City Commission - Regular Meeting

St. Pete Beach. Today is Tuesday, December 16th, 2025. It is 6 p.m. Let's stand for the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

City clerk, if you please do a roll call. Vice Mayor Marriott here. Commissioner Robinson here. Commissioner Isniki here. Commissioner Maldonado here. and Mayor Petrilla here. We have a quorum.

Thank you. Are there any amendments to the agenda as proposed? Mayor and Commission, I respectfully request that we continue item five B to the regularly scheduled meeting on January 13, 2026 at 6 PM as we are awaiting further feedback from the state regarding this ordinance. I also request that item 6A 6D as well um be continued to uh January 13, 2026 as we are still um working with the um the claimant on the final settlement agreement. I have

got two items to add to discussions. Yes, sir. I'd like to add uh Dog Beach to the uh discussions as well as the CRD EA and height in Pasigil. I'm sorry, the what? The CRD. Okay. 8th Avenue and height. I'd like to add a um brief comments on commission meetings, the dates. [snorts]

Okay. Any other items? Uh, mayor, with regard to the 5G ordinance, that would be 5E, a statutory notice to the Department of State had to go out prior to the effective date of the ordinance, and it requires 30 days from the date that the Department of State published the notice of the proposed ordinance. That was published. Um, but it will it's not um 30 days since the date it was published. So the 30-day effective date would be delayed until the next meeting date. So if you'd like to continue that to January 13th, that would give you more time. Um, if you adopt it now, it cannot go into effect until the 30 days would expire, which would be um, I believe January 10th. Anyway,

is your recommendation that we move it to January 13th? Yes. Okay. That will also give us time to put further supporting documentation into the agenda packet which could be helpful in defending the ordinance. And I would like to add one item for permits. Mayor, was there consensus to continue the I'm sorry. Um, well, I [snorts] guess when we vote, we will find out. That is Is that where the the recommendation from the city attorney was that we continue it to uh January 13th and then Okay.

Is there a motion [clears throat] to approve the agenda as amended? I make him add something. I did. I just said permits. Yep. [clears throat] Those January 13 dates would be at 6 pm, correct? That's the regular scheduled first meeting in 2026. I motion to approve the the agenda as amended. I second. City clerk, if you'll please do a roll call. Vice Mayor Marriott? Yes. Commissioner Robinson? Yes. Commissioner Risniki? Yes. Commissioner Maldonado? Yes. Mayor Peta? Yes. The motion carries. Thank you. [clears throat]

All right. The first item that we have is [snorts] a proclamation. So this is a proclamation celebrating a very special delivery. Whereas on August 21st, 2025, firefighter paramedic Tai Uvich, firefighter paramedic Max Lik, and firefighter paramedic Scott Berford of the St. Pete Beach Fire Department demonstrated exceptional professionalism, skill, and composure during emergency medical incident involving a precipitous field delivery. And whereas upon arrival, firefighter paramedic Ulvich and firefighter paramedic Lik and firefighter paramedic Berford quickly assessed the situation and recognized the immediate need for advancing obstetric obstetrics intervention. And whereas their swift actions, teamwork, and compassionate care directly contributed to the safe delivery and well-being of both mother and newborn. And whereas Penllis County EMS medical director and the director of EMS and fire administration formally commended both members for the exemplary performance and dedication to patient care. And whereas the life-saving efforts of firefighter paramedic Ulvich and firefighter paramedic Berford reflect great [clears throat] reflect great credit upon themselves, the St. Pete Beach Fire Department and the Penelis County EMS system. And now therefore, be it resolved that firefighter paramedics Tai Levich, firefighter paramedic Max Likig, and firefighter paramedic Scott Berford are hereby recognized and commended for their outstanding service, clinical excellence, and unwavering commitment to public safety. Their actions are a true testament to their professionalism and dedication of our emergency services. [applause] [applause]

Fire chief mayor, I'd like to add that tonight we have the privilege of recognizing these three members and um their actions go to the heart of what we perform as professional firefighters every day. um their actions, their teamwork, their communication is what provided that positive outcome for mother and baby. And on behalf of the department, for the city, and the citizens, I'd like to thank Ty, Scott, and uh uh Max for their actions that day. So, uh they were also honored by the county uh EMS coordinator as well. So, I'd like to present each of them with these. Scott and for your uniform.

Thank you. Tie, would you like to come down for a photo? Yes, sir.

[clears throat]

Yeah, let's come over to the middle. You're Come on, guys. [snorts] Ready? Well done. [applause] [applause] All right. The next item is to be a presentation on the Mary Pier Bait Shack.

Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, and commissioners. Uh, for the record, Camden Mills, public services director, I appreciate your time this evening um to give you an update on where we stand currently with the Mary Pier Bait Shack and staff um seek your direction on next steps moving forward. Um so back in April of of this year u we we presented the status of where we stood with this Bay Shack at that time and we received the direction to provide an updated appraisal as well as solicit competitive bids uh to evaluate whether rebuilds um with uh code compliance to current standards would be feasible or not. Um, as you may recall, um, this structure is not designated historic and is not eligible, um, to be designated historic. And this structure was also, um, determined to be substantially damaged, uh, by the city's building official as as well as FEMA's inspectors. Um, so since we um, last presented to this uh, presented this to you guys, we we did receive an updated appraisal for the structure. Um the new appraised value for the for the building itself is at $210,000. Um we also did solicit um competitive bids um for for contractors to give us the price so we could evaluate what the cost would be to rebuild it up to the um not only the building code but also to FEMA's code and standards. Um the lowest bid that that met those requirements was at 210,682. Um, and I would like to point out that that um that fee did not include any permitting or the or the engineering plans that would be associated with with those permit documents. Um, so we have um factored in a little extra um for that estimate as well that you'll see later. Um, our insurance valuation uh previously back in April that was at 62,000. Um, since then that has increased um to 82,000. Um so the amount of after cash value that that our

insurance has presented to us has increased um since April. And then the the demolition cost um previously we had solicited competitive bids for the demo of the structure and the low bid for that demolition still stands at just under $66,000. Um I would like to note um that the the project with FEMA is is still currently under review. Um, but I would note that any insurance funding that we received for this project would be deducted um from FEMA's public assistance. Um, so at this time we would not anticipate um any additional uh FEMA funding beyond uh what insurance was able to provide. Um so as we are considering uh rebuilding this structure um a few uh important points to consider is is first the the 50% um FEMA evaluation. Um based on the numbers I I showed on the previous slide, this structure was determined to be substantially damaged and and therefore would have to be brought up uh with the current code elevations. Um this this structure is in the high-risisk coastal uh flood area or the VE flood zone and and because of that with the 50% rule in that in that uh coastal area uh flood proofing would be required. So so we don't necessarily have to elevate the structure to the base flood elevation. an alternative because this is a commercial structure is that we could um we could either wet or dry floodp proof it and then u next steps moving forward if we were to continue with a rebuild is is the permitting um that that we would have to go through in order to make this project happen. Uh first of which is with the city's uh building permit, but we'd also coordinate with the state uh Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Penllis County uh due to its location over the waterway. And I apologize here. This this appears to be an outdated slide. Um but but staff here, we we seek direction from the city commission on next steps moving

forward. Um one one option would be to demo the building and and not rebuild it. Another option would be u perform selective demolition and and rebuild the structure to current codes and standards. Um, just to give you a summary on on those costs, um, as I mentioned, the demo cost is just under 66,000. Our rebuild estimate, um, is around 250,000. So, that factors in that that 210 that I presented earlier, um, with some fluff added in there for for permitting and, um, permitting plan documents. And the current budget that the city has right now is $144,650. um that 144,000 is um combination of of two different funding sources. Uh first of which is that that insurance after cash value that that I mentioned at 82,000 but also the uh 65,529 that the city currently has budgeted in our fiscal year 26 uh capital improvement program. Um so if we did uh want to move forward with with a rebuild, uh we do uh predict that there would be a little bit of funding gap that that we would have to address. Uh but ultimately um we would like to seek your direction on whether you'd like us to pursue uh the rebuild further or um if you would prefer that that we were to demo demo the structure. Um and it is important to note that um a decision is needed [clears throat] on on this structure in order for the city to renew our submerged land lease um for for that um that pier itself. And with that, I'll open it up to any questions. Thank you,

Commissioner Robinson. Um, can it be done uh less than the uh 210 rebuild? I mean, things like you see now, garage doors, open air type of thing. Um, as a rebuild to keep cost down, that that's possible. Um, when we did solicit, you know, the bids that that was the best price that we received. Um, I believe the design for that structure included uh where it would be floodproof in the sense where if water were to come into the building, it would be able to flow out. So, it's essentially your walls and and your flooring would be waterproof and would have some sort of vent system in it to allow um that to be compliant. So, was the quote then as it you know a rebuild as is as it was?

No, it was a rebuild to to codes and standards. Okay. Thank you, Commissioner Balden. Thank you. So um I just want to clarify and I want you to uh to state this as well so that we all understand and are on the same understanding for contextual discussions here. So if we demolish it we cannot rebuild anything there. Is that correct? That's correct.

So the only option really is to rebuild maybe as Commissioner Robinson said scale back to a bare basic minimum structure. It's a bait shack, right? And possibly maybe one bathroom. So again, going back to her question, the statement of work was to rebuild this. Was it ASIS? It it was not an ASIS rebuild. No, it it was um to rebuild it within the same footprint, same square footage, but it had some additional components so it would comply with um the the flood proofing requirement.

Yeah. Yeah, I mean I I do see that, you know, we've got about $106,000 funding gap here and there certainly is uh I believe to the commission's standing. Uh we can work with that a little bit and move things around, you know, in terms of wants versus needs, but I would also like to see that shaven down as much as possible. You know, we we we're not asking for a uh state-of-the-art structure or building. We're just asking for a bait shack, you know, that can service both our residents and our tourists who rely on that uh heavily within our community. Understood. [clears throat]

Commissioner Robinson. And of of course, I'm just confirming that um once you get the initial build done within the the uh 50% FEMA, if we wanted to do any improvements, if we did a bare minimum, we could do that under an SI situation. Correct. Um um substantial improvement or an improvement. It would it would Yes. fall underneath that just as every home out here does. Yep. Correct. Okay. I just for clarification, this is a commercial building. Okay. So for commercial

the only standards well the different standards from residential are we have to basically harden it to weather the storm but it doesn't it doesn't [snorts] um follow the same rules as residential what about improvements how how does it follow for improvements then since I don't as long as it's floodp proofed and and meets the standards of that flood zone from a commercial perspective you're fine. Okay. So, it's a little less restrictive actually than residential. So, you uh go by the first the FEMA 50 for substantial damage and then you still have some leeway laid out.

We see if we have to harden because if it was less, we could just go in and maybe fix the, you know, the walls or the floor if it had been less. But because it wasn't, now they're saying it has to meet these higher standards of flood proofing essentially or weather proofing. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Wet proofing. Wet proofing. Yes, that's better. Commissioners Nikki, um, is the current submerged lease land being paid right now? Is it current or is has it expired already? The current land lease is expired. So, it's already expired. It is already expired. Yes.

Okay. So, we're And how long do we have to pay it to not lose it? And is it important like if you do not have it? It is important in order to uh maintain that that pier structure and also so the city is able to to lease that pier structure. So, when if it's if we're not paying it and it's expired, I'm a little confused. Do we have a time like are they saying, "Hey, you're under penalty. You haven't paid. you've got up to this date to pay this. D will let us renew because of the executive orders and the um D orders and the um hurricane issues. So we can so we have an extension be able to yeah to able to renew that. Okay. Um

then of course you can have a concession in there. There's the lease he's talking about. Okay. If if we were to demo um the building now, how much time do we have? Um because you know listening to like Commissioner Robinson's point um and Commissioner Maldonado, you know, if if we were going to do something less than than what is there, let's just say, but if we demo it, um it triggers time, doesn't it? Because you're saying I what I heard from from the comment was that if we demo it, we can't build. But how long do we have?

These things are no longer allowed under the DP rule. So if we demo it, you would likely not get a permit to build a paycheck over water. So we would leave it there, not demo it until we know what we can do. Is that what we have to do?

Okay. And is there a concern like an insurance concern? You said insurance is going to is gone up. Um does it continue to go up because it now is it is it an issue? Is it a safety issue to leave it there until we decide, you know, it could pose a safety um given the condition of the structure now um you know as we as we get into hurricane season. I think that's something um that's important to consider. Okay. Thank you. Robinson, what condition is the rest of the dock in? The rest of the dock was was in a good condition.

Is in good condition. So we're strictly only talking. Just want to make sure. And with the ACV, did that include the dock structure or is that separate for just the building? And would an ACV actually include a dock structure? They're separated. Um, those were separated. So that ACV is just for the the building itself. Okay. And the land lease is for the the dock and everything or just that building? Everything that that's over the water. Yeah. Okay. So that would include the docks as well. So this is kind of uh inclusive of that. Okay. Just want to make clear on that.

Thank you, Camden. What is So we previously had a commercial lease on this property. Correct. I believe so. Yes. Do we know what the amount is or what we anticipate? I do not. Do you know that city's attorney?

If I misspeak, I'm going to ask the ACM to come up here. My understanding is right now we have a current lease in place for 4500 a month. It will expire in February. They have an ability to extend it for five years if the city so negotiates that extension and we are in the midst of negotiations with them due to the status of the pier and post hurricane damage to the impact of their business.

Okay. And do we have a rough idea of what our monthly or annual carry cost is for this property? No, the D cost for permitting. I I don't have that on top of my head. I'm saying our annual cost, taxes, insurance. Oh, we would I would need to get that to you.

Okay. So, if we look at it though, we have so an out-ofpocket cost with permits, Camden, if I'm looking at your numbers correctly, is about $144,000. the the $144,000 is is what the city has currently in in our budget right now that we could spend on this. Okay. So, you mentioned it was 250 minus the 85 or so that we received from the sorry from um FEMA for insurance. Yes. And also um we have about 65,529 in our CIP. Okay. Yep.

[snorts] [snorts]

So, if we assume I mean $1,000 would be a lot, but if we assume $1,000 a month for taxes and insurance and other miscellaneous carrying cost, that leaves the city with a net of $3,500. $00 which we would we which we would recoup in roughly two years. So if we put out the money for it now would actually cover the entire cost within roughly three years. The cost that's not covered by insurance and so on. [snorts] I'm just looking in terms of the comments that we've received from the community. Commissioner Maldonado, you can probably speak to that more than many of us, but I know I've certainly received a fair amount of communication, spoken with a lot of residents who would prefer, if at all possible, to save this landmark in Passog. And so, I think if we have a way to to pay for it and have it financially viable in a very short amount of time, I think we should do what we can to save this property. I I I would add that at several meetings and through uh several discussions even beyond my district that I have had no opposition to uh saving what we can uh within reason you know and I do think that this is as a mayor u dissected just in simple math it's an investment for our community this is something that's not only going to return pennies and dollars to us annually this is something that brings our community together you know it is a focal point. Uh families gather there. Uh Captain John is here. He probably will speak later about what it means to his family. Uh the Hubards have had history there in the past. I mean, this is although it's not designated as a historic building, it certainly contributes and it will eventually become in in my hopes a contributing structure for uh for Pasil and for our community. Thank you,

Commissioner Marriott. Um yeah, I agree. I think this is a an important building. I think it's important to the community and and uh a little bit iconic for Pasigril to have the Mary Pier Bait Shack. And um as you pointed out, Mayor, I think that it's a uh an investment that we'll recoup in a relatively short amount of time. And so I think this one's a pretty easy a pretty easy decision to to to find the money now to rebuild it. Thank you. Thank you, Camden. City Clerk, do we have any audience comments? Yes. [clears throat] Aaron Hollandback.

Hello, Aaron Hollandach. Um, I've basically grew up in Pasigrow. Um, my family came down there in 1978 and, uh, spearheaded the effort to save that pier back when it was slated for demolition. And uh so here we are again and and I really hope that uh we can save it again. Um it's been a part of Pas Grove since [clears throat] I've been down there and certainly beyond that. Um and I just I really hope we can save it. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Carl Hollandback.

Good evening. If you feel please state your name and address for the record.

Hi Carl Holland back 2541 East Venadar. Uh have any of you been down to the pier and actually seen the building seen the damage? You've all been down there to see the damage? No. Well, really isn't a lot of damage done to the building. We're talking about floors that popped up. Uh the structure is sound. I think that figures that I I know you know when you go and get a contractor to come in and put a bid on something it's for [clears throat] a municipality they're going to kick it up about 30%. So right there, you know, I think you've had some offers to rebuild the place and like for myself when I got here to to pass a grill, uh that building was condemned by the city and they had red tape around it and I went before the commission and asked if I could rebuild the pier myself and uh they gave me the approval. They just said, "Yeah, go ahead if you think you can do it." And I went around the neighborhood, all the businesses, and donated. They all donated money, and we got the pier, and we were talking about pilings back then, and had the pilings replaced. And then from there, we also sold planks uh on the pier and redid the whole deck and basically rebuilt the whole the whole pier. And one thing I think everyone should know is that pier was the start of St. Pete Beach because before they had bridges, they had a boat that came in, a ferry boat that came in and it came to that pier.

