C.O.N.A. of South Pinellas County

Lost Little.....Count Your Blessings

Sep 09, 2004

CONA NEWSLETTER September, 2004

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Dear Neighbors:

CONA is focusing on two areas this year - Cops and Codes. I am happy to report that the new City budget reflects our efforts to single out these issues. CONA played a major role in crafting a new ordinance that is aimed at repeat
code violators of 3 or more unit rentals. The ordinance in now part of the sticks that code officers have when dealing with the worst landlords. We intend to watch to see if it proves to be a useful ordinance.

Kai Warren leads our new Codes Committee which is meeting to see what other changes in ordinances, staffing and procedures to voice our desire for more code enforcement officers and a faster process. Happily, I can report that the new city budget adds a code officer for the first time in about seven years. This reverses a downward trend in staffing. Council Member Richard Kriseman deserves a thank you for leading this effort. Also, on October 1st, code officers will be getting cell phones and soon thereafter lap tops to speed the paperwork. Administration has adopted new policies to limit extensions for code violators. Collectively, we hope to see a noticeable improvement. Thank you to all for the effort.

Policing is a tougher and more complicated issue. Of immediate interest is the proposed street vending ordinance. This is intended to prohibit the people who stand at the roadside or in the median until the traffic light changes and then dart into the street to sell newspapers and such. This is clearly a dangerous way to do commerce. The ordinance will come before City Council on Sept. 16th for a public hearing. Please show up and speak, email/write to city council and call your council member. Three members, Virginia Littrell, Jamie Bennett and Richard Kriseman have voiced support. We need two more.
There is an alternative to a street vending ordinance. St. Petersburg could enforce County Ordinance 98-1 clearly already prohibits soliciting motorists under these conditions. A clear statement from City leadership could instruct the police to enforce this law. It may be that a sufficient number of police officers think they are not supposed to enforce this ordinance and that they are simply wrong. Whatever technique is used to stop this dangerous practice is fine. Please take this opportunity to speak out!

Sincerely,

Karl Nurse
President, CONA


PARTNERSHIP NOTES
Neighborhood Partnership Office
Susan P. Ajoc, AICP, Director
Neighborhood Partnership Program
City of St. Petersburg
P.O. Box 2842 St. Petersburg, FL 33731-2842
Phone: (727) 892-5141 Fax: (727) 893-5323
Email: Susan.Ajoc@stpete.org

Neighborhood Partnership Awards
The annual Neighborhood Partnership Awards social has been rescheduled to Tuesday, October 26, 2004. This year's event will be held in City Hall in order to tour the Annex renovations. The social will start at 6:00 p.m. Watch your mail for more information.

Neighborhood Partnership Grant Submittals
There were 20 grant proposals submitted by 18 neighborhood associations for a total request of nearly $300,000. The Grant Review Team will review the requests on Friday, September 24.

Proposed Street Vending Ordinance
City Council is considering a proposed ?“Street Vending?” Ordinance that could address concerns about panhandling and newspaper sales from the medians and sides of heavily traveled roadways.

Second Reading & Public Hearing: Sep 16th.


LDR update and NEIGHBORHOOD RELATED ISSUES
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 20 7:00 P.M.
SUNSHINE CENTER AUDITORIUM 330 5TH STREET NORTH
For more information, contact Bob Jeffrey at 551-3254


Proposed Charter Amendments:
Five Referendum Issues will be on the November Ballot

CONA Addresses the Issues

City Council has proposed five amendments to the City Charter. All of these amendments deal with the waterfront properties in the area of Albert Whitted Airport, The Bayfront Center, USF and the Dali Museum.

If passed, the Charter Amendments could have a large impact on the waterfront. Exactly what the impact will be is difficult to access from simply reading the amendment language. For this reason, CONA has organized a debate on the issues.

The debate format can be fun and informative. It should bring all of the issues to the surface so that CONA Members can make informed decisions concerning the referendum questions. The five referendum questions are listed below:

City of St. Petersburg November 2, 2004 Referendum Questions

Referendum Question 1.
Lease of a portion of Bayfront Center site for the home of the Dali Museum. Shall the City Council be authorized to approve, after notice and public hearing, the leasing to the Salvador Dali Museum, Inc. of a portion of the City owned waterfront property known as the Bayfront Center site for a period of up to 99 years for the purpose of operating an art museum and ancillary facilities concentrating on the works of Salvador Dali?

