This time we'll call to order the October 1st, 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 in the right of the dais. When you call to speak, please hand your card to the clerk. We move to item two in the agenda, and that's our invocation tonight. I'd ask that everyone please stand for the invocation tonight to be given by Father Bob Swick from St. Francis of Assisi, and then remain standing afterwards for the Pledge of Allegiance. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, an ever-loving God, thank you for the gift of these devoted leaders of our city. Enable them to act with character and conviction, to listen with understanding and goodwill, and to speak with charity and restraint. Give these, our community leaders, a continuing spirit of service. Remind them always that they are stewards of your authority. And, Father, we ask that you renew within them the strength of your presence and the joy of helping to build a community worthy of the human person. And so, Father, recognizing our servant, St. Francis of Assisi, we pray that you make us all a channel of your peace. And where there's hatred, help us bring your love. When there's injury, you're pardoned. And when there's doubt, true love in you. Amen. Father Swick, you all please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to our United States of America, public, or stands. Before we go further in tonight's agenda, I'd like to introduce our dais. To my far left is Deputy City Clerk Nicole Sprague. To her right is our City Clerk, Rosemary Cole. Good evening. To her right is our City Attorney, Owen Kohler. Good evening. To his right is Council Member Linnett Tashida. Good evening. To her right is Vice Mayor Ryan Cotton. Good evening. Welcome. To my right is Council Member Mike Mimino. Good evening. To his right is Council Member David Albritton. Good evening. To his right is City Manager Jennifer Corrier. Good evening. To her right is Assistant City Manager Dan Slaughter. To his right is Assistant City Manager Al Battle. We'll now move to Item 4.1 of the agenda. Manufacturing Month Proclamation. I'd like to call forward Eric Meadows and Krista Reganey from Lithionics Battery. Good evening and thank you. I'm going to go ahead and read the proclamation and then invite you to make some comments. Appreciate your eagerness, though, to present. We'll get you to get it to you in a second. Whereas October is nationally recognized as Manufacturing Month and National Manufacturing Day as observed on the first Friday of October, throughout the month we commit to strengthening and supporting the manufacturers and hardworking manufacturing employees of today as well as the manufacturers of the future. And whereas the priorities of Manufacturing Month are to change the perception of careers in manufacturing to reflect its true status as the most advanced, high-tech industry in the country. We establish the U.S. as the global leader of manufacturing education, advocate for education and job training policies that strengthen the U.S. manufacturing workforce, and inspire the next generation of manufacturers. And whereas the City of Clearwater is fortunate to be the home to many great manufacturing businesses, some of which are world leaders in their respective fields, along with the Bay Area Manufacturing Association and AmSkills, whose mission is transforming lives and strengthening communities through technical training and apprentices. and whereas by working with educational institutions, the Board of County Commissioners and local manufacturers have and continue to work together to connect with future generations, build the next generation of skilled manufacturing employees, take charge of the public image of manufacturing, and ensure the ongoing prosperity of the whole industry. Now, therefore, I, Bruce Rector, Mayor of the City of Clearwater, Florida, on behalf of the Clearwater City Council, to hereby proclaim October 2026 to be Manufacturing Month in Clearwater, and urge all citizens to join in recognizing the value of our manufacturers and the importance they serve in our city, county, state, and nation. Now, we invite you to make some comments. Thank you. Good evening, and thank you, Mayor and the City of Clearwater, for this important recognition. On behalf of Lithionics and manufacturers across Tampa Bay, I am honored to accept this proclamation, recognizing October as Manufacturing Month and the people who make our industry successful every day. Manufacturing Month gives students an opportunity to tour local facilities, see advanced technology in action, meet the people behind the products, and discover career paths they might not otherwise consider. At Lithionics, we design, manufacture, and assemble advanced lithium battery technology systems for demanding mobile applications. Our local team combines engineering, advanced manufacturing, and skilled craftsmanship to create quality careers and demonstrate the innovation happening across Tampa Bay. This effort is supported nationally by the National Association of Manufacturers and the Manufacturing Institute, and locally by the Bay Area Manufacturers Association, which connects manufacturers, supports workforce development, and introduces the next generation to our industry. Thank you, Mayor Rector and the City of Clearwater, for recognizing the people, careers, and innovation that make manufacturing vital to our region. Thank you. Thank you for encouraging us to celebrate Manufacturing Month, and thank you for all your company and your industry does to support families throughout Clearwater and the Tampa Bay region. Thank you. Lauren Matzke from our Planning and Development Department. Brought the whole crew. That's fine. Glad to have them here tonight. Don't worry, I have a speech, too. Okay. I'll go first, and we'll let you go. Yes, sir. Whereas change is constant and affects all cities, counties, and other places, and whereas planners can help navigate this change with data-driven insights and expertise that provide better choices for how people work and live, and whereas community planning provides an opportunity for all residents to be meaningfully involved in making choices that determine the future of their community, and whereas the month of October is designated as National Community Planning Month throughout the United States of America and its territories, and whereas the American Planning Association endorses National Community Planning Month as an opportunity to highlight how planning is essential to every community, and how planners are uniquely positioned to identify solutions to communities' most difficult housing, transportation, and land use questions, and whereas we recognize the many valuable contributions made by the professional planning community and extend our heartfelt thanks for the continued commitment to public service by these professionals. Now, therefore, I, Bruce Rector, Mayor of the City of Clearwater, on behalf of the Clearwater City Council, to hereby proclaim October 2026 to be Community Planning Month in Clearwater, in conjunction with the celebration of National Community Planning Month. Lauren, would you like to say a few words? Well, thank you. First, thank you, Mayor, Council Member, City Administration, not just for supporting us through this proclamation, but also for all the support that you provide our team throughout the year. Community Planning Month, as you noted, recognizes the people who shape the places where we live, work, spend time together. It's also an opportunity to celebrate our residents, community leaders, and appointed board members who take place in developing and planning for Clearwater's future. I'm grateful tonight to be joined by the many planners in the City of Clearwater. Planners work in many different areas, including redevelopment, parks and recreation, transportation, development review, and long-range planning. And although their roles may look different, they share the goal of making Clearwater a better place for the people who live, work, and visit here. Our development review planners work tirelessly every day with residents, property owners, businesses, and applicants. They guide projects through the review process, help ensure that new development fits within Clearwater's plans and zoning standards. And today that happens to be both a development review committee day and new application submittal. This team and their colleagues on the DRC spent the majority of their day working with those applicants and making sure that they could get their applications approved in a timely manner. They assist with every new group and every person that comes through and wants to do something in Clearwater. And I'm greatly appreciative to that. Our long-range planners help Clearwater look beyond the projects that are in front of us today and prepare for the years ahead. They turn council's direction into policies, bring forward new ideas to help keep the city current, and anticipate the community's changing needs. So just this week, they have been in North Greenwood confirming work, like working with the residents on new zoning standards, supporting floodplain administration work related to the Alligator Creek map revision meeting, back-to-back meetings, evenings, working with our citizens. And this month they'll be discussing the proposed changes to the tree ordinance with our community. For the planners standing with me tonight, I feel safe to say that this work is truly a labor of love. It requires technical knowledge, patience, listening, collaboration, and, most importantly, similar to y'all, a genuine commitment to the community that we serve. I also want to briefly, believe it or not, recognize our community development board members because they also volunteer their time for these same common goals. They consider the proposed developments thoughtfully reflect on everything and help guide how Clearwater grows and changes. So good planning is ultimately about making thoughtful choices today that will serve our community tomorrow. City Council, our appointed board members, and planning staff, we all have different roles, but we contribute to Clearwater in a way that is welcoming, well-planned, and prepared for the future. So thank you again for allowing us to recognize this month as Community Planning Month. Well, as everyone knows, we get many compliments on the beauty of our city, and that's a tribute to you and the team standing here in front of us, the work that you all do every day to not just make it that but keep it that way, but to many planners with our city that have come before you and that you've followed. So thank you for all you're doing now, and thank you for all planners have done over the years to make Clearwater more bright and beautiful than ever. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Oh, my God, that's a strong friend. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Well done. Thank you. Thank you. Well done. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. One, two, three. Smile. You. Now move to item 4.3. That's Public Natural Gas Week 2026 proclamation. I'd like to call forward Brian Langell from the CGS Energy. Good evening, Brian. Whereas there are approximately 1,000 publicly owned natural gas systems in the United States, serving more than 6 million customers, and whereas the dedicated employees of CGS Energy work tirelessly day and night to maintain safe infrastructure, ensure uninterrupted service, and respond to community needs, and whereas CGS Energy provides safe, economical, and reliable natural gas that is domestically produced, and whereas CGS Energy provides vehicle fuel through the city-owned compressed natural gas fueling station, and whereas natural gas is a preferred energy source by many homeowners and businesses and stimulates economic growth for the local community. Now, therefore, I, Bruce Rector, Mayor of the City of Clearwater, on behalf of the Clearwater City Council, do hereby proclaim October 4th through the 10th, 2026 as Public Natural Gas Week in Clearwater. Thank you, Mayor and Council. I'm Brian Langell, Executive Director for CGS Energy. I just brought myself, so hopefully that's okay. But thank you for the proclamation. We'll be celebrating all next week in our department. You know, as you know, over the last 100 years, we've been supplying natural gas to the City of Clearwater and the surrounding communities in Pinellas and Pasco County. You know, it's safe, reliable, and affordable. And just to add to the affordable part, you know, we are about 50% cheaper than electric when you are, you know, using a water heater, a range, and a dryer. So those are our key appliances that we put in the house. Everybody loves them, and they're much, much cheaper than electric. And plus, during storms and after storms, if you have a gas generator, you don't run out of electricity because you can keep running during that. All of our lines are buried, so we do not have that problem of having outages during and after storms. So with that, on behalf of CGS Energy, we appreciate this. We want to continue to serve Clearwater for many, many years to come and be the energy provider of choice. Thank you. We're very proud of CGS Energy and your century of success in serving not just Clearwater but surrounding areas and growth. And just couldn't be more proud of what you do and your team do. And thank you for coming tonight for this proclamation. Thank you. Well, October is obviously a very busy month because now we're going to our fourth proclamation tonight. Item 4.4, Fire Prevention Week proclamation, I'd like to call forward our Fire Chief, Chad Pittman, from Clearwater Fire and Rescue. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you, folks. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Thank you. reduce the risk of fire injury and loss of life, and whereas the 2026 Fire Prevention Week theme, Charge into Fire Safety, Safe Charging is a Superpower, serves to remind us of the important of using, charging, and recycling lithium-ion batteries safely to reduce the risk of fires in homes and communities, whereas most of the electronics used in homes daily, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, power tools, e-bikes, e-scooters, and toys are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which if misused, damaged, or improperly charged, can overheat, start a fire, or explode, and whereas residents should also follow four key calls to actions. Use only listed products, follow manufacturer recommendations, charge batteries safely, and recycle them responsibly to prevent battery-related fires, and whereas lithium-ion batteries store a large amount of energy in a small space and improper use, such as overcharging, using off-brand chargers without safety certification, or exposing batteries to damage can result in fire explosion, and whereas the proper disposal and recycling of lithium-ion batteries help prevent environmental hazards and reduce fire risk in the home and community. Now, therefore, I'm Bruce Rector, Mayor of the City of Clearwater, on behalf of the Clearwater City Council, to hereby proclaim October 4th through the 10th, 2026, as Fire Prevention Week in Clearwater, and urge all citizens of the City of Clearwater to protect their homes and families by handing the important safety messages of Fire Prevention Week 2026, and to support the many public safety activities and efforts held by the Clearwater Fire and Rescue Department. Chief, would you like to say your words? Yes, sir. Mr. Mayor, Councilor, City Administration, thank you so much. I appreciate the recognition. Fire Prevention Week is a great opportunity to review steps to help prevent fires. This year, Clearwater Fire and Rescue is emphasizing safe charging practices, while highlighting the National Fire Protection Association's message, safe charging is a superpower. Lithium-ion batteries power devices we use, including phones, laptops, e-bikes, scooters, and electronics. These batteries pose a fire risk when damaged, improperly charged, or exposed to excessive heat. Clearwater Fire and Rescue encourages everyone to practice good charging habits, use the charger that came with the device, or one approved by the manufacturer, charge devices on a hard, flat surface away from anything that can burn, and never charge devices on beds, couches, or surfaces that can trap heat. Avoid charging damaged or swollen batteries, and unplug devices when charging is complete. Taking precaution every time you charge can make a difference. Charge safely, stay alert, and help prevent lithium battery fires. On behalf of Clearwater Fire and Rescue, thank you very much. Thank you, Chief, for coming tonight. One, two, three, smile. Thank you. We'll now move to item 5.1 on the agenda. Approve the minutes of the September 17, 2026 City Council meeting. It's a motion to approve the minutes. So moved. