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   Presentation by S&ME, Inc. RE: Trails Feasibility Study

   discussed

   S&ME, Inc. consultants Jay Hood and Carrie Reed presented a draft trails feasibility study to council, identifying existing trails, regional connectivity opportunities (including connections to the Gulf via Robert K. Rees Memorial Park and Brasher Park, the Pinellas Trail, Starkey Trail, and SunTrail system), and six top priority projects including a Grand Boulevard north-south connector, Main Street east-west connection, US-19 gap closure, and a Massachusetts Avenue connector. Council provided feedback emphasizing the need to integrate the study with existing city capital improvement plans, particularly southern connections to Pinellas County and the Gulf, and concerns about trail feasibility on Main Street due to traffic.

   • direction:Council directed S&ME and staff to integrate the feasibility study with the city's existing capital improvement plan and prior trail discussions, particularly southern connections to Pinellas County and the Gulf, before finalizing the draft. (none)

   📍Anclote Park📍Brasher Park📍Cody River crossing📍Grand Boulevard📍Gray Preserve📍Gulf Harbors📍Madison📍Main Street📍Marine Parkway📍Massachusetts Avenue📍Pinellas Trail📍Robert K. Rees Memorial Park📍Rowan📍Sims Park📍Starkey Trail📍US-19🏢FDOT🏢S&ME, Inc.👤Carrie Reed👤Catherine Starkey👤Chris Bornfleth👤Councilman Davis👤Debbie👤Elaine Smith👤Gunther Flagg👤Jay Hood👤Mr. Murphy👤Robert#Capital Improvement Plan#Coast-to-Coast Trail#ELAC funds#FDOT SunTrail grant program#Parks and Recreation Master Plan#Pinellas Trail extension#SunTrail system#Trails Feasibility Study

