04/10/2019 CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING
CITY OF CLEARWATER
APRIL 10, 2019
Present: Michael R. Mannino Chair
Darryl James Henderson Vice Chair
Richard Adelson Committee Member
Kathleen Agnew Committee Member
Michael D. Anderson Committee Member
Marilyn Kagan Committee Member
Kelly S. Kelly Committee Member (departed 5:30 p.m.)
David Lillesand Committee Member
Marita M. Lynch Committee Member
Bruce Rector Committee Member
Mike Riordon Committee Member
Sean Schrader Committee Member
Becca Tieder Committee Member (arrived 4:42 p.m.)
Also Present: Pamela Akin City Attorney
Rosemarie Call City Clerk
Nicole Sprague ORLS Coordinator
The meeting was called to order at 4:30 p.m. at the Clearwater Main Library, 2nd Floor
Conference Room.
To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily
discussed in that order.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approve the minutes of the March 27, 2019 Charter Review Committee Meeting as
submitted in written summation by the City Clerk.
Committee Member Rector moved to approve the minutes of the March 27, 2019
Charter Review Committee meeting. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
3. Citizens to be heard regarding items not on the agenda.
Bill Jonson thanked the members for volunteering for the committee. He suggested the
committee consider the following changes: 1) city manager and city attorney performance
evaluations should be conducted in October, 2) the performance evaluations should be
submitted in writing, and 3) the city managers performance should be evaluated against a set of
priorities.
Charter Review 2019-04-10 1
Lisa Lanza questioned if the committee reviewed the 2015 recommendations and
expressed a concern regarding a Resolution adopted in 1970 regarding the intended use of
Coachman Park.
4. New Business
4.1 Presentation by Dr. Scott Paine, Director of Leadership Development, Florida League of
Cities.
Dr. Paine provided a Powerpoint Presentation regarding districting.
In response to questions, Dr. Paine said an electoral majority, meaning a group making
up more than 50% of the population, may have more sway. Generally speaking, the most
common type of a polarized majority are whites. If dealing with districts, and nobody runs from
a district, the outcome would be determined by whatever the charter said. He said population
size, concentration and polarization are the main factors to consider in single member districts.
The base amount of money a candidate would need to run would be higher for an at -large seat
than it would be for a district. The capacity to spend and make money is the price of admission
to run for office. He said five members of council is the most common, but there are less;
population has little to do with the number of members on a council, the majority of Florida cities
have populations less than 6,000 people. He said U.S. Census and information regarding
population distribution by race and ethnicity is useful when considering single member districts.
He clarified that the U.S. Census is about how many people live in Clearwater; it has nothing to
do with if they are citizens or registered voters.
In response to a concern regarding items showing up on an agenda, the City Clerk said
a list of the charter areas that needed discussion was distributed at the last meeting. She said
there was consensus at the last meeting to not change the language regarding the City
Manager and City Attorney evaluations. She said past committees have gone back through
each section of the charter and voted to make any suggested changes. There will be an
opportunity to revisit the charter sections again.
5. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
Attest:
Chair, Charter Review Committee
City Clerk
Charter Review 2019 -04 -10
2