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Highlands Today

Tractor Parade Rolls In Pig Fest

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By JOE SEELIG

Highlands Today

Published: December 15, 2008

SEBRING - It takes a lot of planning to hold the Sebring 12 Hours of Bar-B-Que, also known in these parts as the "Pig Fest," and Sebring Police Chief Tom Dettman is scheduled Tuesday to present the city council with road closure requests for the annual Firemen's Inc. Tractor Parade.

Assuming all goes as planned, the Tractor Parade will be held between noon and 1 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 9, in conjunction with the 12 Hours of Bar-B-Que event at Firemen's Field. Contestants from all over will make their way to Sebring to compete for Pig Fest bragging rights.

George White, with the Sebring Firemen, requested that the city council grant its permission to hold the parade, which would line up on Oak Avenue from Hickory Street to South Ridgewood Drive.

From South Ridgewood Drive and Oak Avenue as many as 50 entrants will parade north to Circle Park and loop around to South Commerce Avenue to the intersection of McLain Lane, and hang a right turn ending the procession.

Police Department officials will contact the Sebring Fire Rescue, Highlands County Transportation Department, the School Board, the Highlands County Sheriff's Office, the Highlands County Emergency Operations Center, Highlands County Emergency Medical Services and Sebring Public Works to coordinate this event.

Reappoint Code Enforcement Board

The terms of three members of the city's Code Enforcement Board will expire on Dec. 31, and all three members, Calvin Osha, Lenard Carlisle and John Hendrick, have requested to be reappointed.

No other applications were received to serve on this board.

Palms of Sebring 50th Anniversary
In celebration of its 50th anniversary the Palms of Sebring has requested closure of Oak Avenue from Lakeview Drive to Pine Street from 1-5 p.m., Saturday Jan. 10, for a block party.

They plan on having music, food, clowns and fun.

The request for the road closure will be presented to council on Tuesday by the Palms of Sebring Executive Director Steve Austin.

P & Z Appointments

Outgoing Zoning Supervisor Gary Lower will present council with several names to consider for reappointment members Bob Saffold, currently vice chairman; Robert Horne, Chuck Wilburn and alternate Dawn Dell-Gillilan, whose terms are set to expire at year's end.

The board consists of seven regular members and two alternates, all of whom must be residents of the city and are appointed by the city council.

Council will additionally consider Gingerlee E.A. Mitchelllindo and Christopher R. Benson who also have expressed a desire to serve on the Planning and Zoning Board or Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).

The Planning and Zoning Board is in the middle of rewriting its city zoning ordinance as well as providing input to the evaluation and appraisal report and the board reportedly is recommending reappointment of the current members, Saffold, Wilburn, Horne and Dell-Gillilan.

Whoever the council selects, their term will be for two years and would expire on Dec. 31, 2010.

The council will soon have to consider a replacement for CRA Commissioner Jim Rimer, who recently resigned from that board.

Landmark Utilities Update

On Oct. 7, the council approved the agreement to purchase Landmark Utilities, a sewer system located at Thunderbird Hills South. The original agreement included a 45-day due diligence period.

The plan is to remove the system's sewage plant and connect the existing sewage collection system with the Highlands Utilities sewer system.

This required the Department of Environmental Protection's blessing appointing the city as the receiver, and involves some legal wrangling to drop existing lawsuits between DEP and the system's owner David Plank and between the DEP and Highlands County.

However, at the council's Nov. 18 meeting the council agreed to a first addendum to the purchase agreement that extended the due diligence period to Dec. 18.

At its Dec. 2 council meeting City Attorney Bob Swaine told council that the city was waiting on DEP to get on board.

Now the city plans a second addendum to the agreement that will extend the inspection period to Feb. 20, while negotiations between the DEP and the county continue.

Signs On The Circle

Community Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Pete Pollard will present a draft proposal or set of ideas to create a sign ordinance that would provide specific standards for event signage in The Circle.

"It is our understanding that the policy should be comprehensive and understandable," Pollard wrote in his agenda item summary. "The proposed policy draft attempts to accomplish that and provide for temporary signage that looks attractive and professional.

"We have tried to anticipate as may eventualities as possible but recognize that some tweaking will be required as the policy is implemented."

Pollard suggested that the city refer the ideas to the city attorney's office for any changes that would be needed.

Unclaimed Cremains

The Stephen-Nelson Funeral Home is requesting an amendment to the city's cemetery ordinance to allow about 50 cremains (cremated remains) to be stored in one vault at the city's cemetery.

These are cremains that no one has picked up over the years and instead of disposing of them the funeral home would like to use one of their privately owned plots and place the cremains in the vault in case a family member were ever to come back and want to claim the remains.

Both the funeral home and the city would have a list of whose remains are in the vault and the funeral home would pay the city for the marking of the grave to remove the cremains.

The city's current ordinance only allows two cremains in one vault. The state Division of Funeral and Cemetery Services does not have any regulations on how many urns could be placed into one vault.

If passed the variance would only apply to a licensed funeral home and only in the case where the cremains have been abandoned.

Staff recommends the city attorney's office prepare an amendment to the city's ordinance.

Airport Authority Board Replacement

Sebring City Councilman John Clark recently filled the vacated city council seat of former council member Dan Andrews, who was suspended from office by Governor Charlie Crist.

But in doing so, Clark had to resign his unexpired term from the Sebring Airport Authority.

Two applicants have come forward to fill the vacancy; Andrew Jackson and Haywood Taylor. Council members will vote for the two applicants in alphabetical order. Each of the five council members will have one vote.

The candidate with the majority vote is appointed to serve.

Joe Seelig can be reached at (863) 386-5834 or jseelig@highlandstoday.com .

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