BELLEAIR BLUFFS — The city’s July 4 extravaganza at City Park once again will feature food, games, activities, contests and prizes galore.
The free event is set for 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
“We are all set,” City Clerk Alexis Silcox said during a City Commission meeting on June 17.
He noted commissioners will judge a desserts contest, as usual.
“All residents are welcome to bring a dessert to be judged by our illustrious commissioners,” City Administrator Debra Sullivan said.
Bluffs Business Association, which sponsors the event, asked that dishes be dropped off at the Community Center by 10:30 a.m.
Silcox advised commissioners to “show up hungry!”
The event also will feature face-painting, free raffle prizes, live music by the Surfin’ Racoons, bounce houses, touch-a-truck activities and outdoor games.
Food will be provided by the Belleair Market, Embellish and Kona Ice, according to organizers. Guests must check in at the city’s booth to receive a meal ticket and a bracelet.
For more information, call 727-584-2151 or visit belleairbluffs.org.
State of the county
To start the meeting, County Commissioner Charlie Justice gave a“state of the county” update. The 20-minute presentation spotlighted services the county provides for its 1 million-plus citizens.
“I would need to add another 30-45 minutes to my presentation to make this a true ‘state of the county,’ but I didn’t think you’d want that tonight as you get into the summer months,” Justice said.
She also urged county residents to run for any of the county’s 38 volunteer advisory boards.
Justice, a St. Petersburg native and resident, was first elected to the countywide commission in 2012 and is up for reelection in November.
He said he has long loved Belleair Bluffs’ coffee and baked goods, calling it “one of his favorite spots” in the county before reciting several key statistics and details about the county’s role.
Justice said the county’s budget was $3.8 billion last year, which includes maintenance of 147 bridges, 731 stormwater facilities and 261 ponds in Pinellas County. That work, he said, has helped county residents save nearly $10 million in flood insurance premiums thanks to the county’s exceptional FEMA Community Rating Systems score.
“Not only that, but it actually makes our community safer,” he said of the rating, which he called the best in the state. “So, we thought that was pretty cool.”
Justice closed his presentation with updates on a couple of key county issues: the stalled beach renourishment projects along the Gulf coast, and the impending relocation of the county’s headquarters from downtown Clearwater to Ulmerton Road, which is set to happen in the next five years.
“We recently funded $25 million dollars for beach nourishment emergency repairs after (Hurricane) Idalia ... and we’re in the design and permitting stages for Upham Beach, Treasure Island and Sand Key,” Justice said. He said the county is still in a stalemate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over easem*nts the federal government is requiring all beachfront property owners to sign before new work can begin.
“We’re paying for all the design and permitting now so that hopefully when the Army Corps anduscome to an understanding, we’ll be ready to hit the ground running with construction,” he said, adding the current schedule calls for another renourishment project in 2026.
Regarding the new county headquarters, Justice said their offices currently span 500,000 square feet over 14 buildings in downtown Clearwater, and many “have come to the end of their useful life,” having been built in the 1950s and 1960s.
“So, we purchased a lot of land on Ulmerton Road, last year, and we’re going to be relocating all our downtown Clearwater locations to that site,” he said.
Justice said a portion of the sale of the Clearwater buildings would go toward funding the new facility.
“So, we’ll be able to put those properties back on the tax rolls as well as hopefully provide better access for the people of Pinellas County,” he said of the centralized location right off U.S. Highway 19.
In closing, Justice said they’re continuing to negotiate with the city of St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay Rays on a new stadium for the Major League Baseball team, noting, “if the county participates, it won’t be any general property taxes or general funds; it will all be tourist development taxes.”
He also left the commission a copy of their citizen’s guide to county finances, which contained a graphic about the average home price in Belleair Bluffs.
