On the agenda

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

   Pledge of Allegiance

   Recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

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   [00:00:18] Congratulations to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for 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.

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   [00:00:38] Thank you.

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4. 4

   Swearing-In of New Firefighter Nicholas La Concha

   Nicholas La Concha was sworn in as the newest firefighter for the New Port Richey Fire Department. The Fire Chief introduced him, the City Clerk administered the oath of office, and his mother performed the badge pinning.

   🏢HCC (Hillsborough Community College)🏢New Port Richey Fire Department🏢Pinellas County Schools🏢Pinellas Technical College🏢Temple Terrace Police Department👤Nicholas La Concha👤Nicole La Concha#Oath of Office#Swearing-in ceremony

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   [00:00:48] I understand we had a swearing in and he brought a police officer to take him out of here. [00:00:58] Nicholas La Concha, a new firefighter and the fire chief, will introduce him this evening. [00:01:13] So it's an honor and a privilege to swear in a new member of the staff and tonight's no different. The newest member we have is Nicholas La Concha. I'd like to thank his family. His parents are here this evening. His grandparents are here this evening. His brother, his two sisters, and his girlfriend. Hopefully I didn't miss anybody. [00:01:36] And I'd also like to thank his co-workers, the C-Shift, who are here tonight. And Nick's on duty, so we're going to get through this rather quick so we can get you back to work. [00:01:46] Becoming a firefighter is more than a career choice. It's a commitment to service and it's a commitment to putting your community before self. And I have to tell you, I recently watched an interview with two fire chiefs who are very well-renowned in the country. [00:02:05] They're leaders in our field. They teach leadership classes all over the country. And they were talking about recruitment. And they both agreed on one thing. What are the two things that we look for when we're hiring a new firefighter? What are the two things? Attitude and heart. [00:02:24] And I immediately thought of Nick. We had already extended a job offer to Nick. And I immediately thought of him because those are the two qualities that he possesses that are the most evident when you're talking to him. He's an engaging young man. He's always smiling. And so that's what I appreciate the most about Nick. [00:02:49] And that being said, I'm confident that he'll be committed to serving our community and carrying out the mission. [00:02:58] Can I ask the family member that was taking pictures, do you want to come up here and take it from up here? Yeah, yeah. If you want to film it here, come on, you can come up here. Not just get the back of them, get the front of them. [00:03:09] That's very sweet of you. Thank you. [00:03:11] Well, family's not like that. [00:03:15] Start over, chief. [00:03:17] All right, here we go. Rewind. Here we go. [00:03:21] So I'm confident that he'll be committed to serving the community and carrying out the mission of the fire department. [00:03:29] Nick has wanted to become a firefighter since he was a child. And he comes from a family of public service, as you can see behind me. [00:03:37] This is Specialist's twin brother. He's a police officer for the city of Temple Terrace. And his mother is a nurse for Pinellas County Schools. [00:03:47] So growing up in that environment, I'm sure that drove his passion for the fire service. [00:03:54] His attitude and his passion, as we all know, passion drives success. [00:04:01] He has a true love for the fire service. That's the heart part. [00:04:06] And, you know, heart equals passion. He's very passionate about serving his community. [00:04:11] So we're thankful for him to be the newest member of our staff. [00:04:16] Nick was born in Miami, moved to Pinellas County when he was a child, attended high school in Seminole, completed fire school at HCC, and EMT school at Pinellas Technical College. [00:04:30] He enjoys, on his time off, he considers himself a car enthusiast. He enjoys working on cars with his father. [00:04:38] And he was actually in my office today telling me about how he likes to work on cars with his father. [00:04:44] And I said, you know, there's a lot of fire police officer jokes, and I told him I probably wouldn't tell one. [00:04:52] But the conversation at the Thanksgiving dinner table I'm sure will be exciting. [00:04:58] And being a car enthusiast, you better watch your speed and don't make your brother mad because he'll give you a speeding ticket. [00:05:05] So that's the first thing that came to mind. [00:05:08] Nick, you've put in the hard work. You've completed your schooling. You've got the right attitude. [00:05:14] You've got the right mindset. You fit our culture, our department, and we're so happy to have you. [00:05:20] And I'm honored to be the one to officially swear you in as a new firefighter, which starts your career in the fire service, which you've looked forward to since you were a child. [00:05:31] So that makes me very proud. [00:05:33] And Nick's own words are, he didn't want to speak. [00:05:37] Nick is honored to begin his career with the city and looks forward to serving our community for many years to come. [00:05:44] So without further ado, I'd like to invite the city clerk down to administer the oath of office. [00:05:50] Raise your right hand and repeat after me. [00:06:05] I, and state your name. [00:06:07] I, Nicholas LaConcha. [00:06:09] A citizen of the state of Florida and of the United States of America. [00:06:13] A citizen of the state of Florida and United States of America. [00:06:16] And being employed by or an officer of the city of New Port Richey. [00:06:21] And being employed by or an officer of the city of New Port Richey. [00:06:24] And a recipient of public funds as such employee or officer. [00:06:28] And a recipient of public funds such as employee officer. [00:06:32] Do hereby solemnly swear or affirm. [00:06:35] Do hereby solemnly swear or affirm. [00:06:38] That I will support the Constitution of the United States and of the state of Florida. [00:06:43] That I will support the Constitution of the United States and of the state of Florida. [00:06:46] And that I will honestly, faithfully, and impartially discharge. [00:06:51] And that I will honestly, faithfully, and impartially discharge. [00:06:54] The duties of my trust as firefighter of New Port Richey Fire Department. [00:06:59] The duties of my trust as firefighter of New Port Richey Fire Department. [00:07:02] In and for said city of New Port Richey. [00:07:05] In and for said city of New Port Richey. [00:07:07] According to the law and to the best of my knowledge and ability. [00:07:11] According to the law and to the best of my knowledge and ability. [00:07:13] So help me God. [00:07:14] So help me God. [00:07:15] Congratulations. [00:07:16] Thank you. [00:07:17] Applause. [00:07:22] This time I'd like to invite his mother, Nicole, up to do the badge pinning. [00:07:47] I think she's a nurse. [00:07:49] Applause. [00:08:02] Welcome to the family. [00:08:03] Thank you, sir. [00:08:05] That concludes this award. [00:08:06] Thank you. [00:08:08] Applause. [00:08:22] Thank you. [00:08:24] Thank you.

   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. 5.a

   Tampa Bay Water Update 2025

   discussed

   Chuck Carton, General Manager of Tampa Bay Water, presented the annual update to Council, covering the regional water supply system, current and projected demand, capital projects (surface water treatment plant expansion to 145 MGD, South Hillsborough Wellfield, and South Hillsboro Pipeline), feasibility studies for new reservoirs, and upcoming PFAS and TOC treatment recommendations. Council discussion focused on reservoir capacity benefits during the recent hurricanes, potential new reservoirs in Pasco, and regional reuse/reclaimed (gray) water opportunities.

