published: Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Deadline extended for city, fire negotiation briefs

By SAMANTHA GHOLAR

sgholar@newssun.com

SEBRING - The deadline for brief submittal by the city of Sebring and the Sebring Fire Department Union negotiators has been extended by two weeks by Special Magistrate Leonard T. Helfand.

Following the Jan. 28 meeting with both parties, Helfand directed the entities to submit their briefs to him by the end of February. The extension was granted to both parties due to the late arrival of the court reporter's transcripts.

According to City Administrator Scott Noethlich, the new deadline for the submittals is March 11. The briefs will include both parties concerns, negotiation terms and other pertinent information that the magistrate will use for consideration while forming his recommendation.

After the briefs are submitted, Helfand may take up to 15 days to form his recommendation at which time a special meeting will be set by the city. On this new time table, the future of the Sebring Fire Department's contract, pension and day-to-day operations could drastically change by the first of April.

A week of work is out of the way at City Pier with much more left to complete. Polston Engineering has been busy at the site of the well-known dredge hole to ensure the area is completely safe after years of being a worrisome issue for city officials.

City Administrator Scott Noethlich spoke with Polston Engineering workers last Thursday and gained a little insight about the ongoing project.

"My understanding after speaking with Polston Engineering yesterday is that the project is approximately one-third complete," Noethlich said.

Polston engineers and workers have slated another two weeks for the remainder of the project. The filling of the City Pier dredge hole has been a long time coming for the city, but will prove to be a great addition to the community once again.

Following the project's completion, the city will hold a grand re-opening celebration at City Pier in the upcoming weeks.