Welcome to the City of St.

Petersburg City Council meeting.

Your elected officials are Mayor Ken Welch.

District 1, Copley Gurtis, District 2, Brandy Gabbert, District 3, Mike Harding, District 4, and Council Chair, Leseth Panowitz.

District 5, Deborah Fake Sanders.

District 6, Gina Driscoll.

District 7, Corey Gibbons Jr.

And District 8 and Council Vice Chair, Richie Floyd.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Welcome to the January 15th City Council meeting.

Harding.

Hanowitz.

Here.

Driscoll.

Gibbons.

Here.

Lloyd.

Here.

Today we will have our invocation by the Reverend Leonte Tukes from New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church.

Please stand and then please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Thank you, Chair Handle.

God of our weary year.

We're grateful for your mighty acts to ingrain and maintain such a world and society.

This month we've celebrated the founding of organizations to contribute to the uplifting of humanity and service and support of their communities and others.

We additionally recognize the birth of such a prestigious voice in our history whose impact was so vast, his voice and his message spread across America.

Although today we offer that work, we still troubled by political confusion, create crisis and costs and the labor of living in our communities.

However, we know that God Almighty can fix this.

So today we beckon, we invoke and we invite his presence today amidst our city council members, our residents and city leaders in the city of St.

Petersburg to have the same mind.

The reproach and approach, much like that of Dr.

King, that the matters that affect us so much would one day be changed and most impactful for our future.

May his wisdom and tender loving hand guide the working decisions made today to build a greater city and essentially greater communities and societies.

God, we need you.

We thank you, and we welcome you.

And I seal this prayer with the only name that matters, the name that is above every name, where the government shall be upon his shoulders, our Father our God, amen.

Amen.

I pledge by the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands.

One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for our all.

Thank you, and please be seated.

Thank you, Reverend Tukes, for that beautiful and timely invocation.

Council members, we have an agenda before us.

I'll entertain the motion for approval.

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.

Clerk, you please tally and announce a vote.

Madam Chair, motion to approve the agenda passes unanimously, with Councilmember Driscoll being absent.

Thank you.

We move to our open forum set.

Uh clerk, are there any speakers?

Madam Chair.

Okay.

Do we have any on Zoom?

We do have one in the okay.

If can you please read the rules?

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

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

Only citizen, 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 will be unmuted and asked 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 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 of decorum, the chair is authorized to accept public comment by alternate means, including by email only, and we do have the one speaker in Zoom.

Lima, once you enter the meeting space, please unmute yourself, state your name and address.

You'll have three minutes to address City Council.

Hello.

We can hear you.

Sorry.

Um, I am not able to hear the room, so I'm going to speak.

Apologies if uh something has already been said around this or anything, but I'm gonna go ahead and get started.

Excuse me, can you give your name and address, please?

There we go.

Okay, now I'm able to hear y'all.

Thank you.

Um, my name is Lemma.

I live uh by Gandhi and Martin Luther King Junior Street in the Enclave Apartments, um, a part of the Bay Area Dream Defenders, and I'm here to advocate that all council members include the Save Our Streets campaign as part of their budget priorities that they are submitting at the end of the month.

Um, as y'all are familiar because we've had conversations with uh all council members.

The Saber Streets campaign came out of talking to people about what they need to address gun violence.

Um and the thing that we heard from folks was they need uh youth programming.

And uh over the years, uh, we've had a proposal and we've adjusted it from a holistic approach, which we think it does really deserve to be that way, to a whittled down version that does have some priorities from the original.

Um, our priority, our proposal actually is only two million dollars at this point from the original one that we had over a five year period.

Uh, we are really behind in supporting the youth and actually putting forward solutions to address gun violence, which is disinvestment.

And so um, even though we are looking to have a holistic approach to reduce gun violence, uh, where youth need roof over their heads, nourishing food, the programs themselves, uh knowing that they exist, being able to access them and get to them, uh, removing any financial barriers, uh, to name a few.

Um we right now within our proposal are asking for a minuscule part of that.

We know that there is enough money.

Um for example, last year alone uh with the St.

Pete police budget was increased by 10 million dollars.

Um, and so we're asking that you show the same intensity and investment in the youth um uh for this upcoming fiscal year by having Saver Streets as part of your budget uh for this upcoming fiscal year.

Uh, as also we ask that you continue to have conversations with community um and take action, whatever action is able uh to make it truly uh more inclusive initiative to meet the dire needs of the youth today because we believe that every single child deserves joy and to live in a safe and secure um place, and we believe that we can actually achieve that together.

And so we do really want to make that a reality.

Um, so thank you for the consideration, and please um consider putting Saver Streets as part of your budget priorities for this year.

Thank you.

No more speakers, madam chair.

Thank you, clerk.

We now move on to awards and presentations, one of our favorite parts of the month.

And we have the one with his the City of St.

Petersburg Trail Town Designation.

I believe this was requested by council member Gerdas.

Yeah, at least that was what it says on my paper.

Maybe I'm still getting a little used to coming back over here.

Uh thank you, madam chair.

And yeah, that I'm just super excited uh for this presentation.

I got to be a small part of uh the conversation on becoming a trail town uh design, and there's just been work across uh the city that has helped with this, including lots of staff time.

And so a big big thank you to Cheryl Stax and Evan Morey and their team, and then a whole bunch of others that have been a part of this as well.

Just super excited for this and uh very thankful to our team and um some of the stakeholders for letting me be a small part of it.

But uh I think the presentation will speak for itself.

Thanks, madam chair.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Cheryl.

Afternoon, thank you.

Uh Cheryl Sachs and Transportation and Parking Management.

I'm very excited and honored to bring you this information today.

Uh, but but first I would really like to acknowledge the recent passing of the former county administrator, Mr.

Fred Marcus.

He was critical to the development of the Pinellas Trail.

And so I wanted to be able to thank him for his service, especially in this regard.

So thank you, Mr.

Marcus.

Here's the button.

So trail towns.

The Trailtown program was developed and is administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Greenways and Trails to recognize communities with significant trail investments and promote a meat of ecotourism across the state.

And the map on the right includes all 23 designated communities and illustrates the regional trail network that is connecting these different communities.

The city proceeded to seek designation last year to attain recognition for our investments in the Pinellas Trail and have an opportunity to work more closely with FDEP and other trail towns to boost ecotourism in St.

Pete.

We also see that this could assist us in several grant pursuits, especially at the state level, which would allow us to continue to make significant investments in trails here in St.

Pete.

A few details about the process that we followed to receive the designation.

It was a bit of an iterative process with the FDEP staff to identify the section of trail within the city that would be most in keeping with the trail town designation.

For larger cities, they generally require that a district is identified for the designation.

So what it took a while to kind of home in on the section that made sense locally and was also within the bounds of the trail town's programs.

In the end, we decided to pursue designation for the Greater Arts District, which includes the Pinellas Trail from 31st Street to the waterfront, and then we completed a self-assessment accordingly.

And then in late November, FDEP staff visit us here locally, and we were able to give him a great tour of the trail.

We use Lyme bikes to accomplish that from our bike share program.

So we're grateful to Lyme for helping us facilitate that really positive tour.

And finally, in mid-December, I was able to make a presentation to the Florida Greenways and Trails Council about St.

Petersburg and our Greater Arts District, and they voted unanimously to designate to approve the designation.

Yes, thank you.

Some of the things that we highlighted for the group because it's important criteria for the designation were the various trail amenities that are available to users when they're visiting the trail.

We noted our signage, our 911 emergency markers, the trail courtesy reminders, and adjacent services like restaurants, retails, bike shops, bike parking, etc.

We did note that there are limited public restrooms and Wi-Fi, but that's where the partnerships with the adjacent businesses really kind of come into play and boosting the amenities that are provided by the city.

So while we do have a lot of great trails throughout St.

Petersburg, again, for the purpose of the trail town designation, we identified the Greater Arts District, and that includes four sub-districts that I hope that you're familiar with.

There's a map that's shown on the right of those four different um districts within the greater arts district.

And one key factor in using this kind of composite of sub-districts for the designation is that each of these sub-districts is very, very unique, but also really important to contributing to a great experience for trail users as they're in St.

Petersburg.

And we homed in on identifying arts districts because there really is this kind of symbiotic relationship that exists between the arts and the trails.

It's this three-mile section with the trail town designation, and there are arts and cultural experiences kind of sprinkled throughout.

And the trail really facilitates kind of a human scale means by which you could visit each one of these art and cultural experiences.

Um that has become the Pinellas Trail.

The area lends itself to large spaces for art to be made at a large scale.

The buildings are also very large, so they become great canvases for murals.

So it's a really um uh wonderful uh place to visit.

The video here comes from Visit St.

Pete Clearwater and does a really good job of showcasing the scale and the variety of art that exists within the warehouse arts district.

The Edge District is characterized by a great variety of wonderful small businesses and a burgeoning number of residential properties, making it a true live work play destination.

It's home to great local events like Halloween on Central that you see featured in the video, and home to many of our certified bike-friendly businesses.

There's bike parking throughout the area.

Um, it's just a great place uh for folks to visit, and it's one block away from the bikeway on First Avenue South.

The Central Arts District moves people into the downtown core where arts and urban experiences are found throughout the subdistrict.

There are notable galleries and small performance spaces that exist that are adjacent to or nearby the First Avenue South Bikeway, which is actually a part of the Pinellas Trail.

And Florida Craft Art even offers weekly walking tours and a monthly bike tour of murals, including those that are accessible and located along the Pinellas Trail.

