A boat captain.

US Coast Guard Master Captain.

Review the area and his comments are in that package.

And so we want to bring these to you, but it's going to require a little bit of discussion.

So that's what we're here to ask is let's have that conference.

Absolutely.

Yeah, the managing count is the thing that we're really hoping is.

Well, we want you to read the report.

Well, but I think also between now and March, as we get into the cooler much and that water's warmer, I think that math T count is going to go up significantly in the next ninety days over what it's been in the past ninety days.

Right, but I think I think you're gonna see quite a much five.

Actually, two dimensions, which I think will will help.

What is the vertical clearance?

The air draft when you surface the water at the bottom of the bridge at both high and low tide.

I read through it a couple times.

I didn't see the air draft or the water depth.

Well, there may be more data to be uh collected.

The reason we're coming to you now is uh there's some urgency in our view to uh discuss this and decide if it really should be a manatee protection zone.

Uh I think the longer we delay the hazard we've to Mike's point.

We're we got two issues at hand.

It's the manatee protection zone, and then we're still trying to stop the dock right building.

And um I'm on I've heard through the grapevine that it's been approved by the county, it's really just looking for some final processing.

I'm in touch with the um director that's handling that permit, Julie Sims with the county, and I'm in the portal all the time checking to see what information is coming and going.

Um we would love to have ultimately a letter from you folks uh describing any concern that you might see with these docks.

We have one from the marine uh excuse me from the environmental advisory board opposing the docks, and I think one from you folks would be very strong.

Was CMA helpful at all?

Um CMA, no the aquarium has been non-responsive.

Well, they built a rehabilitation center there.

So if any manatees do get injured, they don't have to take them very long.

But I'm thinking that also the water depth in there is is critical.

It's an issue, big issue.

Well, yeah, but I mean, as far as manatees go, because when you get a meeting herd up there, which I have seen repeatedly, um, of course, everybody freaks out when they see that, they just see a whole bunch of manatees up and put on the put on the outbreak music call.

Um, your your next meeting though is in March.

Correct.

Yes, second Wednesday in March.

I'm sensing a gap here that we got a lot of information to relate to you, and we can't really formally do that until your next meeting.

So the two issues, the docks and the manatee zone are related but unrelated.

We we think the manatee zone is important because people the docks is just uh they're they're not really related.

We need to, I think we think we we need a manatee zone okay, and and and just to reiterate what we talked about at a previous meeting was that um the manatee is the way to go.

Um there's not much that we can do to help as far as implementing any further wake zones than we already have.

Wake phone wake zones is not really the issue now.

Uh but there's no signage that even has the word manatee on it out there.

We want to sign coming in under the bridge for the jet skiers and others, yes, uh, even flat bottom boats crank it up.

Um tell people there's manatees in here slow down.

We need a uh we don't need a massive amount of signage.

I I don't believe just a few properly placed signs.

Would that would that be us of manatee signs, or would that be fish and well?

Well, there's two ways that you can go about getting there's two ways you can go about getting the uh managing zone.

One is through the FWC, they do periodic studies and they implement the uh the uh zones.

The second one is a local ordinance, so the state has given the county permission to have uh local ordinances for manatee zones.

And in the case of the feasibility study that we presented here before, uh the best course of action uh to to get a slow speed zone in that in that in those two portions of the creek would be through the local ordinance manatee zone.

Uh and there's just a lot of data that you should got to collect.

There's a lot of steps that you have to go through.

Uh working with uh the Stevenson Creek advocacy group.

Uh what we've come up with is you know, the city will develop the ordinance, uh, take it to council, and then we'll also install the signage, but you still have to design it, you still have to have it surveyed, and there's still a lot of data that needs to be collected.

Uh the manatee data's great, but you there's still other data that needs to be collected.

And you need to tell us what that is because I think we've got it all.

And and and yeah, we'll I'll look through that and see if there's anything else that's well we have.

Um towards the impending dock permit.

Uh do you have enough information about the problem with it to create a letter either in support or in opposition of it?

Um well I think we do I think we do.

Pers personally I've looked at the of the plans.

They seem not only a little outrageous.

I mean, it's just on the wrong side of the bridge.

Um but also that they they seem to leave it open that oh, we're gonna build these, but but that yeah, but then you know, what's gonna once they get the permission to build them, there doesn't seem to be a limit of how many they can put there.

That they are advertising 20, clearly, and all of their advertising materials arena is so they've got dogs.

If I'm sitting there gonna spend, you know, over a million dollars on a condo and oh look, I get a boat slip too for an extra 50,000 dollars.

Let me bring my 29 foot C-ray in there.

Well, no matter what kind of boat they have, it's the same issue with tribility, d big digging up the soft bottom and the shallow.

The more ammo we have, it's like, okay, if you want to put docks in here, you only got at high tide, four foot of air draft, you've got at low tide only two foot of uh bottom draft, and it's just the docks are sitting on the mud.

Can you really in good conscience?

I'm buying all this property and I'm gonna buy this condo and this dock.

It's kind of a vape switch.

You know, here's this beautiful picture, and even in their sales literature, they show a couple of boats moored out there that are right up next to the bigger than could ever get out of there.

Come on.

Well, you know, I believe their the selling philosophy at that development is let the buyer beware.

If they're foolish to expect a big boat, they'll they'll learn soon.

I think it's advertised.

But um the the water depths five foot at the bridge, it it on a good day.

There's no room for a manatee and a boat with 18 inch draft, and that's what I think those are the facts of the dimensions that if we had we can throw all this together, it would help us then put together something that says, while it may not be illegal, it's really dumb.

And also, you know, in the captain's report, there were five to ten manatee in the area of the docks as he was surveyed.

There's always manatees up.

And yeah, we have photographs now, videos on our website, Stevenson Creek.org that showed manatees clearly in the exact locations of the docks uh doing their thing.

In in three feet of water.

Well, Michael, I think anyway.

I think well the information does exist in in your emails and elsewhere.

So what I'm confused is what what does it take for us to write a letter to someone and say we're a post-well the question is do we have to come together?

Do we have to review it in public?

Do we do we just write it and send it or permissible that if she were to draft one we could approve it at the next meeting?

Okay, we would we would accept that.

Great.

And and just to add in there my own concern, having had a dock, you know, on St.

Joseph's um when they put my new dock in, um, and unfortunately I was away, um, there was a large rock underneath me that they should have removed.

Cut my drive my my beam would sit down on it and not let me get on and off at low tide.

Um I excavated that rock myself, but what I saw a lot of my neighbors doing, and it's a known thing called midnight dredging where if you can't easily get on your boat at lower tides on your lifts, and I'm assuming the size of these boats that they could put in there, they'd have to put them on lifts.

They are docks and lifts, every nine of them has a dock and a lift.

And most of the docks that people have built out there, single docks, they're not utilized.

They they've sold the boat off because they can't use it.

Can barely ever get in and out.

Most of them are that way, very restricted.

So you're saying there's already precedent for how boats can and can't use that area.

Yes.

Yes.

We've got neighbors who like we've got, hey, let's go out in the boat.

We've got this much time that's got to be now, or can't get back.

You gotta look at the time chart, you've got to go out on an up rising near high tide, you've got to come back soon, or you get stuck out there.

You know, maybe you got a three-hour window or twelve hour window.

If you if you can provide um some facts in the letter that you're going to write that relate to that, I think it it also goes to what he's asking as far as the draft goes and how it can be utilized.

You can attach that to the to the letter.

Our website is trusting it down.

Do you mean a neighbor's testimony about limited access and an outwater?

Whatever, whatever works.

But it has to it has to be able to be we'll come up.

Proved justified.

We're we're we're not gonna support anything that's just hearsay.

Well, the other thing that's interesting as I follow this draft, and I don't want to take a second on this.

