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Tampa City Council
Thursday, February 28, 2013
9:00 a.m. session
This file represents an unedited version of realtime
captioning which should neither be relied upon for complete
accuracy nor used as a verbatim transcript.
The original of this file was produced in all capital
letters and any variation thereto may be a result of third
party edits and software compatibility issues.
Any person who needs a verbatim transcript of the
proceedings may need to hire a court reporter.
09:03:45 >> CHAIRMAN MIRANDA: City Council is called to order.
09:06:17 The chair yield to Mike Suarez.
09:06:20 >> It's my pleasure to introduce Rabbi Mendy.
09:06:26 He left to study in Detroit, Paris and New York City where
09:06:29 he received his ordination.
09:06:32 He has interned and volunteered in Argentina, Ukraine,
09:06:37 across the U.S.
09:06:39 Five languages, and believes communication is his greatest
09:06:45 skill.
09:06:45 The last five years that he was director of the South Tampa
09:06:49 branch of the largest Jewish organization in the world.
09:06:57 Here locally, Habad offers educational programs for adults
09:07:01 and children, communication holiday celebration, counseling
09:07:04 and life coaching to hundreds of South Tampa residents.
09:07:07 Rabbi Mendy's goal is to help people connect with each
09:07:11 other.
09:07:12 Please rise for the invocation and stay standing for the
09:07:15 pledge of allegiance.
09:07:15 >> Let us pray.
09:07:23 Master of the world, look favorably upon this council, the
09:07:27 Tampa City Council.
09:07:28 Bless them with good health, wisdom and compassion, that
09:07:31 they may enact just laws according to your will.
09:07:35 Bless our distinguished council members and their families
09:07:37 and let our council remember that they have been chosen by
09:07:40 thousands of people who placed their faith and confidence in
09:07:44 them to make laws and decisions on behalf of our great city.
09:07:48 Let us all recognize that they hold a God-given position,
09:07:51 performance one of the seven universal laws given to Noah,
09:07:57 the father of all humanity, for a more just and peaceful
09:08:02 society governed by the rule of law.
09:08:04 Bless our law enforcement and the military who constantly
09:08:07 sacrifice the freedoms we so cherish.
09:08:09 Protect them and return them safely to their family.
09:08:12 As we open this council meeting just a few weeks before the
09:08:16 Jewish community celebrates Passover, a festival of freedom
09:08:19 and tolerance, let all the citizens of the City of Tampa
09:08:22 accept and appreciate our diversity as human beings, and see
09:08:27 the uniqueness individual beauty we each contribute to the
09:08:31 woven fabric of our society.
09:08:32 Let us all find the inherent goodness in each other and
09:08:35 encourage one another to fulfill our charge from the
09:08:38 almighty to perfect the world under his sovereignty N.this
09:08:42 way we can bring light in place of darkness, redemption in
09:08:45 place of despair and happiness and peace to all who seek it.
09:08:49 Amen.
09:08:50 [ Pledge of Allegiance ]
09:09:12 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Roll call.
09:09:12 >>MIKE SUAREZ: Here.
09:09:14 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Present.
09:09:15 >>FRANK REDDICK: Here.
09:09:16 >>HARRY COHEN: Here.
09:09:18 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Here.
09:09:26 The first item will be commendation to police Officer of the
09:09:28 Month.
09:09:36 Councilman Reddick along with Chief Castor.
09:09:41 >>FRANK REDDICK: It's my pleasure to present to you our
09:09:47 officer for the month of February 2013, officer Daniel
09:09:52 McDonald.
09:09:56 Chief.
09:09:56 >> Chief Castor: It's my honor to present Tampa's best in
09:10:03 front of you.
09:10:03 It's the mission of the Tampa Police Department to go out
09:10:05 and crush crime and the forces of evil, and the delivery of
09:10:10 social services isn't necessarily in our job description,
09:10:13 but it's not lost on our officers that exist to serve the
09:10:19 public, and we help them in any way, shape or form that we
09:10:21 can.
09:10:23 And when we saw an increase in oar homeless population in
09:10:28 the City of Tampa, assistant chief John Bennett moved some
09:10:33 resources around and created a position for a homeless
09:10:37 liaison officer.
09:10:40 And we searched the entire department and picked the
09:10:42 individual that we thought could perform in this capacity
09:10:45 the best.
09:10:45 And with the expectations and the standards and the bar set
09:10:49 very high, I can say that Dan McDonald has surpassed all of
09:10:54 our expectations and has done an amazing job.
09:10:57 He stepped in to a role that was created for him because
09:11:03 there wasn't a template, and he has done an amazing job.
09:11:06 He didn't waste very much time.
09:11:10 Went to all of the locations in the City of Tampa where
09:11:13 homeless individuals were located, met with them, found out
09:11:17 what the needs were, and then he also met with all of the
09:11:20 service providers, including, I mean, just an incredible
09:11:25 list, the homeless coalition of Hillsborough County working
09:11:29 closely with the downtown partnership, a number of
09:11:31 neighborhood associations, Salvation Army, Metropolitan
09:11:34 Ministries, and also a number of faith based organizations.
09:11:40 And a lot of these individuals, what he found is that they
09:11:43 just needed some assistance.
09:11:45 They couldn't get a job because they didn't have a Social
09:11:47 Security card or didn't have a driver's license and he would
09:11:52 take them and give these credentials for them, whatever it
09:11:56 is they needed.
09:11:57 He has found employment for a number of individuals who were
09:12:00 homeless.
09:12:00 He certainly found housing for a number of individuals as
09:12:03 well.
09:12:04 And one of the he will elements that we are most proud of is
09:12:10 that he has reunified a lot of these individuals with other
09:12:13 family members.
09:12:15 They have come to Florida, lost touch, and he's able to
09:12:18 reunify them with their families, where they have a support
09:12:22 structure.
09:12:22 It gets them off of the streets.
09:12:25 So he has done so many things for so many individuals out on
09:12:27 the street that have someone given up hope of ever being a
09:12:32 productive member of our community.
09:12:35 And his efforts have been recognized by "The Tampa Tribune,"
09:12:39 the CBS evening news, the BBC went to hear him talk.
09:12:46 You will learn quickly that he's not from around here.
09:12:49 But he has done a remarkable job, and we are very proud of
09:12:53 him and all that he has done for the homeless in the City of
09:12:56 Tampa.
09:12:57 And it is certainly my honor to recognize him as Officer of
09:13:00 the Month for February of 2013.
09:13:04 Dan McDonald.
09:13:07 [ Applause ]
09:13:20 >>FRANK REDDICK: On behalf of Tampa City Council we would
09:13:22 like to give you a commendation for being officer for
09:13:27 February 2013.
09:13:28 Congratulations.
09:13:34 [ Applause ]
09:13:37 All right.
09:13:38 We have some goodies for you.
09:13:44 >> Chip Deblock of Tampa PBA with our partner.
09:13:53 >> Congratulations.
09:13:54 On behalf of star show, here is a gift card for a job well
09:13:57 done.
09:14:00 Thank you very much.
09:14:01 >> Jill Watecki, Tampa Theatre, for an issue that touches
09:14:15 all of us that live and work in downtown Tampa.
09:14:17 This is an annual membership to the theater for you and a
09:14:21 guest, free movie tickets and discounts to the theater.
09:14:25 >> Joe Durkin on behalf of Bright House networks.
09:14:34 Job well done.
09:14:36 I would like to present you with one month of all of our
09:14:40 services, high speed, phone and video.
09:14:42 Congratulations.
09:14:54 >> I'm Frank DeSoto representing Bill Currie Ford and the
09:14:58 Currie family.
09:15:01 We are very, very proud for a job well done.
09:15:05 We would like you to have this watch.
09:15:07 >> Steve Stickley, representing Stepp's towing service.
09:15:15 On behalf of Jim, Judy and Todd Stepp, we would like to
09:15:19 present this token of our appreciation for a job well done,
09:15:21 and we appreciate what you are doing out there for the
09:15:24 homeless and also a gift card to Lee Roy Selmon.
09:15:29 >> I'm representing the Straz Center for the Performing
09:15:35 Arts.
09:15:37 We are so thankful for your service to the community.
09:15:41 And we would like to present you with tickets to a couple of
09:15:43 our upcoming events for you and another person of your
09:15:46 choice.
09:15:48 Thank you again.
09:15:52 >> I'm from island flowers, and I'm trying these aren't
09:16:00 really for you but for your significant other.
09:16:04 Here you go.
09:16:04 >>STEVE MICHELINI: Is she watching on TV?
09:16:18 >> No.
09:16:18 >> So you can hide this gift certificate.
09:16:21 This is going to Bern's.
09:16:22 But don't hide it too much. Anyway, we are going to provide
09:16:28 you with a $100 gift certificate so you can enjoy yourself
09:16:31 at Bern's, and prestige portraits is going to take you and
09:16:35 your family and whoever you want to have your pictures
09:16:37 taken.
09:16:40 We'll have a professional photographer for you and thank
09:16:43 you.
09:16:43 Some of the things we don't think about is when the homeless
09:16:46 are downtown and they are looking around and you are not
09:16:48 quite sure if they are trying to find something from you as
09:16:50 in your money or find some help.
09:16:52 And most often it's somebody trying to find help.
09:16:55 And when there's a coordination of that, and providing them
09:16:59 with access to services that are necessary for our
09:17:01 community, that takes one more homeless person off the
09:17:04 street and puts them into the correct care of all the
09:17:07 institutions that are set up for them.
09:17:09 So thank you very much for what you do.
09:17:14 Congratulations.
09:17:14 >> Thank you, honorable members of council.
09:17:19 I'm very blessed to be here today, and thank Chief Castor,
09:17:23 Chief Bennett, for having faith in me to do this position.
09:17:29 When I got the award, I kind of got ripped that I'm not
09:17:35 really doing police work anymore.
09:17:36 I think when you look at our success as a department,
09:17:39 whether it be the crime reduction overall or the RNC or now
09:17:42 the homeless initiative, I think we need to redefine what
09:17:50 police work is.
09:17:51 So in that aspect, yes, it is definitely police work.
09:17:55 So thank you so much for having me here today.
09:17:59 [ Applause ]
09:18:06 >>LISA MONTELIONE: Before you leave the podium then to her
09:18:16 credit, we are experiencing unprecedented relationship with
09:18:22 the Hillsborough County sheriff's office.
09:18:23 And I know you worked very, very closely with deputy
09:18:27 Donaldson from the Hillsborough County sheriff's office.
09:18:30 And when I learned of some of the things that you do, even
09:18:33 riding together on occasion when it calls for that, you go
09:18:37 out in the same car, and that I don't think has ever
09:18:40 happened before where you had a City of Tampa police officer
09:18:43 and a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy actually out
09:18:46 together in the same vehicle working to bring attention and
09:18:52 help some of the people that are out there.
09:18:53 So I personally want to thank you for that and thank you,
09:18:56 chief, for allowing that to happen, because it's not
09:18:59 something, I don't think, we have ever done on a regular
09:19:02 basis before.
09:19:02 >> We do have an outstanding relationship with the
09:19:08 Hillsborough County sheriff's office that benefits all of
09:19:09 the residents of the county and the city.
09:19:12 And unfortunately it's not duplicated across the nation.
09:19:14 But we have gone to their radio system and they have gone to
09:19:18 our records management.
09:19:19 So in essence we work as one agency.
09:19:21 And it benefits everyone, not just law enforcement, but the
09:19:24 community at large as well.
09:19:26 Thank you for recognizing that.
09:19:29 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you very much.
09:19:34 Item number 2.
09:19:37 Lisa Montelione on recognition of the Moffitt Cancer
09:19:39 Center's Spring Swing program.
09:19:52 >>LISA MONTELIONE: Good morning, council.
09:19:54 This morning we are here with great pleasure to honor the
09:19:57 folks at Moffitt cancer center and their monumental efforts
09:20:03 to bring awareness to the most common cancer diagnosed in
09:20:07 the United States, skin cancer.
09:20:10 Spring Swing, Moffitt's annually sun safety tour, is a
09:20:14 partnership between Moffitt and the Tampa Bay Rays offering
09:20:18 free skin screenings at specified spring baseball training
09:20:26 in the State of Florida.
09:20:27 This year it kicked off on February 25th in Port
09:20:29 Charlotte at the pirates versus Rays game and will be taking
09:20:35 a stop at Tampa's Steinbrenner field two hours prior to the
09:20:40 tiger versus Yankees game.
09:20:43 Screeners will be looking for early signs of skin cancer
09:20:46 while promoting sun safety, skin cancer awareness and
09:20:49 education.
09:20:49 Each screening stop will include a free Spring Swing T-shirt
09:20:55 and a chance to win tickets to a major league baseball game.
09:21:03 Spring Swing has conducted -- you can correct me if my
09:21:07 numbers aren't accurate because they might have been updated
09:21:08 -- 2700 screenings identifying 534 suspicious cancerous
09:21:16 lesions including 21 suspected melanomas.
09:21:19 So just in those numbers alone you can see the wonderful
09:21:22 work that they have done.
09:21:23 And being here in the State of Florida where the exposure to
09:21:27 the sun happens whether you are out on the golf course, as
09:21:31 my son is -- I worry about that, always filling his golf bag
09:21:37 up with as many bottles of sun screen I can fit -- it's very
09:21:41 important work that they do.
09:21:42 So with that I want to present this commendation,
09:21:45 recognizing Moffitt cancer center for their annual Spring
09:21:48 Swing Sun Safety Tour.
09:21:51 And on behalf of Moffitt, I would like you to say a few
09:21:56 words.
09:21:56 >> My name is Chad Reece, a student at USF, and also intern
09:22:02 at Moffitt, government relations department.
09:22:04 I would like to thank you for the opportunity the for being
09:22:08 here very much.
09:22:10 It's an amazing experience to be here to receive a
09:22:13 commendation and to get the opportunity to tell but spring
09:22:15 swring event that will be happening.
09:22:19 The support that Moffitt receives statewide, nationwide and
09:22:23 locally here in Tampa is remarkable.
09:22:27 Moffitt has staff of over 4200 full-time employees, and we
09:22:31 serve over 7,000 employees in the Tampa Bay area and across
09:22:36 Florida.
09:22:36 And because of the support and I guess thanks that we get
09:22:46 from the council, State of Florida, places like that, that's
09:22:50 why we are here today.
09:22:51 The impact that it has locally is over 1.5 billion dollars,
09:22:57 and Moffitt does so much.
09:23:00 We train more than all other institutions combined and to
09:23:12 Moffitt is definitely growing and providing many more
09:23:15 opportunities.
09:23:15 Thank you so much for letting us be here.
09:23:17 And I would like to introduce you.
09:23:28 >> Thank you.
09:23:30 I am very honored to be here this morning with all of you.
09:23:33 And I'm deeply grateful for this recognition for the Spring
09:23:37 Swing program.
09:23:38 My name is Lorette, coordinating the Spring Swing event this
09:23:44 season, and they have pretty much summed up everything I was
09:23:47 going to say.
09:23:48 We had a stop last week in Port Charlotte, the first stop on
09:23:51 our tour this season.
09:23:53 We are now over 2,800 people that we screened in the last
09:23:58 six years of the spring screen program and we are over 600
09:24:03 suspicion -- suspicious lesions.
09:24:07 So the program is growing in momentum.
09:24:09 It's absolutely a wonderful program.
09:24:11 Very necessary.
09:24:12 As Councilwoman mentioned, skin cancer is the most common
09:24:16 form of cancer in the United States and one in five people
09:24:19 actually develop some form of skin cancer throughout the
09:24:22 course of their lifetime.
09:24:23 So I would like to take this opportunity to personally
09:24:27 invites you to join us this Saturday at Steinbrenner field,
09:24:31 March 2nd.
09:24:32 We will have Moffitt tents set up just outside the gates to
09:24:35 the stadium.
09:24:36 We will be doing prescreen cancer screenings just before the
09:24:42 Yankees take on the Detroit tigers.
09:24:45 Bring your families.
09:24:46 Join us for a wonderful event.
09:24:47 Enjoy the game.
09:24:48 Hopefully we'll get good weather as well keeping our fingers
09:24:51 crossed.
09:24:52 Again thank you so much for your attention to this program
09:24:56 for always helping us promote the importance of sun safety
09:24:59 and early detection of skin cancer.
09:25:02 It is a disease that is very curable if detected early.
09:25:07 Thank you for this opportunity.
09:25:08 >>MIKE SUAREZ: I just wanted to thank Moffitt for
09:25:13 everything they do in this community.
09:25:16 My family has been touched by cancer several times.
09:25:18 My sister specifically skin cancer.
09:25:21 So we know how important your efforts are.
09:25:25 And I know there's at least two people in this room that
09:25:27 have been touched by cancer.
09:25:28 And I think that everything that Moffitt does is a testament
09:25:32 to how great you are in terms of getting the best doctors,
09:25:37 doing the best research, and treating patients like people,
09:25:41 and not just like customers.
09:25:44 Also, Chas, for USF, political science graduate.
09:25:49 I just wanted to point that out to you.
09:25:52 Thank you again for your help.
09:25:53 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you all very much.
09:25:54 We really appreciate it.
09:25:55 >> Go bulls.
09:26:01 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: All right.
09:26:01 Continuing.
09:26:14 Item number 3.
09:26:18 Mrs. Montelione with the foundation of Tampa wheels of
09:26:24 success.
09:26:25 >>LISA MONTELIONE: Thank you again, council members.
09:26:29 Ms. Jacobs, step right up.
09:26:31 Hillsborough County is a vast geographic area lacking
09:26:36 sufficient mass transportation service leaving countless
09:26:39 numbers of people struggling to make it to work or school on
09:26:44 time.
09:26:44 Many Tampa residents can't afford to purchase or repair a
09:26:47 car of their own which unfortunately in our city is not
09:26:50 simply a luxury but for many it is a necessity.
09:26:54 A vehicle not only provides the vital transportation needs
09:26:57 but also grants hard working residents in our community
09:27:01 their independence.
09:27:02 Today, we are honoring Susan Jacobs, a woman who has
09:27:06 committed herself to providing a solution for those who
09:27:08 cannot afford the transportation they so desperately need.
09:27:12 Susan founded wheels of success, providing a solution to
09:27:17 people in need of safe, reliable transportation, not only to
09:27:20 maintain steady employment but to ensure they are successful
09:27:24 and in control of their future.
09:27:27 Wheels of success assist those in need for a program of
09:27:30 vehicle replacement, down payments, licensing services, car
09:27:34 payments, car repairs, and car repair classes throughout
09:27:38 Tampa Bay.
09:27:39 It is this achievement and her passion I'm sure that is the
09:27:43 reason Susan was chosen as the 2012 purpose prize fellow,
09:27:49 the nation's only large-scale investment in social
09:27:53 entrepreneurs in the second half of life.
09:27:55 They use their experience to take on some of society's deep
09:27:59 rooted problems.
09:28:00 A panel of 23 judges, leaders in business, politics,
09:28:06 journalism and the nonprofit sector chose five women from a
09:28:11 pool of more than 800 nominees.
09:28:12 This year's 35 fellows are finalists for the five purpose
09:28:19 prize winners.
09:28:21 In part, what is so inspiring is so is us an decided to
09:28:24 embark on this journey, reading from her biography -- and I
09:28:29 hope you don't mind my sharing -- years ago when Susan
09:28:33 Jacobs escaped an abusive relationship, she had to leave her
09:28:37 home and her car behind.
09:28:39 The limited public transportation in Florida's Tampa Bay
09:28:44 area where she lives it hard to get to and from work every
09:28:48 day.
09:28:49 Susan never forgot how difficult it was to be carless in
09:28:52 Tampa.
09:28:54 Years later, as manager of a staffing agency, she began
09:28:57 offering rides to low-income clients without cars.
09:29:02 There were programs -- "there were programs available to
09:29:07 help people with job skills training, resumé writing, job
09:29:10 searches, and interview skills, but there was no program
09:29:14 available to help actually get to work."
09:29:20 Out of those free rides that Susan gave to clients through
09:29:24 wheel of success, since the first two vehicles were donated,
09:29:27 repaired and reconditioned, wheels of success has helped 501
09:29:33 Tampa Bay area families secure safe and reliable affordable
09:29:38 cars.
09:29:39 I know I can't thank you enough for your dedication to
09:29:42 keeping Tampa Bay residents working by providing them with
09:29:46 the means of transportation so many of us take for granted.
09:29:50 I encourage everyone to see how they can volunteer with this
09:29:54 organization by going to their Web site, wheels of
09:29:57 success.org.
09:30:01 Thank you, Susan.
09:30:01 And thank you for keeping Tampa Bay moving.
09:30:10 >> I would like to say we helped over a thousand families
09:30:14 because we match our cars, so we have actually done 527.
09:30:22 And the program, what I would like to tell but the program
09:30:24 and really about the idea of having a car, when we talk to
09:30:28 families that have a car, we kind of say, this probably
09:30:31 isn't your dream car but hopefully it's going to get you to
09:30:34 your dream, because we need transportation in this
09:30:37 community.
09:30:38 But people when they complete the program, because it takes
09:30:41 a year, they do take something towards the vehicle based on
09:30:45 their income and they do provide volunteer hours back to the
09:30:48 organization.
09:30:48 But what they tell us is not so much that they got a
09:30:51 promotion at their job or a raise.
