City Council - Mar 06, 2025

Where's that agenda? Welcome to the City of St. Petersburg City Council meeting. Your elected officials are Mayor Ken Welch, District 1 and Council Chair, Hopley Gerdes, District 2, Brandi Gabbard, District 3, Mike Harding, District 4 and Council Vice Chair, Lisseth Hanowitz, District 5, Deborah Fick Sanders, District 6, Gina Driscoll, District 7, Corey Gibbons Jr., and District 8, Richie Floyd. Good afternoon. We will call to order the March 6, 2025 City Council meeting to order. If we could do a roll call, please. Harding, Hanowitz, here, Dick Sanders, Driscoll, here, Gibbons, here, Floyd, here, Gerdes, here, Gabbard. Okay. Today we'll have our invocation given by Imam Abdul Ali from the Tampa Bay Muslim Association, followed by a moment of silence to honor our fallen first responders. Then please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Everyone, please stand. Greetings to all. Before I make the prayer, I would like to make an announcement and invite you all to our 7th annual St. Petersburg gift card dinner, March the 18th, at 6 p.m. at the St. Petersburg Coliseum. The theme for our dinner is breaking bread together with peace, justice, love, and compassion for all. And if ever there was a time for us as a people to sit down and come together, we're living in that time. So you all would please come and be with us. At this time, I'd like to pray, and I'd like to begin. This is the month of fasting, the month of Ramadan. So we greet you in peace. As-salam alaykum, which means God, peace be with you. And the next time we come, that will be a test to see if all of you learned that. May we pray. With our Lord, the creator's name, the merciful benefactor, merciful redeemer, the Lord, our Lord of all worlds, and all the systems of knowledge. And his servants, and there were many, but they all are from one family. The praise belonged to him, our Lord, and we beg for your mercy, and we beg for your forgiveness. During this holy month of Ramadan, the month of fasting, may we continue, may you continue to bless and guide the mayor of our city, the members of city council, this administration, and all who work for the betterment of our all citizens in this wonderful city of St. Petersburg. Ramadan called for us to address the poor, those who are in need, those who are suffering. So we ask all to join in with us as we reach out to those who need our help and our support. We all was created to know one another, not to despise and reject one another. And we was all created as one human family for peace and justice for all. We ask you, our Lord, to continue to bless the women and men who protect us, who wear uniform, who serve us locally, who serve us in this country and abroad. The first responders, may you continue to bless us, O Lord, and bless all of those who are working for our safety and for a better country and a better America as we pray in your name we say, amen. Please join me in a moment of silence for Firefighter Abner L. Daughtry. Last Alarm, March 4th, 1954. Thank you. I pledge allegiance to the United States and to the Republic for which it's one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Please be seated. Imam, thank you so much for the invocation. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you so much. Okay. Council members, we have an agenda in front of us, adding G6 and H2. I'll entertain a motion for approval. Second. Seeing as no further discussion, we have a motion and a second. Clerk, could you please open the machine for voting? Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing as all present, council members have voted. Clerk, could you please tally and announce the vote? Mr. Chair, a motion to have passed the agenda passes unanimously with Council Member Gabbert being absent. Okay. We have a consent agenda. Clerk, do we have any speakers on consent? We do have one speaker, Mr. Chair. Okay. Let's go to the one public speaker and then we'll go to Council Member Floyd. Pete Bolin, please go to either podium. State your name and address for the record. And you have three minutes to address City Council. Good afternoon, everybody. Pete Bolin from 293rd Street North, Mary Margaret's Old Irish Tavern, St. Pete's Quintessential Irish Club. Just for the record, I want to say this is not a Boston hat. This is a St. Patrick's Day hat. Just I wanted to make that clear for the clerk. Thank you for the opportunity to address today regarding this important matter, the celebration and support of Irish heritage in our beautiful community with the Florida Department of Transportation Street Closure Permit for St. Patrick's Day on March the 17th. As we all know, St. Patrick's Day is more than just a festive occasion or drinking holiday. It represents a rich tapestry of our culture, history, and community shared not only in Ireland but around the world. St. Pete has a proud and vibrant Irish American community that we are proud to celebrate. This festive occasion fosters unity and joy, bringing together residents from all walks of life and backgrounds where everybody can be Irish for the day. Continuing to support a free St. Patrick's Day event like this one enriches our community spirit during one of the busiest times of the year and after a harrowing storm season. It provides benefit for local businesses, helps to promote tourism, and importantly, encourages our youth to engage with their heritage and celebrate diversity. By promoting these events, we showcase our commitment to inclusivity and respect our cultural traditions. Celebrating Irish culture through traditional music, dance, art, food, and a wee bit of Guinness allows us to create a more welcoming environment and space to do so where everyone can come together. Whether it's the sounds of traditional Irish music echoing through our downtown streets or the green cloud revelers and festivities, these experiences create lasting memories and a stronger sense of community. I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to thank the incredibly hardworking and gracious city staff whom have supported not only our efforts with Patty Fest St. Pete at Williams Park since day one, but also with their support to create this traditional Irish St. Pat's special event on the Holy Day itself. They have helped every step of the way on how to get to a yes. I would not be here today without the support of Evan Morey, April Grasso, Ted Civil, and all their colleagues, especially City Attorney Heather Judd. Throughout the administration, so today I graciously urge you to support the consent agenda item before you. By doing so, we not only honor our Irish culture and support our downtown business community, but also embrace the broader values of inclusivity and celebration and cultural appreciation that this city is known for. I am thankful for the opportunity to work together to ensure St. Petersburg remains a city that recognizes and celebrates the rich traditions and contributions of all its residents. Thank you for your attention and consideration in this matter. Thank you. Councilmember Floyd. Thank you. There's a lot of things on this consent agenda. It was quite long, a lot of good stuff, but I wanted to highlight two things in particular that are relevant to District 8. The first is CA1, I believe, the library. We are going to actually be purchasing the furnishings for the inside of the library. I'm really grateful to see that. I'm really, you know, it's long overdue, and I'm excited to see that we're making good progress in the library, and I am holding us to making sure it gets open this year for the public. And then the other thing is, I think it's CB16, an agreement for painting bulb outs in the Grand Central District. I'm really excited to see. One thing I've been advocating for the whole time I've been here is increased street safety, particularly in Grand Central, and I'm really excited to see that project move forward. So I just wanted to shout out those two things that are on the consent agenda. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Okay, seeing as no other discussion, do we have a motion? So moved. Second. Seeing as we have a motion and a second, no council members wishing to speak. Clerk, could you please open the machine for voting? Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing as all present council members have voted, Clerk, could you please tally and announce the vote? Mr. Chair, a motion to pass the consent agenda passes unanimously. Okay, let's move into open forum. Clerk, could you please read the rules? If you wish to address city council on subjects other than public hearing or quasi-judicial items listed on the agenda, please sign up with the clerk. Only the 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. 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 adjust to the 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 the quorum. If live public comment is disrupted by violations of the rules of the quorum, the chair is authorized to accept public comment, but alternate means, including by email only, and we do have some speakers, Mr. Chair. All right, let's call two at a time. Please, Clerk. Two at a time. First speaker, Dr. Perigee, Washington. I'll bring the microphone over there to you, and the other is Troy Hitchcock. Please, either one, please state your name and address for the record, and you will have three minutes to address city council. All right. I'm here to support the Trails Crossing initiative. Good afternoon. My name is Troy Hitchcock. I'm a citizen of St. Pete and a homeowner on- We need your address, please. 2960 Fairfield Avenue South. Thank you. Sorry about that. That's okay. I started off correctly there. Resident of Palmetto Park. I'm also a member of the Palmetto Park Neighborhood Association. I work with Tara Hubbard, who many of you know, for Take Mar, a local nonprofit organization, as the Sunline Project Coordinator focused on activating the Pinellas Trail. Through Take Mar, I've become a member of the St. Pete Chamber of Commerce. I'm also working with the Florida State Office of Greenways and Trails to help recognize St. Pete as a trail town. All of this is a very long way of explaining that I spend most of my time advocating for the Pinellas Trail. I'm very passionate about this tremendous asset we have in St. Pete. I'm here personally and on behalf of Take Mar to enthusiastically support the Trails Crossing initiative. We firmly believe this transformative project will not only convert underutilized parking areas into a dynamic public park at the bare minimum, but by doing so will generate environmental, social, and economic benefits, and really jumpstart trail activation and connectivity in the historic gas plant district. We are excited about new opportunities to embrace public art, encourage diversity, and the potential for unique community programming. I've recently done research and spent time visiting both the Atlanta Beltline and the Miami Underline, and have seen firsthand how this type of development and activation can transform a community. This bold project is exactly what we would love to see more of in St. Pete. Thank you. Thank you. Dr. Washington, go ahead. I'm here to tell you I'm going to sue the city of St. Petersburg. Dr. Washington, give your name and address, please. I refuse to give my name because I don't want the proud boys to find my house inadvertently. They're going to have to work to find my house. Dr. Washington, we need your name, and at least give us your cross streets, please. Main Avenue and 34th Street. And your name, please. Perry G. Washington. Thank you. You know them as the proud boys. When I grew up, they were the Klu Klux Klan. They still exist. They turned their white cheeks into white shirts. I'm at my home. My fence was destroyed. St. Petersburg Police watched this individual destroy my property and would not do anything. And I told them. I called them. They said they did not know it was my property. I told them. Guess what? I put all the markets in this state in the ground. We retired. 32 years and a half real estate broker. They say, if you say God three times, psychiatrists say it's a communicator of you having your mental defect. God. They woke the dog up. Or the dog fell back with me. You woke me up. I told them. I only wanted to sleep. Leave me alone. Do not better than me and mine. I went to the chain of command. All the way up to Major Miller. I wanted to speak to the chief of police. I couldn't get the chief. I asked me to the assistant chief. I didn't get the assistant chief. They violated Major Miller's instructions. They were to stay out of it and it was action. On my birthday, guess where I was? To jail. Because they arrested me for this. I put it. Thank you, Dr. Washington. Thank you. Next two speakers, please. Last speaker, Kathy Harrelson. Please approach either podium. State your name and address. You'll have three minutes to address city council. Good afternoon, Kathy Harrelson. I'll give you the cross streets. 26th Street and 32nd Avenue. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. The heat is on. We're experiencing a heat island effect that is affecting not only our heat, but our rainfall and the severity of storms that spin up in the Gulf of Mexico. We've kind of become, literally, for every storm that comes into the Gulf or is formed in the Gulf, we're sort of like, hey, we're the hot ticket. Come on over. So time to stop that. Urban forestry and citizen foresters are working hard to plant new trees, and that's necessary. A lot of them along the trail, by the way. Where's my trail man? With Tickmar. Because a tree absorbs climate-changing CO2 to produce vital oxygen as it stores carbon. It fills the earth with its vertical roots that absorb stormwater. It reflects and absorbs solar radiation, maintains local air quality, contributes to the formation of clouds through vaporization, and lowers the ever-increasing heat index in our city. But we have a sadly diminishing existing urban forest. I'm talking existing big shade trees. We all know how important they are. The really strong ones did not fall over in the storm, and that's important. We have to keep our current urban forests healthy. These are valuable trees we all need to protect. So it's time to stop the chop. I think some of you have heard that expression before. And find a way to keep trees in our landscapes. I'm here to ask that we get busy creating a livable city task force that will pull in cities, city workers, citizens, scientists, business owners, and other experts. I will email all of you the proposal for a livable city task force, and please don't hesitate to reach out. Thanks so much. Thank you. Any more speakers? Okay. We'll go ahead and close open forum and move into awards and presentations. We'll have our Flood Awareness Week proclamation given to us by Councilmember Harding. Thank you, Chair. I'd like to thank our own floodplain manager, Hannah, for receiving this on behalf of the mayor, or behalf of the city. Whereas, St. Petersburg has experienced severe weather in the past in the form of extreme rainfall or tropical system events resulting in flooding in coastal areas, and this flooding has caused damage and flood losses to homes and buildings in all areas, whether they are high-risk special hazard areas or low-to-moderate-risk flood zones. And whereas, the city of St. Petersburg is dedicated to proactively safeguarding our coastal communities and preserving the way of life of residents for future generations through comprehensive planning and decisive action. And whereas, public education and awareness of potential weather hazards and methods of protection are critical to the health, safety, and welfare of residents. And whereas, St. Petersburg is a voluntary participant in the community rating system through the National Flood Insurance Program that provides residents with the opportunity to protect themselves against flood loss, through the purchase of flood insurance at reduced insurance premium rates, as well as setting higher regulatory standards to reduce the flood risk and potential flood damage to their property. And whereas, the Florida Flood Plan Managers Association has declared the week of March 3rd, 2025, as Flood Awareness Week to promote awareness and increase knowledge of flood risk, the availability of flood insurance, flood protection methods, and how to prepare for emergencies. Therefore, I, Council Member Harding, on behalf of Mayor Kenneth T. Welch, of the city of St. Petersburg, do hereby proclaim March 3rd through March 9th, 2025, as Flood Awareness Week in St. Petersburg, and encourage our citizens to increase their knowledge of how to protect themselves and their property from flooding. Post-Flood Plane Manager, really quick, I just want to thank all of you guys for your support. It's been a rough year. We are recovering, and we're recovering stronger than before. And kudos to my amazing team behind me, because it wouldn't have been done without them. So, thank you. Thank you. I'm going to put Hannah on the spot for a second. We had a neighborhood meeting earlier this week for Yacht Club Estates, one of the neighborhoods that was flooded in District 1, and Hannah was there. And Hannah handled it, Hannah handled it, so flawlessly. I picked some poor words for that sentence. That she got an applause afterwards, after, you know, what can be a heightened emotional conversation. And just Hannah, and the whole team, but Hannah specifically, I know there's been a lot of pressure on you over the last few months, and multiple conversations at committees, committee of the whole, city councils, neighborhood meetings, all alike. And I'm just so appreciative for you, and the way you handle things, and the way you speak to our residents. It resonates with them that they can see you care just as much as they do. And that goes a long way. And I'm very, very, very appreciative of you and all the work that the team does, but just wanted to give you a special shout-out, Hannah. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Thank you. Okay, we're going to move into new ordinances, E1, and ordinance relating to utility rates and charges. And just as a reminder, city council, this is first reading. Tom Green, welcome. Afternoon, Mr. Chair. Can you read the title? Oh, I'm sorry, Chan. Proposed Ordinance No. 607H, an ordinance relating to utility rates and charges, amending Chapter 27, Subsection 27-6 of the St. Petersburg City Code, amending the water charges for leak adjustment relief, adding adjustment relief for abnormal events, adding adjustment relief for abnormal events following a declared state of local emergency, providing for explanation of words, struck through and underline, establishing a date to begin calculating new charges and applying the new adjustment relief for billing purposes and providing an effective date. The public hearing for this item is on March 27th, and we have no cards. Move approval. Second. Seeing as no other, Councilmember, oh, Councilmember Floyd. Thanks. I was just going to say, I hope to get like one-on-one on this before I assume that you were thinking something along the lines, just so I can fully wrap my head around it. Absolutely. Thanks. Okay. Seeing as no other Councilmembers wishing to speak, can we have a motion in a second? Clerk, could you please open the machine for voting? Councilmembers, please enter your votes. Seeing as all present, Councilmembers have voted. Clerk, please tally and announce the vote. Mr. Chair, motion to approve of Gen Item E-1 passes unanimously. Okay. We're going to move into reports. State of Emergency Update. City Administrator Gers. Thank you, Chair. Good afternoon, City Council. It's wonderful to see you this afternoon. As you know, the administration is required to provide a brief report on the state of emergency approximately every 30 days. We did have a brief discussion on this at the Committee of the Whole last week. We did notify you that we were going to extend the state of emergency mostly so we can extend the waiver of permit fees on damaged properties, properties that were damaged in the storm, and we have extended that waiver of permit fees until June 30th. I know that you received the new state of emergency and the additional memo that outlined that. In addition, we did also decide to keep the language that provides us some flexibility on code enforcement, especially related to domestic equipment in a front yard. If somebody had damage to their home, that they could have an RV or travel trailer there. We did eliminate basically all the other provisions. I know the one that City Council is usually most interested in is we did eliminate the provision for emergency procurement because we do want to respect City Council's appropriation powers and that you are the appropriate body to appropriate money. We didn't feel like we needed that emergency authority anymore. So with that, we do anticipate now maintaining this very basic state of emergency until the permit fee waiver expires on June 30th. I think that's our current plan, and we'll be happy to answer any questions if you have any. Move approval. I don't think. I just have. What did you say? Report. Oh, sorry. Yeah, just a report, I think. Oh, okay. I just had one question. I got a question at Yacht Club neighborhood meeting the other day about lifts being damaged and their boats being in their front yards. Are we also waiving that code along with travel trailers and domestic equipment? I mean, I think it falls under domestic equipment, but I can certainly talk to Administrator Foster and Director Wall, and if you want to give me the address, we'll look into it specifically. I mean, I think we want to be reasonable. Depends maybe how long it's been there and have they taken any actions to try to move. It's going to be a case-by-case basis. That's what I assumed, but I figured I'd ask why it was in front of us. Thank you. Council Member Driscoll. Thank you. Thank you for bringing that up, and I do appreciate that there would be a little bit of evaluation that takes place because we do have quite a few people in our city who store their boats on their front lawns and in the front driveway as a practice and not as a fix right now. And so I'd love to see those addressed as well. So, you know, this is a great way to just check and see who really needs the help in this way. And if any council member has a constituent in this situation, just reach out to us, and we'll take a specific look at it. Very much appreciated. Thanks for the update. Okay, we'll move into F2, a presentation on Trails Crossing Agreement. And I think we've got Evan Morey and Cheryl Stacks. Cheryl, welcome. Good afternoon. Cheryl Stacks, Transportation Manager for the city. I'm really happy to be here and to have an opportunity to bring this exciting project forward to you for your consideration. Efforts to get to where we are today have been underway for a while, so it's a great opportunity to – it's great to be able to provide you with an update and an overview. So, what is Trails Crossing? Trails Crossing is a community-initiated request for a concept that transforms and improves underutilized land under I-275 to connect the Pinellas Trail with adjacent districts in generally in central St. Petersburg. In general, the project goals for Trails Crossing are as listed on the screen. There's a desire to improve the bicycle and pedestrian connections that reduce the effects of I-275 on those modes, a desire to create a real destination that expands on and complements the adjacent districts with its own distinct identity, a desire to activate the underutilized space to provide more significant community benefits, and a desire to implement a best management practices strategy for a public-private partnership as changes are implemented as a part of the project. The maps here show the general location for Trails Crossing under I-275 from north of First Avenue North to approximately I-175, with a focus on the four blocks from First Avenue North to Third Avenue South. A key partner in advancing the Trails Crossing project is the Friends of Trails Crossing group. They've been founded as a not-for-profit organization with a mission to deliver and maintain a first-class cultural park under I-275, consistent with project goals. Their leadership has prior experience in under-highway activation, particularly in partnership with the city and FDOT with the recent implementation of the under I-375 park. So both the city and the Friends of Trails Crossing group have recognized the need for a master plan that would guide the implementation of changes in this area. The master plan focuses on those critical blocks from First Avenue North to Third Avenue South and will provide a blueprint for the infrastructure needs. It'll also provide recommendations for specific action items in a phased approach that is informed by best practices and lessons learned elsewhere. Crucially, it also provides us with a maintenance operations and governance strategy that will guide the roles and responsibilities of each of the project stakeholders in the public-private partnership. The city has completed a solicitation for architecture and engineering services to develop the master plan and found that Land Design, Inc. is the most qualified firm. We've negotiated and finalized a scope of services to be performed to create the master plan, and it includes those in the bulleted list here. With data collection, envisioning sessions with the community and direct stakeholder engagement, developing frameworks and some design concepts through a design workshop that also has community engagement, and again, that development of that maintenance and operations and governance strategy, and then finally a draft master plan report and a final master plan report. A key element of the master plan will be these various frameworks that will be developed to cover all areas that need consideration in order for the Trails Crossing project to be successful. So we'll need a blueprint for any recommendations associated with land use and zoning, how people will move through the area, and how we'll consider the parking needs, including parking needs that may change over time. Consideration for utilities, infrastructure, and stormwater management will be critical and include resilience recommendations. And finally, we'll have concepts for how the space will provide those added activities desired by the community implemented with high-quality urban design. There are some very specific key considerations that the master plan will have in mind and that will be developed as a part of the master plan development. We certainly need a phased implementation strategy with short, medium, and long-term recommendations on action items that consider existing use agreements that govern the area. So the master plan process will have us working with adjacent stakeholders, particularly those that are under agreement with the city and FDOT for parking, such as vertical ventures, and parking needs associated with the Edge District and Grand Central, not to mention the historic gas plant redevelopment. So those will be part of what's considered by the consultant through the course of the community engagement and the stakeholder engagement as a part of the master plan development. There are a significant number of redevelopment plans that are in this area that will require some phasing implementation, phasing consideration too. And then finally, there are some legal requirements associated with the property since it is located within a CRA. To complete the development of the master plan, the city will partner with the Friends of Trails Crossing group with each entity providing an equal financial contribution of up to $150,000, and that will cover the AE cost and the city administration of the AE agreement. The city's funding is previously appropriated, and the Friends funding would be phased according to the terms within the proposed funding agreement that was attached to the council item. So the requested action is that council approve the resolution that allows the city to execute the agreements needed to complete the Trails Crossing master plan. And with that, Evan and I are here to answer some questions. We also have John Barquette from the Friends of Trails Crossing group who's available to answer questions as well. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Let's go to public comment. John Barquette, please approach either podium, state your name and address. You'll have three minutes to address city council. I can't see anymore. Good to see you all now. My name is John Barquette, and I'm located at 615 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North. I'm here in the beautiful city of St. Petersburg. Good afternoon, council members, city leaders, and fellow St. Petersburg residents and business owners. I'm a longtime business and property owner here in St. Petersburg for the last quarter of a century. I can't believe I'm saying that, but I also serve on the Board of Governors for the St. Pete Chamber, as well as the MLK Business District and Sunline Committee. I stand before you here today as a co-founder of Friends of Trails Crossing in appreciation of this council's ongoing support of the Trails Crossing Cultural Park Master Plan, a transformational project that represents an opportunity for our city to bridge its history, culture, and future. For too long, our community has been divided physically, socially, and economically by infrastructure that was never designed with connectivity in mind. The space under I-275 has been an underutilized barrier, but with this plan, we have the power to redefine it as a place of connection, linking multiple neighborhoods and districts, including the Grant Central District, Historic Gas Plant, Warehouse Arts District, Palmetto Park, and Historic Kenwood, as well as Campbell Park, to name a few, to the Pinellas Trail and our vibrant downtown. This is more than a park. It's a cultural landmark in the making. By incorporating green space, public art, and a pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, we are creating a place where people from all walks of life can gather, engage, and celebrate St. Pete's diverse identity, a place that enhances mobility, fosters economic opportunity, and supports our thriving arts community while being sheltered from the sun and rain. The project also aligns with our city's vision for smart growth and sustainability. It will improve walkability, create safer bike routes, and encourage multimodal transportation while activating space that has been neglected for decades. With thoughtful design and strategic investment, we can transform this corridor into a vibrant, accessible, and inclusive destination for residents and visitors alike. We have the vision, the momentum, and the community support to make this happen. I urge you to move forward with the Trails Crossing Cultural Park Master Plan, knowing that your decision today will create a legacy of connection and culture for generations to come. Thank you. Thank you. And I'm here for any questions. Okay, great. Councilman, what? Thank you. Thank you for the presentation, particularly the slide with the funding explanation. That's kind of what I wanted to make sure I had my head wrapped around, because as it was presented to us last time, it seemed like the city was going to do like a contribution, $150,000, and the rest would be privately financed. That's what appears in this plan. And I guess that I'm glad to see that it's still like that. My thinking is, is once we get to pass like a design phase, has there been any conversation about what funding looks like? I know there's supposed to be a lot of private financing in this, and I just wanted to make sure I understood. Thank you for that. And yes, the idea and the intent would be equal contributions in the development of the master plan, and then within the scope of services that the consultant will provide, part of their research and best practices would be to look for funding, what other communities have done to fund similar projects in their area. So they'll make recommendation to us as to how we can pursue different types of funding, and that could include from the private sector as well as the public sector. But that'll be a distinct part of the activity of the scope of services from the consultant is to get us toward how do we implement this and how do we do it in a way that where other groups have done it successfully. Okay. Thank you for that. Another thing I'll mention is we heard it multiple times about parking and current agreements. I think, like, and you specifically mentioned vertical ventures, I'm just glad to hear that there's a discussion going on as to how that is going to look in the future because I did speak with them recently, and from my perspective, it did seem that they were being reasonable, so I don't think that that should become an impediment at all. So I was glad to hear that. And the last thing I'll add is we're moving forward with this right now, and one of the key pieces of the puzzle that it's connecting is the historic gas plant development, and, you know, that's kind of up in the air. I just want to ensure, like, there's no consternation over that. We're not, are we worried? Could that impact the future if we were to not go forward? Are we just, you know, trying to connect a part of our city and we're not giving that much thought, or we're not worrying about that too much right now? Thank you. I think the master plan activity can certainly move forward now and let us get those conversations underway, especially because it connects not just to the east, but also connects to the west and to the north and to the south. So I think it makes sense for us to start working on this now, and then as those other conversations play out, we can incorporate that within the consideration of the master plan. Okay, cool. All right, well, thank you very much for that. Just wanted to make sure I had my head fully wrapped around it, and I was ready to go forward, and I look forward to the outcome of this. So I appreciate the presentation. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Council Member Harding. Thank you, Chair. I am fully supportive of Project John. Thank you for your vision. I think this is really an incredible use of something that has literally been there since we built the interstate. The only concern I have, and Councilman Floyd brought it up as well, is Vertical Venture. I know that they leased that part. I know it's important to their business. I drove by the other day, and all of their folks were there. Can we be more specific about how we preserve that business? Well, I think what's incorporated in the scope of services for the consultant to do is to make sure that we're having those stakeholder conversations and allowing enough time for them to understand their needs and what's possible and how we could, again, look at a phased approach to implementation so that we're making sure that we're accounting for the stakeholders of the project, but also keeping in mind the community benefits. And I thought, yes, John? Sorry. Yeah, Council Member Harding. I've actually met with Council, former Mayor Kreisman, for Vertical Ventures, and we're having ongoing discussions, but we're sensitive to what they're concerned about with parking. And when you hear about phased development, one of those conversations is right now the spaces that we're talking about, the JDMU lots, is that some of that parking right now and for the next three and a half years is part of the 7,000 surface parking spaces for the Rays and Hines. As the historic gas plant continues to evolve, whatever that outcome looks like, there will be parking. So we recognize that we need to be patient and understanding. And if it means that we start with connectivity and we get lit winding walkways, let's say, on the east side of the park to start and there's still parking components in flex until we get there. That's just a reality of the project. But I also know in dealing with, and I've dealt with many of you on the other park project under I-375, it takes a long time to make these things happen. So this is planning and community outreach and engagement. So we're excited to get started. So I hope that answers your question. It does, John. Thank you very much. And again, I really, truly appreciate your vision on this. To be clear from my seat, the project has my full support with the exception of this. I can't sign off on what would put a business out of business if we just took all that parking away without a plan of support for them. So I look forward to how we resolve that going forward. And thank you for being conscious of that and talking with them. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Councilmember Driscoll. Thank you. And thank you for this presentation. I'm so excited that we're at this point, finally. John, thank you for all the work that you've done on this. It was such a pleasure to work with you on the I-375 project, which was almost like a little mini prototype of what could come. if, you know, if that works, then how big can we go with this? And this is all about reimagining some of these underutilized urban spaces that we, you know, forever until now just kind of ignored and let it stay as these sort of neglected, forgotten areas. And activating that is really important right now as we don't have a whole lot of land to work with to create new, vibrant, exciting spaces like this that are so open and welcoming to everyone. This is, you know, I look at the project goals and it's so in line with many of the other projects that we're working on right now, you know, creating better transportation connections and building on the successes of some of our neighborhoods like the Edge District and Grand Central. So, and seeing that studying similar projects that are done in other cities, this is truly the St. Pete way of accomplishing that. And I can't wait to see what it looks like in the end. I don't think it will take quite as long. Like, if you scale, even like, once you scale it, I don't think that any of us ever thought that I-375 park would take so long, but once we got the asphalt part worked out, we were good to go. I had, you know, I also wanted to point out that I think the real beauty of this is in that partnership that we have. The public-private partnership, not just in sitting around the table, but putting skin in the game, is really critical. And I think that is going to speak loudly to the success of this project. I, too, am concerned about vertical ventures. I'm quite protective of them. It's a great business, and I want to make sure that they are taken care of and set up for continued success. So keep working with them. It's not about whether or not it will work with them, but how. So I hope you'll move forward with that mindset. The question that I have is on the Reconnecting Communities Planning Grant for 8th Street and MLK Street as part of the implementation for this. And we know that's kind of up in the air right now, but just like with a couple of other things I mentioned, it's not about whether or not we can do it. Whether or not this goes away, we can still move forward. But I wonder if you're looking at this and considering another avenue, another way that we could move forward if that happens to not come through for us. Thank you. So with the Reconnecting Communities Grant, we have gotten some movement from Federal Highways in that we have a kickoff scheduled with the award recipients, and that's going to be in early April. So I feel at least a little hopeful that we'll be able to move forward and get under agreement with Federal Highways for that funding to get that planning effort underway. And I think where it relates to this particular study with Trails Crossing is that that study is going to help us figure out what does the bicycle accommodation look like when we convert those from one-way streets to two-way streets. Is the bikeway on 8th Street? Is it on ML King Street? Is it on both? And then how would people connect east and west over to Trails Crossing? So I think that that really is kind of the linkage there is what does the bike network look like and how are we moving people around if they're not in a car? And so I think that's a key consideration there. And I think that that's kind of a consideration that we have regardless if we were getting the funding for reconnecting communities, we're always going to be trying to be mindful through our Complete Streets approach as to how are we equally considering all modes of transportation. Right, right. and what we're starting to learn slowly but surely with what the expectations are in terms of new federal guidelines and it's changing a lot, but what we know so far is that there is a great emphasis on safety. So what you want, what you want to make sure you show, when we get grant agreements, we can fully expect to have new terms and conditions on these. How does this make people safer and how does this help families? Those are the two things that I'm learning just from other work that I'm doing is going to be a priority for this administration. So just keep that in mind as you move forward with this, with this project because we want to make sure that it is in line with that. I mean, those are our values too, right? So I look forward to seeing how that, how that starts to evolve. That's all I have. Thank you so much. Thank you. Vice Chair Hanowitz. Thank you, Chair. Thank you so much for the presentation, Evan and Cheryl, for the work you've put into this. Friends of Trail Crossing for having the vision on this. I, you know, I grew up in Miami. I remember the Metro Rail, believe it or not, took many decades and those that are in transportation are well aware. Probably started in the 50s or something. Everyone was like, oh my gosh, we cannot have a Metro Rail. Eventually, in the 80s, I think it happened. It was government run amok, all that money going into the Metro Rail and now, of course, in Miami, it's extremely necessary. And then you had, it was built and nobody ever thought, well, what, how about under the Metro Rail and now, you know, here we are, decades after it was built, the idea of having a trail park under it with lots of different amenities. Now, of course, it's very long. I mean, it's miles and miles, 10 miles or something like that, so there's lots of space there. It's a little different. But in any event, it's placemaking and it's a way to kind of utilize public spaces as we've talked about. But at the same time, what makes St. Pete special, that's going to make St. Pete special. But guess what? There are other things that make St. Pete special and it's finding that balance of collaboration and we've heard about Vertical Ventures. Let me tell you, there are parts there that are not activated. Vertical Ventures activated that area there with their business. It is a unique business in the area. I don't climb, obviously. But I know people that do. I had no idea how popular it was and I will tell you, I took my daughter there, my stepdaughter and her boyfriend, they live in Utah and actually when they come, they go there and I had no idea how busy this place was and it is just, people come from different parts, not from St. Pete but from other counties because you don't find many climbing gyms. So, to make a long story short, the point is that we encourage, obviously, people use different types of modalities to get to places but there is a need for parking for that business and its model so I'm glad to hear that and I think other council members have spoken loudly on this but I'm glad to hear that you all have listened to the concerns, you've listened to concerns. Look, they work on a membership model and so they have to have some clarity like any business to tell their people, you know, there's going to be parking so you have to have some plan in place, you know, it's not like we're going to change things immediately and it sounds like you understand that and if they are watching, it sounds like there is a consensus on council, they're very sensitive to making sure that what we have that makes our city unique stays here as we become more unique and that's what we all want to see so I'm supportive and keep working at it and make sure that we can make this happen and make everyone happy so thank you very much. Thank you. Councilmember Fix Sanders. Thank you so much. How are you? I also, everybody's already said everything it is about how wonderful this project is and what the promises that it makes but again, of course, you know, vertical adventures were also raised but I will say council member Harding said something that I thought of but it didn't resonate until he said it and especially as much of a small business advocate as I am. It's hard to support something that may potentially put another business out of business so when we think about the parking, full disclosure, when someone says something is going on downtown, the first thing comes to my mind is I don't want to go because there's nowhere to park so I don't want to force vertical ventures to try to find other alternatives and I saw one of the locations that was proposed to them which I don't think is conducive to them running a successful business so I'm trying to decide do I support the project and move it forward with no commitment that vertical ventures is going to be supported and the current lease agreement that we have right now this may be a question for you the current lease agreement that they have right now they're actually leasing that parking lot from the city right when does that lease end the lease was a long-term lease it came to the end of its original term approximately a year year and a half ago and it's been extended for a year at this point I think there's six months to go but whenever they want to work on another extension I think that the administration's amenable to another extension would look at something closer to a year than five years but we can have that conversation and as has been mentioned here today this is not going to happen overnight and I would also say that if we move forward with this plan council the public will get to review that plan and certainly have more decision points in the future before a major change would occur with construction so I don't think that anybody's 100% comfortable with this because there's a lot of unknowns but I think that we can get there before it's too late you know this is not a turn back if necessary so I agree with that and I appreciate that but as a business owner that's running a successful business and not having anything in writing in regards to how they can forecast for their employees for their you know I guess I'm kind of uncomfortable with that because I don't think that this is a new issue because I'm sure that has been brought up before this was presented to us so someone had to converse about the opportunity and the thought of Vertical Ventures and what they are facing in regards to moving forward so you're right we do have other points and I'm still thinking but I would have thought in the conversation that would have been addressed prior to getting to this point that's just kind of where I am with it well I can't I don't want to speak for Vertical Ventures for where they stand exactly today but I've met with their lobbyists I've met with one of the owners and I don't think that at that time when I met with the owner they were not uncomfortable with moving forward with the master plan knowing that that'll provide a lot of answers and that it's not a step you know it's not eliminating the parking it's trying to come up with a plan to address everything okay we're not really coming up with the final plan but at least giving some type of you know assurity that it seems like to me it's based on us moving forward and whether or not we approve it or not and so it's kind of like throwing the baby out with the bathwater it's like you know okay well we go ahead and we approve it and then a year two years from now we come back and Vertical Ventures who's already been you know said to be such an asset to the area and an asset to the city of St. Petersburg to know we could have prevented it and we didn't so and it's a small request it wasn't to me it wouldn't have been a detriment to the plan to say well it's concrete now we'll plan around it you know to ensure that it's still there and that's just something that we didn't seem to do so I'm going to think about that for a minute but thank you Chair thank you Vice Chair Hanowitz based on what council member Vic Sanders mentioned and we know that this is by the way not happening overnight okay this has a while I mean is there an issue with just making sure that the next session is two years while this is kind of give some clarity for the next couple of years for them and that way it's not a one year it's two year because nothing's going to happen immediately on this we know this we know how long these things take we're in the planning stage we're going to get a report nothing's happening and at that point in time you can have the conversations yeah I think I mean I think we hear what you're saying today we're going to want to talk to the business owner I can't make a commitment like that but that's I think yeah that's that's I think maybe if we can find some sort of more than a year so to give them some flexibility this is not happening overnight I think I think that's kind of where probably some of the heartache is coming from so thank you very much I won't rehash what's already been said I think you've heard all the feedback on vertical ventures I'm certainly supportive of this moving it forward thanks for hearing us out on those issues and I know you're working on it I've spoken with the owner I've spoken with Rick Reisman I know we talked about it at public policy you know I'm very confident you guys have heard us and are going to continue to work on it so I'm not going to belabor the point at this point I'll entertain a motion for approval move approval second we have a motion and a second seeing as no other council members wishing to speak clerk could you please open the machine for voting council members please enter your votes seeing as all present council members have voted clerk please tally and announce the vote Mr. Chair motion to apply agenda item GF2 passes 7 to 1 with council member Vic Sanders voting no okay thank you thanks team all right we're going to go into new business G1 council member Vic Sanders