‘Odor Control’ Project to Begin at Seminole Pump Station
SEMINOLE – Work will soon begin at Pump Station 16, one of the county’s major pump stations, which is located near Home Depot on Park Boulevard, said City Manager Ann Toney-Deal at the Jan. 8 Seminole City Council meeting.
The pump station is “a very old system” in need of “an overhaul,” she said. In addition to improving the system’s overall operations, “odor control” is also a goal, she added.
Pinellas County awarded the bid for the more than $2 million project in late September, Toney-Deal said. The work should be completed within 300 days.
Pump Station 16 collects wastewater from four different collection basins throughout the area. This station then pumps the wastewater to the South Cross Bayou Plant on 54th Avenue.
Representatives from Pinellas County Utilities have visited the Seminole City Council over the past two years to discuss issues with this pump.
At a March 2017 council meeting, Randi Kim, then-utilities director, said the county tested ozone-generating technology, which was used in tandem with a chemical scrubber at the pump. Because this worked so well, the county decided to design and install a full-scale ozone-generating system for the station to replace the scrubber, Kim said.
At the Jan. 8 meeting, Toney-Deal also provided council with an update about the city’s potential $1.5 million purchase of the Repetto property at 11877 74th Ave. She said she anticipated receiving an appraisal of the property “any day now.”
Councilors voted to extend the inspection period for the purchase at their Dec. 18 meeting.
Toney-Deal also said that the city received an inspection report for the house that stands on the property.
Though the council has discussed possibly buying this property “over the years, (they) never really talked about the house,” she said.
According to the inspection report, she said, “there are almost no interior low-bearing walls, which gives you a lot of flexibility in programming.”
In recent years, the Repetto family has lent the property to the city for parking during the Music in the Park series at Seminole City Park and other special events. If purchased by the city, it will continue to be used for parking, but the council is exploring other potential recreational uses for it.
Toney-Deal also told the council that the city’s Recreation Advisory Board endorsed purchasing the property.
In action items, the council also:
• authorized Toney-Deal to enter into an agreement with Midwest Tape for the Hoopla Digital Media Service.
Library Director Michael Bryan said each library patron would be able to check out three digital items per month. Each item ranges from 1 cent to $3.99 per item, though “70 percent of the catalogue available is $1.49 or less,” he said.
The service provides materials in six digital formats – audio books, e-books, comic books, music albums, television shows and movies.
“So, it’s got quite a variety,” he said. “There are over 650,000 titles.”
The city has budgeted $4,000 for the first 12 months the Seminole Community Library offers this service.
• authorized Toney-Deal to extend an interlocal agreement with Pinellas County for the advanced traffic management system/intelligent transportation system.
The current agreement was originally adopted by the city and county in February 2009 and will expire in February of this year.
The agreement transfers operational control of traffic signals at major intersections to Pinellas County. County roadways that run through the city include: 102nd Avenue, 113th Street, Ridge Road, 86th Avenue, Park Boulevard, Park Street, Starkey Road, 54th Avenue and 100th Way.
Entering this agreement saves the city approximately $64,000 annually.
SOURCE: tbnweekly.com