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   [00:00:11] First item on the agenda is a presentation by S&ME Inc. regarding trail feasibility study. Yes sir, Mr. Mayor, members of the council. This is a project that Elaine Smith and Chris Bornfleth have been working on. [00:00:25] The purpose of the study was to put some focus on improving our trail connectivity. And they worked with S&ME, commencing in June of 2020, and we have Jay Hood and Carrie Reed both in attendance this evening. [00:00:43] You may recognize them as they worked on our Parks and Recreation Master Plan. And I'm going to ask Elaine to make some introductory comments about their work this evening before we turn it over to them for the presentation. [00:00:55] Thank you so much. It's been a real pleasure to work with Kay and Jerry again. I'm sorry, Jay and Carrie again. I was trying to merge your two names, I guess. [00:01:07] And as the city manager indicated, city staff did work closely with them. And the purpose of the project was to develop a trails feasibility study to identify existing trails that are within our city trail system. [00:01:20] And then also to identify priorities for improvements of these trails and to provide a framework to better connect the neighborhoods as well as area trails within the county to destination points within the city. [00:01:33] And we thought that was a very important factor. If you've noticed on your report tonight, it does say draft. So we're presenting it to you in a draft form. That way if you have any revisions for tonight, we can make those. [00:01:46] And if not, then this document will be finalized and draft will be approved. Thank you. [00:01:55] Thank you, Elaine. And again, it's a real pleasure to be back. It's great to be in a council chamber again. This hasn't been happening a lot, but it's really great to be back out here. [00:02:06] And this has been a very rewarding project. And really just being back in New Port Richey again, as Debbie had mentioned, we worked on the parks and rec master plan, I guess two or three years ago. [00:02:20] And it's great to see those things come to fruition. Again, trails are things that people always want. And it's really a lot of that is about the connectivity and the mobility. [00:02:30] How do you move people safely through the community? And so it's really great that you're taking a look at this. What I will tell you, though, is that this is a feasibility study. [00:02:40] So what we're going to show you tonight, these are not final designs by any means, but it's looking at these alignments and these connections to say, are these feasible? [00:02:50] And so we looked at rights of ways. We looked at the connections, the options, who owns the properties. So the trails that we're going to show you tonight are feasible, that they can be done, but they are not final designs by any stretch of the imagination. [00:03:07] But again, this is a framework to connect those networks, those destinations, the schools through the area. And again, it's not a priority list, but it's to what are the top projects? The projects that we say, I think you ought to go with those first. [00:03:24] So from a methodology standpoint, and you have this document, I'm just going to thumb through some of the pages on here. But one of the first things we did was did a document review of some of the trails that are around here. Again, because of the connectivity, there are other agencies, jurisdictions that you're close to. [00:03:46] How can we connect into those so that our efforts are going to maximize and we can leverage our efforts with the other surrounding efforts that are going on by other agencies? So first off, we took a look at Pasco County to make sure that we can have those connections that make sense. We can tie in if there's just a few hundred yards that we need to do a trail that we can connect into something, let's do that. [00:04:12] Another huge piece is the SunTrail system that FDOT is having. Again, imagine from an economic development standpoint, I mean, New Port Richey has got a river that goes to it. It's got access out to the Gulf. So how can we connect the people who are on those state trails to bring them into your town and to make it convenient for them to use this as a place where they can now take off and go see other things, spend money in the restaurants? [00:04:43] Just to let you know, to become more of a local, we have a river that runs through us. [00:04:51] As part of the Parks Master Plan, one of the things that a group of us did, we kayaked all the way from the preserve. [00:04:56] We tend to say it runs through us instead of it comes to us. [00:05:01] That's very good, very good. [00:05:04] And then, again, looked at the trails that were recommended in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. [00:05:10] And then this is the map where we, again, identified where the schools are, where the parks are, and how can we connect those destinations easily with trails as well. [00:05:21] So that's kind of the methodology that we went through. [00:05:24] And with that, Carrie is going to actually go into some of the details for you. [00:05:28] I think we're probably 10 or 15 minutes, and then we'll be open for questions. [00:05:36] So, yeah, like Jay said, I think we want to just give you all a high-level overview, kind of the executive summary. [00:05:42] So I won't get too deep in the weeds, but we can definitely answer your questions at the end. [00:05:48] So in terms of the regional trail system, I think, really, we wanted the outcomes to be, how can we identify gaps? [00:05:56] How can we tie in and kind of make connectivity better for the region? [00:06:01] And also, what are the destination points? [00:06:04] Where do New Port Richey residents want to go? [00:06:07] And where do we want people from the state to be able to come into the city? [00:06:13] So we thought a huge opportunity, and one that wasn't really identified in any of the plans we looked at, was connection to the Gulf. [00:06:21] So we have identified a couple of key connections. [00:06:26] Obviously, that's not in the city. [00:06:28] It would be more of a regional access. [00:06:31] But again, we felt that that was a great point of connectivity for residents and people in the state. [00:06:39] So the blue boxes kind of highlight those two areas. [00:06:45] One would be going out to Robert K. Rees Memorial Park, and then the other would go out to Brasher Park. [00:06:52] And then we also looked regionally at north-south connectivity. [00:06:58] So right now, we have the Pinellas Trail that comes not quite into Pasco County. [00:07:07] But again, how can we potentially use the right-of-way of US-19 as a north-south connector and trail? [00:07:18] So again, looking at some cross-sections, looking at the right-of-ways, and how would that be feasible. [00:07:26] In many instances, in most instances, we have an off-street, multi-use path. [00:07:33] So while bike lanes and those sorts of things are obviously options, we try to do off-street wherever possible, just for safety. [00:07:43] There are, as you'll see as we scroll down, a couple of neighborhood greenways where there's low-traffic roads, [00:07:50] and we can let people ride bikes on the road. [00:07:54] But these would be off-road. [00:07:57] So then also looking at the east-west connectivity and getting out to the Starkey Trail, [00:08:06] which really serves as the Sun Trail connectivity to the statewide trail system. [00:08:12] The coast-to-coast trail also uses the Starkey Trail. [00:08:17] So right now, there is a connection going out from Massachusetts out to Starkey Trail, [00:08:24] but we also looked at how could that potentially have a spur that would go down Rowan and over to Great Preserve. [00:08:36] Again, another key destination point in kind of linking those kind of recreational areas. [00:08:45] So again, looking at an option of how a trail could potentially go along the south side of the street [00:08:52] into the Great Preserve area, which could be an at-grade trail, but we also looked at a potential boardwalk trail option [00:09:03] that could be a nice feature in the preserve. [00:09:09] So then drilling down into more of the community connectivity. [00:09:14] Again, looking for gaps and looking for opportunities. [00:09:21] All the schools, the parks, the destination points, and kind of how can we tie neighborhoods to those points. [00:09:30] So again, this shows the map and kind of the blue will be the schools, [00:09:36] and then the red dash lines show the proposed trail connectivity. [00:09:43] So, you know, obviously getting people to Sims Park to downtown is a hub. [00:09:52] We looked at the Grand Boulevard Road, which would obviously be a great north-south connector through the city, [00:10:02] and there are a few kind of different conditions, some that are two-lane, some areas that are four-lane. [00:10:09] So we have some cross-sections of how that would work. [00:10:15] Again, how do you get people all the way through the city? [00:10:21] And then on the north side of Grand Boulevard, again, looking at options for how that trail system could work. [00:10:28] And then a couple other cross-sections that show some of the community trails at Congress Street and at Massachusetts. [00:10:45] And as we go through this, we'll also look at kind of what we identified as the top projects, [00:10:51] and we haven't necessarily prioritized those in any order, [00:10:57] but it's more like the top five or six projects that we thought would really maximize connectivity. [00:11:03] And then this slide shows the neighborhood greenway. [00:11:09] So these would be roads where traffic is light. [00:11:15] You could actually have a share-o on the road and let the bikes share the road with the cars in these areas. [00:11:22] And again, these help connect the neighborhoods into these larger points of interest. [00:11:30] So this slide kind of summarizes what we have identified as kind of the top six projects. [00:11:37] The first five are more local-based or in the city. [00:11:45] The last one would