Call order the February 17th, 2026 work session of the Clearwater City Council.

This time we'll move to item one on the agenda, and that is to present our February service awards.

First, we'd like to recognize we have three presentations.

And first, we would like to recognize a 30-year employee.

I'd like to call forward Timothy Chaplinski from the Parks and Recreation Department.

And ask the city.

His leadership, reliability, and broad knowledge made him a trusted and valuable resource wherever he was assigned.

Tim furthered his professional development at Pennell's Technical Education Center, earning his certified landscape apprentice credential.

His education and hands-on experience contributed to landscaping projects at major recreation facilities across the city of Clearwater.

A significant portion of Tim's career was dedicated to Clearwater Beach, where his work helped preserve the natural beauty and environmental quality of one of the city's most iconic locations, supporting its continued recognition as a premier destination.

Throughout his career, Tim consistently went above and beyond his regular duties.

He also played a crucial role in cleanup recovery efforts following storms, hurricanes, red tide events, and during the enforcement of COVID playground safety protocols.

Among his most challenging assignments was assisting with the respectful recovery and reburial at a cemetery following storm damage.

Through professionalism, hard work, and a sustained commitment to excellence, he advanced within the organization and was promoted in 2013 to his current role as stormwater supervisor.

Throughout his career, Greg has been a dependable and highly respected employee, consistently relied upon to deliver results.

Greg is widely recognized for his comprehensive understanding of stormwater maintenance and construction practices.

His leadership helps the city infrastructure and maintain safely and efficiently while protecting public safety and environmental resources.

Colleagues regularly seek his guidance, value his experience, professionalism, and steady approach to problem solving.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Greg has demonstrated a strong commitment to the community involvement through his participation in initiatives such as United Way Day of Caring, Clearwater Neighborhoods Day, the Citizens Academy, and other community-focused events.

Greg's 35 years of service reflect a career defined by dedication, accountability, and pride in public service.

His contributions exemplify the City of Clearwater's commitment to high performing government and superior public service and have a lasting positive impact on both the organization and the community it serves.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Mr.

Congratulations, Greg.

Thank you, Greg, for your commitment to our citizens and also your obvious uh dedication to the Tampa Band Race.

You've been in there hanging with him today.

So a loyal fan.

Next we'll move to our employee of the month award for February 2026.

And I'd like to call forward Jeff Cater from Utility Customer Service.

Jeff exemplifies the highest standards of public service and leadership.

He consistently oversees an efficient, accurate, and dependable meter reading operation, and his leadership is most evident when conditions are challenging.

Recently, the department experienced a convergence of issues, including a short month, scheduled employee vacations, unexpected call-outs that significantly reduce staffing levels.

Rather than allowing service levels or data integrity to be impacted, Jeff immediately stepped in.

He donned his high visibility vest and worked in the field, effectively performing the duties of three employees.

Throughout the week, he ran routes, collected water and gas meter readings, and ensured uninterrupted daily operations, all while continuing to manage schedules, direct his remaining staff, attend required meetings, and remain available to support office staff with questions and problem solving.

This was not a single day response, but a sustained hands-on leadership during a critical period.

What sets Jeff apart is a strong sense of ownership and accountability.

He does not view operational challenges as someone else's responsibility.

Instead, he leads from the front, models reliability, and ensures the city's commitment to accuracy, safety, and customer service are upheld, even when doing so requires extraordinary personal efforts.

Quite simply, Jeff is a superhero for the department.

Jeff's actions directly support the City of Clearwater strategic plan by advancing high-performing government and superior public service.

Through his continued commitment to operational excellence, data integrity, and team support, he ensured reliable service delivery while responsibly stewarding CD resources.

His leadership during this challenging period protected service continuity, upheld public trust, and demonstrated how strategic priorities are translated into meaningful results for residents and customers.

Jeff's work, ethic, humility, and dedication reflect the City of Clearwater's values.

His actions ensured unerrupted service, supported his team, and demonstrated exceptional leadership under pressure.

Thanks, Jeff.

Well, Jeff, I don't think anybody's ever referred to me as a superhero of my department.

So well a high compliment to you.

I like you so much.

Congratulations and thank you.

Okay, now we have some fire oaths of office to our city clerk to administer.

So the first one I'd like to call forward William Fisher.

The assistant fire marshal for swearing.

I see.

The Constitution and Government of the United States.

And the state of Florida.

And the Charter and Laws.

And the Charter and Laws.

Of the City of Clearwater.

That I'm duly qualified to hold office.

Under the Charter Laws.

Under the Charter and Laws of the City and Clearwater.

And I will.

And I will.

Well and faithfully.

Well and faithfully.

Perform the duties.

Perform the duties.

Of Assistant Fire Marshal.

Of which I'm now about to enter.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Now I'd like to turn this over to our City Clerk, Rosemary Call again for swearing in of our new fire deputy chief, Mr.

Scott Bavary.

Hi, Pan.

I'm Scott Favorite.

Your Solomon Swear.

That I have support the Secretary Fed.

Support Dr.

Defense.

The Constitution Government.

The Constitution Government.

Of the United States.

Of the United States.

And the state of Florida.

And the Charter and Laws.

Of the City of Clearwater.

The City of Clearwater.

That I duly qualified.

To hold office.

Under the term and laws.

Under the Charter and Laws.

Of the City of Clearwater.

Under the City of Clearwater.

That I will.

That I will.

Well, thankfully.

Perform the duties.

Perform the duties.

A fire deputy chief.

A fire deputy chief.

I'm just a mouth.

I don't know which on the vote of the second for the seat.

Sure.

Congratulations.