09:30:53 Those are all things that we are really aware of.
09:30:55 What they tell us is the difference, the change in their
09:31:01 quality of life and the things they are now able to do that
09:31:03 most of us take for granted that we are able to do all the
09:31:06 time, getting your kids to school activities that they can
09:31:08 participate in, and meeting with parents, teacher
09:31:11 conferences in person instead of over the phone, being able
09:31:14 to visit relatives that don't live that far, but again have
09:31:17 a car.
09:31:18 You really can't get to see them.
09:31:20 Getting to doctors appointments.
09:31:21 Many people don't go to the doctor preventively especially
09:31:25 because if they have to take off work, and it takes them all
09:31:28 day to get there and get back, they don't go back to work
09:31:31 and they don't get paid for that day, so they don't keep
09:31:34 those appointments.
09:31:35 They now keep those appointments.
09:31:37 So what we realize is this is an overall thing to keep
09:31:45 somebody independent and to be productive to citizens in the
09:31:47 community.
09:31:48 They are no longer needing assistance, most of the people
09:31:51 who come to us get off assistance that they are needing
09:31:54 because they get promoted.
09:31:56 91% of the people that we assist continue to work.
09:32:00 And most of them get some type of raises, promotion, or are
09:32:04 underemployed and can find a better job.
09:32:06 So I want to thank you for recognizing the program and hope
09:32:10 that the community -- we are a tiny agency, two and a half
09:32:17 staff.
09:32:17 So we need your support to be our advocate in the community,
09:32:20 if somebody has a car to donate it to us, let it stay in the
09:32:25 community, not be sold somewhere or broken down for parts,
09:32:28 but if we can fix it we are going to fix it and get it out.
09:32:31 So thank you so much.
09:32:33 >>HARRY COHEN: How do they get in touch with you?
09:32:35 Because you are also on television.
09:32:38 How do they reach you?
09:32:39 >> Well, you cannot apply directly as a person.
09:32:43 You need to be referred by your employer or a social service
09:32:46 agency.
09:32:47 >>HARRY COHEN: What about donors?
09:32:48 >> Oh, the donors can go on our Web site at
09:32:53 wheelsofsuccess.org.
09:32:57 Everything is donated pro bono on-site and you can do a
09:33:00 donation, or you can call our office at 995-5040.
09:33:06 And you can donate a car.
09:33:08 And you can get a better tax advantage because we try not to
09:33:11 sell the car unless it's a high-end car that will put money
09:33:14 back in the organization.
09:33:14 So we are not trying to sell the car at auction.
09:33:17 If we do sell it, we fix it and then sell it private party.
09:33:20 So the donor still benefits as well by donating.
09:33:23 >>LISA MONTELIONE: And I have to say the first time I met
09:33:27 Mrs. Jacobs is where her office is located, the family
09:33:31 justice center.
09:33:32 So that's a great place for wheels of success to be located
09:33:35 because there are so many clients coming through the family
09:33:38 justice center.
09:33:38 And just an example again of partnership and agencies
09:33:41 working together to benefit the community.
09:33:45 Thank you very much, is us an.
09:33:49 It's a great program.
09:33:50 [ Applause ]
09:33:55 >> Good morning.
09:34:14 I'm Gina Torres with metropolitan planning organization.
09:34:17 I have a presentation, so I'm hope that loads up.
09:34:21 But before I get started, it's heart breaking that another
09:34:24 pedestrian has died on our roads, a little girl on Busch
09:34:29 Boulevard.
09:34:29 I have a son the same age, a girl died going to Middleton.
09:34:36 But it's a serious and concerning topic.
09:34:42 You guys see the presentation?
09:34:43 You do.
09:34:44 And at the metropolitan planning organization we conducted
09:34:49 quite a few studies.
09:34:52 Directly we are addressing Busch Boulevard and others kind
09:34:54 of countywide when it comes to safety and some of the
09:34:57 analyses.
09:34:58 I just want to show you a few things we noticed when we went
09:35:02 out there.
09:35:02 These pictures are from 2006 and it was just a field study,
09:35:05 and these were not set-up pictures.
09:35:10 These are people trying to move around Busch Boulevard,
09:35:14 families, people darting a cross the road.
09:35:17 Crosswalks that needed better attention.
09:35:19 Sometimes, you know, the signals are very far from each
09:35:22 other so people would cross this lots.
09:35:29 You have better turning movements.
09:35:32 Just everything going on.
09:35:33 He have race, age, gender, and there are folks that are
09:35:37 needing to move around whether they are shopping, whether
09:35:39 they are going to school, for whatever reason, accessing
09:35:42 transit.
09:35:42 So we saw a lot of issues, a lot of problems on Busch
09:35:46 Boulevard with the study.
09:35:48 In addition we know -- and this has been studied over and
09:35:50 over again -- and we have definitely done a lot at MPO on
09:35:54 the topic.
09:35:56 Florida leads the nation and Hillsborough County is usually
09:35:58 in the top five when it comes to the state as far as
09:36:00 pedestrians.
09:36:04 There's good news.
09:36:05 Actually the D.O.T. and city have worked closely since that
09:36:08 study and those pictures that I showed you to do some
09:36:12 improvements.
09:36:13 And we have D.O.T. here at the end of my presentation that
09:36:16 they can give you more specifics about what they are working
09:36:19 on.
09:36:20 But there's a lot going on in the city, and the D.O.T.
09:36:23 should be commended because they are addressing some of
09:36:25 these issues.
09:36:26 And the D.O.T. and federal government is giving us money in
09:36:29 this community to do some other intersection treatment and
09:36:33 education and outreach.
09:36:35 I can't -- an award for this, the Tampa walk-bike.
09:36:45 You are using existing road pavement, recycling to improve
09:36:50 sidewalks that are missing, fill in the infrastructure
09:36:53 that's needed to make it safer for people that are walking
09:36:55 and cycling.
09:36:56 So it's been a really successful program.
09:36:59 But crashes are horrible.
09:37:01 And we have some serious issues.
09:37:02 And I think there's some more things that we can do here in
09:37:05 the city and in the county and the state.
09:37:07 But, you know, we looked at their analysis.
09:37:09 And it's when people are crossing the road is where the
09:37:11 fatalities are happening.
09:37:13 And the D.O.T. had actually done this pedestrian study,
09:37:17 safety action plan, and it shows really just a handful of
09:37:21 roads where most of the crashes are happening.
09:37:23 And a lot of those, most of them are State Road.
09:37:25 And they were built back in the 50s and 60s, a community
09:37:31 built for speed and maybe there wasn't quite as many
09:37:33 residents at that time, and places to go on.
09:37:35 But it's been filled in now.
09:37:37 We all know that.
09:37:39 So crossing is a big issue.
09:37:42 And maybe D.O.T. will address those crossings.
09:37:46 It's really far to walk from one intersection, a half mile,
09:37:50 like a lighted intersection, signalized intersection, across
09:37:55 the street where you are standing.
09:37:57 You don't really walk down that far.
09:37:59 So lighting.
09:38:06 Pedestrian crashes that were happening at night.
09:38:07 The city has their bright light program.
09:38:09 I think maybe starting in the spring.
09:38:12 You are going to start initiating some of that stuff.
09:38:14 This is just an example of the study with the Department of
09:38:17 Transportation.
09:38:18 This is Hillsborough Avenue.
09:38:19 But it shows that yellow line is where the lighting levels
09:38:23 should be.
09:38:23 And that's like Nebraska and orient, and none of the
09:38:29 lighting was really adequate.
09:38:31 So we have a lighting problem here.
09:38:32 Even though the pedestrian fatalities on Busch wasn't at
09:38:35 night.
09:38:36 Most of them are, a lot of them are.
09:38:39 This is something I think that we are going to hear a lot
09:38:42 of.
09:38:44 Every time I speak I am probably going to be talking about
09:38:46 speed reduction.
09:38:46 The likelihood of fatality is exponential when you
09:38:50 increase -- the graph shows autos.
09:38:54 The likelihood of death.
09:38:57 When it comes to a pedestrian walking, at 20 miles per hour
09:38:59 there's only a 5% chance that person will die.
09:39:02 They will probably be hurt but won't die.
09:39:05 At 40 miles per hour it's 80%.
09:39:07 We have to slow down the way our roads are designed very
09:39:11 fast, and I think the thing about this, maybe even more
09:39:16 significant than you realize, engineering studies show
09:39:19 between 30 and 35 miles per hour you are getting as many
09:39:22 cars through, the most cars can go through and travel at
09:39:25 that speed.
09:39:26 He have road can be 30 or 35 miles per hour.
09:39:29 But I think we need to spend a little bit more time in
09:39:32 reducing the speeds.
09:39:34 And Busch Boulevard is posted at 45.
09:39:37 This is an example of Fletcher Avenue, happened to be a
09:39:40 county project.
09:39:41 When we talk about speed reduction, this is a rendering.
09:39:45 They'll start pretty soon on this project.
09:39:47 But it added bike lanes and mid block crossings, and not
09:39:52 necessarily is Busch a candidate for this.
09:39:55 We haven't analyzed that.
09:39:57 But this is the type of design that's safe for everyone
09:40:00 using that road.
09:40:01 And it's a good example.
09:40:02 And I want to mention education enforcement, definitely.
09:40:05 I didn't he -- it's as important as everything else, and the
09:40:10 TPD, police department, is doing some direct outreach to
09:40:13 Sulphur Springs elementary school which is by the fatality
09:40:17 to talk to the kids about traffic safety.
09:40:20 So this is just some of the studies, and most of the MPO has
09:40:24 done points to more work that needs to be done, and we don't
09:40:27 build anything but we definitely can identify projects that
09:40:30 could reduce crashes.
09:40:31 And I think that we have.
09:40:33 You just never know who we did save by some of the things we
09:40:36 have done.
09:40:37 But I think the D.O.T. might like to address the work they
09:40:40 are doing currently.
09:40:42 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you very much.
09:40:42 >> Good morning, mayor, council.
09:40:54 Debbie hunt with Florida Department of Transportation.
09:40:58 >> You said mayor and seven of us looked at you.
09:41:01 [ Laughter ]
09:41:03 You are a crowd pleaser.
09:41:04 >> He's probably watching on TV.
09:41:12 Okay.
09:41:12 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: I'm sorry, go on.
09:41:13 >> That's okay.
09:41:20 It is a very serious message and I know that have been has
09:41:24 seen the activities that the department has been involved
09:41:26 in, and the major publicity events we have been doing on
09:41:34 "arrive alive."
09:41:36 We recognize that pedestrians as well as bicycle fatalities
09:41:38 continue to be an issue, predominantly here in the Tampa Bay
09:41:44 area, as well as throughout the state.
09:41:48 The tragedy on Busch Boulevard is something that none of us
09:41:53 ever liked to see.
09:41:58 We have the study that Gina mentioned that was completed.
09:42:01 We have been working with CSX because part of the ability to
09:42:05 install the crossings.
09:42:08 A mid-block crossing which I will tell you also is a pilot
09:42:12 for us, because mid-block crossings are generally not looked
09:42:16 upon favorably.
09:42:21 We generally do them on two lanes, and sometimes on four
09:42:23 lanes.
09:42:24 So this is a big step for everybody for us to be moving
09:42:28 forward with a six-lane facility mid-block crossing.
09:42:33 The notice to proceed to the design-built contractor will be
09:42:37 going out next week.
09:42:38 It will take them approximately 90 days to complete the
09:42:42 construction of the mid-block crossing at 12th street,
09:42:46 which ties directly to the community center.
09:42:51 Unfortunately, you can't do mid-block crossings everywhere.
09:42:56 We can't control where people are cross.
09:42:59 Every time I drive down a road I see people darting across
09:43:02 roadways, doesn't matter whether they are city, county or
09:43:05 state roads.
09:43:07 We all need to continue the efforts that we have been
09:43:10 working together on with education, enforcement, as well as
09:43:16 engineering.
09:43:17 I am happy to address any questions.
09:43:20 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Any questions at this time?
09:43:21 Mr. Reddick?
09:43:23 >>FRANK REDDICK: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
09:43:25 Mid-block crossings, explain to us what are mid-block
09:43:30 crossings?
09:43:30 >> A mid-block crossing is at a location that is not a
09:43:35 signalized intersection.
09:43:38 And so it is a crossing where the pedestrians will push a
09:43:43 button that will activate flashing lights to make sure that
09:43:48 the motorists are aware that there's a pedestrian in the
09:43:53 vicinity.
09:43:53 >>FRANK REDDICK: Let me ask you, how often do you evaluate
09:44:00 the road where it is a highly concentrated area of
09:44:03 residential community, where you have quite a few people
09:44:05 going to be crossing the intersection?
09:44:08 How often does D.O.T. evaluate those roads?
09:44:12 Two, we had a tragic death on Hillsborough Avenue, a person
09:44:16 crossing, a school bus, to a community grocery store, and on
09:44:25 Busch Boulevard that we are speaking of now.
09:44:29 I mean, these are the roads that you review and analyze all
09:44:34 the time.
09:44:35 And it's sad that it takes a tragic death in order for
09:44:40 improvement to be made.
09:44:42 So before we have another tragic death, I want to ask you,
09:44:47 what are you doing, D.O.T. doing, to evaluate roads, to make
09:44:53 sure that it's safe for people to cross those intersections?
09:44:57 And we do not have to face another tragic death in the near
09:45:01 future.
09:45:02 Are you evaluating the roads?
09:45:04 Are you determining whether to put mid-block in or put some
09:45:08 red lights or anything to alert pedestrians that this is a
09:45:15 safety zone and this is what needs to take place?
09:45:18 What are you doing?
09:45:19 Because too many people are losing their lives.
09:45:22 And besides that, we have to stand before this audience or
09:45:29 stand before this community and say we could have prevented
09:45:34 this if we had done something before.
09:45:37 And I hope you will be in a mode of prevention from now on
09:45:42 with these roads and coordinated by D.O.T. so we won't have
09:45:47 this problem.
09:45:48 But on Busch and 12th, are you saying to us this morning
09:45:56 that you are putting a mid-block crossing at that
09:46:01 intersection?
09:46:03 Because the pictures that we saw, from the lady with MPO, to
09:46:12 sit there and see all these people trying to find ways to
09:46:15 cross the intersection.
09:46:17 So what are you doing?
09:46:19 That's my point.
09:46:19 What are you doing to prevent future tragedies from
09:46:23 happening on at least major roads that are owned and
09:46:28 operated by D.O.T.?
09:46:30 >> We are working with the local officials to ensure that
09:46:37 not only is the education out in schools but also that there
09:46:41 is enforcement.
09:46:44 We are also evaluating the roadways to ensure that where we
09:46:48 know there are safety issues that we do what we can to
09:46:52 address them.
09:46:56 We cannot control human behavior.
09:46:58 And I don't disagree with Gina that people cross where they
09:47:04 choose to cross.
09:47:05 And when we did the evaluation on Busch Boulevard, people
09:47:09 are crossing at all different locations.
09:47:14 12th Street, because of the community center and because of
09:47:16 the community center being a draw, the most likely place to
09:47:23 try to funnel people to make that crossing.
09:47:26 The crosswalks aren't everywhere.
09:47:28 I know we all know and it's in state law, pedestrians have
09:47:33 the right-of-way.
09:47:36 It doesn't change the fact that somebody driving down a
09:47:38 roadway and a pedestrian steps out can't necessarily stop in
09:47:43 time to avoid striking them.
09:47:45 >>FRANK REDDICK: Let me just say this, Mr. Chair, as a last
09:47:50 comment.
09:47:51 I can understand that you cannot control human behavior, but
09:47:58 you definitely can prevent these tragedies from taking place
09:48:03 if you have prevention measures in place, safety precautions
09:48:10 that will alert those pedestrians.
09:48:14 I don't care if you have speed zones.
09:48:16 I don't care if you have traffic lights put up.
09:48:20 But there's ways oh to prevent these types of tragedies from
09:48:25 happening if you have safety measures put in place.
09:48:28 Now, no one wants to die.
09:48:33 I don't think anybody wants to cross an intersection and
09:48:36 die, it's not part of their behavior.
09:48:39 So I think, I would hope when you evaluate, it's good to
09:48:46 educate, but it's also good to put them in place that
09:48:54 prevent tragedies from happening.
09:48:55 And I would hope D.O.T. will go back or MPO, work with the
09:49:00 county, work with the county, work with whoever you have to
09:49:03 work with, but we don't want an excuse to be you can't
09:49:07 monitor or maintain human behavior, because I don't think
09:49:12 that child or that family, thought that little girl was
09:49:17 going to die by trying to cross the intersection.
09:49:19 And that was not part of behavior attitude.
09:49:25 They were trying to get across the street.
09:49:27 And just saying that they were hit.
09:49:29 So I hope no one wakes up and says this morning my behavior
09:49:35 is going to be I'm going to cross the interstate.
09:49:38 I don't think that's their intent.
09:49:40 So I would hope that when we evaluate, you will look at
09:49:45 preventive measures that you have put in place, that it
09:49:49 makes streets more save, and so that we won't have these
09:49:53 tragedies to occur, because I have seen too many since I
09:49:56 have been sitting on this council.
09:49:58 And the one on Hillsborough and 47th was a tragedy, the
09:50:04 one west of that was a tragedy.
09:50:06 Now we have one on Busch.
09:50:09 So I don't know where the next one is going to be.
09:50:12 But I would hope that D.O.T. and MPO and all the other
09:50:17 agencies that are involved will look at, evaluate these
09:50:21 roads and find ways to make it safer.
09:50:26 Thank you, Mr. Chair.
09:50:28 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you.
09:50:28 >>MIKE SUAREZ: I am going to follow up Mr. Reddick's
09:50:37 comments and questions in a different way.
09:50:40 What's the standard operating procedure when we are talking
09:50:42 about putting a mid-block pedestrian crossing?
09:50:48 As an example, if you are going along Busch, you know, we
09:50:51 have traffic lights at certain corners.
09:50:54 I think it was even mentioned that there seems to be a lot
09:50:58 of road before there's any crossing.
09:51:01 What's the criteria that's used in order to have a crossing,
09:51:05 or what D.O.T. considers a good spot for a crossing?
09:51:10 >> It depends on the volume of pedestrians.
09:51:14 And that was one of the challenges that we had with the
09:51:17 study, is because truly the pedestrians crossing so many
09:51:24 different locations.
09:51:25 >>MIKE SUAREZ: Let me interrupt you for a second.
09:51:27 Does that include the studies about the neighborhood,
09:51:30 demographics, other things that concern where these
09:51:34 crossings go?
09:51:35 What I mean by demographics, if you have a group that is
09:51:41 socio or economically more depressed or has less money, do
09:51:45 you do any studies that say, well, there's going to be less
09:51:47 cars, it will take more public transportation, they are
09:51:50 going to be walking to and from their home to bus stops, to
09:51:55 crossings in is any of that study done with FDOT?
09:51:58 >> No, sir, we evaluate what's actually occurring out on the
09:52:03 roadway.
09:52:05 Rather than project what's going to happen.
09:52:07 >> I am going to have to take you to task on that because
09:52:13 obviously D.O.T. has to concern itself with things that will
09:52:16 happen, speed limits, other conditions that are put for
09:52:21 D.O.T. roads.
09:52:23 You are anticipating getting people and goods to their jobs,
09:52:27 to market and so on.
09:52:28 I mean, speed limits and those things are studied based on
09:52:31 the number of vehicles that are on that road at that time,
09:52:36 plus anticipated use of those roads.
09:52:38 As a member of the MPO, we look at that on a constant basis.
09:52:42 So I am going to take you to task a little bit on that,
09:52:45 because I know that D.O.T.'s primary function is not to
09:52:49 worry about pedestrians per se, but because you are, as Mr.
09:52:54 Reddick said, the owner and operator of that particular
09:52:57 road, in conjunction with the city and county in terms of
09:52:59 what we are able to provide, there must be ways to study
09:53:04 those folks that live around those areas to figure out where
09:53:06 the best spots are.
09:53:08 And I know the MPO has a way of doing that, livable roadways
09:53:13 committee, and through us as an entire board, but also I
09:53:16 would assume -- and I guess my assumption is wrong -- that
09:53:20 D.O.T. has any role whatsoever in looking at what pedestrian
09:53:23 traffic is going to be.
09:53:25 Because here is the rub.
09:53:27 You are the controller of that road.
09:53:28 If we wanted to build a pedestrian bridge, we would have to
09:53:31 get permission from F.do it to do that, correct?
09:53:36 >> You would pursue a permit, yes, sir.
09:53:38 >>MIKE SUAREZ: So my point is that we may have all the
09:53:41 knowledge in terms of what's in that particular
09:53:43 neighborhood, and we may approach you, and you may say, no,
09:53:48 we aren't going to do that, not saying that you would.
09:53:50 No, don't give me a look.
09:53:52 I'm just saying that there is a process that's in place that
09:53:56 we have to approach you about roads that are in our city,
09:54:00 and we have to try to work together in terms of the safety
09:54:03 of the people that live in the city.
09:54:05 So again, I don't want to belabor the point too much.
09:54:08 But there is no role that you all play in terms of
09:54:12 determining where these crosswalks are at, between where
09:54:16 each one of the intersections are.
09:54:20 And if we approach you, either us or the county or someone
09:54:25 else, we think that this should be a pedestrian crossing
09:54:27 here, how easy is it for you to agree to that or get that
09:54:32 done?
