Well. Hello. And this is 6:00, and we are convening this sustainability committee of Tarpon Springs. Celebrating the
Lunar New Year and the year of the Firehorse. And so we have much to look forward to. And,
ooh, it's going to be good. So I would like to ask Holly to make the roll call, please. Yes, chairperson. Present. Siobhan
Meehan. Present. Loretta Riquetti present. And Milena scali. Present. And let us, all of our members, we do have one vacant full time. Our regular
member seat and two alternate seats open, so. Yes. So we can always use new people. So let's
look at the minutes from last time. And are there any discussion on the minutes? I
have a discussion in the public comments. You have. Excuse me, Denise listed, but we also had another person here who made
public comments. Yes we did. Okay. Yes, I will make a correction. My apologies. Just everyone. Also, as a side note, just make sure you are speaking into the microphone. I think we
had some unclear recording maybe at our last meeting. So just everyone make sure you're projecting the microphone. Thank you for that. I will make a correction and we can do.
We'll bring them back next time for approval. Okay. So we're not doing it this time. Well I would have to, you know, amend. Well you can actually say amend
the minutes and then I can just make that correction and have you sign them next time. That'll be fine. So can we have a move to amend the meeting
minutes and that visitors name I should have recorded? I don't remember her name. I thought I had it written down, but I moved to amend the minutes.
Okay. Second. Third favor. I. Had that with me. Okay, okay. So we're good. Okay. Thank you for that. Okay, so the first
thing on our agenda is our visitor from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, Savannah betrayal. So welcome.
And we're happy to have you here. And listen to what you have to tell us. Hello, everyone. First, I'm going to pass out these two QR codes to
you guys. I'll talk about them during the presentation, but I just wanted you to have them to you. Thank you. Okay, okay.
Thank you. And then do I just click with the mouse? Yes. Okay. Okay. Great. Thank you so much. The QR code the same as what it
will be. It's actually not going to be on there. It's just for you guys to join. We have one that's for our services page on our website. And it has just the different services that we provide, which I'll
talk about during the presentation. And then we have another one for our Coastal Master Plan work group. You can sign up to join that one too. And I'll explain that in the
presentation as well. Yeah. So as they said my name is Savannah. I'm a sustainability planner with the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, and I'm really happy to join you
all. Today, I'm going to be talking about what the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council is, for those of you who don't know, and then what our government liaison program is and how we can provide
assistance to your committee and your city as a whole. So overview for today is I'll be talking about the TBR, RPC and then our government liaison program. And then I included
some projects of interest that might be of interest to you all in the presentation today, and then some current and future collaboration opportunities that you guys can participate
in. We first wanted to thank your guys's mayor. He is on our sustainability council. Our on our yeah, on the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. And he also just recently joined
our resiliency steering committee. So we just wanted to give a shout out to him for his leadership on our council. We appreciate all of our member government involvement. Is
every municipality involved and member. So we have yes. So this is kind of what I'll talk about right now actually. Great segue. So the RPC has been around
since 1962. And our member governments have kind of changed since then. But right now we our service area includes six counties, which is citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough,
Manatee, Pasco and Pinellas. And then we also have 23 municipal governments that are part of that as well. And that we have a full list on our website, which is actually under on that one QR code that
has the services. You can also see the amount of member governments that we have that are part of the council. The people who are on the council pay dues monthly to have our
services, and Tarpon Springs is one of them. And as well as Pinellas County, which is the county that you are a part of as well. And then through the council, we focus on a couple of different things to provide
to the different counties and municipalities. We have economic development, emergency preparedness, environmental planning, geographic information systems, also known as GIS planning and design,
visualization and resiliency planning. And these are through these different focus groups. We have some work groups that we have. We also have just regular meetings or discussions that we talk about during our
month, our council meetings. We have a lot of work that kind of pertains to these different areas, and certain staff might specialize in one or more areas. Our government liaison program,
which is actually why I am here, is I was assigned to be your guys's government liaison. So I'll be your primary contact through the council for any questions you have on services
that you're interested in, or any future work or events that you'd like us to be a part of, we really want to foster communication. That's actually why this program was created. It was just kind of to enhance
the collaboration that we already have with member governments and to just make it stronger. And I'm just the new person for you guys. I'm not sure how involved the previous
person was, but I'm really excited to work with you all and be helpful. So when you say you're the liaison for us, you
mean you're liaison for Tarpon Springs? Tarpon Springs? Yeah, but your committee is included. Yes. So Tarpon Springs. So I'm a liaison for Tarpon Springs, City of Seminole and City of
Pinellas Park. And then our other staff members are liaisons for other programs, and they've reached out to them as well. And so through this program, these are just some of
the services that we provide. I have quite a long list on there, but these are all included within your dues. It depends on the scope of the project for
different ones. So some of these can be included in the monthly dues, where we don't have to sign a whole new contract to have a certain service listed. But if the project is really large and it
is like a very big vulnerability assessment or something of that scope, that kind of takes a longer period of time. There might be a new contract written up for a different pricing for that, but
that's always something that we discuss. And as a member governments, we want to make sure that we can provide affordable services to our people that we serve. And then
some of the projects that we have done, they're all on our website under that, that QR code I have shared with you all under the services page. We've just recently done a vulnerability assessment for
Hernando County. And then we also just did an economic impact analysis for a mixed use development. We do a lot of different things. We can have just create a map of an area for you. With GIS, there's a
lot of things we can do, and I'm really happy to brainstorm ideas with you. If anybody has anything that they're interested in. And then through those services, these are just some of the tools that we have
already within House. So this is kind of stuff that we can again, work on with you without you having to contract out someone separate that you might not know that you're looking to have this kind of work done.
These are the ones that we already have, and we have staff that are trained in these. And so we'd love to help out wherever those are necessary. And again, it kind of depends on the scope of the project. If
it's a larger scale project, we might have to kind of work out how long that time frame will be and things like that. But this is this is what we do have some in-house availability for
already, and we're always looking to expand to if people have ideas as well. And if anybody has any specific questions about how specific tools work, I can always answer
some of them. And then if I don't know, I can also share refer to another person on our staff who might be more well versed in it as well. And then these are just a few of our
current projects that are ongoing that I thought might interest your guys's committee, as well as just the city of Tarpon Springs in general, Project Phoenix is a facilitated tabletop exercise.
It's for guiding local governments and businesses through roles, decisions, and communications based on a category five hurricane scenario. So they are exercises
that use a video series that kind of walk businesses in the governments through kind of what to do. If this scenario were to occur through the first stage of the hurricane, just
happened to a week after, a month after, you know, a year after. And we're conducting these through April. And the one for your guys's county is actually April 22nd, and it
will be at the Pinellas EOC. Any member governments or emergency prepared like preparedness people are invited. Lunch is provided. We also have we'd like small businesses to
join as well. These exercises were informed based on people who experienced the hurricanes Hurricane Helene and Milton, and this is kind of how they developed it. So we'd love to
have more people involved. Could you say the date again? Yeah, it was April 22nd and it will be an all day event workshop. There's lunch provided and it'll be at the
Pinellas EOC. And where is that the Pinellas EOC? I don't know the exact address, but I can definitely look it up for you and share it with Holly. So you guys have it. Thank you. Yeah.
Of course. Do we have to register for this? There is a registration link. I can find that for you as well and help you sign it, sign up for it. Or I can just share it with you. And I can share that with Holly,
too. After the meeting. Is it on that website? It should be on the Tampa Bay website. We have a it's under the resiliency tab. There should be the Project Phoenix tab. It's like a bunch of different tabs. So I can definitely find the
link and send it to Holly so that you guys have it and you can share it with the rest of your staff as well. Thank you. Is there a limit of should we, I think be posted on a on our
website? No. Yeah. You can share it with people. Yeah. We'd love to have as many people involved as possible. I think there is a capacity limit for the venue. I'm not sure. I think it's like 100 people or
so, but I don't believe there's a limit for the event total. But I'd have to check on that for you. I have the address. It's it's on Ulmerton Road in
Largo. It's ten seven five. Oh, okay. Ulmerton road. Yeah. And there's one for each county. That's part of our council. So the one for Tarpon Springs that we would love anybody from here
to attend would be the one for Pinellas then. And then our next project that I thought to highlight was the Tampa Bay Coastal Master plan. Pretty broadly, this is helping
illustrate flood risks for the region's communities and habitats, and it proposes a suite of place based restoration and structural and nonstructural flood risk
reduction projects. So they're kind of evaluating each of the different regions situations, why flooding is happening and how they can kind of prevent that long term. They're really doing a lot of community
outreach work. This plan specifically has a community work group, and their next meeting is March 3rd. I'll also have the location and time for that on my final slide. So we'll have that information on
here for sure. But that is where we have anybody's free to join and come. And that's actually the other QR code that I have for you guys is how you can join the work group.
