The Clearwater City Council made Owen Kohler's appointment as city attorney official Thursday, Aug. 20, approving an employment agreement that caps a months-long search to replace David Margolis.
The vote formalized the hire.
Kohler, 49, has served as interim city attorney since February after Margolis resigned in December 2025. The council unanimously selected him from four finalists on Aug. 5; Thursday's action on the employment agreement locked in the terms.
"He's going into (it) with eyes wide open, as far as the challenges we face … He's helped navigate us through many of those," Mayor Bruce Rector said on Aug. 5, when the council first chose Kohler, according to Tampa Bay Beacons reporting.
Kohler joined Clearwater's legal department in 2018 and served as lead assistant city attorney from December 2019 until stepping into the interim role. Before that, he was assistant city attorney in Hialeah and general counsel for the Tampa Police Benevolent Association.
Manatee protection zone advances
The council also passed Ordinance 9931-26 on first reading, creating a Stevenson Creek Manatee Protection Zone by adding Section 33.122 to the city's waterways code. A second reading and final vote are still required before the ordinance takes effect.
A companion measure, Ordinance 9925-26, which would have repealed existing slow-speed minimum wake zones in Stevenson Creek, was continued to a date uncertain.
Palm Pavilion Hotel deal approved
Council members approved a development agreement with MHG Palm Pavilion Hotel LP and Sixth Flag Planted LLC for properties at 10 Bay Esplanade and 18 Bay Esplanade, adopting Resolution 26-09. The agreement allocates 91 hotel units from the Hotel Density Reserve under Beach by Design, according to the city's meeting agenda.
The project first came before the council at a May 18 work session, which set Thursday's meeting as the second public hearing. Councilmember Mannino separately raised a discussion item on the city's broader density pool at the same meeting.
$19 million water contract
The council approved a five-year, $19 million professional services agreement with Black and Veatch of Tampa to implement the Florida Senate Bill 64 Plan for the city's water system.
Other actions included a $376,192 work order with Black and Veatch for pilot testing at the Marshall Street Water Reclamation Facility and a $273,804 work order with Carollo Engineers of Tampa for a PFAS removal pilot study at the RO1 Water Treatment Facility.
The manatee protection ordinance requires a second reading and final vote at a future council meeting. The council also discussed cancelling its Monday, Sept. 14 work session.