   📍Apollo Beach📍Balm area📍Brandon near the fairgrounds📍Gulf Harbors📍Lake Tarpon📍Manatee River📍Starkey Wellfield📍Zephyr Hills🏢City of Tampa🏢Hillsborough County🏢Pasco County🏢Pinellas County🏢Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFMUD)🏢Tampa Bay Water👤Altman👤Brant Bartlett👤Chopper👤Chuck Carton👤Paul Stanek👤Robert#Development Alternatives project#Fiscal Year 2026 supply mix#PFAS treatment#Senate Bill 64#South Hillsboro Pipeline#South Hillsborough Wellfield Project#Surface Water Treatment Plant Expansion (145 MGD)#Total Organic Carbon (TOC) removal

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   [00:08:40] You're welcome. [00:08:41] Come on up. [00:08:42] I was waiting on you. [00:08:43] No. [00:08:44] It's timely to follow a firefighter. [00:08:47] I have water for him. [00:08:51] It's fine. [00:08:53] You'll mount yourself. [00:08:54] Yes, sir. [00:08:55] Well, good evening. [00:08:57] I guess the PowerPoint, you have that ready? [00:09:00] Good evening. [00:09:01] I'm Chuck Carton. [00:09:02] I'm the general manager of Tampa Bay Water. [00:09:04] I have been with the organization since 1993. [00:09:08] And I have served as the general manager for the past five years. [00:09:12] And so I want to thank you again for having me tonight to provide you an update on Tampa Bay Water. [00:09:17] I do this every year. [00:09:19] I like to get out and talk to all the member boards [00:09:22] and give them an update on all things water at Tampa Bay Water. [00:09:30] There we go. [00:09:32] We were formed in 1998 by the member governments that we serve, [00:09:36] and that's the three counties, Hillsborough County, Pinellas, and Pasco, [00:09:40] and the three cities, St. Petersburg, Tampa, and namely New Port Richey. [00:09:45] And so we were chatting earlier with Councilman Altman about the early days. [00:09:50] New Port Richey sat on the West Coast board and did not get the vote. [00:09:55] And so things have changed quite a bit since that time. [00:09:59] Our mission is very simple. [00:10:02] We reliably provide clean, safe drinking water to the Tampa Bay region, not only now but for future generations. [00:10:11] This past year that ended September 30th, we supplied over 209 million gallons collectively [00:10:17] to the six members of drinking water each and every day. [00:10:22] The city here purchases around 3 million gallons a day. [00:10:26] That provides essentially all the water that your customers at New Port Richey [00:10:31] and Robert's team resells to the city of New Port Richey residents. [00:10:37] Our distribution system is shown here on this graph. [00:10:41] It includes 13 well fields. [00:10:43] There's two surface water intakes, a seawater desal plant, a 15-billion-gallon reservoir, [00:10:51] and also a surface water treatment plant that is just down the street from the fairgrounds. [00:10:57] And we do all of this and charge a wholesale rate to all of the members of around $2.64 per thousand gallons, [00:11:05] which is just a little tiny bit over a quarter of a penny per gallon. [00:11:11] Our system is very complex. [00:11:14] Every day we deliver blended treated water. [00:11:17] And we are the only water supply system in the country that blends not only seawater, river water, but groundwater. [00:11:24] And all of the sources, all three of those sources, they all vary in cost. [00:11:28] And so by blending them, that's what helps us keep that wholesale rate down at $2.64. [00:11:34] So some of them are higher. [00:11:35] The desal plant is the highest cost of water. [00:11:38] And, of course, the groundwater is the cheapest. [00:11:42] This pie chart here you see is what we expect to average by each of the sources in the fiscal year 2026 year. [00:11:53] But over the years, we have grown. [00:11:56] And we've gone through cycles of growth and also cycles of maintenance. [00:12:01] And you can currently guess that it is a growth phase right now. [00:12:05] Just driving on 54 or anywhere around the city here on 19 heading here, there's a lot of folks moving into the area. [00:12:13] This chart does show the story. [00:12:15] It compares the 2025 year and the actual demands that we just finished the year. [00:12:21] And that is in the blue. [00:12:24] And the green is for 20 years from now. [00:12:28] And so you can tell that Hillsborough County and Pasco County are growing by leaps and bounds. [00:12:34] The others are pretty close to staying where they're at. [00:12:38] And New Port Richey's got a slight growth coming. [00:12:42] We do have enough water right now to meet the region's needs over the next few years. [00:12:46] But we are hard at work at expanding our regional system to meet the demands for the year 2028, the year 2033, and then the future years after that. [00:12:59] Right now, a majority of our active capital improvement project budget will be spent on expanding our surface water treatment plant, [00:13:07] starting the South Hillsborough Wellfield Project and also expanding our distribution system in the southern Hillsborough County area. [00:13:16] The surface water treatment plant design capacity will expand the plant to 145 million gallons a day. [00:13:23] It's currently 120 million gallons a day. [00:13:26] And once that's complete, we expect to produce an extra 12.5 NGD million gallons of water a day out of that plant expansion. [00:13:34] This plant is the workhorse of our system. [00:13:37] And it is, like I said earlier, it's located in Brandon near the fairgrounds. [00:13:42] We have just finished the design and the permitting, and construction is starting later this month. [00:13:48] It was actually out there today. [00:13:50] And all the trailers are set, and everything's ready to start on that site. [00:13:56] And just recently, I believe at the October board meeting, Chopper was there and voted to actually add a new wellfield. [00:14:05] It's a groundwater wellfield in southern Hillsborough County. [00:14:09] It's called the South Hillsborough Wellfield. [00:14:12] And this wellfield could bring between 6 and 12 million gallons of new water to the region as early as the year 2030. [00:14:20] About half the water for that wellfield, about 6 NGD, came from permits that we acquired from private landowners who wanted to sell their existing permits to us. [00:14:31] The other 6 were negotiating with Hillsborough County for some credits, some reclaimed credits. [00:14:37] What they're currently doing right now, I guess they're having to dispose of their wastewater. [00:14:43] And everybody in the states got to Senate Bill 64. [00:14:47] You cannot discharge it to surface bodies. [00:14:49] But they started injecting the wells on the coast down there near our desal plant in Apollo Beach. [00:14:56] So they put the water down in these wells. [00:15:00] wells deep, non-potable water zones, and it forms a bubble that keeps the salt water from intruding, which is an issue down there. [00:15:09] But that also has an indirect good result, beneficial result to us, because it raises the water table inland. [00:15:16] So about four miles from this, where they're injecting, we're allowed to take another 6 MGD of groundwater if we buy their credits from them. [00:15:28] The well field will be built in phases, so we're going to start very slow. [00:15:32] That'll start in the spring this year, probably start at 