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Dunedin commissioners review 2025 legislative priorities; home rule, resilience and Causeway bridge get attention
Summary
City staff and commissioners discussed a condensed set of 2025 legislative priorities — including protection of home rule, funding for resiliency and infrastructure, Causeway and Honeymoon Island recovery — and asked staff to produce a one‑page advocacy document for the legislative session.
City staff presented a condensed draft of Dunedin’s 2025 legislative priorities at the commission work session, and commissioners gave detailed feedback on items ranging from home‑rule protections to storm resilience, transportation projects and state funding for affordable housing.
Nicole Delfino, strategy and sustainability manager, told the commission staff wants to pare back previous years’ long lists of priorities into a focused one‑page statement for legislators and agency contacts. “We really worked on… consolidating those,” she said, and asked for comments before staff drafts the finalized advocacy one‑pager.
Commissioners emphasized several recurring themes. Several members led by the mayor and Commissioner Walker urged staff to prioritize protection of home rule and to flag bills that could affect local authority. “If there is an aspect of home rule in a piece of legislation, passage of that legislation then sets a precedence,” the mayor said, arguing for ongoing vigilance.
On environment and resiliency, vice mayor said the draft language felt “soft” given recent hurricanes and urged stronger wording and urgency for funding to mitigate storm impacts. Utilities director Nan Bennett explained technical constraints at the wastewater plant — including biosolids handling and a 2022 Senate Bill 64 restriction on discharges to the Sound — and described the adjacent Coca‑Cola parcel as “the only opportunity to expand” reclaimed water storage and other plant functions in Dunedin.
Transportation priorities named in the draft include Dunedin Causeway and bridge improvements, Honeymoon Island recovery, SR 580 Complete Streets work and support for multimodal infrastructure and sustainable transit funding. Commissioners pressed staff to tie state road requests explicitly to multimodal outcomes and to pursue support for the Dunedin Causeway bridge project.
On municipal administration, staff recommended restoring local authority over short‑term rentals and supporting licensing, insurance and compliance measures; commissioners said short‑term‑rental legislation had quieted but agreed to keep it monitored. Mental and behavioral health funding and expanding access for children and adults also remained on the priority list.
Commissioners discussed arts, workforce and affordable housing priorities, including a call to fully fund the Sadowski Trust for housing programs and to pursue flexible transit requirements for mixed‑use affordable development. Commissioner Dugard urged the commission to consider workforce incentives and support so that key workers — nurses, teachers and others — can live near their jobs.
Delfino said staff will refine the priorities into a one‑page advocacy document, circulate it to the commission for review and share the final priorities with legislators, state agencies and the Florida League of Cities. Commissioners asked staff to provide bill summaries that explicitly flag home‑rule impacts and to prepare talking points and rapid‑response materials for priority issues during session and committee weeks.
