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   Presentation of Final Draft US Hwy 19 and Downtown Master Plans

   discussed

   Tom presented the final draft of the US Highway 19 and Downtown Master Plans, the culmination of nearly a year of work. The presentation covered short-, mid-, and long-term implementation recommendations including streetscape improvements, branding, housing, parking, public art, facade improvements, and redevelopment opportunities across multiple districts. Council provided feedback and discussion; no formal vote was taken as this was a work session.

   📍5401 Main📍Adams to Madison (Main Street)📍Bank to Adams (Main Street)📍Between Lincoln and Bank Street📍Block between Grand and Adams Street📍Grand Boulevard and Circle Boulevard📍Marine Parkway and Highway 19🏢Bourbon on Main🏢Davis Plaza🏢Kaiser University🏢Magnuson Hotel🏢Main Street Food Mark🏢River Road Plaza🏢Sims Building🏢Tampa Bay Regional Council👤Charles👤Frank Starkey👤Randy Wilson👤Tom#Bicycle Master Plan#Cavalier Square#Downtown Master Plan#East Main District#Housing Market Analysis#Implementation Matrix#Main Street Landing#Mural Program#North Gateway#Oak Park#Palm District#Public Arts Master Plan#Railroad Square#Rivergate District#Sims Park#Sims boat launch#South Gateway#South Grand District#US Highway 19 Master Plan

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   [00:00:15] We have just a couple items on the agenda. [00:00:17] The first and most exciting, the presentation of the final draft of the [00:00:21] US-19 and Downtown Master Plans. [00:00:25] I'll allow Charles to kick off the presentation this evening. [00:00:31] So it's been a long process. [00:00:33] We're here at the end of really almost a year of working on this with the kind [00:00:38] of stretching it out through the COVID pandemic. [00:00:40] And tonight, what you're going to see is the culmination of all those months [00:00:43] of work and the drafts and the reviews and the comments. [00:00:47] And Tom is here to present that to you. [00:00:49] And I think the emphasis in this is more of the implementation strategy, rather [00:00:54] than, we're not just going to go through the plan, but we're going to talk to [00:00:58] you about how we can begin the implementation strategy. [00:01:00] Tom. [00:01:01] All right. [00:01:01] Thank you, Charles. [00:01:02] Thank you, Mayor and Council. [00:01:04] It's a pleasure to be here. [00:01:05] It's really been a great experience for us over the past year working with you all. [00:01:10] And it's exciting every time I come down here, Charles rattles off a list of other [00:01:15] things that are happening and being built and implemented. [00:01:18] So this is truly a community that gets, gets things done. [00:01:23] I'm going to just go through this pretty quickly. [00:01:27] This is highly visual. [00:01:29] And then I have everything set in the order of implementation timeframe. [00:01:35] So the study area, again, the core and Highway 19, and then with the core, we [00:01:40] organized everything in the report according to the different districts, the [00:01:45] historic downtown, Palm and Rivergate, East Main, South Grand, and so forth. [00:01:51] So this is the culmination of a series of meetings that we've had, several public [00:01:56] input meetings, and our last, February 23rd was our draft presentation. [00:02:01] And then the final plan that we have here tonight reflects [00:02:05] the input from those meetings. [00:02:07] So our purpose is really to hit on those final recommendations. [00:02:12] They're organized by time for implementation timeframes, and then [00:02:15] we'll have some time for questions. [00:02:17] So in the master plan, recommendations are organized by functional frameworks. [00:02:24] These are recommendations that apply throughout, whether it's the [00:02:27] downtown or Highway 19, and then there's geographic frameworks, and [00:02:32] those apply to specific areas. [00:02:35] And our implementation frameworks are set over short, mid, and long-term with [00:02:39] the time periods that you see listed above. [00:02:43] So in the short term, we organized, there's several recommendations that [00:02:47] deal with active and micro-mobility, bikes, carts, making the downtown [00:02:53] in the area more friendly to bikes. [00:02:55] So there's some recommendations there, particularly in the short time, [00:02:59] increasing awareness to those facilities. [00:03:03] And then ongoing over the short, mid, and long-term is, you know, [00:03:07] continuing to build on the network that you have in your bicycle [00:03:10] master plan. [00:03:11] Parking wayfinding is an early priority, the parking structure construction, [00:03:17] which I was amazed to see that up already, and the parking awareness [00:03:22] campaign, just to increase knowledge of the plentiful resources you have. [00:03:27] Other early recommendations are, relate to public art, a public arts master [00:03:32] plan, and then in that deal, and you'll see in the master plan, [00:03:36] relate to public art, a public arts master plan. [00:03:39] And then in that, dealing with some, you know, the, putting more detail [00:03:43] on the mural program, and identifying some parameters for new murals, [00:03:49] and as well as the length that they're in place. [00:03:53] Housing, I know we had a lot of input. [00:03:57] The priority here is related to the housing market analysis. [00:04:01] And then another focus that starts in the short-term but is really ongoing [00:04:06] is improving the existing housing stock adjacent to downtown. [00:04:10] We can't focus on a strong downtown without also giving attention to the [00:04:15] neighborhoods surrounding the downtown and their interface. [00:04:19] And in their, you know, recommendations for different areas of not only [00:04:23] looking for opportunities for infill housing that might be multi-floor [00:04:28] and some higher density closer to the downtown core, [00:04:31] but also reinforcing the single-family neighborhoods [00:04:35] and improving the housing stock in some of the areas. [00:04:40] Design guidelines is another early priority to expand the scope of the [00:04:45] guidelines that really emphasize protecting the community character [00:04:49] and including new construction and site design, not just architectural design. [00:04:56] Railroad Square, we know you're in the planning process for there. [00:04:59] That's a short-term project, the block between Grand and Adams Street [00:05:04] as the first phase of the east phase, the branding, taking your branding, [00:05:08] extending that identity to Railroad Square, and then implementing the improvements [00:05:13] and especially getting shade structures. [00:05:16] We know this is not the design, but we know you're working on that design now. [00:05:20] We also had some options for Cavalier Square, [00:05:23] and the recommendation in this plan is to move Cavalier Square up adjacent to [00:05:29] Railroad Square so that it has a little more visibility and prominence [00:05:33] and can be a more usable space on a regular basis, [00:05:36] and then just flip-flop the parking where Railroad Square currently is. [00:05:41] South Grand, a focus there is some streetscape, [00:05:45] particularly related to the bicycle cycle track through there. [00:05:50] We know one option is looking at it running down the median. [00:05:54] That hasn't been established, but we have included some illustrations [00:05:57] for how that might appear on South Grand, [00:06:02] if the route does circulate through downtown, [00:06:06] which we think would be pretty important to do that on up to Sims Park. [00:06:12] The other thing with the ownership of the health building that the city will own, [00:06:16] looking at partnership of private development and reuse, [00:06:20] but in the short term that maybe the city invests in some facade improvements, [00:06:26] some fairly easy things, just animating the blank walls with some banners, [00:06:31] also activating that empty plaza space with some outdoor tables and chairs, [00:06:36] maybe some shade seals to make that more usable, [00:06:39] but ultimately in partnership with redevelopment, [00:06:42] opening up windows and getting that to be a more usable building [00:06:45] with activating the streetscape and then also active uses [00:06:50] or residential uses above on the upper floors. [00:06:53] Similarly, looking at the whole building, both the front side and the rear side, [00:06:58] especially the rear side that faces a future phase of Railroad Square [00:07:03] or the west side of Nebraska Avenue. [00:07:10] Branding also early on, extending the branding to the Palm District, [00:07:14] looking at the Main Street Gateway area and the concept here, [00:07:19] extending