DUNEDIN — City commissioners have put off a financing measure tied to the proposed Midtown parking garage until after the November election, when voters will consider a referendum that could sharply reduce the property tax revenue the city collects.
The unanimous vote July 23 to table the resolution came at the urging of Commissioner Jeff Gow, who has opposed the garage project. The measure would let the city reimburse itself, from proceeds of future tax-exempt debt, for design and construction costs paid up front.
“Mayor, if I may, I would like to propose (the resolution) is tabled until after the election,” Gow said as Mayor Maureen Freaney began to introduce it. “I don’t see that it’s time sensitive. I think whatever happens with the outcome of the election will have an impact on this vote, so I don’t see a reason why it can’t be tabled.”
Commissioner Steven Sandbergen seconded the motion.
Freaney asked City Manager Jennifer Bramley and Finance Director Les Tyler what a delay would mean for the project. Both said it would cost the city nothing as long as the resolution passes before construction starts.
“As long as we issue it before we start construction, we can recoup all of that, so we’re fine with waiting until after November,” Bramley said.
Tyler said he saw no impact, assuming the garage moves forward.
In his backup material, Tyler wrote that spending on design and construction may begin before the city closes on tax-exempt bank financing. The resolution would declare the city’s intent to be repaid from that future debt for capital costs and extraordinary working capital tied to the project.
Until the debt is issued, the city would draw on the Penny for Pinellas fund and the Community Redevelopment Agency fund, both of which have money budgeted for the garage in the fiscal year 2026 operating and capital budget. Total debt for the project is not expected to exceed $11 million, the staff report said.
The city plans to build the garage at the northwest corner of Douglas Avenue and Scotland Street, a few blocks from the downtown Main Street shopping and dining district. It bought the property for $4 million in 2022 and expects to add about 192 spaces to its downtown inventory.
Construction is tentatively set to begin next spring at an estimated cost of $10 million to $10.3 million, paid for with debt financing, CRA tax increment financing revenue and Pinellas County TIF money.
The city’s website describes the garage as the second in Dunedin and a response to growth and to parking that will be lost when the Ocean Optics property is redeveloped.
Gow has questioned the city’s approach before. At a commission meeting in March, he declined to weigh in on the garage’s design because he opposes the project.
“My concerns are certainly with the roads, the traffic and the congestion. And I think those are a huge problem,” he said. “We have all this car traffic because we don’t offer them any alternative.”
He said the city should study other modes of transportation because its focus on parking is not sustainable.