probably be more of a regional push in terms of going along US-19. [00:11:56] But again, these are not in order. [00:12:02] These are just some smaller projects. [00:12:08] So for instance, number two is a connection on US-19. [00:12:14] Right now there's just a few blocks that are kind of missing between the US-19 trail and connecting to Marine Parkway. [00:12:20] So we thought that would be a perfect opportunity to just get that small amount of trail in, [00:12:26] and you would provide a lot of connectivity in that area. [00:12:31] And then number seven is another small piece of Massachusetts that would connect, that goes out to Starkey Trail. [00:12:40] So there are some smaller pieces, then there are also some larger pieces. [00:12:46] So number three is the Grand Boulevard north-south connector, [00:12:52] which would basically run all the way from the south side of the city to the north side of the city. [00:12:58] You'd probably kind of phase that over time. [00:13:03] But again, we thought that would be a huge benefit in terms of connectivity. [00:13:08] And as you know, as you get to the north side, you're along the river, so another great opportunity. [00:13:13] And then finally, number four would be the Main Street connection. [00:13:20] One thing we did notice, there's a lot of north-south connectivity and less east-west, [00:13:25] and partially probably because of the river that runs through the city. [00:13:30] So we did identify Main Street as a street that would be great to have a trail, giving that east-west connectivity, [00:13:38] and that could really connect you across to the west side of US-19 and then get you out to the gulf destinations. [00:13:49] And then obviously, we have cost estimates, and these are magnitude of cost. [00:13:54] So these aren't necessarily hard-bid dollar amounts, [00:13:59] but we did factor in what we thought the construction costs would be on top of soft costs, [00:14:06] which would be design and engineering and permitting. [00:14:11] Another caveat, as Jay said, this is feasibility. [00:14:16] Some of these would probably be pretty easy to implement without a lot of public input, [00:14:22] especially some of the smaller ones where maybe you're just connecting a couple blocks. [00:14:27] But some of the larger ones, such as Grand Boulevard, you'd probably want to have some public input, [00:14:32] make sure people got to understand the design and kind of have that process as you move forward. [00:14:40] But we have provided all those numbers as part of the report, [00:14:46] again, to hopefully help you budgeting some of these projects [00:14:51] and kind of laying out a five-year plan or ten-year plan for how you might want to implement these. [00:15:00] And then, at the end, just a couple other pieces of information that we used. The Gray [00:15:05] Preserve map and the Cody River crossing. We also looked at these as part of our trail [00:15:12] study. And that is all. Do you all have any questions? [00:15:20] Did they present to you that we were looking at Grand Boulevard between Main Street and [00:15:27] Gulf Drive at all? Did they present any of that to you? [00:15:35] Main Street down Grand Boulevard? Yes. You mean the four lane piece? [00:15:39] Yeah. Did they present that we were looking at [00:15:42] that at all to you people? Yeah, we talked about that. [00:15:46] And then, are you familiar with the traffic that's on Main Street right now? [00:15:52] Yeah. Yeah. I don't know that that's going to be [00:15:56] a trail on Main Street. And there might be portions. Again, this isn't [00:16:00] necessarily design and engineering. There could be portions of that trail that would [00:16:03] have to be on street where you would have to have a bike lane or something like that. [00:16:10] But, yeah. There's definitely more study needed for that. But, again, we thought it would [00:16:15] be a great opportunity to really bring people into the storefront area and the commercial [00:16:21] area. I mean, I agree getting them in there, but [00:16:23] I can't see them on Main Street between the bridge and Madison. [00:16:27] Madison, yeah. Right. Yeah, there's some tight, a couple spaces [00:16:31] that are tight. That's going to be a non-starter. Somebody [00:16:34] will get killed. That's going to happen. [00:16:37] Scooters. Whenever you're ready. [00:16:39] Go ahead. Okay, a couple things. First of all, your [00:16:46] number two there and your identification of our Gulffront parks, your estimated cost [00:16:56] was a couple hundred thousand dollars. We've had estimates over five million for an over-the-bridge [00:17:03] crossover. Has anyone spoken to you about that, or are you aware of that as a plan? [00:17:09] It's in our capital improvement plan. I don't think that we are aware of that one. [00:17:14] So that being said, you make a nice loop, and just from my standpoint, we have a lot [00:17:21] of county residents and more well-finished housing that's in the Gulf Harbors area. [00:17:29] The comment you made that the Pinellas Trail stops at Pinellas is not accurate. I mean, [00:17:35] the Pinellas Trail comes to the hotel along Highway 19, but it's not a very recreational [00:17:42] trail. I think my colleagues are aware that there's an individual, Gunther Flagg, who [00:17:50] owns most of the land between Gulf Harbors and the gulf park down at the bottom. And [00:17:57] so when you talk about economics and the importance of being able to draw people regionally, the [00:18:04] Pinellas Trail is one of the most popular trails in the state of Florida. So there has [00:18:09] been talk among county commissioners, I think Catherine Starkey has been involved in it [00:18:14] as well, that the Pinellas Trail could take a coastal ride from Tarpon Springs into Pasco [00:18:22] County. And so from a standpoint of what we have on our plate, I think Councilman Davis [00:18:29] mentioned the Grand Boulevard, and we had a complete demonstration of that, which also [00:18:34] showed a route going out, was it Montana or Delaware or one of those? Because we've had [00:18:41] quite a bit of discussion amongst ourselves. I would feel a lot more comfortable if we [00:18:45] could sort of get you briefed on what we've been planning. It's always nice to have your [00:18:50] unfiltered approach, but we've also had some discussion here that I would love to see. [00:18:58] Some of it goes outside the city limits as well, and obviously the individual that's [00:19:09] there south of Gulf Harbors has expressed an interest in annexing it to the city, and [00:19:14] it's also within our service area for water and sewer services. So for us to get someone [00:19:19] who would work to develop that trail would be great. Secondly, the owner of that property [00:19:24] has shared with me that he's been pursuing ELAC funds to help to create that. There's [00:19:31] an awful lot of green space out there. He's not gotten responses, but the county has a [00:19:41] lot of land acquisition funding, and this is one project they've been looking at for [00:19:45] a number of years. To me, if we could connect to the Pinellas Trail, we open ourselves up [00:19:50] to immediate revenue flow from the Pinellas County, and we lure people off that coast [00:19:56] to coast through New Port Richey to get to the Gulf of Mexico the fastest. The drawing [00:20:01] you showed didn't get anybody to the coast until they got down into Pinellas County, [00:20:06] so however it comes across through Brooksville, Hernando, and Citrus County out of Orlando, [00:20:13] it comes south to the Suncoast Parkway and then heads into... [00:20:17] They tried to pull it into Dade City, and it didn't get pulled into Dade City. [00:20:24] Bad news could be good news for us. If a recreational person leaves Cape Canaveral or Cape Kennedy [00:20:30] or whatever we're calling it now, and they're looking to get to the Gulf of Mexico and go [00:20:36] through a little small city, your opening statements were exciting to me. I would love [00:20:42] to see you get updated with our capital improvement plan and potentially get a little spotted [00:20:52] line down to that southern park. [00:20:57] The other thing I would like to say is that for the citizens of the city to enjoy the [00:21:02] recreational trail, we've already been working, and the county will have to fund, I'm assuming, [00:21:09] that expensive under-the-bridge crossover to the north of the river. So for us to create [00:21:16] a loop, I still believe that there's a potential to cross the river with a bike and even perhaps [00:21:24] a bike and golf cart trail that would tie in all of the folks on the west side of Highway [00:21:32] 19. [00:21:34] Yeah, so this is the one that shows, this is the north crossing, so this is on the New Port Richey. [00:21:40] Right, and they aren't going to be able to afford it, but the county is very hot to trot [00:21:44] on that. Point being, if you're just to the south of the river in the city limits or in [00:21:50] some of that unincorporated area, you would be, I guess you could just go up to the bridge [00:21:57] and ride your bicycle across the bridge so you can get there. The trick is getting our [00:22:03] residents, I think, into Pinellas County. There's a lot more of a rich economic market [00:22:09] than having our citizens leave our city to go shop in another city, which is, we want [00:22:15] to do, and it's a beautiful place, but to me, the southern connection is the most important. [00:22:22] I would add one thing. [00:22:25] Step up to the mic for the people at home. [00:22:28] One thing that I may add on to that, because FDOT, and I don't know if you have applied [00:22:35] for any of the grants, but currently the grant window is open. There's an open call for projects [00:22:43] that would be put into their SunTrail system, and I think that goes through December, so [00:22:48] I don't know if anybody's got that. [00:22:51] We're currently looking at it, yes, and we intend to submit. [00:22:55] Okay, great, yeah, because we're working with a number of communities that have that on [00:23:02] their radar, and it's going