CITY COMMISSION WORK SESSION - Apr 15, 2025

Hold on. Good morning, and welcome to the April 15, 2025 City Commission Work Session. I'd like to call the meeting to the order. I did realize it's tax day, right? Only not in Florida. We got an extension. Okay, we'll go to Jen for Pledge of Allegiance. The states and marriage stand under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice. So, Jen, just out of curiosity, is the tax extension just for storm-related people that got hit by the storm, or no? Everybody. Huh? It's an extension for everybody, or just storm people?

I know you do.

No, no, no. There is something specific because of the storms, but don't count on that for me. I'm just saying. Mine's in, so. Okay. Okay, we're going to go to presentations, which is Public Service Recognition Week, May 4th through the 10th, 2025, and I will turn to Commissioner Degard to read that.

Thank you, Mayor. This is an exciting time for a number of reasons, and it's a challenging time, and I particularly like this proclamation today because of what it says about the people that are standing watch, that are standing the tower in light of turmoil and difficulty. So, it's particularly important today that we make this proclamation. Whereas since 1985, the President and Congress have designated the first full week of May as Public Service Recognition Week to honor all public employees who serve our nation as federal, state, county, and local government employees. And, whereas public service is a noble calling that requires dedication, integrity, high ethical standards, sacrifice. And, whereas public servants at all levels of government work tirelessly to improve the lives of their fellow citizens and the well-being of their communities. And, whereas public servants have faced unprecedented challenges and risks and economic challenges, social unrest, and environmental threats. And, whereas public servants demonstrate resilience, innovation, and courage in overcoming these obstacles and delivering essential services to the public, providing quality-of-life services, and maintaining excellent public facilities. And, whereas day in and day out, public servants provide the diverse services expected by the American people of their government with pride, efficiency, and integrity. Now, I, therefore, Tom Dugard, by the virtue of the authority vested in me from the Mayor of the City of Dunedin, Florida, and on behalf of the entire City Commission, do hereby declare May 4th through May 10th, 2025 as Public Service Recognition Week and call upon all citizens to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of government employees at all levels, especially our very own City of Dunedin employees, and to show appreciation through the demonstrations of gratitude.

Good morning, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Teresa Smalling, Director of HR and Risk Management for the City. Thank you very much for this proclamation on behalf of all our City employees, especially City of Dunedin employees. I'd like to say a few words, but I'd like us to go ahead and watch a quick video before. That was just a microcosm of the work and sipping off smoothies that our City of Dunedin employees do on a daily basis. Just a few statistics about public employees. As of March 2025, state and local government employed 20.6 million public servants. That represents 14.5% of the total U.S. workforce. 75% of public servants are represented by local government. At the City of Dunedin, we currently have 414 employees. As of today, we have 40 vacancies, but 15 candidates with start dates. And last week, we saw our largest orientation class of 14 employees. So I am always humbled to accept this on behalf of our employees. And I know that our employees are the best in not just the city, but also probably in the U.S., maybe the world. I'll give it that. So thank you very much.

Thank you, Teresa. One of the best things about Dunedin has always been its workforce. Oh, picture. Yeah, we've got to get a picture. Any employees want to come up? Whoever's an employee?

Come up.

I shouldn't ask it like that. Come up.

Front and center. Front and center. Oh, yeah.

Front and center.

Do it. I'm going to take a few, okay?

Sue can go anywhere.

All right.

Thanks for having me. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That's it. That's it. So as I was saying, Dunedin employees have always been the backbone of the city, and they are clearly our greatest asset, and I know I speak on behalf of the whole commission to say thank you for all you do, for being there for our citizens. We get compliments all the time about the work and the extra mile that our employees go, so thanks to all our employees today. Okay. We are going to move on to citizen input. Does anyone in the audience wish to speak on a topic that is not on the agenda? Okay. Seeing no one, I will close citizen input. We'll go to consent agenda. So on consent agenda, we have approval of the minutes for the March 4th meeting, March 6th meeting, March 18th meeting. We have board and committee appointments for arts and culture, for board of finance, for Dunedin Causeway, Coastal Waterway Committee, Firefighter Pension Trust, and local planning agency. The Cinco de Mayo Celebration Revocable License Agreement 2025. Renew the citywide Cisco Meraki Network Equipment Support Contract for a three-year period. And approval of service authorization for design permitting and post-design services to Kimberly Horn and Associates for the replacement of the city's fishing pier in the amount of $259,822,000. Okay. Are there any items that anyone would like to pull? I'm going to pull Cinco de Mayo.

Okay.

So other than Cinco de Mayo, can I have a motion?

I'm going to move. Second.

Okay. All in favor?

Aye. Aye.

Any opposed? Motion passes.

I'm sorry. You have to take public comment.

Okay. Sorry. Does anyone wish to speak on any of the consent items? Okay. Seeing no one, we'll move forward. So I think we already took our vote, so motion passes unanimously. Thank you for catching that. Okay. So Cinco de Mayo. I just have one question. I don't need a presentation. So when we had St. Patrick's Day, not on St. Patrick's Day, everybody was asking me, like, what do you mean you're not on St. Patrick's Day on St. Patrick's Day? And then the next thing was like, I suppose we're going to have Cinco de Mayo, not on Cinco de Mayo. So just talk to me about that. Is this a trend or just a one-off?

Certainly. Hello, everybody. And thank you for letting me talk, and mayor and commissioners. Cinco de Mayo this year would fall on a Monday. Last year was on a Sunday. And having it on a Sunday, around 7.30 at night, the whole crowd cleared out and left. And when we make all of our money to pay for the event is between 7.30 and 9.30. So all the money left to go home and go to bed. The events cost us, last year cost us $89,000. People say, how can it cost that much? It's about $8,000 to the city of Dunedin in fees. We have over $5,000 to the sheriffs. You have rentals of equipment, employees that are on overtime, more than 100 volunteers, rentals of toilets and tables and chairs, and it just goes on and on and on. And although we do the event for a promotion, you do like to at least break even. So Friday night, we know just from past years, we've been doing this event for 33 years, you guys. Crazy. I'm not that old. So 33 years, we know that on Friday and Saturday, we're guaranteed success, you know, barring a weather event. So we just want to set ourselves up for financial success. Things are much tougher in the restaurant business, as in many, many businesses right now. But wages have gone from when we started in the restaurant business, servers made $2.67. Now they make $11. And that was just instituted over the last four years. The raise from, it was about $6 to $11. And then the cost of goods solds are up 300%. So in order to make a profit in the restaurant business, it's very, very difficult. And we don't want to go out of business. We want to continue to serve Dunedin for all the years that we've been here. So we're hoping that you would grant us the opportunity to have a successful event.

No, and I wanted you to explain it to people that asked me. So I appreciate that. And I assume you still have, you're still going to be open on Cinco de Mayo?

Of course. And we know that Cinco de Mayo will also be busy, which is great, you know, but that'll be inside, contained inside the restaurant. Okay, gotcha.

Okay. I don't have any other questions unless anybody else does.

And I just wanted to say, following up with the employee recognition week, we've been doing these events forever. And I don't know how many years Jory has been doing it. I know we have Danielle and also Jocelyn and the whole team is incredible. But when Jory took over that event, I don't know, maybe 12 years ago or whatever it was, it went from a nightmare for us to something so smooth and easy. She makes events so simple. She's so helpful. Danielle also there. But I just wanted to publicly recognize that I don't stress out over anything that the city has to do with the event because she is just an incredible employee. And I thank her so much for that.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you.

Well, now we have to say yes to this.

Yes, we do. Yeah, we don't want to become the problem, right? We don't want to become the problem since Jory gets so smooth. Okay. Anybody in the public wish to speak to this issue? Okay. I see nobody coming forward. Therefore, I need a motion to approve. So moved.

Second.

I saw Commissioner Walker rush to be the one. I didn't rush to be second. You did too. Okay. Okay. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Okay. We'll go to our action items. The first one is Arts and Culture Advisory Committee. And I will turn to Nicole and Cindy. Good morning. Oh.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning, Mayor, Commissioners, City Manager, City Attorney, Nicole Delfino, Strategy and Sustainability Manager and Liaison to the Arts and Culture Committee. Really, I am going to pass it to our Chair, Cindy Coleman, to give an update in regards to our recommendation for continuance of the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee.

Thank you. Good morning, Mayor, Commissioners, City Manager, and everyone. It's really a delight to be here. Am I? Can you hear me? I can hear you. Yep.

You're on there.

I'm here to request a continuance of the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee. I believe because we have several newer commissioners that I should just talk a little bit about our history very briefly. The Arts and Culture Advisory Committee was established in 2003. In 2014, the commission passed an art policy to encourage public art. In 2016, the city contracted with Elizabeth Brinklow as our city art consultant. And in 2018, we established the Public Art Master Plan, which we call PAMP, and the funding formula for art for municipal and private development. So that lays the groundwork for where we are today. With the PAMP, our mission is in defining our city public art assists by honoring the history of our city and celebrating its culture, diversity, and character to create a stimulating, rich, and welcoming community for our residents and visitors to experience. Art enlivens spaces and invigorates commerce, providing daily inspiration to people of all ages through public artworks integrated into the architecture, infrastructure, and landscape. And it's free. Public art plays a vital role in enhancing our city's quality of life. It fosters community pride, sparks dialogue, and deepens appreciation for the arts by creating spaces for reflection and enjoyment. Beyond its cultural value, public art contributes to the economic vitality by helping to retain residents, attracting new ones, and drawing visitors. It also elevates the aesthetic and monetary value of buildings and public spaces, enriching the environments where it is placed. The Public Art Master Plan provides clear guidelines for acquisition, conservation, and maintenance of public artworks. What sets the, what I call ACAC, apart is our use of specialized subcommittees that follow structured PAMP protocols for issuing RFPs, RFQs, selecting artists, recommending artworks to the commission, and overseeing project installations. We actively promote and educate the public about the artwork through artist talks, receptions, social media, the city's website, the art map, and guided art tours. Public art administration also encompasses exhibitions, such as we have here, and conservation, ongoing maintenance, and ongoing consulting services. PAMP also established the public art funding ordinance of 0.5% of the project cost for all above-ground development for both public and private development projects. Monies shall be used for on-site artwork or deposited into the public art fund. Most recently, we're happy to have had Oak Bend and the Jay Hotel private development deposit monies into the art fund. ACAC thereby recommended funding public art throughout the city as prompted by municipal projects and or initiated by ACAC members, the commission, community members, as defined by the guidelines. So essentially, anyone can come forward with an idea for public art. I'm proud to talk about the 13 projects that we have installed in the last three years. This is amazing. The sun will rise again within the government center. Artwork for the six meeting rooms in the government center. Chamber artwork, which is the artist's rotation every six months in the government center. Below the wall mosaic in the Pioneer Park. The C, our beautiful government sculptor here in front of the government center. Celebration bus stop at Maine and Douglas. Fortitude at the fire station 62 on Belcher. Two bike trail benches. Three Patricia Avenue benches. The Blue Jay mural at TD Stadium. Six Leland Chase murals along Martin Luther King Boulevard. Four signal box wraps of city history at Main Street and Patricia Avenue. And then the storm water drain murals, which we collaborated with the city at Fenway and TD Stadium. Current projects that we have ongoing now are the phase two of the Leland Chase murals, with which we propose an additional six murals. Thirteen additional signal box wraps along 580 plus two boxes at Keene Road. The City Aquatic Complex and the Old City Hall Park. We would like to propose revisions to the PAMP as follows. Funding formula, recommendation for sustainability of the Public Art Fund from both municipal and private development projects. Two is continue the support of our Scottish cultural heritage in the city. And finally, continue support of the Dunedin Public Theater. Our committee meets usually 10 months per year. The hurricane did affect that this year. Plus, we have several subcommittees, which typically are three meetings per project, resulting in a very productive past three years. This does not include the dedications of artwork, six artist talk receptions we held. I also must acknowledge the many hours of work provided in administration and artistic expertise by Elizabeth Brinklow, City Art Consultant. Committee members have worked with her on several administrative projects. I am, and I know our committee members are, very proud of these accomplishments. With that, I would like to thank you for your past support of ACAC and request you approve the continuance of the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee. Thank you.

