OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings
Gulfport City Council Meeting on October 3, 2023: Presentations, Public Comments, and Resolutions
City Council — Tuesday, October 3, 2023
BodyGulfport, Florida
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 3, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
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.
Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural14%
Affordable Housing14%
Public Works14%
Community Events12%
Public Safety11%
Public Comment10%
Senior Center Funding5%
Public Transportation5%
Environmental Protection4%
Summary of Proceedings
Gulfport City Council Meeting – October 3, 2023
The Gulfport City Council met on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, at 6:00 PM at City Hall. All council members were present: Councilmember O'Hara, Councilmember Thanos, Councilmember Brown, Vice Mayor Ray, Mayor Henderson, City Attorney Salzman, City Manager O'Reilly, and Deputy City Clerk Hartman. The meeting included a presentation by Pinellas County Commissioner Rene Flowers, public comments, approval of a consent agenda, first readings of two pension ordinances, and approval of multiple resolutions. Key discussion centered on the senior center capital campaign, electric vehicle purchases, and legislative consulting contracts.
Presentations
- Commissioner Rene Flowers (Pinellas County) provided an overview of county operations, noting a $3.8 billion budget, 41% of which goes to the sheriff’s department, and a 10.8% increase in property tax revenue. She highlighted the Penny for Pinellas referendum (41% for affordable housing) and commended the city for its affordable housing agenda item (Resolution 2023‑85). She also mentioned collaboration with Councilmember Thanos on the 22nd Avenue corridor project.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Diana (Gulfport resident) and Kevin (her husband) spoke about a disturbing encounter with Officer Kevin Chastain. Diana alleged she was bullied by a local business owner, then disrespected by Officer Chastain and Councilmember O'Hara. She stated body camera footage shows inappropriate behavior, but the police department and O'Hara minimized her concerns. Kevin accused the police chief and city manager of condoning threats against customers by business owners. Both called for accountability.
- Diane Daniel (Indian Rocks Beach) introduced her nonprofit “Vacation Donations,” which aims to reduce waste from vacation rentals by connecting travelers with local donation resources. She offered to create a dedicated Gulfport page on her website at no cost.
- Tommy Bixler (Lions Club Foundation President) promoted upcoming events: a “Get Lade” dance on October 14, pancake breakfasts starting November 4 honoring veterans, and volunteer opportunities. He thanked the city for listing Lions Club events on its website.
- Melissa Helmholtz (Vice President, Gulfport Merchants Chamber of Commerce) and Sarah Lara Clante (President/CEO) reported on recent chamber events (Oktoberfest, Tuesday Market) and announced new members including Salty Water Tours. They noted the city officially rejoined the chamber in September.
- Regina Buscemi thanked the council for supporting the September 11 memorial and promoted a “Welcome to Gulfport” event on Friday, October 13, at Scout Hall.
Discussion Items
- Resolution 2023‑87 (Kinetic Fundraising – Senior Center Capital Campaign): Moved ahead of schedule due to travel constraints. Councilmember Thanos expressed skepticism about raising the remaining ~$13 million (only ~$2 million raised to date) and questioned the change in team members. Kinetic representatives stated they have $6.6 million in current asks and a 100% success rate so far, aiming to meet a $5 million benchmark by December 2024. Public speaker Robert Pushemi expressed confidence in the team. After debate, the council voted 4‑1 to approve (Thanos dissenting).
- Resolution 2023‑90 (Purchase of Two Work Trucks): Councilmember Thanos proposed using $30,000 budgeted for website improvements to upgrade one truck (Ford F‑150) to an electric model, doubling the cost to ~$82,000. City Manager O’Reilly noted that other more suitable hybrid/electric vehicles would be brought forward at the next meeting. Councilmember O’Hara and Vice Mayor Ray raised concerns about cost, charging infrastructure, and battery disposal. Thanos eventually withdrew her amendment, and the resolution to purchase the gas‑powered trucks and auction two old trucks passed unanimously.
