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Record of Proceedings

Venice City Council Meeting Summary: October 14, 2026

City Council & Boards — Wednesday, October 14, 2026
BodyVenice, Florida
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateWednesday, October 14, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:06:23

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

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Unassigned speaker

0:23

What did I say we did the body to wait?

Speaker 1

0:29

I'm calling the meeting to order.

0:37

Oh, roll call.

Speaker 2

0:40

Tia Blair.

Speaker 3

0:43

Present.

Speaker 2

0:45

Vice Mayor, Vice Mayor Olimpia Bushelow.

Speaker 4

0:48

Present.

Speaker 2

0:50

Vivian Conardi.

Speaker 4

0:52

Present.

Speaker 2

0:53

Jenna Mizinen.

Speaker 5

0:55

Present.

Speaker 2

0:56

Emma Wen.

Speaker 4

0:57

Present.

Speaker 2

0:58

Daniel Verdoni.

1:00

Present.

1:00

Mayor Lily Smith.

Speaker 1

1:02

Present.

1:06

We will now stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Speaker 6

1:14

Invocation first and five.

1:16

So we're going to stand for the invocation by

Unassigned speaker

1:18

your

Speaker 6

1:18

residential.

Speaker 1

1:20

We are now doing the invocation.

Speaker 2

1:24

Father, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

1:32

Amen.

2:02

Uh yes.

2:04

Courtney Krabby Kane has five minutes.

Speaker 1

2:11

Um we are now at the audience participation portion of the agenda.

2:19

Speakers are not to address council members individually.

2:23

Oh.

2:26

Any person any person making personal impertinent or slanderous remarks or who become disorderly may be barred from the meeting.

2:35

This is an opportunity to provide city council with your comments.

2:50

Any documents shown during audience participation or part

Unassigned speaker

2:54

of

Speaker 1

2:54

the meeting must be given to the city clerk.

Speaker 7

2:58

Blah blah blah.

3:00

Are we

Speaker 8

3:01

ready?

3:02

Okay.

Speaker 7

3:03

So my name's Cordy Crabby Crane, and I'm a resident here, and I have a few issues with your little agenda.

3:11

So the first one um that you have on here for the police department with recovery otters.

3:20

I have an issue with that.

3:21

So as a little girl, like I was attacked by an otter.

3:25

So I think it's really insensitive of the council to like using our tax dollars to buy otters to help with recovery issues.

3:36

So I just want you to take into consideration people who have trauma over otter injuries and attacks when they were young.

3:45

It's not really fair and sensitive of you all to even consider that on this agenda.

Speaker 9

3:50

The

Speaker 7

3:51

other issue I have that I think you should all think about is like the football games on Friday night.

3:57

It's so loud, it's so noisy, like I can't even get to bed.

4:01

I go to bed at like seven thirty, and your games and your cannons and your cheerleaders, like it's just a little much.

4:09

I think you need to talk to like your code enforcement and get the noise situation under control.

4:16

I mean, I'm all about Venice High School and sports, but it's a little bit ridiculous.

4:21

Like it's not an NFL team.

4:23

We don't need to have all the noise in the city when people are trying to go to bed and go to sleep early.

4:30

So I just thank you for listening, and I think you should really, especially the otter thing.

4:36

I mean, come on.

4:37

I have scars I can show you guys if you want, but just remember us otter PTSD people.

4:45

Thank

Unassigned speaker

4:46

you.

Speaker 1

4:46

Great, thank

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████21%
Public Safety███████████11%
Procedural██████████10%
Airport Management█████████9%
Animal Welfare████████8%
Active Transportation████████8%
Wildlife Conservation███████7%
Technology and Innovation██████6%
Community Engagement████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Venice City Council Meeting Summary: October 14, 2026

The Venice City Council convened on October 14, 2026, for a Student Government Day session. The council considered numerous innovative and unconventional proposals, resulting in a mix of approvals, rejections, and deferrals on items ranging from a police search otter to a ninja warrior beach course.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Courtney Krabby Crane (Resident): Expressed strong opposition to the police otter proposal due to personal trauma from an otter attack, and complained about noise from high school football games.
  • Lloyd Weed (CAVE – Citizens Against Virtually Everything): Spoke against the autonomous micro-transit project (citing dangers to wildlife), opposed the rat sewer inspection program (on ethical grounds), and supported the building jet packs proposal. He also announced a corporate sponsorship for the Venice Warrior Course.
  • Sage Belair, Miles Achett, and Kevin Moore: Advocated for the otter to be adopted as the city mascot and expressed support for the warrior course.
  • Nunya Business (Resident): Praised the new Mayor and City Clerk, and criticized the council's inability to hold a meeting in Turks and Caicos.

