Board reports tourism council and community updates

1:40:56Okay. Um so I'll give my report real quick on the um tourism council basically I'll just summarize this saying our n our numbers are up. Um it's nice 'cause we went down a little bit. For example, um our tourist tax collection uh increased um seventy-six percent. So that's a that's a nice little bump. Um we had our Florida Seniors, uh that Senior Games return. We had the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational back. for

1:41:27the fifth year in a row and I I know I've met with um so Davin Suggs who's at um FAC, his wife is the chair of The Florida Foundation, Sports Foundation and she loves to having events in Pasco County. So we're very lucky there. Have a great relationship. Um And um we had a uh group of renowned travel writers at the Comquat Festival in Dade City this year. So It will be fun to see those stories um come out on the Comquat Festival.

1:41:56Madam Chair. The on the on the senior games. Uh I finished third out of twenty-four in my flight.

1:42:01Get out of here. You uh you you participated in the in the golf?

1:42:05They ran a great show.

1:42:06Oh, you know This is your golf game?

1:42:09Yeah.

1:42:10Did you like that golf meeting yesterday? Yeah. Yeah, that was interesting. We may have some fun things to talk about golf in the future. We'll see how that moves forward. Okay, so photos. Um I also attended the Pasco economic de

1:42:26came in just in time because I was chairing the tourism development council but um That was a interesting update and good to see a a sold out room again. Um So uh as some of you might remember I started a number of years ago the um South Harbor's Leadership Council meeting which are by HOAs, C OAs

1:42:50um in the um s western southwestern part of Pasco County and um th they're very well received. I you you guys may wanna do this in your de your areas. Yours is a little different. Um but Uh I started one for the Trinity Odessa area. So we had quite a turnout. Um so these are all people who represent different HOAs and CDD districts within Trinity and Odessa. And um we had

1:43:20a great presentation. Um we started off let me think if I can remember who we started off with. W D O T. Um he was here. He gave a great update on in the area on what's going on on uh with D O T and fifty four and nineteen and the Sun Coast. Um and uh the the uh Folks there had great questions on traffic signalization and and brought up safety concerns on certain intersections. So they were so happy to have this forum to talk to

1:43:50DOT. Then we had um Uh traffic ops. And then we had um Nick Erin. um talking about all things with engineering and and roads and And then um We finished with public works. And they brought a whole team, but it was a just a really, really good meeting and I'm really grateful to uh all the staff that came. I I got lots of compliments and emails afterwards from the different neighborhoods saying how much they appreciated

1:44:21getting all that information about their county. Um last um no not last, next. Um so I uh am honored to have been honored with being called um being I don't know what the word is I've I've been awarded one of these Women of Distinction. uh awards um It was very nice that Commissioner Merman and Commissioner Oh, what's her name from um Pinellas County who's

1:44:51retired now. Um I've drawn a blank on her name. They both came to this event um because they had in the past been women of distinction. Uh so th they came to the event uh because I I was there and there will be a luncheon on March twelfth. And we'll have information if anyone wants to go. Um but uh it's really nice when Pasco gets recognized because we usually are look or are passed over. Um And this is uh put on by the Girl Scouts of West Central

1:45:21Florida, so I want to thank them for honoring honoring me in Pasco County. Um attended the Tri County Workshop. Um I thought I thought it was really good. Um and I mentioned to you already about the opioid discussion and I thought we really shown. uh brightly when they said we're thinking about doing this and we're gonna ask about doing that and we said and we have done this. So that was that was really good. Um what what was really great to hear too was the Um The

1:45:53commissioners from Hillsboro. I was a little worried there on that new one from Penellas County for a second. uh about our regional efforts on um mass transit, you know, a transit solution. And I thought it was really positive discussion. I don't know if uh if Jack if you wanna add add to it but I thought we really moved the ball forward.

1:46:15I think we did. The o the only problem I had with the whole meeting was having to take a picture standing up next to Seth.

