Hear ye, hear ye. I now call to order the regular session meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the City of Tarpon Springs on Tuesday, July 14th, 2026 at 6:00. Roll call
please. Mayor Giuliani is absent and excused. Vice mayor is absent and excuse. Commissioner Eisner here. Commissioner Banther here.
Commissioner Weaver here. Tonight, we have reflections from our invocation will be given by Chaplain Adrian Murray from Advent Health Hospital.
And my friend. Thank you. Please stand. And also remain standing for the pledge after.
Let us pray. Holy God, you are known in your Word as the great. I am the Alpha and Omega, the
Almighty. You are worthy to be honored and praised. And for all that you give humanity, we ask of you now to give us
wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and your grace to lead Tarpon Springs higher, better and stronger. Not
because of humanity, but because of you. Be with our leaders. May they trust you as they lead and for the community.
May we trust you as we follow this. We pray in the name of the father, son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 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, with liberty and justice for all. So before I speak and bring up the special
presentation, I did want everybody to look at First Friday we had two officers who did some outstanding tarpon.
Just proud to be Tarpon Nights. They were just great. One officer found a person with dementia that was just wandering around very close to Craig Park, and possibly
something could have happened. Any officer found him really quickly and it was it was something I should say. Detective melon found him so
quickly that he kind of shocked the rest of the police force. How fast he, you know, he he retrieved that person. So we really want to thank him for that. And Officer Rodriguez was
I was there when she actually located somebody's credit card. You know, our first Fridays are a little bit hectic and people lose things. And she was just so kind as to retrieve and, and
return it. So I thought that they too, should have, you know, be recognized as, as quality citizens. So would Dave Gillum
is, is Gillum, would you please come up with Megan?
It's not often that we get superheroes from other states, but I have to tell you that before I read
your citizenship award, what you did, what I read was amazing. I wasn't here in town. I was in Texas visiting my grandkids, and I had heard what happened. And I just cannot
believe that what you did. And I can't believe that, you know, that you brought this up. It was excellent to have I don't know, were you a little nervous when that was going on? No.
Okay, excellent. So let me get this. Do you want to tell a little story first? Go ahead. I'm sorry. That's okay. Thank
you. My name is Megan McIntyre. I'm the interim director of Cultural and Civic Services. And tonight we're honoring David Gilliam as a hero who
helped save the Safford House. On May 28th. We had a mid afternoon storm, and it appeared that the house was struck by lightning. We found
out that it wasn't, but it was very, very close. And the electric current came down through the house, through the
electrical outlet and art to a metal chair that was behind one of the doors that we leave for people when they're on a tour, if they get tired, and the
padded chair actually caught fire, David, his wife Kathy, and two other visitors were on a tour of the Safford house
when the bolt came down, and his immediate action. He looked and saw smoke coming off the chair, grabbed the chair and threw it outside. Had the tour
been in a different part of the house? Had they not been inside the house? A different. Ending possibly could have happened.
And so I'm just incredibly thankful to Dave, to the Tarpon Springs Fire Rescue and surrounding rescues. So many people showed up to just do the
work and were so professional and efficient and kind to Olga Cassidy, our employee, who immediately called 911. Our
docent, Darlene, who was giving the tour, and David, thanks to you, the sovereign House will remain standing strong for
hundreds of more years to come. So thank you. I'll be there for. You. You have forever tours whenever you're back in town. And they're from Wisconsin and
our snowbirds here in Florida. So whenever you come back and you want a tour of the Safford house, you're more than welcome. Well, thank you, Megan, and
thank you, Dave. Where is your cape? Your Superman. So lucky to be there. Well, we thank you. We thank you from, you know, all of Tarpon. So our Safford
house is a very valuable place for us and we do appreciate it. So this is a citizenship award and it's presented to you, Dave Gillum, for your brave and timely actions in protecting
the historic Safford House and preserving our community's heritage. July 14th, 2026 Board of Commissioners, City of
Tarpon Springs. Thank you. Somebody want to take a picture? Thank you for your bride is
taking a picture. Of you. And thank you again. You're more than welcome. Anytime I'm here
as a free tour of the San Francisco lakefront for. So thank you. Thank you to you for
your work. I need Jamie Taylor and Gail Gatson, please.
Come here to me. Very interesting. Today the bookmobile was out and about and we got to share some quality time in the hot
sun and have kids coming and getting books. So I this is not my first time seeing them today, but they're always welcome in my heart. So the city of Tarpon
Springs, Florida. Proclamation. Whereas Parks and Recreation bring individuals together, promote health, wellness, and contribute to the development of stronger, more resilient communities. And whereas our
parks and recreation departments give community members spaces to unwind, enjoy activities, and participate in programs, and support youth learning, growth and
development, while also offering outdoor areas for older residents like myself to easily spend time outside and maintain both their physical and mental well-being. And
whereas, Parks and Recreation Month serves as an occasion to acknowledge the valuable contributions made by our committed employees and volunteers who maintain our
parks and facilitate recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike. Whereas, it is fitting to formally acknowledge the commitment and professionalism
demonstrated by our Parks and Parkway Parkways Maintenance Supervisor James Burke, team and Recreation Superintendent James Jamie Taylor and his staff for substantial
contributions provided daily by these departments. Now, therefore, I, Mike Eisner, representing Mayor John by virtue of the authority vested
in me as acting mayor of the city of Tarpon Springs, Florida, do hereby proclaim July 2026 as Parks and Recreation Month. In witness whereof I have set his
hand, not mine, and caused the seal of the city of Tarpon Springs, Florida, to be affixed this 14th day of July, 2026.
