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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Meeting Summary – May 20, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, May 20, 2025

BodyGulfport, Florida

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, May 20, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

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Transcript — Verbatim

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

Speaker 1

8:15

Good evening.

8:19

Once again, if you're if you know you're going to want to speak at public comment, it'd be good for you to get as close up to the front or off to the sides as you can.

8:27

That'll save us a little time later.

8:30

And when it gets to be around ten o'clock, everyone will be glad that we saved ten minutes.

Speaker 2

9:49

Council Member Early.

Speaker 3

10:00

Present.

Speaker 2

10:00

City Clerk Carico is present.

Speaker 1

10:04

And as usual, if you there's a need for side conversation, I understand it.

10:09

You just need to go out into the lobby so that we're not distracted up here.

10:14

I'm sure you all understand.

10:16

Okay, with that in mind.

10:18

Presentations.

10:20

So I know that the agenda says no presentations, but I believe we do have.

10:25

Oh, and she's here right now.

10:27

Okay, so this evening.

Unassigned speaker

10:30

Uh

Speaker 1

10:30

we will hear from presenter Megan Blancher of the Coastal Ecologist for the Tampa Bay Regional Counseling Council, excuse me.

10:42

And you are going to present on the regional resiliency action plan as well as the emergency preparedness and recovery resources.

10:51

Thank you and welcome to Gulfport.

Speaker 4

10:54

Good evening, Mayor.

10:55

Um, Council members, thank you for having me.

10:57

Uh, my name is Megan Blanchard, as you said, and I'm the coastal ecologist for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

11:03

I'm happy to join you today as your government liaison is a benefit included in your membership with TBRPC.

Unassigned speaker

11:11

I'm gonna click.

Speaker 4

11:13

Uh Vice Mayor Thanos has requested a combination of presentations today.

11:18

First, introduce the resiliency coalition and its action plan for your consideration, and to describe some emergency preparedness and recovery resources.

11:27

Oh, just so you wanted to know.

Unassigned speaker

11:30

Um,

Speaker 4

11:30

so here's the oh we're going past it.

11:33

Uh so here we go.

11:34

The Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition was established in 2018 by a memorandum of understanding, including 33 members and over a hundred private sector partners uh to participate as well.

11:46

The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council is a member of this coalition, and so is the city of Gulfport.

11:53

I'm just gonna

Unassigned speaker

11:54

okay.

Speaker 4

11:54

So here you see uh the TBRRC includes councils as far north as Citrus, so as far south as Sarasota and Pinellas County.

Unassigned speaker

12:02

Um

Speaker 4

12:02

this is the second such collaborative in the state,

Unassigned speaker

12:05

and

Speaker 4

12:05

it's taken on a noteworthy challenge to bring together as many communities as possible who will be impacted by climate change to tackle a problem with no single solution.

Unassigned speaker

12:15

The

Speaker 4

12:15

coalition dives into issues of sea level rise, storms, flooding, extreme heat, all hazards emerging as the defining issues of life in this region.

12:23

The coalition takes on trending issues head on from public and private angles in collaboration and coordination,

Unassigned speaker

12:29

uh,

Speaker 4

12:29

views this uncertain future as an opportunity to demonstrate admirable stewardship and leadership.

12:36

Um to catalyze this work in uh 2022.

12:41

Um the RAP, the Regional Resiliency Action Plan, was developed as a foundation upon which all members can build their resiliency strategy.

12:49

It was built by consensus and breakout groups consisting of public agency staff, private partners, and elected officials.

Unassigned speaker

12:55

This

Speaker 4

12:56

voluntary plan was designed as a guide so partners and members would know where their neighbors were taking action, what direction the region is moving in, and determine for themselves the actions of the areas of action appropriate for them.

13:07

Regionality doesn't mean

Unassigned speaker

13:10

that

Speaker 4

13:10

every city or county does the same thing in the same way, but working within your capacity to bring the shared vision to life.

