[7:21] >> good evening and welcome.
[7:24] this is a big crowd, wow.
[7:27] for those of
[7:28] you who have not attended a city council meeting,
[7:35] recently or ever before, just a couple
[7:36] of basic housekeeping roles. I
[7:37] ask you to check your phone right now
[7:41] . Make sure that it's not going to
[7:42] ring, okay? And
[7:45] then the second thing is there's
[7:46] only one conversation going on at
[7:47] a time. It's either going to be up
[7:48] here amongst
[7:49] councilmembers or it's going to be
[7:51] whoever has the floor up here
[7:55] with that microphone so if you feel
[7:57] the need to have a side
[7:59] conversation, that's fine. Just get
[8:00] up and exit
[8:02] into the lobby, please. That is the two
[8:03] basic rules. With that,
[8:06] this meeting is now called to order.
[8:09] there are plenty of seats that I
[8:10] still see vacant if anyone wants them.
[8:15] this meeting is called to order.
[8:17] we will be starting with the invocation
[8:18] given by councilmember jackson.
[8:21] and that will be followed by the pledge
[8:24] of allegiance, so please rise.
[8:27] >> hi, everyone.
[8:30] my invocation this evening is a quote from
[8:31] bob where who recently
[8:33] passed away.
[8:36] I think if
[8:38] people value democracy they had done well
[8:39] get out
[8:42] and exercise their right to vote while
[8:43] their
[8:44] vote still means something. [ applause ]
[8:48] >>
[8:50] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america
[8:51] and to the republic
[8:52] for which it stands, one nation under god,
[8:54] indivisible, with liberty and justice for
[8:57] all.
[9:06] >> I just
[9:09] need to make mention,
[9:12] I
[9:13] appreciate that the invocation went
[9:15] over well but also in this dais we
[9:18] do not who or clap. We zip it.
[9:20] I know a lot of people don't know
[9:21] that so I'm not trying
[9:23] to be--that's the way the rules are.
[9:27] with that in mind, rollcall
[9:28] please?
[9:29] >> on some of jackson? Here.
[9:30] council member earley?
[9:33] councilmember shaw? Vice mayor thanos?
[9:36] mayor love? City
[9:39] manager? City clerk?
[9:42] present.
[9:43] >> with that, tonight we
[9:45] have a special presentation. If any
[9:48] of you have ever donated to
[9:51] operation santa we have had one person in charge of
[9:54] this
[9:57] running the show for a very
[9:59] long time. I imagine she will tell me exactly how
[10:00] many years. I only know 22
[10:03] for sure but I think you might insist
[10:04] that it
[10:05] be more so I'm going to ask francine
[10:06] whitten to come up
[10:09] and she will receive an award.
[10:12] [ applause ]
[10:34] >> how many years?
[10:37] >> 34. [ applause ]
[10:52] >>
[10:54] 34 years of making sure that kids
[10:55] in gulfport
[10:59] had christmas and that a special gift from your
[11:01] staff that said you would
[11:04] understand. From the clerk.
[11:10] >> may I talk?
[11:18] >> yes. >> it's been 34 years and it's not
[11:19] just me. I
[11:20] cannot do it without the police department,
[11:21] the fire department, and all the people
[11:22] that donated.
[11:23] gulfport, we are a good, hard group
[11:28] . A loving group, and
[11:29] next year will be 35 years. So, we've
[11:31] got to do it.
[11:32] >> thank
[11:34] you. [ applause ]
[11:40] >> all right. That's great to
[11:42] start out that way. Even though I
[11:44] said no applause I'm trying to make
[11:45] the point no applause and no booing
[11:49] , that was an exception.
[11:51] moving on then, we are proud to have
[11:58] cheryl
[11:59] from the homeless leadership alliance
[12:01] and she is going to
[12:04] give us a presentation on
[12:05] where we are at, what she's doing and how
[12:07] we can make a difference. Thank
[12:10] you for being here.
[12:13] >> thank you mayor love and
[12:14] councilmembers for allowing me to
[12:15] speak on the state of homelessness
[12:16] in pinellas county tonight. I have
[12:19] got to say that
[12:21] the energy and enthusiasm in this room is pretty amazing
[12:22] and I
[12:23] don't know that I can match it I'm going to
[12:25] try.
[12:28] I came in tonight to talk
[12:29] about the 2025 point in time count
[12:31] held annually and is
[12:33] required every two years by the housing and urban development
[12:37] , us department of
[12:40] housing and urban development.
[12:42] kathleen beckman who is our chair
[12:43] could not be with us tonight,
[12:49] so you have me, but who are we?
[12:58] >> left click.
[13:01] >> who we are, the pinellas continual care
[13:04] and homeless leadership alliance ,
[13:07] for the
[13:10] coc, is a
[13:11] countywide network throughout pinellas. It
[13:13] can be in all kinds of
[13:16] configurations, not all
[13:19] our county
[13:21] but there is one everywhere throughout
[13:22] the nation and we bring together funding,
[13:23] providers,
[13:24] community members who care, anyone
[13:25] who has a
[13:28] desire to reduce and
[13:30] end homelessness. We establish local policies
[13:31] and priorities
[13:34] that go across systems
[13:37] and that is where we focus,
[13:39] on that systems level with all that input
[13:40] . We also
[13:43] have elected officials on
[13:45] our board as well so the homeless leadership
[13:46] alliance, we serve as
[13:49] the lead agency and apply
[13:52] for funding on behalf of the coc and pinellas county which
[13:55] is typically an annual process.
[13:57] this year we've had three different notices
[13:58] of funding opportunities
[14:03] since thanksgiving so it has been
[14:04] a very interesting holiday period.
[14:07] I am due for a vacation.
[14:10] but three of them so far, the first was withdrawn,
[14:13] major priority differences from
[14:16] the past. Major changes,
[14:19] I really have no comment about that
[14:20] other
[14:21] than just the timing. Pretty disruptive and quick
[14:25] . That was
[14:26] withdrawn, the second was under court
[14:28] review and could not
[14:33] really be fully put out there and
[14:34] it still hanging over us and then
[14:35] we
[14:36] have a third one recently that came through the
[14:37] first week of
[14:40] january that will revert back to
[14:42] what we were expecting to begin with
[14:43] and that is basically
[14:46] to not have to do an application so
[14:47] we can
[14:48] get on to the business of planning.
[14:49] we also as a lead agency house
[14:51] all the information across all providers
[14:52] who serve
[14:54] people who are experiencing homelessness
[14:58] and again,
[14:59] it's a coordinated effort. We coordinate the
[15:03] point in time count every year which is january
[15:04] 29 all day.
[15:05] many shifts available and we also support
[15:07] providers
[15:10] . We support funders
[15:15] too, we get them together but we support providers
[15:16] through federal and state funding
[15:18] and some local funding processes.
[15:20] so, the 2025
[15:23] point in time count,
[15:26] I want to say pinellas is
[15:29] special. We have an extensive
[15:30] and in-depth report that we create every year.
[15:32] we work
[15:33] with a consultant, a researcher and author
[15:35] who
[15:36] is part of our continue one. Very active
[15:41] in our data performance committee
[15:43] and he helps put that together in
[15:44] conjunction with our team.
[15:47] hud
[15:51] in our reports so it is something
[15:52] that others talk about, they look at,
[15:59] and incredible information.
[16:00] it is pretty lengthy right now and we are going to work on
[16:01] that some more but it is available
[16:02] on
[16:04] the website if you want to look at that in
[16:05] more depth. But other
[16:07] ways we go above and beyond in this
[16:10] annual snapshot, it's like a census
[16:11] of
[16:14] homelessness in the community. Includes
[16:17] not only what is required,
[16:20] who
[16:21] is in an emergency shelter, who is
[16:23] living on the streets on
[16:24] sheltered, but it also includes jail
[16:26] data and school data as well
[16:32] so
[16:34] it is a very big effort and we are
[16:35] proud of it. But we
[16:36] take that information understanding
[16:37] it is a census, it's not going to be
[16:38] exact,
[16:40] like any census would not be and in fact it's actually
[16:46] an excellent way for community building, to
[16:47] get in front of somebody that
[16:48] you may not have a conversation with.
[16:51] you have a structured conversation so
[16:53] you don't have to think
[16:54] about what to say, and meet a neighbor
[16:55] and learn more about, getting past
[16:59] some stereotypes and myths
[17:01] that may be out there and connect
[17:02] with an
[17:04] individual or a few. That is something
[17:05] that
[17:08] we are proud of. So overall findings,
[17:09] for sheltered homelessness, those
[17:14] are people who are
[17:15] in transitional housing or emergency shelter.
[17:16] they are not in a permanent housing situation.
[17:18] they are still in the crisis homelessness
[17:23] system.
[17:26] we had 1325 people back in 2025 and
[17:29] for on sheltered homeless that literally
[17:31] means living in a place not suitable for human habitation.
[17:35] 538 people were surveyed
[17:40] so that is a total of 1863 people
[17:41] that the hud and
[17:44] the state of florida considered
[17:47] to be literally homeless.
[17:52] in pinellas county there were 125
[17:53] people and they follow the
[17:54] same criteria that we use for hud.
[17:56] and ellis county schools which
[17:59] is a little different
[18:00] because this is cumulative, it's also
[18:02] very telling because it is a cumulative count.
[18:05] and it
[18:06] is reported by teachers and counselors,
[18:08] people who have relationships with
[18:09] students and
[18:10] families, where people may not be hiding.
[18:14] the
[18:15] important thing is I want to note
[18:20] that it's not the same type and doesn't cover
[18:21] the same type of criteria as hud requires. Not
[18:23] only is it
[18:25] cumulative but includes any student
[18:26] who is
[18:29] doubled up, couch surfing
[18:32] . No, it's number of
[18:34] students, sorry. So we would not consider
[18:35] them literally homeless but for these purposes, definitely
[18:41] unstable
[18:42] housing. There were 3623 students and
[18:44] that's 4% of the student
[18:47] body in pinellas county. And 113 were on sheltered
[18:53] --on
[18:54] sheltered and that was between august
[18:56] 10 and january 27 which was the day
[18:59] of the last count. So,
[19:01] some interesting news. When we hear
[19:05] these days about what homelessness
[19:08] is, who is unhoused
[19:11] , what the reasons are, and
[19:16] the on affordability of housing across the nation,
[19:19] it's really interesting to see that
[19:20] there has been a decrease
[19:25] from last year, and again, census,
[19:26] not perfect.
[19:32] there's a 12% overall
[19:34] decrease from 2024. There was a 25% decrease of
[19:35] the number of on sheltered
[19:38] and a 5% decrease of sheltered
[19:41] but there are some caveats
[19:44] and that is that we had 122 viewer
[19:50] --fewer volunteers. We
[19:52] had two hurricanes, a lot of volunteers
[19:53] work in emergency management, for
[19:54] providers and
[19:56] for the county so they are on task during that time.
[20:02] as
[20:04] we are, as well. That was one thing.
[20:05] we also had the anti-camping bill
[20:07] that was passed so you had people
[20:08] who may not
[20:11] have been as visible
[20:14] and may not have been able to answer
[20:15] questions. We've done
[20:16] a lot of education and listening this
[20:18] last year
[20:19] for people with lived experience trying
[20:20] to get out into the community and
[20:21] people
[20:22] that are connected, to make sure people understand that
[20:27] their data
[20:28] are not being shared, they can refuse to answer any question
[20:30] and still move on,
[20:31] and to participate because it really
[20:33] does help bring
[20:34] funding into the county and into this area.
[20:42] on the positive side, those
[20:43] are the what could be, what have resulted
[20:45] in lower numbers but on the
[20:46] positive side we have been consistently
[20:47] trending down since 2016. We will
[20:48] see if that keeps up
[20:51] but we have been
[20:52] consistently trending down and a lot
[20:54] of that has to do with programs,
[20:57] better street outreach now,
[20:59] and we had significant increases in
[21:00] funding from the state
[21:03] for prevention and
[21:05] diversion which, that makes all the
[21:06] difference. Once someone is
[21:09] evicted or they've been living
[21:10] on the street for a while it takes
[21:12] a lot more
[21:15] work to get someone re-housed
[21:18] . We also had more
[21:20] rapid rehousing projects out there
[21:21] which was very
[21:22] helpful. And then finally hurricane displacement.
[21:24] ever
[21:26] since covid we've noticed there has
[21:27] been
[21:29] a drop of people like who may have left
[21:30] and we haven't
[21:33] seen them come back. So
[21:35] for various reasons that may exist. On sheltered
[21:39] by municipality.
[21:41] I'm not going to go through all of
[21:42] that
[21:43] because we only care about gulfport tonight
[21:45] but nearby
[21:46] areas you can see everyplace has gone
[21:48] down except for clearwater
[21:54] has ticked up a bit.
[21:57] 2018
[21:58] four individuals, did not have account
[22:00] in 2021 and the last two years
[22:03] 0 have been counted.
[22:06] some of that has to do with where we
[22:07] have
[22:08] deployments and volunteers and all
[22:09] of that but also note that there
[22:12] are some good street
[22:14] outreach efforts and good work with
[22:15] providers that
[22:18] have resulted in good change.
[22:19] but that just shows you from 2018 - 2025.
[22:27] so who is affected?
[22:30] we've definitely
[22:31] seen an increase in older adults. At 62+,
[22:33] and in
[22:36] fact we have targeted
[22:37] 62 - 65 to really track that because
[22:42] it is at
[22:43] that age right before social security
[22:45] may or may not hit
[22:47] , when people are beginning to show
[22:48] up more in these
[22:51] shelters or on the streets.
[22:54] we had an increase
[22:59] in sheltered and on sheltered veterans. However we are
[23:00] almost at functional
[23:02] 0 when it comes to people coming in
[23:03] versus going out. This year
[23:06] there is a surge event with
[23:08] the veterans administration and other
[23:09] providers and partners
[23:12] on the same day
[23:14] so if someone is being surveyed at
[23:15] that
[23:16] time and they are a veteran immediately they
[23:18] are going over, they are going to be
[23:19] given like rapid housing, very quickly.
[23:24] there were 189 survivors of domestic violence
[23:27] , black and african
[23:30] american individuals make up 38%
[23:32] of the homeless population in pinellas
[23:33] county but only 11%
[23:36] of the population. 76%
[23:42] were sheltered families. Some of that could
[23:43] be because of where our targeted outreach is.
[23:48] it
[23:49] happens to match up with where we
[23:51] see other disparities ,
[23:56] and that correlate with race. 41%
[23:57] of homeless students reported by
[24:00] pinellas county schools are
[24:03] black or african american, that large number I
[24:06] gave earlier.
[24:08] and then 494 people experiencing chronic
[24:09] homelessness, that means
[24:11] being literally homeless for at least
[24:12] a
[24:13] year or having multiple episodes that
[24:18] equal out to be 12 months.
[24:21] but also most of the homeless
[24:26] , unhoused neighbors that we encounter
[24:27] are males and all of this checks
[24:29] out with data that we collect throughout
[24:30] the year and not just in the census.
[24:39] 76% were on sheltered and 62% were sheltered.
[24:48] we think about
[24:51] primary classes.
[24:54] it's drugs, it's alcohol,
[24:57] it's mental illness.
[25:00] chicken and egg in some ways
[25:03] , but there are people with
[25:05] substance use issues who are housed,
[25:09] many, actually.
[25:11] the primary causes, and it's not that
[25:18] those don't play
[25:20] a part but the primary causes are
[25:21] financial and job loss, number one
[25:22] at
[25:23] 40%. Number two, medical issues and that
[25:24] does not include mental health, it
[25:26] has to do with you can't work because of a medical
[25:27] issue or because of
[25:30] debt. Family issues, 14%
[25:33] and 10% because
[25:35] of eviction or foreclosure. Those
[25:36] with the primaries 1 1/5 one would have been
[25:37] natural
[25:38] disasters from the hurricanes. It's
[25:39] just interesting that what we think
[25:41] or what we hear doesn't always play
[25:43] out in the data.
[25:46] so some housing market pressures
[25:51] , there are fewer than 26 affordable
[25:54] housing units per 100 extremely low income renters.
[25:58] that
[26:01] in our area
[26:02] is incredible. We just don't have
[26:04] enough housing
[26:05] stock and especially not for the group
[26:10] of lower income folks that we
[26:11] have. 46% of households in pinellas county live below,
[26:16] if you've heard of alice, the
[26:17] asset limited income constrained and employed.
[26:21] the alice report. Suncoast of united way put it out
[26:23] along with another group and what's interesting is
[26:28] suncoast and all the
[26:29] counties that it covers, pinellas county
[26:34] is the most income constrained
[26:36] and the highest cost for a family of
[26:43] 4 to live to make it
[26:44] with their budget, no savings, no
[26:46] vacation, just to make it. A family
[26:49] of four with a baby
[26:50] and a toddler is $108,000 a year so
[26:52] when
[26:53] we are looking at an actual survival budget, we
[26:55] are not looking at people who--
[26:56] these are nurses, these are teachers,
[27:01] retail workers. Think
[27:04] about where our jobs are
[27:06] and where the economy is at. Where
[27:07] the
[27:09] workers are, and there's not housing
[27:10] for the workers.
[27:13] that's one reason why
[27:16] as a continuum we've been very
[27:17] intentional reaching out to chambers
[27:18] of commerce, to business leaders and
[27:19] we finally have made some movement there
[27:22] very recently because it
[27:23] really is going to take more than just
[27:25] the crisis
[27:26] homeless system to solve this. It's
[27:28] a full community effort.
[27:31] and then we also know
[27:34] that rising rent place working
[27:35] households at increased risk of housing instability.
[27:40] what is working?
[27:43] strong street outreach
[27:45] . We have street outreach workers
[27:48] who have behavioral health backgrounds
[27:51] with behavioral health providers ,
[27:52] who also
[27:54] partner with law enforcement. We have
[27:55] a very
[27:56] good relationship with law enforcement
[27:58] is especially with the county
[28:01] and we have
[28:03] more case managers at safe harbor which
[28:04] is a jail diversion shelter
[28:10] and we are just still
[28:13] trying to figure out,
[28:19] are you jail diversion or
[28:20] emergency shelter? But it serves as the
[28:22] lowest barrier shelter that is available right now
[28:23] and there
[28:24] are more case managers and supports
[28:25] being provided there are.
[28:26] through a contract with the county
[28:27] we were supplying one diversion specialist
[28:31] and then the strong coordination across providers and funders
[28:37] and something we've
[28:38] experienced lately, local governments getting
[28:40] together as well as funders
[28:41] and people with lived experience.
[28:43] when I talked about those
[28:44] opportunities that came out we had
[28:46] to have many emergency meetings over the holidays
[28:49] to
[28:50] really iron out some details and backfill
[28:52] some funds that may go missing and
[28:53] put some people with disabilities
[28:57] unhoused, really. Chronic disabilities.
[29:00] those are areas that are working and
[29:04] that will continue to work
[29:06] or at least reduce harm if there are major changes
[29:10] that come along the way.
[29:16] I talked about this a little bit earlier but I'm going to recap
[29:19] it, hud
[29:21] is the priorities and funding policies,
[29:26] they may drastically change and we
[29:28] did get wind of it and started to
[29:29] do
[29:30] some planning around that but we didn't
[29:31] know exactly what we were looking
[29:32] at until
[29:33] the funding opportunity dropped november 13.
[29:37] it was a
[29:39] lot more restrictive than what we
[29:40] thought. So
[29:43] 70% of our portfolio
[29:49] goes into programs for survivors of domestic
[29:51] violence or it goes into permanent supportive housing
[29:52] or rapid rehousing.
[29:54] those were considered permanent housing
[29:55] options and limited to 30%.
[29:58] they cover 76% of our portfolio
[30:04] . So we've
[30:06] had to quickly switch and figure out ways to backfill
[30:12] and now there is stronger emphasis
[30:13] on public safety, coordination with
[30:14] law
[30:15] enforcement, transitional housing or shorter-term crisis
[30:19] support, required supports and services
[30:20] and rejection of harm
[30:22] reduction strategies
[30:25] and housing first principles
[30:30] which we have found, work. So some
[30:31] things to take note of.
[30:34] we will see. Things change. All the
[30:36] time now we are living in a period
[30:37] of rapid change and
[30:40] disruption so opportunities
[30:47] , my last slide.
[30:48] opportunities for partnership and
[30:49] representation. We have two board
[30:53] seats
[30:55] reserved for those who don't have funding
[30:59] coming correct
[31:00] -- directive from hud. We have two seats
[31:05] and would love
[31:10] for gulfport, if they are appointed,
[31:11] and we
[31:12] just have a vote of confidence. If
[31:13] anyone would like to represent gulfport
[31:14] from
[31:15] this body that would be amazing and
[31:17] we would love to welcome you and we
[31:18] need your voice. And it's a way to
[31:20] have a voice along with
[31:22] the other players making those policies.
[31:28] >> are you only looking for elected
[31:29] officials
[31:30] to be on your board? Because we've
[31:32] got a whole room full
[31:33] of peers.
[31:34] >> everyone can become a member.
[31:37] >> so be sure to be clear when you say
[31:40] your phone number, how they reach
[31:41] out to you?
[31:42] >>
[31:47] so
[31:50] pinellascoc.org\join.
[31:58] we have sliding scales for individual
[31:59] memberships but if someone has lived
[32:00] experience it goes down to 0. For
[32:02] this particular board seat it is for
[32:03] elected officials so it's a little
[32:05] bit different but it does
[32:06] cover the entire municipality, as well.
[32:12] that's odd that there are no questions
[32:14] and if
[32:15] there's any questions we welcome them.
[32:17] >> we appreciate you coming out
[32:19] and explaining it to us and I am serious when
[32:20] I
[32:22] say we do have a room full of potential volunteers even if they
[32:23] can't
[32:26] sit on the board, want to
[32:27] make sure that they can reach out to you.
[32:32] >> how do you count people
[32:35] living in their cars?
[32:36] >> they are on sheltered.
[32:38] literally homeless.
[32:41] >>
[32:44] I volunteer for the food
[32:47] reach program for kids, I don't
[32:49] know if you've heard for it but I deliver
[32:53] to a lot of the same people. A lot
[32:54] of people tell me they recently quit
[32:56] their job because the level
[32:57] of help that they can receive based
[32:59] on what they make just cancels
[33:02] it right out so they could be home
[33:03] with
[33:04] their kids instead of sending them
[33:05] to daycare. Is the threshold of your paycheck
[33:08] too high to account
[33:11] for any help such as
[33:14] vouchers?
[33:15] >>
[33:17] so,
[33:19] there are various programs because
[33:20] it's government, they all come
[33:22] out with different levels, but typically 80%
[33:26] of the area median income is where it tops out.
[33:32] if you look at the alice report
[33:34] it looks like it needs to be a little bit
[33:38] higher.
[33:39] >> thank you. >> thank
[33:40] you so much, cheryl. My email address is up
[33:46] there as well.
[33:47] >> thank you. >> if
[33:48] you have an
[33:49] open seat next to you these raise
[33:50] your hand because we still have people
[33:52] standing in the back. Very good. All
[33:53] right, our
[33:56] next presentation will be chief mary
[33:57] farrand
[33:59] on bicycle safety.
[34:05] >> good evening.
[34:08] >> good evening.
[34:13] >> so, we actually put together a
[34:14] video for bike safety.
[34:20] justin
[34:21] did most of the heavy lifting. Forgive
[34:23] me, I'm just recovering from
[34:26] a cold. And donovan, I think he is here,
[34:32] he did a lot of the heavy lifting for
[34:33] this video. So without further
[34:35] ado .
[34:36] >>
[34:37] hello, my name is mary farrand. I
[34:38] am the police chief with
[34:39] the city of gulfport police department.
[34:41] whether you ride for
[34:43] fun, fitness or transportation your
[34:44] safety is our top
[34:46] priority. E bike riders have the same
[34:51] rights and responsibilities as bicycle
[34:53] riders. So ride smart and
[34:54] stay alert. Make yourself visible. Wear
[34:56] a helmet use front and
[34:59] rear lights.
[35:04] where light-colored and reflective
[35:05] clothing especially at dawn, dusk, or
[35:06] night.
[35:08] never assume that drivers see
[35:10] you. Wait until all lanes have stopped before crossing.
[35:11] look
[35:13] twice, then look again. Drivers are required to stop
[35:19] but not everyone is paying attention. Follow
[35:20] the rules of the road. Stop
[35:22] at stop signs, ride with traffic,
[35:23] obey speed limits, and remember. Motorized
[35:26] vehicles including e bikes
[35:28] are not allowed inside city parks.
[35:32] bike smart, ride safe.
[35:35] safety starts with you.
[35:38] >>
[35:41] very nice.
[35:44] >> any questions? >> we will go in speaking order.
[35:50] >> I have no questions, thank you.
[35:51] >> I don't,
[35:52] either.
[35:53] >> so what's the illegal thing
[35:54] about riding on the sidewalk?
[35:56] >> on the
[35:59] sidewalk you have to
[36:01] act as though you are a pedestrian
[36:02] .
[36:05] >>
[36:08] okay.
[36:14] >> what do you
[36:15] mean act as if you are a pedestrian?
[36:16] you mean follow the same rules?
[36:17] >> yes.
[36:18] >> so like
[36:20] , pedestrians don't have to stop at
[36:22] a stop sign. But they have to look both ways.
[36:23] >>
[36:25] there aren't very many stop signs
[36:26] on sidewalks.
[36:27] >> well
[36:28] I can see them from the sidewalk.
[36:32] got to be in
[36:33] the car, okay.
[36:34] >> I think the general
[36:35] rule of thumb in my mind as a bicyclist
[36:40] is that ultimately your safety is your responsibility.
[36:44] you can have an expectation that cars are
[36:46] going to stop but unless they see you
[36:48] ,
[36:49] and just because you can see them, doesn't mean
[36:51] they can see you
[36:53] , I think ultimately your responsibility
[36:57] is to keep yourself safe.
[37:00] >> anything else?
[37:03] >> I'd like to say thank you
[37:08] to all who participated in that and what you
[37:09] just said was good, too.
[37:10] >> the fire
[37:12] chief also took a role.
[37:15] I said donovan.
[37:16] >>
[37:18] thank you to all of you
[37:21] . Personal experience that I had
[37:24] , I was turning
[37:25] onto gulf boulevard from 49th street
[37:27] and it was nighttime
[37:32] and there is a bite coming and I didn't
[37:33] see
[37:36] it. Everything was stark
[37:39] -- was dark
[37:42] and I thought I was going
[37:45] to have a heart attack.
[37:46] >>
[37:48] if I heard you write you said that e bikes
[37:51] are not allowed in parks. In our parks?
[37:53] >> that's where we are at tonight.
[37:57] >> we are getting there.
[38:02] I may have put the cart before the horse.
[38:03] >>
[38:05] when you said they are not allowed
[38:06] on sidewalks, are
[38:08] there any speed limit limitations
[38:09] when
[38:12] they are on sidewalks?
[38:14] >> I didn't actually say they are allowed on sidewalks.
[38:18] >> okay, sorry. >> they are allowed on sidewalks
[38:27] but I believe the
[38:30] language is safe and prudent.
[38:39] you
[38:41] have a duty to be mindful of pedestrians on the sidewalk.
[38:48] you don't own
[38:51] the
[38:52] sidewalk, I guess because you are
[38:54] faster than the pedestrians.
[38:57] wheels yield to heels .
[39:00] >> that's a good one. That was not
[39:06] created by me. That name wolfgang,
[39:07] he taught me that.
[39:15] >>
[39:17] they are allowed on the sidewalk .
[39:18] >> and
[39:19] they are totally allowed in the street.
[39:26] >> totally allowed in the street?
[39:27] >> I'm saying that
[39:30] in terms of as a bike rider
[39:32] when I am on the sidewalk people tell
[39:33] me to
[39:35] get off the sidewalk and if I'm in the street people
[39:36] tell me to get out
[39:37] of the street. My understanding and
[39:39] I am asking you , is
[39:41] that a bicycle, and I am not talking
[39:42] and e bike but
[39:44] a bicycles a lot on the sidewalk and
[39:45] in the street both.
[39:53] they must follow the rules of a pedestrian on
[39:54] the sidewalk and a vehicle in
[39:55] the street.
[39:56] >> yes ma'am, that's correct.
[39:57] I'm
[40:00] sorry that that happened.
[40:03] >> what about the motorized
[40:06] skateboard things and all the
[40:09] things that kids are on.
[40:12] or bold adults.
[40:16] >> I think they call those hover boards
[40:18] and those are still legal. I
[40:20] would not say those are legal on the street
[40:21] but
[40:24] people have definitely used them on the
[40:25] street
[40:26] but they are not illegal on the sidewalk, either.
[40:33] >> and two police right
[40:38] tickets to bicycle. For not adhering
[40:39] to traffic rules when they
[40:41] are on the street?
[40:42] >> yes, we do.
[40:45] >>
[40:48] thank you so much.
[40:51] with that we are going to move
[40:53] along to public comment. Let me be
[40:54] really clear. Because I
[40:57] see a lot of faces that have
[41:00] not been here before.
[41:03] when you come up to speak it's
[41:04] about, you can speak about absolutely anything
[41:06] that is not on the agenda. Okay? You have
[41:09] three minutes to speak.
[41:12] you must
[41:15] use to coram and
[41:17] besides that you can pretty much say what you want.
[41:19] if you have not done this before you
[41:21] may not know it is not
[41:23] a conversation. You come up and you
[41:24] are speaking to the
[41:27] board as if we are one but we don't respond to it
[41:30] at that point.
[41:35] when we get to do our council comments,
[41:36] if we choose to
[41:37] respond at that time, we will, but
[41:39] we don't do it while you
[41:42] are standing up here.
[41:47] and because council comments take a
[41:48] long time which is okay, I want
[41:50] everyone who wants to be heard to be heard,
[41:51] but please if you
[41:53] are in the back of the room and you
[41:54] know that I'm going to call on you
[41:55] next,
[41:56] start getting toward the front so
[41:57] that we don't lose a lot of minutes.
[41:59] people say council meetings go long
[42:00] but have you ever noticed that sometimes
[42:02] public comment can go over an hour?
[42:06] so don't be shy. Raise your hand. Yes, right here.
[42:13] and
[42:14] when you come up you need to give your name
[42:16] or address.
[42:19] >>
[42:25] 6060 shore boulevard south
[42:28] . Good evening,
[42:30] mayor, city council members and fellow residents. I
[42:34] am here tonight because
[42:39] I care deeply about the city, transparency in
[42:40] local government and about
[42:41] the kind of community that gulfport
[42:43] chooses to be. I want to begin by
[42:46] saying this clearly. Gulfport
[42:47] has a stellar police department. Officers are
[42:52] professional, responsive,
[42:56] and deeply connected to this community
[42:58] and the work they do each
[43:00] day is appreciate it. Nothing I say
[43:01] tonight is
[43:02] a criticism of our officers. Recently
[43:04] I became aware of
[43:05] gulfport's relationship with ice and
[43:06] wanted to better understand what that
[43:10] meant. In doing so I
[43:13] learned about this statute
[43:16] and under that statute
[43:17] local law enforcement agencies must cooperate
[43:19] with certain federal immigration
[43:22] requests. Gulfport pd
[43:25] is required to comply.
[43:26] however the statute is not the same as a
[43:28] 280 7g agreement.
[43:36] that is a voluntary agreement between
[43:37] a local government
[43:38] and the federal government that allows
[43:39] local officers to take on certain emigration
[43:41] enforcement roles on behalf of ice.
[43:44] cities are not required to sign these.
[43:49] it's a choice. Yet on february 27
[43:50] of last year, an agreement was signed
[43:54] on behalf of the city of gulfport
[43:55] without being brought before
[43:57] city council, without a public vote
[44:00] and without notifying residents .
[44:03] there was no opportunity for public comment.
