On the agenda

1. 1Call to Order – Roll Call▶ 0:00
2. 2

   Pledge of Allegiance

   The Pledge of Allegiance was recited followed by a moment of silence honoring servicemen and women.

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   [00:00:19] If you could all stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance and remain standing for [00:00:20] a moment of silence in honor of our servicemen and women at home and abroad. [00:00:23] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for [00:00:29] which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

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3. 3

   Moment of Silence

   Moment of silence held in honor of servicemen and women, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

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   [00:00:20] a moment of silence in honor of our servicemen and women at home and abroad. [00:00:23] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for [00:00:29] which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [00:00:42] Thank you. [00:00:43] You may be seated.

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4. 4.a

   ↳You arrived here from a search for “Local Option Gas Tax” — transcript expanded below

   Public Hearing - Paving Assessment

   approved

   Council held a public hearing on Resolution 2017-25 to impose non-ad valorem special assessments funding the City's Pavement Management Plan. Staff and consultant presented a methodology developed with a Citizens Advisory Committee establishing a $15/year arterial-collector assessment for all properties and a $70/year local road assessment for properties on city-maintained local roads, with credits for prior assessments. After public comment, Council adopted the resolution.

   • motion:Move Resolution 2017-25 imposing special assessments to fund the City's Pavement Management Plan, approving the assessment roll, and providing for collection under the Uniform Assessment Collection Act. (passed)

   📍Briarpatch / Chubba Creek at Thais📍Central Avenue📍Circle📍Congress📍Grand📍Gulf📍Madison📍Main Street📍Oyster Bayou📍U.S. Highway 19🏢Jennison Associates👤Anderson Hatcher👤David Fleeman👤Donald Boeing👤Heather Ferentino👤John Gallagher👤Linda Boeing👤Lois Robinson👤Michael Beam👤Mr. Driscoll👤Mr. Rivera👤Ms. Vance👤Peter Altman👤Ronald Copalanga👤Steve Halkus#Citizens Advisory Committee / Paving Assessment Committee#Local Option Gas Tax#Pavement Management Plan#Penny for Pasco 2#Resolution 2017-25#Roadway Needs Assessment Report (June 2015)#Solid Waste Franchise Fee#Uniform Assessment Collection Act

