Light agenda for Monday’s Commission meeting
By 
A very light agenda awaits the Safety Harbor City Commission when it meets this Monday, with just a few presentations and a couple of quick agenda items.
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: http://safetyharbor.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=6&event_id=1681.
Bay to Bay Properties will be honored with the Mayor’s Award of Excellence for its new mixed-use buildings on Main Street. Smart Growth Safety Harbor nominated the company for the award.
The project included a 20,000-square-foot commercial building fronting Main Street that will be home to three restaurants and headquarters for Bay to Bay Properties, and a second building in the rear that is home to 24 apartments. Design features of the buildings include a pedestrian arcade, upper-story stepbacks, balconies, brick on-street parking and an underground root-protection system that allowed for the planting of three live oak trees along 2nd Avenue North. Many of those design elements were included a plan recently adopted by Commission to allow builders to automatically build to 40 feet high if enough of the desired design elements are incorporated into their site plan.
ALSO ON THE AGENDA …
Budget amendments: Any time money needs to be transferred between city accounts, Commission needs to approve those transfers. Monday, Commission will be asked to approve two resolutions – one for various transfers in the 2019 budget and a second for various transfers in the 2020 budget. For a full accounting of the transfers, see the backup materials for this agenda item at the link above.
Board of Trustees for Firefighters Pension Trust Fund appointment: The term of Edmund Ziegler on the board that advises Commission on issues concerning the city firefighters’ pension trust fund is expiring. He is requesting reappointment and no other applications are pending.
Public Art Committee appointment: Alternate member Marinda Hamann has moved out of the city and is no longer eligible to serve on the committee that advises Commission on public art projects. Jennifer Sedillo and Jody Grutza have applied.
RCS Pinellas presentation: RCS Pinellas, which works to combat hunger and help the homeless achieve self-sufficiency, will make a presentation.
Sea level presentation: Maya Burke, science policy coordinator for the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, will share with Commission updated projections for sea level rise in the Tampa Bay area.
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 to buy a wastewater truck.
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 Cliff Merz – cmerz@cityofsafetyharbor.com
Commissioner Carlos Diaz – cdiaz@cityofsafetyharbor.com
Commissioner Andy Zodrow – azodrow@cityofsafetyharbor.com
Commissioner Nancy Besore – nbesore@cityofsafetyharbor.com
Welcome to Safety Harbor Kimberly. Well done, you found the best place in Tampa Bay! Sorry about your first city commission meeting. I wish I could tell you the bad behavior by mayoral candidate Vidovic and her three or four followers was an anomaly but they act out pretty often. Not to worry though, friendly folk in town vastly outnumber the joyless haters. See you on Main St!
I’m a new resident of the apartments and can’t be happier. I relocated from NC and renting here until I can find my perfect home in the downtown area. I attended my first City Commission Meeting this past Monday. As the award was being presented to Bay to Bay Properties, I was surprised to see the young lady who wants to be the Mayor of Safety Harbor sit in her seat with no reaction. I asked the person sitting next to me why would a candidate for Mayor not applaud and be happy to have this fabulous building in Safety Harbor and the response was “She is a follower of Saving Safety Harbor and they do not like new buildings or new residents.”. Needless to say I was shocked. I have started and will continue to share this with my wonderful new neighbors. We all love living here. I’m a register voter and will remember her reaction to my new temporary home.
We went to the city commission meeting for the celebration of the first new building on Main Street in 10 years—and probably the most handsome buildable, too—and the award recipient, his young family, and the community’s moment was tarnished by a back-handed compliment by Commissioner Zodrow. We stayed for the citizen comments and this commissioner seemed to be inciting the audience with high-pitched rants about events from years ago. From what I saw, I’d venture that this commissioner has low emotional intelligence and probably shouldn’t be in a city leadership position. That kind of behavior only feeds the dark underbelly of this community that residents find so disturbing.
Congratulations Bay to Bay Properties and thank you for believing in Downtown Safety Harbor. An award well deserved.
Just came home from the Commission meeting — what a weak-cheese display by Commissioner Andy Zodrow.
On the night the City of Safety Harbor honored and said “thank you” to Joe Faw by recognizing the great new building (giving us three new and awesome restaurants) on Main Street with the Excellence Award, Zodrow could not even acknowledge the great gift our town has received.
No, Negative Andy thought it was a great moment to say yeah, yeah …. it’s a great building …give you that. But I voted against it and still don’t like it.
That was just sad.
Love the traditional look, feel, and beauty of these signature Main Street buildings. The builder and city leaders really hit it out of the park on this project. Thanks for the significant investment in our downtown. It’s the gift that will keep on giving for generations to come.
I would like to congratulate Bay to Bay Properties for being honored with the Mayor’s Award of Excellence for its new mixed-use buildings on Main Street. This honor is well deserved as Bay to Bay Properties included many great looking design features not found in most commercial buildings, including a pedestrian arcade, upper-story stepbacks, balconies, brick on-street parking, etc.
These two new buildings fit in perfectly in our historic downtown. They have many design features that bring back the classical styles and elements that were prevalent during the 1920’s “Land Boom” days. These buildings are certainly the most beautiful and important buildings built in Safety Harbor since the Tucker Mansion was built in 1923. These two buildings are certain to become as iconic to Safety Harbor as the Tucker Mansion, the historic St. James Hotel (Assisted Living Facility building), and the Safety Harbor Spa.