[44:07] I believe this is
[44:10] the kind of
[44:13] and that should have come before
[44:14] city council. It's controversial, ethics taxes
[44:16] and affects
[44:17] how safe people feel interacted with local police.
[44:24] our taxes paid for the time for those
[44:25] officers. I
[44:28] understand some cities signed--
[44:31] chose
[44:32] not to sign 287g agreements at all
[44:34] and others are withdrawing.
[44:35] our questions are straightforward.
[44:37] why was this agreement sign without
[44:39] a city council vote or public input? Who authorized
[44:42] that decision and what options if
[44:43] any
[44:46] exist for council to
[44:49] review or consider the agreement
[44:51] now. I believe this issue must be brought
[44:52] before city council for
[44:53] open discussion. If the agreement
[44:55] is not legally valid without a
[44:56] formal vote, that should be addressed immediately.
[45:01] if
[45:02] it is valid residents deserve to hear
[45:03] council openly weighing pros and cons
[45:04] including whether withdrawal
[45:06] is advisable or even possible. Gulfport
[45:07] has always been a
[45:09] peaceful and welcoming city. It's a city
[45:10] where
[45:11] people should feel safe calling the
[45:13] police and confident in local government.
[45:16] transparency matters, public input matters
[45:19] and on an inch shoot
[45:20] --an issue like this democracy matters.
[45:22] we are the people-- thank you.
[45:25] >> absolutely no applause.
[45:31] that's the way it is,
[45:33] it's been run this way since the day
[45:34] this council came in which of
[45:37] course was not in session february of last year.
[45:43] >> my name is karen, 6020 shore boulevard
[45:46] in gulfport. I'm a
[45:48] proud resident and a voter in the state of florida.
[45:49] I
[45:51] do not support the disruption of innocent
[45:52] lives of
[45:54] our families, our cherished immunity
[45:55] members and citizens of the us
[46:04] or those who have come to this
[46:05] country seeking safety and freedom.
[46:07] I do not support the violence perpetrated
[46:08] by ice
[46:09] agents who have repeatedly shown disregard
[46:10] for civil rights and the laws of this
[46:11] country.
[46:12] they have shown themselves to be untrained, highly
[46:13] discriminatory and have undermined
[46:15] the principles that make us a functional democracy where equitable
[46:19] human rights and justice are the tenets of our constitution.
[46:25] what is to be considered is a memorandum of
[46:26] agreement between the gulfport
[46:27] police department and ice, one that suggests
[46:28] compliance with the actions of ice
[46:33] as described above. The question,
[46:34] is this a reasonable thing to ask
[46:36] of our local police department and is
[46:37] this what we as a peace loving
[46:38] community that embraces diversity and equity,
[46:40] what we
[46:43] want to stand for?
[46:48] my experience with the police department has always
[46:49] been positive. Respectful, helpful,
[46:51] their work is acknowledged and appreciated
[46:52] but to set them up as the
[46:54] first line in the performance of specified immigration officer functions
[47:04] by filtering individuals with whom they
[47:05] have
[47:06] contact into a system that is unjust,
[47:07] highly unregulated, it is unfair and
[47:09] unreasonable to do that. At this point
[47:10] we can discuss the challenging path
[47:11] to citizenship
[47:12] that faces immigrants in this country and we can
[47:17] cite specific examples
[47:20] of
[47:21] those legally on that path being interrupted
[47:23] by detainment and deportation.
[47:25] we could speak of residents providing
[47:26] valuable services to communities, people
[47:29] who enrich our lives daily and
[47:37] deserve the respect that we expect
[47:38] others
[47:39] to offer us. I can offer examples of
[47:40] lives rudely interrupted by ice and
[47:41] violently interrupted under the guise
[47:43] of community safety. What this amounts
[47:44] to is a miscarriage of
[47:45] justice. Actually a lack of the justice we
[47:47] pride ourselves on engine
[47:50] during as a country
[47:52] but rather than distract from the issue
[47:53] at
[47:54] hand let's go back to the consideration
[47:55] of local police departments cooperation
[47:56] with ice.
[47:57] I think more highly of our community
[47:59] and what we represent. Why people
[48:02] move here, why they find peace
[48:04] and enriched lives and the mutually
[48:05] respectful relationships that we
[48:08] support. Let us not
[48:10] ally ourselves with a group that dehumanizes
[48:11] the lives of others.
[48:14] we are better than that.
[48:15] thank you, mayor love, city council for
[48:17] this opportunity to
[48:20] speak.
[48:21] >> perfect. Who's next?
[48:23] I am sorry I don't
[48:24] know every persons name tonight.
[48:25] >>
[48:26] my name is kate and I live at
[48:29] 2613 beach boulevard.
[48:32] first I just would like to thank
[48:34] council for being here and doing such
[48:36] a wonderful job.
[48:37] >> just one minute,
[48:41] I'm sorry. One conversation only, right here.
[48:44] >> I
[48:47] am moved to gulfport
[48:49] 10 years ago and have been so happy
[48:50] I did. Gulfport
[48:53] is a dream community. Gulfport
[48:55] is an amazing town. We voted in and
[49:02] --and all women
[49:03] city council and mayor. I think there
[49:05] are only five others in america. I came to
[49:06] speak tonight because when I heard ice
[49:08] was in our
[49:11] town, I was shocked. Equally so when
[49:13] I heard that our police force will be backing ice
[49:16] supporting their actions, following orders from trump
[49:20] . Maybe that's not true. That's what I heard
[49:23] . I have been too many
[49:25] anti-trump demonstrations this year in gulfport
[49:29] and saint pete. Just
[49:32] today there was one
[49:34] in clymer park. I am so grateful to
[49:35] have grown up
[49:36] in a country that has supported free speech.
[49:41] I have been able to speak my mind without fear
[49:44] or retaliation. But after the
[49:47] shooting of
[49:53] renee good I am very
[49:54] concerned for all of us who oppose
[49:56] what trump is doing
[49:59] not just by sending his brown shirt troops to
[50:01] my town but by his international takeovers.
[50:02] I don't know
[50:03] the answer, but hopefully we as a
[50:05] small town can come together and
[50:08] find solutions as we act locally
[50:10] for our own good. Thank you very much.
[50:14] >> thank you, kate
[50:17] . Who is next? Donovan?
[50:24] >> good evening, everyone. I live at
[50:28] 2806 49th street south and I will
[50:29] go over some bicycle information real
[50:30] quick.
[50:31] the first thing is, e by analysis
[50:38] . In pinellas
[50:40] county they will be partnering with hospitals
[50:41] to develop recommendations to improve
[50:42] education, safety and
[50:43] policy considerations. This project
[50:46] is anticipated to be completed june 30 of
[50:47] this year. And also,
[50:55] they will be collaborating with pinellas
[50:56] county
[50:57] working with the center for urban
[50:58] transportation research at the university
[50:59] of south florida on a safety study.
[51:01] last but not least the legislation
[51:02] they are going to be proposing
[51:08] is going to introduce
[51:10] new requirements to include the electronic
[51:11] motorcycle category which basically means
[51:14] any bike over 750 w
[51:17] or 28 miles an hour is
[51:20] going to be considered
[51:22] an electronic motorcycle and therefore
[51:23] would need an endorsement.
[51:25] with that being said they would also
[51:26] require bikes to
[51:27] yield to pedestrians referring to
[51:29] electric scooters and also
[51:32] electric e bikes . They
[51:35] would mandate law enforcement--
[51:38] mandate crash reporting which would
[51:41] help file police reports in the
[51:43] event of a fatality or serious injury
[51:44] and require the drivers license to operate
[51:46] a class iii bike which is anything
[51:47] that goes beyond 28.
[51:50] they would require
[51:56] bicycle and pedestrian safety as well
[51:58] as establishing penalties for tampering with
[52:02] motors and speed limiters. That is
[52:03] all the
[52:04] information I have regarding that and
[52:05] I will give you more as the year regresses
[52:11] regarding
[52:13] house bill 243 and the action committee is scheduled for
[52:14] next monday which is
[52:18] january 26 in clearwater.
[52:26] if you have any other information
[52:28] let me know and I will talk to you
[52:30] after the meeting. Thank you for
[52:31] your time.
[52:32] >> for those of you that
[52:33] do not know, donovan is our representative
[52:34] for fort pinellas when it comes to
[52:35] bicycle safety so if you have questions
[52:36] he is
[52:37] the expert.
[52:38] >> good evening, scott lindy.
[52:39] representing gulfport chamber
[52:41] of commerce this evening. These are serious issues
[52:48] that we are here to
[52:49] discuss that I am hearing being discussed
[52:50] but I am here to hopefully make it
[52:51] a
[52:53] little bit fun. I want to first of all
[52:54] tell everybody who was not
[52:56] there that we had an amazing first of many art
[52:59] openings at the welcome center on
[53:00] gulfport
[53:01] boulevard this past saturday and it
[53:03] was
[53:04] very exciting to see people coming
[53:06] . This particular
[53:07] artist had a large following from tampa,
[53:11] they came and were going back and
[53:14] we talked them into touring the rest
[53:15] of the town and going
[53:16] downtown. I saw some of them there
[53:20] a bit later so strategy is working.
[53:24] that effort is due in great part
[53:26] not to me but we have a new arts committee
[53:27] had
[53:30] on the board meeting
[53:33] , backed up by julie armstrong
[53:36] who really made that happen so
[53:39] think you to them .
[53:45] coming up we have
[53:46] very shortly our gulfport fine arts festival,
[53:47] the 11th annual in clymer park again.
[53:50] we moved a little bit south to be more centralized.
[53:57] we are going to become a
[53:58] grown-up art show and have cash awards
[54:00] which makes us the real deal
[54:02] and we will attract artists of a higher
[54:06] quality from farther away and will continue that butterfly
[54:09] effort which was well received
[54:12] last year which will
[54:15] help.
[54:18] any excess proceeds
[54:20] will benefit gulfport food for us
[54:26] so we are excited about that also
[54:28] and there will also be music and food like
[54:30] there was last year. Coming up
[54:32] right around the corner after that, the pink
[54:33] flamingo home tour which
[54:38] councilmember earley brought to our attention
[54:39] at the last meeting.
[54:41] march 7 we finalized, we have 14 stops
[54:42] and many
[54:45] of us know us
[54:48] as ward 4 but also the garden district
[54:49] or the northeast section of our city.
[54:51] it is a unique area
[54:57] and was challenging
[54:58] to find something that was going to be
[55:00] of interest. We've combined a number of gardens like
[55:03] the blueberry patch and community gardens
[55:05] along with some old cottages which
[55:06] is what
[55:07] the neighborhood mostly looked like
[55:09] but we have a new bill to see how the evolution
[55:12] of the neighborhood will look
[55:14] . I encourage you to come out and
[55:15] tickets remain at the low
[55:18] price. We will have both the trolley
[55:21] and
[55:24] the looper and
[55:27] a map that is worked out
[55:29] so we will have doubled the transportation
[55:30] along with walker's and bikers, golf cart
[55:31] and drivers.
[55:34] all of these details and buying tickets
[55:39] visit gulfport florida.com. Thank
[55:42] you very much for your time.
[55:45] >> next overhear a show of hands? No public comment?
[55:51] right here , please.
[55:58] >> hi everybody. I am emily smith
[56:00] , I
[56:03] have been john to
[56:06] gulfport, I have many friends here,
[56:07] I've
[56:09] recited poetry here but I
[56:12] am a law-abiding citizen and a member of indivisible.org
[56:15] and I am an advocate
[56:17] for social justice. I wrote this about program
[56:21] 287g. I'm
[56:24] not sure how this bogus
[56:28] 287g agreement ever arrived in a sleepy
[56:30] little town like gulfport.
[56:33] where in gulfport
[56:36] are thugs,
[56:42] , drug running gangsters for which the
[56:43] administration was recruited to round
[56:45] up and incarcerate or murder? Here's where they are.
[56:48] one can simply
[56:51] view and ice agent on live tv who brutally attacks women
[56:54] , elderly gentlemen, harmless
[56:57] gardeners
[57:00] and sprays pepper spray into a car
[57:01] full of
[57:03] toddlers. One can view
[57:06] the crushing of a young student on
[57:07] the
[57:08] ground kneeling on his neck. Zip tying
[57:13] innocent, terrified
[57:16] children and throwing them into
[57:18] vans and garbage trucks. One can view on live tv
[57:21] the point-blank shots to the face
[57:24] of an innocent protester who leaves behind
[57:28] two children.
[57:29] listen, dear friend, to the words
[57:33] spoken in our generation that we cannot ever forget.
[57:40] I can't breathe. I'm not mad at you.
[57:43] the word partner implies
[57:48] to me, shared goals. A blending of resources
[57:51] for the common good. This is not a meeting
[57:52] of the minds or
[57:55] anything else
[57:56] resembling positive social change.
[57:58] to me it is
[58:00] a band of power-hungry, angry, disillusioned
[58:04] social misfits
[58:05] daring to disturb the equilibrium
[58:10] of a warm
[58:13] and vital bohemian village that
[58:14] has done just fine by itself. By the way
[58:19] I love policeman.
[58:22] I am a law-abiding citizen, I have
[58:23] a good driving record, I love policeman
[58:25] and to me
[58:28] they are doing a fine job.
[58:30] just fine. Anyway I ask you to look
[58:31] at the
[58:34] crime rates in gulfport .
[58:36] I ask you to look at the plethora of
[58:37] community services offered by
[58:38] gulfport. Way over the norm for most
[58:43] small town america.
[58:46] gulfport recruits volunteers for daily welfare calls
[58:49] to lonely elders
[58:52] in this little beach town. Ice
[58:55] , you have no business here or any other
[58:56] peaceful and law-abiding community.
[59:01] >> thank you very
[59:04] much. Who is next? Sorry, I don't know your name.
[59:10] >> hello, everyone.
[59:13] my name is mary winstead and I live at
[59:16] 1809 60th street, gulfport.
[59:18] I've lived there for almost 36 years.
[59:20] I normally don't come to meetings because
[59:25] there doesn't
[59:27] feel like a need for me. I used to
[59:28] when I first moved here
[59:30] but then I let it slide. Then I was
[59:31] looking at the minutes from last
[59:33] week and I saw some things that disturbed me.
[59:36] being a black person living in gulfport
[59:37] and on
[59:40] the other side of 58th street,
[59:46] I was
[59:47] the first recognizable black person living
[59:48] there. I had a neighbor who is black
[59:51] but no one knew it because he was
[59:52] very fair complexion. So
[59:55] yes it was a
[59:57] sundowner. I don't expect you want
[59:58] to apologize for anything
[1:00:00] because it doesn't mean anything .
[1:00:06] when I first moved here the first thing I had to do
[1:00:08] was go down to the police department
[1:00:10] and
[1:00:11] let the chief know that I lived in
[1:00:13] this town because that happened
[1:00:16] right after a black professor
[1:00:19] from stetson college had his arm broken
[1:00:22] because it's a boy,
[1:00:23] what are you doing on the street? That was
[1:00:25] our police department.
[1:00:28] now the police
[1:00:29] department has radically changed but
[1:00:31] not to acknowledge--
[1:00:34] thank you, april,
[1:00:37] thank you nancy, thank the other people who did
[1:00:40] and are willing to acknowledge that
[1:00:42] this is what happened. It wasn't on the books.
[1:00:43] races
[1:00:45] and very rarely is on the books. It is just
[1:00:46] something
[1:00:49] that gets done. It becomes
[1:00:52] status quo.
[1:00:55] not any more. So I
[1:00:57] am here to say that which was said last week
[1:01:01] , well we never codified it. It doesn't
[1:01:04] matter. It gets codified by
[1:01:06] people doing what they do and unless we acknowledge
[1:01:07] it and
[1:01:08] move forward, it will happen again
[1:01:10] so I encourage you all
[1:01:12] who are elected officials to acknowledge.
[1:01:13] I don't need your
[1:01:16] apology but to acknowledge that
[1:01:19] this did happen and it's not
[1:01:22] going to happen again. And when
[1:01:24] I say I came down to meet the police
[1:01:25] department the chief
[1:01:26] at that time was a very, very good
[1:01:28] man. I don't remember his name.
[1:01:31] this is
[1:01:34] how long ago it was. But
[1:01:36] I'm proud to live in this town but
[1:01:37] I am not going to
[1:01:39] be a person here who has sat here
[1:01:40] and watched things that have happened
[1:01:43] in gulfport. I used to be afraid to
[1:01:46] drive down 22nd avenue south
[1:01:49] for fear that I was going to get stop.--
[1:01:55] stopped. I did one time, and I was speeding
[1:01:56] to get
[1:01:58] to the golf course. The police, he was
[1:02:01] not so nice. But, I acknowledged
[1:02:04] that I was wrong.
[1:02:07] but I want you
[1:02:10] to be aware that yes we have had a racist town
[1:02:13] and it was known as that and we
[1:02:15] don't have to be that any more.
[1:02:16] >>
[1:02:17] who is next? Charlotte and
[1:02:19] then you will be next after that.
[1:02:28] >>
[1:02:32] I have a blinding headache.
[1:02:35] >> me, too. I live
[1:02:38] on 13th avenue south and if
[1:02:41] I can get this -- there we go.
[1:02:51] first of all, I want to appreciate, I
[1:02:53] haven't been able to attend the meetings
[1:02:54] but I want to appreciate this council of
[1:02:56] wonderful women and I've noticed the
[1:02:57] work you've done together. You don't always
[1:02:59] agree
[1:03:00] but you disagree respectfully and
[1:03:02] you support each other.
[1:03:05] and
[1:03:08] the
[1:03:09] mayor does not bully other council
[1:03:10] members. I'm not afraid to say that.
[1:03:13] I particularly appreciate your efforts
[1:03:17] of environmental issues
[1:03:22] and taking better care of our city
[1:03:23] finances so thank you all for that.
[1:03:24] I'm sure you've all seen the video
[1:03:26] of the murder of
[1:03:28] renee good and you know the last words
[1:03:32] she
[1:03:34] heard before her killer shot her four times was
[1:03:41] --.
[1:03:44] that is well known to women
[1:03:47] and I've-- I've nearly
[1:03:50] -- I am 80
[1:03:53] years old almost. Sometimes the people
[1:03:54] who said it were very sorry. Thugs
[1:03:56] and violating the constitutional rights
[1:03:59] of free speech
[1:04:02] , to
[1:04:03] protest, to assemble, they are carrying out
[1:04:07] illegal orders of a white nationalist maniac president
[1:04:11] . The cowards
[1:04:12] aren't going after drug cartels. Do
[1:04:14] we have drug cartels
[1:04:18] --if we have drug cartels in this
[1:04:20] town, get them. For sure.
[1:04:22] in america it was the gang members and
[1:04:26] that the president wanted to eliminate. None of that
[1:04:29] . They
[1:04:30] are taking people away from their
[1:04:31] jobs and off the streets and it's wrong.
[1:04:35] I want you to protect
[1:04:37] our police department. I don't know about
[1:04:43] this thing that whoever signed it signed it agreeing to
[1:04:44] work with ice but I want
[1:04:47] it
[1:04:48] rescinded. I want our police department,
[1:04:49] our chief and her crew protected from having
[1:04:50] to participate in
[1:04:53] unconstitutional and
[1:04:56] illegal activities against people
[1:04:59] in this town. That's your job.
[1:05:01] you are our city council. Protect
[1:05:07] our police chief who I think is doing a
[1:05:08] great job,
[1:05:09] and protect our police officers. Please.
[1:05:14] I'm
[1:05:17] not mad at you , was the last
[1:05:21] words that mother of three spoke. And
[1:05:23] the man could not stand
[1:05:29] that he had been
[1:05:32] -- by her , that
[1:05:35] she drove away from him. And
[1:05:38] he couldn't stand it.
[1:05:41] >> thank you, charlotte.
[1:05:47] >>
[1:05:49] my name is julia, I am a homeowner. I spoke several
[1:05:50] weeks ago
[1:05:51] asking city council to renew their contract with
[1:05:53] the--. The contract as existed was
[1:05:54] not renewed and instead the budget was cut
[1:06:02] dirty percent and advertising dollars were
[1:06:03] routed to
[1:06:04] a contract with gulfport living. For those
[1:06:05] unaware, gulfport living is an
[1:06:06] unsolicited glossy photo laden monthly
[1:06:07] advertising direct mail or otherwise known as
[1:06:11] junk
[1:06:12] mail. Gulfport living is distributed
[1:06:14] by best version media, a conglomerate based in wisconsin.
[1:06:17] last year best version media was required
[1:06:20] --acquired by
[1:06:21] a global investment firm managing
[1:06:23] $72 billion
[1:06:25] of capital and I ask why is this council
[1:06:29] using taxpayer dollars to support an out-of-state
[1:06:33] billion-dollar empire at the expense
[1:06:35] of a
[1:06:37] local, family-owned business? Of why
[1:06:38] are members of
[1:06:40] this historic all-female council legitimizing a
[1:06:44] junk mail circular with a column
[1:06:47] of councilmember submissions and advertising
[1:06:48] dollars
[1:06:50] at the expense of a historic woman led publication?
[1:06:53] gulfport living
[1:06:59] bills itself as an exclusive magazine serving the
[1:07:00] gulfport community but let's be clear, it is
[1:07:02] not exclusive
[1:07:04] to gulfport. It is exclusive by algorithm
[1:07:05] to single-family homes valued
[1:07:08] at $400,000 or more.
[1:07:11] this
[1:07:14] circular is not distributed to multi family
[1:07:15] dwellings.
[1:07:17] one third of
[1:07:18] households in this city will never
[1:07:19] receive it as defined by company policy.
[1:07:20] based on print
[1:07:23] distribution it costs
[1:07:26] 60% more to advertise with gulfport living
[1:07:29] than it does the gabbert.
[1:07:32] it supports
[1:07:35] a global enterprise,
[1:07:38] excludes constituents and costs
[1:07:41] taxpayers more money.
[1:07:44] this does not look like a marketing plan.
[1:07:47] this looks like a plan of
[1:07:50] retaliation for unfavorable coverage from the newspaper
[1:07:51] and
[1:07:52] favoritism for favorable coverage
[1:07:57] in a junk mail circular.
[1:07:59] it looks like a plan to defund and
[1:08:03] replace our local news
[1:08:04] all at taxpayer expense. City advertising
[1:08:05] dollars are not to make councilmembers look good or fund
[1:08:09] vendettas.
[1:08:10] they are to provide information to residents
[1:08:12] in a way that is
[1:08:13] cost effective, efficient, inclusive, and
[1:08:18] accessible to all. I again
[1:08:21] call for leadership to build
[1:08:23] and strengthen our local stakeholders, businesses, and most importantly
[1:08:29] democratic institutions whether we like them or
[1:08:33] not. That is your role. This
[1:08:34] is exactly the reason we need independent journalism and
[1:08:36] not a message curated by
[1:08:39] council.
[1:08:42] I have a
[1:08:45] handout for council, if I may,
[1:08:47] a cost analysis on where I get my
[1:08:51] figures from.
[1:08:52] >> thank you very
[1:08:54] much. Who is next?
[1:08:57] suzanne,
[1:09:00] I am sorry.
[1:09:03] I've done that more than once in
[1:09:06] the last 15 years. I apologize.
[1:09:13] >> suzanne -- I just started. Very quickly, I just
[1:09:15] wanted to say that
[1:09:18] scott
[1:09:23] forgot one event and I thought I would come up and remind you that get rescued is
[1:09:24] also
[1:09:26] coming up and that will be saturday, february
[1:09:27] 28. Thank you.
[1:09:28] >> thank
[1:09:30] you. Who is next?
[1:09:36] >> thank you. My name is
[1:09:39] christine and I live at 2617
[1:09:42] , 52nd street south.
[1:09:45] I want to urge city council to
[1:09:48] support our local news source
[1:09:49] by maintaining the annual expenditure
[1:09:54] for
[1:09:56] the city information to be publicized in the
[1:09:57] newspaper. I believe that
[1:10:00] the gabber is important to
[1:10:03] both residents and
[1:10:04] tourists and as we know local papers are at risk and our
[1:10:06] democracy is at risk.
[1:10:12] in a new york times article this
[1:10:13] past weekend about local newspapers, I found this quote
[1:10:15] .
[1:10:16] when communities lose their local news outlets
[1:10:18] ,
[1:10:19] civic engagement drops, corruption rises, government waste increases,
[1:10:24] and political polarization rises. We
[1:10:27] need the gabber and the
[1:10:30] gabber is probably facing
[1:10:31] really hard financial times. Having
[1:10:35] gulfport, the city of gulfport pull funding and not maintain
[1:10:39] it at full funding
[1:10:40] could mean that it goes away and we
[1:10:42] don't want that to happen. Thank you.
[1:10:43] >> thank
[1:10:45] you. Who is next?
[1:10:53] >> my name is joe, 1419 59th street
[1:10:54] south. I would like
[1:10:57] everyone to think of
[1:11:00] , when the current president went into
[1:11:03] the white house and started attacking the free press. When he started
[1:11:04] attacking broadcasters whether it be on tv, radio
[1:11:06] , or print.
[1:11:09] and calling it fake news.
[1:11:12] it was a horrific moment for us.
[1:11:15] so
[1:11:18] for me to not be able
[1:11:20] to read our mayor's column in our local
[1:11:21] newspaper
[1:11:24] really makes me sad
[1:11:27] we
[1:11:30] are supposed to go after this authoritarian government starting at
[1:11:32] the local level and that's what we need to do.
[1:11:40] I want to be able to read our
[1:11:43] mayor's column and
[1:11:45] to know what's going on through our newspaper, not
[1:11:46] something I don't have access
[1:11:49] to. I do have access to gulfport
[1:11:50] living but I've never read it. Junk
[1:11:51] mail goes in the trash for me. I don't
[1:11:52] to social media
[1:11:54] because we all know what the sewer
[1:11:57] is so I'm just asking you to put our mayor's
[1:12:01] column
[1:12:04] in the gabber so we don't
[1:12:06] look like we are following the playbook of what's happening in
[1:12:10] dc. And on top of that
[1:12:11] it is being funded by the people who
[1:12:13] own it,
[1:12:15] the people who saved it. The gabber was about to go
[1:12:18] under with our hurricanes but a couple stepped forward
[1:12:24] and put an enormous amount of money into saving
[1:12:25] an independent newspaper that has
[1:12:28] been
[1:12:31] in this town for 57 years. When
[1:12:32] I would walk around gulfport years
[1:12:34] ago when we bought our house, people were carrying
[1:12:37] the gabber because
[1:12:40] it was everywhere.
[1:12:42] tourists would pick it up and that's how they
[1:12:45] would find out what's going on in
[1:12:49] this town and that's how they could read the
[1:12:51] mayor's column. You could do spectacular
[1:12:52] things for this town
[1:12:54] but what's going to happen is people
[1:12:58] will look at the worst
[1:13:00] thing and say her column is not in our
[1:13:01] local newspaper and they are going to
[1:13:04] condemn
[1:13:05] you for it. You shouldn't be condemned for that one thing.
[1:13:07] so addressing the council
[1:13:10] as one.
[1:13:16] we need to fix this
[1:13:19] and I'm going to quote the
[1:13:21] best present we've had in my lifetime. Take the high
[1:13:25] road.
[1:13:28] >> thank you.
[1:13:37] >> thank you, council
[1:13:40] members. Vice mayor
[1:13:43] thanos, distinguished guests, my name is benjamin
[1:13:45] and I live at town shores and I've
[1:13:46] lived there for two years. I'm embarrassed
[1:13:52] to say this is
[1:13:53] my first council meeting. Won't be my last,
[1:13:55] this is been absolutely fascinating. I'm
[1:13:56] not here to speak about the gabber but
[1:13:58] I will.
[1:14:00] I support the gabber and I agree with those
[1:14:01] who
[1:14:03] have spoken up for that and I really appreciated the woman's remarks about
[1:14:06] if not apologize at least acknowledging
[1:14:10] our history as a son downtown
[1:14:13] and
[1:14:16] our determination to do better.
[1:14:28] this is in response to the police
[1:14:29] violence taking place there,
[1:14:30] a similar call went out this week
[1:14:34] from the clergy and the people of
[1:14:37] minneapolis
[1:14:39] . I and other clergy are answering that
[1:14:40] call and going there tomorrow.
[1:14:46] and the violence responding to
[1:14:48] this time is the violence perpetrated by ice which
[1:14:49] my neighbors have already spoken about.
[1:14:58] the murder of renee good is just the latest and most dramatic impact
[1:15:01] of ice's
[1:15:04] violence.
[1:15:07] they don't behave like law enforcement do, they behave like lawbreakers.
[1:15:13] if we leave the 287g
[1:15:16] agreement in place I didn't
[1:15:19] --
[1:15:21] I don't feel right as a citizen and I feel
[1:15:22] my
[1:15:24] hands are stained by the blood of
[1:15:25] renee good and others . However, we
[1:15:27] do have an opportunity right now to take leadership,
[1:15:31] moral leadership
[1:15:40] thank you for your work and I will
[1:15:41] be
[1:15:43] back another time. Courtney?
[1:15:46] >>
[1:15:49] 15th avenue south in ward
[1:15:52] 4
[1:15:55] I moved to florida five
[1:15:57] years ago to care for my grandmother. She was
[1:15:58] strong, smart, artsy,
[1:16:01] independent. Dementia took that away from her.
[1:16:04] when
[1:16:06] I could no longer keep her safe, home
[1:16:07] health aides and later a memory care facility
[1:16:09] held her through her night terrors
[1:16:10] so I could sleep.
[1:16:13] they
[1:16:15] did the hard work when I could not. The majority
[1:16:19] of them came from haiti
[1:16:22] under temporary protective
[1:16:25] status following the instability of the 2010 earthquake.
[1:16:28] that protective status
[1:16:34] ends on february 3
[1:16:36] not because conditions have improved, but
[1:16:37] because of a decision by the department
[1:16:38] of homeland
[1:16:39] security. Watchdog groups like amnesty international call haiti
[1:16:47] a humanitarian and human rights
[1:16:48] crisis. Sending people back now is a near death
[1:16:50] sentence. I cannot catch her
[1:16:51] --capture the full callousness of
[1:16:52] ending protective status. There simply
[1:16:54] is not enough time. But know this.
[1:16:59] it ends february 3 and many other neighbors
[1:17:02] here in the us under tps
[1:17:05] with
[1:17:06] equally unstable conditions in their home
[1:17:08] countries are next in
[1:17:09] line. Ice is escalating enforcement in
[1:17:11] florida.
[1:17:15] this is not abstract. Ice is staging operation
[1:17:17] tidal wave right here, right
[1:17:18] now. Hundreds of hotel rooms are booked across
[1:17:20] tampa bay. Ice has
[1:17:23] quotas. 3000 per day. Tampa has
[1:17:26] a field office. There are 1.3 million haitians
[1:17:31] under tps in the united states. Nearly
[1:17:34] 10,000 are our neighbors. They are caregivers,
[1:17:38] nurses, there are
[1:17:41] neighbors.
[1:17:42] on february 2 they're going to go to bed. On february
[1:17:44] 3
[1:17:45] they're going to wake up and nothing
[1:17:47] about their lives has changed,
[1:17:50] but if one of those people is
[1:17:53] driving through gulfport and
[1:17:54] they have a broken taillight or a
[1:17:55] minor fender bender on their way to
[1:17:59] work and gpd runs
[1:18:01] their id, on february 3 that's going to
[1:18:02] flag ice. Police officers did
[1:18:03] not create this policy and I cannot believe I am saying this
[1:18:05] ,
[1:18:08] I love our cops.
[1:18:11] they should not have to enforce
[1:18:14] this agreement. I adore them. I want to see
[1:18:17] the chief make goofy
[1:18:20] videos. We loved it. We applauded,
[1:18:25] we laughed and cheered so it crushes
[1:18:26] me when I
[1:18:28] hear people I genuinely love and respect in
[1:18:29] this room, on this
[1:18:32] dais say ice won't affect us.