Every entity that's looked at it, the aquatic preserve program, the uh the city, the Southwest Border Water Management District, FWC, everybody looks at those nine docks.

They disregard the fact that this is a new precedent, it's completely new, and it will change the entire atmosphere of that creek.

There's only been single family docks forever, and putting a mass of them at this mouth, they they say I can't look at anything that might be, but that's the reality of it, and it's a shame that they're limited to that small.

This is the permit at hand.

Soon as that gets approved, that'll be a precedent, and there'll be that whole marine inside of that estuary could be docks.

Well, it would it would make a great hurricane hole, except for the fact that you have a drawbridge in there and there's no water.

Right.

But again, and I I talked to Dr.

Randy Runnels a little bit about it, and unfortunately, legally it can happen, but ethically it shouldn't.

Um so again, manatees, dolphins, uh the I see an em feeding up there all the time.

Um he's one also who said, I can I've got to stay in my lane, I'm only looking at this dock.

And disregard the actuality.

I know him, and the the sidebars that we've had, he said, you know, it it's stupid, and I can't imagine.

He said, I can't see anybody buying the documents.

Well, he could have still said something.

It's a built-in lawsuit, but that's not that's not what we're discussing.

And I again I think the the water depth at high and low tide and the airdraft at high and low tide will will sell will answer a lot.

And plus people fish off that bridge.

It is kind of has depth readings.

They even put a boat out there um a month ago or so to check uh unofficially those readings to see if they were accurate.

They came back with two foot, one inch uh the the highest one was five foot at the bridge.

Right at high tide.

A little bit of a rush of water going through the high tide, right?

No, that was at um near uh about above half.

Okay, and uh so but when you go up higher, you've got to do a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a tiny top, you know.

I mean, um so it's a problem.

Uh we're happy to see things like uh kayak and paddle boards, those people come in there all the time.

I paddled under that where I've had to on a high tide, there's not much clearance there.

But a kayak boards that come in there environmentally there's these get in, but we'd like them to slow down.

They usually use it as a race lane, which we have a problem.

And we've got a vision one day we might get with Parks and Rec and have a kayak launch at the old shuffleboard court area that's underutilized, and maybe a man TV wing area.

That's that's been mentioned before.

No, that's been a tide around CMA.

The reason years ago came up back in 91 or something.

Marshall Street needed to be upgraded a little more.

People that's an understatement.

Yeah, well, it's it's there's the city knows all about that.

You know the nickname of Stevenson's Creek.

I uh I live there.

Okay, you know the nickname.

I've been through it.

I I used to report the problems.

They're doing a much better job now.

Uh I don't have a problem.

I used I when Tom Miller was the head of the environmental department here.

I told he came to me with that idea of a kayak launch, and I said, I don't I wouldn't do it.

I think there's a liability, there's bacterial issues that we're that the city's gonna have to deal with in some way.

So, but Marshall Street's much better now.

They're doing it.

That plant's scheduled to come offline and become a pump station.

Yeah, there's this ongoing discussion.

I've heard that the cities talked about it just this past week, and it'll happen.

And when it does, that estuary, we need to preserve that estuary as it is and improve it because it's an estuary.

We can turn the Marshall Street plant tanks into some form of fish hatchery.

We can have it.

We if you have a fish hatchery, you've got to have an estuary, an estuary.

Let's get it going.

Get a little fishing going out here.

I don't know how successful it would be.

Could be difficult, it could be wildly successful.

But Stevenson Creek's gone through 30 years of Clean Water Act improvements.

No water's getting it used to be horrendous, but we've got a risk.

We're I call it this.

Stevens Creek is a model of urban streaming restoration.

The city needs to be proud of that.

City's responsible for all of the clean water uh M BMPs, all among three chambered uh runoff systems, uhaks, highland uh ponds, they're all uh on our website.

We we've gone through it and talked about.

I mean, it's it's getting better.

It's not getting we're we're wanting to keep on it's not perfect, but it's getting better.

We figured they've there's been a hundred million dollars spent to help the health of the creek, and this is just the beginning of something that can reverse all that.

Yeah, a lot of the sediment's gone.

The building, Marshall Street, and all of the maintenance that goes into it.

That's how we pick up a bit.

Sure.

So we'll we'll put something together for you.

I appreciate that.

Thank you.

Okay.

Would it be possible for us to get that email to us so that if what it once it was approved, so that we could provide that letter to them before the next meeting, can we do that?

Or does it all have to be done at the meeting?

Time is of the essence.

Everything needs to be done in the sunshine.

Oh, right, but I'm saying if it were emailed to to everybody.

Yeah, if if you want to drop the letter and email it to to me and Jennifer, and then Jennifer and I can email it to everybody else.

Okay, there you go.

Okay.

So you can go ahead and see Mike and then he'll get it together.

Proceed quickly with that.

And what one of the things you might try, contact the uh I think I guess the federal DOT isn't alternate 19 a federal highway at that point.

I'm not sure.

Or federal or state.

Anyway, contact them and see if they might offer any input that oh, wait a minute, we've got to have so many cubic feet available to pass through to not undermine the pilings of the bridge and so forth.

You know, like like the remember when the same key bridge fell out.

Say again.

Are you speaking to the safety of the bridge?

Yes.

They don't care about manatees or docks or anything else, but if any upstream work is done that could potentially affect the bridge or its structure, then they might say, Well, wait.

Or it's an ask.

The way it is now, most mariners know that that's too shallow.

Oh, yeah.

Yes, a few two or three boats ago, yes.

I had a boat that I you I could get under there at low tide and and and run just a 20-foot boat.

Um, but then I I never even thought about it after I took the natural seven what do they say, seven years, seven feet.

Um but it but again, what you're saying about the damage to the bridge, uh, reiterate what I was saying about that midnight dredging, and just to sure qualify the term, where you're tying your boat to your dock or to your lifting in place and putting it in gear and blowing all it out of that water out from underneath where your lift sits and just spreading the this the silt and everything.

Yeah, of course, there's the law of nature that in any moving water body tends to regain its formal morphology.

So you could dredge it out every week.

Oh, yeah, fill right back in.

I used to run the Pirates Cove boat boat sales office, and yes, you you planned your boat deliveries very carefully until every five years they come around and dredge it and things would be normal for a year or two.

Um now I think they they took out the smaller golf course, the old St.

Andrews or whatever they had to change the name to, and so there's only Dunedin Country Club that is on it that's that's causing it, and they've done a lot in rebuilding the now reopened Dunedin Country Club to control their runoff.

They've really they've had a lot of steps.

I saw the plans to to get rid of that, but that's Dunedin, that's their problem.

But um just like when they took the golf course out off Gulf the Bay, Glen Oaks was it, or Glen Oaks.

They took a whole golf course out.

Gee robberies golf course.

Yeah, it's Glen Oaks.

Chi Chi was involved in that.

Oh yes, but they he moved this operation from McMahon to the through.

Yes.

I was on the environmental board at that time.

Yeah, to get that runoff under controls is a masterpiece.

People don't realize it's a state of the art, urban water treatment and pollution system.

Yes.

Well designed.

I know they're designed.

That was the most polluted area, incidentally.

The runoff that we're in there.

Well, it's a huge watershed.

Huge watershed.

Yeah, and that ultimately gets you into Stevenson's Creek.

And Glen Oaks is like right at the heart of it.

Boom.

There's another one.

Oh, the pilot.

They drains into all that.

Yes.

Okay.

Thank you.

Get Mike a copy of that letter and he'll pass it on to us and we'll see you in three months.

Super.

Thank you.

Thank you guys.

We had other people to speak, or is it all for the here for the business?

You're for the you're for the marina, right?

Um okay, so we're gonna move on from that as soon as I find my glasses.

Um business items, uh Beach Marina Commercial Tenant Outreach Group update.

Although we are supporting management's also so yes, but I made some notes for everybody to make it easier.

