OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Venice City Council Regular Meeting - February 10, 2026

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, February 10, 2026
BodyVenice, Florida
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateTuesday, February 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:52:38

Transcript — Verbatim
0:46

Good morning, everyone.

0:48

So I'm going to call this meeting to order.

0:50

And before we start with our traditional business, I'd like to take a moment of silence for the Agape family and the pilots that lost their lives.

1:14

Madam Clerk, if you'll start with a roll call, please.

1:17

Mr.

1:18

Engelkey.

1:19

Mrs.

1:20

Frank.

1:20

Here.

1:21

Mr.

1:21

Howard.

1:22

Here.

1:22

Mr.

1:23

Smith.

1:23

Here.

1:24

Mr.

1:24

Weed.

1:25

Here.

1:26

Vice Mayor Bolt is we're anticipating him to come into the meeting, but he isn't here yet, so maybe late.

1:34

And Mayor Pechota.

1:35

Of course, here.

1:36

All right, we'll stand for the invocation, and then the pledge today will be led by Mr.

1:39

Howard.

1:43

Our father, we ask for comfort, strength, and healing for those who are grieving today.

1:49

We pray for your continued presence in our community as we all work together for the benefit of those who come to Venice to work, live, and play.

1:58

Amen.

2:19

Okay, we have a fun morning full of some exciting recognition.

2:24

So we will start with our 35 year service award for Kevin Barrett.

2:30

If I can get the engineering and stormwater team to come up along with uh City Manager Clinch, so before we get started, I just want you to know James and I were seven years old when you started with the city.

3:18

And Bree wasn't even born yet.

3:20

So well, good morning, everyone.

3:25

What an honor this morning to be here with Kevin Barrett, celebrating what is a huge milestone, 35 years of service for the city of Venice.

3:34

Looking around the room here, Kevin, it's pretty incredible to see all of the different departments that are represented here for you.

3:41

And uh it is for you.

3:42

It's it's because you've had impacts far beyond your own department at with your career here.

3:47

You've impacted this entire city.

3:49

So very incredible.

3:51

Uh 35 years, time flies, doesn't it?

3:53

Oh, yeah.

3:54

Yeah, yeah, I remember it.

3:56

Uh I was in second grade at the time.

4:00

Remember, it was a great day when we hired you.

4:02

We were doing fractions, I think.

4:04

Yep.

4:05

But uh something you should know about Kevin is he is as local Venice as you can get.

4:10

He was he grew up here on the island of Venice down by Deertown Gully.

4:14

He went to Venice Elementary School, Venice Middle School, and Venice High School.

4:19

Uh and his first career in public service was actually as a volunteer firefighter at the Nekomas Fire Department.

4:26

Uh in 1991, Kevin came over and began work with the city of Venice, I believe driving trucks.

4:34

Truck driver laborer, and he worked his way up in public works to become a heavy equipment operator, and eventually the stormwater crew leader over at Public Works.

4:44

Uh and then just uh in 2024, he was promoted to be the stormwater engineering technician too in our engineering department.

4:52

So Kevin continues to be a fantastic leader here at the city of Venice.

5:00

I've had the privilege of working with Kevin for a lot of years directly during my time at public works, and he's somebody you could always count on.

5:04

When when Kevin was assigned to task, you knew it was going to get done, and it was gonna get done right.

5:09

And when Kevin pulled you aside and said we might have a problem, you better listen because he's he's usually was right.

5:18

Kevin's played a significant role in many of our city projects over the years, especially when we reconstructed the old police station and converted it into our new public works facility.

5:29

Kevin and his team did a lot of the stormwater work and the work inside and outside the building in house to save us time and money.

5:36

Um Kevin also is a faithful committed servant to our TFIT team, which is really significant.

5:43

This is our tactical, tactical first in team that shelters in place throughout a hurricane and then responds as soon as the winds drop.