And the waterfront serves as our spectacular anchor for the Greater Arts District with many world-class museums and large performance venues, especially at the Center for the Arts.

The waterfront also serves as a current terminus at Demons Landing of the Florida Coast to Coast Trail and the Florida Gulf Coast Trail, both of which are regionally significant and included on the FDEP's network of statewide trails.

So they were very happy to see that connection.

Here are some pictures and just some reminders of just the variety of art that users can see and experience along the Pinellas Trail or adjacent to it.

Again, the medium can vary from murals to glass, more murals, and then large pieces of art.

These are over in the Warehouse Arts District.

These are metalwork and middle school and sculptures.

The Pinellas Trail is also used for transportation purposes to link different iconic local events, including local topia that you'll recognize later in the meeting.

But we often offer bike parking at these at the entrances to these big events and encourage residents and visitors to visit these iconic local events on bike.

The Shine Mural Festival, this is the map that their organizers put together, and you can see that the Pinellas Trail is located as featured pretty prominently on their map as a means of getting to and from the different locations associated with the Shine Mural Festival.

And the second Saturday Art Walk, similarly, they um they use the trail as a means of connecting the different districts where are active during the second Saturday art walk.

Thank you.

Oh, sorry, let me get back up.

Um the Saturday morning market is uh directly adjacent to the Pinellas Trail.

We can't possibly have enough bike parking that serves that event, and uh, we also um uh have easy access to such events like localtopia, um, where arriving by bike is so popular that we sometimes operate uh a bike valet for visitors to encourage people to walk and bike there.

And the St.

Pete Pier is also easily accessible from the Pinellas Trail, just a couple blocks uh north of First Avenue South, offering many attractions that would be um uh attractive to uh residents and visitors and people arriving via the trail.

Um, and during the the trail council meeting in December, they suggested moving the terminus, the official terminus for the Gulf Coast Trail to the pier.

So we're already starting to make headway in that regard to try and get it recognized as the terminus and the anchor, um, and just have an opportunity for people to you know celebrate getting to the end of the statewide trail.

Uh, we I'm convinced that we wouldn't have been successful uh on this designation without the support from our business community.

They've been strong and vocally supportive of us, and as has the various neighborhoods and trail advocates who partner with us on the application.

Um, one uh key one was the Sunline Organization, uh, their community-led group that's working to improve the trail's connectivity, enhance the green space, and generally activate community spaces along the trail and kind of push forward a concept for trail-oriented development, um, much like we see in the underline in Miami and uh the Atlanta Belt Line.

So they've been a great partner to us and participated on the tour.

Uh we're really locked step with us every step of the way.

Um, we had great support from the St.

Pete Chamber and adjacent neighborhood associations, especially um Palmetto Park, Historic Kenwood, and Campbell Park.

They've all been engaged with us throughout the process.

Um, we did receive um incredible support from the businesses located immediately adjacent to the Pinellas Trail.

Uh, we use the form that the FDEP provided to us for this trailtown pledge so that these adjacent businesses can say what they're offering to trail users, like bathroom access, it wifi, chart the ability to charge your phone, um, discounts for trail users, um, and and informing their own staff members about the trail town designation so that they can kind of spread the word a little bit better.

And this is the list of those businesses that have provided the pledges.

Here's what those look like.

And I just really love that Daddy Cool Records printed theirs and sent theirs in on pink paper.

So uh next steps really for us to promote the trailtown designation.

They provided us with visitor passports.

Uh, the stickers are in route to us, so we don't have those yet, but we should have those soon, and we have the ability to make our own stamp for the passport too.

Um, so we'll partner also with um the tourism agencies everywhere we put um our bike map.

We'll provide these passports and stickers, excuse me, so that people have an opportunity to travel between the different trail towns, and that's what our sticker is gonna look like there on the right.

Um they host uh trailtown quarterly alliance meetings of the different trail towns.

I attended our first one this week, and it was very, very productive, great networking opportunities.

And I'm very excited to say that the Florida Greenways and Trails Council uh agree that they want to have their next meeting um in St.

Pete in April.

So they're coming to visit us.

Um, the whole group of like there's about 30 of them.

So it'll be nice to host that group and the organization as a direct result of getting this designation.

Uh additional steps in trail development.

Um we are continuing to work on an extension to the historic Booker Creek Trail north of Historic Gas Plant with uh uh pro acquisition of uh a portion of the CSX line that would allow us to continue the trail further to the north.

Uh we work on our Trails Crossing Master Plan for the area going um uh generally by the um just west of the Edge district where it crosses underneath I 275.

Um we have engagement um scheduled for that in late January.

We are also working on a trail access permit that would allow for more accesses from public from private property onto the Pinellas Trail.

Most of our accesses right now are at the intersections or from public rights of way.

So this would allow for an opportunity to build a connection onto the Pinellas Trail from private property in the section that the city owns east of 34th Street.

Uh, we have a grant from FDOT for some neighborhood trail connections from public rights of way onto the Pinellas Trail.

This extends um throughout St.

Petersburg and Jungle Terrace, Child's Park, Fomento Park, uh a couple other areas, and then um finally the last one is like what I mentioned before is working with four Pinellas and the state to kind of officially designate um the St.

Pete Pier as the terminus for both the Gulf to Coast, the Florida Coast to Coast Trail and the Florida Gulf Coast Trail.

Um, so that those are recognized as the terminus.

And so with that, I just wanna um celebrate that we are now a official trail town.

Great.

Woo council member Fig Sanders, thank you.

Thank you for that, Ms.

Sherwell.

I do appreciate the presentation in St.

P.

We know how to do it, don't we?

Thank you.

I do have one question for you though.

I um was going through the presentation and I am so um encouraged by all the small businesses that are taking place, especially the ones along the trail.

Well, I have a question in regards to like Saturday Market, they're a part of it.

But Saturday shops is always on the also on the trail.

So when are they gonna get them engaged and what is that process look like?

I would love to make outreach to them and uh make them aware of the Trailtown program and have us them help us support it.

We I just don't know we've made that linkage yet, so um, let's connect and as soon as we do that, we'll we'll make outreach.

Uh we'd love to have more partners.

We'll go ahead and make that introduce.

Sounds fabulous.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Council Member Givens.

Thank you very much, Chair.

And thank you, Cheryl.

Thank you, Evan, uh, to the administration and to each and all of you for your hard work on this.

I look at you, Tara, and I know I can remember this is one of the first projects um that I was approached with once I got elected to council.

So I'm happy that I was able to help champion this.

You know, when I think about trail towns, I think about businesses, Chris, you know, um, and to the council members' point, you know, how we can strengthen and support local businesses, especially minority businesses.

And I look at the warehouse arts district, which is in my district, district seven, and I think about how many people are gonna benefit from this, not just tourists, right?

But local folks, people who own businesses, and then those people who do not necessarily want to take a vehicle, but we want to try to help become more of a multimodal community.

This is one step in the right direction.

And so I'm so happy that we have championed this, that we're doing this.

I think about the economic benefits.

I think about the benefits for health and wellness, and then also the transportation benefits.

It's an overall public health win.

Uh so thank you so much to each of you for your hard work, and I'm happy to see this move forward.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you.

Well, Cheryl, great job, you and your team, uh, Evan Mori and everyone else in transportation.

You not not only connect people with roads, sidewalks, but trails.

And it's nice to see that we have all of that in our city.

And um you mentioned something that really struck with me, which is it's a symbiotic relation between the arts and the trail, and they connect, but they also connect people, and that relationship is really evident in the work that you do and what you showed here today.

Um what I have in terms of a question is how are we doing and the outreach, sharing this great news?

I know was touched upon by council member Fake Sanders, but I would like to see, you know, with business associations and the neighborhood groups and getting everyone involved and how we can kind of get that word out because this is fantastic work.

Well, thank you.

Um so I think we're kind of in that the starting phases of that now that we're officially designated.

So I think we have a media release going out today.

We have initiated conversation with the chamber who again have been partners all the way, but initiating on next steps as far as getting the passports and getting those in the hands of the chamber visitor center.

What can we do to kind of help promote this within the local communities and then starting kind of an outreach tour to head to like the downtown business association, for example, or uh warehouse arts.

Um so we've been in communications, obviously with the edge district director and leadership there too.

So we'll be making the rounds um to uh be as vocal as we can about this designation so that we can support the program.

Great, great.

Well, thank you to everyone involved in this, all the trail advocates, all the business districts, the arts districts, the neighborhood associations, the chamber, administration, um, and everyone else that was involved in bringing this forward.

Great work.

Thank you.

Okay.

And now we have next up the two local topia day proclamation, and we have our own mayor.

Ken Welsh is here.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair, members of council, our St.

Pete team, and the members of our community.

It's great to be here on a little bit of a chilly day, but we could be in New York or somewhere else, so we're not that bad off.

I do want to thank Cheryl for recognizing Fred Marcus, who was really the brains behind the Pinells Trail.

I never served with him, but he got help get the penny from Panellas started.

So thank you for recognizing him.

Also was a veteran as well.

And we're really known for the trail uh in St.

Peter and in Pinellas County.

We're also known for a long tradition of supporting uh all businesses, but especially our small businesses, and that love is demonstrated in our programming and our participation in the St.

Peteria Chamber of Commerce.

Good to see you back, Chris.

Uh Saturday shops and like organizations.

Our city organization celebrates them, provides support and funding for them through our greenhouse and its staff and services, provides grants and quality programs and purchases goods and services from them.

