BELLEAIR BEACH - The Belleair Beach Police Department passed into history with the City Council giving recognition to the final roster of the department which turned its responsibilities over to the Sheriff's Office last Friday.
In connection with that, the council passed Ordinance 07-09, which dealt with housekeeping and legally ended the police force.
The only piece of business remaining, apparently, is reviewing the police pension settlement with the state, an element that Paul Marino, the city lawyer, brought out.
The council cast into law the use of the Morgan Street Park which now is open to all of the public, not just Belleair Beach residents.
It has to be this way in compliance with the beach replenishment program which requires full public access.
An ordinance was passed that designates half the parking spaces to be fully open to all with no meters and the other half to be available to city residents.
In a relatively brief meeting, the council turned down only one item.
There was the suggestion to buy a pickup truck to be used by Code Enforcement, but examination of the subject showed that there was a limited need for such a truck.
The case of construction work on property at 801 Harbor Drive went into still another chapter, extending the three-year history of adventures there.
Under an agreement with the city, the home was to have a Certificate of Occupancy no later than early June. That date was not met and with, according to experts, extensive work still to be done.
The city now can impose fines that had been held in abeyance pending the owners' fulfillment of completing their work.
Now a county building official will certify to the city that the property did not pass inspection and then the city will be free to act.
