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Highlands Today

Pontius: Softball Field Use Wanes

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By GARY PINNELL

Highlands Today

Published: October 22, 2008

SEBRING - When people have less money, they cut out the extras.

One discretionary expense is entertainment and recreation, that's the reason why only four adult softball tournaments are scheduled in Sebring for the rest of 2008, Parks and Recreation Director Vicki Pontius told the Highlands County Commission at its Tuesday meeting.

Local use, Pontius said, "is way way up, but about half of the tournaments have been cancelled."

Gordon Delp, who signed a contract in April to run the concession stand, "is not making any money," said Pontius. He is seeking to reduce the rent.

Has Pontius seen his records, asked Commissioner Andrew Jackson.

No, Pontius said, but Delp does keep books, and she will ask for them, she replied.

Commissioner Barbara Stewart asked Pontius to present to the board a comparison between what was projected four years ago before the ballfield was built next to Sebring High School, and the real revenues.

"I don't want to blame anyone," Stewart said. "We just need to know so we can decide what's going on (in)the future."
Pontius may need to market the field differently when the economy does come back, Commissioner Guy Maxcy suggested, perhaps to a youth market instead of to adults.

If the commission didn't want to negotiate with Delp, Pontius said, the only option was to close the concession stand, since she had neither the employees nor the budget to buy and sell drinks and snacks.

The commissioners agreed to reduce the rent to $425 per month.
Crime Rate
The national crime rate has declined 31 percent in the past 10 years, said Sheriff Susan Benton, and the Highlands County per capita rate of seven indexed crimes - murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, theft, burglary and auto theft - has dropped 40 percent.

"Crime is coming down in our county consistently," Benton told the commissioners.

In a quarterly report from the sheriff's office, Benton's statistics show 4,497 index crimes were reported in 1998. The lowest rate was seen in 2005, when 3,216 were reported. The past two years showed 3,362 and 3,301.

"When analyzing crime in any community, you have to measure trends over time," Benton wrote. "You cannot predict trends by picking one low year and one high year over a 10-year period."

Lake Levels

The commission approved a resolution addressing water resources in Highlands County. A presentation by County Lakes Manager Clell Ford noted reduced Peace River water levels, lower aquifer levels along Florida's coasts, and lower lake levels along the Lake Wales Ridge.

"Lakes along the Ridge," which Ford said includes Highlands County, "are threatened by ... stormwater runoff, wastewater effluent, fertilizer applications, groundwater pollution, shoreline habitat degradation and hydrologic alterations."

Stormwater retrofit projects have been proposed for lakes Isis, Tulane, June, Clay and McCoy. Minimum flows and levels have been set for Isis, Verona, Tulane, Anoka, Lotela, Angelo, Letta, Denton, Jackson, June and Placid. Recovery strategies are being developed for Lotela and Jackson.

Tax Collections

Tax collections in 2007 increased by $13.8 million over 2006, said Myrna Spencer, an accountant speaking to the commissioners for Tax Collector Charles Bryan.

As of Sept. 30, the total tax roll was $130.3 million; $125.9 million was actually collected, Spencer said. That's 96 percent of the total.

However, she noted, the certified 2008 tax roll was $116 million, and that's $13.5 million less than in 2007.

This year, there weren't as many buyers for tax certificates, Spencer said. In three previous years, all the tax certificates were sold. This year, 13,667 certificates were offered totaling $9.3 million, but only 2,600 were sold totaling $4.5 million.

When an owner can't pay the tax on his property, the tax collector sells a certificate instead. The certificate owner pays the property taxes, and adds interest to the total. If the property owner doesn't repay the certificate holder, the property can be auctioned.

The tax collector also registered 130,553 vehicles and mobile homes in Highlands County, titled 28,221 vehicles and mobile homes, registered 9,433 vessels and titled 1,985 vessels, and collected almost $7.2 million. However, the presentation noted, this was $400,000 less than 2006-07.

Finally, Spencer said the tax collector's office would return $1 million to Highlands County in excess and unspent revenues for 2007-08, and another $180,000 to the water districts and other government entities.

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

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