Localtopia gives our residents an opportunity to sample some of what makes our city special and adding to my weight as well when I walk through there, uh, while sampling what our small business owners have to offer.

I'm pleased to read a proclamation in promotion of this annual event.

I want to ask the brains behind localtopia, Olga, Olga.

Out of you're hiding back there.

Uh and members of our greenhouse team, if you would join us as well.

Good to see you again.

Thank you.

And the proclamation reads, whereas our city's locally owned independent businesses are integral to the unique flavor of St.

Petersburg and make it the place we want to live, work, and play.

And whereas the health of St.

Petersburg's economy depends on our support of businesses owned by our families, friends, and neighbors.

And whereas our St.

Pete grown businesses need our support now more than ever to survive.

And whereas the independent business alliance, Keep St.

Pete Local, works to build a thriving local economy and a unique community.

And whereas Keep St.

Pete, St.

Petersburg Local will commemorate its 14th anniversary by presenting the 13th annual Localtopia at Williams Park, our city's first park, purposely selected as the venue for the festival.

And whereas Localtopia will be held from 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m.

on Saturday, February 14th in Williams Park, and is a quote community celebration of all things local, end quote.

Now, therefore, I, Kenneth T.

Welch, mayor of the city of St.

Petersburg do hereby proclaim Saturday, February 14th, 2026, as Localtopia Day in St.

Petersburg, and encourage all of our residents to attend the celebration, savor our local flavor, support our participants, and continue to support all of our locally owned independent businesses year-round.

Thank you so much for your leadership.

In that incredible support, that continued support that we've had.

So this is year 13 of the festival.

And as you can probably appreciate, um, festivals of this size are not actually continuing.

Uh, a lot of them have folded.

Um, but this is such a special day, and the city's support means everything to us because it is such a special day for the city.

The fact that it actually falls on Valentine's Day this year, um, it wasn't our original date, by the way, just a little aside.

We we had originally chosen the last day, um, the last Saturday in February, but that's Grand Prix weekend, so we obviously can't go the same day.

Um, and last year we sweated that our rain date was actually Grand Prix weekend.

So this year we kind of worked backwards from that and went, it's Valentine's Day, of course.

So now we're saying that it is going to be the greatest outpouring of local love ever seen in the city of St.

Pete, and we really hope that our community comes out and and supports each other, really, because it's not just the vendors that day.

Um the fact that it is Valentine's Day, and we've all been through so much, not just this past year, but you know, for several years now, we want to kind of like inject these moments of joy and obviously love um into that day.

So even by the engaging activities that we'll have for the community, you know, anything from like the fact that we'll have a photo booth that they can like, you know, whether it's a Valentine's or Galantan's Day moment, but we're popping up some uh mirrors that um will say things like you are beautiful, you are loved, and I think that those are the moments that Locotopia provides that probably is very different to uh any other event in the city.

Um so I I encourage everyone to please, please, please uh come out.

Our our local businesses are what make the city so very special, and they are in dire straits, so they really really need our support, not just that day.

Um so again, thank you very much, City, all departments and mayor, um, for for your unwavering support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Olga.

I just want to um congratulate you again and um just thank you, Olga, for the support that you show small businesses throughout the year, and I've known you for so many years.

And uh you do amazing work, and I just want to reiterate what Oga said um on Valentine's Day, just to show your love um for small businesses.

I know it's a busy day for all of us, but if we can just carve out just a couple hours to pop in on localtopia and show your love and support for St.

Pete's small businesses, that would be amazing.

So thank you, Ogre, for all that you do.

Really appreciate you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, because St.

Pete is so amazing, we obviously have uh several events going on that day.

Um, and it's also Colored Green Fest Day.

So we're gonna have to share our time amongst a few little things that day and kind of um support all of the events that are supporting the community.

So thank you.

Well, I I can't think is someone else speaking or no, that's it.

Oh, okay.

I wasn't sure.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

I can't think of a better day to celebrate Locotopia than honestly Valentine's Day.

And like it was said, it's the best way to show love to our small businesses.

And for those who are picking up last-minute gifts, you can go to Localtopia and pick up a gift if you want to take your loved one or whoever you want to spend a day with to Locotopia.

That's another option.

And the collared green festival.

So it's lots of things that you could do if you haven't made plans yet.

So thank you so much for what you do.

And it's the 13th year, and we're gonna keep it going.

Okay, the next up we have is Reverend Dart Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

proclamation that is also going to be given by our mayor.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

And for the record, I will be at Local Totopia with um Mrs.

Welch.

Ah.

Uh and then at to the Collard Green Festival.

So I'll be spending a lot of cash that day.

Maybe one more okay.

Um Madam Chair, I take great pride in presenting this proclamation on honor of Reverend Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

We are celebrating the legacy of Dr.

King in partnership with the community, including the annual MLK breakfast hosted by the National Conference of Negro Women, an outstanding parade, educational and community events, and many grants for service projects from our own office of community impact.

It's an exciting time in our city.

I'd like to invite our chief impact officer George Smith and our community representatives to join me at the podium for the reading of the proclamation.

Please thank you all for joining us.

And it reads, whereas Reverend Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

dedicated his life to the pursuit of justice, equality and human dignity for all people, becoming one of the most influential moral leaders in American history.

And whereas Dr.

King's leadership in the civil rights movement inspired a nation to confront racial injustice through nonviolence, courage, and collective action.

And whereas the City of St.

Petersburg recognizes the profound impact of Dr.

King's message on our own community, where residents, activists, and leaders have long worked to advance fairness, opportunity, and unity for every individual.

And whereas Dr.

King's legacy continues to guide our city's commitment to inclusive progress, community empowerment, and the belief that all people deserve the chance to thrive, and whereas the 39th annual St.

Pete MLK Parade will take place on January 19th, celebrating Dr.

King's enduring legacy with the theme, the power of a dream, bringing together residents, organizations, youth groups, and leaders in a vibrant display of unity, culture, and civic pride.

And whereas the annual celebration of Reverend Dr.

Martin Luther King Day, Junior Day in St.

Petersburg includes parades, service projects, educational events, and community gatherings, and reflects our shared dedication to service, reflection, and civic responsibility.

Now, therefore, I, Kenneth T.

Welch, Mayor of the City of St.

Petersburg, Florida, do hereby proclaim Monday, January 19th, 2026, as Reverend Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Day in St.

Petersburg, and I encourage all citizens to join in remembering Dr.

King's extraordinary contributions and in continuing the work of building a just and equitable society.

Thank you all for making this a special celebration.

Thank you, Mayor, Madam Chair, Council members.

Thank you for this opportunity to honor the life, legacy, and leadership of Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

His message of justice, service, and unity continues to guide us, not just in words, but in action.

Dr.

King reminded us that everybody can be great because everybody can serve.

We celebrate and recognize that spirit of service through the work happening right here in our own community.

One of the most meaningful ways that we keep Dr.

King's dream alive is by investing in the people and organizations doing the work, uplifting neighborhoods, creating opportunity, strengthening education, supporting youth, and building bridges across the city.

That is why we are also very proud to celebrate 27 recipients of this year's ML King Communities in Action Mini Grants.

A group of leaders and change makers whose projects reflect the values Dr.

King lived and died for.

Compassion, fairness, and progress.

I'd like to recognize those that are standing with me.

And in particular, I'd like to bring up Mr.

Boysell Jose and Ms.

Samantha Harris of the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival, the operators of the 2026, Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Day Parade.

Thank you.

Well, um, on behalf of the Tampa Bay Collie Green Festival Incorporated, um, first of all, we want to thank the city for being with us from the very beginning.

I have to go back to that because it was that opportunity back in 2018 that allows us to be here today.

So thank you for your continued support.

We are so excited about this year's um parade, and um that's really all I have to say.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, George.

Thank you, City Council.

I marry what Samantha said, the support that we've received from the city has been incredible.

As you know, we started planning for the parade in September, so it's been a short runway, so we've been sprinting ever since, but we've assembled a great team.

We feel like we're in great position to pull off an excellent parade, and it is about service.

And you know, we thought about what a task this would be, and it didn't dawn on me how important it was, I was at a community event, it was the gathering of women, they were having a fundraiser, they were selling dinners.

So I went by to pick up the dinner, and the word had started circulating that the Collard Green Festival had received the contract to administer to organize the annual St.

Pete MLK Day Parade.

I walked in, and one of the ladies said, There he is, Dr.

MLK.

And it stunned me.

It just stunned me.

And I went home and I told my wife, I said, Well, this is really an important thing for the city and the area, and what a tremendous responsibility and opportunity is.

So I just want to say thank you to everybody.

You know, we need your support, and we hope to see you on Monday and for the Valentine's Day edition of the 9th annual Tampa Bay Collagen Festival.

Perfect.

Thank you all.

Councilmember Givens.

Thank you so much, and thanks to each and every one of you for being here representing your respective organizations.

You know, uh, this is bigger than a parade, as each of you know, even though this is the biggest parade in the Southeast United States, it's amazing to know that the legacy is continued.

Uh Dr.

King said that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

And I think we can all agree that in this day and age in this political climate, justice is under attack.

So I'm grateful for the good work and the good trouble that's being done here in St.

Pete.

Uh so thank you all for championing the causes and thank you all for representing your organizations from the Woodson Museum to Asala to the NCNW to the Interfaith organizations.

We're grateful for the work that you do so on this 97th birthday of Dr.

King, we remember, we recommit, and we march on.

So thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

I just want to say 39 years celebrating Dr.

King's legacy here in St.

Petersburg, and the parade gets better and better every year.

