City Council - Feb 19, 2026

Welcome to the City of St. Petersburg City Council Meeting. Your elected officials are Mayor Ken Welch, District 1, Hopley Gerdes, District 2, Brandy Gabbard, District 3, Mike Harding, District 4 and Council Chair, Lisseth Hanowitz, District 5, Deborah Figg Sanders, District 6, Gina Driscoll, District 7, Corey Gibbons Jr., and District 8 and Council Vice Chair, Ritchie Floyd.

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the February 19, 2026 City Council Meeting. Clerk, could I please have a roll call?

Gabbard. Here. Harding. Here. Hanowitz. Here. Sanders. Here. Driscoll. Here. Here. Floyd. Here. Here.

Today we will have our invitation given by our neighbor and Pastor Don Warden. If you can please stand up. She's with Christ United Methodist Church. Then please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Shall we pray? Gracious God of wisdom and compassion, we pause before the start of this meeting to give you thanks for this city and all who call it home. We give you thanks for the brothers and sisters gathered here today who serve us with their time and money and energy and look out for St. Pete, her wealth of land and her people. Guide the leaders here with clarity, humility, and courage that their grace with one another and the subjects they must deal with is overwhelmingly pleasing to you to the point that no one doubts that we are all extensions of you, God. Let us each see and feel your love for us as the inspiration for our unity and cooperation together. May every decision be shaped by justice, mercy, and dignity for each person, especially those who struggle to be heard, seen, or helped, but are our community brothers and sisters alive with us, wishing for safety, hope, and opportunity. This we pray in your reverence and in your name. Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Please be seated. Thank you so much, Pastor, for the beautiful invitation. Council members, we have an agenda before us. I'll entertain the motion for approval.

Move approval.

Second. We have a motion and a second. Clerk, if you can please open the machine for voting. Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all present council members have voted, clerk, please tally and announce the vote.

Madam Chair, the motion to approve the agenda passes unanimously.

Thank you. We have a consent agenda. Clerk, do we have any cards?

We do.

Okay.

Okay, I'm going to call two speakers at a time. When I call your name, please go to an open podium. State your name. Cross Street for the record. You'll have three minutes to address City Council. The first two speakers are David Sokol and Brandon Schroff.

You can please go to one of the podiums, each of you, yes.

Good morning, David Sokol. I own Fresco's, and I'm happy to be here because there's an extension on the consent agenda. So procedurally, I'm not sure if I should have waited for that and just done it in the open forum. But as you know, I've had that restaurant for 24 years. We've been through so much. I've got 100 employees. And so we've been trying, you know, my lease was set to expire on April 30th. And now there's been approved for another one year. I know that the decisions being made on the marina are very difficult. And you've tried all different types of things. And it's not an easy decision when it's so expensive to do something like that. And so we're just kind of caught within that because we are part of the marina. The one thing I would ask is if you just kind of maybe let me be included in any discussions, I'd be more than happy to submit unsolicited proposals. I've even offered to help pay for building a new restaurant at the location or right next door to, you know, like I said, we've survived. Helene, we lost all of our equipment, $100,000 worth of equipment. Two weeks later, Milton comes, and so we emptied the whole restaurant out, including everything and all of our walk-ins, and went over and donated thousands of dollars in food to the fire department because they had everybody there for the emergency. So we've continued to be a good citizen in town, support every charity that comes by and says they want a basket or something. So thank you for your time.

Thank you. Mr. Sokol, this is the right time to give comments for consent agenda.

Thank you for having me. My name is Brandon Scharf. I'm the general manager of Fresco's Waterfront Bistro. We just wanted to thank you sincerely for granting us the one-year lease at the restaurant. I have been there 10 years now, and just the amount of employees, like David said, that we have and seeing them grow and succeed has just been a tremendous honor. And we just want to move forward and continue our work to serve and give to this community. So we just wanted to thank you.

Thank you. Any other public comment? No consent agenda?

The final two speakers are Jennifer Bunt and David Sokol, Jr. Please go to an open podium. State your name, address, or cross street for the record. You'll have three minutes to address city council.

Go ahead, ma'am.

Hi. My name is Jennifer Bunt. I wrote up something, so I'm going to use my three minutes for you guys. From the bottom of our heart, we want to thank you for granting Fresco's the one-year extension. Your decision means more to us than words can truly express. It gives us hope. It gives us time. And it reminds us that our story here still matters. Fresco's is not just a place of work. It is my home. It is my life. And it is my happiness. It is love. I have been there for 21 years. I raised all three of my children within those walls. They grew up on the waterfront. And the owner and his family have become my family. The staff is family. Our guests are family. That building holds decades of memories, laughter, tears, celebrations, and milestones. We have stood strong through every hardship that has come our way. We've endured the oil spill when the fear and uncertainty slowed our tourism and shook our waterfront. We survived COVID when our doors were forced to shut and our entire industry was turned upside down. We cleaned up and we rebuilt after hurricanes. We operated through years of pure construction, navigating road closures, limited access, and constant change. We absorbed every challenge and every storm and every setback. And we stayed. We stayed because this is our community. Fresco's has been the setting for first dates, proposals, weddings, rehearsals, birthdays, and so much more. We employ local families. We support local vendors. We welcome visitors from around the world and give them their first glimpse of our beautiful waterfront. We are part of the heartbeat of St. Petersburg. As you look toward the future and consider plans for our waterfront, I ask you, please do not forget about us. Do not leave us in the dark and include us in the vision. Also allow us to continue growing alongside the city we love so deeply. We are not just a restaurant asking for time. We are a part of St. Pete's history. We are a part of its present and we want to be part of its future for decades to come. This saying goes hand in hand. We are St. Pete and we are Fresco's.

Thank you. Thank you. Good afternoon, everybody. I'm David Sacco, Jr. Obviously, that's my father. Very thankful for you guys for doing this for us. I started working there when I was 14. I'm now 28.

Your address, sir, just if you're with Fresco's, you can say that.

Oh, 1,474th Circle Northeast. Thank you. Like I said, it's been a very, very part of my life, a very, very long time. I started working there for 10-plus years now. And, you know, I left to play baseball. I came back because I love it so much. And we couldn't thank you enough for what we don't. We've won Best of the Bay five years in a row for Best Waterfront Restaurant, thanks to our local beautiful people of St. Pete who vote for that through Creative Loafing. And it's been a tremendous success. Like they said, we've overcame so many hardships throughout the times, throughout the years. It's been a terrific part of my childhood, my friend's childhood. They all love, they recommend Fresco to everyone. Everybody I play golf to, I recommend Fresco's to. I'm not trying to sound biased, but it is one of my favorites in the city. But I might sound a little biased, but that's just my opinion. But once again, thank you guys so much for everything. Appreciate it. Thank you. Any other public comment?

No more speakers, Madam Chair. Council Member Driscoll.

Thank you. On the consent agenda, there are two items that I didn't want to pull for efficiency's sake because I just consider them to be good news items that I'd like to point out. And I will start with item CB5, which is the renewal of the lease for Fresco's. And I appreciate that David and other David and the team have been able to come here to speak on that. It's very touching. And I'm very proud to support this, and I want to take the opportunity to thank you all for being part of St. Petersburg and our waterfront for so long. Fresco's has been around for more than 20 years. It's one of the legacy businesses that we talk about when we talk about the new legacy business program that's launching now. And I do hope that as we move forward with our plans for the municipal marina redevelopment, that we will be able to move toward the future with Fresco's standing by our side and bringing that past, bringing that rich tradition forward with us as we envision the new marina. But for today, I just want to thank you for being such a jewel on our waterfront and for all that you've done for the community as well. The other item that I wanted to bring up was item CA1, and that is regarding the selection of Wanamaker Jensen for the A&E for our new police canine compound. This is something that I have been very passionate about since the first year I was on city council. We've talked about it many times over the years, and I'm so excited to see that we're at this point now really moving forward with a location and a plan. This is something that is going to help enhance public safety by enhancing the canine work through this facility. And I'm just really excited to see this on our consent agenda today. Oh, I see that we have, I didn't know if any members of the police department wanted to speak on it at all. But Chief Kavasa, since you just walked in, I will tell you thank you so much for all of the work that you have done on this. It's really wonderful, especially my last year on council. I can see that it may not be finished by the time I leave, but we got the ball rolling. And I just appreciate that so much. If you want to speak at this time, you're perfectly welcome to. I'm not used to your shirt and tie thing. I had to do a double take when you first walked in.

I didn't wear a uniform today, so I had to dress down a little bit. No, but it was great. So it's moving forward, and I appreciate everybody's assistance with that. It was nice to be able to pick out the design team. We're looking at trying to get the construction manager on board and moving that project forward. It's going to be great. It's long overdue. It's going to get them out of the area that is right next to Lake McGorry and open it up for fire department, be able to expand their operations as well. So thank you, everyone, and we really do appreciate it.

Thanks. Thanks. Yeah, it's truly a win all around for everyone. It really is. And there were many very qualified teams that bid on this, but I feel extremely confident that Wanamaker-Jensen will be able to create something that we're proud of.

Yes, they will.

All right. Thank you. Thank you. That's all I have. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Council Member Driscoll. Move approval.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. I just want to say I agree. I'm very excited about the K9 compound already getting the ball rolling, which has been rolling for a few years already. I know a lot of us have been dealing with this since we first got on City Council and even before, so it's nice to see that it's going in the right direction. And also thank you, Fresco's and everyone here on behalf of Fresco's for the work that you do and very excited about the extension. We have a motion and a second. Clerk, you please open the machine for voting. Council Members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all present Council Members have voted, Clerk, please tally and announce the vote.

Madam Chair, the motion to approve the consent agenda passes unanimously. Thank you.

Now we move on to open forum. Clerk, do we have speakers? We do. Can you please read the rules? Thank you.

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 individual wishing to speak may sign the open forum sheet. Only city residents, owners of property, business owners in the city, or their employees may speak. All issues discussed under open forum 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. Applause is not permitted except in connection with awards and presentations. 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 the Raise Hand 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 reach 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 live public comment is disrupted by violations of the rules of decorum, the chair is authorized to accept public comment by alternate means, including by email only, and I'm going to call two speakers at a time, Madam Chair. First two speakers, once you come up to the podium, please state your name, address, or across street, and you will have three minutes to address City Council. Mark Ferguson and Jordan Starr, I believe that's what it is. Please go to either podium.

Hello. Thank you for letting me speak today. Mark Ferguson, 7937 9th Avenue South, St. Pete, Florida. I'm here to talk about the Booker Trail, Booker Creek Trail. We're so excited that this is finally happening. It's taken years and years, and I want to personally thank Evan Morey for staying on top of it with the city and finally getting this thing done, and it's all coming together. So we can't wait to have this connector that will connect neighborhoods, businesses, and more growth in the city for more jobs. So thank you very much.

Thank you. Hi. Jordan Starr, 126 14th Ave, Northeast, partnered Allison Development. And I just wanted to echo kind of what Mark was saying. We're fortunate enough to be developing property here in the best market in the country. And, you know, by the time I was brought into the fold on the CSX conversion, a ton of work had already been done. Evan Morey, Doug Hathaway, Trust for Public Land. But we were an extremely enthusiastic yes to join the team and really help in any way we possibly could to emphasize what this potentially could be in connecting the residents to the north, down to Central Avenue, and helping enhance the energy that's already there and really promoting Booker Creek to be the amenity that it can be for the edge. So just wanted to come out. Thank you for the time and hope you support it. Thank you.

The next two speakers, Madam Chair, Justin Quirnoyer, I believe that's what it is, and Nicole Waters. Please go to either podium. State your name, address, or cross street. And you will have three minutes to address City Council.

Go ahead, sir.

Hi, City Council. My name is Justin Quirnoyer. I'm a resident at 1026 9th Avenue South in Campbell Park. I'm the vice president of the Campbell Park Neighborhood Association. I'm a local transportation safety activist. And like a quarter of my neighbors in Campbell Park, I live day to day without a car. I'm here to talk to you about something unrelated to the agenda, but very important to me and my neighbors. I'm talking about Dr. MLK Street in St. Petersburg. And the topic is One Road, Two Realities. So, and Complete Streets Funding for MLK Street South. MLK North and South have similar daily traffic volumes. They're the same size road. It's the same city. However, MLK North had 32% fewer crashes than MLK South in the last five years of data collection. Since the MLK North bike lane was installed in 2018, there's been a 19% reduction in crashes. MLK South in that same time period had a 15% increase in crashes. MLK South had two times the number of crashes resulting in serious injuries or death for pedestrians and cyclists. 17 people were seriously injured or lost their lives on MLK South. Those are neighbors that are no longer with us or have had their lives forever changed or are living with a disability. So, what's the difference between the two sides of the road? MLK North has a protected bike lane. It has mid-block crosswalks. It got the Complete Streets treatment. MLK South doesn't have any of that. We also see that when we do road protections like bike lanes, they protect more than just people outside of cars. They also reduce crashes for those inside of cars. MLK South is in the high-injury network of streets. It sees a disproportionate number of crashes. So, we've had this Complete Streets plan for more than 10 years. We've spent years planning. We just finished the Southside Mobility Study, which included a walk audit of MLK South. That plan only received $750,000 for implementation across the entire South CRA with 30,000 people in it. It's only enough to build maybe two or three crosswalks. Ford Penalas has MLK South, completes funding as number 26 at the very bottom with no foreseeable date for funding. I believe that we're in a crisis of public health, and I believe that you, as City Council, have the power to actually save people's lives. We can't wait for federal or state grants anymore. Many of you mentioned Complete Streets funding in your budget priorities this year or for next year. So, I'm asking for us to fund Complete Streets using City funds and also South CRA funds. We know that there's money in the CRA for more than just developing housing, which is important. I think we can do more with the South CRA dollars. The Southside neighborhoods are organized with me, and we're ready to see the change. It's shameful that a decade has passed with only one side of MLK receiving improvements, while the other side, we're seeing people losing their lives. We're a little bit fatigued by the years of planning, and we're ready to see some action. Please fund Complete Streets conversion for MLK South. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Go ahead, ma'am. Good afternoon, Council. Thank you very much for having me. My name is Nicole Waters. My address is 8119 36th Avenue North, and I'm here representing the EDGE Board of Directors. And like you heard from Mark Ferguson, we are also in favor of the transfer of funds in order to support the Booker Creek project. We understand the positive impact it will have on our community and our businesses, and we're very excited to see that project move forward. Thank you.

No more speakers. We close open forum, and now we move to reports. First up, we have our St. Pete Police Department. Good afternoon, Chief. How are we?

