Welcome to the City of St.

Petersburg City Council meeting.

Your elected officials are Mayor Ken Welch.

District One and Council Chair Copley Gurtis.

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.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Welcome to 2026.

Welcome to our January 8th, 2026 City Council meeting.

If we could please do a roll call.

There it is.

Here.

Abbott.

Here.

Harding.

Here.

Hannawitz.

Here.

Big Sanders.

Here.

Driscoll.

Here.

Given?

Here.

In Floyd.

Here.

Okay.

This morning we will have our invocation given by Provost Michelle Robert Shaw from the Cathedral of St.

Peter, followed by a moment of silence, and then please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Please join me in standing.

Let us pray.

Gracious God, known by many names, yet one in purpose of justice, mercy, and peace.

We pause at the beginning of this meeting to give thanks for the gift of this day and for the calling of public service.

We hold in reverence silence the memory of those who have given their lives in service to the city.

Especially Sergeant Thomas Beatinger and Office Jeffrey Yes Lawswitz.

We honor their courage, their sacrifice, and the love they bore for this community.

May their memory continue to inspire all who serve with integrity and care.

We ask your blessing upon the city council, upon those who lead, those who are newly entrusted with responsibility, and those who labor daily for the common good.

Grant them wisdom and decision making, patience and listening, humility and leadership, and courage to seek what is just and life-giving for all who call St.

Petersburg home.

As matters of governance, land use, public safety, workforce development, and housing come before this body today.

May every conversation be guided by respect, clarity, and a deep concern for the most vulnerable among us.

Finally bless the city we love with its neighbors, its workers, its families, its elders, and its children.

Help us, Lord, to remember that behind every policy are real lives, real hopes, and real needs.

May this work be carried out in a spirit of cooperation and shared responsibility so that St.

Petersburg may continue to be a place of dignity, opportunity, and belonging for all.

Amen.

Please join me in a moment of silence.

Sergeant Thomas Beitinger, end of watch, January 24th, 2011.

Canine Tac Team Officer Jeffrey A.

Yaslowitz.

End of watch January 24th, 2011.

Thank you.

I pledge allegiance to the flag.

One nation, another guy, invisible with liberty and justice.

Thank you.

Please be seated.

I know I gotta get used to being on this uh already mixing things up.

Provost, thank you so much for starting off our year with that beautiful invocation.

Thank you so much.

Okay, council members.

We have an agenda in front of us.

I'll entertain a motion for approval.

Move approval.

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

Seeing is no other council members wishing to speak.

Clerk, could you please open the machine for voting?

Council members, please enter your votes.

What's this one?

Is all present council members have voted.

Clerk, please tell you and announce the vote.

Mr.

Chairmotion to approve the agenda, passes unanimously.

Okay.

We are going to declare the election of City Council Chair and Vice Chair, and I'm gonna turn hand it over to the clerk.

That's what my note says.

Hey.

Following directions.

Essentially, basically, you're just confirming that the votes that took place on the at the cow.

Okay.

Move approval.

Second.

We have a motion and a second on the confirmation of chair and vice chair for the year of 2026.

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

Council members, please any your votes.

Seeing as all present council members have voted.

Clerk, please tally and announce the vote.

Mr.

Chair, a motion to approve the chair and the vice chair passes unanimously.

Okay.

And before we go to uh swearing in, our chair and our vice chair, I think we have a video that we're gonna play.

Hello, I'm Anna Sophia, and I'm very proud of my mom for making it chair city council.

I'm not here right now because I'm either on a bust to Kennedy's face sister or I'm at Kennedy's face sister.

And I love her very much, and I'm really sorry for her on the day of her swearing it, having to wake up at five to drop me off by six.

And I should be back around like six of them.

And I love her so much.

Oh, awesome.

Okay, so now we're gonna administer the oath of the 2026 City Council Chair Lissette Hanowitz.

I know I was at Hanowitz.

Do you solemnly swear?

Do solemnly swear that I will perform the city that I will perform the duties of chair of the city council of the city of the city of St.

Petersburg, Florida, in accordance with constitutionally in accordance with the constitutions of the United States and the state of Florida.

With the city's charter, and with all other applicable law, and with all other applicable law.

And I reaffirm.

And I reaffirm the oath that I took.

The oath that I took upon entering office upon entering office as a council member.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Contributions to you.

We already got it.

Yeah, but I got this.

That is important.

Well, now we move on to the administration of oath of office for the vice chair, Richie Floyd.

We all confused his name.

Okay, that's what I got.

All right, please repeat after Richmond J.

I Richmond J.

Floyd.

Do solemnly swear.

That I will perform the duties.

Of vice chair of the city council.

Of the city of St.

Petersburg Florida.

The City of St.

Petersburg, Florida.

In accordance with the Constitution.

In accordance with the Constitution.

Of the United States.

Of the United States.

And the state of Florida.

And with the city's charter.

And the city's charter.

And with all other applications.

And with all other applicable law.

And I reaffirmed the oath.

That I took upon entering office.

As a sex city council member.

As a city council member.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And now we're going to have a presentation for our outgoing 2025 City Council Chair Copley Gurdis.

And by chair, I'm going to be turning it over to you.

Congratulations.

So one thing I've learned in life, it's that it's full of surprises.

No matter how old you are, no matter your circumstances, and no matter how carefully you plan, that unpredictability is part of our human experience.

Even when you think you're prepared, when you believe you know what the future holds, life has a way of throwing you a curveball.

And yes, I had to bring in my baseball reference when talking about our outgoing chair.

Those core curveballs are amplified when you serve on city council, whether it's the economy, hurricanes, or Tallahassee's next new idea.

There will always be controversy, debate, and disagreement, often playing out in full public view.

And if you're lucky, you get to serve alongside a chair who can guide the council through whatever turbulent winds are coming our way.

Someone who provides leadership, steady guidance, and somehow manages to attend the countless meetings and appearances that seem impossible, and you also have a family, young children, and another job.

Outgoing chair Gertis, you truly hit it out of the park.

You carried out your responsibilities this year with integrity and honor, even while facing your own unexpected challenges.

We all handle challenges differently, and this is where you truly excel.

No matter what came your way, you never wavered in your commitment to your family, to your city, and to this council.

Your strength made us stronger.

On behalf of City Council, thank you for your service.

And I'm honored to provide you this, your gavel.

And on behalf of City Council, the city itself, please continue the service that you've provided us and your dedication to the city.

And we look forward to working with you.

Thank you.

Um I'm very humbled.

Thank you.

I don't normally write down things, but I I wrote down some just so I didn't forget to say some thank yous.

Uh first, my colleagues.

Um I could not have uh gotten through this year without you.

Thank you for your support, your love.

Uh, not only to the city, but to the Gertis and the Valenti family.

