Meeting Minutes for 6/02/2009:

Present – Jay Keyes, David Ramos, Ann Marie Krzesinski, Pat Power, Patrick Gallager, Rosemarie Swisshelm Bonnington, Kim Porte, Lisa Cowley, Allan Avery, Ross Concklin, Sue Johnson, Mara Basic, Ray Massieu and Ron Delp.

Absent – Bobby Rowe

Guests – Sgt. Fisherkeller, Jerry Murphy and Vice Mayor John Doran both CBA members and Paul Bouffard of Island Estates Civic Association.

Quorum was determined and the meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m.

A motion was made to accept the Minutes of the May meeting. It was seconded. The motion passed.

Sgt. Fisherkeller addressed us in Lt. Young’s absence. He stated that there have been reported cases of beach blanket thefts mostly in the tourist area where personal belongings have been left unattended. He reported incidence of vehicle break-ins on Island Estates and would like us to pass the word to lock your vehicles and park them in well lit areas.

He was asked by Ray Massieu if the leash law was being enforced. We were informed that the proposed leash law will have its first reading before the City Council on June 4, with the second reading taking place two weeks from then. If the law is eventually passed it will be enforced by the police department.

He was also asked if tickets were being issued for cars parked in driveways, but still blocking the sidewalk. He stated that if they were referring to the west side of Eldorado; that no tickets were being issued as this was still under discussion. Some board members feel that tickets should be issued. Some board members feel that anywhere in the city tickets should be written if a car is blocking the sidewalk regardless of the situation.

The Treasurer’s Report was presented by David Ramos. No questions were asked. He would still encourage new members to join. Ron Delp made a motion to accept the report and Sue Johnson seconded that motion. The motion passed.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Tour of Homes – The event is planned for Saturday, February 20, 2010. Ann Marie Krzesinski will ask for volunteers at the next Sand Key Association meeting that she attends. Pat will keep us updated.

Sand Key Association – Ann Marie Krzesinski and her sister arrived for the last meeting, but they did not have a quorum and so the meeting was cancelled.

Island Estates Civic Association – Allan Avery attended their meeting on the 2nd Monday of the month at the Aquarium. They are discussing re-landscaping the public access areas and medians.

Beach Chamber of Commerce – Rosemarie Swisshelm encouraged us to attend the June 11, Banquet being held at Shepherds. It will be held at the Wave, the price of $37.00 includes food and dancing! Ross Concklin asked her for any feedback on Spring Break. She stated that sales were not as high as previous years despite the crowds. The Chamber’s big concern right now is the possible cutback in lifeguards. They feel that this may put at risk our #1 Beach rating as lifeguard coverage and safety are part of what they consider when giving out these rankings.

Membership – Jerry Murphy reported that he has not had great results from his mailings, but continues to work towards increasing our membership.

City Government – Ron Delp updated us on four areas of interest. 1) Commission has approved the Marina at Coachman Park and plans to have the work completed by the end of the year. The docks had already been purchased and are waiting in Jacksonville. 2) The City is considering drilling or reopening seventeen water wells. This will be discussed at the next Council meeting. There are some concerns regarding this. Look to local newspapers and attend council meetings for opinions regarding sinkholes and possibly brackish water entering the aqua filter. 3) The Budget is going to the Council in June, cuts are still under discussion. 4) Beach parking is still a concern and continues to be discussed. In regard to item number one, Ross Concklin asked what the original price per foot was proposed for slip rentals. He was told $15. With only 6 slips rented he pointed out that the price had been reduced to $9 to attract rentals. We were told that they will be using funds from Pennies for Pinellas to supplement the gap.

Events – Lisa Crowley told us the first week of November is being considered for the Autumn Picnic. Jerry Murphy told us that he had received a call from Bright House Field to see if we want to book our annual Baseball outing. Jerry volunteered to handle the arrangements with David Ramos’ assistance as they had in past years. Dates in June will be sent to us by email for our consideration. We will hire Jolley Trolley to transport us to and from the game. The tickets are very reasonable if we can guarantee a minimum of 30. Look for details in your email and spread the word.

Beautification – compliment s were sent to Pat Murphy and Suzanne MacNamee for their efforts in maintaining Acacia Circle. Pat was recently seen at Acacia Circle pulling weeds after the rains. It was reported that the landscaping at Triangle Park is living and doing well. Thanks were sent to Ann Marie Krzesinski for distributing American Flags throughout the North Beach. Ray Massieu still has the flags purchased by Candy Zimmerman and will oversee their placement on both Flag Day and the 4th of July.

Newsletter – Plans for the Newsletter are pending until further news on the Beach Festival can be presented. Anne Garris has agreed to write an article on “The History of CBA” and Jerry Murphy will write an article on “Why you should join CBA”.

Beach Fest – Planning meetings have begun. There are still a few glitches to work out. The City has said that we can have no beer sales. They have also said that we cannot use the area in front of Frenchy’s South Beach and the Post Corner if they are expecting Saturday deliveries. Jay will be meeting with Parks and Rec and other City officials to iron out more details. The next planning meeting will be arranged when they have more information from the City.

Environment – John Doran mentioned that studies are being done to decide if limits should be set for the amount of fertilizer and the numbers on the bags that would be allowed for yards. There is some concern that runoff of fertilizer could be one of the causes of Red Tide. This subject is being discussed by the City.

Code Enforcement – Ron Delp thanked Sandy Britton and Pat Power for compiling lots of evidence and photos regarding code violations, illegal parking, proof of short term rentals, and the destruction of sea oats and dunes. The committee plans a non-confrontational meeting with the City Manager and other officials to discuss these issues. They plan to focus on the dunes and the damage being done to them. There is a federally mandated line that runs along the entire coast of Florida with provisions for what can and cannot be done. This issue is very important; Pat stated that the dunes protect all homeowners from storm damage.

Coalition – Ron Delp stated that the new Code Book changes are coming along nicely and are almost finished. He stated that the Chamber and the Downtown Development Board are working to build relations with the Hispanic Community. The area known as the East Gateway has started a neighborhood watch, an association may be formed and relationships with neighbors are developing. The Coalition is also trying to tighten up on high grasses and abandoned vehicles in yards. Rosemarie stated her concerns for foreclosed and abandoned properties during the hurricane season with regards to flying debris. Ron stated that the City is also concerned as abandoned properties also attract the homeless and illegal activities. Ron told us that a conference will be held soon regarding Gangs and gang activity in schools and in the City’s neighborhoods. Ron also had information on TBARTA which is a proposed mass transit system covering 7 counties in our area. He passed a map outlining various routes. He will invite a guest speaker to address us on this subject in September.

Before closing, Paul Bouffard of Island Estates stated that he was a retired Federal Agent with the EPA and he would be happy to help us in regards to the Dunes and Sea Oats discussed earlier.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m.

Submitted by Kim Porte