And I present that to you both. Thank you, Mr. Kiger. Do you want to say something? On behalf of the Parks and Recreation, we'd like to thank
you. It is a busy month for us always throughout the summer, working with the kids, and it was great to see our commissioner with us today giving out the books. That's my favorite part, giving out the
books over the summer so the kids can read. Thank you. I just want to echo the sentiment of appreciation. Appreciation to the board and to city
leadership for our departments there, especially appreciation towards Chris Carter and the Public Works and the parks staff that not only keep our parks clean and safe, but they
do a whole lot more than that. They are integral in our special event operations, and we've got some volunteers in the stands here. So, you know, it really is a team effort.
Miss Gadsden's been with the city for over 25 years, helping out the kids during our summer camp as well as after school program with the Gap Center. So really, it takes a village and
honored to be here and be part of the team as well. So thank you again. Thank you. Aren't we proud of Tarpon Springs? That
is great. I just love this. Thank you.
Okay. Are there any commissioner comments that would you like to make? That Mike is still alive, but so is
mine. Do you want me to turn it off? I just want to bring it to your. Any comments? Thanks. No, thanks. Okay. So we're going to
go to public comments now. But before we go to public comments, I have something I need to read because it's fairly new and it will be carried out from here
on in. As a reminder, each person addressing the board shall state their name and address for the record and will be given three minutes. All remarks shall be addressed to
the board. As a body, the mayor shall preserve order, which is me today, and decorum, and shall prevent personal attacks. Any person making personal,
impertinent or slanderous remarks, or shall become boisterous, including clapping, booing, holding signs or flags at a meeting may be requested
to leave the meeting or may be removed and barred from further attendance at this meeting. And
with that, public comments can begin. Marty Peters, 1702
Heritage Oaks Court. I'd like to spend just a few minutes talking about our good friends up in Tallahassee who are running around talking about waste, fraud, corruption and
abuse, and they're talking about local governments doing that. So they have this referendum to cut property
taxes enormously. But I was wondering if they could perhaps take a look at some of the things that are going on in Tallahassee where there might be might be some waste, fraud
and corruption. You know, the things that they're responsible for, whereas you're responsible for any of that type of stuff happening here. Well, up in
Tallahassee, I was just wondering why they haven't searched out that fraud. I would think corruption
certainly waste $10 million redirected from poor kids health plans so that it can be given to political consultants
to run a political campaign for some of the people up in Tallahassee for what they like. Or how about that $270 million
in the voucher program for education that's unaccounted for, or maybe the $1 million
they give to. Retired politicians who get appointed to be presidents of colleges and given a salary of $1 million, even though they have
no educational experience, or maybe the 1000 or $100,000 given for one of the politicians up in Tallahassee who teaches two college courses
in addition to his regular job that he's being paid for, or maybe the millions in immigration and other that was spent in other states to deal with immigration issues, which
is really a federal problem, not a state problem. But since it was spent in other states, it wasn't for Floridians. So
there's a lot of no bid contracts up in Tallahassee with NDAs, non-disclosure agreements. And I'd just like to contrast that with Tarpon
Springs. You had a case where you thought there was some inappropriate expenditures. There were NDAs that were signed in it. So we can't talk
about it a whole lot. But you promptly handled the issue and fired a city manager. What are they doing up in Tallahassee? Why don't they deal with the problems that they're supposed
to deal with, instead of trying to take the power away from you and bringing that power up to Tallahassee, where they have
all of the NDAs and. The non bid contracts. So I hope you'll keep that in mind. Don't let
them push you over. Thank you. Next, please. Jane Harrington 1021 Jamaica Way, Tarpon Springs. I just want to thank
you for making that announcement about the clapping, the booing and all of that. I left two weeks ago. I decided that would probably be the most
prudent thing I could do was to leave the meeting. I don't think it's appropriate that the church people were clapping and booing and the other people were. And honestly, the
commission always said no clapping, no response. If I ask a question or anything, you cannot respond, responding by
clapping encourages people. People being. We didn't need all of that two weeks ago. So thank you for making that announcement and taking the
people away. Secondly, it's not going to be popular, but the tax cuts. I'm hoping you folks will come forward with how
you're streamlining, automating, and reducing a lot of extra work in the counties to in the community here to save money.
But I look around on my own street and our neighborhoods, we are having more buildings built and sold at 500, 700, $1
million, $2 million. That's all way, way above any tax reduction, even on our own street. I look at the houses that have turned over once,
twice since I moved here, and the tax base from back in 2019 to today has more than doubled on those streets. When they
sell, it becomes true tax. No one's mentioning that. So we may be quote unquote losing money, but please be upfront with the people, both sides
totally transparent. You are getting a lot more tax revenue from all those. I hate to say it. Not real attractive apartments or buildings that
got up on 19. You're getting money from that. The taxes in this town, from the way places are being sold. I look at the million $2 million houses there.
