Tampa City Council Workshops - January 29, 2026 - Tampa City Council Transcripts

Bill Carlson 9:02:31AM

Good morning. We have a special guest, Veronica Ward. Please stand. Veronica is a lifelong Tampa resident and elementary student at Peninsular Prep who already shows a remarkable curiosity for the world around her. She enjoys playing chess, is a Black belt tae kwon do, is passionate about meals on wheels as a volunteer, and is gently guiding, quote, unquote, bossing around her two younger sisters. She hopes to one day change the world positively for girls everywhere. I think this is her first major presentation, especially on tv. Welcome. Please stand and well do the invocation and the pledge of allegiance. Dear God, thank you for being here with US today. Please bless our meeting with kindness, respect, and understanding. Amen. [Pledge of allegiance]

Alan Clendenin 9:03:43AM

Thank you. That was amazing. Great job. Thank you for coming out this morning on a cold morning.

Alan Clendenin 9:03:49AM

Bye. Clerk, can you call the roll, please?

Charlie Miranda 9:03:54AM

Here.

Guido Maniscalco 9:03:55AM

Here.

Lynn Hurtak 9:03:56AM

Here.

Naya Young 9:03:57AM

Here. Carlson?

Bill Carlson 9:04:00AM

Here.

Alan Clendenin 9:04:00AM

Here.

The Clerk 9:04:01AM

We have a physical quorum.

Alan Clendenin 9:04:03AM

Thank you. Appreciate that. Mr. Shelby, would you like to kick US off with some rules?

Martin Shelby 9:04:09AM

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, Members Of Council and members of the public. Martin Shelby, the City Council attorney. Im just going to briefly talk about todays workshop. Im going to read from the rules that no public comment will be taken at the start of the workshop meeting agenda, but public comment on the matter which are the subjects of the workshops shall be taken up to a total of 30 minutes at the end of each workshop item, three minutes per speaker. Only public comment on the subject of the agenda item shall be permitted and no official action on the matter which is the subject of the workshop shall be taken during or after a workshop unless the public is afforded the opportunity to comment prior to action. Mr. Chairman, did you want me to talk about decorum?

Alan Clendenin 9:04:59AM

Yes, please.

Martin Shelby 9:04:59AM

Thank you. Speakers and members of the public are reminded to please refrain from disruptive behavior, including making vulgar or threatening remarks or making or causing disruptive noises or sounds or displaying signs or graphics. And as for comments or talking from your seat, the Chair will rule out of order any person who speaks without being recognized or attempts to address the City Council from outside the speaker area at the podium. Persons failing to comply with councils rules May also be ruled out of order and at the discretion of the Chair May be removed from these chambers for the remainder of todays meeting. Finally, City Council members should refrain from engaging a speaker during public comment, and the public should be aware that the City Council does not take questions or have a dialogue during comment. This is your opportunity to express your position. I should, however, point out that with regard to your workshop rules, IT does say that any member of the City Council May ask questions of any person present during the workshop. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 9:06:05AM

Thank you, Mr. Shelby. Everybody have an opportunity to look at the agenda? Any modifications?

Lynn Hurtak 9:06:12AM

Well, item number 2 is asking for a continuance.

Alan Clendenin 9:06:19AM

We have a motion from Councilman Maniscalco, a second from Councilman Miranda. All those in favor say aye. Opposed? Ayes have IT to continue item number 2 to June 25th.

Lynn Hurtak 9:06:30AM

Item number 5.

Alan Clendenin 9:06:31AM

We have a motion from Councilman Maniscalco to continue item 5 to February 26, 2026. Second from Councilman Miranda. All those in favor say aye. Opposed?

Lynn Hurtak 9:06:40AM

I want to say that the memorandum is asking for consolidation with file cm 23-1835 and file cm 25-19839.

Bill Carlson 9:06:53AM

I think we should leave IT The Way IT is. This was my motion. Nobody from Staff has talked to me about what that means to combine those two.

Martin Shelby 9:07:06AM

Can they be grouped together in the agenda in that order?

Bill Carlson 9:07:09AM

Grouped together but separate item.

Lynn Hurtak 9:07:12AM

Thats fine. I think they are trying to consolidate into one topic.

Martin Shelby 9:07:17AM

You can choose to do that the day of --

Alan Clendenin 9:07:20AM

During agenda review.

Bill Carlson 9:07:21AM

What happens if Somebody combines a specific topic with a budget topic, then IT gets hidden and the pension, We have a billion-dollar pension deficit presented to US, so We need to figure out what that is.

Alan Clendenin 9:07:36AM

Mr. Shelby.

Martin Shelby 9:07:37AM

I dont believe that a motion has been made to consolidate IT. So IT Stands The Way the motion was made and voted on.

Alan Clendenin 9:07:47AM

I see that Dennis Rogero is at the podium. Dennis, would you like to provide background on this, explanation of why?

Dennis Rogero 9:07:54AM

Yes, sir. Good morning, Dennis Rogero, chief financial officer. Of course, IT is the councils pleasure, all three items from our perspective are interrelated because they love long-term liabilities, whether its debt, whether other post-employee benefits, whether pension obligations. So we were attempting to combine IT, again, so were not piecemealing the information to Council and give you a broad picture.

Alan Clendenin 9:08:16AM

My suggestion is the day of, as Mr. Shelby suggested, that this issue be dealt with at agenda review and having back to back, and then you can provide the information during that time, since they are all three related, during agenda review that morning, you can request that the items be heard.

Dennis Rogero 9:08:33AM

We can certainly do that.

Martin Shelby 9:08:35AM

Mr. Rogero, are those two file numbers that you listed, are those already on the agenda for the 26th of February?

Dennis Rogero 9:08:42AM

Yes.

Martin Shelby 9:08:43AM

Okay. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 9:08:44AM

Councilman Carlson.

Bill Carlson 9:08:45AM

Yeah, the first time that we were presented the debt on the pension was during the budget process last year. Since ive been on Council, have not had a robust, separate discussion about the pension. There are a lot of pensioners out there who are obviously concerned about this, and they want a separate conversation. So I think we have a duty to the folks who worked hard at the city for many years and now on pension to have a robust conversation about this. If you want to put IT adjacent to IT, thats fine. I think IT would be disrespectful to the people who retired to not have a separate conversation.

Dennis Rogero 9:09:19AM

Understood. That would be wonderful. Just so that all of the information Is Taking Place for the public and Council at the same time. Or adjacent, as you said.

Alan Clendenin 9:09:27AM

If for some reason IT doesnt show up on the agenda that day, sequentially or together, please bring IT to our attention that morning during the agenda review so they are heard sequentially.

Dennis Rogero 9:09:40AM

Yes, Sir.

Alan Clendenin 9:09:41AM

The motion stands as read.

Charlie Miranda 9:09:44AM

If I May add, Dennis, is There Any Way, Mr. Rogero, are the Pensions all the same fund or Fire Fund, Police Fund, General Fund, if they are different, can you tell US the difference?

Dennis Rogero 9:09:58AM

Fire And Police Pension Fund and then a General Employees Fund. Two different boards.

Charlie Miranda 9:10:04AM

Does the city follow up, have separate fund manager, buying the stock market or whatever they do?

Dennis Rogero 9:10:12AM

Yes. Each Of Those Funds have investment managers.

Charlie Miranda 9:10:16AM

Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 9:10:17AM

Okay. A couple of thoughts this morning, obviously We have a lot of public interest in the workshop today and then, of course, the City Council meeting this evening related to a couple of issues, including the South Howard Flood Relief Project. I wanted to emphasize that if You are speaking -- the information thats going to be presented today is going to be replicated at the hearing tonight. You are perfectly entitled to come today and tonight, but the information thats going to be provided today is going to be the same information as tonight. IT is the same ears sitting listening. You dont necessarily need to come tonight to provide, unless You have new information to provide or You feel like You want to be able to add to that information. I just want to make sure people know there wont be anything new tonight. Youll hear the same thing today. When youre speaking, this is just an observation, one, You dont have to fill the whole three minutes. I think sometimes people feel like they are compelled to speak the entire three minutes. If You have new things to add, add new things. We want to hear about your personal stories, personal evidence, personal things that will potentially be affected by You. Honestly, You can come up and say, if somebody came up and said everything You want to say, You can say somebody said everything I wanted to say and agree hundred percent or something to that effect and then You can go. Because We have an overflow room downstairs, more people than We can accommodate upstairs, a lot of people down stairs, once You finish speaking on your topic, By The Way, a workshop, youll speak after each topic. We dont have the normal public comment time in the beginning of the meeting, You will speak after the presentation, after the information is presented so that You can hear everything that We are hearing. After You speak, im going to ask You to immediately go back downstairs. There are monitors. You can hear and see everything happen. Basically ten at a time, take the people downstairs and get them upstairs to prepare them to speak. We didnt do our normal cards that We usually do. What well do after each issue, because We have so many issues and people speak after each one, when We are finished with the presentation, youll be able to stand against the wall ten at a time. Ill call You up one at a time. First ten on the wall. If You are not part of the ten, sit down until the next ten come up and try to keep IT in a nice orderly fashion. I know there is a lot of passion and emotion in the room on both sides. We dont do booing, clapping, noises. Everybody likes to have the affirmation from applause, but the problem is, when youre doing that, IT prevents US from hearing what the Speaker says and disrespectful, even though they like IT because they like to be applauded, We really are attentive and trying to listen to what You have to say. We dont want booing either. Let US listen to each Speaker at the dais uninterrupted so We can understand the issues they are bringing forth before this council. With that -- one other thing I forgot to say. Some of You love me, some of You hate me. Some of You love my fellow workers up here. We dont call out members -- one of the rules, We dont call out members. Address US as a body and not as individuals. You dont call out peoples names. Whether good or bad. Dont tell me im wonderful and dont tell me im the worst person that ever walked the face of the earth.

Bill Carlson 9:13:48AM

There is a lot of information circulating about what this is today regarding the South Howard Project, could you explain for item 1 and item 1 tonight what we are doing, what votes will be taken and what will not be done just so they can know in general. For example, people have been told this is the final vote or biggest vote, thats going to be in September. Could you explain what we are --

Alan Clendenin 9:14:11AM

Absolutely. Good idea. This morning, item 1 is about the south -- well, initially, this was our great eight presentation where the Administration comes forth, biggest eight capital improvement projects. Because of the interest in the south howard flood project, they requested to narrow the presentation this morning, verbal presentation to focus on the south howard flood relief project. Thats going to be the full scope of that project. Thats what were hearing today. This is a workshop. Little bit more interactive with council members than you normally would see in a regular City Council meeting where there is a little more rigid structure. Whats happening is tonight, we have an agenda item about transfer of funds from another project into the south howard project. IT is a transfer of funds from one flood project to another. What Councilman Carlson insinuated about how this progresses is we are at a -- I think its 30% design on the south howard project. So thats where we are. IT is one of the critical decision points. IT is not the final decision critical point but one of the critical decision points of this is either we move forward or we stop. Thats what is going to be on the agenda, only because the project is dependent upon the transfer of the funds because otherwise we dont have the money to do IT.

Bill Carlson 9:15:42AM

No, but this morning, correct on that, but this morning theres no vote.

Alan Clendenin 9:15:46AM

Yeah, this morning theres no vote. Its just a presentation. Again, I want to emphasize, the presentation Yawl hear today is going to be the same factual information that youll hear tonight. So you dont have to come back. Same 14 ears listening. Councilman Viera is here and we have a Full Council. Because this is a passionate, I also ask for my colleagues to indulge me and if you want to speak, please turn on your mike, wait until I call your name to speak. If you are not going to speak, turn off your mike. Hopefully we can just as orderly as we possibly can. There is a lot of passion in the room. Very good. I think we are ready to go with item number 1. Ms. Duncan.

Jean Duncan 9:16:41AM

Good morning, City Council members. Jean Duncan, administrator for infrastructure and mobility. We appreciate the opportunity this morning to be here to talk about the south howard flood relief project. This, as you said, is normally our great eight projects update, and we had asked to focus on this one particular project today. We have submitted a written report of the other projects that were working on. A lot going on besides this project. Were happy to answer questions about the other projects at any time. But you do have the written report that you can refer to. This morning, we have a brief presentation. We have a design-build team to answer questions. We would like to take those questions at the end of the presentation. With that, I will start my clicker skills here. I wanted to start today with this photograph --

Alan Clendenin 9:17:36AM

Hold on one second. Cttv, can you please get the presentation on councils monitors?

Jean Duncan 9:17:44AM

Tell me when you are ready.

Alan Clendenin 9:17:45AM

Youre good.

Jean Duncan 9:17:46AM

Thank you. I wanted to start todays discussion with this photograph. This photograph is a storm that was about 5.3 To 5.4 Inches of rainfall, and IT caused major flooding in the parkland estates area back in 2015. For those who were around for this flood, IT caused a lot of damage. We had flooded homes, flooded businesses, road closures, no access to the hospital. Obviously, a lot of costly repairs from this flood. And this is the rain event that were designing the South Howard Flood Relief Project for. The bottom line is building this project ends this type of flooding that you see on the photograph. Weve heard flooding concerns. Weve also heard concerns about the cost. Back in 2022, We had a concept that We developed a planning estimate for, which was $65 million. Fast-forward to today, that cost is more in the ballpark of about $98 million. And there are several reasons for that. First of all, anything you purchase now was cheaper back in 2022. But, again, the construction costs have gone up dramatically during that time. More importantly, one of the main reasons costs are growing, the project has expanded to protect more peoples homes and businesses. Ill share a little bit of information about that in just a moment. There is a silver lining in that IT is possible for the cost to come down as We develop more project detail and have a better understanding of all the particulars of the project. When project estimates are done, a lot of risk is built into those estimates as the risk is more known, the costs sometimes come down because there is no accurate information. But one thing is for certain, that any delay of this project is going to mean that the cost is going to go up and the problem is going to continue to get worse. Again, I wanted to explain a little bit about what I said about the expanded project. You can see the graph -- I apologize in the back. Its hard to see. But there is an orange line on the graphic. That orange line represents our proposed project, the basis of IT. And that is a 10 by 10 box culvert that will carry the stormwater. Start At Bayshore Boulevard, We have an existing outfall. Outfall is a pipe or a box where water goes out into the bay. IT starts At Bayshore Boulevard and extends North On Howard Avenue and West Onto Swann Avenue. During our analyses and modeling, that LED US to the decision that We really needed to leverage an existing drainage asset and that is AMI pond. IT is the blue rectangle that you see right above the orange line. We determined that for the best return on investment, for the most protection to the Palma Ceia pines neighborhood, that We needed to extend the box culvert north to connect to that AMI pond. Those of you not familiar with this pond, its really a hidden drainage under the parking garage of the hospital. If We can extend this box culvert to that pond and connect to the pond, We can then drain the floodwaters of Palma Ceia pines into the pond and into the drainage culvert thats going to go up To Bayshore Boulevard. This will essentially turn that pond into a giant collection area or inlet that can drain the floodwaters now south into the bay. This is what that investment is going to deliver. This graphic here shows our existing flood condition without our System In Place. The blue is the flooded streets, impassable streets. Red boxes are the flooded businesses and homes in the area. When We superimpose the same flood condition with our System In Place, We actually get a 95% reduction in flooding. We get significant improvement to Palma Ceia pines and parkland estates. And believe IT or not, if this system had Been In Place in August of 2015, you would have not seen the flooding that you saw in the photograph. Additionally, if the system had Been In Place, We would have seen about 70% less structural flooding, which means about 220 homes and businesses could have been saved. And thats huge. We cant design for hurricanes, but our major stormwater projects can be very impactful with reducing the problems that We get from the extreme events. I apologize if these photographs are disturbing to some folks here because they had to go through a traumatic experience when those floods did occur. And there is a very simple reason why We had the flooding problem. Its basically topography is to blame. Our study area is within the Black box on the screen. If you see the green, those are the low elevations. The darker colors are the higher elevations. Clearly, the water is pooling in the lower areas and IT really has No Good Way to get out. This is just another graphic to make the point. If We took a couple of cross sections, one is On Swann Avenue, one is on audubon. Clearly you can see from the graph We have low area. Again, water pools in these areas. IT does not have sufficient infrastructure to get out of the area. And this is a long-standing problem thats well documented. The problem has been studied for over 40 years. Around the current infrastructure thats out there was built sometime between the 1900s and the 1950s. And this infrastructure is woefully inadequate for the drainage needs that We have. I would just like to show a short video that will show how the proposed box culvert system is going to work. Drainage project aimed at fixing the chronic flooding We see in parkland estates, Palma Ceia pines and the nearby neighborhoods. The root of the problem is pretty simple. These neighborhoods sit very, very low. Because of the low-lying topography, they are especially prone to flooding. The neighborhoods are also shaped like giant bowls. So when heavy rain hits, water rushes in, builds up fast and doesnt Drain The Way IT should because the current pipes There Are Way too small. City Engineers and independent experts are designing this system to handle a serious storm, about five inches of rain over eight hours. Thats enough water to fill the iconic river dade tower. When all that water has nowhere to go, IT can cause a lot of damage. So what is the fix? The proposed solution uses a massive 10-foot by 10-foot box culvert system, capable of moving roughly 20 million gallons of stormwater every single hour. Think of IT as a mile-long underground river designed to pull all that excess water out of the neighborhoods. The system would start near south howard and Bayshore, head north, turn on To Swann Avenue, and then continue north into Palma Ceia pines by connecting directly to the pond beneath the Hca Florida South Tampa hospital parking deck. That pond would essentially become a giant inlet pulling excess floodwater out of the neighborhood and sending IT south where IT can drain properly. Remember, the sheer volume of water were talking about, a beer can building worth, the system is designed to move IT out of the neighborhoods fast before IT can cause serious damage. The approach isnt new. In fact, tried and true. Similar projects across the city, including at henderson and Dale Mabry are already proving how effective this type of drainage system can be. Bottom line, less flooding means safer streets for Everyday Drivers and First Responders, fewer homes at risk of catastrophic damage, lower insurance costs, and real peace of mind for Families And Businesses who just want to know their investments are better protected.

Jean Duncan 9:26:16AM

And as you saw in the video, our proposed project is a 10 by 10 box culvert. You can envision the blue on the right being the bay. The gray line is the box culvert. The blue on the left is flooding areas of Palma Ceia pines and parkland estates. This system is going to work with gravity for the water to flow down to the bay. We have an excellent slope to work with. We dont have this great slope in other parts of the city. That slope is going to allow the water, again, to move by gravity, which is not going to require any sort of pump system or complicated system thats going to fail during a storm or need maintenance. Weve heard the concerns about the tidal influence of the box. Well, the elevation in the bay or the storm surge in the bay would have to rise to about 15 to 20 feet for that bay water or storm water to force back up into the box back into the neighborhoods. That condition has never happened in hillsborough bay. If that ever were to happen, wed have bigger problems on our hands because almost the entire South Tampa peninsula would be underwater in that case. Since the stormwater improvement assessment was created in 2016, Our Team has had proven success with a number of major stormwater projects, complex urban projects that weve built throughout the city. Few examples here, you heard some of those in the video. Macdill 48, Cypress Street outfall. Currently Constructing Manhattan Avenue project now and We completed many other smaller projects all throughout the city. IT goes without saying We have an excellent team. Kimmins is our contractor. Atkins Realis is the design engineer. We have professional engineers on staff all working together on this project. The city is fully committed to working with the business community on shop and Dine Howard Avenue campaign. Something similar was done On Gandy Boulevard when that major project was constructed. We want to do something similar to support the businesses. We also heard from many residents who have said that they plan to frequent the businesses during the construction to support those businesses. With that said, ID like to ask mr. John Zemina to come up. Mr. Zemina is our contractor. He is vice president of Kimmins Contracting, and he is also going to share some information about the construction during that time. John Zemina with Kimmins Contracting. What you see on the right side titled "draft" is our preliminary construction phasing plan. We would not typically present that this early in a project at 30%. We would start refining IT at 30 and finalizing at 60. I dont want you to think this is a final design because IT is very preliminary. The boundaries May change somewhat depending on where utilities are. One thing I want everybody to be clear of, the first activity is to relocate existing utilities and create a corridor. This phasing plan is for the box culvert installation which Would Take Place after that. Phase one would be moving water lines out Of The Way which Would Be Lane closures, no significant MOT changes, just moving the water lines to make room for the corridor that this phasing plan shows. Over the next -- were at 30% drawings right now, as I heard mentioned earlier. For the next several months, were going to spend our time meeting with residents and business owners reviewing the 30% drawings, looking for ways that We can try to minimize the impact to them, access points, when they get deliveries, as We get to the residential, Bayshore, any special needs in there for school buses, HART bus lines. We spend a lot of time preparing this so We can try to set IT up. Its worked very successfully for US on the macdill 48 and the upper peninsula project, these preliminary meetings and getting everything set up. Were going to have a public meeting in early March to review the 30% drawings and get public feedback. Thats already scheduled and In The Way, on the works for moving ahead. There are a lot of things We have to look at. Youre going to hear them, parking, what are We going to do? I dont have an answer for you today. I have to look and see if We can find lots We can rent. Business access, keep businesses open at all times that they want to be open. One thing -- maybe met with a few business owners already. Im working with the Epicurean. They have one season, for example, thats very busy for them. Well see if We can stop construction activities in front of their building during that time period to try to minimize that impact to them. These are the things well do from a public involvement and construction. We have the ability to do that because We can control the project. As Jean said, well work closely on the Shop Howard Campaign. One thing thats a little bit unique, We restore behind US as We go. So when you see starting at Bayshore, that first block of time, when We move to the next block, were restoring behind US. So that everything is moving. The system Goes Into Place. IT is a gravity system. Install the box culvert, gets in operation, asphalt, landscaping, sidewalks restored, so when We finish your neighborhood, I call IT one and done. We come through, done, We leave, you are clear.

Jean Duncan 9:31:45AM

Thank you, John. Appreciate that. John has showed US the projects. He is hands-on throughout the entire project as well as his team. Well continue that during this project as well. Also want to mention, as John said, one and done, We do want to work with the Businesses and Property Owners to provide new improvements to the area as part of the project. We know We can put in aesthetics, landscaping, hard-scaping. These are visuals for ideas. We want the benefits to come to the Businesses when We get done with a project to have an even more enhanced area along the howard corridor. I want to address a couple of other concerns weve heard, one being about maintenance, the other being about our preferred alternative. Maintenance alone is not going to solve the flooding problem We have here. We have a capacity project problem, and We need significant infrastructure to handle that capacity, which you can see evident by the flooding. Weve also heard concerns about whether this is the best alternative. Well, our engineers and the Design-Build Team, weve studied more than a dozen alternatives. Some of those provided by the public. And there are no other options that were better than our alternative. The others were either more expensive, harder to build, more disruptive, and there is no other plan b thats going to deliver the kind of flood relief that We believe our proposed project is going to provide. Where We are today, John mentioned a little bit of this, were on the cusp of getting the 30% cost estimate. We are going to be having a public meeting in early March of this year to share the design plan details with the public and get their input. We will also be having a similar 60% public meeting for those 60% plans and details to be shared and discussed. As our Chairman mentioned, theres two actions by council that are left on this project. The first action is this evening. That is a vote on a financial resolution to move about $20 million from another project We just completed, the macdill 48 project. We came under budget on that project. Well take advantage of that opportunity and were asking you to move those stormwater funds from that project to the south howard flood relief project. The second vote will come in about October of this year. That is the vote where We will bring the guaranteed maximum price to the City Council and ask for their approval for moving forward to start the construction on this project. I just want to say that this project is going to deliver long-term benefits for the area. IT is a generational project. Its going to protect families, protect Businesses. Theres actually water quality benefits with the project. And this photograph can really be a thing of the past once We get this Project In Place. I did mention about the cost estimate a minute ago. ID like to ask the CFO to come up and share a little more detail about the funding and financing.

Alan Clendenin 9:35:03AM

Mr. Rogero.

Dennis Rogero 9:35:04AM

Dennis Rogero, chief financial officer. Before I present -- IT is a very brief presentation, much of which has already been shared, I do want to set the table and clarify a few items. Weve had one-on-one briefings. Again, thank you for your time and interest associated with the finances and this project. One of the things I want to reiterate, this is a funding plan. We think IT is a very well-crafted funding plan. But as youve heard, we dont even have 30% design information yet. Im going to compare IT to the budget that Council approves every single year. IT is the best estimates and best recommendations that we have based on the best information we have at this time. Its the future. So things will change, but we think we have a very good plan here.

Alan Clendenin 9:35:56AM

Please silence your cell phones. Take this moment to look at your cell phone and make sure IT is on silent. Thank you. Continue.

Dennis Rogero 9:36:02AM

Thank you, sir. I also want to reiterate, this is very similar to other stormwater projects the Mayor has presented and Council has approved in the past. IT is a patchwork of many funding sources. Our funding sources but also allows US, and weve been very successful, allows US to maximize, as we discussed in the past, Councilwoman Hurtak, getting money back from the State And Federal Government that weve given to them. We like to call IT other peoples money, but IT really is our money. Weve given to them and they want to give IT back for good purposes. Having said that, I have some slides, if I could have the wolf up, please.

Alan Clendenin 9:36:51AM

IT will activate when you drop IT on. Can we get the Wolf on councils monitors, please? Thank you.

Dennis Rogero 9:37:00AM

Thank you all in the back. Please let me know when you can see IT.

Alan Clendenin 9:37:06AM

We can see IT.

