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04/02/1975 ; J .. I" ,., '!'~ .:" t1 o ~ :, (: I' 1 L .,.....~. ,.> '\' .:,' 1 ..... " . \.:;..; J; ~:. ~ ,,":. ic:", , ';"~'D" ""\1' . . ~t-\!.::>." : , ~; f vi BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE MEETING APRIL 2, 1975 " " .The monthly meeting of the Beautification Committee was called to order by Chairman Albert Rogers on April 2, 1975 at 9:30 A.M., in the meeting room at the City Hall Annex, 10 South Missouri Avenue, Clearwater, Florida. Those in attendance were: Chairman Albert Rogers, Messrs: Donald B. Alexander, Russell L. Fourman, Frank E. Krame, Bob McMichael, Lester Dicus, Perc Powell, Miss Grace E. Smith, Mrs. Juanita Anderson, Messrs: Arthur Kruse, Frank Marchiselli and Gil Whitton. Mr. Richard R. Follett served as alternate for Mr. Tom Shepard. Also present were: Messrs: Eddie C. Moore, Patrick'M. Tracy, William A. Voght. Those not in attendance were Messrs: Ream Wilson, George Donatello, Forrest Watson, Jr., Larry Lord and ,.1rs. Raymond Stieneker. Motion was made by Mr. Alexander, seconded by Mr. Krame, that the minutes of the March 5, 1975 meeting be approved as received by mail. Motion carried unanim6usly. . Chairman Rogers stated that since Mr. Moore, Director of Parks and Recreation Department, had to go to another meeting and would be leaving soon that Mr. Moore would go into matters pertinent to his Department at the outset of the meeting. A list of Parks and Recreation Properties, Open Spaces and Facilities was passed out to members of the Committee. The Committee was informed this list was being updated constantly. As of compilation of this list, there was an impressive total ,of 939.91 acres of City of Clearwater owned properties to which the Parks and Recreation Department are directly or. indirectly responsible, and some of which is entirely mandated as City- acquired land or property. .Mr. Moore explained there are 320 acres northeast of Clearwater, 85 acres of which designated .for sewage disposal. Several years .ago a six-year plan almost utilized this 320 acre site.' Within this plan a study was begun of possible utilization of 140 acres of this tract of land for a golf course. Then two years ago this 'was halted because the City offered the university of South Florida 150 acres of the 320 tract. The deed and commitments were never completed, and the recently elected City COlnmission rescinded the offer of donated land to the University. They are thinking again along ,the lines of uti.lizing 140 acres as golf course which would . retain open space and at the same time be done with revenue produc- ing monies without taxing citizens of Clearwater. Since the . B'eautification Conunitteeis interested in recommendations of open -1- ",,' , '~ .. .. . '. '.."". '.0 " > . ~:, '9 ; '~ ~, :{', i' ,', ';:": ,t' ~~,' : -,\' . ' (::~~o'''' . .~, ~ . )'...1 :f};,.,\: . .' j, :,:~\':_'W : '" . ~~.~.~.:',:~, ;'. '<~ '. ..',', ,.' f' '.. spaces and properties within the City, this is an area we can pursue for the future. Mr. Rogers inquired how successful had. the acquisition of the Par 3 Glen Oaks Golf Club been. Mr. Moore replied studies show an average of approximately 200 people use the course in a day. Receipts exceeded expenditures by $16,000 for the first five months of.,the fiscal year. since most of the Beautification Committee was in on the preparation of acquiring this golf course, they might recall the primary reason for purchase of the course was for maintenance of open space and to prevent construction of high rises in that area. By purchase of it, open space was re- ~ained -- it operated in the black -- at no cost to the taxpayers, and further serving senior Citizens as well as businessmen and visitors, in a convenient and ideal location. There are many pluses involved with this type of city golf course. Mr. Moore will resume discussion and contact with the golf course architect contacted before concerning the northeast land and. report to the Committee at the next meeting progress in this matter. Mr. Moore introduced the subject of one project all of us have had a great deal of interest in for some years and are still discussing as far as Parks and Recreation Department is concerned, is the status quo of the Edgewater Drive project. He stated Edgewater Drive property which the City owns is very minimal. Initially there was $30,000 to develop the initial phase, $10,000 was used in the acquisition of land and initial plans. Mr. Rogers assured the Committee the balance of the funds ($20,000) was still in