Welcome to the City of St.

Petersburg City Council meeting.

Your elected officials are Mayor Ken Welch.

District One and Council Chair Hope Lee Gerdis.

District 2, Brandy Gabbard.

District 3, Mike Harding.

District 4, and Council Vice Chair, Leseth Hanowitz.

District 5, Deborah Fake Sanders.

District 6, Gina Driscoll.

District 7, Corey Givens Jr.

And District 8, Richie Floyd.

Jeez, I'm going to break it.

Good morning.

Welcome.

It wasn't that aggressive, I promise.

Welcome to the October 2nd, 2025, City Council meeting.

Could we do a roll call, please?

Gabbard, here.

Harding.

Henowitz.

Here.

Alexanders.

Here.

Driscoll.

Here.

Givens.

Here.

Boyd.

Here.

Here.

Okay.

Today we will have our invocation given by Sapita Escondari from Baha'i Faith St.

Petersburg Center.

And then that will be followed by multiple moments of silence.

And then please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

If you would all join me in standing.

Oh thou kind Lord.

This gathering is turning to thee.

These hearts are radiant with thy love.

These minds and spirits are exhilarated by the message of thy glad tidings.

Oh God, let this American democracy become glorious in spiritual degrees, even as it has aspired to material degrees.

And render this just government victorious.

Confirm this revered nation to upraise the standard of the oneness of humanity.

To become thereby most glorious and praiseworthy among all the nations of the world.

Please join me in moments of silence for our fallen first responders.

Officer James W.

Thornton.

End of watch October 16th, 1937.

Officer William G.

Newberry, end of watch, October 17th, 1937.

And Officer Eugene W.

Minor.

End of watch October 25th, 1929.

Thank you.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

And for the Republic for which it stands.

Thank you.

Please be seated.

Sapita, thank you so much for joining us this morning in that beautiful invocation.

Okay, Council members, we have an agenda in front of us.

Uh I'll entertain a motion for approval of the agenda.

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

Seeing as no other council members wishing to speak.

Clerk, could you please open the machine for voting?

Council members, please enter your votes.

Seeing as all present council members have voted.

Clerk, please tally and announce the vote.

Mr.

Chair, the motion to approve the agenda passes unanimously.

Okay, we have a consent agenda.

Do we have any cards on the consent agenda?

We do not.

Okay, thank you, Clerk.

Council members, we have a consent agenda in front of us.

Move approval.

We have a motion and a second on the consent agenda.

Seeing there's no other council members wishing to speak.

Clerk, could you please open the machine for voting?

Council members, please enter your votes.

Seeing as all present council members have voted.

Clerk, please tell you and announce the vote.

Mr.

Chair, the motion to approve the consent agenda passes unanimously.

Okay, we're gonna move right into open forum.

Clerk, if you could read the rules, please.

If you wish to address city council on subjects other than public hearing or quasi judicial items listed in the agenda, please sign up with the clerk.

Only the individual wishing to speak may sign the open forum sheet.

Only city residents, owners of property, business owners in the city, or their employees may speak.

All issues discussed under open forum must be limited to issues related to the city of St.

Petersburg government.

If you're speaking to an item on the agenda, you may only speak once during the open forum or when the item comes up on the agenda.

In order to provide an opportunity for all citizens to address counsel, each individual be given three minutes to speak.

And after, which the microphone will be muted.

If you wish to address city council through the Zoom meeting, you must use the raise hand feature button in the Zoom app or enter star nine on your phone at the time the agenda item is addressed.

When it is your interest to speak, you will be unmuted and asked to state your name and address.

At the conclusion of your comments, or when you have reached the three minute time limit, you will be muted.

All raised hands will be lowered after each agenda item.

Regardless of the method of participation used, normal rules apply, including the three minute time limit on comments.

The requirement that any presentation materials must be submitted in advance of the meeting and the rules of decorum.

If live public comment is disrupted by violations of the rules at decorum, the chair is authorized to accept public comments by alternate means, including by email only.

And Mr.

Chair, we do not have any speakers.

No one through Zoom.

There actually somebody just raised their hand in Zoom.

Okay.

Okay.

Um iPhone.

Uh I'm gonna bring you into the meeting space.

When I do, please uh state your name and address for the record, and you'll have three minutes to address city council.

Um can you hear us?

Yes, I can.

Thank you.

Okay.

My name is Garrett Marble, uh, 4021 38th Avenue North.

Uh and I just wanted to speak to City Council today about the unfortunate uh grouping of pedestrian and cyclists' deaths and injuries that have happened recently, including the one um that just recently happened on 49th Street in the south, and also one on 22nd Street.

Um yeah, I I just I really feel as though we need to get more quick build projects going.

I know we have some things on the books uh for three, four, five, even seven, eight, nine years down the road.

But to me, as a cyclist, that's kind of unacceptable at this point.

Um let's uh let's get some quick build projects going, let's get them funded.

Let's get more of them out there because with each of these projects, you know, along with the complete streets plan.

If we take 10 years to implement them, um that's people dying.

That's potentially me dying.

Um I think that cyclists and pedestrians deserve better than that.

So I'd like to advocate for some quick build projects, uh, including the ones that you know what we already have on the books that uh are not quick build projects.

I'd like to advocate for those to be made, like some court, some sort of temporary quick build to be done in the meantime for these projects that have a five, six, seven-year timeline.

Um yeah, I just wanted to speak to you guys today and really strongly advocate that we need more quick build projects.

We need more bike protected bike lanes, uh, and we need complete streets implemented and whatever method we can do to get barriers and protective elements put on our roads as soon as possible.

We we need to do that because these are people's lives uh that are on the line here.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

There's no more speakers.

Okay, we'll go ahead and close open forum and we'll move right into reports.

And we've got a report on the USF St.

Petersburg nursing bachelor program update.

Councilmember Driscoll, this was uh brought brought up by you.

I'll turn it over to you first.

Thank you.

Thank you, and good morning.

You can use the podium here.

Um I have brought this forward because we all know that there is um a critical need for more nurses in the field, and USF is um launching um, they have an incredible program already, and it's about to get even better, and so I invited um those from USF St.

Petersburg to give us an update on that.

And so with that, I'll welcome Thomas Smith, the vice provost for academic affairs, and Dr.

Alison Duffy, associate professor of the College of Nursing, and another special guest.

So good morning, and thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you.

And our other guest is Sharon Owen, who I learned this morning was a combat nurse in Iraq on two tours.

So thank you.

And we're delighted to be here to talk about our nursing program as Councilwoman Driscoll said I'm the vice provost.

She's up at FSU today visiting her son who's started school up there.

