OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Clearwater City Council Work Session: May 4, 2026

Clearwater Municipal Meetings — Monday, May 4, 2026
BodyClearwater, Florida
SessionClearwater Municipal Meetings
DateMonday, May 4, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:56:57

Transcript — Verbatim
1:52

It's time we'll call order the May 4 2026 work session of the Clearwater City Council.

1:59

It's time we moved to item two point one on the authorized purchase order and agreement with Olimeter DPG LLC for natural gas main and service line locating services.

2:15

Good afternoon, Council, Mayor.

2:17

I'm here on behalf of CGS Energy.

2:19

I am the gas manager, and we currently have a damage prevention agreement with Olimeter.

2:25

Uh right now we're required by 614 of the federal code and also Florida Statute 556 to locate lines.

2:31

We offer that service free to our public and excavators, and we're wanting to continue with Olameter.

2:37

They are uh we had a committee that had panel, we took bids from five vendors.

2:42

Uh they were selected as the most responsible bidder.

2:44

Uh they've done a good job for us.

2:46

Uh our ticket volume is up.

2:48

We're seeing a lot of growth in clear water, that's a good thing.

2:51

Uh, we're getting a great service with good quality, so we we recommend that we go with the olometer and continue with all of the so with that.

3:00

I mean, we're asking council to authorize or sign an agreement with old meter.

3:04

It's a one-year contract, an amount of six hundred and seventy thousand dollars.

3:08

Um there's three one-year one-ups after that, which would be based on the CPI increase.

3:15

Um, but that's about it.

3:17

We're very comfortable with this team.

3:18

The selection panel all agree that ultimate was the vendor of choice.

3:22

So that's what we're here to do today, and I've got a damage prevention guide here, so if you guys want one, y'all can have one.

3:27

And also a little damage prevention card.

3:29

So, you know, we are very big into public safety and utility interruptions and minimizing that.

3:34

So we're very proud of our group and what this team has done.

3:37

Old emitter's done a great job.

3:39

So, with that, that's our recommendation.

3:43

Any council discussion?

3:46

Any questions?

3:48

If none, do we have consent?

3:50

Yes.

3:51

We have consent.

3:51

Thank you, sir.

3:52

Thank you, sir.

3:52

Appreciate it.

3:55

Move to the agenda item 3.1.

3:58

Authorized to purchase order, Rick Croft Enterprises during business as Texas trailers sales and services for the purchase of seven enclosed trailers.

4:13

The item for you is to purchase seven enclosed trailers and one forklift.

4:18

These items are needed to uh help with our storage needs and also material handling.

4:24

The seven trailers will increase our current storage capacity to sixteen hundred feet.

4:29

Plus, it will allow us to transport our stored items uh back and forth from storage to events, uh, also out to maintenance jobs and things like that.

4:37

So it it actually makes us more efficient uh than what we currently are at with having a load to take those places.

4:43

So and the forklift will also increase our capability to handle all the supplies, paper products, and things that we stock the sound with all the different facilities throughout the city.

4:53

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

5:00

Not do we have consent?

5:01

Yes.

5:01

We have consent on 3.1.

5:03

Thank you.

5:03

Thank you.

5:06

Ratify and confirm a reimbursement payment to the Philadelphia Phillies in the amount of 2.6 million dollars for uh repairs to damage caused by Hurricane Milton.

5:19

Thank you.

5:19

Good afternoon, Mayor, Council members, Art Cater, Parks and Recreation Director.

5:23

Uh, the item for you today is reimburse the Philadelphia Phillies costs that they incurred due to repairing the storm damage caused by the hurricane uh built in to the Bay Care uh ballpark.

5:36

The damage occurred between October uh 9th and 10th, 24, and to have the stadium ready for spring training by February, very short time frame.

5:46

Several things had to take place.

5:48

First, the council approved the initial mitigation work to dry out the stadium.

5:53

Second, the council approved some of the initial restoration work uh at to pay surve.

5:59

Third, the fillies were authorized to make the remainder of the repairs needed uh and they utilize their contractor that they had on board then creative contractors.

6:11

Uh the partnership of the Phillies Management, Parks and Recreation Risk Manager, Creative Contractors, and the insurance adjuster for the city ensure that the stadium was operational before uh opening day 2025.

6:26

Staff has reviewed and approved all the expenses uh to ensure that the funds were that we are reimbursing the fillies now, were in fact done because of the damage due to the storm, and that nothing uh in that reimbursement is for enhancements that the fillies did uh and uh or improvements that they did over and above the storm damage.

