Special events on the next City Commission agenda

Special events will highlight Monday’s meeting of the Safety Harbor City Commission, as Commission will be asked to, among other things, approve the 2021 special events calendar, which includes the transformation of Wine Festival into a craft beer festival at Waterfront Park. 

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/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=6&event_id=1806. The meeting will be preceded at 6:30 p.m. by a meeting of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which consists of the five Commissioners with Mayor Joe Ayoub serving as chairman. That meeting will be to approve the CRA’s 2021 fiscal year budget, which Commission already has approved. Both meetings will be held via the Zoom video conferencing app. Details on how residents can watch and participate are at the end of this article. 

COVID-19 wiped out most of the city and city-approved events in 2020, and for events that were canceled, the city has rolled those events over to the same time on the calendar on 2021. Some of those events include the Bloom N Chalk Festival, the two Kiwanis Arts & Crafts Festivals, two Shabby Chic Vintage Markets, the Fourth of July Parade, Harbor Sounds Fall Festival, Bands on the Bay and Paddle The Bay. Other events, including Art & Seafood on the Waterfront and the Best Damn Race, were previously approved by Commission.

One big change for 2021 is a suggestion to change the city’s annual Wine Festival into a new Safety Harbor Craft Beer Festival and move it from Main Street to Waterfront Park. The suggestion comes from a committee composed of the three non-profit organizations who were chosen to benefit from this year’s Wine Festival – the Mattie Williams Neighborhood Family Center, the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce and Harbor Dish.

OTHER SPECIAL EVENT ITEMS ON THE AGENDA

Holiday Light Installation: Commission will be asked to approve a $57,816.15 contract for rental and installation of holiday lights at the marina fountain, Veterans Memorial, Safety Harbor Museum & Cultural Center, City Hall, Folly Farm, Rigsby Center, Safety Harbor Community Center, City Park and the Safety Harbor Public Library. The lights will be visible from Dec. 4 to Jan. 4, and residents will be encouraged to do a driving tour to see them all. City staff requested proposals from five companies. Only two provided estimates – Decorating Elves, who is recommended, and Shack Shine, whose estimate was $94,308.51.

5K race approval: Commission will be asked to approve a special events permit from Tri-America Foundation for a Santa Twilight 5K Race. The race is scheduled for Dec. 12, will use the city’s approved 5K race course and city staff has no objections.

3rd Friday Committee appointments: The terms of Stacey Keys and Mike Kelly on the committee that advises Commission on the monthly street festival are expiring. Keys is seeking reappointment, but Kelly is not. Carmenetta Lundy is the current alternate, and applications also have been received from Jacob Burnett, Sarah Mueller, Agatha Skeritt-Burke, Jacqueline Hayes and Dionne Sullivan.

ALSO ON THE AGENDA …

Parking waiver request: Heather Anderson, owner of Spice of the Harbor, a new business opening in the building at 318 Main St., is requesting a reduction in the parking requirements from two spaces to one. The additional space is required under the city’s Land Development Code because the space’s use has changed from a hair salon to a “mercantile” use.

Code enforcement lien reduction request: Kimberly Armitage is requesting a reduction in the code enforcement lien on her property at 110 12th Ave. S from $3,758.54 to $425, which is the cost of administrative and filing fees. City staff said the violation was minor, meets the criteria for a reduction and recommends the new amount.

Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority appointment: The cities of Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs and Oldsmar rotate appointing a member to serve on the public transportation authority. One year ago, Safety Harbor was offered the chance to fill the remaining year on Tarpon Springs’ turn to serve, but all five Commissioners declined. Safety Harbor has the option again to appoint a representative, or support reappointing Oldsmar City Councilman Dan Saracki.

HEROES Act resolution: Commission will consider a resolution in support of House Resolution 6800, also known as the HEROES Act, which addresses U.S. Postal Service funding.

Mayor’s Award of Excellence presentation: Tonicity Health and Wellness will be honored for its transformation of its building at 324 Main St.

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 contracts for LED lighting upgrades at Safety Harbor Public Library and for repairs to the bricks at the intersection of Main Street and 3rd Avenue.  

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

The meeting starts at 7 p.m., with the Community Redevelopment Agency meeting starting at 6:30 p.m., both via the Zoom video conferencing app. 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. For all other issues, including items on the consent agenda, residents can speak during the “Audience to be Heard” portion of the meeting. Residents can watch, listen to and participate in the meeting in these ways:

• Online using Zoom Meeting ID #980 6776 5413 or going to   https://cityofsafetyharbor.zoom.us/j/98067765413. Residents can also watch online, but not participate, at https://www.cityofsafetyharbor.com/557/Streaming-Media
• By phone toll-free by calling 1-888-475-4499 or 1-877-853-5257.
• In person at City Hall and overflow areas at 750 Main St., though Commissioners will not be in person.
• Email comments to pcomment@cityofsafetyharbor.com or mail comments to City Hall, Attn: Public Comment, 750 Main St., Safety Harbor, FL 34695. Emails or letters of 500 words or fewer will be read aloud during the meeting. Longer emails and letters will not be read but will be shared with Commissioners.

Contact your Commissioners:

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