And uh I think it's real important to the history of this city um that it be restored and uh put back in operation. And also the people that have businesses on that pier that you collect the rent from um they're not they're not doing any business. So, you know, that's uh just like myself and a lot of other businesses that were affected by the flood. Uh they got no income coming in, you know. So, um, and I, and one other thing I'd like to say, back when I did that pier, I had that refinished, the commissioners and the mayor all in it's in the minutes said that they were going to set up a separate account so that money that was uh, received from rent would be put into a special account so that if this happened again, uh they would have the money to uh to restore it and that's never been done. And I think that instead of spending the money on insurance, just self-insure, take that money that you get from the rent, put it in an account for the pier, and the next time something like this happens, you'll have the money. You won't have to rely on an insurance company. And FEMA especially, they give you nothing. I've I've done with FEMA and as far as I'm concerned like the seahorse, [snorts] I'm self-insured. I stopped dealing with FEMA and and getting the insurance, flood insurance about 20 years ago.

Thank you, sir. Okay. Anyway, thank you very much. I hope I It sounds like everybody's on the right track and uh I'd look forward to seeing it being rebuilt. Thank you, sir. Thank you, [snorts] Bill Lowry.

Hi, Billy. 245 Pastor Way. Thank you, sir.

Uh, besides what Mr. Hollandbeck said about the history of this, that's so important. But one of the things I think we need to figure out is what's code required and which FEMA's required is able to pull the bid package on this. And there's a number of items that I think if we the city actually got with the leaseholder, they could figure out, do we really need these things? For example, example, in the bid, it says we're supposed to install indooroutdoor carpet over subflooring. I can't imagine that's a code requirement in a bait house. They're dropping uh guts on a carpet. They don't even want carpet in there. I'm going to say, "Okay, replace the flooring with 3/4 inch subfloor." Why? Why can't we just have planking? So when the water comes in, the water goes out. Uh repair and inspect. Well, excuse me. Cover outside bait tank and ice box area with new framing and roofing. They've already put stuff on the pier. You could use an umbrella if you if you need. You don't have to build hard uh construction like that. Replace two interior bathrooms. How about just one? What are we going to save there? Uh, in fact, I I know that John's going to speak up here in a moment, but he had told me that they were only using one bathroom anyway. The other one they were using for storage, but is that a code requirement? Is that a FEMA requirement? We got to figure this stuff out. Uh, hurricane impact windows. I I don't know if that's a requirement or not. Uh, how about open air? This the wind blows in and the wind blows out. It doesn't knock anything over. or if it does knock it over, it's just a bait house and it didn't cost that much money to do this to start with. We just went through a hundred-year storm hopefully and it's still sitting there in good shape. Uh repair, replace the roof set. Is that cosmetic or is that something that's truly required? I think we just need to

go back to the drawing board and see and sit with a person that actually is going to use it and make a decision of what we really need to do because I think there's also a requirement for a five-year warranty. Is that something the city requires? Is that something that's mandatory? Because I'm quite sure a lot of contractors when they see a building on a dock like that, they don't really want to extend a fiveyear warranty on something like that. And so I think we just need to kind of go primitive in this fashion. Again, it's just a bait house, but it's iconic thing that needs to be there. Uh, and one thing I think we can clarify, [clears throat] we talked about what it's going to cost to rebuild it. I think we're probably limited to the $105,000. So the $250,000 really isn't a number we can go after. And I think in the future when we do some of these bid packages, maybe not in this particular case, I don't know, we should start off by saying this is the amount of money we essentially have. What you can you do for us as opposed to just wake make it open and then we get these rule these situations where it's just doomed to fail. So I thank you all for your attention and and I agree you're moving on the right track. I appreciate it.

Thank you, sir. John Kavanaaugh. Good evening. If you'll please state your name and address for the record.

Hello everyone. I'm John Kavanagh, the current lease holder of the Merry Pier. Uh I live at 4618 uh Helina Street in uh St. Petersburg. My family does live in Pass Grill. Uh it's been a great blessing taking over was horrible circumstances. Uh, Captain Randy was a good friend of mine and taking over the Merry Pier and the Miss Pass Grillil fishing boat and captaining it is the greatest blessing my family could have gotten. We love the Mary Pier. Um, what everybody's saying, honestly, when I looked at the the estimate that was given, I was mind blown. The structure is in good shape. We need walls and floors. We need one bathroom. I would love to sit down with everybody and and really take the time to discuss what we need versus what's getting fluffed into it because it's not much that we need. The docks are running great. I mean, we do need the store back. It's 80% of our income down at the pier. It's it's hurting us. Um but we're working and we love the pier. We we need it back. The town loves it and uh we're excited and anxious to get it back up and running. But [clears throat] I know it's been a daunting experience. You guys have been getting the beach going. It's been have to have been horrible. Um, we are anxious to get the store back. We do not want to demolish it. We need that store. I work there. Pat, Joe, and Colleen work there. Other people work there. And everybody wants to come back and work at the store. The town loves it. And I really $210,000. I find it funny that it was the cost of the structure, right? I mean, let's be serious. It's not $210,000. I think if we all sit down and really look at it and talk to some other contractors, we can whittle this down and really get this worked out within the budget. And uh everybody's been so helpful and the town has been so great coming in. It's been kind of a whirlwind and and a little bit of catching up, but you guys have been so great. But we we want to get this bait shop back up and running as fast as possible. We're excited to do it and we miss it. But

it's not $210,000, okay? I don't know what permitting costs are and stuff like that. We need walls and floors. We need one bathroom and we can get this. My bait tanks are on the dock now. I just got my engineer report in for that. We're good to go. And we we don't need a lot of stuff that's in there. But thank you so much. I just wanted to introduce myself. And uh it is 40 I think it's 4,600 a month by the way. Um, [laughter] and uh, [snorts] we're all working. So, you know, let's let's get our peer back up and running. And if we can all just sit down and discuss it and Mr. Maldonado has been great. He's always there if I have a question. And but I think if we sit down, we can really button this thing up and whittle this number down and and get this this bait shop back up and running. So, I just want to say thank you so much and uh I hope to talk to everyone soon and we're really excited to get back. All right. Thank you guys.

Thank you, sir. Amy Lowry. [clears throat]

Good evening. If you'll please state your name and address for the record. Lowry, 1021 19th Avenue, St. Pete Beach. Business owner on 8th Avenue. Can't tell you how important it is to get that pier up and running to everybody on the street. As one little business starts to waver, things start to teeter, domino effect takes over. We have a lot of tourists in town. As a matter of fact, today I saw families fishing off the pier. It's such an important part of our community down there. And I do agree with everyone. It could be much more primitive than it is. It just needs to function. And um so I hope we're moving in the right direction and appreciate the attention to it. Thank you.

That is the end of comments for the Mary Pier. Thank you, commissioners. Any further discussion? Is there a motion? Yeah, I would make the motion to approve the rebuilding of the Mary Pier Bait Shack with a revision to look at scaling down what has been presently presented to the commission and to try to maintain whatever we can from that structure. Second. Technically, we don't have a motion. We don't need a motion or anything, but I think it's good to have it for the record anyway. Good to have a motion. So we have direction.

City clerk, if you'll please do a roll call. Commissioner Robinson, yes. Commissioner is Nikki? Yes. Commissioner Maldonado? Yes. Vice Mayor Marriott? Yes. And Mayor Petrilla? Yes. The motion carries. Thank you.

Okay. Next we have 2C, the house relocation to Passa Grillil Park.

Thank you, mayor and commission. I actually will be giving this presentation tonight and I have a whole team of staff in the front row here who will be available to answer any technical questions. This was uh quite a cross collaborated collaboration [snorts] to research and bring forward to you uh what your options are for this uh proposed project. If I could have my slide deck, please. Uh, next slide. Okay. [clears throat] So, we wanted to do a little level level setting on [snorts] sort of the assumptions of facts that staff worked with is what do we know right now? Um, we were told uh that a homeowner was willing to donate a woodframed house that was built in approximately 1925.

[snorts]

Uh while the home is not currently designated historical, it is considered a contributing structure. And between insurance and our CIP uh plan that's been approved by the city in the 2026 budget, we have $177,000 earmarked towards the rebuilding of the shuffle board um area. The city has received demolition quotes for $8,000. that still um is is valid. And we also went out to bid for this structure and a re a rebuild quote for a like structure was around $193,000. We have a written quote from a community member who was also researching the the relocation of this house for about $162,000 that included relocation and building a foundation for residential use. Um it was not inclusive of all expenses which I'll cover later in the presentation. [clears throat] And uh the city has also received an insurance quote of approximately $12,000 um to if we were to insure a new structure. Um however, if it's designated historical, that just automatically increases the premium. So this is just an estimate but to give you sort of a a baseline and we started some uh outreach with the shuffle board club before the house donation had come forward and their initial ask was a place to store equipment and a restroom if it was possible. Next slide. So, um, to balance out what what we don't know, um, if we were to move to a temporary location, we don't know what that entails because we don't have a temporary location, um, that we we understand where we would be moving it to. So, um, whether or not, um, we would

have to acquire the property, whether we would have to rent, um, and again, the ability to ensure a house in transit is not insurable. Um, so we would have to work out details if we were storing it whether or not it would even be insur insurable. We don't know the source of a funding shortfall. We do know this project is um more than 177,000. We also are not clear on the level of community support. We have not conducted any formal outreach. um just have received um individual and some collective feedback but nothing formal from the city and because of that we don't know the intended final use of the structure. So we do look for communities to come together and give us that feedback so that we um deliver the the right end product. Uh we also don't know the current condition of a 100year-old structure while we know it is beautifully renovated. We've seen the pictures. I wish my house looked like that right now. Um, you know, it it it could possibly have the various issues we all deal with when we go to buy a new home or or end up with that final inspection and find out what what are all the hidden costs that we didn't know about. And then we would also need to do some um ongoing operations and maintenance costs once we know use and and location. Next slide. So this is just to give you a brief site overview. Um you can see on the left hand side the um rectangle picture is showing you essentially where the house would be moved um from and to. And then uh the top uh lefthand picture is uh the frontfacing side of the home at 10324th Avenue is about um a little over 1,400 square ft and it's a 40x40 um foundational uh size. Again, constructed in 1925. You can see here the shuffleboard building

is still there. We have not de we have not gone through demolition yet. Um it was 430 ft and our overall de dimensions were 33 by13. Next slide. Some additional considerations that staff has been looking at is we drove the actual um potential uh route to relocate. And we do uh believe if that route was taken, we have a little over a dozen utilities and signs to move and then replace to get the uh dimensions of that house moved in to the new location at the park. Next slide. This is just to give again some level setting on what's the current condition of the park. So you can see here um this 13 by30 house um we have several uh trees we have to consider um whether we remove them, move them, whether it can fit within that footprint. Uh we have not again demolitioned the property yet. But this was just to give you sort of a current condition of what the park looks like um as we sit here today. Next slide. Also, [clears throat] just to give some perspective on what it looked like inside before. So, we had about 430 square ft. It was an open air um space. So, we essentially had a bathroom and a little meeting area um that was used for storage. There was some, you know, community gathering there. Um but it was a very simple tiny structure. Next next slide. And then um this the new house uh this

these are pictures of the rear the side. Um one of the things we would want to do with the community is the placement on in the park because right now um we don't really have a a structure that has a front and a back and a side. This is a house with a backyard. Um, and so where exactly would we want to put it on the park? Where would be the receiving side of the building? And again, um, this is a two-bedroom home. And so, uh, we have an open air area here with a kitchen and family room and then some, um, smaller bedrooms and and and bathrooms. So really figuring out what what the use would be and how much interior changes the community would want for a proper community space. Next slide. So what I [clears throat] asked the team to do was tell me what we need to do to make this happen. Um, so actions before relocation and these are all referencing our current city, you know, ordinances and guidance and um, and so we would need to work through the historic preservation board to get a local historic designation um, and a certificate of appropriateness for issuance of a moving permit. So that would happen with the historic that would be the historic preservations board authority in on the building side. We would need to complete an inspection by an engineer to assess the structures current condition to evaluate the existing systems as well as determine the feasibility of relocation of the building. We would need surveying and construction layout. And then we have demolition and utility disconnects that we would need to go to s through similar to what our current residents are doing. If they're demoing, we still have to do the same disconnects when we're when we're moving a house. Next slide.

We also need building permits. So we would need a relocation building permit and we would know need to know uh the temporary placement of the structure. So secure if if necessary. So if it's not going to the original site, if we move it to a temporary site, we actually have to figure out how we're going to secure it because it probably wouldn't be completely moved and finalized through the next hurricane season. So we would be looking at safety concerns as well as the permanent placement of the structure. Um there would need to be a building permit application. So we would need a complete plan set. Um you can see here including all of the mechanical plumbing um and and pre-construction elevation certificate showing the elevation of the structure. We also because it's a commercial structure with access for the public, we would need to look at our accessibility 88A improvements as per the Florida building code. Um and and if if there needs to be more than 20% of total improvement or repairs on the value of that building, it triggers ADA. So it's things like accessibility to to um bathrooms, ramps to into the building, etc. as well as site work to get the site ready for the for the home. Next slide. So we actually were lucky enough to have Camden Mills here who was the um city engineer who led the movement of a Sarasota historical structure. So, he has taken one of these projects from start to finish. So, there is nothing like having someone on staff that's actually done this. This was just an example because we didn't have the time to get here and tell you everything exactly what it would cost. But, in 2022, um Sarasota did have a similar donated situation. And the timeline it took the city to complete this project was two years of

planning and one year of construction at a total cost of $425,000. Next slide. [snorts] And this is just a breakup. You can see again they had some donate donated services. Um the house was donated. Um, but with all of those donations, they still had uh quite a bit of expense trying to meet all of the current building code and ADA requirements that come along with um moving a home and turning it into a commercial use. Next slide. So again, this isn't um an estimate, but we wanted to show you we took um into account all of the steps that would need to happen and could we do it quicker than Sarasota. So they tried to knock it down to two years for planning and movement. So that would be one year um uh faster. And you can see, you know, in today's 20, you know, we're approaching 2026 dollars. It's it's going to cost more than $450,000. Um, we've got um increased construction costs and and again, we we do um are required on construction to comply with with uh bidding processes, etc. to to remain fair and compliant with the Florida statute. So, we did estimate around $650,000 plus staff time. to have this um happen. Next slide. So, in summary, um you know, I wanted them to paint the best case scenario for you. We thought we could move the house from the current property to the park with all the site prep within 14 months and then it would take us another 10 months to get it ready for public use. estimated about $475,000 delta to fund the project

and there are many variables of a project at this nature. Um so I I do want to say these these were a lot of estimates with staff trying to draw from experience from what we know and then um we just need to be aware the significant utilities and obstacles required to safely move it have not um been included in that in that price. Next slide. That's the path forward. So, we are seeking commission direction on next steps moving forward and um wanted your direction on what would you you would like us to do next. And I do have my trusty team up here of experts who have spent um all the time putting this presentation together. So, I do want to give them the credit.

Thank you, city manager. Commissioner Maldonado.

So, I'd like to start with just the first line. You know, you say that it's going to take 14 months to execute the uh move of this structure. And that um that would break my pledge to the owners uh the PEZ that we would not do anything to impact their new rebuild. And then I'll go back to the mayor's question initially about community outreach. It started pretty strong. I'll tell you that, you know, people were very passionate um about the story and this wonderful connection to the shuffle board. But as time went on and as fiscal realities started to set in, we quickly realized that this is something that we're going to have to reconsider and learn from. Lots of lessons learned here. You know, I think that uh unfortunately time was the biggest impediment and then looking at the cost and and we can argue, you know, we can go back and forth and look at discussions and kind of like we did with Mary Pierce, scale things down and try to make things work, but we don't have the comfort of time to do that right now. And I don't know, is Charles Jordan here today? Charles is here. So Charles um also prepared and did a lot of stuff behind the scenes. So he may have a different picture of these things that were presented by the staff and I would eventually at some point like to go back and put together lessons learned from this in the event that something else

comes up you know um we we really have to have a process you know and even though you've Camden you've been through this I think that it's apples and oranges you know the uh the move in Sarasota may have been something very unique as this case is as well. But we would have to look at each of those individually and just show that example was startling. You know, the $425,000 I can't stomach that and I can't justify that. So, I just wanted to lean forward and tell the commission, my fellow commissioners here that we started strong, but the reality is that this is not something that we can get behind as a uh as a district. Thank you,

Commissioner Versniki. I I just want to say I appreciate your summary. I I think it summarizes a lot that mentally myself I had without doing the probably the type of community outreach you've had at District 4. I did I did go out um and and I met with u Mr. Lowry and um I did receive emails. there was some support and then I think the same kind of thing slowly I got other emails that were but wait a minute how much is this going to cost and is this a priority currently right now for the city? Um so a lot of questions came up on that. Um, a question to the the staff would be um if we did do some type of scaling back to rebuild the shuffle board, whether it's to what currently how it looks or maybe something else that provides the shelter, the restroom that the shuffle board club was seeking, if there is um extra I hate to say extra money because we seem to always be short of money, but I think you said there was 177 um toward the shelf a board. Um, but if some of that money wasn't used because we scaled back on this site, can it be moved to the Mary Pier to be used for um repairing or or where the shortfall is, let's just say, at the Merry Pier?

