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   Discussion on Legislative Priorities

   discussed

   Council discussed legislative priorities for the upcoming session, including Florida League of Cities positions (private property rights/Burt Harris Act, sales tax fairness, short-term rentals, transportation funding, water resources) and five proposed local projects: Marine Parkway overhead bridge (~$4M, ~$9-10M with golf carts), Leisure Lane/Van Doren sanitary sewer (~$2M), Hacienda Hotel exterior improvements (~$200K), Beach Street Sewer/Stormwater Improvement (~$900K), and Cuda/Cotee River Underpass at US-19 (~$3.6M). Council provided general support and direction to staff for advancing these projects to the legislative delegation.

   • direction:Council provided general support for the five proposed legislative projects and directed staff to submit applications by the October 1st deadline. (none)

   📍Aspen and Meadow Lane and Beach Street📍Beach Street📍Cuda/Cotee River and U.S. Highway 19📍Grand Boulevard📍Hacienda Hotel📍Leisure Lane and Van Doren Avenue📍Marine Parkway📍Sims Park🏢FDOT🏢Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation🏢Florida League of Cities🏢Habitat for Humanity🏢Pasco County Board of Commissioners🏢SWFWMD🏢Sunrise Consulting🏢U.S. Water👤Commissioner Mariano👤Commissioner Starkey👤Councilman Altman👤Councilman Murphy👤Marilyn Deshaun👤Mr. Iazzoni👤Mr. Rivera👤Mr. Romanoff👤Ms. Mann👤Nathan👤Robert#Beach Street Sewer/Stormwater Improvement Project#Burt Harris Act#CRA right-of-way acquisition#Cuda River Underpass#EV mileage-based transportation funding#Florida League of Cities legislative action agenda#Hacienda Hotel Exterior Improvements#Leisure Lane Sanitary Sewer Project#Marine Parkway Overhead Bridge#October 11 legislative delegation meeting#Penny for Pasco

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   [00:00:31] Discussion of legislative priorities. [00:00:33] Ms. Mann, would you like to lead us off here? [00:00:35] I would, Mr. Mayor. [00:00:36] Thank you very much for the opportunity to do so. [00:00:39] As I communicated to you in my memorandum of September 18, 2019, [00:00:47] the Florida League of Cities had not issued a legislative action agenda [00:00:55] at the time of the writing. [00:00:57] They have since then. [00:00:59] And it is provided to you at your places tonight. [00:01:05] They, in my estimation, were a little shy in terms [00:01:12] of identifying some issues that will unquestionably be brought up [00:01:18] this legislative session because they were in the last legislative session, [00:01:23] most of which were attempts to minimize the power of local government [00:01:31] and to put at risk some of our traditional sources of revenue. [00:01:37] I think because there aren't bills out there at this time, [00:01:40] they were just a little bit hesitant. [00:01:43] But that should be our posture. [00:01:44] And we should be continuing to follow the legislative action in that respect. [00:01:51] I'm disappointed that our consultant isn't with us yet. [00:01:55] He's expected to be here. [00:01:58] And it was our intent to allow him to update you on current state policies [00:02:05] and to identify some potential funding sources. [00:02:10] That being said, we need to talk about some of the policy statements. [00:02:15] And I'd like to start by introducing what the League of Cities has proposed [00:02:21] in addition to our two platforms of staying very connected to the powers [00:02:28] of local government and to our sources of revenue. [00:02:32] They are advocating on behalf of private property rights, [00:02:38] specifically the Burt Harris Act, which is outlined for you in a statement. [00:02:47] They also are asking for sales tax fairness. [00:02:52] And what they're addressing specifically there [00:02:55] is online and e-commerce sales so that we [00:02:58] receive sales tax on those purchases. [00:03:04] Short-term rentals is an issue that they've [00:03:08] decided to take a position on. [00:03:10] And they're supporting legislation providing [00:03:13] for a collaboration between the Florida Department of Business [00:03:17] and professional regulations and cities to ensure [00:03:21] that short-term rental properties abide by both state and local regulation. [00:03:27] And transportation funding. [00:03:32] And specifically what they're looking for [00:03:34] is legislation that will create new revenue options and resources for us [00:03:40] to finance infrastructure, maintenance, and construction. [00:03:45] Water resources