well since we support our art community I would like to thank you respectfully requesting referral to the youth and family services committee or other relevant committee for discussion regarding financial support of the arts conservatory for teens act program we have been in conversation with the with Celeste Davis and some other resources that we would like to discuss in the sunshine with the other council members committee members as well and I'm asking with that I move approval second seems we have a motion and a second no other council members wishing to speak clerk could you please open the machine for voting council members please enter your votes seeing as all present council members have voted clerk please tally and announce the vote Mr. Chair motion to approve the gen item G1 passes unanimously okay thank you we're going to move on to G2 council member Driscoll thank you this one is a staff request this is respectfully requesting a referral to the economic and workforce development committee to provide an update on the center for the arts study and I move approval second okay looking forward to this discussion thank you council member Driscoll seeing as no other council members wishing to speak clerk could you please open the machine for voting council members please enter your votes clerk please tally and announce the vote Mr. Chair motion to have passage and item G2 okay council member Gibbons G3 respectfully requesting referral to the housing land use and transportation committee to discuss amendments to the city code to allow for increased density through workforce housing bonuses along the Pinellas trail and the sun runner corridor and with that chair I would like to move for approval second council member Floyd thanks for this new business item I'm interested in workforce density bonuses across a lot of residential areas and so I'm glad to see this so thanks okay seeing no other discussion oh I'm sorry no no problem council member Driscoll thank you this is for the administration you know we're I was told by Liz and her team that they would be well some of our team will be coming to us later this year I think for like the next phase of our TOD sun runner sun runner rising study and I'm hoping that that can dovetail with this conversation because it's quite quite related that certainly makes sense to us yeah great okay thank you thank you chair thank you okay we have a motion in a second seeing as no other council members wishing to speak clerk could you please open the machine for voting council members please enter your votes seeing as all present council members have voted clerk please tally and announce the vote mr. chair most to approve a jet img3 passes unanimously okay moving on to g4 council member givens thank you respectfully requesting a referral to the housing land use and transportation committee to discuss amending the city code to limit the number of temporary shade structures deployed on a property and establish setback requirements with that mr. chair I move to approval seeing as we have a motion and a second no other council members wishing to speak clerk could you please open the machine for voting council members please enter your votes seeing as all present council members have voted clerk please tally and announce the vote mr. chair most to approve a jet item g4 passes unanimously okay moving on to g5 three in a row council member gibbons you know what they call that in my world they call that a streak uh council member gibbons g5 respectfully requesting a referral to the health energy resilience sustainability committee to discuss lifting the city's regulation on single-use plastic straws and before i make my motion i'd just like to be clear uh mr. chair the purpose of this discussion um in the sunshine is more so revolved around uh enforcement of the code um i'd like to get an update on where we stand there since the implementation of this ordinance it's been about five years so just want to find out where we stand here uh and also recently many of you may know uh the president recently issued an executive order um banning this um so i want to find out if we're in compliance and how it'll affect us moving forward uh and with that mr. chair i move to approval okay let's go to public comment please two speakers at a time will she didn't and kathy i believe kathy harrelson please go to either podium state your name and address for the record you have three minutes to address city council hey good afternoon council uh will shed in 43 2026 avenue north i'm speaking to you guys again on the same issue i did seven years ago i was proud to be a member of the rise of a plastics coalition which worked diligently on the issue of plastics over the course of a couple of years ending in the adoption of ordinate 356h we worked really hard we contacted over 600 businesses in every single section of the city listening to their feedback incorporating changes into the final product and while we didn't end up adopting adopting the strongest or most comprehensive ordinance i think we adopted the right one for saint pete in the seven years that have passed microplastics have only become more of a public health crisis in tampa bay we know that trillions of pieces of microplastics exist in the environment working their way up the food chain into critical sections of our economy like seafood and ending up in us this council looks prescient almost in the face of studies showing the amount of microplastics that end up in the human body every year an alarming study just one released this year from the university of new mexico did autopsies and found that plastic accumulation in brains has gone up 50 percent in the last eight years alone and while it would be spurious to claim causation there was correlation between the amount of plastic found in the brain and deceased with dementia in the face of such a crisis it really doesn't seem wise to move backwards on a small but meaningful step towards plastic reduction and while public health gets brought up in the conversation of environmental policy something more often ignored is fiscal responsibility while the adoption of the ordinance has led to somewhat haphazard compliance and enforcement there's a clear trend line of restaurants making the choice to either not offer straws at all or only offer straws upon request I'm sure it's something many of y'all here have noticed as well that's a decision that saves small businesses money and it's one that they may have been unlikely to take before the awareness of this ordinance showed them that the consumer desire for straws was not as strong as anticipated I think it's possible that while many restaurants chose similarly cheap straw alternatives more ended up saving money than not due to simply change in procedure and again while this ordinance affects only a small amount of waste created it points us in the direction of zero waste which is a reality that could lead to massive cost savings for the city in the form of extending the lifetime of our dumps and reducing trash pickup in the city we're still coming off the backs of two of the most devastating storms the city's ever seen and if you ask residents to list issues that were top of mind despite the long-term importance of plaster production I doubt this would be mentioned by many I don't think in terms of committee time and staff time this is an issue that needs to be relitigated right now if anything I wish we could expand it to other forms of single-use plastic but we do we come up pretty close as ordinance as the ordinance is written to the limits statutorily allowed if this council ever does bring this issue back up in another seven years I hope it'll be in the context of expanding our protections on reducing single-use plastics moving forward it's not backwards thank you thank you next speaker please please no we can't applause let's keep the decorum please there's two speakers I'm sorry Kathy I'm sorry that's okay Kathy Harrelson 26th Street and 32nd Ave I will pretty much said it all but I saw this and was amazed that we were actually considering relitigating this when we managed to slide under the watchful gaze of these state preemption overlords the first time I suggest we stay we stay there and hearing that I did you say the president said this can't be done anymore if that's true all the more reason so God it just it just kind of wastes our time and everybody's time and it is not going to save the world but it is everything he said is true and and by the way last year in the Marianas Trench they discovered a new species of shrimp and guess what his body was made of yeah actually made of plastic so I think it's time and we've already done the work let's keep it in place it creates if nothing else it creates a conversation everywhere you go when you're in a restaurant when you're pulling through the drive-thru whatever you're doing that is I always make the point it's the same thing with plastic bags save the ocean and you know everyone says you're right everybody so let's let sleeping dogs lie and keep this keep this as is but if you really want to work on an important thing what can we do about people not using their turn signals in this town okay you want you want to save lives protect property it's a layup thanks thank you next two speakers please next two speakers Olivia Mustaine and Aniko Ola I think that's what it is please go to either podium state your name and address for the record and you have three minutes to address city council good afternoon everyone my first name is Aniko and I am a local business owner of sans market we're located at 1037 central ave sans market is a zero waste store our mission is to reduce single-use plastics in the community with the products that we sell and I'm more so here today to represent our community when we heard about this topic coming up on the agenda we decided to do a poll on social media and ask some of our followers what they think about this ordinance so I just wanted to share the results to four quick questions that we asked them the first was how many people support the current ordinance we had 118 respondents and 98 percent said yes they support the current ordinance we also asked them if they prefer to support businesses who enhance and abide by this ordinance and 99 percent of them said yes they prefer to support these businesses I also asked them if they would be willing to pay more to support a business that has eco-friendly practices and 97 percent said yes they would be willing to pay more and finally 100 percent of the respondents said they prefer to live in a city that has eco-friendly practices so I think these are all important things that our community cares about I know sometimes ordinances like this can be a little tricky but I believe if we couple it with education and resources for the local businesses it can really do a great job in creating a stronger community some examples of that is that it doesn't have to be cost prohibitive I understand that Trump banned paper straws but there are bioplastic straws as well as reusable glass and stainless steel straws now these might come at an extra cost but those costs are minimal somewhere from 30 to 60 dollars a month and you can actually reduce and offset this expense by teaching your staff to not hand out straws all the time so there are potentials to decrease that expense finally as our followers said they would be willing to pay more for a business that has these eco practices so the businesses could potentially pass some of these costs on to the end user again we're talking a mere pennies per visit it's not a big cost and they might even get some extra business by having these eco-friendly practices so in closing I just want to highlight the fact that St. Pete does have a goal to be a zero waste city by 2050 as is on the website and in my opinion this ordinance is not a headache or nuisance for businesses but rather it's an amazing opportunity for us to create a stronger community and to reach those goals thank you thank you thank you hi I'm Olivia Mustaine at 7210 10th Street North I was a member of Suncoast Rise Above Plastics and helped get this ordinance passed and now I'm a member of Sierra Club and I'm also a member of Vertical Ventures and I'd like to thank you for your great support of Vertical Ventures I'm asking that City Council take no action to review or rescind this ordinance there's many threats to our environment and while straws and polystyrene may pale in importance to protecting our parks clean water air clean energy etc etc now is not the time to give an inch on any environmental protection weakening or eliminating these regulations would be a step backward for St. Petersburg's environmental leadership many local businesses and residents have already adapted to this ordinance many concerns that we initially had were for nothing many converted and accepted the ordinance with no issue and a floppy disintegrating paper straws are now a thing of the past we have better straw technology and no one's complaining anymore so now is the time to stand by this ordinance and uphold the progress we've made thank you thank you next two speakers please excuse me Rhea Byrne and Jenna Byrne please go to either podium state your name and address for the record and you have three minutes to address city council Jenna you can stand with her if you want there's a button that you can lower it Jenna you would have mentioned that to me previously when I've spoken thank you you don't want to talk yet you want me to go first okay good afternoon everyone thank you for your time today my name is Jenna Byrne at 435 3rd Ave North I am the founder and current president of Water Warrior Alliance we partner with like-minded groups and organizations to come together to fight the war on pollution we obviously face as a whole I'm also a board member of the Waterfront Park Foundation here in the city of St. Petersburg we protect preserve and promote our waterfront in downtown I am you know very excited to be a part obviously of that organization and overlapping with all the different partners I have in the community because we all have a common goal in mind so I'm here today to get everyone on board to continue to move forward versus backwards this ordinance 356H had already passed years ago with everyone's hard work here today and like other people have already said I do feel like this is a waste of our time to bring up a topic like this we have other things that are more important to discuss it was already brought up that Trump had banned certain things it was actually paper straws but like Anika just mentioned there's a dozen different sustainable affordable options for the business owners to invest into there's amazing local businesses here in St. Pete that we can actually support as well paper straws have seen an immense improvement and they don't disintegrate as fast as they used to there are paper straws that last over 24 hours now which is pretty amazing but I'm a big advocate of our sugar cane straws and coconut husk options they're fantastic if you still want that single use option so I have a lot of different programs but water goats are one of the main things I do and it's a trash barrier device which collects surface debris from stormwater drain runoff 80% of our trash ends up dumping through our stormwater drains so all debris is wind driven and that's how it ends up in our local waterways so something like straws super light it's going to end up in those stormwater drains and dump to the closest body of water that's where these water goat devices are extremely effective because it's then going to trash that debris and we host cleanups once or twice a month depending on the time of year in recent rain to clean that debris out the EPA had established an escaped trash analysis protocol in ETAP which we have adopted and implemented over the last several years which helps us identify the point of source of where the debris has potentially come from so ultimately during the cleanups we take a certain number of bags we dump them out onto a tarp and we sort them to look through the types of trash there are and I have seen a 700% reduction in plastic straws since this ordinance was adopted so again continuing to move forward not backwards makes the most sense for everyone polyurethane is a part of this ordinance and I know there's a lot of restrictions on the state level for us to be able to enforce it more locally but that plastic bottles and containers and plastic bags are the top amounts of debris I see currently in our different data analysis protocols that we do so I feel like enforcing you know currently what we can next year would be the best all right okay just say what you want to everyone's here to hear you don't want to say what you said to me on the radio okay I think we know where she stands that's all right