to be very competitive, because now, I mean, everybody is trying to [00:23:07] build these trails, build into this system, so it's really exciting, but I do agree. I [00:23:11] think that the Gulf of Mexico as a destination, because when you ride, you want to end up [00:23:18] someplace, right? And so you've got a great destination, you're close to a destination. [00:23:26] Yeah, I was going to say, you definitely need to look at what we've talked about with the [00:23:31] cut from Grand Boulevard over to Madison, extending the existing trail on Madison south [00:23:39] of Main Street. The idea was to give people at least the option to loop around the downtown, [00:23:47] because the downtown gets very crazy busy. But, you know, conceptually, yeah, it's good. [00:23:56] I would look at that. I agree we need the tie-in. I have actually done the coast-to-coast. [00:24:01] We started in Norman Beach and three days later wound up at Sunset Beach in Tarpon Springs. [00:24:09] There's discussion of getting north of Keystone, Tarpon Avenue, up this way, but there's two [00:24:17] trains of thought. One is to take it through Trinity and get it up to Starkey Park, which [00:24:21] the Trinity people would love. And then it's us over here on the west side trying to get [00:24:26] it up through Anclote Park and up on the coastline and get it up behind Moog and all that and [00:24:32] get it up here. So, you know, it's money and it's politics, you know, which way it's [00:24:38] going to go. [00:24:39] Yeah. And I think, you know, to your point, I think we wanted to give you this framework, [00:24:44] again, as you look for funding, as you coordinate with the county and other people that have [00:24:50] resources. A lot of times they want to see you have a plan and you're kind of executing [00:24:55] that plan. So, again, we'd love to talk more about some of the things that you all found [00:25:00] out. But, again, this really helps, I think, maybe just set some high-level priorities [00:25:08] and help get funding and kind of identify, you know, you all have done a great job, your [00:25:15] pedestrian improvements and your bike improvements. So every time Jay and I come, we're always [00:25:21] really impressed. I mean, for a city this size, it's really great in terms of the infrastructure [00:25:27] you all have for multi-modal connectivity. So we just want to help you all keep going. [00:25:33] Mr. Murphy, any thoughts? [00:25:36] I would just concur with the other members about the plans the city have talked about [00:25:40] and kind of merging those in to get kind of on the same page with that. You know, all [00:25:47] these are great options and framework for it. We've just got to figure out what we're [00:25:53] going to do first and, you know, work towards the end. [00:25:58] And some are bigger pieces, and that's why we kind of wanted to give some small pieces [00:26:03] and some bigger pieces, again, to kind of give you some options. [00:26:08] Debbie, or you, Robert, have input here? [00:26:13] We didn't work as directly on this project as Elaine and Chris Borncliffe did, and that's [00:26:23] one of the reasons we have them presenting a draft this evening. Not only so that a final [00:26:28] draft reflects your comments and input, but additionally so that we have an opportunity [00:26:33] to see what might be missed. [00:26:35] Deputy Mayor? [00:26:38] As has been discussed, this is more than just a trailway system in the city of New Porichy, [00:26:47] right? So I think it's important when we're doing projects like this and trying to come [00:26:52] up with funding that we're working closely with the county and the MPO board with the [00:26:55] county because they may have their own vision. We'd like to tie into that vision. We don't [00:26:59] want to both ask for the same thing. So I think that's an important aspect that wasn't [00:27:03] brought up here tonight. I travel all over the state of Florida with soccer. I've been [00:27:07] to so many new suburb communities outside Jacksonville, Orlando, where the trailway [00:27:13] systems are just absolutely incredible for golf carts and multi-use paths. I mean, just [00:27:17] in the last couple of months, I could just name three or four off the top of my head [00:27:20] that were just incredible, but they were similar to new developments in Central Trinity, Central [00:27:27] Pasco, where you're basically creating your own community from scratch on cow pasture. [00:27:34] It's very easy to do it when that's your palate, right? Just like it's very, in my opinion, [00:27:41] much more difficult to have economic redevelopment than just economic development. So the concept [00:27:48] is great, but I just see a lot of challenges based on, like we said, you can't bring a [00:27:53] trailway through Main Street, downtown New Porichy, in that room. So there are challenges [00:27:57] there, but I think it's something we should continue to strive for. But I really feel [00:28:02] like we should be with the county on this and trying to work together. The leadership [00:28:09] for the county MPO staff has just, the turnover has been, I'm the chairman of the MPO board [00:28:14] right now, I think we've had six or seven MPO directors for Pasco County in five years. [00:28:20] I mean, it's just insane. I just listened in at a meeting with staff and folks from [00:28:26] the FDOT for an audit that was conducted for the Pasco County MPO, and that's something [00:28:32] I brought up. I mean, I, it's beyond me as to why we can't find someone to fill that [00:28:36] position for the county. I thought we had somebody good in Ronnie Brashear, and then [00:28:40] I was just told right two minutes before our last MPO meeting that he's no longer with [00:28:45] the county. So I don't know what is going on with county staffing where we can't get [00:28:49] someone to hold on to that position for more than six or eight months, because the turnover [00:28:53] has just been incredible. And I think it's hurting all of us not having proper leadership [00:28:57] from the staff level in the county. But once again, there are challenges here, but the [00:29:01] conceptual ideas are great. I just think we need to be working with county MPO, figure [00:29:06] out ways to apply for the proper grant funding, make sure we're all on the same page, because [00:29:09] we're regional projects, we're talking, you know, we're just four and a half square miles. [00:29:12] So that's my only recommendation. [00:29:14] Mr. Stroman, anything else? [00:29:16] No, just to the point of a window for any kind of grant requests, when I spoke to the [00:29:23] DOT a long while back, they indicated for us to get any of that state money, we had [00:29:30] to have the trail on a master plan. So what you're providing for us is extremely important [00:29:37] and valuable, and I hope that we can have a pretty quick second look at this and maybe [00:29:45] expedite the completion of this. [00:29:47] I will add one other thing that really mimics what Commissioner Starkey was saying. Once [00:29:59] This is a [00:30:00] Adopted, it's really important that this goes to the MPO, [00:30:04] so that it starts to show up on their maps. [00:30:08] Because what you've touched on is actually [00:30:10] one of the hardest things to do, it's communication. [00:30:13] I mean, you guys know how hard it is to communicate [00:30:16] with your family, especially with these things. [00:30:19] But even with your family, it's hard. [00:30:21] You know, well, I thought we were gonna go [00:30:23] to a steak and shake, well, no, [00:30:25] they ended up at Dunkin', whatever. [00:30:27] But it's really hard when you're talking about [00:30:29] these trails, you've got all these agencies involved. [00:30:32] So, once this is adopted, one of the steps to go through [00:30:38] is to proactively get this to the MPO, [00:30:42] to get them to start showing these on their maps. [00:30:45] Because then that becomes that framework [00:30:48] that everybody has to look at. [00:30:50] And it sounds very easy, it sounds very simple, [00:30:52] but especially when there's a lot of turmoil [00:30:54] in that position, it makes it harder [00:30:57] because there's institutional knowledge that gets there. [00:31:00] So that's why it needs to get on their maps. [00:31:01] And if you look at that priority list, [00:31:04] I mean, there's projects that have been on there [00:31:05] for years and years and years that are already ahead [00:31:08] of anything that we're gonna be presenting. [00:31:09] So, whoever takes my place on the MPO board [00:31:12] for the city of New Port Richey, [00:31:14] that's something that I would, you know, [00:31:16] assume that they would be able to do. [00:31:18] Just, this is what we're looking to do. [00:31:20] How can we work with you guys? [00:31:22] How do we get these projects on the priority list? [00:31:24] Because you go to any MPO meeting, [00:31:26] we all get along great, but it's East Pasco [00:31:28] versus West Pasco as far as funding, [00:31:30] just like I'm sure a lot of the BOCC meetings. [00:31:32] And it's a constant battle. [00:31:33] We work very, very hard to get funding [00:31:35] and put the underpass at 19 [00:31:37] on the top of the priority list right now. [00:31:39] And it took a lot of convincing [00:31:41] from a lot of people working together [00:31:44] to get that moved up so quickly. [00:31:46] But great points, and I'm just saying, [00:31:48] by being at the MPO meetings [00:31:50] and seeing how these priority lists are put together, [00:31:53] and then we bump this one. [00:31:55] I mean, it's just jumping ahead to other projects, [00:31:58] and it's not an easy task at all whatsoever. [00:32:00] So the earlier we, the sooner we can get this, [00:32:03] our ideas on the radar, the better. [00:32:05] Well, and this is all done in GIS, [00:32:07] so we can provide your GIS department the shape files [00:32:11] so that you can literally, for MPO, [00:32:13] you can transmit those shape files, [00:32:16] and they can just drop them into their map, so. [00:32:19] Yeah, well, thank you very much.

