PINELLAS PARK – The Pinellals Park City Council fired the first shot at a March 24 special meeting in the war against a state legislative proposal that could eliminate the Pinellas Park Water Management District.
City officials contend that the bill has no provisions for the future maintenance or repairs of the present sewer system that cross jurisdictional boundaries to several cities and into some portions of unincorporated Pinellas County.
The bill, written and sponsored by Rep. Janet C. Long of Seminole, is expected to come up for a full house vote in Tallahassee within the month. It already received approval from the military and local affairs policy committee. The Senate version by state Sen. Dennis Jones, however, has not even gone into committee hearings.
The district collects about $6.5 million annually in a form of a tax from city residents and those from sections of St. Petersburg, unincorporated Pinellas County and Kenneth City.
The district would be eliminated only by a public referendum that may pass as people scratch to save every penny they can in these difficult recessionary times.
The district was created in 1976 by state lawmakers to build and manage primary stormwater drainage systems. The district is divided into five drainage basins and is responsible for the management of the main systems while secondary ones fall under the jurisdiction of Pinellas Park and Pinellas County.
With Phase 3 of the Park Boulevard Stormwater Drainage Project soon to begin, much of the district’s responsibilities are over. The latest and possibly the final water district undertaking is a $5 million project that is expected to eliminate flooding problems along Gandy Boulevard and surrounding roads.
That project began last month and is expected to take four to five months to complete. Councilman Ed Taylor said the project will ease flooding in that location by repairing and widening culverts and ditches. The bulk of the work is being done along Gandy Boulevard near Grand Avenue.
Pinellas Park officials want to keep the water district intact for future drainage work within neighborhoods that includes replacing or relining storm drains in areas where systems are reaching the half-century mark. Other efforts would go toward maintaining the present system that some believe would deteriorate without proper maintenance.
Long, meanwhile, in a recent newsletter to her constituents said that eliminating the water district would provide tax relief to financially strapped residents.
“They (taxpayers) have voiced their opinions loudly about the necessity for our governments to be more efficient and more cost effective,” Long said. “Shortly after my election in 2006 citizens began to talk to me about the water district.”
Long said over the past 2.5 years there has been extensive study and analysis of the district, its cost and its benefits to area citizens. She said the district has spent about $44 million on various projects, but she said some residents believe that the benefits they receive are not commensurate with the level of taxes they pay.
“A recent audit by the Office of Policy and Government Analysis indicated that the water district has accomplished its mission,” Long said.
The legislator contends that the time has come to dissolve the water district and transfer maintenance and repair to local governments.
That’s not the case, said Pinellas Park officials, who argue that although the water district tax might be eliminated, an additional city tax might have to be approved to pay for the maintenance and repair of the storm drains.
Councilman Rick Butler said he doubts that Pinellas County would properly maintain their share of the water drains. He noted also that cities such as St. Petersburg, Kenneth City and Pinellas Park already are reeling from budget cuts and the potential loss of future revenues and would find it difficult to finance the maintenance and repair of the system.
“It would make local officials look like the ones pressing for higher taxes,” Butler has said. “Why create a new tax when we already have a fair one in place with the water district?”
City officials also contend that some state legislators are turning a blind eye to the possible problems of eliminating the district. They contend also that the Pinellas County Legislative Delegation denied city officials an opportunity to argue against the legislation at a recent meeting.
City officials are proposing a reorganization of the water district and reducing the millage rate while insuring that future maintenance and repair would be conducted.
Storm water issues have existed since the city was created in the early 1900s. Park Boulevard, a main escape route from barrier island communities in cases of heavy rains or hurricanes, has itself had ongoing flooding problems.