So you don't have to memorize when I think I have enough for everyone.

Morning.

Thank you.

Thanks giving some friends in from Italy in.

We're out on the sea screamer.

Yes.

On Thanksgiving Day, which was not a pretty day.

Um but uh they got in and out easily, they had a wonderful time.

I just had a nothing but positive reviews and maybe they're from a cold part of Italy because it was not a day I would have been out there, but if I was out there, I'd want to be on something like the sea screamers.

But that was good to hear though.

Feedback.

So good morning.

Um my name is Susan Smith.

Um my husband and I, Jamie, and my brother-in-law TJ owns Stella Fishing, which is one of the uh charter the six-pack boats.

Which one is yours?

Stella Fishing.

The Legend and the Lore.

The Legend and the Lore.

Okay, okay.

The blue and the yellow boats.

Maybe that maybe I need to rebrand is that.

Well, I have to close my eyes and listen the voices on the radio, try and figure out okay, that's absolutely.

So we um we kind of the first thing is the marina tenant um council organization update.

We just we asked Trish to provide an update as to how um things are going there, and as you all I'm sure are aware, they've um organized the group under Amplify and are really happy with the support that they're getting from them as they're putting together the group and starting to organize the um metrics and the membership and the way that they're gonna be approaching everything for that uh organization.

Um the members will have benefits under Amplify membership also, which I think is um they're very pleased with.

Um they are um going to be distributing their membership guide um over the next few weeks, you know, through this holiday season, I think, sometime shortly.

Um they continue to state that the construction down there has been hard on all the tenants, and so obviously um they're trying to do as much as they can to get people to join, but also not put the financial burden on the businesses right out of the gate.

Um am I correct that amplify um Clearwater is is basically the road not the rotary but the um chamber of commerce.

Isn't that just yes?

That's correct.

Okay.

Yes.

And um I'm not super close to this, so I'm kind of reporting, but we can use everybody's brains um as we go.

And um so they are gonna be foregoing the membership fee until we get more into the busier season of uh the of the tourism aspect.

So they're looking to do that in June, and um they will uh be providing you all a copy of the membership guide as soon as it as it is complete.

Okay.

That's the least amount of information that I know about what I'm about to talk about.

So if anybody has any questions, I'm happy to take them back to them all, you know.

If you have any thoughts on that, otherwise we can kind of jump into more of why we are here, TJ and I.

Um, we're there are a couple um things that are going on down there as you all are looking to obviously make the marina whole and you know, working within at least breaking even, we have that same appreciation for our small business.

Um we are wanted to show you and just give you some data so you can start to make some you know, really some an opinion about how you're approaching the rate hikes down there, particularly for not just the commercial business, but maybe even more in regards to the commercial fishing fleet themselves, as you're looking we're looking for you to consider some type of a carve out for the small six-pack and even the larger um boats that are down there that are fishing.

We wanted to show you kind of the way that the rate hikes are impacting the larger boats, which just from uh also just thinking of revenue, you know, these the bigger businesses and the tour businesses really do have um a much larger top line, um, and you know, look many of them million plus, and when you're looking at rate hikes that you know are really impacting them in that like kind of 35 to 60 percent or so um, and then you move to the charter fleet and you look at rate hikes that impact us anywhere between and this is true for all of the boats that are down there, um, the small six-pack boats particularly, anywhere between 120 to 170 percent is what that rent in hike does to us, and our top line is anywhere in um it's true along across all of the boats down there, 250 to 300,000 a year is our top line, and so these rent hikes that maybe don't feel as significant to people, and I know you're trying to get things in line, and you're like, oh, our study says that commercially we should be charging you more, and that may be hold true for some of these really large larger businesses or much more substantial businesses that aren't that don't live under, you know, we can't put more passengers on our boats by federal law.

You can only we run much further.

We can't add five trips, five more tours a day.

You know, there's we just don't have those types of options.

And all those guys are going out, yeah.

As I just said, we don't do that, we can't do that.

It's so hard because so many so many uh marinas.

Okay, that slip.

We're renting the slip.

I want to put a kayak in it.

Okay, but it could take a 60 foot boat.

So there's that catch 22 there, you only got a 10-foot kayak, it's only dollar foot, it's only $10.

You got a 60-foot boat, you can go in there too.

You're gonna be $60.

So where do you charge for the slip, and where do you charge by the foot?

Yeah, I I I completely get what it's like.

Yeah, I think that's why we're talking about I don't disagree with.

I mean, we had a recreational boat for a long time in the city marina, um, I mean, almost 10 years.

And if you would have told me my rent was going up by $800, you know what I would have said for my hero.

I would have said, okay.

You know, I mean, I I'm a recreational boater, I have a 50-foot boat, I expect these, I do it for joy.

You have those types of dollars in that.

I think really truly looking at this and thinking about if you want to support a fishing fleet, a true fishing fleet.

And that's that's the and this this has been one of the agendas that that I lobbied to to get on this board because I've got quite a connection to the waterfront, and the only working waterfront we have left is Clearwater Beach, the seminole area.

Yep.

And that's it.

There was a time when there was so much, but that's all ancient history.

That rate right there.

Yeah, yeah.

And I mean, I I interviewed Dave Spaulding and Bob Ress, all those guys, Courtney Ross.

It's Mike, I don't envy you in having to come up with just that.

It could hold a 60-foot boat at $60 a month.

I don't care what you put in there.

Yeah.

To buy the foot.

Or if there is some way we could could have a carve out, or if if a longer contract, say, well, okay, let's let's do a I'm making this up a f a five-year deal.

And instead of selling you the 60-foot slip, we're gonna discount that to X because I know it'll be so it's you it's you for five years.

I I I mean that's I get completely what you're saying.

There's no way you're gonna compete with the big head boats.

Yeah, and the tour boats themselves.

I mean, they just have so much more opportunity in different ways to drive revenue or work harder.

And with us, there's just we just don't have to do that.

Yeah, you can only go opportunities.

And even if you put a second boat in the fleet, now you got a second slip rent.

We we we did do that.

So and a lot of us do.

Saltcracker has to has three above or um high uh real deal has to Gulf Stream has to, you know, we have to so when you really and we bought this business in 2022, and since then we've also started to see the fleet shrink, you know, by three or four businesses already.

Sure.

And the hurricane obviously is hard for everyone.

Um but also but I mean we're taking federal loans out to support two months or three months of you know, changes in revenue where the bigger boats don't have those burdens as much.

They don't run for they don't use as much fuel.

They there's just so many more advantages.

And I'm like, why did we not buy the tiki boats?

Just joking.

I mean, there's so much less, you know, risk when it comes to it, but this the charter fishing fleet, I personally feel it's a really special it's not represented in the feasibility study the way from a commercial standpoint.

You'd really have to look hard around the United States to find these little tiny pockets where like what how are these little tiny businesses ten at a time being supported in these larger like massive marinas, right?

And it's it's a different also our people just you know, 30 to 40 percent of the people that come to fish on our boats come to town with the sole purpose of fishing, which is also I think we could say we really we really do drive tourism across the area more than when you come to town on vacation and you're like, hey, let's go on uh you know, let's go on a the sea screamer or something fun because you can kind of think about but a lot of our people plan to come.

They're walking down the dock.

Oh, let's ride on little two to sit this afternoon, or let's go over to the aquarium, but if they want to fish, they've already been in contact with you and got it booked before they ever got on the airplane to come down here.

Refund fully number of trips a year because their flights are canceled, and it's the only reason they're coming in is to come fishing for a few days.

They fish seven days, and on average, that is bringing almost 40,000 of that one week.

Of people I came here not to go see a doll, they came here to fish.

Yeah, they're eating in the local restaurants down in Ray.

They're right now hotel rooms, it's really people.

I have a friend in Ireland that him and his wife come over here every year.

Yeah, yeah, it's really a special thing.