Good afternoon, Madam Chair, Councilmembers. So this report is going to be covered for our fourth quarter at the end of the year for October, November, and December. So for 2025, the last quarter, we had one homicide. That one homicide was drug-related, and the person is in custody. I'd like to also mention that in the year of 2025, we had 10 homicides. We closed out nine with an arrest. We are working on the other one, just waiting for some more information to come in. We should be able to close that one out. In 2024, we closed out all our homicides with an arrest, and we did the same thing in 2023. All homicides were closed with an arrest. Good report. You can see from the GRIT team. Third quarter, we had 70 assigned cases. This quarter, we had 36, so that shows there was a reduction in gun calls for the end of the year. Guns stolen out of cars. You can see that trend go up and down, but staying steady, I think we're probably going to try to get it down to at least maybe 10, wishful thinking. But we did have 32 guns that were turned into us, also during the same period of time. We saw a slight uptick in crime for the fourth quarter. Robberies were up, and also motor vehicles were up. But we normally see that. If we follow our trend for the year, we always see an uptick in the fourth quarter of every year. And that could be due to the fact that kids are out of school. Things are just—but every fourth quarter, we see an uptick in crime. With that uptick in crime, we also saw an uptick in arrests. But overall, the good news is crime is down in the city, and we just want to make sure we highlight that. And I know the mayor said something yesterday at the State of the City Address. Homicide, that's the lowest it's ever been since 1967. So that just says a lot about everyone, and I like to call it tick. It's due to technology, it's through the investigation, and it's through community. Those three things involved in it, you're seeing a deep decrease in crime in every category. Citations are down. Our accidents are going down. Our fatality accidents are going down. But we're still doing enforcement. As you can see on our Facebook page, we still tell people when we're coming, whatever we're coming to. And we still write a lot of people for speeding in the neighborhood. We give them a warning, but they still want to speed, and we're more than happy to give them a ticket. Our Second Chance program is doing quite well. The three that did not succeed, two did not show. The other one that did show up for the training, he was being very disrespectful for, so we asked him to leave. This is going to be the last time you see the Second Chance program here. We've now partnered with the Sheriff's Office and also with Ford together. So now we're going to take that program and put it on a bigger scale, because we're already addressing the kids that are on felonies. So we still are going to give the kids services right away, just moving to a different category. Our home unit, again, working with the Sheriff's Office and other agencies throughout. We still monitor our kids. Our PATH team is still doing a great job making contact. We're going to start seeing an increase in that because the weather is cold up north, so everybody comes down to visit us during the wintertime. But the team is still out there making contacts and giving referrals to our people that are in need and that want the service. Park, walk, and talk. As I spoke to the officers, I told them I want quality park, walk, and talk. You may see that number go down. And what I mean by that is just because you check out the Wawa's and you get a cup of coffee, that's not a park, walk, and talk. That's getting a cup of coffee at Wawa's. So what I want them to do is actually get out. They're still talking to people, but I want them to walk in their zone. So we looked at those numbers. We just want to make sure that we're doing exactly what we say we're doing. Eagle Eye program, we've got another 15 people. Again, you're going to see that change a little bit because technology is changing. And what I mean by that is within the next couple of months, you'll probably be hearing from people that have doorbell. And what they're going to do, they're linking with another company. So when we go to an area, they can tell us who in that area has a doorbell or whatever ring, and then we can contact that person automatically, and we can do an upload from there. So that's going to help out within the next couple of months. Hopefully that will work out for us. Use of force, we had 404. Of that 404, we had one complaint, and that's right now in the Office of Professional Standard, and that is under investigation. The call program, as the mayor talked about, I think, to, again, the city council, you can see we're still going strong. 97% of the calls that we're going on, again, is without law enforcement, and the key thing is zero injuries. Forward Together, that's what we're talking about, second chance. We're going to be moving more things toward that. 62% of the kids that are in this program, again, they're not reoffending. We're giving them the tools they need, the job they need, and we're helping them out with that. The arts, you saw that yesterday. We're still working with kids. We're giving money toward those programs. And Clearwater for Youth, again, these are the kids that are involved, and we want to make sure to take care of the kids that are involved in athletics, paying for equipment that they need. The parents can't afford it, so we're still giving them costs for that. And our PAL program, where we still work with our kids together. So with that, I'll be more than happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. Council Member Driscoll. Thank you. Thank you, Chief, for the report. Just a few quick questions for you. And we'll start with the slide. They're not numbered, but the one that has some detail on crime and St. Pete being down. This was a big announcement that was made recently. And the slide tells part of this story, and it gives examples. It covers homicide, robbery, and auto theft. So is that where the numbers come from, is just from those three categories?

No, ma'am, they do not. So it also comes from aggravated assaults are down by 19%. Larcenies are down by 16%. And then they do a subcategory that we report to Florida Department of Law Enforcement. So violent crimes overall is down by 15%. And property crime is down by 16%. Overall crime is down by 16%. So those are all the categories. The only category that is up is forcible sex. And the reason why that's up by 12% is because they changed the category on that. So if someone touches a female or touches a male, that counts. So finally, so those got added to that category. So I'm not saying rapes are up. It's just because they added different things in there. We saw an increase in that.

Okay. And then when you were talking about this slide, you mentioned the TIC?

Oh, it's Technology, Investigation, and Community.

Okay. So those are the three keys to this number, right? Yes, ma'am, it is. As for all the crime, because of the technology we have, the investigation, the officers, and community involvement. Right. So it sounds like there have been improvements in each of those categories.

Yes.

Can you give some examples? Just real quick.

Sure. So through our department at ATF, we have the NIBI machine. That's the machine, again, about the recovery shell casing. Instead of us waiting three or four months now, we're getting those back in three or four days. The way we take fingerprints, our license plate reader, just all the technology, our drones. So we just have a lot of things now that we can put right out that gives the investigators a good lead. So when they're talking to a suspect or a subject or talking to the community, they have all that data. And then the biggest thing is the community providing us information, giving us leads so we can solve these crimes. So those three components working together, we keep continuing to see crime going down. You can go on our webpage, and you can see it's not just this year, within the past four or five years. I shouldn't say that. But in the past 10 years, we had a trend we're down, except during COVID years.

So crime has continued to trend down in the city of St. Petersburg.

Right, right. It seems like whenever you come to give the quarterly report, you talk about how crime is down, with very few exceptions. So it's great that that trend is continuing. Moving on to the numbers that you had on the PATH unit. This is just a suggestion. We look at this, and I see in the fourth quarter there were 603 total contacts made.

I'm starting to wonder, where are those contacts being made? Is there a significant number that's in one certain neighborhood or one certain part of our city? What does that look like in terms of neighborhoods or zip codes? I'd love to just see the geography of this.

I can get that to you. It's going to take some time because I think it's a PATH unit. And then I can see the PATH unit is citywide. So I'll get those numbers, or I'll get the XY coordinates for you, and I'll be more than happy to share it with city council.

Right, right. And I think that would be important to show that not only is the PATH unit citywide, that's because the need for services and the need for that outreach is citywide as well. It would be great to see that illustrated in some way. Any time. Thanks. And then finally, with the park walk and talk numbers, I'm glad that you've been clarifying that with your team and making sure that everyone knows what it is and what it's not in their everyday work. And I appreciate it when I do see our officers out doing that and having those great conversations with our neighbors. In the downtown area, you know, that's where you use a lot of the golf carts or the mules for the officers to get around. Is that, if they're driving around in one of those, is that considered PWT time? Because it's still a vehicle, so.

It's still a vehicle, so it's not a park walk and talk. They're driving around in a vehicle. So it either could go down as a directed patrol because the commander could say, hey, there's a hot spot, so I want you to go to that area. So then it would be classified as a direct patrol, so that number is captured also. But if they're just driving around in a golf cart, no, that's not a park walk and talk.

Okay, I've just had a couple of people in recent weeks mention that they don't think they see police officers walking around downtown as much as they used to. And I was trying to figure out why that might be, and I didn't know if that had something to do with it. If they're being in one of the golf carts actually is the same thing to you as them being out walking around.

No, ma'am, and they're covering a large area, so if they were just walking around, they wouldn't be able to cover the whole area they're supposed to be covering. So they may be in a golf cart, drive to another location, and they don't get out and do a PWT. But as they're driving around, no, ma'am, that is not a park walk and talk. That's driving around.

Okay. Thank you for that clarification, and thank you for everything that you and the rest of the department are doing. To help keep people safe. I just, one more thing, you know, when we talk about the numbers and crime being down, that really is something to celebrate. I want to make sure that the public's perception of safety is right there with it, that that is growing as crime is going down. So crime might be down in the numbers, but the perception of public safety might still be lagging. And so that's where I think we've got some work to do, and I look forward to talking with you more about that as we go on.

And I've said it before, the police department cannot reduce crime. We can reduce the fear of crime. And because one person could get out and he or she could commit 10 burglars that day, then I'm going to come to you and say, hey, guess what? I had 10 burglars, but it was one person. But as long as if somebody can go out in the middle of the night and they're not afraid of being robbed or a house being broken into, then that's our job. That's our main job as a police department. But the city decides you're going to have crime. There's nothing that we can't stop that. But if people are not afraid to go out at night, which they're not because we know how downtown the city is very busy and is very active. So we just got to make sure that we continue to lock our cars, lock our homes, report when you see something stolen or see something suspicious, that we can continue to work on that. So as a city, we're doing great with law enforcement, technology, and also with the community help. All right. Thank you so much. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Council Member Gibbons.

Thank you so much. And thank you, Chief, for being here today. Technology, investigation, and community. Those are very important. Three pillars. I want to talk a little bit about technology because I had a conversation with one of the chiefs this week about a situation that occurred at Citrus Grove and how technology actually helps solve one of the investigations that you all had. I want to talk a little bit about this Eagle Eye program. I think some of the gaps that we have in the program is just not everybody has access to the technology. Would you agree to that, Chief?

Yeah. People do not buy a doorbell or whatever they call it. Yeah. If you don't have a camera in your home, then we don't have access to that.

And we talked about that. And I was wondering, from administration's perspective, is there an opportunity for us specifically in neighborhoods that may be more crime prone to look at investing some of our CRA dollars into purchasing some of those ring doorbell cameras?

We can certainly research it, Council Member. I'd want to talk to the City Attorney's Office about that type of investment, what programs we have set up, be private property investment. So there's some things we would have to think through there.

Awesome. Thank you. I appreciate that. And I was just wondering, you know, maybe if there was some sort of rebate program we could offer, I don't know, just to supplement the cost of that. Because, again, economics, right, socioeconomic conditions, that is a barrier. And we have to acknowledge that. And I think if we can work with the community to try to plug in those gaps and fill that need, that could definitely help support our community and help lower that crime rate that we talk about. Again, we can't expect police to solve every single problem, but I certainly think that the onus and the responsibility should also be placed on neighbors. Neighbors playing a part in the role of solving these problems and also safeguarding our community. Public safety is an issue. And I think if we don't invest in that technology and invest in our community, then the problem will continue to worsen. You talked a little bit about an investigation. It's my understanding there was an arrest some time back. I don't know if this investigation was connected to the arrest where there was a use of force investigation that was taking place. Was this the one that you were referring to, Chief, in your report?

Yes, sir. And that's an investigation, so I cannot talk about it.

Yeah, no problem. But what I want to talk about is the investigation process because I'm big on transparency and trying to be as transparent as we can to the general public because people ask me and I ask you. So I just want to talk about that process. What does that process look like whenever there is that internal affairs investigation? Who's involved in it and how long does it usually take?

Sure, so once the complaint is filed and is shipped to the Office of Professional Standards, they will interview the witnesses. They will interview the victim or person that filed a complaint. Once all that is done and compiled, then they will bring the officer in, the accused officer. Then he or she will get a chance to look at that and make a statement. And then from there, it will be reviewed by myself and the three assistant chiefs. And we'll make a finding on whether the conduct was founded, unfounded, sustained, and then we'll release that to the public.

So that timeline could take approximately how long?

There is a set timeline, and I can't remember. I think it's 60 days or 90 days that we have to have it completed. I'm not sure exactly. It might be 120 days, but it has to be done within that period of time.

If you don't mind following back up with me on that, I'd appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you very much, Chair.

Thank you. Council Member Harding.

Thank you, Chair. Chief, thank you very much. The stats you present, we don't have anything to compare it against. But I have to assume that the city is doing a much better job than most. Actually, I looked into it. We are doing a much better job than most. And I think that the page that you put up that is most poignant, that I wanted to make sure that we didn't overlook, is the one that I think you alluded to. We had 16 complaints for the past six months in total. But at the same time, we had 354 commendations. And that goes back to a conversation I had earlier today about vision and culture. And to work in an industry where most of the interactions that you have with your customers, if you will, start off negative, to have 354 commendations speaks volumes to you and your command staff. And that's evident by having the officers go out and do walk-in talks and trying to create positive environments. But all those commendations didn't come from what started out as a positive interaction. Some of them came out of what started off as a negative interaction. And I want to make sure that everyone watching understands that this is a culture issue. That things are going very well in this city because you and the command staff and the officers have created an environment where there is trust. And there is a belief that we're going to come and help you. And I really wanted to thank you for that and make sure that we recognize that 354 compared to 16, I'd take the 354 any day. So congratulations on that. We want to make sure that we highlight that. That's a pretty big deal. Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir, for mentioning it. And yet you're absolutely correct because you think we use force 404 times we've got one complaint. So that says a lot about what we're doing out there. Thank you, Chair. Thank you.

Well, thank you, Chief, for the quarterly report. I didn't realize that wawas were so popular for coffee. We have a lot of coffee shops in the city so they can spread the love while they park, walk, and talk. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Next up, we have F2. We have Advanced Air Mobility Task Force, the final report and recommendations. And we have our former council member, Ed Montaneri, who is doing the presentation. Good afternoon.