being an essential public asset [00:03:50] is one that they are asking that we support legislation [00:03:55] to address both the water quality crisis and water supply deficiencies. [00:04:02] And lastly, they are indicating that they [00:04:06] would like to establish policy positions on affordable housing, [00:04:10] annexation, cybersecurity, a digital divide, local business tax protection, [00:04:19] medical marijuana, resiliency, and smoke-free zones in city parks [00:04:24] as they advance specific positions related to those matters. [00:04:29] I will pass them along to you. [00:04:34] In respect to projects, it's important that I receive input from you [00:04:42] as it relates to the next legislative session [00:04:47] because we will have an opportunity to introduce some projects [00:04:51] for consideration to be included in the governor's budget. [00:04:57] And in that regard, somebody can turn on a PowerPoint for me. [00:05:03] Thank you very much, Nathan. [00:05:07] The legislative priorities for the next year are really hard to read. [00:05:15] But I've proposed five projects for your consideration. [00:05:22] And at the conclusion of the discussion this evening, [00:05:28] I'd be interested to know whether or not you support any of these ideas [00:05:34] or whether you have some ideas of your own [00:05:36] that you would like the staff to submit application for. [00:05:41] The application deadlines for both the Senate and the House are October 1st, [00:05:47] although the legislative delegation meeting isn't until October 11th, [00:05:52] at which time we would formally present those to our representatives. [00:05:58] The first project is the Marine Parkway overhead bridge. [00:06:03] And the description provided underneath indicates [00:06:08] that it would be a steel and truss bridge, [00:06:12] that it would be 142 feet in length to include both the bridge [00:06:19] and the ramps necessary to accommodate the bridge. [00:06:28] At this point, we do not have a proposed construction budget. [00:06:36] My thinking is that it would be in about the $4 million range. [00:06:43] If, though, your direction to me is that this bridge should also accommodate [00:06:49] golf cart traffic, the estimate would come in closer to a double digit, [00:06:55] probably a $9 or a $10 million project. [00:06:59] The other project that I thought should be advanced [00:07:04] as a legislative priority is the establishment of a sanitary sewer [00:07:10] at Leisure Lane and Van Doren Avenue. [00:07:14] In fact, all of you are aware of the fact that this afternoon I [00:07:22] asked the Pasco County Board of Commissioners [00:07:28] to consider advancing it as a project of theirs. [00:07:33] The estimated cost of installing a sanitary sewer in that area [00:07:39] is estimated to be $2 million. [00:07:44] I think that it's a natural project since it involves both the city, [00:07:50] the county, and Habitat for Humanity as project partners. [00:07:56] The third project that I wanted to get some input from you on [00:08:04] is the Hacienda Hotel. [00:08:07] The reason that I advanced this as a project is twofold. [00:08:11] First, we've had considerable luck receiving grant funding [00:08:15] for the Hacienda Hotel in the past. [00:08:18] Secondly, there are a considerable number of exterior improvements [00:08:24] that need to be accomplished so that we have appropriate land treatments, [00:08:30] particularly on the north and the west sides of the property [00:08:35] at the entry points into Sims Park. [00:08:41] And I thought an appropriation of $200,000 would be appropriate. [00:08:48] The fourth project is the Beach Street Sewer Improvement Project. [00:08:52] Robert, you're going to have to help me out because I can't see the slide at all. [00:08:57] We're talking about installing almost 200 linear feet of sewer. [00:09:03] Two thousand. [00:09:04] Did I say 200? I'm sorry, 2,000 linear feet of sewer. [00:09:13] And the estimated cost of the project is almost $900,000. [00:09:19] Correct, and it's a stormwater project. [00:09:21] Thank you. [00:09:23] And the purpose of that project is to improve water quality in large part. [00:09:29] We have repetitive flooding in that area. [00:09:32] It's over there by Aspen and Meadow Lane and Beach Street. [00:09:35] Beach Street is a sewer project, thank you, [00:09:40] that we submitted last year for consideration. [00:09:44] It made it very far along in funding consideration. [00:09:53] So we think that it's a viable project and we should try our hand at it