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Record of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Meeting – October 20, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, October 20, 2026
BodyGulfport, Mississippi
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 5:11:28

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

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

Speaker 1

3:53

Good evening and welcome to our October twentieth City Council meeting.

3:59

Believe it or not, I always love when we see a crowd.

4:02

I I love seeing so many people here, and I like hearing input from everybody.

4:08

Um case you check, just pull out your phone and check.

4:14

Make sure it's not on because you don't want to be embarrassed.

4:17

We don't want any phones ringing dinging, vibrating, none of that.

4:20

And then the other thing to know is that we always just have one conversation at a time.

4:25

So if there's something that you're not sure and you want to nudge the person next to you and ask them what did they say, take it out to the hallway, please.

4:33

So we only have one conversation at a time.

4:38

So with that in mind, then we are going to call this meeting to order, and we are going to start out with the invocation given by Council Member Nancy Early, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Speaker 2

5:19

Councilmember Early?

5:21

Present.

5:22

Councilmember Donch?

5:23

Here.

5:24

Vice Mayor Shaw.

5:25

Present.

5:26

Councilmember Webb?

Speaker 3

5:27

Present.

Speaker 2

5:27

Mayor Love

Speaker 3

5:28

here.

Speaker 2

5:29

Attorney Glit Glenn Lazi.

Speaker 3

5:32

Here.

Speaker 2

5:32

City Manager O'Reilly.

5:34

Here.

5:34

City Clerk Carico is present.

Speaker 1

5:37

All righty.

5:38

So we have three presentations tonight.

5:42

Guys, don't be shy.

5:43

There's seats up front.

5:44

Come on

Unassigned speaker

5:45

up.

Speaker 1

5:47

We have three presentations for this evening, and the first one is going to be given by uh council member Nancy Early.

Speaker 4

5:56

I would like Kerry Nelson, Kelly Garcia, Kristen, Julie, and Councilmember Donch.

6:05

Without these ladies here, there would have never been a 5K.

6:09

Never been.

6:10

And thank you, Justin.

6:12

I can't get you to get up here with a picture, but it doesn't matter.

Speaker 1

6:15

Come on up, ladies.

Speaker 4

6:29

Yes.

6:31

So we would like to present.

6:35

Yeah, you're right.

6:36

Yeah.

6:36

Oh, to Operation Santa, $3,802 and 61 cents.

6:42

That was raised at the Gulf War Community 5K, the very first one.

6:46

We are so thrilled and so happy to do this.

6:49

Thank you.

Speaker 1

6:56

Did you want to get a photo with Francine in it too?

7:00

Handing her the check.

7:01

Come on up, Francine.

Speaker 4

7:03

She's definitely she's the brain child.

7:10

For those of you who don't know, how many years, Francine, have you collected for operations at time?

7:18

36 years.

Unassigned speaker

7:20

Yeah, I can't talk about it.

Speaker 4

7:25

Thank you.

Speaker 1

7:26

Thank you so much, ladies, all of

Unassigned speaker

7:29

you.

Speaker 5

7:35

Okay.

Speaker 1

7:36

Yeah.

Speaker 5

7:37

I want to thank everybody who participated and donated.

7:42

That's how we get through Operation Santa every year.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Marina Development██████████████████████████████████████████42%
Public Comment█████████████████17%
Public Engagement███████7%
Procedural██████6%
Public Safety██████6%
Building Codes█████5%
Floodplain Management███3%
Mosquito Control██2%
Stormwater Management██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Meeting – October 20, 2026

The Gulfport City Council met on October 20, 2026, for a regular meeting that included presentations, public comment, and lengthy deliberations on commercial marina fees and waterfront regulations. The meeting proceeded with unanimous consent items, a unanimous vote on new stormwater projects, and a split vote (4-1) on a controversial tiered marina fee increase.

Presentations

  • Councilmember Nancy Early and volunteers presented a check for $3,802.61 to Operation Santa, raised from the first Gulfport Community 5K.
  • Daniel Hodge received the Spirit of Gulfport Award for his community contributions including growing the Tuesday Market, creating the LGBTQ Resource Center, and founding Dining for Life.
  • Kate Westner from the American Flood Coalition presented resources for flood mitigation and funding. The council informally reached a consensus to join the no-cost coalition.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Alley Safety and Noise (Sazerac Bar): Residents Pam Massick, Tonya Wood, and Robert Ryan from 23rd Avenue South described a dangerous alley behind a bar and liquor store, including speeding cars, property damage, and noise late into the night. One speaker reported a car crashing through her fence in August, causing $900 in damage. They requested speed bumps, guardrails, and improved police follow-up.
  • Flock Cameras: Metria Jones criticized the council for delaying action on the Flock camera system, stating the original vote to defund was passed on September 15th but the cameras remain operational. She demanded a consensus to restrict outside agency sharing immediately and a date on the November 3rd agenda to terminate the program.
  • Meeting Decorum: A speaker (Ryan) was escorted out after using profanity while criticizing park warning signs, claiming a First Amendment right. The Mayor maintained order.
  • Marina Flooding: Roger Townsend complained about street flooding near the marina on 46th Street and 29th Avenue, calling it dangerous and damaging to vehicles.
  • Marina Fee Opposition (Item 8D): Several commercial operators and residents spoke during the public comment on the marina resolution. Six-pack charter captains argued the proposed surcharges were too high relative to their scale of operations. Captain Connor of Coastal Cruises opposed the rate increases for COI vessels, offered a $10,000 donation from operators for an independent study, and stated the increase would cost his business $60,000 annually. Other residents requested a complete cessation of commercial activity due to neighborhood disruption.

