OpenPublica

Accountability starts with access.

© 2026 · Filed for the public record

Use casesAboutAPIPrivacyTermsLinkedIn
Home/Venice, Florida/City Council & Boards
OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Venice Citizens Advisory Board Meeting - April 15, 2026

City Council & Boards — Wednesday, April 15, 2026
BodyVenice, Florida
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateWednesday, April 15, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:27:37

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:16

Good afternoon, everybody.

0:22

Wonderful day.

0:23

Thank you for attending.

0:24

Thanks for those who are watching on TV.

0:29

We're glad to meet with our wonderful one or Citizens Advisory Board.

0:34

But there is a sad moment in all of this.

0:40

And I will control my emotions, but somebody it is his last meeting.

0:49

And that is our student representative Hayden Hill.

0:54

And if the board would join me in a round of applause for a great board member who has added so much to us.

1:05

I I wish I wish your parents were here.

1:10

Oh, they are?

1:11

Yeah.

1:12

Oh well, you've done a wonderful job in raising this guy, and certainly you will keep us abreast of your colleagues' pursuits.

1:21

Of course.

1:22

And um when you become the president of the United States, uh I'm not going to ask you to have an effron ballroom, but maybe uh rest room or something like that.

1:35

Okay.

1:36

But you are have been great in this role.

1:40

And I thank you.

1:41

Secondly, this is giving day, giving challenge.

1:44

Started at noon till tomorrow.

1:48

And uh we encourage or I encourage, and I'm sure the board joins me.

1:53

And uh asking for the public support for this wonderful, wonderful cause in our community.

2:04

So uh call to order uh roll call first, Mr.

2:12

Carr.

2:12

Here, Dr.

2:13

Davis?

2:14

Here, Mr.

2:15

DeFallis, here, Chair Efron?

2:18

Here, Mr.

2:19

Ellis, Miss Panfill, Mr.

2:23

Redman, Mr.

2:25

Heaney?

2:25

Here, and Miss Moscatelli will be absent and is asking to be excused.

2:30

Okay.

2:31

And I um thank everybody for showing up today.

2:35

We have a very, very ambitious agenda.

2:39

And uh let's start with the audience participation.

2:44

Uh do we have a uh any speakers?

2:48

Yes, we do have one speaker.

2:50

And that speaker is uh Susan Horton, M Ms.

2:54

Horton.

2:54

And it says here speaker list, but there's nothing that's for your board members if they have something to say.

3:01

They'll survive to repeat.

3:02

Ms.

3:03

Horton, please take the uh roll over here and uh how are you today?

3:11

Five, thank you.

3:12

Good.

3:12

Thank you for showing up, and we are eager to hear your uh presentation.

3:18

Uh uh you have how long five minutes.

3:22

Five minutes, and uh the microphone is yours.

3:26

Thank you.

3:27

Thanks for your time.

3:29

Uh in keeping with Venice's centennial, and also I know the parks master plan is being talked about.

3:37

Uh I have a book to share with everyone.

3:40

I've left copies.

3:42

Uh it's called The History of Venice Little League, and it's uh not only the history of Venice Little League, but I'm not sure how long each of you have been in the area, but it's also a great history of uh the county providing youth sports in South County, and also how city businessmen and just the folks of Venice banded together to get to get this wonderful Venice Little League, which is housed at Chuck Ryder Park together.

4:12

It's quite a Venice institution.

4:15

So I've when you get the book, I flag some pages with some local businessmen that played there as children.

4:21

So it's kind of a a great timeline in history.

4:25

Also, there's a a part in the book where a popular fundraiser was um the um opening day of Little League.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Emergency Management██████████████████████████████████34%
Procedural████████████████████████████████32%
Public Engagement███████7%
Community Engagement███████7%
Arts And Culture███████7%
Technology and Innovation███████7%
Youth Programs██2%
Engineering And Infrastructure██2%
Personnel Matters█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Venice Citizens Advisory Board Meeting - April 15, 2026

The Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) convened on April 15, 2026, at 7:00 PM. The meeting included an annual presentation from the Mayor and Charter Officers, election of chair and vice chair, approval of a mural application, updates on the city website redesign, and a status report on hurricane after-action recommendations. The board also recognized outgoing student representative Hayden Hill and heard public comment.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the minutes of the previous meeting unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Susan Horton presented copies of her book "The History of Venice Little League," which chronicles the history of the league, county-provided youth sports, and community fundraising efforts. The board thanked her for the contribution.