Thank you, Chair Hanowitz. It's great to see you. City council, staff. It's good to see everybody. Thank you for inviting me here today to make a presentation on the work of the Advanced Air Mobility Task Force. We tried to write this report in a way that a layperson who might not be knowledgeable about aviation, this emerging technology, city issues, things like land use and zoning, could pick up the report, read it, and understand it. And we moved all the technical information into the appendices. So if you want to dive down deeper, there's websites, links to technical information, and all kinds of things like a glossary there in the report. We also included a short narrative on the history of aviation here in the city of St. Petersburg. As many of you know, we have a rich history here. The first airline began right here in the city of St. Petersburg in January 1914. And we see a correlation between that first airline flight and where we are now with this emerging technology with Advanced Air Mobility. So today I'm going to review the mission that you gave us, the processes that we took to study it, subject matter experts that came to our meeting, and then go over our recommendations. This was the mission that city council and the mayor gave the task force. Our mission was clear and concise. This slide is right out of City Council Resolution 2025-106 that you passed in February of last year. The first two bullet points there evaluate the role of Albert Woodard Airport in accommodating advanced air mobility, and the second one evaluate the need for standalone vertiports within the city of St. Petersburg. From my perspective, those were like the heart of the recommendations, but we went into a level of detail on all of them. It took a sustained effort by many people and organizations to make this report possible, and we have a great group of citizens here in our city that need to be commended for their work to study, understand, and make meaningful recommendations to address the mission that you gave us. I'd like to take a moment and have the task force members stand up so I can introduce them. I see Walt Triggers. Can you stand up? I know Max Glaser is here. Max is here. Is there anybody else here from the task force not seeing them? They need to be commended for the work that they did, and everybody did to make this happen. We also had, as you know, a wonderful staff and great staff support. I was asked when I came here if one of our recommendations was to recommend that Beth Herrington gets a raise, and I said, well, we just love Beth in the way that she kind of came into the task force a little past halfway through our process and has jumped in with everything else she's got going on. She's an amazing lady that knows how to get things done, and I call Beth a happy warrior because she does things in a positive manner and is just very effective. Our legal team is totally amazing also. Brett Pettigrew, for some reason, always seems to get the short straw with really tough assignments. I don't know if Jackie has it out for you, but this was not one of those assignments. This was a whole lot easier, but, Brett, you did a wonderful job of helping us kind of come up with a process when the going got tough, especially when we started making our recommendations. When you have a 12-member task force, it can get kind of complex, and you kind of helped us through that process. Ben James and Sarah Lucker were fantastic also in helping us on the legal front. Rich Lesniak, Rich and I go way back. Rich is right over here to my right. Rich and I started working together almost 20 years ago on the task force after the referendum in 2003 on what to do with Albert Woodard Airport. Janie Ullman, as everybody knows, Janie keeps the trains running on time here at City Hall, and she was the perfect person for the role that she played in the task force. And finally, Doug DiCarlo with ESA. He's our consultant, and Doug did a wonderful job on helping the task force out also. You've seen this slide before. This was our schedule in the meetings that we had, and we brought in a lot of subject matter experts, and we dug down deep on this project. And we had our first meeting on April 23rd of last year, and our last meeting was January the 26th. And we spent most of our time in kind of the education phase of the task force and learning about all the subjects that you all wanted us to look into. And then we got into the recommendations, and that was difficult, but we came up with everything that addressed everything that you all wanted us to look into. And then we took up our final report, and we reviewed it and adopted it in a unanimous vote of the task force. Before I get into the specific recommendations, there are some kind of the larger issues that we kind of looked into to kind of guide us when we came up with recommendations. I'm not going to go through every one of these bullet points, but I do want to touch on some things. The foundation to aviation is safety. Without safety, nothing's going to take off. So advanced air mobility needs to be safe, and it needs to be reliable. The city of St. Petersburg was a leader back in 1914 with the advent of the first airline. It needs to be a leader in advanced air mobility. We want to protect the existing uses at Albert Whitted Airport, and that needs to be a priority. What we don't want to do is have a tradeoff of introducing advanced air mobility and then not allow the current users of the airport to operate as they need to. We have the same feeling with non-aeronautical unit uses. We don't want to interfere with the Grand Prix or any other business that's not an aeronautical use at the airport. Advanced air mobility needs to be integrated into regional state transportation planning initiatives. When I was introducing the task force members, we had the head of the Ford Pinellas, Whit Blanton, on the task force, and he played a real key role in our study because that addresses this integration that is essential. And then the last bullet point on that first set, a robust public engagement strategy is essential. And that, I just want to report to you all, that does not seem to be happening right now, and it needs to happen. This technology is going to transform the way that people get around. And we didn't have a whole lot of people come to task force meetings. I don't know if people are aware that this technology is coming, but it is going to change the way we do business. Getting into the recommendations, Paul or Chan, can you put up a figure B, please? I wanted to talk a little bit about vertiports because a lot of people think that vertiports are the only way that you could take off and land an advanced air mobility aircraft. And if you think about Albert Whitted Airport, and we didn't know this when we first started studying it, but we have helicopters operating out of Albert Whitted Airport, and we've had them operating out of the airport for years. What I didn't know and what a lot of us didn't know is we don't have a helipad on Albert Whitted Airport. We have a designated parking area for heliports. And the reason for that is on this slide here, you can see the yellow lines that parallel the runways, and those lines are 500-foot setbacks from the operating runways. And you're not allowed, the FAA does not allow you to have heliports, and vertiports are going to be like heliports within those boundaries and have active flight operations going on. So how helicopters operate out of Albert Whitted Airport is they operate kind of like an airplane. They've got to come down the approach corridor, and then once they get over the landing zone, then they can air taxi to their parking spot. And as you can see, on the north side of the airport, north of the main runway, there is no place to put a vertiport within that 500-foot boundary. But we're recommending that we have parking spots in the vicinity of the terminal, both north of the main runway and south of the main runway. And then the two Vs that you see on the southern part of the runway, in the future, we want to have, that's the place where we think we can have vertiports. And on this slide, you can see kind of the yellow area that is the arrival and departure path that the FAA requires. And that's why we superimposed it over that vertiport. That's a little bit north of the Albert Whitted Water Treatment Facility there. But that's the path that we would have to put up there. So, Paul, can we go back to the presentation, please? So, in the short term, within the next three years, we're recommending that we designate parking spots for advanced air mobility aircraft. We install electrical charging stations. Along with that, we need to have the fire safety systems in place. We want to utilize the existing runways, like I talked about. And we need public accessibility, and that's what the terminal is going to be used for. And then in the longer term, we want to build dedicated vertiports based on the market demand, and those vertiports would be south on the south side of the airport, like I showed you. Like I mentioned before, all the improvements need to be integrated with these existing flight operations, and then both for aeronautical and non-aeronautical uses. Another big recommendation is to follow up with this task force report. We're recommending that an alternatives analysis study be done on Abbott Woodhead Airport. And that is like a mini master plan to specifically identify exactly where the parking spaces would be, the vertiport infrastructure would be, and how it's all going to be integrated together. And it will also have some specific funding guidance in there. On standalone vertiports, our big takeaway on this one was, as we discussed this item, we made a determination that the market needs to decide where standalone vertiports are going to be outside of the airport. We didn't want to identify certain places that vertiports should be within the city. We have, like, general guidance. They should be close to different areas, and it's in the report. But when it comes to specifics, we thought that the market needed to determine where that should be. The city does need to create the minimum standards for these standalone vertiports. And that list there with the operations and airspace, charging stations, fire safety systems, public accessibility, and noise and visual impacts all need to be considered. So the city needs to come up with those standards. Some of you may remember a few years ago, there was a demonstration over at Tampa International from a company called Volocopter that flew an eVTOL. And their operation was like a flying Uber. And they wanted to put these on top of buildings. And I think those are the types of things that the city needs to consider on how that would work. The city needs to continue to stay engaged with this industry. As we met and had our task force meetings, we met about every three weeks. And the amount of information that changed from the previous meeting was amazing, whether it was regulations that were being put forward or industry-changing uses. And it's one of these rapidly evolving industries that we need to stay on top of. Federal and state grant opportunities need to be established. And then our city code needs to be updated also. We had Derek Kilbourne come in and give us a briefing. And we don't have minimum standards for either vertiports or heliports in our code. And so that needs to be updated. And then when it comes to standalone vertiports, the city needs to create a process to approve new vertiport and heliport sites. So one of the things that I mentioned in one of our meetings was you think about some of this new construction that's going on downtown. And let's say a building owner comes to the city and says, I want to put a vertiport on my building. How do I go about doing that? And we don't have any sort of any process. We haven't thought that through. So that needs to be developed. And then when it comes to regional planning, we need to work with the state and federal agencies and our MPO. One of the big recommendations on this slide is to create corridors to allow advanced air mobility aircraft to transit to certain areas. There's a lot of destinations on this map, but the number one and the number two priority is connecting Albert Whitted Airport to Tampa International Airport because a lot of these OEMs are pairing up with airlines. So an airline is going to be able to sell a ticket from, let's say, Delta Airlines from Atlanta to St. Petersburg, and we need to have that corridor to connect to Tampa International. The other thing that's happening very quickly in the state, in the updates I told you about how the state is very aggressive in this area, the state has built the SunTracks, which is the far western part of this map here. It says SunTracks, air ground. SunTracks is kind of like a combination autonomous vehicle test center for ground-based autonomous cars, but also advanced air mobility.

And what we need to concentrate on is getting a connection to that test center so that they come to St. Petersburg. I think it's essential that the city of St. Petersburg begin advanced air mobility operations as quickly as possible. And then we need to promote and coordinate advanced air mobility across the region. This last recommendation that we have is to create what we call the Janus Center for Aviation and Innovation. Our city has been an innovative city since its founding. We're studying a disruptive industry that is going to change the way that the world works. And I want to make sure that we cover the education, the training, the workforce development side of it. But I also want to bring manufacturing, whether it's components or vehicles. But I want the city of St. Petersburg, and we're recommending the city of St. Petersburg be a leader in this industry. And this is one of the thoughts that I have moving forward. Yesterday, I had a very good conversation with Becca Brown from Spark Labs. And I had met with her like three months ago and talked to her about advanced air mobility and what the city of St. Petersburg is doing. I'm going to meet again with her next week, and she wants to get ARK Invest involved. And I've also talked to educators, whether it's the superintendent of public schools, college presidents, and other educators, to start finding partners for this center. And I'll close with just a short statement, and it's in the summary of our report. But advanced air mobility represents the next transformational chapter of aviation, and St. Petersburg is once again in a position to lead. From the launch of the world's first commercial airline in January of 1914 to today's pursuit of the next generation of air transportation industry, The city has consistently been at the forefront of aviation innovation. Advanced air mobility is not a departure from that legacy. It's a natural evolution. For advanced air mobility to truly revolutionize the movement of people and goods, Verdeports, including supporting infrastructure, must extend to Albert Woodhead Airport across our city, to other regional airports, surrounding communities, and throughout Florida. Building this network will require foresight, coordination, and commitment. These are qualities that have defined St. Petersburg's aviation leadership for more than a century. While some contend that large-scale advanced air mobility operations will take years to mature and reach widespread affordability, history shows that transformative aviation advances reward those who prepare early. The FAA, along with the FDOT, have an ongoing collaboration with OEMs to certify and integrate advanced air mobility aircraft into the national aerospace system that underscores a deliberate safety-first approach that aligns with the city's longstanding commitment to innovation. Preparation is not optional. It's essential. The task force's structured, forward-looking mission has laid a strong foundation by building knowledge, evaluating opportunities, and shaping actionable recommendations. The steps outlined in this report position St. Petersburg to lead once again. We strongly believe that embracing short- and long-term development of advanced air mobility reaffirms the city's role as a pioneer in aviation, just like we were in 1914. Our recommendations are reasonable, practical, and affordable. On the behalf of the task force, I present the report to you, and I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Harding.

Thank you, Chair. Ed, thank you very much. In typical fashion, this is done to the nines. Thank you to everyone who participated, and thanks for spending time with us today. Give us a sense. Is this currently happening anywhere else in the country now? How far behind are we, if we are behind?

Right now in the country, there are certain states that are ahead of us. A state of Ohio comes to mind. They are building innovation centers, I think, in Springfield. Was it Springfield, Ohio? Yeah, Springfield, Ohio, similar to the one that we're recommending that we build. New York City is doing a lot of things also. So I think everybody, when it comes to transporting passengers, we're all waiting on the FAA to certify these aircraft. We're thinking that some may be certified as maybe late this year or early next year. Overseas is a different picture. China is flying passengers right now. In the Middle East, there's operations going on also. But they don't have the regulatory structure that we have with the FAA. And the Europeans are very similar to the United States with their regulatory structure. So the Europeans aren't flying any eVTOLs carrying passengers right now.

How will this? I assume that the difference between drones that bring you your food versus this is just the component of carrying a human being. Is that how they separate drones from?

Well, so there's a company called Wing that is working with Walmart that's doing package delivery right now in Tampa. And there are some people here in the city of St. Petersburg. I think you're going to see package delivery services.

Do they come under the same jurisdiction, if you will, or is it?

I don't know the answer to that question. Rich, can you help me out with the package delivery question?

So technically, it is kind of a different realm. Basically, they're going to be 400 feet and under, whereas advanced mobility is going to look at least initially more like traditional aircraft and is going to operate more like traditional aircraft. Now, down the road, the longer-term vision is that these will also become autonomous operations. But the initial wave of it is going to be pretty much piloted, so it's going to be like a regular aircraft, just electric-powered.

Okay. So from a complexity standpoint and how we look at possibly putting these around the city, will all of these come under air traffic control? Yeah.

Yeah. The initial route, they will operate in the airspace just like a regular aircraft.

Yeah. You want to go ahead and put out a Help Wanted sign now? What's that? You want to go ahead and put out a Help Wanted sign now for all the folks you're going to have to shove in that tower? Yeah. Exactly. Okay. Well, that makes it a little bit more complex. Back to my question, and I think you put a point on it already. But if you had to put $5 down on the calendar somewhere, where would you put it in terms of this is the day that somebody is going to crawl into one of these in St. Pete and fly?

That could happen any day with a single-seat eVTOL. They're flying in California right now. There's a company called Jetson that sells a drone called a Jetson one that you can buy for, is it like $150,000? Yeah, about $150,000 you could buy one of these things. We talked about it in one of our meetings, they have to operate like an uncontrolled airspace. And we have parts of the city, I think it's in District 1, way out west. District 1 always has. That's where it would be. Yeah. But that's where the uncontrolled airspace is. They could operate one of those things.

I know that we look pretty much specifically at the airport, but in works with legal, any talk of or any issues with land use or anything the city would have to address?

Yes, there is, and in the report there's some recommendations on land use and zoning, and some specific things do need to be addressed in that.

Okay, so from the perspective of the business that we have, if I understand correctly, anything up in the air is the FAA. We have no jurisdiction whatsoever.

That's correct.

We just need to worry about land use and how that works its way out. Yes. Okay. Yeah. All right. Thank you very much again. Greatly appreciate it. All right. Thank you, Chair.

Councilmember Driscoll.

Thank you, and thank you for the great presentation, and thanks to all of the members of the task force who worked on this for months and came up with a fantastic report. This is exactly what I had in mind, and then some, which once you were involved, I'm sure that was to be expected. And thanks for mentioning that District 1 is out of control. I don't know if I said that. So there's a lot to unpack here, and there's a lot of work to do. I would love to get some input from Brett from Legal on this because I see these recommendations. I'm inspired by it. I'm ready to get going. But where do we start? And did you all in the task force or have you thought about what would be the right sequence of events for us? Do we start working on the parking spaces and zoning right now or figure out where we would put the aviation center? I love that. I mean, where do you start? But to get us, I love the center idea, but, like, we've got to start getting ready for action.

So the first place is to do this alternatives analysis of the airport. The task force, I mean, we had a short period of time, and we have somewhat broad-type recommendations. The alternatives analysis is going to be much more specific on exactly where on the airport the parking zone should be, what sort of electrical capacity we're going to need, if we have a battery storage operation going on. Because some of these companies are thinking about doing, like, a battery swap-type issue. So in the city, you can walk and chew gum at the same time. But the alternatives analysis, I think, needs to get started right away. And then the land use and zoning clarifying design standards for both heliports and vertiports, along with creating a process. I can just see somebody in a high-rise coming to the city before too long and saying, I want to see a vertiport built on my building. So I think those would be, like, two good places to begin. And then let me just follow up. I'll be meeting with SPARC Labs, and I want to make sure that we have some actionable items so we can kind of get this process starting. And I think that's a good place to begin also.

Okay. Got it. All right. I'll hold it. I look forward to hearing from my colleagues. So I'll wait. Thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Gabbard.

Thank you, Chair. And thank you, Ed, as always, for producing stellar work. You know, this is obviously your passion. And so I would have been surprised if it would have been anything less. But you have done a phenomenal job in the entire task force. While you're here today, thank you all for the work that you've done. And, Brett, thank you, as always, I appreciated the shout-out earlier because you do always tend to get the more interesting things to do. So I appreciate all of your guidance in this. So my questions will be brief and not even really a question, just maybe a place where I can help to support. So you talked about the regional support piece, and that is so important. I think that, you know, we can look at our transit today and note that if there would have been regional collaboration decades ago, we would be in a much different place, right? And so this is a piece of it that I think is critical to getting right and doing it now. The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, I think, should be plugged into this work. I think that there is work that they can do to support these efforts. And one of the things that they have done in the past is model ordinances. And, you know, if a city decides to look at that and adopt that in its entirety so that they don't have to do the work internally to amend their ordinances, they can. Or it can also just be served as a guide to some changes that could be made on whatever specific topic. So that might be something that may help the city with our bandwidth of looking at our code, and it could set a model for the entire region. So I'd be happy to connect with you, connect you with the Regional Planning Council staff, and see if we could maybe start some collaboration there. Because I really think that, I mean, St. Pete can be a leader in this. We should be a leader in this. But we cannot do this alone if it's going to be successful. So I just wanted to offer that as, you know, something that maybe I can be helpful in. And this certainly is not my area of expertise, but it is something that I think the regional cooperation piece, I would like to be involved with you. So, yeah, we'll talk about that and we'll work about that.

