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Residency requirements tightened
By WAYNE AYERS
| Article published on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009 |
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BELLEAIR BLUFFS – The City Commission took its charter review committee’s recommendation and decided to require commissioners, without exception, to live within the city for one year prior to election, and while serving on the commission.
The requirement stands even if a commission member’s home is damaged or destroyed and they are forced to live elsewhere, City Attorney Thomas Trask said in response to a question posed by former Commissioner David Shimkus. Violators will have to forfeit their office, he added.
While serving on the commission, Shimkus lived for a time in a Clearwater condominium while his home was being rebuilt.
“What if your home caught on fire or was destroyed by a hurricane,” Shimkus asked.
Trask replied, “The reasons don’t matter. If you are not in your home, you have to reside somewhere else in the city.”
If everyone’s home was destroyed, there would be no commission, Shimkus noted.
Resident Wanda Rusinowski cited a case in Pinellas Park where two city commissioners’ homes were heavily damaged by a tornado.
She also commented, “It’s not easy to find a rental place in Belleair Bluffs.”
Mayor Chris Arbutine said his house is 50 years old and has survived previous storms.
The residency requirement change was the major recommendation made by the charter review committee. The commission approved that amendment and other minor changes to the charter in a unanimous vote.
Residents warned of illegal solicitation
Flyers advertising a “Neighborhood Enhancement Program” being taped to area mailboxes are an illegal solicitation, Mayor Chris Arbutine warned. An offer made to paint reflective address numbers on the curb is not endorsed by the city, he said.
“If the city does anything (of this type), we will inform the residents, let them know in advance,” he added.
Arbutine said police are patrolling the neighborhood “to see if they can catch (the violators) in the act.”
City Clerk Debra Sullivan said in a later comment that the flyers are being distributed without a required permit from the city. Residents having information on the person(s) responsible should contact the Sheriff’s Office at 582-6200 or City Hall at 584-2151.
Commissioners Hunt Brand and Shimkus both claim to have seen the perpetrator, described as driving a gray sedan.
Drainage project delayed
Completion of the massive drainage/repaving project on the city’s northwest side has been put off by six to seven weeks, due to delays in installing utility and cable lines, public works director Robert David reported at last week’s workshop meeting.
The contractor had originally requested an 11-week postponement, which David said was unjustified.
The project is now scheduled to be done the first week in November. David indicated the first weeks of the delay could be blamed on Pinellas County Utilities, while a cable backorder has caused a backup for the past three weeks.
“Three separate crews are out there now, installing cable,” David told the commission.
Resident Pat Arbutine was pleased to learn the long-standing project may at last be coming to an end.
“I have hopes that someday I will have a road,” she said.
Go-ahead given for traffic warrant study
The commission approved a long talked-about study to determine whether a traffic signal and crosswalk is needed at the condo entrances to West Bay Drive near the Belleair Beach Causeway bridge. Condo representatives have contended the area has become dangerous for older drivers entering and exiting the driveways due to increased bridge traffic. Pinellas County is taking a separate look at the traffic flow in the area.
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Article published on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009
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