separate fund and will not be disbursed for other than this project. Mr. Rogers reported the very latest news on the Edgewater Project was that just that morning he had talked with Cecil Henderson, Assistant City Engineer, who stated he, Tony Shoemaker and a Mr. Allen Burdette, State Representative of the Biological Division, would be surveying the Edgewater Drive area this date. Mr. Burdette is to make"a biologist report on Edgewater Drive and its ecological impact. This has been in abeyance for two months. After this meeting~ Mr. Rogers was going on over to City Hall to see what the results had been of this survey with Mr. Burdette. Mr. Alexander reviewed with the Committee that two months ago former Mayor Hougen made a direct call to Tallahassee in reference to the problem of progress of our application to fill that area for beautification, following up with a letter to Harmon W. Shields, Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources, requesting results from the Water & Navigation Board. It was hoped the meeting of this date will bring some satisfactory answers, and this will be reported to the Committee at the next meeting. " , -2- '. " . " ,\ ", .' . '. ,', '.' ,'.' I, : I . , ,0 '(2) . . , , . '. . " . ,. ;. ,-'" . "J '" 'I' " . :', .", ~ ~<'l =, ." , . 'Vo At this time Nr. Rogers asked Mr. Follette, an associate of Tom Shepard, Landscape Architect, to introduce himself. Mr. Moore brought up the next subject on the agenda - the subject of litterllg. Mayor Cezares had forwarded a letter to him in reference to the litter strewn around the City, particu- larly the beach arcas. Mr. Moore stated his concern was that possibly we should have more stern action against people who litter our public properties. While there is an ordinance re- garding littering, it is necessary Parks and Recreation Department have a beach crew six days per week, including Sunday, which goes over to Clearwater Beach, empties trash cans and picks up the abundance of litter involved. It had been noted trash receptacles are available, but trash is tossed AT them and lands several feet away with little effort made to get it into the receptacles with resulting litter. The question was asked, does the Committee go on record that we look at a more stern Ordinance against litter and consider that we make an effort to pick up people for littering. The meeting was open for discussion and suggestions to approach the City to enforce and publicize the Ordinance by making known to the public there is an Ordinance to be enforced. Mr. Fourman stated he wished to go on record that he has individually and personally tried working on this problem of littering for the City for a number of years. His efforts were readily acknowledged by the Committee. Mr. Krame discussed his experience as former Parks Director for the City of St. Louis with the considerable littering problem in that City. Park police there used to give offenders a warning notice; this went on record. Upon second offence, they would be arrested. Litter has been a sore subject for years in such areas. Mr. Krame advised that a warning might be something to consider, but stronger enforcement in areas where year around . tourists and out-of-city and state people come in, taking stern measures could create a problem. Mr. Moore described the littering and stringent fining policies of the state of California, which he had observed on a trip in that state. Mr. Rogers asked Mr. Krame to head a committee to spearhead a study on this situation and recommendations how best to enforce the Ordinance. Mr. Powell and Mr. Marchiselli volunteered to assist on the committee. '. Mr. Moore had to leave the meeting at this point. Mr. Rogers reported on the Bench Project. All benches ih . the Crest Lake area are in good condition. The ten new benthes which were donated by the Board of Realtors have been placed along the walkway. A number of benches have been repainted. All' existing benches have been reworked. The only outstanding area of benches to be worked on are the 25 benc~es in Mandalay Park pavillion and on the Beach at the bus stops from Mandalay to Carlouel. . Mr. Marchiselli said there still remains a broken slat on bench in front of Sun Realty on Beach. Mr. Rogers stated this would be repaired in the aforesaid project. Mr. Krame reported a bench at Jones and Osceola, northeast corner, needs painting badly. Thi~ will also be checked into. , ~. · .. ""l () Planters on Cleveland Street was the next subject on the agenda. Mr. Voght reported the Nursery Division is rebuilding one of