Anybody is allowed. We just want they want the most community involvement to kind of see how people are experiencing flooding and the ways that we can prevent it and kind of make the situation
better for everyone. And then the final one that I have is the Clean Air Tampa Bay program. This one is for advancing a unified, science based approach to pollution mitigation and
resilience across four counties, actually. So it's Hernando, Hillsborough and Pinellas. So still including you all. It's a grant funded project, which is why it's only the four counties. That's just what was included
for this one. They just completed their Comprehensive Climate Action Plan, which was submitted to the EPA for review. And then that will be available for public viewing should be within the next month. They get
their feedback and then they apply the feedback, and then we'll share it with the public so that everybody can see that it has a greenhouse gas inventory. And some suggested implementation measures, cost
analysis, benefit analysis for all the different counties within the MSA. And they also have a community engagement network as well. And I can share the link for that to Holly. I didn't have a QR code
for that one, but I would love to share that with you all. That would be really helpful. Yeah, that one's, that one's very great. The community engagement one for that one. They host events. They also have events that they just
attend and they like to recommend events. So if you guys had something in Tarpon Springs, they would include it in the newsletter, that kind of thing. And so they love to have people involved from every sector. That would be very
helpful for us. I'll share that with Holly then. Thank you. Yeah. Of course. So is that where is that held the which one? Oh, it's a grant funded
project. So it's not. It is a event. It's. No, no, no, the clean air Tampa Bay is it's a three stage grant funded project. So the first stage is the Priority Climate Action plan. And they submitted that.
And then they had the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan, which they just submitted last week. And now they're going to be going into a year where they do a status report. So they're basically monitoring to see what has been
implemented within the region. And like the how that's impacting the scenario for the whole region now. So like the emissions pollutions, that kind of thing. And then they'll submit that to the EPA. The
Community Engagement Network is part of that. It's kind of just trying to foster a communication similar to what the council does as well. So it's not necessarily event, but we do table at different events.
So we have information there. We'll host events at times as well. And stakeholder engagement meetings that kind of thing. Okay. Great. And then these are just the other
collaboration opportunities. So we had the Tampa Bay Coastal Master plan is what I mentioned before. That's March 3rd. It will be at 2 to 4 p.m. and it's virtual or in person at the TBR,
PC office, which is in Pinellas Park. And then I also wanted to specifically highlight our annual Regional Resiliency Summit. This will be happening May 14th and 15th at the
Palmetto Marriott Resort. This one is registration based. It is on our website. We have like a whole summit page, but I can also share that link with Holly. If you want more information on
that, you have to pay to go to that. That one is a paid event. Yeah, but we want everyone from the the different municipalities and counties to be able to come as well. And so
I can also there is someone on our staff who specifically has a lot more information on the summit stuff compared to what I do. She knows every specific detail and I'd love to share her information with you as
well. But for that event specifically to we are we have the fusion of the region awards, which is where we're recognizing specific resiliency projects across the region, and
we really want to award people for them and make them feel honored for the work that they've done over the years. So we have entries open for that right now, which I can send a link to Holly to where if you
have anything from Tarpon Springs, we'd love to enter it in and have it in the running for an award at the luncheon. And that'll be on May 15th, will be that luncheon for the future of the region awards.
And then the rest of them are just a few other ones I thought you might be interested in. We have the agency on Bay of Coastal Management and Resilient Shorelines and Spaces workgroup meeting, and those
ones are free to join as well to attend. Might not be sure about the agency on the Bay, but I think that that one is also free to join as well. And that's actually all I have for
you today. So if you have any other questions, I'd love to answer them. Wonderful. So I'd like to understand how these dues work. So you said there
were 23 members, 23 municipalities. If if I'm a municipality and I want to join, as long as I pay my dues, I can
join. Yeah. And so how many municipalities haven't joined? I'm not. I would have to get back to you on that. I'm not exactly sure. I think a majority of them have joined,
but I really am not sure how many wouldn't have and how much is the dues. I believe for the entire municipality it is around 2000 a month, but I'm not sure I wouldn't 2000 a
month I think so, but I might not be correct on that. So how do the dues completely fund you? Yes, we're funded by the member
governments. Okay. So 23 times two is $46,000 a month. And the county's it. I think it varies based on the size of the municipality and the size of
the county. So that's why I'm not entirely sure on the cost. I think the 2000 might be the minimum, but I could be wrong on that. I'm not on the financial side. I'm more on the research side. So do you get
funding from any other source other than dues? I do not believe so. I think it is just through dues, but I, I'm not entirely sure on that. That's not really my specialty. And
who is who is in charge? Our executive director is Ren. I don't actually know her last name. Off the top of my head, her first name is Ren. Ren
crawl. Actually, yes. And then. But we have. The council is made up of the member governments and the the counties and the municipalities. So we are run by the people who pay the dues. So we have
council meetings every other month, which has the people who are. So we have like the mayors. So the mayor of Tarpon Springs comes, we have a commissioner and we have a board members, and those are the people that
do run the council. But me and the rest of the staff are the people that do the technical work on the council and host the meetings within our space. And Miss Crawl is she's our
executive director for appointed by. She's a, I believe appointed by the council. Yeah. Or hired. Yeah. And she's independent I mean
she's not a she's not a an officer in she's not an elected. No. None of, none of the staff or our of the PC is elected
officials. How big is your staff. Our staff. Is trying to count off names in my head. I
think it's on the website. It is on our website. Yeah. They do have a really good website that lists what can you just sort of guess how many. I'm maybe like ten people. Okay.
Yeah. So I mean, I'm, I'm curious about it because. Where the funding is because things have changed a lot with respect
to especially environmental things and things about climate change and so on. And a lot of funding has been cut. So and
programs discontinued and so on. So I, I'm curious about how you get funded and this looks like such a great thing that one
would want it to continue, and especially because it looks at a big area and it's important that people work together not just in their small place, but
across. What is it, one, two, three, four, five, six counties. So I mean, that's really important for us in this part of Florida. So I just wanted to
get a sense of how, you know, you keep going and that you do keep going. Yeah, I think we've we've been around for a while. So we've definitely been a
while since 1962, 62. So, so we've been we've been working on resilient work for a while, environmental work for a while. And I think we really are based on what do our member
governments want done. What do our municipalities want done. And we kind of follow their lead. It's really we're here to provide services to you all and technical assistance. And I
think that's kind of why we have stuck around for as long as we have. Yeah, I'm more on the the research side of things and the technical assistance side. So I'm not as great with
the whole administrative, but I can always follow up with those if you want specific answers given me sufficient just to. I just want to get my head around how you do that. Yeah. And when
you say that you're that what you do is generated by the municipality. So I take it that the Project Phoenix and the coastal master plan and the
clean air are top things that the municipalities want. Yeah. So for those kinds of projects, obviously our staff has some expertise on, you know, what
grants should we apply for that are going to benefit our entire region, apply for grants. We we apply for grants. So that's part of so yes, the the yes. So
some of the some of the works that we do is applying for federal grants and that sort of thing. So the Clean Air Project is a federally granted like federal grant project. It's
through the EPA and some of our other projects are through federal grants as well. And then other projects are just requested by municipalities or member governments. And so
somebody requests for us to do a vulnerability assessment for them, then we will do that for them based on their request or other technical assistance. Can you create a map for me kind of thing. So that's kind of how
that all works. But we do have since our staff has been working in this field for a while, they do have a knowledge of, oh, this project could be a good thing. Bring it up to the council. Is this something we
want to pursue? Pursue that project and then provide the information gained from it to the rest of the people who are on the council? So it's kind of that's kind of the format of it. I would say. Okay, the best
explanation. Yeah. Does anyone else have questions or comments they want to make? Well, as far as the federal government goes, we all know that they're being
less supportive these days of especially legislator clean air has been. Let's say, not as
much of a priority as it used to be. So what about the availability of of grants right now, considering, you know, the situation, we're constantly discussing it and trying to
pursue the ones that are available? Well, we kind of find what are our priorities for our member governments. And then if things aren't available, we try and find creative solutions to that and adapt to
it as we go along. But yeah, it is. It can be definitely difficult right now for resiliency work. And we we understand that. So we try and really listen to what the member governments are wanting done and kind of follow their
lead in that sort of standpoint with it. And some people choose not to prioritize the resiliency work and some people do. And so we just kind of follow their lead. Do you ever get private money? I'm not
actually sure on that. I can check for you, but I I'm not I'm not really sure on that. Most of what I've seen, the projects that I've worked on at least have been grant funded or
just through the, the dues that are already given through the municipalities and member governments. And then does the state fund also, or is it just federal there's there's state
funded grants too that can be applied for. Yeah, yeah. Most of the projects I've been on are just been the federally funded ones so far. I'm very new to the staff, actually. I
just recently joined full time in September. So you've done an excellent job. Well thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah, it's it's been great. Yeah, it's been very great. The staff is
wonderful and we really are here just trying to provide as much technical assistance as we can. And so that's why I'm here. So really any questions that you have I have my card here as
well. I can I can give it to all of you or you can direct specific things to Holly as well. We've been communicating a lot over email. So anything I can provide to you all, any clarity on anything or
encouraging you to be involved in more events or workshops that we have is good news to me. So, well, we're really keen on pursuing a lot of engagement
and we've been really doing that. And so this sounds like a really good thing. Great. I'm I'm very happy to hear that. Yeah. Me as well. I'm trying to get more and more involved with
everyone. So our need also in in Tarpon Springs is especially acute because we have so much waterfront. Right. And and we had a tough time. Yes, yes,
I've heard about the sponge docks a little bit. I'm still pretty new to learning about all of the things that are happening, but it's getting worse and worse at the sponge docks. As you know, climate
change, right? The ramifications of climate change increase. When I first moved here about 32 years ago, it
flooding in the sponge docks was not really much of an issue once in a while, but now it's it's really quite devastating.