13:17

This is an example page from our plan.

Unassigned speaker

13:20

We

Speaker 4

13:20

call it a menu where member governments can select from these local actions, which are really small on the right-hand side.

13:27

Um, or go above and beyond as needed or practical practicable.

13:32

Like I mentioned, regionality is not one size fits all.

13:34

The RAP is the plan that aligns like-minded governments on their journey of resilience and will look different depending on the resources, political will, size, public desire, and needs of each community.

13:45

Maybe I can show you RPC actions.

13:48

Um these regional collaboration actions are where you'll see the RPC working in the area of resiliency.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Permitting and Inspections███████████████████████████27%

Public Engagement█████████████13%

Environmental Protection█████████9%

Emergency Management████████8%

Technology and Innovation████████8%

Procedural█████5%

Public Works█████5%

Engineering And Infrastructure█████5%

Community Events███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Meeting – May 20, 2025

The Gulfport City Council met on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at City Hall. The meeting included a presentation from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (TBRPC), a public hearing and unanimous passage of a smoking ban on municipal beaches, approval of several operational resolutions, and a lengthy discussion on reforming the city's building permitting process during the post-hurricane recovery.

Presentations & Guest Speakers

Megan Blancher, Coastal Ecologist for TBRPC, presented the Regional Resiliency Action Plan (RAP) and emergency preparedness resources. She highlighted regional collaboration on sea level rise, storms, flooding, and extreme heat. She also introduced the TBRPC Emergency Management Hub created between Hurricanes Helene and Milton and the ongoing disaster recovery resources available to the city.

Consent Calendar

Approved the meeting minutes from May 6, 2025.
Resolution No. 2025-45: Appointed Nathan Bruemmer to serve on the Board of Adjustment.

Public Comments & Testimony

Volleyball Court & Ethics Complaint: Charlotte Downey requested a knee wall be reinstated at the volleyball court and urged the council to withdraw the ethics complaint against Councilwoman Thanos, characterizing the complaint as "petty and vindictive."
Fusion 49th: Nancy Dunham celebrated the district's second anniversary, highlighting the Safe Streets program and requesting a future formal presentation to council.
Chamber of Commerce: Scott Lindy invited the community to a meet-and-greet on June 14th.
Parkview Camera: Lisa Chestnut requested the city partner with ParkView to install a live camera feed at Chase Park, submitting a petition with over 130 signatures.
Gulfport Coastline Coalition (4990 31st Ave S): Multiple residents urged the council to secure the coastal parcel for public use as a park, citing flood risks (FEMA flood zone designation), the need for resilient land use, and property value benefits.
Remote Meeting Participation: A speaker presented data showing 2,425 streams of council meetings between April 1 and May 7 and urged the formation of a committee on accessibility to allow virtual participants to speak during public comment.
Smoking Ban: Wolfgang Dininger and SWAT students thanked the council for the beach smoking ban but urged its extension to all city parks and the pier.
General City Issues: Lisa Melkey thanked new leadership for beach restoration progress but raised concerns about constituent emails being blocked, pedestrian safety on 49th Street, and homeless encampments.

Discussion Items

Building Department Permitting Process (#2): City Manager Jim O'Reilly presented three models (fully in-house, fully outsourced to Pinellas County, or a hybrid), noting the current 25-year-old system was overwhelmed by a 45.4% increase in post-storm permit applications. Council debated whether to outsource or fix internal processes. Councilmember Jackson supported a hybrid model with an AI chatbot. Vice Mayor Thanos argued for a full process review before a structural change. Councilmember Shaw requested a detailed presentation from Pinellas County. Mayor Love strongly advocated for full outsourcing to the county to free up staff for other recovery tasks and new state requirements (SB 180), stating, "We don't get the complaints... we focus on other things." The council agreed to invite Pinellas County for a formal presentation on their services before making a final decision.
Charter Review Committee Recommendations: The committee (Chair Joe Gunther, Vice Chair Aaron Beaman) is ready to receive council recommendations. Councilmembers submitted desired sections for review, with the top priority sections being 103, 302, 305, 306, and 1005.