the Washingtonian Palms out to all four corners [00:07:22] so that that intersection becomes very visible as you're going along Highway 19 [00:07:28] and distinguishing the downtown entry from other intersections along the route [00:07:33] and then a perspective that this was in the Tampa Bay Regional Council planning work [00:07:38] that they incorporated the ideas here. [00:07:42] Midterm projects, three- to five-year period, the Main Street streetscape, [00:07:48] looking at from the river to Madison Street, but in the midterm, [00:07:52] focusing on Bank to, is that Adams? [00:07:59] Yeah, Adams. [00:08:00] So Madison would be the far east boundary. [00:08:05] And looking at intersection treatments at each of the intersections with paving [00:08:11] to distinguish those, help with pedestrian safety and traffic calming, [00:08:16] but then also introducing shade trees. [00:08:18] And what we're showing are maybe every third palm tree is replaced with a shade tree [00:08:23] to get some shade that's very important for Main Street. [00:08:27] Also looking at sidewalk paving, [00:08:30] maybe a lighter color that's going to be friendlier with solar heat, [00:08:35] but then introducing shade trees where possible. [00:08:39] And then just some examples from Winter Park. [00:08:42] And then a sketch showing how some of the bump-out islands can include more landscape [00:08:47] and some broader shade trees. [00:08:49] And then also midterm, building on the successive railroad square, Phase 1, [00:08:56] extending it across Grand over to the parking lot at Bank Street [00:09:02] and behind the buildings on this block of Main Street. [00:09:05] And that could extend a complementary character or it could be slightly different. [00:09:10] The Sims boat launch and chamber site, looking at that, [00:09:15] looking at a new location for the chamber, [00:09:18] doing a parking feasibility study that takes a broader look at parking for the boat ramp [00:09:25] in the larger area and then creating an opportunity to redevelop that street corner [00:09:30] and help link downtown with the Palm District, [00:09:33] getting some building out onto the street edge. [00:09:36] We think it's really important to kind of work around these existing live oaks [00:09:41] and that slope, so that might be some elevated decking. [00:09:44] It could be a two-story building with, you know, [00:09:47] storage or boat storage or something underneath, [00:09:50] but then there's an elevated deck on that slope that allows the preservation of those trees [00:09:54] and the important shade that they offer. [00:09:57] And then long-term is the six to ten years and beyond projects. [00:10:02] This would include extending the Main Street streetscape [00:10:06] on the East Main District from Adams to Madison, [00:10:09] and then also from the river to Highway 19 through the Rivergate and Palm Districts. [00:10:18] Looking at the South Gateway investments, the pedestrian bridge and overpass at Marine Parkway [00:10:24] and Highway 19, some examples from Lake Mary. [00:10:34] And then the other recommendations. [00:10:36] These could occur in short, medium, or long-term. [00:10:39] These are all private. [00:10:40] So what we went through were primarily the public sector-driven projects [00:10:44] that the city would be the lead partner on. [00:10:47] This next phase is really the private sector-driven projects [00:10:51] that occur in the master plan throughout the downtown and along Highway 19, [00:10:57] including what we're calling Bank at Main Street, [00:11:03] exploring mixed-use opportunities set back from Main Street to preserve the large live oaks [00:11:09] between Lincoln and Bank Street, getting some terminus to Nebraska Avenue [00:11:14] and some lower-level retail and upper-floor residential for that building. [00:11:20] We showed earlier concepts that in the interim that this could be a potential pop-up container park [00:11:26] to activate this and take advantage of the shade of the trees [00:11:30] to really create an exciting outdoor gathering space until that site is developed. [00:11:37] Also looking at what we're calling the Main and Grand opportunity, [00:11:41] an important intersection of the downtown. [00:11:43] We have two concepts here, looking at improvements to the existing building, [00:11:48] facade and site improvements, [00:11:50] and then also if that property owner wants to redevelop and do a new infill building. [00:11:57] So the first opportunity is looking at site improvements, [00:12:02] ideally if that parking could be converted to outdoor dining and gathering areas [00:12:06] with shade trees and shade structures added in, [00:12:10] an example of how that could appear with some new trees, maybe a low knee wall, [00:12:16] if that remains parking, or it might remain parking most of the time, [00:12:20] but some of the time it could be outdoor dining areas. [00:12:24] And then looking at the option if, in the long term, [00:12:28] there's a desire to redevelop that corner with a new building, [00:12:31] recommend a multi-story building set back, and again, [00:12:34] incorporation of some shade trees and streetscape along that edge. [00:12:40] The other significant corners at Grand Boulevard and Circle Boulevard, [00:12:46] at kind of the gateway to Orange Lake, showing an infill opportunity there [00:12:56] with parking behind the building oriented to the street. [00:13:03] And then in addition to infill development, looking at facade improvements, [00:13:09] the first two looking at Bourbon on Main, and that should be BOM, not BOB, [00:13:16] and then the Sims Building facade. [00:13:19] Charles shared this historic photograph of the Bourbon on Main building. [00:13:23] This is as it exists today. [00:13:25] And what our team member Randy Wilson showed is a hierarchy in these renovations, [00:13:31] depending on the resources available to the property owner in any facade grants. [00:13:36] You know, the first would be just really a paint and awning scheme, [00:13:40] a fairly economical scheme, but just to break up the facade. [00:13:47] And then obviously, you know, a full restoration, [00:13:50] peeling away the stucco and revealing the original windows, [00:13:54] could make a real impact to the downtown core. [00:13:59] Again, that historic view. [00:14:02] The Sims Building is another great opportunity. [00:14:05] It already looks very good right now with some of the improvements made, [00:14:09] but you could see three original storefront openings. [00:14:12] So this first lower, more economical scheme is to use an awning [00:14:17] and then treat the sign bands to just unify those three bays together. [00:14:22] And then the more aggressive and more desirable scheme would be [00:14:26] to actually restore those ground floor storefronts to the full window storefronts. [00:14:32] So, again, showing options for them. [00:14:34] East Main continuing to promote that as, you know, [00:14:37] take advantage of the unique character that it's very different from the historic core of Main Street, [00:14:44] the scale, the shade of the trees, and possibly promote this as an arts district [00:14:49] and, you know, utilize the existing residential scale buildings. [00:14:53] But as they continue to convert to commercial uses, [00:14:56] trying to encourage art galleries and restaurants. [00:15:00] and so forth. Already some improvements have been made with facades, and then [00:15:06] since this is one where parking is directly off the street, maybe that [00:15:09] parking lot could become, you know, paved differently so it appears more as a [00:15:13] plaza space rather than a parking lot and a little more pedestrian friendly, [00:15:17] showing some potential improvements for the Main Street food mark with paint [00:15:21] color, potential outdoor dining, and some landscape along the roadway. South Grand [00:15:29] similar to East Main, but, you know, maybe this becomes more of a services [00:15:33] district and a business support district that also accommodates restaurants as [00:15:39] well as the automotive uses and law offices that are in there. This is an [00:15:44] example, you know, sometimes hard to deal with a gas station, but in this case, you [00:15:49] know, looking at some landscape, introducing some more shade trees to [00:15:52] continue that character down Grand. There might be some, you know, paint treatment [00:15:58] of the canopy or reduced canopy. As we move to the Palm District and Rivergate, [00:16:04] some private investment we're showing, you know, the planning, the master plan [00:16:08] shows long-term redevelopment here, but that's going to occur over, you know, [00:16:13] probably a good 10-15 years, and so in the interim, how can we enhance some of [00:16:20] the