So I have been on the St.

Pete campus as a faculty member for 20, this is my 26th year.

So I've seen extraordinary change on the campus.

Really much like our city.

I mean, just growth in terms of the physical plant of the campus, the number of faculty, the number of students, the research expenditures, the number of sort of new academic programs.

And so this program that we're gonna talk about today is something that we've had our site set on for several years, and we're delighted that it's sort of coming to fruition.

Um you'll hear more about this, but we will be accepting into uh the there's a new freshman cohort who will be we're recruiting them right now, and they will be here uh next August, starting as freshmen.

And so these are students who will move through the program and really respond to this enormous need for nurses that that we're seeing.

Um we wanna be responsive to community needs, but we also look at our campus, given just the physical location.

We wanna try to knit together the campus with the wonderful hospitals, literally right next door to us.

Uh Johns Hopkins, all children's, uh, Orlando Health, and so we want to create a sort of ecosystem of health care and nursing in particular right there uh on the campus.

Um we've got uh the headquarters for uh the nursing program will be the band-aid building.

I think you all may be familiar with it, but the band-aid, as you know, blew off during Hurricane Milton.

It's being restored and will be reinstalled very soon.

Um and so what we really want is a kind of flow of students.

I mean, that is right next to it's on the campus, but right next to the hospital district, and to really really capitalize on the mentoring, the internships, the uh the clinical training and all of that that can happen uh with us.

So to give you some of the details, I'm gonna turn you over to Dr.

Allison Duffy, who's heading up this initiative for USF.

Good morning.

Thank you for having us today.

And Sharon Owen is our director of strategic initiatives.

So if we get any hard-hitting questions at the end, I'm just gonna say, Sharon?

Let's do you.

Um, so uh like Dr.

Smith said, I'm Alison Duffy.

I'm an associate professor at the USF College of Nursing.

Um, I'm also the pathway director in St.

Pete and then also on our Sarasota campus.

Um so I have my drive time that I go over the beautiful Skyway multiple times with I live in St.

Pete.

I've lived here my entire life.

Born at St.

Anthony's Hospital.

My husband is a small business owner here in St.

Pete.

I'm never going anywhere, I'm gonna be here forever.

So get ready, Dr.

Smith.

I'm never leaving.

Um, and so you know, we're really excited about this opportunity.

Currently, we have a pathway on the St.

Pete campus, and it's second degree students.

So these are students who already have a bachelor's degree in in anything.

They they come to us with bachelor's degrees and all sorts of things.

It's very interesting and exciting what brings them to us.

Um we currently admit 70 students in the fall semester on the St.

Pete campus.

Um, and then like I said, they're those second degree students.

So what we're talking about today is transitioning from the second degree pathway to the upper division pathway, which you know, um we do talk to our clinical partners and our second degree students, they come from all across the country.

So they get their degrees from us, we prepare them, we grow them, we nurture them, and then they say, okay, well, I'm gonna go back to Colorado now.

Bye.

Um, so you know, we uh the intent is to have these students who were born and raised in Pinellas County, they come to us and then they're committed to the community, and then hopefully they'll stay with us and stay with those clinical partners, hopefully, you know, for their careers.

So I'll just briefly talk a little bit about the transition.

So um, like we said, we're transitioning to this upper division.

The F and R is fresh freshman nursing pathway.

So they're coming in fresh out of high school as freshmen, and they are um committing to a nursing major.

And so this is um uh expand our access to the fresh first time in college or FTIC students in the region, like I said, hopefully so that they're more committed to our community, they'll stay around and then they'll stay in those um clinical partners that we have.

Um we're going to be admitting that inaugural cohort next fall.

So fall of 26.

They'll come in as freshmen, they will do their first two years of college, and then in fall of 2028, they will be here with us in the nursing pathway.

We will still have accelerated students, accelerated second degree students throughout that time.

So, but fall of 2028 will be when that inaugural cohort will start nursing classes.

We also have an executive director of simulation.

So, like Dr.

Smith said, we're in the bloody band-aid building.

I know we don't, you know, it's the band-aid, but there's also a little spot of blood if you've ever seen it.

So we're very lucky it's coming back.

Um and we're going to be running simulation in that space.

So not only will the students learn skills, how do you talk to patients?

How do you assess them?

Um, but we'll also be doing eventually high fidelity simulation where we put them in scenarios with mannequins who talk blink things come out of them.

Um and they can experience that in a safe space before we send them to the hospital and really, you know, get them in front of real patients.

Um we also have a project manager, Deja Snow, and then we also have Dr.

Jason Krupp, who's our um director of our Office of Student Success.

We've been marketing this, so our marketing team has developed a campaign in a week from today where the St.

Pete campus is hosting high school students from around the area, giving them a tour of the campus.

They're gonna tour our facility at the Band-Aid Building, and we will you know give them lunch.

And if they're interested in nursing, explain to them why we think they should join us.

Um so that will be October 9th.

We're really excited about that.

And then we already have a strong support system for the students, and that will remain academic advising, mentorship.

We have student success facilitators that help our students progress and make sure that they're successful going through the program.

And then we also have peer support groups, both tutors and then also peer mentors.

So that will continue with this pathway.

We will obviously be evaluating this throughout, and so we'll track the success of our program, both by graduation rates and also NCLEX pass rates.

The NCLEX is the licensure exam.

So our students will graduate, get their bachelor's degrees, and then they have to do a licensure exam in order to actually be a registered nurse.

Um, and so those pass rates are very important to us, so we'll be tracking those.

We'll also be getting feedback from students, advisors, faculty, um, and then we'll be continuously improving after the launch to make sure that everybody is getting what they need.

And I've already mentioned the timeline.

Um so, like I said, we're going to be admitting this uh cohort here shortly for a fall 2026 start.

Uh they we are going to have a minimum of 60 students starting in that inaugural cohort.

Um, and then they will also be uh working alongside, we'll have those second degree students still continuing through our program through the fall of 2028.

And then we have time maybe for a few questions.

If anyone has any questions for us.

Thank you.

Councilmember Gabbard.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Councilmember Disco for bringing this forward, and thank you for everything that you're doing.

Thank you for your service.

Um, very quickly, I just wanted to ask, very excited about this program.

It's a long time coming.

Um in District 2, we have the Galen College for Nursing.

And so I was curious if there are any synergies or um kind of you know working together, because I'm I'm just thinking, you know, if there are students who maybe apply to this program, but maybe they don't meet the criteria, maybe that is a better option for them.

Um, still continuing to try to keep people coming into the field.

Yes.

So can you talk a little bit about those relationships?

Yes.

