Pinellas County outlines plan, costs and timeline for Downtown Palm Harbor streetlight district

Pinellas County officials presented details of a proposed Downtown Palm Harbor Streetlight District during a virtual Project Information Meeting and answered questions from residents and property owners.

Nancy McKibbin, assistant to the County Administrator for the Unincorporated North County, said the proposal would replace 33 existing, nonengineered streetlights with 95 dark‑sky LED fixtures focused on the central business core. "Once the design and permitting is finalized, it could probably just take a couple months to get this thing going," McKibbin said of the construction phase after approvals and design are complete.

The meeting explained why the district is being proposed and how it would be paid for. The Downtown Palm Harbor Merchants Association led a petition drive that identified 42 parcels within the proposed boundary; county staff said 27 parcel owners were eligible to vote under the petition rules. County staff reported that 18 property owners (66.7 percent) supported creation of the district, eight (29.6 percent) opposed it, and one owner did not respond. Pinellas County owns one parcel in the district; the county parcel remains in the district and would be assessed if the board approves the district, though it does not have a vote in the petition process.

Officials said the Board of County Commissioners gave preliminary approval on Dec. 17 to authorize the Clerk to advertise a public hearing. A public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 28; a second public hearing is scheduled on or before Sept. 15, when the tax collector and property appraiser are expected to present the tax roll for the district. If the board confirms the assessment, the non‑ad valorem assessment would appear on property tax bills beginning in the 2025 tax year and will be shown on TRIM notices sent in August, county staff said.

County staff provided cost estimates. Construction has an estimated one‑time cost of about $400,000 to be funded from the Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) special projects reserve. Ongoing estimated monthly costs for maintenance, equipment rental and energy are about $3,850 for the entire district. County staff said the first‑year assessment per parcel is approximately $1,100 (about $92 per month); that figure includes administrative costs for the tax collector, property appraiser and public‑hearing advertising and may be recalculated in subsequent years.

Officials emphasized the engineering and design goals: a fully engineered LED system, dark‑sky fixtures to limit light pollution, targeted illumination of roadways and surface parking, and removal of the older, nonstandard fixtures previously installed by a merchants' group about 20 years ago. County staff said the older fixtures were not fully engineered and lacked maintenance arrangements.

On timing and coordination, staff said construction would follow federal, state and local permitting and the contractor's production schedule. County staff told residents they are coordinating the streetlight work with a planned Nebraska Avenue capital improvement project so conduits and utility locations align, and said if the contractor can complete their work before the capital project it should avoid disruption to that project.

Questions from attendees focused on schedule, costs for nonprofits and businesses that opposed or did not respond to the petition, and whether existing lights would be retained. McKibbin said the county is working with two nonprofit organizations in the proposed district that may be eligible for MSTU special projects grant funding to offset assessments. She also said all existing merchant‑installed lights would be removed and replaced with the engineered system.

Mark Cahill, communications manager for Pinellas County Public Works, said the meeting recording will be posted to the county’s Palm Harbor project page and that property owners in the assessment district will be kept informed of public‑hearing outcomes and next steps. Alex Luca, director of exemptions and legal counsel for the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Office, added that the non‑ad valorem assessment would appear on TRIM notices and that those notices will include details about the Sept. 15 meeting and contact information for county staff.

The county recommended interested parties attend or view the Jan. 28 public hearing, at which the Board of County Commissioners may adopt a resolution and confirm an assessment rule under the streetlight district ordinance. Absent a board decision at that hearing, a later action could place the assessment on the 2025 tax roll after the Sept. 15 presentation of the tax roll to the board.

The presentation also included background on downtown Palm Harbor — including recent planning work, reestablishment of Palm Harbor Main Street and upcoming community events — but the meeting's substantive agenda item was the streetlight district details, petition results, cost estimates and hearing schedule.