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Move to the consent agenda or any items to be removed from the consent agenda. Yes, item 611. All right. So a motion to approve the consent agenda with the exception of agenda item 611. Move to approve consent agenda items 611 through 613 with the exception of 6.11. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Move to agenda item 6.11. Authorize guaranteed maximum price proposal to Bandit Construction Company, Inc. of Dunedin, Florida for field improvements at Carpenter Complex Carlton's Field in the amounts of $1,694,465.40 pursuant to request for qualifications, 51-24 Construction Manager at Risk Services continuing contracts and authorize the appropriate official sex casing. Good evening, Mayor, Councilmembers. Art Cater, Parks and Recreation Director. I'm losing my voice. This is an item we brought before you regarding the work that we're doing at Carpenter Field. Discussed it at one session. If you have any additional questions, I'm available to answer. Is there anyone here from the public tonight who desires to speak to agenda item 611? Good evening, Councilmembers. I'm Bill Johnson. Tonight I'm asking you to change the funding source for this contract. I had talked to you recently about the decline in our bright and beautiful from the bay to the beach city. The landscape medians on Gulf to Bay are missing plants even after substantial minimization. Cochin Park is missing plants. Clearwater Beach landscaping is in decline. Yet in this action item, we are spending $1.7 million of general revenue property taxes to upgrade one of the four practice fields at the Carpenter Phillies Complex. As I read the agenda item, this is an extensive restoration that would qualify to use Penny for Pinellas infrastructure funds rather than general fund. If all the penny funds are insufficient for our city's basic needs, then perhaps we should adjust the Phillies' final agreement to cut back on our generosity with them. I have heard you all talking about the affordability challenge to our citizens and to our city employees that can't afford to live in Clearwater. Clearly, we need to live up to our signed contractual commitment to the Phillies. Just change the funding source. Going forward, I suggest that a facility that is used for ballplayer development should be either funded by the private enterprise or at least using penny funds currently allocated for future expansion of the BayCare ball field complex. Thank you very much. Thank you. Anyone else here to speak to this agenda item? Now we'll move to council discussion. Any discussion? Nots there a motion. Motion approved. Agenda item 6.1. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Nambus. Thank you. Move to agenda item 7.1. Approve amendments to the Clearwater Comprehensive Plans to establish a new planned redevelopment district, overlay future land use category with associated bonuses, incorporated policies for a new North Greenwood community overlay district, and to add comprehensive planned policy support for existing nonconformity procedures in the Community Development Code, and pass Ordinance 9860-26 on First Street. On second reading. Good evening, Mayor and Councilmembers. Marcy Stenmark with the Planning and Development Department. I'm presenting two companion amendments in the North Greenwood area this evening. Presentation slides are available if you would like. Ordinance number 9860-26 is a text amendment to Clearwater 2045 to establish a new planned redevelopment district overlay and associated density and intensity bonuses. The overlay is one of many implementation strategies in the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Plan. This is the first step in a four-step process to add the overlay. Since the first reading, the application was transmitted to the state, and there were no objections. The overlay will take effect after all four steps are complete in late spring of 2027. The amendment adds overlay policies and establishes a process for unincorporated properties to be added to the overlay after annexation. The ordinance updates citywide nonconforming use and structure policies. Since the first reading, staff revised Section 6 to update the effective date language. I also would like to show a couple of changes on the projector. In the Commercial General Future Land Use Classification, I would like to change nonresidential mixed use to a 1.5 floor area ratio. And in the planned redevelopment district overlay, we would like to change the residential bonus to delete the words and up to 1.1 floor area ratio and change the nonresidential bonus to up to 1.5 floor area ratio. I would like to note for the record that today I received a letter from Peggy Seward at 1363 Hibiscus Street. She is in opposition to the overlay, and she asked me to let you know about that, and also the letter is with the clerk. She mentioned that she's in the Pinebrook subdivision and that the map was arbitrarily drawn and that she would like to oppose the overlay because it does not give her control over what other owners can do with their properties. She wishes that it would be redrawn to exclude single-family residential homes in the Pinebrook subdivision. I also received a letter, and this is from Katrina George, and she expressed opposition to the overlay as well. So I wanted to read those into the record. And that concludes the staff's presentation. Thank you. Thank you. We will have a reading. Ordinance number 9860-26. Ordinance of the City of Clearwater, Florida, making amendments to the Clearwater Comprehensive Plan by amending the Quality Places Chapter to establish a new plan redevelopment district, PRD, overlay future land use category, which sets forth residential, non-residential, mixed use, and impervious surface ratio, ISR, bonuses. Amend the residential low, RL, residential urban, RU, residential low-medium, RLM, residential high, RH, residential office, general, ROG, commercial general, CG, and institutional, I. Future land use categories to incorporate bonuses for qualifying development in the planned redevelopment district overlay. Add policies requiring the portions of the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Agency, CRA, be designated with planned redevelopment district overlay on the future land use map. And referring to a new North Greenwood district on the zoning atlas. Add policies addressing non-conforming structures and uses, and provide for termination of non-conformities through a process established in the Community Development Code. Update existing policies for consistency with changes, certifying consistency with the City's comprehensive plan, and proper advertisement. Providing for severability and providing an effective date. Is there anyone here from the public tonight? Does our speak to Agenda Item 7? Kathy Flaherty? Can we make sure the public can see this? Everyone in the audience will see it. But not online? No. That change was instituted. It's on now. I don't know. You guys don't really want to know what's going on. Okay. My name is Kathy Flaherty. I'm here to talk about a specific property in this future overlay, and it's North Steady Park. It's in Office Stevenson's Creek. And right now it's this little red area that you have listed as commercial vacant. Online, you can go online. It's listed in the city or in the county as commercial vacant. But basically, and where it is, is at the end of Stevenson's Creek right here. All right. You look at Stevenson's Creek. Here's the head. Here's a golf course. And basically, it's the only access. It's a stormwater park. Here's a picture of it. This is a lift pump that services the creek or services the surrounding area. I don't know if it's a sewer lift pump or a water lift pump, but it's a lift pump. And so these trucks have to get back in. A few years ago, I was concerned because it was on the 2045 plan mentioned as a commercial vacant property, and I contacted engineering. Mr. Slaughter sent me this map. And basically, this is from Stormwater Engineering Department. It says, North Betty Lane Neighborhood Park. This is the lift pump or a water. I'm not sure what it is. And there's the pump. So in the atlas in 2024, it had it as a public park. There's a little green area that the city says it's a park, but they don't recognize it as a park other than in one line. So basically, this is a hidden park. But now the atlas, if you go to the atlas, the little dots have all changed. So now this is a park, but this little thing where this is where the lift pump area is, it's now listed as commercial vacant. And the key stormwater is this and vacant. So I don't know when that was updated. Who took the stormwater park away? I mean, this is, we have other properties down at the end of Stevenson's Creek. This is a property, but it's still a stormwater property, and it's vacant, but that wasn't changed to vacant. So I don't know why that particularly one was. Here's a picture of what happens in the park. There's a gate that the city has, so you can't get cars back there. I mean, they were doing the work on the lift pump. I mean, look at all this equipment. I mean, I think it's important, with all the storms, we're supposed to have a really big stormy weather. And this was established in 2008 to service the creek. And it was also, I mean, that's the only way to get this equipment to the creek in case you have to dredge it. I mean, I'm just so confused on why you guys would want to have this as a commercial vacant property. At the Skycrest meeting last night, Ms. Poirier, you said it was of the utmost importance of the community. Thank you, Ms. Clarity. Thank you, Ms. Clarity. Is there anyone else here from the Public Direct that wants to speak? Katrina George. Good evening, Mayor and Council. My name is Katrina George. I'm a fourth-generation North Greenwood homeowner. I have submitted a written opposition and supplemental letter, and I ask that both be made part of the public record. Before tonight's vote, residents came for answers. We got pictures. Tuesday's meeting should have been focused on protections for our community needs, for homeowners, renters, heirs, and families who have been here for generations. Instead, we were shown pictures of new homes that look nothing like North Greenwood. Here's the truth. The city could have invested in our neighborhood directly. It did that for Clearwater Beach without an overlay. We did not need a CRA to redirecting our dollars and creating new problems for the people who already live here. And please stop pointing to MLK Junior Avenue as it represents all of North Greenwood. Yes, MLK needs investment, but North Greenwood on its own did not meet the definition of blight. Other areas had to be added to the 2020 study to get that designation. No new assessment has been done since. My September 21st records request is still outstanding, and now that designation is being used to justify and overlay for 75% of our community. The people who are paying for this are the people who live here. Our rising taxes fund the CRA. Two-thirds of our neighbors rent, and rising values mean rising rents. When our homes pass to our children, the tax cap will reset. Investors were ready at Tuesday's meeting. They were not waiting. We should not have to wait for our protections either. And before encouraging more people to live here, let's address what's on the ground. The recent state assessment near MLK and Phillip Jones showed contamination. So here is what I'm asking. Show the current data. Put the protections in writing before decisions are made. Then we can move forward. North Greenwood welcomes investment, but investment should lift people up who they are and not replace them. Thank you, Ms. George. We have another speaker on this agenda. Okay? Anyone else here that desire to speak this agenda? You see none? Move to council discussion. Councilman Menino? Mayor, just a quick comment. Thank you. Appreciate the words. I just want to make sure we all understand that this overlay is an option as a homeowner, correct? They're not being forced to fall in to some new direction or forced to fall into new codes. They actually have the option of staying where they currently are or adjusting to the new overlay. Is that correct? Thank you. Any other thoughts on discussion? No, it's third motion. Motion to approve agenda item 7.1. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? All those unanimous. 10-9-7.2. Approved ordinance 9861-26 on second reading. Approving a city-initiated future land use map amendment to apply the planned redevelopment district overlay with the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Area, excluding areas designated central business district CBD, Industrial Limited IL, Transportation Utility TU, Water Preservation P, and Recreation Open Space R-OS. Thank you. This is the second of two companion amendments in the North Greenwood area. Ordinance 9861-26 is a land use plan amendment to apply the new planned redevelopment district overlay to most of the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Area. This ordinance is the second step and a four-step process to add the overlay. Since the first reading, the countywide planning authority approved the companion countywide map amendment on August the 11th. The overlay will be applied to seven future land use categories in the North Greenwood CRA area. Since the first reading, Section 3 was changed to be consistent with statutes. The opening paragraph was amended to add Industrial Limited and Transportation Utility as exclusions, and the legal description and map were updated to exclude unincorporated parcels. Staff found the amendment furthers and is consistent with Clearwater 2045 and complies with countywide rules. It will not adversely affect surrounding property use or natural resources, and public facilities and services are available consistent with the level of service. Thank you. Ordinance number 9861-26. Ordinance of the state of Clearwater, Florida, emitting the future land use element of the comprehensive plan of the city to apply the planned redevelopment district PRD overlay as an overlay category in addition to the existing residential low RL, residential urban RU, residential medium RM, residential high RH, commercial general CG, institutional I, and residential office general R slash OG, future land use categories for certain real property located within the boundaries of land known as the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Area, CRA, and excluding those portions of the North Greenwood CRA, which are designated with the Central Business District CBD, Recreation, Open Space, ROS, Preservation, P, Industrial Limited, IL, Transportation Utility, TU, and water future land use categories as more specifically identified in attached Exhibit A and as depicted in attached Exhibit B, all within the city of Clearwater and providing an effective date. Anyone here from the public tonight desire to speak to this agenda? We're seeing none. Is there any council discussion? If none, is there a motion? Move approval to agenda item 7.2. