Name: Largo City Commission Meeting
Start: 2026-08-04
Location: Largo, FL

[5:19] Good evening. This is a regular City Commission meeting for the City of Largo.

[5:23] Today is Tuesday, August 4th, 2026.

[5:25] I'd like to call this meeting to order and ask if you have a cell phone,

[5:29] please turn it to silent or off so that we don't have any interruptions tonight.

[5:33] We're going to start today's meeting with an invocation given by Pastor Oliver King

[5:38] from Restoration Ministries of Largo.

[5:40] And then if you could please remain standing and I'll lead you in the Pledge

[5:44] standing and I'll lead you in the Pledge of

[5:44] Allegiance. Good evening, everyone.

[5:46] Always grateful and thank you for the opportunity to be able to come and pray

[5:50] opportunity to be able to come and pray for

[5:50] the city. And also thank you, officials,

[5:52] for your help and your assistance with my ministry and taking care of the homeless

[5:57] and families that are in need of food. So let us pray.

[6:00] Lord God, we thank you for your grace. God, we thank you for your mercy.

[6:04] God, we thank you for another day.

[6:06] God, we thank you for our life, health, and strength.

[6:08] We thank you for allowing us to be here, Father God, to travel here safely.

[6:12] Father, we ask now all the time for your presence, God.

[6:15] We know more than ever we need you more than ever.

[6:18] We ask now, God, for your many blessings over the families that make up this

[6:22] community. Bless these officials, Father God. Continue to lead and direct them.

[6:26] Father God, bless and take care of our leaders, God, our president,

[6:29] our government officials.

[6:30] Father God, we give every situation, every issue back to you.

[6:33] We ask, Father God, all the time for your forgiveness.

[6:36] For moments taken for granted, Father God,

[6:38] protection that you provide every single day.

[6:40] Again, God, we thank you for our schools.

[6:42] Father God, we thank you for our government.

[6:44] God, we ask now again, well, always, God,

[6:46] that you continue to bless us and watch over us.

[6:48] Be a part of this ministry, Father God. Let us understand and hear from one

[6:52] Let us understand and hear from one another.

[6:52] God, again, we give you thanks. We give you praise.

[6:55] We ask, God, that you continue to bless the homeless families,

[6:58] those that are in crisis, those that are in need.

[7:00] Father, there is nothing too hard for you. God, again, we thank you.

[7:03] We give you honor.

[7:04] We reverence you. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.

[7:10] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[7:16] United States of America and to the republic

[7:17] for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible,

[7:22] with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Pastor.

[7:26] The first item on the agenda today is a ceremonial item,

[7:31] one of my favorite ceremonial items of the year,

[7:35] the recognition of our Citizen Campers.

[7:38] Good evening, everyone.

[7:40] My name is Brittany Shug,

[7:41] and I am the Children's Program Manager for the City of Largo for the Child Care

[7:47] Division. I am pleased to be here tonight to give the Citizen Camper Award to our

[7:53] City of Largo campers.

[7:54] This award highlights individuals who go above and beyond,

[7:58] not just in participation but in character.

[8:01] These campers consistently show respect, kindness, responsibility,

[8:06] and genuine desire to make camp a better place for everyone.

[8:10] They lend a hand before being asked, treat others with care,

[8:15] and serve as a role model through their everyday actions.

[8:19] Tonight, we honor the campers who make the City of Largo a welcoming, safe,

[8:24] and positive environment.

[8:26] Their leadership shines through big gestures alone,

[8:29] but through small meaningful choices they make each day.

[8:33] To all of our nominees, thank you.

[8:36] Your character, your compassion,

[8:38] and your willingness to help set the tone for our entire community.

[8:43] You inspire your peers and you make this camp a place where everyone feels included

[8:48] and valued. So the first camper I would like to introduce to you guys tonight is

[8:54] Stefan Petravo from the Cool Kids at Highland.

[8:57] Um, Stefan was nominated by his counselor, Miss Marcella.

[9:01] Stefan is always ready to listen and consistently waits quietly for the next

[9:07] consistently waits quietly for the next set of

[9:07] directions during transitions.

[9:09] He is kind, respectful, and supportive towards all his fellow campers.

[9:14] Stefan takes initiative in keeping the space clean,

[9:18] often tidying up after himself and others without even being asked. Ms.

[9:23] Marcella never has to repeat instructions.

[9:26] He is proactive, he communicates,

[9:28] and he often informs her of potential issues before they even occur.

[9:33] He consistently leads by example, showing his peers what responsible,

[9:38] respectful behavior looks like.

[9:40] He follows all camp rules, is well-liked by his friends,

[9:44] and comes to camp each day with a positive attitude.

[9:48] Stefan embodies what a camper should be— responsible, kind,

[9:52] and appreciates each and every day.

[9:54] Stefan, we are incredibly proud and appreciate the positivity and leadership

[10:00] appreciate the positivity and leadership you

[10:00] bring to camp every day.

[10:01] Congratulations, congratulations, Stefan, on Citizen Camper for 2026.

[10:06] Up next, we have Emerson Singh from Cool Kids at Highland.

[10:10] Emerson Singh was nominated by her counselor, Miss Chasen.

[10:15] Emerson is a kind and thoughtful camper who treats all of her friends with

[10:20] who treats all of her friends with respect.

[10:20] respect. She is always eager to help others and consistently uses her manners

[10:26] others and consistently uses her manners when

[10:26] speaking with both her counselors and her peers.

[10:29] Miss Chasen often chooses Emerson to accompany friends when they need to grab

[10:35] accompany friends when they need to grab water,

[10:35] use the restroom, or find a partner for any camp activities because she knows

[10:41] Emerson will be kind, attentive, and responsible. She never leaves anyone

[10:46] responsible. She never leaves anyone behind.

[10:46] She was chosen because she is a true leader, kind, empathetic,

[10:51] and respectful to everyone around her.

[10:53] She never misses an opportunity to say thank you,

[10:57] and I've seen her welcome new campers as they join the group each week.

[11:02] We are so proud of Emerson and grateful to have her as a part of our camp family.

[11:08] Her positivity and leadership brightens her group each and every day.

[11:12] Congratulations, Emerson, on Citizen Camper for 2026.

[11:16] Up next, we have Olivia Chapman from Kid City at Southwest.

[11:20] Olivia was chosen by her counselor, Miss Sheridan.

[11:24] Olivia is kind to all of her friends at camp,

[11:27] including those outside of her own group.

[11:30] She approaches campers who seem upset and offer comfort without hesitation.

[11:35] Olivia has been especially helpful,

[11:38] helpful to a camper who recently broke their arm,

[11:41] patiently supporting them throughout the day.

[11:44] She is gentle and patient even with the younger campers and frequently helps with

[11:50] lost and found items, often tracking down their own owners.

[11:54] During transitions to new locations,

[11:57] Olivia points out left-behind water bottles to make sure her friends are

[12:02] bottles to make sure her friends are grabbing

[12:02] all of their belongings.

[12:04] She volunteers to be a buddy when someone needs to leave the group.

[12:09] And never leaves their side.

[12:11] Olivia acts as an extra set of eyes for safety, speaking up and alerting Ms.

[12:16] Sheridan whenever something doesn't seem right.

[12:20] She is sweet, kind, and always prioritizing the well-being of herself and

[12:25] prioritizing the well-being of herself and those

[12:25] around her. She participates in all activities and consistently encourages her

[12:31] activities and consistently encourages her camp

[12:31] friends in a positive way.

[12:33] Olivia is a dedicated Kid City camper,

[12:35] and she is someone I am truly excited to watch grow into an even stronger role

[12:41] watch grow into an even stronger role model

[12:41] to the younger campers.

[12:43] We are incredibly proud of Olivia and grateful for the kindness, leadership,

[12:48] and joy she brings to our camp each and every day.

[12:52] Congratulations, Olivia, on Citizen Camper for 2026.

[12:55] All right, and last but not least,

[12:58] we have Novelin Brewer from the Kid City at Southwest.

[13:02] Novelyn was nominated by her camp counselor, Mr. Cade.

[13:05] She is consistently respectful to all staff and campers and is known as one of

[13:11] staff and campers and is known as one of the

[13:11] friendliest campers at Southwest. Novelyn is incredibly responsible.

[13:16] She always volunteers to help with tasks, often without even being asked.

[13:21] If it is assisting her other camp friends with activities,

[13:25] she is always there to help.

[13:27] Novelyn continues to demonstrate safety,

[13:30] and supports others to ensure things are done the right way.

[13:34] No matter the task, she is eager to assist and lend a hand.

[13:38] Her favorite thing is to ask, can I help with that?

[13:42] She consistently shows kindness, respect, and genuine willingness to help,

[13:47] making others feel welcomed and included.

[13:50] Her initiative and willingness to jump in without direction is what truly sets her

[13:56] apart from other campers.

[13:58] Whether she is helping counselors, supporting fellow campers,

[14:02] Or simply offering assistance where it's needed.

[14:05] She does it all with a bright smile.

[14:08] She shows compassion towards other campers,

[14:11] even in situations she isn't directly involved with.

[14:15] Novelin is always using her manners and making sure she is so polite to anyone she

[14:20] interacts with. Novelin embodies the values and traits of a citizen camper.

[14:26] She puts others first, she shows respect,

[14:29] and maintains a positive attitude each and every day.

[14:32] Her character and actions are truly why she is so deserving of this award.

[14:38] Congratulations, Navlin, on Citizen Camper for 2026.

[14:41] You guys want

[14:47] to come up too?

[14:54] Do you want all the campers or do you want to do camp by camp? Yeah.

[15:01] You should sit in a chair. It's gonna hurt its back. There you go.

[15:10] Ready?

[15:10] 3, 2, 1.

[15:14] Let's do one more.

[15:29] Here, I'll take their forms. You want to leave?

[15:34] I don't know how they're going to do this one.

[15:38] Come this way. We can help you do it.

[15:40] We can't reach them. Yeah, we can come around the wrong way.

[15:44] No, no, probably easier. You can't reach them.

[15:47] Why not?

[15:47] Maybe. Go ahead.

[15:49] Good job. Great job.

[15:52] Great

[15:54] Congratulations.

[16:01] Congratulations. Congratulations. Didn't think you'd reach us.

[16:06] The high five is better, easier than—

[16:09] Thank you everyone for having us tonight.

[16:17] Next item is team member of the quarter recognition.

[16:24] Good evening, Mayor, Commissioners.

[16:26] Let's keep this positivity theme going, shall we?

[16:29] First up is Mitchell Bowling, firefighter. Come on up.

[16:33] During a medical call,

[16:35] Firefighter Bowling demonstrated exactly what the fire service is all about.

[16:40] After completing patient care for a patient who had fallen and was living in a

[16:45] disorganized home environment,

[16:47] he took it upon himself without being asked to go above and beyond for her.

[16:52] He put away her groceries, restocked her refrigerator, fed her dog,

[16:56] took out her trash, and ensured her home was clear of obstacles so she could safely

[17:02] navigate with her walker.

[17:03] The patient was truly grateful,

[17:06] and I have no doubt that Firefighter Bowling's compassion and initiative Made a

[17:11] meaningful difference in her day and her safety.

[17:14] Thank you for providing superior services. Congratulations.

[17:18] Next up is Tasha Wordy, library assistant. Come on up, Tasha.

[17:22] Tasha actually had 3 write-ups all surrounding this big event they had at the

[17:27] library, but I'm going to read one.

[17:29] Tasha Wordie consistently exceeds expectations in her role developing

[17:34] expectations in her role developing children's

[17:35] programming for the library.

[17:37] In addition to planning and presenting 3 to 6 children's programs each week while

[17:42] also serving patrons at the public service desk,

[17:45] Tasha took the initiative to independently conceptualize, organize,

[17:50] and execute an ambitious large-scale literary event for adults called

[17:54] literary event for adults called Romantically

[17:55] Ever After: A Library Lit Fest.

[17:57] Driven by her passion for reading and community engagement,

[18:01] Tasha coordinated nearly 50 romance and subgenre authors to participate in the

[18:06] event, creating meaningful opportunities for readers to connect with authors and

[18:12] have books signed. This project extended far beyond the scope of her regular

[18:17] responsibilities and demonstrated exceptional creativity, leadership,

[18:21] and project management skills.

[18:23] Tasha also developed and executed a sophisticated social media campaign that

[18:28] generated unprecedented excitement and engagement for the library.

[18:33] Her rollout strategy built anticipation through carefully timed announcements,

[18:38] personalized promotional graphics for each participating author,

[18:42] and visually compelling content featuring authors' headshots and book covers.

[18:47] She further amplified the event's visibility by leveraging early author

[18:52] visibility by leveraging early author access to

[18:53] engage social media influencers and expand community outreach.

[18:57] The results were extraordinary.

[18:59] The campaign increased the library's social media following by 916 followers

[19:04] social media following by 916 followers across

[19:04] Facebook and Instagram,

[19:06] representing a 190% increase on Facebook and an impressive 509% increase on

[19:11] Instagram. Engagement surrounding the event surpassed that of any previous

[19:16] event surpassed that of any previous library

[19:16] program. Attendees came as far away as South Carolina to attend the event.

[19:21] Community response to Romantically Ever After far exceeded expectations.

[19:26] Although registration was optional, 1,374 individuals registered in advance,

[19:31] and final attendance exceeded 1,500 participants.

[19:34] In addition, from a post-event survey sent to the authors,

[19:38] 100% say they would absolutely attend the event again in the future.

[19:43] Tasha's vision, dedication,

[19:45] and innovative approach not only created a highly successful event,

[19:49] but also significantly elevated the library's visibility and community impact.

[19:54] Tasha's initiative, creativity,

[19:56] and commitment to excellence make her exceptionally deserving of recognition as

[20:02] exceptionally deserving of recognition as Team

[20:02] Member of the Quarter. Congratulations.

[20:05] Next up is Jody White, Housing Finance Specialist. Come on up, Jody.

[20:09] Jody White has routinely demonstrated superior services and passion for her work

[20:14] with the housing programs for the city.

[20:17] In less than 2 months,

[20:19] Jody facilitated the issuance of approximately $550,000 in new housing

[20:23] approximately $550,000 in new housing program

[20:24] awards to clients with state and federal grant funds.

[20:27] This is not just paperwork to her.

[20:29] She made trips to clients' homes to work through application processes if they had

[20:35] limited computer access or limited mobility,

[20:38] and she followed closely on cases with down payment providers to ensure timely

[20:43] completion of cases so clients could purchase homes.

[20:47] Jodi also oversees the city's housing program loan portfolio,

[20:51] part of which necessitates getting loans back into compliance if clients pass away

[20:56] or setting up payment plans when their loan deferment periods expire.

[21:01] She recently had 6 cases she was able to get back into compliance status.

[21:06] This process often entails working with families who recently lost a loved one to

[21:11] families who recently lost a loved one to go

[21:11] through next steps and working with families that still live in homes to set

[21:16] families that still live in homes to set up

[21:16] payment plans once deferment periods expire.

[21:19] Not only is she efficient with these cases, but she is also effective.

[21:24] Every case has a circumstance or nuance to it.

[21:27] One such case involved working with a young woman who had inherited her

[21:32] grandmother's home when her grandmother passed away.

[21:35] Jody was able to help her navigate the city's loan assumption process so the

[21:40] granddaughter could remain in the home and not trigger immediate repayment of the 2

[21:46] deferred payment loans on the property.

[21:48] The granddaughter was facing many uphill battles of her own,

[21:52] and not only did Jody have to work to gain her trust in the process,

[21:57] but Jody always showed concern for the granddaughter.

[22:00] If Jody had not heard from her for a while,

[22:03] she would reach out to check on her to make sure she was okay.

[22:07] She had many times where she would stay on the phone with the granddaughter to offer

[22:13] support and connect her to other services for additional support.

[22:17] Some of our clients do not have family left,

[22:20] and it happens time and again that they know they can trust Jody and call.

[22:25] In addition to juggling these activities,

[22:28] she serves as a backup person for the city's homeless outreach specialist if he

[22:33] city's homeless outreach specialist if he is

[22:33] out. She is always willing to jump right in and help. Congratulations, Jody.

[22:38] Next up, Samantha Cabrich, Housing Construction Specialist.

[22:42] Samantha continuously demonstrates superior services to the community of

[22:47] superior services to the community of Largo.

[22:48] She has been juggling a large caseload with the city's housing programs,

[22:52] and her contributions exemplify her knowledge, expertise, and passion for her

[22:58] knowledge, expertise, and passion for her work.

[22:58] Samantha has been going above and beyond in her role as housing construction

[23:03] specialist in the short time she has been with the city for just over a year.

[23:08] Samantha oversees the construction phase of the home improvement program,

[23:13] among other activities.

[23:15] She has raised the standard for contractors participating in the program

[23:19] contractors participating in the program and has

[23:20] been successful in recruiting more contractors to participate.

[23:24] She diligently checks permit statuses each day on open cases to see how contractors

[23:29] are progressing, helps guide the contractors to navigate permit and

[23:34] contractors to navigate permit and inspection

[23:35] processes, and is routinely at project sites to check on workmanship and

[23:39] sites to check on workmanship and progress.

[23:40] Several times recently, something has come up at the end of the day,

[23:45] and she never hesitates to get out to the site to make sure the issue is addressed

[23:50] expeditiously. Samantha has a wealth of construction knowledge and uses that daily

[23:55] with developing scopes of work,

[23:58] for bidding home improvement program projects and for review of workmanship on

[24:03] projects and for review of workmanship on the

[24:03] projects during construction.

