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NRB Firm

September, '04: Part 1

Comprehensive Planning

Town representatives who sit on the Comprehensive Plan working group have agreed on goals, objectives and policies to guide the town’s future decisions on issues affecting the community’s infrastructure. This includes water supply, solid waste management, storm water management and waste water management.

In each of these areas, the town recognized a need to cooperate with Pinellas County authorities and to support county goals and standards. It is the county, after all, that provides many of these services to the community under intergovernmental contracts.

There are specific actions that the town must promote, however. For example, site plan review of new and expanded developments to assure that demands for infrastructure support do not exceed supply.

Promoting the use of reclaimed water, the planting of native, salt and drought tolerant landscaping, and the installation of water conserving plumbing fixtures are also part of the town’s planning.

Educational programs to inform the public on the need to reduce the amount of solid waste generated, on the proper ways to dispose of or recycle hazardous materials, and on the benefits of recycling in general are in the plan.

In dealing with storm water management, the plan accepts standards that have been established by state and county authorities to minimize flooding hazards. And it commits the town to an ongoing capital improvements program to replace drainage facilities that are undersized and/or deteriorated.

The same commitment exists for ongoing capital improvements to the waste water collection system. And in this regard, the town will work to meet county standards on the volumes and contents of water entering the system so as to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of the treatment facility serving the community.

The action taken on infrastructure and previous action on policies for the beach and Gulf Boulevard are major steps in moving the plan review schedule ahead.

The planning group meets again on October 20 to deal with land use, transportation and coastal management issues, all of which were partly addressed in the session on the beach and Gulf Boulevard.

All meetings are open to the public. The meeting on October 20 will be at 3 p.m. at Town Hall.

Tourist Facilities

One of the plan objectives that residents, officials and planners have agreed is important to the town’s future is maintenance of the current mix of residential, commercial and especially tourist facilities.

People in all the beach communities are concerned about the number of motels and hotels that are giving way to condominium development.

The planning group invited local owners and managers of tourist facilities to a meeting to see what the new plan might do to stem this tide, and meet what is acknowledged to be a consensus objective for the community.

Attendance was hampered by inclement weather that caused one postponement, but the interested operators who appeared gave the planners a host of good ideas. Many were cosmetic, calling for redesign of Gulf Boulevard to make the thoroughfare more pedestrian friendly, to reduce speed, improve the appearance of beach access points as well as the ability to reach them with ease.

There were also suggestions for the city to promote new commercial ventures that cater to tourist needs for food and entertainment. And greater promotion of the trolley system that links the town with other beach attractions was high on the list.

Perhaps the most critical suggestion, however, was directed at making it easier for facility operators to expand and improve their properties so as to generate revenues that keep pace with increasing taxes and other costs.

Radcliffe Park

With approval from the Radcliffe Park Advisory Committee and from residents attending a special public hearing before the Town Commission, final touches are being made on the application to the state for a $50,000 grant to add playground equipment and other improvements to Harold Radcliffe Park.

Staff from the Pinellas Planning Council is helping the town with this effort. The application should be submitted by the middle of the month.

Undergrounding

Town officials realize how anxious residents are to have the undergrounding project completed. But Mother Nature has been throwing a monkey wrench into the proceedings.

The unprecedented assault of four major hurricanes in six weeks, and the disruption this caused in basic power supply and other services has forced all local utility companies to suspend all projects that weren’t related to restoring basic services. And the local companies were not alone in this effort.

Crews from all over the country have been enlisted to help out, and local crews had to offer assistance in other areas as well.

Before Hurricane Jeanne hit, power company officials estimated they were set back about eight weeks on regular improvement projects, which included the town’s undergrounding. The delay may be greater than that now.

Engineers hope to have a new assessment within the next several weeks of when they can get back to business as usual. This will result in a new schedule, which they hope they can commit to without interruption.

Customer Response

Once work resumes, it is important for the power company to have in hand a reply from all residents as to how they want their hookups to the new underground system to be handled.

Letters were sent to each homeowner with an outline of the options available and the costs involved. Basically, the homeowner can have an electrical contractor hired by the power company do the job; or they can hire their own. But the company has to know which it will be, and the work has to be done in time for the power to be switched from the overhead lines to the new underground system.

About a week ago, quite a few residents in Phase 2 of the project, which includes Dolphin and Bath Club Boulevard had not responded. This too could hold up the project. Anyone with questions is urged to contact Town Hall at 391-4848 It is vital to get these responses in the company’s hands as soon as possible.