Bullock outlines Key issues at PIC forum

… Pensions …
The cost of the town’s pension obligations have continued to increase over the years, but funding didn’t continue to increase, which created an unfunded liability — one for which the town is on the hook.
“Once you incur that liability as an employer, you don’t have the liberty to walk away from that liability,” Bullock said.

Now, the goal is to stop making promises that it can’t afford and start making ones that it can afford. The town will address each of its three pension funds but will begin with the firefighters’ fund because contract negotiations are ongoing with the firefighters’ union. A negotiation session with the firefighters’ union will most likely take place in several weeks, Bullock said.

… Publix …
The audience applauded when Bullock announced that the Longboat Key Town Commission had approved plans for a new store the night before. Bullock said that the town has been informally reviewing for the past four weeks construction plans for the project that couldn’t be formally submitted until the project was approved.

“The town’s side is to review the drawings completely,” Bullock said. “It’s our objective that nothing that’s in the town’s purview falls through the cracks.”

… The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort …
The town has two roles in the Colony. One is determining whether the use of units can continue; the buildings (except for one) aren’t occupied, and for all intents and purposes, the use has stopped. The clock for the occupancy deadline begins to tick once that use has stopped. The second role is addressing any health/safety issues; the town must address any public hazard or nuisance issues should they occur.

“You don’t see the town getting involved in the disputes that are occurring,” Bullock said.

… Beaches …
The town is looking at two major beach projects.

One involves placing sand in three “hot spots” for erosion — near the 6600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive, just south of the Islander Club, and near L’Ambiance. The earliest the placement could occur is late 2012 because two federal agencies have to first come together and jointly produce a report.

The other project involves finding a long-term solution for severe erosion at the north end — a problem for which three groins have been proposed.

… Dogs on the beach …
Bullock said that the discussion about allowing dogs on the beach that is currently taking place is a community-level discussion in which the town isn’t currently involved.

“There is nothing pending, there’s no ordinance, and town staff is not spending any time on this, except reading some of the correspondence,” Bullock said.

He described community-level discussions that don’t involve the processes required by government as a good thing, leading one resident to ask: “Is it fair to say you’re not ready to unleash the power of government on this?”

“You may be barking up the wrong tree,” Bullock said.

… Wireless communications …
TE Connectivity Networks Inc. is beginning its wireless communications study for the town that will seek “reliable, objective, technical information about telecommunications inadequacies or shortfalls” on the island, Bullock said. The week of Feb. 20, the company will perform a signal-strength test, and soon residents will be asked to complete a survey on the town’s website, longboatkey.org, about their experiences with wireless communications on the island. The company’s report will be available in April. Bullock also told the audience that the town is currently not in possession of a completed cellular tower application

… Planning Zoning & Building Department leadership …
Bullock said that the town received 62 applications for the Planning Zoning & Building Department director — including four from Alaska candidates. The pool has been narrowed to 24, and P&Z directors from Sarasota and Manatee counties will rank the candidates. Once the pool is whittled to 10, Bullock said that a committee will be appointed to narrow it down to three candidates. Those three individuals will then be brought in for a public reception so that the committee can observe how they interact with different interested parties.