The Gulfport City Council met on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at 6:00 PM at City Hall. The meeting featured a proclamation, public comments on surveillance cameras and community awards, unanimous approval of ten resolutions, a discussion on a proposed e-bike ordinance, and new business including workshop scheduling and a Spirit of Gulfport Award nomination.
All Ten Resolutions Passed Unanimously (8a through 8j):
E-Bike Ordinance Discussion (No Vote): City Attorney presented a draft ordinance covering definitions, age limits, helmet requirements, and restrictions in high-pedestrian zones. Council members expressed mixed views: some wanted data on incidents before regulating, others heard complaints from residents. Mayor Love suggested focusing on festivals and road closures via special event restrictions rather than citywide rules. Chief of Police will provide incident data. No action taken; staff will bring back a revised draft.
New Business:
Good evening. What a full house we have today, and there's so many faces I don't know, which is very unusual. So welcome. Um, I'm going to call our August fourth meeting to order at this point. And I'm going to ask that our Vice Mayor Marlene Shaw gives us our invocation that we'll be followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. So if you can stand, please do so. That's the work in front of us here in Gulfport, a small city built by people who show up for each other and who keep choosing to build something worth showing up for the reason. Council Member Webb. Council Member Early. Council Member Donch. Here. Let me just say this. So if you haven't already checked your phone, please check your phone. Make sure it's on silent. And then the second thing is we have like an echo chamber in here. So when we're, if there's people talking out there, we can hear you clearer than we can hear up here sometimes. So if you need to have conversations out there, I understand, but just take it into the hallway so that we only have one person talking at a time, please. Thank you. So with that in mind, then we're going to move to presentations. And I know that we have a proclamation, and it looks like a really good turnout of folks here from the juvenile welfare board of Pinellas County. And I'm going to turn this over to Vice Mayor Shaw. Just to take this up reading. Or right here, and then you can go up. So you have the mic. It's okay, that makes sense. Thank you. First time I've done this, thank you. Rather than read the entire thing, I'm going to start just a short ways down. On November 5th, 1946, Pinellas County Citizens ratified the Juvenile Welfare Board Act, creating the nation's first independent board dedicated to improving the lives and futures of children. In 1947, the juvenile welfare board of Pinellas County, chaired by Melinda Helen Barton, forgive me if I didn't pronounce that correctly, adopted its first budget, distributing funds to three agencies that served about 1,500 children. And today, Juvenile Welfare Board strengthens our community by funding 87 quality programs across 49 agencies, providing cradle to career prevention and early intervention services that reached over 80,000 83,000 children last year. And the juvenile welfare board also serves as a convener, forging partnerships and leading initiatives to prevent needless childhood deaths, nurture early childhood development, champion children's mental health, promote grade level reading, fight childhood hunger, and support fathers and grandparents in their caregiving roles, reaching tens of thousands more annually. Therefore, be it resolved that I, Karen Love, Mayor of the City of Gulfport, do hereby acknowledge and express its congratulations to the juvenile welfare board for 80 years of pulling children first and for its commendable service to the citizens of Pinellas County. I think that says it all. I know. Oh, you're half our audience. Come on up, come on up. No wonder our house was so full. So good evening, um, Mayor Love, Vice Mayor Shaw, Council members, um, Early and Webb, uh, City Manager O'Reilly, and community leaders and residents. Thank you for allowing us to join you this evening as we celebrate a remarkable milestone in the history of Pinellas County, the juvenile welfare board's 80th anniversary. My name is Karen Bogis, and I am the interim CEO for JWB. It is my honor to be before you this evening with members of our board. Judge Patrice Moore and Alicia McShay. Welcome. Our South County Community Council members. And JWB staff. For 80 years, JWB has been guided by a simple belief. When we invest in children, we invest in the future of our community. Every investment we make is informed by community needs, guided by data, and focused on creating lasting impact for children and families. From a child's first days of life through adolescence and into adulthood.