Anything else, Nicole?

No, ma'am.

Elizabeth? Okay, so any questions? Okay, no questions, and I'll open it to public input. Anyone in the audience wish to speak on this issue? Seeing no rush to the front, I will close public input, and I will ask for a motion.

So moved. Second.

Third.

Okay, so we've got...

Fourth. Five. I had to turn my mic on.

Wow, I guess everybody wants you to stay, right? Okay, they're fighting over it. Okay, so maker of the motion is Commissioner Dugard. I'll start with you for comments.

This is one of the richest communities I've ever lived in as far as arts is concerned, and that's no accident. There are a number of people in this room and out of this room that invest their lives into making this a beautiful, vibrant community. I don't see any other choice than to continue our committee. Thank you.

Commissioner Sandberg.

Nothing other than thank you for what you do. It looks beautiful, and I know I said in some of your meetings, and I know it's only going to get better. Thank you.

And since you were third, Vice Mayor.

You know, my very first commission night, I was able to vote for the Public Art Master Plan, and still to this day, it is one of my proudest votes I've ever had. And the impact that the Arts and Culture Committee has had, the impact that that Public Art Master Plan has had on our community is just phenomenal. And so I'm a proud supporter of both, and so the continuance of the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee.

Thank you. And Commissioner Walker.

Thank you, Mayor.

Yeah, so I feel woefully inadequate for not making the motion. I will tell you that, no, I'm still-

And I kicked it third. It's like, geez.

I am still recovering from the standing ovation as I came in this morning. Well, you know, and I'm glad I got a chance to talk. So I will say this. You know, when Claudia and I visited here for the first time about six years ago, we were visually struck by the commitment that Dunedin has made to its art community. And if you take a look at our six epic goals, the Arts and Cultural Committee and the influence that you've had on Dunedin are so interwoven into each of those goals. You know, it's absolutely amazing to me. And I walk, you know, I attend the events. I've gotten to know the people. And I will say that there is no more ferocious, committed, and passionate group in the city. And I just want to thank you for your service. I thank you for all you do. You've truly made Dunedin delightful. Thank you.

Thank you. So my comments would be, first of all, Elizabeth, I'll speak to, you'll remember this, but of course, it used to be there'd be art things that would pop up in the city. Sometimes they'd pop up overnight. They'd just be there. And sometimes they'd go through a process. And when you kind of couldn't say no, we'd get it up here and be like, oh, we don't want to offend the artist, so even though we don't think it's going to look that great, I guess we'll just let it go. And then, you know, you have things that just clog up different corners, you know, too much on main, not enough over here. So my favorite part about this is always, you guys created a process. You created a process where logical, thought-out, what fits art goes where it ought to go. And it also allows for the creativity of multiple artists to try to fit the theme versus, you know, just get a piece of art and figure out how that fits us. Um, so that's number one for me, big time, and I appreciate it all the time, um, what you do in that. And then, Cindy, when you list all the things that you guys have done and you think about it, because you can, you know, visually you're thinking it as you, as you talk it through. And it really is amazing, the impact. And I think, you know, when we talk about what makes us special, what makes us different, I mean, our commitment, your commitment, you know, to the community to bring art and make art such a big part is just a huge part of that. So, um, thank you. And, of course, you have to continue. It's not even, you know, we would want you, we'd be begging you if you weren't up here asking us. So, uh, anyway, we appreciate all you guys do. So, and on that note, I will ask for, uh, all in favor. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Motion passes unanimously. And thank you all very much.

Thank you.

Okay, our next one is the Committee on Aging Continuance. And we have Brett and Cindy. Come on down.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners, City Clerk. Thank you for having us today. I'm very excited to have Cindy speak to you today about the Committee on Aging and all the wonderful work that we've been doing for seniors. Oh, and actually, I do want to point out we have some other committee members here. Um, so we have Stella Mojia, our secretary. We have Monica Koch. That is all of us. And I think I forgot to say I'm Brett Montanay. Thank you. Thank you, Brett.

Good morning. I have a speech here, and I'm just going to read from it. And this morning, I woke up, and I went, I'm going to speak from the love of my heart about the Committee on Aging and how great the committee is. And I don't know if any of you have been to any of our meetings on the fourth Monday at 9 a.m. It's just full of energy. And every one of the committee members is just so energetic, and we get so much done in one hour, once a month. And also, who doesn't love a senior? Some of us are seniors, so there you go. We're just a big part of our community here in Dunedin. Okay, so we always have a quorum at our meetings in a full house. We have 11 members, two alternates. And we do practice our sunshine every month, a reminder. And we're good about it. Okay, and so what I'm going to do is I'm going to tell you our friends that come to our meetings is Empath Health, Neighborly Network. And with Neighborly Network, last year we wrote a letter to Tallahassee, the Committee on Aging, asking for $1 million to be to the Neighborly Mills on Wheels, because they had a big waiting list of many, many hundreds of people that need food. And it was granted. And we did that again this year. Oh, and by the way, I'm just going to be talking about the last two years I've been with the committee. Okay, so that was passed. And we have AARP. And then we also have AARP Oats Technology, which one of our members, John, started with bread at the health center once a month, or I can't remember if it's every five weeks or what, but they have a class on. Seniors can come and learn how to do Facebook, their laptops. And that's very important, because even, oh, four times a month. Okay, thank you. Four times a month, and they have a full house there. And I think last time they were going to do iPhones on how to use the iPhone. And I mean, we could all go there, because we all have troubles with our technology, right? Okay, and then we have area of aging that is a big part of our friends. Okay, so now I'm going to talk about, like last year, how we all started getting into intergenerational contest essay. And we noticed it was dragging, and we weren't getting into the students, and it was kind of dying. So we started, and we started planning, and talking, and coming up with ideas, and we changed the format to not just essays, to art, any kind of art that they wanted to do about their favorite older person, music, poems. And then we got more creative, and we came up with great first, second, third prizes, which was all donations from our companies around Dunedin. And then we even gave to the runners-up, eight of them, $10 coupon, which was donated, to five and below store. So we did really good this year. And we had 49 students that sent essays, art, and it was really hard to go through all 49 of those, because some of them were so beautifully written, the talent, the art, and some of them made you cry. But we are excited for this year, and getting even bigger and better. Okay, then I also wanted to talk about, oh, here we go. Sorry, guys. I'm down here. Okay, now I want to talk about what we have been doing so far this year. We're getting ready to do the Senior Hall of Fame, which is May 7, 2025. And I do want to thank the city of Dunedin for paying for the luncheon for last year and for this year. It really makes honoring our seniors feel important, and it's just a really beautiful thing. And also, our guest speaker will be Claudia Noble from Sailing Ability down at Sand Key Sailing Center. She will be speaking about all that and what she does for everyone. And then I wanted to tell you that this year, for the first time, I went to the Senior Awareness Fair at the Health Center. Okay, and I thought, all right, just a few vendors in the hall, da-dee-da, no big deal. I get there. There's no parking. I had to park a couple, well, a couple blocks away, not a couple miles. And it was huge. There were so many people there. So we had a table set up, Committee on Aging there, and we had so many people come to us and ask us questions about caregiving, this and that, about health, and blah, blah, blah. And then what I was surprised about is a few of the seniors asked me questions about where they could get employment. They were looking for work to supplement their income. And I was stunned at first, thinking, okay, and then I remembered the 2-1-1 book, which has everything in it. And we started giving those out. And in that had seven places where a senior can go and figure out how to find employment to supplement their income. So that's a thing that we need to think about and prepare for. And then the next one that we did, we were part of Paint Dunedin Purple. And we went downtown Dunedin, set up a table with Nebberley Network. And that was a very fun day, met a lot of people. We talked about what programs is at the Health Center for Seniors. And it brought so much awareness about dementia and Alzheimer's. And also that day, that group of people that put on Paint Dunedin Purple raised $25,000 for awareness for Alzheimer's dementia. Okay. And then our next thing we're going to be doing, besides the Senior Hall of Fame, May 7th, we also are going to be part of Dunedin Pride Week. We're going to do Friday night at the ballpark. We'll have a table with Nebberley and Committee on Aging. And then also we're going to be Saturday in the Pioneer Park for Paint Dunedin Purple. I mean, Pride Week. Pride Week. All right. See, we're just seniors, right? Okay. All righty. Now, we are in the process of designing a community survey to better gauge the needs of our seniors and build better solutions with a more informed understanding of needs. We will return to the Commission with a proposal for the distribution of that survey soon. But we know a lot about the seniors of today. We know that the median age in Dunedin is 57. And we know the median age is 47 in Florida and nationwide 37 years of age. It's not a surprise that we must place greater attention on the needs of our seniors because they are the greater percentage of our population. We, the Committee on Aging, want to address the needs of our seniors from a data-driven perspective. The programs we will be proposing in the future will be designed with the input moving from active-based community to province-solving community, better serving the needs of our growing senior community. We are asking you to favorably consider continuing the Committee on Aging in the current form for another three years. Thank you.

Thank you, Cindy. Okay, questions for Brett or Cindy? Start over here. No?

No questions.

Anybody? Okay. And then I will open to public input. Anybody in the audience wish to rush forward and talk about this issue? I don't see anyone, so I'm closing public input. I'm going to ask for a motion.

Aye. So moved. So moved. Second, third, fourth.

Okay. And all in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Motion passes unanimously. We'll go to comments. So I think you were, Commissioner Walker?

It was, Mayor. Thank you.

Thank you.

You know, I have attended a few of your meetings, but that's not the important part. The important part is what we see out in the community with regards to your impact on the community. And to a person on that committee, all of your volunteers, you are engaged. You are passionate about the quality of life for our seniors. And it is evident in everything you do. And, Cindy Cole, I'm proud to call you my friend. And you're doing an amazing job. I love your committee. And, yeah, there's, you know, this is too integral to the City of Dunedin to consider any other option. Thank you.

Vice Mayor?

Wow, we've got to follow that. Okay. Well done, Rob. You know, I used to attend a lot of committee meetings, all the advisory committees, and I can no longer do that. But when you do visit those committees, certainly we've talked about it up here. Some of them are struggling and trying to find their way. And then there are those other committees, which I put the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee in, the Committee on Aging, and they just seem to have a strong grasp on their purpose, on their vision, on their mission. And the committee members themselves are active and engaged and involved. And it's amazing what your committee puts out. One of my favorite events, just me personally, is your Senior Hall of Fame. And what I really like about that event is, and it's not the choosing of the senior, it's the process, and it's the applications. And you read through those applications, and when there are, you pass by so many people on the sidewalk, you have no idea who they are, what they've done. They're just people that live in Dunedin. But yet, when you take a look at their history, and what they've done as just human beings, and their own private lives, and what they've done, it's just amazing. And it just gives you a much stronger sense of purpose, that if we all really understood each other a little more, and the paths that we've all walked, it just makes us a stronger community. And that's the way I look at that Senior Hall of Fame. It really does strengthen our seniors, and the way we look at our seniors, and what they've done. And with that comes emulation. And certainly for some of our younger generations, they need some people to look up to. And so it's just a wonderful event that you put on, along with all the others. So thank you, Cindy, for what you do.

