Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Meeting Summary | July 18, 2023: Budget Preview, Utility Rates, and Facility Updates

City Council — Tuesday, July 18, 2023

BodyGulfport, Florida

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, July 18, 2023

StatusFILED

Video Record

Meeting Thumbnail

⇩ GET FROM SOURCE

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Unassigned speaker

5:03

All right,

Speaker 1

5:03

welcome everyone to the regular city council meeting for Gulfport, Florida for July 18th, 2023.

5:08

Our invocation tonight is given by Councilmember April Fannis, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

5:12

Please join us in standing.

Speaker 2

5:16

So trees exhale for us so that we can inhale them to stay alive.

5:21

Can we forget that?

5:23

Let us love trees with every breath we take until we perish.

5:26

And that was from Moonia Khan, who's a U.S.

5:29

poet.

Unassigned speaker

5:30

And

Speaker 2

5:30

then there's another one.

5:31

You know me.

5:32

I think there ought to be a big old tree right there.

5:35

And let's give him a friend.

5:36

Everybody needs a friend.

5:37

That's Bob Ross, a U.S.

5:39

painter.

Speaker 1

5:42

Pledge allegiance to the play of the United States.

5:48

One nation under God,

Speaker 3

5:50

individual with

Speaker 1

5:51

liberty related.

Unassigned speaker

5:54

All right,

Speaker 1

5:54

roll call, please, city clerk.

Speaker 4

5:56

Councilmember Thanos?

5:57

Here.

5:57

Councilmember Brown.

5:58

Here.

5:59

Vice Mayor Ray.

6:00

Here.

6:00

Council Member O'Hara.

6:01

Here.

6:02

Mayor Henderson.

Speaker 5

6:03

Here.

Speaker 4

6:03

City Attorney Salzman.

6:05

Here.

6:05

City Manager O'Reilly.

6:06

Here.

6:07

City Clerk Carico present.

Speaker 1

6:09

All right.

6:09

We have a couple of presentations this evening.

6:12

One on the utility rate sufficiency study and one on the citywide sidewalk inventory.

6:16

So we'll welcome Mr.

6:17

Andrew Burnham, Vice President of Stantech Consulting Services.

6:21

Thanks for coming back with us.

Speaker 6

6:22

Absolutely.

6:22

Thank you for having me, Mayor and Council.

6:24

Let me get a brief presentation open for you.

6:27

It's rather brief today, only about 10 minutes of time is all that's needed as we're going through just an update with where we sit this year versus where we thought we'd be.

6:36

So by way of a bit of a refresher for not only yourselves but also for the public.

6:42

Last fiscal year there was not a rate increase for the water and sewer rates as well as stormwater rates in the community.

6:48

You made a decision to hold rates flat and then also make some rate structure modifications last year that removed the allowance and created a very low tier so that people would pay for what they used, but did so without any change and increase in the level of the rates.

7:01

And so in fact, for many of your lower volume users, they actually saw a small reduction in their bill last year as part of the rate conversation.

7:09

And so as part of that, we also looked at updating some of the miscellaneous fees that you have just to make sure that we're charging for the cost of providing services, such as activating accounts, turning on or turning off services, those sorts of things.

7:21

And so we made sure that we were charging what it costs to actually go and provide those specific services.

Unassigned speaker

7:26

And

Speaker 6

7:26

so those come into play as an offsetting revenue that minimize how much we have to capture in our rates.

7:31

And so as part of a process that's been going on for the last few years, we've looked at kind of that sufficiency or adequacy of the revenues that your current rates are providing to meet your updated operating cost and capital needs for the system to make sure you can provide the desired level of service within the enterprise fund because this enterprise fund is solely relying on revenues from rates and fees and charges to cover its predominant expenses.

Unassigned speaker

7:52

And

Speaker 6

7:53

so we need to make sure that as we do financial planning, we've got adequate reserve levels, and I'll show you where we stead on those.

7:58

Good ratios of debt coverage, pay for our capital improvement program.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Budget Equity Analysis████████████12%

Engineering And Infrastructure███████████11%

Public Safety███████████11%

Water And Wastewater Management██████████10%

Community Engagement████████8%

Public Comment███████7%

Procedural██████6%

Historic Preservation██████6%

Environmental Protection██████6%

Summary of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Meeting Summary

Meeting Date: July 18, 2023

The Gulfport City Council met on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at 6:00 PM at Gulfport City Hall. Mayor Henderson presided, with Councilmembers Thanos, Brown, Vice Mayor Ray, and Councilmember O'Hara present, alongside City Manager O'Reilly, City Attorney Salzman, and City Clerk Carico. The meeting featured presentations on the utility rate sufficiency study and the city-wide sidewalk inventory, followed by the adoption of numerous resolutions, a first reading of a new lease with the Gulfport Yacht Club, a discussion on the FY 2024 budget, and a consensus to take over the operations of the Gulfport Historical Society Museum and Art Center.