   This text was generated automatically from the meeting video. It is not a verbatim or official record. For exact wording, consult the video or the city clerk.

3. 3

   Presentation by Kokolakis Contracting RE: Design for Parking Structure

   discussed

   Kokolakis Contracting and Fisher Architects presented the 70-75% design for a four-level, 355-space parking structure on Acorn Street east of US-19, intended to serve the new Kaiser University, Main Street, and special events. Council generally praised the Spanish-tile/local-aesthetic design but suggested improvements to the east and south elevations (which face a future hotel), exploring blue/water-themed wave railings tied to the city logo, EV charging stations, and possibly adding retail at street level. The mayor requested council entertain bonding an additional ~$900,000 to incorporate retail to help develop that corner of town.

   • direction:Council directed designers to study screening/articulation of the east and south elevations and consider water/blue wave-themed railings, EV charging stations, and potential retail integration. (none)

   📍east of US Highway 19 at Acorn Street🏢Fisher Architects🏢Kaiser University🏢Kokolakis Contracting🏢SunTrust👤Bill Fisher👤Councilman Starkey👤Debbie👤Larry Shallis👤Mr. Murphy👤Mr. Rudd👤Paul Cox👤Rod Voight👤Walter Waller👤Yanni Kokolakis#$6.5 million project budget#30-year bond financing#350-space parking structure RFP June 2020#355 parking spaces#Design-build delivery#Potential ~$900,000 retail addition

