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Record of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Meeting August 1, 2023: Back-to-School Drive, Coast Guard Recognition, and Seawall Contract

City Council — Tuesday, August 1, 2023
BodyGulfport, Florida
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, August 1, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
Meeting Thumbnail
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Speaker 1

5:01

All right, welcome everyone to the August 1st, 2023 regular city council meeting for Gulfport, Florida.

5:05

Our invitation tonight's given by Councilmember Christine Brown, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

5:09

Please join us in rising.

Speaker 2

5:11

Thank you all for coming.

5:14

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy, is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet alone with the heavens, nature, and God.

5:26

Because only then does one feel that it is as it should be, and that God wishes to see people happy among the simple beauty of nature.

5:35

As long as this exists, and it certainly will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be.

5:45

And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.

5:50

This quote is attributed to Ann Frank, who today in 1944 made her last entry in

Unassigned speaker

5:57

her

Speaker 2

5:57

diary before she went to the concentration camp.

Speaker 1

6:17

Roll call, please, city clerk.

Speaker 3

6:19

Councilmember Brown, here.

6:21

Councilmember O'Hara.

Speaker 1

6:22

Here.

Speaker 3

6:22

Councilmember Thanos.

6:24

Here.

6:24

Mayor Henderson.

Speaker 1

6:25

Here.

Speaker 3

6:25

Attorney Salzman.

Speaker 1

6:26

Here.

Speaker 3

6:27

City Manager O'Reilly.

6:28

Here.

6:28

City Clerk Carico present.

6:30

Vice Mayor Ray has asked to be excused.

Speaker 1

6:32

All right, fantastic.

6:35

Brings us straight to open public comment.

6:37

This is for any item that is not on the agenda tonight.

6:40

So we'll go with a show of hand.

6:41

All right, Mr.

6:41

Gunther.

6:42

And Mr.

6:43

Shea, how you doing?

Unassigned speaker

6:45

Well

Speaker 4

6:46

we have a very special program to launch tonight in support of the Michael J.

6:53

Yakes Foundation.

Speaker 1

6:54

Thank you for giving us the flyer.

Speaker 4

6:56

So Mr.

6:56

Gunther's here tonight to represent the My Foundation.

6:59

The city was approached yesterday to talk about how to put together a back to school supply drive.

7:06

So City Manager O'Reilly supported the coordination efforts.

7:09

We talked to the local library of Dave at the Gulfport Public Library.

7:14

The casino will have one of these donation boxes.

Speaker 5

8:20

Yeah, so we're looking to um to provide backpacks and school supplies for the under underprivileged kids that can't afford to do so strictly at Gulfport uh Elementary.

8:29

Um I'm here on behalf of Maddie.

8:31

Maddie's out of town.

8:32

She couldn't be here, so I'm here in lieu of her, and um, this is really herself and Michael Yake's uh spearheading this and wanting to um get these backpacks and get the necessary school supplies that these children need to attend school and do well in school.

Speaker 1

8:47

All right, fantastic.

8:48

That's great.

8:48

There's

Speaker 5

8:49

a QR code on the flyer that you you guys have, and that QR code that goes right to Amazon, and that has a list of the the items that the children need um to be successful in school along with a backpack.

9:01

And so we're asking folks to fill those backpacks.

9:03

We we have the boxes located in several areas like Justin said, and then we'll have uh Mayor uh Mike Yakes deliver that to Gulfport Elementary.

Speaker 1

9:11

Very cool, and that's uh collections Wednesday, August 2nd through Wednesday, August 9th.

9:15

Yes, Mayor.

Speaker 5

9:16

All

Speaker 1

9:16

right, fantastic.

9:17

Thank you so

Speaker 6

9:17

much, Joe.

Speaker 5

9:18

Great idea.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Comment███████████████████19%
Marina Management███████████████████19%
Community Events██████████████14%
Procedural██████████10%
Pensions█████████9%
Public Safety████████8%
Arts And Culture██████6%
LGBTQ Issues█████5%
Waste Management█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Meeting – August 1, 2023

The Gulfport City Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, at 6:00 PM at Gulfport City Hall. The meeting included a back-to-school supply drive announcement, a Coast Guard appreciation presentation, public comments on community topics, consent agenda approvals, first and second readings of ordinances, and a resolution authorizing a seawall contract. All votes were unanimous.

Presentations

  • Back-to-School Supply Drive (Michael J. Yakes Foundation): Joe Gunther announced a school supply drive for Gulfport Elementary, running August 2–9, 2023. Donation boxes are located at the Casino, Marina, Library, and other sites. A QR code provides a list of needed items. The City will promote the drive via social media.
  • Coast Guard Auxiliary Certificate: Howard (representing Flotilla 716) presented a Certificate of Appreciation to the City of Gulfport for its support of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, noting over 60 years of service, including the Skyway Bridge collapse response, and recent rescue missions. He also promoted free boating safety seminars and vessel inspections.

