Community input ruled April 3 at the Palmetto City Council meeting. Residents voiced questions and concerns, supported by council members willing to take up their cause.

Several residents expressed the concern that no current recreation opportunities existed for children. The absence of such opportunities, they said, would be especially significant during the summer months. The small but persistent group wanted recreation to become a specific city project. Council members Leon Sumlin and Gregory Rusch recommended a discussion panel composed of parents meet to initiate a plan and present it to the full council. Council member and former coach Jeff Yasson said he would take the lead on getting residents together.

Residents were quick to surface other concerns. Among those were the need to hire additional police officers and the smell generated from Willow Oaks Landfill on Roosevelt Highway.

Referencing city police, residents said Palmetto needed more officers, better officers and some way to entice new officers to the city. In response, Mayor Clark Boddie said the council had previously discussed law enforcement needs and would be discussing them further during preparations for the next budget cycle.

Trash along Roosevelt Highway near Willow Oaks Landfill and a very noticeable smell originating from the facility was also cited as a concern by residents. Yasson recommended that the city invite a representative to the next council meeting to discuss the issue. City Administrator Bill Shell said he would contact Willow Oaks.

Also at the meeting, Rusch suggested the city look at submitting a project application for a Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) grant. Rusch said the application deadline is November. Boddie explained that such applications are customarily accompanied by an identified project for the review process, adding that few proposals are funded by the many communities submitting them. The council agreed to determine a suitable project for submission. During the discussion, Council member John Miller suggested that community input relating to the project would be beneficial.

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