Yeah. So the original funding from both of the the from the the shuffle board project is a combination of general fund which you have all authority to spend pretty much anywhere in the city and the insurance which also you are not obligated to spend on that project. So you can the only um process that I would need because it is allocated in the budget is I would bring it back to you for a reallocation. Okay. Thank you.

I just had one question on the timeline. So when you say 14 months, there was a discussion about moving this house to a temporary location. If we were to move it to a temporary location, what does that timeline look like? The 14 months that staff estimated was to actually move it to the to the final site. Mhm. I don't know. Uh, Camden, do you know if we discussed a shorter timeline to go to a temporary location? That would really depend on the temporary location. Could we secure it? how far it is.

And we have um and maybe Mr. Lowry can speak to this, but I think we have a kind of a deadline from the homeowner. Correct. The last I heard, and I just want to be totally transparent, I haven't heard it from the homeowner, but the last I heard was that January 1st was their deadline. Okay. To start the moving process and have the property off the the land. I heard they wanted the house off the property by January 1st, but again, I did not hear. I just want to It's third party, so Okay. Just like to be clear. Thank you, city clerk. Do we have any audience comments? Yes, Bill Lowry.

Lowry. Um, first off, I want to thank everybody. This is always going to be a long shot, okay? And it's a great house and it's a shame to see it go, okay? I want to thank the Pezes because they offered to donate it long ago and it just worked out to be the timing of this now. I want to thank you commissioners because you met with me and I know your heart's in the right place as far as this goes. And I really want to thank the city because they were put into a a short had to make a lot of decisions in a quick amount of time. And although I might disagree with some of these findings of the amounts, what's controlled is the time frame here. And so it doesn't really make a difference how much it's going to cost, it it's, you know, it's a situation where uh as Commissioner Maldonado said, I don't want these folks to have to delay what they want to do, and they've been planning for a year to do that. However, this is a great location. There's other houses that may want to be donated at some time that might be smaller. It might be easier to move. We're This is a good exercise for all of us in the city and the community. I've met with a lot of people, got a lot of support. Uh, as you all know, we're slowly losing our historic district based on the houses being knocked down. This is a location the city owns. It's right in the heart of the historic district. It's not a matter of replacing the shuffleboard clubhouse. It's about replacing history. And if it can be used partially as a shuffleboard clubhouse, that's great. These folks don't really need much. They need a a place to store their cues and and perhaps a bathroom. I'm sure they can walk to the Paradise Grill in the short term. Okay. So, you there's a lot of new demolitions that are coming up. As you we've said before, there was 30 this year of historic houses. That's I don't know but that might be 10 or 15% of the contributing structures that exist there.

Other pe other commissioners and other other uh districts you may be looking to get historical homes there. You may be looking to get a historical district. We've got to start focusing on maintaining this especially in Pastor which already is a historic district. So I anybody that's watching this or listening to this, you know, there's people that are still making decisions about their homes. Now we've at least got a little bit of idea of how we go through this in case something in the future happens. And so I think it's a good experience for everybody. Again, I want to thank everybody for what they did. Uh I know Mr. Jordan, I spoke to him, I spoke to a lot of people and he has probably some ideas that will be good for you all to hear and the city as well. But we're still under this problem of time that we can't change that. And so this is, you know, nice slide, but we're out, I think, on on this particular home. Uh, and it's just it's just a shame because it's such a great great house. So again, thank you all uh for listening to

Thank you, sir. Amy Lowry. She's not here. Charles Jordan. Good evening. If you'll please state your name and address for the record.

My name is Charles Jordan. Um, I have a company called New World Builders, which is a licensed general contractor specializing in historic buildings. Uh my address is 426 North Stone Street in Dand, Florida. And uh I came down here tonight uh you know basically figuring that we were we're going to be able to see how we can uh save this house. Uh and I I still think that there's a possibility it may it's not going to work with your setup right now. But some of the things that I've heard are not exactly true and and I think we need to address them now so that if the private sector moves forward with this uh that we're not running up against an obstacle. Um number uh one thing that I heard um talking about ensuring it probably doesn't ma matter to you once it gets to the private sector but ensuring a a move building which we've done numerous times in the past. Uh insuring a a building in transit is a transportation insurance is issue that is handled by the the actual building mover. Uh we have a subcontractor we've used for 25 years to move structures and and in order to do that uh clearly nobody wants to spend money to move a structure and have have their money lost if there's an incident in in transit. So that was one thing. Um also uh you mentioned that it needs to be designated. Uh Florida building code has two chapters in the existing buildings code. uh one is for historic buildings which gives the building official broad uh discretion as to how to handle changes in a historic building and those changes need to be consistent with the US Secretary of Interior standards which then leads to the possibility that you're not going to be able to do that with a strict reading of the regular building code. So the building official

has the authority to say okay this isn't going to hurt anybody so we can do this. Uh so that's that's one chapter. The next chapter is a chapter on relocated buildings and um and again if a building is a contributing building in a historic district the historic preservation law as I understand it is that that is a designated building. Uh national register for instance if you if you have a a uh contributing building in in the national register district and you want to go and designate it individually you can. But they're going to say why there's no further benefit to that. Uh so um so that was another issue. Charles, are those chapters 12 and 13?

Right. Chapter 12 is the historic buildings. Chapter 13 is the relocated buildings. Thank you.

Right. And and relocated buildings, like if you're relocating a um a uh residential building to a residential use. Uh you're not even obligated to bring up code issues like electrical, plumbing, you know, that that type of thing. you can just hook it back up. As long as the hookup is proper, uh you're good to go in terms of the code. Uh so there there are, you know, the code recognizes the difficulty in in building moves and historic buildings in both cases. And it's built into the code to to let these things happen. And I bring this up now because I think it's really important that we have the full cooperation of the city if we try to move forward with a private party move here because it all does have to happen as soon as possible. Uh, no question about it.

Thank you, sir. The other the other issue is Thank you, sir. project like this we're looking in the future. Sir, I'm sorry. Your your time is up. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. City manager, do we have his contact information? Sir, I I don't um Charles, could you leave your card with me? We have an email with all his Okay, we'll get in touch with you. Thank you, sir. Michael Peza. If you please state your name and address for the record. Michael Peza, 103 24th Avenue. So, I'm the owner of the house. Yeah.

So, hello everyone. So, I just wanted to come up tonight. Um, when when we started this, my wife and I have lived here in Pasil now for eight years. And we we looked at Pas Grillil like in 1998. Fell in love with it. and took us a long time. You know, um I don't have a family history with a lot of money. Okay. Everything we've done, we've worked hard and and built up. So, bought the house. Um my wife would be very happy to hear that you guys said it was nicely decorated. She's very proud of that. So, but when it when it started, we didn't um we we felt when we talked about donating it, it wasn't that we were doing it for any other reason but to keep it and pass a grill. That that's what it was all about. Okay. We because we felt if it moved then we found out our neighbor talked about the the history with the house with the mayor shuttle shuffle court and everything else. So, uh you know, we were really happy about that. We always knew it was a long shot, you know. So, it's not that I'm so disappointed, but the thing I really wanted to say was this. The whole reason we were doing it to donate it was to keep it in pass grill. That was what it was about. You know, there's some talk now of of other interest in it, but that is different. That's that's more of a business deal, not a you know, donating it emotionally and and trying to to keep it there. So, um, so I just wanted to say that and I also wanted to say thank you to,

[snorts] uh, this the staff here, Kristen and Randy. They did a great job. Anytime we called them, they helped, um, which was which was, you know, amazing. So, um, and I just felt that, you know, again, I really wanted this to happen, but it it the timing on it is is obviously crucial, but I mean, that cost is is insane. I mean, there's no way with that cost. So, I mean, if that cost was reasonable, you know, could we have worked a little bit with the timing, you know, we would have done everything we could, but um but I just want to say and I just want to say thank you for everybody for evening looking into it and going John has helped out a lot and u he represents our district and does a great job with it. So, thank you.

Thank you, sir. That was very generous of you. Jay Anderson.

Good evening. If you'll please state your name and address for the record.

Jay Anderson 202 pass away. Uh the gentleman was just up here. He spoke to why this came up wanting to move a house. He moved here because he loved Pasigo. He loved historic. He loved old homes. And so the ground swell in the community was if we can save a home because we did lose over 30 homes. Many have been contributing. And it's important that this community keep its historic integrity. It's important for us and it's important for St. Pete Beach because as you all know there's three districts up here, but Pastor Grill's down here and it's its own little gem. But you all love Pasigril and you help sell it for us. It's marketed well. It's a great old community. So, we're worried about what we have and what we might lose. Thank goodness Carl and the Hollandbacks have taken the Seahorse and put it back just the way it is. You're probably going to have to keep get a reservation to get in when they open. [laughter] But, and then 8th Avenue, all those merchants, the same merchants are still there because they wanted to keep it. They they had costs out of pocket to put back their houses or their businesses. And everybody is still there. It's it's important. So, not getting this house is is not great. Uh I was going to say if we could save some money on Mary P, we could put it towards moving this house, but [laughter] the timeline is what's going to take care of that. So, if we have the opportunity in the future to do something to replace the shovelboard court in a manner that fits historic community values, it's important for us to try to do that some way. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. That's all on this topic. Thank you. Commissioners discussion recommendations, Commissioner Robinson.

Well, I I'm saddened by not being able to save a historic home. I'll start with that. Um, and I hope that there might be um somebody else who wants to donate something smaller maybe or something historic that maybe we can make something out of and do something with because I think it's imperative that we do save as many of our historic homes here on the beach for sure. Um, unfortunately timing on this just doesn't appear to work and again um the finances. So, um I'm hoping that we might have another opportunity possibly down the road here um that some other resident would like to donate something um to the city if they are going to tear down their home. So, I put that out as a plea to the community to consider that if you are and um you know, reach out to your commission and your city manager if you do feel that way and uh love the historic homes as most of us do.

Thank you, Commissioner Commissioner Maldonado.

So, [snorts] I have a list of uh folks that I just want to thank for for sitting down and entertaining these notions and working diligently behind the scenes. I'll start with the peasants, Mike and Angie, you know, for just being willing to uh to try to give this house up, you know, which is an incredible and generous um thing to do, you know, for just having the forethought to think about that really means a lot to us. And as Commissioner Robinson says, maybe this is a seed that we planted here so that we can replenish uh and continue to maintain the historic character of Pass Grill. Dr. Katherine Wilkins uh from USF. She was here earlier. I think that uh out of disgust or disappointment as soon as I said that we were conceding and couldn't stomach it uh she got up and walked away. She did a lot of work behind the scenes. Uh she's passionate. She works with our historical museum and things like that. Monica Drake with the Heritage Village. Uh Tom Scullfield with the historic preservation up in Penllis County. Um Charles Jordan. Thank you. [clears throat] you know, you're you're an expert. You're a subject matter expert on this, as a matter of fact. So, I do hope that the city follows up with you and learns and documents the uh the things that you talked about. Uh Bill Lowry, our own uh district uh member as well as historic preservation board chair really just, you know, is passionate about saving pass and every house that gets demolished or uh has been destroyed, you know, it's it's like a cut. It's it's death by a thousand cuts, right? We've lost 30 historical structures this year. Unprecedented history and a significant number uh to to see uh go away. And I hope that the other districts start to benefit from our land development code and our historical uh documents where we start to have more houses. I know

Commissioner Robinson, your house was residently uh designated and it's a huge testament to what we can do as a community here in St. Pete Beach. And then last and finally, the staff. Uh we made you jump through hoops. We realize that, you know, that when the the commission gets an idea, you know, we're idea fairies sometimes. Uh we we task the city manager, we give her direction, but the bottom line is that you're the uh the workh horses and the uh the machine behind the um the face. So, thank you sincerely. I know hours and hours are spent uh researching it, researching this and and it doesn't go without uh saying thank you. So now I don't know if uh Joe McKenzart is he here? Is Joe here?

You are Joe. Um you didn't sign up to speak. So before I even say anything, are we looking decent? Yes, possibility.

Okay. So I I will say this uh to be transparent with the commission that there is one silver lining. Uh the potential exists that Joe uh may acquire the house privately through the PEZAS and seek to move that within St. Pete Beach. That would not be a commission decision. That would fall squarely on the shoulders of our city manager. The only thing I would ask is that you prioritize it appropriately. Uh the timeline being the biggest uh thing going against us and it's a hail Mary. We're in football season, so this is third and 75, you know. So, we'll see what happens. I I wish you both success with it, but it just goes to show that there are citizens within our community that are willing to do uh the right thing and expend uh a lot of money, quite frankly, to to try to save a incredible house. So, thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Commission. Do we have consensus? Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

Next, we have general audience comments. City clerk David Hubard. [clears throat] If

you'll please state your name and address for the record. David Hoverard, Bocus Eigile Drive. I am speaking personally, not as a member of the planning board. Um, I just wanted to come because of the power outage, there was no commission meeting last week and that was the closest one to the tree lighting ceremony and I just wanted to come and thank the city staff that were involved in the planning and execution of that. It was fantastic. the uh adding of a DJ, the Kona Ice Band that my daughter loved, Chick-fil-A food, and and the Festival of Trees was such a great idea and made it a lot better than the prior events. Um, the thing that I wanted to address is I feel like the city missed an opportunity on some communication related to this event. It was it was really fantastic and it was a charity auction and I had no clue about that before going. I I thought it was going to be a you know check out some Christmas trees and be on our way. But it was a a silent charity auction and every one of these trees had major contributions from a lot of local businesses. Uh, we just happened to win the tree that had $200 in gift cards donated by Buana Restaurante down in Dolphin Village. And before we arrived, I had no idea. So if that had been made public and shared widely, I think a lot of more people would have come and got involved in that auction and and that could have been a lot of money that went to the charity which which was kind Mouse that helps uh kids in need with with meals this time of year. So it it was a it was a great charity. It was a great event and I thought better publicity around those businesses that donated to the trees could have occurred and and to thank those businesses and

just let people know what what was there to to be had. Um my my wife has volunteered if there is some way for the city to have a a citizens outreach of volunteers who want to go businessto business to share these types of charity or entertainment events. She would she would love to do it. Uh, I don't know if the city has ever conceptualized that type of volunteer outreach program to feed these volunteers the information they need to go business to business and share this information, but it would be something to investigate if that's an option. Um, the only other thing I had was usually this event coincides with a boat parade. There was mention that the boat parade was cancelled due to lack of interest. I never heard about it. I know a lot of people else did not hear about it. I searched all the city's social media feeds and news feeds. There was no mention of it. So then when I arrived at the tree lighting, I was surprised to see a signup desk for next year's boat parade, which is really hard to plan a year in advance when in in my case, I can't even get my boat off my lift if the tides aren't compatible. And I don't know what my kids school schedule's going to be next December. So, I think the city needs to do better outreach about the boat parade in the month or two leading up to it, not a year in advance. And there could be a lot more participation because it was really fun to see that and I might even want to participate in the future. Uh, that's it. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Thank you. Kathy Gar,

you'll please state your name and address for the record. Kathy Garshaw 3607 Kasamalinka Avenue. So, um I just wanted to speak up today. First of all, what awesome topics we just heard on and just great to see how the community and the city are working together and that's kind of why I'm here tonight as well. Um I've had the privilege of working really closely for over a year or so now. um as you I think we're all except for you John in in your position but working on the donses our resiliency efforts um but as a result like been working closely thankfully with our public services uh director Camden Mills and um with our city manager and also with finance team. So I know that not everybody gets that privilege and um I do consider it a privilege. Um, having said that, like I think that you all are about creating transparency and visibility and building trust with this community. And um, I think one of the things that I would love to see just like you worked on through uh, building back post the hurricane, the conversations that like Laura and the team led with um, bringing in information about how we were tracking to things. Um, I don't want to make work for anybody, especially not for Mr. Mills over here. I know [laughter] how busy he already is, but we have so much uh going on in capital improvements and maybe there's going to be some new projects that unfortunately were they were unforeseen going into this financial year. Um, so I'm just here tonight because I would really love for this commission and the city manager

to consider a discipline of uh looking at say whatever it might be the top dozen priority projects that we have going on and maybe even in a more simplified way saying where are we really tracking against these projects and these investments? because I don't I don't want to throw this is not meant to throw anybody under the bus, but I do want to show this is 2025. I don't know if you can if I've said it in the right way. I just highlighted the this was from 2025 and what we plan to accomplish. I I mean I lean in on these things as I think we all do and then things happen. reality hits and I'm just highlighting three of them because I do believe that these are the areas of course that I've been working with the city and monitoring. Um but if you look at those I I think we probably would all say they're not where we would have expected them to be and possibly even they've evaporated as even projects on our list. So, as we look at adding $58 million, probably I think is maybe the number from this year, how do we just even look at 2025's projects? Where are those? Because I think those have to be done or at least considered that they're no longer going to be done and be be genuine in telling us as a community about them. Thank you.

Thank you. There are no more general comments.

