Weekly Agenda Review

January 29, 2026

  1. South Howard Flood Project—This is supposed to be a GREAT 8 Capital Improvements update—Council changed it to only speak of the South Howard Project (SHP). The SHP will take up EVERY penny of our stormwater improvements tax assessment. THAT MEANS--- NO MORE PROJECTS for any other part of the city of Tampa without the citizens paying MORE in taxes. That means no help for Davis Island, No help for Port Tampa, No help for any of SOG ---that has doubled its density since 2018. No help for North Tampa that flooded….not unless there is a new tax assessment. REMEMBER--- all the outfalls in South Tampa are AT CAPACITY!!! a. The City has not declared the EXACT area covered by this project. - the maps have certainly changed! I hope council will ask for ACCURATE maps with numbers!!
    b. The City has not declared how many square acres will be helped. c. The City could easily define how many homes and businesses will be helped by this project. d. The City NEEDS to show us the size and scope of this project compared to the Lower Peninsula (AKA Macdill 48 or M48) e. The City NEEDS to show that the work to be done is apportioned to the rest of the folks who were flooded in the City. Boca Raton V. State says that assessments must be spent apportionately. f. NOTE this is also on the NIGHT AGENDA--- to move money for this project!
  2. Staff to report on housing for folks with disabilities.
  3. Pause of Code Enforcement fines during the permitting process—if the reason the work isn’t done—permitting slow rolling the permits—citizens shouldn’t be fined for the days that the COT is holding them hostage. I am hearing from developers large and small that permitting has become a full fledged NIGHTMARE!!
  4. Tampa City Council Salary, tie it to the Mayor’s salary. I think it is approximately 40% of her salary for now. But honestly, TCC is moving from a part time position to a full time position. The can’t get all their business done on one day per week. This week is the perfect example. Tie it to the Mayor's salary and be done with this. I thought you'd already tied it to ATU increases?
  5. The health of the pensions for the City of Tampa.

NOTE: Item #1 was supposed to be a review of the Great 8 Capital Improvement Projects for the COT. IGNORING the other 7 projects is NOT cool. These are HUGES uses of our tax dollars that have some gaping holes in them. I am going to talk a little about the ones that concern me.

A. West Riverwalk- there are two sections of this project that are NOT being completed by the City of Tampa, instead the administration relies on ONE developer to finish those two sections, one is the between Kennedy and the Selmon--- Where is the paperwork for those two sections? We need to see those brought forward. WHERE is the guarantee that the developer, who has been difficult at best in relation to other projects for/with the City….we’re trusting them to finish out a $57million project for us??? SMH - $10m from West Tampa CRA B. South Howard Project- current price tag $65million- we have ALREADY financed $20 million. How much have we paid to date to finance those funds?
C. Fleet Maintenance at 40th st—is this the area that is moving off of Spruce, that folks have been talking about selling for YEARS, but it hasn’t been put out for RFP, BUT they have put out the RFP for BIG BLUE that will leave TPD homeless????? $14 million!! D. Fleet Maintenance at Port of Tampa- $14 million – this one does NOT say where the funds are coming from??? I would hope they are coming from the Wastewater department as it is an Enterprise department. E. Relocation of the Solid Wast Facilities to the McKay Bay area $107million- a mixed pot of funding both general fund and solid waste funds. F. Another $18 million for the movement of the fleet of solid waste trucks to McKay Bay facility. G. TPD Howard Ave Annex- $40 million that has NOT been approved, but this is a HUGE property with a lot of potential but from what I have seen is it will be a HUGE warehouse. I guess TPD has a different plan for where leadership will be located as they have mentioned a $400 million headquarters… H. Fire Station 24, it is about damn time, this was approved in 2021 but NOTHING was done until the last year or so when TCC noticed. $24 million, how much more is that than if it had been built in 2021 as directed?? Where did those funds go? I. Public Safety Training facility-- $13 million. J. Tippin Water Treatment Facility improvements-- PIPES project funding- $41 million!! K. Wastewater Pumping Stations- $48 million- pipes project funding. L. Ashley Drive- $22 million project for downtown. This should be paid for 100% out of the downtown CRA funding.

THESE Projects are nearly a HALF a billion dollars—they are NOT all the projects for the City!! Are they ALL necessary? Have we paid off the projects that have already been built?—Hanna St, East Tampa Rec Center, the M48 project. Have we paid off the $50 million we gave to Vinik and Bill Gates? There are no NEW stormwater projects planned for other areas that flooded so badly? IDK, but we should all be asking?

NOW- the Evening meeting—I don’t normally speak about the evening meetings BUT— it is CRAZINESS!!

  1. Moving $20 million from the M48 project DEBT to the SHP—How can we spend borrowed money? Why would someone borrow $20 million more than they need for a project? If I recall correctly, M48 actually came in a tad under budget. What “mortgage”—Bonding Company loans you 20-30% MORE than you need for a project? ALSO—I always hear Budget and finance talking about NOT borrowing until you need it? This $20 million was NOT disclosed to council during the budget process???
  2. 2-8 are land use changes- I don’t understand why there is only one document for all these items? Nothing uploaded from the City Staff?