again. [00:09:57] And Robert has secured some swift mud funding for the project. [00:10:05] I think with the city participating as well, [00:10:08] that it very well may be a good grant opportunity for us. [00:10:13] The last project that I have requested a reaction from you on is the Cody River Underpass, [00:10:25] which is the project at the Cody River and U.S. Highway 19 [00:10:32] that connects the Millers Bayou portion of New Port Richey to the city of New Port Richey. [00:10:41] At the time I was putting together this slide, the cost of the project was unknown. [00:10:48] It now is known. [00:10:51] And if memory serves me right, it was about $3.6 million. [00:11:01] And with that, Mr. Mayor, I'd like to open it up to some comments [00:11:09] from the council about the legislative priorities or additional projects [00:11:17] that you would like us to add to the list. [00:11:20] Thank you. [00:11:20] First, I'd open it up if there's any public comment. [00:11:25] Come on down. [00:11:29] Since these ladies drug themselves out to come sit through this. [00:11:33] Absolutely. [00:11:36] Okay, that Cody River Underpass is something that's been up and discussed at MPO, CAC, [00:11:46] as well as the MPO board, I believe, right? [00:11:49] And I do believe that this city is encouraging that our county [00:11:55] and New Port Richey work together on this project, right? [00:11:59] The county as well, yes. [00:12:01] And you're saying it's looking at possibly $3.8 million. [00:12:04] Is that going to be divided up between the three entities? [00:12:07] Funding sources for the project have not been identified at this time. [00:12:12] 3.8 or 6? [00:12:14] It's $3.6 million. [00:12:17] Once they're identified, we'll have a better idea. [00:12:20] But in response to your question, yes, three parties at least will be participating in the funding. [00:12:26] Will this underpass also allow golf carts? [00:12:32] It will, yes. [00:12:34] Okay. [00:12:36] Will that be adding additional liability issues for the city, et cetera? [00:12:42] It'll be adding about $700,000 to the cost. [00:12:46] Okay. [00:12:46] Well, I wonder if that's really advisable. [00:12:49] That's just my thought on it. [00:12:51] There was something else here. [00:12:54] Yes, your consultant. [00:12:57] Would that be the same consultant who also was at legislature last year? [00:13:02] Yes, it would be. [00:13:03] Sunrise Consulting. [00:13:05] All right. [00:13:05] Let me just say that these are really good priorities. [00:13:09] I'm glad to see that some of them are coming back for a hopeful funding next year. [00:13:15] Thanks so much. [00:13:16] Thank you, Marilyn. [00:13:18] And for the record, that was Marilyn Deshaun. [00:13:22] Okay. [00:13:23] We'll bring it back to council. [00:13:24] I had, first of all, I like the five that you came up with. [00:13:28] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. [00:13:29] Just by way of explanation to my colleagues, the sales tax fairness thing [00:13:35] is something that desperately needs to be dealt with. [00:13:39] There are some federal plans with multiple states that I don't believe Florida's [00:13:47] involved with yet, but probably should be, that comes up with a clearinghouse [00:13:53] and simplifies sales tax collection. [00:13:57] Don't hold me to the exact number, but there are something like 3,500 different [00:14:01] taxing authorities around the country, each with their own sales tax rates and [00:14:06] collection procedures and everything else. [00:14:08] It desperately needs to be simplified. [00:14:12] As a merchant that occasionally sells stuff out of state, tell me how much for [00:14:17] that state, and let me send that amount to a central center that'll distribute [00:14:23] it out to the appropriate states. [00:14:24] And I'm good with that. [00:14:26] But 3,500 is just impossible, and the current guidelines that are being worked [00:14:34] on with the sales tax consortium would have a de minimis number that if you [00:14:42] weren't selling more than so many tens of thousands of dollars out of state, [00:14:47] you wouldn't have to file returns on it. [00:14:52] The other one is transportation funding. [00:14:55] I don't know that they'll do anything this year, but this is [00:15:00] This is an issue that is going to become critical, in my opinion, within the next five or six [00:15:05] years because I fully expect the EVs are going to explode in popularity. They don't pay gasoline [00:15:14] taxes. Right now, with only a handful of EVs in the