SEMINOLE — There’s nothing an elected official likes better than fixing potholes, and in Florida, tending to stormwater needs runs neck-and-neck with street work among municipal priorities.
On March 14, the City Council got down to just such business, awarding contracts totaling more than $854,000 for road-surface management and stormwater-pipe maintenance.
The council unanimously approved the award of $532,289 to low-bidder Asphalt Paving Systems of Zephyrhills for work to be performed under the city’s road-management plan for the current fiscal year.
“This is a continuation of our robust pavement-management plan,” City Manager Ann Toney-Deal said.
Duncan Street, Freedom Way, 111th St. North, Golden Grove Street and Golden Ridge Drive are set for milling and resurfacing. Valencia Avenue, Freedom Boulevard, 111th Lane North, 110th Street North, 108th Street North, 91st Terrace North, 91st Avenue North and 90th Terrace North will be cape-sealed.
“Cape seal is a type of overlay,” explained Rodney Due, the city’s director of public works. “There is no milling or asphalt removal.”
A prior “needs assessment” survey had determined which approach to take on the various streets, based on the conditions of the roads, Due said.
Council members also voted 6-0, with council member Chris Burke absent from the meeting, to award $321,764 to Granite Inliner of Sanford for work to restore the structural integrity of its system of stormwater pipes. Work to be performed under the contract follows a report by the city’s consultant on stormwater-management needs, Advanced Engineering & Design of Pinellas Park, that identified necessary repairs and upgrades.
In other action, the council gave unanimous approval to an amended development plan by Suncoast Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge to renovate and expand its dealership at 8755 Park Blvd. Two public hearings produced little community opposition to the plan, under which an existing building will get a makeover and a new building will be constructed.
And despite a bit of neighborhood opposition, the council similarly voted 6-0 to approve some code exemptions detailed in a plan to build a more modern Shell gas station and Food Mart at the southwest corner of Park Boulevard and Ridge Road.
The property, at 7790 Ridge Road, first was developed as a gas station in 1966. At a first public hearing during the Feb. 28 council meeting, nearby homeowners showed up to express fears of added traffic, noise and light pollution.
Library hours adjusted
Council members also agreed to a staff recommendation to alter the schedule of opening and closing times for Seminole Community Library.
The city has an agreement with St. Petersburg College-Seminole covering how the library will operate, and until now that’s meant operating 73 hours when the college is in session and 64 hours during the roughly 10 weeks when the campus is out-of-session.
Now, the library will move to a year-round schedule totaling 70 hours a week. SPC-Seminole already has approved the changes, which required a tweak to a joint operating agreement stipulation that called for a minimum of 71.5 hours when the college is in session.
The new hours of operation will “eliminate community confusion about library hours and allow more staff to be in the building during our busiest hours of the day,” city staff said in a memo to the council explaining its recommendation.
The new schedule of hours, set for implementation on Monday, March 20, is as follows:
Sunday — 12 p.m.-5 p.m.
Monday-Thursday — 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Friday — 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday — 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
The council next will meet on Tuesday, March 28, at 6 p.m. in City Hall’s council chambers.