6:50

That was important because it they got mixed.

6:52

That's why it's taken so long to come back to you because you may ask, well, why has it taken so long if we finish the work?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Tree Regulation█████████████████████21%
Environmental Protection███████████████████19%
Community Engagement██████████████████18%
Economic Development██████████10%
Procedural████████8%
Public Safety█████5%
Public Engagement████4%
Engineering And Infrastructure███3%
Budget Equity Analysis███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Clearwater City Council Work Session: May 4, 2026

The Clearwater City Council held a work session on May 4, 2026, at 1:30 PM in the Main Library Council Chambers. The council approved several consent agenda items, received a detailed presentation on tree preservation ordinance revisions, and discussed scheduling a special work session to address proposed downtown entertainment and redevelopment projects.

Consent Calendar

  • Authorized a purchase order and agreement with Olameter DPG, LLC for natural gas main and service line locating services in an annual not-to-exceed amount of $670,000, with three one-year renewal options (Item 2.1).
  • Authorized the purchase of seven enclosed trailers from Texas Trailers for $134,867.50 and one forklift from Southern States TOYOTALift for $54,406.00 via piggyback (Item 3.1).
  • Ratified a reimbursement payment of $2,635,560.96 to the Philadelphia Phillies for Hurricane Milton damage repairs at BayCare Ballpark (Item 3.2).
  • Authorized a purchase order to Lake Brothers LLC for maintenance of city-owned lakes, ponds, wetlands, and mitigation sites in an initial not-to-exceed amount of $218,684.00, with three one-year renewal options at $174,524.00 annually (Item 4.1).
  • Awarded a construction contract to Concrete Protection and Restoration, LLC for the Garden Avenue Garage Restoration project in the amount of $186,318.00 (Item 4.2).
  • Approved annexation, initial Future Land Use Map designation of Residential Urban (RU), and initial Zoning Atlas designation of Medium Density Residential (MDR) for 2448 Nursery Road (Item 5.1).
  • Approved annexation, initial Future Land Use Map designation of Residential Urban (RU), and initial Zoning Atlas designation of Low Medium Density Residential (LMDR) for Unaddressed Sunset Point Road (Item 5.2).
  • Approved a Future Land Use Map Amendment from Residential Urban (RU) to Residential Medium (RM) for 2446 Nursery Road (Item 5.3).
  • Accepted FDOT Grant Agreement Amendment No. 2 for the Parking Lot Expansion and Rehabilitation Project at Clearwater Executive Airport in the amount of $693,992 (Item 6.1).
  • Accepted FDOT Grant Agreement Amendment No. 2 for the Construction of Terminal Building at Clearwater Executive Airport in the amount of $790,369 (Item 6.2).
  • Accepted FDOT Grant Agreement Amendment No. 2 for the Remill and Overlay Project at Clearwater Executive Airport in the amount of $374,785 (Item 6.3).
  • Appointed Jasmin Cruz to the Municipal Code Enforcement Board to fill an unexpired term through October 1, 2026 (Item 7.1).
  • Approved a legal services agreement with Dayes Law Firm for representation in Blair Houston vs. City of Clearwater et al. (Item 8.1).
  • Adopted Ordinances 9884-26, 9885-26, 9886-26, 9888-26, and 9906-26 on second reading (Items 8.2–8.6).

Discussion Items

Tree Preservation Ordinance (Item 5.4)

Lauren Matzke, Planning and Development, presented a comparison of the City of Clearwater’s tree preservation ordinance with Pinellas County’s recent amendments. The county simplified its tree rating system from seven to four categories, adopted a flat fee structure for mitigation ($300 per tree for single-family/duplex, $500 for multifamily/commercial), and provided clearer exemptions for nuisance/invasive species and hazardous trees. Clearwater currently uses an inch-for-inch replacement system, a zero-to-six tree rating scale, and a tree bank fee of $48 per inch DBH, with nearly $1 million in the tree bank fund. Council discussion centered on balancing environmental protection with homeowner autonomy and reducing regulatory burdens. Vice Mayor expressed support for aligning with the county’s simplified approach, particularly for low-impact removals. Councilmember Teixeira asked about the appropriate threshold for palm trees (county uses 6 feet clear trunk, city uses 10 feet) and tree ratings. Staff arborist Ted Kozak noted that palms contribute less to canopy and that 10 feet is a common statewide standard. Councilmember Albretton supported codifying existing practices and aligning fee structures. Mayor emphasized the need for citizen-friendly regulations and quick action. Council directed staff to develop proposed revisions, including a fee study using local comparator cities, and to present a timeline and recommendations for further discussion. The consensus was to move toward a more simplified, predictable ordinance that maintains protections for high-value trees.

