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Home My WebLink AboutSPRINGCOLLIER CREEK CANAL PROJECT COMPLETE The City has completed construction on the Collier Creek Canal. The project's purpose has been to dredge the canal for improved stormwater quality and replace the "bulk heads" or sea walls along the side banks of the canal. The City wishes to thank all residents for their patience while construction was underway. During the course of construction many private improvements such as docks, landscaping and fences required removal. With construction now complete, any private improvements can be rebuilt. Prior to replacing any of these items, certain guidelines must be met. Please contact the Building Department at 772- 589 -5537 to inquire about permitting. EARTH DAY /ARBOR DAY CELEBRATION Natural Resources Board The City of Sebastian's EARTH DAY/ ARBOR DAY celebration will be held on Saturday, April 17th 2010 in Riverview Park from 9:00am to 3:00pm. The free family event will provide an opportunity for citizens to mingle with earth friendly vendors, have fun and learn about the various methods to protect our planet's resources. There will be activities for children, food, entertainment and door prizes. Start working on your homemade birdhouse to bring for the public to judge their favorite. (Children and adult houses judged separately) Bring your original object or work of art created by using recycling materials and trash. Residents are encouraged to create and maintain attractive landscapes to enhance our community and protect Florida's natural environment. If you have a landscaping work in progress, please bring your before and after pictures to the event for entry to the Most Beautifully Transformed Natural yard contest. The Sebastian Natural Resources Board would also like to inform you about the Spoil Island the City just adopted. Come out to Spoil Island IR1 and camp, picnic and play — but remember to take out any trash you bring in. Join the volunteers that will go out four times a year and clean up the island (and get a free kayak trip to the Island the day of the clean up). Or become a volunteer and help pepper - busting of the Brazilian Pepper Trees, For more details contact Margie Reynolds at 772 -589 -5330. Members: Robin Graves, Ken Grudens, Barbara Salmon, Eric Spokas, Albert Alvarez and Jane Schnee. The board liaison is City's Environmental Planner, Margie Reynolds. UPCOMING STREET REPAVING/ IMPROVEMENTS PROJECTS REPAVING AND ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS UNDERWAY FOR BARBER STREET A Ground Breaking Ceremony took place on Wednesday, Feb- ruary 17, 2010. Pam Gillespie, Deputy Dis- trict Director, Office of Congressman Bill Posey, members of the Indian River County Pictured Left to Right: Pam Gillespie. Board of County Com- Deputy District Director, office of missioners, City of Se- Congressman Bill Posey. Indian River bastian Representatives County Commissioner, Wesley Davis, -- Indian River County Commissioner, Joseph and Florida Depart - E. Fiescher, City of Sebastian Mayor, ment of Transportation Richard Gillmor and Indian River County Project Managers were Commissioner. Peter D. O'Bryan present to recognize this project's commencement being funded with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The plans are to (1) rebuild and resurface Barber Street from CR512 to Schumann Drive; (2) replace several underground culverts; (3) replace sidewalks; and, (4) regradefimprove street drainage. Due to necessary permitting requirements, there has been a slight delay, but the project is slated to begin Monday, March 29, 2010. For further information on this project, please feel free to contact Ginny Sieferd at 772 -388 -8222 or e -mail gsieferd@ cityofsebastian.org or FDOT's Project Manager, Lawrence Repking, P.E., at 772- 489 -7130 or e -mail Lawrence. repking@dot.state.fI BOND REFINANCED - ALLOWING FOR ADDITIONAL ROAD PAVING THIS YEAR On February 10, 2010 City Council adopted Resolution No. R -10 -03 authorizing the issuance of a Note of the City to SunTrust Bank in the Principal Amount of $2,462,000 for the purpose of refinancing the balance of the Series 1998 Note and issuing an additional $1,250,000 for other roadway improvements. The roadway improvements will include repaving the following streets scheduled to begin within the next few months. • Laconia Street from Tulip Lane to Crystal Mist Avenue • Periwinkle Drive from Bridge to Laconia Street • South Easy Street from Sebastian Blvd., to Wimbrow Drive • Schumann Drive from Englar Drive to the County line. Based on other financial mechanisms, the City also seeks to address street improvements in the CRA