Referendum Question 2.
Transfer to University of South Florida, St. Petersburg land currently occupied by the Dali Museum. Shall the City Council be authorized to approve the transactions necessary to transfer the waterfront park property now occupied by the Salvador Dali Museum, Inc. to the appropriate agency of the State of Florida for use as part of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg?

Referendum Question 3.
Charter Amendment authorizing leases on Albert Whitted Airport for up to 25 years. Shall the City Charter be amended to increase the length, from 10 years to 25 years, of leases on the Albert Whitted Airport site that can be approved by City Council without the need for a referendum or notice to surrounding properties?

Referendum Question 4.
Charter Amendment authorizing leases of Port property for up to 25 years. Shall the City Charter be amended to increase the length, from 10 years to 25 years, of leases on the Port property that can be approved by City Council without the need for a referendum or notice to surrounding properties?

Referendum Question 5.
Leasing of submerged land in Bayboro Harbor to the Harborage Marina, L.L.C.
Shall the City Council be authorized to enlarge the area currently leased to Harborage Marina, L.L.C. and to enter into a new lease of thirty (30) years leasing, to Harborage Marina, L.L.C., this enlarged area of property which is City owned submerged property in Bayboro Harbor classified as waterfront property by the City Charter?


STREET VENDING ORDINANCE
TO BE CONSIDERED BY CITY COUNCIL September 16th

City Council will conduct a public hearing on September 16th starting at 6:00PM (or sometime after 6:)) depending on other agenda items). After the public hearing, Council will vote on a Street Vending Ordinance.

Actually, there are three proposed ordinances to be considered. Council may adopt any or all of these proposals or, they could add conditions or exceptions.

Proposal #1 would prohibit street vending on arterial and collector streets within the City. It would provide that we ?“opt out?” of County Ordinance 98-1.

Proposal #2 would prohibit standing or stopping on medians of artrial and collector streets in the City. It also would provide that we ?“opt out?” of County Ordinance 98-1.

Proposal # 3 would declare that the City has ?“opted out?” of County Ordinance 98-1

For reference, the County Ordinance is provided below:

Pinellas Count Ordinance 98-1
(c) Prohibitions.
(1) No person shall be upon or go upon any road for the purpose of solicitation to or from the occupant of any operating motorized vehicle located within the county.
(2) No person shall be upon or go upon any road for the purpose of distributing literature to or from the occupant of any operating motorized vehicle located within the county.
(3) No person shall be within four feet of the edge of arterial roads or collector roads for the purpose of solicitation or distribution of literature to or from the occupant of any operating motorized vehicle located within the county


STREET VENDING ORDINANCE:
IT?’S ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY STANDARDS

By Steve Plice

City Council is finally re-visiting the street vending issue. About two years ago, Council rejected a proposed street vending ordinance and, since then, our Police Department has not been enforcing the Pinellas County Ordinance that prohibits street vending.

The result, over the past two years, has been that our pedestrian safety standards are significantly lower than the standards set by the County for neighboring communities. With our lower standards, we have seen a dramatic increase in street soliciting, panhandling and newspaper vending throughout the City.

These activities take place far more often inside our City limits because the Sheriff's Office is enforcing the higher standard in adjacent communities. There are, for example, documented cases where solicitors were transported from Tampa to St. Petersburg simply because it is easer to solicit in the middle of St. Petersburg Streets.

Our lower community standards are obvious to everyone entering the City. At most of our major entry ways, a panhandler has established a regular ?“place of business?”. Inside the City is noticeably different from outside the City.

The clear message is that St. Petersburg has lower standards than the surrounding areas.

I encourage everyone to contact City Council Members. We do need to have community standards at least as high as everyone else. We have a poor record of pedestrian safety and we should not, as a matter of public policy, permit activities that are clearly unsafe.


INFORMATION GAPS COMPOUND HURRICANE CHARLEY ANXIETIES

By Eileen O'Sullivan, Coquina Key

Why we didn't evacuate from our Zone A home on a canal:
1. Misleading media reports -- all TV channels repeatedly showed gridlocked causeways; none was advising which routes were favorable for timely getaway. Only afterwards did we learn from neighbors that the Skyway was clear Friday morning. (City channel was rerunning their How To Prepare for a Storm loop; talk about too little, waaaaay too late!)
2. Absent information from county/city about police protection and return policy -- We can't get police protection from careless motorists on a daily basis; why would we have confidence they would protect our lives and properties in a stressful emergency?
3. Absent information about where to go. I can get to and pay for a motel that will accept my (crated) dogs. How can I find out which one(s) are in a safe zone, may have made extra efforts to keep the roof in place, etc.? We've had less than reassuring inspections of public shelters; are other buildings ever evaluated in terms of riding out a bad storm?