I mean, the working waterfront is it's vital that that we reserve the working waterfront.

And like I said, you know, I I get it, you know.

I got a waiting list of how many people somebody's gonna pay me for that 60-foot slip.

Want to put a kayak in it?

It's still a 60-foot slip.

And you know, is is there currently a waiting list to get back into the marina?

So the you're talking about two separate things.

You have the recreational rate, okay, and then you have the commercial rate.

There is not a waiting list for the commercial.

Okay.

Uh the commercial operators, they uh it's full, right?

Well, yeah, yeah, we're full, and they're allowed to sell their business and then transfer that slip slip of the if the city agrees to those terms.

Yeah, okay.

Yep.

So how did this end up so disportional that the Starlight and those saw an increase but a minimal increase compared to basically the slips?

So basically the rate study.

Uh that's that's where the rates were set.

Uh looking at you know what the six-pack uh fishing fleet is going through is something that we've already started looking at.

I've talked to city leadership about, and uh we're we're looking for ideas and we're looking at working with them on something, uh, but it's also based on the performer, which I'll go over with in my director's report.

Okay, yeah, we're really just looking for your consideration to advise them that it's a special group, even though it's considered you know grouped into that big commercial environment.

But it's a different animal.

But it's such a different animal.

It's like the difference between uh an airliner and a little private plane.

Yeah, that's even like C Scar decided to rebuild two engines, 140,000 to rebuild two engines.

That's what uh we're we're done, we're crushed.

Yeah, right.

That would be you know, it's just that's how different our business is.

Yeah, where it's just like all right, let's go to work, switch them out, and they're back running a month later.

We got a computer wrenches, right?

You know, $200.

That's and you've lost you've lost how many trips in the meantime.

Yeah, and yeah, I know, and and again, Screamer was over at uh right choice, you know, again, supporting when we get to the old Seminole Street, you look at how many businesses are supported entirely by the working waterfront, whether it's a rent and and we don't have much.

You got that little bit on island estates, you've got the city marina on the beach, there's no commercial downtown, and you've got then the area around Seminole, and that's it.

And then the next commercial is Tarpon Springs going south, you gotta go way down towards Mad Beach.

And you know, and we need to save this.

We really need to it is really it is really a special thing.

We so and we don't disagree, we know rent increases, like we are super reasonable and appreciative of everything that Mike's done, and that everybody does to help support us, but this is this is a big burden on us today that we're all very worried about.

And then the second piece of this, and it it maybe it is just truly a carve out for the fishing fleets.

Um when you look at fuel prices, and we just we're trying to we Jamie and I and TJ just we just opened our PLs up to you all so you could really just see the percentage that we pay to the city of the business, and when just to be there when you know, between fuel and our marine, just our marina spend in general, you know, when you're upwards of that, you know, 45, you know, 30 to 45 percent of our top line revenue just to be in the city marina, it's just really hard.

That's not that's not paying our captains, that's not paying, you know.

We don't take personally any money out of this business, everything goes into the business to the team that works it, and if we save $10,000, that $10,000 goes into the business and the people.

I you know, that's it's the way this business runs, and most of them are owner operated, yeah, and that's the way all you know, all these little businesses run from a fuel expense standpoint.

We use the most fuel down there, we run the furthest, we have to fuel every day.

You know, if we're running an eight-hour, you know, we're 20, 30, 40 miles offshore, you know, we are kind of trapped a little bit with whatever the marina prices the fuel at is where it is because we can't we haven't had the opportunity to bring in trucks.

We you know, even the big boats that all have left a fuel somewhere else, and they have those advantages because they have those huge fuel holds, they don't use a lot of fuel, like Starlight doesn't use a lot of fuel, and it's putting around the you know, it's it brings a lot of joy to people, but that from a fuel expense, it is significant.

And just looking at this last year with bringing the trucks in, we've saved over $30,000 in fuel, like that's the difference in our fuel bill year over year.

And we are we would love to pay.

I I mean, honestly, I'd love to be able to put that back into the business and give people raises and do amazing things for them as we're working on.

Well, that maybe that may be an angle to take, obviously, with with Mike as far as what what the city will and won't allow or any discounts.

I I know uh from my uh time running a boat at the aquarium that they had uh commercial fuel discounts, but you know, I I don't know anything about how much what that's not what but you know, I as a board member of the marine advisory board.

My thought is we have to do anything we can to save our local fleet, and you know, anything that we can do to help collaborate here with everybody involved, and I know Mike is too.

I know Mike's trying to think about ways to help us with fuel.

Like, is there a carve out where you had some ideas like ways that maybe we he could capture his real cost of fuel with some level of markup that's more competitive with what we could get off of a truck.

We can't bring trucks in, obviously, when everything's all beautiful, but you know, for a difference in 25 or 28 percent, like if I could save that money and fuel somewhere else and give the boats back 20% to or $20,000 to the crew for them to work an extra hour to do that.

So Mike's gotta pay the guy on the dock, they've got to maintain the equipment pay for the state inspection.

You know, all that's a cost, but somewhere maybe it'd be nice.

Yeah, we have a great appreciation for it.

We just our margins are razor, razor, razor thin.

You know, and if we have a bad weather month, like where all of a sudden we're two weeks of trips down and up it it just it it really really hurts us badly.

I mean, not we we just don't have the top line revenue.

A little month left over at the end of the money, yeah.

It really is.

So we we we hear you, and I'll shut up because I think you can see I've got a particular interest in this, and it it just I grew up underwater, and as did many of the Clearwater residents, but I've interviewed a lot of these old timers, and I actually interviewed um Dave Spaulding and Kai Lewis and Wally Erickson and Skip Ress and Courtney Ross.

I volunteer at the museum down here at Old Mulletskive, you see.

We put that together irrelevant, sorry.

Um I talk a lot today.

We hear you.

We hear you.

I'll stop.

Sorry.

We we appreciate it.

We feel like one of the biggest challenges is just being lumped in to, and we understand why and how easy that would be, but it would be great to have the consideration of being like, hey, this fleet is different than we're different than the sea screamers, we're different than the tiki boats, we're different, like it's just a different type of commercial business, and there's not a lot that we can do outside of what we do every day to drive more.

We try.

Like I've been to theater homes, you know, the burial at seas, like all sorts of banks trying to do like bank closings, like we try on, but really at the end of the day, he wants to go do a burial at sea with their loved one on the back, which at the end of the day of the charter fishing boat, you know, those little things.

Yes.

We're like, what else?

Yeah, can we do?

And I mean, some of the guys try to go crab for two weeks in between if things are down, like it's just what else.

There, it's such a hard working, truly love of the water and fishing kind of environment.

It's not like going out and driving a tour boat and you find a captain that'll do that for whatever time, like it truly is that fundamental calling.

Like it's hard work.

Not everybody wants to get up at four o'clock and catch.

It's a lot of work.

Somebody's on like, what are you so thankful?

Yep, um, so we also just kind of put I we wanted to make the note about how many people come in just for fishing, because we do believe that helps the entire area, not just our dock itself, um, and the little Clearwater Beach area.

And the other aspect I put together just to give you all some visibility, um, we provided the number of trips that we've ran 23, 24, and 25, um, by month, and show I kind of in pink put like where the hurricane hit.

We, as you can tell, are not as impacted, which really speaks to people prepping and coming in versus buying something off the dock by the walk-up business, the way the tour boats are down 50%, like it's really a burden on them because they don't have that traffic through.

We don't see that as much.

I think that one of the reasons why we're holding as well as we have is also because we've lost a few of the boats over the last three years, three or four of the businesses, and the people that were fishing on them gain some of their business.