the fiberglass containers now, and they have reactivated another affected by the downtown fire at the Smoyer building. The Nursery doesn't want to release one tree and planter yet until it is in better shape to put back on the street. It was suggested proper allocation of the three planters be made in front of the building would make for better appearance. Mr. Voght agreed and will comply. Mr. Rogers reported on the waterfront area. All benches have been redone. There remains only the one small area next to the seawall which is to be sodded. The Nursery Division assures action on that will be taken as soon as possible. When that is completed, all of the waterfront will be in excellent condition. , '. Mr. Tracy, City Forester, reported eight large palms were donated through Brady Construction Company from their construction site at 700 North Osceola. The palms ranged in height from 25 to 40 feet high. Seven were used at the Court and Haven Streets project and the other transferred temporarily to the Nursery. A letter of appreciation was sent to Mr. John L. Brady, March 20, 1975, by the Forestry Division. A letter will also be sent to Mr. Hayward Meyer, owner of the property. It was through Mr. Krame's contact with Mr. Meyer that this donation came about. Copies of these letters will be attached to the Minutes Book. , . ... '.". ." J~' ,~ !.' :;.." :" Mr. Tracy also reported that he had investigated the offered donation of Mr. Charles Brammer at a Jeffords Street site" ',consisting of a large number of ligustrum. Unfortunately they "are not going to be suitable for transplanting. A letter will be written to Mr. Brammer, however, thanking him for his offer of this donation. ::1" Mr. Voght reported on the Metz donation at the former Skycrest Nursery. About everything had been removed either by hand digging or use of tree spader. Highlift will have to used and a low-boy to take out larger material. It was preferred to transplant directly to a landscape site with the larger items left. Paul Kane, Public Service Department Director, will have to utilize his equipment on this type material. They are now trying to determine best locations for direct transplanting. .,....: \ . Mr. Rogers and Mr. Tracy reported regarding the Tree Giveaway Program. Seedlings are readYi however no date has been/set yet. Mr. Rogers explained we cooperate with the St. Petersburg Times, ' Board of ~ealtors and City of Clearwater in giving away 2400 some odd seedlings. Mr. Voght stated the Clearwater Nursery has about 700 available. Others will be given out at the Largo Recreation Center. '..!, ' '''''0 "_'} 11 , ....j, ~1;il\,~;,. -4- ',~. '. It.."., , . ,'~. , I ',: . '" I,' '," ~ ,~\ ,~': " .. ,. ,. G "..r., ',' <:.:J I ' >. : :,.' :...-.." . "I"'-~:I~ " " -. I'., ". (,&,,"i::.:: I' " . , 'I Mrs~ Juanita Anderson returned to the subject of the Edgewntcr Project by stating she had attended a recent meeting with the new Mayor wherein he had asked the group from Edgewater to meot with him to familiarize him with what had been done before and . what was wanted done. Mrp Anderson read a letter from Mr. Albert Merserve, Past President of International Shade Tree Association, written to her personally concerning the Edgewnter Drive Project. His comments conveyed to the committee was that Edgcwater Drive could b~ .i:ll.e gateway to Clearwater and Dunedin anel could be a beautif~ot of this area of the country. After some investiga- tion, he had found that both Clearwater residents and Dunedin residents were anxious to cooperate on this project. He had also ascertained that Rotary groups in Dunedin and Clearwater are willing to assist in this development. It was also suggested this could be a wonderful Bicentennial Project for this area. Mr. Don Alexander, who said he had gone to school with Mr. Meserve years ago, was asked to contact him and perhaps have him attend one of our Beautification Committee meetings before returning to his home in Connecticut. Mr. Rogers brought the Committee's attention to a matter that was previously brought before the Committee (Ref: Minutes Jan.8, 1975), concerning a traffic hazard existing going east and west on Drew Street at Greenwood where street jogs and narrows suddenly in driving traffic. Mr. Rogers had witnessed recently what could have been a very serious accident at that intersection. Mr. Krame recalled bringing this matter to the attention of Keith Crawford of the Traffic Department in January that warning signs were at least advocated and minor construction be done to alleviate this problem. (Copy