09:54:33 >> There would have to be supporting documentation that
09:54:38 shows that that location is where people were crossing,
09:54:45 because just putting in random crossings is not going to
09:54:48 stop people from crossing wherever they choose to cross the
09:54:51 road.
09:54:52 And I do take a little bit of exception that D.O.T. just
09:54:57 focuses on vehicles traveling, because I think if you look
09:55:03 at the state roads in and around this community as well as
09:55:06 in and around the state, we put in bicycle lanes, we put
09:55:11 in -- we extend shoulders so that bicycles as well as
09:55:18 pedestrians can use them.
09:55:19 We put in sidewalks.
09:55:20 We work closely when new businesses are going in to ensure
09:55:24 that sidewalks are being put in around those facilities.
09:55:29 We are also very concerned.
09:55:32 And when I say we all have to work together to make sure
09:55:36 that the safety continues to improve, for pedestrians, it's
09:55:42 true that we have to, because if there's not the
09:55:45 enforcement, it doesn't matter what we did. O.T. builds or
09:55:50 what the city builds or what the county build, it's not
09:55:53 going to in and of itself make it a safe place.
09:55:56 >>MIKE SUAREZ: Okay, I don't think you should be too thin
09:56:03 skinned about this when we are talking about someone's live
09:56:06 in terms of what happened in a tragedy so please don't take
09:56:08 exception to what I am saying.
09:56:10 We are trying to make this as safe a place as possible.
09:56:12 And we want to work with our partners at FDOT, the county,
09:56:19 everyone to make sure it's safer so please don't take
09:56:22 exception to it.
09:56:22 It is our job and your job to make sure they are safe Rods
09:56:27 roads.
09:56:27 Secondly, you said you need documentation.
09:56:29 What type of documentation are you talking about.
09:56:34 If D.O.T. does not do these studies, going back to my
09:56:38 original question about dome graphics, and you mentioned
09:56:40 this again, we are not the controllers of human nature, we
09:56:43 don't know where people are going cross at any one time.
09:56:46 But I would assume -- and again my assumptions may be
09:56:49 wrong -- but I would assume that there are studies to
09:56:51 determine when a pedestrian bridge, or pedestrian crossing
09:56:54 is more apt to be successful.
09:56:57 Now, again, you are the transportation engineers, I'm not.
09:57:01 We need your help, too, in terms of trying to figure out
09:57:03 where to put these particular crossings.
09:57:06 So again, I am not being thin skinned, and I hope that you
09:57:09 are not, because guess what, we still have to find solutions
09:57:12 to these problems with or without your help.
09:57:14 But we still need your help and we need your partnership.
09:57:17 So please answer the question about what type of
09:57:19 documentation do you need in order to determine where the
09:57:23 best places to put mid-block crossings?
09:57:27 >> We need the documentation that shows that there are the
09:57:33 volumes of pedestrians to make it beneficial.
09:57:35 >> Okay.
09:57:36 I don't think you are -- let me interrupt for just a second.
09:57:39 And I'm sorry, but you are not answering the question, which
09:57:41 is what are you talking about?
09:57:43 I mean, are you talking about -- you are not talking
09:57:46 about --
09:57:47 >> Street counts.
09:57:48 >> Now street counts are based on vehicles, is that correct?
09:57:50 Or is it antidotal accidents of people standing there and
09:57:55 counting the number of pedestrians?
09:57:56 >> People count the number of pedestrians.
09:57:57 When we go out and do studies for pedestrian walkways, we
09:58:02 count the number of pedestrians.
09:58:04 >> How accurate can that count be if it's an anecdotal --
09:58:07 obviously it depends on -- it's a random sampling beings
09:58:11 correct?
09:58:12 >> It's a sampling, and it only covers an 8 to 12-hour
09:58:17 period of time, and it also is extrapolated out to say it
09:58:22 may be.
09:58:22 This and we don't do it just one day, we do it multiple
09:58:26 days.
09:58:26 And we also extrapolate it out depending on what season it
09:58:30 is, because summertime may be a different count than your
09:58:33 wintertime, when school is in.
09:58:35 And so we take that all into consideration.
09:58:38 >> Okay, I'm going to ask one last question.
09:58:40 I apologize, chair, and my colleagues for taking so much
09:58:44 time. In terms of those counts, when was the last time a
09:58:47 count was done along Busch Boulevard between 30th street
09:58:51 and 40th Street, let's say?
09:58:53 >> It would have been done in conjunction with this
09:58:56 particular study, which was done over the past year.
09:58:59 >> Over the past year, okay.
09:59:01 And do you know the results of that study in terms of what
09:59:03 it said about mid-block crossings?
09:59:06 >> I can provide you -- I know generally the results, and
09:59:11 12th Street was selected because of the community center
09:59:14 going in and it will be a specific draw for pedestrians.
09:59:18 And if you look along the corridor, there's many parts of
09:59:22 that corridor where because the effects runs along there,
09:59:26 and because you have many private properties along there, it
09:59:28 is already thin which channelizes your pedestrians to
09:59:36 certain areas.
09:59:37 >> Thank you, chair.
09:59:40 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you.
09:59:42 Mrs. Mulhern, then Mrs. Montelione, then Ms. Capin.
09:59:46 Okay, Mrs. Mulhern.
09:59:50 >>MARY MULHERN: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
09:59:52 I don't want to pile on the MPO.
09:59:58 I was on the MPO for four years.
10:00:00 And it was -- I was chair of the livable roadways committee
10:00:05 and have been working with Jean in the city and with Gina on
10:00:10 all these issues for those four years, and somewhat in the
10:00:15 past two, since I have been serving on this board.
10:00:19 I think that from the report we got from Gina, it's very
10:00:23 clear what the problems are, and they haven't really
10:00:28 changed, and I hope that there's been some improvement with
10:00:31 the changes we made.
10:00:32 I didn't really quite get that, Gina, but maybe after you
10:00:37 could come up and tell me if there has been improvements
10:00:40 since our changes that we made in the county.
10:00:50 The deaths and the traffic accidents, Gina showed that the
10:01:01 causes are the speed, the causes are the speed and the lack
10:01:05 of, I would say this seemed to me like the two big things,
10:01:09 the lack of places to cross.
10:01:11 And Councilman Suarez is asking really good questions.
10:01:14 I think the answer to that is that you cannot have half a
10:01:20 mile or any kind of distance along a main State Road where
10:01:26 there are not crossing places.
10:01:28 So we must, because of the statistics, the data shows us
10:01:33 that here in Tampa Bay, here in Hillsborough County, here
10:01:39 specifically seems to be more on state roads that people are
10:01:43 getting hit, both at the crossings and doing the mid block
10:01:50 crossing.
10:01:50 So I think the question for us is, how do we change the
10:01:56 culture of our department, state Department of
10:01:59 Transportation, change the attitude in this one, to be more
10:02:07 pedestrian centered?
10:02:08 Because we know that we are places where people are dying,
10:02:15 and we know where the problems are.
10:02:17 How do we start to -- I know you say you can't change
10:02:21 behavior, but really, none of us would have a job if we
10:02:25 thought that what we do in creating and enforcing laws
10:02:29 wasn't going to change behavior.
10:02:31 So I think that's our job.
10:02:33 Yours and ours, to change behaviors.
10:02:36 So how do we make -- work more to change the behavior of
10:02:46 drivers, change the behavior of transportation engineers and
10:02:56 the Department of Transportation in district 7?
10:02:59 Because there are places in Florida.
10:03:02 Where is the district in Florida where they have much better
10:03:07 pedestrian and bicycle safety?
10:03:10 What's the safest place, would you say, if you had to pick
10:03:13 one of the districts?
10:03:25 >> I think the more rural have less --
10:03:28 >> Right, but comparable in a metropolitan area?
10:03:30 >> I'm not really sure how to answer that question.
10:03:33 I think we are trying to go with what is going to be done to
10:03:38 improve.
10:03:40 And I think that we have been doing projects around the
10:03:47 county, and also in the City of Tampa.
10:03:50 We continue to put in the medians, and the medians give
10:03:55 pedestrians what's called a safe refuge so they cross a
10:04:01 portion, and then they have an opportunity to regauge where
10:04:05 the traffic is before they cross the other portion of the
10:04:08 roadway.
10:04:09 And I think that you see the pedestrians use those
10:04:14 frequently.
10:04:16 We have those along Busch Boulevard.
10:04:20 We have them on Fowler.
10:04:21 Also on Fletcher.
10:04:23 So I'm not sure --
10:04:27 >>MARY MULHERN: Well, this is what I'm saying.
10:04:29 Clearly, the problem is, the speeds and the lack of safe
10:04:36 places for people to cross.
10:04:38 Those are the big reasons why we have accidents.
10:04:46 Am I right about that?
10:04:47 So what can we do to maybe reduce those speeds and increase
10:04:52 the number of signalized crossing places?
10:05:00 >> With respect to reducing speed, just because -- and this
10:05:05 is a hard discussion, because there's not going to be a good
10:05:11 answer or a quick fix that will solve the issue at hand,
10:05:18 which is the number of pedestrian fatalities in this region.
10:05:25 You cannot go out, and I am quite certain your own evening
10:05:31 nearing department and the county's engineering department,
10:05:33 as well as our engineering department, will tell you, you
10:05:36 cannot go out and arbitrarily lower speed limits, because
10:05:42 people don't follow them.
10:05:45 >>MARY MULHERN: I have heard that, believe me.
10:05:47 I know that argument.
10:05:52 You have to combine reducing -- or you ever to reduce the
10:05:56 speed not necessarily by reducing the speed limit, but I do
10:05:59 think that's something that does work, but you have to slow
10:06:04 the traffic down by putting in more signalization.
10:06:07 That's basically it.
10:06:10 We all know where we can drive 50 miles an hour for a mile
10:06:16 before we get to another signal, and everyone does this
10:06:19 because that's what the culture, the kind of roads and
10:06:24 signals that we have, that's what it encourages.
10:06:29 You use Florida Avenue, and Tampa street like you are on the
10:06:33 freeway.
10:06:34 So what can we do?
10:06:35 What can we do to encourage you, the Department of
10:06:40 Transportation, to take this seriously, and it's really a
10:06:47 change of attitude.
10:06:48 I mean, I think most states have a law that says pedestrians
10:06:52 have the right-of-way.
10:06:55 Where is that enacted and enforced and where are policies
10:06:59 driven by that?
10:07:00 Not in this district.
10:07:01 I know we rewrote our comprehensive plan a couple years ago
10:07:06 and we made safety it one of the biggest issues.
10:07:09 That was it.
10:07:10 Safety.
10:07:10 That was like our main goal.
10:07:15 We need the Department of Transportation to do that.
10:07:17 >> The Department of Transportation's number one priority is
10:07:21 safety.
10:07:22 It has been as long as I have been with the department which
10:07:26 is over 20 years.
10:07:27 And it was before I came to the department.
10:07:33 I think what is inherent in the discussion, we each have --
10:07:39 there are roadways.
10:07:39 Each for a different purpose.
10:07:43 The state roadways are not the same as the city and the
10:07:45 county roadways.
10:07:47 The purposes of State Roadways are to move people and goods
10:07:52 and are generally at a higher speed.
10:07:55 And most of our roadways have more lanes because the volumes
10:08:05 are dictated.
10:08:07 I am not going to -- and I know you don't want to -- debate
10:08:10 it.
10:08:13 It's just one of those things that we each have safety as
10:08:16 our number one priority.
10:08:19 And our own facilities each serve different purposes.
10:08:22 And the department's facilities do accommodate pedestrians
10:08:26 and bicyclists, because we believe in protecting them, and
10:08:30 we believe in supporting transit, which both use.
10:08:35 It's not an issue of we just want to move cars through as
10:08:39 quickly as possible.
10:08:41 And I truly am sorry if people believe that.
10:08:45 >>MARY MULHERN: Well, we believe it because that's where we
10:08:52 rank.
10:08:52 We are one of the worst places in the country to live and to
10:08:55 try to walk or ride a bike.
10:08:57 We can't deny that.
10:08:58 That is a problem.
10:09:00 My challenge to you, what I'm asking you and the Department
10:09:03 of Transportation to do, is to work with our city
10:09:07 transportation, with our MPO, to figure out how we can make
10:09:12 this a safer place to live, and my suggestion is you look at
10:09:18 other cities and counties comparable to Tampa that do not
10:09:22 have so many deaths and see what they are doing.
10:09:30 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you.
10:09:31 Mr. Cohen.
10:09:31 >>HARRY COHEN: Councilwoman Mulhern, that was an excellent
10:09:37 segue, and I want to make a couple of brief comments related
10:09:41 to this discussion.
10:09:42 I am sure that safety is the principal objective of the
10:09:47 Department of Transportation.
10:09:48 I have no doubt that that's the case.
10:09:50 But I think what is frustrating to us as local government
10:09:55 officials and to people that see what goes on in our own
10:09:59 communities is that sometimes we sense there's a lack of
10:10:03 urgency, and sometimes we sense that there's a lack of
10:10:07 creativity in dealing with some of these items.
10:10:11 And I just go back to what Councilwoman Mulhern was saying.
10:10:16 I have seen treatments in cities outside the State of
10:10:22 Florida and also inside the State of Florida that to me seem
10:10:27 much more creative than what I see around here.
10:10:30 For example, I was in Cincinnati, Ohio recently.
10:10:32 And when you push the walk button on a mid-block crosswalk
10:10:39 there, the crosswalk actually lights up when the walk is
10:10:45 permitted so that the cars can see that they have been
10:10:52 activated.
10:10:53 I saw in the town of Redington beach, Florida, buckets with
10:10:58 fluorescent flags in them for people to carry when they are
10:11:01 crossing the street.
10:11:03 And it just seems to me that when you have a situation like
10:11:08 has been described on Busch Boulevard, where you say that
10:11:10 there are people crossing, you know, sort of all over the
10:11:15 street, if you did put in some mid-block crossings, at least
10:11:19 they would be directed into one place.
10:11:21 And even like these flags wouldn't be that expensive, would
10:11:28 give people some kind of additional safety option when they
10:11:31 are crossing the street.
10:11:32 So I guess from my point of view, I would just like to see
10:11:36 us think a little bit more creatively about how we can
10:11:40 tackle these problems, and not wait to be able to completely
10:11:44 reconfigure the intersections and rebuild them.
10:11:47 That's just all I have to say.
10:11:50 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you very much, Mr. Cohen.
10:11:51 Mrs. Montelione?
10:11:52 >>LISA MONTELIONE: Thank you.
10:11:54 And speaking of excellent segues, that is one of the things
10:12:00 I was going to mention, is creativity.
10:12:02 And no offense to all of the transportation engineers that
10:12:07 are out there, whether they work in the State of Florida or
10:12:10 anywhere else.
10:12:11 Maybe not known to be the most outside the box kind of
10:12:15 thinking, because engineering is a very specific, you know,
10:12:21 science that is dictated by a lot of data.
10:12:26 And the transportation rules that are in effect really
10:12:32 stifle that type of creativity, because everything that is
10:12:39 implemented has to follow formulas and it has to follow all
10:12:42 of the regulations that have been set in in place over the
10:12:49 many years.
10:12:50 So I know transportation designers and engineers live and
10:12:56 die by the transportation technical manual.
10:12:59 And you can't really be all that creative without getting
10:13:06 some kind of waiver and exception to the transportation
10:13:08 technical manual.
10:13:10 So we can talk and we can, you know, opine as to what should
10:13:16 be done, but unless the manual is revised and changed to
10:13:21 allow for some wiggle room -- and I know that's not a
10:13:30 technical term -- but that is really what can change people
10:13:41 from putting forth this creative ideas.
10:13:43 And I know Jean Duncan is there from our transportation
10:13:46 division, and she's done a fabulous job, and maybe Jean can
10:13:51 talk a little bit about what are some of the positive things
10:13:55 that we are doing, and the relationship that has been really
10:13:59 transformed with the Florida Department of Transportation
10:14:01 district 7.
10:14:05 The secretary has moved on, but I sat in his office on many
10:14:09 occasions and talked about what can we do?
10:14:11 What are the options?
10:14:12 What would the department allow?
10:14:15 And there are different things that do slow traffic without
10:14:20 changing speed limits.
10:14:21 Landscaping has been shown to change the behavior of
10:14:26 drivers.
10:14:27 Art work has been shown to change the behavior of drivers.
10:14:39 Road diets which we have done on some roads already in the
10:14:41 City of Tampa to slow the traffic down.
10:14:43 And, you know, taking people out of their cars in a good
10:14:47 mass transit system is also a way to just take cars off the
10:14:50 road.
10:14:51 So these are all strategies that we are working on.
10:14:58 Unfortunately, the process that's in place is a very long
10:15:03 process.
10:15:04 And we work on a five-year transportation program.
10:15:09 And I have to say since taking my seat on the MPO, you know,
10:15:17 I have followed in Mary Mulhern's footsteps in chairing that
10:15:22 livable roadways committee.
10:15:24 And we really are getting down into the weed and trying to
10:15:27 move elements of the transportation plan forward in
10:15:32 pedestrian safety.
10:15:33 And I had my aide bring out the transportation improvement
10:15:38 program amendments.
10:15:41 So over five years you could see how many amendments that we
10:15:44 make, and many of them were to move those pedestrian safety
10:15:47 items forward, and a lot of that is due to Jean.
10:15:53 Jean, if you could come up.
10:15:55 Because there are some things that I want you to speak about
10:15:57 what we are doing, because you really have been the leader
10:16:00 in working with the Department of Transportation, the
10:16:02 Florida Department of Transportation, and really taking that
10:16:06 lead role into implementing some of these walk-bike
10:16:09 pedestrian safety programs and even won the award for doing
10:16:12 so.
10:16:13 You know, we have been very -- we are talking about a lot of
10:16:18 very serious subjects, and we have been very hard on the
10:16:21 Florida Department of Transportation.
10:16:22 So tell us, from a transportation engineering perspective,
10:16:29 how we can move some more of these projects forward, and
10:16:33 what are some of the things that are steps that we are
10:16:36 already taking now and things that we can look forward to,
10:16:40 to implementing directly.
10:16:42 >> Jean Duncan, transportation division.
10:16:49 Appreciate the opportunity to make some comments about the
10:16:51 cooperation that we have had with the D.O.T. and the MPO as
10:16:55 well.
10:16:56 And I think what's fortunate is all the great, good things
10:17:00 that we do tend to get overshadowed when there is such a
10:17:04 tragedy, such as this accident on Busch Boulevard, and
10:17:07 although it is extremely, you know, an awful situation, it's
10:17:13 not representative of what is going on in the background
10:17:17 with improvements that are going on on our roads.
10:17:21 I do think that they're has been a culture change at the
10:17:23 Department of Transportation as far as their vision and
10:17:27 their mission.
10:17:28 Their mission has always been safety-based mission.
10:17:32 But I do believe that their money is where their mouth is
10:17:36 now and that they are putting a lot of dollars and efforts
10:17:40 to more pedestrian friendly touches on their road.
10:17:47 In Busch Boulevard in particular we had a very cooperative
10:17:50 relationship.
10:17:51 Again, the MPO and the D.O.T. and the City of Tampa working
10:17:55 together.
10:17:55 We put over a million dollars of enhancement money, which
10:17:58 the D.O.T. provided, which the MPO prioritized, and just
10:18:03 recently from Florida Avenue to 56th street, around
10:18:10 Temple Terrace, we recently completed a lot of pedestrian
10:18:15 upgrades on that portion of Busch Boulevard, better
10:18:22 signalized intersections, better treatments of the turn
10:18:26 lanes so when people are turning it is a safer situation
10:18:29 that helps the pedestrians, the sidewalks, lighting.
10:18:35 We have that same type of work going on right now working
10:18:37 with the D.O.T. to go from Florida Avenue over to Armenia.
10:18:43 We will be putting a lot of D.O.T. dollars on that portion
10:18:45 of Busch Boulevard.
10:18:46 We are looking at two mid-block pedestrian crossings on that
10:18:51 portion of Busch Boulevard as well.
10:18:56 And I know it is a little frustrating --
10:18:59 >>LISA MONTELIONE: I'm sorry to interrupt.
10:19:01 There is one that is being implemented and that's the one
10:19:03 that we talked about.
10:19:04 >> Yes.
10:19:06 >>LISA MONTELIONE: And then two more.
10:19:07 So we are looking at three mid-block crossings.
10:19:10 And I want to highlight that, because what was said moment
10:19:16 ago is that on six-lane roadways, the D.O.T., nowhere in the
10:19:21 state, has put mid-block crossings.
10:19:24 And we are doing possibly three of them.
10:19:26 >> Potentially, yes.
10:19:28 The other two are under study.
10:19:30 So they haven't been approved yet.
10:19:33 I guess where you have a mid-block crossing where it's not a
10:19:39 fully actuated -- actuated signal, where it's the attention
10:19:45 and the flashing light, it gives the pedestrian a certain
10:19:48 sense of safety.
10:19:49 But, you know, which is a good thing.
10:19:52 But that sense of safety also could be overrated and they
10:19:59 feel that they are completely safe to cross.
10:20:01 It doesn't take away their needs to take responsibility to
10:20:05 make sure it is safe to step out.
