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Annexations into Seminole will have to wait
By MAUREEN BYRNE AHERN SEMINOLE -- City officials say four subdivisions and a condominium complex are interested in joining Seminole. But none of the areas could annex into the city until the fall. The county says it doesn't want any municipal elections or referendums until then because it's too busy preparing the new touch screen voting system for the September primary and November general elections. "It may be just coincidental that September is when we're ready (to annex)," said City Manager Frank Edmunds. But if it's sooner, the city may ask Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark to reconsider, Edmunds said Monday. Clark said she would do that only if it was an extreme situation such as the possibility of a municipality losing grant money. "But that's not the case with annexation," she said Tuesday. And in the case of a death of an elected official, most city charters allow the governing board to appoint a replacement. "We've already given them notice that we can't support any elections so they can plan around it," Clark said. Municipalities have until July 19 to submit language for the Sept. 10 primary. The deadline for the Nov. 5 general election is Sept. 6. Edmunds said the city already agreed with the county not to schedule any annexation referendums until after the American Assembly meets later this month. The three-day gathering at the Harborview Center in Clearwater will bring together 150 local people from a variety of backgrounds and organizations to talk about problems ranging from transportation to annexation and how to solve them. It's likely two of the subdivisions and the condominium complex will be scheduled for referendums, Edmunds said. "The others are still organizing," he said of the other two subdivisions. "We have to have a clear majority interest in annexation before we go forward." That's the case with the Bridlewood and Parkview Woodlands neighborhoods and the Timberwoods condominiums, Edmunds said. Petitions show more than 60 percent of the homes in each area is in favor of joining the city. The Bridlewood subdivision of 23 homes is north of 86th Avenue N and west of Starkey Road. Nearby is Timberwoods, a 99-unit condominium complex. Parkview Woodlands is a neighborhood of 44 homes north of 82nd Avenue N and east of 98th Street. Edmunds said the city hasn't started the annexation process. It must write a legal description of the areas and complete ability-to-serve reports, he said. Votes in each area would be counted separately. The interest in the other two subdivisions -- Orangewood Highlands and Seminole Grove Estates East -- isn't enough to proceed with annexation, Edmunds said. "We would not want to advance a neighborhood for annexation if it's not ready to answer the question," he said. Royal Travis, owner of a large piece of property off Bay Pines Boulevard, is ready to join the city. An ordinance that would annex the 44-acre property, which encompasses a mobile home park, a marina and a boat sales business, was scheduled Monday for a first reading. Edmunds said he postponed the reading until the May 14 City Council meeting because of questions his staff had on the legal descriptions on the land use changes. City officials say residents in seven other neighborhoods also want to join Seminole. However, none of the areas is contiguous to the city, a requirement for annexation. -- Staff writer Julianne Wu contributed to this report.
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