Dennis Rogero 9:37:07AM

Thank you. $98 million project, our latest estimates, how are We going to pay for IT? You see whats already been approved in the budget. Council has appropriated IT. Its right there in the budget document, nearly $29 million. The stormwater improvement assessment of $8.4 Million, let me reiterate that is all of the funding We anticipate using from the improvement assessment for this project. Stormwater bond series 2021, which has already been approved, again, and issued, $8.2 Million. Stormwater bond series 2023, 1.9, Almost $2 million already approved and issued. The FDEP grant, also known as the resilient Florida grant, for a little over $10 million. Thats what is in the budget right now. Here is what We define as the linchpin of this project, and Council will consider this evening. Its almost $21 million. IT is already issued debt. This is not any additional debt that the city is taking on. We are very fortunate that We got a large grant for the lower peninsula project that obviated the need for this funding in that particular project area. But We would submit its even more important because approval of this project will allow US to pursue the next slide. Funding on the next slide. This is, as IT says, potential funding. Another portion of that resilient Florida grant, the FDEP grant, $25 million. Its already been applied for. From the Tampa/hillsborough Expressway Authority, $11 million. Hazard mitigation grant associated with hurricane ian, for not quite $4 million. So you see nearly $40 million in funding is hinging on approval of that transfer of the bond funding this evening. Now, I cant assure you well get any of the money. Its potential. Were very confident. You heard administrator Duncan talk about our proven success. The state, the Federal Government, they are just like any other grantor, they dont want to throw good money after bad money. They want to throw good money after good money, and were good money. We get jobs done. THEA, I understand, this is for a portion of the project were discussing right now. If We dont do this project, were not getting that $11 million. And the same with the hazard mitigation grant. Again, almost $40 million leveraged by an approval tonight of the $20 million. If youre doing the math on your own, youll note We are just about $9 million short of the 98 million with what ive presented. I have a summary slide, a couple of summary slides for you, too. How do We suggest dealing with that? Well, We have a backstop in there as you see of $9 million from the community investment tax. The renewal of the community investment tax. Youll recall, We start collecting IT end of this year, if im not mistaken, and about 780 odd million dollars for the City Of Tampa. We anticipate over the next 15 years. Almost 200 million of that just for public works and transportation. This $9 million will be less than 1% or about 1%, excuse me, of that funding. In the meantime, as We do, We have potential other funding opportunities. Youve heard US talk about the community development block grant for disaster recovery. This is a 700 odd million dollars grant received by Hillsborough County following the hurricanes. We dont know what were going to get yet. We submitted over $400 million in projects requests for this funding. I can guarantee you We wont get that. But anticipate get a very, very large portion. Its 700 plus million dollars. The second item, We are always aggressively pursuing the state and federal grant funding. We have been very successful. Weve got a great group. The departments are very aggressive in seeking grant funding, but its not just US. We have willing grantors, again, based on the success the city has had with other grants. And to sum up the recommended funding plan you see approved $28.6 Million. The pending money of almost $21 million. That is the item tonight. Almost $40 million in potential funding that hinges on approval of that item tonight, that financial resolution and our backstop funding of $9 million for a total of just a little over $98 million. That is our funding plan for this. If I could dive just a little deeper briefly, and to reiterate, We have IT broken down in terms of what We have gone into debt for and what We call pay go. What were not going to finance. You see IT right here, improvement assessment, the two grants, THEA, the CIT renewal, and the hazard mitigation grant. Over two-thirds of this project is pay go. Bringing in the final third is, again, already issued debt service. The 20.9 Million in question and the two appropriated components of those debt issuances, 2021 and 2023, the $31 million. That is the extent of my presentation. Again, just a view of our funding plan. I can answer any questions at any time.

Alan Clendenin 9:43:43AM

Councilwoman Hurtak.

Lynn Hurtak 9:43:44AM

Thank you. If you could put the stormwater bond series 2023 slide on. Whatever one you think fits best. That works. One of the things I think that we need to talk about is, first of all, only 8.4 Million is coming from stormwater assessment, correct?

Dennis Rogero 9:44:12AM

Yes, maam.

Lynn Hurtak 9:44:13AM

Only 8.4. Looking at the Stormwater Bond Series for 2023, what can we spend the Stormwater Bond Series on, this 2023 bond series?

Dennis Rogero 9:44:48AM

Going to the wolf again, in the back.

Alan Clendenin 9:44:50AM

Can you zoom in on that please, Mr. Rogero, and push IT down a little bit? Thank you.

Lynn Hurtak 9:44:57AM

Up just a tad. There you go. Just right.

Dennis Rogero 9:45:01AM

Thank you. This is from the bond document City Council approved. IT is confined to a particular geographic area associated with where we assess the improvement. You see at the very top there, coincidentally, the south howard flooding relief and streetscape. One, two, three, four bullets down you see the lower peninsula flooding relief. And that was this original components assignment to that project. The geographic area, we intentionally crafted the issuance to allow US flexibility to move this funding to applicable projects just in the event that we received outside funding and IT came to pass and now we have this opportunity.

Lynn Hurtak 9:45:52AM

So looking at this, You said this is geographically limited.

Dennis Rogero 9:45:56AM

Um-hum.

Lynn Hurtak 9:45:57AM

IT must be used basically in South Tampa?

Dennis Rogero 9:46:00AM

Within a particular -- the expert in the restrictions and limitations of this revenue is here today. Evans. I believe our CFO is referring to the central and lower basin that is the entire area for the capital improvement assessment for the stormwater assessment.

Lynn Hurtak 9:46:26AM

Can You in laypersons terms say what that basin is, just for those of US who are not as ingrained in this as You are?

Mclane Evans 9:46:37AM

Very roughly -- I mean, being a Lawyer, im into precision, however -- and we have the maps attached to all the resolutions if anybody in the public would like to reference them -- but roughly from fowler south.

Lynn Hurtak 9:46:48AM

IT is a good portion of the city. Thank you. But going back to the stormwater bonds, We use stormwater bonds for only large capital projects. We do not use these for maintenance, correct?

Dennis Rogero 9:47:04AM

Yes, maam.

Lynn Hurtak 9:47:05AM

Why is that?

Dennis Rogero 9:47:07AM

This was the specific purpose for assessing an improvement -- well, an improvement assessment. Was to use that funding in contrast to the maintenance assessment or the service assessment we call IT, was to use this funding for capital improvement projects. That is the reason this exists.

Lynn Hurtak 9:47:26AM

But, generally speaking, its not a good idea to bond for maintenance.

Dennis Rogero 9:47:32AM

Oh, no, generally speaking, IT is not a good idea. Yes, maam.

Lynn Hurtak 9:47:36AM

And that could affect our bond rating. The only other thing I want to talk about when IT comes to money is -- and this is might be -- Kimmins might have to help you a little on this -- but because we are doing this in segments, do we have an idea of how much more this project is going to cost because of that? My understanding is, if we just dug IT all out and did IT all at once, IT would be cheaper. Could someone speak to that?

Dennis Rogero 9:48:05AM

Yes, I would have to defer to the contractor. You might gain some time savings. I think its not going to be as significant as You May think because We -- You can only put the box culvert in as fast as You can put the box culvert in.

Lynn Hurtak 9:48:32AM

Im not talking about time. Im talking about money. Is IT cheaper to do IT all at once -- I mean, from my understanding, its much more expensive to fix -- to open up, close up, move on. Open up, close up, move on. We would be speculating, throwing a number out at you. But I think theres some savings potentially. We have to look at IT from different perspectives. Never looked at IT from that perspective of closing entire roadway. Sorry, I probably didnt answer your question.

Lynn Hurtak 9:49:02AM

Thats fine. I was curious. We cant really save any money by doing the -- I just dont know. There is a pain threshold there.

Lynn Hurtak 9:49:14AM

Exactly. Thats why were doing IT so We dont have the pain threshold with our businesses.

Alan Clendenin 9:49:22AM

Mr. Rogero, I have a question for you. The Stormwater Assessment. IT keeps being repeated this is the remaining of that fund balance. Can you speak to the duration of the Stormwater Assessment and the projected income into that assessment?

Dennis Rogero 9:49:35AM

Yes, sir. Absolutely. Council will recall, this assessment, 30-year assessment goes through 2046.

Alan Clendenin 9:49:42AM

20 more years.

Dennis Rogero 9:49:45AM

Yes, sir, yes, sir. And over the next 24 years, We anticipate -- again, this is pro forma -- We anticipate IT will generate about $330 million.

Alan Clendenin 9:49:55AM

That is unallocated, not spent.

Dennis Rogero 9:49:59AM

IT is not spent. Part of that will be allocated for our ongoing debt service obligation, which im going from memory here is about $225 million. What remains unallocated from a forecast and planning perspective is about $115 million.

Alan Clendenin 9:50:17AM

Because the project really depends on what you call other peoples money, but this grant money and other organization money that will be subsidizing to get to US that small, unmet need, when is the final decision point? If we do not get that money, how do -- does that in essence mean the project is not doable?

Dennis Rogero 9:50:43AM

IT would be challenging to find other funding sources in those amounts if we do not get that funding.

Alan Clendenin 9:50:50AM

When is the point we say go, no-go because of not getting that money?

Dennis Rogero 9:50:56AM

I think -- again, correct me if im wrong, Ms. Duncan or Mr. Zemina -- ill address the small component first. For instance, the $25 million request to FDEP, my understanding is its a bit of a chicken and egg thing. They want to see a contract before they throw good money after good money. They have already thrown 10 million. The contract, I think the no-go or no-go would be after we have the guaranteed maximum price. Which I believe is August-September time frame.

Jean Duncan 9:51:32AM

Yes, looking to have --

Alan Clendenin 9:51:35AM

Start with your name again, Jean.

Jean Duncan 9:51:37AM

Jean Duncan, administrator for Infrastructure And Mobility. We are looking to have 60% plans meeting in August. September, October to have the guaranteed maximum price. As Mr. Rogero said, its just the method of these grant agencies where they like to wait until the 11th hour. They make a decision on the grants. So as we get very close to the guaranteed maximum price, we will find out about some of these grants. So that will help US to make that decision and help you to make that decision when we bring the guaranteed maximum price of what your vote is going to be in October.

Alan Clendenin 9:52:13AM

At that point, well have -- we should have the answer on those I guess matching. Matching funds from those grants to get to US that basically two-thirds amount of other funded assets. I had something else. Cant think of what IT was. Councilman Miranda.

Charlie Miranda 9:52:33AM

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Since you are both here, The Pipes Program, that is a big project, over a 20-year project were involved in, basically 2.9 Billion I think IT is. When you look at that, at the same time youre doing this project, is IT possible if this has not been done already, those streets, the pipe, box culverts going through, you can put the water lines and sewer lines in to save money?

Jean Duncan 9:52:56AM

Yeah, were definitely doing IT at planning. Doing IT at planning for a number of years. Its not always Aligning The Way We would like IT to be. We have done extensive work to see how the waterline work and wastewater work aligns with our transportation projects and stormwater projects as well. In this case, We are going out ahead of this project -- tell me exactly when, probably any day, right after gasparilla, well start the waterline construction in this project area ahead of the stormwater work.

Charlie Miranda 9:53:29AM

I understand that The Pipes Program is a Citywide Programs, Business, Residential, over 2,000 miles of each underground. IT is a big project compared to this. Hopefully we can work together.

Alan Clendenin 9:53:44AM

Councilman Carlson.

Bill Carlson 9:53:45AM

Are we just asking questions about the whole presentation or CFO?

Alan Clendenin 9:53:51AM

Anything else for the presentation.

Jean Duncan 9:53:52AM

This is the presentation. Were here for any questions.

Alan Clendenin 9:53:55AM

Its all open now.

Bill Carlson 9:53:57AM

A few weeks ago, three, four weeks ago, when we were talking about this, we talked about the fact that Palma Ceia pines was in the study area, but there was no infrastructure put into Palma Ceia pines. A few days later, you all added infrastructure in Palma Ceia pines, and I want to thank you for doing that because there are a lot of people here from Palma Ceia pines that are concerned about that. Similar to an earlier question as was testified a few weeks ago, phase two, mostly Palma Ceia pines would not start until four, five years from now and wouldnt be completed for a few more years beyond that. For all the folks that are concerned about Palma Ceia pines flooding, why wouldnt we do IT concurrent with this and just add IT -- instead of phase two, why not have one phase that also includes more in-depth infrastructure in Palma Ceia pines and how much do we think phase two will cost?

Jean Duncan 9:54:52AM

Jean Duncan, administrator for Infrastructure And Mobility. Ill try to answer as much of the question as I can. The project scope does not allow US to really go beyond what were doing already with conducting to the AMI pond without rescoping the project. Were already having a challenge right now coming up with the funds for the $98 million project, that would really be too much bite of an apple all at one time. We felt more prudent to break IT into a couple of components. One for the project scope, the other for the funding opportunities and the cost to do IT in two phases. Ideally, we like to do IT all at once. But the first phase is going to bring significant relief to the area.

Bill Carlson 9:55:39AM

On phase two, do you have any idea how much its going to cost?

Jean Duncan 9:55:43AM

I dont have an idea. I dont know if anyone else does. Whatever idea We have, its sort of a dart on a dart board at this point because We dont have a lot of details so We hate to throw out numbers that kind of stick.

Bill Carlson 9:55:54AM

Mr. Rogero, some members of the community have contacted me and said they were concerned that they were told that the vote today is the most important vote on this, and that if we dont vote -- tonight, were only moving 21 million from one account to another which could easily be moved around again. Its not September. Its not October. IT is not the big vote. Apparently some people were told that if we dont vote to move that tonight, the contract will be canceled. City Council has not said that the contract would be canceled. In fact, if you all needed to change the scope to include Palma Ceia pines, we most likely would vote for that. Who made the decision, yesterday, when we met one on one with the Chief Of Staff, you said we could have easily had the decision two weeks from now or longer on the 21 million. Who decided that tonight we had to vote today or this project would be canceled? Why were people told that the contract might be canceled? And who made that decision?

Dennis Rogero 9:56:54AM

The Mayor. The Mayor.

Bill Carlson 9:56:58AM

Even though we could have made the decision a couple of weeks from now. [ laughter sounding gavel

Dennis Rogero 9:57:03AM

Thank you for asking the question. Let me put IT in context. Theres been a great deal of energy and resources towards this project. At some point, I think the decision needs to be made to either proceed with this nearly $98 million project or not proceed.

Bill Carlson 9:57:21AM

I just have concern because there are --

Dennis Rogero 9:57:25AM

Let me continue, sir. That point has come tonight per the Mayor.

Bill Carlson 9:57:33AM

Thank you. I just have concerns because I know a lot of folks, they lost their houses. Their families are upset. They have taken today off from work for a vote that is not the most important vote. IT is maybe a straw vote. Let me ask another question, the design contract, we talked about this yesterday, design contract was clear on our goals. Should Be No Road flooding in a five-year design storm. Says we are supposed to reach a level of service a, that means complete Removal From Street services, no flooding. The flooding was relieved in parkland estates, but not -- but only reduced in Palma Ceia pines. Stormwater Technical Standards also say the hydraulic grade line for all public storm sewer systems constructed within the City Of Tampa is one foot Below The Road surface. That Means Any Road flooding on this map is not up to our own code. Were paying $7.7 Million for the best minds to develop a plan. Why didnt we meet the terms of our own design contract and code? And what would IT take for US to meet there? Dont we have an obligation to the public to try to go to our own design standards on this?

Alan Clendenin 9:58:39AM

Before you answer, I made a Chair decision to not limit Council questions to five minutes. Once we finish that, if people start pontificating and rambling, well impose the five-minute rule. This is an important issue, I think IT is important we vet out.

Bill Carlson 9:59:04AM

Thank you so much. The question again is, our own standards, the contract and the code say that we need to be one foot Below The Road line, but yet the map, even with this completed, shows roads flooded, why didnt we stick to our own standard?

Jean Duncan 9:59:25AM

Jean Duncan, administrator for Infrastructure And Mobility. Im not sure what reference you are reading from. I can tell you this design is going to meet our standards. Its going to be signed and sealed by a professional engineer. Multiple engineers will have reviewed IT. We can assure you its going to meet our standards. On the other hand, stormwater is sometimes not an exact science. There are dynamics that pool the water from different places. Different storm events with different intensities, durations. With the best information we can develop, were going to remove as much water as possible. Our goal is to make the roads passible at all times. That is the goal. Do that to the best extent we can. In some cases, there May be some water left, but the goal for the water to drain off as quickly as possible. I would say we are going to meet our standards and we can stand behind the statement.

Bill Carlson 10:00:18AM

In the Kimmins contract, exhibit a, proposed drainage facility shall meet the needs of the city to effectively and efficiently relieve flooding for the design storm as well as reduce flood levels greater than hundred -- and then -- I wont go through all that. Let me get to a different question. In the maps, can you go back to the maps that show before and after map? Can we see the after map?

Jean Duncan 10:00:44AM

Cttv have the powerpoint back up, please?

Bill Carlson 10:00:47AM

This question. Ill go ahead and ask the question, if we could, show the after map and then blow IT up. If you look before and after, the blue is flooding, right?

Jean Duncan 10:01:11AM

Yes.

Bill Carlson 10:01:12AM

Theres more flooding on the left than the right. Can you blow this up on the right one? See all the blue. That shows what I was talking about. Flooding not only on the streets but flooding IT appears in some houses. I dont know if we can do IT from the Elmo. Can the audiovisual people help US zoom in on that, please?

Jean Duncan 10:01:44AM

I can tell you, yes, there will be some flooding We cannot accommodate in phase one for this area. But flooding will be much less. That flooding will be much shorter duration than IT is now.

Bill Carlson 10:01:58AM

And this is mainly Palma Ceia pines. Now were moving to the elmo, overhead. Turn IT -- yeah, That Way. So we can see the blue there. Thats The Flooded Street. We see Audubon, Habana. What is the Other Cross Street there, The Horizontal Street? Armenia, Audubon -- where is De Leon?

Jean Duncan 10:02:28AM

De Leon --

Bill Carlson 10:02:32AM

Azeele, Horatio. For the folks who live on audubon between Horatio and Azeele or Horatio and cleveland, that is the bottom of the bowl. Theres still going to be flooding. Habana and Azeele. And that goes back to the 1980s studies that recommended a retention pond in that area. What do we say to those folks even after we spend the hundred million dollars, theres still going to be flooding all around their houses. Its kind of back to my other question, why cant we advance phase two? Why is IT acceptable to allow their houses to continue to flood -- five years from now, houses still flood based on your map, why wouldnt we solve that now? Why is IT okay for their houses to flood?

Jean Duncan 10:03:22AM

Jean Duncan, administrator for Infrastructure And Mobility. As you see from the map, there is no structural flooding on there. The map that I showed previously on the left had the red boxes. Those are flooded structures. This shows no structural flooding. The flooding that does remain is there for a shorter amount of time. What phase one does for this neighborhood is give them relief now, but IT also allows for 10 by 10 box culvert to be tied in to be connected to, other lateral systems which we plan to do in phase two scenario. Love to do phase two right now but its too much all at one time. Were challenged right now with this big project to stop and add a phase two at this point would really be probably not a feasible thing to do and make forward progress with what we have so far, get the System In Place, get everyone relief as soon as possible and then build on that foundation for more improvements.

Bill Carlson 10:04:16AM

Isnt that the same argument that the public is using with US. They are saying, look, you guys have the money. You can move things around US. Now the CFO is moving money around, if we can move money around to go from 65 million to 100 million, why cant we add 20 or 40 million to include phase two now, why couldnt we do that?

Jean Duncan 10:04:33AM

Phase two is progressing in terms of US formulating the plans that well need to make, formulating the grants that We could go out and get. So there is some activity on phase two, but to settling to 30% design is already underway that would be too much of a stretch. IT was one thing to extend the existing box culvert up north to connect to the pond, but to add the phase two piece into that at this point in time with 30% design, IT just really would push US back to square one, which would take more time and, of course, the cost would be more when We go to build IT.

Bill Carlson 10:05:09AM

So You talked about this would prevent 70% of structural flooding which is 200 and something houses, what about the 125 houses that wont be protected from structural flooding. Can You show US on the map where they are?

Jean Duncan 10:05:24AM

Im not sure what youre referring to.

Bill Carlson 10:05:27AM

Says IT will prevent 70% of structural flooding, doesnt that mean 30% will still have structural flooding?

Jean Duncan 10:05:33AM

That would be in an intense storm, yes.

Bill Carlson 10:05:37AM

Can you show US on the map where the houses --

Jean Duncan 10:05:40AM

We dont have that detail with US here today.

Bill Carlson 10:05:43AM

There might be people in the audience in that 30%. They are here because they want a solution. We might be able to solve that in phase two, but right now, why is IT acceptable that 125 houses might get structural flooding, not Just Have Road flooding, but if 30% of the houses are still going to have structural flooding, why is that acceptable?

Jean Duncan 10:06:07AM

In this scenario, were not showing structural flooding with the storm that were designing for. If We had a hurricane milton type event, yes, We May have more structural flooding. We cannot design for a hurricane event. But our systems that We do design for will have a significant reduction in those impacts when We have those type of events.

Bill Carlson 10:06:29AM

One last question, so the -- theres been this argument set up between Businesses and neighbors. The concern of the Businesses is really that they are going to have an economic impact and the city hasnt done an economic impact study. But if you think about other events that go on where Businesses are disrupted, We say that We are a city in favor of small Businesses. We want to support small Businesses. We want people to work in the Businesses. They keep their families up, at the same time there are people who have homes that dont want their houses to be flooded. Wouldnt a solution be to do like other governments do, other cities and counties and just set up a fund that -- from which the Businesses could draw? Like the Ppe Program a few years ago where they would show their financials and show what the loss was. If We dont do an economic impact study and dont set up a fund, most likely they are going to sue US on the back end and get the funding anyway and have to pay their legal fees. Lets say We did an analysis and its $70 million. I dont know what the number is, but lets make IT up. Wouldnt We be better off budgeting for IT now and setting IT up? When We set IT up and told the Businesses well make you whole, if you lose money, well replace IT, then their argument would go away and this project could proceed more quickly. We take away one of the biggest arguments. Wouldnt IT be smarter to go ahead and do the economic evaluation now, figure out what that dollar amount is and show the Businesses that were going to protect them while were also protecting the people whose houses flooded?

Jean Duncan 10:07:58AM

That is not something that the city has ever done. We are not aware of any other municipality that has set up a fund in anticipation of potential business impacts because of a public works project. That has not been a protocol. We dont know that that is the protocol of anyone else. Thats just not something that We think is the solution. Our solution is to minimize impacts, work with businesses, and be as precise with the construction and as sensitive with the construction to minimize those impacts and encourage the frequency of those venues during the construction time frame.

Bill Carlson 10:08:31AM

If we set up the fund now, then the Businesses' argument would go away. No more fighting between families and Businesses. Isnt IT worth trying to look at that now instead of dealing with lawsuits?

Jean Duncan 10:08:44AM

Our decision at this point is were not looking to set up a fund.

Bill Carlson 10:08:48AM

Ive been told orlando and Seattle have examples of that. You show the AMI pond, can You go back two slides?

Jean Duncan 10:08:57AM

Can we have the presentation, please?

Alan Clendenin 10:09:04AM

Presentation on council monitors as well.

Guido Maniscalco 10:09:11AM

You just passed IT.

Bill Carlson 10:09:16AM

Keep going. Im looking for the line graph that shows the elevations. That one. Go back. If You look at, we went over this yesterday. If You look at the line graph on the bottom, I know its kind of hard to read, but two dips, two bowls. We spent a lot of time talking about the Palma Ceia pines bowl a few weeks ago. You have acknowledged IT now and included IT. Thank You for doing that. The bowl on the right is the Palma Ceia pines and bowl on the left is parkland estates. One of the problems is Palma Ceia pines floods and IT goes into parkland estates. But the AMI, You see between parkland estates and Palma Ceia pines, there is a high point. The AMI pond is at the high point, correct?

Jean Duncan 10:10:08AM

No. Our information is that pond is lower than the flooded area. I can get someone else to give that detail. I think you have the map, Brandon.

Bill Carlson 10:10:18AM

AMI pond is about three feet above the bottom of IT. So the corner of horatio and habana is the bottom of the bowl.

Jean Duncan 10:10:27AM

Somebody come up and correct that statement, please. Apologize. I didnt mean IT to sound in a Negative Way. Im trying to get the proper information.

Brandon Campbell 10:10:39AM

Brandon Campbell, Director Of Mobility. The AMI pond, the bottom of the pond was designed at ten foot elevation. You can see in that graph, were at 16 and 16 on both of those for the elevation of the low spots.

Bill Carlson 10:10:58AM

If you go back to the map earlier and show the roads flooded and 30% still have structural flooding, the problem is the pipe is going in the AMI pond, higher elevation than the bottom of the bowl in Palma Ceia pines. Palma Ceia pines will still flood, we just saw on the maps. I have concerns about that. Can we go back two slides to show the AMI structure again? The Hca hospital is going to expand is my understanding and maybe expand in that area. Do we know -- that is the picture. Behind that is a doctors office of which some of IT is low elevation and they flooded and IT was terrible. One of my doctors is there. Do you all know what the plans are for Hca? And are they going to expand into this area? Are they going to impact this parking facility and the retention pond? Also another retention pond I think half a block away. Do we know what impact that will have? Will they create more permeable surface and how will that affect the models?

Jean Duncan 10:12:01AM

We met with the Hospital. We have an easement for the pond. They are supportive of the project, not planning to impact the pond. They dont want to be out in front on the project, but They shared their traumatic experiences theyve had with the flooding, so They are very interested in doing more to see that plan come to its full potential.

Bill Carlson 10:12:23AM

Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 10:12:27AM

Councilwoman Young, Maniscalco and Miranda.

Naya Young 10:12:34AM

Thank you all so much for your presentation and for being here. Question, for phase two, one of my briefings received the estimate about 67 million plus for phase two. Would that be correct?

Jean Duncan 10:12:51AM

We dont really like to put a number on something We dont have enough information to estimate. Even if We give a ballpark, those numbers become etched in stone. Im really not comfortable giving a number on that portion of the project. But certainly, when We get that information, We can make IT available.

Naya Young 10:13:10AM

That number was given to me. I know one of the questions that Councilman Carlson asked was the cost for phase two. So that was a number that was given to me in one of my briefings.

Jean Duncan 10:13:22AM

Probably order of magnitude. Not really an estimate you can bank on to be static.

Naya Young 10:13:27AM

Okay. My other question is, with this -- the route, can you go to the proposed route.

Jean Duncan 10:13:39AM

Powerpoint, please. Thank you, Cttv. This one here?

Naya Young 10:13:43AM

Yes, this one is fine. My question, are there any environmental impacts? I know that part of the plan is connect with Selmon Expressway. So any runoff or anything from the expressway will go also through the culverts into the bay. Is there any environmental impact, especially with all the water untreated going into the bay? Have we looked at that?

Jean Duncan 10:14:11AM

Yes, there actually is. There is a benefit to the environment, because these ponds not only function from water attenuation, but they also function from water quality as well. So the more runoff we can get to go into the pond first before IT just gets into the bay directly, is going to remove a lot of those sediments and other things that we want to get out of the water before IT goes into the bay. There is an environmental benefit to the project.

Naya Young 10:14:36AM

Okay. During your presentation, You said there is a possibility that the price could go down.

Jean Duncan 10:14:45AM

Yes.

Naya Young 10:14:46AM

To be apparent, one of the issues that im having is sometimes -- I hear two different things. Me as a Council Member, when youre trying to make a decision on something, its very difficult when one person says one thing and one person says another thing and then sometimes we get in this space and I hear something completely different. During your presentation, You said there is a possibility that the price could go down once we get to more of a design. In my briefings, I heard that the cost could go up, because we dont know what well see once You get underneath there. Can You speak to that? Because its very difficult when theres no consistency in the responses in regards to this project.

