Dunedin commission directs consolidation of advisory committees but keeps Causeway panel intact after residents object

At the Feb. 3 workshop, city staff presented a multi-year plan to consolidate and revise Dunedin's advisory committees to reduce overlap, strengthen mission clarity and lower staff burden.

The staff package proposed several consolidations: the Committee on Environmental Quality & Sustainability (CEQS) with the Stormwater Advisory Committee; the Hammock and Causeway advisory bodies with Parks and Recreation; Disability and Social Services combined into a single social-services advisory body; and Edgewater Drive topics folded into a broader public-safety/multimodal advisory group. Staff also recommended sunsetting the Public Relations Advisory Board and the Youth Advisory Committee because their core duties have been satisfied or membership has waned.

Residents and committee chairs attended in force to voice objections about some mergers. Several speakers from the Causeway Advisory Committee argued their work on motorized watercraft, beach maintenance and adjacent water quality is highly specialized and would be diluted in a larger Parks & Recreation body. Nancy Schmidt, chair of the Causeway committee, said she and other members were recruited for specific causeway expertise: "We don't see ourselves merging with any of the other recommendations," she said.

Commissioners and staff discussed options to preserve focus while gaining efficiency: commissioners asked staff to ensure consolidated agendas include standing line items for previously separate topics so specialized issues are not lost. After debate, the commission by consensus directed staff to proceed with several consolidations (CEQS+Stormwater; Parks & Rec+Hammock; Disability+Social Services; Edgewater+Public Safety with expanded scope) but to leave the Causeway/Coastal committee separate for now and to return with revised resolution language and residency clarifications. Commissioners also asked staff to add the word "Advisory" consistently to committee titles and to restart a chairs-of-committees annual briefing and sunshine refresher for volunteers.

Staff emphasized no current volunteers will be removed immediately; as terms expire the commission will not refill positions in order to reach new quorum targets in a measured way. Staff will return the revised resolutions, including clear duties, residency rules and meeting cadence options (several commissioners suggested alternating monthly/bi-monthly meetings for less active committees).