Gulfport City Council Meeting – July 21, 2026
Gulfport City Council Meeting – July 21, 2026
The meeting began with an invocation and pledge, followed by roll call and two presentations. The council heard from Forward Pinellas on regional transportation and land‑use planning, and from the Gulfport Environmental Team (GET) on the 2026 tree canopy analysis. Public comments addressed tree canopy, bike racks, and city policies. The council unanimously approved several resolutions, including a new utility billing system and a shoreline enhancement grant, and selected a new design for the Trolley Market Square welcome sign.
Consent Calendar
- Approved meeting minutes from July 7, 2026.
- Approved Resolution 2026‑48 appointing a member to the Planning and Zoning Board. (All votes unanimous.)
Public Comments & Testimony
- April Thanos (Gulfport resident) supported increasing the green‑space mandate and suggested incentivizing permeable driveways, preserving border trees, and restoring tree‑budget funding. She also asked about Flock cameras.
- Karen Schwartz (Dillette Avenue South) requested a bike rack near the Gulfport History Museum.
- Susan Gore (Town Shores) invited council to her going‑away party and urged council to consider opportunity costs, especially regarding the casino loss, the senior center campaign, and the hiring process for an administrative assistant.
- E‑comment from Timothy Walters opposed the proposed 8% garbage fee increase, arguing it outpaces cost‑of‑living adjustments and that Gulfport’s rates are already higher than neighboring communities.
Discussion Items
- Forward Pinellas Presentation (Witt Blanton): Discussed the MPO merger with Pasco and Hillsborough counties, a proposed decoupling of the Pinellas Planning Council from the MPO, streamlined land‑use reviews for small parcels, and grant opportunities for local transportation projects. Councilmembers asked about board composition, safeguards for Pinellas representation, and the definition of non‑controversial land‑use cases.
- Gulfport Environmental Team (GET) Tree Canopy Analysis (Dean Hay): Reported that Gulfport’s tree canopy cover increased from 23.1% (2023) to 28.8% (2026), effectively achieving the 30% goal. Impervious surface cover jumped 6.1% (mostly on private property), adding 33.1 acres of lost infiltration and 225,000 gallons of stormwater runoff per inch of rain. GET recommended: (1) adopt a 32% canopy goal by 2032 with 200‑300 shade trees planted per year; (2) adopt a mandatory 25% minimum green space across all zoning districts; (3) pilot a residential green stormwater infrastructure program with $5,000 for plant materials. Councilmembers noted state‑law restrictions on changing land‑use regulations until October 2027 and asked for a written report with ward‑level data.
- Flock Cameras Discussion (Chief of Police): Confirmed Gulfport has five Flock cameras (a sixth to be installed), used solely for license plate recognition to solve crimes and recover stolen vehicles. Data is retained 30 days, not shared with non‑police agencies, and the department does not use drones. Cameras are placed on major thoroughfares.
- Trolley Market Square Sign Selection: Council reviewed 11 anonymous submissions. After discussion and public comment, consensus favored the design by Scott Lindy and Ann Barca, which incorporates the city’s existing branding (logo, trolley, black‑and‑white historical images). The design was chosen over two other finalists.
Key Outcomes
- Resolutions Passed Unanimously (6A–8E):
- 6A: Consent agenda (minutes, planning board appointment).
- 8A: Fiscal year 2026‑2027 proposed millage rate of 4.0258 mills (no tax increase).
- 8B: Interlocal agreement with Forward Pinellas for planning/mapping services.
- 8C: Agreement with CUSI to replace the utility billing and customer information system ($47,000 one‑time cost, $48,000 annual subscription, funded by utility enterprise fund).
- 8D: Change order for casino dock fire suppression system (KM2H LLC).
- 8E: Agreement with Tampa Bay Estuary Program for shoreline enhancement at Veterans Park (city match of $46,900, mostly in‑kind volunteer hours).
- Trolley Market Square Sign: The design by Scott Lindy and Ann Barca was selected for the welcome sign.
- Flock Cameras: The chief confirmed data retention and usage policies; no further council action required.
- Future Workshops/Town Halls:
- August 4: Discussion of draft e‑bike ordinance.
- August 27: Rainwater harvesting town hall (led by Mayor Love).
- October 1: Workshop on long‑term vehicle parking and storage.
- City Clerk Actions: Cancel August 18 council meeting due to primary elections; PSTA appointment process to be determined.
- Councilmember Shaw requested a future workshop on GET’s three recommendations (subject to legal review and budget timing).
- Councilmember Webb requested additional time to research compassionate cities programs.
- Mayor Love asked council to begin thinking of a new name for the former Lions Club property.
Meeting Transcript
Well, welcome. Thank you for attending. I don't even know today's Jude a date. It's July, I believe. Thank you for attending the July twenty twenty six meeting. We have a small crowd. I'm not sure why. I'm used to seeing bigger crowds these days. Would everybody take a second and just make sure their telephone is off. And then with that in mind, we will uh start tonight's meeting with the invocation given by Council Member Donch, and then we'll go right to Pledge of Allegiance. Robert Ingler Soul said, We rise by lifting others. And Margaret Mead said, never believe that a few caring people can't change the world, for indeed that's all who ever have. So today, a national be someone day, be someone's reason to believe that there are still good people in the world. I think of the United States of America. And to the republic for which is one nation under our team and justice for all the councilmember Donch? Here. Vice Mayor Shaw, present. Councilmember Webb. Present. Councilmember Early, present. Mayor Love here. City Attorney Salzman. Here. City Manager O'Reilly. City Clerk Carico is present. Very good. All right. So tonight we actually have two presentations. We had thought that the juvenile welfare board might show up and we were going to give them a proclamation or read a proclamation for them, but they're not here tonight. So we get to meet Mr. Witt Blanton. He is the executive director of Ford Pinellas, and sometimes you hear me report on Ford Pinellas because I get to sit on that board. So please, if you would even thank you all for having me. It's nice to be here. It's been a little while since I've been to Gulfport. But thanks for carving out a little time on the agenda for me to give you an update. I wanted to cover a few things that are going on both regionally and countywide level that are important. And I've been making the rounds to all the local governments. We have 24 cities here in this county, and so starting in April and probably through October, we're going to be getting on the agendas just to make sure everybody is updated. And there's a couple things that there'll be some follow-up activities. So this is my 11th year now as the executive director of Ford Pinellas, and I was hired when we unified the Pinellas Planning Council and the Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization to align land use and transportation decision making countywide. And I think it's been it's been good for the most part. And we're really happy to have Mayor Love on the board and to add that perspective from a great city of Gulfport. So just so you're aware, we um are one of 27 metropolitan planning organizations in Florida that represent the urban areas of the state, but none of them operate like we do that have that land use transportation linkage. So we're unique. But we've advanced some really good projects over the years, and our job is to bring federal transportation dollars and state transportation dollars into the into the county by prioritizing projects. And on the land use side, we really simply make sure that uh plan development is happening in a way that is consistent with and supported by local governments. It's not a one-size-fits-all approach. Um our governing board is comprised of 19 members. Uh it expanded in size a few years ago after the 2020 census.
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