Okay. Thank you. Next, we move on to the consent agenda. Are there any comments on the consent agenda? Commissioners? If not, I would like to just highlight something briefly on item 4 C. Going back to Kathy's comment just 30 seconds ago. Um I think it's important for the community to understand where we're spending money, you know, and that's that's um that's something that we worked on very hard for the last couple years. Make sure that we're very transparent. And I think it's just important for the community to to see that we've spent so far $12.5 million just on the recovery efforts for the city. So this is money that we've put out and we're hoping praying that at some point insurance and FEMA comes back to us, which is also part of the reason why we have that $12 million interest free bridge loan that we uh voted on a few months ago. Um but we have here you know 13 pages single spaced of just you know one item after the other and and when you see things like for example snacks lunch for all the staff that was because many of those days our staff worked from 7 a.m. to 700 p.m. non-stop without a lunch you know sometimes six days seven days a week in the very early days. And so, um, when you get a chance, take a look at that. Um, that is an exhaustive list and I don't think it's I think we're still adding to it. So, I think it's just important for our community to understand, you know, where we're spending money and what we're spending money on. With that, do we have a motion to approve the consent agenda?

I'll move to approve the consent agenda. I second. City clerk, if you'll please do a roll call. Commissioner Rzniki, yes. Commissioner Maldonado, yes. Vice Mayor Marriott, yes. Commissioner Robinson, yes. Mayor Petrilla, yes. The motion carries. And Mayor, I did miss one comment. I'd like to see if he's still here. David Garcia. If you please state your name and address for the record. [cough]

Uh David Garcia, 4145 South Falenberg Road. Um once again, David Garcia, I do uh government affairs for Spectrum, the local internet service provider here in St. Pete Beach. I'm just here to simply say thank you all for your your partnership over the years, especially during hurricane events and storm events where we've worked very closely together to get people back online and to get them connected as quickly as possible. I do want to thank um city attorney for providing clarification and feedback on ordinance uh 20 2025-24 on uh communication and fiber infrastructure and um that that ordinance was not intended to impact us in any way. So I want to appreciate that clarification and the conversations that we've had. Um I want to thank uh some of you that I've already met already for taking the time to meet with me and hear our concerns so that we can continue this partnership. uh together with the city of St. Pete Beach and and Spectrum. I do have some cards here for the rest of you who I haven't had a chance to meet with um oneonone yet. I can leave them here with the clerk or or whoever and would love to connect with you all. But I just wanted to stop by, introduce myself, David Garcia, government affairs with Spectrum, and uh thank you for your time and we we uh look forward to continuing our partnership. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Commissioners, would you be opposed to a short 7 minute recess? Okay, we will be back at 7:35 sharp.

We are back in session. Next, we have item 5A, final reading of ordinance 2025-23,

an ordinance of the city of St. P Beach, Florida. Providing amendment of article 2, Division 4, sections 2-281 through sections 2-295 of the St. Beat Beach code of ordinances providing purpose and intent. Updating and clarifying the definitions. Establishing the authority and duties of the procurement manager. Clarifying the authority to award. Updating the procurement methodology and emergency procurements. Changing contract administration. Prescribing procurement protests. Establishing of vendor suspension and debarment process providing for codification conflicts severability correction of scriveners errors construction publication and an effective date. I did want to note that on page 65 of 380 in your packet in section 2-283 subsection 20, it says um county attorney. It should say city attorney there. We're borrowing that section from the county and it should say city attorney as we're going to be implementing it.

Okay. Thank you, sir. Comments, questions, discussion? Commissioner Robinson, I had seen in here a couple things. One was uh number 18 on the there's travel listed in here twice. Travel expenses. I don't believe that was meant to be there under the exemptions. Number 18 and I believe 26. Is it one or the other? What um page number do you know? Um page 65 of 380. Okay.

And page 66 of 380. 18 is on 65. Uh 26 is on 66. Yep. We can change. We could take out uh 20 [snorts] six and reumber. And then I just wanted clarification too on item 24. that that was strictly upgrades and modifications. It wasn't actually purchasing of software because I think we've had software up to $400,000 before.

We could say instead of upgrades, software modification, upgrades of software modification services something. I just want to make sure it's not software in general. It's just the upgrades to the software or upgrades to would be good. Okay. Or the modification of

Okay. because software is not cheap. And then I just had a general comment. Um, I'd like to start, you know, I I I'm just promoting that we are doing a lot of uh in any of our procurement procedures that uh when we do RFPs, RFBS, whatever you'd like to call them when we're looking at quotes that we're actually, you know, shopping them like we would as a resident would. Um, you know, looking for apples to apples. um because I believe I've seen some things that are kind of apples to oranges and we kind of just kind of cruise past those. Um I would like to see more of that and I kind of uh would uh I've mentioned this to Francis a bit um about tasking um to make sure we're doing that that we're shopping like if it was your own purchase. [snorts]

Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. City clerk, do we have any audience comments? There are no comments on this item. Thank you. Commissioners, is there a motion? I'll make a motion to approve ordinance 2025-23 with the changes described tonight. With changes described tonight. Thanks. [clears throat] I second. City Clerk, if you can please do a roll call. Commissioner Aldonado. Yes. Vice Mayor Marriott? Yes. Commissioner Robinson? Yes. Commissioner Rzniki, yes. And Mayor Petrilla, yes. Motion carries. Next, we have item 5C, final reading of ordinance 2025-22, [clears throat]

an ordinance of the city of St. Pete Beach, Florida, creating land development code section 6.26, 26 certified recovery residences, establishing procedures for the review and approval of certified recovery residences and a process for requesting reasonable accommodations from local land use regulations as mandated by a new Florida statute providing for severability codification conflicts and an effective date. This is the final and second reading. Thank you sir. Commissioners questions, comments, discussion. City clerk, do we have any audience comments? There are no audience comments on this item. Thank you. Commissioners, is there a motion?

I'll make a motion to adopt ordinance 2025-22. [snorts] Second. [clears throat] City clerk, if you would please do a roll call. Vice Mayor Marriott? Yes. Commissioner Robinson? Yes. Commissioner Rzniki. Yes. Commissioner Maldonado. Yes. And Mayor Petrillo? Yes. The motion carries. Thank you. Next, we have item 5D, final reading of ordinance 2025-25.

An ordinance of the city of St. Pete Beach, Florida, providing for amendments to the land development code section 3.14 appeals providing for codification, conflict, severability, correction of scriveners errors, construction, publication, and an effective date. This is the final second reading. Thank you. Commissioners, questions, comments, discussion, city clerk, do we have any audience comments? There are no audience comments on this item. Commissioners, is there a motion? Make the motion to uh adopt ordinance 2025-25. Second. City clerk, if please do a roll call. Commissioner Robinson, yes. Commissioner is Nikki. Yes.

Commissioner Maldonado. Yes. Vice Mayor Marriott. Yes. Mayor Pat. Motion [clears throat and cough] carries.

Thank you. Next, we have action items. The first one is 6A resolution 2025-27 approving conditional use permit number 25133 for open deck dining on the second floor and third floors of a newly constructed restaurant on the property located at 4804 Passer Grillway. [snorts] This is a quasi judicial public hearing. So we'll have to swear the witnesses and do exparte disclosures. So, anyone who will be speaking or testifying before the commission needs to be sworn in. Please stand and raise your right hand.

Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So, sworn. Thank you, city clerk. Are there any communications with the city council um regarding this item? Those would be considered exparte communications which you should disclose and and state who spoke with of the nature of the conversation whether you performed a site visit. Maybe we could go down the row. [clears throat] So I'll start. I I have met with the applicant. I conducted a site visit. I've reviewed the technical review committee's notes and I've re uh read the LDC pertaining to the uh the applicant.

Thank you. I visited the site um spoke with a couple of residents in the area, watched the TRC um and I think that's it. Y thank you. Thank you. Um I reviewed the application package, the uh land development code comprehensive plan, visit the property, and spoke with a few individuals about the project. Thank you. I as well visited the property. I spoke with um two residents in regards to it and uh did review that the packet as well as uh T uh TRC technical review and uh the LDC. Thank you.

Um I've reviewed the packet, the application packet and the technical review committee meeting and drove past the site. Thank you. You may proceed. Thank you. Not [laughter] yet. I don't think they want pump station one. [laughter] I've got copies we can pass out.

[snorts]

Good afternoon, mayor and commissioners. Gila Martinez, senior planner. Just uh provide us a moment to address some technical difficulty we just encountered. [snorts]

[snorts] [snorts]

Okay, we have a request [clears throat] from staff. to hear CUP action item number two before we hear this one. Uh to be able to get all the presentations and technical difficulties sorted out. [clears throat] We'll hear then resolution 2025-28 approving conditional use permit 25112 for phase 1 and two pump station one improvements at 0 and 8665 Bokea Drive. Excuse me. 0 and 8665 Bokea Drive.

Brandon, do I need to swear him in again for this? Again, this is a quasi judicial public hearing. So, if we could swear all witnesses and do an exparte disclosures for this item. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So sworn. Thank you, Commissioner Maldonado. So, I reviewed the uh packet and spoke with staff on this matter. Thank you. I reviewed the packet as well and um spoke with staff. Thank you. Likewise, I reviewed the packet and spoke with staff. Thank you. I reviewed the packet. Thank you. I reviewed the packet. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening. Brennan Barry, planner with St. P. We could pull the PowerPoint, please. This is conditional use permit 25112 for, as mentioned, 0 and8665 Boca Drive. These are adjacent properties supported by the assistant city manager as well as our public services director. This is a conditional use permit. The city of St. P Beach request to improve pump station one to replace exterior odor control unit. Replace submersible pumps. Install an elevated generator and make associated interior, exterior, and underground improvements associated with phases one and two of the pump station one rehabilitation project. These request this request is made pursuant to land development code section 6.19 and 19.2. Here's a listing of exhibits. properties are on the southeastern side of the 87th Avenue street end. Uh the two adjacent properties that of course contain the pump station one building as well as the northern uh property that will contain some of the improvements. The zoning of the property is RU2 residential district as well as transportation utility district. Uh the second of the two districts are is a fairly rare zoning in the city. um this is the reason why these requests are coming forward to you and not requests that you would typically see on for example um property in the town center district which does allow by public utility use improvements um because this is a zoned residential area. This request does need to come forward as a conditional use permit. You can see here a survey of the existing improvements on the property. Uh the site plan for phase one um there is of course a generator on the second story of the building um that is being decommissioned. There is a proposal to

install a new generator with an enclosure on the northern side of the building. Um there are also the odor control pumps located to the west surrounding and blocking from view these pumps and generators will be a 8ft simulated stone wall under phase one. Under phase two there will be landscaping. There are some other um underground submersible improvements. You can see those to the uh frontage of the building there. And then we also have a transformer placed currently behind the building is being located up to the frontage. You can see here the phase 2 improvements that includes renovations to the building. No significant change in footprint as well as the additional landscaping that will provide more effective screening of the odor control pumps and the generators. uh those two item those two uh structures are about 16 to 18 feet in height above the ground. As I mentioned before, the land development code requires a conditional use permit for expansion of public facilities in the transportation utility district as well as in the RU2 residential district that applies to any development under three acres in size which these properties would constitute. Um and I listed out the improvements on a prior slide. So the uh conditional use permit criteria that pertain to this structure this is a expansion of course uh new new utilities and facilities uh noise of course is always a concern with generators the visual screening of the improvements the other pumps and generator the above ground improvements uh lighting as well as the uh especially the lighting that is on the south side of the building. There is minimal sight lighting for the phototric plan, but this is something that the city needs to be with the building improvements. Uh the generator is set within a 25 del reducing enclosure at 1 meter. That's um the level of reduction that is recorded at 1 meter distance away. There is a 35 del reduction option, but that is

significantly costlier. The selected enclosure would result in the generator being heard at about 90 dB at 1 meter. That's approximately the sound of a lawn mower. It does train five minutes per month. Um, it can of course be set to run during the day. So, it's not training at night. During an emergency, it would be running um constantly. Other items for consideration that we look at in any conditional use permit would be the landscaping. Uh, landcaping screening will be installed in phase two. That is um following quickly after phase one. It will be in July of 2026. We expect for the phase one improvements to be undertaken starting at the very beginning of the year. The buttonwoods are installed at 12 feet. They are fast growers. They grow 1 to two feet per year. So after three or four years, we should see pretty effective screening of the odor control pumps and the generator. The 8ft simulated stone wall be will be installed in phase one. Provides only moderate screening of the control pumps. As I mentioned before, they're about 16 ft in height. The wall could be installed closer to the street. it could provide a little more additional screening at phase one. Um, but we do feel that the landscaping would would be more effective, make the property look better. Um, under the phase 2 improvements, as I mentioned before, the lighting on the south side of the building will just need to be oriented to avoid spillover and indirect effects. We typically look at the foot candle improvements at the building permit stage. That'll be something we address then. Uh, we do not propose any conditions. The city commission can direct us on any requirements if you feel they're they're necessary for this project. and it has of course [clears throat] been budgeted and gone through uh staff review. So in terms of the basis for approval um as we provide this comprehensive plan breakdown for any conditional use permit this is of course supported by goal one of the future land use element the maintenance of character minimizing threats from hazards and nuisances policy 1.7.5 public facilities shall be located to be efficient cost-effective and minimize adverse

impacts that finding was made back when this facility was commissioned back in 2003. um it still applies today. Goal one in policy 1.1.3 of the infrastructure element support providing safe effect efficient and cost-effective systems and maintenance of level of service standards. Goal one objective 1.1 and policy 1.1.4 the capital improvements element pertain to remediation of deficiencies and prioritization of critical public facilities. Staff finds the project has been adequately designed to mitigate nuisances to surrounding land uses. We didn't find a basis for denial of this request. This is clearly um something that has been carefully considered. The potential adverse impacts have been reasonably mitigated. The enclosure, while it's not as effective as it could be, um it is it should be effective um with the building to the south as well as the the enclosure and the the soundproofing that it provides to mitigate noise impacts on the surrounding residential uses. Uh the city may wish to consider future wateride screening of the generator with the enclosure due to its height again approximately 18 ft and the lights on the south side of the building will need to be appropriately shielded which we will look at at the building permit stage. We do have action options here. Um we do request approval for this request. We are not proposing any conditions. We have not received any questions or concerns or comments from the city. Um we have or from the community on this request. We did notice in tandem with our ordinance. Happy to take any questions.

Thank you. Commissioner Nikki, I just have a couple. Um, you said you did not receive anything from the community neighborhood. Was there any outreach to the school? I know it's across the street, so it's not neighboring, so I don't know what kind of notice they receive or the process because it it would go to Penllis County um school board. Was that done by any chance? We didn't directly outreach to them as far as I know, but we did we sent a letter just as we sent to all the surrounding properties. Okay. And it would have gone to the school board. Correct. Correct. Yes.

And and the reason I bring this up, Brendan, is because um I mean, you know, some people in the community know I I was on their school advisory council um not currently, but was last year while my daughter was still at the school. Um but one of the big there's two issues. one, the odor control. Um, I've have personal experience being there many times and and it was really bad. So, I guess my question, and it might go to Camden, is this is a brand new odor control system that I would hope is much better than what it was. I mean, you you literally could be all the way in the back of the school um towards the main street um you know, where the kids play basketball and and it was really bad. Um and I'm going to assume the residents who live immediately next to it um and even the condominium had to have the same effect. Um and then the second thing is the noise. Um because you mentioned that it would be running obviously we don't want it at night and you and it's the sound of a lawn mower I guess is what you're saying. I don't know what distance that is. Um in and I'm thinking of the school because it's it's if it's being run during the day. Um there could be issues and I'll give you examples. I I volunteer to when it's test taking at a school um and no one's cutting the grass when it's test taking day um at schools because this is a distractor for the kids who are taking their standardized test or any of the other tests that they may be taking. So we literally have everything quiet right at at a school. So, I just wanted to know how if that's going to be communicated or are we talking about like early in the morning like not midday like is again the school might not have this information and I didn't reach out um you know to the principal um because again it probably goes to the school board and and it might have taken a long time to get back to the principal just because of the bureaucracy of how

that works. So, I just wanted to mention that um because it could be an issue um for for the school. Um and again, hopefully that the odor is a big thing. Um I don't think sitewise like the look um towards the school might be an issue. I don't know. Um and maybe those in the district will have better from the residents who live I think on the north side. Um because it's going to change. It's going to be closer towards uh I would say it's town homes, right? or condos that are on that north end um and what effect it has for them. I know you mentioned the lighting um and that possibly that would be you know dealt with as it gets to permitting, but those were some of my my concerns. And I will say for the generator um I will let Camden speak to the other control pumps, but that 90 dB the um lawnmower equivalent that's measured at a a one meter distance. So um these aren't free field conditions. It's hard to, you know, apply the typical standards, but we would expect it to be significantly less receiving at the at the school.

Okay. Thank you. And yes, just to confirm, we will be um completely replacing the order and control equipment. So, will be um new, you know, equipment to to reduce um improve on what's in there currently. A better caliber, right, than what the prior Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Robinson. I I'm just trying to figure out the enclosure. or is an enclosure uh all the way around the whole generator unit?