Further complications: Absent information about power outages -- We knew we'd likely lose it when the storm hit, but because of reports that the power companies were shutting down way early (6-7 or more hours before projected landfall), we had to shut down computers -- thus were unable to learn of messages county may have been sending out. (Will this latest disaster persuade government agencies that they've GOT to insist power companies begin undergrounding? Taking 8 days to get back on line is completely unacceptable 19th century technology. FEMA and insurance companies are issuing checks: what good are checks when banks have no power?)
Also, information providers need to take into account that receivers are very stressed -- exhausted from preparing in the extreme humidity and anxious about what's going to happen. Learners who are tired or emotional miss a lot. If information is too complex, too general, or tries to cover too many areas at once, it won't be taken in -- especially when delivered in the breathless, near-hysterical manner affected by much of today's television.
Rumors always abound; if we won't be allowed back home for a week, or if we might be stuck on a causeway in the height of the storm, we're not leaving for a cat 2 -- problem being, of course, that Charley terrifyingly skipped from a 2 to a 4 in a matter of minutes. Now what to do? Return policy matters a whole lot less; possibility of getting stuck on a causeway becomes hugely important. We still have TV, but it's still useless -- going for the spectacular rather than the informative.

For next time, we need ACCURATE, UP-TO-DATE information about:
Optimal evacuation routes AT THE PRESENT TIME;
The PRESENT policy about sealing/unsealing entrances to neighborhoods such as Coquina Key, Shore Acres, et al; What kind of eventualities determine/change that policy?
When does the county curfew go into effect? Does it include the city? If not, what kind of curfew or other protection will the city offer?
At exactly what time will power companies shut down in each area, so we can stay on line until then and shut down in time to avoid damage to equipment, and so information providers will know when to give their final messages?

Friday the 13th of August turned out to be a very lucky day for us; we dare not hope we'll have that kind of luck every time there's a storm!


SCHOOL CHOICE APPLICATION PERIOD BEGINS
SEPTEMBER 1st.

Each year parents in Pinellas have the opportunity to make school choices for the following school year. Now is the time to get ready for the school choice application period that lasts from Sept. 1-Nov. 1, 2004. Parents will be making school choices for the 2005-06 school year.

Parents must fill out an application for a choice attendance area school if their child is entering kindergarten, coming to a Pinellas County school for the first time or returning to the district; if the child is entering grade six or nine and is not eligible for or does not want to use extended grandfathering; if the child wants to apply for a different school for next year.

Students not currently enrolled in the district must be registered at a Family Education and Information Center (FEIC) before an application can be accepted. The following items are needed to register: birth certificate or other proof of birth, proof of residency, child?’s Social Security number (optional) and the child?’s most recent report card (for student?’s in grades 1-12) if available. Parents are encouraged to call an FEIC to verify that they have the correct documents or visit the choice website at www.pinellaschoice.org.

There are three ways to apply to a choice attendance area school, but not everyone can use each option. Families may mail, fax or deliver in person a paper choice application to an FEIC; phone 727-501-0871 or go to the Internet at http://apply.pinellaschoice.org.

Families also may apply to a countywide magnet, fundamental or high school career academy program by calling the automated phone system at (727) 501-0871 during the application period.

Additional registration and application information can be found in the School Choice Information Guide, on the choice website at www.pinellaschoice.org or by calling an FEIC location: 1101 Marshall St., Clearwater, (727) 298-2858, and 3420 Eighth Ave. S, St. Petersburg, (727) 552-1595.