Um it just wouldn't have happened without you.

So uh all of the curveballs we talk about.

Uh you guys were in the batter's box with me.

So I I very much appreciate each and every one of you.

Uh to the admin uh the mayor, administration, staff, frankly, all the city employees.

It's uh been the joy of a lifetime to walk around the city, uh, not only as the city councilman, uh, but as the chair.

And uh to see the dedication on a daily basis through all of those things of all of our some 3500 employees is truly inspirational, and it's much easier to do the work when you're seeing everybody else do it on a daily basis.

Um to the legislative aides, all of them uh who helped my office this year uh with countless meeting changes, uh family changes, scheduling changes, all of the things that you deal with on a daily basis, and I add to.

I am eternally grateful uh for all of the work that each of you do.

I I want to uh call out a special thank you to Kim, our senior legislative aide who um uh is always there to help back up uh me and my office, and uh I'm just supremely thankful for all the work that you do for the city and uh your friendship.

Um to Janie.

Um the Gertis family wouldn't have been able to do it without you.

Jamie has been my protector this year, and uh she made sure the things I could be at, I could be at, and the things I shouldn't be at, I wasn't at, and that was extremely important to the family this year, and then to Ryan.

Uh God puts the right people in your life when you need them.

Ryan came on just at the beginning of last year, excuse me, the end of 2024.

I think like seven days after the hurricane.

Uh welcome to St.

Pete.

And um, it was Ryan was exactly what I needed uh as an aide and as a friend and as a colleague uh in my office, and uh I am eternally grateful for not only Ryan's friendship, but the work that he puts in for the city of St.

And I am eternally grateful for not only Ryan's friendship, but the work that he puts in for the city of St.

Pete.

In fact, Ryan just got an email from a neighborhood president yesterday or the day before shouting out his dedication to this city.

And so I uh I think all of us council members to get a positive email from a neighborhood president is a fantastic thing.

Um and then then finally, too.

I I swore I wasn't gonna speak for this long, so I apologize.

You got to you guys should have put me on the timer.

Um but I just the the general public, uh there are friends and family and co-workers here in the audience, uh, and and hopefully watching.

I'm just so thankful for all of them.

Uh the support, the guidance, uh, the shoulder to lean on through 2025.

Um will it will not be forgotten by me.

Um it's just been it's been an incredible year.

And then certainly last but not least, my family.

Uh I want to thank my kids.

Uh watching Anna Sophia, holy moly.

Um, you know, there are countless evenings where you don't get to tuck your kids in at night, and for some reason they still wake up excited to see you.

Uh I told my kids this morning I got to go back to city council.

Mayor, uh, you're welcome for this one.

They go, Dad, you get to go see the mayor again.

And so uh that it's it's a it's truly a special thing.

Uh when your kids think you're doing something special on a daily basis, and that's what this opportunity gives me.

Um my mom is here in the audience.

I wouldn't be here without her.

Um my dad always gives her all the creditslash blame.

And um I'm not gonna turn around because then I'll definitely start crying, and then Rob will win a bet.

Um and so, mom, I love you.

Dad, thank you for all the support that you continue to give me.

Uh he's my cheat code for sure.

Uh, and then my wife.

She's my hero.

Um for her to one, let me run for city council, not only once but twice, then be chair and do it all while I don't know why she does it, but she watches our meetings.

And um, and and all the support that she gives while dealing with everything that's going on in her life is uh not only miraculous but inspirational.

And so uh I don't I I know she had a meeting this morning that she couldn't get out of, so if she is watching, Sus, I love you.

I'm so thankful for you.

Um, and here's to a much better 2026.

But uh just in closing, being the chair, frankly, has been one of the um the joys of my life.

Um it's certainly one of the biggest blessings I've ever had, and uh I can't can't wait to continue the work um this year in 2026, and while I'm here, just um Chair Hanowitz, Vice Chair Floyd.

Um, our city is our city and our council is in good hands, and I know that on a daily basis, you are thinking about what is best for the city of St.

Petersburg, and you fight damn hard to make sure uh that people see that vision, and if nothing else, I respect the hell out of that.

And so thank you for your continued dedication.

Thank you for stepping up this year, and I'm looking forward to working side by side with not only uh the seven of you but the 3,500 employees of the city of St.

Petersburg and the 279,000 residents because that's what we do it for because we love them, and uh and I hope we show them that love in 2026.

So thank you so much.

This is an honor, and I I appreciate all of you.

So before we continue um with this portion, we still have to approve the consent agenda, so I'll entertain a motion for approval.

Second, thank you.

Please open the machine for voting.

Council members, please enter your vote, seeing that all present council members except me, and now I've voted.

The other one.

That's all right.

They they switched it.

Um seeing that all present council members have voted, clerk, you please tally and announce the vote.

Thank you.

Ruin things up still.

I'm not even over there.

That's okay.

So I see our mayor is here with us, and I would like to also give him an opportunity um to say a few words.

Thank you, madam chair.

Good morning, everyone.

Good morning.

And it started started with the video.

But on behalf of the administration, our entire team, I first want to thank uh Councilmember Gertis uh for your partnership for your leadership.

I can only imagine how many pairs of sneakers you wore out.

Uh last year.

Uh but you have that passion that that DNA of service, and you're still here every time I come uh with your uh vehicle back into the space.

That's a flex move.

That's a big vehicle.

Um, but I know you're gonna continue that leadership, and just wanna thank you for your partnership uh to Chair Hanowitz and Vice Chair Floyd.

We look forward uh to partnering with you this year and with the entire council.

Every year is an important year when we face new challenges, and we look forward to moving our city forward.

So thank you for your service.

Look forward to working with you, and madam chair, we look forward to a great 2026.

Thank you, Mary.

Thank you.

Councilmember Gabbard.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

It's nice to say that.

Congratulations first of all to you and to Vice Chair Floyd.

Um very, very excited for the year ahead.

I know that the two of you are gonna lead us phenomenally, and thank you for your leadership as vice chair last year.

Um, Councilmember Gertis, I uh I'm gonna keep this brief, and we none of us are gonna cry today.

Um, but you know, I just first of all wanna start by saying thank you to the entire Gertis and Valenti family um for giving us Copley.

We are so fortunate, uh, not only because of the leadership that you show, but because of just who you are as a person.

Um, you know, we talk a lot here in City Hall about the Gertes family.

Uh get to sit next to two of them this year instead of just one.

So uh, you know, it's no surprise to any of us the leadership that the GERTIS family shows, but Copley, you are a phenomenal leader, no matter what your last name is.

It is just who you are, it is in the fabric of every cell of your being.

And watching you grow, watching you shine, especially during this year, has been an honor to know you and to see the way that you navigate things.

I have learned so much from you, and I am just so proud to call you my friend, more so than anything.