Okay. I And the reason I ask is because we're talking about noise and there's right across the waterway you've got Harbor side and as we all know and we all should know by now that noise travels over water um quite well. Um, so that 90 dB is, you know, it's 3 feet, but still, uh, the magnification over water is is another concern on that. Um, what was the difference in the pricing on getting a a a better enclosure? Just out of curiosity. [snorts] So, significantly more. I' I'd have to reach back out to our engineer to confirm that number. Okay.

And what's what size is this generator? I I don't have that off the top of my hand, but I'm gonna follow up with that, too. Okay. Just to confirm, [clears throat] the generator is only running when we have no power. Correct. It will train five minutes a month.

Yeah. So, it's not running all the time, non-stop. So in the case of emergencies, still going back to that point, was did we consider going with a system that has for example backup power batteries and the solar panels rather than a diesel generator? Or is is the the power draw so great that we couldn't do it with with power walls, for example? I I I can't speak to, you know, the feasibility of of when this project was initially looked at. Um I do believe they um explored natural gas as an option to see if the if the generator could be powered that way. Um and this um ultimately I believe was determined to be the most feasible solution um for power. But we can we can follow back up with our engineer and see what preliminary analysis um that that led to that decision

because that would eliminate the noise issue virtually altogether, right? if if that was an option. Um but I I don't think it would be. Okay. Um have we already purchased the generator? We have. We have. Okay. Yep. And it's it's on order um and is scheduled to be delivered later in 2026. There's a very long lead time. Yeah.

There's probably a lot of demand for generators, but just so you know, you can get them as Crystal Sync and Blimp. And that's what they do on movie sets for large generators. So you don't hear it as they produce as they're filming from audio. But um if we've already purchased it, but I five minutes is just going to be choose wisely on the time that it trains and the day the day and the time. Okay. But it' be just I guess it' be just like somebody else doing, you know, running a lawn mower mowing their lawn. City clerk, do we have any audience comments? There are no audience comments on this item.

Okay. Commissioners, is there a motion? [snorts] [clears throat and cough] I make a motion to approve the conditional use permit 25112 for phase 1 and two pump station one improvements at 0 and 8665 Bokea Drive. Second. City clerk, if you please do a roll call. Commissioner Rzniki. Yes. Commissioner Maldonado, yes. Vice Mayor Marriott, yes. Commissioner Robinson, yes. Mayor Petrillo, yes. The motion carries. Thank you. We are now back to action item 5A, resolution 2025-27.

Good evening, mayor, commissioners. Gil Martinez, senior planner. Before you is a request for a conditional use permit, case number 25133. The property address is 804 Passigril Way. Agent owner is Mike Keller of Freys Design, Inc. for John Dashel. The request for the conditional use permit is for the establishment of open deck dining on the second and third floors of a newly constructed restaurant with the third with the third floor deck requiring the subject condition use permit conditional use permit for LDC section 4.04B. A list of exhibits in the presentation today include an aerial, a zoning map, a survey, renderings, floor plans, summary of findings, basis of appro for approval with conditions, basis for denial in dislocation, recommended staff conditions and action options. This is an aerial image of the property at 804 passway. The zoning district is um community redevelopment district 8. This is a boundary survey of the property. Some renderings to the left. You will see the front of the building facing pastil way. As you can tell, it is a it is a a three-story building with the second and third story being the occupied areas of the structure. On the right, you will see the south side of the building. The left indicates the north side of the building and the right is the rear of the building. This would be your alley view from from the rear of the building. So on the floor plan, the second level

seating area consists of about appro approximately 2300 ft. It um has a kitchen of 527 square ft. It has 16 dining seats, 12 high chairs, and in the yellow area, which is the area in question, would be uh 24 seats. That makes a second story a total of about 52 seats. Same applies to the square footage of the third level. The interior dining seats will include 56 seats. There will be approximately 19 bar seats. The open air patio area is 32 seats for a total of 107 seats on your on your third [clears throat] story. The total number of seats for the restaurant is approximately 159 seats. So request details land development code section 40.4B roofing, dining and/or drinking areas subject to conditional use requirements as well as section 4.12 of the land development code criteria for review of conditional use applications within the CRDA. the request for 500 square feet of exterior dining on the second level and 650 640 square feet of exterior seating on the third level. To summary of findings conditional use permits the permit request the applicant requests a cup under LDC section 4.04 [clears throat] 04 and 4.12 to allow outdoor dining on the second and third levels of the proposed restaurant at 804 Pasigril Way. Covered outdoor patios integrated are integrated into the design of the three-story building oriented towards Pasigril Channel. Um, as proposed, there is no live live or amplified sound proposed for the outdoor areas. The

hours [snorts] of operation are proposed to be 11:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. which is consistent with nearby commercial and recreational activities. The basis for approval with conditions consistency with the comprehensive plan and LDC. It meets the criteria of section 4.04 04 and 4.12 of the land development code code and the goal one of the future land use element which states enhance [snorts] the community character by strengthening tourism based econ economic activity. It is compatible in context and sensitive design. The second and third level outdoor dining is modest in scale architecturally integrated [clears throat] oriented towards pass channel. It reinforces the coastal character and mixed use patterns of the CRDA. There are no assessed adverse impacts to the surrounding area as there will be no amplified music. Um the oper operating hours match some nearby commercial uses and the layout preserves neighborhood views and avoids impact to residential areas. Code compliant redevelopment. The project meets all applicable dimensional design and performance standards, including flood resilient construction requirements, providing a walkable, highly high quality improvement that supports district's vitality. Recommended conditions, should you um um want to put any conditions on this, recommend that the conditional use permit run with the land so that any future owner must adhere to the approved conditions. that no outdoor live music is allowed. Um, no changes to the loading and unloading practices so that any modifications to operational logistics must be reviewed through a cup amendment. Future amendments required for new impacts ensures that the city can evaluate potential effects and

protect the surrounding historical character. Actions before you are motion to approve. Approve with conditions deny. continue to a specified date. Conditional use permit 25133 resolution 2025-27 for 804 pass away. I can take any questions you might have. The applicant and the owner are both here as well. Thank you, sir. Commissioner Robinson. Oh, I'm sorry I had that on there. I think left over. Commissioner Maldonado.

Yeah, I would like to amend my uh disclosures to include extensive uh outreach with the uh community. So, um it's a wonderful site. Okay. It's a great uh rendition that they've presented to us. I'm very happy with the recommended conditions that staff has recommended for this. Um, I'd like to add, it wasn't mentioned, but it's probably in the packet, that the nearest residence is 316 ft to the south and 328 uh ft to the north. The um the loading area is at the rear of the alley and it's appropriately sized for delivery trucks. [snorts]

Uh this proposed development meets all goals, objectives, and policies of the comprehensive plan as stated [snorts] under LDC sections 4.4A and uh incredibly happy to see this. I received zero push back from district 4. I can tell you that that uh it reflects and echoes the historic character of Passa Grill. And this is exactly the type of facility, restaurant, uh building that we would like to be uh seen erected in Pasigril. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Marriott.

Um yeah, I just wanted to echo what Commissioner Maldonado said. I think this looks like a fantastic project and it looks like exactly the kind of building that looks like it should have been there all along. um which I think is perfect and and exactly what you want in pass and um I think it's a you know a low impact low low negative impact high positive impact um uh kind of situation and so I'm really excited to see this move forward. Commissioner Robinson,

I had one question. It was in regards to parking for 159 seats. What is I I'm not sure what our code is for what we need for parking or is pass a little different? Our code um commissioner um our code has no no requirement for parking within the CRDA. Okay. So that's how our code addresses it. Okay. But I'm sure you'll get lots of walk walkables. So

commission um just one note there will be um an ADA parking space on the ground level of the structure so that will be accessible as well. City clerk are there any audience comments?

Ruth Shyros Ruth Shyros 10002 Pascrow Way and I am his residential to the north and I 100% agree with this project. I think it's beautiful for Pass Grill. It's what we need. We are getting a lot of modern looking buildings that don't really fit what we're trying to do down there. And we're 100% for it. Thank you for your time. Thank you. There are no further audience comments.

Yeah, I think this project exemplifies when I think of responsible, highquality redevelopment, um, you know, that fits the look and feel of a historically designated neighborhood. Uh, as the commissioner said, it looks like it was always there and always belonged there. Um, so I'm I'm happy to uh to see this project happen. I think it'd be a great addition for for 8th Avenue and Pastor Gilway. With that, do we have a motion? Yeah. I uh make the motion to approve resolution 2025-27. City clerk, if you'll please do a roll call. Commissioner Maldonado,

yes. Vice Mayor Marriott, yes. Commissioner Robinson, yes. Commissioner Isniki, yes. Mayor Patrillo, yes. The motion carries. Thank you. Next, we have items for discussion. [clears throat] Commission, we have 6 C, right? 6C is next. Sorry. 2020 resolution 2025

29-29 the live local act property tax exemption this is a resolution of the city of St. P Beach, Penelis County, Florida. Pursuant to section 196 1978 parent 3 par 0 Florida statutes electing to not exempt property from advalorum property tax under section 196.19783D1A Florida statutes commonly known as the live local act property tax exemption providing for incorporation of recitals required findings direction to the mayor direction to the city manager applicability severability and a conditional effective date. And this is a statutory requirement that this if we are going to do this be done before January 1st. However, with the federal government shutdown, the Shimberg report that this relies on was not available uh in December. Uh yet we still have to adopt this. So if the Shimberg report comes out and shows that we're not eligible for this exemption, then we would not file this. Um the resolution does also direct the city manager and the mayor to u process the uh executed copy of the resolution prior to the statutory deadline. So we'll wait and see what the 2025 Shimberg annual report uh confirms, but we believe it will confirm the St. Pete Beach's eligibility to opt out pursuant to section two of this resolution. What in effect it does is keeps more of the advorum taxes within the city for us to do what we think is appropriate with.

Thank you. Commissioners, questions, comments, audience comments? Laura, do you have anything like that? There are no audience. All right, commissioners. Is there a motion? Make a motion to approve resolution 2025-29 live local act property tax exemption. Second. City clerk, if you can please do a roll call. Vice Mayor Marriott? Yes. Commissioner Robinson? Yes. Commissioner Resniki? Yes. Commissioner Maldonado? Yes. And Mayor Petrilla? Yes. The motion carries.

Thank [snorts] you. Commissioner Maldonado, you had two items, please.

Yeah. I'd like to start with the uh the dog beach over in Pasigril. Uh as my fellow commissioners have now seen, there is a petition being brought forward uh to have that uh converted to off leash. Uh what I would like to ask respectfully is to have our parks and rec recreations committee look at this, see what all it would entail, and then also uh look at the ADA requirements for the dog beach, which we probably don't meet right now. So, um it's certainly something that has um precedence in neighboring beaches. Uh and then also just in my own research, dogs being off leashes tend to curb aggression. So, there are some positive benefits, but there may be a lot of negative unintended consequences, and I would like to have the uh parks and wrecks with your uh consensus look at that and come to the commission with uh some kind of action plan. Thank you. Um what about the the property owner to the right lands end?

Yeah, that would that that would be something to consider and look at whether it requires fencing. Yeah, because that is underneath their dogs at tides you can get walk all the way around their property. Absolutely. Virtually. So there's going to be dogs out there. My my biggest concern is that they run out into the street because as it stands right now there is no safeguards, right? So what would that entail? Is it, you know, again, we're we're talking about um being good stewards of city money. Is it something that we're willing to invest in now? What would the cost be? What are the liabilities? And um and we'll go from there. So,

well, is it something that uh the folks doing the petition for it want to support financially with doing fencing? That's a that's a great option. Take it off the city's plate. Is fencing on the beach even an option? Yeah, sure. A good question. [snorts] Okay. There there is um Oh, sorry. Turn this on. Is it okay if I Yes.

Um because I've I've seen it in Fort Dodto. Um and also um Madera [clears throat] Beach Fundamental School is literally right next to another beach, dog beach, um that is fenced by the water. Um kind of some weird perimeter, but they also have big pine, Australian pines in that area. still kind of contains them. Um, and to Commissioner Maldonado's point, you know, there could be some unintended consequences. My experience in Fort Dotto, just because I go often um especially to do beach cleanups or dives because we dive that pier that's right next to um when I say we, the Florida Aquarium, I I volunteer. Um, but when we're out there, those large dogs literally come running and we have sometimes kids who are doing the beach cleanup as well and and they go far distances. I mean, it takes a while for the owner to even recognize that their dog is much further down the beach, though it is marked as a dog beach, but there happens to be a pier there. In the case of this of our city, like Commissioner Robinson said, there is homes. um and you don't know if there's kids over there um or what's going on and there could be an unintentional uh consequence. So, I I would agree to maybe have the wreck look into it, you know, the feasibility, maybe compare it to other cities, maybe reach out to other cities to see maybe some of what they already know are unintentional uh consequences. um because it would be nice. It probably would help reduce um if if the residents and the public knew there was a place to take their dogs to the beach safely, it might reduce the amount that are going to where we're trying to avoid um on the on the um west side of the island. So, I think it's it's worth the look.

Thank you. Mald another can I just get a sense from the commission I'm seeing head nods but what what kind of timeline are you looking at with all the other priorities on the table urgency just trying to get a sense it's it's certainly not urgent but I think that the next uh meeting for parks and wrecks is in March possibly okay

so I mean certainly a a good time span after the holidays time to recoup um and at the same time I would ask you know constituents to reach out to me uh as the most impacted commissioner and let me know how you truly feel about it because a lot of the people on the petition don't live in St. Pete Beach. They're users. We welcome them. Uh they bring value to the to the neighboring restaurants and parking. We love when they pay for parking, but uh there may be unintended consequences with the end. And and that's my biggest thing is, you know, it should not impact the health and safety of residents. It should enhance the community. there are some community members that would like to to do that. Um, you know, and it also, you know, looking looking at the sheriff on this reduces their need to sit there and enforce it because they have and they do quite frequently have to give warnings and citations to people that are not following the uh the plethora of signs that are there. And it can be very confusing. If you ever go out there, there's signs and it's just which is first. Um, so and to Commissioner Rzniki's point, I'm trying to curb people from wandering west and allowing dogs to roam, whether on leash or off leash, on the beaches where they're prohibited, absolutely prohibited, unless they're service animals, and that seems to not resonate with some people. Thank you,

Commissioner Maldan. The next parks and wreck Yep. is on January 20th. January 20th. Okay. So, not not that soon. We could bring it to them look at meeting as a something to look at for the following meeting. Yeah. Which is quarterly, right? I don't want to. Yeah. Yeah. So that I missed that one. So yeah, I was intending to just bring it to your attention and then have something worked out by that March meeting. So thank you. Sure. [snorts] Does that give you what you need, city manager? Thank you. Yes. Okay.

And Commissioner Baldi also had the CRDA.

Yeah. If we can bring uh up the uh the slide uh to page 206 which has the zoning map for Pass Grill or you can individually scroll down to 206. So, this community redevelopment district, uh, CRD 8th Avenue, I've spoken with the city manager about this and informally asked that we just get more information as a commission. I wanted to bring this to the commission's attention because we're starting to have conflicts. And if you review the planning boards, the board of adjustments, the historic preservation board, CRD is often cited and spoken about. My own independent research um causes me to pause and think very hard about this on the fact that we may have to go back and revisit this because we have RO we've got CRDA and then we have ROS all bumping into one another and my own uh understanding of the CRDA it was created specifically for a project I believe it was the hallway hotel where they had uh configured three parcels together. Long story short, that fell apart. Uh that did not get uh much support or traction from districts as well as the commission at the time. [snorts] But now we're starting to run into situations where there's proposed buildings uh coming up. 702 for example, is riding that line between CRD and ROR. and they're a great example to look at because it's no fault to the owner of that property. You know, I I do sympathize and hear uh their arguments

and their side and then I think that it puts the staff at a very difficult situation trying to interpret these things. So, I want a formal look at that. I'd like to see transcripts. You know, I think that part of the problem is that the city lost records going back, I think, before 2020. So, I can only pull up certain things. So this may require our interpretation as a current commission on whether or not this need still exists and how it's unintentionally impacting the historical character of pastor as well as conflicting with RO and I would like to bring that uh up for discussion at the next commission meeting in January because it's a precedent to the board of adjustments that's going to hear this case. So it would not only serve us even if we can't uh come up with a perfect solution the staff is going to have some information available to the board of adjustments that I think are going to be critical in this next case because it's going to set a precedent either way. You know there there are going to be concessions and uh adjustments necessary either on behalf of the city or in this case the applicants. So it's it's a hard look. It's very confusing. you know, if if you just look at that, it's it's not very clean. And if you look at the history, then I think that we're going to see that my inescapable conclusion is that that need no longer exists. So, uh, thank you. The other part of that was the, uh, height limits for passive grill. Same thing. I'd like to have a, um, a deep dive into that, you know, and it all pivots around this BFE. Where does it start? You know, what what was in the mindset of the commission and city planners and city staff at the time that this came to be? Again, very

limited documentation, subject to interpretation. I've spoken with different people, and it's all based on their judgment, training, and expertise. I'm not going to say opinion because it's not. Everybody has subject matter expertise in certain things and they believe that they're telling me they're understanding and it really is starting to push max capacity and max height especially when you talk about incillary spaces

on rooftops you know and that may involve uh some drones unfortunately city manager you know um that's something that if I'm being told and reviewing some of the uh the previous meetings I'm being told one structure is this high this will be shorter this will be higher but to a layman a person just looking at it physically I I find that hard to accept so I want to dissect that I want to start the new year uh with some new guidance moving forward knowing that um there may be some cases where we have to grandfather things that there may be adjustments we may have to make internally but we're setting a new path and a new vision for passive growth through a new fresh set of eyes and a commission that's very open to interpretation and understanding. With that, thank you,

Commissioner Rzniki.