[24:05] Samantha has also proactively reached out to work with community standards on

[24:10] home-related cases. One recent case was using angel funds for yard and house

[24:15] using angel funds for yard and house cleanup

[24:16] and then was going to home improvement program for repairs.

[24:20] She provided routine check-ins with the family to make sure they were following

[24:25] through with yard cleanup in a timely manner before the housing division could

[24:30] proceed with the home improvement project.

[24:33] In addition to her work with the Home Improvement Program,

[24:37] Samantha provided significant technical assistance to nonprofit organizations that

[24:42] were receiving federal Community Development Block Grant, CDBG,

[24:46] funding for public facility improvements.

[24:49] Often these nonprofits do not have the construction background to understand

[24:54] construction background to understand fully

[24:54] what needs to be included in a scope of work for bidding the projects.

[24:59] She guided them through what items they needed to consider and include in their

[25:04] needed to consider and include in their bid.

[25:05] Helped them find additional places to advertise and where to find lists of

[25:10] advertise and where to find lists of eligible

[25:10] licensed contractors to get more bids on their projects,

[25:14] and gave them suggestions for what they needed to make sure were addressed.

[25:19] Samantha has also helped with the city's CDBG-funded projects from several aspects

[25:24] during planning and construction.

[25:27] Her experience, attention to quality work,

[25:29] and passion for serving the community shine through in all that she does.

[25:34] Congratulations. And next up, we have our Manager of the Quarter, Norm Shaw,

[25:39] Construction Manager and Engineer.

[25:42] In just 4 years as the City of Largo's Engineering Services Construction Manager,

[25:47] Norm Shaw has made a real impact on our organization.

[25:52] Excuse me.

[25:52] On any given day, he manages more than a dozen capital complex improvement projects

[25:57] and emergency repairs, including roadway, stormwater, and wastewater construction.

[26:02] He has become a trusted resource for city staff, residents, contractors,

[26:06] and partner agencies, consistently demonstrating exceptional technical

[26:10] demonstrating exceptional technical expertise,

[26:11] sound judgment, and a commitment to delivering high-quality projects.

[26:15] His willingness to go above and beyond in service to the community makes a positive

[26:20] difference every day.

[26:21] Most recently, Norm played a key role in the success of the annual Bike and Roll to

[26:26] School Day event. This nationwide event encourages students to safely walk, bike,

[26:31] or scooter to school while promoting healthy lifestyles,

[26:34] reducing traffic congestion, lowering emissions, and fostering safer,

[26:38] more connected communities. When St.

[26:40] Paul's School reached out with concerns about an active city construction project

[26:45] along the planned 4.5-mile route from Flagship Bank to the school,

[26:49] Norm immediately stepped in to help.

[26:51] He worked closely with the contractor, the police, several city departments,

[26:56] and school staff to develop a safe route around the construction area.

[27:00] He even attended the event to make sure everything went smoothly and that the

[27:04] students and parents had a safe experience.

[27:07] Thanks in large part to Norm's efforts,

[27:09] more than 60 students and their families enjoyed a successful event.

[27:13] Norm's passion for serving the community, his integrity, and his willing—

[27:18] willingness to step up whenever needed make him an outstanding leader and

[27:22] make him an outstanding leader and teammate.

[27:22] He leads by example, always puts the community first,

[27:26] and consistently goes above and beyond to get the job done.

[27:29] I cannot think of anyone more deserving of being recognized as Manager of the

[27:34] Quarter. Congratulations, Ben.

[28:15] Oh, thank you very much.

[28:18] Congratulations.

[28:19] Congratulations. You're trying to make everybody else feel bad.

[28:25] Once again, congratulations to all the team members of the quarter.

[28:31] The next item on the agenda is a drawing for ballot position for the November 3rd,

[28:39] 2026 election. Good evening.

[28:41] Our city charter requires that the order for candidates on our election ballot be

[28:49] drawn by lot, and tonight we're going to draw for the one race we'll have on the

[28:56] November 3rd ballot for seat 2, and Pastor King is going to do the drawing.

[29:03] This will be first position. Curtis Holmes. Matthew Fastini. Thank you.

[29:09] That'll be our ballot order. Thank you. Next up is citizens' comments.

[29:16] If you'd like to speak about something that's on the agenda outside of the

[29:23] that's on the agenda outside of the consent

[29:23] docket, please wait until the item comes up. Do we have any cards this evening?

[29:30] We have several cards. First is Greg Gardner.

[29:35] Is anyone displeased that I didn't qualify?

[29:39] Nope.

[29:42] How do you like that? 7 to 0. All right.

[29:46] Thank you.

[29:46] Basically, this is— we got a group of people here and they're from New Haven.

[29:52] And so this short speech is just about this condominium complex that's very,

[29:57] very vulnerable. As far as maintenance goes with our stormwater,

[30:01] which is our subject we had last commission meeting,

[30:05] there is absolutely no maintenance. Are they doing the grass and whatnot? Yes.

[30:10] But are they getting rid of the Hyacinth weed? No, not at all. Are they dredging?

[30:15] No, not at all. It's really bad. It's— I mean, it's really serious.

[30:20] Um, so we talked about increasing the, you know, the rate for stormwater,

[30:25] and of course it was suggested at 15%, and some of you said no, let's just do 7.5%.

[30:30] This is a department that's really underfunded.

[30:33] This really needs attention, and these elders are very, very vulnerable.

[30:38] So Willowbrook Condos, New Haven, and Lincolnshire Mobile Home,

[30:43] it's the same across all these people. Nothing is getting done.

[30:47] I mean, nothing's getting done. They're cutting in the grass, but that's about it.

[30:52] So like DeBreezy, I'll give you an example.

[30:55] So we're dealing— it's Channel 1, it's Bayou,

[30:58] but anything north of Donegan Road Is Channel 1 that I'm specifically talking

[31:03] Channel 1 that I'm specifically talking about.

[31:04] And like where you live, that little ditch on the other side of Belcher, you know,

[31:09] going toward west, that's, uh, Channel 10.

[31:12] And it goes to Pinecrest, and then it goes on to Channel 1.

[31:16] And then there's one south of you,

[31:18] and it all gets backed up because of Donegan Road.

[31:22] There's absolutely no cleaning, no maintenance, no nothing. There's zero.

[31:27] And it's really, really serious.

[31:29] Thank you. Thank you.

[31:32] Here's something else to consider, that the county literally has a FEMA rating of

[31:37] the county literally has a FEMA rating of 2.

[31:37] Why? We have a FEMA rating of 6. So in this case, the lower, the absolute better.

[31:43] It's because they're actually doing the work, and it's outstanding.

[31:48] And I've been looking at it. These guys have got their act together.

[31:53] And so that's proof in the pudding. So it's underfunded.

[31:57] I really want you to listen to these people. Don't do this 7.5 and 7.5.

[32:02] Go— it should be like Johnson said, you need— you're right,

[32:06] and you got it right this time. We need the 15, but we really need 20.

[32:11] So, um, go— I'm making you a good guy tonight. How you like that?

[32:15] Go with his suggestion because it is very, very serious.

[32:19] Jay's going to get up here and talk on behalf of, um, um, New Haven.

[32:24] Thank you.

[32:25] So thank you, and I'm going to miss you guys.

[32:28] Bye.

[32:28] Thank you. Next speaker is John Enns.

[32:32] Good

[32:34] evening.

[32:41] My name is John Enns. I live on Arvest Circle.

[32:44] You might have recognized me from a couple years ago.

[32:47] We came in here complaining a little bit about the extension or the plan of

[32:52] improvements to Rosary Road.

[32:53] But anyway, good to see that you're starting on that particular project from

[32:58] starting on that particular project from Keene

[32:59] to Arbor Circle West.

[33:00] But we're a little bit concerned because the planned improvements include sidewalk,

[33:05] curb, ramp reconstruction for ADA compliance, roadway reconstruction,

[33:09] drainage infrastructure upgrades, targeted sanitary sewer rehabilitation,

[33:14] utility adjustments, new pavement markings, signage,

[33:17] as well as driveway integrating enhancements.

[33:20] Thank you. Yes.

[33:21] Everything there is going to be great, tremendous improvement to the roadway,

[33:26] citizen safety, and drainage in the area that is in long-term needed repair.

[33:31] However, as described in your newsletter, it will only extend to Arvest Circle West.

[33:37] It leaves 110 yards from Arvest Circle West to Damrosch unimproved, which to me,

[33:42] with Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[33:44] Residents living along this section think that all the work that you're doing for

[33:50] the other 900 yards is for naught.

[33:52] There's still going to be the potholes, the drainage deficiencies,

[33:56] the safety concerns the improvement project was intended to address.

[34:01] Residents living along this section and areas that it serves are concerned that

[34:06] excluding 110 yards creates an unnecessary gap between the otherwise comprehensive

[34:12] improvement project.

[34:13] Completing this remaining segment would provide continuity with the Pinellas

[34:18] provide continuity with the Pinellas County

[34:18] roadway improvements completed on Domrosh last year,

[34:22] ensuring consistent roadway conditions, safety improvements,

[34:26] improved drainage for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

[34:30] Largo residents affected by this omission respectfully request that the city and the

[34:35] county extend the current project to include the remaining section On Rosary

[34:40] include the remaining section On Rosary Road,

[34:41] connecting the planned improvements this year with the county improvements

[34:46] year with the county improvements completed

[34:46] last year. Given the relatively short distance involved,

[34:50] this addition would maximize the value of the overall project and better serve the

[34:55] surrounding neighborhood by improving safety, providing— preserving property

[35:00] safety, providing— preserving property values,

[35:01] and providing a fully reconstructed roadway. Safety is the biggest thing.

[35:06] You can't walk along that road,

[35:08] and leaving 110 yards of unfinished roadway is not going to help at all.

[35:13] I've got 4 grandkids living on that street and all my sons,

[35:17] and they're not going to be able to ride their bike anywhere near that road.

[35:22] And I don't understand,

[35:23] as with many of the residents that I've collected signatures from,

[35:27] we also don't understand why this is being left unattended.

[35:31] We appreciate the city's commitment to improving our roads and infrastructure and

[35:37] request that you will extend and complete the Rosie Road project to include this

[35:42] important final segment. Thank you.

[35:44] Thank you.

[35:45] Next speaker is Robert Curls.

[35:47] I live on Aravis Circle West,

[35:50] and I received the letter stating just what y'all are doing.

[35:56] You're going to be fixing Rosary Road.

[35:59] When I started reading it, and now I got down to the end of the letter, it said,

[36:07] guess what? We're not going to be fixing All of Rosary Road.

[36:12] And as John just said, that 110 yards you're not going to fix.

[36:18] You fixed part of the road last year,

[36:22] and now you're going to start on fixing a big section of it.

[36:27] But for whatever reason, and I don't know, you know,

[36:32] you're not fixing a very short piece of it.

[36:36] But to finish that project, the road is a mess.

[36:40] I mean, you try to drive on it and it's not going to get any better.

[36:47] And I don't know what process the City of Largo went through,

[36:52] whether county owns half of it, you guys own half of it,

[36:58] but maybe we can get together so we can get the other 110 yards done.

[37:04] But, um, It's a mess and it's gotten worse. I've lived in the home for 38

[37:11] worse. I've lived in the home for 38 years.

[37:11] I believe John's lived in that area for 40 years and it's just gotten worse over the

[37:19] years. And thank goodness we now have a big section that's going to be done,

[37:26] but hopefully over the next, you know, short period of time,

[37:32] or you can look into it.

[37:34] But John did a great job of telling you exactly what I wish I could have.

[37:41] Thank you.

[37:42] But living in that area and driving on Rosary Road,

[37:45] it's going to be nice and smooth.

[37:47] But as soon as you hit Harvest West and you start walking and, you know,

[37:52] riding a bike or whatever else,

[37:54] you're going to get hurt on that little last section.

[37:58] And I would do— I would really appreciate if you could look into that or have your

[38:03] people look into it and see if we might be able to— Yes, sir.

[38:08] Get the infrastructure fixed, the road fixed, and then go from that point,

[38:13] and we can all be happy with that.

[38:15] And the other people that might be in our group, um, I know our commissioner—

[38:20] I can't say her last name—

[38:22] would probably really love to be able to walk all the way around the block staying

[38:27] on the sidewalk. But, you know, if you have a dog that kind of walks out, uh, on—

[38:33] you have to go out into the road by chance onto Rosary Road,

[38:37] you better be looking down because if you're not, you're going to go into a

[38:42] you're not, you're going to go into a pothole.

[38:43] And that pothole could be fixed with a little bit extra money.

[38:47] So why don't we find that money and fix the rest of the road?

[38:51] Thank you.

[38:52] Thank you. Next speaker is Jim Barbieri.

[39:03] Sure.

[39:03] So my name is Jim Barberi. I'm a Largo resident, been a Largo resident for 30

[39:09] resident, been a Largo resident for 30 years.

[39:09] I'm here to speak about the Rosary Road improvement,

[39:13] just like the previous 2 speakers.

[39:16] Um, uh, talking about walking that space,

[39:19] my wife walks our amazing dogs every night and she avoids Rosary Road like the

[39:25] plague. It's, it's, it's been— well, we know, we know why.

[39:29] We think the reason why it's been a mess is because it's half owned by the city and

[39:35] half owned by the county.

[39:37] It's the only reason I can surmise why a road that heavily trafficked has not been

[39:43] repaved. I too recently learned— well, first of all,

[39:47] I was super excited to hear that the road was going to be addressed a few years

[39:53] back. And it's something I've been waiting for—

[39:56] that improvement I've been waiting for for quite a few years,

[40:01] literally over a decade.

[40:02] But when I learned that it was only going to Arvus West,

[40:06] and knowing that just before Helene,

[40:09] a massive project was started at the end of Damrosch and Rosary to improve the

[40:15] drainage there, and to think that there's 1/10 of a mile that's going to be left

[40:21] alone.

[40:21] Right. Why?

[40:23] So my question is, why?

[40:26] Why was it chosen not to do the 1/10 of the mile?

[40:30] Can anyone answer that?

[40:32] Certainly give it a shot after

[40:36] everybody speaks.

[40:38] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.

[40:39] And then I thought it might be a good question for the gentleman that was up

[40:45] question for the gentleman that was up here.

[40:46] Was his name Shaw? Sounds like he knows a little something about storm drains.

[40:51] But so, so those are my concerns. And I just wanted to speak to that. Thank you.

[40:57] Okay, the next speaker is Jay Jewel, and she's representing Carla Swanson,

[41:03] Mike Vico, Diane LaForge, Sandra Bates, Christine Anderer, and Deborah Butterhoff.

[41:09] So she'll have 9 minutes.

[41:11] Good evening, Mr. Mayor. Good evening, members of the commission.

[41:14] I'm sure you'll remember me from 2 weeks ago.

[41:17] I've produced a folder this time for you,

[41:19] and I would like to go through that folder little bit by little bit so I can explain

[41:24] to you how desperate this situation is now.

[41:26] We can't wait until the end of the year or next year. This is desperate now.

[41:30] So if you'd like to open your folders, um,

[41:33] the first part of the folder will show you a letter I got.

[41:36] Actually, I got a phone call the day after this meeting and then this letter.

[41:40] Yes.

[41:42] And it says, since February 25th,

[41:44] we have completed 11 work orders related to vegetation and tree maintenance within

[41:49] the drainage easement northeast of the property.

[41:53] That's where the property is in New Haven.

[41:56] That refers to the golf course, nothing to do with New Haven.

[42:00] And then it says, records also show 2 steam bank restorations during this

[42:05] steam bank restorations during this period,

[42:05] along with vegetation and sediment removal in the southernmost portion of the canal.

[42:11] This has not happened.

[42:12] And then it says, um,

[42:14] the city also maintains a contract with Lake Brothers LLC for monthly inspections

[42:19] and aquatic herbicide treatments.

[42:22] This agreement has been in place since October 25th. They come when they want to.

[42:27] And the next bit is that they're physically removing floating vegetation to

[42:32] physically removing floating vegetation to improve

[42:33] the flow through the downstream culverts within the next 8 to 10 weeks.

[42:38] Removing the top of this vegetation isn't going to make any difference whatsoever.

[42:43] This vegetation has been growing for nearly 3 years since the young man, or old

[42:49] nearly 3 years since the young man, or old man,

[42:49] that did the dredging for us died.

[42:51] We haven't had anybody in there, so all this vegetation has rotted, been sprayed,

[42:57] sunk, rotted, been sprayed, sunk.

[42:59] So it's now— there's only about a foot of water floating on top of that vegetation.

[43:05] It needs—

[43:05] 2 feet.

[43:06] dredging. There's no taking this top off.

[43:09] So the first piece of paper you have should look like— after the letter—

[43:14] should look like this, right?

[43:17] That shows you on the bottom half how many times Lake Brothers say they've been to

[43:23] our property and what they've done.

[43:25] Somebody needs to supervise this because it hasn't been done ever.

[43:30] Oh, I beg your pardon. Yes, it did, because the next picture you have Is

[43:36] because the next picture you have Is where—

[43:36] Hello.

[43:37] The Lake brothers have sprayed the growth.

[43:40] You see that big, or little, it's 12-foot square actually, patch of brown?

[43:46] They've stood on the side of the lake, got their hose and hosed it and left.

[43:52] I was there. Then they went to the north and sprayed around the top of the bank.

[43:58] That dies. There's nothing to keep the bank in place, so the bank seeps in,

[44:04] causing more sediment. Next piece of paper should look like this. Okay?

