This time we'll call to order the June 18, 2026 meeting of the Clearwater City Council.

If you wish to address address the council tonight, please complete a comment card, comment cards located by the clerk seated to the right of the dais.

When called to speak, please hand your card to the clerk.

This time we'll move to item two on the agenda, which is our indication, like to call forward Father Bob Swick from St.

Francis of Assisi and ask everyone to remain standing afterwards for the Pledge of Allegiance.

We invite you to preside over this meeting.

May there be an embracing unity of spirit.

Help the good counsel to each listen politely as others share their points of view, always striving, always striving to serve the greater good.

Amid all the calamity, the conflict, the confusion that screams for our leaders' attention, we pray our council members will be filled with your spirit so they may serve with a special love of community that includes measures of safety for our citizens and our visitors.

Guide and inspire them as well as everyone with the words of St.

John the Twenty Third.

And in all matters, let there be charity.

Amen.

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

To my far left is Deputy City Clerk Nicole Sprague.

To her right is our city clerk Rosemary Call.

Good evening.

Excuse me.

To my right is Councilmember Mike Manino.

Good evening.

To his right is Councilmember David Holbright.

Good evening.

To his right is our city manager Jennifer Poirier.

Good evening.

To her right is Assistant City Manager Dan Slaughter.

And to his right is Assistant City Manager Al Bow.

With that, we'll move to item 4.1 on the agenda.

And I'd like to call forward Cassie Cordova from Public Works for the Pollinator Week Proclamation.

Whereas Clearwater is home to many native wildlife and pollinator species, including birds, bees, bats, and other insects that are essential to maintaining a healthy and biodiverse environment, and recognizes that human well-being ultimately depends on well-functioning ecosystems that foster connections between people and nature.

And whereas pollinator species are in decline due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and other environmental stressors, with species such as the monarch butterfly experiencing significant population decreases over the past 25 years.

And whereas National Pollinator Week is a nationwide initiative that raises awareness and provides opportunities to restore native habitat and support local pollinator populations.

And whereas I, Bruce Rector, have signed the National Wildlife Federation's mayor's monarch monarch pledge, committing to taking meaningful action to protect pollinators, including the Monarch Butterfly, and to support local, state, and national efforts to conserve and restore pollinator habitats while strengthening the connection between our community and the natural environment.

Now, therefore, I Bruce Rector, mayor of the City of Clearwater, on behalf of the Santa City of Clearwater Council, do hereby proclaim June 22nd to the 28th, 2026 to be pollinator week in Clearwater and encourage all residents to participate in community activities that support and celebrate pollinator protection.

Cassie, would you like to say a few words?

Thank you so much, Mayor and City Council.

We are doing this as part of our mayor's monarch pledge that you brought to us last year, and we did our initiatives last year, and we re-signed this year again.

So this year we'll be focusing on invasive species removal.

We'll do some education outreach on that topic.

We'll put some signs up at our beautiful Moccasin Lake Nature Park.

So all this can be found at our website, MikeClearwater.com/slash pollinators.

And thank you again for your support.

Thank you.

That uh item 4.2, I'd like to call forward our um for the solid waste and recycling workers week proclamation call forward Kerbin St.

Ami, the Solid Waste Director for the City of Clearwater, and the team.

Great looking team.

Whereas the City of Clearwater is committed to maintaining a clean, safe, healthy, and beautiful community for residents, businesses, and visitors, and whereas the dedicated men and women of the City of Clearwater Solid Waste Department provide essential services every day, collecting refuge, recycling, and yard waste while helping protect public health and the environment.

And whereas these hardworking professionals perform their duties in all weather conditions and often under challenging circumstances, demonstrating exceptional commitment, reliability, and professionalism in service to our community.

And whereas solid waste employees play a vital role in preserving Clearwater's natural beauty and enhancing the quality of life enjoyed by all who live, work, and visit here, helping to keep our city bright and beautiful year-round.

And whereas the observance of solid waste and recycling workers' week provides an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions, dedication, and sacrifices of these public servants who go above and beyond in their service to the city of Clearwater.

And whereas the City Council wishes to express its sincere appreciation and desire and gratitude to all solid waste and recycling employees for the outstanding work, commitment to excellence and unwavering dedication to serving our community.

Now, therefore, I Bruce Rector, mayor of the City of Clearwater, Florida, on behalf of the Clearwater City Council, to hereby proclaim June 15th to the 21st, 2026 to be solid waste and recycling workers week in Clearwater.

Thank you for being here tonight.

Would you like to say a few words?

Thank you, Mayor, Council members.

Um Kerber Sending Solidworth Director.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide to recognize the men and women of Solid Waste.

So as Ulster stated, um, Saw Lewis and Recycling Workers are one of the employees that are the most seven most dangerous occupations in our nation.

Um they face numerous challenges, like you said, you stated, um they work through heavy traffic, severe weather conditions, active work zones, um, fires, and a strenuous um workload despite the risk, they remain committed um to what they do every day to perform their tasks safely, efficiently, and deliver a vital service to our community.

With that said, may I brought a couple of my team with me to celebrate Jacobi Washington, assistant director, Junior Johnson, senior is one of our supervisors.

Leon Brown is one of our drivers.

Kaylin Nichols, she's one of our newest members.

She's there with a less than a year.

And then Matt Anderson is one of our drivers, just part of our team.

Thank you very much.

We have, I want to say uh we get a lot of compliments on uh all of our city departments, but uh I just want to compliment you're on your team.

Um I I don't think one department gets more compliments than your department gets.

The folks who serve our homes, uh, I hear people compliment your team and how respectfully and how gracious they are and in uh conversations with our residents and serving our community, and uh thank you for that.

Uh the community appreciates your work very much, and I just wanted you to know that you know they share that with me and the others on the council frequently.

Thank you, Mayor.

We are one of the departments that touch every street in the city every week, so it's important.

Well, you're appreciated, and we thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks for coming out.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for coming out tonight.

So we got a uh triple play tonight on proclamations, and the third one is our national homeownership month 2026 proclamation.

I'd like to go for Dylan Mayu from the Economic Development and Housing Department.

And looks like there's a team coming for this one too.

So I just have one name, Dylan's name, but uh thank you for coming out tonight, Chris.

Thank you, Mayor.

And I'll read the proclamation and then invite you to make some comments.

Whereas the importance of home ownership in American society impacts neighborhood stability and the nation's economic health, and whereas the city of Clearwater is committed to preserve and increase the level of homeownership in the city and participate in HUD's home investment partnerships and community development block grant programs and the state housing initiatives partnership program to support initiatives such as home ownership counseling, purchase assistance, new construction, rehabilitation of its existing housing stock, and affordable lower cost housing.

And whereas the City of Clearwater also commends the efforts of our community's private sector, its developers, lenders, realtors, and nonprofit organizations, all of whom are committed to keeping families in their homes and to promote the American dream to new homeowners in the city of Clearwater, and whereas the economic development and housing department of the City of Clearwater and its community partners are participating in the free 35th annual homeownership for people everywhere, Hope Expo on Saturday, June 27th, 2026, at the Raymond James Financial Center to encourage citizens to take the free home buyer workshop, meet and speak to housing counselors, lenders, real estate agents, and community resource representatives regarding home ownership.

Now, therefore, I Bruce Rector, mayor of the City of Clearwater, Florida, on behalf of the Clearwater City Council to hereby proclaim June 2026 to be National Homeownership Month in Clearwater.

Would you like to make some comments for us?

Yes, thank you.

Good good evening, uh Mayor, uh City Council, City Managers, and City Managers, other respective officials on the dais.

Uh it is my distinct pleasure to be here tonight to recognize National Homeownership Month, which is an amazing month.

Homeownership remains one of the most effective ways for families and individuals to build wealth, create stability, and invest in their future.

It strengthens our neighborhoods, outsupports our local businesses, and contributes to the long-term viability of our community.

The City of Clearwater, through our leadership, is committed to expanding housing opportunities through programs that assist first-time homebuyers, preserve existing housing, and encourage the development of affordable and workforce housing.

These efforts help ensure that more residents have opportunity to achieve the dream of homeownership.

On behalf of our awesome economic development housing department, some of our staff who are here tonight, I would like to thank the council, uh, the city manager, uh, and our team, but assistance city managers for its continued support of our housing initiatives that make a meaningful difference in the lives of Clearwater residents.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Okay, with that, we'll move to item 5.1 on the agenda.

Approve the minutes of the June 4, 2026 City Council meeting.

So motion to approve the minutes.

Move to approve uh agenda item 5.1.

Second.

All those in favor, aye.

Opposed, unanimous.

Moved with the consent agenda.

Are there any items to be removed from the agenda tonight?

Yes, sir.

So motion to approve the consent agenda as presented.

So moved.

Second.

All those in favor, opposed, unanimous.

Move to item 7.1.

Declare a surplus a list of certain real properties owned by the city of Clearwater.

Approve the transfer of said properties to the City of Clara Water Community Redevelopment Agency and authorize appropriate officials to execute the transaction.

Okay, this is that.

He's they're coming.

Good evening again, Mayor and City Council, uh, city managers and city managers of the respective members of the day is uh tonight uh really is to reiterate what we discussed on Monday.

Uh the purpose of this transfer uh is for the strategic redevelopment of these properties to the CRA, and that we would align these properties with the ownership with redevelopment implementation responsibilities.

Again, the properties do include uh Gould Street, 525 Park Street, 618 Drew Street, uh, North Garden Avenue parcels, uh there's go another Gould Street, Washington Street, South Madison Avenue.

Collectively, these properties represent strategic redevelopment assets, and transferring them to the CRA will allow us to implement our plan.

If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer.

Hearing seeing none, is there any council discussion?

If not, is there a motion?

Motion to approve agenda item 7.1.

Second.

Those in favor?

I have opposed unanimous.

Thank you.

Agenda item 7.2.

Amend chapter 30 of the code of orderances, traffic and motor vehicles to modernize parking operations, update enforcement procedures, and revise related fees and pass ordinance 9909-26 on first reading.

Evening, Mayor, Council members, Marcus Williamson, Public Works uh Director.

We discussed this item on the Monday work session.

Again, it updates and reflects our code into some of the current technologies.

So everyone here from the public tonight desire to speak to agenda item 7.2.

Hearing seeing none, is there okay?

Maybe may we have a reading first.

Ordinance number 9909-26.

Ordinance to the city of Clearwater, Florida, amending code of ordinances, chapter 30, traffic and motor vehicles, allowing payment through mobile platforms, allowing digital parking permits, clearing clarifying continuous parking period requirements, allowing phone and email response to parking tickets, requiring an original affidavit or plea to contest parking tickets, increasing the penalties for parking fines, creating mobile payment parking zones, and eliminating the requirement to display parking receipts.

Amending appendix A, schedule of fees, rates and charges, Article 14 streets, sidewalks, other public places, sections 4-5, increasing administrative fees and increasing fees for removal and reinstallation of pay stations, providing for severality, providing an effective date.

Okay.

Now is there any council discussion?

If now is there a motion?

