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Council to Discuss Possible Pool Vote: Pinkus Also Adds City Charter to the Agenda

Posted on: Monday, 27 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By David Ball, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon

Mar. 25--Marathon City Councilman Jeff Pinkus has added two discussion items to the agenda for Tuesday's council meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. at the Marathon Government Center.

The items include a possible public referendum on building a community swimming pool and possible changes to the city charter to shift from seat-specific races to at-large bids during council elections and increase council terms from two years to three or four.

Pinkus asked for the items to be placed under unfinished business, and it's been some time since either was discussed.

"There were about eight or 10 items we worked on last year that kind of got sidetracked because of the [comprehensive] plan and land development regulations," Pinkus said. " Those were two of the biggest election issues. It'd be nice to get those off the table."

Many residents have asked to council to place the pool question on a public referendum, especially since the latest pool design supported by the city Parks and Recreations Committee included a $3.5 million price tag and up to $350,000 yearly maintenance costs.

If the pool is put out for a referendum vote, the council would have to decide how the question is worded and what background information, if any, is stated to voters.

"As far as I'm concerned, it should either be a yes or no question," Pinkus said. "If you start [putting figures] on a public referendum, it could start complicating matters."

Pinkus didn't give his opinion on the pool or possible city charter changes, but said, "It's something I'm going to vote on in the voter's booth."

Several candidates in past council elections have supported changing the election process from a seat-specific race to at large, where simply the top vote-getters are elected. Only the city of Key Colony Beach elects at large in the Keys.

The new voting format would eliminate runoff races such as the one going on now for Seat 2 between Marilyn Tempest and Don Vasil, neither of whom garnered the necessary 50 percent of the vote, plus one, to claim a decisive victory in the March 14 vote.

Both Tempest and Vasil have said they support changing the election to at large, although it's unclear how they stand on increasing the length of terms.

Some have argued that with longer terms, elections would be more spread out and leave more time for council members to focus on policies instead of campaigns.

Re-elected Councilman Chris Bull and Councilman-elect Pete Worthington will be sworn in at Tuesday's meeting. The winner of the Seat 2 race will be decided at the April 11 runoff election.

Asked why he wasn't waiting to discuss these items until the new council is set, Pinkus said, "I'm tired of waiting."

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Copyright (c) 2006, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon

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Source: Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon, Fla.

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