[44:10] And you'll note it's dated 2013, where— I haven't got my magnifying glass.

[44:16] On the, on the top right-hand corner,

[44:19] it says that all this work is going to be done at New Haven. Yes.

[44:24] Can somebody read it?

[44:26] Because I haven't got my magnifying glass, and this is what I had to print off.

[44:32] It says all this work is going to be done. That was 2013. It's 2026.

[44:37] The pages that I'm going to show you—

[44:40] the next page is where I'm going to show you where there is nothing that Largo City

[44:47] are going to do until 2031. There is no money for stormwater.

[44:51] No money for stormwater in '28, no money for stormwater in '29,

[44:56] no money for stormwater in '30, and £2 million in 2031.

[45:01] We will have had— our properties won't exist if you leave it that long because

[45:07] exist if you leave it that long because we've

[45:07] already been flooded once, and like I told you before,

[45:12] it cost £22.4 million plus to get us back in our homes after 2 years.

[45:17] I represent over 1,000 people. We have between Phase 1 and Phase 2 over 230

[45:23] between Phase 1 and Phase 2 over 230 condos.

[45:24] The Lincolnshire mobile home park, which was also devastated, has 400 homes.

[45:30] That's over 1,000 people that this— what I'm doing is representing.

[45:35] And then we've got the project background for Largo Starkey Road Basin Flood

[45:41] Mitigation Project. And it was authorized by the state that they would give you $3.8

[45:48] million and the local people would match it at 30% at $1.6 million.

[45:53] That's $5.4 million for us to flood again.

[45:56] Pinellas County is rated at 2 with FEMA for flooding. 2. We are 6.

[46:01] Our insurance costs have tripled this year, tripled for us to get flood

[46:07] year, tripled for us to get flood insurance.

[46:08] This is one of the reasons. You see this? This is Pinellas County.

[46:13] They have a barrier there to stop all those weeds going into their waterways.

[46:19] That's their— I took this in the rain. These are their waterways. They're clear.

[46:25] There's not a weed in them because they've stopped it in New Haven, in the basin,

[46:32] like I told you, like a retention pond. This is Olmerton Bridge, south of us.

[46:38] Totally clear, not a weed in sight. I'm going to read you— I've got enough time.

[46:44] I'm going to read you what Hydrilla does. This is the weed that's on there.

[46:50] Hydrilla spreads rapidly and can completely clog waterways and restrict

[46:56] completely clog waterways and restrict water flow,

[46:57] posing significant threats to aquatic ecosystems and recreational resources.

[47:03] This aggressive invasive aquatic plant grows rapidly, up to 1 inch a day, a day,

[47:09] and forms massive dense underwater mats, which it's done in our piece of water.

[47:15] We call it our water. It clogs canals.

[47:18] The plant completely blocks drainage systems and irrigation channels,

[47:24] reduces irrigation flow rates up to 90%,

[47:27] impedes movement in moving water like streams and ditches.

[47:32] It gets stagnant, heavily weeded water experiences— it drops and dissolves,

[47:37] and it drops in dissolved oxygen frequently leading to killing the fish.

[47:43] Its dense vegetation entangles boat propellers, well, not in our case,

[47:49] propellers, well, not in our case, swimming,

[47:49] and makes fishing nearly impossible.

[47:52] Thick mats clog water intake pipes, filters, and dams.

[47:57] Our bridge is collapsing because it's been crushed by these weeds under the water,

[48:03] literally crushed. It's giving way, so people can't—

[48:07] soon won't be able to cross the bridge.

[48:10] We'll have to close the brush—

[48:11] this bridge down. When hydrilla chokes waterways and slows the water down,

[48:17] it triggers severe environmental and structural issues.

[48:20] Restricted flow in drainage canals prevents proper water management,

[48:25] causing upstream flooding. which is what we have.

[48:29] Slower water circulation creates stagnant pools which turn into ideal mosquito

[48:34] breeding. Dominique de Glorias, who is in the Lago water management,

[48:39] in his own words, he said he has 38 miles of open ditches to maintain.

[48:44] Work will maybe get done in an 8 to 10 week cycle.

[48:48] We know that's not correct because when you look at these photographs,

[48:52] the next lot of photographs you have I would like somebody to point me out the

[48:58] water. Can somebody tell me where the water is in that whole bayou?

[49:03] You can't see it because it's covered from side to side, from north to south.

[49:08] You can't see the water.

[49:10] This one.

[49:13] That's south of the bridge that's collapsing, by the way.

[49:17] No, sorry, north of the bridge. This is south of the bridge.

[49:21] You can see a little bit of water there, just a little bit,

[49:26] because then that leads to— where is it?

[49:29] Oh, it leads to the, uh, section— sorry— where it blocks, it clogs because of—

[49:34] actually, I showed you the picture where the yellow tape is that Penella's got up.

[49:40] That's where it stops.

[49:42] Okay.

[49:43] So all of it is encompassed around New Haven.

[49:46] Phase 1 and Phase 2, when that water comes up, it's— you can see from the pictures,

[49:52] it's 9 inches with this rain from cresting and flooding us again.

[49:57] $2.4 million to get us back in after 2 years.

[50:01] And we'll— our people are 60, 70, 80, 90 years old looking out every day wondering,

[50:07] is this going to be the day we're going to be flooded again?

[50:11] We don't need it in 2031. We don't even need it next year. We need it now.

[50:17] Dredge this piece of water now, please. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

[50:23] Thank you.

[50:23] Next speaker is Matt Faustini.

[50:35] Good evening, all.

[50:35] Matt Faustini, 1015 Lake Palms Drive, Largo.

[50:38] I'm not going to make myself any friends here by saying this,

[50:42] but I know a number of people have come out just recently to talk about Rosary

[50:47] out just recently to talk about Rosary Road.

[50:48] That road does end at Arvis Drive West.

[50:51] It is no longer a City of Largo road,

[50:53] and the vast majority of the properties south of it are not in Largo.

[50:57] They are unincorporated properties.

[50:59] We are in a situation where we're looking at cutting $1.1 million from our budget

[51:04] this year.

[51:07] So I understand their concerns,

[51:10] but we need the county to come to the table to really address that full

[51:16] problem. Tonight I want to talk in general about the budget.

[51:22] I want to reiterate and stand in full agreement with Commissioner DeBrisi

[51:29] about looking at our budgets from actuals and not from budget to budget.

[51:35] The proposed budget by the city manager Right now, author is at $994.77.

[51:42] In 2016, we were at $882.27 with a population of about 4,000 people less.

[51:49] And what's even more wild about this,

[51:52] so we've added 112 positions to the payroll over a decade where our

[51:59] population has grown from 48,650 to around 40—

[52:03] or 83,000 today.

[52:05] And to make it even worse,

[52:07] this budget says there's 43 immediately unfilled positions that are urgent.

[52:13] Then it says there's another 108 long-term positions that are needed in the future

[52:19] and are unfunded. That's 151 additional unfunded personnel needs in the budget.

[52:26] I don't know what our headcount was before the Great Recession,

[52:31] but I don't believe we've ever had a headcount over 1,000 in this city.

[52:36] I could be wrong.

[52:38] These artificial high baselines makes it easy for city administration to

[52:43] come here and ask you to make cuts instead of looking at our actual

[52:49] spending.

[52:50] How many of these paid positions Are there vacant positions?

[52:55] How long have they been vacant? Do we really need to fill that?

[53:00] Do we know that position's going to stay vacant for another year?

[53:06] These are all monies we can look at.

[53:08] And when you look at the budget, what's crazy again is library's taking a 12% cut,

[53:15] public works is taking a 9% cut.

[53:17] Meanwhile, we're increasing spending elsewhere and renaming.

[53:22] My favorite is, and I'll talk about this later,

[53:26] in performance and budget where the sustainability and resilience manager was

[53:32] reclassified to the performance strategy program administrator.

[53:37] Very interesting how we can protect some employees but not all. Thank you.

[53:43] Next speaker is Craig Murtha. Hello.

[53:46] First, I'd like to congratulate all of the commissioners who were reelected.

[53:52] It was a hard, competitive race, but I knew that you all would come out on top.

[53:58] Thank you.

[54:00] But anyhow, the lady said that we were a 6 and Pinellas County was a 2 as far as our

[54:06] stormwater rating. And of course, 2 is much better.

[54:09] The lower the number, the better we are.

[54:12] And that really surprised me, 'cause Pinellas Park is a 5.

[54:16] They've got a lower number than us.

[54:19] And I remember back in the '70s,

[54:21] that place flooded all the time until they dug all these canals,

[54:25] and they were like really right on top of it.

[54:29] I was just wondering why we are not on top of it. It's just puzzling. It's puzzling.

[54:34] It really is. Anyhow, I'm going to just bite my tongue.

[54:38] But I think part of the reason why we have a lot of flooding in cities,

[54:43] I think is obvious, is so much asphalt and concrete.

[54:47] And a lot of that comes from these low-rise apartment buildings we're doing.

[54:52] Because we build these low-rise apartment buildings. And they're not bad.

[54:58] Before I said they have no amenities. I was riding my bike past one last week.

[55:03] Yeah.

[55:04] It was pretty decent, had a swimming pool,

[55:06] but almost the rest of the property was asphalt. Because that's the thing.

[55:11] I mean, the more units you put in,

[55:13] the more asphalt you're going to have because you're going to have more parking.

[55:18] And that, one by one,

[55:20] these asphalt parking lots are adding up to flooding for people.

[55:24] Because I don't think— I'm wrong, but you correct me if I'm wrong.

[55:28] But my guess is that these parking lots are not engineered for 24 inches. No.

[55:33] Of rain, which we have seen and we will see in the future.

[55:37] And that's what they need to be engineered for. But please correct me if I'm wrong.

[55:42] But because if they're not,

[55:44] we're just saying we can deal with the flooding for all the people who live along

[55:49] these creeks. Another thing is,

[55:51] why do we have this attitude that all these high and dry areas should just feed

[55:56] their water through these pipes off into the creeks so we can flood the people

[56:01] the creeks so we can flood the people along

[56:02] the creeks? That makes no sense at all.

[56:04] We should engineer every property to hold water completely in the worst storms.

[56:09] The whole idea of piping water to creeks makes no sense to me.

[56:13] I think it's unconscionable because we have a lot of people living in these

[56:18] low-lying areas and we're building more. More at just the City Hall.

[56:22] That place is not high and dry. And we're going to go ahead and build there.

[56:27] And by the way, that City Hall property could be a property that could help the

[56:32] people in Lincolnshire and New Haven.

[56:35] And because, I mean, we could make capacity there.

[56:38] We could also make a tremendous amount of capacity over in the 88 acres that was

[56:43] gonna be sold off and paved over with a lot of asphalt.

[56:47] So yeah, we need to really work a lot harder.

[56:50] Thank you.

[56:55] The next speaker is Amy Enns.

[56:57] Hello, Amy Enns, Harvest Circle East, another one.

[57:02] I just had a few more things to add to what everyone else said,

[57:07] total agreement with them.

[57:10] I wanted someone to ask us how we fell off of a paving schedule.

[57:16] So it's been over 30 years that that road has not been paved.

[57:21] Has anyone been down Rosary Road, the section that we're talking about,

[57:28] other than Commissioner Hulk?

[57:30] My dad lives there.

[57:31] Okay. It looks like, um, Beirut,

[57:34] like it was bombed and filled in with pothole fillers for 30 years.

[57:39] You can imagine not being paved for that long. So it is a tremendous hazard.

[57:45] It is a hazard for our children.

[57:47] But can someone figure this out, how we fell off the paving schedule,

[57:52] or how we could not talk to the county in over 30 years of coming together and

[57:58] paving this road? I mean, what was— what's the problem? No one understands that.

[58:04] But we are Largo residents.

[58:06] We pay our taxes to Largo,

[58:08] and we expect Largo to have those conversations because we're Largo

[58:13] conversations because we're Largo residents and

[58:14] Arvus Circle is 100% Largo.

[58:16] Since the development in the '70s,

[58:19] we've always been Largo even though we have a Clearwater mailing address.

[58:24] So I think that's where the confusion is coming from.

[58:28] And, um, we would like to know how we are not on the paving schedule,

[58:34] even Arvus Circle. So We have been there in that home for 40 years.

[58:39] So if someone could just get us some answers, that would be great.

[58:44] And then also on the creek,

[58:46] because we are on the water and we do have boat access just like Venetian and Del

[58:52] Oro, I heard that Del Oro did not flood because they had a lift station.

[58:57] A lift station there. So could somebody check on that?

[59:01] Because that would be a great idea for us too.

[59:05] But anyways, these are just all questions that we had,

[59:09] and I just wanted to add that little bit. Okay.

[59:13] Thank you. That's all the cards. Thank you.

[59:15] I would ask if the city manager, if we have any information on, first of all,

[59:20] the plan for Canal 1 behind New Haven.

[59:23] And I know that, as has been talked about today,

[59:26] they experienced significant flooding during Milton. where we got a lot of rain.

[59:31] And I've seen pictures more recently when there was a significant amount of rain in

[59:37] a day when the water was very high there. Saw a bunch of pictures today.

[59:42] I know that, as was described today,

[59:44] the water flows generally south into Pinellas County.

[59:47] What are our efforts to make sure that the water can flow through that?

[59:52] What are the challenges? What are the roadblocks? What has to be done?

[59:57] Essentially, it's just moving the water downstream, right?

[1:00:00] And how can we do that better, and what's our plan? Sure. Thank you, Mayor.

[1:00:05] And I do want to thank everyone for providing some of their information in

[1:00:10] providing some of their information in advance.

[1:00:11] So we do have our team here prepared and ready to answer questions.

[1:00:15] So thank you to all the citizens for that, for both neighborhoods.

[1:00:20] And first, Mayor, I do want to address the CRS rating because that did come up.

[1:00:25] We are currently a 6.

[1:00:26] We were audited last year following the storms,

[1:00:29] part of the regular cycle for review. We are awaiting our 5 rating.

[1:00:34] We would have a 5 rating,

[1:00:35] unfortunately not for this insurance season because it's been held up in

[1:00:40] season because it's been held up in Washington

[1:00:41] due to, first of all,

[1:00:42] the shutdown delayed review and now just whatever situation is happening in

[1:00:47] Washington now has delayed the review of that CRS rating. So we are a 5.

[1:00:52] We should be acknowledged for that 5 as soon as it's processed in Washington.

[1:00:57] As part of— I think the one employee that we did add last year was our floodplain

[1:01:02] manager. And that was done, you know,

[1:01:04] with the representation that that would help us improve our flood management

[1:01:09] help us improve our flood management program

[1:01:10] as well as improve our CRS rating.

[1:01:12] The Commission will have on its October work session I believe a presentation from

[1:01:17] our floodplain manager to discuss our future floodplain mitigation strategy,

[1:01:22] which will help us improve our rating and obviously provide better flood management

[1:01:28] for the community. So that's the CRS rating.

[1:01:31] I think Bill Ingram is here, our assistant director in public works,

[1:01:35] to talk about the stormwater program and address specifically the New Haven issue.

[1:01:41] Good afternoon, Commission and Mayor.

[1:01:43] I'm Billy Ingram with the, uh, Public Works Department.

[1:01:47] I'm Assistant Public Works Director.

[1:01:49] I have with me our Streets and Stormwater Manager Dominic DeGloria.

[1:01:53] And, uh, to, to answer your question, we do have, uh,

[1:01:57] levels of service there that we are providing and we have provided and that we

[1:02:02] providing and we have provided and that we will

[1:02:02] continue to provide. Um, we do have the contract in place that is sprayed.

[1:02:07] If there's more that needs to be done,

[1:02:10] then we We have the ability to call those teams in for an extra spraying.

[1:02:14] We have not done that this year that I know of,

[1:02:18] but we do have a plan in place to continue to provide the level of services that we

[1:02:23] have provided there for years.

[1:02:25] In the 6 years that I've been here,

[1:02:27] we have never placed anything in the canal to dredge that because of certain issues

[1:02:33] that we are discussing with our team to determine where the ownership piece is.

[1:02:38] We do own a piece on the south of that that we have dredged multiple times in the

[1:02:43] that we have dredged multiple times in the 3

[1:02:43] years that I've been— in the 6 years that I've been here.

[1:02:47] So as far as what our maintenance plan is,

[1:02:50] our Streets and Stormwater Manager has a better idea, a better plan.

[1:02:54] He's written the plan, so we'll let him talk a little bit more on that.

[1:02:59] Thank you, everyone. My name is Dominic DeGloria.

[1:03:02] I'm the Streets and Stormwater Manager with the Public Works Department here in

[1:03:07] with the Public Works Department here in the

[1:03:08] city of Largo. So our, like, as Billy was alluding to, our plan is ongoing, right?

[1:03:13] We have continued maintenance operations, not just on the New Haven parcel.

[1:03:18] There's actually a combination of parcels out there,

[1:03:21] multiple owners and multiple HOAs.

[1:03:23] So it's not targeted at any one location or any one resident.

[1:03:27] It's actually the entirety of the property.

[1:03:29] What we have out there that's a little unique is that There is that multiple

[1:03:34] ownership component out there.

[1:03:36] So making sure that we have everything covered on our end to be able to perform,

[1:03:40] you know, the duties that we are currently undertaking and those that we're being

[1:03:44] requested to handle.

[1:03:45] So, like, we're just reiterating what we're saying,

[1:03:49] that we do a monthly spray cycle out there.

[1:03:52] We control the vegetation on the southeast parcel, which is city property,

[1:03:57] and then also mowing activities on the northeast.