Motion to approve agenda item 7.2.

Second.

Opposed, unanimous.

Agenda item 8.1.

I'll read the item and then I have an ask of council.

Uh it's a second reading item, ordinance 9907-26.

It's a second reading item, ordinance 9907-26, approving the right-of-way vacation request for the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization for the City Right of Way, more particularly described as the southern portion of Garden Avenue abutting lots six through eleven, together with that portion of budding, the vacated 15-foot alley line between lots 10 and 11 of Court Square Subdivision has recorded in Plat Book 5, page 53 of public records of Pinellas County, Florida.

Council member, um council members, I received uh I guess a concern from the dais uh prior to the meeting starting regarding the number of individuals who are trying to enter the building to provide comment to this item.

And so I was told that there may be a council discussion is in order in terms of how due to a safety issue, we can't have additional individuals come in, but to ensure that individuals have an opportunity to speak on both sides.

Okay.

Um yeah, um, you know, the the the whole point legaling um of public comment is to allow folks to why we even have it is to allow them to comment on agenda item.

So if there are folks here tonight who uh who are here on the property who came wanting to uh exercise their legal right under Florida law to to make public comment on this agenda item, uh whether they could make it in the building or not, I I think we have to be attending to that.

Uh it's our duty to allow public comment.

And if I don't know how many people in the room or in the adjoining room uh came to speak or just to watch, but to the extent that folks are outside who came to speak and are being denied their opportunity to be heard because there are folks in the building who don't intend to speak but are just occupying a seat and preventing them from entering.

I think that's something we should consider.

I have a question.

Do we intend to have any more questions for the applicant?

Any logistical question at all?

I know I don't.

Does anyone else have questions of the applicant tonight?

I don't I don't know.

Okay, so perhaps one of the solutions would be that all the professionals that are associated with the applicant, since there's gonna be no questions being posed to them, if they can set aside and give that space to a citizen that would like to speak.

That would be one option.

Councilman.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

Um we have we also have a council rule limiting 60 minutes.

So I guess my question to the clerk is what what does the existing sign-up sheet look like on both sides?

Last meeting we went well beyond that hour, and it was 14 and 14.

If those outside are well beyond 14 and 14, I think it's kind of null and void, they're not gonna have an opportunity to speak anyway.

So what is that number?

I do not have the number.

I think the city manager is getting that number.

I do have it.

Um there are 278 people here to support, and there's one that is registered to oppose.

Um, but they have not that's based on who is in the building and the building's at capacity, so they haven't been able to get to the rest of the people.

That's that's that's the problem.

Yes, we've got we've got um we have folks who came here to be heard, and they're being denied access to the hearing because we've um we we have to overreat.

Um I don't know.

I mean, I don't know if we need to reschedule for a um for a uh uh building that has a bigger room for everyone to participate.

I don't know what, but um I I just want to make sure that we're following our legal duty and Florida law to allow folks to come out and be heard on an agenda item.

And I don't think because they couldn't get into the building, because um there were folks not speaking, not intending to speak, occupying so many seats that they couldn't get in.

I don't think that's uh I don't think that's a good reason to deny them the opportunity to be heard.

Um if I may, Mayor, because we have teams that are out there.

Um there's both more outside that support and that oppose.

Um, so there's both that are still outside.

Um the guess is there's about 10 people um in opposition that want to speak.

Yeah.

Could could we could we get those 10 in if I may call up the Chief Candy and Chief Pittman from a safety standpoint?

Mayor counsel, uh Chief Eric Andy.

Um so we spent a lot of time and effort trying to ascertain along with the uh fire marshal what the safe capacity of this building was under these circumstances, and we settled at approximately 650.

Uh that's what we have inside this building.

If you were to uh come up with with a strategy to allow groups of people to leave and replace them with others, uh we can help public communications facilitate that, but our sole focus is safety here.

Um, we we estimated there was approximately two thousand people outside, and we can't let them stand shoulder to shoulder in all the ingress and egress points.

That's not safe.

Um and recognize that the only people screened are those that are in this room.

So uh just keep that in mind.

Safety is our primary concern here.

If you uh come up with a consensus on how you would like us to facilitate this ask as a group, we'll be glad to uh help public communications do that.

Yeah.

Yes, thank you, sir.

I don't necessarily think that we're not letting the people in as the chief just spoke to our capacity for safety reasons.

I also don't think that it's necessarily right to allow people that showed up at a certain time to sit in line to have to give up their seat if they want to see what our discussion is.

However, I do, I think everybody understands my first amendment uh cause in hearing people for or against an issue.

Um maybe there's some type of a way that our team can get that number outside, and then they can be screened to come in one at a time and line up on the side like we did last time in a safe manner.

Um obviously they would have to still sit and wait outside, but maybe that's something that we could because it what'd you say, 14?

10.

10.

Oh so we only need 10 seats.

We could take volunteers, so 10 folks here who would uh give up their seat to allow 10 people to come in to um so that so that the public comment is balanced.

Well, we could take a recess to allow you to invite those ten in, I guess.

Go ahead, Mike.

Thank you.

Um if remembering correctly in the first reading, we had 14 speakers um on either side.

Uh speakers speaking against the vacation weren't in this room.

They were somewhere in the hallway, I presume.

So other instead of asking 14 people or 10 people that have probably sat out there the longest to get in here instead of asking them to leave, I think there would probably be 10 people willing in the hallway uh to probably exit so those ten people could stand in the hallway to hear their voice be heard.

I'm just uh I would I would probably assume that or can we just take the 10 that are outside?

I'm sure the people willing to sit in the AC can sit in the AC a little bit longer, and those that are outside would hear their opinions first and then let them leave.

What I hear it's the preference the council to preempt in the seats.

I see head nods that there are folks in the audience here willing to uh give up their seat to allow ten folks to come in.

So we have a balanced, and we give those folks who are outside a chance to speak.

And we can take a recess to allow that transition to happen.

Yes, so that that would obviously public communications would have to do that.

I my personnel and I have no way of of sifting through who's for against, nor do we really care.

Um we certainly are focused on the safety aspect of this.

That's what we do, and that's what fire service does.

So I think that's uh something important.

We can't do it, but if public communications has a mechanism to ascertain who's for or against it, I'm fine, we'll help support whatever you guys want to do.

We can do it.

We'll get the the ten people.

Okay.

Okay, we'll recess uh for how long, but we'll recess until we can we can get uh get that lined up.

So we'll stand in recess until the reconvene.

Thank you.

This is crazy.

This time we'll call the meeting back to order.

And so we're agenda item eight point one.

I think we'll go ahead and have a reading of the ornament now.

Ordnance number 9907-26.

Ordinance of the city of Clearwater, Florida, vacating city right-away, more particularly described as a southern portion of Garden Avenue, abutting lots six-11, together with that portion of the abutting vacated 15-foot alley, lying between lots 10 and 11 of the Court Square Subdivision, as recorded in Platbook 5, page 53 of the public records of Pinellas County, Florida, providing conditions, providing severance, providing an effective date.

So we'll uh we'll start now with public comment and invite those from the public who want to speak to this agenda item and have registered with our city team to do so.

For some of you who may have been here two weeks ago know that our council rules limit the overall debate to 60 minutes.

So you know, we the council will make a decision depending upon what's already been said and who's still left that wants to speak, whether or not to extend that time or not.

But our council rules are that it's limited to 60 minutes.

So please be mindful of that and courteous to your neighbors that want to speak.

Uh the amount of time that it takes each speaker to get up once we start the time clock.

Um that eats away at the time.

Your time when you begin to speak will begin, not when you start speaking, but when you get to the podium.

So please collect your thoughts and be ready to speak once you get to the microphone.

And the other thing that uh I shared last time was uh I understand that you know you'll hear some things that you really like, and you'll hear some things you don't like, but really any crowd reaction, audience reaction to whatever either any speaker might say uh sometimes interrupts and delays uh or maybe even prevents the time from somebody else to speak later.

So you know jazz hands are great, you know, if you want to show some emotion, but audible noise just really does slow the process down and takes time away from folks who came here and maybe have been standing outside to speak tonight.

So please I just ask you to be courteous to uh to your neighbors.

So with that, our clerk, uh, who is the first speaker?

65S and thank you for the opportunity to talk to you today.

I'm Joy Jondusa.

I'm the founder and CEO of Postcard Mania.

We're a national marketing company uh employing 400 people locally right here in Clearwater.

I followed a boy here in 1988.

That didn't work out.

But Clearwater sure did.

That's why the completion of LRH Hall is important to me.

For many of us, this isn't just another building project.

It's something we've worked toward for years.

Many of us have contributed to it and look forward to seeing it completed.

I have a serious personal interest in the vacation of Garden Avenue for the purposes of making the hall safe.

My maiden name is Levo Itz.

I'm sure you're aware of how rampant anti-Semitism is right now.

It's scary.

Being both Jewish and a Scientologist, safety is something I think about more today than I ever have.

The LRH Hall is for us, but it's also for other nonprofits and religions that need a space for their events.

We've assisted over 200 nonprofits through events at the Fort Harrison, and we'll continue that goodwill going forward with the hall.

A world class space for your events, too.

I want to feel safe coming and going.

I don't want to fear that some erratic individual will drive by and hurt anyone in our community.

Whether a Scientologist or a Jew or a Muslim or Christian or anyone.

We need Garden Avenue for the parishioners of my church and yours.

I appreciate your concern for keeping all of your constituents safe.

And I ask for your support in vacating Garden Avenue.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

650.

Vicki Lipsy.

Thank you.

You have one additional minute, four minutes.

Good evening, my name is Jill.

Just to start, I want to address that the amount of signatures on our petition to save Garden Avenue and our downtown streets would fill the sound plus overflow.

So the fact that the 10 of us who were allowed in here to speak tonight, who also showed up over six hours ago, but were effectively pushed out of this meeting, do not in any way appropriately represent the opposition to this motion.

I'm here tonight for them to urge this council not to vacate South Garden Avenue.

While I recognize and respect the many Scientologists who recently shared their desire to build their hall, the awesome thing is that they are able to build their hall without closing off the street to the rest of Clearwater.

In fact, we all know that their original design shows the street still accessible to the public.

They can build their hall, and all of Clearwater can keep the street.

It's an undeniable win-win.

If I'm honest, I'm baffled that we are even here to urge our elected officials not to close down a public downtown street that is off of a state road.

If only I had a penny for every citizen here in Clearwater that asked me.

Why in the world would someone give up a downtown street?

That's the exact opposite of what you do when you're trying to grow a downtown.

After tonight, our citizens will know the very council members that are eager to disregard the majority of Clearwater citizens and give away our public downtown streets.

And intentionally fast tracking things without even desiring to get to the bottom of who even actually owns the land under the right of way.

This is a betrayal of truth and a betrayal to the taxpayers of your city.

And I will never let up on this.

The attorney general himself said not to vacate a street that is being used by the public.

So Clearwater, pay attention tonight.

Pay attention to who is advocating on behalf of a single private entity, and pay attention to who is advocating on behalf of and standing with Clearwater citizens and their desires.