And not only the sponge docks, but people who live on, you know, on the waterfront. They were people in one story. Houses were dramatically
impacted and are still recovering. You still drive around here and people are living in motorhomes still. Yeah, we've we've definitely heard that a lot from my knowledge, especially with some
of our beach communities as well, like Saint Pete Beach and Treasure Island. And all of them have definitely been going through similar experiences. So we we have a lot of work with flooding and stormwater
management, our agency on the Bay of Coastal Management, that was the the one for that one collaboration opportunity and the resilient shorelines and
spaces. We have a lot of work groups that are based around that kind of work, because we know that's definitely a priority for our region as a whole. And so we do a lot of work with that for sure. So if
you guys have any questions on that, I think joining those work groups is especially helpful. The ones that I've attended so far have it's it's very good to come together and definitely foster some
communication with other communities that are experiencing the same thing. Like, you'd be very surprised at how similar the issues are between the communities. And once we foster that
communication, it really shows through. So I think that those are really beneficial to join, and we see that in a lot of our communities and the maps that
we've seen in this committee about the the decade's impact as we go forward. And it's really scary. It is scary. Yeah.
It's yeah, the sea level rise. It just seems to be increasing, which is why I think we try and support any communities that are doing that sort of infrastructure changes or
stormwater management. We try and help them with any of that, like mapping and just looking into the vulnerability of their area, that kind of stuff. We really try and support people
on that. Well thank you. Well thank you. I'm glad I got to show you guys what we have going on, and I'll grab my cards for you all. Thank you very much. Yeah. Of course, if
you think these are, they're different. I think they're the same. They're the same? Yeah. His work group sign up and it says technical assistance. Oh, then you are. You're paying
attention. Thank you, thank you. Before we go to the website, we can find all of this, right? Yes. You can find all of that information on the website. And
my contact information is on there too. So if you lose my card, which happens all the time, just go to our staff page and you can find me. You can also find the other substances
that I have I. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Savannah. No that's perfect I appreciate it. And you're welcome to, you know.
So before we go on. We've we've skipped public comments because but could could everyone in the,
in the audience just introduce themselves. If you just you can just go up to the microphone and just say your name and hi
Gerry Doherty and I'm a resident 1250 South Pinellas Avenue, unit 406. And I just kind of want to follow along
what we're up to in Tarpon regarding sustainability. And did Alexa fulfill your request with your horses? What did
Alexa fulfill your request? You're sure? Alexa, feed the horses. Oh. Of course. Thank
you. Were you the one who had the owl issue where you lived? She brought information. Has anything happened that's positive? Nothing. I don't know
of any. I was out of the country for three weeks, and I'm just kind of getting back. I haven't heard anything new. I
don't even know what Tarpons rules are, if any, on the rat poison. But I do know we have
an owl at Green Dolphin Park condos, and it's been given a name. And apparently there are babies, so I'm really kind of concerned. Of course I hope
they'll be okay, but I'm happy they're they're so okay. Thank you. But thank you for remembering. And the other thing I'm really, really care
about is mature trees really want to protect them. Great. Thank you. Yes. Good evening.
I'm Roslyn Atkinson, 621 East Orange Street. I've been interested in sustainability for quite a while. Just my schedule wouldn't allow, so I just cleared it today to come
this evening to just to listen to the issues become more active in our local. Community. We've been here about ten years,
maybe closer to 12. And just really, now that I'm retired, I want to be able to give back and I'm ready. Well, we have a
spot here for you. See my big mouth? Denise Menino for 70 Cypress Street, Tarpon Springs. You know me. I had nothing to
say tonight, but I just wanted to stay plugged in and participate. But I do have a comment about this. Is that our
the Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition was really what brought this committee about was when we joined that in 2018, there was a clause
that said that there needed to be an advisory board formed. So here we are today as a result of this. Yes. Hallelujah. Okay.
Well, thank you all for being here. And like I said, there's room on the committee and please bring other people with you. Okay. So now we're going
to talk about the future presentations and panel topics. And so that's a continuation from last time. And you had my
suggestion. And I have something else. But what else do you all have. I know Melina, you were going to look into and
think about one, connect it with your expertise with mental health. I mean May is mental Health Awareness Month, so that
might be a good time to think, to to do a presentation. As far as, you know, community based. I've reached out to Robyn
Singer for peace for Tarpon. I spoke to her about this. Yeah. So I'm supposed to be meeting with her actually tomorrow. So I was just going to touch base
with her and get a better idea of sort of what they're doing and see if we could come up with some ideas. So that'd be
really good. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Siobhan. Urban farming and food, forests. And I've had a long
term relationship with Pete Kanaris of Green Dreams, and he he could come and speak to us. Perhaps he's extremely
knowledgeable. He has a new nursery up in Spring Hill with native plants, and they're. Yeah. And it's a great nursery.
And he also does installations all over the state. He's very charming and knowledgeable, loves to share his knowledge.
So food and I've done food forests, food forests are. A a situation where you have a variety of edible plants and
all integrated, sustainable, sustainably. And he he's got a huge following on YouTube. I am a follower. Yeah. And he's
quite the educator. He just his latest YouTube was just about the the cold effects on our all our plants, including in his
nursery and just how devastating that can be. And he was making suggestions on certain plants that take the freezes a lot better. So but
also this is this is interesting because we were in zone nine B, we're now in ten, ten A, so we've we've leaped up.
And what does that mean. That means it has to do with cold.
So I came from. The ice. Yeah. Which was six B in Buffalo, New York. And so I always had quite
the awareness of what, what will grow in your area. That's what it means. What will grow in your area. So I think that would be really fun to have him.
Oh yeah. Okay. Now when you say have him, you were you mean here or in a engagement presentation? Well, maybe we could have him here. The other
thing is, well, this would be a side thing, but we could go for a tour also. Well, how about but maybe this is a larger idea.