What is $250,000 to those people compared to the amount of tax you're going to get on the remaining 1,800,000? Please keep that in mind. And I do
appreciate everything you do, but I look forward to hearing all the different things the Commission is going to do and the city is going to do to
streamline, automate the processes, because many of them are from way back, because those are the people that are in place. We do things the way
we always did. But thank you for looking at everything and making it better like a
commission would do. Thank you. Acts 514 Ashland Avenue. To kind of continue a little bit
of the theme, the actual way to solve what the lady just mentioned were the inflation houses flipping. And this is something I've suggested, but
no one seems to see it as an answer. But the way to do it is when you buy your house that locks in your value, you're not affected by the neighbor. If
the neighbor down the street pays $100,000 more, that will be their new value and it stays the same. So you can count. Now you can change millages and
stuff like that, but it gives the homeowner stability and knowing what they'll be taxed at. If they do upgrades, then you can look at at that point.
But if you buy a house and you don't add a second story or a pool or stuff like that, then I think that would be an easier way to solve it because as you
heard about the parks, those are going to be some of the first things you're going to have to cut back on. And we like our parks and I'll do a
short reading. This is Isaiah 65 1 to 4 five. I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me. I was found by those who did not seek me to a nation
that did not call on my name. I said, here I am, here I am. All day long I have held out my hand to an obstinate people who walk in ways not good, pursuing
their own imaginations. A people who continually provoke me in my very face, offering sacrifices and gardens and burning incense on altars of
brick who sit among the graves and spend their nights keeping secret vigil. Now, I didn't get a chance, really, to follow up
at the last meeting with regards to one of the things that were brought up, and as the lady mentioned, there was a lot of clapping and cheering. And we also had the Morgan
people delivering a voluntary excuse me, I would call quid pro quo check. That was one of the first conditions within
their plans. Now, there are other things that are conditions for them to provide before they get certificate of occupancy. They have to provide the city with a conservation
easement for all the land that is either recreation, open space or preservation has to be recorded. They're provided public art project. What's the status with this? They're required to have an Eagle
management plan that covers the property for five years. Is there one in place? Will residents be aware of that? They're required to have a wetland enhancement plan, which mandates they move all the stuff out of there that's
invasive. Have they paid into the tree fund? They're required to have a transportation management plan, working with both St and Pasco to implement a possible stop. We've also recommended to get with
Pinellas County schools with regards to establishing a school bus. All this is in, I think it's either 2021 15 or 20 2060. I don't remember the
numbers, but if you go to Anclote Harbor on the Tarpon Street, thank you, thank you.
Anybody else? Okay, so we're going to move on to the consent agenda now. So we have number
three attorney fee salesman PA invoices 90885 and 91183. Those are for separate months. Number
four extend file number 230097-C-AS. Fencing gate operators and handrails. Number
five is award file number 260175-N-PH. Repair services for Godwin pumps number six, Award file number 260176 and
dash p h. Single source purchase of Actor and Elgin original equipment manufacturer OEM Parts and service number seven amendment to Pinellas
County Community Development block grant sub Award agreement number CD225. T is Tom SCCG.
Number eight approved. Fire station 70 funding agreement with Pinellas County, number nine, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Memorandum of
understanding. Number ten. Award file number 260178-NPH. Single source purchase of Commons original equipment
manufacturer. OEM parts and service approved Novation for file number 250089-C-PH.
Utility billing services number 12 is award file number 260188CPH. Golf course irrigation system upgrade
number 13 is award file number 270001-C-PH. Purchase of computer aided dispatch CAD system automated Report
Management systems, services and crime scene and fingerprint agreement. Is there any public comments of. Well, let me say
as first, the. Are there any items the commissioners would like to pull. I got a note.
Nothing. Okay. Are there any public comments? No public comments. I need to hear a
motion. So moved. Second. Are there any other commission comments regarding that? No. Okay, so hearing none, I need a roll call. Commissioner Weaver.
Yes, Commissioner. Panther. Yes, sir. Yes. So moving on. We have ordinance and resolutions 14.
And that is. Do you want to read that? Yes, sir. Ordinance 2020 611, an ordinance of the City of Tarpon Springs, Florida, vacating a portion of Lake Butler Heights subdivision plat
plat book three, page five, including block C, lots 11 through 15, block C, lot 17 through 20, block D, lots one
through ten and block E, lots one through 20 and abandoning 37,035ft■!S, more or less of the following right of way. A
portion of Stackelberg Avenue, located adjacent to block C, D, E and F, a portion of Burke Street located adjacent to block C, D, E, and F, and an
alley located adjacent to the entirety of block E, providing for conditions. Providing for findings. Providing for Recordation in the public
records of Pinellas County, and providing for an effective date that is ordinance 2020 611, read by title only on second
reading. Thank you. Are there any public comments? Please state your name and address
you'd like us. 514 Ashland Avenue. As I mentioned at the first reading, again, this is an opportunity lost, an
opportunity lost. If you go to page six of your staff report, you'll see the roads that they're wishing. It's kind of hard to see on there because it's kind of blocked. But if
you open up Burke towards Disston, all that property along to the east of Burke, or actually to the south of Burke is all their property. There's
like four lots to the north. I think they own 1 or 2 of them. I think the city owns one and then another private property owner owns it. Again, this
could be used as a catalyst to get a private partnership venture to help them help us open up distant the value of having them have access to
distant with a second entrance gives them more viability for not only fire, rescue and other services, but ingress and egress. Otherwise you've got and you haven't looked at the
site plan, but I hope you have looked at it before the meeting to be a little familiar with what I'm talking about. So otherwise, the next slide will show you how they want to put a cul de sac in, and they're
going to leave a space open for lot 16 for the housing authority. Again, just like what happened with Manatee Village, Dash properties came in in 2019. They said they're
going to do this. We asked them, no, this is our vision for the area they put it in. It sits there like that. I know they have money involved in expenses.
