City Council - Regular Meeting

Carla, come. Whereas in the morning of September 11th, 2001, the American people endured one of the most devastating days in our nation's history when four commercial airplanes were hijacked and used as weapons of terror against the United States of America. And whereas between 8.46 a.m. and 10.03 a.m. on that fateful day, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, United Airlines Flight 175 struck the World Trade Center's South Tower, and American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and United Airlines Flight 93 cr

On behalf of this, do you want to say something else?

Oh, you had a question? I'm sorry. Hang on. So the purpose of this sign, just to make sure everybody understands and I understand, is for your customers to be able to see your entrance from the parking area.

Move to approve 3A with the condition recommended by staff.

Yeah, yesterday I acknowledged that I was confused in the last council meeting on the language changes in that ordinance. And I looked into it since then and discovered that on the intersections immediately coming out of Fisherman's Village, Marion and Maud and Olympia and Maud in the last five years have been 95 accidents. I think it's a bad idea to unnecessarily force golf carts out there when, in the same period of time, there have been no incidents on the Tidal Bridge. And I am opposed to the changes in the ordinance.

So I look deeply into this, too, because I'm the one who kind of brought up the liability. But it was because we were discussing golf carts, if you remember, and we all had discussed that I thought that they are not allowed to be on the streets at all. I mean, that was my impression, unless the city allows them on a certain street. That's why we have this ordinance. If that's not true, then I'm understanding from Chief Smith that it's the bridge that's the issue. It's just the bridge. So I looked back and one of the newspapers had written in 2019, they wrote, in 1979, the city council voted to

I want to reiterate that in the last five years, There have been 95 accidents on those two intersections, 60 plus on Maude and Marion, and the balance of them on Olympia and Maude. Whereas in the same period of time, there have been no incidents on the Tidal Bridge. I don't think we need to fix something that's not broken. Most of the golf cart drivers will wait until the pedestrians clear the bridge. There just haven't been any incidents. And I think it's a bad idea to force them out onto the roads unnecessarily, and it's a bad look for this council.

Well, the first thing they're going to say in a court of law is, well, it was reasonably foreseeable. And the very fact that we're discussing this on the record could be used against us. So that is now a concern of mine. And I, you know, I don't know how to rectify this other than make Fisherman's Village, pay for the bridge, any fixings, and certainly the railing that could separate the pedestrians from the golf carts.

Go ahead. need so just to further remind us all that you know we've always been told there are two or three a day it's not like there's a lot of traffic there in fact the mayor Matthews at the time says we are not using these golf carts as an exclusive means of getting back and forth But we all know that the goal for the Military Heritage Museum eventually, I mean, it's no secret, they're going to do something with that building. And there will be a lot more traffic. So let's just say we keep it the way it is. And the traffic increases. There's more parking there. They would like to be able to

So, I move to approve 3C, which means we will not That's what we wanted to do, approve it, because I agree with you, Melissa. We want to protect the city. So I move to approve 3C. Second.

Okay. Yes, this is the Veterans Triplex that is, I drive by it every now and then. Moving along, it's beautiful. And I'm so glad that the city partnered with Porch to do this. So I'm in favor of approving 4C. And I know that Lockhart wants to say something, so I'll, okay. Okay, if nobody wants to discuss anything on this, I move to approve 4C. I second. I was preempting.

Did you add in camera as requested by the mayor on Monday?

So you said known or unknown conflict. Describe what you mean by unknown is that what if it's known by the individual but not everyone else, and so how does, it's on them to be transparent and reveal that there is a conflict, correct?

Anything else? Okay. Janice? Can I move to approve it with those provisions, those additions? Then I move to approve resolution 2026.

I went to visit the site on Monday and met with the Learn to Sail people. They're doing a great work there, and it's a really nice addition to our community. I know it's been around a long time, but one thing I asked, well, I wanted to check that it wasn't blocking any beautiful views of sunsets and things like that from the pavilion, and it's not. So it's kind of tucked away a little bit there. And I also asked about maintenance, because we don't want any more maintenance jobs for our city. So they are going to take care of whatever vegetation they put up and the fencing and that sort of thin

Yes, I just wanted to clarify, isn't the original dinghy dock that was destroyed or damaged in Ian going back into that south area eventually?