It truly is. And it's just, when you read all those applications, and you meet all these senior people that are in their 90s, still out there doing all this volunteer work, it just makes you be so humble.

Commissioner Sandbergen.

You know, when I attended your meetings, I think one of the first things I caught was the passion in the room, amongst the committee. You know, and we've had talk, somebody said, you know, there's some committees that really, they meet to talk, and that's about the extent of it. And I saw how committed you were. In fact, I even opened up that, I have an elderly mother who still thinks she can live alone, and, you know, it opened my eyes. And it even made me have that talk with my sister about, you know, Father Time is not going to lose this race. And your commitment to the art and essay program forced me out of my chair to do something for you and your committee that we will do again. We will do that again. My family will support that. When you went to that extent to give that much of a prize, I wasn't going to let you down. And I think, you know, I've really got to know you and the other members of the committee, you know, and you're a committee that does something for Dunedin. And when you meet, you meet for a very solid purpose. And I 100% stand behind you and this committee. Thank you.

Thank you. Commissioner Dugard.

Thank you, Mayor. It is no secret that during my campaign for this office, I focused on senior services as an area of interest and also importance. I learned some things when I conducted a survey during the campaign that said this is an important issue in our community. I sat down with Cindy because I knew she was the chair, and I asked her, what are the issues facing our seniors? And she looked at me and didn't even blink and said loneliness. And that just hit me right between the eyes. When you understand that, when you understand that we have a higher percentage of seniors here and that they're going through a stage of their lives that can often be alone, often be very insecure, and challenged by economic circumstances that no one could anticipate, the importance of this committee is underlined. But I want to speak to a little more personal issues. There's no person with greater love in their heart, in my opinion, than you. You give of yourself voluntarily. You work for seniors. It's one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. And I also wish to compliment Brett for what she does at the center. Best pancakes in town. And the whole committee is to be lauded. I can't imagine us not continuing this work. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Well, it looks like you got four votes so far, you know. No, obviously, you have my vote. I think, you know, historically, this has been one of the most engaged committees. And you guys have, you know, just taken it on steroids. And I love it. So, you know, Cindy, Stella, Monica, Brett, and the whole committee, I mean, I think you just continue to do a great job. It's impressive. I did want to say, you know, I've been talking to Sally and John about the livable communities. And actually, the manager and I just met yesterday about kind of the path forward to making sure we get it updated and make sure we have the kind of the power of the manager's office behind how we look at this citywide. And so we're in process of that. So, but I just think from the technology classes, you know, just the relevance of what you do. I mean, the intergenerational. I mean, there's just, you know, you're not just doing things to do things. You're doing things because they actually create connectivity. They create engagement in the seniors. And it's, you serve a really vital purpose. And again, I, you know, it is kind of funny. I thought the same thing. We had, we have really had two of our committees that are really the most focused and active committees today. And so it's a no brainer. And, and, but, but we appreciate what you do. I did want to ask you though, May 7th is the Senior Hall of Fame luncheon? Yes. Yes. And that isn't under a calendar. Can you make sure it gets under a calendar? I actually have a conflict with the mayor's council that day, unfortunately. And I love going to that. I don't like to miss it. And maybe Brett in the future, like as soon as that date's picked, we can throw it on the, get it on the calendar.

Yes. Okay. I didn't.

Yeah. All right. Did you? Okay. So maybe it just didn't make it yet.

Yeah. We put that, we've been working on that for months. Yeah. Yeah.

We, I love to go to that.

Yeah.

So have you already picked your candidates or?

Yes, we have. Oh, I did. And one of them is, been in our community for a long, long, oh, we changed a few things on it. We decided to go down to the age 70. And then we, they had to live in Dunedin for seven years because we have that outskirt of Dunedin. That's the gray area, the uncorporate area, but they still come into Dunedin to do things and vote. So we've extended it to that area. But Sue, and her last name, who is a ukulele in Dunedin and does so much for our community. She is one of our winners. Our other winner is from Neighborly. He does Meals on Wheels and he also plays the ukulele and his name is, yes, Chip, yeah. And so those are our two, two, two winners and our luncheon is going to be fabulous again. Thank you, city of Dunedin. And our guest speaker is going to be great because sellability is.

Oh yeah, no, Claudia is amazing. Claudia will do a great job.

It's an amazing program.

Yeah. Well, I just, again, I want to. I thank you. I thank you for the energy. I have been to the committee and there's a lot of energy in that committee. I haven't been for a little while, so I guess I got to get back there, but.

It's on steroids. Yeah, it is on steroids. Boom, boom, boom, boom. But you accomplished one. Because we know we have to get it done. Yeah. In one hour.

Yeah.

And you do follow sunshine. I know how intense you guys are.

I do. Brett and I are always mentioning sunshine at our meetings. You know, it's instilled in our brains. Sounds good.

All right. Well, listen, thank you so much. We appreciate all you do. And we've already voted. We want you to continue. So go forward and do good things.

And everyone have a great day.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, that would be great. Because actually the mayor's council is honoring city clerks that day. And so our city clerk will be there. So I'll have to have you guys stand in the stead. Okay. I guess we lost vice mayor. Okay. But we'll continue. Okay. 3C. Award the construction of bid number 25-2511, Virginia Street Water Main Replacement Project to KCK Utilities, LLC of Green Acres, Florida, in the amount of $920,810. And thank you for the, so I could pronounce that name right. Thank you ahead of time. Staff presentation. And Clay, I guess it's you. I've got Alex. But it must be you. Yeah.

Alex, unfortunately, had a sick child. So I get to jump in. Gotcha. Good morning, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners, Clay Watkins Utilities and Engineering. We're here today for the, for item 3.c is the project request for commission award of construction of bid number 25-2511 for the Virginia Street Water Main Replacement Project to KCK Utilities, LLC of Green Acres, Florida, in the amount of $920,810. Excuse me. The project is located on Virginia Street and will run from Lake Haven to Keene. The project will replace the existing 12-inch cast iron water main that is deteriorating and has been subject to periodic leaks and main breaks. We've had three breaks on this line in the past two years. And one of them is actually as recent as March 15th. So the project, again, will install a new, excuse me, installing a new water main will improve the infrastructure integrity and fire protection and water quality. And the project will abandon and place the existing 12-inch cast iron water main and installing a new 2,000, will install approximately 2,000 linear feet of new PVC water main on Virginia. It will also include 8-inch water main connections to the main on Knoll Drive and 6-inch water main connections to Peggy Ray. The project was competitively advertised in bid as described in the attached purchase agreement. I purchased a memo, excuse me. We had 13 bids received, ranging in the cost of $920,810 to $1,525,00, $1.50. Staff has reviewed all the bids and determined Casica Utilities LLC was the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. As such, staff recommends the award of bid number 25-25-11 for construction of the Virginia Street water main replacement project to Casica Utilities LLC of Green Acres, Florida in the amount of $920,810. And that concludes our presentation. I'm here for any questions.

Great. Questions for staff? I'll start with Mr. Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, just general questions. Sure. When will it start? How long will it take? When will it end?

Give or take, I would probably say we might be starting the next probably two to three months, and I think we give them six months to complete. So you're looking at what we're in April now, start in July, June, July, finishing about the beginning of next year.

Thank you. That's all I have.

Okay.

Commissioner Sandbergen.

So I understand this will go from Lake Haven all the way to Keene?

Correct.

Is that on the north side or the south side?

The north side, yes. Okay.

But at some point, it will also, Tremont and Aberdeen Oaks would be on the south side. So is there a time where the road will be closed? I mean, how will that service?

There may be some times for some lane closures, but it won't close alone. We may have some instances where we might have some one-way traffic with flaggers. Got it. Depending on the proximity to the road. Generally speaking, there's already mains across underneath Virginia. So we'll just be making those connections again.

That's all I have. Thank you, Clay.

You're welcome.

Commissioner Walker.

Thank you, Mayor. This is more a general question. I'm just curious. As I looked at the tabulated bids for all of those responders, assuming all of them were responsive, just curious as to how we ended up with the difference between the top two bids. Just curious. It's really just kind of a methodology question, really.

So, generally speaking, on our end, on the engineering department, and I may have to default a little bit to purchasing on this also, is if the lowest bidder, if we review their qualifications and their references, if they all turn out, then we generally just go with the lowest.

Yes. Okay. So, all right. Yeah. That's cool. Okay. No. Thank you for that.

Okay. Commissioner Degard.

Thank you, Mayor. This is clearly a need. I don't think we have much of a choice here. So, I think the process has been followed well, and I think this makes an excellent recommendation. But my question to you is, what's next? And that gives me pause, because as a new commissioner, I don't know how bad the general circumstances are for our water delivery system is for the whole city. And I know we have a plan. I'd ask about that. But I think it might be helpful for all of us to understand how we're sequencing in that, and what's next, and how we can better serve our citizenry by not having three leaks before we start replacing. Thoughts on that? Yeah.

I might need a little bit of help from Nan on this one. She's been doing a little bit of understanding. But generally speaking, a lot of times we do sort of understand if we've had a number of breaks. We'll help determine that. We've also done some leakage tests to try to see where we have some areas that may be starting to fail.

The ongoing maintenance of all of the utilities, but the water system in particular, is something we do continuously. Our staff are touching these mains when they tap or repair or other ways. They take coupons. They look at whether there's corrosion happening. In this particular case, it isn't only that it's cast iron, which is a fairly brittle material, but there's a lot of clays in the soil, and those set up a corrosion with cast iron. And so this is putting in something that's other than a metal material, and that will help extend the life of it. But, you know, there are areas here and there where we've also recently started the Patricia Avenue water main replacement. The areas that we're aware of, when we find areas that are vulnerable, then we put them into our CIP, and we work towards getting those out of the system. And quite truthfully, it's the same thing Dunedin's been doing since I worked here in the 90s. We're pretty progressive, pretty, you know, going through and doing preventative maintenance. This particular one did fail catastrophically twice a couple of years ago, and then just recently. But we already had it budgeted. We just hadn't had time to get the contractor on board this last failure.

Thanks, Nahan. No more questions. Okay, great.

I don't actually have any questions, so I'm going to open it for public input. Anyone in the audience wish to come forward on this issue? Seeing no one, I'll close the public input. And I will ask for a motion.

So moved. Second.

Okay. Okay. And I'm going to ask for commission comments, starting with Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor. No, it needs to be done, and this is part of our infrastructure and why we exist. So it's incredibly important. So I'm certainly all in favor of this. My only comment would be, and it wasn't a question, because it is just a comment, but on the bid tabulation, I'm always fascinated at those high numbers and the cents that are involved, 50 cents, 77 cents. It's like, right, they can't round somewhere. I don't, yeah, it's like, really, I've got to get that 50 cents, 77 cents more. But no, it's a wonderful project. I'm proud of staff. I'm glad that we're progressive and we're ahead of the game whenever we can be. So that's all that I have.

Okay. And seconder in the motion, Commissioner Walker?

No comments. Good plan. Good procurement. Thank you.

Commissioner Dugard?

No comments.

Commissioner Zandberg?

On page two of the bid submittal, bidder has examined the site. Not like I haven't asked that one about some of the other projects before, so no need to worry about that one this time. Thank you.