Just a question for you. Uh, Commissioner, um, because I I think I've heard about this several times with the Historic Preservation Board. Is that someone or I [snorts] don't know if you with yours, have you spoken to them? because I've heard it come up on historic preservation board when they say we need to relook at this like they recognize that there is an issue or had been an issue. I remember when the dewy um was also constructed that was an issue with the auxiliary that you're talking about that was on the roof and whether it's higher or not and what was being proposed you know on the Holland all of that kept coming up and I thought from what I had seen that that's something that they may have been working on but I can't remember and then I say they being the historic preservation board that was going to come back to the commission

so the answer is no I have not spoken directly to the historic preservation board about it. Uh mostly it's through comments [snorts] as you as you've observed that are uh visible and available to everyone. It's through the transcripts. Uh Barry, you know, does a great job and he's a builder. You know, he wants to build things and he gives his expertise and I've also reflected upon a lot of the comments that he has, you know, for consistency, but uh not spoken to to Barry about it either directly. So, you know, I've mentioned it in passing informally to the city manager that it was going to be one of my things to pursue next year because we do have so many things that we're trying to get ahead of. But I think it's a good time to really dig down into this because there are going to be unintended consequences moving forward. right now as as we've seen and discussed with the number of homes that are being demolished that are impacted uh there's not going to be land grabs but there's going to be desires at the same time I'm looking at this map 808 uh would open up to more possibilities if that came off of the CRD uh EA so it actually enhances and helps the community in its flexibility and in terms of the city I think uh operational efficiency would be achieved. [clears throat] We would have a new standard, a new look. No matter how this goes, my my bottom line is I'm being open-minded on this. I just want to have the discussion. I don't want to rely on information that we may not even be able to retrieve. Uh because I' I've tried my best and and the about the furthest I can go back is 2020, you know, and then it seems at that at that point we had records uh issues.

I think it was called something else. It wasn't. It it changed names. It was Yeah, I I'm going it it was SPA S special something area. It was called literally called something else. And this one though went handinand with the Corey Avenue with the town center here.

So they they were at the same time. They weren't different um as far but I do believe the height limits that you're talking about with auxiliary items. It's a citywide thing. It's not just a pass grill. I mean, I saw one home that had a generator on top of it, and I'm going, did they just get a a crane and put it up there just for the hurricane to keep it up there, or is that going to stay up there? I'm not sure. Um, but that uh would be a city-wide issue.

Yeah. And and I'm trying to be transparent because developers know what they're dealing with. You know, however we view and look at this, it would be uh either affirming or clarifying a a standard to include that gray area, you know, because what what does it mean? You know, can can I put a rooftop um uninhabited space and enclose it, but nobody lives up there, but they can use it 24 hours a day. You know, again, these these are things that don't cause me to lose sleep, but certainly I get a lot of questions about for my constituents and is I just try to educate myself on these things. I find it more questioning than answers. And and you just brought something up I'd never heard. So now I will lose sleep over that tonight. You know,

some of some of it is simply elevator shafts, too. Yes. You know, chimneys and elevator shafts are are pretty much that. But uh you know it opens up a whole different

it does and it helps you know like I said operational efficiency it's going to help our staff because what whatever you know recommendations or whatever we decide then it's transparent and it's very clear you know there's no longer second guessing or interpreting and again no one no one is at fault here you know I I commend our staff for being subject matter experts but the very degrees you know based on judgment training and expertise could go back to where they studied. I don't know what cities they've come from. I don't know. But I'm getting interpretations and I read the same thing and then I I'm just taken back by how two people can read something other than lawyers. Lawyers are are famous for this. It's going to be a ward or a shield, right? But I just want consistency. I want clarity and I want this to happen before the uh the next planning board to help them uh deliberate a case that they're going to be looking at or the uh board of adjustments maybe. Thank you. So just for process clarifying, are you seeking a similar format of a work session where this is just an overview and presentation from staff and or [snorts] are you seeking to be in a platform of public comment? I would like to start with the staff, but I would like to dig down and find historical documents so that we can dig through those and assess what they mean in in today's environment and in today's uh really just realities, not just the environment, but the realities, you know, the realities that we're now max density when it comes to these smaller plots that are once you run out of width, you're going to go up and and people are pushing it. There's a uh a building that I don't want to get into

right now that if I were to fly a drone up to it, I I think it's maxed maxed. And you know, I mean, that's just it's it's been approved. It's it's coming up. It's a fourstory building. So, I'm just doing simple math. I'm not a math guy, you know. I know the mayor is, but uh nine 10 foot, you know, you're you're getting you're talking about the whole residential or commercial? Residential. Residential. So, I know four story. Interesting. It's pretty max because I and I know without having to say it, but I I know exactly which one you're talking about. And you look at the home just um north of it and and it and I've got the backside view, so it literally looks like it's higher.

I mean, it's than the home that's already as big. And I thought the same thing. Was it because of the base base flood? I think that's where that plus one plus two or how did it get so much I mean, it [clears throat] looks like an apartment building from my side. I think that that that's key. You you just hit on something that that is is crucial in this discussion is that BFA because it's I mean I look at these things and I think wow but I know you know it's permitted it's got a design.

Yes. it or is what you're asking for an o historical overview from staff of how height has been applied as it's currently written for and maybe we provide several projects to show that interpretation and overlay into separate from the CRD EA which sounds like separate topic because that's a zoning issue. Is that accurate?

So you're bifurcating it and and it's going to complement that. But yes, there would be some case studies to look at uh for the um elevation and certainly different timelines I would like to look at, you know, from its inception, a snapshot mid to current just to get an idea, you know, without killing the task. And every time we ask the city manager something, we're throwing more on her plate and in turn on the um the staffs. But what I really want to do is have a thorough discussion with the commission because ultimately it's going to be how we interpret it, right? The commission is going to make recommendations and decisions based on today's realities and today's um challenges which may not have existed you know prior to this uh renaming of the CRD which I'm just finding out now is something else. What was it again?

Uh I I'm pretty sure it's called special planning area. Special planning area. Okay. If you go back and look, one way to look at stuff too is if you go back into um Munichode and you can look at the old comp plans. Yeah. I I will add a note. So look into like the 2015 comp plan. Yeah. And [snorts] I'm pretty sure the historic preservation board has been talking about this because I hear them talking. No, ad nauseium. They they discuss this ad nauseium and they're they're frustrated with it. But I will say too that there's in congruencies with Penelis County uh and the tax appraisers office in terms of how we have this.

So that's technically a big piece in this as well. Are we losing out on tax tax revenue, you know, adorum and things like that? So there may be losses to the city that we haven't considered as well. soon. Did that answer your question, ma'am? Yes, sir. And and I apologize in advance. I know I'm

throwing unexpected but not uh [snorts] I believe unnecessary work. I think in the long run this is an investment on not only the community and the city but uh on on the staff more importantly because they're second guess and their question about every decision that they make you know on and if it's going to involve a presentation we rely on the person presenting that as our expert so you know we so I'm just

I want to make sure I understand what our outcome is because if we have to get to you before the board of adjustment that's scheduled for January 28th, which means the only meeting I have to bring something to you is the first meeting in January, unless you want to schedule a special meeting or a special work session. And I just from a process standpoint, if the commission were to give us direction to make some changes, those are not going to happen before 28. So I'm just trying to understand Um, we do have a specific case moving to the board of adjustment on the 28th.

Can we pull that, defer that so that we're not rushing through this because uh Kristen, can you help me? I'm I'm just before we get there, I'm just I'm I am not clear on what you are asking. So, are you asking for us to relook at the land development code and make changes to the zoning or are you wanting clarification on right what we currently have and just a staff report? Okay, here's what we have and here are the heights, here are the density allowed, here's what's allowed in this district is that so the end state could involve changing it. Correct. Okay.

And that's you know that's the tall pole in the tent. uh and but that may be dissolved in a in a discussion. We may find that there is no need to do that and here's why and here's what the experts appine and here's what's legally permissible and that would diffuse that. But that could be one of the endstates is we go back and we abolish the CRDA. The reason I asked that is twofold. One the application is already in. So no no no changes were made before the application will impact because they will be subject to whatever it was at the time that the application was submitted. And then the second part is the looming the what

the looming damocles that hangs over our head that's called SP 180 right which has prevented us from making other important changes. I agree with you in in principle that this needs to be looked at. I just wonder if we even have the ability, if it's just a matter of providing clarity, if it's a matter of relooking at it and making changes, unless we're making it less restrictive, it's going to be very difficult. But I'm not getting the sense that you're looking to make it less restrictive.

No, absolutely. I'm not character to ease the uh the height. I just want to make sure that we're uniformly applying it and that we're doing it with what's already in existence. Uh which like I said just visibly I'm not comfortable with the case that's going to come up not exceeding the tallest building that we have in Pasigil. There's been some graphics showing higher buildings that is false narrative. Uh I have disproven that by going out there and looking at it. Um and to the Senate Bill 180 piece. Yes, it's it's a concern. I understand that we have handcuffs that we can't um do certain things that would be more restrictive when it comes to home rule, but you know, again, we I'd like to have our city attorney look at these things, too, and see what kind of unintended consequence consequences can come out of this. So, I don't think it's a heavy lift, you know, in terms of getting to changing the uh land development code just yet, but it's certainly a discussion that could lead to that. Now, I I'm fine with uh letting this case go through and rolling the dice and seeing what happens, but I would like to prepare the uh the board as best as they can to have something because right now, to Commissioner Rzniki's point, I've watched probably close to a year and a half's worth of historic preservation board discussions, and it comes up again and again and again, and they seem powerless to the most of it is ational. I will tell you that if you look at the meetings, a lot of stuff that comes across are they're discussions which could be controversial. At the end of the day, it's just well, it's just a discussion

and then it goes to the staff and then there is back and forth. And if I can I can help reduce any kind of back and forth and increase operational efficiency, then we've saved the city some money. That's that's billable hours. every time your staff spends 10 hours and in this case I think 10 to 12 hours maybe looking at moving to mayor's cottage we're we're paying for that and it and it's not free because we're also taking resources and time away from things but uh yeah I mean I I don't I'm being strategically uh neutral in terms of [clears throat] whether the LDC needs to be revamped or or thrown out all you know with the bathwater it it could be a simple discussion where we agree that this is why it was created, this is how it's formed. Uh even though certain things have gone away, here's why we think it's strategically important to keep that.

Well, every seven years we're supposed to look at it and go through it anyway. Um so I do believe uh the last one was 2004 is when 2004 I mean 2024 it was 17. It went from 17 to 2024. Sorry about that. Yeah. And and and I am familiar with that, but a lot can happen in one. No. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. And that's it. It it can that's the max length. It can be shorter than that. Yeah. And and [clears throat] thank you for for bringing that up because that's an important thing for our our constituents to look at and say why why are they looking at this now when it's not due? You know, a lot can happen in one year. A lot has

and a lot has you know, planned and unplanned uh circumstances. So, and you know, as as I look at it from from my my piece of the pie, I do sympathize with the other districts in terms of the bigger challenges they're going to be coming in bigger discussions with with height to your point and and even historic designations. So, okay. I I I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take this much time from it. Well, no, it's supposed to be a threem minute introduction and then move on. But I do thank you all for your Well, I'll questions because I think that they helped the city manager kind of neck it down a little bit. So,

well, I'll remind everybody if anybody's still watching is that this is the only time that we can talk amongst ourselves. We can't do it outside of this forum. So, if there's stuff that we really need to discuss, this is the time to do it. So, I don't mind taking a little extra time. I do have one question and and Kristen, if I'm putting you on the spot and you'd prefer not to answer, I'm fine with you saying I'm not prepared to answer that question. But um is there are there differences in interpretation of height specifically where where it's a where I mean is that something that from a staff level is is or or you can see it becoming a problem where guidance from us on how things should be interpreted or or or potentially looking at the the codes is helpful or or is this a problem that you don't think is a problem? So, I'm going to just kind of briefly go over it and I really don't want to go too far into detail because I think that's going to be part of our deep dive is that we have to look at what the grade is and even in the CRDA and Pass Grillil on the Gulf side down to Mary Pier there is a significant grade change and we have looked at that and we went out as a group field trip too with the historic preservation board and actually measured the different um the heights of the buildings the actual topo. So you could see the grade change from one side to the other. So you're going to see that and then also depending on what zones that they're in um as far as um the LAR data and other information will also affect that because as we are pretty flat, we're not totally flat. Yeah. So, but we'll

as became very clear when there was water on top [laughter] of the Virginia, right? That is part of that data as well, but we can we can kind of put it in a better format, a better fit and finish and bring it back to with regards to that. If I could just for the board of adjustment application that the commissioner was mentioning, um that has nothing to do with height. That is strictly to do with the access in the curb cut. So that is not a consideration that the board of adjustment is going to be um considering. It's just the curb cut for the property from Pas Way. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. Not to speak for the commissioner, but I think the height issue is this application of equipment. Yeah. an uninhabitable space, right? And it has been interpreted that that is not included in the height calculation, the the measurement of the equipment. So, the elevator shaft, the HVAC, but what's happening is we're seeing this trend that people are doing rooftop amenities

and the space is not inhabitable because the code, the building code interprets inhabitable space as you know, bedrooms, bathrooms, all the things that you would need to live. And so, that is what we're facing now with this BFE and this shift after the hurricane and this whole approach to building and we didn't have this the interpretation's been consistent but we didn't have this overwhelming move into recreational space on a roof that is that had been interpreted as allowable because of the extra height that's being approved [clears throat] by the equipment. So, we can certainly

include that in what the impacts of that interpretation are may have on more residential areas if everybody decided all of a sudden they were going to have rooftop pools. No. So, that you can see this is the trend we're seeing. You bring up a good voice and playing music and so that's the sort of We've heard it on historic preservation board. I think board of adjustment too. I think there was one not too long ago. It was well they're going to have TVs up there. Well then, yeah. And probably a little, you know,

a little refrigerator and now, you know, can you live up there? Well, yeah, you could if on a good night you could sleep up there, right? So um but but it is a problem you know and and with the demolitions of some of the homes like you know one that I think I'm I'm visualizing that you've mentioned commissioner um it's happening like in the Donsesar anywhere you've seen demolishing of homes what's coming in place of that is to the max wide but to the max high and because you could put some accessory up there you technically could make an outdoor because it's not in the mode, right? You could have an outside space that you're technically living in, but it's not in the code.

Okay. I think I understand that has to be addressed. Presentation, we'll put something together and do the best of our complete ability and be back to you by the first meeting of January. Happy New Year. [laughter] Christmas little gifts. Thank you. No, thank you. I still have some. Thank you. All right. We have Commissioner Robinson next with commission dates for 2026.

I just wanted to bring to your attention. I brought it to u city manager's attention. Um I have an obligation for the week of the 28th, July 28th and August 11th. I would could would love to do the meeting virtually, but um I will be on the other coast. I will be on the west coast. So, I'm hoping you can indulge me as I've indulged last year as well for changing commission dates. Um if we could do a survey to see what other dates would might work for the July 28th and the a August 11th Okay.

Can Can I just ask because at when we approved them I I can't I have to look at my calendar. I had a conflict too, but we said, "Well, you just missed one." You know, it's what what I was told. You know, I'm not And you're saying two, so I don't saying miss two of them, but both of them you both of those dates you cannot I have a weekl long event. Oh, so both of them over in Irvine, California. Mhm. the week of July 11th and the week of August 11th. Um July 28th. Sorry about that. Because I know that's close to the dates that I'm out for two weeks and possibly three. So I know that's one of the ones that I would miss if I'm not able to do virtual.

Well, then maybe it would benefit everybody and we could have five people here. It'd be possible to at least look. So if you're okay, I'll work with the city clerk and we can send out an electronic poll. Awesome. That would be great. line up and get back to you. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Appreciate that. Me too. And Becky to make sure one of us. The only consideration I would add to that is that we are looking at budget season

and those we have the finance and budget review committees before and after those and just kind of very close proximity. So it just may limit our options or it may require us to move more than just the commission meeting which could just have a cascade effect at that point. Understood. That's why I wanted to bring it to the attention. [clears throat] Okay.