1:46:22He's like a foot over everybody. I was

1:46:23I was talking about he don't let it for you. I was wh whispering sweet nothings in his ear about his wonderful golf game.

1:46:32Seth, everyone there is in a tie, but you oh no no no Josh is not in a tie. Yeah, you're right. Uh okay Lat Bala's not in the Eggers isn't gonna take that back. Jack's in a tie. No, so

1:46:44the great administrators aren't in a tie. Commissioner Bowles isn't in a tie.

1:46:49Madam Clerk. The next one is May second and that will be here in Pasco County. So we're going to be able to do that. We are we are working on that, so any input you want to provide you can provide

1:46:58for Joanne

1:46:59and we'll

1:47:00I want to look at the old target building.

1:47:03Where Santander is.

1:47:04Yes, Santander. Either in that it could be in that atrium between the two or in that building somewhere. I know it's an empty building, but it's a great location for all of them to get to and it and it's big enough. So if that guy's willing, it's got great um elec electronic, you know, setups in there. So it's a thought.

1:47:25Okay.

1:47:27Because we have also invited the Tampa City Council to come to that meeting.

1:47:32Yeah.

1:47:34Okay, but wait, but let us finish this discussion for a second. So we we've invited the Tampa City Council and if we put it too far into the county, I don't think we'll get 'em.

1:47:45Okay.

1:47:46So What did you guys talk about the Tampa City City Count did you administrators talk about that?

1:47:53Well we think it's um there's a degree of difficulty that will will come with that, but um you know we're we're up for the challenge if if the respective boards want that.

1:48:02It'll be fun. We did say that we wanted it at the meeting. Who was there? You, Seth, yeah, Jack

1:48:07Mariano. Now I heard mayors at the meeting. Versus councils. But

1:48:13What? Well, see the the mayor doesn't control her council members and it's her council member, especially one Who's keeps trying to derail everything? What do you think? think?

1:48:24Let's try

1:48:25mayors first.

1:48:26All right.

1:48:37No, no, no. Just

1:48:38the ones that are were T Bartas cities. And this is about moving forward with the BRT.

1:48:46Okay. I'll take that back and have that discussion with with the other administrators.

1:48:49And I was supposed to go speak on that in Hillsborough County tomorrow morning. uh on the grant that Hillsboro, their their MPO, they call it a T PO, received to study the different ways to I guess it's to kinda merge our MPOs and th there was uh a big announcement coming yesterday. but they've cancelled it. I don't know if they canceled it. They said because they couldn't get everyone together. It might be because the grants down hold. So

1:49:20um maybe, you know, who knows what where that is. So anyway I won't be at that meeting tomorrow.

1:49:25You know, Madam Chair, something that could come out of this meeting that might be good that you just kinda like made me think a little bit the With with President Trump now in office, he hates a bureaucratic mess. So sitting all those years in the TMA, when we finally get CSX to come to the table, where they're giving us the run run the line from Brooksville down through Tampa, and now Tampa's taking over the Con Ag site so it can go right to the heart of Tampa, and the other side running from Molesmar that would go all the way around uh up to the new bridge. I mean maybe this is something we need to do federally coming

1:49:55up because if Trump can say CSX get it together. If you're not using something, we're gonna take it back.

1:50:00Let's something

1:50:01might work.

1:50:02Let's huddle on that one about going to Washington and talk getting Getting that discussion going about a big impediment. Yeah. Yeah. Um so what are the topics that we agreed that we would talk about the next time was um w how the different counties were gonna use their HUD money, you know, that because each one of these counties got hundreds of millions of dollars, but we'll have to see what happens with that.

1:50:27Yeah, those action plans are due um I think mid to late April second

1:50:31April fifteenth.

1:50:32Yeah, the timing tax day. Maybe right. We'll we'll we'll have the discussion.

