CITY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING - Jun 18, 2026

Good evening, and welcome to the June 18, 2026 City Commission meeting. I'd like to call this meeting to order, and we are going to start with our invocation by our city attorney, and then right after that we'll do the Pledge of Allegiance, which will be led by General George Washington. You're on call, General. I pledge allegiance to five states of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Mayor. You're doing a great job, Waterman College. Thank you, General. We'll keep trying. Okay, we're going to go to our presentations, and we've got four of them here. We're going to start with Independence Day, July 4, 2026, Proclamation. I will turn that over to Commissioner Sandbergen, who is appropriately dressed in quite a jacket tonight. Thank you for that, Mayor. How about Daughters of the Revolution? Vets? Come on down. You'll be here for a while. Now, where's Casey? I just saw my neighbor walk in. Casey, come on in. Come on up here. You served. It's Fourth of July. Come on. All right. Rob? Vets up here, too? Okay. With that being said, Independence Day, 2026. Whereas 250 years ago, 56 brave men signed their names to a bold creed of freedom that set the course for our nation and changed the history of the world. And whereas on this anniversary, we remember the great courage and convictions of our founders, and we celebrate the enduring principles of our Declaration of Independence. And whereas as we celebrate our independence, Americans can take pride in our history and look to the future with confidence as we offer our gratitude to the American patriots, past and present, who have sought to advance freedom and lay the foundations of peace. And whereas because of their sacrifice, this country remains a beacon of hope for all who dream of liberty and a shining example to the world of what a free people can achieve. Now, therefore, I, Stephen Sandbergen, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Mayor Mofrini in the City of Dunedin, on behalf of the entire Commission, hereby observe Saturday, July 4th, 2026, as Independence Day in Dunedin, and pay special tribute to all the men and women currently serving in the Armed Forces and to our veterans. Our City, indeed, is grateful for their contributions, which have been critical to the defense of our country and our freedom. Thank you. And I have the... The Daughters of the American Revolution. Thank you very much. Everybody's getting excited about our country like we did. Hi. Thank you. I'm usually loud. That my hero is Deborah Samson Gannett, and that's who I'm dressed as today. She was the first patriot, or the first woman, to dress as a man and hide her identity and become a patriot. And she served honorably. She got an honorable discharge. And then she became the first woman paid speaker in the United States, which is also my favorite thing. So I really appreciate her, and I appreciate our women veterans. My mother was a veteran. So, again, on behalf of all that. But the thing is, is we know who our ancestors are. And many of you don't. So I have some forms here to teach you how to find your own ancestor. I will pass these out, and hopefully you'll get started on this wonderful journey, certainly by the 300th, right? So hopefully. But thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. I think... So are we getting a picture? We're good? Okay. We're good on the picture because we did one out there. So our next presentation is kind of a special one. I'm going to introduce it, but I'm going to turn it over to Vice Mayor then real quickly here. But Vice Mayor Walker and I were lucky enough to be able to attend a Women's Veterans Recognition Day at the American Legion last week. And I guess it was Saturday. Was it Saturday? Friday? Friday. And it was so amazingly wonderful that we both thought it was really important to invite the ladies up here. And I mean, like, come on. Let's go. Go women. Let's hear it. Come on. And I'm going to turn it over to Vice Mayor, and I think we're going to have Rob Walker actually introduce everybody. Can we have the veterans come on up? I noticed a number of you from various organizations. Yeah, so as the Mayor indicated, we did have the honor and privilege to deliver this proclamation at the American Legion last Friday. And I, you know, it was notable for a couple different reasons. It was the first time that we had really done this, even though Women's Veterans Recognition Day has been in existence for some time. And I think it was absolutely appropriate that Jane, Daughters of the American Revolution, acknowledged the service of women as far back as the Revolutionary War. So I, you know, this is great. Women's Veterans Recognition Day, proclamation. Whereas throughout the history of the United States, women have dedicated themselves to securing and preserving the freedoms and liberties cherished by all Americans and our allies. And whereas women serve in the United States uniformed services with exceptional valor, resilience, and integrity during both conflict and peace, safeguarding the security and prosperity of our nation. And whereas women have proudly served in every major conflict in United States history, often overcoming significant obstacles and discrimination to do so. And whereas women veterans represent one of the fastest growing demographics within the veteran community projected to constitute nearly 20 percent of the total veteran population by 2045. And whereas 2026 marks the 78th anniversary of the groundbreaking Women's Armed Services Integration Act, which was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on June 12, 1948, enabling women to serve as permanent, regular members of the U.S. Armed Forces. And whereas it is fitting to honor the courage and dignity with which women have served and continue to serve in defense of our nation. Whereas today Florida is recognized as the most veteran, friendly, appreciated, and sought after state in the nation. The Sunshine State has the second largest population of women veterans in the United States, with more than 172,000 who selflessly served in uniform, putting their lives on the line to ensure our nation remains the land of the free. Now therefore I, Robert James Walker, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the mayor of the great city of Dunedin, Florida, and on behalf of the entire city commission, do hereby proclaim the observance of Friday, June 12, 2026, as Women's Veterans Day in the city of Dunedin. And I encourage all citizens to join in celebrating the contributions of women's veterans acknowledging their strength, service, and commitment to the progress of our country. Thank you. And Michelle, Michelle, do you want to get the proclamation? And I think we have Rob Cozen wants to say a couple words, make sure we know everybody. And E.B. Baker is going to be introduced as well to tell the history of women in the military. And I think it would be great for each of the ladies also to say what branch of the armed forces they were in, how long. Absolutely. In fact, Michelle, you'll do that when we're good. First of all, I just want to attend my own personal thanks to the commission, to the mayor and to the vice mayor. You know, when we did the ceremony last Friday, I think both of you recognized just so how important and how impactful this whole, this recognition was. And it absolutely justified a second recognition here at commission. So thank you so much for that. Thank you to Michelle. You know, you never get the thanks for who was the author of the proclamation. So Michelle, thank you so much. You know, it's a popular misconception that women only started serving in the military sometime around World War II. And that could not be farther from the truth, as we have seen from the Daughters of the American Revolution. In fact, women from the early days of the American Revolution have served both on the front lines as well as in the back lines. They were nurses and they were couriers. They were spies. They served on the front lines, reloading the muskets, you know, for their fellow soldiers. And then for the next 250 years, they have served honorably in all capacities. And it was only until the 80s that they got full battle status. But that does not take away at all the service they have done for the last two and a half centuries. So I am privileged to introduce two extraordinary women. First, I want to introduce Michelle Ballard. The story with Michelle is that she used to always get pissed off every time that she would walk into the Legion, because everybody thought because she was a woman that she was auxiliary. And the reality is, she is a proud and distinguished veteran of the United States Navy. So, yeah. So that frustration gave her the fuel to start the women's support group that now has 90 members? Yeah. Well, that's fine, but it's growing. So in any case, it is going to be a great honor to introduce Michelle Ballard. Thank you. Thank you all for coming to the American Legion and doing the proclamation. We are a new group. We've only been a group since the end of last year. And, like I said, that we're still growing, but we're getting exposure. And we really appreciate not only what you do for the women veterans, but what you do for all veterans in this city. Thank you. Oh, we're going to introduce Michelle Ballard, of course. And I was in the Navy for six years. Can you come to the mic? Because they won't be able to hear you on the streaming. Hi, I'm Jennifer Buzoski, U.S. Army. Awesome. Nancy Dickman, U.S. Air Force. Karen Mavey, Women's Army Corps. 