Tampa City Council
Thursday, May 19, 2016
9:00 a.m. Session
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[Sounding gavel]
09:04:15 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Tampa City Council is now called to order.
The chair yields to Mr. Maniscalco for the invocation.
09:04:21 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
Today it is my distinct pleasure to
welcome Priest Radhakrishnan Namboodiripad of Sri Ayyappa
Temple to City Hall. He has served as the priest for the
temple in Tampa since 2014.
Coming from a long line of spiritual leaders he is a fifth
generation priest in the tradition.
He previously served as the temple which has the fourth
largest following in India. He came to Tampa with his wife
and two sons. Thanks for joining us this morning.
All rise for the invocation.
09:04:52 >> (Chanting mantras)
(Pledge of Allegiance)
09:06:20 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Roll call.
09:06:30 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Here.
09:06:31 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Here.
09:06:32 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Present.
09:06:33 >>HARRY COHEN:
Here.
09:06:35 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
Here.
09:06:37 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Here.
We are going to go first to our approval of the addenda and
agenda.
First item, item number 4 concerns the certificate program.
We have a -- rental certificate program.
We have a request from city attorney Julia Mandell to
continue to June 2nd.
Motion from Mrs. Capin.
Second from Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
All right.
Next up we have an item number 44 which is part of our
resolution.
City attorney Mr. Mueller is not available.
He's on vacation this week.
So since this information was important to this particular
item, the city attorney has asked that we move that to June
2nd also.
I have a motion from Mr. Cohen.
A second from Mrs. Capin.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Thank you.
The last item to be moved is item number 70.
This is concerning noise ordinance and the city attorney
again is asking for this to be moved to June 21 -- 21.
09:07:50 >>THE CLERK:
[Off microphone.]
09:07:58 >> We have a motion from Mr. Miranda.
A second from Mrs. Capin.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Okay.
Terrific.
The next items are item number 58 and 71.
Those also have been just informational in nature that we
will take up as part of the rest of the agenda. If we could
have a motion to approve those other two items.
09:08:18 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
So moved.
09:08:20 >> Second.
09:08:21 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Miranda.
Second by Mrs. Capin.
All in favor?
Okay.
Thank you very much.
First up is our ceremonial activity.
Mr. Miranda, if you could take that, please.
Honorable members of Tampa City Council, it's my pleasure to
make a presentation to Tracie McFarland.
You are retiring after how many years?
09:09:18 >> 27ing.
You only look 26.
I must have done something wrong.
It's my pleasure to be here with you this morning on behalf
of all Tampa City Council, all the citizens of the City of
Tampa.
For 26 years of work, working with the public along with be
calm professionalism.
Do you want to be a council member?
It's an honor to be here.
What you have done is serve the public in a mannerism that a
lot of us do not.
You come level headed, you don't yell at nobody, and your
husband has the last words with you, those words are "yes,
ma'am."
And it's my pleasure, you love your family, and all the
council members that work with you here, and he would want
to thank you for working in the planning and development
department, and what you have done for 26 years as an
outstanding member of our city staff.
We are very appreciative.
Thank you very much.
Good luck to you and your whole family.
God bless each and every one of you.
[ Applause ]
09:10:32 >> Thank you.
Thank you, Charlie, for the kind words.
I thank my family for supporting me.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
09:11:03 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Congratulations.
You know, when you retire they do pay you this last check
but this is not the only thing you get.
I want you to know that.
In addition you can tell by the compliments that have been
Mr. Miranda paid you, there's a reason why he keeps getting
reelected.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for your service to the City of Tampa for all
those years.
Thank you.
Next up I am going to call up Mr. Reddick.
He is going to make a presentation to our water department
concerning water use.
Mr. President Reddick.
09:11:56 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
It's my pleasure and honor to stand before you and present
this commendation as we celebrate water department water
reuse week.
Just briefly, Tampa City Council appreciates the efforts of
the City of Tampa water department in encouraging and
promoting water reuse and conservation.
The city has been using reclaimed water at the Howard Curren
wastewater treatment plant since 1979, and MacKay Bay energy
plant since 1995, and attached to Tampa International in
2009.
Today Tampa homeowners and industry reuse more than 6
million glance of safe and reclaimed water each day, for
conserving in Florida precious water and resources and is
key to the state's sustainable water future.
It is the Tampa City Council's pleasure to join the water
environmental association in water reuse Florida in
proclaiming the week to be water reuse week.
I would like to present this commendation to you, sir, on
behalf of Tampa City Council.
Thank you.
09:13:14 >> On behalf of Chuck Weber, director of the water
department, and I'm Brad Baird, public works administrator.
I'm honored to accept this award on their behalf.
Tampa's reuse storage started on July 2nd, 1979.
On that day we started up our advanced wastewater treatment
plant.
And four officials drank the water from that plant out of
champagne glasses.
And the public works administrator at the time, Dale, said
this water is good enough to drink.
This water is clean enough to drink.
In a few weeks you will have a proposal in front of you to
start a feasibility study called the Tampa augmentation
process, or TAP for short.
We are going to go down that road, and some day we will be
using that as a raw water source for drinking water.
Thank you very much.
09:14:31 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Miranda.
09:14:31 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Baird, I am glad you remembered your name.
Number one.
Number two, thank you for being with us for a long time and
going back to 1979.
I didn't drink that water and that's why I lost my hair.
(Laughter)
In all seriousness, the only availability of drinking water
left is reuse water.
You can't do it any other way.
It's done in Israel, it's done in California, it's done in
lake Lanier, it's done in the river valley, it's done all
over the world.
And, however, I do have my doubts about TAP.
And you well No. I have expressed it to you.
I am a much more direct guy.
I don't like to go from first to third.
I like to steal home all at once.
And I appreciate what you and the mayor are doing.
And when you have projected population growth in the next 25
years of 425,000 people moving into Hillsborough County or
living in population expansion of Hillsborough County, and
only all going to need water.
Going to need a lot more in roads and other things.
But I want to thank you for being the person that you are.
I know we have differed many times and you never got mad at
me.
So that's the only thing I can say about you.
You are straight level, you think about doing the work, not
about personalities and I'm real proud to say that I am
standing part of this team in the city.
I appreciate everything you have done.
09:15:58 >>BRAD BAIRD:
Thank you very much.
Thanks for all your hard work.
[ Applause ]
09:16:04 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
We are onto item number 2.
Ms. Antoinette triplet, if you could come to the podium,
here to present some information concerning homelessness.
Ma'am.
09:16:20 >> Good morning.
I'm Antoinette Triplett, chief executive officer for the
Tampa Hillsborough homeless initiative.
I was asked to come today to present the results of the 2016
point in time count.
Every year, across the country, it's required to count the
number of people experiencing homelessness in their
communities.
Our count takes place the last week of February.
And as a result of the count I have for you a comparison of
2014, 2015 and 2016 numbers.
2015 and 2016, Hillsborough community experienced an overall
5.9% decrease in the number of people experiencing
homelessness.
We had a 42.7% decrease in the number of vets experiencing
homelessness.
Of those that are chronically homeless, homeless for a long
time, and have a disability, we had a decrease of 19.28%.
We also had a decrease in those unaccompanied youth that are
homeless.
And we also look at population of those experiencing
homelessness such as mental illness, substance abuse, aids,
and victims of domestic violence.
We did see an increase in those that are experiencing those
that are homeless and experiencing substance abuse and HIV
and aids.
You can see the increase on that.
That's it.
09:18:30 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
I'm so proud.
Thank you very much for your report and the comparisons and
the work that you have done.
However, I saw something on television, I believe it was, or
one of the media about another city in the State of Florida,
and I'll tell you who it is no second, that are shipping
some of the homeless people on a one-way ticket to Tampa.
Are you aware of that?
And is that a fact?
09:18:53 >>> Every community has experienced people moving from one
community to another regardless of writs located, in the
midwest, the north, south, east, west.
We do experience that.
People are being -- are coming to Tampa for resources.
And do I think that it is an indication of a strategic plan
on behalf of the other city?
I don't think so, but I'm not sure about that.
Miranda well, you answered the question without answering
the question.
You should be?
Politics.
I got the drift.
You don't want to start a battle.
09:19:38 >> It occurs but I don't think --
09:19:40 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
So to say, come here, I'm going to take
you out of Tampa.
09:19:46 >> I don't think so.
09:19:47 >>
09:19:48 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Anyone else that would like to make a comment
or question to Ms. Triplett? Thank you.
We appreciate it.
Thank you for all the hard work you are doing on behalf of
the homeless.
Before we go on to public comment, I would like to first
introduce a class that's here.
Miss Courtney Yakavali and Miss Jana Fazio are here with the
Montessori school of South Tampa. If I can have them stand
up in the audience.
[ Applause ]
I want to thank the teachers for bringing them here.
Thank you to the young people for being here and actually
not falling asleep while we were doing our deliberation.
We appreciate you being here and learning a little bit more
about City Council.
And Mrs. Rebecca Hempstead is the person that brought them
from the city.
I told them they are going to be on TV.
Everybody is waving.
I hope you see yourself on there.
Thank you for being here.
Next up is public comment.
The public comments are going to be taken based on what
items are on the agenda except for those that are put for
public hearing.
Those items that going to be settle for public hearing are
items 47 to 57.
So if you are going to speak on any other item on the agenda
besides those numbers, 47 through 57, please line up against
the wall here and come forward.
Sir.
09:21:22 >> My name is Adam Horton, Bayshore Boulevard, South Tampa.
I'm here on behalf of the Julian Lane park project.
I want to make some quick comments.
In addition to our role as the master developers of the
Heights Tampa project, we also own the Oakhurst apartment
complex which takes up all the publicly owned frontage of
Boulevard across from the school.
I'm familiar with the plans for the park project.
It looks like a very good project.
I can tell you that I have personally been able to visit two
of the master designers projects in the San Diego waterfront
in Denver, and that they were well executed by these
designs, inclusive, and certainly beneficial to the
neighborhoods where they were constructed.
So I won't be here.
Actually, I am off to the water treatment plant that you all
were talking about for public works at the Heights.
Bury want to come and say that I support that project.
Thank you.
09:22:31 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Since you are here, and how is the Tampa
Heights project coming?
When are we going to see something happening there?
09:22:39 >> Very soon.
The infrastructure for the seawall.
We had a river board hearing yesterday which went well.
We gave a quick update to the West Tampa chamber yesterday.
And we anticipate having permits in there for the
infrastructure project in the next 30 to 45 days.
09:23:00 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Thank you very much.
I appreciate it.
09:23:02 >> The city staff has been great.
All the departments have been really working with us.
50-acre remodeled project, it's difficult but we appreciate
everybody's cooperation.
09:23:16 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
That's great to hear considering it's our
policy to keep them in line.
09:23:24 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
You're next.
09:23:25 >> Laurence Sheppard, Straz Center for the performing center
and I live in Riverview, Florida.
I'm here today to speak to the Julian B. Lane project and I
have attended all the public meetings on it as well as some
direct meetings with select groups with the developer as
well as the city personnel that were involved in it.
And this plan looks like it has really done a great job in
assessing the needs of the area, and honoring the history of
the area.
It was a pleasure to sit through these hearings and these
meetings because it gave me an education, a Tampa history
lesson.
And I was pleased to learn about it.
I believe that the park plan allows for multiple interfaces.
You can have large gatherings.
But there's also places for small family celebrations, for
milestones, birthdays, family reunions that sort of thing.
Another component of the park that really appeals to me is
this is to my knowledge the only park that's designed to
intentionally interface with the water.
In other words, the water now, you can get in it.
You can move around in the.
You can access it in multiple ways.
And so I think it really does a fine job with that.
Not only is it a community asset just based on its own
merits, it's also a key component of the evolving changing
west side of the river which includes University of Tampa,
the new community center to the west, it includes the west
river neighborhood project that's evolving now, and without
this sort of play component of live, work, play, that area
could be a key component.
At the Straz Center we are in very active discussions about
education and programming, particularly with the evolving
west neighborhood plan, but west river neighborhood plan,
but also the parks as well.
Those what we do.
We just completed a master plan, and keep to that master
plan was gathering place.
Gathering place alongside the river.
I highly encourage you to support this project.
This actually is a game changer, making the Hillsborough
River the center of Tampa and not just the periphery.
Thank you.
09:25:58 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Next, please.
09:25:59 >> Good morning.
West Tampa.
I represent the West Tampa Chamber of Commerce.
09:26:10 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Your name, please?
09:26:11 >> dawn Hudson and I'm the president of the chamber.
And I'm accompanied today by many of my board members.
We indulge your support in the Julian B. Lane process.
Parks make life great.
This is the time for the west side of the river to enjoy
leisure.
We welcome your road construction, your dust, and your
workers into our neighborhood.
We know that this will spill over onto Main Street and our
west side riverfront and we encourage you to vote yes on
this project.
09:26:47 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
09:26:47 >> Good morning, council.
Chairman Suarez.
As dawn has stated, I'm Bob Garcia with the West Tampa
Chamber of Commerce.
Thank you.
The last time we presented the long and the short, the tall
and the short, whatever it is, that we urge you to please
support the remaking of the redevelopment of the Julian B.
Lane park, as we have stated, with real estate, location,
location, location, are the three key words, and of course
writs located, it will give a tremendous view of the east
side of the river.
During the winter a lot of the college teams come as far as
rowing and that would be great.
Also, there will be development in that area.
You would have development as far as residential and
commercial.
And of course when that happens there, they will bring new
life and energy to the area.
In addition to that, if you look at the main, which is past
mayor Julian B. Lane, if you could look at the first letters
of Julian, J, it would stand for joy, what he would see in
this park development.
If you look at B, it's going to be a beautiful piece of art.
And if you look at the L, it would be something that he
would really love.
So with that, as you can see, lind me -- and I'm sure you
can see -- we have a great support in the West Tampa chamber
fully endorses it.
Thank you.
09:28:38 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thanks very much.
Thank you all for attending.
It looks like you got most of West Tampa with you.
09:28:42 >> I'm the co-chair of the West Tampa.
Community development committee.
I think it's safe to say on behalf of the Chamber of
Commerce in regards to West Tampa that we are thrilled with
the attention and priority that this administration and this
council has placed on the reinvigoration of the
redevelopment of West Tampa.
It has been a very long time in coming.
But we think that this investment in this park is an
investment worthy of the future of West Tampa.
This is the most ethnically diverse, best strategically
located community in the region.
You all know West Tampa very, very well.
You go to the chamber meetings or any community meetings.
You have never seen this kind of diversity, mixed unit
people enjoy celebration of life and community.
This park is an investment, this park is an investment in
future and its past.
We encourage you all to support moving forward with this
project.
Thank you.
09:29:55 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
09:29:55 >> Robert Morris.
I also support the project.
As now I am also with my theater, I think this is a great
addition as a resident and business owner.
I think it necessary and from what I understand, some of the
river might be going away and I think if this happens this
is the only access really to the water.
So I am hoping you approve this.
Thank you.
Miranda I just want to urge those of you who live in West
Tampa to stay there, and most of you who don't live in West
Tampa to move there since you like it so much. Come join
me.
Thank you very much.
09:30:48 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Next?
09:30:48 >> Michael Tomor, Executive Director of the Tampa Museum of
Art.
I want to encourage you all to consider the Julian B. Lane
project.
It's a remarkable plan.
The inclusion of major public art in this project is
critical to the quality of life that everybody can enjoy in
public park scenarios.
We recently closed a remarkable exhibition at our museum
that included public art work.
I can't tell you what it means for people to engage in art,
culture, play on their own terms, on their own time.
A park project like this is remarkable.
It will inform the gathering of people and throughout the
downtown and West Tampa region.
I can speak first hand experience at your tenacity and
encouragement of downtown development in the Curtis Hixon
park region has been remarkable for the quality of life
program and cultural institutions in the region.
I can't imagine one thing not happening as a result of the
Julian B. Lane project.
On a personal note, right before my interview for this
position over a year and a half ago, I read InVision Tampa,
and it was one of the main reasons why my consideration of
running a downtown museum was so strong.
Your administration has done nothing less than a miracle in
revitalization of the area.
Thank you.
09:32:15 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Next, please.
09:32:17 >> Good morning.
My name is Seth Pevnick. I'm the chief curator of Greek and
Roman art at the Tampa Museum of Art.
I'm also a member of the Public Art Committee of the City of
Tampa.
I have been aware of the Julian B. Lane project for some
time as do you and I would echo a lot of what Michael just
said about the importance of public art for our general
public.
I think as an employee of the Tampa Museum of Art for more
than six years now, I think, I have really seen the
revitalization of downtown.
And I think we feel that we are at the center of downtown,
and on the west side of the Hillsborough River would really
do more for the revitalization of the city.
And again I encourage you to support this project.
Thank you.
09:33:11 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Next, please.
09:33:12 >> I'm David Sherr, chair of the JPC which is right in the
heart of West Tampa.
I also am chair of the planning committee of the Straz,
which Laurence spoke about earlier.
And we are not separate districts in Tampa.
We are all one.
This is just going to make, first of all, I would say I am
in support of the project Julian B. Lane park.
Great parks create great communities.
Great example is Bryan park in New York.
That was a drug infested park where people could find
syringes on every corner.
Today if you go there, it is a thriving park with people,
and that's going to happen here.
The park connects the City of Tampa and West Tampa and
creates the continuum of places that people can recreate and
play and work.
I fully support the project.
09:34:24 >> Jack Ross, North Howard Boulevard, JTC federation.
I encourage your support of this wonderful project,
redeveloping that community.
Another piece of the InVision, Tampa plan, how exciting the
to be in Tampa.
The excitement that it is all generating.
It's a no-brainer.
And the federation supports the project and hope you do,
too.
Thank you.
09:34:58 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Next, please.
09:34:59 >> Vincent Palori, 234 East Davis Boulevard, Tampa.
I'm speaking on behalf of the project.
It's a lot of money.
We all know it's a lot of money.
But it's so needed.
This is the heart of our community, not just West Tampa, but
our entire community.
And I feel it's absolutely vital that we support this, and
that it happens, and that we keep Tampa growing.
Thanks.
09:35:37 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you, sir.
09:35:38 >> Richard Gonzmart, resident of Wellswood.
First I want to commend you and thank you.
I'm grateful for your vision and belief that what we did,
Tampa Heights, the Water Works, it's been a huge success.
Encouraging development, and that little restaurant that
nobody wanted to believe in, there's more sales in food and
beverage in the City of Tampa single largest asset, the
Tampa convention center.
That's what kind of impact it's had. We employ more people,
giving people hope.
It's forced me, made me make a difference.
Where my mother was born, where I was born, where my
parents, my grandparents lived, we purchased a 30,000 square
foot facility to help at-risk high school students learn a
trade, discipline.
It's making a difference.
But now it's time to realize where my great grandfather
Francisco Martinez, and the young children, West Tampa,
where my father was born and lived on green street, very
close by, been waiting for this day.
I'm willing to make a commitment like I did at the
Waterworks Park, to give people that opportunity, that
pride, opportunity for youth, remembering who made that area
West Tampa proud.
I have a plan in place.
We just need your support.
I'm excited beyond excitement.
I hope that you will really give serious consideration to
funding this plan that will change Tampa as we know it.
The great City of Tampa will be the greatest city in the
south if not the United States with your leadership.
God bless you.
Thank you.
09:37:29 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you, sir.
Next, please.
09:37:31 >> Benjamin Buckley, 902 north Rome.
I ask that you reconsider and not vote on this today, or
will vote against the park.
And I am on the CRA.
I'm also a board member of the North Hyde Park Civic
Association.
And it's not because the park is a bad idea.
We love the idea.
We love the plan.
As a matter of fact, I attended so many meetings, probably
more than a lot of people, the charettes about the park, and
what we noticed on the budget there's a $711,000 part of the
budget and it came right out of North Hyde Park, our
neighborhood.
And what this is money that was allocated for green space.
And I want to just briefly go over how this process
happened.
We had a lot of development along north Rome Avenue and
other spots in our neighborhood.
And part of their requirement, the city requires green space
for every project.
However, under the planning process there's a method that
these developers can use to not do the green space, and
increase their density.
Then they pay into an in lieu of fund where there's money,
and then used later to create green space.
And green space is very important because it leads to a
healthy environment.
And so there's this $711,000 that was allocated for our
neighborhood, and all of our North Hyde Park Civic
Associations, we are opposed to this money being used over
at the Julian B. Lane park.
Although we love the park and this is a great thing that we
are going to do this.
But we need to keep that money over in the neighborhood that
has been neglected and needs green space right in North Hyde
Park.
We are asking you to either go back and remove that money,
not vote on it today, or something.
I don't know what you can do at this point.
But we are asking that the money stay, the $711,000 stay in
North Hyde Park.
So we are against it for that one reason only.
Thank you.
09:39:54 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Ma'am?
09:39:55 >> Good morning.
I'm Brenda Lindsay, the current president of the North Hyde
Park Civic Association, a temporary position.
We are reorganizing.
Brenda Lindsay.
We are not opposed at all to this project.
We think it's going to be a beautiful place.
But the money that was designated for our neighborhood I
feel should stay in our neighborhood.
Give us a chance to develop a plan to use that money in our
neighborhood.
So we are just asking you to put a hold on that money for
the park area until we can come up with a plan to service
the people in north Hyde Park.
Thank you.
09:40:43 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
I just want do it say hello to Brenda
Lindsay.
She and I were homies from 7th grade through high
school.
09:40:54 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
We may want to ask some questions of you
after the meeting.
(Laughter).
09:40:58 >> I'm Christine Burdick, 721 south fielding Avenue, and
with the downtown partnership.
And I appreciate your considering this issue.
I am not going to speak long because folks far more eloquent
than I have spoken before me.
And I want to say we ask your consideration of this park,
because your leadership has helped build a beautiful legacy
of downtown green spaces.
And it's not just about downtown.
It's all about the neighborhoods surrounding.
The Perry Harvey park and the waterway park are all
opportunities for downtown but are really spreading the
goodness and the opportunities for all the people all over
Tampa to come downtown.
And have also the parks to our north and to our east.
And we are just winding down from a very successful festival
season.
It's been very important to have green spaces and play areas
for all the citizens of Tampa, and clearly people even from
beyond Tampa to come and enjoy our park.
It's an investment in the future.
It's further enhancement for the InVision plan.
And I think it's very important legacy.
And so we hope our leadership hopes that we can count on
your support for this.
And we will help build and grow all the parks in downtown.
Thank you.
09:42:29 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Next, please.
09:42:30 >> Ron Weaver, 401 East Jackson Street.
I hope in ten years The Discovery Channel has the best ten
parks in America and this park will with the love of Julian
B. Lane, will be different from the legacy we have in south
downtown.
And the park was decommissioned, Fort Brooke, and there were
17 squatters on it and came this close to being a large park
where the convention center, except for 17 squatters.
They didn't know what to do with the 17 squatters and did
not create that signature park that we have an opportunity
today that T create that in ten years with The Discovery
Channel the best ten parks in America this park has every
reason with all the energy and the vitality that we can make
to be that park.
I don't know where you grew up and what you new to be the
place in your community where you could synergize with
children, with seniors, with activities, and we can do it
with our precious water.
I know somebody mentioned something about the architecture,
about 15,000 years Indian mounds have been the archaeology
of this great community.
This is going to capture everything we were, going to
capture everything we need to be and it's going to do it
together and it's going to did not a signature style that
when they talk about the great parks of America, based on
the way this community believes what it's about to do, I
believe this could easily be one of those great signatures
and legacies of the world that we appreciate our people, we
appreciate the recreation, we appreciate their assembly, and
we appreciate their spirit, and it can be done together in
this kind of a signature, and this effort that you have
before you to make this where we all look back and say this
is where we had our finest hour, as we did in 1971 with the
world's greatest airport.
We will again with the world's greatest park.
Thank you for the opportunity.
We hope that you will take advantage of it.
09:44:24 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Next, sir.
09:44:25 >> I'm Ed Tillou, Sulphur Springs.
I came with a bunch of things to try to wrap up what I have
been talking about, but this seems to have come up now about
these parks on the river.
Okay, there seems to be a murking of things here.
There are two parks involved, and one is a right bank park,
and that gets murked up by West Tampa.
I see West Tampa as actually Howard, North Howard.
But be that as it may, there's one on the left bank that
portion of the Riverwalk is missing, and then finance we
carry the Riverwalk all the way up to this Tampa Heights
development with the Columbia restaurant and things like
that.
Well, it has a different name.
But, in any case, the problem with a lot of these things, I
think they are good ideas, but the problem is they are
overbuilt.
There's too much there.
Like I looked at a picture in the paper in PBT between the
Straz Center, and there was a before and after.
And it was like one of these classic things where the before
was better than the after.
So the thing that needs to be done is a lot of this needs
scaling down.
On the right bank park they want to put a rowing center.
That's a little on the dangerous side.
There is a rowing center, the University of Tampa.
They used to make that available to the public.
Collins was on his way there, 5 a.m., when he was run down.
On his bicycle.
But the thing is that there is something like that.
And to put it in a neighborhood where most of the kids can't
swim, you know, you are getting the cart before the horse.
In Baltimore, there's one of those centers, but I brought to
their attention that they should have as a prerequisite for
the use of these rowing shows and things like that, that the
people can swim, because things go wrong.
Okay, I had spoken before about bad food choices in a lot of
food things, and I really didn't come to a stopping point.
Well, anyway, this is available about cheese.
I have spoken.
I said cheese has an awful lot of saturated fats.
But I wondered where this was coming from and the 26th
largest producer of meat in the country, it's almost all
pork, and you will notice this name here.
So they were probably looking for some nitwit that doesn't
really infect Spinks things and they came up with BARABAS.
So that's a problem.
But there are good substitutes for pork.
They can do amazing things with chicken and turkey.
That's that.
Oh, by the way,.
(Bell sounds)
They are making it out of cream now.
And it's delicious.
09:47:38 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you, Mr. Tillou.
09:47:40 >> 44% of your day's saturated fat.
09:47:45 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Next, please.
09:47:52 >> Good morning.
My name is Marlon Anderson, the president of Sunset Park
area homeowners association.
I'm here to talk about agenda item number 74, which is the
revised stormwater capital improvement plan.
Our association recently took a vote on this, and we voted
to support this plan as long as a medium size house is taxed
no more than 100 per year.
We are willing toe pay that tax.
When I look at Tampa, I grew up in the Tampa Bay area.
It spent most of my life in Tampa.
Tampa has grown and it's going to continue to grow.
Smaller houses are getting torn down and replaced by larger
houses, which I'm sure you have seen all over the city.
I'm under no illusions that we are going to be fixing all of
the stormwater problems.
We know that if there's going to be a major storm, it's
going to flood and there's nothing we can do about that.
But I like to tell this one story.
I was over at the Chick Fil-A on North Dale Mabry with my
daughter, and we were having dinner, and while we were
there, we had a rainstorm, and it rained for about 20
minutes.
Okay, so I get in my car, start to drive home.
I nearly got flooded.
And this should not happen.
This is inaccessible.
That water should drain under those circumstances, and it's
not.
And we need to do something about that.
So I have the utmost confidence in the city administration
to administer a revised stormwater capital improvement plan
and improve the flooding situation throughout the city.
There's going to be a presentation today.
I ask you to listen to what they have to say, and that you
support a revised stormwater capital improvement plan.
Thank you very much.
09:49:41 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Before we go on to the next person, is there anyone -- we
have some folks lined up here -- is there anyone that's able
to stand and line up that wants to talk about any issues
besides items 47 through 57, if you could please stand and
line up for that so we can figure out what our next number
of folks we are going to have and the time frame.
Is there anyone else?
If you are going to talk individually, if you are just there
to stand up supporting someone, that's fine, too.
Okay, if we could have you all line up if you are able to
stand.
If you are not, we understand.
Council, I am going to need some additional time for our
public comment.
Looks like another at least 15 to 25 minutes.
09:50:23 >>HARRY COHEN:
So moved.
25 minutes.
09:50:27 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Second from Mrs. Capin.
All in favor of that motion?
Thank you.
I apologize.
Go ahead, sir.
09:50:33 >> Does that mean I get 25 minutes? (Laughter).
09:50:37 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
No, sir.
You are going to deal with all the folks in line then if I
gave you 25.
09:50:42 >> Thank you very much.
My name is James ransom, the president of the Saturday
morning breakfast group and board member and chairman of the
economic development committee for the Tampa organization of
black affairs.
I came to talk about the good faith language that's going to
be coming up in one of your workshops and maybe discussed
today in a staff report.
Butt I want to say about the parks, remember where it is.
It is in West Tampa.
West Tampa is on North Boulevard where my grandfather had an
insurance company, founded in 1922.
West Tampa is where Chester White had a gas station on North
Boulevard with EDU is currently standing.
West Tampa is where African-American people resided
alongside of Hispanic people as well as non-hispanic people.
Please remember in everything you do, all the decisions you
make, should reflect diversity, equity, fairness and
economic inclusion of African-Americans among others,
because that's what TOBA does and that's what the Saturday
morning breakfast does.
He would don't exclude any other group.
We want to make sure we are included.
I passed to the clerk information about Greenville South
Carolina Chamber of Commerce.
Please look at that website and see what they are doing.
It's pretty phenomenal.
But the good faith language I want to talk about today, I
can illustrate it this way.
There's the City of Tampa has about an $800 million budget,
spends about $800 million a year, and in a four-year term of
a City Council member or mayor you will spend 1.6 million
out the door, 10% of that on African-Americans, 10% of that,
1.6 million, maybe somewhere between 106,000.
So 1.6 million may be spent that way.
But please understand the language gives a loophole for
people to get around the idea of people actually spending
money, for people who have do business with the City of
Tampa, some of whom happen to be African-Americans, who pay
taxes and vote.
And contribute to the city's funding to be spend this money.
So please be considered of maybe we should have policies or
procedures as you enact ordinances that support equity and
fairness and economic inclusion of African-Americans among
others.
And so we ask you to actually look at changing the policy
that would affect the mayor's administration and what they
do with this money that you have to approve for them to
spend.
We look forward to engaging you in our Saturday morning
breakfast meeting, with these documents that I am talking
about, and I appreciate the time that you gave me this
morning.
Any questions?
09:53:29 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you, sir.
Your 25 minutes are up.
(Laughter)
Next, please.
09:53:35 >> Kimberly overman and I have too many hats on to describe
which one I have on at the moment.
I'm here actually speaking on item 47, 49, 58, 59, 60 and
67.
09:54:07 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
[Off microphone.]
47 through 57 are for public hearing only.
And those will be brought up at that time.
If you are talking about any other items, you may.
09:54:17 >> 58, 59, 60, 67.
Okay.
Then I will go on those others and wait till later.
In the handouts that I have provided you is the
recommendation from 2011 to 2016 budget, recommendations
from the citizens advisory council, that you have appointed
the citizens to review the budget and help make
recommendations to manage the financial affairs of the city.
While we have we have absolute support and endorsement of
the Julian B. Lane project, and yes, we would love to see
development.
It seems like a marvelous project.
The actual Finance Committee actually last year suggested
that the BP settlement money be utilized for infrastructure.
I guess the park would be considered infrastructure to some
degree but my biggest concern is funding it with the BP
money versus finding other resources or enhance the grant
applications in public-private partnership in order to
facilitate the development of Julian B. Lane.
I think it's important to recognize we have other economic
factors in our community that are very important to the
Tampa Bay region.
For example, MacDill Air Force Base generates
approximately 13.1 billion dollars in our community in terms
of the people who live there and work there and noticed to
get there.
When they are unable to get to the Air Force Base because we
have been unable to address the challenges we have with our
stormwater and being able to provide protection for the
residents as well as the employees' time to get to their
jobs.
We find that there needs to be some prioritization in making
sure that our finances are sound, and we are using those
resources in the best way.
And suggest that it is a bad idea, in no way do I suggest,
because it's a marvelous economic engine but we have things
we want to preserve and protect the natural resources in our
city.
I do have other items on the agenda but I would please ask
you for the advisory council as well as the articles I
submitted for your review.
09:56:38 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
09:56:39 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
When you mentioned the stormwater, please be
advised that what's coming to us today is the methodology of
applying for the credit.
It is not a revised stormwater plan.
09:56:58 >> I'm not speaking to the stormwater, I was speaking total
$35 million or the money for the Julian B. Lane that's
coming out of the BP settlement funds.