5:51

And public works, they're first responders because the fire trucks and the police cars aren't going anywhere until you get those roads cleared.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Planning And Zoning███████████████████████████████████35%
Procedural███████████████████████23%
Personnel Matters████████████████████20%
Budget Equity Analysis███████7%
Active Transportation████4%
Public Engagement████4%
Affordable Housing█1%
Joint Planning Agreement█1%
Water And Wastewater Management█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Venice City Council Regular Meeting - February 10, 2026

The Venice City Council met on February 10, 2026, to conduct regular business including recognitions, public hearings, and approvals. Key actions included unanimous approval of multiple annexation, zoning, and comprehensive plan amendments, adoption of capital and EMS fee policies, and a quarterly financial update.

Recognition

  • Kevin Barrett received a 35-year service award. He began with the city in 1991 and was recognized for his leadership in stormwater and public works.
  • Matthew Tomer, Division Chief of Fire Rescue Logistics, was named 2025 Employee of the Year. He was recognized for his role in managing the $25 million Fire Station 52 project and his calm presence during emergencies.
  • Barry Snyder, Planning Commission Chair, was recognized for 18 years of service. He led the commission through over 700 land use applications and rewrites of the comprehensive plan and land development regulations.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Lewis Williams, a Venice resident and avid biker, advocated for using the road damaged by Hurricane Milton to create a unique bike path with rickshaw rentals, dune buggies, and other amenities. He stated, "Milton gave us lemons, let's make lemonade."

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from the January 9, 2026 budget workshop, January 13 regular meeting, and January 16 convocation of governments.
  • Authorized the Mayor to execute a fourth amendment to the lease with Agape Flights, Inc. for a new aircraft hangar at the airport. All consent items passed unanimously.

Discussion Items

  • Planning Commission Chair Barry Snyder presented the commission's annual report. He noted that 70 applications were handled in the past year, with 61% (43 applications) having the planning commission as the final decision authority. He highlighted trends including an increase in design alternatives and a decrease in site development plans. Snyder recommended stronger linkage between the city's strategic planning and the comprehensive plan and raised concerns about term alignment for planning commission appointments.

Public Hearings – First Reading (Re-noticed)

  • Ordinances 2025-37, 2025-38, and 2025-39 were re-heard on first reading due to a publication error in the wrong county. These involve annexation of 5 acres on Curry Lane, a comprehensive plan amendment to Institutional Professional, and a rezoning to Office, Professional and Institutional (OPI) for a medical office building. Staff reported that Southwest Florida Water Management District issues had been resolved, so no stipulation was needed. All three ordinances passed unanimously with a scheduled final reading.
  • Ordinance 2026-01 (continued from January 13) rezoned 10.73 acres at the northeast corner of Auburn and Border Road from Sarasota County Open Use Rural to City of Venice Residential Single Family 3 (RSF-3). A stipulation was added limiting development to no more than 26 single-family detached homes (down from the 54 units allowed by density). The ordinance passed unanimously on first reading with the stipulation.

Public Hearings – Final Reading

  • Ordinance 2026-02 amended the Land Development Code to allow single-family detached, single-family attached, and two-family dwellings/paired villas as permitted uses in the Knights Trail Mixed Use District. Adopted unanimously.
  • Ordinance 2026-03 annexed 7.3± acres at 2327 Ewing Drive (Clark Family Trust). Adopted unanimously.
  • Ordinance 2026-04 amended the comprehensive plan future land use map for 2327 Ewing Drive from Sarasota County Rural to City of Venice Medium Density Residential. Adopted unanimously.
  • Ordinance 2026-05 rezoned 2327 Ewing Drive from Sarasota County Open Use Estate 1 to City of Venice Residential Multifamily 3 (RMF-3). Adopted unanimously.

New Business – Resolutions

  • Resolution 2026-04 adopted a new Capital/Fixed Asset Policy, rescinding Resolution 2014-16. Passed unanimously.
  • Resolution 2026-05 adopted a revised schedule of Emergency Medical Aid fees, adding a lift assist fee, superseding Resolution 2025-13. Councilmember Weed noted the fees are automatically adjusted by CPI, but the update was needed to add a new fee. Passed unanimously.

Presentation

  • Finance Director Linda Senne presented the first quarter fiscal year 2026 financial update. Key points: 84% of property taxes collected; general fund reserves projected to decrease to $27.7 million from $33.2 million, primarily due to the $5 million Wellfield Park payment. Other revenues were on track. No material threats to FY26 were identified, but potential state cuts to communication services tax ($1.6 million) and business tax receipts could impact FY27.

