Gulfport City Council Meeting - May 20, 2025
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Gulfport City Council Meeting – May 20, 2025
The Gulfport City Council met on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 6:00 PM at Gulfport City Hall. The meeting included a presentation on regional resiliency, public comments on a coastal parcel, a second reading of a beach smoking ban, several resolutions, and extended discussions on building department permitting and charter review.
Presentations
- Megan Blanchard, Coastal Ecologist, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (TBRPC): Presented the Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Action Plan (RAP) and emergency preparedness resources. She noted that the RAP is a voluntary guide for member governments and highlighted Gulfport’s two featured projects: an FDEP-funded vulnerability assessment and a stormwater/restoration project reducing runoff into Clam Bayou. She also described TBRPC’s emergency management hub, activated between Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and noted that the city is hosting a hurricane preparedness seminar on June 1, 2025, from 6–7 PM at the Hickman Theater.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Charlotte Downey (13th Ave S): Urged council to restore the knee wall at the volleyball court, asked council to withdraw the ethics complaint against Councilmember Thanos, and thanked council for the beach smoking ban.
- Nancy Dunham (Fusion 49th): Celebrated the district’s second anniversary, highlighted progress on the Safe Streets program, and announced a cleanup on May 31 and a monthly meeting on June 2.
- Scott Lindy (Gulfport Merchants Chamber of Commerce): Invited the community to a meet-and-greet with the new board on June 14 from 3–5 PM at the Welcome Center.
- Lisa Chestnut (pickleball community): Requested a partnership with ParkView for a live camera feed at Chase Park and presented a petition with over 130 signatures.
- Karen Schwartz (Gulfport Coastline Coalition): Asked council to secure the parcel at 4990 31st Avenue South for public use and to rezone it from R3 to a preservation designation.
- Laura Oldaney (9th Ave S): Supported increased involvement with TBRPC and urged residents to educate themselves on climate risks.
- Jeanette Sells (new build homeowner): Supported the Coastline Coalition’s effort to acquire the coastal parcel as a public park, citing flood mitigation and community benefit.
- Amy (property owner, not fully named): Noted that data from TBRPC shows homes near waterways see an average assessed value increase of over $52,000, supporting the park proposal.
- Wolfgang Dininger (Gulfport Grassroots): Reported that 15 volunteers collected 61 pounds of trash at the May cleanup; next cleanup is June 7.
- Angelina Ruggie (homeowner): Spoke in support of the Coastline Coalition, urging a commitment to identifying vulnerable coastal areas and rezoning for public use.
- Courtney (resident): Urged council to implement a process for remote public comment, citing 2,425 streams of council meetings between April 1 and May 7, with live viewership of 484 on April 1, 405 on April 15, and 330 on May 6. Proposed forming a committee on accessibility and community engagement.
- Alex Lombard (Ward 2): Supported turning the flood-prone parcel at 49th and 31st into a public park to boost property values and quality of life.
- MJ Hodges (mother, former business owner): Supported the Coastline Coalition.
- Lisa Melkey (waterfront district): Thanked leadership for progress on storm recovery, raised concerns about emails being blocked when contacting council members, requested speed bumps on 49th Street, and noted homeless encampments in parking lots.
- Margo (resident): Asked about the extent of Fusion 49th’s corridor and expressed concern about a person living at the trolley park.
Consent Calendar
- Item 6.a: Approved meeting minutes from May 6, 2025.
- Item 6.b: Resolution 2025-45 appointing Nathan Bruemmer to the Board of Adjustment. Passed unanimously.
Ordinance
- Item 7.a – Ordinance 2025-01 (Second Reading and Public Hearing): Prohibits cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, and tobacco products on municipal beaches as defined in the ordinance. Public comment included Wolfgang and three SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) members urging an extension to parks and the pier. Mayor clarified that the city previously had a ban that was overturned by the state. City Attorney Saltzman noted that separate ordinances for parks could be drafted. The council voted unanimously to pass the ordinance.
Resolutions
- Item 8.a – Resolution 2025-46: Authorized the City Manager to execute the Interlocal Agreement with Pinellas County regarding the Multimodal Impact Fee Ordinance. Passed unanimously.
- Item 8.b – Resolution 2025-47: Authorized additional funding for records management services with SML, Inc. for the City Clerk’s office. City Clerk Carico explained that the funds will digitize old fireproof filing cabinets. Passed unanimously.
- Item 8.c – Resolution 2025-48: Authorized a contract with Asphalt Paving Systems, Inc. for annual roadway milling and resurfacing (budgeted $400,000). Public Works Director Tom Nichols noted that the city has no “failed” or “poor” roads left and is working on the “fair” category. Passed unanimously.
- Item 8.d – Resolution 2025-49: Authorized a contract with Hoosier Welder, LLC for fabrication and replacement of aluminum railing along Williams Pier. Nichols noted that the pier is structurally sound and will reopen once railing is installed. Passed unanimously.
Discussion Items
- Item 9.a – Building Department Permitting Process Discussion #2: City Manager O’Reilly presented options: keep in-house, outsource to Pinellas County, or a hybrid model. He reported that pre-storm (Oct 2023–Sep 2024) the city issued 2,186 permits; post-storm (Oct 2024–May 2025) 1,644 permits. Of these, 2,054 pre-storm and 1,472 post-storm were contractor permits. Only 132 pre-storm and 172 post-storm were owner-builder permits. Council members expressed varied views. Mayor Love advocated for full outsourcing to the county to free staff for new state requirements (SB 180). Councilmember Jackson supported a hybrid with resident permits kept in-house. Councilmember Shaw wanted a presentation from the county first. Councilmember Thanos called for a process review before deciding. The council agreed to invite Pinellas County for a presentation at a future meeting before making a decision. Councilmember Jackson also noted that AI chatbot options could assist residents, but concerns about integration with current BSNA software were raised.
- Item 9.b – Charter Review Committee – City Council Recommendations: Chair Joe Gunther and Vice Chair Aaron Beaman were selected. Council members provided sections for review. Duplicate recommendations included Section 103 (three mentions), 302 (three), 305 (three), 306 (two), and 1005 (two). These will be the first priorities. The committee will also consider other sections individually. City Attorney Saltzman noted that simple wording changes may be handled as scrivener’s errors.
Key Outcomes
- Beach Smoking Ban: Ordinance 2025-01 passed unanimously, effective immediately.
- Resolutions 2025-46, 47, 48, 49: All passed unanimously.
- Permitting Discussion: Council directed staff to schedule a presentation from Pinellas County’s building department for a future meeting to compare models.
- Charter Review Priorities: Sections 103, 302, 305, 306, and 1005 were identified as top priorities for the committee.
- Other Directions: City Manager will proceed with putting Kinetic Fundraising on 30 days’ notice. The city will provide a trolley for the June 28 Pride Parade in St. Petersburg. A discussion on ADUs is scheduled for June 3, 2025. A “look back” workshop on storm recovery is planned for July 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 that every city or county does the same thing in the same way, but working within your capacity to bring the shared vision to life. This is an example page from our plan. We call it a menu where member governments can select from these local actions, which are really small on the right-hand side. Um, or go above and beyond as needed or practical practicable. Like I mentioned, regionality is not one size fits all. 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. Maybe I can show you RPC actions. Um these regional collaboration actions are where you'll see the RPC working in the area of resiliency. And it was also important that the plan describe co-benefits, positive benefits to other sectors that these actions would provide as well. And I'm gonna just I apologize. Some that would be very very relevant to the city of Goldport include community resiliency, sustainable and attainable housing, resilient public infrastructure, and business community continuity.
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