I just wanted to comment on the cents. When I was doing my insurance claim for the house, which we're not quite done yet, but when we did the first big where we were going to get the first reimbursement from insurance, my adjuster said, well, just make sure you put like, you know, if it's 800, put like 799, 99. It's like somehow I guess that makes everybody feel like it's more legit. I don't know. So it kind of cracks you up. So, no, I mean, this is our number one job up here, right, to take care of our infrastructure. This is what people expect us to do first and foremost, make sure they get their water and they can flush their toilets, so, and pick up their trash. So, totally in favor of it. So, I'll take a voice vote. All in favor? Aye. Aye. And any opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Okay. All right. It is 10. Does anybody want to take five minutes before we finish the meeting? Okay. We're going to take a five-minute break and then come back and finish the meeting. Thank you. Call the meeting back to order. And so our next item, very exciting. Award of Phase II Architectural and Engineering Design Services for the Gladys E. Douglas Preserve to Wanamaker, Jensen Architects at St. Petersburg, Florida, in the amount of $416,377. And so I will go to staff presentation. I have Jocelyn. So, cheers.

Good morning, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners. Jocelyn Broadhead, Interim Parks and Recreation Director. With me this morning, we have Joe McLemore, our Park Superintendent. Bruce Wirth, the City's Engineering and Project Consulting, though he spends most of his time primarily with us, so I feel like he's one of us, and Chase Myers with Wanamaker Jensen. We are very excited to present this item before you today in the hopes of bringing the Phase II Design and Development of the Gladys E. Douglas Preserve, or as it's commonly known, the GDP, to fruition. I use the term development loosely because we're not really developing. Rather, we're providing access to the eastern portion of the preserve and adding amenities that will support the passive recreational use for our community while simultaneously honoring Gladys Douglas' vision by ensuring responsible use and protection of this treasured natural environment. Before launching into the Phase II proposal, I'd like to share just a brief history of how we got here. The GDP is one of the greatest examples of a community's collective voice working in harmony with local government that I've ever witnessed. Through the collaborative efforts of private donors, the city, and the county, an impressive $10 million was successfully raised to secure and protect one of the largest remaining green spaces in Pinellas County. Part of this funding included the city and county's joint application and subsequent award of a Florida communities trust grant in the amount of $2.4 million, and it is this FCT grant which helps frame the amenities that will be included in Phase II. Phase I, as you know, opened in February of 2023, the western portion of the preserve, and it includes nature trails, interpretive signage, and temporary parking, and a temporary restroom, otherwise known as a porta potty. After this opening, staff decided to engage with Wanamaker Jensen, a local interdisciplinary architectural firm out of St. Pete with over 30 years of experience to begin work on Phase II. The selection was based on a couple of key factors. They're included as part of the city's shortlist of pre-approved consultants, which was recently presented to you at the March 18th Commission Work Session under the Miscellaneous Consulting Services Contract Renewal Action Item. And additionally, Wanamaker Jensen has extensive experience in municipal and recreational architectural programs, including our own Fire Station 61. Staff viewed this as a well-balanced combination of firsthand experience, along with time and cost efficiencies. Staff subsequently negotiated a scope of services and fee proposal with Wanamaker Jensen for the Phase II services, which shall include the schematic design, design development, construction documents, bidding, permitting, and construction administration for the architectural and engineering services and installation of basic infrastructure and utilities, such as a parking lot, driveway, water and sewer connections, electrical systems, fire protection supply lines, and necessary stormwater improvements, as well as providing public access to Jerry Lake and the eastern portion of the property. Amenities in this area will include an ADA-accessible kayak and canoe launch, a pier, picnic pavilion, observation platform, and permanent restrooms. To help visualize this, you have Exhibit A, an aerial image of the proposed Phase II layout before you. It is also included in your packet, but here you can see the various amenities and their proposed locations. This is a preliminary concept, and we feel that it allows us to maintain the fidelity of the preserve with passive recreation opportunities and make the smallest impact to the tree canopy while meeting the requirements of the FCT grant. Should today's proposal be accepted, it will be presented to you for input as this preliminary concept is further defined. The Hackworth home will also be evaluated for its structural integrity and the feasibility of bringing it up to code for public assembly, though honestly at this time we question if that's viable, but we will absolutely do our due diligence to look at all options. Again, should this proposal be approved today, staff will work in tandem with the design process to address the removal of the remaining items on the property so that the site is ready for construction. In summary, Wanamaker-Jensen's scope and fee proposal were thoroughly reviewed by city staff, including this team, as well as public works representatives. The proposal was deemed reasonable and aligned with the project requirements. So staff hereby recommends award of a general engineering consultant service, authorization task assignment for architectural and engineering design services for phase two of the Gladys E. Douglas Preserve to Wanamaker Jensen architects of St. Petersburg, Florida in the amount of $416,377 and to designate Jorge Quintas, our deputy city manager, as the city's authorized designee to execute the service authorization for this project. With that, we are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Okay, I'm going to start over here this time. Commissioner Walker?

I'm just wondering if you can walk us through the exhibit here. Just the legends with regards to the red and the yellow. And it's looking kind of like the road that goes into Gladys Douglas. Also, it looks like it's going to be paved. Is that, if you could just kind of walk us through what this exhibit is.

Sorry, I wasn't mic'd on. We did a short improvement from Virginia Avenue up to about 50 feet into the property. That's asphalt. The remaining part that's open now into phase one is crushed concrete. We would like to explore with the architect that. We'd like to keep it passive, not an asphalt that requires high maintenance. Our thought would be that not only would the access road from where it terminates now, if you look at that map, you see the P. That's where the parking would be. That's where the existing tennis court is. So what we're trying to do there is, as Jocelyn indicated, is to do as little impact to existing vegetation. So we've got a big impervious area now that has to come out. That would be the location for the parking. We're thinking possibly crushed concrete again, similar to a lot of the remote parks that we have. And then the thought being is that would be sort of a one way in and one way out. So that, again, we don't have to clear too much north of the current access. We'd have to loop it around. I will say this. We have to provide fire protection. So there will be some minor, we anticipate some clearing of trees. We're trying to keep that at a minimum. I do want to point out something on that map. You saw it. The red sort of area to the north. What that is, I just want to point out, one of the things we need to bring into this, I'm kind of jumping the gun here a little bit, but we need to bring in potable water and bring sewer out. Right now it's on a private well and septic. So we need to bring in water, not only for potable, but for fire protection. This is one of your larger areas and the fire department indicated they don't have the hose length to address any major fire. So we're going to bring in a water line and fire line from County Road 1 through the cemetery. That's, if you look at the entrance of the cemetery, there's a connection there, you know, so that's where we would bring that in also, just to give you some perspective as to what that will involve.

Is that part of phase two? Yes.

Could I tag on just quick? Yeah. Could you just say what the red, what the yellow, what the blue lines are, just for clarification, and the gray and the white?

Did you say blue?

Yeah. All of the, all of the colors.

The dotted?

Yeah. There we go. Yeah. And the white dotted?

So we'll start from the external perimeter of the property and move inward. The yellow indicates the entire property for the Gladys Douglas Preserve. The, let's see how it's broken down. The portion that's got the heavy tree canopy, that's the existing and open western portion. And then the, what do we want to call that, parallelogram, rhombus, to the right-hand side, that is the eastern portion of the property that we're referring to as part of phase two development.

So the blue outline is all? Correct.

Yes. That's the site area to be developed. And then the gray speaks to the driveway that Bruce was just referring to. And the white are the existing trails.

Let me just amend that, if I may. The Gladys Douglas actually encompasses the 55 acres Jerry Lake as well. Correct. So we're seeing what's on land here. Right. And the subject of this particular agenda item. But it's also the 55 acres as well.

And the red, what did you say the red was?

Utilities. Thank you, Jorge. Utilities. Okay.

Sorry, I just thought, since they're on the map, I just wanted nothing to know. Thank you for letting me interject for a minute.

When we say you, we're talking about the red line that goes along the existing trails? The red line that goes against the trails is actually the fence separating that protected area to the north. Oh, okay. So that's that. If you remember walking those trails, it's the critter fence, but it also separates the two endangered plant species. Okay. All the way to the border of the property. Okay. All right. Thank you. I think that answers my question. Thanks.

Okay. Commissioner DeGuard, questions?

Thank you, Mayor. I'm hearing several things that I didn't know about before this presentation. Thank you for bringing them to our attention. First of all, I'm kind of hearing phases, that there's a phased approach to the development of the park. And then that leads me to the next question. I would like to get a little bit more about our vision on where the park's going to be five, ten years from now. Can you help me with that?

Absolutely. So this will be a two-parter. So phase two will bring the entire preserve to its complete vision. And that was part of Gladys Douglas's vision as well. So it has been zoned with city code to be maintained as a preserve in perpetuity. And so this is the extent of it. It is to be minimally developed and have these amenities and conserve the protected vegetation as well as the wildlife and for passive use for the community.

Okay.

May I add?

Oh, go ahead. Commissioner, and actually that's deed restricted for certain elements, the elements that you see. When we purchased the property and closed on the property, part of the FCT grant and the closing documents actually stipulated what elements would be in there. And you see them. And they're required in the FCT grant. And anything above that is not permitted. And we didn't really envision doing a phase one, phase two when we first started, but we were able to do phase one. And Joe and company and Pete Wells, actually city staff did phase one themselves. So, you know, so that we could open it. There's a real push to get it open and get folks circulating around in there. And then phase two, which required a lot more. We needed the money from FCT, which is $2.4 million. We had $2.3 million of that left to develop it. So that's kind of why we were forced into the phasing of the property. But what you see is what you're going to get. And that's stipulated in all the documents that we have.

Preservation is wonderful. And I like it. How do we maintain a preservationist approach? Because there are a number of things that we'll have to do to an upkeep of even a preservation area. Help me understand what that's going to look like.

So we will be working jointly with the county. We have some split responsibilities in terms of that maintenance. For example, the county will be responsible for removing the invasive species that are within the preserve. And then in terms of a management plan moving forward, that would be something that will be the city's responsibility. So Joe and I will be working to develop that so that we are maintaining the property.

So that's kind of a flora inventory. Are we going to do a fauna inventory as well? Are we going to keep up with the animals in there? Things like that?

I don't know that we've ever discussed a fauna inventory. A flora inventory has already been conducted. Whether or not that needs to be updated, we can look into. But we've not discussed anything in regards to the critters.

Well, I'm noticing your little guy up by the lake. He's got a fishing rod in his hands. Is there going to be fishing in the lake?

I think that that is open for discussion. I think we need to look into the specific parameters of the FCT grant and whether or not that's just a pier that provides access to Cherry Lake or if it does include pier access as well as fishing.

I look forward to hearing your recommendations on that. That's all I have. Thank you.

That is, by the way, restricted to no motorized vessels as well. So whatever happens on there, it's going to be muscle powered.

Too many gators in there for me. You won't catch me on that water. Yeah. Yeah. Not happening.

That's right.

Okay. Vice Mayor.

Thank you. Jocelyn, thank you for the presentation and Bruce as well. Elise, do you want to start out? You talked about the heavy lift that was done to create the preserve and to note recently that this heavy lift lives on. And it's because of what we did at the Plattis Douglas property gave momentum for the West Closterman Preserve. And they worked long and hard and they finally got what they deserved, what we deserved as a community. So props to them. I love the whole concept of a critter fence. Very, very nice. I hope that's a label on the fences. But I certainly do agree with Commissioner Degard's concern about fauna. And certainly our gopher tortoises, we need to get a count on them if we don't already. Certainly the number of birds and raptors that live in there. And we just want to keep an eye on making sure, right, that's the whole concept of green spaces, not only for us to enjoy, but our critters as well. Absolutely. Right. And make sure that with human activity, we aren't starting to lose some of that. I'm looking at the list of things that are not included in this fee. Some of them I understand. But LEED or similar green design, is there any, for any buildings that we're building, restrooms, et cetera, is there going to be a LEED component to those? Are we making sure that anything that we build out there is up to the standards of any other government buildings?

