February 2025
CITY COUNCIL
Meet your Council
Mayor, Bob McPartlan Biography
Council Member, Christopher Nunn Biography
Vice Mayor, Fred Jones Biography
Council Member, Kelly Dixon Biography
Council Member, Ed Dodd Biography
CITY MANAGERS Office
We kicked off the year with several fun events within the city, such as the Sebastian Fine Art & Music Festival! Follow us on social media using the links below to see our photos from the event. To see what's happening in February, check out the calendar on page 6.
In January, we shared an important message from Council Member Kelly Dixon. In the video below, she shares the importance of being vigilant on the roads and looking out for wildlife. She also tells you how to respond when you see wildlife like gopher tortoises on the roadways
CITY CLERK
WHATISDISCUSSEDATACITYCOUNCILMEETING?
The City Council typically meets twice a month, usually on Wednesdays, at 6 pm in the Council Chambers The times of all scheduled meetings are listed on the calendar on the city’s website.
To inform residents of the details of the City Council meetings, the Clerk’s Office will place the meeting agenda on the bulletin board in the City Hall lobby by the end of the week prior to the Council meeting. This Agenda will list all of the items that will be discussed or decided upon in the meeting.
For those residents who want more details, the agenda will also be posted on the website with the relevant accompanying documents. This is the same information provided to the Council to help them make important decisions. We refer to this document as the agenda packet, sometimes, it is several hundred pages long. It’s a lot of pages to print, but the Clerk’s Office always ensures that a copy of the entire agenda packet is available for residents when they come to the City Council meetings. You can also come to City Hall the days before the meeting to view the agenda packet or request that the specific portion you are interested in be emailed or printed for you.
The Clerk’s office is glad to provide this information. We want to encourage residents to be involved in and knowledgeable about the City Council's decis about
POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Citizens Academy begins on February 6th! Check out this video about the academy by our Cope Unit and Social Media Coordinator.
EMPLOYEE/VOLUNTEERRECOGNITIONS
Volunteer Sergeant Roy Johnson was promoted to Volunteer Lieutenant.
Volunteer Dannie Pedigo was promoted to Volunteer Sergeant.
Detective Terrence Pizzuti was selected as our 2024 Officer of the Year. Naiomi Charles was selected as our 2024 Employee of the Year.
REMINDER
Please remember that school is currently in session, and it is crucial to be aware of all marked school zones in the city. Please help keep our students safe by adhering to these school zones In addition, please follow all traffic laws while traveling through the city.
POLICE DEPARTMENT
February 7th is Florida School Crossing Guard Appreciation Day!
PARKS & RECREATION
Free Nutrition Class at the Sebastian Community Center on Friday, February 7, 2025, noon -1 pm
Free Star-Gaze event at Riverview Park on Saturday, March 8, 2025, from 6:30 pm - 9 pm
BUILDING DEPT.
Number of Permits
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Flood Information DIDYOUKNOW?
► Heavy rains, tropical storms, and hurricanes can cause flooding
► If your property is in a special flood hazard area, there is at least a one in four chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage
► Flooding occurs in and out of designated high-risk flood zones.
► Nearly 20 percent of flood insurance claims come from areas that are not in a special flood hazard area. Take advantage of a highly discounted preferred risk policy.
► Natural floodplains provide storage for flood waters and buffer the coastal areas from storm surges. They also improve water quality, recharge aquifers, improve wildlife habitat and provide recreational opportunities.
► The Indian River County Emergency Management offers to send safety alerts via text or email www.irces.com/EM
► Six inches of moving water can make you fall, and a foot of water will float many vehicles
PROTECTINGNATURAL FLOODPLAINS
► Build outside of the natural floodplain.
► Do not fill in a floodplain.
► Report dumping, ditch obstruction, flooding and pond issues
Use Low Impact Development
• Rain barrels
• Pervious paver
• Vegetative buffers
• Green roofs
FINDOUTYOUR FLOODRISK
► Educate your friends, neighbors and colleagues about the importance of natural floodplains.