1:50:36All right, so okay, enough on that one unless anyone there was any other discussion that you thought worthy to tell the commissioners that weren't here. Didn't we talk about oh yeah, Tampa Bay Water made a presentation. Um All right, um I donated from some of my leftover um money Five cricket machines to the um The cultural center. 'Cause I um Crickets are kind of computerized cutting uh cutting cutting machines. You can cut metal,

1:51:06paper, Fabric, wood And um And I I got them to do a class and when I went I went to I didn't get to participate in the class. I have two crickets and I love it. Um Uh when I went to the class the instructor had one and nobody in the class had one, so they were all just watching. So it was It's like this isn't what it was meant to be and they said, Well we don't have any cricket so I donated five. F four of them are just regular ones and one's a super duper one and and some other equipment

1:51:36there so Um so hopefully we'll be seeing more classes there. And you know what? This there's a lot of women who have businesses on Etsy from their crickets. And you know who had one? John Gallagher's former sis Mary. Do you remember Mary and Mary? Not Mary. And um she worked for Schrader. Did she work for you? For a little bit, Mary?

1:51:57That's when I hired uh Marie. Yeah. She came and took Mary.

1:52:01Because Mary had a business doing great on on Etsy. So she retired and Carol Lorenzi. Went off on her on her business. So anyway, that was fun to donate that. Um Then last Thursday we had our 11th annual manufacturing dinner in uh Amskill's 10 year anniversary. Thank you, Commissioner Mariano, and Mike Carbala was there. Some other county people were there. Um David Engel. David Engel was there.

1:52:27We had our utilities team uh which have been recipients of a lot of those graduates.

1:52:32Yeah and I I thought Mitchell the one that went to Germany was gonna come up and speak, but Um it was a sold out room. Um And I only wish we had had donor cards on the table because That lady who spoke about Maddie's movement, uh who lost her daughter in a car accident and now works with foster kids was Uh a great speaker and Um we now um work with foster kids at Amskill. So uh thank you all and More more great things to come from MAMSKILs.

1:53:02Um did the Moffat site tour. We all talked talked about that. Gave my tourist tourism updates. Um

1:53:10Let's see. Um you mentioned human trafficking and I just wanted you to know at Amskos we have started A um a class for trafficked women. And uh the centerpieces at the Amskills dinner were made by them. And when Moffat came and visited us a couple weeks ago. And they heard what they were doing, they hired them to make centerpieces for an event they're doing. So um they come once a week. And uh a and

1:53:41one of them is actually uh gonna has the courage now to go she's attending our next boot camp that starts next week. So that and that group of women is called created class, yes? Something with trafficking.

1:53:54Other counties do this is uh they require, depending on the vendor and the procurement The vendor to have a human trafficking Of No.

1:54:09then their employees uh train their employees that are out and about. That's good. Um and it seems to be pretty successful to see Tampa Hillsboro. It's a little bit more cumbersome on the p you know, the person who's procured, but I mean it's a proactive ability and it's you want to do business with the county We're working on this. Hey you wanna be a vendor here, it it might be something worth doing

1:54:29So it's a it's a good point. So the timing, I actually I I had a meeting with our senior directors last week and we had members of the human trafficking uh group come out and speak. And uh, you know, I've mandated that all of our employees take that course or a course or something similar for awareness. Uh I'll I'll discuss with with purchasing to see what I'm saying. What you know, what kind of training that can be extended to vendors. Again, we we we leverage them. I look at them as the extensions of staff, right? And so uh let me let me let's have the conversation. Obviously I don't want to get into contracts and that kind

1:54:59of stuff, but you know, right now is uh just as being a person and being on the lookout for that type of stuff. Um I I think there's merit to that.

1:55:07Okay, and so I've I've told you all I've asked our staff to um test the Odessa Lakes for contamination on Very interested to see what that's going to show. Um Mike and I participated in a NACO housing discussion and we're gonna go for that grant, right? It was uh very enlightening and they have some money um for counties That are over five hundred thousand, it's competitive, um, but we think we fit the bill perfectly. Um And

1:55:37lastly, well two things. Please, Mike, don't forget about the Swift Mud and uh Starkey Ranch and the Preserve. I need to get answers on those things.

1:55:46Yep, I actually wrote that down today.

