Participating in a Board of County Commissioners Meeting

Regular board meetings are held in the 5th Floor Assembly Room of the Pinellas County Clearwater Courthouse, 315 Court Street, Clearwater, Florida.

 

Work sessions and budget information sessions are held in the Palm Room of the Pinellas County Communications building, 333 Chestnut Street, Clearwater, Florida.

 

The Board is taking public comment at regular meetings both in person and virtually via the Zoom conferencing platform. Preregistration is required to address the Board virtually. The Board does not take public comment at work sessions.

 

How to Watch the Meetings

Members of the public may watch the public meeting and public hearings on the Pinellas County Meetings YouTube channel, PinellasCounty.org/TV, or on cable television (Spectrum 637, Frontier 44, and WOW! 18).

 

Virtual attendance by Zoom is provided as a convenience. However, the County Commission does not guarantee against technology failures that can occur during virtual attendance. Members of the public who choose to attend virtually are solely responsible for ensuring they have the necessary technology to participate.

 

How to Offer Comments

Members of the public wishing to address the body may attend in person, attend virtually or provide comments in advance.

 

Addressing the Board in Person

To provide comments in person, members of the public are encouraged to preregister at PinellasCounty.org/comment. Preregistration is encouraged but not required if individuals plan to attend the meeting in person. Those who have not preregistered may register when they arrive.

 

Addressing the Board Virtually

To offer public comments virtually via Zoom or by phone, individuals are required to preregister by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting by visiting PinellasCounty.org/comment. The registration form requires full name, address and telephone number if joining by phone, along with the topic or agenda item to be addressed. Members of the public who have preregistered by 5 p.m. may attend the meeting via Zoom by visiting PinellasCounty.org/attend or by calling the Zoom webinar at one of the following numbers: 1-646-558-8656; or 1-312-626-6799; or 1-301-715-8592; or 1-346-248-7799; or 1-720-707-2699; or 1-253-215-8782. The Webinar ID number is 238 247 671.

 

Only members of the public who have preregistered by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting will be recognized and unmuted to offer comments. If a member of the public does not log in with the same Zoom name or phone number provided in the online pre-registration form, they may not be recognized to speak.

 

If a member of the public attempting to comment virtually cannot be heard by the County Commission due to poor telephone or internet reception, technology errors, excessive background noise or interference, issues with unmuting themselves, or other issues, the person will be deemed to have forfeited their opportunity to speak.

 

Providing Comments in Advance

To provide comments in advance, the following options are available:

 

• Complete the BCC Agenda Comment Form
• Call the Agenda Comment Line at 727-464-4400 (recorded instructions are provided)

 

Comments on any agenda item must be submitted by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting.

 

Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may provide public input on any agenda item through use of the State of Florida's relay service at 7-1-1.

 

All comments on any agenda item received by 5:00 p.m. the day before the meeting will be included as part of the official record for this meeting and will be available to be considered by the County Commission prior to any action taken.

 

Visual Presentation Materials, Documents, or Photos

Public comments in virtual meetings are audio only. Public comment in-person is also audio-only. Any visual materials must be submitted in advance.

 

All presentation materials, documents, or photos that are to be presented or entered into the record for a public hearing item MUST BE RECEIVED NOT LATER THAN SEVEN (7) CALENDAR DAYS PRIOR TO THE PUBLIC HEARING.

 

Materials, documents, or photos for a public hearing should be submitted via email or mail.

 

Email Address (for submitting materials, documents, and photos ONLY): bccagendacomments@mypinellasclerk.org

 

Mailing Address:

Pinellas County Board Records
315 Court St.
Clearwater, FL 33756

 

All submissions MUST be accompanied by information that contains:

 

• The identity of the sender
• Contact information for the sender
• The Agenda date and Agenda Number or Public Hearing topic information to identify the matter

 

Failure to comply with these provisions may result in the submission not being available for the public hearing.

 

Answers to questions on the submission of Presentation Materials, Documents or Photos for Public Hearings may be received by leaving a message at 727-464-3458.

 

Reasonable Accommodation Requests

Persons with disabilities who need to request reasonable accommodation(s) to effectively participate in this meeting may contact Pinellas County's Office of Human Rights.

 

Persons with disabilities who need reasonable accommodations are asked to e-mail such requests to accommodations@pinellascounty.org at least three (3) business days in advance of the need for reasonable accommodation. You may also call (727) 464-4882.

 

More information about the ADA, and requests for reasonable accommodation, may be found on the Office of Human Rights website.

 

Pinellas County Commission Public Participation and Decorum Rules

• Please be respectful of others' opinions, and refrain from making personal attacks. Any person who becomes disorderly or who fails to confine remarks to the identified subject or business at hand shall be cautioned by the Chairman and given the opportunity to conclude remarks on the subject in a decorous manner and within the designated time limit. Any person failing to comply as cautioned may be barred from making any additional comments during the meeting by the Chairman, unless permission to continue or again address the Commission is granted by the majority of the Commission members present.

 

• If the Chairman or Commission declares a virtual participant to be out of order, he or she may be muted by the moderator.

 

• All remarks must be addressed to the Commission as a body and not to any member thereof.

 

• No person, other than a member of the Commission and the person having the floor, may be permitted to enter into any discussion, either directly or through a member of the Commission, without permission of the Chairman. No question may be asked except through the Chairman.

 

• Speakers should make their comments concise and to the point.

 

Public Hearing Procedures

It is the intent of these Public Participation and Decorum Rules that all Public Hearings before the Board of County Commissioners are governed by the provisions of Section 134-14 of the Pinellas County Land Development Code. That code provides that at the conclusion of each person's presentation, any speaker may seek the Chairman's permission to ask questions of staff. Specifically:

 

• At the conclusion of the presentations by the applicant and any proponents, all affected parties may seek the Chairman's permission to ask questions of or seek clarification from the applicant and/or the proponents.

 

• At the conclusion of the presentation by the opponents, all affected parties may seek the Chairman's permission to ask questions of or seek clarification from any opponent.

 

The applicant's closing comments will address testimony subsequent to their presentation. Continuing rebuttal of other than directly preceding testimony will not be allowed.

 

All other preregistered persons may speak for up to three (3) minutes on the item in person or through the virtual meeting webinar or call-in phone number. At the appropriate time during the meeting, instructions will be given to those on the webinar or on the phone how to indicate that they wish to speak. When called on to comment, you must state and spell your name, and say your address, before commenting.

 

If You Wish to Appeal a Decision

Persons are advised that if they decide to appeal any decision made at the meeting/hearing, they will need a record of the proceedings, and, for such purposes, they may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based.

 

 

 

 

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