05/08/2019 CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING
CITY OF CLEARWATER
MAY 8, 2019
Present: Michael R. Mannino Chair
Darryl James Henderson Vice Chair
Richard Adelson Committee Member
Kathleen Agnew Committee Member
Marilyn Kagan Committee Member
Kelly S. Kelly Committee Member
David Lillesand Committee Member
Marita M. Lynch Committee Member (arrived 4:46 p.m.)
Mike Riordon Committee Member
Sean Schrader Committee Member
Absent: Michael D. Anderson Committee Member
Bruce Rector Committee Member
Becca Tieder Committee Member
Also Present: Pamela Akin City Attorney
Rosemarie Call City Clerk
Nicole Sprague ORLS Coordinator
The meeting was called to order at 4:32 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.
A moment of silence was observed for the passing of Philadelphia Phillies Chairman David
Montgomery.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approve the minutes of the April 24, 2019 Charter Review Committee Meeting as submitted
in written summation by the City Clerk.
Committee Member Riordon moved to approve the minutes of the April 24, 2019 Charter
Review Committee meeting. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
3. New Business
3.1 Presentation on demographics by Planning and Development staff.
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Senior Planner Kyle Brotherton presented an interactive map showing demographics
within census block groups. The census block is the smallest geographic data available year to
year. The data is updated monthly with annexations and only captures incorporated limits;
enclaves are not depicted on the map.
In response to questions, Mr. Brotherton said the density information represents how
many individuals live in a census block and there are over 40 census blocks in the city.
Household income and household education information could be included in the map. He said
Forward Pinellas provides projections on seasonal residents, but the data does not track when
seasonal residents come and go.
3.2 Discuss council composition and districting.
The City Attorney said Council requested the committee discuss districts, the topic has
not been vetted by a charter review committee. There was consensus to proceed with the
discussion.
Discussion ensued regarding incorporating districts and increasing the size of Council to
7 members. Comments were made that expanding the Council would increase voter turnout,
increase representation, and encourage more citizens to get involved. It was said that
expanding Council without incorporating districts does not necessarily increase representation.
The City Attorney provided a handout summarizing the different variations of districting.
In response to questions, she said the committee would not participate in drawing district lines,
as it is a legislative process; districts are population based, not geographical. She said an
expanded Council would have minimal impact on staff and operations.
Staff was directed to provide a list of all Councilmembers since 1975, including their
race, and a map of where recent Councilmembers have lived.
3.3 Discuss voting methods.
Discussion deferred to the next meeting.
4. Public Comment
Bill Jonson said that at one time while he was serving on Council, 4 out of the 5
members lived in Countryside. He said if Council was expanded to 7 members, there would be
more people to serve on all the regional boards which are time consuming and the City
Manager would have 7 one hour weekly meetings. He is hopeful the committee's
recommendations will encourage more people to run for Council.
Christine Michalek distributed a memo to the committee requesting consideration to add
a Conflict of Interest policy in the Charter.
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Lisa Lanza said running for Council in a single member district is less expensive than
running at -large and that is why we need districts. St. Petersburg has single member districts
and it makes a big difference. She said her main goal is to share information.
5. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:07 p.m.
Attest:
.-I i (ate
City Clerk
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