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   [00:00:51] First item on the agenda is a public hearing on the Paving Assessment Committee. [00:00:55] Mr. Driscoll. [00:00:56] I move resolution 2017-25, a resolution of the City Council of the City of New Port Richey, [00:01:02] Florida, relating to the imposition and collection of special assessments to fund a portion of [00:01:07] the annual costs associated with administration of the City's Pavement Management Plan, providing [00:01:12] authority and definitions, approving the assessment role, providing for collection of the assessments [00:01:16] pursuant to the Uniform Assessment Collection Act, ratifying and confirming the initial [00:01:21] assessment resolution, and providing an effective date. [00:01:24] Ms. Vance, do we have a presentation? [00:01:27] Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor. [00:01:29] In general, I think everyone will be in agreement with the fact that the City's roadway system [00:01:38] has experienced significant decline, and as such, an analysis was conducted to determine [00:01:45] the specifics in regard to an ongoing program of resurfacing and improvements appropriate [00:01:54] for sustainability of the system, first of all, and second of all, to determine a fair [00:01:59] and equitable method of sharing costs between the City and the benefited property owners. [00:02:06] In June of 2015, this item was originally introduced to you in the form of a roadway [00:02:12] needs assessment report, the results of which confirmed a declining condition of the City's [00:02:19] roadway system, and additionally, it outlined a program for maintenance of the system, expected [00:02:27] lifespan, and the elimination of premature roadway failures. [00:02:33] At the conclusion of the report, the projection would be that the City would need to invest [00:02:40] $1.7 million per year in the roadway system in order to both address the current deficiencies [00:02:51] and also to preserve the existing investment in paved streets. [00:02:58] The tradition of the City has been to finance road improvements through the establishment [00:03:04] of a special assessment district as a means to finance the necessary improvements. [00:03:11] What that means is that the City shared in the cost with residents who benefited from [00:03:19] road improvements. [00:03:21] On an average, under that system, the property owner was assessed a fee of $700. [00:03:30] For various reasons, that system proved to be ineffective, and as a result, there have [00:03:35] only been four road projects completed in the last 10 years through this system. [00:03:43] The purpose of the public hearing tonight is to introduce a non-ad valorem assessment [00:03:48] method of financing road improvements. [00:03:51] Mr. Rivera of the Department of Public Services, as well as Mr. David Fleeman of Jennison Associates, [00:04:04] will begin with a presentation which establishes the necessity of funding, reviews the contribution [00:04:11] of the Citizens Task Force that worked on this project along with the City staff, and [00:04:17] if you'll allow me, Mr. Mayor, I'd like to name the members of the group that worked [00:04:21] on that. [00:04:22] Please. [00:04:23] Peter Altman, former mayor of the City, Michael Beam, attorney and property owner, Ronald [00:04:29] Copalanga, who is a resident, Heather Ferentino, who is a former councilwoman and former Pasco [00:04:37] School superintendent, Mr. John Gallagher, who is the former New Port Richey City manager [00:04:43] and Pasco County administrator, and Steve Halkus, who's a resident, Anderson Hatcher, [00:04:51] who also is a resident, and Lois Robinson, who is also a resident. [00:04:56] They were very helpful to us in coming up with a system that truly reflects the values [00:05:05] of being fair and equitable. [00:05:07] At the conclusion of the public hearing, the staff is recommending that you approve this [00:05:12] assessment methodology and allow for certification of such to Pasco County. [00:05:19] With that, Mr. Fleeman, would you like to start off the presentation? [00:05:28] This evening, I would like to provide a brief overview of the street paving and assessment [00:05:33] methodology report. [00:05:34] In that report, the objectives were... [00:05:36] Mr. Fleeman, could you pull that mic a little closer to you? [00:05:39] We've got folks at home that probably aren't hearing you. [00:05:42] Go ahead, Mike. [00:05:50] Our objectives were to review previous street project methodology, collect input from the [00:05:56] Citizens Advisory Committee, and develop a sustainable program that would provide roadway [00:06:01] maintenance required to maintain a functioning roadway network. [00:06:07] To provide a little historical context, we looked back at the assessment projects that [00:06:21] have occurred in the last 30 years. [00:06:24] With help of city staff, we were able to identify 12 paving projects that have occurred in the [00:06:29] last 30 years. [00:06:32] With 70 miles of maintained roadways in the city and a design lifespan of 20 years, you [00:06:40] can see that we're a little bit behind the curve of keeping up with the deterioration [00:06:45] of the city's roadway network. [00:06:49] Funding allocation defined by the Board of Equalization has historically been done on [00:06:55] a project-by-project basis, and it usually included assessments of directly affected [00:06:59] property owners. [00:07:01] The percent of construction borne by the property owners' classes varied from project to project. [00:07:08] Arterial and collector roads have sometimes been paid for 100% without assessment by the [00:07:15] city. [00:07:16] Some examples of that are Main Street, Madison, Congress, Gulf, and most recently Circle. [00:07:25] We met with the Citizens Advisory Committee five times between January and April of this [00:07:31] year to discuss the previous methodology and how that could be improved. [00:07:38] And the directive that the committee provided to staff and myself were that they wanted [00:07:45] to simplify the methodology, they didn't want to overly burden neighborhood businesses, [00:07:57] and they wanted to consider the city as an interconnected network of streets, meaning [00:08:04] that historically it's been viewed as the street in front of somebody's house, but you [00:08:11] can't actually get anywhere, you can't get to any destination unless you're able to drive [00:08:16] past the street that's physically located in front of your house and get to another [00:08:21] destination. [00:08:22] So it was agreed that evaluating the city as a network of streets was critical to providing [00:08:31] access. [00:08:35] The Citizens Committee also wanted to include every residential dwelling unit and provide [00:08:41] some consideration for parcels that were not contiguous to city-maintained roadways. [00:08:49] Mr. Fleeman, if you'll allow me, the other thing that the Citizens Advisory Council requested [00:08:53] was that a credit be extended to property owners that were under former assessments [00:09:00] for