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Highlands Today

Dredge Hole May Not Be Filled

Council Hopes Rain Will Raise Lake Jackson’s Level

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By Gary Pinnell | Highlands Today

Published: July 2, 2008

SEBRING — They didn't vote on whether to fill the dredge hole in Lake Jackson, and they didn't table the matter. Instead, the council simply didn't act.

Bobby Clark, 23, drowned June 11 in the hole, which was probably created in the 1960s to fill a park area behind the Civic Center park, then-City Manager Bob Hoffman told the council.

Fire Chief Brad Batz said Clark crossed the football field sized hole just a few yards off Pier Beach several times that day, but got a cramp during his last swim.

After Clark died, the city councilors asked what they should do.

"You may have to keep people out of there," Clell Ford, the Highlands County lakes manager advised in June.

They called in Frank Krupa from the county health department, who said the beach would be closed until the water came back. That was before the June rains started filling the lake.

"Are we going to make a decision, or just let it sit?" Councilor John Griffin asked Tuesday night.

Margie Rhoades was against spending the money. Ford estimated the cost of filling the hole would run from $167,000 to $226,000, which includes the cost of trucking sand from outside the lake. That's if the Department of Environmental Protection will grant a permit.

Until the lake shrank due to the drought, the hole was more than 100 feet out in the lake, Batz estimated. The lake has risen about seven-tenths of a foot since the rainy season started in June. It has rained more than two inches in past two weeks, according to the National Weather Service.

The lake was at 96.3 feet above sea level, Ford said. "It's now about 97 feet." But the shoreline has moved only a few feet in front of the dredge hole. It will need to rise to 100 or 101 feet for the Pier Beach shoreline to return to the level it was two years ago, Ford estimated.

"It may not move substantially unless we see a substantial amount of rain," he said. The lake rises about one inch after an inch of rain. So Sebring needs 48 inches in the next few months to restore the lake to 2006 levels, he said.

SEBRING CITY COUNCIL BRIEFS
It's Official: Noethlich Is Sebring's City Manager
SEBRING – Scott Noethlich spent his first City Council meeting as Sebring's city administrator.

On July 1, Noethlich replaced Bob Hoffman, who retired at the end of June but is staying on as the assistant city manager. Hoffman worked 18 years for the city.

Noethlich previously worked in information technology for the city. When he was picked to take over as city administrator, the position of assistant city administrator was created for him. Hoffman and Noethlich have been working together for months in a transition phase, with the younger man slowly taking the reins.

"It's been nice to have a gradual transition over a long period of time. It would have been a lot more difficult to just step in and take over right away," Noethlich said.

His starting salary will be $70,000. Hoffman's position is allocated $49,645 per year.

Fire Protection Assessment Passes First Reading
SEBRING – The Sebring City Council passed the first reading of Fire Assessment Protection ordinance on Tuesday. A second reading will go before the council on July 15. A public hearing is slated for July 29, and notices will be sent to affected property owners on the same day.

A public hearing to adopt the final resolution is slated for Aug. 19.

If the ordinance clears all the hurdles, commercial buildings could be charged 10 cents per square foot, industrial and warehouses 3 cents per square foot, nursing homes $2.03 per square foot, and homes a flat rate of $261.

City Administrator Scott Noethlich said the council may choose to charge less than 100 percent of the full fee, just at the Highlands County commissioners did with impact fees.

Gary Pinnell can be reached at 863 386-5828 or gpinnell@highlandstoday.com

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