Belleair Shore officials balk at pricey beautification plan
By DAVE SHELTON
Article published on Thursday, May 24, 2007  |
BELLEAIR SHORE – Plans to beautify Gulf Boulevard where it passes through the town are far beyond the town’s financial means and provides amenities which the town has rejected.
Mayor John A. Robertson said the proposed $2.7 million cost to be assessed Belleair Shore is “ridiculous.” He pointed to the city’s annual $90,000 budget, shaking his head at the proposed cost.
Pinellas County is rebuilding the street that intersects all of the municipalities on the barrier islands. Belleair Shore officials have previously objected to plans that would install street lights in front of the town’s 55 luxury homes, inclusion of bus stops in the town and sidewalk widening.
“We’re at an impasse (with the county),” said Robertson during the town’s May 16 meeting.
“I was shocked at the numbers,” added Commissioner John Hayes.
Despite the town’s previous objections, he said, plans still call for installation of benches and other things the homeowners don’t want.
Robertson listed the items still planned to which the town had objected a year ago: benches along the sidewalks, trash receptacles, bus stop kiosks, pedestrian crossings, new and wider sidewalks and street lights on the western, Belleair Shore, side of Gulf Boulevard.
“We don’t have pedestrians,” Robertson said.
All 11 barrier island municipalities must agree on the project for it to go ahead, according to Robertson. The $131 million project, which includes burying utility lines along the major artery, was scheduled to begin in 2008, according to Peter Yauch, county director of transportation.
Yauch said it was anticipated that the entire project could be funded by the extension of the Penny for Pinellas approved in March by voters. Robertson noted Belleair Shore receives only about $10,000 a year from the sales tax.
“Even one-tenth of what they are planning to bill us would be ridiculous,” Robertson said.
Improving the appearance of the major artery through the beach communities is vital to maintaining the area’s tourist industry according to county officials.
Robertson said Belleair Shore supports the plans for the other 10 municipalities and for burying utility lines in Belleair Shore. But, he said, the town’s homeowners don’t want the other items near their walled and landscaped homes, each worth millions of dollars.
Hayes said everybody is up in arms over the proposed improvements.
“It irritates me that they didn’t pay any attention to what we told them last year,” he said.
“This is insanity,” added Robertson, who said the town desires no fancy improvements and would like to simply blend in with the residential atmosphere it currently has.
Two other municipalities, Indian Rocks Beach and Indian Shores have already said they can’t afford the improvements. Representatives of those towns told county commissioners last month that they were $10 million short and asked for county support in gaining additional funding for the project from the state.
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Article published on Thursday, May 24, 2007
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