The competition. I call to order the regular session of the City of Tarpon Springs Board of Commissioners. Tuesday, April 28th, 6 p.m. Roll call,
please. Mayor Giuliani's here. Vice mayor. Yes, here. Commissioner Eisner here, Commissioner Panther, Commissioner Weaver here. We're going to have our reflection
this evening. By the Reverend Janet Tunnell of All Saints Episcopal Church. Is the reverend here? No. Reverend.
Reverend is there. Reverend in the house? Any reverend will do now. Yeah. Okay. Say the Lord's
Prayer. Say the Lord's Prayer. Yes. Well, I guess we'll just do. I'll wing it. And this will be followed by the Pledge of
Allegiance. And if you all stand, please. I pray, dear Lord, that we. That you grant
us the peace and the serenity to make good decisions on behalf of the city of Tarpon Springs. I pray for the health and safety of our first
responders, our police department, our fire department, and all those people that dedicate their life to keeping us safe. And I wish the best
for all the residents of Tarpon Springs. Amen. 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. Okay. So our
first item, we have three presentations tonight. The first will be the Tarpon Springs clean water, storm, clean water, storm water
pollution prevention poster contest. And I would like Mister Monello to please come forward. I know he's already there. Okay. So would you like
to make your presentation? Yes, I would, Mister Mayor, Mr. City Manager and Commissioners, thank you all for supporting once again our efforts in publication and public
education and outreach for the City of Tarpon Springs. My name is Tony Manalo. As the mayor said, I'm the Streets and Stormwater supervisor of public works for the city of Tarpon
Springs. We're here tonight to recognize some talented individuals from fourth and fifth grades within the city. Actually, winners. We, as the
mayor said, we are having the awards for my Tarpon Springs Clean Waters Stormwater Pollution Prevention poster contest. I'm trying to abbreviate that title to. I saw
how it's problematic. What this includes is fourth and fifth grade students from each elementary school in Tarpon Springs show their creativity and talents by creating a
poster which displays their thoughts and ideas in the areas of pollution prevention, clean water benefits, animal or vegetation habitat impacts of
stormwater runoff to our local beaches, rivers, bayou and lake. Environment. Environmental awareness of young students is now and will be a major part of
maintaining our community's clean waters and assure sustainability of these natural resources for their enjoyment in the future. Matter of fact, this is our sixth year, and in
a couple short years, the first winners are going to be adult citizens here working and living in tarpon. So, you know, you plant a tree, it's a little sapling, but when it gets full, full grown, it's really
effective. So we're here tonight to award nine talented students from fourth and fifth grades, as I mentioned at Tarpon Elementary. Sunset Hills and Tarpon Springs fundamental
schools. They are going to receive a certificate of achievement and for third place, a $25 gift card. Second place, a $50 gift card and first place
winners take home a $100 gift card. Tonight? Yes. Congratulations. Our contest winners artwork has been displayed in City Hall here in
the front lobby for the past month. It'll be up there until the end of the week. If you'd like to, I encourage everyone to take a look at and see the talents that we've got here in town. All right. So with
without further ado, students, when when your name is announced, come on up and get your award. So our let's start
with our third place winner from Tarpon Springs Elementary
School. Marlin Dampier. Congratulations.
Congratulations. Okay. Second. Second place award. Fifth grade
student. Zen. Bingham. Tellez. All right. First place award goes to fourth grade student
Ariana Nguyen. By the way, I have a side note. Ariana is only the second student ever to
win two years consecutively. Okay, next is Sunset Hills Elementary School. The third
place award goes to fifth grade student Madeline Mitchell. All
right, second place award goes to fifth grade student Harper
Wilson. Lang. And first place
award goes to fifth grade student Giovanna Baldino. Okay.
And from Tarpon Springs Fundamental School, the third place winner, fifth grade
student Daisha Fowler. Second
place award goes to fifth grade student Carly. Okay. And
finally, I would like to congratulate the first place award to fifth grade student
Julia Springs. All right. Thank you. Congratulations. Don't
spend all that money in one place. Is that it? Yeah. No. You do. The kids want to do it?
We're done. Yeah, sure. I'm very proud of the kids. I. I think it's amazing. You know, we all you. I know there's some
repeat repeat winners here tonight. And it just shows that you guys put a lot of you had to put a lot of effort to be successful. There was a lot of kids that put their pictures in.
And you guys were the ones that got the prizes. So I just want to congratulate you and continue. Just keep on doing good stuff. Stay dedicated, stay disciplined, and you'll do
good in life and the rest of your school time. Okay. We got
next. Oh yeah. I mean, where's the next? Here it is. Thank you for coming, guys. Thank you
very much. Good job. Two. More than half. We're going to hear.
Okay. Our next presentation will be Saint Pete College the Greek Studies abroad program. And our the provost Rod Davis,
will present the. All right. Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I would like to extend my appreciation to Mayor Giuliano's and the commissioners for and all those
present here today. I am Doctor Rod Davis, provost and chief campus officer at Saint Petersburg College, Tarpon Springs campus. What we proudly call the beautiful campus on
the Hill tonight. I want to highlight a few important points about our study abroad programs in Greece, and more importantly, the strong and
meaningful partnership it makes possible. This includes the city of Tarpon Springs, our sister cities organization, and the leadership of the Tarpon Springs Chamber of Commerce.
Our most recent trip to Greece was truly exceptional. As you heard from an earlier meeting. Students had the opportunity to share their experiences with you directly. These
opportunities are not just educational, they are transformational. Students gain global experience, perspectives, cultural understanding, and
personal growth that extends far beyond the classroom. Last year, we had nine students from our Tarpon Springs campus participate, and this year the program has already exceeded
that number. We already have 13 students that are going to participate. The growth reflects both the increasing interest from our students and the strength of the
collaborative effort. This collaborative effort. I would also like to recognize the outstanding leadership of our professor, Basil Metaxas. Whose
dedication continues to drive the success of this program. Most importantly, this partnership has created meaningful scholarship opportunities for our students through the support of our city
and community partners were able to make an international education more accessible and opening the doors to those that might not have the opportunity.
For this is a powerful example of what we've achieved when education, community, and leadership come together, and we are very glad to share that
vision. Thank you again for the continued support and commitment to our students at Saint Petersburg College in Tarpon Springs. And next, I would like to bring up Mr. Frank Djurkovic, who shares who
will share a little bit about the logistics of our trip. Thank you. Good evening. As mentioned, my name is Frank
Djurkovic, director of International Programs. One of my great positions I have, I get to work with study abroad, but I also have international students. So we also have about 230 international students
studying in SPC and several students from Greece as well, that are studying on the student visa. So that's very exciting. But also on the study abroad side, as Doctor Davis mentioned, we've been working on this Greece program for many
years and excited. We had the first one that went a couple years ago, and now we have the second one that we're working on. It's a great opportunity for students that would never get the opportunity to just go by themselves. They go in a
safe community with this fellow students, with a professor. It's a really good environment for them to be in, and they get to kind of learn as they go versus just going there and wandering and not having an actual agenda of what they're
doing. So it's really wonderful. We actually are blessed to be ranked number one in the state of Florida among state colleges for the number of students we send abroad. So that's really great. And we're number 12 in the nation among all state
colleges for the number of students that we send abroad each year. So we're kind of really excited about that. But the program we put together, we work with a vendor that kind of puts all the details together based on the sister cities
we're visiting, all those little logistic things that obviously we're not there physically to put together. They put all that together for us with the working with the professor and I mentioned the sister cities and just putting together a really, really good
program to actually students can participate in and visit all the different places that we actually have with the class. Because remember, students are getting college credit. There are three courses they can take
up to, and that relates directly to their travel. And when they come back and prior to leaving, there's coursework all built into that. So we're really excited about it and be able to do this for a second time. Having more students,
having the City of Tarpon helping us in assisting with back in the students. So it's just been a really great partnership and I'm wonderful to see how it's flourished. So I'm going to have the professor come up here next and have him
give you the details of the of all the travel and all those kinds of things, because he's put a lot of time and effort into planning every little detail to make sure that it works out perfectly because you
are limited in time when you go there. So we want to make sure that we're making the best use of every minute while we're
there. So. All right. Hey, look at that. That was just a few slides to actually help out with things. It's not not too
much there, but I want to thank you all for having us here tonight. Board. Mayor Galanis citizens, Tarpon Springs. This project kind of built up from
the sister city program and kind of doing our part for the other side of it. You know, it's one thing to sign agreements. It's another thing to actually go visit with these individuals actually have a
understanding and some exchange really last we went in May 2024, we hit several of the original sister cities. We have, I believe 6 or 7 actually now,
and even some other talks about even more. Whether that happens or not is is immaterial. But this trip we decided to try in December, one thing that was hindering for us our last trip
was that we went in May and the prices were up. It's seasoned students were actually really concerned about cost being in December. We figured they would cut costs a little bit and it
has a little bit for them, so it's good. And a lot of them, despite the city helping us out with a considerable gift. Thank you very much. We'll get to that in a moment. A lot of the
students even made mention we'd go even if they had nothing. You know, they were really excited to go. And it's on the heels of the last trip. So with this one though, we're trying to stay mainland because being in December, we don't know if
we'll have opportunities to go to different islands if we can. But our itinerary between Athens, the island of Ireland as a short trip. So it's good enough to do. Olympia is one of
our sister cities. That has been a long time since we've made contacts with them, so it's going to be good. And then Zakynthos, Kalamata, Nafplio
and Mycenae. Okay, Kalamata might be a new sister city. We don't know yet. It's been some discussions, but at least we go there and we may meet with some
people. The the one side trip though, with Zakynthos, if you don't know the word, the name of that. For those of you who are unfamiliar, one thing I wanted to do with these students is to have an
opportunity to. Says on here too, about being able to have different foundations, different cultural exchanges, but it's also the sister city element with the city of Tarpon. There's a huge festival on
Zakynthos, which we're trying to be there for, where the city, the entire island shuts down. They have a huge religious festival. If those living in tarpon. This may sound familiar. Yes. Yeah, a little bit. I'm
also on the the Executive Committee of Epiphany in Tarpon, so I am integrally involved in these things, but I want these students to see what a festival
is like in Greece. I want to see them have that opportunity, and I'm going to have them inviting all of them to come. And since I'm on the board, I'm going to get them passes and we're going to have them
compare. You know, it's one thing just to take students who have their eyes opened, like, what can they do with this information? What can they expand with this? How can they change them? And that's really kind of my, my goal with all
this. So we have our sister city relationships, you know, seeing what the, what Greece is like in the off season. It's going to be interesting with that one too, especially people that will meet and discuss with.
Nafplio, which is this stock photo here, because I didn't, you know, I haven't been yet was a capital of Greece before Athens was. So seeing the
change from one capital to another, seeing what these cities have to offer, these kids are really going to the students are really going to be able to experience as much as they can with this fast trip.
It's only ten days. December 11th, the 21st. This one is a photo from our last trip, and a couple of those students actually came and gave
presentations here at the city as well. They last May or May 2024. We did receive $15,000 in scholarships for from the City of Tarpon Springs for our
program and for the students involved. Tarpon students, particularly, and then Tarpon campus students, particularly as well. In our discussions, I
believe we have exceeded that. Oh my thunder. Sorry, I don't I won't, I won't, but the city's continued support of this
program is is truly humbling because I'll tell you it, the day we got back, we put I put up a, a a kind of a poster board, a case full of photos
from students where we went, what we did on our last trip. We were there for the signing in arena of their side of the sister city, the twinning ceremony. There were students were floored by it. Got
pictures of of those elements. Two days later, we're getting interest in the next trip from students like, wow, this is amazing. How do we go on this? So this trip now, even December,
which is the off season filled almost before even we even put on the advertisement. So this is really going to be tremendous for these students
and their opportunities. So but thank you so much for that. And thank you. The City of Tarpon, we're trying to do you proud with what we do, as well as having the students be kind of
ambassadors. I try to build them up that way. So I don't know if any questions or
concerns or anything. So. Okay. That's all right. That's all
right. So as Mr. Professor noted in his. Oh, so. All right, all right. Do I do one of these?
All right, all right. So as you noted in his presentation that the board is, I guess, two two, you guys, what year did you go
in 20 2024, 2024. Okay. So in 2024, the board had voted and put into their budget $15,000 for your program. And obviously
it was a big success. And we wanted to this board wanted to do better because you're sending more students. So we actually have a check for you
in the amount of $20,000. And please. Can you come and take a
picture? Our photographers just had a baby. He didn't have the baby. With all the board
members. Come up, please, for this photo. All.