- Resolution 2023‑91 (Purchase of Sanitation Truck): The city manager explained this is a routine replacement from the Sanitation Enterprise Fund; an electric option existed but was prohibitively expensive ($800,000). The resolution passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda Approved Unanimously: Including minutes of September 18, 2023, and resolutions 2023‑75 through 2023‑84 (library materials, Granicus platform, IT services, building services, sanitation truck repairs, shade sails, street sweeping, surf turf, dance services, and holiday decorations).
- Ordinance 2023‑13 (Firefighters’ Pension Fund Amendments) – First Reading Approved Unanimously: Ministerial updates to maintain IRS compliance; no financial impact.
- Ordinance 2023‑14 (General Employees’ Pension Plan Amendments) – First Reading Approved Unanimously: Increased the benefit multiplier from 2.0% to 2.3% and made other code‑compliant changes.
- Resolution 2023‑85 (Affordable Housing Real Property Inventory) Approved Unanimously: City identified no surplus fee‑simple properties suitable for affordable housing, as required by new Florida law (effective July 1, 2023).
- Resolution 2023‑86 (Title VI Nondiscrimination Policy for GEMS Grant) Approved Unanimously: Required to receive FDOT grant funding; city’s existing Human Rights Ordinance (Chapter 26) already complies.
- Resolution 2023‑88 (Shumaker Advisors – State Lobbying) Approved Unanimously: Consultants have secured $1.2 million for 58th Street and $1 million for sanitary sewer projects.
- Resolution 2023‑89 (Thorn Run Partners – Federal Lobbying) Approved Unanimously: Consultants have secured $1.5 million for senior center design and $2.5 million for sewer projects.
- New Business: Councilmember Thanos requested a presentation on tree canopy by arborist Dean Hay at the next meeting (October 17), to inform discussion of a tree ordinance. Councilmember Brown requested closure of Hall Street between 9th and 11th for Halloween evening block party; the mayor noted residents can arrange street closures with city approval.
- Council Comments: Councilmember O’Hara thanked participants of Gecko Fest and promoted a cash mob and art show. Councilmember Thanos announced Jeff Brandis will speak on affordable housing on November 21. Vice Mayor Ray noted the passing of community member Lawrence Burke and his celebration of life. Mayor Henderson highlighted recent science achievements (asteroid sample return and subglacial lake life).
Meeting Transcript
Stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't. Under God, individuals with liberty and justice. All right, 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. Here. Deputy City Clerk Hartman present. Thank you. All right. Pleasure to have you at the meeting. Thank you. So we have a presentation this evening. We have uh we're lucky enough to have Commissioner County Commissioner Renee Flowers here with us tonight. Thank you very much for taking the time to come down to Gulfport. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. Good evening, everyone. Thank you so very much. And it's a pleasure to be here. Um, we're neighbors. I live not too far from here. So to uh Mayor Sam, that's what I call him, and to Vice Mayor Paul Ray, and to all of the city council members as well as city attorney and city manager. For those of you lovely folks out here, thank you so much for having me. I just um want to make sure that I am uh touring Pinellas County, not just my district, Gulfport is a part of my wonderful district, but the entire county just kind of talking about what it is that we're doing uh in the county government system and to make sure that you know I am available to you for questions or for uh serving together on projects. Anything that you need that I can do, I'm certainly available. I just want to give a little highlight about our budget season. I'm sure that you all just completed yours, and it tends to be a very interesting process, especially as we look at the times where we are now. As you know, Pinellas County is huge. We have close to a million people residing in our county, and we have about a thousand people moving in on a weekly basis, just exactly where they are parking. You can just only look at the new apartment complexes and houses that are going up, and you will see that they are taking advantage of our lovely beach communities. And so, as such, we're having to look at stormwater sewer uh issues and look at things where we're providing um those services to them and expanding our resources so that it doesn't kind of creep up on us. As you know, Pinellas County has its own local administrative services, and then we have our constitutionals that we fund. We do not manage their day-to-day operations, but their budgets come from our overall budget. Our budget is close to 3.8 billion dollars. And while that sounds like a lot of money, when you look at the unfunded mandates that come out of Tallahassee, it really is not. For example, Tallahassee decided that the FRS increase was going to be put back down on local governments, and so that caused a huge increase in our budget to our sheriff's department, where his budget now takes up about 41% of our overall income.
SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com
openpublica.com