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   [00:32:22] Okay, next item is a presentation [00:32:25] on the design of the parking structure. [00:32:27] Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the City Council. [00:32:31] As you know, back in June of 2020, [00:32:38] Mr. Rudd and I prepared a request for a proposal [00:32:43] related to the establishment of a parking structure [00:32:48] on property located just east of US Highway 19 [00:32:52] at Acorn Street. [00:32:54] At the time, the project was proposed to be [00:32:58] a 350-space lot for a price not to exceed $6.5 million. [00:33:07] We received nine respondents to our call, [00:33:11] and in June, we came back to you [00:33:15] and asked to enter into a contract [00:33:18] with Cocalacas Contracting, [00:33:21] the purpose of which was to enter into an agreement [00:33:25] with them in respect to a design-build project, [00:33:31] which we thought would be the most effective [00:33:33] delivery system for this project, [00:33:37] in lieu of the fact that we were on a time constraint [00:33:41] for completion of the project in June of 2021. [00:33:47] I have presented to you some design work [00:33:53] that we have done since that time, [00:33:55] probably at about 70% completion, maybe 75% completion. [00:34:01] The purpose of this agenda item this evening [00:34:05] is to introduce to you the full plan [00:34:10] for the design of the deck so that you can approve it, [00:34:15] and we can authorize Cocalacas to go one step further [00:34:20] and get us to construction documents [00:34:23] and get the shovel in the ground, so to speak. [00:34:25] I have three representatives this evening, [00:34:30] two from Cocalacas. [00:34:31] I have Mr. Rod Voight and Mr. Yanni Cocalacas, [00:34:37] and we have Mr. Bill Fisher, [00:34:38] who I think might be doing the presentation [00:34:40] to you this evening. [00:34:42] And I'll ask Mr. Fisher to come on up, [00:34:45] and Mr. Voight, so we can talk a little bit [00:34:47] about where they garnered their design from, [00:34:59] and show you the project as we have it proposed. [00:35:13] Thank you. [00:35:16] Hi, Bill. [00:35:17] Hi, how are you? [00:35:18] Good, how are you? [00:35:19] Good, good, I didn't know what you looked like [00:35:21] without a mask on, so, it's good. [00:35:23] Right. [00:35:25] Yeah, when we had our reconstruction meeting, [00:35:28] we all wore masks. [00:35:35] You got a clicker? [00:35:36] Yeah, he's putting it in now. [00:35:39] And we do have hard copies of the plans for you as well. [00:35:43] Oh, yes. [00:35:44] You can give them to the clerk. [00:35:45] We have eight copies. [00:35:47] Two, three, four, five, six. [00:35:50] Take six up front. [00:35:51] Up front. [00:35:52] To the city clerk. [00:35:58] Thank you, Rod. [00:35:58] Some of the colors don't look as well. [00:36:01] We tried this, so. [00:36:03] So we brought some hard boards, [00:36:04] because they reflect the colors a little bit better. [00:36:06] It gets washed out up on the screen. [00:36:07] Also, it elongates instead of, [00:36:10] these are more accurate. [00:36:18] Again, I'm Bill Fisher, Fisher Architects. [00:36:20] We're out of Clearwater, Florida. [00:36:23] We were asked to produce a design [00:36:26] that would fit in with your community. [00:36:29] And what we proposed, and you had mentioned [00:36:32] it was 350 spaces, I think we ended up [00:36:34] with 355 parking spaces. [00:36:36] 73 is what I was told last. [00:36:38] 355. [00:36:39] 355. [00:36:41] And it's three elevated decks over parking on grade. [00:36:45] So four levels, but three elevated decks. [00:36:48] What our task was, Fisher's task, [00:36:50] was to go through the community [00:36:51] and kind of find out what a good aesthetic would be, [00:36:54] so our project would blend in with your community. [00:36:57] So in doing that, we mainly focused [00:36:59] around Main Street and the park structures, [00:37:01] and found something that we felt [00:37:03] was pretty inconsistent with your architectural style [00:37:08] of this area. [00:37:11] There's a number of styles. [00:37:12] This building is a really good building. [00:37:14] It was kind of a debate over what, [00:37:15] but we felt more in line with the Spanish tile roofs [00:37:19] and the tile above the entries, [00:37:22] and kind of thought that that was a better human scale [00:37:25] to a very large building. [00:37:27] Once we got your signage package, [00:37:29] your identity package, we went even further [00:37:32] in this direction because it kind of fit in [00:37:34] with what you were doing in the meantime. [00:37:39] The image you're seeing is, [00:37:43] my back would be to Main Street. [00:37:44] I'm looking south. [00:37:46] The Kaiser building would be to the right, [00:37:52] and in the foreground, is this a laser? [00:37:55] The foreground would be Acorn. [00:37:58] So my back is on Main Street, [00:38:00] or I'm standing on Main Street sidewalk [00:38:02] looking back at the building. [00:38:04] This is from the corner. [00:38:07] The corner, again, just kind of walking [00:38:09] close to the building. [00:38:10] The main elevation, which is the west elevation, [00:38:13] and then the north elevation. [00:38:15] So again, the building has three entries, [00:38:18] three major parking, driveway entries. [00:38:22] One on the north, one in the center on the west, [00:38:27] and one on the far side. [00:38:28] The far side's actually broken into two entries, [00:38:31] but it's from that side. [00:38:32] Can I ask a quick question? [00:38:33] Sorry to interrupt you. [00:38:34] So when I'm looking at this aerial view, [00:38:36] there's a lot of green space [00:38:37] between Main Street and the parking garage? [00:38:39] That's just graphic. [00:38:40] I wanted to show you where Main Street was. [00:38:42] No, that's just trying to give you an idea of orientation. [00:38:45] Right, because we have buildings between there, correct? [00:38:46] There are, there's two buildings there now. [00:38:48] This is the parking lot for the university, as proposed. [00:38:52] This is Acorn that's there now. [00:38:53] There's two buildings here, [00:38:55] probably a configuration of a building and a half here, [00:38:58] and then another building here. [00:38:59] I want to make sure you didn't know something [00:39:01] that I didn't know. [00:39:02] I can guarantee you, I know less than you do [00:39:06] about what's going on in this area. [00:39:09] But again, the main part was, [00:39:10] what's important, and I think part of our presentation, [00:39:13] I think really part of why I may be standing here, [00:39:16] is I made the comment that when you spend this much money, [00:39:20] you need to look outside, [00:39:22] you need to kind of look what you're doing in the future, [00:39:24] and make sure you take those into account. [00:39:27] Even if you don't do it now, [00:39:29] kind of figure out what you're trying to do in the future. [00:39:31] And we, Fisher, thought that this building [00:39:34] would be very important for the university [00:39:36] for parking day-to-day. [00:39:38] But also special events from the park, [00:39:40] and we actually see where Acorn now [00:39:43] is somewhat of a back street. [00:39:46] It's a great access point to the river, to the park, [00:39:53] and then also, to me, will supplement main street parking. [00:39:58] There's not a lot of visibility from it. [00:40:02] So one of the things we've done is we've got this, [00:40:06] the biggest billboard we could get, [00:40:08] and you would see that from main street. [00:40:10] You wouldn't see down the west elevation as much, [00:40:16] but you would see this over the parking lot from 19. [00:40:21] So again, what I'll do is I'll go through pretty quickly, [00:40:24] and if you have any questions, I'll be happy to stop. [00:40:27] But this, again, is the north elevation. [00:40:30] We've put a plaza at the Acorn, the drive entry, [00:40:37] and this would be a stair elevator tower. [00:40:40] We've got barrel tile roofs. [00:40:42] There's three decks of parking above this. [00:40:44] And again, we've got ceramic tile, wood kickers, [00:40:49] to bring it into the local aesthetic, the local community. [00:40:53] This would be from the other angle, [00:40:56] from the northeast, looking back at it. [00:41:02] What we've got for security is, [00:41:05] we've made it look like wrought iron. [00:41:06] It's not wrought iron. [00:41:08] We'd have aluminum gates, aluminum fencing here [00:41:11] to secure this at night. [00:41:12] The building can accommodate roll-down gates [00:41:17] at the entries. [00:41:18] Right now, they're not put in, or we're not proposing that. [00:41:22] However, architecturally, we're setting it up [00:41:24] so those gates can be added in the future. [00:41:28] Just so the council knows, [00:41:29] we are going with the rolling gates. [00:41:30] Oh, okay, I'm sorry. [00:41:32] We've got it in, included in our, [00:41:35] we've got columns to support it, electric to run it, [00:41:38] so I didn't know that, I'm sorry. [00:41:40] That's all right. [00:41:40] Sorry for the confusion. [00:41:42] This is a plan at that north entry. [00:41:44] Again, a plaza area, the entry drive, and the features. [00:41:50] Elevator, stair tower. [00:41:54] This elevation is from the opposite side of the building, [00:41:57] from the southwest, looking back at it. [00:42:01] So again, this is the tower we had talked about before. [00:42:06] This is the middle drive entry, [00:42:08] and then the, I'll call it the rear, [00:42:09] but really, the south