Congratulations to uh Fire Marshal William Fisher and Deputy Chief Bavering.

We uh welcome you.

We're not going to put you on the spot for speeches today, but uh, we are so happy to have both of you joining our already fantastic uh fire department team.

With that, we'll move to uh the third item, which is presentation of Clearwater Fire and Rescue's department's 2025 firefighter of the year and fire medic of the year.

For this, I'd like to call forward our fire chief, Mr.

Chad Pittman.

Mr.

Mayor Council, thank you very much.

And I'll echo your uh comments about those two individuals that we just had this wearing in.

I'm very happy that they're here.

So let me start with uh Sloan first.

Um it's truly uh my honor to recognize fire medic Sloan as our fire paramedic of the year.

So I'm gonna step up here, please.

Um fire medic Sloan represents the very best of Clearwater Fire and Rescue.

He is an exceptional clinician whose patient care is precise, thoughtful, and consistent.

Whether the call is routine or critical, he approaches it with the same calm focus and attention to detail.

His clinical judgment, skill, and steady presence makes him someone both peers and supervisors trust without hesitation.

What sets fire medican apart is that his excellence isn't tied to one single moment, it's what he delivers every shift, often assigned to one of our busiest rescues, Medic 45.

He gets to work without complaint and performs at a high level a high level day in and day out.

His steady, reliable performance strengthens the entire crew around him.

He is also deeply committed to developing others as a preceptor and instructor for paramedic students and the um Clearwater Fire and Rescue Recruit Academy, he invests significant time and energy into training future paramedics and new hires.

He volunteers to staff the medic unit to ensure recruits gain real world experience, and he freely shares knowledge he's gained both on and off duty.

His patience, professionalism, and high standards are helping shape the next generation of the professionals working for Clearwater Fire and Rescue.

Beyond his daily beyond his daily responsibilities, fire medic Sloan is an active member of our advanced life support competition team, demonstrating his commitment to sharpening his skills and pushing himself and his teammates to perform at an elite level.

And perhaps the most impressive is his humility.

He does not seek recognition.

He simply shows up, works hard, supports his team, and delivers exceptional care to our community.

For his clinical excellence, dedication to mentorship, commitment to professional growth, and consistent high performance.

It is with great pride that we recognize fire medic Nolan Sloan as the 2025 Clearwater Fire and Rescue Fire Medic of the Year.

Congratulations.

Congratulations.

Congratulations, congratulations.

All right, next up is uh our firefighter of the year, Jacob Williams.

Um firefighter Williams represents what this job is all about.

Courage, humility, and taking care of others when it matters most.

This past year alone, he rescued a trapped victim from a burning building, demonstrating exceptional bravery and composure under extreme pressure.

His quick assessment, decisive action, and commitment to safety of others directly contributed to saving this life.

This incident is just one of the many highlights is courage and readiness to serve in the most challenging circumstances.

But what really sets firefighter paramedic Jake Williams apart is who he is every single day at Fire Station 49.

As the senior fire medic on C Ship, he sets the tone through steady, calm leadership.

He delivers exceptional patient care and consistently strong outcomes.

By anticipating needs, supporting his crew, and leading by example, he embodies what it means to be a skilled and dependable firefighter.

Firefighter Williams is deeply invested in our newer members.

He takes the time to mentor, teach, and lead by example, often taking on extra responsibilities to help others grow.

It's not uncommon uncommon to find him staying late to review calls and ensure they understand not just what we do, but why we do it.

What makes the story even more meaningful is the growth he's shown over the years of Clearwater Fire and Rescue.

Firefighter Williams has continually pushed himself to improve, taking on new roles and responsibilities while setting a high standard for those around him.

Through hard work, consistency, and a genuine commitment to his profession, he has become a strong leader in our department, and that dedication speaks volumes about his character.

Whether he's pulling someone from a burning building, mentoring a new hire, or stepping up whenever he's needed, firefighter paramedic Jake Williams shows up with integrity and heart.

Jake, your leadership, courage, and commitment to this department make the recognition well deserved, and congratulations on being named the 2025 Clearwater Fire and Rescue Firefighter Front.

Congratulations.

But we know everyone on this department would do that in a heartbeat.

You're trying to do that every day.

Put your own life at risk and are willing to do it.

And so we're appreciative of these two great personnel have been recognized here today, but also of everyone in our department who is willing to put their life on the line to save others every day.

So thank you for all of you for your service.

With that, we will move to item 3.1 on the agenda.

Declare a surplus for the purpose of sale to Rosemary Cooper, certain unaddressed real property locate at the southeast corner of Palm Bluff Street and North Myrtle Avenue.

Good afternoon.

Phil Kirkpatrick with Economic Development and Housing.

Subject property is located at South the southeastern corner of Palm Bluff Street, North Wertle Avenue.

It's a city-owned parcel, point zero two acres in size, which has been determined to be an uneconomic remainder due to size.

Pinells County Property Appraiser's office is an assigned adjust value of $8,748.

The property, along with others, was advertised for a 30-day period ending on December 5th, 2024.

The adjacent property owner submitted an offer to buy the property in letter form to the city dated November 17th 2024.

Properties located in North Greenwood CRA because the property is benefit only to one potential buyer, and only one offer for purchase was received.

No technical review committee was convened.

The sale of this property to the adjacent property owner will move it from tax exempt to a taxable status.

It will relieve the city of the cost of maintenance and the risk of ownership.

Staff is recommending the sale of the property in accordance with the terms of the letter.

I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you.

Okay.

Any discussion on this item?

Okay.

Thank you very much.

Appreciate it.

Move to item 4.1.

