01/08/2003
BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE MEETING
CITY OF CLEARWATER
January 8, 2003
Present: Elizabeth France Chair
Sandy Curry Vice-Chair
Rebecca Avrin Committee Member
Dagmar Ortiz Committee Member
Sally Foote Committee Member
Also Present: Leroy Chin Park, Planning & Project Manager
Fran Pheeny Staff Assistant
Absent: Brooks Hammac Committee Member
Allan Dadetto Committee Member
#1 Call to Order – The Chair called the meeting to order at 8:10 a.m. at Municipal Services Building Parks & Recreation Conference Room.
To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order.
#2 Approval of Minutes of November 6, 2002 It was moved and duly seconded to approve the minutes as corrected. The motion carried unanimously.
#3 Correspondence – None
#4 Old Business
Status of Capital Improvement Projects – Mr. Chin described CIP status as follows:
Skate Park – The project has been moved to be part of the renovations of the Ross Norton complex
McKay Park – The project is moving forward developing the critical path.
North Greenwood Recreation Complex – The project is completed; the grand opening was last Saturday.
Ross Norton Complex – The plans are under design. Mr. Chin showed the preliminary drawings to the committee.
Recreation Trails and Pedestrian Bridges – These three projects are under design
Crest Lake Dog Park – 95% completed. The grand opening is scheduled for February 1st.
Status Reports: Mr. Chin reported on the following:
Beautification of New Memorial Causeway Bridge: Due to the increase in the cost of the bridge the planned landscaping was eliminated. Mr. Chin is working to obtain funding for landscaping
the new bridge.
The Roundabout: The fountain has been removed and there is grass in there now. It has not yet been determined what will go into the space.
Conley Property at Bayside: This property will be a city park designated as a preservation area.
Beautification Award Criteria:
Ms. Curry provided the Committee with an outline of award criteria as a starting point for discussion. Committee members will review the document and discuss it at the next meeting.
Not on the Agenda
a) Ms. Foote reported on the work session with the City Commission regarding the role of city appointed committees. Sally Foote and Brooks Hammac represented the Beautification Committee.
The purpose of the work session with the City Commission was to review the reason the committee was created and if there is still a need for the committee.
Ms. Foote stated she told the City Commission that she would like to see the Beautification Committee have more involvement and a more specific purpose. She also stated that
new members should have more preparation on the state Sunshine Laws.
The committee had a lengthy discussion about the Ordinance that created the Beautification Committee and whether the Committee should be placed in the Planning Dept. rather than
the Parks and Rec. Dept. The members stated that they thought it might be more productive if the Committee were moved to the Planning Dept.
Mr. Chin explained that all city projects go through an approval process by the Building Planning Review Committee. If the Beautification Committee wants more input into and impact
on projects, then working with the Planning Dept would be a better place for the committee. The City Commission would have to approve the Beautification Committee move to the Planning
Dept. Mr. Chin stated that he would discuss the matter with Mr. Dunbar, the Parks and Rec. Director.
Ms. Curry presented a letter she had drafted for the Committee discussing the proposed future role of the Beautification Committee. A copy of the letter will be forwarded to the absent
committee members for their review.
At the next meeting the Committee will work on defining a mission statement.
#6 Adjournment – The meeting adjourned at 10:40 a.m.