Jean Duncan 10:15:34AM

Im sorry if you dont feel youve been getting consistency. The comment I made about the price potentially going down, the cost, when We do these cost estimates, as We move through the project, We get more detail. And more detail often gives US more information. Often, that information allows US to be more accurate with our estimate. But whats built into that detail on the part of the Contractor is the post of the risk. As the Contractor understands more of the particular details of the project, he can reduce that risk out of his cost, which allows for the cost to often go down. Sometimes, though, the opposite does happen. We go out and We do investigation into the field, soil borings, research, and then under construction We find out there is a pipe that wasnt known about and We have to pay to get that removed. IT can Go Either Way. But in this case, the point I was making, there is an opportunity in terms of the risk known better as We move forward, that could allow maybe an opportunity for the cost to go down.

Naya Young 10:16:40AM

Okay. Since coming on to Council, what has -- IT was always South Howard Flood Relief Project. There are no other routes. We looked at alternatives, but they wont work. Thats kind of just like what the blanketed term is. Ive never seen the other routes as presented in alternatives like how this one has been. Im not going to speak for my other Council members, but just me personally, I know its always been this route. So the alternatives have never really been explained to me in depth to even see, are they possible options. Has that been done or have we -- I dont know if you have spoken with other Council members, spoken with the public as far as the other alternatives? Because this is literally the only one that I know. But all ive heard is that there have been research on dozens of other alternatives, but I have not really seen them. Can you speak to that?

Jean Duncan 10:18:03AM

Yeah, apologize. Youre coming a little late to the game. Weve been studying alternatives for ten years now. And more recently weve been studying alternatives under this particular project. Of what are all the possibilities to address this problem. So We have extensive information We can share with You. We can come over and give You another briefing, show You all that information. Were compiling a lot of that in what were calling the preliminary engineering report. A summary of all the work weve done to show that this is the best alternative that were recommending. So were happy to follow up with You and give You more information on that. Im sorry You didnt feel like You got enough of that background before today.

Naya Young 10:18:43AM

I would appreciate that and still want to see them, but for me, I like to see everything before I make a decision. Its kind of just been this is IT, and youre making a decision on this. Again, the other alternatives havent really been presented In This Way to even know like -- you know, these are our top four or top five and, you know, were estimating a cost of, you know, this, and this route Is This Way and this could be this route, these are the pros and cons of each. I have not received anything like that. So for me, when I think is there -- you know, is There Another Way, you know, is there an alternative that has really been explored to the depths as this one has.

Jean Duncan 10:19:36AM

Again, I say I apologize you havent gotten the information. We have extensive information on numerous routes. Some of them were given to US by the public. We analyzed those with as much detail. Weve been studying this particular problem for the last three years under this particular contract. This is the recommended alternative. We would be happy to show you all the work weve done over the last three years to show how We came to the decision that this is the recommended alternative.

Naya Young 10:20:04AM

Okay. Mobility. We do have a pretty text-heavy summary of some of those alternatives that were explored on the website. And We would be happy to sit down and brief you on that. I think theres probably a little more detail than would be worth taking the time to do here and now. But We have looked in more depth, and IT May be helpful as well to look at the document and the preliminary engineering report in a more focused setting. We would be happy to do so.

Naya Young 10:20:43AM

Okay. In terms of the map that has how much time, like, each segment will take. How -- I know its only 30% designed, how confident are You all with that timeline? Again, understanding IT is only at the, You know, 30% design, but how confident are we with, You know, this phase that, You know, could take 15 days and 30 days, how confident are You with that?

Jean Duncan 10:21:30AM

All are estimated ranges. Ill let our contractor, Mr. Zemina speak a little more to that. That is our goal and to stay within those ranges and minimize the impacts as much as We can. We have an experienced contractor who has done this many times. Were pretty confident with the information weve provided. The durations you see there are based on historical, other projects We have done in the city with box culverts, lower peninsula, upper peninsula. Were pretty confident in some they will work. There May be some changes in segments, depending on what We find as We relocate utilities and come across other conflicts. But overall, were pretty confident the duration is going to work.

Naya Young 10:22:17AM

Mr. Rogero, in one of my briefings that I had, the statement was made that there were a few State Grants that were applied but that were denied, didnt get them. Do you have any -- can you recall what those State Grants were that we didnt get for this project?

Dennis Rogero 10:22:36AM

I do not recall. What comes to mind is the FDEP grant that were talking about here, the 25 million, we have applied for IT. Hasnt been denied. I hate to say IT, a chicken and eggs thing. They want something more substantive. I think a contract, before theyll approve that funding. As ms. Duncan said, this is not atypical of grantors. They want assurances. Its a pretty good amount of money, so they want assurances or reasonable assurances that this funding will be well spent. Perhaps thats what we were discussing. Sorry to interrupt you, maam. But we apply for many grants and we get some and we dont get others. I dont want to give you the impression we get every grant we apply for but were very aggressive and successful.

Naya Young 10:23:27AM

To be transparent again, everything is always spoken in absolutes. In my meetings or in my briefings, this, you know, will not happen. This was denied. Oh, now maybe IT wasnt denied. IT was, you know, They want to see this. Im saying this because just so you all can understand how difficult IT is. Again, im speaking just for me, not my other council members, how difficult IT is to make decisions or to speak to something when in one room its this. Another room its that. Another space its this. When I was told that we applied for grants that we did not get. They were denied and we dont know why. Thats what was said. When I ask now and its, well, you know, IT was that They wanted to see there was a matching -- thats two completely different scenarios.

Dennis Rogero 10:24:22AM

If I could respond. IT could be that conversation wasnt about that grant. That is the example I have now. Was I the one that said IT?

Naya Young 10:24:31AM

No.

Dennis Rogero 10:24:33AM

Because I do try to be consistent.

Naya Young 10:24:35AM

You were in the room but You did not say that.

Dennis Rogero 10:24:38AM

Understood. I dont give assurances as often as ID like because, again, as I said earlier, much of what we deal with, what I deal with is the future. I will give you, again, our best recommendations and our best estimates based on what we know right now. Frankly, candidly, anybody that doesnt give council that is not being honest. I cant give you assurances about the future. So, again, thats the grant that comes to mind. No doubt have applied for grants and been denied grants. Thats what we do. If you would like additional detail, ID happily provide IT.

Naya Young 10:25:17AM

I think maybe a couple of weeks ago when we were again, you know, presenting on this project and I had asked if you could explore any grants that could, you know, potentially help any, you know, Businesses or small Businesses on south howard that May be impacted by this. Im not sure if that was something that you all, you know, explored or still exploring. Is IT a possibility, you know, speaking to Councilman Carlson's point about having something in the event that this, you know, really affects some of the Businesses on south howard?

Dennis Rogero 10:25:51AM

Yes, maam. We are still exploring IT. I dont have high hopes. Again, im not giving you an assurance that IT wont happen. Typically, those types of remunerative grants are at the state and federal level following disasters. Thats the typical. Im unaware right now, but well keep looking, of any localized opportunity for that. I think I shared with you earlier I think, in fact, I think IT was at council for the City Of Tampa to fund IT internally would be very challenging based on what I have heard. I dont know, but based on some of the figures ive heard as to the potential impact. I have no hard and fast data as to what that financial impact would be.

Naya Young 10:26:34AM

Okay. Thats all I have. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 10:26:36AM

Councilman Maniscalco, you had your light on.

Guido Maniscalco 10:26:38AM

Thank you very much. Mr. Zemina, if you could come up. I know this is strange, but you were in my dream last night. [ laughter no, really.

Bill Carlson 10:26:51AM

Recess, recess. [ sounding gavel

Alan Clendenin 10:26:54AM

Out of order. [ laughter

Guido Maniscalco 10:26:57AM

I dreamt about the project. The dream was, I was On Howard Avenue. Kimmins, you were there. We didnt talk. We didnt violate any sunshine, But The Road was torn up. Thats how much ive been thinking about this. A couple of questions. Im looking at this route that goes from swann All The Way down to howard. So you have ten by ten box culverts. Swann, and then All The Way down to howard to two seven by seven box culverts that empty out into the bay. Does that create a bottleneck? I know its only three Feet Each Way? Would that cause any problems? Seven, seven 49, 10 by 10 is hundred. Its equivalent.

Guido Maniscalco 10:27:40AM

My question was answered earlier because I was wondering, in regards to the gravity of how the water gets pushed out, what if there is a high tide? Somebody said IT would have to be a 15-foot storm surge for IT to push back.

Guido Maniscalco 10:27:56AM

That answers that. If this were to be approved, We move forward today and that later approval in September, I think, and everything is on schedule, from start to finish, well, first, when can you put the first shovel in the ground and when would the estimated completed date be? We would be working on the outfall on Bayshore. We have a conflict structure We have to put in there to get over an existing sewer line. That would be the first work. That could probably, three to five weeks after We get notice to proceed, have our materials and be starting that work. Again, its a little premature for me to give exact date. Probably three and a half years of construction time to get up there, to get in.

Guido Maniscalco 10:28:48AM

2030 estimate or 2029. And that would end up at lets say the Hca Hospital, that area of Palma Ceia pines. That is the final.

Guido Maniscalco 10:29:01AM

IT opens up and the whole system is connected. Well, the system is connected as we construct, because its a gravity system. Ill use Morrison as an example. If we cross Morrison with a box culvert, we tie the storm drainage of the intersection, that already starts functioning.

Guido Maniscalco 10:29:21AM

In regards to -- we saw the worst of the flooding in Palma Ceia pines and parkland estates. Ill use Swann as a reference and then Habana. Theres Horatio, Arrawana, well, I see a map here. I hope we never see a rain event or hurricane event. We were lucky for over a hundred years. IT eventually will happen, not in our lifetimes. I hope we dont witness that again. What kind of relief do They get in the meantime? Because if its from now 2029, 2030 that IT gets All The Way up there, what if we get another hurricane this season coming up and then the year after? Do They keep flooding until IT reaches that end level of the project, which is at the end of this decade? Afterwards. So much depends on what the storm is. Its really hard to answer that question with anything definitive. They are going to gain relief. There is some -- I Call IT Street flooding. I think 4.5 Inches, maybe 5 inches of water in the streets. They are going to get improvement to that level. Save 70%, but --

Guido Maniscalco 10:30:43AM

Once its completed at the end of the project. Feeder pipes, all the laterals tied into the box culvert and completely functional. Whether you included that today or waited three years, thats at the end of the project, so its got to have someplace to go.

Guido Maniscalco 10:31:00AM

Looking at this map of swann as you approach the crosstown, there is like an open field, a park there. Has IT been looked at? The swann pond and albany pond, one on each side of the crosstown, has the city or have you been asked to look at the property to create a stormwater pond there that would at least drain the water from that Palma Ceia pines down swann and give them some kind of relief there? Because its a large area. If you look at IT, its like those ponds combined and then some, swann and albany pond. One of the routes we investigated was put a pond in there. That required pump stations, though, because that elevation is higher than Palma Ceia. To get the water uphill, wed have to pump to IT -- probably more -- not an Engineer -- one of the confining features is the existing groundwater elevation. You can dig a pond 12 feet deep, but if IT has 10 feet of ground water, you only gain two feet of retention. Legally you have to give yourself a foot above that. Hope im explaining that well.

Guido Maniscalco 10:32:06AM

Can only go so deep. Softball fields are.

Guido Maniscalco 10:32:19AM

Used to be a Kash N' Karry back in my day. Another thing, the 10 by 10 box culverts. That was ridiculous, my dream, but --

Guido Maniscalco 10:32:35AM

Ive known You for a long time. Estrella and Westshore. Youre fantastic. Im not going to go into IT, but youre great. Always responsive and that was a massive project. In regards to the 10 by 10 box culverts, do You have to tear up the entire width Of Howard Avenue?

Guido Maniscalco 10:32:56AM

The reason I ask, where My Family's Business is at, funny enough, in the last few months, up until Christmas eve, they had pipe construction going north and south. But IT was two lanes north, two lanes south. They Left One Lane open going north and one south. And IT was bad, but Business was good. This is My Mother and everything. But at the beginning of this month in January, they did a Complete Road shutdown for two blocks. IT was a Monday through Friday because they had to now go Across The Street instead of north and south. Business stopped. The mail man or Mail Woman, because they change every day, didnt even come in. There are access points to her property from the residential area, but nobody came. The reason I say that, because We have residences that were flooded tremendously. We have multifamily units. I see people here that own the properties that had severe damage and then a lot of businesses going down. Whats different with howard is, as You go in segments a block, two blocks at a time, there is the crosstown that creates dead ends and theres one-way streets back there. How did these businesses manage? I asked that and We talked about mitigation and whatnot, because just by coincidence, I saw IT with My Family's Business. Revenue stops. The rent is due this weekend. Theyll pay the rent, whatever. But there was no help. No relief. People just stopped coming because IT was a Complete Road closure. How do We manage that? Here You have, I dont know how many employees, but my concern with looking at the Business side is, You have Solid Waste vehicles. You have food delivery trucks, You have employees that park. Where do they go? Because its not easy to park in that neighborhood. There is a lot of no parking. I know where a couple of the secret free spots are, because I use them, but its a very tricky area. You answered my question. Can We Keep One Lane open on howard to keep things moving? But no because of the box culvert. Do We absolutely have to use the 10 by 10 box culvert instead of a very large pipe and take up a little bit less space so We can have some kind of movement on howard. And You are the professional. Again, You work with a wonderful company. Ive worked with You in the past, but this is IT. Has to be a 10 by 10 box culvert. No pipes with pump stations to take IT down howard or anything. If You want to improve the flooding for Palma Ceia, parkland estates, that area, You need to go with 10 by 10 box culvert. Im convinced of that. Ive seen the modeling. Box is actually 12-foot wide because one foot walls on IT. The roads are typically 12-foot lanes. 24 feet. We need access room and I have to put new sewer lines because have to connect the sewers up, move the sewer. So that will be on either side of the box culvert. Obviously cant put a pipe through IT. That takes space up and then come back with a streetscape. You really touched on one of the most challenging things I have to deal with, access to the businesses, how do We keep pedestrian traffic going through there safely. How do We try to make provisions for people to have parking. Parking is already a problem down there because theres no real parking lot. Closing The Road doesnt help because You lose the ability to go north and south. Its not really taking parking spaces away. I have a lot of work to do to meet with people, go through and look and see who We can rent people from or not rent property from. What are the special needs? When do the food trucks come? How big. I met with several Business owners. Intend to meet with everyone who wants to meet with US individually or in groups. Were open for that. Its kind of a work in progress. Well Work Our Way along with IT.

Guido Maniscalco 10:36:54AM

My family has a small retail operation. Total shut down of five days. Covid was 30 days shutdown by the state or whoever gave the direction. My Dad said if you can survive that, you can survive anything. That was 30 days. I saw as short as 15 days to a little more, but what is your estimate -- are you doing this one block at a time, two blocks at a time and how much time does each segment take? Give US an idea. We have to set our work zones by where accesses are. If youre not in the work zone, we have to give you your driveway. Cant put in the middle of work zone and say sorry. That, and existing utilities, have to move and shift around, that dictates the size. If you look at probably the simplest one is epicurean. Four segments through the epicurean. South of you, come in behind their pool and put a Temporary Road into the parking garage so they can be accessing off south view while were working north of that. Its part of the evolution going through seeing what we can do and not do. Being design-build gives me a lot of latitude. Work with the businesses and shut down an area if they need something going on or special event coming up. I dont want to age myself. Several years back, Hyde Park village. All of Hyde Park village. We did that and shut the roads down. We kept every business open. Put wood walkways whatever we had to do to make sure people had provisions, for businesses to stay open. Its disruptive. No Way around IT. I dont want to sugar coat IT. Its big machines. Big equipment. But were going to work with the people hands on. Ill be out there with them.

Guido Maniscalco 10:38:49AM

Hyde Park village was massive. Each business is different. I know were not rich and worst-case scenario, my family, some members will become homeless. Each business is different. Not ever been is a large operation or a hotel or has 200 employees or whatever. Some people live paycheck to paycheck. Ive seen IT. The rent is due. Dont pay the rent, you get a late fee and then eviction. Its peoples livelihoods. My last question and ill stop here, with the AMI pond right there where the hospital is at, because ive been to the homes that were damaged, right there in Palma Ceia pines and parkland estates. Ive seen the damage. Its horrific. What can we do today? One of the first speakers after the hurricane came and said I want to see trucks. I want to see pipes. They wanted something. Its traumatizing. You dont sleep at night. When your house is destroyed and all your possessions are on the front yard, can we do maintenance work in that pond, IT I go IT deep? Anything we can do right away? Were looking at spending close to a hundred million dollars and these folks will be waiting several years before the project is completed, what can we do now? We did some survey work, but the city I believe has a contractor out there right now or is getting ready to go in and remove silt to get the pond back down to existing grade to be more functional.

Guido Maniscalco 10:40:31AM

Has IT made a difference? IT was a quiet hurricane. Just now gearing up.

Guido Maniscalco 10:40:36AM

If there were to be a summer rainstorm, will they keep flooding like before? Or go, oh, some water but not coming into our houses. Great question. The construction May take three to three and a half years. During that time, We realized that there is something that We can take advantage of the existing system. Our Engineering Team and also We have internal construction through have been working very closely to make incremental in the system in Palma Ceia pines and also parkland estates. Last time around this time, We finished the parkland estates stormwater drainage improvement project such as adding the inlets and some of the openings We increased the opening, all the to make the water drain quicker as much as possible. We also have been doing some grading work on the roadway and improve the drainage. Sometimes We also -- everything We have been doing is to improve, make the incremental improvement to the drainage. Of course, realizing this will not enhance the capacity that We have been working as much as possible to improve the current situation. And also currently We have been -- the AMI pond, just make sure that IT cleared out and clean the silt and debris, and We can do the next exploration to identify what is next step and We can improve the pond, the functioning.

Guido Maniscalco 10:42:44AM

With these improvements, will IT help with -- help -- I didnt say solve with Parkland Estates? One of the videos I saw after milton was water flowing south down, maybe IT was Armenia towards swann. Once you get there, IT goes into Parkland Estates. Currently, the supposed drainage pattern, supposed to go to cleveland. But during the heavy storms, the cleveland system already taxed. The overflow, the flow will overflow to the Parkland Estates. Thats the second path for Palma Ceia pines. Thats what we have been seeing during the 2015 and also during hurricane milton.

Guido Maniscalco 10:43:38AM

Okay. Thank you very much. That concludes my comments and questions.

Alan Clendenin 10:43:42AM

Councilman Miranda.

Charlie Miranda 10:43:42AM

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Really appreciate IT. Going back to what was said earlier about the concrete sections that are boxes putting in that are ten foot wide, is there any project that anyone from Kimmins or the city knows is hundred percent foolproof?

Jean Duncan 10:44:02AM

I would like to know any project anywhere, anything that is hundred percent foolproof.

Charlie Miranda 10:44:07AM

IT seems like were the only one that knows what were doing to some respect. And then you keep looking at other areas. Right now its happening in the north from carolina up. They have never seen what they see now. That is the snow thats killing everybody, as far as the lifestyle and things they are doing. Same thing happen in south. Just started happening now because of the environment. You can go back, think im nuts and crazy at the same time and I appreciate all that, but if we dont solve our own problems, no box culvert is going to solve IT for US. When you look at the things going on in this country regarding the environment, its just been forgotten for a long time. And now were paying the price. This was not one hurricane. IT was really two hurricanes plus two rainfalls either before or after each one, I forgot what IT was, IT was a couple of years ago, but its something that happened, and even Insurance Companies go bankrupt. Not that they dont have reserves. Its that they cant handle. They can handle one big item but not three or four at a time. They go bankrupt. Thats what IT is today. And businesses The Same Way. Business and neighborhoods are the same people, the same ones that work on each other and give business to each other. And thats what its all about. Its about fixing a problem. So im not going to say much more, but the improvements either are made or not made and thats what the responsibility of the Seven Elected Officials are here for. And if its not made, give me another answer. Thank you.

Luis Viera 10:45:45AM

Thank you very much. A lot of good comments and everything that weve had numerous discussions back and forth on this. One thing I did want to build on, roughly how long are We looking at the disruption and disruption can be defined in numerous ways, but significant disruption to the south howard area from this project, roughly how long?

Jean Duncan 10:46:05AM

Again, ill ask John, our contractor, to come up. We know IT will be disruptive. But again, we did give examples of many other projects around the city that weve done with good success. And its going to continue to be our goal to minimize the impacts as much as possible. Maybe John can elaborate a little more. The disruption from starting to end, total project probably about three and a half years. We work up howard, because work from low to high because of gravity, well be restoring behind. Segments will be open behind US. Ill use Morrison as my favorite example. Once we cross Morrison and restore IT, everything south of there is no longer impeded. The disruption area gets smaller. You cant come south at least to a point. Its a tough one to give you an exact answer on. IT is kind of a moving target. Total about three and a half years.

Luis Viera 10:47:04AM

An issue was brought up by Councilman Carlson with regards to funds being available for people who suffer losses during disruption, et cetera. I think thats part of a larger discussion that we should have, which is, because this isnt the only project, obviously, thats going to potentially economically burden workers, small businesses, so forth. But that is something that I think the City Of Tampa should discuss is some sort of fund to assist workers during times like this, where large infrastructure and other city projects burden especially everyday workers. I think that is part of a larger policy discussion, perhaps not tailored for this. Again, this isnt the only project that weve had like this, but certainly something that I would be in favor of discussing. Just thats why I asked that. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 10:47:56AM

For that clarification -- its my understanding based on the briefings that youve been able to identify access to every Business on this route so that at no time will any Business be cut off. So theyll be able to remain open, is that correct? We May have put temporary sidewalks in and things like that, but well make sure everybody has access.

Alan Clendenin 10:48:25AM

While there May be some impact because construction is disruptive, its my understanding, so this really wont be that big -- hopefully -- hopefully IT wont be that big of an impact on that. I know Councilwoman Young addressed that and Councilman Viera did. During my briefings, you identified ways to access all Businesses. Our goal is to minimize the impact to the Businesses and residents along the route.

Bill Carlson 10:48:52AM

Ive said this to You before, Mr. Zemina, but youve run several huge projects in my district. I have never heard a single complaint about the work You do. You are always out front talking to people. I want to thank You and your firm for doing that. Those are very disruptive projects, the harbour island one especially, huge. And You worked with the community on macdill 48 to turn IT into a park, not just a retention pond area. Back to the Business -- again, the people whose houses flooded or some Businesses flooded, they want to move forward as quickly as possible. Its not just Businesses have concerns, other people have concerns, too. For the Business concerns, if We could just say We set up a fund to reimburse You for your losses, then that would take away that argument and We could move forward without all this divisiveness or without most of IT. I wonder in the case in Seminole Heights and some of my colleagues May know better, King Street, I think they sued the city. Im not sure. Are there other cases where Businesses have recovered funding? Its not just about access. If a Business has -- I dont know what their revenues are. Lets say hundred thousand dollars a month and people can access IT by sidewalk, but now their revenues are $50,000 a month, that means the part-time workers, they have maybe half as many. Not buying as much food, not buying as much drinks. IT affects the economy there. Seems like IT would make sense that We would offer in advance, hey, show US your books before and after, and well reimburse You, so You dont have to lay off your staff. That takes away the argument. Doesnt that seem like an easy solution? [ laughter I really dont know.

Jean Duncan 10:50:39AM

Councilman Carlson, ill try to comment, I dont want to get out Of My Lane here. But weve had those discussions internally. As I mentioned IT sounds like a very benevolent, generous action to take. Its not that We dont care by not offering such an opportunity. But IT would literally require US to provide that to every single project that We do. And probably every maintenance thing We undertake. Somebody could find a reason to say its impacting their business. Again, We have not seen any other example of this being done in Florida or beyond. Its just not something We have ever undertaken. Its been a policy decision that were not going to look into that type of accommodation for Businesses. We are going to work on a shop Dine Howard Avenue campaign. Were going to encourage Businesses to welcome their neighbors who are willing to come and be attracted to those venues during the time and do everything We can to minimize the disruption. Thats our plan for the Businesses and not creating a fund to pay them for what damages they May or May not incur.

Bill Carlson 10:51:52AM

Maybe ill make a motion later tonight to put that on the agenda. My question, sorry to mention specific name, King State, havent there been lawsuits where businesses recovered money? Isnt IT better, instead of having to pay all the legal fees and their legal fees for US to be proactive about IT?

Jean Duncan 10:52:10AM

Im not familiar with that particular detail or any cases weve heard. Thats probably something more in the legal space. Theres oftentimes people do go after US for monies and IT turns out their own business was not very solid to begin with. I cant really comment on the king state of business.

Bill Carlson 10:52:27AM

Again, my question, you know, just pure negotiation tactic, if the primary concerns are coming from the businesses and people that work there, if we find a solution for that, the argument goes away and the folks in the room dont have to come back again because there wont be as much disagreement about IT. Im just trying to figure out some solutions so we can end the divisiveness in the community.

Alan Clendenin 10:52:52AM

Councilwoman Hurtak.

Lynn Hurtak 10:52:54AM

If you can find an end to peoples divisiveness, let US all know. But my question is -- and I dont dismiss IT because we went through the southeast Seminole Heights stormwater project. That was a true problem of not having good communication between the Contractor, the city, the Businesses, and the neighborhood. They tried afterward or in the middle to do that. IT didnt work very well, which is why thats one of my biggest focus areas that I will be paying attention to is how the communication is happening, which im glad to hear its already happened. But my bigger question is, if were going to start a fund, what about all the Businesses that lost everything along swann in hurricane helene and milton? [ applause im sorry. You all cant. I appreciate that, but we cant.

Alan Clendenin 10:53:54AM

Remember, no applause, no boos, no nothing. This is a business meeting.

Lynn Hurtak 10:53:59AM

Thats my thing is well have to go back to them first. And no one has offered them anything. I think its one of those slippery slopes. I would be remiss if I didnt mention those Businesses that lost everything and have not come to the city to ask for anything.

Alan Clendenin 10:54:23AM

Councilman Miranda, did you want to say something?

Charlie Miranda 10:54:26AM

Just along with Council Member Hurtak just said, everybody has got to do what they think is best for everybody. However, no one told this Council Member what IT takes, just propose, how many hundreds of millions of dollars is that going to cost. Business can be disrupted at any time in any part of the city by this government or other governments or caused by nature. Where is the fund coming from? What were doing to ourselves, its not about bonding. What were being asked to do not only in this room, is coming up pretty soon for a vote sooner or later, is building something for somebody else thats going to cost billions of dollars with no ad valorem tax coming back to you. Im not going to say what IT is, but I guess we can figure IT out right quick.

Alan Clendenin 10:55:23AM

Remember, this is the time for questions. Im saying this is the time for questions.

Charlie Miranda 10:55:28AM

Im not asking for questions.

Alan Clendenin 10:55:30AM

But this is the moment for questions for Staff.