This is legislative. It's not quasi judicial. If you say, no, we don't like giving away this land, we'd like you to follow along with our comprehensive
plan for the growth in this area and help us fix the distant avenue, the connection to the college, and to to the main part of the city. Access
bus. Tram. There was an accident on alternate in Klosterman today. Blocks of traffic. Where is your
secondary exits? Belcher distant. Come on guys, it's. I've been preaching about distance since 2004. It's
essential to open this up. We've had previous meetings, community seminars, and everybody majority have said we need to have this access open.
And this is an opportunity. I think that if you let slip by and you let them build as they want, another developer coming in, I don't have a problem with Dr. Horton and the gentleman
here. He's very respectful and responsive to what I've heard in meetings and stuff. It's nothing personal, but it's. Is it Tarpon vision or Dr. Horton's vision? That's what I
think. It's up to you guys to decide on. Thank you, thank you. Is there any other public
comments? So the hearing none. The chair will end. Oh I'm sorry question really for staff. Do I speak now as applicant or is it as part of the public
portion or can I wait after? Has anything changed from the first reading for the vacation request? There's no change. The only made a minor modification to just be more specific about the effective date that it's
tied to the site plan application. That's the only change. Do we need to hear from this gentleman? It's up to the board if you feel there's
anything to clarify after the first. So you don't need do you need any more clarification? No, I don't know, sir, but thank you. Thank you for volunteering.
So then I need to entertain a motion. So moved. Second and any commissioner comments after
that, I presume? None. Roll call please, Mr. Weaver. Yes.
Yes. Mr. Yes. So now we have. Resolution 2026-23. Resolution 2020 623, a resolution of the
Board of Commissioners of the City of Tarpon Springs, Florida, approving application number 2434. Requesting site plan approval for 32 single family detached dwelling units,
including stormwater handling and open space amenities. A 4.52 acres more or less property located on the south side of Mango Street and 96ft
east of Distant Avenue in the residential multifamily zoning district, providing for findings, providing for waivers, providing for conditions, and providing for an effective date.
You also want me to read the quasi judicial, please. This is a quasi judicial proceeding where the board acts in a quasi judicial rather than a legislative capacity at a quasi
judicial hearing. It is not the board's function to make law, but rather to apply law that has already been established in a quasi judicial hearing. The board is required by law to make findings of fact based
upon the evidence presented at the hearing, and apply those findings of fact to previously established criteria contained in the Code of Ordinances in order to make a legal decision
regarding the application before it. The board may only consider evidence at this hearing that the law considers competent, substantial and relevant to the issues. If the competent, substantial and
relevant evidence at the hearing demonstrates that the applicant has met the criteria established in the Code of Ordinances, then the board is required by law to find in favor of the applicant. By the
same token, if the competent, substantial and relevant evidence at the hearing demonstrates that the applicant has failed to meet the criteria established in the Code of Ordinances, then the board is required by law to find against
the applicant. Is there any disclosure of ex parte communication by the board? Any conflicts of interest? No. If anyone's going to speak on this,
please stand. Raise your right hand. You swear? If you're going to stand, please, please raise your right hand if you're going to stand. Are you going
to talk on this? Yes. Do you swear or affirm your testimony before the Board of Commissioners will be the truth, so help you? I do thank you, Ali. The only thing I want to
let you know before a public comment is made, we don't change the slides accordingly. It's just a public comment. So unless it's presented because I
know that was what you know, you're kind enough to do. But this is not a debate. It's just public comment. But thank you. Okay. All set. Yes. I'm sorry.
Oh. Yes. Presentation first. Sorry. Okay. Good evening. Ali Keene, interim planning director. Again, this is application 24-34 under
resolution number 2026-23. This is a site plan approval for the Mango Street townhome development. And this is the companion application to the previous vacation request. The site is located on the south
side of Mango Street, approximately 96ft east of Distant Avenue. It is comprised of just under four and a half acres in size, and that does include the right of way that
is vacated. The current land use is residential, urban. The zoning is residential, multifamily, and the proposed development is a 32 unit townhome community with infrastructure, facilities and
open space amenities. Again, the site is outlined in yellow here on the screen on the south side of Mango Street. Looking at the surrounding context to the west, there are some
existing single family homes fronting Distant Avenue and the Tarpon Springs Yard waste facility. To the east are the two Tarpon Springs Housing Authority developments, Eagle
Ridge and Mango Circle. The surrounding zoning in this area is primarily residential, multifamily and mobile home park, with the exception of the yard waste facility, which is in the Agricultural Zoning
District. And just as a reminder, this is the area of the vacated right of way. Here's a look at the proposed site plan. Again, they're
proposing 32 townhome units in five different buildings. The development includes the construction of a private internal street. It has a privately maintained stormwater
facilities to the rear of the project. And then they're also proposing an open space park area for the residents. And that is about a half an acre in size. Mango Street is identified in the Comprehensive
plan on the future right of way needs map of having an 80 foot wide right of way. Therefore, the application includes the reservation of 17.5ft along the frontage of Mango Street for any potential future right of
way needs that we would need for mango, the Land Development Code has a requirement that sidewalks be along all frontages of public streets and private streets, and the applicant is requesting a
waiver to have an alternative sidewalk plan that incorporates a crosswalk. They are proposing to have a sidewalk along a majority of the internal street, with the exception of the segment here, between building
three and building two, they are proposing the crosswalk to get across to the other side of the street. From staff's perspective, this is an opportunity to reduce the amount of impervious surface in.