entire state, it's no big deal. If [00:15:23] all of a sudden 30 or 40 or 50% of the cars on the road are EVs, it's a major thing. There [00:15:30] are a couple of things that are being tried out in other states. One is a fixed price [00:15:39] to go at time of registration renewal, and the other is something based on mileage. In [00:15:48] my personal opinion, they probably need to think in terms of doing that on a mileage [00:15:55] basis across the board and delete the state and local gasoline taxes completely and then [00:16:02] allocate out what they're picking up on the increased registration fees. Allocate it much [00:16:09] the way that the gas taxes are allocated now because the gas tax is going to go away. Not [00:16:15] this year, not next year, but it's going to go away. [00:16:20] So what do you think is going to replace it? [00:16:22] I'm thinking something that's mileage based, that you'd have to fess up to what your odometer [00:16:27] reading is when you renew your license plate and then stroke a check not only for the regular [00:16:35] license tag, but so many cents per mile beyond that. That's to me one that's just to keep [00:16:48] your ears open because you're going to hear some discussion about it. It may hit this [00:16:52] year, but I would guess probably two or three years from now. [00:16:59] Other comments? Anybody? [00:17:02] I like the list. I guess there's a couple of comments. We got some good news about the [00:17:06] Cody River underpass. Looks like there are some exceptions to the rule for the FDOT, [00:17:12] so that's nice of them to let us know that. So that looks like I think that's going to [00:17:18] be a win. The Beach Street sewer infrastructure, yes, that's an easy one. We need that one. [00:17:27] The Hacienda landscape, I'm not so sure about that one. Just because they've already given [00:17:36] us a bunch of money for the stuff, and then we are going to be selling it. So they may [00:17:42] frown upon that one, but you never know. Leisure Lane, of course, we need to get that infrastructure [00:17:48] in there. And then the Marine Parkway overpass, I know we want to keep it on there, but I [00:17:54] guess have we done anything else to, I guess, forward that as far as right-of-ways and things [00:18:00] like that that they're going to ask about? In response to the question, Councilman Murphy, [00:18:09] we have gone as far as to establish probable construction costs. We have not acquired any [00:18:17] of the necessary right-of-way to accommodate the ramp. [00:18:21] I was saying that would probably be some questions to ask for the project, if you can [00:18:29] do it. [00:18:30] They very well may ask for the status of the project, and I want... [00:18:33] When we need it, don't get me wrong, but it may keep getting kicked down the road unless [00:18:38] we've, I guess, done some preliminary work on it. [00:18:42] I think it's important that we're able to say that we did dedicate money in the CRA [00:18:46] for the purpose of acquiring right-of-way. [00:18:49] Could you get your list back up? I see it on the screen. [00:18:57] Well, that's all I had. [00:19:00] So first of all, to your gas tax thing, the first thing that came to my mind was that [00:19:07] people drive on Highway 19, they use their gas here, although the gas tax division is [00:19:14] based on, from the county to us, is based on how much money we spend and other things [00:19:21] like that. So there's a lot of brain damage to be done to try to figure out how to capture [00:19:27] the revenue from the drivers that aren't registered in the city. We've got a whole bunch more [00:19:33] traffic than your own people do, but that's here and there. [00:19:37] As far as the request, and I find it hard at times saying I agree with this because [00:19:44] I've always felt like we should go for the projects that would be, you know, highly visible [00:19:52] and to the public, but I'm going to think that the stormwater improvement project and [00:20:00] even the Leisure Lane sewer projects are the things that the governor has said he's really [00:20:08] all about water and I think that as Councilman Murphy said, the overhead bridge, we've been [00:20:16] through that, we got money, we got a previous governor approved it, this governor has denied [00:20:23] some funding of things that he deemed not to be of regional significance, but I know [00:20:30] that the environmental protection of treating our stormwater properly and dealing with it [00:20:37] and treating our sewage and getting sewage