At a special meeting Thursday evening, the City of St. Cloud, Florida City Council voted 4-1 to move forward with interviews of two city employees to gain clarity on how the city has been handling special event bookings.
“Nobody’s saying anybody did anything wrong. This isn’t a ‘gotcha’ on anything. I’ve just got some questions that I need answers for,” said Mayor Chris Robertson during the meeting.
According to the City Charter, Council members are permitted to conduct investigations if they believe it is necessary. However, Deputy Mayor Ken Gilbert emphasized that this situation shouldn’t be viewed as a formal investigation.
“We have couple of questions for a couple of folks; we’re not ‘investigating’,” Gilbert said. “It just convolutes what we’re trying to get after. We’re just trying to ask questions to save taxpayer dollars. Shouldn’t Council be able to talk to heads of departments? How do we change it to not make it an ‘investigation’ but just a couple of questions? I think there could be a simpler way.”
The Council plans to schedule a meeting to speak with Economic Development Director Antranette Forbes and Parks and Recreation Manager Erin Jenks. Because Forbes has officially resigned from the city effective Friday, July 4, and may no longer be employed at the time of the meeting, Mayor Robertson requested that she be subpoenaed to appear.
In other action, the Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting efforts to identify and eliminate unnecessary local government spending while enhancing efficiency and maximizing savings for taxpayers. City Manager Veronica Miller noted that the resolution will help the city in its pursuit of state funding for three major infrastructure projects: stormwater improvements at Hopkins Park, a water-filled dam system to combat storm flooding, and the acquisition of a new fire rescue boat.