[1:18:35] I am so tired of hearing that
[1:18:37] because it rips apart systems we all depend on.
[1:18:40] you all said elevate florida was worth funding if it
[1:18:43] helped save one resident. If ending 287g
[1:18:44] protects one
[1:18:47] caregiver or home health worker
[1:18:53] or family you know what
[1:18:54] to do. We the people are giving you
[1:18:55] permission to end this.
[1:18:56] >> thank you very much.
[1:18:59] laura?
[1:19:08] >> laura,
[1:19:11] ninth avenue south just adding
[1:19:14] thoughts to the things
[1:19:15] I've heard discussed here tonight.
[1:19:17] excellent information about
[1:19:22] the gabber and this other magazine if that is
[1:19:23] true.
[1:19:26] from my perspective,
[1:19:28] I want to see my money go to the locally
[1:19:29] owned, more democratically oriented
[1:19:30] the
[1:19:31] gabber which feels more in line with
[1:19:32] the quirky, inclusive spirit
[1:19:35] of gulfport
[1:19:38] than an exclusive
[1:19:39] billionaires supporting magazine like whatever lifestyle gulfport
[1:19:43] that is. For someone who spends a
[1:19:47] lot of her time talking about boycotting billionaires
[1:19:49] I am definitely down with doing more of that.
[1:19:53] similarly or
[1:19:55] relatedly, the comments tonight about acknowledging
[1:19:59] our history, I
[1:20:01] think that is so important. I really appreciated
[1:20:05] that first comment that raised
[1:20:08] the issue tonight and I want us to
[1:20:11] look around in this room because
[1:20:14] the demographics of gulfport
[1:20:17] are 10% - 20%
[1:20:20] people of color
[1:20:22] and we rarely ever see that in this room.
[1:20:26] I think that acknowledgment
[1:20:29] , it's not the whole reason but plays a part.
[1:20:32] if we look at this room right now
[1:20:35] the
[1:20:37] one person of color here doesn't even live here and
[1:20:38] is representing our
[1:20:41] newspaper.
[1:20:44] so again, just the importance of that
[1:20:47] acknowledgment. I live in north
[1:20:53] gulfport where I see more
[1:20:54] faces of color but I never see them down
[1:20:56] here for these meetings are
[1:20:58] at community-oriented events and I
[1:20:59] would
[1:21:00] like that to change. I think and it
[1:21:02] knowledge meant like that play a role
[1:21:04] in that. And then of course with ice,
[1:21:11] I did not realize
[1:21:13] that agreement had been signed. All
[1:21:14] of that agreement was new
[1:21:16] to me tonight so if there is a way to
[1:21:18] get gulfport out of that agreement, I agree with that.
[1:21:19] >> who else?
[1:21:23] lauren.
[1:21:29] >> hello. Lauren stern 55th street south. First
[1:21:32] I want to add my support of the
[1:21:35] gabber and for gulfport spending full local
[1:21:37] advertising money with their publication.
[1:21:38] I am here to speak on
[1:21:41] a few pieces of
[1:21:44] context. First of all we cannot hang our hats on
[1:21:45] hurricane money no
[1:21:47] matter our compliance with this or any other proclamation.
[1:21:53] for an article by the guardian, in july 2025
[1:21:54] ron
[1:21:55] desantis was under fire for spending
[1:21:56] $20 million that he diverted from
[1:22:02] disaster funding awarding contracts to
[1:22:05] his friends and donors. We
[1:22:07] are clear who the bad guys are. Next, the state mandate
[1:22:13] . A senior staff attorney with community justice
[1:22:15] project,
[1:22:16] a miami human rights organization is clear that these agreements
[1:22:18] are not mandatory in this
[1:22:21] state. What we see is
[1:22:22] the governor and attorney general
[1:22:24] using intimidation to force
[1:22:26] cities to engage in conduct that far
[1:22:27] exceeds
[1:22:29] florida law requirements. The same
[1:22:30] bad guys.
[1:22:32] what can actually be done? One report found
[1:22:37] that prison policy.org presents evidence
[1:22:39] that arrest data show the power
[1:22:40] of state and local governments to curtail mass deportations. Despite
[1:22:45] overwhelming displays of power
[1:22:48] the federal government relies
[1:22:49] heavily on state and local collaboration to
[1:22:51] enact mass deportation
[1:22:54] agenda. This administration
[1:22:58] goes beyond merely limiting sheriffs
[1:22:59] and police from deputizing officers
[1:23:00] to work for immigration.
[1:23:03] this is
[1:23:04] evident in the data which shows jumps
[1:23:08] in states where advocates have aggressively worked
[1:23:12] to reject collaboration
[1:23:14] . Why am I wearing a jewish start
[1:23:15] tonight?
[1:23:18] I spent a few hours
[1:23:19] visiting the holocaust museum. I read every plaque
[1:23:27] , looked at every photo.
[1:23:28] historical context matters and you know what? How did
[1:23:29] that begin? Government mandates implemented
[1:23:30] town by
[1:23:32] town and we know how that ended. We
[1:23:33] know
[1:23:34] it's wrong then and we know it's wrong now.
[1:23:37] are we too afraid to hold the line
[1:23:38] against the bad guys? We are not being
[1:23:42] asked to hold that .
[1:23:45] they are not the in my
[1:23:46] metaphor tonight. They show up every day
[1:23:48] to do their jobs.
[1:23:51] I know they want
[1:23:53] to serve and protect. Let's change the
[1:23:54] job description back to what it
[1:23:57] was
[1:24:00] so they can focus
[1:24:01] on that priority. Let's revoke our agreement
[1:24:03] of
[1:24:06] --finding our friends and neighbors.
[1:24:07] >> who else?
[1:24:09] is there anybody else?
[1:24:15] you will be next, back row.
[1:24:18] hi.
[1:24:23] >> eliza sydney, jersey avenue gulfport.
[1:24:26] I had something prepared with data
[1:24:27] and
[1:24:29] stats and figures around the 287g
[1:24:32] agreement but I decided to speak from my
[1:24:36] heart tonight .
[1:24:38] at the christmas tree lighting care and you mentioned that
[1:24:39] many
[1:24:40] young families are now moving to gulfport.
[1:24:42] I am one of
[1:24:43] those families mentioned earlier with a baby and a toddler
[1:24:48] and hearing of our resources going to
[1:24:49] a 287g agreement
[1:24:51] doesn't
[1:24:54] make us feel safer.
[1:24:57] we've seen enough
[1:25:02] verifiable evidence, we've seen data
[1:25:03] and
[1:25:05] statistics about abuses of power going on
[1:25:08] and I'm sure many of us in this room
[1:25:09] have
[1:25:10] may be dealt with someone who has abused
[1:25:12] power before.
[1:25:15] like one presenter earlier
[1:25:18] mentioned, what you are told , there's
[1:25:20] what you told is the reasoning and there's the
[1:25:21] actual date.
[1:25:23] there's also what you can see as evidence with your own
[1:25:27] eyes.
[1:25:30] I've seen gulfport come together
[1:25:31] as a community in the face of challenge before
[1:25:33] and gulfport will
[1:25:34] stand up for our neighbors and make
[1:25:36] sure they are safe.
[1:25:38] we are proud of our leadership and we
[1:25:39] encouraged you
[1:25:42] to act with courage and clarity over fear.
[1:25:45] thank you.
[1:25:48] >> thank you.
[1:25:57] >> hello. Matthew galvin 15th avenue south.
[1:26:00] I've heard a lot that I agree with,
[1:26:03] I am specific coming to
[1:26:06] talk about the 287g issue.
[1:26:09] I've heard very well
[1:26:12] presented
[1:26:14] arguments about it and I'm not going to try
[1:26:16] to say anything more than that, I am
[1:26:17] a citizen who would agree with I think
[1:26:21] ,
[1:26:22] the necessity of rescinding this agreement,
[1:26:24] stepping back. My general sense of this town is that
[1:26:36] I think of it as
[1:26:38] small and insular apart from the rest of the country and there is a
[1:26:39] sense of
[1:26:42] dark clouds looming
[1:26:45] when we listen to the news and we are worried
[1:26:46] about
[1:26:47] this. One thing I would just observe is that
[1:26:48] this agreement
[1:26:51] as I understand it is a direct
[1:26:56] link between our small town we are trying to
[1:26:57] keep safe and protected,
[1:27:00] and some
[1:27:02] of these larger looming dart clouds.
[1:27:06] that is a link
[1:27:09] that I would like to see
[1:27:12] severed. Thank you.
[1:27:13] >> I think
[1:27:15] I saw one more hand. We've got quite
[1:27:18] a few more. Amy?
[1:27:24] we will do amy, wolf and susan.
[1:27:30] I cannot see you at all back there.
[1:27:31] >> hello everyone.
[1:27:32] gulfport resident 20th avenue south
[1:27:34] midtown business collective.
[1:27:37] a couple things. Yes,
[1:27:40] please consider
[1:27:45] rescinding the agreement with ice.
[1:27:47] I know you were not the ones who put it in
[1:27:49] place. Our officers should not
[1:27:52] be subject to making those
[1:27:53] decisions and harming people the way that we've seen.
[1:27:58] we've heard all the things,
[1:27:59] we know what the right thing to do is
[1:28:01] so I urge you
[1:28:02] to change that agreement and get rid of
[1:28:04] it. Number two, as
[1:28:07] far as the the gabber goes, I
[1:28:10] write for gulfport living
[1:28:15] as the voice of the town business
[1:28:16] collective to share what's going on
[1:28:18] in the midtown area. I have no dog
[1:28:19] in the
[1:28:20] fight whether that gets funding or
[1:28:21] not. I do agree it is a smaller publication
[1:28:23] that does not go out to everyone and
[1:28:24] have had many conversations about
[1:28:25] expanding
[1:28:27] that-- the word is escaping me. Circulation.
[1:28:34] that's out of our
[1:28:35] control. However I do believe in fairness so
[1:28:37] if you're
[1:28:39] going to support any publication you should support
[1:28:40] all the publications
[1:28:43] and I also think
[1:28:46] the gabber should be fair
[1:28:48] in their reporting and articles and
[1:28:49] who they allowed to write and
[1:28:52] the vibe
[1:28:54] that is shared. I moved here five years ago
[1:28:55] and I used
[1:28:58] to save every issue
[1:29:00] like a weirdo and I loved reading
[1:29:01] it.
[1:29:02] I would get it every weekend it was
[1:29:03] the highlight and now, you know, not
[1:29:04] so
[1:29:05] much. Things have changed. I think
[1:29:07] we all need to look
[1:29:09] at what is in the gabber and maybe
[1:29:11] come together on some agreements there.
[1:29:12] enough about all that. Onto some good
[1:29:16] stuff . As a reminder
[1:29:19] on february 1 gulfport pride is putting on
[1:29:22] for the love of gulfport . It is a community day
[1:29:30] of charlie market square so we encourage
[1:29:32] everyone to come. It's from 11 -4:00.
[1:29:33] the senior center foundation is hosting
[1:29:39] a jazz, blues and folk festival concert series
[1:29:43] on the 24th which is a fundraiser
[1:29:44] for
[1:29:45] the foundation as well as january
[1:29:46] 31, our
[1:29:49] casino night and another
[1:29:52] fundraiser
[1:29:53] for the foundation which we know supports
[1:29:54] our senior center so we encourage everyone
[1:30:01] to
[1:30:03] come out and get tickets for that. It's a fun night of
[1:30:04] casino gaming,
[1:30:05] poker tables, slot machines, all for
[1:30:06] charity, all for a great cause and
[1:30:07] keep doing the good
[1:30:10] work. Thank you.
[1:30:11] >> wolfgang?
[1:30:16] susan you will be next.
[1:30:17] >> thank you, mayor and council.
[1:30:19] gulfport grassroots
[1:30:22] . We do the
[1:30:23] monthly beyond the beach cleanups
[1:30:25] and
[1:30:26] I told you at the last meeting that
[1:30:28] I was at
[1:30:30] , last year we collected over a ton
[1:30:31] of trash and debris
[1:30:34] from our waterfront and
[1:30:36] downtown areas. I thought that was a great accomplishment.
[1:30:40] our first
[1:30:43] cleanup of this year was on january 10
[1:30:46] . 32 people , volunteers
[1:30:49] showed
[1:30:52] up and they gathered a total of 242 pounds of trash
[1:30:55] from the beach area and
[1:30:58] downtown area.
[1:31:01] we had volunteers going out in the water
[1:31:07] beyond the casino
[1:31:09] area, dragging in large pieces of steel
[1:31:10] that attributed
[1:31:12] to those 200+ pounds. A great accomplishment.
[1:31:19] we have two events scheduled
[1:31:20] for february. We have our regular
[1:31:22] beyond the beach cleanup
[1:31:25] on february 14, valentine's day,
[1:31:28] and also on the seventh
[1:31:31] we are going to join in cleanup
[1:31:37] of the lincoln cemetery.
[1:31:39] we will be cleaning up and manicuring that area with
[1:31:43] a councilperson
[1:31:46] and the group
[1:31:48] he has put together. So I am excited about
[1:31:52] that. Looking ahead into march
[1:31:54] of course we have our regular beyond
[1:31:55] the
[1:31:57] beach cleanup and will also have a bayou cleanup.
[1:32:04] I'm not
[1:32:05] sure of the dates yet, I don't think
[1:32:07] it has been set from the city of
[1:32:09] gulfport. And then looking further
[1:32:10] ahead into april,
[1:32:12] april is going to be a fun month because
[1:32:13] we are going to be doing the
[1:32:16] swap and drop april 11
[1:32:18] . That is essentially the same thing
[1:32:19] we used to do
[1:32:22] and call junk in the trunk
[1:32:25] where people can just bring trash
[1:32:28] and the city
[1:32:31] will gather it up
[1:32:33] . Also anything good, and it's good timing because
[1:32:37] a
[1:32:38] couple of weeks before then we have
[1:32:40] a citywide yard sale so folks will be going
[1:32:42] through their homes for the yard sale
[1:32:43] and I
[1:32:44] remember anything left over they can
[1:32:46] bring and drop off ,
[1:32:49] we will have tables
[1:32:52] and be placing those things out on
[1:32:55] tables so other residents can go through it
[1:32:58] and gather up things they might
[1:33:01] need around their homes. That's
[1:33:05] as far as I'm going. Thank you.
[1:33:08] >> thank you. Susan?
[1:33:14] >> thank you.
[1:33:16] good to see you at the mlk parade, mayor.
[1:33:20] >>
[1:33:23] it was great and a very good
[1:33:25] parade. I was with the interfaith group.
[1:33:29] being engaged is
[1:33:30] critical to democracy and democracy is messy.
[1:33:35] I am going
[1:33:36] to take a position people will be
[1:33:37] surprised by. In my opinion the 287g
[1:33:41] of course
[1:33:44] --the horse is out
[1:33:45] of the barn. Having a signed agreement
[1:33:47] puts
[1:33:48] the city, like others, in a position of attempting
[1:33:51] to sue the federal government and
[1:33:54] that is not going to work. My point
[1:33:59] is more, how did this happen?
[1:34:02] how did city council not get
[1:34:05] advised or informed or educated
[1:34:08] and have an opportunity to
[1:34:09] represent the people who elected you?
[1:34:14] because you do care, and
[1:34:17] we care, and you work hard at this. So how did
[1:34:20] this happen? And
[1:34:23] what can be changed
[1:34:28] to change the way small town business
[1:34:29] as usual has happened
[1:34:32] here for years and years?
[1:34:34] and a number of the topics we've heard. Trust
[1:34:38] requires accountability.
[1:34:41] third point, knowledge is power.
[1:34:47] preparedness. This
[1:34:48] council has done one heck of a good job
[1:34:50] working toward preparedness for future
[1:34:53] hurricanes,
[1:34:56] but knowledge is only power
[1:34:58] if you believe something is possible. Hundreds
[1:34:59] of cars were flooded
[1:35:05] in
[1:35:06] the town shores parking lots and elsewhere
[1:35:07] not because people didn't know the
[1:35:08] hurricane was coming but
[1:35:10] because they did not believe it could happen here.
[1:35:11] and
[1:35:16] I would make the analogy, if you do not believe ice
[1:35:20] can come here,
[1:35:23] you are thinking you control hurricanes.
[1:35:26] so
[1:35:29] what can council do? If you are
[1:35:30] not going to attempt to rescind and attempt
[1:35:35] to sue the federal government,
[1:35:37] I believe knowledge is power and workshops that are
[1:35:38] information based
[1:35:41] ,
[1:35:42] that provide information and insight
[1:35:47] into what is in the memorandum of
[1:35:48] agreement,
[1:35:50] which I have read and it is scary,
[1:35:51] and
[1:35:53] to inform citizens of our rights of expression, of
[1:35:56] free speech, of
[1:35:59] free assembly and what we can
[1:36:01] legally do, is critical. Because to
[1:36:02] say
[1:36:05] it can't happen here
[1:36:08] is to not believe in hurricanes.
[1:36:14] >> I think everybody who wanted
[1:36:15] to speak up, I'm sorry, mary. I don't
[1:36:17] know why everybody is so timid. It's
[1:36:20] 7:30. We in
[1:36:23] here an hour and a half. If you want
[1:36:24] to
[1:36:26] speak, come on up.
[1:36:29] >> we all want to be the
[1:36:31] last. Mary henry seventh avenue south
[1:36:35] and I also want to speak
[1:36:38] about it so I will
[1:36:41] summarize my points.
[1:36:45] I am concerned about how this agreement was signed back
[1:36:47] in february of last year without
[1:36:50] council being involved in the policy
[1:36:51] decision.
[1:36:53] I'd like the police
[1:36:56] or
[1:36:57] council to explain what the current status and
[1:36:59] process
[1:37:02] and procedure is in
[1:37:05] gulfport if someone is stopped.
[1:37:08] how does that work?
[1:37:11] they
[1:37:13] explained something to us but I'm not sure
[1:37:14] that stands from last year. I'm concerned about the city
[1:37:17] paying
[1:37:19] for police time to go to training for ice
[1:37:20] which, and
[1:37:23] I would like to compliment amy for
[1:37:24] her excellent first
[1:37:26] speech
[1:37:27] because she summarized so beautifully
[1:37:29] all the points of
[1:37:31] why we don't want a 287g and why we
[1:37:32] don't want ice,
[1:37:35] and how we would
[1:37:37] like the city to be. So I would request
[1:37:42] that
[1:37:45] a workshop is a
[1:37:46] good idea, be the police can educate us
[1:37:51] . We have copies of that,
[1:37:54] it's 14 pages of legalese
[1:37:57] which is hard reading.
[1:37:58] and also what that means in practice.
[1:38:00] if I am stop
[1:38:02] , what are my rights and responsibilities?
[1:38:06] and I think
[1:38:08] council should also understand all of 287g
[1:38:11] before they decide whether or not to rescind.
[1:38:14] personally I would like to rescind it
[1:38:18] but I understand the risks
[1:38:19] for doing that. So appreciate it and a workshop
[1:38:24] where all of us can learn
[1:38:27] would be a good idea.
[1:38:28] >>
[1:38:29] we are going to go to e comments. City clerk?
[1:38:34] >> I did have a total of 77 comments.
[1:38:39] 12 were residents, one
[1:38:41] was here this evening and three of those
[1:38:45] are identical in nature so it
[1:38:48] looks like a form
[1:38:50] letter to me so that would take it
[1:38:51] down to
[1:38:53] about nine. 65 nonresidents , 76 of
[1:38:54] the
[1:38:57] comments were about ice and
[1:39:00] did not want us
[1:39:03] to sign.
[1:39:04] one comment was about lincoln cemeteries
[1:39:06] so it's
[1:39:09] up
[1:39:12] to you if you would like me
[1:39:13] to read any or all of these.
[1:39:14] >> I think you should read,
[1:39:15] I'm going to respond, I think that
[1:39:16] you should
[1:39:18] read the comments from
[1:39:23] our residents that are not here. I
[1:39:24] thought there might be two people here
[1:39:27] that you had
[1:39:28] comments from but if you think just one?
[1:39:30] it's okay, it's okay. Not worth arguing about.
[1:39:33] on the other, you are
[1:39:36] telling us there are
[1:39:37] 60 something from people that do not
[1:39:39] live in gulfport and who do
[1:39:41] not want us to sign the 287g? I think
[1:39:42] we've
[1:39:44] heard that enough. I don't want to spend another minute.
[1:39:48] I feel
[1:39:49] differently about residence than folks from out of town
[1:39:51] and I believe
[1:39:54] that the lincoln
[1:39:55] cemetery is from someone from both port
[1:39:57] and
[1:40:00] that should be read, as well.
[1:40:06] >> are we going to
[1:40:09] do that? Comment whether we
[1:40:10] want the public comments read.
[1:40:11] >>
[1:40:12] okay I will
[1:40:15] agree with the mayor to read gulfport
[1:40:18] citizen comments.
[1:40:19] >> that's fine, that's good.
[1:40:21] >>
[1:40:24] I understand that
[1:40:26] we have a lot of time but I think
[1:40:30] it's a bad accident to
[1:40:32] set that when we set this procedure to have people
[1:40:33] be able to email
[1:40:36] their comments and then
[1:40:42] not read them.
[1:40:45] >> number one we have
[1:40:48] a consensus on it .
[1:40:49] >>
[1:40:51] checking papers.
[1:40:52] I know I'm out of line.
[1:40:53] >> I know
[1:40:54] I'm out of order
[1:40:57] . I am not
[1:41:00] a citizen in this state
[1:41:03] .
[1:41:04] >> what I was trying to say before
[1:41:06] I was rudely interrupted,
[1:41:08] we've heard a very clear consensus at this point.
[1:41:14] we've heard what the people had to say and
[1:41:15] what
[1:41:17] residents have to say. We've heard it
[1:41:18] loud and clear
[1:41:20] and we are going to have a response
[1:41:21] to that but we do
[1:41:23] not need to hear it for another and a half
[1:41:24] worth
[1:41:26] of time so that's why I feel that way
[1:41:30] and we have a consensus
[1:41:33] already, thank you.
[1:41:36] >> that system
[1:41:37] then, isn't working.
[1:41:38] >> that's exactly
[1:41:39] what we voted on.
[1:41:42] if it
[1:41:44] was redundant over and over and over
[1:41:45] that
[1:41:47] we would not read 70 something comments.
[1:41:48] >> I support
[1:41:50] the council decision to end its agreement
[1:41:51] with ice. I believe the
[1:41:54] separation of ice and local
[1:41:56] police of that residents remain safe
[1:41:57] regardless of
[1:42:00] citizenship status. Thank you.
[1:42:03] this was the same one
[1:42:06] submitted by patrick doyle vicki doyle and sarah
[1:42:07] fleming. I urge the city of
[1:42:09] gulfport to end its 287g
[1:42:15] agreement with ice. Local plea should not be
[1:42:16] entangled. When police
[1:42:18] take on the role of ice it blurs the
[1:42:19] purpose
[1:42:20] of local law enforcement and undermines
[1:42:21] the trust that keeps communities safe.
[1:42:23] residents who fear interaction with police
[1:42:29] are less likely to report crimes,
[1:42:30] seek help and cooperate with investigations.
[1:42:33] that makes everyone less
[1:42:36] safe. Debra commented tuesday,
[1:42:37] january 20, 2026 from gulfport citizen
[1:42:42] , gulfport mayor
[1:42:44] karen, please be honest and transparent with constituents
[1:42:47] that april 24, 2025 you met for a
[1:42:48] scheduled meeting with
[1:42:51] the senior resident and
[1:42:54] resident at city hall and were
[1:42:55] provided the gulfport city records
[1:42:57] you
[1:42:58] obtained documenting lincoln cemetery
[1:43:00] annex petition is
[1:43:03] not dated which is not legally compliant
[1:43:07] with state law.
[1:43:10] melissa, ice has no place
[1:43:11] in our city working with gulfport pd.
[1:43:13] they are
[1:43:15] unconstitutional and go against everything gulfport stands for.
[1:43:17] we need to end any agreement with
[1:43:22] this abuse
[1:43:24] of power.
[1:43:25] >> I do not want gulfport to sign an agreement with ice.
[1:43:28] I do
[1:43:30] not want my taxes to support training for police
[1:43:31] or any type of
[1:43:32] agreement that facilitates their presence. I
[1:43:34] urge council to vote no
[1:43:35] on any proposal to cooperate with ice.
[1:43:37] >> mj hodges.
[1:43:40] please
[1:43:42] keep ice out of gulfport. I do not support police
[1:43:45] having any involvement whatsoever
[1:43:47] and I hope we can encourage local businesses to support
[1:43:52] or
[1:43:54] be the cause of keeping ice out because ice is
[1:43:55] acting unconstitutionally and
[1:43:56] taking people who are indeed us citizens just
[1:43:58] because of how they look.
[1:44:01] I'm worried about my
[1:44:02] stepdaughter who is asian american and hope
[1:44:04] she can stay safe
[1:44:05] as she rides her bike to and from work. Thank you.
[1:44:10] and
[1:44:12] mcmanus, I would like to go on record opposing 287g
[1:44:13] and ending cooperation between gulfport
[1:44:14] and ice. I believe our police department
[1:44:16] is more than capable of handing the
[1:44:17] needs of our city. The politicization of
[1:44:21] the issue is creating unnecessary
[1:44:22] damage
[1:44:23] and I would hate to see this occurring.
[1:44:24] please stand up for true democracy.
[1:44:33] lori estes, local law enforcement should focus
[1:44:34] on protecting us,
[1:44:35] not enforcing federal immigration
[1:44:36] law. I want 287g ended for the sake
[1:44:37] of
[1:44:40] our immigrant neighbors and to support
[1:44:41] local
[1:44:42] authorities addressing and maintaining peace
[1:44:45] in our community. Local police must
[1:44:46] be
[1:44:47] trusted, not feared by gulfport residents.
[1:44:51] neighbors and friends, this undermines
[1:44:52] trust and depreciates
[1:44:54] our sense of community. In person comments.
[1:45:09] marian, I am opposed to the use of our
[1:45:10] city of gulfport
[1:45:11] police to work in any capacity as
[1:45:13] agents of ice and they are our public defenders. That is all
[1:45:16] the residence. -- that is all
[1:45:19] residents.
[1:45:20] >>
[1:45:22] it has been a very long public
[1:45:24] comment and we are not going to break
[1:45:25] it this time so if anyone needs to make a run I
[1:45:27] understand. We are going to proceed
[1:45:31] into staff reports because
[1:45:37] I think the
[1:45:38] city manager has a lot of things he
[1:45:40] might be able to answer and clear up.
[1:45:41] being
[1:45:43] that this council was not
[1:45:46] on the dais ,
[1:45:49] all six of us, I think two people may have been.
[1:45:52] you were on
[1:45:55] council by february correct?
[1:45:58] there were
[1:46:00] a lot of things said to me tonight
[1:46:03] and I wrote down notes especially
[1:46:04] on the things that
[1:46:07] I'm like wait, what?
[1:46:09] that doesn't mean that they are true
[1:46:13] . I
[1:46:15] understand there's people that believe
[1:46:16] they are true and I don't know if they
[1:46:19] are true or not yet . So I'm going to
[1:46:22] call on city manager on the
[1:46:24] things I heard tonight that are now the questions I would
[1:46:25] have as well
[1:46:28] . Number one, I am not aware
[1:46:31] of our officers training for ice
[1:46:33] , and it will be up to you with you
[1:46:35] want to have the chief address that
[1:46:37] or not. Number two, I
[1:46:39] was disturbed to hear people say that ice
[1:46:42] lives in our town and we have troops
[1:46:46] in our city.
[1:46:48] I am on the streets every single day talking
[1:46:49] to people every single day,
[1:46:52] I drive
[1:46:53] through town a minimum of twice a
[1:46:55] day. I have not seen ice. I have seen people, residence post
[1:46:58] fake photos
[1:47:01] with an
[1:47:04] ice vehicle in it
[1:47:07] and brag about the fact well it
[1:47:10] could be a reality but it has not been
[1:47:11] to the best
[1:47:12] of my knowledge. But I want to hear
[1:47:13] what you have to say.
[1:47:16] the third one I wanted to hear was
[1:47:18] when people said we are giving our resources
[1:47:22] to 287
[1:47:25] I am unaware of that
[1:47:27] and would like to be educated if that's the case.
[1:47:31] and
[1:47:33] I would like you to answer the question how
[1:47:34] did it
[1:47:37] happen that we signed the agreement?
[1:47:38] because
[1:47:39] all these people say they don't want
[1:47:40] us to sign, I know this happened nearly a year
[1:47:42] ago so I would like that addressed.
[1:47:43] and
[1:47:46] last but not least,
[1:47:49] if it has changed,
[1:47:52] to
[1:47:54] address what the status and process is that the city
[1:47:55] of gulfport agreed to.
[1:47:58] does that sound good?
[1:48:01] >> I have a copy for each of you
[1:48:04] .
[1:48:07] there is also a copy
[1:48:13] of the letter
[1:48:16] that the city of key west received
[1:48:17] from
[1:48:18] the attorney general and it's very similar.
[1:48:25] >> if need be because we have a lot of concerned
[1:48:27] residents in our city that don't have
[1:48:29] a copy of this.
[1:48:32] even if you are going to
[1:48:33] reference the letter which I have
[1:48:35] seen, I would appreciate it
[1:48:43] if you did read it so that they know because they would
[1:48:44] like to hear
[1:48:46] what was said from the state attorney general office.
[1:48:53] >>
[1:48:55] whether we agree or not is one issue.
[1:48:56] whether we
[1:48:57] are transparent or not is another
[1:48:59] issue.
[1:49:02] >>
[1:49:03] mayor for clarification purposes as a requirement
[1:49:05] , we
[1:49:08] did have seven officers attend
[1:49:11] training.
[1:49:14] chief
[1:49:17] farrand was one of them and I
[1:49:20] will let her
[1:49:24] respond when she returns from the
[1:49:26] training.
[1:49:27] >> was that specific to
[1:49:29] working with ice?
[1:49:30] >>
[1:49:33] it's outlined in the agreement and was
[1:49:35] a requirement that your officers
[1:49:37] would entertain that training. We
[1:49:38] did not pay
[1:49:39] for that, yes it was on our time,
[1:49:42] but we did not have to pay for any
[1:49:44] costs associated with it
[1:49:47] other than to attend and that
[1:49:50] issue when it's
[1:49:51] resolved I will have her speak to that.
[1:49:56] >> thank you. >>
[1:49:59] and you are correct, mayor. We
[1:50:00] are unaware of any ice activity within the
[1:50:02] city.
[1:50:05] there
[1:50:06] was that photo shopped picture at the library
[1:50:08] where someone showed a vehicle
[1:50:11] in the
[1:50:12] library parking lot with the gentleman
[1:50:14] standing behind it .
[1:50:15] that was a superimposed superhero.
[1:50:17] the vehicle was never
[1:50:20] in the parking lot and that's
[1:50:22] been verified by library staff and the police department.
[1:50:26] how did we get here?
[1:50:29] last february as you are aware,
[1:50:31] the state of florida, the governor
[1:50:35] governor of the state of florida issued a directive
[1:50:38] that all law enforcement
[1:50:41] agencies
[1:50:44] state city
[1:50:45] municipal, sheriff's departments,
[1:50:47] were required.
[1:50:50] was required
[1:50:53] to sign the agreement.
[1:50:56] the
[1:50:58] governor said such order. This is
[1:51:02] an agreement
[1:51:03] that was basically a task force model.
[1:51:08] if
[1:51:10] you look at the title of it we do
[1:51:11] task force all the time
[1:51:12] with different agencies. Chief when
[1:51:14] we get to this point could you speak to training please?
[1:51:17] subsequently the chief
[1:51:20] and I discussed it. It
[1:51:23] was an administrative task,
[1:51:26] I accept responsibility. It was
[1:51:29] not a policy decision it was a directive from the governor
[1:51:32] and
[1:51:34] I am unaware of any agency within pinellas county who has
[1:51:35] not entered into
[1:51:38] it or who has
[1:51:39] sought direction from their elective body.