existing properties there? So this is the River Road Plaza, you know, showing [00:16:26] some architectural improvements, enhancing and unifying that sign band [00:16:31] atop the top, and then maybe even some of the parking spaces are converted to some [00:16:35] outdoor dining. Similarly, with the plaza across the street, some simple [00:16:42] improvements, landscape edges, outdoor dining, some simple facade treatment [00:16:46] along the top to provide some more interest until such time that these [00:16:50] properties are redeveloped. The chiropractor office at the further...next [00:16:56] to the Kaiser University, taking advantage of, you know, it's a very [00:17:01] contemporary facade, playing that up and maybe just playing with some [00:17:06] color, introducing some color there, not trying to pretend that some other facade, [00:17:11] but just playing up those different bays with a variety of color, and then also [00:17:16] again some streetscape, some trees in the parking lot, and landscape along the [00:17:21] parking edge. And then the plan shows really a long-term coordinated [00:17:28] redevelopment, so as development interest comes to the Rivergate District, [00:17:33] this plan guides the location of buildings, a new internal street [00:17:38] system, and then a focal point of this could be what we're calling Oak Park, the [00:17:43] church property that the city owns now with the large magnificent oaks, that [00:17:48] could be a center point, leverage some investment around that, the investment [00:17:53] can in turn activate that park space. And then this infill development could be [00:17:58] scaled down, transitioned down in scale as it meets River Road and be an [00:18:02] appropriate transition to the single-family development along there, [00:18:06] fronting onto River Road, and then also the park. And then to the north, Davis [00:18:12] Plaza, showing some potential for just some minimal improvements to the existing [00:18:17] center that exists with the landscape, and clarifying the circulation in the [00:18:22] parking system, but then showing how incremental development and [00:18:26] redevelopment could occur with buildings that start to organize around open [00:18:31] spaces, and then possibly introducing some residential that transitions this [00:18:35] center to the residential neighborhood along River Road, and then this could [00:18:39] become a retail center that serves, a walkable retail center that serves that [00:18:44] residential neighborhood. And this would be a concept that would be applied at [00:18:48] various parcels along 19, trying to focus on some key nodes, and rather than [00:18:54] creating a barrier to the neighborhoods behind, creating neighborhood centers and [00:18:58] an existing view on Green County Road, and then showing the potential for that, [00:19:03] how that could link back to the new residential. Similarly in South Gateway, [00:19:07] continuing, there's been some great investment here at the South Gateway, [00:19:11] continuing to work with property owners, maybe enhance some of the shopping [00:19:15] centers, creating amenity space such as these centers here in Miami, and then [00:19:22] looking at how can the shopping center, you know, some initial improvements with [00:19:27] additional out parcels, an additional landscape in the parking lot, but then [00:19:31] long-term that maybe the shopping centers broken with some road [00:19:35] connections that connect back to the neighborhoods, infill development that [00:19:40] creates some walkable street networks and outdoor open spaces on these views, [00:19:46] showing what that district could look like with the redevelopment of the [00:19:51] Magnuson Hotel site, and the lower left the new pedestrian bridge, and then as [00:19:56] these parcels redevelop, showing how that could occur, and then connect [00:20:01] back to the adjacent neighborhoods and help spur investment in those. And [00:20:08] similarly with the North Gateway, starting off with the southern [00:20:12] parcel that's vacant right now, some gateway treatments and infill, but then [00:20:18] showing long-term how that site could redevelop, and then possibly another boat [00:20:23] boat ramp that allows some easier access to the Gulf on the west side of Highway [00:20:30] 19, the south end of the North Gateway, and the north end of the Gateway. So that [00:20:41] was a lot of information. At the end of the report, we have this an [00:20:44] implementation matrix that's intended to be a workable document for you all as [00:20:50] priorities change, as partners become available in some of these projects that [00:20:55] use this as a guide and a template. You know, we did a very high-level cost [00:21:00] estimate, you know, in the public investment we're probably looking at a [00:21:04] total of, you know, 33 to 40 million dollars, and then, you know, a quick study [00:21:10] using 200-250 dollars a square foot looked at, you know, potential private [00:21:16] investment of 125 to 235 million. So, you know, a lot of times you see a 20-80 [00:21:23] split, a 20% public investment and 80% private investment, and I think this is a [00:21:29] little less than 20% public. So thank you very much. So if there's any [00:21:36] questions or comments, based on your track record here from what we've seen, [00:21:44] you'll have this all implemented in five years. [00:21:48] Maybe not that quick. I had just a couple of notes I took and forgot to [00:21:54] bring an ink pen with me, so I had to do it the old high-tech way. Cavalier Square, [00:21:59] we looked, I've looked at that. That's concrete block. The odds of physically [00:22:06] moving that are probably somewhere between slim and none, unless you've got [00:22:10] somebody that knows how to pick up solid brick walls and move them. Yeah, and I don't know [00:22:17] whether that's something that could even be high disassembled and rebuilt. [00:22:22] We have looked at it, but that's a decision that the council will make. It just looks, it looks really dodgy from my non-professional. [00:22:30] It's possible, but it's expensive. Okay. Yeah, I had had an opportunity to talk with one of our local [00:22:40] urbanist geeks last week, Frank Starkey, who happens to be in the audience, and he [00:22:50] had suggested, rather than putting the bike lane down the middle right at Grant [00:22:55] where it comes up to Main Street, widen the sidewalks and reroute the through [00:23:03] bicycle traffic, if you will, so that it goes over a little bit to the west and [00:23:09] then pops out where the existing flashing crossing is at Lincoln and [00:23:15] Main, so people could get from there over into Main Street or over into Sims Park [00:23:20] without getting killed. First blush, I don't like the idea of a building where [00:23:28] the boat ramp is. I think that area is cluttered up enough if you want to do [00:23:33] something to fix it up a little, but one of the original plans that came out of [00:23:40] Main Street Landing back in the day was to put a big multi-story building on [00:23:44] that lot, which would have had you driving through a tunnel coming up to [00:23:49] the bridge. 5401 Main, that's where Pascoe, Cameron, some other folks are in. [00:23:59] That building was marginal when they built it back, I presume, in the 50s. I [00:24:06] think it's got 50 or 60 amp electrical service. It's got no central air [00:24:12] conditioning. If I owned it, I think the first thing I'd do is bulldoze it and [00:24:17] start over. And then the new boat ramp on the west side of 19, I think, just from my [00:24:24] perspective, is one of the things we ought to see if we can make happen. [00:24:29] We'd have to coordinate that with New Port Richey because they own some of the [00:24:34] property that would be involved. But that would take a lot of the pressure off the [00:24:38] Main Street boat ramp because right now a lot of the folks that are coming in to [00:24:43] use that ramp are then having to idle all the way out to the Gulf. And if they [00:24:48] could do it right there at 19 and the bridge, it would take pressure off our [00:24:55] boat ramp and probably take some pressure off of the Nicks Park boat ramp [00:24:58] as well. And there's plenty of room over there. I've actually gone over and walked [00:25:03] it. Matt, any thoughts? [00:25:05] Yeah, I was going to say, piggyback on the boat ramp on 19 there. So what parts does the city own, New Port Richey and... [00:25:13] The city doesn't own any of the property, but the county and New Port Richey are both looking at it and contemplating the [00:25:24] establishment of a boat ramp on property. [00:25:27] Okay, so it would be through us then. [00:25:29] We don't own it, but part of it is inside the city limits