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Indian Shores considers road races
By MELISSA LATTMAN
| Article published on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 |
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INDIAN SHORES – The Indian Shores Town Council considered a request at its May 12 meeting for a few road races through town.
The races are early in the morning on Saturdays or Sundays. Race Director Chris Lauber sent a letter asking for permits for three upcoming events – a new Halloween Halfathon, the continued Holiday Halfathon in December and a re-launch of the Gulf Beaches marathon in January.
The new Halloween race would go from Sand Key Park south to Archibald Park in Madeira Beach. With the road construction on Gulf Boulevard due to be complete this summer Lauber wrote he wanted to relaunch the full 26.2-mile marathon.
The consensus of the council was not to close the road in one direction for the races but to allow access in the pedestrian/cycling lane.
“Our folks have been through 3 1/2 years of closed lanes (from roadwork),” Mayor Jim Lawrence said.
The council tabled deciding on permits for the races until its June 9 meeting. Councilors want to get more information from Lauber, they said.
In related business, the roadwork on Gulf Boulevard is coming to an end soon. After June 1 there should be no more road closures although work will continue along the roadway such as painting and marking the road, Lawrence said.
Waste collection contract renewal
The Town Council renewed the town’s solid waste and recycling agreement for six years. The town will continue to receive the trash and recycling pickup by Waste Services of Florida.
The rates will stay the same for the first three years of the contract. In years four and five there would be CPI-U adjustments. In year six, rates would freeze again.
The waste collection costs have three parts – collection, disposal and administration. The increase would only be on 70 percent of the rate for residential and 60 percent of the rate for commercial. Those percentages show the approximate amount of the costs attributed to collection according to WSI.
The price decrease came about after a resident mentioned at the April 9 council meeting that disposal costs had remained fairly consistent and only collection costs increased so just the collection portion should be adjusted. The town attorney needs to review the contract before the town signs it.
Loose on the beach
Residents shared concerns about dogs on the beach. Joe Tawill said he recently counted 14 dogs on the beach doing their thing, running loose and soiling.
Resident Art Newsome said he sees people going into the water with dogs and they are never carrying a bag to pickup after their pets. There’s quite a bit of dog activity, he said.
Lawrence said he shared with a property owner an information folder on the town’s leash and pet pickup laws and got a cold response.
“This is your town as well as ours. Wouldn’t you want to keep it nice?” Lawrence asked.
Police Chief E.D. Williams said residents should not hesitate to call the police about dogs on the beach. He said sometimes dogs go on privately-owned parts of the beach, which is allowed.
Flood code update
The second and final reading of an ordinance updating the town’s building codes on floods passed on May 12.
Councilor Bill Smith said the updated chapter by Building Code Administrator Lawrence Nayman does a really good job beefing up the town’s code with regard to floods. Smith said he believed the town would have future flood insurance savings as a result of the updates.
There will be a special PZB meeting on floods related to the recent updates, May 26 at 4:30 p.m., Nayman said.
Memorial Day picnic
The Memorial Day picnic is Monday, May 25, 1 to 4 p.m.
The annual gathering for property owners and residents offers a chicken dinner served by elected officials and time to socialize.
There will be music by a disc jockey. There is no charge for the event, which includes a patriotic program and a medley of patriotic songs.
U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Indian Shores, will be at part of the event, Lawrence said.
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Article published on Tuesday, May 19, 2009
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