George N. Cretekos Mayor
David Allbritton Councilmember
Doreen Caudell Councilmember
Dr. Bob Cundiff Councilmember
Hoyt Hamilton Councilmember
William B. Horne, II City Manager
Pam Akin City Attorney
Jill Silverboard Deputy City Manager
Micah Maxwell Assistant City Manager
EDITORIAL STAFF
Executive Editor Joelle Castelli
Editor Heather Parsons
Assistant Editors Jason Beisel
Alexandra Chandler
Krystie Epperson
Mike Lockwood
José Patiño
Rob Shaw
Graphic Designer Laura Del Valle
CONTRIBUTORS
Library Jennifer Obermaier
Parks & Recreation Shaun Beasley
Sandy Clayton
Brian Craig
Rosemary Davis
Kris Koch
Kerry Marsalek
Public Utilities Paula MacDonald
MyClearwater is published three times a year
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CmyLEARWATER
MyClearwater.com
Summer | May – Aug. 2018
ON THE COVER
This handsome boy is seeing what it's like to be a
firefighter at the grand opening of Fire Station #50.
See page 2 for details about the event.
Summer is here! As the temperatures heat up, Clearwater Beach is
making waves (and international lists!) once again. I’m proud to say
that Clearwater Beach once again was voted the No. 1 best beach in
the United States – just as it had been in 2016 – as part of TripAdvisor
Travelers’ Choice Awards. Our bright and beautiful beach beat out Siesta
Beach on Siesta Key (No. 2), Ka’anapali Beach in Hawaii (No. 3) and
Miami’s South Beach (No. 4), among others. Clearwater Beach also was
named No. 7 on TripAdvisor’s Top 25 beaches in the world, of which it’s
the only Floridian beach.
Both lists were generated based on rankings from TripAdvisor’s customers
following their vacations to destinations all over the world. These
recognitions reflect the true opinions of those who come to Clearwater
Beach, our guests from around the world.
In city news, Clearwater voters headed to the polls in March and voted
in a new and a familiar face to the current City Council. I’d like to offer
my congratulations to Councilmember Hoyt Hamilton on his re-election
to another four years as a City Councilmember. I also would like to
welcome Clearwater’s newest Councilmember, David Allbritton. He has
spent 36 years as a state-certified building contractor in Clearwater, and
he has more than two decades of civic and public service experience in our
beautiful city.
Hurricane season begins June 1. Hurricane Irma left a lasting impression
on all of us last year. The city is working on its emergency plan, and you
should be, too. City staff has been working hard all year long, coming up
with ways the city can improve its responses during tropical storms and
hurricanes. Residents should make sure to have an emergency plan in
place and fully stock their emergency storm kits. Here’s to hoping for a
quiet storm season.
Sincerely,
Bill Horne
City Manager
/MyClearwater.com