of New Port Richey. [00:25:35] Yeah. [00:25:37] All right. [00:25:38] And we had identified in the plan that that would really be a coordinated effort with the [00:25:42] city of New Port Richey, New Port Richey, and the county to pull that off. [00:25:48] Okay. Pete, any... [00:25:50] Let's just play off of the conversation as it's going. The trailers, boat trailers, that have been historically possessing the downtown [00:26:05] parking in many cases. One got towed, I think, from the campus where I'm living [00:26:11] last week that was just parking in the dog area. And it just can't sustain that. [00:26:20] But I think there's an importance in pursuing that boat ramp out there at the highway. [00:26:25] And I think there's an interest on the folks that live between the boat ramp and the mouth of the river [00:26:32] in not having speeders come through or bad weather flying back through the river. [00:26:39] Mike, you live there, so you can follow up on that. But I'm all in for encouraging whatever participation we can get [00:26:47] that we would have to do. And I really like that North Gateway concept that you're bringing up [00:26:53] because so much is talked about the other side of the bridge. And there are a lot of New Port Richey there. [00:27:02] But moving back to the ecotourism and to the visitors and us being an attraction to create a better retail market, [00:27:14] I think that the circulation of a trail that goes from the mall and ultimately out of county, [00:27:23] a coastal trail, which has been envisioned and talked about for a long time, moving to the north, [00:27:30] as well as connecting to the Pinellas Trail, which we've talked about on the other end, [00:27:35] that there's a lot to be said about the ultimate enhancement of the west side of the highway wherever the crossing is. [00:27:45] I don't know the outcome of the underbridge golf cart and bicycle thing, which is kind of outside of our city limits. [00:27:54] But I think the first step for us in our downtown is to make sure that we have that economic formula that you have. [00:28:05] So I'm just going to segue to the overall concepts that you've brought up. [00:28:12] And I'm very much in favor of a capital improvement plan that allows us to have a formula to see where the private interest is, [00:28:21] because we might want to do one thing first, but somebody might have an interest somewhere else. [00:28:25] So you've done a good job envisioning all of these different areas within the downtown. [00:28:31] We've also got the hospital, the opportunity zones in town, and all of the other parts of town that were branded with signage. [00:28:43] I think some of your shade concepts and some of those things could expand to businesses that would qualify wherever they were in the city. [00:28:52] And if we could tag some branding along with that to make sure everybody knows they're in New Port Richey when they're in New Port Richey, [00:28:58] I think that would go a long way for the folks who live outside of the downtown to feel like they're part of it. [00:29:04] So that's kind of your short-term thing. [00:29:07] And I want to come back to that in a second. [00:29:10] But with your downtown map and talk of Cavalier Square, Missouri, this beautiful new building that's been stripped down to the bare bones now, [00:29:22] which everyone can't wait to see what it's going to look like, with the Cavalier Square and that brick mangrove statue behind it. [00:29:36] We've talked about it here, but I think we really need to add to our potential projects the West Pasco Press Building. [00:29:44] That is now the American Red Cross, who does not occupy it, and has a huge parking lot behind it all the way to Montana, a good-sized part. [00:29:55] It's a good-sized lot. [00:30:00] Trying to get that circulation in that part of town behind Lisa's Pieces. [00:30:05] I think that there's another opportunity, whether it's private or whether there's something that we can do that, as a city, [00:30:12] we would invest in to generate folks to come downtown and be part of it. [00:30:19] So the bicycles and the sidewalks and that whole downtown, let's say, traffic jam of sorts, [00:30:30] between trying to get all of that stuff going, would make me wonder whether we work so hard on this idea of walkability and microtransit, [00:30:44] which is such a big issue. [00:30:47] I joined LinkedIn like a month ago, and it's just overwhelming with all of the plans and ideas that everybody posts from around the country. [00:30:55] And it seems to me that this microtransit and walkability is becoming even stronger than what has been talked about for a long time. [00:31:08] So potentially, when I first got on Council over three years ago and went to the People, Places discussion about not only the missing middle, [00:31:24] but also the concept of parking, to which we've had our own parking studies. [00:31:32] They did a parking study, and Gibbs talked about parking, and they've all advised us that our parking requirements are more than the new thinking is [00:31:45] when you're trying to get that walkability going. [00:31:47] So I think on the short term, I would love to see us try to attack some of those regulation issues. [00:31:57] And in thinking, I think it might be one of your partners in this hometown, but if I'm not mistaken, [00:32:05] Greenville or somewhere else has actually taken parking off of some of those really internal congested streets [00:32:11] and left them for Uber drop-offs, for drive-in transit, or for dropping off, whatever. [00:32:21] So I really think that the parking is important and that we ought to take an approach. [00:32:29] You had that 20-80 approach there. [00:32:32] And I would love to see us sort of formalize this, because right now we're talking that total amount of debt, how much we have. [00:32:42] And really, what we really need is to push the city forward as fast as we can without getting too far into that. [00:32:51] If it was a house, you'd say you would want a quarter of your money spent on a mortgage or no more. [00:32:57] But if it's a city, if it's 20 percent or 25 percent of what we have projected, we still get to use the results of these initial. [00:33:10] I mean, when you showed how many million would be spent versus how much money it would take the city to accomplish the projects you had, [00:33:18] you're not even halfway or barely halfway to the $200 million that would be projected to come into the CRA [00:33:27] without those kind of high kickers every time some big project comes in. [00:33:35] So I think we need to have the comfort to know we have a working plan and we have a strategy. [00:33:42] And to me, I'm going to say it again, I think that the downtown should have no individual property owner have any responsibility for parking. [00:33:52] I think that already we have a lot of properties that have no parking requirements. [00:33:56] We have some that do. [00:33:57] And the advice you've given us is to take some of those spaces like Bourbon on Main and have them not be empty parking spaces. [00:34:04] And secondly, I think that we should go to a stormwater collection system, [00:34:12] such as the Regional Planning Council had suggested where you take that beautiful old park [00:34:19] and you make that the recipient of all the stormwater. [00:34:23] Robert Rivera gave a map six months or a year ago to show where the outfall from all of the rainwater collected from the river to Highway 19 ends up. [00:34:40] And about halfway to 19, the stuff on the south goes under Main Street and joins the rainwater collected from the north side [00:34:53] and into the river where our boat ramp is. [00:34:57] So for the first time in my whole history of being on council, [00:35:02] and you look at what's coming down from the American Rescue Plan, for example, [00:35:07] the state has released an additional $500 million for utilities and stormwater and enhancement. [00:35:14] And with our river, the tide rising, and the demonstration we already have had done of what the city is going to look like [00:35:21] if we don't do something about the threat of rising sea level or these horrible rainfall events, [00:35:32] you combine that with the environmental part of cleaning up the river as the manatees are swimming there every day now. [00:35:38] I mean, you see them, I'm sure. [00:35:42] So I think that an environmental and a strategic plan for us to handle those costs together with this master planning that we've been doing, [00:35:53] I mean, we're going to have to debate, obviously, what happens with that boat ramp. [00:35:57] But I think, you know, I like the picture you had with the walk [00:36:02] because getting somebody to walk across the bridge and keep going needs some kind of the size of it and