3 MGD, go to 6, and eventually we'll be at 12 to 15 into the future. [00:15:44] We also have just started construction on the new South Hillsboro Pipeline. [00:15:48] It's 26 miles long, and it's between 3 and 5 feet in diameter. [00:15:53] So not only is there a lot of growth down there, but you'll probably see a lot of construction of our pipeline. [00:16:00] And so we're very popular right now in southern Hillsborough County with the folks. [00:16:05] So we're gearing up. He's going to get a lot of phone calls. [00:16:10] So we are working hard to keep the public involved in what we're doing, and hopefully we are going to go in and get done as fast as we can. [00:16:18] But this pipeline will connect from our regional site, that surface water treatment plant, all the way down into the Balm area. [00:16:25] And it also will connect to another water treatment plant. [00:16:28] So it'll connect to two different water treatment plants in that area. [00:16:31] And as you've driven down there, that is growing leaps and bounds, and so they can't get the water fast enough. [00:16:38] We are planning to finish that project before the end of 2028. [00:16:45] We also continue to look at projects for implementation beyond the 2033 timeframe that I said earlier. [00:16:52] We have six feasibility studies in swing right now for projects that are shown on this map. [00:16:59] And the board, after our feasibility studies, will be bringing it back to the board for recommendations of one or several of these projects for future needs or demands. [00:17:11] Probably in the year 2027, we'll be asking the board to approve the next supplies. [00:17:20] Regardless of the source of your drinking water, all the water that we provide meets or surpasses all the local and the state and federal standards. [00:17:30] As those standards change, we have to take proactive steps to ensure that we always meet these regulations. [00:17:36] And the last time, I think it was about a year ago, I presented to you, we were studying PFAS. [00:17:42] They're also known as forever chemicals. [00:17:44] And so we have been paying attention, taking samples. [00:17:49] We are very good in the area, except for there's three locations, and they're in orange on the map there. [00:17:56] There's two smaller wells, and then in our surface water, all the limits are just slightly above the new proposed limit. [00:18:04] It's four parts per trillion. [00:18:06] And these are sometimes 3.9 when we test, sometimes 4.2, but close enough to the new regulation that we will be putting treatment in those three spots. [00:18:17] We also have been studying the removal of total organic carbon in the system at various places. [00:18:23] So this spring, I will be bringing back to the board recommendations for the treatment of PFAS and also the removal of TOC. [00:18:32] And so they're not cheap, but we're going to be strategic about how we phase in and where do we do this at. [00:18:40] But the PFAS is not a negotiating, we have to do that to stay under the limits. [00:18:46] The TOC is more of a want from the board, better water quality versus regulatory requirement. [00:18:56] And so that concludes my presentation. [00:18:59] And I want to thank you for having me, and I'm very happy to answer any questions that you may have for me. [00:19:04] Well, first of all, I'd like you to introduce your team you brought with you and where they fit in the picture. [00:19:09] Yes, behind me, they should still be back there, Paul Stanek, if he would stand. [00:19:14] He's our chief operating officer. [00:19:17] And then Brant Bartlett, he is the government affairs coordinator for the agency. [00:19:23] So they're here to make sure I am here. [00:19:27] Also, to pass the questions we might have. [00:19:29] Yes. [00:19:30] Anybody have any questions? [00:19:32] After they sit back down, because I talk a little longer than they're probably going to be standing here. [00:19:40] But I'd like to just address an issue that I heard. [00:19:46] And Pasco County did a presentation after our big floods in the hurricane season a few years, a year or two back. [00:19:55] And the SWFMUD director, who I've always tried to understand the relationship between the Water Supply Authority [00:20:06] and the owners of the permits of the wells, you know, legislatively through SWFMUD. [00:20:13] But there was some comment about the saving grace of the monster receiving pond that you had [00:20:23] and how low it was before the hurricane and how much rain came into that basin, that water basin or reservoir. [00:20:33] And how effectively, if it had been full and all that rain had come down, it could have flooded and breached the thing [00:20:39] and could have been a disaster, according to them. [00:20:41] But more importantly, if not to the facility, there was a beneficial element to that reservoir [00:20:51] because it captured water that otherwise would have been lost to the system. [00:20:56] And in a way, that was a silver lining, I guess, to all the devastation of that storm by resupplying that. [00:21:03] I wonder, as there has been talk in Pasco of trying to do those kind of things. [00:21:11] So that's question one. [00:21:12] And the other one is the greywater question, which has always perplexed me why, with our greywater, [00:21:19] we had been paying and probably still do pay for the transmission of that greywater out of the city into the Pasco, [00:21:28] where all of the new development is required to have, you know, those distribution lines. [00:21:34] Until it gets rainy and then everybody, you know, nobody wants it anymore. [00:21:38] So it's one of those strange entities. [00:21:42] And I've always thought that you all and your scientific knowledge would be able to find a way to take advantage of that ebb and flow of that product. [00:21:53] Let's comment. [00:21:55] I'll start with the reservoir. [00:21:58] That is 15 billion gallons. [00:21:59] So it is, unless you ever want to take a tour of that, I would suggest it's amazing. [00:22:05] Five miles around, if you drive the top of it, 65 feet high, it's a man-made earthen embankment. [00:22:11] It's not an in-line, in-stream, it's off-line pipe. [00:22:15] We have to pipe water to it. [00:22:18] It's about two miles if you want to swim the longest distance and about a mile across. [00:22:22] So it's a huge lake. [00:22:24] But we have a process through our water year. [00:22:30] We use it during the dry time. [00:22:32] And that means the surface water treatment plant can stay online all year round. [00:22:37] If not, it would just be at the whelm of the river flow. [00:22:40] But we can store all the water when it's raining, in the rainy season, get it to 15 billion and then we let it sit there until it's dry. [00:22:49] And then we take it down. [00:22:51] And so it's worked great. [00:22:53] But two years ago, it was a nightmare scenario. [00:22:57] We got into a drought and people were watering their grass very large amounts of water in September and October and into November. [00:23:07] And so it started draining that reservoir about six months before we were ready to have it at a cycle. [00:23:14] And so everybody got in on the one day a week water restriction and everybody was asked to conserve. [00:23:21] And it got all the way down to two billion gallons left in it in late