CLEARWATER, Fla., Oct. 11, 2000 (St.Petersburg Times)—Next year, South Clearwater Beach will become the third area of the city to receive reclaimed water service. The City Commission has approved a $1.4-million construction project to lay the pipes throughout the southern half of the island during the next 10 months.
The project will call for cutting trenches on congested Coronado Drive. The treated wastewater, used for watering lawns, will be turned on in a year, said Kevin Becotte, the city's utilities director.
The city is completing a $2.4-million project to extend reclaimed water to north Clearwater Beach. So far, only 38 properties of 167 that applied to receive the reclaimed water have been connected. The city plans to market the system better once it is completed, Becotte said.
Harbor Oaks, Del Oro Groves and Old Clearwater Bay could be the next neighborhoods to receive the service, based on a city study of potential reclaimed water use. SPJC, city to settle stormwater suit
The city is poised to settle a 1-year-old legal dispute with St. Petersburg Junior College over stormwater utility fees the college thinks it should not have to pay.
The school contended that Florida law exempted state properties like the college from paying such fees. The city attorney has recommended settling the lawsuit by returning to the college $100,000, slightly less than the actual fees the college paid and protested in a lawsuit last year. The issue will be debated by the commission next week.
The city still has an outstanding dispute with the Pinellas County School Board, which joined SPJC in the lawsuit against the city. Details of severance deal released
The severance package for former quality of life administrator Arlita Hallam, approved recently by Interim City Manager Bill Horne, will pay her $48,293 in vacation leave and severance pay, according to the agreement.
In addition, the city agreed to give Hallam, who was asked to resign by Horne, health insurance coverage for a year and provide her with $5,500 in job placement services.
Some city commissioners had questioned such expensive severance deals at recent meetings, but City Attorney Pam Akin told them that the city had to offer good deals to persuade departing employees to sign releases saying they will not sue the city. City can issue bridge bonds, court says
The city has been granted the right to issue up to $51-million in bonds to pay for the Memorial Causeway bridge, after a hearing in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court.
Attorney Pat Maguire had challenged the city's authority to issue the bonds on behalf of residents opposed to the bridge's construction. Maguire says he will appeal the decision.
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