09:57:11 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
You and everybody else mentioned the
stormwater.
It is not at revised plan.
09:57:14 >> Thank you for your comment.
I appreciate it.
09:57:18 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Thank you.
09:57:19 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Next, please.
09:57:19 >> Mike Peterson, government affairs council for the greater
Tampa association of realtors.
Picking up a little bit on the prior speakers, as you may
have noticed, our president actually served on your budget
committee as well, and that's why when we spoke out with
some concerns over the stormwater improvement program this
past year, we had mentioned that we would have preferred,
and we saw money like the BP money, going to the stormwater
issue, at least to help reduce the pain that was being
suggested as a stormwater improvement fee.
No one is against the Julian B. Lane park.
And I understand the desire for legacy projects.
The problem is moneys aren't always mutually exclusive in
your budget.
And you also have a legacy of flooding.
So I just warn you, what are the priorities here?
And if in fact we decide all the BP money is desirable for
this park, we are going to be a little bit concerned about
how you decide to raise additional funds for the stormwater
improvement program and F that appears abusive to us.
I don't know what's coming later on the agenda to what we
are actually going to hear. I was under the impression we
might hear a revised program so I can't speak to that.
But when we see these as swab -- I know that makes that a
tough decision for you and I can respect whichever way you
go, just recognize that we are not against the park but we
are a little concerned about how the BP money may get thrown
in one big lump for one project.
Thank you.
09:59:06 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Reddick.
09:59:07 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Let me just make this brief comment.
And I understand the passion of these people that are
speaking about the BP money, but let me just say this.
When we are talking about legacy, we have a legacy of
neglecting West Tampa of over 20-some years.
That park was neglected for over 20-something years.
So when you talk about legacy, let's talk about the legacy
of neglect that we have gotten in West Tampa.
I just want to say that.
And when we get to discuss this, I am going to say a little
more about neglect in West Tampa.
So I just want to put that.
I have been sitting here patiently listening to everybody
who are downgrading and tying in two issues.
But when you get a history of neglect in West Tampa, you
understand people who live in West Tampa why this is
important.
Thank you.
10:00:10 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you, Mr. Reddick.
Next, please.
10:00:11 >> My name is Kelly FATIMI, a property owner in West Tampa,
in North Hyde Park.
I agree with Mr. Reddick, I do not want them to neglect West
Tampa any longer.
We are all for the park.
The park that today, we just formed an association, we have
interim officers that were just put in place, North Hyde
Park Civic Association and that's how I learned about what
was happening today.
And it is my understanding that there is $711,000 that is
allocated toward West Tampa neighborhood that is going to be
allocated to the Julian B. Lane park.
I just feel -- I am just asking if we could please table
this to give us a chance to come up and see what we could do
with the money that's supposed to be for the West Tampa
neighborhood.
Thank you.
10:01:18 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Next, please.
10:01:19 >> Jerome Bryan, Tampa Housing Authority, along and we are
here to support the redevelopment of Julian Lane park.
First of all it's the right thing to do.
I think the second thing more importantly that most of you
know are going after another choice neighborhood application
and this is a way to leverage not only that grant but do
what we need to do in that community.
The competitive process regarding the neighborhood is
tremendous, only about $125, maybe $130 million available,
and it's probably going to be 100 applications.
The more beverage we have the better we are in securing
those dollars for the project.
I think it's so important that we do it not only for that
but for the neighborhood over there.
That park has been neglected for a long time, and it's a
tremendous park, it's a good neighborhood, and I think that
whatever we do, whether we get our grant or not, I think
it's just important that we do that.
The people in that community deserve that park and deserve
the renovations.
If you look at that park and think about the history of that
park and what needs to happen, what hasn't happened over the
years, it leads one to believe that there has been some
neglect.
However, with partnership with the city and others in the
community we made a decision that for our project to be
successful that park nodes to be redeveloped.
I just want to share that with you.
10:02:43 >> David Gallon, Council President for North Boulevard
Homes, and I'm here with my other councilmen as well.
Good morning, council members.
We are definitely in support of Julian B. Lane park.
We are residents that recently relocated from West Tampa and
we would love to come back to West Tampa with a renewed
Julian B. Lane park.
We would love to have that space redeveloped, and definitely
see some things going there for our youth, and also children
as well, and I would love to have a place for my children to
come to that park, and definitely celebrate that area as
well.
I remember as a young boy going to that park, and we use we
would do car shows, used to have barbecues, it was a family
event, you know what I'm saying, and that's what I want to
come back with a renewed Julian B. Lane park.
So I thank you for considering the opportunity to revise the
park.
Thank you.
10:03:54 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you, sir.
Anyone else like to speak?
Give us your name, please.
10:04:07 >> I am also one of the resident council members, and a
recently relocated resident from the North Boulevard homes.
My goal is to turn around and come right back when the
project is redeveloped. And I really would like to have
your support in the development.
I would love -- I have three children.
I have three children of my own.
And I have grandchildren on the way.
And I would love that when I return back that we have a
place that we can go and it's safe, and my children can
play, where it's safe, where some of the other residents
that came before, some of our seniors, now they are not able
to go, but where our seniors can come, where those of our
age can participate and enjoy the park.
So I would love your support on this.
10:05:09 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
10:05:09 >> Leroy Moore, Tampa Housing Authority.
Just to echo many comments that you have heard earlier
today, the park in creating great communities, that's what
we are trying to do in the immediate adjacent to the area we
are calling west river. This park is a major leverage to
allow us to do what we need to do to reposition 150 acres
that has actually been off the tax rolls for 70-plus years
now and the vast majority of that period, this
redevelopment, that creates a renewing, a regenerating of
future revenue back to the city that never existed before.
And I heard so many comments today about use of BP oil spill
proceeds to finance the park.
There's no better use for those proceeds.
Having us -- the economy of Florida in such a way, investing
those funds now wisely in projects that would actually spin
off and continue to give you sustaining economic development
potential in this community, there's no better way to use
those fund.
Thank you.
10:06:23 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you, sir.
Next up, sir.
By name is KC Bowick, and I'm the president of the Tampa Bay
Black Chamber of Commerce, and I'm here for two reasons
today.
One is to ask you to go forward with the Julian B. Lane
park, because it is very much needed, because I am a retired
professional basketball player.
And I used to do a lot of playing at that park when it was
there.
And I have some good times in that park.
And I think that it should be revised where I can get off of
this cane and get back out there again and put some in the
hoops and stuff.
And the other thing is that the chamber is going to be
watching the funds that are being allocated to different
areas, they will be watching the funds that's going to be
allocated to any individuals and things, to make sure that
the black and African-American and minority-owned businesses
here in Tampa will be supported with that money, and if not,
then you will see the chamber back here again to give you
another lashing about what should be done about these
businesses and contracts and things that are going through
Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa.
And again, make Julian B. Lane a park that we can be proud
of, and that we can boast on when we go out of town and
things for people.
Thank you very much.
And remember, learning from the past to create the future.
10:08:39 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Next, please.
10:08:40 >> Derek Chamblee, Google D-E-R-E-K-C-H-A-M-B-L-E-E.
St. Paul.
Google C-Y-B-I-T-E-O.
Google citizen alert, state of emergency.
I'm here again to give you an update on the -- in the event
an emergency evacuation is called.
The coming of a major hurricane out of the Gulf of Mexico.
I had a meeting with a meteorologist from Bay News 9 that
was at an emergency show at TECO in the last several days,
and I asked if they get some sort of idea from the
meteorologists how they can give us a warning more than 36
to 48 hours before the headwinds reach the Tampa Bay region.
And I said to you before that when the headwinds reach 50
Myles miles an hour the first bridge that will be shut down
is the sunshine Skyway Bridge and then the Courtney
Campbell, Gandy, and Howard Frankland leaving precious
escape routes from Pinellas County, sacrificing Pinellas
County.
I have been over thereby, and I have issued a warning.
You can access my instructional video on the hurricane
evacuation plans, which are no plan at all, issued by the
Pinellas County commissioners and the Hillsborough County
commissioners.
We are going to need the cooperation of every single county,
Pasco, Hernando, Manatee, Sarasota, Polk County, Orange
County, every county all the way to Georgia for this type of
movement of perhaps a million vehicles on an infrastructure
and interstate that cannot support the population explosion
in the peninsula of Florida. There's precious little
escape.
I gave the meteorologist from Bay News 9 an approximate
location in the western Caribbean to look for the formation
of a depression.
82º longitude, 12 degrees latitude, somewhere around the
10th of September, and historically, a depression that
forms will meander along the Central American coast,
Nicaragua, over the Yucatan Peninsula, and emerging to
perhaps a category 5 in the Gulf of Mexico, and all of them
at that time occur wickedly for the west coast of Florida.
It's going to be a Domino effect with the vehicles on the
road.
We need more time, more warning, that would give
approximately ten days to begin a proper evacuation.
As far as MacDill and the central command, they need to
be relocated.
I suggest Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota, because
MacDill is going under water.
10:12:02 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you, Mr. Chamblee.
You are next.
Before you start, is there anyone else that would like to
make a public comment for any item besides 47 through 57?
Thank you.
Sir, you are our last public comment.
10:12:14 >> Thank you.
Dwight Bolden, West Tampa business person.
What I wanted to say was that most folks would believe that
there are folks in West Tampa that are against
redevelopment, against progress or prosperity of West Tampa.
And I think that needs to be cleared up first.
I think we all want redevelopment in West Tampa.
It's been a long time coming.
I have been in the fight myself for 35 years.
And redevelopment coming to West Tampa is great.
And speaking of Riverfront Park, this mayor had four
meetings at Howard Blake high school for the community to
Putin put into Riverfront Park.
He wanted to hear what the people wanted in Riverfront Park.
This mayor promised us in that very first meeting that it
would not cost taxpayers one dime.
This mayor attended only two of the four meetings.
It was the first and the fourth.
And the fourth meeting, he said that this project will cost
taxpayers $22 million going north.
After saying it would not cost taxpayers anything.
There is not a problem with that, but the problem is that
when you talk about the input from the community for
Riverfront Park, the folks that live 75 feet away from
Riverfront Park was completely ignored.
They have no input in what's going in Riverfront Park.
All I say is that the African-American community of West
Tampa, that community that is 75 feet away from the park, be
included in the progress, the economic development of
Riverfront Park.
They should get what they want out of it.
They should get something.
$35 million in community -- senior citizen community center,
and this mayor tell you, no, I see something wrong with
that.
I see something wrong with that.
In closing, the other part of that is that this mayor said
that -- his people said that Riverfront Park will hold a
capacity of 10,000 people on the outside.
But there is no facility there to hold 10% of the people
there indoors.
Again, I see something wrong with that.
Thank you.
10:15:16 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you, sir.
Okay.
We will go on with our agenda.
The next item before we go to item number 3, we would ask if
there's any requests from the public for reconsideration of
legislative matters only.
I see no one.
Item number 3 is an ordinance for changing chapter 14.
Mr. Miranda, will you please take item number 3?
Miranda move an ordinance presented for first reading
consideration, an ordinance of the city of Tampa, Florida
ending Tampa code section 14-30 to modify the definition
of knowledge required on the part of a vehicle owner to deny
qualification as an innocent owner under the ordinance and
to change the standard of proof required in judicial
proceedings, providing for severability, providing an
effective date.
10:16:01 >> Second.
10:16:03 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I have a motion by Mr. Miranda.
A second from Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion please indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
10:16:08 >>THE CLERK:
Second reading and adoption will be held on
June 2nd, 2016 at 9:30 a.m.
10:16:18 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
We go on to our committee reports.
Public Safety Committee, Mr. Miranda as chair.
10:16:23 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
I move items 5 through 7.
10:16:32 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Miranda, second by Mrs.
Montelione.
All in favor?
Any opposed?
Thank you.
Next up is Parks, Recreation, Culture Committee, Mr.
Maniscalco.
10:16:41 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
I move item number 8.
10:16:43 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Second.
10:16:45 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Maniscalco.
Second by Mr. Miranda.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Thank you.
Public Works Committee, Mr. Frank Reddick, chair.
10:16:53 >>FRANK REDDICK:
It 9 through 23.
10:16:56 >> Second.
10:16:58 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
A second from Mr. Miranda.
All those in favor of that motion please indicate by saying
aye.
Any opposed?
Thank you.
Finance Committee, Mr. Harry Cohen.
10:17:07 >>HARRY COHEN:
Move items 24 through 29.
10:17:10 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Second.
10:17:11 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Cohen, second from Mrs. Capin.
All in favor?
Any opposed?
Thank you.
Building, zoning, preservation committee,.
10:17:23 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I move items 30 through 43, and 45.
10:17:28 >>HARRY COHEN:
Second.
10:17:30 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I have a motion from Mrs. Montelione, a
second from Mr. Miranda.
All in favor of that motion please indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
Next up is transportation committee.
Ms. Capin.
10:17:42 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I move item 46.
10:17:45 >> Second.
10:17:47 >> Motion by Mrs. Capin.
Second by Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Thank you.
Next up are our 9:30 public hearings.
I apologize for the lateness of the hearings being started.
All those -- I would like a motion to open item number 47,
please.
A motion by Mrs. Montelione.
Second from Mr. Maniscalco.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Anyone that would like to speak on item number 47, 47 only,
please stand and be sworn in.
(Oath administered by Clerk).
10:18:32 >>MARTIN SHELBY:
I would ask at this time that council make
a motion to receive and file all the e-mails and documents
that have been received and available for public inspection.
10:18:39 >> So moved.
10:18:42 >> [Off microphone.]
10:18:45 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Including those items.
Okay.
I have a motion from Mrs. Montelione.
A second from Mr. Maniscalco.
All in favor of that motion?
Okay.
Thank you very much.
Petitioner?
10:19:07 >>JOHN GRANDOFF:
Suite 3700 Bank of America Plaza, on second
reading, on behalf of LLC.
I'm available for any questions you may have.
10:19:18 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Is there anyone in the public that would like to speak on
item number 47, please come forward.
10:19:25 >> Kimberly overman, on behalf Seminole Heights, commonly
known as the Heights urban core chamber.
We would like to endorse this project in terms of rezoning.
It's in line with the Seminole Heights business district as
well as the comp plan for this particular area.
The project would act as a buffer zone between commercial
intensive and residential.
And we would be see that as an addition and a value to the
community.
Thank you for your time.
10:20:08 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Anyone else in the public that would like to speak on item
number 47?
10:20:12 >> Motion to close.
10:20:18 >> Motion by Mr. Cohen, second by Mrs. Montelione.
All in favor?
Any opposed?
Thank you.
Mr. Reddick -- excuse me, Mrs. Capin, will you please take
item number 47?
10:20:32 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
An ordinance rezoning -- being presented for second reading
and adoption, an ordinance rezoning property in the general
vicinity of 6501 and 6505 North "A" Diana Street and 103
West Diana Street in the city of Tampa, Florida and more
particularly described in section 1 from zoning district
classifications SH-RS, Seminole Heights, residential,
single-family, detached, SH-RM, Seminole Heights,
residential, multifamily, providing an effective date.
10:21:06 >> Second.
10:21:07 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion from Mrs. Capin.
Second from Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion please indicate by saying aye.
I'm sorry?
Roll call, I apologize.
Roll call vote.
10:21:17 >>THE CLERK:
Not recording yet.
Now I do.
Three times.
Motion carried with Miranda, Reddick and Maniscalco voting
no.
10:21:47 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you very much.
Items number 48 through 51, if we could open those.
10:21:52 >> Move to open the public hearings.
10:21:55 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion from Mr. Cohen.
Second from Mrs. Capin.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Madam clerk, if you could please swear in those members of
the public that would like to be speak on items 48 through
51.
48 through 51.
(Oath administered by Clerk)
Item number 48.
Petitioner?
10:22:20 >>REBECCA KERT:
Legal department.
Item 48 is to correct a scrivener's error in a legal
description, and there is a suit site plan as well, and the
legal description was also on the site plan.
10:22:36 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Any questions of staff on this?
Anyone from the public on item number 48?
48?
10:22:43 >> Move to close.
10:22:46 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Cohen.
Second by Mrs. Capin.
All in favor?
Opposed?
Mr. Reddick, would you take item number 48, please, sir?
10:22:54 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Move an ordinance being presented for
second reading and adoption, an ordinance amending ordinance
number 2016-3 passed and ordained by the City Council of the
City of Tampa on January 7, 2016 which approved a special
use permit, small venue, on premises consumption and retail
package sales off-premises consumption for beer, wine and
liquor for property located at 6428 and 6430 North Florida
Avenue correcting a scrivener's error by substituting a
revised exhibit "A" and exhibit "B" for the exhibits that
were supplied in error, providing for severability,
providing an effective date.
10:23:33 >> Second.
10:23:35 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I have a motion from Mr. Reddick, a second
from Mr. Cohen.
Please vote and record.
10:23:48 >>THE CLERK:
Motion carried with Miranda voting no.
10:23:52 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Item number 49.
Petitioner?
10:23:55 >> Nina McGucken Alvarez, 1320 Ninth avenue, suite 210, here
on behalf of Heights Property LLC.
We appreciate your approval on first reading.
10:24:13 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Anyone in the public to speak on item 49?
49?
Please come forward.
10:24:23 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
Land development.
I just wanted for the record that the site plan has been
revised according to City Council's direction.
It's been given to the city clerk's office.
I know there has been some communication as to the use of
the property and I just for the record to again identify
what is being presented before you.
It is a small venue, beer, wine, liquor, on premises
consumption and package sales off-site consumption.
The site plan included a 3,110 square foot restaurant with
bar, 950 square foot retail wine shop, which allows for
consumption on premises as well as the package sales, and
the 750 square foot ice cream shop which is really a
restaurant by our definition.
I know there has been some communications that indicated
that this site could turn into a bar, over 4,000 square
feet.
That is not possible.
That is not what they are requesting.
I just wanted to place that for the record.
10:25:34 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Ma'am?
10:25:42 >> Kimberly Overman, 4610 North Central Avenue.
I'm wearing my chamber hat on as we speak.
But also I'm wearing the business owner hat.
You know, when we have investors that invest a great deal of
resources and money to bring economic development into our
community, I think it's a wise choice to support that
business.
And work within the code that the city provides for an
opportunity for a business owner to provide services to our
community.
In this case, the applicant has done a wise job of actually
addressing community concerns within the guidelines of the
code.
They are offering a diverse mixed use property available for
development in that particular area.
And this is an application for alcohol.
It is not an issue or associated with anything other than
what the department has actually reviewed, when comes to
outdoor noise, sound and music.
This applicant is coming to you for official using
application and I encourage you to support this application.
Thank you very much for your time.
10:26:54 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Next, please.
10:26:55 >> Bill Hunter.
I live at 5806 branch Avenue.
And I am a trustee for the Old Seminole Heights neighborhood
association.
The Old Seminole Heights neighborhood association is
requesting that council deny this application.
All of you received a letter on May 17th from Randy
Barron and the board has reviewed this letter and endorses
it completely.
It's the long standing policy of OSHA to oppose for hours
greater than 1 a.m.
It is not that we are opposed to the business or to the wet
zoning, but feel that requiring a 1 a.m. close is
inappropriate considering the proximity of this property to
residential property.
At the April 28th hearing the attorney mentioned that
there are a number of existing businesses in that area that
are permitted to be open until 3 a.m.
This is correct.
Most of those businesses were grandfathered in years ago.
But there are also many that are not permitted to stay open
until 3.
The Refinery, the Independent, Ichicoro, and the Rooster
just to name a few and all of these have been very
successful.
Ichicoro requested a 3 a.m. close.
That request was denied on the basis of section 27-129 under
subsection 3 which states that the usage would be
incompatible with the continuous and surrounding property
for the use.
And then section 5 which is that the use will establish or
encourage more intensive or incompatible uses surrounding
the area.
Subsection 7 was also discussed.
There are 2001 businesses in recent history that have been
approved for 3 a.m. close.
The Red Star Rock bar and Fodder and Shine, which closes at
midnight on the weekends.
Rock bar initially asked for a 1 a.m. closing time and
members of council suggested they change the application to
3 a.m.
Council may or may not be aware that red star rock bar has
been the subject of numerous complaints regarding late-night
noise.
Also, they received a waiver for parking based on the fact
there's ab vacant park next to them used for overflow
parking.
That lot has since been purchased and there are plans for an
apartment building.
Lot for that parking will Croat parking issues on the side
streets that you see happening in SoHo.
Petitioner's attorney also mentioned that an earlier code
close would put her client at a disadvantage.
But there are many, many successful businesses in Seminole
Heights that close at 1 a.m. or earlier.
The future tenant Ybor City wine bar is housed in a location
in Ybor that allows for a 3 a.m. close but according to
their website the wine bar closes at midnight on the
weekends.
Ybor is an area that has a much higher demand for late-night
hours, but she chooses to close at midnight.
Ybor City wine bar has obviously been very successful with
the more restrictive hours.
We are not concerned about the opening of a second location
in Seminole Heights.
What we are concerned about is what happens if she moves out
and another less desirable tenant moves in?
What happens if Ms. Graham decides to sell the property and
suddenly we have 6,500 square feet of property all wet zoned
for 3 a.m. closing?
Thank you.
10:30:34 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you, sir.
Next, please.
10:30:37 >> Debby Johnson.
Address 7908 north Highland Avenue.
I'm the president of the Old Seminole Heights neighborhood
association.
And I am basically going to be picking up where Mr. Hunter
left off.
In the April 28th meeting, Councilwoman Chapin mentioned
several times that chapter 14 allows for 7 a.m. to 3 a.m.
hour for businesses that serve alcohol.
I think the point that she was trying to make is that code
allows it.
So be it.
However, code does not allow for alcoholic beverage sales at
businesses that are within 21 feet of residential without a
waiver.
There are parking requirements that are not being met.
You shouldn't draw your decision are from unless you are
willing to look at all of the facts and the waivers that are
being granted.
In fact, the application of section 27-129 should always be
considered in special use places such as this.
This provides for adding conditions to lessen the potential
negative impact on surrounding neighborhoods, particularly
subsection 7 which states that these considerations shall be
given to potentially adverse effects generally on adjoining
and nearby properties.
The subsection goes on to say where such potentially adverse
effects are found, consideration shall be given for special
remedial measures appropriate in the particular circumstance
of the case, including screening or buffering, landscaping,
or hours of operation.
I don't think any of you can deny the fact that there will
be an adverse effect on the surrounding neighborhood.
It is your obligation to consider the special measure.
We are looking for compromise here.
If you are going to grant the waiver and allow this to occur
in our backyard, you should respect the residential
properties by denying this request as presented and
requiring restricted hours.
Elizabeth did a great job with that building and we
appreciate her contributions to the community.
However, we have to be forward-looking when making these
types of decisions.
We do not want Seminole Heights to become the next SoHo.
The property does not meet the distance requirements, nor
does it meet the parking requirements.
And most certainly if the application is approved as is will
have adverse effects on the surrounding neighborhood.
We ask that council fulfill your obligation to ensure the
best possible compatibility between competing interests of
business and residents by approving this request with wet
zoned hours restricted between 11 a.m. and 1 a.m.
Thank you.
10:33:15 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Next up.
My name is Randy Barron, Tampa, Florida.
I am not sure I can say it any better than that, but I do
want to apologize.
I was the person that sent in the five-page memo, but did
mention that the worst case scenario could be a bar.
And after speaking with land development, and legal, it was
determined that's not true.
Our best case scenario is MacDintons can we can now fill
that space as we know if it's a restaurant, a wine bar and
another restaurant, and they all three combined, which I
believe it can be, and Mrs. Mort can -- Mrs. Moreda can be
confirm or not, we can now get one property and that is 155
or 6 oak pansy of a restaurant/bar.
There are 17 spaces on that locational oh indicated for
cars.
You have a neighborhood 25 feet away that has a grid pattern
that allows for parking.
Not in the front of the house but on the side of each house.
There is going to be parking in there.
All of us have worked with the neighborhood associations in
South Howard.
We know that if you put something in -- and we understood
that in Seminole Heights when we started -- when we started
trying to attract these businesses in, we tried to set up a
pattern of development that would try to avoid the mistakes
that happened in South Howard.
And one of the ways that we did that is we went to all of
these restaurants, and we tried to get them to voluntarily
agree to reduced hours, and they did.
There is a pattern of development.
There's a pattern of development even as recent as January
that's the scrivener's error that you just approved.
That is almost identical site plan where you have a strip
center that's going to have a wine bar, and they have come
in and asked for midnight, weekdays, and 1 a.m. on weekends
and council just approved that.
I ask that you consider maintaining this pattern of
development.
Once you grant a 3 a.m. wet zoning,l it is almost impossible
to remove it.
And, in fact, I can't remember any wet zonings that have
been removed in the City of Tampa as far as I remember.
So in conclusion, I would ask that you approve this, but
approve this with restricted hours.
And please apply the requirements 27.29 in order to
determine what's the best compromise to make sure that the
impacts on the surrounding neighborhoods are alleviated.
Thank you very much.
10:36:12 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Next, please.
10:36:17 >> Jamie Kosar, owner of the Ybor City wine bar.
I did not think I would be speaking again this morning in
front of you you after last session.
And I will say once again out of respect for your time, I
could have passed the house with restaurant and bar owners
to 3 a.m., but I am actually -- I am quite surprise
surprised and disappointed to hear the concerns from the
property owners who unfortunately lack the vision for the
City of Tampa.
I'm sure for every property owner that is here today that is
concerned, you will find many other property owners who are
in support of, A, cleaning of Florida Avenue, B, increasing
property values, C, investing in the future of Seminole
Heights.
Per the last visit here, you heard quite amount of support
in favor of the 3 a.m. wet zoning.
So it want to address a few of the concerns I heard today.
Adverse effects.
I hardly consider increasing property values and bringing
upscale establishment and building block as an adverse
effect to Seminole Heights.
As far as parking, we have --
10:37:29 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
They are not going to vote, we are.
10:37:31 >> Yes.
10:37:32 >> If you want for us to hear you, face us.
10:37:35 >> Yes, sir.
It was my understanding that we did meet the parking
requirements in the event we had presented a valet parking
option, which was separate Lowe and we will get more into
that.
So not only are we bringing an upscale establishment, we are
bringing income valet parking which again cone sides with
the future vision.
Actually I am not that prepared today but I am asking you to
support the residents not here today who may support the
future of Seminole Heights and want to increase their
property values.
That's it.
Thank you for your consideration.
10:38:13 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Next.
10:38:14 >> I was actually not sworn in.
10:38:25 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Is there anyone else that's going to speak on
this item that has not been sworn in?
Thank you.
You want to speak, ma'am, that has not been sworn in?
Okay, go ahead.
(Oath administered by Clerk).
10:38:40 >> My name is Joshua Valdez.
I'm actually a resident of Seminole Heights, 1918 -- you
remember me.
I'm the romantic guy.
10:38:52 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Oh, yeah.
(Laughter).
10:38:55 >> On this issue, this was actually a great idea.
A lot of good work for the community.
I support all her projects that she's done so far.
And like I said before, and the previous time I was here, a
wine bar, a restaurant and ice cream shop.
It's a different clientele.
Seminole Heights, when it comes to parking, if you actually
look at Seminole Heights, buildings, residences, that's the
way Tampa is.
It's not getting any better unless we are going to start
destroying houses.
How do we fix that problem?
Parking is a problem that there is no real clear resolution
for.
When it comes to wet zoning, I do work in a bar.
I would like an opportunity to go late night near my home to
enjoy a glass of wine, enjoy a nice dessert.
And this is an opportunity for improving the community.
This isn't a rock bar.
This is a wine bar.
It's going to be selling wine.
A different type of clientele.
And I believe the gentleman previously said the Ybor City
wine bar, their hours are 11.
I frequent the wine bar very often.
Probably around 2:00, 2:30.
Very close to 3.
I am very much friends with the staff.
Just because a website may have different hours, doesn't
necessarily indicate what their operation really is like.
Look at Obamacare.
I mean -- (Laughter)
Legitimately.
That's all I really have to say and support for this.
I am the future demographic of Seminole Heights.
I'm 31 years old.
I'm a young single male.
I'm the one who is going to be purchasing houses in Seminole
Heights and this is going to attract people like me to make
investment in the community, people like me that's going to
make investments in the businesses there, and if I don't
have the opportunity to actually give my money to the
business because when I get off of work they can't serve me,
that's not fun for me.
My actually have to drive to Ybor.
What I keep hearing is, now what?
Go give Ybor your money, give SoHo your money.
Nobody in Seminole rights wants values to go up like South
Howard and that's all I have to say.
10:41:11 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Last time, anyone who would like to speak, member of the
public, on item 49, AB-2-16-05.
Thank you.
Petitioner, rebuttal?
Before you start, petitioner, if I could, the woman that is
going to be one of the business owners that are renting from
your petitioner, if you could stipulate that they do have a
financial interest in this going forward, I would appreciate
that.
10:41:36 >> At the wine bar?
She is not an owner, she's a tenant.
10:41:40 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I understand that.
I said financial interest in this going forward.
That's all I ask.
10:41:44 >> Certainly.
10:41:46 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Go ahead.
10:41:46 >> Earlier, we had a public hearing on April 28th.
There was extensive public comment at that time.
And I think that you will recall that it was in fact
overwhelming support for this application and this project.
I presented at that hearing, we did request four waivers.
We went through them, one of which was a residential
separation waiver.
I showed and submitted to council a map of support from the
surrounding neighbors.
The second waiver was for alcoholic beverage sales in a
bicycle area, and we also presented evidence to council that
the reason for that request was so that the wine store could
have outdoor events if need be.
The third and fourth waivers were parking waivers.
One was to allow 100% compact spots, and fourth was a waiver
to reduce the spot needed from 29 to 26.
So we requested actually a waiver for three spots.
I informed council that my clients had a lease with a
surrounding neighbor for up to 22 spots once the restaurant
is actually leased.
We don't believe that in this situation the waivers that we
requested are inappropriate, and actually all of which you
have voted to approve at first reading.
Between the first and second reading we simply revised the
site plan to reflect the hours consistent with chapter 14.
In chapter 14 again is what the city has already deemed to
be reasonable hours for the sales of alcoholic beverages.
And we do believe, as we presented at first reading, that
the use is compatible with the surrounding neighborhood, and
again my client is just asking float to be competitively
disadvantaged.
So we are asking again for your support.
Thank you.
10:43:31 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Okay.
Item number 49, do I have some discussion?
10:43:44 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Yes, thank you.
Okay, my name was brought up, so I am going to say that no
one brought up -- when they brought up the grandfathered
3 a.m., not one person brought a fact that there's issues
with those.
And doesn't stop anyone from moving into Seminole Heights
even though they were there.
That's one.
The grid of Tampa, old Tampa neighborhood.
We wouldn't be able to approve anything without waivers.
That's just the way it is.
Second, I heard no, no, no, no.
But, you know, we have to understand alcohol is a legal
beverage.
I hear people, and it is the abuse of it as any other
substance, but it is legal.
Again, the grandfathered neighborhood did not stop anyone
from moving into that neighborhood, and they were there
already.
So when we look at this -- and Mrs. Moreda -- I'm sorry,
Gloria -- please restate what you stated before because we
heard a lot of misinformation.
10:45:20 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
Land development.
Concerning the use of the property that's being proposed,
the site plan shows that there is -- I grabbed the wrong
file.
10:45:36 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
That's okay.
I mispronounced your last name.
I apologize.
(Laughter)
10:45:47 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
The special use buff for small venue, beer,
wine, liquor on premises consumption and package sales
off-site consumption.
The site plan shows a 3,110 square foot restaurant with bar,
950 square foot retail bar-wine shop, as well as the 750
square foot ice cream shop.
This is zoned SH-CI, and a variety of uses are allowed, but
what is being presented to you as the small venue is
primarily a shopping center that's going to be primarily
restaurant.
There's also the component of retail sales in this proposal.
But it is not to be converted to solely a bar.
10:46:39 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Thank you so much for that.
I'm ready.
10:46:43 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mrs. Montelione.
10:46:43 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Thank you.
So this isn't a decision that gives them the best possible
revenue.
So having the 3 a.m. closing allows them the flexibility on,
you know, some nights or maybe most nights.
They are not going to be open till 3 a.m. because it may not
make financial sense for them.