July. [00:23:29] Now, granted, every year by June 15th, we're filling. [00:23:34] And so in mid-July, we don't have any water to put in it and we're at two billion gallons. [00:23:39] We're close to shutting it off. [00:23:41] We think 1.5 billion is the lowest we can take it down. [00:23:45] And then lo and behold, the horrible hurricanes hit, which you said there was silver lining. [00:23:51] The silver lining was it did produce enough water that we could fill it in 30 days. [00:23:57] We got it all the way back to 15 billion gallons, which I thought we were going to suffer another year of trying to keep up with things. [00:24:05] And so that happened. [00:24:07] And then all the board members, the first thing out of their minds, their mouths was, we need another reservoir. [00:24:12] We need another reservoir. [00:24:13] We need three more reservoirs. [00:24:15] And so I did have a slide that showed you six feasibility studies. [00:24:19] And let's see if I can work this. [00:24:21] Is it, it's not, he's going to help. [00:24:26] I'll show you this real quick. [00:24:27] And it's very much on our minds as a good thing to do reservoirs. [00:24:34] And especially after that, it put an exclamation point on that. [00:24:45] That one right there. [00:24:54] And as you can see, at the number C and number E and number F, those are surface water treatment plants that have a reservoir attached to them. [00:25:09] And so there are different locations. [00:25:10] One's actually off of Lake Tarpon. [00:25:12] We're looking at maybe capturing water from Lake Tarpon and put it in a reservoir and treat the water there and serve that probably to Pinellas County because they're the closest customer. [00:25:23] But there's another one down there near the existing reservoir. [00:25:28] And then there's another one that is near the Manatee River down south of everything. [00:25:34] And so they've asked us to look in Pasco County and we have. [00:25:39] But the main thing you need there is you need a source of water. [00:25:43] And so the Zephyr Hills comes to mind. [00:25:47] It got heavily flooded during the hurricanes. [00:25:49] And one of the commissioners suggested, hey, we can put a reservoir at Zephyr Hills and collect that water. [00:25:54] But how many times are you going to get two hurricanes like that? [00:25:57] It's not something that's sustainable. [00:26:00] So we need a river source that's sustainable that we could do that. [00:26:03] But that is the thing. [00:26:03] We would like to have more reservoirs. [00:26:06] So and then your next question was gray water, reclaimed water. [00:26:12] And so that is a tricky thing because when it's raining, they can't get rid of it. [00:26:17] And so it's everywhere. [00:26:19] And then when it's not raining, they end up running out. [00:26:22] You probably have experienced that same thing here. [00:26:25] You run out. [00:26:26] So storage is the key if you can get enough storage. [00:26:29] And generally those are tanks and they're expensive and you need land. [00:26:34] But what the county did a few years back, they put in a reservoir of their own just to store reclaimed water. [00:26:39] It's not the size of ours. [00:26:41] It's very much a billion gallons or so maybe compared to 15. [00:26:48] But it is another way of storing the water and use it when you need it. [00:26:53] And that's the key. [00:26:54] The concept's the same on both. [00:26:57] And so we are looking at different ways of using the reclaimed water. [00:27:02] City of Tampa's tried several efforts to make it potable water. [00:27:07] And the residents in the Tampa area have come out pretty heavily against it. [00:27:12] They're not ready to do that. [00:27:14] But the project that I described down in South Hillsboro where they're taking reclaimed water [00:27:19] and we're turning it into groundwater but we're not drinking it. [00:27:22] And so we're looking at something with the city of Tampa to do with their reclaim. [00:27:26] Do the same thing somewhere that we could buy the credits from them [00:27:30] and get the water added to groundwater, potable drinking water. [00:27:34] And so same concept, we're going to use it to have drinking water [00:27:39] but just a little differently than some of the other methods. [00:27:43] Thank you. [00:27:43] And when you showed the diagram of how much water, how much we participate in the usage of it, [00:27:51] the point that I'm trying to make is we may be very small down there [00:27:55] but when you look at the size of the Starkey Wellfield and the importance of water [00:28:02] to the West Pasco area, I think it would be a little bit of a larger percentage on the supply side. [00:28:12] And certainly we, if we could not have to pay the county to take our gray water to put it [00:28:21] in their reservoir which then becomes a, you know, a usable product for them. [00:28:30] Some point in line that could be a discussion or perhaps you could use it [00:28:35] to curb off the saltwater intrusion which was a problem in Gulf Harbors for many years [00:28:41] where they were worried the saltwater was starting to purge and come in. [00:28:46] So your comment about it being used in that regard really doesn't affect the Tampa Bay water though, [00:28:54] does it? [00:28:54] I mean only to the degree that it can allow you to protect your water sources or to get more out of it. [00:29:01] We're looking at that but that's not to say we can't look at the other things. [00:29:05] We do have a project that's called the Development Alternatives and it is just taking [00:29:11] and getting all the members together and saying what do you have in reclaimed water [00:29:15] and what could, and we got into several meetings, we had several workshops, think tank, [00:29:19] what can we do with the reclaimed water? [00:29:21] And drinking it is one of them, using it like I said earlier with the wells and also there's a few of them [00:29:29] that really are talking about regionalizing that product just similar to how we did water. [00:29:36] And so let all the members work together and have pipes connected so that when one has not got enough [00:29:43] and someone has way too much, because there is an imbalance. [00:29:47] The city of Tampa has 50 million gallons of reclaimed water, [00:29:49] highly treated reclaimed water that they don't have a use for. [00:29:53] And then when you get into times when people want reclaimed water, [00:29:57] they can't get it unless they're [00:30:00] in the city of Tampa. [00:30:00] So wouldn't that be nice to be able to have it [00:30:02] where you can wheel it around, [00:30:04] which is what we do with the water system. [00:30:06] Thank you. [00:30:11] I just want to say that this gentleman is the only guy [00:30:14] that's happy in Florida when it rains. [00:30:16] I told you that. [00:30:19] I grew up playing baseball and I used to get so mad [00:30:22] when the rains would come. [00:30:25] And it's as funny as I'm the flip opposite. [00:30:28] I get out and I see the sun and I go, [00:30:29] what is going on around here? [00:30:31] Can't we get a little rain? [00:30:33] And it's so interesting that I am so different [00:30:35] because I couldn't stand the rain growing up. [00:30:38] Thank you very much. [00:30:41] Thank you all for being here. [00:30:42] Yes, thank you. [00:30:43] Thank you.