So um, so we do have a lot of excellent nursing programs in our area.

We're very thankful for that.

And we do have a very competitive applicant pool.

So to your point, if they, you know, are if they're unable to um get accepted into our program, then we do have advisors who work with them and provide them with additional opportunities.

There's, you know, there's St.

Pete College, Galen, there are opportunities for them.

And so we make sure that we don't lose them and make sure that if you know if they have the enthusiasm for nursing, it's coming from somewhere, and so we don't want them to lose that just because they you know didn't get into our very um uh um into our applicant pool.

Okay, good.

That's great news.

And and I'll just mention that we do we do work with them in the hospitals too.

So we will have our students on units with those schools, and so they're also working together in those clinical experiences.

That's fantastic.

Well, thank you for your commitment to growing our healthcare industry, so critically important.

We saw this after COVID especially.

And so just thank you for that commitment and uh would love to have you come back maybe in a year or so after you launch and uh do an update.

So thank you again.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Councilmember Gibbons.

Thank you very much, and again, thank you, Councilmember Driscoll, for bringing this forward.

Um Go Bulls, I am an alum.

Um so happy to have you all here and to learn more about this program.

Um I did want to ask a question, kind of piggybacking off of Councilmember Gabbard.

Um I was gonna ask about Galen, but I also want to bring up Pinellas Technical College, UMA, STI, um, these other medical schools and institutions.

Are there feeder programs there, any pipeline outreach to those institutions?

Because I think about USF recently becoming a pre-eminent institution, right?

Um, those admission standards have become more difficult for students like me who 15, 16 years ago coming out of high school might have been easier getting in there.

So is there an opportunity for us to work with those students as well at those schools?

That is an excellent question, and not something that we currently do with a with a pipeline.

We do have pipelines to other programs like St.

Pete College or Hillsborough, you know, the community programs.

Um, but I think you make a good point because the students going through those programs are getting invaluable clinical experience that we could certainly have them come in.

So that's probably something that we need to consider.

Um and they can come in as transfer students, so um, which is something that we can do here at the St.

Pete campus as well.

So, you know, we don't, I'm not sure if we communicate with those programs quite yet, but that's certainly something that we need to get with our recruitment team and and try to get that going.

So thank you.

Yeah, thank you.

Love to help you establish those connections.

Um, my past life um at JobCore, that's what I did.

And I think that's another institution to consider as well because they have CNA students who may be interested in pursuing higher education.

Um and speaking of higher ed, so is there a uh pipeline or a program where students who are interested in pursuing that master's degree at USF?

They can kind of get in there.

We do have an RN to MSN.

So if somebody was to come in and maybe they have their um associate's degree in nursing, they could come and get their master's degree.

Um, but our the majority of our students come in with a bachelor's in nursing and then they go on into the into the master's and graduate programs.

Good to know.

And my last question, um, you talked a little bit about your outreach to local high schools.

Um, the marketing campaign.

Is that geared towards the schools itself, those counselors, those educators?

I think about programs like at Bogasiega, their medical magnet program.

So, do those outreach campaigns market towards the students or the instructors and the teachers?

I'm not sure who we target.

I do know that um the schools themselves have been who we've been communicating with.

So I would assume that that's the guidance counselors and and teachers and the instructors.

Um, but you know, our marketing campaign is a little newer.

So we will, I'm sure I've gone out to high schools and spoken to students just to tell them about nursing in general.

This is before we started the F and R program.

So I think that's something something that we could get out and and start talking to those students specifically.

And I certainly recommend social media.

You know, everything's at your fingertips these days, and the kids I have no social media, okay?

I everyone, I'm I'm I'm like dragging my I'm like getting I I might have to get a LinkedIn, okay?

I don't know, maybe I that's as far as I'm gonna go, but I know.

So we have we have a great marketing team that loves to use socials, and so I'll make sure that they do that.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

And thank you.

So thank you for those recommendations.

Great work.

Thank you.

I will probably reach out to you with you know, just to follow this up.

Okay, thank you.

Uh Councilmember Driscoll.

Thank you.

Thank you for the presentation and for all that you're doing to make St.

Petersburg a real leader in nursing education.

Uh, it's something that we can be very proud of.

And it's such a great fit for our city.

You mentioned earlier the the location and the proximity to um, you know, uh some of our our healthcare um partners is um that is key.

I always feel like we have the best opportunities around for people to go to school, walk outside, and see jobs all around them.

This is one of those opportunities.

Tell us about um partnerships or connections that you have with Orlando Health, with Johns Hopkins, with Bay Care, that is really going to create that that um well-rounded experience that really launches the career.

I would love to talk about that.

So um, so we currently we send students to those clinical partners already.

So we're already we have a well-established relationship with Orlando Health.

We send probably about 30 to 40 students there for their final practicum preceptorship experience in order to prepare them, you know, for their life outside of nursing, but we also assign these students to sort of a home site, and we send about 20 students a semester to Orlando Health for all of their clinical experiences.

Um we also send them to all of the Baycare facilities.

Um and then like you said, Johns Hopkins is um something that the student a lot of students come saying, I want to be a pediatric nurse.

We say, Great, Johns Hopkins is one block away.

Let's do this.

So we're very fortunate to be so close.

And we already have such a strong relationship with those partners, and they're very, very excited about the opportunity to have their first time in college students coming in and and you know, again, hopefully staying with them for their entire career.

So we we have very strong uh partnerships, not only with Pinellas County, but then also Sarasota and then obviously Hillsborough County.

So uh we'll continue those and getting them out into the community and we're always um reaching out to new clinical partners.

So some of the HCA facilities, the North Side, the Largos, we we also are starting to get more and more students in there too.

Excellent.

Oh, that's great.

I I love seeing these collaborations happen.

Um everybody wins when you do that.

Exactly.

And you know, at the end of the day, I'll t toot our horn for ho uh our horn for a second.

Our students are amazing and the clinical partners know that and they want our students to stay.

That's why you know this transition is going to be, you know, very important to those clinical partners.

Yeah, absolutely.

Well, I think you see the enthusiasm here, and I hope that you feel the support.

And um, I want you to know that the city stands ready to help however, however we can as you move forward with this.

And thank you for doing it.

It's really exciting.

And we we are supported both by the city and then also by the St.

Petersburg campus.

We're just so thankful.

It's the reason why we're able to grow and continue to um strengthen that program that we have on the campus.

So thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Sherry Hanowitz.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Councilmember Driscoll, for bringing this item.

Thank you all for what you do uh every day and uh for making sure that we are gonna have the nurses that are needed in our city and anywhere really, because we do have an aging population, which is increasing the need of nurses.