what it does [00:36:11] and the way that it introduces us to the river is all worth talking about. [00:36:18] But as it is now, the trees are getting big, [00:36:21] and I think the economic plan that you've laid out is great, and there are other parts that we can add to. [00:36:31] So I think it's a great start. [00:36:33] And, Charles, when we have our CRA meeting and Debbie, we identify those and we list them [00:36:40] and we show what they might produce in terms of our expectations on the private side [00:36:46] and come up with some kind of strategic plan. [00:36:49] It is going to take 10, 15, 20 years, and who knows which one comes first. [00:36:53] Grady Pridgen has been talking about doing something since, you know, like 15 years now. [00:37:01] But I think, you know, the plan we have is one that's worth holding on to. [00:37:06] So I really want the city to take, for my part, I'm going to suggest that the city takes the lead and says, [00:37:13] we're not going to give incentives just for something that adds value. [00:37:22] We're going to incentivize whatever, and it's not going to be perfectly attuned to it, [00:37:29] but whatever brings us forward with our strategy and our plan. [00:37:35] And to me, that's my report. [00:37:39] Before I lose my thought on pulling some of the parking for the shuttles, [00:37:47] that's exactly what St. Augustine does now. [00:37:50] They've got the real long multi-car trains, [00:37:54] but they've actually got designated areas that are not parking, [00:37:58] and they're specific so that the shuttles can pop in. [00:38:03] Mike, do you have any thoughts on this? [00:38:05] Yeah, Mayor, thank you. [00:38:07] You know, a couple things is that to kind of follow through, [00:38:13] and, Peter, I appreciate the stormwater discussion, too. [00:38:16] I think that is certainly another whole subject on itself. [00:38:20] I'd love to see a stormwater diversion a little bit more away from the river [00:38:24] to keep the river as clean as possible and perhaps even improve it. [00:38:29] But, you know, we're talking about kind of a master plan to redevelop, [00:38:35] and as we look at the numbers, we saw estimators, you threw out some numbers, [00:38:40] what would be public investment and what would be private, [00:38:44] and obviously the private investment would really overshadow what we might spend. [00:38:50] So I think we need to be careful on how we spend that [00:38:53] so we can help encourage that public investment. [00:38:57] And we talk about some of these things. [00:38:59] How do we get the private investment? [00:39:02] How do we get those people to come in and spend money and develop it? [00:39:09] So part of that is, you know, twofold. [00:39:12] I see it commercial, and we see it residential. [00:39:15] And I think, you know, they have to go together. [00:39:18] We have to get the people here to support. [00:39:22] We have to support the businesses that are here. [00:39:25] So obviously some of the increase in density needs to happen. [00:39:33] And one of the areas, I know, Mary, you said you didn't want a tunnel coming up to the bridge, [00:39:39] but I think, you know, for example, that where we have the existing boat ramp, [00:39:45] you know, that area with some additional property I think would serve well [00:39:49] for maybe another multifamily residential building of some sort, [00:39:54] whether that might be apartments or condos and so forth. [00:39:58] Every day, of course, you know, you guys know where I live. [00:40:00] I drive by that every day one way or the other, [00:40:02] and I cringe all the time to see all this asphalt right up against the river where it's a parking lot. [00:40:10] And, you know, I'm thinking that, you know, how do we – the boat ramp can't go away. [00:40:18] We're going to always have a boat ramp, and I think that's probably the right space to have it. [00:40:22] There's no place else we can really put it, right, along any of the city-owned property. [00:40:26] But I'd love to see us to move that boat ramp parking somewhere away from that area [00:40:32] so that it's easily available for redevelopment. [00:40:38] You know, there's – so I'd like to see us to look at it, [00:40:42] and I'd like to see that property redeveloped. [00:40:44] I think that is – and it doesn't have to be four stories high, but it might be two, [00:40:49] and I'm considering creating a tunnel, and we'll have the landscape. [00:40:52] And, Tom, I appreciate all your work on there. [00:40:55] You can tell your landscape background, and I really think – [00:40:59] it's funny what a little bit of green space will do to concrete and asphalt, right, to dress it up. [00:41:06] And I think that can be a relatively inexpensive way to really change the whole atmosphere of various areas. [00:41:14] And so I really – you know, I don't know. [00:41:20] We had shade trees, took them out, put palm trees, [00:41:22] and now we're going to take the palm trees out, put some more shade trees back in. [00:41:25] I don't – I wasn't involved in all that discussion, [00:41:28] but I can appreciate having some additional shade trees throughout the city. [00:41:36] We are a tree city, after all. [00:41:40] Grand and the bike path. [00:41:43] And I love your concept or the picture of how neat it looked about the bike path coming up through the center of Grand. [00:41:49] I just don't think that's a practical – I like the – [00:41:54] I think you've pulled off Frank's idea to put it on the side. [00:41:58] And, you know, we don't have that bike path really planned on Grand. [00:42:02] They've spent that money for a little while yet. [00:42:05] But to get people used to it and get it tested, [00:42:08] I was thinking that, you know, we could actually go ahead and pretty inexpensively kind of test [00:42:13] and get people used to that idea. [00:42:15] We could go and re-stripe Grand and narrow it and create a multi-use by using paint [00:42:21] without using a whole lot of money and kind of get that idea planned [00:42:25] and see how many people use it and see how that flow is going to come with bikes. [00:42:30] And I think the bicycle traffic will increase in years coming, [00:42:35] particularly the advent of electric bikes being more and more popular. [00:42:40] You go to a lot of the downtowns, whether it's in Europe or other cities, bikes are a big thing. [00:42:46] And so I think we need to get an idea of that and be wise about our pathways through the city. [00:42:55] And we might start in an inexpensive test way to see how people might utilize that as we make decisions going forward. [00:43:03] You know, one thing that, you know, I've learned in looking at these things and stuff, it's like, hey, we want to go here. [00:43:10] And it's not always a big jump. [00:43:12] It's steps. [00:43:13] And sometimes, you know, you step and you learn something and you re-evaluate and you move a little bit differently. [00:43:18] So those interim steps I think will be important for us to ultimately get where we want to go. [00:43:27] So a couple of short-term things, the public art, the functional art, I think that's all. [00:43:37] I think we're already starting to look and work towards those things, whether it be the mural program. [00:43:46] And that can make an impact, I think, and all cities need to have a good art program. [00:43:54] One thing no one else talked about that I'm interested in seeing is how we go about improving our housing stock, [00:44:00] whether it be the density or the single family. [00:44:03] And I think this is critical that we continue to, you know, move out into our neighborhoods and improve those neighborhoods [00:44:11] because people already are wanting to get into downtown New Port Richey. [00:44:18] We all see how quickly houses turn around, right? [00:44:22] And if we can offer some of those improvements, it'll keep rising, it'll raise the property values, [00:44:31] it'll attract more people, and those more people will want to be spending more money in the downtown area [00:44:37] that will in turn work that economic engine to bring more private money in. [00:44:43] So I'm really interested in seeing what we can do as a city to help do that. [00:44:50] And the railroad square, you know, I love that brick art piece, and it just hasn't... [00:45:00] worked out the way I think we would like to it. I love the idea of where you relocated that [00:45:05] because, you know, the times that I've spent in Railroad Square and the times I envisioned that [00:45:11] would be times where usually you had a little band going on there and some tables and sometimes [00:45:15] a food truck and sit there and just enjoy it. I love the idea of relocating that or a similar type [00:45:22] stage area that would front Railroad Square