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Gend item 7.3. Approve a first amendment to the City of Clearwater State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program Local Housing Assistance Plan covering fiscal years 2024 through 2027 and adopt Resolution 26-17. Good evening. Delaney of the Housing Division. On Monday, I present this item that includes an amendment to the City's Local Housing Assistance Plan. This will add manufactured related strategies to the plan. Happy to address any questions. Anyone here tonight? Oh, we need a reading. Resolution number 26-17. Resolution of the City of Clearwater, Florida, amending the City of Clearwater State Housing Initiatives Partnership Local Housing Assistance Plan to add the required manufacturing housing strategy as required by Senate Bill 594, providing an effective date. How's everyone here from the public? And I desire to speak to this agenda. Are you seeing none? Any council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Move to approve agenda item 7.3. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Gend item 8.1. So, Council, 8.1 is a second reading. Do you want me to go ahead and read the title? Yes. Ordinance number 9889-26. Ordinance of the City of Clearwater, Florida, vacating portions of right-of-way as recorded in Platte Book 13, page 59, in the public records of Pinellas County, Florida, consisting of the Ball, Lantana Avenue, Idlewild 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 6-8 of the public records of Pinellas County, Florida, providing for conditions preceding and subsequent to said vacation, providing an effective date. Is there anyone here tonight from the public who is going to speak this day? Seeing none, is there any council discussion? If not, is there a motion? Motion to approve agenda item 8.1. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Agenda item 8.2. Council, 8.2 is a second reading. Do you want me to go ahead and read the title? Yes, sir. Coordinates number 9908-26, Ordinance of the City of Clearwater, Florida, vacating city rights-of-way, lying in Section 16, Township 29 South, Range 15 East, Pinellas County, Florida, more particularly described as those portions of Lower Street, a 15-foot planted alley, and North Street, also known as Grove Street, lying east of East Street, also known as East Avenue, at abutting blocks 14, 15, and 16, within Golden Ewing, second edition, according to the plat thereof, as recorded in Platte Book 1, page 52 of the public records of Hillsborough County, Florida, of which Pinellas County was formerly a part, providing perconditions, providing severance, and providing an effective date. And I just wanted to go over the ordinance for council, so this would be vacating three different right-of-ways, Lower Street, Grove Street, as well as an alley. But before the right-of-ways are vacated, certain conditions need to occur. There's a second reading today. So, for instance, the conditions that need to occur is that the applicant needs to attain a CO for the development within four years of today's date, if the second reading is approved by council. And the development means the parking lot, the building, everything, must obtain CO within four years, which would be October the 1st, 2030. The applicant would also need to execute any new easements for current or existing public utilities. The applicant would be responsible for the relocation of utilities within the right-of-way at no expense of the city. And that the applicant would be responsible for any expenses relating to the replacing, removing, relocating, any of the crossing signs involving the railroad. And that the city may continue full use of the right-of-ways until such time as the city issues a right-of-way permit as needed for the construction of the development. The city shall not issue or be required to issue the right-of-way permit until the city is issued building permits authorizing construction supporting the development. This time, does the applicant want to make any comments? I think we've all been through it before. I would, but I'd just like to talk and I would repeat myself. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone here from the public and I desire to speak this to you? Okay. Todd Moore. Todd Moore. Long day. Thanks for the new format. I can only define what you guys are proposing to do here on this Agenda 8.2 as extinction. It will be forever. And common sense says to me that that's just logical thinking as well as this can't be. The odd three have me perplexed. The majority of your constituents do not want this. And it would be proven if a vote was allowed. The fact that you're expediting this is indicative of the non-majority constituents you serve. Will this Evo Entertainment Center actually be a reality based solely from the fact that the word proposed is used so liberally? And does your assurance come solely from the fact that you are putting a four-year deadline upon it? 100,000 seat stadiums. Active build status is four years. The Sphere was built in five. And that's a big screen. The average Evo built is 10 to 12 months. Mr. Menino has mentioned on more than one occasion that this lot has sat vacant since 1922. I'm really not sure how this is a relevant talking point. Just because something sits empty doesn't mean it needs to be built upon. How has this street been labeled so active and unsafe? Maybe 280 feet? And that's a liberal guess. An average car with a professional driver on a closed, unobstructed course might reach 45 miles an hour prior to having to stop again, which we know that's never going to happen. Speed tables would be an excellent place for you. This street's not unsafe and can never be categorized as that. We need more talking points on this project that mirror some of the other council members not default to a safety net from an outside source that some of you are so fond of. Thank you, sir. Next speaker. Michelle Moore. It is such an honor to stand here tonight as one of the representatives of almost 11,000 Clearwater citizens who signed the petitions to save our public streets downtown who could not be here tonight. Some of us had to get here at 7 a.m. this morning to ensure our voices would be heard as we do not have the luxury to summon human placeholders on demand. We thank the citizens of Clearwater for their desire to save our downtown public right-of-ways for future generations, including Laura and Grove Streets, because once they're gone, they're gone, which has been stated from this dais more than once. The community support of this citizen-led initiative has been uplifting and admirable or admirable, excuse me, to behold. Number one, by volunteering thousands of hours. Number two, donating above and beyond what we could have ever imagined so the mission could be completed in the short amount of time that was given. And number three, patiently, the citizens have been signing multiple petitions to save and speak up for all of our downtown public streets. One of these petitions is being verified as we're here tonight by the supervisor of elections and the second petition to amend our charter so that not one more street downtown can be vacated without a public vote will be turned in to the city very soon. We understand the history and the monopoly of our downtown by a single entity and their associates is being accelerated. There is nothing we can do about that given the history of Clearwater and recent decisions by this council. But our actual right of ways losing our public navigational routes downtown is a bridge too far. Once they're gone, they're gone forever. We want to put that on repeat. Privatizing our downtown core roadways, streets, and alleys is a disservice to the future of our city and a slap in the face to the revitalization efforts to bring more tourists and large-scale non-Scientology events downtown. If we allow a moat to be built around our downtown, it's going to not be the vibe that people are looking for when considering an afternoon or evening destination, except to come out of maybe morbid curiosity to see for themselves the weird city where all the lights are on but nobody's home. And I can attest to that to my drive-thru downtown last night at 8.30. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Thank you, Mayor Rector. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Jennifer Lancey. Hi. My name is Jennifer Lancey and I'm a Clearwater resident. I'd like to first thank the city police officers for setting up the organized area this morning. That was very helpful. I was the first one here at 7 a.m. So if I stumble my words or seem a little bit nervous and a little tired, I just want to share a little bit of background information because I've heard a lot of people over the past several months do that and I think it's important here to make my point. I just want to be transparent. I have a bachelor's degree in education and a concentration in science. I have over 10 years of teaching experience and 20 years parenting three children. You may wonder what this all matters in relation to the street evacuation that we're all here for. Let me tie it together. So as an experienced teacher and a mother, just like many of you, we teach our children to share. We teach our children to be problem solvers. We teach them to be critical thinkers. Yet these characteristics that are very simple and basic and that we all need to do as a society to function together cooperatively, they're not being displayed here in this situation. I'm absolutely shocked that the people who are designing the EBO, the developers, architectures, contractors, they don't seem like they can come up with a design that can blend together two different groups of the community having different opinions that we don't need to evacuate streets for things like this. We could make an overhead walkway. We could have a parking garage. There are ways that we as a community can come together and share and make this still happen. I know a lot of you think the people of Save the Garden or those who oppose this that were bigoted or other terrible things that we've heard were not. We simply just want to share our community with those who are monopolizing it. So I stand here today opposing the streets being taken over and there are 10,000 plus people that have signed signatures backing me up as well. So I pray that you who have been elected officials, I pray that you would do your duty and that you would follow what the majority of the citizens of this county are pleading for. Thank you. Jill Cummings. Good evening. I want to thank what I consider to be another hosting by Scientology for our council meetings and for attendance. It is remarkable that this dog and pony show continues. I am here of my own free will. I have written my own comments. I know why I'm here. I'm also a city of Clearwater registered voter. I'm also here to represent the citizens that can't spend the entire day as other people have spoken to. It is undeniably true that there is major community support to maintain our streets and not further vacate not just roads, us, the citizens. Your efforts to continue to vacate is vacating the citizens. Yet, our city attorney, Mike, David, and Ryan continue to insult the citizens and have already resigned yourselves to continue to bully and belittle our constitutional rights. I am grateful we are now on a national stage. I am grateful this is being reported on. These are optics. Let's stop the game. The developer, the money guy of Evo, says if I don't get my street for parking and my idea of parking, then you don't get the money. I say take your ball and go home. There are several solutions to maintain a city's independence than one ball player. Although, David, you grotesquely and insulted attacked our mayor implying this is a deal too good to be true. And if I think I remember correctly, you said, I'll say this to your face. And we know the adage is if it's too good to be true, pretty much we know it. Evo has an unsettling history varying from million-dollar fraud lawsuits, evictions, and corporate fractures. The Evo location in Homestead, Florida abruptly closed its doors. This project will fail. And if you decide to vacate more property, more streets, and us, then you will. Thank you. Next speaker. Brooks Gibbs. Hey, Brooks Gibbs, a Clearwater resident. On behalf of thousands of Clearwater residents, we're asking that three things happen today. One of you makes a motion to send this to a special election for the citizens to decide whether or not to vacate these three right-of-ways. Number two, it'd be great if a second happened. Another council member seconds that motion. And then all five of you vote. Yeah. Let's go ahead and let the people decide. And if for some reason that can't happen because of legal reasons, maybe, you know, ask the city attorney to say, what would it take to send this to a referendum? What would we have to do? You guys say that you want what's best for Clearwater. then let Clearwater decide what is best. I think we're capable. I think the absolute right thing to do is go ahead and send this to a citywide special election because that's what the voters want to happen. This is what over 10,000 signatures looks like. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Blood, just the paper cuts for the blood. Nothing else. But sweat and tears went into this. You know, a lot of hard work. I mean, thousands of conversations. It's a real remarkable thing. And this is 10,000 signatures for a charter amendment to make voter approval required for land transfers and right-of-ways in the downtown core. And it's going to go to a special election when we turn this in and then the voters will change the charter forever, which actually means that you'll no longer have the power to vacate streets in the downtown core, make land transfers in the downtown core, and the future city councils will have you to blame because you guys couldn't read the room. You couldn't get a hint. You couldn't understand that this is a delicate area where the people want to protect public land. I don't know what else Clearwater residents can do except sign a petition and go through this process. And unfortunately, if you decide to vacate these three streets tonight, then we'll have to do another 10,000 signatures. I don't want to do that. We would have to have donors come in and say we're willing to fund it. We certainly have the team. We're now a well-oiled machine. These are over 10,000 signatures and just a couple weeks ago we sent you 10,863 and a few months before that we sent another 9,000. That's 30,000 signatures that we have provided you in the last six months with the entire city of Clearwater saying stop giving away downtown land. Stop it. And now it's going to have to be stripped from you the power to do so. It's not what we want because we elect you to do the will of the people and you're not doing that with this situation. So we will be submitting these soon and we just might have a new petition. Sir, next speaker. Jill Gibbs. Hi, I'm Jill and I'm here tonight. I am aware that my plea will fall on deaf ears of three of our council members. Nonetheless, here's my plea along thousands and thousands of Clearwater residents. Please do not permanently hand over more of our downtown Clearwater streets. Mr. Albritton indicated that it's mind-boggling to him that we aren't all on board with permanently giving away our downtown land for an alleged entertainment center. Well, what's mind-boggling to the rest of us is that you're okay meeting the applicants' unreasonable and ridiculous demand to take these streets from the citizens in order to bring this project in the first place. Both you and the applicants appear to have done very well for yourselves in life. You are well-educated and very successful at business and yet you can't come up with even one alternative solution to get families safely inside a building without permanently handing over our streets. Are you aware that parking for this library for families to get here is across the street on Osceola Avenue, one of the