I get it I don't like being up here either next two speakers please Robbie excuse me Robbie Alves and Amy Bourne please go to either podium state your name and address for the record you have three minutes to address city council all right can you hear me all right awesome good afternoon council members I did have very formal remarks prepared that I'm probably just going to abandon now after hearing Representative Givens if you could give us your name and your oh sorry 2641 for Sav North and Amy Bourne thank you very much anyway had some formal remarks but after hearing Councilmember Givens talk about the executive order and then also the enforcement of this ban I think I just kind of want to bring some thoughts that I've been thinking about in a seat here but first of all you know the federal or executive order is for federal agencies and I think the federal government will work that out as they see fit the impact of plastic straws and other plastics in our environment here really don't have any connection I don't think we have beautiful beaches to protect parks and city streets that we want clean etc so I would hope that the future conversation doesn't have anything to do with that executive order secondly I totally agree the enforcement of this ban has been lackluster to say the least and so I'd really like to open up the conversation to really talk about how can we build on what we've already done and make sure that moving forward we can actually enforce this hoping that you know assuming that this does stay in place I did forget to mention I'm also a member of the surf rider organization I'm a member of the local board on the Suncoast chapter here in St. Pete and we have a program called the Ocean Friendly Restaurants and that's essentially demonstrating that a restaurant is doing great things like recycling and not serving plastics etc we are working with restaurants trying to get them fully certified but it is worth mentioning that there are many restaurants that are already serving straws only on demand and then when a straw is asked for having a more sustainable material to offer them so this is happening I think the question of whether or not this should be abandoned is really off the table but I would really just move to ask council members to work with Surfrida Foundation and all the people that are in support of this ban to really move us forward we are here to help and really excited to continue this conversation thanks thank you next two speakers please Thomas Patrick and Christian Leon please go to either podium state your name and address for the record you have three minutes to address city council I'm Thomas Patrick 432 23rd Avenue North I've been a resident of St. Pete for 12 years and a small business owner for 10 years I have a lot that I could say I'm going to try to keep it at three minutes so I'm going to just read something that I wrote for you guys we need to be clear about what's happening in the world of waste in our environment due to state preemptions St. Pete cannot ban plastic bags we cannot ban styrofoam we cannot ban plastic bottles we cannot regulate some of the biggest sources of plastic solution that litter our waterways every day that has been off the table for decades because of our state leaders however we can still regulate plastic straws so why would we voluntarily give up one of the last environmental policies we still control removing this ban doesn't solve anything it just strips away one of the last remaining tools St. Pete has to combat plastic pollution stronger enforcement we're all for it a city we proudly call Florida's first green city should not be moving backward I want to address a recent Facebook post by Council Member Givens the overflowing trash can images from the St. Pete Grand Prix shows exactly why we need regulations like the plastic straw ban they highlight a much larger issue our city is overwhelmed with plastic waste education is important but it's not a substitute for policy if education alone were enough we wouldn't see overflowing trash cans full of plastic at events like this this reality is that convenience will always outweigh responsibility unless policies set clear expectations regarding being a burdensome to businesses let's set the record straight based on our research, workshops, and thousands of conversations this approach actually saves businesses money not giving out a straw unless a customer requests one saves money that means fewer wasted straws, fewer unnecessary orders, and lower costs for businesses all these concerns have been addressed and we've collectively helped solve this now let's talk about this ban how this ban was implemented this wasn't rushed, it wasn't forced it's not political grandstanding St. Pete took a smart, practical, phased-in approach working directly with hundreds of businesses from 2018 to 2020 to provide education and support this response was overwhelmingly positive from business owners, residents, and tourists at the end of the day this isn't just about plastic straws this is about what's possible in a time when local control is being a stripped away executive order by executive order we, the people, still have a say in the policies that affect our community if we lift this ban, what's next? are we going to roll back every effort to reduce waste in our waterways and parks? or do we stand firm and continue to push forward? let's not go backward let's keep the plastic straw ban keep saving businesses money and keep St. Pete moving forward as a sustainability leader thank you thank you hi council, Christian Leon 2010 East Palm Ave so at the time of lockdown I was co-chair of the Rise Above Plastics Coalition we had 17 non-profits we worked together for years and 2020 really hit our little group really hard because it took a while to get everything back together so I think this has been nice to see everyone kind of rally around this because this has been brought to your attention in addition to what my colleagues have kind of said I just wanted to give you guys a little bit of a background that was interesting for us is when we started this we knew that there was a legal situation at the state which was a worry for council thankfully we moved beyond that we made sure that this ordinance was in compliance with everything at a state level and we understand the city's position on that we don't want to like pick fights and get the city in a position but we crafted this carefully to address that the other thing is that there was a lot of concern about how the business community would react and we were even surprised when we went out like we committed to council at the time and to the city that we'd speak with every business that would be affected and so we had a bunch of volunteers we did that and we polled all of the businesses affected and we found that it was over 80% were in favor and the ones that were against it were in the single digits so the business community really surprised us and I think that that was really a relief to everyone that was involved in this and the other thing is on enforcement we made it very clear that we didn't want to get people in trouble and have like straw police going out there it would be ridiculous but we just wanted to make sure that like the owners knew that people were watching that we wanted this to happen so the way in the ordinance that it's the way that we set up like a fine or penalties or whatever was to be as like small as possible to just kind of make a statement and not to really like create any tension with the business community so I do think that you know it would be great to think about how to kind of enforce that and change culture because at the end of the day we know that it's when we change the culture that things will just change by themselves and you guys won't have to worry about regulating everything but we do think that this is a big push in that direction and just to prove that the day that we had this huge you know the final vote on this it was funny because there were only two speakers that were against one gentleman somehow magically correlated the Old Testament to a favorable view on plastic straws which is amazing and then the other was Chris Steinacher who spoke from the chamber and he voiced some concerns of some of the chamber members but it's been interesting because since that time the chamber has now actually been very proactive and very supportive and really looking at how like the business community can embrace this cultural change of how we view plastic so thank you next two speakers please Mike I believe it's Norton and Laura Hume please go to either podium state your name and address for the record you have three minutes to address city council hello council business members and residents of St. Pete my name is Laura Hum and I live at the cross streets of 9th street or 10th street north and 76th avenue north I've been a resident of St. Pete for over a decade moved to place to place never found that place that really wanted to plant my feet in and build a home and a family St. Pete is this place because it's a unique city as one of you have mentioned and several of you agree and so I've raised a family I have a 10 month old daughter and I like to take her to parks and I would really like her to have a place where she could roam freely I mean she's at the age of putting everything in her mouth like leaves and sticks and the other day I had to kind of whip out a plastic straw out of her mouth and that's not what I want as part of this ordinance I would like it to remain in place I was also a member and on the board of the local chapter of Surfrider a few years ago and helped with this ordinance so my hope is that we can continue to keep the city clean beautiful and to keep our waterways clean so thank you thank you good afternoon council my name is Mike Norton I live at in Kenwood own a home there at 27th and 1st Ave North so I'm just in District 8 so thanks sir and I'm right on the border of Councilmember Givens District as well you've heard a lot of great points supporting this ordinance 356H and I'm also in support of it I've been a Florida resident for my entire life although I spent over 25 years as an Air Force officer not in Florida and post retirement chose to come make St. Pete my home and one of the main reasons is this community seems to really want to take care of each other and take care of this beautiful peninsula that God gave us and so it's got a fragile marine environment as we know we deal with the red tide and what not but it gives us a lot and I'd say like a lot of veterans found a lot of healing by being out in the water and get over you know stuff we dealt with from combat deployments etc I also bring up my service because this is my first council meeting and I just want to personally thank all of you for your service you're not up here because you're trying to get individually wealthy this is a thankless low paying job and it's really appreciated because I can see the result of your work in this beautiful city that I call my home and plan to for a long time so thank you yeah so thank you for passing this ordinance seven years ago I'm also a member of Surfrider and this is something that we bring up when we talk to people in the community yeah this ordinance is not enforced very strictly but it shows leadership it shows this is on the right side of how we need to take better care of this planet and particularly this peninsula and so I love all the amazing food and beverage establishments in this city it's one of the reasons that I wanted to move here and it's exciting to go out and support all of them including my favorite neighborhood brewery Three Daughters I love that I don't get handed a straw with a nice cold pint of beer because I straws make you drink too fast right it's why a lot of establishments give you a straw whether it's a cocktail or a milkshake it's not good for you to suck that thing down with a straw use your lips put it to the edge it works just fine it's great technology been around for quite a while so my personal plug for your health so yeah the regulation could be enforced better but I think it's also it does just the mere existence of the regulation helps us nudge things in the right direction thank you Mr. thanks for your support thank you for your service next speaker speaker Chloe McKinnon please go to either the podium state your name and address for the record you have three minutes to address city council good afternoon council my name is Chloe McKenna and I live at 4126 7th Avenue North I'm grateful to have this opportunity to speak with you all and go after all of the amazing speakers that have already shared a lot of great points about the importance of upholding this ordinance so I'll focus a bit on my personal experiences as well as highlighting relevant scientific research from Tampa Bay so as a marine socio-ecological scientist and a global youth leader with heirs to our ocean I'm here to oppose the effort to end the adoption of Ordinance 356H in 2019 I moved to St. Petersburg to attend Eckerd College because I admired the fact that Eckerd was not was not only a campus centered around environmental and sustainable values but the city was as well residents across St. Pete are passionate about climate resilience environmental conservation and plastic reduction to support healthy clean water systems for our community to enjoy and to preserve our natural environment for the next generation of Floridians and through my engagements on Eckerd's campus and across the Tampa Bay area I have witnessed firsthand how the plastic pollution crisis is impacting our city on a local level and this led me to want to further my education in marine science and policy in a master's program and to study the social, ecological and cultural impacts of marine plastic pollution and I quickly just want to highlight some of the most recent research on plastics here in Tampa Bay from researchers at Eckerd College's Tampa Bay Microplastics Monitoring Program since 2017 this program has been operating to study microplastics in our estuary to examine the ecological impacts of microplastics on small and large grazers for small grazers researchers have studied how copepods which are a major food source for many marine organisms are interacting as a lower trophic level organism with higher trophic organisms passing microplastics through the food chain which as Will highlighted impacts our food systems and our local economy and for larger grazers manatees which I think our city is you know we very much love manatees here I associate St. Petersburg with manatees are crucial in the trophic transfer of microplastics as well because they graze in seagrass beds which is where many microplastics accumulate and it's clear that manatees are routinely consuming microplastics as well as larger plastic pieces additionally I want to highlight that it's crucial to also consider the negative impacts of human plastic interactions these include but are not limited to impacts on mental health individual and communal well-being and degradation of culturally and ecologically significant sites we can effectively reduce these negative impacts by stopping plastic pollution at the source and shifting our societal culture to value zero waste systems and as a coastal city we must support members of our community who are on the front lines of marine plastic pollution through equitable and sustainable waste governance thank you thank you okay we'll go to councilmember floyd thank you first thing I'll say is councilmember gibbons I appreciate your unwillingness to accept the status quo but having said that I think I actually want to comment on something the first speaker said Mr. Shedden there's been a lot of research come out recently about microplastics and their interaction with I guess human anatomy one thing that's been correlated with it is a higher occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease which I've publicly been very open about my struggles with inflammatory bowel disease so I definitely don't want to do anything that would you know even present an opportunity of inflicting that upon others and then in general yeah a lot of the environmental things that people have mentioned and I agree with one last thing that hasn't been brought up is you know just the production of plastics releases a ton of greenhouse gases which are destroying our planet and going to destroy our city if we don't stop with the path that we're on now so while I do understand a little bit of the attitude that you're bringing because I bring it occasionally as well and I understand that you said you're the discussion you wanted to have doesn't quite match like the tone of how this is all gone your new business item does specifically say like discuss lifting the regulation if it was worded to where we would we were going to have