Welcome to the City of St. Petersburg City Council Meeting. Your elected officials are Mayor Ken Welch, District 1 and Council Vice Chair, Hopley Gerdes, District 2, Brandi Gabbard, District 3, Ed Montenari, District 4, Lissette Hanowitz, District 5 and Council Chair, Deborah Figg Sanders, District 6, Gina Driscoll, District 7, John Muhammad, and District 8, Richie Floyd. Good afternoon, everyone. We'll call the order by April 18, 2024. I'm sorry, did I miss that? 2024 City Council Meeting beginning with a roll call. Hanowitz? Here. Rick Sanders? Here. Driscoll? Here. Muhammad? Here. Floyd? Here. Gerdes? Here. Gabbard? Here. Montenari? Here. Thank you. We will have our invocation given today by Rabbi Philip Weintraub from the Congregation B'nai Israel of St. Petersburg. This will be followed by a moment of silence to honor former Governor Bob Graham, who served as the 38th Governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and was a U.S. Senator from 1987 to 2005. He passed at the age of 87. Following that, we will remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Will everyone please join me in standing? Esteemed Council Members, the springtime is a time of hope, of opportunity, of consideration. Western Christians recently celebrated their Easter. Muslims recently concluded Ramadan. Orthodox Christians will celebrate Easter in the coming weeks. Sikhs had Vaiskai, and Hindus celebrated Holi. So whatever our faith, we see the seasons change and the flowers bloom and the possibility of cooperation, collaboration, and new life. God willing, we can see the holiness of each other's traditions, regardless of one another's faith. In the Jewish tradition, Monday night begins Pesach, Passover. We remember from the book of Exodus the journey from slavery to freedom, and we see today the violence of oppression and are reminded of the words repeated so many times through the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Bible, to love our neighbors as ourselves, to remember that we were strangers, and to care for the stranger among us. Monday and Tuesday nights, Jewish communities will gather for festive meals, opening with the words, Let all who are hungry come and eat. We'll think of those in our city who go to bed hungry, and work towards a future where everyone has enough to eat. We'll speak of the journey from slavery to freedom, while thinking of our brothers and sisters who were kidnapped 194 days ago and remain captive by the Hamas terrorists in Gaza. One of the most challenging lines of the Seder is that in every generation, there have been those who rose up to destroy the Jewish people, and the Holy One, blessed be God, rescues us from their hands. Until October 7th, my rose-colored glasses denied that the present included such threats. And after those threats against Jewish lives on college campuses and around the world, I have sadly taken off those glasses. But I am grateful to live in a city that recognizes the dignity of all peoples, the humanity of all peoples, and the possibility of hope for all people. So I pray today for the well-being of all. I pray for the end of violence. I pray for peace and for hope and for love and cooperation and collaboration. I pray that as we enter this Passover, we'll see freedom for all, freedom for all who are oppressed, freedom of religion and freedom from religion, freedom of gender and sexuality. I pray that the Jewish people and all peoples will be able to celebrate their holidays without the threat of violence wherever in the world they live. I pray that anti-Semitism and all hatreds can be sent to the dustbin of history and that any type of hatred will be replaced with love and peace. Amen. Please join me in a moment of silence as we honor former Governor Bob Graham. Thank you. I pledge allegiance to the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Thank you, Rabbi Weintraub, for your moving invocation. Council members, we have an agenda before us. I'll entertain a motion for agenda, for approval. Second. Now that we have a motion and properly second, clerk, can you please open the machine for voting? The machine for voting. I'm sorry. Council members, they voted. Now that all, great. Thank you. Talent and answer both. Appreciate that. I'm sorry, George. Madam Chair, approval of agenda passes unanimously. Thank you. I forgot my key. I just naturally assumed you were going to go ahead and do it. Thank you. We have an consent agenda before us, council members. I'll entertain a motion for approval. Do approval. Second. Now that we have a motion and a second, clerk, can you please open the machine for voting? Madam Chair, we do have a card. You do have a card? Okay. Dave Sockle, please step up to the podium, state your name and address for the record. We'll have three minutes to address council. Good evening, afternoon. My name is David Sockle. And as you may recall, I was here several months ago, and I kind of spoke to you on behalf of Fresco's when the city issued its RFP, asking whoever bid on the marina to include Fresco's. And I kind of expressed my disappointment at that point that not being given an opportunity to kind of find some way to keep the restaurant going after being a 40-year resident and owning the restaurant for 20 years. I met with both of the companies that would put in bids for the RFP for the marina. And both companies agreed that if they were selected, they would let Fresco's be the proprietor of the restaurant and work with me in terms of the design. I spent $20,000 with the architectural firm that did the entrance to the pier and also designed Doc Fords so that I could come up with a design that I felt would at least be in conformity with the entrance to the pier. Unfortunately, the city did select Safe Harbor. They made a bunch of changes to what they selected, and I understand that. The one thing I want to talk to you about is in the proposal that they submitted, they said that between themselves and myself that we would pay approximately $4 million to rebuild a new restaurant in the same area as Fresco's. The goal with them was that it would be built next to Fresco's such that it would be operational before we closed the old Fresco's, demolished it, so that my 100 employees, many of whom have worked for longer than 10 years, would have continuity of employment and go from one place to another. I just urge you to look into that still being a possibility. When I met with Safe Harbor a week or two ago, they said they're still willing to go forward and include Fresco's in that. So I'm looking at, hey, if we're paying for it and it's going to be there and it's going to keep 100 city residents employed and not put all these families out of work for a 40-year resident and a 20-year person. It's the oldest restaurant on Beach Drive, and so I understand why the city wants to rebuild, but I really think that effort should be made to try to find some continuity of ownership so that the same people that have worked there can continue to work across the street, you know, right next to it. All right, thank you. Thank you. No calls on Zoom. No calls on Zoom. Since we've had a motion and it's been properly seconded, clerk, can you please open the machine for voting? Council members, can you please cast your votes? Seeing that