[1:51:41] it
[1:51:43] was an administrative task. With that said I
[1:51:44] hope I addressed it.
[1:51:50] it is my responsibility, I did authorize the chief
[1:51:52] to sign it because we looked at it
[1:51:53] as an administrative task. At
[1:51:56] that time it was in the media
[1:51:59] and such that this
[1:52:01] was happening but I go back to the idea
[1:52:04] and if you look into it, the governor directed
[1:52:05] all agencies to sign.
[1:52:11] >> and
[1:52:13] so I am clear that was signed by only the chief?
[1:52:14] that was not
[1:52:15] signed by the city manager or council?
[1:52:17] >> that's correct. Subsequently to that,
[1:52:26] and
[1:52:27] let me touch on it, there were some
[1:52:28] other questions. I got distracted,
[1:52:29] I apologize.
[1:52:32] >> I asked about the training. I asked if
[1:52:35] I was shocked when they said ice
[1:52:38] lives in our town, troops
[1:52:41] are in our city. Not aware of that?
[1:52:43] I don't know if our police chief is aware
[1:52:47] .
[1:52:48] >>
[1:52:50] she would advise me.
[1:52:51] >> asked if there were any resources
[1:52:53] , any of
[1:52:56] our city resources. I asked if , how
[1:52:59] did we get here? That one you have answered,
[1:53:02] and what is our current status and process?
[1:53:05] >> city resources
[1:53:08] are strictly for
[1:53:11] our officers and chief farrand to attend
[1:53:19] training.
[1:53:20] >> so we are told we had to
[1:53:21] go to the training
[1:53:22] and we had to pay for it?
[1:53:23] >> there is
[1:53:24] no paying for it,
[1:53:25] the resource would be the hours spent as
[1:53:26] part
[1:53:29] of their daily employment.
[1:53:35] in regards to any other resources
[1:53:37] by the city there has not been any exhausted
[1:53:42] other
[1:53:43] than myself and chief discussing it
[1:53:44] and preparing this information for today. Subsequently,
[1:53:48] and the reason I gave you
[1:53:49] the key west, a copy of the key west
[1:53:53] letter that they received from the
[1:53:54] attorney general
[1:53:56] in the state of florida is that the
[1:53:57] scenario is very similar.
[1:54:03] it's in the
[1:54:04] media, widely talked about in the media. The
[1:54:06] chief of
[1:54:09] police of key west
[1:54:12] signed the agreement
[1:54:15] and
[1:54:16] subsequently city council, the city commission excuse me,
[1:54:18] of key west
[1:54:19] wanted to talk about it in regards
[1:54:21] to
[1:54:22] the public. They subsequently then
[1:54:27] directed staff
[1:54:30] to leave the agreement.
[1:54:33] so they voted and took
[1:54:36] that off the table. The
[1:54:39] attorney general then appeared in a letter of correspondence and
[1:54:42] said you need to reconsider.
[1:54:45] I
[1:54:46] will let the city attorney speak to
[1:54:48] what the penalties are to that
[1:54:51] and I'll be happy to answer questions
[1:54:53] that I do have the knowledge of. Chief
[1:54:55] farrand can you speak to training and what
[1:54:57] type of training you received?
[1:55:03] >> it
[1:55:06] was actually online training
[1:55:08] through the federal law enforcement
[1:55:12] training.
[1:55:18] we did 40 hours of
[1:55:20] online training.
[1:55:21] >> so we did not go anywhere.
[1:55:24] >> there was no travel cost
[1:55:27] or anything like that.
[1:55:29] I did the training in my office. Some
[1:55:30] of that I did from
[1:55:32] home. The training involved the procedures and
[1:55:38] how someone is able to get citizenship should they choose.
[1:55:45] among other various topics.
[1:55:47] I was not prepared to speak to this today
[1:55:48] otherwise I would have repaired
[1:55:51] a better curriculum explanation.
[1:55:54] >> I understand it
[1:55:57] wasn't on the agenda.
[1:56:00] >> chief?
[1:56:03] >> do you want to go
[1:56:05] to speaking order?
[1:56:06] >> I don't think she's done.
[1:56:12] >> if we could touch on that,
[1:56:13] this direction to reiterate if you
[1:56:15] look at the key west
[1:56:18] scenario as I was discussing,
[1:56:21] they subsequently
[1:56:24] had taken that action
[1:56:25] but this has been utilized throughout
[1:56:27] pinellas county.
[1:56:30] I am unaware of any agency
[1:56:33] that does not participate and
[1:56:36] I think it lays out
[1:56:39] that the scenario is very similar
[1:56:40] to what we
[1:56:42] are here discussing tonight.
[1:56:43] >> I have
[1:56:44] a question for mary. Are we going
[1:56:45] to
[1:56:48] go in speaking order?
[1:56:51] >> yes but
[1:56:53] this was the city manager's reports I
[1:56:54] was going to go
[1:56:57] to the city manager.
[1:57:00] >> you asked me a
[1:57:02] question and I was answering it. Just let me
[1:57:03] finish my answer.
[1:57:04] >> so, protocol.
[1:57:09] I understand you have
[1:57:11] answered the things that I asked you with
[1:57:12] the exception of I know you are
[1:57:14] going to defer to the attorney to address the repercussions
[1:57:21] of let's say, reneging on this
[1:57:27] signing of the mandate.
[1:57:29] we can go there, but mary before you sit
[1:57:30] down-- nice try but
[1:57:33] the
[1:57:35] vice mayor had a question. Let's see if anyone else
[1:57:36] does,
[1:57:39] in speaking order.
[1:57:40] >> I had one
[1:57:41] of your statement I would like the chief
[1:57:42] to address. Once again if she
[1:57:45] would reiterate the process that if an individual
[1:57:48] were not out
[1:57:51] seeking anyone but the process
[1:57:54] ,
[1:58:02] we may interact with an individual
[1:58:03] if they are breaking the
[1:58:05] law or if there is a reason to. Do
[1:58:06] you want to talk to that?
[1:58:12] >>
[1:58:13] that's correct. We don't have any
[1:58:15] lists, we are not accepting any lists,
[1:58:17] we are not going to go looking for
[1:58:18] people. If we encounter someone who
[1:58:19] has some
[1:58:20] kind of detainer or a hold then we
[1:58:21] call a phone number and
[1:58:24] an agent will respond.
[1:58:25] >>
[1:58:27] I will ask my question.
[1:58:30] >> I have no questions.
[1:58:33] >> so I understand all of that. I know that
[1:58:38] it talks about how you work with a
[1:58:39] supervisor at ice so what did
[1:58:42] the training say about that?
[1:58:45] >> I'm not sure I understand. >> into
[1:58:48] 87 it talks about
[1:58:50] how people who are trained will have
[1:58:52] a supervisor that directs
[1:58:55] --
[1:58:58] it may not have been
[1:58:59] in the training but that's what is in the agreement.
[1:59:06] did they talk about how you dealt with a supervisor
[1:59:09] or what a supervisor could ask you
[1:59:10] to do?
[1:59:11] >> I'm not sure
[1:59:12] I understand the question.
[1:59:13] >> could an ice supervisor,
[1:59:16] because you're supposed to be
[1:59:19] --
[1:59:20] >> we are not reporting
[1:59:22] to anyone at ice.
[1:59:24] we are not reporting to anyone at ice.
[1:59:25] >>
[1:59:26] that's
[1:59:27] different than what this agreement says.
[1:59:34] if a person
[1:59:37] told us
[1:59:38] to do something, instead of them coming here
[1:59:40] what did the training say about
[1:59:42] what our response would be?
[1:59:43] >> I don't
[1:59:44] believe they would
[1:59:45] do that. That's part of the agreement.
[1:59:46] >>
[1:59:49] but it is
[1:59:51] in here.
[1:59:52] >> I hear what you are saying
[1:59:53] but those agreements were almost
[1:59:54] a year before the training even came
[1:59:55] out. So
[1:59:57] a lot has changed. Were not following that
[2:00:04] to the letter. No one is
[2:00:06] calling us to ask us to go do anything
[2:00:07] for them. If they
[2:00:08] want something done the either take
[2:00:10] care of it themselves
[2:00:11] or they get someone who is actually
[2:00:15] on the task force to take care of it.
[2:00:16] the gulfport police department
[2:00:19] is not going to do that.
[2:00:20] >>
[2:00:21] I'm very glad about that but I'm worried
[2:00:25] that it says in here that we could have to
[2:00:28] do that and
[2:00:29] if we sign that even though the training is changed
[2:00:31] --
[2:00:34] because this is what we signed,
[2:00:37] and did they ever cosign?
[2:00:42] >> I think they have since we did the
[2:00:43] training
[2:00:44] I think they have--
[2:00:45] >> but what the document says
[2:00:46] and what you are
[2:00:47] saying the training says is different.
[2:00:49] and that worries me.
[2:00:55] but
[2:00:56] I know if they didn't say anything in
[2:00:58] the training that's all you have to--
[2:01:01] >>
[2:01:02] and we are not trying to ask you to speculate.
[2:01:04] we are asking you what
[2:01:07] our process is today. And
[2:01:10] --I don't
[2:01:11] have a question at the moment for
[2:01:13] the chief but
[2:01:16] I will have comments
[2:01:19] in my report.
[2:01:20] >> my only question is have we called
[2:01:25] ice for any
[2:01:26] stop we made for whatever reason?
[2:01:31] but if we did,
[2:01:33] because it was my understanding and
[2:01:34] please if I
[2:01:35] am wrong correct me, it was my understanding
[2:01:37] that if we pulled
[2:01:40] someone over for speeding or drunken-driving,
[2:01:41] shoplifting
[2:01:42] and ran their report as you do for everybody
[2:01:49] and we found that ice had a warrant for their arrest,
[2:01:52] it was my understanding
[2:01:55] we would then call ice and are required
[2:01:57] to hold them for 30 minutes in case
[2:01:58] ice decided to show up
[2:02:01] . That was some time ago
[2:02:04] that I heard that so
[2:02:06] if that is no longer correct information I would appreciate
[2:02:09] any way you can correct it and the
[2:02:10] second part of that
[2:02:12] would be have you had to call ice at any point
[2:02:16] and have they come in to our
[2:02:19] town to get someone pulled over for
[2:02:22] some totally other reason?
[2:02:25] >> so the first part of that question is
[2:02:30] if we had contact with someone and there was
[2:02:33] a criminal charge that we have put on them,
[2:02:37] we handle that and they go to jail.
[2:02:43] if
[2:02:44] there is a detainer, ice would have
[2:02:46] contact with them at the pinellas county jail. Does that answer the question?
[2:02:49] >> I think so.
[2:02:52] so we don't call ice
[2:02:54] from the potential traffic stop?
[2:02:55] >> no,
[2:02:56] we do not.
[2:02:58] we
[2:03:00] would resolve that traffic stop in
[2:03:01] the example you are
[2:03:04] providing,
[2:03:07] transport them to jail
[2:03:10] and contact ice to let them know that
[2:03:13] they are there.
[2:03:14] >> okay. And
[2:03:16] do you know,
[2:03:22] have we called ice, and you've already said
[2:03:24] no.
[2:03:25] >> we have not, no. >> okay, thank you.
[2:03:26] that
[2:03:28] was the questions for you so now we
[2:03:29] will switch over
[2:03:31] to the city manager.
[2:03:32] I would like an opportunity on this
[2:03:37] subject only of course, any
[2:03:39] clarifying questions of anything you
[2:03:40] said in speaking order.
[2:03:49] did you have anything else to add?
[2:03:50] >>
[2:03:55] I think the chief was clear that we
[2:03:56] have not had an interaction that was
[2:03:57] anticipated or anything like that
[2:03:59] but I cannot stress enough that
[2:04:02] there are three aspects.
[2:04:03] the city of st. Petersburg, we will use, has not.
[2:04:07] you saw the issue the other day that
[2:04:11] they have not opted out.
[2:04:13] there is no level in this county that
[2:04:17] has reached that.
[2:04:18] now the sheriff may be doing something
[2:04:20] but we have been not
[2:04:23] --we have not been made aware
[2:04:26] of it. The arrests the
[2:04:27] other day during the protest were tied to individuals
[2:04:31] trespassing inside of private property.
[2:04:33] those were not immigration arrests
[2:04:38] so there are different
[2:04:40] things happening here getting all lumped together.
[2:04:46] but I will be the 1st to acknowledge that
[2:04:47] based
[2:04:48] on the governor's direction, that
[2:04:50] I did authorize the chief to sign it because
[2:04:53] it was determined
[2:04:56] that the
[2:04:57] government was requiring each agency to participate
[2:04:59] .
[2:05:02] as far as the penalties
[2:05:05] outlined in the
[2:05:06] key west correspondence I will defer
[2:05:07] to the city attorney unless council
[2:05:08] has
[2:05:11] any further questions.
[2:05:12] >>
[2:05:16] let's see if there's anything specific
[2:05:17] to the city manager before
[2:05:19] we move on to the city attorney.
[2:05:20] >> no questions.
[2:05:22] >> I understand the governor may have
[2:05:23] said it was required
[2:05:26] that in fact in 287
[2:05:28] it is not mandatory. It's mandatory
[2:05:32] for counties that have a jail
[2:05:33] but not for cities and apparently what
[2:05:35] I was reading today
[2:05:38] it may not be totally up to
[2:05:39] date but there's at least 100 cities
[2:05:41] in florida that have not signed one.
[2:05:43] I understand it could be more complicated
[2:05:47] to rescind one then to not
[2:05:50] sign it in the first place.
[2:05:53] I'm
[2:05:54] probably the sheriff was putting pressure on things but it
[2:05:55] was never mandatory to sign this. Personally
[2:06:02] >> is this a question?
[2:06:04] >> are you doing your public comment
[2:06:08] now?
[2:06:09] >> do
[2:06:10] you know if ice has cosigned our agreement?
[2:06:11] >> I have no idea.
[2:06:14] we will go on and locate it.
[2:06:19] >> let me see if I have anything else here.
[2:06:22] the only other thing that was different
[2:06:26] is that the chief
[2:06:28] was saying that we send people directly to
[2:06:29] jail. You had said earlier
[2:06:31] that we hold people, we let ice know them
[2:06:38] --know we have them and hold them
[2:06:39] for an
[2:06:40] hour and if they don't come we release them.
[2:06:41] >>
[2:06:42] we are talking about are we
[2:06:43] arresting someone for an immigration violation?
[2:06:50] >> as opposed to a
[2:06:51] traffic stop?
[2:06:52] >> chief was speaking if they have
[2:06:53] a criminal
[2:06:54] violation they will be arrested based on that and
[2:06:55] then taken to jail and we would then
[2:06:57] tell the federal government hey, this
[2:06:59] person is in jail. That's where the difference
[2:07:02] is coming about,
[2:07:05] --
[2:07:08] >> I am confident
[2:07:11] that when I say we are not
[2:07:14] out soliciting or arresting based
[2:07:16] on someone's immigration status ,
[2:07:17] we
[2:07:20] are making contact with them as the mayor spoke of,
[2:07:23] law enforcement activity.
[2:07:26] >>
[2:07:28] so one other question. This is the
[2:07:29] first time I saw this letter.
[2:07:32] they said by rescinding that,
[2:07:40] , they were automatically making key west a
[2:07:41] sanctuary
[2:07:43] city which is illegal. But as I understand,
[2:07:47] we have to comply with
[2:07:50] 908 - 104 which
[2:07:53] says you can't impede any procedures
[2:07:56] going on but by rescinding
[2:07:59] 287
[2:08:00] you are actually not impeding anything
[2:08:02] that ice is doing, you are just not doing something
[2:08:05] additional. So it seems to me that key west
[2:08:08] would have had a good case for not
[2:08:09] being a sanctuary city . And again,
[2:08:17] I
[2:08:18] know that the governor and the attorney
[2:08:20] general are trying to strong-arm people
[2:08:21] into doing this stuff so whether it's fair
[2:08:23] or constitutional or legal may not be the point.
[2:08:27] and
[2:08:28] I realize if we resend it, we could
[2:08:30] risk
[2:08:36] that same thing but technically
[2:08:37] we are not a sanctuary city and we would
[2:08:39] still be following 908.104.
[2:08:42] so
[2:08:43] that would be I guess for the city attorney, too.
[2:08:48] marlene has to--
[2:08:49] >>
[2:08:55] councilmember shaw, any questions for city manager?
[2:08:56] >> no,
[2:08:57] I am still
[2:08:59] holding my comments for later.
[2:09:00] >>
[2:09:01] okay, that's fine. I don't have any additional
[2:09:03] questions.
[2:09:05] I appreciate you clarifying why both
[2:09:06] of us
[2:09:08] who were paying attention a year ago and heard this
[2:09:11] will hold them for whether it was 30 minutes
[2:09:12] or
[2:09:14] an hour and now I understood from
[2:09:15] the chief that that is not
[2:09:17] the process we are doing. So that's where there was
[2:09:21] some confusion.
[2:09:22] >> I was
[2:09:23] told recently that we are holding them.
[2:09:28] >> I misunderstood. Go ahead, andy. >> originally
[2:09:30] that came about because it
[2:09:31] was a direction that the sheriff was saying.
[2:09:35] after 30 minutes the recommendation was to let
[2:09:36] anybody
[2:09:38] go because they said technically the office was in tampa
[2:09:45] and no one was coming over in 30 minutes
[2:09:47] to pick anybody up . So if they didn't have a
[2:09:48] criminal
[2:09:49] charge they weren't holding them.
[2:09:51] >>
[2:09:54] so I do have a question now because
[2:09:55] it
[2:09:56] was a week ago on monday I was told
[2:09:57] we do hold them for an hour and if ice does not come,
[2:10:00] that is that. So
[2:10:03] what is the fact?
[2:10:04] >>
[2:10:05] do you want to clarify the difference what we
[2:10:09] are talking about?
[2:10:10] >> we actually do hold them for an hour
[2:10:15] in the
[2:10:16] case where and ice agent says they
[2:10:18] are coming. If
[2:10:19] they say no one is available then we
[2:10:21] release them.
[2:10:24] >> and I was telling you
[2:10:25] what the sheriff-- when this first came out
[2:10:27] and
[2:10:30] suggested to everyone at that time.
[2:10:33] >>
[2:10:34] thank you.
[2:10:35] >> so would that be, you
[2:10:36] are holding somebody that
[2:10:39] you learn is on a list
[2:10:42] that did not commit any
[2:10:50] crime like speeding or drunk driving
[2:10:51] because those people
[2:10:53] you were sending to jail.
[2:10:54] >> right, speeding is not a
[2:10:55] crime to be clear but yes that
[2:10:57] would be someone who has a detainer.
[2:10:58] >> so if someone
[2:11:00] was speeding or went through a
[2:11:03] stop sign which is
[2:11:04] not a jay leblanc offense, we would
[2:11:06] check and if they were on the list we
[2:11:09] would hold them for an hour?
[2:11:12] >> you are saying list but
[2:11:13] that is not at all how it works. We
[2:11:15] don't have a list.
[2:11:16] >> right but you
[2:11:18] check the system.
[2:11:19] >>
[2:11:21] we check their records to
[2:11:22] make sure their drivers license is valid
[2:11:24] and ultimately that's
[2:11:25] what we are trying to do.
[2:11:26] >> if they
[2:11:27] do something that is not
[2:11:30] a jay leblanc offense and we checked
[2:11:33] the records and they have a hold
[2:11:36] from ice, we would hold them for an
[2:11:38] hour and if nobody came we would release them?
[2:11:39] >> that's
[2:11:40] not actually
[2:11:42] accurate. We call the
[2:11:48] ice office.
[2:11:51] we are not going to stand on the
[2:11:53] side of the road and wait for an hour.
[2:11:54] >> if someone
[2:11:57] is coming how long do we wait?
[2:11:58] >>
[2:11:59] we
[2:12:00] wait for an hour.
[2:12:01] >> that's
[2:12:03] were the biggest issue is.
[2:12:06] to clarify
[2:12:09] they
[2:12:11] have to do something to interact with law enforcement
[2:12:15] and that's were the issue becomes. If it's a jay leblanc
[2:12:18] fence they are notified. If
[2:12:21] they say they are coming
[2:12:22] --we would do that for any law enforcement
[2:12:24] agency of someone had a hold
[2:12:27] but not to say --I guess the
[2:12:30] number one thing is
[2:12:33] we are not doing what
[2:12:36] people are seeing in the media. We are not going out to a construction site
[2:12:38] and rounding people up or anything like
[2:12:39] that. We
[2:12:42] are doing it based on
[2:12:45] if we have a reason for law enforcement to
[2:12:46] interact with them.
[2:12:48] >> and to clarify we
[2:12:51] are talking about gulfport
[2:12:54] so when we get 75 comments from people
[2:12:57] outside of gulfport
[2:13:00] we are not addressing what they are
[2:13:01] doing
[2:13:03] and that is not the focus of the gulfport city council, it's to
[2:13:04] address
[2:13:06] gulfport issues.
[2:13:09] should we
[2:13:12] move to the city attorney?
[2:13:17] >> mayor, this is a relatively short letter but
[2:13:18] I think
[2:13:20] it's important for the people to hear because it
[2:13:21] does affect council.
[2:13:23] this is from the attorney general
[2:13:29] dated july 2, 2025 which I think is
[2:13:30] also important because
[2:13:33] the action taken by key west
[2:13:36] was on june 30
[2:13:39] so I don't know how the attorney general
[2:13:40] new two
[2:13:43] days after this happened.
[2:13:45] but it says dear city commission. On
[2:13:46] june 30,
[2:13:47] 2025 the key west city commission voted to avoid
[2:13:52] the 287g agreement with
[2:13:57] immigration and ice. In doing so you
[2:13:58] directly violated florida law.
[2:14:03] for the statute prohibits law enforcement and local government
[2:14:07] entities from adopting or having
[2:14:10] in effect any sanctuary policy
[2:14:13] as the vice mayor referred
[2:14:16] to. Sanctuary policy means law,
[2:14:18] policy, practice, procedure or custom
[2:14:24] adopted or allowed by state or local governmental entity which
[2:14:25] prohibits
[2:14:26] or impedes a law enforcement agency from complying
[2:14:34] , which is a federal law or
[2:14:36] which prohibits or impedes a law enforcement agency from
[2:14:39] communicating or cooperating with federal immigration agency
[2:14:45] so as to limit such law enforcement agency
[2:14:48] in or prohibit them from participating
[2:14:49] in federal
[2:14:50] immigration operation with a federal immigration
[2:14:55] agency as permitted by
[2:14:58] federal and state law
[2:15:00] referring to section 908.1026 and additionally section
[2:15:04] 908.1041 requires
[2:15:08] state and local jurisdictions to use best efforts
[2:15:13] to support the enforcement of federal
[2:15:14] immigration law. By declaring the existing
[2:15:16] 287g agreement
[2:15:19] void, key west
[2:15:22] has made itself a sanctuary city
[2:15:23] prohibiting police officers from receiving
[2:15:27] the necessary federal training to
[2:15:28] adequately
[2:15:31] enforce us immigration laws and not
[2:15:32] only prevent city police
[2:15:34] from enforcing current
[2:15:37] laws but effectively prevents the
[2:15:38] police department from participating
[2:15:40] in federal immigration operations.
[2:15:43] in
[2:15:44] this instance however it's even worse.
[2:15:46] the commission
[2:15:47] did not merely prevent the police
[2:15:48] department from entering the agreement,
[2:15:52] it voided
[2:15:54] the existing agreement under which the
[2:15:55] police
[2:15:56] department was actively operating.
[2:16:00] bad policy, and illegal. It goes on
[2:16:04] to talk about key west
[2:16:07] specifically and
[2:16:13] illegal aliens representing a significant danger
[2:16:15] giving examples of arresting offenders
[2:16:18] but I think the last paragraph is
[2:16:22] what is disconcerting.
[2:16:23] florida law unequivocally forbids
[2:16:25] sanctuary
[2:16:26] policies and requires local governments
[2:16:28] to use quotation,
[2:16:31] best efforts,
[2:16:33] to assist with federal immigration enforcement.
[2:16:36] your recent action violated both laws.
[2:16:37] the city commission must
[2:16:40] immediately reverse the june 30 kind
[2:16:43] , 23
[2:16:46] five action and allow resumption of
[2:16:48] cooperative engagement with ice . Failure to take
[2:16:52] corrective action
[2:16:53] will result in the enforcement of all
[2:16:56] applicable penalties including removal from
[2:16:58] office
[2:17:00] by the government -- by the governor
[2:17:07] and the florida constitution.
[2:17:10] >> thank you.
[2:17:13] do we have any questions of city
[2:17:15] attorney in speaking order?
[2:17:16] >> my
[2:17:17] only question is did key west
[2:17:19] reverse?
[2:17:20] >>
[2:17:22] that is my understanding.
[2:17:25] >>
[2:17:27] I have no questions except to say
[2:17:28] I once lived in a sanctuary city and
[2:17:31] we don't want that.
[2:17:34] >> I understand what happened in key west
[2:17:40] but I haven't heard whether any of the
[2:17:41] cities
[2:17:42] who did not sign the agreement in the
[2:17:43] first place--
[2:17:44] >> whether they have
[2:17:45] received anything?
[2:17:46] >> I would have
[2:17:47] to research the answer to that
[2:17:49] because they went on to say well what
[2:17:50] you did was
[2:17:51] worse than that but we don't know
[2:17:52] if they did anything
[2:17:58] other than, it sounds like they can
[2:18:00] declare them by not doing something. Now again,
[2:18:04] --
[2:18:05] >>
[2:18:06] because you aren't saying you aren't going
[2:18:07] to comply with 908.104
[2:18:10] --?
[2:18:11] >>
[2:18:13] if you become a
[2:18:16] sanctuary city, you are.
[2:18:19] >> but I mean,-- >> trust me I'm not defending
[2:18:22] .
[2:18:23] >> but it seems to me
[2:18:25] that what he is saying is not right and now
[2:18:26] whether
[2:18:29] it went to court
[2:18:32] and what
[2:18:33] would happen, who knows but it would
[2:18:35] be a hassle and I totally get
[2:18:36] that.
[2:18:37] >> I'm more concerned about, my
[2:18:38] job is to give legal advice for council
[2:18:39] and I
[2:18:41] don't want to see council
[2:18:43] removed by the governor coming in. I
[2:18:44] don't know
[2:18:45] how they knew about this vote within
[2:18:46] two days. That's very disconcerting.
[2:18:50] >> and again
[2:18:52] it's not saying you are not complying with
[2:18:56] the law, because you are.
[2:19:02] the other
[2:19:03] part was not mandatory. So I don't
[2:19:05] know how they can--
[2:19:08] >> I don't know why
[2:19:11] they did this but I think it was
[2:19:17] to send a message to cities--
[2:19:18] >>
[2:19:19] to intimidate.
[2:19:20] >> and it's like you said,
[2:19:21] all the counties had to do
[2:19:22] it, all the sheriff's in the entire state
[2:19:23] have all agreed to do it
[2:19:26] .
[2:19:27] >> because they
[2:19:28] have jails and they were required.
[2:19:29] >> you're right. State-mandated
[2:19:32] so there was no decisions
[2:19:34] and when this first came out as I said, I was
[2:19:35] telling the councilmember we were
[2:19:38] told how
[2:19:40] the sheriff was going to deal with
[2:19:41] this and a
[2:19:42] lot of municipalities were like okay well
[2:19:43] of no one's coming in a half an hour
[2:19:47] --I'm not saying it wasn't
[2:19:49] in effect, I'm saying it wasn't effective. That's the
[2:19:53] only distinction. But
[2:19:54] you are right this has been pushed
[2:19:56] from the governor's office,
[2:19:59] from the attorney general,
[2:20:02] from federal. That's what
[2:20:04] every municipality has hanging over
[2:20:06] their heads.
[2:20:07] >> other states are not
[2:20:08] doing this but--
[2:20:09] >> I looked at that
[2:20:11] and
[2:20:14] it said at least 40+ states
[2:20:17] , it looked
[2:20:19] like a little over 40 states have signed
[2:20:22] and some states already had state
[2:20:23] law
[2:20:25] that said they couldn't. California,
[2:20:29] oregon,
[2:20:34] but our state is apparently going
[2:20:35] the other direction.
[2:20:36] >> thank you. >>
[2:20:38] councilmember?
[2:20:39] >>
[2:20:43] you answered the question which was
[2:20:44] one of
[2:20:45] mine as well as the vice mayor's question,
[2:20:46] I just heard something about jail.
[2:20:50] did you say
[2:20:53] key west has jails?
[2:20:56] >> it's just mandatory,
[2:20:59] any county or city
[2:21:02] that has a jail, they have
[2:21:05] to sign it by state law.
[2:21:08] >> I was aware of that but I'm also aware that
[2:21:09] we
[2:21:11] do have some holding cells
[2:21:14] that are not in use right now. Does
[2:21:17] that come into it at all?
[2:21:18] >> no, I
[2:21:19] think it has to be a jail where someone
[2:21:20] is being held for a
[2:21:23] more permanent time as opposed to
[2:21:25] temporary.
[2:21:26] >> we no longer use our holding cells.
[2:21:29] >> mandatory
[2:21:32] with a county jail facility.
[2:21:33] >>
[2:21:35] I just wanted to make sure those didn't come into play.
[2:21:37] >> can answer question? There are jails managed
[2:21:40] by the monroe county sheriff's office.
[2:21:44] >> are you done? >> yes, thank you.
[2:21:47] city
[2:21:49] attorney did you have any other reports?
[2:21:50] >>
[2:21:51] no ma'am.
[2:21:52] >>
[2:21:53] I did have one question for you and
[2:21:56] I said again
[2:21:59] , there has been so much controversy out there
[2:22:02] and I would like
[2:22:05] to calm things down.
[2:22:08] could you give a very brief
[2:22:13] clarifying, the meaning of a nonpartisan race?
[2:22:17] >> thank you.
[2:22:23] >>
[2:22:26] I wrote it down so I should have
[2:22:29] it
[2:22:30] >> in layman terms, please.
[2:22:31] >> [ laughter ] okay, here it is.
[2:22:35] so gulfport ordinance
[2:22:40] adopts the state of florida election
[2:22:41] law and florida statute 100
[2:22:44] which is the state election law
[2:22:47] , 100.3605 regulates conduct of municipal
[2:22:50] elections and florida statute 97
[2:22:53] provides
[2:22:56] elections are nonpartisan
[2:22:58] which is defined as an office for which a candidate
[2:23:02] is prohibited from campaigning
[2:23:05] or qualifying for election or retention in office
[2:23:09] based on party affiliation.
[2:23:11] that is the definition of nonpartisan
[2:23:17] so you cannot use your party affiliation
[2:23:19] or run under party affiliation in a nonpartisan election.
[2:23:29] it is something that is supposed to
[2:23:31] be completely excluded.
[2:23:32] >> thank you. Social
[2:23:33] media has not been good to us in the
[2:23:34] last
[2:23:35] week and that was another brouhaha
[2:23:38] about residence being angry that our candidates
[2:23:45] are not going
[2:23:46] out there and promoting their party affiliation and
[2:23:48] I am saying you can't do that.
[2:23:50] it's illegal. So if you hear anybody saying
[2:23:54] that, it's illegal. Don't you
[2:23:57] hate when laws get in the way?
[2:23:58] but that's the law and that's what we
[2:24:00] are going to follow.
[2:24:03] all right, thank you.
[2:24:04] >>
[2:24:05] mayor before we move on can I have one other topic
[2:24:06] to cover? Council had asked
[2:24:09] us
[2:24:12] to look into the feasibility of
[2:24:14] waiving fees, permit fees to properties
[2:24:15] that have been demolished and
[2:24:18] individuals
[2:24:20] are waiting on. We set some basic criteria
[2:24:22] , that they needed to be homesteaded
[2:24:26] and they were in process, things to
[2:24:27] that
[2:24:30] effect. We identified 25
[2:24:33] final demolition permits.