And so my question is obviously uh our population changing, it's also becoming more diverse.

So I'm just curious on how you're dealing with cultural competency and that sort of issue with you know the new nurses that are coming in, because they could be coming in from different fields and they have to deal with different issues.

We start that day one.

So we have um a fundamentals course, it's called patient-centered care, and that's where they get the opportunity to learn that cultural competence and um making sure that we're caring for every single person the same exact way, regardless of who they are.

And uh we have a global citizens project where at the end of their program they'll be awarded a uh global citizens award and because of all of the um all of the coursework that they do through our throughout our curriculum that puts them um uh eligible to win this award.

So we start early and often they also do a project at the end of their first semester where they get into a group and they choose a any culture, it can be any culture that they're interested in, and we have a whole day where they um present on that culture.

They'll bring in food, they'll talk about the culture and and then also health care considerations for those cultures.

So we make sure that they are, you know, they have a very um well-rounded experience so that they're prepared when they get out into the clinical setting.

That's wonderful.

And and one of the things that some of the council members asked is partnerships with different institutions.

I'm just curious, that was at a higher level, but I'm just curious how you're chan uh disengaging like younger children, uh, elementary school, middle school, kind of getting out there to show them like these opportunities in the field that they may not be aware of.

I think that's a great way, whether it's mentoring um and other ways to kind of engage with the schools.

So we do, so I always do the Great American teaching.

My school's like, okay, we get it, you're a nurse, okay.

Just my kids go to Lakeview Fundamental and they say, okay, so you're gonna come, right?

The entire day, you're gonna go to all the classrooms.

Yes, I will.

Um, but also they our students have a public health community clinical and public school systems as part of that.

So we do send a lot of students out into the into the public schools working alongside with the school nurse, which will, you know, that's uh at least getting some exposure to some of the students.

Um, but you know, getting more and more students out to do, like you're saying, some mentorship and really getting some young faces out there too to you know, the elementary, middle, and high schools will be really important, especially talking about this this new part.

There are times where you have different um schools that have different like field trips and different projects that they do and finding those opportunities where you can engage in different ways.

I think given the fact that we need kids to be interested in that.

It's a it's a great opportunity with what you're doing.

Thank you.

That's a really great recommendation.

Thank you so much.

So thank you for what you do.

Very excited, and I would love to hear back when uh you guys are up.

We'll come back.

Yeah.

About a year from now or so, then another year.

Thank you so much.

Sounds good.

Thank you.

Well, uh, thank you so much for being here.

Um what I really want to say is thank you for educating and training the future heroes of our community.

Um, as the father of a NICU baby and the husband of a wife that has had a few years of treatment.

Um, I think doctors get a lot of the credit, and don't get me wrong that they should.

But uh the people who got us through those experiences were the nurses sitting bedside, the ones who answered the phones who picked up the phones and make the calls, and USF is training and equating and empowering the future heroes of St.

Petersburg.

And uh so I'm gonna I'm gonna be short because otherwise I'll go down a rabbit hole and start crying.

And so um, and all of my colleagues know I will.

Um I just what you're doing is so important.

I know you know that, but I need you to hear it from me too.

So thank you for what you do, thank you for your service.

Um, it's incredible work that is life changing every moment of every day.

And so thank you.

And thank you for being here, and I can't wait to see you back.

Thank you, and thank you for sharing.

Thank you.

Okay.

Uh council members.

I love it when a plan comes together.

We're gonna go into public hearings right at 9 30.

And we have a we have Scott uh Bullyard uh joining us for uh vacation of a 20-foot wide alley.

Scott, welcome.

Morning.

Chair, council members.

Uh can we read the ordinance, please?

Thank you.

Ordinance number 1174-V.

In ordinance approving a vacation of a 20-foot wide dead alley, dead end alley, generally located at 7925 4th Street North, setting forth conditions for the vacation to become effective and providing for an effective date, and we do not have any cards.

Okay, thank you.

Welcome, Scott.

Thank you.

Uh, for the record, Scott Board with the um, I guess we're the uh zoning department now.

Um the request before you is to vacate a 20-foot wide dead end alley located at 7925 4th Street North.

Here's a closer view of the aerial of the alley requested to be vacated.

The applicant does own both properties on either side of the alley to the east and to the west.

The application was routed to city departments and private utility providers for review and comments.

Staff received comments from engineering and water resources requiring an easement to be dedicated over the existing reclaimed water main located within the alley.

Duke Energy Frontier Communications and Tico all indicated they have facilities within the alley that will require dedication of easements.

Transportation also reviewed the request and had no objections.

The conditions of approval within the ordinance require replatting of the property.

Dedication of the required easements typically occurs through replatting.

The applicant will also be required to comply with conditions within the engineering and water resources memos prior to the recording of the ordinance.

And uh the applicant did recently provide letters of no objection from Frontier Antico satisfying that condition.

Administration is recommending approval of the request, and on August 6, 2025, the DRC recommended approval of the request to city council by a vote of seven to zero.

This concludes staff's presentation, and I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Move approval.

Second, we have a motion and a second on E1.

Seeing as no other council members wishing to speak.

Clerk, could you please open the machine for voting?

Council members, please enter your votes.

Seeing as all present council members have voted, clerk, please style and announce the vote.

Mr.

Chair, the motion to approve agenda item E1 passes unanimously.

Thanks, Scott.

Thank you.

Okay, we're gonna move into uh back into reports, and we're gonna talk CD C D B G DR.

It's a little early for that one with Aubrey Phillips.

Welcome, Aubrey.

Good morning.

Good morning, council members.

Aubrey Phillips Strategic Initiatives and Grants Director.

Thank you for the opportunity to present today's request to approve the acceptance and appropriation of a major federal grant under the community development block grant, disaster recovery, CDBGDR.

I've had my coffee this week.

You went the full war there.

I'm proud of you.

So today's report will cover the background purpose and key terms of these grant funds, uh, programmatic breakdown of the Sunrise St.

Pete Action Plan, our staffing and implementation strategy, and our staff recommendation for council action.

So we are requesting today authorization to accept 159,884,000 in CDBG DR funds from HUD.

That's the housing and urban development.

These funds are intended to support long-term recovery and resilience in response to federally declared disasters, specifically the storms that have been named by HUD in our allocation announcement notice are Hurricanes Idalia and Helene.

We have requested guidance from HUD about how to handle those residents who were impacted by Hurricane Milton, and we're continuing to follow up with HUD on that request.

The grant also requires that at least 70% of the funds benefit low to moderate income individuals and families.