Yeah. So again, I want to congratulate you on, on conducting such an amazing program. I'm going to be bringing up the next agenda, my
attendance with you for this as well, and I'm looking forward to it. Thank you so much. Thank
you. Yes. Thank you Provost. Oh that's right. Another question. Our next presentation will be
the Dementia Friendly America Community Initiative. Susan
Rose. Hello. Welcome. Oh, there we are. Okay. Hello. Okay. My
name is Susan Rose and I'm a been a resident of Tarpon Springs for the past ten years. I love this community. I'm a former caregiver for my husband who had Parkinson's and
dementia. Thank you for allowing me to speak to you tonight about how Tarpon Springs can become a designated
can become designated as a dementia friendly community. Dementia Friendly America was launched at the 2015 white
House Conference on Aging and is administered by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Their goal is to catalyze a movement to more
effectively support individuals living with dementia and their care partners and families. Over 23 national organizations
and businesses are participating in this movement, including the Alzheimer's Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Eli Lilly, the International Association of
Chiefs of Police, and the National League of Cities, and many, many more. Because of our aging population in our state,
Florida is ranked number two in the nation in cases of dementia, and roughly 12.5% of people over 65 in our state are living
with dementia. Nationally, over 7 million people have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the
state of Florida. Nationally, there are over 12 million unpaid caregivers for people with dementia, averaging 22
hours a week, and this is valued at $232 billion a year annually to our to our nation. These statistics will only
continue to grow as our population ages. 43 states have now joined this movement. However, there are currently
none in Florida, so Tarpon Springs could become the first in the state to be considered dementia friendly. So what does
it mean to be a dementia friendly community? It is a town, a city or a county that is informed, safe and respectful of individuals
living with dementia and provide supportive options that foster quality of life for those individuals, this might
include creating social and cultural events that are welcoming to people with dementia, improving the physical environment in public places, and educating the
public on aspects of dementia and brain health. By joining Dementia Friendly America, a community shows that it is working towards these goals.
Dementia is a community problem and it must be solved at a community level. This would include local government, local businesses, health care, the
arts community, the faith community, first responders and law enforcement, legal and financial institutions, and many more. In a dementia
friendly community, every part of the community plays a role and works together to create a dementia friendly culture. I'm
going to skip a couple here. The first step is to convene a task force of key leaders in the community to study the implementation implications of dementia and to form an action
team. This is where we need your help. I have two requests. First, we will be holding a task force meeting sometime later this summer at the public
library. The first request is that we have a representative from local government that is needed for our task force. And number two is an invitation from the mayor's office to key
individuals in the community who would help, that would help to get this launched, and would show support of the Board of Commissioners and the mayor.
The action team will conduct an assessment on the current environment and then analyze the priorities for the community, share the results, and then create and implement.
Implement a community action plan. Some samples of community actions could be offering trainings to first responders, faith, faith communities and
other groups working with local hospitals and doctors to promote early diagnosis and to connect caregivers to resources.
Identifying partners for hosting a memory cafe. This has already happened. In January, we started our Memory Cafe with the support of the library piece for Tarpon and the Tarpon
Springs Women's Club. We meet on the first Saturday of the month from 1030 to 12, and it is a social gathering for people living with dementia and
their care partners. So we invite anybody to stop by and see what we do. It's a really wonderful experience. It could also be something like dementia
friendly dining, a dementia choir program, and dementia awareness programs for the general public. Dementia Friendly America asks that we
involve at least three sectors of the community. So those are the things I mentioned earlier local government, health care, the arts, the faith community, first responders. They also ask
that we include people with dementia and their care partners in the task force, and that we apply to join their network of dementia friendly
communities. Want to get involved? As an individual, you can visit D F america.org and become a dementia friend. And if you're interested in more
information about the task force, you can see me. I'll have some cards and you can send me an email. I hope the Board of Commissioners will understand the importance and
the urgency of this movement, and become a key player in making Tarpon Springs the first dementia friendly community in Florida. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. Let me I want to follow up. I was informed about your your memory
cafe and your dementia friendly program while at a piece for Tarpon meeting. I was moved by it and I had went ahead and I
visited one of your Saturdays and I saw, I know you initially had, I think four people there. We started with three at the first month in January, we had three guests, and then it went
all the way through to about 15, and then we had 19. So it is growing and it is mostly growing word of mouth. And so I
took it upon myself. I, as a to make an introduction for you and for former Commissioner Sanger to go to the and our
library representatives to go to the hospital and meet with the CEO of the hospital and the chief of staff, and they are on board to help you. So you get
one of your pieces of the puzzle, right. So they're on board to help you with sponsoring the Your Memory Cafe
events. And they also want to further discuss with you using the Memory cafe amongst the all the medical practitioners who
are part of their whole network within as a method of therapy for their, for their patients. That's fabulous. So I want you to follow up with them. We will thank you very much. And any
any of the commissioners and any of the residents that want to stop by the the library and see what they're doing. It's it's amazing. And and it's not
just for the, the patients, the it's really a, a real break for the caregivers because you can imagine and a lot of those caregivers are spouses. And you
can imagine living with a, someone suffering from dementia and you're alone in the home and you have no opportunity to have conversation with anybody else who's going through what you're going through and
getting to go to that cafe and meeting other people, going through the same thing. It was such a relief for the caregivers in some ways, even more so than it was for the patients themselves. So I just
want to let everyone know that. So thank you. It is this Saturday. It's always the first Saturday of the month, except in July, because that's July 4th. And we'll be doing that on July 11th. But other than that,
it's the first Saturday of the month, 1030 to noon. So we invite anybody to stop by and see what's going on. Thank you.
All right. So yes. Yes, sure. First, I want to thank you for that presentation, and I'm happy to volunteer from the board to be your representative.
I a number of years back when I changed rotary clubs, I started the the Rotary Club, the Sunset Rotary Club, and that was dedicated to dementia and human
trafficking. And so I know my wife also is very involved in, in your program as well. So I'd be happy to volunteer my time for whatever you need. And I
was, I was also in a dementia help group from one of the hospitals back a number of years ago. So it is something in my heart that I'd be happy to help you with. So thank you
for what you do and I appreciate that. Thank you very much. Thank you. Let's we have a couple proclamations to
handle tonight. Let's see if we
got up here. And I got this and. They are the first. Christine
Daniels, please come forward. It's Christine Daniels.
Christine, how are you? So this is a program about organ transplant, organ donations and
organ transplants. And it's a it's giving the gift of life. So let me read this proclamation, and then I'll let Christine say a few words. Whereas one of the most
meaningful gifts that a human being can bestow upon another is the gift of life. And whereas over 105,000 men, women and children are currently on
the national waiting list for organ transplantation, of which over 6000 reside in Florida. And whereas, 49,065 in a
historic number of organ transplants occurred in the calendar year 2025 in the United States, thanks to the generosity of 23,787 deceased and living donors, of which
Lifelink of Florida honored more donors than ever before. Serving 360 organ donors who provided 995 life saving
transplants to patients in need. And whereas more than 10 million Floridians have already registered their decision to give the gift of life through
organ and tissue donation at w w w dot donate. Life, florida.org or their drivers, or through their driver's license. And whereas, Lifelink
of Florida, the nonprofit organization dedicated to the recovery of organs and tissues for transportation, transplant transplantation therapy in Florida with a mission to honor
donors and save lives through organ and tissue donation. Now, therefore, I, John Collins, by the virtue of the authority vested in me as mayor of the City of Tarpon Springs, do
hereby proclaim the month of April 2026 as Donate Life Month. So. It's it's it's one of the
most selfless things you can do. And some donate some donations of organs does not have to. Be
part of your, your death. What you have, what transplants can be done for living everything from intestines to skin to eyes.
Yeah, almost everything. But things that could be done while you're still alive with liver transplants. Yeah. Burn victims. Yeah, yeah. So would you like
to say a few words? Thank you. Good evening. My name is Christine. I'm a donor. Mom. My son Christopher became a donor in January of 2012 and enlisted
with the Marines. He was graduating from high school. He saved four people with five organs. I have been able to become friends with his heart recipient. They don't always know what to say, but they
include. They include me in their lives. And every day, you know, they're thankful for to still have their family. I strongly encourage you if if you're not an organ donor,
please research it and consider consider signing up. I was in the hospital with Chris the day that they pronounced him deceased, brain dead, and the nurses. I spent the night. The
nurses came in the next morning and they talked to him. You know, they said, Chris, we're going to we're going to bathe you. We're going to change your gown. We're going to, you know, whatever. And I just I have the
highest respect. It's odd to say that I'm blessed to have seen that, but I am because people don't know how their loved ones are treated in that
situation. And I was there to see that they still treated him with respect. So thank you. I
don't have anybody with me. Can you take a picture?
Thank you. Well, that's something. Would
Darryl Rod and Jamie Taylor come forward, please?
So this is a proclamation for our Public Service Recognition Week. You know, our public services. And it's much of it's set here in the proclamation. They, you
know, they handle everything from our golf course to our cemetery to our water treatment plant. I mean, they're essential to everything we do
here in Tarpon Springs. And so this is well deserved. Whereas during Public Services Recognition Week, the City of Tarpon Springs acknowledges the
valuable contributions made by all public service employees to our residents and the overall community. And Whereas, public services infrastructure can be
found overhead in the ground and all around us, we are able to have clean water, safe streets and livable communities because of because of public
services. And whereas public services administers within our community, including the golf course, the cemetery, all of our recreation, parks,
sustainability, utility maintenance, utility billing, wastewater treatment plant, our water conveyance and water division are essential
components that contribute significantly, significantly to the daily lives of our citizens. And whereas these facilities and services are made possible through the commitment to the
Public Services Department, whose personnel recognize both the significance of their responsibilities and the impact on the well-being and quality
of life of all residents. And Whereas, the Board of Commissioners expressed their sincere appreciation to Thomas Tiger, Public Service Director, along with the city staff, for
their dedication and exemplary service. Now, therefore, I, John Cooley on us, by virtue of the authority vested in me as mayor of the City of Tarpon Springs, do hereby proclaim
week, the week of May 3rd through ninth, 2026 as Public Services Recognition Week. So
this includes all the people you see out there working, picking up trash down on on Main Street, keeping it clean,
guys cutting the grass at the parks, all the all over city. The water you when you turn your water on, all the good things that happen and all the things in your life, these guys
and all the staff behind them that work, how many do we have in our all those in our public service department? 120 people all working so that you can
have a good quality of life here in Tarpon Springs. You know, I vice mayor, then Vice Mayor Eisner and I went to see some visit kids in a class. And
we talked about. I, I, we, the importance of our city government. And as much as, you know, what they do up in Washington, and it obviously
has some effect on our lives, it doesn't have the same effect that these people and your city government have on your life. Every single day you turn the water on. That's the city
government, right? Our city manager and everyone who works under him, whether you get on a street to drive to school, I tell the kids when they go to school, how do you know you're driving on a street? That we
maintain that the city maintains you? If you need help, the police come to your assistance. That's part of the city government. If, God forbid, something happens to your house.
You know, when we had, what, three fires in probably the last few months. So here's our fire department coming to the rescue to make sure that none of that stuff, it spreads to
other houses, which is I want to commend the fire department on those three fires, not one house adjacent to those homes that were burned, caught fire because they got there quick
and they did their job. So anyways, not this isn't just for these guys, it's for the whole city. And again, we're up here just making policy decisions. That's what we are
policy board. But the city manager and all these people work every single day to. So you can have a nice life. And everyone in Tarpon can be safe.
So would you like to say something? The Honorable Mayor, Board of Commissioners, I appreciate the kind words. Honored to be standing next to
Daryl and Rod. Here they are. They take care of the water. It's a 24 over 7365 job. So if they're sleeping, someone else is working and making sure that everything is safe and moving
forward. As the mayor mentioned, you know, the the fire department, you know, they need the water and these are the guys that make sure that those hydrants, that pressure and just really honored to be up
here. And thank you. Thank you guys. Got it. It's yours. I'm
going to take it back. But okay, let's cut this down.
Remiss. I have something else. I can just do it from here. There was it was we were supposed to have
the Municipal Clerks week proclamation, and our city clerk decided she did not want attention drawn upon herself.
