Purple Heart Recognition Day DUNEDIN – The city of Dunedin is celebrating the 5th anniversary of Purple Heart Recognition Day Tuesday, Aug. 7, 10 a.m., at Dunedin’s Purple Heart Park, the corner of Alt. U.S. 19 and Main Street.
The park is located on the corner of Main Street and Broadway Avenue. The keynote speaker for the event will be Purple Heart recipient Sgt. Major William “Billy” Waugh from MacDill Air Force Base. Bricks honoring Purple Heart recipients will be available for purchase at the ceremony. For more information, call the Dunedin Parks & Recreation Department at 812-4531.
Maximum millage rate set DUNEDIN – The Dunedin City Commission on July 19 unanimously voted to set the maximum millage rate for the 2012-2013 fiscal year at 3.318 mills. The commission lowered this number based on discussions at a workshop on July 16.
It is required by the state’s Truth in Millage regulations that taxing authorities must advise the property appraiser of their proposed millage rate and the date, time and place of their first public hearing within 35 days of certification of values. After this July 19 vote, that means that the commission is not allowed to set a final millage rate any higher than this amount of 3.318 mills.
The first public hearing on the budget, tax rate and utility rates is set for Thursday, Sept. 13, at City Hall.
Dunedin unveils new website DUNEDIN – The city of Dunedin has launched a new city website that includes many new integrated Web functions, intuitive navigation and a mobile device platform that is compatible with all major smart phones.
Vision Internet was contracted to work with the city as the Web development partner. Vision specializes in government websites offering a specially designed content management system that allows easy access to administrators throughout the city to update the site. The public can visit the site at DunedinGov.com.
The mobile device friendly platform is compatible with all major smart phones.
“We are very happy with the look, feel and functionality of the new website,” Courtney King, city public information systems manager said.
Contract approved for pumps DUNEDIN – The Dunedin City Commission unanimously voted on July 19 to approve a budget amendment to replace wastewater treatment plant equipment. The contract of $200,800 goes to Xylem, Inc./Flygt Products to purchase four replacement pumps.
Jeff Yates, city finance director, told the commission that technically this is part of the 2013 budget, but they would start the project this summer. Rebuilding the old pumps costs about $27,000 each, and the frequency of replacement is increasing due to the pumps’ age, Yates said. Therefore, replacing them would cost more than $100,000, so buying new ones that will last longer seems more cost-efficient, he said. Other cities that have used these particular new pumps, including the city of Clearwater, have positive reports about the product, he added.
Norfolk Street gets facelift DUNEDIN – On July 19, the Dunedin City Commission unanimously approved a change order to Keystone Excavators, Inc. for $383,076 for the reconstruction of Norfolk Street.
Jeff Yates, city finance director, said the city has gotten permission to use some of its grant money for the Orangewood stormwater project to help fund this, and there will still be surplus funds in the Orangewood project. It also will take a little more than $259,000 from the South Douglas Streetscape project, which is funded through Penny for Pinellas funds. The purpose of this project is to lower, level and improve the road, which will allow for better drainage and add things like curbs and gutters, and it also will make traffic run smoother, Yates said.
Yates said there would still be enough money left for the Douglas Streetscape project, and some of this money was originally going to be used to have underground utilities. But staff said that the cost to do that has significantly increased, and it no longer makes sense to do that for this segment at this time. Therefore, that also leaves money “left over” that can be used to fund the Norfolk Street project.
State of emergency is over DUNEDIN – The Dunedin City Commission declared the state of emergency due to Tropical Storm Debby officially over at its July 19 meeting. The Pinellas County Board of Commissioners terminated its state of local emergency on July 2, and as there is no longer any danger to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens and visitors of Dunedin, its commission unanimously decided it could terminate its state of emergency as well.
![[Image]](/content_images/070312_pco-01z_front.jpg)