So the restroom facilities themselves would be a non-air-conditioned space. And it's my understanding that that does not need a LEED certification. But we absolutely will be working with Nicole and Natalie in regards to flushing that out. I don't know, Chase, if you want to speak to that any further.

And what would be the difference between the opportunity to make it LEED certified later, but not LEED certified now? What are those differences?

Appreciate that, guys.

Can you hear me better? I can't hear you.

We can hear you fine. Sorry about that.

You're in the booth.

We hear you fine. It's the people online that can't hear you. Okay.

Okay. Totally understandable. So effectively what that means is that if you wanted to pursue a LEED certification, whether it be silver, gold, platinum, you would have to engage doing something like an energy model. You would have to typically employ having a sustainability consultant to set up a LEED scorecard where there's a multitude of points on a chart system that talks about connection to public infrastructure, the building materials utilized, do you have a bus stop nearby? Like I said, there's a great multitude of points that you can earn to pursue that LEED certification. But at this stage, we are pursuing it as if we were doing the LEED certification without actually getting it LEED certified. So everything from like the nuts and bolts, bricks and sticks for the building itself is going to push the boundaries on getting the LEED certified building without the actual LEED certification. So I know there is methods that they can employ that you can get something retroactively LEED certified. But then again, you'd have to go through the entire process of energy models, calculations, making sure that you are kind of abiding by that LEED scorecard to put in to get that LEED certification. But as I stated, the Florida Building Code 8th Edition, which we operate on now, is inherently a LEED silver. So it will have a sustainability component to it.

Wonderful. Because we do have a reputation. So it would be nice to keep that up. I notice on the view, what we're looking at now, Bruce or Jocelyn, that there's a big P there for parking. And I don't see the big P where we're able to park now. And I know that this picture may be dated. So it doesn't come up in what we're seeing. But is that going to go away on phase one? I'm talking about the phase one parking.

No, phase one will remain. This aerial is really just to illustrate the phase two development. So that's why the existing parking lot is not identified in this image.

And how many spaces are currently envisioned for phase two?

So currently, there are 28 spaces in the existing parking. And the footprint for the new parking will be TBD, depending on the exact layout and footprint of that site. I think it will be a little bit less than 28 spaces, roughly looking at it. But that will be defined a lot further as we get into this process.

May I add to something? I think you are envisioning here for the parking. One of the amenities that we're looking at is to provide a non-motorized. So from a lake standpoint, it'll be a non-motorized access, meaning kayaks, canoes, that type of thing. And if you've been out there, that upper right, if you will, where you see the fishing pole, actually, that's an existing access that was there. We want to maintain that since it's already been disturbed. One of the thoughts we have is that that parking area would provide individuals to come in with their kayaks and canoes. Sometimes they're on the roof. Sometimes they pull them with a small tram or trailer. So we've asked them to look at maybe providing some spaces for that type of parking at that point. And then someone would have to actually trolley their canoe or kayak up from that area up to the launch. And one of the reasons we're thinking of that, we really don't want to clear out a big area right by the launch. Particularly, we don't want vehicles up there. So just picture that, that, you know, that might be there. So that's going to play into how many spaces we have for individuals that just are there to walk the trails versus someone that might want to access the lake.

Okay, so if there is any sort of ramp, it won't be for vehicles. Okay, so you won't have to manually bring your, either trailer it down manually or carry it over your shoulder. Yes. Okay, that's wonderful. Where the utility line is, and it looks like you're going to use the access by the cemetery. Correct. And right now that gate is closed, so there's a physical barrier between the cemetery and Gladys Douglas. Is that barrier going to remain there, or is that going to be open? Do I have access to Gladys Douglas through the cemetery?

I don't believe that we are envisioning changing any access points.

And is there any, I'm thinking about bicycle access, and whether or not, right now the only bicycle access would be through Virginia Avenue entrance, and that is the only entrance to the park, right?

There's a.

Other than there's a pedestrian, right, on. Directly off of Keene. Right, but all that is sand, and a little hard for bikes, and the harder you make it for bikes, they'll end up making their own path, and we don't necessarily want that. So if you give them a cleaner access, they'll stick to that cleaner access. And so I would ask that you consider that on Virginia. I'm a big fan of the crushed concrete, but that doesn't work well for bicycles. And so I want to encourage bicycling to get in there, not necessarily through the park, but into the park. And we also need to consider the public transit where a bus stop might be, because I like that comment, that thought. We need to look at that. But other than that, we knew Phase 2 was coming, and the more people we can get to enjoy our parks, and especially passively, that would be wonderful. So thank you all for what you're doing. Appreciate it.

Commissioner Sandberg, any questions?

I know I should know the answer to this, but can I get to that location with a golf cart?

I don't think I can. Ditto, I should know that answer as well. No, I don't think so. I don't think so.

Any manager saying no.

I don't think you can.

Okay, so we can get there with bikes, but we can't get there. On Virginia, has that ever been presented to them?

If I can jump in. Jorge, is that Virginia West, or? Okay.

Let me just add to that. I recall when we were designing that or redesigning the entrance to the park, we coordinated with Pinellas County. They do have plans to run a sidewalk from County Road 1 to connect at almost, I'm trying to think what that road is to the East Briar. Green Briar.

Green Briar.

They're going to make the connection at some point. They do have a plan to put the sidewalk in on that side.

Okay.

So it would help at least bikes coming, you know, either way.

Okay. So a bicyclist would have to ride on Virginia Avenue, which is a-

Right now.

Pinellas County. It's thin. It's a skinny two-lane road. Okay. And I realize today we're here to talk about the architecture, but entering off of Virginia, what is that first blue rectangle?

Both of the blue rectangles are indicating the welcoming intro sign to the preserve.

Okay. So if I go up a little bit further, the white broken line, is that a pedestrian trail?

Yes.

Okay. And in the picnic area, are we going to provide grills or things like that we have at some of our other city parks, or is that a little risky for that fire?

I believe it would be risky.

I believe it would be risky. Okay. Okay. I mean, I know it gets dry in that area.

The critters will be coming.

Well, I never thought of that. Thank you.

We'll be able to accurately count them, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Cook up the snakes, Steve, and then we'll count them. All right. And the fishing, that's the only questions I would have. I know today we're here for something else, but going forward, so good. That's all I have. Thanks, Jocelyn.

Thank you.

Cool. I have a few. First of all, there will be access for the residents of the cemetery to get through. Just kidding. That's a joke. Bad joke.

They'll just float through the air. I hear they're dying to get in. There you go. Okay. Okay.

Okay. So this is our plan. And then could you clarify what the county's plan is? Is it just the nature center that they're going to do, or is there more?

So the county's plan is inclusive of removing the invasive species and, yes, the nature center.

And is there any timeline on that?

As of yet, no. I have recently reached out to Paul Cozzi, the county's recreation parks and conservation resources director. And so I've begun to engage with him to try to firm up a timeline on when we can see some movement or at least have a conversation in regards to what that looks like.

Okay. And in the meantime, just so I don't forget, because the manager knows this, but just to make sure you do that, you know, I just want to make sure Terry Fortner historically has every opportunity to access and look at and see if there's anything historically that should be preserved. And I know she's got some requests of us, so I know you're going to probably touch base with her, right? Right. Absolutely. That's awesome. Okay. So cost breakdown. So just if you could walk me through how much we got to do the improvements, how much we spent in Phase 1. This is costing $400,000. And then how much is left for the actual work when it's bid?

Let me try to. So, of course, the recommendation before you for the $416,000, that will be to cover the cost of design, permitting, and construction oversight. The current bid or the current cost estimate that Wanamaker has provided, I'm looking for that number, I think it's 2.6. 2.65. 2.65 they're projecting would be the construction cost for what we're envisioning at this point.

So, basically, $3 million. So if it's $400,000 for the design cost, another $2.6 for the construction cost.

Yes. Yes. And something kind of worth note, we would kind of phrase that as an opinion of probable costs. Obviously, with the timeline of the project being rather short, I believe it was an eight-month construction window of the construction start to finish. But, obviously, with incoming tariffs, things of that nature, we always want to be mindful that, you know, once we do get a contractor engaged, that that cost estimate for the project is brought up to date. And I believe that in our construction document phase, when we issue for a permit, there will be an updated cost estimate that's going to be provided, you know, with the design, whatever direction we end up going in.

So, and how much do we spend on phase one?

I will have to look into that and get back to you.

Do you have any idea?

So, we had $2.4 million budgeted in penny. Of that, we have just north of $2.3 million remaining.

So, there will be an overage.

Yes.

And where would that come from?

We had to put together the finance plan. A number of different funds. I can't tell you specifically which one.

Okay. So, we add this to kind of our smaller challenge compared to the pool and the parking garage, but still a little bit of a mixing in.

Yeah. So, and really, I mean, there are elements that we're required to put in as part of the FCT grant. And so, those are the ones we'll have to do first.

Okay. Okay. Question, Jocelyn. What else is not on the drawing we're seeing other than the current parking lot? Is there anything else that's not on there?

The temporary restroom is included. It's in the parking lot. So, you're not seeing that right now.

But that'll go away when the new restrooms come. Yes.

Okay. Yes. And it looks like there's the interpretive signage that's out there. But really, the critter fence is indicated.

Okay. So, really, the parking lot is the only thing not.

Yeah.

And then the, okay, never mind. I had a question, but I think I just answered it in my head.

There is a gate that is currently closing off the roadway to the eastern portion. Okay.

And in all seriousness, like, do we have any concerns about people kayaking on that water with gators in there? Or is that just, if you're going to live Florida life, that's part of it?

We actually discussed that quite a bit when we were looking to acquire the lake. And, I mean, there are gators in just about every lake in Florida. And people are kayaking them. So, yeah.

Okay, well, like I said, we'll definitely have some disclaimers. I'll watch for sure. Okay.

Mayor, do you have some follow-up? If you don't mind. Yeah.

Hold you just a minute to make sure I've got everything covered here. Great. Yeah. I think that's all I have. So, Vice Mayor?

Okay. Thank you, Mayor. Just because the mayor brought up tariffs, and I know we've got a short timeline.

You didn't bring up tariffs? I thought. I just coughs. I had a great joke about the tariffs, but I actually passed the class. Somebody did.

It was a gentleman. Somebody did in this room. No, and, you know, we just need to talk about that. And I know we're talking about, we're not talking about the design. You're going to come back to us with that design, correct? So, we have an opportunity at that time to look at the economic climate and go, ooh, this is, that's a big bite, bigger than we thought. So, we still have an opportunity to go or no go on this.

Well, let me put it this way. The elements in the FCT grant is, it must be a go. And, you know, the FCT grant is very specific when we acquired the property. So, either that or send the $2.4 million back. You know, so, what the plan is moving forward is that the same way that we have in the past with this type of adventure ahead of us, if you will, is to put together the finance plan as we do, you know, develop our budget, talking about the parking garage, the pool, which we're completing the design and those cost estimates. We are at 60%. We're going to 100% and ready to rock and roll. And then the Gladys Douglas. And we'll do it in the totality of the budget, not just project by project, but where it is that we can find funds and where it is we can reallocate funds and then put that before the city commission and the city commission is going to have to make those decisions moving forward.

And then for additional context, the FCT grant has a stipulation that the site is developed by April of 2027.

Okay. Have there ever been situations where any grant we've reached out to, I don't know, the host, the sponsor, the originator, whatever you would call the state of Florida, and gone, hey, listen, the economic landscape has changed. Can that grant still exist but be modified? Does that, is that a thing? Or it is what it is, and regardless of the economy, we are locked in.

Microphone. Yeah.