side of it, [00:42:12] there's two driveways, another stair tower, [00:42:14] and again, these are secure with fencing. [00:42:17] Where are all the driveways, exit and entrance? [00:42:20] They are both, correct, in and out. [00:42:24] They're 24 feet wide, same as a street width. [00:42:29] This is the west elevation. [00:42:32] Two stair towers, entry, we've embellished this [00:42:36] to kind of, so you can find your way from 19. [00:42:39] This aligns with the driveway, [00:42:41] but even more important, you would find this [00:42:44] from a distance, and it gives a sense of entry. [00:42:48] Also, to break up the mass, [00:42:50] you know, the horizontal eyebrow line at the top, [00:42:53] we've added some wrought iron to basically soften that edge. [00:42:56] Also, we had some cars that showed above the bang wall, [00:43:00] above the wall, and now this would shield those in that way. [00:43:06] This would be the south elevation. [00:43:10] So this would be a drive in, drive out. [00:43:13] Same opening, same here, in and out. [00:43:17] We've got the gates on the sides, [00:43:19] and then there'd be an option, [00:43:20] or we have enclosed gates here, [00:43:24] so you can secure it at night. [00:43:30] I'm gonna basically walk around the building. [00:43:31] This is from the southeast, looking back at the building. [00:43:35] So this is the east elevation. [00:43:48] I personally feel that all the elevations are important. [00:43:55] Some of them are more dominant, [00:43:57] because you see them, they're wayfinding type elevations, [00:44:00] but so as not to have a back of house, a back building, [00:44:03] we articulated the back walls [00:44:06] with a couple different colors, [00:44:07] and also some reveals to break up that mass. [00:44:10] So whereas it is a parking deck, [00:44:12] we broke up that mass with bands at the top [00:44:17] in two different colors. [00:44:18] The reason I brought the board [00:44:19] is because it doesn't show very well here. [00:44:23] And then all I have are the perspectives. [00:44:30] So at the top of all these, there'd be a, [00:44:34] I'll call it a white band, a lighter color band, [00:44:36] and then a tan band underneath it. [00:44:39] You'll see the fencing all the way around for security. [00:44:47] This is somewhat hard to read. [00:44:49] This is a first floor plan. [00:44:52] The driveway on the north, driveway on the west, [00:44:57] and driveway on the south, second driveway on the south. [00:45:00] ramp going up, and this is where it breaks. [00:45:02] So this goes up and this goes underneath it. [00:45:04] So the ramps are on the east side [00:45:09] and the west side is all flat. [00:45:11] So you'd have flat landings, ramp, landing, [00:45:15] landing, like that. [00:45:16] So the ramps are all above each other. [00:45:20] This is a roof plan. [00:45:21] Basically it orients a little bit more [00:45:24] where we've got Agcorn, Main Street, [00:45:28] and again, sorry for the confusion, [00:45:29] but that's how far it is off of Main Street. [00:45:32] And this is the university. [00:45:34] Again, this drive lines up, you see, with the median cut. [00:45:38] This lines up with Agcorn, and this back here [00:45:41] goes out to 19 as well. [00:45:46] I know more about it than that, so any questions, [00:45:48] I'd be happy to answer. [00:45:49] How many parking spots are on each level? [00:45:54] Don't know. [00:45:54] I don't know. [00:46:04] That makes 370, so that doesn't, somebody. [00:46:06] They fold under each other. [00:46:07] That's the trick part of the question. [00:46:09] It's where you start counting. [00:46:11] I mean, you, we, we, pardon me? [00:46:13] The top floor is 85, the third is 100. [00:46:23] I'll come up with 355. [00:46:24] 355 is the number. [00:46:26] I'm just asking, give me the numbers for the fourth floor. [00:46:29] I can give you the numbers. [00:46:31] I'll get them for you. [00:46:32] Right now I've got 370. [00:46:33] If you went in with this 85, number 385. [00:46:36] You know, I mean, just trying to, you know. [00:46:38] I can get you the numbers. [00:46:39] And then you tell me 355, so I'm just asking. [00:46:42] Deputy Mayor. [00:46:44] I think it's incredible. [00:46:45] I absolutely love the design. [00:46:47] It's going to look so, so good behind that new university. [00:46:50] I, I, I mean, there's nothing I would change about it. [00:46:53] I love the railing at the top, how it flows, kind of like waves. [00:46:56] It just looks incredible. [00:46:58] Great job. [00:46:59] Thank you. [00:47:00] Mayor. [00:47:02] Yeah, I would ditto that. [00:47:04] Very impressive. [00:47:06] There is one thing I would just ask if it makes sense or not. [00:47:10] And that is, when you look at our logo [00:47:12] and you see a little bit of the blue in it, [00:47:15] and then you see that wave, which is really where the river, [00:47:18] and you've got the river running. [00:47:19] Right, right. [00:47:20] Is there, is there any sense to use that blue [00:47:25] and turn those waves into water? [00:47:28] You know, make them look, to bring out our river idea? [00:47:32] I mean, they're black. [00:47:33] Maybe that's a good thing for them to be black. [00:47:34] What we did is we matched the railings, [00:47:36] the stair railings and then the fence at the bottom. [00:47:39] That's why we did what we did. [00:47:40] There's no reason we couldn't articulate it. [00:47:43] It just, I'm not by any means the interior decorator [00:47:47] or anything, but I just, I feel like it's water [00:47:50] and we're trying to, showing that wave. [00:47:53] Maybe it makes sense, maybe it doesn't, [00:47:55] but that's the only thought that came across my head [00:47:57] as I was admiring the water. [00:47:58] Can we look back at that south entrance you just had there? [00:48:03] Yeah, we're going to have a hotel on that side, [00:48:07] the, you know, the structure. [00:48:10] Okay. [00:48:11] And then there's another whole property south of that [00:48:14] that's going to probably be developed. [00:48:16] Yes. [00:48:16] And I just would like more, [00:48:21] front door look. [00:48:23] Remember. [00:48:24] Kind of what you've done on the west side. [00:48:26] You know, I just think it needs to be, you know, [00:48:27] like instead of, you know, I understand the, [00:48:31] what would be the east side of the building, [00:48:33] that's going to be hidden by other buildings already there. [00:48:36] You know, a metal building and a couple of others, [00:48:38] but that's going to be the front door [00:48:41] to a lot of people in a hotel. [00:48:44] Actually, we don't know if that'll be hidden [00:48:45] by those buildings on the east side. [00:48:48] That could be a front to something else later. [00:48:50] We don't know in the future. [00:48:54] Yeah, there are some ways we could. [00:48:56] But at your direction, we can look at that. [00:48:58] We could look at sort of hiding the stuff [00:49:00] on the top floor a little bit, [00:49:03] because that does sort of jump out. [00:49:05] The hotel's going to be up closer to US-19, [00:49:07] is my understanding. [00:49:08] Yeah, but you're still, people are going to be on that side. [00:49:10] They're going to be going to and from, [00:49:11] and that's, you know, you've got entrance, [00:49:14] two entrances and exits. [00:49:15] Your point's well taken. [00:49:18] Yeah. [00:49:19] Hotel, this is the garage, this is the hotel side, [00:49:23] so it's really in front of our project. [00:49:24] Yeah, but they're going to be in and out of that. [00:49:27] Yeah, I think what he's talking about, [00:49:29] if you look at the top deck, [00:49:32] immediately over where the entrance is there, [00:49:36] it's pretty bare. [00:49:42] And it might be there's some way to disguise [00:49:45] that top deck, because you're looking at it from the south. [00:49:47] At it, I'm certainly, I'm not, Mr. Mayor. [00:49:50] Solovortaic power roof structure [00:49:58] that could take the sun. [00:49:59] That's facing in the, probably a good direction [00:50:01] for any solar, if we were to try to add something on. [00:50:04] Okay. [00:50:05] I don't know. [00:50:06] Yeah. [00:50:07] That's very nice. [00:50:08] I will defer on talking about the color, [00:50:09] so I've given my known color vision issues, so. [00:50:13] Mr. Murphy. [00:50:16] No, the only comment I had was on that east side. [00:50:20] I know it's in the back now, [00:50:21] but it may not be in the future. [00:50:22] So I thought maybe if some kind of faux, [00:50:25] you know, something there would make it [00:50:26] look a little more appealing if you're actually, [00:50:29] that's going to be your frontage eventually. [00:50:30] Let him run. [00:50:33] We did treat it as a lesser side, again, [00:50:35] but we didn't just bare bones, you know, [00:50:38] we tried to articulate a little bit, [00:50:40] mainly to break the scale up. [00:50:43] We're adding the railings down below [00:50:45] so no one can get into it. [00:50:48] But you would see cars through it, [00:50:50] but, you know, as a parking garage. [00:50:53] A problem, an opportunity that, [00:50:56] with what you had suggested is, [00:51:01] this is a ramp and it's 12 feet height, [00:51:05] you know, floor to floor, [00:51:06] so I probably wouldn't shield that whole thing. [00:51:10] I might be able to screen it to some degree, [00:51:13] but it will still be there, [00:51:16] but maybe not to that extent. [00:51:18] Even a five or six foot something [00:51:21] would break it up a little bit [00:51:23] and make it a little less obnoxious. [00:51:25] It's still a parking