Approve a developer agreement with Gen Tampa 14 LLC.

Good afternoon.

Joe D.

Bravalski, Marketing Manager, CTS Energy.

CGS Energy is requesting approval of a developer agreement with Gen Tampa along with an updated developer agreement template for future residential developments.

The developer agreement is the primary tool that CGS Energy uses to commit gas use in new residential subdivisions.

An updated remedies and limitations provision, an updated insurance and language requirements to align with risk department's 2026 requirements.

We are also asking that the executive gas director is approved to enter into future agreements, provided legal has reviewed the agreement first.

I'm available for any questions.

Thank you, sir.

I appreciate your time here.

Um I'm going to go into the development agreement.

Um bullet point 10.

I don't know if you want to bring that up, and it's the failure to meet the minimums.

Um essentially, you know, I'm just gonna go to the very end of this where it says that if they haven't reached 80%, they'll pay roughly $3,532 per household.

Um can you just shed more light into what that might mean for the general public so they understand it as well?

Yeah, we have cost to develop our infrastructure and bring this gas service to the development.

Effectively, if the requirement falls below the provision, the developer will reimburse us for the cost that we've uh put in that into that infrastructure.

Um that's unlikely to happen in this circumstance.

Uh, these are all gas compliant homes.

We'll probably have close to 100% adoption.

Awesome.

Thank you, sir.

Any other questions?

Discussion?

If not, do we have consent?

Yes.

We have consent on 4.1.

Thank you, sir.

Agenda item 5.1.

Approve a purchase order to Rep Services Inc.

of Longwood, Florida for the purchase and installation of playground equipment.

Good afternoon, Mayor Council Matthew Anderson, assistant director of parks and recreation.

The item before you is to replace uh existing playground at Montclair Park.

The playground has reached its effective age.

The new playground we're proposing meets ADA compliance both at surface level and above by the installation of corn place rubber.

This is one of our former playgrounds that had five R mulch in it.

Uh, with the new playground, we'll be converting that safety surface to corn place.

It's safer and it's more cost effective long term through maintenance.

You'll see on there there is a piece that is in practical, um, which that covers the freight on this because it's not practical to fit out the freight on it.

So at this time I'll be glad to answer any questions.

Okay.

Any questions on this agenda?

Uh I want to say that I was over at Mary Mont Park on Saturday, and this new playground material is fantastic underneath it.

Good.

Clearly, much softer and safer for any child that falls.

So uh it and not to you know deviate from the agenda item too much, but uh it looked great.

And this is similar equipment that we're putting in over there.

Yes, sir.

Uh very similar surface is very similar.

The the nice thing like you said about that surface is it never moves with mulch as kids play, that mole shifts, and then that thickness for them to fall on changes.

This never changes, and it reduces that annual need to go out and put you know 100 yards of mulch at a high cost to us every year.

So this it's really a good deal for everybody in this situation.

Very good.

Okay.

Do we have consent?

Yes.

We have consent.

Thank you, Mr.

Anderson.

Sir Gend Item 5.2.

Approve an existing increase to existing purchase or approve and increase the existing purchase order to call quality sod and landscape of LLC, sunbelt sod and grading and Tom's sod service.

Good afternoon, Mayor Council Matthew Anderson.

The item before you is to increase an existing purchase order for sod services.

This has been before you.

The reason for the increase is due to the volume of sod that was lost through saltwater intrusion and other issues surrounding the hurricanes.

We did not have enough money in our original amount to finish out what we need to do.

We're going to increase this on this year only.

The subsequent other uh renewals will stay at the same approved rate by you guys at a former meeting.

Um I'll be glad to answer any questions at this time.

Okay.

Any questions on this item?

No discussion.

Do we have consent?

Yes.

I have consent on 5.2.

Thank you.

Agenda item 5.3.

Authorized a purchase order wise hands LLC for citywide landscape plant material.

Good afternoon again.

Um so this item before you is for uh landscape plant material, trees, plants.

We use them every day in our operations.

This was properly procured out through an imitation of bid.

There was two uh respondents, one of them was deemed to be uh the most complete and lowest responsible bid with the use of this.

This will allow us to continue to uh increase our urban canopy cover and also continue with all the aesthetic improvements we make to various city facilities, parks, the beach, one of the most recent things we've landscaped.

This allows us to have the buying power to purchase the plants as we need them and reduces us having to go out for quotes and things like that, which increases our ability to turn around our final product, which is a beautiful uh place to visit for our residents and guests.

So I'll be glad to answer any questions at this time.

Council Member Cotton.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Matt, I just have one question because there's only two bids.

I mean, there's a ton of commercial nurseries that would be able to handle something like this.

Why do you think that is?

Like what is it maybe I don't know what do we need to look at our RFP process to be more robust or or why do you think we only got two respondents?

Well, we this was the second time we put this out.

Um the first time we put it out, uh the layout was a little bit differently.

We changed it with the hopes of being uh more palatable for some of these nurseries.

I think one of the biggest things is is how the nursery um industry runs, obviously plant for what they anticipate needing, and obviously with the shifts in housing market and things like that, that price can fluctuate, and I think in some situations, uh a big commercial nursery that has their set customers that they're doing for um for private building uh subdivision things doesn't necessarily need a contract like this, so it may not be as appealing to a wide variety.

That's that's just my personal opinion just from years of experience.

But um, like I said, we tried it twice, and um we actually got uh respondents this time, which we did not the first time.

So no, I appreciate that explanation because that can be something tricky, I think, for the public too.

You know, I don't think that uh people understand where you just struck the nail on the head is that nurseries will kind of do their ordering for the uh a season process behind for what they have coming in so they know it's going out and it's not taking up their real estate on their property as well.