And that would be a big help. Whit Blanton would like me to also brief for Pinellas soon. And if I could ask a question along those lines, because the task force needs to be sunsetted by City Council. Brett, can you kind of remind us when that will happen? Is that coming before City Council soon?

Actually, thank you, Chair, Vice Chair, members of Council. That actually was addressed in the resolution extending the task force to really put the bow on this report. If no further action is taken by council, the task force automatically sunsets at the end of February. And so, as I told the task force, they can get together and have their out-of-the-sunshine party shortly after midnight on March 1st. But until then, they are still official members of the task force. So at that point, that housekeeping detail has been taken care of. So unless council gives them, adopts a resolution today to direct them to go do further work, the task force will sunset automatically at the end of the month. Thank you.

Okay, that was just kind of addressing, I want to make sure that there's not a sunshine law issue going before some other board in speaking.

Yeah, do you see any challenges with that? I mean, because Mr. Blanton is currently, they are both on the task force, if that meeting, if that briefing was going to happen between now and March 1st, you would want to sunset it sooner. Or it could be noticed. That would be the alternative, is it would just be noticed as a meeting of the task force, and then it would be in the sunshine.

Well, and that would also be coming before the Forward Pinellas Board, which would be a public meeting, so that would not be anything that would take place out of the sunshine, even if it happened before the sunsetting. But that I would leave to Forward Pinellas Chair Driscoll to kind of talk about. But specifically with the Planning Council, I'm the only representative for the city of Petersburg there, so you and I can talk about it all we would like, because we no longer live in the sunshine together. Absolutely. Yes, so I look forward to working with you on that. Okay, good. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Council Member Givens.

Thank you very much, Chair, and so good to see you, Council Member Montanari. I know that you're excited that this is over, but we're happy to have your recommendations. This is exciting. You know, St. Pete has always been a pioneer in flight, so it's exciting to see us lead in this area as well. You talked a little bit about education and workforce. I want to talk a little bit about education and workforce development with you, because this is something that you and I have spoken about, had this conversation with Albert Wittert as well. But in the sunshine, I'd like my colleagues to know kind of what direction we're going here. I've had great conversations with St. Petersburg College as well as Pinellas Technical College. Both of those institutions have shown a great deal of interest in finding out how they can really bring that aviation technical trade to St. Petersburg, to Florida. It's something that's missing. I think it's an industry that we really need to tap into. And I think about the future. I even think about air traffic controllers, right? There's going to be a shortage of those. So how can we really work to fill those gaps? And I'm glad you brought up Pinellas County Schools.

Yeah. So that was kind of the vision for the, like, Janus Innovation Center, to kind of pair up the educational component, which I think is very important. And I came before you, I think, in the first update, and I talked about the drone festival at Azalea Middle School that's in District 1. And then I met with the superintendent, Hendrick. And he gave me a list of all these other programs in middle schools, high schools, and technical colleges. I would love to meet with you and kind of go over this list because, to me, the educational component is fascinating. I'm a graduate of – I went to college at an aeronautical university. And I got bitten by the aviation bug as a little boy, and I know just going to these festivals that we have with drones, there's a lot of kids that are excited about this. And it's fun if you can turn your hobby into a career.

That's so true. And not everybody, you know, is going to be a pilot. But there's a lot of groundwork that pays a living wage. And I think exposing these young people to alternative careers and pathways to prosperity, that upward mobility, it's important. And I love that this is going to do just that. Walt Driggers and I, we had a conversation recently about Barrington Irving and his Aviation Technical Academy that he has down in Miami-Dade. I would love to see a duplication of that effort right here in St. Petersburg. And we have the resources. We have the tools. So I just want us to activate them. I do have a question. I won't be long, and this is, I guess, for legal, as far as what's next for us when we talk about further action. Do we need to formally extend the deadline for the task force, their meeting period? Do we need to have a motion for administration to act on the recommendations? What's next?

At this point, the task force has fulfilled its mandate. It was asked to meet, prepare this report, and come back. At this point, it really falls to, if council as a body wanted it to study further, you could ask it to do so. Otherwise, it sunsets, and it's really you take this information and do with it what you will, whether it's administration putting out an RFP for the alternative study, council budgeting for that, a new business item being introduced to discuss the land use item about providing more information in the LDRs about heliports and bringing in vertiports, which at this point the FAA regulates in a similar manner. So at this point, you have received information, and it is up to the two branches of city government to then use that as you see fit.

Well, with that being said, I'd like to make the motion that administration draft an RFP for us to start looking at alternative analysis for that site.

Are you done?

Yes.

Oh, thank you. Council Member Grutas.

Thank you, Madam Chair. First of all, Ed, thanks so much. I know I got to speak with you last weekend about this a little bit. Just everybody has said it. The whole task force, the consultants, staff, you guys just knocked it out of the park, and very appreciate all the work. And I talk about it all the time. Thank you for kindergartning it for everybody to figure this out, right? Because it does get very technical in the appendices, which is great, because we need that technicality. But we also want everybody to be able to figure out what we're talking about. I'm very, very appreciative of that. Piggybacking, actually, both things the Council Member Givens said, super excited about the prospect of Janus Center for aviation. I think this is really what I think sets this apart from just saying, yes, we want reports, and yes, we know EVTOL is coming. This is bringing it to a whole different level. I will say that there's actually a school closer to us than Miami Pasco-Hernando Community College has a full – they just took an old lab, totally gutted it, redid it, and they brought their drone school into their Dade City campus. And they're doing, like, six-foot drones at this point. And so they go out, they fly them. It's about not only flight, so some of those people move on to go into towers. Then it's fixing them, blades, the engineering of it all. It's kind of a full bore. So that's – and I'm sure some of our schools are doing it, but I'm not sure on that scale. I think they've probably got 100 in that class. And so we've got one real close to us that I think would be a good example of what we'd want to have here, just on a larger scale. Second, I actually was going to talk about what the next step was. It seems to me, because there's a lot of possibilities for a next step, that the next step would be let's have a committee conversation about what we want the next step is, because I'm not sure we're going to figure that out today. And so, Council Member Driscoll, I know this was originally your item. I'm assuming you'll put in an NBI to do that, and none of us need to do that.

Thank you. You can respond, too. Thank you. This item actually is currently on the referral list for EWD, so we'll just bring her back.

Love that. And so, yeah, and I appreciate Council Member Givens trying to move the needle. I just think there may be three or four steps that we want to go forward with, and I want to have that full-blown conversation about what that looks like moving forward, and committee seems the place to do it. And so I'm excited to keep this moving, because that's the one thing we don't want to happen, is for the momentum to stop. And so I'm very happy to hear it's still on the referral list. Again, Council Member Givens, appreciate the motion, but I think the committee is the way to do that, so we can do multiple things at once. So, Ed, great job. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Just going back to the motion, based on what you heard, and it's in the committee, would you like to withdraw that motion now, and that way the discussion can...

I do, and if I can make a comment real quick, Chair. I just don't want it to die on the referral list, so if we can take action quickly, especially with Council Member Driscoll not being with us much longer, we want to make sure that we give her the opportunity to see this come to fruition. So I just want to make sure we move that up. If we can see it come sooner than later, that would be great. But I'd like to withdraw my motion. Thank you.

Okay, thank you, and I believe that that's exactly what will happen. Thank you. Council Member Driscoll.

Thank you, Chair. I know that you haven't... I've spoken once already. You have not...

I'm not going to have... I'm just going to have some closing comments, so you can go ahead.

Okay. Thank you. All right. Thank you. So I'm looking at... The next EWD meeting is next week, so it's a little quick to put it on the next meeting, but we'll look at March and get it on there. In the meantime, I hope that with the sun setting of the task force, that the task force members can work outside of the sunshine, sunshine, sunsets, all this stuff. But we still need input. We would very much like to get some help with figuring out what to do between now and that March EWD meeting. So I don't want to, like, our conversation will stop until then. But with staff and any individual council members that want to talk to you, there's work to do. In the meantime, we've got some time to actually come to the March EWD meeting with some solid outlines for our next steps. Okay. And then the next forward Pinellas meeting is actually on March 11th. Okay. And Witt had mentioned to me that he was going to see if he could present at that meeting. So I don't know if you already have that on your calendar. If not, you're going to be invited.

Yes. I did not have that on my calendar, but...

Oh, well, I'll just let Witt ask you that. I got ahead of him. I'm sorry.

But, yes, I look forward to hearing what our Ford Pinellas colleagues across Pinellas County think about this, too.

So, yeah. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Harding.

Thank you, Chair. Ed, with some of the things that you have coming up, would it be beneficial if we released the task force now versus letting it sunset? Would that be helpful, or is there more business that you think needs to be done?

From a personal point of view, I'd be fine with sunsetting it today, but I would defer to legal. Could council do this in a motion?

Yeah, we would just memorialize it through a very simple resolution. You could make a motion that the task force is sunset effective immediately, and I would just write that up in a after-the-fact resolution, a very simple resolution that would be signed.

Okay.

So, Chair, I would like to make a motion that after many hours, tons of effort, and just a ridiculous amount of great work, that we let the task force rest.

Second.

We have a motion to second.

Clerk, can you please open the machine for voting? Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all present council members have voted, clerk, please tally and announce the vote. Madam Chair, the motion to approve the sunsetting of the Advanced Air Mobility Task Force.

Immediately? Yes, sir. Yes. Passes unanimously. Thank you. Chair, I had one other. Yep. Taking a whole bunch of feedback that came through today, both from Ed and from Council Member Gerdes, Administrator Gerdes. I want you to know that my birthday is coming up, and I don't normally ask for things, but Job Corps might go up for sale. And that might be something that we look at. We've already got a name picked out.

We'll be sure that we do sing you happy birthday. Well done, Mr. Gerdes.

Like a true professional. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Well, Council Member Harding, you beat me to the punch because I was going to ask whether Mr. Montaneri and the rest of the task force wanted to be released from the shackles of sunshine law. Because, frankly, your work is done here. You've done excellent work. Your diligence, your time, your expertise, it's evident in your, not only in the presentation today, obviously, but the report that you provided, which was everything that City Council asked for. Not just based on what I'm saying, but based on what all my colleagues have said today. So, spectacular work. We look forward to the continuing conversations at EWD on this. So, thank you. It's great to see you, as always. Great to see you, everybody. Thank you very much. You're welcome.

All right. Bye-bye.

Okay. Next up, we have F5. This is co-sponsored event applications, associated resolutions. Mike Jeffries and Lynn Gordon is here. I pulled this from consent because, as you all know, I have a pending business item regarding the co-sponsorship agreements. And I wanted to make sure that, first, in the sunshine, Council knew that I've been having conversations with Mike Jeffries. And his team, along with economic development in terms of all the issues regarding the different concerts and events. We've talked about size and duration of events, fees, access to public parks, the maximum set-up times and park impacts, noise mitigation, all the things that they're actually in the process of looking into. And I thought it was important to pull this because, first of all, there are community members that have been voicing concerns about this. And then they see this happen. And then it's in consent. It's like, what's going on? And so I wanted to give you an opportunity to kind of just touch base on what you all are doing, what this does. And in the meantime, it doesn't mean that these other issues are not being addressed. So, Mike?

Thank you for that opportunity. As you indicated, we are preparing for the Committee of the Whole to have the very robust conversation. We want to do a deep dive into events. For those of you sitting here at the dais, we've met with Chair Hanowitz. And we've spent a significant amount of time going over some different concepts and some different ideas that we would like to look at. And then offer some recommendations back to the entire council. We are reaching out currently to multiple cities that are like size, like demographics, like, you know, geographic setup at St. Pete. We're continuing that. We have not completed that at this point. We're also working with the legal department and continuing to meet with them to come up with some best practices. So we're really just taking a look at events from start to finish. Today, before you, is our standard co-sponsored event package. And so we chatted with the chair. And we're not sure what's going to happen with the Committee of the Whole and how that's going to go. So it was important that we continue with the process that we currently have. So that's what's before you today. I will tell you that there are some events that are on this list today that are waiting for this action from council to start selling tickets and to start promoting their event. I'm also happy to report that we have reached out to some of the larger events. And we've asked them to really get creative with us. And are there ways that they can reduce the number of days that the parks are pulled offline? So there's two events that we have that pull Vinoy Park off for longer than a three-day period of time. That would be the Country Fest and Reggae Rise Up. And so we're working with those promoters now to see if there's any possibility of getting a smaller setup period. And we're also working with some of the other events as well. And as we've continued to do, we've worked with events on placement of speakers and making sure that we are the best neighbors that we can possibly be, while remaining a vibrant city that has a vibrant, active downtown. So you guys hear me say this all the time. It really is that balancing act. And that's something that we're working on. And we will look to the policy deciders when we bring it forward to the Committee of the Whole to have you all tell us what the events in the city look like as we move forward. The other item that we're working with, we continue to work with our partners in law enforcement, PD. We're working with them on ways, Reggae Rise Up is right around the corner. So that was already approved. And so we're working with them to look for some help with some of the concerns that we've heard, even at our most recent event that we had, public urination, some things that we're not real excited about, of course. But working with the police department to help us get those under control.

Great.

Councilmember Driscoll. Thank you. And thank you for pulling this. I was going to ask about that committee discussion. And I was happy to see that you pulled these items already. With the events that happened in December, it became very clear that some change needs to happen. And following that, there was a news article that quoted the mayor as saying that he was going to, you know, work on changes. We received an email from Chief Holloway with information about the event, where he said that he was going to work on changes. So I want to know what's been done so far. What kind of changes are we talking about here? Because we have our mayor and our police chief both saying in response to the problems with the event in December that they're going to work on changes.

So as we previously indicated, that's kind of what the cow is for, and that's what we're working on right now.

No, but they said they're working on something. And maybe, Rob, this is more of a question for you.

I'm with them, so I'll let Mikey.

Yeah, and the event that you're mentioning is the We Belong event. And so that event is not in this package at all. And candidly, we've not received an application. Correct me if I'm wrong. Have we received? We have. We have not moved that forward at this point because we're wanting to really fine-tune and make sure that we understand what we legally can and can't do. So those are some of the research components that we're continuing to work on. I think when mayor is saying that he's working on some changes, I think he's expecting Beth Herondine and her staff. That was an event that happened in the Peer District. And so we're kind of looking at it as a comprehensive approach where we're looking to treat all events kind of the same. But, again, as Lynn indicated, that particular event from December has been put on hold at this point until we continue to have the discussion at the cow.

Right, and I, too, am looking at events in general and not targeting anyone that is specific. I can look at this list of the events that we're being asked to approve, and most of them are familiar. But I worry when I look at this, I'm like, if I don't recognize one, is it just like that one? But it's just called something different, and it'll come with the same problems.

So I can tell you that there are no EDM concerts that are in this?

It's not even about that. I'm sorry to interrupt. It's not about a specific type of content. It's about the disturbance that was caused. So I don't know enough about these groups to know if we're inadvertently approving more of the same.

So I can tell you that we are of the opinion that you are not approving more of the same kind of concert that happened in December. We have that application on hold, as we've said. There's one new concert that's there. I will tell all of you that every one of these events is going to frustrate somebody in the community.

