published: Thursday, February 07, 2013

What should Avon Park focus on most?

By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY

christopher.tuffley@newssun.com

AVON PARK -- City council and staff are looking for resident input as they sort out priorities for next term.

For the most part, city officials are extremely happy about the city's direction.

City Manager Julian Deleon pointed out how well the city was doing. "We focused on annexation, stability and debt management," he said.

Not only are finances in good shape, he added, sidewalks are repaired, street lighting installed, and a single stream recycling system put into place. Better, he said, new businesses are taking an interest in opening in the city because of lower taxes. For example, he said, three restaurants are in the process of opening (Italian, Mexican, Peruvian/Colombian).

"The city is scheduled to be 100 percent debt free by December 2015," Deleon told the council. "And we're projecting another large property tax reduction for the 2013-2014 fiscal year."

"I'm tickled to death with this," Councilor Terry Heston said.

The council was unanimously pleased to continue persuing the current prorities, although some requested a little tweaking.

Councilman Parke Sutherland wants to leverage some savings into quality of life issues for residents and training for employees.

"We're about as lean as you can get," he said. "We need to ensure our folks are cross-trained."

Mayor Sharon Schuler said code enforcement needed to be a higher priority, and Councilor Garrett Anderson said "creating a more business friendly atmosphere should be a high priority." He added the city would benefit by having more community events.

The city manager can be reached at 452-4403, or at avonpark.cc