busiest streets downtown? I've not seen any concern for them to get safely inside this building. No one is buying the excuse of safety to hand over more public land to the same entity that has already monopolized almost our entire downtown. What seems more feasible is that you're being told that downtown activation won't happen unless you hand over our streets and just like that you're selling out the people of Clearwater. This is why in less than 90 days over 10,000 voters signed a petition to require voter approval before any more of their streets can be given to a private entity and that you can tune out thousands of your constituents is what truly is mind-boggling. It's also important to me to notify you that Sarah Heller from the Church of Scientology has approached me three times now to negotiate a process specifically outside the council where they would let us people swap just like they are. I find this incredibly audacious for her to assume that her organization runs the show here. While I appreciate her alleged concern for our team it would not be appropriate for me to negotiate a process with the Church of Scientology on behalf of the broader community of Clearwater as to whether or not we can have a place in this civic process. Their long lines appear to be only for optics. Most are not sure why they're here and they're certainly not here to speak. City Council members it's your duty to get control of this madness but I end again with my final plea keep our public downtown streets public. Thank you ma'am. Michael Helmstetter. Good evening there Mayor Rector and City Council team thank you all for your servant leadership and officers thank you guys for always keeping everybody in this room safe at all times. My name is Michael Helmstetter I currently lead an operation down the street with about 80 servants case managers helping Pinellas County's most vulnerable population. Before that I was the COO and CEO of Clearwater Jolly Trolley and prior to that here I ran bus operations for the Pinellas School District. I am here to support the vacation of the roads during my time at the Jolly Trolley we ran 28,000 hours a year and our drivers got to know the people and talk to our guests and the hotel concierge and the main question that was asked over and over again is what more is there to do when the beach is not available and as we all know things are outside of our scope of control when we get those afternoon storms every day the families that save their money that come here to vacation we can't control the weather but what we can control is more opportunities for them to do things so as servant leaders I think we ask ourselves a question who do we serve from this decision and that decision is the kids not having to sit in the hotel room but can go out and now do something else family fun activities and so much more you know when dolphin winter tail had come out the dolphin's tail with winter there was 2.6 million people that had visited that and over 2 million of those people got into our trolleys that we handle the parking situations the economic boost is tremendous the hotels that invested in our community to be here and to give the people the greatest stays that they can be do we have a duty to them to provide more things for our tourists our guests our neighbors the people that we invited down here to do and will that increase will more people come back again sooner will more people take the day drive to come down will people stay an extra night or two in the hotels to raise the taxes so for everybody that you know is a father we can imagine taking your family on vacation and being limited from the scope of the weather that we have no control of so I am a huge fan of please evacuate that let's get this center in and let's increase the value so we can continue to showcase this incredible town that we have thank you thanks sir next speaker Lior Hayson I've been in Clearwater over 30 years operating hospitality business restaurants right now I am I have one in a restaurant at Treasure Island and I have just purchased a place in downtown Clearwater and developing it so I've been through the changes of Clearwater Beach to where Mike Roberto was the vision of developing Clearwater Beach and we see what came out of it and it was a beautiful dream in the beginning and the result is shown right now and I think the vision of downtown Clearwater is going in that direction of the development of what we want to do now it's in contingency of the beach of what can be done over here in an extension for us to go and have an activity downtown activity it's no activity right now we have to drive somewhere else to somebody else downtown not Clearwater downtown and through the years as we remember the bridge was when the location was changed everything was going through downtown and everything changed from moving on the bridge and it took the last 10-15 years trying to build downtown back does not really succeed with a lot of the now that we have a game place it is a sacrifice to a degree like it was sacrificed in Clearwater Beach I had several restaurants over there for many years and I went through all the transition there was a lot of resistance on sacrificing some of areas to one developer or another but results the vision was basically to where we want to go right now with Clearwater downtown so I highly support and want everybody to stick to the original plan and to what we want to do to develop downtown Clearwater to be an extension destination of Clearwater Beach thank you David Fulcher hello mayor and council I'm not a public speaker I did write my own speech and I'm very passionate about what I'm going to talk about so if you don't mind I have to read it because I'll mess up I have children I'm a father grandfather of six three children on my own and safety is very important to me I run a food truck and operate in Clearwater and Largo area and I'm restricted to that area I can't work anywhere else so it's important to me and I'm kind of tired of working in a ghost town so I've been here for 10 years and my earlier life I was a professional chef and lived in Fort Lauderdale area I left the city because for me it was too chaotic if anybody's been to Fort Lauderdale and seen what's happened over there forget it it's not the place to be it lost its charm Clearwater is different and for a small town feeling while having the potential of being world class because I think Clearwater is beautiful and what you've done with the park and the thing for the kids with the water it's just awesome landscaping is great it's awesome Clearwater is different has a lot of potential and to be world class as a food truck operator my livelihood depends on large amounts of people especially families and children and their gathering which doesn't happen very much in downtown and that's what is missing in the downtown Clearwater unless it is you have the sound but the sound is for adults there's really nothing for the kids that is why I'm thrilled about the family entertainment center coming to Cleveland street and the largest street in the world bowling alley arcades laser tag and more it's going to be great for the kids this is something which is complimentary to families and something that kids of all ages can enjoy and make the area even more wholesome because I serve children and families I am fully aware of the need for safety when serving people from my truck I put on the lights and families are mindful of the kids around the family entertainment will need an aspect of security and safety which is why it is critical that these two roads and alleyway are vacated to make smooth continuous safe space for families to travel through the center I mean if there's other avenues that you could entertain other than the roads like someone mentioned that would be great just safety is very important if you've ever seen a kid run out of a bus and almost get run over by a car which I've seen many times it doesn't matter if you're going 40 miles an hour it doesn't matter if you have speed bumps when a child is killed by a car it hurts everyone having straight access from the parking lot to the facility without intersecting roads is a no-brainer how can we not vacate those streets thank you for your consideration and thank you for your time thank you sir Dwight I'm sorry I saw an accent over the good evening mayor and city council members my name is Dwight Wine I'm a resident of Station Square Condos on Cleveland Street in downtown Clearwater my wife and I have lived there for 11 years as a resident who will be next door to the family entertainment center I'm very excited about what's going to be brought to the downtown it's going to be a huge anchor for all of Cleveland Street it will especially help the eastern section eastern block which is in need of a large boost my aunt used to live here in the 70s and I'd come to visit her I know what it was like back then the city was dying it was empty where it's going now compared to then shows that the downtown is going in the right direction I don't think some people really appreciate this development as much as they should I have a perspective I'd like to share about the roads that are being discussed specifically Laura Street I live on the 8th floor of Station Square on the corner that faces both east and north I have a bird's eye view of the northeast street and Laura Street I've seen that Laura Street is both a hazard and a nuisance let me explain from where I live we have seen people who shoot down the street and go around the arm that's supposed to protect the people from the train then they turn and I've seen them actually riding alongside the train and go up and make a right-hand turn on Drew Street not to mention that to get to Laura Street Myrtle has four lanes of opposing traffic it often takes a long time to get across I've seen people giving up on waiting and then just try to shoot across with vehicles that are blocking their view hoping for the best it's hair raising to watch luckily I haven't witnessed any accidents the other thing is I see cyclists coming down the street they're supposed to stop at the intersection of Laura and they don't they cut right in front of the traffic the cars that are driving I've been in the medical field most of my adult life I know that safety is of the utmost importance I think this section of Laura Street should be closed since Cleveland and Drew are safer to travel and we shouldn't waste this huge investment in the future of Clearwater thank you thanks sir next speaker Abigail Chancellor good evening Mayor and City Council my name is Abigail Chancellor I am a citizen and a business owner downtown you may know me as the owner of Bulletproof Gym which is next door to the future Evo Bulletproof has been in business the last nine years in downtown Clearwater and now is soon to be neighbors to the Evo family center I am beyond thrilled for Evo to come downtown Clearwater right next door to me being a business owner on Cleveland Street right next to Evo lot I have no doubt this will be awesome for my business alongside every other business downtown I would not suffer from the roads that are needed for Evo to be built I am obviously first hand right there we all park out front and it's definitely a safety concern for going into Evo I definitely would lose from Evo not being built as a business owner downtown I do feel taking this 50 million dollar private investment for the downtown would be exponential for all of us as citizens and business owners I have also been a resident of downtown Clearwater for my entire life born in Morton Point Hospital and raised here in downtown the whole time I've always wished we could have more fun in our downtown so hearing we are gaining this to our neighborhood was the most exciting concept I've ever heard obviously being young here I have many clients that always ask us you know hey what can we do downtown and this would be an awesome addition to saying that I think this is going to be the thing that brings life to downtown and more family more community to our downtown Clearwater my husband has also been a we'd love to raise our family and our children here as well thinking with my family in mind Eva would play a huge role in wanting to raise my future kids here and stay here for a very long time a developed community is what I want for my family especially an entertainment center where they could play and hang out through their whole entire childhood I want a place I feel is perfectly safe for my children myself and my family I also know all my clientele personally will absolutely love having the perks of this venue right next to my business and vice versa and an awesome addition to Coachman Park like someone said you know we have the sound but this is awesome for the kids and the family this is why I urge you to support the vacation of the two roads and alleyway needed for the Evo Family Entertainment Center thank you very much thank you Charity Livingston evening mayor city council members and administrators my name is Charity Livingston my husband and I live in Station Square I grew up in Georgia but I've been coming to Clearwater since the 1980s when my grandpa lived down here he was a snow birder from Minnesota but then he decided to move down here permanently he passed away in the year 2000 but I kept coming down for visits until recently I decided to move here myself my husband and I run an AI and automation company where we do education strategy and ethical AI implementation and engineering I want to speak in support of the Evo Center but I think everyone here supports it so more than that I would like to say that I've seen lots of streets change in my many years I've been coming here I would consider that this is just part of the evolution of a community it grows and it needs change for example part of Cleveland Street became pedestrian only also the highway got rerouted with a big bridge to the beach obviously these projects supported pedestrians specifically which in turn supports the businesses around here this is the primary reason my husband and I chose to live in downtown we work from home with clients from all over the world but wanted to live specifically in a walking community cities make changes like this all the time expert studies about the traffic patterns exist and I think we should trust the experts and create whatever makes the most sense for Evo and the future of Clearwater and for what it's worth my grandpa was a Mormon in my family we had people from lots of religions Protestant Christians Catholics Scientologists Mormons Buddhists atheists and we all get along so our religious preferences in my opinion should not decide whether or not we have a voice about the health and vibrancy of our city we want to see cooperation and collaboration to build a thriving downtown Clearwater I think that if you approve these streets being reutilized as part of the Evo Center and its parking lot it will work for all of us thank you thank you ma'am next speaker Mikhail Kodortsov hello council good see you all city manager staff my name is Mikhail Kodortsov I've been a resident in downtown Clearwater for the last 15 years I'm a real estate agent I'm a board member at Station Square and I also serve on downtown development board downtown is where I grew up it's where I created my family and made many friends I know every corner of every street the menu of each and every restaurant I probably call downtown merchants my friends and Clearwater my home for the last three years I've had the pleasure of serving with you on the downtown development board I know we share the same goal of making downtown great I've recently seen Cleveland Street changing and growing and I hope that one day I'll be able to say that they helped to make its transformation a reality I don't think I need to explain why I'm excited about the Evo Entertainment Center what a game changer is going to be for the downtown as the CEO of the Evo said that the center will bring 650,000 people to downtown