garage. [00:51:26] Yes, sir. [00:51:27] Well, yes, don't demean what I do. [00:51:31] Yeah, it's attractive. [00:51:32] But it is what it is, basically. [00:51:37] How many EV charging stations are projected? [00:51:41] I don't know that we've done that. [00:51:42] It's just- [00:51:42] Specify? [00:51:43] Not yet? [00:51:44] Yeah, we can certainly put those in. [00:51:46] It's not, I won't say it's not a design issue, [00:51:49] it's not an aesthetic issue at this point, [00:51:50] but we would be able to accommodate [00:51:52] what you would want or expect or what we're told to. [00:51:57] One other comment, if I could. [00:51:59] You mentioned where the hotel would go, [00:52:03] and I'm sure you're not at liberty [00:52:04] to disclose anything that the owner has in mind, [00:52:07] but I'm anxious to see that it's at least [00:52:12] been partially penciled in there, [00:52:15] because that was one of the things [00:52:17] that the Kaiser University folks [00:52:20] said they wanted the right to do. [00:52:22] And as we look at developing that whole area [00:52:26] to take advantage of those extra parking spaces, [00:52:30] I think we're engaged in a planning exercise as well. [00:52:34] I imagine you're aware of that. [00:52:36] When I told Councilman Starkey [00:52:39] that he knew more than I did, it was true. [00:52:41] This is what we were given in the civil, [00:52:43] this is the location of, I have no idea [00:52:47] what brand, what size, or anything like that. [00:52:50] That's on the civil plan that we're working with. [00:52:52] So I would, that's why we, it's kind of dangerous [00:52:56] to show surrounds, but it's important for orientation, [00:52:59] so we've shown it. [00:53:01] I got very excited at first, that's why. [00:53:03] Well, yeah, but I can't, don't call me [00:53:05] when it doesn't happen. [00:53:06] He was getting very excited about the fact [00:53:08] that it looked like you had bulldozed [00:53:09] all those buildings immediately north of it. [00:53:13] Very nice, thank you. [00:53:14] It is. [00:53:15] Can I change the subject or add to this a little bit? [00:53:19] Sure. [00:53:20] Thank you. [00:53:25] Nothing to do with you guys, by the way. [00:53:27] Okay. [00:53:28] Okay, we know this is Paul Cox's office, [00:53:31] and the rest of it, half of it's been empty [00:53:34] for who knows how many years. [00:53:36] Then we got Larry Shallis's office, [00:53:38] and then we got Walter Waller, [00:53:40] and then we've got two other pieces of property here [00:53:42] that have been sitting in limbo for a while, all right? [00:53:48] So one of the proposals that we mentioned [00:53:52] in the beginning was to possibly put some retail in here, [00:53:55] and we talked about retail here, [00:53:56] and then when we got the proposal, [00:53:58] we put retail here. [00:54:00] But anyway, anywhere we're discussing this retail, [00:54:05] anywhere we're discussing this retail, [00:54:07] I think we're starting to develop this side of town [00:54:10] and this corner, and we're developing it with the school, [00:54:14] we're developing it with this. [00:54:15] We've got this parcel over here, [00:54:18] with SunTrust, with a hotel here, [00:54:20] and SunTrust is gonna do something. [00:54:22] They're not gonna stay in that situation they're in. [00:54:25] So there's that property, [00:54:26] and then we have the church back here. [00:54:27] So we're developing a whole new array, [00:54:30] a whole new corner, new corner, a new thing. [00:54:35] So I think initially that I still would like [00:54:39] to try to do some retail on this end of it, [00:54:41] to draw this, to keep people into this area, [00:54:44] to make this a place to go, kind of a destination area. [00:54:47] So I talked with Debbie on that, [00:54:49] and that was great, 6.5 million. [00:54:51] She says, well, you got another 900,000 in your pocket, [00:54:55] to put some retail out here. [00:54:56] No, I don't have 900,000 in my pocket, [00:54:58] but we're also bonding this out over 30 years, [00:55:01] so that would really be about 30,000 a year, [00:55:05] if my math is right, on the bond, [00:55:08] to be able to put some retail here, [00:55:10] which will draw people here, [00:55:11] might change this whole look right here, [00:55:14] because it's definitely gonna happen here, [00:55:17] before it happens on this side of Main Street, [00:55:20] over there where the new smoothie place is, [00:55:25] and the camera shop, [00:55:26] and that's not gonna change for a while. [00:55:29] So we've gotta be leaders in it, and moving here. [00:55:32] So I just want you to entertain the idea [00:55:34] of possibly raising this from 6.5 million, [00:55:38] is that the right? [00:55:39] 6.5 million, another 900,000, [00:55:41] which is only 30,000 a year, [00:55:43] to put some retail on the end of this. [00:55:45] My thought would be to spend the extra [00:55:49] almost a million dollars, [00:55:51] working on redeveloping that greens block [00:55:54] immediately north of Acorn Street. [00:55:56] My thought's exactly, Mr. Mayor, [00:55:58] I'm gonna give you my two cents while I still can, [00:56:00] because I don't have a lot of time left. [00:56:02] This area here. [00:56:02] Yeah, I mean, on this one, I have to disagree with you. [00:56:04] Build the structure as is, [00:56:05] if you got 900 grand you wanna bond out, [00:56:08] and use that to work with, [00:56:09] look at site acquisition and redeveloping those buildings [00:56:12] like the mayor said. [00:56:12] I'll go along with that, [00:56:13] because that puts the retail in the Senate [00:56:15] and straightens us out. [00:56:16] Yeah, absolutely. [00:56:17] You know, but we gotta get talking to these people [00:56:19] before somebody else decides to raise the price on it [00:56:22] before, you know. [00:56:22] Yeah, Chopper, my thought is that because of, [00:56:27] Main Street's gonna be a big project to redevelop, [00:56:31] and to re-engineer, [00:56:32] but Acorn Street could very easily be converted [00:56:36] into primarily a pedestrian-friendly area [00:56:42] with retail starting right down at the- [00:56:46] Well, we want the retail here to be accessible [00:56:48] on both sides. [00:56:49] On both sides. [00:56:50] But off of Acorn Street, as a pedestrian, [00:56:52] you could basically then walk all the way down [00:56:54] to Main Street Landing, [00:56:55] where you've got all of that retail [00:56:57] that you can walk around, [00:56:59] and from there it's literally a jump over the bridge. [00:57:01] I think if Jim at Hacienda works with his employees right, [00:57:06] this is where they'll park. [00:57:08] You know, because he's got a limited amount [00:57:09] that we're gonna offer him, [00:57:11] and we're gonna say, [00:57:11] hey, you can't just park your employees there all the time. [00:57:13] But definitely, I think we ought to be looking at- [00:57:16] I'll do that, I'll do that, [00:57:18] because that does the same thing. [00:57:19] That does the same thing. [00:57:20] Yeah. [00:57:21] I'm happy. [00:57:22] Okay. [00:57:23] If you were to plan that and work something out, [00:57:27] the visual connectivity of that's important, [00:57:29] because people fundamentally want to know where to go [00:57:33] to get out to get someplace. [00:57:35] Once you've been here, you get it, [00:57:36] but that connectivity would be important. [00:57:39] We had a close encounter of the worst kind [00:57:42] with a backhoe in some of the Frontier's fiber optic cables [00:57:47] a few weeks ago. [00:57:49] And I drove back in there on Acorn Street [00:57:53] to look at where they were trying to repair [00:57:55] these fiber cables that had been ripped out by the roots. [00:58:00] Thank you. [00:58:01] Those buildings on the Acorn Street side are just nasty. [00:58:07] I mean, they really are. [00:58:09] And they're ripe for being fixed up [00:58:14] and reoriented to do something nice on Acorn Street. [00:58:17] I think that could be a beautiful thoroughfare [00:58:20] for people to walk. [00:58:20] I said the same thing about St. Petersburg [00:58:23] probably eight to 12 years ago. [00:58:25] In some of the streets, you just wouldn't go down. [00:58:28] And now, it's just, you know, they're painted, [00:58:31] there's murals, there's little boutique restaurants. [00:58:33] I mean, where I would have sworn it would have died, [00:58:36] you know, but now that you get that, you get that traffic. [00:58:38] But so, I wouldn't discount anything. [00:58:42] Yes, now, no later. [00:58:44] This could be the equivalent of railroad square west. [00:58:48] Yeah, that's exactly what we, you know, [00:58:51] there's a term that Debbie's used forever [00:58:53] that is, you know, public money will, you know, [00:58:55] private money will follow public money. [00:58:57] So if we're putting it in down there, you know. [00:59:01] I think it's an opportunity to try to get some [00:59:03] of the property owners down there to step up. [00:59:07] Thank you very much. [00:59:08] Thank you. [00:59:12] Do we have anything else on this? [00:59:14] No, we don't, Mr. Mayor. [00:59:15] We just need your support of the project [00:59:19] so that we can authorize Coca-Locas to go further [00:59:25] into the preparation of construction documents. [00:59:28] I think we ought to move forward. [00:59:30] This isn't something where we can vote, [00:59:33] but you guys, on that, okay.

   This text was generated automatically from the meeting video. It is not a verbatim or official record. For exact wording, consult the video or the city clerk.

4. 5Adjournment▶ 59:37
5. 4Communications