The development project is a relatively small subdivision with a low number of units, and there is adequate circulation for pedestrians within the neighborhood. As a reminder, the housing authority does own
this lot here in between the first two buildings and this area shaded in yellow, is the portion of the right of way that's vacated that will be dedicated to that lot. So look
at the proposed landscaping plan. The code requires a minimum of two trees per lot, as well as plantings along the stormwater pond perimeter. This plan does meet the requirements
of the code, and it does exceed it in some areas. And the plan does also include the retention of about 40 trees within the park area here. The open space
area does provide some substantial separation between those existing single family homes along Disston Avenue. In addition to that, the park area is approximately six feet above
where the road and the parking area will be, so that elevation change does provide some additional separation. It also helps to block any sort of lights from cars parking along here, or any potential noise
from the cars impacting those single family residences. Here's a look at the elevations and floor plans. This elevation here at the bottom is for the building along Mango Street. It
does have windows incorporated in the facade. Therefore it's not a solid blank wall along that road frontage. Looking at your site plan criteria, the proposal is in compliance with
the Land Development Code, with the exception of the waiver request for the alternative sidewalk design, it does comply with the comprehensive plan and the intent of the Residential Urban Future Land Use category.
It does present an appropriate and compatible infill project for this area that already has several different types of housing products. The city does have the capacity and the infrastructure to serve the
development with utilities, and again, they're proposing to provide a half acre open space park on site. And so that will not impact the city's current mini park facilities deficiency. And lastly, it was reviewed by
the Technical Review Committee and expected to meet all applicable building, fire and technical codes. Staff does recommend approval of resolution 2026-23, including
the waiver request for alternative sidewalk design. We do have a set of conditions. Most of these are typical site plan conditions that we add, but they include that the project be master metered. The
project must meet all minimum tree planting requirements. The project is subject to the provisions of public Art for condition number four. This is pertaining to the Housing Authority lot, and it states
that if that lot were to be developed in the future with a new residential dwelling, access to the private subdivision street cannot be denied. Number five is the construction plans must be consistent with the approved
site. Plan six they must obtain all other jurisdictional permits and seven is. The site plan will expire at six months if they do not obtain a building permit. And lastly, a final plat is required to be
submitted for the project. And on the face of that plot, they shall specify that the community is privately maintained, including all the infrastructure, and that they are reserving the 17.5ft for
Mango Street. The Planning and Zoning Board reviewed this application at their June hearing. They did recommend approval of the project with the waiver request as well as staff recommended conditions.
They did have two additional conditions that they are recommending. They include providing a landscape plan that exceeds, by some reasonable number, the number required by the code, and exploration of whether a utility easement
along the distant avenue right of way could provide the possibility of a future expansion of distant avenue. With regard to the first recommended condition for the landscaping plan, as you saw, we did have a plan included in
this presentation that was included in all the backup material to the Planning and Zoning board. However, we did not include in the staff presentations. They did not have the opportunity to to review that. So I'll leave it at the discretion of the board
as to whether or not to include that condition in any sort of recommendation. Lastly, there was only one member of the public that provided comments on this application, and I will go ahead and enter my report and presentation into the
record and I'll answer any questions. So you saved me the question. Is this your report? Yes, it is. So do we have any
commissioner questions? Yes. Commissioner Weaver. Yes. Thank you. Commissioner, has the applicant determined the public
art requirement? So? So they are subject to the public art requirement. There's two options. One is doing an art project. The other is to pay in lieu. That is determined during
the permitting stage. I believe that they might explore doing an on site project, but we just put the condition on there, just reinforcing that that is something that will come down the road. So it hasn't been
determined yet? Yes. Correct. Thank you. Commissioner. No. No, sir. Okay. I just have a couple of questions for you, Ali. So they have a master meter, but
they're also going to have separate water meters for each. I know this may not be you to answer, but is that what I was to understand? Yes. Okay. The
master meter is just for our purposes. Would they also then have all separate lift stations as well? Or is that something you don't know? And I can let
the applicant provide more details about that. Okay. Because did we provide them a lift station or would it be gravity fed? Because whenever you get into new construction
in an older area, unless you can make a gravity system, it's got to be done with lift station. So yes, and our utilities folks did review this and did find it compliant. Okay.