There is a win-win option available.

Watch to see who chooses that option.

Thousands of you, when signing the initiative, declared that you wanted a voice in the future of your downtown.

You told me that you didn't think this would matter because the council doesn't quote listen to its people.

I had desperately hoped to prove you wrong, but as it turns out, you may be right.

I'm so sorry.

Your voice may appear to not have mattered on the initiative, but there's still more of that to come.

But you do have the opportunity to make your voice matter at the ballot box.

Don't miss that opportunity this August and in 2028.

Make sure that you are putting the right people in these seats.

Don't let the GOP and their special interests decide that for you.

Lastly, to Miss Barbara Sorry Love.

I am so sorry the fight to save Garden Avenue has been this hard.

You were the first to present this council with a beautiful vision of using that land to honor the incredible history that once lived there.

You advocated for something that all of Clearwater could participate in and be educated by.

And I'm sorry we couldn't convince this council to do the same.

Next speaker, please.

S 66.

Good evening, Council members.

My name is Darren Tessatory.

Nine years ago, my wife have three beautiful children and I decided to move to Clearwater.

We are all Scientologists.

As a result, I have personally trained over 15,000 driver educators on how to talk to youth about the dangers of drugs and driving.

With this, I've been able to reach millions of kids across America and especially right here in Florida.

As a result, I was awarded the Volunteer Gold Service Award.

I'm currently on the board of directors for the Florida Driver Education Association.

I'm the president elect for the Southeast United States Driver Education Association, and I'm on Governor DeSantis's Florida Teen Safe Driving Coalition.

I have communicated with many community leaders around Florida and the United States and the world.

These partnerships are effective in bringing together the entire community.

I've told many outreach program leaders around Florida and the United States about the LRH Hall and the opportunities it will create.

They were excited by the idea of having a place where educators, volunteers, and community leaders could come.

As a Scientologist, I am looking forward to having a place where we can come together for the major events and celebrations that are a vital part of our religion.

Over the past 20 years, I've spent my time teaching young people about risk, responsibility, and safety.

One lesson I have learned is that most tragies are not caused by bad intentions.

They happen when ordinary situations create opportunities for mistakes.

Good people make decisions every day, believing nothing will go wrong until it does.

That is why I view this request as more than a construction project.

Creating a safer environment for the thousands of people who will use this facility, especially children and families, is the responsible thing to do.

In my experience, the best safety measures are the ones put in place before they are ever needed.

Please vote yes to vacate this portion of Garden Avenue.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Good evening.

Thank you for hearing from all of us.

My name is Janice Basiler, and she should know I've been here before.

I've been talking to hundreds of my neighbors.

I talked to nine of them last night.

I signed the petition, just so you know.

They're hardworking members of the community.

They were here, they could fill up the library too.

But unfortunately, they're not able to.

We are here as their representatives.

Please don't lose sight of all of those people that have signed this petition and want to share their voice with you through that paper.

I'm not sure what can be said to convince the council to slow down and let the courts determine who really owns the street.

You're setting a precedent that we may be sorry for.

And you know what?

It will be your legacy.

I'm not sure how much more the citizens of the county of the city need to give.

Remember, the hall does not need Garden Avenue to be built.

I've seen the plans myself.

It can be safe.

If they have a big event, they can request a close off the street for that event.

You don't need to close down a city street to all of the citizens for this to occur for all of the people here who so desperately want it.

It can be a win-win, we can have it all.

Remember, elections are in two years for some of you, two years is not that long.

Many of the citizens of Clearwater will remember how you voted in this, and you will have to justify that to them when you come up for re-election.

Please take time to get an opinion from the court before you move forward.

Thank you for your time.

Have a good evening.

Thank you, Max Speaker.

S 67.

Hello.

I'm Kelly Shea.

I'm a Scientologist and Clearwater resident and a mom to five kids.

My husband and I own a local photography business, and I've lived and worked in Clearwater for most of my life.

My family and I moved here when I was five years old to be part of this community and to be close to Flag.

Growing up as a Scientologist in Clearwater in the 80s and 90s was not always pleasant.

The first friend I made when I moved here was a little girl who was my next door neighbor.

Then, when her mom found out that our family were Scientologists, she told her daughter we were never allowed to play again.

I was six years old.

As my sister and I got older, we would sometimes go door to door for school fundraisers.

Sometimes people would find out we were Scientologists and yell at us to get off of their property.

As a teenager, I remember being followed for several blocks and videotaped by a man who spoke at this podium just two weeks ago.

He verbally harassed me holding a video camera inches from my face and intimidating me for being a Scientologist.

As a young girl walking alone on the street, this was not just uncomfortable, it was scary.

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident, and it happened numerous times.

It is my understanding that that same man is running for a city council seat in the next election.

Despite these experiences, I still flourished in my life.

I have created a beautiful family who are all happy to call Clearwater their home.

But being a mother now, I'm horrified by the idea of my young daughter being followed down the street and harassed by a grown man simply because of his religion.

I would like to think that those days are over, but in reality they are not.

For my family, FLAG has always been the safest and friendliest place on earth.

I would like the new LRH Hall to be somewhere for us to gather with other members of our church and to participate in events safely.

Vacating Garden Avenue would create that opportunity of consecutive space and appropriate buffer to keep event attendees free from harassment and danger.

As I raise my kids who are also Scientologists, I hope they will be able to experience living in a more tolerant Clearwater that practices religious freedom and treats children with care and respect.

And I want them to be free to come and go from the LRH Hall safely and without concern.

I ask your support in the vacation of South Garden Avenue.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you, next speaker.

O 67.

Hi guys, uh Brooks Gibbs, and uh you know I've been the spokesperson for Save the Garden, and I really don't have anything to say at this speech.

I feel like I'm wasting my words.

But I just want to commit to you guys that we're still committed to action, whether it's litigation against the city for giving away a street that's rightly ours that we actually own, and a referendum that is uh the decision you're about to make.

You know, we have the right, according to our charter to reverse that to put it to the voice of the citizen.

Our goal has always been voter approval required for vacation in downtown, the right of way vacation and why, because it's not about religion.

People don't care about what other religions believe, but they do care about the property, the place that they live.

And uh it's always been about real estate.

So I just want to make that clear.

You know, we're all free to believe whatever we want, but um, we're also all welcome members of one community, and we need to keep the grid open.

We need to keep the buildings open.

Like I said last time, I believe it's immoral, it's wrong to uh possess property and keep people out.

Uh but anyways, I do uh would love to see the uh Cleveland Street Alliance come through with their commitment.

I think that'd be glorious.

I think that could be a lot of fun for everyone.

I hope they um activate their buildings.

They always promise right before they grab more land if you look at the history of the relationship between the city of Clearwater and the Church of uh Scientology.

Um but the streets, you know, that's uh that's a bridge too far for us.

So we will fight it.

We're committed to action, and I have nothing else to say.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

S 68.

Good evening, Mayor Rector and members of the council.

My name is Ryan Igo.

I'm a Clearwater resident, an Air Force veteran, and a retired federal firefighter.

Federal firefighters protect military bases and installations across the country and overseas.

I served on Army and Naval bases.

We do the same fire and rescue work as city departments just for the military.

For more than 30 years, I spent my career thinking about how people get hurt and how to prevent it.

But in those 30 years, my job changed, and it's the heart of why I'm here.

When I started our protocol at a mass casualty scene, a shooting or bombing was to stay back and wait outside the danger area until the police cleared it.

Firefighters don't train that way anymore.

As mass shootings rose, fire and medical crews now move in alongside police into what we call the warm zone, the area near the threat that isn't fully secured, so we can reach the wounded instead of letting them bleed while we wait.

Departments across the country, including here are making the same shift right now.

The point is this one of the biggest risks we plan for today is a vehicle entering a crowded area.

The solution is distance.

Keeping vehicles back from where people gather.

In my field, we call it standoff.

Now I moved to Clearwater with my wife and children, mother-in-law, because of Flag and LRH Hall.

After spending my career focused on protecting people in emergencies, safety is something I think about every day, especially when my family is involved.

Dela Reach Hall is built for 3,500 people.

There will be a park on one side and the building on the other.

And if there's a public street running right between them, that is a problem.

Permanent closure is the only solution that actually protects people.

Times Square in New York, Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House.

We're closed for safety reasons.

The safety standards, the precedent, and the reasoning behind those decisions are all publicly available.

I respectfully ask you to approve this request.

Permanently vacate the street.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

O 68.

Thank you for letting me speak.

We're a small, mighty, grassroots organization that worked hard to collect nine approximately 9,000 signatures of the citizens of Clearwater who are against the sale or giving away of uh city property, the downtown Clearwater.

And starting with uh Save the Garden and uh Garden Avenue.

I think their voices should be heard and not silenced.

I think the hall can still be erected without Garden Avenue, and we the citizens of Clearwater can still use Garden Avenue as some of us have used many, many times.

It shouldn't be divisive, it should be a win-win for everyone if you vote to keep it open and keep it as a thoroughfare for the city itself.

Once it's gone, it is gone forever.

I think we've heard you all speak of this as well.

We just want to protect what is really belongs to the citizens and not give it away.

And that's pretty much all I have to say.

I just please, please, please, please do not vacate the street that is open and used by the public on a daily basis.

Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

Next speaker.

S 69.

Hi, City Council members.

My name is Colby Rubino.

I am a Clearwater resident, a mother, a business owner, and a Scientologist.

My family and I moved from New Jersey to Clearwater six years ago because we wanted a better lifestyle and a safe place to raise our children.

Today, my children are 11 and 7 years old.

And one of the things I value most about Clearwater is the sense of community and opportunity to raise my family here.

Moving to Clearwater has allowed our family to grow in so many ways.

We have built a business, found a church community, made wonderful friends, and created a life that we are proud of.

That is one reason why LRH Hall is important to me.

I see it as a place where people can come together for celebrations, community events, and activities that will benefit the community for many years to come.

As a mother, I think about the safety of the thousands of people who will attend these events there, especially children.

I believe it is important that the hall provide the safest possible environment for everyone who visits.

A few weeks ago, while walking out of the Fort Harrison with my children, we were verbally attacked because of our beliefs.

These harassers were videoing me and my children.

The hardest part was having to explain that experience to my children.

When my husband and I work hard to teach them to respect others, regardless of their background or their beliefs.

That experience reminded me how important it is to create places where people can gather, feel welcome, and feel safe.

For that reason, I support the Garden Avenue Vacation Request and ask for your approval.

Thank you for your time and your consideration.

Thank you, ma'am.

Next speaker.

O 69.

Jessica.

And Jose.

Yes.

Good evening.

I'm here, Rector and City Council members.

My name's Jose Estigari.

I'm an attorney with the Becker firm.

And we have the pleasure of representing Nash Keys, which is a local piano bar and restaurant.

The owner of Mr.

Tello is to my right.

I'm here on his behalf, and what I'm requesting is not necessarily anything unusual, but I am asking that there possibly be a continuance because we are in the process of filing a declaratory action.

Because really the issue that we see is who is the rightful owner of this piece of property.

