City Council on 2026-09-17 6:00 PM - Sep 17, 2026

At this time, we'll call to order the September 16th, 2026 meeting of the Clearwater City Council. If you wish to address the council tonight, please complete a comment card. Comment cards are located by the clerk seated to the right of the dais. When you call to speak, please hand your card to the clerk. And we may have some folks tonight who have not spoken before at a public meeting. In this meeting, I just wanted to remind all those present of our council rules of conduct for our council meetings. Rule 15 says that any comments that the public wants to make tonight, when you have your opportunity here at the podium, that those comments are to be directed toward the mayor and the council as a collegial body. So there's sometimes a tendency for folks to speak to others up here on the council individually, sometimes on the dais. Sometimes there's a tendency to turn around and address someone else behind them. If you're at the dais tonight in your public comments, please direct your comments to the council. With that, we'll move to item two on our agenda. And tonight, the invocation will be given by Bruce Rector, mayor of the city of Clearwater. And if you could all remain standing for that, I will stay at the microphone for the pledge. And then we will lead you in the Pledge of Allegiance. So please rise for the invocation. Our Heavenly Father, we come to unite with a great sense of gratitude for the people who call this great city home. Thank you for the opportunity for those of us in elected office to serve them. We are so blessed to have that opportunity to serve the citizens of this great city. We're also blessed to live in a country where freedom is celebrated and enjoyed, the freedom to meet as we are tonight, to discuss important community issues, and to help find ways forward that may glorify your name. Help us all here tonight to show respect for one another and patience for one another as we present our comments and our discussions. Our Father, we ask that you give this council wisdom tonight and discernment as we make important decisions for our city and community. Finally, we ask that you protect the staff, all of our city employees, including our first responders, who serve this city so well every day. We ask that you put your guiding and protective hand on all of our staff and their families. And finally, we ask that you direct our actions tonight to continue to make this great city one of the best cities in the United States. Continue to thrive and thrive in a way that glorifies your name. All this we ask in your heavenly name. Amen. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of Allegiance. Before we go further in tonight's agenda, I'd like to introduce our dais. To my far left is our Deputy City Clerk, Nicole Sprague. To her right, our City Clerk, Rosemary Cole. Good evening. To her right, our City Attorney, Owen Kohler. Good evening. To his right, Council Member Lena Tasheda. Hello, everyone. To her right, my immediate left, is our Vice Mayor, Ryan Cotton. Good evening. Welcome out. To my right is Council Member Mike Menino. Good evening. To his right, Council Member David Albritton. Good evening. To his right, our City Manager, Jennifer Poirier. Good evening. To her right, Assistant City Manager, Dan Slaughter. And to his right, Assistant City Manager, Al Battle. With that, we'll move to Item 4.1. Constitution Week Proclamation. Regent Sharon Jank with the Clearwater Chapter, DAR, and Dwight McIntyre, Clearwater Chapter of Sons of America. Approach the podium, please. Whereas September 17, 2026 marks the 239th anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution of the United States of America. And whereas Public Law 915 guarantees the issuing of a proclamation each year by the President of the United States of America designating September 17th through the 23rd as Constitution Week. And whereas it is appropriate and proper to recognize the significance of this document upon its anniversary with patriotic celebrations and readings. And whereas all citizens should not only appreciate but also preserve and defend the principles of American government as expressed in the Constitution. Now, therefore, I, Bruce Richter, Mayor of the City of Clearwater, Florida, on behalf of the Clearwater City Council, do hereby proclaim September 17th through the 23rd, 2026 to be Constitution Week in Clearwater. Thank you for coming tonight, and would you like to say it? Yes. Mayor Richter and Council, Clearwater Chapter, DAR, is going on 94 years in Clearwater. And it's my honor to serve as its regent. It was actually the Daughters of the American Revolution that presented a resolution to Senator William Holland of California in April 21st, 1955, to discuss the observance of Constitution Week. It was then passed by both houses. The resolution was adopted on July 23rd, 1956, signed into Public Law 915, and on August 2nd, 1956, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Clearwater Chapter, NSDAR, thanks Mayor Richter and the Clearwater City Council for recognizing Constitution Week and for all, for your proclamation. Mayor Richter, I'm Dwight McIntyre, President of the Clearwater Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. And we want to thank the city for your support during this past year where we dedicated a Liberty Tree at the Veterans Memorial Plaza in Clearwater. And also, just a few months ago, the dedication of the Patriot Walk in Coachman Park. If any of you have not seen and visited the Patriot Walk, you need to do that before it comes up on November 1st or the 11th or on Veterans Day. I want to thank the city manager for speaking at both of those occasions. And the only thing else that I would like to say is somehow when you find out that we are going to have a presentation, you manage to be out of town. I missed you at that one, but I did have the great pleasure of joining the Daughters of the American Revolution in Constitution Hall in Washington to participate in their national meeting, which was a very impactful organization, and to see our Clearwater Chapter represented nationally. And then I also want to say you support veterans in our community like you did on Tuesday night when you were there for the Welcome Home for the Honor Flight. So many of you were there supporting our veterans who, many of them served in Vietnam, did not get appropriate welcome on the way home. Well, they got that Tuesday night, and you all were there with about 1,000 people to greet them, and thank you for all you do to support veterans throughout our community. Thank you very much. As you can tell by the hair, I will be on the next veterans' honor flight in October. Thank you for coming today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Absolutely. I'll try to catch you if you go a little bit. Thank you so much. Yes, I will for sure. Here's your—oh, yes. Actually, we got two proclamations here. So we got one for the sons and one for the brothers. Wow. Oh, I forgot it. All right. One, two, three. Smile. Two, three. Smile. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good to see you. Good to see you. Good to see you. Good to see you. Appreciate you. Yeah. Have a good evening. Yes, thank you. What's that? My son is—yeah, he's on the— Good to see you. Oh, my son. Thanks. Yes, he did. Thank you. All right. Okay. With that, we moved item 4.2 on the agenda. Find the Good Day 2026 Proclamation, Ms. Melina Allison, Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin. Okay. Well, read the proclamation and then we'd like you to make some comments. Thank you. Whereas the Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin is dedicated to advancing women's leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training. And whereas Find the Good Day, observed annually on the third Thursday of September, encourages individuals to recognize and celebrate the positive aspects of their communities and to take intentional action to uplift others through acts of kindness and service. And whereas this day calls upon us to embrace compassion, celebrate community spirit, and inspire meaningful engagement to build a more connected, resilient, and hopeful communities. And whereas the Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin recently established its headquarters in the city of Clearwater and continues to strengthen the community through partnerships supporting Sunshine Limitless Playground, the Arc Tampa Bay Play Park, Hope Villages of America, Hero to a Child, School of Mental Wellness initiatives and programs promoting leadership and volunteerism and mental wellness. Now, therefore, I, Bruce Rector, Mayor of the City of Clearwater, on behalf of the Clearwater City Council, do hereby proclaim September 17, 2026 to be Find the Good Day in Clearwater and encourage all citizens to participate in acts of kindness, volunteerism, and community service to help strengthen our community. And certainly you are an example of that. So thank you for coming here tonight. Thank you. And for the record, I'm Beth Cardenas. I'm the president-elect, and Emily Paul is one of our members. So good evening, Mr. Mayor and council members. On behalf of the Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin, thank you for recognizing International Find the Good Day with us. Today, Find the Good Day was created by the Junior League as a reminder that even in a complicated world, there was always an opportunity to look for what is good and, more importantly, to create it. Since 1948, the Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin has been proud to do just that in our community. Through leadership training, volunteer service, and community partnerships and programs, our members work to make life better for our neighbors in Clearwater and throughout Pinellas County. But we want Find the Good Day to be bigger than the Junior League. Today, we invite everyone in our community to join us. We invite you to find ways to serve, to thank someone that makes your community better, to help a neighbor, to support a local organization, to look for something good, and then add a little more good of your own. Because optimism isn't simply about seeing the bright side, it's about believing that each of us can make our community a little better. Thank you again, Mr. Mayor and Councilmembers, for joining us in finding the good, and together making a little more of it. Thank you for coming today. Thank you. We'll get this down. What's this down here? Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Yes. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You'll get me here. We've got a photo up here. We've got a fast one with you, so we need to slow down here today. All right, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, with that, we'll move to item 4.3 on the agenda. Annual report detailing the results of all red light cameras, traffic infraction detectors within the city of Clearwater in accordance with the July 2024 legislative changes to Florida Statute 316.0083 Mark Wandahl Traffic Safety Program. Here we go. Good evening, Mayor, Councilmembers, and city staff. I'm Kevin Kline, the Administrative Sergeant for the Patrol Division. I'm here to present the annual verbal report on the red light camera program pursuant to Florida State Statute 316.0083. This report is based off the state fiscal, which began July 1st, 2025, ended June 30th of 2026. The program began in 2012 to reduce red light running crashes, injuries, and fatalities. The original vendor, Red Flex, was acquired by Vera Mobility in 2021. The city renewed a service agreement in 2024 for a duration of five years. We have two intersections within the city with three approaches. Those approaches are Golf the Bay and Belcher eastbound, Golf the Bay and Belcher westbound, and Fort Harrison and Chestnut eastbound. In 2024, legislation changed that any municipality or county that runs a red light program must provide a verbal annual report to their governing body. This cannot be taken in consent. During the reporting year, 17,878 notice violations were issued. 4,783 escalated to the level of a uniform traffic citation. 11,660 were paid. Hearings during that reporting year, 112 hearings were held or requested. 72 were upheld. One was dismissed. 30 are pending final outcome. Each violation carries a fine of $158, and it's broken up as such. $70 goes to the Department of Revenue for their general fund. $10 goes to the Department of Revenue for the Health and Emergency Medical Fund. $3 goes to the Department of Revenue Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Fund. $75 is retained by the City of Clearwater. How that money is used here in the City of Clearwater? It helps run the program itself by paying the monthly fees we have for the camera. It helps pay the salary for our part-time employee that monitors it, and it also pays for the mailing costs for the notice of violations. I want to note that the program is self-sufficient, and it does not impact the general funds. There's a snapshot of all the data together. The Red Light program continues to support the Clearwater's traffic safety mission. It remains in full compliance with Florida State law and in the agreement we have with Vera Mobility. This concludes my annual report. I have any questions? Any questions from the Council? Thank you. Thank you. With that, we move to Item 5 on the agenda. Approve the amendments of the August 31, 2026 City Council meeting. Is there a motion to approve the minutes? So moved. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. We will move to Item 6.1 on the agenda. Approve the annexation initial future land use map designation of residential low RL and initial zoning atlas designation of low medium density residential LMDR district for 209 Canterbury Road and pass ordinances 9926-26, 9927-26, and 9928-26 on first reading. I'm excited to say I have a huge PowerPoint presentation for this annexation for you all tonight just to warm you up. So I'll stick with them back. Thank you. So good evening. Good evening. We've reviewed the materials. So this is a request for voluntary annexation into the city for a .2 acre parcel of land. It's located on the east side of Canterbury Road as shown here, so right there at the intersection with Bernice Drive. The parcel is currently occupied by a detached dwelling, and the owner has requested annexation in order to receive sewer services from the city. The Development Review Committee reviewed the request and is recommending approval as the proposed annexation is consistent with Clearwater 25 and the Community Development Code. Staff determined that there's adequate capacity to provide this parcel of city services. It's contiguous with existing city boundaries as required by Florida statutes. So on the map there, it's just the two properties east that are the only two that are not part of the city? I don't remember how far down Bernice Road goes, but yes, those two to the east there might be, might be more depending on how we're zoomed in. So. Okay. Okay. With that, maybe we get a reading. Ordinance number 9926-26. Ordinance of the City of Clearwater, Florida annexing certain real property located on the southeast corner of Canterbury Road and Bernice Drive, whose post office address is 1209 Canterbury Road, Clearwater, Florida 33764, into the corporate limits of the city and redefining the boundary lines of the city to include set addition, providing an effective date. Is there anyone here from the public tonight that desire to speak to agenda item 6.1? Hearing and seeing none, is there any council discussion? If there's no council discussion, is there a motion? Move to approve agenda item 6.1. Second. All those in favor? One second. You didn't read all three. Yeah. No. Two more. There's three ordinances in history. I didn't know if she was going to speak anymore. Okay. Let me read the other two. Ordinance number 9927-26. Ordinance of the City of Clearwater, Florida and many of the future land use element of the comprehensive plan of the city to designate the land use for certain real property located on the southeast corner of Canterbury Road and Bernice Drive, whose post office address is 1209 Canterbury Road, Clearwater, Florida 33764, upon annexation to the city of Clearwater as residential low, RL, providing an effective date. Ordinance number 9928-26. An ordinance of the City of Clearwater, Florida, amending the zone atlas of the city by zoning certain real property located on the southeast corner of Canterbury Road and Bernice Drive, whose post office address is 1209 Canterbury Road, Clearwater, Florida 33764, upon annexation to the city of Clearwater as low, medium density residential, LMDR, providing an effective date. That's it, right? Okay. Let me ask again, after we've had a couple more readings, anyone here from the public desire to speak to this agenda? Hearing say none now. Any council discussion after the second time we've written? Okay. If not, is there a motion? Move to approve agenda item 6.1. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Agenda item 6.2. Approved a rights of way vacation request from Myrtle Development, LLC. For city rights of ways and alleyway, more particularly described as those portions of Laura Street, a 15-foot platted alley, a North Street, also known as Grove Street, lying east of East Street, also known as East Avenue, and a budding box 14, 15, and 16. In Golden Ewing's second edition recording to the Platt thereof, as recorded in Platt Book 1, page 52 of the Public Records of Hillsborough County, Florida, of which Pinellas County was formerly a part of, and passed Gordon at 9908-26 on first reading. Good evening, Mayor, Council Members. Marcus Williamson, Public Works Director. Item in front of you is the request for a vacation of three platted public right-of-ways. Grove Street and a 15-foot alley are currently unused. Laura Street is currently open to traffic, has public parking, and is maintained. The proposed redevelopment plan for a family entertainment center and required parking spaces is predicated on the contiguity of adjoining parcels. Staff review comments are attached to the agenda item, and we're here if there's any questions. If I could just say a couple things. City Attorney? So, Council, this is going to be the first public meeting out of three for this particular development. The item tonight is just for the first reading of the vacation ordinance, which is the three right-of-ways. Now, there's a couple conditions involving this vacation ordinance, one of which is that the applicant shall obtain a certificate of occupancy for the development, within four years of the execution of this ordinance, which means that if the ordinance were to be executed on October the 1st, they would have to obtain a CO for the entire development in 2030. Also, that the applicant would be responsible for the relocation of any type of utilities within the rights-of-way, at no expense to the city. That the applicant would return to the city any type of request for new easements for existing or new easements. And also that the applicant would be responsible for expenses related to replacing, removing, relocated, any of the railroad crossing signs. I think we'll go ahead and let the applicant present, and then we'll see if the Council has any questions for the staff and then for the applicant. Mr. Mayor, before we get started, can I ask to consolidate our opening and rebuttal time into a ten-minute block of time? What we don't use for opening or rebuttal. Yes, sir. As long as the consent of the Council and no one objects, that's fine with me. I'm sorry. Good evening. My name is Bob Potter. I represent the Church of Scientology as well as its affiliated development company, which is called Myrtle Development, LLC. They jointly submit this application for the vacation of portions of Laura Street, Grove Street, and a small alley, which currently lie between North Myrtle Avenue and Northeast Avenue. Only the Laura Street right-of-way is open to traffic. The purpose of the vacation is to support and facilitate the construction of what we think will be a world-class family entertainment center. It's going to be built on approximately 5.5 acres of vacant land in downtown Clearwater. The vacation of these roads is a contractual contingency with the operator of the FEC. Without the vacations, there will be no family entertainment center. Mr. Mitch Roberts is here tonight. He will speak a little bit further on that in a few moments. We also have Mr. Don Skelton with us. He will talk about traffic and traffic studies. Turning to the development, it's a high-activity, pedestrian-friendly venue. It has to be designed and constructed consistent with current safety and security protocols. Those protocols conclude that open vehicle access through this area will create dangerous access or conflict points between pedestrians and vehicle traffic, and therefore they require controlled entry, controlled exit, perimeter definition, traffic calming devices, and a separation of pedestrian and vehicle movement. Vacating the existing roadways will allow us to build a safe site. It will improve our site control, our ability to control. It will enable access management, and it will create a unified, safe, and welcoming environment. In order for this development to be successful, all visitors have to feel welcome, safe, comfortable, and invited. All affected utility providers have reviewed the vacation application, and they have all provided letters of no objection. The Family Entertainment Center will provide a significant public benefit to the community at large. It will take a vacant land. It will take it and develop it into an active site. It will have commercial activity that we all will desire. The Family Entertainment Center will be entirely consistent with the Clearwater Downtown Development Plan, which seeks, I quote, to make downtown Clearwater an attractive place to live, work, shop, and play. Mr. Roberts. Mr. Mayor, council, good evening. My name is Mitch Roberts. I'm the founder and CEO of Evo Entertainment. And I'll keep my comments brief to allow the expert here with us tonight to present his work and analysis with you. However, I wanted to come out and share some background and maybe clear up some misconception. You know, we at Evo, like any other operator, have what's called minimum site requirements. And, oh, sorry. You know, we've been building these venues for quite some time. And through that experience, we've developed a keen sense of what it takes to make them successful. Safe, sufficient, and frictionless parking is one of those minimum site requirements due to the fact that these venues are regional destinations. The guest experience for us really begins the moment you arrive, and that includes the parking. And, oh, it's a good basin here. Don't be up with the TV. I don't want to take my time here. All right. First and foremost, safe. This is a no-brainer. You know, we cannot have our guests exposed to unsafe conditions when they come to our facilities. Their vehicles need to be safe, and they and their families need to be safe as they move from their vehicle to our front door. We unequivocally cannot have a public street separating our parking lot and our venue. To put it into perspective, can you imagine a family? A car packed full of kids. They're coming in. Those kids are amped up. They've been in the car for 30 minutes. They want to get out and play. Is it reasonable to think that those children are going to stop both ways before they cross a roadway? Maybe sometimes, but certainly not always. So frictionless. That means that parking should never cross a guest's mind as a reason not to visit the facility. You know, we never allow charging our guests to park for our facilities. The parking must always be adjacent to the facility, and the lot should always be easy to find and easy to access. Off-site parking doesn't work for us. Tabletops don't work for us. And garage parking doesn't work for us. Safe, sufficient, frictionless parking is what we know works for us. And that's not just Clearwater. That's all of our venues. All of our venues, existing and under development, require ample, sufficient, adjacent parking for our guests. And as I mentioned earlier, these venues are destinations, which means they generate meaningful attendance from a broad geographic region. Here in Clearwater, we'll pull from Dunedin, Tampa, Sarasota, all of the surrounding communities, and all those people are going to be in their cars. And when they get there, they need a place to park. And look, I feel the energy in the room. I feel the tension. I feel the distrust. And I understand that this issue has been politicized way more than this random theater guy from Texas ever could have imagined. But I want to clear up that this is not a Church of Scientology request. This is a minimum Evo site requirement. And it came directly from me on my very first site visit here as we were walking the site. And I was told about the garages that are downtown. And I was told about street parking. And I was told about the opportunities for off-site parking. But they just don't work for us. And I'm going to say exactly what I expressed to that sentiment to you so you should hear it from me directly. I see this vision for downtown Clearwater. I'm so excited about what it could be. And I would love to help make it happen. But I cannot and I will not make a $50 million investment if the environment for that investment to be successful doesn't exist. So I thank you for your time. And I'll turn it over to our expert. Good evening. I'm Don Skelton. I'm the traffic consultant. So we've heard a lot about why we need these roads vacated. But what does that mean for the surrounding roadway network? We actually did two independent traffic studies to help determine what that would mean for the roadway network. As part of these studies in October or September of 2025, we collected some traffic data at the nine intersections highlighted on your screen as well as some of the segments in this area. We recollected data in 2026 to get some updated counts. And we saw that Laura Street on average carried about 1,100 vehicles per day. And then the alley and Grove Street had virtually zero traffic. Now, 1,100 may sound like a lot, but that's actually a very small number. And it's so low that it can be accommodated in a one-hour time period. The capacity of Laura Street is about 1,250 for an hour, not daily. So what does this vacation do for the roadway network around it, right? That's existing. So we looked in the future, 2031. We grew the traffic volumes by about 10%. We took into account any of the developments that have already been approved and coming in and projects such as EpDOT's True Street project. Okay? The results of the analysis showed that all nine of those intersections are projected to operate at an acceptable level of service with the segments vacated. We also had 13 study segments in this area, and all of them operated at no more than 85% capacity with the segments vacated. We also took into account some special event scenarios like concerts at the Baycare Sound. Over the summer, we collected traffic counts again when there was a concert, and it lined up with the arrival and departure periods. And it turns out that some of the intersections in downtown do experience higher traffic volumes, but our segments that we're proposing to be vacated, they didn't experience higher volumes than they would during a normal peak hour. So that just kind of shows that nobody's using those segments to get to and from special events at the Baycare Sound. We also coordinated with the USPS office because it's right by the site, and the postmaster had said that vacating these segments won't impact the operations. Thank you, and that concludes our opening statements. Ordinance number 9908-26. Ordinance of the City of Clearwater, Florida, vacating certain rights-of-way line in section 16, Township 29 South, Range 15 East, Pinellas County, Florida. More particularly described as those portions of Lower Street, a 15-foot platted alley, and North Street, also known as Grove Street, line east of East Street, also known as East Avenue, and abutting blocks 14, 15, and 16, within Gold and Ewing's second edition, according to the plat thereof, as recorded in Plat Book 1, page 52 of the public records of Hillsborough County, Florida, of which Pinellas County was formerly a part, providing for conditions, providing severance, providing an effective date. Okay. This time, if the Council has questions for either the staff or the applicant, I have a couple questions, but if somebody else has questions, who wants to move first? Okay. Council Member Tichetta. Yes. I reached out to you, Mitch. Where are you? Right there. More than eight times, and I have not had a response. So I'm really happy to have you here, and I would like you to answer those questions at this time. Tonight, actually, I heard a couple of times discussing dangerous access points. Can you please list them for me? What do you consider a dangerous access point when you're talking about the parking lot access and your building? Yes. Councilwoman, you reach out to me after 6 p.m. my time multiple times. I called you back twice, and you continue to call me back after 6 p.m., so I'll make that clear. I'll review my phone records. Okay. I think we have different information. All right. Now, I view a public street as dangerous, as a dangerous access point. So then your front entrance, that corner entrance, what street is that on? That's on Cleveland Street. That's a public street. There's no parking lot across from Cleveland Street. But there will be cars that will be stopping to have people come out of the cars and enter. Do you not feel that that is a dangerous access? The unloading zone is behind the theater in the parking lot. You still have a street that has to be crossed to get the access to the main street. You don't feel that that's a dangerous access. You do not need to cross Cleveland Street from our parking lot. If you're dining across the street, and I want to cross the street to go to the movie, you deem that to be unsafe. Crossing a street to get access to your movie theater you feel is unsafe, right? That's what I'm hearing. Councilwoman, I'm talking about my guests arriving at a parking lot and entering my facility. That is my concern as the operator of the entertainment center. Because you feel that crossing the street from a parking lot you feel is unsafe. I feel like my guests should not have to park in the parking lot from my facility and cross a public street to enter my building. Correct. But you feel that your guests crossing a street from other venues is acceptable? Again, I operate the entertainment center. I don't operate the restaurants. So you're going to have to ask the restaurant operators that question. My concern is my parking lot. Okay. I'm just still stuck at that whole thing. You should ask the restaurant owners. I don't see how that is relevant. But you talk about this is your center, and this is what you request, and you're thinking of the safety of your clients. It is what I require. Yes, what you require. What would be your response if I say, as a city councilwoman, I would like to require for my city the most active streets in an urban setting of a grid, and that I would require that perhaps a different alternative may be considered to maintain east-west access? Our belief is the study showed that this street is not a major thoroughfare, and it won't be impactful to the traffic pattern downtown. So we believe it's a fair compromise for the $50 million investment it's going to require to make that investment successful. That study was basically looking at is it possible. Of course it's possible. It didn't ask the question that I wanted to know, which is why. Why eliminate a street when there's other options? There are no other options for immediately adjacent parking, and that is a site requirement for my concept. I'm hearing no wiggle room at all. There is no wiggle room at all. So you're saying that anything that does not fit your requirement, you're walking away? Councilwoman, I'm saying we have minimum site requirements. That was negotiated at the beginning for my very first site visit, and if those conditions are not met, I'm unable to make that investment. Correct. Who did you negotiate with? With my landlord, Myrtle Development. But the vacations weren't even before us to review when you had those discussions? Councilwoman, I do not need city council approval to sign a lease. That is for now. I will reserve the right to ask again. Any questions for the staff? We'll come back. Vice Mayor, do you want to go next? I mean, yeah, I don't have any questions. Just I'll respond to some of those. Yeah, we're going to do comments, discussion later, but just questions we have. I have no comments. I will save my questions and concerns for that later. Yeah, okay. Right now, it's just questions of either the staff or the presenter. Mayor, thank you. Just one question, Mitch, if you do not mind. If you do not mind, I thank you for being here and take time out of your day and your family's schedule for being here. There was a discussion previous about east-west access and giving some sort of alternative and reprieve. And I believe the solution that was given on a compromise was a right in, right out. Can you discuss that just a little bit? I believe the plan for the parking lot to have east-west access. Largely as an operator, I would prefer that be for exiting folks through the parking lot. But, again, I can't control how the public uses that. Yeah. Or emergency services? Yes. Correct. I think that's Member Albert. Excuse me, Mitch. Mr. Albert, of course. I'm going to make it work for you a while, okay? I just have a comment. I was born and raised here in Clearwater. And to have you come in with this great project, I've never seen anything like this before, and I'm so excited that this is happening because it's going to be a major anchor for our downtown. We're going to see so many other things pop out of the ground just because you're here. And I just wanted to let you know that, that I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thank you, sir. Appreciate you. Yeah. Yes, please. For you, Mr. Mayor, anything. Yeah. You know, first I want to