1:55:48Okay. And um So there was something there's something floating in the water behind my house at aunt at uh Gulf Harbors. We think it could be someone's dock or something and who's responsible for that? Who do we have? Something from the storm. I think we it's not a boat, it's something that's gonna Hurt somebody.

1:56:14Marine patrol.

1:56:15Why is that funny?

1:56:16I mean it's

1:56:16dangerous.

1:56:17I I would guess that's a good thing.

1:56:24I don't know. I we have I have no idea who to call.

1:56:27Is it still there or did it

1:56:28float away?

1:56:31Uh it was there Sunday morning. But it's been making the rounds in that area where a lot of Flats fishing? Folks go and um I don't know what it is.

1:56:45It's a little scary to go boating right now. There's There's there are um pylons missing for channel there's channel markers missing everywhere. That's

1:56:55that's parks. With the the channel markers

1:56:58and uh

1:56:59yeah, I know.

1:57:00So we we're missing a bunch of channel markers, but they're not all in our county, also in Pedales County. 'Cause we got our boat new boat and brought it up and It was tough to find our way, I'll tell you that. Uh, that's it for me. But you had something else.

1:57:15I have something else. I forgot. Mm. I missed the tri county, which I regret missing it. But the fact of it is WREC had invited me to Ronnie Deese's a retirement party at WREC. So I had to go there. So I I couldn't do both and be there at the same time. So Um It was very well attended by a lot of people and uh Have you been a I think thirty one years or so. Long time that he's been

1:57:45there. And he and I had a great relationship on a lot of different issues. it wasn't necessarily always Ronnie's way, but he was he was always pushing for uh Billy Brown to do a lot of things out in the Glu Coochie area especially. Yeah, he was a big fan of um I supported those moves and we We still support those and we're actually moving forward with a lot of things that That third business with the pipe company is actually they're moving on construction of their property. So so

1:58:15they're that's really good for the county. And then one other thing, Metropolitan Ministries reached out to get thirty Uh arm passes for Thirty kids, I don't know which kids or whatever, but I have told them today I would take care of that for them because of That's money for the fair, they need their money.

1:58:35Oh passes for the fair? Yeah

1:58:36for pass no for rides, not passes. Okay. Get them passes, they're free. The ride armbands are twenty-five dollars apiece and they want thirty. Uh so I told them I'd give them the seven fifty to to take care of that. And um Well, They seem to act like they didn't have money, but I give 'em check every year, so I don't know. They they keep asking for things, so Anyway, but that's that's what I followed the ministries at

1:59:06all, uh Uh Help support him on that.

1:59:10Thank you, appreciate that. Um in fact, there's

1:59:12a boycott there's a boycott on the fair.

1:59:15Really?

1:59:16Because one vendor couldn't get his spot because he missed out on it last year and they had to Fill that spot last year and this year They um The person didn't call to this week and it's the last minute and that spot's already rented out.

1:59:33When is the fair?

1:59:34The week

1:59:35of President's Day. In February. Yeah, so

1:59:40the President's Day week. Twenty four Monday.

1:59:45I forget one of the exact date of the thing.

1:59:47Are they doing that milking thing?

1:59:49Uh I don't know. I haven't heard that. So I will find out for you so and when you're in Dade City then I'll tell you whether we're having that

1:59:57next board meeting. I will be in Colorado. So

2:00:00Where?

2:00:00Colorado. Well

2:00:01we can't all go to Colorado in school.

2:00:03No, but Jack, you will be chair next uh next

2:00:07on the seventeenth. That's exciting and interesting.

2:00:13I did I wanna draw your attention to this. This is the co county commission's first community food food distribution and I was gonna miss it because I had to go speak at in Hillsborough, but now I'll be there so it's tomorrow. on uh mile stretch in um Um there's a whole list of people going. I'll be there and Um I hope that you can um

2:00:35Those I think some some of your staff are coming if you guys can't make it.

2:00:41My staff so I'm sure administrator.

