Commissioner’s Corner – We Will Be Getting Sand!
From Alan Bildz on September 29th, 2013: Hello Sunset Beach! Good news on the beach, we will be getting sand! Only question is when. All permits are approved and all money is in place. We even have an end of project date. All we need now is a start date, which we should be getting soon. The hold up is St Pete Beach. The Army Corps is going to combine these projects, as they usually do, to save mobilization costs. The budget for Treasure Island’s part is 11 million, so where ever they can save money they will. Look for dune planting opportunities after the sand arrives. The commission passed the annual budget with a 11% tax increase. It passed 3-2, with myself and commissioner Coward dissenting. The county also passed an increase, about 8%, so our tax bills will go up this year. Also a slight increase in the sewer and stormwater fee. However, the big news is all about property insurance. The federal government passed the Biggert/Waters Flood Insurance Act which will not allow for subsidized flood insurance. Funny thing is, the state of Florida pays more into this than it receives in payouts, and now we are being asked for even more. The city hosted a conference on this subject recently, and it is being replayed on TITV615. For buildings built below the base flood elevation, expect big increases, some are saying up to 10 times what we are paying now. If that is not bad enough, they are also re-writing the flood maps, so buildings that are above base flood right now may be designated to be below base flood in the re-write. There are also some other changes, such as a reduction in what is commonly called the 50% rule. And then Citizens is making changes, and when insurance companies make changes, we all know that we will be paying more. I hate to end on a sad note, so I’ll end with this. The sea turtles and birds love a wider beach, so let’s get that sand!