I can maybe answer that for my swift mud days when we also tapped into several state grants and this particular one. Yes, you can always ask. You know, they would view it as a, you would provide them with information that indicates, you know, why costs have escalated, costs and services. So the answer is yes, you can, you know, they're, you know, they are committed to providing the amount that we agreed to, but, you know, if you, if you were to approach them, you know, they will consider it, but you're, you're just like starting new, meaning you don't necessarily get a favoritism because you already have one. But they, but the good news is, is that if they, if they gave you the grant, they did recognize that was a viable project that they'd like to fund. So you do, you do kind of have that. So to answer your question, yes, you can going forward.

We were actually, as you may recall, because it was during COVID and it was a virtual meeting, but we were actually in first position on that grant of all the grants that had been submitted. We were in first position.

And when that has been done in the past, I mean, certainly you can ask, but my question is, is with reasonable expectation and a reasonable state administration, do they look at it holistically or, or is the state typically, yeah, yeah, you can ask, but you ain't going to get it?

You know, what, what is the, my experience has been that you, you have a leg up if you have an existing grant because they've already indicated that's something they, they like and, and they would, would approve versus, you know, someone else coming in. You fall into the same timeline as anybody. So, you know, state grants are, are typically funded annually and there's a time in which you need to submit your request. So my, my recollect, how we used to do it was you had to come back in with everybody else. So you're, you're, you're in, you know, you're there with, with everybody. And, you know, it, it's a combination of, again, you have a leg up, but they're also, you know, again, the grants, they, they want to, part of the way the state looks at it is they want to get things moving. It's seed money to them. So, you know, I mean, you, you may have the leg up because they, they like this, but they may, you know, it's just a matter of how much funding they have, what's before them.

Yeah. Actually, if I may, I've led you down the wrong path. So Jennifer and I are chatting, the 2.4 million was actually for purchase of the property. So that's done. Right. The two, the, the additional funding that we have is in the penny for Pinellas, right? We've set aside 2.4 million in penny for Pinellas. So we're going to have to find the money either in penny or general fund or, or somewhere else in order to realize, but we don't, wouldn't have to give it back to FCT because we've already used that funding for the purchase of the property.

But there was an expectation as part of that grant. We've got to put those elements in. Yes. So what does that mean? If we postpone phase two, and I'm not implying that we are, I'm really not.

Right.

But I'd like to go in with clear eyes.

For me, what that means is that we put in the 2.4 million, we figure out how we, how we can do it. Right. Right. That, right.

Okay. So because even though it wasn't, the money wasn't part of the grant, the overall concept and scope of the grant.

Correct. Yes. Had those, those elements in there.

Okay. So there is, and I know it's a moot point because it's a moot point.

Six of one half dozen the other, but that 2.4 million is in the penny for Pinellas.

Now, where the funds are, that's not my concern. My concern is certainly them clawing back their grant money.

Well, I'm sorry. I just wanted to hop in real quick. Just remember with the FCT grant, you not only have the money that they provided you for the acquisition of the property, but you have deed restrictions on this property.

Right.

And so the property, it's not just pulling back the money, but if you don't follow the deed restrictions or maybe a reversion of the property to them. Yes, you do.

That's clear.

So now it becomes state property.

Right. So, I mean, so we'd want to, I mean, if we were really looking at this, I'd pull those documents and go through it, but I'm just telling you that's generally the reason why they put those restricted covenants on the property.

And I get all that, and I'm probably going down a rabbit hole that doesn't need to be discussed now, but I would just hope that the state would also be a little flexible, and it's not of we're going down this road, hell or high water, regardless of what the economy looks like, we have to spend the money. If things go sideways, that there's at least the possibility of asking the state. I'd rather at least have that than too bad, so sad, and we're doing this. That's not fair to the taxpayers, whether that's general fund or penny money. But maybe that's a debate for another meeting.

Well, I think it's a different ask if you're asking for money versus if you're asking for additional time due to economic circumstances.

Oh, okay. Which is what I hear you say. Yeah, it's all about time for me. We're not asking the state for more money. Although if they'd like to give it, we're more than happy to receive it. But it was all about the timing, and I don't want to be forced into something if the timing is just wrong. So, anyway, thank you.

Okay, no problem. And I know Commissioner Degard had another question.

Thank you, Mayor. By the way, Commissioner Gow's statements are provocative and causing me to have 18 more questions, so we'll come back to that later. I want to be sure that I understand the concept of the preserve. When I look at 28 parking places, I wonder how this, we envision the use of this preserve to be, because I want to know that this is an asset for our community and our citizens. If we're seeing a limit of 28, let's assume that they're all full. That's 100 people, maybe, at any one given time being on the premises. Is that what we're seeing, or are we seeing more of a different use of the facility? I just need to understand the vision for the use of the facility. Thank you.

Absolutely. So, I think that there was an initial push in terms of usage and visitation to the preserve when the phase one was opened. And it will be like any other outdoor activity. You'll see higher usage in better climate and cooler weather, so early morning hours and then evening hours. But in terms of the parking lot ever being full, I think every time I visited, I've seen a max of two or three cars with a max of maybe five or six people at any given time. And I've spent a decent amount of time there, not just quick visits, you know, 10 or 15 minutes where I wouldn't be able to gauge usage. So, I would say that the heavier usage flanks the time of day and then also the time of the year when the weather is cooler.

Do we see this being promoted like Hammock Park is sometimes promoted?

Hammock Park is a little more multi-use than Gladys Douglas because it has a playground and different amenities than the preserve. The preserve really is to connect and be one with nature and not to disturb it, to maintain the endangered species that are out there, to respect the wildlife and the natural area itself and not to mess with it.

Perfect. Thank you.

Okay. Yeah, I just want to know, I've got Commissioner Walker, then I'll go to you.

Thank you, Mayor. Just so I've kind of got an understanding of the high-level budgetary aspects. So, I hear we have $2.4 million from Penny would go to fund the construction.

2.3 is left, right? Correct.

The construction cost and delivery. And then the estimate that we have for that is $2.6 million. And then I guess the real question I have here is, is the money that we're considering right now for the design services, is that included in the budget for construction costs or is that a separate budget line item? The $416,000 for the design services. Got it. Okay. Okay. That's what I wanted to know. Thank you.

Commissioner Sandberg.

When did we purchase this property?

When it was effective in 2021? Yes. Like February of 2021.

I kind of remember the COVID, the community coming together. So, it's 2021. Yes. There was a lot of inspection and a lot of engineering that went on on this property before we took ownership. Am I correct? I mean, it had to be surveyed. It had to be plotted.

We did, yeah, phase one environmental. We also did surveys. There was an archaeological study that was done by a separate entity that we allowed on the property.

You know, because when I read what's in front of us here, there's $90,000 in engineering. And, you see, if we only bought it a few years ago, you know, $48,000 in civil engineering, $19,000 in geotechnical, and $24,000 in environmental, are you sure none of this we would already have had on file that we can try to trim some money here?

Not for those elements. I mean, that was for the purchase of the property. We were really looking at what's under the soil for any issues that we would have moving forward in utilities.

Yeah. So, what we did during the purchase, as you pointed out, we did a boundary survey, we did an environmental assessment, which is to see if there was any contaminants buried. That was an old active citrus grove and stationing, so there was lots of things out there. That's what went into that. What you're seeing now in here is, when you see the price tag of the civil side of it, that includes some of the big ticket eyes. Now, we're bringing in potable water and a sewer line. Okay. So, that goes into it. There's a little bit, you know, so the geotechnical piece that you see is if we're going to put in an observation here on the lake, we need to make sure that, you know, we get the soils. So, there's pieces that are now, the civil you see in here is associated with building those amenities, and so it's not like it was a purchase type of investigation. So, we're looking at that here. Once we touch it at this point, we need to get a state ERP permit, stormwater permit, so we've got to start designing for, you know, ground conditions and those things. So, that's the civil side under this, which, when you purchased it, you weren't looking at those things. One other piece in here is not expensive, but we are looking at the residence in terms of its structural integrity, that type of thing. That's a small amount actually associated with this. So, everything you're seeing in here that's that civil side is the structural side of the observation piers or whatever it may be, the parking lot. That gets out of sort of the architectural side of things. You get into the, you know, the calculations and things. So, that's why you now have that big item and you did not have it before.

I guess if that's, that's the answer, I, yeah, that's, yeah, maybe I've turned quick on this. So, all right.

Thank you. Okay. So, I think we've all got our questions answered. Are we all good? Okay. So, we will open it up for public comment. Anyone in the audience wish to come forward and speak to this issue? Seeing no one, I'll close public comment and I will ask for a motion to award this design services contract.

Second.

Okay. And, commission comments, I will start with maker of the motion, Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, this is certainly expensive but well worth it item before us today. I'm all in favor. I'd be remiss if I didn't do a big shout out and a thank you to Pinellas County for their partnership with us and their work with the invasive species. The cultural center or nature center is just won't be a true asset to that park. That's wonderful. That's wonderful. The invasive species, that's going to be a heavy lift. So, thank them for their partnership. And, to me, this is just almost up there with our arts and culture advisory and committee. And, this is just an asset to the city of Dunning that needs to be done. So, thank you. I am in favor of this.

Okay. And, seconder of the motion, Commissioner Dugard.

Thank you, Mayor.

There are several things here in play. We are, well, let me use a little bit of a metaphor. When you're a pilot, there's a point in which the closest airport is no longer behind you. It's only in front of you. It's called the point of no return. We passed that point on this project a long time ago, in my opinion. Sure. So, we are in this project. That's where we are. Now, we may find some ways to save some money and I'm all for that, but we're in this project. We've committed to it and that, by the way, was one of the great success stories of 2021. And, we all cheered. And, so, that's, I think, something that needs to be said. But, we are now also, and the other issue is we're also concerned about an economy that doesn't look as firm under our feet as we want it to be. And, it has been. And, so, these projects now all need to be given some reexamination to see if we're beyond the point of no return on them and in for a pound or not. But, we're going to be doing that for the next year. But, I am in support of this project. Thank you.

Okay. Commissioner Walker.

Thank you, Mayor. Excellent comments, Commissioner Degard. So, I want to follow on on those. So, just as a reminder, the reason that we embarked upon the Douglas Gladys Preserve project was to prevent further development of a pristine area that actually really enhances the entire region there to the south of the cemetery, Jerry Lake. So, if I start thinking through the process by which these decisions were made, it was a good decision to buy Gladys Douglas and to do what we have done to preserve that area. Hence, we are now considering the design review. And, to me, as Commissioner Degard stated, we are past the point of no return and we definitely need to take this next step. But, looking forward to the outcome of the design review, and we really owe it to the community to make sure we do that so we know what's in the realm of the possible in terms of how we preserve this. Because we have a tremendous opportunity here. But, looking forward, and we're going into budget workshops and all that, the city manager brought up the fact that we really are going to need to take a very holistic look at all the capital projects that we've got, we're embarking upon here shortly. And, those, you know, actually, arguably, we're past the point of return on those, too. So, there will have to be some trade-offs. And, this, to me right now, I'm in favor of this. I'm in favor of the preservation of this land. So, that's the issue at hand right now. And, I'm going to vote yes on the design review because it is the logical next step and it does need to occur. But, I just, you know, I just want to, you know, want us to recognize that we've got a fairly difficult task coming up before us as we get into budget. And, you know, and I'm not looking at it as much as it is. It will be challenging, but it's also an opportunity. So, thank you.

Commissioner Sandberg?