That's really the issue that we're trying to flesh out is who is the owner of this property.

And it benefits everyone, I think, to know who is the owner.

I know there's uh there's an attorney general opinion.

I've read it.

I think we've all seen it, we've all analyzed it, but that's not a judicial determination.

That's not binding.

Uh and so I think by allowing a continuance so that there could be a judicial determination as to who is the owner of the land, that benefits everybody.

It benefits the applicant because if they're found to be the owner, then they have clean, clear title.

If if it's found that the city has that through statutory uh dedication, then of course they can still proceed.

They being the applicant, of course, and there would have to be fair market value, which would benefit the city.

So again, I will now defer to Mr.

Tello, who is the owner of Nash Keys, as he wants to address you all as well.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Tony Tell.

I'm the owner of Nash Keys.

And uh just like everyone else who spoke here, Scientology, non-scientology, Christian, Jewish, all of us.

We're all family members.

We're all have kids, want the best for this community.

We sit here talking about discrimination and all the all these things that we want a safety for a thing.

I'm I'm a Mexican American, first generation.

I've seen my uncle hide in a freezer when I was a kid because policemen's taking them out.

We talk about discrimination.

I've I've experienced it.

I've cried in my mom's arm not knowing he was going and my uncle were going.

That's discrimination I experienced today.

I picked up relatives of relatives from what seems to be concentration camps.

I I've done that.

I've lived ex I've lived discrimination.

I've sat here on downtown streets telling people when Lucky Anchor was open, people that tell me to go back to my country.

I'm a citizen, born and raised, love this country, family members that bled for this country, people that still support this country.

My dad told me that the American dream was real, that these people were meant to represent us.

And I believe it with all my heart.

That I to see this and to talk about discrimination, where people behind me with the cameras that I've spoken here before saying that they're harassing my my customers, the gentleman's right behind me.

That's discrimination.

Uh weaponizing the code enforcement thing, uh Force Department, which code enforcement is here, they're sitting in support.

That's discrimination.

I I I don't like when people use double speak to pander and represent themselves as a population that's underrepresented or that they fear for their lives.

Where I sit here with two daughters that I have got in death threats, that have been told anonymous complaints left and right that I shouldn't do business downtown.

You know this.

We've heard it.

I've had customers of mine harassed, which I believe because it's their color of their skin, saying people who sit here today with us that if they weren't doing anything wrong, they have nothing to worry about.

My friends, my citizens, that is discrimination.

I I don't understand the double speak.

I I and it's constant.

We had this street for sale for over a hundred uh a million dollars.

We I sat here and told it was physically responsible to sell it for a million dollars.

I've people sat on this board and said that was a smart decision.

I stand here on a constitutionalist, and I believe that it should be sold for fair market price.

And now it's not being sold for fair market price, so I led to the assumption that it is not the law that we look to follow, but an organization that is smaller than the mass majority of the people that you're here to represent.

I'm ashamed.

I'm ashamed of what this become.

I am happy for the Americans to sit on the board that fight the good fight and understand what we're fighting for.

But I refuse to hear pandering of discrimination where we are trying to save the garden for the African American community.

I stand here as a gentleman who's faced discrimination currently and in the past.

What are we doing?

But I I just that's something I just don't understand.

The city belongs to the people.

Just give it to the people.

If if they have this many people sent here to represent them, let it go to a vote.

Let the vote stand, let the people be heard.

You want to know discrimination, stopping public record, stopping public people from coming in and represent by coming here in busloads and wheeling them in.

This is fascism.

This is limiting the voice of the people by taking away citizens to be heard.

Now allowing an organization to bust people in to not be able to speak.

What are we doing?

I stand here because I don't want to fight you guys of the city.

I just want it to be back.

One of the few examples of a someone believing this town and coming here and making a difference.

And I try every day to do that.

And I just wanted you guys to hear that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Technically, that was two speakers, two individuals at the podium, so I'm going to uh call the next two speakers for the other side.

S 70.

Hello, Mr.

Mayor, members of the council.

My name is Mark Costantino.

I am a Scientologist, a proud veteran of the United States Air Force, a veteran NYPD sergeant, and a recipient of the American Legion Commendation of Valor.

Throughout my career, whether serving in the military or in law enforcement, my responsibility was always the same.

Protecting people.

That means our four children, their families, our grandchildren, and my mother, and there's now another grandchild on the way.

The reason is simple.

I wanted them to be close to Flag, and I wanted my family to live in a community where they could be safe, freely practice their religion, and enjoy the benefits of clear water.

As a father and grandfather, those things matter to me more today than ever before.

Over the years, my work taught me an important lesson.

When obvious concerns are ignored, tragedies often follow.

The safest communities are not the ones that react after something happens.

They are the ones that take practical steps to prevent problems before they occur.

As a patrol sergeant in the MYPD, it would have been unthinkable not to have police officers posted at any synagogue, church, or mosque during church events or times of worship with special attention from patrol units.

It is not sane that people would commit violent attacks on peaceful religious gatherings, but it is a reality I have had to face.

When I look at the plans for the El Ron Hubbard Hall and the Garden Avenue vacation request, I see a practical safety measure.

I see a necessity to create a buffer between large numbers of civilians, vehicular traffic, and the possibility of emotionally disturbed people.

To me, that isn't optional.

It's vital.

And it's just common sense.

As someone who spent a lifetime protecting people and thinking about public safety, I ask you to do the right thing and approve the vacation of Garden Avenue.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

S 71.

Yes, God.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Angie Cologne.

I'm a Clearwater resident, a mother of three children.

I own two small businesses in Clearwater, and I'm a Scientologist.

My family moved here from South Africa when I was 10 years old because of Flag.

Clearwater has been my home ever since.

This is where I grew up, where I built my life, and where my husband and I are now raising our own children.

I have a community around me that values the same things I do.

And that works to improve our environment.

In the last year, I probably attended more than 70 events, church and community events at FLAG.

We come to these events because it's fun, it's uplifting, and it's an uplifting environment that feels completely safe for the whole family.

I've looked forward to LRH Hall for a very long time and to seeing that vision become a reality.

As a parent, one of my main concerns is safety.

When I was four years old in South Africa, I was waiting at a stoplight with my nanny.

And I decided that I knew better in terms of when across the street.

And the next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital.

As an adult, my mother later told me that I had to have surgery to stop bleeding in my brain.

And that in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, I was about to be pronounced dead three times, but I kept waking up.

I can't imagine what my mom had to go through during that experience.

So as a result, I'm extra vigilant about paying attention to things like entrances, exits, pedestrian traffic, and how people move safely through an area.

This is why I support the Garden Avenue Vacation.

And now I am raising my own family here.

Thank you for allowing me the time to share why I support this project.

Next speaker.

Hopefully, nobody up here does, but uh more people nationally uh consider me a national treasure.

So I'm happy about that.

Um I'm surprised to hear Garden Street compared to Times Square and the White House mall, whatever the plaza there is called.

Uh come on, it's Garden Street.

It's going to be a street that they want to block off between the El Ron Hubbard Hall and a park.

How many people do you really think are going to show up in that park?

How many parks does Scientology have downtown now?

There are several.

It's a simple thing to do.

Um I hope that you have stadium seating prepared for the new city hall, by the way.

Um I remember uh in earlier meeting, people were saying that I I donated two million dollars to the El Ron Hubbard Hall.

Um yeah, a lot of people have.

A lot of people have been donating to make this hall happen.

Same way with the Super Power Building, the flag building.

That they broke ground for that in 1998.

They opened it up in 2013.

During all those years where it was sitting there half finished, they were raising more and more millions of dollars.

So whatever time schedule they have for the opening of the Ron Hubbard Hall, I'm sure that's going to be backed up as more donations are demanded.

Again, they can just block off the street and allow ambulances and fire trucks and citizens to use that street when there's not an event going on.

And I'd like to give credit to all the folks from the Save the Garden project who really did a remarkable job gathering signatures.

I'm sorry, some of them were tossed out on technicalities.

But they showed that there are a lot of people here in the city who are concerned about Scientology's actions downtown.

And they're not called to fill up the room.

They just let people know when you knock on their doors how they feel.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

S 72.

Good evening.

Mayor, council, city management, and fellow citizens.

I'm Keenan Kinsel, and I'm a Scientologist.

My wife and I came to Clearwater from Chicago for our honeymoon over 20 years ago.

Instead of returning, we stayed.

We raised our kids here, and now we got lots of grandkids, so we're not leaving.

We also stayed to be closer to our church's spiritual home.

Much of our extended family has moved here as well.

And uh during COVID, we brought our mother to a Clearwater nursing home so she could be close to family before she passed.

My father, he was a Navy top gun pilot, and he was retired in Clearwater to be closer to us too.

I have a degree in aeronautics, and I'm a licensed pilot.

I'm also a Clearwater businessman.

My brother and I employ around 20 local citizens, and we've brought many of our clients downtown.

I'm a member of Amplified Chamber of Commerce.

I'm a co-founder of the downtown Cleveland Street Merchants Association, try and say that fast.

I also served on the downtown development board for almost five years.

And I've always been an active local volunteer.

In fact, a few years ago, I helped establish a nonprofit called Going Home Clearwater that assisted more than 100 local homeless individuals in downtown Clearwater get into homes.

And like most people, safety for our friends and children is a top priority.

Our new auditorium will host hundreds of events every single year.

It will be welcome tens of thousands of people from all over the world, and many of them are going to be non-parishioners.

We need the Garden Avenue Street Vacation to help ensure the safety of everybody visiting the hall.

Thank you for your time, and I respectfully ask for your support of the Garden Avenue Vacation.

Next speaker.

Hello.

You may have gotten an email from me yesterday, and I don't want you to think that I send it from a hundred years in the future.

It was just that I accidentally wrote 3026 instead of 2026.

So I just came today to say that Scientology can build their hall, and we can have our street.

It's a win-win.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Seven uh S 73, sorry.

My name is Marina Oman.

I moved to Clearwater six years ago and have been given here ever since.

Me as my husband are also active volunteers in our Clearwater neighborhood.

And I have seen each of you in my front yard on one event or another.

My home was built 100 years ago for the first mayor of Clearwater.

So we're literally connected to Clearwater history and administration.

I've been a Scientologist for 26 years.

I moved to Clearwater because Flag is here.

I'm originally from Russia, and I left my country because of suppression of human freedoms, war, and specifically the suppression of my religion.

Here I have an opportunity to see my friends who like me left my country out of fear.

Fear of being pulled into a war or being in prison simply for expressing or even posting disagreements with government policy.

This includes being part of religions that it's not approved by government.

My friends are now spread across the planet in Europe, Asia, and even Africa.

But FLAG is a place where we all can still meet.

That is exactly why this project matters so much to me personally.

LRH Hall is not just a building.

It's a gathering place for people like my friends and me, people who lost everything in order to be free.

For us, this represents something that we could not have back home, a permanent, protected, visible symbol that our religion is welcome here.

My husband and I have been contributors to our church here and to LRH, Elrond Hubbard Hall for quite some time now.