So funds will be obligated upon counter signature from HUD and can then be drawn from a line of credit for the activities in the approved action plan during the course of the six-year period of performance for this grant.

Of the total grant, council has already previously appropriated $12.95 million, and we're requesting appropriation of the remaining 146.93 million today.

So as a reminder, the action plan approved by council in June and HUD in August includes the programs listed on this slide.

Our residential recovery and elevation program, the public infrastructure mitigation program, and disaster relief reimbursement.

So those will be the first programs that we're already working towards implementation on.

So I apologize if the text is a little bit difficult to read here.

But to build capacity and facilitate the quick implementation, particularly of those priority programs, but the entire CDBG DR action plan.

We're recommending a hybrid model that uses a mix of new staff and new hires and current staff, along with expertise of our implementation support vendors.

So on this slide, in the aqua color are the CDBG DR programs.

In gray are existing departments, and then in green are the new grant funded FTEs.

Key roles in our Sunrise St.

Pete division include a program manager, compliance officer, financial analyst, and construction environmental officer.

Those critical positions provide oversight of vendor implemented residential recovery programs as well as citywide implementation supporting all of our departments.

Other programs related to housing infrastructure and voluntary buyouts and acquisitions are being implemented directly by individual departments with support from finance, the city attorney's office, purchasing, audit, and other city departments.

So the structure is really aimed at ensuring compliance, fiscal oversight, and program delivery across all funded initiatives while maintaining a balance of uh not you know minimizing our administrative costs and overhead.

And then for our next steps, uh today we're requesting council approval of the uh grant agreement and the staffing plan.

Uh we're working actively with the city attorney's office on amendment to our vendor agreement with Horn for implementation of the residential recovery programs.

That would uh include direct benefit and construction costs for administrative efficiencies there, and we're actively also working on program design.

Uh we're looking forward to speaking with you at Housing and Land Use and Transportation Committee next week on program design for the residential programs and working on the intake portal design.

In fall, we're working on staff hiring, uh, contractor procurement uh that'll be done by Horn as our implementation vendor for residential programs and beginning to advertise the program.

And while this slide says program launch in early 2026, we are currently on track for a November launch of our residential recovery program.

So we're really excited to be refining that program next week with input from city council and refining that launch date.

So to conclude, our staff recommendation is to approve the resolution to accept the full 159.88 million in HUD grant funds, appropriate the remainder 146.93 million from uh to the CDBG DR fund 1118 and to authorize execution of all required documents.

I want to thank you for your continued support of this important initiative, and I'm happy to answer any questions or provide additional details.

Yes.

So I was just asked to mention something about the shutdown.

I know it's something that I was following closely over the weekend.

We have received guidance from HUD dated September 29th in their continuity of operations plan.

Um their disaster recovery programs are funded by ongoing multi-year appropriations, and so they are not impacted by the government shutdown.

So we are not anticipating any delays in getting our fully executed grant agreement back from HUD.

Thank you for that update.

Okay, we'll go to Councilmember Gabbard.

Thank you.

And thank you for ending with the shutdown, because that's where I was going to start.

So I appreciate that.

Um, certainly a lot of people on edge over what's happening at the federal level, and uh so this relief I think is even more timely.

Um, so I know that you know, we have been asking people to sign up for um kind of notification whenever everything launches.

Great news that we're trying to shoot for November for the residential program.

Still speaking with a lot of residents who quite frankly have been turned down for everything else, and I think they're really kind of looking to this program.

So I'm very excited that we're gonna try to make an earlier deadline for that.

Do we know approximately how many people have signed up for the information that will go out?

Do you by any chance know?

That is a great question that I don't know off the top of my head, but I'm happy to close.

I'm just kind of thinking of it as a gauge for what we may see when applications start coming in because like I try to explain to individuals, we always see this.

Um, it looks like a lot of money, but once it's broken down, once um, you know, people start to apply, it's gonna go very, very quickly.

And so trying to kind of manage those expectations, because what I've experienced is with Elevate Florida.

I don't think the expectations from the state were managed very well.

The communication from the state wasn't great about some of that.

Um, you know, how who's gonna get picked, how's that gonna happen?

And people still have a lot of questions, and when there's questions, it leaves doubt.

So thank you for you know, continuing to try to get people kind of in the queue, if you will, for that information.

I'm just concerned about like how quickly it's gonna move.

Yes, and we're very sensitive to we want to manage the residents' expectations in all of our messaging.

We're emphasizing that this these funds are really to benefit low to moderate income households.

So for those who aren't likely to qualify, we we don't want them to go through an application process and and only to find out that they're not eligible.

We're also looking at what alternatives, like are we our St.

Pete fund that may be available, and so administrator Foster can share an update.

Yes, Councilmember, I think we have more than a hundred people that had more damage than the we are St.

Pete Fund could fund that are ready in the queue for Sunrise St.

Pete.

Um, I think next week will be a really good opportunity for us to dig into some of those details with council members.

And and I think this level setting of expectations is really important, right?

Because even though there's 35 million dollars, that's a hundred homes.

Right.

And so, you know, we really want to dig into that and help council members understand the prioritization schema of how that's going to work so that you're not surprised about the uptake and and what that looks like on the back end.

And I I know I'm sure all of us appreciate that guidance as we are out there speaking with residents because I mean, and maybe you've heard this, Councilmember Harding, kind of the pushback from some of our neighborhoods where they don't really understand how HUD kind of guides all of this.

Um, I'm hearing a lot of rhetoric around well, why not focus on the neighborhoods that have been impacted not only by these two storms but prior storms?

And so really trying to get people to understand that this is not necessarily neighborhood focused.

Um there will be some for you know individuals over that 80%, but really this is 80% and under.

Um, and I think that message right there, it's getting a little lost because we're doing our work, right?

Like we're trying to build the program, and people are kind of starting to poke holes in it before we even launch it.

And so I just want to be really clear about the the need, why these things are laid out the way that they are, and that it's not that we're picking one neighborhood over the other.

This is a community-wide citywide program, and there's very specific criteria.

Absolutely.

So the more that you can arm us with that when we are out in our neighborhood meetings, I think the better off we'll all be for communication.

Excellent.

And I did get an update.

We have 326 folks signed up on our well, there you go.

Now that I will say that includes um contractors who are interested in volley program, community groups.

So um, yeah, yeah.

But we'll take that up another time.

So thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Councilmember Givens.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you so much, Aubrey, for your presentation.

Um, many of my questions were gonna be very similar.

Um, but I I I do want to say, you know, I think a lot of people are still confused.

Um, we still have people who are recovering from hurricane trauma, still processing information, trying to figure out what the heck is going on with FEMA, dealing with insurance and all that stuff.