out there on the west side of the highway [00:20:45] would probably have, I think, have the best bet to get funded. As to the Hacienda Hotel, [00:20:55] I know, yeah, I'm not sure where the private and public is and for the $200,000 we probably [00:21:04] would find that in our penny for Pasco or something like that if we needed it. So as [00:21:10] to the underpass, you know, I tried to bring up at the meeting that let's not make this [00:21:15] a three point, you know, whatever million dollar project, let's get our connection identified. [00:21:25] So when the comment comes about what our share is, I'd like to see our share be our part [00:21:33] of it, you know. I don't know whether we have to contribute to the bridge underpass as well, [00:21:38] but if we're contributing to the underpass, then the costs of what our connection from [00:21:44] downtown to the thing ought to be won't cost. So everyone recognizes how much money we're [00:21:50] putting into this. [00:21:51] Your point is well taken. If we spend arbitrarily $2 million fixing up the path between Sims [00:22:01] Park and the Richey City limits, I think that should count as our contribution to the underpass. [00:22:09] This project, a $5 million project instead of a $3 million or whatever. [00:22:17] I think a lot of positive points were made today at the meeting with the County Commission [00:22:24] and Porter to tie into a lot of these. The Marine Parkway overpass was brought up. Yes, [00:22:29] I'd love to see it used for golf carts. I think the people in the Woodlands and Gulf [00:22:32] Harbors and Seaports would love to see it used for golf carts as well. I agree that [00:22:36] we do need to have our ducks in a row. We've got funding for it once from state legislation. [00:22:42] We weren't ready. NPO wasn't ready. County wasn't ready. And the money went away. That's [00:22:47] what happened. So when it's funded, we need to be ready for it. Leisure Land and Van [00:22:50] Dorn, yes. And we definitely, definitely need to get that sanitary sewer. [00:22:56] We were out there at that meeting with Commissioner Mariano and he called a bunch of people to [00:23:01] meet outside that one hot morning. And I know the gentleman that owned U.S. Water was there [00:23:05] and he was very, very willing to work with the city and Habitat and do everything he [00:23:09] can to cut costs so we could get this done. But it's very, very important. [00:23:14] Hacienda Hotel, keep asking until they say no. I mean, that's my attitude. Obviously, [00:23:20] the city or the state understands the importance and significance of historic structures like [00:23:27] that and the impact they can have on communities and downtowns. And Mr. Iazzoni and staff did [00:23:33] an incredible job more than once to apply for the proper funding and do it correctly [00:23:39] so that we were rewarded. And thank you very much to the allocations there from the state. [00:23:45] Stormwater, anything we can do with the stormwater, we need to continue to do because seeing some [00:23:50] of these tropical storms and hurricanes like the one that just went over Houston and the [00:23:56] Bahamas with that storm, just completely stalling for pretty much 24 hours. I mean, if we got [00:24:02] – correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Rivera – but if we got 14, 15 inches of rain in [00:24:06] one day, we're in trouble. We're flooded. That's all there is to it. So the more we [00:24:12] can do to, along with the county, to continue to address that issue, to me, is very, very [00:24:19] important. The Couda River underpass, I agree with what you're saying. It sounded today [00:24:23] that everyone at the meeting was on board with option B, with the golf carts. I hope [00:24:29] they do it. They do lighting both down towards the water. It's not just a barren concrete [00:24:37] structure where it could really be used to enhance that area. You know, when you're [00:24:41] in the boat and you're driving on roads where you can look over and see the lighting [00:24:45] like you do with our Main Street Bridge. There's just so much potential there. And I do agree [00:24:51] we are looking at a lot of money if we are going to try to do some kind of multi-use [00:24:56] path between Main Street and New Port Richey. One thing that wasn't really addressed today, [00:25:00] kind of was, but in my opinion it wasn't, they were talking about FDOT and whether or [00:25:04] not FDOT approves this. And as long as it's not at grade, it's at a different grade, [00:25:09] yeah, they'll