recently implemented roads? [00:09:02] That's correct, and I have a slide that explains that a little further, but you are absolutely [00:09:07] correct. [00:09:08] Thank you. [00:09:09] So the proposed pavement methodology plan, instead of having an abundant list of land [00:09:18] use categories, has been simplified into two land use categories, residential and non-residential. [00:09:25] The non-residential has been further subdivided into four categories of size, so you have [00:09:32] small non-residential, less than 5,000 square feet, which could be a local mom-and-pop kind [00:09:40] of a business or professional offices. [00:09:44] Non-residential between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet, 10,000 and 25,000 square feet, and 25,000 [00:09:49] square feet and above, which would capture large shopping center type of projects to [00:09:55] provide a bit of a tiered threshold. [00:09:59] The non-residential uses include offices, retail, commercial, non-profit uses, including [00:10:06] churches, as well as mixed-use properties. [00:10:10] It's worth pausing here to talk about mixed-use properties. [00:10:14] They're proposed to be handled based on the component uses, and while the city doesn't [00:10:20] have any mixed-use properties on the tax rolls at this moment, there are a few projects that [00:10:26] are either under design or under construction that are coming, and those would be factored [00:10:32] at both the residential rate for the residential component of the mixed-use, and then the commercial [00:10:40] or retail uses in the mixed-use would be applied at the non-residential rate. [00:10:50] We evaluated the roadway classifications in this network, and as you can see from the [00:10:55] Federal Highway Administration graph on the bottom right, there's a continuum where you've [00:11:00] got freeways at one end of the continuum that has very limited access, very high speeds, [00:11:07] and the other end of the spectrum is cul-de-sacs that have very high, easy access to the road, [00:11:15] low speeds, and discourage through traffic. [00:11:22] We took this methodology and applied it to the city streets and developed an arterial [00:11:28] collector roadway network that is critical for public services like police, fire, public [00:11:34] works, and sanitation that will benefit all members of the community, and then the local [00:11:44] roads, they have a special benefit to the residents that are physically located immediately [00:11:49] adjacent to the local roads. [00:11:52] To put that into a graphic, you can see on this slide that the network of core roadways [00:12:00] essential for traversing the city is identified on the graphic, and it picks up roads like [00:12:06] Grand, Main, Madison, and the other primary roads that are necessary for traveling from [00:12:16] one side of the city to the other side of the city and for reaching prime destinations. [00:12:26] The computation of the arterial collector assessment was based, again, on the industry [00:12:33] standard 20-year design lifespan of the pavement, and the maintenance cost for the entire arterial [00:12:43] collector roadway network was divided by the 20-year lifespan to compute what the annual [00:12:50] cost of maintenance was so that we can break that roadway network down into components [00:12:57] that are done in a very routine manner. [00:13:01] From that number, we applied a $200,000 contribution from the city from the annual gas taxes, and [00:13:11] then the balance is raised by the property owners in the city. [00:13:16] So the residential dwelling units were established at $15 a year, and the non-residential components [00:13:21] make up the difference, and that ranges from $104 to $416. [00:13:29] Likewise, local roads start with this $1.7 million a year number that the city manager [00:13:39] referenced in her opening introduction and deducts off the cost for the arterial collector [00:13:46] maintenance. [00:13:47] In addition to that, the city's contribution is listed on the slide. [00:13:54] There's a local option gas tax contribution, solid waste franchise fee, penny for PASCO [00:13:59] 2, and the general fund transfer. [00:14:01] The remaining balance is then paid by the residents that have property that's contiguous [00:14:09] to a city-maintained local road. [00:14:14] The residential dwelling unit rate is $70 per year, and the non-residential rate ranges [00:14:21] from $115 to $461. [00:14:29] So taking the last two slides, and let's look at an example. [00:14:37] The example on the left is a single-family residence that is located on a county or arterial [00:14:43] collector or even a private homeowners association-maintained roadway. [00:14:48] They would be responsible for the $15 a year arterial collector component of the assessment. [00:15:00] The inter-dwelling unit on the right is located on a city-maintained public local street, [00:15:07] and they also pay the $15 a year arterial collector component as well as a $70 a year [00:15:13] local road assessment for a total of $85. [00:15:19] Similarly, the non-residential pavement management plan assessments are broken down by the city's [00:15:30] size categories we talked about earlier, the 5,000, 5-10, 10-25, and 25 and above. [00:15:38] If you are located on a county arterial collector or DOT roadway, the fee ranges from $104 to [00:15:50] $416, and likewise, if you are contiguous to a public local street, the fee ranges from [00:15:58] $219 to $878. [00:16:06] As the city manager referenced a few moments ago, the last element identified by the Citizens [00:16:12] Advisory Committee was providing a mechanism to give credit for participation in prior [00:16:20] pavement assessment programs. The proposed credit will be computed by taking the assessment [00:16:34] amount and dividing it by the 20-year design life to compute the annual value of the assessment [00:16:41] paid and then applying that to the number of years of remaining useful life in the roadway. [00:16:49] For example, if a resident was assessed a $2,000 assessment in a 2008 street project, [00:16:57] they're nine years into a 20-year life cycle. So the $2,000 divided by 20-year life cycle [00:17:06] means that each year is worth $100. So with 11 years left in the useful life of that pavement, [00:17:14] they would get a credit of $1,100. This $1,100 would be reflected on the actual bill, and [00:17:23] depending on the amount of the credit, some residents would have nothing to pay for two [00:17:27] to four years. It's also worth noting that the public notices include the maximum amount [00:17:33] that could be assessed, not necessarily what the actual amount is. [00:17:38] The last slide is a summary of the program funding sources. So as we mentioned earlier, [00:17:51] of the $1.7 million annual cost for roadway maintenance, the $900, I believe it is, $1,000 [00:17:58] is contributed by the city from the funds you see listed there, and approximately $800,000 [00:18:16] are raised by the assessments to the residents. Of the assessment to the residents, 100% of [00:18:22] that assessment has