You know, they are going to see where their clientele is and
what times they come in and when the height of their
business is.
It seems that everyone is afraid that they are going to be
open till 3 a.m. every night of the week and it's going to
be raucous, noisy place.
And I don't see that happening with most of the
establishments that are open in the City of Tampa.
We have a few.
We have a handful of establishments that are problematic and
do cause issues, but it's a handful.
When you consider the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of
establishments that are open, it's a very small fraction
that may cause problems.
And I heard some people say that we approved an
establishment in Seminole Heights that is a problem.
Well, you know, I guess I am going to be asking TPD how many
calls that they have gotten.
If it's a problem, we haven't had anybody contact my office,
or I'm not sure if anybody else has received complaints,
phone calls about an establishment that's been problematic
there.
So if it's an irritant, then bring to the our attention.
But to penalize every person or every business that comes in
based on the actions of one or the actions of a few, I don't
think, is fair.
So that's kind of generalizing, but that's the gist of how I
feel about the hours.
And as far as parking, anybody can come through being on a
regular basis knows that I hate parking.
Parking makes it easy for people to drive cars, it makes it
very convenient, and, you know, we are trying to promote a
walking-biking culture in this town, and much reliance on
parks, and with the use that I see of Uber, legal or not, or
Lyft, legal or not, and there's a lot --
10:49:22 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Fingerprinted.
10:49:24 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
There's a lot of people who use Uber and
Lyft in this town, especially people who are visiting bars
or restaurants that don't want to drive home.
There's been a decrease in DUIs in places where Uber and
Lyft are highly utilized.
So I drive through places -- not necessarily we, that have
an abundance of parking.
Most of the time their lots are empty.
Not all the time but most of the time.
And I hate seeing, you know, land gobbled up by these
massive parking lots.
So I am in support of this.
I think everybody knows that.
And those all it want to say.
10:50:08 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other questions or comments by council?
Do I have a motion to close?
I have a motion to close by Mr. Miranda.
Second by Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion please indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
Mr. Cohen, will you please take number 49?
10:50:24 >>HARRY COHEN:
Certainly.
I move an ordinance being presented for second reading and
adoption.
An ordinance repealing special use 1, S-1 permit V-12-277,
approving a special use permit S-2 for alcoholic beverage
sales, small venue on premises consumption and package
sales, offpremises consumption and making lawful the sale of
beverages regardless of alcoholic content beer wine and
liquor on that certain lot, plot or tract of land located at
6701-6707 North Florida Avenue Tampa, Florida as more
particularly described from section 3 that all ordinances or
parts of ordinances in conflict are repealed, providing an
effective date.
10:51:05 >> Second.
10:51:06 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I have a motion from Mr. Cohen, a second from
Mrs. Montelione.
Please record your vote.
10:51:24 >>THE CLERK:
I have Miranda voting no and Mike Suarez
voting no.
10:51:35 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you for attending.
Next up is item number 50.
Five zero.
If I could have petitioner.
10:51:45 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Could you say that again so people know what
happened?
10:51:48 >>THE CLERK:
Motion carried with Miranda and Suarez voting
no.
10:51:55 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Much better.
10:51:57 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
Land development.
The site plan has been revised according to council's
direction and given to city clerk's office.
10:52:05 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Petitioner?
10:52:07 >> My name is Joseph -- Diaz, 1907 West Kennedy Boulevard
here on behalf of applicant and would respect approval of
the application.
10:52:21 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Is there anyone in the public to speak on 50,
AB 2-16-06? I have a motion to close by Mr. Miranda.
A second by Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Mrs. Montelione, please take number 50.
10:52:37 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I move an ordinance being presented for
second reading and adoption, an ordinance approving a
special use permit S-2 for alcoholic beverage sales, small
venue, on premises consumption and retail package sales
off-premises consumption and making lawful the sale of beer
and wine at or from that certain lot, plot or tract of land
located at 5908 North Armenia Avenue, Tampa, Florida, as
more particularly described in section 2, that all
ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict are repealed,
providing an effective date.
10:53:06 >> Second.
10:53:09 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mrs. Montelione.
I have a second from Mr. Miranda.
Please vote and record.
10:53:13 >>THE CLERK:
Motion carried with Maniscalco being absent.
10:53:25 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Item number 51.
Staff.
10:53:27 >> Land Development Coordination.
I'm here to answer any questions.
Applicant is here.
10:53:36 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Petitioner?
10:53:36 >> Good morning.
Jacob.
10:53:46 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Is there anyone in the public that would like
to speak on item number 51, VAC-16-12?
10:53:52 >> Move to close.
10:53:55 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion to close from Mrs. Montelione.
I have a second from Mrs. Capin.
All in favor of that motion indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
Mr. Reddick, will you please take number 51, please?
10:54:06 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Yes, chair.
Move an ordinance for second reading and adoption, an
ordinance vacating, closing, discontinuing, and abandoning
an alleyway lying south of Ellicott street, north of
Louisiana Avenue, east of 32nd street and west of 34th
street in Belmont Heights, a subdivision in the City of
Tampa, Hillsborough County Florida the same being more fully
described in section 1 hereof subject to certain covenants
more particularly set forth herein providing an effective
date.
10:54:42 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Second by Mr. Cohen.
Please record your vote.
10:54:44 >>THE CLERK:
Motion carried with Miranda being absent.
10:54:53 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
We now go to our 10:30 a.m. hearings.
I would like a motion to open items 52 through 57.
I have a motion from Mrs. Capin, second from Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
Thank you.
If you are here to speak on items 52 through 57, please
stand and be sworn in.
(Oath administered by Clerk)
Staff.
10:55:28 >> Council, item number 52 was reopened on April 28th,
2016, and continuously for full council consideration.
Councilman Reddick was absent.
And I believe it was a tie vote, if I am not mistaken.
To let you know that the status of the matter before you
senior that you have an open public hearing.
There is no motion on the floor.
However council wishes to proceed.
Mr. Reddick, are you prepared to vote on this mat deer?
10:56:07 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Yes, I am fully aware of this item.
We had discussion.
10:56:13 >>HARRY COHEN:
We don't have a full council sitting here.
Perhaps as a result of the last result -- Mrs. Moreda, why
don't we go to item number 53?
He will be back, Mrs. Montelione.
Item number 53.
10:56:36 >>BARBARA LYNCH:
Land development coordination.
This is a city initiated application to vacate two
rights-of-way in Cuscaden park.
I have an overhead.
The city owns the property in red, and the two rights-of-way
that are not vacated, but within the park perimeter,
20th Avenue and the alley shown in yellow.
And this is north Ybor area.
And the street lies south of 21st Avenue, and goes from
Avenida Republica de Cuba and west of 15th street.
I have some pictures.
And the first is 20th Avenue, and the park proper. This
is 20th Avenue looking east.
And this is the approximate location of the alleyway, some
ball field there, and the alleyway from ARDC, Cuscaden park.
The city requested this be vacated, the right-of-way if it
becomes park property.
10:58:08 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Any questions?
Is there anyone in the public that would like to speak on
item number 53, VAC-16-10?
I see no one.
10:58:18 >> Move to close.
10:58:21 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion to close by Mr. Cohen.
I have a second by Mrs. Capin.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Mr. Miranda, will you please take number 53.
53.
10:58:31 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Item number 53, public hearing
VAC-16-10.
An ordinance presented for first reading consideration.
An ordinance vacating, closing, discontinuing, abandoning a
portion of 20th Street Avenue and alley lying south of
21st Avenue north of 17th Avenue east of Avenida
Republica de Cuba and west of 15th street in Cuscaden
grove first addition a subdivision in the City of Tampa,
Hillsborough County the same being more fully described in
section 1 hereof subject to certain covenants more
particularly set forth herein providing an effective date.
10:59:10 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
All in favor?
Any opposed?
Thank you.
10:59:12 >>THE CLERK:
Second reading and adoption will be on June
2nd, the 2016 at 9:30 a.m.
10:59:19 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you very much.
We go back to item number 52.
Mrs. Moreda.
10:59:29 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
Land development.
The proposal before you is for a small venue, beer wine
consumption on premises only.
From the beginning when this was first heard, the applicant
did shrink the area to just the inside area.
It's 3,770 square feet of just inside AB sales area.
There are no off-street parking spaces being provided.
Staff sees there are two waivers before you, the waiver for
the distance separation from other AB sales establishments
from 250 to 112 feet, and there is reduction of the required
parking, and I think this is where staff and the applicant
have some disagreement.
I reviewed the site plan with the fire marshal staff and
they indicated that they anticipate occupant load of about
196.
The site plan indicates that there are, I believe, 96
individuals as occupant load.
Even with that, it would be a reduction of 100% of the
required parking.
Staff has concerns about that.
If council is inclined to approve it, there are some site
plan modifications that I would like and I will get with the
applicant before first and second reading if council is
inclined to approve.
11:00:59 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any questions of staff?
Mr. Reddick.
11:01:01 >>FRANK REDDICK:
When we first discussed this item, I
thought that petitioner indicated he had some type of
agreement about off-site parking.
And I hear now that there appears none?
11:01:17 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
I believe he tried.
He has not been able to secure a long-term lease on any of
the properties.
And at that point we will not recognize that as required
parking.
11:01:27 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Thank you.
11:01:30 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other questions of staff?
Petitioner?
You can talk to us and then talk to her.
11:01:38 >>> The parking concern was public parking, about 30 spaces,
about less than 500 feet from the space, and we were allowed
to use that space, and directly across the street I have
about 20 parking spots, Marvin Knight, and the people did
not provide me a lease but we are paying into the lot.
So next door to me is 2110, parking, but he will not provide
me a lease.
11:02:19 >>FRANK REDDICK:
I don't know what kind of arrangement you
call that but you are telling me, Mr. Knight, you want to
pay him and he won't give you a lease?
11:02:31 >> Correct, sir.
What he wants is a trial period of a year to make sure that
his property is taken care of and his demands are pretty
high.
I said I can't do that until -- it's like tit for tat.
If you approve that then, I will send it in for our
clientele.
11:02:51 >>FRANK REDDICK:
But agreement with no assurances at all.
And Mr. Knight can deny it at any time.
11:03:00 >> Absolutely.
11:03:02 >>FRANK REDDICK:
You are willing to take that gamble?
11:03:04 >> I have no choice on that street at this point,
unfortunately.
But we do have city parking which provides over 36 parking
spaces, and it is public parking.
And we don't need that much but we have been able to use the
parking spaces.
And we are a theater.
We have rehearsals from 8:00 o'clock until almost midnight
so directly across the street is much better.
So it's really across the street just for safety.
And then the parking -- 37 parking spaces during the day.
Wanted permission after 5:00.
And we are not open every day.
We are a theater, performance.
11:03:54 >>FRANK REDDICK:
[Off microphone.]
11:04:00 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Reddick, would you put your microphone
on?
I apologize.
11:04:03 >>FRANK REDDICK:
I'm sorry.
I'm very familiar with Mr. Knight's property in the city
West Tampa, and when we first discussed this, you were
saying about all these different agreements that you might
have, come today here that you don't have all these
agreements, and I wouldn't put my faith in having a verbal
agreement with Mr. Knight.
So I am more uncomfortable supporting this now because there
are too many uncertainties about this whole arrangement.
I just want to say that and I won't be able to support this.
Mrs. Capin.
11:04:52 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Okay, here we go.
I like the fact that these dropped.
If you are paying Mr. Knight, that is a contract.
I'm sorry, in anywhere, any place, you are paying him, so
that you could use that lot to park.
That's a contract.
Now, that there's public parking.
This is beer and wine.
Mrs. Moreda, I want to ask you something.
Can this venue change automatically from a theater, or a
small venue?
11:05:30 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
The uses they described on their site plan
is for place of assembly, theater, and specialty retail
sales.
That is the uses that identified on the site plan.
11:05:43 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Okay, thank you.
And I see bore and wine.
And my thought is maybe you are getting a hard time because
it's on Main Street.
But I do not -- I do not understand it at all.
I know your business.
I know what you are doing there.
What you have done with that building.
I know the building, as I said before.
My husband and I looked at it in 2006.
So I know what kind of work it took to get it to where it's
at.
We are looking at an area that is about to be developed.
And, you know, people here were here talking about the park.
And they kept referring to it as the west river bank.
It is the West Tampa river bank.
West Tampa.
West Tampa does not end at Howard Avenue.
But what you are trying to do here is an asset to this
neighborhood, absolutely.
I have seen it.
And I am trying -- I am wracking my head trying to see why
you are getting so much pushback.
11:07:02 >> I don't know.
Just so everybody is aware, this theater, he would want to
hold summer camps for the community which we do now.
We teach children performing.
We take -- most of the community to help clean up the street
in front of me, across the street, there's a park, I
employed them to clone the park over there, and anybody in
that community can come to any show we have, and we don't
charge them as long as we are not drinking, and they are
free to come at any time.
We always had that rule.
We do hire employees.
Everybody on the street and get them off the street.
And to maintain the building on the outside, never had an
issue with that building.
Most everybody on that street, I talked over the single
business owner, every neighborhood association is in support
of it.
There's not one person negative against it as you can see.
And I will tell you that I am meeting the parking waiver for
the change of use.
If I dough not get the parking waiver I will not have the
change of use, I will be closed.
That's it.
End of story.
And I'm really trying to do something there, and it's very
hard to make that happen.
I also have a home there just two streets over, and we are
building a new house.
And we have been able to get a lot of building -- now you
should see the values are going up.
350 you this for homes in old West Tampa, not subsidized by
the city or county or bank.
That's what real people are money because they see what we
are doing there.
Main Street is the only street that they can walk to for any
kind of business, coffee shops, not there, restaurant, not
there, a doctor, not there, pharmacy, not there.
There's nothing on the street, just gambling, drugs,
prostitution.
When I have a show there, I have the police department
volunteer come and take care of it and never had a problem
there.
After 10:00, we are done, we are closed, and that's it.
And that's long-term stay.
We are not going anywhere. We are going to be a nonprofit.
We are going to have donations from major corporations
helping educate the kids therein when we have classes during
the day.
The beer and wine is something very minimal.
It's not a club.
11:09:20 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
I am going to stop you there.
We approve beer and wine for paint by number store.
11:09:25 >> Just what you approved a little bit ago.
11:09:29 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
I mean seriously, I'm wracking my brain
trying to figure out what the push back is.
Maybe I don't have the in on what the pushback is, but
there's something here, because you do have a contract with
Mr. Marvin knight, and you are paying him for the parking,
and there is public parking.
I know it very well.
I was there.
And I know the issues that happen in that street.
I was there when the issues were happening.
So when I look at it -- and I'm not foreign to West Tampa.
I'm going to say it again.
My grandmother was born on Main Street in 1908.
So that area is very familiar.
And when they speak of it being a neglected for 20 years,
the whole area, all of West Tampa has been for many, many
years.
What you have done as a private citizen combing in is an
asset.
And to really bring it do I know is amazing to me.
But you are building a house there.
You are moving into the neighborhood.
11:10:27 >> I owned homes in the area.
And I'm also an investor.
When I started investing in that less an year ago, price per
square footage was $50.
I could buy a home for 30 or $40,000.
You cannot get in that neighborhood for less than $145 a
square foot now.
Now we have 30 new homes from another project that's in
there, apartment, old West Tampa flats are now on Howard and
Spruce.
You will see you approved that.
That's there.
So people are now moving to the neighborhood.
I talked to them.
I tried to get them in there.
I am on the board of West Tampa chamber.
I have the West Tampa chamber to support me.
They want this there.
So I don't understand the pushback here R either because I
not asking for a lot.
It's only 24 parking spaces and the concern was that you
have brought up what if people build on it and then your
parking goes away?
Well, if they don't have parking how are you going to
approve them?
There's nowhere for them to build anything and then have no
parking.
11:11:34 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
I just stated that.
In Tampa, the grid of Tampa, old West Tampa, Old Seminole
Heights, old Hyde Park, anywhere, if we do not give
variance, we cannot approve any commercial.
So I am done with this.
And I do support it.
And I did before.
11:11:50 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mrs. Montelione.
11:11:51 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Thank you.
I'm looking at the aerial.
There is a parking lot immediately adjacent.
What is that?
11:12:12 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
You are talking about -- this is the
subject property here.
11:12:14 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Go left.
11:12:22 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
That area here?
11:12:23 >> The gentleman owns a bar next door.
He will not sign a lease for that property either.
We have used that parking lot before.
So he's been pretty open before, but lately, with this --
11:12:37 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Where is the public parking?
Move the aerial down a little bit.
We can't see.
We don't need to see the interstate.
11:12:52 >> Right there.
That's all public parking.
11:12:54 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
So it's an easy walk.
In older cities -- we have, you know, that we have been to,
all of us have been to places, older cities, there's been
considerable amount of time in Pittsburgh, there's a lot of
these, and there's no parking.
There's public parking.
Surface public parking lots.
And in order for an area to redevelop, what we see here in
Tampa is the fact that they have to tear down a building in
order to build a parking lot.
Whether it's the right thing to do for our city to tear
buildings down and build parking lots, I don't think it's
the right thing to do.
In this neighborhood, with the older buildings that we have
there, some of them historic.
I don't want to lose building stock to parking lots.
And in this area, on-street parking is, not commonplace in a
lot of the City of Tampa, but there is on-street parking in
this neighborhood.
There's on-street parking in urban neighborhoods like
downtown and others.
And we need to do more of that.
On-street parking slows traffic down, it's better for
businesses to have on-street parking, people can park right
in front of the establishment.
And when you come in, you know, it's generally seen as a
good sign when the artists and painters show up, as has been
reiterated by my fellow council member, Yolie Capin, on many
occasions.
When the artists come in and painters show up, then, you
know, you start seeing a neighborhood change.
And I'm not promoting gentrification, but we need to have a
mix of individuals living in our neighborhoods in order for
people to learn about each other, and this is how it starts.
So I think that having your theater there is a good thing.
I think it's what the neighborhood needs.
And as the other West Tampa projects take off, then, you
know, the area is going to be, you know, changed.
If we don't allow for an establishment, places such as
yourself, a theater to come in, what would we allow?
I don't know.
If a retail score is going to locate in the space.
Right now we are not going to see improvement in the area.
So I am also in support of your application.
But I think you already knew that.
11:16:02 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other questions from council to the
petitioner?
Petitioner, is there anything else you would like to say
concerning your application?
11:16:09 >> Not at this time.
I just appreciate the opportunity and I'll close it.
11:16:17 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
We appreciate it.
Any other comments or questions?
Mr. Cohen.
11:16:19 >>HARRY COHEN:
I have found the councilwomen's comments to
be pretty persuasive on this.
And, you know, I voted against this because these parking
problems, we start do I know this road, and we end up with
neighborhoods that get completely overwhelmed.
But on the other hand it does sound like there are at least
some parking options between the public lot and some of
these others around it.
And I am going to go ahead and support it.
11:17:07 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Reddick and then Mr. Miranda.
11:17:08 >>FRANK REDDICK:
You know, here is the thing that bothers
me about this whole project here.
You talk to the owner of the bar, he won't give you a lease
agreement to park on his property.
You talk to Mr. Knight who owns several properties in West
Tampa.
You say you are paying him but you don't have anything
written and you can't go to court with anything not written.
So not talking about you paying somebody and you don't have
a document to prove it.
11:17:51 >> But I am --
11:17:55 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Morris, let him ask the question or make
a comment.
Sir.
11:17:58 >>FRANK REDDICK:
You stood here and talked about the
neighborhood association and all the people that are before
you.
You haven't provided one documentation to this council
saying they support you.
You have not had one person come in here and stand with you
and say they support you.
11:18:14 >> I had five people here last week.
11:18:23 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Well, those people in West Tampa, none of
them are members of the Chamber of Commerce.
I don't need you going back and forth with me, all right?
You stand there.
You had your time to speak.
11:18:33 >> You asked me a question about --
11:18:36 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Morris, let me interrupt you for a
second.
I would prefer that you allow the member to speak and ask
the question or make a comment.
Then you will have your time.
It's too hard for us to keep the time for you to make sure
that you have that time.
So why don't you just wait.
11:18:50 >> Sure.
11:18:51 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
And let Mr. Reddick make his comment or his
question and go from there.
Mr. Reddick.
11:18:57 >>FRANK REDDICK:
The final thing I will say is those who
are asking that this be denied, you know, some of you don't
know what the plans are for West Tampa.
This is a major project for the city of West Tampa, and
uplift that whole community, and not only talking about CRA
development, but negotiations that going on that are going
to bring some businesses in there, and, you know, and I am
in discussion with these people about these projects.
But I will just say this to you.
Again, Main Street, and I look on Main Street now, and the
thing that we are talking about redeveloping Main Street
with different projects, and that theater is fine, but I'm
to the point now, we have enough beer and wine on Main
Street, and whether you like it or not, it's just an influx
of beer and wine in that area.
So I am just going to say to you, I am not comfortable with
the parking, and you don't have proof that these people are
supporting you, and therefore I am giving you an opportunity
since you can't prove anything to me today, therefore I will
continue to not support.
11:20:39 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Miranda.
11:20:40 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Let me say this.
It's not about this particular one but all of them.
We have come um with these new things.
I have an accessory parking lot and I have this and I have
that.
The problem is that this government or any other government
cannot follow up on everything.
And once you start with these leases that some are valid,
some are not, because they have a breaking point because you
have a lease for two years doesn't mean you can't get out,
or for ten years doesn't mean you can't get out, or if you
have a city lot like the one that's there, has been a long
time, might grant that, but you can't just say I want to
have this based on what may happen ten years from now or
five days from now or two hours from now, that that lot will
not be available, but yet you have the zoning.
This has happened already in the SoHo district.
You live and you learn.
And you suffer the consequences.
So we have roared in the SoHo district.
I admit it.
So you learn from those things.
You don't walk away from it and close your eyes and say
we'll try another one.
There are no ventures left in life whereby something doesn't
work.
Adventures like this doesn't work, and you have to imitate
something.
And I am not talking about you, sir, I'm talking about the
whole concept of it.
It's a gimmick to get us to vote for it.
And I'm not falling for it.
That's all.
11:22:11 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Any other comments, Mr. Morris, before we Goreck to public
comment?
11:22:16 >> Yes, I do.
I believe the Macfarlane Park association, she said she sent
it yesterday.
You should have the association supporting my beer.
So if you didn't get that e-mail I will have her resend to
the her.
11:22:35 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
We will check on that and have that put into
the record if that is true, sir.
11:22:38 >> The second comment I would like to make, Mr. Miranda, is
the difference between SoHo, and I believe Main Street, is
Main Street is wide enough where we have on-street parking
on both sides, so maybe in the future that could be
reconfigured to better parking spaces or metered parking in
the future where the city co-make a benefit from that which
SoHo does not have.
That would be a little it R different.
Plus, behind my building, green street, there's a lot of
empty land from where they were doing construction so there
is potential for maybe the city in the future to be buy land
and maybe put some parking back there which is directly on
the exit.
And that's what I am trying to purchase.
They are holding onto the land so tightly.
The other thing about leases, the reason why they weren't
going to lease is it they didn't want the liability because
of the neighborhood.
That's way was told by Mr. Knight.
And I apologize --
11:23:36 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Morris, it's okay.
We just want to make sure we get a clean record.
Mr. Miranda.
If I could go forward -- excuse me, before we go forward.
11:23:46 >>REBECCA KERT:
Really quickly, council.
I know you all noticed but just for record purposes, we did
have public comment.
You probably want to reserve your final-final decision on
this until you hear all of the testimony.
Thank you.
11:24:00 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you, Mrs. Kert.
Anyone in the public that would like to speak on item number
52.
Sir.
11:24:04 >> Yes, good afternoon.
My name is attorney Jamar Chapman. I'm with the black
chamber of commerce and here to speak, because I'm also
radio host for 88.5 WMNF, the urban cafe, Sunday morning.
We have had a couple of workers on the radio show a couple
of times and they have done quite a few extraordinary plays
within the last few months.
I have only been here a little time in Tampa.
I'm from Detroit, Michigan actually.
The venue is unlike any other I have seen in Tampa.
They bring Broadway plays to Tampa.
They are only open a handful of days a year and that area,
particularly Main Street, I guess -- I'm from Detroit.
But what I have seen is some of the areas, the high rates of
prostitution, crime, areas which definitely need to be
revitalized going forward.
And what Robert is trying to do in that area is absolutely
azing things.
And they are trying to make these parking waivers to bring
in people like myself.
I'm 33 years old.
I'm single.
So the demographics of people who would be my age range, 25,
35, 45, and we would go see plays.
Unlike other areas in Tampa, and maybe it's me, but I
haven't seen so many strip clubs in a city in my life.
These places bring in, of course, crime, unruly behavior.
None of that is going on in this space, or anyone who is a
patron of the space.
That's why it's so important that they get this waiver.
And then on my behalf of the black Chamber of Commerce here
in Tampa, when you are looking at bringing in different
activities, or businesses tore neighborhoods, this is
something which is definitely has a positive effect on
African-American business.
I actually run two law firms here in Tampa.
And one of my I run on my own, actually.
I understand the importance of building businesses and
having relations with other people.
And like I said, I am also a radio host for the 88.5 and we
have a lot of people calling to the shop speaking about how
they have never seen anything like this in Tampa before.
The play, the venue, the opportunity.
That's why it's so important that the space is allowed the
parking waiver so they can move forward and keep doing
azing things for the City of Tampa.
Thank you.
11:26:44 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Reddick, if I could, before you go
forward, let's try to clear out the rest of the members of
the public so that we can continue with this.
11:26:50 >>FRANK REDDICK:
I want to make a comment.
He just made a comment that I want to respond to what he
said, and that is, first, let me tell you, I hope you are
able to produce a copy of one of your shows on WMNF because
I listen to the shows in the morning time coming, and I
haven't heard anyone call in talking about it.
I hope you got an audio that you can produce.
Two, give me the name -- or give me the number on the strip
club on Main Street.
How many on Main Street?
11:27:40 >> If I may, could I respond to both your questions first?
11:27:45 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Before we go forward.
Mr. Reddick, I appreciate what you are saying in terms of
his comments to us concerning West Tampa specifically.
And you have made your comment.
I believe you have completed your comment.
Mr. Reddick, if it's okay with you, I would like to go
forward with the rest of the public so that we can finish
this up.
Thank you, sir.
Next up, is there anyone else in the public that would like
to speak on item number 52?
Okay.
Petitioner, you have rebuttal.
Petitioner?
Mr. Morris.
You have rebuttal.
Would you like to take any rebuttal time?
Mrs. Marshall, how much time does he have?
Five minutes, sir.
11:28:21 >> I forgot to also mention with the education that we are
doing in the community, my goal there is to use the venue --
we allow other neighborhood people to use it for birthday
parties, graduation events, which we have people want to use
that.
We think can't until we get this waiver.
And use this for other than the theater.
We won't be selling beer and wine to them.
The space is available to the community because there's not
really another community space for people in that
neighborhood to use.
And when you were referencing Main Street strip clubs, yes,
sir, there's no strip clubs on Main Street but there is
plenty of prostitutes ton that street, and also a lot of
drug dealing.
When we have a show, Tampa police come out, that street is
the cleanest street you have ever seen when we have a show.
And we have never had an issue with any one of the, I guess,
neighborhood people on the street when we have the shows.
And everybody has been very generous.
So that's all I have to say unless anybody has any
questions.
11:29:25 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you, sir.
Mrs. Montelione, do you have a comment or question?
11:29:29 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I have a comment.
I heard two council members basically try to challenge you
and call you a liar, which is why I understand why you are
upset.
And because if I was standing in your shoes, which I did in
a past life, I did stand there, I would be very upset.
This is not a gimmick to get the alcoholic beverage.
I don't think you would have gone to the length that you
have gone to have the theater there on a whim, or put the
investment that you have put into this building to fix it up
to get to the that point where you could actually have
people inside the space.
So I think that was, you know, just something that I had to
get out in the open, because I don't want to see you stand
there and have to defend yourself the way you have had to
defend yourself.
And Mrs. Capin said before, the pushback is enormous.
And again, I'm not sure why, because I think it's a noble
thing that you are doing.
I think that when you said you are an attorney and you are
single -- (Laughter)
We might have people calling in your radio show now that
they know these things.
(Laughter).
11:31:13 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
That's a whole other issue.
Let's go on.
(Laughter).
11:31:19 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
But, you know, you are right.
You are the demographic we want to see.
And I'm glad you moved here from Detroit.
And to make that statement that our city, as many people
have of that city, that have not been to areas where it's a
lot worse, and I am not going to name off cities because I
don't want anybody to get mad at me.
Or different urban areas up north.
So thank you for your comments.
You know, we need to have the step in the right direction,
not only is the on-street parking available to you, but this
is a very, as you pointed out, wide corridor, mass transit,
bus routes.
I mean, there are ways of getting around other than using a
car and bringing in parking lots.
I'm sure some of the folks who come to your establishment
don't own cars.
So either they are getting a ride with somebody else or they
are walking to your establishment, especially for some of
the community activities that you have there, for example.
They are taking the bus.
Excuse me, my allergies are acting up.
They are taking the bus.
They are walking.
Sometimes not even out of choice, it's because they have to.
So again, I am for it.
I did want to put those comments out there.
And I'm sorry that you have had to defend yourself in the
way that you have.
11:33:03 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Miranda.
11:33:03 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
You know, I have a little wax in my ear but I don't have any
wax in my tongue.
I never called this man a liar.
And everything I said earlier, this is not about his
application, this is about the general terms of what we have
been used to.
And what we have been told, and what's happened after we
have been told.
And I don't want to have the TV play it back, and I'll buy
anybody a video and send to the them to see what I said.
If I have to call somebody a Loire, I say it rate to their
face.
I ain't afraid of size, color, creed or whatever it is.
Because I can still outrun them.
(Laughter)
What I am trying to say is that -- pardon me?
11:33:44 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Go ahead, Mr. Miranda.
11:33:45 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
What I am saying is all fact.
There is no strip club that I know of on Main Street.
Everything that I heard from other colleagues on this
council say, I have to say that I agree were everything that
everyone said.
That doesn't mean that I can't vote my way.
I don't try to sway in a one's position I.don't challenge
anyone on this council.
I just vote for what I think is right for the general
public.
End of story, Mr. Chairman.
11:34:15 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mrs. Capin.
11:34:16 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Yes, I do believe the gentleman that spoke,
the attorney, when he said that he was surprised at how many
strip clubs were in Tampa.
In general.
He didn't say Main Street.
Let me tell you, I owned a business.
And I got that comment from people that came from out of
town all the time.
They were amazed.
That was the first thing.
Especially before, the Causeway Boulevard was cleaned up.
Right when you got off the airport, there were more, many,
many.
So, yes, that is a comment that is made.
I was in business for 25 years, and yet I did get that from
people that came from out of town.
They were surprised.
So, yeah, and I think his statement was in general, and
that's how I took it.
I'm done.
11:35:05 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Reddick.
11:35:05 >>FRANK REDDICK:
And the same people who come from out of
town and tell you that are the ones who are making the strip
club owners rich because they want to go in there.
The problem is -- and I don't have to -- I am going to be
like my colleague.
If I want to call somebody a liar, I would do it.
I don't need nobody to pretend.
For a colleague to say you have two councilmen calling
somebody a liar, one thing people to know in five and a half
years, I will say what I got to say.
And if I have to call you a liar, yes, I am going to call
you a liar.
And from the stuff I heard today, yes, I think it's a bunch
of garbage.
And I think who made those comments is a bunch of garbage.
So I'm going to stand by my point.
And whether you like it or not, I don't care.
And I am ready to vote.
11:36:02 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mrs. Capin.
11:36:07 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Cap yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:36:09 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Sir, tough last word.
Is there anything to say NFC rebuttal?
11:36:13 >> Yes.
Two things I forgot.
11:36:14 >> The park on the corner of Main Street and Howard.
We work together.
We got that park revitalized.
That was part of my doing with him.
We were able to clean up that park and also directly across
the street are from me is a park that's owned by Joe Redner
who -- sorry, owned a few clubs -- worked with him and going
to get the park across did street lit finally.
So that park will have lighting.
We are going to give them some money.
They clean the park for me every day when we have a show.
We also have a Saturday and Sunday market in the
neighborhood where people from the neighborhood actually
sell their stuff.