Charlie Miranda 10:55:32AM

Okay. Let me ask Staff is IT true what im saying or not? [ laughter

Jean Duncan 10:55:41AM

Am I allowed to plead the fifth amendment on that one?

Alan Clendenin 10:55:45AM

I think that was a rhetorical question.

Jean Duncan 10:55:47AM

I hope IT was rhetorical.

Alan Clendenin 10:55:49AM

Ill move on to Councilman Viera.

Luis Viera 10:55:51AM

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thats funny. I want to clarify, in terms of at least what I was talking about with the budget isnt specifically related to this project. I do think going forward IT would make sense for this city and other cities because we have large infrastructure projects and they do sometimes, often as weve seen with very significant effects, burden peoples businesses, economic losses for workers and so forth. And setting aside a small amount of money each year in the budget I think for that, similar to, By The Way, what we did with the housing funds, we did two allocations for that after milton, which was for all of the City Of Tampa. I think as a policy issue does make sense, but not specifically for this project. I guess its not. I wanted to clarify because IT was building on my question. IT is causally related to that just to clarify. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 10:56:47AM

Councilwoman Hurtak. And this will be the last because IT is 11:00 and we have a lot of public.

Lynn Hurtak 10:56:52AM

Do we do that for Residents, too? And then do we allow people who have had disruptions from projects for the last hundred some odd years The City has been. Its a really slippery slope once you open that door. That was my question and rhetorical.

Alan Clendenin 10:57:12AM

Councilman Viera.

Luis Viera 10:57:13AM

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, I just say that as an initial issue we should discuss for policy in the coming time and years, long after im gone from City Council. Obviously points well taken. Theres Black and White and gray. That falls into the gray.

Alan Clendenin 10:57:28AM

Its 11:00. We have a lot of citizens to talk about the issue. They have taken off the time and I want to move on to public comment. Thank you, Staff, for the presentation.

Jean Duncan 10:57:37AM

Thank you, Council.

Alan Clendenin 10:57:38AM

For cleanup for the Clerk, she reminded me, we didnt take a motion to approve the agenda. We have a motion from Councilman Maniscalco. Second from Councilman Viera. All those in favor say aye. Ayes have IT. Sorry, Clerk. Public comment. If you are here to speak for, against, or something about this project and this project only. This is the south flood -- south howard flood relief project. Please line up on the wall. Ten people. Everybody else can come up next. Here is the deal, everybody settle down. Each person will have up to three minutes. We didnt restrict IT this morning. I May, depending on how many people show up tonight, restrict tonight. You dont have to fill all three minutes. If something has been said, you dont have to repeat what was said. Say, hey, I agree with what the person said. I know there are a lot of new people that have never spoken before council. We have a rule for our Clerk for the minutes, you have to start with your name. You only need your name, not your address. Start with your name. The light will come on and IT will be green. Three minutes. Youll get a 30 second warning before your three minutes IT up. First speaker in the sweater, start, please. My name is Linda Misiner.

Alan Clendenin 10:59:04AM

Everybody settle down. Timer restart. No talking, please. Okay. Go ahead. My husband and I are 30-year homeowners on Davis Islands. We also own rental property on the island and commercial property at Dekle and Howard. Were getting hit from all sites on this. While I sympathize with Palma Ceia pines and parkland estate residents with the flooding, I understand because we flooded. Our home flooded. We lost two vehicles. Our rental property flooded. We were impacted by this. I have the same photos they showed from davis island. I have the photos of the water overtaking our cars, coming into our home. And then all of our belongings on the curb. We went to all the meetings that the city had afterwards. We asked the Mayor flat out, what are you going to do to help the residents of davis island? She said we dont have a plan. You know what? Theres still no plan. We have not been helped. There are boarded up buildings that have been left there. My rental property looks out on a decaying boarded up building. IT was boarded up because homeless people had moved in and IT had been left a year like that. Davis island has not seen assistance. Im looking at the other neighborhoods. Yes, I feel bad for them but we cannot take a hundred million dollars of the floored budget and put IT towards one small neighborhood, especially at the expense of the businesses. We own a business at Howard and Dekle. You know what, nobody has met with US. Kimmins has not reached out with US. I went to all the meetings. We werent even allowed to speak. There was no public comment at some of the meetings on the south Howard flood project. They didnt want to hear from US. I filled out the cards. Didnt get the e-mail some neighbors got. We dont know how our clients are getting to our business because our business is accessed through a small alley off Howard and one-way Street coming from Howard, Dekle. Thats IT. So how are our clients and our staff getting to our parking behind our building? IT is a commercial bungalow, but nobody, we have a registered business there, nobody has communicated or reached out to US. Our business cannot handle no access. We need a solution. Were not even being offered one. Nobody is talking to US about IT. Nobody is saying anything. Were not included in this conversation, and we should be. This isnt a well-conceived project. Nobody has proven to US that this is going to fix the problems. Youre already talking about Palma Ceia pines is going to keep flooding. For a hundred million dollars, I want more than to hear that that neighborhood thats been flooded is going to keep flooding. I need a business solution. No, IT might not be putting money into a fund for me, but IT sure is communicating with me ahead of time and telling me how my clients will get to my business. Im going to say, no, dont transfer this money. Dont move on this with project. There needs to be additional studies. Needs to be additional plans for the businesses, and there needs to be more for the whole community.

Alan Clendenin 11:02:14AM

Thank you very much. Reminder, when you finish speaking, please go downstairs to the second floor. Next speaker, please. My name is Jeff Conway. I am the managing board member of the South Tampa medical center. The car park nicely displayed here is actually our car park. So we have the pleasure of living and working right next to the retention pond youve been talking about. We have over 50 specialists working out of this area, this facility, and many of those specialists are not available outside this region very far. There is a certain special medical practices in our facility that you cannot find unless you go much further away. Naturally, we are here to support the project for lots of reasons. Ill get into the financial in a minute. Listening to all the back and forth of the questions, my history for the last 50 years is in heavy engineering. This project has to do two things. IT has to be built to allow stormwater flooding and has to be built well to actually work. I looked at what the city had for other proposed ways to go, IT cannot satisfy all of those requirements. We need the most direct route, the one that requires the least amount of digging and gives US the best elevation change from our area and then going down to the bay. Thats a hundred square feet, and that would be the Main Storm Highway that they are going to build. Then, as a phase two, hopefully gain money to do IT earlier, then tie Into The Highway. If they dont Have This Highway and we take half measures, we will never solve the problem. And this problem has been left for decades simply because overbuilding, inadequate drainage. Its time to catch up, city. Time to catch up and get this done. Of course, we have sympathy for the businesses on south howard, but they have the luxury of planning for this event. And working with a contractor to get this done and manage and work the business, yes, IT would be disrupting. Any good business owner can Work The Way around this to a large degree. Yes, May lose for several months certain percentage of business. When we get flooded, we get no warning, no planning, and completely under the control of Contractors that take full advantage of US to disrupt. Two people will talk about the medical impacts. Being on the board, I had to work with the Contractors and work through the whole situation. Can I have one more minute?

Alan Clendenin 11:05:01AM

You have 30 seconds. Milton flood, we can break down $8 million of cost we expensed after the flood in both remediation, renovation, and loss of business. Loss of business isnt the biggest part that causes problems for the Medical Community, but even Doctors have to feed their families. Two Doctors go out of business. One Doctor left the building, not coming back. Last comment, this is our third flood in 15 years. If you add all that combined, now were up to 25 million.

Alan Clendenin 11:05:36AM

Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 11:05:42AM

Your time is up, sir. Try to be respectful of everybody here. Three minutes at a time. Thank you. David Adams. I live in Parkland Estates. In 2015, I had about two feet of water in my garage from a summer rainstorm and lost a lot of things that cant be replaced. My wedding pictures and honeymoon. Ten years, I worked on this stormwater project to get this done. Parkland Estates drains through the cleveland outfall system which you heard from our experts. The cleveland outfall system was designed in 1956. So its been 70 years since the City Of Tampa has upgraded the stormwater system in Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia pines. In 2024, Parkland Estates flooded ten times before hurricane milton. There are some pictures of the flooding, up to 28 inches of water commonly accumulates at the corner of audubon and swann. Here is a HART bus pushing a two foot wall of water. We need a no-wake sign. This is typical. This is water up to my waist, and IT just has to be fixed. Over 225 houses flooded during hurricane milton. That included Palma Ceia pines. The businesses in that same basin were flooded and closed. The emotional and financial devastation is just unbelievable. We had 33 inches of water at the fence line of my house and 10.5 Inches of water invaded my house. Lost everything on the first floor, furniture, kitchen, appliances, you name IT. Worst yet, we lost again, pictures of our children, picture of our deceased parents. Cant get that stuff back. Look, we should be safe in our homes. Were not safe in our homes because they flood. No amount of maintenance will fix an inadequate stormwater system. The opposition will do anything to delay or kill this project. Every meeting there is a new excuse as to why you cant go forward. Im sure youll hear more today, but the balance of harms favors the 225 homes that flood over the temporary disruption of the project. Theres been a ton of public engagement. I delivered 123 page report to Council showing the myriad meetings that have happened over the last two years. The route and the scope has changed as a result of that public engagement. There are 1890 properties in this basin. The total assessed value is 1 billion, 98 million dollars with a b. The taxes are about $25 million a year. This Council needs to protect those values not only for the people, but for the citys finances. And we deserve to be safe in our homes. If there were gunshots, the police would come. If there was a fire, the Fire Department would come. But when floodwater comes, nobody helps US. Stormwater is a core governmental function. Problem has been studied for ten years, and ive been involved in IT the entire time. The Stormwater Department, your subject experts have now given you a project that works. We need your vote tonight to make that project a reality. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 11:08:43AM

Thank you, sir. Next speaker, please. Remember, go downstairs after you finish speaking. My Name Is Dr. Natalie rougie. Doctorate in acupuncture. Been in practice over 20 years with most of the years being located in the hundred-year-old plus historically deemed bungalow at 1310 South Howard Avenue. Over the years, I have been in direct witness to many changes and tribulations in the businesses in my area, specifically directly on my north property line and most recently with the fire at fresh kitchen and potential new business to my south property line. To say that my practice has been inconvenienced due to construction, congested traffic, parking illegally in parking lot behind my building, blocking the entrance to my driveway which is on howard for deliveries and alleyway blockages behind my building for a variety of other issues is a very large understatement. The reason I havent moved, my practice is simple. I love this historic little area and the space that ive created to do what ive been called to do -- help people feel better, enjoy healthier lives, brighten someones day who is struggling severely. Also im conveniently located to many of my patients. My practice mainly consists of individuals who have very busy, stressful lives and their health is suffering as a result. This can look like tremendous pain, inability to sleep for women, the inability to conceive. When patients come to a acupuncturist they need a quiet environment and in my office a full hour. I share the background with all of you, thinking about the amount of noise, vibration, disruption that this project going down howard will bring to my peaceful space truly concerns me. Moreover, I am a rehabilitative pilates instructor. I combine pilates with acupuncture for an injured population. Those sessions are typically an hour and a half in the office, again, needing peace and calmness. I attended the information session last year at Bayshore Baptist Church. I listened to the council members. I listened to the business owners, to the city, to the residents of parkland estates. I, too, am a resident of parkland estates. I see IT from both sides. I feel for my residents. That being said, im in opposition of IT running down south howard. I urge you to please consider another route. Palm Wellness at 1310 south howard is my livelihood. Not only concerned about my daily operations but also concerned about the structure and the foundation of my hundred-year-old building that my husband and I now own and maintain meticulously. For those that say I can plan ahead and find another practice, another space to practice in during construction, thats not very easy. I have very large equipment that is unable to be moved. Im a very unique practitioner, and no one in the area has a parallel practice to mine. Thank you for your time. My family and I, We are the owners of 2811, 2815, and 2817 West Horatio Street. Its a 27-unit multifamily property. We had a little bit of damage in 2015 rainstorm. We lost 19 units in milton. IT was about $750,000 in damage. Resulting in 19 households being displaced. Obviously the immediate neighborhood was devastated. On top of the funds to remediate and restore, We had nearly a year of lost rents and We had no community fund or any reimbursement or anything like that for our losses. The inadequate stormwater drainage thats obviously been an issue for a really long time. The project is a necessity for the neighborhood. Its not going to get any less expensive or any less convenient, inconvenient. IT just needs to get done as soon as possible. Thanks.

Alan Clendenin 11:12:46AM

Thank you very much for your brevity. Appreciate that. Next speaker, please. Good morning, sir. Appreciate the opportunity to speak. My Name Is Dr. Mark abdoney. Im a periodontist on 2714 West Azeele Street. I have been a practicing periodontist in Palma Ceia pines for 25 years now. I have now had two flood events in the period of nine years. Both events impacted me tremendously from both an emotional, mental, and financial impact perspective. The one thing that I want to emphasize here is all of these losses that Are Taking Place for all of these residents and not only the residents in Palma Ceia pines, one council member is trying to make this into like the businesses against the homeowners. Thats not what this is. Palma Ceia pines happens to have upward of 60 businesses located within that community. There are businesses in parkland estates. So this is really -- there are far more businesses in Palma Ceia pines that flooded than the ones disrupted for a number of weeks on south howard. This is -- our community is vastly mixed. We have all sorts of people that work and live there that need to be able to live under a predictable expectation of safety and order in order to thrive. Every time a community has a setback or a preventable, devastating event like this, youre setting entire families back years, if not forever. Youre changing the trajectory of their lives maybe permanently. This kind of stress that youre putting on everybody has health considerations. Some people just dont handle the stuff very well and you are put in a terrible position and dragging this out for so long for reasons which I consider completely disingenuous. Another important fact that we need to discuss is there is a huge safety concern here. I dont know if anybody knows this, but the transfer switch room at Memorial Hospital, what is now Hca was almost flooded with water. Now, that, IT was up to the door. That would have shut the entire hospital down. If somebody dies on your alls watch, you all get to dream about that.

Alan Clendenin 11:15:34AM

Thank you, doctor. Next speaker, please. My name is Kevin Valdes. My wife Brianna, our two-year-old daughter, our nine-month-old son and I live at habana and horatio, which has been mentioned a few times today. We moved to Tampa in 2023 after my wife completed her medical training. We grew up near fort lauderdale but chose Tampa because IT felt like The Best Place to raise our family. We stayed for years, paid off our student loans and excited to buy our first home. During the buying process We carefully studied flood zones. Although the cost of the home was a financial stretch, We intentionally chose a brand-new townhome in flood zone x over 20 plus feet of elevation. We did what responsible homeowners told to do. When hurricane milton approached, I flew home early to evacuate my Pregnant Wife and one-year-old daughter. We evacuated, concerned about wind damage and power outages. What We could have never anticipated was the extensive and devastating flood caused not by storm surge but preventable rainfall flooding due to antiquated drainage system. While away, neighbor sent videos. Few days later, my father and I returned to find two feet of water inside. First home was destroyed. Childrens toys gone. Wedding keepsakes gone. The Place We believed safe, destroyed. Did I not have flood insurance. Rebuilding took months, adding stress to my Pregnant Wife. $90000 out of pocket and drained our emergency savings. We love Florida. Im a Florida gator. Living in Florida, We accept hurricanes are a part of life. But calling this the storm of the century was wrong. I remember hurricane andrew in 1992. Tampa has been lucky, but luck is not strategy. A larger storm will come. We cannot undue the damage at 300 plus homes and Businesses that flooded during milton, but We can decide what happens next. Im a Capitalist. I understand some Businesses May be affected by this project. But Businesses thrive when residents thrive. If We do nothing or delay, the residents, my neighbors sitting in this room, will not be thriving. The choice is clear. We can move forward with this project today or We can accept that Tampa will, again, be in the news for families losing their homes, not from avoidable -- unavoidable hurricane damage, but from preventable failure that We had the opportunity to fix. Thank you for your time. I appreciate your service.

Alan Clendenin 11:18:12AM

Thank you very much. Appreciate IT. Next speaker, please. For councils information, well go until 1:00 with public comment. Try to get as many as we can before lunch. If you need a physiological break or get something to eat, get up and come back. Start with your name and you have three minutes. My name is Dreg Campbell. -- Greg Campbell. I have been asked to speak today on behalf of the board of the Parkland Estates Civic Club. There are eight of US who are members of the board. All eight members strongly support the south howard flood relief project. And that is what they have asked me to say to you. There were some who did not want box culverts on neighborhood streets, I was one of them and I spoke twice with a caution about the project in that regard. There were others for whom flooding relief was overwhelmingly important, particularly my neighbors around fountain park. Since Mr. Zemina, has come up with I think a superb recommendation for the route and we had supported the swann route even before IT was announced as a choice, but to go on audubon is superbly effective and ive seen that area for 73 years now. I think I have cleaned up enough trash to know. There is unanimity virtually in the neighborhood for the project. The divisions you saw a year ago have disappeared because there is no proposal to send a box culverts through the streets of the neighborhood. We all want flooding relief and virtually all of US, there May be a straggler or two, but virtually all of US support the audubon, swann, howard route. The same thing cannot be said for the businesses along south howard. Think of the swann howard intersection. Chase Bank, Cvs, Panera Bread, Apartments. Have you heard -- I havent heard any presentations -- have you heard from Chase Bank? Have you heard from Cvs? Have you heard from Panera? I seriously doubt IT. That intersection floods in a summer thunderstorm. They have every reason to want to relieve flooding. So IT is not a unified group of businesses opposing this project. Starbucks is another example. Let me finally say that this job -- this project will create jobs. After its over, there will be flourishing business community on south howard, employing at least as many people as are employed there now. Think of all the people who will get money doing the job putting IT in.

Alan Clendenin 11:21:38AM

Thank you. Remember, if you speak, go down to the second floor because were bringing more people in. Hold on one second. I almost had to laugh when I saw the one map you had up there of the red properties all affected. I saw mine was the brightest one. Wasnt the best feeling I ever had. I live in Parkland Estates. Fortunately my house didnt flood. My car did. I own multifamily units in the Parkland Estates area. I have 40 units that flooded. Several were On Howard Avenue --

Alan Clendenin 11:22:44AM

Hold on one second. No conversations in the audience, please. Against the wall, please silence. You dont have to stand up now. Well call people up as other people get called. You can have a seat, relax. Well go at least until 1:00 to get as many public speakers in as We can. Dont feel like you have to be standing all this time. Relax, enjoy. As people start speaking, well call more people up against the wall. Start again and well continue. With the renovations, the loss of rents, im currently out about 1.8 Million and out another 400,000 in the loss of rents. In 2015, I had 18 units flood again also. Two feet of water, that cost me about 600,000. Again, not a good feeling. I wish We had a fund, as you mentioned, for people that lost all the money. I have empathy for businesses who are on howard. I have been in that situation up in New Tampa. But at the end of the day, the project needs to move forward. This problem needs urgent attention. I dont believe any delays or studies are needed. Stormwater system is antiquated. Delaying this project will only run the risk that the damages will occur again. Construction costs never go down over time. If delayed, the project will only cost more. Upgrading our stormwater system is a core responsibility of City Government in my opinion. Just like maintaining the roads, water lines and public safety. We need to get IT done. Just look at the damage. You Guys drove up and down the streets when this happened. IT happened in '15 also. Here We are ten years later discussing IT. Inaction is not an option. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 11:24:38AM

Thank you very much. Next speaker, please. Tom Frastar. Im a homeowner at 114 South Tampania Avenue here in Tampa. My home is located in City Council district 6, South Of Kennedy Boulevard and north of the subject project. Im speaking today in two roles. First as a homeowner directly affected by stormwater issues and second as a mediator who works daily with the real consequences of water damage. I still continue to mediate hurricane-related insurance disputes from hurricane helene and milton through the Florida Department Of Consumer Services. In that role, I work with both homeowners and insurance companies. I see firsthand the financial stress, the long-term repairs, and the disruption to peoples lives caused by water intrusion. So when we talk about stormwater, I get IT. My concerns, like many residents about the south howard project, is the confusion surrounding IT. As a mediator, I can tell you that confusion often leads to conflict. When a project grows from roughly 65 million to more than a hundred million, people reasonably want clear, understandable answers. How do the stormwater basins connect? How does water move between neighborhoods? How does this project reduce risk beyond its immediate footprint? Most residents are not engineers. We should not need technical reports to understand decisions that affect our homes and property values. As this project is currently proposed, I do not support IT. I respectfully suggest that council as the stewards of the citys budget consider a broader, more comprehensive approach to addressing stormwater issues across all neighborhoods. Thank you very much.

Alan Clendenin 11:26:56AM

Thank you, sir. Appreciate the brevity. Next speaker, please. I live At Watrous Avenue a couple of blocks off of howard. I am a Professional Engineer. The engineering field in which I practice is geotechnical engineering, meaning below the ground. Im here to basically convey my belief that this system, or this project can be built without the controversy on howard if you just employ horizontal drilling. I dont have a dime in this. Basically, similar to how we get our reclaimed water in South Tampa. Horizontal bores that went from the port of Tampa underneath the shipping channel to davis island and up davis island and back underneath the bay until they hit Bayshore. You could do a similar thing and not have to dig up howard. Its about half a mile or so from swann to Bayshore that you would have an open cut On Howard Avenue. IT will be disastrous to businesses. Project duration is 3.5 Years, maybe its only two years of digging along howard, but thats going to be disastrous. All that traffic is going to detour and go through the neighborhoods. Horizontal drilling is also going to be less expensive. I did back of the envelope calculations looking at the volume of soil and everything youd have to excavate, by my reckoning, $65 million project, you might save in the order of 10 to 20 million. Again, the Design Team can do that with more certainty. They want to go with gravity system because they dont want pumps. They want to utilize a piece of stormwater culvert thats underneath the crosstown At Watrous Avenue. As far as not wanting pumps, hey, deal with IT. We have pumps that have to rerun all the time. You put generators or you have -- that is a solvable problem as opposed to Destroying Howard Avenue. The other thing is youre going to connect through this culvert thats under the crosstown at watrous that thing is 50 years old. Who knows what shape its in. Youre relying on that? Any client, if I had a client contemplating this, I would advise them against IT. Anytime I bring IT up amongst my engineering brethren and sisters, they all go, what? This is not 1950 or 1970 when Municipalities plowed through neighborhoods and didnt take any citizen input. You can do this you can do this project, you do horizontal drilling, five foot diameter. Do two or three of them if thats what IT takes. John Zemina, I discussed that with him, well, when they did that project for the reclaimed water, there were problems. Well, John Zemina can be on the board or he can help design this thing. A person who knows what the problems are, get their input. Anyway, you can do IT faster or you can do IT without disrupting for less money. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 11:29:59AM

Thank you. Members speaker, please. Edward De La Parte. Representing the Soho Business Alliance. I wanted to talk to you today about cost. I was sitting here listening very interested in the cfos presentation on how this would be paid for. One thing that came very clear, they are counting on the $25 million from Dep. I think in response to Councilman Clendenin when asked what happens if that money doesnt come in, then were in trouble. We have to look for something else. He suggested in response to councilman -- Councilwoman Brown, well, Dep hasnt denied IT. Its still in the works. We actually wrote an e-mail to the head of the resiliency program at Dep, name is Alex Reed, and this is what mr. Reed had to say. I would like to reiterate that 2025 application for additional funding for the project was not approved for inclusion in the fiscal year 26-27 statewide flooding and sea level rise resiliency plan. Therefore, additional matching funds over the additional $10 million would not be required from the city at this time. That is as clear as you can get. That its not in the 2026-2027 resiliency program. If its not in that program, its not going to be funded come the time that GMP comes before you. So that money is not available to you. Now, thats not to say they May apply for IT in the future, but that e-mail, from the Dep indicated that its not. The question is, are you going to be able to get funding from other cooperative funding? Back in 2022, when this project was first proposed, the Consultant did a benefit cost analysis using a Southwest Florida Water Management District model. IT showed at that time that IT had a .97 Benefit to cost analysis. I had our Engineer plug in today the $98 million and then also plug in $120 million to look at potential inflation. That benefit to cost analysis was reduced to a 0.45 For the $98 million and 0.37 For $120 million. At that range, you are not going to qualify for cooperative funding from the water management district. At Dep, they award funding based on priority and cost benefit facts as well. If youre looking for additional grant funding to meet the needs, its not going to be there. You need to postpone this decision and you need to come up with a realistic program to fund this project. Thank you thank you very much.

Alan Clendenin 11:33:09AM

Thank you. Next speaker. Steve Michelini. A couple of weeks ago, you approved an extension of a grant for $10 million with the State for dep. What they didnt tell you -- and you asked the question -- what is the city on the hook for? You are on the hook for $54.9 Million in matching funds. No one has that discussed that with you this morning. Nobody discussed IT with you two weeks ago. On the hook $54.9 Million. You cannot use grant money to match that. That has to be cash money. When John Zemina talked about, well, youll have groundwater if you try to connect some of the culverts, what do you think those culverts going down south howard are going to do? They are going to be immune from groundwater? They are going to be the same amount. One of the reasons why Palma Ceia pines failed and we went on a tour and showed the council member that the berm around the ponds is higher than the inlets. So the water could never get to IT. IT bypassed the AMI pond. IT bypassed what is called the zom pond. The engineering on this is just -- its incredible. ID like to see the engineering wizard who drew this up without looking seriously at the other examples and the other alternates that were available. You have a difficult issue. Im not here to speak against a solution. Im here to speak for a better solution. And going down howard with a 10-foot, 10 by 10 which John said is 12 by 10, the ones originally we saw were 12 by 20 culverts running down the whole length of howard. They ignored the alternates because they didnt want to use pumps. There are other culverts that go underneath the railroad tracks at swann. They havent talked about that. Havent talked about the force main that exists going down rome All The Way to Bayshore. Right now, IT exists. We talked about interconnecting the ponds to provide better relief. We talked about using the ball field as an alternate for additional storage capacity. They skipped over that. Didnt want to use pumps. We talked about the cost. Youre talking about thousands of jobs, not just one or two. Thousands of jobs. No one has talked about the 1500 houses on davis island that were damaged. Nobody talked about the 500 or so on Westshore damaged or anything else. We talk to them about providing relief through insurance early on, and IT was going to be a one-lane solution down howard. That changed. This sounds like voodoo economics and voodoo engineering. IT needs to stop. Go back to a reasonable solution. Come back with a reasonable plan, and stop talking about money you dont have.