Thank you. And lastly, we have a discussion item on permits. So, we've gone through a lot the last 13 months, more so than I think anybody ever could have imagined that we had to go through. Um, you know, we weathered the storm. We processed 6,000 plus permits. And as we saw at the last commission meeting at our permit pipeline has kind of come down to just a trickle at this point. You know, we processed 6,000 plus permits. That's about 10 times our average for a normal year. Um, which is a lot. And through it all, you know, our residents have been incredibly patient with with us, the commission, with the building and permit department. There's been a lot of patience, a lot of grace. Um there has been some tension as well. And and I think now that we're at a point that we've kind of cleared the biggest hurdles, I have to look at it and say it's it's the old adage was got what got us here may not be what's going to get us where we need to be. And so I'm looking at it through the lens of the feedback from our residents, from local small businesses, from the contractors that that we speak with. And I'm not sure that we're quite where we need to be in the permit department. Let's just say we're not where we need to be. I don't think it's where we all want to be. I think we all wish we were issuing permits within five minutes.

And you know, by some measures, we're doing okay. We're doing all right, but I don't think that okay and all right is quite adequate. And so I'm looking at it in terms of, you know, who do we want to be, right? We we talk so much about, you know, how do we serve our community? How do we serve our residents? And and I mean, I would love to be known as, you know, when when contractors talk about St. P Beach. I would love for them to say, "Man, I love submitting permits in St. Pete Beach." It's like everybody else, the other 24 cities in Penllis, but man, when I have to work in St. Pete Beach, what a joy. And I' I'd love for our residents to have that same feeling and say, "Look, you know, it's it's I have a feeling that when I go to city hall, when I go to the building department, when I talk to the permit techs or when I speak with the inspectors, they're just here to help and serve and provide for the community." And so I'm thinking through this and I'm thinking, okay, what where are we? Where do we want to be? And how can we get there? And I think as part of that, you know, idea of, you know, how do we become the best that we can be? How can we be the best permit department, the p the best building department, the best community department in the county? You know, what would that look like? I think it starts with with just this culture shift, right? where we all of us have this, you know, where our main driving force is. How do we serve our community the best that we can? How do we provide great customer service to the applicants, whether they're residents, whether they're contractors or small businesses? How do we facilitate fast and accurate turnaround times while at the same time, because this has been discussion for much of the last year or so, is how do we maintain compliance with Florida the building codes and and FEMA, right? The last thing anybody was want is to lose

our NFIP rating and then insurance is skyrocket. And so I would like to propose a I have a couple suggestions I would like to propose and I would kind of want to break it down into a 90-day here are some items that we could implement, you know, with feedback from city staff, with consensus from the commission. Here are some things that we could implement in the next 90 days. And then here are some things that we could implement before June 1st, which is the start of the next hurricane season. So that we will be we were already much more prepared in 2025 for hurricane season than we've ever been before. And I want to make sure that 2026 we're even more prepared than we've ever been before. And so with that, I have just a list of about 10 items. if you wouldn't mind forwarding a copy to the city clerk of kind of a a quick 90-day action plan and then a longer longer plan. And so the first thing that I would like to propose is, you know, we have this amazing resource that thanks to Commissioner Robinson, you know, we have our volunteers for our for our city uh permits. So just at the last commission meeting, right before last commission meeting, we had this great thank you for them. We had cake and they've been an amazing resource, 40 some odd individuals and our neighbors. And I think one thing that we could do is to further and I know that they would be extremely happy to help us further. And I think the easiest way to do that is to just perform a quick exit interview with them. Maybe a list of five or six questions. What did you learn? What was the thing that stuck out the most to you? What is the area that what worked well? What didn't work well? What did you hear from residents? What did you hear from contractors? What are some of the areas that and I know

several of them are going through the process themselves, whether they're rebuilding homes, where they're going through the renovation process, and what an amazing resource that they have, but I think it's a resource that we can use um a little bit more. The next thing I would like to look at is, and this one's more maybe less concrete, but I think just our standards for commun for communication. And I I want people when they speak with us, when they speak with the building department, and I'm not, you know, I don't want you to hear me. I'm saying anyone in particular is doing this. But what happens oftentimes is when you're processing 6,000 things, you're just trying to get through it. And sometimes you're here until 7 o'clock at night and midnight. I've gotten emails from Laura and from the city manager at, you know, 1:00 in the morning, knowing that they're still here working on it. I think now that we've cleared most of the bulk, maybe we can come back and and take a little bit closer look at, you know, how are we communicating with with our individuals? I'm notorious for not even saying hi in my emails and just getting straight to the point. I'm not saying that's not the standard, right? And and I think sometimes, you know, if we can communicate a little bit more empathy in our tone, you know, 20 somehat of our own employees lost homes during their hurricane, so they know what all of our residents are going through. And I think it just boils down to the old golden rule. Are we treating the people in the, you know, when they apply for a permit going through inspections, are we treating the way that we would want to be treated or are we treating them like a number? I think that we can do more in that area. The other thing that I think this could be a huge improvement is same day permits for

routine low-risk permits. Right? So there are some things that many cities for example roofs, windows, doors, ACs, you know, the kind of things that are not, you know, they're not structural, they're not they don't require engineering reports that we often times are able to other cities are often times able to issue same day permits. Um, so I'd like to look at, you know, is there a list of items that we could do this with? What are those items? and how could we develop a process and a system for implementing that? Uh this is something that's come up quite a bit which is having a single point of responsibility. So what I've heard from some contractors and residents is I spoke with so and so they told me to do XYZ then three weeks later I spoke with somebody else and they had different feedback. And I think much of that could probably be eliminated if um we were able to assign one point person for each file. So a file comes in, gets assigned, you know, to commissioner Maldonado, not that he's in the permit department, but and then he takes that thing from cradle to grave, right? And then also as part of that, I think it'd be important to have a little bit more proactive outreach to the applicants, right? rather than you know if the permit gets kicked back for something whether it's small or minor whatever it is you know we tell people you know just go back and read the notes and then respond in the system and so on I think one of the things that we could do better as far as especially the customer service side is when we see that the person hasn't responded in three or four days you know just a quick phone call saying hey did you receive the feedback that we left on the file are you able to get us those documents right so much of that turn time could be you know improve improved. I think if we you know and again we were at a point

not too long ago where the phones were ringing and we had you know every every you know the foyer was full. We're not there anymore. And now I think we are at the point where we can come back and say look here's some intentional outreach that we can do to the applicants by having clear ownership that also puts the responsibility in having one point person and so when something happens we can go back and say all right John what's going on with this file um the other thing that again this is feedback that we've received in the residents and contractors I spoke with is sometimes there was a feeling and this I don't think it was intentional by anyone, but the feeling was that you submit an application, it gets kicked back for something, and then you resubmit it, then gets kicked back for something different. And the question is, well, why didn't we know about both of those items the first time, never mind the third, fourth, fifth, and 10th time. And the reality is, and this is not an excuse, this is just explaining how the process works. And this is why we're looking at maybe reviewing the process and amending it, is that the fire department might look at it, you know, then planning looks at it, then somebody else looks at it and before or at least the way that it's it's often happened is one group will provide feedback before the other group is ready. And then yes, you got an approval from the fire department. Kelly said everything is cool. You're good to go. But then it comes back from planning that oh this encroaches over here and actually yes your fire was fine but this thing isn't fine. And so one of the things that we could do is kind of consolidate the review process to where we do not issue a review in an application or you know determination application until all of departments have looked at it. So that we eliminate this loop of somebody removed. You know the one comment I get quite frequently in this issue is like it feels like somebody moved the

goalpost. That's one I've heard dozens and dozens of time. I think by consolidating this this allows us to eliminate that where we have one review one time one response and then all of the issues are addressed at once. The other thing that I wanted to look at is and this comes as a result of that staggering statistic that we have that 90% of our permit applications are from owner applicants. So the owner submitting an application they're their own GC. Now I don't think that trend is going to continue into the future that

at the same time we still have 6,000 permits that are in the process somewhere. So those will require inspections. they will require additional touches. And so I would like to look at if there's a way to do expanded in-person support. We used to have a process where you could schedule an appointment to go to the building department, speak with the person responsible for the file. Um, and so I think if we were able to go back to that, if we have the additional time and resources now where we have to we have the ability to offer more face-to-face in-person assistant. And I also think especially considering how many of those applicants are owner applicants who may have a job or they're small businesses who are trying to run their business during the day if there's an opportunity to have extended and evening hours maybe one day a week maybe two days a week I'm not sure will be reasonable 7 8:00 p.m. something along those lines. And then the last thing for the 90-day action plan is having establishing, publishing, and adhering to a standard timetable so that we can publish and say, "Okay, if you submit a permit, you know, if it's one of these 24-hour in same day permits, this is what you can expect here. If you have a permit, this is how many days we will respond in." Right? if it comes back for review. You know, one of the things that I've seen, I'm not saying I've seen it in St. Pete Beach, but it it's happened in some cases where you respond to a request and then, you know, resets the 30-day clock and then you have a second issue and then it reset. So, next thing you know, you've spent 90 days to resolve two or three issues rather. And so one of the things I would look at is how can we fasttrack resubmittles

so that you know especially if it's you know if it requires engineering and architect reviews that's a different story but if it's a matter of you know you've got the wrong thing here the wrong item over here you know to be able to fasttrack those resubmit those resubmitts for inspections I think we're already doing very well with with next day inspections as long as you meet the deadline um that still has some room for improvement I think though. Okay, couple more. So, this is for more long-term and I'm not sure that we can actually implement any of these for June 1st, but rather I think these are some items that will require a multimonth, maybe almost a year-long process, but I think we could get a lot of work done by June 1st. Um, I get a lot of comments about the website being difficult to navigate. Um, it's difficult to find stuff and I've run into it. Um, so I would like to see if there's a way for us to review and update the current website, what we have, do some cleanup, make sure the information is current, easy to understand, you know, and it's consistent across the board. And the last two are two big ones. I've I've talked to some of our staff. I've talked I've worked in the permit portal myself on the resident side as a resident. I've spoken to residents and I think the consensus is that the permit portal is not necessarily meeting the needs that we have. It's working but it's not working well. And so I would love to be able to look at and see if there's a way for us from the communication, from what I've heard from staff, it's not a fixable system. It's not one that we could, you know, update and make

it fit. And it maybe is maybe time for us to have a completely new permit portal, which is why my recommendation is that we have an evaluation by the staff to kind of tell us, you know, is this working? is a salvageable or do we just need to go with a completely new system and have something that you know works for 2026 rather from 2020? And as part of that, that same permit portal, and I've seen this, I've I've researched this topic a fair amount the last few weeks, um there seem to be some resources that could help us speed up the entire permitting process by using an AI assisted permit review process. So that means, for example, that you'd be able to submit. So you would train the AI model on, okay, this this is the Florida building code. These are the St. beach city ordinances and then you'd be able to submit an application and then the AI tool would scrub the application, review the the document, do an analysis on it, do a code compliance and check on it, and then issue flags that would go straight to the permit tech with here's the application and here's all the things that we found there got flagged. And from what I've seen with these systems is the the more you work with them, the better they get over time at identifying what those flags are. And and so looking at, you know, how do we provide good customer service, fast, accurate, complying with Florida laws, I think it might be worth looking at a, you know, if if Candace or whoever wants to do it, it's going to be Candace, right? um looking at if we can integrate an AI assisted model into a permit portal or if there is one that has that to just kind of help speed up that process [snorts] so that the next time we have

50 permits that show up in one day, we're able to process them much much quicker. So, um these are my thoughts and ideas on on what we could do in the next 90 and up to June 1st. Um, I'd love to hear your feedback. See what you think, which of these things could be implemented or if you [clears throat] have other things that you think we could implement. And I would also love to hear from the city manager, you know, on which of these items she thinks are realistic for us to be able to implement in the 90 to six month timeline. I think Commissioner Mered, you were first.

Um, yeah, thanks for bringing this up. I think that um there's no uh it's no secret that we're not where we all would like to be and and and you know I think we all have goals for what the what the permit department will look like. Um and and how that will function and and I think we've made great strides from where we were a few years ago. Um and we're and we're not quite where we want to be. Um but the good news is that means there's lots of improvement to be done, right? So, [laughter] we can really impress people. Um, and I think that, uh, you know, I've spent gosh, the last eight or nine months going through the permit portal and, you know, finding contractors and builders who have a number of permits in and just, you know, cold calling them and saying, "Hey, what's your experience? What's working? What's not working? How's this going?" And and uh um and and the mayor's correct. the the the the comments that I've heard from people over and over is, you know, I've had a a six week long email exchange back and forth with people and that could have been solved in a 15-minute conversation if I could have talked to somebody on the phone or better yet met with them in person.

Um, and so I think that's probably the the the the easiest and most significant thing that could be changed the quickest. Um, I do also want to say that I don't think we have a people problem in the permit department or the building department at all. I think we have some process problems. And I think, you know, I hear from residents and from contractors and from builders all the time that like, gosh, the people there are so nice and they so clearly want to help me, but there are other there are other struggles going on in the background that are keeping them from helping me. And I think and I think people recognize that. And so the the people we have are truly fantastic and and and I think it's important to to acknowledge that and to to to remember that that that that we don't have a people problem by any stretch of the imagination. Um, but but I think we definitely have a process problem and I and I think the city manager is aware of that and I think community development is aware of that and I think that's why you guys have had somebody in the building department working on some process analysis, right? I mean that that's already been happening. And so um I would really I I think it would be fantastic if we could get a little bit of an update of where you know what's happening with that process analysis. Are there things that have already been identified by the by the person who's been tasked with how do we improve these processes um you know do do they already have a short list of easily implemented um solutions um that [snorts] you know that that that could be brought on and I think it would be very helpful for us to know about that and I think it would be very helpful for the community at large to know that that's happening in the background. I think everybody is a lot more patient when they know that something is actually being done even if it's not visible to them on their own building permit. Um, and I think that uh um

that that a couple of things that I think would are and I know it's hard, you know, any of us in our own business, you get caught in the weeds of of doing what you do every day, right? and that becomes the job and you kind of forget that there's, you know, the customer or the end user of your product out there that that really is the whole reason that you're doing this for. And um and and I think we I think everybody needs to be very mindful of the fact that, you know, for for staff, every time there's a a a couple week delay on somebody's permit, there's no there's no impact, right? There's no impact to the people in the building other than I know they're all good people and I'm I know I know it makes them feel bad, but to the people in the outside of the building who are waiting for their demo permit, waiting for their building permit, waiting for the permit for their house to get lifted or their house to get create, you know, built that the that every delay is another month that they're paying a mortgage on a house they can't live in, another month paying rent on the place they are living in another month paying insurance on the house that they can't live in or the house that's already been torn down because you still have to pay insurance on that [laughter] if you have a mortgage on it. And so there's very real financial ramifications to our residents for every delay. And so um I I think the mayor has some great ideas here. I'd really like to hear from the business analyst about about kind of where we're at in that process. In addition to the to the fast permits on some things, I would love to know if there are some things that we don't even need to be requiring people to get a permit for. [snorts] You know, I'm pretty sure that there are a number of municipalities where you don't have to get a permit to build a fence. And so, you know, I think we could free up a lot of people's time if we could not be issuing permits for things that we

absolutely don't have to issue permits for. So, I would take that fast permits a step further to is there anything we can just let people do without a permit. Um, and then I think that the uh um you know uh one of the things on the list here is to have a clear and predictable timeline and and I think we have that with a 30-day review. Um, but I sure would like to see that 30-day review be looked at as the absolute maximum amount of time that could possibly it could possibly take for the review and [clears throat] not the amount of time that you have before you have to review a permit when it comes in. Um, you know, so so I think I think those would be those would be some helpful things. But I really appreciate the mayor bringing this up. I think this is an important issue.

Thank you, Commissioner Robinson.

I would agree that that the staff uh for the most part is um um overwhelmingly helpful from what they can do where their hands are not tied as far as from an intake standpoint. Um I question whether we need more staff because I don't understand what the holdup is. I get residents that tell us tell me that um they're not getting a response back for 30 days on on simple things and then they're they're waiting for just a response back and then they get the response and of course it's something that that now they've got to go and and pull other things that they didn't have to pull for another item that they did. So I don't know if 30 days is acceptable. I I I really question whether 30 days is and if it means we need to speed that process up. Do we need more staff or or the OT? I'm not one to spend money, but if that's what helps the residents who actually pay the bills here, then that's what needs to get done. I, you know, having a solution for this is is I agree with the exit interviews. I think all the employees as well should be, you know, I'm sure they have ideas as to what could speed things up. Um, as far as I I've mentioned this a couple times, using the volunteers that we had that were trained if if we need to use them and I know most of them are willing to come back and work as an extension of a permit tech of of somebody in planning of somebody to be able to make that one-on-one conversation or do or, you know, make that uh reach out to the applicant. um then you use them. Um I just don't think that our 30 days is just that is not acceptable and it it's gone way too far.

Um I like the idea of a liaison with for an owner applicant liaison and a small business liaison. Maybe that will answer the questions. But I'm also finding that I I find that not everybody is giving the same answer to to people. So so that's a clear problem. Where does that problem come from? Us up here can't can't necessarily solve that. All we can do is ask for it to get solved. And I I admire any ideas that come to to be able to to push this forward. And I think 90 days it should be probably pushed up. Some of these can be done quicker than 90 days. A lot of them. I think that that's very, you know, a very graceful grace period for that. I think it needs to be done much quicker and it's, you know, it's it's past due. It's well past due. Um, [snorts]

I think to what Commissioner Maldonado said earlier when he commented on two people reading the same thing and coming to two separate conclusions. Y I think by having a single point of contact, one person that's responsible from the file from beginning to end, I think that could eliminate a lot of that because you're not coming to me and getting one opinion and they're coming to you and you're it's like, "Oh, I'm reading this differently." No. And I get that, but there obviously is a problem internally if we have two people giving two different answers, right? It's an internal problem. Yeah. And that's something that needs to to be looked at and and to be addressed.