a discussion about what enforcement looks like that would be a different conversation is all I'm saying so and you know I recognize from the group like that enforcement hasn't been super strict or anything but I have seen like it's changed over time like when we first got in yeah there was still a lot of plastic straws proliferating but I really don't come across them that often nowadays so I'm not even sure that like enforcement needs to be brought up at this time but I only bring all this up to say that you know the wording of your thing is not exactly what you stated and you know that's what we have to vote on is based off the wording of what is put in front of us so I'll leave it there those are my thoughts on the topic thank you council member Fick Sanders thank you council member Floyd definitely just took what I was going to say I'm always willing to talk about everything or anything I'll discuss it but then when I saw the lifting that word lifting moving away with was what took me to a different level so if the new business item comes back with wanting to have a discussion about you know the enforcement I would be fine with that but what you said initially does not match what the new business item states so that was just going to be my two cents because generally when council members want to talk about something you generally get that support it's not saying that you support it but you know you're willing to have a conversation just in case you're able to be swayed but this was an initiative that was one that took a lot of conversation and a lot of work and research for it so I was still willing to listen but as far as lifting it wasn't something that I was going to consider but if you reconsider changing the wording I will be willing to have a discussion thank you chair thank you council member Gabbard thank you chair so as one of only two members sitting here that voted to pass this ordinance I was very concerned when I saw this new business item the first thing I thought was oh my gosh council member Driscoll all the work that you did to get us to where we are today you changed the game when it came to plastics in the city of St. Petersburg and while we are severely preempted from doing so many things this is one that even the governor himself back in 2019 vetoed the bill that passed that year and said and I quote the state should simply allow local communities to address the issue through their political process even the governor agreed with the city of St. Petersburg on this issue and so council member Givens I have a question and chair if I may ask my colleague a question was there a business purpose for bringing this forward did you have businesses reaching out to you asking you to bring this conversation forward because I would love to hear that because quite frankly it has not been something I have heard all the businesses in my district have willingly complied after the initial education that went around so that has not been an issue in district two I would love to hear from you if it's been an issue for you yeah thank you I appreciate you bringing that up it's actually been an issue for not just businesses but for individuals as well you know I heard a lot of people laughing whenever you know someone talked about this you know issue of plastic straws well there are actually people with disabilities who after the president issued his executive order they definitely felt like this was something that the city should consider taking up I'm concerned that this might make us susceptible to legal action and so I wanted to know if this ordinance if it stayed in place as is would it make us susceptible to that so that was the purpose for me bringing that forward the purpose of lifting it is I didn't want there to be litigation should we keep this ordinance in place so I just wanted to know moving forward what were the risks and so forgive me again if it threw anyone off guard but again I just want to make sure that we're protecting us as a city in our legal interest and then also I want to expand the conversation so to your point Council Member Ford and Council Member Vic Sanders I would love to if this doesn't go forward bring another new business item forward that would hopefully discuss expanding this conversation because again you brought up Tom the Grand Prix that's a huge issue we had a bunch of garbage cans full of plastic and you know styrofoam and it was litter all over the ground and I think we definitely should look at maybe there should be limits on vendors you know who come and do business in the city I understand that there are certain events that are grandfather well maybe we should look at revisiting that ordinance so again the conversation it's great that we're having this because that was the purpose of it to blow the whistle so that we could sound the alarm that yes this is great it's cute and all but it's pointless that there's no teeth in the ordinance that was my point so respectfully words matter yes they do and the word lifting for me personally that's a that's a non-starter it just regressive policy in the age that we live in when so many things are preempted the number of times that we have created progressive policy to move this city forward and then Tallahassee has come and smacked us down and told us that we have to repel those things from our books I am not willing to do that in this particular situation I am not willing to go backwards to a place where we had a lot of issues that we have quite frankly used this ordinance to overcome organically through our community conversations that we've had around this I'm just not willing to quite frankly today I'm going to vote no to even move this forward if it even gets a second I don't think I've heard a second have I chair okay so I just for me also words matter I don't think anything about this is cute I think this is deliberate policy that was well thought out the conversations around legalities those were discussed thoroughly in countless committee meetings countless research that was done and all of those other things I wish we could do things about I wish we could regulate to a greater need if there were things that you can find as a council member and working with legal or working with our team in Tallahassee that maybe we can do more I welcome that I support that fully I do not support this the way it is written now or any way that it would be written into the future this is a policy that needs to stay on our books thank you chair thank you council member Driscoll thank you and thank you council member Gabbard for taking us back to where this started and for acknowledging the work that was done I certainly did not work alone it was not only with your support but with the support of the folks who are in the audience here and many many more that we got this done not with the sledgehammer but starting off with just having a conversation and Thomas I'm particularly happy that you're here today because you were my first conversation about this and I'm sorry that we're back here today under these circumstances but it's okay because you know what I need to take this as a reminder that even though we we know what's right we know what's what's best for our community and for our environment we cannot take these things for granted we can't rest and why haven't we done more yet so to be continued on that the really cool thing about the process of bringing forward this ordinance which by the way I brought forward as a new business item almost seven years to the day this month for us to have that conversation I had been on city council for less than three months and everybody was like whoa this is who Gina Driscoll is and thinking about all that we went through I got to tell you I try to be tough but it's kind of hard when I sit here next to someone who says that people laughed at us and I sit next to someone who called it cute but we know better and that doesn't mean anything to us because we know we know the ordinance was crafted in a way that did give exceptions for people with disabilities and there was a lot of conversation around that and I think I'm going to need Michael Dima for some clarification for some education today Michael Dima could you tell us do you happen to have it up that you can or maybe just in a nutshell tell us how we are doing ADA accommodations on this ordinance sure thing yep so it's very express the exception relates to customers with a physical or medical need requiring the use of a single use plastic drinking straw we had a long conversation about that and the drafting of this ordinance and that seemed to be the landing spot for pretty much everybody at the time yes thank you and then another educational opportunity is on the enforcement it's complaint based right it is no we don't have the straw police going around and if there's a problem if there's a lack of enforcement if we're seeing that that's lying behind it's because the you know patrons aren't complaining and calling codes and going after that and I would I would say that if there was a lot of crazy enforcement that was going on I would probably be one of the people getting a phone call about it from our business owners because I do have many businesses in my district and I had to have many conversations with before and after the ordinance was created so complaint and tell us how that works well from an enforcement standpoint you know I'll let administration speak to how it's actually administered on a day to day basis but you're correct in terms of it being complaint based it's my understanding that there is no proactive code enforcement effort going out trying to find folks that are you know in violation of the ordinance yeah I mean my recollection from the beginning is that we were going to focus on an education based campaign yes to do that I personally just in my life experience would agree with councilmember Floyd I don't see very many plastic straws at all in restaurants in our community it is also complaint based so if we have a complaint we will follow up on it but we still focus on education now thank you and Rob if a councilmember wanted to find out more about enforcement and how that's going and if we're being heavy-handed could they call Joe Waugh and ask him and maybe have a conversation about it yeah absolutely and also the the office of resiliency is involved in the education so maybe mr tankersley might be a good call to to check in with him okay excellent when it comes to the enforcement I think codes is the one who handles dad so I'm sorry to interrupt but just another point to that is that the first violation is just a written warning anyway as opposed to other MOVs which you might land yourself in a fine situation right off the bat so it starts with a written warning and then the the fines thereafter for a year after that first one is 40 bucks and then 80 bucks yeah so it's you know the the whole intent was to be educational and to induce some behavioral change not to come in with a heavy hand you know the iron fist so to speak right right thank you and then the last question that I have for you was regarding this executive order that came from the current occupant of the White House it was a it says something about a ban on paper straws but that's not what we have is it I mean it's really does it have anything to do with our ordinance it speaks to the ending the forced use of paper straws do we have a use of paper straws in our ordinance no thank you all right so took care of that one I appreciate you so much you know the most beautiful thing about the conversations that we had on paper straws and by the way we also enhanced our ordinance on restrictions on expanded polystyrene and went up to the the line of the state preemption without crossing it and I'm quite proud of that too the ideas that we brought forward with that always led to a bigger conversation because people would say oh what about bags because yeah we would that would give us an opportunity to talk to folks about what the state preemptions are and what we can and can't do but I like to move forward saying what can we do and work in that space and we'll have to talk about what our next steps can be but I do love that it was never just about a straw it was always leading to a bigger conversation and that's what we need to get back to is having those bigger conversations not smaller ones Rob overflowing trash cans at the Grand Prix is that something we can address for future events absolutely I'll talk thank you yeah I think that's a great idea because we don't want that happening and you know we are supposed to be restricting plastic drinking straws and expanded polystyrene per the ordinance with those who have event agreements with the city so I don't know where these trash cans were but maybe we can just check and make sure that we're having those conversations with our event partners absolutely oh yeah reggae rise up is just around the corner all right well I think that's all I have I'm happy to spend a few moments being cute with you all I will not be voting to move this forward I think that the points that were brought up today are merely a question of the question that really needs to be asked is have I done my research have I had the conversations with city staff and done my own education on what this is really about and then I would encourage anyone who would like to know more about why this is important to reach out to the Sierra Club to reach out to water warrior alliance to reach out to the Suncoast Surfrider Foundation those who are out there picking it up picking up after us and wishing that we could do more thank you chair thank you councilmember Gibbons thank you I appreciate it and thank you so much Michael for coming up to answer some questions and I want to answer another question that was posed is what can we do well it can start with expanding the conversation you know yes it's real cute that we're talking right now and we're having the conversation but if it's not expansive and inclusive our entire community then it's pointless it's pointless to have an ordinance that infringes on individual rights and civil liberties without having the conversation with the entire community it's pointless to have cleanups if you only clean up certain parts of the city and not come to the entire city so yes it's real cute to do this stuff it's real cute to have political grandstanding moments but again if we aren't implementing ordinances providing legislation that's actually going to change best practices that's actually going to change you know the the the contribution contribution that we're contributing to global warming and climate change then it's pointless so yes I do want to have the conversation and yes I am happy that folks showed up to talk because hopefully this conversation will overflow beyond City Hall into the communities that need to be involved and so it wasn't pointless because obviously it's going to lead to some follow-up with some of our event partners that haven't been following these ordinances and haven't been following best practices for good stewardship to the environment but you talked about you know educational moments I appreciate you reiterating what I already know but the whole point as you probably know is that we can't have these conversations in private so I'm happy that we're having these conversations in the public arena where it should be had amongst our constituents because they should be involved as well we shouldn't just be mandating our way through the problem regulations are not the answer conversations are the answer you brought up something earlier council member Driscoll about awareness and education so yes I'm going to use your words against you that's the missing component awareness and education it's all great if we're talking to the Sierra Club and if we're talking to whatever other organizations we're a part of but if we don't bring the greater community into the conversation then yes it's pointless so again I am happy that this came forward regardless of what direction it goes in because it shows our implicit biases so thank you mr. chair thank you vice chair Hanowitz thank you I didn't know at what point I was gonna have a conversation about this and everything's been said but I did want to make sure cuz council member Driscoll asked legal legal issues were brought up and I think it's important whenever that happens that those that are here and are involved watching understand kind of our legal process if there is some law that happens at the state level or something's mentioned at the federal level what kind of process we have internally that our attorneys work with us and kind of tell us you know what is going on and so maybe just bring us back to that too so we can have a discussion a little bit about that so they understand kind of the process those that are involved well I will