So I don't know that we're you know, genius marketers or whatever, you know, holding and growing, but I do think that because the fleet's a little smaller, we look like we're holding better than maybe what we truly are, but we will see over time.

over the last three years three or four of the businesses and the people that were fishing on them gain some of their business so I don't know that we're you know genius marketers or whatever you know holding and growing but I do think that because the fleet's a little smaller we look like we're holding better than maybe what we truly are but we will see over time um we did change our prices based on the council's recommendation when um at the last meeting they're like well just raise your prices 50 dollars or whatever and we did that in October when our rates were supposed to change and our we had a significant significant and every I I didn't put everybody else's numbers in there but I a very big drop in trips doing that and I think we just have some months that we're like airlines like you know some months they lower rates to get people to travel you know October is not is a lesser you know it's a softer month for people aren't holidaying where they're a little bit more tolerant of price changes like at Christmas coming in to fish and do that they're planning for that um but this is more local business and more people that would fish in this in the downtimes and so we did see that I know it's only one month um but we're we're really watching that we just don't know that we have the price elasticity to be able to be like hey our rents changed by a thousand dollars a month so we've got to find twelve thousand dollars more just to get back to even can we do that $50 at a time and I'm afraid that it might impact us in a much more negative way than um we were hoping so back back when Mike um did a presentation of things we were up to here in front of the council was it a last March or a year ago March a year ago um that um before Mike did his presentation a gentleman from the association of community theaters or something to that effect gave a presentation a big you could tell he was a showman poor Mike had to follow him did you do it did you but I meant I meant this mic that he gave the report um so uh he's used to the abuse so but but if you if you go back and look at that meeting and look at that that it was a city council meeting not here um these people these numbers you're seeing in these people that are coming in um some of those are just half of the family the guys are going fishing the women are shopping they're going to the beach um the financial impact of those people how many of them the percentage of them that come from out of town the things they bring with them and then they do go to our theaters and then they do go shopping and they go to pay to an event to go here at the sound and and and it's so looking at your numbers you're thinking oh so we lost a few fishing people no you lost tens of thousands of revenue that those people would have spent while they were here not just on your boats but on everything so we that's like this guy puts seven days in June every June and he raised a bunch of people he averages that one week so 50 grand every year in seven days nice problem to have out in the yeah I mean but still I mean it's 50 grand in one of the testimonial in this small little community of their that's a testimonial though to the the draw that the that the fishing community has and your group in particular that this guy comes back on a regular basis and you see that a lot with with the same I mean it's it's huge.

Yeah we get the the the theater presentation then Mike's presentation and a week later there was election and three of the five people that sat through all that were no longer on the council and it's like let's start all over they forgot everything we just told them.

Yeah well just from a bottom line we're really we really want we really want to see the fishing village survive and and prosper you know you shouldn't every year just be making the effort to break even right and we would love to find a way I to have that little carve out to help us do that.

It's not like we're making an extra 2000 dollars by making these little tiny changes it's literally you know if we if we lose an engine or something like that it's it's so much more devastating like we just don't have that type of cash flow to be able to support it and we would like to maybe in 30 years we'll so this was this is kind of the result of our approval of or our suggestion to the council that they adjust the rates the way that they are now and and it's not anybody's fault.

When you get those studies it's a 10,000 foot view but when you're down here in the weege you recognize that yeah there is an issue with the six pack fishing fleet that you know their margins can't support something that drastic so we have to look at all avenues to help offset some of that cost but we need to gain it somewhere else to be a viable fund.

Is there something that we can suggest to the city council that maybe they can take action on this?

Yeah, we're we're working right now.

I'm I'm working with them as well as the tenant outreach group uh to come up with some solutions.

But we're we're I mean, especially if that's your advice to us, we're we're definitely gonna gotta figure something out.

For transient voters when we're done.

23, I do believe.

I don't have that number in front of me.

That's they kind of kind of gotta pay what you want.

And then I know you've done studies with other other marinas and so forth, and you know, nice nice places, not you know, Billy Bob's tie-up overnight, correct, but something like Sarasota, Naples, um offset some of that revenue there, and perhaps with some of the recreational uh tenants that are there as well, because I mean that's let's face it, that's play money.

You know, you sit and watch somebody put um five thousand dollars worth of gasoline in a quad engine outboard, you know, what's a couple of hundred bucks a month for slip rent.

Yeah, and and we're also working with you know the the the fuel pricing, uh looking at just a monthly invoice.

I think we're gonna have the capability with the new marina and the new uh fueling system to do that, which you know, right now uh, you know, I I get a fuel drop, but uh during the peak season, I'll get one every other day, you know, 7500 gallons of fuel.

And to cost that was especially during some times of the volatility of the the cost of the fuel coming in.

Yeah, uh trying to to price that where I want to price that for the commercial fleet.

Uh there's been times for three or four days where I'm actually selling it for less than I bought it for.

So I always have to set it kind of high so I don't run into those issues.

But when I'm doing it at a monthly uh rate, I can average my cost over that and then give them a percentage off of that.

It'd be easier for us, it would be cheaper for the commercial fleet too.

Do you know what the price you're charging right now?

Uh we're not selling fuel currently right now.

Oh, we're not even we know, but the last price index I saw yesterday, I think it was 312 for gas and 299 for diesel on marine, uh just uh out of Tampa.

Oh national average right now is 294.

Yeah, but this was the the price out of Tampa where the fuels purchased.

Okay.

So you know, rec 90 on the water right now is going for five and a quarter, yeah, 515, 535.

Yeah.

Well, I miss those days.

Um so you're gonna work with the city council as far as is that a motion we should put through or or you don't need that.

Yeah, I'll continue to do that.

We don't want to lose you, yeah.

No intention take a look at you know, you mentioned a monthly billing if two-week billing cycle would would work better or six-week to be able to balance.

I'm I'm sure the fleet would you know would work with you there too, you know, because it's gonna be in everybody's best interest.

You won't have to explain why you sold diesel fuel for they get billed monthly for the slip rent, so just be easy to put the fuel into that and do one in voice.

Yeah, I'm not trying to suggest business stuff, but you know, look look at everything, absolutely.

I just think specifically like recognizing like having it set out loud that the six-pack group should be a carve-out thing.

It would work for us.

Yeah, it would help so much because I think that that's where we just haven't like, oh well, this is what it said, and commercials typically one point whatever more than this, and so everybody.

And it would just be so great to have it recognize that, like, hey, this little group of people is just their business model is just so so different.

And I just think we haven't had that support, like visibility, so it could even be supported in the past, and so we just appreciate the time, you know, and we're happy to share any anything.

If you have any other questions, like we will open our books.

We have we have really built great relationships between the businesses down there where I think 10 years ago you'd say it was fairly competitive or five years ago.

And we've worked really hard to start sharing real information and really helping each other try to be as fiscally smart as possible, and all of those aspects where you do better if you have you know more friendly relationships like that.

And truly loving it versus truly looking at each other as competitors, and it has really helped, I think, a lot, but it like these like kind of sweeping changes where we're just kind of lumped in really impact us so much.

Okay, because even like our increase of 170%, even put a hundred and seventy percent increase to calypso or start, that's gonna hurt them.

And that's a bigger, and they got they make more revenue than us.

But 70% increase in their bills each month.

Out out all together.

Yeah.

They can't they can't afford it.

I mean, when you can't even afford to operate the marina tenant council dues a month.

You know what I mean?

Like that's it's just small margins.

It's just so small margins.

One of the guys who fishing down here for 30 years, 40 years.

He's had a boat in the marine, and he's has no clue.

How old is he?

Powell?

Yeah.

Six.

Well, that's where I was going.

You got you got guys aging out like myself.

You get guys that you know, and then it's like, well, okay, the storm, okay.

Now the rent's going up.

The you know, you know what?

I'm out.

But they also he also has in line a captain that he's trained to take sit back and but now it doesn't even make the drive.

He can't sit back and hang out unless you have to be an owner operator.

Yeah, you have no choice.

And you hopefully that guy will bring that business along where he can end up buying the boat from and it's it's tough.

