Minneola City Councilman David Yeager’s efforts to annex his new home into the city earlier this summer sparked a nasty debate on the council that led to two members being censured last week for incivility.
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Yeager, who previously served as mayor of Minneola, purchased the 4.8-acre estate in unincorporated Lake County on March 27 for $1.1 million. He and his wife filed for a homestead exemption on the property, which is located at 21097 County Road 455. In May, he was appointed to an open seat on the city council, and he applied for annexation on June 1.
Several Minneola and Lake County residents came out to oppose annexation during the July 21 council meeting, arguing it sets a bad precedent for annexing agricultural land and was being used by Yeager to keep his city council seat.
“The resident says it will remain a residence, it will stay on well and septic and will generate no additional traffic,” Minneola resident Jennifer Morse said at the meeting. “…The stated reason is that the owners want to continue to serve the city of Minneola and this is a personal reason, not a municipal planning reason.”
While Yeager owns a separate residence in Minneola, located within the Del Webb Minneola community, the home is currently up for sale, and residents suspected Yeager sought annexation of the CR455 property to maintain a Minneola address in preparation for an election bid.
Minneola Mayor Pam Serviss confirmed Yeager did not present the paperwork necessary to qualify for the election and will not be eligible to keep his seat this election cycle.
Beyond issues over electoral status, residents shared they were worried Yeager would receive special consideration. His property would be the first with agriculture zoning to ever be annexed into the City of Minneola, according to city staff.
Still, staff recommended approval of the annexation, as it is contiguous with city boundaries and complies with city ordinances, Florida Statutes, and is eligible to receive city services.
Further public comment led to a heated interaction as Councilman Joseph Saunders shouted down county resident Cherie Kennell for questioning the exact acreage of the property as it relates to state statutes.
Speaking to Kennell, Saunders dismissed her questions by calling her and other residents “you people in the county” and said they “don’t run the city.”
Later, when Councilwoman Debbie Flinn questioned Yeager over which of the two homes is his primary address, Yeager said she “must have been drinking” the day of a previous Planning & Zoning Board meeting where Yeager mentioned his home address in relation to trash pickup services.
“What happened is that the trash trucks passed and now you’re on about [County Road 455], so that must have been one of your drinking days,” he said to Flinn.
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With his property the subject of the annexation item and Minneola Mayor Pam Serviss forced to recuse herself due to a conflict of interest, only three council members voted on the item and approved it for annexation by 2-1 vote. The property was annexed into the City of Minneola, but will remain zoned as agricultural land.
While the annexation was ultimately approved, Saunders and Yeager’s tone during the July council meeting led to city staff adding an item for their censure on the August 18 Minneola City Council agenda, citing their “insulting and personal comments” that “disrupted the orderly proceedings of the meeting.”
During last week’s council meeting, Yeager defended his comments by calling concerns about his annexation a “circus” and argued it “put the city in a bad light for no reason.”
“The bottom line is that it was a simple annexation,” he said. “Not one county person is here tonight because you know who it affected? No one. Zero.”
Flinn suggested a motion for Yeager to forfeit his seat, and council members subsequently requested City Attorney Scott Gerken look into a malfeasance ordinance for Yeager’s retaliatory comments. Council voted 4-1 to approve the censure item against Yeager. Saunders was the only no vote.
During his own censure item, Saunders apologized to his fellow city council members, city residents, county residents, and Kennell for his comments last month.
“There were a whole bunch of other issues, but I lost my temper because this was nothing but nonsense and I apologize for losing my temper,” he said. “In the 17 years I’ve been on council, I’ve tried to keep that under control. I’m not an unreasonable person and I don’t take a lot of crap from anybody ever, but I lost it that night and I apologize for it.”
Council members thanked Saunders for his apology and the censure item was approved by 4-1 vote, with Saunders as the only no vote.
With Yeager ineligible for election to retain his seat and Saunders stepping down to retire at the end of this term later this year, neither will be on the council long-term going forward.
“I’d rather get a late apology than no apology at all,” Serviss said. “It’s unfortunate that [Yeager] did not apologize at all, and that’s what really saddens me. I know for a fact that we’ve worked very hard to have a well-rounded body serving Minneola residents. I believe we’ve done a very good job, and that’s why this is striking home real hard.”
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