Consent Agenda

  • Items 6A through 6D and 6G were approved unanimously:
    • Approval of Oct 5 meeting minutes.
    • Resolutions setting the 2027 election date, renewing lobbying services, authorizing audit services, and establishing an EMS agreement with Pinellas County.
  • Item 6F was removed by the applicant.
  • Item 6E (Lateral Program funding) was pulled by Councilmember Dodge for discussion.

Discussion Items and Amendments

  • 6E – Lateral Sewer Program: Councilmember Dodge moved to reduce the allocation from $100,000 to $50,000, redirecting the remaining funds to the stormwater matching grant account. Passed unanimously.
  • 7A – Gulfport Yacht Club Lease (First Reading): The city manager presented a 5-year lease now compliant with the city charter amendment. The club relinquished the dry storage area. Commodore Bob Feckner spoke about the club's history. Passed unanimously.
  • 8A/8B – Stormwater Projects: City Engineer Kendrick Sanderson presented. 8A for the 60th/20th Street improvements (BMP 3). 8B for the 53rd Street roadway reconstruction, funded by a $1M state grant. Passed unanimously.
  • 8C – Building and Zoning Fees: Mark Griffith presented state-mandated fee changes from valuation-based to flat/square footage fees (average 10% increase) and new pre-application zoning meeting fees. Passed unanimously.
  • 8D – Marina Commercial Fees (Resolution 2026-95): The central debate of the evening. Staff presented options to discontinue commercial activity, phase in increases, or implement immediately.
    • Council Debate: Councilmember Dodge requested marina funds be tied to infrastructure repairs. Vice Mayor Shaw argued for a passenger-capacity tier. Mayor Love proposed compromise dates and tiers.
    • Amendments Adopted: Implementation dates shifted to February 1st and August 1st. A resident commercial rate was established. Live-aboards were reclassified as residential. A tiered surcharge structure was created:
      • Six-pack vessels: $200/month (Feb 1) increasing to $400/month (Aug 1).
      • Under 20-passenger vessels: $300/month (Feb 1) increasing to $500/month (Aug 1).
      • Over 20-passenger vessels: $300/month (Feb 1) increasing to $700/month (Aug 1).
    • Vote: The amended resolution passed 4-1. Vice Mayor Shaw voted no, citing concerns about the overall cost being the highest in the region.

Discussion Item (No Action Taken)

  • Chapter 6 Review (Waterfront): The council discussed the "wet foot" anchoring area south of Veterans Park and the Casino Dock hours.
    • City Manager suggested prohibiting anchoring south of Veterans Park to protect a planned living shoreline.
    • Councilmember Dodge requested changing Casino Dock hours to close from 1 AM to 6 AM and reserving specific cleats for longer daytime use for workers.
    • Residents requested a more flexible system, new kayak racks, and better enforcement of registration for non-motorized vessels. No formal vote was taken; staff was directed to explore enforcement measures.

Key Outcomes

  • Passed Unanimously: Lateral program reduction ($50k), Yacht Club lease (1st reading), Stormwater projects (8A, 8B), Building fee update (8C).
  • Passed 4-1: Marina commercial fee increase (8D) with tiered surcharges effective Feb/Aug 2027.
  • Consensus Reached: Join American Flood Coalition, pass proclamation for police therapy dog REA, reschedule Budget Workshop to Dec 10, change Feb workshop topic to Stormwater Funding.
  • Future Action: City staff to bring forward a proposal for Chapter 6 amendments regarding wet foot enforcement and dock hours.

New and Unfinished Business

  • Rescheduling of the budget workshop to December 10th.
  • Councilmember Donch's town hall moved to early December.
  • Consensus to pass a proclamation honoring police therapy dog REA for World Mental Health Day.
  • February 2027 workshop topic changed from Sanitation Models to Stormwater Funding.
  • Veterans Day parade scheduled for November 8th; Senior Foundation luncheon on November 11th.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening and welcome to our October twentieth City Council meeting. Believe it or not, I always love when we see a crowd. I I love seeing so many people here, and I like hearing input from everybody. Um case you check, just pull out your phone and check. Make sure it's not on because you don't want to be embarrassed. We don't want any phones ringing dinging, vibrating, none of that. And then the other thing to know is that we always just have one conversation at a time. So if there's something that you're not sure and you want to nudge the person next to you and ask them what did they say, take it out to the hallway, please. So we only have one conversation at a time. So with that in mind, then we are going to call this meeting to order, and we are going to start out with the invocation given by Council Member Nancy Early, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilmember Early? Present. Councilmember Donch? Here. Vice Mayor Shaw. Present. Councilmember Webb? Present. Mayor Love here. Attorney Glit Glenn Lazi. Here. City Manager O'Reilly. Here. City Clerk Carico is present. All righty. So we have three presentations tonight. Guys, don't be shy. There's seats up front. Come on up. We have three presentations for this evening, and the first one is going to be given by uh council member Nancy Early. I would like Kerry Nelson, Kelly Garcia, Kristen, Julie, and Councilmember Donch. Without these ladies here, there would have never been a 5K. Never been. And thank you, Justin. I can't get you to get up here with a picture, but it doesn't matter. Come on up, ladies. Yes. So we would like to present. Yeah, you're right. Yeah. Oh, to Operation Santa, $3,802 and 61 cents. That was raised at the Gulf War Community 5K, the very first one. We are so thrilled and so happy to do this. Thank you. Did you want to get a photo with Francine in it too? Handing her the check. Come on up, Francine. She's definitely she's the brain child.

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