Commissioner Weightman on veteran and dredging

41:51Thank you, ma'am. Commissioner Weightman

41:54I ring my two things. If I could. I wanted to update you guys. If you remember the 91-year-old World War II veteran that his trailer burned down, he had no insurance. We're close to getting him back in. I'm hoping maybe by the end of the week. But the COVID stuff is delayed a little bit. But great man. I know he's excited to get back in his trailer. So and and I'll have more to come, like a little dedication and so forth, to make sure you guys can come out. Just wanted to update you on that. And I have a quick question if I could. And I I'm uh this

42:24goes to Commissioner Mariano if I could. And I'm just I want to bring it up. We're all getting emails about residents that want to want it that are saying they're willing to pay a thousand dollars to have dredging done. Um I'm assuming, Commissioner Mariano, it's coming from you, but I'm not saying it is. That's why I'm asking the question. But I just want to know. Where do we get that number from? Uh why are the folks emailing us? Again, I think we all agree the dredging's important. I know we have Dewberry working on some things for us, but I it just makes us all look bad

42:54when we're giving a number of a thousand dollars, which ultimately uh from what I can look at the estimate prices. I mean it may be a thousand dollars per resident for fifteen years, a thousand a year. You know, so I just I just again we're a great team up here. Um my last six years have been unbelievable. I think we're getting so much done together and I truly mean that. But it's just things like this that hurt us all. And again, Commissioner, I don't know that it is you. I just know that in most of it's your district. Just wanted to ask that question if maybe it's coming up

43:24when you were out meeting with folks with HOA meetings, but again, I just I don't know how to respond to these folks that are sending us these emails. If I if I could, Chairman Mariano.

43:35Please go ahead, Commissioner Yeah. Mariano?

43:37Thank you. Yes, um well I think as everyone knows, we've been working on dredging For over three and a half years now. We started with Port Ritchie Dredge through the B P Restruct money to try to help them with their dredging going up and down. Uh they had talked many years ago about assessing their residents about $1,000. As we look at going up and down the whole coast, Um That was the number that came out. Wasn't my number? came from the city itself. So As we were getting close to looking at doing the Port Richey Outfall Project, which runs from Magnolia

44:08Valley all the way to that stormwater pond. I figured we need to get public support that is out there. And I think everybody lives in one of those silted-in channels that, as as you know, Commissioner Weightman, you have talked about it before, you'd even put stormwater money in to go kind of clean those edge canals in to get silted in to help with stormwater issues. It was back like two months ago I sent that letter out to the people, I showed them the new map. uh that had the stormwater outfall project to the northern part and also to the southern part. So I kind of showed them what was going on, talked about it, and

44:38then just asked them, would you be willing to contribute $1,000 to a dredging to get your canals done? So it was kind of informational. Again, it was back a few months ago. Uh residents also Did the same thing as far as like trying to get their support out there, because they they do suffer greatly by having waterfront property that is all silted in. At low tide, you can't even you know, do anything with the boats. So yeah, I did put that letter out there. I'm happy to get the information that we've got so many responses back. And I will tell you we had a great meeting with the mayor on Friday. We had a meeting

45:08coming up with Seapines and Swift Mud. And after that, I talked to Brian Armstrong. As I have told you guys before, I had many conversations with him about trying to make things happen out there. Had the conversation, brought the mayor in. We talked for like an hour before that meeting, talked it through about what we could do. He actually shared me some new ideas which I hadn't heard that actually make sense for water flow that actually goes. goes to the north, uh that blends right over what used to flow there is now kind of blocked out. So actually we're going to look at Channel 24 as well as the ones we picked out from 14 to 18. So I I

45:38think you're going to see some really good things come out from it. And that in that input again, I did send that letter out. I am happy to send that letter out. I would have done it again. And I kind of educated the people once I saw the map, which you have all seen, it's a great project from Magnolia Valley all the way over. and how it tied in together. So yes, I did send the letter out.

