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Dunedin OKs '08 Downtown Mardi Gras Festival

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By Mark  Schantz | The Suncoast News

Published: January 4, 2008

DUNEDIN, Fla. - DUNEDIN, Fla. - Get those beads ready and let the party begin.

Thursday night the City Commission gave the Dunedin Downtown Merchants Association permission to once again stage its Mardi Gras celebration.

The festival, which includes a lavish parade along Douglas Avenue, from Knology Park to Grant Street, is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 5. The event marks the traditional celebration of Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday.

Festivities for this year's Mardi Gras festival, the 17th, will include live entertainment in Pioneer Park along with food, beverages and other vendors lined up and down Main Street.

The Downtown Merchants Association will pay the city $12,070 to cover the costs of the celebration, including overtime for city personnel, said City Manager Robert DiSpirito.
The association will also be responsible for all street and park clean-up after the event, he added.

This year organizers have agreed to pay more of the cost of hiring Pinellas County sheriff's deputies to provide crowd control and other security duties. They will also be responsible for informing residents and businesses in the downtown area about the times when motor vehicle access to downtown will be restricted to accommodate the Mardi Gras events.

The organizers are expecting about 25,000 people to attend the 2008 Mardi Gras celebration. The event promotes the downtown retail and entertainment district and raises funds for local charities.

Mayor Bob Hackworth agreed Mardi Gras kelps promote downtown economic development.

Commissioners agreed to forgo making the association reimburse the city the $11,525 it would take for city staff to support and approve the event as part of its normal course of business. The city and downtown merchants worked together to reduce the waiver by 20 percent over last year, DiSpirito said.

Former Commissioner Tom Osborne suggested the city wait until after the event to consider waiving the reimbursement to see if Mardi Gras raised enough money to cover the cost of the routine city services associated with the event.

In response, Hackworth noted the donation of some Mardi Gras proceeds to charitable groups.

Osborne, however, said taxpayers may not want their money used to support those charities.

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