Gulfport City Council Meeting June 6, 2023: Audit, Yacht Club Lease, and Pensions
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Gulfport City Council Meeting Summary - June 6, 2023
The Gulfport City Council met on June 6, 2023, at Gulfport City Hall. The meeting included presentations on fire department promotions and the FY2021-2022 audit, followed by public comments, a contentious lease discussion with the Boca Ciega Yacht Club, approval of pension amendments, and several resolutions. The meeting concluded with council reports and adjournment.
Presentations
- Fire Department Promotions: Fire Chief Rene Fernandez promoted Firefighter Paramedic Michael Barber to Lieutenant and Lieutenant Timothy Burden to Fire Captain Paramedic. Both were recognized for their service, education, and role-model behavior.
- FY2021-2022 Audit: David Alvarez, CPA from Carr, Riggs & Ingram, presented the audit results. He reported a clean (unmodified) opinion, no material weaknesses or deficiencies, and no findings in the state single audit. The city's general fund unassigned balance was $6.4 million as of September 30, 2022, the highest in 10 years. However, the combined unfunded pension liability for all three plans rose from $357,000 to $7.3 million due to investment performance as of that date. The city had spent all its ARPA funds, and $1.3 million of the unassigned balance was still available from ARPA. Councilmember Thanos asked about the pension reserves, and City Manager O'Reilly explained the city had historically maintained a buffer.
- Certificate of Achievement: Mayor Henderson presented the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to Finance Director Cheryl Hannison, marking the 10th time since 2012.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Lenny Gokenheimer (5213 Dillett Avenue South) requested the city pass a resolution supporting a Florida constitutional amendment for clean water rights, and urged lobbying Governor DeSantis to veto a budget item banning local phosphate fertilizer bans. He offered petition materials.
- Joe Ginther (5405 Shore Boulevard South), with Jennifer Kimbrell and the McQuillan family, thanked the council for approving the Rally for Rachel event and presented a $12,000 check to the family.
- Richard Freed expressed personal experiences with electrical activity after death, arguing that a fetus is not a life, and criticized the six-week abortion ban. He offered wire hangers as a demonstration, but the council declined.
- Boca Ciega Yacht Club Lease (Ordinance 2023-03): Multiple speakers addressed the proposed public access strip.
- Jen Buckley (Commodore, BCYC) requested a reasonable buffer instead of full public access, citing security concerns and the need to maintain liability insurance and the club's nonprofit status.
- Richard Freed opposed private clubs on public land unless non-members can use facilities.
- An unidentified BCYC member (grandmother of four) pleaded for safety, referencing sexual offenders in the area and asked council to reconsider.
- David Cantor (5709 16th Avenue South) supported public access, arguing the club is a tenant and should not dictate terms; he suggested the club could afford a fence.
- Richard Walters (BCYC historian) expressed pride in the club's history and opposed the public strip, questioning the motive and warning of maintenance and safety issues.
- Anne (4625 29th Avenue South) opposed the strip, citing potential liability and the existence of a park nearby.
- Police Pension Ordinance (2023-05): Richard Freed spoke in favor of unions generally but criticized the police union for not standing in solidarity with other unions.
- Fire Pension Ordinance (2023-06): A speaker (apparently a firefighter pension trustee) supported the ordinance, noting it simplified the plan and was carefully calculated to benefit firefighters without major impact on the city.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of March 21, 2023 Minutes: Passed unanimously.
Ordinances
- Ordinance 2023-03 (Boca Ciega Yacht Club Lease): After lengthy debate and a motion to reconsider, the council initially voted 3-2 in favor of Option A (with the public access strip), but then a motion to reconsider passed 3-2. The council then voted on the ordinance as written with Option A, passing 3-2 (Councilmembers O'Hara and Thanos and Mayor Henderson voting no; Brown and Ray voting yes). The lease includes a 150-foot by 22-foot public access strip along the seawall.
- Ordinance 2023-04 (Flood Damage Prevention Amendments): Passed unanimously.
- Ordinance 2023-05 (Police Pension Amendments): Passed unanimously. The amendment allows retirement after 25 years of service regardless of age (previously required age 52), sets a 3% multiplier, and adds a 3% employee contribution.
- Ordinance 2023-06 (Fire Pension Amendments): Passed unanimously. First reading; changes the accrual rate to a fixed 3.37%, stabilizes COLA for ages 55-65, and has employees contribute state funds.
Resolutions
- Resolution 2023-38 (Baker & Taylor Library Materials): Passed unanimously. Authorizes $35,000 for library materials.
- Resolution 2023-39 (Robert Half Staffing Services): Passed 4-1 (Councilmember Thanos dissenting). Authorizes up to $60,000 for temporary staffing services.
- Resolution 2023-40 (City-Owned Cell Phones for Council): Passed 3-2 (Councilmembers Thanos and Ray voting no). Allows council members to opt into city-owned phones; cost is approx. $29 for iPhone, $50-100 for Android, plus $37/month plan.
- Resolution 2023-41 (Appoint Alternate to Planning & Zoning Board): Passed unanimously, appointing Tommy Bixler. Councilmember Thanos objected to the process, preferring a more formal selection process, but others supported Bixler's experience.
Discussion
- Affordable Housing Workshop: Mayor Henderson and others discussed a potential workshop with Forward Pinellas on affordable housing. Councilmember Thanos suggested it, but Councilmember O'Hara wanted time to review prior presentation materials. They agreed to possibly revisit in the fall when more residents are present.
Key Outcomes
- All agenda items were approved, with Ordinance 2023-03 passing 3-2 and Resolution 2023-39 passing 4-1; others passed unanimously or with noted dissents.
- The council indicated interest in adding a clean water resolution to a future agenda.
- Next steps: Implementation of approved leases and ordinances, and potential fall affordable housing workshop.
Council Comments/Reports
- Councilmember O'Hara attended hurricane preparedness conference and promoted a charity event.
- Councilmember Thanos reported on Pride flag raising, rain garden award, upcoming Gulfport on the Edge presentation, and social worker progress.
- Councilmember Brown commented on hurricane conference and summer safety.
- Vice Mayor Ray reported on successful Pride event and free swimming lessons.
- Mayor Henderson made no report.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent.
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. 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. So big round of applause. Congratulations, guys. Thanks for having us and letting us do our presentation here. Absolutely. Thank you.
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