Alan Clendenin 11:36:11AM

Thank you, sir. Next speaker, please. Good morning. My name is Pam Cannella. Bayshore water is already infiltrating the inlets in Bayshore. Its there. IT doesnt have to wait for the high rising waters just bringing IT there and its already there. We dont have to wait for a storm. Seminole Heights, they had four by seven box culverts. Ours are 10 by 10 that they are asking to put in there. Way too big. That needs to be reduced. As far as gravity that would be nice, but its a dream. You cannot always be the only -- IT cannot always be the only option. There is the inability to control unexpected factors, and we know that. Such as new development, paving and repaving without grading. Repair and patching of our streets. Debris and trash. We know that. And lack of maintenance. High tide or flooding. So those are the things that we need. We need a pump. This right here is the zom pond and nobody has addressed this today or kimmins, for that matter. This pond sits right beside the pond that were talking about, the hospital pond. So if you put that 10 by 10 box culvert somehow into that pond, IT has to go over all the drainage systems that now exist to drain this pond. We have a lot going on there. And if you put that 10 by 10 over those streets that contain that drainage over de leon, swann, audubon, audubon is what drains this pond. And the water that comes down from Kennedy, because that water that comes down from Kennedy comes down tampania -- I dont know all the streets that are there -- to Horatio, right at that pond, drains down Horatio and down to audubon and goes out to two different outfalls. One at swann. Even flows All The Way down to swann pond. The other one goes down to Euclid. Nobody has considered that. How are you going to leave Palma Ceia pines with this mess that im showing you right here. Because thats going to flood, too. Its part of the flooding. That Gentleman that spoke about the medical building, he created the problem. You see all that trash, they dont do any maintenance there. They let IT trash. IT flows into our drain system, and this is what we have. Right there. I dont know how theyll get rid of that because im not looking to see what they are doing. But all that water that was drained, drained into our stormwater drain without a filtration bag. I have pictures to prove all this. You know I do.

Alan Clendenin 11:39:22AM

Thank you, Pamela. Next speaker, please. Maegan Luka. Ive been here a couple of times. I own a home in parkland estates. I own a home in Palma Ceia pines. My storage unit also in the Palma Ceia pines area flooded. Ive got a lot of reasons to be here. The home in Palma Ceia pines flooded in 2015. IT flooded again in 2025. The problem is structural. Its very simple. The pipes are too small. The pipes arent getting bigger, but the storm sizes are. Its a problem thats been studied for 40 years. The System In Place is one hundred years old. How much longer will the City Council delay replacing inadequate systems? How many times do our streets have to become impassable to make the need for a solution obvious? How many homes and Businesses have to be damaged before the situation becomes dire enough to make a meaningful resolution and immediate concern? How much destruction are you willing to tolerate? This doesnt have to be as polarizing as IT has become. I do not want the Businesses on south howard to go out of business. They are part of what makes my neighborhood so wonderful. I can tell you that the other neighbors who are flooding victims want to support those Businesses. We want to proactively work with them. IT doesnt have to be this contentious. I will say this. Like I said, I own a house. IT is on habana. IT is in that small space that could still flood. By The Way, IT has flooded twice, its sewer water in our homes because the pump station thats approximately a hundred yards away, the pumps dont work when the power goes out. The generators get flooded, too. The pumps arent the answer. Im sitting here today with my neighbors and I can tell you that we would rather have something now because the other option is nothing. There is no perfect solution. IT is impossible to please everyone. If you have children, you know that. If you are a mediator, its your bread and butter. If that is what you are waiting for, then the answer will never come. Put simply, we will never get phase two if we dont start phase one. IT is immensely frustrating that a no vote tonight means that the homeowners and the Businesses who have suffered will be basically told that they will not see relief for a decade, if not more, for a problem thats been studied for 40 years already. I would leave you with very simple question, do you as council members who give your time and your energy to this city want to be part of starting the solution or perpetuating the problem? Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 11:42:31AM

Thank You very much. Next speaker, please. My name is Bill Kolega. Wife Megan, three-year-old son and I life at audubon and horatio in Palma Ceia pines. Flood zone x, 20 feet above sea level. During hurricane milton, the power went out quickly but I had power backups on all our cameras. From the hotel room in orlando, my wife and I watched in real-time as water rose in our home. Saw every moment. Sons first toys and books, kitchen, living room, all destroyed. I wouldnt wish that experience on anyone. Im here with one question, when will Tampa fix whats been broken for a century? Over 300 homes and businesses in our neighborhood flooded during milton. Not three, not 50. 300. Its not just hurricanes either. Water rises to my doorstep from regular summer storms and a few inches of rain turns into feet of flooding because the 1920 system cant handle what were facing now. Some of the opposition speaking against this project are Paid Lobbyists, Paid Consultants and paid engineers hired to manufacture doubt about decades of engineering work. They are creating the appearance of dueling experts to justify delay. They are repeating the same false claims like drains the entire stormwater budget. Even though meeting transcripts and project documents easily disapprove them. I turn 32 tomorrow. I Spent Way too much of my 20s at the soho bars. My pregnant wife still lets me sneak out over there every few months. We walk to the epicurean for breakfast eve brunch. Even at berns in 2023 after they voluntarily closed for over three weeks for renovations. I supported the businesses for years, just like my neighbors. Now im asking to support the neighborhood through five to seven Weeks Of Road closures. But even if they continue to choose not to, this is a public safety emergency. Council doesnt need a few restaurants and bars permission to protect families. You have a choice. You can be the Council that fixed a century of neglect or You can be the Council that chose lobbyists over residents. When the next storm hits, and IT will, the national news cameras show the same streets flooded again, voters will remember. Well remember who stood with residents and well remember who stood with Special Interests. Well remember who had the courage to act. Your choice will define your legacy. I want to tell my sons the city they grew up in chose their safety over Special Interests. You have the power to end this and make that true. Use IT. Thank You.

Alan Clendenin 11:45:17AM

Thank you very much. Next speaker. Please. Good morning, Tampa City Council, my name is Amanda Hlavac. Im here on behalf of myself and my fianc Daniel and other tenants of our quadruplex, where we rent on 411 South Habana Ave. I only make $64,000 a year as a graphics designer. Im not a wealthy person or business around here. Im here to express my support of the south howard flood relief project and to paint a picture of how important IT is for the city to approve this project. On September 20 of '24, Daniel asked me to marry him. IT was a huge step in our lives because weve been dating for seven years, graduated from USF, moved into South Habana Avenue to make our first home. Unfortunately, our engagement was -- engagement bliss was cut very short because not even three weeks later hurricane milton made land fall and left our apartment and community in shambles. We live in a first floor apartment in a block not in flood zone and still floods during a normal heavy storm. We did basic prep. Sandbag the doors, brought plants inside and evacuated to friends in lutz. I remember when the news broke, footage of west horatio and IT was totally under water. My heart sank. I began to accept the fact we would not return to the apartment. Next day, muddy doormats, broken planters, soaked furniture. Daniels cello from his childhood destroyed and waterline that measured 13 inches from the floor. This is all the floodwater in our fridge. I spent the days that followed alongside our neighbors cleaning up our homes, salvaging what we could and throwing away the rest. A lesson I learned that day, nothing is sacred to gray water. Mother nature decided what we had to throw away and no option to bargain. Piles of furniture, drywall and trash formed Along The Street. You cannot replicate the smell. Renovations forced Daniel and I to live apart for months. He stayed in Tampa while I stayed with my family in jacksonville to care for our cat. What should have been our joyful time for our engagement became months of stress, worry, and tearful phone calls. The storm lasted for hours. Lack of proper drainage affected our lives for months. Crushed our physical and mental well-being. We are counting on you Commissioners to approve this project because killing IT would bring US back to the 1900s when the drains were originally built. We are a strong community, and this is not an experience anyone should have to live through again. Please vote yes to approve the remainder of the project. Thank you for your time.

Alan Clendenin 11:48:12AM

Thank you very much. Next speaker, please. Beth Steine. I live in Palma Ceia pines. Im here today to respectfully ask you to vote yes for transferring funds. There are so many emotions tied to the issue. I want to focus on two things. First, im a civil Engineer at a local Engineering Firm. Background is structure. Ill leave the details of stormwater design to the engineers that specialize in that fund. I do want to speak to what IT means to be an Engineer. I heard concerns that the design isnt thoroughly vetted or not the best option. I dont believe that because the process and accountability behind engineering. To become a professional Engineer, you must complete formal education, pass comprehensive tests, work for years under supervision and meet strict license requirements set by the Florida Board Of Engineers. Once licensed, engineers are required to complete continuing education, including ethics and understanding Florida law. When a professional Engineer signs and seals a design, they assume personal and professional responsibility for IT. Their license and livelihood are on the line. The system exists to protect the public and I trust IT. The second point is personal. Ill try to stop crying. Im a cancer -- just rung the bell after -- one of the hardest chapters of my life. Recovering from my fifth surgery when my home flooded. I was at the end of treatment. My husband and I were planning a trip to celebrate the survivorship, but instead our home flooded. What followed was devastating. Emotionally, physically, and financially. Flooding a brand-new home, living without a kitchen, unlike everyone else in the area, I lost my entire first floor, the kitchen. I was the lucky one that had insurance because I purchased IT even though I was in flood zone x because of the rainwater and flooding that came up that I experienced. I had to navigate insurance. I had never done that before. Contractors, permits, delays. The stress of recovery -- stress of Reconstruction was to -- IT was almost unbearable. Took about a year and about a hundred thousand dollars. Surviving cancer is hard. Recovering from the flood was overwhelming. Asking to you vote yes not just as an Engineer who believes in the process, but Homeowner that suffered the consequences of inaction. Thank you for your concern.

Alan Clendenin 11:51:18AM

Thank you. Next speaker, please. Im here to speak in support of the project. Ive lived in Parkland Estates since 2011. Parkland Estates, as many of you know, is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Tampa. Palma Ceia pines is the wonderful cousin next door. At the moment, we are living with infrastructure that is from over a hundred years ago. During the 2024 hurricane season, over 200 homes and several more businesses were ruined because of the flooding. This isnt just because of storms. This just happens on a regular basis. And weve had years of studies. Weve had engineers look at this, and they have a solution. Its time that we move forward. Tampa is growing as a city. The weather isnt going to change. The threat of storms isnt going to change. We need this now. We dont need IT yesterday. Thank you.

Lynn Hurtak 11:52:14AM

Thank you very much. Next. I live in parkland estates. I lived there 26 years. I live in a one-story house, which means my entire house was inundated with water. I was trapped in the house for nine hours with my pets and my very elderly in-laws. IT was very, very traumatic. What is also traumatic is having to come back here again and again and beg for help. I just wonder why potential impact on Businesses outweighs actual impact on homeowners and Businesses. We were harmed. The storms arent getting less severe. We deserve to live safely in our houses. We hope youll consider a positive vote. Thank you.

Lynn Hurtak 11:53:04AM

Thank you very much. Next. My name is Rumela Das. Im a homeowner in parkland estates. I didnt flood. My garage flooded, but thankfully my home that we spent two years renovating and moved into a year before the storm didnt flood. But I saw the devastation when all of my neighbors did. What I ask myself is what is the citys directive? Its to provide a Safe Place for people to live. Thats number one. Safety. Everything else comes after that. Since 2015 we know that there is a safety issue in this water basin. And there is a well-studied solution thats provided. And that is the only solution were going to get. Its been studied by all the engineers. So lets stop kicking the can down the curb. Lets take the solution now and lets run with IT. Im here for one more thing today. Ive done this before and im here to pledge my support and the support of all the moms I can gather in the area, which are a lot, and to these Businesses on south howard, because I know they will be hurting for that time period and we will support them. They are our neighbors. Were not mad at them because they are opposing this. We understand they are doing what they are doing, and we want to support them during that time. So im here to pledge our support and hope that all of these neighbors coming in and supporting the Businesses even despite construction and everything at that time will make them feel a little bit better. Thats all. Thank you.

Lynn Hurtak 11:54:31AM

Thank you very much. Next speaker. My Name Is Dr. Dana coberly. Board certified plastic surgeon in private practice in the Medical Office building on habana next to the pond. Im here to ask for your support of this project, not as a business owner but as a physician advocating for my Patients. During the hurricane, more than 20 inches of water flooded our medical building. My office was forced to close for over four months while we completed a full renovation. But the real harm went far beyond damaged walls and floors. Patients continued to show up walking through a damaged building for weeks after the storm trying to find their doctors. Many had no idea where to go and others assumed care had simply stopped. Because of the medical licensing laws, we could not receive medications or medical supplies at our facility or temporary address unless that location was already licensed as a medical facility. Short-term furnished medical offices are not available. They dont Exist The Way regular office space does. As a result, Patients were unable to receive medications and we were forced to delay medical procedures because we had only limited access to borrowed exam rooms. This is not elective inconvenience. IT was delayed medical care. Even after the building reopened, the problems continued. Our elevator was out of service for more than two months. Patients in wheelchairs, both pediatric and adult, were unable to access their Physicians on the upper floors. Postoperative orthopedic Patients were climbing stairs to third floor offices. Some Patients simply could not be seen at all. During the flood, Hca Hospital became an island operating on emergency generators for days, and that should concern all of US. Flood insurance does not cover loss of income. The cost of temporary care arrangements or the countless hours that Physicians spent away from Patients while managing emergency renovations. But more importantly, insurance does not restore lost access to care. I understand concerns about construction impacts On Howard Avenue businesses but I ask you to weigh that against the alternative. Emergency displacement of medical services, delayed procedures, Patients unable to access medications and physically unable to reach their doctors. A short planned inconvenience is nothing compared to the chaos we experienced and will experience again without meaningful flood mitigation. This project is not just infrastructure. IT is patient safety. IT is health care access, and IT is community resilience. I respectfully urge you to support this relief project and the reallocation of the funding necessary to support this vital medical community. Thank you very much for your time.

Alan Clendenin 11:57:19AM

Thank you. Next speaker, please. Luis Calvol. Office manager, pediatric epilepsy neurology specialist. I snuck right in behind her. Were in the same building. She did a great job of depicting the picture of what was going on. Pediatric epilepsy and neurology specialist, Representing Dr. Jose ferreira thats been practicing in the Tampa Bay area for over 25 years now. And in the South Tampa medical center since 2004. That practice has dealt with multiple floods, including the one in 2015 and most recent one as well. Pediatric epilepsy and neurology specialist provides care to over 20,000 different families in the last three years, and we provide ongoing neurological care with children with epilepsy, seizure disorders, severe autism and neuromuscular diseases that cannot wait to be treated. As stated before, we had to delay care during the storm. We were fortunate enough that were on three different floors, but the first floor is our biggest one and got wiped out completely. Even then we were without an elevator. A lot of patients that come in that are wheelchair-bound come in on stretchers, werent able to receive care. There is a real safety issue happening there. The flooding has got to get under control. I think if Everyone can look at this issue with certainty that its going to happen again, for example, if we said the next big storm is coming in 2030, I feel like IT would get Everyone to work together to find a solution. I dont think anyone would agree to just leave things as is and let IT happen again. IT might be alternatives, but also IT would force Everyone to kind of get the ball rolling to make these decisions, because IT will happen again. I feel like IT hasnt been taken as seriously because IT could happen. Could be another ten years. Could be another 20. But if Everyone has the mindset that its going to happen again, I think we could all get a lot more creative and get IT done. Thats all I have. And thank you guys for all the work you do.

Alan Clendenin 11:59:46AM

Thank you very much. Appreciate IT. Next speaker, please. My name is Samantha Aube. Im a physical therapist in the Tampa community. 409 South Gomez Avenue is where I reside. Im here today to share my support for the South Howard Flood Project and explain why IT matters so much to US that live there. October 9, the night that hurricane milton made landfall is something I can never forget.

Alan Clendenin 12:00:19PM

Turn IT The Other Way. Silence your phones, please. We were told IT was not a mandatory evacuation.

Alan Clendenin 12:00:28PM

Hold on until we get the distraction taken care of.

Alan Clendenin 12:00:39PM

Please check your phones and make sure they are on silent. Continue. That IT was not a flood zone or mandatory evacuation area. Closest family is in New York, so I was committed to staying there. I work in a Hospital so I need to be there the next day to relieve the Hospital Emergency Team. Around 9 pm. Is when the storm hit and unfortunately we watched as the water seeped through the walls. The area described as a bowl. That night I experienced firsthand what that truly means. Less than an hour, our home became the bottom of the bowl. At the moment, flight or fright. Go to higher surfaces hoping to save something. The water did go so high that we had to evacuate mid storm. We live on the first floor of a quadruplex. During the storm we went outside in the high winds and rising water carrying our 75-pound golden retriever up the stairs. Thankfully to a warm unit in the quadruplex. Without IT, I do not know how we would have made IT through the night. We stayed all night waiting until the storm passed until 7 am. When the water receded enough to go downstairs. The weeks that followed were some of the hardest that ive ever endured. We were displaced with only a few belongings and each other. Financial burden overwhelming, emotional toll heavier. Lived couch to couch at friends home, taking a month to find an airbnb that would take a dog and paying three times our normal rent. As a health care provider, im trained to show up every day for patients and put my personal life aside. I did just that and provided the highest quality of care to those in our community while quietly carrying the weight of losing my home and sense of stability. I share this to respectfully ask you to vote yes for this project. I hope this would not impact others in the future as IT did to Me and my family.

Alan Clendenin 12:02:46PM

Thank you very much. Only somebody who owns a golden retriever understands you have to carry them out in a storm. I own the -- I am a Small Business Owner in the Palma Ceia pines neighborhood. I have 53 units in South Tampa. 38 of which are in the south howard neighborhood. 8 of these units suffered considerable damage from hurricane Milton and were uninhabitable, displacing 11 of my residents. You heard from two of my residents. Amanda and Samantha, about their losses, including their sense of well-being. Im here today to implore you to approve the reallocation of the $21.5 Million within the storm bond series for the south howard flood relief project. This project has been needed for over a decade. Summer of 2015 stormwater started filling the intersection of horatio and habana. Each rainstorm filled the yard at my property at 411 south habana. This is a property directly Across The Street from the hospital storm drain, AMI storm drain pond. In fact, when I built this property, that property was a soccer field, slash, football field. There was no vault underneath the parking lot. So -- at that point, the building sustained about half an inch of water on the bottom floor and just a matter of drying IT out. IT was no big deal. The City went door to door, aware of the extensive flooding. They recorded the damage. Between 2015 and now, The City attempted to budget and plan, remediate this issue. Each time The City attempts to fund the project, the Commissioners did not act or fund any of the comprehensive projects to improve the stormwater drainage in the south howard area. But during this time, the Commissioners continued to approve more infill projects. Each project reduced the amount of permeable surface for the absorption of rain and groundwater which is only exacerbated our problem. No funding for substantially improving an adequate storm drainage system. I implore you guys to quit kicking the can Down The Street and lets address IT. This lack of planning and bowing to Special Interest Groups created the perfect storm for the catastrophic damage caused by Milton, October 10, 2024. My business wrote checks over a quarter million dollars in the next six months to restore the flood damage to my rental units. Extra $52,800 of rental income was also lost during the restoration project. Insurance covered none of the costs. As a Small Business Owner, this is an enormous loss that will take years to recover. The City has presented a fully funded plan that will protect 70% of the properties from experiencing this type of damage in the future. Now is the moment for the south howard community to unite and back this project which has already faced significant delays. At the end of two and a half to three years of construction well all be in a safer, more beautiful neighborhood.

Alan Clendenin 12:06:01PM

Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good morning. Thank you for your time. My name is Amy. Im a resident of Parkland Estates. When looking for a home in 2022, we specifically looked for a non-flood zone. That was our number one criteria. We did not choose to live near Westshore. We did not choose to live on Davis Islands because those are flood zones. In those cases, you are living at or below sea level. I understand people that flooded there, they are like why havent we had support. We arent supposed to be in a flood zone. So this project is long overdue for our century old pipes and dragged out with complete filibustering and needs to get done. You heard everyone else say the statistics. You also heard opposition on the economics. Anyone who understands economics knows that IT will only get more expensive every year that its delayed, and that this is our only chance right now before IT gets killed and delayed for a decade or so. So were going to do all we can to try to continue to support the businesses on howard. I chose to live in my neighborhood another reason because of the proximity to beloved businesses on howard. I am a small business owner. If I were in those shoes, I have thought hard about IT, and I would still do this project and move forward with IT for the greater good of the neighborhood. If theres traffic and whatever needs to get detoured into parkland because of the project being underway, thats completely fine. We just have to ask if the Howard Businesses flooded next, which is a -- would they still want this project? Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 12:07:52PM

Thank you very much. Appreciate the brevity. Next speaker, please. My name is Maddie Kaye. Im a hospitality worker for Bern's Steak House. I appreciate everyones commitment to public service and I understand the choices can be difficult. I would like to personally thank the council members that voted against the project. You exhibited compassion for working families, small Business Owners and acting fiscally responsible. You are very brave to stand up for those who depend on the thriving commerce of South Tampa and understand just because someone allowed US in the room doesnt make IT right. Those in favor of the dig, express one thing, IT isnt too late to change your mind. As the cost of the project balloons and timeline expand I would expect you to have the flexibility to reassess. I understand the families in the neighborhood were devastated by flooding. I, too, was displaced from my home In South St. Pete from helene. I made IT through financially because im blessed to work for Bern's Steak House where my income is above average for service workers. I made IT through mentality because my employer provided health insurance, I went to therapy to manage the stress. I understood when I moved to the property IT was a flood zone and risk I accepted. I would rather be displaced from another home a hundred times over than lose this unicorn job. The negative impact of losing this job or experiencing a drastic decrease in income would be far greater than when I lost my home. The storms were terrible but as public officials we trust you to see the forest through the trees and not let one traumatic event cost the city millions of dollars and so much suffering. 300 employees at berns, which includes people from 15 different countries. The job is rare, singular in the world. There is No Comparable Place for me to work. The South Howard Business Alliance estimates 1500 employees will lose their job throughout the proposed corridor, affecting 4500 folks from working-class families. Cursory internet search described parkland estates in Tampa as relatively small, exclusive neighborhood with approximately 480 households. Hundred million dollars over a thousand jobs lost for 480 exclusive addresses. Layman would see that as the city spending $200,000 per household, although im sure your opponents in the next election will put a finer point on that. IT has become clear who will be paying for the project and most Taxpayers find IT unfair, some laughable. The cost-of-living crisis isnt leaving the minds of voters. In fact, its more on the forefront of ever. Do you really want to stand in front of your constituents from other parts of the city who need your help and tell them, too bad, we spent all our money on parkland estates and Palma Ceia pines. Voting against the dig doesnt mean you have no sympathy for the homeowners who experience flooding. IT means you are voting to find a Different Way forward that doesnt devastate the economy of a tight knit community. IT means you see the fear of those whom this affects negatively. I truly believe another solution can be found, and we need to move away from this plan that costs so much to Taxpayers, Business Owners, and working families so we can find a better solution. Its not too late to change your mind and never too late to do the right thing. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 12:11:01PM

Thank you for your comments. Next speaker, please. I appreciate your time. Thank you to my wife who said she wanted to stand next to me. Shes been through a lot as well. Michael Stewart. I am a Tampa business owner and lifelong resident. My grandparents were here. My parents were here. Ive lived here my whole life. I own Ava Restaurant on South Howard Avenue. One month, ill reopen the land former 717 restaurant. Unfortunately, two years ago, that building was destroyed by fire. I had a choice at that time and many choices. I thought about maybe moving IT To St. Pete out of the area, to walk away or just reinvest in real estate. But I had employees and I had chefs, and I had a lot of people that depended on me, so I chose south howard. I invested millions of dollars to reopen this restaurant, which im proud to say will be open in about 30 days. Thats why im here today, to say I oppose this project as currently designed. First, this project is not proven. We are being asked to accept years of disruption without clear evidence that the proposed solution will actually fix the flooding. I know this firsthand. A culvert system was installed on My Own Street in South Tampa, off Estrella as part of a Flood Mitigation effort. I endured years of construction and just trying to get to my house with groceries from Publix with my kids in elementary school, had I to take a golf CART. Finally we agreed Just Everybody Drive over everybodys yard to get home. When the hurricane came, I think thats where all these pictures are mostly coming from, every single person On My Street flooded. Honestly, look at IT. IT didnt work. If I want to talk about the budget as a taxpayer and being born and raised in Tampa, its a very expensive project that just sitting here today I dont think -- I dont think anybody knows what its going to cost. If IT fails or underperforms, the cost is going to be paid by me and small businesses on south howard because we probably wont survive IT. Theres alternatives that I think should be reviewed. The Gentleman earlier talked about horizontal drilling, alternative routes. One of you councilpersons said do you really have to shut down both lanes? That sounds insane. I live off manhattan. I see what they are doing. Maybe macdill with four lanes. You just cant shut down. And for the people that say they are going to support US, I greatly appreciate IT. Its very hard to get to a business. For one, the access for Alva, I dont have a Side Street, no alley, no rear access, I do want to get with you and you can tell me how youll get all of my deliveries and all my customers because I only have frontage On Howard Avenue. I cant support this. I do support Flood Mitigation. There are alternatives. I just think its too risky right now to make a vote. Thank you for your time.

Alan Clendenin 12:14:03PM

Thank you. Next speaker, please. My name is Robert Kelly. Ive lived in parkland estates since 1986. Im a past president of the Parkland Estates Civic Association organization. Ive lived On Fountain Boulevard since 1994. Fountain parallels swann one block to the south. My historic house is two houses in from fountain and audubon. Audubon dead ends at fountain park. Audubon functions as the spillway across which all the water from azeele sheet flows to the south down into my neighborhood, Flooding Swann Avenue at the same time IT floods fountain in the park itself. We didnt have flooding when we first bought our house. That was three decades ago when prior to all the development thats occurred on howard and Armenia since then that the Council has approved, there were never upgrades made to the stormwater system. As Jean Duncan told you, this is a capacity problem, not a maintenance problem. The capacity needs to be improved. This project will improve the capacity. Milton was a terrible event and my house flooded. Four inches of water on the first floor. Took nine months to rebuild and every penny of the $300,000 flood insurance policy I was dumb enough to buy to do IT. Milton is not what is concerning me. What concerns me is the day-in and day-out flooding that occurs in the summer from typical afternoon rainstorms. IT floods fountain. IT floods swann. IT impedes access. Many times fountain park floods. IT looks like a giant lake. You have to see IT to believe IT. This is an issue of public safety. People cant get to the hospital. I cant get home to work in the afternoon. I have to call my wife and ask Is The Street flooded. I wait two or three hours for the water to subside before I can get back to my house. The lack of this project. The lack of infrastructure is taking access from my property. Council has done a great job over the last several years hearing testimony from residents like myself, Business Owners, experts, and weighing and balancing the interest. You have a difficult job. But when IT comes to people over profits, I think you have to go with people every time. With people IT is public safety. I did hear a comment during the Council members questions about potential claims against the city by Business Owners on south howard. My day job, practicing law Down The Street at hill ward henderson. Been an eminent domain lawyer for 40 years, I can tell you that there is no liability through eminent domain that the Council would be subject to by building this project.