So thank you very much for that.

I appreciate it.

Absolutely.

Anything else?

Okay.

Uh I do have a question.

The landscaping that's been put on a clear water beach looks great in the roundabout along the edge of Pier 60 Park.

I did see this past week where there's looks like there's been some burn on it.

I don't know if it's too dry or if the cold weather affected it.

Um I heard today on the radio that if some of the plants that were damaged during the cold weather, if everybody just be patient, they'll come back.

But um, do you can you shed any light on the anything that may have been damaged that was recently put in?

It was it was that um that stretch of uh below freezing temperatures.

I mean, we hadn't had temperatures that cold in 16 years, so um the plants that got damaged, unfortunately had just been put in, but even plants that have been in for 10 years got the same fate if they were in uh those species.

That's one of those things that we you know we try to plant things that are are cold tolerant, drought tolerant, but at the same time at the beach and other places, we have to have a tropical look.

We could put cold hardy plants, not have a freeze, and and it would not be as attractive.

So that's one of those things that we take a chance on.

Um, unfortunately, this time we will end up probably losing five to ten percent of the material.

Um that's just sort of the nature of the beast, but it will get replanted.

We're gonna hopefully hopefully more of it comes back than what currently shows freeze damage.

But we'll assess it as we go and and replace as needed.

Yeah, thank you.

Yes, sir.

Okay, do we have consent on this agenda?

Consent on five point.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Agenda item 6.1.

Authorized a purchase order of Elk C doing business as CUs of Orlando, Florida for the purchase of Ford F550 diesel cab.

Good afternoon, City Council, good afternoon, mayor, city leadership, Brandy Colundria, General Services Director.

Before you is the request to replace G4858, which is a 2020 F Ford FY50 box truck, which is equipped with CCTV equipment for the public utilities department.

The CCTV equipment is for cameraing the lines throughout the city for uh infrastructure.

The item would have been on the FY27 replacement list.

However, we're replacing it ahead of schedule due to the inoperability of the asset.

And the purchase price of this asset will be 514, 399 and 74 cents.

Should you approve it?

And if you have any questions or concerns, we're more than happy to address questions on this agenda item.

Council members.

Just a comment.

Thank you very much for going over what the truck was because I think when most people see box truck of an F550, they go to their Google and uh it shows $70,000.

So they're probably wondering why it's half a million.

So hitting you know the need for the inspection of the infrastructure, I think was key there.

So I do appreciate you doing that.

I do have another question.

How did it get damaged?

So we were working in poor lighting conditions.

This was back in 2024.

We were working in poor lighting conditions, and we pulled into a tree branch that it hit it.

Um so we're we made some changes to our procedures.

We're gonna make sure that we're um we're backing that we have a spotter if it's available and making sure that we're looking for such things.

A lot of times some when we have work that's during the day that's in the evening, so we can go out there during the day and get an idea of what it looks like out there.

Uh we're gonna go and do that in advance too.

All right, cool.

Well, thank you for updating those uh policies.

Maybe we can get some flood lights on that sucker too.

Bring the sun with you if you have to go out at night.

We've actually uh designed the new truck, uh, so it's gonna be a six to nine month leave time typically for this type of asset, and we've asked for the reinforcement on the roof because it was the AC unit that was damaged, so it peeled it back.

So we've asked for some reinforcement, which kind of reflects in the price a little bit.

Thanks, guys.

Good.

Thank you.

Anything else?

Okay, we have consent.

Yes, yep.

We have consent on six point one.

Okay.

Item six, thank you.

Item six point two.

Authorize the funding revision and contract extension to the purchase order with enforcement one of Oldsmar.

Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council, City Leadership, Brandon Colendrea, General Services Director.

Before you is the request to do a revision to the current contract to extend for FY26 upfitting and FY27 projected upfitting.

We plan for an appropri uh an aggressive replacement cycle for FOA27 as well with the information coming out of it faster.

Our data is getting better and better.

So we're looking at getting um units that should have been out of the fleet sooner rather than later.

So we're looking to extend this contract in a not-to-exceed amount of 2.3 million dollars, and we're also asking for a contract extension to put us through the end of fiscal year 27.

With that said, when this contract expires, we're looking to combine all citywide upfitting, both public safety and non-public safety, into one contract.

Therefore, we're not managing all of these onesie twosies.

And I'm available.

Should you have any questions or concerns?

Okay, questions.

Councilman.

Apparently, it's only me.

So I appreciate it.

Thank you again for that awesome explanation.

I think that that's huge.

And then getting um all of these vehicles into one master program going forward.

I think that's fantastic.

And I'm sure that was not an easy load to try and get every department into that future model.

So thank you very much for you, your staff for getting onto that.

I think that it'll really set the city up for budgeting in a better way forward.

Um, it is uh a big number, you know.

But when you look at what the outfitting of these vehicles and the modernization that it comes with and how it's transcending all departments, it's not just one specific department.

I mean, I think that these are just the costs that are necessary for you know vehicles today in the industries in which they're serving.

Um, I'd also like to point out just for the public that when reading through the documents on page well number 18 subsection B.

Uh, you can read from what I understand it is a provision that we're not locked in should we need to replace another vehicle and go.

They don't have it with through in uh enforcement one, and we can get one at a local dealership here should we need it.

So um, we're still flexible there, but I appreciate again the uh detailed explanation.

Thank you for that.

And it also gives us some just just for your general understanding.

We it gives us some flexibility by asking for the spend in FY27 now.

We can make those purchases.

So right now we have some lulls in the upfitting because of getting those um the purchases out in a timely manner.

