Budget Hearing, Sandpearl Docks on Tonight's Council Agenda
CLEARWATER - The Clearwater City Council will hold the first of two required budget hearings at 6 p.m. tonight. General Fund revenues are budgeted at $123-million, of which approximately $1-million are not being spent, but placed in reserves. The Council will also consider an amended development agreement with the Sandpearl resort for a 42-slip docking facility on city-owned submerged land adjacent to the Clearwater Beach Recreation Center. Residents of the nearby Belle Harbor Condominiums have expressed concern over the security and hours of operation of the 15 public slips at the facility. City of Clearwater staff have proposed hours of operation from 5 a.m. to midnight, with access to the docks blocked by a locked gate at other times. Councilmember Paul Gibson, a resident of Belle Harbor, expressed his concern with the proposed operating hours during Tuesday's Council Work Session; "We all know who's going to show up just before midnight. We all know where they've been. Why in the world, when these are abutting a residential neighborhood, would you make this [closing time] midnight" he asked. Residents of the Belle Harbor Condominiums are expected to argue for shorter operating hours and an earlier curfew at tonight's hearing. |