Probably. Yeah. If. Yeah, I was going to say if we can just, we could pair with the college again. Oh that would be. Well that's what, that's what this is about. And there's
opportunities. Yeah. Thank you for I think we'll reach more people if we go back over there. Totally. And then also the outreach to students who are maybe interested in a
sustainability career like you, like Savannah has pursued. There's, you know, a lot of kids don't know what kind of opportunities are. And then also to get involved in native
plants. And I've mentored, mentored a bunch of people trying to encourage them to get into sustainable agriculture
and landscaping. So, Siobhan, could you write up what a program would look like? I'm in this back and forth with Christine. Yeah, yeah, but I
want to have something, you know, substantive. And I can think of other people who could broaden this out, maybe just not have people. Maybe. Yeah, we can do panel. I can, I can
coordinate. We have quite a few resources. Ladies. If I could just point of information, we also have you know, as I brought up before, we have the extension service that's willing to participate and talk about Florida friendly
landscaping. We also have, of course, our arborist who's willing to sit on a panel and do tree, you know, be it trees expert. And so maybe there is a panel that forms around, you
know, kind of coalescing all of those topics and having urban farming, having an expert on that could be a really cool way to round all of that out. So maybe that's if you could put
something together. Now, I've had a lot of experience doing these things, and the key that works best is not to have too
many people. Totally, because you want the people to be able to talk more than just a few soundbites. So you don't want a
lot of people, maybe three at most. Okay. At most. Well, we could do two if you two would, could be really good if, if they, you know, well, we could possibly have our arborist and
Pete, you know, because that's unless you think trees are. Okay. I'll give options on different and think about what you'd like to hear. Yeah. And and then we'll talk about okay.
Trees might be a big enough issue that they need to be a separate. That's true. That's true. We don't know. But that's. Yes Siobhan I think that's a great way to do it. Just put a couple of options out in
farming. Urban farming is, you know, a topic. Yeah. Urban farming. And you know, Pete might have a have a suggestion on somebody else. Exactly. And we so we could keep that one
too. That's a, that's a special thing. Edible landscaping. Maybe that's how to how to because food for us that's that's like a food forest is
doing a food forest is very expensive and very ambitious. You need a lot of land, but edible landscaping can apply to anybody. If I can just try to bring it a little bit back into
some of our sustainability plan actions as well, which food accessibility certainly is one of them, but also want to see if we can again, with like native plantings, I think that
is something that we really want to focus on as a city, as far as, you know, encouraging residents due to, you know, water conservation needs right now. So kind of if we can just
make sure that we're trying to loop that in as well. I think that would be maybe there's two different subjects than native native plants, and then another
one edible one and a different one edible. And I think we need to also not have a just on environmental stuff. That's why the mental health thing,
because we're talking about sustainability and sustainability is social fabric economic and environmental. And
we have the issue that we always fall back into environmental. And it's broader than that. To sustain a community isn't just about the
environment, it's about the economics. It's about social, the social web. It's about a lot of things. And if we don't, if we keep missing that, that's
why I'm really after. I'm not going to point because that's rude. But you could really contribute a lot. And Robin, I spoke with her. And you know,
that's a really good thing. And we can see how to, you know, what, we can't do too many. But but but what I'd like to see is
just, you know, maybe three at the most for the year, you know, that are really substantive and really tight and worked out. And I think we can do that. And
it may not be me. You know, we have to see what the museum will do and that. But I think it's a good idea to, you know, with the we have this very
comprehensive plan. And rather than just focus on the the issues that have been discussed right in nauseam, right, that we are showcasing some of the
pieces that aren't always being seen so that people are interested in. Yeah. So I also was thinking about things
engagement that wouldn't be in that arena, like at the museum. And so I was walking the dog
and it was it's recycling day. Right. And so, you know, I'm looking and seeing what people have in their boxes, their green boxes. And I'm like, that
can't be recycled. You can't put that in there. And there are people aren't doing that, you know, maliciously or they
want they people just don't know. And you look at these booklets people give you and it's like, what is that? You
know, well, is this so, you know, it's hard to figure out. So one thing I was thinking about, and I'm just going to throw it out there, is what if
we had a mobile recycling. Thing? So I was thinking, you know, I could in my driveway, set up some card tables and put
on like one card table, the things you can recycle and then on another card table, the things you can't recycle, like people. You know how newspapers
come in those plastic bags? Well, they're throwing them in there, you know, and it's like, well it's plastic right. It's so but that needs to go on that
table and say and pizza boxes and so on. But it could be a fun thing to do and take this to different neighborhoods. And
I could see like your daughter's wanting to do it or involving the Girl Scouts. Another way of getting people engaged. And then we can also
then see different neighborhoods and get people involved that way. And maybe we could, you know, have other
people help to do this, but that would be, I think, a real benefit to people because I'm always saying to my husband,
can this go with cycling? It's like, oh, sure, you know, and I, you know, and I keep looking at the pictures. So what do you
think about doing something like this? That's definitely a possibility. I think also even just having like a weatherproof, durable big sticker that we say,
put this on your container. Yeah. And when you're in doubt look at it. But the pictures are hard to sort of tell I think I think we were this was
being discussed in the October meeting, and we were talking about either a very colorful graphic sticker or a magnet or something that can go near your
recycling bins and something decorative, like something that's art, like something that's not a QR code. Because I was at the library and I noticed there was like a QR code. If you want to know more
about how to do this and that, how many people are really going to take their phones and scan the codes are also a security risk. So you probably don't want to use them too copiously. But but if it was like really cutely decorated
and it had information they would put that on there. Yeah. Refrigerator or on their container. And the city of Tampa had just rolled out their
campaign on recycling using the cartoon, you know, Florida wildlife. And that's that's engaging. It's engaging with kids because you could definitely take that into the
schools and, you know, come up with activities that teaches them how to do it, gets them involved in it. Because I think really the the only time that
you get the information is when you sign up for your account with the city. They get things, get sent out occasionally. Got something? Yeah, yes I will. I
will say if I can just insert a little bit. So I mean recycling doesn't fall under sustainability technically in the city's. Yeah. Departmental structure. But you know this is
obviously a huge I would say it's a big priority. Right. So we have waste reduction goals. We have recycling participation goals through the sustainability plan. So I did actually meet with our solid
waste division very recently within the last few weeks to talk about some of this. They did just come up with, you know, new magnets. They of course do
their sort of outreach for this a little bit, but we're definitely working to like bring it together and do a lot more. And I actually really like your idea. It's something we were talking about doing
something like some type of outreach that involved, you know, Q&A, town hall, kind of, you know, whatever. And maybe we could take it out into the community more so than having people come here, which I think
is a really valid observation that when you, you know, when you bring it to people, they're going to maybe be more able to engage. And so I really like that. But do definitely I'm
loving these ideas. And it is something that, you know, staff can work on. And if we can create a volunteer component for, you know, through the committee, that's that's something we can definitely
explore, but just let you know it is a topic in a it's hard to get a what am I trying to say? It's hard to like, programmatically like, whoa, I mean, we don't even have a
baseline to know how what our current recycling rate is. So to achieve an increase to 40% is going to be quite a multi multi-step multi year process.
But I absolutely love that. It's something that, you know, you all are interested in. And also, you know something we could just bring to wider I think you know you get two card
tables. I have so many card tables. And you know we collect examples and you know in my neighborhood people walk all the time and they can go by.