They have a few people that sell stuff in the neighborhood
in different parks.
And we have had about 40 vendors that come in the park area
and the community, so that's another thing we are doing in
the community that we invite everybody to do.
And that's been four months now.
It's been very successful.
And nobody has been detracted.
So that is also a great thing.
And the Tampa police were voluntarily come and sit there if
they don't have any major issues going on, in every park and
just make sure there's no issues and we never had an issue
with that as well and that has been a very successful thing.
So we do involve the community.
We are doing more than just plays and we do community events
and let the community come in and utilize the space.
That's the last thing I will say.
11:37:39 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Okay.
Is there any other comments or questions from council?
11:37:42 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Move to close.
11:37:45 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Miranda of the I have a second
from Mr. Maniscalco.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Mrs. Capin, will you take number 52, please?
The substitute ordinance.
11:37:57 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Yes.
With pleasure.
Substitute ordinance being presented for first reading
consideration, an ordinance approving a special use permit
S-2 for alcoholic beverage sales, small venue on premises
consumption only, and making lawful the sale of beer and
wine at or from that certain lot, plot or tract of land
located at 2106 west Main Street, Tampa, Florida as more
particularly described in section 2, that all ordinances or
parts of ordinances in conflict are repealed, providing an
effective date.
11:38:26 >> Second.
11:38:28 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion from Mrs. Capin.
I have a second from Mrs. Montelione.
All in favor of that motion please indicate by saying aye.
All opposed?
11:38:37 >>THE CLERK:
Miranda, Reddick and Suarez voting no.
Second reading and adoption will be held ...
11:38:51 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
We are now on to item number 54.
Staff.
11:38:54 >>BARBARA LYNCH:
Land Development Coordination.
, VAC 16-013, a request by Steven Anthony Menéndez.
I have a map showing the location.
The petitioner owns the property in red.
And the alley is shown in yellow and lies south of Chelsea,
north of Alva between Chelsea and west of Lynn Avenue.
The first was the alleyway lying east of Clearfield Avenue.
And then I have the wrong street name had on here but it's
the alleyway running west of Lynn Avenue.
This is the petitioner's property.
This is abutting on the other side of the alley.
This is another abutting owner on the other side from clear
field.
Again on the other side of the alley from Clearfield.
Staff has no objection to this Q.there are some easements
that are necessary for TECO and frontier, which is formerly
Verizon.
11:40:13 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Petitioner?
11:40:15 >> Steve Menéndez.
I respectfully request vacating the alleyway and hope for
your yes vote.
11:40:30 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any questions or comments from council on
this at this time?
Is there anyone in the public who would like to speak on
item number 54, VAC 16-013?
11:40:39 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Move to close.
11:40:41 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Miranda.
Second by Mr. Cohen.
All in favor?
Any opposed?
Mr. Cohen, will you take item number 54, please.
11:40:48 >>HARRY COHEN:
Move an ordinance being presented for first
reading consideration, an ordinance vacating, closing,
discontinuing, abandoning that certain alleyway lying east
of clear field Avenue, west of Lynn Avenue, north of Alva
street, south of Chelsea street in Chelsea, a subdivision in
the City of Tampa, Hillsborough County Florida the same
being more fully described in section 1 hereof subject to
certain easement reservations, covenants, conditions and
restrictions more particularly set forth herein providing an
effective date.
11:41:17 >> Second.
11:41:23 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Second by Mr. Miranda.
All in favor?
Any opposed?
11:41:26 >>THE CLERK:
Motion carried with Reddick and Capin being
absent.
Second reading and adoption will be on June 2nd, 2016,
at 9:30 a.m.
11:41:39 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
We have items 55 through 57 which are review
hearings.
I would ask that we should probably go to items 58, 59, 60
next.
But I would like to ask for a motion to remove items from
the consent agenda item 69.
We think did get a memo asking that be moved to another
date.
11:42:05 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
So moved.
What date?
11:42:07 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I believe continuation to a future date.
11:42:11 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Move to a future date.
11:42:15 >> Second.
11:42:16 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Miranda.
Second by Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion please indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
All right.
Item number 58.
Under staff reports.
We have staff on item number 58, 59 and 60.
Did we go too quickly?
Mr. McDonaugh, I may have to hold this to after lunch
primarily because Mrs. Capin is not here and we want to make
sure we have a full council before we move forward.
I apologize for bringing you up here.
I apologize again.
We will probably be breaking for lunch at noon.
So we will try to get -- let's try to get numbers 61, 62, of
3 on through, I believe, 66, and maybe 67 also.
So council members, I apologize for that.
I forgot that Mrs. Capin was not going to be able to make it
till after lunch.
If I could ask for a motion on item number 61.
11:43:55 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Move 61 for approval.
11:43:59 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Second.
11:44:01 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Moved by Mrs. Montelione.
Second by Mr. Miranda.
All in favor?
11:44:05 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Move 62.
11:44:06 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Second.
11:44:10 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
All in favor of that motion indicate by
saying aye.
11:44:12 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Move 63.
11:44:14 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Second.
11:44:16 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
A second from Mrs. Montelione.
All in favor of that motion?
11:44:20 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Move 64.
11:44:24 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Miranda.
Second by Mr. Maniscalco.
All in favor?
Anyone that would like to take 65, 66?
Miranda moved.
11:44:38 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
Second.
11:44:39 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
All in favor?
And 66.
Motion by Mr. Maniscalco.
Second by Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion?
Okay.
I apologize.
I do not see Mrs. Little here.
She is?
I apologize.
We will go to number 67 first.
11:44:58 >>MARTIN SHELBY:
If you could go back to number 69.
Did you have a date set for that so it can be put on the
agenda?
11:45:05 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
No.
11:45:13 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Just removed from the agenda at this point.
11:45:16 >>MARTIN SHELBY:
And not continued?
11:45:18 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
To a future date.
Have administration bring it back.
11:45:21 >>MARTIN SHELBY:
That will be fine.
11:45:26 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Number 67.
This will be the budget presentation.
11:45:40 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Right.
She knows that.
I don't think the people in the back know that.
11:45:46 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I wanted to make sure.
11:46:09 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Revenue and finance.
Thank you for the opportunity to come before you to provide
you with the midyear review for our fiscal year 2016.
As you will recall, September of last year, we actually
adopted the fiscal year 2016 budget.
And the purpose of this midyear review is to give you a
snapshot of where we are, and also provide you with updates
on where we are projecting to end our fiscal year 2016 based
on the actual performance that we have been able to report
in the way of revenues received and expenditures paid.
And in doing that, we will give you an overview of our major
general fund revenues as well as our utility services tax
fund, and an overview of the performance for our enterprise
funds including parking, solid waste, wastewater, and water.
To start out, as we typically do with a midyear review, and
talking about our projections for our budget, we would like
to give you an overview of the economy focusing both on the
national Florida, State of Florida, and the Tampa Bay MSA
area, starting out with one of our major economic
indicators, the gross domestic product.
For 2016 bringing your attention to that year in particular,
where Florida -- the gross domestic product for Florida is
expected to come in at 3.3% and trending downward slightly
for 2017 and 18, but still staying above that trend for the
national level.
Job growth, on the other hand, for 2016 -- first let me go
back on, all this economic data that we are providing is
provided by the university of central Florida college of
business.
The institute for economic competitive, a very reliable
source for economic data.
And back to this slide for job growth, the Tampa Bay area is
expected for 2016 an increase in our job growth of 3.1% over
the prior year, still presented trending above that of
Florida and the national rate, with Florida at 2.8% and 1.6%
at the national level.
You can see tapering off but the good news is that job
growth is still expected to increase year over year through
2018.
Unemployment downward trend.
Very apparent since 2014, the downward trend in all areas,
the Tampa Bay MSA Florida and the national trend, with
Florida for 2016 estimated to be at 5%, correspondingly, the
national unemployed rate of 4.9% and the Tampa MSA coming in
at 4.7%.
For Tampa, the blue line at the very bottom, 2016-17 and 18,
is projected to remain nearly flat at 4.7 to 4.6%.
New housing starts a very important indicator for us.
2016 we saw a tremendous spike with Tampa MSA being at 25%
over the prior year in new housing starts.
We think that there will be some slowing according to the
economic competitiveness committee.
Some slowing for 2016, but still a very healthy 10% over the
prior year.
And then trending still somewhat with a blip in 2017 for the
Tampa Bay MSA at 18.1%, and then ending out forecast for
2018 new housing start for the Tampa MSA of 7.2% compared to
Florida.
At 8.6%.
Personal income in 2016 at 4.5% for the Tampa Bay MSA,
Florida at 4.2, and the national trend of 3.8% for the
personal income, and again pointing out in all those areas
specific to -- specifically the Tampa Bay area increasing as
far as personal income is concerned through 2018.
We frequently talk about our projections for population.
Slow and steady growth for both Florida and the Tampa Bay
MSA.
And then just to give abroad overview, we always like to
refer to public statements issued by the federal reserve
market committee which held its meeting this past April
26-27 and released their statement on the 27th, and just
to briefly point out, highlights of their commentary,
starting out with economic activity will expand at a
moderate pace and labor market indicators will continue to
strengthen, some commentary that we have been hearing for
some time now, so again, back to slow and steady.
Inflation is expected to remain look in the near term and
partly because of earlier declines of energy prices, but to
rise up to 2% over the medium term.
Right now we are ranging anywhere between 1 and 1.1% of
further inflationary rates are concerned.
And then finally, economic conditions will evolve in a
manner that will warrant only gradually increases in federal
funds rate.
If you will recall, last December, the rate was raised from
25 to 50, and at that time it was anticipated that there may
be as many as four additional increases, but everyone has
backed off of that expectation, so we are no longer
expecting that.
There will be so many increases within a short period of
time.
So before we get into our judgments and projections for
revenue and expenditures -- expenditures, we will give you
an update of our FY 16 budget.
You will recall council adopted $3850 million last year for
the FY 2016 fiscal year.
Comprised of primarily general fund and enterprise funds
making up over 80% of that total city-wide budget.
With general funds specifically 353.6 million.
11:53:51 >>HARRY COHEN:
Can you go back through that again?
The 4.6 million reserve, what is that?
11:53:59 >>SONYA LITTLE:
That is actually funds that are anticipated
to be used for general fund purposes that had not been
applied at the time that the budget was created.
When we are talking about our fund balance, our 24%, it's a
component of that 24% that in cases of emergency would be
the first place we would go.
11:54:21 >>HARRY COHEN:
Well, I guess I am just not clear.
Are you saying that we are taking $4.6 million out of the
reserve that we didn't anticipate?
11:54:31 >>SONYA LITTLE:
No, no.
11:54:32 >>HARRY COHEN:
You are saying we are putting 4.6 back into
it?
11:54:36 >>SONYA LITTLE:
No, sir.
When bee balanced the budget it's already in reserve but
that 4.6 million has not been restricted and can be used in
cases of emergency for operational purposes.
11:54:50 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Miranda.
11:54:50 >>HARRY COHEN:
Okay, I got it.
I wanted to be clear about what it is.
Thank you.
11:54:56 >> CHARLIE MIRANDA:
[Off microphone.]
11:55:03 >>HARRY COHEN:
We wanted to remain.
11:55:08 >> So property tax revenues giving you a history dating back
to 2012 where we were at 119.4 million and then trending
upwards.
But don't have the slides this time but you will recall the
blue and red slide that showed how much we have lost since
2008 in the way of our property tax revenues calculated,
over 250 million.
So we have lost a lot of ground.
So property taxes are revenues are increasing.
I guess it's kind of misleading because we are all excited
about all the cranes that we see, all the ribbon cuttings
and so forth, but just keeping in mind how much ground we
lost since 2008, as well as we have restrictions that the
revenues that come to the city including save our homes,
which puts a cap on the amount of revenues that can be
received, even though the assessed value is going up.
So all of those factors involved, we are recovering, but it
may be misleading to a lot of folks that would expect us to
be recovering much quicker than we really are.
Society that is correct said for the FY 16 budget, we were
projecting property tax revenue, receipts of 143 million.
We bumped up that slightly because we have gotten past
April, and what we believe is happening the S that fewer
people took advantage of the discount rates.
So they ended up paying more than what we had projected.
So we increased our property tax revenue receipts for FY
2016 projections by $900,000.
And as we go through this, you will see the ups and do I
knows.
The blue lines for FY 16 are the actual budget amount.
You will either see a red or green dot that will tell you
how much we are adjusting based on our actual performance,
what be we recorded in the way of revenues and expenditures
through March of 2016, looking at the economic indicators
that we have talked about, talking to the City of Tampa's
economic development department to actually engage whether
or not we should adjust our projections for the end of FY
16.
And this is really important to us at this point simply
because we want to make sure that we manage ourselves and
our finances, actively manage throughout the end of the
fiscal year.
We don't want any major surprises when we get to the end of
the fiscal year.
So electric franchise fee we adjusted downward for the FY 16
projections.
11:58:05 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Excuse me.
11:58:06 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
If it's downward that means the
projection was either incorrect, because they are all
assumptions.
Always assumptions.
Or that the 2 billion that we had in investments are not
completely looked up yet to electricity.
11:58:20 >>SONYA LITTLE:
This particular one, Councilman, is largely
related to the actual sales for electric.
11:58:30 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
That's what I am saying.
11:58:32 >>SONYA LITTLE:
And weather is really impactful on the
results of these projections.
11:58:37 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Got it.
Thank you.
11:58:38 >>SONYA LITTLE:
When we have good weather our revenues go
down because folks are not using electric.
So either warm or cool their houses when they normally
would.
Half cent sales tax, we are reading in the paper about
increases in our half cent sales tax because sales are going
up.
So based on our actual receipts through March of 2016, we
have adjusted upward or half cent sales tax projection.
This slide is really a recap of the graph that we went
through for general fund revenues.
And it provides the actual dollar amount based on the budget
and the resulting projections where we feel comfortable
based on whatever we know today projecting out to the end of
FY 2016.
And based on the ups and downs of all of those line items,
when you sum them up you will go to the bomb only line, the
total revenues.
We were over a year ago at $352 million, 351.9.
Now with what we know today and the data points that we are
using for our projection, we feel that we are at 352.8 which
is a difference -- an increase of about 800,000.
So we talked about some of the increases, and this is the
area that we are always watching very closely, because of
two things.
The electric utility services tax much like the franchise
fee are very much tied to the weather that we experience,
the communications services tax revenues, which you know are
tied to improvements in technology.
So based on our data points, over a year ago when we came up
with actually well more than a year ago when we came up with
the FY 16 budget, we felt comfortable where we are.
In and out that we have more data points, we have adjusted
downward on those two line items.
And again, I will point you to the same type of summary
table for the utility services tax revenues that we talked
about for general fund where you can see by line item the
ups and downs for all of those revenues that come under the
utility services tax revenue fund.
12:01:08 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mrs. Little, before you go on we have a
motion to extend time.
12:01:11 >>HARRY COHEN:
So moved for 15 minutes to 12:15.
12:01:15 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Go ahead. Motion by Mr. Cohen.
Second by Mr. Miranda.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Continue.
12:01:21 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Thank you.
So in this case, because of the trends, the additional
downward trends that we are seeing for utility services, tax
revenues, we adjusted downward over $3 million of
projections when you sum them all up so that we are now
looking to make sure that we manage the impact of those
declines for the projections through FY 16.
And so if we talk about now the expenditure slide, I will
also give you a summary of what that means when you sum it
all up between general fund and utility tax revenues and
expenditures.
First we'll go through the expenditure side now that we
focused on the revenue side.
So there are two slides.
Looking at the general fund expenditures, personnel costs
being our largest expenditure, for the general fund,
obviously, we have adjusted upwards over a million dollars
based on our payroll that we know to be factual, through
March 31st of 2016.
12:02:33 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Go ahead.
12:02:34 >>HARRY COHEN:
Is the increase there, is that health care
costs?
What --
12:02:40 >>SONYA LITTLE:
It's a combination, yes, primarily health
care costs.
And that is something that we are also reviewing and looking
at very closely so that we can make sure that we are focused
on managing our personnel costs.
So again using the actual data through March 31st is
really important to us so that we can start to make certain
that we are living within our means.
And, you know, we talk about having lost all of that money,
for example, for $250 million on our property tax revenues.
Yes, we are losing a lot.
It is an absolute challenge.
Budget cycle to budget cycle to balance our budget still
because of all those factors that we are talking about.
But one of the things that we really, really focus on is
living within our means.
So we are still living within our means, and we believe
providing the highest possible service that we can to our
residents.
Butt again all of these factors are extremely important, and
it does not make it easy by any means as we move forward.
Our general employees pension fund funded at 99.4%, we took
a look at those payroll figures again.
You know, we have the two funds.
We have general employees and also fire and police which is
on slide 20.
So when you look at the two of them based on the personnel
and costs associated with either general employees or fire
and police, we have adjusted accordingly.
But improvement as far as the decline in our expenditure
fund, we are now forecasting increase on the fire and police
side.
Again, where we have the most control is managing on our
general fund expenditures which this is demonstrating, so we
have had some challenges in some of the revenue areas.
We are managing our costs, so our projection when all is
said and done are totaling, we are passed a decrease of
about 270,000 in our projection for our general fund
expenditures.
The same on our utility service taxes.
That bottom line in blue going from 72.9 to 70.1, or just
under $3 million in improvement on the expenditure side.
So what does it all mean? If you take all of those slides
and summary tables that we just went through and you go to
page 23, slide 23, and taking a look at our total revenues
of general fund utility services tax and our expenditures,
if I can ask that slide 23 be brought up, please.
12:05:54 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
It's up on ours.
12:05:55 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Okay.
FY 2016 for the budget.
After receiving our revenue, paying all of our expenditures,
keeping the lights on, keeping our folks paid and providing
our services basically is what we are talking about, we had
anticipated about 16 months ago that we would have surplus
of about $725,000 to go back into our fund balance, but now
with all the ups and downs that you saw in those prior
slides, and the adjustments in both the revenues and
expenditure side, our projection based on our mid-year data
is that it will be closer in the neighborhood of $300,000
back into the fund balance, into our reserves.
Again, the ultimate goal is that we maintain our fiscal
sustainability, meaning that the revenues coming in are
sufficient enough to pay the expenditures.
We are moving forward very conservatively with our
projections so that we can a sure that we maintain the
fiscal sustainability.
Now, if we can focus on our enterprise fund.
Parking.
Good news.
It's actually a pleasure for the first time, I think, to
come with good news as far as performance of our parking
system.
We all know that when we are out trying -- it's a hot topic
now finding parking.
But war that means is that revenue projections, we have been
able to increase them significantly than what we anticipated
12 to 14 months ago.
So if I can direct your attention to the FY 16 budget column
where we saw revenues at 14.9.
12:07:58 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
If I could interrupt you for a second.
Mrs. Montelione.
12:08:01 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
You may be about to cover this, but are
we anticipating raising our parking rates at any time soon?
12:08:09 >>SONYA LITTLE:
It's still under consideration.
12:08:11 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
It's been under consideration for five
years.
12:08:13 >>SONYA LITTLE:
We have not moved forward with that and I
can tell you Y.because when we were actually figuring out
how we maintain our system when we were prepping for the FY
16 budget, we anticipated that we would have to contribute
to use general fund moneys on the operating side or $100,000
in capital improvement, but then also capital improvement
projects of about 1.2 million.
So right now, where we are is we don't anticipate having to
use any of the general fund money because of the
performance.
We are not in a position right now to adjust any of the
rates.
We have to consider where we are, get more data points and
so forth.
12:08:57 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
It's been five years.
How many data points do we need?
12:09:01 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Well, this is the first year and the first
time they've come before you to tell you that --
12:09:06 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I assume that but I have been asking the
same question for five years about raising the parking
rates.
12:09:13 >>SONYA LITTLE:
I understand.
12:09:15 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I don't think it takes you and your
staff are very, very knowledgeable, professional, and not
that you can't vet the information and all of those data
points together, it's that there must be some resistance on
the administration's side to raise the parking rates.
Even when parking was in the hole, we have got enormous
numbers of people coming downtown, and our rates are so out
of line with what we should be charging.
I don't know when the last time was that we raised the
parking rates to any significant considerable amount, and I
think it's far beyond time but maybe not.
Thank you.
12:10:06 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Cohen.
12:10:07 >>HARRY COHEN:
Obviously there are differences of opinion
on that matter.
(Laughter).
12:10:12 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Go ahead.
12:10:12 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Solid waste.
If we just go directly to the bottom line, we had
anticipated $8.2 million as far as the fund balance.
We are building fund balance for a number of reasons.
We have an obligation to have 90 days of reserve on hand in
the bank in the event that there is a problem.
Obviously with having a waste to energy plant that is the
age that it is, and of the value it is, it's real critical
for us to build our reserves, so that is a number one
objective and goal for us.
So based on where we are now with the data points that we
have now, we currently have a fund balance projection of
$11.5 million.
And the large majority of that will be used in order to
start meeting our reserve fund requirements for operations
and maintenance, as well as to help start covering some of
the capital costs and replacement costs for our aging system
for solid waste.
Very similarly, our wastewater system, we all know with our
pipes, our aging pipes and our aging system, that there are
large, large capital requirements to our system replacement,
our pipe replacement program.
So again the same goals and objectives for both our water
and wastewater system to build the reserves, to cover our
operations and maintenance, and to pay wherever we possibly
can cash to fund our capital program.
And that's reflected on both these slides for wastewater and
water.
So with today giving you an overview of where we are
projecting based on the data points that we have right now
through FY 2016, we are in the process right now of prepping
for our fiscal year 2017, coming quickly, but we are in the
process of doing that right now.
So we have requested -- and I believe that we are on your
calendar to come back for a June 16 workshop where we will
primarily start delving more into the FY 2017 financial
information with the mayor's budget presentation for the FY
2016 budget cycle occurring, which I also believe is
currently scheduled by council for July 21, 2016, and will
follow with at least two public hearings thereafter in the
month of September before we come back and ask council to
finally adopt the proposed FY 2016 budget.
We will have those dates after hearing from the school board
that's required by statute that they schedule theirs first.
12:13:36 >>HARRY COHEN:
Just for everyone's information, our last
two regularly scheduled council days in September are the
15th and the 22nd.
So when you get that information, keep that in mind in terms
of maybe targeting those days for the hearings.
We do have a night meeting on the 22nd as well.
It's a day meeting.
So there is plenty of room on regularly scheduled days to do
these budget hearings.
12:14:06 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Thank you.
12:14:09 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other questions or comments to our CFO?
Okay.
Thank you again.
A pleasure as always.
12:14:16 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Thank you.
12:14:20 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Because the time is late, and a fed council,
I have found, is a happy council.
We are going to go on recess -- is 2 p.m. okay?
We are going to be in recess until 2 p.m.
(City Council in recess until 2:00 p.m.)
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.
The original of this file was produced in all capital
letters and any variation thereto may be a result of third
party edits and software compatibility issues.
Any person who needs a verbatim transcript of the
proceedings may need to hire a court reporter.
Tampa City Council
Thursday, May 19, 2006
2:00 p.m. Session
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.
The original of this file was produced in all capital
letters and any variation thereto may be a result of third
party edits and software compatibility issues.
Any person who needs a verbatim transcript of the
proceedings may need to hire a court reporter.
[Sounding gavel]
02:12:15 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Tampa City Council is called back in to
order.
Roll call.
02:12:18 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Here.
02:12:21 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Here.
02:12:23 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Present.
02:12:24 >>HARRY COHEN:
Here.
02:12:25 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
Here.
02:12:26 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Here.
02:12:28 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Here.
Thank you for your patience.
I apologize for us running a little late coming out of the
box.
We are going to start back on staff reports and unfinished
business before we go to our hearings.
Number 58, if we have someone from staff ready to talk about
that.
I would appreciate it.
02:12:47 >>BOB McDONAUGH:
Do development.
Hopefully, all of you have gotten a copy of this letter that
was sent during the morning meeting.
The North Hyde Park alliance wrote a letter giving
additional support to the Julian B. Lane.
Talking about Julian B. Lane, it started with the InVision
plan.
Engaging our community about what was important to them.
One of the things we talked about was regional parks.
$35 million.
Is that expensive?
It certainly is.
People bought into this InVision plan and what it's going to
do for our neighborhoods.
After InVision came about, what we talked about doing, which
constructed just a few blocks from that park.
Just recently sold for $57 million.
Is that expensive?
Yes, you bet.
The Habana square across the street from NOVO flats, a $45
million investment S.that expensive?
Yes, it is, you bet.
The InVision plan we talked about connecting and improving
neighborhoods.
And people bought into that vision.
We have a lot of those people here this morning talking
about their dream for the neighborhood, and as you recall,
not that long ago, we built -- developed the CRA, 950 acres
in that area, and what was going to be outside of it
generated a lot of conversation.
People were very passionate about their neighborhoods, and a
lot of times it's incumbent upon to us provide this
recreation space and that's what this park is all about.
You know, members of the Jewish community center were here
today.
They are investing $32 million in that neighborhood.
Is it worth it?
Yeah, you bet.
Is it expensive?
Yes, it is.
So one of the things that's interesting is continuing
building of the neighborhood, the InVision plan and what
people see.
Mark local president, Lennar building homes, so successful
that they bought more land and they are building another one
right near the park.
What's interesting, area president for Lennar Homes, I think
the country's largest home builder can live anywhere.
He and his family are living in one of those townhomes right
in that neighborhood.
So again, he's buying into the vision that we are talking
about.
Main homes is another company that built all around our
city.
Right now they are concentrating a lot of their efforts in
that neighborhood.
Again, they are buying into that vision.
So we have a 954-acre CRA to support the InVision plan and
to talk about what we are doing there.
You know, the people in the neighborhood are passionate.
We are seeing the redevelopment of North Boulevard homes
which is probably one of the strongest reasons for this
park.
Again, what we are trying to do is leverage our investment.
And in our choice neighborhoods grant, we have to show an
investment in that community.
This park is part of that investment in the community.
So what we are looking at with North Boulevard homes and
that west river redevelopment, 2300 homes, and an investment
close to $500 million dollars.
Is it expensive?
It is.
Is it worth it?
I maintain that it is.
Thank you.
02:16:25 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Miranda.
02:16:28 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Thank you very much for bringing me up
to history so many times.
Let me tell you what expensive S.expensive is wanting to buy
something for ten dollars and you don't have it.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
02:16:40 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Mrs. Montelione.
02:16:42 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Thank you.
Although I am interested to hear what my colleagues have to
say, it's already been widely reported in the press that I
think this is too expensive.
And to have a quality park in the realm of what we have been
building lately with Perry Harvey park and Curtis Hicks own
park and Waterworks Park, we have three parks fairly close
proximity to one another and fairly close proximity to the
one that's being planned.
These are all Meg A parks, they are regional parks, you have
to drive to get to them if you don't live in the surrounding
neighborhoods, they are too R too far to bike or walk, and
what happens with the building regional parks is that the
neighborhoods don't have an internal small pocket park that
is down the street from their house.
I don't recall the Parks Department in five years proposing
any small neighborhood parks.
My district has six parks.
It's the largest land area district in the city, goes all
the way to the Pasco County line.
I have six parks.
One of them is a pool the size of a postage stamp that's in
the middle of a parking lot between two schools.
I have had to fight tooth and nail to get improvements to a
park that has been underwater since long before I took
office.
Finally that is being done to the tune of $1 million but it
took me five years to fight for that $1 million.
And the only reason that's getting done is because another
park, which is not servicing the neighborhood is a
tournament baseball park.
The improvements there are not being done.
So that money was shifted from Greco baseball park to Forest
Hills.
That's the only way that Forest Hills got any relief from
the flooding with wetlands plants growing in the outfield,
with water so high, the basketball court was -- the pole for
the basketball net was half underwater.
New Tampa neighborhood park needs to be expanded.
The programs are busting at the seams.
It's the only public park in North Tampa for kids who don't
live within a community can go to, and there's a lot of kids
who live in apartments and such that this family park may
have to go, too.
So those are some of the reasons why I can't endorse
spending this amount of money on major parks.
In New Tampa, all of Lennar and all the other home build who
built in New Tampa built their own parks internal to the
community.
You know, a taxpayer dollar that's going back into operating
the park, in some cases, but spending -- the city
spending -- actually closer to $40 million if you added the
money that's already been spent on one park, and developers
are making the investment because we are making the
investment.
Developers will make the development investment putting
infrastructure in to the parks to the tune of less than $40
million.
And then where the money is coming from. Bonding out the
money, as Councilman Miranda has succinctly stated, is not
something that I could agree with.
And I also can't agree with using the BP money to build a
park.
We have -- it's on the agenda.
On the same agenda.
I couldn't have planned this better myself.
We have a stormwater assessment where we are asking our
residents whose property floods, neighborhood floods, to are
more money out of their pockets because we are not -- you
know, we are not taking the money out of our own budget to
fix the stormwater issue.
If we want an appropriate use for BP moneys, and there's an
environmentally related disaster that brought that money to
us, then treating stormwater would be a fantastic use for
it.
That's where I think this money should go, into fixing our
stormwater issues.
Not to building one park.
And again it's such close proximity to so many other major
regional parks.
02:21:37 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any questions or comments from council?
Mr. Reddick.
02:21:45 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. McDonaugh, let me ask you a question.
Of any of these funds coming out of reserve funds?
02:21:57 >>BOB McDONAUGH:
No, sir.
02:21:58 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Any funds coming out of general operating
funds?
02:22:02 >>BOB McDONAUGH:
No, sir.
02:22:05 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Thank you.
And I listened to Mr. Dwight Olson who was earlier talking
and you heard him reference to the park department.
When I was growing up one block from Beulah Baptist church
where our grandmother lives, we were at old Waterfront Park
and we still call it riverfront.
No disrespect to Julian B. Lane but we still call it
Riverfront Park.
And then what I want to say about it is this.
I don't know if many of you know if you take Louis Bronson,
one of the to administrators for the school district in
Hillsborough County, you take Bryan Harrison, who is the
chief assistant basketball coach for West Virginia
university, they put together a summer basketball league
that was sanctioned by the NCAA.
Only one in the State of Florida, and served as the
bookkeeper.
I was the bookkeeper for that league.
It is now 5-3.
So the history that we had growing up in that park -- and I
can tell you somebody stated, the man from the Housing
Authority, stated that how he used to enjoy going at the
very activities we would have in the park, and it was pride
for people who lived in the community.
They felt comfortable because they had nowhere to go and
somewhere to take their family and all kind of activities to
a place out there at that park.
And the problem is that over the years, the park was not
receiving the type of maintenance care that it should have
received, and that was a decline in structure of the park,
where the concrete was starting to pack it was not paved or
repaved, when the restroom doors were -- the locks were
broken, it was not taken care of.
The pavilion they had out there for entertainment and all
this to take place, it was a wonderful facility but it was
not maintained, and eventually people stopped coming to the
park.
But I recall the days when it would be like a family
gathering out there on a Sunday.
We used to have 500, 600, 700 people out there participating
in the park.
And one of the things I could say is that with that summer
basketball league, the only one in the State of Florida,
NCAA, we had college scouts coming out there watching, and
got some of the most prominent people in this city who got
scholarships and went to college, and someone who got
try-outs, got to professional teams.
Even though we are talking about the $35 million talking
about being invested into this area,
I have to recall the neglect by the city into West Tampa.
I can't recall when this city has invested this kind of
funds into one neighborhood.
We heard about East Tampa.
We heard about downtown.
We heard about all these other places.
But we haven't heard about any investment into West Tampa.
And the thing is, this is a great opportunity for people in
West Tampa, and now they can feel a sense of pride.
And when I looked at all the e-mails and the phone calls I
got from people, I was surprised that they support this.
And I thought about it.
And I think this is a great opportunity.
Yes, $35 million is a lot of money.
But if you look at the last 20 years, we got one dollar was
invested.
And it deserves the money invested.
And therefore I think I am going to support it because I
think those people who have invested a lot of money
improving their neighborhoods, improving their homes, and
the kids having the experience where Riverfront Park used to
be, and now they don't have the same opportunity.
They can at least have their grandkids benefit from this
investment.
And I would just like to support it, you know, even though I
not in West Tampa now, but I would just like to see that
community thrive again, and I think this will give us a
great opportunity to see that it does, and the satisfaction
of the people who live there and the people that are still
living there who recall what Riverfront Park used to be.
