Letters to the Editors

Clearwater could become magnet for boaters

EDITOR'S NOTE: The first five letters refer to a proposal to redevelop downtown Clearwater. City residents will vote on the proposal in a July 11 referendum.

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 7, 2000

Redevelopment, yes! We are happy to see Clearwater will be a boater-friendly city at last.

We are senior-citizen boaters living in Palm Harbor. Often we wish we could take out-of-town guests as well as local friends to dine and shop by boat in Clearwater. Unfortunately, we pass right by downtown Clearwater and end up in towns farther south.

After a six-week boating trip around Florida, we experienced many cities that accommodate boaters and enjoy the revenue that the boating public produces for their communities.

Boaters in the many cities south of us would certainly enjoy making downtown Clearwater a destination for weekends and evenings. They spend lots of money (often more than intended). We know, as we have been boating enthusiasts for over 40 years.

Clearwater is also a natural jumping-off point for boats heading north to the Panhandle as well as a perfect arrival point for those coming south from there -- the ideal location to provision their boats, make repairs and have some R&R.

The redevelopment plan is beautiful, makes so much sense and, best of all, will put lots of God's people dining, shopping and strolling that gorgeous bayfront.

If we could vote for the redevelopment, we would. We would love to come and share it, though.
-- Ethel and Hugh Swift, Palm Harbor

Saying yes to plan is easy because of its benefits

Re: The downtown plan.

Why would anyone say no to a plan that:

Is financed by the developers, and they assume the risk?

Provides for four times the current public park space and builds a new library?

Brings multilevels of shopping and dining experiences to us?

Builds a beautiful outdoor amphitheater?

Cities all over the United States are leveraging everything to have these, and our cost is some 99-year leases. You can't get it for free, folks. This is our chance. Vote "yes" on July 11.
-- Ethel M. Swift, Palm Harbor

Another dollar-a-year lease on valuable land isn't right

The dollar-a-year leases with groups like the Clearwater Country Club and the ChiChi Rodriguez foundation were not renewed. The new leases require payments of a percent of gross revenues. When these leases were renewed, the published comments of city officials were that there would be no more free rides at city expense.

Now I'm being asked to vote to give developers a 99-year lease on the most valuable property in town for $1 a year. There's something wrong with this picture!
-- Bob Coffey, Clearwater

Scary crime predictions make deciding difficult

Because I am very concerned with the development of downtown Clearwater, I attended the recent meeting at Clearwater Beach.

Our chief of police was introduced as the first speaker. I will not attempt to quote him, but the gist of his speech was that the crime rate in downtown will continue to increase if the citizens do not approve the referendum on July 11. This would necessitate his having to pull patrolmen from other neighborhoods to cover downtown. He assured the audience that this was an inevitable fact.

I have great respect for Chief (Sid) Klein as the head of law enforcement but, to me, this sounded like a scare tactic, which I thought was unnecessary. Citizens are upset enough with the pros and cons of development without being frightened by a picture of a skid row full of drug addicts and prostitutes. Perhaps more patrolmen will be needed in a "new downtown" because of all the activity it will generate. According to the developers, it is going to be very crowded. I have attended at least six meetings on this project, including a focus group, and I always leave thinking about The Emperor's New Clothes.
-- Patricia Bates Smith, Clearwater

Salt-free water should be the city's No. 1 priority

I suggest that if developers have Clearwater's best interest in mind (instead of their own business interests), they build a desalination plant first, at their expense on city land and turn it over to the city before turning over a shovelful of dirt. If city commissioners want to leave a tangible legacy (instead of leading everyone "roundabout") they should support a venture that will mean water availability in perpetuity. I dare them to think that one through.
-- Dorothy Slupski, Largo

Inefficiency, not quantity, is issue in code inspection

Re: Officials envision a tidier Pinellas, May 7.

If the Pinellas County code enforcement officers were supervised in an efficient manner, no additional inspectors would be needed.

As it is, the inspectors spend almost every Friday in court. That should be changed to have each officer arrange his cases for one day per month.

Instead of citing the good citizens for minor infractions, officers might be encouraged to help those voters correct the problems.

If you were to remove citations of vengeance or those that are politically motivated, more time would be left for real code enforcement.

As for the statement of County Commissioner Sallie Parks about a difference between some cities and the county areas, yes, there is a difference: fewer deed restrictions.

If the County Commission really wanted to have a cleaner and spruced-up look, then it should start with requiring all the trash haulers to increase the monthly fee by $5 and follow Clearwater's lead with a claw truck that will pick up everything -- a once-a-month sweep for that discarded couch, appliance or mattress.

With today's tight labor market and the fact that code enforcement inspectors are to be certified, hiring additional inspectors into a mismanaged department is a waste of good taxpayers' money.

The article states that Dunedin has one inspector for the entire city. Clearwater has seven inspectors who handled more than 5,000 cases last year while the county with 10 only handled 3,845. Something is wrong, and that needs to be addressed.
-- Robert E. Hughes Sr., Clearwater (an unincorporated area)

Prohibiting outside water at hot StarFest was unfair

Sunday, May 28, I attended StarFest 2000, a six-act rock concert held in Vinoy Park in downtown St. Petersburg, sponsored by Star 95.7. I believe they are extremely lucky if they don't get major repercussions for not allowing people to bring in water. There were no clouds in the sky to shade the sun, and it was extremely hot outside. They had water there for what I heard was $3 a bottle. That is insane. They also, from what my friend I was with told me, had no ATMs.

I'm not going to get into a whole lot of "what ifs," but I think everyone will get my drift. Yes, they had water sprinklers there, and a few people had squirt guns, but some of those people were drinking the water out of the sprinklers and could have gotten sick off of non-potable water.

The next time one of the radio stations in this area puts on a seven-hour concert, I'd think twice before denying people the right to bring in water. It could have become a very scary and unhealthy situation.
-- Dave Cutler, Seminole

Photographer captured rich American heritage

Thank you for Scott Keeler's exquisite May 31 photograph of the Safety Harbor Elementary School students beneath the magnificent old oak tree.

His picture embraces the richest of America's heritage... caring, respectful children raising our beloved flag; two beautiful young girls, heads held high, nourished and neat from head to toe, eagerly walking into a new day. One pictures all six of these fine young people coming from loving homes where their parents adore and respect them.

This scene captured by the expert eye of Keeler is our United States of America at its very best! Thank God for places like this everywhere -- grand trees like those, for the exemplary people who make up families such as these, and for the great photographer whose soul speaks through his lens.
-- Browder W. Rives, Belleair

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.