Highlights from 8/10 Neighborhood Meetings

Questions: (My answers in red)

After the 2027 budget is adopted, could the Budget and Finance committee continue meeting monthly to provide accountability for 2027 projects? I’m for any idea that engages our community in the management of the city. Project costs have inflated double digits every year, so delays are a LARGE FINANCIAL PROBLEM. The community needs to know why delays occur. There must be accountability for contractors doing work for the city. The city manager has agreed with the concept and is looking into the practicalities.

What about claims of mismanaged past projects? There are claims about undersized sewer lines being installed, missing pump stations, unperformed county drainage work, and more. Who can look into these serious allegations? What do you think? Do we need a new Community Action Group to research past city, county, state government, and contractor malfeasance. Let me know if you would like to be on such a group and report to the Budget and Finance committee.

When will we receive our city hurricane insurance?

Why is the Rec. Center not yet complete? The rec. center is delayed because the contractor is delayed waiting for equipment.

Why is the unsightly chain link fence around part of the Lido Park? Is that fence permitted?

Why haven’t the no parking signs been installed on 46th avenue? It’s been over three months since the survey. The no parking signs are installed.

What is the current status of Publix? Are we making progress? Will this be 3 year project or turn into a 10 year project? Who is monitoring this? The property owner, Brixmor (a very large public company listed on the NYSE), and Publix, based in Lakeland, are negotiating cost for upgrades to infrastructure required to support a two story grocery store. It might help if each of us call the Publix Public Affairs Officer.

Where are beach visitors supposed to park in our city? There does not seem to be enough parking. What about the old Winn Dixie parking lot? Could we get a shared parking agreement with the owner and begin sharing profit? We contacted the property owner and he does not want to do anything with the property. There is nothing the city can do as it stands, unless we want to adopt a VACANT PROPERTY ordinance to begin fines or fees. Such an ordinance would then provide the basis for legal action on the property. I agree with such an idea because vacant, unsightly property is too common in our city.

Why are the beach signs still in the water? Why haven’t we issued a violation based upon our new sign ordinance? The city will begin issuing violations of the sign ordinance this week.

Can we eliminate all signs on the beach except government signage? This would be my goal, and while I have a solution to eliminate some signs, I don’t know how to minimize signs for equipment rentals and the permanent wood posts installed for volleyball. Contact me with ideas.

Why isn’t the County helping our city recover? Our city provides among the highest County tourism funding. Why don’t we get any of this besides beach sand? Great question. We need to build and promote the paradigm with our County Commissioners that Pinellas County Beaches (which provide more tourism than anything else), involve immense infrastructure costs beyond beach sand. MORE Tourism tax dollars MUST BE CHANNELED BACK INTO THE BEACH CITIES NOW. Tourism tax dollars are regulated by state law, but other counties have found ways to help cities in need.

Can our state representative, Linda Chaney, help us get more money from the county? What about our county commissioners, Vince Nowicki, Chris Scherer, and Katheleen Peters—what are they doing to help our city? Another great question. First, Linda Chaney, a resident of our city, has already channeled millions into our city in the last few years, but I hope she can help us get more state funding and support for our road safety like drainage and lighting. Secondly, I’ve realized our city uniquely has three county commissioners the way the county districts are drawn. I’ll initiate a discussion with CITY commissioners about dividing outreach and establishing routine meetings with our County representatives. Specifally, County Commissioner Chris Scherer represents our District 1, County Commissioner Vince Nowicki represents our city districts 2, 3, and 4. County Commissioner Kathleen Peters represents our city at large. Our city commissioners need to reach out to each of these county commissioners weekly to discuss specific problems, identify hurdles, propose solutions, and to monitor progress.