been committed to be directed to the physical construction of the roadway [00:18:27] cost. In conclusion, I would like to mention for the gallery's benefit that the county [00:18:38] has changed the funding formula for local option gas tax, and the current formula encourages [00:18:47] communities in order to get the maximum amount of gas tax allocation back from the county, [00:18:55] it encourages communities to have a regular, ongoing roadway maintenance improvement program. [00:19:03] That concludes my presentation. [00:19:08] Just while you're right there, just for the people in the audience, I think that 5% where [00:19:15] it says 95%, I think that 5% is a collection fee. Is that correct? [00:19:20] No, it's not. We're assuming that 5% will not be collectible. The administrative fee [00:19:25] that the county charges is 2%, so that would be about $15,000 a year. [00:19:32] And just to reiterate your very last point for the benefit of the folks that are in the [00:19:40] audience, if we do this, we get our share of the gas taxes. If we don't, the way the [00:19:48] county has manipulated the formula, we will wind up paying gas taxes that then get used [00:19:56] to build stuff in Wesley Chapel and in East Pasco, so to not put too fine a point on it. [00:20:03] Mr. Mayor, I'm sorry, I just wanted to let the records reflect that I did arrive late. [00:20:10] My apologies for running late. I was on time, except I was playing chicken with the duck [00:20:14] on Central Avenue about two minutes before. Apologies. [00:20:18] If I could, please. There's a couple other notes that I would like everyone to also be [00:20:25] aware of. City Council has directed staff to designate the funds, 100% of those funds [00:20:31] that are collected to go towards the construction phase, not the design, not administrative [00:20:38] costs, but asphalt. And staff cannot deviate from that. Now if we take the additional local [00:20:45] option gas taxes that we're expected to get if we were to pass a plan like this and any [00:20:51] other additional revenue funds, say an increase of solid waste franchise fees, then City Council [00:20:58] could direct staff to contribute those additional funds to this program. So the assessed rate [00:21:06] that the residents have received in those notices are the maximum that it would ever [00:21:10] be. We would expect that it would go down. If staff is able to complete the task sooner [00:21:17] than 20 years, then the assessment rate would end at that point in time and the city would [00:21:22] not continue to collect. The other thing that I would like to add as well is when City Council [00:21:28] directed staff to get with a citizen's advisory committee, we advertised in the city newsletter, [00:21:36] took applications and we reviewed those applications because what we wanted to make sure that we [00:21:41] had was a committee that reflected the city as a whole. And so therefore we had a few [00:21:50] residents that basically lived on the public roads that were retired and we could get their [00:21:57] input. We had other people that had small businesses, the mom and pops, maybe a legal [00:22:06] office to where we could get their input on how this affected them. We also took a look [00:22:12] and brought in some people that had either they still owned property on U.S. Highway [00:22:18] 19 or they formerly owned property on U.S. Highway 19. So what we were trying to do was [00:22:25] to try to diversify this committee so that we could take everybody's opinion and derive [00:22:31] a plan that we thought would be fair and equitable to everyone. [00:22:37] Thank you. Any other comments before I open it up to the public? [00:22:40] None of the money that we're raising is being used to correct issues on 19. Is it? I guess [00:22:49] is the question. No sir. [00:22:52] Because the way you positioned it with people that had businesses on 19 gave the impression [00:22:57] that there was some crossover, but FDOT has been responsible for the ongoing issues there. [00:23:06] The only thing that we've done is tried to improve the median. So all the dollars for [00:23:13] the streets that is being proposed, the dollars that are coming in, are all going to be used [00:23:20] on city streets and not on Highway 19. Correct. But as it stands now, the businesses [00:23:27] on Highway 19 don't contribute to the decline of the city's system right now. And so we [00:23:34] wanted to bring those people on board as well as people that live in private subdivisions [00:23:39] because they don't stay inside their private subdivision. They're using your roads just [00:23:46] like you do. So the thought of it was to get more people involved in the maintenance [00:23:53] of this roadway network because everyone does use it. [00:23:58] Thank you. At this point, I think it would be appropriate, it's a public hearing. Open [00:24:05] it up for public comment. If you're interested in commenting, I would ask you to come down [00:24:09] and print your name and address legibly for the record. Come on down, sir. [00:24:29] My name is Donald Boeing. My wife's Linda. We live in Briarpatch, Chubba Creek at Thais. [00:24:40] It may not pertain here, but on our deed it says 900. It's a villa, one story, 964 feet [00:24:49] square footage. And on the notice we received, it was 1,400. Now, I know there was categories [00:25:00] in commercial from square footage to square footage. On the residential portion of the [00:25:09] property, either I didn't see it or whatever. But is there breakdowns from certain, certain, [00:25:16] certain? No, it's a fixed amount. [00:25:19] It's a fixed amount. Yes, sir. [00:25:21] So that means that whoever printed this up and sent it to us looked at all three because [00:25:30] the other two, the villas on either side of us are two story. Ours is one story. So there [00:25:38] is approximately 500 square foot difference. So that would make a difference of our assessment [00:25:46] or not? No. [00:25:47] Okay. But we should go to the office and get that straightened out. [00:25:51] I would definitely get it corrected, sir. [00:25:53] Okay. So basically here there's no change on the $85 a year. [00:25:59] Correct. It's just we have to go upstairs so other [00:26:02] things are straightened out. [00:26:04] Can I ask a question? I was under the impression from his presentation, [00:26:10] isn't Briar Pratch a HOA concise community? I thought that had a $15. Maybe I didn't see [00:26:22] your slide correctly, but I thought that that had a $15 and not the 80. Maybe I didn't understand [00:26:29] your part of the presentation correctly. I'm just trying, because it did give me the impression [00:26:36] that there was a difference for the gated communities. I don't remember the exact words [00:26:43] you used, but you had it on the slide. It was $15 and then $85 and there was some reference [00:26:49] to that. Mr. Rivera? [00:26:51] Briar Pratch is not a gated community. The city maintains and owns the streets. A gated [00:26:59] community would be similar to Oyster Bayou, where the roads are all private and the HOA [00:27:05] takes care of that. You do have an HOA, by the way. [00:27:10] We're not a gated community, but we did have everything done about a year and a half ago. [00:27:15] Correct. So then you would be one of the ones that would be eligible for that credit so [00:27:22] that we could make you whole and you could come in and join the rest of us, but your [00:27:25] streets are public. It's a senior community, not a private community. Now, when you're [00:27:31] talking square feet, you might be getting confused. We have another public hearing this [00:27:36] coming Tuesday that has streetlights and stormwater, and I believe the streetlights are square [00:27:42] footage as well as the stormwater. So that might be what you're talking about. [00:27:49] This isn't, because if you're talking about where you live, you would fall under the residential [00:27:55] classification, and so that's not based on square footage. [00:28:01] So the difference between a 964 and a 1400 would make no difference in our situation [00:28:08] except that I should get it straightened out because of the deed and everything else. [00:28:12] Correct, but not with this program. It's the other one. [00:28:15] It will make a difference with the program next Tuesday night, so you do want to get [00:28:19] it fixed. [00:28:21] We can do that by visiting the finance department here, which is not upstairs, but just down [00:28:26] the hall this way, and we can get that straight so we can have a correct calculation for you. [00:28:30] All right, thank you. You've been very helpful. Just one other thing. We were here at the [00:28:35] meeting about the water runoff, and it was 2,800 square foot roof, and we're paying, [00:28:44] and ours is so small, but they say everybody had to pay that, and I don't think that was [00:28:50] correct. We paid the whole $700 on the history assessment, but on the water runoff, which [00:28:57] would be, we'll be here next Tuesday, that was 2,800 feet figured into, if I remember [00:29:07] from the meeting a year and a half, two years ago, but ours is so small, we're at one-third [00:29:13] of that. So I didn't want questions about that. I just wanted to bring it up, since [00:29:20] you brought it up, and I appreciate what your injection is. So I can bring this up next [00:29:27] Tuesday then, about the water runoff, that we're being charged so much for a small roof, [00:29:32] and I think it was 2,800 feet is what it was set at that time, a year and a half ago. [00:29:37] Correct. You can do that, but you can also, if you have time, you can come in before next [00:29:42] Tuesday and talk with Crystal's staff, and they can go ahead and give you the correct [00:29:46] numbers before Tuesday. [00:29:48] Finance. [00:29:49] Finance? Okay. That's all I have. [00:29:54] If you would, please. [00:29:57] And thank you, Robert, for clarifying. [00:30:00] about the Briar Patch because that was my question. I think it's the first time I was [00:30:03] on council that Briar Patch came in and asked us to do that paving. Is that a given? We [00:30:13] will know who it is, what projects have been done so that the residents don't necessarily [00:30:17] need to do anything. We will inform them that they are part of the credit account and not [00:30:22] ... [00:30:23] Correct. And if they have any questions, they can contact Crystal's department and they [00:30:27] will have all the detailed information and let them know what they were assessed and [00:30:32] what project it was. [00:30:33] Thank you. [00:30:34] The other thing that I'd like to let everybody know as well, one of the things that the citizen [00:30:39] advisory committee was concerned about was the cost of the assessment to the elderly [00:30:46] folks and the low income folks. And I know that council had had some letters that were [00:30:53] submitted that stated some of those concerns. The county through their CRA program does [00:31:02] have funds available and so if there are residents that fall under that category, they most certainly [00:31:10] can get in contact with us. We can give them the information who to contact with the county, [00:31:15] but they can fill out an application that would pay for the assessments and some of [00:31:21] the taxes that are on their properties if they can't afford to do it. [00:31:24] On the hardship... [00:31:25] To... [00:31:26] Yes, sir. [00:31:27] To further explain what Mr. Rivera is presenting, it is a program administered through the Community [00:31:34] Development Department of Pasco County and it is available to people that have a financial [00:31:43] hardship, those considered to be low income. In the case of a one-person family, that means [00:31:52] you earn less than $33,000 per year. And what the program does is that it pays your taxes, [00:32:01] it also can pay your assessment if you determine that that is your need, and it is repaid to [00:32:08] the county at the time of title transfer of your property at 0% interest. [00:32:14] Thank you. [00:32:16] With that, and that being there, could we either put it in the newsletter or make it [00:32:24] available on some website portal? And if you would designate a specific person within your [00:32:32] administration that would be the person that they would engage with? Because if they go [00:32:41] to see Chris, I'm just trying to make sure that there's like one stop. [00:32:45] We'll make it... [00:32:46] Because in most cases, it would probably be a hardship for them to get here. There may [00:32:50] be some transportation issues. So I just want them to get here just as accommodating as [00:32:57] we can be, because they're traumatic, because it hits their limited budget. Anything we [00:33:05] can do to help that, I would be helpful. [00:33:07] Excellent point. [00:33:08] And I'll make sure to communicate that to the three people that voiced objections. [00:33:13] Thank you. We do enjoy Briar Patch. I've been on the board, and we try and make the whole [00:33:19] 194 units very meticulous. [00:33:22] So you feel our pain. [00:33:23] We do enjoy it. [00:33:24] We enjoy the city. [00:33:25] Thank you. [00:33:26] Anyone else? [00:33:27] Yeah, I'll see you at Christmas. [00:33:28] For goodness sake, they call you, you don't have to have transportation problems. Can [00:33:29] we get somebody out there like code enforcement? [00:33:30] Some of them might not even have transportation. Go-go grandmas, you know? Grandparents. [00:33:31] No. [00:33:32] No. [00:33:33] No. [00:33:34] No. [00:33:35] No. [00:33:36] No. [00:33:37] No. [00:33:38] No. [00:33:39] No. [00:33:40] No. [00:33:41] No. [00:33:42] No. [00:33:43] No. [00:33:44] No. [00:33:45] No. [00:33:46] No. [00:33:47] No. [00:33:48] No. [00:33:49] No. [00:33:50] No. [00:33:51] No. [00:33:52] No. [00:33:53] No. [00:33:54] No. [00:33:55] No. [00:33:56] No. [00:33:57] No. [00:33:58] No. [00:33:59] No. [00:34:00] No. [00:34:01] No. [00:34:02] I have no idea what you're talking about. [00:34:03] Hi, everybody. [00:34:04] My name is Mark Allen-Sipes. [00:34:05] My husband and I have been living in our house for about 19 years now. [00:34:06] I don't