So it does help.

Thank you.

Can you make a great point?

All the attachments are there for the for the public to read if they choose to do so, like we have.

So thank you.

Any other questions, comments?

If not, do we have consent?

General item 6.2 is approved the annexation initial future land use map designation of residential low initial zoning atlas designation of low medium density residential for 1604 Bon Air Street.

Good morning, Adrian Young's plan development voluntary annexation request is for um 0.6 acres located at north side of Bonair Street, 145 feet west of Ridge Avenue.

Parcel is occupied by detached dwelling.

Applicants request an annexation to the city to receive sanitary sewer, solid waste and water.

Um plan development staff concludes that the annexation is consistent with the Comfort of Plan Community Development Code and recommends approval.

Any questions?

Comments?

Aye, nope, thank you.

June item 7.2 approve the annexation initial future land use map designation residentials suburban and initial zoning atlas designation of low density residential district for 2941 Abbey Lake Road.

Yes, Adrian Young again, plan development.

This is a voluntary annexation request for 2.5 acres located west of Abbey Lake Road, approximately 512 feet west along Abbey Lake Road.

A process currently occupied by detached dwelling.

The applicants request annexation to the city to receive city services.

Plan development staff concludes that the annexation is consistent with the conference of plan of human development code and recommends approval.

Okay for any questions.

Okay.

Questions, comments.

None.

Thank you.

Council members 7.3 and 7.4 are to be continued to March 30, 2026.

Okay.

Agenda item 8.1.

Authorized your purchase order with APG Electric.

Mayor, Council members, Dan Mayor, IT Director.

APG is our current uh AV maintenance provider, so we have everything from the AV equipment we see in here and the new city hall to video walls, which are becoming a more popular device.

They've been working for us in this capacity for about the last two to three years, and we've been very pleased with their with their products.

So if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

Okay.

Questions, comments on this agenda.

Just a comment again.

Thank you, Dan, for bringing this up.

You know, when you go and look through this agenda item, you can see that it's you know not just in my opinion, important to ensure that the city is staying on top of its technology infrastructure.

Um, but also you know, we're hitting emergency operations center, the police real-time's uh crime center.

Um, and those are both out of warranty, but you know, from six years ago.

So on top of being infrastructure ready, it's showing our um emergency preparedness readiness.

So uh thank you for staying on top of this.

I think that it's definitely needed and uh will put us in a good future going forward.

Thank you.

Anything else on this item?

If not, do we have consent?

Yeah, we have consent on 8.1.

Thank you.

Gen item 9.1.

Approve the joint participation agreement between the city of Clearwater and the state of Florida Department of Transportation for a grant to repaint runway and taxi markings.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

I'm Aaron Brayley, Marine and Aviation Division Controller.

Um this item approves a Florida Department of Transportation aviation grant.

Sorry, aviation grant to rape repaint the runway and taxiway markings at Clearwater Executive Airport.

The project will enhance airfield visibility and maintain compliance with applicable safety and operational standards.

The total project cost is 40,000 with FDOT funding 80 percent or 32,000 dollars of it, and the city providing a 20% local match of $8,000.

Um staff recommends approval of the grant agreement.

Do you guys have any questions?

Okay, questions or comments.

Councilmember Cotton.

Great job, guys, getting this grant.

I think that that's huge again.

Um as we can see the F dot putting in 80% with our 20% match.

The city's only putting in uh $8,000 to things that I think will are greatly needed.

So thank you for working on that.

Thank you.

Anybody else?

Okay, not do we have things map?

This is not a consent item.

Okay, move to item 10.1.

Thank you.

Yeah, approve a funding agreement between the city and Panels on Coast Transit Authority to provide enhanced Jolly Trolley service during spring break.

Good afternoon.

Mayor of City Council, I'm Mike Chalet, the parking manager, the public works department.

Item before you today is request approval for funding agreement between the city of Clearwater and the Pinellas Sun Coast Transit Authority or PSTA.

This is to provide free enhanced Jolly Trolley service to the public during spring break season from March 1st, May 3rd.

The agreement is consistent with those approved in prior years.

The primary exception is that due to ongoing construction downtown.

This service will provide reliable alternative to driving and is critical to managing congestion, supporting tourism, and maintaining a positive experience for both residents and visitors during our peak season.

I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Okay.

Council member cotton.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Um thank you very much for that.

This is more so just to shed light on why this is needed and for us to maybe discuss or maybe get an update on where forward penalis is with the traffic study because of the congestion that we see on our beach and you know what that poses.

Uh I obviously have nothing wrong with this agenda item.

I think it's needed, and there's there's a reason, but if we could maybe kind of tap back into that and see if they have an update in the future if we've heard anything recently.

I don't know if Lauren's able to I suspect at this point it's still ongoing.

We have not received any reports yet, correct.

Sorry for my curveball, guys.

That's right.

Good afternoon, Lauren Mattenski planning and development.

We've had some internal meetings with the consultant group, um, but we don't have anything formal to present yet.

We hope to have something in the the near term.

We're gonna be bringing an item to our internal strategy group next week, and then we'll share some information via the city manager.

Awesome, great.

That's just good to hear that you know those wheels are still turning and looking forward to the future of how that comes out.

And I know that a bunch of our residents and and other tourists are and visitors are excited to hear that stuff.

So thank you.

And with that, we'll be doing some some outreach, and we're starting to prep for that.

So timing-wise, making sure that you know we're catching the right people, but timing it around spring break and um sugar sands and all the other exciting stuff that goes on out there for sure.

Thank you very much.