Discussion Items

  • Annual Presentation by Mayor Pichota and Charter Officers: Mayor Pichota, City Clerk Kelly Michaels, City Manager James Clinch, and Assistant City Attorney Dan Lewis provided guidance on board responsibilities, sunshine law compliance, use of city email, attendance expectations, the role of council and staff liaisons, the legislative referral process, and best practices for maintaining decorum and crafting clear motions. The mayor also emphasized the need for board member recruitment and thanked the CAB for their service.
  • Election of Chair and Vice Chair: Board members nominated and unanimously elected Roger Efron as Chair and Dr. Davis as Vice Chair (8-0 vote).
  • Old Betsy Mural Application: Historical Resources Manager Harry Klinkhammer presented a proposal for a mural depicting the Old Betsy fire truck on the back wall of 343 Nassau Street South (the Old Betsy Museum). The artist, Colleen Henry, stated the mural would take one to two months to complete, pending weather. The board voted unanimously to recommend the application to City Council (8-0).
  • Website Redesign Update: IT Director Roger Navarro and Project Manager Chuck Poor reported that vendor Granicus was selected after demos with a website advisory committee. The statement of work is nearing finalization, including a capped annual price increase. The board will receive a copy of the final statement of work. A vendor presentation is planned for the June meeting. The project is expected to take 6-8 months from start.
  • Hurricane After-Action Report Status: Fire Chief Frank Giddens and Assistant City Manager Roger Obenheiser presented progress on 43 recommendations from the city’s after-action report, aligning with 10 topics raised by the CAB. Key updates included: hiring a deputy public information officer; deploying Starlink Wi-Fi access points; establishing blue-sky sandbag operations 5-7 days before storms; improving evacuation zone education; enhancing debris removal contracts; completing the Tarpin Center flood mitigation project; updating damage assessment training; creating reunification protocols; strengthening volunteer partnerships (Rotary, Red Cross); and developing hurricane resource locations. The board discussed sandbag deployment criteria (96-hour window), the future of Wellfield Park (now county-owned), and distribution of the city-specific hurricane guide to HOAs. The city also completed the Flamingo Ditch feasibility study and received a grant for a broader watershed study.
  • Parks Master Plan: City Manager James Clinch announced that GAI Consultants were selected via competitive process to develop the parks master plan; contract approved.

Key Outcomes

  • Unanimous election of Roger Efron as Chair and Dr. Davis as Vice Chair.
  • Old Betsy mural application recommended to City Council (8-0).
  • Website vendor selected; statement of work to be finalized by end of week.
  • Hurricane after-action recommendations are progressing; board encouraged proactive distribution of hurricane guides to HOAs.
  • Parks master plan contract awarded to GAI Consultants.
  • Next meeting scheduled for June 17, 2026 (quorum confirmed).
  • Student representative Hayden Hill recognized for his service.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everybody. Wonderful day. Thank you for attending. Thanks for those who are watching on TV. We're glad to meet with our wonderful one or Citizens Advisory Board. But there is a sad moment in all of this. And I will control my emotions, but somebody it is his last meeting. And that is our student representative Hayden Hill. And if the board would join me in a round of applause for a great board member who has added so much to us. I I wish I wish your parents were here. Oh, they are? Yeah. Oh well, you've done a wonderful job in raising this guy, and certainly you will keep us abreast of your colleagues' pursuits. Of course. And um when you become the president of the United States, uh I'm not going to ask you to have an effron ballroom, but maybe uh rest room or something like that. Okay. But you are have been great in this role. And I thank you. Secondly, this is giving day, giving challenge. Started at noon till tomorrow. And uh we encourage or I encourage, and I'm sure the board joins me. And uh asking for the public support for this wonderful, wonderful cause in our community. So uh call to order uh roll call first, Mr. Carr. Here, Dr. Davis? Here, Mr. DeFallis, here, Chair Efron? Here, Mr. Ellis, Miss Panfill, Mr. Redman, Mr. Heaney? Here, and Miss Moscatelli will be absent and is asking to be excused. Okay. And I um thank everybody for showing up today. We have a very, very ambitious agenda. And uh let's start with the audience participation. Uh do we have a uh any speakers? Yes, we do have one speaker. And that speaker is uh Susan Horton, M Ms. Horton. And it says here speaker list, but there's nothing that's for your board members if they have something to say. They'll survive to repeat. Ms. Horton, please take the uh roll over here and uh how are you today? Five, thank you. Good. Thank you for showing up, and we are eager to hear your uh presentation. Uh uh you have how long five minutes. Five minutes, and uh the microphone is yours.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com