And I mean, I think and then we can chat and say, you know, if you put these things in, they're going to throw all this stuff out and you don't want that to happen. Why take all
that effort and then have it tossed? Right. And I heard they toss everything out. If you have bad stuff. So what they will do, just so you know, is
so our waste hauler and recycling hauler is w.m. So what they do programmatically, they are supposed to put a notice in the bin. If the
customer is not following proper procedures, that is what they are contractually supposed to do. Well, I am not able to go around and check people's
bins, but I will tell that is what again, that is. Yeah, that's the procedure that they are supposed to follow when they pick up and they see things that that they know cannot be recycled, right, that
are trash. However, also keep in mind that when that recycling, you know, goes to the sorting facility, it you know, they still bring it in. Even if there are there will be
contaminants, right. So it does go through a whole sorting process. And of course they end up with a lot of pure trash. But some contamination doesn't mean that, you know, they can't pick it up. So that's why you
might not have seen many notices. I mean, I think that the contamination would have to be pretty extreme for them to, like, reject the bin and tell the customer, we can't even take this today. So I think
because the sorting procedures are so improved over what they used to be, they can still bring it into the facility. And then through the sorting process, obviously the trash ends up in the trash pile. And
Loretta knows as she was able to attend the tour with us back in October, I mean, it smells like trash there because obviously there is a lot of, you know, bio materials that
get into the recycling, the potential recyclables. And so, you know, but they do a really good job, obviously, at the facility of kind of taking care of that. So I think a lot more
can still be recycled now than used to be. But obviously the goal is the cleaner then is what needed. What I'm suggesting is it needed. I think it is still needed
because I think education is a really big component of how we would achieve the goal for participation and sort of myth busting and reminding people that it's not, you know, it's not it doesn't have to be
complicated. Right. And so just keeping a couple of those things in mind of like, is it clean, you know, can it be recycled? And just like you said, maybe there's a sticker that's something that I think
could really work for people wherever they put it. That's up to them. But yeah, I think I mean, but we have to I mean, there have to be money to. Sure. I mean, that's something I do
have a budget for outreach. And in this fiscal year, you know, when there are certain things that we're trying to work on, such as recycling participation, I have a little bit set aside specifically for that. So
that's something I could, you know, look at funding and especially if a new person came and they pick up their green things, they could already have the sticker on it. And part of
the confusion, I think, too, with recycling and with a lot of things is, you know, we we have the county guide, but that's but every city has a different waste or recycling
hauler. Right. So there are different things that might accept that say, you know, hauler X might not accept. Right. So it's it is something that we do need to get make
sure that we have specific and correct information for our residents based on who our provider is. And there's so, for example, like I have friends in Saint Pete and I
said they had a bottle of wine or something. I said, aren't you going to recycle that? And they said, well, we have to take all this stuff off of the bottle before we can. I said,
really? Yes, they said they had. And so then I kept thinking, do I have to do that? And I'm like, no. Yeah. So we can just write stuff. There's those details
that that is true. We don't know. I think that's valid. So. So let's think about how to do
that. And if we could get some, what we'd have to get is all of the examples of what could be recycled. And then a clear
examples of what can't be. We could use the the Nissan Leaf as the mobile recycling education vehicle. Great idea.
You have the card tables in it. So yeah, we could we could, you know, we'll come up with something. I think it's a cool idea. My parents played bridge, so we inherited their card
tables. That's great. Okay. Any other ideas? We'll see if your daughter or their friends would
like to do this. These are fun. Okay, so now we're moving on to the annual sustainability
report. So every year we have to give a report. And so I've started to work on it to put a
PowerPoint together. But I want to hear what you ideas are. And then I will put it together and
meet with Holly. And then it'll be sent to you. And then you can see how you want to improve it. When we do give the
presentation, like I'll give the presentation, but I'd like to have all of you stand up with me and Denise. I'd invite you to because you were part of
2025. So we all stand up together because we all work on this. It's not just me and so.
So it would be good to be there. So what Holly did, and I don't know if you all saw it in your.
Is she she put together all of the things we did at all of the meetings. So, so do you have
ideas of what should be? Holly? Do you have the last last year's presentation? I do, because I don't think I can
send that right. They might not have seen it. I'll send that tomorrow to your email just so you can look at that. I have it and I'm I'm using some of it in,
in what I'm going to do, but I will definitely send you guys could see it to see what a presentation looks like. And it's a PowerPoint okay. And
it's you know. Not overly detailed, but because all I see right now is the outline. So I wasn't sure. Right. So one yeah
those are just what was on the agenda. So basically what I'm seeing is a structure I can pull it up if you want to. Looking at listing the stuff
that we've already that we do every year, but having a big part of what's different, where have we stepped forward? Okay.
And that's going to be a lot about engagement and how we're doing that, that we want to be an action committee. And so we
want to use our talents to action. So, so think about that, but also think about what we've done. Oh here it is. And this
is Denise. Put this together with Holly was very effective. Yeah I mean I can just scroll through it just so you can see what was presented last year. This was a this was the March
version. And then Denise did the 2025 on it. So it was presented in 2025. But it was about 2020 for activity. So like this will be presented in
2026. But it'll be about 2025. So 2024 on it. So it may we may have updated that for the actual presentation. So this was the draft I think the month
you know prior. But so you know details details details. And then Denise had a lovely quote. You can just we're just going
to let you see what they. Yeah. What they are. Yeah. And I've changed a lot of it. Sure. I mean it's the basis and this is you know it's a to see this.
Yep. She did a little history kind of changes to our worth. Here we go. Earth brother pillars activity you know
highlights. And then moving forward kind of the the desires and and forward looking activities and recommendations. And that was it. Yeah. So
pretty straightforward. Yeah. Succinct. Yeah. But we but the key is that we need to present substance of what we've done
and how to present that in a. So if we were to do this in April right, what date would that be. Just so we can think
of it, the board of the Board of Commissioners meetings in April will be. The regular
session should be on the sixth and the 20th in April. And last year we did do it the second meeting, and it was actually on Earth Day last year. And we
will also do an Earth Day proclamation, or we will be asking for an Earth Day proclamation. They'll probably also be like a water conservation resolution or
proclamation as well. So that's that could all again be like at the same meeting 21st 20. Oh yes, the 20 I don't know why. Yeah. Because the ninth is
Easter Monday. Oh I see it. Looks like they changed. Sorry. So no, they changed it. They changed it because of Easter I think. So it looks like the regular session is actually
going to be April 14th. So I said the wrong date. Sorry. And then the. I must have changed it for that month and then the
28th which is the last. So that's kind of a departure from our usual one is Earth Day is the 22nd, so it would be the week prior. So we could do the
end. Let me say it says that the April 14th meeting will be Board of commissioners, regular session, new board. So we probably wouldn't be able to do that one because they're
probably going to be I don't I don't know, I'm just imagining that one might be we might want to you might want to do the 28th aim for the second. Oh because meeting new commissioner. Right. I don't know if they'll be, you know,
doing installations or if they'll be doing any, you know, different activities or anything like that. Just because I don't I don't know, I'm just theorizing. The
elections in March, March 10th. Yeah. So that would be the but we can as that as so you know, next month in March is when we'll kind of see where we are and having it ready. And then
we'll ask which meeting would be, you know, that they would be able to put put this presentation on. The key is to
review the PowerPoint next month so that it's ready to go in April. Okay. Okay. And then
we'll be going. We'll all be attending the April 28th. Yeah. Hopefully tentatively hold that. And if it, you know, needs to change for some reason. Again as we get closer, I'll know
when I, you know, work with the our our coordinator who, you know establishes kind of like what goes on which agendas. So.
And that's usually around what time the meetings are at 630. And you know, who knows when we're on the agenda. But
usually usually when there's a special presentation, they do it early in the meeting and you can stay. It's interesting to
stay. Oh yeah, it's very entertaining. Okay. Any other discussion on this item? No.
Okay. I would say if anybody you know, if you look over the presentation from last year, if you look at the summary, you know, of just the meeting discussion topics and things, you know, if something jumps
out at you, just shoot me an email and I will make sure that when Doctor Mick and I meet that we kind of, you know, make sure that those are have it
beforehand so I can incorporate. Absolutely. Okay. So let's move on to sustainability development guidelines. So this
was. Part of the suggestion that was made that when a project comes up that maybe the
committee has a set of guidelines that we would like, not recommendations that we would like a project to meet or
consider these items. And I came up, I think, Siobhan, you may have been the one to first suggest that when the project
for the hotel came and and there was also another issue about the. That property on
Mears and alternate 19 like, you know, it'd be good if we were consulted or that we had some input because we are now
Action Warriors. So have you all thought about this, about like having some sort of criteria? That and Holly sent
out the the ones that Dunedin did, which seems can we adopt
that. So. Well it seems pretty. Complicated in a way. So yeah I will say Dunedin sustainability. So they have this matrix. But
again it is based on some things that they specifically have in their code of ordinances around sustainability. So but the reason that I provided this as an example is because I think
that the general categories and the, you know, the intent of it is excellent, right? So they have topics, right? They've got energy. So this is kind of what
I was, you know, thinking was you all could as a committee look at these and say like which of these topics you think are priorities. And then within
them are any of these specific, you know, little items that they, they do points which again, we're not sure exactly functionally if that would necessarily be how ours would be. It might be more of a
checklist. It might be more of a, you know, a matrix that says if you do a certain number of these, you get whatever, something else. And I'll have to, you know, work that out with the the through the technical review committee
process and probably like through the work with the planning department on that, just like functionally how that would work if we could offer any incentives or if it would just be, again, like suggestions, guidelines to
start, and then maybe we can work on codifying it. But right now it wouldn't. We don't have a mechanism for it to be regulatory, if you will, to
start. But I do like the way that they have everything broken down into their categories. Right. And so this is what I kind of thought was, you know, if you all would look at it and you could even do
this, you know, on your own, if you if doing it in a meeting is feels kind of cumbersome, you know, you could each take this and circle, highlight whatever, prioritize the things that you personally think are important. And then we could bring them
all together and kind of compare and see, you know, yes, everybody thinks that when a new development comes in it, they should do heat island reduction actions, right? They
should have to plan extra whatever it is. So I think this is just a it's a jumping off point kind of. So what if we
offered the incentive of just giving them some sort of public praise from our committee stamp of this is, yeah, maybe like a
sustainable project and maybe, I don't know, just we could give them something they can put in their window that would be really nice. Like some
something like some sort of. Award or recognition of it being recognized. Like the city already recognizes different businesses for their. And maybe
they can be listed on our part of the website, like this newsletter. Exactly. Yeah. Give them a lot of recognition because that's what they want,
right? Right. Yeah. That there's some like you said way that they, they, they because they want to be recognized in the community or building something and they want
attention. So we can think of creative ways to give them that attention that they want. Well, the first thing we have to do is come up with a criteria that
they have to meet in order to get the exactly sort of mapping over mapping a criteria over what our specific sustainability initiative is.