say from a state legislation standpoint there's a tireless effort to to follow every single bill that gets filed and it's it's overwhelming this time of year to track all of those but we do and when there is something that speaks to a preemption that's new or emerging or growing we put that at the top of the list so that's you know and even though these types of preemptions have proliferated the plastic straw has remained steadfast after the governor vetoed that bill in 2019 so and that remains the case today in terms of federal things there's not often times that were it directly implicates something like this but this executive order you know we were well aware of it when it came out took a look at it and again the the express language of that EO states that it's you know looking to end the forced use of paper straws and it speaks to federal procurement practices in its express language so the way that it's written we're not seeing something that impacts this ordinance I just want to make that clear legally there is nothing right now in place that affects this ordinance whether it's a statewide preemption or any other type of law federally that would touch upon this that's correct okay now remember if I could just jump in just to piggyback on what Michael said this is something that we try to do across all the different attorneys practice areas in the office so it's part doing our best each of them when we have we do have an internal process to flag as many as we possibly can and and look at them for legal issues that so that's number one too we work with administration with our lobbyists sometimes we will get something forwarded to us if we haven't already seen it we'll follow up on that it can be something from a council member if there's anything you would have a concern about any one of you would have a concern about and want us to look at we do that as well but once something is flagged of this nature because these often aren't static things we'll keep an eye on it so this will go on the list and we'll make sure that if anything changes that we react to it as you've seen after legislative sessions in the past when we believe that there is a preemption we add that as a legal item and bring that right a lot of times y'all notice it before we do and let us know immediately or if there's like if there's a case that there is a judgment against us where we have to kind of change our ordinance that's something that you automatically let us know and we do immediately right I mean we do we bring it to you when we feel like we are expressly granted and it's something in our code conflicts with state or even federal law okay I just want to make that clear look yeah this is a very hot topic clearly they're very strong emotions on this from from from what's been expressed in the dais I will tell you that based on the language of lifting what you said councilmember Givens kind of doesn't match that and that's I think probably why some some of the feedback you got I will also mention this belongs this is the type of item that would belong in hers and when you look at the council members the committee members that are part of hers they're not supportive and when you want to get an item on the committee it's helpful when you can get their their buy-in you know what I mean and so I think I think they gave some good feedback in terms of the type of language that would have been helpful for for a business item if there was going to be a discussion on enforcement so I'll just throw that out there in terms of everyone that's here first of all thank you everyone for coming I don't want to forget to thank you I want to say some of your work affects my neighborhood we have Crescent Lake neighborhood association there is a water goat that was installed at the lake there I live in an era there was a time when I was a child I mean people would throw stuff out of their car all the time I just I don't even know how that practice happens but people would just throw stuff out of their car window all the time and then thankfully that's kind of like slowed down but then you see rains happen and they go in the storm drains and when you look at these water goats you think where did all this stuff come from it's shocking and so I think that what you find in our city is we are very passionate about our waterways whether it's it's it's the ocean whether it's our lakes with whatever body of water that is within our city we are very passionate about and when you think about the straws yeah it's not a big deal but you know what when they do clean up sub lakes they're not getting to the small plastics a water goat may but not the people that go and actually go pick that up and then I start thinking about before people went and cleaned up Crescent Lake or had a water goat and I see all the stuff that still goes in there I imagine of all the other stuff that went in there and is still there and that goes into our bay and then when you think about the manatees that are outside you know because the water from Crescent Lake goes out to the coffee pot area right and that's where you get fresh water and then the manatees drink and so anyhow this is these are huge issues for people in our city to make sure that we have clean waterways and we take care of our environment and although it's a small act I think part of the reason that this came through is because there was a lot of passion and still is a lot of passion in ensuring that we have clean waterways so with that said I you know I obviously am not supportive in terms of lifting it and we will see if there is other language and other ways where you can have conversations to make sure that we can do a better job with our environment and plastics and enforcing if there is a way to enforce I will tell you this it does change behavior that I have seen and I will agree with some of the comments have been made even once you're against something and you're you know you think well what is this gonna do believe it or not a lot of times you know an ordinance is passed or a law is passed and behavior changes for the better DUI laws were not really enforced at one point then they started cracking down on that and it saved lives and so there are things that it does change people's behavior and I think that this is something that has changed people's behavior and it's caused people to think about what the impacts are to the environment it's also caused people to actually if they're gonna manufacture a paper straw to do it better so there are some benefits that that come out of that so thank you for the conversation even though it was a little heated at times but I think this is a good conversation to have so thank you very much councilmember Hardy thank you chair I will give you the the perspective of the the industry that I work in during my day job when this was passed we are our company not only works in the hospitality industry but we also belong to two different guilds that that that are formed inside the hospitality industry and and the reaction and we talked about it a bunch the reaction was okay that was it in the and the and in this one particular case straws put in in in beverages the primary users are are on-premise restaurants and bars and and restaurants that offer to go quick serve that offers to go that's where they're all used no one cared if I am not for repealing this in any way but I'll tell you to to what councilmember Henowitz said if we did repeal this no one would change they still wouldn't use them right it's a good idea and it just took a little bit of uh of nudging to to my industry to say yeah let's not do this and we're fine with it so I I I will not in uh in the way that it is formatted I will not be voting on this um but to that point uh the the industry itself has no issues with it uh and on the enforcement and this is no different than when we banned smoking uh back 20 30 years ago right that that that law that came at the state level had no enforcement to it it's actually a workers rights law so you can't smoke in in any building any structure that has someone being paid in it you can't smoke in your house if you have somebody clean your house and there's no there never has been any enforcement to that but I I would I I would challenge you to find a building where someone smokes because it just was the right thing to do regardless of whether you smoke or not and it's the same with uh it's the same with my industry it was it was brought up you know the the work that that this council did um was was more about the attention drawn to it and and uh and to council councilman driscoll's point this was less about about straws and more about direction that uh that we go in as a society um and to and to administrator gertz's point um this is more about education than it is administered than it is administering some kind of you know sending out codes or police or whoever um and this was a great thing that didn't really require any extra effort and and I can tell you I don't speak for the industry but I can tell you that that the impression that I get from the industry that uses plastic straws is we're good yeah let's move on thank you chair thank you councilmember gibbons I I do not in any way I ignored the the passion that is in this room today I appreciate it um and no offense to my colleagues uh for bringing this forward uh but again I I want us to have the conversation about enforcement and solutions um because as you said um councilmember harding people don't care but we need to make sure that they do um because we all contribute to this environment we all should be stewards of our environment and I want to make sure that everyone is a part of the conversation and so um I just was happy to find out we have a local vendor who you know is in the business of making these biodegradable straws why is the city not supporting them why are we not marketing that information out there so that we can be a better partner you know I'm happy to find out we have a campaign I knew nothing about this and I'm happy to raise my hand and say I do I do not because I'm not a know-it-all I don't so how do I put that information out there so the community knows because I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't so again recognizing the fact that not everybody is privy to this conversation you know and again I I'm happy to know Mr. Dima that we are not um at risk for any litigation and I'm happy to know that you know in the future should something come up we can backtrack pivot real quick that is good information um because that again that is my goal is to make sure that we don't subject ourselves to any civil litigation um and I also want to make sure that we do more to expand the conversation about being a good steward of our environment so I look forward to inviting you all to you know Lake McGorry or Clam Bayou to do the next cleanup because again I think there are other parts of our community that should be brought into the conversation if we really want to be effective let's do it um so I will uh go ahead and remove my new business item uh it does not seem like I have the support so I'm happy to remove that okay um just quickly and now that the item's been removed um I'll just I'm gonna I'm gonna try to be fast I don't like straws period end of story whether it's plastic paper I don't I just don't like them uh I I'm totally with you where it's like give me a glass and I'm happy to sip straight from it whether it's water or anything else uh and so um I I just want I'm not a fan of this conversation to be to be very honest with you I I don't think we need an enforcement conversation the council in 2018 and 2019 or I think it was 17 and 18 uh did a pretty good job of that understanding where the limits were where the capacity was um I I went back and watched some of those meetings made a couple of phone calls yesterday to some of those council members uh that that had those conversations I would echo what council member Gabbard said council member Driscoll you and Darden Rice led the charge on this and uh took the bull by the horns and I'm very appreciative of that um frankly I think if anything came from this uh the conversation that I'd be willing to have is how do we enlist the organizations that are sitting in front of us today to help in the education of our community that's the one I that I'm willing to have uh and so I'll just I'll just put that on the table I did want to mention one thing I and council member Driscoll thanks for bringing up Michael Dima on the on uh on the legal side but I just wanted to mention quickly the ADA issue being the mayor's appointee to Cappy for the last three years this has never come up and so um if if there is an issue in the ADA community I would encourage them to attend a Cappy meeting and speak at open forum at the beginning of a Cappy meeting council member Givens uh or anybody that's listening uh that way we can get that feedback because we certainly want to advocate on on their behalf but we have over the last three and a half years being the appointee to that committee I have not heard that um and so I just I just wanted to make that crystal clear but seeing as the item has been removed we'll go ahead and move on from G5 thank you everybody we're going to move into G6 I'm respectfully requesting referral to the committee of the whole for an update on the community development block grant disaster recovery CDBGDR funds on March 13th 2025 committee of the whole meeting this is a staff request and I'm formally submitting this new business item as a method of informing council and I'd entertain a motion for approval second seeing as we have a motion to second no other council members wishing to speak clerk could you please open the machine for voting council members please enter your votes seeing as all present council members have voted clerk could you please tally and announce the vote mr. chair motion to approve agenda item G6 passes unanimously okay we're going to move into committee reports H1 and I am respectfully requesting city council approval of the budget finance and taxation committee's recommendation to set the city's annual small business enterprise participation goal at 10% just as a little background the goal this previous to this was 14% we are lowering it based on uh the the reasonableness to get the goal and the participation of those SBEs so this is data driven and I'd entertain a motion for approval move approval second seeing as we have a motion to second and no council members wishing to speak clerk could you please open the machine for voting council members please enter your votes seeing as all present council members have voted clerk could you please tally and announce the vote mr. chair motion to approve agenda item H1 passes unanimously with council member Gibbons being absent okay we're going to move into H2 that's council member Gabbard thanks for making the trek council member Gabbard absolutely glad to uh fresh in from Tallahassee so the timing is appropriate all right before you today you have a resolution um in support of our federal priorities um in our committee meeting we had a very robust discussion around our federal priorities worked very closely behind the scenes with uh David Thompson and Doyle Walsh on this and very happy where this landed um but it is here before you for your consideration today and I would move approval okay we have a motion to second council member Driscoll Driscoll thank you um I wasn't able to attend the layer committee meeting that day but I was able to watch and I wanted to um thank those who spoke up and made recommendations um very smart recommendations I might add to um changes to our sheet here and I did have my own conversation um you know with um the the team and and made some suggestions and um thanks to to you all and I did a little but I I heard what was done in the meeting and when I go when I go to DC on Saturday for the national league of cities city congressional conference and go and meet with our representatives in congress you all David thank you for creating something that I'm going to be proud to hand um hand over to them so I mean this is everyone should be very proud so I just wanted to thank you all for the work that you all did on this thank you chair thank you vice chair Hanowitz thank you and thank you David for um preparing the uh federal legislative agenda based on our conversations at the meeting I still have an issue with one thing I said and that was the use of the word equitable development arts and business opportunities and I'm going to bring it up again because I don't understand why we have a state agenda with the same headings and it doesn't have the word equitable so if we're going to be consistent we did a state agenda and it says business and arts development it should be the same on the federal agenda and we should just be consistent