Not like this. I agree with you. Not like this. Council Member, I absolutely agree with you.

We're absolutely on the same page, and that's really what we're continuing to work on to come up with those solutions and best practices. I don't have those as I stand here today.

I do believe we have, it looks like, three new events. I'm sorry. It actually looks like just two new events. Both of them are taking place at the pier. There would be One of Us, which is a concert scheduled in April at the pier, and the cliff diving event, which is coming up in June. The One of Us event is a concert. They're estimated about 3,000 people based on the application that we have from them. And the cliff diving event is not a concert. It's a proposed event, which will draw more people to the pier district and into downtown. But I am rather comfortable saying that we don't have anything that would compare to the December event. We knew that one was coming. We already had that application for the event similar to the one in December, and we did pull that back. So everything else on here are returning events except for those two events, One of Us and the cliff diving event. Everything else should be new events or returning events, perhaps with a new organizer. But same general concept as to what you've approved in the past.

Okay. And do we know when that committee discussion will be held?

The problem is I'm waiting for them to get the information from other cities because the issues we're having is the noise ordinance and looking at comparable cities and what they're doing. And also looking at timing of events, like how long they keep the parks closed, what they charge these promoters. Because what we're collecting versus what other people are collecting, some of these events, they charge, they close off the park, and they charge people hundreds of dollars to go to these events. And what we're collecting versus what they're getting seems very small for the inconvenience to our citizens and to the fact that park users can't use the park and all that. So they're looking at a comprehensive list of things to make sure that when we have the conversation, it's not just noise. It's literally everything else.

Okay.

And I'm going to bring it as soon as possible. And we had that conversation. It was clear, not just by the way, from what I dealt with. I knew for a fact other council members had gotten complaints throughout the city on the We Belong Here concert. And I want to just focus on one event because my new business item preceded that concert because of the issues. And to be clear, your concern is valid when you look at these applications. The We Belong Here concert was touted as an intimate event in the app. You would look at that application, and I could read it, and you would not know what that concert was going to be like just by looking at what they put on that application. So that's understandable when you kind of look at these applications. Usually the problems, and Mike knows this, is after the fact. It's never before. It's always after the fact of a concert, and then you find out all the issues. And unfortunately, Mike is here. It's not his team that reviews all the concerts alone because you have the ones that are at the pier that also are James Corbett's team and Beth and Tony and everyone else. So there were eight people that we met with, at least.

And we will all be at the cow, and everybody is participating in the research as we speak. And we're working feverishly to get that information so we can schedule the cow so that we can come before you. The challenge that we're having is getting some responses from different cities and different counties, and we really want to come to you with the best information possible and the best of what others are doing with similar concerns and issues.

I'll hold for now. I'm not sure what to do here. I'm really not because we have you here, and I know that I can trust that you have done your homework, that you have done everything you can to try to ensure that what you're bringing us is something that we'll be okay with approving. There is a whole other department that's not here that's responsible for events that happen at the pier. That's where we had a problem. Some of the events here are taking place at the pier. So already we've got a team that's not part of this conversation here today, and we can't wait forever and keep approving events and not take any action. There are some of us who heard from a lot of people, a lot of people. Some of us heard it ourselves. We have to be able to respond. I don't feel comfortable with approving this today. If we did them one by one, maybe because some of these I know they don't have the amplification that we're talking about here, but you've got to treat everybody the same, too, and have the same set of rules for everyone. So, I mean, what I'd love to do, I wish we would have just put everything on hold until we get these changes put into place so that we have something. There is nothing that, without any changes, the police can't do anything more than they did in December. No one can do anything more. So we're being asked to approve something by the same standards that failed us just a couple of months ago. Hi, Beth. Hi.

I just wanted to make sure that council is aware that if it's on this list for co-sponsored, it has gone through the co-sponsored process in coordination with Dennis Burns and Mike and his team. So we don't work in a vacuum. So they, if it's on this list, it has been vetted through the co-spot process.

There are definitely, there are options as far as what we do with the current list. I will tell you that there is some time sensitivity to some of these events that I'm guessing if we don't get approval today, that the events would find another location. So, you know, that is a potential option as well.

Well, maybe that's just the break we need until we can figure this out. I'll leave it at that. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Council Member.

And thank you for this conversation. First, I want to speak on behalf of those that don't even have a clue of what we're talking about. So if someone can share with those that are watching what the concern was back in December. Because you have some people that do not know what happened in December and what we're even having concerns over.

Yes, thank you, Council Member. In December, we did host a new event called the We Belong Here. I think just We Belong Here is a festival, an electronic music festival. And we have actually been talking with Noah and whatnot. But due to a variety of events, some including weather, the type of music, the bass and whatnot, the music could be heard throughout the city, throughout the city. And as we had mentioned in another meeting, that had happened one time before, many, many years ago, with a different type of an event, with different type of music. So, but because of that one event, and it was, I live on 42nd Street, I could hear it there for a little while, and I understand in other areas of the city, we're having these conversations. So that's the impetus for these conversations.

Okay, and thank you for that. So I do understand the concern because I heard it. Yes. I heard it, and so, you know, I'm glad we're having this conversation. My only concern, and I do appreciate the fact that you entertained the option of us voting on per event, because a lot of these events are their only forms of revenue to provide services for whatever it is that they're doing. And so for us to no longer be financially sponsoring these events, for us to cut off their revenue, I really don't want to be a part of that. If there are some that we already know are, I hate to say the word, safe, but because we know their, what they, you know, how they operate, we've seen them, we've approved them several times. Some of the new ones we may be able to better vet, but some of the ones that are on here that use these dollars from these events to further their efforts and their mission, I would hate for us to stall that, because you know how slow we move. I'm just going to go ahead and make it real. Well, we move quite slowly, and we have not sponsored financially an event since 2009, financially, and it's been a long time. So I would really hate for us to cut off some of the revenue that a lot of these events are actually funding for their mission to move forward. So if there is an option for us to vote on these individually, I would love to exercise that option and not totally dismantle those other good actors who we haven't had any issues with for years to stall what their funding, and this may be their one major fundraising opportunity for that one bad actor. So I'm going to leave that there, and if that's an opportunity and the will of the body to do so, I would be glad to make that motion to approve them individually based on the ones that we know. But I just don't want to cut off their one source of revenue to move their missions forward, and I'll leave it at that.

Move approval 5A through 5FJ. Second.

Second. Okay.

So hang on. I'm going to say that just so it's clear. When we had the conversation, and I had the conversation with staff and just like council members who dealt with this, I was not happy. I mean, I made it extremely clear how serious this is. The We Belong Here concert was just outrageous, and frankly, you all saying that it went through the process and it was okay indicates that the process does not work. Period. To go up here and say that, and I respect you, Beth, and you know that, but to go up here and say that after we went through the We Belong Here concert, and we saw what happened, and the person, the promoter who we hire, who we pay a ridiculous amount of money monthly to put up the peer events, promoted that event as a intimate concert, and it could be heard to Gulfport, and then had the audacity to post on Facebook that he hopes that city council does not cave in to noise complaints, and I will show that at a council meeting, and he applies for these concerts. It's just not right, and I want everyone, I want clarity, and I want transparency when it comes to that.

And I don't disagree, council member, and I apologize if what I said was taken wrong. I just wanted to make sure that the council understood that the departments are working together, and it's, I, that wasn't, I was listening in another office, and, and that was the, the, the, the point that I wanted to make, is that community enrichment and city development do work together on these events.

I have the highest respect for you, I have the highest respect for the team, but something went wrong, and we all need to take responsibility. Yes. Us as city council, staff in every department, administration, the mayor, we all do, because when you have a concert like that, I don't want to hear it was the clouds or the weather. It was heard in Gulfport, and we all know that, and I take responsibility just like everybody else does, and I believe that's how administration feels, which is the reason why we're doing this, so I don't want to minimize this event and what happened. We want to make sure that it doesn't happen again. We want to make sure that whatever needs to happen is, is happening. I think those are the concerns that have been raised by the other council members. To hear a mayor from another city say that you can hear it in another city is, it's just, it's not acceptable, and it's not acceptable to our citizens. I understand the economic impact. That's why I hate the fact that we, we get all these other events, and everybody gets stuck because of some bad actors, and there is not just the noise. It's the people that are not doing the things that they're supposed to be doing, that go to these concerts, that affect our residents, public urination, all the other stuff that doesn't need to happen, and so I know that y'all are doing a comprehensive look at this. I just want the public to understand that when you put these forward, and you say that you're looking at these, like, acknowledge that that did happen. It happened under our watch. That's all what people want, and that we are going to fix it, and that's what we're doing, and that's the reason I would say yes to this because I know and I trust that that's what we're doing because we understand that it just wasn't acceptable.

And, Council Member, everybody agrees with you, and everybody is on the same page. We've received the exact same e-mails that you all did. I can tell you that I probably fielded eight to ten telephone calls from the mayor alone. He is not happy with the way that event went. So we're all on the same page. What I don't have for you today are the answers or the best practices to say here's how we get it on the right path. And so what we were afraid to do was to penalize this grouping because, as you recall, we do four. We don't have the exact same process that we had. This process, we bring you four groups of co-sponsored events, and so we really had this internal struggle. Do we put this group on hold, and that didn't seem right to us as well. And I think what Council Member Fig Sanders is referring to is every one of our co-sponsored events has a nonprofit attached to it. And so that nonprofit, if we were to put them on hold, would definitely penalize some folks on this list. Now, there are, like Lynn said, there are two new events, and what we do is we fully vet those events. We're working with those organizers. We have seen nothing that makes us think that we're going to have anything similar to what we had in December with those two new events. The other events that are on this list, we do have the Country Fest that's on the list as well. Country Fest, we got some complaints from folks that live in the downtown corridor on that one. But, again, I think that we're going to have complaints any time we do an event in the park. So we're looking to mitigate those even on this list, even though we don't have all of our best practices lined up currently.

And I think that's what people want to understand that is happening, that even though this is going forward, their complaints aren't being taken seriously. Absolutely. The work is being done. I think Council Member Driscoll's point, and I think what her concerns are, is she wants to make sure that this approval does not indicate everything's rosy for us at the end of the day. I want the public to understand it's not rosy. And, by the way, these are not final contracts right now. Right, legal? We don't have final contracts at this moment. So if there are changes made, they could be made to those contracts, right?

So the resolution right now is not for the contracts themselves. Typically, the way these are done is there's a form agreement that's filled out and used for all of these. That can be in discussion later if that's something that needs to be modified. This is just waiving that beer and wine only restriction and then approving the events and name in the one big main resolution.

So that should be helpful for Council Members who are concerned about this because it's not a final on the agreements. I think the concern is if we set the ball rolling, then it's like, okay, we can still do what we want. I think every person who's applying should be concerned that we have eyes on this and that we are going to be looking at what the rules are.

And I will take it a step farther. We have reached out to the organizers of the events that we've got the most complaints from. And we've had, Lynn's had personal conversations with those event organizers, and we've let them know that here are some of the things that we need for you to start working on. Again, one of the ones we talked about was length of time in the park. We do have, we have had good participation when it comes to Country Fest and Reggae Rise Up as far as turning the base down, aiming the speakers away from the city. So there are some things that are occurring and will continue to occur. But, you know, again, a lot of these events, once they are approved in concept, then we start to work on some of that fine-tuning with the contracts later on as we get closer and closer to the event.

And if I could, Chair, I just want to assure you and the other Council Members and reiterate what Mike said, that we certainly understand the concerns from that event, and we are working on it, you know, some of the speaker placements, some of the things that we can do. We really do look forward to the Cal discussion. It's going to be a good discussion with City Council. We want to hear from all of you. You know, we also want to discuss and hear from you, you know, how you feel about the future of events in the city and where they should be and how they should operate. It's really a larger discussion about how events drive some economic, you know, opportunity downtown and what are the adverse impacts of that and what are we willing to live with. So I think that's going to be a big discussion and we look forward to it. I certainly understand why you're concerned doing this before the Cal, but we would greatly appreciate if we could move forward on these as we continue to work on the Cal.

And I appreciate that, Robin. And I will say that, you know, my frustration, to be clear, you know, we had promoters and people who do applications who are not forthright in what they've put on their applications. And that has not gone unnoticed. I mean, to me, I can't believe the word intimate was used for that concert that could be heard in Gulfport. And, you know, fool us once, you know, shame on you. Fool us twice, you know, shame on us. And that's how we're operating. And there is this message. I want the promoters to know that that is not going to be accepted. And there are provisions in our contracts that we can exercise where they will not have events in this city. Again, there are provisions in the contract if they do not follow the rules. That's why they are in the contract. So, I've said what I've needed to say on that. Council Member Floyd.

Thank you.

By Chair Floyd.

I won't get into it too much because we will have a conversation later on. But first, I wanted to say I'm sure administration got the same phone calls we did. We all got them. Ironically, I was at a different concert in a different city when I was getting them. So, it was kind of funny from my perspective.

Any best practices we can adopt? We're interested. Well, it was inside.

Yeah.

Maybe that's the best practice.

Yeah. But, you know, they don't have a beautiful waterfront like we do.

And so, I think I just mostly wanted to say, you know, to anyone listening to my colleagues, like, from my perspective, and correct me if I'm wrong, it seemed like it was enforcement after the fact that was a major issue for the sound concerns. Like, and so, you know, we can have everything buttoned up, every I dotted and T cross, and if they turn the volume up too loud, that requires noise ordinance enforcement. And so, that's what I saw as the problem. And so, the conversation about what we do ahead of time is important, but the enforcement afterwards, if there is someone who's doing something they shouldn't be doing, feels like what's most pertinent to me in this conversation. And so, these events, I've looked through the list. There's only one in here that I'm not very familiar with, but the rest I feel very comfortable with. And I'm going to assume that since that recent, I don't know, let's just call it spate of complaints, that we'll have our eyes focused on anything that comes forward in the future while we get this conversation going. But, I mean, I don't know if y'all can speak to what the issue was that day or what we plan on doing going forward, but if someone's turned the volume up too loud, I assume we should just be using every tool at our disposal to get them to turn it down.

So, I think Chief Holloway, and he's not here, obviously, I don't want to speak for him, but my understanding is they received violations. And that's one of the things that Chair Hanowitz has asked us to, you know, do we have enough teeth in the violations so that, you know, day of the event, it's not working for us type of a thing. Because just as we said, we did vet this, and it was listed as an intimate concert. And that's not something that would, you know, when you're looking at it on paper, that's not something that would trigger, hey, we have an issue here. The other thing that happened with that particular event is that I think their attendance was more than they had originally estimated. And so there were a lot of little components. And what we want to find out is what are other cities doing for that day of? Are they pulling the plug? Are they, what are the, what options are available to us? The other thing that is in place is that our noise ordinance is about a mile, if you hear up to a mile. So, that may work for, you know, many of these events, but then some of the others, it doesn't. And obviously, when we had the We Belong, that was clearly, I live in Gulfport, and I heard it in Gulfport. So, it's one of those things where those are some of the questions that we're asking right now. We haven't had a situation like this in many, many years that I can remember where we've had an event that could be heard all over the city. But I will tell you there's also balances and there's challenges because, you know, we have Grand Prix that can be heard all over the city as well. So, we really, I will warn everybody on the dais, this is not an easy task. And this is not going to be something that is being taken lightly by staff. And that's why we need the time to kind of make sure we're crossing all of our T's and dotting all of our I's because there's a lot of work going forward. And we really do want to hit that sweet spot, that balanced spot.