So, you know, it's funny, you go to these events as a council member, and you've got your chair up there, and you listen to the words that they say, and I cannot think of a single time this year that you spoke at an event when I was not beaming with pride that you were representing us.

And so um I really just want to thank you for that.

And I want to remind you of something that you said.

I said this to Janie and Kim the other day at the first meeting of last year, during the um announcements at the end.

The thing that you asked of us was for us to attempt to come together as much as possible around issues, even when we disagree, and be hospitable and work together.

And I was a little bit of a huh, I don't know, you might be a little Pollyanna on that, right?

You did it.

By the end of the year, I felt that there was a synergy between all of us that I have not seen on this dais in a very long time, and that is because of you.

So thank you for that challenge.

I think we all rose to it, and I'm very, very proud of how we ended the year, and I'm looking forward to serving with you this year.

Thank you, Copley.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I want to thank Vice Chair uh Floyd.

I am gonna be depending on you a lot this year.

As a matter of fact, I just turned over the gavel to you today when I went down there.

I was I was like, oh my god.

Showtime.

And that's why I got to make sure I told you that it's because that's what happened to me the first time around.

I was like, what's going on?

Uh so but I look forward to working with my colleagues this year.

Um, you know, council member Gertis, you set a standard, a very high bar, and I want to continue that.

Um we have a great city council that is working for the same goal for this wonderful city and to make a great city even better.

And I count on everyone to do that.

And you know what?

We have different approaches, and that's okay.

But we find a way to uh discuss the issues and come to uh agreement sometimes, and sometimes we don't.

But that's the important part of being in a democracy is everyone having a voice and then having a vote.

And we do that, and then we go back and we're still friends, and that's very important, and I look forward to doing that this year.

I want to thank my husband.

Um I will say that my husband does not watch the city council meetings.

No pressure.

No, it's not a pressure for him.

He wouldn't watch it, but it doesn't mean that he doesn't hear about it, even though he would love not to hear about it.

And so I thank him for for hearing uh me out, being my sounding board, being brilliant and so supportive.

Um basically putting off his retirement for many years so I can serve the public because otherwise we couldn't do this.

Um and my daughter um for also the late nights that sometimes she's in bed waiting for me, and when is mommy coming home?

She had to also go with me to a neighborhood meeting last night and sit there through a meeting, and we left at 9 30.

And so we all have families that are supporting us that whether they're present here today or at home, um, it's a sacrifice for them.

Um, so I want to thank all our families uh for being there for us because that's what keeps us going and keeps our sanity, frankly.

Um, and I also want to thank uh Elizabeth, my legislative aide.

I want to I Janie picked Elizabeth.

I'd never met her in terms of the interviews, but I had so much trust in Janie that I know that she would pick the right person, and let me tell you, she couldn't have picked a better legislative aid for me.

I am so thankful for you every day, and just like council member Gertis said, I hear all the time all the great work that you do, and it makes our legislative aids make our jobs so much easier because there is no way we could do all the things that constituents expect at the time that they expect it, and it's helpful to have legislative aids that are out there and that are knowledgeable enough to get the answers that they need, and they're always learning and trying to make sure they're providing the best service to our constituents.

So thank you and to all the legislative aides.

Janie, I mean, we can't do anything without Janie.

I mean, she organized everything.

Kim, I mean, they told us where to sit today because otherwise it would look like we we were moving around chairs, and so thankfully um we couldn't do this without a team.

Administration and the mayor, everyone they work collaboratively with us every day.

And they're here in this room, although you can't see them, they're back here because they're extremely supportive, and that's how we work in this city.

So I'm very thankful for everyone.

Last night I had to call uh Claude Tankers Lee, our public works administrator, because I had a question at a meeting at night and had to get an answer, and he immediately got on the phone and provided me the answer.

And the constituent was very thankful, and I told him this this is how it works.

So this is a team, and I continue um to hope that we continue doing this as a team throughout the year.

So, with that being said, for those that are here that were here for this part of the meeting.

If you want to stay for the rest of the meeting, you're welcome to.

If you want to leave, this is the best opportunity to do so because once we're off to the races, it's no stopping it.

So thank you all for being here.

So, clerk, do we have any uh speakers for open forum?

We do?

Okay.

I want to read the rules.

And you read the rules, thank you.

If you wish to address city council on subjects other than public hearing, excuse me, or quasi-judicial items listed on 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 on the open forum must be limited to issues related to the city of St.

Petersburg government.

If you are 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 council.

Each individual will 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 is your turn to speak?

You'll be unmuted.

Next to state your name and address at the conclusion of your comments, or when you reach 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 requirements that any presentation materials must be submitted in advance of the meeting and the rules of the quorum.

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

And we do have two speakers, Madam Chair.

First two speakers, Ron Diner and Chris Steinacher, please go to the podium.

State your name, address or cross cross street and you will have three minutes to address City Council.

Good morning.

I'm Ron Diner.

I live on Bright Roddow's Cross Street, Ramona.

I'm here to speak about the future of the gas plant.

I shared these thoughts with each of you by email last night.

You know, I know, cities all over the country know, former mayors know, the League of Women voters know, and national planners have told me directly that the way the future of the gas plant is being handled right now will cost the city at least a billion dollars in public value and permanently surrender control.

You've heard from the public as well.

You've received more than a hundred letters saying the same.

And something else.

And they've told me.

They've told me they agree the city can and should do the planning.

Bring a national planning expertise, form a serious community advisory committee, lay out the land, and then sell the land parcel by parcel for fair value.

The only reason they're moving forward now is because the door has been open to them.

Once the site is properly planned, it represents at least a billion dollars in public value.

That's why developers are interested.

Developers seek this site as see this site as a gold mine, and that's exactly why the city should keep the gold.

Once the door closes, this can't be fixed later.

And once control is gone, if a developer stalls or fails, the city is left with an empty weed field.

There's only one way to stop this.

If you stop it, and you can.

One of you needs to stand up today or at a subsequent meeting and say, we will not approve a process that gives a billion dollars of public assets away.

Any deal that comes to us from the proposal first process will be rejected.

And two, we will only move forward if the city plans first.

This is not radical.

This is how cities protect themselves.

The mayor advances proposals, you protect the city.

If you don't draw that line now, a deal will come in front of you later under public political pressure, time pressure, and financial pressure, and you'll be asked to prove something you already know is the wrong, not the right way to do this.

And by then we will have wasted time and enormous amount of money.

I'm here because this is about protecting the city city's money for what matters.

Affordable housing, more after school and summer programs for kids who need us most, job training, protecting us from the next hurricane, and taking pressure off rising taxes, rents, and utility bills.

And that's what the billion dollars is for.

That's what's at stake, and that's why you were elected.

Please don't let this move forward until the city plans first.

It's up to you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning.