The other I had two, two quick questions. One, so the number of trees that they have to remove, they're going to be putting back other trees. They'll have to comply with our mitigation requirements. So
that's one some of the things that are on the landscaping plan will count towards that. If there's any additional they have to pay the mitigation fees for it. And those final numbers are calculated again at the
permitting stage. So the last question was you showed the PNC board put up number ten. Is it correct to say we are not
making a decision on something that may or may not be in the future? That's up to the board on the decision of that, but it is it's not included in the staff's recommendation. Well, I
know for a number of years I sat on the board of Adjustments. We never were able to make a decision on what could or should be down the road. We have to make the decision on
current, what's there, what's not there. Correct. So I, I don't know if I want to accept the number ten recommendation. I don't know how the rest of
the board would be, but do you want to pull that back so I can just. Go? So it's it's
exploration of whether utility easement along the distant avenue right of way could provide the possibility of a future expansion of distant avenue. So we cannot make plans
right now for what could be or what may not be down the road. That's correct. Okay, so I have then no further questions. We
can do public comment now. Do you want to hear from the applicant first? Well, in here it was telling me the public comment first, but I'm okay with the applicant. If the
applicant would want. Okay. He's okay with having her go. Okay. Miss Wade, good evening. Julie weighed 1095 Main Sail
Drive. Many of us have waited for this project on this site for a while. I'm happy to see something move forward. Maybe it will also push the city to
get distant. Open. I had hoped for a cottage court style development on this site, but I understand the site is a little complicated and may not be doable. Townhouses may help the
residents of residences be affordable. I visited your project off harbor landings at Harbor landings, and I think the units are well built. They
don't feel crowded like Calista Kay and you plan for some visitor parking, which has been missing in some of these developments. Having recently tried to help three young
Tarpon Springs residents find a house in Tarpon Springs, I would like to encourage them, even if they have to scale. The project finishes down a little
bit to help with that. Missing middle housing. All three folks wanted to live here. All three currently rent here. One is a teacher, one is in law
enforcement and one is in the medical field we've looked for since September. None of them found a house in Tarpon Springs
in that magic 300,000 price range, and all three have left. These were young professionals, young families, and I'm sorry
to lose them. I appreciate your low HOA and no flood zone that helps with making this affordable. The proposal is so near city amenities that they
don't have to have a lot of things in the complex. They can. People can walk to them, and I think that will help keep the costs down. But please, let's
hope we can try to keep it around that 300 000 mark. Even with their red tag sale at their other project, I think the lowest one I saw was 330
young professionals and young families. It's just an important demographic that we want to provide housing for and it's hard. Thank you for your proposal. I hope it's a plus
for everybody. I look at your current submissions and applications, and although I still have some questions and we'll have some conditions, I'm sure. I think the overall this is a great spot for this
project. Later I'll ask about some specifics, but I just wanted to support it at this time and encourage you. When you do make your submissions, make sure they say in
accordance with required Tarpon Springs code, because some of it was boilerplate and said in accordance with City of Saint Pete. So please turn in updated
ones. And I want to thank you for this and I hope it's a plus for everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Is there any other public
comments? Seeing and hearing? None. No, I, I knew he was coming up. Good evening. Matt Silverman 13825 I Court
Boulevard Clearwater, Florida 33760. Thank you Very much for your time today. We've been working on this project for quite some time, and we're very excited to be at the finish
line or near the finish line. We've met the residential multifamily requirements and all of the parameters is consistent with residential,
urban, and as one of the public speakers just mentioned, it's really a very difficult site. But we think what we are placing here with the townhomes
and with it not being so crowded and having plenty of ample space, we think this can be a banner project for the
Orient and really advocating for more development of middle housing. You know, the missing middle housing, there's a reason. There's a reason why
it's missing, because it's very hard to find sites like this and to be able to make this work. And for this site, this absolutely works. We have single family homes to the west,
apartments to the right, to the east, and further east there's mobile homes. So this is really a nice, exciting urban infill project. I wanted to answer your question, Mr. Chairman. So
it is going to be a private lift station owned and maintained by the HOA. We are developing a private gravity system, going to a private lift station, and the lift station
is going to tie in to a city force main. She. And we talked about the master meter. So there are also going to be individual meters. So the city
is going to build one master meter, and then the HOA will turn around and build all the individuals. So I'll be here and I'll be happy to answer any
questions that you guys may have. Commissioner Weaver thank you Commissioner. How many parking spaces are allocated
per unit? Two. This is what's required. So there's. And the parking. The garage inside the unit counts as one. And then there's a one car driveway and the guest parking. I don't know
what the amount of guest parking is offhand, but it's more than I. If you could pull up the site plan, please. Ali. If you go back to that, there
you go. I think it's those two sets there. From the approach, I'll be able to. There's 20. 20,
ma'am, 2020 guest parking and 32 units. So there's going to be ample parking and. Okay. And also to go back to your public
arts, what we are currently exploring is, as Ali mentioned, there's a nice big wall there next to the open space park. So we're exploring a painting, a
mural on that wall. Okay, this is this property. Have any retainage any water retainage that is that is near it? No, it's quite sloped. So there's a
