Council approves budget tweaks, airport terminal contract, pier work and multiple procurement items

Clearwater City Council on March 30 cleared a package of budget and procurement items, including first‑reading budget adjustments, a large airport terminal contract, coastal resiliency grants and multiple operational contracts the city said will fund capital and maintenance work.

Budget adjustments and grants: Budget Director Kaen Castle reported a $26.12 million net increase in capital budget items at first quarter driven largely by grant revenue recognitions. Notable items included U.S. Department of Energy and Florida Department of Environmental Protection grants for sanitary sewer projects and a $3 million FDEP grant for living seawalls (no local match). "We are recognizing $3 million in state funding for living seawalls," staff said; council approved the ordinance on first reading.

Airport and aviation: The council approved a $13,659,750 construction contract with Bandis Construction Company for a new 17,800‑square‑foot two‑story terminal building, a 200‑space parking lot and airfield upgrades at Clearwater Executive Air Park. Marine and Aviation Director Mike McDonald said state FDOT funding will cover 50% of the terminal component after a $2.44M grant amendment approved at the meeting; the city's local match is to be reimbursed by the FBO partner Fly USA under its lease agreement.

Pier 60 and coastal projects: Council approved a work order with WSPUSA for investigation and 60% design of repairs to Pier 60 following storm damage, with staff explicitly seeking resilience options and future grant opportunities to augment city funding. Separately, staff secured a $3M FDEP living seawall grant and a WSP work order for design of four living seawall segments to reduce tidal flooding and enhance shoreline habitat; the city identified candidate sites (Coachman Park, north of the S. Key Bridge, Mandalay Channel east side, and a South Bayview stretch).

Operational contracts and projects: Council also approved a broad set of procurement actions across departments: fleet‑parts contracts, replacement of 11 club carts for parks/beach operations, a multi‑year security services contract with Allied Universal, telecom/call‑center licensing and trunking with Power Net, wastewater clarifier baffle improvements, emergency water‑main repair ratification, purchase of three mobile standby generators, bulk sodium hypochlorite supply, professional services for reclaimed water and well programs, and several smaller construction manager and repairs projects.

Votes at a glance: The meeting included multiple votes on ordinances and contracts (first reading approvals where noted): • Ordinance 9860‑26 (PRD overlay) — passed first reading. • Ordinance 9861‑26 (PRD overlay future land use map) — passed first reading. • Ordinance 9901‑26 and 9902‑26 (first‑quarter budget and capital amendments) — passed first reading. • Bandis Construction — awarded $13,659,750 contract for Air Park terminal — approved. • FDOT grant amendment (airport) — $2.44M — approved. • WSP work orders for Pier 60 and living seawalls — approved.

What this means: Council actions position Clearwater to move forward on capital projects funded in part by state and federal grants and by public‑private partnerships, while leaving some policy details (for example the PRD code text and Pier 60 final designs) to future staff work and subsequent council approvals.

Ending: Managers and directors said they will return with implementation steps, construction timelines and (when required) second‑reading ordinance items; several projects rely on additional grants and design phases before construction commences.