[1:04:00] Thank you.

[1:04:01] reiterating much of what Ms.

[1:04:03] Sewell said, uh, you know, we're committed to carrying on those duties, um,

[1:04:08] as we've been doing them.

[1:04:09] And it's, it's important for us to, to, to put this out there too.

[1:04:14] This is a multi-department and multi-agency situation out there.

[1:04:18] We have certain pieces that all fall into our perspective as far as maintenance.

[1:04:23] Public Works is a maintenance-oriented organization.

[1:04:27] Engineering has pieces that they are working with the county on to help with

[1:04:32] working with the county on to help with some of

[1:04:32] the, uh, with the, with the bridge replacements that are there.

[1:04:36] And those things, we have been in contact with engineering.

[1:04:40] We are talking with them and trying to get better dates,

[1:04:44] trying to push the county on when they're going to start.

[1:04:48] So, um, there's several pieces in play, and they're constantly in play,

[1:04:52] that we are working to ensure that that we provide the appropriate level of service

[1:04:58] in that neighborhood. May I ask a follow-up?

[1:05:01] Please.

[1:05:01] Thank you. Thank you, sir.

[1:05:03] So you mentioned that that area has multiple owners,

[1:05:07] and I'm assuming some of it's private?

[1:05:10] Yes, sir.

[1:05:11] So we go out and we take— you're saying we're dredging the part that's city-owned?

[1:05:17] And I'm sure that the city staff are seeing other areas that are backed up,

[1:05:22] that have overgrowth and those kinds of things.

[1:05:25] Are we coordinating with— I'm sure we're coordinating with the county,

[1:05:29] but what about the HOA that may own the private part of it?

[1:05:33] Do we communicate with them?

[1:05:35] Do we—

[1:05:36] and if we— do we have any enforcement action to be able to say you're not taking

[1:05:41] care of your part of it if that's the case and that's causing downstream issues for

[1:05:46] for other residents in the city. How does that— how does that work?

[1:05:51] I, I will— I will say this. We have mechanisms in place to approach that

[1:05:55] mechanisms in place to approach that situation.

[1:05:56] Have we done that in this area?

[1:05:58] No, sir, not that I'm aware of, um, because we have been able to—

[1:06:02] our property being on the south end and in the flow where the Channel 1 and Channel

[1:06:07] 10 come in, we tend to get the vast majority of the debris and the vast

[1:06:11] majority of the debris and the vast majority of

[1:06:12] the vegetation that comes in.

[1:06:14] So when it gets there, we know we're treating a large majority of it.

[1:06:18] But, but no, not, not to this point that I'm aware that we have,

[1:06:22] we have approached it from that matter.

[1:06:24] But we do have mechanisms, mechanisms in place if we so choose to do that.

[1:06:29] Thank you. You know, as if it's a multi-jurisdictional, you know,

[1:06:33] pond or creek and its own, and including a private part of it, Obviously,

[1:06:38] coordination is the key. And, you know, I know that's difficult.

[1:06:42] And you may not necessarily be able to force anybody to do anything, including,

[1:06:46] you know, the county and anybody else.

[1:06:49] But, you know, I think that's part of the work, you know,

[1:06:52] that your staff and others in the department have to be able to do to be

[1:06:57] department have to be able to do to be able to at

[1:06:57] least, you know, address the residents' concerns. So thank you. Thank you, sir.

[1:07:02] That's one of the things that Mr. DeGloria and I have been discussing.

[1:07:07] We've discussed it in the last few days.

[1:07:09] how that looks and how we sit down with all the people that are involved,

[1:07:14] including the HOA and property owners, and just work that piece out.

[1:07:18] It's quite detailed.

[1:07:19] So if I may, Mayor, just so the community is aware, about 3 years ago,

[1:07:24] we did sit down with the county and go ditch by ditch by ditch to be sure that we

[1:07:29] had clear response— who had clear responsibility for the public—

[1:07:33] the management of the public portions of the ditch.

[1:07:36] So I'm very confident that between the city and the county,

[1:07:39] we understand where our lines of maintenance begin and end.

[1:07:43] Many large parts of the stormwater system belong to private property owners.

[1:07:48] And so, you know, we are— we will sit down.

[1:07:51] We're more than happy to sit down with the New Haven HOA and work with them to be

[1:07:56] sure that everyone understands where their maintenance responsibilities begin and

[1:08:01] where they end so that everyone understands what is their part and what is

[1:08:05] understands what is their part and what is our part.

[1:08:06] It is simply not financially feasible for the city to take on private maintenance

[1:08:11] responsibilities. We simply don't have the resources to take on all those portions

[1:08:16] that belong to private property owners where they have not maintained their

[1:08:21] where they have not maintained their portion

[1:08:21] of the stormwater system.

[1:08:23] But we're more than happy to work with our HOAs and private property owners to be

[1:08:28] sure we understand where those responsibilities, where the lines are,

[1:08:32] and then provide whatever knowledge and information we have to help them obtain

[1:08:37] information we have to help them obtain the

[1:08:37] resources to maintain their portion. Thank you. I think that might help.

[1:08:41] It may not solve the problem, but, you know,

[1:08:44] the communication line will be open at least. Another question, though.

[1:08:49] In those ponds, then, there's 3 ownerships.

[1:08:51] Part of it's ours, part of it's county's, part of it's private?

[1:08:55] None of it's owned by the county.

[1:08:57] The county owns easements, but they do not own the property.

[1:09:01] So it's just between the homeowners association and us then, or is it all us?

[1:09:06] And, and there's, there's, um, the golf— there's a golf estate that's the owner of,

[1:09:11] of part of the, uh, the channel too.

[1:09:13] Wow.

[1:09:16] Yeah, there's multiple owners. Rosary Road's the same way.

[1:09:19] You know, you got to a certain point on the thing. Well, DMZ right there, forget

[1:09:24] the thing. Well, DMZ right there, forget it.

[1:09:24] It's county after that.

[1:09:26] I mean, why the hell don't they just make a deal with the county from the get-go?

[1:09:31] Right. Give us a damn check and we'll finish it.

[1:09:34] Well, the easement that the county has or that we have over things allows us to

[1:09:38] determine our maintenance in there.

[1:09:40] It doesn't require us to do the maintenance,

[1:09:43] but it does allow us in there to do maintenance.

[1:09:46] And that's from discussions I've had with people in the county.

[1:09:50] That's, that's why they have the easement there,

[1:09:53] is so they have the ability to go in and provide maintenance if need be.

[1:09:57] We've worked on that maintenance and provided a level of service for years.

[1:10:02] We just have to determine what that level of service is, and if we go beyond that,

[1:10:07] then we establish a new level of service.

[1:10:09] If we don't go beyond that,

[1:10:11] then that's where the conversations need to have on who as the owners or who is

[1:10:16] responsible to take that next step.

[1:10:18] So I remember the problem with that lake goes way back.

[1:10:21] I mean, I've been— I've heard this before, and the question is,

[1:10:25] what is the ultimate solution to this thing?

[1:10:28] There has to be a solution somewhere that if we do this, it's done. What is it?

[1:10:32] I'm not prepared to give you that answer tonight. Perhaps we can work on that.

[1:10:37] That's— I mean, I think Commissioner DeBriesi is sending us in a good direction

[1:10:42] DeBriesi is sending us in a good direction as

[1:10:42] far as, you know, sitting down with all the parties that are involved and let's

[1:10:47] the parties that are involved and let's work

[1:10:47] through this and find out, you know,

[1:10:49] what pieces can be taken and what pieces are ours and what pieces that we can,

[1:10:54] you know, we can help with.

[1:10:56] So just be careful what you get from him because he had Spectrum and the plumber at

[1:11:01] his house at the same time.

[1:11:04] Mr. Louser.

[1:11:04] Yeah, so, so I, I mean, Commissioner DiBrizzi took, took part of my question,

[1:11:09] but the other question was that, you know, we do have the contract with the, the,

[1:11:14] you know, the herbicide sprayers.

[1:11:16] Um, clearly from the pictures, if we're paying,

[1:11:19] if we're paying somebody to spray them and it's not working,

[1:11:22] maybe we should stop paying them or make sure that we're paying them and actually

[1:11:27] getting the product that we're— We have been out multiple times this weekend,

[1:11:32] been out multiple times this weekend, today,

[1:11:32] to take a look at the vegetation that is in the lake.

[1:11:35] And we, we are aware of what our contractor is doing in that area for us.

[1:11:39] contractor is doing in that area for us. So.

[1:11:40] Thank you. Commissioner Johnson.

[1:11:42] Yeah, I kind of just jump on what Commissioner Louser said.

[1:11:45] You know, I think it's really important that we, we are auditing because, again,

[1:11:50] frankly, if you pay for a monthly service,

[1:11:52] if no one calls to say my lawn needs to be mown, or I have green algae in my pool,

[1:11:57] or what— especially something no one's really looking at that closely.

[1:12:01] Yes.

[1:12:02] Things could not get done totally. They could use less chemicals than necessary.

[1:12:07] We need to do— have a way of auditing a good performance.

[1:12:10] It sounds like maybe that's an area of improvement we can start on right away.

[1:12:14] The other thing I'd say is, you know,

[1:12:17] people have stormwater on every one of their water bills.

[1:12:20] They think they're paying for the stormwater to get taken care of.

[1:12:24] And if we don't have a good communication campaign with our citizens that are on

[1:12:28] these bodies of water or these drainage ditches.

[1:12:31] You know, we probably should have something where we, you know,

[1:12:35] we're communicating regularly to remind them of their responsibilities,

[1:12:39] of their ownership of that property on a drainage system.

[1:12:42] And I don't think we've— I know we've done that at times when we've had issues,

[1:12:46] but I don't know if we have a system of regularly communicating in our city about

[1:12:51] that. And again, it's important to realize that, you know, we're— you know, we're—

[1:12:56] the stormwater is to get— you know, we got a— we got all the citizens, all,

[1:13:00] you know, 84,000 citizens, all the people that live,

[1:13:03] live and work here that we got to take care of.

[1:13:06] And, you know, and so people on ditches may have different responsibilities.

[1:13:10] And, uh, so we, we just have to, you know,

[1:13:12] really clearly communicate that to our citizens, I think. Yes, sir.

[1:13:16] And, and I would, I would say that I feel that, uh,

[1:13:19] Manager DeGloria is bringing something to table that's helping with that.

[1:13:23] I mean, just this week he reached out to community engagement to send a specialized

[1:13:28] message out for the 101st area down near the new Chick-fil-A,

[1:13:32] because we do have issues down there that we are,

[1:13:34] are working on and working with the state on.

[1:13:37] But, but he, you know, he took the fore—

[1:13:39] he had the foresight to reach out to the county,

[1:13:42] reach out to community engagement to get something out in that neighborhood to let

[1:13:47] people know, hey, we're getting your calls and we are working on this.

[1:13:51] So I agree with you. So thank you. We need to work better at that too.

[1:13:55] So, uh, does the City of Largo have an easement through that from north to south

[1:13:59] through that whole area? No, sir. We work off the county's easement in that area.

[1:14:04] We do have— Easement goes from essentially Largo Central Park over to Donegan Road.

[1:14:09] That's all county easement?

[1:14:10] Uh, yes, sir, until it gets to that south end piece down there near the park.

[1:14:15] That, that is our own parcel. Right.

[1:14:17] And so, and so, um, With ownership of that easement,

[1:14:20] what responsibility is there for water flow?

[1:14:22] Like, do we— are we required to preserve a certain amount of water flow so the water

[1:14:27] can flow down to the bayou? We are not.

[1:14:29] That easement does not require us to do that.

[1:14:32] The easement just gives us the ability to determine whether we should do that.

[1:14:37] And I—

[1:14:37] and we should, we should do that.

[1:14:39] Right, from right and from the past,

[1:14:42] from from what we've provided as a level of service for that area,

[1:14:46] we have claimed claimed some maintenance ownership to ensure that that's happening.

[1:14:51] But that level of service has a certain level.

[1:14:54] I mean, we from from for the six years that I've been here,

[1:14:58] we have not dredged the middle of that canal. We have not dredged.

[1:15:02] Anything in that Pinellas County easement.

[1:15:05] So I— we have to determine if we've done that, if we have records of that,

[1:15:09] and if that becomes our level of service.

[1:15:12] That's something that we would need to decide internally as a team if we want to

[1:15:17] decide internally as a team if we want to go

[1:15:17] to that level of service.

[1:15:19] If we decide not to, we're not required to, but,

[1:15:22] but it's something that we could determine based on that easement being there.

[1:15:27] And if the water level is the same as it is after Now, after you dredge it,

[1:15:31] it doesn't add any capacity to dredge it.

[1:15:34] What I'm concerned about is things that are slowing down flow.

[1:15:38] It slows it down.

[1:15:39] I've talked about, in the past, I've talked about putting a drone up in the

[1:15:44] talked about putting a drone up in the sky,

[1:15:44] like a day like yesterday, when we got a bunch, like 4 inches of rain in a day,

[1:15:49] and run down Channel 1 and look at where there's,

[1:15:53] if there's high water on one side of a bridge where it's flowing out quickly on

[1:15:58] bridge where it's flowing out quickly on the

[1:15:58] other, but the water's lower. Right? That's a stopping point.

[1:16:02] And I think that it's incumbent on us for our residents to determine what is keeping

[1:16:08] the water from flowing out of that basin and try to take care of it,

[1:16:12] whether it's a county project that has to take care of it or a city project or

[1:16:17] engaging the local residents.

[1:16:19] I think that we need the local property owners or whatever.

[1:16:23] There's something that's keeping the water from flowing, and it's not just Hydrilla.

[1:16:29] It's not just, uh, lack of maintenance.

[1:16:31] It's, it's something that I think can be corrected, um, and, uh,

[1:16:36] I think we need to figure that out.

[1:16:38] Yes, sir. Commissioner Holmes.

[1:16:40] Once upon a time, I was on the board of directors of Roadhaven Boys Ranch up in

[1:16:45] Palatka, and there was a tributary that fed into the St. Johns River.

[1:16:49] And once a year, when the, when the Plant life in the tributary got so thick,

[1:16:53] we used to bring the cattle down there because they thought that was chocolate

[1:16:58] because they thought that was chocolate cake.

[1:16:58] And I mean, they would just eat it and then they'd get sick from it,

[1:17:02] but it was a good sickness. So, but that's— get some cattle, bring them down

[1:17:06] that's— get some cattle, bring them down there.

[1:17:07] They're kind of— they won't care about it. Just let the cows eat it.

[1:17:11] Make sure they can swim. In East Tennessee, they use the goats to work on

[1:17:15] Tennessee, they use the goats to work on the kudzu.

[1:17:16] So, and that'll do it.

[1:17:17] We need—

[1:17:17] that's what we need some more. We need cattle in town. That's it. Solve the

[1:17:22] cattle in town. That's it. Solve the problem.

[1:17:22] Thank you. Thank you very much.

[1:17:24] And before we move on, in a spirit of cooperating with the county,

[1:17:29] can we talk a little bit about the Harvest West to Damraj? Is that right?

[1:17:33] Damraj.

[1:17:35] On Rosary. I'm familiar with the road. I know that, you know, it's a split.

[1:17:39] I know that's in the past. This is before, Mr. Manager, you were here.

[1:17:43] But we've completed some sidewalks on 14th outside of the city.

[1:17:47] And we had to cooperate We didn't have to cooperate with the county,

[1:17:51] but it just made sense, right?

[1:17:53] We were there doing a big project, and there was another 50 yards before—

[1:17:58] I can't even think of the name of the road. What's the road there?

[1:18:02] Anyway, so there was about 50 yards to complete that system.

[1:18:05] And I think it just makes— sometimes we have to do what makes sense,

[1:18:09] even if it takes a little bit longer to coordinate it with the county.

[1:18:13] Yes.

[1:18:15] I don't— there was a question about how roads get off of the list.

[1:18:21] I know how they get on because I don't know that we had a list before about 6 or

[1:18:27] know that we had a list before about 6 or 7

[1:18:28] years ago. And now the reason that roads are on the list is due to their grading

[1:18:34] scale and how much they need to be on the list. Sir? Good evening, Mayor.

[1:18:41] Good evening, Commissioners.

[1:18:43] I'm Jerry Woloszynski, the Director of Engineering Services.

[1:18:48] Thank you for letting me come up tonight to talk about our East Rosary Road

[1:18:54] to talk about our East Rosary Road project.

[1:18:55] And as a precursor to that discussion, let me define what it isn't.

[1:19:01] We have 2 Rosary Road projects going on and overlapping right now.

[1:19:06] So I am not going to speak about Rosary Road Phase Yes.

[1:19:11] For the citizens that are here from Arvest Circle.

[1:19:15] So Rosary Road Phase 2 is the roadway work we're doing between Missouri and Eagle

[1:19:22] Lake Park along Rosary.

[1:19:24] So any of the viewing public or other citizens attending tonight that live in

[1:19:31] citizens attending tonight that live in that

[1:19:31] corridor, these comments aren't directed for that project.

[1:19:36] So I just wanted to make sure we were clear on that because it's really easy to

[1:19:43] confuse 2 major roadway corridor projects that have the same similar name.

[1:19:49] So as one of our citizens pointed out, our city project for East Rosary Road is—

[1:19:56] and then the citizens' comments tonight have been spot on.

[1:20:01] I'm not here to try to make anything I say could come across as making excuses.

[1:20:08] I do not want to make excuses.