71 to 74. Awesome. Hi, Gabby Mataloni, and I served 21 years active duty in the U.S. Army. Hi, Evie Baker, 30 years U.S. Army. Hi, Casey Kiernan, U.S. Air Force. Did you mention you're still active? Yeah. Still active. Yeah. So I want to bring back Evie Baker for a second. I have to tell you a little bit about her. She is a veteran of 30 years in the United States Army. She retired in the rank of Fulbert Colonel. She is a combat veteran, having served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003. She has received numerous military awards and medals, including the Bronze Star for Valor. And she's married to another 30-year Army veteran, her husband Radar. And Evie constantly reminds him that she outranks you, right? So I am just so proud to introduce a true American hero of ours and a female veteran of Valor, Evie Baker. Good evening, Mayor Freeney, Vice Mayor Walker, Commissioners, fellow veterans, families, and friends. Thank you for inviting me to speak to you tonight. Last Friday, 12 June, marked the 78th anniversary of the Women Armed Services Integration Act, officially allowing women to serve as permanent members of the U.S. military. For those of you that were with me on Friday, I apologize for the deja vu moment. Today, we take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices made by those women who have served in our armed forces and for all of us to express our deepest gratitude for their service to our nation. Our stories are woven into the very fabric of our nation's history, and this service warrants the recognition it so richly deserves. As we've learned from our own Deborah Sampson, women have been serving for over 250 years, dressed as men to fight along with soldiers. In the Civil War, women such as Harriet Tubman served as spies, surgeons, nurses, cooks, and infantry soldiers. Their contributions were critical, yet often went unheralded. Women's military roles have evolved dramatically over the years, and their impact has only grown stronger. With humble beginnings as contracted nurses during the Spanish-American War to the Army and Navy Nurse Corps established in the early 1900s. These women served without rank or benefits, and were not welcomed into the ranks of veterans until 1977. During World War II, the U.S. established Women's Army Branches, the WACS, the WASPs, WAVES, SPARS, and the MCWR, accounting for over 400,000 mobilized and deployed women serving across the globe. These women served in non-combat roles, including administration, aviation, logistics, medical, and technical positions. These pioneering women ensured that our armed forces remained effective and prepared, often under challenging and dangerous conditions. With the signing of the Armed Services Integration Act in 1948, we were now permanent members of the Armed Forces. Although it allowed for women to serve during peacetime, severe restrictions on duties and a 2% limitation of end strength limited our contribution for decades. In 1967, some of these limitations were lifted. And in 1970, for the first time, two women, Elizabeth Hoisington and Anna Mae Hayes, were promoted to Brigadier General. Service women continue to break barriers and shatter stereotypes. They serve with distinction in combat roles, command units, and earn the highest honors for their bravery. Their presence on the front lines, their leadership in high states' missions, and their contributions to strategic operations demonstrate that their capabilities are boundless. Today, women serve in every specialty of all branches of our Armed Forces. They are helicopter and fighter pilots, rangers, and special operations. Women are commanding naval battle groups, air squadrons, army divisions and corps, as well as functional and geographic combatant commands. Leading at every level, these women are not just participants, but innovators and trailblazers. As we continue to honor all veterans, let us also pay our respects to the women here today, whose sacrifices and achievements have paved the way for future generation. Your devotion to serving our great nation and your sacrifice and bravery stand as a powerful reminder to the strength of our Armed Forces comes from every individual who serves, regardless of gender. To all the women who have served and continue to serve our nation, we thank you. Your contributions have been profound and transformative and your legacy will continue to inspire and uplift us all. Share your stories with the next generation of women and encourage service to others and service to our nation. In closing, being a soldier has always been an affair of the heart for me, and I credit my parents' example of service and sacrifice for their faith in my unconventional choices and their unwavering support during my military career. Godspeed and God bless you all. We'd like to get a picture, ladies. If we could get a picture. Ladies, can you come back up? We want to, if you can come in front here, we want to get a picture of the whole commission. Maybe you too? Colonel? Okay, I think that's the word. Yes, ladies. I got you. I got you. Thank you. Thank you, ladies. And our only vet on the commission at this time is Vice Mayor Walker, and I don't know if you wanted to say a few words. Yeah, thank you, Mayor. You know, it's truly amazing how this city embraces our veterans across the board. I mean, it's just, you know, it's like, it's kind of like still being in service because the camaraderie is there. You know the support is there, and you know this is a group that has your back, and it just, you know, it's just so, it's overwhelming for me in terms of just seeing this on a daily basis. And I just want to thank all of the veterans for your service. Thank you. And I did see that we've got kind of one of our top veterans in the city, Father Bob, that came in. And, Father Bob, I'd like to give you an opportunity if you wanted to say anything. I know you were a part of the ceremony on Friday for women vets. Did you want to say anything, or I think you had another event that you just rushed here to get, and I wanted to give you that opportunity. One speed limit that I obeyed. I got out of that place at about three minutes after, and I landed here at 18 minutes after. So, I really don't have much to say except that there's a prayer from St. John the 23rd that I recited at the invocation at Clearwater. And it basically says, you know, in essential matters, we should all be united. In non-essential matters, let there be liberty. And in all matters, let there be charity. We have that here. And I'm so happy and proud of it. God bless you all. Thank you. It's a great way to close. Thank you, Father Bob. I'm glad you made it. And I'm glad none of the sheriffs pulled you over on the way. So, that was good. Our next presentation is 2026 John D'Aglione Service Scholarship Award. And I'm going to turn that over to Commissioner Gao. Thank you, Mayor, very much. If I could have cash, if you could come up and bring your entire family with you, please. I am the commission liaison to our community schools. And within that title and framework, you can step up to the podium. It's okay. We won't bite. Maybe. We have the privilege. One of my favorite things is City of Dunedin gives out a scholarship every year. We don't have a lot of money, but it's the thought that counts. And it is the John D'Aglione Scholarship Program. And John D'Aglione is a former commissioner and mayor of the city of Dunedin. And he was a military veteran, so it's kind of nice that it's all tying in today. It's wonderful. He was a champion of a hard work ethic. He was a champion of education. And he was a champion of our youth. And so, it was always about the kids and the youth in our community for him. And so, it was only fitting that we would name the scholarship program after him. And so, this year, I had... And I'm sorry, Susie. I need to invite you up as well. I'm sorry. Let me think. I forgot all about you. I'm sorry. And so, this year, we had the pleasure of reviewing several applications. And of those, we chose Cash Gregory. And we also had the pleasure of working with our Dunedin Youth Guild with our scholarship program. And Susie is the chair of the scholarship program. And they just help administer the program for us. So, all that we have to do is write a check. And Dunedin Youth Guild handles the rest. But this year, we chose Cash. And there are several reasons. And that's not Cash Money. I'm sorry. That's Cash Gregory. Make it payable, too. That's true. The check is made... Oh, isn't that great? The check is made payable to Cash. Isn't that wonderful? Exactly. That is so funny. But Cash is certainly worthy of these funds. He has an unweighted GPA of 3.5. He focuses on volunteering, which is something that would have been really true to Mayor Doug Leone's heart, John's heart. And so, I don't want to get it wrong. Dunedin Youth Guild, he volunteers the tour of homes from 2022 to 2025. He also volunteered to the scholarship fashion show. And if you've never been to that fashion show, you really need to go, because it really is amazing. Members of First United Methodist Church of Dunedin, he went on a mission trip to Tennessee to help restore some of the homes in Tennessee that were destroyed by tornadoes. He also volunteered for VBS, which is Vacation Bible School, from 6th grade to 10th grade. And he loves nothing better than getting physical. He likes to work out and has encouraged his siblings to work out with him. And so, they are a family of just beasts. And so, and all boys. So, I don't even want to know what that food bill is like for mom and dad. But, but the apple didn't fall far from the tree. You can see that his father is, is a sheriff's deputy with Penance County Sheriff's Office. So, thank you for your, for your service. His mother is a social worker for the Penance County Schools. So, thank you for what you do. So, certainly, social service, getting involved in the community is certainly part of the family tree. And so, we'd like to offer Cash Gregory $2,000. He's going to St. Pete College. And what I thought I'd do is ask Susie if you'd like to say a few words. And then we can pass it to, pass it to Cash. If you'd like to say a few words, that would be wonderful. Well, you kind of said everything I was going to say. However, I'm happy to report that the Dunedin Youth Guild was able to award over $40,000 in scholarships. And we are happy to announce that this year we were able to match the city's $2,000 amount to Cash. So, that's great. And Cash plans to major in business at St. Pete College. Cash, would you like to say a few words? Because, oh, man. Thank you, guys. There we go. Made a few words. So, we need to, how are we going to present this check, Mayor? What do we do? I think that you should do the honors down there. And we can, yeah, and then we can take, we can stand up and take a picture maybe behind you. Or do we want to all come down? Let's all come down. All of us? Sure, why not? All of us. Okay. Can we all come up? Yes. All right. We're tight. We're close. We're close. Great. Thank you. Congratulations. Good to go. How are your screen? Good to go. Good to go. Good to go. Good to go. Good to go. Good to go. Good to go. Good to go. Good to go. Good to go. Good to go. Okay. We are going to go to our last presentation, and that is Highland Games update and recognition of Piper of the Day, Jack Seen, and I'm going to again, because he is our Scottish liaison, turn this over to Commissioner Gao. It is all about me tonight. Wonderful. Eric, thank you for coming. This is Eric McNeil, who teaches drumming in the city, teaches our middle school, high school, and our city bands, and Jack, if you'd like to come up with him, please. This is an exciting and personal day for me. If I could have tissues real quickly. I don't need them now, but I may. Okay. Eric, what's going on? Thanks, Jeff. Thank you, Mayor, Commissioner Gao. Commissioners, my name is Eric McNeil. I'm the president of the Dunedin Scotch Arts Foundation, which