And I can't I can't uh finish this without telling everyone that's watching.

The parade starts at 11 a.m.

So that's when celebrations begin.

You gotta get there early because you gotta get parking.

So make sure you get there, and it's gonna be a fun time.

So thank you all for everything you do.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Alpha Kappa Alpha, sorority Founders Day proclamation given by Councilmember Fake Sanders.

Yay.

So today is a great day, not only in the city of St.

Petersburg, throughout our nation and internationally, um, as the ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sororities celebrate our 100th and 18th Founders Day.

And as I uh prepare to uh read the proclamation, I want every member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority to please stand.

And I need y'all to find somebody that's gonna say something.

And the proclamation reads, whereas in 1908, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorroid Incorporated was founded for and by college-educated African American women at Howard University to serve others through the arts, education, health, family, and scholarships.

And whereas for 118 years and with 390,000 members in 100 and 1,105 chapters, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated Blazes New Trails with the theme soaring to greater heights of service and sisterhood, and maintains the progressive interest in serving all my serving to all mankind through a nucleus of committed and service-minded women in the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

And whereas Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorroid Incorporated was established by the nine visionary women known as the original nine, who are committed to high scholastic and ethical standards, strengthening bonds of sisterhood and rendering service to all mankind.

And whereas January 15th is observed annually as Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorroid Incorporated Founders Day, a time for members and communities around the world to honor the legacy, leadership, and enduring contributions of the sorority and its founders.

And whereas the City of St.

Petersburg takes great pride in recognizing Alpha Kappa Alpha Soroid Incorporated efforts to make a lasting impact in the lives of women, children, and families in our community.

Therefore, I Councilmember Deborah Fig Sanders on behalf of our mayor, Kenneth T.

Welch, the mayor of City City of St.

Petersburg, do hereby proclaim Thursday, January 15, 2026 as Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated Founders Day, and encourage all citizens to join in recognizing and celebrating the sorority's historic legacy, honoring our founders, and applauding its members, especially those of our local chapter, Zeta Upsilana Mega, for their continued dedication to service, excellence, and the betterment of humanity.

Yay.

There you go.

The mic is yours.

Mayor Welch, City Council members, the Zeta Upsilana Mega chapter here in St.

Petersburg will like to thank the city of St.

Petersburg for this special recognition.

It is a true honor to be recognized for such a significant milestone.

Being founded today in 1908, our organization stands as a testament to vision and endurance.

Having navigated through more than a century of global change, we are very proud and stand on the shoulder of giants.

It is again an honor to accept today's proclamation.

So I, Janae Skipper, the president of our local chapter, along with our members locally and internationally, we thank you.

We thank the council members, we thank the city of St.

Petersburg for your continued support.

Have a great day.

Thank you.

So ladies, again, and I failed to introduce uh our Madam President, Madam President Janae uh Skipper, but again, as you see these ladies, and I want you all to please recognize the importance and the value we're getting ready to acknowledge another sorority.

We work hard, y'all.

And I am so honored to be a part of the ladies wearing salmon pink and alpha green.

But I do want you all to stay for the other proclamations, if you all don't mind, because we want to make sure that they get that acknowledgement as well.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, ladies.

So the next proclamation, um, also given by Councilmember Fig Sanders for Zeta Phi Beta Beta Sorority Founders Day proclamation.

So this is what we do, everyone.

When we think of service, when we think of giving to our community, there are so many different capacities in which we can do that.

And joining me now are the ladies of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, wearing the blue and white, who has joined the journey in providing service and education, mentoring, and advancing the economic advancement of our community.

And it is my honor to read this proclamation on their behalf.

Whereas Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated is an international community service-focused organization founded on January 16th, 1920 in Washington, D.C.

on the campus of Howard University by five visionary collegiate women.

And whereas Arizona Cleaver Stimmons, Pearl Anna Neal, Murder Myrtle Tyler Faithful, Viola Tyler Goings, and Fammy Penny Watts, that is, I said that right, Fanny Petty Watts, known as the Five Pearls, established the sorority on the timeless principles of scholarship, service, sisterhood, and finer womanhood, values that continue to guide and distinguish the organization today.

And whereas the women of Zeta Fibeta have worked tirelessly for more than a century to uplift communities through meaningful programs, educational advancement, social justice advocacy, and impactful service initiatives locally, nationally, and across the globe.

And whereas the annual observance, the Founders Day, serves as the time to honor the enduring legacy of the five pearls, celebrate the sorority's remarkable contributions, and recognize the profound influence that Zeta women continue to have within our community.

And whereas the members of Zeta Five Beta Sorority Incorporated have demonstrated leadership and civic engagement, contributing to the positive social change and fostering opportunities that strengthen families, neighborhoods, and institutions.

Now, therefore, I, Councilmember Deborah Fig Sanders, on behalf of Kenneth T.

Welch, the mayor of the City of St.

Petersburg, Florida, do hereby proclaim Friday, January 16th, 2026 as Zeta Fibeta Sorority Incorporated Founders Day in St.

Petersburg and encourage all residents to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated to our city, state, nation, and the world.

It is an honor to share the stage with you, Zeta Fiber.

Good afternoon to everyone, to Mayor Welch and City Council and all who are gathered here today.

We are honored and humbled to be here on this what we consider an auspicious occasion.

The founding of an organization that has been in communities doing work since 1920.

I also want to point out that our chapter was chartered here in St.

Petersburg in April of 1955.

So we are entering our 71st year of service.

And so we're thankful to be able to do it all over the world.

We have chapters all over the United States, in Europe, and in Africa.

But we're most thankful.

Our chapter is to be doing it right here in St.

Petersburg, Florida.

So again, we thank you.

And when you see the ladies in blue and white, just know that we're doing some good in a lot of neighborhoods.

I do want to say congratulations to our brothers, 5 Beta Sigma, and congratulations to our sisters, the Divine Nine.

We might wear different colors, but we share the same heart for service to our communities.

Thank you again.

And our last proclamation of the day is the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Founders Day Proclamation.

It's going to be given by Chris Lampley from Enoch Davis Recreation.

This was requested by Councilmember Givens, and he originally was not slated to be here.

But plans changed and things happen.

So he is here.

But Chris Lampy is gonna, he had been prepared for this to give this, and he will read the proclamation for his fraternity's Founders Day.

Appreciate the opportunity.

Thank you to the mayor, thank you to City Council.

Now I don't know if I'm gonna say I was prepared.

Well, I'm here to do the job that I was asked to do.

Um and it's a very, very valuable opportunity for myself to read this proclamation also to recognize ourselves with here within the city of St.

Petersburg, our chapter, our local chapter of Five Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated, Delta Armacon Sigma has been in existence here in St.

Peters since 1963, November the 14th, 1963.

I have with me our president, Brother Joel Cedric, Brother Chris Davis, one of our newest members that just joined uh a month ago, two months ago, two months ago, and Brother Walter Brown.

And we also have Brother Uh Corey Gibbons, who's there as our city council, and also Brother Shanavasi, who's a city clerk, and others that are within the city.

So, with that being said, proclamation, whereas Five Beta Signal Fraternity Incorporated, founded in 1914 at Hyde University has for more than 11 years uplifted communities worldwide through a steadfast commitment to the principles of brotherhood, scholarship, and service.

And whereas, inspired by the motto, culture for service and service to humanity, the fraternity has made significant contributions in the areas of education, business, social action, and civic engagement, positively impacting countless individuals and the families, and whereas for more than a century, the distinguished men of Five Beta Sigma have demonstrated underwavery leadership and service through our senator programs, emphasizing bigger and better business, education, social action, enriching communities locally, nationally, and globally.

And whereas members of Five Beta Sigma have demonstrated the leadership in addressing social injustice, promoting educational equity, supporting economic advancement, and building strong community partnerships across the globe.

And whereas the annual observance of the Founder Day on January 19th provides opportunity, honor the enduring legacy of the fraternity founders, celebrate its profound achievements, and recognize the continued contributions of its members to the community, uplift and public service.

Celebrate its profound achievements and recognize the continued contributions of its members to the community.

Uplift and public service.

Now, therefore, I'm not Mayor Welch, but I Welch, Mayor of the City of St.

Pierre, but do hereby declare January 9th, 2026 as Five Beta Signal Fraternity Incorporated Founders Day in St.

Petersburg and encourage all residents to encourage and celebrate the contributions of Five Beta Sign in our city, state, nation, and the world.

We appreciate this opportunity.

As you see, we are Blue Two sets of Blue and White are here.

We are the only well we love everyone.

But we are the only constitutionally bound brother and sister fraternity of sorority around the world.

Everyone can't nobody else say that.

Everybody else just grab somebody else and say, Well, you're gonna be with us for the day, or you'll be with us with tomorrow.

We're the only constitutionally bound brother and sister fraternity in the world.

Our ladies' founders' day is tomorrow.

Right.

Ours will last Friday.

So that's how close we are.

Because we will bind us together through our through our legacy.

We're bonded together through our founders.

Our founders helped put together Five Beta Sigma and our founders also helped put together Zeta Fabela.

So that's how close we are with Constitution Bound.

But I appreciate the opportunity, and I thank you everybody.

I guess I will need to say something as a challenge.

The president, thank you, thank you.

Thank you from us all when you think of Sigma, think of good trouble.

We're always out here trying to drum up everything that represents good trouble.

We also have a 501c 3 DOS Crescent Foundation.

If you want to keep in touch with us, please check out Pinellas County Sigmas.com.

Thank you again.

Thank you.