say to what's just been said, for me, this is not about your entertainment center. I mean, you're able to build the entertainment center on the plot of land where it's at. You don't need to close the street to build the actual entertainment center. You're just talking about the parking, the access to the building, and that's what you're saying. But I do have some questions a little bit off of what Councilman Teixeira said. When you say this is the way you do it, have you done this kind of concept in an urban environment similar to what we have here in Clearwater, a downtown area? It looked like the pictures you were showing, it's suburban Texas. It's a big state. It's, you know, land everywhere. And here we're in the most densely populated county in the state of Florida. We are completely built out all over our city. We have to preserve the space we have. So is your corporate requirements because you've just never been in a situation like this, or have you done this in an urban setting? Yeah. Personally, all my facilities are in Texas. I'm a Texas guy. But many theaters have built in urban environments. Other, you know, not urban environments but denser mixed-use developments have done theater deals or entertainment deals with parking garages, and they always depress attendance. I can't tell you exactly why. I think folks maybe just like the ease of access, and that's why it's an important piece for us. But if I'm making a $50 million investment, I need to know that it works for me, and we know that those three things work for me. And that's how I get comfortable. Yeah, but you and I did talk. It's been a while ago. I didn't reach out to you here recently, but, you know, you and I haven't talked since early on. But you did talk about how this opportunity was unique for you because of the proximity to Saltwater, the proximity to Clearwater Beach, one of the top beaches in the United States, even in the world, that this would be a different demographic you would draw from for this, and that there were a number of things you might do differently here than you've done elsewhere. So are there other places where you have asked to vacate a active public street to build one of your venues? Personally, no. Okay. But there are many things we're doing differently here, to answer your question. And I agree wholeheartedly with that statement. One of the biggest draws for us was Clearwater Beach, the tourism that's here, the 15 million people that come in annually. Those 15 million folks that are down at the beach, they're going to be coming in in their cars. They need a place to park and easily enter the facility. That's so important to me. I mean, building the largest screen in the world, that's something I've not done in any of my other facilities. The general design of this space, the exterior facade, the screens, everything about it is spectacular and unlike anything we've done before. But again, there are certain things that I feel I need to make a project successful, and the parking requirement is one of those. Another thing that was said earlier was negotiating, assuming that this street would be vacated. You understand that the citizens of the city of Clearwater own that street. Correct. Yeah. It's not anyone's to bargain or negotiate with. It's their street. So that's the concern here is they're vacating a street that the citizens own and that's actively used by the community now. So it would, you know, the facility that you put forth and the slides and everything looks amazing. And you and I have talked about that. The question is just, you know, we're being very creative in building the building. It's a little bit challenging to understand, with the amount of money, why it's impossible to be creative on working around keeping Laura open in some way. Can you speak to that? Yes, Mr. Mayor. So first and foremost, I understand public street is not anyone's to bargain with other than the public's. This was a development contingency. And if it doesn't happen, therefore the contract is not, is void and if the project doesn't happen. So we understand that there was a process that had to be followed. I don't want any misconceptions there. As far as being creative, parking is just that important to me in how I operate my facilities. And there are some things I'm very willing to compromise on, other things I'm not willing to compromise on. And this happens to be one of those issues. Okay. I do have a couple questions. Thank you, Mr. Roberts. I have a couple questions for the staff. One of the documents that was attached to the agenda item was this vacation internal review. Yes, ma'am. Lots of comments in here about how this is against the downtown planning code and concerns about the loss of Laura Street by the staff and different departments. Is it fair to say this accurately reflects the concerns of the staff for the closure of Laura Street? Yes, ma'am. Those were our staff comments. It's not just traffic. It's, you know, and the other thing, when I looked at the maps that even the applicant put up, there's, other than the parking lot there in Garden Avenue, that's an open space, there's buildings all around this. It's part of our downtown core is we don't have a choice but to try to build up and put buildings on everything we can to, you know, we have a housing shortage. We're trying to get people to live downtown. So, I mean, I think that's one of the concerns here is that a couple of the comments in the staff report were this open space, flat parking lot next to it eats up a lot of space that might be better utilized for the citizens if it were a parking garage or something that was more compact and left open part of that property for other types of development. Is that true? Yes, sir. Okay. That's all the questions I had. Thank you. Okay. Now, you're going to go to the discussion and you wanted to, but I interrupted you earlier, so why don't you go to lead our discussion? Awesome. Thank you, sir. So, I'll just kind of cut in where I was at. Mitch, I apologize for that. Thank you for handling it very well. I'll tell you, when I went to get Mitch's contact information, I found his email. I emailed him and surprisingly enough, he called me three hours later. So, trying to get a hold of Mitch has not been a problem for me. That was early on in the discussion, probably much like the mayor's. I have not spoken to you since, so thank you for being so responsive and I think we had a great conversation, you know, explaining the history of downtown, being a second generation Clearwater, what you're kind of getting into and thanking you for the potential of this opportunity because I think that this is something, especially even during my neighborhoods day, don't expect you to know what that means. Clearwater residents well, but going around to the communities, people had seen the news and the press releases and a lot of young families my age were really excited about what the future of Clearwater could hold. So, thank you for being responsive and easy to get a hold of. Maybe it's me as a first responder and it's my experiences to have seen the things that he is trying to convey of not happening. But, Lena, I know you're a nurse. I want to say that you're a nurse in the hospital system. You'll be able to tell me if that was true, but I have run the calls where children have been hit by vehicles, right? Those are etched in my brain forever. And I would wish that on nobody, not anybody on this dais, but to sit here and question a family entertainment center with young children in such a great example of being excited to go to a place where it has its own restaurant. We know that from the building plans to maybe take your young kids to get a meal, go bowling, hit the rock wall, hit the ropes course, watch a movie. These kids are going to be pumped and to not think that that is out of the cards for them to not look both ways and run across the street and get hit by a vehicle. It's absolutely mind boggling. And I'm sure there's other uniformed officers in here and possibly first responders at the fire department that could attest to horrific things that I've seen. And I'm not trying to go on a sob story with that, but it's an actual legitimate concern. And I take safety to the utmost and extreme level. So that resonated wholeheartedly with me, and I completely understand the atmosphere there. I mean, my kids get excited when it's time to reward them for the monthly behavior and activities, right? Just going to Target to get a reward. I can't imagine the level of excitement that they're going to have going to something like this. So to sit there and wonder about families crossing a street coming from another unattested restaurant is mind-blowing. Obviously, those dangers are going to exist. I mean, anybody can see that. But that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about a specific project, what they're requesting, and why. And again, the safety aspect for me has been shown without a shadow of a doubt. So thank you for going through that. I completely understand. I look forward to the rest of this discussion and seeing where it goes. It could get really spicy, and that's probably why we have the cameras in the back. But that's just mind-boggling. So thank you for being here for that. I am going to take public comment now. I think we'll do that, and then we'll discuss further if that's okay with you. No, I'm done. Yes, thank you, sir. Appreciate it. We'll now take some public comment, and then the applicant will have a chance to offer anything at the end before we discuss it. So with that, is there anyone in here from the public? I doubt there is, but is there anyone here from the public that desires to speak to this agenda item? Summer Tatliji. Hello, everyone. It's fun. So most of you know me. For those who don't, my name is Summer Tatliji. My husband and I own the District Bistro. We have also owned restaurants in a few places. Many of you know this. We've seen you. We've worked so hard to be where we're at to have people come and bring ideas like this to us. This is what tirelessly, day in and day out, we do. We look at each other. We have a walkable downtown that needs more families and more attractions. A family entertainment center is going to bring an entirely new demographic. It will bookcase our downtown. On one end, we have a beautiful marina. We have the Amplitheater. On the other end, we have a family entertainment center. So I think this will be able to join both parts of our town together quite nicely downtown. The family entertainment center is going to increase business for everyone. So I think as the tide rises, everybody goes up with it. We've seen that with the Bay Care Sun. We've seen it with Capital Theater. We've seen it with the festivals. We've seen it with the markets. There's been a lot of initiatives. We've seen how that it does positively impact everyone downtown. Possibly could bring up to one million people a year. That's a crazy number to think about as a restaurant owner, as somebody who has worked on multiple blocks with restaurants in the downtown area. So I think it will be amazing to see all the other businesses who want to join us, who want to actually come and join the growth. This is something that other towns around us have had. We've seen this with them. It's something that our town has yet to experience. I think this is just now starting. So I'm excited to see this. I'm excited to see if we can bring this world-class entertainment center. And now we have two nice things on both ends and all the shops in the middle and the restaurants that we've all worked so hard to grow. So anyway, I just think as we continue to readvise our downtown, I think we'll need to allow the growth to happen, which does mean that we have to change and change how we think about things and find ideas to work towards that growth. Thank you. Dan Mahoney. Hi, council members. My name is Dan Mahoney. And I've been a fully invested member in the downtown Clearwater community for the past two years in a few different ways. One, my brothers and I acquired downtown pizza a couple of years ago come this November. Second, I live on Cleveland Street. I'm also a current parishioner over at St. Brendan's on Island Way. And I've also, for the past nine months, led the group of the merchants on 400 Street, 400 block, with having bans on Cleveland Street with their support and also with that at the DDB. In summary, I fully support all things that make downtown Clearwater a success. For two years, I've seen what happens when you give people a good reason to come here, whether it's a sound show, a cap show, something at Coachman's Park, or the bands that I've been bringing to on Cleveland Street. It's great. Hundreds of people come out to eat, drink, sing, dance. The whole place feels alive. But I would also say that downtown Clearwater is presently event-dependent and it's seasonal. And I think that we need to become more than an event area. We need downtown Clearwater to become a destination. And I think that's what a lot of people in here have been collectively working on. But destinations require anchors. And anchors are significant establishments that are open to the public every day. The sound is great. It's unbelievable. But it's an event place, right? When it's not open, then there's no event there. As contrasted with, if you look from a business owner, the difference between an event-based area and a destination is enormous. Destinations attract people continuously. And becoming a destination means more life on Cleveland Street, more customers for local businesses, and more entertainment choices for all the residents of Clearwater. I see the Ballad Hotel at one end of Cleveland Street and the Evo Family Entertainment Center at the other end as basically being the two anchors of the whole downtown area. With these two anchors, we'll have locations that provide compelling and ongoing reasons for people to come and visit and enjoy an expanded downtown Clearwater. In between the two anchors, people will find many good restaurants and soon a number of mixed affordable retail locations that are in the process of being open thanks to people, not me, but a lot of work by a lot of people. The Evo Entertainment Center will provide many entertainment options, including, which I still find amazing because I'm a consistent theater goer, the world's largest movie screen, bigger than IMAX. It's kind of bizarre. I can only wait to see it. All under one roof. Several movie theaters, bowling, rock climbing, arcade gaming, laser tag, interactive entertainment, and several dining options. As part of the Evo Entertainment Center development, as we've heard, that two roads and a short alley are being asked to be vacated so a 400-car parking lot can be placed directly next to the center. Another meaningful-sized parking lot. Thank you. I'm done in about 20 seconds and I'm done. Your time's up, sir. All right. Done. Please. I think it's in the interest. Your time is up, please. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. All right. Well, good evening, Mr. Mayor, Council, staff. Thank you for having me tonight. My name is Sony Levon and I'm here on behalf of my family, my wife, Nola, who operates Chiang Mai Thai restaurant in downtown just across from Coltrane Park. And just to, at the risk of going over time at the end, underscore how important this is for us. You've got a fat man over 40 getting in a jacket to stand in the Florida sunny humidity for the possibility to talk to you. So that's how important this is to us. And with that, I express our strong support for the evil project and the necessary street closures to make that a success. Now, Clearwater has been our home for over 40 years and half of that time was spent, is spent as one of the longest running businesses in downtown of nearly 20 years. So that makes us true stakeholders in the future of this city. We've been present throughout most of the incredible change in downtown. Started with the challenge of the moving of the bridge, certainly, and the aftermath, but also the incredible work from the CRA and DDB teams to bring fantastic events like the last Friday's boat shows and countless other community activities into fruition. But that suddenly was stopped by COVID, which happens certainly, I guess, but that just simply allowed us as businesses to demonstrate our resiliency as well as downtown's adaptability in creating the walker friendly environment that we have today. But simply having a walkability destination alone just isn't enough. A successful vision of anyone for thinking of downtown requires a reason to stay and spend money locally and have a reason to return and do it again. Evil can fill that gap. Downtown needs a consistent year-round entertainment destination that few others in that industry are equipped to provide. We've had Clearwater Jazz and organizers like Saucy Queen that are key parts of local culture. Just last month, we hosted at Cochin Park the Mega Night Market. Okay, that's probably the largest attended event since before COVID. I had a chance, countless opportunities to engage the public there, and most of them, 9 out of 10 actually, are basically the same. This is a fantastic food experience. What else is there to do? I can't sell them more rice. They're already full. But all I can say in return is, EVO is coming. EVO is coming. I would say, though, EVO sounds too much like EVO. Maybe work on that. But that's the deal. Anyway, that being said, that weekend basically reinforced the simple truth. Downtown requires a balance. We need events that bring people and give them a reason to stay. To spend locally. And again, return for more. EVO is simply that destination. And I respect the concerns and perspectives that you will hear tonight. They certainly deserve full consideration. But from the viewpoint of a long-time business owner and a long-time resident. Thank you. The benefits fall out of the way the loss of two streets. Thank you. Thank you. Craig Ferrara. Next speaker. Look, I'm not trying to be overly tough. But if you go over your time, you're cutting into somebody else's time. So when that light hits red, please respect others and conclude your comments. I'm a minute and a half. All right. Hello, Mayor. Council members. Staff. Excuse me. My name is Craig Ferrara. And I'm glad to be here speaking to a resident of downtown Clearwater. I've been coming to Clearwater since the 70s. How's that? Five years ago, I moved here with my daughter, her husband, and her two children because I saw Clearwater as a good place for our family to live and grow. I also run and own two businesses in Clearwater, a training and consulting business and a software company. My consulting business employs about 10 family residents that live in Clearwater themselves. We also bring clients from all over the country and train medical private practice owners on how to run their business. That's what my business does. When our clients come to Clearwater, I want them to enjoy being here beyond the time that they spend with us. The EVO Family Entertainment Center will give them another major reason to spend time downtown with their families. This kind of destination can make the overall experience of coming to Clearwater much better. Not only for my clients, but for the families who may travel with them. It also gives those who we all bring here more reason to spend time in downtown Clearwater and experience the shops and businesses already here. What makes this even more exciting is that EVO is being created through private investment, without taxpayer money or city funding. I would personally use it with my daughter, my grandchildren and clients and my wife. And I believe it would add something important to the downtown experience. I ask that you approve the street request and I thank you for your time. And I hope to see you at the EVO. Andrew Ruffo. Andrew Ruffo. Andrew Ruffo. Andrew Ruffo. Good evening, Mayor, Council Members. My name is Andrew Ruffo. And for 15 years, I was the general manager and president of Francis Wilson Playhouse up the street. Currently, I'm a mentor mentoring local business owners through SCORE, which is a nonprofit funded by the SBA. And I'm here tonight to support the EVO Family Entertainment Center. I truly believe this project will be a huge win for Clearwater, giving our entire community a great place to gather and enjoy downtown. But what makes this even better is that it is a $50 million investment that's completely privately funded, no cost to the tax. But to make this vision a reality, the project needs the city to vacate and integrate the internal roads within the development area. I urge the council to vote yes on vacating these roads and support this private investment in Clearwater's future. Thanks, sir. Next speaker, please. Chelsea Gerd. Hello, Mayor, Council Members. My name is Chelsea Gerd. I have lived in Clearwater for the last 14 years. And I'm here to support the street vacation needed for the EVO Family Entertainment Center. I'm a mother of three boys. We regularly take walks. We ride our bikes. We go to the park, to downtown Clearwater. And having a family-friendly destination nearby where we could see a movie, eat together, have birthday parties, and spend time as a family is very much needed and very much wanted. And I know that for other Clearwater families as well. I'm also the president of the Plaza Park Neighborhood Association, which is the closest neighborhood to downtown Clearwater. What happens there directly affects our residents, our quality of life, and the businesses we use. Essentially, downtown is our neighborhood's backyard. When I bought my home in Plaza Park, it was located in a blighted area. Through many years of work, our neighborhood is now more engaged and a place we are proud to call ours. As downtown continues to get revitalized, it is making a positive effect directly in our neighborhood. With EVO only minutes away from us, our city will be flooded with life. It will become a destination I can visit with my family for all types of entertainment. For more than 10 years, I have volunteered throughout Clearwater. I have helped establish and strengthen neighborhood associations, served with the Clearwater Neighborhoods Coalition, which you all know, organized community improvement projects, and worked to build stronger relationships between residents and city leaders. In doing this, one of the important topics that has come up is downtown Clearwater and its revitalization. With the ongoing restoration happening throughout downtown, and of course with the news of having EVO, that revitalization is happening right now and has overwhelming support from myself and everyone I have spoken to. I request that you back up the transformation of downtown, and I fully support the street vacations needed for EVO. Another point just to safety, I'm currently planning my almost five-year-old's birthday party. You can imagine you have a time spot of 12 to 2. 40 kids show up at one time with 40 parents, probably with siblings. You're trying to get into the entertainment center. You have to cross a road. It's just not safe to do that. Thank you. Thank you. Frank Law. Thank you. Hello, Mayor, Council members, and staff. My name is Frank Law. I live in Clearwater with my family. My wife and I work in Clearwater, and our two children go to school here. For these reasons, I'm very invested in Clearwater, and I want to help improve it any way that I can. I want to speak to you today to share my perspective on why I believe these street vacations are a necessity for the EVO Family Entertainment Center. I was originally formally trained as a close protection specialist, which is a fancy word for a bodyguard. And I had a 12-year career working for some of the world's most prominent people in industry, entertainment, and in government. And I'm currently working in physical security management. So part of working in security means mapping out routes, including entrances and exits to buildings and large facilities. From a security perspective, I believe vacating these streets is an absolute necessity. Without the vacations, there would be an active roadway running between the parking lot and the entertainment center. In security, you generally want space and physical barriers between vehicle traffic and the immediate areas outside of entrances and exits. The purpose is to create separation and reduce the ability of vehicles to approach those areas directly. People working in my field are trained to think ahead and identify potential problems before something happens. I would hate to see an avoidable accident occur because a foreseeable safety concern was not addressed early on. My children are very excited about spending time at EVO when it opens, and I'm sure we're going to spend a lot of time there. When we do, I want to make sure it's a safe and enjoyable experience for every family using the center. Based on my experience in security, as well as my perspective as a Clearwater parent and resident, I ask that you approve the vacation of these streets so the EVO center can proceed as planned. Thank you very much. Next speaker. Sherry Van Hootingen. Good evening. My name is Sherry Van Hootingen. I live about three quarters of a mile from where we're standing tonight. Close enough that I walk downtown, I shop downtown, and I have built my career serving the small businesses here. I'm a master bookkeeper, and for years a good number of my clients have been right here in downtown Clearwater. I've seen their books in the slow months and the good months. I know what it actually costs a small shop or restaurant to keep its lights on and what it means when foot traffic finally grows instead of shrinks. So when I say I care about this downtown, I don't mean it as a talking point. I mean it as someone who has sat across the table from the coffee shop owner making payroll, the boutique trying to make rent, the restaurant that barely survived the pandemic. Their success is my business too. When downtown thrives, we all do. That's why I'm here to support the proposed street vacation for the new EVO Family Entertainment Center. I know a street vacation is a real trade off and it's fair to ask hard questions about it, but look at what's being proposed. With a seven story tall screen, this will be the largest in the world right here in our downtown. That doesn't just add a venue. It makes Clearwater a destination instead of a stop on the way somewhere else. It means families driving in from three counties over, date nights and weekend evenings that stretch past 6 p.m. A downtown that's alive after dark. As a bookkeeper, I think in numbers, a venue like this brings sustained foot traffic, not for one weekend, but every week year round. That traffic doesn't stop at the theater doors. It walks to the restaurant next door, stops at the boutique, parks near the coffee shop for a second cup before the show. Every one of my downtown clients benefits when more people are here more often, spending more time. I'd ask you to weigh the trade off of these streets against what we stand to gain. A landmark that puts Clearwater on the map, an economic engine for every small business within walking distance, and a downtown my neighbors and I are proud to call our own. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. Sasha Pellet. Sorry. I'm sorry. I tried. Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. My name is Shachal Pellet. I'm a Clearwater resident, voter, and community member. I own businesses in healthcare and tech. And through my work, I get to speak with people in cities all over the world. My wife and I moved here two and a half years ago from Los Angeles, a place with great food and a lot of activity. We've been coming to downtown Clearwater at least once a year for the past 10 years. And when we finally decided to move, we chose Clearwater because of the potential we saw. At first, I knew we made the right choice, but there were aspects of the city that I missed, mainly having attractions and things to do all around me. It was more on the quiet side when we moved here, but over recent times, our city has built up quite the momentum. At the height of that momentum was the announcement of the Evo Family Entertainment Center. Having a $50 million private investment come around that brings seriously good entertainment to our downtown district, including the biggest movie screen on earth, is an epic opportunity. People will have a place to go and enjoy downtown after work or class. And I'm personally looking forward to a more vibrant, family-oriented downtown. That is exactly the kind of progress my wife and I hope to see when we chose Clearwater. We're planning to build our own family right here, and I would love to have an entertainment center like Evo just minutes from our home, a place where we could someday take our kids. I hope the council will support this investment and vote yes to vacate the small roads on this development lot. Thank you. Jill Hagan. Hello, Mayor, City Council members. Thank you for your time to hear my comments. My name is Jill Hagan, and I have lived in downtown Clearwater for 30 years. The first 25 of those were in the 500 North Osceola building. In the last five years, I've lived in the Marina Bay 880 condos. I am certainly familiar with the downtown area. One of the best things that happened was the opening of the Capitol Theater and Clear Sky. My husband and I became regulars at Clear Sky, and it was our first go-to restaurant, especially since we could walk there. Since then, now we've got the Thai restaurant. We've got Soul Sicilian Fusion, which me and my husband call Nello's. And we also have tequilas. We've got pizza. And now we've got the awesome district bistro in New Boat. This is exciting. We've become frequent visitors there, too. A few years ago, when my husband and my sister and her husband visited us from Alabama, we took them to Clear Sky. We sat outside, had such a pleasant evening, that later when they came back to visit with other friends, they took them to Clear Sky. Now, Coachman Park has also been a wonderful draw to downtown and the source of many Saturday mornings enjoyed by me and my husband. But now that the Evo Family Entertainment Center is in the downtown plans, I couldn't be more excited. I think Evo can became the major anchor for downtown and give people more reasons to spend more time there. Instead of driving to Dunedin, Safety Harbor, St. Pete, Lord help, all over the bridge to Tampa for restaurants and entertainment, my husband and I can stay right here in Clearwater. Now, I'd also like to say that I am impressed that these plans do not even require city funds. The plans as they are laid out should be supported. And I would just say, hurry up. My husband and I can't wait. I understand the vacation of a few streets is being requested as part of the planned development, and I hope that you will approve that request. Thank you. Next speaker. Emily Angus. Good evening, council members. My name is Emily Angus. I'm a mother, a business owner, and a Clearwater resident. I have three beautiful girls, and one of the things I'm most excited about with the Evo Family Entertainment Center is what it will mean for our family. My girls are still young, so we are very fortunate that we have family come and visit us often. We love spending that time together, and I already picture Evo becoming a place where we'll make happy childhood memories for them. My family also loves movies. So, we have a tradition of going to movies over Thanksgiving and Christmas break, if we decide there is actually a movie worthy of the drive. So, there's something really exciting and really special for me about having that kind of experience right in our own backyard. We can meet up here in Clearwater, see a movie together, and make those family memories close to home. As a mother, that means a lot to me. I want my girls to grow up in a community where they can have fun and try new things, right here in their own city. I don't think I need to paint the picture of why we don't want an active road between the parking lot and the center. There will be thousands of people there on any given week. What's going to happen when hundreds of them walk out of a movie all at the same time and need to walk over to the parking lot. Let's invest in our city with one of the greatest destinations possible. And let's make it safe. Let's make it inviting. Let's make it fun. I'll use it as a resident, a mom, and a business owner, and so will many other Clearwater residents. So, I'm asking that you support this project and approve its road vacation requests. Thank you. Tina Schaffner. Good evening, Mayor and Council members. My name is Tina Schaffner. I've lived in the area for 30 years. I'm here tonight to share my perspective and why I'm so strongly in support of bringing the Evo Family Entertainment Center to Clearwater. I am an entrepreneur and I've helped to create several multi-million dollar businesses in women's fashion accessories and cosmetics. In fact, my product line was featured in over 80 of the top malls in the country. Each mall's rental contracts were value based on the quality of the anchors in the mall. I have personal experience in what it takes to procure a successful retail location, run retail stores, and also the flip side. What could make a retail location struggle? One thing I recognized during a time of my peak success was that the locations that were most sought after had the most upscale department stores. The quality of the anchors and the surrounding restaurants, hotels, and entertainment could make or break the retailers. That's a key point. Due to the attractions in the area, this also allowed higher rents to be paid and people would be on a waiting list to get a location. What a great problem to have for Clearwater, right? In essence, we can make this city an iconic location in every aspect, and I would love that. I also have six children, two stepchildren, and nine grandchildren. Let's focus on that for a second. I have great pride in my large family. My husband, John, is a computer programmer for some of the largest banks in the world and an avid rock climber. Let that soak in. I consider myself lucky that all of my children, their spouses, and their kids live in Clearwater proper. Actually, many of my grandchildren attend schools in the downtown area. When you add it up, it is 21 members of my family living in our community. Clearwater is a very important location to me, and its success is near and dear to me. It is my dream as a mother and grandmother that this city gets the revitalization with EVO anchoring this beautiful downtown. And I ask the council to support this investment. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next speaker. Alexander Vazluko. Hello, everyone. My name is Alexander Vazluko. I'm from Ukraine. Sorry for my English. I'm still learning. Two years ago, I started to run a business on Cleveland Street. And step by step, we created Nubo. I'm invested in the city. I run my business here. And I'm very excited about EVO Family Entertainment Center. It will be a very famous project. And it will be like a pearl in Clearwater. When something beautiful and important comes in area, it can change everything around. People start to come here. Real estate becomes more popular. New business and new construction start to come. I saw this happen in Ukraine. I saw our country changed and rebuilt after Soviet Union, before this terrible war started. I believe the same market rules work here in the United States. When these big projects become real, the EVO Entertainment Family Center will be the anchor of downtown Clearwater. It will bring new businesses, new investments, and new life here. And I really believe this can be a very important step for the future of the city. I shared this information with my employees. The news about the biggest cinema in the world. They were very excited because it will mean more traffic and increase our business. And if you have more visitors, we have to add new employees, and we have to pay more taxes. It will directly affect our future. And when my employees found out I was going to speak to you, they asked me to support this project. I understand it's not my place to tell you what decision you make, but I would like to ask you to consider our opinion and vote yes. Thank you for your time. Thank you for the opportunity to develop. Thank you. Next speaker. John Buckley. Good evening, Mayor, Council Members, and everyone here tonight. My name is John Buckley. I first came to Clearwater in 2003 to visit. What started out as occasional trips and vacations gradually became something more. Year after year, I found myself returning because I genuinely enjoyed being here. In 2017, I made the decision to move my family to Clearwater permanently. Today, Clearwater is home. My son attended school here and graduated from high school in Clearwater. Watching him grow into a happy, successful young man has only strengthened my appreciation for this community. For more than 25 years, I have owned a company focused on helping people improve their health and well-being. Beyond my business, I have spent nearly three decades volunteering. I believe strong communities are built by people who are willing to contribute their time and energy to helping others. I feel I can speak on this issue due to my past experience. Earlier in my life, I served as a councilman and vice chair of the Economic Development Advisory Committee in a historic town in New Jersey. Our urban design plan won several awards. From these experiences, I have found that investments in major destinations for a community like Clearwater are very rare opportunities. The fact that Dolby and Evo chose Clearwater to build the first all-Dolby theater with seven individual theaters and the largest movie screen in the world is something we should be very grateful for. We only have to look up the street to see how successful it was when Dunedin partnered with private investors to revitalize the downtown. Let's mirror their successful actions. Clearwater deserves it. Our businesses will thrive because of it. And most importantly, our families will love it. By supporting this project, you are supporting the future of downtown Clearwater. Thank you. Elena Robertson. Hello, Mayor and Council members. My name is Elena Robertson. I have lived and worked in downtown Clearwater for the last 21 years. My husband and I own a pressure washing company. And over the years, we have cleaned many driveways, buildings, and roofs throughout downtown Clearwater. We also have volunteered during every local hurricane since 2009. So this community means a lot to us. I also have two children, ages 26 and 12. And finding things for me to do the whole family, to do together, and it was not always an easy part. A lot of time, we have to drive 20 minutes or more to places outside downtown, even outside Clearwater. Having Evo just a few minutes from our home would change that completely. We could walk over, see a movie, or go bowling, and spend an evening right here. And because I personally love the movies, I have to admit I'm especially looking forward to see this largest movie screen in the world in downtown Clearwater. But I also look at Evo as a business owner. A project like this will bring a lot of more people to downtown. They will come to Evo and then eat locally, visit another business, or walk around the Cleveland Street. Some people may even decide they want to live here because there is more to do. I've already seen a lot of people move into this area as downtown is transforming. And I feel this will only continue. That is good for every business in downtown. After 21 years living and working here, I'm very excited to see downtown continue moving in this direction. So tonight, I ask the council to support the street vacations being requested for the Evo Family Entertainment Center project. Thank you. Jessica Furman. Good evening, city council members. My name is Jessica Furman, and I'm a homeowner here in the city of Clearwater. My husband works in software engineering in an office right here in downtown. And we also have two children, a six-year-old and an eight-year-old, who attend school here. I am a Girl Scout leader for a Clearwater-based troop that volunteers in this community doing regular park cleanups, helping with the say no to drugs race annually, and other activities like bringing donated cookies to our local heroes at the downtown police department and fire station 45. As a mother of two kids trying to survive Florida summers year after year, I can tell you that there are simply not enough indoor activities for kids and families throughout Pinellas County. When the weather is too hot or rain is pouring outside, I usually drive my kids to St. Pete or Tampa for the nearest children's museums. We often go all the way to Oldsmar or down to Seminole to see movies, not because we want to leave downtown, but because these are the most practical choices. Because of this, the Evo Family Entertainment Center is incredibly exciting for my family and our friends. It will provide a space close by where we can escape the heat and humidity and enjoy ourselves just a few minutes away from home. I would take my kids there for movies, but also for rock climbing, bowling, and to have a fun time with their friends. I can easily see us attending birthday parties there for local kids and their families. And it's not just something for kids. I would happily go to Evo for date nights with my husband or movie nights with friends. I wholeheartedly support what a center like this will add to life in downtown Clearwater and my family and I cannot wait to get our tickets as soon as it opens. I sincerely hope the Council will support this investment in the future of Clearwater. Thank you for your time. Diane Stein. Hello, City Council. My name is Diane Stein. I am a native Floridian and I have been a resident of Clearwater for the past 24 years. I fell in love with Clearwater from the first time I came to visit, the first time I came here. Just love it. I have worked downtown since I moved here. First as an employee and later as a business owner and currently as the head of a local nonprofit. Over the years, I have worked to help Clearwater and downtown succeed. When I owned my business, I completed Leadership Pinellas and the Pinellas Sheriff's Citizens Academy. I'm also one of the founders of a women's business group called Achievers. As part of giving back to my community, I was part of the team that brought the Superboats to Clearwater. I also promoted Blast Friday, the monthly celebration held right here in downtown Clearwater. All of those efforts had something in common, giving people reasons to come together, spend time here, and become more connected to Clearwater. I see the Evo Family Entertainment Center as an important opportunity for the downtown district. I believe in downtown and have strived to make it a place where people want to come and hang out. I know from experience that in order to make that happen, there have to be reasons for people to come downtown. Restaurants are great, and I love them. And being able to walk to the marina after dinner is wonderful. But Evo brings something that those activities do not. A reason for both visitors and residents to hang out downtown any day of the week. It is a place for families that will bring more activity downtown and will also benefit the businesses around it. After spending so many years working to help build activity and community in Clearwater, I see Evo as a major step in that same direction. I feel this is a positive opportunity for Clearwater, and I ask the Council to support this investment into the future of downtown. Thank you. Tara Seidel. Hello, Mayor and Council Members. My name is Tara Seidel. I could speak to you as a business owner or as a board member of my homeowners association, among other things. But today, I wanted to speak to you as a Clearwater resident about why I support the Evo Family Entertainment Center. You see, I have an adventure club in Clearwater, a free group open to whoever. We've probably had around 250 people over the past year participate in some fashion. You name it, we do it. Kayaking, scallop diving, rock climbing, and adventure movies up at the AMC in Oldsmar. We also recently went axe throwing at the new Hatchet Hangout in downtown Clearwater. And we're always looking for new things to do. But aside from that and beach activities, there's not much for us to do near downtown, especially on rainy days. So I think the future Evo Family Entertainment Center will be huge for our adventure club and for the entire community. Everyone is talking about the largest movie screen in the world, which is amazing in itself. But it goes one step further because every single theater has Dolby Vision and surround sound, which totally blows away what you find in a normal theater. So personally, I'm excited to have entertainment options downtown. It would also save me and my friends a lot of driving time and gas money that we'd then be able to spend back in the Clearwater community, getting dinner, shopping, hanging out, enjoying ourselves downtown. I'd like to ask the council to approve the request for those two roads and alley so Evo can come to life right here in our own backyard. Thank you. Thank you. Ferdinand Haig. Hello, Mayor and Council. My name is Ferdinand Haig, and Clearwater has been my home for the past 30 years. I have a wonderful wife who I've been married to for 16 years, and we have two amazing boys who also proudly call Clearwater home. I currently own and operate four businesses across the IT, golf, and fitness industries, of which several are here in Clearwater. So I understand firsthand the importance of having a community where businesses can succeed and families want to spend their time. About five months ago, I became aware of the Evo Family Entertainment Center. As soon as I heard about it, I was incredibly excited about what it could mean for our community. Having lived here for 30 years, I've watched Clearwater change dramatically. I remember when Cleveland Street was the primary route in and out of Clearwater. And I also remember the changes that came with the new bridge and the resulting reduction in traffic throughout downtown. Over time, that made it more difficult for many downtown businesses to succeed. That is why I'm so optimistic about the news I've heard regarding revitalizing downtown Clearwater. The beach is one of the things our city is best known for, and I would love to see downtown develop that same sense of excitement. A place people are eager to visit rather than simply just pass through. I envision a downtown with enough activity and entertainment to keep people here for an entire afternoon or evening. Right now, there simply is not enough to keep them in downtown for very long on any given day. I'm excited to take my family downtown, see a movie at an incredible theater, let my kids enjoy the arcade, and then have dinner together before or after the movie. That is the kind of experience I want for my family. And I believe the Evo Center can help bring that kind of activity back to downtown Clearwater. For these reasons, I strongly encourage the City Council to support this request and help create a downtown where families want to spend time, businesses can thrive, and residents can be proud of what is being built. Thank you. Next speaker. Federica Boca. Hello, City Council members. My name is Federica Boca, and I've lived in Clearwater for eight years. I came as part of the downtown retail community to share why I support the upcoming Evo Family Entertainment Center. My family owns an Italian boutique just up the street in downtown Clearwater called Daffin Dream. I've gone to work with my family and run the store. We've been open since 2019 and have seen downtown change a lot since then. More recently, there has been significant growth with a lot of new things coming to the area that's putting attention on Clearwater. Because we're a retail store, we benefit a lot when there are more people walking around and more tourists coming throughout the area. There's more happening during spring break and the summer. But honestly, it's been slower in some of the other months. If downtown became a destination, I'm absolutely certain that my family's business and all other merchants in the area would benefit. More people would come through. They would get dinner, shop, see a movie, and walk around the district. Throughout the years, we've seen the different waves of tourists coming in and have seen what attracts them to downtown. I can tell you that just from what's happening on Cleveland Street over the last several months, we've seen a big difference. There's more interest in the area. And I think this new entertainment hub will increase profits from many other businesses around us, which increases mutual growth. As a resident myself, I've always wanted more of my family and friends from Italy to come visit this beautiful town of ours. And Evo might be the reason they do finally book a trip here. I hope to see this project accomplished for a brand new Clearwater. Thank you all for your time. And now I ask the Council to likewise support this project and approve the road vacation request. Thank you. Todd Wilson. Mayor and Council members, my name is Todd Wilson. My family and I moved here to Clearwater in 2017, and I can only describe it as one of the best decisions of my life. We love it here, and I can't imagine living anywhere else. The city already has lots to offer, including recreation centers that I use several times a week to swim. I work as a mortgage loan officer right over in the atrium building on Cleveland Street. I like working downtown because it's a great central location with lots of places to park and places I can get food. Also, I'm very excited about all the new businesses that are coming in the near future. What I think is still missing downtown is more to do after the regular work day ends. The Evo Family Entertainment Center would be a huge addition because it gives people who work downtown along with city residents and their families somewhere to go in the evenings and on weekends. With the largest movie screen in the world, a very cool bowling alley, and all the other activities planned for the center, Evo will increase the number of Clearwater residents coming downtown regularly. For people like me, it will also give us a reason to stay downtown after working hours. It will also be a beacon for visitors. Knowing that we have the biggest movie screen in the world and hearing us all brag about it, visitors will insist on seeing a movie there. Then they will go out and visit other local shops and restaurants, creating a lively area for everyone to enjoy. On top of all that, this new project doesn't require a single penny from taxpayers. It's completely privately funded. Part of building this site means vacating two small roads and an alley, but what we get is a destination for our city. Please approve this request so we can make the Family Entertainment Center a reality. Thank you. Santiago Lampon. Good evening, Mayor. Good evening to the City Council. My name is Santiago Lampon and I'm originally from Puerto Rico and I have been a Clearwater resident for the last 11 years. I have been a lawyer licensed in Puerto Rico since January of 1993. Most of my practice there involved real estate and helping small business owners acquire property and expand their businesses. Most of the work I did for my clients was tourism related. I've always taken pride in having long term clients and sharing their successes, while also helping them through the difficulties that come along the road to success. From that experience, I learned that one of the most important factors affecting a business is the condition of the community around it. Businesses benefit when there is activity nearby, when other businesses are succeeding, and when people have reason to spend time in the area. This is why I'm here to share the value I see in building the Evo Family Entertainment Center right here on Clearwater Street. Now, looking at it simply as a Clearwater resident and consumer, whenever I want to go to a movie theater, I usually drive to Seminole or sometimes to Tampa to enjoy a large screen theater with high quality sound. This means that my money goes to businesses outside of Clearwater. Evo will bring that kind of experience directly to the downtown district along with many other entertainment options and benefits. But from my experience working with businesses, I also see something larger. Evo can become the anchor that helps the businesses around it succeed. I can only imagine how much easier it becomes for restaurant owners and shops when there are more reasons for people to come and spend time downtown. Regarding the request before the Council, I understand that it is part of the planned layout for the site and the parking lot. Having that space will make the venue function safely and efficiently, which is why I asked the Council to approve the vacation request for this project. Thank you for your time. I apologize ahead of time, Allison Toda. Thank you very much. Dear Mayor, Council members and staff, my name is Allison Toda. And I wanted to tell you why, as an artist and as a Clearwater resident, I strongly support the Evo Family Entertainment Center. I moved here four years ago from Paris, France, after I met my husband, and I really fell in love with what I call the tropical Florida lifestyle. I really love it. As well as the incredible community I found here amongst my neighbors, restaurant shop owners. And of course, I love the beach, the stunning sunsets out here. And my husband and I are both from the entertainment industry where I have been working as a dancer and choreographer for over 15 years. So we both know that culture and the arts are the beating heart of any city. That's my experience. We love seeing people get excited to go to a concert, go see a festival, pack their bags to go see a show or a place somewhere. Paris, where I was born, is one of the most visited cities in the world. Partly because of its beauty, but partly because of its iconic monuments and destinations. These sites funneled people into Paris bustling streets, into their restaurants, into their stores, into their cafes. Ever since I heard about the Evo Center, I've been really excited. I kept imagining what this project could do for Clearwater. I imagine the beauty of Clearwater Beach paired up with an iconic destination right in downtown Clearwater. A location that would drive people into unique stores, dining along Clearwater Street. I imagine something really, really beautiful, really, truly unique. It's also a place that my husband and I just personally are really looking forward to. Just for ourselves, because we love cinema. Who doesn't? We live here in downtown Clearwater and I imagine ourselves walking down at night, down to Evo in the evenings, weekends, with our friends, neighbors, grab a bite, watch a movie, go bowling, enjoy an amazing night out right here. I think this could be the beginning of something truly spectacular, something that would add to the identity of Clearwater. So I hope the Council will approve this request and help make this center a reality. I thank you very much. Thank you. Dina Greenway. Hello, Mayor Rector and Council members. I'm Dina Greenway and the neighborhood I live in is really close to downtown. I love our neighborhood and I love Clearwater. And I'm here to share with you what I love about the Evo Project. There are many things, but basically I'm just blown away at the idea of a world-class entertainment center I can actually walk to. Thirteen years ago, I came to Clearwater from Ann Arbor where I'd spent many years living near the University of Michigan campus. We walked everywhere to cultural events, restaurants, gallery openings, concerts, lectures, and especially the Michigan theater, an historic theater near and dear to all Ann Arbor. Being able to walk to the new Evo family entertainment center not even half a mile from our home is a dream. I love to watch films on the big screen, but traipsing to a mall has never been a draw for me. Imagine being able to walk a few blocks and experience the tallest, widest movie screen in the world with the most phenomenal sound system. Unbelievable. Beyond my personal enthusiasm for this project, Evo will bring a major entertainment destination into the everyday walkable life of downtown Clearwater. I hope you will approve it and help make that kind of downtown experience possible right here in our hometown. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Speaker? Alexis Roscoe. Good evening, Mayor and City Councilmembers. My name is Alexis Roscoe and I've lived here for the last 13 years. My husband is a doctor and has a clinic in downtown Clearwater. We're located on Cleveland Street, just half a block from the site of the future Evo Family Entertainment Center. As someone who owns a business and lives here, I wanted to share my perspective on this project. We have patients who are not only local to Clearwater, but who come from all over the world to receive our services. And from being in this area for so long, I've seen the difference it makes for businesses and merchants when we have a lot of activity and foot traffic. One destination brings people into an area and once they're here, they notice the other shops and businesses around them. People become regulars, have favorite go-to spots, and even make a special trip when it's worth it. My husband and I love what we do because we help people improve their health and quality of life. I feel like that's why patients make the trip to see us. And when there are more things for them and their families to do around the area, the word spreads, and the result is even more people coming here. I've personally been on pins and needles since I heard about Evo coming to downtown Clearwater. It's a place that people living here will love to go to, but also a place our patients can enjoy when they're visiting Clearwater. This kind of destination can make downtown even more desirable and bring more demand for the businesses and spaces around it. We are transforming Cleveland Street and all of downtown, and I see a new age for the city that we all love. I understand that the developers of Evo are asking to vacate a few small roads to make way for the planned site and parking lot. And I ask the Council to support this request. Thank you very much. Quinton Terpstra. Terpstra. Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. My name is Quinton Terpstra. I'm a local business owner and father of four young boys who go to school here in Clearwater. We've lived in the area since 2014, and this is where we're raising our children. I've been looking forward to the Evo Family Center since it was announced, and so I wanted to come here and share why. As you can imagine, as a dad of four boys, having a huge theater, arcade, rock climbing, entertainment center, show up right in our downtown sounds too good to be true. I'm really looking forward to going there with my family. But I also look at this from the standpoint of my business. We work with hundreds of doctors and their staff and train them on business procedures. Many of them travel here to Clearwater to work with us, and one thing I've heard from them repeatedly is that there just isn't that much to do downtown once the work day is over. That matters to me because when clients come here, I want them to have a good experience in Clearwater, not just in our offices. Evo gives us somewhere we can take them. They can finish up with us and have plenty to do even without leaving the district. And once more, people are coming downtown for something like Evo. They're going to be looking for restaurants and other places to go while they're here. My company will absolutely be a part of that. I also care a lot about how the site works. I know what it is like trying to keep track of children around moving cars. I want the site and parking set up in a way that makes sense for families and keeps traffic away from where kids are walking. Parking matters on the business side too. We already deal with parking challenges around our offices. So if we're going to bring clients downtown for Evo, it needs to be easy for them to get there, park, and spend their time and their money there. For me, it's pretty simple. Evo gives my family something we will actually use. It gives my clients another reason to spend more time in Clearwater, and it brings more activity into downtown. I ask that you approve this requested street vacations for this exciting project. Thank you very much. I'm going to apologize ahead of time. Colin, I can't read the rest of the handwriting. Colin Canberry? Oh, Colleen, I'm sorry. Good evening, Mayor and City Council and staff. My name is Colleen Carberry. My husband and I have been residents of Clearwater for the last six years, and three of my four children and my mom live in the Clearwater area. My husband and I own Advanced Medical Integration, a national consulting company that helps doctors create businesses, focused on treating patients without relying on pain medication. We are based right here in downtown Clearwater in the atrium building on Cleveland Street. Every month, we bring 50 to 75 doctors and their staff from across the country to Clearwater for training and hands-on experience. So when I think about downtown, I think about it not only as a resident, but as a business owner who is already bringing people here from all over the country. When our clients come to Clearwater for training, they often bring their families. But once the training is over, they do not necessarily stay in Clearwater for the rest of their visit. That is why I was very excited when I heard about the announcement for the Evo Family Entertainment Center. With Evo, the people we are already bringing to Clearwater would have much more of a reason to stay downtown Clearwater. They could catch a movie, they can go bowling, have dinner, and discover the other businesses downtown Clearwater. Excuse me. Ma'am, could you stay with the crowd behind? Thank you. Thank you. Please continue. For my business, that would make Clearwater an even better place to bring our clients. And for downtown businesses, it means the people who are already coming here have more opportunities to spend their time right here. My husband and I were in Fort Lauderdale this past weekend. And I told someone about the plans for downtown Clearwater, including Evo. And this is their reaction. Wow. I would take my family to Clearwater to experience that and eat in those restaurants. It sounds like there's enough to do that we could spend the whole weekend in Clearwater. That reaction stood out to me because it's exactly what I would like for our clients and their families when they come here. In order for the Evo Family Entertainment Center to move forward, I'm asking that the city approve the needed street vacations. I hope the city council supports the request. Thank you for your time. Speaker. Pearl Ohman. Good evening, mayor and council members. My name is Pearl Ohman. I'm 21 years old. I live in downtown Clearwater and I work as a hairstylist here. I wanted to speak to you today as a citizen of Clearwater and a young person whose future is in this city. I moved to Clearwater when I was 11, went to school here and have lived downtown ever since. So I've spent a big part of my life in this area. Something my friends and I have always wanted is more to do downtown. I love bowling, going to the movies, getting food with friends and having somewhere fun to go where we can spend a few hours together. That's why I'm so excited about the Evo Family Entertainment Center. I work about five minutes from where it will be built and it will also be a five minute walk from where I live. I already come to Cleveland Street for food and coffee so I can easily picture meeting friends after work, getting dinner downtown, then going to Evo to see a movie or just spend time together. For someone who actually lives and works downtown, it would make a big difference. Instead of leaving downtown when we want something fun to do, Evo would give us a reason to stay. Many of my friends also live or work downtown. This is exactly the kind of place we would actually use together. And it is not just for people my age. My parents were excited when they heard about the project. I have friends with kids who can't wait to have a place like this right downtown. I also have three young cousins who visit Clearwater and I would love to bring them to Evo and have something fun we can all do together. I'm excited about the direction downtown is going, especially with the new restaurants and businesses opening. I think Evo adds something that is still missing, a major place for entertainment. As someone who lives here, works here, and would actually use the center, I am very excited to see this project move forward and ask that you approve the street vacation needed for the Evo Family Entertainment Center. Thank you. Next speaker. Actually, Council, we've met the 60-minute mark. So by council rules, if there is... How many do we have left? Just on this item. So I think there's like about a hundred left. I think we're one or the other. I think we're going to take a recess. But I appreciate all the kind comments about the entertainment center. That's not an issue now. It's a vacation in the street tonight. And we've heard different personal stories, but we've heard, you know, kind of the same thing over again about support for... So I think, I don't know what's the pleasure of the council on extending it on to hear from more to maybe... I don't know if there's anyone in that stack that has a different opinion, but I don't know we're serving anything well by hearing the same thing. I actually would defer to the attorney on that. I can't pick, for legal reasons, I'm not allowed to pick one side over the other, but I'm going through the order that they were submitted. Right. Yeah. We have rule, it's first come, first speak, first come, first serve. Yeah. So pleasure of the council. I'm just interested in what the others may feel. So vice mayor. Yes, sir. Thank you. So far we've had 28 speakers, all four positive comments to this. More so for all of us to understand. I know the last time that we had a topic like this come up, you were able to do a side for and against to get equal comment. Are we not allowed to do that now or ask if there's anybody that's got the opposite opinion that would like to speak? Well, we, the rule was changed a couple months ago, and it's just first come, first serve is how we're, you know, applying it now. I understand. But we could invite somebody, you know. I mean, I think that the people that are in line would have to just give up their spot to speak. It's not a good situation. Obviously, you know, if we're not going to allow people with different views to get up. I think what I would like to do is I'd like to take a recess briefly. We're at two hours anyway we're going to, and then let's come back and talk about whether or not we're going to continue public comment or not. We'll recess for 10 minutes. Okay. We will call the meeting back to order, and what I'm going to suggest to the council is our rules require the council to extend the time. We have a time limit. We've exceeded that, and so it's the council's decision whether or not to extend the time to take additional speakers. I'm going to suggest that we do that. We go ahead and take the rest of the speakers that signed up, but that we ask folks who are, when their name is called, if they feel like they've already heard a number of people or somebody else has already said for or against what, you know, they've already made their point for them. We're going to invite them to simply stand when your name is called and just say, I'm here in support or I am here against, and if you feel like you've already heard someone else make those points, I encourage you to do that so we can get through the rest of the speakers quickly. But if that's the council's desire, then we'll do that. Vice Mayor? Yes, sir. Thank you. I completely agree. I pulled the city manager, city attorney, and city clerk aside during the break and asked them if we could do something like that, to which they said that still acknowledges the First Amendment right and still records your position as being notated. If you are positive, I would appreciate, just as the mayor has said, that you would stand up after your name's called. If you've got your three minutes, you're more than entitled to it, but in order to try and get through it, that you would just say, I support, we'll notate that and then try and move through it more efficiently and try and get to some other sides of the coin here, too. So I still appreciate everybody being here. You're going to have your three minutes, as the mayor said, but I agree with that going forward as well. So we have consent of the council to extend our time? I agree. Okay. Mayor, I agree as well. My only question would be, if we're talking about extending a time, should we put a time limit on this extension to put any sort of guardrail? Or are we just opening it? I don't think so. You could have 15 people that say they want to hear their voices heard, and we continue through. My rules, we took their cards to sign up to speak. So my position would be, that's what we'll do. We'll stay as long as we need to stay. Okay. Any thoughts? Let me just revisit this after a time frame, and I'll tell you why. Most of the people here have been here since 9.30 in the morning. And so I don't believe that this accurately reflects the whole community, right? Not many people can be here this early. And everyone has been here a long time, and there's other people, I think, that are willing to or wanting to speak on other items. So I do want to extend it, of course, but with some kind of, and would be much more comforting than another two hours. Because I'm thinking of all those who have other agenda items that want to speak to it. Because we know, we hear the message. It's been pretty consistent from both sides. And I understand everybody wants to have their voice heard. But I'm not comfortable with, like, another two hours. Why don't we extend it to 9 o'clock? And revisit? You want to revisit at 9? We'll go until 9, and then we'll reevaluate and get there. Okay? Consent on that? Yes. Sure. Okay. It's been at least until 9 o'clock. But so now she's going to call the card, our city clerk. And, again, if you hear your name and, you know, we've heard a consistent theme from others. If you feel like that represents you or if you don't, you feel like you have something different to share, then by all means, you know, take this time to come up and speak. But if you feel like others have already made the general points that you wanted to make, then we invite you to simply raise your hand and say I support or I'm against. Next speaker. Janie Dodson. Janie Dodson. I'm very happy to be invited, councilmen and mayors. I am Janie Dodson. I've lived here for eight years. I am definitely in favor of having Evo. And it is because I lived in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, which was very close to Sea World. And my son and I went to Sea World often as he grew up. It was a wonderful place. People from all over the world came. And Chagrin Falls was just a little teeny town, but it was wonderful that everybody wanted to come there and visit Sea World. So I see it that we have an opportunity to have a Sea World, a Shamu show in Clearwater. And I want that to happen. And that's why I'm speaking to you. So thank you for letting me do it. Thank you. Next speaker. William Hamill. Hello, Mayor and Councilman. I do have a little bit different agenda. My name is William Hamill and I'm originally from San Diego, California. And I moved to Clearwater four years ago because I saw this city's potential. I've seen firsthand how large scale redevelopment can reshape a downtown over time. I'm a construction equipment consultant by trade, which means I designed to develop machines used for construction projects. I was involved in the rehabilitation of downtown San Diego, including convention center and entertainment facilities, which became major attractions that downtown continue to develop. I've been part of downtown revitalizations through my work. And I see those same signs of investment and redevelopment happening here in Clearwater. So when I first heard the announcement about the Evo family entertainment center, I thought it was incredible opportunity for the revitalization that's taking place here. Many major cities I've worked in or visited have entertainment destinations like this that draw people from across the city and the surrounding areas. I want that for Clearwater. It's going to be right at the entrance to downtown where it can bring new activity into Cleveland street and the surrounding district. I see this as a major opportunity for the city of Clearwater, and I ask that you approve the road vacations needed for the Evo family entertainment center. Thank you. Next speaker. Kathy Feshbach. Thank you. Terry Novitski. Thank you. Thank you. George Acevedo. Thank you. Mike Taylor. Thank you. Claudio Coppoli. Thank you. Michael Ryan. Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Michael Ryan, and I am here in support of the Evo center and the vacation of those streets. I have personal experience when it comes to downtown revitalizations. My father was appointed by the mayor of his town to have the urban renewal of Rome, New York. He often regretted the fact that they didn't bring some sort of anchor destination to downtown. Instead, they rebuilt Fort Stanwix, the place where the flag first flew in battle. But if you think about upstate New York, people do not show up at a fort in the middle of winter. So having a four-season entertainment site here at downtown is absolutely critical. I support it. Thank you, sir. Next speaker. I apologize. I had a time. Thomas Edist. Yeah. Thank you. Joseph Corvino. Yeah. Yeah, it's true. Good evening, Mr. Mayor and council members and staff. My name is Joseph Corvino, and I know most of you, and I think most of you know me. I had a whole bunch of stuff here that I was going to read and rattle off. I share your frustration. We hear the same thing over and over again about what we used to call war stories about how everybody wants this thing. I realize your concern, Mr. Chair, about we're only hearing a small segment of the population. The problem is that, for me, I see an energy from citizens. I see an energy from business people. And I see a tremendous desire and a vision from developers. I think that over the 20 years that I've been here in Clearwater, and I tried to put in a beach strand, and we tried to do a bunch of stuff with Clearwater, Clearwater, Friends of Clearwater. I think this is the first time that this council, not just you, but the previous councils, have an opportunity to create something that keeps the ball rolling. You start it. You have something going on. The street is developing. People are starting to come in. When somebody stands here and says, I'm investing $50 million into a project, okay, it's not just he's investing $50 million. It's encouraging outside people to come and say, I, too, want to be part of this. You wind up with a situation where, up until today, particularly speaking, investing in downtown Clearwater has been an issue. It's been a gamble. It's been a big risk. These people have come in and have taken away some of that risk. You, as a council, I've watched for the last year and a half, two years. There's a significant division. You talk of the tension. You have an opportunity to vote. You can vote 3-2. That'd be nice. Vacate would be approved. You can vote 5-0 and show a new future for the city. You can turn around and say, the past is the past. The future, we want to move forward as a council, as a city. The citizens want. The business people want. The developers have a vision. It's your turn. It's your turn to come up and stop the division, okay? That's my comment. That's good. Shannon Leahy. Thank you. Scott Gregory. I'm in favor of it. Thank you. Michael Esty. I'm in favor. Thank you. Aletvina Malakova. Thank you. Michael Thrash. I'm not a Clearwater resident. I live in Largo. Don't throw anything, okay? But I actually live in the southernmost house in Largo. I'm technically in Seminole. But I am here on behalf. First of all, council, nice to see you. Thank you for having me. My name is Michael Thrash. I'm a world-certified master chef. One of only a couple hundred chefs in the world to achieve this level of certification. Thank you for holding your applause. I am also the president of the American Culinary Federation Tampa Bay chapter. Our chapter is the fifth largest chapter in the United States of America. And we are leaders of the culinary standards and the premier foundation for culinary arts in the country as far as education, training, and certification. More than 30 of our members work in downtown Clearwater. I myself come to Clearwater at least every two months for professional and charitable culinary events. So when I first heard about EVO, one O short of extra virgin olive oil, so no coincidence there. Family Entertainment Center, my immediate reaction was, what an opportunity, right? But I look at it, okay, we can talk about an arcade and a movie theater, world's largest thing. Okay, it's incredible. I used to work for Disney. I used to work for Los Hotels and a bunch of these companies that, wow, an attraction is an amazing thing. But I look at it from a different perspective. I know I talk fast. We could hold chef events there. We could do young culinary competitions there. We could have events where we teach young children, because my association does that, about nutrition. We bring out plastic knives. We cut lettuce and vegetables. And some of these kids that don't have the opportunity to buy these things in their food desert, things like that, in this great area. I'm going to close my book now, and I'm going to tell you a quick story about something else, too, about a street. I was 20 years old. I was a college student at Johnson & Wells University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was just after midnight in Federal Hill, which is Little Italy in Providence, Rhode Island. I was crossing the street and following the laws and the rules. It was a red light. It was my turn to walk. A car came out of nowhere and struck me, going 70 miles an hour. I flew 90 feet away from where I was hit. I cracked my head open, shattered the vertebrae between my shoulder blades, and I was paralyzed from the waist down for over two months of my life. Clearly, I haven't made the most of it since then. Boy, would I have wished for that street to have been closed for pedestrian traffic that night. Keep that in mind when making this decision. I've been to over 48 countries. I've lived in nine states. And I've been around the world eating, meeting people, and seeing these things. I was recently in Ireland, Northern Ireland, the UK, Wales, for a chef conference. And the urban change that's going on over there, they're shutting down more streets to pedestrians than keeping them open. And that has just brought energy and so much love and so much putting the phone down and human interaction with each other outside of this facility, just to have that in Clearwater, a place that I've attended and gone my whole life. And that's my story. And thank you for listening. And knife drop. All right. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. Folks, we've already talked to you about it. It's getting late, and we're trying to get through this list. Would you please hold your applause? It just slows things down. And be respectful of the other folks who are down at the bottom of that pile. We'd like to speak. Okay. Steve Perry. Deborah Brandon. Thank you. Marlene Higgins. David. Jill Methvin. Adam Alessandrum. Sorry. Don't worry. Thank you. Lori Jessup. Thank you. Sandy Berman. It's a little bit different, and I think it's going to resonate with some of you. Go ahead then, ma'am. Okay. So good evening, mayor and councilmen and women. Thank you so much for letting me speak. So my name is Sandy Berman, and I have been living in downtown Clearwater since 2018. I also work downtown as a compliance officer for an investment advisory firm. I was born and raised in Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. It was not always the easiest neighborhood to grow up in, but I was lucky because I had parents who loved us and made sure that my sister and I had a stable home and plenty of good things to do. My dad used to take us to Manhattan, to the museums, and to Central Park. And closer to home, we went to the movies, we went to restaurants, and bowling together. Those are still some of the things I remember most about growing up. So when I heard about the Evo Family Entertainment Center coming to Clearwater, I was very, very excited about it. I think it will be great that families and friends have a place downtown where they can spend time together. But I also think it's good for downtown as a whole. I live and work here, so I see the changes taking place. There is already a lot happening in this area, and this is a huge private investment that will bring more people, more activity, and more reasons to spend time downtown. That kind of activity helps the restaurants, businesses, and everything else around it. It makes the whole district feel more alive. Clearwater Beach and Pier 60 are wonderful. But I think downtown should also be a place where residents and outside visitors want to come and stay a while. Because of my own experiences growing up, I really appreciate places that give people positive things to do. And I think this would be a great addition to Clearwater. I ask that you approve this street vacation for the Evo Family Entertainment Center so that it can be enjoyed by many people for years to come. Thank you for hearing my story. Thank you, ma'am. Next speaker. John Spencer. Worth a vacation. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Thank you. Lynn Hawley. Mayor and Councilmembers, my name is Lynn Hawley. Thank you. I have worked downtown as a teacher for the past 16 years. I have four grown children, three of whom live here in Clearwater. I do a lot of volunteer work in the community, and as part of this, we hold events around the downtown area. From this work, I've seen what happens when people have a reason to come downtown. They arrive for an activity, spend time here, and experience more of what Clearwater has to offer. I love living in Clearwater, and I'm so excited to see the direction it is taking. It is changing from a quiet town to a vibrant city with restaurants and activities that will draw a wide range of people. For a city to grow, it needs to offer something for everyone, and the Evo Family Entertainment Center will do just that. I see Evo as something that can draw people from far and wide. No longer will people need to go elsewhere for food or nightlife because we have more of it right here. I also feel we can capture many people who are now going to Tampa or other places for food and entertainment. This center will encourage people to spend more time in downtown Clearwater, which will also help build a stronger downtown economy. When people come to Evo, they will also experience the rest of downtown Clearwater and all it has to offer. It will give them another reason to return and help make downtown a place people choose to visit. We need this investment in our city, and I feel we should support the requests that are made to bring this venue to life. Sacrificing these few roads are well worth what we will get in return. So tonight, I ask the Council to vote yes on this matter. Thank you. Next speaker. Doria Kinsel. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Lucy Vega. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Charles Mitchell. Thank you, sir. If you're going to speak, please come to the podium. If you're going to speak, come to the podium. Thank you. I'll respect your time, Mayor, Council people. We're in the atrium building downtown, and I care a lot about this for my employees, but especially for my identical twin boys, and especially for Troop 313, for which I'm Assistant Scoutmaster. It's very important to me, children's safety. We all like to work on situational awareness for kids, but we really need to have at least one street right there where they don't have to cross and they can come in to your point. So thank you very much. Really appreciate it. Thank you, sir. Next speaker. Sam Zeller. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Dawn Franwick. Council members. Staff. My name is Dr. Dawn Franwick. I'm a functional medicine physician and hormone specialist. I've lived and worked in Clearwater for the last five years. I spent most of my career working as an OB-GYN, delivering babies day in and day out, about 10,000 babies at about 33 years. When I moved here from Washington, many people said I was coming here to retire, but I didn't come here to retire. I moved here for my second career. I want to open a new chapter and focus my work on women's health in the second half of their lives. And I'm proud to say that three weeks ago, I opened my own practice right here in downtown Clearwater. I chose downtown very intentionally. I've seen the plans for the Evo Family Entertainment Center and all the redevelopment happening in the district. I've watched the old buildings come down, seen the cranes, watched the construction begin. I see what downtown is becoming, and I want to be a part of that future. Even in the last few months, I've found myself spending more time downtown. I've gone to networking events, stopped for coffee, started using downtown in ways I wasn't using it before. But if I want to see a movie, I have to go to 15 to 20 minutes away to Largo, Oldsmar, or Countryside Mall. I leave downtown Clearwater to do something I would much rather do right here. Most of my patients also come from within 20 miles of Clearwater. When they come downtown to see me, I want them to be able to have reasons to stay, to meet someone, watch a movie, and enjoy something downtown. This is what Evo will bring to our city. Above your heads is the tagline for Clearwater, bright and beautiful. I believe we make that possible by creating new opportunities. I hope the council will approve this street vacation request and support this investment in downtown Clearwater's future. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, ma'am. Next speaker. Kathy Swager. On behalf of the church and Evo, we would like to just address the crowd and ask them to follow your recommendation to just say support or against, so that way we get through everybody and we don't continue to use all of the rest of the time. May I? So she's, you're with the flag organization, correct? Yeah, you're with the church of Scientology. I'm with the church of Scientology and it's here on behalf of Evo. She's asking on behalf of the church to consider our recommendation to you if you don't have anything additional to say, but it's already been said if she's recommending that if you're here tonight with a group in support that you consider just saying that you support instead of speaking. We would like everybody to just say whether they're support or against, that way also anyone who's against can say that they're against, and we won't get through the full list if we continue. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Kathy Swager. I'm in favor of vacating. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Tanfik Salim. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Tanqi Carr. Thank you, ma'am. Karen Becker. Thank you, ma'am. Leanne Edrich. Thank you, ma'am. Daryl Edrich. Thank you, sir. Gustavo Ordonez. Thank you, sir. Richard Olson. Thank you, sir. Jason D'Ryan. Thank you, sir. Kirby Jones. I fully support. Thank you, sir. Sue Hart. Thank you, ma'am. Derek Jetmer. Thank you, sir. Elena Varobi. Thank you, ma'am. Mike Sackestad. Thank you, sir. Betsy Petterman. Poulterman. Betsy. Ben Ezra. Thank you, sir. Chen Narek. Thank you, sir. Jaden Buckley. Thank you, sir. Jack Perry. I'm in support. Thank you, sir. Anthony Papa. Thank you, sir. Mike Carberry. Thank you, sir. Irene Gutzensberger. Thank you, ma'am. Layla Betts. Thank you, ma'am. Anna Thomas. Thank you, ma'am. Natalie Rosales. Thank you, ma'am. Monica Agami. Thank you, ma'am. Issa Toda. I'm in favor. Thank you, sir. Jim Fletcher. I support the vacation. Thank you, sir. Dodora, and I can't read the rest of the... Dodora, Dodona, 125 North. Nope. Okay. Moving on. Sorry. Dale Cooper. Thank you, sir. Kelly Meyer. Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you this evening. It's been a long day, especially on this Constitution Day. My ability to speak was almost blocked completely. So this is really important to be here before you this evening. The item on the agenda is about a street vacation, not whether or not this development is going to be approved. And I was surprised to hear this evening that this negotiation had happened with Myrtle Development, LLC, with the developer just saying, sure, everything's in place when this is the first time this is coming before the council. So I'd also like to give a voice to the city staff members in their review of this vacation before you. Some highlights are the public utilizes the available free parking along Laura Street. The loss of this parking will reduce the downtown parking inventory and increase likelihood of spillover parking in adjacent residential areas. Eliminating this roadway will reduce network connectivity, concentrate traffic onto fewer available routes, alter existing traffic patterns, and limit future flexibility for access and circulation in the area. These effects may not be fully apparent until the development is constructed and operating under actual traffic conditions. Laura Street provides access to and from Station Square parking garage and serves as a departure corridor from special events. Currently, the on-street parking spaces on Laura are used daily by U.S. Post Office employees and local businesses. I know you heard that the Postal Service, no disruption would happen to their operations, but it will absolutely disrupt their employees and their parking. I witnessed it just the other day of the road parked up with vehicles assuming the postal workers. Now, the city staff recommends a vertical parking solution, like a structured garage. It would eliminate the need for full street and alley vacations, and it would preserve elements of the existing street network and provide long-term flexibility for the surrounding area. As a Florida resident, boy, it would be nice to have a parking garage to park in the shade to go to the downtown businesses or, like other speakers mentioned, in the rainy days of Florida. The most poignant is at the end of this staff note. It should be either outright rejected or delayed because the owner is not the same on each side of the street. Thank you. Jill Gibbs. Hi. I'll start by saying that what happened outside these doors today, when all we wanted to do was to let our voices be heard on this topic, was exceedingly disheartening. Allegedly, this isn't a Scientology project, so I'm not really sure why they worked so hard to keep us out of this meeting. I'd encourage you, as a council, to investigate what type of first-come, first-served process is in place. I'll tell you right now, I've been here since 930 this morning. There is not one. But I am here tonight to say that I find it completely inappropriate to give away more of our public streets in our downtown, which is the reason that we're here tonight. We've heard a lot about why EVO should come to Clearwater, but the council's not voting on that tonight. They're voting to give away more of our public streets. A parking garage is a phenomenal solution, perhaps with a bridge just like they built over Fort Harrison Avenue. The vast majority of residents in Clearwater are doing everything in their constitutional power right now to save their public land and streets in our downtown. And instead of our elected leaders recognizing the voice of the people and representing us accordingly, three of you are choosing to do everything in your power to shut us up and instead continuing to align with a single private entity. Also, I'm really confused by the applicant. Are these streets unimportant to Clearwater and therefore not a big deal to vacate, meaning they're not dangerous? Or are these streets busy and dangerous, thus meaning that they are crucial to Clearwater's grid? The bottom line is this. The fight for our streets and land is not a fight against anyone. In fact, again, as the applicant said tonight, EVO is not a Scientology project. We simply want all of our downtown streets and public land to remain open for all of Clearwater. Sure. Lastly, I just want to say that Mr. Cotton's treatment of his opposing council members I find to be inappropriate and embarrassing. Thank you. Next speaker. Brooks Gibbs. Brooks Gibbs. I'm the campaign director for Save the Garden. It's a citizen advocacy group. I'm speaking today on behalf of 10,000 Clearwater voters. We believe that it's inappropriate for the city council to vacate Laura Street, Grove Street in an alleyway right now. Considering that there's an active charter amendment petition being circulated as we speak with 10,000 signatures collected today. And I'm not talking about the 10,863 signatures that we delivered to the council yesterday to let the voters decide whether or not to vacate Garden Avenue. I'm talking about a second petition, a proposed charter amendment to require voter approval for land transfers, right-of-way vacations, and the downtown court. 10,000 voters from Clearwater signed that petition. They are sending you a message that they want to have a say over these types of decisions. The charter amendment that we are proposing has boundaries, and it's north of Court Street, it's south of Drew, it's west of Myrtle, and it's east of Osceola. The city charter already provides these protections for land west of Osceola, which is known as the bluffs towards the water. All this proposed charter does is extend that protection all the way to Myrtle. This area of our downtown core has been a source of contention for decades. Decisions are often made without the citizens being aware. They get caught off guard when changes happen and justifiably get angry when the city makes deals with developers and the people don't have a voice in the matter. Our charter amendment gives voters a seat at the table as we all work together to revitalize our downtown court. 10,000 people believe that this is the best way to create a true citywide partnership. If you let the people vote to give away these streets or alleyways and a city lot for the development of a theater, they will take ownership of its success and ensure the project is successful through their patronage. Give the voters a chance to invest in their own downtown. They don't have millions of dollars to buy buildings, but they would gladly cast their vote to developers who will improve their downtown. You have an opportunity right now to hold off on transferring these streets until the charter amendment and the voters can vote on it. Show us that the city is committed to building downtown with developers and the voters of Clearwater. Thank you, sir. Next. We are at 9 o'clock, so how many do we have left? Just a few. One, two, three, six. We want to continue. We have six more. Continue on. We'll continue. Todd Lancey. Todd Lancey. My family and I moved here five years ago. Excited to be in Clearwater. But what we've seen here with the council over the past five years and more recently has been embarrassing for our families. And just I've been proud to work with the Save the Garden crew over the past year and speak with residents in the city. And you notice tonight, most of the people that are speaking out tonight in favor of vacating the street live here already. You want to bring more people down? The people that live outside this downtown corridor aren't here representing. We're here to represent them. They do not want to give away any more streets. We hear it every day. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Next speaker. Zany Zabo. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Larry Silver. Thank you, sir. Francesco Arlia. Arlia. The board. Jen Nickerson. Thank you, ma'am. And Kiefer Cohen. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Okay. All done. All right. Well, at this point, does the applicant want to use any of its remainder of its time? Yeah. I believe I have about a minute of rebuttal time. Okay. But I think my problem is I don't have a lot to rebut. I heard speakers here that were probably ten times more eloquent than I will be on my best day. I agree with the lady that said, hurry up. We spent a long time finding a world-class developer to do this. And I think we need to support this application before he walks away. Thank you very much. Thanks, sir. Well, with that, we will move to a continued council discussion. So, Council Member Menino. Thank you, Mayor. I'll go ahead and start first how we probably should have started three hours and five minutes ago and to say thank you. Thank you, Mr. Roberts, for your interest and passion in this city, for your vision and willingness to invest in two most common words that we've all sat here and listened to tonight was destination in downtown. We've asked for that for 50 years as a community, and we've heard it tonight 25 times. So, thank you. The question tonight should not be why do you need the road? It should not be why are we giving up another street or what are we giving up tonight. The question before us should truly be how does this strategic public action unlock a larger public return? And we have to weigh that. That's the logic of this decision once you remove emotions from it. Obviously, there's a lot of emotions in this room when it comes to this topic, and I appreciate everybody that spoke. It's not easy to get in front of the podium. So, thank you for that. And to both sides, that goes for it. The lower street vacation should not be viewed simply in a bubble of giving away public property, nor should it be viewed as a single transactional piece of land. But it should be viewed as an economic development tool that enables a transformative 100% privately funded investment, which strengthens our downtown activity, the sustainability of our downtown businesses, expands Clearwater's long-term tax base, and increases the quality of life of all of our residents of Clearwater, as well as our visitors. Grove Street, we've heard a lot of discussion about tonight, has been closed since 2017 and barricaded. It was closed to create a quiet zone for the railroad tracks. Pretty sure that's against our comprehensive plan. There's a piece of property that the city owned around the alley in that same piece of development property. The city's owned it since 1922, then off the tax books since 1922. This is a great opportunity to do something with that public asset other than let it sit there and grow weeds. Is Laura Street a valuable community asset? Is it important to our connectivity in the network downtown? Absolutely. I would be lying if I said anything different. But does retaining Laura Street produce a greater public value than incorporating it into a larger coordinated downtown redevelopment plan? I strongly do not believe retaining it does. Traffic studies and staff evaluations identify that transportation, emergency access, utilities, and pedestrian mobility can be appropriately accommodated through the redesign. And the level of service at what we heard, 13 intersections remain at an acceptable level. This 100% privately funded project requires no taxpayer subsidies, no grants, creates roughly 300 jobs downtown, produces over $2 million of annual wages, generates an estimated tax revenue of more than $500,000. And as you heard tonight from our brick and mortar downtown businesses, not only supports their businesses and families, but gives them hope that they can survive downtown. It increases our visitor activity, foot traffic, and downtown spending with an estimated 650,000 visitors annually downtown. And it's been said that over 90% of those visitors would be from outside the very zip code we sit in. Provides pedestrian and safety considerations. There's construction milestones built into it. Emergency access has been granted. A compromised alternative east-west access has been given. Not easy. A little bit of a struggle, but you gave in, Mitch. Thank you for that. Those are the safeguards that have been built in to protecting this taxpayer asset. Not to mention the ability to say that the largest movie screen on planet Earth will be in downtown Clearwater. That carries some gravity. We don't say that lightly. Again, I don't view this as the city of Clearwater giving away a street. I view it as Clearwater strategically leveraging a public asset to help unlock a much larger private investment in our downtown. And every single person in this room in the community would say that it is needed. Right? The question whether we put that asset to a higher public purpose is what's in front of us. If this vacation enables a transformational project, expands our tax base, creates jobs, brings people downtown, and catalyzes additional investment, then I strongly and firmly believe that this is exactly the kind of strategic decision that this council and our leadership team should make. I am 100% in support of the vacation of this because of the greater public good to the benefit, and I greatly appreciate your 100% privately funded investment in the future of our great city, which will make it brighter and more beautiful, not just for this generation, but for generations to come. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Albrega. Well, I could echo everything that Council Member Menino said, but I won't because he eloquently explained it better than I could. But here's the thing. I've been in this position for almost nine years. And before that, I was on the DDB for close to nine years. And I would have killed nine years ago to get a $1 million investment brought to Cleveland Street. And here we've got a $50 million private-funded, not taxpayer-funded, not CRA-funded, unbelievable anchor that just dropped in our laps. And I can't believe why anybody on this dais, and I'm saying this, would question that because the economic value of that is tremendous. The anchor investment is tremendous. It is a turning point for Cleveland Street. And I can tell you, we've struggled for 50 years with Cleveland Street. I mean, everybody knows this. And we finally have turned the corner. So I am 100% excited for this vacation because one road that's used is, to me, for a $50 million investment. And not just the money, but what that's going to bring to Cleveland Street far outweighs what Laura gives to our citizens. And I can't understand why anybody doesn't realize that. I mean, they'll talk about, well, we're giving away public streets. This is a travesty. This is exactly what every municipality wants. And we've got it in Clearwater now. So we're not, I'm not going to let it go. So I'm in favor. Hi. Councilman Tasheda. Actually, after listening to all these people sharing their stories, I feel the urge to. So here it is. I'm going to Tasheda. I've been married for 32 years. So very patient. I've got two great kids. They won't give me grandchildren. So I'm going to hit you up to babysit yours. I finally have my cholesterol under control. I wear many hats. And today I'm wearing my elected official hat. But in all seriousness, I want to start with being very clear. I have worked and lived in downtown for many, many years. I've practically been in every board of management. I love downtown. I'm passionate about it. And I support this project. I want the Family Entertainment Center in downtown. I want the investment. I want the activity. And I want this project to succeed. I've been waiting for it for many years. I want it. And like someone said, what do they say? Hurry up already. I've heard myself say that many times. But there is a difference between supporting a project and supporting a particular site plan. I support the project. I do not support the site plan as presented. And we're early on and I think we can still work on it. And part of the reason is that this conversation feels very familiar. Once again, we have an important downtown project before us. And once again, we're being asked to permanently give up pieces of our public street grid in order to accommodate it. Every street we remove changes the grid that remains. Every connection we eliminate places more importance on the connections that survive. Buildings can be redesigned. We've seen it many times. Parking lots can be redesigned. Pretty easy compared to buildings. Site plans can be redesigned. Public streets, not so much. Once they're gone, they're gone. And that is why I have spent so much time trying to find a compromise. I have never said that this project should not move forward. Quite the opposite. What I have said consistently is that I do not believe we should have to choose between this project and a meaningful east-west access. With all these talented people involved in this project, we can't find some way to keep that access going. I proposed keeping Laura open. That was not accepted. I proposed finding other ways to preserve a genuine east-west connection through the site. A connection that connects two huge office buildings, a post office and a condo building and parking. Those proposals have not been incorporated into what is before us tonight. I now understand that some of those circulation issues and proposed compromises may instead be addressed later as part of the development agreement. And I want to be very clear about something. I am not asking us to place a condition on this road vacation. I understand that the development agreement will be a separate matter. And it will be brought before this council at another time. And when that agreement comes before us, I will evaluate whatever it is at that time. But tonight I have to evaluate the vacation request that is actually in front of me. And as it stands tonight, I am still being asked to give up an existing east-west public connection without having resolved the issue that has concerned me from the very beginning. What meaningful east-west connection will remain in its place? I think I'm not asking for too much. It is, after all, a parking lot. Maybe that answer ultimately comes through the development agreement. I hope it does. But that is a decision for another day. Tonight, I cannot base a permanent decision on what may or may not be presented to us later. And I don't think I need to revisit every traffic number, every turn, every alternative, or every discussion we've had to explain my vote. My position has always been consistent and very simple. I support the project. I do not support eliminating the east-west connection based on what is before me tonight. And that is not a condition on my vote. It is a reason for my vote. So, as presented tonight, I cannot support this vacation request. Having said that, I think it's unfortunate and, frankly, unfair to imply that anyone, including myself, who questions the necessity of vacating a public street and have legitimate questions, somehow cares less about children or their families. We should be able to debate the merits of a site plan without implying that someone cares less or more of everybody's safety. At the end of the day, families cross streets every day. It doesn't mean we eliminate all the streets because there's a safety issue. Vice Mayor. Thank you, sir. So, to that, I'll just say I wasn't implying that. If you felt like that was implied, that was just your interpretation of it. Mind-boggling. It's what I was getting at is that it is mind-boggling that EVO CEO Mitch Roberts showed us and explained a very real reason as to why he incorporates closed parking lots. And that I get it and even gave an example with my young children as to why I fully understand the safety aspect. Next, you know, I don't understand it and I have to thank everybody else in this room because at the count that I got, and this could be off, but we're over 80 people that were for this proposal of vacation with four against. And those people at our request and the three council members up here that are being demonized for not allowing free speech and for allowing everybody to be heard literally went through and had the discussion to allow us to get through this while protecting First Amendment rights to which you all agreed to. Those that still wanted to speak had their time to speak, and we got to the opposition. So I don't know what further we can do to say that we tried to hear every voice. I don't know what further we could do. Next, you know, while we were going through some of this, looking at Laurel Street and the free parking that's there, you can open up your Google Maps right now and see the aerial shot. There's like nine cars there. You go to Google Maps to where you can see the street view, there's five. Depending on what type of truck you drive and or smaller vehicle, you're getting 10 parking spots on a good day and six parking spots if you got a few 250s on the side of the road there. So I don't know what parking we're talking about for the post office because we know that there's more than 10 postmasters that are going through there. And I'd like to point out that for anybody that is worried about parking on Laurel Street, not even a quarter of a football field away, we have the Station Square parking garage that is available for use. I will say this, it is not easy to find, even on Google Maps, and there's not great signage. However, we also have the new parking garage that has made phenomenal progress just over this past week. And, I mean, we'll be here quicker than we know it, right, to help serve as a better place to get people in and out of. So, again, I'm going to stay within this safety regulation. And not to mention, you know, furthermore, decades, how long have Clearwater residents said it's a ghost town downtown? Nobody comes here, there's nothing to do. I remember going to Pickles Plus when it was below Steinmark, right? Coming out of church when it was down here. I remember when my grandfather owned the Capitol Theater at one point. So, you do not have to express to me or to a few other members on this council that we know it was dead. So, another thing that is mind-boggling to me is that when you have somebody willing to come here and develop a building and invest with the investment that we have, that we wouldn't try and cherish that, nurture it, and continue to grow this city, because the vision is, I mean, quite frankly, I can't even give you what the explanation could be, because it's a whiteboard right now. The canvas of a downtown that we can create, that's going to be fantastic, that overlooks our wonderful bluff, into our intracoastal, onto our beautiful beach. And it is, it should give you goosebumps. So, what the future could hold here is exciting to see. And I know that we've all waited a long time for it, you know? And a lot of people in this room, a lot of people that aren't in this room. So, I think that the attitude of trying to get in the way of positive development is astounding to me. You know, we are the elected officials, and at the end of the day, we will hold the responsibility for the decisions we make. To that end, a document that is created for moving streets, or saying that this should stay here, is within our purview to decide whether or not it best suits the interest of development downtown. And when we need to make a decision to boost economic development in a downtown, and move a nominally used street with potentially 10 parking spots, and roughly, I'll give it more than what the traffic experts said, and say 15,000 to 2,000 cars a day. It's well worth it in the end, because of what this will draw, and the other countless opportunities that will exist. So, I am fully for this. I continue to look forward to the rest of this debate if it continues to go forward. But I'm in full support of this project, and thank you for bringing it to us. Okay. That leaves me. So, I just want to, at the outset, say a couple things. One is downtown Clearwater is already prospering and thriving. The Baycare Sound has been a fantastic addition to downtown Clearwater. It's bringing thousands. It's introducing, you know, people from all over, not just Tampa Bay, all over the state of Florida. We had a concert within the past year where half the crowd came from Orlando to watch the concert. And the mega market that was here recently. So many people, 10,000, I think, total over the three days visited, talked about how, wow, we didn't know this is already here. It's already coming, and we have a hotel, the Ballad Hotel, which is being built. We have a 400-unit apartment building. Downtown Clearwater is already on its way to success, already prospering. So, I would just say that because if there's anyone here and thinks we need to do a Hail Mary pass to save downtown Clearwater, I can tell you, you're wrong. We already have a waterfront that is well on its way to developing into a successful downtown. That success will grow inland over time, just like it has in Tampa, just like it has from the waterfront in St. Petersburg. So, we're already on our way. The second thing I wanted to say is that, as I said earlier, tonight, you know, what's before us is an application to vacate streets. It's not about Evo Entertainment. It's, Mitch, you and I have talked, and I mean, it's an impressive idea. I think, as Councilman Teixeira said, the entire community is excited about this possibility. But that building, the main part that's going to attract people, that fits within the footprint of the lot that it's designed to be built on. This street and the alley and Grove Street, Laura Street, the alley and Grove Street, they're in the parking lot. It's not about the building. It's not about the concept. I think we all want this to happen. It's about the parking. And to that, I just think it's unnecessary to vacate these streets to create the parking. I understand what Mr. Roberts said about this is a deal breaker for him. I understand business. I've been involved in business sectors 35 years. A project this size, I agree with Councilmember Teixeira. We could figure it out. I don't think the parking is a deal breaker. I understand that that is your position tonight, but I don't think that it is. And I also would say I don't think it's fair to the citizens of Clearwater. This is their street. These are their properties. To say, well, you know, if you don't do this, then I'm not going to come. I don't think that's fair to our citizens. This is, you know, this isn't R5 Street, Laura Street. We don't own it. We don't. This is the citizen street. And to vacate it when I just do not believe it's necessary, that's challenging for me. The second thing that challenges me is not just that it's unnecessary. It's that a 400 parking space surface lot in our downtown core, it is something that is not appropriate, I don't believe. And the staff talks about this. For our downtown core, we have so little area that we could develop into housing or other things that it takes up so much space. That I agree with the staff recommendation that a parking garage or something similar would provide that perhaps that safe access across a pedestrian walkway. But I just don't think the 400 space surface parking lot is a great idea for our downtown core either. And if you look at the staff report, there's a number of things that they point out. They point out loss of Laura Street will limit detour routes for future maintenance and repair. The loss of this parking will reduce downtown parking mandatory and increased likelihood of spillover parking in adjacent residential areas. I haven't heard anybody talk about whether or not parking in this lot is going to be restricted to users of Evo Entertainment, whether or not it's going to be available to the public to park for other things, other things on Cleveland Street. If it's only going to be dedicated to Evo Entertainment, that could be a challenge for us because it's not going to allow parking for other places. But you can go through the five pages of the agenda and the staff report, and there are a number of concerns. So it's not about Evo Entertainment. I think everybody here talked about their personal excitement, how much they'll enjoy. I agree it would be a great addition. I've always said our market for downtown Clearwater is Clearwater Beach. I think it will give folks an opportunity. Staying on the beach, rainy day, super hot day, you just want to cool off, something additional to do. I love the idea. It's just closing Laura Street, vacating another street after we just got done giving away another street in our downtown core is not good for our city, particularly when in both cases our downtown development plan says that if we are going to vacate one street, we need to replace it with another. And here we're being asked to do that twice here in recent history without replacing it with something else and without giving an additional avenue for somehow helping support our transit grid around the downtown. So, again, not about being against Evo Entertainment and the Entertainment Center. That's possible and should happen on the site that it's already planned, the building is planned. It's simply about the parking and it's about vacating Laura Street. So, for me, I'm not going to support vacating the street for those reasons. I do hope that through the development order we can figure out a way to keep Laura Street open and to accommodate the parking and the needs of the business. But for me, I understand I'm going to be in the minority here, but that's why I'm voting against. So, with that, yeah, Vice Mayor, you have something? Yes, sir. I do. Thank you. So, again, I think this is where government's getting in the way. This is one of the reasons why I ran. I'm not a family entertainment center developer or expert by any means, nor am I an architect, nor am I an investment banker or the things of these needs. But we literally just had the CEO of the venue stand before us, present why things are needed for vacation requests that are tied to his lease agreement. That said, and I do not blame him whatsoever, if this doesn't happen, I'm leaving. And again, I hope it never happens. But going back to the safety aspect, what is one life worth, whether it's a child, adult, whatever it is? I don't know what that number is. I'm not ever going to try and put a number on that, but when you have somebody who's creating something for families, who's willing to put in $50 million into the downtown to give it that anchor to complement our Ballad Hotel and our Baycare Sound and our green with the festivals that you've pointed out, it's just astounding to me that we're going to use a comprehensive plan to which we have the authority to overcome when a good idea comes, and just use that as, this says this, we can't do it. Again, I don't think we should be tying previous vacations and future vacations to this vacation. I don't know why we're trying to do that. And nobody said, especially not me, that this is a Hail Mary. I think that majority of the people that spoke tonight for this noted all of the construction that's happening downtown in the Cleveland core as well as Osceola and just everywhere. So, you know, I think that the message we're sending is that Clearwater is open for business, for developers to come in and let your mind run wild. That's why you do what you do. Architects, businesses, come here, thrive. We want you here. The city itself goes through and looks at what properties we have available to try and spur on that economic development, especially within our downtown core. So, for me, again, when we look at Laurel Street, yes, it is extremely important to the few that live closely to it. But is it overarchingly important to lose a potential investment that will not only start but continue to spur on developing into our downtown core? And quite frankly, to the east of it. Like, we're going in both directions here. And there's plenty of property in both directions to let this, in my opinion, go. So I don't think it's a Hail Mary. There's a lot of great stuff happening in Clearwater. But this is just going to be, in my opinion, one more great thing. And I already said it in the very beginning for those who maybe didn't tune in, is when we had Neighborhoods Day. And for those of you who don't know it is, we divide and conquer. Our public communications staff, who does a great job, sets up, essentially, neighborhood block parties. And we split up, and we go and hit all of those parties. You know? We don't make all of them, but I made 13 of them this year. And again, families that are in my same scope or area in life are excited about it, right? They're looking forward to this. So I don't know how we could pass up this opportunity. And again, coming from two generations of seeing poster boards and construction paper and windows forever to now looking at a fantastic rendering of what the future could be here and what the future could start is just mind-boggling. Sounds like the word of the night for me. So it's mind-boggling how we can't try and support something like this. Well, I was not really wanting to argue it, but I feel a need to respond. I thought I would just make my comments, and we all know how we're going to vote, and we would move on. But since you raised that, okay, by Hail Mary, I mean, you know, it was some of the stories that were told tonight, it's as if nothing else is happening down here. And they're waiting for something to happen. And I wanted to point out that things are happening downtown already, regardless of whether EVO Entertainment established it. Things are happening. And over time, they will continue to happen and they'll continue. So that's the only point I want to make on that. Second thing that we've overlooked this, but I did want to point out. You know, I want to point out we're not vacating the street for the benefit of EVO Entertainment. EVO Entertainment is the lessee here. We're vacating the street for the benefit of the property owner. And the property owner can choose to have EVO Entertainment as its tenant or not. There's a lease agreement they have to work out with EVO, but this property owner can decide at any point that they no longer want to operate it or lease it to EVO Entertainment. And they can operate it for private purposes or whatever they want to do to make it a private entity. And we're not vacating this for EVO Entertainment. We're vacating it for the applicant, which is the property owner. And I just want to make that clear as well. Yeah. Okay, Mayor. All right. You lit my fuse here. I am more perplexed by your attitude for this. And I'm just telling you to your face because you are our mayor. You should be bending over backwards for a $50 million investment into our downtown, but you're not doing it. I don't think you're doing your job, okay? Now, you put me on the stand last November when you thought I was wrong. I'm putting you on the stand now because I think you're wrong. I think we should have a 5-0 vote on this because this is the biggest thing that's ever hit Cleveland Street. It's no Hail Mary. And I'm just perplexed. I don't understand it. I've served for four mayors, and you are the exception. I can't believe any of the other three mayors I served with throwing this out, the baby out with the bathwater. So unless you come up with a better argument for your position, like, oh, we're giving up the street. It's the people's street for $50 million. I don't understand it. And, you know, you can write about that, okay? You can show that on TV because I think a mayor should be bending over backwards for this kind of stuff, and you're not doing it. I'm pulling you out. I really didn't want to do this, but, I mean, you don't want to personally attack me tonight. That's not my intent was to attack you. That's unfortunate that you've chosen to do that. No, you personally attacked me. Well, you know, you have a perspective that's different from mine. You say that I'm not supporting this project. I've said repeatedly tonight I do support the entertainment center. I also, my perspective may be different than yours, but on the vacation of the street, my perspective is I'm fighting for the citizens. It's their street, okay? I don't think, as I said earlier, I do not believe it's necessary to vacate Laura Street to build this facility. Well, we just heard from the guy right here that says if you don't vacate it, he's gone. And, to me, that's not a good position for you to take. I don't understand it, Bruce. You can talk to your blue in your face, but I don't understand why. To me, I'm perplexed. Okay? We can leave it at that if you want. We disagree. I respect you even though you have a difference of opinion, and I hope that you respect me that I have a difference of opinion. We have a difference of opinion, Council Member. And I think it's good that we don't always come up here and vote 5-0 on everything. And we have a difference of opinion. I've stated my reasons. I didn't point out any disagreements with you. You have a different perspective, and I think we should all appreciate that we have different viewpoints. Go ahead. I've already talked if Mr. Menino would like to go first. No, go ahead. Okay. I would just like to point out that being in support of this vacation request also is looking out for taxpayers and the citizens of this city. And maybe that's a difference of opinion because when I look at this, I look at what this is going to be able to do for an economic driver for our core downtown. And I grew up in countryside, right, on the northeast corner of the city. I would, in my family, could see coming down to Clearwater for once other than church to go to something like this because we were going to Oldsmar, AMC for those types of things growing up, or Palm Harbor. You know, so now you put in a movie theater with other amenities, bowling, restaurants, laser types, just all of these great things. I'm not doing that for me or for Mitch. I'm doing that because of what it could mean for Clearwater's downtown now for the residents that I serve, the 120,000 plus residents that are here. That's why I'm doing this because that's my thought. So I just want you to know that my perspective is also protecting taxpayers' interests. So I just want you to know that when we're saying we're protecting taxpayers, I, too, feel like I'm making that decision for the best interest of the people that I was elected to serve. And I acknowledge that, and I respect that. But we have a difference of perspective on that. And that's fine. Yeah, I'm hoping one of us makes a motion and we can move on with this soon. But I do want to double-click and zoom out for a second because things are happening downtown. There is absolutely no doubt the hope and optimism for our downtown putting this discussion aside is at a place that it has not been for generations. And everybody in this room would acknowledge that. There's no questions. The very greatest thing we could do as a dais to support the very Hilton Hotel and Denunzio development that we've discussed is help him fill his real estate in his offices and his restaurants and the retail spaces downtown, down below. Evo Entertainment will help do that. The greatest thing that we could do for the investment of the 16.6 acres of our county properties that we've talked so much about for months and the generational opportunity. The greatest thing we can do as a dais to make that look better, be more appealing and more attractable to developers across the world is to send a message in this room right here that we're open for development and we're here to work with you and we welcome you. We don't only sit here and interrogate you in the beginning of a meeting, we thank you for your willingness to invest in our city. That's how that should be handled. The greatest thing we can do for our downtown businesses, they all sat here in front of us tonight and begged us to make sure we support this for their families and the longevity of their businesses, is to support a $50 million, 100% privately funded anchor that makes downtown Clearwater a destination. The greatest thing we can do to what's happening with the new parking garage on Osceola is help fill the real estate downstairs. How do we do that? We do that by sending the message tonight by supporting a $50 million privately funded investment that we're still talking about this and about whether this is right or wrong. It blows my mind. This is one of the greatest things downtown Clearwater has had before it for quite a while. I'd like to make a motion to approve 6.2. Second. Okay. To move and second that we approve the agenda item 6.2. I just want to say everybody just said your opinion. I respect the fact that you all, you're voting the way you did and you explained it and I think that it's good that we all explained why we're voting. We have different reasons for voting the way we are. I don't think anyone should be offended that somebody else's reasons for voting for it are not consistent with theirs and I just appreciate what everybody said. Everybody has their own reasons for that and thank you for sharing those. With that, we'll proceed to vote. So all those in favor? Aye. Those opposed? Nay. It would be Council Member Albritton, Menino, and Vice Mayor voting for and Council Member Teixeira and myself voting against. With that, we move to agenda item 6.3. We approve the right-of-way vacation request from Clearwater Village LLC for portions of City of Rights and Ways as recorded in Platte Book 13, page 59, in the public records of Pinellas County, Florida, consisting of the Mall, Lantana Avenue, Idlewell Drive, Evergreen Avenue, Gardenia Court, Woodland Terrace, No Name Streets, and Shore Drive, abutting Track B, Clearwater Village, Phase 1, as recorded in Platte Book 126, pages 6 through 8, of the public records of Pinellas County, Florida, and pass Ordinance 9889-26 on first reading. Good evening, Council. Kyle Vaughn, Public Works. This item is a request for vacation of multiple unimproved rights of way in the Brooklawn subdivision, platted in 1925. This is in preparation for a new subdivision, a replat. It would create one landlocked property, which has been granted an access easement by the applicant, and I'm available for questions. Okay. We have... Reading? Yeah, reading. Sure. Yes. Ordinance number 9889-26. Ordinance of the City of Clearwater, Florida, they're keeping portions of right-of-way as recorded in Platte Book 13, page 59, in the public records of Pinellas County, Florida, consisting of the Mall, Lantana Avenue, Idlewide Drive, Evergreen Avenue, Virginia Court, Woodlawn Terrace, No Name Streets, and Shore Drive, abutting Track B, Clearwater Village Phase 1, as recorded in Platte Book 126, pages 6-8 of the public records of Pinellas County, Florida, providing for conditions, precedent, and subsequent to said vacations, providing an effective date. Okay. So with this, we have applicant making presentation at this point. Yes. First of all, let me say, wow, I've listened for a long time out there for y'all, so I'm glad you passed that first one. I'm Carlton Ward, and I'm here to represent an applicant with this request to vacate the roads that was expressed. These roads are part of a subdivision that's part of Florida history. It was on paper developed in 1925. It's never really been fully developed. We've got a PowerPoint we can see here. Can y'all see what? I can see it here. Can y'all see it? You're right. Thank you. All right. So the red hatch marks are what the portion of the roads that we're asking to be vacated. It was mentioned there is one lot is landlocked, which is lot one. I've highlighted there in yellow the access easement provided. So to address this one lot being landlocked, the applicant has granted an access easement to this lot out to Kings Highway to the east, so there will not be a landlocked situation. So I don't know if you have questions. Nope. I don't believe so. No questions up here? He's just waiting for us. I'm sorry. He's just waiting for us. No one's answering. Okay. Okay. I don't think we have any questions. And I'm available to answer questions, Laura. Yeah. Mr. Whitson is here, who's the owner of the landlock, and he, I think, has some concerns he may want to express to you, so I'd like to have the opportunity to respond. So reserve your time? Yes. We'll reserve your time. Thank you, sir. Okay. I have a question. Yeah. Councilman Robert has a question for you. This is for Mr. Whitson. Oh. No. He's going to present. Huh? He's going to present. No. Oh, okay. Yeah. Wait a minute. This is, I guess we're ready for public comment. Is he, yeah. He's the opposing. He's not the applicant, so he would speak on the public comment. So we'll have an opportunity during public comment to present. But I guess we're ready for public comment now, since he's there. Yeah. We'll now invite anybody from the public that desires to speak to this agenda. So, Mr. Whitson, please, please go ahead. Say. I'm sorry. I can't hear you. Yeah. This is public comment. You have three minutes. Oh. Well, I don't know whether I qualify as being public, but I'm the property owner who is adversely affected by this, and I am opposed to it, of course. And I own these nine lots. I've owned them for, in my family, for a hundred years almost. So, and what this does is a lot more than just landlock one of my lots. It landlocks every one of them, all nine. And there's several reasons for that, which I tried to explain in correspondence that I had delivered to the council. And, but the, where they have up there access to poinsettia, that doesn't exist at all. There's a drainage canal that bisects the unpaved shore drive, which drains all that wetlands to the north. You can see it's pretty, pretty large. And it's, to vacate Woodlawn Terrace, it leaves that as a dead end on the east and will, it's dead end on the west because of the lack of access. I'm told also that the city staff considers it unfable because of the wetlands regulations and other development regulations. And so the effect of this is to box in all of those eight lots as well as landlock the lot one in block P. Now, they have proposed to substitute for public access a private easement, which I have opposed because, well, I'd like to, I'd like to show you the pictures of what this is. May I approach? We have a projector there. So, yeah. One second. Yeah, one second. That's the entrance that they propose to give me a private easement on in, in exchange for depriving me of public right away, which is on the platted subdivision originating many years ago. And contrary to what has been implied, a whole lot of the lots in Rooklawn have been developed and are occupied. And most of the unoccupied land is owned either by Clearwater Village or by me. And so what they are proposing to do is to require me to use this private easement, which has, you can see, the no trespassing signs, require me to use that to access my lots, which are on the public right away. Okay. I believe we may have some questions for you, but your three minutes is up. I'm done? Your three minutes is up. So, does anyone else here from the public desire to speak this? Yes. Mark Bunker. Okay. Have a seat and we'll, we'll call you up here for any of your questions. Thank you. Thank you, sir. I'm Mark Bunker. And it's a pleasure speaking to you tonight at the Scientology City Council meeting. Uh, you know, at least one couple contacted you all this morning to say that they weren't coming tonight because Scientology was packing the room at 830 this morning. That's not an accident. Yeah. That's, that's how they get hundreds of people out in the street for the unveiling of the clock. Can we speak to the agenda item? Sure. Okay. I am going to speak about the Clearwater Village project. And, um, I want to show you an ad. Let me, uh, pull this up here. I've been following this for a while. So, uh, this neighborhood is, is aimed at Scientologists. And they're, they're looking for nice theta neighbors and ideally fun too. Um, theta is a Scientology term. Um, so you've got here a lot next to this guy's house that can welcome a family where kids can play play on the streets and, uh, the parents can work to save the planet, save the world. Um, and, and people ask it, well, is it possible to have a, a, a community that's only Scientologists? Uh, it is. There are restrictions, um, as far as discrimination in housing, but not to, uh, having one religion, uh, at this center. And, uh, let me take you down that private street to show you the area that, um, that we're talking about here. Okay. So the, the trees that you see off on the right here, uh, this is an amazing, deep, uh, wooded area. And we're losing a lot of green space in this project, which is tragic considering that there's also the potential of losing the landings. And there's going to be, I think there's going to be some people up here talking about the ecological, uh, impact of this on their properties, because they've been facing flooding from my understanding. Um, I'm not opposed to this being a Scientology project. I'm not opposed to the movie theater. I think the movie theater is going to be great. Uh, I, I do think it's important to understand how Scientology works. And part of that is, um, is the deceptive use, uh, of the tactics. Thank you, sir. Next, next speaker. Janice Basler. If you could just come up to help others who are here for other issues. Good evening, Mayor Rector, members of council, city staff. Thank you for having me here and allowing me to speak. I've been very patient and I know you have too. Uh, I already addressed you yesterday, uh, with a fairly detailed email. And presentation about, um, this request. Uh, it is, of course, another vacation request. You just saw a map pulled up on the screen. And I'm really here not to repeat everything I said in my email, which I'm sure you read with great attention. But to, um, just emphasize a couple of things. One of the things I wanted to show you is where streets are. In fact, State Street Park, which is the object in dollar investment past years. Um, namely to improve the stormwater management in our neighborhood, which is notoriously bad. And I'm sure the public works department will agree with me on that. Because we have worked very well with the city as the spring branch neighborhood association. Not only with parks and rec, but also stormwater management. And public works to try to improve the situation in our neighborhood, which is also extremely complex. Because part of that watershed is managed by Pinellas County. And there is, uh, there are some disconnects in the whole water, um, stormwater and overflow structure. And one of the things that's really important to understand is that, um, spring branch runs a little further on this side. But it also runs as Mr. Winston just pointed out. Right through here, this area here, this parcel is submergible and has always been referred to as a lake. I suppose Mr. Winston can confirm that. Um, these are his parcels, the landlocked one and the other ones. He pointed out rightfully that these are landlocked since this is the northern border of State Street Park. The stormwater structures in the park are illustrated over here. And you can see that, in fact, the water is flowing exactly the area right into here. There is now a new retention pond over here, another one here. The water from, uh, Kings Avenue flows down into the park this way. This is the main spring branch. And all of this overflow is actually coming from north of Union right here. Spring branch goes like this and like this and ends up in the park. In 2022, 2024, I'm so sorry. We had a major flooding event, unprecedented in history. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. Your time's up. Thank you. Thank you for listening. Next speaker, please. Janice Bassler. Thank you. That's me. Thank you for, can that be shown as well? It's been a really long day. You guys, I'm sure. Um, I wanted to direct to leave this up because I live right outside the park. I'm going to point to my house. So in 2024, all of that water came from north of the park, north of the park, north to south, and flooded me and my neighbors. I'm sorry. My neighbors couldn't spend 10 hours to be here. The water was not because state street park overflowed, which is why I'm told I'm in a flood zone. It was because the water came from the north, all of those properties. You want to give up all of that, um, roads up there and not have any, I don't know what kind of oversight will be into what kind of drainage infrastructure they will put in. But I'm concerned because I'm going to be on the receiving end of all of that water. And yes, it flooded my house. I was one of the lucky ones. My house is about three feet off the ground, so it didn't get inside, just under my house. My neighbors were not so lucky. About 10 houses flooded. Some of them had three feet of water. I will tell you, I did not evacuate. I'm bad. I watched the water come across the park, across State Street, and into my yard. It was like three feet of a lake. So if you vacate those lands and allow private development, what's that going to mean to this watershed and to those of us who live south of it? So I'm concerned about the oversight. I'm concerned about the water, the sewage, the drainage management, the wastewater management. And mostly I'm concerned about what's going to happen in the next hurricane and if we're all going to flood again because most of us can't afford another flood like that. I have flood insurance. I'm unlucky. So thank you for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you, ma'am. Next speaker. Nicole Zimmer. Gail Carroll. Support. Okay. Thank you. That's great. Are you Gail? Okay. All right. No problem. That's all I have. Okay. Thank you. Okay. So rebuttal. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. One thing I'd like to point out for sure is that this is not a request to vacate active roads. These are paper roads that have never been improved. They've never served anybody's lots. This is just cleaning up something. When I refer to this as being typical to Florida in the 20s, 100 years ago, we had a lot of planted subdivisions that never were developed because of the economy. I'm not really prepared to fully address the latest concerns with the drainage because our property, if I can, is up north and to the east of this park as I understand it. But Mr. Whitson has had these properties in his family for a long time. They never were developed. They never had roads to them. We are only cutting off access to one road and he's being provided an easement to get access to that road. So I think we have compromised this situation and helped him to give him access he's never had before. He's had something on paper. There's never anything been built there. Okay. Hannah, this is a picture I took this afternoon on Kings Highway facing west. This is Woodlawn Terrace. It's improved for basically a couple hundred feet and then dead ends into a forest. So except for the easement that is being granted to Mr. Whitson, he would not have any physical access to this property. So he's gaining by having this. In addition, by law, when the road is vacated, his lot right now is 50 feet wide, 100 feet deep. He will gain another basically 5,000 square foot lot. He'll gain another 4,500 square feet of property for his lot and for whoever else wants to develop it. He will have access to his property, legal access that he doesn't have, and practical access that he does not have right now. So I appreciate it if you all would approve the vacation request. Thank you. Mr. Ward. Okay. Councilman Albritton, you have a question for Mr. Ward, too? I do. Yeah. Yes, sir. Mr. Ward. Does he have landlocked property right now? He has no way to get to his property without going over somebody else's property? Mr. Albritton, there are roads that are shown on a plat that have never been improved. They've been that way since 1925. Okay. So he or somebody would have to build a road to get there. And he has the right, I guess, to build a road or improve on. But if you look, let me see. I'm showing you what I've got here. Clay, can you operate this better than I can for what? They've got to show it. What you want? Okay, Dan, here we go. Yes, please. Okay. So if you look at the isolated yellow lot, that's the one we're providing access to. And then the red wood lawn is being vacated as it curves around and connects with Shore Drive, which is green. Shore Drive is a platted lot, but it's not improved. If a person, and I drove this today, if you come to the west side of this development where Betty Lane goes up, you come across State Street to Poinsettia, and you come south down Poinsettia, and it stops. It's improved there. Someone could, Mr. Whitson, I guess, could come along and improve clear, basically forest out of Poinsettia, to gain access to all his lots that are there south and west of where we're dealing. So I wish I could work a cursor, but do you understand, David, what I'm saying? You see the one, two, three, eight lots that are off to the west where we're developing, our client's developing. I'm sorry? Do you mind if I jump in with this? No, go right ahead. This is Clay Gilmore, McFarlane Ferguson. Just to, Carlton's very eloquent in his answer, just to very surely know there's no current access to any of the lots right now. It would require development of all these roads. So it's just a... Well, it would, respectfully, it would require somebody to improve Poinsettia from where it's improved right now around to those lots. All right. It's not our client's obligation to do that, nor is it the city's obligation to do that. Got it. Okay. Any questions? Good. Okay. Thank you. Did you have a question of Mr. Whitson, or did that answer your question? No, they didn't answer my question. Okay. Thank you, sir. Okay. In fact, any council discussion on this? If not, is there a motion? Motion to approve agenda item 6.3. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Thank you. Thank you. Item 6.4. Excuse me. We've been at this two hours, so consistent with our break, let's take a short five-minute break and recess, and then we'll come back. Okay. Call the meeting back to order, and we'll move to item 6.4 on the agenda. Excuse me. Yes. Amendment today's fiscal year 2025-26 operating capital improvement budgets at third quarter, and pass ordinances 9939-26 and 9940-26 on 1st Street. Good evening, Mayor and Council, Kayleen Castle, Budget Director. This is the third quarter and final budget review for the fiscal year 25-26 budget. This report reflects nine months of activity, October through June, and also includes council action to date. And the general fund revenues and expenditures are increased by $5,006,505. This includes an increase of $250,000 to the city attorney's office to account for outside council costs that have increased this year. An increase of $831,505 to recognize police and fire supplemental pension revenues. This will bring the budget in line with actual revenues and expenditures. An increase of $3,450,000 in the non-departmental cost center to account for land sale expenses for the old city hall site and the transfer of the net proceeds to the parking fund. Also, a transfer of $450,000 to create the Philly's Baycare Improvement Project, which was previously approved by you. At third quarter, we amend the budget to recognize all of the final estimates of revenues for the year. These revenue amendments are both increases and decreases. They offset the expenditure increases mentioned above and result in net surplus of $841,580. This eliminates the previously approved use of reserves and will contribute approximately $627,000 to fund balance at the close of this fiscal year. Adjusted for items in this report, general fund reserves are approximately $74.3 million or 32.3% of fiscal year 26-27 general fund expenditure budget. This exceeds our reserve by $54.7 million at third quarter. In the gas fund, amendments include an increase of $2 million to gas commodity purchase. Offset by a revenue increase for the sale of gas. Amendments in the marina fund reflect a decrease of $1,400,000 to fuel purchases. This is due to closure of fuel dock while construction has been taking place out there. Amendments are also recognized to decrease revenues for fuel sales. In the air park fund, amendments reflect an increase of $103,400 for expenditures related to previous storm damage. This expenditure increase is offset by revenue amendments to increase reimbursement revenues. And in the parking fund, in total it reflects an increase of $21,859,064. This includes a transfer of $3,258,064 from the general fund. That's the land sale proceeds that I mentioned. And also we are recognizing a transfer of $1,601,000 from the Imagine Clearwater project. And that all of those, those two amendments are to offset the development agreement contributions that have been made by the parking fund. And then finally in the parking fund, we are transferring back $17 million from the capital fund. This is for the Bluffs development agreement and this is just accounting to reclass it to be tracked as a loan in the operating fund. For the sake of time, I'm going to go over just total for the capital project fund. Thank you. It is a net increase of $9,558,871. Of that total, $7.5 million is previously approved amendments. Other amendments to projects recognize revenues received and various increases. All of them are noted in detail in the memo and all of the attached documents. In the special program fund, we have a net increase of $2,719,082. And these amendments bring the budget in line with revenues received over the last quarter. All of which, again, is detailed in the memo and in all of the attachments. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. Does anyone here from the public that I desire to speak to this agenda? May we have a reading? Ordinance number 9939-26. Ordinance of the City of Clearwater, Florida, amending the operating budget for the fiscal year ending September 30th, 2026, to reflect increases in revenues and expenditures for the general fund, gas fund, solid waste and recycling fund, air park fund, marina fund, parking fund, administrative services fund, garage fund, special development fund, and special program fund, as provided herein, providing an effective date. Ordinance number 9940-26. Ordinance of the City of Clearwater, Florida, amending the capital improvement budget for the fiscal year ending September 30th, 2026, to reflect a budget increase of $9,558,871, providing an effective date. At this time, is there any council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Move to approve agenda item 6.4. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Agenda item 6.5. Approved purchase orders to Joe Payne, Inc., doing business as JPI Forum Services, LLC, enrolled in engineering for building inspection and plan review services in the cumulative annual amounts of $1,250,000 for the initial term of October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, with four one-year renewal options pursuant to invitation to bid number 50-26 and authorized appropriate officials to execute it. Good evening. Lauren Matzke, Planning and Development. So with the support of purchasing this bid, we released this bid to request services for plan review and construction inspection. As noted, it was invitation to bid 50-26. It's here tonight to seek approval to award a purchase order to the three lowest bidders, which are Quorum Services, LLC, Joe Payne, Inc., and Wilden Engineering. So the inspection bids range of the various applicants or respondents, rather, they range from $44 to $200 per inspection, and plan review bids range from $74 to $200 per hour. This PO would take effect October 1st at $1,250,000. The department has eight building code inspector positions, four of which are currently vacant, and there are four plan review positions, all four of which are currently vacant. The construction services division manages a significant and growing workload, receiving more than 14,600 building permit applications and issuing more than 13,300 permits and amendments fiscal year 26 to date, with approximately 29,600 inspections completed at an average of 122 per day. Contract personnel provide essential supplemental capacity to maintain our timely plan review and inspection services. Yeah. We're busy. Good things happening in Clearwater. Absolutely, yes. Yes. Does anyone here from the public tonight desire to speak to this agenda item? Anything saying no? Any council discussion? If not, stir a motion. Move to approve agenda item 6.5. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Agenda item 6.6. Authorize an extension of the purchase order to evoke water technology asylum for chemical tank and fee system at rental and bulk odor control capable delivery in the annual not to exceed amounts of $255,000. For the period of July 2026 through July 19, 2027, utilizing Manatee County contract number 24-RO8406388 as a piggyback contract. Good evening, Mayor and Council members. My name is Travis Tuber and I serve as the Public Utilities Wastewater Treatment Manager. Public Utilities Department is requesting authorization for the extension of the purchase order as discussed. The previous purchase order was extended to allow us for sufficient time for Manatee County to renew their contract and then to allow us through our internal processes. Manatee has extended the piggyback contract for an additional one-year term. The contract was originally awarded through a competitive solicitation. Continuing to piggyback off the contract will allow the city to maintain the exact same contract terms and unit prices as the previous contract while providing uninterrupted supply of chemicals and related services for odor control and corrosion resistance. Funds are available through the Public Utilities Operating Budget, which is ultimately funded by the revenues from the Water and Sewer Utility Enterprise Fund. Additionally, this purchase supports city strategic goal number one, which is high-performance government 1.2, maintaining public infrastructure by preventing the corrosion of critical wastewater infrastructure, facilities, and equipment. I would be happy to address any questions you might have at this time. Is there anyone here from the public tonight that desires to speak to Agenda Item 6.6? Are you seeing that? Is there any council discussion? Is there a motion? Motion to approve Agenda Item 6.6. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Agenda Item 6.7. Authorized purchase orders to Consolidated Pipe Supply, Ferguson Enterprise, LLC, Palm Beach Plumbing Parts, and American Backflow Products Company for Backflow Devices and Parts, in an annual not-to-succeed amount of $750,000, with the option for two one-year extensions pursuant to invitation to bid 37-26 Backflow Devices and Parts, and authorize the appropriate efficient execution. Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'm Mike Lenning, Public Utilities Director. Today I'm requesting authorization for annual purchase orders up to $750,000 for four vendors for Backflow Devices and Parts, with two optional one-year extensions. These devices prevent contaminated water from entering our public water supply and are selected based on risk, size, flow, and site conditions. This item supports high performance government. I'm happy to respond to any questions that you may have. If you want to hear from the public, then I desire to speak to Agenda Item 6.7. Any seeing done in the Council discussion? If not, stir a motion. Motion to approve Agenda Item 6.7. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Agenda Item 6.8. August 7, 2025, City Council authorization to Hodge Company of Loveland, Colorado for the purchase of testing equipment, laboratory instruments, chemical parts, and related supplies and services to authorize an annual not-to-exceed amount of $350,000 for each of the two one-year renewal options previously approved pursuant to clear water code of ordinances, section 2.563, paren 1, paren A, single source, and 2.563, paren 1, paren D, non-competitive purchase and practical and authorized approved officials to execute it. Good evening. Mike Flanagan, public utilities director. Today I'm requesting approval to amend the August 7, 2025 Council authorization to Hodge to establish a $350,000 annual not-to-exceed amount for each of the two previously approved one-year renewals. The original authorization included two renewal options but did not establish spending limits for these periods. This amendment does not change the vendor scope or renewal options. I'm happy to respond to any questions that you may have. Is the order from the public tonight a desire to speak to this agenda? Hearing to say none, is there any council discussion? Not, is there a motion? Move to approve the agenda item 6.8. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Thank you. Agenda Item 6.9. Approved a design professional agreement and work order with Adkins Realis USA Inc. of Tampa, Florida for design services for the public service complex administrative building project in the amount of $3,837,474.37 pursuant to request for qualifications 43-23 design services public works complex and authorized approved officials to execute it. Good evening, Mayor. Good evening, Mayor, Council members. Mark Swindeson, Public Works Department Director. Super excited about this one. We've been waiting a long time. So this one replaces several of our aging smaller facilities that are kind of disjointed out there. We consolidate with public utilities into a single admin building. It will go cat 5. We'll put the department EOC out there so we'll be able to greatly improve a bunch of our emergency response. So we are super excited to get this one going. Okay. Anyone here from the public tonight desire to speak to Agenda Item 6.9? Okay. Hearing and seeing none, any council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Move to approve Agenda Item 6.9. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Agenda Item 6.10. Approve the 2026 Affordable Housing Inventory List pursuant to requirements of Chapter 166.0451 Florida Statutes. Adopt Resolution 26-15 and authorize the approved officials to execute same. Good evening. Dylan Mayhew. I'm with Economic Development and Housing. This item is to approve the City's 2026 Affordable Housing Inventory List and adopt Resolution 26-15. Section 166.0451 Florida Statutes requires municipalities to prepare an inventory of City-owned real property that is considered appropriate for use as affordable housing. The inventory must be reviewed and updated every three years. The City last approved its Affordable Housing Inventory List in 2023. That list included 31 properties. As part of the required 2026 update, staff reviewed properties currently owned by the City and the Community Redevelopment Agency and identified 49 parcels that are appropriate for the inclusion on the affordable housing inventory list. Inclusion on the list is not by itself. Commit the City to developing or disposing of any particular property. Any future disposition or development proposal would still be brought through the City process and would remain subject to Council approval. Tonight's public hearing provides Council the opportunity to review the proposed inventory and make any revisions. Staff recommends the approval of the 2026 Affordable Housing Inventory List and the adoption of Resolution 26-15. With that, I'm happy to address any questions. May we have a reading? The resolution of City Clearwater, Florida, determining the City holds fee simple title and into 49 parcels of landline in between situate within its corporate limits that are appropriate for use as affordable housing as defined in section 166.0451 Florida statutes, establishing inventory listing of set parcels, providing an effective date. So I want to hear from the public tonight to the desire to speak to the agenda item 6.10. I'm going to say none. Is there any Council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Motion to approve. Agenda item 6.10. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed, unanimous. Agenda item 6.11. Authorized amendment with Cigna Healthcare for city medical insurance under a self-insured funding arrangement and a purchase order to Evernorth Behavioral Health Evernorth for the employee assistance program for period January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2027 pursuant to RFP 26-22 for a total not to exceed amounts of $34 million, $33,897, $264 for Cigna, and $60,000 for Evernorth. To be funded to city-budgeted funds, payroll deductions of employees, and retiree premiums, and authorized appropriate official sex to get same. Aye. Jill Paul, HR manager. Oh, it's up. It's up. It's up. Oh, it is. Okay. There we go. Great. Maybe? He doesn't have it? I'm excited if he needs one. Can you imagine? Okay. Here we go. Good evening. I'm all HR manager. I'm here tonight to discuss the 2027 medical plan renewal. We are a self-insured plan and we pay an administrative fee of $142 per employee per month to administer claims. Then we pay medical and pharmacy claims as they occur. We had an overall 18.6% average increase in claims per employee per month. The national average is projected at 11.2% for 2027, with Florida typically 3 to 4% higher. Sorry. The top line of this graph shows the annual medical cost increase per employee per month. The bottom two lines are medical and pharmacy costs per employee per month, showing that medical costs have increased by 2.7% over the past five years. But pharmacy has increased an average of 20.2%. So when you add them together and take an average, it's an average of 8.5% increase per member per month. Our current cost drivers are cancer, musculoskeletal, and gastrointestinal diagnoses are the top cost drivers. Musculoskeletal conditions are related to bones, joints, and connective tissue. The costs associated with these conditions drive an increase in utilization of advanced imaging, ER visits, chiropractic visits, and surgeries. Diabetes and inflammatory diseases are the highest pharmaceutical spend for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and asthma. These conditions have a high cost associated with specialty drugs used to treat them. GLP-1 medications have also contributed to higher pharmaceutical spend. Unfortunately, catastrophic claims have also increased over the year, and catastrophic claims are those that are more than $50,000. This leads me to what HR has been doing to positively impact our wellness and how we have been recognized for our efforts. The HR benefits team and the wellness coordinator, in partnership with the Employee Health Center, have helped to increase the number of employees that are visiting the clinic and participating in Motivate Me and Omada. With increased participation in wellness activities, this will positively impact claims. This year, the city was awarded the Platinum Seal from the Bell Seal Award for Workplace Mental Health. The American Heart Association has awarded the city once again with gold level recognition in the 2026 Wellbeing Works Better scorecard. And this scorecard represents notable commitment to the health of our workforce and community. The city was also recognized by Cigna. The Cigna Healthy Workforce 2025 Gold designation evaluates organizations based on the core components of its well-being program, including leadership and culture, program foundation and execution, policies and accommodations. In addition, the city was recognized as one of the 2026 Healthiest Employers of Florida. This recognition is awarded by the Healthiest Employers, a trusted award program that recognizes people first, organizations taking a more proactive approach to employee health. Finally, the city has been awarded the Platinum Level of the Family Friendly Business Award. This award focuses on workplaces that care about the needs of their employees and families and promote policies and work-life balance to increase employee productivity and have a positive impact on the entire community. We are in our sixth year of the Motivate Me program. The program incentivizes healthy medical and lifestyle choices and is available to employees and retirees participating in our medical plan. Participants can also earn incentives by completing a health assessment and participation in preventative care visits. Participants can earn up to $200 in incentives by participating in wellness screenings such as physicals, mammograms, and colonoscopies. The city's claim data has shown meaningful improvements in preventative care engagement, early detection screenings, and chronic condition management since Motivate Me was implemented, all of which are associated with improved health outcomes and reduced long-term healthcare risks. In 2025, employees redeemed almost $80,000 in incentives. Our wellness coordinator has done outreach to employees to ensure that in addition to completing preventative screenings, employees are also completing the program gatekeepers that include wellness screenings and a health assessment, and this will allow them to redeem their rewards. We initiated OMADA in 2022, and it focuses on assisting employees that are at risk for type 2 diabetes or heart disease. Once the employee applies and is approved for the program, they receive a digital scale health coach that communicates via the app, and the employee is assigned a support group. Employees can interact with the group and the health coach and can earn $100 by completing at least 9 of the 16 lessons in a 20-week period. The lessons consist of different topics to include how to navigate cravings, using mindfulness, basic nutrition, better sleep, and overcoming overeating. This targeted program helps employees stop disease progression as chronic conditions are costly to insurance plans. The city offers pop-up dental services through Jet Dental and mobile dermatology screenings through OnSpot Dermatology. We continue to offer financial education through Mission Square and OneDigital via webinars and one-on-one financial planning and advice. The goal is to help employees gain confidence in making financial decisions, learn how to balance saving for their future and living their lives today, and to feel better about their entire financial life. Cigna offers virtual health options, which include MD Live, Visana, which helps with well women assistance, OSHI Health, which includes stomach and digestive issue assistance, Heartbeat Health, which proactively identifies, treats, and helps manage moderate and high cardiovascular risk. HelloFresh offers discounted meal kit programs, Nourish, which helps employees get matched with a registered dietitian to assist with personalized care to address health goals and follow-up appointments to track progress and make recommendations. Active and Fit is a discount membership program to many participating gyms, and Headspace is a guided self-care app for everyday mental health support. The current calendar year budget for renewal is $34 million. This figure includes city budgeted funds, payroll deductions, and retiree contributions. In plan year 2023, the city updated its percentage contributions for medical insurance to 100% for employee only, 76% for employee plus one, and 70% for employee plus family. These contributions have been consistent for plan years 24, 25, 26, and moving forward. For plan year 2027, the projection calls for a 9.8% increase. However, the benefits committee is requesting a 7% increase for employees and that the city absorbed 2.8% of the increase. The city had previously absorbed a percentage of the increase in 2023 when the increase was projected at 13.1% with city employees paying 6.5%. We're very excited about the continued utilization of the employee health center, and I'll share those metrics with you. Our employees really enjoy the convenience and accessibility of the employee health center, and we continue to have high satisfaction readings for employees, which in turn drives patient visits. Visits for 2025 remain stable with the previous year, which was slightly higher at 5,455 visits. For 2025, we had a return on investment of 2.1 to 1. The annual savings are realized through network replacement, lab replacement, and brand drug avoidance. The center is doing much more than treating immediate illness. Nearly half of the year-to-date diagnosis mix relates to chronic condition management, while another 30% relates to preventative care. This shows that the clinic is supporting employees across their full health journey, from addressing immediate concerns to conducting screenings and helping patients manage ongoing conditions, which in turn helps the health plan run more cost effectively. Also, as an update to this slide, the most current visit count is 3,354 visits, with 1,022 unique patients as of August 2026. This chart shows that our employees' key risk factors have been decreasing year over year. These are the risk factors that are checked when employees complete their health screenings. The renewal recommendations are to renew the current medical plan and continue to use the Open Access Plus network. Maintain our current plan design and continue the Motivate Me wellness incentives to encourage preventative screenings and encourage utilization of the employee health center. Questions? Okay. I'm going to exhale now. Does anyone here from the public desire to speak with Mr. Jay? I would just like to say the employee health center is fantastic. I'll be there next week. I won't tell you what they remind me I need to do better at every year for my annual physical, but I saw some of the things on there that you noted, so I appreciate the service that we're providing our employees already. No discussion. Is there a motion? Motion to approve agenda item 6.11. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Thank you. Approved the agenda item 6.12. I approve an agreement with Evernorth Direct Health LLC during business as Cigna for onsite medical and prescription drug services for the period of October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2029 in the not to exceed amounts of $5,500,000 and authorized to approve it officials to execute same. Okay. This request is to approve an agreement with Evernorth Direct Health for an onsite medical and prescription drug service for the period of October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2029 for the amount not to exceed $5.5 million. The employee health center provides employees and their dependents with primary and urgent care, medication dispensing, laboratory services, and other medical care at no cost. Staffed by a physician, nurse practitioner, and support personnel, the center operates 50 hours per week. Based on its continued performance and value to employees, dependents, and the city, renewal with Evernorth is recommended based on the following metrics, utilization and access. Through August 2026, the center recorded 3,354 visits from 1,022 unique patients. Over the preceding 12 months, 63% of eligible employees used the center, 86% of patients were returning patients, and my chart activation reached 84%. Provider utilization was 69%, and 86% of patients needing acute care received access within two days. Financial value. The August 2026 report estimated $2,808,411 in savings and a 2.0 return on investment, approximately $2 saved for every dollar spent. These results are consistent with the December 2025 report, which estimated $2,925,728 in savings and a 2.1 return on investment. Patient satisfaction. Rolling 12-month results showed 100% overall satisfaction, including 100% center satisfaction and 99% satisfaction with providers and access. Patient feedback consistently praised the center's convenience, timely appointments, professional staff, clear communication, and quality of care. Evernorth Direct will continue providing on-site medical and prescription services and will also support employee wellness incentives through screenings and claims management. Is there anyone here from the public tonight that desires to speak to this agenda item? We're seeing none. Any council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Move to approach the agenda item 6.12. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Thank you. Thank you for all the hard work on that. I know it's a big number, and I know it takes a lot of hard work for our staff to prepare it, so thank you for coming tonight and explaining it. We now move to agenda item 6.13. Approve a purchase order Oracle America Inc. of Redwood Shores, California, for software maintenance in a not-to-exceed amount of $197,664.05 for a one-year term pursuant to clear water code of orders in Section 2.563, paren 1, paren A, single source, and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. Good evening, Mayor and Council. David Pearson, IT Manager. This item is to seek approval for renewal of our software maintenance for the Oracle. The renewal is for a one-year term in the amount of $197,664. This software is in support of our need for continued support of our Oracle database and our asset management application. This also includes licensing for Oracle's web module platform. With that, I'm happy to answer any questions. I want to hear from the public that I desire to speak to agenda item 6.13. I'm seeing none. Any council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Move to approve agenda item 6.13. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Agenda item 6.14. Authorize the construction contract to MTM Contractors, Inc. for the renovations and improvements of Edgewater Drive Park located at 1925 Edgewater Drive in the amount of $762,910.50. We're sent to invitation to bid 25-0019-PR and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. We're on the Edgewater Drive. We're on the Edgewater Drive. I thought there was one before that. Oh, I'm sorry. Public lands. I missed it. Sorry. 14. Okay. 6.14. Approve a capital project funding agreement grant for the construction of the Bayshore Trail Trailhead in the amounts of $216,000 between Trust for Public Land and the City of Clearwater and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. Sorry about that, Art. Good evening. Art Cahir, Parks and Recreation Director. Good evening, Mayor, Council members. The item before you tonight is the acceptance of a $216,000 grant from the Trust for Public Lands for the renovation and improvements of the Bayshore Trail and the trailhead located at the intersection of the Bayshore Trail and the Cordy Campbell Causeway Trail. The City's been planning for the construction of this trailhead for some time, and it will include amenities such as picnic tables, benches, pads, those types of things, and several amenities. Restroom facilities will be available during the open hours of the visitor center that Amplify will operate. Trust for Public Lands partnered with the City prior to this with the purchase of Bayview Park. They were instrumental in securing these funds from Expedia, Incorporated. The City will provide appropriate signings recognitions for their efforts in getting this money. I'm available to answer any questions you might have. Okay. We don't want to hear from the public. Does that allow you to speak to the agenda item 6.14? I'm seeing none. Is there any council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Motion to approve agenda item 6.14. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Proposed. Unanimous. Denim 6.15. Authorize the construction contract to MTM Contractors Inc. for the renovations and improvements of Edgewater Drive Park located at 1925 Edgewater Drive in the amounts of $762,910.50 pursuant to invitation to bid 25-0019-PR and authorize the appropriate officials executing. Part Cater, Parks and Recreation Director. Staff has requested your approval of the construction contract with MTM Contractors Inc. for the renovation and improvements of Edgewater Drive Park in the amount of $762,910.50. This project consists of the removal of the existing pavements there as well as the sidewalks and the construction of newly expanded parking lot and a 10-foot wide sidewalk trail which runs from Stevenson Creek north to Dunedin property line. Other site improvements will include the installation of stormwater ponds, site furnishings, educational signage, as well as some landscaping. This project is partially funded by the Florida Development Assistance Program grant of $200,000 administered by FDEP. The project is anticipated to be completed prior to March 31st, 2027. We'll be able to answer any of your questions. Does anyone hear from the public that I desire to speak to this agenda? Are you seeing none? Is there any council discussion? If there's not, is there a motion? Motion to approve agenda item 6.15. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Agenda item 6.16. Approved of a one-year agreement with Juvenile Welfare Board and the City of Clearwater for funding youth programs. Approved of a list quarter budget amendments of $1,360, $1,360, in special program G2706, JWB Youth Programming and Authorized Appropriate Officials to Execute Same. Once again, our catered parks and recreation director. Since 2000, the city and JWB have partnered in providing school and summer programming for the children and the youth of Clearwater. Once again, the city has been awarded over $1 million from JWB to continue these successful programs, which are held at Ross Norton Recreation Center as well as North Greenwood Recreation and Aquatic Center. It should be noted that this grant also provides funding for the city's safety around water program, which provides free swim lessons to four of our elementary schools, McMullen Booth, Eisenhower, Skycrest, and Belair Elementary School. I'm available to answer any questions you may have. Is anyone here from the public that I desire to speak to this agenda item? You're saying that, is there any council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Move to approve agenda item 6.16. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Unit 6.17. Approved a purchase order to rep services, Inc. of Longwood, Florida, for the purchase and installation of playground equipment at Coachman Park, located at 300 Cleveland Street, in the total amount of $350,362.74, pursuant to Clearwater Code of Orances, Sections 2.563.1.1.c, piggyback and 2.563.1.1.d, impractical and authorizer for artificial sex accusing. Thank you. Raymond Arthur Cater, Jr., Director of Parks and Recreation. The item before you now is the purchase and installation of new shade structure, surfacing, and a replacement slide for Coachman Park Playground. Coachman Park Playground, as you all know, is extremely successful. It's one of our well-used, crowded parks with the splash pad there. It makes it even very special. However, even with that, it's heavily used. It has wear and tear on it. And also there have been several complaints about needing more shade, everybody knows, and also the heat that is on some of the slides out there that is being produced. This project basically will put four new shade structures in the park, as well as we'll be replacing the open slide that gets very hot with an enclosed slide there. The last part of what we're going to do is to take out the sand. While the kids love the sand, it really is destroying the surfacing, the port-in-place surface. We're going to take that out. It's a maintenance problem. We'll replace it with port-in-place. With that, we'll answer your question. Oh, one thing is that this project will be eventually funded by Duke Energy. We haven't brought that sponsorship agreement before you, but you will have to be able to look at that. So eventually they will be paying for this project. In the meantime, we're basically taking it out with one of our other CFPs. With that, any questions? Thank you for that. Is there anyone here from the public that I desire to speak to the agenda item 6.17? You're seeing none. Is there any council discussion? Vice Mayor? Just one question. Do we have a shade structure going over the splash pad, too, in the future? No. Okay. Not yet. Yep. That's what I say in the future. We haven't spent all of Duke's money yet. Okay? Not for the kids, clearly, in the water, but for the parents and grandparents on the benches. Thanks. Appreciate your art. Understood. Good start. Okay. Any further discussion? If not, sir, a motion. Move to approve agenda item 6.17. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Agenda item 6.18. And provide direction on continuing revenue-generating amusement activities authorized through RFP 35-25. Council members, this was meant to be a discussion-only item, and our staff is requesting that the item be continued to another meeting, but I will let Art go a little further if he wants. Save some time if you're all right, but if you want to discuss it tonight, we're certainly available to do that. Yeah, we've got a lot to get to still, so I think it would probably be good to move along. Good. Thank you. Jenna, item 6.19. Authorize the purchase order to Angelo's Aggregate Materials, LTD, doing business as GFL Environment of Detroit, for yard waste, Class III waste, and construction demolition debris disposal in the not-to-exceed amounts of $5,550,000 for our five-year term, October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2031, with one, two-year renewal options pursuant to clear water-coded boards in Section 2.563-1-C, cooperative purchasing and authorizing appropriate officials to execute same. Good evening, Mayor, Council, City staff. I'm Jacoby Washington, Solid Waste Assistant Director. Tonight, the Solid Waste Department is requesting authorization of a five-year purchase order with GFL Environmental, formerly known as Angelo's, for the disposal of yard waste, Class III waste, and construction and demolition debris. The total authorization is not to exceed $5,550,000. This purchase order will support solid waste operations and will also be available to other city departments, including Parks and Recreation and Public Works. This is also a cooperative agreement with cities of Largo and Dunedin, which will provide our city with a reliable and cost-effective disposal option. One of the biggest benefits of this agreement is cost. Under the new agreement, our rate would be $45.42 per ton, compared to Pinellas County's new fiscal year, 2026-27, rate of $63.57 per ton. That's a difference of $18.15 per ton. Based on approximately 20,654 tons annually, that represents an estimated $375,000 in annual savings to the city. Another important benefit is reliability. This agreement allows us to continue diverting materials from the Pinellas County landfill at a lower disposal cost. And lastly, GFL is the only approved Class III disposal site in Pinellas County and proved to be a critical resource for us during the 2024 hurricanes. They remain open. They provide a much-needed disposal capacity for our debris removal efforts. So based on cost savings and operational benefits, the Solid Waste Department recommends approval of this agreement. Thank you guys for your time, and I'd be happy to answer your questions. If you want to hear from the public tonight, this is our speak to Agenda Item 6.19. Agenda C.9, any council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Motion to approve Agenda Item 6.19. Second. Who is in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Agenda Item 6.20. Approved a purchase order of Pinellas County Solid Waste for the disposal of solid waste at Pinellas County Waste to Energy Plant Landfill in the not-to-exceed amounts of $6 million for the period October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. Pursuing to declare water code of orange is Section 2.563.1.a, single source, and authorize the appropriate officials to execute the same. Good evening, Mayor, Councilmembers. Kervin, I'm your Solid Waste Director. Soldiers Department is requesting the approval for disposal of the municipal waste, also known as MSW, at the Pinellas County Waste to Energy Plant and Landfill in the amount of $6 million. The amount is included in an 8% increase from $5,886 to $6,357 per ton, and also a tire increase of $180 to $210 per ton, which represents a 16.7% increase, which will be approved by the Pinellas Commission. Solid waste anticipated the amount to be lowered due to the current state of the Pinellas County Waste to Energy Plant, which is undergoing some repairs to the turbines, which is expected to be back online in December. Currently, all Clearwater solid waste is transported to the heartline of Florida landfill through an agreement with Waste Connection, Canales County, and the City of Clearwater at a fee of $55 per ton, including transportation, which is saving the City of Clearwater $8.57 per ton for the duration. Happy to answer any questions. So I want to hear from the public, and I desire to speak to this agenda item. You see none. Is there any council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Motion to approve agenda item 6.20. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Thank you. Thank you, sir. And item 6.21. Approved three agreements for disaster recovery consulting services between the City of Clearwater and IEM International, Inc. Primary, Hagerty Consulting, Inc. Secondary, and Total Basin Government Consulting, LLC, Tertiary. Good evening, everyone. Chief Hood, Division Chief of Emergency Management. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, our City Council, City Manager, Assistancy Managers as well. We're seeking your approval for the three agreements for disaster recovery consulting services. These would assist the city in seeking eligible funds from the FEMA Public Assistance Program. So these are funds reimbursed to the city to assist with eligible expenses due to disaster, such as a hurricane or other large impact. The firm is paid on an hourly basis, so the city would incur no cost unless services were actually used, and most of these funds are often reimbursable through that same public assistance program. The term of the agreement would be three years with an option of a two-year renewal, and this does address the Strategic Priority 1.4 to foster safe and healthy communities through first-class public safety emergency response services. I appreciate your consideration, and I'm open to any questions. Is anyone here from the public desire to speak to Agenda Item 6.21? Hearing the scene, do I need a council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Move to approve Agenda Item 6.21. Hagen. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Thank you. To 9.6.22. Approved payment of $130,529.41 for the central insurance funds of fleet general service to settle claim 25000218 for damages to vehicle G458, a 2020 Ford F550 CCTV truck used for sewer line inspections pursuant to clear water code of warrant to Section 2.645, payment of claims. Good evening. I'm Monica Mitchell, Assistant Finance Director. This is to approve a payment of $130,529.41 from the central insurance fund to fleet to reimburse for a vehicle that was damaged due to severe water intrusion. The onboard electronics were destroyed, and the vehicle was declared a total loss. So this payment is the net of the actual cash value less what was received at auction to reimburse fleet. Any questions? Yeah. Is there anyone in the public tonight that desire to speak to this agenda? We're seeing none. Is there any council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Move to approve Agenda Item 6.22. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Thank you. Agenda Item 6.23. Approve the purchase of access liability workers' compensation various specialty insurance policies from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, and need not to exceed amounts of $1,550,000 pursuant to clear water code of ordinances, Section 2.563.1.i, insurance, and authorize the appropriate official sex accusing. Good evening. This agenda item is to approve a total of $1,550,000 for the insurance policies that renew on October 1st, which include the excess liability, excess workers' comp, and marina operators' liability, as well as a variety of specialty policies that renew throughout the year. The only insurance renewals that aren't included in this item would be the property insurance renewals, which happen on April 1st. Is there anyone here from the public that I desire to speak to this agenda item? We're seeing none. Is there any council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Motion to approve. Agenda Item 6.23. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Thank you. I think you were the last staff member to have to come up here. I appreciate your patience in getting all the way to the end tonight. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Agenda Item 6.24. Appoint Patricia Giraldi to the Sister Cities Advisory Board. She served as a Sister Cities, Inc. representative with an unexpired term through July 31st, 2027. Council members, Ms. Chill was serving in this capacity but is no longer able to serve as a Sister Cities, Inc. rep because she's currently serving in a different capacity. And Ms. Giraldi is the current vice president. Okay. Is there anyone here from the public that desires to speak to this agenda item? Hearing none. Any council discussion? If not, stir a motion. Motion to approve. Agenda Item 6.24. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Agenda Item 6.25. Confirm the mayor's appointment of Kathy Oates to the Clearwater Housing Authority Board as a representative employed within city limits with a term beginning October 1, 2026 and ending October 1, 2030. Council members, Ms. Jamo is about to complete her third term and will not be serving in that capacity anymore. But CHA has identified Ms. Roots as the individual. And this is the one board where the appointment is actually made by the mayor but confirmed by council. Anyone here from the public that desires to speak to this agenda item? If not, any council discussion? If no discussion, it's there a motion? Move to approve. Agenda Item 6.25. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Move to Item 7 on the agenda. That's citizens to be heard on topics pertaining to city business. That's not on tonight's agenda. Is there any citizens to be heard? Jan Boggs. Kelly Meyer. Good evening again. Thank you for this opportunity. A couple things I would request that the council considers is that how could an item be up for a vote tonight when there's no legal precedent to have a street vacation, when the applicant does not own both sides of one of the streets in question? According to the Pinellas County property records, the CRA is still in possession of 103 North East Avenue, which was specified in the staff recommendations that you all have in your packets. And so I think the public deserves an explanation on that, maybe where that proposal is. I know it was up for sale for a certain amount of money, I believe around $800,000. And I do not believe the property has been closed on yet, which echoes what the real estate department had said, that this vote should be postponed or outright denied because of that important aspect of the right for someone to request a street to be vacated. But to address the question about my comments earlier... Yeah, Ms. Meyer, I hate that. This, you're discussing an item that's already been on the agenda. There will be a second reading on this, so you'll have another opportunity to address the agenda. And that's what brings me to the rest of my time and what I wanted to comment about is that there is no procedure for determining who is first come, first serve. I will be filing a more formal explanation. There was miscommunication. Our wonderful police officers, who've been so hospitable all day, told us where the front of the line was going to be, and then it got moved to a different spot. And so many people were let in that were not at the front of the line. And that's what I was explaining about our First Amendment right to speak. There's many people that were left outside tonight. And so it's crucial for the next meeting that's coming up to please have a process in place to determine who is first come, first serve, whether it's a numbering system, something, because this process is broken. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Next speaker. Christopher Cullen. So just to be clear, because you just mentioned something to her, do you not want us to go back to 6.2? Because I'm in the same position where we weren't allowed to speak. This is for items that were not on tonight's agenda. And for everyone, there will be a second reading on that agenda. But if I can't attend the second reading, that's why I'm trying to exercise this right now, sir. This agenda is for things that weren't on tonight's agenda. I'm going to go back to it anyway, because it's my turn to speak. I apologize for being redundant here. But at the end of the day, again, you had mentioned we're talking about vacating a street. We're just, you know, you were talking about movie theaters you guys used to go to back in the day in Oldsmore in Tampa when we still had Clearwater Mall and Sunshine Mall. Both of those places were closed. Every place that you guys have mentioned, Steinmar, Pickles Plus, gone. The Harborview Center is gone. Where I had my prom is gone. I mean, are we sure this is the right place for a $50 million entertainment center? The biggest thing to hit downtown Clearwater is not going to be this $50 million theater. It's actually the Church of Scientology. It might not even get built if we can't even come to an agreement on this. If he doesn't sign the lease, follow the dots, and we'll figure that. We didn't vacate properties for the Opal Sands, and we didn't vacate properties for the Superpowers Building, so I'm trying to figure out why we can't build a catwalk and a garage. Regardless, I have two more minutes on this. I want to talk briefly about Amendment 3 and the $12 million that needs to be cut. Clearwater has thousands of vendors and millions of dollars in contracts. Let's competitively rebuild major reoccurring contracts that we can save $3 million on. $2 million in technology and telecommunications, including auditing, software license, cellular connections, data plans, and technology contracts the city pays for. That should be about $2 million. $2 million in fleet operations, which include the large municipal fleet, complete cost of every vehicle, which I know fleet does, but let's look at the complete cost, including fuel, downtime, resale values, again, which I know that they do, but I think we can do better, especially if we have consistent purchasing. Use the city's purchasing power to negotiate those better pricing, which I know the city does as well, but I still think we can make some cost-effective cuts there. We just need to talk about cutting essential, not talk about cutting essential public safety projects. I mean, that's obviously a scare tactic. You know, public safety or certain items can be delayed without increasing and eventually the cost or losing grant money or consider delaying those particular projects. $3 million from everything else, including energy costs, insurance, overtime, management, consulting, travel. Every one of these departments has a leader or a department head, so I'm asking these department heads to get paid to do their jobs, to run their budgets, and to find out where the fat is and to cut the fat out, make the contracts public, show the taxpayers where they're savings on, and make the employees the last thing we cut, not the first, because if Clearwater is facing a $12 million challenge, I believe the first response should be smarter government, not fewer people. I think we went through that in 2008. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Next speaker. That's it. Oh, I'm sorry. Janice Basler. Yeah, I'm sorry. I hate to come up here again. I'm not going to rehash things. There's got to be a better way, guys. People from the city can't show up at 9 o'clock in the morning and wait out in the hot sun and not get in. Your comment about 80 people speaking for the Evo Center is because you left many other people outside and many other people at home because they drive by, they see the lines, there's no place to park, they know they aren't going to get in, they aren't going to get a speaker's card. You aren't hearing from all of your citizens because this system is broken. First come, first serve doesn't work. You've got to figure out a better way, and I hope you can do it before the next two weeks. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Anybody else? No? Okay. That moved to item eight. City manager reports. Sir, I'll save. I've got a couple of success stories and going above and beyond of employees, but I'll save those for the next meeting because it's getting late. Thank you. So the move to 9.1, city attorney reports. So this is, counsel, this is my item. It's provide direction on referendum petition 26-01, which is a citizen's petition to repeal ordinance 9907-26. So, you know, we meet on a weekly basis, one-on-one. We talk about various topics. And over the last, I think, couple weeks, we have talked about some of these citizen's petitions that are currently active right now. And what I'm really seeking to do is get some guidance and some direction on the next steps. By way of background, our charter allows two different types of citizen's petitions. One is the initiative petition. Another one is the referendum petition. So for the initiative petition, what that does is a group has a proposed ordinance, and they seek to add something to the code. The referendum petition is that there is an existing ordinance, and the committee seeks to repeal that. And then depending on what type of petition it is, we go through this certification process with the clerk to where once the petitions are submitted with the signatures, the clerk will do this review process. She will issue a certificate. If the signatures are low, then the committee has an opportunity to amend and so forth. And then eventually it would go to counsel for some type of determination. Now, in last year, we received a citizen's petition from the Save the Garden Committee. And I deem that as the citizen petition number one, because we currently have a second one. That's made its way through the process. They submitted their signatures earlier this year. We went through the certification process in which the city clerk certified it, gave them some additional time, and then ultimately determined that the signatures were short. The city clerk drafted a certificate. She brought it to council for council review on May the 21st, and council approved that certificate, which, in effect, was a final determination as to that first citizen's petition. Now, on the very next day, the city was sued in state court by the Save the Garden Committee. I hired outside counsel, which was approved by city counsel. And then outside counsel moved the matter to federal court. And in the process of moving it to federal court, the city had to respond to a motion for a preliminary injunction. And, you know, in conference with outside counsel, some of the questions that came up was legal strategy. And, you know, I had hired Bryant, Miller, Olive. I have dealt with them probably for about 10 different or 11 years in this area, also in South Florida. Excellent law firm. They represent local governments. They have a lot of experience in various areas of laws, litigation, civil rights, but land use is a huge area. The two attorneys I had working on it was an expert in land use and also another attorney that does land use appeals. Now, in the course of this, some conversations came up about that first citizen's petition, whether or not it would potentially violate any type of state law. So the city in June filed a response to its injunction. The response was 26 pages, and five of those pages were devoted to statute 163.3167, subsection 8. So what that statute is, it's part of the Community Planning Act, which provides a statutory framework for local comprehensive planning, growth management, and land development regulations. Now, subsection 8 prohibits three different things. It prohibits initiative and referendum proceedings in relation to a development order, in relation to a land use regulation, and in relation to a cop plan amendment. That is prohibited by the statute. So what an outside counsel did was they raised these issues in this filing in federal court. Now, the court ultimately denied the motion for an injunction. Now, the judge did not rule on those issues, but the judge dismissed the injunction on several other grounds. A couple weeks after that, the Save the Garden voluntarily dismissed the case. Now, going back to that response, the argument that was made by outside counsel was that petition, and this is the first petition, the petition that we went through the process earlier this year, the petition that sought to add to the code and would require a referendum for a right-of-way vacation in the downtown Sierra area, and in an outside counsel's opinion that that violated state law. The reason is, is that if we have a referendum that is supposed to approve a right-of-way vacation in the downtown area, what would happen is we would have to amend our community development code. Now, in our community development code, that's also another term for land development regulations. In Appendix C, it's the downtown district, and in the downtown district, there's figure two, and it talks about street types and key corners, and there is a listing of the streets. So any type of change in that figure two would require a text amendment. And so in order to do so, if that ordinance was approved, it would have to go to referendum. And that's why, in outside counsel's opinion, that that would violate state law. And that was the argument that was made. So in June, there was the first reading of the Garden Vacation Ordinance on the 4th, and June the 18th, there was a second reading of the Garden Vacation Ordinance. And counsel ended up approving the ordinance with certain conditions. And based on our charter, I talked about two petitions. One was the initiative petition. That was the first petition that ended up in federal court. Now, there's another type of petition that can be filed under the charter, which is the referendum petition. And that's what is currently active now. And in order for the referendum petition to occur, is that the committee would need to collect a certain number of signatures 90 days from the adoption of the ordinance. And 90 days from the adoption of that Garden Ordinance was yesterday, September the 17th. Now, I have conferred with outside counsel, and certainly in their opinion, that this second petition does potentially violate state law. The reason is, is it would violate subsection 8A, because subsection 8A refers to an initiative or referendum proceeding in relation to a development order is prohibited. So, if we go back to this ordinance, this Garden Ordinance, 9907-26, the Garden Ordinance refers to a development application. It also has certain conditions imposed on the development. And what happens, a developer will come in, they will submit an application, it goes to the planning department, and it would be, let's say, approved through some type of development order. Now, for this particular development order, that included the vacation of the right-of-way, which was Garden. Now, in order for that, so vacating that right-of-way is a necessary step in the development process. The development cannot occur if this ordinance is repealed. So, the practical effect of the appeal would be to negate or prevent the development order for this project. And certainly, in outside counsel, that is why this second repeal petition could potentially violate state law, 167-3167. So, as we're here, I wanted to discuss the next steps in terms of counsel as what counsel would like to do. There's a couple different things. So, for instance, we received a petition yesterday with, I think, 10,000-plus signatures. Under a charter, we have certain steps that we're supposed to take that we would go through this verification certification process that the city clerk did last time. So, for instance, if we go through that process and we validate the signatures and it ultimately goes to a council vote, council can repeal it. If they don't appeal it, it goes to referendum. So, in that particular situation, some of the things that could occur is we have the applicant, which is the Church of Scientology. They could end up initiating a legal action against the city as well as save the garden. Or, if counsel also would like to look into initiating an action, the city could initiate a legal action. And what the city would do is the city would file a declaratory judgment. Those are not uncommon. Essentially, what happens is the city would go into court and they would say, Judge, we believe that this violates state law. We want you to take a look at it. That situation, the city could go ahead and add Save the Garden as a defendant. It could also add the Church of Scientology as a defendant. Because it's our right of way, it's the city's ordinance, it is Save the Garden's petition, and it's the Church of Scientology's development. So, those are some of the options. There's another option. Some local governments do this, is they could end up not processing the repeal