big hill next to the housing authority. So it slopes all towards Mango Street and all the way out to a swell on the south of the property. So there really is no, no pondage or no
depression, no water hazard in a sense near nearby that you would have to fence. Correct. Okay. That's all. Thank you Commissioner. Well, you
answered a commissioner. We've answered a bunch of my questions. When this when the displaced water that's going to mango, will it be running down
mirrors towards Safford? Would you know? Yes. So as that's what happens currently, that's what's happening currently, as part of our development, we
will capture all the storm drainage and route it towards our stormwater pond to the south, and that will be discharged at a much lower rate
south of that into an existing swell. I bring that up because. Our fearless leaders in Tallahassee did stop a project
of stormwater on Safford and Mirrors. So I'm not saying I'm. I can't tell how much water you'll displace, but I'm just hoping that it doesn't create a
bigger headache until we can get some relief over there. Sure. Understood. So what this will actually be is a relief for Mango Street, because what
we're doing is most of the water, if you look here at the housing Authority lot, would flow to Mango Street. Now what we're doing is we're capturing all that water and routing it
to the south and discharging itself at a lower rate than was previously existing. So it's going to be an improvement. Okay. I, I will say to you, the
thing we need probably the most in this town is affordable housing. Most of our offices cannot afford or, or fire or average citizens. They just,
you know, the Greek children are having to go outside of Tarpon Springs. They can't repurchase here in the town that they love. And so I'm I'm
all for what you're trying to do. I think it's, it's, it's well needed and it's not easy to find. We're about 95 and 96% built up. So I appreciate. And
if anything we can do or I can do to help, I'm all for it. So. Thank you. Thank you. Any other
comments, questions or. Okay. I guess with that saying, is there any other commissioner comments? Yes, yes. So to
piggyback off of. What are we calling you tonight? Acting acting mayor, I'll answer acting mayor, acting mayor
Eisner. Comment. You know, building costs are so high right now that it's probably not practical to expect
something to be built for $300,000. As much as I would love to see that happen, I just I just did some calculations. You know, if you built 1500 square foot, which is, you know,
not a large but a family sized home at $400 a square foot, that's $600,000 already. I think the days of, of being able to build something that
that's that affordable at, at a $300,000 price tag are, are, are gone for now. I hope they return. With that said, you
know, my goal would be to try to keep the working class of people here retired. You know, retirees is a whole nother
class. But we, we want we want our law enforcement. We want our, our public servant services to, to be able to live in the community that they work.
So. Affordable housing. And I'd like to, I'd like to just make clear to anybody that's listening. You know, there's a difference, right? Affordable housing is simply that it's,
it's housing that's affordable for average people. So if this if this is what it takes, if it if it has to go into this price range, that might be the, you
know, the only chance we have to be able to keep some of our young people in our in our working people here in town. And with that said, I'm
certainly I'm certainly I certainly see a project like this as a plus. That's it. Thank you Commissioner. Thank you, Commissioner Banta. Yes. Thank you. As a as a real
estate broker, everything Commissioner Weaver said is correct. You know, this will be, to my knowledge, the most affordable, you know, new new
new new housing, if you will, on the market in Tarpon Springs. I'm aware of anything cheaper that's new and most stuff in that price range, you're looking at stuff that's going to need work, you know, like
fixed stuff, which if you're starting out in life as I was, you know, at one point, you know, you don't have extra funds usually for that. So I think it's a great project. I think it's a great use of the
land. And, you know, I do think that down the road there's potential for added value if and when distance opened up. So I think it's a great project and I think everyone involved. Thank you, Commissioner Panther.
And I agree with what I just heard on both commissioners. We need this big time. You know, I look around as well as
Commissioner Panther and Commissioner Weaver, the price of used homes are more than this. So I know that you can
possibly get this done quicker when you're dealing with giving a contractor multiple projects to do so. They could stay busy
and, you know, reduce the, you know, the cost. As a retired contractor, the only thing I my suggestion to you when, when I built my house, we did spray
foam and my bill is very low. Consider that it's, it's just, it's a, it's a great thing to do when you're doing new homes. You know, the people will be helped for many, many years
after that. So I'm all for it as well. And with that, I will look for a motion. So moved. Second. Roll call please, Mr.
Weaver. Yes, Commissioner. Panther. Yes. Mr. Yes. We wish you the best of luck. Thank you
for giving us that presentation. I guess my show is almost over.
So. I can't I can't help myself. I'm sorry. So this concludes the regular session. Agenda. Is
there is there any staff comments? Assistant Police Chief Mathes? None. How about attorney salesman? No, sir. Mr.
licorice? No. I have no comments tonight. Oh my goodness. Clerk. Okay.
Commissioner Weaver, thank you. So not just tonight, but all for the last two weeks. Comments are coming in
regarding the the the tax proposal that is in front of us. It's I don't think this is a matter of whether anyone is for
or against it. But the bigger concern here is what I would like to call tax reform. Right. So tax reform to me speaks of
your leadership being responsible. Okay. And responsibility to be to use your dollars wisely to be efficient and practical and,
and to come up with, with innovative ways to stretch that money. That's, that would be my promise is, is to attempt to
have tax reform, to attempt to spend your money wisely. We don't know yet if, if this proposal would be a good thing or a bad thing. I don't know if
anyone knows. It's it's it's barely it's untested. So the idea. The idea is that the city, just like you and I when I was
starting out, has to live within its means. And that's that's my promise to you that we will look at this from a
practical point of view. And, and transparent and responsibly.
