Council returns from the Thanksgiving break for the first of 2 regular meetings in December with a CRA meeting and land use hearings in between. Of the 65 items on the agenda this week, 58 require a vote. In total they will be approving over $90 million in spending ranging from a $37,816.08 amendment to a resurfacing project on Lois Ave to $52,935,137 for site wide electrical improvements for the water treatment plant. There’s as also an additional $9 million requested (not to exceed $16,335,844) for the Suspended Ion Exchange Project also for the water treatment plant. Additionally council will be voting on the first reading of the multi-modal impact fee increase.

Consent Agenda

Reminder consent agenda items are not discussed unless a council member pulls it for discussion and a separate vote. Otherwise they are voted on in bulk by department.

• Item 7 is to approve a data sharing agreement between the police department and Ohio State to study the effectiveness of a “drone as first responder program”. The money has already been spent on the drones, so might as well find out if it was worth it. It should be a prerequisite the data is publicly shared.
• Items 5 and 9 are contracts to purchase new vehicles for the police department. 4 Tahoe patrol vehicles for $214,357 and 40 Ford Intercepts at $1,860,675.60. When they purchased 14 Chevy electric pursuit rated vehicles in September it appeared they might finally be moving to an electric fleet however this purchase makes clear that isn’t going to happen.
• Item 23 is transmitting an audit for Construction Services Department. While impact fees will be a focus later in the agenda, among issues raised in the audit were “Impact fees are sometimes miscalculated and coded to the wrong accounts.”
• Item 32 is another uninspired use of city land handing it over to a developer to build a single family home for infill housing at 140% AMI.
• Item 34 is $647,991 for the purchase of a walking excavator for the stormwater division. While this won’t be discussed, the subject of stormwater and its budget will be in later items. With an assessment that takes in $15.5 million and a division with a payroll of $12 million, purchases like this are significant and only possible with supplemental funding.

Public Hearings

• Item 35 is only for setting hearing dates for changes to the parking ordinance. Parking ordinances that were adopted in September of 2024 but somehow became subject to SB 180, a state law related to hurricane recovery. Ordinances have been repealed and the latest attempt to address them will be back in two weeks.
• Item 36 is a vote regarding code enforcement changes. Another subject that has been debated numerous times. The proposed changes won’t solve all of the problems but they are a move in the right direction. This passed first reading 6-1 with Carlson voting no.
• Item 38 is the second reading of a petition to reconsider a vacation of right of way. The issue has been strongly opposed by neighbors who think of the space as city land and a pocket park. The reality is the city doesn’t own the land and can’t turn it into a pocket park. Whether there’s some future public use the right of way could provide is the heart of the vote; not whether the public can hang out there. They can’t. This passed first reading 4-3 with Hurtak, Carlson and Young voting no.
• Item 52 is a request for city approval of the updated USF master plan and extending the university’s development agreement with the city another 5 years. A key point is potable water and the city being able to maintain service levels in the area. USF intends to use their own wells to supplement the growth.
• Item 56 is the long awaited first vote to increase the multi-modal impact fees the city charges for new development. The fees were set in 1989 and haven’t been updated since. Impact fees have been discussed for years; this effort dates back to a motion from Council member Hurtak in November of 2023. And while council held two workshops to establish there are extraordinary circumstances to justify increasing the fees above the otherwise state allowed ceiling of a 50% increase, they have decided to continue subsidizing developers through June 1, 2029. On June 1, 2026 25% of the new fees will go into effect increasing each subsequent year 25% until the full increase goes into effect June 1, 2029. State statute allows implementing the full fee 90 days after adoption.

Big Ticket Items

Item 58 was previewed on the previous agenda as it is over $20 million so there’s no surprise. Also not a surprise is a planned site wide electrical upgrade for the water treatment plant. What doesn’t seem planned is Item 59. This appears to be a request for an additional $9 million, not to exceed $16,335,844 for the Suspended Ion Exchange Project. While these are water department enterprise funds (firewalled from the general fund), it’s still council’s responsibility to make sure the funds are being appropriately budgeted and spent. It wasn’t that long ago they approved rate increases.

Stormwater & Safety

In some circles this has been a hot topic. Stormwater and safety. After it was brought up that some stormwater teams assist in setting up barricades for Gasparilla (and other parades/events), the question was raised, “at what cost?” “Setting up barricades” gives the impression they are out there setting up the metal fencing along Bayshore. Item 64 is set to discuss the issue. Now it’s been clarified they are setting up concrete barricades. More specifically, they have been setting up more barricades in the last year at the request of the police department in response to the New Year’s Eve event in New Orleans where a person drove through crowds in the French Quarter. More barricades (and more events) has lead to more stormwater time being spent outside of their primary focus. Staff claim this work has had no effect on the levels of service by the Stormwater Division, specifically as it relates to maintenance of the city’s stormwater system. Which is probably true if you accept the reality there’s nothing the city’s stormwater system can do about 15+ inches of rain from a hurricane when the level of service is designed for 5.5 inches in 24 hours.

Related items on the agenda, 61 and 62 were for the South Howard Flood Relief Project GMP 1. Staff is requesting they be continued for 2 weeks until the 18th. Ironically, on the 18th Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) will be giving a 10-minute presentation on the South Selmon Capacity Project. Someone should ask about how that plays into the stormwater discussion and the South Howard Flood Relief project.

As to safety, Item 65 was set to be a discussion about pedestrian safety in Ybor after the vehicle being chased down 7th Ave by Florida Highway Patrol crashed and killed four people, injuring 13. The mobility department is asking this discussion to be continued until December 18th.