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Re: Stauffer Superfund site may be turned into marina, story, Oct. 18.
Why does Pinellas County feel obligated to provide more boat ramps?
The number of boats on the waters of Pinellas County, especially on the weekends, is already extreme. The Intracoastal Waterway has become an interstate highway, clogged with hundreds of vessels.
The environment is taking it on the chin as boaters lacking local knowledge transgress through grass meadows, disrupting fish patterns and scarring shallow grass beds. Please consider that even the national parks limit the number of daily visitors. Why? The ecosystem will be challenged and the experience diminished by too many users.
One of the proposed ramp and marina sites, Travatine Island south of Park Boulevard, was saved from development decades ago with some of the first funds from the Penny for Pinellas program. The island is surrounded on three sides by acres of thick mangroves and the remaining side directly abuts the Intracoastal Waterway. What gives the planners the right to develop the island and attempt to jam 150 more boats onto the midcounty waters?
Let the existing ramps become the self-regulating factor on user access. I personally do not like the "pave paradise and put up a parking lot" attitude of the county.
Re: Palm Harbor reaching for bright future in hard times, Diane Steinle column, Oct. 16.
As president of the Palm Harbor Friends of the Library, my comments are from only the library's point of view.
During the past five years, despite limited funds, the Palm Harbor Library has expanded services, collections and programs. We now average 25,000 to 30,000 patrons every month, offering such services as adult literacy tutoring, computer classes, free internet use, a wide range of children's programs for all ages and interests, along with Sunday concerts, services to assisted living facilities and genealogy help.
We also have a huge collection of videos, DVDs and music CDs, which patrons may borrow free of charge. To keep pace with technology, the library has just unveiled wireless internet access and downloadable audio books.
The library is not merely a place for books, but a community and cultural center for the Palm Harbor area. The Palm Harbor Friends of the Library have helped support these services and programs with donations of more than $25,000 each year. However, the library's staffing and size are well below the minimum standards for public libraries.
We are a victim of our own success, as patrons want longer hours of operation (including Sundays), meeting rooms, satisfactory parking, more programs, etc.
The average increase residents would pay for the additional one-quarter mill tax for the library would be about $32 per year.
I would think that in hard times, a community would support a public institution that provides everything for free to all who enter its doors.
Please consider these points.