Key Outcomes

Ordinance 2025-01: Unanimously passed on second reading, prohibiting smoking (cigarettes, e-cigarettes, tobacco products) on municipal beaches. Council directed staff to draft a similar ordinance for parks and the pier.
Resolutions Approved:
- No. 2025-46 (Pinellas County MIFO Interlocal Agreement).
- No. 2025-47 (SML Inc. records management funding).
- No. 2025-48 (Asphalt Paving Systems, Inc. roadway milling).
- No. 2025-49 (Hoosier Welder, LLC Williams Pier railing).
City Manager Report Actions:
- Placed Kinetic Fundraising on 30-day notice to terminate contract.
- Announced Commander Farron as top candidate for Police Chief.
- Updated storm-property status: 39 of 155 high-damage properties remain uncontacted.
- Announced installation of a temporary dinghy dock at the marina.
Future Business:
- ADU discussion scheduled for June 3, 2025.
- Pinellas County permitting presentation to be scheduled.
- Hurricane response "look back" workshop scheduled for July 22, 2025.
- Resiliency workshop scheduled for May 22, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. Once again, if you're if you know you're going to want to speak at public comment, it'd be good for you to get as close up to the front or off to the sides as you can. That'll save us a little time later. And when it gets to be around ten o'clock, everyone will be glad that we saved ten minutes. Council Member Early. Present. City Clerk Carico is present. And as usual, if you there's a need for side conversation, I understand it. You just need to go out into the lobby so that we're not distracted up here. I'm sure you all understand. Okay, with that in mind. Presentations. So I know that the agenda says no presentations, but I believe we do have. Oh, and she's here right now. Okay, so this evening. Uh we will hear from presenter Megan Blancher of the Coastal Ecologist for the Tampa Bay Regional Counseling Council, excuse me. And you are going to present on the regional resiliency action plan as well as the emergency preparedness and recovery resources. Thank you and welcome to Gulfport. Good evening, Mayor. Um, Council members, thank you for having me. Uh, my name is Megan Blanchard, as you said, and I'm the coastal ecologist for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. I'm happy to join you today as your government liaison is a benefit included in your membership with TBRPC. I'm gonna click. Uh Vice Mayor Thanos has requested a combination of presentations today. First, introduce the resiliency coalition and its action plan for your consideration, and to describe some emergency preparedness and recovery resources. Oh, just so you wanted to know. Um, so here's the oh we're going past it. Uh so here we go. The Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition was established in 2018 by a memorandum of understanding, including 33 members and over a hundred private sector partners uh to participate as well. The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council is a member of this coalition, and so is the city of Gulfport. I'm just gonna okay. So here you see uh the TBRRC includes councils as far north as Citrus, so as far south as Sarasota and Pinellas County. Um this is the second such collaborative in the state, and it's taken on a noteworthy challenge to bring together as many communities as possible who will be impacted by climate change to tackle a problem with no single solution. The coalition dives into issues of sea level rise, storms, flooding, extreme heat, all hazards emerging as the defining issues of life in this region. The coalition takes on trending issues head on from public and private angles in collaboration and coordination, uh, views this uncertain future as an opportunity to demonstrate admirable stewardship and leadership. Um to catalyze this work in uh 2022. Um the RAP, the Regional Resiliency Action Plan, was developed as a foundation upon which all members can build their resiliency strategy. It was built by consensus and breakout groups consisting of public agency staff, private partners, and elected officials. This voluntary plan was designed as a guide so partners and members would know where their neighbors were taking action, what direction the region is moving in, and determine for themselves the actions of the areas of action appropriate for them. Regionality doesn't mean

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