Alan Clendenin 12:17:13PM

Thank you, sir. Next speaker, please. My name is Amy Govindaraju. I own a business On Howard Avenue called the dry bar. Im not going to repeat a lot of what people have already said. Howard has a bunch of not just restaurants, service businesses, health care practices all up and down howard. When we chose this location on howard about ten years ago, we chose IT because of the community, parkland estates and all the neighbors and communities around US. And our cotenants On The Street. The loss of business with this project is inevitable. Its a two-lane Road, closure of both lanes, Either Way, its going to stop the flow of traffic going up and down howard. That is our biggest concern. I am not saying that flood mitigation is not necessary. Im just asking the Council to please, please, please look at other alternate routes, other ways to make sure we can mitigate some of the loss of business to the businesses there. Its not just going to be a five -- as they go Up Howard Avenue. Were asking that you please look at different options before making this decision. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 12:18:25PM

Thank you very much. Next speaker, please. Im James Flynn. My Wife Is Dr. Linda flynn of South Tampa dermatology. She closed her office twice to have IT torn down to the studs and rebuilt because of storm sewer problems. Were out about a quarter million dollars so far. The other doctors who are impacted on swann probably arent here today because we honestly thought that this was resolved in November of '24, but there was some sort of California turn that happened and the power of prevention is still hanging over this project. The current situation is that the roads to the hospital and many of the medical offices are often impassable just due to summer showers. Patients cant get to the doctors' offices, employees cant leave on time. And big storms mean the threat of rebuilding the offices again still remains. Now, we realize that the traffic Along Howard Avenue is going to be an awful mess not seen since the construction of the epicurean hotel. That was a mess, but IT was temporary. We adapted, and we are happy that the hotel is there and thriving. But we did not give them the opportunity to pull up the ladder of success and progress behind them when they open their doors. The hospital on swann is currently owned by Hca, Hospital Corporation Of America. They are a publicly traded, hundred billion dollar company. When they announced their vision 2035, or whatever their strategic growth plan is for that site, they are going to want unencumbered access to their property, even on rainy summer days. But they dont make three-minute speeches to Council Members. They generally start off with the Governor or Senator or something like that, because thats what Hundred Billion Dollar Companies do. If you want local control of this project, which I think you do, now is a very good time to act. We can fix this. We can move ahead, and you can start by authorizing the transfer of funds. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 12:21:01PM

Thank you very much. Next speaker, please. My name is Riham Diasti. I am a dentist. My husband is a physician. We both have offices On Swann Avenue. Right next Door To Dr. Flynn. The back of our office, were on swann and audubon. Literally, IT was just one storm and one hurricane that twice we got flooded. IT was literally like a river that ran through our office. And we had to rebuild the office twice. There needs to be some sort of resolve for this flooding. I do appreciate everything that the Howard Businesses would be affected, and we do want to make sure that we minimize that effect on them. But the effect of our medical practices shutting down or a hospital not having patients not having access to a hospital, limiting their access to medical care for weeks at a time until we rebuild, that is also heavily affecting the community. Its not about some, just the surrounding homes. There is a big impact larger than just some residents, which, of course, our house got flooded during the storm. Not even talking about that. Im talking about that IT is far-reaching beyond a few homes. IT is affecting access to care, access to medical services. Hopefully there could be a way that we could do this by mitigating and minimizing any collateral damage to any other business in our neighborhood. We are here because we love the neighborhood. We support all our businesses. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 12:22:49PM

Thank you very much. Next speaker. Good afternoon. David Laxer, second generation restauranteur in Tampa. Been on South Howard Avenue 70 years. This is our 70th anniversary for our restaurant. I just want to say thank you for listening to everyone. This is certainly a very important topic. Appreciate the residents that have gone through so much and the businesses in the parkland and Palma Ceia pines area. Im in favor of stormwater solution, but this is not the proper solution. Weve gone over this and over this again with the City Staff, and they will not listen to look honestly at other solutions. This is not the solution. You can go through the numbers. On a cost basis and deliverable to our City, IT is just -- IT doesnt pencil out. A question for the City financial officer would be if we get all the pending, proposed, and hypothetical monies for this project, can you show or can the City show what stormwater monies are left in the City budget for other areas and neighborhoods in the City without raising taxes? Will there be a tax raise for everyone after this money is spent? If the cleveland system is failing, Palma Ceia pines and impacting parkland estates, why not fix that system first? Weve heard many, many times over, IT starts from Kennedy, comes down Palma Ceia pines, and then storms into parkland estates. Why cant that system be addressed first and solve that? Immediate relief to Palma Ceia pines and immediate relief to parkland estates. In regards to access, having sidewalk access without parking is not access. Youve heard Michael Stewart mention that on his businesses, its not access. Not access for our customers. Not access for the vital life safety vehicles. Its not access for our staff. IT just doesnt work. We need to have parking not only for our staff, but for our employees, and we need to be able to off-load our deliverables that come in and then we also be able to service our businesses with stormwater -- not stormwater, excuse me -- with our grease traps and such like that, our trash. The trash behind the post apartments, they have a dumpster right there that serves the whole apartment complex. IT would be blocked out. Where does that get accessed? There are so many questions that have not been addressed. Its great John Zemina, I met him. Hes great. Everyone speaks much accolades to him and his company, but too many unknowns in the project and too expensive versus looking at other means to address this problem. IT is a problem in our City, but there is a solution. This is not the best solution. Its not even coming close to solving the problems for most of our neighborhoods.

Alan Clendenin 12:25:59PM

Thank you, David. Next speaker, please. Jarrod Dyer. Also second generation restaurant owner, Bella's Italian Cafe. First quick note, the South Howard Businesses have repeatedly stressed that were not opposed to a project to help our neighbors. What were opposed to is completely shutting Down Howard Avenue. If the project were undertaken with a guarantee that there would always Be One Lane open to traffic, I would bet much of the perceived opposition would evaporate. The budgetary issues, tax issues, those are valid and legitimate for the whole city, but as far as the South Howard Businesses, that aspect of IT is We can deal With One Lane of traffic, We can deal with disruptions, deal with construction, all those things, thats plan-able, its totally different than to say, were going to shut off access to your business from anywhere from 15 to 60 days. Completely different situation. Really wish you all would find a way to make that happen and a lot of this problem goes away from our perception. I want to talk about the specifics of our restaurant. Restaurants in general. Restaurant profit margins are not great in general. They are just not. Youre not going to become a billionaire owning a single restaurant. They shrunk considerably since weve come out of pandemic. Cost of goods has risen and continues to be volatile. Labor cost increased due to minimum state wage increase and few other factors. People in general have become more cautious about spending. One of the easiest ways to save money is dine out less. We had to scale back our hours of operation because people dont go out to eat as much as before the pandemic. For all those reasons, our revenues are consistently less than They were for the first 35 years We were open. We roll with the punches and adapt to the best of our abilities. But now, theres going to be this massive construction project that will impede access to our business for years, and were pretty much powerless to do anything about IT. We currently have 53 employees. A quarter of them have been with US between 10 and 35 years. We already have staff asking about the flood project and if They should start finding a new job now. This is without an actual start date. They are worried now. They are scared now. They cant endure an extended period with no income. As owners, We dont have the resources to cover them more than a week or two at most. If We want to take on that responsibility, IT might be easy to dismiss our concerns by saying that were overreacting, that the disruptions of the project might not be as bad as We expect and maybe turn out to be true, but pretty cavalier attitude to take about another persons livelihood. What if were right? We wont know until its too late. IT might also seem like We are being selfish and dont care about our neighbors. Thats not IT. Were looking out for our best interests just as They look out for theirs. I would be negligent in my responsibilities to my employees and my partners if I didnt do everything I can now to prevent as much disruption to our business as possible. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 12:29:10PM

Thank you. Appreciate IT. Next speaker, please. Natalie Wilson. I am employed along South Howard Avenue. I was not planning on speaking. My heart is racing. Bear with me. First, I want to welcome Councilwoman Young. I am a new homeowner in District Five and very excited to everything that you have planned for our district. I deeply sympathize with everyone that was flooded within 29 days of owning my first home, I had sewage overflow. So navigating that has been very interesting. I deeply empathize with you guys. Im just going to go through notes that I had quickly. Weve heard from the team of engineers and construction workers that they cant build a plan off of hurricanes and everyone that has spoken, a majority of people that have spoken, all of their examples have been from a hurricane. So that was just something that stood out to me. IT was something very clear and stated earlier this morning. Public Safety. There was a presentation that was played in the beginning that said Floods Affect Road closures, resident displacement, no hospital access, slow emergency response, decreased property values, costly repairs. This is all the same if you shut down two roads or two lanes and two-lane Road. Like IT was mentioned earlier, putting plywood down for sidewalks is not access. So all of those things would still be restricted. Councilwoman Hurtak, I know you mentioned earlier that your main focus for this project was clear communication. I very, very vividly remember the last meeting earlier this month where almost everyone on the board either said something along the lines of let me just repeat myself because I want to make sure I know what im voting for or I just want to know --

Alan Clendenin 12:31:15PM

Just remember, You are not addressing one. You are addressing the entire Council today.

Alan Clendenin 12:31:20PM

Dont call out any Council Members, please. So multiple Council Members mentioned that they want to be clear with what they were voting for, which does indicate a very poorly communicated plan. If that is a focus, then I really want to make sure that that is recognized, that if a question is asked and then a circular answer and were all coming to the same thing of I just want to make sure we know whats happening, that is just something that I wanted to point out. I just urge as the vote later today to transfer funds to make the project happen, that there is a clear line of communication between everyone, Businesses, homeowners, everyone affected. The Construction Company that is doing the project, that have had many successful projects, I just want to make sure that everyone is aware of what is happening and that is clear to everyone. Thank you so much.

Alan Clendenin 12:32:23PM

Thank you so much. Appreciate IT. Next speaker, please.

Alan Clendenin 12:32:30PM

Good morning.

Alan Clendenin 12:32:36PM

Start with your name please. As you all know me, I was affected also in a different aspect with overbuilding. And lack of maintenance in my area. I feel for everybody involved in this. But I oppose. Hundred million dollars is unacceptable. The efforts will drain the city stormwater funds for years, leaving nothing available for anybody, not even my neighborhood who really needs addressing. South Tampa especially. Port Tampa, Tappan Park Community continues to suffer without help. Even worse, the city has not shown the public any detailed maps, drainage plans, engineering data proving that the project is actually not going to work. There has been no transparency with no evidence that is a real solution. Only vague representations designed to make residents feel temporarily safe. Tampa deserves honest, not optics. The south howard project, the area naturally geography makes the project nearly impossible to succeed long term. No amount of pipes, pumps can permanently fix what the low rising tidal flood zone. The water has nowhere to go, spending over a hundred million dollars and probably more because I dont think people really realize its not going to start until 2030. You might have nothing left. Meanwhile, this project will devastate local businesses, community, construction, will be forced out. The corridor to close their doors permanently costing people their jobs, their livelihood, these are family-owned establishments. Weve got to make sense, make fairness around the whole South Tampa. Its not fair just to pick one area. Theres so much devastation. I had wastewater, wastewater. Seven feet. If you can only imagine seven feet of wastewater in a surge, not counting all the other floods that we had endured from the overbuilding. Please, just really consider -- and I understand all of you May not be here when that time comes, but diligently put your heart into this and know that its not just one area that needs attention. There are so many areas. Im not going to go into the sad sobbing of my life because I think all of you know my life.

Alan Clendenin 12:35:40PM

Thank you very much. Time is over. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 12:35:44PM

Pause for one second. How many are still seated that are planning on speaking? If you guys could line up, please. And then the last person in that line will be the last speaker. Council Members, for those of you my name is Travis Horn. I reside currently at 3703 west dale. Im wearing a couple of different hats today. Also commander of the Veterans Of Foreign Wars post at 2010 west morrison, business owner, also a dad who has to transit South Tampa with a little girl back and forth to school and after-school activities. I really dont envy you all having to make this decision. Obviously some very powerful arguments on both sides and very emotional. Thankfully, ill take a little less emotional standpoint. Spoil alert you. Im opposed to the project as IT is currently constituted. A lot of that is related to the timeline as currently laid out utilizing the gravity fed box culvert system that youve got the Plan In Place. I think IT is an onerous timeline. Only took six years to build a tunnel from dover england to France. Four years is what im hearing. Heard two and a half. Heard varying. Anyone in construction will tell you when you hear those timelines, a lot of times they get blown out and cost overruns as well. In context, I think some people have said IT as well and reiterate IT, professionally and personally, covid impacted my life immeasurably. This is an extinction level event potentially for a lot of the business owners on south howard. Its not a home that they bought, knowingly bought in a low-lying area subject to localized flooding that they can simply get away from. Its going to impact their livelihoods and not just their livelihoods, but just like US, we have 220 plus members who will have to transit through the south howard corridor to get to our vfw post where we help with disabled veterans get their ratings, get their services, and even feed veterans. Weve got everybody from the younger professional global warming veterans to older elderly, affirmed, needing health care services. We have a wide range that are affected by this. Again, my biggest problem is the timeline. That concern has been exacerbated by the Gentleman From Kimmins seemingly flippant about IT will take as long as IT takes. The Gentleman Who Was The Engineer talking about new tech, different ways of drilling, different mechanical pumping systems that could be implemented that might be better and not entirely shut down the corridor for four plus years. Also, the dep angle and the funding angle is a big one I think is underexplored. First off, you are dumping -- youre not treating the water. Dumping more pesticides, chemicals, oil and gas, something you havent talked about and whether the funding will be there, the gentleman who raised that issue, I think that is a big one for the city to look at. Raise the red flags, speak my piece and appreciate your time. [ sounding gavel

Alan Clendenin 12:39:05PM

The two in the back -- everybody in the back back there, I know its crazy, but this rooms acoustics are magical. Even whispers bounce right up here. If You want to talk, please, there is a big hallway out there. Its fine. I dont think people realize how good the acoustics are from back there. Its crazy. Start with your name, please. Im here today to try to separate a little fact from fiction. Number one, all of the business owners, restaurants, even people who live up and Down Howard Avenue, we want flood relief just as much as anybody else. What were opposed to is the fact that as IT is, tearing Up Howard Avenue for four years, spending a hundred million dollars to do that is not the -- been here several times before. David From Orlando, certified stormwater engineer. Been in business 30 years, 30-page resum Hes told You, we have options that are faster, quicker and easier to build for the city. Its just that the city doesnt want to hear IT. We tried. Theyve got their heads stuck in this tearing up howard and dumping IT in the bay. The second fact is, everybody knows that if You have this pipe going Down Howard Avenue from swann to Bayshore, and its high tide -- I know a couple of people that live just off Bayshore -- You know when IT is a high tide and its a storm, the water comes up over the balustrades across the sidewalk and all of Bayshore is flooded. Completely flooded. The Road. You cant even pass IT. Where is that water going to go and that pipe below on the seawall into the bay. Its going to go back up to Parkland Estates and is not going to solve the problem. The second thing, a contractor tells You somebody is going to take a certain amount of time and I know people up here had experience with Contractors, and they say IT will be four years, You could probably add a couple more years. Because when You start digging and they hit water because IT is a high water table up there, when we built the Epicurean Hotel and had to do elevator shafts, had to pump water for six months. Think about IT, putting a pipe as big as this room 20 feet into the ground and digging and You hit water at ten feet, what are You going to do? You are going to start pumping water. That cost is going to be higher and higher and higher. The other thing is, and there are a couple of members smart enough to realize well have losses. Youll have a couple -- people in Parkland Estates, they are going to be in their homes. People that work in all the restaurants and bars, they are laid off. Were not going to allow what happened in Seminole Heights where there are restaurants that no longer exist because of the damage that happened to them. You are going to be facing the largest class action suit in the history of Tampa because everyone here is going to be applying for relief. So if You go to put a hundred million dollars into building this thing, put a similar amount aside to pay for all the damages because thats what our estimates are now, what its going to cost US and what were going to lose. And all of our employees live all over the city in every single district. Lastly, there is no relief for the last of the city if You use all your money up for this. Thank You.

Alan Clendenin 12:42:30PM

Thank you. Next speaker, please. You try to leave your cage for one minute. Start with your name, please. Im Elizabeth Dinwiddie. Married name Arcado. Thank you for hearing US today. I would like to talk a little bit about the maps that we see for this project. This is in todays agenda. Kimmins has gone to great detail already in showing how this project moves up Howard. As you can see, they show that IT is like an inchworm. IT inches up Howard. What we hear said in here that this is going to tear up Howard for four years, what IT actually looks like is, if you look at this section here, sorry im not manicured --

Alan Clendenin 12:43:43PM

Drop IT on the thing. I was just kind of --

Alan Clendenin 12:43:47PM

There is a wheel on the top you can zoom in. This section says 40 days. I just want to show you what that actually looks like. This is the South Howard Project in action. Once the job starts, once the types start going in the ground, IT only looks like this. Theres been a lot of scare tactics going on. A lot of dramatization. What is actually the case is any -- this moves in sections, so this is all open. Everything is open. You can park everywhere. You can access the businesses. You can park here. Its all open. And then once this moves, this closes up and IT leaves a beautiful path behind IT. IT will move up and do this section. This is the South Howard Project in action. This is showing US the whole project. This is showing US what South Tampa and Tampa as a whole will experience. What We need to really do is come together as a community and just love on these businesses while they are helping save our homes. We need to come and eat at bellas. We need to do yoga at This Yoga Place here. We need to love these businesses while they love US. This is The Only Way forward. We have got to come together as a community. Weve got to stop this. The Only Way that We can stop this is by you moving forward. Because these people will never stop fighting for their homes and their families. These businesses can survive this if the community comes together and eats and drinks and enjoys these happy places that have Been The Place of our gatherings for years. We love these businesses. And We need to show the love while We save these homes. Both have to win. I do believe thats possible. Please say yes today to funding this project and let US go back to eating and dining in these restaurants that We love.

Alan Clendenin 12:45:54PM

Thank you, Liz. Next speakers please. Im Tina Adams. Safety and health is important. Everyones safety and health. The homeowners, the families, the restaurant, workers, patrons, owners, but everybody has to get to south howard, and you cant get there when swann is flooded. This needs to be fixed. The city says its mission is to protect its citizens. This is your moment to prove that right, to live that promise. Your moment to shine, protect your citizens and vote yes. Vote to replace 75 to hundred-year-old pipes. How many 75 to hundred-year-old cars do you see? Driving Down The Road, used 24/7. I have been the seen a model t in a long time. We need to replace them. We need new pipes. I brought something to show you. My daughter is a third-year medical student. And she wrote -- whoops, thats me. Not her.

Alan Clendenin 12:47:29PM

Very top, there is a wheel. Sorry. Im used to the really old ones. Thank you guys for all your technical help. Thats me in labor. Thats Her. She wrote you guys a letter. She is a third-year medical student, and She wants to come back. Shes doing Her clinical rotation. She wants to be a pediatrician, which we need in Florida. There is a critical shortage. Please give Her a safe, dry home to come home to. She believes in the city just like Her Dad and I do. Please help US be safe. And we want to support these restaurants. This was Her take-home picture. You can see its ruined. She was the third child. That was Her baby book. And I cant bring myself to throw IT away. But thats not important anymore. Whats important Is The Way forward. We need to support each other just like Liz said. We need a solution to this problem. Its been studied ad nauseam. I believe in the engineers. They are experts. They have done IT before. Lets let them do IT again. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 12:48:52PM

Thank you, Tina. Next speaker, please. Afternoon. A hundred million dollars.

Alan Clendenin 12:49:04PM

Start with your name, please. Im Joanie Corneil. I own bellas italian cafe. I appreciate everyone that is for you voting yes. I understand where they are coming from. But I just want to give a synopsis without being too repetitive. What will happen If Howard Avenue is closed and having wooden sidewalks, thats not going to work. As you all know, and we all do this, when you know that there is an area of town that theres construction On The Street, what do you do? You find an alternate route, maybe its a mile away, maybe six blocks away. You avoid the area like its the plague. And thats whats going to happen. And not only that, and I believe David mentioned this, about is access, the emergency vehicles, the delivery vehicles, you know, our products come in on 18-wheelers. And its difficult enough to get one of those On Howard Avenue as IT is. Let alone im on Mississippi. David has even less access than I do and so does Michael at Ava. Whats going to happen to the neighborhoods a lot with brick streets, what are those streets -- whats going to become of those streets when they are being traveled by that kind of traffic day in and day out? I can tell you right now the residents that live on those streets are not going to be happy. Its going to be a nightmare because as you know, like on estrella, Mississippi, people park on both sides Of The Street, they do all over Tampa. All over South Tampa. How is a fire truck going to get down there? How is a dumpster, Solid Waste trucks, how are they going to get through all of this? I mean, there has to be some sort of a compromise or a different project that can be guaranteed -- guaranteed, okay, were going to spend a hundred million dollars and by golly, thats going to work. Its being said that its going to work, but is IT really? Is IT worth voting yes on this project and get four or five years, six years Down The Road and its not working And Howard Avenue is still closed to regular traffic? Im sorry, but I really want you to vote no. Thanks.

Alan Clendenin 12:52:01PM

Thank you very much. Next speaker, please. Steve Gerrish. I live in parkland estates. I wasnt planning on speaking right now. I was going to speak later. I think I probably will as well. I just got up now because I noticed that kind of unusual phenomenon going on. So I wanted to say something about IT. Im looking up here. I see -- you guys are engineers, correct? You didnt just stay at --

Alan Clendenin 12:52:32PM

You are talking to US. The CFO for the city im presuming is an actual CFO, and the strange phenomenon ive seen going on here today is we have Restaurant Owners, Homeowners, Business Owners, Lawyers, Lobbyists that seem to be also engineers and Cfos because they are saying this project wont work. Theres No Way we can pay for this. Why are we not giving any credibility to the people that are hired to do this job? They have studied this for years. The CFO is saying we have money. We expect to have money. Mostly through grants. Why are we all of a sudden saying these people have no credibility. They dont know what they are doing? What happens in the future? Are we going to say with every project that comes up, they dont know what they are doing. Maybe we just dont do any projects in the city because they dont know what they are doing, apparently. Armchair engineer and CFO knows better. Thats all I have to say.

Alan Clendenin 12:53:36PM

Thank you very much. Next speaker. Tarah Bluma. I want to try to answer the previous gentlemans question about why we are questioning the credibility of the Administration and of the Stormwater Department. One reason I am is because they claim that the drainage pond underneath the hospital is going to be the main center piece of starting this project and they can build things around that and fix things, yet they started the plans for this project back in 2022, and they just started cleaning out this pond last week. So why, when they wanted to make this particular area of drainage a centerpiece of a hundred million dollars project did they not, like, peek into IT three years ago and say, hmm, this is really clogged. Maybe we should clean this up and see if this helps anything. So, no, I dont think that those people present credibility. I also want to point out that the Administration did exactly what I thought they were going to do a few weeks ago when one or more of you -- im paraphrasing -- said, well, im supportive of the project but not at a hundred million dollars. That would be outrageous. What did they do? They made IT $98 million. That sounds better, I guess. What is the likelihood that this project is actually going to have a cost that goes down? How often does that happen? What is the likelihood that its going to take less time and cost less money? That really never happens here. We know that also in a lot of the money were going to be paying interest. So you know this is well over a hundred million dollars. Youre being sold the story that you asked to hear. I also question why the Administration is pushing this so hard. Why does IT have to be this project and why are the Taxpayers paying to develop commercials and run ads in support of this project. Is that a good use of money? The project should be able to stand on its own merits or fail. Finally, the people south of Gandy flooded just as bad, if not worse. People all over the city flooded just as bad, if not worse. The difference is that many of those people could not afford to stay in their houses or to rent somewhere else for the last year and a half. They sold their houses at a steep loss and they are gone. So thats why youre not hearing from them. But that doesnt negate the problems that we have all over the city. Spending a hundred million dollars on one project in one area is not fiscally responsible. Thank you.

Alan Clendenin 12:56:35PM

Thank you, Tara. Next speaker. My name is Giovanni Arcadu. I live in Palma Ceia pines. South habana. I apologize for my accent. I pay taxes, not an issue. You have to deal with this.

Alan Clendenin 12:56:51PM

We like your accent. Im here to tell you one message. I have a speech prepared because IT is difficult for me to talk in front of you right now. IT is just my message is enough. Enough with this talk. Enough with this workshop. The question you guys are asking to the engineers behind me, those are questions you can pick up the phone, past 15 months you can ask the question and youll get the answer. This is a little bit of a political show to delay this project. Say thank you to the Engineer, the person who spoke before me said like false information. The city was active since day one. We saw trucks and people working on the maintenance of the system. The Engineer failed only on one, Mr. Carlson asked. What is the difference of south habana, My Street will flood even in six years maybe. Without the project, the water is here. Almost a year ago. With this project, were going to flood again. The water is going to be here, so basically flood my garage, not my entire house and dont have to rebuild everything. Please enough with this charade. You have all the information. You have the solution. We are talking about an emergency. You are going to vote about an emergency two years after the emergency happened. I dont know, guys, what youre doing. Move on. You have the people. You have the answer. My only message to you guys is enough. I would not trade my job for your because IT is a difficult job, but please, move on this with project.

Alan Clendenin 12:58:26PM

Thank you very much. The show aint over until Stephanie Poynor sings. This will be the last speaker and then public comment will be closed. Stephanie Poynor. I dont even want to talk about this project. You know what I want to talk about, last time I heard, during workshop, we dont vote. Did I miss something? Is there actually a vote going to happen today? Please, let US know, because there are a lot of people here today thinking you all are going to vote on something, but this is a workshop and generally within a workshop, City Council does not vote. So the question I have for you -- I mean, I could be totally wrong and there could be a vote, but thats not what IT says on the agenda here. This is indicative of the problems with this project. The misinformation, the crap that is swirled up and thrown at the wall IT absolutely uncalled for. I have never seen anything like IT. Honestly, I mean, ive been around here five or six years now, and what disturbs me about this entire situation is the push. The city works like the little engine that could, like station 24, unless by God the mayor wants IT. And then IT is a japanese bullet train and yet here we are again. How this got moved up and jacked up and everybody in town is all bent out of shape about IT, not really sure. Because if youre not voting, and here is the thing, the money tonight, guess what, even if you move IT into that column, that accounting column, you can move IT back. Why has the push been from staff and the Administration to make this into a circus when IT doesnt have to be? Why did they waste all these peoples time if you are not going to vote today? Why did they waste all these peoples time and your time, not once today, but twice today on something that isnt going to happen. If you are not going to vote on IT, why are we dragging this out? I still dont see anything I like. I asked Mr. Zemina and I asked Chief Bennett this morning for a side by side with the macdill 48 project and this project. I want to see how many acreage is covered. I want to see how many buildings are proposed to be saved. I want to see how long himes was closed, and which segments were closed for how long. I dont remember that off the top of my head. I agree, Kimmins did a fabulous job with that project. They did amazing things. What you guys dont know, just as a little tidbit, my neighbors on manhattan, they complained because the dump trucks drove by their house every day, 24 hours a day IT seemed like. They said this is crazy. You know what, Mr. Zemina went out there. Looked at IT and said, well, there are huge potholes, thats why. Guess what, He brought them back and filled the potholes. He fixed the problem for the neighbors. Really wasnt his problem but fixed IT anyway. Im supporting Kimmins, but I wonder, are you going to vote? Thats the real question.