all present council members have voted, can you please tell and announce the votes? Madam Chair, motion to approve. The consent agenda passes unanimously. Thank you. Now we will move to open form. Clerk, can you please read the rules? If you wish to address city council on subjects other than public hearing or quasi-judicial items listed on the agenda, please sign up with the clerk. Only the individuals wishing to speak may sign the open form sheet. Only city residents, owners of property, business owners in the city, or their employees may speak. All issues discussed under open form must be limited to issues related to the city of St. Petersburg government. If you are speaking to an item on the agenda, you may only speak once during the open forum or when the item comes up on the agenda. In order to provide an opportunity for all citizens to address council, each individual will be given three minutes to speak and after which the microphone will be muted. If you wish to address city council through the Zoom meeting, you must use a hand-raised feature button in the Zoom app or enter star 9 on your phone at the time the agenda item is addressed. When it is your turn to speak, you will be unmuted and asked to state your name and address. At the conclusion of your comments or when you have reached the three-minute time limit, you will be muted. All raised hands will be lowered after each agenda item. Regardless of the method of participation used, normal rules apply, including the three-minute time limit on comments. The requirement that any presentation materials must be submitted in advance of the meeting and the rules of decorum. If light public comments is disrupted by violations of the rules of decorum, the chair is authorized to accept public comments by alternate means, including by email only. And, Madam Chair, we do have some speakers. Thank you. We have approximately 10 speakers. Thank you. The first speaker is Ron Diner and Karen Mueller. Please step up to either podium. State your name and address for the record. We'll have three minutes to address council. Thank you. I'm Ron Diner. I live on Snell Isle here in St. Pete. I'm here to discuss the Ray's Heinz proposed deal and ask the city council to prevent a monumental $1.6 billion ripoff of city and $800 million of county resources that we need for what matters. A gift to billionaires with no return. Our city needs to focus on the facts of what matters. The need for funding stormwater and sewer repairs and improvements. In the last few days, city administrators presented to city council the discussion of known capital improvement needs, 30-year forecast. It shows that there are over $5 billion needed improvements and repairs to the city's water, sewer, and stormwater systems, six times larger than the city's total current operating and capital improvement budget, six times greater. And only two-thirds of that $5 billion will be addressed in the next 20 years. And even so, the plan calls for tremendously increasing utility bills for city residents. What about the other one-third, $1.6 billion of repairs? Coincidentally, the amount the city proposes to give away to Ray's Heinz. How and when will they be funded? What if your house needed a new roof and you only had the money to pay for two-thirds of the roof? Not only will residents and visitors face increasing flooding issues, but the funding burden alone may push the cost of living in St. Petersburg to the point where, for many people, a remaining a resident is impossible, and moving here is out of the question. What else matters? Affordable and workforce housing. That the current proposal allows Ray's Heinz to default on for a very small penalty. With $1.6 billion, we could underwrite so many housing opportunities. What about intentional equity? Ray's Heinz calls for $50 million. $1.6 billion is $32.50 million. What about underwriting daycare costs? Even today in the Tampa Bay Times, Pinellas County Schools is going to provide daycare for their staff because of the cost of living. With $1.6 billion, the city could help to underwrite that cost for others, allowing single mothers or dads to go to school and get good-paying jobs. What about ensuring environmental issues are addressed? A concern of the Sierra Club. If the city took more control, they could ensure that environmental conditions were enforced. Thank you. Hi, my name is Carrie Mueller, and I live in Campbell Park at 12th and James, and I wanted to follow on Ron Diner's remarks. We love baseball here in Tampa Bay, and we want to keep it in St. Petersburg. But if the Rays want to stay in the gas plant, we need a fair deal, fair rent to reimburse lost real estate taxes, and a fair split on revenue as we are paying for half of the stadium and a fair price for the 64 acres, leaving us with the $1.6 billion that we need. Baseball is not the economic engine, nor do we need it to activate the gas plant property or be the anchor. The property is so attractive because it adds to the live-work play that everyone loves here. It is ready, and the city can make it happen with or without the Rays or Hines. The property will be developed either way, and the city will see those taxes either way. Developers would be standing in line to help. What drives our economic engine is tourism, beaches, museums, the piers, and the restaurants. Pinellas County's own studies show that this is why 40% of the people who come here visit, and only 3% come for sporting events. What also drives our engine is talent-based businesses, financial services, tech, health care, and our universities, and, of course, retirees, especially affluent ones. We need to focus our resources on what drives our engine, and if we really think that we have the money to do it all and funds left over, then any extras should go to reducing taxes. We need to focus on what has made St. Petersburg a great place to live and what we need to sustain that, a place that everyone can afford and enjoy and have opportunities to succeed. City Council, we need you to prevent a rip-off, a profound mistake that the city will face for decades, that we will all remember for decades, and if you vote yes, that you will be remembered for for decades. The Rays are not leaving Tampa Bay. Where will they go? They will go right back to the negotiating table. Be the council person that voters will say took a billionaire's hand out of our pockets and gave us a fair deal. So, the city and voters will say thank you. Thank you. Madam Chair, the next two speakers is Kathy Harrelson and Patty Bitterly. Please state your name addressed for the record. You'll have three minutes to address council. I guess it's not a good idea to sit in the middle. I'm Kathy Harrelson. I live in St. Pete Heights. I was very impressed by the previous two speakers. Many of their comments seem to really hit on some of the issues, but I just wanted to mention that, as you can see, I am a Rays fan, and I love baseball, and I do think sports, along with the arts and education and nature, really add to a total livable, vibrant community. But I would like to say that some of the thoughts that I think should be happening is that the housing attainability needs to be a guarantee in this project. I don't think it needs to be on site necessarily. In fact, that