Community Resiliency and Leisure Services Advisory Board Organizational Meeting - February 4, 2026
Community Resiliency and Leisure Services Advisory Board Organizational Meeting - February 4, 2026
The newly formed Community Resiliency and Leisure Services Advisory Board held its first organizational meeting on February 4, 2026, at 4:00 PM in the Clearwater Main Library Council Chambers. The meeting focused on introductions, reviewing the board's purpose and legal obligations, electing a chair and vice chair, providing feedback on a Hurricane Ian tree recovery grant application, and establishing a regular meeting schedule and next agenda.
Board Purpose Review
City Clerk Rosemary Call explained that the board represents a reset from previous separate boards (Parks and Recreation, Environmental Advisory, Library) and will focus on two strategic plan areas: community well-being and environmental stewardship. The board's duties include seeking public input on resilience, reviewing appeals of library materials, holding public hearings on renaming parks, and reviewing grant applications. Board member Michael Rubino noted that the summary bullet point about "provide citizen insight to city council on environmental activities" omitted the word "citizen," which Clerk Call clarified is included in the ordinance.
Sunshine Law and Public Records Law
Clerk Call reviewed the Sunshine Law, reminding members that discussions about board business must occur only at publicly noticed meetings and that no two board members should discuss potential board items outside of meetings. Tim Hughes raised a concern about the lack of working sessions under the previous Environmental Advisory Board, and Clerk Call confirmed that special meetings could be called if needed with a quorum.
Election of Officers
- Chair: Kelly nominated Bianca Latvala. Tim Hughes nominated Glenna Wentworth. After a vote, Bianca Latvala was unanimously elected Chair.
- Vice Chair: Glenna Wentworth was nominated and unanimously elected Vice Chair. Chair Bianca Latvala then presided over the remainder of the meeting.
Feedback on FDACS Hurricane Ian Grant Application
Nathan Pandy, Management Analyst for Parks and Recreation, presented a grant application submitted on January 29, 2026, to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Community Forestry Hurricane Ian Recovery Grant Program. The request seeks $44,117.62 (75% of the total $58,823.49 project) to purchase, plant, and maintain 93 wind-resistant native trees at eight parks: Del Oro Park, Forest Run Park, Woodgate Park, Cliff Stevens, McMullen Tennis Complex, Coachman Park, Cooper's Bayou, and Wood Valley. The trees include live oak, turkey oak, pignut hickory, bald cypress, sweet bay magnolia, yaupon holly, and pond cypress. City staff will perform planting and maintenance. Anticipated award notice is June 30, 2026.
- Board member positions: Tim Hughes expressed 100% support for increasing the urban forest canopy, calling it part of vulnerability planning. Candace Gardner asked about shade trees at Coachman Park. Kelly asked about the season for planting and confirmed city staff's capacity. Several members asked about collaboration with other departments; Mr. Pandy noted that this grant focused on parkland only. The board expressed strong support for the application.
Meeting Schedule
Initial discussion proposed meeting every other month on the fourth Wednesday at 4:00 PM. Members agreed on fourth Wednesday, with an additional meeting on March 25, 2026, to establish rules of procedure. However, it was discovered that the Council Chambers were already reserved for Code Board on fourth Wednesdays. After discussion, the board voted to meet on the fourth Thursday at 4:00 PM every other month, beginning in April 2026 (April 23, 2026), with an organizational meeting on March 26, 2026.
Next Meeting Agenda (March 26, 2026)
The board agreed to include the following on the next agenda:
- Adopt rules of procedure (including order of business and placement of public comments – decided to hold public comment at the end of the meeting)
- Brief presentations from each department the board will work with (Parks and Recreation, Library, Sustainability)
- A list of current projects under the strategic plan priorities
- Public comment period for citizens to share input on the new board's focus
The board also discussed a potential name change but decided to work through the process before approaching council.
Key Outcomes
- Bianca Latvala elected Chair, Glenna Wentworth elected Vice Chair.
- Board supported the FDACS Hurricane Ian grant application for 93 trees at eight parks.
- Regular meeting schedule set: fourth Thursday at 4:00 PM, every other month, starting April 23, 2026.
- Additional organizational meeting scheduled for March 26, 2026 at 4:00 PM.
- Next agenda will include adoption of rules, department updates, current project list, and public comment.
- City Clerk will reach out to departments for upcoming items and provide strategic plan priorities for board review.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Um, my name is Rosemary Call, the city clerk, and I will be your board liaison. So this is the first meeting of the community resiliency and leisure services advisory board. So first I'd like to thank you for taking the time and for volunteering to be on this board. So I know that many of you have been involved with the other boards that we kind of collaborated together with staff and then we combine them into this one board. So today is just strictly an organizational meeting. And so before we start, what I would like to do is have everyone go around the dais, and I'll start and we can go counterclockwise to state your name and maybe just provide a little bit of background. So again, my name is Rosemary Call. I'm the city clerk, and I will be your board liaison. Hi, I'm doing the voice. I'll be the Clerk Specialist. I'm Bianca Hapala. I've met most of you, I believe. It's nice to be working with you again. Yes. I'm Kelly Kelly, and I was on the Parks and Rec board with Candace. I was a former environmental consultant. I just retired and I've lived in the Clearwater since 1969. Hi, I'm Tim Hughes. I was on the environmental advisory board. And uh I'm retired. I've spent over 20 years doing watershed studies, stream assessments, stormwater BMPs. Hi, yes, I'm Candice Gardner, and I was on the board with Kelly, and before that, I was on the parks and rec for six years. Yes, thank you. I'm Glenna Wintworth. Uh I was on the board of the environmental advisory board for five years. Um president of Morningside Meadows Homeowners Association and a graduate of the Citizens Academy 2018. Thank you. So to the next item. So uh as we go through today's agenda, they'll give you an idea as to how the agendas will be created moving forward. Um, hopefully it was clear. Uh so just like in council where the agenda title is descriptive of as to what is expected of the board, um, that's exactly how it's going to be created. So if there is uh a report or seeking direction, we'll provide attachments as we did today. So the first item of business I have is just to review the board purpose. I know that many of you, because you were involved, whether it was a library, environmental, or parks and recreation board, there's that anticipation, it's exactly the same, but it's not. This is like a reset. We're starting new. And so the intent of the board is really it's not just about being the environmental aspect of it or parks and rec or leisure services as it's now being referred to. It really is a reset in terms of seeking um public input and engaging the public on how well the community not only um withstands but also bounces back from an event, and that does include the environmental aspect of it. So that's where the environmental expertise comes in, but also council wanted to make sure that um and staff that it was focused in two specific areas. So one of the things that's gonna be different with this board is that you will be focusing on two areas of our strategic plan, which is a living document, and I'll pause right now. So um Mr. Rubino, we just started. We went over um introductions. If you want to introduce yourself real quick, yes, love to. Uh my name is Michael Rabina. For those that don't know me, I was on the environmental advisory board, and uh we consolidated as you all know, and I'm very excited to be here. So um one of the aspects of this board specifically is focusing on two areas of our strategic plan. So uh staff and council are working on the budget for next year's for next year's uh budget. Part of that is identifying projects that fall under the strategic uh plan priorities.
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