Alan Clendenin 1:01:39PM

That concludes public comment. Wrap up that part of the conversation with this, Ms. Poynor is correct, this is a workshop. There is no vote this afternoon on the project. The only vote today will occur this evening and IT is about transferring the bond funds from one fund to another. Thats happening tonight. I want to emphasize IT is the same 14 years hearing you right now tonight. Spoke today and said everything you needed today, you dont have to speak again. This is an opportunity to speak to the project and your concerns. You are welcome to come back and speak, but dont feel like you are obligated to. Because we all heard everything you said. Question for council reference to the agenda. We have two items that are still unresolved. Normally our workshops are over at 1:00 because we have a night meeting tonight. One of those conversations is about salaries. We deferred that -- we sent that issue to the Charter Review Commission. Is IT still pertinent for conversation?

Lynn Hurtak 1:02:38PM

Yes.

Luis Viera 1:02:40PM

I have a 1:00 call.

Alan Clendenin 1:02:46PM

Councilwoman Hurtak, you were the second to this motion.

Lynn Hurtak 1:02:50PM

Yes. IT is not solved. We can solve IT ourselves. I still want to try to solve IT ourselves. I want to eat lunch because I have a massive headache. Im happy to come back.

Alan Clendenin 1:03:03PM

That was my next question.

Bill Carlson 1:03:05PM

Mr. Chair, im happy to move item 3 to a future -- to the next workshop or some future workshop.

Alan Clendenin 1:03:12PM

Anybody here to speak to item number 3? Besides Staff and Steve Michelini. And Stephanie Poynor, besides the usual suspects. We have a motion to -- lets pause for a second.

Lynn Hurtak 1:03:29PM

We are still in session. Please stop talking. Sometimes you have to be loud.

Alan Clendenin 1:03:35PM

I do that, I get yelled at. [ laughter Councilman Carlson, you are recognized.

Bill Carlson 1:03:43PM

I make a motion to move -- apologies to Staff, to move item number 3 to February workshop. February 5 -- 26.

Lynn Hurtak 1:03:56PM

26 is full. Its got seven items.

Alan Clendenin 1:04:01PM

What is the next available date?

Lynn Hurtak 1:04:03PM

Not until like May.

Martin Shelby 1:04:05PM

Could this be done --

Alan Clendenin 1:04:08PM

What is the anticipated length of the presentation and discussion? I just have brief information. We already addressed this motion during the last City Council meeting when an ordinance was changed. My presentation is very brief.

Alan Clendenin 1:04:23PM

How about Councilman Carlson, entertain withdrawing that motion. Ill call US for one hour lunch. If we come back at 2, be out of here by 3 and give US a little bit of a break before the 5:00 meeting.

Bill Carlson 1:04:37PM

Considering well have long public comment tonight --

Lynn Hurtak 1:04:47PM

Im sorry. We have not called you. How about this? Since all you have is something brief, if its not too late, could we put this on a regular agenda since She just has an update? The next regular that has space would be -- no, February 5 has nine, way too many. Regular session, unfortunately, February 19 has nine. How about March 5th? I will be happy to move the conversation about salaries to March 5 as well if we just want to have a brief conversation about IT. How about we move both of them?

Alan Clendenin 1:05:34PM

We have a motion to move both remaining items from todays workshop agenda to March 5 regular session.

Martin Shelby 1:05:42PM

This is for in-person or written?

Alan Clendenin 1:05:44PM

This is for in-person. We have a motion and we have a second. Is there any discussion? Before we hear that, ill hear from the public. Mr. Michelini, youre recognized. To testify at this workshop regarding the Code Enforcement issue. I guess they can come back in March. Its up to Council. You know im going to be here.

Alan Clendenin 1:06:19PM

Anybody else from the public?

Naya Young 1:06:23PM

If IT is a short presentation, can we just do IT really quickly if its short?

Alan Clendenin 1:06:29PM

I have a motion and I have a second.

Naya Young 1:06:31PM

Are we talking three minutes, five minutes, eight minutes?

Bill Carlson 1:06:38PM

I would rather spend five or ten more minutes now instead of having to come back.

Alan Clendenin 1:06:47PM

We have a motion and we have a second. The Motion Maker is still here. The person who seconded IT is not. Im going to end up having to call for a vote. A vote in the affirmative would be to continue this item. A vote in the negative would be to not continue this item and hear IT today. All those in favor say aye.

Charlie Miranda 1:07:07PM

May I ask put a limit on the conversation.

Alan Clendenin 1:07:10PM

That would be the next motion. If you are in support of continuing this item say aye.

Alan Clendenin 1:07:17PM

If You are opposed to continuing the item say nay.

Alan Clendenin 1:07:21PM

This item is not continued. Now ill entertain a motion --

Charlie Miranda 1:07:26PM

15 minutes for the conversation were going to have.

Alan Clendenin 1:07:29PM

We have a motion to make the maximum of both of the conversations 15 minutes. Is there a second? Motion from --

Martin Shelby 1:07:37PM

Im sorry.

Alan Clendenin 1:07:39PM

Councilman Miranda made a motion to cap the conversation at 15 minutes for each item. Councilman Maniscalco seconded. All those in favor say aye. Opposed? Ayes have IT. We will now hear item number 3 regarding the possibility of pausing code violations.

Martin Shelby 1:07:55PM

Do you want the timer set for that purpose --

Alan Clendenin 1:07:59PM

Its 15 total. Total of 15 minutes. Doing IT now. This was the motion that was made that im here to respond to. Im switching up my presentation that I was already submitted to City Council. So when this motion was made, that same day, City Council amended chapter 9 of the City Of Tampa code, chapter 9 is the process that governs Code Enforcement. When City Council amended the code, chapter 9, IT allowed for property owners to file a motion with the clerks office to request a hearing to modify the deadline for compliance. That is important to know that the deadline for compliance ties to when a fine amount starts on a case. So I wanted to quickly go straight to that slide because City Council, the day that this motion was made, amended the code to allow this process to occur. I want to update City Council that just two weeks ago, we were able to have the first kind of hearing regarding this matter. The Property Owner was able to respond to appear in front of the Special Magistrate, along with City Staff to weigh in on the request to modify the deadline for compliance. The hearing was great. The Special Magistrate heard all parties and granted the request to modify the compliance date. The fines that were running on that property stopped running because a new order was Put In Place, giving a new compliance deadline. So the concerns from the public, City Council addressed those concerns with the modification and amendment of chapter 9. The fines can be adjusted if a Property Owner requests a modification of the deadline for compliance. So thats what I wanted to quickly go to. I wanted to remind City Council, based on the motion that was made, this is the code sections in which neighborhood enhancement, which is our wonderful director, Susan Wenrick is here, these are the code sections and the chapters that she addresses. In the alternative, this is Construction Services. Our Building Official, JC Hudgison, he is online if you have any questions. But this JC Hudgison deals with permitting. Susan Wenrick deals with the other sections of the code but not with Construction Services building permits. I want to clarify that. I gave some timelines in the presentation in the powerpoint, but I want to go straight to this, quickly. So when your constituents or when the City Staff sees a violation, they have, give a Property Owner 21 days at a minimum to come into compliance with the City Of Tampa code. If they do not come into compliance, those cases are presented to the Special Magistrate for a hearing. If the Special Magistrate determines that there is a violation of the City Of Tampa code, there is given another deadline for compliance before fines start to run on a property. If the Special Magistrate assesses fines, hes given them a deadline to come into compliance. If they dont meet that deadline, a lien is recorded on that property. Liens are governed by just as chapter 9, liens are governed by Florida statute chapter 162. A lien is recorded on a property to incentivize a Property Owner to address the violation that your constituents have complained about and that City Staff physically sees a person violating the City Of Tampa code. Then as soon as a -- sounding gavel

Alan Clendenin 1:12:18PM

Excuse me. Back conversations, out in the hall. Thank you.

Camaria Pettis-Mackle 1:12:23PM

As soon as a person -- im sorry. I lost my train of thought.

Alan Clendenin 1:12:30PM

Im sorry.

Camaria Pettis-Mackle 1:12:32PM

As soon as a property comes into compliance with the code, the fines stop running. As ive stated before multiple times, fines are reduced and by the Legal Department with the executive order, or fines are reduced by making a request by the Special Magistrate to reduce those fines. As soon as the fines are paid at a reduced cost, the lien is released against the property 37 but to go back to the original motion, which was made by Councilman Carlson, the day that City Council made this motion, City Council amended chapter nine to address the very issue about modifying or stopping fines. This process works. We have more hearings coming specifically for this process to modify the compliance deadline. Now, I want to go back and talk about the public comment thats been given to you. Those are two different things that were talking about. What I just presented to you is regarding fines that are assessed by an order of the Special Magistrate. What the public comment and the alternative is talking about is before IT gets to the Special Magistrate, if City Staff can pause an action before IT gets to the Special Magistrate. Susan Wenrick can tell you without a doubt if there is a zoning violation and they are in the application phase, she already pauses her staff already doesnt present that to a Code Enforcement Special Magistrate. She already takes care of that. She doesnt need a code amendment in order to do that because she takes care of that. She acknowledges that property owners are trying to address a violation. When you have cases that go to a hearing, its because your constituents continue to complain about a case, a property that is not doing anything to take action to address the violation, or the application May just still be in a waiting for reply so long, City Staff sees a Code Enforcement action at a Special Magistrate hearing to push and encourage a Property Owner to address the violations. JC Hudgison is also online to address this. As the motion that was made, the code already addresses what is going on to allow a Property Owner to amend -- I mean, allow the Special Magistrate to amend the compliance deadline so that fines dont run and allows a person to have more -- even more time to come into compliance with the code. I got that done before -- 8 minutes are left.

Alan Clendenin 1:15:23PM

Now is the time for -- does anybody have questions? Public comment. I am facing the council. The issue is fines are running while youre in the process and they shouldnt have to go through an extraordinary additional process to request that fines not run. IT creates a hardship on individuals. These folks have flown in from out of state. Ill let them tell you their story, basically whats happened. The Magistrate, when the City Staff gets up and say, well, we recommend 60 days or we recommend some other time limit. Ive had to appeal to them and indicate that a zoning takes six months, a variance takes three months. IT takes you another month to get surveys, and in the meantime, they havent met that deadline and the fines are running. Nora Rozin, get up and tell your story.

Alan Clendenin 1:16:37PM

Nora, before You start -- reset the time, please. I heard You say You have a question. If You pose the question, perhaps one of the Councilpersons will ask that question when You are finished. Go ahead. Start with your name.

Alan Clendenin 1:16:51PM

Yes. I wont ask IT now. Ill ask IT after my three minutes. You can privately ask if you want to. Good morning. My name is Nora Rozin. My family owns a home in Tampa. Thank you for allowing me to speak. I flew in from atlanta to share my experience navigating the City Of Tampa's after the fact permitting process over the past two years. A year ago, the Mayor's Office reached out to me to have a press conference regarding our adu conversion and had to work with the City. If We had that conference today, I would say the process is impossible to navigate. My family still cannot begin work despite spending two years and $40,000 out of our savings on professional fees and consultants. In addition, We are now getting fined $3,000 a month for noncompliance. In parallel, many City employees have been kind, professional, and eager to help. The problem is an effort. Theres been lots of effort. IT is a system where rules are inconsistently interpreted, decisions reversed without notice and no one owns the whole process. Heres how IT unfolded. In December 2023, I was visiting my Daughter, and I put a house under contract, knowing IT had unpermitted work. Before closing, I contacted multiple City Of Tampa departments, zoning, building, tax, was transparent. I told them what my situation was, and they encouraged me that there was a straightforward process that I could, in fact, cure and fix, which was my goal. Based on that guidance, I purchased a house. Early in 2024, We learned that only an Owner Occupant, a Primary Resident is allowed to get a homestead exemption and only that party is allowed to face the concerns that We faced. So We had to give the house to Our Daughter. We did that through -- We owned IT in a trust name, but equitable title provided for that. Because We followed the citys legal process to grant equitable title to my Daughter, We showed the documents in person. We were told We could have the exemption. Over the next several weeks, that exemption was approved, revoked, reinstated, revoked, and again finally reinstated by five different people. Each time without coordination or -- oh, my gosh.

Lynn Hurtak 1:19:45PM

I make a motion for her to have time to finish reading the letter. We received IT by e-mail. Once that hurdle was cleared, I was directed to apply for the wrong type of permit, losing weeks of work. Then I was told to start over with a special use zoning permit. That process stalled due to internal disagreements I could not see or resolve. Only by hiring a third party consultant were we able to move forward. That permit was finally approved. Since then, since this process, ive hired four different general contractors two quit after discovering the complexity of the process. Keeping my funds despite doing no physical work. Another provided an Engineer with suspended license. During this, the city has made conflicting requirements of US. Each change adding cost, delay, and duplicated effort. In May 2025, despite continuous unceasing effort, Code Enforcement, the special magistrate hearing found US guilty solely because the property was still out of compliance. There is still a stop work order on IT. Fines are imposed. I accrued $15,000 in fines, which maybe you will waive or reduce them, but im compliant. Im doing everything I can. The process feels punitive. I cant navigate IT. I cant control IT. I want to be clear. I respect the individuals working within the system. Many are doing their best. I appreciate Councilman Maniscalco's suggestion to pause Code Enforcement while permit applications are actively in review. I dont want other people to be deterred from fixing other peoples problems. I didnt do this work. Im trying to fix IT. Ive shown, I think, with broad strokes how difficult IT is to navigate the correction or permitting process. Your Voters know this. The review process is not under our control. Please do not punish US for that.

Alan Clendenin 1:21:49PM

Thank you. Anybody else wishing to speak to this item? Come forward and start with your name, please. Im Brent Taylor. Owner of Taylor Construction Group here locally in Tampa. Ive helped many clients through the past few years navigate this process and to say IT is a daunting process, thats kind of an understatement. These properties ive worked on have ranged from commercial properties within the city down to residential properties like the rozins. Most of the issues were issues that were inherited by the current property owner. IT was work that was performed prior to their ownership and unfortunately due to just how the state laws and city ordinances work within our jurisdiction, they have inherited these issues, and now they have to bring them within compliance. My opinion is well see quite a bit more over the years due to the fact that many residents have come to Tampa since 2020 and the code compliance division of the Building Department cannot realistically keep up with the volume of unpermitted construction work that is being completed in Tampa on a daily basis. As most of you know, the permitting process can be daunting enough when you no longer choose to complete the construction project. But when someone is thrown into the fire due to noncompliance, IT is exponentially more cumbersome and stressful. The process can be lengthy. The property owner needs to hire a professional engineer. They need to have plans completed. Sometimes surveys are required and, of course, the General Contractor need to be hired to help the owner navigate the process as well as pull the construction permit. Once plans are ready, which can be many months from the start of the hiring process of all of these different professionals, a permit can be applied for. This process can take months at minimum and in most cases a year or more. The plans get reviewed -- cant read my own writing here. To date, ive never witnessed one making IT through the review process the first time without comments. The plans are revised per the comments and the process starts again. In many instances, the Reviewer is not the same person as the previous review. This creates circumstance for human error andor bias Can Take Place because this person is not familiar with the project as the original Reviewer. And then this creates another set of comments. This process is ongoing, cumbersome, and can get very expensive due to the fact that the client is incurring daily fines, even though they are doing everything right trying to resolve the noncompliance issue, but the timeline is out of their hands because the permitting process and lengthiness of IT. I understand levying fines against property owners that knowingly complete work without proper permits --

Alan Clendenin 1:25:11PM

Thank you, sir. We are beyond our time. I was going to ask the next gentleman, do you have anything new to add to that? Go ahead and start with your name. We own the property in Seminole Heights. We bought this property so Our Daughter who works at the Florida Aquarium, Nonprofit, doesnt make much money could live close to where She works. She was driving two hours a day for work in a place She could afford. Concurrent with all this process, because She has a homestead exemption and owns this property in Equitable Trust, She also applied to the My Safe Florida Home Program and has been approved after two years to get wind mitigation and inspection reports that have been done and shes been approved to get a grant. So were trying to improve this property. Weve always been trying to improve this property. This is just another effort on our part to get that home up to grade, up to standards, and were trying everything.

Alan Clendenin 1:26:10PM

Again, this is a workshop. Were not voting. No decision making is done today. Council --

Alan Clendenin 1:26:20PM

Didnt you speak?

Alan Clendenin 1:26:24PM

One bite at the apple, My Friend. We are past our 15. Question for staff.

Alan Clendenin 1:26:32PM

Thats my question. I heard what you said, Camaria. Obviously, when I hear these stories, this is where Government runs amok that we cant inject common sense. What can Council do to help you guys with common sense to provide relief to people like this?

Camaria Pettis-Mackle 1:26:52PM

From the Legal Department. I dont think I understand your question.

Alan Clendenin 1:26:55PM

Ive heard this story, full disclosure, Mr. Taylor is a contractor on my house, flood relief and flood damage for me as well. Ive been hearing this story for a long time. Without being refuted, IT seems like the City Of Tampa is not doing well by this particular couple on this particular house. From my perspective, IT seems extraordinarily frustrating -- and I get procedures and I get all the stuff. Sometimes, again, government run amok. Bureaucratic process run amok. Abbye Feeley jumping on the screen to chastise me, correct me. Lets go to abbye. Ms. Feeley.

Abbye Feeley 1:27:39PM

Good morning, Council. Abbye Feeley, administrator for development and economic opportunity. Todays discussion and IT was our understanding todays discussion was focused on the ability to look at or understand staying of fines while people are in permitting. I think what Ms. Pettis-Mackle explained to you is that is the incentive for compliance under which at this time, like the rozins, could go and explain and ask for that reduction. We also were engaged in this process. I think Ms. Rosen discussed that. We too have our own evidence, but I didnt think this was a hearing today to talk about 613 north bay, which people clearly have differing opinions on. But our goal is always compliance. Compliance for safety, compliance for code. I personally spoke with Ms. Rosen and Mr. Michelini on this. Many, many times. I really want to stay focused on our current process. I dont agree that Government has run amok, but that is another discussion for another day. This is part of the process wherein which once everything is completed and compliance is achieved, there is a process to ask for the reduction. They are not being asked to pay fees now. They are accumulating these as an incent to get IT done. They had time to get IT done. This is only one instance. Were permitting 23,000 permits a year. Were continually making process improvements to that. You no longer get different reviewers. That has been changed. You get the same team. We actually now have residential and commercial teams. Im listening. I want you to know im listening and im available and will work with what Council believes is the best path forward, but there is relief and there is a process. I dont believe that we argue when people go for fee reductions that they should then not get them. Im here. Im listening, and were always seeking to make our processes better.

Alan Clendenin 1:30:05PM

Thank you. I would urge you guys sometime between now and our next discussion to try to resolve this one-off, one particular situation. Secondly, I think this is worthy of further discussion. I think we should entertain adding this to that next workshop that was available with maybe an in-person appearance by JC. Councilman Carlson.

Bill Carlson 1:30:33PM

There are two parts of this that have come up. Ms. Feeley is right. Theres been a whole discussion about permitting.

Alan Clendenin 1:30:42PM

Permitting is doing much better.

Bill Carlson 1:30:46PM

We had other discussions about that. Maybe at some point Ms. Feeley wants to give an update on changes, which sound good, so the public can hear about IT. We need to make sure we narrowly focus this on what happens when somebody is in the permitting process trying to change something. Why are they accruing fines? If we can make IT simpler, going to a Magistrate seems like IT is a complicated process. But I think we maybe ought to have -- im happy to have a phone calls with anybody to talk about that in the meantime. I wish the Staff could say, if you are in the permit process, trying to change something, that they could have some leeway. Privately im happy to hear all your arguments, why we should --

Camaria Pettis-Mackle 1:31:31PM

Happy to be a part of IT. Simple send an e-mail to ask for a hearing. Very simple. People do IT all the time. All they have to do is send an e-mail asking for a hearing to modify the compliance date.

Alan Clendenin 1:31:45PM

I would entertain a motion to continue this item to May 28 with the addendum to ask JC to appear in person.

Camaria Pettis-Mackle 1:31:52PM

Can You give more clarification on what You want presented?

Alan Clendenin 1:31:56PM

The maker of the motion can do that.

Lynn Hurtak 1:31:58PM

Heres what I would say. Sorry. Im eating. Im starving. What I would say is whoever is taking this on, I think this came from you, Councilman Carlson, if you would spend some time before tonight talking to Camaria to get specifics, maybe you can come back with a specific motion. I think we all agree its a problem. I hear about IT all the time. IT is one of the biggest complaints I get is trying to get through the system. I think we do need a conversation. But ms. Pettis-Mackle isnt wrong. We need to give her specifics.

Alan Clendenin 1:32:42PM

I concur. Councilman Carlson, bring IT back for new business tonight.

Bill Carlson 1:32:48PM

If we cant talk this afternoon, maybe next week.

Martin Shelby 1:32:51PM

If the Councilman cannot do IT by tonight, he can make that at the next regular meeting.

Alan Clendenin 1:32:58PM

Absolutely. Well ask You for the iou.

Lynn Hurtak 1:33:04PM

To follow up with that, with item number 4 on the salary discussion, im happy -- the thing is, we want to get this solved so that its for the next council. We dont want to push that too much further. If you want to wait until the Charter Review Commission comes back with their findings, thats, what, September? August?

Alan Clendenin 1:33:27PM

Depends -- IT could be quicker. Well see how they work.

Lynn Hurtak 1:33:31PM

How about this, for now, I will move IT to August, the August workshop. And if We can get IT on sooner, But That Way -- im telling you now, this is the last time im moving IT. Look at all these movements. We have to solve this before the next council. We owe IT.

Alan Clendenin 1:33:48PM

Is IT about this issue? Mr. Shelby.

Martin Shelby 1:33:53PM

Mr. Chairman, I believe you are going to be asking City Council to forward these questions --

Alan Clendenin 1:33:58PM

Thats in new business.

Martin Shelby 1:33:59PM

I want to you know that contained within that is this question.

Lynn Hurtak 1:34:05PM

We already talked about that.

Alan Clendenin 1:34:07PM

You might have been out of the room. Anything else to add?

Martin Shelby 1:34:14PM

No. [ laughter

Lynn Hurtak 1:34:18PM

No, We havent voted on this. I move to move this to the August -- We dont even have a calendar for August yet. The August workshop, whatever the date.

Alan Clendenin 1:34:31PM

Date to be announce.

Lynn Hurtak 1:34:32PM

Cm 24-4658.

Alan Clendenin 1:34:37PM

Motion to move item number 4 to the announced workshop held in August of 2026. All in favor, Aye. Opposed? Ayes have IT. Mr. Shelby, do you want to say something else? Are you sure? I wont shut you off.

Luis Viera 1:34:54PM

Were taking motions this evening, correct?

Alan Clendenin 1:34:58PM

Ive got some things right now. New Business. Councilman Carlson. Councilman Viera.

Luis Viera 1:35:09PM

I have a couple really quick ones, if I May. I want to sort of lay a foundation or a preface with this. Weve had a lot of conversations on the future of digital signage here in the City Of Tampa. Im bringing this item forward to address activation or movement on arena signage. Its something that is very, very narrowly tailored. So I wanted to just lay that preface. Were having a larger discussion on downtown. Ive been very, very supportive of IT. My capacity back when Councilwoman Gwen Henderson was taking this up. Ill do a motion for very narrowly tailored amendment that would only impact arenas and stadiums. Again, very, very small, minor, narrowly tailored changes, especially with our arenas, something that I think does deserve some unique consideration. Before we discuss, I want to make the motion. I motion to include in the January 2026 text amendment cycle a revision to the land development code to clarify and update the definitions of electronic message activated sign. Proposed amendment allow limited period of animated or full motion content up to 15 seconds per message cycle electronic message signs located on properties with principal use arena. I have all this for you written down. Stadium or civic event venue. So again, youll continue to have the citywide prohibition. This would be a very narrowly tailored exception for something that I think we all agree is unique while we have that larger conversation. Thats my motion.

Alan Clendenin 1:36:35PM

Motion from Councilman Viera. A second from -- anybody second? I will second IT. Councilwoman Hurtak.

Lynn Hurtak 1:36:49PM

First of all, no. Second of all, we dont have any more cycles. There are no more cycles. The reason there are no more cycles because were doing IT in the land development code. These people will have to simply wait until the land development code because weve been clearly told by Ms. Feeley's team that there are no cycles. Wed have to create a cycle. And that would add to the drama they have. They are already working hard on the land development code. If you are allowed to do this, then ive got things I want to put on, too. I dont think thats okay.

Bill Carlson 1:37:29PM

First of all, Council Member Henderson put the downtown digital sign on the agenda. And then a representative for that area that youre talking about started calling and lobbying and even making threatening comments about me and others to folks, and IT was very inappropriate. I contacted people in and around spp and the lightning, IT appears that they were given some kind of exception. IT May not have been Legal The Way IT was done. This needs to be discussed in the overall context of downtown signage because their representatives are opposed to anybody else having downtown signage when they somehow got a deal that May not have been legal In The Way IT was allocated. Im a thousand percent in favor of Sbp and the lightning, but I dont like these behind-the-scenes shady deals. And I dont like being threatened by lobbyists. Again, this was Council Member Henderson's idea to talk about this at all. Im not somebody who cares about any of this thing. I dont like playing dirty and dont like playing hardball behind the scenes. Sounds like a way to circumvent the process and go back and approve the sweetheart deal that was probably given. Need to be discussed with everybody else on the agenda item coming up. I dont know the date. Whenever discussing with the Downtown Partnership, thats when theirs needs to be discussed. We need transparency as to why the I ask approved IT and what they approved.

Alan Clendenin 1:38:59PM

Ill discuss. Anybody else going to discuss? Councilman Miranda.

Charlie Miranda 1:39:03PM

I didnt support this in the beginning and im not going to support IT again. Whats there is there. I met with folks from the area, well, were only going to have six. If you think youll only have six legally, youll have 60, somebody will sue you and want the same thing somebody else got. I said im getting out of this. I dont want to be vegas and I dont want to be New York city.

Alan Clendenin 1:39:27PM

I think the problem -- I understand this correctly, this actually gives Them standing for what They have now, correct?