But she is this. She is well deserved of such a thing. And I'm going to make sure that she gets that plaque that she deserves, and we'll embarrass
her at the next meeting. There you go. So I want to this is for our city, our city manager.
This letter was written to me, but it's really about him. This came from the Florida Department of State. Dear Mayor Cooley, on behalf of the Florida Department of State,
congratulations on the designation of Tarpon Springs downtown district as the March 2026 Florida Main Street Program of the month. Programs are selected based on their
development, achievements and participation in the Florida Main Street Program. The Florida Main Street Program is administered by the Division of Historical Resources at the
Florida Department of State. It takes a significant amount of hard work, commitment and passion to run a successful Main Street program, and Florida Main Street and Florida
Main Street is pleased to share Tarpon Springs Downtown District's efforts with the community. Tarpon Springs Downtown District is dedicated to downtown revitalization and
truly leading by example to ensure the continued success of its community. They have proven that great results can be achieved when hardworking residents and officials come
together to preserve their community's history while growing their economy. The Florida Main Street program is incredibly proud of Tarpon Springs downtown district
success, and we thank you for being supportive of your local Main Street program. Sincerely, Alisa Lotan from the. She's the director of the Division of
Historical Resources and State Historical Preservation Officer.
So. Thank you, City Manager. Okay, let's go to public comments. Let's have any public comments that are not on agenda items tonight, because then
you'll have a chance to talk on those. Hi, I am Sue Swenson, 327 Manatee Lane one. I want to thank the city and the public
services for pressure washing the streets on Pinellas Avenue. I also look forward to additional cleanup and beautification of our great corridor. So thank you. Next, I
would like to thank Susan Rose and her team on the work with dementia. My history is that my mother had a brain disease, PML, progressive, multifocal
leukoencephalopathy and dementia. I was her caregiver. After she died, I volunteered as a caregiver at Manorcare Memory Center. And lastly, full
disclosure, I have the ApoE4 genetic mutation, which gives me an increased risk of Alzheimer's myself. I would love to help in this. And also,
when I think of the Memory Cafe, I have a resale shop, and this is not for sale or for anything like that. But I see people come in every day and I have perfumes and they smell them. It smells like their mother,
their father, their sister, whomever. I have clothes from various vintages and they think of a relative that they had. I know from the work I did with them, I would love to open my
shop up someday for them to come and just have fun. Thank you. Talk to Susan. Susan, talk
to Susan. Okay. Other she comes to the shop. Any, any, any other public comments? No. Okay.
We have commission committee updates. Are there any commission committee updates? Do you want you to know? Go
ahead. So I sit on forward Pinellas. And unfortunately the last two meetings I was not able to be there, but I did watch it on Zoom. So I wanted
to make you aware that we worked very hard to get a position on forward. Pinellas and I do represent the city of Tarpon Springs, but they are
also in the process of combining Pasco, Hillsborough, Tampa and we we are a 19 member
board now, and they're going to go to a 25 member board, and the 25 member board will have, I believe it's about maybe
eight of Pinellas County on there. So I don't foresee that Tarpon Springs will have their own seat anymore. So whatever we worked on, you know, would
probably go to a, an advisory board rather than a, a voting member. One of the things that I saw in the last Zoom meeting
was there was a bit of a contentious, there was Hillsborough was going to be getting 52% of the voting power.
And they wanted. They suggested that they didn't want to give Hillsborough anything more than 48%. And it went by population. So just to understand how it
works about. There was a lot of heated discussion as. All I want to say and I will be at the next meeting. I did get to watch everybody's opinion and
it wasn't pleasant. So I don't know if this thing is going to come to fruition or not. It if they can't get along in the
discussion part of this, I don't know how this can go on down the road, but I am going to be there. I'm going to give my opinion. If anybody would
like to call me or let me know what they think about this, just so you know what it is, it's it's a, it handles all of
the multi-modal, you know, movement that goes on. So it would be rails 19 old. 19 anything that goes on in Pinellas County, everything
that goes from here to Tampa to the airport and Pasco does go right through Tarpon Springs. So it is a very interesting thing of the last meeting. We
had somebody actually getting up and also spoke about forward Pinellas having a people mover. It's commonly used right now in
China and truthfully today in JFK Airport in New York was the first time they used actually used that that people mover to move people from place to place.
I guess it will be delivering your Amazon packages and people as well. The only humor I want to bring up in this, and I'll be very quick with this, is in New York. The birds won't be
affected by the by the these people movers because they tried to take down a JetBlue plane and they didn't do too well on it. So thank you.
That's all I want to say. Okay. Any other board members want to talk about any committees? Okay, let's go to the consent agenda.
I'll read it. Number six attorney fees unit. Salzman. Johnson. Jackson. Number seven, special events. 4th of July, independence day, celebration
of fireworks. 4th of July picnic in the Park 2026. Second Saturday Market 2026 date and time revision. Saint Nicholas
Cathedral Restoration Kickoff Cookout 2026. Number eight satisfaction release of leans number nine employee supplemental insurance policies.
Number ten approve. Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Standard grant. Agreement. Number number 11 approve Pinellas County
community development. Block. Block grant. Urban County agreement Requalification. Number 12 approve. Florida Department of State. Tarpon Springs Public Library construction grant agreement.
Amendment number 13 Award. Pipe fittings and accessories. Number 14 approve Novation Acute water and Toxicity testing. Number 15 Award file
for elevator door lock monitoring. Number 16 ratify file for the centrifuge emergency repair services. Number 17 Award file for the
single source purchase of city wide internet and related services. Number 18 Award file for net motion wireless VPN annual License subscriptions.
Number 19 Award file lease of citywide copiers. Number 20 Award file for sports field lighting. Number 21. Review
file for the renew file for the hydraulic repair parts and services and number 22 award file for the parking payment processing services. Does any
Commissioner wish to pull any of these consent agenda items? No. Okay. I'd like to entertain a motion to approve the consent
agenda. Is there a second? Second. Okay. Can I have roll call, please, Commissioner Weaver? Yes, Commissioner. Yes. Commissioner. Eisner. Yes. Vice
mayor. Yes. Yes. Mayor. Yes. Okay. Let's go to business. Items number 23. Approve SRO agreement with Pinellas County Schools. Chief. Thank you very
much, mayor. Chief Jeff Young, Police Department. Let me get down to my item number here. All right. What I'm looking for
from the board today is for authorization for the city manager to sign the three year agreement with Pinellas County School Board, where we provide SROs, and they do reimburse us
for those positions. Currently, we have six positions in the schools, two at the high school, one at the middle school and one at each of our three elementary schools. Currently,
we get funding for a full SRO position at all of those schools. But the school board, looking at this, we were one of the only ones originally to have an elementary school escrow program, period.
Gulfport, I think recently did theirs a few years back as well. And the school board's looking at only paying for a guardian at the elementary school level,
not for a full SRO. So what I'm going to be looking for from you is a little guidance. I would hope that you would support us keeping our SROs in the schools at the elementary school level. I think it's
important for our community. We do service the kids of our community far greater than most people in other communities. Our cops and Kids program is a staple and would love to see
this continue in our elementary school levels. But I do understand funding is always, always an issue and concern our six. Oh six S roads names are
up here for you. I think I see an officer walking around in the back. He's hard to miss. He's a pretty big guy. He's he's out at the high school. He's our corporal that oversees our SRO unit. And I appreciate
everything he does as well as the rest of the SROs. That's a good looking group right there, Officer Theo. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act is where
this all came about. For every 500 students in a school, you're going to have to have one individual in there that's prepared to stop a threat. So we took it on. When this
initially came out in 2019, we did come to the board. At that time, we were given authorization to hire two new positions so we could put an SRO in every school, because we
did have one SRO that floated between our three elementary schools at that point. But the commitment from the board, as well as the police department to our community and the kids, was to have an SRO at those all
those schools. And we see a great benefit to that and officers in there to do police work, but also be a mentor, a coach, a friend and a confidant. Plus, it develops a
relationship with law enforcement. As the kids get older and they don't see law enforcement strictly as, oh, there's police, there's police. They look at them more as a friend and somebody that they
can go to Guardians do a great job, but they're there for one reason and one reason only. And that's to stop a threat. So
when it comes down to this, the money and situation. So I'll just go over the numbers real quick with you and show you what we're looking at.
Currently, we get about $439,839 and some change. If we maintain the status quo, keep the SROs there, then we would be looking at a reduction in
that of about 117,000. So it'd be about 322,269. That would come back. We bill monthly for this. This does not come back to the police department. All six of these positions are
budgeted through my budget for police officer services. The money that comes back goes into the general fund. So it gets used by all city coffers for
for different situations. The. If we do pull those three SROs and we go with the Guardian, that would go through Pinellas County Schools board police, because we don't oversee Guardians ourselves here at the
police department. Basically, the revenues that you see back into the city coffers would get cut in half. It would go down to about $219,919. So basically half the price of what we're
getting into the coffers right now. So if you kept it, if you look at the difference between maintaining the status quo but at a reduced rate or cutting them out totally. And just
going with the Guardians, it's about $102,349 difference. There is what you're looking at that would be depleted from the the funds coming back into the
general fund. So, you know, with that in mind, I can answer any questions that you have about the SRO program or how this all came about. But looking for, again, those two
things, the approval to sign the three year contract, the current one would end at the end of June and this would go into effect July 1st. Thanks. Chief city manager would like
to say something. Yeah. Just bringing this back to you because really it would be a policy change we'd be paying for. We're going to reduce the amount of money they're going to give us for the SRO. So if
we want to keep officer in each elementary school, we'll pay the difference. So it'll be an increase to our budget. That's the main thing I want you to be aware of. So right now we're just going to ask questions of
him. We're going to go to public comment. We'll come back for a motion and then we can have discussion about the item. Does anybody have a question of the chief. Okay. Is there any
public comments on this item? Good evening. My name is Theresa Price. I live at 1906 Gulf Beach Boulevard, Tarpon Springs, Florida. I'm the principal at Tarpon Springs
Fundamental Elementary School, and I just wanted to thank you all, first of all, for the art awards. I'm going to marry them together. It means a lot to our students. And we had a ton of
students put in their art. So thank you for continuing that program. It means a lot to our students. For our SROs. Last year, I had the honor of
putting in our SRO as SRO of the year, and that is officer gear. What I can tell you, SROs bring to our school as much more than just a police officer there in case we have an
emergency or an active threat on campus. Officer gear makes commitments and relationships with our students. He has mentoring up to six students right now who live in our
community. He talks to parents. He is embedded in the community. When he sees everybody at First Friday or at any of the other events, they're there. They're they have those relationships
with him. To me, it is one of the most important positions in my school. And to keep that relationship with the city is of utmost importance. So I
would hope and I pray that you all advocate and find the funds to keep the SROs in the elementary schools. Thank you very much for your time, principal. Thank you. I was
always scared of principals, but you don't look scared. Wait till you go to her office. Yeah. Oh, I'm sure if I'm in trouble. Yeah. You're scared. Debbie
McKinney 1021 Rose Tree Lane. My first experience with an SRO was with taurine, and I can't tell you how supportive he was
during the innocent incident that we had at the high school, when my granddaughter was at the high school, he was more than just a a cop. He was a
friend. And he he really went above and beyond with support. During the time that we were having a struggle, the elementary school, Sunset Hills,
my kids all went to Sunset Hills there and I'm going to have another one going soon. And they're not just the there
to prevent a bad thing happening. They're there. They help the kids with mental health. They help the kids be friends with the police. They
do so much more. And we really, really need them in our elementary schools. That's what I want to say. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay. I'd like to come back to the board for a
motion to approve. So moved. Is there a second? Second. Okay, let's I'll start off discussion and yeah, there you know, this
is a small price to pay for the safety of our kids. Not just like you say, not just their physical safety, but their emotional and safety as well. And again, as, as I had
mentioned before, about going and visiting the kids at school, it's really important that they have connections with their local police so that they always have somebody to turn to
in case of things going on in their homes that where they need to share it. So I'm fully supportive of keeping our sorrows in the schools.
Commissioner Weaver, I think the safety of our children and schools is paramount. So I, I support it as well. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Panther in full support. Thank you,
Commissioner Eisner. As the mayor said earlier, you have to hear some of the questions these youngsters ask. When we were there reading to the kids.
