Thank you to Commissioners Kihm and Rash for supporting the residents with their vote on the parking decal issue. We personally have not had parking issues in our neighborhood, but for residents who do, we certainly can relate to being the recipients of negative impact, and we will support them on this issue.
Obviously at $15 per decal, this issue for the residents is not about the money, and it should not be considered a “user fee” when residents are merely desiring to live a normal quality of life. There is a bigger picture for them and that is that we are wanting to achieve a balance to preserve our neighborhoods and all the sense that neighborhoods and community bring. We fully understand the mayor’s point of abuse of “freebies.” So the suggestion of the first permit being free, and charging for permits thereafter, was a great, smart compromise proposed by Chair Kihm and concurred on by Commissioner Rash.
For several years many citizens have spent countless hours on research, communications, and attendance at meetings for the betterment of the city. We are familiar with prior issues where there would be a 5-0 preliminary, informal, consensus vote, but then with intervention between the informal vote and formal vote, the concept of preservation of neighborhoods fell through the cracks.
In this same meeting where the decal fees were discussed, residents listened as the city considered $7,300 for reefs, and paying the city planner his hourly wage to review prospects for someone to pocket money from land use not even designated in our code. All of this is occurring during a very tenuous economic climate. This is disheartening to the involved residents to see a reversal of votes, and ultimately have only two of six people on the dais who see the bigger issue and are willing to support a compromise.
This decal issue is much bigger than the dollar amount that is minuscule compared to other escalating city expenditures now up for discussion in our budget. It is about the few residents remaining who are looking for ways to regain balance in order to live a normal quality of life. It is about residents who have made a commitment to community and preservation of our neighborhoods.
Dick and Margie Motzer
Holmes Beach