Luis Viera 1:39:38PM

Yes, Sir.

Alan Clendenin 1:39:38PM

This is institutionalizing what they have now.

Bill Carlson 1:39:42PM

Another one proposed At Water Street. Again, no transparency into what the deal was. But apparently they were offered --

Alan Clendenin 1:39:49PM

Its got to be an arena. Only crafted for arena.

Luis Viera 1:39:58PM

Since You were out, if I May, and this is long.

Martin Shelby 1:40:04PM

But theres no cycle.

Luis Viera 1:40:09PM

Ive spoken to Staff on this. Weve had communications. Were fine with this.

Lynn Hurtak 1:40:13PM

Well, yeah, She wants IT done.

Alan Clendenin 1:40:17PM

Listen to what he reads.

Luis Viera 1:40:18PM

Motion to include in the next text amendment cycle, January, revision to land development code to clarify update -- the proposed amendment will allow for a limited period of animated or full motion content up to 15 seconds per message cycle electronic message signs located on properties with principal uses arena, stadium, or civic event venue.

Guido Maniscalco 1:40:46PM

Ill second because IT is a specific -- its that.

Charlie Miranda 1:40:51PM

Who owns the arena? The County does.

Alan Clendenin 1:40:55PM

Let me say, again, what He just read is only for what currently exists and also what is on display. I drove by IT the other day. They had the coolest 3d thing.

Lynn Hurtak 1:41:10PM

Illegally.

Alan Clendenin 1:41:11PM

No, its not illegal. We negotiated a lease that gave them permission to do that.

Lynn Hurtak 1:41:17PM

The problem is, they are asking for something before anyone else gets IT. Im sorry, but you got to wait your turn. Period. This is a no for me. Lets just get the vote over with and vote IT down.

Bill Carlson 1:41:28PM

They want to be approved after the fact because They got caught doing IT illegally.

Alan Clendenin 1:41:32PM

Ive got to set that straight.

Bill Carlson 1:41:36PM

The Lightning didnt do anything wrong. The City should not have given them approval.

Alan Clendenin 1:41:40PM

The City -- or The County negotiated -- they negotiated a lease that allowed them to do this. I think IT would be inappropriate for Government to go back and have -- the Government told them they could do this. They just renegotiated a new lease agreement with Benchmark. There is a lot of complexity behind the scenes on this. Councilman Viera and then Councilwoman Hurtak.

Luis Viera 1:42:06PM

Again, I think this warrants this because this is very unique circumstances for a county owned building, number one. Number two, for something that does have such a major stakeholder influence here within the larger Tampa area such does warrant this consideration. I also come to this again, supporting everybody else in this endeavor. This In No Way precludes anybody else. By The Way, I knew there would be no objections. I appreciate peoples oppositional views and everything like that. Councilman Carlson, when you talked about behind the scenes, I know you were talking about stuff that happened before today. This is why were having this discussion, right? To have IT out in public so that we can weigh the benefits and everything. But again, I say this as somebody who supported the larger sign changes and this does warrant this additional movement given that unique stakeholder status.

Alan Clendenin 1:43:03PM

Further clarification, this also includes Raymond James stadium. Raymond James already has the big displays. You are recognized maam. Councilwoman Hurtak.

Lynn Hurtak 1:43:15PM

Here is the thing. I have no problem if someone heard our conversation and was like, oh, We were given this, but, you know, this isnt quite legal so were not going to do anything. Were going to wait. Instead, They have gone forward and every time I pass by, its a motion video that is not related to the lightning. Its an advertisement. What that says to me is you arent taking this seriously. You are just going to keep on barreling through and then ask for permission afterwards. Im not okay with that. I feel that were moving this forward. If They really want this this badly, then They can help US move the full sign issue forward. Because once We move the full sign issue forward, their problem will be solved. But until that happens, oh, well.

Bill Carlson 1:44:13PM

Sorry you got dropped into this somehow. The problem is theres been -- the public is upset about this and we need transparency into this, whatever deal was done. You May know because you sit on the Sports Authority. The rest of US dont know. All I know is people are getting threatening calls from a Lobbyist threatening me about approving any other signs. I dont even care about the other signs. What they should do is call and brief US on this and lets have an open discussion on IT. Whenever the Downtown Partnership signage thing is coming back, lets put an adjacent item so there can be transparency into what they are doing and then this motion could be made to put IT on whatever cycle, if there is one. At least there will be transparency to IT. Once transparency into what happened, I might be hundred percent in favor of IT. Right now because of all the shadiness and threats behind the scenes, im totally against.

Alan Clendenin 1:45:07PM

A lot of that is not pertinent to the issue before US. I understand the motion behind IT. Again, as somebody involved in the Sports Authority and understands the background on some of the stuff, lease agreements that began in the beginning, I would tell you that IT would be really, in my opinion, very highly inappropriate for US to retroactively go back on our bored as a city. Because, again, they just renegotiated a contract with Benchmark. This is an important economic driver for the City Of Tampa. Unless somebody has something new to add, I think we exhausted the conversation. Councilwoman Hurtak.

Lynn Hurtak 1:45:44PM

Yes, I do. I think its also important for all the buildings who are also going to get --

Alan Clendenin 1:45:50PM

Were still working on that.

Lynn Hurtak 1:45:52PM

Yeah. This is part of that.

Alan Clendenin 1:45:53PM

Its really not.

Lynn Hurtak 1:45:54PM

But IT is, because this is Councilwoman Henderson's big thing is that the Zoning Department has been slow rolling this because they want to not include them in the rest of the downtown. So just based on that, and Councilwoman Henderson was so passionate about this because IT was all about equity and fairness. And this is not equitable or fair.

Alan Clendenin 1:46:19PM

Good thing IT is not their decision to make. Its ours.

Bill Carlson 1:46:22PM

Council member Henderson, one of the main things she was stressed out about in the days leading up to when she passed was this item because she was arguing with somebody about IT. I didnt know because of the sunshine. But I could tell that she was stressed out all the time. Its unnecessary. All we need to do is have transparency and decide on the process. Why is IT being slow rolled? Its because people already have a contract and dont know why are opposed to IT, everybody else getting IT. Not fair. One discussion and be transparent about IT.

Alan Clendenin 1:46:55PM

We have a motion and second. Roll call vote, please. Councilman Miranda.

Charlie Miranda 1:46:59PM

Let me just say this. I dont know. Im not opposed to the Lightning have IT, not opposed to the Aquarium having IT, not opposed to the Convention Center having IT. Whoever is there, they have got them now to some degree. But what im opposed to is a system -- at the time I voted, I voted against IT last time. You can check the record. I said then youre not going to have three -- somebody will sue you and Lose In Court. Narrowing IT down to just whoever applied at that time when there was no application process. Youre going to lose this thing and now youre going to have downtown vegas and New York, and I dont want downtown to be vegas and New York.

Alan Clendenin 1:47:40PM

Councilwoman young.

Naya Young 1:47:43PM

Would this only be for the Amalie?

Alan Clendenin 1:47:47PM

Amalie and Raymond James. I guess USF is technically in the city, too.

Lynn Hurtak 1:47:53PM

Yes. The history of this is we dont allow these. IT was snuck in when the spb development was done without councils knowledge.

Alan Clendenin 1:48:03PM

Before that.

Lynn Hurtak 1:48:03PM

Either Way, IT was snuck in. IT was not known about. Councilwoman Henderson was trying to fix IT by making sure we had an entire district where that would be -- so the whole thing about this is revenue. You make a lot of money with these signs. So what were -- what they are saying now is they want to go forward and be the ones to get the revenue instead of having a plan for the entire district. Thats what were trying to do is have a plan for the entire central business district.

Alan Clendenin 1:48:32PM

Respectfully, thats not what this says. Doesnt exclude the district. Talks about --

Lynn Hurtak 1:48:38PM

Correct. What her point was, why should one group get IT before everybody gets IT? IT was an equity issue.

Alan Clendenin 1:48:50PM

This is a workshop. Go for IT.

Bill Carlson 1:48:52PM

The other question is, They have announced the building Across The Street. Is that going to be considered an arena? Is that going to be allowed as well. If Their Representatives were not against everybody else getting digital signs, I wouldnt have a problem. Its been delivered to me very directly. Whats going to happen as soon as this is approved, theyll come with even more force to oppose anybody else. Its not fair to everybody.

Naya Young 1:49:24PM

Is IT possible that We can like -- could You bring the motion again at a different time so We have more time --

Lynn Hurtak 1:49:34PM

What we could do is bring IT -- yeah, when is the next time that signs are coming back? We could just absolutely tie IT to that. I would be fine, Councilman Viera, having this discussion, if and only if IT is tied to the other discussion.

Alan Clendenin 1:50:06PM

Councilwoman young.

Naya Young 1:50:09PM

Not whether im for or opposed. I would like to have more knowledge. Thats IT.

Luis Viera 1:50:21PM

The reason I was making IT now I May potentially on something dealing with my family leave around 9 or so. How about this. Theres plenty of time, if You are not able to vote on this right now, if im reading the room right, IT will be 3-3 and then feel like You need more time. We want to be respectful about IT. How about I bring IT back this evening.

Lynn Hurtak 1:50:42PM

The workshop that will be talking about all this stuff is on February 26. So conveniently, its not that far away. If you were to add IT to that, even though we have seven items on that workshop, two at least of those -- one, two -- two of those have to do with that. I would be fine bringing that to the February 26 workshop.

Alan Clendenin 1:51:04PM

We have a motion and We have a second. Only Way for that to happen if the maker of the motion and Person Who Seconded voluntarily withdraw the motion.

Luis Viera 1:51:11PM

Im sticking with January. By The Way, I interrupted you. Go ahead, Sir.

Lynn Hurtak 1:51:16PM

There is no more time in January.

Luis Viera 1:51:22PM

If I May, for Council Member Young, if You would like, maam, can I bring this back this evening so You can have more time on IT. Im glad to withdraw the motion if You feel like You need more time and then explore IT further. Im fine with that.

Naya Young 1:51:44PM

I would like a little more time. IT is not a for or against. I would like a little bit more time to know exactly. Im not familiar with the history as all my other council members.

Martin Shelby 1:51:58PM

May I be recognized? For the purposes of greater understanding, IT sounds like what Councilman Viera's motion is, is to direct staff to as a result of what this motion is tonight is to come back with a fully baked proposal to be placed into the code. But thats what the motion is. If the motion was a proposal to discuss that, that proposal thats one thing. I wanted you to know that the original motion would have started the process based on what you vote on right now as to whether to have staff put the effort to create something, to bring back to the Council fully --

Lynn Hurtak 1:52:44PM

But You said You wanted in January. There are no more meetings in January. This is the 28.

Luis Viera 1:52:53PM

For the January cycle.

Lynn Hurtak 1:52:56PM

Were talking about signs at the end of next month.

Alan Clendenin 1:52:59PM

Is Staff still listening to US at this hour?

Bill Carlson 1:53:02PM

If You could change your motion to say, to have a discussion on this item for February 26, ill support that.

Luis Viera 1:53:12PM

If I May, lets do this. We have a Board Member who I think needs more time. Ill bring this up this evening. I think thats probably the best route to do. Ill bring IT up this evening. IT sounds Like The Way IT is going right now IT will be 3-3 and then a Board Member that needs more time. Im fine with that.

Lynn Hurtak 1:53:32PM

Shes not going to be able to learn all that. Shes got other stuff to study for tonight.

Alan Clendenin 1:53:38PM

Stop. Lets let Councilwoman Young speak for herself. Councilman Viera, what im hearing you say is you are withdrawing the motion for todays meeting.

Luis Viera 1:53:49PM

Yes, sir. Ill bring IT up again this evening. If Councilwoman Young needs additional time, then we can address IT at that time. Thats IT.

Alan Clendenin 1:53:56PM

Councilman Viera would like to withdraw his motion. Are you okay with that, Councilman Maniscalco? The motion is no longer on the table. Do you have any further new business?

Luis Viera 1:54:07PM

These are things I have to do in the event I have to leave early tonight. The selection of officer of the month is unavailable for February 5. TPD is asking to US reschedule the commendation presentation to a future meeting. Options are as follows. February 19 or March 5. February 19 we have two presentations. We would be asking our gift givers to come additional time. March 5, four ceremonial items including officer and firefighter of the quarter but we can have an additional one. Does Council have a preference on that?

Lynn Hurtak 1:54:52PM

I would be fine with March 5, as long as we dont add any more staff reports to March 5. We only have three, but we also have a public hearing and then four commendations. One of them is a presentation by Clarion on the land development code. I have no problem with that. Having two Police Officers of the month in March as long as we have no more staff reports.

Alan Clendenin 1:55:17PM

Would Anybody entertain have the meeting start at 8:30?

Lynn Hurtak 1:55:22PM

No.

Alan Clendenin 1:55:26PM

You Know Me, I hate mornings. Im just saying to --

Lynn Hurtak 1:55:29PM

Theres only three staff reports.

Martin Shelby 1:55:31PM

If I can, I believe the reason, Staff Reports, if I recall, You already made the decision to limit IT to three Staff Reports.

Lynn Hurtak 1:55:43PM

Why?

Martin Shelby 1:55:43PM

Because You have the clarion issue.

Lynn Hurtak 1:55:48PM

But one of those staff reports is replacing the Clarion or Clarion is replacing that staff report. That is -- theres only two staff reports.

Martin Shelby 1:55:59PM

Okay. Thats fine.

Alan Clendenin 1:56:00PM

What is the motion?

Luis Viera 1:56:02PM

Is IT March 5 that Council is looking at? If I May, I motion to continue the February 5 commendation of the Officer Of The Month to March 5.

Alan Clendenin 1:56:12PM

We have a motion from Councilman Viera. Second from Councilwoman Hurtak. All those in favor --

Lynn Hurtak 1:56:20PM

I will second IT only with the addition of the fact that there are no more staff reports added.

Luis Viera 1:56:26PM

Good with that.

Alan Clendenin 1:56:28PM

Motion to move commendation to March 5, 2026 and no additional staff reports will be added to that agenda. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor say aye. Opposed? The ayes have IT.

Luis Viera 1:56:39PM

Thats IT.

Alan Clendenin 1:56:42PM

Probably have to move the ATU one, too. Councilwoman Hurtak, any new business. Councilwoman Young, any new business?

Lynn Hurtak 1:56:53PM

Shes been called all different names today. That was bad. Im sorry. Im going to do these because I have a feeling we will be tired tonight. Move Council schedule discussion under staff reports for February 19, 2026 regular Council meeting to receive a presentation on the July 2025 land development code amendment cycle and to consider whether to transmit the proposed amendment language to the Planning Commission.

Alan Clendenin 1:57:21PM

We have a motion. Is there a second? We have a second from Councilman Miranda. All in favor, aye. Opposed, ayes have IT.

Martin Shelby 1:57:28PM

February 19.

Lynn Hurtak 1:57:33PM

I want to rescind the following motion that I made on January 23, 2026 and remove IT from the February 5, 2026 agenda. File nca 25-18998 that that be -- that Staff be requested to present a rewritten resolution correcting the amount of money specifically for the JBL attenuator dock repairs project. The reason im pulling IT is because the other things were already funded, and I dont want to fund this. So im pulling IT.

Alan Clendenin 1:58:07PM

Motion from Councilwoman Hurtak. Is there a second? We have a second from Councilman Viera. All those in favor say aye. Opposed? Ayes have IT. Any further new business. Councilman Maniscalco?

Guido Maniscalco 1:58:20PM

No.

Charlie Miranda 1:58:21PM

[Inaudible]

Alan Clendenin 1:58:24PM

Ill hand. Madam Chair.

Bill Carlson 1:58:28PM

Can I say one thing real fast? A recent case demonstrated that We need to separate land use hearings from comprehensive plan changes. So I dont want -- im not going to make a motion now. Can Somebody think about that and figure out how to make a motion to do that? IT seems apparent that We need to do that?

Lynn Hurtak 1:58:50PM

I would prefer to do that. I think when I talked to Lawyer, the Legal Staff, they have said I guess based on state law somehow that its up to the Applicant. I would chat with someone from the legal or --

Martin Shelby 1:59:06PM

Yes. And that might be appropriate motion to have Legal come and explain that or written report and we can work on that, Mr. Carlson.

Alan Clendenin 1:59:16PM

I have two motions and a bunch of informational items that are pertinent to our discussions. From Mr. Cotton, Motion To Place the noise study on the April 23rd, 2026 workshop hearing.

Lynn Hurtak 1:59:31PM

I have a motion from Chair Clendenin and a second from chair Miranda -- sorry, council member Miranda.

Alan Clendenin 1:59:39PM

City has conducted a noise study and brief US on IT.

Lynn Hurtak 1:59:42PM

Great. Excellent. All in favor?

Alan Clendenin 1:59:45PM

April 23, 2026, theres space.

Lynn Hurtak 1:59:49PM

Motion passes.

Alan Clendenin 1:59:49PM

I would like to do a written commendation for krewe Tampa Bay in recognition of the 30th anniversary, date and time to be determined.

Lynn Hurtak 1:59:59PM

I thought I was going to do that. Actually, im cool. Ms. Scharf and I are working on that now.

Alan Clendenin 2:00:07PM

Honestly, I will hand IT off to You. Take IT off my plate.

Lynn Hurtak 2:00:11PM

Well have our aides talk and figure that out. Motion from Chair Clendenin and a second from Councilman Miranda. All in favor? Aye.

Alan Clendenin 2:00:22PM

Next thing, as youre aware, we were responsible to provide our list of questions to the Charter Review Committee in the month of January. Those questions have been condensed. You should have gotten that e-mail. I would like a motion to -- I would like to motion to transmit our memo with the request he is to the Charter Review Committee.

Lynn Hurtak 2:00:41PM

Motion from Chair Clendenin, a second from council member Viera. Any comments? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed?

Alan Clendenin 2:00:50PM

Johnny Wong, Tpo director, Tuesday, February 3rd at 10 am., The Suncoast League Of Cities will be hosting a workshop to discuss how less populated cities around the Tampa Bay region would be represented on a merger Tpo board. While the City Of Tampa is not one of the most -- most populated city, the decision about how to provide representation to the pinellas 24 cities and pasco 6 could impact our preferences for apportionment. All are welcome to attend and the event details will be e-mailed to each councilperson via the league of cities executive director. The location is going to be in the city of pinellas park, community relations building, 6051 78th avenue north, pinellas park, Florida, 33781.

Lynn Hurtak 2:01:31PM

Its February 3, weve got stuff going on on February 3. Could We send a Representative?

Alan Clendenin 2:01:41PM

Open meeting. Informational.

Lynn Hurtak 2:01:48PM

Would one of US be willing to go? We have a lot of stuff.

Alan Clendenin 2:01:53PM

Im not able to do IT.

Lynn Hurtak 2:01:55PM

Me either.

Alan Clendenin 2:01:56PM

That can be talked outside. From our budget analyst, Ms. Kopesky I see leaning on the wall, couple of reminders about where we are right now, pertinent to the next meeting next week. I want to remind everyone that during the budget process -- remind everyone that during the budget process Council approved one million dollars to support social action arts funding. That was Council action. I have a duplicate on there. Acknowledge that there is a desire by some Councilpersons to suggest adjustments to the social action funding. The appropriate time to do that is on the February 5th, during the 2025 surplus allocation discussion. Acknowledge that IT is a desire by Council to suggest adjustments for the funding, that the appropriate time to do that is during February 5th, 2025. Additionally, if you have until tomorrow to submit to Ms. Kopesky your combined list of priorities so she can combine IT and try to condense that down. Also want to remind folks, so we passed the 1 million. We handed IT off to the administration for them to fill, to divvy up that money based on the applications and their vetting of the applications, which they did. Any changes to that, again, that question for what happened, that question has been asked and answered. Our only opportunity to change anything is with the leftover 2025 money during that discussion next week. Last bite of the apple.

Lynn Hurtak 2:03:31PM

Only $5 million.

Alan Clendenin 2:03:32PM

$5 million and portion of that is probably already kind of obligated because we have some needs that have to be addressed.

Lynn Hurtak 2:03:41PM

Theres five left. Thats what we have.

Alan Clendenin 2:03:44PM

There we go. The goal is to come to a common decision next week on the 5.4 Million. Staff can be directed to create a resolution for the Mayor to review and approve. Again, that is to set in your brains that next week, be prepared to come in here to talk about the $5.4 Million and understand that if there are any unmet needs in the Social Action Fund that is your only time to address that.

Lynn Hurtak 2:04:15PM

I want to make sure that were not conflating the two. Were talking about social action in arts, like filling in. But really what were talking about is what we want to do with the extra $5.4 Million and were supposed to have all of that information to Ms. Kopesky by tomorrow so that she can create a list so we have a focused discussion to have, although if we come up with something afterward, its not like verboten, but at least we have a road map. Am I go egg that correct?

Alan Clendenin 2:04:44PM

Ms. Kopesky, You are recognized. Yes. You will all remember You did provide maybe two weeks ago those priorities and they were accumulated and resent out, time has passed. Closer to the meeting. Good time to refresh or possibly now if there are folks interested in considering additional funding for social action. That was previously not included on that circulated list. So IT was an opportunity for You to supplement and have that brought in. The idea of tomorrows deadline was I would bring back probably 90% of what youve already seen and potentially if You have given me anything additional, that would come back as well so youd have an opportunity to look at IT before next Thursday.

Alan Clendenin 2:05:25PM

Councilman Carlson and then Viera.

Luis Viera 2:05:28PM

Thank you for that. That is important. I dont know if this is true, that the funds that we had motioned for that I believed from the portico were going for the housing project, in fact, May not be there. Thats terrible. In other words, I do think that is important, including some of the cuts. Penguin Project, 75% cut. I do look forward to this. I thank you, Sir, for making that motion because thats important.

Alan Clendenin 2:06:02PM

$54 Million. IT was Councilwoman Hurtak's motion. Emphasis of bringing IT up today, only bite because of how we deal with budgets. Passed a budget, one million dollars, divvied IT up based on applications and how they did IT. Any unmet needs we feel like Council should address, IT is the only money we have access to that we can make the recommendation at this point for the mayors review and then come back to US. That being said, I want to say I only submitted two items, By The Way. I submitted Sulphur Springs issue and I submitted the Tampa economic impact. They got major cut. Sulphur Springs disappointed me because the Council made the decision about the importance of that because of the loss of the pool. Im not going to be here next week. Ill make sure Sam submits a memo to Ms. Kopesky, if you guys would be champion of that, appreciate that. Fully fund out of the 5.4. What I do see, doesnt affect me because I only took a teeny bite of the apple in my request. Very modest. I see a really disproportionate bites of the apple in the request. There are a lot of differences between different Council members of what was submitted. In the interest of parity and understand when you come to this, you dont have to allocate money to Social Action Fund. You can say I believe in Parks. I want to support playground equipment at this park or do Xyz. Our entire budget is open to receiving supplemental funds. I know you guys are going to hate this idea, but we could allocate 1.4, 54 Divided by 7, 200,000 and then each Councilperson could come to Ms. Kopesky, doesnt have to be to implement social action funds, IT could go to I support all access playground equipment at a park or I support something, Xyz in one of our Parks budget. Anything that you see fit that you feel like. I think the 200,000 should supplement stormwater. IT makes a nice round figure, 5.4. Ms. Kopesky brought this to my attention. Give US $4 million still to deal with the other issues and 200,000 per each Council office to fix issues, the deficits they observe in the budget. Councilwoman Hurtak.

Lynn Hurtak 2:08:28PM

Problem with that is, well start getting inundated by the public. Here is the thing, We have to -- We already have a discussion I put on for the May workshop where were going to discuss how to solve the Social Action Arts Funds. If We plug some holes this year and then discuss the entire thing. But the whole city has needs. Not just the Social Action Arts Fund.

Alan Clendenin 2:08:54PM

That was the intent of my statement because there are other, not just social action, there are things we could do. Unfortunately, im not going to be here to guide the discussion. This will be your baby. But what I see -- I was trying to figure out a way to bake into the process a little bit of balance. Maybe Councilman Viera, you know, could barter some babies to be able to get what you need.

Bill Carlson 2:09:32PM

Ive gotten feedback from the public that a lot of people think this looks like political patronage. I think the better thing, and maybe we cant do IT this year, set some objective criteria about the issues or the kind of impact that we want to have. We delegated a lot of IT to the staff so they can tie IT to the mayors objectives, but maybe at some point we ought to try to figure out what our objectives are. I think we have consensus around Sulphur Springs, and a lot of different nonprofits that can help Sulphur Springs. If each of US came with an idea there, Council Member Viera has been a leader on ADA Accessibility, thats also an issue in South Tampa. Interbay park, ADA Accessibility there. If we come to some consensus, then IT wont look like we are picking people know are favorite organizations.

Alan Clendenin 2:10:25PM

I think thats what is intriguing. If you guys decide next week to do 200 -- im not saying $200,000 to the person you like. Lets say there is a need in your district or need you identified in the city that aligns with strategic goals of the city, its a way -- we dont really have a really great opportunity to do that very often. Sometimes $200,000 can go a Long Way in Sulphur Springs or park. 200000 can buy a nice piece of equipment for a park for ADA accessibility or IT could improve bike racks or something like that. Go right to bikes. Its one of those things -- im not going to get -- again, this is something you guys have to deal with next week without me. Im going to request that you guys handle my two things that I asked for as diligently as you can. Other than that defer IT to next weeks conversation.

Bill Carlson 2:11:27PM

I think especially as were getting closer to election time, better for US to set objective criteria so that --

Alan Clendenin 2:11:35PM

We kind of did that before. Had to be the strategic goals of the city. Vetting supposedly did. I dont know exactly what that process looked like. Group Of Us did hand IT off to the Group In The City to do that. Last comment and well adjourn.

Lynn Hurtak 2:11:54PM

Ive been working with Chief Of Staff on this. Weve had meetings. As you know, Andrew is now, that is his job now. Hes been hired to be the one to corral this and We didnt have anyone before. They are making steps. That is the whole point of the May discussion is for US to talk about that. To talk about what are the priorities for social action in arts. How do We do this going forward?

Alan Clendenin 2:12:22PM

I think I finished all of my new business. Entertain a motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn from Councilman Miranda. Second from Councilman Maniscalco. Motion to receive and file. Sorry. We need a motion to receive and file. Motion from Councilman Miranda. Second from Councilman Viera. All in favor aye. We have a motion to adjourn. [ sounding gavel we are adjourned. Disclaimer: this file represents an unedited version of realtime captioning which should neither be relied upon for complete accuracy nor used as a verbatim transcript. Any person who needs a verbatim transcript of the proceedings May need to hire a court reporter. © - City Of Tampa (813) 274-8211

Tampa City Council Workshops - January 29, 2026

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