David Carson Keeps an Eye on South Side, EMS Changes

This week, we asked the candidates:

• What do you think is the biggest public safety concern for Dunedin residents, and how do you plan to address it, if you are elected? 

David Carson responds:

A big thank you to the Patch for providing this public service information for the voters of Dunedin. I think there are actually two almost equally important public safety issues facing us in the near future. 

The first issue appears to be an increase in drug activity and potential gang presence on our south side of town. A couple of years ago the current commission established a south side citizen's committee that has been active and passionate about taking back their neighborhood. This citizen's group has been meeting regularly and is filled with high quality motivated people and I am confident they will make a difference. The sheriff's department has beefed up their attention to this challenge and I've been told we have already seen improvement. 

The second concern is somewhat out of our control but one which the City of Dunedin must stay on top of and make sure we are heard. This has to do with Emergency Medical Service (EMS). The county is talking about how to handle EMS and how they work with municipalities on these topics. The county's staff has one plan and the fire departments have a different idea going forward. The question is do we continue with the present plan? Do we move the EMS to the fire departments and eliminate Sunstar? It is a very complicated issue that must be studied closely and hopefully we will arrive at a solution that will not compromise this critically important public service.  

So in my opinion, these are the two top issues facing public safety and I can promise this City Commission will work diligently to come up with the right decision.

See also, Heather Gracy's response.

Related Coverage:

• Patch Podium: David Carson on Spurring Development
• David Carson on the Patch Podium: Quality of Life
• City Elections: Candidates Share Quality of Life Vision
• David Carson on the Patch Podium: Experience
• City Elections: Carson Vs Gracy on Experience