Safety Harbor to honor Brady Fisher, George Weiss

The Safety Harbor City Commission agreed on Monday night to honor with public art pieces local restaurateur Brady Fisher, who recently died of cancer, and philanthropist George Weiss, who donated Folly Farms and a considerable amount of money to the city.

City Manager Matthew Spoor said city staff reviewed the best places to honor the two men, and suggested a piece of public art at the Safety Harbor Community Center to honor Fisher, whose Brady’s BBQ has long sponsored two youth basketball teams, and a second piece at the new Baranoff Oak Park to honor Weiss, who donated money toward the purchase of the land that is home to the iconic tree.

Spoor said the city will do a call for artists to design the two pieces, so details on what they will be and how they look will be determined later, but for now, he said the Fisher piece will likely include the #BradyStrong hashtag the city embraced during Fisher’s illness, and the Baranoff Park piece is likely to be a sculpture of a hand holding a heart to suggest the land, and Weiss, is the “Heart of the Community.”

RECYCLING AND SOLID WASTE UPDATE

Commission voted 4-0, with Commissioner Nancy Besore excused for illness, to approve this year’s update to the Capital Improvements Element and Level of Service review on second and final reading after approving it 5-0 on first reading on April 1.

Before the vote, Spoor discussed updated numbers on the amount of solid waste and recycling the city collected recently, after questions from Commissioners on April 1 and an email from a resident after that meeting prompted city staff to take a second look at the numbers presented.

Spoor said the solid waste numbers for 2015 and the recycling numbers for 2016 had included debris that the city disposed of but did not collect from residents, and therefore, should not have been included. Because they were, it appeared that the city had seen a more drastic dropoff in recycling than it should have. As part of the discussion, Commissioner Andy Zodrow also reminded Spoor and Commission that Pinellas County’s recycling plant was shut down because of a fire last year for about six weeks, at which time all recyclable material was being sent to the solid waste plant instead. When all of that is factored together, the trend lines in residents’ disposal of solid waste and recycling reflect a more expected pattern.

OTHER ACTION TAKEN

Interlocal agreement for review of flood insurance maps: Commission voted 4-0 to approve joining with Pinellas County on a review of new flood insurance rate map from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.

Update to Firefighters’ Pension Resolution: Commission voted 4-0 to approve changes to the city’s Firefighters’ Pension Resolution to comply with new Internal Revenue Service guidelines.

Code Enforcement Board appointments: Commission voted 4-0 to reappoint Christina Jackson and Andy Steingold to the board that hears code enforcement cases.

Child Abuse Prevention Month: Commission presented a proclamation identifying April as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Safety Harbor, with a number of members of Kiwanis of Safety Harbor in attendance.

MISSED THE MEETING?

Watch the video of the regular City Commission meeting it on the city’s website here: http://safetyharbor.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=6&clip_id=2092.

NEXT MEETING

7 p.m., Monday, May 6, preceded by a 6 p.m. meeting of the Community Redevelopment Agency, which consists of the five Commissioners, to discuss suggested master plan changes to building heights in some downtown areas.