Thank you. Commissioner Banta. Well, Mike, you did a great job tonight. I want to tell you that, you know, I was ready to fill in if you needed me. You know, I've been here a long
time. I just don't have the current ranking in our little lineup here as you do. But I was here to support you, and you did a great job. And, Commissioner Weaver, I think your comments are great on the referendum. And as I told the
paper last week, listen, the org chart has the residents, voters above us. If this is what they want, then that's what we have to do. Everything has consequences. People can judge if that's good or bad and we'll see what happens. But all
we can do is, is just adapt and overcome. So appreciate your comments. Thank you Commissioner. So I didn't want to answer some of the comments
when they were being said. So first thing I want to do is I want to congratulate Major John Gibson. He completed his FBI
training. And I'm just so proud of our accredited five five. Was it? We're a five accredited.
Right. Thank you. So I'm so proud. When I go to these police awards, they feel like my family, you know, when they have pain, I have pain. When
they have joy, I have joy. These and the commissioners feel that. So I do appreciate that. They go and they try so hard. As you can see in the
early, you know, citizens, the police go out there and they do a job 24 over seven while we're sleeping. We can sleep soundly because they're out there keeping Tarpon Springs, you
know, safe and sound. As far as the I heard that there was prices of houses have doubled. Prices of houses, yes, have
doubled. But that is not your tax rate hasn't doubled. So if you look at what your tax rate was last year, two years, three years, four years ago, it was
not doubled from what it is now. There's an appraised value that you pay on, and there's a sell price of what you pay on. And the sale price has maybe
doubled, but the appraised value hasn't doubled, nor has our millage rate gone up. So we're not flowing in dough and
money where we don't know where not to spend it next, as Commissioner Weaver said. And Commissioner Banther agreed, when you are not up here, you
don't realize how we rack our heads to try to scrimp and save and put pressure on every department head to not spend
money. We're human, and we do sometimes make an error in purchasing something. I'm not going to say no. I'm the first one to say we did make an error
when we purchased the plastic material for the tennis courts, and we had to take it out. If anybody was in our position with the information we get in
short periods of time, we get the information sometimes on a Thursday, and by Tuesday we have to be geniuses to make the decision on stuff that's a quarter million or half $1
million. Sometimes it's not easy. But nobody up here, not us three and not the other two commissioners, try to waste any sort of money on frivolous
things. I've read comments and believe me, my wife will tell you I read Facebook and some of the comments of what people have to say. I just wish they had the guidance and knowledge,
not so much of what we have, but the protocol on what we need to do. We need to take little bit. We don't take the best of the you know, it's not
a private entity that we live. We, we, you know, purchase on. So there's only so much we could do. We go by what we get presented. I don't believe that
anybody up here frivolously, frivolously just tries to waste city money. We don't. But we do make mistakes and we try to keep that at a minimal. And if
we do make a mistake, we do try to rectify it as soon as possible. But we cannot be compared to places where there's, you know, rampant
fraud and abuse and stuff like that. I, I know it exists. And that's not Tarpon Springs. We're up here doing volunteer work at a minimal amount of
money. We're nowhere near what some of the other counties get. And I, I would be happy to encourage anybody that thinks this commission doesn't do a
quality job or a good enough job, run for office, and you will be in for a rude awakening when you have budget season. This man came back, our city
manager, trying to help out with the budget, and he gets pulled aside every few minutes with all sorts of other sort of problems that hit the city. Our
police force is going always for. They're going now for a new contract, and they're not getting the highest pay of
Pinellas County. So our fire department will be not far behind. You know, there's a consideration that I see people go, oh, let's get rid of the
police force. Let's get rid of the fire department. That's great. That's your opinion. I don't want to live in that opinion. I want to live where I
know I can speak to the local living here person. You know, when people talk to me about this property tax and they're explaining their thoughts to me,
I go, you do realize you're speaking to a local elected politician who could decide what you're telling me down the road. If you choose to go the other way, you could be just
taking a trip up to Tallahassee and explain it to them. That's the name of the game, because that's where I'm going to send you. If I have no control over
what you're authorizing me to do, I have to tell you to go to Tallahassee because Home Rule has been tried to be removed for the longest of times. And
if if that's what people there will be, I will say this. There will be people that will benefit either way. Okay? Some people that don't use our facilities and maybe want to be
recluse and sit in the house, you're going to make some money. But if you want to use the library, you want to use the rec center, you want to use the parks, you want to use anything that that we would have to make
cuts from. It's going to be an eye opener because as the mayor has sat here and explained, I believe the numbers were we have about $16 million of discretionary money. First year
we lose 3 million, second year we would lose 5 million. As the numbers come in. And to lose $5 million out of 16 million is
going to be detrimental. So everybody's free to make the decision what's best for them. I know what decision I will make for myself and what can I
say? I was appreciative to see that we have a presentation for affordable housing. We really need that big time. I know there was a whole kit and
caboodle about what was done about near Tarpon Key, about affordable housing. I read people writing up that it was section eight, and this is going to go on. And, you know,
I wish people would call a city commissioner and ask privately what their input was because to get your information on Facebook is a joke. It is just
a little joke. I've seen so many different comments, and I would say about 80 to 90% of them are wrong. But it's the
world of social media. So I do want to thank you all I appreciate doing and sitting in for the mayor. I hope he's enjoying something. I he sent me a picture. He was holding up
the Leaning Tower of Pisa this this morning. So as long as it doesn't fall, I'm. I'm glad with that. And you know, most
of tarpon is a lot of the Greeks are in Greece and enjoying themselves. So I thank you all. And we are ending this
meeting at 711 because that's the lucky dice number.