Tarpon Springs Board of Commissioners Regular Session – September 8, 2026

The Board of Commissioners of the City of Tarpon Springs, Florida, held its regular session at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, in City Hall Auditorium. The meeting included proclamations, public comments, a consent agenda, two appointments, two ordinances, and board/staff comments. No minutes were available; this summary is drawn from the agenda and the meeting transcript. One agenda/transcript discrepancy was noted: the agenda listed the reflection by Pastor Curt Snare of St. Timothy's Lutheran, while the transcript identifies the speaker as Reverend Danny Bennett of the Great City Church.

Call to Order, Reflection, and Proclamations

Mayor John Koulianos called the meeting to order, and roll call showed Mayor Koulianos, Vice Mayor Kulyas, Commissioner Eisner, Commissioner Banther, and Commissioner Weaver present. After the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, the mayor read two proclamations: National Service Dog Month and Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance, marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The mayor noted that approximately 350 dogs were used in rescue efforts on 9/11 and that most of those dogs died early. The proclamations were presented to Fire Chief Craig Meiser, Police Chief Jeff Young, Officer Tommy Wynn, Firefighter Kevin Scanlan, and the dogs Blaze, Atlas, and Siby.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Jennifer Hoyle, 1634 Seabreeze Drive, spoke as president of the GFWC Women's Club of Tarpon Springs, an organization she said has served the community for 134 years and represents 157 women. She said the August 25 commission meeting included degrading and demeaning behavior, asked commissioners to watch the full meeting, and urged them to model respectful disagreement.
• Dina Mugros Biltrus, 49 West Center Street, said the board was focused on the wrong meeting; she argued the mayor should have intervened during the August 11 meeting, called for accountability and community healing, and suggested bringing in a counselor if needed.
• Gary Posh, 1005 Spoontail Court, called the August 25 meeting a 'missed opportunity,' said the censure motion was extremely mild, and criticized board members who did not support it. He said failure to act was 'an absolutely terrible look' and that 'silence equals complicity.' He also reflected on 9/11, cited Atlas Surveillance.org as showing Tarpon Springs contracts with Flock Safety and Ademia for face recognition through the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, and urged transparency about who accesses and monitors Flock camera records and accountability for their use. He read Proverbs about gossip and conflict.

Consent Calendar

The consent agenda was approved unanimously by roll call vote without any item pulled. It included: satisfaction/release of liens; attorney fee invoice from Unice Salzman, P.A.; the 38th Annual Sponge Docks Seafood Festival special event; renewal of the security system contract; a Florida Department of Environmental Protection grant for the North Disston Heights Water Main Renewal Project; a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Hurricane Ian Disaster Recovery Grant; a Florida Division of Emergency Management Watershed Master Plan grant; a Pinellas County Community Development Block Grant subaward amendment; an amendment to Pinellas County Interlocal Agreement 1906; an increase to continuing survey services; an award for mobile communications services; renewal of financial advisory services; and an award for rugged Machine to Machine (M2M) gateway GPS routers, maintenance, service, and parts. Item 11, the City of Tarpon Springs and AdventHealth North Pinellas Memorandum of Understanding, was listed as deferred; the mayor noted it was deferred once again.

Business Items

• Holiday Meeting Schedule: The board approved moving the November and December 2026 regular meetings to the second and third Tuesdays of those months. After the vote, a commissioner clarified the dates are November 10 and 17 and December 8 and 15. The motion carried unanimously.
• Library Board Appointments: The board voted unanimously to move current alternate members Marilyn Chapman and Deborah Seleekis into the regular member vacancies left by Sherry Patterson and Kathleen Kelly, and to appoint Julia Bodwell and Tammy Watcher as the new alternates.
• Heritage Preservation Board Appointments: The board voted unanimously to reappoint regular member Phil Murzinski and alternate member Nita Protis.

Ordinances & Resolutions

• Ordinance 2026-15 (2nd Reading): The board approved unanimously regulations for safe operation of electric bicycles on city sidewalks, including high pedestrian activity zones, speed limits, special event restrictions, and penalties. The mayor said the ordinance is deliberately narrow while the county works on a broader ordinance, to promote continuity. A public commenter asked for stronger visibility requirements; Police Chief Jeff Young responded that lights are already required at night. Resident Anita Froze asked for larger signs and lights at trail crossings; the vice mayor noted FDOT has been unresponsive to requests for motion sensors or push-button improvements.
• Ordinance 2026-16 (1st Reading): The board voted unanimously to approve amending the city code's qualifying dates for city commission candidates to meet charter deadlines for the next municipal election. City Clerk Irene Jacobs explained the change was needed because of charter changes. Mayor Koulianos noted the October 2 deadline is approaching and said he remains undecided about whether to run for mayor. The second reading is scheduled for September 22, 2026.

Board and Staff Comments

City Manager Mark Lecouris announced that the first public hearing on the budget would be held the following evening, that the budget is balanced and ready, and that police and fire union negotiations have been settled pending ratification. Mayor Koulianos took responsibility for not running the previous meeting well, said the board's real work is budget and ordinances, and asked for a future agenda item on data centers. The board voted unanimously to place an agenda item for discussion of a 12-month moratorium on data centers, with the caveat that it be scheduled for a lighter meeting to allow public input. Commissioner Weaver thanked the city manager, promoted the Cartin Tarpon poker run benefiting the Sheriff's Ranch, and described a cap-recycling project to make benches. Commissioner Eisner shared personal 9/11 memories, wished the community a sweet new year for Rosh Hashanah, and defended his record against accusations. Vice Mayor Kulyas said he had expected apologies from two commissioners, cited city attorney guidance that commissioner-to-commissioner issues should be placed on the agenda rather than raised in board comments, and referenced public records requests showing texts and phone calls among board members, urging avoidance of the appearance of conflict.

Key Outcomes

• Consent agenda approved 5-0; item 11 remained deferred.
• Holiday meeting schedule approved 5-0 (Nov. 10 and 17; Dec. 8 and 15).
• Library Board appointments approved 5-0.
• Heritage Preservation Board reappointments approved 5-0.
• Ordinance 2026-15 (e-bike regulations) approved 5-0 on second reading.
• Ordinance 2026-16 (qualifying dates) approved 5-0 on first reading; second reading set for Sept. 22, 2026.
• Future agenda item on a 12-month data center moratorium approved 5-0.