each year but I do want to speak to you about the requested street vacations as the resident of Station Square I use Laura Street myself every day but I still want to see it vacated you see over the last decade I helped over 100 families to relocate to Clearwater and Clearwater Beach and I can speak on behalf of all of them that safety of their kids is the prime main concern when it comes to any activity it is vital to create a safe environment and that's one of the main reasons why they chose Clearwater in the first place on top of that in my professional opinion Evo will significantly increase the value of nearby properties especially Station Square using a little theater is not an issue for me when we have advantages of both safety and more vibrant downtown that increases in value I want to thank you for your consideration on this matter and ask you to approve these requested street vacations thank you thank you next speaker Martin Matthews good evening Mr. Mayor City Council members and staff my name is Martin Matthews I've been coming to Clearwater for nearly a decade and now I live here I love downtown Clearwater because I like being able to walk to the restaurants shows and other activities on Cleveland Street I also brought my financial services business here my office is located in the atrium building downtown and I enjoy advising people to move to Clearwater through my business so they can also be a part of the community here I'm here today because the street vacation requests will personally affect me I'm a resident of Station Square which is right down the street from the future Evo Family Entertainment Center every time I drive out of my building I use Lower Street so when I heard about this I took a closer look because I wanted to see how much it would really affect me I tried a different route it added less than a minute to my trip that time added to my commute is a minor inconvenience compared to what the whole community will be getting with the Evo Family Entertainment Center this private investment is worth $50 million with no grants no incentives and no subsidies zero taxpayer dollars then there's Rose Street and the Alley honestly I've never driven on them and they are not currently open for public use so I don't think vacating them will affect anything or anyone being a downtown resident I love seeing all the projects happening in the area a venue like this is the perfect draw to bring more people downtown the community would gain a world class venue for families and children to enjoy during the last city council meeting I heard many people talking about the safety issue the safety issue of having an active road between Evo and his parking lot this is personal for me because my own brother was killed when he was hit by a car while crossing the street during the daytime I know that kids will be very excited when they arrive and will be rushing to go inside the venue having an active road between them and their destination is completely unsafe no one should have to experience what I did but these reasons I ask for your support in approving these road vacations thank you asia deniko hello mayor and city council members my name is asia deniko and I'm 17 years old and I live in station square which is right next to the site of future Evo entertainment family center my family chose to live downtown because we wanted restaurants entertainment and activities within walking distance we knew that sometimes there would be noise activity or the occasional need to take a different route because something was happening in the area that's what comes with living in downtown anyone could tell you that I do sometimes take laura street when I go to school in the morning drive to the grocery store with my parents or go somewhere else but if I have to drive around the building instead of taking that route it really makes no difference to my travel time I also think that is a very small price to pay for having an incredible entertainment center right next to my house right now my friends and I who live downtown often have to drive 30 minutes or more to get to a movie theater or other large entertainment center I would love being able to walk out of my building and meet my friends for an evening at Evo without even getting in the car I also think it would be great for my younger siblings and their friends to be able to walk to a place like this where they can spend time together and have fun instead of sitting on their phones so choosing between a few roads outside my window and a minute's eight by taking Laura street compared to an incredible movie theater and entertainment center my choice is obvious as a young person who actually lives in Clearwater next to the site I am so excited for what it will bring to downtown Clearwater I ask that you support the request of road vacation so Evo can become a reality thank you speaker Chelsea Matthews good evening mayor and council members my name is Chelsea Matthews my husband and I live in station square right next to where the Evo family center will be and our parking garage is directly adjacent to the roads that we're discussing tonight so it's literally my neighborhood I drive these streets I walk downtown and I see this area every day from what I personally observe these streets get very little use and they're not essential to those of us living next door I also understand why the layout of Evo is so important when I was 15 years old my best friend got hit by a car and was killed it was one of the most devastating experiences of my life so it's very important because I live right there I know exactly where the roads sit in relation to the site and I would much rather see an area designed for people to walk into Evo than a keeping a lightly used road running right through I'm also really looking forward to Evo my husband and I moved to Clearwater because we saw a beautiful city with tremendous potential and in just a year we've seen businesses open buildings restored and life come to downtown for someone who actually lives beside these roads and uses the area every day I think the proposed layout makes sense I'm excited about what's to come in Clearwater and I ask you to vote in favor of the roads of vacating the roads next speaker Yuria Denko good evening mayor and city council my name is Yulia Denekom I'm an environmental scientist an inventor business owner a mother of four and a downtown Clearwater resident my family has been coming to Clearwater since 2016 three years ago we decided to move here and recently I opened an environmental consulting business here in downtown in my home country I built one of the largest environmental companies my work received national recognition for business and innovation and a technology that I invented has been used in hundreds of oil spill responses including the deep water horizon disaster in Gulf of Mexico my approach is to look at things from the perspective of the greatest good for the future of everyone not just my own benefit and when I look at Evo from that perspective I see something that can become a destination I live in Station Square the closest residential building to the Evo project and the construction site is right under my balcony so I'm one of the residents who is directly affected by this request I use Lower Street regularly to go to different destinations with it vacated I will have to change my route and it may add an extra two minutes to my drive but I still support it as a mother of four the safety and independence of my kids are both very important to me and living in downtown allows my children to walk to school and the park my family loves movies but we often skip them because we have to drive all the way to Tampa for really good theater having this with these within walking distance would make a real difference for our everyday life people travel across the world to experience something that they cannot experience anywhere else and where people go money and investment follow and the whole area flourishes if Clearwater has the world's largest movie screen suddenly we have something that no other city has so when I compare my personal inconveniences with what my family local businesses and downtown Clearwater can gain the choice is easy for me of course we need the Evo Entertainment Center for these reasons I ask you to approve the vacation of Laura Street Grove Street and Ellie for Evo. Adam Alessandrini. Hello. Good evening Mayor, Council members. So I'm Adam Alessandrini. It's a job. I'm the name. It's a tough one. So I want to talk to you about why I support vacating these roads. I work in the software industry but I own 21 units in downtown Clearwater right and my office is right in the SunTrust building right so I've been in downtown Clearwater for the last 15 years where I spend almost every day of my life right so you know I invest in this community I care about it I want to see things happen you know that benefit our community in downtown Clearwater right I love the beach we all love the beach right but I care about what happens in downtown Clearwater this is where I spend a bunch of my time right I got two daughters right 10 and 14 I want to be able to take them to downtown the sound's great the beach is great but I want to be able to go to dinner taking a movie rock climbing all that good stuff and you know that's what Evo's going to do right so I invest my time my energy my property down here right I'm actually going through this same thing myself I've got some personal property there's a land vacation happening and it's a really great way to repurpose land for the whole community right so that's kind of what drew my attention to this is like I'm going through the same process it's a simple process you know it seems like an obvious choice so as a voter constituent someone that uses the downtown area please vote yes on this vacation thank thank you sir yeah next speaker Kiel Maslov good evening mayor and state council members my name is Kiel Maslov I'm 22 years old I was born in Kazakhstan I moved to Clearwater with my family when I was 11 years old I played hockey most of my life and a high school travel around the east coast playing with different teams Pennsylvania Connecticut and Jersey I like living Clearwater because it's calm and the beaches right here there's a lot to do at the beach and I would love something like Evo right here in downtown I could go there after work with my friends to watch movies rock climb and go bowling I live in Station Square the same complex my parents and I first moved to when I was 11 years old I enjoy sitting on my balcony and relaxing and from what I've seen the road is lightly used I usually see only a few cars that go through each hour and I think vacating that section of Lower Street that intersects Evo side as well as the unused street in the valley makes sense I know personally I wouldn't mind as someone who uses Lower Street to enter and exit Station Square there are multiple other ways of getting around and even if there was a minor inconvenience I think the trade trade-off is well worth it and I definitely want Evo to come to Clearwater so I ask you to approve these street vacations and allow Evo to come to our city thank you thank you sir next speaker Brandy Vaughn my name is Brandy Vaughn I moved here from Southern California my husband and I have two little girls four and ten who are very active and keep us quite busy we love going out to the beach playing at parks camping exploring trails restaurants shops movies you name it as a kid I walked everywhere I remember walking for an hour in the summer heat with my friends just to get to one of our favorite movie theaters we purposely buy tickets for later in the day that give us time to wander around visit shops in a bookstore grab a meal at local restaurant and then settle in for a movie the Evo family entertainment center has been something my family particularly my ten-year-old has been very excited about the world's largest screen the rock climbing the bowling the arcade they cannot wait my daughter has many friends and pinballs who have said they really want to visit I'm already getting asked by her if the biggest movie theater in the world will be done before I understand that these street vacations are being requested as a safety measure and I would like to share a story that shows just why this is so it was two days after my 15th birthday a friend was walking and on his way to use a drunk driver drove through friend lunch to push another person out of the way effectively saving their life but losing it since that day I have worked alongside others to raise awareness about pedestrians it would be a mistake to not follow safety guidelines as laid out by you and I feel like it would be a huge gain for the city here this is a big move a map me I could go on about the famous shopping centers in California where people come to shop from all over the world and I could say that they all have movie theaters please do what would be best for Clearwater and listen to the number of citizens looking forward to this landmark and vote yes on vacating music next speaker apologize ahead of time Scott Cleachester sorry thank council members thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak my name is Scott Chichester I'm a certified public accountant who moved to Clearwater from New York City in May 2021 I run my CPA practice from the atrium building downtown and I live just up the block at the apex I employ people locally and am proud to call two of the downtown restaurants my clients though I moved here only five years ago I have been coming to Clearwater since 1997 recently I've noticed the effort to build a vibrant downtown and I'm excited about what is going on I'm especially thrilled by the plans for the Evo family entertainment center having lived in New York City for decades I witnessed the renaissance of many individual neighborhoods for instance I live just two blocks from the famed 42nd Street New York City's economic development agency described the street as a visible symbol of the city's decline in the 1970s and 80s yet all of this changed in 1994 when the governor the mayor and the CEO of Disney jointly announced Disney's commitment to restore the new Amsterdam theater the restoration was completed in 1997 and the rest is history the block transformed from one of the most challenged urban corridors into one of the busiest and most vibrant entertainment and retail destinations in the world all anchored by Disney's commitment to restore a theater I believe Clearwater is on the cusp of a similar circumstance New York's success was built on the cooperation of state officials city officials private enterprise and local non-profits I believe if all of these interests work together we can ignite a similar renaissance right here in the downtown for this reason I asked the city council to approve the street vacations needed for the EVO project thank you thank you speaker Marianne Langenfeld Langenfeld thank you ma'am Jerry Langenfeld I also want to say I approve the vacation thank you sir thank you Martin Tipsy Marshall Marshall sorry and I'm in favor of it thank you sir Janice Basler I snuck in I did not get here at 7 a.m. in the morning I want to say I'm not supporting the vacation of Laurel Street but I also want to tell you how bizarre it was for me to get here today at 445 because I worked so I went to get in line I walked around the side of the building there were lots of people there there didn't seem to be a line they were hanging out having water talking to each other sitting on the tables someone offered me a stool I took it I sat down up in the shade the mine started moving I stood up I gave my stool back many people did not move I was able to just walk on through now I got in here kind of late but nonetheless is all of those people out there just for a show to intimidate other people's they drive by they see hundreds of people and they go hmm I can't wait in that line to have my voice heard I just don't quite understand that but