I agree that it should go to 2032 and that they should be joined to the timeframe. The dinghy dock's very important because it's for public use for mariners who come in, anchor, and they want to go ashore and they want to walk over to Fisherman's Village or any of our other beautiful restaurants and shops and everything. So the dinghy dock needs to be restored and I hope we're not going to wait on FEMA for that. I've been asking about it for a number of years now. The ramp is fine, and I believe one of the floats is usable. It doesn't have to be huge to let people come in and get to shore. So

And we haven't seen, is this a submerged land lease that we have? I mean, obviously we have use of the submerged lands, but it's not. Okay, so explain how that works. And I know if the DEP originally approved it, it was under some sort of stipulation. It would have to be, and I would imagine, I'm just guessing, that it would be for public use.

Okay, no, I think it would be important just to look at it and make sure that we're not just giving exclusive, and I don't think that's what they're asking for, you know, use of that area. I just want to make sure that we know it should be open to all to use, as it always has been. So just making sure.

So if it didn't reference the submerged land lease, it would be simpler, more clear. And then the other thing is that so the yeah back to the dinghy dock i'd like to hear from ron if there's a plan for restoring it also when i went down to speak with them they do adult classes as well i don't know you know how you define public in you know public use i thought it was just for children but i mean adults want to learn to sail too and they have boats that work for both and tn and instructors that work for both adults and children so How do you define public use in this kind of a case?

So I don't think Learn to Sales asking, and they can answer that question, for them to use this exclusively. I mean, obviously they've had some kind of a lease in place. And I brought this up during the pre-agenda meeting. I'm wondering if we couldn't just do a letter of consent. That way they're not bound by a lease agreement. They can use it as often as they want to. They can just move on with life. And we don't have this public purpose versus private. So I think there's a way around it that will be, quite frankly, just less confining.

So putting a fence around that area to protect their boats, is that considered improvements in this case, Mr. Leskovich?

WAIT, I'M SORRY. I'LL SECOND SINCE MY RED LIGHT'S ON.

Yeah, I'm not opposed, but I'm curious about what the delay will do to the boat club. I've seen some reactions over there and I'm concerned that we're impeding something that they wanted to get done. Could you guys please speak up?

Second. No, you have to rescind your second. And I move to approve. The land lease for the sailing school, Learn to Sail, with the conditions of a few changes, according to Leskovich, and a termination date of 2032. And since we have to charge money, we'll charge a dollar for this one, a dollar for that one, and then figure it out in 2032.

Yeah, well, whatever. If $1 can cover it, then that's simpler. I thought we had to charge something, so $1.

Yes, thank you, Ron. I know there are a lot of people in the city, mainly in my district, that were harping on you to get this done, and I so appreciate that you put it on the list. And the linear park is looking beautiful, too. Is it going to be the same kind of material that you're using as you did through the linear park, or is it completely different? Let us know what kind of material you're using.

And another question is, so with maintenance on that, is that material something that you would have to do every five years, four years, or does it depend on how much traffic or it's...

Great. And I'm sorry, one more question, because one of the complaints was what the tires that the owners of the homes that live on these properties pick up a lot of dirt, and that dirt goes onto their pathway or their driveway, excuse me, and into their garage. I guess it's been a big problem when it gets really wet that it's super muddy. Will this material uphold any kind of that situation? Is it?

So not paying the deposit would help a bit, although they get it back anyway. And it does encourage people to take care of the property. With the different things that are going on financially in their state, we may not want to start waiving fees. We've got to be consistent in everything we do. So I'm kind of with you in terms of re-evaluate the whole thing. But at this point, I don't think we should should really, uh, you know, when you're talking about charging for boat launch fees, things like that, we can't start taking away fees that have been there and established for a long time. We jus

And so Greg, I'm okay with waiving the deposit in this case. They clean up entirely. I was out there and helped. Um, there's no chance of any damage or, or, you know, clean up needed.

Sure. I move to approve this permit with a waiver of the deposit fee.

I think it would be the same situation year after year. There's no chance of damage or cleanup needed.