10:20:07 Because when you have a mid-block crossing again, not
10:20:14 supposed to be stopping at a red light, there's still that
10:20:16 chance the driver is not going to do the right thing.
10:20:18 So we try to balance all of those subjective items with the
10:20:24 raw data that we have, try to make the right decisions for
10:20:27 what kind of treatment to put down on the roadway, and I do
10:20:31 believe that more of that is occurring through the
10:20:36 cooperative efforts of our local agencies, and again that is
10:20:42 always overshadowed when we have a very tragic event that
10:20:45 happens.
10:20:46 But I do feel that we are all committed to keep forging
10:20:50 ahead and every extra sign, every extra modification, is
10:20:57 going to help somebody along the line.
10:21:01 >>LISA MONTELIONE: And thank you, Jean: You know, I don't
10:21:05 want to -- to have people think that my concern isn't of the
10:21:11 utmost urgency.
10:21:12 But I think we have come a long way.
10:21:14 And that's what I wanted to highlight.
10:21:16 I think we have come a long way.
10:21:18 And what we need to start doing is looking forward instead
10:21:22 of backwards.
10:21:24 Maybe in the past we haven't done all of what could have
10:21:27 been done, and, you know, that culture change that Mrs.
10:21:34 Mulhern is speaking of, I think all of the years that she
10:21:37 spent on the MPO talking about these things and being
10:21:40 concerned about changing that culture.
10:21:43 Again, you know, big ships don't turn on a dime.
10:21:46 So I think that all of the groundwork that has been laid
10:21:49 over the years and talking about these things is now coming
10:21:54 to fruition, and hopefully with the new district secretary
10:21:57 coming in to play, on March 1st, this week, we'll
10:22:03 continue to work on changing that culture.
10:22:06 But, you know, it's that transportation technical manual.
10:22:10 We have to get changes to that technical manual that allows
10:22:13 for more creativity, that allows for more site specific
10:22:18 types of implementation of plans, and not just broad-brush
10:22:23 strokes.
10:22:24 This is how this particular, you know, treatment is done on
10:22:27 the roadway, because unfortunately transportation technical
10:22:31 manuals are written in that way.
10:22:33 And it's really relationships that we have to think with
10:22:41 polite and positive terms that it is, unfortunately because
10:22:46 of our ranking -- and someone asked about who is doing it
10:22:49 right across the country, and in looking, you know, just at
10:22:54 the results I get when I start researching other counties,
10:22:58 you have got Miami-Dade County district 6 of the FDOT
10:23:04 system.
10:23:07 They are not in the top two leak we are with Orange County
10:23:10 and Orlando, but they have the same problems with very large
10:23:14 roads that were designed for moving people and goods at high
10:23:18 speeds.
10:23:20 They call at death trap, the death walk, if you try to cross
10:23:27 the avenue.
10:23:28 So it is apparent in the way the State of Florida develops.
10:23:31 We develop with trying to move people and goods in a very
10:23:35 fast manner with low population numbers.
10:23:38 And as these roads were built in the 50s and 60s, there
10:23:42 was a very different population in the State of Florida.
10:23:44 And I think that is something that we have to keep in mind.
10:23:48 We have to try to go back and repair the damage that we have
10:23:53 done back then.
10:23:57 And it was a very different time.
10:24:03 Cars were the thing and speed is what it was all about.
10:24:05 And that's not the way it is today.
10:24:07 So we have a lot of making up to do for that time.
10:24:10 But thank you very much.
10:24:11 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you, Mrs. Montelione.
10:24:13 Ms. Capin.
10:24:15 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
10:24:16 When we talk about absolutely our roads were constructed to
10:24:21 move traffic at a high speed, one of the creative ways --
10:24:27 and I'm sure this has been studied, a roundabout, they
10:24:31 slowed traffic down, and I'm sure that shows.
10:24:35 There are a couple of them on 40th Street.
10:24:37 I drive that street.
10:24:38 It slows traffic down, because that was a very high speed of
10:24:45 traffic going through there, and it was very dangerous with
10:24:48 all the things that were on 40th.
10:24:51 We also have around about on Channelside.
10:24:53 There's one in Ybor.
10:24:54 Those things, that definitely slows traffic down.
10:24:59 And I'm wondering, has that even entered the discussion of a
10:25:03 creative way of being able to slow traffic down?
10:25:07 The other night I drove downhills bore Avenue to a
10:25:10 neighborhood association meeting, and it was hair raising to
10:25:18 say the least.
10:25:19 It was very, very dangerous to just drive, much less cross
10:25:26 the street.
10:25:27 So what do you have?
10:25:29 Do you have anything on roundabouts, since we have installed
10:25:33 them in our city?
10:25:34 Could you tell us?
10:25:35 >> We have had some roundabouts up in the New Tampa area.
10:25:40 They are obviously a lot easier to put in when you have got
10:25:42 new development, because roundabouts have great benefits in
10:25:48 many regards.
10:25:50 Even with our air quality, you don't have the car staging
10:25:54 and have all the emission in one place.
10:25:56 Lots of good benefits.
10:25:58 They are a challenge to put in in a developed city that has
10:26:04 short blocks and narrow streets or narrow rights-of-way.
10:26:07 But we do try to look at any opportunity to see about
10:26:11 putting roundabouts in.
10:26:13 It's not something that's done very frequently, again
10:26:16 because of the cost of those, which often requires a
10:26:24 right-of-way, because is it really worth -- I hate to say
10:26:27 this -- cross benefit, but is it worth the cost for this
10:26:31 particular project to purchase the right-of-way when we have
10:26:36 all these other needs as well?
10:26:37 We have to try to balance, you know, the money with the
10:26:40 needs.
10:26:40 >> I understand.
10:26:43 We are an old city.
10:26:47 But I understand.
10:26:47 >> But we put them on our radar.
10:26:51 You are right, they are helpful in regards of safety and yet
10:26:56 allowing the traffic to slow, at a slower rate.
10:27:01 >> And I'm standing at a stoplight and emitting those nasty
10:27:07 gases that he would talk about. I just wanted to bring that
10:27:10 up.
10:27:10 But it is on our radar, and we do look for the opportunity?
10:27:14 >> Yes.
10:27:16 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Thank you.
10:27:16 I wish there were some on both streets, Hillsborough and
10:27:22 Busch.
10:27:22 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: I have Mrs. Mulhern and Mrs. Montelione
10:27:26 and then I have a closing statement to make.
10:27:28 >>MARY MULHERN: I just wanted to mention about roundabouts.
10:27:33 I think about five years ago, I held some meetings to look
10:27:36 at two -- waying some of the one-way street pairs, and we
10:27:41 had the world expert on roundabouts, transportation, Michael
10:27:47 wallworth.
10:27:48 He's Australian but he lives in Florida.
10:27:50 And he keeps in touch.
10:27:53 >> I know of him.
10:27:56 >>MARY MULHERN: We have a roundabout promotion that touch
10:28:01 with us, so hopefully we will look at that more.
10:28:04 And it is a great solution.
10:28:09 Jean or Gina, I wanted just someone to tell me, I'll
10:28:17 congratulate you on all -- especially the bicycle stuff that
10:28:20 you have done, all the restriping.
10:28:23 It's really makes a big difference, as a driver.
10:28:28 I don't ride a bike, but as a driver, I am so much more
10:28:34 conscious and I think it's really great.
10:28:37 What I wanted to hear about in this bicycle pedestrian plan,
10:28:41 do we have some data that shows that the stuff that we have
10:28:45 done, or is it too early?
10:28:47 >> I don't have any data.
10:28:54 It's probably a little early to be able to say that we have
10:28:56 had, you know, crash rate reduction as an example of a
10:29:02 measurement on how beneficial it's been.
10:29:04 I know we had a lot of positive feedback, which is a good
10:29:08 sign.
10:29:09 But I don't think we have any actual data to show, for
10:29:11 example, North Boulevard where we did see complete projects
10:29:17 where there's been less of any particular type of accident
10:29:20 and so forth.
10:29:21 But we do know that statistically, these types of
10:29:24 improvements do provide safer conditions.
10:29:28 So we are very confident.
10:29:31 We put them out there.
10:29:32 It's going to have a positive result.
10:29:35 >> That's what we do with these MPO studies.
10:29:42 And we'll try the traffic crash trends and we can do that.
10:29:47 We have a system that has every street, local road,
10:29:50 everything.
10:29:51 I do want -- and this is not in the case of Busch Boulevard
10:29:55 but the statistics for Nebraska Avenue, for instance, that
10:29:59 was a road diet, 7% -- 70% reduction in crashes.
10:30:05 So these things are to make some improvements and see some
10:30:08 before and afters.
10:30:12 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Mrs. Montelione?
10:30:13 >>LISA MONTELIONE: One final thing.
10:30:14 Again, we can talk about all of these improvements, and we
10:30:17 can talk about what we would like to see done or what needs
10:30:23 to be done.
10:30:24 But it comes down to the money.
10:30:26 And I know that the governor has just, you know, proposed a
10:30:30 transportation budget, an 11% increase, I believe, of
10:30:34 transportation funding.
10:30:35 But that includes big projects, you know, such as those that
10:30:39 are going to be happening at our ports.
10:30:42 A percentage of that will, I'm sure, be used for pedestrian
10:30:46 and bicycle safety because we cannot track on economic
10:30:52 development, we can't attract businesses to an area where
10:30:55 they find out we are number one and number two in pedestrian
10:30:58 deaths in the country.
10:30:59 They are not going to come here.
10:31:01 So really everybody has to understand, we have not gotten
10:31:10 there yet with the funding that we need to implement some of
10:31:13 these things.
10:31:14 So in the coming months, in the coming years, we are going
10:31:17 to be hearing talk about the sales tax proposal, that we'll
10:31:24 probably be on the ballot sometime in the near future, and
10:31:29 that additional money, we will be able to fund some of the
10:31:33 things we are talking about, without having additional money
10:31:36 in the pipeline that's a reliable source of continuous
10:31:41 funding and a steady stream of funding, we are not going to
10:31:44 be able to see any of these things.
10:31:46 We have the gas tax which is producing less and less revenue
10:31:50 he have year because people are being more conservative with
10:31:53 their vehicles, and high efficiency vehicles.
10:31:56 So we have to have some other form of steady revenue in
10:32:01 order to see some of these things happen.
10:32:03 Because otherwise, we can sit here and talk all we want but
10:32:08 if we don't have the money to implement some of these
10:32:11 projects, we are not going to see any improvements.
10:32:16 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you very much.
10:32:16 Let me just say this.
10:32:18 No one is responsible, yet everyone is responsible.
10:32:21 What does that mean?
10:32:22 We have gotten too comfortable in the way we do things.
10:32:27 Yes, we can go back and say there were no cars.
10:32:33 Yes, there were very few people walking on the mine roads
10:32:37 and that's true.
10:32:38 Why?
10:32:39 At that time nobody had the money to buy the cars.
10:32:41 Then the cars became a little more popular.
10:32:43 Then guess.
10:32:44 What then you sort of buy them with air conditioning.
10:32:46 What happens then?
10:32:47 You don't hear what's going on on the out side.
10:32:51 And then came to cell phones.
10:32:53 What happened then?
10:32:53 How many people have died from cell phones?
10:32:56 Let's go a little further.
10:32:58 How many people have really, really been taking care of by
10:33:03 texting, driving, and texting with one and driving with your
10:33:08 knees?
10:33:10 Automobiles have become like a one-bedroom apartment.
10:33:13 They come with everything.
10:33:14 Hair salon, lunch time, 15-minute break.
10:33:20 You do everything in your car.
10:33:21 So what's going on now is what we created, and what we have
10:33:24 gotten used to.
10:33:25 We want to blame everybody.
10:33:27 We have to blame us all.
10:33:30 When you look at things like mass transportation, we used to
10:33:34 have that.
10:33:35 The streetcar system.
10:33:37 350-some miles of the City of Tampa.
10:33:39 It's gone, folks.
10:33:40 It went because General Motors said buses were the new
10:33:43 thing.
10:33:43 Maybe they were.
10:33:44 So I can say this.
10:33:47 We made some big strides.
10:33:48 We have to change attitudes of all of us, and I'm as guilty
10:33:53 as everyone else.
10:33:54 I don't text because I don't want to pay the extra money.
10:33:58 I'm cheap.
10:33:58 I use a $50 a month cell phone because I don't want all that
10:34:03 expense, Jamster, this and that and music.
10:34:07 I don't even turn on the radio.
10:34:10 It's got so many numbers and so many things to hit that if I
10:34:12 was to try, I would forget how to drive if I was to listen
10:34:16 to the radio. And what's happened, technology has taken
10:34:18 over our lives.
10:34:20 We ourselves, when you are walking now, guess, what you are
10:34:22 texting, also.
10:34:24 You are also on the cell phone. You also have the head set.
10:34:26 You have the same thing now that you have inside your car.
10:34:32 Blame all of us, every one, not just one department or
10:34:35 another department or set of engineers.
10:34:37 We have to take responsibility for what's going on.
10:34:40 Whether you are number one, or number 100, it's the same one
10:34:44 person that dies.
10:34:45 And that could be your family member, your friend,
10:34:48 somebody's family member, their friend or their neighbor.
10:34:51 So when you drive, you think of not only yourself and your
10:34:55 safety, but what's going to happen to that family, that
10:34:59 deceased person?
10:35:00 How far apart are they going to tear them down for the rest
10:35:03 of their lives?
10:35:04 So thank you all very much for appearing today.
10:35:06 In, I think it's great information.
10:35:08 I think we had a good conversation.
10:35:11 And let's see where it goes from here.
10:35:13 Thank you very much.
10:35:21 Mr. Frank Reddick will handle number 5.
10:35:23 And then I apologize but I do have to leave at 11:00.
10:35:26 This is my last Thursday where I don't have support like I
10:35:31 did last year.
10:35:32 >>FRANK REDDICK: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
10:35:34 Thank you for that warning because I was thinking about
10:35:36 asking you for a ride.
10:35:39 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: If you drive, I'll drive with you.
10:35:41 >>FRANK REDDICK: Thank you.
10:35:43 Mr. Chairman, it's my pleasure to introduce our guests who
10:35:49 are with us today in celebration of their 100th
10:35:55 anniversary, and this is their annual visit to the city.
10:35:58 So if all of the ladies of Delta Sigma Theta will stand up
10:36:12 to be recognized.
10:36:13 I believe we have Mrs. Jones back there who will speak on
10:36:18 their behalf.
10:36:18 Is that correct?
10:36:18 >> We also have a presentation.
10:36:20 >> Okay.
10:36:22 Introduce yourselves.
10:36:23 State your name and address and then tell us all the good
10:36:26 things you want us to hear.
10:36:28 >> Good morning esteemed chair, council members and
10:36:34 citizens.
10:36:35 Thank you for the opportunity to address council and give
10:36:37 additional information on our beloved Delta Sigma Theta
10:36:41 Sorority Incorporated in celebration of our centennial year.
10:36:44 I am Celecia Bagley, the president of the Tampa alumnae
10:36:50 chapter, and I have with me Shantay Jones, chairman of our
10:36:57 involvement committee and also the coordinator of Delta Day
10:37:05 at City Hall, to give us the opportunity to interact with
10:37:07 and talk about issues that impact our local government, and
10:37:11 our local community.
10:37:13 We are also elated to have with us the alumnae chapter.
10:37:21 They have been around for 65 years, and we try to partner
10:37:23 with them as much as possible in the Tampa Bay area and
10:37:25 surrounding communities, advocating for the communities.
10:37:31 Next slide, please.
10:37:42 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Here we go.
10:37:44 >> Delta Sigma Theta was founded in 1913 by 22 collegiate
10:37:50 women at Howard university.
10:37:52 These students wanted their collective strength to promote
10:37:55 academic excellence, and provide assistance to persons in
10:37:59 need.
10:38:01 As we celebrate our 100 years of service, we are all in AWE
10:38:06 of the vision of 22 women has become -- it's 22 women that
10:38:17 have become of more than 200,000 collegiate educated women.
10:38:24 We are blessed and humbled by the support of the city, the
10:38:27 community as a whole, as we continue that we impact our
10:38:32 communities and transform lives daily.
10:38:35 Next slide, please.
10:38:44 Okay, thanks.
10:38:45 In addition to what we do locally and nationally, we have
10:38:48 different programs that we implement across the country that
10:38:53 are representative of what we call our 35-point programmatic
10:38:59 program that includes economic development, educational
10:39:01 development, international awareness, physical and mental
10:39:04 health, and social action and political awareness.
10:39:07 We also have our arts commission and we give out
10:39:11 scholarships annually.
10:39:13 We also work with youth, young female youth through our Dr.
10:39:22 Jean noble program, and our Dr. Betty Chavez Delta academy.
10:39:28 Most of our service projects are free and open to the
10:39:30 public, and it provides an opportunity for you to gain
10:39:33 information on health, voter registration drive, and so much
10:39:40 more.
10:39:47 In addition to our 100 centennial event, we also have
10:39:51 another momentous occasion this year for us as a chapter as
10:39:56 we celebrate ten years.
10:39:57 The Tampa metropolitan alumnae chapter was chartered in
10:40:02 Tampa, Florida on April 21st, 2003 but 63 dynamic women,
10:40:06 and we serve a portion of Hillsborough and Pasco County.
10:40:09 And N celebration of our ten year anniversary this year, we
10:40:13 are planning a celebratory luncheon on April 21st at
10:40:17 1 p.m. at the Tampa Hilton airport.
10:40:20 We are encouraging, and we welcome the council and the
10:40:23 community to come and celebrate with us during this
10:40:26 celebratory time.
10:40:27 For more information on what we are doing in community, 100
10:40:32 years centennial celebration of the national chapter, as
10:40:35 well as our ten-year anniversary as a local chapter, we ask
10:40:38 you to visit our Web site which is WWW TampametroDST.org.
10:40:53 >>FRANK REDDICK: We thank you very much.
10:40:58 And next year when you come, we see that you have the mayor
10:41:03 in the picture now.
10:41:04 Make sure you have the council members in the picture when
10:41:08 you come.
10:41:09 >> Thank you.
10:41:11 >> Include us in there.
10:41:12 Thank you.
10:41:12 >> Thank you very much for attending.
10:41:15 We appreciate the presentation.
10:41:16 >> I would like to point out that my legislative aide Sandra
10:41:20 is also wearing red today because she is a member of Delta
10:41:23 Sigma Theta.
10:41:26 [ Applause ]
10:41:30 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: All right, Mrs. Montelione, although it's
10:41:32 not on the agenda, received the last day or so, and took
10:41:38 care of asking Mrs. Montelione to mach a presentation on
10:41:42 behalf of herself and her office, two wonderful staff
10:41:44 members who will be leaving.
10:41:45 >>LISA MONTELIONE: Well, I am going to call out one member
10:41:55 of the sorority for a special commendation.
10:41:58 Emily, please join me here at the podium.
10:42:02 These two young ladies -- come on -- have been so much of a
10:42:11 help to me and a savior to me when I needed it.
10:42:14 As many know, my former legislative aide abandoned me for
10:42:18 Washington, D.C., and when that happened, these young ladies
10:42:26 stepped up.
10:42:27 Emily has been working with my office.
10:42:29 She started off as a USF intern -- Go Bulls -- and remained
10:42:34 with my office.
10:42:38 She seemed to enjoy our company so much that even after her
10:42:41 internship was over she asked if she could stay on.
10:42:44 And by doing so worked her way into a job, because when I
10:42:49 needed a full-time legislative aide, you know, Emily was
10:42:53 there.
10:42:53 And then joined by Cassandra Timothy who came to me from
10:43:00 Tallahassee.
10:43:03 She worked in representative Cruz's office, and I was very
10:43:06 fortunate that she happened upon my office at a time in
10:43:12 need.
10:43:12 And she came into the interview, and we skipped the whole
10:43:15 interview process, and put her right to work.
10:43:20 She just walked in.
10:43:22 And many of you know, I'm a little bit of a workaholic and
10:43:26 kind of demanding, and put up with me all of these months,
10:43:31 and I really appreciate their assistance and wanted to honor
10:43:35 them with commendations.
10:43:38 So to Sandra, Tampa City Council congratulates you on a job
10:43:43 well done.
10:43:43 Your experience at the state level proves to be invaluable
10:43:46 and a great asset to the office.
10:43:48 Your problem solving skills are of great benefit to the
10:43:51 residents of district 7.
10:43:53 Cassandra, you are wise beyond your years -- I'm going to
10:43:57 start crying -- you are a self-starter with a dynamic
10:44:00 personality.
10:44:01 These qualities combined with your excellent communication
10:44:03 and organizational skills will lead you to achieve greatness
10:44:06 in all you do.
10:44:08 In recognition of your outstanding service to me and in
10:44:11 appreciation of your dedication as you move into the office
10:44:16 of -- and the office of Tampa City Council as a whole we
10:44:18 wish you most success in your future endeavors.
10:44:22 [ Applause ]
10:44:23 And Cassandra's immediate future endeavors include going
10:44:30 back to Tallahassee because she has accepted a job with
10:44:32 senator Joyner's office.
10:44:43 And Emily has been there for me when I have meltdowns and is
10:44:49 always there with a smile.
10:44:50 And she's just added such a light to the office.