Our family voted for each of you a couple of years ago.

Religion's freedom is important to me, and I'm profoundly grateful to this country for the opportunity to be here.

I'm thankful for the founding of this nation 250 years ago and for making it possible for people like me to live a better life.

Thank you to all Americans for standing for our freedom to this day.

I sincerely hope you will continue to do so.

And I ask you to vote yes for the vacation of Garden Avenue so that Elrond Habbard Hall can be built as a safe place for Scientologists from around the world and for the local Clearwater community.

Thank you for listening.

Ma'am.

Next speaker, please.

Good evening.

I'm Jill Cunnings.

I am not a Scientologist, I am a human being.

And I am here today because we are to talk about a street, Garden Avenue.

And today was evidence as we sat outside of the division of this city.

So I am asking that you rethink your votes to give away a street.

No one's opposed to the hall.

No one's opposed about Scientology.

We are safe.

We've always been safe.

I go downtown Clearwater at least monthly with my friends.

This is about a street.

It is not about anything else.

So I ask that you respect that.

And I also ask why you would not allow for the lawsuit that is filed against the city that the city then punted over to federal, and maybe I'm wrong on that, I don't know, by the ACLU.

Why won't you wait until that pans out?

Once if you decide to give our street away, it's gone.

There's no coming back.

So I respectfully ask you to please don't vacate what is public and what is ours.

And I think that's it, except for one other thing.

I'm a little confused as to conversations about opinions.

The law is not about opinions.

The attorney general's statements are opinions.

Our city attorney has mentioned opinions.

So I ask that you do so.

Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

Next speaker.

Hello, council members.

My name is Diana George.

I am a Scientologist and HR consultant, and I have lived in Clearwater for the past five years.

I moved here for the community.

I grew up on Long Island, and I remember that the parents on our block looked out for every child in the neighborhood.

Everyone knew each other, and if something happened, someone was always there to help.

I spent many years searching for that same community I remembered growing up.

And this search took me to 13 different states, including New Jersey, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, and California, just to name a few.

But unfortunately, I wasn't able to find what I was looking for.

One day I was working when I realized that I wanted to be able to help people better.

Working in HR means you talk to a lot of people, and I thought if I was near my spiritual headquarters flag, I could better myself and thereby better others.

Within two months, I moved to Clearwater.

Clearwater is the first place where I found that feeling of home again.

One example happened just before the most recent hurricane we faced.

I urgently needed my car repaired, and I brought it into a local shop.

I was surprised to find out that the mechanic recognized me from my morning walks in my neighborhood.

It turned out he was also my neighbor.

He made sure my car was ready before the storm and trusted me to come back later with payment.

That simple act of kindness meant a great deal to me.

Through disaster response efforts and volunteer work, I've had the opportunity to help others during difficult times.

Being able to support my neighbors when they need it most is one of the ways I give back to a city that has given so much to me.

A church's influence systems well beyond its walls.

And that's the same for the LRH Hall.

It will be a place that reflects the same spirit of neighbors helping neighbors that first made Clearwater feel like home to me.

Scientologists around the world have put in a lot of dedicated effort over the years to make this hall a reality.

I look forward to seeing more people experience a sense of connection that made me choose Clearwater as my home.

Thank you for listening to each of us.

I respectfully ask for your vote to vacate Garden Avenue.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thanks, Speaker.

Oh 73.

Hi, Master Sario.

First of all, thank you to all of you as you got my ammo before, and I appreciate the fact that you allowed us to come in and speak.

So thank you for that.

Um the couple things I want to bring up quickly before I even read this.

To all the people who've moved here from out of state to come here, welcome.

We're glad you're here for the city council.

Eventually you're gonna see this whole town owned by Scientology.

You know they're buying neighborhoods by at mass, they're buying hotels all over the city.

But anyway, then I got one other thing to say.

I was in line, I came down to get in line around 2:30.

I didn't stay, of course.

But I didn't see Mr.

Gami sitting over here in the front row in line like that, but he must have got a good seat.

But let's go to let's bring up the discrimination.

I heard that earlier.

I've heard people say that it's discrimination against a church.

Can a Clearwater citizen walk in to the Fort Harrison Hotel and make a reservation even and walk in there and get a room?

No.

Can they eat in a restaurant?

No.

I think that's called discrimination.

So tomorrow morning, I will be filing a let me see if I can bring this up here.

I want to make this public knowledge.

Um section 6.02 in our charter gives people the power to initiate a referendum to call the voter veto.

The charter says the voters of the city shall have the power to require reconsideration by the council of any adopted ordinance, and the council fails to repeal the ordinance, so considered to approve or reject in the city election.

We are putting a city on notice that tomorrow morning we will start a referendum process to put this ordinance on the ballot to let the voters decide.

The other thing on the record, tonight's council must vote no on the issue to vacate Garden Avenue for legal reasons, at very least because uh the applicant flag service org who owns a property on the west side of Garden Avenue should not have any say in the building process of the property they don't own.

You see, if the flag service organization and its representatives, Mr.

Potter were to be have have been given permission to negotiate the building deadlines, etc.

on behalf of the property that is owned by distinctly separate legal corporations, the Church of Scientology Religious Trust, who are the owners of the property on the east side of Garden Avenue, then the issue would likely be a major issue to the IRS to handle his very significant, having religious tax exempt status with the IRS over its 130 independent organizations, which was a premise of these organizations were separately functioning organizations in all areas.

You know, that's just a lot of words.

Maybe someday you'll look at them, but we are uh we the citizens will stand tall.

Um it's amazing how many people that I saw online, they don't have voter cards, they don't vote in, they don't live in some of them, don't live in Clearwater, but yet there's a lot of them here.

But they have the right to be here.

We let people from all over come, and that's welcome.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Uh 75.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Grace Long.

I am 19 years old, a third generation Scientologist, and Clearwater has been home my entire life.

Some of my earliest memories are of coming downtown with my mom and brother, volunteering, attending community events, and being involved in the church.

Clearwater is where I grew up, where I went to school, and where I started building my life as a young adult.

I recently earned my real estate license, and I have also worked as a nanny for several years.

I am proud to call Clearwater home.

When I was 17, my mom passed away.

Losing my mom at such a young age changed my life overnight.

The feeling is indescribable.

Suddenly I was figuring out how to navigate adulthood without the person who had always been there for me.

During that time, I was surrounded by my fellow church members who cared about me, supported me, and helped me keep moving forward.

Without the church, I wouldn't be here today.

That is why I felt it was important to come here tonight.

As someone who grew up in this community and in this religion, it has shaped me into who I am today.

I feel a responsibility to share my story with you.

When I think about the LRH Hall, I do not just think about a building.

I think about what it represents.

It is a place that honors our founder and the history of a religion that has been part of my family's life for three generations.

It is also a place where people from around the world can come together for events, celebrations, and shared experiences.

Some of my most cherished memories are volunteering and attending events with her.

I feel incredibly grateful to be so young and have the opportunity to share my voice on something that means so much to me.

If my mom were here today, I know she would be more than proud to see me sharing my story and representing our religion.

I ask that the council votes yes for the vacation of Garden Avenue.

Thank you for listening to me today and considering this matter at hand.

Thank you.

Thanks, Speaker.

O 74.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

My name is Barbara Sorry Love, and I am the president of Clearwater African American Foundation.

Our mission is to preserve and memorialize African American spaces, places, landmarks, streets.

Garden Avenue is one of the three African American communities that was founded here in Clearwater before Scientology came.

I was born and raised in Clearwater before Scientology came.

I have lived through Jim Crow, redlining, erased cemeteries, and schools here in Clearwater.

Legal does not always equal to ethical.

I am asking for the mayor, city council to vote no on the referendum.

Save the garden.

Thank you, next speaker.

S 76.

Distinguished members of the council, my name is Jordan Bull.

My family and I moved here 10 years ago to raise our three boys.

I live and own a business downtown, and I'm a Scientologist.

I want to share a quick story I think is relevant to tonight's discussion.

I grew up in a small rural town, the type of town with more cows than people.

For years, there was a highway planned to connect us with the larger cities just south of us.

There would be jobs, a mall, movie theaters, real progress for my area.

Then it stopped dead in the middle, literally.

They built the on-ramp, they built the rest of the highway a couple exits down, and they left the middle empty.

Why?

Because someone raised concerns that a bog turtle, a tiny protected turtle, might live in that path.

So we looked and we waited and we looked some more.

Ten years went by.

Zero.

And I get it.

Looking back, if an endangered species might live there, you owe it a careful look.

That due diligence mattered.

In the same way this proposal has been examined from every single angle.

Questions have been asked, reviews were conducted, the facts were established.

And at the end of the day, this is nothing more than a routine street vacation.

A short, low-use block in the downtown area.

This is the kind of thing the city cancel council handles all the time.

And here's why it matters to me.

Flag is my spiritual home.

LRH Hall is a place where my community and like-minded communities can come together.

We stand with others behind causes we believe in, and we celebrate what's good in life.

And I don't just show talk about this city.

I actually show up for it.

After Hurricanes Helene and Dalton, I spent months on the Barrier Islands helping rebuild those communities, and I've reinvented my entire company to service just those communities and have been hired by the Florida Department of Emergency Management as one of the FEMA Elevate contractors.

This is the future that I want for downtown.

Finished projects, open doors, a district that's alive again, instead of one being held up year over year over something that's not really there.

We've spent a year now boxing with shadows, and just like the turtle, there's nothing there, and there's nothing to fear.

So I respectfully ask for the approval of the Garden Avenue Vacation and let this city keep moving forward.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Next speaker.

Mr.

Mayor, City Council.

Um I don't want to take your time, but please don't give or sell any more of Clearwater away.

I moved here five years ago, but have been visiting since 1968.

It's always been a very favorite spot of mine, especially the beach.

This piece of land is like the gateway to the beach.

The rest of the Scientology buildings are imposing and off-putting.

They have this piece of property.

We don't know what they're going to put on that piece of property.

And it could be just as imposing as their buildings.

Thank you, ma'am.

Next speaker.

S 77.

Good evening.

Mayor, City Council, and members of our community.

My name is Monica Gonzalez, but my friends call me Momo.

I came to you to speak this evening about the vacation of Guardian Avenue.

I'm a third generation Scientologist who has lived in Clearwater since 2022.

I was at the city council two weeks ago, and I heard a lot of people talk about why the hall was important to them.

I have a perspective I wanted to share that might be a little bit different.

Ten years ago, I was visiting a friend in Mexico who lived in a more affluent part of the city.

When more than a dozen armed men in mass forced their way into the house, we were tied up, blindfolded, and held at gunpoint for many hours with promises that our lives would be ending soon.

I will spare you the details of that experience, but I truly believed that it could be the end.

Obviously, my life did not end at that point because I'm here speaking with you today.

But I did reevaluate all of those things after that experience, and it definitely changed my view on the subject of security.

After that, I turned to the one place that has always been the safest place I know, my church.

Even stronger and more determined to succeed.

I pay a lot of attention to my environment and my guard is always up.

