Council is back for a single regular meeting this Thursday with a 76 item agenda, 61 requiring a vote. They range from accepting a $1,000 grant for the parks department to $10 million to replace the waste to energy plant’s turbine generator which suffered a “critical failure “after restarting the unit as part of regular maintenance . Among the non-monetary items is the first public hearing for the development agreement for the previously reported 25 story ferris wheel proposed in the parking lot of the Florida Aquarium. Additionally they will be getting staff reports which include an update on the 2045 Future Land Use element of the Comprehensive plan, the Tree Trust Fund, regulating pickleball courts in residential neighborhoods, and the Land Development Code update.

Consent Agenda

Consent agenda items are not discussed or voted on individually unless a council member requests them to be pulled.

Item 16 is a design build agreement with Kimmins for sidewalk improvements. Which in of itself isn’t necessarily newsworthy but that’s its for a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) on a 2024 project that is primarily focused on the Sulphur Springs and Seminole Heights neighborhoods for a total of 3 miles. No explanation on why it’s taken more than a year to move this forward but a reminder that just because something gets approved in a fiscal year budget, that doesn’t mean the work immediately starts.

The aforementioned $10 million for the Solid Waste Department’s turbine generator replacement is under consent (item 23) even though the price tag normally requires it to be presented to council. But to be clear, this wasn’t a planned project. The catastrophic failure occurred on September 19, 2025. As such, the plant isn’t generating any electricity. So much for waste to energy. And while the plant has been undergoing a major overhaul, a look at the 5 year plan, $8.2 million was budgeted in 2023 for turbine overhaul. The engineering firm of record is investigating the cause but there should be a little more transparency on how this happened, even if preliminary. The city recently issued short term debt to operate the department while rate increases kicked in and long term debt is issued. This is a big oops. Especially if the city just spent $8.2 million to overhaul the thing.

Item 26 is moving $204,798 out of the parks and rec citywide maintenance budget for the Guida House renovations. Which is odd because the FY25 budget proposal allegedly included funding for the Guida House in the Capitol Improvement Program (CIP). However there isn’t any reference to that project in the project viewer or CIP detail report. I have complained about the lack of clarity in the Parks & Rec CIP for 2 years for this exact reason. Our parks need every dollar and doing historic rehab on a building shouldn’t be funded out of general park maintenance in this writer’s opinion.

Item 28 was brought up during the budget discussions but not funded out of the FY26 budget. Rather, the $150,000 River Tower Park Bike Loop which will connect two segments of the green artery is being funded out of a ghost project that had $400,000 sitting unused. How many of those are sitting around is still unclear.

Item 29 appears to be $2 million in additional parking funds for FY25. Which I would love to hear more about if not for this being on the consent agenda. The admin and parking department made a big issue during the FY26 budget process about council pulling reserve funds out of parking for allowable projects. Like the Route 1 pilot. Or additional paving/sidewalk maintenance. This appears to be an additional $2 million ($1 million from parking tickets) in revenue for FY25. How? Did they hide those reserves so that council couldn’t appropriate them? Is that why Route 1 isn’t fare-free? What is the city planning for the funds? Speaking of Route 1, item 31 is the appropriations of $1.35 million for the modified Route 1 pilot which removed the fare-free component and slightly increases the frequency evenings and weekends.

Item 32 is to dissolve the Racial Reconciliation Committee because the city of Tampa is afraid of the Trump administration and won’t push back against the unconstitutional Executive Orders they agreed to abide by after accepting a $1 million USDOT grant. It’s shameful a mayor and council who in one breath tout our commitment to diversity and in another cower from a bully when the opportunity to stand up for their beliefs is presented. History will be the judge.

Item 33 is a an internal audit for the commercial side of the Solid Waste Department and it’s not great. Technology failures led to improper billing of commercial customers and the lack of integration between platforms has lead to failures to follow proper procedures. Tougher to read after an unscheduled $10 million generator replacement appears on the same agenda.

Items 34 and 44 are development agreements for infill housing on 2 lots the city owns to build “affordable” housing. When the cap is 140% of AMI it’s no longer affordable for those that need it most and is a handout to a developer to build market rate housing.

Item 36 is an annual report of all formal decisions by the zoning administrator for the previous year. However it doesn’t indicate how the admin ruled, only if the application was withdrawn, completed or closed. Unless completed equals approved and closed not approved but that’s not clear from the provided documentation.

Item 43 is an extension to the $500,000 state grant agreement, approved in 2021, for the Jackson House. With the easement agreements approved, this should hopefully be the last delay. The latest news from the foundation was that they’d chosen a contractor and were full steam ahead.

Item 45 is a $900,000 renewal of a contract for stormwater outfall maintenance dredging. This contract was awarded in 2022 and renewed every year since. The cost breaks down:

• Inspection/Report per Outfall 800 Each @ $250.00 = $200,000
• 24” Diameter 50 Each @ $2,000.00 = $100,000.00
• 36” Diameter 7 Each @ $2,200.00 = $15,400.00
• 48” Diameter 3 Each @ $3,400.00 = $10,200.00
• 72” Diameter 4 Each @ $5,200.00 = $20,800.00
• Alluvial Fan Removal 3000 Year @ $150.00 = $450,000.00
• Hauling and Disposing of Waste/Vegetation Material 1500 Tons @ $30.00 = $45,000.00
• Mangrove Trimming 500 Yards @ $40.00 = $20,000.00
• Box Culvert Cleaning 0 – 23 Square Feet 3 Each @ $6,000.00 = $18,000.00
• Box Culvert Cleaning 24 – 36 Square Feet 3 Each @ $7,000.00 = $21,000.00

Finally, Item 58 is the first public hearing for the development agreement for the “The Wheel”. The agreement requires council approval as the zoning code requires their approval of anything over 175 feet in this area. What is absent from the documentation provided is the terms of the lease between the aquarium (the city owns the land) and the developer. I’ve seen all of the arguments and one I’ve heard is that these machines print money. If so, what’s the city’s cut? Would this offset some of the funding the aquarium gets from the general fund every year? If so, that should be considered in the decision. The agreement does make clear this only approves the wheel and not any future development. Liability also seems to fall entirely on the developer but as the property owner, it still seems sketchy. Public opinion will play a key role in decision. Personally I agree with the general sentiment it’s underwhelming as a project and will feel shoehorned into the space.