10:44:54 I know everybody, all the legislative aides have enjoyed
10:44:56 working with Emily, and just her demeanor has been -- so
10:45:04 Tampa City Council, for the last six months as legislative
10:45:10 aid, and for ten months prior as a legislative intern, and
10:45:14 for that we are very grateful and appreciative.
10:45:17 Your attention to detail, disposition and countless hours
10:45:21 dedicated to district 7 were a true benefit to the many
10:45:24 constituents you helped.
10:45:25 Emily, your impregnable spirit, patience, creativity and
10:45:29 outstanding writing skills we know will lead you to future
10:45:34 success.
10:45:34 In recognition of your outstanding service to me and in
10:45:37 appreciation of your dedication and commitment to the office
10:45:41 and Tampa City Council as a whole, we wish you the utmost
10:45:44 success in your future endeavors.
10:45:46 [ Applause ]
10:45:51 And Emily's interest when she first came to my office was in
10:45:55 environmental initiatives, and has helped a great deal in
10:45:58 trying to push forward some of the sustainable measures, and
10:46:01 found out that while she's been working here, she's very
10:46:04 interested in land development and zoning.
10:46:07 So who would have guessed that our office would have been
10:46:12 able and the experience here would have been able to provide
10:46:15 some direction, and hopefully she's going to be working with
10:46:18 our zoning division and possibly the Planning Commission.
10:46:22 [ Applause ]
10:46:24 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you very much.
10:46:25 Mr. Suarez?
10:46:26 >>MIKE SUAREZ: Thank you, chair.
10:46:29 Cassandra and Emily, thank you so much for the service that
10:46:32 you provided to Lisa and to us.
10:46:35 Sometimes you are helping us out.
10:46:36 And there's not many times that I say that there's something
10:46:41 from Miami that's good.
10:46:42 Cassandra, you have been a welcome import from Miami and we
10:46:47 really appreciate it.
10:46:48 And good luck in senator Joyner's office.
10:46:51 Emily, you have done a terrific job and appreciate the
10:46:55 chance of you becoming a masters of public administration
10:47:00 student and hopefully continue to think about that and at
10:47:02 least try to pursue it.
10:47:04 I know that Emily is talking about getting a planning
10:47:06 degree. Hopefully you will at some point.
10:47:08 And Cathy Coyle is shaking in her boots right now.
10:47:12 So congratulations again.
10:47:13 And thanks again for all the help that you provided to all
10:47:15 of us, and especially to Lisa Montelione.
10:47:18 Thanks so much.
10:47:20 [ Applause ]
10:47:22 >> I just want to say it was a pleasure to have both of you
10:47:25 around.
10:47:29 And Lisa's loss is the Planning Commission's gain.
10:47:33 And senator Joyner's gain.
10:47:43 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: If you want to say a couple of words.
10:47:45 Listen, you think I don't get scared when I speak?
10:47:48 Your turn.
10:47:49 >> It has been truly my honor to work along the people,
10:47:55 where you all are amazing people and it has been my honor to
10:47:59 work with seven wonderful council members, and seven
10:48:02 excellent aides, I must say.
10:48:04 So I do thank you all.
10:48:07 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you very much.
10:48:07 >> Emily: I have completely enjoyed my experience here and
10:48:13 learned a lot from all of you.
10:48:15 Lisa, you may be a workaholic but you are going places and
10:48:20 we are always here to support you and thank you so much for
10:48:22 what you do.
10:48:25 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you.
10:48:25 [ Applause ]
10:48:28 Before we go into water, that's what we are going to bring
10:48:31 up although it's not on the agenda.
10:48:33 I take it the liberty as chair to bring it up.
10:48:38 But before we go into that, this is the public portion of
10:48:41 this agenda.
10:48:42 On the first five items, if you want to speak about the
10:48:45 police Officer of the Month, Moffitt cancer center, founder
10:48:49 of Tampa wheels for success, the Department of
10:48:50 Transportation, or the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, you have
10:48:57 three minutes on all, not on each one, on all of them.
10:49:01 Those are the five items that you can speak on.
10:49:03 >> I'm ed.
10:49:16 Ed Tillou.
10:49:16 >> Which item are you going to speak on, sir?
10:49:20 >> 3 and 4.
10:49:21 What I want to bring up, I was a transportation engineer.
10:49:25 And one of the places I worked was a pinnacle of that, Cal
10:49:33 Tran, but that day it was the California department division
10:49:35 of highways.
10:49:40 It inflicted urban sprawl on the society we live in, and,
10:49:47 for instance, for me to become an environmental engineer, so
10:49:51 I have been in both of those specialties.
10:49:53 But now everybody wakes up to the role that makes it very
10:50:00 difficult to put public transportation together.
10:50:02 To a certain extent, Mr. Miranda, good points were made, and
10:50:07 Mr. Miranda, to a certain extent, made the points my father
10:50:10 did.
10:50:11 He was an advocate of public transportation.
10:50:15 I think, for instance, he was a freemason and he said within
10:50:18 the freemasons there was an inner circle he never got access
10:50:22 to, and I think being an advocate of public transportation
10:50:26 played a role in that.
10:50:27 Now, the thing is, Mr. Miranda said he blamed General
10:50:34 Motors.
10:50:35 And General Motors, my father did a lot, too, and General
10:50:38 Motors played a role in this, but I think they were the
10:50:42 junior partner, and the major partner was big oil, and this
10:50:46 in turn contributes to what we have today, and we will have
10:50:50 tomorrow big time, global warming and the green house
10:50:54 effect.
10:50:55 But you can help by hybrids as a first generation of dealing
10:51:04 with that.
10:51:04 I am also a pedestrian.
10:51:06 I am maybe the only pedestrian here.
10:51:08 You have an audience full of people, and probably all in
10:51:10 cars, you are all in cars, and Mr. Miranda again made very
10:51:14 good points.
10:51:15 There are people that it's like a part of their body.
10:51:17 It's like an organ of their body, the car, and society is
10:51:23 built around this, and that makes it very hard for those of
10:51:25 us who are pedestrians.
10:51:28 And some of the solutions that are good like mid-block
10:51:33 crosswalks, 17th and Fowler is a good place for that.
10:51:37 Now, with respect to that, in crossing Fowler, this is about
10:51:46 six or eight lanes, and the thing is, there's a problem
10:51:52 that's actually out in the county.
10:51:53 (Bell sounds)
10:51:54 But there's so much weird dynamic out there that you can't
10:51:57 really get it across, but the margins of Fletcher are
10:52:03 horrible.
10:52:04 The Hart buses are bouncing all over the place.
10:52:07 And the thing is, it doesn't get fixed.
10:52:12 People at the Department of Transportation want to Fowlerize
10:52:16 Fletcher.
10:52:16 And you need bike lanes.
10:52:18 Traffic calming is better done by narrowing the streets by
10:52:22 bike lanes, not roundabouts.
10:52:24 Those are things that are like 22nd street.
10:52:27 So narrow the streets.
10:52:31 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Thank you very much, sir.
10:52:32 Anyone else in the audience to speak on item 1 through 5 at
10:52:34 this time?
10:52:35 All right.
10:52:36 At the request by council members, we are going to go into
10:52:38 water.
10:52:39 And let me just say, I imagine the word "squirrel" will come
10:52:40 up. Our mayor does not control wildlife.
10:52:46 The mayor of St. Pete evidently does.
10:52:48 Our squirrels have teeth. Maybe theirs do not.
10:52:54 Water is on the agenda.
10:52:56 Yes, sir.
10:52:56 >> Good morning.
10:52:58 Mr. Chairman, members of City Council, Brad Baird, Tampa
10:53:01 water department director.
10:53:03 Please no squirrel jokes through this presentation.
10:53:07 >> That's why I took it off everybody's mind.
10:53:10 >> First, I want to say that we certainly take water issues,
10:53:18 water supply, water treatment, extremely serious.
10:53:23 Personally, I think it's the most important service that we
10:53:26 provide.
10:53:26 I think that was evident over the weekend.
10:53:30 You know, our City of Tampa, of course, and the water
10:53:35 department employees work 24/7, 365 days a year including
10:53:41 holiday.
10:53:42 To provide high quality water.
10:53:45 Secondly, I want to say this was a TECO electrical system
10:53:50 failure.
10:53:52 This was not a water system failure.
10:53:54 What I would like to do if you are okay with this is walk
10:53:59 through what happened.
10:54:02 And that helps provide a background of what went wrong in
10:54:10 three unlikely instances, and then provide some additional
10:54:15 information after that, and then open it up for questions if
10:54:19 that's your pleasure.
10:54:27 First I am going to need the help of the folks in the back
10:54:29 room.
10:54:34 We have at the David Tippin treatment plant two TECO
10:54:39 electrical feeds into the plant.
10:54:42 That's what a class A facility requires.
10:54:44 In addition to that, we have stand-by power that can fully
10:54:48 power the treatment plant.
10:54:51 With that in mind, this pole takes the electrical feed from
10:54:57 what is called TECO's Yukon substation.
10:55:06 This is the way the pole looks today after it was repaired.
10:55:10 If you will notice, next to the telephone pole, where my
10:55:19 finger is pointing, this is called a sleeve or a standpipe.
10:55:25 Where the electrical lines go through that pipe and
10:55:29 underground and the rest of the treatment plant the
10:55:32 electrical system is underground.
10:55:41 Crawled in the top of the pipe at this point, which either
10:55:46 it didn't have a cap on the pipe as is standard, or the
10:55:52 squirrel chewed through the cap of the pipe.
10:55:56 I am told that especially in the winter, squirrels get down,
10:56:00 try to get down in this standpipe so they can get the warmth
10:56:05 from the cables.
10:56:15 When they try to get out, sometimes they can't and they chew
10:56:18 whatever they can to try to get back out.
10:56:20 At that point, at 5:34 Friday morning, that feed shorted
10:56:27 out, and sent a surge, you know, through the plant.
10:56:35 We have half the plant powered by the Yukon substation and
10:56:40 the other half powered by the Hanna Avenue substation.
10:56:45 So at that point half of our treatment processes are
10:56:50 offline.
10:56:53 And we are faced with a decision first thing that morning to
10:57:00 either power that half of the plant -- would you like me to
10:57:06 stop?
10:57:06 >> No, no.
10:57:19 >> That we are faced to go on standby power or switch it
10:57:22 over to full power from the Hannah substation.
10:57:30 So nothing in this whole process including the briefing has
10:57:37 been normal.
10:57:38 [ Laughter ]
10:57:39 So we made the decision to switch over to the Hanna feed for
10:57:45 the entire plant.
10:57:46 And because we were concerned with that surge of what
10:57:51 damages happened throughout the plant in terms of fuses and
10:57:55 protecting equipment and whether or not, you know, that
10:57:59 loop, that primary loop internally had any problem.
10:58:02 So we get to that point.
10:58:04 We switch over.
10:58:05 TECO is on the way.
10:58:08 And they start repairs to this line.
10:58:12 And this is a picture.
10:58:17 The picture of TECO crews there first thing in the morning,
10:58:24 repairing the feed from the Yukon substation.
10:58:28 Stop me if I am going too fast.
10:58:29 >> Go ahead.
10:58:33 >>BRAD BAIRD: They arrived at about 8 a.m.
10:58:36 They worked on it.
10:58:37 They were working on it all morning and through the early
10:58:40 afternoon.
10:58:43 They were within an hour or so of reenergizing that feed.
10:58:51 When a combination of things happened with the Hanna feed.
10:58:55 One, the line had somewhat sag in it to begin with.
10:59:01 Two, the line, when you move all of the power demand over to
10:59:08 that line, expands, it sags a little bit more.
10:59:12 And I want to show you this picture of the Hanna Avenue
10:59:16 substation feed.
10:59:21 And this is to the left-hand side of the picture is where
10:59:24 the incident occurred, which I will explain.
10:59:31 At that point, that line sags.
10:59:34 Apparently we had some breeze or some wind that early
10:59:38 afternoon.
10:59:39 And the lines were blowing around a little bit and got too
10:59:43 close.
10:59:43 Two of these lines got too close to each other.
10:59:46 And I'm not sure.
10:59:48 This is how it looks today of a they straightened out the
10:59:52 power lines.
10:59:53 And it may be a little easier to see it straight on.
10:59:56 These were taken this morning.
11:00:03 so I'll assume it's the top two lines.
11:00:10 I don't know that.
11:00:11 But assuming it was this top line that sags.
11:00:18 It was too close to the second line.
11:00:23 At that point -- and let me back up -- three of these lines,
11:00:28 it's called three phase high voltage power, 13,200 volts
11:00:34 going two toward the plant, in what's called three phase
11:00:38 power, in each of those lines.
11:00:39 So what happens when those two lines cross, now you have
11:00:43 double the voltage going to the treatment plants.
11:00:48 And that happens at 1:19 p.m. that afternoon.
11:00:56 And just to give you an idea of how close TECO was to
11:01:00 putting back on the Yukon feed, or the feed from the Yukon
11:01:05 substation, they were able to get the Yukon substation back
11:01:10 online at 2:15.
11:01:12 So not even an hour later.
11:01:15 So they had separate crews working on that.
11:01:18 So when that happened at 1:19 p.m., within five minutes,
11:01:24 less than five minutes, TECO had four additional crews
11:01:28 on-site and they were a little bit concerned at that point
11:01:31 obviously.
11:01:35 The surge of 26,400 volts blew up the switch that you see on
11:01:43 the left-hand side of that picture, and it caught fire.
11:01:49 That switch is in a loop or main internal electrical loop.
11:01:54 That meant that stand-by power, although we had tested it
11:01:59 earlier that week as we do every week, and we had tested it
11:02:04 again between 5:30 and 1:30 in case we needed it, it kept
11:02:11 ticking off because the loop was incontinuous.
11:02:14 Talking about our primary internal loop.
11:02:18 So since it couldn't get on that loop, we had to switch over
11:02:22 to our second internal loop, another redundancy.
11:02:27 And we had to do that manually.
11:02:29 So at that point, our electricians worked quickly.
11:02:35 And switched over to the second loop.
11:02:38 And then the stand-by power from the stand-by facilities was
11:02:43 able to be accepted and powered up the treatment plant.
11:02:47 So I want to give you some times.
11:02:51 So the pump that provides water out of the treatment plant,
11:02:56 our high service pumps, we call them, went offline at 1:19,
11:03:01 the same time that second feed shorted out this switch.
11:03:06 And our plant was pumping, returned to pumping at 60 pounds
11:03:12 per square inch at 1:45.
11:03:14 By 1:48 p.m., Councilwoman Montelione, yours is the farthest
11:03:19 pressure point away, at 1:48 we had full pressure in New
11:03:23 Tampa that you enjoy.
11:03:27 Those are a few minutes off of the previously reported
11:03:29 because of various lags of getting phone calls and
11:03:34 pressuring up the system throughout the entire system.
11:03:37 But that's a total of 29 minutes that we had low pressure or
11:03:42 even no pressure in some parts of our service area.
11:03:49 So at that point, the first thing I do is call the Tampa
11:03:56 Fire Rescue.
11:03:57 And they put in -- they have a full emergency plant that
11:04:01 they put in to place where they can pump from water bodies,
11:04:05 from tankers and things like that, the Hillsborough River,
11:04:08 lakes, ponds, and Chief Forward can certainly go through
11:04:12 that with you.
11:04:13 My second call is to the health department.
11:04:16 And we worked closely with the health department to keep not
11:04:20 only keep them apprised, but they need -- we need to work
11:04:25 collaboratively with them to make the call as to whether,
11:04:31 you know, how long it was down, how serious is this, does
11:04:34 this need to be a precautionary boil water notice, does it
11:04:37 need to be a mandatory boil water notice?
11:04:40 Does it need to be city-wide or just in small areas?
11:04:43 So all of those conversations were happening.
11:04:45 And third, call Tampa Bay water to put them on stand-by and
11:04:51 backup, so that if we need to put in, place our full
11:04:55 emergency backup, where we reply no water from the city, all
11:05:01 water from Tampa Bay water through an emergency connection
11:05:03 and then through Morris bridge, we can do that.
11:05:07 So those three things were put into place immediately.
11:05:12 And then I have one picture.
11:05:19 We happen to have a cabinet of that switch and the parts in
11:05:25 the warehouse to rebuild that entire switch and we have
11:05:30 already done that.
11:05:31 And with that, I have a lot of other information.
11:05:36 I know you guys have some questions.
11:05:38 But I will try to get some obvious ones.
11:05:44 First, I want to say our emergency plans and protocols is
11:05:48 better than I had hoped.
11:05:49 In this situation, and we plan for numerous catastrophes,
11:05:55 emergency situations that I can't go into detail, because of
11:05:58 homeland security laws, and beginning with what happened on
11:06:04 9/11, but I can say that our emergency plans worked very
11:06:08 well, and the 29 minutes we were down, I would expect in a
11:06:15 situation like this to be down for at least an hour to two.
11:06:19 And so I'm very proud of our folks and TECO's crews and how
11:06:22 well they worked, not only worked together, but hour
11:06:28 responsive both groups were, and we even had a relatively
11:06:32 new team leader, only a few months on the job that took the
11:06:41 reins and headed them up so, we are pretty proud of him.
11:06:44 Secondly, as I said, we do have contingency plans for
11:06:47 numerous scenarios, but I cannot provide details on those.
11:06:54 But we do have plans that take up shelves and computer
11:07:00 space.
11:07:02 And in this state, our folks followed those plans to the T
11:07:07 and beyond.
11:07:08 The call center was overwhelmed, to say the least.
11:07:15 We had on Friday specifically related to -- mostly related
11:07:19 to this emergency.
11:07:20 We can't separate it out.
11:07:22 To that detail we had 1415 calls.
11:07:25 Most of those were Friday afternoon.
11:07:27 Saturday, 147.
11:07:29 Sunday 70 for a total of 1632 calls.
11:07:38 And, let's see.
11:07:42 Okay, costs to the city.
11:07:46 A lot lower and I'm pretty happy about this.
11:07:48 This is just counting plant overtime, materials associated
11:07:52 with testing.
11:07:53 And then overtime at the call center.
11:07:56 Total $29,000.
11:07:59 And I have full detail on all that if you would like.
11:08:05 With that, I would love to open it up for questions.
11:08:08 >>HARRY COHEN: Thank you very much, Mr. Baird.
11:08:12 Let me just start out before I go to different council
11:08:15 members that have asked to speak that I want to just thank
11:08:18 the chair and thank all of my colleagues up here.
11:08:22 I sent a memo that was outside of our normal protocol in
11:08:25 order to talk about this today.
11:08:27 And I just wanted to express my appreciation to everyone for
11:08:32 permitting that.
11:08:33 I also want to express all of our appreciation to the
11:08:35 administration for responding and sending you all here
11:08:40 today, since we didn't have a formal motion.
11:08:42 We appreciate that.
11:08:44 With that, I have a list of council members who wish to ask
11:08:49 questions.
11:08:50 Councilwoman Capin is first but she is out of the room so
11:08:54 Councilwoman Montelione and then Councilman Suarez.
11:08:57 >>LISA MONTELIONE: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
11:09:01 So it was the trifecta of errors or issues that we had.
11:09:10 And I heard you mention that it was a TECO problem.
11:09:16 And the question that comes to mind is whose responsibility
11:09:20 is it to inspect, test and review the facilities that make
11:09:28 up what feeds the power to the plant?
11:09:35 Is it TECO or us that has that responsibility?
11:09:39 The facilities, the pictures I showed you, are owned and
11:09:43 maintained by Tampa Electric Company.
11:09:45 >> So that takes me aback a little bit because that wasn't
11:09:49 the answer I was expecting, because our citizens, not only
11:09:55 those who live within the boundaries of the city limits but
11:09:58 those who receive water service from us, are counting on
11:10:03 this facility and our ability to supply them with water.
11:10:12 And we are handing over the responsibility of keeping that
11:10:17 plant running to TECO?
11:10:26 >>BRAD BAIRD: I would say that all utilities, except the
11:10:30 utilities that are electric and water combined, that that is
11:10:34 the case, that the job of TECO is to supply power to our
11:10:41 plant.
11:10:42 Now the stand-by power are the city's responsibilities but
11:10:46 the two feeds I showed you from the substations are owned
11:10:49 and maintained by TECO.
11:10:51 >>LISA MONTELIONE: So I see an opportunity for change here,
11:10:56 because we need to have protocols in place, and we need to
11:10:59 have an inspection system in place, where we are not relying
11:11:02 on TECO to be the ones who are going to do regular
11:11:10 inspections, make sure our facilities, or their facilities
11:11:14 that supply our plant with power, are up to date, that a
11:11:19 sagging line, which I'm sure didn't sag overnight -- I'm
11:11:23 sure this was over many years, this power line started to
11:11:28 sag -- we see in the our neighborhoods all the time.
11:11:31 We call TECO, report it, they come out, and they fix it.
11:11:34 Why isn't somebody at the city water department doing that?
11:11:40 >>BRAD BAIRD: We did.
11:11:40 We did.
11:11:40 We called to report it.
11:11:43 >>LISA MONTELIONE: When?
11:11:45 >>BRAD BAIRD: Unfortunately I don't have a record of when
11:11:46 our technicians called.
11:11:48 But they did.
11:11:52 In particular, the Hanna substation has been somewhat
11:11:55 unreliable.
11:11:56 So, you know, we keep our eyes on that.
11:12:00 I will go back to your first comment about the city
11:12:04 inspecting.