So being able to review that, and maybe there's some components of like Dunedin or other, you know, cities that would have comparable landscape and, you know, shorelines and
stuff like that, that, that we could say, okay, there is components here that, that also match what our plan is. But I if I were to go home and, and work on this, that's what I
would be doing is looking at our sustainability plan and looking at, you know, whether it's like Dunedin or looking at what what models are out there
more nationally like we talk about like leads a few months ago and saying, what are the components that seem to fit us the best and maybe not as
nuanced as Dunedin. If we're looking for a more of the like, the recognition, acknowledgment that these are sustainable businesses or sustainable projects, but even having like
a sign that we can give them and put in front. Yeah, I like the idea of a checklist. Yeah. Something simple and that could get maybe get a score. But of
course this all has to go through legal. Yeah. But you know, how do you get to that point where you, you know, you've been I mean, how do you rate it? You know, so I think a
checklist with numbers and but that's quite a thing to put together. So I've looked at this Dunedin thing a lot and my
eyes just blur over. But Holly, you helped me because.
Recycling and waste urban nature transportation or water.
What isn't here are things like community building or neighborhood neighborhoods contribute, you know, outreach,
you know, things that are about entering the community. These are, again, environmental. How
business is it just going to go in. And then in a year drop out that I think needs to be how sustainable is it as a business?
But I think that for me now, colleagues giving me a way to approach it, if I take the big titles and then think, you know,
what do I want to see under those titles? Right. And so I think the first thing we could do as a committee is decide what our big titles are. So
that's to me that's doable, right? Yeah. So maybe next time we should all come with a list of what we think the big titles
are and in what priority, I guess. And to remember that it's not just it's three pillars and that's what's crucial. And you'll see that in
the last year's presentation. And it will be in this year's presentation. And economic. So there are three equal pillars
that hold up the community. Just because we have trees doesn't mean we have a sustainable community. We have to have neighborhoods connected.
We have to have transportation. We have to have schools, you know, economic jobs, housing,
all of those things make a community sustainable. So does everyone agree? Next time we come with a list of our major
titles? Sure. And maybe then even during the meeting, we can maybe add some things we'd like to see under those titles, but
that seems doable because I kept looking and going, oh my God, and forget the points for now, right? Just just conceptualize what are the
priorities that you envision you would like to see in development or redevelopment. And I think simple is really good. Yes. Right. Yeah. Qualitative versus quantitative
to start with. Yeah. And and these are the major things. And if you guys meet that you get our little sticker to put in your window. That'll be really
cute. And and desirable. Yeah. People want that sticker. Right. Well and I definitely think art should be one of them. I think
you should create the artwork for. We'll see. I mean, it should be really good at doing stuff like that. Oh, I'm an art
director. Except it can't be a cat. No cat. Cat. There could be a variety. They can choose. Cat. They want. No. Okay. Anybody want to say anything
else about this? Sounds good. Sounds like a good plan. Okay. So, Holly, should we move on to items for next agenda? Okay, well, we have a bunch, right?
Oh, well, we don't actually have anything listed under items. I just listed staff comments, which. Well, I know some of those might come onto the agenda, but if anybody else
had anything else. So the items we need to ability report, we're going to go over the topics for our. Sustainability
development prize. Right. And we're going to also talk about future presentations and maybe
the. Recycling mobile recycling Educator project. And annual report. Is there anything else
we'd like on the agenda? Anybody report the approval presentation topics? I think that was all that we well, what about fleshing out the ideas
for the outreach things that we do in the school? Want to put out, which things we do at the school, like we were talking about? Oh, at the college. At
the college. Yeah, that's what I said. Presentations and okay. Yeah. So you're going to flush that out? I'll flush that. Molina's going to do hers. Yeah.
Do you want me to. You were talking to Siobhan about doing like a proposal. Or are you wanting me to put together, like, a preliminary proposal of what that would look like with the panel? Okay. Who might be
included? What would. So what do you want to accomplish? I think in keeping with the plan, it's. It would be more in line
with the community based mental health resources activities. You know, what does that look like? You know, our ability to
improve our mental health or or yeah, improve our mental health within the framework of what we already have. Not about like, oh, did you go and find a therapist. What's your
insurance is more what are things that you know can can contribute to improved mental health. Green psychology, you know, volunteering those kinds
of things. And then what, you know, organizations like peace for Tarpon are doing to improve community mental health overall mental health because they're
so focused on trauma informed care. So, yeah, that might also be important to say why mental health is important for a
community. Like I think that's important discussion that people don't have. Yeah. Like why should we even care about it? Oh yeah. There's a lot of research out there that looks
at, you know, what geographic locations have, you know, statistically better mental health and what, what that would look like, you know. And how does Tarpon Springs sort of
measure up to that, you know, and what can we do as a community as a whole? What can individuals do? So yeah, so there's those blue areas. So
the mayor is really interested in those. Yeah, I've heard him speak about it. So that may be. Yeah blue zones. Blue zones. So that may be something like why
would a community want a blue zone. What is it. Yeah. How does that help sustainability of a community. Yeah we can look at that. Yeah. Maybe
another component could be dealing with loneliness. And a number of my neighbors have told me recently that they're very lonely, single women,
especially hard hit. Well, they'll actually acknowledge it. So. And I try to make suggestions about, you know, do this or that. Yeah, certainly.