It's hard.

We definitely hear you, and I think we're all you know, Mike's.

You got a you got a good good guy right there to be in charge of stuff.

So he's one of the things.

Let's uh like you guys are gonna make our lives a little harder there.

We're a little I need this like to do some dancing with that too.

Well, please please keep us updated on the progress.

Yeah, well, we're happy to share anything that you all ever need.

So we appreciate the time that you take to think about it.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

We need to hear from someone on the beach marina reconstruction project.

You just put it in.

Okay.

Okay.

Well, good morning, members of the uh council.

Um, my name is uh Kelly Petrich.

I'm the engineering division manager for the public works department.

Um just kind of give you a brief update in the beach marina.

Um so currently, right now with the marine work we have going on.

We have um Orion Construction has finished all the pile and floating docks installation this week.

The crane work has been completed.

Um they are loading the material barge, and we'll be sending the crane to the Tampa yard to the maintenance between the phases.

Um, and they're currently detailing continues on the fixed and floating docks.

Uh, this consists of timber bracing cleats, caps, and dock boxes.

Um I don't know if everyone's aware, but we we currently have found an obstruction.

Um it's out here on the uh the at the final pier here's the sea dock.

Um this obstruction is actually below the mud line that where we were trying to put in the the last piling, the last pier.

Um it's about 25 by 50 feet.

Um we're not sure if it's Winnebago or what exactly.

Um we actually had a uh a sonar crew that was out Tuesday, um, but they were unable to get a clear reading of the obstruction just because they said it was too far below the mud line, so we're looking at other options to find out what's there.

Um one of the other options at Orion Construction is that they're they're planning on um uh doing a trying to do basically a large uh punch through the obstruction with a very uh large uh um hammer that they're looking at bringing out.

Um but we would I know Mike would and and the crew would definitely like to find out you know the exact location of this obstruction, like I said, it's about 25 by 50 feet.

Um to kind of get a better idea.

So we're gonna look at metallic.

They determine it's metallic.

Um but we just know it's you know, maybe concrete, we're not sure.

It's very you know, it can't get through uh definitely, so we um we're not sure exactly what it is yet.

Um we're hoping to get some other ways to test it, but it's definitely below the mud line.

And um we're we're we're pretty sure we're able to punch through, but but you know, we we definitely would figure out like to figure out what's down there for future future use for the marina and be able to put pilings and things like that.

Is there anything historical about it?

I mean that something occurred way back when the only thing that we can maybe think of is maybe during the construction of the beach marina building or the original pier, maybe concrete or something during the construction that maybe they dumped it off there, not we're not really sure what it could be.

Have you asked anything of any of the old timers that might have knowledge of that that have been around?

I have I have and that they don't know.

No, uh, one of the suggestions I got it could be something from the military back in the 40s or 30s or something.

Well, I was gonna say, based on the size of it, it could be because there was a big Marine Corps training base for the Amtrak's.

That'd be cool to find one of those.

Yeah.

I'm curious.

Who did you ask?

I talked to Bill Morris and also talked to uh you know some of the old time captains down there.

Okay.

Did you talk to to uh Bob Ress by chance?

I did not.

Okay.

You mind if I ask him?

He might know.

Okay.

Feel free.

Okay.

Yeah.

So we'll this is this is holding up just one piling.

Yeah, it won't affect the transition of the phase over.

Um it's something we'll definitely have to deal with, but um, it's not gonna affect the the switchover from phase one to phase two.

Okay.

On that.

So worst case scenario we'll just take care of it in phase two uh portion of the construction.

But uh yeah, Orion should have something to at least punch through to get that final pairing soon on that.

Uh as far as the electrical work for the project, um the main power inspection has passed.

Uh so Duke Energy will be powering the switch gear in about three to five days.

Um Buell uh electric construction is uh working to energize docks DE, DE, and uh the site lights soon after, so we will have lighting out there shortly.

Um C has the longest feeder runs and we'll follow after and on all site rough ins are complete at this point.

Uh as far as the upland work right now, the uh concrete uh crews are working to make pores every day until it's complete.

Um we do expect them to wrap up before Christmas and all the site furnishings uh furniture will be scheduled to deliver the week of Christmas um and the install will actually start immediately.

Um we also have the uh the gangway access platforms are not complete but also expected by before Christmas.

Um we're also working with our design team on some of the ADA parking stall elevations.

Uh they're currently not in compliance, so we're still working on getting those up to 88 compliance.

Uh we also will uh shortly you'll be seeing uh delivery of the temporary kiosk.

Uh we'll shortly be uh they're all completed, so now they're gonna start becoming in on site um and being placed out there.

Um so we're uh barring any issues right now.

We're we're looking to turn over the whole project for phase one and switch over all the boats to be able to ready by the first week in January.

So that's that's kind of the timeline we're working at at this point.

Um and as far as we know right now, we're still good for the phase two completions, and we're gonna work, of course.

Engineering and and um Orion construction and uh Coca-Lakis are all gonna work on making sure we get that schedule tightened up to finish on time for the project.

Excellent.

Anybody have any questions?

No, I I told the group earlier, said some friends in Thanksgiving took the sea screamer out, and we're able to get in and out.

Right, they said they didn't have any problem parking, any problem finding the boat or getting out.

Um you know, Italian people said they were not even familiar with the area, so that was something I concerned of.

You pull in there, stranger, you'd been there 10 years ago and nothing's where it was before, at least for now.

And uh just a good report on it.

Yeah, and I've just I have been out there, it's it's an amazing facility.

The the docks are really sturdy.

It's really impressive being aluminum docks, and and we got a really it's an unbelievable product.

I've been really happy with the finish and everything.

It's gonna be, I think everyone's really gonna love it when we get it opened up at least for phase one for staying here.

Yeah, it looks like it's really gonna be uh you know very physically attractive, beautiful.

Yeah, wide boardwalk areas and so on.

Oh, yeah, yeah, it's gonna be definitely a huge improvement.

I think it's really gonna attract a lot more people out to the area for the marina, and then of course, with uh phase two, some of the major things we have is that the floating fuel building will be installed.

Um so that's that's gonna be exciting to see that get constructed.

Um, and we'll finish off the rest of the increase of the seawall and the rest of the slips and everything will be done for for phase two.

So excellent.

Good.

Do you have a guesstimate of when fuel will be available?

That'd be more mic.

Uh I'll get into that in the director's report.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next one.

Uh Harbor Marina Repairs.

Is this oh, okay.

He stays there.

Roll right into it.

Okay.

Uh as you know, this project has been divided into basically two separate projects, which would be the South End, which has already been designed, um, and also the North End.

Uh as far as the update for the South End, that is out for bid.

Um actually you'll see it on open gov today for December 10th for our our bidders to be able to bid that.

Um so we're actually looking at a tentative, hopefully get on the council date then for March 2nd.

Um, so we'll be able to ward the the final bidder on March 2nd, get them on board, get them an NTP.

Um we're we're imagining we're really want to push them um and get that done before the next storm season.

Um we're kind of looking maybe between you know three to six months for the construction.

So we're we're hoping to get all this construction of the south end done by the next storm season to brace for that.

Uh as far as the north end, um so the uh the update on that is we're looking at the 90% design drawings to be completed before uh Jan, the end of January, January 23rd or so.

Um, and then uh our designer told us it'll be about one more month we're looking at to get the actual hundred percent constructed drawings, and then so we'll we'll be able to start the the bidding process then shortly after we're looking in March, and that's usually about a 90-day process to go to council and get a bidder on board, which would put us in kind of the June time frame, and then again it'll be six months.

We're seeing a similar time frame for the construction for the north side.

So we're hoping by you know by the end of the year we'll have the north side then uh next year.

So that's that's kind of the the time frame for both sections of the harbor marina.

Anyone have any uh additional questions?