[2:24:34] of those, seven were homestead properties.
[2:24:39] of that, four
[2:24:40] have already started the process.
[2:24:43] two have conveyed to us that they
[2:24:44] are either holding up on their own
[2:24:48] benefit or
[2:24:50] they are in the process of doing it themselves.
[2:24:52] there's not a delay. One property
[2:24:54] we identified
[2:24:57] we had no knowledge of it.
[2:25:00] a lot of the properties have been sold in the last
[2:25:03] year
[2:25:06] and we
[2:25:07] came down to as I've said, there were
[2:25:09] seven homesteaded properties on the
[2:25:12] final demolition list and
[2:25:14] four of them have new construction
[2:25:15] permits which brought us
[2:25:18] to three. Two we are
[2:25:21] knowledgeable of that aren't
[2:25:24] looking for anything
[2:25:26] and another met the criteria. Homesteaded, no permit,
[2:25:30] and we just
[2:25:33] hadn't heard anything yet. Another property you identified
[2:25:38] was for sale. We know it's for sale. We narrowed it
[2:25:41] down to that point but there have been
[2:25:45] 25 demolition permits that were fine old
[2:25:48] --'s
[2:25:51] that were final
[2:25:54] .
[2:25:55] >> thank you.
[2:25:57] any questions clarifying
[2:26:00] on that, in speaking order?
[2:26:03] >> just one.
[2:26:06] >> would we need
[2:26:07] to have a consensus whether we wanted
[2:26:09] to
[2:26:12] waive the fees?
[2:26:13] >> the seven
[2:26:15] , of the seven
[2:26:17] there were seven homesteaded. Four
[2:26:18] already started the process and
[2:26:19] are not looking for anything. We've got
[2:26:21] it narrowed down to one property
[2:26:24] that have not made
[2:26:27] up their decision. The others
[2:26:30] have advised us
[2:26:33] you have one
[2:26:35] property you would be waiving fees for.
[2:26:42] >> so we would have to decide whether we
[2:26:44] want to waive it for just one.
[2:26:45] >>
[2:26:48] and you are picking out a person
[2:26:51] and they are realizing a
[2:26:52] benefit that is not available to others.
[2:26:54] >> thank
[2:26:55] you for clarifying and bringing that back to us.
[2:27:02] city clerk report?
[2:27:03] >> no report this evening.
[2:27:04] >>
[2:27:05] it is 8:19 and we will be starting our
[2:27:06] council meeting very soon,
[2:27:09] that I think that I would
[2:27:11] like to maybe take a five-minute bathroom break
[2:27:12] and then we will
[2:27:15] get back and get
[2:27:17] council comments and if we are going past
[2:27:18] 10:30
[2:27:21] we will take another break at how
[2:27:22] about
[2:27:24] five minutes right now? I think
[2:27:26] most of you may want to hear the council
[2:27:29] comments. Party me? I'm just saying
[2:27:33] it. We will resume at 10:25.
[2:27:38] >>
[2:27:41] the meeting has resumed. Thank you very
[2:27:45] much, have your seats.
[2:27:46] we will now do council comments and reports
[2:27:48] and
[2:27:51] we will go in order
[2:27:52] starting with councilmember jackson.
[2:27:53] >>
[2:27:54] okay.
[2:27:57] I
[2:27:58] attended the cmp see. I think that's
[2:28:00] the right acronym.
[2:28:03] while we were there they had
[2:28:04] some speakers who were speaking about first contact
[2:28:06] formerly
[2:28:11] known as 211, tampa bay cares which goes in
[2:28:12] line with what we
[2:28:13] saw earlier forgetting housing access,
[2:28:17] disaster response and skilled assistance and
[2:28:18] resources
[2:28:19] for what is needed if you are needing
[2:28:22] financial assistance, experiencing homelessness
[2:28:24] or food insecurity.
[2:28:29] so I'm looking for consensus on council to make
[2:28:33] february 11
[2:28:36] 211 day.
[2:28:39] 211 for first contact day
[2:28:41] within the city of gulfport so that
[2:28:46] first contact provides financial assistance
[2:28:48] such as overdue rent,
[2:28:51] and you have to
[2:28:52] have eligibility to get the benefits
[2:28:55] . They spend about $100,000 a month on
[2:28:57] financial assistance
[2:29:01] and they have specialty help lines
[2:29:07] for multiple needs within the city for anyone
[2:29:12] who needs something.
[2:29:15] >> what does that mean?
[2:29:20] to publicize the concept?
[2:29:21] >> and we
[2:29:22] will
[2:29:24] have things on the website
[2:29:27] to have resources.
[2:29:30] >>
[2:29:33] a proclamation for resolution.
[2:29:36] thanks.
[2:29:39] >> absolutely.
[2:29:42] they provide help with
[2:29:45] utilities because
[2:29:48] if your water is shut off, they
[2:29:50] can take your children.
[2:29:51] >> we do refer individuals
[2:29:57] and teresa if you
[2:29:59] want to speak to that--
[2:30:00] >> it is something
[2:30:01] that utilities does hand out quite
[2:30:02] often but councilmember jackson got
[2:30:03] that info and I have passed it on
[2:30:05] to utilities to make sure they update
[2:30:09] information
[2:30:10] because they are doing a lot more
[2:30:12] now than what they used to do whereas
[2:30:14] if you cannot pay your utility bill
[2:30:15] we would give you this information.
[2:30:17] they have so many more services now
[2:30:21] and
[2:30:27] council
[2:30:29] manager jackson has put them in touch.
[2:30:30] >>
[2:30:31] so people know you can dial 211 to get
[2:30:32] the information you need and the help
[2:30:33] you need depending on what
[2:30:36] your needs are. Great resource.
[2:30:39] >> that's my report, thanks.
[2:30:42] >> I
[2:30:45] don't have any report. My favorite
[2:30:48] thing is the boomerangs .
[2:30:54] for those of you who
[2:30:55] have a saturday morning you should
[2:30:57] really check out the boomerangs.
[2:31:00] not only is it fun and a great group of guys, but
[2:31:02] they are always collecting food. They had so much
[2:31:05] food that they collected the other
[2:31:06] day and it
[2:31:08] was wonderful. That's it, thank you.
[2:31:12] >> so
[2:31:15] the gulfport environmental team
[2:31:18] have their
[2:31:20] first larger meeting and did a training
[2:31:21] on how to use
[2:31:24] our software so
[2:31:26] we are going to be setting up a date
[2:31:30] to actually measuring trees
[2:31:32] and probably by neighborhood. The
[2:31:33] goal is to have
[2:31:36] people who live in various neighborhoods going around
[2:31:42] and if somebody
[2:31:44] knows someone or someone is doing their
[2:31:45] lawn and they want us to
[2:31:48] measure their trees we will gladly go and
[2:31:49] measure trees. We are not going to
[2:31:51] be invading people's property.
[2:31:54] just want to make sure that is clear. We are primarily
[2:31:55] doing
[2:31:56] public trees and also palm or bamboo
[2:32:00] planted someplace public.
[2:32:03] that means they don't really
[2:32:05] call for canopy cover but you can't plant
[2:32:06] a
[2:32:08] tree because there's already something there.
[2:32:11] we will just kind of be measuring all of
[2:32:12] that
[2:32:14] and the more help we can get the better.
[2:32:15] later we
[2:32:16] want to look at planting trees, doing
[2:32:18] some coastal things,
[2:32:21] but
[2:32:24] we are starting slowly.
[2:32:27] I wanted to ask ,
[2:32:28] now that we are doing permitting different,
[2:32:33] could we get a report similar to what we are
[2:32:35] getting that tells us how many permits
[2:32:39] a contractor is doing, what the time
[2:32:42] frame is,
[2:32:45] and how much money we
[2:32:47] are collecting compared to the total so
[2:32:48] we can see what the revenue difference
[2:32:52] is and how many
[2:32:53] we are doing in house and how long those are taking?
[2:32:56] and especially if they could do a differentiation
[2:32:58] between simple
[2:33:01] things like a fence as opposed
[2:33:03] to someone who's doing a homeowner permit for
[2:33:06] something bigger, that would be great.
[2:33:07] >>
[2:33:10] >> we
[2:33:11] are only doing homeowner permits in
[2:33:13] house, right?
[2:33:16] and then I listened
[2:33:19] to the florida league of cities this morning
[2:33:28] . Some really distressing things
[2:33:29] besides the property tax which people
[2:33:31] are probably
[2:33:32] aware of, but they have a couple of bills that would make it so
[2:33:33] that you don't have to get a permit as
[2:33:37] long as
[2:33:39] a residential person is getting, for $7500
[2:33:43] or less.
[2:33:45] you can do a lot of plumbing or electrical
[2:33:47] work for $7500 and to not have to get a permit
[2:33:49] or have an inspection, not
[2:33:52] necessarily a great idea. And
[2:33:53] another is instead of having our own
[2:33:57] community developer who deals with
[2:34:01] zoning and board of adjustment
[2:34:03] in the planning and zoning board,
[2:34:07] cities have to have
[2:34:13] contracts
[2:34:14] with private contractors and did not
[2:34:15] specify what kind of contractors those are,
[2:34:16] who would do your zoning
[2:34:19] and board of adjustments
[2:34:20] so do your quasijudicial board of adjustments
[2:34:25] and could also change
[2:34:30] zoning and other requirements and the city
[2:34:31] under 10,000 people would be required
[2:34:32] to
[2:34:33] have three on retainer. More than
[2:34:34] 10,000
[2:34:37] people. You have to have six.
[2:34:40] so that is a big not
[2:34:43] paid for mandate that we
[2:34:46] would have to do and
[2:34:48] it would mean you get to choose those contractors
[2:34:49] but they can change
[2:34:52] our zoning if they wanted to.
[2:34:55] they are also talking a what-- talking
[2:34:58] about taking away business
[2:35:01] --and
[2:35:04] there's also talk of zoning fees
[2:35:07] and how you can increase or
[2:35:09] not increase them. And there's one about firefighters
[2:35:13] and the health insurance which
[2:35:16] I did not totally get but it's especially
[2:35:19] important if they have a
[2:35:21] cancer diagnosis.
[2:35:22] >> we provide that.
[2:35:25] we do have a cancer policy.
[2:35:26] >> I didn't totally understand that. >>
[2:35:31] we
[2:35:34] do purchase the extra additional insurance.
[2:35:35] >> the other
[2:35:36] thing for firefighters was
[2:35:37] about foam which has p fas in it
[2:35:40] and they are talking about
[2:35:43] banning it and
[2:35:45] the union apparently wants to ban that immediately because it's horrible
[2:35:49] and can be a cause of cancer.
[2:35:51] so there's one thing about not using it
[2:35:52] any more but then
[2:35:54] departments have a stockpile and how
[2:35:58] do you dispose of it? Do we have and
[2:35:59] are we using it?
[2:36:04] >>
[2:36:05] more of that foam has been disposed of.
[2:36:06] >>
[2:36:07] I'm glad to hear that because
[2:36:10] apparently it is expensive and a
[2:36:12] problem to dispose of it so that is good to know.
[2:36:16] and
[2:36:17] then sovereign immunity. There's a couple of bills. That is the amount that
[2:36:18] people can sue the city for. Right now
[2:36:22] it's
[2:36:25] --
[2:36:28] $200 per person or $300 per incident.
[2:36:32] >> they want to potentially change
[2:36:34] it. More
[2:36:37] moderate one is 300
[2:36:40] and 450 which kind of matches
[2:36:42] what cost-of-living changes would be appropriate.
[2:36:48] the other one is $600,000 and $1.2 million and
[2:36:50] you can sue above that if you want to.
[2:36:52] that would be devastating for small cities.
[2:36:55] so those were
[2:36:56] some scary things that I learned.
[2:36:58] and another thing is,
[2:37:01] our tree committee team
[2:37:04] needs tree kits
[2:37:10] and I think we need them for the
[2:37:13] city
[2:37:14] because as our horticulturist plants trees he
[2:37:16] will be plotting them
[2:37:19] so
[2:37:20] he needs a caliper, those are fairly cheap.
[2:37:25] and
[2:37:26] there's a measuring tape so instead of measuring by their
[2:37:28] circumference which
[2:37:30] you can use any old tape measure they do
[2:37:31] it by diameter meaning you have to
[2:37:32] take the circumference and divide
[2:37:34] it by pie.
[2:37:37] maybe your
[2:37:40] calculator on your phone doesn't have that any more
[2:37:43] so they have tape measures
[2:37:49] that have inches on one side and then inches divided by pi on
[2:37:52] the other side. Those are around $40.
[2:37:55] what I'd like
[2:37:58] to do is make sure we have a kit like
[2:37:59] that for the city
[2:38:00] to use and if we could purchase several kits
[2:38:08] and he to
[2:38:09] keep them at the library so people can check them out when they
[2:38:11] are going to do
[2:38:12] some measuring, or have a few with
[2:38:14] the
[2:38:15] team so when we go out we could have them
[2:38:17] it would probably cost
[2:38:20] less than $500 to do that
[2:38:23] so I'm asking for a consensus
[2:38:26] to do that.
[2:38:29] >> I'm sorry how much money? >>
[2:38:32] it's about
[2:38:35] $45 for these measuring tapes
[2:38:38] so if we got 10 of
[2:38:41] those
[2:38:42] , that would be $400 approximately
[2:38:47] and if we got a few of these
[2:38:49] it would be a maximum of $500.
[2:38:50] >> this is for the
[2:38:53] all volunteer group?
[2:38:55] >> some could be kept at the library
[2:38:56] and some kept with
[2:38:59] the team so
[2:39:00] that when people are going out they have them.
[2:39:01] >>
[2:39:02] I'm okay with them.
[2:39:05] >> same.
[2:39:08] >> I
[2:39:11] don't see why not.
[2:39:12] >> can you send me the details
[2:39:14] of what
[2:39:17] exactly do you want?
[2:39:20] >> yes I will send that to you.
[2:39:22] >> so we have a consensus that we can
[2:39:23] use money set aside
[2:39:25] in the tree budget to help this all
[2:39:26] volunteer
[2:39:27] group perform the activities to create
[2:39:29] the survey
[2:39:35] so that we know what our tree canopy is and
[2:39:38] what the starting point is.
[2:39:41] >> okay.
[2:39:44] well first
[2:39:47] I would like to cover
[2:39:49] something that I did not comment on before because
[2:39:53] there was a consensus already and that
[2:39:56] is the e communications.
[2:39:59] first and foremost with me it is always
[2:40:00] important
[2:40:01] to me to hear from residents , of course,
[2:40:05] but I want to make sure
[2:40:10] we are not setting precedent as to handle
[2:40:11] future communications.
[2:40:14] I understand this one
[2:40:20] so I am
[2:40:22] not refuting that but I am expressing
[2:40:23] concern about a precedence
[2:40:25] and while on that topic I wanted to
[2:40:27] say thank you to everyone who provided
[2:40:29] input at the workshop
[2:40:31] . It was really informative and pretrade
[2:40:34] --portrayed the past consensus remains
[2:40:38] strong so thank you again
[2:40:39] to everybody who participated in that.
[2:40:45] it was uplifting to see employees
[2:40:46] recognize that the employee appreciation
[2:40:47] luncheon and
[2:40:49] more so to see so many staff in one place
[2:40:59] talking laughing and
[2:41:00] enjoying time together. The mutual respect shown
[2:41:01] amongst many staff members was also palpable. It
[2:41:04] was really quite wonderful. Attending the arbor day celebration
[2:41:05] and seeing children participate
[2:41:08] including planting a tree was a beautiful
[2:41:09] scene
[2:41:10] and indicative of our future. Council
[2:41:11] member
[2:41:12] earley already mentioned the boomerangs
[2:41:14] , the food bank
[2:41:17] collection for the senior center
[2:41:20] and it was such
[2:41:23] an event. They are always
[2:41:24] so full of camaraderie and warmth
[2:41:28] and they also reported that as far as the
[2:41:32] cancer fund, they raised
[2:41:35] $3000
[2:41:38] that council member earley
[2:41:39] and I attended a couple months ago
[2:41:41] maybe?
[2:41:44] I've continued
[2:41:49] to attend weekly webinars in preparation for
[2:41:50] going to the legislative
[2:41:53] session in tallahassee and
[2:41:56] the vice mayor reported on a number of those things.
[2:41:59] it was approaching 2000 bills
[2:42:05] and
[2:42:07] it really shocked me to hear that
[2:42:08] one day alone 700 came in.
[2:42:11] it
[2:42:13] is going to be a riproaring time there.
[2:42:14] I'm enjoying
[2:42:16] the community art openings. There
[2:42:17] were three on
[2:42:20] friday night and if you missed
[2:42:26] the play
[2:42:27] beyond therapy, you missed a lot of laughs.
[2:42:29] the gabber
[2:42:34] debate was a great opportunity to meet
[2:42:35] and speak with
[2:42:37] candidates. Next we look forward to
[2:42:38] the league of women voters candidate forum
[2:42:41] on january 29, 6:00 p.m. And I
[2:42:43] hope everybody can get to that. There was a
[2:42:47] good showing last night and I hope
[2:42:50] the hickman venue with even more seating
[2:42:53] that everyone
[2:42:55] could not make it last night can make
[2:42:56] it to this one.
[2:42:59] and by the way they are all recorded.
[2:43:02] one is on youtube and I believe
[2:43:05] they are going to record at the hickman as
[2:43:08] well.
[2:43:11] I will follow up on that.
[2:43:15] while on the
[2:43:16] topic of candidates I am not code enforcement
[2:43:18] but
[2:43:19] I am just asking everyone to help their
[2:43:21] candidate
[2:43:23] by adhering to the sign codes regarding three--
[2:43:33] 3' from
[2:43:34] sidewalks and 10' from the streets and not
[2:43:35] on right of ways. I drove down 57
[2:43:36] street
[2:43:38] and turn left on 15th avenue and there
[2:43:39] were numerous signs that could be
[2:43:40] removed
[2:43:41] by code enforcement so I am hoping that
[2:43:42] the
[2:43:43] friends of those candidates get those
[2:43:46] addressed. For those that asked about lighting
[2:43:50] particularly near the tiki , staff
[2:43:53] is working on this. As a revenue source,
[2:43:57] a resident suggested we
[2:44:00] move the boat lifts
[2:44:02] now rather than waiting for the new
[2:44:03] ones that
[2:44:06] the city manager's advice
[2:44:08] that it's cost prohibitive but great
[2:44:09] to
[2:44:10] know that our residents are trying
[2:44:12] to think of ways
[2:44:18] to raise
[2:44:19] revenue. For those inquiring about
[2:44:20] the orange fenced area work had begun.
[2:44:21] I did not make it there
[2:44:23] to see the progress yet but I am anxious to
[2:44:24] do so as I know
[2:44:26] that others are. Considering the numerous property tax bills introduced
[2:44:30] this
[2:44:31] year every one of us needs to understand
[2:44:33] the effects that these could have on
[2:44:34] our city and be able to vote accordingly.
[2:44:35] an excellent user-friendly source
[2:44:41] is on the homepage under top news.
[2:44:42] very easy to find.
[2:44:45] I found it just like that
[2:44:46] even though I am still familiarizing with
[2:44:48] our new
[2:44:50] website which, thank you by the way. There's a breakdown
[2:44:54] of where taxes are budgeted down to
[2:44:57] the scent, for example the
[2:44:58] police department $.25 and there's
[2:45:00] a breakdown of how
[2:45:03] they receive money, how to read your tax bill
[2:45:06] and see what part
[2:45:09] comes to the city.
[2:45:12] how taxes are calculated,
[2:45:15] and even a
[2:45:18] city tax allocation calculator.
[2:45:21] it is all simple to
[2:45:22] read and it doesn't take you an hour,
[2:45:24] is what I am trying to convey.
[2:45:26] everyone please take a look at it.
[2:45:27] even without the legislature
[2:45:29] submitting bills it is informative and interesting.
[2:45:30] in
[2:45:32] regards to the website I also want
[2:45:33] to say that the adopt
[2:45:36] a dream program
[2:45:39] , there is already a
[2:45:42] map connected but soon the map
[2:45:47] will be active so people can go on and look for the area they want
[2:45:48] to adopt and
[2:45:51] select that
[2:45:54] and go on from there.
[2:45:57] in conversations with residents
[2:46:03] on a wide range of topics
[2:46:05] , excuse me, getting tongue-tied trying
[2:46:06] to
[2:46:09] get it all in. Two issues have been predominant. Acknowledgment
[2:46:12] of
[2:46:15] our sundown history and even an mlk
[2:46:17] memorial and then concerns regarding
[2:46:18] ice
[2:46:20] as we heard earlier. The first of
[2:46:21] these
[2:46:24] is included under discussions
[2:46:29] . On the topic of ice I don't think I
[2:46:30] need to go
[2:46:32] into a lot of the details that I put
[2:46:33] into it and what I was going
[2:46:36] to recommend is that we have a workshop or a
[2:46:38] forum and we did have some residents
[2:46:42] speak to that and make some suggestions as well but
[2:46:45] there's a
[2:46:47] lot of questions about it and a lot of
[2:46:48] misinformation and I think
[2:46:51] that
[2:46:54] could be a really positive thing
[2:46:57] for us. There is so much fear and
[2:46:58] so much
[2:46:59] information out there being discussed
[2:47:03] and the only way we can fully
[2:47:05] understand these things is to communicate
[2:47:06] and talk about it.
[2:47:12] I won't go through the
[2:47:13] examples of questions because I think
[2:47:15] we had plenty of those earlier. With
[2:47:16] that, that is the
[2:47:18] end of my report and thank you.
[2:47:21] >> very thorough.
[2:47:24] >> I hope I get to reports but first
[2:47:27] I wanted to address
[2:47:30] some of the public comments. I would like to say
[2:47:33] I get many emails from deborah
[2:47:42] about a number of things but one of the
[2:47:43] things, and it was red tonight by our city clerk,
[2:47:45] says I never know because she doesn't
[2:47:48] talk in sentences but yes I did meet
[2:47:49] with her in
[2:47:54] april 2025. Absolutely.
[2:47:57] yes
[2:47:59] she talked about the lincoln cemetery. She talked about many things.
[2:48:04] probably about 15 minutes
[2:48:05] into the conversation I'm not sure what
[2:48:07] we were talking about
[2:48:08] but it did happen. She says in her statement
[2:48:10] that
[2:48:13] I do not acknowledge
[2:48:19] that when we got the deed
[2:48:21] for the cemetery-- that's not right. When
[2:48:25] the lincoln cemetery was
[2:48:28] d annexed
[2:48:31] , that document is signed
[2:48:34] and she is absolutely correct it
[2:48:37] is not dated.
[2:48:40] I don't know what the
[2:48:41] policies were in 1967. I wasn't here. That's
[2:48:43] when this happened. How did I
[2:48:46] know that?
[2:48:47] when the mayor's office sent me those
[2:48:49] documents at my request
[2:48:50] and I shared it with everybody up here at
[2:48:52] council,
[2:48:56] debra never gave me those documents.
[2:48:58] she likes to say
[2:49:00] she gave it to me. I've also asked
[2:49:01] my staff if
[2:49:02] it's a problem that was not signed
[2:49:04] and
[2:49:07] dave said no but I don't know
[2:49:10] because I wasn't here so
[2:49:12] I just want to clarify yes I did meet with
[2:49:13] her and she did talk about the lincoln
[2:49:15] cemetery, and she did not give me
[2:49:16] documents
[2:49:19] and it's true that that transfer
[2:49:22] there, when the deed,
[2:49:25] I keep saying deed
[2:49:28] because I come from real estate and
[2:49:30] it's a different thing but when we annexed that
[2:49:31] property and everybody signed it
[2:49:33] in fresh, blue ink , there's no date on it.
[2:49:37] that is true. The second thing I
[2:49:40] wanted to address was
[2:49:43] ,
[2:49:46] the budget for advertising with the gabber .
[2:49:49] that was never handled by
[2:49:51] city council nor was it discussed in years past.
[2:49:57] that has always been handled by the city manager and has
[2:50:00] been in years past and it did happen again this year.
[2:50:04] in terms of joe's statement
[2:50:07] somehow
[2:50:10] that I should be writing for the gabber doing
[2:50:12] --I've only lived here 15 years but
[2:50:16] in my 15 years,
[2:50:17] I have not seen a single mayor in any
[2:50:19] of our cities routinely right
[2:50:22] for the gabber. That
[2:50:24] was never given to me as a job description
[2:50:25] so I never saw that.
[2:50:28] I am doing a lot
[2:50:30] of communicating, I think , compared
[2:50:31] to what I ever
[2:50:34] saw in the past,
[2:50:36] and I'm sorry you choose not to go
[2:50:37] on social media and that's okay.
[2:50:40] because on the website there is a
[2:50:41] weekly--
[2:50:43] let me back up.
[2:50:49] on the website all of us can write
[2:50:50] our monthly reports. I do that. You
[2:50:52] can read them
[2:50:55] any time. On a weekly basis
[2:50:58] there is a newsletter
[2:51:00] emailed to anyone who signs up and
[2:51:01] it takes about 10 seconds.
[2:51:04] in that I will
[2:51:09] tell what happened. I am not required
[2:51:10] to write but I routinely do.
[2:51:12] it's rare that I miss a monday like I
[2:51:13] did
[2:51:15] this monday but rare that I miss that so there's ways
[2:51:18] for you to know what's going on even
[2:51:19] if you
[2:51:21] don't use social media. When people
[2:51:22] say I don't write
[2:51:25] for the
[2:51:26] gabber again I don't see another mayor
[2:51:28] writing for the gabber and interesting
[2:51:31] enough when I look at the gabber
[2:51:34] , I don't see a single city that is advertising
[2:51:35] and
[2:51:36] spending advertising dollars besides gulfport so
[2:51:40] I don't understand why there is anger
[2:51:41] about
[2:51:43] how much we do or do not spend
[2:51:46] and
[2:51:48] is that directed at the other cities
[2:51:49] as well? I don't really understand.
[2:51:50] that is an
[2:51:51] administrative decision that was made.
[2:51:55] susan?
[2:52:01] I will always
[2:52:04] hold onto believing it
[2:52:06] couldn't happen to us is the same as
[2:52:09] believing that hurricanes can't come our way.
[2:52:12] I think that was a really potent analogy and with
[2:52:13] that in mind,
[2:52:16] you don't know how much I
[2:52:17] appreciate that we do have people
[2:52:21] speaking up and who are watching and being proactive lives.
[2:52:25] I do appreciate that
[2:52:28] . That is not the same as
[2:52:31] making decisions based on that.
[2:52:34] and the last response
[2:52:37] that I heard was
[2:52:40] the workshop on
[2:52:41] ice I think would be an excellent
[2:52:43] idea to do that. It
[2:52:45] would have been so much better to
[2:52:46] have done that tonight
[2:52:49] but we were kind of hijacked and we didn't know
[2:52:55] this was going to happen and took a long time.
[2:52:59] I
[2:53:00] definitely, all of us would have been
[2:53:01] better prepared if it had been a workshop.
[2:53:04] the things that I wrote that I wanted
[2:53:07] to say is this. My job is to take
[2:53:10] care of local issues. That's what
[2:53:12] I was voted in to do and what I intend
[2:53:14] to do. I am
[2:53:17] on this--when I am on this dais
[2:53:20] my opinion should be
[2:53:25] what I feel is in the best interest
[2:53:26] of the city
[2:53:28] after listening to my staff and residents.
[2:53:29] it is not to move
[2:53:32] forward any personal opinion. I
[2:53:34] have to bite my tongue, or any political party.
[2:53:38] the agenda of any political party. I
[2:53:41] wanted to say that. And then
[2:53:44] I want to drop down and say
[2:53:46] while I encourage free speech, I do not appreciate
[2:53:49] people stirring the pot by creating fake posts
[2:53:53] with photos of ice
[2:53:56] in it , ice vehicles
[2:53:58] in it who want us to believe that
[2:53:59] we are being invaded.
[2:54:05] people do that, we are
[2:54:06] not going to believe them when it
[2:54:08] really happens. So let's stick
[2:54:11] with the truth and figure out
[2:54:13] what we are going to do if that should
[2:54:14] come
[2:54:15] our way. Is kind of what I want to say.
[2:54:17] in terms of reports
[2:54:20] I did attend
[2:54:23] the ford pinellas meeting.
[2:54:26] we
[2:54:29] have a ford pinellas meeting
[2:54:36] what they are working on right now,
[2:54:41] they are trying to do this because
[2:54:44] they want to as opposed
[2:54:46] to, there's a suggestion the state is
[2:54:47] going to require
[2:54:50] that the three counties merge
[2:54:52] and that their only be one planning committee
[2:54:57] for the whole metropolitan and tampa bay area.
[2:54:59] it
[2:55:00] would combine the counties that I just
[2:55:05] said. So there's a lot of talk about
[2:55:06] that. I
[2:55:07] expressed to the director of that group
[2:55:08] that
[2:55:09] I had real concerns because even when
[2:55:11] I attend the meetings there is
[2:55:14] so little information
[2:55:17] about south pinellas. So much more
[2:55:18] is
[2:55:20] about the north side
[2:55:22] and if we go to a larger planning
[2:55:23] commission that I
[2:55:25] have real concerns we are going to
[2:55:26] get lost unknown is
[2:55:27] going to knowledge the issues that
[2:55:29] we have going on.
[2:55:32] so I
[2:55:33] appreciated I was able to say that
[2:55:35] to him and he said yes
[2:55:37] he has heard that from other cities
[2:55:38] and small cities as well. He
[2:55:41] did invite me to, there's going to
[2:55:42] be another
[2:55:43] meeting where the people are going to
[2:55:47] meet with one other
[2:55:49] larger planning councils outside of orlando
[2:55:53] but don't quote me were they've
[2:55:54] done exactly what they're talking about doing
[2:55:56] here and
[2:55:58] he would like for me to attend that
[2:55:59] because I have
[2:56:02] an opportunity to speak
[2:56:08] to some of the mayors and the people from smaller
[2:56:09] cities and
[2:56:11] see what their reaction is going to
[2:56:13] be. That to me would be an important thing for me to attend
[2:56:14] and then to come back and tell
[2:56:17] you what I think. Though there will only be one
[2:56:19] vote whether a merge happens or not,
[2:56:20] I
[2:56:21] don't know if donovan has heard anything
[2:56:23] like this but definitely what I
[2:56:26] am getting the read on is that
[2:56:29] if
[2:56:30] the three counties do not decide to
[2:56:32] do this amongst themselves and how
[2:56:33] they
[2:56:34] want to do it, the state may tell them
[2:56:40] they have to do it and how they are
[2:56:41] going to do it. So just another
[2:56:44] case where state might be
[2:56:46] trying to tell us what we need to
[2:56:47] do and I will keep you as informed
[2:56:48] as
[2:56:50] I can, thank you.
[2:56:53] >> can I add one quick thing?
[2:56:56] >> no. You
[2:56:58] can under new business if you'd like.
[2:56:59] >>
[2:57:02] let's move to consent.
[2:57:23] >> consent item 68. Consider approval of
[2:57:24] meeting minutes from meeting held
[2:57:26] january 6, 2026. 6b, resolution 2026
[2:57:27] - 02, a resolution authorizing
[2:57:28] the city manager to approve the purchase
[2:57:29] of advanced metering infrastructure
[2:57:30] gateway equipment and support
[2:57:31] services from neptune technology group.
[2:57:32] >>
[2:57:33] resolution 2026 -03 a resolution authorizing
[2:57:34] the city
[2:57:35] manager to enter into a contract with
[2:57:36] kirms communications llc for the installation
[2:57:37] of four advanced metering infrastructure polls
[2:57:39] and mounted hardware.
[2:57:42] >> motion to approve?