They have a whole different perspective today. It's social media is where they get their facts and figures from. And they tended to ask the mayor and myself questions. Then, as
he alluded to, that you would be shocked. Some of the questions are just, you know, federal government, what they hear, what they see. So the fact that we have our own force
here, who I respect and admire and as the city admires, those should be their examples. As, you know, great principals as yourself. You know, these kids
are in their formative years and they need all the positives they can get because the world has enough negatives out there. Thank you, Vice Mayor. There's no price. There's no price that
we could pay to get our officers there and actually have officers that at the school. So full support. Thank you. Okay. With all that said,
roll call please, Commissioner Weaver. Yes, Commissioner. Yes. Commissioner. Eisner. Yes. Vice mayor. Yes. Yes. Mayor Collins.
Yes. Thank you, thank you. Thank you. You feel you have another job? No. Number 24, consideration and approval of
proposed fire Department reorganization. Our fire chief, Craig Meissner. Good evening,
Mr. Mayor. Commissioners. Craig Meissner, fire chief. We're bringing this to you for consideration and approval of the reorganization of the fire
department's command staff. Each one of these positions is being put in for efficiency, you know, so we can increase the efficiency of the department and split
responsibilities equally amongst the command staff. It's also to help with our succession planning and keep bringing up our own people and training them properly. And
then third off, as we've discussed before, the county pays us for the EMS chief position. And they fully fund that position because we do
Pinellas County EMS. And in order to maintain that funding at 100%, we need to have that position doing that job 100% of
the time. And previously, we currently we keep it at where it's split between operations and EMS. So that's it with
those. The reorg you have in your backup information. We've been over it. And then the cost breakdown is also there. What
we'll be doing is doing promotions within house and with the promotions, and then the adding of a paramedic at the bottom to hire a new
paramedic to fill the new spot. It'll be somewhere between 74,000 to 104,000, depending on who gets promoted and obviously the new salary. And if there
are any questions about it, I'll be happy to answer anything. The chief, I guess, went over this individually. You went individually with
every commissioner. So do we have any anyone have questions of the chief? Okay, so let's go. Any public comments regarding
this item? I'd like to come back to the board for a motion. So moved. Second. Okay. Does anybody have any comments? I I'm in support Commissioner
Weaver no comment. Commissioner Panther I'm in full support. Thank you. Commissioner Eisner, I just want to thank you. I don't know many cities that have their own EMS. And, you
know, we thank you for what you do. Appreciate you, Vice Mayor. No, I think it's a great opportunity, our new chief, to be able to make those lateral movements within the organization and structure it as needed. And so a full
support. Thank you. Okay. With that said, roll call please, Commissioner Weaver. Yes. Commissioner Banther. Yes. Commissioner Eisner. Yes. Vice
mayor. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. We're going to deviate a little bit from the order. Working
items number 25, 28, and 29 are going to be in one presentation. And then we will. But we'll
have to have three individual votes on these items. But there'll be one presentation. Mr. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Honorable commissioners. Mr.
City manager. Daryl, Water Division manager. So I'm excited to be able to bring forward to you today three projects that involve the Public Service Department's
program to update and modernize our our water meter inventory, the principal trade group for water is the American Water Works Association. They
typically recommend meters be replaced every 15 years. Why is that important? Meters are mechanical devices with precision machined surfaces.
They wear over time, losing accuracy, reporting less water than the than the customer actually uses. Remember I said 15 years? So right now we have
5800 residential meters that are more than 5015 years old, 1250 that are more than 25 years old, and 265 that were installed in the 1980s,
including two from from the year 1980. So we have a lot of newer meters in the city, but a lot of very old meters that aren't, we feel aren't giving us the performance and we're
losing revenue. It's underreporting the amount of water used. So we have a three year program calling for $2.4 million this year, 1.2 million
each of the next two years. Year one this year, heavily focused on three quarters and one inch residential and commercial meters. So more of the small meters putting. Those
are a lot of where a lot of our older meters are and putting a big push to get those taken care of. Initially, we anticipated replacing 3500m,
but as we did our homework and got pricing, a lot of favorable pricing from the quantities we're buying, we're going to be able to install 4500m in this
in this upcoming year. So what does installation include? It will include the new meter. It will include a new backflow prevention. We're going to be
using dual check valves for backflow prevention in the residences and commercial accounts that need them. If the account needs a new meter box, we'll put in a new meter box.
But we're also going to replace on every meter we touch. We're going to replace the lids on the meter boxes. So you might have seen some meters around town that have looks like a little hockey puck on top of
the on top of the box. Those are antennas. And what we're doing is preparing ourselves for the ultimate move to an army and advanced meter infrastructure setup, where
meter reading will be continuous and we'll be able to get not quite real time, but virtual real time readings for for us to better monitor leaks. So for the residents to be able
to monitor their water consumption better. So we're going to, while we're touching every meter, we're going to replace all the lids. That's a cost. And we're also going to
have a professional installation company do all of the installation. It's just that number of meters is still significant in number for our
own internal resources to do. Okay. So that's all the. Good
stuff to talk about. So unfortunately, as I was preparing for this, discovered what I'll call a scrivener's
error, which I'll have to seek your guidance in how we want to approach this, what we're looking to do for, for. Vote number one is for Ferguson
Water. They currently supply our water meters. They currently supply our water meters for the city. We have right now a $700,000 contract
with them. I want to increase that contract to buy the 4500m and the check valves. I want to increase that contract by 1.45
million. Unfortunately, it got written up here a little bit differently. And it, it, it takes the total to 1.45 million,
increasing it by 750 over the current 700. Not what I intended. And unfortunately I didn't. From the memo I wrote to my fault for not checking
the memo that went before the board until until today. So I don't know. I guess I seek guidance on how we want to approach this, but this this
request would. What I'd like to do is increase by 1.45 million to buy all the meters and accessories from from Ferguson. We have an existing contract
with them that we would just just raise the amount to the
new total. Any thoughts or guidance on? I'm not sure if it's going to be how we can
approach this. It should be fine. Can we make that change? Yeah, yeah, it's it's fine as long as the request was originally for more than you're
actually asking for it, right? Yes. The original memo I wrote, which was approved, was to add 1.45 million you've asked for. You've put in there more.
You're actually asking for less. No, I'm asking total amount. That's not what it is. His number is 700 and he's got 750 up there. This this contract
will actually go up to 2.15 million, right. Yeah that's fine. This is messed up. Okay. You're asking for 700. You miswrote by seven. I'm asking
700 is existing. I'm asking for an additional 1.45. But that's how you put it in there. Not to
exceed 1.45. That's the total. I need an additional 1.45 over. So this calls for an increase of only 7.50, which 750 plus
700 is the 1.45. I've confused everyone now city attorney, city attorney. Since this,
since our backup was in error, it only really matters what is what is advertised in the agenda packet as saying what
the request is not the backup. Let me look at it again, please. If if we have the ability to bring this back in two weeks with just the numbers cleared
up without really delaying everything, that's what I would like to see. Unfortunately, I,
I agree, unfortunately we have. We're piggybacking this contract off of Hernando County and their contract. So we. We
can only go by their dates. Their current contract expires, I believe on May 8th and there. I don't know why, but they're not renewing their new contract.
It's not going to be effective till June 13th. So unfortunately if we wait the two weeks, it will mean we really can't bring this forward again until, well, we could
bring it the next meeting. We couldn't cut a Po until June 13th. Yeah, we could bring it at the next meeting. It's just a lot of money. Yeah. I mean, I'm going to support it.
There's no I'm not either. Yeah. You know how people are are you? Pick it apart like, you know, like, you know, a year from now, I'm willing to accept a motion
to defer this for to the next meeting. So moved. Second was that for all three or just this one? I would if we're going to defer this is the main one. I
would present them all again. Okay. So for all three this will be for all three items number 25, 28, and 29. Okay.
Okay, so we have a second. Any discussion? Okay. Roll call please. Commissioner Weaver. Yes, Commissioner. Yes. Commissioner. Eisner. Yes. Vice
mayor. Yes. Yes. Mayor. Collins. Yes. Okay. We'll defer this to. I will remain just as excited for the next meeting. Okay. All
right. Okay. Let's go to item number 26. Discussion and direction. Bayshore Heights
public lighting. Brandon. Brandon. Crum. Hello, Chris. Good evening. Board. We are.
I'm Brandon Crum, facility superintendent with public works. We are looking for some direction from the board on taking over or Bayshore Heights Homeowner Association has
requested that we take over 16 lights that they are saying are outside their jurisdiction. We just are looking for direction from the board on how to proceed. If you'd like to take over some private
infrastructure, the city staff recommendation is to take over the eight lights on West Bayshore that are definitively out of their jurisdiction or
their their HOA. And after that, we're just looking for some guidance. City attorney, I need to I don't know if I'm just disclosing that my daughter lives on West Bayshore, so I'm
just letting everyone know that disclose something to mayor just for the city attorney. So my firm used to manage this, this, this association, we have sold all, all of our HOA assets.
There's some loose financial, you know, depending upon years that they stay on. I don't I mean, I can recuse myself if needed, but I don't think so. I don't think it inures any kind
of private gain. No, none. It was quite the loss actually. So thank you. All right. So is there any any questions of Mr.
Crum? Yes. Yeah. Relating to the eight outside of the the HOA who's going to maintain those if the. It's $18.53 per
month per poll. So if we were to take over the eight it'd be $148 per month and 1778 per year. Maintenance is performed by Duke. We don't have to actually do any maintenance on those polls. The only thing
that would we would incur additional maintenance is the our black decorative poles, if we want them painted, do charges for that. It's about $200 each. Okay. But currently
right now the HOA takes care of those eight outside of their. They're paying the electric bill and the maintenance. Well, the $200, if they wanted them maintained. Duke maintains their poles. Okay. That's part of the 1853 a month that we
would be paying. All right. And so they want those eight outside plus the eight on that actual road. Correct. All right. Thank you sir. Anybody else
have any questions? Yes. So the HOA does not have any use of the eight outside their area, correct? No sir. I well I
couldn't there they are here to answer questions later. Discuss. It is it's city property though. Yes. It's public property. Public property. That's what I mean. It's it's just not it's a
public road. Yeah. Right. Okay. I, I have no further questions. Anyone else have any questions? Let's go to public comments. Any public comments on this
item. Yes. Good afternoon. My name is Brian Flynn, president of Bayshore Heights. HOA. What's your what's your address? 732 West Bayshore Drive. Okay.
Thank you. So currently we have eight lights that are on loquat. And then we have eight at the end of West Bayshore Drive that the HOA is currently we're under. We have to renew our
contract and we're going to end up shutting them off and removing them. Because the HOA opinion is we don't need them. So once we shut them off, that means loquat would go into
darkness and so would the end of West Bayshore Drive. So that's why we went to the town to say, what do you want to do
with these streetlights? Because right now we're paying. Well, actually, you got a better deal than me. So, you know, it's costing the HOA, you
know, 56416 a month for those 16 lights. So the general consensus is, you know, 6007, 69 a year. We're just going to eliminate them and shut off
that, shut off loquat and shut off the last eight. As a former firefighter and code official, I don't think it's a good idea to put any street in darkness. So that's why we went to the
town to see your city. What do they want to do? Okay. Does anybody have any questions of the HOA president? I do have a question. Yeah, just to clarify, Brian. So are you guys wanting
the city to take on all those lights or just the ones outside the. No, just the 16 outside of Bayshore, just the ones outside your association. You all would still maintain the ones inside
your association. We're still maintaining the rest of the 40. These are on loquat and on the West Bayshore. That that past, like past, like Anna's house where it becomes public. Correct. We go past Anna's
house is the last one. So there's eight past Anne's house, and then from West Bayshore is going down loquat, there's another eight lights. Okay. Got it. Thank you. So that's where
we want to. Well, and when we go to renew the contract, the general consensus is to shut them off. And Duke said they will remove them. Got it. Thank you. Anybody else have any
questions of the president? Okay. Thank you sir. Any other
comments? Good evening Anita. Pros 901 Bayshore Drive. It's dark out there. We need all those lights. I'm going to tell
you because they have put parking places on city right of way, cleaned out the right of way on the one road where I live, the dirt road. Saturday night, nine bicycles at a 2:45
in the morning. You could hear the kids outside coming up and down where they've cleared out. It's at the other end, but we know that you need it on the
other end. We need those lights there for safety, for the community, safety for the residents there, and safety on the street and safety for all
the way around. So look at it real close because crime is increasing and we need every protection that we can get.