Consent Calendar

  • Meeting Minutes (July 18, 2023): Approved unanimously.
  • Resolution 2023-57 (Police Pension Board Trustee): Ratified the appointment of a fifth trustee to the Municipal Police Officers' Pension Board. Approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Scooter Gore (LGBTQ Resource Center): Thanked the city for supporting Pride activities and expressed eagerness to collaborate on future events (e.g., the June Art Out exhibit). Introduced Steve Sanderson, a winner of the art show, who praised the inclusivity of the LGBTQ community.
  • Tommy Bixler (Townshores): Suggested that the city display its accumulated awards and plaques in the front hallway for public viewing. The Mayor acknowledged the idea.
  • John Lucion (Rusty Leaks Media, candidate for Congressional District 13): Introduced himself as a new resident running against Congresswoman Anna Luna, stating his opposition to her stance on Ukraine. He invited council members to a candidate event on August 24.

Discussion Items

  • Ordinance 2023-07 (Second Reading) – Gulfport Yacht Club Lease: Authorized the City Manager to enter into a lease agreement with the Gulfport Yacht Club. The City Manager expressed appreciation for council action on first reading. Passed unanimously.
  • Ordinance 2023-08 (First Reading) – Garbage Service Rate Increase: Proposed an 8% increase for sanitation/recycling, raising single-family home charges by $2.42. Special pick-up rates were unchanged to encourage use. Council requested a recycling education update from staff by late October/November. Passed first reading unanimously.
  • Ordinance 2023-09 (First Reading) – Police Pension Plan Updates: Amended several sections of the pension code (Chapter 15) to maintain IRS compliance. No financial impact noted. Passed first reading unanimously.
  • Resolution 2023-58 – Seawall Replacement Contract: Authorized a contract with Enterprise Marine Construction for approximately 330 linear feet of corrugated vinyl seawall at the marina (channel entrance, inside marina, and at Gulfport Yacht Club). Funded from marina reserves. Council discussed the potential for eco-friendly seawall panels (mangrove panels) but confirmed that attachment to vinyl is not yet proven. The city will pursue a full seawall evaluation. Passed unanimously.

Council Comments/Reports

  • Councilmember Brown: Reminded residents of the upcoming Gecko Ball (theme: Around the World in 80 Geckos) and urged early ticket purchase.
  • Councilmember O'Hara: Reported on the South 49th Street business and neighborhood district meeting; requested council consensus for staff time to work on a beautification project. The project may involve traffic calming and community input. Council agreed.
  • Councilmember Thanos: Asked for a separate line item of $30,000 for trees in the budget (outside the parks department). Also urged budgeting for the senior center (potential $200K) rather than using reserves, and announced a meeting with the county commissioner about tree planting on Gulfport Boulevard. She will also meet with Rachel about senior center staffing and operational costs.
  • Mayor Henderson: Thanked city staff, including the new city clerk, fire chief, police commander, and technical/cleaning staff for their behind-the-scenes work.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved unanimously.
  • Ordinance 2023-07 (Yacht Club lease) passed unanimously.
  • Ordinance 2023-08 (garbage rate increase) passed first reading unanimously.
  • Ordinance 2023-09 (police pension updates) passed first reading unanimously.
  • Resolution 2023-58 (seawall contract) passed unanimously.
  • Staff was granted consensus to invest time in the 49th Street beautification project.
  • Councilmember Thanos’s request for a separate tree budget line item will be considered in budget discussions.
  • No new business was brought forward.
  • Meeting adjourned after council comments.

Meeting Transcript

All right, welcome everyone to the August 1st, 2023 regular city council meeting for Gulfport, Florida. Our invitation tonight's given by Councilmember Christine Brown, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Please join us in rising. Thank you all for coming. The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy, is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet alone with the heavens, nature, and God. Because only then does one feel that it is as it should be, and that God wishes to see people happy among the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles. This quote is attributed to Ann Frank, who today in 1944 made her last entry in her diary before she went to the concentration camp. Roll call, please, city clerk. Councilmember Brown, here. Councilmember O'Hara. Here. Councilmember Thanos. Here. Mayor Henderson. Here. Attorney Salzman. Here. City Manager O'Reilly. Here. City Clerk Carico present. Vice Mayor Ray has asked to be excused. All right, fantastic. Brings us straight to open public comment. This is for any item that is not on the agenda tonight. So we'll go with a show of hand. All right, Mr. Gunther. And Mr. Shea, how you doing? Well we have a very special program to launch tonight in support of the Michael J. Yakes Foundation. Thank you for giving us the flyer. So Mr. Gunther's here tonight to represent the My Foundation. The city was approached yesterday to talk about how to put together a back to school supply drive. So City Manager O'Reilly supported the coordination efforts. We talked to the local library of Dave at the Gulfport Public Library. The casino will have one of these donation boxes. Yeah, so we're looking to um to provide backpacks and school supplies for the under underprivileged kids that can't afford to do so strictly at Gulfport uh Elementary. Um I'm here on behalf of Maddie. Maddie's out of town. She couldn't be here, so I'm here in lieu of her, and um, this is really herself and Michael Yake's uh spearheading this and wanting to um get these backpacks and get the necessary school supplies that these children need to attend school and do well in school. All right, fantastic. That's great. There's

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