45:55Okay. Chairman M if I could and the only reason I'm bringing it up is you know I've I've spoken to Karbala and I know his team's working on some things. We don't know the number. I mean it's a made up number. Now for you to say, listen residents, are you willing to pay into it, yes. You know, but we shouldn't be telling them it's a thousand dollars because Commissioner, it's not gonna be a thousand dollars. It's gonna be way more than that looking at the numbers. Again, Port Ritchie Outfall, my opinion, your opinion, it's both our districts, is the most important water project I think we have. It's gonna help

46:25alleviate you know more houses out of the floodplain than any other project. So it's important and yes I agree with you on the canals in Port Ritchie. Um I wish we could have done more. I I appreciate you working meeting with the mayor because You need to have that relationship. I think he's an honorable man. Um you know, I was in rotary with him. I think he's doing a great job. And we're moving in the right direction. I just I was just a little it just puts everybody in a bad spot. It puts our team in a bad spot, puts each commissioner in a bad spot when we start giving folks an amount. Now is it going to be There's an amount, but what is it? How

46:55are we gonna do it? It's gonna end up being an MSBU You know, I know other counties have tried doing that. I know Hillsboro, you know, Carballas worked on researching where Hillsboro did it. And there was, bless you, six or eight neighborhoods that they did it and one only passed. You know, so I just I want to make sure we're not giving false hope because again, we're a team up here. We ought we all have to work together and it just makes us all look bad if we're giving folks a number, which we don't know what the number is. So

47:24Commissioner Weightman I appreciate the uh the question and I'm frankly have happy to have the discussion with everything that goes out there in and trying to like talk to people about finding out what they want to do. And we've talked up and down how we are going to pay for this whole thing. It was a question, it wasn't a commitment. It was just a question of I think that's a good idea. you willing to and it's kind of just to feel them out. And I will tell you that the Port Ritchie Authority, who I met with Carl Roth, Uh just the other day and talked to Ron Padover about it as well. They have actually got their own question of this going out there as well, trying to get the seal, the feel of what the community wants to do. And I think, as you probably know,

47:54there I think their stormwater fee is about forty dollars, fifty dollars or so. Uh the mayor actually talked about even taking a look at bringing that up, and that could be a funding source as well that we could go through. So maybe the people in the canal they pay that extra thousand, and then maybe it's we have to be a good thing. start drawing from their stormwater utility fund, which is what is directly going to help these people, maybe that is the way to go. So I'm just trying to keep the ideas going out there and trying to make sure we make a a good decision that works well for all the citizens.

48:20No, and I again I love your advocacy. Again, I it's huge, but and it's not only Port Ritchie. I'm getting emails from folks in Seapines, folks in Gulf Harbors. Um we all are. So that again, Port Ritchie's a little different. I get it, and ultimately it's gonna be up to the city. Um but I'm talking about county folks too. I just want to make sure we're on the same page. Again. It's awesome what we're doing. It's awesome. We're moving forward with some dredging. And again, we need more. I mean we see it. So I just I just want to make sure we're not giving false hope to the residents. That's it.

48:49No, no, as a matter of fact, uh, you know, just just to talk a little bit further with it, because it was something I was going to touch on anyway. But uh you know, I taught we had those people from Sea Inshore that come down here that are doing the Kings Bay project that was at Regional Planning Council, did our presentation. They're actually gonna come down here take another look at those channels as well. They say that right now they were instructed by the grant writer that does POT two for the BP restrict money that those grants are now coming out and available. And this project is the ideal project to actually bring it all forward. So they're actually going to try to work with the city and us and kind of uh our staff and try to bring something

49:19forward as well. So there could be great opportunities that actually work. And yeah, we don't know what the numbers are. We are just trying to gauge as far as Are they committed? They do they want to see it happen? Are they willing to participate? That's all. Okay. Thank you.

49:32That's all, Chairman.