Um I agree that it it that a single contact will solve that as far as if they they require one thing and this person doesn't require you know when you get this person they're always going to require it. At least you get consistency but overall it needs to be consistent within the department. I would agree with Commissioner Robinson on that because I mean I I'm sure we've all received sorry I know you have your green but I'm just following up on her comment was we've gotten emails and I know I'll for them or talk to the city manager and we've got some right now current that we're still waiting to get addressed but for the same point that I'll get a resident say well I know my neighbor got the same permit but why why are they done finalized and I'm still stuck here and it's the same identical thing, you know. So, I would I would think that both yes, have a single point of contact, but as long as the process is the same for everybody, right? Or or whatever is why is that happening? You know, why are we getting mixed messages from, you know, [snorts] whether it was the inspector who came for someone and and said yay for for so and so, but said no for the other. And it and they're identical. I mean, I've I have a bunch of emails and complaints from residents about that, you know, and Oh, yeah.

I forward that, you know, to the the city manager, you know, how, you know, or or just voids of time, you I know we have an issue with um the docks over in Marina Bay and they're kind of in this empty standstill and all those people own these slips where they can't keep their boats and they have them in storage since the hurricane and they can't bring it back because they can't build their dock and they're building their seaw wall. But it's not I mean there's just some big convoluted something going on. I I to I would agree with everything on here and I would add not only conduct exit interviews, conduct employee interviews, find out what we're what where's this missing link, what is going on. I'd add volunteers to assist um and and um I would make that 30 days less. And again, like I said, I don't like to spend money, but if we need to do the OT with extended evening hours or um or add more staff to add a liaison, I'm for that. Whatever we can do to assist to get this fixed. Um, I will say that on the permit portal when c when I think we signed off on a a band-aid recently for what was it $40,000 or something? 39,000

for an extension working on the current and you know improve improvements where we can. I think last time I spoke with you all I also talked about this longterm resolve right

to look go to market for another product. Um, [snorts] love the idea of an interim, you know, AI rapper. Um, there are a number of products out there I think that can facilitate augment, but [snorts] those are all things we can kind of bring to bear as part of this conversation. Yeah, I I just think it's time we look at these and seriously look at them and and and this is our number one issue with our residents and it's gotten better. We're better than other communities. Whether residents and businesses want to realize that or not, we are in a better position and and do [clears throat] a little better. But um you know our permit department was not well um received before the storms and it's certainly not now as well. So um it is one area that that definitely needs to get addressed and I think the website cleanup and streamlining can start immediately. I mean that that I don't think that necessarily needs to wait till June 1. I think we'll come back to the city manager after Commissioner Maldonado and to see what maybe once I don't know if you've had enough time to look at the list, but just kind of look and see, okay, here's what we can do in 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 6 months. Commissioner Maldonado.

So, let me uh start by saying that this is an excellent example of leadership and governance in action. you know, the uh I would encourage my fellow commissioners to look at processes and things where they feel that they can improve upon and present that at a commission so that we can talk about it out loud and then, you know, help the city manager succeed and excel in and what it is that she's trying to accomplish. Just two comments on this. The uh the first extended and evening hours, uh just keep in mind that that would be a twoperson concept for safety. If you're going to do anything like that, you're doubling your uh your cost. Um not every customer that comes in here leaves happy and I would hate to put somebody in a situation where we have to have uh somebody intervene and um my my biggest concern is that um [snorts] in terms Go ahead. On that one, what I kind of envision is starting maybe a pilot program with one day a week or

two days a month where we're open just a little beyond five o' and and you're absolutely [snorts] right having two people there. Maybe we could do two permit techs so we can get two appointments going at the same time. I don't know. Yeah, just something. But yeah, initially just to see if there's even if there's demand there. If there is demand there, then we can look at [clears throat] it more. And if if we find that we're doing it a couple times a month and no one shows up, then Yeah. Yeah. And um it could even be a volunteer. I don't know. There may be people that volunteer to shop around

reduce that the cost the uh the concept of cradle to grave. Um this is also a single point of failure. So, I agree that it's important to have a primary person looking at this, but I would want an alternate in the event that that person for whatever reason could not continue to service the file, take leave, an emergency, something so that it doesn't get dropped. But this goes back to the premise of judgment, training, and expertise. People aren't doing things differently. It's just based on their organic experiences that they're going to view things. And some people are more sticklers. I've seen that. I can't fault someone that follows the letter of the law. Uh and then there's people that are super gummy. They're flexible. You know, they can work with people and provide that instant feedback. But no, I just I I commend you for bringing this forward. I think that it's a great uh overdue thing that we've all struggled with. I think that as you said, 90% of the owners are applicants. So they're the first ones that are talking to us and what we must be talking to the same people because this moving the goalpost. It's a reoccurring theme and the city manager and I have talked about this at nauseium. It's not directed against any one person. You know I I know and I feel in my heart that everyone is trying to do the right thing. It's just we look at it differently. And to your point, my neighbor across the street was required to elevate her AC unit four feet off the ground. I'm not going to say where mine's at. I don't want somebody coming around my house. [laughter] But, you know, it it it literally is just across the street neighbors asking why why. And the only thing we can come up with is we look at it and we say it was a different person that viewed the file.

Correct. So, but but thank you for bringing this up. I I wholeheartedly agree that we don't have to wait 90 days. A lot of this I think the city manager can uh can look at pretty quickly and and tell us whether or not this is even happening or whether there is a um a way ahead for it. So, thank you.

Thank you, mayor and commissioner. First, I just want to thank you for acknowledging um with compassion and empathy for the staff um and the how far they've come. But we do I agree with you and staff agrees that there is room for improvement. Um, even when we think we've arrived as the best permit giver outer in the Penllis County aren't going to get my words. You know, to me that's there's still going to be an opportunity for continuous improvement because it's it's an organic process. Laws change, ordinances change, needs change. So, thank you for that. Um, I will say I I don't think anything any of these on the surface are unreasonable. the staff. Um, as Candace mentioned earlier, we've [snorts] we've sort of been rolling up we've been rolling up our sleeves working on many of these issues, trying to um integrate into the culture and the team and bringing others along with us. um some of these ideas are new so we definitely um appreciate that and appreciate the opportunity to talk to you as a group because I do hear from you individually but I don't often get this chance to hear it collectively and this is really helpful for I think myself and my leadership team um as we try to address um the process. So I I say all that with I think the best step forward is that um I just I I think we add monthly updates and so the first one you know a month from now is the January meeting. I think I could come and say, okay, we heard you. This is what we've been able to accomplish, not just from now, but also prior as we have been working through process improvement. And then kind of take it through that reporting on a

cadence so that you can see what we're doing and um are we making improvements and um and even continue your own spot checks because that's that's helpful. you're hearing from people that maybe we don't hear from and and um they may say things they're not willing to say to us. So, it's it we do appreciate that feedback. So, we will um continue to work on it and thank you for the feedback. So, under the the first part, the 90 days, is there anything here that you think is unreasonable in 90 days time? And I'm not discounting it getting done quicker in some areas. [snorts] Um,

the only cons the only thing because I don't have the expertise is the same day permit implementation. That's the one I may want to see what what would tactically be needed to make that happen. Yeah, I figure that that would be the one that would take the most amount of time just for legal review to look and see what other cities are doing that are able to do same day permits or 24 48 hour permits. You know, what categories we could do that. I do like Commissioner Marriott's idea. You know, are there things that we're requiring permits for that really no one's looking for a permit or we shouldn't be or maybe it's just one extra step that that we could eliminate.

Just be a local code. We're constantly differentiating between did you have a local code that required a more stringent review or is it just the Florida building code? So, that's that's something we'll look at.

Yep. As far as the June 1 implementation, there could be some money involved in that. So, I've made myself a note um to see, for example, the website. I know we've been talking about this for a while. And um I just need to see kind of what that project might look like. Um cleanup's one thing, overhaul's a completely other thing. So, I've got to kind of see what what's needed. And then, um, as uh, Candace had mentioned earlier, she's deep in already trying to get the parameters needed to evaluate what the needs would be for a new permitting system while we band-aid, the one we're working in. And um looking at her, do you think we could by June have a path forward, an RFP or a scope of work or we could have a scope ready to go by then? I don't know much further than that by June. But

okay, so we can talk about that where we're at. Just wanted to remind the commission we are in the middle of a a finance implementation and a payroll implementation. So those were some of the not so sexy programs that we had to clean up. And uh so that's kind of where they've been putting their energy too because we those systems were failing for sure. Okay. Well, thank you all very much. Next we have staff reports. City clerk. Nothing to report. City manager.

I do have a few things to report this evening. Um bear with me. I I wanted to give you all a brief update on an item of interest for the community as we have been approached by Tradewinds and Country Thunder who are co-sponsoring a potential event that they have applied for a permit. Um, we have had one meeting with this organization since the original permit application came in and did some brief overview on what requirements would would be necessary. They um I understand they have submitted a permit to uh the Florida Fish and Wildlife as well as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection because the event currently is scheduled to occur May 8th through May 10th, which you all know is the beginning of turtle season as well as it is the um same time frame that our black skimmers come in for um their season. Um we Give me just one second. Just want to see what else is going on with that. We are um also meeting with our local turtle [snorts] trackers as well as um Bruce and Commissioner Robinson joined us as well today. um we're talking about potential impacts and how and what support they would need to make this viable if if it is. So, I just wanted to let you know that we don't have a lot of the details yet. Um we're continuing to uh track this and stay in touch with uh Country Thunder, who is the event organizer. It is a pretty large event expected to

sell 12,000 12,000 tickets per day. Um, and it is currently uh planned to be on the beach. So, there's a lot of moving parts and pieces, but I just wanted to give you all an update on where we are at. Um, at this point, no permits have been issued by the state or the city. So, um, just wanted to let you all know that. Do we have a a 10 a ticket count from them? Because historically it says it's 40,000. So, their permit actually listed 10 to 12,000 tickets 12 sold per day. Okay.

Okay. I also wanted to give you an update. This is on the permit issue. So, um as you all know, we have quite a few um residential structures being elevated right now. We have five businesses in the city right now doing these type of projects. Uh we have two modern movers and Dave Shoring that um use a different process than the other three have been using. We actually met with both of them today. They were having some uh challenges getting through our process. We had a very nice meeting and as um Commissioner Marriott mentioned in about 15 minutes we solved it and um they are off on their way and um so anyone who's working with them should be experiencing some more expeditious um finishing of their project. So I just wanted to let you know that we did have a meeting with them today and I think they went well. If you hear differently let me know. and that to that point um we are trying to do more in person even if Laura and myself or Adam the assistant city manager and myself are coming in to just really help understand the issues and and how to navigate them in a more expeditious way. So send them our way and we're we're collectively meeting with um all and mostly contractors on these complex as a team. So I just wanted to let you know that. And then lastly, I just wanted to close with a little holiday note. Um, as we enter the season, I did want to express express my s sincere appreciation for the spirit of resiliency, cooperation, and civic pride that continues to define St. Pete Beach. This year, we were fortunate to pass through hurricane season without a major storm making landfall on our shore. And while we never take such good fortune for granted, I am deeply grateful for the preparation and readiness demonstrated

by our residents, local businesses, community volunteers, and city staff. It is through shared responsibility and a genuine regard for one another that we continue to protect the place we all call home. We also know that many community members are still recovering from last year's storm. And please know we are here to support you every step of the way. So please, I ask you, lean in, reach out. I hope everyone has a peaceful and enriching season with f friends and family and good food and fun. So happy holidays, city attorney. Nothing this evening. Happy holidays. Thank you, Commissioner Maldonado.

Yeah. First of all, I want to thank the uh Penllis County Sheriff's for their response to uh an incident that took place in our district involving a uh a vehicle uh an evasive person and a helicopter. So, um you can probably write a book on it. Maybe I will. We'll think about it. An invasive helicopter, you said. Oh, no. [laughter] Evasive. What? Well, I did get calls about the noise from the helicopter. Evasive person. Evasive person

and uh helicop helicopter intervention. So, uh, really just a great example of being there, uh, taking care of things, you know, and, uh, a well executed, quickly conducted, uh, arrest and apprehension. Um, secondly, yes, merry Christmas to everyone. Happy new year. You know, just honored and uh really just humbled to serve with you. And I thank you for the collaboration, the spirit of cooperation from, you know, not only city staff, but my fellow commissioners, and more importantly, the absolute input that I've got these last several months. You know, I I feel like I'm a school principal sometimes, uh a priest at others, and then um a judge and jury sometimes. So, but it is, you know, a great uh example today of what we can get done when we collaborate and cooperate with one another and work uh through the system to achieve meaningful results. So, thank you and happy new year.

Sir, Commissioner Miss Nikki,

I just wanted to say um thank you for all of you here. I know we're here always late and we don't have to call. We won't have to call an extension, but um but to wish everyone um the staff that are present um the commission, the mayor, city attorney, city manager um a the best holiday season because this is definitely not this is our last for 2025 that we'll be up here. So, and um and we'll we'll be back together in 2026. Um and also to the community um because we we are still in difficult times for a lot of residents. A lot of people um in our city are not living in their homes. Um still whether renting or living with other family members because they're still waiting for uh permits and buildouts and um or even financial need. Um and and sometimes we forget there are a lot of people here who financially cannot rebuild their home and and and we we have to remember that not not everybody can do a four-level home like like we're seeing um some people are still struggling to just get their drywalls in. And I so I say that so that residents who who know about these situations and I and I know several in in the district um to reach out to them, let them know that um within our district um I I attend Viani U St. John Biani. So, and I'm sure um maybe the other community churches do similar things, but uh we offer um dinners u for people who need um so always know that even within our city those things are available. Um but again, the neighbors know themselves. So, don't don't shy away from it. You know, it's it's not much to send someone um a care package. Um some some with families. Um, so keep that in mind during during these holidays. So, happy holidays to

everybody and I'll see you in 2026. [laughter] Commissioner Robinson,

uh, just wanted to bring to everybody's attention, Three Palms Point Neighborhood Association will do its traditional uh, Three Palms Point Luminary Display on Christmas Eve. This marks the 5if marks 53 years of lining the streets with luminaries. On Saturday, December 20th at 10:00 a.m., they will be assembling the luminary bags at 47564th Avenue. And it's a great way to meet your neighbors in three Palms Point and have some fun. Donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate will be served. And thanks again to Linda Macy on the corner of 64th and 2nd Palms Point. A shout out to her for letting them use the garage and driveway for preparations. And the uh neighborhood board is Mike Bomar, Deb Bechall, and Matt and Heidi Card. And sorry Deb if I messed up your last name. Um also did want to say that uh there's carolling at the tomorrow night, carolling at the library. Um I think that St. Pete High is doing that, the pitchforks. So that's always fun. And um happy holidays to everybody um residents, businesses, staff, and this commission.

Thank you, Commissioner Marriott.

Um yeah, so uh I heard today that our um small grocery store deli, Beach Meets, um is making great progress. Um, I got some very exciting pictures of the interior. Um, and they're hoping to open um, sometime in January. So, very soon, even though we won't have Publix back in January, we will have a small grocery store. So, that's fantastic. Um, I wanted to pass on my appreciation to um, city staff and the Corey Avenue Business Association for putting on some great events over the last few weeks for Christmas. Um, there there's been all kinds of great activity on Corey Avenue and Christmas movies at the Beach Theater. And I've heard fantastic things about it. I had a resident last night say they felt like they were living in a Hallmark movie the last couple weeks with all the events in the city. So that's fantastic.

Um, and if you hear sirens on Saturday, it's the fire department driving Santa around. So don't get nervous that your house is burning down on Saturday. [laughter] And I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas. We'll see you next year.

Thank you everyone. It's been it's been a year. It's um it's been challenging. It's been interesting. It's been good to meet some new people. Commissioner Maldonado, welcome. Uh it's been a pleasure serving with you. A pleasure serving with all of you. It's been a pleasure and an honor to serve this community. Um you are right. We've had some of the best boat parade notwithstanding, but that's always, [laughter] you know, if you think the boat parade is the first time this has been an issue, it's been an issue for a long time,

ever. And I'm not sure aside from that, it's actually been an incredible holiday season. I think the events that we had, I was at the Saturday and Sunday market just this past weekend is is all the way up to city hall.

It's the first time we've taken up so much space. It's twice the size it's ever been. you know, bonfire was extremely well attended. That was a lot of fun. Um, what Mr. Hubard said earlier during the audience comments about uh the events for the tree lighting at the park, that's the best I've ever seen. And those of you are still concerned about the Christmas lights, Duke is working on them, right? [laughter] Um, but we'll get through it. But all that to say, it's it's been an honor. It's been it's been a pleasure to be here and serve. And this is our last commission for the year. So with that, have a merry Christmas, an amazing new year, and we'll see you in January. We are ajourned.