approve the project, but not fund it. So that wasn't brought up today. [00:25:16] Everyone kept saying they were on board. I didn't want to, you know, we were covering [00:25:19] a lot. But no one said, yeah, I mean, we can, maybe we can ask, you know, Commissioner Starkey [00:25:24] said that her prior assistant secretary works for someone at the state level now and she's [00:25:30] going to see what she can do as far as funding. But from what I've yet at an NPO meeting or [00:25:35] at that meeting or any conversation with staff from the county, has anyone confirmed, correct [00:25:40] me if I'm wrong, Mr. Romanoff, that even though they're allowing us to do it, that they can [00:25:44] use FDOT funding to do so. So if that's not allowable, which from, until someone corrects [00:25:51] me and says, hey, we've talked to someone at the state level, FDOT's going to allow [00:25:54] this, we're going to have to be looking for, I know we're talking about state legislation [00:25:58] right now on allocation, but we're going to have to use PASCO penny money. We're going [00:26:03] to have to use tourism money, everything we can to get that done. Because, I mean, on [00:26:07] the county level, you know, it sounds great. Yeah, let's get FDOT funding. Well, if we [00:26:12] can't use that money, we still need a plan. Everyone wants to do it, right? So I don't [00:26:16] want to be waiting two, three years before we come up with a plan. We're going to have [00:26:19] to pull funds from different sources. This is a project that we're on board with. We're [00:26:23] committed to partnering. We never committed to how much skin we're going to have in the [00:26:27] game. But the bottom line is, it's a project that I want to see come to fruition as soon [00:26:31] as possible. But we also have to remember, it's not in our city limits. It is going to [00:26:35] have an economic impact on our city. But, you know, I'm not looking to spend $1.5 million [00:26:39] or a million dollars on this project that's not in our city limits. It's important to [00:26:43] our city. It's important to our city economy. It's important to the waterfront economy. [00:26:49] But we just have to remember, it's not in our city. And when we have further discussions [00:26:53] with the county, if we are going to look into a multi-use trail from downtown to New Port Richey [00:26:58] that, you know, like I agree with what Councilman Altman was saying at the last meeting, we [00:27:04] have to kind of address this as not just the underpass, the underpass, the overpass and [00:27:08] Marine Parkway. It's part of a bigger picture, right? So we'll put more skin in the game [00:27:13] when it's in our city limits, but we're still partners in the project as well. [00:27:17] Yeah, if we do the multi-use path up Grand Boulevard from Sims Park to New Port Richey, [00:27:25] I suspect that's ours as opposed to something that we would expect either New Port Richey or [00:27:31] the county for that matter. [00:27:32] Because I can tell you that the priority list of the county is really long. There's projects [00:27:36] similar to that that have been on the list for over 10 years. [00:27:38] No, we're going to have to do it. [00:27:41] Yeah, it's just something to keep in mind there. But I was very, very encouraged that [00:27:47] all the county commissioners directed staff that they do want golf carts. And once again, [00:27:51] if we can do this overpass with golf carts, I think that would be a huge bonus. I'm not [00:27:56] quite as optimistic on that one, but I would love to see that happen as well. [00:27:59] I think it's important that we keep pushing it. I don't know if you saw in the paper over [00:28:05] the weekend, they just started talking about reengineering US-19 and some of the side streets [00:28:13] up by the Hudson, Wal-Mart, and another one this weekend up at Hudson Avenue. So it is [00:28:23] extraordinarily dangerous. [00:28:27] It is, but that ties into a larger issue as well, more of a social issue, which was brought [00:28:31] up briefly today and it was one of Ms. Mann's focal points, but it wasn't really discussed, [00:28:36] was the homeless population along the US-19 corridor. I think a lot of the deaths with [00:28:42] pedestrians on 19 are people that don't have vehicles, that don't have cars, that don't [00:28:45] have homes, and sometimes are impaired. And it all ties in together. [00:28:52] I would like to give kudos to Commissioner Wells. I sent a homeless fellow his way, I [00:28:59] guess about a week