Open Letter to Southside: Residents Called to Action

Dunedin’s Southside is one of our oldest and dearest neighborhoods. While it doesn’t necessarily have a defined boundary like some neighborhoods, it does have wonderful people with strong connections to their neighbors. 

Folks have created their own mini-neighborhoods within the Southside, generally by a street or group of streets. There are a mix of retired seniors and young families just getting started and the folks that live there are culturally diverse. But the most important attribute these residents have is pride in their neighborhood.

Over the past few years, we’ve heard from many in this area of the city. We heard about the need for better drainage, lighting, safety, recreation, code enforcement, and the list goes on.

We started out by having a group of Southside Neighborhood meetings. We received some great feedback and took action on many items. We increased targeted law enforcement, completed several major drainage projects, reconstructed some roads where needed and added sidewalks where desired. We worked to add the PAL (Police Athletic League) program at Dunedin Highland Middle School, added a playground at the library, and are presently working Patricia and South Douglas avenue beautification projects.

While we have done quite a bit in the last few years, we know there is still more to do and we want to hear from all of you who have invested so much of yourselves in this great historical area of our city. 

Please join us next week on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the Hale Senior Activity Center on Douglas Avenue for our latest Southside Town Hall meeting.  We will discuss drainage and street projects, safety issues, neighborhood watch opportunities, code enforcement and foreclosure problems, Dunedin Highland Middle School’s progress, recreation needs, and beautification projects. 

Attendees will have plenty of time to express their concerns and future needs on all of these issues. We’ve also invited officials from the City of Clearwater to join us so that they can hear directly from you about your concerns around Union Street. 

The most important element of this meeting is you!    

Come work with us to make our Southside an even better place to live.

P.S. Got kids? No worries. We’ll provide onsite babysitting. Worried about dinner?  We’ve got that covered, too. Hot Dogs, chips, and drinks will be served.