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Record of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Meeting 2023-06-06: Yacht Club Lease, Pensions, and City Operations

City Council — Tuesday, June 6, 2023
BodyGulfport, Florida
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, June 6, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
Meeting Thumbnail
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Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Unassigned speaker

5:02

Good

Speaker 1

5:02

evening, everyone.

5:03

Welcome to the June 6th regular city council meeting for Gulfport, Florida.

5:07

Our invocation this evening is given by uh Councilman Ian O'Hara, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

5:12

Please join us in standing.

Speaker 2

5:18

Becoming fearless isn't the point.

5:20

That's impossible.

5:21

It's learning how to control your fear and how to be free from it.

5:26

Victor Hugo.

Unassigned speaker

5:29

I

Speaker 1

5:29

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

5:35

One nation, under God, indivisible liberty, and justice for all.

5:41

Roll call, please, city clerk.

Speaker 3

5:44

Councilmember O'Hara.

Speaker 2

5:46

Here.

Speaker 3

5:47

Councilmember Thanos.

5:49

Here.

5:49

Councilmember Brown.

5:50

Here.

5:50

Vice Mayor Ray.

5:51

Here.

5:52

Mayor Henderson.

5:53

Here.

5:53

City Attorney Salzman.

5:55

Here.

5:55

City Manager O'Reilly.

5:56

Present.

5:57

City Clerk Carico, present.

Speaker 1

5:59

All right.

Unassigned speaker

6:00

We've

Speaker 1

6:00

got a couple of presentations this evening.

6:02

Our first is Fire Chief Renee Fernandez doing some fire department promotions.

6:06

Thank you very much.

6:07

How are you doing?

Unassigned speaker

6:10

Good

Speaker 4

6:10

evening, Mayor and Council.

6:12

I would like to start off by thanking all of you up here as well as the great citizens of our community for making this such a great city to be a part of and be able to serve.

6:21

So a big round of applause to everybody here.

Speaker 5

6:26

Last but not

Speaker 4

6:27

least, I would like to give some credit to our 18 department members for all their hard work and dedication that they do throughout the community.

6:34

Today's a special day for our department.

6:37

We're doing a promotion and doing the official pinning for two of our deserving department members.

6:43

Firefighter paramedic Michael Barber will be promoted to the position of lieutenant, and Lieutenant Timothy Burden will be promoted to the position of fire captain paramedic.

6:53

So at this time, I would like to call up both Timothy Burton and Michael Barber up

Unassigned speaker

6:58

here.

Speaker 4

7:12

Both of these gentlemen up here are well deserving of their promotion.

7:15

They have both been great role models for our department.

7:18

Not only have they found the way to balance life, family, and work, they have also continued to further their education throughout their time in our department.

7:27

Michael Barber started with us as a firefighter paramedic back in 2016.

7:32

During his time with us, he became a driver operator and has countless hours of training as an acting lieutenant for our city.

7:41

Throughout the time, he's also continued his education, getting extensive amount of certificates, including his state fire officer one, state fire officer two, state driver operator, state fire safety inspector, state instructor two, American Heart CPR instructor, as well as an associate's degree in arts.

7:59

So big round of applause.

9:48

Congratulations, guys.

9:50

Thanks for having us and letting us do our presentation here.

9:52

Absolutely.

9:53

Thank you.

Unassigned speaker

9:55

All right,

Speaker 1

9:56

we have another presentation this evening.

Unassigned speaker

10:00

David Alvarez, uh CPA partner at Car Rigs and Ingram L L C is here to talk about our fiscal year 2021-2022 audit.

Speaker 1

10:06

Welcome back.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Comment██████████████████████████26%
Procedural██████████████████████22%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████10%
Pensions██████████10%
Public Safety███████7%
Personnel Matters█████5%
Community Events████4%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Fire Safety██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Meeting - 2023-06-06

The Gulfport City Council convened at 6:00 PM on June 6, 2023 at City Hall. The meeting included fire department promotions, the fiscal year 2022 audit presentation, public comments, and several ordinances and resolutions. Major actions included a vote on the Boca Ciega Yacht Club lease and amendments to the police and fire pension plans. Council members also provided updates on community events and future city business.

Presentations

  • Fire Chief Rene Fernandez promoted Firefighter Paramedic Michael Barber to Lieutenant and Lieutenant Timothy Burden to Fire Captain.
  • David Alvarez presented the fiscal year 2022 audit, noting a clean opinion, an unassigned fund balance of $6.4 million, and an increase in the unfunded pension liability to $7.3 million. All ARPA funds were reported as fully expended.
  • Mayor Henderson presented the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to Finance Director Cheryl Hannison.