anyway um I thought I'd share that so you still don't have a good process for getting all of us in here who want to speak um I want to say many of my neighbors who I've talked with are not in support of giving away this street they voice their concern they sign petitions they say the city council doesn't care there must be some other motivation that the city council has if they keep voting for this it's sad that several of you are not listening to your constituents the voters remember two years is not that far away many of my neighbors are barely managing to pay for groceries and taxes they don't have money to come to a big ego center they do like some of the free events that you do down in the city park the duck thing was just wonderful downtown Clearwater does not need a sprawling parking lot regardless of the amount of money that's promised we don't need to be bullied we don't need to be threatened into giving away our streets Clearwater is a great location we can get other people to be interested in here if you expect many more people to visit downtown Clearwater we need all the streets that we have you already gave one away so I ask would you please if you don't believe me or all the petitions that we have signed put it to a vote let the citizens of Clearwater decide on a ballot so you can hear from everybody equally so thank you so much for your time I appreciate it have a good night thank you it's nice not to be here till midnight thank you ma'am next speaker Sharon Hilstead thank you thank you ma'am Margarita Snyder thank you ma'am and Courtney Washington good evening my name is Courtney Washington my wife and I moved to Clearwater from Orlando back in 2019 I normally watch these meetings online and stay quiet but after the last several meetings I feel compelled to speak across the country local governments are making major decisions without listening to their constituents specifically regarding flock cameras data center construction and approvals to develop protected land here in Clearwater the issue is giving away streets save the garden gathered signatures twice to overturn your three to two decision to vacate garden and let voters have a say I signed both petitions they came to my door the first time excuse me and I sought them out the second my handwriting may be atrocious but I can promise you that my information is valid I oppose any one entity having a monopoly on downtown Clearwater reports indicate that Church of Scientology and its associates own more than 100 buildings and over 100 acres downtown I do not want the city to cede more streets or lots to further concentrate that ownership this is not about religious bigotry I would feel the same if a Christian church synagogue mosque temple or any other religious organization were doing this I support religious freedom but that does not require surrendering public property I was raised in Jacksonville where first Baptist church held enormous sway over the city council for decades I am familiar with the influence of religious organization can have on zoning and development decisions I understand that a 50 million dollar investment sounds attractive however the developers refusal to reconsider a street level parking lot requiring the closure of two streets in an alley is troubling Clearwater would be left with a single-story surface lot offering no shade or shelter from summer sun or storms the message appears to be accept every demand or lose the project whether that is hardball negotiating or a sign of future difficulties it should give the council pause I understand that the squeaky wheel gets the grease but the loudest voices do not necessarily represent the majority I respectfully ask you to slow down wait for the county to validate the signatures and pause before giving away more streets this process feels rushed and these requests are unlikely to end here I want to believe Clearwater City Council will listen to its constituents rather than turn its back on them please prove me right thank you thank you man next speaker all right with that we will move to council discussion so we need discussion that's my Robert okay I've heard my name brought up several times tonight so I have a response I keep hearing something in these discussions that I believe deserves an answer I keep hearing the statement these are citizens roads and I hear the company by the explanation that as a city council we have a responsibility to protect the citizen roads I agree but that is precisely why I think we need to ask another question which citizens are we talking about hundreds of people who live work and own businesses in our downtown have taken hours out of their day to come before us and ask us to vacate these few roads so that their businesses can function better and their way of life can improve they are are they not citizens do their voices not count so I think we have to ask ourselves what this debate is really about I don't believe this is simply about protecting a road I believe other considerations are at work here and whatever those considerations may be I don't believe they are what we as elected officials are here to decide we were elected to make decisions we believe are in the Clearwater's best interest we took an oath to do just that not to protect the piece of pavement simply because it's a road but to look at the bigger picture and decide what is best for the city's future I have a hard time imagining another city being presented with this opportunity and property owners businesses and residents coming forward together and asking us to make this change and simply turning that opportunity away leadership means recognizing when an opportunity is worth pursuing it means weighing the facts and it means recognizing that sometimes the public interest is not found in saying no sometimes the public interest is found in aligns allowing something to move forward the citizens of Clearwater are not a single voice they do not have a single opinion as a lifelong resident of this city I've heard Clearwater talk about revitalizing downtown for decades we have studied it we have planned it we have debated it and have watched opportunities come and go and now finally we have momentum the sound amphitheater is a huge success the capital theater is part of our downtown story the ballot hotel is being built next to the library here new restaurants are opening along cleveland street the 400 unit upscale apartment project is under construction on the old city hall site we have private investment people are putting their money their businesses and their future behind downtown Clearwater we finally have people believing in downtown again and I believe it is our responsibility as council members to protect that momentum Clearwater has worked for years to create and now we have proposed a proposed 50 million dollar entertainment center that is that could become another significant piece of the downtown landscape whatever anyone thinks about any individual project this is what momentum looks like and momentum is fragile cities do not get unlimited opportunities to transform their downtown development is complicated finance financing changes markets change developers change their plans and opportunities disappear I've seen it over and over again in the 20 years I've done here so when Clearwater finally begins to see significant projects moving forward at the same time I think we as council members have to ask ourselves is our job to help maintain that momentum or are we going to become the reason it slows down we also need to remember that our role as is as council members we should ask hard questions we should scrutinize projects we should protect public interest but it is not our job to question a proven successful developers requirements and business model one that has worked for develop for that developer for years and tell them that we know better the downtown core district is specifically designed to be flexible in order to encourage exactly this type of catalytic project while it may not be what some people would prefer to see our responsibility is not to impose our personal preference on a project that meets the vision we established for the downtown core our responsibility is to create conditions for investment for growth for revitalization and then let those willing to invest their time and capital do what they do best I believe history will not judge Clearwater by how many studies we've commissioned or how many meetings we've held it will judge us by whether when the opportunity finally arrived we had the courage and the judgment to recognize it and perhaps that is what decision really comes down to perhaps the greatest danger before us is not that Clearwater is changing perhaps it is that after waiting so long for change we become so afraid of making the wrong decision that we make it impossible to make any decisions at all and I believe Clearwater deserves better than that we have an opportunity before us at some point leadership requires us to listen weigh the facts and then to make a decision that is why we were elected to do that's why we're here and that is why I believe this is the right decision for Clearwater sure we'll flow down the line um your uh your name was brought up uh several times I think it's probably only fitting to take a quick second an opportunity as you have a couple meetings left um to just highlight a couple things you just said that make a lot of sense and uh to thank you um for your courage your judgment um and truly believing believing for these many years that you've served the community and showed leadership believing in not only the potential and future of Clearwater as a whole and as a city but in our downtown uh and I appreciate that so thank you David um first reading I approached this a little different and I kind of went through the economic side of it and all the wonderful things that it does uh on the tax side and the job creation and those things are all great uh but this moment is far greater than that I believe um we also talked about some of the conditions the protections that were important to us it wasn't just 50 million evo great give them everything there were negotiations there were conditions that were important to each and every one of us some put more so more value on other conditions um in protections and those protections are protections for the the citizens of Clearwater and that's all the citizens of Clearwater and the taxpayers I don't necessarily want to talk too much about those but what I would talk about is there are times uh on this dais that as elected officials our our job before us is to to take a position in place of vote and make a determination on does a public good does a public asset in front of us us staying the way it does in its perpetuity going forward does that have a greater and a longer lasting public benefit than the opportunity to develop it or invest in it or to to help it grow um and that happens quite quite often and you evaluate that on not just the economic benefit but the the social benefit we've seen young we've seen wise come up um in the excitement of it and to also weigh the the the opportunity to better the quality of life for our citizens as well as our our visitors our our tourists and I think this is one of those opportunities that yes roads are valuable none of us up here would say there is no value none of us will sit here and say who cares about a road we care about every road in our community um but we're put in positions where we have to evaluate and decide does the leaving it as is for ever in the quality if we made the change does that does it have a greater public impact and this is one of those we just had an agenda item before this I think we vacated eight paper roads not one speaker not one comment not one interest um because it was common sense we understood the affordability challenges challenges challenges in our communities the need for housing and it addressed a housing concern and a new housing development those roads were vacated no question that benefit way outweighed it another one we also had and we have quite often is some of our surplus property in our city we have a list of 41 that are identified to be fitting for affordable housing units that is a public asset those surplus properties or public assets we also see and vote 50 quite often on every one of those projects that there is a greater value and a greater public good if we donate that to habitat for humanity if we give them a grant with zero percent interest and have them build affordable housing units in our community we transferred a public good that we have value in but we saw a greater value in the potential of what it could be the best opportunity to look is probably just outside the library we have a beautiful new ballad hotel getting built we're all excited about it going to be amazing um the old harbor view center as well as the bluffs and the 422 unit condominium with shopping downtown we're downstairs super excited about it going to be awesome no we didn't vacate roadways for that but what we did do is we gave a 29 million dollar tax subsidy of taxpayer dollars to make it happen i saw the value in it i 100 support it we definitely should the greater value to our public was investing in making sure those pop those projects happen they're going to be amazing they're worth every dollar they're probably worth 10 times that investment but there was a public good that had to be considered in the process and here we are today i 100 um support this project not just economically socially it checks so many boxes it adds greater good to the public benefit and our quality of life for our residents and our visitors i think it's also an opportunity um for us to realize that it is a far greater opportunity than just an economic injection or job creator tax revenue i think we have a opportunity in front of us to symbolically representing a bit of a turning point in clearwater's history where we start to move away from our embattled past and start moving towards what could be a harmonious future a brighter more beautiful clearwater not just for our residents and our visitors in a in a church or a non-profit for all of us that call clearwater home and passionately love our community and i think that's the greater good that this opportunity can represent for us i think tonight it's also an opportunity for us to send a clear message to developers and investors throughout the world we we recognize development processes are tricky they are hard they are uncertain there's turns in the road every time you turn around or maybe you found a tortoise on your property you didn't know and now your 500 million dollar project is not getting built um because we found a tortoise and rightfully so but that process is scary it's uncertain but we should be sending the message from this dais and from our leadership team that clearwater is open for business clearwater wants to work with our developers with our investors and it doesn't matter what way of life you come from where you come from near far uh we want you to want to be a part of the team in clearwater to invest in a brighter future for clearwater and i think the evo family fun entertainment center there's no brighter opportunity than that thank you nice man yes thank you sir um i'm going to go to i mean echo those sentiments for sure but to something else that's been said quite a few times and that's um the ability for people not to come in and speak or something like that um you know and and i find that a little discouraging you know every time that we've opened up these chambers we've this dais has made it a point to try and find some way to ensure that anybody that might be out in the hallway or has something to speak has been able to come in and make their voices heard especially from my standpoint i have been an advocate for uh protecting the first amendment rights especially coming in here for what we now have on our agendas item nine uh citizens to be heard for items that are not even on our agenda um so