Um if you can stay standing for a minute, because we have Councilmember Givens that wants to say a few words.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and to my brothers and my sisters in blue.

Happy Founders Day to each and every one of you.

Chris has stated the history so eloquently, but for those who don't know, it all started with a lover's stroll on the campus of Howard University.

And I'm so glad that they took that stroll in 1919 because that birthed this beautiful bonded, constitutionally bonded brotherhood and sorority and fraternity.

So thank you all so much for the bond that we share.

We wear more than just colors.

This is a family.

And whenever we are out there serving our community, we do it out of love.

And so I see our sisters in the pink and green.

Thank you so much for the love that you show to this community.

Thank you, Councilmember Fig Sanders.

You know, we all endeavor, and Mayor Welch as well, City Clerk, Chan Tranavasa.

Thank you all for what you do.

Um, although we wear different colors, like I said, we serve the same mission, which is community and making this community better.

So I'm so grateful to each and every one of you.

We are a part of and not a part from the city of St.

Pete.

So thank you, madam chair.

Thank you.

Now we'd be remiss not to mention that Chris celebrated 25 years with the city.

I don't think he hears that I have him.

I don't think I don't think you heard I was talking about you.

Madam Chair.

Uh hold hold on a second, Chris.

Just very briefly, I'd be remiss if I did not recognize our deputy city attorney, Janine Williams and other Deltas, they also celebrated their Founders' Day this month, January 13th.

So we want to recognize our other Divine Nine Sisters for their Founders Day.

So thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

And Janine, just sitting over there, just hi.

I'm waiting.

I'm just waiting for everyone.

All right.

The next up.

We're going to go to reports F1.

We're going to have our Tampa Bay Water update.

I'm happy to welcome Shuck Garden, who is the general manager of Tampa Bay Waters.

Since I've been on City Council, I've been the fortunate city council member who's represented the city at Tampa Bay Water.

And it's always my honor and privilege.

And I uh also noticed that you also brought some of your team with you.

So I know I saw Paul and Brant, and maybe if you can um introduce them also that would be great during your presentation.

Uh absolutely, and I want to thank you and good afternoon, City Council.

Um, my name is Chuck Cardin, as uh Councilmember Hanowitz uh said, I'm the general manager of Tampa Bay Water.

I have been with the organization uh since 1993, and I have uh been the general manager for the last five years.

And uh I am very happy uh to have uh council member uh Hanowitz as the representative from the city of St.

Pete.

She is currently our vice chair, and if all things go the way I hope they go in February, uh she will be the chair for the next two years after that.

Uh with me today is Paul Stanick, he's our chief operating officer, and Brant Bartlett, he is the chief uh our our legislative uh aid uh manager, so he does our uh legislative uh work.

Thank you.

Uh Tampa Bay Water was formed in uh 1998 by the member governments that we serve, and that includes the uh three counties, Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pascoe County, and the three cities, of course, the City of St.

Pete, Newport Richie, and the City of Tampa.

Uh we have a very simple mission.

It is to reliably provide clean, safe drinking water to the Tampa Bay region now and for future generations.

Uh we do that by supplying water uh to our members.

Uh the year we're in now, our budget is to supply 209 million gallons a day uh each and every day.

The city of St.

Petersburg uh purchases around 28 million gallons a day from us, and it provides essentially all the water to the customers that you serve.

Uh our distribution system is shown in this graphic, and it includes uh 13 uh well fields, a surface water treatment plant that uh is attached to two surface water intakes.

We have a seawater desalination plant, and we have a 15 and a half billion gallon reservoir, and all told uh there's 21 points of connection that connect these six members to our system.

Uh we do all of that work uh providing water to the six members uh at a fee of two dollars and sixty-four cents per thousand gallons, which is a little little bit more than a quarter of a penny per gallon.

Our system is uh very complex.

Uh every day we deliver a blend of treated water.

We are the only water supply system in the uh the country that blends seawater, river water, and groundwater.

Uh these three sources all vary in cost, uh, so blending keeps the wholesale rate affordable and allows us for more dependability, especially in drought and emergency situations.

This pie chart uh you see here is what we expect to average by the sources in fiscal year 2026.

So about um 56% will be from the ground water, and then the other uh 44 comes from the either the river or the DSO.

Prior to 1998, this pie chart was one color and it was all blue.

It was 100% groundwater.

Uh over the years uh we've gone through cycles of growth and also cycles of maintenance.

Uh currently we are in the growth cycle.

Uh this chart tells you the story.

If we compare the 2025 actual uh demand numbers by our members uh to the projected demands out 20 years, you can see uh the growth, and that's primarily uh in the uh Hillsburg County, mostly South Hillsburg County, and also you can see in um PASCO moving towards the east.

PASCO is growing uh by leaps and bounds.

Right now, uh a majority of our after capital improvement program budget uh we will be spending on expanding our surface water treatment plant.

We were starting a new South Hillsborough Well Field project, and we're also expanding our distribution system uh with a new pipeline in South Hillsburg County.

The surface water treatment plant uh is designed uh for currently 120 million gallons a day, and we will be expanding it to 145 million gallons a day, which will uh yield us another 12 and a half million gallons a day for the region.

The plant is considered our workhorse of the system, and it is uh real close to the fairgrounds in Brandon uh if you're over that way.

Uh we have just finished the design and permitting and construction is starting uh any day now.

We have uh moving trailers in and mobilizing, so they'll be starting that work to expand the plant.

Just recently, I think it was in October, uh, the board approved another new supply, and it's the South Hillsborough Well Field.

Uh the facility could be bring us between another six and twelve million gallons a day of new water.

Uh it's a groundwater project.

Um half of that well field water is six MGD.

I say it could be a six or twelve MGD plant, so half of that is uh already from uh permits that we have acquired from private entities who sold them uh permits that they were no longer using.

The other six million gallons a day would come from uh an agreement with Hillsburg County.

They are treating their reclaimed water currently, and they're putting it in uh wells uh right on the coast uh near Apollo Beach to stop saltwater intrusion.

But the permitting agency, Swift MUD uh will allow for us to take advantage of that inland about four miles, and uh we predict about 10 million gallons a day of them injecting would yield us another six million gallons of of uh fresh groundwater inland.

The the well field will be built in phases, so uh we are currently moving forward with the first phase, which would be the the first six million gallons a day up to uh the next, which would be 12, maybe 15 in the future.

Uh and then just in December, we started the construction of uh a new South Hillsborough pipeline.

Um the new pipeline will be 26 miles long and it will range in size between three and five feet in diameter.

It will connect our system to two Hillsborough County uh water treatment plants.

The pipeline is being funded by uh Swift Mud, Tampa Bay Water, and Hillsborough County, uh the three parties are participating in the funding.

We are hoping to have that pipeline in service by the year 2028.

Uh it will be a challenging project as it goes right through Brandon uh about 26 miles, so it's gonna be a journey.

Uh we also continue to look at projects uh for our implementation uh beyond our 2033 time frame.

We are currently conducting feasibility studies for the project shown on this uh graph, and we will um be finishing the studies and then we'll be recommending to the Tampa Bay Water Board um some projects to move forward for that time frame in 2033.

But we plan to bring that back in the year 2027.

Probably next year you'll be seeing that uh Councilmember Hanowitz.

And as you can see on the graph, uh all of the projects are geographically located.

So you actually have one number C is interesting.

It's uh at Lake Tarpin, just uh in northern Pinellas County, uh trying to take advantage of some of the water there in the outfall, uh building a reservoir and possibly a surface water treatment plant for that area.

Regardless of uh the source of our drinking water, uh all the water that we provide to the the citizens meets or surpasses all the local, state, and federal standards.

Uh this time last year uh I presented to you uh we were we were studying PFOS, which uh are known as forever chemicals uh that can make uh their way into our water water, our raw water sources.

The EPA is issued new PFOS regulations that will would take effect in the year 2031.

Currently, uh last year they came up with uh regulated uh parameters at four parts per trillion, and now they're looking at that.

Uh there's some lawsuits that are that are in the in the system right now.

Um but uh what we have done is we've sampled uh all of our uh regional facility, our assets along with all the members, and uh we have found there are three connection points.

Uh there primarily where you see the orange uh stars on there, two uh in the Brandon area, and then one at our surface water.

Uh those three sites are slightly over the four parts per trillion, and we are looking at um treatment options there, and we will be giving a board presentation in two weeks at our board uh meeting with recommendations going forward, not for approval yet, but we're gonna be discussing that.

Uh we also were looking at taking out total or granite carbon in the water in the in the region, and so those are married up in this study that we will be presenting uh to our board.

But uh right now we're proceeding on as uh it's four parts per trillion, and we have the year 2031 to be ready for that.

So uh we are getting that uh to our board to to look at.

And uh with that, uh I want to thank all of you for providing me with the opportunity to visit you.

I do this annually, so uh I'm happy to do it anytime sooner than that, but uh I'm hopping to provide an update to you.

Thank you.

So if we can go back to um page four of the presentation, I just want to highlight something.

So when you look at these projections, you can see how St.

Petersburg, and you only see two years now, there is some growth, but we've had a lot of growth, and we've been pretty consistent in our demand for many many years, and it's because good choices have been made in the past in terms of our reclaim water system and other ways where we have been able, even with the growth that has happened in our city, we've been able to keep those numbers pretty constant.

And that graph shows a lot because when you think about the region and where the growth is happening, South Hillsborough and Pasco County is insane the amount of growth that's happening over there and how they have to find ways to get the water because a lot of the projects that Tampa Bay Water is working on is to actually get water to those communities in South Hillsboro County.