Kelly, when did you say the NTP for the South and Oh the South side?

Um schedule again in March.

Uh we're we're trying to get right now, based on uh the bidder schedule and everything and our review time.

What procurement has told us is that we'll we'll get time to review everything, uh look over the estimates, and if we get three a good bidder, then we'll go ahead and select them and we're looking again on the March 2nd council date.

Um that includes a 30-day time frame after the bidder's award.

We have to for any kind of um there'd be any kind of uh aggrievances by other bidders or anything, so that's part of that process.

But yeah, we're looking at the March 2nd council date, and then March 5th, it'll be approved, and then we get them a purchase order.

So you're looking middle of March, probably get them on NTR and the NTP on that.

All right, yeah, so we're we're excited to see what should uh which bidders are out there.

There's some really good firms that we we hope we'll we'll be able to get.

It is a low bid process, but it's based on qualifications.

So we're we'll get a good good contractor out there.

Are you also our person for the seminal boat ramp repair?

Uh yes.

Okay.

Keep you busy.

Yeah, yeah, a lot going on.

Um, so yeah, so we just poured the uh the last slabs there uh recently um for the phase two part.

So that should be open up in the next week or two.

Uh oh.

And so we're we're pretty much done with with both uh both sections now for that.

Um and then there is of course the the second phase that we're gonna be doing, which is more into the water end because this is just repairing the the ramps, of course, just the concrete there, and then the uh the gator, the gator docks for this portion of it.

So that'll be complete, and then we'll have to go back out and for bid and get a bidder on for the uh for the rest of the the water side of it.

So I didn't realize it was going along that quickly.

Yeah, yeah, they and it's uh really good end product too.

Um I think I think all the voters will be really happy with the the new ramp and everything up there.

And when they do the submerged portion, they'll have to dam off the entire ramp area, correct?

Yeah, that's correct.

Yeah, it'll be a similar shutdown, but it'll be phase.

So we will have two ramps open at all times.

Really?

How because I mean they'll have to put cheap files out there and keep the water out and pump it out, right?

In the apple.

Well, yeah, we'll just we'll close that out separately.

So we'll we'll shut we'll shut two ramps down, do all the construction for that end, right?

And then we'll get that opened up and then do it very similar to how we're doing the the upland work.

Okay, cool.

Great.

And I've run out of items for you.

All right, well, thank you.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you for coming.

Thank you, Kelly.

Mr.

Director, yes, sir.

Do you have something to tell us?

Yeah, so I wanted to go over the performer because it kind of ties into what the tenant group was speaking on today.

And so we've completed the full financial performance for the marine and aviation department enterprise fund to ensure long-term sustainability, especially with the 46 million dollar beach marina reconstruction.

The analysis analysts looked at all revenue streams, operating expenses, net services, and our future capital requirements across the beach and part of marina.

The performer confirmed with the updated market supported slip rates based on the Walter Duke appraisal.

The enterprise fund remains structurally balanced over the long term.

It supports ongoing operations, future maintenance, hurricane resiliency, and the debt service tied to the beach marine project.

It also demonstrates that the enterprise fund can maintain appropriate reserves, absorb project cost increases and continue delivery of services without drawing on the city's general file.

In short, the pro forma validated the updated rate structure is responsible, sustainable, and necessary to ensure the rated aviation system remains financially strong for years to come.

I plan on presenting this performer to you guys at our next meeting, which is gonna be March 18th now.

Uh date of the voting that's gonna take place.

We're pushing our next meeting back when we oh okay.

So the third Wednesday.

Yeah.

Uh there's and as you guys know that you know we're we're we're still talking about the rate increases.

Council only approved the initial rate increase.

Uh and they didn't uh approve they wanted more discussion, they wanted to see it perform and everything.

And also working with the six-pack vessels.

Uh we'll be able to bring that back to you guys and have further discussions on that.

Okay.

What we're gonna do.

Uh and do you have any questions over reform or anything?

Over that, no.

Okay.

No.

So the performance says the right study is exactly where we need to be just sustainable asset enterprise fund and not take money from the general funders.

Um the next thing that uh I want to talk about is the kiosk, as you all know, the kiosk are coming in, and those are gonna be at least to our our tenants.

Uh and has to be on that.

Good morning, all right.

Aaron Brayley, division controller for marine and aviation, do all the accounting.

Um, so kind of what we're looking at as far as pricing out these kiosks for our tenants are it's a it's kind of a split rate structure.

So for the first seven years, the first 84 months, it would be $350 a month that kind of recoupes the costs of each individual kiosk that's being rented.

Um, and then for you know, the remaining useful life of that kiosk, it would be $100 a month for the tenants, and that would help to you know for maintenance and and upkeep on our side.

What kind of life do they have?

Do you think?

Um what they told us was about 20 years, okay, but they're also only warranty for one year, so our that's why the the lease is kind of front-loaded to make sure that we can keep our costs, you know.

Yes, okay.

So looking for any feedback or advice that you guys might have.

But be interesting to go down there and see them.

They're they're they're they've already started arriving.

They haven't started arriving yet, no.

So no, yeah, they're completed.

By Christmas, I think you said, Yeah, yeah.

How many rented?

There's gonna be 24 kiosks.

I mean 24, but are they all running?

Yes, yes, yeah.

Yeah, they were actually it was kind of uh it was kind of desired that we had even more of them.

There were more tenants that wanted is this a change to the cost structure for commercial guys, or is this what they were paying somehow before?

Before they had uh their own kiosks that were out on the dock, which is not permitted by code anymore.

Okay, so uh the original design plan called for structures there, uh and that's not allowable through the foil.

So we we had to go to a kiosk.

Uh something that's removable.

They'll all be they're basically the same, aren't they?

Yes, they're the exact same.

Yeah, some of the stuff that was down there was kind of like uh yeah, pieced together.

Yeah, an extension coordination.

The only thing that's different is the door placement because we had uh the the way they're pouring the cement, it's gonna be ADA compliant.

So some of them the doors are on the side, some of them are in the back, some of them are right side, some of them are left side.

So and comparing what they what the majority of our tenants have currently, they're they're kind of key on.

I mean, before uh the marina construction started, most of them were little open-air structures that they weren't being for.

Exactly.

And uh there were only a few of them that had you know legitimate quote unquote dock offices that they were charged for.

Uh and this is a different different structure.

So the fact that they're removable, I've always thought was was really good.

Whoever came up with that idea a couple years ago, but in any event.

Uh so when a storm approaches, what's it gonna take you to get all 24 of them out of there?

Two days, five days, two weeks.

What it shouldn't take that long.

They're designed to break away pretty easy, and you're able to lift them up with the forklift.

So really it's just getting them on a fork uh on a flatbed and twenty-four of them.

Sounds like it probably a day, day or two.

Oh, they go to the airport.

Is that where they go?

Yeah, we that's really smart.

Well, there's you couldn't be covered spaces because there'd be planes there, but well, I I haven't uh spoken with the uh you know fly USA on it yet, but usually those airplanes leave.

Uh in the past we put some of our stuff in the and the hangars because the aircraft leave, so we can yeah, they run make a run.

on a flatbed and right twenty four of them sounds like it probably had they go to the day or two oh they go to the airport is that where they go yeah we that's really small cover space well there's you couldn't be covered spaces because there'd be planes there but well I I haven't uh spoken with the uh you know fly USA on it yet but usually those airplanes leave in the past we put some of our stuff in the and the hangers because the aircraft leave so we can yeah they run make a run that's true they can run for it yeah so we'll we'll we'll find some stores will have to be rated anyway won't they they are rated and and they're yeah they're permitted by the state they could sit yeah at the airport yep just reduces the chances of flooding and true damage if they're not actually what's have you figured out some some rules as to when you'll move or not I mean do you leave them there for a cat one or two but not a three four five or no so uh to to get the variants from the floodboard uh anytime there's a name storm in the area uh we have to remove them any name storm yeah okay all right super interesting you're gonna get good at it yeah that's all anything else yeah uh you guys want to talk about moving phase one to phase two at the beach marina um no I think I think we're pretty are we clear on that of what they're going from one to two or what is going to be Kelly said first package you're talking about shifting up yeah this is gonna be shifting all the boats and just moving everything over and then there's a question about the fuel earlier and I said I'd talk about that in my director's report uh basically what we're doing is the same system that we have now on the south side we're moving it to the north side the issue that we have right now I'm sorry on the on the uh east side is the pumps that we that we purchased were not certified by the state so the state said can't pump fuel so when they do the move they're gonna take those and put some state certified pumps on there so we'll be back to to pumping fuel.

