Evolving Dunedin

City Retreat: Is 'Southside' a Dirty Word for Dunedin?

City leaders in a retreat focused on Dunedin's future talked about abandoning use of the word "southside" when talking about parts of the city in order to change some possible negative perceptions. What's your take?

The word "southside" leaves a bad taste in the mouths of some Dunedin city leaders. They honed in on the beleaguered nickname during a segment for identifying development opportunities in the southern half of town as part of a daylong commission retreat Feb. 28 focused on planning Dunedin's future.  Some commissioners believe banning "southside" from their vocabulary would help expel negative perceptions of the southern half of town. "We need to stop talking about that area like it's a problem," Commissioner Julie Scales said, suggesting that south Dunedin residents looking for a different identity are welcome to call themselves something else. Commissioner Ron Barnette suggested that officials start speaking more specifically when …

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Sheriff Warns Dunedin: Significant Undercover Activity Underway

Sheriff's Bob Gualtieri warned residents during the Pinellas County Sheriff's first of many quarterly appearances at City Hall Jan. 24 that not everything going on in south Dunedin is as it seems.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri stood before Dunedin officials Jan. 24 and discussed what he knows to be on residents' minds. What's being done about crime on Dunedin's south side? He told residents not everything is as it seems and followed with a warning to think twice before breaking the law. "The other thing that we’ve done ... is asked the residents to be patient with us," Gualtieri said. "Because there may be a lot of things going on, and some of the things you’re seeing, and some of the things they don’t see that I can tell you that we do have in the south part of the city now — and I’m not going to share much about it other than to say it's there — we do have significant undercover law enforcement activity going on. "So those…

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'Welcome to Dunedin' Signs for South Douglas Avenue?

City commissioners OK'd staff to move into the bidding process for streetscape enhancements for south Douglas Avenue during Thursday's city commission meeting. Staff is still working on the possibility of "Welcome to Dunedin" signs.

Mayor Dave Eggers had a final question about beautification plans coming to a stretch of southside Douglas Avenue: "No place to put a 'Welcome to Dunedin' sign, huh?" Even though they weren't in the preliminary plans presented to officials, Joan Rice, city traffic engineer, told officials at Thursday's city meeting, that it was something they were considering for a small space on Douglas Avenue just north of Union Street, by the bus stop. But finding space across the street is still in question. "The right-of-way extremely narrow," City Manager Rob DiSpirito said, so the city would have to get permission from the adjoining landowner to put a decorative sign partially on the property. In return, the city would put in some landscaping around…

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South Douglas Avenue May See Streetscape Enhancements

Six-foot-wide sidewalks, more street lighting and neighborhood signs are part of plans to beautify a southside stretch of Douglas Avenue. Those plans are being discussed at Thursday's city commission meeting.

Six-foot-wide sidewalks, more street lighting and neighborhood signs are part of plans to beautify a southside stretch of Douglas Avenue. Staff is asking city commissioners for the go-ahead on a $254,000 streetscaping project that would bring those and other amenities to Douglas Avenue from Lexington to Union streets, according to city documents. The plans will be voted on at Thursday's city commission meeting. Here's a closer look at them: The city surveyed all 11 property owners potentially affected by the project along the stretch. Five homeowners did not respond. Four approved of the changes; two did not, according to city planners. The city is budgeting $300,000 from the Penny Sales Tax Fund. If commissioners approve of the plan, city…

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Southside Crime: Residents Sound Off

About 80 residents gathered to vent much of their frustration at Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri over problems in their Dunedin neighborhood.

City Manager Rob DiSpirito wanted a "two-way dialogue." He got what he asked for at Tuesday night's town hall meeting at Hale Senior Activity Center.  With plenty of chili, hot dogs and other provisions prepared by Planning & Development Director Greg Rice's wife, roughly 80 residents and numerous city leaders and law enforcement officials hunkered down for three hours in passionate, sometimes emotional and frustration-fused dialogue, with the bulk of the conversation focused on Southside neighborhood crime and criticism directed at Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. "We know that the problem doesn’t stop at Union Street," Gualtieri said to the crowd, which included Mayor Dave Eggers, Commissioner Julie Ward Bujalski and Commissioner-…

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Meeting to Address Southside Crime, Code Enforcement, Drainage Concerns

Residents, city leaders and Clearwater officials are meeting at the Hale Senior Center tonight at 6:30 p.m. to discuss neighborhood concerns on Dunedin's southside.

What should be done to improve quality of life in Dunedin's southside neighborhoods? City leaders are opening the Hale Senior Activity Center so they can hear from southside Dunedin residents, address concerns and discuss solutions tonight. "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," Commissioner Julie Ward Bujalski wrote in an open letter to residents last week. City of Clearwater officials are also attending the meeting so that residents with neighborhood safety concerns and city leaders can address issues related to north Clearwater crime that impacts …

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Open Letter to Southside: Residents Called to Action

While the city has "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 ..." Commissioner Julie Ward Bujalski writes.

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 …

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