understand the whole assessment now. [00:34:08] It makes sense now. [00:34:09] If we'd have had that information to begin with, instead of just a paper, and it made [00:34:14] it a lot so we weren't confused. [00:34:17] Where I am confused about it is with this whole situation is you do all this beautification [00:34:22] on, take, for instance, I live on Hemlock. [00:34:25] Right up near the Gulf High School. [00:34:30] And you did, raised up the road when you had the flooding and had all the issues with the [00:34:35] pipes being broken and did all that stuff and then you go in and do all this beautification [00:34:39] but you did nothing for the streets alongside of it. [00:34:43] We get flooded every time it rains and we cannot get in and out of our property. [00:34:47] We have to park in a church parking lot in order to be able to get in and out of our [00:34:51] house when it rains. [00:34:52] That's in the CIP. [00:34:54] I believe that's in, if you speak to it, Robert. [00:34:59] We had another meeting Tuesday night that deals with our capital improvement. [00:35:03] To me, they kind of go hand in hand with this. [00:35:07] They dovetail together. [00:35:08] But if you would speak to the capital improvement, because you specifically pointed out Hemlock [00:35:13] in the area by Gulf High School. [00:35:15] It feels like, how do I put this, with all the beautification and putting all these new [00:35:19] shrubberies and all this new landscape that you've done on Marine Parkway, it's almost [00:35:25] like you're putting the roof on before you build the foundation and the walls. [00:35:29] So you're not getting all the other stuff taken care of first before you do all this [00:35:32] beautification. [00:35:33] We appreciate the beautification, we really do, but it's like you're putting the cart [00:35:37] before the horse. [00:35:38] Mr. Rivera, could you refresh us on that? [00:35:41] To address both items that you've talked about, a lot of the beautification is done by state [00:35:48] grants, and so it's not the funds that are collected within the city. [00:35:53] And so those funds are available when they're available, and they're available for a certain [00:35:58] limited of time, so if you don't take advantage of them, you miss out on them. [00:36:02] So that's why sometimes it looks like we're doing a lot of landscape work or some other [00:36:07] type of project, but there are other needs. [00:36:10] Now when it comes to Hemlock Drive, we have that in our CIP program next year. [00:36:14] I don't know if you've noticed, but there is a lot that we knocked down two houses. [00:36:20] We purchased those two lots. [00:36:21] The reason why it's taken us a little bit of time is when we do a lot of the stormwater [00:36:27] projects, they are expensive, and so we try to take advantage of grant funding that's [00:36:32] out there so we can double our money. [00:36:35] So we've been approved for the grant to start work there, so we're hoping that in the end, [00:36:41] we will have a retention pond that's in that area that you're talking about that will have [00:36:46] an overflow structure that will tie in to the FDOT system and will help alleviate that [00:36:52] stormwater that collects right there at that 90 degree turn that historically floods. [00:36:58] So we're trying to get you relief, but that's why the funds look like, or the activities [00:37:05] look like some are backwards than others. [00:37:07] But it is in our CIP, and we were approved for grant funding, so we'll start the design [00:37:15] in October. [00:37:16] That right there at Hemlock and Alamanda, it's just so bad. [00:37:22] Correct. [00:37:23] And like I said, we have to constantly park whenever it rains in the church parking lot [00:37:28] right behind the house to be able to get in and out at all. [00:37:32] And if we were in an emergency situation, we're stuck if we're in our property. [00:37:37] Robert, time frame for when that would be under construction, approximately? [00:37:41] I would say any early spring, right after the new year. [00:37:45] So before we hit the rainy season next year? [00:37:47] Yes, sir. [00:37:48] Before the rainy season. [00:37:49] Great. [00:37:50] Thank you. [00:37:51] And you can call my office any time you want, and we'll gladly give you updates on it and [00:37:55] let you know what's going on. [00:37:58] Thank you. [00:37:59] Thank you. [00:38:00] Anyone else? [00:38:04] Come on down. [00:38:05] I'm Barbara Parlette, and I live at Southgate Apartments, and I work there. [00:38:23] And I came here to find out what this is all about. [00:38:28] I'm a former non-profit and live on Charlotte Avenue, and it's right off of Gulf. [00:38:37] Is Gulf City ... [00:38:38] Robert, between Southgate and Van Doren and Gulf, all of us that have lived here and grown [00:38:52] up here, between that, because some of the mobile home property is county, some is city, [00:39:00] and the other thing that we would tell you is, we're really trying to square up our borders, [00:39:07] so we do have an annexation process we're trying to put into place. [00:39:11] That doesn't help you, but if you could speak to Gulf, because part of it's county, I know [00:39:16] part of it is city. [00:39:18] It's pretty bad. [00:39:19] Yes. [00:39:20] It's potholes or beds, right down where Southgate is, because we're at the end, we're at the [00:39:25] West End, and property management, everything goes back into the apartments, and we take [00:39:33] care of our roads, and our road, and everything there on the property, but Gulf is pretty [00:39:39] bad. [00:39:40] Mr. Rivera, can you speak to that, please? [00:39:43] You live over at, towards the end ... [00:39:46] At the end, it's Southgate Apartments, a non-profit, and they take care of everything there. [00:39:54] Everything goes back into the apartments and taken care of. [00:39:57] Where Gulf Drive ends, we own that portion, and there's those apartments that's back there, [00:40:03] and that's one of the areas that will be taken care of. [00:40:05] Yeah. [00:40:06] It will be. [00:40:07] Yes, ma'am. [00:40:08] Yeah. [00:40:09] It's pretty bad. [00:40:10] Right. [00:40:11] Where is Gulf on that? [00:40:13] Gulf is on the ... It is on the design phase of this coming year, of the CIP. [00:40:21] So, it'll probably be two years before it's actually done. [00:40:24] What we're hoping to do, how we presented that CIP, is we're hoping to complete the [00:40:29] design. [00:40:30] Gulf Drive will be included, and then construction would start in the summertime, and then end [00:40:36] probably before the new year. [00:40:39] Whether or not the contractor started on Gulf Drive at the beginning of the project [00:40:45] would depend whether or not that portion of that road got paved next summer or next winter. [00:40:52] But you do have dollars in this program to enhance the maintenance part of our ... Or, [00:41:00] by some of the dollars that are being freed up because of this program, you have other [00:41:05] maintenance dollars that could address issues on their street until we get