petition. And what would happen is the city would say that, you know, based on the legal analysis, we do not want to go forward with the validation of the petition signatures because we believe that it violates state law. In that particular situation, Save the Garden could initiate an action against the city. So, we have those. And then another option, and again, I get some of this feedback by talking with counsel through the past couple weeks. Another option, if counsel wanted to do it, they could request an opinion from the Attorney General. Now, the Attorney General does issue opinions as it relates to state law. We would have to submit that request to their office. Counsel would have to give me consensus or authority to draft it. The Attorney General is under no obligation to do it, but that is an option as well. So, as I'm sitting here, you know, I've spoken to each one of you individually, and I'm here just to talk about it for a discussion. I'm open for questions. You want to talk about it, however you want to handle it. All right. Discussion on giving direction here. So, anybody want to go first? Sure. Somebody has to, right? Appreciate the discussion and the way you kind of communicated and walked us through this process. I'm not an attorney, so it's not my field of specialty. It seems to me from the options you're giving us that legal action and one path or the other seems inevitable, depending on where it's initiated or where it comes from and what side. If what you're saying is in June, our paid outside counsel and federal court basically placed the court system, the city of Clearwater, and saved the garden on notice of a possible violation of state law 163.3167, I think you said. And if that is true and that's the fact, I don't see us being logically able to just take next steps forward to move forward with the process without a higher authority giving us direction. So, of your what looked like four or five options, I don't think not processing and leave it alone is a good decision. I don't think the city initiating legal action is in our best interest, and I don't think verifying when we believe that it possibly could violate a state law and then putting the church in a place of initiating I don't think is our best action. So, of your options given, I find the most comfort with taking this out of our hands, putting it in the attorney general's hands, let him give us an opinion and direction from his office and what he sees the best fit for the city of Clearwater legally to pursue moving forward, and then we go from there. I also am understanding, I know you didn't mention it, that Save the Garden did put a request in to remove the clerk from the obligation of... Yeah, let me add to that. I don't think I mentioned that up here, but so yesterday when Save the Garden dropped off the signatures, they also had a letter, a three-page letter, and they put in a request. And the request was that in terms of the verification of the signatures, that they wanted the supervisor of election to conduct that verification process. Now, earlier this year, the city clerk had reached out to the supervisor in, I think it was, what, May or March. They had declined to do that verification process. This morning, I sent the supervisor of election an email, I think the deputy supervisor, and inquired, would they do it. Now, what they wanted was they wanted some type of legal authority in our charter that would allow us to do it. Because when they looked at it earlier this year, they didn't see it. So, I cited a section of the charter, it was 6.06A, it's the same section that Save the Garden cited. And in it, it talks about the clerk's role, and that when there is an initiative or referendum proceeding, the city clerk or other official designated by the city council shall complete their certificate. So, I cited that section of the charter to the supervisor of election. The general counsel responded back earlier today. He said that the supervisor would do it. He said that they don't complete the certificate, but they do a tally of the signatures. And there is a charge. It's 10 cents a signature, which is the same charge that's set forth in Florida statutes, I think, 99.097. Okay. Thank you for that. Clarity. So, I think what you need is direction on those four or five options you gave, just direction without needing a motion and a vote. And then, am I understanding correctly that the motion and vote you would need would actually be whether we're handing that responsibility off to the supervisor of elections? Am I understanding that correctly? Yeah. I think I need consensus on what council wants to do. Now, in terms of a vote, I think that if council wants to go forward with the verification process, then, and, you know, we have a city clerk that can do it. We have a request from the committee that the supervisor of election conduct this verification process. I think, per the charter, council would have to designate a other official. And I think that designation would need to be through some type of motion. You would designate the supervisor of election to conduct the verification for this particular petition. Okay. Thank you. I got to close. I'm supportive, if that's the group's request, of having that transfer of verification to the supervisor of elections and removing the clerk from that front-hand responsibility. And of your four options, I find the most comfort taking a legal pathway of letting the attorney general give the city direction and then proceeding from there. Vice Mayor. Thank you, sir. I just have one quick question in regards to what you said with the supervisors of election. You did say it was going to be $0.10 per card, like when we have to get the petitions verified to run. Who is going to pay that? Does that save the garden that should pay that because they're asking for the verification? I think certainly that would be – I think that would be up to council. But, you know, the city could pay it. At the same time, we have a city clerk that would typically do this. Right. And if it's a request by Save the Garden, and I think it would be okay, you would just – if it's a Save the Garden request, if they want the supervisor to do it in lieu of the city clerk, if you designate that, I think you could make that a requirement. Yeah, I mean, I have no problem honoring their request either. However, I do think that it's their request they should pay for the verification, since we do have a city clerk that's capable of doing it with their set. Councilman Tashada. Regarding the county, that's fine. I'm okay with that. Regarding the outside counsel's opinion that it is a violation of state law, that is still – it remains a disputed legal question. It is not a settled one. This is the second petition effort. Petitioners followed this charter. They were not told that there was a potential violation of state law. The signatures are well beyond the required threshold, and I am not interested in having the city spend taxpayers' dollars initiating litigation against its own residents over that process, over 10,000 residents. If another party believes that the petition violates state law, that issue can be litigated by the parties who want to pursue it. I do not support another referral to the AG, Attorney General. At this point, Garden Avenue could probably put the Attorney General's office on retainer. I understand it's a different question, but it's always the same road. The residents followed the charter. They gathered the signatures. They spoke twice. I feel that we should let the process move forward, and if someone believes it's unlawful, let the parties who dispute it make that case. Ms. Morrell-Burton. Okay. Well, you know, I agree. I agree with following our charter. We have accepted the signatures petitions. So if they don't think that our clerk does a good job on counting, I'm fine with letting the supervisor of elections do it. But, you know, twice when I ran, I had to pay the supervisor of elections to count my petitions. So I say that they write the check to they can have her do it for free, or if they want them to do it, pay like we did. And then we follow up with a, I think it would be prudent for us to get an opinion by the AG. And then we can move forward. I mean, they say they got 10,000 signatures, but they aren't certified yet. So I say we certify them, see where we stand. At the same time, we write the Attorney General and get an opinion from him, whether this is, you know, state law, breach of state law, and then go from there. Yeah, so I'll say a couple things. One is I noted the city attorney said the BMO, Miller Olive, said potentially. They didn't give an opinion that it did. They said potentially. They saw the argument. They understood it. I mean, that would be normal. Yeah, so it's not even their opinion yet. And all I would say is I hope we're careful here. We've got, you know, we'll verify, you know, whether they are voters or not, but we've been presented with 10,000 signatures that are voters in a petition saying they would like something done. And I hope we respect that, that that's a very strong statement they would like it considered. So to get ahead of it, oh, well, it might. I think first we need to verify the signatures and send it over there and do that. I would tell you that, you know, the last time our amazing city clerk did this and her team, it was significant stress on all of our team and time and resources to help her do that. It's not something the clerk's office regularly does. So, you know, the $1,000, I think, you know, I think that a lot of people would pay it just to do it. But I think we should welcome that opportunity because probably $1,000 for the supervisor elections to do it is probably cheaper than what it would cost our own resources to do it. And I think, and it would certainly take a lot of stress off our city clerk's office, which already, with our other functions, does it. So, you know, I think it's a cost that we would absorb, I think, in light of that, the cost it would cost us. And I hope that we certify the signatures first before we get down the road. On the Attorney General's opinion, my same opinion on that was the same as last time. It's not the equivalent of a judicial opinion. It gives weight. I would, you know, I don't think we need to do that collectively. The last time, Council Member Albright, and you wrote and asked for it, any five of us could do the same thing again as we did before. But I don't think collectively we need to go to that legal conclusion first until we see if the signatures are valid to even 10,000. Sounds like a lot, but we all know the supervisor election is scrutinizing pretty hard. And just first see where that comes out before we turn it over to a legal analysis. So, Vice Mayor. Yes, thank you. I just want some quick clarifications. Lena, when you spoke, did you say that Save the Garden was not aware of any potential violations of state law? When they collected the paperwork? Yeah. To my understanding, I was never advised that they were informed that it could potentially be. A safe violation? Yes. Okay. No, no, you're fine. I just wanted to end up, because just listening to everybody, but I want to be clear. So, Owen, in the brief that Brian Miller-Olive would have given to, I think it was the ACLU that was representing Save the Garden, would they have been made aware, or should their council have made them aware of this potential violation, is what you stated, Mayor, that it said, potential violation? Yeah. Yeah. So, in June, when the city filed its response to the injunction, outside counsel, I think in five pages out of 26 pages, discussed the issues with 163.3167. It's a little less than 20% of a motion. It's pretty significant. Now, there was different subsections of this state statute, but with this repeal petition, it's a little bit more concrete of an example. So, I mean, in my opinion, I mean, they received the response. They replied to the response. They denied that it was a violation of law, but. So, they could have been potentially notified that it was in the same brief. I mean, they filed a response to our response, a reply. Very good. My next question, for clarification, Mr. Mayor, are you saying that we, the city, should pay to verify the supervisor of elections process? Yeah, essentially, because it's going to be cheaper for us to do that than it is for us to do it ourselves. So, I mean, I don't think probably, you know, care to pay it themselves, but I do, the expectation is, it really is for our benefit that the supervisor of elections is doing it, not just taking the pressure off our clerk's office, but time and resources. I know they had to extend outside the clerk's office to consume considerable amount of our staff time to do it, probably costing us far more than $1,000 to do it. So, I think the clerk's office welcomes the help, and so in light of that, I think we would just absorb it. My next question to either the clerk or city manager, were there any overtime costs encumbered from doing this? No, we're salaried, so there's no overtime costs. Right. Okay. So, essentially, you just took up more of your time when you could have been dealing with other city matters? Yes. Okay. It diverted our efforts. For sure. I completely agree with honoring their request to allowing the supervisor of elections to do this. I have no problem with that. However, again, this is their petition. I believe they've raised funds, too. I mean, we could speak to that, but we had to pay for our costs to get our petition signed. I think that they should have to pay for it if it's their request. I think that's just fair. So, with everything that's been said, taking it in, I would also say that we accept the petitions, have saved the garden, pay for it, because it's their request, and I see it as just due diligence with the options presented to give this to the Attorney General's office. We don't know that we're going to get a response, as Owen noted. But within the time frame that this is taking to get the validation of the signatures to the supervisor of elections and back, who knows what could happen if we send a drafted letter to Tallahassee. So, that's where I stand. I don't – I mean, if we want to ask them to pay for $1,000, I think that that's fine. I don't object to that. If that's the consensus, that's not – I think they'd probably do that. But so, on that part, on the Attorney General's opinion, I just think it's premature, and it's not binding. I would prefer, if we got to that point, that certainly Church of Scientology, you know, it's their property, and they've – it's their street vacation that they've requested. So, I would prefer, if we need a legal resolution to it, that they be the ones to initiate it. I think that's – it's their – we vacated it for their benefit, so that's – and at their request, and so that's what I would say. But, again, as we've seen before, separately, any of the five of us can request that Attorney General's opinion. It doesn't have to be all of us together. I just think it's premature to do it, and it's not binding, so I don't think we should. Just another question. Again, I would see it as just due diligence while both processes are going on. But just because if we do collectively decide to send that letter, it doesn't mean we're going to get a response, right? Yes. So, we're just doing it to try. No, I just want – I mean, so, I mean, he might not even respond, and it might end up in a legal matter to begin with. And I'm not saying any of the five of us shouldn't, or more than one of us, but to do it collectively, I would not support that. But if certainly one or two or three want to write a letter requesting that, just as before, you're entitled to do that. Thank you, Mayor. I'm not interested in us on a sole mission of requesting from the Attorney General. I think we saw the way the gentleman was treated when he did that solely. And I think we all learned a lesson from that, that this discussion should be had here on the dais exactly like we're handling it. I'm supportive of it only takes three. It sounds like you have the direction to request the opinion from the Attorney General. You can count as well as I can. And I think the only other thing that I would add to that, I am supportive. If they did make the request, the supervisor elections count it, I'm fine with that. I do think it should be a pass-through charge. I don't necessarily think the city should pay for that or the taxpayers, that if the group wants to go that route, they can pay whatever that cost is if it's $0.10 per sheet. But then I think the only thing we're missing is a motion on making that official that we support the supervisor elections verifying the signatures. So moved. That's all you need? Yes, we'll need to have a comment on the motion. Is there a second? Okay. So you made a motion. Is there a second? Didn't Mike second? I made it. He seconded. Oh, I seconded. Okay. Okay. Okay, then moved and seconded that we sent the motion. And also for the motion, did it include the payment by the requesting committee, say, the government? That they would pay it. Yeah. Okay. Moved and seconded that we send the petition to the supervisor of elections for processing and validation of the signatures and that we agreed upon request of the petitioner and the committee to have them do that, but that we insist or ask that the petitioner pay the cost of that processing by the supervisor of elections. So that's the motion that's on before us. Is there anyone here from the public who would like to comment on the motion? No. I think we already have. Just state your name. My third time up, Janice Basler. I have worked hard with Save the Garden. Thank you for saying to send it to the supervisor of elections. Just so you know, I do work with them during election time. It's just strange to me. I appreciate, Mayor, your comment that the $1,000 saves a lot of stress on the city. I guarantee that there wasn't overtime, but I'm sure you spent more than $1,000 in city time verifying those signatures. The supervisor of elections is far more efficient at it having been there and seen that process. You're asking the Save the Garden people to charge $0.10 for the person, your citizens, to pay $0.10 for their signature to be certified because they disagreed with something you did. And you wonder why the citizens want to vote yes on Amendment 3? It's like you're charging them twice. They're already paying the taxes. They're already paying you. So why should they then pay for you to verify their signature even if it's through the supervisor of elections? You've either got to pay this staff here or you pay the supervisor of elections. We're already paying for it. Don't charge us twice. Any other public comment on this agenda? Yes, sir. Well, just that we know where this is. Did you state your name for it? Oh, yes. My name is Darrell Edrich. Thank you, sir. And I was just going to say that I think it's pretty wise to take into their request and honor that. It's pretty good. But also the statute itself is very clear that it says that referendums or petitions cannot cover the subjects of land development types of things. And the council should be able to read that out so everyone knows what the actual law, state law, is on that subject. So we're all starting from the same place. That's all. Thank you, sir. Anyone else in the public want to speak to the motion? Kelly Meyer. Thank you for this long evening. Wow. Of course, we're willing to pay $0.10 per signature if that's what it comes down to. I think when you ran for city council seats, it was maybe, what, 250 signatures? Our cost is $0.10 per signature, which is 10,863 signatures times $0.10. So it's over $1,000. It's not per page. So just to clarify that. So to compare 250 roughly signatures that you gather to run for elected office to a blood, sweat, and tears 10,863 signatures and that the city just can't pay that is astounding. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for suggesting that wonderful idea. We appreciate all of your time. And to be continued is what I say. Thank you. Anyone else here from the public desire to speak to the motion? Thank you. Okay. Before we vote, I do think a good point was just made. It's a lot of these folks who signed this position are taxpayers, and it's, you know, their money would be. And I understand we're not paying overtime, but it is our resources that would be put to something else. And it is taking pressure off our clerk's office. So my point earlier was just the benefit to it. But I just want to say that for them. So, yeah. Yes, sir. Thank you. I was just giving a, for instance, that when you do something, civically, there's a cost to that. There was a cost to me. No, it wasn't $10,000. It was $250. Actually, I think it was $300 for something that I had to pay because I turned in over the amount, just like you needed $7,000, and you're turning in over that amount. According to your website, you guys have raised $75,386, and that's commendable. I mean, you guys have done a great job. I've always championed civic service, and if you have something you're passionate about, go out and do that. I don't understand why it would be a double tax because we have over 100,000 residents in our city with 76,000 registered voters. Yes, you guys did a great job in getting those signatures. However, that's 10,000 people. There's still the roughly 60,000 voters that may be neutral or opposed to it. So now you're just requesting their tax dollars to be used towards it. But I don't understand the – I'm just giving the reasoning as to why it's your petition. I would think that you can pay for it. Just as we chose to run for office and we knew to pay for it. I mean, I didn't raise a ton of money. I paid for it out of pocket. $300 is $300 to somebody. So, I mean, you guys have done a great job in raising a great amount of money. I think in the grand scheme of what you've raised in accordance with what this costs, it's not an overbearing or harmful request. And very much so, I think that we're doing the right thing by honoring your request to take it to the supervisor of elections. So, that's just where I'm coming out from. So, thank you all. Thank you. Okay. If nothing further, we'll proceed to vote. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? It would be unanimous. I just want to clarify. So, I have consensus to write an opinion to the Attorney General. I do not intend on coming back and bringing my request back to Council. I'm just going to draft it and submit it. I think that's what has consistently been done. Is that fine? Well, yeah. Hold on. Yeah, I would make it clear. I mean, we didn't vote on it. I'll give you direction. It sounds like a majority would like you to do that on their behalf. But, like I said, either any one of the five of us or three members of the Council together could sign that same letter. So, I don't know that you have direction. It's certainly not unanimous for us to ask you to write on the Council's behalf. But, as was done before, any of us or more than one of us can collectively write that letter ourselves. May I just ask a question? Mm-hmm. Your hand was up first, sir. I'm sorry. But, so, you're just saying that if there is a letter drafted, you don't want your name on it. That's all. Yeah. I mean, earlier the letter was written. And I think you asked the, on your behalf, you asked the Attorney General for an opinion. Because I disagreed with our city attorney. That's why I didn't ask his opinion. Yeah. I didn't ask his permission to send something that I didn't agree with him on. So, this is different, though. We're talking about what you said last year, that we ought to all talk about it as a, you know, as a group. Now, my question is this, to Owen, is what kind of time frame are we talking about? How long is it going to take for the, to get all these counted and then back to us? And is there a certain time frame that we have to meet? Because it sounds like there's going to be some kind of lawsuit one way or another. They're going to sue us. We're going to sue them. The church is going to sue us. There's something going on. Is there a time frame that we have to meet? If that's the, if you say there is, then I don't think, I think it's prudent to probably get an opinion somewhere while they're counting the votes. The votes might not get counted. I mean, they may come back and say you didn't get 7,000 votes out of the 10,500 that you've, I mean, I had to collect nearly 500 signatures to get 250, you know. So, we all went through that. And we know what that is. It's, that's just the way it is. So, our charter, the certification process is supposed to be completed within 20 days. I sent the supervisor a section of that today. They said that they can do it. I can't say that I verified that they can do it within 20 days, but I will certainly check with them tomorrow to see if they can get it done as quickly as possible. Mayor, if you don't mind, I mean, I think we're leaning towards the city attorney as the lead attorney that represents the entire city. And I think what is being asked right now is a direction of giving is the city of Clearwater needs a legal answer and a legal determination regarding the possible violation of a state law. And I think that what the direction I was asking for was direction from the city attorney's office that represents the city of Clearwater to ask for that opinion. I wasn't asking for that on behalf of me or him or you or the councilwoman. I was on behalf of the city of Clearwater and the city attorney's office. This is a legal city council, city attorney's office agenda item. I think that office should direct and get a legal opinion. That was my opinion. I don't mind anybody asking, including the city attorney. I would just, if you write and ask, just it was not, you know, a majority of the city council asked you to, directed you to seek the opinion. I mean, that's fine. But we're not all, I mean, the city as a body is not asking for it. We're asking you to write. Again, it goes back to, as I said before in the prior one, you know, if we really want, if it's going to end up in litigation anyway, well, let's just, you know, the attorney general will be able to weigh in, you know, to file an amicus brief if the attorney general wants to give the attorney general's opinion. But it sounds like it's not going to stop litigation on this, whatever the attorney general's opinion is, that it's going to end up being litigated eventually anyway. I just have a couple of questions for the attorney. Number one, the last time I remember that the attorney's office asked for an AG's opinion was for the CRA funding. Remember the budgeting? Yes. And that was done with the consensus, meaning three, right, the majority of the council, or was that done independently by your office? No. So I don't, I believe that the former city attorney brought it to, like, the request to council. I don't know if he necessarily brought the letter to council. I think he sought the authority from council to draft a letter, then send it to the AG. I wouldn't have the authority to do that just on my behalf. I'd have to get it from council. And authority, you mean majority. Oh, yeah. So what I've heard is I think this could happen a couple different ways. If council wants to do it, they can certainly do a vote. If not, I think the other option is, if there's an issue with the consensus and who's going to be on there, the other option is I can write who wants me, like, what council members want to seek the opinion and which ones don't. And then the other thing is, will we have, will we be able to read the request before it's been sent? That's just curious. That's up to you all. I don't know if necessarily in the past the city attorney would bring it back. But I intend on requesting an opinion. Does this repeal petition violate 163.3167, subsection 8, or like any other state level? It's up to you all. If we get it, the question is, what do we do with it? Because it's just advisory. It doesn't have a binding impact on this, right? Yeah. So we're still going to end up litigating it one way or the other. So, again, if it sounds like three of you want the city attorney to write and ask for the opinion, that's fine with me as long as it's clear there were three members that requested that you ask for the opinion. I'm okay with Owen's last option there, throwing our names on the bottom, who requested it and who didn't. I mean, if we want to put that on the bottom of your paragraph that you, or however long the letter is, I wouldn't know. So put three on there who requested it. I'm not going to speak for you. I don't know where you stand. Well, for me, I'm on record how I feel. So whether my name is, whether it's the council, it's not that relevant to me. I'm on record saying that I don't feel we need it. But, you know, I'm not going to split hairs over it. I'm on record saying that I don't want it. So the three that have requested it, do you want me to bring this back to council and you to review it, or do you want me to just go ahead and draft it and send it out? I trust you. I think time is of the essence. That's my opinion. Draft it. Send it out. Same. I don't need to see it. I just don't understand how we, as a city, back in June, took a legal stance that we believed in a federal court this was a violation of state law. And that's what our legal counsel put on the record in federal court. How we then sit here and believe that we're going to take a different route or a different course of action when we believe it to possibly be a violation. This seems like the only recourse. And whatever direction we get from the AG, then we have another decision to make. And some way or another, it's going to lead to inevitable legal action. And I think this is the smartest decision and most prudent decision to take. I'm supportive of whether you put names on it or not. I just want to remind council, you do have a motion that's been seconded on the floor that needs a vote. For. We're just giving the direction. Have that was a direction? No, you have a motion on the floor to transfer the verification to the SOE and to have the group. We voted on that. Did you? We can do it again. No, we have not. We just jumped over. We took public comment, but we never voted. I thought it was 5-0. I thought it was. We can do it again. I thought it was 5-0. It was 5-0. We all voted, yeah. Yeah. It was 5-0. It was unanimous. Because I think after they voted, you want to ask for clarification. Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. All right. Are we good on this? Yes. We're all good. I think so. Very good. Okay, we'll move the agenda in 10.1. Prove city manager 2027 goals. I will start by saying at midnight, I personally am not going to debate the city manager's or the city attorney's goals. Personally, for me, this is a process that was set forth by prior counsel, and I think it's a good idea to some extent. But I think both our city manager and city attorney understand that their jobs are fluid and changing throughout the year. We've got a lot going on here on the ballot in November that could change a lot of what we're approaching and the goals for the year. So, for me, I don't have anything to add, and that's on 10.1. So, anyone else want to comment on the city manager's goals? Yeah, I'll keep it quick because it is tomorrow. City manager, I thought it was a good idea to have goals. City manager has to think about things that are coming up and planned more than the city attorney. The city attorney is more reactionary. In fact, the final line of the relevant statement here was the city attorney is the top legal advisor for the city, and is responsible for prosecuting and defending the city in all complaints, suits, and controversies. So, if we don't have complaints, suits, or controversies, there's not really much for you to do. But I agree with both goals, so I'm good with it. Yeah, I'll just keep it short and sweet, too, after reviewing it and then going over it with each of you and one-on-ones. I completely agree with the goals, too, set forward. I'm good. I'll reserve any additions to our one-on-ones. We're fine. Okay. Anybody else? So, we've covered both 10.1 and 10.2. Sorry, I just want to make sure to clarify. We did. We had great conversations in our one-on-ones, and so just for the record, in terms of what the goals are, we can always have additional conversations in our one-on-ones, but these will be the approved goals that, at least for the city manager, I will be working towards. So, we're going to vote on both of these, and that says approved, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah, it says approved. You can approve both items with one motion. Move to approve agenda item 10.1 and 10.2. Thank you. Second. Yeah, so, yeah, I'm a little, I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to say here. I just want to make sure that it's clear in terms of the goals. The council sets or approves the goals, and that's what then I work towards. So, if there's any dissent in terms of what I should or shouldn't be working on, I need that direction from the body. That's what I'm, that's what I'm looking for, is just make sure that there's consensus and that council understands that those goals that are approved are what I'm supposed to be working towards in the next year. Okay. We will vote first, I guess, on agenda item 10.1. The motion on the floor, I thought, was for both items. Oh, for both items. Excuse me. Okay. All those in favor? Before you vote, we need public comment. Public comment. You may hear from the public then. I'd rather speak to agenda item 10.1 or 10.2. Hearing saying none, we will proceed to vote. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Move to agenda item 11. Closing comments by Councilman. I'm going to take my full three minutes because we haven't been here long enough. I appreciate you all from all sides getting the perspective and have a good rest of the night. Be safe getting home. Anybody else? Okay. That's my Robert. I'm going to stretch it out a little longer. Thank you all for coming. And it's not nighttime anymore. It's morning. So, go home, go to bed, get a good night's sleep. Thank you. Thank you. Anybody else? Move to agenda item 12. Closing comments by Mayor. I don't have any tonight. So, we will adjourn the meeting of September 17, 2026. Thank you.