The City has skillfully managed some impressive capital projects while continuing to increase services. But future leadership has to be as skilled as the current Commission to ensure there will not ever be a need for increasing our tax level. I for one will be looking for any way possible to reduce the tax burdens on our citizens.

It is fascinating to discover that the population of Dunedin hasn’t grown much at all in the last few years. However, most conversations about population center around over-development. We are a very densely populated 22 square miles particularly when you consider that 12 of those square miles is surface water. What concerns me most is the gentrification of Dunedin. People with an average income are finding it more and more difficult to live in Dunedin.

Many of our City employees that support our City find it almost impossible to live in Dunedin if they are just starting out. Other cities have solved this problem, and we must go to school on the best answers.

Doesn’t seem like a hurricane season can pass without a close encounter with a cat 4 hurricane. We have been luckier than our neighbors as the storms have slipped either to our north or south. But that doesn’t change the fact that we could be ground zero for the next storm. We have learned some important lessons from Irma, Ian and Idalia.

We know we have to improve our storm drain system and even consider water diversion techniques. We will not be able to avoid hurricanes in the future, but we need to substantially harden our infrastructure to diminish their impact.

Dunedin has been a quality-of-life community since our very inception. Most of you won’t remember the great hog controversy of 1898 but it led to the incorporation of Dunedin into a township. And I pleased to report that we haven’t had hogs in downtown for the longest time. But one of the things that keeps Dunedin, Dunedin is the series of celebrations and festivals that fill our calendar and our lives.

We must continue the support of these events in a responsible manner. That means working with businesses and other leadership organizations to find the smartest way to ensure their continued support.

Few realize that Delightful Dunedin has a serious homeless problem. Most of our homeless are by necessity transient. But while within our borders they are in our charge. Having worked on this problem in Raleigh and Kansas City, I can tell you it is one of the more difficult. Many just want the homeless out of sight.

Let me assure you that has been tried with little to no success. The more creative solutions center around encouraging behavior that leads to greater self sufficiency and independence. We will need to partner with organizations like the Salvation Army to work constructively and compassionately toward a good solution.

It is a painful fact that too many of our families are challenged to put food on the table every night. And most painful is the fact that our children are the biggest victims. One of the best investments this community has ever made was in creating Dunedin Cares.

We need to double down on that investment and push back on hunger especially for our
kids.

Some may not be as supportive of the arts as I am. To be honest for the early part of my life I approached creative side of life with a more utilitarian mind. But through the help and guidance of others I came to learn that to fulfill a life it must be filled with art. All sorts of art. I will be one that vigorously speaks for and supports the growth of the arts in Dunedin.

This is perhaps the hardest question facing Dunedin.. With only 10 square miles to share with almost 37,000 people we must be very careful about what is added and even more careful about what we might subtract. It is when we think individually rather than collectively that we get in trouble. Our legacy, that I plan on continuing, is to to be sure we have plans and policies that keep our growth benefiting all of us.