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6. 6.a

   November 18, 2025 Work Session and Regular Minutes

   approved

   Council approved the minutes from the November 18, 2025 Work Session and Regular Meeting.

   • motion:Approve the minutes from the November 18, 2025 Work Session and Regular Meeting. (passed)

   #November 18, 2025 Work Session and Regular Meeting Minutes

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   [00:30:48] Move the minutes for November 18th, 2025. [00:30:50] Work session and regular meeting. [00:30:53] Second? [00:30:54] Do we need a second? [00:30:55] I'll second. [00:30:56] All those in favor, please say aye. [00:30:58] Aye. [00:31:00] And Vox Pop?

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7. 7Vox Pop for Items Not Listed on the Agenda or Listed on Consent Agenda▶ 31:02
8. 8.a

   Purchases/Payments for City Council Approval

   approvedon consent

   Council approved the purchases/payments item by a unanimous 5-0 voice vote.

   • motion:Motion to approve purchases/payments for City Council approval. (passed)5–0

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   [00:46:46] approval. [00:46:47] I'll second. [00:46:48] All those in favor say aye. [00:46:49] Aye. [00:46:50] Aye. [00:46:51] Aye. [00:46:52] That's five nothing. [00:46:53] Business items, professional service agreement, engineering services for 2026.

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9. 9.a

   Professional Service Agreement RE: Engineering Services for 2026

   approved

   Council authorized the City Manager to enter into a contract with Colliers Engineering & Design, Inc. for professional engineering services in an amount not to exceed $60,000. This is a renewal of the 2025 contract with no changes, funded through the development and public works departments.

   • motion:Motion to approve the professional service agreement with Colliers Engineering & Design for engineering services not to exceed $60,000. (passed)5–0

   🏢Colliers Engineering & Design, Inc.👤Paul Sterbens#2024 RFP for engineering services#Professional Service Agreement - Engineering Services for 2026

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   [00:47:04] The request today is for the city council to authorize a city manager to enter into [00:47:09] contract with Collier's Engineering Design Incorporated to provide professional engineering [00:47:14] services for the city in an amount not to exceed $60,000. [00:47:19] In 2024, the city put out a RFP for engineering services and awarded the contract after review [00:47:28] for to Collier's Engineer in 2025. [00:47:33] This proposal that's before you is basically a renewal of that same contract with no changes [00:47:39] or increases from last year and the funding for this item has been allocated in both the [00:47:45] development department and public works department for the upcoming year and it's a recommendation [00:47:51] from the development department as well as public works department to consider and authorize [00:47:58] this contract. [00:47:59] Paul Sterbens is the PE, that's our contact, he's the senior principal for Collier's and [00:48:06] he's also in the audience if you have any questions of him. [00:48:13] Seeing no one come forward, we'll bring it back for discussion and vote. [00:48:16] Move to approve. [00:48:17] Second. [00:48:18] To the maker. [00:48:19] Yes sir. [00:48:20] To the second. [00:48:21] Good. [00:48:22] All those in favor signify by aye. [00:48:24] Aye. [00:48:25] That's five nothing. [00:48:28] Recreation aquatic Christmas present, center for annual membership sale.

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10. 9.b

    Recreation and Aquatic Center Annual Membership Sale

    approved

    Council approved the Recreation Department's annual holiday membership sale at the Recreation and Aquatic Center, running December 8-22, 2025, with a 20% discount for residents and 10% for non-residents. The Parks and Rec Advisory Board recommended approval on November 12. Council discussion noted declining sales due to healthcare reimbursement programs like Silver Sneakers and reiterated a desire to eventually offer free membership to city residents.

    • motion:Move to approve the annual Recreation and Aquatic Center membership sale dates (Dec 8-22) and discount rates (20% resident, 10% non-resident). (passed)
    • vote:Parks and Rec Advisory Board recommended approval of the membership sale on November 12. (passed)

    🏢Silver Sneakers🏢Tivity👤Mr. Trapp👤Ms. Mance#Account 001-347-220 (recreation memberships revenue)#Parks and Rec Advisory Board#Recreation and Aquatic Center Annual Membership Sale

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    [00:48:34] This is an annual request submitted by the recreation department to conduct an annual [00:48:46] membership sale and Mr. Trapp will introduce the agenda item. [00:48:52] Thank you Ms. Mance and good evening Mr. Mayor and council members. [00:48:55] It is the holiday season and this is the annual time where staff conducts an annual membership [00:49:01] sale at the rec center. [00:49:02] I did want to provide a little bit of background on this sale prior to discussing this year's [00:49:06] sale information which provided in the agenda memo just some averages over the past few [00:49:11] years. [00:49:12] This sale has traditionally occurred in December and January. [00:49:15] The past four fiscal years average we've sold an average of 250 membership sales and in [00:49:22] the last two years we have sold less which we've averaged about 184. [00:49:27] I do want to note that two years ago we reduced it to two weeks instead of four weeks which [00:49:32] can be attributed to the less number of memberships sold and also health care reimbursement programs [00:49:37] such as silver sneakers, tivity, programs like that are provided to members that participate [00:49:44] in those programs so therefore they don't need a membership and you can see some of [00:49:48] that reason for not necessarily needing a membership because it's provided by the health [00:49:52] care. [00:49:53] So that's the trend is because of those reasons and this sale is an opportunity as the holiday [00:50:00] season comes up to capitalize on people who love coming to the rec center and it's a [00:50:05] reduced rate. [00:50:06] We also like capitalizing at this time because of you know New Year's resolutions and getting [00:50:11] healthy and coming into the fitness center which a lot of people utilize for this membership [00:50:16] sale. [00:50:17] This year's proposed sale dates are for a two-week period starting Monday, December [00:50:21] 8th through Monday, December 22nd and the proposed discount rates are 20% for resident [00:50:26] and 10% for non-resident. [00:50:29] This item was discussed at our Parks and Rec Advisory Board on November 12th and all advisory [00:50:34] board members voted in favor of bringing it to your guys attention and recommended approval [00:50:40] and considering this item. [00:50:42] The revenue is projected in our memberships, recreation memberships which is 001-347-220 [00:50:50] and staff recommends approving the membership sale dates and discount rates for this year. [00:50:56] We have any public comment? [00:50:59] Seeing no one come forward, bring it back for discussion and vote. [00:51:01] Move to approve. [00:51:02] I'll second. [00:51:03] To the maker. [00:51:04] Yeah, just to say one, it's something that's traditional, it's been done multiple times. [00:51:09] We know what to expect in terms of the change in revenue so it's been budgeted, fiscally [00:51:13] responsible. [00:51:15] The second one is and Mr. Trapp already kind of laid this out but we have to create some [00:51:21] sort of strategic compelling advantage over some of the existing fitness center providers [00:51:27] in the area that are private market and may have their own motivations and so this is [00:51:33] one way of doing that. [00:51:35] But two, it also provides a level of service to some of our families who would benefit [00:51:39] from a discount at a time where they might want to purchase some sort of gift or excuse [00:51:46] me membership for them and their family. [00:51:48] So it checks all the boxes and it's been done for several years now, it's always anticipated, [00:51:54] it's always popular so we've got to continue to do it and so the only thing I would say [00:51:59] that's different is that our recreation department is doing a phenomenal job in our city in general. [00:52:08] I'm not going to say the same thing I've said for the last three years, well actually longer [00:52:13] than that but hopefully a year from now we can make our membership available to all residents [00:52:20] without having to pay the fees at all if we can get our recreational service area intact. [00:52:27] And studies that have been done and presented here showed the majority of the users of our [00:52:33] facility are non-residents, non-city residents and so charging them a little bit more to [00:52:39] give them access while other residents of our city don't have that access when their [00:52:45] city taxes and their involvement in the city is paying a lion's share of the operation [00:52:51] of that facility is my argument. [00:52:54] But I will vote for it because that's the only thing we have and it's been useful but [00:53:00] I'm looking to celebrate the Christmas when we don't have a fee, that we have the same [00:53:06] fee when we go in of five dollars or whatever to get a membership card. [00:53:11] And I think the benefit of getting more residents to have membership cards, more of our city [00:53:16] residents would allow us better communication and access in public relations with them in [00:53:23] terms of having them have that card that's pushed in a world that is now all credit cards

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11. 9.c

    Request to Purchase 150KW Portable Diesel Generator

    approved

    Council approved the purchase of an ACF standby system 150kW portable diesel generator for $107,248 via the Florida Sheriff's Association contract bid award. The generator will be used by sewer collections to power lift stations during emergencies, supplementing the city's existing seven units serving 74 lift stations.