Presentations

Utility Rate Sufficiency Study: Andrew Burnham of Stantec presented an update. The current 8% rate increases approved for FY 2024 and FY 2025 are deemed sufficient to keep reserves healthy. Operating costs are rising roughly 10% due to inflation. The typical residential utility bill (water, sewer, stormwater, garbage) for 2,000 gallons is projected to increase from approximately $88 to $96.60. Gulfport's rates remain on the lower end compared to neighboring communities like St. Pete Beach and Tampa.
City-Wide Sidewalk Inventory: Public Works Superintendent Kendrick Sanderson presented the results of an assessment by Street Scan Inc. The inventory covered 34 miles of sidewalk and 1,056 ADA ramps. 64 ramps were found compliant, 831 non-compliant, and 161 were missing. A total of 6,956 distress points were identified. Staff proposed a zone-by-zone repair plan, beginning with Zone 1 (the commercial downtown district), with a soft cost of $70,000 for ramp repairs in that initial zone. The city has budgeted $150,000 in the capital improvement plan for sidewalks.

Public Comments & Testimony

Gulfport Historical Society: Kathy Celestry Loper, speaking on behalf of the board, stated the Society was unable to maintain operations due to a lack of volunteers and requested the city take over the museum and art center. The board voted unanimously for this transition.
Right to Clean Water: Speakers Lenny Guggenheimer and Liz Lindsay urged the council to support a resolution for placing the Florida Right to Clean and Healthy Waters constitutional amendment on a future statewide ballot, noting it would make Gulfport the first city in Florida to do so.
General Comments: Residents praised the city for recent infrastructure and technology upgrades, and 4th of July events. Tommy Bixler highlighted the efforts of the CERT team and Lions Club. Jerry Reid provided an update on the collaborative efforts of the Southern 49th Street Association.

Consent Calendar

Item 5.a: Approved meeting minutes from May 16, June 6, and June 20, 2023.
Item 5.b: Approved Resolution No. 2023-48, authorizing a contract with SDF Contracting, LLC for limited structural repairs to the Casino Building.
Both items were approved unanimously.

Ordinances

Item 6.a (First Reading): Ordinance No. 2023-07, authorizing a lease agreement with the Gulfport Yacht Club, passed unanimously. City Manager O'Reilly noted the new lease aligns the end dates of the leases for the Yacht Club and the other club, providing a definitive timeline for future marina redevelopment planning.

Resolutions (All passed unanimously)

Item 7.a (Res. 2023-49): Established a proposed millage rate of 4.0258 mills for FY 2023/2024 and set dates for public hearings. The rate is slightly lower than the current 4.039 mills, resulting in an approximate $20,000 reduction in city tax revenue.
Item 7.b (Res. 2023-50): Authorized a School Resource Officer agreement with the Pinellas County School Board for Boca Ciega High School and Gulfport Elementary.
Item 7.c (Res. 2023-51): Authorized the purchase of one Ford F150 4x4 Hybrid Pickup Truck from Duval Ford.
Item 7.d (Res. 2023-52): Supported the placement of the Florida Right to Clean and Healthy Waters constitutional amendment on a future statewide ballot. The City Manager clarified this was an endorsement of the ballot initiative, not an endorsement of the amendment itself.
Item 7.e (Res. 2023-53): Entered the city into the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council's Regional Resiliency Action Plan (RRAP).
Items 7.f & 7.g (Res. 2023-54 & 55): Approved new three-year collective bargaining agreements with the Sun Coast Police Benevolent Association for officers and sergeants. The agreements provide raises of 8.5% in the first year and 5% in the subsequent two years, a significant increase from the previous 3% step plan.
Item 7.h (Res. 2023-56): Authorized a service and user agreement with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement support services for FY 2023-2024.

Discussion Items: FY 2024 Budget

City Manager O'Reilly presented a preliminary FY 2024 budget overview. Key points included:

General fund spending is driven by personnel costs (70.8% of expenditures).
Inflation is acute, with the Tampa-St. Petersburg metro area experiencing the third-highest inflation rate in the country (7.3% for the year ending in May 2023).
Property insurance is expected to rise 20-25%.
The city has secured $3.5 million in state and federal appropriations for sanitary sewer repairs in the last 18 months without incurring long-term debt.
Councilmember Thanos requested operating cost estimates for a potential replacement senior center and for expanding senior center hours to seven days a week.
Councilmember Brown proposed allocating $40,000 for architectural renderings and planning costs for a new public safety complex on 49th Street South. Council reached a consensus to proceed.
Mayor Henderson requested an evaluation of sediment removal and maintenance schedules for the city's retention ponds at Tomlinson Field and Wood Ibis.

Key Outcomes

Facilities Transfer: Council unanimously directed the City Manager to proceed with taking over the operations of the Gulfport Historical Society Museum and Art Center. The Society will transition to a "Friends of" support organization.
New Business Items:
- Councilmember Thanos proposed increasing the tree mitigation fee for the removal of healthy trees, moving from a flat $100 fee to an inch-for-inch replacement or a higher per-inch fee. Staff was directed to create a proposal.
- Councilmember Thanos discussed the potential for a registration fee on short-term rentals. The City Manager recommended proceeding with caution.
Consensus on Public Safety Complex: Council reached a consensus to pursue seed funding ($40,000) for architectural planning of a new 49th Street Police and Fire Safety Complex.
The next regular City Council meeting is scheduled for August 1, 2023.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com