that could be used as a concert, whether it's acoustics [00:45:28] or whatever. I can see, you know, lights over in an area of City Naval that opens, you know, [00:45:33] that opens up to the Railroad Square. I think that would be a, you know, a great idea, but [00:45:40] I love the artwork. I don't know what, you know, we just have to see what that would work about [00:45:43] relocating it. Gateways, I think, are important. We've already talked about Main Street and U.S. [00:45:54] 19 and with some of the redevelopment that's occurring right now, how that's changing already, [00:46:00] and we looked once about the gateway and so forth, and I think that's something that we [00:46:04] can look at at a much later time, but I think something that we can still establish ourselves [00:46:09] as a gateway there and market for our travelers that go up east, you know, north and south on [00:46:17] 19 there is to really try to work those four corners with landscape, the palms and so forth, [00:46:23] that it kind of, you know, just has a different feel when you drive by and people know, hey, [00:46:28] that's, there's something different about this intersection, and so I'd like to, I really like [00:46:34] that idea, but I think it's just how we, Charles, how do we bring, how we bring this private [00:46:43] investment in? What is really going to attract them? I know you've already talked to a lot of [00:46:49] people, but it'd be interesting to hear, you know, what you've learned talking to people, [00:46:57] what they're looking for in the city and what would encourage them and incentivize them or [00:47:03] what's it going to take to get those folks to move in and tear down a building or completely [00:47:08] redevelop it like, you know, like we've seen happen a little bit in the downtown core, but [00:47:14] going out west of, you know, west main and that kind of thing, what's it really going to take to [00:47:21] get them to do that? So that's a question or a comment if you want to follow along on that, [00:47:28] it's up to you, but. Well, I'll just reiterate what Ms. Manza said repeatedly, private investment [00:47:34] follows public investment, and I think the private investment community sees that we are willing to [00:47:40] invest in ourselves and we're spending money doing projects that attracts them and they have [00:47:46] more sense of security that this is going to be a long term, that it's going to continue the [00:47:53] revival. So I think there is a tremendous amount of interest right now out there, both in new [00:47:59] investment and folks willing to kind of throw their hat in the ring and put their property in play. [00:48:06] So I think what they look for is success and a busy, we have a busy downtown, we have a [00:48:12] successful downtown, and that draws, I think that's why we grew throughout through the pandemic, we [00:48:18] continue to attract new businesses, setting up, everybody wants to be on a winning team. And so [00:48:23] I think we continue our public investment and keep moving forward with this plan and we show [00:48:29] now we've got a plan. People can say, what's the future? Is this going to keep going? We can [00:48:33] show them the plan, show them our spending plan, that will be attractive to them, that they [00:48:40] have more of a sense of assurity that it's a good investment in the long term and that this [00:48:45] revival is going to continue. I think some of what this could be [00:48:55] is almost depressing. The picture showing the appearance of Green Key Road [00:49:06] and then what it ought to look like. It's like, oh man, what's it going to take to switch it? [00:49:12] Because it is so sad looking today and with relatively minimal fix-up could be really, [00:49:19] really nice. And that's, to me, that sort of thing is low-hanging fruit. [00:49:26] And we've got some opportunities, I think, south of Kaiser University that will be [00:49:33] presenting themselves as that area starts to take off. And that whole wet Palm District, [00:49:43] that area is ripe for redevelopment. If we can share with the property owners or people who [00:49:51] would like to be property owners in that area, what that area could look like in 10 years, [00:50:01] I think people would jump all over it. [00:50:04] I was just going to say, to kind of follow up on the getting people interested in the area to invest, [00:50:11] is getting here and letting them know that we are actually here. [00:50:16] I know we talked about our marketing plan. I think that has something to do with it, too. [00:50:22] Once we get some of these bigger projects done, historical projects, Hacienda, that's a huge draw, [00:50:29] a huge draw for our area. We've got things that no one else has. And getting that out there to [00:50:34] the public, getting it out to other people, and drawing them in to actually see what we have to [00:50:38] offer, that's going to be a huge part of it, too. And they're going to come and look and be like, [00:50:42] wow, we need to come down here and spend some money. [00:50:46] And although I think Charles did a fine job responding to the question, I think the city's [00:50:52] real advantage is that we demonstrate ourselves to be a project partner. And if you ask any of [00:51:02] the developers that have recently implemented projects in the city, it's because we put the [00:51:11] pieces together for them. We put our hands on our shoulder. We champion them through processes. [00:51:18] And that's the kind of development assistance that you just don't get in every community. [00:51:24] And we believe in hands-on assistance and providing that level of support and ensuring [00:51:33] that developments go through without flaw. And I think that's an important part of the story for us. [00:51:41] We're definitely at the point where we need to expand our focus. I had any number of comments [00:51:49] over the last few weeks about the historic downtown and how great it is. And most recently, [00:51:56] somebody drove through on Sunday and they were amazed at how full the sidewalks were and how [00:52:03] busy the downtown was. I mean, it used to be Sunday in New Port Richey, you might as well [00:52:11] have had the sidewalks rolled up, but that's not the case anymore. So if we can get that [00:52:19] sort of excitement and get it to spread into the rest of the city, and I agree, we also need to [00:52:25] look at the residential areas. And I'm glad to see they're in the plan to let's start giving some [00:52:31] love to some of the residential areas and fixing them up so the people that are building new [00:52:38] businesses and exciting things in our commercial areas will have a place to live here as well. [00:52:47] That's nice. Mr. Mayor, just as we go on our second round, I just want to say how gratified [00:52:58] I am to hear from all of my colleagues that we're all of the same mind, that we're excited, [00:53:02] we get out there, we see what's happening. And, you know, the comment that was made about [00:53:08] how we've, you know, persevered through the pandemic. I'm going to bring it back around to [00:53:18] the fact that, you know, what people are seeing happen is what's generating the excitement. [00:53:23] And I think it's, you know, when we talk about our limited resources, how much money the CRA has, [00:53:31] there's just so much money that is being spread around through every level of government right [00:53:36] now. I mean, the DOT has a MOD loan fund that they've put in now for development that is [00:53:46] keyed to walkability. So they're actually loaning money to help to redesign urban [00:53:56] dense places, generally at low interest rates. And the state has a revolving loan fund that's [00:54:03] 0% for some of the residential stuff and some of the housing. But our city is exactly what [00:54:11] the American Rescue Act targets, which is the most affected industries, which by luck, [00:54:17] we've avoided some of those problems with our hospitality, but it directly keys on the [00:54:22] hospitality industry, the tourism industry. And when Gibbs was here a couple years ago, [00:54:28] and I don't know, Mike, if you were there when he gave that presentation, but it was really [00:54:33] the first time we had this encouragement from an outsider who said, and Matt, I know you guys [00:54:39] will remember when he said, you know, give us two or three years if you implement these [00:54:45] lipstick approach, which is your short-term goals, that you'll attract tourists. [00:54:52] And what I had never heard, which was shopping is the number one tourist [00:55:01] attraction, for lack of a better word to say attraction, it's the number one thing that [00:55:06] tourists do. They'll go to a ballgame or they'll go to a museum, but they're all