and I don't see how that why that would be any different at the state level versus the federal level and so that's my only thing let's be consistent we already did this we already approved it have the same headings take that out it goes with our conversation and that way it's all the same thank you I'll say for our perspective on the state agenda that was an error on us in the conversations that we had it should have been we had the conversation and in the drafting process the equitable part should have been on there what it brought to in council it wasn't and that's why it's here on the federal one well why does it change anything in terms of what we're asking I just don't understand how the arts opportunity zones business accelerators that changes it and I am going to have those discussions at the federal level I will and I'm going to sit with people from the other side of the aisle that are probably going to have a problem with just that and it doesn't change our goal and so we had this ad nauseum discussion at the layer committee and so if we did it at the state whether it was a mistake or not then I don't see the big deal of taking that word out based on our conversations so we can just go ahead and ask for the things without getting sidetracked on a conversation that we know where it's going to lead nowhere thank you and we appreciate that feedback and you notice we made the other changes we feel that this document is a compromise between council and you know speaking here on administration and mayor it's something that was important to him to keep that language in there and for him the words mattered there and look I and I completely appreciate that lots of things matter to me that are not being addressed at the federal level by the current administration and that doesn't mean I agree with them so I I just I it's good to come back with things that's all you know I'm not going to cut my nose to spite my face I just that's the type of stuff I do not like to prove a point why my you know what my point is I want to bring back something to the residents of the city of St. Petersburg and I want to have an argument as to how I word something so that's just my two cents if everybody else is fine with it that's okay with me but thank you thank you councilmember Abbott so since we can only speak here to each other I'll just to give you a little bit of my background on how we came here today with what you see before you so to your point this was a bit of a compromise um and a negotiation if you will uh between myself as the layer committee um chair and the administration um we went back and forth for a while which is why you're just now seeing it or seen it recently um and I did also have a conversation with congresswoman kathy castor and really discussed you know I guess kind of a lot of the strife that we feel with what we see coming out of dc what our role is as a city what our role is as a council and the language that you see here in what I would call the forward is very much um at her suggestion um that we very much focus on recovery response bringing dollars home that that should really be our forward momentum and to kind of stay out of that political fray and then that was her advice to me and so I shared that with administration I believe maybe they've had their own conversations as well to support that um understanding that you know I want all of you when you go next week because I've done it a million times I know how it can be to walk in those doors and have something that individuals will actually look at and they won't get two sentences into and throw in the trash and automatically look at you and decide that they don't want to have a conversation that is no place for any of you to be because it is ineffective and it will not do what we are charged to do for our residents from non-partisan elected officials and so I understand your concern about the word equitable it was a compromise um I've made a motion I would be open to a friendly amendment if there was one if council felt the need however I think we should respect the the role that the mayor plays in all of this and this was something that was very very very strongly um given back as feedback from him and so I'll kind of leave it there um you know you're the ones that are going to be on the hill so I'm going to kind of leave it to you at this point I have done what I can do to bring you something that I feel as though you can work with that's it chair thank you thank you councilmember Driscoll hi it's me again so I thought we when I spoke the first time I thought that we would all be in agreement on this and that's the most important thing to me and I think that given that we our um that our we share priorities we're all um meeting with people you know at different times we all need to have we know we all need to be in agreement on this and I understand and appreciate the work to get to a compromise but we do have um our vice chair has a sticking point here and it is something that I was like I mean I noticed it but I'm like all right we can just keep going because it's a lot better than the way that this started no offense it's just like it has improved a lot especially in that first paragraph there to kick things off so I I think there are a couple of a couple of ways that we could um move forward on this that I could agree to and um the first would be my preference which would be to take out um equitable development and make it make it match whatever the other one is the suggestion that was given before I think that would be the best way for everyone to feel that they all had to give a little and and um arrive at one paper that we can all um share the other option would be to have two different ones and give us one that we can take in two days with us um fix that and then the mayor's office can have another version but I do like something that is unified I like something that has his email address and ours on it and I would be very disappointed if that's the route that we go but those really are the two options and I'm if everyone was okay with it I would go along but we got to make sure that we all have something that we feel comfortable with and it's not that hard so I will um wait to hear what is what is decided I mean I can I want to hear what you're willing to do oh and thank you council Doyle Walsh chief of staff um you know how important this partnership is personally the mayor this is something we've worked on for three years I take full responsibility for that state agenda not having that that is completely my fault with allowing that to be approved on our side um this is something that David has mentioned is important to the mayor and the administration to have this terminology it's the pillar we use for all the other work um it was a it's been a key tenant of a lot of the work we do in the economic development space historic gas plant we feel very strongly that history matters and it's not this weaponized version that we hear on the political side I understand we do not believe that this is going to jeopardize resources on our end we would like it to be unified as well to Councilwoman Driscoll's point we are prepared if council would like to remove that word that we would have our own agenda it would not be unified in that way um but that is our position and I appreciate the feedback I didn't I just I was letting you go in case you wanted to keep going uh Councilmember Floyd thanks yeah yeah I figured you wanted to hear I figured I'd weigh in um I uh you know I don't agree with everybody all the time I don't agree with the mayors all the time but the thing that I can say about the mayor is whenever people have you know pushed for us to back down on issues like this he's been very willing to push back and I couldn't be happier about it um you know it's uh in vogue right now to attack all of these words buzzwords but uh to be honest I don't even think the people who attack like DEI know that the word equitable is in there because I think they're just doing it to um uh you know not to mean the actual meaning of the word but to demean uh and other certain people having said all of that I would prefer if it stayed in I didn't like that it was not in the state one um but I also am here to be cordial and get along with everybody it's not a huge deal at all so uh I'm happy for whatever the group decides uh at the same time and I um don't feel super strongly but I do want to say thank you to administration for the advocacy that they've been doing on this topic for a long time Council Member Gabbard I'll just say my last piece on that word um so I put myself in your shoes of what you'll be doing next week because I've been there done that and I know how challenging it can be um mostly when you're working kind of in the fray right when you're working with members of the delegation or congress that are kind of that more you know on either side there will be things in here that either side of the the far right and left may not think is absolutely perfect here but I want to just say I think that where the word placement is is innocuous enough that out of respect to our mayor I feel as though we could leave it because it's very far down the list and when you meet with them quite frankly you know they're going to look at the beginning of it they're going to see that it is about recovery it is about response it is about FEMA it is about the things that our residents need today and then you're going to have a conversation they're not going to sit and stare at this the entire time that you're with them and so I feel as though there is a way forward that we could stick with this agenda you guys will be able to be effective when you are there next week you'll be able to have those conversations and I just feel out of respect to him and the passion that he feels around these issues once again I want us to all come together on this and if there would be a friendly amendment I would be glad to accept that but I do just want to say I think it's innocuous enough that you'll be able to move past it so that's my two cents just from my lived experience thank you Vice Chair Hanowicz thank you and look I wanted to hear everyone's opinion on this we had this conversation at Lear I still have the belief that I have but I said at the beginning I'm happy to do this I will tell you this we have we're going to you're going to talk about cdbg money that's coming where is it coming from federal government there are lots of programs besides whenever we sit with someone with this little page that the federal government's going to be deciding so however they do business I don't agree with it however they're deciding what they're going to check yes or no grant monies that may come in in the future has nothing to do with on this page this is something that we all have to think about I'm happy to go along with the majority but sometimes principle the reality when the rubber meets the road that's completely different so I respect it I get it I'm concerned but I'm happy to I'm happy to go forward because I look it is a collaboration I'm not one to do two different agendas and that's fine I've said what I felt like I needed to say and we can move forward so thank you thank you um I think I'm at the point now where I think about prior priorities having two separate ones us coming back together having watched those separate priorities before I got here and then being a part of the ones coming together I think I just are just received wholeheartedly different and um I don't want to lose that I think that's most important I I also would agree um with council member Floyd that I think the mayor is very strategic on where he picks to push and um I think in this instance if this if this is where you know he wants to be I I'll support that um I I haven't been up there so I I thank you for going and representing us I I don't think I would operate well up there um because if somebody put this paper down in the middle of my conversation I might go bonkers um but and I appreciate that but I do think this is a collaboration I think it needs to be together and I I'm just not willing to lose that I think at this point and so I I appreciate if my colleagues are willing to support and go and fight the good fight I I I appreciate it more than they will ever know um but I think at this point my preference would be I I really appreciate the changes you heard us you took took our feedback and layer I'm not even a part of layer and you and you took our feedback and uh I I can support this where it's at okay I think we have a motion in a second seeing as no other council members wishing to speak clerk could you please open the machine for voting council members please enter your votes seeing as all present council members have voted clerk could you please tally and announce the vote Mr. chair motion to approve with your item h2 passes unanimously yeah I just want to I just want to tell you all I appreciate for that conversation and and your willingness to get together I think that was really important there um okay I'm going to turn it over to legal for our last item of the day thank you Mr. chair I would like to announce an attorney client session pursuing to Florida statute 286.0118 in conjunction with the lawsuit lawsuit styled eroberto a sanchez mayan versus city of st petersburg officer michael thacker and officer sarah gaddis case number 824 cv 00690 wfj tgw okay and so we do we need we just need to make the announcement there's no action correct it will be it will occur on thursday march 27 2005 with all of the information printed in the agenda okay great all right thank you thank you for the announcement council members any questions there chair if i said may march 27 2025. okay oh did you say 2024? i may have we already had it people i've made that mistake it's the one year anniversary um okay uh council members any questions on i1 okay let's move into open forum clerk any speakers for open forum no zoom nobody on zoom okay we will close open forum announcements council member gabbard thank you chair uh first of all i just want to say uh thank you to council member harding for taking up the flood awareness proclamation this week i appreciate it i was listening to it as i was coming into town and i just really appreciate you doing that um you will be glad to know that uh shore acres was represented in tallahassee this morning by uh shore acres neighborhood president um so we were in tallahassee this morning and had the first committee stop for house bill 241 which is affectionately known as the no wake zone legislation which you all uh passed the resolution to support and it passed its first committee stop it had overwhelming um approval only one of the members uh dissented and really um he literally said nay for now so that is very positive representative cheney was the chair of that committee um the governmental uh operations subcommittee and she was so kind to go ahead and slate that for us at their first committee meeting uh representative cross did a great job on um presenting it and um we were also represented by the southern group laura beamer was there as well um so moving on it has two more committee stops in the house and it still has three in the senate but so far it's looking very good so my apologies for being late but it was for good reason and i'll continue to keep you all posted through our lawyer process thank you chair thank you thank you for representing us up in tallahassee uh and especially with that with that bill i know it's it's close to your heart and i know the rest of us as well so thank you for doing that any other announcements i just have one um council member driscoll's birthday next week uh and and just quickly i know she's not part of city hall but it's my mom's birthday and uh i will i will yell at her later if she's if she's watching because she i'm sure she has better things to do than to watch me up here uh but let's sing happy birthday to council member driscoll happy birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday council member driscoll happy birthday to you thanks y'all okay if there's nothing else for the year mr chair i'm surprised you didn't mention this i don't want to steal your shine but i'm pretty sure out on the west side oh yeah thank you community fest is taking yeah yeah uh 2 2 p.m to 8 p.m at azalea park thank you for the reminder council member givens uh i'm just in charge of birthdays that's why you know um and they have to remind me about those too uh the the uh community picnic at azalea park everybody's welcome there's going to be some bands out there stuff for the kids to do uh i'll be out there uh right at the beginning of it and so um if you want to join us on the west side you guys get your gps out figure out how to get there um we'll see you there otherwise city council is adjourned thank you everybody