I appreciate that and got distracted by you saying that you lived in Gulfport publicly like that. But I'll just say that, you know, I bring that up because, you know, regardless of what's put into a contract or put on an application, there's noise rules. And, you know, if they had said intimate and it was a lot less intimate than they said it was going to be but it didn't violate the noise ordinance, I don't think we're having this conversation today. So, I want to make sure, I'm eager to have the conversation, but I do want to make sure that we don't get into a situation where we're choosing what kinds of events we have down there. I mean, I like EDM, I like house music a lot. I've been to concerts in the middle of central London. And I noticed when I got there, oh, the music's a lot quieter than I would have expected. And so, I know it's possible, but I know the city has a history of allowing certain things downtown and not other things. And I don't want us to go down that path either. I want to see it be open and available to any type of cultural event that we can. And so, I look forward to working with y'all is what I would say. And I know that you're going to do what needs to be done, but I just don't think that we should get lost in, like, the fact that, you know, people violate a noise ordinance. Oh, let me mention one last thing, too. You know, I mean, I'm sure there's laws around how tough, you know, fines and whatnot, how much teeth can be in our noise ordinances. But I know from my experience in working with legal, like, contractually, we usually have a lot more leeway. So, I assume that you're going down that path, but that's just what's in my mind right now. So, I figured I'd say it out loud. Yes, Robert. Yeah, I see other people agreeing. All right. Thank you very much, Chair.

Council Member Faye Sanders. Thank you, and the memory is bad, but I do want to remind my colleagues that we used to have a co-sponsored committee where we had council members hushed Council Member Gerdes, where we actually were on that committee, and we, as a council, said that we were going to trust what you all brought to us and that I'm trying to figure out where we lost that. If we, at that moment, because it's only been, what, a couple years that we actually disbanded that, 2023? No, it hadn't been that long. It's been, like, three, I think. Yeah, maybe three. So, again, I'm still, I just wanted to remind my colleagues that we had a voice prior to it got here, and we put our trust in the fine staff that we have standing in front of us, and that has not changed for me. So, I want to thank you all for that. As you said, this is something that happened, hadn't happened in years, and we had three hurricanes or two hurricanes in one year. We didn't plan for that either. So, thank you for what you've done. I appreciate Council Member Gerdes moving, you know, making the motion, and I don't know who seconded it, but I just wanted to throw that little friendly reminder out to my colleagues that we used to have a process where we actually played a role in that, and we gave you enough credit and consideration and confidence that you would vet these events as you saw fit. So, I still want to share that I have that confidence, and I do appreciate you. Thank you, Chair.

And thank you, Council Member Fick Sanders, for reminding us. We did have a committee, but this would have gone through committee like everything else, and we would have been in the same place. To be clear, it would have ended up in the same place. And by the way, for the record, the way they described the concert, I looked it up, was we belong here to the smaller, more intimate version of a music festival with minimalist production. So, yes, Council Member Driscoll.

Thank you. I remember we had good reason to dissolve that committee, and it is because you all have done such a phenomenal job in the past on this. I don't think that the problem lies with how you evaluate applications. The enforcement can only go so far if we don't change the rules. So, I don't think, yeah, I don't think this would be any different if we had a committee. We're basically having that here. I mean, we can have these discussions, and we don't usually have to have any discussion at all about these. But we learned in December that we've got some work to do. I know you're working on it, but it hasn't been done yet. And now we've got this. And I have a hard time going on record supporting something when it is business as usual, as it stands with these. I don't think there is ever a case, and I don't care what nonprofit benefits from an event, but I don't know of any event that we would book in our city that's more important than our residents, the people who live here. And so I'm going to vote against this because it's a vote for our residents and putting them first. What we should have done was just put a halt on events, at least new ones. You could have broken it down to where we could accept the ones that are rebookings that we know already have a track record with us and put a halt on new ones until we get this sorted out. That would have been one way to approach this that I totally would have gone along with. I'm not voting against any of these events in particular. I want them to happen. But I've got to vote for our residents, first and foremost. They deserve to have some action taken after what they had to deal with. So I just wanted to explain where I'm at before we do this vote. Thank you. Thank you. And I appreciate that, Council Member Driscoll.

I have a hard time with this because it was my business item, obviously, but I know that there are lots of organizations here that are caught in the crosshairs because of what's happening. I also know, based on both what Vice Chair Richie Floyd mentioned and others, that the issues, the complex issues, are being looked at, which is why this has taken a little longer in terms of how we can surgically do this based on the different types of events and the different types of noises because different noises travel differently. Our noise ordinance, by the way, is changed by the legal agreement, which allows for the mile. That's not our noise ordinance, and I want to make it clear. That's based on the contractual agreement. So that 5,000 feet can also change for events, and it can be looked at even more nuanced. And, by the way, I know that the Grand Prix was mentioned and it's heard through the city. I want to point out that's during the day, not at night. And so there are ways that you can also look at this by times of when these events are and the noise level. So there are different ways that legal can actually do this without looking at a different type of noise or type of event. So I just want to put that out there. I am confident that, based on the conversations I've had with administration and Mike and James and everyone on the team, that they are working on all the issues we've discussed. And because of that, I will vote a yes, but I will be looking at what the concerns are, the ones that are issues, to make sure that a lot of those issues are being taken care of. So with that being said, there's a motion and a second. Clerk, you please open the machine for voting. Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all council members have voted, clerks, please tally announce the vote.

Madam Chair, the motion to approve agenda items F5A through F5J passes 7 to 1, with council members Fick Sanders, Floyd, Gabbard, Gerdes, Gibbons, Hanowitz, and Harding voting yes. Council member Driscoll voting no.

Thank you. And thank you all for being here. Thank you. We move on to F3. Evan, hi.

Hi. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

I've got a presentation queuing up, but good afternoon to council and chair. I'm pleased to be able to present a resolution for your consideration today that would allow us to continue moving forward with the city acquiring another rail segment, as well as effectuate other community benefits and improvements. I'd like to acknowledge Aaron Fish, real estate and property management director, and assistant city attorney Heather Judd for their expertise and work on this. Thank you for being here with me today. And also Erica Hernandez with the Trust for Public Land. She's the Florida project manager. She is here joining us today as well. These maps can help us get acquainted with the property in question. On the left side, you can see outlined in orange how the line goes from 5th Avenue North and progresses down to 1st Avenue South, ending at ML King Jr. Street. We can also see on the right a zoomed-in version, or I'm sorry, on the left we can see the first right of refusal that goes north of 5th Avenue North and goes to city limits at 38th Avenue North. On the right, you can see the hashed area, I'm sorry, the solid black line represents the existing Pinellas Trail, and also please take note of the green and black marked existing historic Booker Creek Trail segment, which we'd be able to extend northward once the acquisition is complete. On the right-hand side is a zoomed-in version where the blue hashed areas marked with a number 2 and 3 represent the blocks where we plan to lease back a portion of the line to adjacent landowners who will help cover the acquisition cost. And for some historical context, this line was originally acquired by Peter Demons of the original Orange Belt Railroad in 1888. The line is actually shown on the original plat of St. Petersburg. So why would we want to buy this property? Well, the first reason, I think, is apparent to any observer. The land is currently underutilized and much of it isn't adding good value to the community. And this vision has withstood the test of time. Acquiring the line and putting it to higher and better use has been adopted in many planning documents dating back to over 20 years ago when the city adopted its City Trails Plan. Subsequently, the goal was reinforced in a series of adopted plans in 2013, 2017, and in 2019. Additionally, at City Council's April 16, 2020 meeting, working towards this acquisition was unanimously supported. Here we can see the rail segment on the City Trails Plan. The line is shown in the four Pinellas Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan here. And here we can see how the Booker Creek Trail is part of the adopted Edge District Improvement Plan and the acquisition being called out as a specific key action. As you heard earlier, the Edge District continues to support this acquisition and using TIF funds to help fund the purchase. And, of course, we did incorporate this into the 2019 Complete Streets Plan. So beginning in 2019, for approximately a year before the council vote I mentioned earlier, Brad Tennant and the City's Attorney's Office, who has joined us today, I would call out, thank you for being here, with assistance from other staff, began some earnest legal research and other research to begin exploring the path that we're hopefully nearing completion of today. In 2023, there was a legal decision that required CSX and the City to begin negotiations for us to buy the line. Subsequently, CSX presented an independent appraisal indicating that the line, which is almost eight acres of prime downtown land, was worth $88 million. Because that figure was not feasible for the city, we began negotiations to, one, negotiate a lower price with CSX, and, two, find some private sector partners to help raise funds necessary to reach a deal. We also decided to work with the Trust for Public Land and Rails to Trails, bringing their national expertise to bear and help work through a complex process. Of note is that this would be the third rail acquisition in St. Petersburg. The first acquisition resulted in the Pinellas Trail opening in 1990, and then the Pinellas Trail extension that brought that trail all the way to the downtown waterfront along First Avenue South, which opened in 2008. Initially, our approach was to find interested private investors to buy excess segments along the line that we didn't need for the trail construction, since much of the line is 100 feet wide, and we really only need 30 feet maximum for a trail and recovery area on either side. However, it was determined that the city could be the only landowner, so we pivoted to 99-year leases, which is not ownership, but about as close as you can get, and Ferg's agreed to pay $4 million up front for a 99-year lease, and Ellison agreed to pay $2 million for that same 99-year lease on a smaller area of land. And here's where I'd like to compliment CSX on the way that they worked with us. The negotiations did take a long time, but CSX was honest and transparent through the process, and they came down to a figure, $7 million total, that we believe makes this a very good investment for the city and our private sector partners. Here's the proposed funding strategy. We need $1.2 million total of city funding, which will pay the city acquisition cost and our share of the due diligence, which includes a survey, title insurance policy, additional appraisals, recording, and other closing costs. This acquisition is an eligible expense in the in-town West TIF, and we propose the other half being paid for from the parking revenue fund balance. As previously mentioned, Ferg's will pay $4 million in an Ellison. As it relates to Ferg's and Ellison, it's important to point out how the trail would align and what that would leave for use by Ferg's and Ellison. So on the Ferg's block, there's already the existing beginning of a trail segment going north from the existing Pinellas Trail that goes under 1st Avenue South and emerges next to Ferg's approaching Central Avenue. So that leaves most of the CSX property on that block available for Ferg's continued use. On the Ellison block, they would lease the 70 eastern feet for their use while we keep the western 70-foot width for future trail use. The purchase agreement before you today includes those two blocks being eligible for commercial uses, while the other blocks will be more restricted and which will result in open space reserved for trail and trail-related uses. So here's what would happen if City Council approves the resolution today. We will execute the agreement between the city and Trust for Public Land. Due diligence will occur, some of which has actually already started at Trust for Public Land's own risk because long lead times are involved. We'll finalize agreements with Ferg's and Ellison and bring those back here for City Council consideration. Assuming all these action items move forward successfully, we will close on the property by the end of June, which involves a simultaneous sale from CSX to Trust for Public Land and Trust for Public Land to the city. Once we have ownership of the land, we plan to seek state and federal grants to assist in funding the trail construction. Depending on the findings of the environmental assessment, there could be mitigation investment required. Any required mitigation is to be determined, but it may simply be met with the construction of a trail to cap any identified contaminants. And that concludes the presentation. We'll be happy to take any questions from Council, and we request approval of the resolution.

I have a motion and a second. Is there a public comment?

Yes, we do have one speaker, Madam Chair. Debbie Reeser, please go to an open podium. State your name, address, or cross street for the record. You'll have three minutes to address City Council.

Hi. Thank you for being here. My name is Debbie Reeser. I'm at 105 4th Avenue Northeast in St. Pete. I'm the past immediate president of the Edge Board, and I just want to reiterate what Nicole said earlier. We totally support this acquisition, and hopefully you will all vote in favor of it. Thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Givens.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Evan. I know rail acquisition can be a complex process, but it's exciting, and it's personal for me. My great-great-grandfather worked for the Seaboard Coastline, and so this is exciting to see this being a part of my district, the Edge District, seeing how this is really going to support businesses. Here we are activating a derelict and dilapidated area. That's the purpose, the true intended purpose of these TIF funds. So I support this because I see the long-term vision. This isn't just something that we are going to enjoy, but this is something that future generations will get to reap the rewards of. I see this as the logical next step in completing the City's comprehensive trails pathways plan. This is something that we talked about doing 20 years ago, and here we are actually taking that next step, so I'm excited to see this move forward. So thank you for your hard work. Thank you, Chair.

Vice Chair. Thank you. Council Member Gabbard.

Thank you, Vice Chair. Just very quickly, words of thanks. I'm very excited to support this today. Evan, your persistence and your perseverance is incredible. You are a Complete Streets champion, and that is what this work really, per the presentation, speaks to. Even when you don't have all of the resources that you need, even when you don't have all the funding that you need, you continue to push. You continue to find ways to make our city safer and more enjoyable, and I just really want to thank you for that. I admire you a lot, and just this is an example of that work that you do. And I would be remiss without saying to Mr. Brad Tennant, who is here today, when I first came on council in 2019, I think one of the first meetings I had was with you talking about CSX and how we could, you know, eventually get to this place. So thank you for being an early pioneer on this work, and Heather Judd, thank you for seeing it through. So that's what a great team does. So thank you all, and very happy to support today. Thank you, Vice Chair.

Council Member Harding.

Thank you, Vice Chair. Evan, I will absolutely echo Council Member Gavard's comments. This is a huge lift. Not to be overlooked, Ellison and Mr. Ferguson are just big players in this, and I greatly appreciate them helping the city along in their investment. And I'm going to apologize for this ahead of time. Is there any chance we go any further north as the next project?

Yes, we have the first right of refusal to keep going all the way up to city limits if CSX no longer serves that section to the north.

Specifically the part of the line that bifurcates city property? Is that a thing that we might look at next? Again, not to take away from what is a career star and what you achieved, but I am just curious.

Yeah, the future could hold that.

You know, there's only one rail customer in St. Petersburg left, and we want them to be a thriving local business for as long as possible.

But as long as they get heavy material from this rail line, then it's probably the rail, additional rail won't become available. But at some point in the future, it may.

All right.

Thank you very much, and congratulations. Thanks.

Council Member Driscoll.

Thank you. Thank you for the presentation and for all the work that you've done on this.

Council Member Gabbard is right. CSX has been a topic for a long time, and thinking about those conversations my first year on City Council, I kind of gave up. I was like, you know, this CSX thing is so complicated and so tangled up that I don't know if we'll ever be able to get anything out of it, even though it made sense. And here we are today, and that makes me so happy. So thanks for your work on this. It looks like this is going to go in your favor once again. I do want to know, do you think, is there any other City staffer who has been around as long as you have and is also undefeated on votes? Because you've never lost a vote. Is there anybody else?

Well, Cheryl's here with me, and I would like to thank her as well. Oh, thank you, Cheryl. Should have worked her end of the list, but happy that she's here, a great partner.

All right, so you will continue to be the 1972 Miami Dolphins, as I like to call you. So congratulations, and I can't wait to see what becomes of this as it moves forward. So thank you. Thank you, Chair.

