Councilmember Marlene Shaw
I attended the Suncoast League of Cities meeting on September 19, 2025, held at the Safety Harbor Library.
The meeting opened with discussion on the importance of strong local voices and ensuring our cities are well represented with legislators and in Tallahassee.
Mayor, Councilmembers or Commissioners were present from: Bel Air, Seminole, So Pasadena, Port Richey, Largo, Temple Terrace, and more.
The special speaker was Renee Cooper, Safety Harbor’s Public Works Director. Renee reported that over multiple years, they have been focusing on sustainability and resiliency including adoption of sustainability and resiliency plans collaborating with the Army Corps of Engineers. They also began a comprehensive plan in concert with their vulnerability assessment and created a sustainability Advisory Board. They hired a public works program coordinator to oversee related initiatives and stormwater grant programs.
A key area that differs from us is the number of creeks running through the storm system. One of their engineering consultants created ownership maps of the creeks to identify which are owned by the city and the majority that are privately owned. People’s houses flooded, yards eroded and washed away. Many blamed the city, but the city couldn’t fix the problem because they didn’t own the creeks on private property.
While researching school board grants, they came across the town of Jupiter and asked Jupiter about their program success. This helped lead to a plan to use ARPA funds and enterprise funds to fund the stormwater grant program along with seeking other grants such at the Tampa Bay Estuary.
The speaker shared many specific details, but summarily, a grant program was created as a mechanism to encourage property owners to improve flooding and water quality on their properties with the support of matching grant funds. They are close to implementation. Having a grant program for private property affect everybody. So, as residents continue to make stormwater improvements, it will affect the entire watershed.
The discussion highlighted the importance of allowing cities to create and manage solutions for their own unique challenges—especially as conversations continue statewide about eliminating property taxes.
A somewhat lengthy discussion ensued regarding open carry, the upcoming legislative session, and the Tri County MPO (Metropolitan Planning) merger (Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough). Members have been very involved and there is concern that Tampa is concerned about having less control and may not support it. There was also a business portion of the meeting.
As with the Florida League of Cities, The Suncoast League of Cities offers an excellent opportunity to meet with officials in our region, share experiences one- on-one and in group settings, and learn from how other cities approach common issues.