I'm Chris Steinaker, President and CEO of the St.

Pete Chamber of Commerce at 100 Second Avenue North.

Uh good morning.

What a great reminder this morning.

What a great, I love these moments.

It's kind of like Thanksgiving dinner where you come back and you remember, you know what, you love your family.

Throughout the year, you may not.

Or you may just not invite them to all the events you do, but um, but this morning really reminded me why I came back and while I'm here, and I just signed a four-year contract coming back from a health issue myself.

Um thank you.

Thank you, Pastor Chair Gerdes.

Thank you, incoming chair Henwitz.

And thank you, Richie Floyd, uh, for your uh vice chair.

Um I'm here to say thank you and here to appreciate you guys.

I do agree with all the comments.

You guys are the hardest working group, and because you see how hard everybody's working, you want to just be part of that team, and that's what our chamber of commerce believes it's been for quite a few years, certainly the last 15 and a half, starting in my 16th year here as a chamber to be part of your team as well.

We thank you on the consent agenda today.

You identified 155,000 for us to continue to do what I think is the best thing in the world, which is make sure that every business gets care, handholding, and the feeding that they need to be successful so they can care for us and employ us and take care of all of us in the future.

Thank you for that.

That's a big deal.

And uh Tracy from the Green House and the entire team from James On.

I feel like we really are on the same page as everybody has mentioned about what we need to do next.

I think the pure uh chaos of the last uh 18 months has reminded us that okay, we can be better than this, and we are going to be.

I am excited and super excited to share with you that starting yesterday or Monday was our new greenhouse manager, Roger Curlin.

And I know I know you all know Roger Curlin from his excellent work at the Edge District and other efforts uh throughout this community and throughout this world.

So uh Roger started, and we are excited for how he's going to assemble and bring us all back together again.

We're super excited for the uh opportunities for success.

I also just want to say thank you.

I see on the um uh an opportunity for a um the St.

Pete College to get the workforce grant.

We are going to be partners in that.

We have worked our rear ends off this last year to try to make sure we understand what the issues are, what our business community really really demands and uh make sure that they are heard in the process to get the kind of folks that they need in their in the in their pipeline.

And so we are going to be a partner that we ask you to seriously consider it and approve that for it as well because time is ticking as we move forward.

So as we start a new year, I just want to say thank you all for your entire support of our community and our chamber of commerce, and we're ready to serve.

Final comments is while it is the Sunshine City.

Certainly today was not that representation of it was super foggy in my head.

I'm super foggy too.

Um, because I one of the things I'm foggy about is why am I agreeing with some of Ron Diner's points?

And I'm like, oh wow, that's that's a whole new thing for me because Ron and I have always been different, but you made some pretty good points today that I think we'll all have common opportunities to consider in the future.

It's only the biggest thing ever.

Thank you all very much.

Appreciate that.

Thank you.

So that's uh no further speakers.

Okay, we close public form, and now we go into public hearings.

Clerk, can you please read the title for E1?

Proposed ordinance number six thirty-one H an ordinance of the City of St.

Petersburg, Florida, amending city code chapter 16, land development regulations to revise the city's plating procedures to conform with requirements of Florida statutes, chapter 177, as by as amended by Florida Senate Bill 784 2025, amending provisions related to various authority, preliminary plat application, review and appeal procedures, and final plat application.

Review and appeal procedures, amending the decisions and appeals table to reflect changes to review and approve and approval authority in preliminary and final plat review, providing for several and providing an effective date, and we do not have any cards for this item, madam chair.

Thank you, Clerk.

Good morning, Mr.

Kilborn.

Good morning, and thank you.

Derek Kilborn, planning director.

Uh, before I begin with this presentation, Chair Hanowitz, Vice Chair Floyd.

I do want to congratulate you on your new appointments.

And for City Council Member Gurtis, a special thank you for your leadership through a year of great vulnerability for our city, and I'm definitely look forward to working with all of you for the year ahead.

Um this particular morning of reflection and celebration.

I wish I had something more exciting to bring to you.

But uh I don't.

I have some state preemption uh items that extend from the last legislative session, and that's what we're here to talk about today.

Um, this first item is ordinance 631H is coming to you as an LDR text amendment to chapter 16.

And this particular item is really straightforward.

Um, it is shifting some of the plat approval responsibilities to the planning department and the planning director.

And specifically um in the state statutes, there was a requirement that local municipalities define uh an administrative authority and define an administrative official.

And so for us um here in St.

Petersburg, because the planning department was already reviewing and bringing to the city council plates.

Um that is what we are doing here.

Identifying the planning department as the administrative authority, the planning director is the administrative official, and based on that, then staff is recommending approval of this particular item.

Thank you.

Second, you have a motion and a second.

Clerk, you please open the machine for voting.

Council members, please enter your votes.

Seeing that all present council members have voted, clerk, you please tally announce the vote.

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

Great.

Um E2, Clerk, you lead the title.

Oppose ordinance number 638, an ordinance of the city of St.

Petersburg, Florida amending City Code Chapter 16, land development regulations to create a new section 16.50.055.

Certified recovery resident uh residents creating a definition providing use, specific development standards for certified recovery residents.

Amending section 16.10.020 point one, parking and zoning matrix to add certified recovery residents and changing the permitted zoning categories for community residential homes.

Amending section 16.70.040.1.8 related to reasonable accommodation requests providing for serverability and provide an effective date in the second reading and a second public hearing for this item is scheduled for January 22nd, 2026.

Move approval.

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

Clerk, you please open the machine for voting.

Councilmembers, please enter your votes, seeing that all prison council members have voted.

Clerk, please tally and announce the vote.

Madam Chair, motion to approve a genome E2 passes unanimously.

Thank you, Mr.

Kilborn.

Now we move on to reports.

F1.

Ms.

Balby.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year.

Andrea Falvey Economic and Workforce Development.

Let me echo Mr.

Kilborn's congratulations to Madam Chair Hanowitz and Vice Chair Floyd and thank immediate pastor Gertis for his leadership and for all the care and guidance that you give us as staff and our citizens.

This morning I bring before you for your consideration and potential approval the workforce readiness and development RFP recommendation and contract award.

I will begin by articulating our request that City Council approve a resolution accepting the proposal and approving the award of a three-year agreement with two one-year renewal options between the city and St.

Petersburg College for a total contract price not to exceed $6 million for the initial term for SBC to provide workforce readiness and development services in the South St.

Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area or CRA, authorizing the mayor as designee to execute the agreement and providing an effective date.

As you all are aware, our current contract with St.

Petersburg College for Adult Workforce Development and Readiness came to a close at the end of this past October after five successful years.

In order to continue to provide these critical services to the residents of the CRA, on August 15th of last year, the city issued a request for proposals for workforce training, job placement, and career advancement programs.