But there is still one place on this planet where I'm completely free to relax and just enjoy the company of good people without any worry, and that is Flag.

Saintologists know Flag as a friendliest place on earth, and that is true to me.

When the new LRH Hall opens, I want it to be somewhere I can completely let go of any concern about who or what is around me.

Let me be clear.

But I am sure you understand why the vacation of Guardi Avenue is so important to me personally.

And that is why I ask you to approve this measure, which has racios.

Thank you, Mayor.

Next speaker.

Actually, that is a 60 minutes.

Okay.

Council.

Fair enough for stand or I mean, Mayor, we only have one gentleman left on one side, so maybe just take one from each side and be finished.

One more from each side.

Okay.

Take one more from each side.

All right.

O 76.

Hello, council.

My name is Eric, Eric Mignola Cruz.

I'm concerned about the unity that is in prospect between Scientologists and citizens of Clearwater.

I'm going to start with a personal answer though.

Five years ago, I left the Church of Scientology, and ever since I have been harassed, condemned, and bullied for my support against Scientology.

Now my concern now is if since they pride the Scientologists themselves between unity between us residents of Clearwater and themselves, I doubt that there would be such unity in place.

Now my main concern is with an individual that has stated that they believe that Clearwater is this home of Scientology.

I say it's already their home.

However, this unity is shattered because they want to take over Clearwater.

In order to take over Clearwater, they have to take my home.

Thank you, sir.

S 78.

Good evening, Mayor.

City Council members.

My name is Michael Pisquino, and I'm the owner and master electrician of Red Royal Electric, located right here in downtown Clearwater.

I raised my daughter here.

I've owned and operated a successful business here for more than 20 years.

Red Royal Electric employs more than 20 electricians and administrative staff and has served more than 11,000 customers throughout the Greater Tampa Bay Area, many of whom reside in Clearwater.

Just last month during Economic Development Week, I was honored to receive a certificate of recognition from you, Mayor, and the economic development team.

This was in recognition of my company's outstanding commitment, dedication, and investment in the city of Clearwater.

Thank you for that recognition.

I have been a Scientologist for more than 25 years and moved to Clearwater to be close to the Flag Service organization.

Flag is my spiritual home.

I have personally contributed to the Al Run Hubbard Hall project.

The hall will provide a place where I can come together with my fellow parishioners and participate in international events that will be broadcast around the world.

It will also inspire more people to visit Clearwater and experience our city.

Thank you.

Okay.

That concludes our public comment.

We stayed a little bit past the 60 minutes, but we'll conclude that now.

So now it's time for council discussion.

So anybody want to go first?

Mayor, do you mind just taking a minute and addressing the long list of people on the other side that were probably hoping to speak and not being able to tonight and understandably so, but I think we probably should acknowledge it.

Sorry.

Apparently, apparently I'll do it.

Well we have we have names of those who signed up, I guess.

Um council, what I can do is ask staff to collect the cards, and I can share that after the meeting with council.

Okay.

Yeah, thank you.

And thank you.

If you didn't make it tonight, you know, part of the reason.

The other thing is thank you to those here in this room for being very courteous to all those who spoke and and uh letting them get up here quickly.

And sorry that those who didn't get a chance to speak didn't get a chance, but we definitely will uh circulate uh your presence tonight, your interest in speaking.

So okay, with that, uh I guess we'll start on this here.

You want me to start again?

You want to?

Yeah, yeah, whatever you want.

Our previous city attorney asserted that the city of Clearwater Hill fees simple title to Garden Avenue.

I always questioned that position, and now it has been contradicted by an opinion issued by the Florida Attorney General.

When the property abutting this segment of Garden Avenue were originally planted in 1922, a public right-away was dedicated over privately owned land for a street purposes, with title remaining in the dedicator and its sec and his successors in title.

This was called common law dedication.

The underlying property remains vested in the abutting landowners who possess the legal right to petition the city for vacation of that right-away.

Statutory dedication came later when the legislature enacted Florida Statute 95.361.

The statute does not apply retroactively.

So the question is do we grant a vacation of right away for this segment today?

In my judgment, given the extensive precedent for similar vacations, the minimal traffic impact accorded according to recent traffic studies, the absence of any identified public necessity for this segment, the safety and security concerns, and the property rights involved.

Again, I find no compelling basis for denying this request.

Thank you.

Didn't say any more.

Apparently not.

Okay.

First, I want to thank our amazing leadership team once again for executing professional, safe, and obviously balanced evening.

I know some people are going to be upset, so I don't want to leave them out, but uh including our wonderful uh Clearwater Police Department.

Thank you for for what you want you awesome.

Okay, no more of that.

We already forget.

All right, as well as the Clearwater Police Department.

Um, I I think it's important to thank our staff, mayor.

That's the only reason I'm gonna I'll go on.

Uh as well as um our our neighborhoods and communication team that's been running around crazy searching for bathroom passes and everything else.

So Ali and your team um absolutely appreciated.

Uh wow, we we live in a very divided country, don't we?

Um and they they divide us by politics, if you're uh R or a D.

They divide us by our faith, divide us by our sexual preferences, divide us by if you're right-handed or left-handed, uh, in any way possible.

Um, and that's a slippery slope, uh, as we've seen in our country and in the world.

Um evidenced by Nancy Pelosi's husband attacked by a hammer, absolutely horrible.

Charlie Kirk assassinated on national TV, disgusting.

Our president of the United States had his life attempted to be taken more than two times, which led to one of the most iconic images, maybe in American history, our president with blood on his ear streaming down his face, and the words fight, fight, fight.

We all remember that.

When is a community or a country do we unite, unite, unite?

And we've heard that several times, even with Father Bob Swick.

He used the word unite three times in his beautiful prayer.

We've heard it in here tonight several times.

Unite.

When do we stop judging each other or highlighting our differences?

And when do we start building on our commonalities, our shared visions, our shared goals?

A united community or country, but let's talk about just our community.

It starts in our community, right?

A united community is a healthier, safer community, not just for this generation, but for the following generation.

I hope we get there.

I hope we become a city that can shift from division to the city of hope and opportunity.

I truly hope we can we can get there, and I think we can, but there's a lot of work to be done, and it's not done by continuing to fan flames of division.

Uh, but to find our our common common ingredients and build upon those together, even if it's small things.

Uh we've seen a split room tonight.

Where we are aligned, um, we should comment on because there are commonalities.

There's emotions on both sides, but there's tax paying, hard-working citizens that are passionate about our Clearwater community, they love their neighborhoods, they're business owners, they raise their families, their children, they go to schools.

Those are the commonalities we build on and and we highlight.

This dais is no different.

You may hear us disagree tonight, plate place votes on opposite sides of the spectrum, uh, but don't be fooled.

We we will leave here and all love each other.

We will leave here and still respect each other because we respect each other's differences, we respect each other's opinions, uh, and we don't take those things personal.

Um we also at the very beginning of this path of vacation, all five of us were united in that we gave the city manager direction to negotiate what a vacation deal could look like.

Now, granted, we were all over the map on what we wanted.

I won't say we were that that was probably a heck of a job, like hurting cats to figure out what that looked like, but we were united.

We're also united in that we absolutely feel blessed and honored to sit in this role and serve the citizens of Clearwater and our Clearwater City.

I know that we are aligned in that.

We are also aligned in the fact that you will not hear one of us say that this vote that we place tonight has anything to do for or against the Church of Scientology.

This vote is simply on the merits of vacating a right-of-way.

That's what the vote is about.

So let's let's keep our mind on that.

Just briefly, and I know we went through this before for gosh sakes.

This is our eighth time together having this discussion on this vacation, the fourth time we sat on council to place a vote.

Um, so hopefully we get to an end.

Uh, and I'm sure everyone's waiting for me to get to the end as well.

But I I waited for an hour through all those comments, so uh too bad.

What where we veer off differently in this decision making process has been the evaluation and interpretation of traffic studies and the weight or gravity that we give to an existing comprehensive plan.

Maybe some on the definition of future current mobility and transportation downtown.

Though those that's where we we vary, and our votes will differ, but we are aligned in so many ways.

For me, just to share a little bit about how I came to a decision of supporting this vacation, um, was I didn't start with a yes or a no.

I followed the data, I followed the science, I followed the history of decisions being made in our city, and that's where it brought me to support this vacation.

Uh, first and foremost, does this vacation negatively affect emergency services?

No.

Does this vacation negatively affect emergency response times?

No.

Does this vacation negatively affect evacuation routes in case of a storm or a hurricane?

No.

Does this vacation negatively affect our new beautifully soon to be constructed PSTA multimodal transportation facility?

No, it does not.

Does this vacation negatively affect any current or future bus or public transportation routes?

No.

The traffic studies, two most recent traffic studies show that in peak hours on non-church of Scientology events, eight cars in the hour, and 68% of all traffic has been declared traffic from church of Scientology parishioners or workers.

68%.

Um and how that should be figured in.

On the grand scheme, whether the city owns the property or the church of Scientology owns a property, we we've been on both sides.

When there was a 1.375 million dollar price tag, assuming the city owned it, the vote was three to two.

Not Nostradamus, but I think the vote's probably gonna go three to two.

Just saying.

All 28 were followed, not one of them was pushed to the courts.

The Attorney General's office has been requested by 16 different municipalities directly related to the vacation of right-away.

Every single one of those 16 opinions was followed.

Not one municipality challenged his opinion.

I have no interest in that.

We've come to this point in the decision making process for me where I don't need to go through the data and tell you why.

You you've heard it, we've all read it, respect the opinion.

The last thing I would talk about is the vacation or right-aways, right?

The comp plan is against the vacating any roadway.

We all know that is true.

The comp plan was against the vacation of Jones Road.

It was vacated with no conditions.

The comp plan is against the vacating of what used to be connected, Drew Street in Cleveland, wrapped around the bottom of Coachman Park.

Extremely busy road.

Vacated.

I'm supporting it.

Our sound is beautiful, the park is beautiful.

Vacated against the comp plan.

There used to be an alleyway behind Peace Memorial church.

Vacated for safety reasons, no conditions attached.

Not the same and not vacated, but Cleveland Street is against the comp plan.

It's been closed for six years.

Still against the comp plan, but still had the flexibility of council to approve the closing of it and still close today.

With all those things said, and I'm long-winded, I thank you for listening.

I support the vacation of this.

I think it's time that we find a way in our city to unite to accept each other for our differences, to find beauty in those, to build on our commonalities and our shared interest, and make Clearwater the most unbelievable beauty beautiful city that we all know it can be.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

No, I thanked him for it.

I'm just giving you a hard time.

This is this is uh the fourth time that we've been up here, and I've been very clear from the very beginning of where I've stood on this issue, and it doesn't change at all today.

And uh something that I will note that is um disappointing is that I would agree it is showing that there is a division uh within the city because some of the speakers that have stood up here not only today but um in the first reading have said or mentioned the public or clearwater citizens, and you know, we have a wonderful um document that I continually reference, and I think that that's good.

We as elected officials should, and that is the constitution.