there. [00:41:11] Exactly. [00:41:12] It's not like we'll see when we get ... That's the point. [00:41:17] You're absolutely correct. [00:41:19] We have an operating budget, so what we will do is tomorrow, we'll get with our maintenance [00:41:23] guys, put it on the schedule, and they'll go out there, and if there's any areas that [00:41:27] need to be addressed, we'll go ahead and make those repairs. [00:41:29] The end of Gulf on the west, that's high holes all over. [00:41:35] Right. [00:41:36] We'll take care of that. [00:41:37] Okay, then. [00:41:38] Thank you. [00:41:39] I know they're taking care of Leisure and Van Dorn, which are pretty bad with the trailers [00:41:44] and all that, and some have been torn down and taken away, which is pretty good. [00:41:49] Right, but when you start getting off to those roads, that's where the county takes over [00:41:53] as it stands right now. [00:41:55] It's really confusing. [00:41:56] It is. [00:41:58] Newport Colony, their county, and they're right behind us. [00:42:02] Correct. [00:42:03] As Councilman Phillips pointed out, we are working with the county right now to try to [00:42:08] do some annexations and get some of those areas, specifically Leisure Lane, Van Dorn, [00:42:14] into the city so we can take responsibility for them and get them fixed up. [00:42:19] I noticed that, and I think you're the one that is doing it, the main person. [00:42:26] There's a whole group up here. [00:42:28] It's a group. [00:42:29] It is definitely a group effort. [00:42:30] I was very happy about it. [00:42:32] I've been there nine years, but I've lived in New Port Richey about since 1975. [00:42:41] So, thank you. [00:42:43] Thank you. [00:42:44] Thank you for coming in. [00:42:45] Leave the pen, though, or is that yours? [00:42:48] It's hers. [00:42:49] Oh, okay. [00:42:50] I just wanted to make sure. [00:42:51] The next person will be, where's the pen? [00:42:54] Good evening. [00:42:55] My name's Diana. [00:42:56] I've only been here for a year, and I was actually going to originally come to next Tuesday. [00:43:01] I think I sent you guys a letter asking about the drain pipes on Water's Edge Drive, [00:43:07] but now that we're talking about the road, I have two questions. [00:43:10] How do I get that city newsletter that you all were talking about? [00:43:16] The city newsletter is mailed to every postal address in the city. [00:43:21] So, you should receive it. [00:43:23] Well, if you care to leave your address, [00:43:25] I can make sure that the next issue that comes out on Monday is mailed directly to you. [00:43:30] Okay. [00:43:31] That's my first issue. [00:43:32] And, Mr. Rivera, do you have any plans for Water's Edge Drive? [00:43:39] Because my road is sinking into oblivion since I've been there. [00:43:43] Okay. [00:43:44] I will have to take a look at that. [00:43:46] So, I'll get your information off of the sheet that you're signing in and then get with you? [00:43:53] I've only lived there a year. [00:43:55] It's already dropped. [00:43:56] Okay. [00:43:57] Mr. Rivera, for our best, where exactly is Water's Edge Drive? [00:44:01] You go down Gulf, and it's off of Warren. [00:44:06] Okay. [00:44:07] So, we're down on the— [00:44:08] You're down on the other end of Gulf. [00:44:09] So, maybe on County, too. [00:44:11] I don't know. [00:44:13] Part of that is Warren's in the city. [00:44:21] A portion of it. [00:44:22] A portion of it. [00:44:23] Maybe that's why she's not getting the newsletter. [00:44:27] Maybe. [00:44:28] We're going to send it to you anyway. [00:44:29] Thank you. [00:44:30] Okay. [00:44:31] I'm done. [00:44:32] Thank you. [00:44:33] We want you to come visit the city and all the activities we've got going on. [00:44:37] Anyone else? [00:44:40] Yes, sir. [00:44:41] I don't have to go up there. [00:44:43] Actually, we're being broadcast, so we need you at the microphone, please. [00:44:47] This young lady brought up a good point. [00:44:49] We used to get that newsletter. [00:44:52] And we don't get it now either. [00:44:54] Well, you're going to receive a copy next week then as well because you've already recorded your address. [00:45:00] I'll make sure that you receive one. [00:45:02] Isn't it quarterly now? [00:45:03] Yeah, it's quarterly. [00:45:04] It is quarterly, just so you know. [00:45:05] And it's supposed to come out next week, so. [00:45:08] Okay, so I'll wait, and then. [00:45:10] You will receive one directly. [00:45:12] We'll put it in an envelope and make sure you get it. [00:45:15] Okay, but I don't want to raise the overhead [00:45:17] and get received too. [00:45:18] Oh. [00:45:19] Okay, sir, no worries. [00:45:22] It's all great, we're good, we're good. [00:45:24] Wait, you're worth every penny, absolutely. [00:45:29] Thank you. [00:45:30] We've been down here 28 years, so we do enjoy the city. [00:45:33] Thank you. [00:45:36] Anyone else? [00:45:39] Seeing no one else racing down to the microphone, [00:45:42] I'll bring it back to council. [00:45:46] I have nothing more to say. [00:45:49] I'd just like to thank, once again, [00:45:51] the Citizens Advisory Committee and our staff. [00:45:53] A lot of time and effort went into making this [00:45:56] as fair and equitable as possible, [00:45:57] and I've said it before. [00:45:59] I'm an insurance agent, I believe, [00:46:01] in the concept of insurance, [00:46:03] and this is the closest thing we can come to that concept, [00:46:05] is spreading the costs across the board [00:46:07] where everyone benefits is never gonna be 100% equal [00:46:11] to every single household, [00:46:12] but this is as fair and equitable [00:46:14] as I think we're gonna be able to get, [00:46:15] so thank you for our citizens that took part [00:46:19] and donated so many hours, [00:46:22] and thank you for staff and the reps from Genesis. [00:46:25] Very well done job, in my opinion. [00:46:29] I'd entertain a motion. [00:46:32] Move to approve. [00:46:33] Second. [00:46:33] We have a motion and a second. [00:46:34] To the banker. [00:46:35] I have nothing further, thank you. [00:46:36] To the second. [00:46:37] Yeah, I also have lived in this city nearly 40 years, [00:46:39] and I experienced two assessments [00:46:41] that were when the property owner [00:46:45] was assessed the dollar amount, [00:46:47] so I know that we've tried to do the best that we could. [00:46:51] I, too, have a background in insurance, [00:46:53] and the idea of spreading the risk to everyone [00:46:58] and the dollar amounts, [00:46:59] I think, is an excellent way to look at this, [00:47:02] and I'm pleased that we're able to do this, [00:47:04] so thank you all for coming. [00:47:06] It's excellent when we can hear your input, [00:47:08] and it's nice to be able to explain the answers [00:47:13] to the questions that you folks have [00:47:14] because they're probably questions that other people have, [00:47:16] so we appreciate you all coming down and visiting us. [00:47:19] Thank you. [00:47:21] Councilman Phillips. [00:47:23] Thank you, Mr. Mayor, [00:47:25] and as most of you know, [00:47:27] we've been wrestling with this program [00:47:30] and