going to go [00:55:10] shopping. And they all look for these little quaint authentic places, like we search it out, [00:55:16] if you go to a little city or whatever, to try to find that little small town restaurant. So [00:55:22] I think that we have resources pouring in for the purpose of us helping to stimulate the economy [00:55:30] right now. So whatever shade that Frank is planning for his building, or whatever plan [00:55:37] was for Bourbon-on-Maine for shade or lighting, or for the Rescue Act, the broadband, which can be [00:55:46] put on poles that can hold the light. So I would love to see, we have all of our city department [00:55:53] heads, I'd love to see Debbie and Charles, because this is a city work session, it's not the CRA work [00:55:59] session. And in deference to a comment you made about what leads what, you know, we need the whole [00:56:05] city to get behind the redevelopment effort, because the success of that is what's going to [00:56:10] increase our ability to finish our redevelopment without dragging it out for 30 years. And the [00:56:17] sooner we attract that investment in, the quicker we can pay off the improvements that we envision [00:56:22] we want to have. And the more people that live here and the more taxes we collect. So I think [00:56:28] if we, if Debbie, you play both roles as city manager and director of the CRA, and if you can [00:56:35] somehow get this team all in, whether it's utilities or traffic or whatever, that everyone has a role [00:56:44] to play to make this happen. It's not just the CRA has the CRA money and the general fund has [00:56:50] the general fund. The CRA has trust money that can only be used, but if we can use our resources to [00:56:57] go out and get that utility money, that sewer, that transportation. And my last thing goes to [00:57:06] you, Matt, which is, I know you've been working on that microtransit, and I'm like, I'm ready to buy [00:57:12] a trolley. We can go get the money for the second one and the third one. [00:57:18] But, you know, we need that trolley when that parking garage opens up and we need to start [00:57:25] training. And Mike, your advice was given to us 20 years ago by Fred Kent with Project [00:57:31] for Public Spaces. He said, take a big rock and stick it in the road. That'll stop them from going [00:57:37] in that lane, you know. So painting, you know, painting or getting that, just the habit formed [00:57:46] is a great way to train and to get people. I mean, we've heard a lot of complaints about those [00:57:52] parking spaces on Main coming in off of 19. But you know what? They've worked. They've proven that [00:57:57] you don't need four-lane highway from the bridge to 19. So again, our bike paths are, hopefully, [00:58:05] you know, we had a presentation a year ago just about on the bike paths, I think. The City's [00:58:11] Public Works Department got involved and engaged in this sort of redevelopment thought process. So [00:58:17] I think we've got all the right things happening right now and I'm excited for this year coming [00:58:23] up. You don't need any rocks to throw in the road. I think Barrett's got a bunch of those [00:58:27] anti-terrorist barricades over at Public Works. They'd love to move out. There's a lot of rocks [00:58:33] over in that old parking lot on Missouri. I've seen them. But, you know, and we're laughing [00:58:39] about it, but it makes a lot of sense. We probably ought to be thinking in the relative [00:58:46] short term about reconfiguring the lanes on Grand Boulevard immediately south of Main Street. There [00:58:57] is no reason on God's green earth that that needs to have a continuous two-block long turn lane. [00:59:03] And that's what we've got at the moment. It doesn't make sense. I'm not sure that we need [00:59:08] any turn lane in there. And if Mr. Starkey comes up in front of the group, he's going to tell you [00:59:21] that we need to lose those lights and go to four-ways at Main and Grand and at Bank, [00:59:29] because right now, and you can see it. I've seen it. Once he said it, it was like, [00:59:35] yeah, that's exactly what's happening. The traffic gets blocked up into this [00:59:43] big long block of stalled traffic at a stoplight. And then it moves forward and hits the next [00:59:49] stoplight. And it's not until you get up to Adams Street that the stuff starts flowing right, [00:59:55] because each car goes up, they stop for a second, and they're on their way. You don't have this [01:00:00] big mass of cars sitting there and we can't do the four ways if we've got turn lights. [01:00:07] I don't believe that works, but I'm not convinced we need turn lights. [01:00:14] And if we gave some serious consideration to that, I think you'd speed up the traffic. [01:00:21] It would still be slow enough so they could see the businesses they're going by, [01:00:25] but it would actually improve the traffic flow in the downtown. [01:00:28] Because right now, if those red lights hit just right, [01:00:33] going eastbound you will be stuck at Main and River. [01:00:39] And it doesn't clear up until you're almost to Adams Street, [01:00:45] and that's the point where it starts working again. [01:00:48] But it's specifically those two traffic lights, the one at Bank and the one at Grand, [01:00:52] that are just making a mess of the entire downtown. [01:00:57] And that's something we see in cities all over the place, [01:01:00] using just simple traffic markings, changing the lane markings. [01:01:05] It's relatively inexpensive before making a huge investment to just test ideas. [01:01:10] We could re-stripe the stuff. [01:01:13] I don't know what the striping material cost there could probably tell us, [01:01:17] but I don't think it's all that much in the grand scheme of things. [01:01:22] And just reconfigure things and bring it in. [01:01:26] Then you'd at least also have a feel for where could we expand the sidewalks out [01:01:31] so you could have sidewalk dining and the other stuff there. [01:01:35] It also argues for starting to use Montana and Missouri and the side streets for movement. [01:01:45] But I will admit, I was not happy when the Adams Street four-way stop went in. [01:01:51] I thought it was going to be a big mess. [01:01:53] But the reality is I'm even less happy when I stop at Bank Street [01:01:57] and I know the whole light is going to turn and not a single car is going to come out. [01:02:03] So I guess I've been proven wrong. [01:02:06] That's the second time I think that's happened. [01:02:12] So you look at, again, moving down Grand, [01:02:17] we think back just what we had a couple weeks ago, the car show, [01:02:22] and how far we went south on Grand utilizing that space. [01:02:26] And you can see that's just a natural movement going down that way. [01:02:30] And I ride a bike around the city quite a bit, not as much as I'd like to, [01:02:36] but it's pretty comfortable most of the places, right? [01:02:43] I try to stay off the sidewalks because sidewalks are for pedestrians, right? [01:02:49] And cars and roads are for bicyclists, [01:02:52] and we might want to encourage our bicyclists to stay off sidewalks. [01:02:56] But we've got to present them a safe pathway on the roadways as well. [01:03:01] And we've already engineered or we've already allocated monies [01:03:06] for the study and construction of the bike path south of Grand. [01:03:10] We're going to be getting plans to work that Grand Bridge, [01:03:15] and it just makes sense that we can maybe work on that [01:03:19] between Main and Grand Bridge to get that configured [01:03:23] so we can do that all right in concert, right? [01:03:29] But some great ideas and visions. [01:03:33] I wish that it could get here overnight. [01:03:35] We know it's not going to happen, but we've got to take steps to get moving, right? [01:03:40] Well, as an outsider, the exciting part is that you're kind of building on success, [01:03:46] that you have demonstrated success, [01:03:48] and so that's going to make this next phase more exciting and more doable. [01:03:53] We've proven it can be done. [01:03:55] Yeah, exactly. [01:03:56] I mean, I'm very pleased with where we've been over the last six or seven years [01:04:01] with the improvements. [01:04:03] The point, I think, at this point is we can do even better. [01:04:10] And we've, with your help, gotten some ideas to start kicking around, [01:04:17] okay, what would it take to make this be what it really should be? [01:04:23] It's just amazing the branding and the signage, which, you know, [01:04:26] I'm sure when that decision was made long before I was on the council [01:04:31] to spend that money on these little banner signs and the colors and all that, [01:04:35] people were going, oh, my God, what are they