And it allows all people, no matter their race, religion, or creed, to call this wonderful place home.

And we've heard some wonderful testimonies to um this nation that that is just a wonderful melting pot.

So I think that everybody needs to realize that yes, we are the public, yes, we are clearwater citizens, and that includes Scientologists as well.

So when we say from an outproposing opinion that the public deserves XYZ and the Clearwater citizens to preserve XYZ and the taxpayers deserve XYZ, I mean that is the discrimination right there.

You're omitting the fact that Scientologists are the same citizens.

So keeping it short and simple, this is a matter of safety in my issue.

Said it multiple times, um, and as a first responder currently still serving, I'll stay in that lane.

Um it was noted up here by former federal federal uh firefighters and other first responders from New York police department that um you know weapons are one of the greatest dangers that we have because even though our wonderful law enforcement has you know firearms and such things when you have somebody that's dangerous and committed to doing harm in a dump truck, a bus, or a pickup truck, bullets aren't stopping that as easy.

So as I've said before, and as I'll stay in the same lane, this comes down to safety for me, and I believe that that has been proven as to the need for this public vacation.

Um, I also agree, you know, we have um though it's non-binding.

The attorney general has spoken to this, and thank you, Mr.

Manino, for the data points.

I'm not gonna follow that up, but that um solely based on safety is why I will be supporting this vacation tonight.

Okay, thank you.

Uh council member Tishadem.

Well, first of all, I want to start off with um thanking leadership and my fellow council members and the staff for really being uh flexible tonight.

I know that I've communicated several times my concern about the safety of everybody tonight as well as equal access by everyone.

And so the um dedication and flexibility that I saw tonight was awesome.

So I want to thank every single person that um was responsible for that and was um participated in that.

So thank you.

Now, the last time I spoke, I really thought it was important that I explained my thought process and I really went through it uh quite methodically.

Tonight, however, I'm gonna pivot a little bit.

So after all these months, you know, talking about the same thing, and throughout all these discussions, we have heard several statements, repeated often enough that they risk becoming accepted as complete truths.

And the problem is that many of them omit critical context.

A statement can be technically true and still be misleading when it omits the context necessary to understand it.

For example, we have heard repeatedly that the city has approved numerous vacations, hundreds, requests over the years, and rarely, if ever, we denied one.

That is true, but that's not the complete picture.

Not all vacations are created equal.

You can't compare a public street to an easement, an alley, a dead end, a remnant strip of land.

They are fundamentally different from vacating an active public street in downtown.

Some of the vacations that were referenced tonight have a commonality.

They were vacated to increase public access, not restrict it.

I believe it is important to understand how many of those public streets were actually vacated, how many of them were in downtown, how many are comparable?

And then you'll find the real answer, the real picture.

This is the first.

I can tell you firsthand that the circumstances could not have been more different.

Cleveland Street was a temporary response to a once in a century pandemic.

Restaurants and businesses were fighting to survive with occupancy restrictions of 25%.

Closing that street allowed to increase the occupancy, and then we survived.

But out of that, something truly special happened.

All the business owners came out, all the employees came out, and all the neighbors.

And we united and became strong and survived.

Even today, those same businesses are still reliant on that extra seating because the weekdays are still too slow.

So they need those extra streets, uh extra seating to be viable.

But most importantly, Cleveland Street was never vacated.

It remains public property, it remains open to the public, emergency access is maintained, and guess what?

If we actually achieve what we want, we can simply open it again.

We just lift those little pillars.

Garden Avenue is fundamentally different.

This is not a temporary operational adjustment designed to increase public activity or support public safety businesses.

It is the permanent privatization of a public roadway.

Once vacated, it's gone.

Public access is permanently reduced, and control transfers from the public public realm to the private.

Give me a second.

I'm getting dry.

But the similarities begin and end with one thing.

They just involve a street.

One closure increased public access and activity, the other one reduces it.

That's the distinction.

It has also been suggested that there's a component of prejudice before the additional behind the additional scrutiny in this request.

I personally disagree.

But I understand that I may think or see things a bit differently.

Where I may differ is how I define equal treatment.

Equal treatment to me does not mean identical treatment.

Not every request deserves the same level of assessment because not every request carries the same consequences.

For example, a patient shows up in the ER, one has a fractured chemical, and the other one has chest pain.

They are expected to have both professional and caring evaluation and care.

But no one expects the same level of attention, assessment, or evaluations or treatments.

Different facts warrant different scrutiny.

That's not prejudice.

That's due diligence.

The debate is always being said that always about who's asking.

No, it's not.

It's about what is being requested, at least for me.

In fact, and I'm be honest with you.

So let's say instead of the hall, it was um, I don't know, a four-story Chanel flagship store with a rooftop champagne bar, and the whole bottom floor was designer shoes, and they handed out, I don't know, vanilla lattes all day long.

I would be in heaven.

That would be a dream for me.

But I'd still want that street to remain open.

Because my position does not change based based on the applicant.

It's based on access.

I've also heard arguments that public access should be restricted because someone somewhere might pose a threat.

I understand the importance of safety.

I've experienced security concerns in my own building as well.

But that but by that standard, virtually every institution, business, house of worship, government building like this library, public venue like Baycare, would ask for a vacation to have a perimeter of safety.

And if we're being honest, I would love to have my own perimeter around my building.

I don't know, a lazy river with I don't know, quarterly floating patrols.

But that doesn't mean I'm gonna ask the public to give up access so that I can have what I want.

Safety is important, I understand.

But you know what?

Local government is routinely asked to balance competing interests.

We balance safety with accessibility, safety with mobility, safety with economic vitality.

So where do we draw the line between private needs for security and the public's need for access to their own downtown?

We've also heard repeatedly that the applicant is the city's largest taxpayer.

That statement is true, but it doesn't show the whole picture.

It does not reflect the complete economic picture associated with both taxable and non-tax exempt properties.

But to me that's irrelevant.

I have it has never crossed my mind when deciding a vacation or any decision what the rank of that applicant is in terms of role call, sorry, in terms of tax role.

Their ranking has never been something that I've considered.

Now, before I close, I do want to note two distinctions that I think deserve a greater consideration.

The first being that we know that the Pinellas County has just released an RFN involving nearly 25 acres of publicly owned land in downtown Clearwater.

Now, a county commissioner has just gone publicly expressing his concerns that future proposals could be affected by this decision tonight.

And he's asking, and many people are, to postpone until we actually get the response from all those RFNs to see if those needs contradict with tonight's decision.

Finally, the last distinction that has received far less attention than I'm surprised that it deserves, is that this request asks us to move in a direction that is inconsistent with many of the policies we have spent years charting.

In fact, I would agree, I would argue, it is not merely inconsistent with that roadmap.

It moves us in the actual opposite direction.

So when viewed in full context, in my mind, this is not just about a road.

It's a discussion about whether we trust the vision we adopted for our downtown and the policies we created to get us there.

These policies were intended to serve as our roadmap, particularly when the decisions before us become difficult.

Because when they're difficult, it's very easy, and we're tempted to draw easy comparisons, even when the distinctions matter more.

Good public policy, I believe, is rarely found in easy comparisons.

It is found in understanding the important distinctions.

So I will not be supporting this vacation.

Thank you.

Well, I will go now, and I promise I'm not uh to not be too long because I think it's pretty clear everybody settled, and this is to um the point was made.

We've voted on this several times, and I think the outcomes are already uh obvious, so I'll try to keep it fairly short and um and I'll uh first try not to repeat or dance around what uh councilman Tayshina said, but she uh she made some points that I would have made, and I appreciate her doing that.

For me, the first question, and I raised this on Monday is uh whether or not the public, by the public, I mean the citizens of Clearwater, the taxpayers, or the abutting property owner.

In this case, as was pointed out by one of the speakers tonight, it's not one organization, it's two different entities.

Either the Church of Scientology Flag Organization Incorporated, which is a Florida nonprofit organization, which owns the uh West Side of Garden Avenue, or the Church of Scientology Religious Trust, which is a California nonprofit, which owns the east side of Garden Avenue.

Uh and the question has been whether who owns the land underneath Garden Avenue.

And we all know that uh about a year ago, our city attorney gave the city and the citizens an opinion that uh in his opinion in a 31-page memorandum was that the citizens, the public, the taxpayers owned the land under the street.

Uh after that, um council member Albrighton sought an opinion from the attorney general on answering those two questions who owns the street and can we request value for that.

Uh at the time we had a proposal first where I forget the dollar amount, but it's somewhere between a million and two million dollars that we were going to uh to get in as a transaction with the Church of Scientology for vacating the street.

Um as Councilmember Tech Shayna pointed out earlier, um Garden Avenue is a lot different from all the other streets or alleys or things that we have closed.

One, it's an active street.

We can argue about how active it is, but it's active.

There are cars using it every day, the public is using it every day.

Traffic studies are not, everyone to admit, yes, there the public is using it every day.

Uh and if you look at exhibit A to the ordinance, which is uh the drawing of the street, and it shows what looks like it was the old plat for the court square subdivision, uh it is a large piece of property.

In fact, if you look at the lots on the east side or the west side uh and compare it to the street, you could, as the houses were planned at the time of this drawing, you could put six houses on this street.

It's it's this street is different.

It's not, it's unlike maybe any other seat uh stretch of uh uh street in the downtown core.

So uh with that, Councilmember Albrighton had the right to do so and did.

He asked the attorney general for an opinion, and the attorney general gave him an opinion, which was shared with the entire council, that uh in the attorney general's opinion, the city citizens did not own the street.

Um, that uh by operational law it became the uh the adjoining abutting property owners, sorry.

So, as I said on Monday, I have great respect for the attorney general, great respect.

I know him personally, I've had personal conversations with him.

Uh and it he's he's a very he he does a great job, and I hope he he uh does well in the upcoming election.

Um but not everyone agrees with him on his opinion.

And I can tell you from many years of practice of law I've disagreed with smart lawyers and they've disagreed with me over the years on many different issues.

That's no offense to the other attorney uh that lawyers have differences of opinions.

And although I would acknowledge that we can rely on that to vote tonight on making the street, it's not the same as I pointed out earlier, as having a court decide, take in evidence from both sides, and hearing arguments in our case, arguments on behalf of the citizens and taxpayers, aligned with our city attorney's opinion earlier that they own the street, arguing for them, the folks we were elected to represent, that it's their property.

And I've always felt, I even felt a year ago before the Attorney General's opinion that uh if I were if I were asking for the vacation of the street, I would want that.

I would want to quite the title, but for some reason uh this this applicant has not asked a court to quite the title to resolve this issue once and for all.

So as I said on Monday, without that, yes, we can rely on that for our vote, but in the public's mind, they're going to know that our previous city attorney, his opinion was that it was their property.

And in vacating this street, in their opinion, overwhelming part of our community, our citizens, we are giving away their property.

So I I don't think that's good for anyone.

I don't think that's good for the applicant.

I don't think that's good for our city.

I would prefer that that issue be resolved by a court one way or the other.

And had we done that asked for that court review a year ago, we might even have already have an adjudication one way or the other by now.

