Dunedin reorganizes priorities for Penny spending

The senior center tops a list of 16 projects. The city creates a "hold list'' for more than a dozen other projects.

By DEBORAH O'NEIL

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 4, 2000

DUNEDIN -- The city will expand the senior center, improve roads and build a new community center and fire station with more than $19-million in Penny for Pinellas dollars in the next five years.

During the past month, city commissioners have been refining the list of projects as part of the budget process.

At the same time, commissioners are gearing up for three workshops that begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday in City Hall on the next fiscal year's $25.8-million spending plan. City officials do not expect any increase in property taxes or utility fees.

"It's a status-quo budget," said City Manager John Lawrence. "We're in pretty good shape."

In revising the priorities for the renewed Penny for Pinellas sales tax money, commissioners bumped more than a dozen projects to a "hold list." Among them: a nature center in Hammock Park, an Olympic-size swimming pool and a seaport village store downtown.

One item missing from both the Penny for Pinellas list and the budget is money to pay for improvements the Toronto Blue Jays want for the city's spring training facilities. The improvements have been estimated at $4-million. City officials hope to receive assistance from both the state and the county, if the team decides to stay. Lawrence said the city will likely then borrow the city's portion of the money.

"We need to find out what we can get from the state and the county and potentially from the Blue Jays," Lawrence said. "Hopefully, we could take a loan out."

The priority list has 16 projects, many of which will be paid for with a combination of Penny money, grants and dollars from various city funds. The senior center is the top priority because the city has already received a $600,000 state grant to begin work. The city will match that grant with $800,000 of Penny money next year.

While work on the senior center is already under way, residents might have to wait a few more years for the much anticipated renovation or reconstruction of the Community Center on Michigan Boulevard, estimated at $3-million. The city has earmarked $1.4-million of Penny money for the Community Center in 2004-2005, giving the city time to apply for money to help pay for it.

"We didn't have any money for it," said Mayor Tom Anderson. "We're still trying to get state grants. We're going to make a big push to get grant money for the community center and hopefully we can move it up in the schedule."

Anderson said he is hoping the city will get more grant money so it can start improvements to Pioneer Park downtown sooner than fiscal year 2002-03, when the city has set aside $250,000 of Penny money. The project includes adding a stage to the landscaped park at Main Street and Douglas Avenue.

The city is planning to spend $800,000 of Penny money starting in 2002 to build a new fire station on Michigan Boulevard. The existing fire station, which is behind the Leisure Services administration building, is 22 years old, said Assistant City Manager Maureen Freaney.

"It's been in bad shape," Freaney said. "It's clearly not in any kind of shape to withstand any kind of storm."

The list includes a host of road and utility repairs, including $5.7-million for water and wastewater lines and equipment, $3.7-million to help pay for new reclaimed water lines and $790,000 for stormwater drainage improvements.

There is $332,000 in Penny money set aside to help pay for the widening of Patricia Avenue, which is being designed now. In August the city is expecting to hold a public hearing on the project, which will cost a total of $3.2-million. Rebuilding South Douglas Avenue with two lanes instead of four, so it matches the rest of downtown, will cost $1.1-million starting in 2001.

Palm Boulevard east of Alt. U.S. 19 will be torn up and rebuilt possibly next year at a cost of $1-million, of which $585,000 will come from Penny for Pinellas. The road floods every time there is a heavy rain, said public works director Bob Brotherton.

"There basically is no drainage system in the road," he said.

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