1. What types of flooding am I susceptible to?
2. Which flood zone am I in?
3. Do I need flood insurance?
4 Am I in a storm surge area?
5. What’s the difference between a flood zone and an evacuation zone?
6. How deep could the flood get for a category two hurricane?
7. How do I get the information I need to complete my elevation certificate?
FREE…On-site, Face-to-Face, City Staff Meeting to Help You
With Your Flood Issues…
City staff are available to meet with you at your property for in-person assistance to address your flood-related concerns or problems. Qualified staff can check on your property flooding to answer questions and provide recommendations. City staff are also free to help you identify additional flood risks, including historical flooding and repetitive loss areas, predicted sea level impacts and hurricane flood depths. Please get in touch with the City to arrange a meeting: call (772) 589-5518 or email mfaulkner@cityofsebastian.org
PUBLIC WORKS
CITIZENREQUEST
Need to make a request? Click here: citizen request website Below is the citizen request data from January 2025
ROADSDIVISON
Phase 3 city-wide road repaving will begin February 3 through August 8, 2025.
Currently working with two pond dredging contractors to find the best solution to increase the volume of stormwater retained while being fiscally responsible.
New City-wide maps are available at City Hall and the Public Works compound at 505 Airport Dr West
City-wide pothole repairs continue.
STORM WATER
RECENTPROJECTS
Phase 3 drainage and driveway culvert repairs and replacement has begun. Currently working on Zone 3 Ditch dredging.
Stormwater Pumps are expected to arrive and be installed on January 31, 2025. Once the two newly refurbished pumps are installed, the 3rd and singular pump will be removed and sent to be refurbished.
North Central and Davis St. storm drainage enhancements have commenced.
There are open positions in the Stormwater Department. Watch this video to learn more about the job!
HUMAN RESOURCES
DECEMBERNEWHIRES
FINANCE
UPDATE
Happy New Year, and welcome to 2025!
It has been one year since I joined the City of Sebastian, and I am proud of what we accomplished in 2024. As we begin this exciting new year, you will see more changes to the Procurement Division. First, you will see the changes made to the Procurement Ordinance. The updates were made in November 2024, but I will share them in detail once the ordinance updates are added to the City of Sebastian’s Municode library. Second, the Procurement Division will hold “How to Do Business” workshops These workshops will be for potential suppliers (and residents) curious about supplying goods or services to the City of Sebastian. Lastly, I look forward to another year of serving the residents of Sebastian.
Procurement/Contracts Manager, Jessica Graham
UPCOMINGBIDS
Below is a list of bids the City anticipates issuing this fiscal year. If your business is interested in bidding, please ensure you are registered with VendorLink All bid documents are posted on: https://www.myvendorlink.com/
• Debris Removal Monitoring Services
• Sod and Live Turf
• Canal and Ditch Tree Trimming
• Construction of Taxiway Golf
• Main Street Boat Ramp Shoreline Stabilization
• Law Enforcement Dock Dryline Installation
• Cemetery Building Construction
• Pond and Canal Dredging
• Continuing Professional Services (Architects, Engineers, Surveyors, etc.)
If you have any questions about the procurement process or submitting a bid, please get in touch with our Procurement/Contracts Manager, Jessica Graham, at procurement@cityofsebastian.org or (772) 388-8231.
GOLF COURSE
John Elwood, a longtime member of Sebastian Golf Club, passed away this January at the age of 95. John played twice per week through the end of 2024 and consistently shot his age or better. Years ago, Golf Digest would publish names of golfers who broke their age. If Golf Digest had still done that, Mr. Elwood’s name would have been in every monthly edition for the past 15 years! Mr. Elwood also possessed the ability to hit the golf ball a long way. He routinely out-drived his playing companions and was always one to order the “latest and greatest” driver, in order to keep up with his long-hitting reputation He started a grand tradition at the golf course, bringing in a bottle of blackberry brandy on his birthday to share the celebration with his fellow golfers.
John was a retired fire chief who worked for the Patterson N.J. fire department. He retired in 1984 and collected a pension for 39 years! He never had an unkind word for anyone and was loved by all. May he rest in peace.
Greg Gardner PGA Director of Golf
Sebastian Municipal Golf Course ROUNDS
The Sebastian Municipal Golf Course did 5,280 rounds in January, bringing in $216,130.
AIRPORT
EMPLOYEE HIGHLIGHT
The Sebastian Municipal Airport would like to recognize three employees, Patrick Winne, Ron Wells, and Keith Perkins, for their extra efforts, resulting in another successful FDOT Airport Inspection. We passed the annual visit with no discrepancies noted and a compliment from the FDOT inspector for our preparedness. These gentlemen paid extra attention to the runways, taxiways, and overall field conditions to ensure we are in compliance with all state mandates. This resulted in our regular license renewal for continued operations. Well done to these three!
Airport Manager, Jeff Sabo
HANGAR PROGRESSION
