Downtown board approves Taste of Clearwater grant, adds limited restroom reimbursement after debate

The Downtown Development Board voted to approve funding for the second annual Taste of Clearwater and to allow limited reimbursement for portable restrooms, a change that drew several minutes of debate about precedent and downtown business impacts. Staff recommended an award not to exceed $20,006.25 for eligible production costs; the board added a reimbursable restroom allowance up to $2,500 for this event, setting a maximum grant of $23,125.

Vicky Shire, CRA division manager, presented the request and said the applicant had earlier received $30,000 in 2025. She described the event as a one‑day, free festival on April 18 at Station Square Park with estimated attendance of "3,000 plus," and noted that staff’s recommended funding excluded restroom trailers under existing guidelines.

Organizers said relocating the event to Station Square Park removed access to public restrooms and would make portable restrooms and hand‑washing stations a public‑health and safety necessity. "Because we're gonna have food and food vendors and food service, hand washing stations we feel are a mandatory health and safety requirement," an event representative said, requesting the board consider restroom trailers eligible under the grant and asking for an additional $5,000. The organizers also noted they were waiving booth fees for brick‑and‑mortar businesses in the redevelopment district to help local merchants.

Vice mayor (speaker 3) moved to allow restroom costs to be an eligible reimbursable line item going forward and to add $2,500 for this specific event; the motion was seconded and carried. Several board members supported giving the organizers flexibility to deliver a successful event and acknowledged that restroom needs vary by venue; others warned that allowing portable restroom costs could set a precedent for future events and urged staff to develop clear reimbursement guidance.

The board recorded one dissenting vote on the combined award. The motion does not change the DDB grant policy language tonight; it allows reimbursement on a case‑by‑case basis and directs staff to administer the reimbursement under existing receipts‑for‑reimbursement rules. Staff said applicants must submit receipts for the exact amounts they seek to be reimbursed and that the board’s action allows staff to accept those costs when documented.

Next steps: staff will finalize the grant agreement for the Taste of Clearwater and publish reimbursement procedures for restroom trailers as an eligible, reimbursable expense evaluated case‑by‑case under the DDB grant program.