These programs are intended to expand employment opportunities.

Oops.

And increase earnings for unemployed and underemployed residents of the CRA.

The city received five responses.

The names of all these responding entities were included in your council memorandum.

Two of the five respondents, St.

Petersburg College, and DB Grant Associates were shortlisted and provided oral presentations to the selection panel.

This panel consisted of five members and was made up of representatives from the city's economic and workforce development department, the city's Office of Community Impact, the Greenhouse, and the Mayor's Office.

The final aggregate scores awarded by the selection committee were 84 points for St.

Petersburg College and 68.36 points for DB Grant Associates on a scale of 100 total possible points.

With all five selection committee members awarding St.

Peter's St.

Pete College's proposal a higher score during the final scoring round.

The committee motioned to award the contract to St.

Petersburg College on October 29th of last year.

Now I would like to walk you through some of the requirements of the RFP.

It requested respondents demonstrate their capacity to serve CRA residents through training, education, support services, job placement, and mentoring, and that these services be aligned with the demands of the labor market.

The RFP placed emphasis on linking CRA residents with employment in the city's targeted industries of marine and life sciences, financial services, specialized manufacturing, data analytics, as well as creative arts and design.

It also sought respondents who could provide training in construction and other technical trades, especially those that prepare our community for increased resilience against storm and flood risks.

Because effective workforce development efforts require a holistic approach, the city through the RFP encouraged joint proposals to enhance services and expand the reach of the program.

But officers, I'm excuse me, office offers were also asked to articulate how they plan to include entities that have historically contributed to workforce development efforts in the city into their new program proposal.

And the city sought proposals that included scholarships, child care and transportation subsidies, special training, apprenticeships, licensing and certifications, and other innovative approaches that would lead to employment and expanded opportunities for CRA residents.

I will now step through the proposal put forth by St.

Petersburg College.

As you will hear, the college has reaffirmed its commitment to administering the city's workforce development program by leveraging the newly enhanced St.

Pete Works Employment and Development for a Growing Economy or Edge Initiative.

The Edge program has been designed to address the evolving needs of our community and the residents of the CRA.

The program is organized around the six operational pillars listed on your slide.

The first pillar focuses on meaningful, excuse me, meeting program potential participants where they are through targeted outreach in CRA neighborhoods.

SBC will deploy community navigators to conduct outreach at community centers, churches, neighborhood associations, and partner organization locations.

And they estimate a minimum of 700 participants will be recruited into the program each year.

The second pillar will see participants create unique career blueprints, visual maps showing required skills, stackable credentials, wages, and paths for advancement.

Career simulations will enable program participants to explore different industries before committing to a training pathway.

And employer roundtables will enable industry representatives to co-design these career blueprints with the program participants.

Pillar three will see participants progress to modular, accelerated four to 15 week training programs that blend real world projects, micro credentials, and short-term certifications.

These programs are designed in collaboration with industry and focus on high demand fields such as advanced manufacturing, robotics, automation, digital skills, health care, and construction.

Pillar four will integrate paid internships, apprenticeships, job shadowing, and employer-led workshops.

Employers will provide real world challenges such as case studies and design build projects for program participants to solve, and integrated wraparound support services, including transportation assistance, technology access and digital literacy, improved food security, mental health support, and in some cases emergency funding, will remove barriers and assist our participants in completing the program.

Pillar five will see edge program graduates participating in launch events that will be co-hosted with employers, the workforce board, as well as community leaders.

The launch events will highlight program alumni and mentors that mentors, thus further reinforcing the cycle of success and future engagement.

The last pillar will document program outcomes and ensure accountability by tracking participants' progress.

Program graduates will be assigned a career coach for ongoing support and upskilling for a period of one to two years, coordinated by the college's career navigators.

And employer feedback will be collected on an ongoing basis to assist in the refinement of the training programs.

The total cost for each year of the contract is $2 million, which you can see fully broken out in the memorandum as well as in the agreement.

Funds for the first year of the program were previously appropriated in the fiscal year 2026 CRE budget, which was approved by this body last November 6th.

Funding for following years of the program will be will be made available in future CRA budgets.

St.

Petersburg College brings substantial experience and capacity to this workforce development initiative.

As I previously stated, since 2020, the city has contracted with SPC to facilitate the St.

Pete Works program that placed over 400 individuals in employment and helped over 300 participants earn industry-recognized credentials.

In addition, the college's midtown campus is strategically located within the CRA, providing direct access to target populations and reinforcing the institution's embedded presence in our community.

Their continued investment and commitment to the CRA is also evidenced by the work being done at their facility on the west side of 22nd Street, which next year will be the home of the college's SMART, semiconductor, megatronics, automation, and robotics training for technicians initiative.

As Mr.

Steinacher already mentioned, the proposal demonstrates extensive collaborative relationships that will be critical to successful delivery of the program.

SBC has existing formalized partnerships with Pinellas Technical College, CDC of Tampa, PERC, Career Source Tampa Bay, the St.

Peter Area Chamber of Commerce, Pinellas County Urban League, as well as multiple other community organizations.

Additionally, the college currently has a database of over 900 active partner organizations who they will work with for job placement of the Edge program participants.

Before I conclude, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Dr.

Tanja Williams, Balinthia Barry, Marie Couch, and their entire team at SPC, as well as our wider network, workforce development partners for their sustained commitment to the city and the residents of the CRA, as well as the thoughtfulness, intentionality, and collaborative spirit they brought to designing this new program.

I would also like to express our excitement, personal excitement at the staff and administration level that we are poised to continue this work that will have such a meaningful impact on our residents and business community.

I know I'm running a little long.

I'd be happy to answer any questions or take any comments you might have.

My our colleagues from SBC are in the audience.

I'm certainly they've been more than happy to come up and answer any specific questions you might have as well.

Great.

Thank you, Ms.

Fowby.

Councilmember Gabbard.

Thank you, Chair, and uh thank you for the presentation.

Um very impressed with the um proposal that's before us.

I think the two things that kind of jumped off the page to me was the creativity and the collaboration.

Um so I'm very happy to approve this today, but I do have a question.

Um so one of the things uh I worked closely with staff over about the last year, as you're aware, you were in many of these meetings and have met with you know the chamber and numerous individuals about um the resilient workforce, and that was included in the RFP, and I'm very happy to see that included.

Uh, my question is how through um the interviews, the proposal, um, I'm struggling to see where the meat is on that particular construction program.

And so um, you know, we have a local funding request that is going to be going through the legislature this year to actually fund that program.

Senator DeSigley has filed that.

It is 4.8 million dollars with a potential reoccurring of 3.4 million for the next three years.

And so I'm just curious, how do we see, aside from the I saw GIS Jane, who kind of does some of more of the it seems educational type stuff, but not necessarily the construction type work that we really need to have in our city?