Because this is a regional effort.

And don't freak out when you see Tampa.

The thing with Tampa is they get water, it's just from the river, and Tampa Bay water comes in if they need water because that those numbers look weird, but they are getting water.

It's just they get river water, and after a point, if they don't have it, then they buy water from Tampa Bay water.

Correct.

Yes, uh that does look misleading.

Uh that shows the water we're gonna sell them in the future.

Currently, when we turn it in Tambay water, they were allowed to keep 82 million gallons a day.

They are now that's that shows you over the 82, so they will be uh paying and by uh buying more water from us going into the future.

And I do want to commend your reclaimed water system, it's one of the finest in the in the country.

Um back in the 70s uh the leaders took approach that some of the others didn't, maybe, and it's paid off very well for for the for the city of St.

Petersburg over the years.

Yes, and I will tell you I also want to thank um Jane Wallace is here.

Uh she is from our city attorney's office, and she's the one that knows all things about Tampa Bay Water and all the history.

She is the point person.

Um my legislative aid works with Tampa Bay Water, John Palinshar, Scott Lewis, uh obviously uh Claude Tankersley.

I want to thank everyone in administration who works um with us on whenever projects come in and always work collaborately collaboratively with your staff.

Chuck, you did a great job during the storms communicating with our city and making sure that we were getting water.

Um that was a very difficult time.

Um, and you all were there every step of the way, and you also kept the board apprised of what was going on.

So I'm very thankful for that and for the team, and it's always my pleasure to go to the meetings, believe it or not.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

I appreciate that.

Chair can ask a question.

Oh, yes, I'm sorry, Councilmember Mike Harding.

Sorry, Chuck.

Thank you.

I'm gonna keep you for one more question.

No problem.

The the you you alluded to uh to what demand will look like uh as time goes on.

Um and and it seems like it's going up.

We just take a minute and talk about the supply side.

Um we've every once in a while you catch a you catch an article about uh about fighting over water out of uh out of Lake Lanier or anywhere anywhere downfield from that.

And every once in a while you'll see an article about salt water intrusion into the aquifer.

Um is this uh and then and then you get the crazy articles about the the next wars will be fought over water.

Um how do we look on the supply side?

Well, it's it's getting more and more scarce, and I'm talking when I say that it's the the traditional supplies that everybody would go to.

Uh the cheapest is groundwater, so that went, you know, that's pretty much not there.

Uh I talk about some groundwater projects today, but we went and we put our heads together and we looked at already permitted quantities that somebody did not want, so we bought them.

So, but it's harder and harder to get the the I know this is worn out, the low-hanging fruit.

The low-hanging fruit is is not there.

So now you're you're moving into other worlds.

Um D cell.

Uh we do have a D cell plants this uh second uh sorry, no second in the in the country.

We were the first years ago, and and it's had some issues, but it runs very well, uh, but it's not a very large facility.

It's uh I'll tell you we need 209 million gallons.

It's 20 20 million gallons of of that supply.

Uh and it's mostly the cost, the cost prohibited.

But as you get scarcer and scarcer, costs are not gonna be a uh a factor.

And so you're looking at how do you how do you uh benefit from DSAL uh reclaim water?

There's communities in the country that are using it as a potable drinking water source.

It's not quite here there at this point.

Uh the the public, you know, there's a uh member that has tried it for several years of trying to introduce it, um, but it's not uh been accepted by the public.

But but again, as you get uh fewer and fewer options, what you do have you're gonna have to start looking at.

Um area that we we uh uh take a large look at is uh is something that we think there's a lot of room for is conservation.

And the and the city of St.

Pete does a wonderful job with that.

But uh we have a program called Waterwise, where we're offering money for for rebates for folks to change out their fixtures.

And um our our goal is to have uh 3.8 million gallons a day saved by the year 2030, and we just passed the one million uh gallons per day mark uh in November, and we celebrated that.

But that's still about one third of the way to go.

We have a ways to go.

But we found that um older hotels and older uh apartment buildings uh really what a huge savings by coming in and uh letting the owner take advantage of the rebates and putting in all new fixtures that save water.

Uh we had one that that did it a year ago, and uh he shared with us a one year's worth of bills, and it was a 30 percent savings for the whole year versus his old his old appliances.

So there's a lot of room in conservation.

It's the cheapest water uh the cheapest water that you you know if you don't have to build any construction.

But you're gonna see um more and more uh D SAL look at and and and how do we take advantage of reclaim water, not just necessarily drinking it, but how do you get to use it?

That project I told you about the well field, we're gonna take six million gallons a day, pay the county, Hillsburg County, for them to inject treated reclaimed water into a non-potable zone that will keep salt water from intruding.

But what it did is it increased the pressure to allow fresh groundwater.

So you're gonna find innovative ways to come up with the water, but it is getting harder and harder uh as we as we have the population shifts and growth coming this area.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

And Councilmember Harding, I will say right now we are in a phase one drought, I believe, right?

With Swiss mud.

Um we had a drought condition before the hurricanes.

That was pretty pretty dire.

Um, and then the hurricanes came, and people at Tampa Bay water, people don't like hurricanes, but let me tell you, it brought a lot of water and to reservoir went up, and that water is actually what's sustaining the shortage of rainfall now.

It is, um, but we it deja vu is happening right now.

Right.

That's exactly it's half that's what I'm saying.

It's happening again.

We are it we're getting to that spot where you have a reservoir that holds 15 and a half billion gallons.

It it's filled during the rainy season.

We never have an issue trying to fill it.

Uh then we got into a drought two years ago.

We didn't get it filled.

And then we continued into the drought.

It went down to about two billion gallons in July.

Still wasn't raining in July that year.

It was July 24, I believe.

And so uh there's no way I thought we were gonna be able to sustain we wouldn't run out of water.

I don't want anybody to think we would, you know, you get your taps and we would start over pumping or uh over our permit limits to the groundwater.

And then two hurricanes happened, which you know how bad that that was, but it there was a silver lining in the two hurricanes, it filled up our res reservoir, and so we got back to equilibrium, and then now we're in the middle of that cycle again where it didn't rain again.

Um and so the district, I know they're having a meeting, and they'll probably go to phase two, which is one day a week watering, and uh you will be amazed at when they did that two years ago, going from the the two days to a one day, how much water decreased in demand.

About 50 percent of the water that is delivered goes on people's yards, and so uh 209 that we deliver, about half of that goes to the environment instead of through through the drinking.

So that's gonna happen probably here in the next couple of weeks, and uh hopefully we can get through this drought again.

And I will say, in terms of the overpumping, what happens is you have all the environmental issues that happen afterwards and having lakes dry up, and that that was the whole Tampa Bay Bay Water uh wars that we had back then, and the reason why Tampa Bay Water came about.

So they've been having you know the droughts lately, but we've been finding new solutions to try to keep up with the demand and hopefully educate the public on conserving water better.

So thank you, Chuck, for everything you do.

Thank you for the the great questions.

Thank you.

F2, we have Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital annual update.

Um, and I believe this was Councilmember Gerdis's.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair.

Um just I thought it was important to get an update from Orlando Health.

Obviously, uh we have a lot going on in our health care system here in St.

Petersburg, but um I we hadn't talked to him in a while, and I just wanted to give John the opportunity to come in and share because I think there's some really cool things going on, especially with some of the additions that have happened.

If you've driven over by the hospital lately, it's hard to miss.

And so really exciting news.

And and um uh I guess what we're we're my family is very happy to have those things here.

And so uh just wanted to have him come in and give us an update, and I thought it was timely with uh some of the some of the exciting stuff that they've got going on there.

So thank you very much, madam chair, and welcome, John.

Madam Chair, Council members, thank you for the opportunity.

Appreciate it.

You know, I'll be uh remiss if I didn't say this.

I think this is my fifth presentation.

Uh we acquired the organization uh from CHS in um October of 2020.

Um I think I said that um John Moore and I have a privilege of serving as as president of the hospital.

But I was thinking as I listened to all the proclamations and all that today, you know, my wife and I we came here about five and a half years ago.

Uh one of the first people uh I was introduced to and met was Chris Steinacher sitting here in the front row, and we were welcomed with open arms to the community, so it's been awesome.

But you know, listening to those proclamations, every time I come here, there are a few proclamations, right?

But it makes you proud to be a uh a citizen here in St.

Petersburg.

So I just want to say that.

So we'll move on to our annual update.

A lot going on with uh the overall organization of Orlando Health as well as Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital.

So again, we always start with our mission.

We these are our pillars, these are the things that every decision we make, we we tie to these pillars, one of these pillars.

And then this just shows our growth.

Most recent growth has been uh in uh the state of Alabama with the acquisition of uh five hospitals in that location.

Again, just an overall picture of uh who Orlando Health is.

Uh, I think you can see there at the bottom.

We are the only adult trauma center, uh, and with our partners next door, provide the adult and pediatric trauma coverage for Pinellas County.

Accolades, many awards that have been won by Orlando Health Organizations.

And then let's talk about our commitment to St.

Petersburg.

So I'm here today to really reaffirm that commitment by Orlando Health to uh St.

Petersburg community.

And I will tell you that we we look at three major three major things that we we focus on, obviously, are the quality of care we're providing, the experience of our patients when they come to us, and then making sure that we maintain a solid solid financial footing for the organization.

So I'm here today, and overall, if I had a closing statement, it would be that we are providing high quality care, we're providing an ever-improving patient experience, and we are on solid financial footing as an organization.

