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CATHERINE E. SHOICHETThe city wants to absorb the small peninsula of West Oldsmar. A vote will probably be on the 2005 municipal ballot
OLDSMAR - After a monthlong push to contact voters, the city has cleared a major hurdle in its effort to place the proposed annexation of West Oldsmar on the ballot.
Residents of the small peninsula at the city's southwest border likely will have a chance to vote on an annexation referendum in the March 2005 municipal election, City Clerk Lisa Lene said.
"It looks like we're going to be moving forward," she said.
In June, the Pinellas Planning Council said West Oldsmar residents couldn't vote on whether to be annexed because only 27 percent of the area was owned by people registered to vote there. For there to be a referendum on annexation, state law requires that number to be at least 30 percent.
But after about a month of telephone calls and door-to-door canvassing, a campaign consultant hired by the city said she found a dozen voters in the area who were not counted by the planning council.
Campaign consultant Beth Rawlins said the city agreed to pay her $3,000 if she found enough additional registered voters to meet the 30 percent requirement. The 12 voters she tracked down place the city above the requirement, she said.
"We really just went in and knocked on doors and talked to a bunch of very friendly people to gather the data that Oldsmar needed," Rawlins said.
A study from the Pinellas Planning Council has estimated that West Oldsmar homeowners would save $100 or more a year, and Oldsmar would see more than $100,000 in additional revenues annually if the city incorporated the 142-acre peninsula into its boundaries.
But some West Oldsmar business owners have expressed concerns that becoming part of Oldsmar would increase restrictions, and resident response to the plan has been mixed.
"I've seen e-mails come across my way mostly in favor from a lot of the residents," said City Council member Jim Ronecker, who has been leading the annexation campaign. "Some of them are not in favor of it. I don't understand why. I just encourage everyone to do their research before they vote."
The city will continue with its public relations campaign to encourage West Oldsmar voters to consider annexation, Lene said, sending out letters to residents outlining the benefits of joining the Oldsmar city limits.
About 769 people live in the enclave. If residents agreed to annexation, responsibility for a number of services in the area, such as waste collection, stormwater drainage and road maintenance would shift form the county to the city.
This is not the first time West Oldsmar residents have been asked to consider annexation. In 1988, they rejected an annexation proposal at a series of public meetings.
On Wednesday, Lene became the annexation project manager after city director of planning and redevelopment Greg Scoville resigned to take a similar position in Walton County.
"A lot of the planning part is done," Lene said. "I'll be involved in getting it on the ballot."
While the city searches for Scoville's replacement, Oldsmar Fire Rescue Chief Scott McGuff will become the interim director of planning and redevelopment.
Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at 727 771-4303 or cshoichet@sptimes.com