2:00:46Yeah, no, and and this is um the the team has done a wonderful job of of working on this. I would just like to thank uh your your aide, Katie, for for her help on this, Tony over here as well as our volunteer manager uh s uh Sarah Solcrum for kind of helping to set this up. So we look forward to that. I I also did have an update regarding the debris in the water. We do if it's storm related, uh we do have a contractor apparently who is handling Water debris. Okay. And so we'll we'll take a look at that and see if that qualifies because I know our parks team does not. And

2:01:16then if not, we'll go through the normal channels of navigable stuff with with marine patrol and those hooks.

2:01:21Right. So I I have my um Harbor South leadership meeting, I think tomorrow. Um so and those are all coastal communities, as not all of 'em, but who do I tell them to call tomorrow?

2:01:34Uh right now, I mean I guess you can call our Solid Waste Department through a pickup.

2:01:39Okay, we'll have a number for 'em tomorrow. Um you know that

2:01:43right job and cleaning up of all the debris.

2:01:45Oh we did. I I have had so many compliments of people who live in our county and have friends in other counties. That um that were maze, you know.

2:01:56How how well we did. Well we started early and I'm happy to say we're we're finishing early. I know we're hovering at that ninety-five percent number right now. So uh yes, kudos to the Solid Waste team, our contractors and uh I I know this has been a long journey. I told you that the from the get go was a marathon, not a sprint, but uh we really we really made a difference there for the community and so I'm just happy that the team pulled

2:02:17together.

2:02:19John Power who has done that before in our county. Yeah, that was good. It went very smooth with him. So

2:02:26um I don't know if this related to the storm, but I've been looking online I think I sent a screenshot of this to Brantford. that the folks in holiday is and is that um Aloha Th they're saying their water really smells and that had d has anyone noticed that that the water is smellin' funny. So Um I don't know how I don't know how you how you test that stuff but

2:02:57holiday lakes in that area. Um and uh see human trafficking has a Okay, I guess that's it.

2:03:09So just as as well as you know, thanking John Powers, I t I tell you the team You know, Kevin Plisker and uh John Batista phenomenal to work with every step of the way. And I want to tell you I was talking today on the radio. We're talking about the pickup that went on. And with Trump talking about getting rid of FEMA for a lot of good reasons. Uh one of the best reasons I think is just being us able to hire our local people. because we had so many local businesses that get out there and get to work. And they worked so hard, so strong all the way through to get that

2:03:39done. So as far as like getting it done, when you get the local heart people that that really care about the community and what they did and they did a great job every step of the way. clean and and proud of the neighborhoods. I mean those guys uh we we we we're we're lucky to have them all.

2:03:54And the money stays in Pasco County.

2:03:56Great thing.

2:03:56And you know if in in in that regard that Kevin didn't get picked if that does change and the and the um focus goes back to the state level, it's really good to have Kevin in Dallahassee. So all things happen for a reason and maybe that's gonna be a really good plus for us. Um reminder about NACO and our legislative conference in the end of February. So I'm hoping that we'll have a good contingency. Ralph, you're working on our stuff.

2:04:27Okay, and um you know we've got friends in the White House now, so maybe we get a little special White House invite.

2:04:34And Madam Chair, it might be good for us to take a look if we can extend our stay a little bit, so we're not right in the midst of everything that's going on, because that that big forum that they have is phenomenal for to touch all the federal agencies. But I think if we can work to a day or two that we can get some appointments with our electeds. Or with you know, we got Ballard up there as well, so somehow coordinating with them to make these things happen, I think we'll go a long way.

2:05:01Um if if we have some uh you know, good good things going on. Um I'm gonna try and get it. Attorney General Bondi to speak to the Republican Club at NACO? Um I just have to get that that date, but I'm gonna try and get it get her to come speak to us.

2:05:19Awesome.

2:05:21Okay. Am I allowed to say that up here? here?

2:05:24Yeah, you can.

2:05:26I take it all back.

2:05:28She was elected.

2:05:32don't forget about me.