Again, I am not disrespecting Julian B. Lane but in the days
we called it Riverfront Park.
And I think this council owes the people in that community
and the grandkids who will benefit from this, that
opportunity, because they have been totally neglected for so
many years.
02:28:17 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Maniscalco and then Mr. Miranda.
02:28:22 >>BOB McDONAUGH:
I was just going to say, Mr. Miranda, the
president of the North Boulevard homes --
David Downing, probably one of the best basketball players
to come out of there.
02:28:45 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Maniscalco.
02:28:47 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
Ten years ago I was 21 years old.
And I say that to make you all feel old.
(Laughter)
02:28:55 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
20 years ago I was your age.
(Laughter)
02:29:06 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
I remember coming down to the Museum of
Art, before we know it now, for an event and thinking to
myself, this place is a concrete jungle.
You know, there's nothing -- what's beautiful about this
other than a concrete foundation design?
There was nobody downtown.
The place was dead.
Past forward a few years later, I think 2010, and I was here
for the ribbon cutting for Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park as
we see it today.
Not that I'm a negative person.
I think I'm realistic.
I thought to myself, downtown doesn't have the density to
maintain a park of this size.
And this is before the Riverwalk Kennedy segment was
completed, before we see it today.
And I was wrong because we have seen the success of Curtis
Hixon.
There's events on the weekends and people coming from all
over the place filling it up.
Around that same time, 2010, 2011, I was a candidate and we
had an event at the armature works building.
I remember taking a walk out to what is Ulele and Waterworks
Park and it was a dump, it was trash, and I thought to
myself, this is prime riverfront property, why don't we do
something with it?
Lo and behold we get Ulele and Waterfront Park.
And I was at the ribbon cutting and I thought to myself, it
looks great but it's going to fail, there's no density
around here, not enough to maintain this park.
But on Sunday morning, when the city is pretty quiet, 9:00,
10:00, I'll come down to Waterworks Park, I'll go down to
Curtis Hixon, and there's a ton of people.
There's a lot of kids playing in the splash pads and water
works, people having picnics, there's people now at the
Riverwalk being completed at Curtis Hixon.
So compared to the project I like the park.
I started going to Julian Lane when I was a teenager.
A lot of people don't know it exists.
A lot of people don't know it's there.
I have taken a lot of strangers there.
You know, we have this beautiful park.
Because I like it as it is.
But looking at waterworks and its success, looking at Curtis
Hixon and its success, it's acted as a catalyst for
everything that is happening around it.
You go to water works and it's busy.
You go to Ulele and it Board of Directors.
You have people on the Riverwalk.
There was a gentleman in the audience.
He said I don't know how many thousands of miles he's run
the Riverwalk, does it six days out of the week and he's
coming from West Tampa, he drives over and use it is park.
But I see the community asset.
I see what it does to the area around it.
I look at the next generation.
And I want to be able to tell the story to whoever it is, my
children or neighbors or citizens, and say, I remember what
this used to be.
You know it as a beautiful place but I remember what it was.
And they are not going to believe me, because I believe in a
project like this.
I believe it's an investment done wisely it's going to be
good for the community, and it's something that will pay
dividends for generations to come.
So I will be supporting it.
02:31:58 >> Just a note, this fellow that you are talking about that
runs on the Riverwalk every day from West Tampa, he won't
have to go to the other side of the river to do that.
I have now assembled right-of-way from Bayshore to Columbus
and we will be building a trail that will span from Bayshore
Boulevard all the way to Columbus on the west side of the
river.
So again connecting neighbor neighborhoods, and giving
somebody like that -- he doesn't have to travel.
02:32:29 >> And this is the first time you told me this.
I think what we talk about, being safer for bicyclists,
safer for pedestrians.
But what the Pinellas trail, from Columbus to Bayshore is a
huge distance.
It's a safe distance that people can walk and bike safely.
It's another community asset.
It will give people another incentive to come downtown, to
want to move to be this area.
We have more to offer.
It's very, very positive.
02:32:58 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Miranda.
02:32:59 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First of all what comes around goes around.
All of a sudden everybody wants to walk and ride bikes.
That's all we did when we were kids.
Nobody had a car.
So you took the bus, walk or got a bike.
So it's coming back around again.
And I'm glad to see that.
In fact, when I grow back to that ERA, Cuscaden park where
we grew up at, all of us used to gone to Cuscaden park.
In fact the only park I know of that has two Hall of Famers
in baseball.
One is Mr. Al Lopez and Tony LaRussa.
So one you had the pleasure to come in.
The other would give us pep talks when he was a manager.
And it makes you think a lot different.
It ain't about you can do anything you want to in the city,
try to fix it, built $10 million houses on every corner.
But if you don't have kids, kids that engage in something,
you don't have nothing.
And it's not that I am in favor or against the park.
What's going to happen without the park?
And what concerns me the most about this is the good people
in East Tampa have been asking for a senior center.
What's going to happen there?
The park we bought there, a church next to the civic center
in 2013 for $400,000.
I think you all stole it really.
It was planned to spend $600,000 on something that's worth 3
million.
A great deal for all of us.
But nothing has happened.
So what I am saying is we do things, we want to do things,
get things done, but we make an effort to the finish line
and we just don't cross it.
Not here.
Anywhere.
To a lot of degree.
And I am not speaking to anyone personally.
Don't get me wrong.
So what I am saying is these things we have to look at, and
if we are going to spend 35 million on one, which is fine,
there might be better money needed for some other projects,
out of the BP money.
But think what would happen if you did not have the BP
money.
Would you still be building a park?
All these things come to my mind, got to make a decision.
And the one that helped me the most in making the decision
is sitting in the front row.
It's not you and it's not you and it's not the guy at the
end.
The lady next to the guy at the end.
We had an hour conversation yesterday between the phone and
a personal conversation, and we talked about finances.
And we talked about the five years within the ten years and
how that was coming and what the ramifications were.
And all of us for or against something, you have to make the
decision whether it's the right thing at the right time to
do something right.
And I stated earlier, I never said I was going to vote for
or against this park.
I said I want to get all the information.
The only component was the last one that I didn't like,
because it was hard to swallow, the way I looked at it.
But she softened the blow, and she gave me a lesson in
mathematics that I thought I could add two and two and get
three out of but she taught met that it's four, not three.
But all these things are done, and you remember most when
you were a kid.
You know what?
That's what helps society.
Or that's what hinders society, when you have nothing to do
and you are on the streets.
Some kids don't have the opportunity most of us had, to have
direction, to have someone tell us exactly what we have ton
do, not that you take the advice.
I never took a lot of advice.
Took a lot of beat fringes my mother that gave me the
advice.
But these are the things that you learn as you are growing
up.
And the fondest memories of my life were Cuscaden park.
I learned how to swim.
I learned how to play a little baseball.
I wasn't the best swimmer.
I certainly wasn't the best ball player.
But I enjoyed going there.
There was a tennis court.
I wasn't 7-foot 2 so it couldn't dunk the ball, but I could
scale the wall at Cuscaden park to go free at night.
So all these things come to my mind.
And it's just an opportunity that you have to say, am I
making an investment for the future, long-term, or do I
shorten it for something today and wait until tomorrow to do
something of that magnitude?
I just don't know where we are going to find another 50
million from another windfall.
That's what you have.
It is what it is.
And you have the CRA contributing.
The only component that I talked about was the CIT.
And Mrs. Little, and I, she taught me a lot about what's
happening there and what the ramifications were and if I
remember there were about $35 million left that coupon tent
last ten years.
That money is still available.
However, I want assurances that if this park is built, that
it's going to be fully staffed, not something halfway done.
We don't need a halfway house in a park.
We need it.
I want to know what the ramifications are when it comes back
on contract time, what's going to happen, who is going to
have the revenues for that park.
The park will produce something.
You are going to have some type of things that people want
that they are going to have to pay for, I hope and pray that
it's done to the taxpayers benefit for the revenues, not
some company out of Omaha, Nebraska or something.
That's what I am looking at.
I want to hear the rest of the discussion before I make my
decision but I am leaning towered yes, because I understand
what it was to be a kid.
I'm still 25, times three, and these are the things that
make me a person.
You don't learn overnight.
But you learn during the day how to handle yourself at
night.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
02:39:05 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Mr. Cohen.
02:39:08 >>HARRY COHEN:
Thank you very much.
I really wrestled with this.
And because of the amount of time that we have had to
consider it, I have had a lot of opportunity to meet with
the staff, and really think through the proposal that is
being presented today.
I want to just start off by saying something Councilwoman
Montelione said.
If I thought for two minutes that there was support on this
council and from the administration to use the BP money for
stormwater, that would be what I would be in favor of doing.
But it's been very clear to me through the process that
regardless of the stormwater issues, that isn't the feeling
of the majority of the group.
And because that's the case, and also because during this
period of time that we had to review this proposal, I was
able to talk through with the staff some of the questions I
had about just how much money this is.
$35 million.
Is there any way to back anything out of it?
Are there matching funds that might be available to us from
the federal government, if we make these type of
investments?
And I understand the answer to that is yes.
I have sort of come to a place now where I really have to
answer yes or no.
Yes to the proposal on the table, or no.
At the end of the day, I think a park is a worthy use of our
treasured resources.
We have 23 acres right in the middle of the city on the
river.
And I know that myself, when I walk through New York City
and see Central Park or walk through Washington, D.C. on the
national mall, every time I say to myself, wow, the people
that have the foresight to do this really ought to be
complimented, because look at what they carved out for the
city to grow up around.
And I really do believe, as tight as times are now, as
difficult as money is to come by, that at the end of the day
it is a good long-term investment to the city.
It is going to provoke not just growth but the rebirth of
the neighborhoods that the council members have been talking
about today.
And that is really the type of -- and the word that's been
used is investment.
The type of investment that we really auto be making.
I have been very frustrated at times with council when we
haven't looked at the city globally and remember that we are
all part of one city.
I feel very strongly that we are.
And just because this is going to benefit one region of the
city, disproportionately, the fact of the matter is it's a
good investment.
It's going to spur growth downtown.
It's going to be great for the Straz Center master plan.
It's definitely going to help the Jewish community center
with their project.
And it's certainly going to provide amenities for the
housing that we continue to approve all around where this
money is going to be put in.
Finally, I want to say that, you know, Councilwoman
Montelione is absolutely correct that there are huge needs
in terms of neighborhood parks in the city, and believe me,
in my district in South Tampa, I have a long list of them.
But part of the problem also in a lot of those parks is that
they are overused, that the amenities are so popular that
they are overwhelmed with people using them, particularly on
the weekends.
And the neighborhoods cannot support the parking and the
noise and a lot of the stresses that come from that level of
demand.
I think that when you put the money all over the city, and
when you really invest in neighborhoods where we haven't put
the money recently, what you ultimately do is help
everybody, because the amenities and parks that the
neighborhoods have will not get as much use because there
will be more places for people to go and more activities for
people to choose from, and somebody that wants to launch a
boat into the water won't have to settle for, you know,
something a little bit different.
We think don't really have that type of amenity in the city.
So I understand the concerns about the amount of money it
is.
It's a lot of money.
I really hope of that through a tiger grant, or other moneys
that I understand are available from the federal government,
that we have a real shot at recouping some of this
investment as we move forward, but we will never get that
money, we will never qualify for federal funds for the tiger
grant application if we don't put this money in
Finally, we are going to talk about stormwater later in the
day.
I don't feel that we have an obligation to address the
city's stormwater and flooding needs, but I think this is a
good project, and I think we ought to move forward on it.
02:44:14 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Mrs. Capin.
02:44:16 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Thank you, colleagues.
It's very helpful.
As stated, you know, I'm an Ybor-West Tampa girl, on the
river.
But here is the thing.
I also agree with Mr. Miranda, my colleagues.
I learned to swim at Cuscaden park pool.
It's very important to the children.
It's very, very important to be able to go somewhere as
Councilman Reddick said.
That being said, one of my concerns here is I have had at
least a half dozen calls in the past, oh, I would say three
months or so.
And those are the ones on Ballast Point.
And the issue of parking and overcrowding.
What are we going to do about being able to -- this is
23.2-acre park.
Now, I also paid attention to Macfarlane Park, 36.85 acres.
And Macfarlane Park gets used a lot.
It's not that far away, the 36.85 acres MacFarlane park, but
it doesn't have a riverfront, and it isn't -- and I agree
with my colleagues, West Tampa riverfront is what it is.
It's not the west bank.
It's West Tampa riverfront.
That all being said, I tend to agree -- again, I had this
conversation over a year ago with Mr. Beneck about his
project, and I said to him -- he comes to us from Boston.
And it was February.
And I said, why do so many people flock to Boston?
They have a ton of green space, parks, and culture.
That makes the core.
It is very important to the core to have these spaces for
people to gather and play and meet.
And so I know, again, I agree, my colleagues 35 million, 40
million, but not to act on it, I think, is a disservice.
I really do.
I think that would be a disservice to our citizens that we
have this opportunity to move forward.
And it's not only for the people of West Tampa.
All our parks are for all the people of all the city.
And you can see at water works and Curtis Hixon, they come
from all over the city.
They may come from the other side of the pond.
So with that, I would say -- and it's come out that we have
not -- really, West Tampa has been on its own for a long,
long time.
And it was able to sustain itself, by itself.
And so now we have the opportunity, because people in both
neighborhoods, it's not a desolate area.
It is a thriving neighborhood that people work and play in.
So with that, I tend to agree that the $40 million is an
opportunity.
It is an opportunity.
The park is an opportunity.
Not the 40 million.
40 million is a lot -- a lot of money.
But, again, I imagine, my thinking is that years from now,
long after I'm gone, there will be people using that park
and thriving because of it.
And so with that I will be supporting it.
02:48:18 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Before I add the final word, is there anyone
else on council that has a question or comment?
Mrs. Montelione.
02:48:26 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
So I had my aide plot out the distance
between our big city shiny object park downtown enough to
incite jokes for two people in the front yard.
Perry Harvey is 2.8-mile.
Curtis Hixon to Waterworks Park is 1.2 miles.
Water works to Julian B. Lane park is 1.3 miles.
Julian B. Lane to Perry Harvey is 1.3 miles.
Julian B. Lane to Curtis Hixon is 1.1-mile.
You have all this beautiful green space.
Mrs. Little, how much do we spend on Perry Harvey?
Somebody?
02:49:22 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Come on up to the microphone.
02:49:27 >> 9 million.
02:49:28 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
9 million on Perry Harvey.
How much on Curtis Hixon?
02:49:32 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Back in 2008-2009 we think spent a total TV
20 million.
02:49:36 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
20.
How much on water works?
02:49:39 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Water works was 6.6.
02:49:43 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
It's a lot of money for one mile, more
or less radius.
I think that there's such a thing as important as downtown
is, as important as the west river development is to the
city and to revitalizing neighborhoods, that's a lot of
money within one mile of each other.
And for people to say that, you won't have to go over there,
it's so far.
That makes me sad, because all the way from Julian B. Lane
to the furthest point would be probably water works, just a
little over a mile.
If you add them all up together and go in a circumference
it's less than five miles.
If you are going to run and jog and bike, that's pretty
close to one another to be able to do all those things.
Do we need places for people to put in boats?
Absolutely.
We don't have enough boat launches that go into our river,
especially in this area.
$40 million is a lot of money on top of the 6 and the 9 and
the 20 that we have already spent within one mile of each
other.
And I have got to beg and plead for a million dollars to get
a park out of water so kids can play baseball just off of
Nebraska Avenue.
You want to talk about a neglected area?
Look at the area between 22nd street and Nebraska Avenue, or
go as far as Florida, or go as far as Armenia, between Busch
and Fowler Avenue.
I don't recall in five years or even long before I was on
council a heck of a lot of investment in that area.
There has been none.
There is zero investment in that area.
We have Copeland park that's falling apart.
I had to threaten and express to the hilt because it was
like the first week on the job that I was going to go in
there and replace ceiling tiles myself if those ceiling
tiles didn't get replaced.
We have ADA playground that you can't get into because it
was built, but the path going to it is not.
It's not compliant.
It's there but it's not compliant.
You break your ankle playing tennis on the tennis court
because it floods so bad at Forest Hills that the entire
surface of the tennis court is disintegrating.
And the same thing with be the racquetball court.
There is nothing, no other improvements other than the
stormwater issues that are being addressed at Forest Hills.
And there's nothing that I know of -- I begged TECO to go
out there and paint a mural on the side of the building.
They have it was never followed up on.
Copeland park is falling apart.
Nothing is planned for improvements there.
$40 million for a park within five miles, or within one mile
of all these other multi-million dollar parks?
No.
I just cannot support that.
And I am surprised that some of my colleagues don't see that
we have resources that are crumbling.
And Julian B. Lane, sure, should have been taken care of all
these years are? Yes.
Mr. Miranda is correct.
We don't have the maintenance for these parks.
People at SkyPoint regularly tweet that the fountains, the
tiles at Curtis Hicks on are broken.
We have maintenance issues.
We are going to build another $40 million park.
And I don't know how to maintain it.
And Skanska understands there are no moneys nor project
therefore programs are deemed not applicable.
The use of labor, union labor, prevailing wage is not
included in this GMP proposal.
And since there's no federal money, I would assume that
there's no -- my mind just went blank -- the asset thing.
The provisions because there's no federal money.
$40 million with a contract that has those great big
loopholes in it.
I don't know what else to say that would change the mind of
anyone up here.
I just hope that sometime in the near future the people who
are really neglected in the areas of North Tampa get some
kind of attention, because right now they get nothing.
02:55:08 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other comments? Mr. Miranda.
02:55:13 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Copeland park did not exist under the
Greco administration it was built the way it is today.
There was no center there.
The only thing that was done, if it's in deplorable shape
then we must address.
That but there was no park.
In fact, under Dick Greco's administration things were so
bad when we looked at the park division that we had to
borrow money to fix the floors, the roof, the windows, and
many centers.
The hunt center that was at Drew Park was dilapidated.
We moved it when the airport bought it and built it at Al
Lopez park.
The senior center at barksdale was built under that same
term.
The one in Palmetto Beach, the one in East Tampa, we had a
span because things were not good, and we had to do it for
the kids and the seniors.
And by the way, seniors and kids don't mix too very well in
these parks, because seniors are much more active than kids.
(Laughter)
Thought I had to take a little crack at it.
But it is what it is.
And if something needs attention, it should get attention.
That doesn't mean you have to close your eyes and say this,
that or the other.
Cuscaden park was close to Belmont Heights, Jackson Heights,
close to a lot of the Heights.
In fact, we built another park on 26th Avenue and
20th street.
It's all there.
And it's done because of demand and the need for these
things.
You know, I said earlier that if you don't have $10, that's
a lot of money.
What I am trying to tell you is, the average salary in this
area is about $40,000 a year.
So these kids got to do with or they got to do without.
And at the end of the day, what do you want that to be?
Society that did have an opportunity to really enjoy
themselves with a park and play?
You learn by your peers.
In fact, my baseball coach told me one day, remember this,
you can make an error.
I will never allow you to make a mistake.
That's why I didn't play much.
But what I am trying to tell you is you learn things by
camaraderie and making sure that you play and make sure
there's a feeling everywhere you do, and how you do things.
Like I said earlier, I never voted against a park.
In fact, I go back, and I thought of Mayor Greco and the
things that we had to do, and how we had to do them with
very little money.
But they were done.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
02:58:11 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Any other comments before I make my comments?
Okay.
Thank you all, colleagues, for what you have said about this
particular expenditure of dollars.
It is without a doubt one of the most important and
actually, I think one of the largest expenditures that we
have had to actually vote on and go forward with.
As Mr. Miranda said, a lot of memories from the days that
you played at the park, and Mr. Reddick made a comment that
really, I said to someone earlier this week, which is we
never called it Julian B. Lane.
It was always Riverfront Park.
I didn't even know it was called Julian B. Lane until after
I had graduated from high school, because the idea was that
if you said you are going to go play baseball at the
Heights, two questions you had, who are you playing with,
and which one, West Tampa Heights, or Riverfront Park?
Okay.
And so we would always make that decision as to have been
where we were going to play ball.
And I wasn't that good.
Yeah, I was too tall.
So when we talk about parks, it is the lifeblood of what we
do as a city.
We have to spend money on the things that we are trying to
maintain.
Mrs. Montelione is absolutely correct.
We are one of the few cities, I think, in the south,
especially, urban areas that have as many parks as we do.
I have a friend of mine who lives in the unincorporated area
of the county.
He says, you know what?
I wish we had as many pools in unincorporated area of the
county as you all do in the city.
And the reason why is that over the course of 100 years of
being in the city, different administrations made the
decision to invest in those neighborhoods.
And they are in different neighborhoods.
As Mr. Miranda said, there are lots of parks within a very
close distance of each other.
I live in a neighborhood called Riverside Heights and there
are three parks within a half mile of each other.
I can walk to one.
I call at dog park because it's really got a nice place for
to you walk your dog and everything.
None of them that have a great playground for younger kids.
Then a third one that has a ball field and another
playground for older kids.
And a basketball court.
And it's great to have all three of them there because I
have children that have grown up there, and we go to
different parks based on the fact that they do different
things now than they did before.
Those are the types of things that make a city important to
their citizens.
If you go to Chicago, and you look at millennial park, they
spend upwards of $100 million.
Of that, in terms of partnership, because of the size of
Chicago, the types of corporate headquarters that they have
there, they probably got about $50 million from private
corporate spenders.
And it is a magnificent park.
If you have never been to millennial park it is one of the
great public parks in the world.
Same thing with federal park in New York City.
If you look at the history of New York City -- and there's a
great book called The Power Broker, by Robert Moses and
Power Broker in New York City, that park was assembled
through years of pushing and pulling and making sure that
they could put that park together.
It is a gem for the city of New York.
Right there in the center of Manhattan.
It has now, because of where it's located, because of that
park being there, you have Dakota which is probably one of
the Toniest addresses in terms of what it takes to live
there.
I am not saying we are going to have a Dakota on the west
side of the river.
But I do know that parks do beget apartments and townhouses
and living and people who want to be near these green
spaces.
And it isn't only about whereby we put our green spaces,
it's about what we are going to have next to them later on.
The kind of development that we are going to provide, the
kind of people that are going to live thereby in terms of
people to enjoy that park and be able to say I'm next to
Riverfront Park, whether they call it Julian B. Lane or
riverfront, it's still by the river.
You can call it West Tampa riverfront.
And the thing is that as you develop as a city, it will
constantly change.
There are some parks that have gone by the wayside that
don't get as much enjoyment as they did before.
Mr. Miranda mentioned Cornelia hunt park which I used to go
to in the summertime which was near the airport in Drew
Park.
And I probably, just by virtue of the children that I have
and the time I spent as a kid, probably have gone to it
about 20 of the different parks around the city.
And some of them are still working very well.
Some need a lot of money and a lot of tender loving care
that we have not put into it.
And we do.
This does not mean that we have to take our foot off the
accelerator in terms of developing pieces of property that
are already as a park are not going to change to anything
else, and that we need to make those investments to make
sure that we keep going forward as a city.
The one aspect of the park being changed is something my
22-year-old son told me a while back.
Mayor Buckhorn made some comments about he didn't like the
dunes and concrete hills.
That's what my kids loved when they were in that park.
But they used to love going down those hills.
Now again it goes back to what Mr. Miranda said.
The memories you make as a kid, where you were at and what
you do, almost always -- especially here in Tampa -- it's
about the parks that you have been at, the place thaws go
with your family, the way that you have enjoyed those parks.
So to me, I think that I have a little bit of heartburn in
terms of the amount of money that we are putting into this.
Well, maybe a lot.
It is after lunch, after all.
For me, I dough see the value of the investment.
But we have to be diligent, and make sure that we continue
to maintain the other parks so they are not part of the
downtown core.
And that is I think the message we are sending to our
administration.
We may build this park.
We may continue to maintain it.
And it may a jewel of all the parks in the rest of the city,
but we have to make an effort to find the dollars necessary
to put back into the neighborhood parks that we currently
have, to put back into the programs that we currently have,
to continue to expand, because that is what is going to make
our city great.
I know that Wayne Papy, we had a roof leak at Wayne Papy
park, and the floor was destroyed.
This is prior to Mr. Baird becoming our parks director.
And the dance classes that used to be there had to stop
because the floor was destroyed.
And I remember my niece, my great niece, used to go there
and do dance, and I used to hear not only from the parents
who were there on a constant basis but the most important
critic of all, my mother, who would say, you have got to fix
this park, make sure that you fix the floor.
Believe me, we knew it.
We fixed it.
And it's still doing what it was intended to do which is to
serve as a place for people to congregate, young ladies,
young men to go dance, and to me that's a great testament to
us as a city.
We need to do more?
Absolutely.
Are we going to continue to do more?
I hope so.
And I think this administration will doesn't look at ways
that we can find money in the budget to make sure that we
protect those parks that we currently have, maintain them,
and expand them and make them better as we go along.
I have nothing further to say.
I will ask Mr. Reddick if he will take the resolution number
58 to go forward unless there's any other comments or
questions.
I apologize, Mrs. Capin, did you have something?
03:05:53 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Yes, I do.
We have, again, an opportunity to move forward.
We checked the investment.
We studied it.
It is definitely an investment in this city, as my
colleagues said.
And I wanted to say that what I said, that I didn't get an
answer to, was when I requested about telephone Ballast
Point, and the issue with parking, and how to get there.
We got 23 acres here.
How is that going to work?
I'm sorry, I asked it before.
03:06:42 >>HARRY COHEN:
I have been working on this Ballast Point
thing with Tom haul.
The parking --
03:06:51 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
I want to know how we are going to do this.
03:06:53 >>HARRY COHEN:
Oh, how it's going to work here?
Got it.
03:06:57 >>BOB McDONAUGH:
Do the ability to park -- if you look at
the plans on the north end and the south end of the
property.
And so, yes, we believe there is adequate parking.
Part of the issue with Ballast Point is the fact it's
located on a very narrow road.
And when that small parking lot fills up, you have people
parking on both sides of the street.
And we get many complaints generally from the same side
people who live in that immediate neighborhood are not very
happy with it.
03:07:35 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Very popular place.
03:07:38 >>BOB McDONAUGH:
This is a different geometry and different
road network serving it.
03:07:42 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Are you satisfied with that answer? Would
you like any other questions?
03:07:47 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Yeah.
Well, when I mentioned MacFarlane point, it's almost 37
acres, and plenty of parking, and it gets used all the time.
So that was my concern.
This is going to be a very popular place.
As we talked about last week at the CRA meeting about the
events at Curtis Hixon and the issues we have with parking,
and people screaming, calling the police, the two hours in
the parking garage to get out, and so that is a concern.
No doubt this is going to be a star in our park system.
So with that, I am going to go ahead and move forward.
Thank you for letting me have this time.
03:08:34 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Cohen.
03:08:36 >>HARRY COHEN:
I'm glad Councilwoman Montelione will have a
chance to go after me, but I actually took her -- think her
argument earlier goes directly to your question.
Because you have six to eight parks that all concentrated in
an area that's connected by a Riverwalk and trails and all
kinds of other amenities, including, by the way, water taxis
and water access, people can park at one park, and may be
able to utilize lots of different facilities in the
vicinity.
So you actually get the kind of economy of scale that I
oftentimes hear Councilwoman Montelione saying that she
wants to see, where there's all sorts of different -- take
public transportation downtown.
Now you have a huge variety of a men advertise that you can
choose from.
124 did you have anything else, Mrs. Montelione?
03:09:29 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
You mean park at one restaurant bar and
walk to another one?
Because we had that little talk about parking for bars and
restaurants in certain neighborhoods.
You know, since we were talking about Ballast Point and
what's being done there, maybe somebody can tell me what's
going to happen at Forest Hills once the flooding issue is
addressed by the stormwater project to fix the racquetball
court, or to restore the baseball, or basketball.
Because I don't have than the constituents who have been the
luxury of time or even to be involved in government.
The constituents in that neighborhood don't contact council
members.
They don't call the press or the news.
They sometimes don't have a voice.
Because you talk about the income of people who live in the
area of Julian B. Lane.
Look at the income of the people who live around West Park.
Look at Copeland.
I mean I'm glad Copeland was built.
The distance between the parks in areas whereby they don't
have cars to drive to, because they can't afford them, is
great.
So if we get answers for how Ballast Point's parking problem
is going to be fixed, I would love 206 answers for how basic
enities at some of my parks are going to be fixed because
I don't seem to get it.
No reflection on you, Mr. Baird, you have done as best a job
as you can, and we spent a lot of quality time together on
the phone.
You have shown me all of the requests that you have put in
on the system, those repair requests are in the system, you
have shown them to me, but yet they don't get done.
I'm at a loss as to why the basic amenities -- we had a park
in East Tampa that we had to practically call in the calvary
to go fix it because the conditions were so bad.
With rats and mildew, and I mean all kind of stuff.
And $40 million -- I'm not saying don't improve the park.
It's there.
We should make good use of it.
But $40 million on one park, when we have so many other use
needs in the city is just way too much.
And I wish we had the problems that you have of overuse.
And be Mr. Suarez said he's got three parks in his own
neighborhood.
Look at the size of district 7, and I have got 6.
Seven if you include the pool.
Or the baseball field.
That's all it is, is a baseball field.
So, you know, three parks in one neighborhood.
That's great.
And the expanse of district 7 we have got 6.
03:12:52 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other comments or questions? Mr.
Reddick.
03:12:57 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Move the resolution.
03:12:59 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Second by Mr. Miranda.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
03:13:03 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Opposed.
124 and number 58 is taken care much.
Number 59.
Motion by Mr. Reddick.
Second by Mr. Miranda.
All in favor are? Any opposed?
03:13:25 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
No.
03:13:26 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Item number 60.
03:13:27 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Move resolution item number 60.
03:13:31 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Second by Mr. Miranda.
All in favor are? Any opposed?
03:13:35 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
No.
03:13:36 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you very much.
Okay.
Let's go back to our regular part of our agenda.
I want to go back to our 10:30 hearings, which of course
it's in and out 3:14 p.m.
Item number --
03:13:52 >>FRANK REDDICK:
616 is just a resolution.
03:13:54 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I think we passed it.
03:13:56 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Oh, did we?
03:13:59 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Yes.
I was going to suggest we do the rest of those hearings
which are three left on those.
And then go back to the rest of our hearings.
We have the rest of our committee reports -- or staff
reports, because Mrs. Duncan is going to do three of those
and have her come on up here.
To be reminded, the next hearings we have, numbers 55
through 57 are public hearings.
Those require people to be sworn in.
Anyone that would like to speak on item 55 through 57,
please stand and be sworn at this time.
(Oath administered by clerk.)
03:14:32 >> Staff, number 55.
03:14:49 >>MARTIN SHELBY:
Mr. Chairman?
Number 55 is a review hearing, and it is a third party
review.
I have passed out to you the order of business that is
suggested that City Council follows regarding this.
You have done the first two items already.
I ask that you receive and file any ex parte written
documents on this one just so it in the record.
It know you did it earlier.
03:15:17 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
If I could have a motion to receive and
file.
03:15:19 >> So moved.
03:15:20 >> Second.
03:15:20 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Cohen.
Second from Mr. Reddick.
All in favor of that motion?
03:15:27 >>MARTIN SHELBY:
I am going to provide you the standard of
review under 27-61 J-2.
A hearing before City Council in reviewing a board decision
in this case as the Variance Review Board, City Council
shall apply de novo standard of review and shall not be
limited in its review to that information, documentation or
evidence upon which the board based its determination.
City Council shall follow all applicable ordinances in
arriving at its decision and may receive new evidence.
City Council after reviewing the decision of the board and
hearing evidence and testimony may either affirm the board's
decision, may remand the matter back to the board for
further proceedings with direction on how the board failed
to comply with the standard of the code, or may overturn the
decision of the board.
If the petition is remanded back to the board, then the
board shall only take action based upon the direction from
the City Council indicating how the board failed to comply
with the applicable standards -- applicable code standards.
I believe if there are any speakers here who are speaking at
the direction of a party who intends to speak, would you
please indicate that to me?
Otherwise -- okay, you are the original applicant.
And I believe that the petitioner seeking review is
represented by counsel.