[2:57:45] >> I second.
[2:57:48] >> all those in favor? I.
[2:57:51] any opposed? Passes unanimously.
[2:57:53] >> that will take us to ordinance
[2:57:57] seven a.
[2:57:58] >>
[2:57:59] ordinance number 2026 - 01 first reading.
[2:58:03] and ordinance of the city of gulfport florida
[2:58:06] amending the city of code of ordinances
[2:58:07] amending chapter 22 zoning, article 6
[2:58:12] supplementary regulations
[2:58:13] for all districts by creating section
[2:58:14] 22 -6.14, certified recovery residences
[2:58:27] providing for
[2:58:28] definitions, providing for procedures for the review and
[2:58:29] approval of certified recovery residences
[2:58:30] and requests for reasonable accommodations, providing for
[2:58:31] revocation of reasonable accommodations,
[2:58:32] providing for codification, severability
[2:58:33] and for an effective
[2:58:34] date.
[2:58:35] >> motion to approve? Second.
[2:58:37] >> third. >> [ laughter ] thank you.
[2:58:40] city manager you want to make sense
[2:58:42] of that for us?
[2:58:43] >>
[2:58:45] this is
[2:58:46] also mandated by the state legislature
[2:58:48] that you
[2:58:50] will facilitate or attempt to facilitate the
[2:58:51] placement
[2:58:53] of these group home types of settings.
[2:58:57] we did have
[2:59:00] abilities for folks to make
[2:59:05] an application for variances and things like that
[2:59:06] but what
[2:59:09] this does, this allows
[2:59:11] a certified operation for lack of a better term.
[2:59:15] which, they have to meet certain
[2:59:16] licensing and state standards and there's categories.
[2:59:23] so this is not just you as in a government body
[2:59:24] saying
[2:59:26] you can operate here. They have to meet
[2:59:27] certain requirements
[2:59:30] and criteria before the
[2:59:32] approach your staff. What this does
[2:59:33] is give staff the
[2:59:35] opportunity to work with them but
[2:59:36] at the same time,
[2:59:37] there are regulations and minimum requirements.
[2:59:41] this is mandated by the state of florida.
[2:59:45] >> okay.
[2:59:48] no questions?
[2:59:51] >> I do have a couple questions.
[2:59:54] like many people here and
[2:59:55] if you've been up solved of that I
[2:59:57] am very happy for you
[3:00:00] but addiction has come
[3:00:03] to my family, right,
[3:00:04] and I know a lot about the group homes.
[3:00:06] the certification is a great thing
[3:00:09] if it
[3:00:11] is kept up with. A lot of people come to florida
[3:00:15] to come to a
[3:00:17] group home because there is a home
[3:00:19] shuffle. You get kicked out of this one
[3:00:24] you go to this one. That being said
[3:00:25] many
[3:00:26] people are helped by them and I can attest to that.
[3:00:33] the florida league of cities one
[3:00:35] of the bills they wanted to put up
[3:00:36] for their support, and it was voted
[3:00:39] on, was to limit the volume in a
[3:00:42] city. So it was
[3:00:45] , I think hollywood
[3:00:48] florida that a gentleman's and he
[3:00:51] is a councilmember there
[3:00:54] and
[3:00:55] has three daughters and they can no
[3:00:57] longer go out of the
[3:00:58] house or anything because he is surrounded
[3:01:00] by group homes with very little oversight to them.
[3:01:06] so the way they are run and how
[3:01:08] many per block, are we able to--
[3:01:09] >>
[3:01:18] >>>
[3:01:21] it
[3:01:22] also gives you the ability to revoke
[3:01:24] the permit
[3:01:25] if it is a nuisance to the neighborhood
[3:01:27] and that is
[3:01:30] outlined entitling talking about
[3:01:33] revoking. So that is there.
[3:01:36] any type of nuisance behavior
[3:01:39] , we would start right away.
[3:01:42] we have had situations like
[3:01:44] this but it was not regulated. And
[3:01:45] I think
[3:01:48] the one we had individuals
[3:01:51] under
[3:01:52] the guise of some type of organization
[3:01:54] helping people. It became
[3:01:57] I will buy your
[3:01:58] beer cheaper and they gathered in
[3:02:00] residential neighborhoods
[3:02:03] and you are talking about
[3:02:04] zoning and intensity, how many people
[3:02:06] are living in the house
[3:02:07] that are not family members, those
[3:02:09] are things
[3:02:12] you have to make application and then maintain.
[3:02:15] >> what constitutes
[3:02:18] a family. Four people
[3:02:19] with different last names, the whole thing.
[3:02:24] >> out of the way
[3:02:26] and a lot of times legislature will say we
[3:02:27] will give you the
[3:02:29] ability to do this and staff will have more
[3:02:32] oversight by implying we are supposed to
[3:02:36] help them have it
[3:02:37] happen but it also makes them put
[3:02:39] on paper
[3:02:41] what the plan is for lack of a better term
[3:02:42] .
[3:02:43] >>
[3:02:45] okay thank you.
[3:02:46] >> my question
[3:02:47] reading this and I understand there was
[3:02:48] a
[3:02:50] lot of discussion in planning and
[3:02:51] zoning about
[3:02:53] this, but you brought up a really
[3:02:57] good point
[3:03:00] and
[3:03:01] I was thinking how big can these be?
[3:03:02] I know they have to follow the height
[3:03:03] and
[3:03:04] setbacks if they were building something new.
[3:03:09] >> you would still have the zoning
[3:03:10] regulations
[3:03:12] in place. Lot size, coverage,
[3:03:13] those things are in place, this is
[3:03:15] operational because
[3:03:18] very candidly this becomes a commercial
[3:03:20] endeavor in a residential neighborhood.
[3:03:21] the
[3:03:24] zoning aspect of slot size
[3:03:27] that does not change.
[3:03:28] you're talking about the operation of
[3:03:30] the activity
[3:03:33] >> most of our houses we have a
[3:03:36] lot of 2-1
[3:03:39] and a few that are bigger so
[3:03:42] again
[3:03:43] you get into how many people can you
[3:03:45] put in a house?
[3:03:46] >> exactly
[3:03:47] and that is what you have to tell
[3:03:48] me your
[3:03:49] business plan so little question that
[3:03:51] if you tell me 10 people in
[3:03:54] a 800 ft.? House that
[3:03:55] business plan we will pay attention.
[3:03:59] we are not making that type of accommodation.
[3:04:04] this was the state said you have to try
[3:04:05] to work with these people because
[3:04:06] there is a need and
[3:04:09] we can do that but
[3:04:11] it is not going to allow you to come build
[3:04:12] with
[3:04:13] a clinic in a residential neighborhood this
[3:04:15] is to say
[3:04:17] you live in the house down the street and
[3:04:18] we have
[3:04:21] these people, but the one thing we did
[3:04:24] is when they add numbers
[3:04:27] , we will call them clients you have to
[3:04:30] add staff.
[3:04:32] so it's not just here are the keys
[3:04:36] get well.
[3:04:37] >> residential or
[3:04:38] daytime staff?
[3:04:39] >> combination of both, they
[3:04:40] lay out in
[3:04:41] the ordinance, it lays out what you
[3:04:42] have to do to
[3:04:45] meet the minimum requirements.
[3:04:48] certify is the whole key it
[3:04:51] is licensed.
[3:04:52] >> my guess is
[3:04:53] that it would be expensive to build a
[3:04:54] new house
[3:04:59] so they probably wouldn't to do that but on the
[3:05:00] other hand
[3:05:02] most houses are too little to be cost-effective
[3:05:03] so probably won't be a
[3:05:06] big issue. Also compared with family members
[3:05:09] if you have staff with four or
[3:05:12] five people living there in the parking
[3:05:15] becomes an issue and
[3:05:16] personally I don't want people to
[3:05:18] pave their whole yard so they can
[3:05:21] put in parking spaces.
[3:05:22] >> those are the questions
[3:05:23] we would ask.
[3:05:24] >> they don't necessarily
[3:05:27] say the person in charge.
[3:05:29] they don't always stay, they don't
[3:05:30] live there
[3:05:35] in many cases.
[3:05:36] >> I am used to one
[3:05:37] with
[3:05:38] residential and we live there.
[3:05:39] >> they do have monitors and that but what
[3:05:40] you are doing
[3:05:42] anything
[3:05:45] your points are
[3:05:47] selling it in the fact that size generates
[3:05:48] revenue. You are
[3:05:51] not really .
[3:05:52] >>
[3:05:53] we don't have eight bedroom house is
[3:05:54] in town.
[3:05:55] >> exactly you don't
[3:05:57] have multifamily , someone buys the
[3:05:58] apartment complex
[3:06:00] I have seen that done in
[3:06:02] affluent neighborhoods , in my other life
[3:06:03] that was
[3:06:06] a big product.
[3:06:07] >> they could do that
[3:06:09] here. Theoretically they could do that.
[3:06:12] >>
[3:06:14] yes, but have to be licensed and certified.
[3:06:17] that's the key that's for the cost
[3:06:18] is, people cost money. And
[3:06:22] what you are doing here is
[3:06:24] two things. One, becoming compliant with
[3:06:27] the state of florida, two approaching
[3:06:28] from
[3:06:31] a regulatory precision.
[3:06:34] that's the benefit you get.
[3:06:37] >> okay thank you. >>
[3:06:40] what you outlined so
[3:06:42] what I appreciate about it, thank you.
[3:06:46] I have no question.
[3:06:51] >> public comment on the matter? Yes.
[3:06:58] >> I have personal family
[3:07:00] proximity to this. I'm really happy
[3:07:04] to hear we are creating this,
[3:07:06] we will have parameters. There are
[3:07:07] some
[3:07:08] organizations that have multiple houses
[3:07:12] , that have like three or four or
[3:07:13] five
[3:07:14] bedroom houses so it's not gigantic.
[3:07:17] they usually have a captain person who is a
[3:07:19] resident but also has some
[3:07:22] privileges of leadership at night
[3:07:28] and this population
[3:07:29] tends to not have cars they are paying
[3:07:30] 200 per week they don't have cars they
[3:07:31] are
[3:07:32] using the bus or bikes so parking is
[3:07:34] less of an issue for these populations
[3:07:37] using a house
[3:07:40] more than any other use
[3:07:41] possible in my opinion. I am excited
[3:07:43] about this,
[3:07:44] I think it is great. I think the housing stock
[3:07:45] we have with the value of the bigger
[3:07:46] it
[3:07:47] is unlikely we will get run over,
[3:07:49] st. Pete
[3:07:50] has more neighborhoods where this could
[3:07:52] happen more. Sounds good.
[3:07:55] >> anybody else
[3:07:58] for public comment on this?
[3:08:00] seeing none, councilmember jackson yes
[3:08:10] [ roll call vote
[3:08:13] ]
[3:08:14] >> that will bring us
[3:08:15] to resolutions.
[3:08:16] >> resolution 2026-0 four,
[3:08:17] resolution authorizing city manager
[3:08:19] where applicable the
[3:08:22] mayor to enter loan agreement
[3:08:23] with the fema community disaster loan
[3:08:25] cdl program and support
[3:08:28] city operations of
[3:08:31] hurricane recovery efforts.
[3:08:34] >> motion to approve. >>
[3:08:37] second.
[3:08:38] >> mayor, thank
[3:08:39] you. We talked about this last summer as
[3:08:40] we were looking at revenues and
[3:08:41] things to that effect and where we
[3:08:43] were with
[3:08:45] revenues coming from the federal government
[3:08:49] and offset insurance claims and things
[3:08:50] to
[3:08:52] that effect, what
[3:08:54] I'm putting is something in place so
[3:08:55] we have a backstop
[3:08:57] because of delays at the federal level
[3:08:58] and
[3:09:00] things like that monies are not coming
[3:09:01] down safely
[3:09:04] , they did close the government
[3:09:06] , we have talked about that. And possibly
[3:09:07] could close the
[3:09:10] government again.
[3:09:12] we have and chris our financial director
[3:09:13] is here.
[3:09:15] we have about $2.6 million in reserves
[3:09:16] today,
[3:09:19] if we have another catastrophic
[3:09:21] event this summer we want to be prepared and
[3:09:22] we have
[3:09:24] to look at the revenue when we start
[3:09:27] planning for the next budget years
[3:09:28] so this
[3:09:30] is a backstop to what we have so we
[3:09:31] are not in
[3:09:34] a dilemma where we have to use reserves
[3:09:36] to make up a revenues that have not
[3:09:37] appeared yet
[3:09:40] or something like this I intend this
[3:09:43] is the last level of expense and you
[3:09:46] would have to approve any use
[3:09:49] of it. This gives us the ability
[3:09:52] to buy the mortgage, not buy if there
[3:09:53] is no cost
[3:09:55] until you use it and then you
[3:09:57] pay whatever the interest rate is set by
[3:09:58] the fed
[3:10:00] and now the interest rate has gone down
[3:10:01] some
[3:10:04] percentage, but it gives you
[3:10:07] a sense of
[3:10:08] security for lack of a better term
[3:10:10] but if you were to use any of
[3:10:13] these monies and take it out you would
[3:10:14] have to
[3:10:16] approve that.
[3:10:19] >> you just
[3:10:21] said we would have to approve use of
[3:10:22] it, I would like to clarify when you
[3:10:24] say we have to approve use meaning
[3:10:25] that there would
[3:10:27] be actual council vote at the time
[3:10:28] you say hey guys we need to
[3:10:30] take money or we are approving how
[3:10:31] the money is used?
[3:10:34] >> well, to me
[3:10:37] it is symbiotic and the fact
[3:10:39] you would have to approve actually
[3:10:40] accessing the home equity loan.
[3:10:43] for the lack of a
[3:10:45] better term.
[3:10:46] >> we are finalizing
[3:10:47] the application we made
[3:10:49] many months ago and I think we have
[3:10:50] been approved many
[3:10:52] months ago but we have never signed
[3:10:53] it.
[3:10:55] >> exactly
[3:10:57] this is authorization to sign.
[3:10:58] >>
[3:10:59] that was $5 million
[3:11:01] so I want to clarify if we need
[3:11:02] money that does not mean we would have
[3:11:04] to change the whole 5 million at one time we
[3:11:05] could say
[3:11:07] we need 1 million, today.
[3:11:08] >> that's correct.
[3:11:10] >> we can
[3:11:13] draw down. Specific questions you
[3:11:15] can draw down any amount of issues.
[3:11:16] >>
[3:11:21] it will act like a line of credit, 5 million
[3:11:22] with access to
[3:11:23] the next three years you can draw
[3:11:25] down as needed as
[3:11:27] the city manager stated we would come
[3:11:28] request approval if we were going
[3:11:31] to access the loan.
[3:11:32] >> good, questions
[3:11:34] in speaking order?
[3:11:36] >> no questions, we have talked about
[3:11:37] this similar to
[3:11:40] the heat lock all good for
[3:11:44] me.
[3:11:45] >>
[3:11:46] I was making sure we do not pay interest
[3:11:47] or anything until we accessed
[3:11:49] the money.
[3:11:50] >> you do not pay interest
[3:11:51] until
[3:11:53] the term is up, if you use it.
[3:11:56] >> if we don't use any
[3:11:57] we won't pay anything.
[3:11:58] >> having the
[3:11:59] backup plan
[3:12:01] is a excellent approach. Certainly
[3:12:04] in favor.
[3:12:05] >> we will sleep better
[3:12:07] at night.
[3:12:08] >> hopefully we don't need
[3:12:11] it.
[3:12:12] >> thank you. Okay.
[3:12:14] public comment.
[3:12:17] thank you. Public comment
[3:12:20] on this? Seeing none
[3:12:22] we will call the roll.
[3:12:23] >> [ roll call
[3:12:24] vote
[3:12:26] ]
[3:12:29] >> carries to passage,
[3:12:32] resolution number 2026-0
[3:12:34] five resolution approving application c
[3:12:38] 25-0 2 conditional use for
[3:12:40] church including related education
[3:12:41] and training
[3:12:44] facilities providing conditions.
[3:12:47] >> all right. >> motion
[3:12:50] to approve.
[3:12:51] >> I second.
[3:12:53] >> city manager. >>
[3:12:54] conditional approval of reestablishing
[3:12:56] a church
[3:12:59] in the property right here
[3:13:02] in the methodist church.
[3:13:05] what this is, previously there
[3:13:08] was a church there and they failed
[3:13:10] to renew the activity by the business
[3:13:14] tax receipt
[3:13:15] . Subsequently it reverted back r
[3:13:17] 2 which is
[3:13:20] conditional use as a church
[3:13:22] as we talked about in the past with
[3:13:23] a lot of zoning
[3:13:25] in gulfport which was there, they put
[3:13:26] it
[3:13:29] on top of it , but
[3:13:30] this basically reestablishes use.
[3:13:32] mark do you want to?
[3:13:35] >> originally the church
[3:13:38] and 58 became the directory
[3:13:40] for the church as a whole then school for
[3:13:41] short
[3:13:44] period of time now they're going back
[3:13:47] to the church usage.
[3:13:49] >> mark, is the applicant here? >>
[3:13:50] applicant is here.
[3:13:51] >>
[3:13:53] so when we say
[3:13:56] they want
[3:13:59] to take it back to being
[3:14:00] used as a church is it the same church
[3:14:03] that was there?
[3:14:04] >> it is and the have outlined the vision discipline
[3:14:05] ministry
[3:14:06] was part of the application process.
[3:14:08] >> so
[3:14:11] this church would be a new group
[3:14:14] of people?
[3:14:15] >> that's
[3:14:17] my understanding.
[3:14:18] >> that was
[3:14:20] my question.
[3:14:22] anything else? I was trying to clarify that.
[3:14:23] >>
[3:14:24] do you
[3:14:25] want to ask if other people have questions?
[3:14:26] >>
[3:14:29] thank you , vice mayor.
[3:14:32] yes. I was trying to
[3:14:35] finish up to see if he was done speaking
[3:14:36] but
[3:14:38] thank you. Okay, so.
[3:14:39] >>
[3:14:41] the applicant
[3:14:44] is here if you have questions.
[3:14:45] >> we will
[3:14:46] have
[3:14:47] public comment, you don't need to
[3:14:48] raise your hand
[3:14:49] it will call on you during public
[3:14:50] comment for sure.
[3:14:55] >> in case you want to ask mark, one of the
[3:14:56] issues that
[3:14:58] came up at planning and zoning meeting
[3:15:00] which was discussed which was the parking
[3:15:02] issue
[3:15:05] and the applicant was
[3:15:06] not there so there were questions raised as to whether
[3:15:08] or not there would be use
[3:15:10] parking agreement, whether or not
[3:15:11] there would be any potential
[3:15:14] conflict between the school
[3:15:18] and the church using parking and that
[3:15:19] was an issue planning and zoning wanted
[3:15:20] to have clarified which they
[3:15:23] did not have in anticipation of
[3:15:26] the meeting.
[3:15:27] >> thank you for
[3:15:29] saying that and we will go in order and
[3:15:32] ask questions to see who can best
[3:15:33] answer.
[3:15:34] I did watch the meeting and found
[3:15:35] the meeting to be very
[3:15:37] very confusing when we talk about the owner,
[3:15:38] the tenant,
[3:15:44] the school and church I found it to
[3:15:45] be quite
[3:15:46] confusing and even though I watched
[3:15:47] and listened a second time there were
[3:15:48] questions I
[3:15:49] have but I will wait my turn. Councilmember jackson.
[3:15:53] >> I have no questions at this time.
[3:15:56] >> I don't have any questions
[3:15:59] either.
[3:16:00] >>
[3:16:02] it is my understanding
[3:16:04] it's not the church on the corner we
[3:16:05] are talking about. It is the building
[3:16:06] to the
[3:16:08] north on 50 fourth?
[3:16:11] and it was not
[3:16:12] really a church as I understand. I
[3:16:14] thought it used to be the old --it
[3:16:17] was also a shop a
[3:16:20] resale shop to make money for the
[3:16:22] church for many years. Wasn't it?
[3:16:26] >> that's on the other
[3:16:28] corner on 50 third.
[3:16:29] >> okay so it was
[3:16:30] the directory not
[3:16:32] a church.
[3:16:33] >> it was
[3:16:34] the church before the school that
[3:16:35] is sunflower originally the church then they moved
[3:16:38] to the larger church and made that
[3:16:39] the directory.
[3:16:41] >> so it was a directory. >>
[3:16:44] a church originally in 1958.
[3:16:47] >> that little building correct.
[3:16:50] >> I had never seen
[3:16:52] it at a church that's why I did not
[3:16:53] know. As I understand, do we
[3:16:55] know who owns the church, the big church?
[3:16:59] >> the sunflower school currently.
[3:17:02] >> to know the plan to keep it? Are they
[3:17:05] using it?
[3:17:06] >> currently using as
[3:17:08] a school.
[3:17:09] >> the church part not the
[3:17:10] buildings
[3:17:11] along the side?
[3:17:12] >> they are using
[3:17:13] the
[3:17:14] larger building
[3:17:16] , that is a school currently.
[3:17:17] >> okay
[3:17:18] I know
[3:17:19] from what I understand about the meeting
[3:17:21] there was confusion about
[3:17:23] whether it would stay part of the school
[3:17:27] or if it would become a church
[3:17:28] and you have the sunflower school
[3:17:30] in the other little
[3:17:31] buildings and then again with parking
[3:17:35] if you have things going on at the
[3:17:38] same time it would be a problem for
[3:17:39] the neighborhood
[3:17:42] with parking. So I think
[3:17:43] we should hear from the person because I
[3:17:45] don't know if he's
[3:17:46] got agreements about making sure they don't have
[3:17:48] you know
[3:17:51] events at the same time.
[3:17:52] >> that is one of the conditions we
[3:17:54] are requesting
[3:17:55] that they make accommodation with
[3:17:57] neighboring property
[3:17:59] regarding parking.
[3:18:00] >> would we approve
[3:18:01] without knowing
[3:18:03] whether they have got that?
[3:18:04] >> it
[3:18:05] is condition of approval they will
[3:18:06] show city
[3:18:07] staff with the permit building and
[3:18:08] business tax receipt with verification
[3:18:09] have figured out
[3:18:10] the parking situation between the property.
[3:18:14] >> so it does not get approved until
[3:18:15] they
[3:18:17] have that?
[3:18:18] >> that's correct. >> assuming
[3:18:19] that you
[3:18:21] pass with the condition.
[3:18:23] and the memo outlines conditions staff
[3:18:24] has
[3:18:27] put on? Would
[3:18:29] you like to hear from the applicant?
[3:18:30] >> understood
[3:18:33] the conditions,
[3:18:34] the parking they kept talking about street
[3:18:36] parking
[3:18:39] and I get that but we
[3:18:42] also have a park near there
[3:18:45] anything that outlines , I know
[3:18:46] it's a lot of families that use the park
[3:18:48] on sundays
[3:18:51] and so
[3:18:53] I am just wanting to have reassurance
[3:18:54] that they would
[3:18:57] not be parking in the park area
[3:19:00] .
[3:19:01] >> the area facing 50 fourth
[3:19:03] on the public side
[3:19:04] does have a total of 19 spots available,
[3:19:06] the church with 45 seats there would be 15
[3:19:09] spots so the amount of people
[3:19:12] would not extend onto
[3:19:14] 20 eighth or 20 seventh.
[3:19:15] >> okay,
[3:19:16] thank you.
[3:19:18] >> the questions that
[3:19:21] I had it might be
[3:19:23] calling the applicant of next and
[3:19:27] with public comment we may have
[3:19:30] to powwow here again.
[3:19:33] so I
[3:19:34] was a little confused on, if you approved now
[3:19:39] , but you give them a year to
[3:19:40] have agreement amongst themselves
[3:19:42] in terms
[3:19:45] of parking , does that mean
[3:19:48] they could open up now
[3:19:49] and heavily they will figure it out
[3:19:51] within a year?
[3:19:52] >> until the
[3:19:54] business tax receipt
[3:19:56] which would not be approved until
[3:19:57] the parking situation was figured
[3:19:59] out between the owners and if they
[3:20:00] want to increase
[3:20:01] parking on the property.
[3:20:02] >> that's
[3:20:03] the part
[3:20:06] that I missed. They have to
[3:20:07] have the parking agreement worked
[3:20:09] out before any activity
[3:20:12] will start.
[3:20:13] >> that's correct.
[3:20:15] okay. And then
[3:20:18] I was asking if it was a new church
[3:20:21] coming in and if they are, in
[3:20:24] any way form or
[3:20:26] fashion related to the sunflower school.
[3:20:30] >> not from my understanding. >> we
[3:20:31] will
[3:20:33] ask them that
[3:20:35] and my next question and we can ask
[3:20:36] the applicant,
[3:20:38] I guess . Why would the sunflower agree
[3:20:42] to parking being used the
[3:20:45] new church? Because
[3:20:48] are we talking about the parking
[3:20:51] in the back of the proposed
[3:20:54] new church ?
[3:20:56] I think that is pretty well designated
[3:20:57] to
[3:21:00] just sunflower.
[3:21:01] >> that is used
[3:21:02] for playground which was last year
[3:21:03] in the
[3:21:06] subdivision 2024 they
[3:21:07] were given variance for parking because
[3:21:08] they were using the area as the play
[3:21:09] area for the
[3:21:12] sunflower school.
[3:21:13] >> okay.
[3:21:15] >> if you will help me before we
[3:21:18] call up the applicant. I think there
[3:21:21] has been confusion.
[3:21:23] so the long building that runs along 27,
[3:21:24] that
[3:21:26] is all used by the sunflower school?
[3:21:27] >>
[3:21:28] that's correct.
[3:21:30] >> when people say the big church they
[3:21:31] are
[3:21:32] talking about the sunflower school.
[3:21:36] so when we see from
[3:21:38] 50 fourth is what looks like a small
[3:21:39] little church
[3:21:42] but if you go drive behind
[3:21:45] there actually when you get past
[3:21:48] the initial area than there is a
[3:21:51] bigger building and they
[3:21:53] are attached and it is painted like
[3:21:54] the sunflower school so
[3:21:55] I'm a little confused when you say there's
[3:21:57] only 45 seats
[3:22:00] , is the church just the
[3:22:03] front part? Because I think it
[3:22:06] is connected.
[3:22:07] >> it is a separate
[3:22:08] building entirely with separation
[3:22:09] from the sunflower school for
[3:22:11] the property lines and parcels not attached
[3:22:12] to
[3:22:14] the sunflower school.
[3:22:15] >> so the sunflower
[3:22:16] school
[3:22:18] is l shaped.
[3:22:19] >> that's correct.
[3:22:21] >> when I went driving I thought it
[3:22:24] was connected. With that in mind the
[3:22:25] applicant would
[3:22:27] you please come up ?
[3:22:36] >> hi. I just wanted to address the
[3:22:37] parking situation.
[3:22:39] we have spoke
[3:22:41] with the sunflower school.
[3:22:42] >> you
[3:22:43] have to give us your
[3:22:45] name and address.
[3:22:46] >>
[3:22:48] we
[3:22:49] have spoken with the sunflower school
[3:22:51] to confirm there's no conflict
[3:22:54] in schedules with regards to the parking.
[3:22:57] they generally use the parking between
[3:23:00] eight on monday to friday dropping off
[3:23:03] and picking
[3:23:05] up they have a aftercare program which is
[3:23:07] really minimal which goes
[3:23:10] until 5:30. The church
[3:23:11] is looking to use the parking on sunday
[3:23:13] they have two
[3:23:16] bible studies
[3:23:17] wednesday evening and thursday evening
[3:23:19] from 7:00 p.m.
[3:23:22] so there is no conflict in
[3:23:25] the usage of the parking.
[3:23:28] >> okay. So,
[3:23:30] we are talking about just the building on
[3:23:31] the front
[3:23:34] , that appears to be kind
[3:23:37] of white.
[3:23:38] >> it's a
[3:23:39] separate building. What used to be
[3:23:40] the preschool.
[3:23:43] with the garden
[3:23:46] , upfront.
[3:23:48] >> again I thought there was a building behind
[3:23:49] that
[3:23:52] which was connected.
[3:23:53] >> there is the playground for the school
[3:23:55] behind that.
[3:23:57] there is no other building behind
[3:23:58] the building, there
[3:24:00] is the long building which is just
[3:24:01] particular which is the
[3:24:02] sunflower school and then there is
[3:24:04] this building which is separated
[3:24:06] not attached to the other building
[3:24:10] >> do we have any questions
[3:24:12] in speaking order of the applicant?
[3:24:16] >> no questions thank you.
[3:24:18] >> who owns the other building not
[3:24:19] attached?
[3:24:20] >> I do.
[3:24:22] >> you on the
[3:24:25] little church building
[3:24:26] and the other?
[3:24:27] >> just one building
[3:24:28] is not attached, the one long building
[3:24:29] owned by the sunflower school with
[3:24:30] one smaller building which I own only
[3:24:34] the two.
[3:24:35] >> how many spaces
[3:24:37] is there?
[3:24:40] in all of the parking?
[3:24:41] >> 19 spaces at the front and then
[3:24:43] street parking which is
[3:24:45] what sunflower generally uses for
[3:24:46] the pickup and
[3:24:48] drop off , I think it is on 27 they
[3:24:49] tend to
[3:24:51] use that pickup and drop off but in
[3:24:52] front of
[3:24:55] this building
[3:24:58] there are 19 spaces.
[3:24:59] >> in front
[3:25:00] of the building?
[3:25:01] >> in front of this
[3:25:02] and there is
[3:25:04] this building and then the edge
[3:25:07] of the other building with 19 spaces in front of
[3:25:09] them both.
[3:25:10] >> I drove by and it did
[3:25:11] not look
[3:25:13] like that. Along the street? Along
[3:25:16] the street?
[3:25:17] >> it
[3:25:19] is not parking on the street
[3:25:22] , it is separate parking at the front of
[3:25:24] the building
[3:25:25] >> I did not see that
[3:25:26] at all.
[3:25:28] >> is the
[3:25:29] city right-of-way.
[3:25:30] >> 90 feet, for
[3:25:31] the building and then 85
[3:25:34] so it is
[3:25:35] 19 spots public right-of-way off the
[3:25:37] street off the front of the building.
[3:25:40] >> appreciate you both coming
[3:25:43] up here.
[3:25:44] >> 175.
[3:25:46] >> how
[3:25:48] wide is the parking?
[3:25:49] >> 5 feet parking
[3:25:52] spot 18 feet long, 9
[3:25:55] feet wide.
[3:25:56] >> that does not sound
[3:25:57] like
[3:25:58] 19 spaces.
[3:25:59] >>
[3:26:01] I had done the math.
[3:26:04] >> the reason I was
[3:26:06] questioning that was I thought what
[3:26:07] it was listening
[3:26:10] to the hearing in front
[3:26:13] of the session
[3:26:15] I thought I heard them say nine spots
[3:26:16] now
[3:26:19] I am hearing 19.
[3:26:20] >> take
[3:26:22] up 107 by the nine it is like 12.
[3:26:25] 11 point eight eight.
[3:26:28] >> 175. >> 175
[3:26:31] I'm sorry. 175
[3:26:34] feet between the lots?
[3:26:35] >>
[3:26:36] total space in front of both on 50 fourth.
[3:26:40] >> understand but I drove by and
[3:26:43] it did not look like that to me.
[3:26:45] >> I have cleaned the sidewalk for
[3:26:46] you, so I know
[3:26:49] it is.
[3:26:50] >>
[3:26:51] we did speak with the city before putting
[3:26:52] this on
[3:26:55] the property to see if
[3:26:56] it would be able to put more parking.
[3:26:58] if needed, if that was going
[3:27:01] to be a condition from the city
[3:27:03] , they are willing to put more parking
[3:27:04] on
[3:27:06] the property if that is necessary.
[3:27:07] >> how they put more
[3:27:10] parking on the property?
[3:27:11] >> on the
[3:27:13] garden area. The garden area it
[3:27:16] has a large garden area around the building.