Um, how is this program going to be ready to potentially take on that curriculum in the event that this funding does come through?

I'd like to ask my colleagues from CP College and come up.

That's a very specific question.

I think they're poised to morning, City Council.

I am Balinthea Berry, Dean of Workforce Development and Corporate Partnerships at St.

Petersburg College.

Several of our partners offer um NCCR, which is the National Certification of Construction Programs, and so PERC, we have Pinellas Technical, and then also CDC of Tampa, and then including ourselves, we're also onboarding many classes when it comes to general contracting, um, construction 101, green, uh, green construction, many other jobs.

So we're we're positioned in poise and ready to deliver that training to get people skilled up to get those jobs in the construction industry.

Okay, so this particular program, um, it's called the Crest Program, and I know that I had lots of meetings.

We had a round table back in May last year to first introduce this.

It comes from the floodplain mitigation association, the national level, and this certification and this program um is only being done one other place in the country.

And they really do want to bring this particular certification to St.

Petersburg.

Um, and so I just really want to put a pin in this and make sure, because this is very specialized construction, there is an apprenticeship element to it.

Um, once these individuals are trained in this certification, these can be six-figure construction trade jobs.

And so I really want to make sure and and I hear what you're saying, um, but I still have a little bit of concern around the vagueness of how if 4.8 million dollars comes through, and the the flood mitigation industry association is the one that I've partnered with on this.

How will all of you work with them to install this program?

Well, I would like to add that if um we don't have it, we can build it.

That's what I do.

Customized training and working with industry partners to scale up and to build courses within um, I say three to six months, we can get it built and uh get people in the jobs.

So, what I hear is that we're working towards yes.

Yes it's it's always in yes so um so let's do a one-on-one and a follow-up meeting um as legislative session moves forward we never know what's gonna survive the veto pin at the end of the year um but our senator being behind this I feel very positive with it and uh I want to thank the chambers specifically for their advocacy for this program and uh really just making a difference in the lives of not only our trade construction workers but the residents that need us to be able to more quickly mitigate and elevate and get these homes up out of harm's way so thank you for your commitment to our welcome I look forward to working with you and um we are the workforce um leaders in this county so we can do it we can build it I love it I look forward to thank you all right very good move approval sorry thank you council member Harding thank you chair first time I liked it and you thanks very much for all the work you did um and everything you put into this uh the the um the program that uh that that expired um St.

Pete works uh I'm not familiar enough I did read about it there's still some stuff on our website um can you give us an idea do we have any metrics on efficacy it seems to be kind of it goes hand in hand with this program but do we have metrics on how successful was it um in here you alluded to 433 people that went through the program um but but how did that how did that funding play out in in terms of results do we know so um you know I I will just for a little bit of context so the contract award this time is two million so the prior five years it was a little bit under a million dollars um so it wouldn't be like apples to apples what we're expecting um I I see Dean Barry's over at the podium and and she'll be able to provide um uh some some more information but we can certainly in addition to what she says I'm happy to provide um you know the the of course the documents that St.

Petersburg College provided to us to give you the exact metrics and the outcomes you know over the over the prior five years.

Thank you.

Well I'm happy to share that we exceeded our goal and we can give you this a five year impact report and we recruited two thousand seven hundred and thirty seven um residents 1,37 attended our employability training we had 570 through our career training and 556 were placed in jobs so that we exceeded our metrics and spent every dollar of our dollars of the dollar the funding that you gave us.

Thank you and I will if it's okay I'll stick with a I have one other question.

I am light on um and it kind of plays into uh council person gabbard's question I am light on how the program works so it it we referred to it um as touching on marine life sciences financial services specialized manufacturing data analytics and creative arts um but then we also alluded to um to technical and construction trades and I'll I'll couch the question uh this way that the the grant is for two million dollars a year um and in here I believe um we quoted the program as saying we want to we would like to see 700 people minimum of 700 people a year move through the program that comes to about 20 should have shouldn't be doing that my head that comes to about 24 2500 um per student or person who moves to the program um and so I I don't have a but I don't have a good feel for are our is our intention to give them hard skills are they going to be actually holding a uh uh welding machine welding things together learning how to do it are these more soft skills um what I what's the I guess what's the goal it's a combination of both um uh I believe soft skills and hard skills should go hand in hand um we provide the soft skills and when it comes to our technology training which is integrated with AI this time but we also give them um skills that are time management how to be on time right dress for success those things that they will need to be well rounded but also the hard skills and many of our programs and all of them with all of our partners we have industry certification so really um what they get is the hands on the meat and potatoes and they're certified and when they're certified they can take that it's portable you can go national these are national certifications that individuals can go on a job and actually get high high wages more than the average of the mid wage we call it mid wages so um yes all of our programs are hard skilled hard hard technical um integration with all of our partners from Pinellas technical of course ourselves we're building the uh industry smart lab I'm so sorry um down in South Midtown as well but all of our partners um they know when they come to the table all of their training has to be um with short term but um very technical in nature thank you for that the the follow-up is is and again I'm I I appreciate your time I just want to get a sense some of the some of these things that that that that we'll put in the program um we can learn in in six weeks um clerical skills uh are um we can sit down over six weeks and and explain that the I'll stick with welding welding um welding is a six month program at at P Tech

But all of our partners, um, they know when they come to the table, all of their training has to be um with short term but um very technical in nature.

Thank you for that.

The the follow-up is and again I'm I I appreciate your time.

I just want to get a sense.

Some of the some of these things that that that we'll put in the program um we can learn in in six weeks.

Um clerical skills uh are um we can sit down over six weeks and and explain that.

I'll stick with welding.

Welding um welding is a six-month program at PTEC.

How are these uh I a better sense for it?

Are these programs customized in that way that that I come to you and this is what I want to do with my life.

You're gonna help me with time management like you helped everyone else.

Um but at the same time, I want to be a welder, which will take more resources from the program.

And is that is that something that we're able to take to fruition?

Yes, we do do that.

Um, and what's gonna be very unique with this uh redesign is that um I always believe you can't see what you you can't be what you can't see, and we're utilizing AR and VR for them to actually choose their career to make the decision ahead of time so they're able to work on and say I want to be a welder, they can see the welding process.

We go through the process, that's where their blueprint come in, um comes in.

And so with the blueprint, they're able we can able to better explain like it's gonna be a six-month commitment, and this is what it looks like, and this is how we're gonna be able to get you to the finish line.

You're gonna have to attend the class day, night, evening, but this is the support that we can provide you.

So we're very realistic in nature and coming up uh uh meeting with them where they are, but letting them know the realistic and the realization of what it takes to complete, and that's our goal is to get them the job.

Thank you for your time.

I appreciate it.

Andrea, thank you for the presentation.

Thank you, Chair Hanowitz.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Fake Sanders.