spending money on for this, right? [01:04:39] But what an amazing difference it has made, [01:04:42] and just the feel when you're in the city. [01:04:46] And you now recognize it. [01:04:48] Maybe it's the point I'm looking at it, but I see it now. [01:04:50] And I'm coming into the city and I'm out of the city, [01:04:52] which who knows who drew the boundaries, right? [01:04:55] But at least now we've got markers on the road. [01:04:57] And the little simple things that you showed for the facades on some of the buildings [01:05:02] and things we could do for, like, the medical building there is relatively inexpensive [01:05:10] and could make an amazing difference. [01:05:13] So I like some of those short-term things you have lined up, [01:05:15] and that would just build upon what great work you guys have already done. [01:05:23] The last word for me is alleys, because that's another item that we've all agreed [01:05:29] is a public space that we have in the city, [01:05:32] and that's going to be another part of our solution. [01:05:37] When we went to Hyde Park, if you remember, Mayor, [01:05:40] we were looking and they were naming the alleys after cats, like, I mean. [01:05:44] Alley cat is one. [01:05:46] I don't know what they did with the other 15, but, you know, Siamese Lane [01:05:50] or whatever it was, but they made it fun and they made little alleys [01:05:54] and they don't have to be all paved and curved [01:05:57] and get our environmental committee all up in arms, [01:06:00] but they should be, you know, functional and clean and usable. [01:06:06] That could be a public-private partnership. [01:06:09] That might also be something that we can do with some of the ARA funds [01:06:16] that are potentially available. [01:06:21] We could look at income levels and allow people to perhaps help us cover their costs [01:06:29] if they can't afford to do it, rather than having a fight between the neighbors. [01:06:33] Because when you go through some assessment hearings [01:06:38] and you'll thank me if we can avoid them. [01:06:44] We're looking for ribbon-cutting on the garage when? [01:06:47] End of June, Mr. Mayor. [01:06:50] And we're looking at getting our first shuttle. [01:06:56] We're hoping it's going to be really close to the beginning of July. [01:07:03] Works for you, works for me. [01:07:06] I think this is, again, one of those keys. [01:07:12] Walkability and getting people out of their car. [01:07:17] In the golf carts, right? [01:07:20] The ones who can't afford it, we can let them ride them [01:07:22] and enjoy that same feeling that we get that can't afford them. [01:07:30] Anything else? [01:07:33] You have the keys there. [01:07:36] Maybe we'll get some ideas thrown at us. [01:07:39] Well, thank you. [01:07:40] This has been an enjoyable exercise. [01:07:44] Any general communications from anybody this week? [01:07:49] I know we've got it coming up next. [01:07:52] Next week is the discussion of the golf carts and the traffic on Marine Parkway. [01:08:00] One of the notes that I saw from the chief was the high speed was 93 miles an hour. [01:08:07] If we could get either the police chief or maybe the fire chief [01:08:12] to arrange for rides at that speed on there, that may be an income opportunity. [01:08:17] That has got to be really exciting to go down that street at 90-plus miles an hour. [01:08:22] I can't imagine somebody being that stupid. [01:08:27] We'll take that up next week. [01:08:29] Mayor, while I did hear that there's an interest in having a 4th of July show, [01:08:35] if I could just say publicly that our friendly Kia man has suggested [01:08:43] that he would like to put fireworks on. [01:08:47] It causes me to say I would love to see fireworks. [01:08:53] I'd like us to start trying to direct our events more towards the downtown businesses again. [01:09:01] And so I really would like to look at our whole event strategy in the long run. [01:09:07] So in the short run, I think it's fine that we have fireworks. [01:09:11] I think the public would like it. [01:09:13] It's a good time. [01:09:14] We're kind of celebrating getting out of all of this. [01:09:18] But I'm not sure that we want to have a big full-blown event with public beer sales. [01:09:24] I'm all for people going into the restaurants and the bars and getting the business. [01:09:29] So if it causes us to put some of our recreation entertainment funds in [01:09:34] because somebody's relying on beer sales, [01:09:38] I'd rather do that than have us publicly be selling beer on such a short notice [01:09:42] that's not going to meet our time frame to have all of that analysis. [01:09:47] I'd be inclined to defer it this year to Labor Day and do that as a celebration. [01:09:54] I'm just not convinced everybody's going to have their vaccinations enough for it to be safe [01:10:01] for a super tight crowd on the 4th of July, as much as I'd love to see it as well. [01:10:07] But I appreciate John Gillis jumping out and saying, [01:10:11] hey, we'd like to help the city celebrate. [01:10:14] So it's a one-on-one now. [01:10:16] Well, I'll just say that it probably doesn't have to be a huge weekend full-blown event. [01:10:21] It could just be for that one night. [01:10:23] And I don't see why we'd have to have beer sales in the park anyways for one night. [01:10:27] Let's just make it a stand out in your yard or look out at the street or whatever. [01:10:33] Since we're talking about it, is there any specific information we can share, [01:10:38] plans we can put together that we can announce at this time? [01:10:42] No, I need to know affirmatively that there are three of you [01:10:48] that would be interested in having a 4th of July event. [01:10:53] And then I need to communicate with Mr. Gillis [01:10:57] and confirm that a fireworks shooter would be available the Saturday before the 4th of July [01:11:09] and that he could secure entertainment for that weekend as well. [01:11:16] That's awful tight. That's like three weeks from now. [01:11:21] Absent that, the city would go forward with our plan. [01:11:29] Either way, the city would go forward with our plan to have a Labor Day celebration. [01:11:36] Our plan, though, may or may not include fireworks, [01:11:40] depending on whether or not you want to have a 4th of July celebration [01:11:46] at Mr. Gillis's expense the week before the 4th of July. [01:11:53] It's a one and one over here, so I don't know. [01:11:56] I'd be interested in looking at it, yeah. [01:12:00] Yeah, what I understood was that he's done a Kia fest in the past, [01:12:07] and I don't know, I think it was like a one-day deal or something, [01:12:12] involved fireworks and maybe some entertainment. [01:12:15] And I don't know, again, you know, sometimes some of the best things are impromptu things, [01:12:24] but certainly it takes some planning. [01:12:26] And I think, you know, I think that if we knew now a few weeks ago [01:12:38] or a few months ago about our COVID situation would be, [01:12:43] and when we kind of pushed back any July 4th to Labor Day, [01:12:47] I think if we knew then what we know now, [01:12:50] we would have no problem in doing the 4th of July celebration. [01:12:55] And depending upon if it's a fireworks show [01:13:01] and maybe some outdoor entertainment, music is available for that evening, [01:13:08] you know, I'd be a go for it. [01:13:11] Okay. [01:13:13] And as I told you earlier, I'm putting it on you, so you decide. [01:13:18] Whichever way you decide, I'm good with, so I'm not going to be upset. [01:13:24] I don't think it's going to be possible. [01:13:26] But if he wants to sell beer and make it a big thing and all that stuff, [01:13:30] then I don't think that we should be pushing that with all our rules. [01:13:34] Fireworks show and move on. [01:13:36] But I would love for us to have a discussion sometime in the fall about our future with events [01:13:42] because we really need to have these events support our downtown businesses. [01:13:46] And, you know, I've got all the copies of all of the old resolutions going all the way back. [01:13:53] And I think there were some good ideas in the past that we could revisit, [01:13:57] and there were some good ideas in the future that we could apply. [01:14:00] But I think it's going to take us all to sit down and hammer out what really is going to work best for us [01:14:06] because events are one of the main pillars of the Main Street program. [01:14:09] They're one of the main things that help to bring new people into town. [01:14:14] But, you know, we've had some that have gone off the hooks a little bit. [01:14:18] Yeah, and I don't want to bash Main Street tonight,

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3. 3Communications▶ 1:14:19
4. 4Adjournment▶ 1:18:21