All right, good stuff. That's literally all I put myself on here to say, those two words. Thank you very much for the presentation. Thank you, Brad, for your work. It was one of the first things I feel like I talked with you about as well when I got here. And, yeah, I look forward to expanding any sort of opportunity like this for trails, alternative means of transportation. I'm thinking even bigger in the future is what I'll say, more than just having a place you can ride your bike. But I'll settle for that right now. So I'm grateful for all of that. And it looks like we do have a resolution here, but I haven't heard a motion or a second. We do? Okay, sorry. All right, well, then, seeing no further requests to speak, will the clerk please open the machine for voting? Councilmembers, enter your vote. Seeing all present councilmembers have voted, will the clerk please? Oh, oh, oh, sorry, didn't see you there. Now you say it.

Seeing that all present councilmembers have voted, clerk please tally and announce the vote.

Madam Chair, the motion to approve agenda item F3 passes unanimously.

Thank you, thank you. Congratulations.

Thank you.

Next up, we have F4.

Good afternoon, councilmembers. Aubrey Phillips, director of strategic initiatives and grants. I also have with me Tyler Bridges from BDO Government Services. We're here today to report on the consulting services agreement amendment. This is for the community development block grant for disaster recovery. So we're recommending this afternoon approval of an amendment to the existing consulting services agreement with Horne LLP, who is now doing business as BDO Government Services. This would provide an additional $48 million to amend the total contract amount from $11.6 million to $59.7 million. And that's covering both residential recovery and relief beneficiary costs and direct intakes and release costs. I'll talk more about that in just a moment. And then also requesting authorization to execute the agreement and related documents. So first up, I want to address the name change from Horne to BDO. So Horne LLP, who we have our existing consulting services agreement with for implementation services for CDBGDR, notified us on October 8th of a planned merger with BDO USA, pursuant to which Horne has merged into a subsidiary of BDO named BDO Government Services. That merger closed on November 1st. As a matter of law, that contract between Horne and the city transferred to BDO. And as you're aware, we have initiated these programs and intake just recently closed for our first set of residential recovery and relief programs. So this contract amendment, which we previewed with you when we brought that original consulting services agreement that handles the administrative costs of administering our residential recovery and public infrastructure mitigation programs, that's that first column you see there with the consulting services agreement. This amendment adds direct lease costs, so that $90,000 is split across the three residential recovery programs, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and elevation, reimbursement for repairs, and the disaster relief reimbursement program. That is for the intake service center. When we initially scoped out the consulting services agreement, we anticipated being able to find existing city facilities that we could use for an intake center. While we did find space at Enoch Davis Community Center, and that's been a very successful satellite service center, the available space was limited, and we really needed more space for an intake center. So that direct lease cost is reflected in this amendment. And then the remainder, the bulk of this amendment increase, is for direct beneficiary awards. So these are costs that are passing through BDO, or would pass through BDO directly to benefit residents of St. Petersburg, whether that's through construction costs associated with repair and reconstruction elevation awards, or for direct grant payments. The main reason we wanted to move forward with incorporating this as part of the scope of what BDO would do is, one, it's directly passing through those costs. There is not a percentage that BDO is getting of these expenses to provide those benefits to our residents. There's a lot of administrative efficiencies in terms of having them administer those construction contracts directly, as well as the grant payments directly. And thirdly, it really gave our residents a lot of autonomy and options in terms of how they receive their grant awards. So for those disaster relief payments and the reimbursement for repairs, it'll be up to the individual resident who will get to tell us whether they'd like to get their grant payment through a digital wallet, a direct deposit, or a check. And that is in the hands of the applicant and its functionality that they were readily able to support. Just a quick reminder on the background of how we got here. This agreement and the amendment stems from the Request for Proposals 25090 that was a competitive procurement process that we issued in January of 2025 for comprehensive disaster recovery and emergency management consulting services. We pre-qualified five vendors through that RFP, and agreements are executed on a project-specific basis. The agreement with BDO for the consulting services they're currently providing was one of those agreements, and that previously came to Council last summer. And these costs are reimbursable under our HUD CDBGDR grant. These are direct activity delivery costs associated with delivering these benefits to our residents. And so finally, our staff recommendation is to approve the resolution before you that authorizes assignment, assumption, and first amendment to the consulting services agreement with HORN for a total contract amount as amended that should not exceed $59,700,581. One quick note here, because we know that these programs are fluid, if there are funds that are not spent on consulting services through this program, they would automatically go over to direct beneficiary costs. So that total not to exceed allows us to make sure that anything that's not spent on those consulting services out of that budget can flow through to continue to benefit our residents. With that, I'll take any questions you may have.

Great. Thank you. Council Member Cafford.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you for the presentation. I just have one quick question. It was brought up this morning. I brought it up in our layer committee about the $25 million for the infrastructure mitigation. And so seeing your chart here, the $1.882 million, that is the consulting services agreement for that particular bucket, does that then come out of the $25 million? Yes. So it's $23 and some change. Correct. Okay. All right. I just want to make sure, you know, I'm aware of just kind of how those dollars flow and just kind of monitoring that to make sure, as we've discussed, that we're really looking at projects where we can do the most benefit for the community, recognizing that if those projects are over, like the project I mentioned this morning in Clam Bayou, this will eat into that money that we have a little bit, so we'll have to find that extra buffer.

Yep. And I also wanted to address, and thank you for bringing up this point, is that if we don't end up needing that full $1.8 million for grant management purposes related to that program, that'll go back to the project delivery cost.

Got it. Okay. Yeah. So I just want to say I think the work that BDO has done for us so far has been exceptional, and so very happy to continue working with them and really just want to thank you all for the work that you're doing. So thank you. So do we have a motion yet? No?

No motion yet. Move approval.

Clerk.

We have a motion and a second. Clerk, please open the machine for voting. Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all present council members have voted, clerk, please tally announce a vote.

Madam Chair, the motion to approve Agenda Item F4 passes unanimously.

Thank you. Thank you, Aubrey. Next up, we have new business. Council Member Gabbert, G1.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Respectfully requesting a referral to Public Services and Infrastructure Committee for a presentation and discussion on the potential use of AI permitting software in the building department to improve intake and pre-check processes, accelerate plan reviews, streamline staff workflow, and enhance the citizen experience for new construction and infill redevelopment projects. And I so move.

Council Member Hardy. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Chair. Council Member Gabbert. Yes. I've been working on something a bit broader in scope. I don't know if it is worth duplicating. So I wanted to ask you if you wanted to think about. We looked at other things like AI in terms of data aggregation, report writing. And there are four or five other examples of how AI is being used currently, municipalities and smaller government. And I'm happy to do that separate down the road. Were you set on, and Polk County is having great success with what you're talking about. Were you set on that, or would you be willing to expand it, or would you rather do it twice?

I mean, certainly, and those of us who were at the EDC yesterday heard, you know, a lot of talk about AI and understanding that this is going to be the future of pretty much everything that is being done. I don't think there can be enough conversation about it, to be quite honest. For me, I am laser focused on specifically how it can improve our permitting processes, not only for our residents, but for our staff. I think there's a lot of staff augmentation that needs to be done across departments, and I think that permitting is a very ripe place to use this technology. And I'm excited to see how that could even be something that maybe the Tyler software has a plug-in for. I'm not sure, but, you know, certainly want to make sure that the permitting piece of it is a standalone focus, because that is really, I mean, I literally, while sitting here on the dais right now, have a resident emailing me about her permitting process. So it just reinforces for me that this particular topic is of dire need. And so, for me, I would like it to have a standalone item and very much look forward to whatever you bring forward for any other process improvements that can be done. Happy to support you that way.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Floyd.

Thank you. I'm happy to move this forward today and have this conversation. I just, in my professional background, I've had experience with large-scale data analysis, and it has, like, its place in certain situations, like, but mission-critical things. When we describe AI nowadays, there's large-scale data analysis, and then there's large language learning models and generative AI. And as of right now, I think large-scale data analysis is feasible, but the other one I have serious concerns about. And so I would just hope that we are really focused on doing something that can bring confidence to our community, is what I would say. Because I just disagree with your statement that AI is the future of everything as of right now, based off my background in this kind of thing. And so I'm not going to stop us from having a conversation, but I want to let you all know that I'm going in with skepticism immediately. Thank you.

You're welcome. Council Member Gurdin. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm happy to support the item. Council Member Gabbard, are you planning on having somebody from Tyler there? I think...

I'm going to work with administration on it. I mean, to be quite honest, I haven't had an actual conversation with administration about this. Just knowing how the referral lists are, kind of got to get it in the queue so you can start working on it. So, yeah.

If you don't mind. Yeah, no, no. We're happy to work with you, Council Member Gabbard. We've had some initial research. We are looking at this, so we can share with you what we've been doing and prepare a plan for it.

Perfect. And Spark Labs and Becca Brown, you know, certainly a resource for this as well.

Yeah, I saw some presentations that I think certainly attach to this at Spark, and I just know that we've just made a very significant investment into Tyler, and so I'd want to make sure that it's working in parallel with that. That would be my... As long as you heard me on that, I'm all good.

Yep.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Okay. I have a motion. I need a second. Second. Motion and a second. Clerk, you'll please open the machine for voting. Council Members, please enter your votes. Seeing all present, Council Members have voted. Clerk, please tally and announce the vote.

Madam Chair, the motion to approve agenda item G1 passes unanimously.

Thank you. We move on to H1. Council Member Gabbard. Thank you. And these are separate?

Yes, they are. Okay. Okay. So for H1, this is a cleanup of the HERS referral list from our conversation. So this is respectfully requesting City Council approval to expand the scope of the HERS referral item list to be notated as follows. Respectfully requesting a referral to the Health, Energy, Resiliency, and Sustainability Committee for a discussion regarding the exploration of municipally owned or supported grocery stores in food deserts within the city. And I'll just give the background for those who maybe were not tuned in to that meeting. This is an ongoing conversation we've been having. The original item was municipally owned after some action that was taken that we're going to discuss next. Then the conversation shifted to making sure that we also have the opportunity to talk about future supported, not just owned, as a cohesive conversation. So with that, I will move approval. Second.

Okay.

So we're dealing with H1A right now, which is what Council Member Gabbard just spoke about. I know they were public. Okay. I want to make sure because there are two items and I have a feeling that public comment is for B, not A. Yes. And we're just talking about right now a referral item. Council Member Givens.

Thank you very much, Chair. And I just want to remind my colleagues, I am a proud member of one community. So I'm going to be recusing myself from this vote, just like I did in committee. So I'm going to be abstaining. So I just wanted to let you all know that I'll be stepping out for this vote.

Thank you. And I think you're going to be stepping out for H1B. Okay. Just for the record, you will be here for the first vote. You can still vote for the first one, which is H1A, Council Member Givens, which is. Thank you. Okay. So we have a motion. I need a second. There was a second. There was a second. Okay. I'm sorry. Motion and a second. Clerk, you please open the machine for voting. Council Members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all Council Members have voted, Clerk, please tally announce the vote.

Madam Chair, the motion to approve agenda item H1A passes unanimously.

Okay, great. We have H1B now. Council Member Gabbard.

Respectfully requesting City Council. I'm sorry, Madam Chair. I'm sorry. The reason, Council Member Givens? Council Member Givens, sorry.

Did you state your reason for your recusal on the record?

Yes, I did for the record. I'm a member of one community, and I want to prevent there being any perception of a conflict of interest, so that's why I'm recusing myself.

Thank you.

Okay. Yep. Thank you.

I think you have legals okay. Respectfully requesting City Council approval of a resolution supporting one community grocery co-op, requesting the administration provide partnership support in the amount of $50,000 to the one community grocery co-op to further the goals of the Healthy Food Action Plan. And there is a resolution attached, and I so move. Second.

We have a motion and a second, and we have public comment.

I'm going to call two speakers at a time. When I call your name, please go to an open podium, state your name, address, or cross street for the record, and you will have three minutes to address City Council. The first two speakers are Leslie Bowman and Erica Hardison.

Do you want to go first? Hi. Leslie Bowman, 2920, Burlington Avenue North. I've been a member owner of the OCGC for many years. Thank you for your support of community-owned grocery. I hope it's unanimous. Not only will it bring healthy food to the South Side, it will employ local residents and keep money circulating in the area. It will also strengthen the community. I've visited co-ops from Kalamazoo to Silver City to Seattle, where people reap the benefits rather than being exploited by profiteers. Thanks. Thank you.

Great.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, everyone. Erica Hardison, 13th Street and 24th Avenue South. Again, my name is Erica Zenzelay Hardison, and I live and work. I live, work, and play in St. Petersburg. And thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I'm here to respectfully ask you approve the resolution supporting One Community Grocery Co-op, a community-owned grocery initiative that is working to expand food access, health, and nutrition, strengthen our economy, and build community wealth right here in St. Petersburg. Over the past year, One Community Grocery Co-op has continued to demonstrate what community-led development looks like in action. We have had a significant growth in our membership, over 140%, and we are now over 185 members, strong and growing, deepening our partnerships with local farmers and organizations, and expanding our outreach and educational programming focused on healthy food access and cooperative economics. This work has been powered by residents, volunteers, and community stakeholders who believe in building solutions together. This is not just about opening a grocery store. It's about creating a reliable source of healthy food in the area that has long experienced gaps in access. It is about supporting local farmers and food entrepreneurs. It is about creating jobs and keeping dollars circulating in our local economy, and it is about ensuring that residents have ownership and voice in the resources that are essential to our everyday life. The resolution before you represents an opportunity to affirm the City of St. Petersburg's commitment to its residents, their health, and economic development. Supporting this initiative sends a clear message that our city values community-driven solutions and believes in investing in projects that uplift residents and strengthen our neighborhoods. The momentum is here. The community is supporting the, excuse me, the community support is here. What we need now is continued partnership and approval of this resolution to help move the work forward. Again, I respectfully ask that you vote yes to approve this resolution and stand with residents and stakeholders who are working to bring a community-owned grocery store to life in St. Petersburg. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your continued service to this city. Thank you.

The next two speakers are Ellen Sebertson and Franklin Alves. Please go to an open podium. State your name and address across Street for the record. You'll have three minutes to address City Council.

Go ahead. Thank you, Chair and City Council. My name is Ellen Sebertson. I live at 1017 32nd Street North. I am a member-owner of One Community Grocery Co-op, and I just wanted to encourage you all to vote yes on the resolution for the funding for One Community Grocery Co-op. I grew up with co-ops. My mother helped start one in 1977 in Minnesota, and that is still a viable, active grocery store now. And I believe that our co-op will also be a long-term solution for South St. Pete to have access to healthy food. So thank you. Thank you.

Madam Chair, the Franklin Alves, his card indicated that he was for the item. The final speaker is Jerome King. Please go to an open podium. State your name and address or cross Street for the record. You'll have three minutes to address City Council.

Hello, everyone. My name is Jerome King. I live at 4546 10th Avenue South, and I'm here to speak on the resolution HB1. I want to say that today's resolution, this $50,000 is more than a grant. It is a strategic step to insulate the city's already $8 million in investments in the South St. PCRA region. We are here to help ensure that the infrastructure of health keeps peace with the infrastructure of housing. Right now, the city is breaking ground in over 2,000 units, some at Skytown, others, Fairfield Avenue, Gas Plant. These developments represent a generational shift. However, housing alone doesn't create community or neighborhood. It needs sustainability. And community-led food anchors are a way to make sure that we limit the issue of residents, these new residents coming in and having limited food accessibility. So I urge you all to vote yes to protect the city's housing investment by building a food security that you guys can pretty much help with that infrastructure and make sure that these $800 million of new housing is supported by healthy, resilient food systems. Thank you.

Thank you. Councilmember Harding.