Thank you.

First of all, good morning, everyone.

Happy New Year.

Um, I am so excited about this opportunity, and of course, Councilmember Gabbard got to motion approval before I can get that because I am intimately aware of this program.

And so thank you so much, Dean Barry, for being here and your colleagues that you brought.

Um, you know, when we started having the conversation about this program in 2019, 2018-2019, and the City of St.

Petersburg thought it not robbery to actually work with us as a matter of fact.

Um, Dr.

Tomlin um Kennica Tomlin jokes at the time worked with us to get this program going from the designing of the logo to the initial programming, and it was an honor to be able to see SPC take over this contract, and even what you took initially, you enhanced it.

And when I saw what we have here now moving forward, is going to be five times better than what you inherited.

And I am so grateful that you took the time to have the conversations with me in regards to some of the things that I would like to see um moving forward with what we do.

And the first out of this whole proposal that you um sent to me, what stood out to me is that you are going to meet all of the participants where they are.

That's the greatest part of this whole proposal to me is that you were going to meet all of the participants where they are.

Um, through all of the iterations of the programs that we've gone through with the amendments and everything that um we took to get to this point.

Dr.

Williams is not here for me to thank, but I thank her for taking my phone call.

She's online.

I I thank her for taking my phone call.

I thank you, Dr.

Barry, for saying just what you're doing what you said that you would do.

If we don't have it, we'll build it.

And I've seen you do that.

And so for that, I thank you.

I want to thank your colleagues back with you that have supported everything that you've done because a lot of the the participants that you've had in your program, we know them, and we appreciate the fact that they want to better themselves, and then your staff, you I know your staff, and they relate to your participants.

They feel comfortable, they feel welcome.

You give them the opportunity to not be judged from where they are, but you give them hope of where they could be.

And for me, all the technical things are wonderful because we're gonna need to build, you know, that for Tay.

But the fact that you all have taken the program that we previously established and made it, yes, more you know, technical, more you know, advanced, but the humanistic part of it for me is that you have much more of a success for completion rate because you relate to each of the participants uniquely.

And so for that, I thank you, and I'm glad that you submitted another proposal for this, um, because you needed to finish what you started.

And I appreciate, like I said, Dr.

Tomlin, or initial input with this, and in um Nikki Gas and Kart with the initial input with this because it has only gotten better.

It has only gotten better.

So thank you so much for that.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Councilmember Driscoll.

Thank you.

Thank you for the presentation and Dean Barry, thank you for the additional input you've provided.

The um easy, easy one here.

Uh regarding the reporting and the deliverables.

Um you've got um monthly basis um reports that are necessary.

I'm looking at the quarterly and annual reports.

I would love to have those shared with city council when they do come in.

Is that a commitment that your department can make?

Absolutely.

And we bring those reports.

Um, and just to address something that uh council member Gabbard brought up, um, what makes the partnership so productive is that it lives and breeze, right?

It's not something that the college puts down on paper and then never we never revisit, you know, the needs that we have today as a community will change over time.

Um, and I I feel like poor Marie and Valentia, I uh I think they're probably blocking my email at this point.

We we send a lot of emails and we do we talk a lot.

So um anytime we ask the college for absolutely anything, uh they give it to us a very expeditious manner.

The monthly report, I'd be happy any reports you'd like, I'd be happy to send that to you.

We also uh provide updates to our uh South St.

Pete C C and bring reports and and the college comes and provides those with us.

So I'm absolutely uh more than happy to commit to to send that, send that over to you all.

Okay, thanks.

And I I I think for now an email would suffice.

I don't know that it needs to be a quarterly report to council.

But of course, if there's something that pops out at us, we might have that discussion.

Sure.

Um saying that this is a living breathing agreement is a great segue into another question that I had.

Will um that reporting, whether it be the quarterly or the annual, break things down as to how many participants are in the different areas of focus.

So we have these targeted industries, these are very important to us.

I'm interested in seeing what the participation and success rate is based on those different industries, so that over time we'll be able to identify trends.

Um, you know, review what what the demand is and and really make sure that we're balancing this appropriately.

Um I would like to let you know that we have already um designed a data analytic dashboard with Power BI, and we have a year-over-year, five year-over-year dashboard already created, and we would like to continue that with this project.

So we can pull any reports, give you down to the details of everything you're asking for, industry, what programs, um, the wages for each um student in the CRA.

That's excellent.

Um we have um, and yeah, thanks to the the work of the chamber, we have these great targeted industries that are really a good match for St.

Petersburg, um, as well as being areas where they really do have jobs that are in demand and that pay the bills, which is what we're looking for, right?

And you know, I look at this, and even though it wasn't just created, this list still holds true today.

And that really speaks to the strength of um of our city of our local economy, and also to all of the work that went into defining that.

So when you're looking at uh marine and life sciences, you're looking at um data analytics, all of that.

You look around, we still see those jobs are out there.

I'm really impressed with the the different partners that you have, the collaborations that you have, just really strengthens the whole program based on what everyone's individual superpower is.

So it's like you've got a whole justice league of workforce development that is um it's really great to see.

Um I know that participant participants will often have an opportunity to go and visit with potential employers and and sort of do, I don't want to call it field trips, but you know what I mean.

Um you know, two of those two that come to mind that are really forward thinking and that have jobs that have the demand that's growing, are um the ARC Innovation Center and also the Maritime and Defense Technology Hub.

So those are two entities with multiple tenants, multiple employers who fit into these targeted industries.

So I want to make sure that they're in the loop as well, and that we have strong communication and opportunities there.

Yes, we're working with them as well, and the uh Marine Hub uh recommended GI Jane to us with their training program.

I get a feeling because I think Alison has mentioned them to me before because I thought it was a really cool name.

All right, good.

Well, thank you, and um just know that you've got my full support, and I will be looking for opportunities and and be available anytime to help in any way that I can.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Councilmember Gibbons.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you so much, Dean Barry.

Uh appreciate all your hard work on this one.

Thank you, Andrea as well.

Uh, I'm excited uh to see this contract get renewed.

Uh I am excited to see the work that St.

Pete College is doing in the heart of Midtown.

You are actively putting these TIFF dollars, these CRA dollars to work.

That is the purpose of these funds.

We talked about 556 people who were placed in jobs in five years.

That you really can't put a dollar value on the impact that you all are making on the lives of people who really need it most.

When we talk about folks who are living in poverty, you are connecting them to these in-demand, industry leading jobs.

And and I'm glad you said it because you said it this it's customized training.

It's the the industry smart lab.

I had the opportunity, and I encourage my colleagues if you haven't had the opportunity to go over for a tour to the uh Keene Center uh at the St.

Pete Midtown campus.

It has been transformed to provide the robotics training, the manufacturing job training, and it looks like the invitation is being extended.