may not even be a great idea. Piling everybody into a very high-end part of St. Petersburg where you can't find a reasonable-priced carton of eggs might not be the best plan. So I would say that that could be done on a citywide basis, but it needs to be guaranteed, and it needs to be 60%, 80% of AMI, not whatever affordable might currently mean in the city language. I care about Booker Creek. I think that would make a nice pilot project for Blue Ways project for the whole city and the whole county actually would help us alleviate some of the stormwater issues and also provide recreational space for kayaking. My big problem is the underlying discount of the land. That is egregious. It's hundreds of millions of dollars. We won't get that back. That needs to be addressed. That should not happen. We need to get fair value for that land and be able to take care of some of these projects that we're talking about. I will be happy to say goodbye to the flat surface parking. I think the Rays have done a good job greening the site, and I want that to continue. But when they have empty seats, empty sections of seats, fill those seats. They want to be good community partners, fill those seats with classrooms of kids and their parents spending money on Dippin' Dots or whatever. The point is you build a community of lifetime baseball fans, and that's what the Rays should be doing, and we need to take another look at this deal. Thank you. Hi. My name is Patty Bitterly, and I was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. I'm a lifelong resident of Florida and live in the greater Woodlawn neighborhood now. I'm very concerned about how the taxpayers' money is being spent, and we've noted very obviously that there's a lot of new development in St. Pete, and that brings in more tax dollars. And I believe the city of St. Pete needs to be responsible with those tax dollars. Certainly we can put more toward affordable housing. It's a really big concern. That is housing that is affordable to residents making 80% AMI or less. To meaningfully address our city's housing crisis, the Rays-Hinds development must provide more than 1,000 affordable units on site. Thank you. The next two speakers is Ryan Ellenberg and Tara Hubbard. You'll have three minutes to address council. Please state your name and address. I'm assuming I'm good to go. Good evening, members of the city council. My name is Ryan Adelberg. I'm a proud resident of St. Petersburg just a short three minutes from here. I am a Tampa Bay Rays fan. I'm a collector of baseball-themed socks, although you can't see the ones I'm wearing now. And I'm here representing myself today, but I would like to note that my involvement in the community, I'm currently the vice chair of St. Pete Young Professionals and also a member of the St. Pete Chamber of Commerce. When I made the move to St. Pete six years ago, I remember sitting down at the dinner table with my dad, and he said, why are you going to St. Pete? And I looked at him, and the only thing I said was, well, they got the Rays in St. Pete. Why else? Which is why I'm here today. I want to express my support for the Tampa Bay Rays proposed stadium and the collaboration with Heinz to revitalize the historic gas plant district. This project is not just about creating a modern sports facility. It's about igniting unparalleled economic growth that will benefit our entire community for generations to come. But one of the most compelling aspects of this redevelopment is its potential to attract a new wave of talent and businesses to our city. This stadium and a vibrant urban district will serve as magnets for skilled professionals, entrepreneurs, and innovative companies looking to establish or expand their presence in St. Pete. The Rays-Heinz Redevelopment Project isn't just about building infrastructure. It's about laying the foundation for a vibrant, resilient economy that benefits residents, businesses, and the entire region. An opportunity propels St. Pete into a new era of economic growth, job opportunities, and prosperity. If the agreement is not approved, the city will wind up with an empty, obsolete stadium that no MLB team, and 86 acres that won't generate a dollar in property taxes. Thank you for your unwavering dedication to the city. Thank you. Hello, my name is Tara Hubbard. I live in Childs Park on 47th and 6th and 7th. So, for clarification, I just contacted legal. We need complete addresses, please. Name and address. Thank you. Please don't visit me, but my address is 4751 6th Avenue South in Childs Park. My name is Tara Hubbard. I am a fourth-generation St. Pete native. Very proud to be living here. I will say I am happy that this is my first time in city council, and if the Rays-Hinds deal did anything, it got its citizens talking and sharing what's important to them. So, I'm here to share my support for this deal. I feel very thrilled with the opportunity that this type of project is on the horizon here. I know it's been a lot of work and negotiations, and I know there's still a lot of work to be done. So, of course, we have our minutiae details of what we want to see and what we love, and I can share my agenda here of I love nature. I love nature connectivity. I love the Pinellas Trail. Just the parking in this deal on the trail is so exciting to see that there could be a park-and-ride for the Pinellas Trail. So, I can go on and on about what I see and what I envision for this project and what it makes me excited, but the reality is the prosperity for the city. Seeing a deal of this magnitude feels very exciting. My grandmother on my mother's side, she passed away a couple years ago, but she would always share, anytime we drove downtown together, looking at the Rays Stadium, she would always share these anecdotes of how the Rays put St. Pete on the map, and it just feels very like a historical nod. I'm also very impressed with this deal's historical nod to the Gas Plant District. I actually started following this project when I was somehow came across a thesis paper titled, Where Have All the Mangos Gone? And if you haven't read that yet, very, very eye-opening. And I feel so thrilled that this deal and that the administration currently has a nod to the historic relevance of the site. And I feel very, very thrilled that that will be leading us into the future of the city. So thank you for hearing my talk today, and I hope to see this happen. Thank you. The next two speakers are Sheila Neisser and Phyllis Young. Please state your name and address for the record. You'll have three minutes to address council. Good afternoon. I'm Sheila Hooper Neisser. I work at 440 2nd Avenue North. It's the Greenhouse 33701. Good afternoon, members of council and professionals of the City of St. Petersburg. I'm going to change the subject a bit. I'm Sheila Neisser, president of Catalyst Tampa Bay. For the past seven years, I've had the privilege of helping entrepreneurs and small business owners thrive through marketing workshops and a signature series called the Goal Achievement Program at the Greenhouse. These workshops were developed through my two-decade career in the Carolinas. I now have the honor of putting my ideas where my mouth is. Seriously, I'm expanding my business back to my own hometown. My entire family