is a non-profit organization in the community that runs the Highland Games every spring and the Dunedin Celtic Music Festival every fall, and we do those events to put on a great day, but also to fundraise for Scottish arts education in our community. I've been noticing the social media posts and news about what's going on in Boston and all of the fun that the Scots are having up there and how that's all going. And as I was driving over here thinking about this, I couldn't help but think that that would be no surprise to anyone in Dunedin, because we, of course, have our own Scottish festival every spring, the Dunedin Highland Games and Festival, and it is an outstanding day. It's a great day. And so this year was no exception. We had a great day. We started advertising and marketing for the event months ago. On the completion of the event, it was humbling to see some of the data come back in and see how far-reaching the message gets that people were engaging with our posts from all over North America, all states, provinces of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, all over Europe and Scotland. So it's very cool, and it's cool that we are able to share Dunedin with people all around the world. So given that, it was no surprise that on Friday night in downtown, the streets were packed, and the atmosphere was energetic in the park, and of course for the parade, which was a lot of fun. It was really cool. You could hear the music of the bagpipes and playing. It was echoed throughout the city, and it was very cool. Saturday at Highlander Park, the park was packed. We had a fantastic day. I'm told we didn't actually break a record, but I don't know how we possibly ever fit more people there in the past, but apparently somehow we did. We had a great day. The event has truly become a city, a community project. We had over 400 volunteers help us to make that event happen. There are people from school organizations, volunteer groups, the Rotary Club, the New World Celts, the middle school, the high school, members from throughout the community, several businesses send employees to volunteer, members of the city of Dunedin. Staff came out and helped volunteer with the setup, and it was really cool. We had a beautiful, the weather was beautiful. A big thank you to the city of Dunedin, Department of Parks and Rec, Jory Peterson, and Danielle Edwards are community treasures. They are great, and they make putting on a big event like that. As easy as it possibly could be. We were delighted several community churches and organizations opened their parking lots to allow us to park people, and it was a fantastic day. All that to be said, thanks to our many sponsors and volunteer support, who do a lot to help us put on the event and save us from spending a lot of money unnecessarily. The event ended up being able to donate $95,000 back into the community after the Highland Games. The largest of those checks, it gets divided up under a very complicated formula. But the majority of those checks go to the three original organizations that comprise of the Highland Games, which is the Dunedin Middle School Band Program, the Dunedin High School Band Program, and the City of Dunedin Pipe Band. Other donations are made towards a scholarship fund and some educational projects, instructional opportunity projects. We made several donations to various sports teams and service organizations that helped us with volunteers to put the event on. But it was really an absolutely great day. And thank you all for coming. I hope you had a great time, too. I thought it was great. One of the things that you may probably are aware, there's a lot of competition events that take place during the day, during the event. We had the 5K race in the morning. We had Highland dancing, piping, bagpipes. There's athletic competitions that are going on all day. One of the things that happens is our solo piping and drumming events. This year, we had just over 100 solo competitors. We had accredited judges come in from Canada, British Columbia, Ontario, all over the U.S., Glasgow, Belfast. It was a world-renowned panel of adjudicators. And we have an award every year at the Highland Games for the Piper of the Day. And to win that award, after all the competitions are held and all the events are tallied, the prize doesn't necessarily go to the piper that is the graded highest player at the event. It goes to the competitor who has distinguished themselves as the most successful competitor of the day. And this year, that was awarded to Dunedin Middle School Band alumni, Jack Seen. And thanks to a very, very generous donation from Chelsea Gow's friends and family, this year, for the first year, we have a perpetual trophy recognizing the Chelsea Gow Memorial Dunedin Highland Games Piper of the Day with Jack Seen's name added to that and many more names to be added in the future. Thank you, Eric. Thank you, Eric. I got some other questions for you, but since you've mentioned Chelsea and Jack, let's just get this over with. Really, the wonderful part of that trophy and that naming is that it didn't come from me. It really did. The genesis came from Chelsea's friends, and that spoke volumes to me. Chelsea was a piper. And I'm sorry for anybody who might live under a rock. My daughter Chelsea passed last November. And at one time during her piping career, she was piper of the day. And so for this trophy to be named in her memory, thank you. And it's just wonderful because it is a day of competition, and there are no youth divisions in piping and drumming that all the students in Dunedin and middle school and high school compete against other adults. And whenever you have a young piper that can reach the level that Jack has, it just needs to be applauded and recognized. So thank you, Jack, for everything that you do. And from my understanding, later this month, you are traveling with the city band to Ireland, right? Okay, so now, Eric, what's going on in Ireland? Sure. I have a couple other updates. I'll go chronologically so I don't forget anything. The Dunedin Scotch Arts Foundation is busy. We have our fifth Dunedin Tide Camp for College of Piping and Drumming that is taking place in Dunedin starting on Sunday. Our classes are, once again, being held in Dunedin. We're at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Dunedin has opened its doors to us, which is great. It's a wonderful facility. And our school is the biggest we've had so far. We are at just, excuse me, just shy of 50 pipers and drummers who will be there for the week. And we're really excited about that. That is a significant increase. So it's very cool. There are pipers and drummers, many from Dunedin schools and community, as well as people who are traveling in from throughout the state of Florida, as well as we have a couple people who are coming in from farther north in the Carolinas and one other piping student coming down from New York. So we're excited to be attracting those people down for a week, and it should be great. We are having our evening events during the week of a few kind of fun things that will take place in different restaurants in Dunedin. We'll be at Flanagan's on Monday night for a recital from the instructors. Oops, sorry. We're the instructors for the week. We will be at Dunedin Brewery on Tuesday night for a Scottish and bagpiping-related team trivia, which is always a lot of fun. And we will be at House of Beer on Thursday night for our week wrap-up student performance, Kaylee. And all those events are open to the public. Anybody is welcome to join us and check those things out. I'm sure there will be lots of posts about it on social media, but I wanted to mention. After that, the City of Dunedin Pipe Band is hard at work gearing up for a very competitive couple of contests. We are traveling in two weeks to the All-Ireland Championships that will be held in Dublin on Saturday, July 4th. It's kind of weird. We're not going to be in Florida on July 4th, but we will hope to represent our community and country proudly that day. And from there, we'll be gearing up to travel to Glasgow in August to return to the World Pipe Band Championships and see if we are able to improve on our second-place finish from 2025. And to quickly acknowledge the adult band and some students is a volunteer band. So every member of the band is a mother, father, husband, wife. They're taking their own vacation time and most of the time their own money to do this. And so it's just incredible the amount of time, effort, and passion that they give to their pipes and their drums. And we're so blessed to have them here in Dunedin. And so thank you, Eric, for everything that you do. Jack, thank you for everything that you are doing and will continue to do. I know that you are, at this moment, 15 minutes late for practice. And you can't improve unless you practice. So if we could grab quick picks. Yeah, but you should recognize Jack's mom, too. Oh, we can recognize Jack's mom. Thanks for all you do. Run it or run. Absolutely. And so that's all. Yeah, picture? We thought I'd do a picture. Mom in this, too? That's what mom is. Perfect. Yeah. What about Jack? He doesn't do this. Oh, yeah. Sorry, I didn't realize it. You know. Only mom. Dad's okay. Dad's okay. Oh, he's got it. We're kidding. We're kidding. Okay, thank you. And that is what makes Dunedin special. For sure. So I will tell our lady vets, et cetera, this could be a really good time to escape if you're needed time to not sit through a very boring meeting. And Father Bob, you as well. Evie, thank you. Rob? Okay. Okay. Thank you all, though. You made it really special tonight. Okay. We're going to go to citizen input. Is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak on a topic that is not on the agenda? This would be your time to come forward. Okay. Did you want to come and say something? Okay. Name and address for the record, and you have three minutes. Hi. Greg Lee. I live at 939 and a half Highland, and I've got issues with speeders on Highland Avenue. You people have the smallest speed limit signs in the world that I've ever seen, 15 miles an hour, and it inflicts potential damage for me when I go to get my mail and everything and above, and that's my issue. Okay. And nothing gets taken care of it. I've been in contact with Debbie Law up at the sheriff's office, and she says it all falls down on you guys. But it's been not only delivery people, but Dunedin delivery people, Dunedin workers, and why? Why can't it be changed? Why can't they put a bigger speed limit sign on it? Why can't they deal with that issue? It's not right. Well, we can certainly look into it, city manager. Assume you're taking some notes, and you'll check with the sheriff's department. But nobody addresses it. And so I get in there, and I look like an idiot, because I'm out there with my signs saying slow down. And actually, a lot of people have paid attention to my little signs, and they slow down at 15, which is the speed limit. But I've seen people like 45, 55, 60 miles an hour going down that road to entertain themselves. Well, we'll certainly look into it. I appreciate it, though. What more can I do? Anyway, thanks for your time. No, thank you. No, thanks for taking the time to come. Okay, appreciate it. Thank you. Okay, anyone else in the audience wish to come forward and speak on an item that is not on the agenda? Okay, seeing no one, I will close citizen input. I'll go to the consent agenda, which is pretty small. It's the approval of the minutes for the May 7, 2026 regular meeting, and the May 19, 2026 special meeting minutes. I'm assuming that nobody wants to poll those, or? Okay, so I need a motion. So moved. Second. Okay, anyone from the public wish to speak on those items? Seeing no one, I'll close public input. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passed unanimously. Okay, action items. First one is second reading of Ordinance 26-05, calling for a general municipal election on November 3rd, 2026, for the purpose of electing a commissioner for seat 2 and a commissioner for seat 4, and to establish election guidelines pursuant to the city charter, section 5.04. Jen, can you please read Ordinance 26-05 by title only? Ordinance 26-05, an ordinance of the city of Dunedin, Florida, calling for a general municipal election on November 3rd, 2026, for the purpose of electing a commissioner for seat 2 and a commissioner for seat 4 for four-year terms. Further, said election shall also have, if necessary, city initiative petitions and or proposed amendments to the city charter, providing guidelines in accordance with Florida statutes, the city charter, and chapter 26, titled Elections of the City of Dunedin Code of Ordinances, providing authorization for the city clerk to sign the agreement, authorizing election expenditures, providing for repeal of ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, to the extent of such conflict, and providing for an effective date. That was Ordinance 2605, read by title only. I have a motion. So moved. Second. Mr. DeGardt and Commissioner Sandbergen. And staff presentation, Michelle. Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Mayor. This is the second reading of Ordinance 2605, following the first reading, which was held on May 21st, 2026. Pursuant to Section 5.04 of the city charter, the commission shall, by city ordinance, define and describe to the elector and candidate's qualifications, rules, and methods of conducting elections within the city of Dunedin. I am hopeful to answer any questions you may have. Okay. Any questions, starting with Commissioner Gao? No questions. Commissioner DeGardt? No questions. Vice Mayor? No questions. Commissioner Sandbergen? No questions, Mayor. And I don't have any questions either. I will open it to public input. Anyone in the audience wish to come forward with a comment or a question on this? I see no one. I will close public input. I'll go to Commission Comments. Commissioner Gao? Oh, wait. Actually, make her the motion. Commissioner DeGardt? No comments. Commissioner Sandbergen? Nothing to add, Mayor. Commissioner Gao? No comments. Vice Mayor? Nothing to add, Mayor. And I don't have any comments either, and we'll go to roll call vote. Commissioner Gao? Aye. Vice Mayor Walker? Aye. Commissioner Sandbergen? Aye. Commissioner Dugard? Aye. And Mayor Franey? Aye, and that motion passes unanimously. Okay, we'll go to 3B, Resolution 26-08, Declaration of Intent to Reimburse the Cost of Construction on a Parking Garage from Future Tax Exempt Debt. Staff is actually requesting this item be continued to the July 23, 2026, regularly scheduled 6 p.m. City Commission meeting being held at Dunnean City Hall in the Commission Chambers. Could I have a motion to postpone? So moved. Okay. To guard and there you go. The tie. Okay. Okay. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passed unanimously. Okay. I have a question on that, though. Are we wanting to talk about this before we talk about the budget with everything going on with our finances? Actually, that's the reason why we postponed it to the 23rd. We are going to be talking. Our first budget workshop is July 21st. Okay. So we will have talking. Okay. Gotcha. Okay. Sounds good. Okay. 3C, update to the citywide fleet replacement plan for two solid waste trucks funded by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. VW Class 8 Municipal Service Truck Grant Program for a total expenditure of $874,610 with an $800,000 reimbursement, and I've got a staff presentation, Sue and Scott. Thank you. Sue Bartlett, Public Works Director. Scott. Scott Katerson, Fleet Manager. We are here to amend our fleet replacement program, hopefully with your consent. We have the opportunity to have two additional, well, two vehicles that are in the replacement plan already, one for FY27 and one for FY28, but we're asking to move them up because we have a grant for $800,000, which is a good portion of the entire cost, leaving $74,610 for us to take out of the solid waste fund, which, again, is budgeted, more than that is budgeted. We also saved this year, so we actually have funds this year, and you'll see there's included in your package is a budget amendment transfer to adjust for those changes. The money is in the fund, but we saved this year because we also got a grant for two vehicles this year for the same VW grant, and it's about emissions and taking certain vehicles off the roadway, and then we'll have to scrap those, but we get the new vehicles in replacement. This year, one was a solid waste truck, garbage truck, and the other one was Public Services General Fund, Qua Truck, so those two are already in the process. You've already approved those. They were in the previous plan, but now we're asking for these two vehicles to move ahead and for us to go ahead and purchase them so we can meet the deadlines of the grant, get them purchased, and then disable those vehicles and take them off the roadway. Attached in the packet are the two quotes from the sheriff's contract, which was competitively bid, and has been approved by our purchasing department as a solid way, acceptable way, to procure these vehicles, and that puts us right on target for really for our fleet replacement for solid waste and getting rid of those old excess surplus, the ones that keep breaking, and moving these in. So that is our request. Okay. So questions for staff? I will start with Vice Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. This is just more of a clarification question. We were able to move up these vehicles because of the fact that we received, was it a state grant or? It was a state environmental protection grant. Okay. And we're not technically, we're moving them up because of the conditions of the grant. We cannot wait. The grant will expire. Well, I think it makes total sense to use other people's money to prioritize as we should, so thank you. You're welcome. Okay. Questions? Commissioner Sandbergen. I was reading through that settlement, the Volkswagen settlement, so there was, you know, in reading it, there's still 100 plus million available in the state. Do we have any other vehicles that we could jump on? So we have met, like this grant, we are getting the maximum, the 800,000 with the two vehicles. The previous grant was a real tight deadline, and we only had certain trucks that would qualify. They're very, very specific guidelines. This second grant that came up included Class 8 trucks, and so that opened it up for us to get these two. So we're still looking. Camille, she's great, and she keeps looking. And yet the only other thing I had was, since those two vehicles had to be removed, obviously, I know in the past we've sold to smaller communities. I would assume these are going to have to be destroyed, or what's the future of those two vehicles? Yes. All four vehicles that were associated with the grant will have to have proof that we've actually cored the engine. The vehicles have to be destroyed so they cannot be reused. Just a hole has to be drilled into the engine block. But we can sell them for scrap metal. Okay. After we prove that they've been disabled and somebody can't go get it out of the junkyard or the metal yard and revamp it. That's all I was looking for. Thank you, Scott. That's good, Mayor. Okay. Questions? Commissioner Gao. Thank you, Mayor. And I've heard the replacement vehicles, and I've also heard surplus. And so the vehicles that we are replacing, they're currently working, or these are current surplus vehicles? The vehicles that we are replacing are current used vehicles. Okay. And they've reached the end of their useful life. They were to be replaced in 27 and 28, yes. And fully depreciated at this point. Absolutely. All right. Surplus may not have been the correct terminology. We call them reserve trucks, so they're not on the front line. But when a front line truck needs to come down for repairs, a reserve truck takes its spot. So surplus, not technically correct. Reserve is correct. Reserve, backup, second string, yeah. Exactly. Okay. Double A, yeah, whatever we want to. Okay, and so that's where these trucks lived, right? They were reserve trucks, or these were actually front line currently used? These two... Well, five years ago, they were front line trucks. Now they're currently reserve trucks. These two are both reserve. At some point in the vehicle's life, they were all front line, right? So I understand that. And it says that the resulting is a net CD expense of $74,075, and so that's all we're out for two trucks? Yes. Okay. Two trucks worth almost $900,000. And we are replacing vehicles, not adding two. Absolutely. Okay. That is correct. All right. That's all that I have. Mayor, thank you. Great. Okay, questions, Commissioner Dugard? Thank you, Mayor. Are there any conditions that extend beyond this year relative to the grant? There are some conditions. I mean, there are specific dates, and I think 27 actually is the actual completion date of the whole grant. But I couldn't tell you which month. Are there any reporting requirements or anything like that back to the state or to VW? Yes. We have to approve. We have to report back. And Camille has been keeping up with this. But we have to report back and show photographs where we have disabled the vehicle that we've taken offline. My colleagues have done a good job. That was the only question I have. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, I don't have any questions. This seems pretty good news to me. And it certainly saves us money and thus our ratepayer residents' money. Okay, so we will go to public input. Anyone in the audience wish to come forward and speak on this issue? Seeing no one, I will close public input. I will ask for a motion. So moved. Second. Okay. And then I will go to commission comments, starting with maker of the motion, Commissioner Sandbergen. I'd just like to say thank you to our grant writer. I'm sure this was a very complex settlement. She seemed to be in the right place at the right time and did the right thing for the city of Dunedin. So thanks for everyone that was involved. Because in reading through it, that was very complex the way that was settled. So thank you and good job. Look forward to seeing those new trucks on the road. Us too. Final comments? Vice Mayor. You know, before we had a grant writer, we were leaving a lot of money on the table. And, you know, she is one of the best. So great job to you and your team as well. Maybe her title should be changed to grant finder. Yeah, no, great job. Okay, Commissioner Gow, final comments? No comments. Well done. Commissioner Dugard, final comments? Looks like great administration. Well done. Yeah, I was just going to say thanks to Sue and Scott, but a huge thank you to Camille. That's great. She really does seem to find those grants. So that's awesome. Okay, so voice vote. So all in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passed unanimously. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, we're going to go to the proposed agenda for July 9th, which if you recall, this is the agenda that Vice Mayor and I will be at Florida League of Mayors for. Therefore, Commissioner Gow will be running the meeting. We're still good for that, right? Good. Okay. You can't tell me in public, so you have to go. Okay. I think it's even more important than ever now. So are there any additions or changes? Mayor, there have been the addition of two consent items, and it's a really lengthy title on one of them. Okay, just tell us what it is. Okay. Approval of the amendment to the city's retirement plan investment advisory agreement with one digital investment advisors LLC to revise current fee structure. Okay. Well, okay. All right. Do they want clarification of that, or are we good? Or I think we're good. Okay, what's the second one? The second addition is ATMS slash ITS second amendment to interlocal agreement. Okay. What does ATMS stand for? Thank you. Okay. Advanced Traffic Management System. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Okay. Okay. Fine. So anybody else have any questions? Because I had two on this agenda. Well, since I'm running the meeting, can we make it favorite sports yellow night? There you go. Hey, by the way, the Blue Jays just swept Boston, speaking of sports. So sorry. Okay. Yeah, but they need to get better. My question is, because the vice mayor and I won't be here, is that review of fire assessment request for a proposal a good idea, or does it really, or I mean, I guess we could read it and see if we have any concerns, but I don't want to put it off either, because we've got to keep moving. It is time sensitive. Yeah. Yeah. I guess if we publicly have any concern, maybe we share it at the workshop ahead, and then you guys can consider it when you talk about it at the meeting. That would be great. Yeah. That sounds good. And my other question was, and I don't want to get murdered here, because I have no idea the condition of the hammock boardwalk replacement project, but does that come out of the general fund? I am not sure what the revenue source is. Well, it's $152,000, so I just didn't know. It should be general fund, yeah. I just didn't know what we should be holding until we have the discussion about our overall financial condition based on the potential for the ballot. And I don't want to overreact, but I don't want to underreact either. Let me talk to Tony, our Director of Parks and Recreation, about the condition of the boardwalk as well. Yeah. I mean, if it's, you know, I just think we need to start thinking about that as we look at some of these general fund items, so. Okay. So, okay. So, other than that, I think we're ready to move forward. So, can I have a motion? So moved. Okay. And second? Do I have? Second. Okay. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Motion passed unanimously. Okay. We go to informational items, proposed agenda. I keep turning my thing off here. For the July 7th workshop, and again, this is informational, so we don't have to vote on it. So, it looks like it's presentation designation of July as Parks and Recreation Month. So, that's timely. And then, our workshop items would be Weaver Park Living Shoreline proposed designs, and then Penny Five discussion. So, anything that we should add, take away? Okay. We're good. Okay. So, that was informational, so we'll move on to our next item, which is commission discussion and comments. I will go to the Vice Mayor. You know, I really don't have anything for the good of the order here. Thank you. Okay. Commissioner Sandbergen. Today was a really interesting day, in-service day for the city, but they chose to go out and try to help the community, and I had fear of being left out, so I volunteered to go to the library and paint rocks, paint pretty rocks. I'm not very artsy, so I tried to paint one red, white, and blue, and someone from utility building says, looks more like a Pepsi commercial. So, my red, white, and blue patriotic rock became a Pepsi commercial. So, I'll tell you, they're great people at the library today, and we can be very proud, and I can say thank you to every one of them for how hard they work, and man, we have some talented, creative, artsy people in this city. So, thank you. Well, obviously, one of those creative people is sitting right here. You know, Commissioner Sandbergen. It's very impressive. That's an awesome rock. Yeah. We're very impressed. There's got to be some award we can give you for at the next meeting. Okay. Commissioner Gao. No, I've talked enough tonight. Thank you, Mayor. I got nothing. Okay. Commissioner Degard. Thank you, Mayor. I'm going to bring up a topic that is very sensitive and also poignant and timely, and I'd like to suggest that at some point in the future, this be a discussion item for the Commission. Um, we're not only dealing with a referendum that's coming in November that will have a dramatic impact should it pass on every city and municipality in the state of Florida, but that's going to cause behavioral changes inside those institutions, uh, because now pieces of property that were once revenue-bearing are not making those that are revenue-bearing more valuable, and that's going to cause behavioral change. And I'd like to have a report from staff on what kind of behavioral change is going to be incentivized by the loss of that revenue. In other words, will communities consider elevating the height of their buildings because they create greater revenue for them? Things such as that. And I think we need to not only manage this from a financial standpoint, which I know the staff is doing right now, we should manage this from a planning standpoint and the impacts that it's going to have on planning. Those are my comments. Interesting. Somebody just brought that up to me the other day about if you don't have a lot of revenue coming in, you know, it may incentivize, you know, wanting more development, bigger development, because again, that commercial will be taxed. So interesting discussion. There's probably a lot of other examples. Okay, my, well, first of all, this is our final meeting, correct? Before America 250 Hometown USA, July 3rd. And so I hope everybody will be there. I don't know exactly the details. Do you know the details of that? No. No, it's at the TD Ballpark. Yeah. I know we're advertising. You can go on the website to look it up. We're going to have fireworks. Have a parade. Yeah. We'll have a parade. Is that? We'll have a parade. It's a golf cart parade, as usual. So, yeah, that's all good. I would say, Mayor, just keep, everybody should keep an eye on our website for information coming out. Obviously, the fireworks at sunset. And we do put notices out to the community in regards to those fireworks, because I know for the animals and some of the veterans, it's difficult to sit through that, you know, in their homes. So, but just to keep an eye on our website, we'll be pushing out a lot of information. Right. And I see General George Washington left ahead of schedule today, but anyway, so if he'd been here, I might have had him. He had to go sign the Declaration of Independence. Oh, he had to go with the Declaration of Independence? Well, actually, Washington didn't, but anyway. No, he did not. He did not. Okay. And yeah, and I'm glad that Commissioner Samaritan brought up Juneteenth in service today. That's, you know, obviously an important day to honor. It's obviously somewhat of a blemish on our history, but, you know, you got to rise above it and try to make good things happen. And I'm proud that our staff does a lot of good works as an in-service function out in the community on Juneteenth. So that's awesome. Um, and I don't have anything else that I can think of, so, um, I'll go to City Clerk Update. Nothing new to report, Mayor. Thank you. Okay. City Manager Update. Um, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Commissioners, uh, we had staff committed to bring you an update on Grand Oak Park on this, uh, agenda this evening. And so we do have an attachment to the City Manager's update. It is a memo, um, and it, the memo essentially touches upon all of those issues that were discussed, um, at, at the last City Commission meeting, or the one before, before last. Um, so I'm going to ask, uh, Clay and Matthew to, to kind of give us an overview of that memo. Again, um, we, we also have some, um, some items attached to that, which we'll describe to you as well. So. Good evening, um, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Commission Clayton Watkins. Utilities, and Engineering. Um, we wanted to just sort of give you a brief outline, um, of, like, um, City Manager said, a brief outline of the stuff that has happened and answer some of your questions from before. Um, just briefly touching on the construction contract. Um, we've been in contact with the contractor, Malley Construction. Um, we received an updated memo, or excuse me, an updated schedule from, on June 4th. Um, as of right now, they have them completing the construction. Um, in mid-August for the, um, for the park and everything. However, the restroom is still on, looking to be delivered in late May, early December. So, they'll complete the work around the park, and then they'll have some construction fencing, fencing up around where the, um, foundation is for the, for the, for the restroom. Um, and as soon as that gets