11:12:07 Our electricians are certified up to 13.2 kilovolts.
11:12:16 We are not certified to do work or inspect those facilities
11:12:19 or make corrections or changes or maintenance to any of
11:12:21 those TECO facilities.
11:12:23 That's not within our purview.
11:12:25 >>LISA MONTELIONE: But simply going outside and seeing the
11:12:28 sagging line is someone even a lay person could do, and you
11:12:33 reported it, but how much time passed between when you
11:12:37 reported it and TECO came out and fixed the problem?
11:12:41 It was obviously too long because they didn't fix the
11:12:43 problem until after the entire plant went down.
11:12:47 So that is an opportunity to change.
11:12:50 I mean, are we under contract with someone?
11:12:55 Do we have to make sure to provide that service if our
11:12:59 electricians aren't certified?
11:13:00 Or do we simply need to have someone who is regularly
11:13:04 corresponding with TECO to make sure that they are out on a
11:13:07 regular basis on a dependable cycle, to inspect all of those
11:13:11 facilities, to make sure -- I mean, really, it's disgraceful
11:13:16 that we had these types of things happen in a city our size.
11:13:21 So that's the one issue I have.
11:13:26 The other is the reporting issues to the public.
11:13:30 I was trying to see on my cell phone, because I am signed up
11:13:35 to alert Tampa on multiple e-mail addresses at multiple,
11:13:41 whether it's on my cell phone, or at home.
11:13:45 And I was trying to look and see when the first notice went
11:13:50 out, and I can't search on my cell phone right now.
11:13:55 What time was that?
11:13:59 >>BRAD BAIRD: I don't have that here.
11:14:00 >>LISA MONTELIONE: When I called you -- and you usually
11:14:04 answer the phone, but in a crisis, I understand why you
11:14:08 didn't.
11:14:08 Because then I called Mr. Herr and I could hear you in the
11:14:12 background.
11:14:13 >> I was calling Chief Forward.
11:14:14 >> Probably.
11:14:15 I heard you talking to someone in the background.
11:14:17 And I had not received an alert, not neither as a council
11:14:24 member would tell you, we don't expect you to have this on
11:14:26 your operator list because the ones that you name should
11:14:30 call the right ones to notify first.
11:14:32 And how I found out about it was from a constituent in New
11:14:38 Tampa.
11:14:38 He and I communicate by Twitter.
11:14:41 That's our relationship.
11:14:42 That's how we operate.
11:14:43 And he was the first one to tell me, and then I contacted
11:14:46 Mr. Herr and then tweeted it out at 1:20 in the afternoon.
11:14:52 >> That's one minute after.
11:14:55 >> That's one minute after it happened, yeah.
11:14:57 Pretty quick.
11:14:58 So if I was tweeting at 1:20 in the afternoon, and already
11:15:05 talked to Mr. Herr already knowing the scope of the problem
11:15:10 because I think at that point you didn't know how big the
11:15:12 problem was, until I started telling you that we had no
11:15:15 water all the way up to County Line Road, and that was when
11:15:22 it first became apparent that this was an issue.
11:15:25 And the reason I bring up Twitter is that we are in an age
11:15:30 of instant communication.
11:15:32 And I read in the paper it's not the only methods we should
11:15:36 use, because there are a lot of people who are not as on top
11:15:39 of technology.
11:15:40 But as word gets out, the people who are on the technology,
11:15:45 who are using the technology, can pick up the phone and let
11:15:48 people know who may not be members of Twitter or follow the
11:15:53 city on Twitter or follow me on Twitter.
11:15:56 So I think we need to do a much better job.
11:15:59 I think it was pointed out by our friends in the media that
11:16:04 only 60,000 people have signed up for alert Tampa?
11:16:09 We are not doing a good enough job in getting a system.
11:16:14 And the fact that we didn't use reverse 911 to me boggles
11:16:17 the mind.
11:16:22 >>BRAD BAIRD: Yes, a few comments and answers to those
11:16:24 points.
11:16:26 Our public affairs officer ALLY glisten does use all the
11:16:32 social media to get those words out.
11:16:35 >>LISA MONTELIONE: Not that way.
11:16:37 >>BRAD BAIRD: To my knowledge.
11:16:38 I don't know if the council folks are on the Twitter
11:16:40 account.
11:16:41 >>LISA MONTELIONE: I am bared barred I know she uses
11:16:45 Facebook.
11:16:45 And they might not get it until the press release sends out.
11:16:50 So it's not a first notice that something is wrong, and we
11:16:52 are figuring out the problem.
11:16:54 And that's a big key.
11:16:56 When something like this happens at 1:19, the people at the
11:17:01 plant, the electricians, the plant manager, supervisors,
11:17:05 they are trying to figure out what happened.
11:17:08 What is the problem?
11:17:09 And you have to define the problem you can start solving.
11:17:13 And that's extremely important, because in today's social
11:17:18 media and so quick, everybody wants to know what happened?
11:17:21 What's the problem?
11:17:22 What do I do?
11:17:24 We are not there yet.
11:17:25 It's going to take us a few minutes to get there.
11:17:27 And so what we finally send out via social media is a press
11:17:34 release that provides some information of what happened, and
11:17:39 that TECO and the city are working to resolve the problem.
11:17:45 And third, what was the third thing you talked about?
11:17:49 >>LISA MONTELIONE: No, your last issue -- the reverse 9
11:17:57 1.
11:17:57 Technically, we don't have reverse 911 capabilities.
11:18:00 What it is is a 411 database that Tampa Police Department
11:18:04 uses, and actually I will be meeting with the fire
11:18:08 department and the police department this afternoon, and
11:18:11 ALLY glisten to determine how that could be used better, and
11:18:16 certainly one of the requests of the mayor.
11:18:19 That's another tool in our tool box, and we did not use it
11:18:22 in this case.
11:18:22 >>LISA MONTELIONE: And the final comment that I have based
11:18:26 on your briefing here today is you mention that the cost to
11:18:31 the city was $29,000.
11:18:36 And again, I read something in this newspaper that talked
11:18:40 about the costs to the city, or saw it on the news.
11:18:43 The cost to the city is way more than $29,000.
11:18:47 That's a hard cost.
11:18:51 The amount of revenue lost by business owners, especially
11:18:56 the small business owners and the restaurants, I don't think
11:19:01 we would ever be able to calculate that number.
11:19:04 And it's really embarrassing to me to know that we have
11:19:08 restaurants who in this economy are struggling to stay
11:19:11 alive, and then through no fault of their own take a blow to
11:19:15 their business in this manner, and not even know why or what
11:19:20 they can do about it because we did not get the word out
11:19:24 fast enough.
11:19:27 It was just really an insensitive approach to say it costs
11:19:34 $29,000 to the City of Tampa.
11:19:36 And I really would try and find the learning experience out
11:19:45 of this debacle, because that's really what it was.
11:19:50 Thank you.
11:19:50 >>HARRY COHEN: Councilwoman Capin.
11:19:57 >>YVONNE CAPIN: First I want to start -- Councilman Miranda
11:20:00 left but he said no jokes about squirrels.
11:20:03 But I believe the first joke came from the mayor Saturday
11:20:06 morning.
11:20:06 So he set the tone.
11:20:11 On the jokes.
11:20:12 But seriously, Councilwoman Montelione's statement, the cost
11:20:21 was way more.
11:20:22 And restaurants closed, you know, thousands of dollars in
11:20:26 ice and water, it was total disruption.
11:20:32 So my question is, I have several here, but the first one
11:20:36 is, you stated that this was totally a TECO issue.
11:20:43 So my question is, since this is such a critical -- it is a
11:20:47 critical service to our -- who is in charge of the oversight
11:20:55 of TECO?
11:20:58 Who inspects the inspectors?
11:21:03 Do weave we even have that in place?
11:21:05 >> I know they report to the Public Service Commission.
11:21:07 But I don't know who oversees their inspectors.
11:21:13 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Because that would be something that since
11:21:18 we rely so totally on the capacity of TECO to render this
11:21:27 service that we should have some kind of redundancy and
11:21:35 oversight as to how they are servicing our water plant.
11:21:42 The other thing was, when you said we had a stand-by power,
11:21:49 what is the stand-by power you mentioned?
11:21:52 You mentioned that earlier, the stand-by power.
11:21:56 Is that the generator?
11:21:59 >>BRAD BAIRD: Yes.
11:21:59 We have three generators.
11:22:01 Actually, you will have a fourth one coming before you, so
11:22:04 that we have a backup to the three.
11:22:09 Those three generators can power the entire treatment plant,
11:22:15 and power the high service pumping stations that pump water
11:22:22 throughout our system.
11:22:24 >>YVONNE CAPIN: And how many pumping stations do we have?
11:22:28 >>BRAD BAIRD: Including the high service pumping at the
11:22:31 plant we have six.
11:22:31 We have two water towers.
11:22:33 And we have at each of those we have pumps.
11:22:40 And then we have four ground pumping stations.
11:22:46 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Will the generators have a second source of
11:22:48 power from now on?
11:22:50 >>BRAD BAIRD: The generators in again, you have three
11:22:53 sources of power that can supply power for the entire
11:22:57 treatment plant.
11:22:58 Triple redundancy is required for a class A, and with this
11:23:04 population, and that we have one plant serving the entire
11:23:07 population, that is what we are required to do.
11:23:12 >>YVONNE CAPIN: What's our capacity in millions of gallons?
11:23:16 >>BRAD BAIRD: Our capacity, we can produce 105 million
11:23:19 gallons a day.
11:23:19 Right now we are producing about 70.
11:23:27 >>YVONNE CAPIN: I'm concerned about the one power switch on
11:23:29 the generator.
11:23:34 That was brought up.
11:23:35 Also, we have a separate substation.
11:23:40 And the wires were underground.
11:23:42 How far -- the-pole that you showed us that had the pipe,
11:23:50 how far is that from the plant?
11:23:52 >>BRAD BAIRD: The pole?
11:23:55 >>YVONNE CAPIN: That the squirrel got into.
11:23:57 >>BRAD BAIRD: I mate answer your question with two pictures
11:23:59 on that.
11:24:05 This pole, the one the squirrel was able to penetrate into
11:24:09 the standpipe is on the plant site, although it's owned by
11:24:13 TECO and maintained by TECO, it is on our plant site, and it
11:24:17 is immediately adjacent to our stand-by power facilities.
11:24:27 >>YVONNE CAPIN: So it's easily viewed.
11:24:30 >> Sure.
11:24:31 >>YVONNE CAPIN: And can be easily inspected from anyone at
11:24:33 the plant?
11:24:35 Or not anyone but anyone who is in N charge?
11:24:39 >>BRAD BAIRD: In a.
11:24:39 Because an inspection that TECO representative would do on
11:24:42 that pole is a lot more than looking to see if a line is
11:24:47 sagging.
11:24:47 They are going to get up in the bucket truck that I showed
11:24:51 you.
11:24:51 They are going to inspect the insulators, the wires, the
11:24:54 connections, the cap for that stand Pointe pipe and on and
11:24:58 on.
11:25:00 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Then we get back to who is the oversight on
11:25:02 our side for teak.
11:25:04 That is something we need to add.
11:25:06 >> If I might add to that answer, the second -- the second
11:25:19 failure happened a couple hundred yards away from the second
11:25:22 feed.
11:25:23 And that is on Teco easement.
11:25:27 TECO's easement on our site.
11:25:34 TECO has an easement to access our site and then come in and
11:25:39 regularly inspect and maintain those lines.
11:25:42 >>YVONNE CAPIN: What's the capacity of our pumping station?
11:25:45 >>BRAD BAIRD: The high service pumping station?
11:25:48 It has capacity to pump 120 million gallons a day.
11:25:51 And keep in mind, while we were resolving problems on the
11:25:54 plant site, associated with the first electrical feed
11:25:59 failure, when we were working on that, we have storage of 24
11:26:10 million gallons that we can use for numerous hours while we
11:26:17 resolve those problems.
11:26:22 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Tell me the basic testing and maintenance
11:26:24 and inspection on all parts of the critical system.
11:26:27 How often does that take place?
11:26:30 >>BRAD BAIRD: We perform preventive maintenance every day,
11:26:33 and I would like to say that our plant currently is close,
11:26:40 89.4% preventive maintenance as opposed to a little over 10%
11:26:44 reactive.
11:26:46 Which anything over 80% preventive maintenance is considered
11:26:49 outstanding.
11:26:50 We take that very seriously.
11:26:54 You know, we maintain these facilities on a daily basis.
11:27:00 >>YVONNE CAPIN: When was the last time the city had, the H20
11:27:08 had an independent evaluation?
11:27:11 >>BRAD BAIRD: Independent electrical evaluation?
11:27:13 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Of the plant.
11:27:14 An independent evaluation of our system and our plant and
11:27:19 how it works?
11:27:22 >>BRAD BAIRD: I'm not sure what you mean.
11:27:27 We have had audits on a regular basis.
11:27:29 We have had two in the last maybe five or six years that
11:27:34 perform electrical audits.
11:27:36 And then we look at hydraulics, capacity of that plant.
11:27:42 We have had one seven or eight years ago when we were
11:27:46 considering as an option to Tampa Bay water, expanding that
11:27:49 plant and selling water back to them.
11:27:54 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Again, I will go back to the oversight of
11:27:56 I think that's something that everything you have explained
11:28:03 to me that every day the maintenance is there.
11:28:06 I wanted to ask you something else.
11:28:10 What is the reason that we don't use hydrochloric acid which
11:28:15 is a liquid as opposed to a gas?
11:28:18 And is that in any danger, the gas --
11:28:21 >>BRAD BAIRD: In a, no, the chlorine system was not in any
11:28:24 danger.
11:28:25 Several reasons.
11:28:26 I mean, in a nutshell, first of all, the chlorine gas is
11:28:34 much, much less expensive than either building a bleach
11:28:38 plant or taking loads of bleach in.
11:28:41 The amount of chlorine that we would need at this point
11:28:44 would mean five to six truckloads a day of bleach.
11:28:49 And during a hurricane, or any other event that takes our
11:28:54 plant out for an extended period of time, some of those
11:28:56 things that I said are on the list that we can't go into
11:29:02 detail, we have two months of chlorine supplies, via rail
11:29:06 car.
11:29:07 With bleach, you would have maybe two or three days supply
11:29:11 at the most.
11:29:12 And the bleach manufacturer is located off Adamo Drive,
11:29:18 which is in a flood zone.
11:29:19 So those factors play into whether or not you convert.
11:29:26 So the larger utilities rely on gaseous chlorine such as us
11:29:33 and Miami-Dade.
11:29:35 >>YVONNE CAPIN: I understand that we believe that it was a
11:29:41 TECO incident, but I believe that we were remiss in not the
11:29:51 oversight on TECO. I cannot emphasis that enough, because
11:29:54 that is the supply to keep us running.
11:29:59 And we need to know exactly what they are doing, when they
11:30:03 are doing it, how they are doing it, so that we don't have
11:30:07 squirrels or anything else, you know.
11:30:10 This is -- as the president said, it's a teachable moment.
11:30:15 So we'll use that.
11:30:16 Thank you.
11:30:19 >>BRAD BAIRD: If I could add, and this hopefully will make
11:30:21 everyone out there feel a little more comfortable.
11:30:23 TECO will be conducting, you know, an after-action review of
11:30:30 their procedures, what went well, what went wrong.
11:30:36 And following that we will be getting with them, you know,
11:30:41 to get a briefing on that, if you will.
11:30:46 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Thank you.
11:30:46 >>HARRY COHEN: Thank you.
11:30:49 Councilman Suarez.
11:30:50 >>MIKE SUAREZ: Thank you, chair.
11:30:52 Brad, I know that it's been a rough few days for you in
11:30:54 terms of, you know, when you are the head of the water
11:30:58 department, all these things fall on you.
11:31:00 I mean, the responsibility goes to you first, and then
11:31:03 obviously to the mayor and to City Council, and how we react
11:31:08 to these type of situations.
11:31:10 And as I understand it -- and I want you to explain it
11:31:12 publicly so that the folks know out there why, if this is an
11:31:18 electrical incident that happened, why boil water warning is
11:31:22 sent out, what is it about the pressure that causes, you
11:31:28 know, us to send that warning out?
11:31:30 Why do we have to have boil water when in fact it's an
11:31:35 electrical incident and not something that has to do with
11:31:38 what's in the water supply?
11:31:40 >>BRAD BAIRD: I'm glad you asked that because that
11:31:42 constitute add lot of our questions through the call center
11:31:45 as you might imagine.
11:31:50 Let me back up.
11:31:51 Our system operates typically at 70 pounds per square inch.
11:31:55 It provides enough pressure to get to the outer reaches of
11:31:58 our system and still have adequate pressure for irrigation
11:32:03 and all the other water uses.
11:32:09 In various parts of the city, people were affected, to some
11:32:16 extent greatly, as they went down to zero pounds per square
11:32:19 inch, such as up in the New Tampa area.
11:32:23 Some people were not affected as much.
11:32:26 And we found out looking at the computer runs later when we
11:32:30 went down to 25 or 27 PSI, I was going through that, you
11:32:36 know, finishing going through some of that this morning.
11:32:40 In the areas where you go lower than 20 pounds per square
11:32:46 inch, there's a potential for contamination in the system.
11:32:51 And how that happened is your pipelines are under, in some
11:32:56 cases, lower than the water table.
11:32:58 We have a high water table in Florida.
11:33:01 And that, if you go to zero, or negative pressure because
11:33:04 people are turning on the wait and it's going a different
11:33:07 direction, there is a potential for those contaminants to
11:33:11 enter that system.
11:33:13 At that point, you don't know, you don't know where that
11:33:18 water is going.
11:33:20 So the health department, even though we were only down for
11:33:26 29 minutes, and the majority of the city did not go to zero,
11:33:33 we are still, in an abundance of caution, the health
11:33:36 department said we need to have a boil water notice for 24
11:33:41 hours.
11:33:42 Because we got on so fast, and we didn't go down to zero in
11:33:47 the entire service area, they allowed us to do a
11:33:51 precautionary boil water notice instead of a mandatory and
11:33:55 allowed us to do testing for 24 hours instead of 48, which
11:33:59 if you will remember, when the defective pipeline blew up
11:34:05 before we could transfer the water over in New Tampa, we had
11:34:09 boil water notice for 48 hours.
11:34:13 So again, we work in collaboration with the health
11:34:16 department.
11:34:17 That's how contamination could get into the system.
11:34:19 In our case we took 25 samples throughout the entire service
11:34:23 area.
11:34:23 We tested them.
11:34:25 We had taken them very early Saturday morning, tested them
11:34:29 very early Sunday morning, and were able to report back that
11:34:35 no contamination had entered the system, the water was safe
11:34:39 to drink.
11:34:40 >>MIKE SUAREZ: Thank you, Brad, for mentioning that because
11:34:45 I think there was a lot of confusion with people, with what
11:34:48 does one have to do with the other?
11:34:50 To kind of reiterate some of the comments made by my
11:34:53 colleagues, I think that maybe one of the things that we
11:34:56 ought to look at is maybe even a way of putting a camera up
11:35:01 there, because obviously the squirrels got through the cap
11:35:04 into the standpipe which then caused the whole problem to
11:35:10 start.
11:35:10 I think that's the observational aspect of this have to be
11:35:17 more sharpened.
11:35:18 The other aspect of course is that maybe TECO has to respond
11:35:21 to us a little quicker when we do have a problem, you know,
11:35:25 the sagging line issue, I think, is something that TECO
11:35:29 should probably look at a little bit more seriously.
11:35:32 And again, we don't know what the legal ramifications or
11:35:35 legal issues dealing with a state regulated utility.
11:35:41 As you know -- and I think you mentioned this -- there are
11:35:45 probably only a few in the state in which the water
11:35:50 department of a particular municipality or county also has
11:35:54 an electrical utility that is owned by that city or county.
11:35:58 I think Orlando owns their own utility company, if I am not
11:36:03 mistaken.
11:36:06 And Jacksonville.
11:36:07 And there's a couple of others that are smaller utilities,
11:36:12 that they deal with co-ops and other things that provide
11:36:14 electrical power.
11:36:17 In terms of what the -- and I know we followed the
11:36:20 guidelines, American water works association, correct?
11:36:25 >>BRAD BAIRD: Correct.
11:36:26 >>MIKE SUAREZ: And I think I saw this in the paper.
11:36:29 Someone who is a vice-president of that association, from
11:36:32 another jurisdiction, that made a comment that we followed
11:36:36 all the rules that we could possibly follow in terms of
11:36:39 redundancy, and the way that we responded to this.
11:36:45 And whenever we look at how we are classified -- and I think
11:36:49 the classification, I think we are a class A because of our
11:36:53 size, because of the number of gallons that we pump and so
11:36:56 on, that we were following everything.
11:36:57 Is there a way that we can get an audit, a third party audit
11:37:03 through American water works association to come in here, to
11:37:05 make sure, to give sort of that seal approval that we did do
11:37:09 everything that we typically are seeing in most utilities?
11:37:15 I think the problem we have here is that the utilities are
11:37:18 so technical in terms of the nature of them themselves that
11:37:21 it's harder for us to make a determination as to whether or
11:37:24 not you did the right thing or the wrong thing.
11:37:28 You mentioned homeland security has certain criteria.