[1:20:10] I can talk about the facts,

[1:20:13] and I can talk about some efforts that we can do as a group of citizens and our, uh,

[1:20:20] the City of Largo, um, to work on some of these issues that,

[1:20:25] that are real and a lived experience for our residents in that area.

[1:20:31] So the, um, yes, the one citizen pointed out Our city right-of-way in this paving

[1:20:38] project and roadway restoration and utilities and stormwater goes from Keene

[1:20:44] utilities and stormwater goes from Keene Road to

[1:20:45] Arvest Circle West. Yep, 100% right.

[1:20:48] And another citizen pointed out Arvest Circle West eastward to Damrosch is county

[1:20:55] right-of-way. Completely factual.

[1:20:57] So we saw this dilemma years in advance,

[1:21:01] and I'll address one question that came later on: Why was this project delayed?

[1:21:08] So three years ago, city team members had to make a tough recommendation.

[1:21:14] to the City Commission about some competing roadway projects.

[1:21:19] And we had to make some tough decisions and recommend the priority order of them.

[1:21:26] So Rosary Road East, the one we're talking about tonight,

[1:21:31] was being considered for this project 3 years ago.

[1:21:35] Myself and other team members recommended to the Commission there was a higher

[1:21:42] priority that involved delaying this project and another city project.

[1:21:48] So that was a very tough decision to make knowing the condition of the roadway,

[1:21:54] not taken lightly by city staff or the commission.

[1:21:59] What I can say is that regrettably, I mean notably,

[1:22:03] we are here now today fixing that.

[1:22:06] So we made a promise that Rosary Road East, even though it was delayed 3 years

[1:22:12] East, even though it was delayed 3 years ago,

[1:22:13] was always going to be at the top of that list. And it— and we've delivered that.

[1:22:20] Again, sounds like an excuse to our citizens, and I apologize for that.

[1:22:26] So what we did accomplish, and again, And this will come across as an excuse.

[1:22:32] City staff and city administration worked very hard over the last year to try to

[1:22:39] coordinate the full renewal of that county right-of-way.

[1:22:44] We were successful on one side.

[1:22:47] So Pinellas County has 2 different departments that have an ownership in the

[1:22:53] right-of-way. There's Pinellas County Utilities.

[1:22:57] Which is stuff that's under the road, primarily the potable water system.

[1:23:03] And then there's the county public works department that does road paving.

[1:23:10] So what we were doing, you know, we acknowledged, we knew this gap was there.

[1:23:16] We knew it would be,

[1:23:18] it would look very incomplete for us not to do that last section of road.

[1:23:24] And we worked extremely hard.

[1:23:27] And again, this I don't think that comes across as an excuse.

[1:23:32] We were successful in working with Pinellas County Utilities to get them to

[1:23:38] Pinellas County Utilities to get them to bring

[1:23:39] the budget on to replace the water main,

[1:23:42] not only under our portion of the project but also the rest of East Roseview Road

[1:23:49] east of Harvest Circle West. And I know that's a lot of confusing directions.

[1:23:56] And we're also replacing the potable water line on Gershwin,

[1:24:01] which is also a county road.

[1:24:03] We were able to partner with them in the utilities department where they provided

[1:24:10] utilities department where they provided us

[1:24:10] the money to replace the utilities and our contractors doing that.

[1:24:16] We were not successful in doing that same thing with the Pinellas County Public

[1:24:22] Works Department to do the roadway surface.

[1:24:26] What I would offer to our citizens would be a couple things.

[1:24:31] Would be make sure we talk with the clerk,

[1:24:35] or after the meeting come back and talk with me and my team.

[1:24:40] I want to know your names, your contact numbers, and you know contact stuff.

[1:24:46] I'll be here way after the meeting as long as anybody wants to.

[1:24:52] Collaborate in caucus on this last section.

[1:24:55] What I believe we should focus on, citizens, Largo, and Pinellas County,

[1:25:02] is how do we, how do we carve out enough money,

[1:25:06] not in this year's budget but in a future budget, to address that last section?

[1:25:12] And it'll take the City of Largo, our citizens,

[1:25:16] And Pinellas County Public Works to solve that problem.

[1:25:21] Jerry, if you could just—

[1:25:23] what is the estimated cost for the road resurfacing to get to the end of that

[1:25:30] stretch? Because I know we've talked about it with the county,

[1:25:35] and it's part of our request.

[1:25:37] And one of the things that we have to bring to the table, because as you know—

[1:25:44] good question, City Manager— is that when we do a roadway project,

[1:25:50] we make sure that the, the, the public utilities under that roadway are,

[1:25:56] are replaced so we don't have to come back and tear that road up if that utility

[1:26:03] fails. One of the things we have to do for that last segment is make sure we bring

[1:26:10] sewer money to the table.

[1:26:12] And, uh, it— in total,

[1:26:14] I believe the number we had was somewhere in the $900,000 range for the roadway and

[1:26:21] the sewer. So what my commit would, would be is we,

[1:26:25] we carve out a small segment to tackle just that county right-of-way as a

[1:26:31] coordinating effort and say, when can the county bring their money to it?

[1:26:38] When can I program sanitary sewer funds at the same time to tackle that section of

[1:26:45] road? And to the citizens that are here, I can stay as late as you have time,

[1:26:51] and then— and the other team members in the engineering department that are with

[1:26:58] the engineering department that are with me

[1:26:58] tonight, we can stay and brainstorm anything and anything that you want to

[1:27:04] anything and anything that you want to talk

[1:27:05] about. Um, I'm very sympathetic to this situation, and, um, unfortunately,

[1:27:11] I did not create these boundaries. Thank you. That that are challenging to us.

[1:27:18] They they are a challenge.

[1:27:20] One of the citizens mentioned why the Arvis circles east and west weren't being

[1:27:27] paved. That's a very simple answer.

[1:27:30] Arvis West and Arvis East have an incredibly good pavement condition index

[1:27:36] incredibly good pavement condition index in the

[1:27:36] 70s. Um, we do not repave roads in the 70s.

[1:27:40] East Rosary Road, on the other hand, has a pavement condition of 20.

[1:27:46] You all drive on it every day. You can attest to that.

[1:27:51] It is one of the worst roads in, in the city.

[1:27:54] There's other ones, but I won't make excuses for those other ones.

[1:28:00] Um, so we are correcting that.

[1:28:03] So that's why we're not touching Aravis Circle pavement or utilities, you know,

[1:28:09] overall, because the roadway for the Aravis Circle east and west is in our

[1:28:16] Aravis Circle east and west is in our pavement

[1:28:16] plan, and that pavement plan addresses those in the mid-2033-35 area. All right.

[1:28:23] Thank you very much.

[1:28:25] I have a question.

[1:28:26] Please, Commissioner Holk.

[1:28:28] So, um, facing Arvis—

[1:28:30] or facing Rosary between Arvis Circle East and Arvis Circle West,

[1:28:36] there's 2 homes that are both City of Largo,

[1:28:40] different zip code because they have a Rosary Road address.

[1:28:45] So that's where I— one of the things that I have a hard time with Okay,

[1:28:51] so that's a county road in front of them, but yet they are City of Largo,

[1:28:58] pay City of Largo taxes.

[1:29:01] There—

[1:29:01] and there's only 2 homes between those 2 streets.

[1:29:05] So how do— so where's the actual divide?

[1:29:08] So is it the, the north side of the road,

[1:29:11] or is it the north and the south side of Rosary in that spot that are Largo or

[1:29:16] County? Because I, I couldn't get a straight answer out of the county either.

[1:29:22] I went to the county, I talked to several commissioners and begged.

[1:29:27] I'm like, we're doing this, we're out here, the roads are going to be torn up.

[1:29:32] Why, why can the county not help us with this 110 yards of, of road?

[1:29:37] We have, we have patched, and you know, one of our friends lives in that end

[1:29:43] one of our friends lives in that end house,

[1:29:43] and we've joked around because she gets a hole in front of her mailbox every time it

[1:29:49] rains because that piece pops out.

[1:29:52] We've put plants in it, we've put rocks in it, we've, you know, made jokes about it.

[1:29:58] It's really not a joke because one day I think she almost broke her ankle getting

[1:30:04] her mail. But it's just so hard to— and now we're watching Keene Road be paved.

[1:30:09] Yeah.

[1:30:10] Which they did in like weeks, like 2 weeks, that entire road.

[1:30:14] I was like, oh my gosh, this one side's paved, oh, the other side's paved.

[1:30:20] They did the entryways to all the streets along.

[1:30:23] So it's hard to— and even as a commissioner,

[1:30:26] I try and figure out how this all works because a lot of it does not make sense

[1:30:31] because I know that it's, it's politics and it's this, that, and the other thing,

[1:30:37] but But when you live in neighborhoods for as long as— and I will say, I, yes,

[1:30:42] I am part of that neighborhood. These are my neighbors.

[1:30:46] But this has been something that we've talked about even before I was a

[1:30:51] commissioner. So it's been on our radar for a long time, that road.

[1:30:56] Um, Jim failed to mention that he stopped riding his bike to Eagle Lake Park because

[1:31:02] it was— the road was impossible to ride on.

[1:31:05] I couldn't agree more.

[1:31:06] So he was putting his bike in his car and driving to Eagle Lake Park.

[1:31:11] Kind of like defeats the purpose of somebody who's a cyclist.

[1:31:15] But, you know, and, and we do appreciate that the section that we are doing is

[1:31:20] greatly appreciated by, by all of us.

[1:31:23] But, and, um, so I just want to ask you too, do, do you recommend—

[1:31:27] would this Would it help, do you think,

[1:31:30] for this group to go to a county meeting and present the same thing that they

[1:31:35] presented to us tonight?

[1:31:37] I can't speak for anybody personally. It certainly wouldn't hurt. Okay.

[1:31:43] It certainly wouldn't hurt to go directly to the,

[1:31:47] the source of the ownership of that right-of-way.

[1:31:51] And, and, and, and with that, again, as I mentioned,

[1:31:55] I'm happy to help facilitate that at the at the city team member level with the

[1:32:01] county team member level.

[1:32:03] So their voices are heard at team member level to team member level.

[1:32:09] And just like they're doing here,

[1:32:11] it would probably be a recommended good idea for them, if they choose to do it,

[1:32:18] to take those same discussion points to the county.

[1:32:22] Okay, I appreciate you, I appreciate you offering that,

[1:32:26] and I hope that they can stay and speak with you after the meeting.

[1:32:31] Thank you, Terry.

[1:32:32] And, and I'll just reiterate, leave, leave your names, numbers, emails with us.

[1:32:37] We want to make sure this dialogue doesn't end tonight.

[1:32:41] And, and again, stay after if you have the time to do that.

[1:32:45] I have their contact information.

[1:32:47] Okay, perfect.

[1:32:50] Thank you. Appreciate the help,

[1:32:51] as well as help from Public Works as well on earlier stuff.

[1:32:54] Um, now we'll move on to approval of tonight's agenda.

[1:32:57] Move approval. Second.

[1:33:00] I have a motion and a second. All in favor say aye.

[1:33:03] Aye.

[1:33:03] Any opposed? Motion passes 7-0.

[1:33:05] Next is consideration of the minutes from the regular meeting of July 21st, 2026.

[1:33:11] Move approval.

[1:33:11] Second. Any corrections, changes? All in favor say aye.

[1:33:15] Aye.

[1:33:15] Any opposed? Motion passes 7-0. Could I hear the consent docket, please?

[1:33:20] Item 6, authorization for additional spending under the annual purchase

[1:33:25] spending under the annual purchase agreement

[1:33:26] bid number 24-B-806, trenchless sanitary and storm sewer rehabilitation,

[1:33:31] in the estimated amount of $510,000.

[1:33:33] Item 7, approval of an interlocal agreement with Ford Pinellas for planning

[1:33:39] agreement with Ford Pinellas for planning and

[1:33:39] mapping services and/or special projects work.

[1:33:42] Item 8, award of bid number 26-P-863,

[1:33:45] Largo Golf Clubhouse roof replacement to First Class Roofing Incorporated in the

[1:33:50] estimated amount of $73,835.

[1:33:52] Item 9, authorization for the Police Department to purchase an Oculus 5 mini

[1:33:57] Department to purchase an Oculus 5 mini camera

[1:33:58] system from Ganz and Pugh Associates for the Special Operations Unit in the amount

[1:34:03] of $20,924 from federal forfeiture Item 10,

[1:34:06] approval to purchase 24 rifle suppressors for the SWAT team from Dana Safety Supply

[1:34:12] in the approximate amount of $19,500 using law enforcement forfeiture funds.

[1:34:17] Item 11, award of contract number 26-B-855,

[1:34:20] 1st Street and 1st Avenue Northwest restoration to MTM Contractors

[1:34:25] restoration to MTM Contractors Incorporated in

[1:34:26] the amount of $581,541 And an owner contingency of $57,459 for an estimated

[1:34:31] contingency of $57,459 for an estimated total of

[1:34:32] $639,000. Item 12, appointment of Judith Aiken as a member of the Code Enforcement

[1:34:37] Board. Item 13, approval of the settlement of the lawsuit styled Joshua Lyles,

[1:34:43] parent and natural guardian of Jeremiah Lyles, a minor,

[1:34:47] and Joshua Lyles individually versus City of Largo and Nathaniel J.

[1:34:51] Hansman in the amount of Totaling $75,000.

[1:34:54] Item 14, authorization for the mayor to sign a time extension amendment to the

[1:34:59] sign a time extension amendment to the East

[1:35:00] Bay Drive protected bike lanes locally funded agreement between the City of Largo

[1:35:05] and the Florida Department of Transportation.

[1:35:08] For the consent docket, could you poll the board, please? Oh, was there a motion?

[1:35:14] Not yet. I move to approve the consent docket without commission discussion and

[1:35:20] including staff background provided in the commission packets. Now you can do it.

[1:35:25] Second.

[1:35:26] All right, now we could poll the board, please.

[1:35:28] Commissioner Smith? Yes.

[1:35:30] Commissioner Holmes? I have to go yes. I made the motion.

[1:35:33] Commissioner DiBrizzi? Yes. Mayor Brown? Yes. Commissioner Lauser? Yes.

[1:35:37] Commissioner Holk?

[1:35:38] Yes.

[1:35:38] Vice Mayor Johnson?

[1:35:39] Yes.

[1:35:40] Motion carries 7 to 0. Thank you.

[1:35:41] I would like to point out, I know Judy Aiken is here.

[1:35:44] Thank you for volunteering to serve on the Code Enforcement Board.

[1:35:48] They probably told you that this would be 5 minutes into the meeting. Apologies.

[1:35:52] your eyes that it was a little bit longer than that.

[1:35:55] Thank you for being here, and thank you for your dedication.

[1:35:58] Next is Ordinance Number 2026-15.

[1:36:00] All right, good evening, Mayor and City Commission.

[1:36:03] I'm Whitney Clark, a Planner II with the Planning Division,

[1:36:06] and with me at the presentation desk is Jared Austin, Planning Division Manager.

[1:36:11] The item before you is a proposed comprehensive development code amendment

[1:36:15] comprehensive development code amendment seeking

[1:36:15] to establish Thank you.

[1:36:17] This ordinance would update the procedures for the review and approval of certified

[1:36:21] recovery residences in accordance with recently updated Florida state statutes.

[1:36:26] Since first reading on June 2nd, 2026,

[1:36:28] staff have updated the numbering of various definitions in the Comprehensive

[1:36:32] Development Code Chapter 20 and corrected a footnote reference in Table 6-1 to align

[1:36:37] with changes made through other recent CDC amendments.

[1:36:40] Ultimately, staff recommend approval of the ordinance and are available for any

[1:36:44] questions. Thank you.

[1:36:45] Ordinance Number 2026-15, an ordinance of the City of Largo, Florida,

[1:36:51] amending the City of Largo Comprehensive Development Code to comply with Section

[1:36:58] 397.487 Florida Statutes by amending subsections 15.2.1, 15.2.2, 15.2.3,

[1:37:03] subsections 15.2.1, 15.2.2, 15.2.3, 15.2.4,

[1:37:04] and 15.2.5, creating subsection 15.2.6.

[1:37:07] 6, amending Section 6.2,

[1:37:09] and amending Section 20.1 to revise definitions in accordance with the

[1:37:15] definitions in accordance with the proposed

[1:37:15] amendments, providing for an effective date. Thank you.

[1:37:20] Do we have any cards on this? We have no cards. Any questions from the commission?

[1:37:26] I move to adopt Ordinance 2026-15 on second and final reading.

[1:37:32] Second.

[1:37:32] Could you poll the board, please?

[1:37:35] Commissioner Holmes?

[1:37:36] Yes, ma'am.

[1:37:36] Commissioner DeBreezy? Yes. Mayor Brown? Yes. Commissioner Lauser? Yes.

[1:37:41] Commissioner Holk?

[1:37:42] Yes.

[1:37:42] Vice Mayor Johnson?

[1:37:43] Yes.

[1:37:44] Commissioner Smith?

[1:37:45] Yes.

[1:37:45] Motion carries 7 to 0. Thank you. Next is item number 16, ordinance number 2026-20.

[1:38:04] Good evening. This is second reading of Ordinance Number 2026-20,

[1:38:08] amending Section 3 of Appendix B of the Largo City Code to add certain services

[1:38:12] Largo City Code to add certain services and

[1:38:13] fees charged by the administration department specifically related to the

[1:38:17] department specifically related to the rentals

[1:38:17] here at Horizon. And there have not been any changes since the first reading.

