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Council To Consider Dredging Proposal

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Mark Holan The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 24, 2007

TAMPA - Waterfront residents willing to tax themselves to pay for canal dredging will have their plan presented to the city council at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

Opponents say they also will attend the meeting at city hall, 315 E. Kennedy Blvd.

Supporters want property owners along 13 West Shore and two Davis Islands canals to vote on whether to tax households about $8,000 for dredging, plus an additional annual fee estimated at $50 to $75 for canal maintenance.

The bill could be paid in a lump sum, spread over 20 years with interest or assessed as a lien due when the property is sold.

Opponents say the $1.3 million federal grant the city wants to use toward the $6 million project should be used to clean other waterways. They say stormwater assessments, not more taxes, should be used to pay for the work.

Supporters need the council to approve the special tax district this year to start the legal process to enact the assessment and keep the project on track to begin in late 2008 or early 2009.

Mark Holan

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