    • motion:Approve the purchase of an ACF standby system 150kW portable diesel generator for $107,248 via the Florida Sheriff's Association contract. (passed)

    🏢ACF Standby Systems🏢Florida Sheriff's Association👤Brian👤Pete👤Rivera👤Robert👤Vance#150kW portable diesel generator purchase#Florida Sheriff's Association contract bid award#Sewer collections lift station auxiliary power

    ▶ Jump to 53:26 in the video

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    [00:53:31] and all card oriented. [00:53:34] With the penny gone, who knows when the nickel will be next. [00:53:38] But bottom line is everybody's using a card, it identifies who we are, it allows us access [00:53:45] and I think there's a lot of benefits for us to think about. [00:53:49] So I hope we would start looking at that opportunity and I'm expecting that we'll see that and [00:53:55] I can make those speeches when the time comes but I will vote for this, thank you. [00:54:02] All those in favor signify by aye. [00:54:04] Aye. [00:54:05] 5-0. [00:54:06] Request to purchase a 150 kW portable diesel generator. [00:54:11] The specific request is to purchase a ACF standby system generator which is a 150 kilowatt [00:54:27] portable diesel generator in the amount of $107,248 in accordance with Florida Sheriff [00:54:37] Association's contract bid award and Mr. Rivera will tell us about that portable generator [00:54:44] equipment. [00:54:45] Thank you Ms. Vance. [00:54:46] This type of equipment is used primarily by the sewer collections division, primarily [00:54:51] they're utilized at the lift stations for auxiliary power during emergency conditions [00:54:56] or when the power company shuts the power off like they did when we had our hurricanes [00:55:03] in the 24-25. [00:55:06] The city currently has seven that they utilize for servicing the 74 lift stations should [00:55:13] we get into those types of situations. [00:55:16] Our thought process is if you did approve this purchase, we'd be able to have crews [00:55:23] that would be able to be assigned two generators a piece, we'd divide the town up into several [00:55:30] different areas to where they could utilize rotating those generators to keep our system [00:55:37] up and running. [00:55:39] And so with that, we would recommend that you do approve it and the money is available [00:55:44] in the sewer collections operations division. [00:55:47] Anybody have a public comment? [00:55:50] Seeing no one come forward, bring her back for discussion and vote. [00:55:53] Do you approve? [00:55:54] Second. [00:55:55] To the maker? [00:55:56] No, thank you. [00:55:57] Do you second? [00:55:58] No, looking at this, it's a nice one Robert, for sure. [00:56:03] This one here, what I like is that you can take it anywhere, it doesn't matter what you [00:56:07] need to set it up on, you're going to be able to handle it, three-phase, single-phase with [00:56:12] the selector switch, so that's really nice, so that's very versatile equipment right there. [00:56:17] Brian? [00:56:18] No, thank you. [00:56:20] Pete? [00:56:21] Sir? [00:56:22] All those in favor signify by aye. [00:56:25] Aye. [00:56:26] Okay, 2023-2024 Street Improvement Project, change order number one.

    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.

12. 9.d

    2023/2024 Street Improvements Project – Change Order No. 1

    approved

    Council approved Change Order No. 1 with EZ Contracting LLC for the 2024-2025 street improvements project (cycle 8 of the pavement management plan), not to exceed $1,419,012.16. The change order extends the prior 2023-2024 project pricing to the new work, saving 60-90 days and approximately $10,000 in engineering bid-phase costs, and covers streets in the Big Bend and North Park neighborhoods.

    • vote:Approve Change Order No. 1 with EZ Contracting LLC for the 2024-2025 street improvements project, not to exceed $1,419,012.16. (passed)5–0

    📍Big Bend neighborhood📍North Park area🏢EZ Contracting LLC👤Matt👤Mr. Rivera👤Ms. Vance👤Pete#2023/2024 Street Improvements Project#2024-2025 Street Improvements Project#CIP program#Change Order No. 1#Cycle 8 Pavement Management Plan