[1:38:21] Ordinance Number 2026-20, an ordinance of the City of Largo, Florida,

[1:38:25] amending Section 3 of Appendix B of the Largo City Code To add certain services

[1:38:30] Largo City Code To add certain services and

[1:38:30] fees charged by the Administration Department, providing for severability,

[1:38:35] providing an effective date.

[1:38:36] Thank you.

[1:38:37] Do we have any cards on this?

[1:38:38] We have no cards.

[1:38:38] Any questions from the commission?

[1:38:40] I move to adopt Ordinance Number 2026-20 on second and final reading.

[1:38:45] Second.

[1:38:46] I have a motion and a second. Could you poll the board, please?

[1:38:48] Commissioner DiBrizzi? Yes.

[1:38:50] Mayor Brown?

[1:38:51] Yes.

[1:38:51] Commissioner Lauser?

[1:38:52] Yes.

[1:38:53] Commissioner Holk?

[1:38:54] Yes.

[1:38:54] Vice Mayor Johnson?

[1:38:55] Yes. Commissioner Smith?

[1:38:57] Yes.

[1:38:57] Commissioner Holmes? Yes.

[1:38:59] Motion carries 7 to 0. Thank you. Next is item number 17, resolution number 2469.

[1:39:05] All right. Good evening, Mayor and Commission.

[1:39:09] Before you this evening is resolution 2469,

[1:39:12] which amends legislative policy 7-1 governing the city's procedures for

[1:39:17] governing the city's procedures for official

[1:39:18] community recognition through proclamations, commemorative flags,

[1:39:23] and public information campaigns.

[1:39:26] The purpose of these amendments is to establish a consistent,

[1:39:31] legally compliant framework for official city recognition while ensuring city

[1:39:37] resources are used for legitimate governmental purposes in accordance with

[1:39:42] applicable federal and state law.

[1:39:45] By way of background, on April 22nd, 2026,

[1:39:48] Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1134 into law as Chapter 2026-43,

[1:39:54] Laws of Florida. The legislation becomes effective January 1st, 2027,

[1:39:59] and creates a new section of Florida statutes under Chapter 166,

[1:40:04] which establishes restrictions on official municipal actions relating to diversity,

[1:40:11] equity, and inclusion.

[1:40:13] Beginning January 1st, municipalities may not fund, promote,

[1:40:17] or take official action relating to these themes,

[1:40:21] expend public funds for those purposes,

[1:40:24] or authorize the use of municipal resources to do so,

[1:40:28] except where expressly permitted by statute.

[1:40:32] The law includes several specific exceptions,

[1:40:35] including certain federal and state holidays and observances,

[1:40:40] patriotic observances recognized under federal law,

[1:40:44] and other exceptions identified in Section 166.04971, Florida Statutes.

[1:40:50] In preparation for the law's effective date,

[1:40:53] the city's City Attorney's Office reviewed Legislative Policy 7-1 and determined

[1:40:59] that subsections were inconsistent with the new statutory requirements.

[1:41:05] Accordingly, this resolution revises the policy by removing language that could,

[1:41:11] could be incompatible with state law,

[1:41:14] replacing it with a neutral objective framework for evaluating future

[1:41:19] framework for evaluating future recognition

[1:41:20] requests. Among the noted policy changes are removal of existing language directing

[1:41:27] recognition efforts to incorporate themes of of diversity, equity, inclusion,

[1:41:33] social justice, and demographic representation.

[1:41:36] It also adds a compliance section identifying applicable statutory

[1:41:42] identifying applicable statutory exceptions,

[1:41:42] establishes a case-by-case review process for recognition requests,

[1:41:48] outlines evaluation criteria for proposed recognition,

[1:41:52] and updates the list of events and observances eligible for continued city

[1:41:58] recognition. Importantly,

[1:42:00] these amendments preserve the city's ability to recognize events and

[1:42:05] ability to recognize events and observances

[1:42:06] authorized by law while ensuring compliance with the new statutory

[1:42:11] compliance with the new statutory requirements and

[1:42:12] reducing the city's potential legal exposure once the law becomes effective on

[1:42:18] January 1, 2027. Staff recommends approval of Resolution Number 2465.

[1:42:24] And happy to answer any questions as it relates to the policy amendments.

[1:42:29] And I'll defer to City Attorney Allen on any questions concerning the legal

[1:42:35] requirements or of the new statute or its exceptions.

[1:42:39] Resolution number 2469, a resolution of the City Commission of the City of Largo,

[1:42:46] Florida, amending Legislative Policy 7-1, parentheses,

[1:42:50] Inclusion and Community Recognition,

[1:42:53] to conform with Section 166 6.04971 Florida Statutes as created by Senate Bill

[1:42:59] Florida Statutes as created by Senate Bill 1134,

[1:42:59] parentheses, Chapter 2026-43, Laws of Florida,

[1:43:03] amending the standing schedule of recognized observances and any policy

[1:43:08] recognized observances and any policy language

[1:43:09] inconsistent with Florida law,

[1:43:11] establishing a compliance review procedure for proclamations, commemorative flags,

[1:43:18] and public information campaigns, providing for conflicts,

[1:43:22] providing for severability, and providing an effective Thank you.

[1:43:27] Do we have any cards on this? We have one card. Matt Faustini. Good evening, all.

[1:43:34] Matt Faustini, 1015 Lake Palms Drive, Largo.

[1:43:37] Um, I wish we would have had this item before we decided not to follow our Pride

[1:43:43] legislative policy this year. That would have been nice to see.

[1:43:48] I'm here to speak tonight strongly against this resolution.

[1:43:53] Time and time again, you guys give up,

[1:43:56] give in to the state taking power away from us.

[1:44:00] I know you're going to have to do certain things,

[1:44:04] but you don't have to roll over and just give in because you want $300,000 or $1

[1:44:10] million from Bernie Joch and your Tallahassee friends.

[1:44:15] And that's what this is. Thank you.

[1:44:19] Um, what's even worse is this doesn't even go into effect, as staff said,

[1:44:24] until January 1st, 2027. So we claim to be home rule heroes.

[1:44:28] We have commissioners and mayors up here who are supposedly home rule leaders,

[1:44:34] yet are taking away our home rule ability 5 months earlier than was required by

[1:44:40] state law.

[1:44:41] Help me make sense of that. Because that's not home rule to me.

[1:44:45] That's giving in because you want your money for your project.

[1:44:50] And we just have to look to our neighbors.

[1:44:54] The St. Pete Commission has condemned these DEI initiatives.

[1:44:58] I haven't heard a single commissioner other than Commissioner Smith condemn

[1:45:04] other than Commissioner Smith condemn this.

[1:45:04] And when faced with the state going after their Office of Equity,

[1:45:09] They didn't delete the department.

[1:45:12] They renamed it and found an administrative workaround.

[1:45:17] They applied creativity to protect their local values.

[1:45:20] Largo, on the other hand, like so many other things,

[1:45:23] are just throwing in the towel like we did with our Duke franchise agreement.

[1:45:28] 30 years, just throw it in.

[1:45:30] Who cares?

[1:45:30] And what makes this so frustrating is the blatant hypocrisy.

[1:45:35] And I want to say this staff member I'm referring to is an amazing staff member.

[1:45:38] I am not talking personally about them.

[1:45:41] And I am glad we are keeping them.

[1:45:43] But when the administration wants to protect a position that is banned by law,

[1:45:49] it finds a way to do it.

[1:45:51] So our sustainability and resiliency administrator was conveniently

[1:45:56] administrator was conveniently reclassified to

[1:45:57] a performance and strategy program administrator to shield that person's

[1:46:02] administrator to shield that person's climate

[1:46:03] change role.

[1:46:06] Let me be clear again.

[1:46:07] I'm glad we're keeping that staff member.

[1:46:11] But if city management can apply that creativity,

[1:46:14] why can we not find creativity for diversity initiatives, for commemorative

[1:46:20] diversity initiatives, for commemorative flags?

[1:46:21] Take the 5 months we have. Think.

[1:46:23] Use your home rule ability while you still have it instead of giving up your power

[1:46:30] to Tallahassee.

[1:46:31] Thank you. Thank you.

[1:46:34] Commissioner Smith. So, Mr. Faustini, I totally agree.

[1:46:37] I feel like we talk about home rule up here many times, and we're throwing in

[1:46:42] here many times, and we're throwing in the,

[1:46:42] the towel, um, with, uh, a legislature that keeps rolling over us,

[1:46:46] and we just keep saying, okay, um, let's change our policies.

[1:46:50] We're not being creative enough to get around this.

[1:46:54] New ideas that we should be thinking outside the box of them.

[1:46:57] Uh, we keep getting—

[1:46:59] having to We're having to lose grandfathering because we're not at the

[1:47:03] grandfathering because we're not at the par of

[1:47:04] something. We're having to find ways around that.

[1:47:07] Citizens, prime example, as short-term rentals,

[1:47:10] we're now having to deal with because of Tallahassee that we can't touch.

[1:47:14] Here's another one now.

[1:47:16] We're going to throw a whole class of our citizens,

[1:47:19] basically recognizing them just as citizens of our city, and not even DEI,

[1:47:24] just plainly being nice to people and recognize them, under the bus.

[1:47:28] Thank you.

[1:47:28] Because Tallahassee again says screw you to the cities and Tallahassee's rule.

[1:47:34] I'm voting against this because I ran to represent my city, not Tallahassee,

[1:47:39] and everybody. I find this deplorable that we're having to do this right now,

[1:47:45] and it's not just because I happen to be one of these individuals. It's shameful.

[1:47:50] In these times, we should be lifting each other up and,

[1:47:54] and talking about the grace of everybody.

[1:47:57] And, and this again is word salad to— well,

[1:48:00] sometimes some individuals say I do word salad,

[1:48:04] but this is just word salad that they put out there and scared us with DEI when it's

[1:48:10] not. It's not. I mean, it really is idiotic.

[1:48:13] Um, what, what— are there any cities at the moment or organizations challenging

[1:48:18] the moment or organizations challenging this

[1:48:19] law in the court Not that I'm aware of.

[1:48:22] And just so it's clear, this resolution—

[1:48:25] the policy doesn't go into effect until January 1st.

[1:48:28] Yeah, but we're still throwing in the towel now.

[1:48:31] I mean, the policy— I mean, I'm sorry,

[1:48:34] the law doesn't go into effect. Ours will.

[1:48:37] The resolution goes into effect January 1st.

[1:48:39] Okay. Nothing goes into effect.

[1:48:41] But still, we're— I feel like this is just rolling over and writing language that we

[1:48:46] shouldn't even have to We should be thinking outside the box.

[1:48:50] I do like that the very bottom that we talked about, you know,

[1:48:54] and I hope citizens that are of— and I'll flat out say it—

[1:48:57] the Pride individuals come and stand here every June at that podium and do a

[1:49:02] citizens' proclamation. I think what we did this past June was deplorable again.

[1:49:06] And I'm appreciative of my citizens that came here, organizations that came here,

[1:49:11] stood there. called us out for what it was and did it themselves.

[1:49:15] And I hope every June they come here and recognize Pride.

[1:49:19] And, um, I'll be voting against this because I think it's deplorable. Thank

[1:49:23] because I think it's deplorable. Thank you.

[1:49:23] Thank you. Commissioner DeBrisi. Thank you.

[1:49:26] Um, I came tonight intending to vote no on this, and I want to explain that.

[1:49:30] But also, I had wanted to keep an open mind,

[1:49:33] listen to City Attorney and others about, you know,

[1:49:36] what are What are some of the ramifications if this doesn't pass?

[1:49:40] So I don't— you know,

[1:49:41] my intent on voting no is not because I want to advocate for the city doing

[1:49:46] want to advocate for the city doing whatever

[1:49:46] it may be. I, you know, I believe in limited role of government,

[1:49:50] and I think the government— there's areas the government should stay out of.

[1:49:55] You know, being kind to people is something we should all be doing anyway.

[1:49:59] But I, you know, my issue is, of course, is, is, is, you know,

[1:50:03] home rule in Tallahassee and, and, and, you know, being, you know,

[1:50:07] being legislated on what to do and how the city should manage itself,

[1:50:11] both from a policy and budget and everything else that we do.

[1:50:15] And we— and you mentioned the short-term vacation rental,

[1:50:18] which is going to become prominent in our lives in the next few weeks.

[1:50:22] This is just— we're setting resolution and policy for the city.

[1:50:26] action is what matters, right? So what if this doesn't pass?

[1:50:30] Do we have to have something on the books like this?

[1:50:33] Because at the end of the day, if we, you know, if we—

[1:50:36] I understand if we have something in the books, we're obligated to do it.

[1:50:40] But what if this doesn't pass? What happens?

[1:50:43] What does it put the city in, in an awkward position?

[1:50:46] It does.

[1:50:48] Yeah, it's a legal position too.

[1:50:49] Yes, it does. So not passing,

[1:50:52] it does put us in a precarious position because then we are in direct violation of

[1:50:59] the statute. What we did when we reviewed this is— I'm just trying to pull it up.

[1:51:06] So there are exceptions.

[1:51:08] And so some of the holidays that initially it seemed,

[1:51:12] or recognition that weren't permitted under the legislation, they actually are.

[1:51:19] There's some lesser-known federal acts that have recognized some of these.

[1:51:26] commemorative months.

[1:51:27] There's also some provisions in the Florida statute that's referenced in here

[1:51:34] Florida statute that's referenced in here that

[1:51:34] reference certain cultural figures, historical significance.

[1:51:40] And so there are some ways that they may be able to still have some recognition and

[1:51:47] comply with the statute.

[1:51:49] Okay.

[1:51:50] So, we did reference that in there.

[1:51:53] That's why we have that case-by-case review request. And so, that's the intent.

[1:51:58] You know, we'll work with staff,

[1:52:00] but some of the ones that we know that immediately we were able to identify the

[1:52:05] exceptions, we included in there. And so, that's more what's intended.

[1:52:10] We wanted to ensure we have a policy that on its face is compliant,

[1:52:14] and we will work with staff that allows—

[1:52:17] I'm sorry.

[1:52:17] to see if we can identify some more creative methods to acknowledge those

[1:52:22] creative methods to acknowledge those events and

[1:52:23] those individuals that it may seem like based on the initial language wouldn't be

[1:52:29] compliant, but there are some exceptions written in here.

[1:52:33] I appreciate that. The exceptions are what are prescribed by the state.

[1:52:37] So, you know, we don't get to create our own exceptions.

[1:52:40] They've listed out a number of holidays, recognition, people, and everything else.

[1:52:45] Again, it's prescribed by the—

[1:52:46] But there's catchalls.

[1:52:48] Okay.

[1:52:48] So that's what I'm referencing.

[1:52:50] So some of the catchalls are, if there's, for example, in the city of Dunedin,

[1:52:56] they have a Scottish museum.

[1:52:58] And so while that's not permitted, they are able to identify that.

[1:53:02] And so other cities have other, you know, either historical sites,

[1:53:07] or they may have a statue commemorating individuals.

[1:53:10] So there are—

[1:53:12] and so those are some of the catchalls where it says if, you know,

[1:53:15] you're working in that towards some of those cultural centers and stuff.

[1:53:18] So there are some things we can look at.

[1:53:23] Okay, thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Holmes.

[1:53:25] I think you got to take a little, little broader perspective here.

[1:53:29] This is not aiming at a group of people.

[1:53:32] This is a law— this is the state of Florida has already enacted.

[1:53:35] What are you going to do when—

[1:53:37] it wasn't all that long ago that the Knights of Columbus approached us,

[1:53:41] that they wanted to put up their flag and they wanted to have their celebration,

[1:53:46] and they were turned down. What are you going to do when BLM shows up?

[1:53:50] BLM was going to come here, just— they were going to make a show of this with

[1:53:54] were going to make a show of this with Largo,

[1:53:55] that they wanted to put their flag up in front of City Hall and they wanted to have

[1:54:00] a ceremony going. They were turned down.

[1:54:02] They could have sued us for that, and they did.

[1:54:05] There's all kinds of organizations who would just love to step up to get

[1:54:09] would just love to step up to get something

[1:54:09] done. And this is not just aimed at one group of people.

[1:54:13] I mean, it's already a state law. The state's going to take this thing in

[1:54:17] state's going to take this thing in January.

[1:54:17] Whether we adopt something or not is irrelevant. It's going to happen in

[1:54:21] irrelevant. It's going to happen in January.

[1:54:22] It's a done deal. All you can do is go back to Tallahassee And try to amend it.

[1:54:27] All these things can be amended. This none of this stuff is gospel.

[1:54:30] You know, if you don't like it, amend it.

[1:54:33] But in the meantime,

[1:54:34] don't sit there and fight with it with Tallahassee on the thing.

[1:54:38] But the state you got to set up some type of protection for the city for the times

[1:54:42] when BLM comes in and they say, "Well, we want to have something here."

[1:54:47] What do you think the citizens of Largo would do if all of a sudden we go, "Okay,

[1:54:51] we're gonna we're gonna cave into BLM"? Think that'd be good?

[1:54:55] I don't think that would be good at all.

[1:54:57] I mean, there's just— I, I don't even want to get into, you know,

[1:55:01] there's religious groups that I think we would really frown upon,

[1:55:05] but not going to get into that.

[1:55:07] But I'm just saying, this is— it,

[1:55:08] it almost doesn't matter whether we pass it or not.

[1:55:11] The state's got it as a done deal.

[1:55:13] If you don't like that, take it up with Tallahassee. Thank you.

[1:55:17] Commissioner Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[1:55:20] You know, this is a tough issue, and I do—

[1:55:22] I appreciate the work the city's done to make this as as broad as it can legally

[1:55:27] and, and allow us to celebrate our citizens, you know, the way, the way that,

[1:55:31] that's allowable right now.