when i think of the ability of one's position not to speak i find that hard to believe because we have as this dais tried to allow all voices to be heard i'd also like to point out as to the mayor and others of us have said that there's more than one way to speak to us and get your comments recorded and that's emails phone calls and those types of things and then you know while hearing public comment tonight and in this kind of being on the forefront of my mind i did a search through my email history going back to july um for evo family entertainment center keywords streets and have found less than 10 emails and less than 10 voicemails sent to us in regards to being opposed to this so i'm not trying to discredit 10 000 people that have signed a petition in any way shape or form that is admirable and i have said that from a civic standpoint great job that is no easy feat but we represent more than 10 000 people on this board and i have also heard from not only people in this room but people in the community people on my son's baseball team people at my daughter's gymnastics area that are looking forward to a family entertainment center i even said it on the 17th we do something that many people maybe don't know about if not get involved uh we do neighborhoods day where your neighborhood puts on a block party and we divide and conquer and go to those different places and a lot of those people have brought up the new buildings that are being built downtown and looking forward to what's coming so i just want everybody to know that we did i have at least acknowledged you i hear you and i'm just trying to look through all viewpoints i try and put my feet in my elected position i look from a developer standpoint i look through an opposition standpoint i look through people that are looking forward to this to try and understand what is it that i may be missing and how do i formulate the best decision that all of clearwater wins because a rising tide raises all boats it's a saying but it's a thousand percent true and i can't be a second generation clearwater native who went to high school downtown who went to church who has seen this city as a ghost town and those people my family included always be like man it stinks that things aren't open and happening to now when things are opening and happening to switching 180 and saying well we can't have that i mean i i just it's it's crazy to me to be completely honest it's it's crazy so um you know there's a few other points that have been made um somebody had said something about has there been no common ground in trying to work to keep keep lora street open i alluded to on the 17th that somebody on this dais did want to keep some type of a uh way through this parking lot and that the developer and the city went back to the drawing board to see if that was uh feasible and that's why if you look at grove street it's not a street but it is does have the ability to enter or exit on both sides of the parking lot now no it's not at laurel but it's at grove so you could uh hit it on east or those types of areas so i mean things have been going on back and forth between a development standpoint in the city trying to do what's best for ever um you know we even had the city attorney go over some of the protections that all taxpayers here in the city will have and having a ceo within four years of today's date um that means everything being done by 10 1 23rd um the applicant is the one that's paying for moving all of the utilities i mean that's a huge expense uh that's being taken off the taxpayers to make sure that those things are still going to be able to be maintained taken care of and they're doing that on their dime i also listed a ton of them from our cra work session that was on monday um in terms of that deal but a lot of those same protections go into this one as well so i agree with the other two two of my colleagues that have already pointed out other wonderful things that this project has and i for one am looking forward as well uh to bring my family down here um i look forward to the rest of this debate to see where we can go with it but with all of the projects already spoken to and noted and with the city putting forward the investment too with our osceola parking garage i mean clearwater is bright and it's going to be beautiful and you know we have the world-class beach and we're going to have a world-class downtown um i have to believe that's true and it's for all of clearwater that we're making this decision so uh again i look forward to the rest of the debate and uh thank you thank you yes so throughout this um discussion the conversations have repeatedly been redirected away for what i think is the important issue and that is vacations of the street we've talked about supporting evil supporting the street is one thing safety evil's business model growth street being closed the traffic study even whether these quote unquote are just little roads but none of these address the issue that i have been raising from the beginning why are we giving up a real logical east-west connection and why are we not replacing it with one of equal function that would be in line with our downtown development plan that is the issue and i think it is worth looking at each of these arguments in that context first whether i support the project i do and i have already demonstrated that i voted to sell the public parcel to help make this project possible it made sense so let's separate two very different things supporting the project and supporting this particular site plan are not the same thing my concern is whether giving up public streets in this configuration is actually necessary then there's safety too often questioning the proposed solution has been treated as though it means questioning the importance of safety itself i will not be boxed into that framing questioning this solution does not mean i'm questioning safety if safety is the argument then let's look at it consistently and through the facts we have recently built and are in the process of building hotels apartments the sound city hall psta and many more all places where family and people cross public streets every day so if crossing the street is an unacceptable condition here then that standard should have been applied to those and should be applied to the future ones safety deserves analysis not guilt then there's the evil business model i understand that evil has had a successful model but a successful business model does not mean every location has to look exactly the same mcdonald's for example is one of the most standardized business models in the world and yet it too adapts to its surroundings in urban settings they have adapted to existing historic buildings often at street level with no parking or drive-through the core business stays the same the footprint adapts to its environment and evu itself has shown that flexibility on two two of their locations one of which they moved into an already existing site and shares the parking lot with other businesses so if they've done it before they can do it again we have also done this ourselves when we built our city hall we made adjustments to our project to fit the downtown plan we didn't expect the plan to adapt to us we adapted to it why is it unreasonable to expect these applicants to do the same which brings me to the the real question what is truly required and what is truly preferred because this is a big difference it is downtown clearwater is not a suburban site and we need to stop pretending that it is so ultimately are we asking evil to adapt to downtown clearwater or are we asking downtown clearwater to adapt to evil then there's grove street grove street was closed for sound for the train something like that but it was closed because it served little function no purpose laura is different laura provides meaningful connection so grove being closed does not make the case for eliminating laura grove was expandable because it didn't expendable sorry because it didn't connect laura matters because it does and then there's a traffic study study shows that traffic can be redistributed if laura is vacated i didn't need a study for that but it didn't answer one question the question that i think is most important why is it necessary in the first place why keep one side of the road open so cars are still going in and out but not actually being purposeful to the three buildings beside it so why did and laura at all there's that idea that these are quote unquote just little roads i think that's dismissive it dismisses the significance of what we're actually giving up public assets and you know i'm just gonna have to say this because this is one of the things that really irritate me those people who say marriage is just a piece of paper yeah well if it is marry her and put a ring on it it's easy to say something's not valuable to someone who thinks that it is so after looking at all these arguments i'm still left with the same issue laura remains open to two-way traffic from myrtle but dead ends before east avenue why if laura is already open to vehicles going in and out and creating a dead end with all those vehicles circling why not let it continue where is the logic in stopping it there and then there's a proposed replacement which i'm not quite sure if it's pop absolutely uh in writing but it is proposed it doesn't restore what we are losing which is required from our downtown plan it ends at a one-way street that sends traffic away from the two office buildings and the condominium so instead of preserving a direct east-west connection we create an ingress and egress that connects to essentially nothing so a thoroughfare to nowhere and so at this point it's going to look like a formula one racetrack we might as well add bleachers and have evu charged for admission listen i get it after years of waiting we're all excited i'm excited i remember talking about this 10 years ago and i understand that but our role i believe is not to just simply bend because we're excited it is to sit sit across the table because that's where negotiations happen we walked into that we walked into that room with the tape on the table and we had four assets here there's four things that this applicant wants so why can't i just have something that actually aligns with our development plan where's the logic i don't understand so that brings me to one final concern and if and i wrote if but it is this is going to be approved tonight i can count as mr manino always says laura and grove and the alley will join garden as pieces of the public grid we have vacated and with each one we change the grid that's left we change the grid as a whole and it is an urban grid which will have more demand in the future as we continue revitalization and so and that was exactly what i was thinking the other night when i was on my balcony looking at all that land and i just kept thinking if they could just move that little alley six feet and align it to another street we can you know keep that access and then a thought crossed my mind what if we're we are accepting this today because of what may be in play tomorrow there are common ownership interests between the evil property and properties directly across the street so i want to be clear this is a prediction not a fact not even based on hearsay this is just a prediction but if something else is in play across the street what seems illogical to me tonight then begins to make sense why build that connection today if it's going to get in the way of something that may come tomorrow so tonight we are giving up laura grove and the alley without a logical replacement and making room for what comes i believe later so again this is a prediction not a fact but i predict there will be another street vacation real soon and that street will be hendrix make some comments then if anybody wants to weigh in but give me the opportunity to make my comments first i just want to say um you know um councilman to share you just said you know i think every i think the entire room knows how the votes are going to come down and i don't think there's been anything said tonight that's going to change three votes or two votes so i think we're all settled in that and uh you know hopefully the comments we've made have been to just to explain our own position explain our own vote uh and that all five of us respect uh the other uh you know each other's right to have a different opinion and maybe see things differently that's how i took the comments that have been made so far that we were all just explaining the way we were voting and not trying to disparage another council member for voting differently than they are um and so i don't you know i there are some things that have been said that i don't agree with but i don't know that it's fruitful at this point for me to uh point those out to go into things that i do or don't agree and what others have said i did want to say this that um you know what i said earlier is what i say now you know this and councilman retichet has said this earlier that this is not about the ego entertainment center and we've heard a lot of discussion about the excitement and how much money is in it it's not about the ego entertainment center i hope it's successful i hope it draws people down like those two uh it's about the vacation of the street vacation and giving up the street an active street which would make it different from the prior agenda item which we had which had eight marked streets but streets that had never been developed this is an active street and we've already vacated some streets active streets in our downtown core and it's my opinion we should not vacate another one here because i believe this building can be built and can be successful without vacating this street that's my opinion based upon what has been presented so i hope the others respect that i just don't think the vacation street necessary and after our last meeting on the safety for kids i do want to point out that um we have thousands of families and kids crossing streets every day to get to the the sandy white beach out on clearwater beach they cross south wulfview they cross uh mandalay they cross uh coronado they there um and we have crosswalks with lights and things to protect them slow cars down but the cars are traveling at the same speed on many of those streets that what they'll be traveling here probably faster so uh and there are movie theaters in penance county where cars come and go right to the curb and frame movie theater so it's just i i am not persuaded that it's absolutely necessary to vacate this street and because of that i am going to vote no again again i think we all know the outcome it's going to be three to two appreciate the council members that explain their vote i don't i personally don't think there's any utility and continue arguing over you know each other's positions uh if anybody wants to explain further how they're voting then uh we can do that but for me my vote remains the same and it's based on my personal opinion and after looking at all that this project can be wildly successful without vacating the street vice mayor yes sir thank you very much just to point out a few things just from my stance on government and what i believe government to be in good governance you know it's been pointed out that according to our plan we have to replace a street for a street we're elected to make the tough decisions when we have good projects to take a street and not replace it if it's meant to be i also want to point to the urban grid aspect of things you know we have forward pinellas that's constantly trying to take roads all throughout the county and limit the road sides road sizes to increase walk bike run accessibility increasing sidewalks and putting in those specific bike lanes so i mean if anything we're doing a service to forward pinellas which i ultimately disagree with majority of the time i don't think we need to be limiting uh the amount of vehicular traffic in an already limited vehicular trafficked area i