Thank you. Any other public comments? Okay. I'd like to come back to the board now. What would the motion be? So make it clear when you make
this motion, whether it's for the it's for 16 lights or eight lights, right. I think it needs to be specific as to if it's going to be for all. 16. Obviously, that motion is
fairly easy. If you're going to be. Eight you need to just say the exact street that we're talking. I'd like to entertain a motion for either the 8 or 16. Also, I'll make a motion for
all 16 that the city takes over second. Okay. Commissioner Weaver, do you have any comments on this? Thank you
mayor. I guess I guess the question goes to if, you know, this is blurring lines, right between public and private. And
I'm wondering if there are any statutes, maybe maybe our city attorney can tell us or any are there any statutes? If you're using private if you're using
taxpayer dollars for private area, it has to serve a public purpose. That's how that's how it's looked at. So from a lighting standpoint, I think it's fairly easy to say the
public purpose is safety, health and safety. So I from that standpoint, I don't think there's a violation. Okay, okay. Okay. That that's that's the
only question I have. Okay. Commissioner Banther. Yes. Thank you. And that and that was good a question. Lori. You know, you know, at first when I heard this, I thought they were
wanting us to take over all the lights because it is a public street. It is a public street. But I was hesitant to that if that was the case. But, but being that that the the request
is just for the lights outside the association, I think it's very reasonable. I think a lot a lot of the streets in Sunset Hills, you know, where I, where I grew up and I live are rather
dark. So I think the more street lights we can have, the better. And I'm in full support of it. Okay. Commissioner Eisner, so I have a little bit of a confusion because I thought the 16 lights were
lights that were in the Bayshore project as well, and I only had heard that eight lights were outside, so I, I don't I'm a little lost that
we're now voting. Are we voting on all of the lights? That's the motion. No, hold the the lights that they're introducing
right now. They're all outside of the HOA the the, the lights that run through. I don't even know the the name of the road yet. They're going to maintain
still, but the entrance leading into and coming out are what they're really referring to. And the ones that run east and
west on loquat, which is a public street, but it borders their HOA. So I have some choice words I'm going to say here in a second. Well, I only
want to support lights that are outside the homeowners association, because I don't want to set precedents where we'll next week and the week after and the month after are the homeowners associations
come up before us and they want their lights to be covered as well. So if we're covering any lights inside, I will not support it. If we're covering
lights outside, I will. Vice mayor. Mayor from yes, that we just do. All these lights are outside the association. The
lights are on. The property is what I'm assuming is they're saying they're not benefiting from the illumination. That's it's the out. It's the outer edge. Yes. It's the outer edge.
And where the directions of their houses face, as opposed to the directionality of the houses across the street. It's the other eight just sort of trail off on a street that's not even connected with the
other end of Bayshore. Okay, so, so just so I'm clear and I think for Commissioner Eisner, information as well is you have
I'm I'm just going to say this Polaris house, right. And from that point all the way to Bayshore, that's not in the association, right? No. There's actually two light poles before
that, two two before the alleyway. And then that's eight all the way around the corner. And then the ones. Yeah. Then the ones at the end that those really light up. Loquat.
Correct. Not really. Even though they happen to be on the border, they really light up loquat. They don't light up any of these homes living in the association. So that's the the
difference. So these these this is a safety issue not just for the end of West Bayshore, but it's also a safety issue for loquat. Because if they shut
those off, then we have then it's dark on Loquat. So vice mayor. City attorney, please clarify the loquat street. I
understand the other portion, but the loquat is considered city property. Those polls the way they're button basically on the north end of Loquat against
their properties. And that got built because of the development there. Yeah. I mean I we're not currently paying for those polls. The the polls
on Loquat, we're not currently paying for them. Can you please speak up? Oh yeah. I'm sorry. We're not currently paying for the polls. I understand that but but physically are they on
public right of way. They're on public right of way. Okay. But they're they were built because of this development. That correct? Yeah. The polls are aligned with all the other polls. And they also highlight
houses going east and west for the development. So here's where I'm going. If you guys are going to put the city in a, you know, a desperate situation, yeah, we're going to pay for
the lights. But with all due respect, you know, I don't think that's fair. And honestly, this needs to be looked at in a situation for any future development agreements where what I don't know how many years the development's been
around, but now we do this contract and look, the city is stuck having to take care of the safety, which we will. We're going to do that. But at the same time, you're not hurting the city. You're
hurting the people of your own community over there in the dark areas. You guys are going to create that now have to fall on the responsibility of the city. And as far as I'm concerned, the loquat streets weren't. Those lights weren't
even built. They were built because of the development to create light for the development. So now you're going to put the onus on us to take care of it, in which I think it's a cheap way for for
you guys to be responsible for your part of the neighborhood. And so I'm being frank, I'm being honest. And yeah, we will pay for it because I want that area lit up. You drive by there
with any lights out and there's kids around there in the evening. It's a big problem. So we need the lights there. We're going to pay for it. But I don't like that you guys are just so quick to get rid of it,
because it's that much more money for you guys. When you initially got into the agreement, knowing what you got into for the households and the communities around there. So that's what I'm going to say. But safety is always first. I'm
just disappointed in how you guys proceeded to go about it too. Thank you. Thank you, I
know. I just. Want. We could agree with the the HOA president come forward for a
minute. So you see that we're it seems like we have a consensus on the eight that are on the end of West Bayshore. Okay. Right. I agree with
everything he said. Well, let me let me just let me give you an offer and then see if the board will be okay with that.
The other ones on loquat are built by the they were built by the by the association, right. By the. No. They were developed. They were put in by Meritage. We inherited. But as part of
the development. Right. Correct. Okay. So since as the vice mayor said, they benefit both the residents on Loquat that
are not part of the association, and they also have a benefit to the west, to the Bayshore Heights, because if loquats dark stuff could happen, you
guys have to pass through there. You're not on an island all by yourself. So how about would you consider? And then obviously I have to get the board to acquiesce to that. We
take over the eight that are in the end of West Bayshore. No, no question asked. Since this deal inures half to you and half to the to the other
residents, would you split the cost of the eight of of the cost of the eight lights instead of shutting them off? I'd have to go back to a board meeting to get that agreement.
Okay. Because because then that would be that would be fair, since those lights help our. The lights that are on loquat have. In other words, they don't light up any of the Bayshore Heights Street. They.
Well, but yeah, but it's still dark. They were part of your development. Oh, I agree, part of your development. If the streets are dark leading into into your development, that is a safety hazard for your
development as well. And then it's also a safety problem for this residents. So why don't you is would the board be okay with him going back and getting
them to at least agree to paying half of the cost of the, of the eight that are that give a benefit to both Bayshore Heights and the community? Sure.
Vice mayor, did you make the motion? Yes, I did. So are you okay with retracting your motion and allowing them to come back with that? Yes, I will, I will retract my motion
now. Okay. Thank you. So go back, find out. Come back. Do we? City attorney should can we defer that? Yeah, we're going to defer it. But can we agree
to that now. And then he can get permission and then we can move. Or do we have to have you can do it one of two ways where you could either vote on the eight right now. Okay, and take
that issue off the table. But if the board wants to vote on the whole issue, then we will just move it. We will continue it to a subsequent agenda. Okay. I like that idea, gives them the goodwill showing that we're
going to take care of the other half, and maybe they can after they talk with the board, and hopefully they can come back and agree to the cost to your board to cover, you know, four of the eight lights. And then
we cover the other half. And then that way we are not taking over all the costs because I know it's a small amount of money, but as, as the vice mayor said, it's setting a precedent that we are going to,
you know, have issues going forward with other developments. So why don't you do that to me? I was going to request that if if the council makes the motion
to the A in the other four, I can bring that back to the board and say that they've approved the 12 lights and get the board to vote on the 12 and come back to that. We can't do
that because we don't have. Yeah, because you you we have to have you have to you have to do your thing and then you come here. All right. So yeah, we probably won't be able to come back until, well, our contract
ends. So that's where I'm running up against the vice mayor. You want to amend your motion to just the eight for now? Yeah. I was going to say if you get that, at least that's out of the way because
my contract is going to end in right now. The board's vote is to just kill everything. We're looking for a way to help you. Oh, no, I agree, but I got to go back. I know you can't. Yeah. I make a motion that the city
take responsibility of the eight light poles outside of the HOA on the north end of the neighborhood. Okay. Second, with that said, roll call,
please, Commissioner Weaver. Yes, Commissioner. Yes, sir. Yes. Vice mayor. Yes. Yes. Yes. Thank you. So you want us to come back and come back on the
other eight and let's split. Let's split the deal, okay? All right. I'll bring that to the board and we'll propose that back to. Okay. Then everybody gets some. No, no. But who do you want me to send that to you?
You could talk to. Get the city manager's card and talk to him. Send it to him. Okay. All right. There on the podium. Yeah, there. Right there. Right there on his cards are right there on
the podium. Okay. Thank you. All right. Let's go to number 27. Approval of perpetual easement. Rose Cemetery
encroachment area. City attorney. Do you want to talk about this or do you want. Okay, Bob. Okay, Bob. Good evening. I'm Bob Robertson, project administration department director. And for this item,
we're asking the board to approve granting a property easement to the Rose Cemetery Association. The cemetery association is represented by Miss Katie Taylor, who is in attendance tonight. So thank
you for being here. Easement is described as a 12 foot wide and 640 foot long section of property that is currently within the city's Discovery Port. Discovery Sports Complex
property along the southern property line of the cemetery. Based on survey investigations and historical knowledge, there are historical encroachments from the cemetery into the city's property that are
currently outside of the existing fence line. So by granting this easement, the city can resolve these encroachments by transferring maintenance and upkeep responsibilities to the Rose
Cemetery Association, the city would retain ownership and the city will remove the existing four foot tall chain link fence fence, which is in pretty poor condition now, and install a
new six foot fence on the boundary of the easement area. And with that, that's a summary of my staff. I'll start off with a question. So just so you
can say this in a way that lay people understand there were you found graves on the other side of the fence. So you're
moving the fence to. So those graves are now within the fence of the cemetery. And we. You want the city to grant an easement to them to be for the
fence to be there. We're not giving them ownership of the property. We're just an easement to be able to have the the graves on the inside of
their fence, rather than on the side of the sports facility. Correct. That is all correct. All right. Anybody anybody else have any questions? Okay. Is
there any public comments on this? Okay. All right. Katie Miss Taylor. Katie Taylor 657
Haven Place, Tarpon Springs, Florida. Prayerfully, this will pass because the graves been outside that fence for many years. And it would be
honorable to for the city to at least give us that easement. And we'll maintain that easement and maintenance wise with lawn care and everything.
But those graves need to be back within the fold of the cemetery. Thank you, thank you. Any other public comments? Let's come. I'd like to come
back to the board for a motion. So moved. Second. Okay. If is there any other comments by the board? Okay, let's have a motion, please. We have the
roll call. Oh I'm sorry. Roll call please. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Commissioner Weaver. Yes, Commissioner. Panther. Yes. Commissioner. Eisner. Yes. Vice
mayor. Yes. Yes. Mayor. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Let's go to item number 30. Appointment to the Planning and Zoning Board.