    ▶ Jump to 56:27 in the video

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    [00:56:32] This change order is being recommended to you by the staff for our street improvement [00:56:42] project. [00:56:43] We are recommending that the change order be with EZ Contracting LLC for an amount not [00:56:52] to exceed $1,419,000, and actually $12.16, and Mr. Rivera will present the agenda item [00:57:12] and he has a PowerPoint to assist him in that respect. [00:57:17] Thank you Ms. Vance. [00:57:19] We've done this before, you all are familiar with it, it's an attempt to expedite the next [00:57:26] pavement improvement project that we have that we were doing design while we were constructing [00:57:32] the previous street improvement project. [00:57:37] So the one that we started off with was the 2023-2024 project, that is coming to a closure [00:57:44] and so the change order basically is the 24-25 project that's been designed. [00:57:52] It's cycle eight of your pavement management plan, and so what I ended up doing was, you [00:57:59] have the list of the streets that are in your packet, I just wanted to show you this slide [00:58:04] to give you an idea of the area that the 24-25 project or the change order will be occurring [00:58:12] it's on the top left-hand corner is the Big Bend neighborhood area, and then that area [00:58:20] in the center there is just north of Main Street, it's called your North Park area, [00:58:26] and those includes all the streets that we're proposing to be improved. [00:58:33] The change order will actually allow us to reduce our time frame of the project by eliminating [00:58:41] the bid and contract phase, the reduction of time frame would be about 60 to 90 days [00:58:49] that we would save that we could start paving as soon as we get the change order approved, [00:58:55] and we would also save approximately $10,000 because we would not have to do engineering [00:59:02] services for the bid phase or the construction phase, and the other thing that I think that's [00:59:07] important to note is it eliminates the possibility or the likelihood of an increase in cost. [00:59:15] The change order, the contractor has agreed to keep the 23-24 pricing exactly the same [00:59:22] as what we have in the project for this additional work, and so I think that saves a considerable [00:59:30] amount of dollars for the city, and so with that we would recommend that you do approve [00:59:37] the change order and the money is budgeted in your CIP program. [01:00:00] the money and continue on with the cycles for our pavement management plan. [01:00:06] So it's an exciting thing, and I'm glad we're continuing to do it. [01:00:11] And you're continuing to find ways to responsibly shave down some of those corners. [01:00:18] Is there a second? [01:00:19] No, I'm good. Thank you. [01:00:20] Matt? [01:00:21] Good. [01:00:22] Pete? [01:00:24] To the cost issue, noticing the price of oil at the gas stations or the price of gas based on oil prices, [01:00:33] the comparison from year to year, it's a good thing to keep paving while we can. [01:00:38] The prices have remained relatively low, [01:00:41] which is probably why the contractor is able to not have to pass along increases in cost to us. [01:00:48] I don't know how much they're doing now in terms of scraping the roads and then using the mill asphalt, [01:00:55] but does that become a standard procedure now pretty much on roads? [01:00:59] It is. [01:01:00] Yeah. [01:01:01] Yeah. [01:01:02] We don't want to increase the elevation of the street [01:01:04] and create any additional flooding problems that might already be there. [01:01:10] So there must be some additive of new asphalt in that process, though, or does it equal out? [01:01:20] It equals out, and it depends on what areas you're doing. [01:01:23] Some of the roads have so many different layers that you can go ahead and you can mill down, [01:01:28] and you don't have any sub-base work. [01:01:30] And then the other streets that you may get into your sub-base, [01:01:34] you can use the millings that you've milled up and mix those in and use that for your sub-base. [01:01:41] So it works out rather good for us. [01:01:44] Thank you. [01:01:46] We're still using taxpayers' money that they get taxed every year on the asphalt itself, correct? [01:01:51] Yes, sir. [01:01:52] Yeah. [01:01:53] We're not doing the engineering out of that money? [01:01:55] No, sir. [01:01:56] Okay. [01:01:57] I just want to reiterate that for the public to know. [01:01:59] One hundred percent of their tax money is going to asphalt in their neighborhood or when it comes to your neighborhood. [01:02:05] It's a 20-year cycle, and it will be back to your neighborhood, [01:02:08] unless there's a high-density road and we have to hit it more than once every 20 years. [01:02:14] All those in favor signify by aye. [01:02:16] Aye. [01:02:17] That's five nothing.

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13. 9.e

    ↳You arrived here from a search for “Debbie Manns” — transcript expanded below

    Resolution No. 2026-02: Authorizing the Donation of Surplus Firearms to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office

    approved

    Council approved Resolution 2026-02 authorizing donation of surplus fully-automatic SWAT firearms to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. The firearms are no longer needed since NPRPD disbanded its SWAT team and joined the Sheriff's Unified SWAT team. No budget impact.

    Ord. Resolution No. 2026-02

    • motion:Motion to approve Resolution 2026-02 authorizing donation of surplus firearms to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. (passed)

    🏢ATF🏢New Port Richey Police Department🏢Pasco County Sheriff's Office👤Chief Cochin👤Ms. Manns#Resolution No. 2026-02#Unified SWAT team

    ▶ Jump to 1:02:18 in the video

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    [01:02:18] Resolution number 2026-02, authorization of the donation of surplus firearms to Pasco County Sheriff's Department. [01:02:29] Yes. [01:02:30] This is resolution number 2026-02, a resolution of the City Council of the City of New Porichy, Florida, [01:02:35] authorizing the donation of certain surplus firearms to the Pasco County Sheriff, [01:02:40] as more particularly described in the attachment hereto as provided herein. [01:02:45] As indicated by the City Attorney, the resolution before you this evening authorizes the donation of some surplus firearms to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, [01:02:59] and we're going to have Chief Cochin tell you a little bit about that agenda item. [01:03:04] Thank you, Chief. [01:03:05] Thank you, Ms. Manns. [01:03:07] So the request before you is to approve Resolution 2026-02, which does authorize donation of surplus firearms to Pasco County Sheriff's Office. [01:03:16] These firearms are all listed in your backup material, and I've itemized them on the cover memo. [01:03:23] Currently, the New Port Richey Police Department has these firearms. [01:03:26] They're all ATF-approved because they are fully automatic, and they are intended for the use on a SWAT team. [01:03:32] So years ago, our department did have a SWAT team. [01:03:35] However, we disbanded that team to join the Pasco County Sheriff's Office Unified SWAT team, which, in my opinion, is a prudent decision. [01:03:43] When you combine resources, especially with the Sheriff's Department, you are going to have a better team. [01:03:48] You're going to have better equipment, better training, better resources, better logistics. [01:03:52] So we currently do have members that are assigned to that SWAT team, so when they get chosen and selected, the Sheriff's Office provides them with everything. [01:04:01] So these firearms are of no use to us. [01:04:04] The Sheriff asked them if we could donate to him to be used on this SWAT team. [01:04:09] I think this is a very good decision on our part. [01:04:12] The Sheriff's Office is a very strong partner of ours in everything we do. [01:04:16] So the staff recommends that the City Council approve Resolution 2026-02, which authorizes the donation of these firearms to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. [01:04:25] There is no budget impact. [01:04:27] I'm here to answer any questions that you may have. [01:04:29] Any public comment? [01:04:31] Seeing no one come forward, bring it back for discussion and vote. [01:04:35] I'll move to approve. [01:04:36] I'll second. [01:04:38] No, I mean, if they're sitting there collecting dust, I see no reason why we shouldn't pass them on to the Sheriff's Office. [01:04:47] Especially if we're doing a joint SWAT situation, these will come in handy for them. [01:04:53] So thank you, Chief. [01:04:55] Is there a second? [01:04:56] No. [01:04:58] No. [01:05:02] I'm good. [01:05:05] It's teamwork, that's all it is, really. [01:05:08] All those in favor signify by aye. [01:05:10] Aye. [01:05:13] Communications, we'll start with you, Pete.

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14. 9.f

    Ratification of I.A.F.F. (Firefighters) Memorandum of Agreement-Wage Reopener

    approved

    Council ratified a Memorandum of Agreement with IAFF Local 1158 (firefighters) for FY2025-26, providing a 2.5% wage increase and amending the pension article to unify the final average calculation for the six firefighters hired before September 30, 2013. The union accepted a 1% reduction from the originally offered wage increase to share the cost of the pension change with the City; a follow-up ordinance amendment will be required.

