New Port Richey organizes event funding request plan

Applications for city funding must be received by a summer deadline. The council will then rank the proposals.

By BETH GLENN

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 18, 2000

NEW PORT RICHEY -- City Council members have established a formal procedure for applying for the city's special events funding, hoping to sharply curtail the piecemeal application process and early depletion of the fund that has characterized the process in prior years.

Starting this summer, organizations seeking city funding would submit their plans for the upcoming fiscal year. Council members would examine and prioritize the requests before deciding which ones would be included in the annual budget. The budget goes into effect each year on Oct. 1.

Though the deadline for this initial year will be July 1, in the future it will be June 1. Council members will rank each project using a fixed set of criteria and recommend the top-rated events to be part of the annual budget.

In the rankings, projects will be judged on the capacity of the sponsor to execute the event, the location, vendor impact, program impact and what the city will have to contribute. For instance, proposals can earn 10 points for having a full-time staff, holding a function in Sims Park or at Orange Lake, or involving city-based non-profit agencies.

Also on Wednesday, the council decided to adjust the ordinance governing boat lifts and docks so that docks on canals less than 100 feet wide may extend into a third of the waterway. Currently the law limits docks to three feet beyond the property line. The adjustments would bring the city's policy in line with state regulations. The changes arose in response to a request for a variance. Though the request was denied, the boat lift in question would be allowed under the new rules.

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