City clerk. Yes. Honorable mayor and commissioners, there's currently a vacancy on the Planning and Zoning Board due to the Commissioner Weaver being elected as a city
commissioner. We have before you, Mr. Scott Morris, who's a current member of the Budget Advisory Committee, and he is interested in being appointed to this board, which was
originally his first choice. Additionally, the current alternate, Miss Julie Wade, also stated in an email, which is attached to the backup, that whether she stays the alternate
or is moved forward, it was up to the board. So there's two options. You would either need to do option 1 or 2. Option one would be to move the current alternate member, Julie Wade,
as a regular member, to fill the unexpired term of Commissioner Weaver. This term will expire on October 1st, and then you would need to appoint someone to fill that alternate
member position, which term would expire October 1st of 2028, or option two to appoint Mr. Morris as a regular member. This term will expire October
1st on 2026, and that option would leave the current alternate as it is. Okay. Let's let's entertain a motion on this. I'll make a motion to
appoint Scott Morris as a regular member. This term will expire October 1st, 2026. Second. Okay. Is there any public comments on this? All
right. Let's come back to the board. Is there any Commissioner Weaver, you have any comments on this? Yeah, Julie's not here. She's not in
she's not in attendance. I noticed in in that it suggested she could she was interested in either or. Right. So if I would
be I would not oppose Mr. Morris for taking a more permanent seat. Okay. Commissioner Panther, I mean, yes, that was usually I in preference to giving alternates
the regular spot, but because she said it did not matter to her, you know, that's fine with me. And happy to appoint Mr. Morris as the regular member
Commissioner. So this was an interesting set of circumstances. We have somebody that's out of town, out of state, out of country. And I was in agreement with Scott Morris as commissioner just
said, I usually would move people up from alternate. But I'm happier to make Scott Morris a regular. And in the backup, not only did Julie Wade
put in that she was okay staying as an alternate, but she also. Her first choice was to be on the Budget Committee, and her third choice was to be on the PNC. But as need be, we
needed people on the PNC. So what? One of my proposals and I spoke with our city clerk was not that it's on the agenda now, but somewhere down the road we might want to give Julie Wade
when she comes back into the country, the choice to make the movement either to stay as an alternate, which she was in agreement to, or at the same time, she could move to the
budget committee as well. So I'm all for though the motion and the second on Scott Morris. Okay, vice mayor. Yeah, I made the motion just because. And
this more falls on miss Wade. Julie Wade is a team player. She's a selfless person. And by her putting those statements in that she wouldn't mind staying as an alternate, she's she's
here to serve the city in any way, shape or form. I mean, she's volunteering left and right. So I just wanted to try to get Mr. Morris up here a little experience. And with the planning and zoning, and I
think he'll be a great fit with his knowledge as well. So this is more a Julie Wade as a great person and volunteer for this city always. Thank you. Okay.
With that said, roll call please. Commissioner Weaver, so we're going with option two here. Mr. Morris being the that
would be option two then. Yes. Okay. Commissioner Banther. Yes. Commissioner Eisner. Yes. Vice mayor. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Congratulations. Okay, let's go to. Item number 31. Ordinance
2026-03 city attorney. Would you read it by title, please? Yes, mayor ordinance 2020 603. An ordinance of the Board of Commissioners of the City of Tarpon Springs, Florida,
establishing section 18-16 of the Code of Ordinances. Parking of vehicles at Sunset Beach and Splash Park. Providing for residential permits, providing for conflict, providing for
severability, providing for codification, and providing for an effective date. That's ordinance 2020 603, read by title only on first reading.
Second reading will be held on May 26th, 2026. Okay. Mr. Taylor. All right. Tonight I'm
lucky. Assistant director for Recreation Services seeking approval for our paid parking proposal down at Sunset Beach and at the Splash Park. This item was brought to you a few
months ago. We decided our board decided to table it. Come back with a little bit more information, a better full picture for everyone to digest and think on and move forward from there. So that's what
we're doing today. One item that was not included previously was the images that are shown here. This is placer.
AI showed us that there was 291,000 visitors to Sunset Beach in calendar year 2025. Down below, in red, you'll see
that 75% or 220,000 of those were nonresident visitors highlighted. We have 67.9 thousand as tarpon residents,
about 25% are Palm Harbor, Trinity Holiday, New Port Richey. They all make up about the about 25% of that whole
number as well. Scrolling down, we have Splash Park visitation numbers approximately 101,000
visitors in 2025, and similar numbers of 25% being read, just 23% being residents and the remainder being nonresident. So
approximately 77,000 nonresident visitors to the Splash Park parking area. A little bit more information on placer AI city adopted and started using this program
about a year and a half, two years ago, I believe utilizes app and cell phones and census data to identify the home residents. So for instance, my
my phone number is 609, a new Jersey phone number, but it still shows that I live in Trinity and that that comes from the information that they pull within their program.
Police AI is used by many cities and fortune 500 companies. So Pepsi, JP Morgan, a few others. You see their visit California and then also a comparator in the San
Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. They use it as well. All right. The question on why. So a few different outcomes that we're we're hoping for is
increased accessibility to parking for residents. As we know, parking is at a premium down at Sunset Beach, especially. So hopefully this will increase that opportunity
for residents to get in there. No problem. This was brought up in May of 2025. And following through with that and also a it would create a new funding
mechanism for parks and recreation capital projects. Some further goals and benefits. First one posted on here is a
smooth phase in period with public education that will be paramount to the success of this this program. That for us to educate the residents and
nonresidents, that is paramount. If we implement it well and we get the word out through all of our avenues that we have, you know, it will be a much smoother process than just
jumping into something and, and, you know, causing frustration and, and, you know, and then letters to you all and, you know, people at the, at the microphones, again, create a
funding source for parks and recreation amenity improvements and acquisitions ensures the non residents support our facility facilities that they
use, reduce the cost of the parks to the general fund. And another benefit is a minimal cost for implementation. We will not be getting meters. We will not be getting the kiosks.
We would utilize a QR code on a sign that will bring you to the park mobile app. So there's very little overhead to get started with it. Our projection
for annual revenue range, it's it's large. This would be a new program. So it's it's a broad range, but in between 240,000 and $650,000 annually is what
we are projecting again, new program. There's a lot of unknowns that time will only tell. Some of those variables being the average number of people per vehicle, compliance
rate for payment, and the unknown effects on visitation due to the paid parking program. We did calculate in a couple different options for the number of people per vehicle, a
low and a high rate, and a low and a high for compliance as well. The proposed rate is $5 a day or $50 a year. Here's just
another visual for those projections on the right. Here we have the two hour and 40 to the $650,000. And then these are broken down between the Sunset Beach and Sunset Beach
High. And likewise with Splash Park. Some local price comparisons. As you see, we have Fred Howard at $6 a day. Some other folks are an hourly
rate. I was down in Clearwater yesterday at 350 an hour. And then one that we're echoing is City of Oldsmar. At $5 a day is what we're proposing. They have a very similar operation as
what is proposed here. They have a little splash pad that has a paid parking lot, and then they also have a park that is waterfront, that has paid parking lot. So they also have
just two, two lots or two parks. So very comparable there. I think our view is better though. Alrighty. So program
implementation, as I said, I think this is extremely important for the success of the program. So we want to make it easy for residents doing so,
getting the word out, making this passes on site available. We do have boat launch attendants that are out at Sunset Beach, and once the season starts up, we will have
splash park attendants down at that parking lot as well. And then the other option would be for residents to come into the community center. We're open six days a week, Monday through
Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. so some good hours there. The on site payment process, as I mentioned, would be through Park Mobile that is used nationwide and also throughout
the Tampa Bay region. A lot of folks already have that app and have some experience using it. If they've, you know, paid and gone to other beaches. We are
currently the only beach that you can go to for free. Education efforts. So with the
creation of the public information Officer, our engagement and social media presence has just skyrocketed. Will lean heavily on Jordan and his expertise to get the word
out, to let folks know, hey, this is what's happening, what to expect, how to go about things, and then any questions, direct them to staff signage,
the signage down at the at those two parking lots will be clear and concise. It will say nonresident parking only. It will give direction for residents on how to obtain
their parking pass. It will give direction on how to pay the daily fee as well. Utility billing will be utilizing. That
avenue as well and get every resident something in their hands that shows the flier saying, hey, this is coming and this is how to go about getting
your pass. And then most importantly is conversations by staff. Our approach by the boat launch attendants and splash park attendant, professional,
courteous, education. First, the. The main goal would be to combine education and work towards compliance with, you
know, as minimal headache or back and forth with with others. What we would how we would operate in the beginning would
be a warning system. So we would issue warnings to those. And that on that warning, it would really point out the
change, how to go about coming into compliance. And really, again, back to that education piece. This is not a an we don't see this as an opportunity for us to, you know,
ticket folks and create some revenue that way. That's not what we're going for at all. We're just looking to increase the accessibility for residents
and simultaneously create a funding mechanism for future parks and recreation capital projects. We are in the middle of the Parks and Recreation Master plan. We've done some community meetings, and that
process is going well. And we will have a a 10 to 20 year capital project list that comes out of that. With that said, you know, this would go a long way for us to improve the
amenities that we have for all. Lastly, as Merchant of Record, Park Mobile will handle all the chargebacks and the user end of things there. I'll take any
questions. Okay, Commissioner Weaver, do you have any questions? I do, thank you. Mayor, is this is this for residents? Will it be a sticker
on their vehicle or is this a pass that they they could potentially hand to someone else? It would be a sticker per to their vehicle and registered. We would log their license
plate number. Okay. And and each household could get as many stickers as there are vehicles in their household. Correct. Okay. I know this is this is popular in a lot of
municipalities. And, and I like the idea of the additional revenue, but I'm curious, is there any is there any data on the revenue from from the fines
that that potentially come from non compliance? I did not look into other municipalities that that approach it that way. What I do know is the larger municipalities, city of
Clearwater, city of Tampa, they have full departments on parking enforcement. And so that that's a much bigger beast. Okay. And then and then does,
does our public safety have a plan for enforcement beyond the education? Correct. So what what we do now for our trailer parking, we have those folks
out there and they've gotten to know a lot of the boaters and they've issued warnings and then they say, all right, you know, this is the second or third warning I've had out there. And they're making a phone call to our police
department and they come on out and help us. Help us. That's all for me. Thank you. Thanks, Commissioner Panther, these are just questions. We're going to come back for like commentary. Yes. No. No questions. Thank
you. Okay. Commissioner Eisner, thank you. Mayor, some of your questions, some of the questions I had you answered. And it was, what if a resident, you know, over, you know, does
this. So I didn't know if the warning would be for X amount of time or whether you would give people, because not everybody goes to Sunset Beach every week or every month. So.
But you've answered that by saying that, you know, you kind of get one warning or maybe even two warnings at the most. And then if it just continues, just so you know, this past
weekend, I was at both Sunset Beach and at the fruit section, and Saturday was a heavy day for we had Bike City and we
also had the bookmobile. So I let our chief ride there for without me calling him. But I did make a text message to him on Sunday because honestly,
they're just parking there at Craig Park and blocking all of the streets everywhere. So I'm really for this. I'd love to find a place for them to park
legally, but this is a good start to at least make sure that we have mobility. And I'm also for the funds. You know,
it seems like most of the outsiders are using our facilities and and very few residents. So that's it. Thank you for your presentation. It
was very in-depth. Vice mayor. Yes, Jamie has an idea where I'm going to try to take the, the, the direction of the fees. But Jamie, just to clarify, residents who live in Tarpon
Springs are going to receive a sticker for these to park there for free, correct? Correct. Now, the out of towners, they'll receive the same sticker through the price that they pay.
They will not receive a sticker. It will be done through the app program. And then our staff would be able to pull up in real time who has paid and who has not for annually as well. For the annual pass, we would
issue a sticker. Okay, perfect. All right. Thank you sir. Yep. Any public comments on this
item? Katie Taylor 657 Haven Place, Tarpon Springs. Jamie on the disabled parking. Will they
have to. You already have a handicapped sticker, a disabled sticker. So will those people be issued a special sticker or you just can use because normally they don't have to pay
anyway. So residents that has disabled parking tags, they won't need us. They won't need a special tag from you to sit at their residence. Is that is
that correct? So I'll take guidance from the board. But I believe whether you're handicapped or or not, if you're city resident, you should come on in and get the
the parking pass again at zero cost to them. Okay. And what about disabled people from out of state that that's not residents they still have to pay, although they're disabled
unless the board is decides otherwise. My impression would be yes. I would ask the chief, excuse me, Katie, this is public comment. It's not
question. Yes, sir. So just do you have any other comments either in favor or oppose come back up again or do I just is it a time I'm come back and ask these questions that I get an
answer or no, this isn't about it's we ask questions. You guys make comments. So do you have any more comments on on this. Yeah. Will will the stickers change color so people won't be
able to duplicate them or scatter them, you know? All right. Okay, so let's come back to the board. I'm going to ask
as a special favor. I'm going to ask that we have this in two motions. I'd like first to be a motion on this program for
Sunset Beach. And then I'd have like to have a second motion on this for the splash park, if you don't mind. So who I'd like
to have a motion for this program for Sunset Beach. Mayor. I'd like to have a little discussion. Hopefully try to move some numbers a little bit.