But we're not, and so but I I pointed out Monday.

I think I think it's a mistake to move forward with vacating the street without a court determination of who owns the street.

I think we owe that to our citizens and taxpayers to get that, to fight for them based upon the opinion of our city attorney, our prior city attorney, that it was their property.

But I think we're going a different direction tonight, so I'll move on to my other argument was still is the first time we voted, and this time too is and folks who have come out tonight from and in significant numbers, appreciate you coming out tonight to support this.

And I've heard a lot of speakers tonight talk about uh the auditorium that you want to build, and uh and uh I understand your passion and interest in doing that.

That's a great thing for your organization.

The only thing I would say is what Councilmember Tic Shadis said in a prior meeting.

Um there was a plan to do that without closing the street uh before, and you could still do that uh without closing the street.

Now I understand some of the arguments on ingress and egress and coming in and out of there, but uh there are there are large events at uh at uh the hotel and at the uh flag building all the time with lots of people coming in.

There are lots of large events I know at uh the Osceola retreat next to the uh Bay Care Sound.

So I I don't know that uh that alone justifies eliminating public use.

I don't understand what the public benefit is from allowing that.

And as one speaker pointed out, you know, if you do have a large event where you needed to uh block off the street for safety, you could get a permit to do that.

So for me, it's the same argument really that I had before.

Councilmember Tosheda has pointed out the differences between the other um streets and alleyways that we may have vacated over time.

This is far different from anything we've ever done in the downtown core.

And for me, it's just one more street.

And this street we know, and I've shared before 6.3 million visit vehicles.

That's just vehicles.

Millions more people in those vehicles pass through there, pass right by downtown Clearwater per year.

I would love to have not just Garden Avenue, other streets to encourage them to, hey, before we go out to the beach, let's go here to downtown Clearwater, maybe go to a family entertainment center, maybe go to a restaurant.

I would love to have more cars using Garden Avenue to access the exciting things we are developing and continue to develop in downtown Clearwater.

It also sits close to other streets in the area I pointed out at the prior meeting too, uh, Myrtle and Fort Harrison, that and and sits close to uh approaching the Pinellas County government properties, which they are trying to redevelop for even more robust activity, and how we can maybe can reconfigure State Road 60 and Garden Avenue to accommodate more people coming to downtown Clearwater.

I would love to uh pause on this until we have more opportunity to re envision what Garden Avenue and State Road 60 entering into the county properties, downtown Clearwater might look like.

So for me, I remain convinced that down that Garden Avenue is important for our future growth or continued growth of the downtown core.

I think keeping this currently active and publicly used street, it is active and it is per currently used by the public, and it is a broad portion of the street as has been pointed out.

I think it's important to the future growth of Clearwater's downtown core.

There's no public service by uh purpose uh uh served by closing the street with Coach Brew Park, the Bay Care Sound, the Ballad Hotel, the Bluff Apartments, and the significant Pinellas County government property footprint already inspiring more traffic and visitors to downtown core, the public will need this street and the land underneath it, which many believe the public owns to support this impressive growth.

So I will be supporting the overwhelming majority of the Clearwater citizens in opposing the vacation of Garden Avenue and voting no on this motion tonight.

Any further discussion?

If not, then we'll proceed to vote.

All those in favor?

Wait, we haven't had a motion.

Excuse me.

Yes.

Isn't there a motion?

Second.

Okay, all those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

Nay.

Okay.

It would be three in support, and council member Tosheda and myself in opposition.

Okay.

Okay, with that, we'll go to the next agenda item.

So eight point two, it's a second reading.

Ordinance number nine nine two one two six.

An ordinance of the city of Clearwater, Florida, amending the operating budget for the fiscal year ending September the 30th, 2026 to reflect increases in revenues and expenditures for the air park fund and special program fund as provided here in providing an effective date.

Is there anyone here from the public tonight desire to speak to agenda item 8.2?

Hearing seeing none.

Is there any council discussion?

If not, sir, motion.

Move to approve agenda item 8.2.

Second.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed.

Unanimous.

Fear an item 8.3.

8.3 is a second reading.

Ordinance number 9922-26.

An ordinance of the city of Clearwater, Florida emitting the capital improvement budget for the fiscal year ending September the 30th, 2026 to reflect the budget increase of 3,574,619 dollars, providing an effective date.

Hearing seeing none, any council discussion?

If not, it's their motion.

Motion approve agenda item 8.3.

Second.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Opposed.

Unanimous.

8.4 is a third reading.

Ordinance number 9906-26.

Ordinance of the City of Clearwater, Florida, emitting the code of ordinances, chapter 28, Article 1, amitting section 28.04.

Trading and Siling on Streets, providing for inclusion in the code, providing for severability, and providing for an effective date.

Hearing seeing none because they're in council discussion.

If not, it's their motion.

Motion to approve 8.4.

Second.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed, unanimous.

That moved to item 10.

Are there any citizens to be heard tonight on agenda items not on the agenda?

I did not receive any requests.

Okay.

No one here to speak to agenda item nine.

Uh nine.

With that, we'll move to agenda item 10, city management reports.

Nothing, sir.

And item 11, city authority for the mayor.

Closing comments by council members.

Councilman Alberton.

Nothing, sir.

No, sir.

Councilmember Tishane.

Oh, I have something to say.

Why don't you go first and Vice Mayor?

Okay, all right.

Um, I attended the um the village at the Grove event, or they call it the taste of the village.

It was so exciting to see all the community come out.

It was great to have uh some idea of who might be the uh the business owners, and I enjoyed the especially the empanadas.

It was great.

Um it was really great to see something that we've been talking for so long, actually feeling so much more like real, and so um thoroughly enjoyed that evening.

And then last but not least, Portugal Day was last week, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it.

Um as a daughter of Portuguese immigrants, I'm grateful for the courage it took to leave everything and everyone familiar behind and build a new life for our family.

Having mid made a similar but very much smaller leap myself, I know it that it took equal parts of courage, determination, and faith, qualities that I saw firsthand as my parents built a life through hard work, resilience, and perseverance.

Those lessons have stayed with me ever since.

Obrigado Mean Pai, un grande comunidad Portugal, y Forza Portugal.

Thank you.

Vice Mayor.

Yes, sir.

Thank you very much.

Correct me if I'm wrong, city staff, but I believe our next meeting is not until July 16th.

So, because of that, to everybody in the audience, everybody watching at home, to city staff, our law enforcement officers, and everybody else in the city.

I hope you have a happy and safe July 4th celebrating this nation's 250th anniversary.

I will be on duty at the fire department.

However, thankfully, uh we do have July 3rd.

Um an event at which I will be attending down here with a um a drone show, I believe it is.

So that'll be really uh fantastic to come and experience.

So make sure you get out, um, celebrate your patriotism, and here's to another 250 years.

So everybody have a good night.

Thank you.

Mayor, there was one individual who wanted to speak under citizens to be heard, but was in an overflow room.

Okay, yeah.

Okay, we we'll go back to agenda item nine, which is public comment.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh no.

Thank you.

Oh sorry for the casual day at the office here.

Uh good evening, Mayor Council, uh, and city management, as always.

Um, first off, there are more than Republicans and just Democrats for political parties.

Uh that comment's a little out of line with just a little prejudice considering I'm a registered nonpartisan voter.

Uh talk about them all, don't mention them at all.

It's up to you.

We're a country of many parties, and obviously we want to unite.

These uh little hot make sessions that keep happening, they gotta stop because we're all hearing them online and we don't know how to interpret them.

So it leads me to believe like really who's unbiased and who's not.

So we all want to know kind of like what was crazy this evening that there were a number of constituents that came out to speak, or were they whether they're for or against it, it wasn't really crazy, it's just due process.

It's also first amendment speech, which some of this council have been not receptive of, but after the vote this evening, it will be interesting to see who still sits here in a few years from now and how much of the El Ron Hubbard Hall has been complete.

Just like somebody else said this evening, I think it took like 13 years or something.

Uh unfortunately, there goes my shortcut through uh downtown as well.

On to other things though, Chief Gandhi, thank you for taking the time of your day to this past two weeks to respond to my emails.

Uh your tran is he's still here, he's gone.

Okay, his trans his transparency and accountability have gone unnoticed.

And uh, I'm sorry, I haven't haven't gone unnoticed and are appreciative.

Rest assured myself, the citizens of Clearwater and the visitors to our beautiful beaches now have the reassurance that hopefully an incident that happened on the beach uh less than a month ago will hopefully not happen again.

I also appreciate him looking into the uh suggestions that I had in regards to some of the uh other methods of uh fighting the bad guys.

So uh Chief Gandhi, thank you again, sir.

Uh council, I wish you guys have a great weekend, have a great fourth, stay forth, don't lose any fingers, and uh we'll see you guys next time.

Thank you again.

Thank you.

All right.

Any other citizens to be heard?

Okay, thank you.

Okay, with that, we'll move to item 13, closing comments by mayor.

Um first thing I want to say is um is we have we have I think one of the most vibrant, growing, thriving cities in the country.

There are so many great things happening in this city.

Uh we're we're a bigger city than just the downtown core.

We have one of the world's most famous beaches, renowned beaches.

We have uh we have a great US 19 corridor, countryside, we have great neighborhoods all over this city, and there are so many great things happening all over the city.

So we've had some controversy on one area, the downtown.

Um, but I would I just want to um encourage everybody.

Um don't see Clearwater as just the downtown.

Clearwater is a big city.

It's vibrant, and great things are happening, not just all over the city, but uh, you know, we've talked and I talked and we've all talked about uh the Baycare Sound, it's great success, Coach and Park's great success.

We've got the apartment complex on the bluff, the bluffs going on, uh the hotel.

So many great things happening throughout the city.

And uh and we'll we voted today, we'll move on, and we will move forward as a community and uh united, and we will uh continue to make Clearwater one of the best places to live, not just in the state of Florida, but in the entire country.

Uh the second thing I wanted to say is uh as Council uh Vice Mayor pointed out, we won't be here before uh 4th of July, but I want to thank our staff for putting together a really robust week-long celebration of the 4th of July.

Uh lots of neighborhood activity.

I know our neighborhood teams are communicating, all of our city staff have been really engaged and inviting some things.

There's um there's even a talent competition, uh, which I won't be competing in because uh I even I think I shied away from asking uh from being invited to judge because I don't want any part of that.

I want everybody to win.

Um but uh there's a lot of exciting.

So I'd encourage you to go online at myClearwater.com to see what uh activities you can join in for your family.

We've always had one 4th of July on the 4th celebration of fireworks.

Because it's the 250th birthday of our country, we're celebrating two days in a row.

Uh first day at the drone show, second day the fireworks, the traditional fireworks, everybody's come to love.

And all that will be in downtown Clearwater.

So I encourage everyone to come out as they always have, enjoy uh not just two great events on two days, but envoy enjoy a week long uh celebration of our great country for the entire week.

So with that, I don't have anything else to share with you tonight, so we will move on to the item 14, and that is to adjourn the meeting of the Clearwater City Council for June 18, 2026.