Mr. Chairman, I am done with number 4.
And I believe we are prepared to go forward with number 5.
03:16:55 >>REBECCA KERT:
Legal department.
You are here for a review hearing.
03:17:02 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I apologize.
Yes, ma'am?
I believe we just did the swearing-in of everyone.
Thank you.
03:17:09 >>REBECCA KERT:
You are here for hearing on petition of
review for a decision from your Variance Review Board, the
property which is the subject of the petition.
It's 510 south Oregon Avenue.
The request for variance to review the north side yard from
7 feet to 4 feet and the rear yard the from 20 feet to zero
feet for an existing accessory structure, and the purpose as
stated was the existing structure.
The board approved the variance request stipulating that the
hardship criteria in section 27-08 has been met, and TV
petitioner for review the not the -- this is a third-party
appeal.
I am going to hand this out so you have for your easy
reference 27-08, the five criteria. The five criteria are
what you use to consider whether or not the variance has
been demonstrated that there is a practical difficulty or
unnecessary hardship and that the request ensures the public
health, safety and general welfare.
03:18:26 >>ERIC COTTON:
Land Development Coordination.
Very quickly, what was presented at the variance review
board at their hearing.
Again, the board heard this case back in November.
The property in question, Mrs. Kert did make a comment, the
applicant did request a variance that was approved by the
Variance Review Board.
This is the existing structure, accessory structure in the
rear.
The board reviewed the case under the hardship that existed
and approved the request.
Any questions regarding chapter 27?
03:19:12 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any councilmen have been questions about
chapter 27?
Okay, thank you.
I believe at this time the petitioner would be allowed to
speak.
Is that correct, Mr. Shelby?
03:19:28 >>MARTIN SHELBY:
The original applicant at this point, I
believe, would be the --
03:19:36 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Wouldn't the petitioner asking for the
review the third party?
Or am I incorrect?
03:19:42 >>MARTIN SHELBY:
At this point -- and I believe Mrs. Kert
and I had the opportunity to discuss this -- because the
original applicant made the original presentation before the
Variance Review Board, I thought the posture should be ton
know at least from her respect what was discussed and what
the decision was and what their position is.
03:19:59 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Ma'am?
Sorry.
You have been here for a long time and I apologize to all
the members of the public that were here for those hearings.
Thankfully we got to our 10:30.
Before you start, yes, sir.
03:20:14 >>MARTIN SHELBY:
Just so we are clearly for the record I
would appreciate if council would make a motion to accept
the approval of the order of business so it becomes part of
the record that council did have it before them. This is
the order of business we have chosen to follow.
03:20:29 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Reddick.
Second by Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
Thank you.
03:20:35 >> On November 10th --
03:20:41 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
For the record if you could state your name.
03:20:42 >> My name is Shelly bridgewell.
On November 10, 2015, we applied for a variance for the
existing structure. This is reduce the north side yard from
7 feet to 4 and the rear yard from 20 to zero for existing
structure.
The structures include the main home.
The variance to be approved, to provide competent evidence,
and meet certain criteria, and we were granted approval for
our variance request.
By unanimous decision by the Variance Review Board.
As stated in the approval letter by the VRB the approval,
quickly, the variance requested and does not release you
from compliance of any other city codes.
What this means is if we wanted to do anything with the
property, this did not exempt us from getting permits and
other things, any changes that we wanted.
This is strictly just existing structures only.
I believe it's important to bring up because when the
petitioner brought up his objection at the last meeting he
said, quote, I don't understand the need for variance
finance there aren't going to be any changes to the
property."
I think it's just as important today for me to reiterate and
be clear that the application is just for existing
structures only.
These structures are currently existing.
They are there.
And they have been there for almost 100 years.
That's all.
03:22:15 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
That's perfectly fine.
Is there any question of the original applicant?
Okay.
Thank you very much.
I know how these things go sometimes.
Now the petitioner seeking review.
03:22:34 >> Good afternoon.
Elise, 100 South Ashley, Tampa, representing the
petitioners.
Just some housekeeping before we get started with the
presentation, things that we will be referring to it that
happened on the record.
If I may, I am going to present the DVD from the variance
review board as well as copy of the transcripts from the
original DVD, some things we are going to put a copy for
each of you as well as public pictures that may be referred
to in rebuttal.
03:23:06 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
If I can get a motion to receive and file
those documents.
I have a motion by Mr. Cohen.
Did I hear a second from Mr. Reddick?
Yes.
All in favor of that motion please indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
Thank you.
03:23:25 >> There is a variety of hardships that you have to show and
one that it is a unique hardship not separate and common
with others.
In the transcript that I provided you, there's a general
discussion -- I won't go through it word for word -- but it
talks about the fact that this property is similar to other
properties situated and that they were going to maintain
what's existing on that property.
This is just the same thing that Eric showed you, a little
bit closer.
This is the second hearing.
You can see that this area, this area and this area, they
all have areas where in the development pattern, these are
nonconforming uses.
TFR Florida Supreme Court said a prerequisite for the
granting of a hardship variance is the presence of an
exceptional and unique hardship to that specific parcel and
not shared by property in that area.
We don't believe the unique and singular hardship criteria
has been met.
More than that, though, there isn't an existing hardship.
Usually someone comes to you and says, I would like to do
this and I would like to you grant a variance.
There are hundreds and thousands of existing developments
right now in the City of Tampa that are legal nonconforming.
Your code specifically says that if you have a legal
nonconforming structure, you can leave it in place unless
one of three things happens.
The first thing is there's a substantial improvement to
bring it up to code.
And the second is if there's a casualty or flowed and it's
wiped out, then you have the responsibility under our code
to build it to today's standards.
That's the intent.
So right now it's simply a legal nonconforming use.
Finally, there's no current hardship.
If you look at the transcript they've provided to you, and
there's a tab for the specific language I would like to call
your attention to.
Mr. Patelli, who I believe is a co-applicant or was also
there on behalf of the applicant at the prior VRB hearing,
specifically said there's no hardship per se today, it's
only a hardship of that would arise if there was a future
right -- and then he goes on, but one of the board members,
Long, said potential future hardship?
And he said, correct.
So I understand -- and they want to preserve the house.
It's a lovely house and they have divided it into
apartments, situated on a lovely lot.
But there is no hardship right now.
If a hurricane comes in, they can come before you with
similar plans and show you why they can't meet the code's
requirements at that time.
But right now, it's simply a legal nonconforming house, very
similar to those that are in the neighborhood.
So we would ask essentially that you reverse the decision of
the Variance Review Board and deny the variance.
I am here for any questions.
I could go on and on.
But don't want that.
It seems like -- I understand what the intent is to invest
something that you don't want to lose, but it's going to be
tied to the existing site plan, and it has been for two
years.
Even if you say yes, we will give you the variance.
They are going to have to keep coming back to you every two
years to renew, and I am just not sure that's the precedent
that City Council wants to begin with legal nonconforming
structures.
Thank you for your time.
Do you have any questions for myself or for Mr. McKenna?
03:27:40 >>HARRY COHEN:
Do any council members have questions right
now?
Councilwoman Montelione.
03:27:44 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I'm just curious as to why your client
is objecting.
03:27:51 >> Certainly.
03:27:52 >> Well.
03:27:58 >>HARRY COHEN:
We need your name and address.
03:27:59 >> Edmund McKenna. 505 South Oregon.
First thing, I am a lawyer.
I am not a land use lawyer.
I am not anything like that.
But it's a wrong decision, first of all, because to my mind,
the way it looks, is if it happens to any nonconforming use
in the city is now entitled to a variance to keep in the
place.
And then the other issue is that having gone through this
process to get here before you, perhaps it's an occupational
hazard being a lawyer, but I would want to know what the
motivation is.
And this property, if you look at the -- I know it's not,
but if it's right on the border of the Hyde Park
architectural district.
If it was on the other side of DeLeon it would be in the
Hyde Park architectural district.
So I think that's a factor.
It's just a wrong decision.
It sets a bad precedent for the city and for other
nonconforming uses because it says any nonconforming use
should be able to continue indefinitely.
I live catercorner across the street.
03:29:10 >> Across the street.
And if I am understanding it's one of those things you said
about precedent.
Every application that the council considers is on its own
merits.
So and especially with variances or waivers are considered.
It's just that case.
So I am not sharing the feeling of precedent with you.
But I am curious, as you say, you are suspicious why they
might want to get this particular setback issue that they
have because the structures are 100 years old.
That's probably why it ended up being that way.
But I am curious, so your concern is solely because that you
feel it's wrong to grant them a variance when there isn't
immediate hardship?
03:30:13 >> I believe that the purpose of the code has been
identified by the Second District Court of Appeals is that
eventually nonconforming uses go away.
That's the point of the code, that at some point in time --
03:30:30 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
This is historic property.
It's been there 100 years.
Unless the building burns down, and someone decides not to
rebuild them, and leave it a vacant lot, or something else
to that level of nature happens, this isn't a condition
that's going to be created by somebody else, it's one that
exists because it's so old.
03:31:03 >> And again, I'm not a land use lawyer by any stretch of
the imagination.
But now they can come bulldoze the house and build whatever
they want within the variance?
03:31:14 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
It's a little more complicated than
that.
And staff has to be careful in testifying or not testifying.
Rebecca Kert is like leaning over there saying watch me.
But one of the staff members can explain that.
I mean, I hesitate to put on the record what I know about
our process.
03:31:35 >> Land coordination.
You are talking about a nonconforming structure not being
used.
What's before you all tonight or today is the structure
itself, not the use of the property.
The variance that expired, the two year expiration date is
you apply for a variance.
You have two years to put it into effect.
If you don't put it into effect it expires.
It's already technically in effect because the structures
are there.
If the structures were to be bulldozed tomorrow, they could
go back to the same footprint that's shown on the site plan
approved by the Variance Review Board.
That's the limitation of development on that site.
At this point.
03:32:21 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
And if you could put on the record what
process does it do, does the applicant have to go through in
order to bulldoze a 100-year-old property?
03:32:31 >>ERIC COTTON:
Historic preservation, because it's the
division to get a permit through, they would have to go
through permitting to rebuild whatever they rebuild here.
03:32:41 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
And it would have to meet with all the
other codes and regulations?
03:32:46 >>ERIC COTTON:
Within the City of Tampa, corrects.
03:32:47 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
And be able to build back the same
footprint?
03:32:52 >>ERIC COTTON:
Correct.
03:32:52 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Thank you.
There's a statement in here that's made by Mrs. Owen from
the original hearing.
It says live next door, they own the house right next to the
property, they are concerned about flooding, and it says
highlighted, and not allowed to add any other structures but
fish they just make it a cement parking lot.
Does this variance, Eric, have anything to do with the
parking lot or anything that's not a vertical structure?
03:33:38 >>ERIC COTTON:
I'm not sure what they were referring to at
that moment.
The applicant has the site plan that's before City Council
the same one that was hear for the Variance Review Board.
If council were to uphold the Variance Review Board's
determination that's what they have on the property.
If they want to put a parking lot on that property they have
to go through permitting, take into account drainage, green
space.
03:34:01 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
But it doesn't have anything tore do
with a parking lot it could colt no.
03:34:05 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
So just wanted to clear that up.
That's something that I saw.
03:34:07 >> I think the concern was that if they brought back the
same footprint which brings more parking which causes --
03:34:19 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
And again I think he can address that.
I don't want to.
Rebecca would be standing up.
03:34:27 >> Any development on that property would have to be done in
accordance with the RM-24 standard.
So when they would go through permitting or be reviewed at
that point, so whether you can get more units on that
property, I don't know offhand.
Butt if were somebody were to apply inform that they would
have to Goff through review.
03:34:48 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Thank you very much.
03:34:50 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other questions of petitioner or staff
before we go forward?
I have one question, and this is to the original applicant,
if I could.
You said that the property is about 100 years old.
03:35:04 >> 1918.
03:35:10 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
And when you bought it, it was where it is
now?
03:35:14 >> Exactly as it is.
03:35:15 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
What was your original reason for going to
the Variance Review Board?
03:35:21 >> I had never heard of investing in property before and we
were in conversation with somebody who is involved with the
Hyde Park Preservation Society, and she just mentioned it
might be something to be want to look into.
I guess it's like health insurance, you know, you are
proactive about something, give you peace of mind, protects
your investment.
We know that we could apply for this retroactively if
something were to happen, but we felt that provides the
opportunity and service to existing structures, and took the
opportunity to go through that.
Just mostly, you know, it's investments, and the building
setbacks do not conform with today's coding and that could
be a concern finance something ever were to happen, and
without looking at the site plan I'm pretty comfort football
we had to rebuild, if there was a catastrophe.
03:36:17 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Any other questions from council before I go to the public?
Okay.
Is there anyone in the public that would like to speak about
this particular hearing, number 55?
55?
I see no one.
I have a motion to close from Mrs. Montelione.
Excuse me, Mr. Shelby?
I apologize.
If I can go to the petitioner for rebuttal.
I'm trying to get used to the way this is set up right now.
03:36:43 >> Just a couple of things on some of the things that were
mentioned.
If you go back to the picture, and you look at what happens
if it burns to the ground, it this is a normal size lot.
There is ample opportunity to not only preserve the
character of the new building but to comply with the
setbacks.
So at that time, if they found that they were uniquely
situated or that there was a tree, like it doesn't appear
that there's any trees, it's not particularly situated
property, because of that uniqueness, and I am looking at
this, nor have I heard the VRB for this particular hearing,
so I just ask you while you are talking and making a
decision, think about right now today, unfortunately for the
applicant, they have to show a hardship today, not tomorrow,
not what may happen in the future.
That's just the way the code is written.
We appreciate it.
03:37:51 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
The original applicant, do you have any rebuttal, ma'am?
03:37:55 >> Yes.
I guess in terms of the hardship, today it does not meet the
current setback codes.
They were built 100 years ago, and the code was very much
different today.
That's a hardship.
Again, we chose to be proactive in the this process, and
protect our building and property text our asset, and we
hope that nothing will ever come of it, but it is a peace of
mind.
It's just the hardship is -- it's a historical building in
the area that doesn't meet the zoning.
Thank you.
03:38:36 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Now I will entertain a motion to close since
we have already gone to the public and to both parties.
I have a motion by Mr. Miranda.
Second by Mrs. Montelione.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
What is the pleasure of council?
03:38:50 >> I move to uphold the decision -- [Off microphone.]
03:38:55 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Is there a second to that motion?
03:38:58 >> I'll second it.
03:39:06 >>MARTIN SHELBY:
In this case with the petitioner seeking
review, you are actually denying the petitioner's request,
so I am going to ask you to cite section 27-80, the variance
powers, and perhaps make some findings about whether the
original applicant met their burden.
03:39:21 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Okay.
So I would say that the 27-80 letter A, number 4, the
variance is in harmony and serves the general intent and
purpose of the chapter, and the adopted Tampa comprehensive
plan, it's in harmony because it's historic property and
also it reflects the general building character in the
neighborhood which many do not conform with our current code
because of the age of the property.
Number 5, allowing variance will result in substantial
justice being done considering the public benefit intended
by this chapter and individual hardship, the practical
difficulties that would be suffered due to failure of the
board to grant a variance, and I understand that Basil -- we
are having trouble with names today -- Basil.
I understand her point that there's plenty of land to
situate that house should something terrible happen to it.
However, the historic pattern of where that house is would
not be by moving the rest of the house and meeting with
current code if something were to destroy the property.
03:40:43 >> Can I ask Councilwoman why she didn't state number the?
03:40:54 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I will state number 2, the hardship does
not result from the actions of the applicant, hardship or
practical difficulty shall not justify a variance.
The applicant did nothing to create the circumstance in
which she's seeking relief.
03:41:10 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
We have a motion from Mrs. Montelione.
A second from Mr. Cohen.
Any discussion on that motion?
All in favor of that motion please indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
Thank you very much.
Thank you for appearing before council.
Okay.
We are on item number 56.
56.
Staff.
03:41:31 >>REBECCA KERT:
Legal department.
Item 56 is another petition for review following the
decision of the Variance Review Board.
The address of the subject property is 3703 Henderson
Boulevard, the request to increase the height of the sign
from 20 feet to 35 feet and the square footage of the sign
from 50 feet to 63 feet and to increase the number of
free-standing signs from one to two.
The purpose was stated to remove the existing nonconforming
sign and install a new sign.
The Variance Review Board denied the request finding the
hardship criteria was not met and the petitioner for review
is James Encke, and they are the original applicant.
03:42:21 >> Good afternoon.
Eric Cotton, Land Development Coordination.
Again to follow what Rebecca said, the board reviewed this
case back in March and denied the request 4-3.
This is an Henderson Boulevard.
The you can see it there
I will show you the site plan.
The sign in question is right there.
Can you see it?
03:43:07 >> Can you zoom in on there?
There you go.
03:43:10 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
So that circled area --
03:43:26 >> Is where the sign is located. This is what the sign
currently looks like.
We have better photos than this.
I believe it's a steel sign.
And another view.
And this is the sign he wants to replace it with, which
again is taller than the sign that's currently on the site,
more than allowed by code.
It's bringing the height down but more than allowed by code
under the amendment.
Does City Council have any questions?
03:44:03 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any questions?
Okay.
Petitioner?
03:44:12 >> Good afternoon.
My name is James Encke.
At this time I would like to present to council, if I could.
Some photos of what the sign, the old sign compared to the
new sign.
Also I would like to turn in the case under the VRB.
03:44:37 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion from Mrs. Capin, second by Mr.
Reddick to receive the documents.
All in favor?
Opposed?
Thank you, sir.
Continue.
03:44:48 >> I would like to let council know that I am not here to
ask for any money.
I'm actually here to ask for your approval.
I'm retired Air Force master sergeant for 20 years.
The last three years I have owned the City Side lounge on
3703 Henderson Boulevard.
And one of the biggest things as a business owner is to
advertise your business to let people know who you are and
where you are.
The current sign, yes, the prior owners' sign.
What I try to do about a year ago was to revamp my business,
make it known that, hey, look, I am here, this is where I am
at.
And use all kind of avenues to advertise, but there's
nothing like advertising where your business is at.
Telling people who you are and what you plan to do.
Now, according to Mr. Cotton and the other lady who was here
earlier, representing all the items that we are trying to
apply, or request for.
The VRB board thought it was too much, why are you having
too much stuff going on?
Their biggest issue that we had was the height requirement.
Now, if I could just take some of these things one by one, I
think it will help alleviate a lot of issues.
First, allowing for one additional sign.
Currently, there are two signs on this property.
My sign and the sign of Napa which shares the property Val
with me.
If I could.
Right here is our sign.
Over on this side is Napa's sign.
So we are far away from each other as far as the signs go.
Now, the other issue is, my intention is to take down my
sign.
Now, the hardship that I have with my sign, like any other
business around the local area, my sign is sheet metal,
double sided sheet metal, 14 by 14 sheet metal sign.
I cannot arbitrarily put the base oft and put a new face on
like other businesses can do that.
I can't do that.
If I have to change my sign it would have to come down. If
they come down, then that means I have to resort to current
standards.
This results in the second hardship of this.
This is the existing support structures for the sign.
They are steel i-beams that go 60 feet from the ground into
the air.
They go, I am estimating, about 15 feet into the ground.
Now, what's holding that into the ground is concrete.
You are taking concrete going straight into the ground.
I'm a small business.
I am not like Papa Johns.
I am not like any other business.
I'm a mom and pop shop business.
I can't change where this sign is located.
I can't move it back 15 feet without causing huge economic
hardship on my business.
I cook.
I can't do that.
Which brings me back to the second one.
Requesting the 15 feet to 3 feet.
My intent with my new sign, the one that Mr. Cotton has
shown you, this right here, this sign was designed ton fit
in between the I-beams.
They come out in the shape of an I.
That sign will fit in between those I-beams adding support.
Now, where will this sign fit?
I'm not really sure if I can get a picture of this.
Right on this here, there is an I beam lattice that goes
straight across that adds support to the I beam.
That sign is designed to fit on top of that.
What also makes this sign very difficult to change is -- I
don't know if you can see it on this here.
These I-beams, I can't go any lower than what the sign is
designed to fit at.
Unfortunately, Dr. Long who was at the VRB meeting stated
her principal argument was -- and I will paraphrase -- the
sign is going to come downing eventually anyway, and when it
does, he will be forced to put it at 20 feet.
Unfortunately, I did not say where the sign went.
This sign has been up there for 15 years, all right?
I have only owned the business for three years.
I am trying to increase revenue for my business.
This is an LGBT bar in South Tampa.
It is the last LGTB bar in South Tampa.
When I first started this business there were 7 bars in
north and South Tampa not including Ybor.
They are gone.
I'm the last bar.
I'm trying to reinvent or reencourage people to come back to
South Tampa, get them from Ybor, help raise money for myself
and for the local community.
And at that point, I thank you very much for your time.
And I hope -- oh, by the way, last week was my birthday so
this would be an awesome birthday present.
(Laughter).
03:50:44 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Happy birthday.
Any questions from council, the applicant or petitioner?
03:50:48 >>HARRY COHEN:
Can you walk me through how you say that
this is less square footage than --
03:51:03 >> Than the current sign up there now is 14 by 14 sheet
metal sign double sided, 163 square feet in total but for
that sign.
The new sign I have is 7 by 9 feet which would be 5 square
feet visible.
Now, current standard if we go by what you have right now is
50 feet.
I'm asking for an increase of 13 feet square feet for visual
space.
03:51:33 >> Why?
03:51:34 >> It's the way the posts are utilized.
I can't go any lower than -- if I go any lower than 35 feet,
anything coming from the Kennedy side Henderson coming down
will not -- because Square One Burger fits and where these
sign fits.
Square One Burgers is right next door to me.
If I go any lower, ain't nobody going to see me on that
side.
If you come from the opposite side, you are going to see it.
But nothing will be from the other side.
If you keep it at 35 feet, it's going to be an equal height
with Square One Burgers.
Right now the sign at its height is 609 feet in the air.
I am requesting to bring it down.
Unfortunately, because of how these preexisting posts fit, I
can't go any lower, based on how I design this new sign.
Now --
03:52:30 >>HARRY COHEN:
How does the height affect the overall
square footage of the sign face?
I mean, couldn't you have a 60-foot sign at the height that
you are proposing?
I guess that's what I don't understand.
03:52:43 >> Based on -- right here.
There we go. This is Square One Burger sign.
My sign will fit really right about here.
When all that's done.
If I go any lower, nothing -- these posts coming in, that is
the angle.
I can't change that.
I can't make it any wider.
I can't pick up this post and move them further back, or
bring them into conformity.
They are stuck there.
I can't move it.
I don't have the money or the financial resources to do
this.
So I am trying to utilize preexisting structures.
03:53:27 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Exactly.
You are trying to use preexisting structures.
So you are saying that the size of the sign is because of
the width?
03:53:37 >> Yes.
It gets narrower and narrower.
03:53:43 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
If it gets narrower, why is the sign
bigger?
03:53:48 >> No, no, no.
The existing sign is there right now.
It's 14 by 14.
This fits on the outside like a sandwich.
So what I am trying to do is take the new signs and put it
inside the support structure.
So it's coming from a 14 by 14 to 7 by 9.
So it's making it smaller.
It comes down to height.
And that's what the VRB board's primary concern was.
Why can't you get any lower?
I can't get any lower.
Now, I did invest in the sign prior to knowing all the facts
about putting up a brand new sign.
Yes that is my fault.
Now, when all is said and done I have two options after this
point.
I can either leave the sign up there, which is an eyesore,
the way it is, and I continue.
Unfortunately, I am not Salvador Dali.
I can't paint very well.
So way did in order to make it bigger and brighter and fit
into what all the other signs are in the area, I had one
developed.
And the sign that you see -- where did it go?
And this was a result of the sign I had made.
It was designed to fit within the I-beams at a certain
height.
And it just won't go any lower.
Without causing more economic hardship on more part.
Cohen I really don't want to belabor the point given the
time of the day.
But the height of the sign at least to me is not the
concern.
The concern is that the sign is bigger than the signs that
everybody else is allowed to put up.
And this is a big sign.
It's like putting up a billboard on the street.
You know, I understand you didn't know 63 was too many feet.
I mean, 50 feet single-family the square footage that is
allowed on a new sign.
And to grant this is basically, you know, it just flies in
the face of what we are trying to do in terms of to reduce
the amount of signage throughout the city.
03:56:17 >> If I may point out one item.
There was one group that had initial concern with this
entire process.
And that was the Gulf view Civic Association.
When they initially saw that I was having this done their
biggest concern was its still too big.
But after talking to them, and with in discussions, I told
them what we were doing, what we were planning.
They agreed that, yes, it's still high compared to what the
standards are but it is moving in the right direction.
I am taking down what some people consider an eyesore.
03:56:53 >>HARRY COHEN:
So you had a discussion with the Gulf view
Civic Association, got their buy-in on 63 feet sign but
never checked to seek if it was duly allowable by code to go
that big?
03:57:06 >> It was done after the fact, sir.
It was done after the fact once the petitions went out to
notify people about the public hearing.
03:57:21 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other questions or comments business
council?
Sir, are you finished with your presentation?
03:57:26 >> Yes, I am.
03:57:27 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Is there anyone in the public that would
like to speak on item number 56?
2016-8-chapter 27.
You had been sworn already?
03:57:45 >> Yes.
Actually, ways here originally.
I have been a patient of the bar for a while.
One thing to know is I am also a Uber customer.
03:58:02 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
We need your name for the record.
03:58:04 >> My name is Josh Babaka.
I apologize.
I am a Uber and Lyft customer.
I do not like to drive to the bar.
A lot of times when I have someone picking me up nine out of
ten times they can't find me giving the address.
It's because they actually can't recognize what it is.
They pick me up at city side.
Even when giving someone an address who has a GPS system
with satellite, they can't find it.
So just imagine I'm a consumer who people can't locate the
business.
And that has to affect something.
Yes, when you look at different signage, I understand what
the city is trying to do when it comes to that, but having
visibility as a business and as a brand, it's important.
It increases tax revenue, it increases revenue for staff,
and it increases my ability for my drivers to pick me up.
So another thing to notice, too, is the bar really does a
lot of fundraising for a lot of organizations, a lot of
organizations, Francis house, and they do a lot of good.
And a lot of times when people for these events, they need
to be able to find it.
Being able to find location signs of business is very, very
important.
I really hope that you guys approve this one because it
means a lot.
Thank you.
03:59:24 >> [Off microphone.]
03:59:37 >> Any rebuttal?
I don't think so.
We have a motion and second to close, motion by Mr. Miranda.
All in favor?
Any opposed?
Anyone want to take that?
Yay or nay?
Somebody has to speak up.
Feel like it's Ferris Bueller's day off.
04:00:15 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
I know the sign is very large. Larger than
most.
Go ahead.
04:00:34 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Nobody is -- (Laughter)
I'm sorry.
Let me get my sheet out here.
I will move to overturn the decision of the Variance Review
Board.
This is 13 square foot difference between the allowable and
what he's asking for.
The hardships, I think, were demonstrated in that having a
viable business, to let people know that you are there.
So I would say that with the placement of the building next
door's sign, and the shape of the building next door's sign,
that is one of the reasons why there's a practical
difficulty with conforming with the current sign code.
The other is that the structure that's in place to support
the current sign, it would be a hardship to have of that
structure removed because it's kind of built like a support
to a bridge, the I-beams and the concrete.
It would be very expensive to remove.
So I believe that it meets under section 27-80-A, number 1,
if alleged hardship, difficulties are unique and singular
with respect to the property, that the hardship or practical
difficulty does not result from the actions of the applicant
because the sign structure was already there, and I'm citing
the structure is most of the reason why it makes it
impractical and there's a hardship, and number 5, the
variance will result in substantial justice being done.
04:02:45 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Second.
04:02:48 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion from Mrs. Montelione.
A second from Mrs. Capin.
All in favor of that motion please indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
04:02:55 >> Aye.
04:02:58 >>THE CLERK:
Miranda voting no.
04:02:59 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Okay.
This is our last hearing of the day.
People are happy.
We are too, believe me.
Number 57.
Staff.
Mrs. Moreda.
04:03:13 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
Land development.
This is a special use 1 application for a home occupation.
The property is at 4618 west north B street which is an
RM-24 zoning district.
I have a location map in Westshore here to the west.
And north.
It is one of the townhouses that actually fronts on north
"B."
Here is an illustration here.
Proposed location for the home occupation.
The request was denied by myself, the result of the fact
that they are wanting to place the home occupation in their
garage, which is a detached structure.
One of the criteria for home occupation is that it needs to
be in the main house.
The property is a townhouse setting.
It's a row of townhouses and then the row of the connected
garages.
And they are planning to locate this business within the
garage itself of the
I have a photograph here showing the alley where the garage
is at.
Here is the zoning atlas.
I thought it might be helpful to see it.
The property is here.
And there is an alley that runs from north "B" behind the
townhouses that are in this area here.
RM-24.
But in terms of all of their requirements of the home
occupation, they do satisfy the type of business report, I
believe they make candles out of this location.
But they are asking for a waiver to locate in the structure.
04:05:23 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Petitioner.
04:05:26 >> Good afternoon.
Susan Johnson Valez, 607 west Bay Street on behalf of the
applicant and property owners.
Again, as Gloria said, this is an appeal of our special use
application.
We knew we would be coming before you to request this
because of the waiver request.
This special use home occupation could take place within
their primary structure, but they have been using their
garage for this and they would like to continue to use it,
because of that waiver request, we have to come before you
for approval.
We do agree with Mrs. Moreda's finding that we meet every
other criteria for granting this in the code.
And I can go through those in you would like.
But we would like to continue for a couple of reasons.
Number one, as she says, this is a townhouse development, so
we do have neighbors that we share common walls with on
either side.
We feel it would be less disruptive to use in the detached
garage structure than in the house.
The second reason, they have this rather large piece of
equipment here. This is their candle melting vat, I will
call it for lack of a better term.
It is a double broiler so there's no gas.
They plug it in, and it's heated similar to what do you on
your stove but that's a rather large piece of equipment can
get in the way of dinner preparation that goes along in the
house.
And so this is a picture -- this is their work area in their
garage.
You can see the vat and the work.
That's what they would like to include.
Through the big window you can see the primary structure in
pretty close proximity.
Some of you may be familiar with this applicant's need.
They own the Tiffany candle company so you may have seen it
locally around town. This is just a picture of some of
their products there.
Currently in boutiques and local shops, in Dunedin,
Brooksville, Tampa, Lutz, Lakeland, Palm Harbor,
Jacksonville, Winter Park.
They also had a presence there are in Tennessee, Louisiana,
Georgia and California.
So they are a growing business.
They would like to keep it while they are still small within
their home for as long as possible.
And that's the local Junior League holiday market in which
they participate.
04:08:02 >> I'm not sure that's the best finish but go ahead.
04:08:07 >> Especially within me.
(Laughter).
04:08:13 >> So this is what they do.
They have their candle making business and they get orders
from their various customers and with that waiver we would
request approval of the special use.
I would like to say for the record we do have a site plan I
would like to submit for the record that shows in the green
here that space 20 by 20-foot space in the garage where they
would occupy for the candle making.
And then also I have a series of letters of support that we
did have from a few neighbors.
One I would note that Mr. Aaron clamp, 4616 west north "B"
street, the immediately adjacent neighbor, was here for the
morning session but had to leave to go back to work.
We did have a couple of other neighbors, Robert fairer,
north wested "B" street was here but had to leave.
And Melissa Radavich was also here and they had to leave.
So I would like to make that for the record.
So I would like to suggest a site plan and letters of
support and the photographs.
04:09:22 >> [Off microphone.]
04:09:28 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
All in favor of that motion signify by
saying aye.
Thank you.
04:09:33 >> I would say that Mr. Meyer was the owner was here.
I will reserve any time for rebuttal.
04:09:41 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Are there any questions from council at this time?
Okay.
Single-family there anyone in the public that would like to
speak on item number 57?
Yes, ma'am, please come to the podium and state your name.
My name is MaryAnne deem.
My husband and I own and reside at 4620 west north "B"
street.
Our townhouse immediately adjoins the petitioner's property
at 4618.
I too have been here for the better part of this day, and
unlike most of the people here, I have not been compensated
to be here.
I am here because I am a neighbor.
I am a citizen.