delivered, obviously, we will, we'll, we'll push that delivery a little quicker so we don't have that area. There is the ability, if we do have an event or something we need to have restrooms, we could bring in some temporary restrooms to sit on that foundation. Um, there was some questions regarding the use of GPR on the site. Um, we reached out to the former project manager and, um, city staff. We reached out to Doug Hutchinson, who was also, you know, been our public works director and a few other positions in the city. Um, he mentioned that GPR had been used and discussed in other projects through the city. Um, but however, we did not use GPR, um, on this park project, and specifically in the area of the foundation. Um, the assumptions there were made that this was, you know, a foundation and a structure that was designed to hold a, a building. So by taking a building down and just putting, um, a brick pavers and everything like that, that wouldn't really affect the foundation or the loading of the building. So it was chosen at that time that nobody would use GPR, uh, sorry, GPR, excuse me, um, to identify any, um, abnormalities underneath the, the building just with the assumption that any loading would be fine. Then subsequently, as we were into construction, they found the, the air ducts from that were underneath the foundations. And as it was quoted before, um, we do have two quotes to handle those. Um, one quote is, uh, just to keep the air ducts and fill it with what is flubble fill. So lightweight concrete that can come underneath there. Um, and then also want to actually remove because it's a metal cap that kind of sits underneath there. There's four inches of concrete, then you have a small metal, a plate that's been subject to the air and starting to deteriorate a little bit. So they would remove that out of there and then bring in fill compact to the same grade and then build the, um, pavers on top of that. Um, just double checking back, um, regarding some of the demolition, I know there was some questions, there were some questions on that. Um, as previously mentioned, the former city arborist, um, recommended some light, we'll refer to as delicate demolition as the building was taken down, um, previously. And then as construction continued, um, we, they looked at some other thing, um, more bringing in a little bit heavier equipment to kind of get some of the demo to where we were prior to construction. Um, as we have moved through, we have coordinated with, uh, the current city arborist, um, who keeps an eye on how the tree, tree protection and where we stand to make sure, um, the roots aren't the size that would affect the tree. So everything is sort of staying out of that area. Um, there was some questions regarding, um, actually, let me go back, skip a step before I get to here. Uh, there was some question regarding the size of the footer and how it changed before. Um, we have reached out to the supplier of, and as of an email last week or earlier this week, um, they are still determining what made that change. They've brought in a third party, uh, structural engineer to review the original design and the current design to find out which is the proper one for that. So they, they are paying for somebody else to come in and evaluate the sort of review the two to make sure they get the proper design. Um, and I think there was some, also some questions regarding, you know, the funds and the fees were these, um, when the contract and when we take any, uh, construction contract in front of you for award where there is always a contingency amount in those, in those contracts. So for these little things that come up, so we can allow to sort of make some changes, um, without bringing every little dollar amount in front of you. Um, so when we did this project, it was the original amount for $515,028.21, um, included $411,525, um, that it was, that there, there's $75,000 in the budget that's contingency, which is here to pay for these little items as you come up with construction, because I don't know that anybody's ever had a construction project that went off without having a little tweak. So that's always in there for that. Um, along with that, in that award, there was, um, the bid alternate one, which, um, was for the repair, redoing the pavers on Main Street. Since we were in the area, it's sort of as we're working on CIP project, it's been our, sort of our policy if we're working on these brick pavers to try to refresh them in an area so we don't have trip hazards or, or other areas. So we try to clean them up as we have a CIP project in the area. So that's where we added bid alternate number one, that was in the sum of $28,770. I think that takes, and then there is some, there was previous discussion on, uh, the two-way of Grant Street. Uh, Grant Street is proposed to convert it from one-way to two-way operations. Um, a two-way configuration is preferred for both traffic, from a traffic engineering perspective and a, they have traffic engineering and a plan of perspective, uh, due to drivers confusing associating this existing one-way condition, um, including instances where motorists travel eastbound during, um, designated traffic flow. Um, additional, the two-way configuration would improve functionality and access during special events to accommodate the, um, to do so, to accommodate the angle parking. We have talked about moving the existing, um, sidewalk in. And as part of that, well, during some of the earlier discussions, that's, that existing sidewalk is an old four-foot-wide concrete sidewalk. So part of that is also to switch over to go to a wider and change it to paver sidewalks, as we talked about a little bit ago. As CIP projects are sort of downtown in the area where we can incorporate cleaning up some of the old brick pavers. So they're level and we don't have tripping hazards. That's sort of as we looked at this, um, we looked at, we're working, currently negotiating a change order, um, for them to change that from the old concrete sidewalk to a, um, to the brick pavers. Change that. So that's the only section in the area that is concrete. So it would sort of flow and match with the rest of downtown. And then with that, that four-foot sidewalk is right on the back of curve. So if cars are parking there, you're going to have the overhang. And you'll see sometimes, especially if somebody's in a pickup and you back up and they put that back wheel on that wheel stop, the truck covers the entire parking space. So with that, if we move the sidewalk in, it gives a little bit more flow into the park and then it allows pedestrians to be able to walk uninstructed if any vehicles back up or in, you know, you don't have that vehicle over the parking, or excuse me, the sidewalk. And I think, I think I nailed, I think that's everything. I'm sure you might have some questions after that, but so we're here to... Uh, questions, uh, Commissioner Gow, starting over here. Oh, thank you. Uh, yeah, crazy question. Uh, how many other decisions about the park need to be voted on by the commission? None of these do, because they're all, all these are change orders inside the contract that are inside the contingency amount. Except for the two-way street, still voting on that, right? No. So what I'd like to do about the two-way street, um, is we want to take it out. We're not going to do, uh, propose a change order for the city commission. We want to, uh, for you to, to approve, we're going to take it out and explain the project, why it is staff is making the recommendation that, that we're making, um, and then have you make that decision moving forward. So we want to do that as part of the, of the budget process as a project. So in essence, we're going to tap the brakes on that, but we still want to do the sidewalk because the sidewalk is a better configuration, um, and, and we actually attach it to your agenda item, which shows the sidewalk, um, encroaching into the park by about four feet in some places, and it's a paver sidewalk. It's better for us to take the wheel stops out and create more backing space. Um, we're trying to, to take, to, to diminish our use of wheel stops to the maximum extent possible because of the liability involved in them. So wheel stops are a trip hazard. Yeah. So in essence, we're not asking for you to make a decision on the two way street. Well, thank you, Mayor, cause that's, I was going to end up there. So it's good to get that out there. Um, so how much of just laser focused on what we've heard tonight for Grant Street will be done without talking to the commission about the two way street. I, and I, and I, well, not correct cause that, but that was a question. Um, and, and I guess what it is, is I don't, I don't, if we're going to vote on whether or not the two way street, I want to vote not only on that, but any of these elements that would impact that, all the pavers, the, the, the, the, the, the stops. Cause I don't want to get to a point where the decision's already been made because the construction has already done it, right? I want to make sure that we have an honest discussion and if we say no, there isn't money wasted on the current project. Okay. So, so what we would like to do is the, the angled parking, as you see in the sidewalk, because, um, and that doesn't mean that in the future you would, um, have to do a two way street or it's just a better configuration of the, of the park itself. But no, it doesn't naturally feed into a two way street. That decision will be before you, uh, as a standalone item. Can I add a comment to that? But, you know, cause I think we might be in the same place, but if you weren't going to do a two way street, then maybe there'd be more room for the park. Like how much park are you giving up to provide for the potential of a two way street, which would then say later you guys would be like, sorry, I'm not being disrespectful, but you guys, I used to be staff, so I'm being a little bit smart-alecky here, but you'll say, oh, well, we have the room for the two way street. Why wouldn't we do the two way street? Because we made less park and now we're, I've already spent that money. And so. Mayor, if I may, Jennifer. Our professionally sound technical recommendation right now is that this is a better configuration for the park and the circulation around the park that, you know, I don't think that we'd put anything before you saying you, you have to do this because you did that. Um, it's just, it's a, it's a better configuration for the park at this point. So. If I could elaborate just the, the, the site plan that you see in front of you right there. So again, as, as Clay mentioned, we're trying to address and eliminate potential trip hazards in, in the area. So by, by putting in the new paver, uh, sidewalk, which can all be done