11:37:32 And I know that having worked with chemical companies, there
11:37:35 are things that they have to do that are really off the
11:37:40 beaten path, and the kind of redundancies that they had to
11:37:43 deal with, just like water utilities go to a higher level,
11:37:48 because security is much more important now than it was,
11:37:51 let's say, 25 years ago, the way that we protect the water
11:37:56 supply is much more difficult.
11:37:57 And we are kind of in a unique situation because we get our
11:38:01 water supply from a river primarily.
11:38:03 And so we have to figure out how do you deal with that?
11:38:08 And in addition, we have to deal with a city our size, plus
11:38:13 customers that are outside the city limits that are also
11:38:16 contracted with us to provide water.
11:38:17 So all those things come in to play when we are looking at
11:38:21 this.
11:38:21 I won't say that you are going to get a full bill of good
11:38:27 health in terms of an audit on this.
11:38:29 But I think that you did as fast as could you considering
11:38:33 the circumstances.
11:38:35 And I think when you look at -- and the way it's been
11:38:38 described to us -- the failure of one line coming in, the
11:38:42 switch, the arcing of another line, the destruction of a
11:38:46 switch that would have caused us to go to our own generator,
11:38:51 I mean, those things are not foreseen.
11:38:54 Those are not things that we can look at.
11:38:55 And even in a hurricane or tornado situation, I think that
11:39:00 it would be difficult for us to say, well, we are 100%
11:39:06 bulletproof when it comes to being able to provide water all
11:39:09 the time, and the pressure we need without a boil water
11:39:13 notice, because there are so many small things that can go
11:39:16 wrong, and all we can do is try to be as diligent as
11:39:20 possible for each one of those small things.
11:39:22 I do think some of the observational things we need to do is
11:39:25 make sure that TECO responds to it in a quicker manner when
11:39:28 it comes to observing issues that may lead to an electrical
11:39:32 breakdown as it did here.
11:39:35 And as I mentioned before, look at the cameras in terms of
11:39:39 those specific areas that we can observe so that we are not
11:39:44 in a situation where we have to depend on, you know, TECO
11:39:48 responding in a quicker manner than they already do.
11:39:51 But thank you for coming here, Brad, and taking our
11:39:54 questions.
11:39:54 >> could I mention something about hurricanes?
11:40:00 A more likely -- and this is for educational purposes -- as
11:40:03 you know, we would have trees throughout the service area
11:40:07 that would be uprooted, and those trees will pull up water
11:40:12 pipelines.
11:40:12 And so the more likely scenario in a cat 3-plus hurricane
11:40:21 would be that you would have hundreds if not thousands of
11:40:23 pipelines pulled out of the ground, leaking water, to the
11:40:26 point where you have too many leaks, and you have to shut
11:40:30 down the plant.
11:40:31 >>HARRY COHEN: Councilwoman Mulhern.
11:40:34 >>MARY MULHERN: Thank you.
11:40:37 I'm sorry, I had to step out when you began your
11:40:41 presentation, so I'm going to have to ask you to go back to
11:40:44 the squirrel.
11:40:48 >>BRAD BAIRD: Okay.
11:40:48 >>MARY MULHERN: Can you put that slide up?
11:40:54 So the squirrel got into that tubing?
11:40:59 >>BRAD BAIRD: Yes.
11:41:00 Got into the stand-by sleeve, right at this location.
11:41:04 You can see TECO has put a cap on that now.
11:41:07 >>MARY MULHERN: Oh, there wasn't a cap and now there is?
11:41:13 >> We don't know if there is a cap, the squirrel chewed
11:41:17 through it and it blew off when it shorted out.
11:41:22 You can see it actually cause a fire, the poll showing agent
11:41:28 guard above that stand-pipe.
11:41:29 We don't know whether that was the case or whether the cap
11:41:32 was missing altogether.
11:41:33 >> So do we have a solution?
11:41:35 Does TECO have a solution for this?
11:41:39 >>BRAD BAIRD: Put caps on standpipes.
11:41:41 I mean, to keep squirrels out.
11:41:44 That's the solution.
11:41:47 >>MARY MULHERN: But if it chewed through then there's still
11:41:49 a problem.
11:41:50 >> This looks to me like a steel cap and that's one of my
11:41:53 questions when we meet with them, is how do they physically
11:41:56 cap off?
11:41:56 >>MARY MULHERN: Okay, that's a question that I think
11:41:58 everybody was asking, as soon as we heard about this.
11:42:01 So I'm surprised it's almost a week later and we don't have
11:42:06 an answer to that.
11:42:07 I think we need to find out that.
11:42:09 Then my other question, and I missed -- might have missed
11:42:12 this too before I came back in -- but what is the
11:42:16 relationship between the outage from the squirrel, and then
11:42:21 the outage of the sagging power line?
11:42:30 >>BRAD BAIRD: Okay.
11:42:30 We have two separate TECO electrical feeds from two
11:42:33 different substations.
11:42:35 >>MARY MULHERN: So the sagging lines were -- the second of
11:42:40 your three power.
11:42:42 >> Right, and this was a couple hundred feet away from this
11:42:46 pole that you just saw.
11:42:47 >>MARY MULHERN: So it's just coincidence that there was a
11:42:50 squirrel, and then there was a gust of wind?
11:42:57 >>BRAD BAIRD: Not 100%.
11:42:58 As I said earlier, when we switch switched over half the
11:43:02 treatment plant to the Hanna Avenue substation feed, that
11:43:05 tends to heat up that line and cause further sagging in the
11:43:09 line, plus it was, you know, had some windy conditions.
11:43:13 Those two lines -- actually the head of my observations
11:43:19 observed, weighs out there when that happened, and it
11:43:22 resulted in those lines crossing, shorting out, sending
11:43:27 double voltage or 26,400 volts to our switch gears, switch,
11:43:34 and it was quite the scene.
11:43:36 There were blue flames going down the line.
11:43:40 >> But it sounds like then we have a problem with that
11:43:43 secondary power source as a backup.
11:43:48 If just the fact that you had to switch to that was going to
11:43:50 cause this kind of overload and power surge that, you know,
11:43:56 then that's a problem that I think needs to be addressed.
11:44:03 >>BRAD BAIRD: Yes.
11:44:03 Keep in mind it was eight hours later that the other one
11:44:06 failed, or over eight hours later, and TECO was within, what
11:44:11 I D I say earlier, 45 minutes of getting the first feedback
11:44:15 online.
11:44:16 They had, I think, 6 crews working on that first feed.
11:44:20 But, yes, you know, you had two unlikely events.
11:44:25 >> Right.
11:44:26 But I think if you have a secondary backup, you should be
11:44:31 able to count on that.
11:44:35 Not having the capacity to take over.
11:44:37 And it sound like it didn't necessarily have that.
11:44:43 >>BRAD BAIRD: It has capacity.
11:44:44 Those lines, as you can see from this -- and I don't know if
11:44:47 you saw this picture, but the lines now are much tighter.
11:44:54 You don't see much sag in the Hanna Avenue feed lines.
11:44:59 You know, they tighten those up.
11:45:02 As taut as they can get.
11:45:05 >>MARY MULHERN: Hopefully you can keep them -- like tuning
11:45:09 your guitar, always keeping it in tune.
11:45:11 And I don't know if that's going to happen.
11:45:13 Then my next question is, what is the third?
11:45:15 What's the third backup?
11:45:18 >> Our stand-by power facility.
11:45:22 And since it is designed to feed our primary internal
11:45:28 electrical loop, when the switch blew up, it couldn't feed
11:45:32 that loop.
11:45:34 In fact, it's designed to feed within 15 seconds
11:45:38 automatically.
11:45:39 But the three generators kept tripping out because they
11:45:43 could not feed a discontinuous loop.
11:45:47 I'm sorry, I'm not an electrician.
11:45:49 So then our electricians transferred to the second loop, and
11:45:53 that's why within a short order we were able to accept the
11:45:58 stand-by power and power the entire treatment plant.
11:46:01 >>MARY MULHERN: And all of those took half an hour?
11:46:10 >>BRAD BAIRD: That part half an hour.
11:46:12 We still have -- sorry to use technical terms, but
11:46:16 programlogic controllers which are mini computers for each
11:46:19 of the processes.
11:46:21 We still had to reboot a lot of those from the surge.
11:46:26 And other things that we had to do, replace fuses and that
11:46:29 kind of thing throughout the plant.
11:46:31 But we were able to pump and provide full pressure within 29
11:46:34 minutes.
11:46:34 >>MARY MULHERN: It sounds like as Councilman Capin said
11:46:43 many teachable moments and I'm sure you are working on
11:46:46 those, but it sounded like pretty obvious problems that you
11:46:49 need to solve.
11:46:50 My biggest problem with this whole situation was what
11:46:54 Councilman Montelione brought up.
11:46:57 The notification, I don't understand at all what happened.
11:47:02 I mean, the public wasn't called on the telephone, which is
11:47:08 the one thing that most people have.
11:47:12 Not everybody uses computers and is on the Internet.
11:47:17 And I found out about it, it was like 2:37, when I had an
11:47:26 e-mail sent to me by someone in our office.
11:47:33 My aide had a vacation day that day.
11:47:36 So Cindy, Councilwoman Capin's aide, whats thoughtful enough
11:47:45 to send me an e-mail that this had happened.
11:47:49 I got an e-mail on my personal e-mail about it.
11:47:52 That's the only notification I got as a Tampa water user and
11:47:57 as a City Council -- city-wide City Council person.
11:48:02 I didn't -- no one called me.
11:48:05 And, you know, I have problems with both of those.
11:48:08 >> Thank you.
11:48:12 I'll accept responsibility for having communicated with the
11:48:14 council.
11:48:18 I chose, I with a small I, I chose not to phone you because
11:48:23 I was concerned about not being able to get you, or any of
11:48:27 you.
11:48:27 I didn't want to leave a voice mail about a serious
11:48:30 situation like that.
11:48:31 So I brought the most expeditious way to treat council,
11:48:36 given today we all communicate by e-mail, I chose to
11:48:40 communicate with you through your business address here, and
11:48:45 I had my executive aide call your legislative assistant to
11:48:49 make sure that they read that e-mail and that they would
11:48:52 call you.
11:48:52 So if that wasn't quick enough, I apologize, but I accept
11:48:56 responsibility for having chosen that route to communicate.
11:48:59 >>MARY MULHERN: Okay.
11:49:02 Well, thank you for that.
11:49:04 But that is not acceptable.
11:49:08 Let me first talk about the council's part.
11:49:11 You have to get -- you have to be able to communicate with
11:49:15 us and make the connection.
11:49:18 A phone message, an e-mail is not communicating to us.
11:49:24 And, I mean, we have to have the opportunity to speak to
11:49:28 you, ask questions, and find out what happened.
11:49:31 So I'm asking you, and the administration, in any kind of
11:49:38 situation -- and to me, this is an emergency management, a
11:49:47 public health problem, that TPD and the fire department -- I
11:49:54 wouldn't have even thought to ask you to expect a call from
11:49:57 you.
11:49:58 We should have heard O or from the mayor's office, the chief
11:50:02 of staff, somebody at that level should have gotten in touch
11:50:06 with us and made sure that they talk to us, because that was
11:50:11 on Friday.
11:50:12 I never heard another word all weekend.
11:50:14 So that's the problem.
11:50:15 But the even bigger problem is that, I mean, what is that
11:50:25 emergency, that phone notification system we have?
11:50:29 Alert Tampa?
11:50:30 I have gotten calls while I was asleep at midnight from TPD
11:50:35 about a strange person wandering on my block, waking me up.
11:50:42 So if we have this capacity to call people -- and I still
11:50:47 have a land line, like a lot of the older people in this
11:50:51 community -- how is it possible that people weren't
11:50:57 notified?
11:51:02 >> Well, Tampa, my knowledge is that the alert Tampa system
11:51:06 was alerted, but we are meeting today at 4:00 to debrief
11:51:12 that situation, and see if there isn't a more proactive way
11:51:17 to utilize that communication tool to communicate with
11:51:21 businesses, with residences, and with elected officials.
11:51:24 >>MARY MULHERN: I don't know anyone who got that call.
11:51:29 Maybe it was working partially.
11:51:31 >> (off microphone).
11:51:43 >>HARRY COHEN: Let's have that conversation --
11:51:49 >>MARY MULHERN: You are the first person that told me
11:51:52 that they got those calls so I am glad you were notified.
11:51:54 But, yes, it is very, very scary to me that -- and am so
11:52:03 encouraged by how quickly you reacted and how cautious you
11:52:06 were about telling people to boil water, because I know that
11:52:14 didn't necessarily have to happen.
11:52:15 You did the right thing there.
11:52:16 But the notice did not get out, and we are just lucky that
11:52:23 no one, you know, got sick.
11:52:25 So I think we -- I'm asking the administration, the mayor,
11:52:30 to have a protocol about how to notify the public, but also
11:52:39 council in emergency situations.
11:52:41 >>HARRY COHEN: Councilman Reddick.
11:52:45 >>FRANK REDDICK: Thank you.
11:52:51 Let me just say first, to give you a prime example of what
11:52:55 happens when you don't receive a notification from council
11:52:58 members.
11:52:59 In my other office, away from here, City Council, my other
11:53:05 job, people were utilizing the restroom and water, no longer
11:53:14 working.
11:53:16 So my me being a member of Tampa City Council, everybody
11:53:23 wants to know what happened to the water.
11:53:27 And I don't know.
11:53:30 I thought something in the building.
11:53:32 They shut the water off, the maintenance people had shut the
11:53:34 water off to the building.
11:53:36 But when the building manager said, no, there's something
11:53:38 going on with the city.
11:53:42 And not knowing, I couldn't give no answers.
11:53:48 And that was frustrating.
11:53:50 Because as a City Council person, did somebody notify you
11:53:58 there was something going on?
11:53:59 And then we heard through the lobby that somebody came on
11:54:02 and said something about something happened at the water
11:54:04 plant or something like that.
11:54:06 And but we still had not been receiving no -- that's a prime
11:54:13 example of how we get caught up, because anybody in the
11:54:16 community, just by calling, letting us know what was going
11:54:19 on, and I was at a loss for words.
11:54:22 And I think my aide eventually called me and alerted me to
11:54:27 what was going on.
11:54:30 But on another note, let me just say this.
11:54:35 Something I learned from this, I learned how to boil water
11:54:38 without burning up my kitchen.
11:54:43 So I did obtain something from all of this.
11:54:49 But here is something that disturbs me and maybe you can
11:54:51 answer it and maybe not.
11:54:55 I read in the paper where the mayor of St. Pete indicated
11:55:00 that this would not happen in St. Pete.
11:55:03 And I thought it was a bold statement, a little political
11:55:10 posturing or what, but do they have a system over in
11:55:17 St. Pete that's totally different than what we have in
11:55:19 Tampa, that calls for the mayor to come out and say this
11:55:22 would never happen in St. Pete?
11:55:28 >> Well, this can happen in any utility in the world.
11:55:30 St. Pete is not immune.
11:55:33 Certainly not immune.
11:55:35 They are set up quite a bit differently than we are,
11:55:38 however.
11:55:39 They purchase their water from Tampa Bay water.
11:55:42 And repump it.
11:55:45 So for them, they don't have a treatment plant besides maybe
11:55:51 a softening plant.
11:55:53 They don't have a treatment plant that we do that directly
11:55:56 supplies to customers.
11:55:57 That is a huge difference.
11:56:01 So if they lose just one of their pumping stations similar
11:56:04 to ours, we are able to, you know, bypass that pumping
11:56:07 station or get it on stand-by power.
11:56:10 We all have generators, and bring it back online.
11:56:15 And that's what he was referring to.
11:56:18 However, however, if Tampa Bay water, which happened a
11:56:23 little over a decade ago, has their transmission main fail,
11:56:29 they were down -- not to St. Pete, but their system, it's an
11:56:35 84-inch pipeline goes down for three days.
11:56:40 So to make that statement, you know, it's simply not true.
11:56:46 And I will add to that, that if you saw in the news
11:56:51 yesterday, Bartow had 350 customers including City Hall
11:56:56 taken down by a squirrel.
11:57:00 And including the tax office so would not let customers in
11:57:09 for an hour.
11:57:11 So it does happen.
11:57:11 It happens all over.
11:57:12 I think the squirrels are the electric company's worst
11:57:17 enemy.
11:57:17 >>FRANK REDDICK: I just wanted clarity on that because I
11:57:22 thought it was a bold statement to make in a public
11:57:25 newspaper of that nature coming from the highest ranking
11:57:28 official in the city.
11:57:29 But my second point is, I saw where some businesses might
11:57:36 request the city to repay them for their loss.
11:57:43 Have you been able to assess that, and have you received any
11:57:45 requests from any businesses?
11:57:50 And the second part of it is, should TECO also be
11:57:55 responsible for paying and not just limited to the city?
11:58:02 >>BRAD BAIRD: I'll answer your first question and then I'll
11:58:04 turn it over to our city attorney for the second one.
11:58:07 We have received quite a few.
11:58:10 I don't have the number through our call center verbally
11:58:14 saying they are going to submit a claim for their losses for
11:58:18 businesses and restaurants.
11:58:23 And we gave them an address to send the claims to.
11:58:25 I'll gather it together and turn them over to our risk
11:58:28 management office.
11:58:30 With regard to TECO, I am going to defer to Jim Shimberg.
11:58:34 >>FRANK REDDICK: Okay.
11:58:39 >>JIM SHIMBERG: City attorney.
11:58:39 At this point, we really wouldn't advice commenting on it
11:58:43 publicly.
11:58:43 We are looking into it but I don't think it appropriate to
11:58:46 talk about that publicly.
11:58:47 >> That was short.
11:58:50 >>FRANK REDDICK: That was short.
11:58:51 I know you were going to probably say that.
11:58:53 >>HARRY COHEN: May I have a motion to extend the time for
11:58:59 half an hour, please?
11:59:01 >> So moved.
11:59:02 >>HARRY COHEN: We have a motion from Councilwoman
11:59:04 Montelione.
11:59:04 Seconded by Councilwoman Capin.
11:59:07 All those in favor please indicate by saying aye.
11:59:11 Let me just say, I have not said anything yet on this item.
11:59:14 And I have two council members that council members are
11:59:18 leaving, I have council members that wish to speak, and we
11:59:20 also have a workshop that we still need to get through, and
11:59:24 I'm going to ask for council's pleasure on how we handle
11:59:28 that in just a moment.
11:59:29 But I would like to close out this water discussion and just
11:59:33 state the following:
11:59:36 It's obvious from what we heard today that there are a lot
11:59:38 of things that need to be looked at and studied, and a lot
11:59:42 of people use the word teachable moment.
11:59:45 We were very lucky in this case.
11:59:47 No one, from what I understand, actually got sick.
11:59:50 And it is incumbent upon us to look at this episode and use
11:59:55 it as a teaching tool to see what we can do to prevent
11:59:58 something from happening in the future that would cause
12:00:02 people to fall ill and might cause businesses to lose even
12:00:05 more revenue than some seem to have in this episode.
12:00:12 My question for you is, how long do you think would be
12:00:16 appropriate for us to schedule an update on what you have
12:00:19 learned from TECO, what you have learned from your
12:00:22 discussion with the communication staff that were involved
12:00:27 in letting people know about this?
12:00:29 How long would be appropriate for us to get you to come back
12:00:32 to us and talk about what we have learned and what we are
12:00:36 going to look at doing differently in order to prevent these
12:00:39 problems in the future?
12:00:40 I would was reminded when this happened by the birds that
12:00:46 hit the U.S. airplane that was taking off from Laguardia and
12:00:52 landed in the Hudson river, and you can't deal with every
12:00:55 eventuality, but I'm sure after that episode there were new
12:00:59 procedures put in place to be even extra vigilant in dealing
12:01:03 with those kind of issues.
12:01:04 So in that spirit, how long do you think would be
12:01:07 appropriate to come back and talk about the lessons learned?
12:01:13 >>BRAD BAIRD: I would say one month would be appropriate.
12:01:15 I already have my next two weeks booked with meetings to
12:01:18 sort it out and two weeks to put it together and write it
12:01:21 down.
12:01:22 >>HARRY COHEN: So I will hand the gavel to Councilwoman
12:01:25 Montelione and make a motion to have you come back under
12:01:28 staff reports on April 4th at 10:00 a.m. to update us on
12:01:33 lessons learned, and recommendations for what things might
12:01:39 be done differently in the future.
12:01:41 >>LISA MONTELIONE: I have a motion from Councilman Cohen,
12:01:48 seconded by Councilman Reddick.
12:01:50 All in favor of the motion say aye.
12:01:53 Opposed?
12:01:53 Motion carries unanimously.
12:01:56 Mr. Clerk, would you like that motion restated?
12:01:59 >>THE CLERK: No, that's good, thank you.
12:02:01 >>HARRY COHEN: Okay.
12:02:03 I know Councilwoman Capin has something she would like to
12:02:07 say.
12:02:08 Before we do that, I think we can address the issue of the
12:02:11 workshop on alcohol that was scheduled to begin -- yes, you
12:02:18 can sit down, thank you.
12:02:19 That was scheduled, and Councilwoman Capin that was your
12:02:23 workshop.
12:02:25 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Yes, and you know what?
12:02:26 We need to get control of this.
12:02:27 I counted, we had five commendations, two walk-on
12:02:31 commendations that took two hours.