think the majority of us who travel drew street can already see what the construction that's ongoing how irritating it would be um regardless is what i'm trying to get at is if this is our urban core and we have development project like this getting rid of laurel street with the parking spaces i think it benefits the city and all of the businesses that are there as well as all of the people that have chose to live into an urban downtown so i i did want to make those points that you know even the city hall how we've adapted i mean i wasn't there for it and i respect it we have a beautiful city hall our team did fantastic don't take this personally but i would have seen this building as being a potentially good city hall suitable thing and maybe cheaper so um i understand the points that were made but but at the the same point in time that's just coming from my perspective and and why it is that we can make those decisions when a plan says one thing but we can supersede that when we have a good potential development project thank you anyone else all right we will proceed to vote then all those in uh we need a motion first so those are opposed to item 8.2 second all those in favor all right opposed that would be uh council member to shade and myself going against and the vice mayor council member menino and council member albert in voting in favor with that we will move to item nine excuse me 8.3 8.3 council is a second reading you want me to go ahead and read the ordinance yes sir 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 is there anyone here from the public tonight desire to speak to this agenda hearing seeing none any council discussion if not sir motion motion to approve agenda item 8.3 second all those in favor aye opposed unanimous it's an item 8.4 8.4 is a second reading i'll go ahead and read the ordinance title 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 nine million five hundred and fifty eight nine million five hundred fifty eight thousand eight hundred seventy one dollars providing an effective date anywhere in public that desire to speak to this agenda hearing seeing none any council discussion if not sir motion move to approve gen item 8.4 all those in favor aye opposed unanimous gen item nine uh any citizens to be heard on topics not on tonight's agenda melissa stamos good evening mayor and council members i think you know what i'm about to address the landings tonight i'm asking you to do one thing slow down after today's evaluation committee meeting that request is more important than ever the committee itself raised serious concerns about porter's proposal concerns about overall risk of the project the pro forma its location adjacent to the air park the ponds that play a role in drainage for the area the amount allocated for traffic improvements and the extraordinary length of a 99-year lease with two additional 25-year renewal options this will outlive everyone in the room when the people charged with evaluating proposal are raising concerns of this magnitude that should tell the council something this is not the time to rush it is a time to investigate before making a decision that could appropriately affect this property for generations conduct the necessary independent noise traffic watershed stormwater environmental and aviation studies including faa review hold at least two heavily advertised public meetings dedicated specifically to the landings not simply meetings posted on a government website advertising throughout clearwater tell people what is being considered give the citizens an opportunity to hear the proposals and ask questions and be heard they are completely in the dark and that is a miscarriage of the city's duty to its residents there is another issue that the council should consider the florida ethics commission has provided guidance allowing mayor rector and councilmember menino to vote but this should not be viewed solely through the narrow question what you can legally do ask yourselves how does it look to the citizens you represent public trust requires more than technical compliance sometimes just because you can doesn't mean you should my two-year-old granddaughter is learning this herself and please remember whom you represent this is not personal you don't represent developers you don't represent yourselves you represent the citizens of clearwater you are stewards of the land that belongs to the citizens economic development and revenue matter public trust matters the almighty dollar can always not be the ruling entity here please don't take a quiet residential neighborhood and put what amounts to a mini disney world at its doorstep sports fields a stadium water attractions restaurants tournaments crowds traffic lights and noise without first understanding the consequences this is 77 acres of public land once we fundamentally change it it cannot be taken back so please slow down do the studies hold the public meetings listen to your constituents protect the public trust and only then should you decide the future of the landings i'm not sure why the city is hell-bent on avoiding referendums at all costs but please consider the public appreciate you thank you thanks davis good evening i'm beth davis from 1962 hardy plaza i want to talk about the money specifically who ends up paying for what's buried under the landings under federal and state law the owner of contaminated land is responsible for it the city owns the landings the liability for this land already belongs to the city as the current owner the city is responsible for contamination on the property under federal law 42 usc 9607 section a and state law section 376.308 florida statutes regardless who placed the waste that means the liability for that old 1950s dump already sits with the city and with us the taxpayers no matter who leases it we already know it's contaminated the city's 2019 testing found arsenic lead and three banned pesticides above state cleanup levels the city's 2020 feasibility study estimated about 1.85 million just to dig out holloway and dewater the debris and that figure excluded the cost of dealing with contaminated groundwater the reason it was left out is that nobody's ever tested the groundwater the city confirmed that to the epa last november so right now the city is considering a decades-long lease without knowing the size of its own biggest liability on that property no business would sign a deal that way a lease can't make the liability disappear what a lease can do is decide who pays for it if we sign without knowing what's there taxpayers are left holding the bill when problems surface years from now if we test first every bidder has to price in the real cost and the lease can put that cost where it belongs so i'm asking the council to protect the taxpayers set aside these pending proposals test the soil and the groundwater and publish the results open the landings to a full competitive process of at least 120 days so the city gets the best long-term return with everyone bidding on the same known facts imagination and long-term possibilities resound for this land write it into any lease that the developer pays for cleanup carries insurance and a bond and indemnifies the city the 2045 clear water comprehensive plan is the city's constitution bound under florida law to protect and enhance our natural resources please do this test it before you lease it thank you christine o'leary hi everyone my name is christine o'leary i live in marymount great to meet you last night and i have a business in skycrest um i have signed many leases in my life as a landlord and as a tenant and i ask that we just slow down for a second today is a triple header for me uh nothing about the phillies uh i went to skycrest last night i went to the evaluation meeting this afternoon and here i am so uh baptism by fire so let's go um so some of the words i heard in the evaluation meeting were tabbing it's past procurement it lacks consistency this was very difficult to tab through and charge it wasn't golf to golf i didn't want to get in the weeds abatement 20 years 99 year lease purchasing abatement sunshine needs to better clarify no city property tax 45 million divvied up by county not directly to the city derail concern pro forma a lot has to go right for this not to be totally risky long term 149 years um encroaching a runway uh possibly shifting ponds and birds need wetlands i've never heard of shifting a pond would have been easier to score golf to golf or something very similar this is very challenging traffic three hundred thousand dollars in improvements as a drop in the bucket risk to parking on brown fields fertilizer a risk versus impervious plastic um and then two of my favorite words were uh beefier and spicier those two words were used and so i wish life was beefier and spicier too so here are my ideas guys on how to make that happen here it is oh my god my 88 year old father is calling right now hey daddy okay so one please please please please please slow down and take time to get real proposals wait 120 days give others a chance not just those who have 25 000 to pay to play two test study the watershed know the brown fields and the true cost of remediation anyone would it's what we do when we buy property and certainly when we lease and third vote last time there was a thought about an industrial complex in the landings and in november 3rd of 2020 35 708 people won by 61 percent today's sunshine scored out at 1.2 and 1.8 and i was excited because i thought 1.8 was a higher grade and it was a greater value but it wasn't so i asked ai 1.2 is a 40 percent win score and 1.8 is 33 and thank you for not voting 5-0 tonight thank you appreciate you yeah thank you charles klesher my name is charles i'm an spc student a small business owner here in clearwater i'm here to speak on the increased use of medical devices both foreign and domestic being used to violate state privacy and federal privacy laws including hipaa violations intellectual property theft and personal medical and data abuse and these do violate constitutional rights of everyday americans and does need to be looked into more thank you very much thank you sir okay next speaker okay um city attorney uh color um that's a little you know ask that uh you just clarify what our duty is one of the speakers raised about recusal as it relates to the land yes and if you could just for the public's benefit money what our duties are is elected officials under florida law to recuse and and and to get uh guidance to we can't we can't voluntarily um choose to participate if we are conflicted out so right explain that so under under i can't cite the correct statute it's in 112 but you are required to vote unless you have a conflict um so as it relates to to the mayor he's already abstained for any vote involving the landings i did not seek any type of advisory opinion because the mayor's abstaining because he does have a voting conflict as it relates to mr menino um he does not have a voting conflict and i believe what the opinion said was if if circumstances change he may have a voting conflict in the in the future if the facts change but he would be required to vote if he doesn't have a voting conflict and i just want to make i have a voting conflict i cannot correct i don't have the choice i can't vote yes thank you okay with that uh we move to item 10 city management reports yes um thank you i know we've been going out a little while however um i appreciate having a crowd um and so another opportunity to brag about a situation that just occurred last week um where two of our employees um certainly made a difference in our community so mr arnie retzer and mike knuck um were out working on a baker street pond just last week um and they heard some screaming and they they went into a home and found that um a lady had fallen and so they were able to call 9-1-1 for her and they also identified that she had a leak while they were there and they were able to call and get the plumber out as well so we have a really great team thank you had to get that out so thank you thank you uh number item 11 city attorney nothing to answer um closing comments by council members go ahead customer to share okay so monday night i was really excited i had the chance to stop by the taste of village 2 at ross norton and it was packed everyone was excited everything was delicious and oh it was beautiful wonderful to see um that kind of turnout and the energy around all the businesses so congratulations to everyone involved it was truly a successful night um and speaking of other community events i want to put one more out there for everyone's um radar um i'm on the board or a member of the clearwater art alliance and this year i volunteered to chair their annual fundraiser it's called canvas um it's a little bit different it's on wednesday november 4th at 6 pm it's gonna be very interactive um so it's gonna be a lot of fun and even if you don't have an artistic bone in your body we will get it out of you and so general admission starts at 75 dollars i think it's important to support the arts as you know it's the first casualty and the last one to heal um after every you know crisis so the arts needs you if you want any or more information you can call me or contact um clearwater art alliance thank you um appreciate it my only thing is uh thank you to everybody who came out tonight um this october 3rd this saturday from 11 a.m to 5 p.m we have the fall y'all festival happening right down here in coachman park um the saucy queen has done great events in the past and i'm sure that this one's going to be fantastic so for families anybody watching um they've got a plethora of different activities throughout the day for the kids um i think there's a corn maze and different like uh little costume events so make sure you get your family out for that so have a great weekend okay uh thank you mayor uh just wanted a couple things thank uh everybody from all sides of the discussion for your engagement um for showing up um we have found that our city council meetings have become beefier and spicier there is absolutely no doubt um within the last two minutes we've said beefier spicier fall y'all and saucy queen so i appreciate all the the time and effort staff uh devotes to making these meetings safe obviously safety is paramount um thank you to our first responders uh being out there keeping us safe as all of our neighborhoods team that puts all the work into keeping us organized and helping us stay as efficient as possible so thank you robert do you have anything to share okay thank you um i want to echo what has just been said about our entire team um certainly our police department we have one of the best police departments in the united states we appreciate them helping us over you know several largely attended meetings in the last several months and and all they've done um our communications team has had a lot to juggle too and i appreciate all they've done and our city clerk's office has handled these helped us try to find a way to be fair to everyone and navigate a lot and thank you so much for all you've done and what you put up with too so uh our entire team uh city team thank you for your efforts uh and then uh you know our here in clearwater our you know favorite time of the year for baseball is the spring when we have spring training but october is the most exciting time for baseball and uh tonight it looks like phillies are going to need us to get home and cheer for the phillies they've fallen behind here a little bit in the first inning but it's game three of the wild card series against the brave so pulling for our phillies tonight to hope that they make it to the next round the the divisional playoffs and then uh saturday our tampa bay rays will be uh playing the new york yankees in tropicana field so uh best of luck to both the phillies tonight and then the rays on saturday so with that if there's nothing else to come before the clearwater city council we will adjourn the meeting for october 1st 2026.