That's that's definitely something that we see a lot in our practice, that there are people that say it's really hard to make friends as an adult, you know, and
particularly difficult. Yeah. Because it's so transient, you know. Yeah. Living up north, it was like you were so built into the community already with your family and your friends from
school and all those, you know, things that it it's it's a challenge, which is great because I think that Tarpon Springs already does a lot to
to encourage that community belongingness and engagement. You know, we have our first Friday. We have the girls night out. We have you know, we have all these events that the summer concert series that
really are designed to bring people together in a positive atmosphere. So it it good because it would then showcase that we're already doing a lot of the things that would
contribute to a greater community mental health presence versus, you know, trying to encourage people to develop those things, you know, from the ground up. But it is
in Tarpon, as in a lot of Florida, there's an older community who aren't going to go to First Fridays and they're on a budget. They can't. They have money spent and maybe
aren't able to drive, and they're in their house watching TV and, and and I noticed that I do that, you know, I'm especially because I work at
home, you know, and it's like sometimes it's like I want to go out. Well, where where am I going to go? No, I don't want to. Creating some more diversity in what the options are so that we're we're across
demographics. I know Tarpon we talked about in the Citizens Academy that, you know, Tarpon is really pushing to to bring in, you know, the younger
families. And because that is sustainable if you if you know, if you have the next generations coming in. And so a lot of the events are driven
towards increasing more community involvement in those demographics. But yeah, where, where where's the the older adults. Where's the much
younger adults. You know. So yeah. And as Siobhan says, I mean women live longer than men often. So they end up being by themselves. And it's hard for
older women to go out on their own. We're going to go sit at a bar, you know, and there's all these issues. Yeah. And and I think for me, the thing is, why
is this really important? Why how does this contribute to the sustainability of a community and the sustainability of one's life? One thing that Tarpon has
going for it, though, is we are a town. You know, we are a community. It's already built in, opposed to living in some of the suburban locations where
that's where it's it's even more of a challenge. Yeah. And it's really cool that Tarpon has a neighborhoods. Yeah. So
like, I know all my neighbors and I know there's people at the end of Klosterman something point oh, they all know each
other because I'm not doing tai chi. And this whole group of women come and they all know each other and say, how do you know each other? Well, they live in this place together. Yeah. So neighborhoods and
Arpin has neighborhoods, right. And that's that's why I think thought about doing this mobile thing. We go to different
neighborhoods. So maybe that's something to think about that how do we create a web that connects the neighborhoods in
Saint Pete? They actually put signs in different neighborhoods. Oh, that's old southeast. Old northeast. Yeah, this. And maybe we want to that's a way of doing something
here. And that's a good public art project that a lot, you know. Or just get a cat and, and and you put it you walk
your cat, you walk your cat, and then you meet everybody in your neighborhood or a dog. They all talk to you, right? Yeah. I've met so many neighbors because I walk a cat
and. And because I walk a dog. Everyone knows. Everyone knows us. Yeah. It works for any kind of animal. Really? Yeah. And we had a neighbor who walked her
her goose to geese, and then she walked her pig. And so I'm not so weird, but a cat is nothing. No, a dog. Okay, maybe
all these ideas, we can somehow, like, say, oh, ideas for positive mental health in our community, I love that. Just be sure to watch Walk your pig.
Yeah. Share it. Or maybe they can join sustainability committee, you know, and become sustainable volunteers. I have to say too, I have a neighbor down the street who's a
snowbird and she's like, Loretta, do you want to walk with me? I do a walking group when I'm in town, like walking group, and she meets Adrian at
the. At the Craig Park? Yeah, the Tuesday walking group. Yeah. And I didn't know existed. And it's like you meet people in our community who are just there to walk. Yeah. An instant
friend. If we provided a list of. Yeah, the library has some new programing for that. You could do certain. Yeah. Groups. Ladies who. Yeah. Well anybody
who's lonely, you know. Well, here's a list of different things you might want to consider. It's that initial first step to do it. But you
know like for example, I've started to go to Tai Chi and everyone sort of. And so, you know, I don't know anybody. Right. And but now I've gone a
number of times. So now I'm starting to know people where, where does this happen. The rec center. Recreation center. It's the teachers. Excellent. And it's I mean, it's packed.
There's like 40 people. It's like one of their most popular classes. She's really good. And it's free. It's free. They do. Taichi, what day is Tai Chi it?
Wednesday at nine. Wednesday at nine. Well, the beginning class and then the advanced classes at ten. But you know, you have to learn their form and that
takes a while. It's different than other types. I highly recommend the rec center. I'll make a comment or I'll give you a staff update on that in just a second. But but you know, I
stand there by myself. I don't I don't know anybody. And, you know, I talked to a few people, but they have their own friends, so it's hard the first time to
go and it's awkward. And you've got to be willing to stand in that awkwardness. And sometimes it'd be like, well, I don't want to go, you know? I mean, I
like Tai Chi, so I'm going to go, but I understand how hard it is to go places. Yeah, yeah, I think that Tarpon Springs
does a really I, I grew up in, in Anchorage, Alaska, and there are less than a million people in the entire state of Alaska. So no matter where you go, there's a small town feel. And
I have lived in several places in Florida, and Tarpon Springs was the first time that I felt like I was home. Like, here's a small town feeling that I've been looking for because I
don't do well. I'm a I'm a country mouse, so I don't do well in a big city. And this was the first time that I really felt like I could belong to a community. And it took me
a few years, but that I really have felt like I belong to a community. So I think that there's a lot to showcase there that, that this, this area does
so much to bring people out of their homes. And yes, we can always do more, but really it's about showing people all these things. It's not just about, you know, are you getting out
and moving your body? Yes. That's great. Or, you know, getting out and and going to the local, you know, stores. That's great. But all of this
does contribute to a sense of belonging, a sense of, you know, being part of something that is beneficial for you. And it's a
great place to meet people, the great place to to network. It's a, you know, to, to build so many things. And that is part of sustainability. So absolutely, you know, I think
that if we do a presentation on this, it isn't just about like, what can we what can we aspire to do, but to show people like
we're already doing so much, this is good. Guys like this. This is good. You have something really good. So let's
show you what's out there so that you can feel like, okay, I don't have to be alone. There are people that are going out and doing these things. We do
have a lot of options and and showing them how to find that. And you know. When I was
explaining about Tai Chi, I realized that part of doing it, going out for the first times or so, even to anything to a new classroom or whatever, that the first few times are awkward and you don't know people and
you have to you have to realize and that, yeah, when you first go, you probably won't talk to anybody. It's going to be uncomfortable. But if you keep going, then you know it'll change. Yeah. Like if you go to a coffee shop, right, for the
first time, but then after you go a few times, they're like, oh, hi, you know, you want your thing. You know, it takes time to get to know each other. Yeah. And I think that that's something that just now I
realized is part of what happens. And it's good to acknowledge that, that you're feeling uncomfortable the first few times is normal. Yeah. Yeah it is. It's not because people
don't like you. It's not because, you know, you're never going to meet anybody. It's because that's what happens. Yeah. Change is awkward. Yeah, yeah. It's hard to go places
where you don't know anybody. And also after after we all went through Covid where it became so insular and a lot of people are suffering. Still, I
have a client who told me yesterday that she barely goes out. She orders all her groceries in, and she's just
become a total homebody. Yeah, she's happy about it, but I wouldn't be. I think that there were a group of people who were like, what we've been waiting for, you know,
permission to stay in our homes to talk to anybody. And then there were people who were like, this is a socially imposed depressive episode that you're taking me away from the people
and the things that I enjoy the most and telling me I have to stay at home. And and I think that we're going to be able to look at, at Covid as a, as an
incident for decades and, and glean so much information from it. So yeah, but it does it has a lot of social ramifications and, and everybody having to
sort of figure out what's my personal threshold, when am I comfortable with and and so yeah, we're still we're still seeing if everybody did Myers-Briggs. You know, I bet
they'd be patterns that would show up. Like Covid wasn't so hard for me because I tend to be an introvert. I mean, people will say, oh no, but I am. And
so staying at home and working. Yeah. Plus, you know, I work with my husband and my dog, so that creates. But yeah, tend to
be more introverted. But an extrovert would really. They definitely struggle. I can see you have a hard time. Yeah. Yeah. Children have a hard time.
Oh, yeah. Children. My husband was fine. Yes, he would be fine. Yeah. Yes. He definitely could definitely see how it affected different personality styles.
And our personalities are literally how do we respond to a stressful situation. And it was unprecedented. So we really saw how it brought out those
traits in people. So yeah. Well okay. So we have items for the agenda. So now we're at staff comments. Yes. So first of all, forgive me. There are way more
staff comments than usual. So I'm going to go through these as quickly as I can. And even more have been added since I made the agenda, because just more has come up that I've learned about. Okay, so just to
update you, the solar feasibility study was accepted by the Board of Commissioners on January 27th. We do have to do some follow up on that. Do
you think you could? Sure. It'd be easier to hear you, I think. So, yes. So the solar feasibility study was accepted by the Board of Commissioners on January 27th. We do have to
do a little bit of follow up, but they accepted the, you know, study as as a complete and comprehensive study, the way that it was done. So that was
great. We did publish a spring newsletter. So that is on the website. It is I emailed it, it's on Connect Tarpon. So it's out in the world. We have let's
see storm drain murals. You saw them. Let's see. And these have been selected. Are they there. Are they installed. They are not installed. So the public
art committee chose the top. So we have five locations. One of those is being reserved for a staff competition. But so they chose the art for four
locations. And if you look at this one, yes, we have already let them know that there's an E that is extra on the word drain. So that's being corrected before it gets installed. But I updated the location. So this
will be at Safford and Spruce, which is right by the trail, you know, by the exercise equipment and the stormwater baffle box kind of in that area.
