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Record of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Meeting – May 16, 2023: Lease with Yacht Club Approved, Floodplain Updates

City Council — Tuesday, May 16, 2023
BodyGulfport, Florida
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, May 16, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
Meeting Thumbnail
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Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Unassigned speaker

5:01

All

Speaker 1

5:02

right, welcome everybody to the May 16th, 2023 regular city council meeting for Gulfport Florida.

5:07

Your invocation tonight is given by Vice Mayor Paul Ray, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

5:11

Please join us in standing.

Unassigned speaker

5:15

There

Speaker 2

5:15

comes a time when the world gets quiet, and the only thing left is your own heart.

5:20

So you better learn the sound of it, otherwise you'll never understand what it's saying.

5:25

Susan Sarah Dessa.

Speaker 1

5:29

Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

5:33

She's a Republican for which it's one nation under God into the role with liberty and justice for all.

Unassigned speaker

5:41

All

Speaker 1

5:41

right, roll call, please, City Clerk.

Speaker 3

5:43

Vice Mayor Ray?

Speaker 1

5:44

Here.

Speaker 3

5:45

Councilmember O'Hara?

Speaker 1

5:46

Here.

Speaker 3

5:47

Councilmember Thanos?

5:48

Here.

5:48

Councilmember Brown?

5:49

Here.

5:49

Mayor Henderson.

Speaker 1

5:50

Here.

Speaker 3

5:51

City Attorney Salzman.

5:52

Here.

5:52

City Manager O'Reilly.

Speaker 1

5:54

Here.

Speaker 3

5:54

City Clerk Carico present.

Speaker 1

5:56

All right.

5:57

So no presentations this evening, so we're going straight to open public comment.

6:00

So this is likewise for anything not on the agenda, including the consent agenda for which there's no public comment.

6:07

So if you have anything you want to speak on that's not on the agenda tonight, feel feel free to raise your hand.

6:14

You got three minutes, please give your name and address if you're comfortable with it.

6:16

Yes, ma'am.

Unassigned speaker

6:27

Hi,

Speaker 4

6:27

Francine Witten.

6:28

I have two things.

6:29

One the first thing is about the food pantries.

6:32

Yesterday I went to the food pantry, and there was ice cream, cottage cheese, yogurt in the food pantry that had popped open because they were.

6:43

Yeah.

6:46

It's sad.

6:47

I mean, I volunteer to do this.

6:48

I go sit somewhere sometimes three hours to collect food to put here because that's what it's all about is helping everybody.

6:56

That's but I we've been finding open beer bottles in the food pantries.

7:03

We've been finding prescription pills in there, the labels have been torn off.

7:08

But what if a child comes up and takes something or you know, we can't chance that.

7:14

I don't understand.

7:15

Yesterday there was two boxes of rotten bananas.

7:19

If the people would have I mean, other people brought them, put them in the side of the thing where they go better.

7:28

Or they put bread out there and the creatures all get them instead of the people.

7:34

And nobody's just taking care of it.

7:38

And today there was uh mashed potatoes and I mean frozen ones, but they were all warm and yucky.

Speaker 1

7:48

And

Speaker 4

7:48

a lady says, why are you throwing them away?

7:53

I says, ma'am, I says, I don't want you or anybody else to get sick on any of this food.

7:58

I says, we put it here to help everybody and we will do it.

8:03

But so we're gonna start uh

Unassigned speaker

8:06

I

Speaker 4

8:07

want to start bringing it to Jackson and out and um

Speaker 2

8:11

funky for me.

Speaker 4

8:12

Funky, thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████26%
Public Engagement█████████████████████21%
Flood Management████████████████16%
Marina Management████████8%
Public Safety██████6%
Recreational Facilities████4%
Disaster Recovery████4%
Legal Counsel███3%
Food Pantry Management██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Meeting – May 16, 2023

The Gulfport City Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at 6:00 PM at Gulfport City Hall. The meeting included public comments, approval of consent agenda items, first readings of two ordinances, adoption of two resolutions, and council reports. Key actions included approval of a lease agreement with the Boca Ciega Yacht Club (by a 3–2 vote after extensive debate) and unanimous passage of floodplain management updates.

Consent Calendar

  • Resolution No. 2023-35: Approved unanimously to appoint Jerry Reed to the Planning and Zoning Board/Local Planning Agency.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Francine Witten (resident, 40+ years) raised concerns about food pantry conditions (rotten bananas, open beer bottles, prescription pills) and proposed moving food to JAX and Funky Flamingo. She also defended the council against online criticism.
  • Ms. Love asked whether the fire department offers a safe haven for infants (city manager confirmed yes). She expressed fear about abortion restrictions and shared a petition for reproductive rights.
  • Ms. Tober thanked the city clerk and asked about additional charges for public records requests beyond original estimates.