Okay and when was that I'm sorry I didn't miss that uh I'll work with the tenant group uh it it sounds like the that they'll be ready for the shift over the first week of January okay so we'll we'll give them a good time frame for the vote yeah um a question I had for you if we can if are we for moving on um the the question of membership here on the board and how close we are to struggling to have a quorum I think we just made it today I think with four um we we know that the doctor always afraid to say his last name and slaughter it I think he resigned I'm gonna have to go back and and and double check on that I um someone gave him my contact information he called me and uh we didn't talk any business or anything he just felt that um having just relocated even though he was a boater relocating from San Diego to here he knew nothing what we were talking about and he felt not left out but not contributing and he and uh I told him a lot of us were like that when we first came aboard um but I think I think he did resign then is that true I I think so I'll have to go back and look.

Okay.

I know that I'm sorry go ahead I thought you well just no just that a lot of our board members have been recruited by other board members and if you know people that are that can help us well that's what I was just gonna mention I know when I applied for this Trish McDonald also had applied for I'm Trish Rodriguez I'm looking at you we might approach Trish and see if she is still interested because she did throw her hat in the ring at the same time I did and of course I think she would be a good uh a good fit and a good representative well I think we so we have at least one spot open I'd think so have to go back and double check.

But I'll work with the clerk's office.

Okay.

And yeah and then and it on the board if that proves true um anybody you know that might be yeah interested because uh you have the uh the ferry and um uh tropics right so nine years we've had one meeting where we sat here and then went home because um and and why we started asking for RSVPs um it used to be just assumed everybody would be here until we had that one time that we all got here and had to go do you know what's it go get some breakfast availability in other words how many I don't I don't know off the top of my head I was thinking it was six or seven six yeah I think there's seven yeah there should be seven members so if if there is a whole we I mean could you approach Trish how would how would we do that I'll I'll work with the clerk's office she might have uh she might already have applications on file okay I I think she did I don't know if they okay so um oh um if you know anything about I said about the sea screamer um do you know anything about this woman that's recently drowned on Shell Island there was a report of a body found in Shell Island and there was oh that oh see I'm thinking ours all the way down to Shell Island yeah it was like a news report and then a week went by and no one said anything else about it.

Yeah, it was like a news report, and then a week went by and no one said anything else about it.

I thought you might know something.

Um I asked the members.

Interesting tidbit, and I wish I had brought his cart.

Um, and doing now and then I just get this urge to go walking docks, and I had never really been on the docks on the Clearwater Yacht Club, and um, we know that there's a long going if if why we push the San Stevenson Creek people on the manatee thing, because if we could put a no-wake zone somewhere in clear water, it would more likely be adjustment to the one behind um island estates uh with those wake boats, but also that whole back area where the clear water yacht club is, and somebody insinuated me that they were looking to put in a fuel dock and that they would really need it.

And I talked to the call him the admiral or whatever of the yacht club, the Commodore, thank you.

And uh and he knew nothing about them putting in a fuel dock or anything like that, so it kind of lowers the priority.

I thought of saying, well, first, yes, we should adjust the wake zone in there, and we should talk about that sometime in the future.

Um I believe one of our members is on the board, like Mr.

Stevenson Creek here is on the board because his boat's continually battered by these wakeboards.

Um, but I was always surprised that that back channel where the Clearwater Yacht Club is open running, and and uh something we would address, but it I kind of drops in priority to me if they're not actually putting in a fuel drop.

I don't know where that rumor came from, but he said there's nothing like that going on, so I just thought I'd mention that.

And you know anything about that boat fire in Madeira?

I know follow-up news on that either.

I thought just figured you were tapped in all the way up and down the channel.

Um, so I'll just keep searching for those because that looked a little iffy, yeah.

And and if you're gonna don't burn your boat if you're if you're gonna um my good friend, and you you uh Mark Benedict, he was a resident at the at the airport for for years.

Um he's the one that landed his commander on on Keene instead of at the airport because his fuel shut down.

Uh and then his replacement commander um right after inspection dropped a shear pin in his front landing wheel and he stuck it in the ground there, and and even though he's an adjuster for Geico insurance or was at the time, he's retired now.

They um said um you're gonna go somewhere else to get your insurance.

So he got rid of his planes and salvaged them out.

But they um uh I'm sorry, kind of lost my track there.

Where was I going?

About the plane, oh the plane shear pin about your friends.

Well, the shear pin, yes, but uh there was a moral to that story of of why I brought up Mark Pennedic.

Um I'm sorry, don't burn your boat.

Oh, don't burn your boat.

Oh, convinced me never to think about any kind of fraud with insurance companies.

He says he says we walk in and we almost instantly know exactly what happened.

Proving it might be a different matter, but arson, fire fraud, anything like that, uh fake car accidents, anything like that is not something that you're gonna get away with, especially if you decide to do it on a windy day.

And and we're assuming maybe that that was what happened.

I don't want to imply any guilt to anybody.

I don't know whose boat it was.

Uh I just know that Mike's connected to everybody, he would might have some info on it.

I'll all say is ignorance as bliss.

That's right.

Yes, no one ever told me that was dangerous for the record.

I'm not on the I have nothing to do with this gag group other than the fact that I live within their communication area, yeah.

And think the docks are silly, but that's just me.

And I I don't think with the difficulty of putting in a fuel station and the EPAL regulations and anywhere near the water and the expense of it.

Right.

I can't see Clumber Yacht Club or Carlwell or anybody else.

Well, we're we're running gonna be amazing.

We're running long, but I got a phone call.

I had um three 1,000 gallon gasoline tanks and a $2,000 diesel tank right on um Prescow or Erie Harbor in Erie, Pennsylvania, and my boss called me at five o'clock in the morning and said, get your ass down here.

And the front of our docks was just lined with with gasoline residue.

And there was a bit of a nor'easter blowing in, which blew it into our corner and was just overpowering.

And of course, I had to show that the fire marshals there.

I had to stick all my tanks and show them the readings still matched the readings that I had done every morning, every night I had to stick those tanks.

But here the marina at the end of the pier was converting over to a restaurant, and they had a 4,000 gallon fuel tank, gas tank.

And to get rid of the fuel in there so they could remove the tank is really expensive.

So they thought if and three-quarters of it was water.

So they thought if we just put a pump down the bottom, you know, yeah, the water's always at the bottom.

Let's suck the water off the bottom.

So they borrow from a city worker this like 3,000 gallon permitted pump, or exaggeration, but this heavy-duty pump, which just sucked everything out of the tank and threw it into the bay and it blew into our corner.

The kid went to jail.

I mean, like for eight years, could no longer be the guy that owned the forever could it be on the liquor license.

They had to give it to his sister.

And um, so moral of the story is uh fraud doesn't work.

Don't do it.

There are still so many underground tanks in this county from where gas stations used to be that nobody even knows.

And any other board members have something to throw in there instead of our reckless stories.

Um I believe that this um meeting should be called to adjourn.

Is there a motion?

And a second.

Second adjourned.

The December 10th meeting of the Clearwater Marine Advisory Board is adjourned.

Very good.