Discussion Items (Selected Major Items)

  • Search and Recovery Otter (26-0780): Police presented a proposal for a trained otter for aquatic search and rescue. Concerns included ethics, cost, species aggression, and lack of backup. Advocates praised its superior underwater capabilities. The initial motion to approve failed (3-4).
  • eVTOL EMS Aircraft (26-0781): Fire department requested approval to seek a FEMA grant for an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for EMS.
  • Community Observation Area (26-0782): Airport staff proposed a $1.5 million observation park funded by the airport enterprise fund.
  • Autonomous Micro-Transit (26-0783): Planning staff proposed a pilot program for low-speed autonomous shuttles downtown. Debate centered on job displacement, aesthetics, and liability.
  • Building Jet Packs (26-0784): Item was deferred to the next meeting without discussion.
  • Sand-Cleaning Rover Drone (26-0785): IT staff proposed a $100,000 pilot program for an autonomous beach cleaning rover.
  • Biological Sewer Inspection (26-0786): Utilities staff proposed using rats equipped with sensor technology from Georgia Tech to inspect the sewer system.
  • City Employee Mascot (26-0787): HR staff presented five options (Shark, Dolphin, Manatee, Pelican, Scrub Jay) for an official city mascot.
  • Amphitheater at Legacy Park (26-0788): Public Works staff requested permission to explore the concept and gather cost information.
  • The Venice Warrior Course (26-0789): A proposal for a $25 million free ninja-warrior obstacle course on Venice Beach was presented.
  • Northeast Venice Park Expansion (26-0790): City Engineer proposed a vertical expansion to add a water play area to the newly completed park.
  • Turks & Caicos Council Retreat (26-0791): City Attorney reported that holding a meeting in Turks and Caicos would violate Florida's Sunshine Law.

Key Outcomes

  • Otter Proposal: The initial motion to approve failed (3-4). Later in the meeting, a motion to reconsider passed (4-3). A subsequent motion to approve the otter program passed (4-3).
  • eVTOL EMS Aircraft: Motion to approve the FEMA grant request passed unanimously.
  • Observation Area: Motion to deny the proposal passed, rejecting the project.
  • Micro-Transit: Motion to deny the pilot program failed, leaving the item in limbo with no definitive action taken.
  • Jet Packs: Vote to postpone the item to the next meeting passed unanimously.
  • Rover Drone: Motion to deny the pilot program passed (5-2).
  • Sewer Rats: Motion to approve the purchase of 25 rats and staff training passed (Vivian Conradi abstained).
  • Mascot: Motion to approve the selection of a city employee mascot passed unanimously (specific animal to be decided later).
  • Amphitheater: First motion to deny exploration failed. Second motion to place the item on a future agenda with budget information passed unanimously.
  • Warrior Course: Motion to approve construction passed (5-2).
  • Park Expansion: Motion to approve the vertical expansion for a water park passed (6-1).
  • Turks & Caicos Meeting: The City Attorney's legal opinion effectively denied the request due to Sunshine Law violations.

Meeting Transcript

What did I say we did the body to wait? I'm calling the meeting to order. Oh, roll call. Tia Blair. Present. Vice Mayor, Vice Mayor Olimpia Bushelow. Present. Vivian Conardi. Present. Jenna Mizinen. Present. Emma Wen. Present. Daniel Verdoni. Present. Mayor Lily Smith. Present. We will now stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Invocation first and five. So we're going to stand for the invocation by your residential. We are now doing the invocation. Father, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen. Uh yes. Courtney Krabby Kane has five minutes. Um we are now at the audience participation portion of the agenda. Speakers are not to address council members individually. Oh. Any person any person making personal impertinent or slanderous remarks or who become disorderly may be barred from the meeting. This is an opportunity to provide city council with your comments. Any documents shown during audience participation or part of the meeting must be given to the city clerk. Blah blah blah. Are we ready? Okay. So my name's Cordy Crabby Crane, and I'm a resident here, and I have a few issues with your little agenda. So the first one um that you have on here for the police department with recovery otters. I have an issue with that. So as a little girl, like I was attacked by an otter. So I think it's really insensitive of the council to like using our tax dollars to buy otters to help with recovery issues. So I just want you to take into consideration people who have trauma over otter injuries and attacks when they were young. It's not really fair and sensitive of you all to even consider that on this agenda. The other issue I have that I think you should all think about is like the football games on Friday night. It's so loud, it's so noisy, like I can't even get to bed. I go to bed at like seven thirty, and your games and your cannons and your cheerleaders, like it's just a little much.

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