Very proud to say that since the acquisition, we have moved one of the uh top um organizations in the nation that grade hospitals.

You read about this in the Tampa Bay Times every twice a year now, they they grade us.

So uh when we came here, uh you know, the hospital was graded at a D level, and I'm happy to say that 2025 uh the team at the hospital and the physicians there were able to work together to move the organization to an A.

And we are not looking back from that.

Several awards that have been won, uh, primarily around safety uh this past year.

I won't go into each one.

Two that I'm very proud of though are uh the Lantern Award, which is a national award, probably only we might be one of two emergency uh rooms, emergency departments in the region that have won the Lantern Award, which is given for exemplary emergency departments.

In addition, also the emergency department won a national Daisy Award really around our policy work in the area of opioid addiction.

So working to get our uh people in our community the help they need for what has become a national crisis around opioid addiction.

I won't read all of these, but we've talked at the previous meeting about uh the challenges that myself and our my colleagues at other healthcare organizations experienced and and everyone in our community experienced related to the hurricanes, many lessons learned in that.

Um, and I would highlight one, and that would be that um you know, we depended on and were thankful for all of the fire departments in the city and the surrounding areas that helped us maintain our air conditioning systems by tankering water in for two days into our chiller systems to keep our air conditioning going.

Um that has uh motivated us to install a well, which we're in the process of doing now, which will alleviate that that concern going forward.

Council member Fig Sanders, a couple of years ago, I think now had asked that we provide kind of demographics of our team members, and we continue to grow.

You can see we're nearly 2400 team members now, and you can see how the demographics break out here on this slide.

Some of which matching the growth that's happening in our community, some of which are new services that we'll talk about in a moment that we're bringing to the community.

But you can see here this is a combination of both bringing on physicians who have asked to join us in an employed status, like a Dr.

Garrier or a Dr.

Brunson who's up in Caroline.

Um, and others on this page represent new uh physicians that have been recruited and moved to our community to care for patients like in West St.

Petersburg.

Uh neurosciences has been a focus of ours.

Being a trauma center, neurosurgery is a critical element of what we do.

Uh you know, unfortunately, dealing with um auto accidents, um, scooter uh injuries, uh, e-bike injuries, those kinds of things.

It's a very critical uh area.

So we have been focused on recruitment and have brought on board uh several physicians and and providers in that space.

General surgery, we were uh happy to add uh well-known physicians in our community who have been here many years in the general surgery area who asked uh to become part of our organization.

So they have now joined uh Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital and an employed status.

We have added OBGYN hospitalist services, and what that helps us provide is to make sure we have physicians on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, who are there when maybe your physician hasn't quite made it there to help you with that delivery when you arrive at the hospital.

These physicians are there, they're staying there, they're caring for patients, they're helping your physician along the way through the delivery.

So we do have an OBGYN residency program.

The residents are there, but this gives us uh physicians uh that are there on site.

Another tremendous service line for us has been cardiology and cardiovascular care.

We continue to add to the complement in that area as well.

A new service that we'll be providing.

I'll talk about our new facilities here in a moment, but um radiation oncology as we open the Orlando Health Cancer Institute, also in partnership with Florida Cancer Specialist.

Some of those services actually are already open in the new buildings now.

Uh, Florida Cancer Specialist is seeing patients there today.

Um radiation oncology will be added in March.

That will open.

Dr.

Nina Johnson, uh, we recruited from uh Michigan, well-known physician there, uh, who will lead the overall oncology program.

Her specialty is radiation oncology.

So uh happy to have her join the team.

We continue to grow our digestive health institute uh with uh the addition of Dr.

Abud and also with a physician assistant in Catherine Burns.

That makes our compliment now, I think five uh providers in the GI space.

And then the various support services that are required that we need anywhere from physician assistants in the critical care area to a dietitian to uh psychologist to the STAR clinic, which is a clinic we hadn't have now opened.

We realize that many patients come to us in the ER, leave our ER, but don't really have a primary care physician, which leads them to just continue to come through the ER as their primary care home.

So having the STAR clinic gives them a bridge as we help them get to a primary care physician and community.

We have always invested in the community since the day we arrived.

That's a cultural thing with Orlando Health.

So I'll go through a few slides here.

I won't read through them all, but but just know that we have continued our efforts around our pillars and also with these focuses of how we invest in our community.

We also established a foundation which is a part of that overall giving back, and that has been very successful, as you can see here.

As you can see here, we've seen some really great uh either grants or support coming from our community, which we now are turning into actual services, uh, additions to our services, whether that's additional.

I think we're up to our fifth uh robotic or robot in the surgical area now, uh, to new um neurological brain mapping software.

So a lot of new things that are coming on board, and I thought I would get away with not saying AI, but I will say AI today.

Um you can't read anything without saying that, but uh again, more and more happening in the AI space in health care.

Again, uh highlights of the various um organizations we support throughout the community.

More than events, we we really get out there and try to um you know put our hands in it and get and get in there and volunteer.

List of our organizations that continues to grow.

And our partnership with the foundation for healthy seat.

Petersburg has continued.

We continue to uh we now have three funding cycles that we go through uh in partnership with them to um uh we provide funds, they match those funds, and then we together uh take those in those funding cycles.

We we look at uh potential impact that can be made in our community through not-for-profit organizations, and then uh distribute those funds.

And you can see this last cycle was uh 243,000.

And then we're very proud to finally be opening, and I want to say thank you to the city.

Uh, you know, it has been a journey with our our construction team uh that we've had here.

The city has been very patient with us and and I appreciate the the administrative team and helping us um through this and getting us to the opening.

Um so the three buildings that are represented in this photograph, which is one of my final photographs, so I'll I'll take a moment here.

So the the building that's represented on the right, we call this entire block is called Institute Square.

The building on the right is the Institute Square building that is housing all of our oncology services.

You can see Florida Cancer Specialist logo there.

Uh again, they are open and operating.

We also have the Jewett Orthopedic Institute, which uh was uh longest standing orthopedic provider in the state of Florida, uh based out of Orlando, is now located here in St.

Petersburg, as well as Tampa and Wesley Chapel with about 15 providers.

So we they are open and operating uh in that building as well.

This will also house our surgical oncology uh area and the surgeons that we've recruited over the years in that space.

The building to the left is currently houses our OBGYN residency program and their clinic, as well as a fertility a fertility clinic separate from that.

Um in addition, we'll be adding uh more service lines to that on the second and third floor.

And then in the rear uh is primarily a parking structure, but has two very important uh services that are offered on the first floor.

One is um the wound healing center, which uh was partially housed on down on uh fourth street for many years, but we have relocated that and added new hyperbaric chambers for a wound healing program there, and then also an outpatient imaging program with all the new new equipment in that in that space.

And with that, I say thank you and and entertain any questions, obviously that you have.

Thank you so much.

Um I have to say that when you were hired, um they haven't kept it dull for you.

You've had hurricanes, uh the acquisition, all the growth, uh, and you've done a fantastic job navigating that.

Council member Harding.

Thank you, Chair.

John, thank you very much.

But I've lived here forever.

Bayfront's uh always been a hospital here.

Um you all came along and turned it into part of the community.

Um and I I wanted to to take a moment and call out the the effort and the leadership in involving yourselves in the community.

I I see um again when I was growing up um Bayfront was always here.

Um but now I see anything that I that we go to in the community that uh that is charity-based or raising money for a great cause.

There is uh there's there's something there.

There's a nomenclature on the front page from uh from your organization, and it shows it's important um that you know that the the truth is that there's a great business here and and it it has done well for this community.

There's a nomenclature on the front page from uh from your organization, and it shows it's important um that you know that the the truth is that there's a great business here and and and it it has done well for this community, but the difference is that that your organization has the culture that that you have to give some of that back, and it's important to be a part of the community, and uh and it's very recognized and it's very recognizable.

And I wanted to say thank you for that.

Thank you.

Yes, sir.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Councilmember Gardas.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Uh I just quickly wanted to just touch on two things.

John, I'm really glad you brought up uh the improvement of patient experience, and I just thought I would tell a quick story.

Um, as as all of you know, but anybody that's listening, I sit on the Cappy Committee, and uh during open forum last year, somebody came in and uh shared an experience at Bayfront, and uh immediately I had John on the phone answering questions.

Matt came to multiple Cappy meetings, and they were moving things around inside of the hospital to make sure that that experience had never happened again.

And so, and it was fast, uh, which says something for a large organization.

And so I just I thought that story uh hits home with the improved patient experience.

And um, and then we had some other Cappy members go and similar um story, different experience.

And so they were able uh to be nimble and make those changes and listening, and I just think kudos code kudos to the entire team over at the hospital there.

The other thing I just wanted to bring up quickly, and and certainly don't want to go down a rabbit hole, but um you know, having gone through the last few years in our our families' lives.

I know that there are headlines about um providers and things that can happen inside of the the cancer world and where you might go and where things are happening, and and again, kind of the titles and the headlines.

But let me just tell you um the the what's available here in St.

Petersburg is life-changing.

And so, yes, we want to continue to recruit and bring and bring more partners to St.

Petersburg, but I don't want it to get lost.

That what is what is happening already in St.

Petersburg with the partners that we already have is life-changing.

And so uh, and I know the continued investment in this new building and those services and and those providers, John.

Um, you know, the it's it's it's exactly what I said, it's life-changing, and I appreciate that, and thank you for making that investment and that continued investment in in St.

Petersburg.

So thank you, Madam Chair.