Well, yeah, let's let's have a motion and then we'll get a second. Then we can talk about the whole thing. Okay. Okay. So moved on Sunset Beach. Okay a
second. Okay, I have a second. All right. Now let's go into comments related to the motion on Sunset Beach. Commissioner,
Commissioner Weaver. Well, as I said earlier, a lot of municipalities have have are leaning towards this. I you know, I think our taxpayers are
paying for for the maintenance and the upkeep of these facilities. And I think it should benefit them. And whatever way, you know, that we can. I do have a I do have a
concern about the enforcement of it. I don't know that we have. Elaborated enough on how it's going to be enforced in
the future to so that, you know, to deter to deter repeat offenders. But I would be very supportive of the additional revenue and the opportunity to
get a parking space at either of these two places. Commissioner Banther yes, thank you. Thank you, Jamie, for this. By the way, I, I know it's come back and forth. You know, I think Sunset Beach is primarily
for our our residents. It is not a tourist destination. And I'm very glad that we're keeping parking free for all of our residents. I believe it's gotten out of hand there,
especially with this like jet ski club. They will back their their jeeps and jet ski trailers all the way back to the gate. And that's preventing families and Tarpon Springs
from, from from from coming their parking and, and enjoying the beach. I think this is very good as as we have tarpon season coming up, we need to continue to patrol the, the the
boat ramp there and to make sure that everybody is, is playing by the, by the same set of rules and has the appropriate launching permits.
And I appreciate the way that that the city is going to get out the word as far as with our PIO with a potential flier in the in the water bill and and
also a way of soft enforcement at first. So I'm in full support of this. And I think, you know, we need to keep we need to keep Sunset Beach free for all, for for all, for all,
all of our residents first. Thank you. Commissioner. Thank you. Mayor. So I've been in agreement to this. I think I even was the one who brought
this thing up. And originally, you know, deterrence is always the hardest part. But we pushed for 100% compliance. And if we
can't get 100% compliance, we get at least 90, 95% compliance. We're still better than doing nothing just by the numbers up there. You see that more people
use it that are not city residents. And if they're going to, which is fine and dandy, we're not restricting them. We're just putting a minimal
charge out there and we're less than Fred Howard Park. So if they're going to, you know, people are human and they if they can get it for a dollar cheaper, they'll go to us rather than go to Fred Howard
Park and we should get reimbursed for the cleanup and everything else. I know many Tarpon residents that go there on the weekends to pick up debris and garbage from, or I
should say, on Mondays and Tuesdays to clean up after what goes on. So, you know, we'll have a little bit better control of our own beach. So
and thank you for the report, I appreciate it. Yes, sir. Vice mayor. Based off these numbers, what we're asking for for Sunset Beach, I can't support
it in its current state. I think the annual fee for $50 to be able to go to both these places should be reduced down to 20 to $25 annually, as well
as the daily parking be reduced down to two, 50 to $3 per day. That still gives that 250 per day, minus the $0.40 transaction fee, plus the 12%
of that still gives the city $1.80 profit per spot. Whether they stay there all day or just a couple hours. But they won't do that. At $3, the city gets a
clear $2.24 a spot, which is still good. I don't want guys. There are families out there. There are young families or, you know, people who are less
fortunate. $5 a pop is a lot of money, especially for, you know, parents that are 20, 21, 22 years old that want to try to get their kids out and kill some time for the day. So I
think $5 is a lot of money, especially in the first year. We reduce it to those suggested numbers of 250 to $3. It's enough to drive in people to give it a test to see where
it's at. Plus the annual pass. If people are going there ten times, then they'll realize, hey, maybe I should get an annual pass of $25. I just want to take a softer approach to get people to buy into the
program, to see where it's at, and let's see what those numbers are going to generate. And I think we have a better job or a better chance that first year of drawing them in with those type of reduced
numbers, to see what type of activity we can get at Sunset Beach, as well as we'll talk about the splash park. But those are the numbers I'd like for both places. So thank you.
Who made the motion? Are you willing to amend your motion? No, no. Okay. So we're voting on the motion at the rates that
that Mr. Taylor has proposed. Roll call please. I can't hear you at sunset. This is just for the rates for just Sunset Beach. Yeah, that's correct.
Commissioner Weaver. Yes, Commissioner. Yes. Commissioner. Eisner. Yes. Vice mayor. Coleus. No. Mayor. Cleonice. No. Okay,
let's go to. Can I have a motion for the the splash park? I make a motion that the splash Park annual fee be $25 annually
and a $3 parking per day. Is there a second? Okay. Dies of no. Second. Is there another
motion? I make a motion that we keep the same as we just did for Sunset Beach. $5 and $50. Okay. Is there a second? Is that second? Oh, sorry. Second.
I can hear you, but they won't be able to hear you at home. So. Okay, so we have a second now let's go to let's go to
comments. I'm I'm not in favor of any charge for Splash Park. Call me a softie, whatever you want. But I think that the kids
that are utilizing splash parks are more likely not to have swimming pools at home. Their kids that are, I don't care. And when it comes to kids, I don't care if they come from
holiday or they come from Tarpon Springs, they're coming to that splash park and it's a big deal to them. And if you charge their parents and then they can't bring their kids
because they can't afford that extra money, and these are, you know, again, these aren't rich kids with big swimming pools and slides and everything at
home. These are kids that this is a special deal for them. And I'm not I don't want to make money on them. And I want those kids to go to that park and
enjoy it. So I don't care where they're coming from, their kids. So that's my opinion. Commissioner Weaver. We're
we're comments or comments. Yes, please. Well, when you put it that way. You know, I do
actually agree agree with that statement, mayor, because I, I don't see overpopulation at the at the dog park and splash park. It would it would be nice to to
keep it open for children and families. So I, I tend to agree with that. Thank you. Commissioner Banther. I will maintain my second because I
don't want to be too soft, but I, I think I think you make you make a. You make a valid point. At first I wasn't quite sure why you were separating them, but now it makes sense and I'm 100% for Sunset Beach. That's
that, that's that that that, that's a nonstarter for me. But I see your point. What I think would be the the vice mayor's point point as well for the
splash pad. And also that parking is a little more tourist driven than, than what Sunset Beach would be. So I'll maintain my second, but I'll be
voting no. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Rice. Try to make me the evil one here so I'm not in disagreement to what you've
brought up. They're all good points, but I've been to the splash park many times, and I can tell you that it is the perfect place for rule breaking.
Number one, I've been there with people. We have signs that say don't bring food in. We have people that bring food in. We have people that bring every kind of thing. I've watched people do everything under the
sun. I had to almost walk away because there were things that were really shouldn't have been in there with glassware and whatnot. And this fund that we
would be charging for is to have a representative from Tarpon Springs there to oversee that. And if we have it as a free, totally free thing, then
we don't have that ability. I don't know, or my better question is, if we don't charge anything, we still going to put somebody there. I mean, the whole purpose of putting somebody there is to make sure
that that people pay their fair share. So I, I don't want to see I want to see some sort of supervision. There's a lot of moving parts there. I've
watched kids swing buckets into another kid. I mean, we do need some supervision there. And how do you pay that? Again, I'm not looking to disagree. I know
they're the people that go there do need it. Maybe we can reduce it down. As vice mayor said earlier, to a reasonable
amount, where at least we could have somebody representing Tarpon Springs and keeping an eye on it. So I am not in agreement to making this totally free just for
supervision reasons, not for the children. So I will be voting against this, and I'd like to see if the motion could be brought back with a more
agreeable, whether it's a dollar a day or $2 a day, it's not going to break anybody for clarification. Isn't there somebody there? So we do staff
at seven days a week after the holiday coming up, and until the end of the summer, we do not staff it during the off season, especially during the
week. Vice mayor. Oh, I was thinking, Commissioner, I was about to speak for a second, but I'd like to keep that same position as as you did, mayor.
You did a great job tugging on our heartstrings. And so I'm going to support that. And then if there's something else entertained after that, then we'll see how it goes. So okay,
with that said. What I went to public comment. She's raising her. Oh thank you. Okay. With that said, roll call. Now we're
voting on approving the pricing, charging for the splash park. Okay. Yes. Currently Commissioner Eisner's motion is on the floor to vote as is the
charging, same as you just did. Commissioner Weaver. No. Commissioner banter, no.
Commissioner Eisner. Yes. Vice mayor. Yes. No. Mayor. No. Okay. Thank you, I appreciate it. One.
Okay, let's go to I just I make I make myself laugh. Okay. I item 32 Amending the city code.
Chapter two, article three. Wait a minute. Just you read it. Okay. Ordinance 2020 604, an ordinance of the City of Tarpon Springs, Florida, Amending City
Code, chapter two, article three, Division one, section 2-36F2 of the City of Tarpon Springs Firefighters Pension plan to increase the benefit
multiplier from 3.25% to 3.5% for credible service earned after October 1st, 2025, and permitting the purchase of up
to a 4% multiplier. Amending section 2-36Y4 to extend the maximum period of drop participation to 96 months and
permitting drop eligibility after 22 years of service or the attainment of A of the age of 50. Providing for inclusion in the code. Providing for
severability, providing for repealer, and providing for an effective date. That's ordinance 2020 604 read by title only on first reading.
Second reading is scheduled for May 12th, 2026. Okay. Fire Chief. Good evening, Mr. Fire
Chief. So these changes came because of negotiated with the union as part of the contract opener in the third year of
their current contract. They negotiated the adjustments as part of a collective effort with the union Union president Mike Stone and DVP Crystal
Quinn are here. They will be here if there's any questions later on this as well. Biggest part of this is obviously increasing the multiplier from
three and a quarter to 3.5%. And then the increase of the drop plan to up to eight years. The biggest purpose of this is to obviously strengthen our
recruitment efforts. You know, in the current market, firefighters are going where the benefits are the best. And there's a shortage of firefighters nationwide. So
this is one of the ways that we can help get ourselves up to where a lot of other fire departments in our area are at. It's to improve the retention and of experience firefighters
by providing an enhanced long term benefit for them to be able to stay in a little bit longer in the drop, and then hopefully align pension
benefits with the regional and industry standards. Currently, there are several departments in our area that are hiring as
well Palm Harbor Fire Rescue, East Lake Fire Rescue in our direct areas, Largo, Pinellas Park and Gulfport. And Saint Pete has another opening with
their hiring like 13 more. Palm Harbor is at a 4% multiplier. East Lake is at a 4% multiplier. Pinellas Park is at a 4%
multiplier. Largo's at 3.25 and Gulfport at 3.37. So there's a there is obviously some competition in that area, and
new firefighters are looking for that. So the financial impact to the city of these changes are an increase of
$72,745. That's per the actuary. So that's what we are looking to do. And it's in benefit to your firefighters as well as being able to get some new ones
in the door and hopefully, you know, get some well qualified people in the door and I'll take any questions you have. And like I said, if the union has any questions, they can
answer as well. You answered all my questions earlier today. But Commissioner Weaver, you have any questions? Thanks, mayor. Chief, the 72,000. That
is that adding an officer or is that just the multiplier for existing? That's increasing the multiplier for the pension. That's what the city will have
to put into the pension to do. The increase to the 3.5%, the quarter percent. Do you anticipate hiring, hiring this year? New firefighters? Yes.
How many? Currently, we have two openings. Thank you, Commissioner Panther. No questions. Full support. Thank you, Commissioner Eisner. So
this is money that goes in and they get vested when at ten years. So it's an incentive to be putting this money aside for
them for for our firefighters to stay for a minimum of ten years though, correct? Yes. Okay. So I'm, I'm 100% for this.
Appreciate it. Okay. Vice mayor, full support. We have to stay competitive with the other departments. Thank you. Any public comments regarding this
item? Okay. Let's come back to the board for a motion. So moved. With that said, roll call please. Commissioner Weaver. Yes, Commissioner. Yes.
Commissioner. Eisner. Yes. Vice mayor. Yes. Yes. Mayor. Collinus. Yes. Thank you. Chief. Okay. Let's go to item 33.
Resolution 2026-18. Would you please read it by by title. City Attorney Resolution 2020 618, a resolution of the Board of Commissioners of the City of
Tarpon Springs, Florida, revising the Rules of Procedure for the Board of Commissioners. Repealing all resolutions in conflict herewith and providing for severability and providing
for an effective date. Okay. Would you lead off on this, mayor? Commissioners, we had a workshop on this particular
item. These are your rules of procedure that you adopt every year. There were some significant changes made this
year, some into the extent of adding a provision on censure, if you could. And when you look at that section, just so you know, it's kind of open as to
what potential. Penalties can occur. And that's because it changes depending on what the issue is, and it's up to the board to police yourselves. So if you're going to do something
in that section, that's why it's it's not specific on there. The other ones were discussed in the city clerk, and I drafted this according to what
we were informed by the board, I can answer any questions for the city clerk. Can. Okay, Commissioner Weaver, do you have any questions? I don't have any questions. But Commissioner Weaver, do you
have any questions? I have no questions. Okay. Commissioner Panther, you have any questions? No, sir. Commissioner Eisner, I do on your page three. It has.
