled action on an estimate from SamCo pending budget review. Several agenda items were recorded as "No action" and remain pending.

Votes at a glance

1) Open pool for ACE July 7 & 9 (moved Mayor Pro Tem Mary Condon; second Mary Jane Swope) — Outcome: approved (no opposition recorded). 2) Authorize execution of West Main Street Project documents (moved Mary Jane Swope; second Debra Bivens) — Outcome: approved (no opposition recorded). 3) Award engineering services contract for CDV23-0102 to Eckermann Engineering (moved Ashley Gilland; second Jose Perez) — Outcome: approved (no opposition recorded). 4) Table selection of city engineering firm (moved Mary Condon; second Jose Perez) — Outcome: tabled. 5) Open bank account for 287‑G Taskforce (moved Ashley Gilland; second Mary Jane Swope) — Outcome: approved (Mary Condon opposed). 6) Accept resignation of Treasurer David Tropea (moved Mary Condon; second Ashley Gilland) — Outcome: approved. 7) Remove David Tropea from all financial institutions (moved Mary Jane Swope; second Debra Bivens) — Outcome: approved. 8) Pay 50% of Amy Crane’s family coverage as compensation (moved Ashley Gilland; second Debra Bivens) — Outcome: approved. 9) Create a budget committee (moved Debra Bivens; second Ashley Gilland) — Outcome: approved. 10) Accounting software: choose QuickBooks Desktop (moved Mary Condon; second Debra Bivens) — Outcome: approved. 11) Approve quote from Associated Time (moved Mary Jane Swope; second Ashley Gilland) — Outcome: approved. 12) Table SamCo estimate pending budget review (moved Mary Condon; second Mary Jane Swope) — Outcome: tabled.

The meeting record shows several items listed as "No action" and a formal adjournment at 7:24 p.m. The minutes record the presence of Mayor Ben Daniel; Mayor Pro Tem Mary Condon; Council Members Ashley Gilland, Mary Jane Swope, Debra Bivens and Jose Perez; City Administrator Tamela Louvier; City Secretary Angelica Lombardi; Public Works Director Stacey Adams; and representatives from SamCo.