under the original contingency dollar amount, it doesn't require any additional funds beyond what was already budgeted and awarded with the contract. So by doing the configuration you see there, we're not losing any parking. It allows us to adjust the sidewalk around existing trees and eliminate any, uh, trip hazards. It allows us to address what, uh, Clay mentioned, which is if somebody backs up with a truck that has a trailer hitch, you don't have someone walking along that, you know, all of a sudden takes out their kneecap because the truck is overhanging the sidewalk. So, um, by doing all this, it allows us to, to make these changes, um, have uniformity on paver sidewalk, not only along main street, but along, uh, Grant. And should we ever decide in the future to make it, uh, two way, we don't have to remove anything that's been constructed. It's there. But to Jennifer's point, if we leave it the way it is, it's fine the way it is as well. And it, it's a nice meandering sidewalk. And again, it addresses the removal of any trip hazards that might exist in the area. And, and, uh, not only along the sidewalk, as far as raised sidewalk because of tree roots, it addresses any trip hazards with the wheel stops, uh, by pulling the sidewalk away in those areas. I'm... No, it's your turn. So I'm not, you know, I have more opinions on this, but I'm going to let you take it. Um, and so the sidewalk that's being recommended, the pavers, uh, that is encroaching four feet into the park. It's, it's meandering. If you see, there's, uh, some islands or an island towards, uh, closest to Highland Avenue. So we're trying to, uh, meander the sidewalk around those existing trees. He just zoomed in so you can see it a little bit better. So we're pulling the sidewalk away so that if there is any overhang in those areas that, you know, you don't have a pedestrian walking immediately behind where the vehicles are parked. So you have a, a landscaped area there that'll have irrigation. Um, so it's, you know, it's unlike what engineers typically do, it's not a linear sidewalk, but it has some meandering, which is, I think, um, aesthetically pleasing and incorporated into the park. You know, and, and sorry for the quick comment, mayor, um, but it won't go back to questions, but just me personally, if I would have had, could take my vote over again, it would be an absolute no on this whole project. I'm just, uh, a little frustrated at, at the amount of money it's taking. Um, now we're losing part of our green space. Um, and so that was my concern that if we wait on the vote on two way or not, when that two way comes to us, why would we say no? No, because we're 98% there. And, and, but my issues are taking away green space, um, and, uh, for, for cars. And that just, well, I don't know that you're actually taking away green space. You're just shifting where the sidewalk is, right? There's an existing sidewalk there. Now you're just shifting it over a little bit. So you got green space in between the parking and the sidewalk, and then you have the park side parking. But again, all this is, all this can be accomplished within the contingency amount that was awarded. We're not asking for any additional funds beyond what was awarded by the commission. And I would venture to say that any trip and fall, uh, lawsuit claim might be in excess of what we're going to expend on pavers. I, I, I appreciate that. Um, uh, yeah, actually at this point, mayor, I do not. So it's all comments. So thank you. Mr. DeGuard questions. It looks as though we're removing the, uh, car stops in this process. Can you tell me why? Mainly tripping hazards. They haven't, you would, we would still keep this car stops on the eastern side. So as if you can see in the exhibit, because of the existing tree and trying to protect the tree, as you get in the far east side, we would go back to the same location of the existing sidewalk. As you go western, we would move ourselves away from that, giving that overhang to, to, to remove the need of the, the wheel stops. If we go with this particular plan, it does not obligate us in any way to two way. Is that what I've heard? Correct. And giving potential funding constraints that might be before the commission in the near future. Okay. That might not rise to a level of a project that. Thank you, mayor. That's all I have. That's right. Okay. Vice mayor. Questions? You know, I appreciate the clarification on the ground penetrating radar. What's not clear to me is, is the existing slab voids. It seems that, okay, it appears to me that those voids were just an ingress and an egress air duct. It was the air duct returns that went around the outside of the building and then one that ran through the center of the building. That was sort of how the air conditioner in the system worked inside of there. So it was just a vacant, or I don't say vacant, it was just an area, that tunnel area that was running that has a thin two inch piece of steel over top and then the four inch slab was poured on top of that. And how did we make that determination? When we dug out the north east corner to start to put in the footer for the bathrooms. Okay. Are we confident that there are not other voids under the slab? We're confident that we can be, I mean, we're pretty confident. I mean, it is underground. There's always something that may pop up, but we think we've found the biggest, hopefully we've found our biggest deterrent there, yes. Okay. And I, you know, and then what, what led me to the ground penetrating radar was, is that somehow, and maybe I'm wrong, but it seems that we were, we actually knew the thickness of that slab. And I'm just wondering how we made that determination. I think based on the conversations that they had with Doug Hutchins, who had reviewed it previously, again, it goes back to, if it was a virgin site, right? You would have just stripped everything and you would not have had a slab. You would have just placed pavers on compacted fill and sand base. In this case, we had a slab, so we figured, well, let's just utilize the slab. We'll put a sand base on top of it so you don't have reflective cracking. So that's why there's not a significant concern about GPR, because it's a slab in addition to what we normally would do anyway. Yeah. I get it. I appreciate that. Now, I like the timeline that you have at the end there. Does that keep the contractor from going into the indemnity clause or anything like, is this going to exceed past a deadline where the, I'm sorry, liquidated damages kick in? I think I would have to get back with you on that one. Okay. All right. Yeah, really, this is the question. It's, you know, where is that timeline in comparison to the original timeline where liquidated damages may be kicking in? Does that make it clear? Yeah, I understand exactly what you're asking, yes. All right. No. Thank you. So if we may, Mayor, we'll send that to all five of you under separate cover. Yes. Thank you. I'd like to know that myself. Those are all the questions there. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Commissioner Sandberg, any questions? I have no additional questions, Mayor. Mr. America, I feel like calling you when I look down there. Mr. America. You're here. Captain. Captain America. That looks like we're... I like it. I like it. There you go. This is getting... Oh. I wish to make it very clear that Commissioner Sandbergen's outfits are put together by Sherry, his wife. And I want to compliment her on dressing him well. And that's why we have stock in Amazon. Yes, everybody needs a Sherry. That's all I know. All right. And I better say everybody needs a peg, too. I'll be in trouble. Okay. So, no questions? No questions, Mayor. Okay. All right. So, I have absolutely zero issue with the meandering pavers. I think it's a great idea. I think it's fantastic. But I'm just going to ask this one more way. Because I'm... You're telling me that we're not losing any green space by... We're not losing any green space by... It just makes sense to me if we're going to go to... How are we going to have... It's a one-way street. So, as it is right now, can it go to just a two-way street without losing anything into the... I'm just trying to understand. If you're preparing for a two-way street, even though we haven't decided on a two-way street, how are we not losing some space since it's a one-way street now? I think we're planning... Go ahead. No, I think the best way to answer that is you're not losing any space right now. As the configuration sits that you see there, there is the curb lines, everything you see there are where they're at today. So, we wouldn't be losing any green space. We're just making a meandering sidewalk. So, if we decide to do a two-way street, then we might. Correct. So, the way it's laid out is it gives the ability to expand to the two-way space to have the angled spaces. But in today, it'll stay where it is, the configuration you have today. But there's... So, you're basically utilizing... There's a curve line there. Yeah, that curve line stays. The curve line's the same. Yeah, we're utilizing the existing parking that's there. And so, your point is that then the cars don't overhang over the curve line. Correct. Well, they will still overhang under the curve line. They will not overhang on the part in through the sidewalk. They'll be the... Right. Yes. And is there a movement to get rid of car stops or something? I mean, is that a thing? I know some retailers who will not use them. Okay. And you think, I mean, I can think of one person who went over the car stop and went over the curve. So, again, is that a smart thing to do? I guess is my point. I'm not making... It wasn't me, by the way. I'm not making any comments based on my hand. I'm not making any comments. I'm not going to out the person that it was, but... So, we're actually, if I may, Mayor, we're looking at the wheel stops and looking at alternative methods than the wheel stops for really, you know, the majority of Main Street. We don't have a formal report for you at this point, but as you've seen during events, and it's not really... Well, it is actually when it's not an event, but during events, we have some real trouble with the wheel stops with the folks at the events. So, we're looking at all sorts of ways to eliminate them when we can, but still make sure it's safe. What would be the alternative? I mean, I don't disagree, but what's the alternative? Right. And, well, we're looking at bollards in some areas. We're looking at... That sounds like it would look awful, though. Well, you know, actually, if it's uniform street furniture type of bollard, I think it, in a lot of ways, it looks better, because it's less intrusive. All right. Well, you'll have to prove that one to me. I won't even go down that track. I will. If you say so. I do want to clarify... I just... Are we losing any... I don't want to see a bunch of bollards downtown unless we know them, so thank you. I just want to clarify, because you asked, are we losing any green space? You're essentially losing one foot of green space, right? Because the sidewalk that's there is substandard. It's a four-foot-wide sidewalk, and we have to put back a five-foot walk. Yeah. Such as part of the meandering sidewalk that's safe and actually make it more usable. In order to make it an ADA-compliant sidewalk, it has to be... Okay. But we're not making way for more roadway. Okay. And that's... So that was my biggest issue. And so I appreciate that. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Okay. I guess that's all my questions. Mayor, may I add something on the two-way street? Sure. If you really want to? No, not really. Go ahead. But actually, I mean, the discussion that staff had after the city commission meeting, where it came up, is that really the two-way... I think one of the reasons why the city commission is really struggling with it is that the two-way street is a staff-initiated initiative. It's not something that we have discussed at length with the city commission yet. It's something that we're planning on doing it, on having that discussion. But what I'd like is for the opportunity for staff to present to you at a workshop exactly what that would mean. You want us to be open-minded? Is that what you're saying? Yes. Okay. Okay. Okay. Thank you. You can say no. And then, obviously, it's... Yeah. Just a little bit. Obviously, it's a decision of the city commission, but we would like the opportunity to present to you as far as staff's recommendation. But it is not on the table now. We don't have it included in this project. We took it out of the timeline, and this particular is the only thing before you. Cool. Yeah. No, I have no doubt that everyone up here will be open-minded. And, again, to clarify, the timeline that's in the memo that has mid-August is to finish the park proper, right, what was originally awarded. So this additional work has a two-month timeline associated. And the bathrooms will be completely done by the Christmas- And I'm with this. This will be done before the bathrooms. So, we are committing to pushing as hard as we can, but we will make sure that there are restaurant facilities for the holidays. Okay. All right. Sounds good. Okay. Well, we're... This is just informational. So, what... Do you have any other things? I attached the city manager's update. Sure. And it's a good update. We are very busy. We're still very busy. And also, I just wanted to actually thank you, the five of you, for your support for Juneteenth and for the in-service workday. I told the employees during a Teams meeting this morning that in 2021, when we first decided to do this, we put it before the city commission and you supported us. And so, we had a great day. We had a... Didn't we? Right? Yeah. Yeah. It's uplifting. It's... We get to meet new employees and people we haven't met before, actually. And we did all sorts of service projects. One of my favorite ones was, and I don't know the name of it, the fire department went to a foster facility on Union. I don't know the name of it. And they brought Russet and they brought their apparatus. And they showed the boys, they were young teenagers, the units, and they were very inspired, which is, you know, a good thing, it really is. I went to Mies Dunedin and did a little meet and greet with about 50 residents and had to explain freebie loop again. But... Anyway. So, I mean, we were at Random Acts of Flowers. We were at Dunedin Cares. We were at the library. We were just all over. And I'm sorry if I forgot any place that we were. And then, and actually, Random Acts of Flowers, they made the bouquets and then they brought them and presented them as well, too. So, I had speakers all afternoon. And... Did you close to kids, too? Or... Yes. Yeah, because somebody told me that. Yeah. Yeah, we did. So, anyway, I just, again, I want to thank you very much for your support. It was a good day and I'm looking forward to next year. Thank you. Any questions of the city manager? I have one. I am... I know enough to be completely dangerous on this subject. Um... Data centers. Um... Coca-Cola plant, land, data centers. Obviously, lots of buzz. I saw the county commission talked about it in the last few days and it was quite a, quite a discussion and Pinellas Park has its thing. And, and, and the part that I saw of the county commission meeting had Jewel White, their city, the county attorney, talking about the fact that what they're responsible for is the unincorporated land and the, I'm not speaking for the city. So, I want to understand, are we, do we have any issues that we need to take care of in our code regarding data centers? Um... I will, I will double check on that and, and report back to the commission under separate cover. I need to check the land development code. I have also, that's been in my mind. Yeah. As well. Um... I've, I've been, uh, looking at the data centers that are being built and it would appear to me that Coca-Cola would be way too small. Well, I just pulled up how much is needed. A data center needs anywhere from five to over 1,000 acres. Smaller five to 10 acre parcels work for regional enterprise applications while massive power hungry AI and hyperscale campuses routinely span 200 to 50, 500 plus acres. So, yeah, obviously, you know, but that is AI generated overview. So, I just want to make sure that we're not caught not thinking about this. Absolutely. Yeah. It's definitely on the radar, Mayor. Thank you. Okay. Awesome. And then also, um, I know we're going to be hearing about our, our golf club budget numbers and how they're doing during budget. Mm-hmm. And then, and at some point I'd just really like to hear what we're planning to do for the 100th birthday celebration because I'm excited and we all have to get outfits and I'm sure that Commissioner Sandberg is going to have something amazing. As is the vice mayor because Claudia usually takes care of it. We, we, and we've actually embarked upon our, our celebrations already. And so, um, and working with the chamber and obviously the history museum. Uh, but, um, we did present to you, uh, I think just after the new year, the list of, of what we're doing throughout the city. Yeah. Uh, but we flushed that out a lot since then, obviously. So we'll bring that back. And it is the next year, I guess the same year as the golf club is Fenway's 100th anniversary. And I want to make sure we're coordinating with them in any way that makes sense. You know, for some reason. I'm sorry. My mind went immediately to the 250. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm talking about that. You said a hundred years at the golf club. A hundred years at the golf course. And it's going to be a hundred years at the Fenway, which I know they're already planning. I just want to make sure we're kind of in that mix. Right. Yes. We're actively working on that. Uh, Tony and Blair actually. And then the, uh, the, uh, committee is going to start meeting. I think it's on a Thursday evening, uh, here shortly. So they'll be in the fold as well. And certainly the members of the golf club are important. Yeah. Has the, um, sorry. Has the, um, golf club committee met yet? No, no, they have they. I'm sorry, Michelle. They have not. Yeah. I think they just polled the members about the best time. They, they have chosen to meet on the last Tuesday of the month, but they have not set the first meeting yet. Okay. Cool. Good. In the evening or. Yes, ma'am. I don't have the exact time. That's awesome. Um, and then, uh, the microphone system, are we like, is that not, was that just like a fun thing they were doing that night to have two microphones that are, or was that, is that actually going to reappear? Actually, no, it was a fun thing that we were doing just to see how it sounded, but it did sound better. Didn't it? Well, that's what I wondered. And, and that is what the county commission uses. So I know that anybody who's done that. I, no, I totally agree because as we're talking here, it just, it, the echo or whatever it is, is really making it, you've got to really listen closely. Right. I don't want to ask staff about getting those up there. No. It's all about sound. I think I misunderstood. Are we, are we going to be using those going forward or are we going to? So we are, those are our new, uh, cordless mics and we, we were going to activate them for the first time at our, uh, workshop. We, we purchased them specifically, but so that we could do the workshop on the floor. Right. Um, but it seemed like, you know, the commission just, just hit that green button and activated them. So we could, I could definitely talk about staff about getting those up. Okay. Well, at least to try it. I mean, if it seemed better, we should give it a true trial run. So, um, okay. I don't think I have any more questions. Um, so city attorney update. The only update I have is I just wanted to let you know that I will be out of town the last week in June, but I'll have my phone if there's anything and you can also call the firm and they can always find me. Um, and then I wanted to wish you all a happy fourth cause I won't see you before the fourth. Oh yeah. Well, I mentioned to, uh, to Jen, um, the other day and I'm just going to say it publicly. I'm very grateful that Jen Cohen is our, uh, city attorney. I think she does a great job and I wouldn't want anybody else in that seat. So thank you. Um, and I just like to echo that. Um, Jen, Jen's also the attorney for PSTA and, uh, you know, I, I just, it's, it's just this level of comfort knowing that she's there. So cool. And, uh, and, and last but not least before I adjourned the meeting, I think we all got this, uh, flyer from chief and Doga about, um, firefighter, Tyler Zork and his wife, Courtney and the loss of their daughter, sailor, um, the two year old. Um, and, uh, so I think to donate and, but certainly as a commission and as a community, you know, we, we send our love and our prayers to them. Are we doing this individually or as a group? Uh, well, maybe we should talk about it and we can talk about this in some, um, because it would be nice to do something as a, as a commission. I think that'd be awesome. But fair enough then to hold off until we get. Yeah, let's talk about it. I think it would be great because, um, yeah, just if no one knows, I mean, uh, their, their two year old daughter, uh, drowned in their pool. So it's just the worst tragedy. Um, anyway, so, um, but our hearts go out to them as they try to heal from something horrific. Um, anyway, meeting adjourned. Okay. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.