Apologies to all, I did not realize that I missed my October and November report. How time flies!
During the months of October and November, we had four Council meetings and two workshops. The major topics were parking and possible charter changes.
Because several residents requested paid or timed parking in Gulfport, I called for a workshop on the topic. It was clear that while many believe we have a parking issue, the majority of residents are not in favor of paid parking. Many liked the idea of timed parking, except for the expense to the City of enforcing it. No action will be taken at this time. I plan to present my ideas for parking relief in January.
The Charter Review Committee presented the Council with their suggested changes to the Charter. As a result, the City Council will be forwarding several referendum questions for the March ballot, allowing residents to make the final decision.
The funds for the beach restoration were approved in the amount of approximately $877,000 and will not be reimbursed by FEMA, as the Gulfport beach was not considered an “engineered beach.” As a result of all the hoops we had to jump through, our beach will be considered an engineered beach going forward.
The stormwater presentation was given to us in November, followed by a workshop on the same topic. The scope of this study is extensive, and we will be working through the information and determining next steps over many Council meetings in the months ahead.