was born at Mound Park Hospital. My dad built the original North Shore Pool. And decades later, Pinellas Pools, my dad's company actually refinished the pool for the senior games with my late brother overseeing the construction. My mom was a telephone operator where Frontier has its operations. And my dad's second company had boats fishing the waters of Coffey Pot Bayou. In conjunction with National Small Business Week, I would like to invite you to join me and other small business owners at my company's ribbon cutting and celebration. I believe you all have the postcard. Your commitment to an investment in small business is impressive. And it's for good reason. We make up 99% of all businesses in the U.S. economy. We employ 46% of the workforce. We create two-thirds of all the jobs. And we keep our money here. 68% of every dollar stays in St. Pete versus 43 cents with big business. Proportionally, we donate more to local charities. And most of all, we bring the personality of St. Pete to life with our unique goods and services. Please join me Friday, May 3rd at the Edge District at Webb City Cellar and meet some truly remarkable people who are the backbone of our city's economy. Additionally, in honor of my late father and mother, my company will be providing four partial scholarships for women and minorities at this fall's Entrepreneurial Academy. They worked hard and lived the small business dream in St. Pete. And it's appropriate that I pay it forward. St. Petersburg, Florida, it really feels good to be home. Thank you. Thank you. My name is Phyllis Young. I am a native of St. Petersburg. I am a member of Bethel Community Battles Church. Can you state your address, please? Oh, I'm sorry. My address is 2446 Lynn Lake Circle South, Apartment B, St. Petersburg, Florida. My congregation is a member of FAST, a group of 50-plus congregations across Pinellas County, working to solve community problems. In St. Petersburg, we have an affordable housing crisis for families making less than 80% AMI. Families who make less than $65,000 a year cannot afford to live in this city anymore. And personally, I moved last summer from a place where I had lived for six years because my rent increased $300 within a two-year period, which made it unaffordable for me to continue living there. Mayor Welch, current affordable housing plan is insufficient. The hardworking people of our city need more, and there is more that the city can be doing. People who are essential workers in this city, child care workers, nurses' aides, hotel and hospitality workers, are being pushed out of their neighborhoods because they cannot afford to live here anymore. Affordable housing isn't just benefiting the people, benefiting the people who are struggling. It benefits all of us. The city will run better when people can live here and feel secure. It's time for our city to put our people before profits. I am here to ask the mayor and all of the St. Pete City Council members to attend Nehemiah Assembly on Tuesday, April 30th at 7 p.m. at First Baptist on Gandy Boulevard. I hope you will be present to show that you want to be a part of the solution to the affordable housing crisis. Thank you. The next two speakers are Michael McGrath and I believe it's Tom Henrich. Henrich, please step up to the podium, state your name and address for the record. You'll have three minutes to address council. Good evening. My name is Michael McGrath. I'm a lead organizer with Sierra Club, Florida. My address is 1560 Central Avenue. Folks who might be familiar, that's over at Central and 16th Street, right across from the Trop Stadium and also near Ferg and whatnot. So I'm going to address some of the stakeholder concerns that the Sierra Club has in relationship to the historic gas plant district redevelopment and also new stadium deal. Obviously, we're not able to address everything we have as far as concerns. My three minutes allocated, so we'll follow up with written comments as well. But the first thing I want to really draw attention to is on net positive building standards, right? When we're thinking about this redevelopment and also this new stadium deal, this development should produce more renewable energy and power. That power is a full district rather than it consumes, right? This is part of your commitment for trying to transition to renewable energies by 2050. This is part of the Integrated Stainably Action Plan. This development needs to be a way that we actually address that priority for the city moving forward. Also, this relates to climate resiliency and microgrids. We need to prepare for the worst when it comes to natural disaster preparedness. One day, a Category 4, Category 5 hurricane will hit Tampa Bay or St. Pete directly. And when that happens, we need to have facilities in place that allows folks to have localized evacuations, build a shelter in place, and also having a microgrid in place will actually provide power to folks in our communities so they can actually have power during these outages and we can actually respond to folks during these power outages. So, really, when we're thinking about the TROP and also where the gas plant district development is, it's one of the highest elevation areas in all of St. Pete. It needs to be a place we can actually have natural disaster preparedness for things. The next topic I want to address is on open space and also stormwater considerations. There's 14 acres that are being dedicated towards open space and also with Booker Creek there. It's an opportunity for us to restore those natural amenities for our residents. I want to make a couple things clear, right? First of all, this should be a way for us to achieve the 30% canopy goal for St. Pete's urban forestry initiatives. And the second thing on that is that a palm tree is not a tree. It's a grass, right? So, we need to have actual shade trees and also we need to have things that actually are native vegetation and not just ornamental aesthetic trees to basically create better facilities for open space for our residents. When we're thinking about Booker Creek, the CERC really wants to call for a 50-foot buffer on either side, either bank of the creek as well. And in that buffer, it should not just be turf grass. It should be native vegetation that can actually act as a natural buffer for managing stormwater, helping to attenuate flooding and also treat stormwater before it gets into Booker Creek, which ultimately discharges in Tampa Bay. I personally live across the street from the site and I can tell you that there is not enough open space in that area, I mean, in that part of St. Pete, so it's a great way for us to address this. And then the final thing as it relates to affordable housing is that, you know, obviously so many people have brought up the fact that we don't have enough affordable housing in our city. So, 10%, excuse me, only having 10% affordable housing for those earning a low 80% AMI is insufficient. So, anyways, thank you for your comments. We'll follow up in writing as well. Appreciate your time tonight. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, just so you know, open forum is limited to 30 minutes and we have approximately how many more minutes in open forum remaining? We have about nine minutes left. Nine minutes left. So, we'll try to get as many in that nine minutes as we most possibly can. Thank you. Great. I'll keep it brief. My name is Tom Henrich. I live on 825 25th Avenue North in Crescent Heights, St. Petersburg. I'm a proud resident of St. Petersburg. Moved here from Cincinnati five years ago and couldn't be happier. Love the city, everything that they're doing. I wanted to build on what Kathy Beverly ended with, which is if you all think that we have the money to do everything and there's any left over, it should go to tax reduction. I wanted to tie this into this affordable housing question, which I think is a much bigger issue than so far we've seen. It's the tip of the iceberg. I want to go through a little bit of the concept here. So, obviously, we all know that property values and valuations have increased dramatically in the last four years. I mean, it's phenomenal. I'm very happy I moved here five years ago. One of the beneficiaries of that, of course, is the city of St. Petersburg and increased tax revenues, right? An innocent victim of it is the first-time homebuyer who, while they're striving and trying to really save enough money to buy a home, if they find a 2-2 in Crescent Heights, for example, for $800,000, they scratch enough money together, and then they're hit with an annual tax bill of roughly $10,000 to $12,000. Now, think about that for a minute. That's $1,000 a month. That is a princely sum for somebody to come up with when they're trying to really scratch and make a living and make a go of it and stay in our city. So I think what we're doing right now is pricing people out of the city. We are going to wind up with people that are losing good people that add to the diversity of the city, and I just hope you really think about that as you think about the Rahe Heinz deal and really think about asking your constituents whether or not they'd rather have the raise or some tax relief. I really encourage you to ask that question. Thank you. Next speaker is Elizabeth Ziplin. Please state your name and address for the record. You'll have three minutes to address counsel. Yes, ma'am. Hello, and I'm glad to be back. I saw you all last week. My name is Elizabeth Ziplin, address 661, 17th Avenue South. I'm speaking on behalf of the codenaming of Reverend Long's street from Irving Avenue. So should I be speaking at open forum or should I wait for the- Public hearing. Yeah. Oh, she's waiting. No, my card said for- Faith. Street, yeah, street naming. J2. J2. J2. J2. Want to wait? Yeah, public hearing. Ma'am, sure. We have two Zoom speakers. Are we at our 30 minutes? 24. 24. Okay. Lynn Wilkinson, once you enter to the meeting space, please unmute yourself. State your name, address, and city. And you'll have three minutes to address city council. For 22nd Avenue Southeast. I attended the Republican Club meeting last week, where Councilman Montaneri and Commissioner Scott held a town hall regarding the proposed raised fines upward transfer of public wealth to a privately held corporation project. Repeatedly, I heard them both use the phrase, not a done deal, not a done deal, not a done deal. Based on the recently released development agreement, I say that's a darn good thing. As you know, former city development administrator, Alan DeLyle, has been loud and proud to use opposition to the proposed deal since it was announced. He told me personally he thought he'd been pumped by the friend who sent him the term sheet released last October, since it was so full of promises but so empty of facts. Luckily for St. Pete, he's been volunteering his time and deep expertise to analyzing and to educating a lot of regular citizens, just like me, on the nuts and the bolts of this so-called deal. Well, it is for the Reyes-Hines, anyway. Shortly, he will receive a copy of his detailed analysis of the development agreement, which apparently has improved little over its predecessor, the hollowly vague term sheet. In it, he lays out in detail all the places that needs improvement, and gee whiz, there's a lot of them. It really makes me wonder just what our million dollars' worth of lawyers is actually doing. Please recognize that much of the opposition to this deal is by folks who love the Reyes, but the deal, as described, is not close to fair and will affect our citizens, our taxes, our infrastructure, our environment, and our ability to borrow money for years to come. It is your fiduciary responsibility to move slowly and with deliberation versus following a schedule that only benefits the other guy. Please vote no on the current deal and go back to the negotiating table. I mean, aren't the Reyes here to stay? Thank you. Thank you. Last Zoom speaker is Jeremy. Jeremy, once you enter into the meeting space, please unmute yourself. State your name and address in city. You'll have three minutes to address counsel. My name is Jeremy Gilbert. I'm in the 417-Lito Way in St. Petersburg. I know this council debates lots of difficult subjects with input from lots of sources. The council is likely to never have a decision in front of you, so transparently obvious is the current proposal to subsidize the new stadium in the Saskatchewan District. Baseball, in spite of its emotional history and attachments, is now just a business. And business is good. That's how a team like the Reyes can skyrocket from $200 million to $1.2 billion in value since it's been acquired. And a huge portion of that profitability is convincing people to build your offices for you free of charge. With the keys to the city's bank account and little to no obligation to share profits or even state belongs, teams are guaranteed massive profits and no risk. Similar new stadium demands have already been made in Oakland, Virginia, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, and Phoenix in the last month alone. And all of those cities likely thought baseball was a smart investment too, but they now find themselves in a never-ending cycle of extortion. With billions of dollars on the line, these teams can easily afford to buy their support. This gives us the surreal display we're seeing now where it supports not only coming from team-funded lackeys, but theater companies, nonprofit, team banks, even groups representing communities that were destroyed the last time a stadium was prioritized over the best interest of the public. It can quibble over numbers or future estimates, but facts and optimistic wishes don't support this project. In spite of what everybody in favor of this project and proposal are here to tell you, this project won't redress past wrongs. It won't produce affordable housing. It won't magically create jobs or invest in the community. This stadium will only revitalize the value of this. That's it. All of the expense of very real, very pressing needs facing this city and the people living here will be on the people. We can't bankrupt our city into prosperity any more than we can starve ourselves out of hunger. The reading to this embarrassing transfer of public wealth into private hands will only promise devastating conditions for the city of the year. Unlike the mayor, everyone on this council owes its citizens robust and hard-nosed negotiations for every public dollar it spends. Those on the council who have examined this proposal, listened to their constituents, and come out against it deserve praise for their efforts to protect the people they represent. It's encouraging to see that majority who recognizes a clear tip to export the city's financial resources. The council members who are unsure or even supportive of this project should match their example and reject this proposal completely. Thank you. Madam Chair, no more speakers. Thank you. Thank you so much. Now we're going to close open forum. Public hearing was scheduled to begin at 5.01. So we're going to move to the public hearings now, and we're going to ask Coast Compliance Assistance Director, Joe Waugh, if he will please come and present J-1. Move approval. Second. We have a motion and we have a second. I see no request to speak. Is there a presentation anyone is requiring? No. Hearing none, clerk, can you please open the machine for voting? Council member, please cast your votes. Now that our present council members have voted, can you please announce the votes? Madam Chair, motion to approve agenda item J-1, passes unanimously. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Waugh. Now we'll move to J-2, approval of a resolution codenaming Irvin Avenue South between Yale Street and 24th Street, Curtis Long Avenue South. Move approval. Second. Sorry. We did have a card on this, so we'll ask for the public comment. Elizabeth Zipplin, you state your name and address for the record. You'll have three minutes to address council. We're going to try this again. Good evening. I'm Elizabeth Zipplin, 661 17th Avenue South. Great to see you all. Thank you all for your service to our community. I don't really think I need to speak on this, but as the current pastor, I just want to lay a foundation. If you never met Reverend Long, he was a towering figure whose leadership profoundly shaped both our shape and the broader community. Reverend Long was not just a pastor. He was a mentor, a legend, and the beacon of integrity who dedicated 33 years to nurturing his congregation, enhancing the lives around him. His impact was profound, and we had envisioned honoring him alongside Ms. Alice Long, who herself was a pillar and the strength of support in our community, but sadly, she passed away, and we memorialized her on Saturday. She did not witness the fruition of our collective hope and our testimony to this lasting legacy. Together with our neighbors, we have reached an agreement to reflect our deep admiration and respect for Reverend Long's contribution. As the current pastor of New Faith Free Methodist Church, along with our members, I am honored to propose the official codenaming of our street to Curtis L. Long Avenue South. This gesture is a tribute not only to his legacy, but also to the enduring spirit of both Reverend and Mrs. Long, who together have left an indolible mark on our hearts and our community. Thank you. Thank you. And please, please let me introduce our planning and historic preservation planner to, Andrew Jurowich. Did I say that correctly? That's correct. Thank you. First time here, so thank you for the introduction. We wanted to make sure that we acknowledge you and welcome you. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you so much. Councilmember Driscoll. Thank you. I just wanted to thank all who worked on making this happen. I had the pleasure of meeting Reverend Long a few times, including one time when we were placed on the same team by Kenny Irby for a Not My Son walk around the neighborhood there when his church was the host church. And we just had a wonderful time. He was a very kind man, and I think that he really channeled his faith to impact many, many people throughout his life. And so I'm thrilled that we're honoring him in this way. Thank you. I want to take a moment also to say thank you and Pastor Sippling for pursuing this for Pastor Long. We all in the community knows just how instrumental and how valuable he was to the city of St. Petersburg. And the way that he and Mrs. Long gave to our community, this isn't even enough. But this is a fantastic tribute to a fantastic man, and I want to thank you. And all of that made sure that this happened. When I heard when it first started, I wanted to jump on it. But me just voting yes for it is enough. I'm excited to vote yes to rename this street. So I thank you so much for that. Councilmember Montaneri. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just had a question for staff of something that came up in the CPPC report. Apparently, a council member back in 1995 had a question about co-naming streets. And information was supposed to be brought to us. Can you address what was discussed here in the CPPC meeting? Regarding, I'm sure, let me look at the staff report because I'm trying to, I might have to segue that off to Derek as well. Yep. Derek Kilbourne, manager of urban planning, historic preservation. I think, are you, are you referring to the discussion about just the status of co-naming streets in the city of St. Petersburg? Okay. There has been past discussion about removing the option for co-naming streets and replacing it with an honorary street name program. It's a little different because it takes out the kind of the legal piece of this, and it does not require or change any type of mailing address. So, there has been past discussion about it. It has not been high on the priority list of initiatives to pursue, but it has been something considered in the past. There have been street co-namings that have come up. In recent years, we have traditionally recommended against them, but they have been much more substantial requests. In this case, because the roadway is only two blocks and it's terminated at both ends, we felt that this was an appropriate opportunity to recommend approval since the option still does exist in the code. Okay. Very good. Thank you for clarifying that. I just was brought up in the report, and it was, it also was stated that it would be cleared up here at the city council meeting, so I wanted to bring that up. I'm, I'm in approval of this. Thank you. Thank you. Seeing no further requests to speak, it's been motioned and properly seconded. Can you please open the machine for voting? Council members, please cast your vote. Seeing that all present comments have voted, can you please tally and announce the vote? Madam Chair, motion to approve agenda item J2, passes unanimously. Thank you. Thank you and welcome Mr. Jewett. Thanks y'all. Thank you. So now we'll move on to a good news report item, F1, where CBA 11 pulled as good news by Councilmember Driscoll. Councilmember Driscoll, would you like to introduce? Yes, thank you. Thank you for this item. I just wanted to take a moment to allow Mike Jeffers to kind of explain how this came to be and what the plans are from the Parks Department for this. In the, in the, in the great neighborhood of Harbordale, there is a small park, Harbordale Park, that is beloved by the neighborhood. On the corner of the park, and it looks like it's actually part of the park, is this little house that has fallen into disrepair. And it blocks the view of the park, so if you're driving by, if you don't see the sign for the park, you might miss that there is even a park there. Um, it creates some challenges with, um, security and safety