District. These streets would be Coolidge, Cleveland and others as funds and conditions dictate. AIRPORT NOTES SEBASTIAN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT 202 AIRPORT DRIVE EAST SEBASTIAN, FL 32958 Phone 772- 228 -7013 • Fax 772 - 228 -707 jgriffin@cityofsebastian.org • www.sebastianairport.org 1. On March 5th through March 7th, Sebastian Airport hosted approximately 200 Boy Scouts, along with Scout leaders, for their annual "Camporee." The event was held in conjunction with a LoPresti "First Saturday" event. The "Camporee" was declared a success by Scout Leader David Smith who commented, "Thank you, Sebastian, for opening your airport facility in support of Indian River Scouting." f 2. Air Force "Invasion" March 20th through 27th saw an increase of skydive activity by U.S. Air Force Academy Cadets. The cadets, on spring break from Academy studies, utilized Skydive Sebastian and Airport facilities to hone their skydive skills. 3. Airport Park now open. An observation park is now available for public use at Sebastian Airport. The park is located adjacent to the airport administration building on Airport Drive, East. The area is fenced and has a small gazebo along with kiddie 'airplane' swings. NEWS FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DEPARTMENT This has been a very busy time for the newly created Administrative Services Department. This Department was formed last May as a means to reduce administrative staff and thereby reduce the City's expenses. The reorganization combined the staff of the Finance and Human Resources Departments. In addition to a Human Resources position reduction, two positions in Finance were eliminated. Furthermore, responsibility for serving as project manager on major City construction projects was assigned to the Director of Administrative Services. The Director is assisted by four other employees. These are the Finance Director, the Human Resources Specialist, the Junior Accountant and the Accounting Clerk. Primary responsibilities include handling employee benefits, two collective bargaining agreements, payroll processing, insurance, monitoring grants requirements and requesting reimbursements, cashiering, accounts payable, invoicing for airport property rents, cash management and investments, quarterly budget reviews, assistance with preparing the capital improvements program and annual budget, coordinating the annual independent audit and preparation of the annual financial statements. After having just completed the audit and annual financial statements, we are now beginning to focus on preparing the capital improvements program and annual budget. Another difficult year is anticipated because of the decline in property values and the desire to keep the tax rate as low as possible. We have already had meetings of the Budget Advisory Committee, which helps to provide citizen input early in the process. This year, we were able to bring in Mr. Ken Small from the Florida League of Cities to examine our revenue sources. Mr. Small has a thorough knowledge of municipal finances and provided good insight on the positives and negatives of a few "revenue enhancement" possibilities. These findings have already been presented to the Budget Advisory Committee and City Council. Please get involved in this year's budget process by watching our advertisements and public meetings and letting your opinion be known. GROWTH MANAGEMENT UPDATE By; Rebecca Grohall, AICP Growth Management Director - -A0- VALOREM TAX EXEMPTION PROGRAM After the passage of the Tax Abatement Referendum in November 2009, the City Council proudly passed Ordinance ##0 -1 -10, creating an Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Program. This is a new "Economic Development Tool" the City can use to encourage qualified business to expand and locate in Sebastian. Sebastian is the first community in Indian River County to adopt such a program and we are hopeful that this incentive will help create jobs and improve the economy here in Sebastian. The Tax Abatement Program is one of the goals of the Economic Development Plan adopted by Council last year. While we work to achieve those goals, we are memorializing the Tax Abatement Program and the Economic Development Plan as an element in our Comprehensive Plan. Our timing happens to be perfect, because the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) requires an Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) of the Comprehensive Plan every seven years. With the City now in its seventh year, adding the new economic development element makes good planning sense. As the City moves forward with this goal, we will be holding a