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CityRefiningAssessment Proposal For Canal Work

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By JAMIE PILARCZYK

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2008

WEST SHORE - A referendum on a proposed tax assessment for canal dredging remains on schedule for the spring.

City stormwater director Chuck Walter said BCI Engineers & Scientists Inc. has almost finished surveying 13 West Shore-area canals. The information will be used to produce a more accurate proposal for seeking bids for dredging.

"We're in a good position," Walter told the city council last week.

About 200 canal-front homeowners would be affected by the project. At least 60 percent of them must approve the dredging assessment.

The current estimate is $8,000 per household, Walter said.

"I'd hate for someone to say, 'Heck, no, it's $8,000,' and then the bid comes in at $5,000 and then they say they would have voted for it if they had known," Walter said. "It could change people's view. It's always better to make an informed decision."

Walter said the city soon should complete work to comply with a federal environmental impact statement, making it eligible for a $1.3million federal grant to help pay for the project.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is proposing contributing $1 million to the project. The money would pay for placing dredged material in dredged holes in Tampa Bay, Walter said.

If the spring referendum is approved, the council will be asked to approve an ordinance to impose the assessments on tax bills in November 2010.

In June, the city told an additional 200 area homeowners that the waterfront next to their property does not require dredging. They would not be assessed.

Forty-five property owners were told there might be dredging in front of their property for environmental but not navigational purposes. They also would not be assessed.

Reporter Jamie Pilarczyk can be reached at (813) 259-7661 or jpilarczyk@tampatrib.com.

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