12:02:33 Two hours.
12:02:34 What happened with the water was something that is separate.
12:02:37 We have people hear because we said we were going to
12:02:40 schedule nothing else because it was such an important
12:02:44 issue.
12:02:45 Here we are at twelve, whatever time it is, and we are
12:02:50 asking for an extension.
12:02:51 Half hour is not enough.
12:02:52 We have lost two council members.
12:02:53 I'm not sure if the third one is coming back.
12:02:57 We need to get control.
12:02:58 When we say we are not going to schedule anything else, we
12:03:01 need to hold to that.
12:03:03 Five commendations and two walk ons that took two hours of
12:03:07 these people's time that came here because we said this is
12:03:12 the only thing we are going to have on this workshop,
12:03:14 because it is so very important, and here we are looking at
12:03:21 either asking them to come back after 1:30, and we have lost
12:03:24 council members, or reschedule, and they have sat here
12:03:28 through the entire morning.
12:03:29 We have got to get control of this.
12:03:30 >>HARRY COHEN: Well, one suggestion I was going to make was
12:03:33 to actually allow the public comment on the workshop if
12:03:38 people had to leave prior to us recessing for lunch.
12:03:41 I don't know -- Ms. Coyle, would you like to step in?
12:03:47 >>CATHERINE COYLE: Planning development.
12:03:48 The only issue was W the arch as well is, I hate to say it
12:03:53 my time, because I do have some other issues that I do have
12:03:55 to attend to, because I thought the workshop was this
12:03:58 morning as well.
12:03:59 So it's not that I can't try to rearrange my schedule, but I
12:04:03 am not sure how limited my time would be this afternoon.
12:04:08 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Should we continue this workshop?
12:04:10 >>HARRY COHEN: Do you have a suggested date or would you
12:04:12 like me to suggest a date to you?
12:04:16 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Yes.
12:04:16 >>HARRY COHEN: I can make a suggestion that will be maybe
12:04:19 better for members of the public, and that is --
12:04:23 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Yes.
12:04:24 >>HARRY COHEN: On the evening of the 28th we have an
12:04:28 as-needed basis evening session scheduled after our workshop
12:04:32 day.
12:04:33 We could use that evening session on March 28th.
12:04:38 To schedule the alcohol beverage workshop.
12:04:42 >>YVONNE CAPIN: You know, can we have them come up and make
12:04:48 comment about what they think about that?
12:04:51 >>HARRY COHEN: Sure.
12:04:52 Councilwoman Montelione.
12:04:53 >>LISA MONTELIONE: Thank you.
12:04:55 On the 28th, we have already four workshops scheduled.
12:04:58 Are you talking about March 28th?
12:05:01 >>HARRY COHEN: Talking about the evening session.
12:05:03 >>LISA MONTELIONE: Evening session, okay.
12:05:05 It during the day we have four workshops.
12:05:08 And that's a lot of information.
12:05:11 So even coming back and dealing with another workshop that
12:05:16 evening may be difficult.
12:05:18 But I want to address the first comment.
12:05:20 Because, you know, I take offense to a point of personal
12:05:23 privilege, because last week we had a point of personal
12:05:26 privilege, and, you know, the two young ladies who were
12:05:32 leaving my office were walk-on commendations.
12:05:35 And I don't know -- workshops are important, but, you know,
12:05:43 the other police Officer of the Month we have all the time,
12:05:48 and the other two were scheduled and it's unusual we had
12:05:54 three commendations on the schedule and that's not unusual
12:05:57 for us, so the escalated tone, I take offense to.
12:06:02 >>HARRY COHEN: Let's do this.
12:06:06 Let's work through the agenda.
12:06:08 Mr. Reddick.
12:06:08 >>FRANK REDDICK: I will make a suggestion.
12:06:12 And then we have to notice of our meetings, that is right?
12:06:19 >>MARTIN SHELBY: We do notice meetings, yes.
12:06:20 >>FRANK REDDICK: Okay. How much notice?
12:06:21 >> Ideally, I would prefer 72 hours, no less than 48 hours
12:06:32 probably would be a problem.
12:06:35 >>FRANK REDDICK: If we just carry over these two items that
12:06:39 we have left?
12:06:42 >>HARRY COHEN: We just have one actually.
12:06:45 The other is being continued.
12:06:49 >> What do you suggest?
12:06:50 >>FRANK REDDICK: What I was thinking, if we just have one
12:06:51 item left.
12:06:52 And I will be willing to be prepared to come in a council
12:06:57 session, 9:00 tomorrow morning and address this item.
12:07:06 >>CATHERINE COYLE: My calendar is already booked.
12:07:08 I'm sorry.
12:07:08 I mean, you can hold it without me.
12:07:10 >>HARRY COHEN: The reason I suggested the evening meeting
12:07:15 was because of the members of the public that wish to
12:07:17 comment on it, not asking them to be here again during the
12:07:20 day.
12:07:20 And allowing it to be the first item.
12:07:25 Miss Myers, did we ask the public for some input on this,
12:07:28 please.
12:07:28 >> Anna lease Myers, west Bristol Avenue.
12:07:34 You know, I have been here a couple times this past month,
12:07:36 and we have gone way over.
12:07:39 With all due respect, Councilman Cohen, maybe the water
12:07:44 thing should have been put after this workshop.
12:07:47 It's very important, and yes, we should all take it as a
12:07:50 learning lesson for upcoming hurricane season as well.
12:07:52 And I was in the water industry.
12:07:55 I have many comments to send you on that.
12:07:56 But with due respect to this restaurant issue, we have got
12:08:01 to get a handle on the time issues.
12:08:04 If you want more public input, we always bring it up.
12:08:07 We need more public input in the City of Tampa.
12:08:09 And yet again we have been here for three hours.
12:08:11 We have a restaurant person here who works very late hours.
12:08:14 It is hard to come early, sit here and nothing gets done.
12:08:18 So we have got to do something about these time certains,
12:08:21 and certainly there are important commendations to happen in
12:08:24 the morning.
12:08:25 I understand that.
12:08:25 But if we say 10:00.
12:08:27 I look at that schedule.
12:08:28 This is not going to be done in a half hour.
12:08:30 There is no way.
12:08:31 So we have to do something about the scheduling.
12:08:33 We have the best City Council we have had in years.
12:08:36 I applaud all of you.
12:08:37 We can do something about this.
12:08:39 We hear about it at our meetings in the neighborhoods.
12:08:43 I don't know who else is here but I am willing to come back
12:08:46 again.
12:08:46 >>HARRY COHEN: Would an evening or daytime be better for
12:08:49 you?
12:08:53 >> I'm unemployed right now so I can come at any time.
12:08:55 >>HARRY COHEN: I will entertain any suggestion from a
12:08:59 council member as to when we would like to hold the work
12:09:02 session.
12:09:06 March 28th in the evening.
12:09:10 March 28th in the evening at 6 p.m.
12:09:12 Mr. Shelby.
12:09:12 >>MARTIN SHELBY: I'm just concerned about staff at an
12:09:17 evening meeting because this all this research is going to
12:09:21 rely on the expertise of staff.
12:09:23 >>CATHERINE COYLE: At this point I can try.
12:09:24 >>HARRY COHEN: This is the date that we reserved in our
12:09:30 last meeting for additional evening scheduled sessions to be
12:09:35 scheduled.
12:09:35 >>HARRY COHEN: What time would it start?
12:09:39 >>HARRY COHEN: It would be at 6 p.m.
12:09:42 >>CATHERINE COYLE: I can try.
12:09:42 >>HARRY COHEN: Can I have a motion to go ahead and continue
12:09:49 this workshop?
12:09:51 March 28th.
12:09:53 At 6 p.m.
12:09:54 Okay.
12:09:55 We have a motion from Councilwoman Capin, seconded, I think,
12:09:59 by everyone, but I'll give to the Councilman Reddick.
12:10:03 All those in favor please indicate by saying aye.
12:10:06 Opposed?
12:10:06 Okay.
12:10:08 So do we have to formally continue item number 6 to April in
12:10:12 or has that already been taken care of?
12:10:14 >>MARTIN SHELBY: I think it needs to be done.
12:10:18 >>LISA MONTELIONE: So moved.
12:10:21 >> Second.
12:10:21 >>HARRY COHEN: We have a motion from Councilwoman
12:10:23 Montelione, seconded by Councilman Reddick to move item
12:10:26 number 6 which was the secretary amendment cycle issue
12:10:29 related to historic preservation.
12:10:31 We are going to move that to, I believe, the April 25th
12:10:38 workshop at 9:30 a.m.
12:10:42 All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye.
12:10:45 Opposed?
12:10:46 Okay.
12:10:50 I believe it was Councilwoman Montelione, seconded by
12:10:53 Councilman Reddick.
12:10:55 Okay.
12:10:55 With that --
12:10:59 >>CATHERINE COYLE: One more request.
12:10:59 On the March 25th workshop, I believe it is, the March
12:11:03 28th workshop, if I could make the request.
12:11:06 There were two privately initiated text amendments for the
12:11:09 January cycle.
12:11:09 And I would just ask that we schedule the workshop on those,
12:11:13 January 2013 schedule cycle.
12:11:17 Cohen con you would like them to be heard on March 28th
12:11:19 in the evening?
12:11:22 After the alcoholic beverage --
12:11:24 >>CATHERINE COYLE: In a, no, during the day.
12:11:25 And they are actually pretty straightforward.
12:11:27 One is actually the municipal airport district to allow
12:11:32 adult daycare as an allowable use.
12:11:34 And then the second one is dealing with a minor -- literally
12:11:41 changing one time actually in the code.
12:11:43 >>HARRY COHEN: And you would like to have it as the last
12:11:45 item on the agenda on March 28th during the daytime
12:11:48 meeting?
12:11:50 >>CATHERINE COYLE: Yes.
12:11:50 They are privately initiated amendments so the only action
12:11:52 council has to take to transmit them and you are obligated
12:11:55 to transmit them because they are private amendments.
12:11:58 So will be pretty quick.
12:11:59 >>HARRY COHEN: I will entertain a motion to that effect.
12:12:01 >> So moved.
12:12:02 >> Second.
12:12:02 >>HARRY COHEN: We have a motion from Councilwoman
12:12:05 Montelione seconded by Councilwoman Capin.
12:12:10 Do you have a comment?
12:12:11 All those in favor indicate by saying aye.
12:12:13 Opposed?
12:12:13 That motion passes.
12:12:14 Thank you very much.
12:12:15 I think we are up to new business now.
12:12:18 Councilwoman Capin?
12:12:20 Oh, I'm sorry, there were two additional comments that
12:12:22 council members had asked to make about the water situation.
12:12:26 Councilwoman Capin and Councilwoman Montelione.
12:12:30 >>YVONNE CAPIN: I'm just going to go ahead and make the
12:12:33 comment.
12:12:35 One of the things that when he said that he thought there
12:12:40 were a cup of audits performed over the last five years I
12:12:44 would like to know who performed the audit and were they
12:12:47 independent?
12:12:49 So this would be a motion to ask for that to come back when
12:12:53 the redundancy of the generators, I would like that
12:12:58 explained more.
12:12:59 Well, this is a separate one here.
12:13:01 When we talk about bulletproof, you can make things
12:13:04 bulletproof.
12:13:05 You can't make them grenade proof.
12:13:07 You can't make them bazooka bomb proof.
12:13:11 But this should have been bulletproof.
12:13:13 As far as the notification, absolutely.
12:13:18 I turned the TV on to CTTV Saturday.
12:13:22 There was not even a trailer telling people what needed to
12:13:25 be done.
12:13:26 At least it should have been on our own city TV.
12:13:30 So all of those things.
12:13:33 You know, the bulletproof, the notification, the audit, who
12:13:36 they are, and if we had an independent audit, do we need
12:13:40 one?
12:13:41 I think we do.
12:13:42 And TECO.
12:13:44 I am going to ask -- I would like to know what our bill is,
12:13:47 what we pay in electric bill to TECO, and since -- I would
12:13:54 like to invite TECO to explain what they found, what their
12:14:00 role and the results, because they are a critical part of
12:14:05 the system.
12:14:08 So digest it, and that's what my motion is, to add -- if you
12:14:14 want to make a separate motion for TECO to come forward.
12:14:16 >> Is your motion to schedule something for April 4th on
12:14:21 the day of the staff report?
12:14:23 >> Yes.
12:14:23 >> Councilwoman Montelione.
12:14:29 I don't have a second.
12:14:31 I have a second by Councilwoman Montelione.
12:14:34 >>LISA MONTELIONE: Mr. Shimberg isn't here right now but I
12:14:38 think it was toned advisement of our council that the issue
12:14:41 with TECO not be brought up in public discussion.
12:14:46 So I would like, before we bring TECO here and compel them
12:14:50 to speak at council, that we seek the advice of Mr.
12:14:54 Shimberg, because there must be a reason why the
12:14:58 administration -- well, I shouldn't say the administration's
12:15:02 attorney.
12:15:02 Why our attorney has said that it would not be appropriate
12:15:07 to publicly comment on the responsibility of TECO.
12:15:14 >>YVONNE CAPIN: I'll respond to that, because what was said,
12:15:15 the question that was asked, was who is responsible?
12:15:19 Is the city responsible?
12:15:20 Is TECO responsible?
12:15:22 And his answer was to that question, not to the results of
12:15:24 their study.
12:15:27 The gentleman that was here stated that TECO is at this very
12:15:32 time investigating their role and the results that they
12:15:37 find.
12:15:38 And I think it's very important to know the critical system.
12:15:43 And I think we need to hear it from someone else besides --
12:15:46 you know, when we compare Tampa to Tampa, this is what
12:15:49 happens.
12:15:50 We need to look outside and we need to know exactly, when
12:15:55 our attorney came up, he was referring to who is responsible
12:15:59 for baying these businesses, not the results of the study
12:16:05 that is perform right now.
12:16:07 But if you like, you know, if he thinks that that would be
12:16:13 something we should wait on, or if April is soon enough --
12:16:18 >> Let me add to Councilman Suarez.
12:16:21 >>MIKE SUAREZ: What I would make a suggestion to my
12:16:24 colleague is that -- and I think the distinction you make is
12:16:28 well taken, which is that there's a payment issue, and this
12:16:32 is something that I had a side bar with our city attorney
12:16:36 during the discussion.
12:16:38 I would like to find out -- and maybe we can put it as part
12:16:42 of your motion, or we make it a separate motion, which is
12:16:44 there are certain legal aspects of what TECO has provide and
12:16:49 what their role is as a public provider of electricity
12:16:52 because they are under the Public Service Commission.
12:16:54 I want to know what their legal obligations are to us as
12:16:58 provider of the electricity to a utility.
12:17:00 I am not sure if there's any legal parameters that are
12:17:04 separate with public utilities as opposed to individual
12:17:08 users of electricity.
12:17:10 So I would like them to come back with a report about what
12:17:13 their role is under PST and what our role is in terms of
12:17:19 that particular legality.
12:17:20 And thirdly, excuse me, chair, but there is also federal
12:17:25 guidelines concerning power to utilities, and they have to
12:17:31 follow the same kind of homeland security guidelines that we
12:17:34 have to follow as a utility.
12:17:36 So I don't know if that -- then take it up as a separate
12:17:41 motion.
12:17:41 >>HARRY COHEN: I would like to make a suggestion.
12:17:45 We scheduled this for April 4th.
12:17:47 We have a couple weeks.
12:17:47 If maybe we take the next week.
12:17:51 You can ask questions of Mr. Shimberg and the legal
12:17:54 department, and then formulate a motion that asks for
12:17:58 exactly what it is that you want to be heard.
12:18:00 Hopefully concurrent on April 4th with what we are
12:18:02 already going to do.
12:18:03 >>MIKE SUAREZ: Thank you.
12:18:07 I agree.
12:18:07 >>HARRY COHEN: So with that, I think we are going to
12:18:10 hold -- the motion is going to be withdrawn for the moment
12:18:12 and we'll hold that in abeyance.
12:18:14 With that, I would like to go to new business and start with
12:18:18 Councilman Suarez.
12:18:19 >>MIKE SUAREZ: Thank you, chair.
12:18:20 Today is February 28th, the last day of black history
12:18:25 month, and I was reminded, and I think we are all reminded,
12:18:30 yesterday, President Obama had unveiled a statue of Rosa
12:18:36 parks.
12:18:37 She was an important part of the civil rights movement that
12:18:41 had started years before.
12:18:42 I think a lot of times we do a disservice to history when we
12:18:46 think of one person only being a part of that.
12:18:50 Even just here in Florida, the history of civil rights that
12:18:53 goes back more than 40 years prior to that.
12:18:57 But I think we should celebrate not only her contribution to
12:19:00 the civil rights movement, but also to black history month,
12:19:05 and this being the last day, we should take a moment to
12:19:08 remember that.
12:19:09 Thank you, chair.
12:19:09 >>HARRY COHEN: Thank you very much, Councilman Suarez.
12:19:12 Councilwoman Capin.
12:19:17 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Yes.
12:19:17 The newspaper this past week, last week, we talked about
12:19:26 EB-5, and that's coming forth.
12:19:29 What I wanted to point out that in is understood's
12:19:32 newspaper, in "The Tampa Tribune," and in Monday's coverage
12:19:36 of the "Tampa Bay Times," they both had the T exact same
12:19:41 article from the Miami Herald, exact same article.
12:19:49 And one of the quotes in here, with the construction costs
12:19:53 of about $700 million, Miami-Dade EB-5 venture hopes to
12:19:59 raise about $100 million from foreign investors, said Laura
12:20:04 Greenberg, lawyer in Virginia, working with the Miami EB-5
12:20:09 effort.
12:20:09 This is a marquee project.
12:20:14 This is what the newspaper chose to report on.
12:20:20 I suggest that council members take a look at it before next
12:20:28 week.
12:20:29 It is just -- they found that it was important enough to
12:20:33 reiterate what is happening around our state with this very
12:20:39 same program.
12:20:39 So thank you.
12:20:40 >>HARRY COHEN: Thank you.
12:20:43 I would like to pass the gavel to Councilwoman Montelione
12:20:46 for a moment.
12:20:47 My office received word this week that Jill Buford, the
12:20:53 president of the civic association of Port Tampa city,
12:20:57 stepped down.
12:20:58 He's also going to be stepping down from the Planning
12:21:00 Commission, because she is moving away.
12:21:03 And she is one of the most dedicated and effective
12:21:09 neighborhood activists in the City of Tampa.
12:21:11 And I must say that I was just astonished that she and her
12:21:16 husband are moving to south central Illinois.
12:21:23 So before they do that, I would like to ask council if we
12:21:26 could honor Ms. Buford with a commendation on March 7th
12:21:30 at 9:00 a.m. to thank her for all of the work that she's
12:21:34 done on behalf of our citizens.
12:21:36 >> And that will be the second commendation on the schedule
12:21:46 for March 7th at 9 a.m.
12:21:48 And a second from Councilman Cohen --
12:21:50 >>HARRY COHEN: No, I didn't second it.
12:21:52 >>LISA MONTELIONE: I'm sorry, Councilman Suarez.
12:21:56 Motion from Councilman Cohen, seconded by Councilman Suarez,
12:21:59 because you look so much alike.
12:22:01 All those in favor say aye.
12:22:04 Motion carried unanimously.
12:22:05 >>HARRY COHEN: Thank you.
12:22:08 Before I go to Councilwoman Montelione, I must tell you,
12:22:11 Councilman Suarez, I was at one of the races on Bayshore
12:22:14 Saturday morning, and somebody ran by me and yelled, thank
12:22:18 you for coming, Councilman Suarez.
12:22:20 >>LISA MONTELIONE: Get you confused all the time.
12:22:25 >>HARRY COHEN: Councilwoman Montelione.
12:22:28 >>LISA MONTELIONE: It's not just me.
12:22:31 So in light of the previous discussion, it makes this kind
12:22:34 of awkward but I need to ratify and confirm the two
12:22:39 commendations that were held this morning to Cassandra and
12:22:44 Emily.
12:22:45 >>HARRY COHEN: Seconded by Councilwoman Capin.
12:22:52 >>LISA MONTELIONE: No, it whats my motion.
12:22:54 >>HARRY COHEN: I apologize.
12:22:56 We have a motion from Councilwoman Montelione, seconded by
12:22:59 Councilman Suarez.
12:23:00 All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye.
12:23:04 Can we please have a motion to receive and file?
12:23:08 >>MIKE SUAREZ: So moved.
12:23:09 >> Second.
12:23:11 >>HARRY COHEN: Seconded by Councilwoman Montelione on a
12:23:16 close call with Councilman Capin.
12:23:19 Moss motion passes.
12:23:20 >>MARTIN SHELBY: Just to go back for just a second to the
12:23:24 discussion of liability with the situation with the water
12:23:27 issue.
12:23:28 I'm just going to ask council members -- and obviously I'll
12:23:32 speak with the ones who are not here -- that you avoid
12:23:35 discussions of liability until you have conferred and
12:23:39 received the approval of the city attorney in this matter.
12:23:41 That two wisest course to take.
12:23:44 I ask you to do that.
12:23:45 >>HARRY COHEN: Thank you for that sage advice, Mr. Shelby.
12:23:47 And with that we are adjourned.
12:23:52 (Meeting adjourned)
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