for those who are using it. And, and lo and behold, um, it came up for sale and Mike kind of took it from there. And now today we have an opportunity to expand the park space, improve the park, and really make it a safer and more enjoyable space for everyone. With that, I'll turn things over to Mike. Well, council member, you gave my complete and entire report, so, um, didn't leave me with a lot of meat on the bone, but I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll give it a go. So, uh, yes, no, I was going to start off and say there are good news reports and then there are great news reports. And I would argue that this is a great news report and an opportunity that we've been looking for, uh, for a very long time. There are several parks throughout our system that, um, have anomalies or have, uh, properties that really would complete the puzzle or would really make it a much more, more usable space. This is one of the, the parks that has been on our list for a very long time. As council member Driscoll indicated, um, we have heard from some of the neighbors that have lived there for 20 plus years that they had no idea that there was a, uh, park there. Um, if you look at the, the document that we have on the screen and in front of you as well, um, the property that we were talking about is, um, in white, uh, the park is in red and then the property that we're talking about has the 50 and the 100. I think there's a pointer on this, if I'm not mistaken, try not to put anybody's eyes out here. Oh, geez. Now I'm, now I'm moving through the PowerPoint. So, sorry, Jordan. Perfect. This one. Perfect. Okay. So Harbordale park is right here. You can see the red box. That's showing us, um, Harbordale, Harbordale park is right here in red. Um, and as you can see, it's a unique, uh, uh, parkland that, um, is completely capped off by this residential property. This is the property that we are proposing and requesting that you approve today. The property, uh, not only blocks the entrance to the park, but also really creates a line of site issue for, um, from a sept head perspective. Um, as you can imagine, um, anything that happens behind that property really goes unseen. Um, and we all know you've heard this from me and from my team over and over again, that appropriate parks users drive out inappropriate parks users. And so we're really hoping that if we're able to purchase the property today, uh, if we're able to demo the property, return it back to a park, a park like, uh, setting with, uh, some minor improvements. Um, we do have a playground already on the property, but we are proposing today that we would, uh, demo the property, re-sought it, um, add some irrigation, uh, some new signage, tree plantings, that sort of thing. We would really make it look contiguous. And so it would be part of the entire Harbordale park. So again, we are extremely excited about this. I've been working very closely with council member Driscoll. I know she is, uh, next to giddy about this, uh, this purchase, if we're able to do it tonight. And I know mayor is, um, very, very excited. So to be in a built out, uh, city, a built out community, and to be able to add to our parkland inventory really is just a once in a lifetime opportunity. Um, we all know that, uh, land, they're not making it anymore here in St. Pete. So I'm happy to answer any questions that you have. Um, but again, we, um, we are very, very excited about this opportunity and we thank you for your time. Thank you. And for the record, uh, that was our community enrichment administrator, Mike Jeffers. I was wondering if you were going to introduce yourself. So I just want to make sure we're there for the record. Um, we do have public comment on this. We have one card, Madam Chair. Franklin Elvis, please step up to the podium, state your name and address for the record. You'll have three minutes to address council. Franklin Elvis, 1244 ninth Avenue, South St. Pete. So what's gone now, but if you look at that map that was there before the address, I had one two seven on it is actually my mom's house across the street from the park. So we are greatly like super, yeah. One two seven right there. Uh, we are super excited about this mainly because of all of the challenges of that property. There are causes for us. There's a lot of, of, um, negative behavior that is attracted because of the obstruction. There Harbordale has done many, many cleanups. They're taking out clothes, taking out, uh, drug paraphernalia and a lot of other, uh, can't think of nice ways to say it. Negative things that are, that can happen when something like that is obstructed. So I really hope that a lot of this moves forward, especially just considering that I've seen, I hope my mom take care of the yard and do it. I spent a lot of time there. I've been accosted by people who work in the park and would like me to pay them for services in the park that I would like to not happen in there anymore along with, um, that property is just in bad shape. I've seen over the last few months, people wanting to look at it, buy it, and they, and I kind of go across the street and ask them how it is. And they're like, it's, I can't buy this. It's not safe salvageable, anything like that, along with, actually, it's kind of it. Honestly, please say, approve this because it would really just help reshape this neighborhood to just be a nice place. So thank you. Move approval. Second. Council member Montaneri. Thank you. Well, this is a, this is one of those very no brainer type of votes that, uh, we, I wish we could, uh, always have, have things like this. I went out there yesterday and, uh, just parked and walked around and, uh, I see, and thank you for coming in and speaking because, uh, during the day it looks that the property isn't very, very nice, but you, I could imagine what, what might go out there at night. It's beautiful, uh, little park, great neighborhood, great, uh, great fit, uh, for our park system. And thank you for bringing up the accepted, Ted issue also. So, uh, very happy to support this. Thank you. Thank you. Seeing no further requests to speak, motion and properly seconded, can you please open the machine for voting? Council members, please place your votes. Seeing all votes open cast, can you please tally and announce the votes? Madam Chair, motion to approve agenda item F1 passes unanimously. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we'll move on to our new ordinance item E1 and joining us is Development Review Services Planner 2, Cheryl Begalo. Clerk, can you please read the ordinance item? Ordinance number 1166-V, an ordinance approving the vacation of 9,723 square feet MOL of 42nd Street South between lot one of the partial replat of block W Fairmont Park and lot 16 and block D of the Fairmont Park Platt, generally located at 690 42nd Street South, setting forth conditions for the vacation to become effective and providing for an effective date. The public hearing for this item is May the 2nd. Move approval. Okay. So no presentation. I see no request to speak. So, uh, we've been motioned and properly seconded. Clerk, can you please open the machine for voting? Council members, please cast your votes. Now that all present council members have voted, can you please tally and announce the votes? Madam Chair, motion to approve agenda item E1 passes unanimously. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. So now we're going to move into our new business item, G1, that Council Member Hanowitz, and I understand that we will have a co-sponsor of this particular item. So, Council Member Hanowitz. Great. Um, so just a little bit of background. Um, since early last year, I've been having conversations with Administrator Foster and Joe Waugh on this issue of short, short term rentals. Uh, I've had residents complain in my district. Um, we discussed the complaints, the open cases, the fine structures. Um, and they've been working on it, you know, and then we get, I get a new, uh, article come May of last year where Tampa Bay Business Journal had announced that St. Pete and Tampa were among the top 10 in Airbnbs. And again, I had another meeting with them about the issue and I've had various meetings. Um, then we've been getting emails from a resident, uh, regarding, um, her actions and trying to enforce our ordinances. And from there, we have this new bill that came, uh, Senator Disiglie's bill, um, that gives us some possible options that we can explore, uh, that are going to give them some tools in the box to kind of work, uh, through some of the issues. So that's why I'm bringing this agenda, um, new business item forward. Um, and my understanding is I think there's another council member that wants to co-sponsor it and I would love someone to co-sponsor it with me. So, um, with that being said, I respectfully request a referral to the public services and infrastructure committee for a discussion on exploring the city's ability to issue super fines and establishing a short term rental registry. And I so move. Second. So for legal purposes and clarification of all colleagues, we know that we're expecting a, a co-sponsor. So attorney, do we need to go ahead and vote on the original or? No, there was two ways to do this. As long as the original movement in this case, Council member Honowitz accepts the co-sponsor, then that's fine. You would just go to the vote on the, on the motion. If you were to oppose it, then there would be a separate vote as to whether to allow the co-sponsor, but thankfully that won't be, doesn't appear to be the case. I don't oppose it, but I would love to hear from him. Thank you. Council member Floyd. Yes. I would like to co-sponsor this. Do you accept? Of course. Yes. Thank you. Uh, and thank you for bringing it forward. I wondered what, um, really the implications would be of that new bill in Tallahassee. And so, um, it wasn't super clear to me as I was looking forward, uh, looking through the information. And so, yeah, I look forward to really having this discussion so we can not just, you know, see what we can do, but just see what the implications are downstream of what, uh, Tallahassee worked on this past legislative session. So thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you. Vice Chair Gerdes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, yeah, with, I, I was made aware there was some discussion about this topic with some of the conversations I was having. And so, um, I, I was told by administration, I think you're good. Um, so I'm, I'm happy to see this. Let me, I'll just give you some, yeah, listen, I would, if I could, um, here's here, I would just give you one quick fact just because it's top of mind. Cause I was there yesterday at TDC and we were reviewing February's numbers for the TDC in February, St. Petersburg had 3,200 Airbnb and VRBO listings inside of our city limits. 3,200. That is a lot. And I have experienced the same type of phone calls and emails. I'm sure as the rest of us. So I am very much looking forward to this discussion and, and thankful to council member Hanowitz and council member Floyd for bringing this forward. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Council member Martinieri. Thank you. I just had a procedural question, uh, because you brought up, uh, Senator DeSiglie's bill and the governor hasn't taken action on it yet. No, they, he did. The governor. I was told that the governor, the governor hasn't signed. I was told he had. That's what the reason. No. So I told you guys would be nice to me this afternoon too. I, I, I, in all seriousness, I, I've not reviewed, I could not tell you, I've not reviewed the bill. I don't know the status of the. All I'm saying we can move forward with referring this. I'm just saying if the governor ends up vetoing this bill, how is that going to impact this? That's, that's my question. We won't have the discussion then. But my understanding is cause I was, that was told that it was ready to go. So that, but we won't have the discussion. I mean, if that happens. Thank you. So council member Montaner, you're done. Okay. Thank you. Council member Gabbert. Thank you. And thank you council member Montaner for bringing that up because that was exactly my thought process. Um, because I mean, we even heard Senator DeSiglie and a side kind of comment say, well, we don't know what the governor's going to do yet. Um, there is a lot of talk that this bill could potentially be vetoed. So it would be my request. I mean, I'll support it today, but it would be my request that it does not get, um, slated for PSNI until after we know what the governor's going to do. That's not a problem. All right. Thank you. Sounds good to me. Do we have a motion? Yes, we do. Yes, we do. Okay. Now that we have a motion, it's been properly second. Can you please open the machine for voting? Council members, please tally. Now that all council members have voted, can you please tally and announce the votes? Madam chair, motion to approve agenda item G1 passes unanimously. Thank you. So now we're going to move on to our second open forum. Madam chair, we don't have any speakers. No speakers. Okay. So any announcements? Vice chair Gerdes. Thank you, madam chair. Uh, just two quick things. I was able to attend the, uh, arts conservatory for teenagers breakfast this morning. And let me tell you, I was blown away with some of our local talent here. Uh, it was just an amazing way to start, uh, the day, especially with waking up with some not so great news in my district, but, uh, what an amazing, what amazing things they're doing, uh, over at act and just wanted to give them a big shout out because they really just, they, they blew me away and can't wait to spend some more time with them. Second, we have some birthdays. Uh, our own Loretta Taylor's birthday is today. And council member Gabbard's birthday is on Monday. She told me earlier, she's turning 30. Uh, and so, so, uh, let's sing happy birthday. Yeah. Ed. You told me Ed's is on Wednesday. I only, you know, I'm the, you're supposed to keep, you're supposed to keep trying. Listen, I remember my wife's and my two children. All right. Pass that. I'm capped out. Okay. So we've got an Ed. Yours is next Wednesday. Ed, do you turn 32? Oh yeah. Nice. 32. 32. Uh, so let's sing happy birthday. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, Loretta, Brandi, Ed. Happy birthday to you. Thank you, Madam chair. And seeing no further requests to speak or any other announcements, we're officially adjourned our April 18th council meeting. Thank you.