I have never done this before, 35 years in Tampa.
I am privileged to have the opportunity to have express my
concerns.
First, we are asking for the denial of this special use
permit because any change in variance to the existing zoning
district designation of RM-24 sets a precedent and can
seriously impact our home values.
We already live in the Westshore business district.
Our neighborhood should not be infringed any further by home
businesses or otherwise that take away our residential
enjoyment.
If the candle making business our neighbors were engaged in
involved pouring wax into paper cups, I wouldn't be here.
Their candle making enterprise is very intrusive in terms of
noise levels and is done in their garage workshop.
Heaven forbid it was done in the home, which we immediately
abut.
They cut glass wine bottles, and then pressure wash the
labels from the old wine bottles.
So not only do we have numerous stacks of wine bottles
everywhere, in the alley, in the patio area, the action of
the grinding of the glass.
I do have a very brief one-minute recording of what I hear
when I'm sitting on my patio, which is about 25 feet away
from the outside garage.
If I may play this for you.
I actually have two but I would like to play the one that
demonstrates the grinding noise, if I may.
04:12:29 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Shelby, is it okay for her to play
something that she -- has not authenticated but we take her
at her word.
She's under oath.
04:12:46 >> you can weigh the evidence.
04:12:49 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
And I am not sure how we do this technically
because it's a recording of the noises.
I would suggest, Mr. Shelby, you might want to put it next
to your microphone to make it easier, because that is not a
directional microphone at the podium and may not be able to
hear. I am not sure but that's just a guess.
You can try it.
Ma'am, you can go ahead and put it on as loud as you can.
04:13:12 >> And I am very nervous, so please bear with me.
That's okay.
I'm very nervous, too, most of the time.
04:13:18 >> 9 a.m. Saturday morning, May 6th.
This is the noise from my neighbors.
04:13:25 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Can everyone hear that?
Okay.
You may want to use the -- there's a microphone there.
There you go.
(Bell sounds)
04:13:47 >> I still don't think you can hear it very well.
04:13:52 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
I hear it perfect.
04:13:55 >> I also have another one that demonstrates the pressure
washing.
04:14:00 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
It sound like there is some noise there.
Is that with a window or door open?
04:14:10 >> With it closed.
That's my patio.
I am sitting on my patio.
04:14:14 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I just want to make sure was it inside your
home or outside your home?
04:14:19 >> It was outside my home.
On my back porch.
04:14:21 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Yes, ma'am.
Mrs. Capin.
04:14:24 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
You stated date.
What time of day was it?
04:14:27 >> That was 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning.
And that's our other problem.
04:14:30 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Excuse me, what hours do we have for
construction?
We do have hours to allow, I know that we do.
We do, for hammering and sawing and the rest it.
There are certain hours during the week and then on
weekends.
But I don't know the hours.
Can we find out?
04:14:52 >> My other recording is from 7:
30 on a Sunday evening.
04:14:56 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Okay.
04:14:58 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Well, ma'am, if I could, we did hear your
evidence, and we are going to get the question answered from
our staff about the construction noise.
04:15:13 >> Other than it's 25 feet.
We were good neighbors at the beginning, but since there's
no rhyme or reason when they do this, how often they do it,
you can't even have a conversation on your patio.
I just ask that you would consider the fact that this is a
pleasant residential neighborhood, and any exception to the
uses that are already there will cause serious loss of value
and could risk us being exposed to future unknown
businesses.
04:15:42 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you very much.
I appreciate it.
Mrs. Moreda, if you could answer the question that Mrs.
Capin has.
04:15:50 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
I believe Mrs. Kert is looking it up.
I did want to for the record point you to number F of the
criteria for home occupation.
That it shall not create noise, vibrations, or electrical
interference detectable by normal senses outside of the
dwelling unit.
So I'm not sure about that noise, but I just wanted to point
out that one of the conditions of the home occupation, it
should not cause disturbance.
04:16:25 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
If I could ask a question, Mrs. Moreda,
before we go bath back to the petitioner.
When we are looking at the -- what it means to be home
business -- and there's a number of different things that
are mentioned on here, barbershop, so on and so forth.
I don't see anything that is more intensive other than small
appliance repair.
Is there anything else in the code or in this particular
part of the code that indicates anything that might be
similar?
04:16:59 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
No, it really should be business that is
really not detectable by anybody.
When they tell me that candle making, I thought, well, maybe
domestic craft, maybe falls under that.
But usually the home occupation is a such intensity that no
one even knows it's there.
And I think that's one of the reasons why it is supposed to
be in the main house, not an accessory structure.
04:17:28 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Mrs. Capin.
04:17:31 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
I wanted to say when this came up it
brought back memories.
My mother and father had a home business in a detached
garage.
It was sewing.
But you had no idea that anything -- that there was anything
in there that was absolutely -- so, you know, I want to hear
the rebuttal.
But, again, I understand having business at home, because I
grew up with a business at home.
So I'll listen to the rebuttal.
Continue.
04:18:05 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
[Off microphone.] Chair Suarez was
talking about dog grooming.
I would assume -- I'm sorry.
You know if there was a dog grooming business in the house
next door because you would hear animals going back and
forth.
So that seems a little more intense than the others.
Private tutoring, you see people coming and going.
04:18:42 >>GLORIA MOREDA:
It would.
I'm not saying -- a beauty salon, you are going to have
customers.
You know, we treat that as customers by appointment only.
That type of thing.
04:18:59 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I understand.
You mentioned all of the locations that the candle company
is in, and it's very impressive. Even out of state.
It seems that in order to fulfill all of those accounts,
there would be a hey volume of product being created and
shipped.
04:19:26 >> Well, orders from their customers and they fulfill the
orders and ship them out.
So it's not like they make them and store them.
04:19:39 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
So when you were talking about the
business and being in another state it's not that they are
shipping to retail locations.
So they are not shipping to, I don't know, Bed Bath &
Beyond, say.
04:19:56 >> No.
It's a little boutique.
Little boutique to be one city maybe in Tennessee at this
point.
And they recognize, they may go beyond the boundaries of
noise, but right now, it's a little boutique around Tampa,
and --
04:20:16 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Do you know what the product volume is,
how many units?
You have to come to the microphone.
04:20:23 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
State your name, sir.
04:20:26 >> My name is Steve Neher. 4618 West North "B" Street,
Tampa, Florida.
Our volume is probably not more than maybe five hundred
candles a year. It started out as a hobby, a craft thing to
do.
It's become so popular.
04:20:42 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
And I don't mean to interrupt, but it is
20 after four, and you have been here all day so I know you
want to get out of here and get through this.
But if it's 4 to 500 candles a year, it would seem that the
testimony we have had from the opposition is that the noise
and the disruption is Saturdays, and Saturday morning,
another Sunday morning.
And it was intimated if not specifically stated that this
was a regular occurrence.
So if you are only producing 500 candles a year, I would
imagine you are not operating the cutting operation or the
pressure washing operation seven days a week for extended
periods of time.
04:21:39 >> No.
04:21:39 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
How often would you say, or what are
your hours?
The glass grinder is a little 2 by 2 glass grinder that you
get at Hobby Lobby or any craft store.
I'm not sure what the noise was, we don't have a video of it
so we can't confirm whether it was actually --
04:22:02 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
She's under oath so I am going to --
04:22:05 >> I don't know if she was peeking over the fence or I don't
know if she saw what it was.
I will tell you -- and they can confirm.
They have been extensive remodeling on their townhome so
many so there have been workers back and forth.
That very well may have been a saw that was cutting wood as
part of the construction project.
I don't know.
04:22:23 >> And I will add that we are crafty people so regardless if
we had a business or not.
One thing that she didn't really mention is there is an oak
tree in the backyard that overruns our yard.
Sometimes they use as a homeowner the pressure washer to
clean off in our yard.
So a lot of noise is just being homeowners.
04:22:50 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
So back to the home, what are the
operating hours of the business?
04:22:54 >> Well, they don't have regular operating hours.
I mean, they do work regular jobs.
And this is a hobby related, grog grown into a business from
a hobby that they had.
04:23:05 >> That's why he's doing it on weekends.
04:23:07 >> I mean --
04:23:13 >> I mean, on demand.
Like if people want tall candles, be ready in a few days,
and it might be on a Tuesday.
Will.
04:23:27 >> You might want to some day in which case would you move
out of the garage.
(Laughter).
04:23:32 >> And the proposal is supposed to be keep all the business
related activity in the garage.
So the grinding will be in the garage.
They did used to use a pressure washer and pressure wash the
labels off the wine bottles that they recycled to house the
candles but they since found a better method which is
soaking which is completely quiet other than running water,
you know. So there will no longer be pressure washing.
But there still may be pressure washing of the patio.
The other two things that I did want to mention in response,
that there is no change.
I think you all appreciate that this is a use that is
permitted within the zoning district as a special use, but
it's meeting all the criteria, which we have shown that we
met with the waiver which we are asking to approve.
04:24:22 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Are you done within your rebuttal are?
04:24:26 >> I am.
04:24:27 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other questions or comments by council?
04:24:29 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
When she brought up Saturday and Sunday, I
was going to ask you if you had a regular job.
An 8 to 5 job, or because I that would answer that question.
But I also need to state, I live four blocks from this
address on the same street, so I know exactly where this is
at.
I have got to tell you, the business in the garage, that's
how my family ate and how we paid the rent, that's how we
did everything, and my parents had that business until the
day they retired.
Actually, my dad passed away, and it was -- 40 years.
40 years out of the garage.
So when I see that, you know, I understand.
But nonetheless -- happening with the neighborhood.
04:25:32 >>MARTIN SHELBY:
Mrs. Capin, all that said, aside of your
personal experience, are you able to be fair and impartial
and judge this on the evidence and the --
04:25:46 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
Yes.
I'm reminiscing.
I'm so sorry. (Laughter)
But it has nothing to do with what I am going to decide on.
04:25:52 >> Mr. Miranda?
04:25:54 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
I just want to make a statement loud and
clear that home occupation, not garage occupation.
The garage is 20 by 20, I heard.
04:26:03 >> That's the area in the garage that would be taken up.
04:26:05 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
But if you put that inside the house --
take care of more than likely one part of a whole floor.
04:26:17 >> No.
04:26:19 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Well, one third of the whole floor, one
half of the whole floor.
04:26:23 >> It would be less space.
04:26:25 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Thank you, chair.
04:26:27 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other comments or questions by council?
Council you are satisfied?
Is there anyone else in the public that would like to speak
about this item number 57?
04:26:38 >> Can I speak anymore?
04:26:41 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
No, ma'am.
I apologize.
You cannot.
I see no one.
Is there a motion to close?
I have a motion to close by Mrs. Capin.
I have a second by Mr. Reddick.
All in favor of that motion please indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
What is the pleasure of council?
Who wants to take this?
04:27:00 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I guess I'll take this again.
04:27:03 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Go ahead, bring it.
Go ahead.
04:27:08 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I will move to approve the application
for the SU-I by the applicant.
04:27:18 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Overturn the decision of the zoning
administrator, I believe?
Is that what that is?
04:27:25 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I'm sorry, because all I have is the
staff report.
04:27:29 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I understand.
04:27:30 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
The letter is in the back.
To have overturn the decision of the zoning administrator
are in that all of the criteria as stated on the record is
met, and that since the garage is being -- the code, section
27-156, letter E, states no home occupation shall be
conducted in any accessory building from this other than
what was submitted in the town home configuration, the
garage is the best likely location.
It is detached but only by a few feet.
And I don't believe that that few feet makes a material
difference are? So you are granting the waiver in order
to --
04:28:33 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I am overturning the decision and
granting the waiver that is to it 27-156 E.
04:28:40 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
We have a motion by Mrs. Montelione.
Is there a second?
There is no second?
04:28:46 >>YVONNE CAPIN:
I am going to second.
04:28:47 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
We have a second from Mrs. Capin.
All in favor of that motion please indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
Okay.
04:28:57 >>THE CLERK:
[Off microphone.]
04:29:13 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
What is the pleasure of the rest of the
council?
04:29:16 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
I move to uphold the decision of the
zoning administrator because of hardship or practicality
does not create a hardship, and the difficulty doesn't
deserve any further action.
04:29:31 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Miranda.
I have a second by Mr. Reddick.
All in favor of that motion please indicate by saying aye.
Any opposed?
04:29:38 >> Oppose.
04:29:41 >>THE CLERK:
Mrs. Capin and Montelione voting no.
04:29:44 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Thank you.
Mrs. Capin has to leave in a few minutes.
But before we go -- and Mr. Miranda, I want to go to item
number 74 concerning stormwater, if that's okay with you
all.
You can't?
You have to leave?
If I do, Mr. Baird, you are going to do 73 and 74?
04:30:13 >>BRAD BAIRD:
Public works administrator.
You want me to do 73 first, correct?
73 is on stormwater flooding, and 74 is the program.
04:30:38 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Do 74 first.
04:30:40 >>BRAD BAIRD:
Very well.
So because I am an eternal optimist I am back under
stormwater improvement assessment.
If I can have the presentation.
04:30:53 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
It's been so long they may have lost it.
There it is.
04:31:02 >>BRAD BAIRD:
There it is.
So we are back at the request of City Council to come back
with a program and revisions to the way this, and before I
leave the cover page, those two pictures, the one on the
left, is the 300 block of north Rome.
That is one that -- one of the projects I will talk about in
a minute would resolve.
The one on the right is the infamous Anderson and Dale
Mabry.
I think there was a comic at one point if that was built
over a dam during the drought we would have had a full
reservoir.
So this is once again an overview, the last time we were
buff was November in 2015.
It's a comprehensive phase, capital improvement plan that is
worth $251.28 million and I believe we will be handing
out -- yes, we have handed out two things.
A copy.
Presentation, and the list of the projects that coincides
with.
So the large yellow dots are larger projects that I will
discuss in a minute.
And the smaller dots are small or medium projects throughout
the improvement area.
So this represents projects throughout the improvement area,
and the improvement area is officially called the central
and lower basin improvement area, if you remember that.
So we have flooding issues throughout that improvement area.
We have enough flooding to go around for everyone.
The large projects are comprised of the six projects listed
starting with the upper peninsula flooding relief, otherwise
known as Henderson Dale Mabry.
And for the most part to the west of that and Neptune and
Dale Mabry.
That project is worth about $40 million.
And it breaks down into 3 million from FDOT, 18.5 million
from SWFWMD, and 18.5 million from the City of Tampa.
And then secondly we have North Tampa closed basin flooding,
and this is flooding that I note Councilwoman Montelione is
very familiar with, between approximately 17th street
and 23rd street in and around Linebaugh.
And that's worth about $5 million.
With a little more if you count the land purchase that's in
another line item.
04:34:33 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mrs. Montelione.
04:34:34 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
So, Mr. Baird, you are saying that
the -- and I'm sorry that these votes fell on the same day.
I think you are going to anticipate what I am going to say,
because for a $5 million investment to alleviate the
flooding in North Tampa we are asking the citizens to pay
for it themselves.
With an assessment.
04:34:57 >>BRAD BAIRD:
Yes, this would be part --
04:34:59 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
That's all I needed.
Thank you very much.
04:35:00 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Miranda?
04:35:03 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Excuse me, along the same lines, all
citizens are going to pay for everything.
04:35:06 >> Correct.
04:35:08 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Those that flood and those that don't
flood.
04:35:10 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
That's the point I was making.
04:35:13 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
But I am not an engineer, if I could ask
the question. This is, I would say, a 10-ounce, 12-ounce
cup of water, basically.
My water evaporated, came back.
How big are your pipes at the sewer system and what is it
going to be replaced with?
04:35:31 >> These are large pipes we are talking about for a backbone
for these large projects.
So they can be as big as a 10 by 10, a 11-foot by 10-foot.
You can walk in.
04:35:42 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Since you are an engineer and I am not,
if you have a rising tied coming in and you have a
preponderance of rain, and the water can't go out, isn't it
a fact that the possibility could exist that the backflow
back into the residential street is twice what you saw
thereby?
04:36:03 >>BRAD BAIRD:
No, especially at these two locations.
04:36:06 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
No, no, talking about the general.
04:36:09 >> For the whole city?
That would be not typical city-wide.
And I would say 99.9% of the time you will not have that
issue.
So because you have to couple a high tide with a high
intensity rain.
So what happens in those cases is the water drains lower.
But for the most part, the two pictures that I just
showed --
04:36:40 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
And I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman.
You are telling me that you will risk your retirement --
(Laughter)
04:36:50 >> I didn't say that.
04:36:51 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
I understand that.
I want to make clear in your mind that your retirement,
you're saying that the culvert you are going to build and
the size of the pipe, whatever the figure was, I want
something that solves it completely.
This is rain water comes down.
The only way of solving this -- and this goes back to -- if
it calls and you can drain it back down into the aquifer
instead of the base then off 100 percent guarantee there
would be no backflow coming into the streets.
The problem we incur now is not the amount of drain.
It's where it's going to doesn't fall.
It flows back.
Lot of rain and backflow and you have the perfect storm.
04:37:40 >>BRAD BAIRD:
Correct N.that case tough perfect storm.
However, most of the time, you are solving these problems,
which are the major problems, medium problems throughout the
city.
The variety majority of time.
99% of the time.
But when you have the perfect storm, yes, you have that.
04:37:56 >> I want you to convince me because you have a Cuban
sandwich here.
I understand what you did.
But, you know, a house that's 100 square feet.
04:38:11 >>BRAD BAIRD:
No, 100 to 1300.
04:38:18 >> But 1300, the values will go higher than the Cuban
sandwich.
04:38:20 >>BRAD BAIRD:
Let me, if I could, let me finish the
presentation, and then Sonya has the financial presentation
and then Jan will actually put the schedule in.
Thank you.
04:38:32 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I'm glad you mentioned the cowboy an
sandwich after we have already eaten.
04:38:40 >>BRAD BAIRD:
All right, the third project is Cypress
Street outfall.
That is a $40 million effort in West Tampa.
To build box culverts down Cass and down cypress.
And
That would solve the flooding in the one picture on the
left-hand side in the tidal flood.
The fourth one is southeast Seminole Heights flooding
relief, which is a $30 million effort.
And I have a picture at the very end of the presentation on
lake Roberta and the flooding around there, and that is an
example of the project that that would solve.
The fifth is lower peninsula flooding relief, 75 million,
which we are embarking on a study in that area, to look at a
more detailed, what is the solution necessary to resolve the
flooding it from Euclid down to MacDill Air Force Base.
And finally, we have the small dots, 61 million capital
improvement plan that goes throughout the improvement area.
And I have maps that I have shown before of each of those
large projects.
And I will be happy to get into more detail later in the Q
and A.
And this issue of the grant status has come up several times
last year as we were going through the presentations.
These projects listed are grants that are on hold.
And we are in danger of losing.
So in total, we are in danger of losing almost $30 million
with these four projects.
As you can see, they are in various levels of
implementation.
For the first one, we put the design on hold.
We would have to complete the design on the 43rd street
outfall.
The next one is the upper peninsula whereby we would need to
execute a cooperative funding agreement by September
30th of this year.
Upper peninsula construction and Cypress Street outfall, we
need to decide by June 1 whether to put it in the state
budget for '17 or not.
Again that's by June 1.
That's a couple weeks away.
So with that, I will turn it over to Sonya to be go through
the financial aspects on how we are going to pay for it and
what that means in terms of the assessment amount.
Thank you.
04:41:39 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Revenue and finance.
I would direct your attention to slide number 5 of the
presentation.
Just a reminder of where we left off last November, that
that slide that is titled structure in the year 2016 through
2021, it's proposed to council for a small footprint with
square footage of 100 to 1300 square feet, and if you will
recall, the monthly assessment at that time that was
proposed was ramped up and based on a construction plan for
the $251 million assessment plan Brad mentioned, for the
project costs, issuance of bond of roughly $200 million,
meaning two different series bringing on to fit in line with
the construction project schedule, and then will special
assessment which increases year after year starting out at
2.69 for small single-family residence, and increasing
through 2017-2018, to 2021 and ending at $4.98 per month.
So that's what was proposed back in November.
A what has changed in the whole funding plan is instead of
the full amount being funded within special assessment
revenues, that would be used to secure two separate bond
issues, we have proposed committing $20 million at the
upcoming available CIT funding to put into the plan.
And what that does is instead of having bonds of $200
million secured by special assessment, it takes it down to
$180 million in bonds over the five-year period to the
issues that are secured by special assessment with a balance
being funded by community investment tax revenues or $20
million.
The resulting rate structure or the revised portion at the
bottom of that table reflects the monthly rate of 2016 of
229, 256, and then the final year at $4.55 for a small
single-family residence.
Now, we'll have the same information for comparative
purposes so that you can see what was proposed back in
November for medium --
04:44:38 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Before you go on, if you could, just to make
sure that people understand it, it does not end at 2021.
That is just the top end where it gets to, and then it
continues on at that annual amount every year afterwards.
04:44:50 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Yes, sir.
That's correct.
That would be the final entry.
04:44:56 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I'm sorry?
04:45:01 >> How many years?
04:45:02 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
So 25 more years is what she was saying.
04:45:05 >> Correct.
Thank you. We provided the same information for medium
single-family residence of 1301 square feet to 2200 for the
medium single-family residence.
The newly proposed --
04:45:21 >>HARRY COHEN:
I just want to clarify something.
Because you are using those square footage numbers. We are
talking about the building's footprint square footage.
So let's be clear.
Let's say that you have a 4,000 square foot, two-story house
that is equal on the first and second floor.
Does that mean that the footprint of the building is just
2,000 feet?
Or would that count as four? Just two.
So it's important that even a 4,000 square foot house under
this scenario could be a medium size house depending on how
much is on the first floor and how much is on the second
floor.
04:46:03 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Yes, sir, that is correct.
And I should have started --
04:46:10 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I'm sorry.
If I may.
That's a good point, Mr. Cohen.
Because builders may take that into consideration and start
building top-heavy houses with the first floor being a
smaller footprint than the second floor, especially when you
get into your very, very large houses, this stormwater could
rack up dollars.
04:46:37 >> but theoretically. If they did that there would be more
impervious surface left on the property, so it really does
have the desired effect of reducing the flooding.
04:46:46 >> Go ahead.
04:46:51 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Thank you.
So slide 6 of the presentation provides the same
information, so the infusion of the $20 million of community
investment tax into the program, in that sense, we end up
with a monthly assessment in the first year of $3.75 with
the final increase at 7.46 for the life of the assessment.
For the large family, single-family residence, 2,201 to
4,000 square feet.
Again, to your point, the impervious area being considered,
the building footprint not taking into account square
footage that may be on the second or even third floor, for
that matter, starting out whenever the revised rate
structure of 2016 at $6.22 per month, up to 12.39 per month.
Beginning and 21 for the life aft assessment.
And then our final tier --
04:48:03 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Excuse me for a moment.
04:48:04 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
The pervious versus impervious, so this
has also changed -- correct me if I am wrong -- from the
first proposal where we were counting up patios, driveways
and any other impervious surface?
04:48:26 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Come to the microphone, Mr. Baird.
04:48:27 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Yes, please.
So it's not just the building footprint.
We are counting any impervious on the lot.
04:48:34 >>BRAD BAIRD:
No, if you recall the set-up of four tier
system with the footprint range that we are talking about as
Sonya just went through, so if you are residential, you fall
in one of those tiers, but commercial, you count everything
that's impervious.
That's the difference.
04:48:59 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
But residential you are only counting
the building footprint, not any impervious surface.
So if you have got a pool deck that's impervious and you
have got a driveway that's impervious and you have a
detached garage that is impervious, none of that counts.
04:49:14 >>BRAD BAIRD:
That's correct.
04:49:16 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
So the footprints of the primary
residence.
04:49:19 >>BRAD BAIRD:
Yes.
Yes.
Remember what I said last time about that is the big
advantage, the commercial property has over residential.
So if you are a commercial property, and up reduce your
impervious, it's in effect the same as 100% mitigation
credit.
It reduces your EU one for one.
Every square foot.
Thank you.
04:49:49 >>SONYA LITTLE:
And then to be put it in perspective, which
we are talking in such large dollar amounts, that if we want
to compare what we all love, the West Tampa sandwich shop
Cuban sandwich, at $4.45. In 2016 the monthly rate on the
assessment on a small single-family residence would be $2.29
per month.
And between 2016 and 2021 when you compare those monthly
rates in '16 compared to the monthly rate in 2021, the
increase between the low and the high is 2.26, less than the
cost of a Cuban sandwich.
As a reminder, we want to remind again, we would not change
any other features that we presented in the program back in
November. The hardship program that we had proposed for
those who may have difficulty in covering the assessment is
still in place in this plan where at least one homeowner in
a property, at least age 65 and/or unable to work because of
a permanent disability with documentation, and/or veteran
with a service connected disability, that falls within the
30% area of medium income can apply for and apply for
assistance.
And that amount is not being passed on to the remaining rate
payers.
That amount would be absorbed by the general fund.
So we are offering the hardship program that's to be funded
through general fund and would not be passed on as an added
cost to the remaining rate payers.
04:52:01 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Thank you for doing this.
I really appreciate it.
I'm thinking that you must have some feel what that data
might be, yourself being very good in finance and
mathematics.
Tell us what that figure is and the amount that you think
might be afforded by the general fund.
04:52:21 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Yes, sir.
04:52:23 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I think she's prepared for that
question.
04:52:26 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
I know she is.
She's always prepared.
That's why I asked the question.
04:52:32 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Well, because we are legally obligated not
to make at burden on the remaining taxpayers, we did run
some analysis where we pulled demographic information for
information and age requirements within the area for the
improvement assessment.
And based on that information, we came up with 100% of those
that are eligible applied for and received assistance under
the hardship program that in the first year it would be
roughly $300,000.
04:53:13 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
I knew it would be low.
You are smiling.
04:53:20 >> 300,000.
04:53:23 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
I go by cash.
10%.
04:53:26 >>SONYA LITTLE:
That's all I have on the fee structure.
04:53:30 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other questions of Mrs. Little?
Thank you.
04:53:32 >>JAN MCLEAN:
This is the exciting part of the
presentation.
Our process timeline, and the deadlines that we have in
order for council to consider whether you would approve
improvement assessment in August, as you can see, we are
here today to receive your direction whether to move forward
or not.
Assuming that you move forward, there are certain things,
certain timelines that we have to meet.
The second one on there is already in place as far as your
service assessment which was approved last year, and we come
before you annually to reapprove it.
On July 14th, we start the action that we would need for
the improvement assessment. I would be here asking your
approval for adoption of the initial resolution, which is
the first step that would lay out the improvement assessment
and all of the elements thereto and the adoption of the
resolution for authority to publish and mail the notices for
the public hearing for the improvement assessment.
Then we would do so by August 1st.
August 4th we would do the public hearing for the
service assessment.
And we are anticipating the public hearing for the
improvement assessment if you so directed us today on August
25th because we have to have the roll certified to the
tax collector by September 15th.
So today we would be asking you for your direction whether
to move forward or not to prepare the resolutions and the
notices for your consideration of an improvement assessment
in August.
04:55:18 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Tax collector, you say that word, I was thinking Mr. Baird
say he was two years away from having a computer system that
could do whatever we could in-house without paying $5
million.
Does that still hold true?
04:55:35 >>BRAD BAIRD:
That still holds true, but I'm six months
closer.
04:55:45 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Now you are 18 months out.
And if you were to make this, would you still have to pay 5
million if we were doing it in-house, or you would have to
contract it out to the tax collector?
04:55:58 >>BRAD BAIRD:
We would look at which method is more cost
effective.
And the method that is more cost effective, but remember,
there's the big issue that to separate out those residents
as part of the billing program --
04:56:19 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
I have all the confidence in the world.
04:56:22 >>BRAD BAIRD:
Put in manually.
04:56:25 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Where people use water you send them the
bill.
When you buy water you send them the bill with the
pass-through.
You know how to do that.
04:56:33 >>BRAD BAIRD:
The stormwater doesn't go through a meter,
you know.
04:56:36 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
You are getting me off of what I want my
smiling at me and confusing me a little bit.
And the net savings could be applied.
However, you have another resource that we haven't talked
about, C.I.T. funds, so that's 35 million.
And by the time you leave here, sir, you are going to have
maybe a resource that we haven't even talked about, and
that's city water that you might sell in the future finance
you ever get hooked up to the right parties to buy it, which
could be applied towards this -- in other words, I want a
commitment from somebody that I am not going to leave the
whole city here because of 250 million.
That's the cost.
But nobody talked about the interest.
And I could tell the rate payer exactly what it is.
I don't like to say, I am going to buy a house, going to
cost me 100,000, the cost isn't going to cost you 100,000.
It will cost out 100,000 plus, plus, plus, plus.
04:57:38 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Yes, sir, I can provide you with that
information.
04:57:41 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
About half a billion dollars.
04:57:55 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Yes, sir. If we look at issuing two
separate bond issues, we are looking at in the neighborhood
of -- on the special assessment side, between principal and
interest, roughly $370 million over a 30-year period to be
repaid principal and interest.
Over a 30-year period.
04:58:15 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
So the 251 becomes 379.
That's it?
04:58:22 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Actually, I'm sorry, sir, when we brought
it down on the special assessment to be paid, the debt to be
repaid by the rate payers, they would pay roughly $12
million annually for 30 years for a total principal and
interest of $334 million.
One of the things, though, I would like to mention as it
relate to the tax collector versus the utility bills part of
that analysis along with the cost and the efficiency would
be to figure out the impact on the interest rates.
So just as a tickler.
04:59:01 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Here is where Bernie Sanders comes in.
Why would anybody hold anybody from us doing something like
this and have a higher interest rate because we are doing
it?
It's the same government.
The government down the street.
We are the same government here.
So what bothers me is not the fact that we have to do it.
We have to do something.
But the way this country is set up, you realize that I can't
even -- I can tax the taxpayer but I can't ask them to float
a bond like a what bond to pay for this?
And I pay them the interest, save half as much as what we
are paying now?
We can't do that legally because the law says you can't do
it.
I can tax you.
But it can't ask you to loan me your money.
Isn't that ridiculous?
04:59:42 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Our investors look at it in a very
interesting -- to your point, yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Also, if I can clarify on the community investment tax
portion, the 20 million, we anticipate, and we will come
back to you -- I have been mentioning to each one of you in
our individual briefings and in prior public hearings that
we are approaching planning for our fifth five-year
increment of the community investment tax.
We have ten years left in the tax.
The tax sunsets in 2026 so part of the proposal to relieve
some of the burden to the rate payer was to use $20 million
of that community investment tax towards this program.
So that will be part of our proposal that we have to come
back to you on June 2nd, along with what was approved
earlier today for Julian B. Lane.
05:00:44 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
If I may, Mr. Chairman.
That 20 million would be an additional savings of your
interest rate if you are going to use that 20 million here
to reduce your service by a lot more than --
05:00:56 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Yes, sir.
05:00:58 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
It would be close 30 million.
28 million and something.
05:01:01 >>SONYA LITTLE:
To the rate payer, it would reduce -- very
close.
It would reduce our interest on the special assessment bond,
because we are not issuing as many bonds by roughly the 30
million Miranda thanks very much.
Thank God I went to Jefferson high school.
05:01:20 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Reddick.
05:01:24 >>FRANK REDDICK:
The 20 million out of the C.I.T., and the
remaining 5 million out of than the AP fund.
05:01:37 >>SONYA LITTLE:
It would -- it was determined that the
remaining 5 million would be further discussion and 15
million for the Julian B. Lane, and the amount of additional
benefit to the program was not significant to the rate
payer.
It would not even be penny savings for the rate payer with
just an additional 5 million into the program for that
purpose.
You can see that the 20 million with a savings of $8.45.
So at 5 million it would not be --
05:02:19 >>FRANK REDDICK:
But if you add that 22, the 5 to 20, you
have 25 million, what savings would that be?
05:02:22 >>SONYA LITTLE:
The incremental savings would not be
significant.
I would have to calculate it for you.
But 20 million --
05:02:40 >> It would be fair to say it might be close to 3 to 5
cents?
05:02:45 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Or even less.
Or even less.
Even less.
Less than 2.
About a penny.
A penny savings.
So the ultimate goal was to find the balance of how much of
a cash infusion we could make to make a difference to the
rate payer, and at some point, you know, the incremental
savings that make a difference.