So I think our job is to make their lives easier, right?

Simplify this information and 326 people when we know that clearly there are over 12,000 households that were impacted.

We've got to do a better job with targeted outreach.

Um so my question is um is how we're again are we disseminating this information, letting people know that there's uh an information outlet that you can sign up to get these notifications, helping educate people what is the difference between we are St.

Pete funds, Sunrise St.

Pete funds, because again, we're in these neighborhood association meetings, it becomes overwhelming.

And not being able to be equipped with literature and that sort of thing.

I was at an event and uh I can't remember which city department, I think it was housing services or some something, but they had no idea about these programs, and that was sad because they are a reflection of the city, and they are our liaison, our communication between City Hall and our constituency.

And so it's important again that we're all aware because I think you know, again, people perish from a lack of knowledge, and you can't fault someone for what they're not aware of.

So I just want to know is is how how are we formulating that outreach plan and and what neighborhoods or zip codes or populations are we targeting?

Because I'm thinking specifically about those low-income communities who obviously, you know, you look around, a lot of our residents aren't here now, so they may not be in the know.

So how are we getting them in the know?

So we're really using data to drive the outreach plan.

Where do we have?

We know where we have households that were impacted, and we know where low to moderate income households are located within the city.

And so having targeted outreach, uh, we're also identifying who are those nonprofit and community partners who we can partner with and provide, uh, we're developing a partner toolkit uh where they can have those materials to help spread the message to folks who are already connected with and see them as a trusted source of information.

Um, and we're actively working on that outreach and marketing plan.

So it's been a very, very busy September as we work on both program guidelines and outreach um materials.

Um, but we'll be sharing, of course, that with council members, so you all have it, community partners, so they have it and can help share the message.

We're also coordinating closely with Pinellas County to coordinate our messaging because we know that you know folks, it's it's sometimes confusing whether I live in St.

Pete or do I live in unincorporated county?

So we want to make sure that our messaging is coordinated and folks are getting to the right place regardless of where they're living.

So the the marketing plan that's still in the works.

Um I understand there were there were two launch dates, and I was a little confused.

Um, I think there were two launch dates.

I saw something that said fall 2025 and then another early 2026.

So we're planning on launching a program that's gonna be ready come fall, but we're still working on that marketing plan.

Can we talk a little bit?

Can you clarify those launch dates, please?

Yes, so uh appreciate the opportunity to clarify because yes, we had been targeting an early 2026 launch because we were able to get our implementation support vendors on board um early.

We've been actively working on getting those program guidelines developed, developing that marketing and outreach plan.

Of course, council's engagement next week at HLUT is critical to helping finalize those plans before we start communicating to the public.

The last thing we want to do is communicate something and then have it change on folks.

Um so we're having that conversation next week, and then we'll be finalizing things and start rolling it out, and we're on track to be able to launch the first of the programs.

So that's the residential recovery and elevation program and disaster relief payments that will primarily help our our tenant residents as early as November.

Thank you for that clarification.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Councilmember Driscoll.

Thank you.

Thank you for bringing this forward, giving such a great explanation, and for all the work you're doing to make sure that this is set up right and set up in a way that um uh can best help our residents.

How will this work with the county program?

Excellent question.

So we are currently on track to be launching within weeks of the county.

So the county will be launching their public communications and then intake.

We'll be following two to three weeks behind them, most likely at this point uh to launch our communications.

So our intent is by the time that the county is opening their intake sites and accepting applications that those county sites can have materials and information about the city's programs and when those are launching and that we're right behind them.

So we're we're neck and neck there.

We did want to be mindful of not having everything all at once, and then we're working closely, like I said, to communicate that messaging so that we're not, you know, the county putting out a press release and then us putting out a press release and the public's left wondering what in the world is going on.

Right, right.

It sounds like there's some good coordination happening there.

Absolutely.

And how might one figure out whether they look at the county or the city for assistance?

That's a great question.

Um, and it's one that we haven't talked about in terms of the intake portal and whether there's something that will help them kind of a screening question to help them get in the right place.

Um one of the things though that I think will serve both county and city residents well is that Horn is the implementation vendor for both the city and the county.

So if they get to the county and somehow get an application submitted and it's not, you know, they don't they live in the city of St.

Petersburg rather than unincorporated county.

Um we'll we'll discuss how we can kind of transition that applicant over so that it's it's seamless.

We're really on board with having no wrong front door both at the county and the city.

I love that.

Um what I want to make sure is that we don't create more frustration by having someone who goes far down a path with the county only to find that they were on the wrong path.

Yeah.

So if we are able, if there's a way to set it up so that that is caught early on.

Um thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Aubrey, thank you for the presentation.

Obviously, um, I think most council members have probably already had multiple people reach out about this program, not only residents, but uh you know, across the board, contractors, developers, the whole night, the whole gamut.

And so very excited uh and just just so thankful for all the work that you and all the team is doing to make sure that this is happening quickly and efficiently.

And um I look at the org chart and it's a that alone is a lift, and so uh just very appreciative of all the work and excited to move this forward.

Council members, I'll entertain a motion for second.

We have a motion and a second on F1.

Seeing as no other council members wishing to speak, clerk, could you please open the machine for voting?

Council members, please enter your votes.

Seeing as all present council members have voted, clerk please tally and announce the vote.

Mr.

Chair, the motion to approve agenda item F1 passes unanimously.

Thanks, Aubrey.

Okay, we're gonna move to F3, a science center update.

Councilmember Driscoll, this is an update you asked for, so I'll turn it over to you first.

Thank you.

What a difference a week makes.

Um I want to um I wanted to keep this on the agenda.

First of all, to thank the administration and the mayor for um hearing the community hearing city council and um making um the right decision on the future of the science center.

Um what I so first I wanted to give Rob an opportunity to uh speak speak to that.

Absolutely, and and thank you, council member, and thank you for the item and good morning, city council.

And as you mentioned, council member, um, you all received a memo from the mayor um recently, and he has directed staff to uh move forward on bringing an agreement to city council for a new facility at the science center.

So we've already re-engaged on that.

We're working with the city attorney's office, we're working with uh Mr.

Hamilton, we'll be working on finalizing that agreement to bring it uh to city council for a vote.

We've also re-engaged on looking at the abutting property that we talked about last week, the rate the on property.

So we're we're actively looking into that and seeing if we can make any progress there.

Um and so we're moving forward uh as directed by the mayor, and there'll be more to come as we uh continue going forward on this.

Thank you.

And one of the things that I wanted to bring up, because we're in the sunshine is um the timeline on that.

So it sounds like the um there's uh a step that's already been taken.