Discussion Items

  • Ordinance No. 2023-03 (First Reading) – Lease with Boca Ciega Yacht Club:

    • The lease is for three years with no automatic renewal. The only outstanding issue was whether the club would have exclusive use of a 22-foot by 150-foot area along the seawall (Option B) or the city would retain public access (Option A).
    • Public Comments:
      • Jen Buckley (Commodore) requested Option B for liability, security, and youth sailing program reasons. She noted 38% of members are Gulfport residents.
      • Walter Barker urged transparency about lease terms.
      • Mary Hanrahan supported Option B, stating public rarely uses the seawall.
      • David Cantor opposed the lease, alleging threats and bad faith by club leadership.
      • Christine Crosby supported the club's safety and community contributions.
    • Council Debate:
      • Vice Mayor Ray initially favored Option A (public access); Councilmembers O'Hara and Thanos supported Option B; Councilmember Brown advocated for Option A, questioning reciprocity and future plans for a community sailing center.
      • Mayor Henderson expressed willingness to go with Option A but not B.
      • A discussion on potential conflict of interest regarding Councilmember Brown's use of the club for a training event was resolved as the event was member-requested and not political.
    • Vote: Motion to approve the ordinance with Option A passed 3–2 (Ray, Brown, Henderson yes; O'Hara, Thanos no). Set for second reading on June 6, 2023.

  • Ordinance No. 2023-04 (First Reading) – Flood Damage Prevention Amendments:

    • Mr. Metcalf (Principal Planner) explained the update incorporates FEMA-mandated changes, mostly housekeeping. The only substantive change relates to manufactured housing; Gulfport has one such park outside a flood zone. The ordinance is required to maintain the city's Community Rating System (CRS) Class 6 rating. Unanimously approved.

  • Resolution No. 2023-36 – Floodplain Management Plan Annual Report: Adopted unanimously, allowing Gulfport to continue participation in Pinellas County's Multi-Jurisdictional Community Rating System.

  • Resolution No. 2023-37 – Program for Public Information Annual Report: Adopted unanimously, confirming continued participation in the countywide flood risk and mitigation public information working group.

Key Outcomes

  • Lease with Boca Ciega Yacht Club approved (3–2) with Option A (public access retained along seawall); second reading scheduled for June 6.
  • Floodplain ordinance and CRS resolutions passed unanimously, maintaining the city's floodplain management compliance.
  • Consent agenda item (Planning and Zoning Board appointment) approved.
  • Future agenda: Board applications to be emailed to council before the June 6 meeting; Gulfport on the Edge presentation planned for June 20.
  • Council reports included updates on firefighter training, food pantry locations, Pride events, VPK graduation, and key takeaways from the Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Conference (e.g., not relying solely on FEMA maps, need for post-disaster planning, insurance challenges).

Meeting Transcript

All right, welcome everybody to the May 16th, 2023 regular city council meeting for Gulfport Florida. Your invocation tonight is given by Vice Mayor Paul Ray, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Please join us in standing. There comes a time when the world gets quiet, and the only thing left is your own heart. So you better learn the sound of it, otherwise you'll never understand what it's saying. Susan Sarah Dessa. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. She's a Republican for which it's one nation under God into the role with liberty and justice for all. All right, roll call, please, City Clerk. Vice Mayor Ray? Here. Councilmember O'Hara? Here. Councilmember Thanos? Here. Councilmember Brown? Here. Mayor Henderson. Here. City Attorney Salzman. Here. City Manager O'Reilly. Here. City Clerk Carico present. All right. So no presentations this evening, so we're going straight to open public comment. So this is likewise for anything not on the agenda, including the consent agenda for which there's no public comment. So if you have anything you want to speak on that's not on the agenda tonight, feel feel free to raise your hand. You got three minutes, please give your name and address if you're comfortable with it. Yes, ma'am. Hi, Francine Witten. I have two things. One the first thing is about the food pantries. Yesterday I went to the food pantry, and there was ice cream, cottage cheese, yogurt in the food pantry that had popped open because they were. Yeah. It's sad. I mean, I volunteer to do this. I go sit somewhere sometimes three hours to collect food to put here because that's what it's all about is helping everybody. That's but I we've been finding open beer bottles in the food pantries. We've been finding prescription pills in there, the labels have been torn off. But what if a child comes up and takes something or you know, we can't chance that. I don't understand. Yesterday there was two boxes of rotten bananas. If the people would have I mean, other people brought them, put them in the side of the thing where they go better. Or they put bread out there and the creatures all get them instead of the people. And nobody's just taking care of it.

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