The Board of Commissioners are prohibited from having any contacts, conversations with outside vendors and conduct any investigation. How do you stop
people from making a call, at least to speak to you? I understand that you it's it's proper protocol to convey it over to the city manager or to
our procurement. But on the on set, you're still going to have some sort of communication. Well, minimum contact Commissioner. I think the idea here is and it comes back to a
couple issues. One, except to do exactly what you said is directing it to the city manager. Number two, it is it's allowing, again, that you guys
are policy makers and that you receive all the information at the same time. We don't want to have a vendor that is either disqualified because of
communication they've had with commissioners. We want to give everybody the opportunity, but it goes to the city manager to have that presented. So we want to keep that out of any
problems that it could create for the board or for the individual commissioner. So that's exactly what I understood. My for instance, we
had a situation with a shuttle service. I did not. And and just to give you a background, I was I spoke to somebody. I
told him to call the procurement and city manager. He did. When we got the proposal in front of us, it did not have any of his paperwork
in it. So all I did at the time was place, you know, take a copy off his Facebook page and it was that I, you know, there was a comment made that I was
involved with him and I was not involved. So, you know, that's why I'm bringing this up because on the onset, it seemed to other people that there was, you know, that I was pushing,
but I really wasn't. I just made sure that a question or just you defending some act of yours. I don't understand where you're going with this. I'm trying to. Are you asking a
question? Yes, but you're defending some act that you did. Well, I have to defend an act. Well, what's the point? What's the point? We're not prosecuting you. I think if I could. Yeah. I think what you
said before is how to handle it. And that's what this section is talking about, that everybody on the board understands that those issues are going to go directly to the city manager.
Okay, mayor, if I have to ask a question on something that came up that is offending me on the rules of procedure, how would you like me to handle that? Are
you you're making a statement about something you did. Okay. Making a statement about a change in rules of procedure that could be misconstrued. And
it was misconstrued in the past. But you even said you went to the guy's house. You said you went to his house. So now you are. So obviously if we let's go ahead. Go ahead. Just go do
what you're going to do. We can go back to just the rules. It's simple. It's real simple. Yeah. Right. This is we're trying to make this as straightforward as possible. Very straightforward.
Do you want to bring up every item that you think applies to you and defense of some act you've done in the past? What we're doing is we're trying to create rules going forward. So
we do not disqualify vendors. You're not supposed to go and have your own investigation of procurement that's supposed to be done by the city. That's
what this that's what this item is. Now, do you have a question related to that? Or are you just going to bring up your your own acts? I don't understand where you're going.
Okay. This is not because because if we're starting this out here, we're going to do this on every single item. I have three items on here. Do you want me to continue? Go
ahead. Thank you. So on page seven, you have. Social media.
Page seven, social media page. Yes. Starting with D. Yes. So there was a item that I brought up to the city clerk and it was
rewritten in blue. It's no longer on here. It's still on there. We I just pointed out the blue one. I sent the draft to the commission. What was
added from the original draft resolution? If you look under personal accounts, acceptable
use. I believe it was under non acceptable use. I think we moved. Sorry. It's under not acceptable. It's it's the third
bullet point down under the. After blocking users based on viewpoint. When the account is used as a de facto public forum and then in the bracket in parentheses it says that this
is what was added. This applies to social media accounts that are used as a public official, or personal accounts that list your official position or title. Thank you. I just wanted to
make sure it was in there. Yes. And it's page 12 would be my final. Under which under
modifications it would be. I am in disagreement since we have five commissioners up here and a mayor and vice mayor, the mayor may declare any agenda item is deleted or deferred,
and no vote shall be required. I'm just in disagreement of that. But, you know, that was previously on there. I don't even know why. Is it in red?
It's previously on there. City clerk why is that in red if it's already previously on there? Because it changed before you were saying about removing and declared such item
is deleted or deferred and no vote shall be required. And y'all took that out that no item could be placed unless it goes to board or staff comments first and gets a majority vote,
and then the mayor would still be able to declare any agenda item you at the work session. Unless I misunderstood, the attorney can. Y'all decided to
leave that to where you could delete it or defer it, and no vote would be required. We can
whatever you know the board wants it to be. Are you are you completed? Well, my comment is I want that to be the mayor may
declare an agenda item is deleted or deferred with the majority three three person
vote. Okay. Okay, I'll support that. All right. Well, we don't have a motion yet. So just so if the board if you're going to support that, we'll just remove
the sentence completely because that's how you would do something. Now, if something's on the agenda and three of you wanted to say, I don't want this on the agenda or we want to defer it, so we would remove
that sentence. If that's how you want to go with it, I'm fine with that. This is not a personal thing. I know any person. So is, is, are the is there a consensus on removing
that? Okay. All right. So let's let's remove that. I'm done. Okay. Vice mayor no, I think it's understood. There's a lot
about, you know, just being proper and civil one another. And I think we can all work on towards that and just get some things concrete in place. So looking forward to working together this year on a lot of
good issues. Can we go to public comment? Is there any public comment on the rule changes? Okay, let's come back to the board for a motion. So
moved. Second, is there any further comment on anything other than what we've already discussed? Okay. With that said, roll call please. This is with
the amendment change, Commissioner Weaver. Yes, Commissioner. Yes, Commissioner. Yes. Vice mayor. Yes. Yes. Mayor. Yes. Okay. That
concludes all of our business tonight. Let's go to board and staff comments. Chief, I just want to let everybody know that Law Enforcement Memorial Week
is coming up May 15th. As Peace Officer Memorial Day, we'll be having our memorial service out in front of the police department on May 6th at 6 p.m.
Please, if you want to attend, please come and join us. I did have the honor and privilege of going up this Sunday and Monday with Major Crawford and two of our Honor Guard members, Sergeant Craig and Detective
Hurley. Remembering those fallen officers from the state, including, you know, our officers here from Tarpon Springs and escorted Teresa Kondek up there as well. And
unfortunately, 15 more names were added this year. And, you know, pray for all those families that lost anybody in service to anywhere. Thank you.
Okay. City attorney, no comment. City clerk have no comment. Thank you. Okay. City manager sorry. Actually, Bob's going to come up and give you a quick update on Craig Park Seawall.
Okay, thanks. Just a quick FYI, I just want you all to be aware that construction is going to be starting very soon to Craig Park. The that's the seawall replacement. And the raising of
the sidewalk park will remain open, but access may be limited in certain areas. At certain times. We're going to post more information on the city social media. Just wanted to make sure
you're all aware of that. Thank you, thank you. That's it. Anything else? No, Commissioner Weaver, how would you like your first full meeting? Oh. Very
interesting. Thank you. All right. Yeah. No, I, you know, I, I'm I'm always proud of our staff here. You know, they're very succinct. I had several
calls this week and I appreciate that. And to give me a heads up and answer any questions. So thank you very much. We're very fortunate. Commissioner Banther. Thank you.
I just want to say I had a great time at the City Dodgeball tournament, and I want I think we need to do more competitive sports here in Tarpon Springs amongst the border for charity or
retirements or whatever. So let let's always find, you know, you know, you know, you know, find those opportunities.
Commissioner Eisner, I don't know what I'm going to get singled out for here, but I did bike your city with forward
Pinellas and some of the comments I got back, since they're all my board members, was that we have the best police force in all of Pinellas
County. They did an outstanding job. Excuse me. I'm glad. So they made sure that every
intersection, you know. But I kept seeing the same police men in the same all of a sudden in different locations. I'm like, how did how did you get here? But anyway, it was really nicely done. We were well
protected. Many people in the city were hollering, you know, what's this in regard to? It was really nice. And in addition to the police being commended, I got a lot of
feedback. I don't want to blow up the city manager's head, but I'm happy to share it. They also made very good comments that we have a good city
manager not taking anything away from licorice, but they all have gotten some good feedback from, you know, from our city about our city
manager's. So I wanted to thank him as well. And that's pretty much it. I can't move a muscle anything from my waist down. It was I you know, it was a ten
mile truck. And we got to see Elfa's crossing, you know, the it was really nicely done. It was a beautiful, beautiful day. A lot of people turned out and
it was just great. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Yeah, I just I wrote this note down and it slipped my mind during the parking. But this is this would be a time for. Can we all agree
that that we feel that Tarpon Springs residents should be able to use our park for free? You know, at least parking. So I'd like to be able, with just
a consensus consensus to maybe direct staff to try to restart the communication again with with getting free parking for Tarpon Springs residents at Howard Park. You know, if we
can try, just maybe have staff start pushing that initiative. I tried to, as mayor, kept going back and forth. So just someone does a little view into
my emails, with my conversations with them. I really want to try to get that small victory for the community. Everybody in agreement with that. Absolutely. Okay. So thank you. Other than that, yes.
With that, no further comments. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Yeah. The dodgeball was fun. I saw your tactic hanging back
watching everybody. Yeah. Mine. Mine was hide behind you. So that worked for a while. And
then so I'm going to, I, I'm going to since we have our new rules of procedure, which include to bring things up for
agenda that we vote on them here. So I'm going to ask for an agreement to allow us to bring the on the agenda item
for the Greek trip, I want, I need, I feel like I need to attend because we're going to go to Sister City Connections. And I know we have some business to, to finish up with
Anna. Then we're also there's another sister city and then Kalamata is something we're exploring. So I got to go over and see their mayor and talk
about that. So how is City attorney? How does it work on putting something on the agenda? Do I ask for a vote or you ask consensus with the board that
we can put it on the next agenda? Is there a consensus to allow me to put that on the next agenda? And, you know, we've in the past, I know Commissioner Banther, you went with a couple other
commissioners, right. And and so this is in December. So get the dates and think about it, because it'd be nice if anybody here would like to attend on
that, that trip as well. That'd be great. I'm not going to ask for an agenda item now, but eventually I'm going to ask for one on that dementia friendly program. I think it's an
amazing thing, and I think it's something worthwhile when it comes to the. And I apologize, Commissioner, for barking at
you. Again, this wasn't I don't think it was a forum to defend prior acts, but. These rules are. I think, you know, when we
come to talking about civility, we talk about policing ourselves. We've gone through a lot, especially in the last few
years with, you know, commissioners going to ethics board and other different people and all the different stuff that's going on. And here
I think this is pretty simple. You know, we stay civil. We conduct ourselves in a, in a, in a proper manner. We got to be careful. Again, there's in
the new rules about, you know, attire and where you are holding yourself out as, as a commissioner and things that really aren't official city
business. So we got to be careful about that. The and then also on social media, you know, you guys can do what you
want, but, you know, I, I'm, I'm, I'm a representative of the city, just as the other four of you are. And we want to
have a city that's unified. We want a city that works together and cares about each other. And when we decide that we're going
to spend so much time on social media, you know, defending the right or the left and constantly jumping in to every
conversation that has to do with, you know, somebody expressing themselves on, on a certain way, on national
politics. I just don't think it furthers what we need to do here as and the city. If, if we're supposed to try to bring our community together, it it's
just alienates people. You know, when you when we decide that we're going to, you know, you want Carolyn Leavitt's job, you know, I'm I think she's going to be moving on. You can go
apply for it. And you can defend everything every single day. But it doesn't do any good for our community. It just divides us, you know, so I I'm
just going to ask that we all rethink how much time we want to spend on social media, defend. And it doesn't change one mind. I guarantee you
nothing you write changes one mind on on social media. It it most people end up blocking you. Most people don't want to, you know, it's just all it does is create rancor. And I'm telling
you, it's nothing positive for what we're doing up here to constantly jump into every conversation. And I'll tell you what I don't like when I say I don't care, I don't care till I
get a letter, when I start getting letters from from residents telling me that something was shared on social
media that had a very divisive comments, really extremely. I'm not going to get into the into what was said. And then, you
know, that's not fruitful for our community. It's not good for this for this board. And we got to have and so all these
rules come down to some form of discipline, some form of restraint. Okay. You just that's all I'm going to say. We need to, you know, obviously be
civil. We don't have to, to start fights with every single person in town. We don't have to. Constantly knock people.
And that stuff's got to stop. I don't again, I don't control it, but if it if it's done in a way that is we think violates some
of these codes of conduct, well, then we have a censure policy to deal with it. So with that
said, meeting adjourned. 843. All right.