Property and Construction Matters UnveiledBy Kari Jo M. RodgersBELLEAIR BEACH - One of the first topics of discussion at the City of Belleair Beach Commission meeting was the expansion of the existing rental agreement. This agreement enforces strict rental policies. However, the new agreement will include a clause that states, "Relatives will be able to stay at the house whenever the owner of the property is away." It was also decided that solid waste materials would continue to be picked up from the city with costs not exceeding $219,240 annually. Pertaining to the matter, Commissioner Kathy Mortensen asked "if they had ever had city wide pick up in bulk twice a year?" Pete Cavalli, Community Services / IT Director stated, "that they had, and that having this again would be an informal part of the contract." In the end, the motion passed. Whether or not the Belleair Beach Marina Gates should be locked was also discussed. Lynn Mayor Rives suggested that $25 be charged for each key, and that $50 be charged for any lost keys. On the contrary, the Mayor later said that not everyone in the community wanted the gates locked. The main objection that some of the citizens had was that they did not want to go through the hassle of getting extra keys for the people who fixed and maintained the upkeep of their boats. On the other side of the coin, one citizen asked commissioners "why they spent $8000 for a fence if they did not want it locked?" The citizen suggested that the city make lockboxes available for each individual owner to purchase. Commissioners voted to get keys for the front gates. Any other steps will be taken after deriving more opinions from boat owners. The last important matter discussed was the replacement of the Harrison Street Bridge. Pete Cavalli, Community Services / IT Director, outlined the proposed plans for the new bridge to commissioners. These plans included cutting out a third of the bridge, and letting the other lane go through, so that the two lanes were combined, having more decorative pedestrian banners, putting in sidewalks, and expanding the length of the bridge, in order to qualify it for inspections under the Florida Department of Transportation. In reference to adding sidewalks on each side of the bridge, Mayor Rives wanted to know "why they were thinking about adding sidewalks, and where the sidewalks would lead to?" Cavalli responded by saying, "the bridge already had to be lengthened due to increase in traffic, so why not take advantage of it?" Some people felt that adding sidewalks was a good idea, because fishermen would be able to easily take advantage of them. However, Mayor Rives emphasized that the commissioners still "had not talked to the people to find out where they stood on the matter, and said that he wanted to find out what the citizens wanted first." Construction of the bridge will be discussed more in future meetings. To learn more about what is happening in the City of Belleair Beach, don't forget to keep reading the Clearwater Gazette.
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