Council Action/Discussion

  • Approved a Pre-Annexation Agreement with iHeartMedia and Entertainment, Inc. for the Chalets at Venice project (item 26-0496). Unanimous.
  • Appointed Helen Moore to the Historic and Architectural Preservation Board for a term ending August 31, 2028. Motion by Councilmember Frank passed 6-1 (Vice Mayor Bolt dissenting).
  • Motion by Mayor Pachota to keep the application period open for two Planning Commission seats for one more cycle. Passed unanimously.
  • Approved a letter of support from the Mayor for Sarasota County’s Lorraine Road Extension project to assist the county in obtaining state appropriations. Unanimous.

Key Outcomes

  • All items requiring a vote passed with majority support except the HAPB appointment, which had one dissenting vote.
  • A stipulation was attached to Ordinance 2026-01 limiting the Auburn/Border Road development to 26 single-family homes.
  • Planning Commission term alignment issues are being addressed for future appointments.
  • The city is recruiting members for the Citizen Tax Oversight Board (3 vacancies, meets annually).
  • New Assistant City Manager Roger Omanheiser (retired U.S. Coast Guard) started with the city.

Charter Officer Reports

  • City Attorney: Noted that the planning commission term misalignment has been identified and will be rectified with the next round of appointments.
  • City Clerk: Requested council assistance in recruiting three members for the Citizen Tax Oversight Board, which meets once a year to oversee penny tax funds.
  • City Manager: Announced the onboarding of Assistant City Manager Roger Omanheiser, who brings 24 years of U.S. Coast Guard experience.

Council Reports

  • Councilmembers Frank and Weed reported on participation in the Venice High School celebrity reading program.
  • Councilmember Engelke reported on a trip to Tallahassee to meet with state legislators and advocate for city priorities.
  • Mayor Pachota reported on several community events, including the upcoming John Nolan statue unveiling (Feb 18), Venice Airport Day (March 7), and the annual bike ride with the mayor (March 5).

Meeting Transcript

Good morning, everyone. So I'm going to call this meeting to order. And before we start with our traditional business, I'd like to take a moment of silence for the Agape family and the pilots that lost their lives. Madam Clerk, if you'll start with a roll call, please. Mr. Engelkey. Mrs. Frank. Here. Mr. Howard. Here. Mr. Smith. Here. Mr. Weed. Here. Vice Mayor Bolt is we're anticipating him to come into the meeting, but he isn't here yet, so maybe late. And Mayor Pechota. Of course, here. All right, we'll stand for the invocation, and then the pledge today will be led by Mr. Howard. Our father, we ask for comfort, strength, and healing for those who are grieving today. We pray for your continued presence in our community as we all work together for the benefit of those who come to Venice to work, live, and play. Amen. Okay, we have a fun morning full of some exciting recognition. So we will start with our 35 year service award for Kevin Barrett. If I can get the engineering and stormwater team to come up along with uh City Manager Clinch, so before we get started, I just want you to know James and I were seven years old when you started with the city. And Bree wasn't even born yet. So well, good morning, everyone. What an honor this morning to be here with Kevin Barrett, celebrating what is a huge milestone, 35 years of service for the city of Venice. Looking around the room here, Kevin, it's pretty incredible to see all of the different departments that are represented here for you. And uh it is for you. It's it's because you've had impacts far beyond your own department at with your career here. You've impacted this entire city. So very incredible. Uh 35 years, time flies, doesn't it? Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I remember it. Uh I was in second grade at the time. Remember, it was a great day when we hired you. We were doing fractions, I think. Yep. But uh something you should know about Kevin is he is as local Venice as you can get. He was he grew up here on the island of Venice down by Deertown Gully. He went to Venice Elementary School, Venice Middle School, and Venice High School. Uh and his first career in public service was actually as a volunteer firefighter at the Nekomas Fire Department. Uh in 1991, Kevin came over and began work with the city of Venice, I believe driving trucks. Truck driver laborer, and he worked his way up in public works to become a heavy equipment operator, and eventually the stormwater crew leader over at Public Works.

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