ago, and the commissioner was able to get him hooked up with some people [00:29:05] that could get him into a shelter. [00:29:08] And that's part of the larger picture. I should have brought the flyer in today, but [00:29:12] Ms. Manns and I met briefly with Alton Voss, and I think everyone knows his story. He's [00:29:17] partnered with a gentleman who started a facility in our city limits. They have an in-house [00:29:23] facility out on Rowan Road and 54 in that old apartment complex. They have a few, several [00:29:31] beds in there, but they also have a facility over by the old community hospital area. [00:29:37] And it's a treatment center that addresses both the psychological issues that make people [00:29:44] turn to drugs, and a treatment center as well. It's in our city limits until he reaches out. [00:29:50] Steve Lucart, Sr., I had him reach out to me just to try to get the word out, and I'm [00:29:54] going to connect him with some other people. But Ms. Manns and I, here it is, right in [00:29:58] our city limits. We didn't even know about it. [00:30:00] of times it's just getting that message out that, you know, if you do want help, there is help there. [00:30:03] I would suggest the item that's not on here for our, you know, we pay the League of Cities to do [00:30:14] lobbying and these items that are there are certainly items we want to endorse, but we heard [00:30:22] it today, first off, with the dispatch discussion, and I think that's a discussion we'll have to [00:30:27] have. I don't know that there's any legislative aspect to that, but again, whether it's pressure [00:30:34] legislatively or not, and I know some of the county commissioners have confirmed their belief [00:30:42] that we ought to do the best we can for our residents, we need to be able to get them to [00:30:48] the hospital if we are the first ones there and someone needs to get to the hospital. That can [00:30:54] make a big difference in a stroke or, and I think that there was just way too much on to [00:31:01] bring any of that up, but I know that our lobbyists had said there was a bill submitted in the [00:31:07] past that would allow the cities to have the ability to provide that service. I'm not even [00:31:14] opposed to having the county, you know, bill for it and collect for it and compensate us in [00:31:23] another way in terms of the teamwork for it, but I've got to say, you know, we've got to find a [00:31:30] way to get the right resources to the right place the quickest we can get them, and I don't [00:31:36] understand, I don't know if we have to do a legislative request to get that right to act if [00:31:43] we can't get the county to agree to work with us. And I saw that as recently as this Sunday morning [00:31:48] at the start of church. One of the ushers started complaining of heart issues. Our EMTs were there [00:31:56] like a shot, which isn't surprising given they're only a few blocks away, but they were there treating [00:32:03] the fellow for a significant period of time before Pasco EMS rolled up with their ambulance. It is an [00:32:12] issue. So I don't know if the first step is to go back to the county and let them know that, you know, [00:32:17] if they can't come up with some options for us to consider to allow us to be more efficient with [00:32:23] our services, other than just, well, let us take it over, which seems to always be the answer the [00:32:29] county gives. They have to be able to cooperate. Maybe the dispatch is a first step that way. I [00:32:36] don't know what the rest of the council feels about it, but the cell phones all go to the [00:32:42] county and then they get transferred to us. So in the old days, we had the landlines, and so if you [00:32:47] were in the city, it went to the city's dispatch. If you were in the county, it went to the county. Now [00:32:51] we've got a little bit of passing the ball back and forth. I'm not sure it makes sense. This [00:32:56] particular call went in on a cell phone, that I know, because I saw the guy standing there in [00:33:00] the narthex with the cell phone to his ear. But I think we need to look at the way that they're [00:33:07] asking for support. I don't know what we get back from them, but we value our dispatch department, [00:33:16] but I mean, I used to like to go to the video store too, but I'm not so sure that having a [00:33:25] duplicate dispatch is working. Anything else? Anybody? In that case, hearing none, I will

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3. 3Communications
4. 4Adjournment