of a letter written by Mr. Keith Crawford to the District Traffic Operation Engineer, dated Jan. 16, 1975, in response to this request, is a part of the January Minutes.) The committee agreed a review of this situation with the City Traffic Department was in order and would' be made. Mr. Rogers commented briefly on a mini park at the site of the Old Haven House which was contracted during Mr. Sterheim's ten u r e. He suggested the project should now be set into motion with requests put in early, so by the time the bypass and park landscaping could corne about, our commitments would be in'order. More would be discussed concerning this matter at the next meeting. Mr. Alexander and Mr. Kruse reported on their recent presenta- tion with Lane Marshall, original landscape architect on the Crest Lake Park Project, to the City Commission. The History of the Crest Lake Committee was given, what lead up to making of plans arid policies the Committee had adopted. It was felt that since this had never been presented before the Commission and with a new mayor in office, this was an appropriate time to get on record concerning this project. So they are now informed officially; the. background has been established of work begun in 1972, moreover they were not there to get any commitments or ask for funds at this time because they were aware funds were not available. The Committee -5- '. . . -~ r)' """0 ' . . . . .' .I. ,; " I' ~, ~ '~r{., ". ";"0' I,,: ", . .""c \ c ~ .! " ,'; " discussed recent newspaper articles criticizing plans for Crest Lake. Mr. Alexander stated this publicity was exaggerated; all involved with the original plans agreed the botanical and beauti- fication procedures would be the foremost accomplishments of this project, taken in steps, for over a long period of years. Mr. Rogers read an article from the Pinellas Times, March 22, 1975 edition, wherein it was noted that the Youth of Clearwater, more particularly students from The Children's Place, had presented the Mayor with a proclamation which described their plan during Clearwater's Official Bicentennial Community celebration year, endeavoring to encourage businessmen in the Gulf-To-Bay areas of the City to donate and plant trees for ecological and beautifica- tion purposes for our City. Mr. Rogers stated he felt this was a very encouraging sign to know that the youth of an area should be that concerned and they should be encouraged. The secretary to the Beautification Committee was asked to draft a letter for presentation to the Children's Place informing them of the Beautification Committee's agreement and support of their efforts. Mr. Follette, associate of Tom Shepard, attending in his stead, brought up the matter of Tree Ordinance enforcement laws, particularly in the cases of commercial off-street parking. Mr. Follette questioned the proper enforcement measures being taken by the City on this. Mr. Follette was informed the Building Department was involved in this Ordinance and the straight facts are there is not enough personnel available to keep enforcement of our Ordinance on Off-Street Parking. Mr. Alexander explained there io a Parking Lot Landscaping Ordinance which requires certain treatments. He and Mr. Arthur Kruse had developed this and brought it out many times over for several years. It is in the jurisdiction of the Building Department to approve such plans, but they are just not equipped to do this. Eight years have ensued of letters to members of the Commission. Mr. Alexander further stated one reason why they have pressed employment of a Landscape Architect to be assigned to the City Manager's office was to oversee these jobs and enforce such ordinances. This is still in abeyance despite recent endeavors by members to bring this about at city Manager's office. Mr. Voght said it was personally frustrating. to see the City Nursery's efforts in our municipal buildings have so much put. into them, abiding by Ordinances, and across the street a building goes in completely barren of landscaping. No matter what the City does in its efforts, we are going to sec deterioration because of lack of enforcement of the Ordinance. The subject was closed with Mr. Roger's request that anyone who can give any input to this problem, please report at the next meeting. Mr. Rogers stated he and "company" \'Jould be going from the meeting to. City Hall to see what results had been attained from .Mr. Burdette's survey of the Edgewater Drive area. The meeting was adjourned at advising the next meeting will be A.M., with Mr. Rogers day, May 7, 1975.