[3:27:19] >> remove the green space.
[3:27:22] >> there is a provision you need
[3:27:25] to keep at least 20% of your lot green.
[3:27:28] >> okay.
[3:27:31] it is not something I would like them to
[3:27:34] do.
[3:27:35] >> is 19 spaces enough? I understand
[3:27:37] they are 45 seats.
[3:27:38] >> at maximum
[3:27:40] generally between 30 and 35 and members
[3:27:43] of congregation.
[3:27:46] up to maximum of 45.
[3:27:49] >> you never have 30 cars?
[3:27:52] >> I honestly
[3:27:55] cannot speak to that.
[3:27:56] >>
[3:27:58] I am just saying.
[3:28:00] with the people come as individuals
[3:28:01] or families because
[3:28:04] if you need 40 spaces
[3:28:07] we don't have it.
[3:28:08] >>
[3:28:10] zoning requires 15 spaces.
[3:28:13] >> every theory
[3:28:16] -- three seats requires one
[3:28:19] parking spot.
[3:28:20] >> thank you,
[3:28:22] all right. Any other questions before
[3:28:25] we open to public comment?
[3:28:28] >> good luck. >> I
[3:28:31] have no questions.
[3:28:32] >> I
[3:28:33] am listening.
[3:28:34] >> okay, thank you.
[3:28:37] >> yes.
[3:28:41] >> I am
[3:28:44] calling you.
[3:28:47] >> excuse me
[3:28:50] one moment.
[3:28:55] >> go put your side back over there.
[3:28:58] our rule does not allow you to come here
[3:28:59] with
[3:29:02] a sign.
[3:29:03] >> she has got
[3:29:04] it. Okay. Now, you're here please
[3:29:06] introduce yourself and tell us what
[3:29:08] you have to say.
[3:29:09] >>
[3:29:11] first of all ,
[3:29:14] >> your name? >>
[3:29:16] bailey and first of all it was never
[3:29:20] a church. I was never here
[3:29:23] , in 1958 , anyone
[3:29:26] of you all here in 1958?
[3:29:29] >> 1959.
[3:29:32] >> I will give you
[3:29:35] the codes you know
[3:29:36] gulfport zoning ordinance regulations
[3:29:38] focus
[3:29:41] on her lot basis
[3:29:44] and require all uses
[3:29:47] and adhere to setbacks, parking
[3:29:50] and public access.
[3:29:53] one principal use, per lot,
[3:29:56] that means one building per lot
[3:29:59] , one church so
[3:30:02] the main church was
[3:30:05] the big l shaped church
[3:30:08] and that little building, the
[3:30:12] quick shaft building was just a storage/whatever
[3:30:17] it was from
[3:30:20] 1958,
[3:30:23] two 2016 and in 2016
[3:30:26] it became a daycare
[3:30:29] and on that,
[3:30:32] I actually had the fire permit
[3:30:35] on my billboard there and I was
[3:30:38] the contractor
[3:30:41] that actually brought it
[3:30:44] to
[3:30:45] the fire code. So I know that it was
[3:30:47] a storage because I brought up the
[3:30:50] walls to the fire code and
[3:30:53] cleared out a lot of the storage.
[3:30:56] they used it
[3:30:58] for garage sales, you know, and yard sales
[3:31:01] a lot of times throughout the years
[3:31:05] and basically
[3:31:08] it was
[3:31:11] it was never a church like the gentleman
[3:31:14] was saying , they want to convert
[3:31:17] back to a church so that is
[3:31:20] a falsehood that he was making you
[3:31:21] all
[3:31:23] believe. And
[3:31:25] on pinellas and all my billboard also,
[3:31:26] pinellas county
[3:31:32] we have the attorney right here
[3:31:35] minimum lot size , for a church.
[3:31:38] it is 100
[3:31:44] it is 100 x 100 please help
[3:31:46] me out.
[3:31:47] >> just so you are clear,
[3:31:48] bailey just so
[3:31:50] you are clear, we are giving
[3:31:53] you public comment right now
[3:31:54] and we're being lenient because typically
[3:31:56] it is three minutes so use your
[3:31:59] time wisely.
[3:32:02] >> the lot size is
[3:32:05] 90 x 100 so it does not meet the zoning requirements and
[3:32:06] also I'm
[3:32:08] going to put step back and say
[3:32:11] if all of my fax doesn't
[3:32:14] , real quick
[3:32:17] if I request a professional
[3:32:20] parking engineer survey
[3:32:23] on 138
[3:32:26] , 138
[3:32:29] three 602
[3:32:32] alpha you
[3:32:35] know so if I run out of
[3:32:38] time because it does
[3:32:40] not meet zoning codes, parking codes
[3:32:41] ada codes
[3:32:44] and fire safety codes are broken daily
[3:32:47] it has
[3:32:50] 18 parking spots not 19.
[3:32:56] the
[3:32:59] fire hydrant is within 15 foot
[3:33:02] where they parked daily and I had that
[3:33:05] on my thing.
[3:33:08] I would like to talk, I have a lot,
[3:33:11] but you know.
[3:33:12] >>
[3:33:14] okay, public comment you have
[3:33:17] three minutes.
[3:33:18] >> okay,
[3:33:20] hopefully this will be so helpful.
[3:33:23] this lot was subdivided in the last
[3:33:25] three years, that was not in the city
[3:33:29] so it was a church in the big building,
[3:33:30] not a
[3:33:31] church in the creative play building,
[3:33:32] it was a storage room play
[3:33:35] area et cetera so both are kinda right
[3:33:37] the property was a church this building
[3:33:38] never was
[3:33:41] so hopefully that is helpful and has
[3:33:43] a big yard trees and beautiful things
[3:33:46] , that's the building where talking
[3:33:47] about, the sunflower school
[3:33:49] sold it to you a couple years ago
[3:33:52] and it sounds like you want to sublease
[3:33:53] now to church
[3:33:56] it sounds like she wants to.
[3:33:59] that is being discussed I did not
[3:34:00] listen to planning and zoning but
[3:34:01] from tonight if what was said tonight
[3:34:02] was set at planning
[3:34:04] and zoning I can understand the confusion so
[3:34:05] tonight the owner of the little building
[3:34:08] missing church comes to me and
[3:34:10] wants to rent. I understand I go to
[3:34:11] that a lot
[3:34:14] , pickleball, tennis,
[3:34:17] there is high demand on the
[3:34:20] parking, but for all the use of a
[3:34:21] church which
[3:34:24] sounds like it is once
[3:34:25] per week for two hours that's the
[3:34:26] parking for the whole building that
[3:34:27] might
[3:34:28] be less stress on the neighborhood
[3:34:29] than a school which will have parking
[3:34:30] every day
[3:34:32] or some other use that could come
[3:34:34] I've taken a tour of the building
[3:34:36] the creative
[3:34:37] play school building where talking
[3:34:39] about four times because
[3:34:40] I wanted to see a preschool going
[3:34:42] there so I know all about it and
[3:34:45] I know the sunflower school
[3:34:47] will lease the church part of the
[3:34:48] big building,
[3:34:50] they don't use it they leased to a
[3:34:51] theater company and
[3:34:52] they use it so the school part isn't
[3:34:54] the part that's flowery
[3:34:57] on 20 seventh.
[3:34:59] anyway, I personally think a church
[3:35:00] is
[3:35:02] a good use for the space. It is residential,
[3:35:06] the variance was educational
[3:35:09] so I think that lapsed
[3:35:10] now it has been over a year on the
[3:35:12] market. Would be great as
[3:35:14] a school. I don't think parking is a
[3:35:17] huge issue and it makes sense to dig
[3:35:18] up the garden
[3:35:20] for parking you just pull in on the easement
[3:35:24] that for the old food
[3:35:26] pantry used to be in front of the church corner. I
[3:35:27] don't think having cars
[3:35:29] there, it does not block the street
[3:35:33] it's not that serious one
[3:35:35] or two hours per week, one bible study
[3:35:36] we could have worse on
[3:35:37] the neighborhood used for that space. That's
[3:35:39] what I think that should have
[3:35:41] been mentioned I feel about subdividing
[3:35:42] because we
[3:35:43] were arguing about something that happened
[3:35:45] because of
[3:35:48] the subdivision.
[3:35:49] >> linda.
[3:35:56] >> my name is linda bailey I live on
[3:35:57] 54th
[3:35:59] st. And basically the church before
[3:36:00] when it was a
[3:36:01] school there would be the drop off
[3:36:03] of the kids so
[3:36:05] no one actually parked, they let the
[3:36:06] kid get out of
[3:36:07] the car and the cars would go through the
[3:36:09] line. They
[3:36:11] have tennis, pickleball, events that
[3:36:12] go
[3:36:15] to gulfport, all of those people are parking
[3:36:18] in those parking spots. Now even
[3:36:20] all the pickleball, tennis and people
[3:36:21] from the
[3:36:24] dog park, it
[3:36:27] is getting so crowded. To add trying
[3:36:28] to
[3:36:29] get more parking spots to have a church
[3:36:31] when you don't have any handicap parking
[3:36:33] spots over there with
[3:36:35] no paying for handicap accessible
[3:36:39] and you have eight or nine parking spots
[3:36:42] if you put any handicap
[3:36:44] which you probably need in a church
[3:36:47] I don't know if that's required in
[3:36:48] church parking but you are
[3:36:51] very limited on what, before it was
[3:36:54] a vacant when we moved into
[3:36:57] the property close by and it was not
[3:37:00] being used and when
[3:37:02] it was a preschool it was basically
[3:37:03] transitioning with cars moving quickly
[3:37:04] to
[3:37:05] the line and nobody actually parked
[3:37:09] so that is
[3:37:12] the difference.
[3:37:13] >> another hand
[3:37:15] up here for
[3:37:18] public comment.
[3:37:24] >>
[3:37:27] amy costa 20th ave., south. That
[3:37:29] was very confusing but I cleaned it
[3:37:30] all together.
[3:37:35] I would like to say I don't know the
[3:37:36] full story and who is the
[3:37:37] argument what's going on here, but
[3:37:39] I do know we have a plethora of empty
[3:37:41] buildings sitting empty in gulfport
[3:37:42] is very sad,
[3:37:44] very difficult for small businesses
[3:37:45] to lease
[3:37:48] buildings, stay open we are struggling.
[3:37:51] if there is an organization that wants
[3:37:53] to take the building and do good things
[3:37:54] in the community
[3:37:56] I hope they are not a church of evil
[3:37:57] but I
[3:37:59] can see how it could be a bad thing
[3:38:00] to have
[3:38:03] more spaces for people together.
[3:38:06] if you think about other things in
[3:38:07] the city whether
[3:38:08] it is a festival or a gecko ball or
[3:38:09] whatever parking
[3:38:12] we all survive it and we
[3:38:14] all park everyone does okay and we'll
[3:38:15] go home and go back
[3:38:18] to normal. I
[3:38:20] think it is okay I would like to share
[3:38:21] that as a community member.
[3:38:23] >> mary, did you have your hand up?
[3:38:30] >> first of all a
[3:38:32] question for the attorney can I speak
[3:38:33] in public speaking?
[3:38:34] >> because
[3:38:36] you are in the board?
[3:38:37] >> yes
[3:38:42] .
[3:38:43] >> it is advisory and
[3:38:44] a public meeting so as long as you
[3:38:45] are not speaking on behalf of the
[3:38:47] board you can go ahead.
[3:38:48] >> speaking
[3:38:49] as a individual. Thank you.
[3:38:51] I was or I am on
[3:38:53] the planning and zoning board and
[3:38:54] this did come in front of us and it
[3:38:57] was very confusing.
[3:38:59] I have a couple of suggestions both
[3:39:00] for the planning department and
[3:39:03] in general. Maps and diagrams are terrific.
[3:39:06] if we had a map that
[3:39:09] said this building is this,
[3:39:10] this building is this, this building
[3:39:12] is this
[3:39:15] and where the parking would go everything
[3:39:16] would
[3:39:17] be much more clear and for you guys
[3:39:18] as
[3:39:21] well so I would
[3:39:23] like to see that in the future, the
[3:39:24] lady who came up
[3:39:27] whose name escapes me. I'm not sure
[3:39:30] if you are the owner,
[3:39:33] or the person running the church.
[3:39:36] >> speak
[3:39:39] to us.
[3:39:40] >> neither the owner
[3:39:42] nor the church were present and it
[3:39:43] would've
[3:39:45] been nice to hear from them. I am, however,
[3:39:49] concerned about allowing the
[3:39:51] counting of right-of-way spaces toward
[3:39:55] parking requirements because they
[3:39:56] are not dedicated to the building.
[3:39:58] if we allow people
[3:40:00] to park there on the right-of-way
[3:40:01] which
[3:40:03] we do mostly for events than that
[3:40:04] is
[3:40:07] free for all parking.
[3:40:09] so it is not dedicated they could
[3:40:10] not mark it or put
[3:40:12] disabled spots, they cannot do the
[3:40:13] other things that are
[3:40:14] required for parking for the building
[3:40:19] and I do have
[3:40:20] concerns about setting the precedent
[3:40:21] by saying this building for this use
[3:40:22] can
[3:40:23] use public right-of-way to satisfy
[3:40:28] parking
[3:40:29] requirements. I realize downtown we
[3:40:31] have variances because downtown
[3:40:32] is a different area, but I am worried
[3:40:34] about where we are going
[3:40:37] with this. Thank you.
[3:40:40] >> thank you. Okay. I
[3:40:42] think we should , I have a question
[3:40:46] maybe I cannot ask the fire marshal to
[3:40:49] come up.
[3:40:50] >> jim,
[3:40:52] come on up.
[3:40:55] >> okay. Just because during
[3:40:58] public comment it was stated
[3:40:59] there was the issue with fire safety
[3:41:01] codes and I wanted to get
[3:41:04] your take on that.
[3:41:05] >> when the building
[3:41:06] was taken over by the daycare talking
[3:41:07] about separate building that
[3:41:10] they own.
[3:41:11] it was brought up to code the alarm
[3:41:13] system was put in, it was made
[3:41:16] safe for children. Now it has
[3:41:19] been left abandoned ,
[3:41:22] they took the alarm system out
[3:41:24] which will have to be put back into it
[3:41:28] and if you get occupant
[3:41:29] load to see how many people they can put
[3:41:30] into the church for usage. That's
[3:41:31] where
[3:41:34] we are now on the fireside. The building
[3:41:35] next
[3:41:36] to it is the sunflower school and
[3:41:37] they have
[3:41:39] passed recent inspection. I don't
[3:41:40] know if that answers the
[3:41:43] question.
[3:41:44] >> initially are
[3:41:46] you questioning that 45 people
[3:41:49] could exceed the load?
[3:41:52] >> it does have a
[3:41:54] dividing wall and I live to get in
[3:41:55] and
[3:41:56] measure because the daycare is different
[3:41:57] occupancy from a church so we had
[3:41:58] to
[3:42:01] see if they're using
[3:42:03] pews or chairs, how they are using the
[3:42:04] rooms that
[3:42:07] are there.
[3:42:08] >> mayor, that starts
[3:42:09] with the business receipt application?
[3:42:13] it will trigger fire inspection
[3:42:16] and all of those type
[3:42:17] things, they have to get the site
[3:42:19] plan approved for
[3:42:20] the parking and that is what you will see
[3:42:22] in the packet, the pictures are in
[3:42:23] the
[3:42:24] packet. So that trigger when this
[3:42:28] is initially are going to
[3:42:30] grant conditional use?
[3:42:31] >> allow them
[3:42:32] to
[3:42:33] do this use and everything else is triggered
[3:42:34] that
[3:42:37] has to be met.
[3:42:38] >> so,
[3:42:40] if I understand right this went
[3:42:43] before planning and zoning,
[3:42:45] planning and zoning advanced to us
[3:42:46] with a couple of conditions. One
[3:42:49] was that there would be agreement
[3:42:51] between the church and the school
[3:42:52] about parking and
[3:42:55] one is that it
[3:42:58] has to pass fire inspection. So these
[3:43:01] are conditions that
[3:43:03] we have to all be addressed before
[3:43:04] it could be finalized.
[3:43:07] >> before they get final certificate
[3:43:10] of occupancy to operate the business.
[3:43:11] >> correct. We did have a meeting
[3:43:13] with the owner myself,
[3:43:16] community development prior
[3:43:19] just to make them aware.
[3:43:22] >> okay, all right. Do
[3:43:24] we have any more questions, any of
[3:43:25] you for
[3:43:28] the city?
[3:43:29] >> I'm sorry, you go first. >>
[3:43:31] when the business tax receipt
[3:43:33] is generated that's when you go back right?
[3:43:37] >> most likely we will meet before that
[3:43:39] to make sure everything is clarified.
[3:43:40] before they get to that
[3:43:43] point because
[3:43:45] at that point that is pretty much
[3:43:46] the end of the story so I
[3:43:48] would have to say yes, but if I am
[3:43:49] aware and we are
[3:43:51] speaking on what needs to be done
[3:43:52] then it should be
[3:43:55] a smooth process.
[3:43:56] >> mandatory inspections okay.
[3:44:01] >> that triggers everything.
[3:44:04] >> final signature. >> any questions?
[3:44:07] >> not for the fire department.
[3:44:10] >> I don't have any for the
[3:44:13] fire department.
[3:44:14] >> always here
[3:44:16] if you need me.
[3:44:17] >> all right, so
[3:44:19] I think this is the first one
[3:44:22] they have advanced
[3:44:24] from planning and zoning to us, so
[3:44:25] they are the advisory board
[3:44:28] and sorry bailey but you
[3:44:31] get one public comment,
[3:44:34] your hearing is when you could say
[3:44:35] anything you wanted, not
[3:44:36] now. Sorry. They have advanced to that
[3:44:37] to us and I think
[3:44:39] we are now clear on what they are
[3:44:40] asking us
[3:44:43] to do , so
[3:44:46] my understanding is planning
[3:44:49] and zoning has advanced it,
[3:44:52] my understanding the city approved with
[3:44:53] these conditions
[3:44:56] on it, so now it is up to
[3:44:58] us to take a vote, whether we want
[3:44:59] to pass
[3:45:02] or not. Am I clear?
[3:45:03] >>
[3:45:05] the city recommended it. Subject
[3:45:08] to your approval. With
[3:45:11] conditions they placed.
[3:45:13] >> so do we want to have any more
[3:45:15] comments made amongst ourselves prior
[3:45:17] to the vote?
[3:45:18] >>
[3:45:20] you are good? You are good?
[3:45:23] you are next.
[3:45:24] >> just so
[3:45:25] you know personally I don't like using
[3:45:26] right-of-way for parking
[3:45:29] and allowing that
[3:45:32] to be the parking spaces.
[3:45:35] >> what did you want?
[3:45:37] >> it should be street parking like parallel
[3:45:38] parking.
[3:45:39] >>
[3:45:40] we are voting on the resolution to allow
[3:45:41] the
[3:45:44] application to go forward.
[3:45:45] >>
[3:45:48] it has to meet parking requirements and
[3:45:50] do all those things. If
[3:45:51] they do not then they can't.
[3:45:52] >> they
[3:45:53] are counting
[3:45:56] right-of-way parking.
[3:45:57] >> I
[3:45:59] understand. Sorry.
[3:46:02] it is a philosophy versus, yes.
[3:46:05] okay.
[3:46:06] >> seems to me
[3:46:08] this is a sequential process
[3:46:10] so the next step would be for us to
[3:46:11] prove
[3:46:13] going forward and then they have to
[3:46:14] meet
[3:46:16] other criteria so with that in mind I
[3:46:17] am
[3:46:20] fine.
[3:46:21] >> okay so just say.
[3:46:23] >>, boat please.
[3:46:29] >> [ roll call vote ]
[3:46:32] >> carries to passage.
[3:46:35] >>
[3:46:37] all right, so that will then take us
[3:46:38] ,
[3:46:41] that was a resolution eight
[3:46:44] b correct? That will take us to
[3:46:47] discussion items.
[3:46:50] >>
[3:46:53] just to be clear, to everybody
[3:46:56] that is out there, still. These
[3:46:59] are discussion items
[3:47:04] for the city council, the decision
[3:47:05] makers to either decide to advance
[3:47:07] these or not, we're not going to be
[3:47:08] taking public comment on that, if
[3:47:11] we advance
[3:47:12] there would be public comment prior to any
[3:47:14] kind of vote
[3:47:15] but that is not happening tonight, no
[3:47:17] public comment
[3:47:20] on these items,
[3:47:22] this is the only opportunity we have to
[3:47:23] talk about these
[3:47:25] items. So, thank you.
[3:47:26] >> nine eight
[3:47:28] the discussion item on the draft ordinance
[3:47:35] staff
[3:47:36] has prepared ordinance for city council to
[3:47:37] review with their actions given on with a
[3:47:38] counselor
[3:47:39] like to see changes made before bringing
[3:47:41] items to future agenda for roll call
[3:47:42] vote.
[3:47:44] >> okay mayor.
[3:47:47] I tried to gather
[3:47:50] the concerns from council in drafting this.
[3:47:53] remember
[3:47:55] the issues this is under new since
[3:47:59] area so we try to control
[3:48:01] what kind of lighting can basically go from
[3:48:02] somebody's
[3:48:03] property, to another person's property or
[3:48:07] toward the street that would cause
[3:48:08] any kind of
[3:48:11] nuisance. Also when I looked
[3:48:13] at it I tried to look at the compatibility
[3:48:16] issues, not that it would go over
[3:48:17] somebody
[3:48:19] else's yard , but generally where
[3:48:20] you
[3:48:22] can have lighting and the lighting
[3:48:23] you can
[3:48:25] have. Obviously it is just a draft
[3:48:28] for council to do whatever you want
[3:48:31] with.
[3:48:32] >> I definitely have thoughts
[3:48:34] but I would like to hear everybody
[3:48:35] else's, as well. And
[3:48:38] we will see if we
[3:48:39] have any kind of consensus on this.
[3:48:41] councilmember jackson
[3:48:44] if you would start us off.
[3:48:45] >> I
[3:48:47] am okay with this right now.
[3:48:50] >> okay . Councilmember
[3:48:53] ?
[3:48:54] >> it looks a little
[3:48:56] hoa.
[3:48:57] >>
[3:48:59] that is probably fair. Like the
[3:49:02] hoa, the color of your house
[3:49:05] can be this color and your light,
[3:49:07] you can't have a golf cart that is red.
[3:49:08] I don't know.
[3:49:13] >> any time you put in specifics for
[3:49:14] people's residences
[3:49:17] , there are sections in
[3:49:19] here you may want to just remove,
[3:49:20] there's nothing wrong with that.
[3:49:23] >> anything else?
[3:49:26] >> no.
[3:49:29] >> I am pretty okay with it. My
[3:49:31] concern is the house as they are building
[3:49:32] with the long tube
[3:49:35] lighting in the front end of a light up
[3:49:36] the whole neighborhood. I want to
[3:49:38] make sure because they could argue
[3:49:39] it is
[3:49:41] for safety reasons.
[3:49:42] >> you
[3:49:44] cannot shine beyond your yard
[3:49:47] it cannot shine into the
[3:49:49] next-door neighbors or into the right-of-way.
[3:49:50] so you can have
[3:49:52] very nice whatever they are called.
[3:49:56] ,
[3:49:59] they cannot have that kind of brightness
[3:50:02] that will cause a problem.
[3:50:05] it can look nice but that does not mean
[3:50:07] it can be shining and lighting up
[3:50:08] which is what the
[3:50:11] concern was.
[3:50:12] >> I would like to prohibit
[3:50:14] the long lights period because you
[3:50:15] know I
[3:50:17] don't know if they could
[3:50:19] make them I don't know low enough
[3:50:20] wattage that it would kind
[3:50:23] of go as opposed to lighting up the
[3:50:24] whole thing.
[3:50:26] >> honestly when I wrote this that's
[3:50:29] what I tried to get to.
[3:50:32] the problem is you end up being
[3:50:35] hoa
[3:50:38] so I tried to be more general. It
[3:50:39] is hard.
[3:50:40] >>
[3:50:41] I mean it is
[3:50:43] pretty good, I was worried people
[3:50:44] could say I'm worried about
[3:50:46] safety parking on the street walking
[3:50:47] up my walkway.
[3:50:49] >> you can worry about the way this
[3:50:50] is written sliding
[3:50:54] on your property
[3:50:56] for example light fixtures shall not
[3:50:57] be directly
[3:50:59] or indirectly shining toward adjacent
[3:51:00] properties
[3:51:01] fences and public right-of-way. You
[3:51:03] can have your nice
[3:51:06] but not the big wattage bulbs.
[3:51:09] >>
[3:51:10] as long as that's okay because I mean
[3:51:12] it's like
[3:51:13] you have a quiet neighborhood where
[3:51:15] people have little porch lights
[3:51:18] and then you have a glow from
[3:51:20] these things.
[3:51:21] >> we try to make it
[3:51:24] also again maybe hoa ,
[3:51:26] compatible with , in the neighborhood.
[3:51:30] so in the one you described
[3:51:33] you would not expect
[3:51:35] those to have it, that's not compatible
[3:51:36] however in
[3:51:37] a neighborhood that has the big ones
[3:51:41] it's probably okay in that neighborhood.
[3:51:45] >> that's the big part, this is
[3:51:47] not taking lights off the houses ,
[3:51:48] the
[3:51:51] house on 18th ave. This is not
[3:51:52] going to take the lights of the house
[3:51:54] on 18th ave. They are
[3:51:56] there, these people would be okay.
[3:51:59] somebody down the street starts doing it
[3:52:00] then you have
[3:52:02] the conversation. At this point you
[3:52:05] are looking and I guess the best way
[3:52:06] to do it is compare,
[3:52:09] there's language on spotlights.
[3:52:12] if I keep it in my yard
[3:52:15] you may not like it
[3:52:17] but it is still a decorative lamp
[3:52:18] just because it
[3:52:20] does not fit the neighborhood does
[3:52:21] not mean
[3:52:24] it is
[3:52:25] extending the glowing across the street.
[3:52:27] then you are getting
[3:52:30] subjective.
[3:52:31] >>
[3:52:32] that is what I am worried about, the
[3:52:33] whole safety thing
[3:52:36] and whatever being too subjective.
[3:52:39] >> it's not subjective in
[3:52:42] that aspect.
[3:52:43] >> basically I
[3:52:44] totally want to do this because I
[3:52:45] don't want those
[3:52:48] things, but people who have
[3:52:51] those now, could neighbors
[3:52:54] complained that the light
[3:52:56] is, like the people who live next
[3:52:57] door to the
[3:52:59] house had to buy blackout curtains for
[3:53:00] their
[3:53:02] whole house so could they complain
[3:53:05] that it is a nuisance that they should
[3:53:06] turn
[3:53:08] them off by 10:00 at night or something?
[3:53:12] as code enforcement not nuisance.
[3:53:13] >>
[3:53:15] the city permitted
[3:53:18] and approved.
[3:53:19] >>
[3:53:21] I know they did not have
[3:53:24] any reason not to.
[3:53:27] >> trying to do the most we can to protect
[3:53:30] individual property owners
[3:53:33] who did not have it in place, we have
[3:53:34] to
[3:53:36] have something
[3:53:38] to prohibit shining from other people's backyards,
[3:53:39] new fences and
[3:53:42] right-of-way's. That is at least the
[3:53:43] main
[3:53:45] gist I got from council.
[3:53:46] >> in other words
[3:53:47] those were my concerns otherwise it
[3:53:48] is
[3:53:51] okay.
[3:53:52] >>
[3:53:53] in this conversation we brought up discussion
[3:53:54] of wattage
[3:53:58] and I'm wondering if illumination might be
[3:54:00] a factor that we could address.
[3:54:03] I know in projects I have
[3:54:06] worked on , that was a factor.
[3:54:09] >> I did look
[3:54:12] at ordinances with wattage
[3:54:15] and why I did not put it in is that
[3:54:18] it's really specific in different
[3:54:20] zoning areas. I can bring you back
[3:54:21] something
[3:54:23] with that, it will not be a nuisance
[3:54:24] ordinance anymore,
[3:54:27] it would be a lighting ordinance
[3:54:30] and he will start talking about the
[3:54:31] wattage
[3:54:33] per area, it's very collocated.
[3:54:36] I can draft it if you
[3:54:39] want.
[3:54:40] >>
[3:54:41] it's not just the wattage, it is the
[3:54:42] type of illumination that is even driving
[3:54:45] can be a hazard.
[3:54:48] I was
[3:54:51] just wondering
[3:54:54] if I could be integrated
[3:54:57] into a just the feedback.
[3:55:00] you know what?
[3:55:03] thought about it and I
[3:55:04] thought about what you give me direction
[3:55:06] to do and what I heard
[3:55:09] was that the biggest concern was
[3:55:12] the nuisance aspect of it and that
[3:55:13] is
[3:55:15] how I draft it but I will do whatever
[3:55:18] you want, I can draft a
[3:55:19] comprehensive illumination ordinance
[3:55:21] , I looked at some
[3:55:24] and they were going on and on
[3:55:27] and on. Not sure this is what council
[3:55:29] wants, but I will do whatever you want.
[3:55:33] >> I would defer to council, but I
[3:55:34] think
[3:55:36] it is two fold, what it is
[3:55:39] doing to impact the neighbors, but also
[3:55:42] the illumination and
[3:55:45] the glare. It is a hazard.
[3:55:48] >> the other thing I might say to council is if
[3:55:49] you
[3:55:51] pass this let us see how it works
[3:55:54] and we can always amend.
[3:55:55] >> then you
[3:55:56] are
[3:55:57] stuck with houses that have bright
[3:55:58] lights.
[3:55:59] >>
[3:56:00] houses with bright lights that cannot
[3:56:01] illuminate, this
[3:56:02] you can't go beyond your yard which
[3:56:06] is key for us to get in place.
[3:56:09] even if we go the other way
[3:56:12] this is the issue have to deal with the
[3:56:13] issue quickly.
[3:56:15] >> well I am
[3:56:17] always in favor of incremental progress
[3:56:18] so that is fine
[3:56:22] with me.
[3:56:23] >> good?
[3:56:25] okay.
[3:56:26] >> here is
[3:56:27] my thoughts. Number one I really want
[3:56:30] to see some kind of lighting ordinance
[3:56:34] and I feel like sooner is better
[3:56:37] than later because
[3:56:38] as we have more and more residents
[3:56:42] who are finalizing the plans on their
[3:56:43] new homes,
[3:56:46] I would like for
[3:56:48] there to be rules about lighting and
[3:56:49] my
[3:56:51] thinking on that is particularly in the
[3:56:52] cases
[3:56:53] where you have a brand-new to her
[3:56:55] three-story home coming up
[3:56:58] next to a house that might restore
[3:57:00] their house because they were less
[3:57:04] than 50% is now we have
[3:57:07] potentially some lights
[3:57:10] that are way up there
[3:57:12] and if you put them up 30 feet high,
[3:57:13] chances of them going into
[3:57:16] the neighbor bedrooms
[3:57:19] were there backyards is
[3:57:21] extremely good. So I would really like
[3:57:23] for us to work on what I'm calling
[3:57:25] light pollution.
[3:57:28] marlene used the
[3:57:31] word wattage.
[3:57:37] before she is to the
[3:57:38] word wattage which might be the right
[3:57:40] word to use, I had written down intensity.
[3:57:43] >> that's illumination.
[3:57:44] >> I am thinking along the same lines,
[3:57:46] there needs to be limits as
[3:57:49] to how bright the lights can be
[3:57:58] I would be disappointed if we
[3:57:59] came out with something that sounded
[3:58:01] too much like hoa, I
[3:58:03] would not like that I think the timing
[3:58:04] is so
[3:58:06] important with a number of homes that
[3:58:07] are being built and restored
[3:58:10] and all
[3:58:13] of us need to realize many homes
[3:58:15] would be very tall, but they could
[3:58:16] literally be
[3:58:19] looking over the shorter home
[3:58:22] when I looked at it
[3:58:25] the first thing under permitted
[3:58:28] lighting
[3:58:29] the fray should be aesthetically pleasing
[3:58:34] is very vague and subjective.
