City Council To Vote On Imagine Clearwater Plan Thursday Night

CLEARWATER, FL — Thursday night's Clearwater City Council meeting has been years in the making. City council members say they are ready to take a final vote on Imagine Clearwater, a plan to revitalize the city's waterfront.

The meeting will take place Thursday, June 18 at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at the Clearwater Main Library, 100 N. Osceola Ave.

It will be broadcast live on the city's website, the city's Facebook page and on the city's YouTube channel as well as on C-View TV Spectrum Channel 638, Frontier Channel 30 and WOW! Channel 15.

It's been a long road to this point with two citywide referendums, countless public meetings, surveys and animated debates.

However, during a work session Wednesday, Mayor Frank Hibbard said it's time to vote, especially now when the coronavirus pandemic has driven construction costs down.

"Folks, we need an economic driver downtown if we’re going to grow," he said. "If we don’t do that with Coachman Park, we’re losing an opportunity. This ought to be a gem."

Hibbard said Clearwater has the most underutilized waterfront of any community in Florida.

At the work session, council members ironed out details for the project that's intended to turn the city's waterfront into a recreation area, revitalize downtown Clearwater and attract new restaurants and shops to the area.

Coachman Park, as it will continue to be known despite attempts to change the name to Coachman Commons, houses the city's marina and a band shell with a stage that's too small to accommodate most band performances.

In a referendum several years ago, 75.8 percent of voters approved redesigning the park to include a covered amphitheater, removable seating for up to 40,000 people and a building to replace the recreational vehicles out-of-town performers bring in to serve as green rooms.

Residents also agreed to refurbishing the marina and constructing a marina building, adding a children's playground with water features, a bay walk and passive green space that can be used for community festivals.

On hand Wednesday was Chuck Jablon, senior vice president of Skanska, the design and contracting firm, which is overseeing the work, who brought along revised plans designed to skim costs from the project, which is budgeted at $6.1 million.

Among the suggestions of the engineers is to flip the original waterfront configuration and place the amphitheater on the north side of Coachman Park next to Drew Street and facing the Clearwater Main Library. This will allow the engineers to use the natural bluff on the site for concert goers who prefer to stand or use blankets on the ground rather than purchase seats to view concerts from a higher vantage point. Jablon said it also saves the city the expense of bringing in fill dirt to create an elevated standing area.

The playground and water feature, a lake, green space and parking lot with 100 spaces for park guests and boaters to park have been moved to the southern side of Coachman Park. At the request of the council Wednesday, the engineers also agreed to add a designated dog park.

Council members threw out a proposal for tennis courts, noting there are plenty of other places in the city to play tennis.

The biggest savings would come from downsizing plans for the Clearwater Main Library.

The council previously discussed transforming the 90,000-square-foot library into a more active venue, adding an art gallery, cafe, shops and a rooftop terrace accessible by an outdoor elevator.

"We looked at the library as an underutilized resource and decided to make it a component with the park," Jablon said.

When it was originally built, the library included a rooftop venue but it was rarely used because the kitchen facilities weren't adequate, the flat roof leaked and the only access was by an elevator inside the library.

However, Tim Kurtz, construction manager for Imagine Clearwater, said turning the fifth floor of the library into a fully functional rooftop terrace for hosting events would raise the price tag of the Imagine Clearwater project from $6.1 to $8.8 million.

That's because all columns and other support structures, ductwork and electrical wiring would have to be replaced to meet current hurricane codes to withstand 117 mph winds. The outdoor elevator would cost another $500,000.

Jablon suggested eliminating the rooftop terrace renovations, adding the art gallery, cafe and other amenities to the library and reconfiguring the building so the front door faces Coachman Park and is better integrated into the Imagine Clearwater design.

He said the rooftop terrace can still be used for events with the relatively inexpensive addition of floor membranes to prevent leaks and fans and coverings to reduce the heat.

Hibbard agreed, noting there are plenty of rooftop venues in the area and the city shouldn't compete with them.

Councilwoman Kathleen Beckman questioned constructing such a large amphitheater, saying it would detract from the community park the residents have been wanting.

"I have no problem with a band shelter but I do have a problem with the size of this amphitheater," she said. Beckman said voters never wanted a "4,000-seat world-class concert venue."

"Ruth Eckerd (Hall) said there’s a need and that’s what’s pushing it," she said. "This is the last piece of waterfront that residents have that they can claim as their own. This needs to be first and foremost a park for the residents."

That goal hasn't changed, said councilman Hoyt Hamilton.

"I don’t view this as building a world-class facility," he said. "I view this as building a quality venue that satisfies the need of our city."

He said he envisions the amphitheater as a place for high school graduations, performances by community theater troupes and Saturday night concerts with the Florida Orchestra.

"There's no permanent seating," added Councilman David Albritton. "We've just added a larger stage, a pavilion for shade and a building to use as a green room. When there are no concerts, the seats are put away and we just have a green area."

Council members also asked if the parking lot with 100 spaces will be adequate.

Kurtz said the city's largest event is the Holiday Jazz Festival, which attracts about 12,000 people, has always been able to accommodate attendees at the city's parking garages and parking lots. In addition, a drop-off will be located at the end of Cleveland Street for taxis and ride-sharing vehicles. If needed, the city could activate the Jolly Trolley to transport people from remote parking lots.

"The majority of time, it’s going to be much smaller crowds, not the jazz or Hispanic festivals," said Hibbard.