Just wanted to bring up those those two experiences.

Thank you.

Councilmember Givens.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you, John.

So good to see you.

Um, you know, Councilmember Harding, I'm a Bayfront baby, so I can see the progress.

I've actually experienced it, and I thank you so much for the uh behind the scenes tour um that you were able to provide um to myself and also I brought Miss Mary Murph with the St.

Petersburg Sickle Cell Disease Association.

Um I'd like to preface my comments there.

Um I know we talked a little bit, John, about the future of sickle cell disease treatment here in St.

Petersburg and possibly having some sort of specialized hematology wing similar to the oncology wing.

Um where do we stand in those conversations?

So if you remember in the conversations we had sort of a uh two-pronged approach.

One was that we felt like there was a and not just in our organization, but in many healthcare organizations, amiss when it comes to the ER, as far as how sickle cell patients are treated when they walk in the door.

Their symptoms are very um there's a lot going on with a sickle cell patient when they walk in the door of an ER.

So if that's not recognized, if that's not understood, and if that family is not assisted during that in an appropriate manner, it um you know it it is not a pleasant experience.

So uh for us uh we took that very seriously and have focused our ER team on training around sickle cell disease and how to more appropriately address the symptoms that occur because it's rare that it walks in your ER, and that's a good thing, I guess.

Um, but when it does, you need to recognize it and understand what is needed by the family as well as the patient.

So that's been really our initial focus.

Um as far as uh hematology wing, we are renovating two areas of the hospital currently, right now.

Uh one of those will be around uh hematology, so um or will end up being um focused on hematology.

So not just sickle cell, but many other hemat I'm not I'm not a clinical person, but I know what you mean.

But I know what you mean.

Blood diseases.

Let's call it that.

So yes, we did hear you and we did address both those.

I appreciate you so much.

That is great news.

So I will certainly share that news with her.

And thank you so much.

I will say the sickle cell warriors who are clients of ours, they speak highly about the treatment that they receive at Bayfront Hospital from the doctors to the nurses, the bedside manner is impeccable.

So thank you so much for leading the way there.

You spoke a little bit about trauma in an ER.

You brought up e-bikes.

Can you talk a little bit about the spikes that we are seeing all over the country, specifically here in St.

Petersburg as it relates to those trauma services?

We have clearly seen a spike in uh injuries related to scooters, e-bikes, um in particular.

And I think you may have, if you watch the news, you may have seen some of our ER trauma physicians interviewed about those.

Um personally, and this is John Moore's opinion.

I don't know if it's so much the e-bike or the scooter, as it is two things.

One, the training before you jump on one of those devices.

Uh, and then secondarily to that, the protective equipment that nobody seems to wear, right?

Particularly when I talk about neurological injuries and people that don't wear helmets when they're riding those bikes.

And I can remember I never wanted to wear a helmet either when I was a kid, but these are fast moving, you know, pieces of equipment.

This isn't my one-speed bike I had when I was a kid, right?

So that's my opinion, but we definitely have seen a spike in those and the seriousness of those injuries.

I'm glad you shared that.

You know, I think a lot of folks think sometimes when you get on these things, it's like a video game, you know, you'll get back up and life gets back to normal, but brain damage is irreversible.

Um, and this is something that I've you know brought up uh to Chief Holloway, also shared it with the administration.

I would love to see um some sort of public service campaign um where we can educate our constituents and the residents in the city, especially our young residents who don't understand that it may not necessarily be cool or sexy or hip to wear a helmet, but it could save your life.

Um, and so I would love if you know perhaps we could work with Bayfront Hospital to make that awesome.

And then lastly, um, one of the things that I thought about was workforce housing.

Um I I think about not just the white collar but the blue-collar employees that work not just at Bayfront but all children's and St.

Pete General across St.

Petersburg, all these hospitals.

Is there an opportunity for us to embrace workforce housing, a partnership?

Um I love the work that the foundation for healthy St.

Pete is doing and the impact that you're making, but I'm wondering if if we can go a step further and work together with these nonprofits with Yemby laws now changing to provide that housing that we need for those blue-collared workers who are living paycheck to paycheck.

We would love to be a part of that.

Um, you know, we've looked at even our property.

We we do not have we are we are landlocked uh so to speak where we are.

Um but we would love the opportunity to work with uh with individuals about that.

I mean, you've got people in the room here like uh John Barquette, who they have a lot of ideas around some of these things.

So um I think uh certainly our organization while we pay well, it's a challenge for people to live in St.

Pete and then work at our organization.

So, yes, we'd we'd love to be a part of that.

Well, I'm I'm I'm planning a round table conversation for March, John.

So I will definitely be inviting you to join us because I think what we have to do is now get creative, as you said.

Land is not growing on trees.

Um, so we have to work with our our developers, um, those for-profit and nonprofit developers to try to figure out how we can solve this crisis.

So thank you so much for what you're doing.

Thank you, madam chair.

Thank you.

Thank you, John, again, for a fantastic presentation and for all the work you do.

Appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next up is F3.

We have a resolution for our consideration extending the deadline for the advanced air mobility task force to complete its work by approximately one month to February 28, 2026.

We have a motion and a second.

Hello, Beth, how are you doing?

How are you all?

We have a motion and a second.

Uh Clerk, 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 vote.

Madam Chair, motion to approve a gentleman F3 passes unanimously.

We council member Driscoll being absent.

Thank you, everyone.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up, we have new business.

Uh, this is a business item I uh put forward.

Um, and before I I I read it, I just want everyone to understand kind of the reason it came up.

Um, I'm making appointments, city big beautiful commission.

Some of you have served on it.

Um, I start asking kind of like purpose role and all that, and I realize it's been decades since this probably has been discussed.

Um, I had a conversation with Mike Jeffries.

They're excited about actually having this conversation.

Um, by chance I had an appointment with one of the members of the commission who was like, this is great because you know, city council, believe it or not, actually established this committee back in the day.

Um, and there was a purpose and role for the commission, which was to actually have a beautification plan for the city, and then to report, make a report to city council.

Um, there's other things that the committee does, and I think there's probably a lot of opportunities of things that we can do because I want it to be productive both for the members of the commission and for the council members and everyone that's involved.

So that's the reason for my uh referral.

So I'm respectfully requesting a referral to the committee of the whole or other relevant committee for a discussion of the purpose and role of the city beautiful commission, including its role in advising city council in matters pertaining to the beautification of the city.

Okay, move approval.

Second, have a motion and a second.

Clerk, please open the machine.

Oh, council member given, sorry.

That's okay.

I'll be brief.

I just want to thank you for bringing this forward, madam chair.

I serve on CBC, and I know the we've been having this conversation now for the past uh few months, and so thank you very much for bringing this.

Hopefully, this will give us a little bit more guidance as we serve.

So thank you.

Thank you.

And I could not have this conversation with you.

We had to have this conversation here, but I wanted to make sure that it would it would be a good opportunity, especially at the beginning of the year to kind of have this happen.

So if there are changes, we could do that.

So thank you for that.

Did I say we have a motion second?

Yeah, okay.

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 agenda item G1 passes unanimously.

Thank you.

Next item, it's another referral.

It's a referral to PSI.

It's also mine.

I had an issue with a constituent who um in a neighborhood, it was Greater Woodlawn neighborhood.

There was a new development.

They removed the hex block sidewalk and replaced it with a concrete side block that they weren't supposed to based on the site plan.

And so what happened is in looking at this issue, we started reading our ordinances, and there is one part of the code that says historic granite curbs and hex box sidewalk pavers shall be preserved and protected.

Any damage thereto caused by construction shall be repaired prior to a certificate of occupancy being issued, um, and that is in the building regulations.

And then there is another part of the code in land development regulations, which deals with street case streetscape preservation, which applies only to local and national register historic diff uh districts, which basically prohibits the installation of any alter alternative uh construction material for hex blocks.

Um the building regulations apply citywide.

This applies just to local and national historic districts.

There have been different interpretations.

I've spoken with legal and I've spoken with administration.

Um this is a matter that we have to address at one point or the other.

Um and the issue isn't putting in um hex box pavers in place everywhere because there's also a limited supply of that and other conversations that we can have about it.

But the issue is um whether we can have a conversation as to if there are another alternatives um that can be done, whether it's stamping sidewalks and so on and so forth to kind of keep the look of the neighborhood, even though it's not a historic district.

So that's the reason for um the new business item.

So with that, I respectfully request a referral to PSI or other relevant committee for a discussion of the city's practices pertaining to the maintenance preservation and protection of hexagon sidewalks, also known as hex block sidewalks, including how sections 8-6, subsection 3, and 16.40 point 130 point three of the city of St.

Petersburg Code of Ordinances are applied by administration.

Second, we have a motion and a second.

Clerk, can you please open the machine for voting?

Council members, please enter your votes.

Seeing that all council members that are present have voted.

Clerk, please tally and announce the vote.

Madam Chair, motion to approve adjourned G2 passes unanimously.

Thank you.

Next up, we have open forum.

Are there any speakers?

No, no, so thank you.

We move to announcements.

Any announcements?

Councilmember Gerdis.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Just quickly, I know it is a little chilly out, but this weekend it is the St.

Pete Boat Show.

So it's the largest post show on the west coast of Florida.

Shows off our waterfront, and uh just really excited for that.

And so if you have a few minutes, go out and check it out.

Great mounture.

Thank you.

Well, with no other speakers, um, we have made it before five o'clock.

Right.

So the January 15th, 2026 meeting is adjourned.

Thank you all.

Thank you.

Thank you.