this process for well over two years, [00:47:34] and last year when it was brought to us, [00:47:36] it had a lot of different elements to it [00:47:38] that we weren't comfortable with, [00:47:40] and so with that, we asked staff to go back [00:47:45] and to do a better job [00:47:47] because we didn't do as good a job [00:47:51] as we should have on the initial. [00:47:53] There was a lot of unknowns. [00:47:55] There were a lot of what is it all about, [00:47:58] so again, staff did a great job. [00:48:01] I'm appreciative to the citizens group, [00:48:03] and obviously anybody who's been in Newport, [00:48:06] she knows that group, [00:48:08] and I will tell you they're not shy. [00:48:10] They will give you your opinion, their opinion, [00:48:15] and somebody else's opinion, [00:48:17] but at the end of the day, [00:48:18] they do bring a lot to the table [00:48:20] to help balance out the effect. [00:48:23] I, in turn, when I looked at this, [00:48:27] obviously wanted to make sure [00:48:28] that there were targeted dollars to fix our streets [00:48:32] because as it's happened over the last 30 years, [00:48:36] and that's how I came to council the first time in the 90s [00:48:39] when my parents got a street assessment [00:48:42] and a sewer assessment back in 92, 93, [00:48:46] but with that, I want to task my colleagues [00:48:52] from tonight until we pass the final budget [00:48:57] and the final millage rate [00:48:59] that we keep in mind a number of things [00:49:01] that we've heard from a number [00:49:04] of different constituencies out there. [00:49:08] One is the condition of our streets. [00:49:11] The other is that our millage rate is too high [00:49:15] when it's right at just under 9%. [00:49:18] It's too high in comparisons to other cities, [00:49:21] and it has an adverse effect on when people see that. [00:49:25] They don't know all the benefits [00:49:28] and services they get for that eight, nine mill, [00:49:32] plus with the assessments we have [00:49:35] because we've tried to be very targeted [00:49:37] with water, lighting, and now with streets, [00:49:40] and so I would task my colleagues to look at ways [00:49:44] between now and the time we pass the budget [00:49:46] to see where these dollars are at [00:49:49] and really try to bring that millage rate down [00:49:52] and recognize that this particular fund [00:49:56] is $800,000 and it offsets other money [00:50:01] that we previously had in the budget, [00:50:03] so I want to do that. [00:50:05] So I want to be able to understand [00:50:07] what that $800,000 does, how it equates [00:50:11] as it relates to our millage rate [00:50:13] because we have given a lot of credits. [00:50:16] I'm very appreciative that there is a hardship [00:50:20] element to this because as Councilman Starkey said, [00:50:26] we can't have it balanced for everybody, [00:50:29] but we do need to make sure that we can help [00:50:31] as many people as possible, that it may affect [00:50:34] that we don't know that are in those income areas [00:50:38] or in those tough times, so I appreciate that. [00:50:41] The other, just so you're clear, [00:50:43] this particular assessment does go through [00:50:47] the Pasco County Tax Collector's Office [00:50:52] so it can be on your tax bill and it's not being [00:50:55] added on as something that Pasco County has done, [00:50:59] and then obviously you heard about the administrative fee [00:51:01] that they charged to place that, [00:51:03] and then finally we did try to give a lot of reference [00:51:06] and a lot of oversight to the mixed use properties [00:51:09] because we have some that are coming, [00:51:11] churches and non-profits, but we knew everybody [00:51:16] was involved with creating traffic, [00:51:18] whether it was on arterial or people cutting [00:51:21] through residential areas so they don't have [00:51:23] to get on our arterial roads, but overall, [00:51:27] I'm happy that we are gonna have a set dollar amount [00:51:30] for the next foreseeable future, [00:51:32] which I believe ought to be 10 years, [00:51:34] that are gonna address not only citizens' roads, [00:51:38] but also those arterial roads, which means [00:51:42] Madison, Main, Grand, all those, [00:51:44] and get those back into a much better [00:51:47] travelable roadways for everybody's safety, [00:51:52] so I think it's a positive step for us. [00:51:56] Thank you, sir. [00:51:56] Councilman Davis. [00:52:00] I had the honor of running for re-election [00:52:03] back in the spring, and one of the things [00:52:07] that came through loud and clear as I talked [00:52:09] with folks about their concerns, whether or not [00:52:11] they were supporting my re-election or not, [00:52:14] was the condition of the roads, [00:52:18] and quite frankly, I agree. [00:52:21] Some of the roads are in pretty rough shape. [00:52:23] By putting a plan together, which the Genesis Group [00:52:27] helped us do, which sets the standard [00:52:31] for making sure that all of the roads [00:52:34] are replaced at the end of a 20-year design life, [00:52:40] and then prioritizing so that the ones [00:52:42] that are in really bad shape right now [00:52:44] are the ones that are gonna get fixed [00:52:46] sooner rather than later. [00:52:48] I think this is a wonderful step in the right direction. [00:52:52] The one thing that is not explicitly included [00:52:57] in this are the alleys, and there was some discussion [00:53:00] of alleys at some of our workshops and elsewhere. [00:53:06] That's a separate item that we're gonna be talking [00:53:09] with the property owners that are adjacent to the alleys. [00:53:15] Much as Councilman Phillips mentioned [00:53:17] about the advisory committee giving you [00:53:19] all the different opinions, people that live [00:53:22] on the alleys are not united in what they think [00:53:24] we ought to do. [00:53:25] Some of them like them dirt and rough [00:53:29] because it keeps people from driving through them, [00:53:32] and some of them want them fixed up nice, [00:53:34] and I suspect we can deal with that [00:53:35] on a block-by-block basis as we move forward. [00:53:39] But for me, I am really excited about this. [00:53:42] It's going to get us where we've got [00:53:45] every single year road work that's being done [00:53:49] to improve the appearance of the city of New Port Richey [00:53:52] to make it easier to drive around [00:53:54] and get our fair share of the local option gas tax [00:53:59] that otherwise, as I mentioned earlier, [00:54:01] we'd be giving away to the folks on East Pasco. [00:54:04] We need the money here, and by investing [00:54:07] some of our own money in it to get it going, [00:54:10] we'll collect those local option gas taxes down the road. [00:54:13] So I'm excited about it. [00:54:16] Any other comments? [00:54:20] Hearing none, all those in favor, [00:54:21] please signify by saying aye. [00:54:23] Aye. [00:54:23] Opposed, light sign. [00:54:25] Next is communications and reports.

   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.

5. 5Communications▶ 54:26
6. 6Adjournment▶ 56:54