Thank you, Chair. I have had the pleasure of listening to Erica three times now, and I find her to be engaging and passionate. And my comments in no way will or should take away from how much I believe in her cause. I do have a struggle, and here is my struggle. I believe enough in the cause that when I was in Tallahassee, I visited the co-op that was mentioned in one of the presentations. And there is the issue, and one of the issues that I cannot resolve in my head, and please keep in mind in my real life, this is the industry that I work in. I work in the human consumable industry, and I have for my entire career. And my first struggle is that affordable and healthy don't go together. And at that co-op, everything that I found, more or less, if you put it in the aggregate, was about 15% more than what I would pay for it in Publix. Healthy is expensive, and that's just the way that works. And so I struggle with, in this community, what's the balance between affordable and healthy, and how do those work out? And I don't have an answer to that at all, and I'm still contemplating that. I struggle with, I think I've done more research on this than just about anything else that I have Googled in my supposed spare time. And I haven't found a great connection between public money and grocery stores, publicly owned grocery stores. I've found an awful lot of effort. I haven't found a lot of success. And in the grand scheme of the pool of money that is available to this municipality, I wonder if it is the best use. And so I believe this will end up passing today. I will vote no on this. I would like to see a game plan. I would like to know better what it is that this $50,000 would accomplish. I do know that in order to build this, because I've built things like this before, we're well into the seven figures. We're a million five plus to build this and get it open. And I need to have a better understanding of where all that comes from.

And so I'll leave it there for now. I greatly appreciate the effort. I believe in the cause. I don't know that the funding source is public government, but I appreciate the effort, and that's where I'll leave it. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Council Member Gabbard.

Thank you, Chair. So my questions will be brief. It was just really a follow-up for administration. So in the conversations that we had, and I went back and re-listened to the entire thing to make sure that, you know, in the hopes that this passes today, that we have our next steps in line. And so I wanted to make sure, and I should probably maybe just let Council Member Driscoll take it, but I did go back and re-listened and just wanted to make sure you and I, you know, get that follow-up that we need for the request that you had made. The words exactly that Council Member Driscoll used was a request for staff from the greenhouse to assist in capacity building with the co-op.

And then the response from staff about the request was that there was a commitment for service providers to assist with capacity building for the co-op. So I wanted to understand, now that I've gone back and listened to it again, what the difference in that terminology is within the greenhouse. Because I think staff implicates that we, as a city, and our resources, we are going to work with the co-op to help them be able to stand up whatever it looks like for next steps. But then when I heard those words, service providers, I didn't know if that meant something else. So I needed to kind of understand that and make sure that you all have had conversations since the HRS meeting about how we're going to move forward if this passes, and really assisting for what I'm hearing Council Member Harding's concern is, which is like, how is this really feasible? How does this move forward? And I think that support that the committee is asking for is very important to that.

So I appreciate that, Council Member, and I'm not sure that I can fully answer your question specifically, but I'll say a few things. And I think that was Ms. Falvey who made those comments. And I don't know if she's here or if she's in the back room. Maybe she'll come out while we're having this conversation and she can address that. But what I will say is that we are supportive of the One Community Co-op. We do think that there's a place in St. Petersburg for a food co-op within the food system that we have in the city. So if this were to pass today, we are prepared to move forward on it. I did have an initial discussion with One Community on Tuesday about a potential scope of work for that money. I shared with them that our interest would be on seeing that money used to move forward towards the brick and mortar. And I think through that conversation, I think we could both get comfortable with what those deliverables are. So we're prepared to go forward. And I'm sorry I can't answer that specific language question.

I feel like what you just explained is really what I was looking at. This resolution is a commitment from City Council that we support food sovereignty in our community. That's what that is. It is now your job as the administration to implement that, the funding, the resources, the follow-up, to make sure that what we know historically, I mean, Speaker said it, right? Her mother started one in the 70s that's now as old as I am, right? I mean, great job. And that's what we want to see. Now, we can debate healthy and affordability and how that all comes together, and I think that is a valid concern. But from what I have seen from my research, co-ops is the sustainable model that helps to move communities from the food insecurity that they are currently facing. And we have had nothing else move us and move the needle in forever. So to me, this is the logical next step. And so I really just want to thank you for that clarity on what that looks like. I'm excited to hear that you've had those conversations. And so it is my hopes that when this passes today that we will move swiftly into those next steps so that we can have an update back to her sooner rather than later.

And if you don't mind, that's a good segue to maybe just let me address the mechanics with council so you understand. And if you have any concerns about this, we can revisit it. Our intention would be just to go forward if we can come to terms on the scope of work. And then if that put us over budget during the fiscal year, we'd address it at cleanup. If council was not comfortable with that, we could come back with an appropriation that you would have to approve the funding, and that would take some longer time. So we thought just going directly since it's under the $100,000 threshold, and if we need to, we would address it at cleanup. So that's what we're thinking.

Thank you. All right. Thank you.

Thank you, council member Driscoll. Thank you. So I did not go back and watch the meeting, and I don't remember exactly what I said, but it went something like this. This is also an economic development issue, and it was made clear that there is not someone currently at the greenhouse who is well-versed in the topic of co-ops that could really provide some expert guidance. And so I saw this as a chance for everyone to win and asked for a staffer from the greenhouse to be selected. And I think that's when Andrea sat and said, yes, we'd like to do that, to sort of be embedded with this group, to learn with them and provide guidance where they can, but really just an everybody learning together kind of thing, because this won't be the last co-op that we have, and I think it would be extremely beneficial if we have someone in the greenhouse who, you know, becomes a subject matter expert on that, and if they're, what do they say about, where's Ed when you need him, about flying the plane?

Building the plane while flying. Yes.

That's what I'm asking for. But I'm really confident that one of the, I mean, you've got great people at the greenhouse. I know one of them might have a special interest in this, and while I wish that was in the resolution as well to make it clear that that's what we wanted to, it sounds like everyone has heard me. I know Andrea did, and I feel pretty comfortable with that, as long as it's still in the plan.

Yes, ma'am.

Great. Thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Gertes.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Rob, thanks for bringing up the process of it all, because that was going to be my question. So if we're over budget, we'll do it at cleanup. So have you identified what bucket that'll come out of?

We're going to discuss it. We're going to take a look at our options and see maybe if we're under somewhere, what would be better than somewhere else. But I would say it's probably either going to come from economic development or maybe from George Smith's shop. So we're looking at it. All right.

Thank you. Thank you. That was my only concern, because literally two weeks ago, I had talked about we need to identify the bucket. And so I'm very appreciative of that. I am very supportive of this, but my solo concern was talking out of two sides of my mouth. So very, very much appreciate it. And thanks to the administration for identifying that and your willingness to work on that with us. That's all I have. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. So first, thank you for everyone that joined us here today on this and for your work in the co-op. I know that Florida does not have a big co-op culture because I visit family, well, my husband's family, not my family, in Wisconsin. Wisconsin has a big co-op culture, which I think helps when you have co-ops. And so that's something that you need to build. So I understand some of the concerns you have, Council Member Harding, because there are some struggles with it, especially in an area where the culture is not established. And it has been successful in different areas, I think, because there has been a co-op culture established. I do agree with Council Member Driscoll. I think if we are giving funding for something like this and we have a healthy food action plan, there should be something. And, Rob, I appreciate everything you added and that the administration is supportive and you're working on a scope of work. I do think that there should be language in there that if this is for what it's being sought for, which is feasibility and all these other things, there should be something where we get something in return in terms of co-ops and what Council Member Driscoll was talking about. I think that's important because what I've seen is we have different programs that are trying to touch on food insecurity, and you all just released a grant that I provided and I sent them, which was for $50,000, which is for the Healthy Neighborhood Stores. You all decided to go a different route, but there is a grant. And I'm trying to make sure that whatever efforts we're doing in this space is not just here, there, and willy-nilly. There should be some conciseness. So I'm supportive because I know that that's what y'all are going to do, but I do want to make sure that we do get information back in terms of what co-ops are and the success of them and all that, because I do agree with Council Member Harding. This is much more expensive than people realize it's going to be.

If I could just say, you know, we want to encourage people to use our existing grants. Right. You know, our first choice is not to do something out of the budget cycle, but, you know, this has been something we've been working on. It's clear that there's councils that are willing to work together on this.

Right. And the reality is it's honestly this is under $100,000. Frankly, it should be something where if administration says that they're going to do it, it should be enough. But we have a resolution before us, and that's the way we're going. So there's a motion and a second, and Council Member Fick Sanders, I just realized that you have pressed your button.

Because I just pressed it. So thank you so much. I just, you know, want to, first of all, thank One Community for being steadfast and committed. You all are not new to this. You are absolutely true to this. And I have to agree with Council Member Gerdes in regards to speaking out of both sides of my mouth, because when I met with you, my comment was, where are we getting the money from? So thank you, Administrative Gerdes, for kind of giving me an insight of where we can possibly fund this. But as far as One Community is concerned, you know, you always have my support, because what you are doing is what we need. You know, we have people purchasing food from Dollar General stores because we do not have access to healthy eating. And I will tell you, years of unhealthy eating catches up to you. So I just want to make sure that we are cognizant in the fact of the benefits of a co-op and what that brings to South St. Pete. And so I just would be remiss not to say thank you for your true commitments, and I will gladly support this resolution. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Council Member Floyd.

Thank you.

Vice Chair Floyd.

I put myself in here. I forget as well. I put myself on here. I wanted to say thank you to the co-op as well for the continued advocacy and the patience for coming and meeting with us all, me in particular. I'm grateful for it. And then just wanted to add one thing to Council Member Harding's point, because I was trying to express what you're describing in the committee, and I think I did a poor job of it. But I think there's two problems when we talk about areas that don't have food. One is areas that don't have access to healthy food, and the other one is being able to afford healthy food. And one is harder to address than others. It's harder to address for us the fact that people can't afford to go buy groceries. It doesn't matter what grocery store gets put there. The other one is easier for us to address through whatever plan we want to do, if it's this or something else, and that's the fact that there is not food in that geographic location. And so I just have them to delineate it in my mind and try to focus on which one I'm addressing at each time. And so I was trying to explain that in the meeting, but I think you explained it a little bit here when you were giving your reasoning. So I wanted to say, like, to me, this, yes, I'm sure the co-op and, you know, if there was some other municipal grocery would try as hard as possible to make it to where the food is affordable. But there's, like, a business model that has to be followed and, like, things cost money. And so I'm thinking about it through that lens, like, making sure that the food is available and then everything we can do on top of that to make sure it's affordable. It's just I have a delineation of my mind on it, and I wanted to give the second to uplift that so that when we're thinking about what it is possible for us to solve, we're focused. So I'll leave it there. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Clerk, if you can please open the machine for voting. Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all present council members have voted, clerk, can you please tally and announce the vote?

Madam Chair, the motion to approve agenda item H-1B passes 6-1 with council members Driscoll, Vic Sanders, Floyd, Gabbard, Gerdes, and Hanowitz voting yes. Council member Harding voting no, and council member Gibbons recusing himself.

Thank you. Now we move on to H-1, two, three, four, five. We're good. We move on to H-3. Council member Gabbard. H-2. H-2. Oh, H-2, sorry.

The two of them confused me. No worries, you're good. Respectfully requesting city council approval to remove the following item from the HERS referral list, which was the continued or planned investments in the context of the American City's Climate Challenge Committed and Integrated Sustainability Action Plan implementation. And this was removed by request of Council member Driscoll. This was her item because it was redundant for another item that is ongoing, that is Council member Floyd's. So this will still be part of the conversation, but to remove it for housekeeping.

And I so move.

Second.

I have a motion and second. Clerk, if you please open the machine for voting. Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all present, council members have voted. Clerk, please tally announce the vote.

Madam Chair, the motion to approve of John H-2A passes unanimously with Council member Fick Sanders and Floyd being absent.

Now we move on to H-3. Council member Gabbard.

All right, last one for me, I promise. Respectfully requesting city council approval of a resolution confirming the 2026 City of St. Petersburg's federal legislative agenda. And the legislative agenda is attached in the resolution, and I so move. Second.

You have a motion and second. Clerk, if you can open the machine for voting. Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all present council members have voted, clerk, please tally announce the vote.

Madam Chair, the motion to approve agenda item H-3A passes unanimously with Council members Fick Sanders and Floyd being absent.

Okay, great. So we've moved to the end of the agenda, except public hearings, which starts at 5-0-1, so we will be in recess until then. Thank you.

We're reconvening the council meeting with public hearings. Hi, Joe. We have J-1 and J-2.

Move approval J-1.

A motion and a second. Clerk, you'll please open the machine for voting. Council members, please enter your votes. Sorry. Oh. Council member, please enter your votes. Seeing that all present council members have voted, clerk, please tally and announce the vote. Oh. Yeah, I missed it. You can press the button. Oh, sorry. There you go. Madam Chair, the motion to approve agenda items J-1 and J-2 passed unanimously. Thank you. Thank you, Joe, for joining us.

Good to see you, Joe.

Okay, we move on to open forum. Any speakers? No speakers? We move to announcements. Any announcements? Council member Gerdes.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just quickly, there was the annual meeting for the St. Pete EDC yesterday, which a few of us attended, and I just wanted to say, just very thankful for Mike Swayze and his team and all the work they're doing at the St. Pete EDC. It was a great annual meeting. They had some site selectors, some great speakers. It really was, and frankly, a great room. A bunch of our stakeholders, more than 100 more than last year, and so just love to see our city and trying to help bring more economic development here at St. Petersburg, and to foster the economic development that is already here, I think, is also one of those things that gets lost. So just very thankful, wanted to say it out loud to the entire St. Pete EDC family, but Mike did a great job yesterday, and it was a great event, and so I just wanted to say thank you. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you for sharing that. I'm sorry I missed it. I was on duty with child care, as my daughter had no school yesterday. So my husband had the morning, and I had the afternoon, so Council Member Fick Sanders.

That's right. So first of all, and I think she's watching, I want to thank Ms. Kiera Lovett, who is the Director of Social Services with St. Pete Housing Authority, who presented this morning at the Youth and Family Services meeting. She was brilliant. She spoke the truth. I reached out to Mr. Lundy to commend her for the wonderful job that she received, that she's doing, but I want to make sure that she received the kudos that she deserves in serving Jordan Park, a very difficult population in the city of St. Petersburg, and I needed her to know that when she left here, she left her here admired by so many of us in the work that she's doing. So, Kiera, I know you're watching. Thank you, thank you, and thank you. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Council Member Fick Sanders.

She actually did a great job this morning. She did. Council Member Floyd. Thank you. Vice Chair Floyd. Oh, my God. It's okay. You're going to get it by June.

This is, I was asked, told, to congratulate Team USA Women's Hockey on the gold medal. It just happened while we were in the meeting, so congratulations. Oh, my bad. I'm sure it was an exciting game. I had the kids at home tonight. I love myself. You can watch speed skating instead.

Well, if you watch the speed, is it the speed skate? What is it, the downhill where the dog actually, there was a dog that ended up going through the finish line. It's the best video ever, and I will share it after. It's the best video ever. So, Council Member Driscoll. Thank you. It's not an announcement. Actually, I just wanted to double check to make sure that you guys had checked Zoom for any open forum at the end. I just got a text from somebody that they said they had their hand raised to speak.

Okay. All right.

Just wanted to make sure. All right. Thanks.

Got to be quick in the afternoon. They're going here, and they say nothing, so sorry. Hopefully next time. Well, thank you, everyone, for a great meeting. Meeting's done. Thank you. Thank you.