[1:55:33] Um, I, and I have asked this question, but just what,

[1:55:36] what is the consequence of us not passing this?

[1:55:39] There is a consequence,

[1:55:40] and it's potential removal of our city manager and/or commission from their

[1:55:44] manager and/or commission from their seats.

[1:55:45] Is that correct?

[1:55:46] Potentially. I think that is more than just having the policy.

[1:55:50] I think we would have to be actively—

[1:55:52] Actively—

[1:55:53] Misusing funds. It's a, you know, these are prohibited actions.

[1:55:57] So I think it'd be more than a policy,

[1:56:00] it would have to be active events and use of funding.

[1:56:04] But it's, you know, of course,

[1:56:06] I'm not going to advise the city on its face to be in violation of a state

[1:56:11] face to be in violation of a state statute.

[1:56:12] But I understand The concern, so we can—

[1:56:15] we'll be happy to review it and then present options as it relates to specific

[1:56:21] events and recognition.

[1:56:22] Thank you. Thank you. I just want to make a couple comments.

[1:56:27] Uh, first, you know,

[1:56:28] when I was in Tallahassee talking to our legislators about this, um,

[1:56:33] I asked them which they didn't like— diversity, inclusion, equity.

[1:56:38] I mean, which one's offensive?

[1:56:40] I mean, I think all of those are pretty good, I think.

[1:56:44] Um, and I just don't understand, um, again,

[1:56:47] why the focus in Tallahassee is for things like this when there's important things

[1:56:53] that could be tackled in Tallahassee.

[1:56:55] Um, that said, I continue to, you know, like many of the people up here,

[1:57:00] continue to go back up there year after year and,

[1:57:04] and try to maintain what home rule we have.

[1:57:07] Both counties and cities in this state continue to lose— I wouldn't even say

[1:57:13] continue to lose— I wouldn't even say power,

[1:57:13] but lose the individuality that cities have.

[1:57:16] And, and there's 412 cities, towns, and villages in this state.

[1:57:21] And I'll tell you, Largo is not like Jacksonville nor is it like Reddington

[1:57:26] Jacksonville nor is it like Reddington Shores,

[1:57:26] nor Apopka, right? So we're all different.

[1:57:30] And the people that are sitting in these seats throughout our cities and throughout

[1:57:35] our counties are the ones that really are in touch with the residents and really are

[1:57:41] in touch with what those residents want.

[1:57:44] I think this change doesn't change the fact that we appreciate and celebrate

[1:57:50] everybody that lives in our city.

[1:57:52] Not the change statewide, but the change that's being proposed here.

[1:57:57] It just brings our policies in line with the state law. I don't think it's good.

[1:58:03] I do prefer to stay in line with the state law, and just kind of a preference.

[1:58:08] And it is what it is.

[1:58:10] I think that we'll continue to celebrate the folks that live here regardless of who

[1:58:16] they are and what, you know, if they're different than me or the same as me,

[1:58:21] we'll celebrate those folks.

[1:58:23] You know, when we talked about Pride Month, um, when we celebrate those things,

[1:58:29] the votes on this commission were 7-0 to do those things, right?

[1:58:34] We're not— our attitude towards people in the city has not changed because of this

[1:58:39] type of a policy. And frankly,

[1:58:42] our attitude towards Tallahassee hasn't changed either.

[1:58:46] And so we'll continue to fight so that we can manage our city the way that our

[1:58:51] residents want our city managed. And it's a growing battle.

[1:58:55] I think that we'll see what happens in November.

[1:58:59] We know that we're going to have a different governor after November.

[1:59:04] And hopefully there's a little bit less of an attitude of everything has to be

[1:59:09] governed from Tallahassee.

[1:59:11] I think that's a problem in in the state, there's things that make sense statewide.

[1:59:17] And there's many, many,

[1:59:19] many things that make sense to allow the cities and counties to dictate what is the

[1:59:25] best for their cities and counties.

[1:59:27] And I think that it's going to take a while,

[1:59:30] but soon Tallahassee will come around to that.

[1:59:34] We need to— I guess some of y'all need to run for state office,

[1:59:38] get some more local people up there or something. I'm not sure.

[1:59:43] I'm not pushing you away. I'm just saying. Commissioner Holk.

[1:59:47] Yes. So of course everything that our illustrious mayor said is

[1:59:54] always on target. I just wanted to add that regardless of this,

[2:00:01] that we are still, as you said, a welcoming city.

[2:00:06] So we may not be sponsoring the events that different groups

[2:00:13] would want to have here, right?

[2:00:16] They— so we can still have things in the city as long as they

[2:00:23] are sponsored by an organization, correct?

[2:00:27] Mm-hmm.

[2:00:28] So that we're not spending— spending—

[2:00:31] we can't spend city funds to sponsor an event of an organization, but they,

[2:00:36] they are welcome to to utilize our city to have an event that they,

[2:00:41] they sponsor or they pay for, correct?

[2:00:44] So we're not like shutting everybody out, but we're just not—

[2:00:48] we're just not financing it.

[2:00:51] We, we can't finance it. We also can't take official action.

[2:00:55] So official action is pretty broad. Okay.

[2:00:59] Um, but because of how, um,

[2:01:01] it's worded And there is a potential for any member of the governing body that

[2:01:07] violates it could be held malfeasance, misfeasance in office.

[2:01:12] But again, it's something we would just—

[2:01:15] we would need to review on a case-by-case basis, because we are— it is new.

[2:01:21] And we are trying to be consistent with what we've done in the past and ensure

[2:01:27] what we've done in the past and ensure that

[2:01:27] we're compliant with as narrow an interpretation as we can make of this

[2:01:33] interpretation as we can make of this statute.

[2:01:34] So, okay, thank you.

[2:01:35] And all our facilities will continue to be available for everyone in our community

[2:01:39] that wants to use them.

[2:01:40] Okay. All right. So that was, that was basically my,

[2:01:45] my concern. You know, like, well, I don't know if—

[2:01:50] never mind.

[2:01:51] Protests are a totally different thing.

[2:01:53] So I won't go there right now. Never mind. I'm done. Thank you. Thank you.

[2:01:57] Commissioner Johnson.

[2:01:58] Yeah, I just wanted to say, as somebody who goes to Tallahassee sometimes and is,

[2:02:03] um, you know, talking about making statewide fire codes and building codes,

[2:02:07] statewide fire codes and building codes, that,

[2:02:07] you know, those kind of—

[2:02:08] there are things that I think the state government has an opportunity,

[2:02:12] that has a responsibility to maybe preempt.

[2:02:14] Um, you know, having, you know,

[2:02:16] 20 different ways you enforce the fire code in Pinellas County makes it difficult

[2:02:20] code in Pinellas County makes it difficult to

[2:02:20] do business here for sure. It makes it more expensive to do business here.

[2:02:24] That being said, there are things that make every community different and give

[2:02:28] make every community different and give every

[2:02:28] community a flavor. And this preemption, you know, whenever you have a preemption,

[2:02:33] you can almost always— it's in the building code—

[2:02:35] you can almost name it for a building official or a fire marshal.

[2:02:38] You could name the reason for that bill on that one person.

[2:02:42] That's how bad it is,

[2:02:43] because you get one story to somebody in leadership and that's what happens.

[2:02:47] And, you know, this is something else that I think You know,

[2:02:51] there may be a community somewhere that has been irresponsible with funding,

[2:02:55] doing whatever they're doing. I don't know. But, uh, you know, I don't like

[2:02:59] know. But, uh, you know, I don't like this.

[2:02:59] This seems like a flavor for our community.

[2:03:02] This is our flavor of our community, is that we are welcoming to everyone.

[2:03:06] Um, and I don't like that we're, you know, having to do this.

[2:03:09] Um, and Commissioner Smith, you know, I love you, and I'm sorry about that.

[2:03:13] This That's all.

[2:03:16] Thank you. Commissioner Lauser.

[2:03:18] Yeah, so, um, while I don't agree with, uh, you know, preemption, and,

[2:03:23] and we should be able to do whatever we want to do, I,

[2:03:27] I personally think that as a government or as a government entity,

[2:03:32] anytime you fly any flag,

[2:03:33] you're showing a preference to that community and not including the rest of

[2:03:39] community and not including the rest of the

[2:03:39] communities. So unless we're going to do it for everybody you don't do it for

[2:03:44] anybody. I think the only flags that should be flown on any government facility

[2:03:50] should be flown on any government facility is

[2:03:50] that state flag and the American flag.

[2:03:53] So that's— I, I, I, I am an ally to everybody.

[2:03:56] I am inclusive, and sometimes I feel unincluded when things like that happen

[2:04:01] unincluded when things like that happen for

[2:04:01] anything. So I don't support the preemption,

[2:04:04] but I do support the fact that we keep our government as even-keeled and inclusive

[2:04:10] to everybody as possible. Thank you.

[2:04:13] Commissioner Holmes?

[2:04:13] Well, we already dance and prance with various people when they want to use city

[2:04:18] facilities. There's a whole list of things you cannot have in Central Park.

[2:04:22] We've had companies,

[2:04:24] they wanted to come in and they wanted to have a political rally,

[2:04:27] they wanted to have some church picnic or a religious affair in there,

[2:04:32] and we've turned them down. That's already happened.

[2:04:35] That happened a couple years ago.

[2:04:37] My whole point with this thing here, I mean,

[2:04:39] I'm going to make the motion to approve it because if you don't approve this thing

[2:04:44] and you go outside of the state or resolution on this,

[2:04:47] you are then opening yourself to being sued by one group of people.

[2:04:51] Or if you turn around, you're going to get sued on this thing anyway.

[2:04:55] It's going to happen.

[2:04:56] So you're going to get sued one way or you're going to get sued another way.

[2:05:01] It's going to happen, but I don't, I don't feel comfortable just, you know,

[2:05:05] going to the state of Florida and saying, nah, nah, nah,

[2:05:08] we're not going to pass this thing, because the state's going to—

[2:05:12] it's going to be state law. You can't get away from it. It's there.

[2:05:16] So what we do as, you know, the little peons in the woodpile, fine and dandy.

[2:05:21] So I am not in a position right now that I want to just, you know,

[2:05:25] stick my tongue out to the governor of the state and say,

[2:05:28] now we're not going to pass this thing, because, well, this is already—

[2:05:32] this is a law already. It just goes into effect in January.

[2:05:35] I move to approve Resolution Number 2469.

[2:05:38] Second.

[2:05:40] I have a motion and second. Commissioner DeBriesi has something as well.

[2:05:44] Yep, thank you. Um, it's kind of anticlimactic, but listening,

[2:05:47] listening to the conversation here, you know, I don't like— like I said,

[2:05:51] I don't like what's happening, and I don't like what, um, you know,

[2:05:55] I'd like to say I think a limited role for government, and,

[2:05:58] and I don't agree with some of the things that we do.

[2:06:01] It's not a— that's not a comment on,

[2:06:03] on what we do and who the people are or anything else like that.

[2:06:06] I just think that, uh, it's necessarily not our role.

[2:06:09] But I'm also reminded, looking at the, at the resolution again, uh, reminded,

[2:06:13] you know, what I did in November of 2024.

[2:06:16] I stood there and raised my right hand to abide the state laws of Florida as well as

[2:06:20] other things. And I think that, um, you know, voting no, um,

[2:06:23] while it may send one message, it sends a message that we're ignoring state law,

[2:06:28] which I'm not comfortable with.

[2:06:29] So, uh, I am gonna— I am gonna vote yes after listening to the conversation.

[2:06:33] But, um, I also trust this commission and the direction we give to city staff to be

[2:06:38] flexible, to be welcoming, and to recognize and,

[2:06:40] and celebrate the residents of our city.

[2:06:43] Thank you.

[2:06:43] Thank you. I do have a motion and a second. Could you poll the board, please?

[2:06:48] One last question before we do this.

[2:06:49] Oh, please.

[2:06:50] To the lawyer, would I be considered breaking the law by voting no?

[2:06:54] No.

[2:06:55] No. Okay, that's all I need. We could have you in jail, though.

[2:07:00] I would, I would listen to, uh,

[2:07:03] the attorney and not Commissioner Holmes on that.

[2:07:07] They both said no, but yeah. Ready? Could you poll the board, please?

[2:07:12] Mayor Brown? Yes.

[2:07:14] Commissioner Lowser?

[2:07:16] Yes.

[2:07:16] Commissioner Hulk?

[2:07:17] Yes.

[2:07:17] Vice Mayor Johnson?

[2:07:19] Yes. Commissioner Smith?

[2:07:20] No.

[2:07:20] Commissioner Holmes?

[2:07:21] Yes.

[2:07:22] Commissioner DiBrizzi? Yes.

[2:07:23] Motion carries 6 to 1. Thank you very much.

[2:07:27] City Attorney Allen, anything this evening? You got one more to go.

[2:07:32] It's been a while. Next up is ordinance number 2026-26.

[2:07:37] Good evening, Mayor and Commission.

[2:07:39] Throughout the course of the year, necessary operational, capital,

[2:07:45] and personnel adjustments arise that warrant amending the originally adopted

[2:07:51] warrant amending the originally adopted budget.

[2:07:51] This is a quarterly budget amendment to the adopted fiscal year 2026 budget to

[2:07:58] account for the following changes:

[2:08:00] allocating $6,200 in the police donations fund for emergency response voltage

[2:08:07] readers reimbursed by Duke Energy,

[2:08:09] allocating $630,000 in the home fund for additional down payment assistance to

[2:08:16] additional down payment assistance to cover

[2:08:16] costs Based on estimated program utilization through the remainder of the

[2:08:22] utilization through the remainder of the fiscal

[2:08:22] year. Allocating $27,000 in the general fund for Bonner Park Boardwalk repairs.

[2:08:29] This project was funded in fiscal year 2023 and spanned over multiple fiscal

[2:08:35] 2023 and spanned over multiple fiscal years.

[2:08:35] The $27,000 allocation covers the remaining project costs.

[2:08:40] Allocating $150,000 Uh, in the general fund for legal counsel through Taft,

[2:08:46] Statinius, and Hollister, LLP to request compensation of $690,000—

[2:08:51] $690,142 in construction delay costs at 440 West Bay Drive.

[2:08:56] Allocating $25,000 in the general fund for additional costs related to the

[2:09:02] completion of a comprehensive operational evaluation of the Largo Police Department

[2:09:09] performed by PFM Group Consulting,

[2:09:12] and allocating $60,000 in the general fund to sever utility connections at 201

[2:09:18] Highland Avenue prior to building demolition.

[2:09:21] All revenue and expenditure adjustments are detailed in Appendix A of the

[2:09:27] are detailed in Appendix A of the ordinance,

[2:09:28] and staff are available for any questions you might have.

[2:09:33] Ordinance number 2026-26, an ordinance of the City of Largo, Florida,

[2:09:38] amending the fiscal year 2026 budget adopted by Resolution number 2445 by

[2:09:44] adopted by Resolution number 2445 by budgeting

[2:09:45] $898,200 to fund a voltage reader for emergency response reimbursed by Duke

[2:09:51] emergency response reimbursed by Duke Energy,

[2:09:51] Bonner Park Boardwalk repairs,

[2:09:54] down payment assistance based on estimated program utilization,

[2:09:59] legal retainer costs associated with delays in construction at 440 West Bay

[2:10:05] delays in construction at 440 West Bay Drive,

[2:10:05] additional funding for police operational evaluation consultant study,

[2:10:11] and demolition of existing utility connections at 201 Highland Avenue,

[2:10:17] all as shown in Appendix A attached to this ordinance,

[2:10:21] providing for severability and providing for an effective date.

[2:10:26] Thank you.

[2:10:27] Do we have any cards on this? One card. Greg Gardner.

[2:10:31] I'm only going to speak about the money for the lawyer pertaining to Biltmore

[2:10:38] Construction. Um, I'm basically just repeating myself from before, guys, um,

[2:10:44] in hopes you don't like put your foot in your mouth again.

[2:10:49] There was no blackmail, there was no extortion.

[2:10:53] But I will point out that John Kerpa is lying to you, and I mean right to your

[2:11:00] lying to you, and I mean right to your face.

[2:11:01] I'm just going to go through the basics. Take it or leave it. I really don't care.

[2:11:08] It's 750 change orders. 750. Shouldn't have 75. Whose fault? Everyone's fault.

[2:11:14] COVID. Engineering. Everyone. Everyone was at fault. AST Sky gave us shoddy work.

[2:11:21] Why?

[2:11:22] COVID. It was a nightmare.

[2:11:25] So delay is Yes.

[2:11:28] The 750 change orders. You're $12 million over budget. You're not being told that.

[2:11:34] That's hidden. But you're $12 million over. I went through this before.

[2:11:39] $4 million just in accoutrements, $8 million in engineering changes,

[2:11:43] all over the board. And by the way, the 750 change orders, I mean, I have them

[2:11:49] 750 change orders, I mean, I have them all.

[2:11:49] It's like that thick. That's how tall it is. And some of those are like silly.

[2:11:54] Some were necessary. Really, most were necessary.

[2:11:58] Um, right now Biltmore is not owed $690,000, they're owed $1.5 million.

[2:12:02] It just keeps going and it keeps going and it keeps going.

[2:12:06] Uh, Robert Hatton really delivered this city chaos in so many different avenues.

[2:12:12] Now he was terminated. It was a problem.

