Port Richey advisory committee schedules June 7 golf-cart coastal cleanup, finalizes centennial event details

Port Richey City’s Citizens Advisory Committee on Thursday set a golf-cart coastal cleanup for 9 a.m. June 7 at Waterfront Park and reviewed plans and volunteer needs for a series of centennial events in May.

At the meeting, resident Doug Miller proposed a “trash golf cart brigade” to let neighbors use their golf carts to clean parts of the city; the committee voted to schedule the cleanup and to advertise it as part of the Centennial calendar. “One of them would be maybe establishing a trash brigade or trash golf cart brigade,” Miller said during public comment, urging a designated time for residents to pick up trash.

The committee also reviewed dates and logistics for city centennial programming: a Vertical Oyster Garden workshop at 10 a.m. May 10 at the Energy and Marine Center, a mayor’s ball May 16 beginning at 6 p.m., and the Centennial Festival and parade May 17 (festival noon–9 p.m., parade at 5 p.m.). Committee members said they need volunteers to staff the parade route, vendor areas and event setup and encouraged members to recruit high-school students and community groups.

Committee members discussed vendor rules the city is using for the festival: food trucks will need to pay for required inspections (committee members said the fee for food-truck inspection is $100), while small home-based vendors operating under a Florida “cottage” food provision are exempt from the same health-department inspection requirements, the committee said. The committee advised vendors to register in advance and flagged that some event details (registration forms and separate flyers for the parade and drum circle) were still being finalized.

Officials and committee members described logistics for the parade route and staging: participants will meet at Brasher Park for setup beginning at about 4:30 p.m., then form up for a 5 p.m. start. Committee members asked volunteers to help with lineup, traffic control and crowd safety, and cautioned against throwing items near waterways.

Other items the committee discussed included the Waterfront Park kayak launch and docks, which members said have had damage and closures in places; that topic was discussed as information only and no formal action or repair plan was adopted. The meeting also covered mayor’s-ball preparations (centerpieces, possible entertainers and a raffle/charity donation) and sponsorship recognition (committee members thanked Ocean Honda for event sponsorship).

The committee approved the minutes from its April 3 meeting and voted to adjourn at the close of the agenda. The meeting’s agenda item was listed as a review of Centennial events and needs and committee members said they felt they had covered the topic during the session.