Special Work Session on Downtown Entertainment Complex (Item 11.1)

Councilmember Mannino requested scheduling a special work session to discuss proposed downtown redevelopment projects, including the Evo Entertainment/Dolby Theater, Cleveland Street Alliance projects, the Welcome Showroom, and LRH Hall. He cited public confusion and misinformation from media releases, emphasizing the need for transparency and a neutral fact-finding session. Councilmember Teixeira echoed that the volume of messaging suggests a level of certainty not yet justified by the permitting process. Vice Mayor noted the complexity of overlapping entities (Church of Scientology, Cleveland Street Alliance LLC, Evo Entertainment) and the need to clarify roles. Councilmember Albretton expressed excitement about progress but stressed accountability. Council agreed to hold a special work session on May 28, 2026, at 5:00 PM, to be facilitated like a regular workshop. Staff will invite relevant developers and presenters. The agenda will include all major downtown projects, but with the understanding that discussion on the Garden Avenue vacation must be limited to process updates per the attorney general’s guidance.

Key Outcomes

  • All consent agenda items were approved unanimously without discussion.
  • Staff will develop proposed revisions to the Tree Preservation Ordinance, including fee comparisons with neighboring jurisdictions, and present a project timeline to council before drafting an ordinance. A future work session will be held to review recommendations before formal adoption.
  • A special work session on downtown development projects is scheduled for May 28, 2026, at 5:00 PM in the Council Chambers.
  • Council noted the public comment policy extension will be added to the next regular meeting agenda for a vote, as it expires May 8, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

It's time we'll call order the May 4 2026 work session of the Clearwater City Council. It's time we moved to item two point one on the authorized purchase order and agreement with Olimeter DPG LLC for natural gas main and service line locating services. Good afternoon, Council, Mayor. I'm here on behalf of CGS Energy. I am the gas manager, and we currently have a damage prevention agreement with Olimeter. Uh right now we're required by 614 of the federal code and also Florida Statute 556 to locate lines. We offer that service free to our public and excavators, and we're wanting to continue with Olameter. They are uh we had a committee that had panel, we took bids from five vendors. Uh they were selected as the most responsible bidder. Uh they've done a good job for us. Uh our ticket volume is up. We're seeing a lot of growth in clear water, that's a good thing. Uh, we're getting a great service with good quality, so we we recommend that we go with the olometer and continue with all of the so with that. I mean, we're asking council to authorize or sign an agreement with old meter. It's a one-year contract, an amount of six hundred and seventy thousand dollars. Um there's three one-year one-ups after that, which would be based on the CPI increase. Um, but that's about it. We're very comfortable with this team. The selection panel all agree that ultimate was the vendor of choice. So that's what we're here to do today, and I've got a damage prevention guide here, so if you guys want one, y'all can have one. And also a little damage prevention card. So, you know, we are very big into public safety and utility interruptions and minimizing that. So we're very proud of our group and what this team has done. Old emitter's done a great job. So, with that, that's our recommendation. Any council discussion? Any questions? If none, do we have consent? Yes. We have consent. Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Move to the agenda item 3.1. Authorized to purchase order, Rick Croft Enterprises during business as Texas trailers sales and services for the purchase of seven enclosed trailers. The item for you is to purchase seven enclosed trailers and one forklift. These items are needed to uh help with our storage needs and also material handling. The seven trailers will increase our current storage capacity to sixteen hundred feet. Plus, it will allow us to transport our stored items uh back and forth from storage to events, uh, also out to maintenance jobs and things like that. So it it actually makes us more efficient uh than what we currently are at with having a load to take those places. So and the forklift will also increase our capability to handle all the supplies, paper products, and things that we stock the sound with all the different facilities throughout the city. I'd be glad to answer any questions at this time. Not do we have consent? Yes. We have consent on 3.1. Thank you. Thank you. Ratify and confirm a reimbursement payment to the Philadelphia Phillies in the amount of 2.6 million dollars for uh repairs to damage caused by Hurricane Milton. Thank you. Good afternoon, Mayor, Council members, Art Cater, Parks and Recreation Director.

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