It was brought up that, you know, this property is important. We need to keep it away from, I remember when it was going to be developed. I remember 40 years ago when it was citrus. We got the property. It's open. People are using it. But, we also have a lot of people that, I mean, I get the same email as you guys do. There's a lot of other things in the city that need to be taken care of. And, at this point of time, I cannot see myself voting to strap this city with another $90,000 in engineering fees. Because, there's a lot of other things to do. We got this property. Nobody's going to take it away. I was here for it, you know, 40 years ago. I remember the first time I saw that lake. And, it's beautiful. But, I think right now, it's just, I want to see us tap the brakes and go slowly. And, I wish we could have moved to design review. I think that my opinion changed from the beginning of this meeting to now. So, I have nothing else to add.

Okay. Thank you. So, just a quick question. I'll make my comments. We paid how much of the $10 million purchase price of this property? 2 million to begin with, which is reallocated from the garage into this project.

When you say, to begin with. Yes. And, then we got another appropriation from the, that the county had applied for. I think it was $800,000. Okay. So, about $1.2 million.

You have to come to the mic, Jorge.

Yeah. We're glad it's for the lake. Right.

Mayor, in addition, we also leveraged park impact fee dollars in order to purchase the lake from Swiftman. That was $400,000.

Truthfully, what I'm looking at is, of the $10 million purchase price of the actual original property, how much did the city of Dunedin pay? Approximately $2 million. Okay. Approximately $2 million. For a $10 million piece of property that is forever. So, no. I mean, to me, this is promises made, promises kept. This was a community initiative in my entire career as a staff person and as a commissioner. There'll be no greater achievement, in my opinion. And so, I think that right now, we're doing what makes sense to do. We've obligated to do. I like the words you used, Jocelyn. You know, first and foremost, you said, save it from development. It was an environmental decision to connect and be one with nature, to preserve. And someone who just, because a bunch of sixth graders, just re-read our dream plan, it re-energized me to the importance that we face in terms of our own protection of the earth, our own protection of our coastal community, which we have no charm if we don't preserve those special parts of us. So, I think I asked the question about the money because I felt like we were heading down a hole. But it doesn't mean it's not promises made, promises kept. And it doesn't mean we shouldn't ask if something is a little out of whack and we can delay a couple pieces a little bit and they're willing to do it because of, you know, the economy. But I, you know, and I, of course, have always felt like, you know, we're going to have some tough decisions, but you try to do things right the first time because you pay for it later. But, again, there may be some ways we can get it all done the right way and still make the numbers work. Okay. So, I am going to ask for a voice vote. All in favor?

Aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Nay. And four to one, the motion passes. Okay. Okay. We're going to go to informational items, commission discussion. I didn't get anything via email on anything anybody wanted to bring up in this category. So, I'll go to city clerk update.

Thank you, Mayor. I just want to do a quick reminder. I know it's on most of your calendars, but starting Monday I will be out of the office for about two weeks, welcoming a new grandbaby. So, I will be checking my emails each day and working just a little bit just to keep up. So, if you need anything, just drop me an email and I'll make sure that I take care of that. And just thank you for the opportunity. I'm very excited.

Great. Enjoy the grandkids. Okay. City manager update.

Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor and Commissioners. There's a supplement. We attached a kind of a briefing paper to the city manager's update. It was called to our attention by the employees on the local mitigation strategy committee or work group that there has been some question as to allocation of those funds. That's a FEMA funds that are dedicated to the local governments for infrastructure resiliency and improvements in the amount of $416 million. So, Dedean has actually our working group put together a list of 14 potential projects for the hazard mitigation grant program. And the total is $19 million, $19.3 million for those projects. We're not going to get funded obviously for all of that, but we have a priority order and we have submitted it to the local mitigation strategy work group. A question came up, I think it was last month, in regards to reallocation of some of those funds to Elevate Florida. And Elevate Florida is also a FEMA grant program administered by the state, and that's for residential properties, residential property owners. There is no requirement for a cap on the income for that property, and that is for home elevation, reconstructing, mitigation, and acquiring and demolishing residences at risk from hurricane damage. So, two different grant programs with two different focuses, one on municipalities, and then the other one on the local residents. So, the funding for that program for the Elevate Florida is about $400 million. There were an estimated application $6,200 by the time the application window closed on April 11th. Of those approximately $2,300 are in Pinellas County, and of those approximately $82 are in the city of Dunedin. So, the county is now asking for the cities to weigh in on reallocation of some of the funds from the HMGP program, the hazard mitigation grant program, to Elevate Florida to further fund that particular program. So, and rightly so, the members of the local mitigation work group had kind of bumped that up to their city manager, to their city leadership, who immediately bumped it up to their city commissions as well, in terms of reallocation of some of those resources to Elevate Florida. There are several things at play here that the commission needs to consider, and I'm looking for consensus direction from the city commission at the end of this city manager's update. And that is, you know, a percentage of reallocation from the hazard mitigation grant to Elevate Florida. It seems that most cities are doing about 5%, right around 5%, which would be about $20 million. And the reason why they're doing that, those that have supported it, the commissions that have reviewed this, and that's Clearwater, and I believe Largo as well, I'm not sure, excuse me, Oldsmar, how much they put in. But I know Clearwater is 5%. You can start at 5% now and always provide more in the future. The cities can support that. Ultimately, it is the county's decision, but they are kindly, as is their usual method here, they want the input from the cities moving forward. So a couple things at play here as far as the hazard mitigation. First of all, as you know, those appropriations in Tallahassee as the legislature is in session have dried up for infrastructure for most of the cities. So this is really our only funding source for that essential infrastructure. If we put too much to Elevate Florida, then we won't be able to fund a lot of those projects that the cities have submitted. So we're actually recommending that the commission support the 5% as a consensus direction. And as I said, in the future, you could always recommend more. The county might come knocking on the door and say, hey, you know, we need more. You know, just from a very municentric point of view, your residents, your constituents, there are only 82 of them out of all those over 6,000 applications that were received. I know that I have heard that the problem is a little bit problematic as far as the process goes and the application process and the time that it takes. And I'm not bashing Elevate Florida at all. But, you know, it is not a quick resolution to folks who need to elevate at all. So given the projects that we have, the 14 potential projects that we have put together, we're going to ask for consensus direction to support the 5% reallocation to Elevate Florida. And then keep on reporting to you how our projects fare through the process through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Okay.

Questions? I forget where I decided I started on, but I'll start with Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor. Jennifer, it was $28 million. Was that approximately 5%? Yes.

How much?

$20 million.

Sorry.

$20 million. I'm sorry. It was $20 million. And so I guess if we want to talk about that, if we've been allocated potentially $19.3, we're talking about what that really means is a 5% reduction on that $19.3? Or can we still get the $19.3? So we're saying yes to allocate some other city's money.

Well, essentially what we're saying is that the amount of funds in the pot in that particular bucket is decreased by that $20 million. And then, you know, the cities, some cities didn't support any or submit any projects at all. So we'll continue to pursue our $19.3 million. Understand that we won't get it all. There is a, you know, it is competitive, obviously. And, you know, I mean, it's based upon your priorities and those types of things within the city. So, and what the local mitigation strategy, you know, workforce or work group recommends moving forward. But, yes, it will decrease the overall pot, and that means that maybe one or two projects would need to drop out.

Thank you. Okay, Commissioner Sandberg.

And so are you comfortable with that number, Jennifer?

I am. I think just from the perspective of the residents do need help. Okay. And, you know, we haven't even touched this pot so far at the $416 million. It's kind of a slow application process. So the funding is there, and I think it's a minimum amount of funding at 5%. So we are supportive of the 5%. Okay. That's fine.

That's all I needed to know. Commissioner Walker.

Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, I don't have any questions. I just, my methodology on looking at this in terms of arriving at 5% was to take the 82 homes, the applications in Dunedin, and conservatively using the 23 applications in Pinellas, which is significantly less than 5%. So, anyway, I, but with that said, I'm in favor of your recommendation.

Commissioner Dugard.

Thank you, Mayor. I view this in two perspectives. One is, of course, taking care of our citizenry first. That being said, the other perspective is one of the great strengths our community has been both benefiting from directly and indirectly is our intergovernmental cooperation. I see this recommended action as fostering that. We are all going to be stressed with a number of issues we're going to face, and we're going to find that there is not enough resources at the end of the day to do everything we want to do. But if we do not work with our neighbors, I think we'll find that even harder. So I'm in support of this.

So, I'm sorry. I'm trying to catch up here. So, basically, the $416 million is for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which is the city projects. Correct. And the Elevate Florida $400 million is for allocation for all of Florida or just Pinellas County on Elevate Florida?

So, all of Florida. Yeah.

Wow. Well, no, because I just did, if I did the $416 million divided by $2,300, which is just Pinellas, that's $180,000 average. I know my neighbor's going to be paying $400,000 to lift the house. So, you take that and, yeah, okay. I get you. I'm, yeah, I'm good with what we're trying to do. Again, at the end of the day, I think Commissioner Dugard said it's not going to be near enough money. But I do think we're trying to incentivize people as best we can, as best we have. So, we just need a voice vote on this, or?

I think just consensus direction. I think I'm hearing consensus direction. Is everybody good with this?

Okay. Awesome. Thank you very much. Thank you for bringing it to us. Okay. Anything else, City Manager? Nothing, thank you. Okay. And City Attorney Update.

I actually do have an item. And that's simply, generally, if there is a claim that we're going to be bringing, so where the city would be a plaintiff or prosecuting a claim, I'll bring that before the board for approval. We have a little different scenario here. We have a case where the city is the defendant. But we do want to bring a cross claim against one of the other defendants. Basically, it's a personal injury case. One of the defendants that's also being charged with the injury and the damages is to indemnify us. And they're refusing to indemnify the city. And so, we'd like to bring a cross claim against them, alleging that they must indemnify us, and pursuing that. So, before I bring an affirmative claim against anyone, I just wanted to let the board be aware of that, so that they know that that's occurring. And that is in the James case. Okay.

So, just informational? Just informational. Okay. Anybody have any questions or? Okay. Thank you for that. Anything else? You good? Okay. So, Commission comments. I will start with Commissioner Walker.

Well, I do want to bring up a few PSTA things. So, I was, well, we'll be voting on it as a board here in the next couple of weeks. I've been nominated for the Executive Committee for Pinellas Suncoast. I also want to recognize the fact that the PSTA has also been very proactive with their federal lobbyists in terms of working with our congressional delegation to get money into the current budget and appropriation for specifically $1 million to support our peer. City Manager brought that up earlier. I'll tell you, that was a very proud moment for me because there was a lot of discussion in terms of how best to do that. And now, of course, caveat, this particular ask with the current situation in Washington, you know, we haven't had a past budget in quite some time. So, I will say that the hope and desire is that this year will be different. And we will realize the fruition of that. And check your calendars. We've got a few things coming up from my liaison. The Citrus Gallas coming up. And that's the big one. That's all I've got. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you.

I'll go to Commissioner Dugard. Thank you, Mayor. After today's session, I think that we could probably have another session on today's session. A lot of issues coming forward that are both direct and indirect relative to what we're dealing with. Most notably, we will have a challenging budgeting process ahead of us. And we will be asked to look into crystal balls. And certainty is not there as we do look in those crystal balls. Relative to one of my liaison positions, and that is with Dunedin Cares, it is not, it will not be unusual to expect that if we continue down the economic path we're now seeing, that that particular organization is going to have extraordinary needs in the near future. We'll be bringing more of that to the attention of the commission in the near future. I'm also pleased, on a lighter note, to report that the progress at Honeymoon Island is moving along. They are partially operational. They're not as operational as we'd like them to be, but they are operational and people are enjoying honeymoon. And I want people to continue to enjoy honeymoon. And we need to probably promote the fact that it's open because I don't think a number of people are aware. And there's a number of things that I think are also going to come before us, relative to helping that partnership between us and the State Park. And that's all I have for now. Okay.