    • motion:Motion to approve the ratification of the IAFF Memorandum of Agreement and wage reopener. (passed)

    📍5936 Pennsylvania Avenue, Newport Ritchie, Florida🏢Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)🏢International Association of Firefighters, Local 1158🏢Pasco County Labor Coalition👤Aria Yamasaki👤Mr. Wetzel👤Ms. Manns👤Pete#FY2025-26 firefighter wage scale#Firefighter pension plan amendment (pre-September 30, 2013 hires)#Forthcoming pension ordinance amendment#IAFF Memorandum of Agreement Wage Reopener

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    [01:05:16] Oh, Resolution 2026. [01:05:19] Ratification. [01:05:20] Oh, ratification. [01:05:21] I'm sorry. [01:05:22] I already marked it off. [01:05:23] Ratification of the IAFF Firefighters Memorandum of Agreement Wage Reopener. [01:05:32] First before you this evening is to ratify a proposed agreement between the International Association of Firefighters, [01:05:45] Local 1158, our local firefighters, covering the fiscal year 2025 through 2026, and amending one article of their collective bargaining agreement. [01:06:02] And Mr. Wetzel will present the full agenda item to you. [01:06:08] Thank you, Ms. Manns. [01:06:09] Good evening, Mayor. [01:06:10] Good evening, City Council members. [01:06:12] The item before you, as Ms. Manns mentioned, is to approve and ratify the memorandum of agreement, [01:06:18] as well as the stepladder salary plan for the firefighters. [01:06:23] After meeting with the firefighters, actually after one meeting, [01:06:26] we came to an agreement with them to increase their salary, the wage scale this year for FY25-26. [01:06:36] And as Ms. Manns mentioned, this was a wage reopener, [01:06:38] so they are entitled to, as well as the City, to open up at least two items. [01:06:43] And one of the items that was open was with regard to the pension. [01:06:46] Just a quick overview of the item. [01:06:48] Again, with respect to wages, the wage increase was for a 2.5% increase. [01:06:53] With respect to the pension, again, this item has been long on an agenda item. [01:06:59] Again, back in 2013, the pension plan was changed. [01:07:03] Again, it basically created two different calculations for members that were hired prior to September 30th of 2013. [01:07:11] We have six firefighters that fall into that category. [01:07:15] After October 1 of 2013 to the present, [01:07:18] there's a different calculation for final average that was done from that perspective. [01:07:22] So again, in 2017, this was raised. [01:07:25] And again, it kind of has sat idle for various reasons from that perspective. [01:07:30] This year, we obviously negotiated with them and came to the resolution to correct that. [01:07:35] So there's really only one average calculation when it's done. [01:07:38] So really, it's impacting six members of the firefighters. [01:07:41] As part of this agreement, again, the City basically came to the discussions and said, [01:07:47] look, the City will not take this all on by itself. [01:07:50] Again, we are willing to split this cost differential for this change in the pension plan with the firefighters. [01:07:55] The firefighters agreed and with their members agreed to take a 1% salary reduction from what was originally offered to them. [01:08:02] That's why we settled at 2.5% on the wages. [01:08:06] With respect to the pension, again, it will now cover these six members. [01:08:10] And there will be one average final calculation that's done, [01:08:14] which will obviously benefit the six members who have two different calculations at that end. [01:08:20] So again, the item presented before you, again, is asking for you to approve that from that standpoint. [01:08:26] With regard to the financial impact, like I said, the union, again, for their share of this, [01:08:30] took a 1% reduction in the wage offer that was done. [01:08:34] So that will cover theirs. [01:08:36] From the standpoint of the City, for us to do this as well, we had anticipated this into the budget from that standpoint. [01:08:43] So again, for this year, everything is taken care of and will be covered. [01:08:46] Going forward from the standpoint of the pension, obviously, when we get to the pension calculations, [01:08:50] some of those lines, that will be part of the budget. [01:08:52] And again, it will be anticipated and covered in future pensions from that end. [01:08:56] So again, we would ask that, again, the City Council approve this memorandum of agreement [01:09:01] and the salary increase and this article to change the pension. [01:09:05] And just one other note, with regard to the pension, there will have to be an ordinance that will have to be done. [01:09:11] So the City and the union are waiting for the pension attorney and for the pension board to bring that forward. [01:09:16] But again, you as the City Council will have to vote to approve and amend the ordinance for the pension [01:09:21] to go to this calculation that's uniform across all parties. [01:09:26] So if there's any other questions, I'll be glad to answer them or with Ms. Manns. [01:09:30] Do we have any public comment? [01:09:31] I do have one person signed up to speak for this item. [01:09:34] It's Aria Yamasaki. [01:09:40] Aria Yamasaki, 5936 Pennsylvania Avenue, New Port Richey, Florida. [01:09:46] I now come up to you as a representative of the Pasco County Labor Coalition, [01:09:49] an organization that me and a few of my friends founded to fight for labor rights within the county, [01:09:54] as well as a member of the IWW, the Industrial Workers of the World. [01:09:58] I would like to say that I also urge you on to working with the union to make sure that these firefighters are paid [01:10:04] what they feel they need to be paid. [01:10:07] And to consistently know what situations they are going into and how they should be organized [01:10:12] and how they should be compensated. [01:10:14] And the fact that more people don't respect that kind of boggles my mind. [01:10:19] So to see that this is actually up, has come up, and hopefully will be approved gives me hope. [01:10:26] Hope that union solidarity and unions working with cities can still move forward. [01:10:38] Anybody else like to speak? [01:10:40] Seeing no one else, bring it back for discussion and vote. [01:10:43] Move to approve. [01:10:44] I'll second. [01:10:45] The maker? [01:10:47] Yes. [01:10:49] First off, to start by saying it is great to see that there is another salary increase. [01:10:54] But to also speak to the pension agreement that was reached to say and to reiterate what was already said [01:11:03] about this being dating back to 2013 and that with the person sitting as our department head for human resources [01:11:12] and our city manager, their leadership working with the union, they were able to solve this problem. [01:11:19] And so I think that's a big deal. [01:11:21] And so I really appreciate that you were able to do that. [01:11:23] And in a way that, to me, is fair. [01:11:28] You heard the splitting of the cost. [01:11:31] You heard the firefighters stepping up to do what they felt was right to solve this problem [01:11:36] and the city stepping up on the other half. [01:11:38] So it doesn't get fairer than that. [01:11:40] So it represents what the union is all about and what the whole labor negotiation process is about, [01:11:48] which is reaching that middle agreement. [01:11:51] And I know the word reduction was thrown around a little bit there, [01:11:54] but that was within terms of solving the pension agreement. [01:11:58] But overall, this is still representing a salary increase for them. [01:12:03] No second? [01:12:06] No, I'm good. [01:12:07] Thank you. [01:12:09] Pete? [01:12:11] I just want to say that we had 10 firefighters in here and they didn't stick around for this, [01:12:16] so they must be happy. [01:12:18] They did vote unanimously in favor. [01:12:21] Okay, there you go. [01:12:22] All those in favor signify by aye.

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15. 10Communications▶ 1:12:24
16. 11Adjournment▶ 1:36:45