[2:12:15] Um, he preferenced contractors 4 big contractors were never getting awarded

[2:12:20] contracts. Um, it's kind of indicative of getting your palms greased,

[2:12:24] but I'm not going to accuse intentional red tagging to generate revenue,

[2:12:29] almost hostile to the community. It's good to see him gone.

[2:12:33] I hope, uh, Matt Butler can do a good job. I think he will.

[2:12:37] But you're being lied to. You're being— I was here. I was here for 2 months.

[2:12:42] Twice a month. Twice a month, 22 months. I spent a lot of time here.

[2:12:47] Um, you're being lied to. There's no blackmail, there's no extortion.

[2:12:52] Really what's happening— I was asked if I can mention some things, I can't—

[2:12:57] but right now the city is extorting Gilmore.

[2:13:00] They're making him do things that's really cutting below ethics.

[2:13:04] It's, it's it's getting really ugly now.

[2:13:07] This will go to a lawsuit, and this will all come out in the interrogatories.

[2:13:12] Everything will show its face, but I'm just giving you the heads up. That's it.

[2:13:18] Thank you. Thank you. That was the only card. Thank you. Uh, Vice Mayor Johnson.

[2:13:23] Uh, I just wanted to say that, um, uh, Mr.

[2:13:26] Mayor, I'm in a contractual relationship with Biltmore Construction.

[2:13:31] Um, prior to my being elected, uh, City Commission—

[2:13:34] to the City Commission, um, we were awarded the Fire sprinkler work, uh,

[2:13:39] for this building, so, uh,

[2:13:40] I will not be participating in the discussion or the vote. Thank you. Thank

[2:13:45] discussion or the vote. Thank you. Thank you.

[2:13:45] Commissioner Holmes. Um, Mr. City Manager, this $150,000, that's a legal fee.

[2:13:51] Are we suing Biltmore, or are we the defendant?

[2:13:55] Commissioner, we're not engaged in any litigation at the moment, so there,

[2:14:01] there are not parties Okay. What's the $150,000 for then? To have it sitting

[2:14:07] $150,000 for then? To have it sitting there?

[2:14:07] It is an estimate of costs for advice related to resolving construction matters.

[2:14:14] Okay.

[2:14:18] What's the $690,000?

[2:14:20] Is that what we're saying that Biltmore owes us, is the $690,000?

[2:14:24] If you recall from the original conversation a couple months ago,

[2:14:29] that was the amount in the demand that was made to the city by Biltmore Construction

[2:14:36] to cover additional costs. Did we do anything about that or not?

[2:14:40] It's, it's being handled in accordance with the contract, the construction

[2:14:46] with the contract, the construction contract.

[2:14:47] Okay. For now— all right. For now, I'll go along with it. Any other questions?

[2:14:52] I move to approve Ordinance Number 2026-26 on first reading and schedule the second

[2:14:59] reading and public hearing on September 1st, 2026.

[2:15:02] Second.

[2:15:03] I have a motion and a second. Could you poll the board, please? Commissioner

[2:15:08] poll the board, please? Commissioner Lauser?

[2:15:08] Yes.

[2:15:09] Commissioner Holk?

[2:15:10] Yes.

[2:15:10] Vice Mayor Johnson?

[2:15:11] I abstain.

[2:15:12] Oh, I'm sorry. Um, Commissioner Smith?

[2:15:15] Yes. Commissioner Holmes? Yep. Commissioner DiBrizzi? Yes. Mayor Brown?

[2:15:21] Commissioner DiBrizzi? Yes. Mayor Brown? Yes.

[2:15:21] Motion carries 6 to 0. Thank you. City Attorney Allen, anything this evening?

[2:15:28] No, thank you.

[2:15:29] Thank you. Commissioner Lowser.

[2:15:31] So congratulations to our citizen campers and of course our team members of the

[2:15:36] quarter. And so while congratulations to them, I think it's also—

[2:15:40] we'd be remiss to say congratulations or thank you to John, Maggie,

[2:15:45] and Meredy and the rest of the ELT.

[2:15:47] I think the stories that we heard from their write-ups are an attestation to the

[2:15:53] culture that you guys have created.

[2:15:55] Um, so I'm proud of the people that work here, and it seems like they,

[2:16:00] they are proud to be working here.

[2:16:03] Thank you.

[2:16:03] Thank you. Well said. Commissioner Holk.

[2:16:06] Ditto on that, all the way.

[2:16:08] Um, also thank you to all the citizens that came out and spoke tonight.

[2:16:14] Um, hopefully you know that we are listening,

[2:16:18] trying to do our best at answering questions and And getting things done, I,

[2:16:24] questions and And getting things done, I, I'm,

[2:16:24] um, I, I'm really frustrated with the, the Lincolnshire, um, the Donegan Road area.

[2:16:31] You know, when seeing these pictures, to me is like, wow.

[2:16:36] You know, I looked at this one and it's like, oh, there's,

[2:16:40] there's water under there, you know.

[2:16:43] So I, I really hope that we do, um, pursue this quicker than— sooner than later.

[2:16:50] This is something that, you know, I, I was a victim of the flood as well.

[2:16:56] I know what these people have gone through.

[2:17:00] It, it— to put it bluntly, it sucks.

[2:17:04] It's, uh, stressful. It's painful.

[2:17:07] So since they are rebuilt and they are back in their homes,

[2:17:12] I would really hate to see this, um, see them to go through that again.

[2:17:19] It would be awful. So you just need to step it up a little bit there. Thank you.

[2:17:26] Thank you. Vice Mayor Johnson.

[2:17:28] I'm not going to try to improve upon Commissioner Lowser's wonderful, um,

[2:17:32] words of accolade— elation to our staff and our team.

[2:17:35] I do want to say, um,

[2:17:37] just how much I appreciate the City Commission and the discussions we have up

[2:17:42] Commission and the discussions we have up here.

[2:17:42] I particularly was happy that we brought our staff in to address some citizen

[2:17:47] our staff in to address some citizen issues

[2:17:47] we knew were coming forward.

[2:17:49] That was a wonderful move,

[2:17:50] and I appreciate the thoughtfulness that that took to react to that quickly,

[2:17:55] gather the information, be ready to address those comments.

[2:17:59] So thank you for the team, you know, everyone involved with that.

[2:18:03] Thank you. That was really one of the best things I've seen up here.

[2:18:07] It was fantastic. Fantastic. Well done. Thank you.

[2:18:10] Commissioner Smith. I thank the residents for coming out and speaking about, uh,

[2:18:15] Rosary. Um, I hope Jerry can answer questions, and,

[2:18:18] and I will be meeting with them to ask more about these projects.

[2:18:22] I hope you reach out to your county commissioners.

[2:18:26] Any way I could help with you getting a hold of them, um, I would deeply—

[2:18:30] would love to help out where we can all work on one page.

[2:18:34] Um, unfortunately, government in that the thing that government gets tangled in.

[2:18:39] Um, people don't give a damn about who's where jurisdiction.

[2:18:43] They just know it's my property and I want it taken.

[2:18:46] You know, I'm there, I pay taxes.

[2:18:48] Um, so I, I, I hope our staff can and I can work with you to get this solved.

[2:18:53] Uh, also to the New Haven, um, a couple other, uh,

[2:18:56] since we were on stormwaters tonight a little bit, I've kind of—

[2:19:00] and it was addressed a little bit—

[2:19:02] I got some residents that reached out to me to the, uh,

[2:19:05] 101st Street Southeast by the Whataburger.

[2:19:08] It's flooding schools next— I think next week.

[2:19:11] That whole area is— It always does that. It does, but it shouldn't.

[2:19:15] And if it is, we need to figure it out.

[2:19:18] Like I said, the citizens don't care about government.

[2:19:21] They want to know why this is flooding all of a sudden. They want it fixed.

[2:19:26] I mean, to not be able to get your kids back there to school or get into your own

[2:19:31] neighborhood should be something we should be putting on a priority to get fixed.

[2:19:36] So I said I'd bring that up.

[2:19:38] A couple citizens wanted to come speak, but they couldn't make it for our meeting.

[2:19:43] And then the other one is I was tagged in a post about—

[2:19:46] and I know I don't drive in this lane,

[2:19:49] so unfortunately I had to go there last night— on Seminole Boulevard at 8th

[2:19:53] night— on Seminole Boulevard at 8th Avenue.

[2:19:54] When you get to 8th Avenue to turn left by the post office,

[2:19:57] there is a huge dip in that road, almost You catch it in your car,

[2:20:02] almost falls into it.

[2:20:03] That road has been fixed in the past,

[2:20:05] and I would like to just put it on staff's radar to see if we can get either us or

[2:20:10] the—and I know that's a county state road—if we can get that looked at and

[2:20:15] addressed, even if it's just really quickly getting cones out there,

[2:20:19] just or some way to address you know someone's car not falling into it.

[2:20:24] So oh that that again lively discussion.

[2:20:26] I think my commission, like I say, y'all have been very.

[2:20:30] supportive of, of, of things I've asked.

[2:20:32] Um, you know, maybe one day I'll run for Tallahassee, who knows.

[2:20:36] Um, but, um, run for mayor.

[2:20:38] Um, so I, I appreciate this commission being very, uh, thankful.

[2:20:42] And, um, like I say, home rule is something we all cherish and And I say,

[2:20:46] and I like what y'all said, you know, we are a mixture of a community.

[2:20:51] And, um, I, I love, you know, that we could agree to disagree.

[2:20:55] I, I've sat through cities that will—

[2:20:57] I've watched cities who bicker and fight till 12 o'clock at night,

[2:21:01] and they're calling each other names and hating each other.

[2:21:05] And, and, um, I, I think we work really well together, and I appreciate that.

[2:21:10] Um, we disagree, and, and I'll keep championing where I am.

[2:21:13] And, uh, We'll see where it is.

[2:21:15] So I thank this Commission, and moving forward, I,

[2:21:19] I look forward to working for another 4 years to move that needle the other way.

[2:21:24] So thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Holmes.

[2:21:26] Someday you're going to learn that I'm right and you're not.

[2:21:30] Never.

[2:21:30] Piece of cake. Uh, you know,

[2:21:32] there was a theme tonight that it just seems every time we get into these little

[2:21:37] problems, it's always, well, multiple jurisdictions.

[2:21:40] The county's got this, we've got that.

[2:21:42] We got to come up with some magic beans where when these things come up,

[2:21:47] when we're looking at— as we're looking at Rosary, for example,

[2:21:50] and we already knew that at the end of the street that was the county,

[2:21:55] somewhere that should have been addressed at the time.

[2:21:58] But I mean, I'm not finding fault with anybody, I'm not blaming anybody,

[2:22:02] but New Haven's the same thing.

[2:22:04] New Haven, that lake there at New Haven, That's been a problem for decades.

[2:22:09] I mean, I remember probably 15 years ago where somehow or other there was a sewage

[2:22:14] spill there and they came to the city.

[2:22:16] There used to be a sewage spill there every time it rained. Yeah.

[2:22:20] And I mean, that's the whole point is it's there.

[2:22:23] There has to be a way of mitigating that thing.

[2:22:26] And I don't care what it— if we make a deal with the county,

[2:22:29] get the county's checkbook, which would make it really good,

[2:22:33] and just solve these problems. But it just seems to be a recurring theme, you know.

[2:22:38] I mean, there's a problem buying my own house,

[2:22:41] and that's another problem I found out today. Well, it's because that's the

[2:22:45] today. Well, it's because that's the county.

[2:22:46] Well, I said I knew it's the county because I'm the one that called it in

[2:22:50] because I'm the one that called it in ahead of

[2:22:50] time. But it's just— it's a constant thing.

[2:22:53] I mean, I'm meeting with the county commissioner tomorrow, and I'll tell you

[2:22:58] commissioner tomorrow, and I'll tell you what,

[2:22:58] I think I'm just going to beat him up. Please. That'll fix it. That's it.

[2:23:03] I'm done.

[2:23:03] Thank you. Commissioner DeBrisi. I believe in violence.

[2:23:06] Oh my gosh, problems are going last. Um, second to last.

[2:23:10] Uh, you know, not to pile on to what everyone said who said up—

[2:23:13] who already said what I wanted to say, but, um, you know,

[2:23:17] this is one of my favorite meetings. Um, aim higher, set the bar low.

[2:23:21] But, um, you know, for— we hear all the time about, you know, no one, you know,

[2:23:25] they don't listen, you know, we come and talk and they don't listen.

[2:23:29] Well, you know, tonight was a living example that that's not always the case.

[2:23:34] Um, you know, we went off agenda and spent an hour talking about an important issue

[2:23:39] to residents because they came and showed up.

[2:23:41] And so, you know, for the dozens that are watching, I would say—

[2:23:45] I would encourage you to do the same. You know, you have an issue, come here.

[2:23:50] We do listen, and we try to do everything we can to, uh, to address it.

[2:23:54] So thank you. Thank you.

[2:23:55] I wanted to thank the Citizens Campers and congratulate them And hope they have a

[2:24:00] good time at school starting next week. Please drive safe next week.

[2:24:04] There's going to be kids walking to school.

[2:24:06] Congratulations to our team members who are the team members of the quarter.

[2:24:11] Great job. I was going to mention the Eighth Avenue and Seminole Boulevard.

[2:24:15] There's actually in that dip there's fresh asphalt like it was put in in the last

[2:24:20] month or so, and so so I don't know if it's.

[2:24:23] I don't know if it was the state or the county that put the asphalt in there,

[2:24:27] but we need to figure out, you know, somebody's going to fall into that.

[2:24:31] More weight.

[2:24:32] Thank you to the folks from New Haven and Rosary East for coming out and for the

[2:24:38] conversation. And I wrote down something on the back that I heard.

[2:24:42] I saw— I think I saw it on a revitalization website,

[2:24:46] and I think it It speaks to a lot of the conversations that we're having today.

[2:24:51] We have no control over the challenges we inherit, only a duty to improve them.

[2:24:57] And so it's kind of where we are, right?

[2:24:59] And in a lot of cases,

[2:25:01] we're dealing with flooding issues that predate any of us on this board.

[2:25:06] And as Commissioner Holmes said,

[2:25:08] there used to be a sanitary sewer issue that caused overflows We haven't had a

[2:25:13] rain-caused sanitary sewer issue in several years.

[2:25:17] We used to have them almost every day in the summer.

[2:25:20] So there's a lot of things that we need to continue to work on.

[2:25:25] I know that Jerry and his team are very dedicated to repairing the roads on a

[2:25:30] need-based analysis that didn't exist before.

[2:25:33] And a lot of this work has been done in recent years,

[2:25:37] and I think that we're really moving in a good direction.

[2:25:41] I think there is a lot of opportunity to work better with the county and those

[2:25:46] cross-jurisdictional stuff and looking at it from a holistic standpoint because

[2:25:51] there are residents that are affected.

[2:25:54] And whether the canal behind their house suddenly becomes county 50 yards down the

[2:26:00] ditch, it doesn't really matter to them if the water keeps rising.

[2:26:04] So I know that we've improved relationships with the county and with the

[2:26:09] relationships with the county and with the school

[2:26:10] board in recent years,

[2:26:11] but I think we just need to continue to kind of work on that and have a better

[2:26:16] avenue. In fact, like was just stated early on in this,

[2:26:20] if the county doesn't seem to want to do that 100 yards of pavement,

[2:26:25] maybe get some of us to talk to our colleagues on the county side to say, hey,

[2:26:30] can we just, you know, throw a bone here and, and, and,

[2:26:34] and do something that makes sense? I mean, it just makes sense, right?

[2:26:39] So, so, um, I just wanted to read that quote. I elaborated afterwards. But, um,

[2:26:44] quote. I elaborated afterwards. But, um, Mr.

[2:26:45] Kerb, anything this evening? Sure. Thank you, Mayor.

[2:26:48] In regards to the Almorton Road, 103rd Street, um, the infrastructure,

[2:26:53] stormwater infrastructure there is state highways maintained by the state.

[2:26:58] We've already— we will be reaching out with them to coordinate, um, some—

[2:27:03] a solution, hopefully.

[2:27:05] Um, but I do want residents to know that we're aware of the situation and we're,

[2:27:10] we're taking care of it.

[2:27:12] Um, Commissioner Holmes' comment, um, the magic beans are called coins.

[2:27:17] They're usually round and silver. Um, gold ones?

[2:27:20] And need— yes, well, sometimes they need to be gold.

[2:27:23] But gold, um, you know,

[2:27:25] I've been speaking here for several years on the need for regional stormwater

[2:27:30] management because there— again, our creeks—

[2:27:33] the rain doesn't know political boundaries.

[2:27:36] And our streams and creeks and stormwater ditches don't know political boundaries

[2:27:42] either. They cross through multiple boundaries.

[2:27:45] So to me, the true answer is regional approach to stormwater management.

[2:27:50] And that's a big heavy lift in getting all the communities in Pinellas County and

[2:27:56] the stormwater basin to come together and do that.

[2:27:59] But we continue to advance that topic in conversation with our colleagues across

[2:28:05] conversation with our colleagues across the

[2:28:05] county. Other than that, I have nothing further.

[2:28:08] Maybe we should give them Barry's home phone number. Thank you. Any action items?

[2:28:14] What I had was Commissioner Smith's request to contact Pinellas County

[2:28:19] request to contact Pinellas County regarding the

[2:28:19] large dip in Seminole Boulevard at Yeah, I mean,

[2:28:23] that's Pinellas County and/or FDOT because it's right in the middle of both of those

[2:28:28] roads. Thank you. Meeting is adjourned. Y'all have a nice evening.

Largo City Commission Meeting

Transcript