series of public meetings over the next few months, meeting dates will be announced on the City's website at: http : / /www.cityofsebastian.org /. We encourage everyone to participate in this important process. FEMA MAP MODERNIZATION PROGRAM FEMA has undertaken a project to update the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMS) for Indian River County. Some of the County's flood maps are more than 20 years old and may not realistically depict the existing flood risk. These maps are created to reflect the base flood event, defined as the flood having a 1- percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also referred to as the 100 -year flood). FEMA's Map Modernization entails providing flood maps and data for communities that are more accurate, easier -to -use, and readily available. The modernization program for Indian River County and its incorporated cities began in 2007 utilizing current available flood studies and related local flood data. Preliminary maps will be provided by FEMA in March/ April 2010. Once received, the draft maps will be reviewed by staff and workshop(s) will be scheduled to afford the public an opportunity to review the revised maps and provide comments to FEMA before the maps are finalized. The new maps are projected to be available in 2011. TIPS FROM THE SEBASTIAN POLICE DEPARTMENT By: Chief of Police Michelle Morris Sebastian is a great place to live, work and play. Here at the Sebastian Police Department we also want to keep Sebastian a safe place to live, work and play. So here are a few reminders as we move about in our community. Road Safety Tips • Don't text while driving. • Drive defensively not aggressively. • Don't agitate an aggressive driver. • Be aware of your surroundings. • Don't take for granted a turn signal, wait to ensure safety. • Speed limit on residential streets is 30 MPH, unless otherwise posted. • Come to a complete stop at stop signs and when turning right on red. • Remember right of ways and be aware of who has it. • Be aware of your blind spots. • Give yourself plenty of time so you won't be in a hurry. • Be aware of School Zone speeds. • Use turn signals. • Keep a safe distance. • Slower traffic stay to the right. • Keep your vehicle in safe operating order. • Keep insurance, registration and driver licenses readily available. • Be patient. Speeding fines (6 -9 mile over) $108.00; (10 -14) $183.00; (15 -19) $233.00; (20 -29) $258.00 (30 +) mandatory court appearance Moving Violation fines - $143.00 Non - Moving Violation fines - $93.00 SEBASTIAN MUNICIPAL GOLF CLUB NEWS PLAN AHEAD FOR SOME OF OUR UPCOMING EVENTS Saturday, May 8 Sebastian Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament and Skills Challenge Saturday, June 12 Sebastian River Moose Lodge Golf Tournament Saturday, June 19 Sebastian River High School Touchdown Booster Club Golf Tournament DAILY LEAGUE PLAY • Mondays: Wojo's Monday League, open to all golfers • Tuesdays: Sebastian Women's Golf Association, new members welcome — • Wednesdays: Sebastian Mer's Golf Association, new members welcome • Thursdays: Sebastian Business League, open to all golfers COMING SOON Golf course staff is currently working on terms for a new golf cart lease. Our existing lease is ready to expire later this spring and City Council is reading to review the negotiated terms. Once the process is complete, Sebastian Municipal Golf Course patrons can expect to enjoy new carts this summer. We are proud of our golf cart change -out program, which demonstrates our commitment to the quality golfing experience that you'll find here in Sebastian. • Junior golf clinics will be offered during the summer. A complete list of dates and times for junior golf clinics will be available May 1st. • For information about any event, league activity, tee time or general golf course information, please call the Golf Shop at 772 -589 -6801 or go to our website, which is www. sebastiangolfcourse.org (tee times available online!) MARK YOUR CALENDAR 25'x" ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: THE SEBASTIAN AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Saturday, Ptay 15; 2010 At Historical Museum located at 1225 Main Street, Sebastian 1:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M. Program speakers will include Ruth Stanbrige, Indian River County Historian followed by Pat Cooper, Indian River County Library Genealogist and Harry Tanner, Local Historian Refreshments will be served with a Cash Door Prize Drawing at 5:00 PM. For more information call: 581 -1380. POSTAL PATRON Sebastian, Florida 32958 PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID VERO BEACH, FL PFRTMIT NO. 218