I just want to make sure that this um is this transaction is completed and uh that we're able to move forward as quickly as possible.

So can you tell us a little bit about the expected uh what kind of a timeline we can expect?

Yeah, I I mean um city council has a lot of experience with this, you know, we'll expedite it as much as possible.

Some of it will depend on uh workload in our offices and the city attorney's office, and frankly, some of it will uh depend on the other party.

And if as we get into the final steps here of the agreement, if there's any uh things that have to be negotiated, sometimes going down to the wire that happens.

So there's some defend dependent factors here, but I would hope that within 90 days um maybe we have an agreement in front of city council to vote on.

So okay.

It it sounded like um it was pretty close to the finish line already.

So um the ninth day seems like seems like a long time, but yeah, I I I agree we think it is pretty close to the finish line, but you know, I'm sure Mr.

Hamilton's attorneys are gonna want to review it, and sometimes you know things come up.

But that hasn't happened yet.

I I'm I'm not sure if he's attorneys have had a final review of the of the document.

Okay.

Oh, look, it's Aaron.

Um it's all of them.

Hi, Aaron.

Rob, if you don't mind, I'd like to so maybe Aaron can tell us a little bit about the morning, counsel.

Um Aaron Fish, real estate property management director.

Um yes, the um the agreements had to be revised certain timelines, certain dates had to be revised from the previous versions.

Um they do require a legal approval before we can send them to Joe Hamilton.

Okay.

So that had the process of that.

Yeah, all right.

Well, um what I would like regarding that is to have a date by which we can agree you will give us an update.

We want to make sure this moves forward.

So um maybe in two weeks or um uh maybe I think we have a council meeting on the 16th, so um, I'd like to know where we're at by then, or is that too aggressive?

Uh I mean we'll defer to city council.

We're certainly happy to give you a verbal update then.

We can give council a written update.

We can just continue to update you as we move forward with where we are on the timeline.

Um, you know, so I I mean I think we're all rowing in the same direction here now, and yes, we'll keep you posted.

Okay.

Um thank you.

Um I know I'm gonna stay on it, so at the very least, I'll be um sending an email on a regular basis.

You may find me to be a pest, but it's the good kind, I promise.

We're happy to respond, council member.

Okay, great.

Thank you.

Thanks, Aaron.

Um the other thing I wanted to bring up, and this is just something something I I gotta point out that is um still kind of bothering me.

When um when it was brought to light last week and and made clear that the um feasibility study was something that had not been required and um had done had been done and was what led to the original decision that was made.

Um I went back to look through things again, and um I looked to see how much was spent on that.

Um particular study.

And um I found that the total amount of that task order was $95,000.

The threshold by which approval of spending by city uh approval by city council is required for spending is 100,000.

So we're talking about an amount that was less than five thousand dollars from that threshold.

And that does stand out when it's when you look at the rest of the story.

I I wanted to see if there was anything any comments that could be made about that because it's quite a coincidence.

Uh you know, to to be completely honest with you, I have to admit that I wasn't even aware of that price number.

There was never any discussion about this price number and and the 100,000 dollar cap.

So that's news to me.

I can follow up with the staff and ask about that, but you know, I admit that I was not aware of that number.

Okay.

Um I didn't see anything that said make sure this is under 100,000, anything like that, but just when something like this has a number like that that's so close, yet just under the threshold.

Um there I'm not the only council member who's gone through a scenario like that before with past administrations, and the result of that was that city council at the time um uh lowered the threshold for um requirement of city council approval from 100,000 to 75,000.

A couple of years ago it was raised back up to 100,000.

Um I had voted against that because I thought 75 was appropriate.

Um you know, unfortunately I see things like this, and I I know why I voted against the the um increase of that threshold.

But I did want to point that out to my colleagues because it did look a little funny, and um it's um it continues to be worrisome for me.

Um I hope it's not a sign of a trend.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Vice Chair Hanowitz.

Thank you.

Um, given the fact that the when we're talking about the report, I was just thinking about this.

Um, the original report that was required was a qualified uh independent consultant letter, and I'm just curious.

Obviously, if it's going forward that's still needed, what's the status on that?

Yes, we can see on that, and and that's in motion right now.

And who's who's handling that?

I believe Stantec is handling it.

Stantec, and then what is the cost of that?

I I don't have that information.

Um, legal, do you know typically how much those letters I know bond council was involved in it and how this is that something that they're involved with in terms of the amount of work?

I just think it's a letter.

Well, it's an analysis by the qualified independent consultant.

So I can't speak to the price, I can say that bond council has offered to speak to whoever that consultant is to give them some guidance on what would be necessary to satisfy the bond covenant so that they don't need to do any more than is necessary for that.

Okay, yeah, I'd just be curious how how much that the cost is about one of those type of analysis and and letters from Stantec.

So that's all.

Thank you.

Okay.

Any other comments on F3?

All right, we'll move on and we'll go into open forum.

We do not have any speakers.

Okay.

Closing open forum going into announcements.

Councilmember Fix Sanders.

Thank you.

I am freezing up here as usual.

Oh my God.

I was cold enough, I crossed my arms.

Oh my goodness.

Well, first of all, Chair, um, and thank you all for this opportunity.

And I I wanted to address something that um impacted me personally.

So know that I am speaking for council member Deborah Fix Sanders, who has worked um on City Council who has prior herself on doing the right thing by our constituents who understands that people have their own right to speak their truth, but I want to share something when it comes down to my truth.

So I received several texts this weekend regarding a post, and I'm gonna read it as it states verb verbatim.

Next year, historic Lincoln Cemetery will celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Unfortunately, the future of the cemetery remains unknown.

At tonight's city council meeting, I introduced a new business item for the St.

Pete Council and Gulfport City Council to host a joint meeting between both elected bodies to discuss the future of this historic African American cemetery.

Unfortunately, none none of my fellow council members thought this agenda item was worth supporting.

It died on the dais, spelled D-A-I-S, and it's a sad day for black history in St.

Pete.

Now, the reason why I'm bringing this to my colleagues on behalf of Deborah Fix Sanders is because we can post, we can say whatever it is we want to say on our social media.

We've done that.

I'm okay with that, but that word none of my fellow council members becomes me.

So I'm only speaking for myself.

The amount of time that I have spent on working on Lincoln Cemetery, that isn't even an issue.

That's not even an issue.

But to say it is a sad day for black history in St.

Pete is an overstatement.

Let me state for the record.

I'm the first black and the first female for District 5.

I am history.

The fact that I was a part of the first council member that had the majority of women on council, I am history.

