Commission to consider two-day Best Damn Race for 2020
By 
The Best Damn Race, one of the city’s most popular special events, will become a two-day event with fewer road closures in 2020 if the Safety Harbor City Commission approves a special events application when it meets on Monday.
Monday’s meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Here is the link to the agenda, with additional material, known as “backup,” available via the hyperlink on each item: https://safetyharbor.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=6&event_id=1665&meta_id=134222.
The Best Damn Race annually brings thousands of road racers to the streets of Safety Harbor, as well as some complaints from residents who live along the race route. Race organizer Nick Zivolich is proposing to split the races across two days next year, with the 5K and 10K races running on Saturday, Jan. 31, and the half-marathon on Sunday, Feb. 1. Assuming construction is completed on a wider pedestrian bridge in Phillippe Park, residents along previous race routes will be no doubt to be happy that a new route will eliminate the need to close roads along Phillippe Parkway and west of the CSX railroad tracks.
If the pedestrian bridge is not completed by the race days, the race will revert back to a one-day event on Jan. 31, or the course and start times will be altered to lessen any affect on church traffic on Feb. 1.
SECOND READINGS
Ordinances or changes to city code require two hearings before the City Commission.
Gas station signage: Commission voted 5-0 on first reading on March 4 to amend the city’s Comprehensive Zoning and Land Development Code on gas station signage regulations to conform with new state restrictions.
ALSO ON THE AGENDA …
Living shoreline grant approval: The city has been awarded a $78,500 matching grant from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and Restore America’s Estuaries for construction of a living shoreline and spring feature at Waterfront Park to replace a crumbling seawall.
Planning & Zoning Board appointments: The terms of Paul “Andy” Greenwood, Meagan Vieren and Victor Curti, as well as alternate Roger Menendez, are expiring on the board that also acts as the city’s Board of Appeals. All are eligible for reappointment, and applications also have been received from Colin Young and Frances Hill.
Vice Mayor appointment: Mayor Joe Ayoub will appoint one of the Commissioners to serve as Vice Mayor for the next year.
Retirement recognition: Sanitation driver Willie Hunter, who is retiring, will be honored for his 21.5 years of service to the city.
Consent agenda: Items expected to have little debate, such as approval of the last meeting’s minutes and most contracts, are included en masse in the consent agenda, though any Commissioner can ask for any item to be considered separately. This meeting’s consent agenda includes approval of the installation of a storage containment slab at Public Works, the purchase of a security gate system and wet well pumps, awarding a contract for Waterfront Park’s living shoreline project and authorization to submit a grant request for construction of a second story on the Safety Harbor Public Library.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Attend the meeting: The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 750 Main St. Meetings typically run from 1.5 to three hours. Residents are given the opportunity to speak on all agenda items, except for presentations and consent agenda items. Come forward when asked by the mayor, state your name and address, and you’ll be given three minutes to address the Commission. For any issues not on the agenda, or any item that is on the consent agenda, residents get three minutes to speak at the beginning of the meeting during “Audience to be Heard.”
Watch from home: Meetings are live-streamed to the city’s website at http://cityofsafetyharbor.com/557/Streaming-Media. The following day, a video of the meeting is posted for residents to watch.
Contact your Commissioners in advance by leaving them a message at City Hall at (727) 724-1555 or emailing them:
Mayor Joe Ayoub – jayoub@cityofsafetyharbor.com
Vice Mayor Carlos Diaz – cdiaz@cityofsafetyharbor.com
Commissioner Cliff Merz – cmerz@cityofsafetyharbor.com
Commissioner Andy Zodrow – azodrow@cityofsafetyharbor.com
Commissioner Nancy Besore – nbesore@cityofsafetyharbor.com
Paul, the pedestrian bridge is a Pinellas County project, so you can get more information from folks there, but the project went out to bid on March 1 and bids will be opened on April 2. The entire project is expected to take 180 days. I don’t have any information on access during that period, but I’d imagine there will be periods – perhaps long periods – when the bridge is inaccessible since it is being replaced, not repaired. But someone from the county would be able to answer those questions for you. David Eggers is Safety Harbor’s district County Commissioner, and I’m sure he’d be able to point you and others in the right place for more detailed information.
I hadn’t heard about the pedestrian bridge being replaced. Where can we get more info about that? Like when it will take place, what the new bridge will look like, if the old bridge will be accessible during the replacement?
Frances Hill? Just a quick eyeball of the craziness she posts on her own Facebook and on Saving Safety Harbor should be enough to drop her from consideration immediately.
She might actually be insane.