But that but that studies that study is a long-term project, it's not gonna, and I think uh, and it's just focused on between the roundabout and Sankey Bridge, right?

That segment south side of uh Stan Slaughter said manager, it's for the south side of the roundabout.

Yeah, um I I suspect to tie it back to this item too.

You're always gonna end up wanting to promote and advocate for a mass transit process too to kind of complement it.

But it'll be more about flow than it will be about probably traffic's one of those things that you don't make it go away, you just transfer your problems somewhere else in some way.

So there's gonna be for my understanding that study there'll be some maybe some low-hanging fruit, but then some other long, you know, expensive capital projects that we'll have to consider.

Right.

And to Ms.

Matskey's point, um, this this is like the worst time of the year for that bottleneck between Sankey Bridge and the roundabout, so it's a great time to study it too over the next couple months.

So and when you add our urban renaissance downtown, it's just another another.

I have one question.

Yeah, I have I have one question.

Yes, sir.

Um how's this compare to what we've spent because we've done this annually, right?

We've subscribed.

Oh, that's a great question.

Last year uh we did spend 108,000 171 this year.

The cost is 154, 325, and that's attributable to this separate location, MLK and Gould.

It's a totally separate route that has to go out there instead of just hitting the downtown locations, which um last year Garden Avenue Garage, Pendellus County Garage, uh transit center, and then of course out to the beach.

But this is just a kind of added shuttle service for that.

So there's some extra expense, but it's something we've done annually.

I think is that correct?

Yeah, yes, sir.

And the extra expenses uh, of course, inflation from previous year, but the majority of it is the additional mileage to do the additional loop, the larger loop.

Right.

Okay.

All right.

Thank you.

Do we have consent on this agenda?

Okay, we have it.

Thank you.

11.1 Owen Cole or interim city attorney.

This is um my item.

This is a outside council agreement involving a uh trip and fall in the city.

Uh, due to a vacancy of the litigation attorney, we are hiring an outside wall firm to handle certain litigation cases.

This is one of them.

Um, we are using banker Lopez, who the city has used on and off for 17 years.

Um, the contract is exempt from bidding.

Resume to section 2.5631G.

And I'm open for questions if you have to.

So this is 11.1, 11.2, 11.3 together.

Same thing as it's different plaintiffs, but it's involving the city.

And I can certainly say the same thing over each item necessary.

Any questions on any of those three?

If not, okay, thank you.

May we place it on consent counsel?

Yes.

11.4.

11.4 is also my item, and it is a contract with uh Bush Graziano.

It involves two different legal matters.

One is in uh 2021, a employee sued the city alleging employment discrimination retaliation.

Um after an eight-day trial, uh pretrial motions and post-trial motions, the city prevailed and was awarded uh attorney fees and cost along with the uh other co-defendant uh Joe Vizzetto, that's a former HR director.

So now the employee has um appealed that decision, and we're gonna have the law firm handle the represent the city and the 11th circuit.

Um, the second matter involves an arbitration involving the same employee.

Normally I would be handling that arbitration, but due to my uh current role as the interim city attorney, and I don't have the time to do it.

So I'm gonna allow either a gray caring or Sasha Dyson to handle that arbitration, which were the same two attorneys that represented the city in the uh in the um uh federal complaint.

Um both are very well respected, they're both certified in um labor and point of law.

Okay.

Any questions?

Any questions, comments?

Do we have consent?

We have consent 11.4.

Thank you.

Uh 11.5.

Thank you, Mayor.

Members of the council.

My name is Jared Simpson.

I'm with the city attorney's office.

We're here requesting authority to initiate foreclosure actions on behalf of the city to recover uh amounts owed under municipal liens.

These are all liens that have been created through the code enforcement process.

Uh we have an outside attorney that's handled this for the city for many years, Widener law, and we recently renewed that agreement, so that it's anticipated that we'll refer these out to Matt Widener to handle.

Um simply because we file the lawsuit does not necessarily mean that the city is going to take ownership of the property at the end of the foreclosure.

We we will still consider uh settlements throughout that process, and oftentimes when people get served, um they do get into gear and start working on the problems that we've been trying to get them to address for for out throughout this time.

Um so if we do uh reach a settlement, if it uh results in a reduction over a hundred thousand of whatever the lien amount would be, that would come back to the council for approval.

Otherwise, it would be handled under the city uh code related to settlements.

Um we know that this is a very serious um uh remedy to seek, and so that's why it went through a pretty thorough vetting amongst the staff.

We had um members of the finance uh department, economic development planning, uh, myself and and um the assistant director here vetted the the master list of liens that we have to come up with this this smaller list that we're presenting to you today.

Um Rebecca's here to tell you some more of the specifics on on uh the property, just one other legal item to note is that uh when uh a lien is recorded related to code enforcement, it does cross-encumber all of the property that they own within the county.

Um so sometimes we will um we will be addressing those other properties, or we may seek some alternative remedy like a money judgment or something like that.

Um, if if there uh some issue comes up in the process, like homestead that we weren't able to identify in this initial review.

Um, and with that, I'll turn it over to Rebecca to give you some of the specifics.

Thank you, Jared.

Hi, I'm Rebecca, planning and development.

Um, so I'm gonna go over the properties that were selected through the procedure that Jared mentioned.

Um we have five properties that were selected, um, and from those properties they were identified to have violations from through the municipal code enforcement board.

They were identified as non-homesteaded properties, no one is currently living at them, and they um potentially are causing both a financial burden and potential safety concerns that the city is regularly having to address.