[3:58:37] okay is that him?
[3:58:40] I
[3:58:43] think the phrase is not good that
[3:58:44] will cause more arguments than anything
[3:58:49] I think the
[3:58:52] section compatibility could be
[3:58:55] very subjective
[3:58:58] acknowledging most things are
[3:59:01] fixtures, I thought that was good where
[3:59:04] it says they shall not be directly
[3:59:05] or
[3:59:06] indirectly shining onto the adjacent
[3:59:07] properties, fences and public
[3:59:10] right of ways. Okay so I thought that
[3:59:13] was good. I was saying,
[3:59:16] you know I did not want it to
[3:59:18] have the intensity of some of the streetlights
[3:59:19] that we have, but in
[3:59:20] gulfport a lot of streetlights are
[3:59:22] not that intense
[3:59:25] I did
[3:59:26] not see anything in here that addresses
[3:59:28] height restrictions
[3:59:31] and if
[3:59:32] you like there should be height restriction
[3:59:33] because you know, the difference of
[3:59:34] if you put
[3:59:35] a motion detector on house versus
[3:59:39] one-story versus two stories versus
[3:59:40] a three-story
[3:59:43] that will affect your neighbors
[3:59:46] quite differently.
[3:59:49] so I think a height restriction in
[3:59:50] terms
[3:59:51] of where you could have a motion detector
[3:59:52] or spotlight should be considered
[3:59:53] just because
[3:59:55] you have a three-story house
[3:59:58] does not mean you need to put a spotlight
[3:59:59] on the
[4:00:00] top story you can still put it on the
[4:00:04] first story
[4:00:07] gulfport you can
[4:00:08] see some are being done the other way.
[4:00:12] and then under prohibited lighting
[4:00:16] b with any light
[4:00:19] or bulb not within a light fixture.
[4:00:21] so are we trying to say you cannot hang
[4:00:25] the bare bulbs, are we getting that
[4:00:28] specific? You cannot , it has to be
[4:00:29] within
[4:00:31] a globe?
[4:00:32] >>
[4:00:34] so, that is a perfect example.
[4:00:37] what if somebody does not have
[4:00:40] a fixture and they
[4:00:43] just put in a lightbulb?
[4:00:44] >> the hoa
[4:00:45] would require it.
[4:00:46] >> I don't know,
[4:00:49] aesthetically pleasing
[4:00:52] I
[4:00:55] don't know,
[4:00:58] I put it in for you to consider.
[4:01:01] my recommendation
[4:01:04] would be to
[4:01:06] remove a lot of these positions to
[4:01:07] get the main part in
[4:01:10] would be
[4:01:12] the compatibility and part of the
[4:01:13] permitted lighting
[4:01:16] so we have the
[4:01:18] nuisance thing in place and then draft a
[4:01:19] lighting ordinance
[4:01:21] which would be more comprehensive
[4:01:24] and it would talk about the issues
[4:01:25] you
[4:01:28] are talking about, but this is under
[4:01:29] nuisance, I would like to
[4:01:31] get the nuisance part in so the city
[4:01:34] can enforce those things
[4:01:37] >>
[4:01:40] you can use the fixture to soften
[4:01:43] the light
[4:01:49] >> even a bare bulb if it is 60 w
[4:01:50] nobody's going
[4:01:52] to care even if it looks ugly being
[4:01:53] outside
[4:01:55] the fixture and then if
[4:01:58] it is 400 w.
[4:02:01] >> that would be more complaints of.
[4:02:04] >> that goes back to what we
[4:02:07] were saying intensity or wattage it
[4:02:08] is not
[4:02:09] the fact that there is a bare bulb
[4:02:10] you know
[4:02:13] .
[4:02:16] it is how bright it
[4:02:19] is. Okay.
[4:02:20] >> the elimination the wattage
[4:02:22] and height.
[4:02:23] >> okay, I
[4:02:24] like what you said the fact we could do
[4:02:25] two steps,
[4:02:30] one is a nuisance and then come back
[4:02:31] with a lighting and in the lighting
[4:02:33] address may be intensity and height
[4:02:35] and maybe
[4:02:36] not talk about it being subjective
[4:02:38] >>
[4:02:41] I would recommend we
[4:02:44] move for
[4:02:47] I would move for part of one
[4:02:53] >> we
[4:02:55] can leave them vacant. I will do it
[4:02:56] so it is the
[4:02:57] nuisance. I believe things that are
[4:02:58] potentially shining into people those
[4:03:01] kinds of things and then I will remove the
[4:03:02] other things and bring
[4:03:04] it back to you in the meantime we
[4:03:08] can work on the lighting.
[4:03:11] >>
[4:03:12] we have enough consensus for you on that
[4:03:14] one? All right city clerk.
[4:03:17] >>
[4:03:26] >> staff is
[4:03:27] prepared to draft ordinance for the council
[4:03:29] to review
[4:03:31] , should be given to staff with accounts would
[4:03:32] like to
[4:03:33] see changes made before bringing item
[4:03:34] to future agenda for roll call vote.
[4:03:38] >> I
[4:03:41] would like to table this, not because
[4:03:42] I don't want to see us do something
[4:03:45] about this I think we need to do something
[4:03:47] about this this is extremely hot
[4:03:48] topic at the state level right now
[4:03:50] and whatever the
[4:03:53] state decides to do would
[4:03:54] end up preempting anything we did
[4:03:58] I think again we should I am not trying
[4:04:01] to take away from the importance of this
[4:04:05] it is potentially the
[4:04:07] number two issue at the state level
[4:04:08] right now in
[4:04:11] terms of in terms of the legislative session
[4:04:14] and what they want to pass
[4:04:23] >> I agree with that and
[4:04:24] we had about bicycle tricycle rollerskates
[4:04:26] or other conveyance of
[4:04:29] any kind
[4:04:30] in an area in a park where the same
[4:04:32] is designated as prohibited.
[4:04:34] if it is designated as prohibited
[4:04:35] you don't need to have
[4:04:37] it in here and it is a whole separate
[4:04:38] thing from electronic
[4:04:39] bikes because they are not electric.
[4:04:44] >> that is the point of
[4:04:47] the mayor. It is how they are using
[4:04:50] it because
[4:04:52] --
[4:04:53] >> this or not electric bicycles
[4:04:54] tricycle skateboards rollerskates
[4:04:55] or
[4:04:56] any other conveyance and you talk
[4:04:57] about electrical things in the
[4:04:59] first sentence , but
[4:05:02] these are not electric things.
[4:05:03] >>
[4:05:04] understand,
[4:05:05] that's where you prohibit them.
[4:05:06] >>
[4:05:07] if it says
[4:05:09] prohibited you don't need it in here
[4:05:11] that would be my thought I would keep ebike's separate
[4:05:12] myself.
[4:05:14] tabling it is fine.
[4:05:17] >> I am not saying no,
[4:05:20] not saying not tonight, let's see
[4:05:21] what
[4:05:23] happens and
[4:05:24] I am always in favor of safety first.
[4:05:26] no doubt about that.
[4:05:29] so we will move
[4:05:32] on then
[4:05:35] to nine c.
[4:05:36] >>
[4:05:38] inclusive or inclusivity
[4:05:41] ordinance staff
[4:05:44] is preparing resolution for city council to
[4:05:45] review
[4:05:47] directions on whether council would
[4:05:48] like to see
[4:05:49] changes made before bringing the item
[4:05:50] to future agenda for roll
[4:05:53] call vote.
[4:05:54] >> okay.
[4:05:59] so the issue on this
[4:06:02] and I know this is a
[4:06:04] divisive issue what I got from the
[4:06:05] majority of council
[4:06:08] at the meeting and
[4:06:10] I know we went back and forth on it
[4:06:11] was to address
[4:06:14] that the city
[4:06:17] is maintaining its status
[4:06:20] on civil rights
[4:06:23] on individual rights,
[4:06:26] on nondiscrimination. And then reiterating that.
[4:06:29] the issue you really need to
[4:06:31] discuss is if you want to make any changes
[4:06:35] to the areas brought up which is
[4:06:38] specific
[4:06:39] apology, I did not get a majority
[4:06:41] on that. So
[4:06:44] the way I wrote it is
[4:06:47] reaffirming city position on all-inclusive
[4:06:50] aspects, protecting and
[4:06:53] promoting civil and human rights regarding
[4:06:56] the city
[4:06:59] if you want to do as I said
[4:07:02] the vice mayor and I talked about this,
[4:07:03] we
[4:07:04] texted each other on this. A question
[4:07:05] of if they want to
[4:07:08] have specific policy included I need to have
[4:07:11] direction on it.
[4:07:14] >> okay so again this is discussion
[4:07:16] where we try to give directive to the
[4:07:17] attorney, so we
[4:07:20] will speak in speaking order for you
[4:07:23] to share your thoughts.
[4:07:24] >> I think
[4:07:25] the all-inclusive
[4:07:26] city looks good and I'm also okay
[4:07:29] with adding an apology.
[4:07:35] >> I couldn't hear your.
[4:07:37] >> I am okay with what has been written here and
[4:07:38] I'm okay with adding
[4:07:40] an apology. We have nothing to lose
[4:07:41] to add the apology.
[4:07:44] >> I think it is very well written
[4:07:45] almost like
[4:07:47] symbolic legislation. It is
[4:07:50] a gesture
[4:07:53] . I'm not sure that's enough, but
[4:07:56] I hope that it is.
[4:07:59] >> s have a problem hearing.
[4:08:02] >> this feels like a symbolic gesture
[4:08:03] which
[4:08:05] is not a bad thing, I think we are just
[4:08:08] coming out to say we want to
[4:08:11] be clear.
[4:08:13] we want to be clear, all-inclusive
[4:08:14] city. That's what we are doing.
[4:08:17] I am good with it.
[4:08:20] >> you are good with the way it
[4:08:23] is written?
[4:08:24] >> I am good with the
[4:08:26] way it is written.
[4:08:27] >> to me this is
[4:08:28] missing
[4:08:29] the point, I think we need to acknowledge
[4:08:30] we
[4:08:32] were sun down city and say we regret
[4:08:33] people
[4:08:35] had to go through that, now we are
[4:08:36] all-inclusive city , that happened
[4:08:39] in the past and we are sorry
[4:08:41] about that or just say we regret but
[4:08:42] to acknowledge
[4:08:45] we were sun down city now we
[4:08:47] are not and we're going in a different
[4:08:51] letter direction.
[4:08:57] >>
[4:09:00] all right. So, I really
[4:09:03] appreciated what you
[4:09:06] wrote and it really appreciated
[4:09:09] the whereas four, five and six
[4:09:11] and I put them in order that way. The
[4:09:12] sections
[4:09:15] that declare firm commitment
[4:09:18] to uphold and enforce but
[4:09:19] there is no mention of acknowledgment
[4:09:21] of any history.
[4:09:23] acknowledging injustices of the past
[4:09:24] or something
[4:09:27] like that, but the human
[4:09:29] rights ordinance defined discrimination
[4:09:33] ,
[4:09:34] addresses protections, freedom policy equal
[4:09:36] opportunity
[4:09:37] other definitions and remedies but the
[4:09:39] resolution has a very different
[4:09:42] tone and
[4:09:45] and so the resolution reaffirms
[4:09:48] that discrimination harassment exclusion
[4:09:51] is contrary to the values of the community
[4:09:53] enters all are welcome and respected
[4:09:54] and
[4:09:55] able to participate the commitment
[4:09:57] to uphold as mentioned
[4:10:00] serving as a statement of
[4:10:01] city values and guiding principles
[4:10:05] for decision-making, policy and public
[4:10:06] service which I thought was excellent.
[4:10:08] there is no specific acknowledgment
[4:10:09] of history which may be
[4:10:10] uncomfortable to some but important
[4:10:12] to others.
[4:10:15] so I drafted a
[4:10:16] couple of different suggestions and
[4:10:18] I
[4:10:21] will read both if you wish the
[4:10:22] first is recognizing the importance
[4:10:24] of acknowledging history
[4:10:26] including moments when discrimination
[4:10:27] or
[4:10:29] exclusion occurs as an essential step
[4:10:31] strengthening trust, healing and building
[4:10:33] a more
[4:10:36] just and welcoming community.
[4:10:38] and if everybody likes that I won't
[4:10:39] even read
[4:10:42] the second.
[4:10:43] >> just so
[4:10:45] I know is that whereas or
[4:10:48] ?
[4:10:49] >> I believe that to the
[4:10:51] legal expertise.
[4:10:53] the second is a firm's importance
[4:10:54] of understanding and learning from
[4:10:55] community history as we recommend
[4:10:57] and recommit ourselves
[4:10:59] to the values of inclusion, dignity
[4:11:00] and equal participation.
[4:11:03] >> I like the first
[4:11:06] one. It says more about history.
[4:11:09] that we were just.
[4:11:10] >> first
[4:11:12] or second.
[4:11:13] >> read
[4:11:15] the second, again.
[4:11:17] >> I don't want to water it down because
[4:11:18] I want us
[4:11:20] to be very clear that we are recognizing
[4:11:21] our history and we are
[4:11:23] acknowledging that. Affirms the importance
[4:11:26] of understanding and learning from
[4:11:27] community history
[4:11:30] as we recommit ourselves
[4:11:32] of the values of inclusion dignity and
[4:11:36] equal participation for all. Recognizes
[4:11:39] the importance of acknowledging
[4:11:41] history, including moments when discrimination
[4:11:42] or
[4:11:45] exclusion occurred as an essential step
[4:11:48] in strengthening,
[4:11:49] trust, healing and building a more
[4:11:51] just and welcoming community. That kind
[4:11:52] of
[4:11:53] fits with what I was saying in the
[4:11:54] previous meeting
[4:11:57] so I do favor that one,
[4:12:00] but I mean I
[4:12:03] don't want to fight anybody
[4:12:06] on it.
[4:12:07] >> they are both really
[4:12:08] well written.
[4:12:09] >> reading them both
[4:12:10] twice again
[4:12:12] I feel they are almost the
[4:12:15] same.
[4:12:16] >> I like one
[4:12:18] better because it actually says
[4:12:21] , for behavior
[4:12:24] of the
[4:12:26] past. Okay? Acknowledging the behavior
[4:12:27] and there
[4:12:30] was another word in there.
[4:12:33] >> one was more direct you
[4:12:36] know apologizing and reaffirming those
[4:12:39] things occurred , but you have moved
[4:12:42] forward that is what
[4:12:45] one of them sounded like.
[4:12:46] >> recognizing
[4:12:47] importance
[4:12:48] of acknowledging our history including
[4:12:50] moments when discrimination occurred
[4:12:53] as an essential step strengthening
[4:12:54] trust, healing
[4:12:57] and building a more just and welcoming community.
[4:13:00] >> I really like that
[4:13:02] one best and it goes alongside with what
[4:13:06] councilmember earley said , that
[4:13:09] I feel like we have done this
[4:13:14] with the ordinance from 20 years ago, but that
[4:13:15] was
[4:13:18] a different council that did that
[4:13:19] so if there
[4:13:20] would be any doubt about the position
[4:13:21] of the city and this council this
[4:13:24] is helping to
[4:13:27] wait for that. To me it
[4:13:30] does not apologize for being a sun
[4:13:33] down city
[4:13:35] it does apologize for the discrimination
[4:13:36] in the history of
[4:13:39] some that were in the city.
[4:13:42] so for me as I
[4:13:43] said before I see that as separate
[4:13:45] things, the behavior of the residents
[4:13:48] versus the behavior of the city
[4:13:50] are not necessarily one in the same.
[4:13:51] >> people might
[4:13:54] interpret differently, but
[4:13:57] however it speaks to people
[4:14:00] and creates healing
[4:14:03] and states clearly we are moving forward
[4:14:06] in language
[4:14:08] the attorney already composed into it
[4:14:12] is even in policy, and
[4:14:15] decision-making
[4:14:16] processes how important that is. That's
[4:14:18] why I asked for a copy
[4:14:21] of what you read about the human rights
[4:14:22] ordinance in
[4:14:24] the last meeting because I really cents
[4:14:27] there was a different tone and a
[4:14:30] missing component and especially after
[4:14:33] rereading it
[4:14:36] and what
[4:14:38] we were trying to accomplish I was
[4:14:39] thoroughly convinced we needed a different tone and
[4:14:40] to be
[4:14:42] more specific and that is what
[4:14:45] I spoke with last time and started
[4:14:46] with healing the
[4:14:48] last time as well so that's
[4:14:50] why I think it is important to include
[4:14:51] that.
[4:14:52] >> give that to
[4:14:54] me or send it?
[4:14:55] >> you don't want my
[4:14:56] scribble notes because I wrote all
[4:14:57] over it.
[4:15:00] >> you came up
[4:15:02] with some really good words we could
[4:15:04] agree on.
[4:15:07] >> I really hope this is
[4:15:09] a point that people understand, we
[4:15:13] are acknowledging
[4:15:16] history,
[4:15:17] however anyone chooses to interpret
[4:15:18] I have my interpretation and you may
[4:15:22] have another, but you know
[4:15:25] I acknowledge
[4:15:28] what I believe
[4:15:29] to have happened here. I was not here,
[4:15:31] but from what I
[4:15:34] have heard,
[4:15:37] I understand
[4:15:38] so that's what I'm trying to convey personally.
[4:15:40] I am also trying to
[4:15:43] speak for everybody.
[4:15:44] >>
[4:15:48] I have my direction unless there's
[4:15:52] something more.
[4:15:54] >> turning to you to say do you have
[4:15:55] direction?
[4:15:56] >>
[4:15:57] I do.
[4:15:58] >> very good. That will then
[4:15:59] take us
[4:16:01] to my discussion. My goodness.
[4:16:04] I just want to go
[4:16:07] to sleep. Okay. So,
[4:16:10] my discussion is
[4:16:13] really not a discussion and it is
[4:16:14] not fair it says considerations for
[4:16:16] downtown area
[4:16:19] and that cannot be blamed on
[4:16:21] the city clerk. I did not define for
[4:16:22] her what I wanted
[4:16:24] to do and I kind of wanted to build
[4:16:25] a
[4:16:26] nice overview of the things I have been
[4:16:28] hearing over the years
[4:16:31] and the consistency and lack
[4:16:34] of consistency
[4:16:37] and how
[4:16:38] we are sometimes all over the board
[4:16:39] but there is general consensus so
[4:16:40] that's because what I
[4:16:42] want to do and I knew it was going
[4:16:43] to be late,
[4:16:46] I did not know this late but
[4:16:47] I did write out some things so I am
[4:16:49] going to read even though you know
[4:16:50] I don't usually like to read, I like
[4:16:52] to talk from my heart more so,
[4:16:54] but when I get tired it gets more difficult.
[4:16:57] these are the things that I wrote down.
[4:17:01] a few years
[4:17:03] ago, the residents of gulfport conducted
[4:17:04] a
[4:17:07] series of meetings to engage and brainstorm
[4:17:10] regarding gulfport , this was
[4:17:13] an initiative of
[4:17:16] mayor love, led by resident
[4:17:21] ingrid, the goal is for neighbors
[4:17:22] to discuss concerns
[4:17:24] and want in a nonthreatening way.
[4:17:28] I did not attend all
[4:17:29] the meetings I was present for one and
[4:17:31] a half of them and I
[4:17:33] read the summary of meetings. Others may
[4:17:34] have heard
[4:17:37] differently, but I saw the
[4:17:40] biggest consensus
[4:17:43] of these meetings,
[4:17:45] let's see, others may have heard different way
[4:17:46] but I saw the
[4:17:48] biggest consensus of these meetings
[4:17:49] around two issues. One,
[4:17:52] the need for affordable housing
[4:17:54] and that kind of included discussion
[4:17:55] of rent
[4:17:57] control and homelessness. Okay? Two,
[4:18:01] environmental issues
[4:18:03] and that conversation evolved around
[4:18:04] rising sea level
[4:18:07] , climate change, alternative modes
[4:18:08] of transportation
[4:18:10] and increased walk ability
[4:18:13] so I am including that into
[4:18:16] environmental issues.
[4:18:18] there was not a lot of problem-solving at
[4:18:19] these meetings, but
[4:18:21] rather, a lot of identifying problems. Okay?
[4:18:25] next section.
[4:18:27] last year I led a meeting called gulfport 2050.
[4:18:30] goal was for the residents to acknowledge
[4:18:31] change was coming
[4:18:34] and how could they
[4:18:36] or how they would like gulfport to
[4:18:37] look
[4:18:40] and feel in 2050, the premise
[4:18:43] was that in order to accomplish the
[4:18:44] 20/50
[4:18:46] vision, we needed to
[4:18:49] break it down where we would be
[4:18:52] in 2030 and 2040
[4:18:54] hard to believe you are only four
[4:18:55] years away from 2030.
[4:18:57] I found the thoughts to be all over
[4:18:58] the board
[4:19:00] and many of them were very shortsighted
[4:19:04] and they did not get 20/50
[4:19:06] let's talk about what 2050 looks like,
[4:19:07] it was
[4:19:10] very shortsighted
[4:19:13] in most cases. The biggest
[4:19:15] consensus I received was the need to
[4:19:16] strengthen and harden the city against
[4:19:19] rising waters. Create more parking
[4:19:20] to
[4:19:22] businesses, especially handicap while
[4:19:25] being more bike and pedestrian
[4:19:27] friendly. Interesting enough there
[4:19:28] was more talk
[4:19:31] of resiliency
[4:19:33] at gulfport on the edge then there
[4:19:34] was gulfport 2050, looking
[4:19:37] at this for a couple of reasons.
[4:19:40] number one, I believe
[4:19:42] the residents should be heard and
[4:19:43] voices matter
[4:19:46] and if they took the time
[4:19:48] to attend these meetings and speak
[4:19:49] up we need to
[4:19:51] revisit this periodically. It's not
[4:19:52] like you
[4:19:55] go to the meeting
[4:19:58] and it does not go anywhere, I
[4:20:00] want to keep using the information.
[4:20:01] and I believe the council must
[4:20:04] provide direction
[4:20:06] for the long-term future, not just for
[4:20:07] today's problems. I
[4:20:10] do believe
[4:20:13] the roll of the council
[4:20:15] is to plan for future. Just as I said.
[4:20:16] I believe if
[4:20:18] we concentrate on the area where the
[4:20:19] most consensus
[4:20:22] we will be working a good roadmap.
[4:20:25] I believe
[4:20:27] this council has clearly communicated
[4:20:30] long-term commitment to stormwater fixes
[4:20:33] and strengthening of shorelines against
[4:20:34] rising water.
[4:20:37] I said it in that order intentionally
[4:20:38] because
[4:20:40] the watershed study clearly shows
[4:20:43] the city has more flooding due to
[4:20:47] over land stormwater than tied.
[4:20:50] which I found surprising
[4:20:52] I was very surprised by that. I believe you're
[4:20:53] ready
[4:20:54] to have serious conversations about
[4:20:56] a.d. You
[4:20:59] which could add some
[4:21:00] affordable housing. I think we're close
[4:21:02] on that.
[4:21:05] it is 2026
[4:21:08] it
[4:21:10] is a new year and we have a lot before us
[4:21:11] as we try
[4:21:12] to complete recovery complain new
[4:21:14] daily services advanced senior
[4:21:17] center expansion and create the
[4:21:20] grand plan for stormwater
[4:21:21] all while under the threat of a huge
[4:21:23] reduction to income
[4:21:25] for the elimination of property taxes
[4:21:29] on homestead properties.
[4:21:32] as mayor of the city
[4:21:33] my focus must be on the issues of gulfport,
[4:21:35] that is what I was elected
[4:21:37] to do. At the next meeting I will
[4:21:38] get
[4:21:41] presentation on plans to
[4:21:42] change parking and traffic flow in
[4:21:44] the downtown area. I
[4:21:47] know I have sat through
[4:21:48] 12 years of council meetings and I
[4:21:50] know change is scary.
[4:21:54] I hope that each one of you will consider
[4:21:56] my plan and provide
[4:21:59] input to improve upon it.
[4:22:00] of course there's plenty more information in
[4:22:01] those presentations to break down
[4:22:05] in the future, as well
[4:22:08] . That is my whole discussion
[4:22:11] >> the only thing I would add
[4:22:13] is people were concerned about giving
[4:22:14] the character
[4:22:17] of gulfport.
[4:22:20] others were quite accurate.
[4:22:21] >>
[4:22:23] I agree.
[4:22:25] >> that's all I had to say we could
[4:22:26] move to new business
[4:22:29] please.
[4:22:30] >> no new business.
[4:22:32] I know I am next.
[4:22:35] >> I will
[4:22:38] go next time.
[4:22:39] >> we have something brewing
[4:22:41] but I don't want to be premature.
[4:22:43] >> I forgot to mention the new gulfport
[4:22:44] environmental team
[4:22:47] is also on
[4:22:48] connecting gulfport on the volunteer
[4:22:50] portal so you can sign
[4:22:53] up for that.
[4:22:59] >> all of this can wait except are
[4:23:02] we recording
[4:23:05] ?
[4:23:06] >> it is a
[4:23:07] private group , that was established
[4:23:08] last year when we give
[4:23:11] it to them but we give them
[4:23:13] the building.
[4:23:14] >> who recorded last
[4:23:15] time?
[4:23:17] >> gabbard did
[4:23:20] >>
[4:23:22] it would be up to the league of women
[4:23:23] voters to do
[4:23:26] the recording?
[4:23:27] >>
[4:23:29] who is coordinating so they can
[4:23:32] be contacted about that?
[4:23:33] >>
[4:23:35] okay.
[4:23:38] .
[4:23:44] >>
[4:23:50] I understand.
[4:23:53] >>
[4:23:56] I understand and I hear your. They
[4:23:57] have
[4:23:59] been recorded before and want to continue.
[4:24:02] >> council last year.
[4:24:05] did not want us to participate.
[4:24:08] >> interesting okay. Moving on
[4:24:12] that could be another conversation.
[4:24:14] I want to
[4:24:16] make sure we are moving forward with
[4:24:17] 287 workshop
[4:24:20] .
[4:24:21] >> I
[4:24:23] think we need to.
[4:24:24] >>
[4:24:28] we have one on the eighth about the
[4:24:29] referendum.
[4:24:30] >> we have
[4:24:31] one on the fifth.
[4:24:32] >> the one on 287
[4:24:33] is you want
[4:24:34] to give time to gather some of the
[4:24:35] documentation like
[4:24:38] the vice mayor brought up.
[4:24:41] I would like to make sure you
[4:24:43] add specifics, when I looked quickly
[4:24:47] they
[4:24:49] said agency and I was trying to figure
[4:24:50] out what
[4:24:53] that meant, there have
[4:24:55] been some that did not sign so maybe we can get
[4:24:56] the
[4:24:57] documentation so you can have that.
[4:24:58] >>
[4:25:00] the school board the pinellas school
[4:25:02] board rescinded
[4:25:06] the agreement I talked to caprice
[4:25:07] edmonds because it had not been approved
[4:25:08] by either
[4:25:11] the superintendent or the
[4:25:14] school board.
[4:25:16] they are a little different because
[4:25:17] they're not a city.
[4:25:20] so they cannot call them
[4:25:22] sanctuary city.
[4:25:23] >> can they take away their funding?
[4:25:24] >>
[4:25:26] yes they could.
[4:25:27] >>
[4:25:29] all of that they can take
[4:25:32] it away.
[4:25:35] >> that has been part of the leverage.
[4:25:38] >> I do think we need to
[4:25:40] give time to gather information with
[4:25:41] information out to
[4:25:44] the community so
[4:25:47] it is timely because
[4:25:50] still there's a lot of concern and fear
[4:25:53] and we need to talk about
[4:25:56] it in the community.
[4:25:57] >> what about
[4:25:59] the 20 sixth? Too far away?
[4:26:02] there is no council
[4:26:05] for that week , that would give over
[4:26:08] a month.
[4:26:09] >>
[4:26:11] if council gives us direction
[4:26:14] if we run into the problem we can always bring
[4:26:17] it back.
[4:26:18] >> I think
[4:26:21] it was really obvious tonight there
[4:26:23] is a tremendous amount of fear and
[4:26:25] I also think that a good bit of the
[4:26:26] fear is
[4:26:29] generated by rumors
[4:26:32] that are not true .
[4:26:35] on the other hand, I need
[4:26:38] to hear more. I know
[4:26:41] what I have been told, but have
[4:26:44] I spent full-time on this, no. I have
[4:26:45] been spending
[4:26:46] full-time on the city of gulfport
[4:26:49] issues we have to deal with every
[4:26:51] single day in
[4:26:54] and day out.
[4:26:56] so I do not so we are necessarily
[4:26:59] well-prepared and I appreciate the fact
[4:27:02] we did get responses on several issues
[4:27:06] without having been forewarned
[4:27:09] on what was happening tonight.
[4:27:11] so I think having it is good so if
[4:27:12] we
[4:27:15] want to pull out a date and
[4:27:17] within the next two days, we can from yes
[4:27:20] we can make it happen or no we can't.
[4:27:24] that way also attorney,
[4:27:27] when people start sending
[4:27:30] us, the council things, yes but what
[4:27:33] about this and what about that?
[4:27:36] at least we can forward that
[4:27:37] to you so you can either confirm yes
[4:27:39] that is accurate information
[4:27:42] or yeah, that was
[4:27:43] one piece of it but that changed 10
[4:27:45] months ago. You know,
[4:27:48] so we are looking at it because
[4:27:51] just like we
[4:27:54] talked about, you can move the
[4:27:57] car for the hurricane, what can
[4:27:59] we potentially do and I'm not talking about
[4:28:03] rescinding the agreement, but
[4:28:06] how, what could we be looking at
[4:28:09] to do our darndest to keep as
[4:28:12] far away.
[4:28:13] >>
[4:28:15] mayor, I would like
[4:28:17] to look at some of that because I
[4:28:18] think, trying
[4:28:21] to say this to the best way I can
[4:28:23] think of. Which is while some communities
[4:28:24] may have
[4:28:27] adopted this or
[4:28:29] were forced to adopt it does not mean
[4:28:30] they are implementing it
[4:28:32] and I think that's what the vice mayor was
[4:28:36] pointing to. You, yes it says it in
[4:28:37] the agreement,
[4:28:39] but
[4:28:40] it does not mean anybody is doing
[4:28:42] it because there was leverage,
[4:28:43] there's leverage placed on this, not
[4:28:45] just criminal aspects,
[4:28:46] it's the financial leverage and everybody
[4:28:48] in smaller cities are the ones that
[4:28:51] are feeling that
[4:28:54] and I think that is a fair statement
[4:28:55] that
[4:28:56] needs to be brought out, too. I hope
[4:28:59] I am not going to be arrested now.
[4:29:00] >>
[4:29:03] we will bail you out.
[4:29:04] >> all right.
[4:29:05] where
[4:29:06] you've done with your
[4:29:08] new business?
[4:29:09] >> someone mentioned
[4:29:10] the 20 sixth.
[4:29:12] january 26
[4:29:14] you will be in tallahassee. Or february.
[4:29:17] >> could not be ready for january.
[4:29:21] >> earlier if we
[4:29:24] can buy just to be fair.
[4:29:25] >> now it
[4:29:26] comes
[4:29:27] to me for the new business and I had
[4:29:28] some
[4:29:29] things here, but I cannot deal with
[4:29:30] it right
[4:29:33] now. I am just out of it.
[4:29:35] I am going to adjourn our meeting.
[4:29:36] thank
[4:29:39] you to all of you who
[4:29:42] hung the in here this long,
[4:29:45] I hope the rest of you don't get
[4:29:46] up at 4:00 every morning. Thank you for
[4:29:48] being here,
[4:29:51] appreciate it.