Consent Calendar

  • The council unanimously approved the meeting minutes from March 21, 2023.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Lenny Gokenheimer requested the city place a resolution on a future agenda supporting the Florida Right to Clean Water movement.
  • Joe Ginther thanked the council for approving the "Rally for Rachel" event and presented a $12,000 check to the McQuillan family.
  • Richard Freed spoke against the six-week abortion ban and distributed wire hangers as a symbolic demonstration. He stated the fetus is electrical activity, not consciousness.
  • During the Yacht Club lease hearing, Commodore Jen Buckley requested a buffer zone for security. Resident David Cantor supported public access as a compromise. Other BCYC members and residents opposed public access, citing safety risks.

Discussion Items

  • Boca Ciega Yacht Club Lease (Ordinance 2023-03): The council debated Option A (public access strip) and Option B (no public access). Vice Mayor Ray supported Option A as a balanced compromise. Councilmembers O'Hara and Thanos initially supported Option B, citing safety and security concerns raised by the club. Councilmember Brown sought clarification on trespassing orders at the marina.
  • Police Pension Plan (Ordinance 2023-05): The council discussed amendments allowing officers to retire after 25 years of service regardless of age, providing a three percent multiplier for accredited years of service, and distributing state monies to officers.
  • Firefighter Pension Plan (Ordinance 2023-06): Discussion covered establishing a static 3.37% multiplier and a stable cost-of-living adjustment for the plan.
  • Staffing Services (Resolution 2023-39): The city manager requested authorization up to $60,000 to retain Robert Half for temporary staffing to address vacancies from retirements and promotions.
  • Council Cell Phones (Resolution 2023-40): The council debated the cost and necessity of providing city-owned cell phones for optional council use. Councilmember Thanos expressed concern over adding costs for council.
  • Planning & Zoning Appointment (Resolution 2023-41): Tommy Bixler was nominated. Councilmember Thanos questioned the selection process, noting the high quality of the applicant pool.
  • Affordable Housing Workshop: Council agreed to postpone the workshop until the fall to allow for greater public participation.
  • Community Reports: Councilmembers provided updates on the hurricane preparedness conference, the Pride flag raising and street fair, and free children's swimming lessons.

Key Outcomes

  • Yacht Club Lease: Ordinance 2023-03 with Option A (public access strip) passed 3-2. Councilmembers Brown, Thanos, and Vice Mayor Ray voted in favor; Councilmember O'Hara and Mayor Henderson dissented. The vote passed after a successful motion to reconsider reversed an initial failed vote.
  • Flood Damage Prevention: Ordinance 2023-04 passed unanimously.
  • Police Pension Amendments: Ordinance 2023-05 passed unanimously.
  • Firefighter Pension Amendments: Ordinance 2023-06 passed unanimously.
  • Library Materials: Resolution 2023-38 authorizing $35,000 for library material purchases passed unanimously.
  • Staffing Services: Resolution 2023-39 authorizing up to $60,000 for Robert Half passed 4-1. Councilmember Thanos was the sole dissenter.
  • Council Cell Phones: Resolution 2023-40 authorizing the purchase of city-owned phones passed 3-2. Councilmembers Thanos and Vice Mayor Ray dissented.
  • P&Z Appointment: Tommy Bixler was appointed to the Planning and Zoning Board as an alternate member via Resolution 2023-41. The vote was unanimous.
  • Water Quality Resolution: Council agreed to place an item on a future agenda to consider a resolution supporting a Florida Right to Clean Water amendment, following a request from resident Lenny Gokenheimer.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the June 6th regular city council meeting for Gulfport, Florida. Our invocation this evening is given by uh Councilman Ian O'Hara, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Please join us in standing. Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear and how to be free from it. Victor Hugo. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. One nation, under God, indivisible liberty, and justice for all. Roll call, please, city clerk. Councilmember O'Hara. Here. Councilmember Thanos. Here. Councilmember Brown. Here. Vice Mayor Ray. Here. Mayor Henderson. Here. City Attorney Salzman. Here. City Manager O'Reilly. Present. City Clerk Carico, present. All right. We've got a couple of presentations this evening. Our first is Fire Chief Renee Fernandez doing some fire department promotions. Thank you very much. How are you doing? Good evening, Mayor and Council. I would like to start off by thanking all of you up here as well as the great citizens of our community for making this such a great city to be a part of and be able to serve. So a big round of applause to everybody here. Last but not least, I would like to give some credit to our 18 department members for all their hard work and dedication that they do throughout the community. Today's a special day for our department. We're doing a promotion and doing the official pinning for two of our deserving department members. Firefighter paramedic Michael Barber will be promoted to the position of lieutenant, and Lieutenant Timothy Burden will be promoted to the position of fire captain paramedic. So at this time, I would like to call up both Timothy Burton and Michael Barber up here. Both of these gentlemen up here are well deserving of their promotion. They have both been great role models for our department. Not only have they found the way to balance life, family, and work, they have also continued to further their education throughout their time in our department. Michael Barber started with us as a firefighter paramedic back in 2016. During his time with us, he became a driver operator and has countless hours of training as an acting lieutenant for our city.

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