Is there any way we could just say for this year and then we'll discuss it? I just don't think we should jump into the five-year deal yet, because we haven't had a chance to really talk about this. And aren't we going to go over our permitting booklet? It's hundreds of pages. And I think, Dr. Reichardt, didn't you bring up something a few weeks ago about people having 10 people there? business and it's considered an event if somebody reports it. So there are some things in there that were written, I don't know, I think the last time we looked at it was 2009 or something like that. So we need t

So does Greg's motion need a second then? It does. Okay, I'll second that.

staff is requesting approval to award authorization to to cdm smith of fort myers florida yeah it was my understanding we already approved this and within the budget and i'm not sure why this has to come for a second approval

I move to approve 6H to continue the single source.

I don't have a question, but I would also suggest that you talk to Altamont Springs. They were highlighted in the year ago um league of cities annual conference for taking advantage of ai they've got they even have driverless vehicles running around the city yes sir i will ultimate springs i will definitely look into that that was fantastic thank you for three months being here and all that you've shown us i think you're very valuable so thanks so much anybody else

And the only other thing I have is can we get an update and if you did this last meeting I apologize since I missed on annexation and where we're at That's it Thank you for looking into SB 484 I was gonna ask your opinion so look forward to hearing about that I hope that Melanie can find a place for her parrots and i've been there with my grandson it's really noisy, but our concrete block buildings were great because they. You can't really hear that from outside so it's just really fun to go there and just look at those birds and I hope people want to rehome them so that's all I have really ju

Yeah, I've been paying attention to what Northport has been doing in regard to the data centers. And they've imposed a moratorium to give themselves some time to review their ordinances regarding air pollution, noise pollution, and so forth. And we don't have anybody applying for a... data center in Punta Gorda and I don't even believe we have the land that would support something like that. But I do think that as time permits we should take a look at our ordinances in regard to noise and air pollution and so forth. So should it ever come about that we're in good stead. That's all I have.

Okay, just on that note that we do serve water outside of our actual city and that may be a concern of ours that the county could approve a data center and we have to supply the water. So it's something to think about. So thank you for bringing that up. Some things I wanna discuss. How about a date at some time for the comprehensive plan for public or city meeting town hall? I'd like a date and an open discussion dialogue with the public. I think they need to understand, you know, you can either make a comprehensive plan change, you can expedite it, whether it be a large scale or small scale c

9-25 is going to be 9-2-5. You know where I'm going with this, Dolly Parton. We're trying to make it a Dolly Parton day. And who's putting this out is the Imagination Library. The employees, let's say if we did it within the city of Punta Gorda, you pay $9.25 and you can dress like Dolly, which some of you men in the back are laughing at me, but that would be fun.

But you pay $9.25, and the money goes to the Imagination Library. And I will have, or I would appreciate it if we could have on 9-23 any kind of announcement that I could make on that would be great. I think the county is doing... Oh gosh, my mouth is, yeah, yes, a proclamation. So, you know, we can't let them out to us. So wear pink, dress up. Also on 9-29-2026, if you would like to support the Philharmonic, you just go to the Celtic Ray that day. You've got to have the little coupon tickets that I gave you guys. You use those when you get your meal. 10% of your meal will go to the Philharmon

Janine reminded me that Celtic Ray is today doing the same thing for Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center. So if you're hungry or thirsty, head over there today. And next time. I thought it was the 14th.

I think this is more about literacy and her connection with that, because there are preschoolers that the Imagination Library gives thousands and thousands and thousands of books in our area, too. So it was more about the literacy, but mixed in with her. And so it's not just about her.

And I can send you the one from Charlotte County, just to have an idea of what they're doing, if that's OK. Certainly.

Well, again, I mean, we supply water outside of our area. And my concern is if there are developments like that that are approved by the county, we're on the hook for the water. So, you know, I don't know if we can even legally do that. I don't know. I'm, you know, just guessing here. But supplying water to something like that is very different from just a regular industrial building. Okay.

Yes, no, I would just like to ask about are there positions open right now on HPAB? Are we going to deal with that another time or how are we working that?

To be clear though, there is one seat open then you said on HPAB? There's one regular seat and one alternate seat.