Thank you, Commissioner. Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, I do want to give a shout out to our Library Director, Phyllis Corshi. And I mentioned it at the last commission meeting. But just to further acknowledge that in the 130th anniversary of the library, that she did include our tartan in the logo. So just a huge shout out to Phyllis. Thank you. Thank you for doing that. Liaison positions. Schools are doing wonderful, but always, always need help. Upcoming musical theater, we have Mamma Mia coming up on 24th through the 26th. I plan on attending. I hope my colleagues do as well. We have a band concert coming up on May 15th. And on a different topic, on April 25th, the First Presbyterian Church of Dunedin from 6 to 730 is holding an Earth Day event where we will be doing a ribbon cutting on, and that is my church for clarification or sunshine, on a solar panel that we have that generates 130% of the power needed for the church. And we're in continuing negotiations on charging stations there as well. So it's a great opportunity. I hope to see everybody there for that event to show some community support. ROTC is doing very well, as they always do. ROTC is just booming. They certainly do need some support for some upcoming competitions. So any support anybody can lend, that would be great. Our robotics team and classes are doing great. They have doubled their student enrollment the last three years in a row. So it is just busting at the seams and needs some support. So our schools are doing great. And so that's all that I have, Mayor. Thank you. Oh, I know. That was the first time of the event. Mamma Mia! From the 24th through the 26th. And I believe a commission to guard is attending. I'm attending. And it would be really cool to see everybody there. But I know our calendars are busy. I understand that. So with that, thank you, Mayor.

Okay.

Commissioner Sandberg.

I was really proud of the entire commission on Friday night for that decommissioning. That was a wonderful ceremony. I know, Rob, you sort of took the lead on it and mow your speech. Your talk was wonderful. And to see all of us, the city manager, Jorge, to see us come together as one, I could tell it really meant a lot to the community. And then again, the Arbor Day, giving away the trees. You know, it's just, I got there at 6.30 in the morning and there was already someone in line to get his tree. And it just really was a Dunedin being Dunedin. You know, and everybody left with a tree and with a smile. As far as liaison, I had a very constructive meeting with the Blue Jays last week. One of the questions that I had, instead of listening to the news about, I'm never coming to Florida again. I'm Canadian. You know, we're going to put up signs protesting. Well, I got, I asked those questions. I asked those questions fair so that they could be answered. And there was a small reduction in attendance down at the stadium. But I've been going to those spring trading games for years. It also depends on the time of the day. I'm sorry, the day of the week, the opponent, and of course the weather. So, a small drop in attendance, but revenue was equal, if not better. So, I, you can kind of equate that, you know, I, you know, I, you know, what's the, the, the exchange rate now is, you know, they're getting about 70 cents or whatever on their dollar. So, I can see where that happened. And the timing of the Canadian spring break didn't really fit with the schedule. But all in all, it was deemed to be a very successful spring training. There's a lot of, a lot of excitement down there with our trip to Toronto. I know I'm traveling on the same itinerary as Commissioner Dugard and had a significant, a significant change this week because of Delta already changing flights this far in advance. I'm not sure how they know the flights are going to be late that far, but we've updated it. Yeah. So, I got to commend them for having a crystal ball and predicting. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. But, no, it's, we got a good thing going. We've been working on the, the 4th of July and I will do whatever I can to represent the commission to make sure that it's the best that, that we can make it. And I thank you. And I was very proud of all of us that, you know, as a group on Friday night, we really stuck together and worked well together. And you too, of course, Jennifer and Jorge. So, thank you. Sure.

Go ahead. Yeah, I just want to pile on to the decommissioning ceremony. I, I just, and this not only comes from me, but it comes from the entire boat club. A personal thanks to a job well done that the city, the support that the city provided was over the top. It bent over backwards, understood the, the, the situation and really worked to make it an event that was commemorative of the history and the legacy of the Dunedin boat club. So, uh, thank you for that.

I will convey that to staff. Thank you. Um, so, um, when you brought up the recommissioning, it reminded me that right after the recommissioning ceremony, I had, I had to go and talk in front of 19 Girl Scouts. And actually it was brownies and Girl Scouts cause they're like first grade to eighth grade. Oh, sorry about that. I know. Right. Yeah. I had it in a bag until I was calculating how much we get for elevate Florida. Um, but I, I just, just to kind of a cute takeaway from it. Uh, cause those are always interesting. And anybody who's done them, I'm sure you all have, like you work harder than you ever work when you're taking their questions. Cause you just don't know what they're going to ask and how you're going to put it in any kind of verbiage. But so one of my questions to them was, um, you know, what, you know, what is, do you know what a mayor does, what a mayor is? And the first two girls followed the same path. They basically said the mayor owns the city. Owns the city and just takes care of everything to make sure it's all okay. So, you know, so, okay. Just a kid. If you didn't know, I own the city now.

So I know that's the way the mayor thinks too.

So it was great.

It was great.

Anyway, it was at our lady of Lords and it was a great group. Uh, a lot of Dunedin girls, but a lot of some safety Harbor, Clearwater, you know, so I've got a good mix. So, so Danielle's our leader. She asked me and she's, she's awesome. So, um, okay. Um, couple other things. I know we're getting measured for our kilts.

We are. We are.

Vice mayor kind of, you know, so that's happening Thursday. So that'll be good. I'm trying to starve myself a little bit before the official measurements. But, you know, um, Jennifer, I, I, I know you don't want me to bring this up here, but, oh my God, I still keep getting comments about these substantial damage letters. You know, somebody just approached me the other day. They didn't even have damage in their house. And yet they're being told they don't, you know, and, and what, and the new worry that I'm getting from people is they're worried. They got to do what they got to do, uh, to get it off their record that somewhere somebody will dig it up when they try to go to sell their house. And it'll be this mark like, oh, this is something I have to worry about. So, and I get that. So anyway, uh, again, to the extent that we can, um, yeah. I mean, I know we have to do them, but our name's on them. So it makes us the bad guy. And, uh, so, um, I wanted to, from Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, a couple things. Um, we have, um, after our regular meeting, we have a resiliency coalition steering committee, which is actually the committee that actually runs our sustainability conference. And I was really, really happy because I didn't know this was the case. But, so they have different work groups under the resiliency coalition. And, uh, they're land use, building design, resilient food systems, resilient shorelines and spaces. And the last one is stormwater slash infrastructure. And I was very pleased when it was announced that our own Michelle Monteclaro is co-chair of that stormwater infrastructure work group. And, um, I had a conversation with Alana, uh, who's a staff person of Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, who is our liaison to our city. And, um, I was telling her, I was glad to hear that about Michelle. And, and she said, oh my gosh, you guys, we, I love working with your staff. Like, you know, you know, Natalie and Michelle, they're all just into it. They all just live and breathe it. And it was just, you know, again, all I could say, I said, well, we're just really proud of that. They're doing amazing things. But I wanted to bring that back, um, cause our staff is out there. They're involved at the ground level. They're making things happen, but they're also sharing the information they have with others. So I just thought that was awesome. Um, and, um, and I'm just, again, I'm gonna, you know, shamelessly promote the, uh, the conference on May 16th and 17th. Again, it's down in, uh, Bradenton. Um, I guess Palmetto, technically. And, um, it's, uh, you know, it's a Marriott resort. Nice place to stay, but a lot's gonna, you know, it's got, we do have the agenda. Lindsay can get you guys a copy if, if you guys want to look at what their agenda is. Um, I know Commissioner Walker signed up for it. Um, and, um, and I don't know if our staff, or some of our, usually, like, uh, Natalie will go and maybe Michelle will go. Yeah, because, uh, we usually have a pretty good showing. And, of course, and then the second day of the conference is the Future of the Region Awards, which, you know, is at 12 o'clock. And, um, and, you know, I know we always have a contingency at that. So, um.

So we have submitted a number of awards. Right. Right.

So.

That's Thursday, Mayor?

Yeah, the, at the conference is, uh, I mean, if you're going to the conference, you might want to go Wednesday night because it starts first thing in the morning on Thursday, um, which is the 16th. On the 17th, the second day, the conference ends at noon, and the Future of the Region Awards happens.

That's on May 17th, so. May 17th?

Mm-hmm. At noon?

At noon, yep. Okay. And if, if I can, Mayor, just to piggyback on your stuff, for the rest of the commission, I can't attend the, the conference this year. Um, but if it, if it is available in your calendar, please attend. And it's a wonderful, wonderful conference. You learn a lot about what other, our local, it's because it's all local. What we are doing. And so it's a wonderful opportunity to get an understanding of what other cities are doing, what the concerns are as a region, uh, with sustainability and climate change and resiliency. So, please attend. I know that our mayor just puts her heart and soul into this. And you're going to support her as well. Uh, Mayor, I have my regrets. I'm sorry I can't attend the conference. Um, but please put the luncheon on the calendar. If you can, or Jennifer, if you can have that. So, at least I'm aware of that. And I can, if time permits, I can, I can scoot out to attend that luncheon. Thank you, Mayor. Great.

Um, and, and again, I'm just going to give a, give another shout out to Natalie, Michelle, and, and, and then Nicole as well. Um, I think they're a team that's doing some pretty impressive stuff. And, um, you know, recently I've been involved with a bunch of sixth grade classes and trying to show the us as a model sustainable city. Uh, it, you know, inspired me to reread the dream plan, which I would recommend you all do. And, um, and then just working with Natalie and our staff, uh, you know, you know, we are a model city and I can tell you the teachers we're working with are very impressed. Um, it's actually, it's actually school in, uh, in Georgia. And now they're using us as a model, but I've already talked to the liaison to our schools. Uh, and I, and I've talked to Phyllis and, uh, we're going to do a little bit of a layout at the principal's meeting in the fall to see what we might be able to insert in our own schools. Um, but, you know, it just, uh, go back and read the dream plan. I mean, we're doing some pretty cool stuff and, uh, and, and, uh, and ask, and even looking at the resiliency factors in this building alone is something to be extremely proud of. So, um, um, let's see. Oh, I think that's all. I just, the only last comment I'll make is that, um, there is some, um, business going on at our, um, military, um, um, advisory group, uh, having to do with becoming, potentially becoming a red star city, um, which has to do actually with suicide. And, uh, Clearwater's done it. They're the first. And, uh, and they want us to be the second. Um, but they're doing all their due diligence right now. And, uh, I think on May 7th, they're going to meet again, uh, with all their information intact. Uh, but I expect that that will probably become a recommendation to us to have a proclamation and basically declare ourselves as a red star city. So I just kind of bring that up as something to think about. Um, okay. Uh, other than that.

Just, uh, one thing I wanted to add. Um, so I attended the, um, Faith Action and Strength conference. Oh, yeah. Yes. Um, and I, it was bringing up, uh, first and foremost, um, Natalie, uh, has, she is held in such high regard by that organization, which made my job going in there much easier. Um, and, uh, I will say that, uh, I really didn't have a full appreciation for the breadth and the size of this event. But, uh, when I left, I most certainly did. And, uh.

Can you say 1,800 people about?

1,800 people. And, uh, you know, the thing is, it was easy to, it was easy to commit because to what they had asked of us. And that was specifically to support the, um, the sustainability matrix. And, uh, you know, we'll, we'll get that before us here soon with an update from the master plan and the, uh, vulnerability assessment. Um, but, uh, I, uh, you know, it was, uh, the, the, the important point here is, is that, is that, that they recognize the fact that Dunedin is the, the leader in these types of initiatives. That's all a result of, uh, you know, Natalie and team. So, thank you. Thank you.

Um, okay. Anybody have anything else? Okay. Uh, meeting is officially adjourned. So, .

They are taking the heat front. They have