Um, it also poses an opportunity for development within these properties as well as identifying collectively the city has had to remediate over 48 times over the last several years in order to keep them at a minimum standard for the other residents and property owners around them, and the fines collectively or accruing daily um at over five hundred more than five hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars that the city has an outstanding liens or hard costs collectively that the city has put out.

And the fines collectively or accruing daily at over 500 more than 575,000 dollars that the city has an outstanding liens or hard costs collectively that the city has put out.

The first one I wanted to talk about was 1915 McCumber.

This is a vacant property.

I'm hearing there are technical data.

I do they're not colour.

Black and white car copies perhaps they're not as pretty.

But you can't do it.

Right here, yeah.

My visual teamwork, thank you.

All right, the first one here is yeah, 1915 McCumber Avenue.

Uh this property um has um been found in violation as an abandoned building by the code enforcement division.

It has over 259,000 dollars in fines accruing for not only abandoned building, exterior surface, um, fence maintenance, yard maintenance, um, and it's accruing daily.

Nobody is doing anything at the property, the utilities have been off since 2021, and the property could tends continues to deteriorate.

Um the property owner based on conversation with neighbors appear to potentially have passed away.

This would be something that would be vetted through the outside council.

Um, but the uh staff within the code enforcement division has not been able to get a hold of anybody, no one has responded to uh the certified notices or any postings that we've left at the property.

Okay.

Um that doesn't work.

Next one.

Um the next two are combined together because they're uh we call sister lots, they're right next to each other.

Um are 1115 LaSalle and 1113 LaSalle, these are vacant lots.

Um they have never had any development on them, and we are routinely uh having to abate them.

While this doesn't have a substantially high lien amount, it is expending a great deal of resources on the city to maintain them, and they are posing um encampment issues for homeless.

We're having to cut back.

There's vermin complaints.

We have two developed properties on either side of them.

The rest of the community is fully uh developed residential, um, and these two have been left dormant for years.

There has been no response to any notices as well.

Um, in fact, we've become the maintenance on the property as originally this these violations were identified by a citizen, they're now becoming um self-identified through the inspectors that work the area to make sure when they see it getting overgrown that we're addressing that.

So the next one would be 2387 Nash.

Thank you.

Uh, this is an unoccupied single-family home, also has outstanding um violations for abandoned building, has had no utilities, has various um violations, exterior surface on home to evidence of home deterioration, and no one has um responded to any notices.

The inspectors and neighbors are um having to collaboratively maintain this property.

Um sometimes the neighbors will mow it.

Uh it is open to the back and so it can become a hazard there as well.

The roof is deteriorating, different areas of that, and so we're requesting to move that forward to either get the property back in shape through action through the attorney or to take possession.

Um then the last one that I wanted to go over was 1234 Eldridge.

So this is uh another vacant home that we've had no interactions with uh to move anything forward uh from the street, doesn't look too bad due to some maintenance that we're having to do regularly on the property.

Uh we've had 10 abatements at this property uh to keep the lawn mode both in the front and the back.

The windows are boarded up, the softened fascia deteriorating, um, and we have approximately um two hundred and eleven thousand dollars accruing for um abandoned building.

I'll take any questions anyone may have for me or Gary.

Okay, any questions?

Council Member Manino.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

Thank you for that report.

And what you're not presenting to us is overgrown grass and somebody living at the home and we're trying to foreclose on them.

And that's a different case, and that happens as well.

And cities have that right.

And is it right or is it wrong?

There's large arguments regarding that.

These are these are hazardous to our neighborhoods.

They're unsafe.

They don't only promote homeless encampments that we've seen on so many of them through the neighborhoods, but it's rodents and issues with stuff like that.

Children find their way under these houses, kids find their ways, and knowing that it's on the block and it's vacant and no one's ever there, and they end up playing in the yards and in the backyards.

And I can't tell you how many residents come in and think that the city is does nothing on this.

How come we've abated 15 times?

We've mowed their lawn or done different things to help.

And neighbors pick up the slack and help as well, and it gets frustrating to them.

It affects their property value.

So this is um this is a tricky situation, but I appreciate you going in depth on each one because they they are abandoned, they're unsafe, nobody is living there, they're non-homesteaded.

Uh some of them are 21 abatements, 10 abatements, 15 abasements.

Uh, and I that gets a little bit out of control.

I think what you're doing uh is bringing some reprieve uh to a lot of neighbors in these neighborhoods.

I'm sure uh they would sit in this very front row and probably thank you for what what you're doing to help protect these neighborhoods and the kids in the neighborhoods uh and their property value.

So I know it's a sensitive subject, but I appreciate you going in in depth on what we've done as a city and as a team uh to to try to help uh the neighborhood and to help the individual property or homeowners if there are any.

So thank you for that.

Thank you.

Vice Mayor.

Yeah, if you had to give me a rough estimate, what does that recovery look like?

If we move forward, yes, if all things align really well, what is that recovery gonna look like?

So the percentage of recovery percentage of recovery.

Um well, we hope to recoup our cost, um, but we look at what the property is worth, and um then we go forward with the through the court system to get awarded, um, and then it'll either come into our inventory or we've gone to auction before to try to recoup costs.

Um, it would depend if we had there was other liens on properties that superseded ours.

So we um it each one is case by case and would depend on uh does someone step forward.

Uh so we bet each one with the outside council to determine best practices and what to do moving forward.

Sometimes someone will come forward when they get the outside attorney's notice, uh, different than when code enforcement sends it, unfortunately, um, and then we work to negotiate um not only uh recouping the costs, but there's it's tied to bringing the property back into compliance.

So, what does that look like?

Getting someone get the home reactivated, utilities turned back on, proper maintenance, things of that nature.