So to have an intentional post on social media put out there that was intentionally incorrect, I had to address that.

And you can say whatever you want to say.

I'm not looking for an Amen corner, but as far as I'm concerned, as hard as I've worked in my community, as hard and as proud as I am of the black history of the city of St.

Petersburg to intentionally be included into a lie will not work for me.

And I'm gonna call it out each and every time.

So for us to use our, and you know, and and as a resident constituent, you say whatever you want to, but once you take another level in regards to being an elected official, one person called and said, Well, why would he lie?

I thought that you're supposed to tell the truth.

Well, you are.

So that's why I'm bringing it up.

That's why I'm gonna clearly state for the record for those that shared this with me.

Thank you.

But I need to make sure that Deborah Fig Sanders, who was included in an intentional, I'm for the people, I'm not for the posturing.

That's not why I am here.

But this touched me in a way that I needed to address it.

And I'm gonna leave that there.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Councilmember Givens.

Thank you very much.

Well, since we're discussing Lincoln Cemetery, had a very productive meeting with Mayor Love and also spoke with Pastor Williams, and I'm happy to report things are moving in the right direction there.

Uh he'll actually be speaking with the mayor and their council very soon.

Uh so politics, although it can get petty, um, we are moving in the right direction.

So I'm happy to say that.

Um, but I also wanted to announce um back to city business.

Um, the city of Clearwater uh recently moved forward with their appraisal process um on their own municipal-owned uh public electric utility, and I thought that was encouraging to know that um Duke has responded and they are taking the step to move forward.

I think it's uh inspiring for us as a city government to know that there is an option.

Uh and so I look forward to starting our feasibility study process.

So thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Councilmember Harding.

Thank you, Chair.

Um two items.

One, um I had the opportunity yesterday um to uh head out with the St.

Pete Police Department on what's known as the final mile.

If you have not heard of it, if you have not been on it, um I don't know where the idea came from.

Um I don't know who supported it originally, but it is probably the single best thing that this city does that no one knows about.

Uh if someone passes away at the VA Hospital, which is in St.

Petersburg, and they have no family whatsoever, the uh St.

Petersburg Police Department, along with several other agencies, uh uh, and that person will end up being buried uh in Bradenton at Bushnell at the VA cemetery in in Bushnell.

Um, we escorted that body all the way to uh its gravesite.

It looked like a presidential visit.

There were 18 um motorcycle police officers from four different uh jurisdictions.

There were eight police cars, and there is a and I apologize, I I should have paid closer attention, but there's uh a group of uh veterans uh who ride Harleys, and there are probably 12 of those, and um and the gentleman who passed away in the hearse.

There's uh a preacher who volunteers and um and eulogizes the deceased at the veterans hospital, they blow taps, and then this giant motorcade goes all the way to Bradenton.

The highway patrol closed off the interstate, um, and there is no reason to do this.

There is no family to honor, it is simply the right thing to do, and I could not be any more proud of uh the St.

Pete Police Department.

I wish that I knew who uh who started this.

I uh I wish I knew who supported this and who made this a part of our culture, but um, but I applaud us, it's pretty awesome.

Um that is one.

The the second thing is um I greatly appreciate um having and finding mentors and anything that you do for me.

Uh this is new, and uh and so I I learned from those who came before me.

Um on the top of that list today is Deborah Fig Sanders.

Thank you for your courage.

Um this uh that this is a body of decorum, and when we step outside of that uh we become ineffective as a body.

Not to mention the fact that we set an example to those who pay attention.

We are supposed to be above the fray.

We are supposed to be the ones who uh who are able to um disagree agreeably and come to consensus.

So thank you for your leadership.

Thank you for your words today.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Councilmember Driscoll.

Thank you.

Um I want to thank Councilmember Fig Sanders too for bringing this to our attention.

Um I typically um do not look at my colleagues' um public social media pages, just um don't have a lot of time for it.

And also there's always like I always feel like there's there could be some weird sunshine law thing uh with that.

And um seeing seeing this, I do agree with council member Harding that we should be above certain things, and that includes lies thinking about last week and how this was brought before us, this new business item when there already is a new business item that is owned by me that is sitting on a referral list waiting to be heard.

I could have swatted it down, and looking at this, maybe I should have, but I chose Grace.

None of my fellow council members thought this agenda item was worth supporting, was what was written, even though I said if we could unofficially co-sponsor the item, I'm willing to do that.

Does that sound like someone who does not support this pathetic?

I learned my lesson.

It's not a sad day for black history in St.

Pete.

It's a sad day for District 7 in St.

Pete to be represented by someone who lies and makes things up to try to get attention.

If just a small bit of that energy was spent on doing good in the community, being noble, being honest, District 7 and the city of St.

Petersburg would be better off.

But instead we get this, and I'm putting it exactly where it belongs in the trash.

As far as the Lincoln Cemetery item is concerned, I need the city attorney's office to know that I am having a hard time working on this particular new business item of mine because I have real concerns about sunshine law because there is another council member who is having conversations with people who get caught in the middle because of sunshine law, and it limits the conversations that I can have.

But I want you to know that I am very well aware of what I can and cannot do, and although that is creating a real challenge for me on working on this, I want you to know that I am very mindful of the sunshine law and the violations that could be happening right now.

My new business item is currently scheduled to be heard in committee in December.

I will say that I'm also still waiting to hear from the administration on what the work is that they've been doing because we are not subject to sunshine law, and I would love to have those conversations and have a united approach to honoring this.

I also want to bring up that Lincoln Cemetery is not the only item or not the only cemetery on that item.

The Greenwood Cemetery, which is also of historic significance to our city, will also be taken up.

I do look forward to talking about that one too.

As for the way that we conduct ourselves on and off the dais.

Thank you.

Councilmember Givens.

Thank you, Chair.

I just want to apologize for the circus that just went on up here.

Our taxpayers don't pay us to sit up here and to play high school politics.

Here we go.

This is not what we're paid to do.

So thank you, Chair.

Councilmember, um I was gonna stay out of this, but uh to call what is inbounds a circus is inappropriate, and I'm just gonna leave it there.

Uh I'm gonna try to, I'm gonna try to council member.

I have the floor.

Thank you.

Okay.

We're gonna reset, and uh I'd like to end the meeting with a little bit of joy.

It's my daughter's eighth birthday today.

Oh, God bless her.

And yes, let's sing to her.

Yes.

Yes.

Let's sing to Callie.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday, dear Callie.

Happy birthday to you.

Council members, thank you very much for that.

Callie Gurtis, I hope you know I love you deeply.

Yes.

October 2nd City Council meeting is adjourned.

Thank you, everybody.