Zephyrhills election qualifying starts

Two City Council seats will be open. The board meets at 6 tonight.

By Ebony Windom, Times Correspondent
Published February 11, 2008

ZEPHYRHILLS - Two Zephyrhills City Council seats will soon be up for grabs.

April will mark the end of a two-year term for council members Celia Graham and Luis Lopez. The qualifying period for the municipal election starts today and runs through Feb. 19. The remaining three City Council members will continue in their posts through 2009.

All aspiring City Council candidates will be asked to attend the upcoming mayor's caucus and also the Supervisor of Elections workshop Feb. 19.

The date and time of the mayor's caucus and other issues will be up for discussion at today's council meeting, which starts at 6 p.m.

Zephyrhills has plans to build a 40,000-square-foot warehouse at the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport to lease out to new businesses. CLS Zephyrhills Partnership is proposing to expand the size of the building to 50,000 square feet. This might make the $1.2-million building more marketable to businesses. The add-ons would cost an extra $460,000 to $477,200, which CLS and the city have agreed to split.

One Zephyrhills resident, Jim Hartnett, has applied for a $5,000 grant to add siding and new windows to his home on Ninth Street, inside the Zephyrhills Historic District. The grant allows qualified property owners a maximum reimbursement of $5,000 for home improvements.

The council must vote to approve his application as part of its standard procedure.

[Last modified February 10, 2008, 21:44:07]