Venice City Council Meeting - October 21, 2025
Venice City Council Meeting - October 21, 2025
The Venice City Council met on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at 10:30 AM in the Council Chambers. After a lunch recess, the meeting reconvened at 12:30 PM. The council considered a full agenda including consent items, presentations, and action items on topics ranging from infrastructure upgrades to new programs. Several motions passed while others failed or were denied.
Consent Calendar
- Item 25-0381 (Removed): Rehabilitation of Runway 13-31 at Venice Municipal Airport. The item was pulled by Vice Mayor Sweeney for discussion. The council approved a motion to authorize staff to submit an FAA grant application and accept a grant offer of $3,851,924.50 for design and construction. The project will mill and overlay 5,000 feet of asphalt, install new windsocks, and is expected to take six months with a 20-year life expectancy. Vote: 7-0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ad Lavellet (City resident): Praised the city's appearance and professional staff, encouraged public attendance at meetings, and complimented local newspaper coverage while noting the complexity of policy decisions.
- Lloyd Weed (Citizens Against Virtually Everything – CAVE): Opposed extending the fishing pier to 1,546 feet, humorously suggesting a 1,545.5-foot length to save taxpayer money.
- Lynn and Young and Kevin (Public speakers on item 25-0388 – Robot Assistants): Expressed concerns about job loss and loss of human connection. Delivered robot jokes to highlight the perceived silliness of the proposal.
Discussion Items
- 25-0382 – Student Ambassador Program (Police Department): Chief Sage Belaire proposed a program connecting Venice High School students with police through monthly roundtables, digital safety campaigns, and quarterly listening sessions. Council approved unanimously (7-0).
- 25-0383 – High Water Rescue Apparatus: Fire Chief Maika Kwek requested purchase of one vehicle at a cost of $416,000 (as stated in transcript), to be offset by grants. City Manager noted the city lacked such a vehicle during previous hurricanes, requiring 30 rescues during Helene. Approved 7-0.
- 25-0384 – Building Department Optimization: Building Official Anna Kadochnikova presented a fee study to align permit fees with actual costs, recommending an independent consultant. Motion to approve failed (3-4).
- 25-0385 – Legacy Park Redesign: Planning Director Vivian Konrardy proposed adding a snack bar, murals, Wi-Fi, outdoor gym, rock climbing wall, concert venue, pickleball court, and bench swings. After a procedural vote to continue discussion, a motion to deny the redesign passed (5-2). The plan was not adopted.
- 25-0386 – Ferry System with WCIND: Public Works Director Vivian Konrardy proposed a pedestrian ferry with four stops and on-island golf cart shuttle. Council directed staff to schedule the proposal for a future agenda for formal action (5-2).
- 25-0387 – Fishing Pier Extension: City Engineer Sophie Soban presented two options: Option 1 ($6 million, four years) extends over water to 1,546 feet; Option 2 ($1.25 million, 1.5 years) goes over land, through Sharky's Kitchen and the golf course. A public speaker from CAVE opposed. Motion to approve the extension passed (4-3).
- 25-0388 – Robot Assistants Pilot Program: IT Director Emma Nguyen requested $300,000 for three robots at $100,000 each over five years. Public speakers opposed. Motion to deny passed (6-1).
- 25-0389 – Office Power Nap Pods: HR Director Elenora Del Sol proposed three pods for City Hall, Public Works, and Utilities at $10,000 each. Discussion included legal concerns about break periods and public perception. A motion to approve failed for lack of a second.
- 25-0390 – Customize Your Water (POOF): Utilities Director Abby Flach proposed a point-of-use flavor injection system costing $18,000 for 1,000 units, with installation fees and monthly rentals. Concerns about safety, allergies, and staining were raised. Motion to deny passed (6-1).
- 25-0391 – Youth Beachfront Park and Outdoor Learning Center: Finance Director Joseph Egan and Controller Brooklyn Jones presented a $5 million project at South Jetty, funded by federal grants, including playgrounds, educational programs, and a kayak launch. Concerns about environmental impact, hurricanes, and land reclamation were discussed. Motion to deny passed (7-0).
Key Outcomes
- FAA Grant Approved: 7-0 to submit application and accept grant for runway rehabilitation.
- Student Ambassador Program Approved: 7-0.
- High Water Rescue Apparatus Approved: 7-0.
- Building Department Optimization Denied: 3-4 vote against the motion.
- Legacy Park Redesign Denied: 5-2 motion to deny passed; redesign not adopted.
- Ferry System on Future Agenda: 5-2 to schedule for formal action.
- Fishing Pier Extension Approved: 4-3 to extend to 1,546 feet (option to be determined).
- Robot Assistants Pilot Program Denied: 6-1.
- Power Nap Pods Failed: No second to motion.
- Customize Your Water (POOF) Denied: 6-1.
- Youth Beachfront Park and Learning Center Denied: 7-0.
- Legal Opinion on Bahamas Meeting: City Attorney Danz concluded the council cannot hold a meeting in the Bahamas or vote by email; such actions would violate Florida's Sunshine Law and public accessibility requirements.
Meeting Transcript
10 30, we're getting ready to start. So if you could please take your seats. Yes. I'd like to call to order the October 21st meeting of Venice City Council. Clerk, can you please call the roll? Yep. Matthew Gradkowski. Tia Blair. Miles Ochett? Here. Anna C. Joseph? Here. Lily Smith here. Vice Mayor Kate Sweeney? And Mayor Heaney. Here. We will now engage in invocation in the Pledge of Allegiance. Please rise. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, indivisible, and liberty, and just for the communication. Right now? Lord Father, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Clerk. Do we have anyone signed up to speak for audience general participation? Yes, we do. I'd like to call up Ad Lavellet to come to speak. As Mayor, I'd like to advise we are now in the audience participation portion of our agenda. Speakers are to not address council members individually. Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks or who become disorderly may be barred from the meeting. Mr. Lavalli, you have five minutes. Thank you very much. And uh first of all, congratulations to um council and mayor and staff. Um I think you're on a pretty clean ship here. And I'll say this that um I've been here before. This is the second time in my life that I have been to a council meeting and sat in the audience. The first time was um January 11th, 2012, when I was here looking for employment, and the second time is today. So I can tell you, looking from the from the uh from the audience viewpoint with the upgrading of the city hall and the professional appearance, um have my congratulations for the best use of my tax dollars. So thank you for that. Um the city council conducts a lot of business here, as do the uh commission and uh appointed commissions and the advisory boards in much of that um the detail defines the exact nature of all the resources that the staff does and the policy decisions that the council makes. I just like to uh first of all compliment uh Bob Mudge and the gondolia, the local newspaper that does a very good job of um of presenting the issues and the findings of the policy board and the work of the staff. However, I will say this having been in another position where I understand the volume of work and the the research and the strategic thinking that goes into these policies cannot possibly be captured in any publication. The the gondolier and the other papers that cover us do a great job of representing what takes place. However, I would encourage members of the public to attend some of these meetings and make more direct contact with the staff in the council members to uh understand better how they make these very important decisions. Some of them are very controversial, always made in the best interest of the community, and I can just say as a civilian from the outside looking in, it's very difficult to get totally informed just from reading someone else's description of how it took place, regardless of how excellent the work is, and it is very excellent. But my uh my recommendation for those people who really are interested in the future success of our city, pay more attention to city government and to you, uh council members and your staff. Congratulations and um be encouraged that some of the comments you hear that maybe in the form of criticism to some extent are from people not understanding all the work and the complexity of the very important decisions you make.
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