[July 18, 2011] 'PET PEEVE': Council looks at ways to make Destin more aesthetically appealing Tweet Jul 16, 2011 (Destin Log - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- If Destin wants to continue promoting itself as a "world-class community," city leaders say work needs to be done to make the city more aesthetically pleasing. "We focus, as a council, on our front door, everything pretty much south of 98aEUR and yet our back neighborhoods are not getting enough love and attention," Mayor Sam Seevers said. "There's improper lighting, a lot of things that we need to try and start focusing on, so we can try and start bringing some of our neighborhoods up." City leaders recently met to continue expanding and streamlining their vision for the city of Destin. In the most recent workshop, they tackled issues relating to the quality of life and environment. Based off of the city's original visioning session in April, topics that were earmarked for further discussion included recycling and environmental education; public services education; enforcement of neighborhood regulations; and programs for youths, seniors and culture. For Councilman Tom Weidenhamer, the thought of people parking their vehicles across sidewalks in neighborhoods was on the top of his no-no list, saying it was a continual problem and a safety hazard. "All I have to do is drive home from work at night and I can see two or three cars parked across sidewalks," he said. "It would force anyone walking down that street into the road." "It just happens to be a pet peeve of mine," Weidenhamer added. Agreeing with Weidenhamer was code enforcement manager David Bazylak, who told the group of about 30 city leaders and staff they have been "conducting sweeps" throughout the city and have even gone as far as placing fliers in doors of the offending parties. "It's successful for a while," he said. "We will try and make that more of a priority." Other concerns dealt with recycling, or a lack thereof, councilwoman Sandy Trammell said. By 2012, Trammell noted that 80 percent of the trash in the city of Destin would have to be recyclable. Looking at that upcoming deadline, she said there "are many people that don't recycle, period." Another concern was with bulk items, such as beds, sofas and other furniture being left outside for long periods of time before Waste Management collects them. She suggested that the city could look into picking these items up and storing them at the city's public services facility, until they could be properly disposed of. With a laundry list of housekeeping items identified during the meeting, city leaders agreed they had plenty of items to look over as they put the items together. The next step was to form actionable ideas as they move forward. For Trammell, cleaning up Destin is a no brainer, but the main thing city leaders needed to do was "focus on the fact that we are a world-class community." To see more of The Destin Log or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.destin.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Destin Log, Fla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]