Okay, good evening.

Welcome to the April 17th, 2025 City Commission meeting, calling the meeting to order, and I'm going to turn to Jen to do the invocation and pledge of allegiance.

Okay.

Let us begin this meeting by taking a brief moment of silence and reflection.

Amen.

Pledge allegiance to the United States over America.

One nation.

Under God.

Indivisible Liberty Justice.

Cool.

Okay, our first item is presentation, Gus Cooper plaque dedication.

And we don't have anybody in the family, but so I'm just gonna read a little bit about Gus.

There was uh for those who may not know, there was a plaque for Gus Cooper on the door to the TV studio, the television studio in the old city hall.

And uh I kind of got word that his daughter was concerned that you know it was thrown away and out the door, and uh it was preserved actually, and we just re put it back on our new uh studio um in the side area.

Um so that plaque is back up, and it was actually originally dedicated on April 17th of 2003.

So I'm just gonna read a little bit about Gus.

First of all, um Gus, and I'll say this first of all, he was a 38-year U.S.

Marine Corps Reserve.

He before he moved to Dunedin in 1979, he was vice president for public relations and advertising for New York life insurance company.

So he came here with a lot of experience as a new retiree.

I um he um so I'll read through this.

In Dunedin, Gus Cooper served on numerous volunteer advisory committees and was the creator and host for a weekly cable television program on local government and community events.

When the City of Dunedin established its 24-7 government cable TV channel in 2003, the commission named its City Hall Production Facility as the Gus Cooper Studio in recognition for his participation in more than 600 TV programs over a 22-year period.

Other community activities included Dunedin Country Club director from 1981 to 1985.

Um he was actually president in 1983-84, member of the Board of Trustees of Mies Manor, a 500 unit retirement facility.

Of course, now we know it is Mies Life.

That was from 83 to 2001, member of the Rotary Club of Dunedin, director of the Dunedin Historical Society, and editor of its newsletter, community advisory boards for the Junior League of Clearwater Dunedin and Schiller International University, which of course was before Fenway, and was a two-term president of Dunedin Council of Organizations 8990.

I would also say, and I judge this by historically some of the awards that people who really um have contributed greatly to our community.

Uh they have gotten these top awards, and he got every one of them.

In 1990, he received the delightful Dunedin Award from the Dunedin Chamber.

In uh 1991, he received the Dunedin Historical Society History Maker Award.

And in 2000, he became a senior Hall of Fame Award member, so he is on the wall at the Hill Center.

So I personally knew Gus.

Um Gus's claim to fame, I think really was he brought with him just a international perspective of communication.

And I his passion was always to push the community forward uh towards the most transparent way for people to be able to be part of government to whether in reading newsletters or being able to watch things on television at the time through cable.

Now of course we stream, but um he was uh a very much a front runner of that time to really push the the community forward in what I think has continued to be a very proactive community in allowing various methods of communication so that the citizens can be more involved.

So um so tonight really is just to say that that plaque is back on the wall, it should be in our new city hall.

I think one of the nicest things I love about Dunedin is that we don't forget where we came from.

We don't forget the you know the pioneers that kind of led us to where we are, and Gus Cooper was definitely one of those pioneers, so just uh wanted to recognize him.

So thank you, everyone.

Very nice, thank you.

Okay, we are going to go to citizen input.

And I already know that we may have some people here wish to speak on a topic that's not in the agenda.

Um anyone want to come forward in three minutes, give your name, address for the record, and three minutes.

Is this on or uh you might have to push the buttons, Sue?

Is it on?

Uh I think it's on.

Just want to make sure.

Yeah, yeah.

The light is on.

Okay.

My name is Joanne Holiday.

Spelt with two L's, holiday.

I live at 952 Virginia Street.

Um Building K Unit 106 in Dunedin.

I moved here 20 some odd years ago.

And I'm here about the pickleball again.

There were some things that I left out the last time I was here.

Um the lights are very intrusive and invasive.

I don't feel I should live in a box with my windows and blinds shut.