And then let's see. So they did they kind of just used their own, let's say, decision making process. I think if we did
another phase, we would look at giving a little bit of specific criteria by which to make the choices. But the artist proposals were all lovely. So
this one is going to be at Dodecanese and Athens Octopus. And then we've got these beautiful roseate spoonbills that will be put on Tarpon Avenue. And we have, I
suggested that they add the only rain down the drain because that was a qualification of the program, was to have the educational message be included. So
hopefully that it is in front of I believe it's across from like the depot. So it's right there in that block of Tarpon
Avenue. Okay. And then the last one is this zany, bright, fun little snail. And this will be in front of the Union Academy
on Martin Luther King Day, has every place that it's going to be in front of. Agreed that they're okay with it. Well, that's not really up to them
because it's city. It's well, I we've had this well and it seems prudent and I would think the committee would be savvy to make sure that there's not
going to be anybody who's going to object, because it was a big issue with the public art piece that was in front of the
Citizens Academy. Sure. I think that was more of a so I think that was more of a safety and a accessibility issue, that they wanted people to be able to see
the art. So I just think it would behoove everybody to just say I was going to be glad to and, you know, share that
message, be fine with it. But it's always prudent to not just impose something on the community. Having done public art for many, many years, you
trust me. People want to be okay with it. The other thing, could you make sure that people sign it? Because art should always be signed. So do you
mean the artists themselves? Sure. I think that's a great. They should always point. No, that they should sign their art. Yeah, well, we're going to others. We just need to move
names on there. I'm sorry. It looks like they all have, but just to make sure. Yeah. Okay. Perfect. All right. I will move to the next I don't know. And I
don't have their information. They were anonymous submissions, so I don't have that information because they were submitted directly to the public art committee. So I just attended their meeting to watch
their process and kind of see what they're, you know, see where they landed. And so I don't have that, but I'm sure that we will. I could get it now that they're chosen. I just
I don't have it. They are. That's a great question. I can try to find that out. I know there were a variety of submissions. You know, that you could you could tell probably
some were, you know, done by different age ranges. We'll just say. So that was great to see. And then we have touch a truck coming this Saturday. So that's like two days from now
which will be great big city event. So of course I'll be there tabling, sharing a lot about water conservation. There will also be tree giveaways with our arborists. I'll have
the Nissan Leaf there, of course, our electric vehicle ready to answer any questions. Talk about that. So that'll be a big opportunity to do a little outreach and just strike
up conversations. We're going to try to do trivia questions and ask people, you know, kind of engage with them and then ask them to specifically, you know, give an answer, give a
guess. And then like an item from our giveaways, which I think are already sustainable, but just which item would they want and, and use. So we're going to try to make it more of
like an educational put them, you know, have a conversation and then make them say which item they would use instead of just giving them, you know, something if they're not going to use it. Yeah, that is this
Saturday on the 21st at the, you know, in front of the library across or in Lime Street as well. So and then let's see, the Parks and
Recreation master plan has kicked off. So the city has undertaken that. The consultants were here this week doing some tours, kind of getting the lay of the land. So I asked them about public input,
and they specifically said that a public input survey is opening very soon. I believe they're even going to have a QR code available at touch a Truck this weekend for people to
begin to engage with that it will be live on connect Tarpon Springs as well as soon as they open that for input. So obviously I want to encourage not only you to participate in the survey, but share it, you
know, with neighbors, friends, we will share it through all of the mechanisms that we have access to as far as the sustainability department goes, because that is going to be a really big one that touches on
there's a lot of overlap, right, with some of our priorities. They come to our committee. I don't know. They they are going to form a like a stakeholder group. I want to say that
should involve some committee members. And so I'm going to try to make sure that however that is formed, I'm not I'm not sure if they would be able to include our entire this entire
committee or if it would just be, you know, ask who could serve on that as like a, an ad hoc sort of thing. But there should be an opportunity for that. So I'm going to stay tuned in. And again they just
kicked it off. So I'm not sure exactly on the the timing, but I will bring that to you all as an opportunity as soon as I find something out about that.
And then let's see, I do have another item coming on the agenda for the Board of Commissioners this coming Tuesday, the 24th. And that is
a resolution to authorize the city to charge to authorize fees for city owned electric vehicle charging stations. So we're kind of the last city
that is giving our electricity away for free. And so the goal of this is to try to recoup some of the costs of maintaining those vehicle charging stations, to be able
to buy new ones when, you know, one fails. And just to again put the put the cost on the users instead of the city bearing all that, which is just a big thing going forward. Of
course, you know, we want to be, you know, revenue positive when we can. And it'll help me with budgeting. So that would be really I'm hopeful that that
will go through. And like I said, we have a lot of neighboring cities that have already set the precedent that have, you know, they have fee structures. They have the same vendor that we have. So I think
that will go hopefully according to plan so that we can again, just recoup some of the program costs for that. And then lastly, I did about that.
So I don't even know where the Chargers are. So maybe in the next newsletter. Okay. And maybe every newsletter you can and put on the site where these
charges are. We do have a map that had people ask me, okay, because I see I have an electric car, where can I charge them? Oh, that's so funny. Okay. I mean, there used
to be one here, but then they got rid of it because of the the clerks. Sure. When the clerk's building went under construction, they had to remove two that the library. So
we have four locations right now where we have public facing chargers, the public parking lot at Safford Avenue and Lime Street and Court. So lime Safford Court in that public
parking lot. There are four units there. And then we have two at the splash Park slash dog park. Those are brand new. So those were just installed
within the last couple of weeks. We have two at the community center, the recreation center at 400 South Walton. And then we also have we will have two
back in service here at City Hall, at the clerk's building once. Those are not in service yet, but they will come back into service. So as well.
Correct. So those are all the public facing locations that will if, if the Board of Commissioners chooses to, you know, approve this resolution,
those will all become a fee for service location locations. I know on these here there'd be cars that would just parked. Sure. And and so that's the
thing, right? Is that, you know, when the Park and plug program started, which was several years back, and that was a Duke Energy program and it was free, and they were sort of testing the uptake. How many people are
going to, you know, use these and things like that. And so the energy was paid for. It was wonderful. But then when they ended their part in that and that was about two years ago, the city has, you know, been
paying for that ever since. And so now we know that there are many electric vehicle users and that the city can I think it can be more of a self-sustaining program if we do turn on fees for it. So I
think that the pilot program did its job. And so now we take that knowledge, that information, and we move forward and kind of do what everyone else is doing and turn on, you know, turn it on and
it'll be a reasonable amount. And we may, you know, set different rates for certain things. Just depends. But that's that's the next big thing. And otherwise I did have
one update that just happened today. I had someone reach out to me who she would be a great committee member, but unfortunately she does not live within the city limits of Tarpon Springs. But we did have
a call today. Her name is Miriam and I did not write down her last name, so my apologies for that, but she is very interested in sustainability, has been a sustainability professional, but currently
works for the Main Street program, the National one. So not the Florida one and not a specific local one, but the national one. And she is very interested in volunteer
opportunities that might come through this committee possibly. So I told her that we're you know, you all are working on presentation outreach topics and programs. And so as soon as
we have something that is, you know, tangible. But she would be, I think, a really great resource. And so I just wanted to share that. And she may want to come to. She's out of town
for the next two meetings, but she may want to come and introduce herself in May. So I just wanted to say those are my
comments about membership. If you're in. Like there's part of Tarpon, right? There's city limits tarpon and there's not
city limits Tarpon Springs. That's right in the other tarpon. So if they are correct. So if that's correct they cannot be so even. That's right.
So you may have an address that says Tarpon Springs, but that does not in fact mean that you are in the city limits. So when people apply the clerk, they will check that to see that.
Yeah. Who lived in that. Right. So, you know, some of the people on farther south on Tarpon or north and, you know, across that way have Tarpon Springs addresses, but it's not. Yeah. Within the the city's
actual, you know, corporate limits, I suppose. Well thank you. Okay. Okay. Did committee people have comments I don't
know, no. Nope. Okay. So does someone want to move to adjourn? Or do you just like it here,
I'll motion to adjourn. Second. Second. Third motion. All in favor? Aye. Okay. We are officially adjourned. Thank you.
Everyone. This was a good meeting. Thank you, thank you.