So yeah, with two lots, and I mean one of the buildings is unsalvageable, I think.

The first one, so it wouldn't, I think the recovery would be a challenge with two lots of the property at 1915 McCumber.

Uh we have um inspectors have had conversations in the past, um and the primary owner passed away and they said that they're just they've kind of thrown their hands up, do what you told the city do what you need to do.

They're not gonna maintain it any longer.

I'll just add to that that if it does get pushed to an auction, the city would essentially have a credit bid and the amount of our lien plus whatever attorney's fees are outside council will be tallying up his costs and fees throughout the process.

So all that would get totaled on that would be the minimum bid once it went to auction.

So if if uh an investor is seeing the the viability of redeveloping it, might be less likely that we would get an outside bid in that case.

The city would take ownership.

We put it in with our affordable uh housing land bank program, and we try to figure out what to do with it from there.

Thank you.

Okay, anybody else?

Okay.

Um I guess I will last clear than everything you said, Councilmember Manino.

You said perfectly.

These are vacant properties, abandoned properties, so we're not evicting anybody or kicking anybody out, and but they are a real threat to the welfare of our neighborhoods and our city.

So thank you for sharing that.

With that, we'll move to item uh well.

Do we have consent on this?

Okay, very good.

Thank you.

Move to item 11.6.

11.6 is a uh a resolution.

It was uh proposed by uh council member um Albright and on the work session on February the second.

Uh council discussed the resolution which opposes uh the inclusion of all sore oil and gas leasing off the coast of Florida, had the city attorney make some changes, um, which included formatting it and then changing who the resolution is sent to.

I have now done that, and um I'm open for questions.

Questions comments?

Okay, we're good.

Good thank you for proposing item 11.7.

11.7.

It is another uh city attorney item.

Um council.

Uh this is um involves an ordinance.

Um I would like to continue this to a uh a date not certain.

Um I'd like to to review this uh in a little bit more detail.

I've learned some new information, like to get some more data.

Um, and I just want to move this to a date uncertain.

Okay, any objection?

No.

Okay, all right.

Move to uh item 11.8.

Thank you, Mayor, members of the council.

My name is Jared Simpson.

I'm with the city attorney's office.

Uh, here I have a resolution, and this is something that's requested by title um related to the old city hall site.

We are working towards closing that transaction very soon.

Uh feel very positive about that.

Um this is just something that the title companies would like to see.

We plan to attach this to the deed.

That shows that the persons that signing that are signing the deed have the authority to sign it.

It also uh addresses mineral rights.

Florida law has an automatic reservation of of mineral rights for uh when governmental entities own property, so we're expressly uh releasing that.

That's part of conveying marketable title, which we're obligated to do under our our purchase contract.

So we're asking that you approve this resolution.

Okay.

Any questions?

Councilmember.

No, mayor, just uh comment appreciate staff uh all hands on deck and continuing to move this forward.

This is uh another very hope-filled and optimistic um horizon for Clearwater.

Um that old city hall property is is really gonna be a huge asset for the citizens of Clearwater for the City of Clearwater.

Uh so I thank you for moving it forward, and hopefully we can stay right on schedule with it.

I know the assistant city manager is very excited about you staying on schedule.

Okay, any other questions, comments?

Councilmember Robert and I just want to echo the same thing.

We've been looking forward to this for a long time.

It's on schedule.

Hopefully, Friday it'll close.

Is that the closing date?

We the the uh the buyers have requested for Friday, and I'm I'm working hard to make sure that happens.

Certainly, uh, we want to see that happen.

The city does have some um closing conditions that are very important, and we want to make sure that we're um crossing every T, dotting every I and every J, uh lowercase J.

I'll remember to include that, you know.

Um, but but yes, we are we are on track for Friday, and and uh we're very hopeful um that we're gonna get there.

So great, thank you.

Okay, okay.

Any other comments?

I like that.

Okay, thank you.

Appreciate it.

Okay.

I've moved item 12.

City manager verbal reports.

Nothing, sir.

Item 13, city attorney verbal reports.

Nothing, mayor.

Item 14.

Is there any new business?

Nothing.

Item 15, council comments.

Nothing here, sir.

Okay.

Item 16, closing comments by mayor.

Um, I did I do want to say one thing.

So the reason I came in right at one was I went to the state of the region lunch over at USF today, and before lunch began, I had a chance to talk with um brand new USF president, um, Moez Limayim.

Uh hours after he started his job.

So he said uh he reported to us at lunch that uh so far in about three hours of work, he had not had any complaints from faculty or from the students over at USF.

So he felt like he's off a good start.

But what I wanted to share with you is something he said to me when I introduced myself, first time I'd met him there in the city of Clearwater.

He said, uh, we need to get together and meet.

You're on my on my list.

He says, I hear about all the great things happening in Clearwater.

Oh, that's nice.

And and I can tell you that that impressed me, you know, particularly what uh Mr.

Simpson just shared about the movement on the Gotham property, but uh I can tell you all, and you all are out there too, and across the bay and down St.

Petersburg.

Uh he was just one of a number of people that have said that to me recently.

Uh folks are noticing all the growth, construction, the activity over here.

And I want to share that with you because that's encouraging for me, encouraging for all of us, uh, certainly City Council and all the staff, that uh what we're doing, the efforts we're making, it's making a difference.

People are noticing us, and uh, and that was just a great comment for me to hear today.

So uh we wish the president best of luck.

Uh USF is very important to our region, of course, and uh we'd love to see more USF involvement over here on this side of the bay, and uh just wanted to share that with you all.

So with that, I will uh adjourn the work session of the Clearwater City Council for February 17, 2026,