05:03:18 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Anything else?
05:03:23 >>SONYA LITTLE:
On the CIT side that five year program
assumes that we are issuing that instruments be paid off
over time for both these projects and our estimates of $50
million at capacity for the remaining 20 years.
So after we pay off the debt service with the annual
incoming revenues from our CIT, under this plan where we use
15 for Julian B. Lane, 20 million for this program, the
stormwater program, we would still have roughly,
conservatively speaking, and our estimate is roughly $8
million additional CIT revenues for other projects as well.
On an annual basis.
05:04:09 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Maniscalco, you wanted to speak?
05:04:14 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
So according to Councilman Miranda's
numbers, we would be essentially saving the taxpayer $30
million.
So a million dollars a year over the 30-year period.
Right?
05:04:27 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Yes, the rate payer, the special assessment
rate payer, that amount.
05:04:31 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
My other question is regarding the
mitigation credit.
If I am a church and I don't pay ad valorem taxes, I will
now be receiving a notice for a capital improvement
assessment, correct?
05:04:53 >>JAN MCLEAN:
Office of city attorney.
You would be receiving notice for the capital service
assessment.
You would be already severing a notice for the service
assessment when -- it's always hooked to the service
assessment as well.
05:05:07 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
What is the criteria in order to
receive a 10% of 100% mitigation credit.
Does somebody have to submit an engineer report or is it a
broader definition, a site plan? How does it work?
What would I have to do on that commercial property or
church or nonprofit or anything other than a house?
05:05:27 >>JAN MCLEAN:
Pursuant to the revision thaws adopted at
your last meeting there is a list that's included in the
ordinance now as a guidance list for residential and
commercial to submit to the city to demonstrate that you
have stormwater facilities on property that either treat
partially or whole your stormwater.
Partially would the 10%.
The whole would be your 100%.
It could be it depends on what you have at your access.
But in the ordinance, there's a list of different documents
that you can submit to the city, for the city to make the
determination that you have demonstrated that your
stormwater facilities are present and operating.
In 2021-23.
05:06:19 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
We received windfall from the BP
settlement money which of course was discussed earlier
today.
Is there more BP settlement money out there?
05:06:29 >>JAN MCLEAN:
There is a potential for money to be
available to the city through funds yet to be determined
when or how much, that the city would be able to access.
05:06:44 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
How far away is that, one, two years?
05:06:48 >>JAN MCLEAN:
My understanding is a minimum 18 months, at
least two years.
It's not been determined when we would know that
information.
05:06:55 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
Now, we are using potentially $20
million in CIT funds ton reduce the entire amount being
processed.
Should there be another windfall, another BP settlement come
out, whatever it is, could we apply that -- do we have the
vote to approve the Julian Lane project could, City Council
say, if the city gets another $20 million, would we be able
to allocate that and apply it to this capital improvement
project so we can pay the debt off earlier, therefore as
Councilman Miranda mentioned, you know, we have that money,
plus the interest that we would be saving so it would be
even less expensive over the two times of the program?
05:07:36 >>JAN MCLEAN:
Yes, sir.
If we were to receive another settlement --
05:07:43 >>SONYA LITTLE:
If we are two receive a settlement payment
or any funding source that is not currently anticipated we
would have the option of maybe developing what we call a
sinking fund to pay debt service or to take advantage of any
early redemption provisions that we are able to build into
the bond issues at the time we price it.
If you will recall, when we talk about this earlier, when we
price bonds, the market determines when it makes -- and how
much it will cost us to pay them off earlier than the
original maturity.
So all of that will be factored in at the time.
05:08:20 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
So if we had to wait ten years for the
first set of bonds to be paid off, we could apply if we have
any other windfall or any other money, we could apply that
to paying those bonds early, correct?
Without having to deal were such a huge penalty or any
penalty?
05:08:35 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Yes, we could set up maybe a reserve if
that was the intent to pay them off to make sure we could
pay them off when it was allowable, because in many cases,
if you try to pay them off before what is called the call
period, it's too expensive.
It's not even worth it.
05:08:52 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
We have to wait a certain amount of
time.
Now, the C.I.T. expires in ten years.
Should it get back on the ballot and renew for another 30
years, that's an assumption.
Core we use future CIT to pay down, not ten years into the
program, sewage, could we Utah any future CIT money to
continue paying down that debt?
The other bonds start maturing? Basically, can we save as
much as we can using whatever avenues to save on interest,
to save on the principal, we won't have it to have the
entire burden on the citizen of the city that's being
charged an assessment?
05:09:30 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Yes. It would be under the same scenario
that we talked about like unexpected for the funding if we
got an additional 20 million.
The other option is we could look at it for refunding
opportunities tone see if it made sense for us to refund the
special assessment bond with like our covenant budget to
maybe saver save ourselves money.
I could not commit obviously to that because thereby would
have to be a financial analysis to see what makes the most
economic sense at that time.
So it would and could be reduced at that time.
05:10:08 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
So if we were to get another BP
settlement chunk, it wouldn't be -- discretionary funds, we
could set it aside and do what we have to do with Julian B.
Lane, correct?
Well, we have to approve it.
Not the administration?
05:10:23 >>SONYA LITTLE:
It would be the same process that we just
went through.
Yes, sir.
05:10:26 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
Thank you.
05:10:28 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mrs. Montelione.
05:10:29 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Thank you.
To your point, Councilman Maniscalco, it wasn't our decision
to use BP money to build or rebuild Julian B. Lane park.
It was the administration's.
So we can only vote on whether to use it or not if the
administration brings it to us.
We cannot say, just like we couldn't this time, the money
that we received from BP is going to be used for X, Y or Z.
That is not up to us.
Correct?
05:11:03 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Council has to approve whatever --
05:11:06 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
We have to approve it.
05:11:07 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Yes.
05:11:09 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Or deny it.
05:11:11 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Right.
05:11:13 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
But it is not up to us to be able to
access that money.
So we can't allocate it anywhere.
If it's not in the budget that comes to us annually for a
review and approval, because that's what it is.
We don't develop the budget.
The money would have to be in there.
The administration develops that budget.
05:11:37 >>SONYA LITTLE:
Yes, ma'am.
05:11:39 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
So I have always been very supportive of
stormwater -- not supportive of stormwater.
Let me take that back.
Too many commercials in there.
05:11:53 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
She loves stormwater!
(Laughter).
05:11:57 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
On the bicycle there.
But, you know, the issuance of the bonds that we just
approved this morning, this afternoon, whenever it was, for
Julian B. Lane, should have been for this.
I mean, we should have done that a long time ago.
The ability to issue bonds for stormwater has always been
there.
And, you know, rather than five years, most of us everybody
sitting here, rather than doing that five years ago and
avoiding some of the property damage, damage to vehicles,
and all of the issues that we have had over the past five
years, we did nothing, and then today we decided to spend
$40 million on a park.
I understand that this is $231 million.
05:12:56 >> 251.
05:13:01 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I'm sorry.
And 40 is just a drop in the proverbial bucket.
But coming on a difficult day.
So it's not going to be as easy a vote for me this time,
because I don't think that the city should go into this much
debt with the economic forecast kind of iffy at the moment.
And many predict that there's going to be another drought.
It may not be as bad as the one we just got through, but the
economic future is not looking, as you said earlier today,
as bright.
Thank you.
05:13:50 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Miranda.
05:13:52 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
El Nino, la Nina.
No one knows more than that.
Mr. Baird, I should say.
You all are going to look very smart, because we haven't had
a drought from 13, 14 years or so.
And you ain't going to have no rainfall, if you had the same
pipes you had today to the degree that you had last Sumner
July and August.
That's just a prediction.
Not mine.
The weather forecasters.
So for five or six years, it's going to be like this until
it turns around again, and it comes back.
And so it's going to look beautiful, because then we are
going to be tested, for a long time.
Not even through our finishing of this term.
The thing is that we must be diligent with money.
What is said here, you cannot borrow money from the fund
managers or whatever you are borrowing it from, hedge funds
or whatever they are doing, because you can't pay it back
like you pay off your house.
You make a payment.
Make an extra 200.
That 200 is interest free and brings it down.
You can't do that when you borrow this kind of money.
It doesn't allow you to do it.
You can say I want to borrow this money, and you would be
holy hell to get out of that contract unless you refinance
it again and again to lower the rate somewhere when somebody
else wants to buy to the get out of the high payment.
The problem is that when you borrow this kind of money, it
remains for a long period of time.
Not two months.
Not ten months.
Not five years.
I don't know what the number is, but it's somewhere in the
10 to 15 years.
So you will be stuck with this for a long time.
And then there's penalties that you have to pay, I believe,
if you pay it off earlier.
You make more payment, and then those individuals, that's
why somebody runs for president getting all the applause
because he's telling the public the facts and the other lady
is say, I want to do something but I can't.
That's the problem with that campaign.
It's got to change.
Everybody has got to be given a chance.
Liens, I saw that Cuban hotdog, which you call a Cuban
sandwich.
And guess what.
I'm not against it.
I said it earlier.
The majority average salary of this city is about 40 grand a
year.
What does that mean?
That means there's a lot of people, and this 15 to 20,000.
For every one that said 150 to 200,000, but it's a thousand
of them, and that's what worries me.
Not these guys.
Not me.
And certainly not you, Mr. Baird.
But the average citizen is stuck somewhere in that area, and
it means something to them.
I want to be able to give them some hope and something that
we can pay this and get it off their back.
And you are going to be here longer than me.
Maybe I'll be here longer than you.
No, if I'm hear longer than you.
And if there's a chance that we sell some of that it, the
City of Tampa is the only one prepared to do that, it's the
only way to get out.
You cannot continue to get into it and go forward.
And I understand that went from 700 something to 600
something.
Already when you add this back up, guess, what you are over
what it was before.
You are 800.
And those are the things that are troubling.
The city of Sacramento, they get it back -- in fact, the
state of New York has less population than the state of
Florida and has twice the budget of the State of Florida.
And they are necessary broke.
I don't want to get to that point.
Minneapolis, Sacramento, Miami, all of them in the same
financial shape.
I don't want to get to that point.
So call me what you want.
Call me cheap.
Call me prudent.
EL cheapo, whatever you want.
I don't want to get in debt to something I can't pay.
And it's my only gripe.
I believe the next three or four years you are going to have
the same thing that happened before because we haven't
learned.
Housing value has gone up so quick, people can't afford it.
The average can't afford it.
Housing rents are higher than what you would pay when you
bought the house.
So these are the things that I am looking at.
And I don't like to --
05:18:53 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Cohen.
05:18:55 >>HARRY COHEN:
You know, I am not one that's able to
progress not indicate how much rain that's going to be over
the next couple of years, and I don't have a crystal ball
about what the economy is going to be like, whether we are
heading into a recession or whether or not the growth that
we have seen over the period since the 2008 recession is
going to continue.
I certainly could make an argument in both directions based
on some of the things that we see out there.
But this work has got to be -- it got to be done.
The economic base of this city is at risk if we do not start
addressing some of these problems.
And I want to just point out, when you went through the
division of where the different pockets are located, you
came to the $75 million for flooding alleviation between
Euclid and MacDill Air Force Base. You know, Mr. Tillou
gave us a handout this morning of MacDill Air Force base and
it's impact on our region and the 1.3 billion in gross
regional product and 13,000 jobs that exist in this region
because of the base, and I don't want to see us get into a
situation where the next time there's a round of base
closings we are on the list because we have not invested any
money in the infrastructure outside of the base itself, and
we have left it, and all of the arteries leading to the
accessible to this type of flooding.
I understand the risk in borrowing money to finance these
projects.
And I am uncomfortable about it.
But the fact of the matter is that if we don't make this
investment -- I have never maintained once that this is
going to solve all the street flooding, that this is going
to solve the problem completely.
I will tell anybody that asks, it's never going to solve the
problem completely.
But we have to at least solve what we can.
We have to at least make the investment that we can to make
it not as intrusive and as dangerous as this, because I
predict if we don't do it, we are going to pay the price
anyway, because property values are going to start to
decline, people are not going to continue to pay high prices
to live in an area where the government does not show the
resolve to deal with these types of infrastructure
challenges.
And I just think that we are at a critical point, we are
just about to come into the rainy season now, and another
summer like the one that we just had and a lack of any
action from us, I think it's a recipe for disaster, both
economically, and also in terms of people's real property
and what they have invested their life savings in being
devalued.
Nobody wants to spend $250 million on something that's not
going to provide pleasure and enhancement to life in this
community.
But in the same way that I voted earlier to put money into
the park, I don't think it's inconsistent to do both.
I think it's for invest in those amenities, and to also
invest in our infrastructure needs.
So, you know, I'm happy that we can put $20 million of CIT
money toward this.
Like I said earlier, if there's any chance of BP money, any
of it, a million dollars, being used to pay some of this
down, I'm for it.
But the main thing is we have just got to get started and
get some of this work underway.
The pictures that we are looking at on the screen are just
unacceptable way to continue to live.
And I think the people are tired of taking their life into
their hands every time they find themselves in their car and
it starts to rain.
So I hope that this time we will have a more successful
attempt at doing this.
I'm certainly going to support it.
And I hope that everyone else will, too.
05:23:16 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mr. Maniscalco.
05:23:19 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
Thank you.
Because it's sunshine we can't talk to each other.
Of course here we have this public discussion.
And I understand what Councilman Montelione and Councilman
Miranda have brought up, bonding out all this money, and all
this debt and whatnot.
You know, another idea that I have -- and this is peanuts
compared to the grand scale of things city-wide -- was we
have SWFWMD money, 18.5 million, dot money, and if we don't
do something we are going to lose it.
Now, way think is some of the worst flooding in Tampa is the
upper peninsula of Henderson and Dale Mabry, and down
Kennedy Boulevard, Lois, all that.
A lot of complaints I received last summer were from thoses
areas.
A lot of homes that were damaged were from those areas,
Beach Park, sun set park.
So my thought was if you don't bond everything out for 30
years, you can look at C.I.T. money of $20 million.
That 18.5 million, 3 million in dot, and right thereby fund
that upper peninsula.
At least have the option of starting, and what I think is
some of the worst areas, and you don't raise any fees, and
you don't put any taxes, you know that was my thought.
As far as the rest council I don't know. You have heard it
because I brought it up to you all.
But that was just an idea that I had put up there.
05:24:46 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Is there anyone else that would like to
comment before I make my comments?
I want to make sure.
Mr. Reddick.
05:24:54 >>FRANK REDDICK:
What we are doing today, are we just
voting to set a public hearing?
That's what we are doing?
05:25:01 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I believe that's correct.
Ms. McLean?
05:25:05 >>JAN MCLEAN:
Yes, sir.
Office of city attorney.
You are voting today to direct the staff to move forward,
prepare the resolution, the notices that need to be mailed
out, the publications that need to be put in the newspaper
for the public hearing for your consideration in August of
whether to adopt the improvement assessment at that time or
not.
05:25:26 >>FRANK REDDICK:
And once we have that public hearing, I
saw the screen.
We will be voting on at night in a public hearing whether to
adopt this proposal, come back on a separate day?
05:25:41 >>JAN MCLEAN:
We will come back for the public hearing on
August the 256th for your consideration of the
improvements assessment.
Oh, at this point, daytime.
05:25:54 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Okay.
Yes, I would support moving forward to have a public
hearing, giving the public the right to speak.
But no guarantee I am going to support this proposal.
But I am going to make no commitment of supporting the
proposal.
And then I would do that today to grant the public hearing.
05:26:26 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
We have a motion from Mr. Reddick to have
the staff prepare the resolution and notices for the August
public hearing for the improvement assessment.
Defensive a second?
05:26:36 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
I'll second that with setting up public
hearings.
05:26:40 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Second from Mr. Miranda.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Thank you.
Thank you, staff, for being here and for being so patient.
Okay.
Mr. Baird, if you want to go ahead and help us a little bit
on the communications strategies, number 73.
And Ms. Duncan, I apologize.
We are going to try to get you.
We may move a couple of yours afterwards so we can do it.
And then haven't we'll get Mr. Baird really quick.
Because I know he's going to be very quick.
05:27:12 >>BRAD BAIRD:
Public works administrator.
Councilwoman Capin wanted a report on what we have in place
in terms of stormwater flooding, communications, and then
what improvements we can make in the future.
So I'll go through real quickly in place, the items that are
in place at this point.
First, and foremost, we always stand up the emergency
operations center for major weather events, similar to what
happened last August.
Severe weather reports are issued daily.
For 15 days last August the mayor issued 56, TPD issued 42,
we issued 126 on Facebook.
We issued 8 press releases in that time covering things like
sandbags, how to report flooding, debris pickup, flood map
information, Alert Tampa sign-up and social media
information.
We hold press conferences, media interviews, and weekly we
send out weekly view e-mails on a daily basis.
We reach 30,000 people through Alert Tampa.
Social media and Twitter we are over 130,000 followers from
five accounts including the mayor's account.
And then Facebook, we daily reach 33,000 during severe
weather.
And that's from four different areas.
We have a realtime map on the website that we keep
up-to-date minute by minute.
With TPD personnel on-site of people calling 911.
We prestage barricades at flooding locations and finally
provide two locations so citizens can get sandbags.
The proposed improvements on the realtime map, we have
trained more people to take calls.
A lot of those calls come in through the stormwater number.
So we have trained those personnel.
That number is 274-3101.
We have approved the prestaging barricades by using that
flood map data.
We are researching a third location for sandbags as two of
the previous third locations flooded.
We ensure 24-48 hours notice for sandbags ahead of the storm
event.
For people are using the WAZE applications on traffic.
And finally, future smart city efforts will include realtime
information on flooded streets.
Also, the sandbags last year, we distributed over 33,000
sandbags.
I want to point out, though, that other methods besides
sandbags work a lot better.
If you are, for instance, trying to protect a garage, use
visqueen with the sandbags to keep the water out.
If you have low windows, duct tape works way better than
sandbags around those windows.
As well as caulk and insulating foam also work much better
around doors.
So there are other options.
And then the locations of the sandbag locations are Bobby
Hicks pool, 4201 west Mango, and Jackson Heights playground
at 3310 east Lake Avenue.
Do you have any questions?
05:30:53 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Is there a possibility of having
additional sandbag locations?
Because having only those two locations for a lot of people,
it's really hard to get there.
And especially we know the areas that flood.
So having locations, maybe not in the flood zones wherein
they flood, you won't be able to get to them, but to where
the flooding actually happens?
05:31:28 >>BRAD BAIRD:
Yes, ma'am.
Charissa Bills at Parks Department is working on that.
05:31:34 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other comments or questions on this
item?
Thank you for your patience
Mrs. Duncan.
Can you come up and talk about item number 71?
We are going to be skip around a little bit.
71 which of course deals with the 34th street corridor.
05:31:49 >>JEAN DUNCAN:
Yes, sir.
71.
05:31:53 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Let me suggest that we table that report.
I would rather it be done rather than this time of day,
right now.
June 2nd would be fine.
Are under staff reports if you can do it.
05:32:25 >>JEAN DUNCAN:
Yes, sir.
05:32:27 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Because that's a major infrastructure
change.
I really want the public to be able to hear that part of it.
Motion by Mr. Reddick.
Second by Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
That's June 2nd under staff reports.
Thank you, sir.
We also have the Trask street road project.
05:32:48 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
There was a gentleman here.
And he has a business on Cass Street.
He was the same gentleman for this report.
And he flew in from Ohio to hear this.
And I know he had been coming in and out.
I don't know if he's left now.
Or not.
Or if he's out in the hallway or something.
05:33:13 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
He has not been here for a while so my guess
is he might have left already.
Well, if we have a motion to move that, we can.
05:33:24 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Go ahead and give the report.
He was just disappointed that he wouldn't be able to speak
or have an opportunity to speak until after, you know, the
same as last time.
Apparently a miscommunication of his ability to speak.
05:33:41 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Okay.
05:33:43 >>JEAN DUNCAN:
I do have my colleague, my director, whoever
is giving probably the more meaty part of this information
just right outside, to change the order, I will go ahead and
alert him that we are ready to go.
05:33:59 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Delegation is greatly appreciated.
05:34:04 >>HARRY COHEN:
I would like to make a motion to continue 68
to June 23rd under staff reports.
05:34:08 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Cohen.
Second by Mr. Reddick.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Thank you.
05:34:21 >>JEAN DUNCAN:
Stormwater transportation services.
This is item number 72.
I am going to give a be very brief intro, a little bit of
background, that I thought might be helpful for getting the
information, and my colleague director will fill in on the
other details of the rest of this motion.
Basically, the InVision process start add few years ago when
we had quite a bit of public outreach during that process,
for the purpose of looking at the downtown core, a 2-mile
radius of the downtown and developed planning to make some
decisions in terms of projects and infrastructure to really
make the river the center of our city.
The two-waying of Cass and Tyler was conceptualized during
this process.
And I do want to add, as I said, quite a bit of public
outreach, charrettes for, four large community forums,
social media, interaction, and a three day community
designed workshop for many of these specific items through
public comments.
So the recommendation of that InVision center plan in 2012
was basically to create open space linkages, and
specifically in order to connect the area of the downtown
core to the surrounding areas, Cass and Tyler streets are
recommended to be two Lane function with enhanced
streetscape in place, and bike facilities for across and the
Hillsborough River.
The other it, called the green cycle track.
We heard loud and clear through public engagement that there
were two major comments that the public was legislate us
nobody about.
One was they wanted safe and accessible bicycle connection
to the Tampa Riverwalk, and the other was they wanted to a
safe connection to the neighborhood interface with the
downtown core.
I just want to mention that this 2001-way protected bicycle
track is the very first 2001-way cycle track on a two-way
street in the State of Florida.
So we are very proud of this first step we are taking.
So of what kicked off the implementation of this planning
was in July 2012, the city released an RFP to get some
development in the downtown CRA area, and the
reconfiguration of Cass and Tyler street into a two-way grid
system was part of the proposed development and at the time
Tampa residents of the Riverwalk.
It has now changed hands and is referred to AER in the arts
district, still a very active project.
With that RFP, the city received the interest of the
development community and looked at the existing major water
line project and storm water projects with Cypress Street
decided to package the street projects together, the
two-waying of Cass and Tyler, the cycle track RS, the water
main projects and the cypress outfall project, to package
those together under the UCAP prom and at that time our
administration colleague took the lead on manage that
contract with the couple and carried out extensive public
engagement for the design and construction phases of this
project.
And I would like to let Mike share a little bit with you
about if design phase and construction phase, communications
that occurred with the business and residential community.
05:38:07 >> MIKE CHUCRAN:
Mike Chucran, contract administration,
during the two-way project on Cass Tyler and also about the
construction concrete parking along Cass and Tyler street.
Ucap contractor, they have a public involvement team that
has been actively involved during the design, the
preconstruction and post construction phases.
15 meetings with downtown key stakeholders such as Straz,
Tampa Prep, all the hotels, courthouse, 707 parking,
Methodist church, during the design phase of this project as
they participate in design and review meetings in order to
raise the stakeholder concerns and issues.
They held and they continue to hold walking meetings along
the Cass Tyler corridor.
In the meetings they discuss the overall project and work
occurring in that particular business owner -- they discuss
the actual project that may impact on that particular
business as they are progressing.
05:39:27 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
So the gentleman that was here is the
owner of one of these businesses and he said that he was not
contacted.
05:39:35 >> I spoke to the public involvement manager.
She did say she spoke with him during the design phase
personally.
The question he raised was impact of the sidewalks.
That's the only question he raised.
Beyond that time during the walk-in meetings, she said the
face-to-face, walked into the store and talked to the people
inside.
So wasn't sure, I think it was the store manager, the
manager of the store.
So the person that was here at council, she spoke to him
once during the design phase.
During that time she hands out the materials on the project,
project maps, the fact sheet.
She has her card.
She has a cell phone she makes available to all stakeholders
24-7 and I have actually called her late at night on
weekends and early mornings and she answered.
05:40:28 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Perhaps there was maybe -- being
contacted once, she had a conversation with him once, it was
during the design phase.
So it was probably long before any of the work started.
Fine line between design stage and --
05:40:51 >>Are we are probably going back --
05:40:52 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
And groundbreaking, let's call it.
05:40:54 >> Going back to previous last summertime thing.
I'm not sure about that.
She didn't give me a time that she had a face-to-face
meeting with the gentleman.
05:41:03 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
So one conversation say nearly a year
ago.
05:41:08 >> Possibly.
05:41:10 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
If I were the owner of the business,
there's a lot going on, are in a year, there is a
possibility that, you know, you forget that this is going to
happen.
Anybody that's not in this business or in the construction
business, you know, they don't see something happening,
maybe they think that the project got canceled, or it's not
going to happen in the one year.
So as a suggestion, I would step up those efforts and meet
more than once with the actual property owner, because --
and just walking in and talking to a manager oftentimes the
employee of the owner are maybe not going to take the issue
as seriously as the owner would.
05:42:02 >> Also, part of her meetings with all the business owners,
she handed her card with the cell phone number, she also
gave them the option to opt in to receive weekly e-mail
updates.
Roughly half the businesses accepted that and took part in
the opted in to do that.
05:42:20 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Do you know if this business did?
05:42:22 >> They did not.
05:42:23 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Thank you.
05:42:25 >> Also, a little more about some of the other outreach that
they did do.
In talking with these businesses, in order to incorporate
the construction, to get particular events such as
Gasparilla or downtown events, the Amalie, any events going
on, they try to coordinate with the owners. If there's
anything they can do to help alleviate any issues with those
events and the construction.
They also gave presentations to Hillsborough County Planning
Commission and also the Tampa Downtown Partnership.
The public manager, or public involvement manager, the Tampa
Downtown Partnership Monday morning memo to be all the
businesses downtown.
05:43:11 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
All the businesses who opt in to
receive -- but not all the businesses downtown.
05:43:20 >> Right.
Is this still working?
05:43:29 >> I hope so.
It's been a long day.
(microphone feedback).
05:44:02 >> Thank you.
05:44:03 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Put it on the top.
05:44:06 >> Okay.
So what this slide shows is your preconstruction and post
construction, public on-street parking on Cass and Tyler
street.
You can see on Cass Street itself, there is preconstruction
was 37.
Post construction, 36.
So the net loss of 1.
Tyler street 52.
Post construction 50. Net loss of two spaces.
So we added additional six spaces that didn't exist on
Florida.
So that was a net increase of 6.
Overall net parking along Cass-Tyler plus 3.
Also add the motorcycle parking.
That was a significant increase of motorcycle parking up to
18 additional motorcycle parking spaces.
Also, I would like to add, the construction along Franklin
Street, development has an impact on some of the parking
right around there.
So on Cass Street, they are eating five -- five spaces.
On Tyler street eating up 8 spaces.
On Florida Avenue they are eating up four.
So as far as the region right around the businesses, they
are eating up quite a few spaces with that construction.
On another positive note, the construction that's going up,
that residential high-rise, that is going to be adding 418
parking spaces, in that parking garage.
275 for residents, 20 for building and retail, and
additional 23 for other.
So there will be additional parking there in that immediate
area.
Any questions?
05:45:53 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any questions by council?
Okay.
I appreciate it.
Okay.
Mrs. Duncan, I appreciate your patience.
We are sorry, it was a very strange amount of stuff that we
had to do today.
We are now onto information reports and new business by
council members.
Mr. Reddick, do you have any new business are?
05:46:17 >>FRANK REDDICK:
Yes, sir, thank you.
Two things.
I think we all have probably read the story about WalMart
and the security issue that they are having over there.
I am going to ask TPD to appear before council on June
7th under staff reports.
I am going to request that they come prepared to tell us how
many calls they received from WalMart over a one-year span
within the last year.
05:47:03 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any WalMart in the city limits are?
05:47:06 >>FRANK REDDICK:
In the city limits especially one on
Hillsborough area.
Two, what were the nature of calls?
Third, how many arrests were made based on those calls?
05:47:15 >>HARRY COHEN:
Second.
05:47:17 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion from Mr. Reddick.
Second by Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion?
05:47:24 >>FRANK REDDICK:
The last item, I want to request on June
23rd, an organization by the name of McClain protection
services, what they are doing is change in neighborhood
communities, they give a ten minute presentation to the
council on June 23rd at 9:00 a.m.
At 10 a.m., whatever it is.
05:47:51 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I have a motion from Mr. Reddick.
Do you have a question on that motion?
05:47:55 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Is this presentation on the work that
they are doing?
Or is it a presentation on the business that they have?
05:48:04 >>FRANK REDDICK:
The work they are doing.
05:48:06 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
In the community.
It's just unusual.
It's usually a nonprofit.
05:48:11 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Is that a second, also?
05:48:14 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Yes.
05:48:15 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Reddick.
Second by Mrs. Montelione.
All in favor?
Thank you, Mr. Reddick.
Mr. Cohen, I enough to several.
05:48:23 >>HARRY COHEN:
I have several, because some of the
departing council members asked me to make these motions for
them.
And I will start with this one from Councilwoman Capin.
I would like to make a motion to prepare commendations to
the following Boy Scouts in recognition of their
accomplishment of reaching the rank of Eagle Scout.
Mrs. Marshall, I have a copy of this for you with names so
you won't have to write as I say them.
But they are Jonathan namegot, Cam Goodman, Aiden couple,
Matthew Boyd, Benjamin Miller, Conor Danahey, Judge
Culpepper, Bryan Bartlett, and those commendations will be
presented at the Eagle Scouts at their honor ceremony.
05:49:09 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Cohen.
Second by Mrs. Montelione.
All in favor of that motion? Any opposed?
Thank you.
05:49:15 >>HARRY COHEN:
I have a motion from Councilman Miranda
asking that we present a commendation to Carry The Load, a
nonprofit started by two former Navy seal with the purpose
of restoring the true meaning of Memorial Day by connecting
ericans who sacrificed as veterans, military members and
first responders.
This event provides a proactive opportunity to honor the
service of colleagues, families and friends, and this will
be presented not here at council but on May 30th at the
Carry The Load event.
05:49:46 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Cohen.
Second from Mr. Maniscalco.
All in favor of that motion?
Okay.
05:49:54 >>HARRY COHEN:
Finally, on my own behalf, I would like to
make a motion for commendation to accounting technician 1,
Christine Jackson, on June 2nd, 2016 at our City Council
meeting.
Christine, who has served in numerous positions in the city,
is retiring after more than 35 years of service.
05:50:16 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
I have a motion by Mr. Cohen, a second from
Mr. Reddick.
All in favor of that motion? Any opposed?
Mr. Cohen, was there another commendation for Mr. Black for
accommodation for next week?
05:50:31 >>HARRY COHEN I will tell you what, I will find that and
come back to me.
Let me check.
I can see if it's already on the agenda.
I apologize.
Mr. Maniscalco, any new business?
05:50:46 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
Yes, sir, I have one item.
And that is commendation recognizing June 2nd to be
presented at our June 2nd meeting as gun violence
awareness day, and congratulating moms in action for gun
sense in America which promotes common sense laws and help
raise awareness to make our streets safer.
05:51:04 >>HARRY COHEN:
Second.
05:51:07 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Maniscalco.
Second from Mr. Cohen.
All in favor?
Okay.
Anything else?
05:51:15 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO:
No, sir.
05:51:17 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Mrs. Montelione, any new business?
05:51:20 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
I don't have a piece of new business,
but there is something that I wanted to share, and I
actually got this from one of Councilman Reddick's
constituents.
He's in Ybor City.
And he says that most don't realize that Julian B. Lane was
designed by a famous iconic designer/architect, the museum
offed modern art in New York had an exhibition on his work,
and, yes, Mr. Suarez, he designed a park in New York City
named Central Park.
So he's a little upset that we are going to be demolishing
that famous architect's -- landscape architect's work and
that it will be coming off of a website of the cultural
landscape foundation whose duty it is to -- it's stewardship
through education, is their motto.
And that it is a cultural landscape, and their duty is to
protect cultural landscape.
05:52:39 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Any other comments or questions everybody?
05:52:41 >>LISA MONTELIONE:
Not like the park over at Rivergate.
05:52:46 >>MIKE SUAREZ:
Motion by Mr. Reddick, second by Mr. Cohen.
All in favor of that motion?
Any opposed?
Anyone else in the public like to be speak before this
council at this time?
If not, we are adjourned.
(City Council meeting adjourned).
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