So you talk about that work, it's being done.

The training is being done right now, and to know that right there in your backyard, it's it's tangible, and and that's what we are doing.

Um, that's the impact that we seek to make.

Um, we want to be able to provide tangible change.

And I see that you all are doing it, and I'm excited to be working with you all to roll out this new air traffic control program because that is something that is not being done on this side of Florida.

Nowhere on the West Coast is there an institution of higher learning that is providing that training.

And when you think about the fact that the FAA estimates that by 2028, there'll be about 9,000 job vacancies that pay six figures, not just construction jobs now, y'all.

We're talking about industry leading jobs in new fields, aviation, and it's right here in South St.

Pete.

So thank you, Dean.

I'm excited to see this move forward.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Well, you've gotten great feedback from everyone on city council.

The one thing that I wanted to ask is, and I I've brought this up before, I know, and probably um Chris Steinacher remembers this from a committee meeting.

Every time we talk about the city's targeted industries, my question is always you know, when was the our study done?

Because this it's been a while, and I I want to understand a little bit of what is the best practice in terms of doing industry targeting studies in general.

Um, and if you don't have an answer for me now, we can get back to it, but in terms of you know, Pierce City, you know, benchmarks and all these things because I believe it's been a while since it's been done.

And so, you know, you could do a smaller, you know, study, there's more comprehensive studies, but you know, given the change that's happening, which is been a lot, and I believe it's been a decade or more that we've determined these industries.

It may be time to have those conversations.

So I'm just curious and if you have anything to say to that.

Thank you so much for that question.

Um it's really timely.

We're actually so you're correct.

So we the Grow Smarter study took place in 2014.

Um, and we are actually about to post um an update.

We are putting out an RFQ for a firm to provide us an update, a target industry study update.

Um, we did get input from our colleagues at the St.

Pete EDC, Pinellas County Economic Development, as well as Mr.

Steinacher, um, as we formed up uh that project scope.

So we'll be putting that out hopefully by the end of January, and then of course we'll have a couple of months to uh to do the work, and then that will provide us an update to see.

I I personally don't anticipate that our target industries will change that drastically.

But it's been over a decade, so we felt it was um and and you know thank you for your leadership on that, Chair.

We um but we have that very much in the work.

So then that will again back to our my previous point.

Um when we do get that information, you know, we'll be talking to our St.

Pete College colleagues and and you know, we'll incorporate any changes that we see into the program and um so can that we can make sure that we're we're being responsive to any new industries that that that update identifies.

Great.

I appreciate that.

As I get older, time goes faster and things change quicker.

Uh and for us at the college, we have a platform called White Cast, and Lightcast provides us with economic uh landscape of what goes on in the industry, which is why we're able to be flexible and creative to create programs and be more responsive.

So we work across with our debt and our institutional research team, but also through the state to ensure that um we're providing the latest and the greatest of programs that meet um high scale high wage.

Great, great.

Well, thank you.

I believe we have a motion and a second.

Clerk, you please open the machine for voting.

Council members, please enter your votes.

Seeing that all present council members have voted, clerks please tally and announce the vote.

Madam Chair, motion to approve agenda F1 passes unanimously.

Thank you, and thank you all for being here on this item.

Now we move on to F two, the intergovernmental appointments move approval F2A and B.

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

Clerk, you'll please open the machine for voting.

Council members, please enter your votes.

Seeing that all present council members have voted, I have pressed the rump button on the wrong side since they changed it on me.

Clerk, please tally and announce the votes.

Madam Chair, motion to approve agenda F2A and B pass this unanimously.

Thank you.

And now we move on to new ordinances.

G1 clerk, you please read the title.

An ordinance approving a vacation of a 10-foot-wide dead and alley abutting lots one, three, and four.

Tadwicks re-subdivision, generally located within the 700 block of Burlington Avenue North, setting forth conditions for the vacation to become effective and providing for an effective date.

And the public hearing is scheduled for January 22nd, 2026.

Move approval.

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

Clerk, you please open the machine for voting.

Council members, please enter your votes.

Seeing that all present council members have voted, clerk, can you please tally announce the votes?

Madam Chair, motion to approve adjourned G1 passes unanimously.

Thank you.

We have H1.

Um, and this is a staff request, respectfully requesting a referral to the public services and infrastructure committee or other relevant committee for an update on the port master plan.

Approval.

Second.

Council members, please enter your votes.

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

Madam Chair, motion to approve agendum H1 passes unanimously.

Thank you.

We have H2.

Councilmember Gertis.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Uh, this is a staff request also, but even if it wasn't a staff request, I'd be putting this forward requestfully respectfully requesting a referral to the budget finance and taxation committee for discussion on increasing the interfund the interfund loan amount from the economic stability fund from five million to ten million to help incentivize the development of additional affordable housing units, and I'd move approval.

Second we have a motion and a second.

Clerk, could you please open the machine for voting?

Council members, please enter your votes.

Seeing that all present council members have voted, clerk please tally and announce the votes.

Madam Chair, motion to approve agenda H2 passes unanimously.

Thank you.

We move on to H3, Councilmember Harding.

Thank you, Chair.

Um the genesis of this really was um we haven't done anything like this annexation in a long time.

And um it seems like there are a couple things that might be coming up, not the least which is Lincoln Cemetery, which will move in in some direction.

And um and I thought it it it might behoove us to to uh ask Jackie and her team to to come and talk with us about what that process looks like.

So I'm I am respectfully requesting a referral to the house land use uh sorry, housing land use and transportation committee or other relevant committees for discussion on the legal process of municipal annexation and I move approval.

Second council member Gurtes.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Just quickly, so I I appreciate the uh 30,000 foot view for reading the item.

So I just want to make sure I understand we this is a general conversation about the process.

We're not gonna be specifically talking about okay.

That's limited to legal yeah, great.

Thank you very much.

That just wanted that clarification.

Thank you, madam chair.

We have a motion and a second.

Clerk, you'll please open the machine for voting.

Council members, please enter your votes.

Seeing that all present council members have voted.

Clerk, please tally announce the votes.

Madam Chair, motion to approve adjournment H3.

Pass this unanimously.

We move on to open form.

Are there any speakers?

No, madam chair.

We move on to announcements.

Any announcements?

We don't.

Happy New Year.

Well, happy new year, everyone.

Great.

Council Member Gertes.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd be remiss uh if I my wife walked in.

Oh so um I just she wasn't here earlier, so um thank you for your support.

I love you, and uh I think you've got a lot of people up here that have a hell of a lot of respect for you, and mostly because you put up with me.

But um, just just wanted to publicly say thank you, and I love you.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you.

Thank you for joining us.

Good to see you.

Well, the January 8th, 2026 meeting is adjourned.

Thank you, everyone, for a great meeting.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.