FRIDAY @ THE FLORIDA BIRDING & NATURE FEST
A Feast of Imagery
Friends: Mark your calendars for Friday, October 8 -- day 2 of the 7th Annual Florida Birding & Nature Festival coming to the campus of Eckerd College this fall.
Renowned photojournalist Carlton Ward, Jr. (http://www.carltonward.com) and nature photographer Arthur Morris (http://www.birdsasart.com) top a star-studded cast of speakers appearing that day. The four-day festival at Eckerd College features dozens of seminars and workshops, plus more than 25 guided field and paddling trips to Florida?’s most spectacular birding areas at the height of fall migration.
Ward?’s travels to Africa on assignment for the Smithsonian are featured in the recently published book, The Edge of Africa, a visual tour de force capturing images of wildlife and residents of the Gabon. The Clearwater native, with training in ecology and anthropology, is currently photographing endangered desert elephants in Mali. Morris, whose images of Florida birds and wildlife have gained him international acclaim, has produced images featured in National Geographic and several galleries and exhibitions. He photographs, travels, teaches and speaks throughout North America.
Ward?’s Edge of Africa to the Coast of Florida talk is from 12:30 -1:30 p.m. Friday. Morris is the festival's evening keynote speaker at 7:30 p.m. Numerous other seminars and field trips round out the day, including a special afternoon series from 2:00-5:00 p.m. on the bald eagle, this year?’s spotlight species.
Space is limited so register early at http://www.flabirdfest.com
The festival begins Thursday with marine conservationist and author, Dr. Carl Safina of the Blue Ocean Institute (http://www.blueoceaninstitute.org), and includes a free nature expo, butterfly tent, birds of prey exhibit and an extensive native plant sale.
For more information on the Florida Birding Festival or to register online, go to www.flabirdfest.com or call 1-866-FLA-BIRD.


CONA BOARD OF DIRECTOR?’S MEETING MINUTES
The Sunshine Multi-Service Center August 18, 2004

President Karl Nurse called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

>Before introducing our five guests who came to participate in a forum for County Commissioner Candidates, Karl briefly acknowledged several other attending candidates including Ken Burke, George Greer, Walter Schafer, Jr., and Ken Welch..
>We next heard the Treasurer?’s Report from Libby Steele noting a current balance of $2,341.96 with an outstanding debit for publishing the August Newsletter of $148.90
>Terese Hilliard, of the Neighborhood Partnership Office, reminded us of several upcoming deadlines.
?¨ *Partnership Matching Grants due by
September 3rd., 2004.
?¨ *Police Forfeiture Grants due by October
1st, 2004
?¨ *The State Neighborhood?’s Conference in
Jacksonville will be held September 16th
through 18th 2004
>The President invited members who would like to participate on our e-mail listserv, (the CONA Listbot), should provide Secretary Conrad Weiser with the e-mail address that they prefer to utilize for our ?“Bot?”.
>Kai Warren, (Historic Roser Park), gave a brief report on his CONA committee working with the city staff on the problems of code enforcement. He noted an upcoming meeting, (8/19/04), would include Deputy Mayor Mike Dove and Codes Compliance Director Sally Eichler.
>Karl Nurse appealed for volunteers to serve on the CONA Nominating Committee, noting that only non-candidates may serve.
>Theresa McEachern announced a collection for our Hurricane Charley Storm Recovery Fund. The proceeds will be divided between the Red Cross and the Salvation Army storm relief programs. We were reminded that many employers will match the charitable contributions of their employees.
>Karl told us that our September CONA Meeting will focus on the issues surrounding the Albert Whitted Airport and the downtown waterfront real estate, noting that these issues will be included on the November election ballots.
>Commencing our county commission candidate?’s forum, the President introduced the four Republican contenders: J.J. Beyrouti, Neil Brickfield, Lucille Casey, and Ronnie Duncan. Karl also presented the Democratic candidate, (for the November election), Norm Roche.
>Each candidate then presented a timed introduction of his or her qualifications and goals if elected.
-The President then accepted questions from the floor, which were responded to be each of the five candidates. Among those issues were:
-Do we need more parks in Pinellas and should we charge for these recreational facilities?
-Should the county devote more of their budget to supporting the installation of underground wiring to enhance the scenery as well as to provide greater safety in storms?
-What can/should be done to promote Pinellas economic development, especially with respect to attracting more better paying jobs?
-What scenarios do you favor for the development of Albert Whitted Airport?
>The candidate?’s forum concluded with a timed, (2 min.), summation from each of the five candidates.
>In closing our meeting, at 8:30 p.m., the President reported that $340.00 had thus far been collected for our Storm Recovery Fund.

Respectfully submitted,
Conrad Weiser, Secretary