By Matthew Campbell, Town Manager, Town of Kenneth City
Over the past two years, the Town of Kenneth City has experienced tremendous revitalization and re-birth as a desirable, thriving community in the Tampa Bay area. Following the passage of a 2013 charter modification from a strong mayor to a council-manager form of government, the Town hired its first Town Manager since becoming a Town in 1957. In the two short years following the March 2014 recruitment of a Town Manager , the Town has undergone significant reorganization, and is continually striving to bolster its identity and gain well-deserved recognition among the 23 other municipalities in Pinellas County.
Updates have been extensive, and span the gamut from Town-wide beautification and infrastructure improvements, to extensive internal administrative processes and personnel reorganization. Visible examples include newly constructed medians and decorative LED streetlights on 54th Avenue, several public art projects (a mural, ‘free libraries’, and the Town’s first artistic bike rack), development of a Town brand/slogan of “A Safe, Friendly Small Town,” conversion of existing streetlights to environmentally efficient LED lighting, the elimination of red light cameras, and successful Economic Development efforts resulting in the attraction of several new businesses. Administrative successes have included much-needed policy development, wage, classification, and benefit surveys and/or adjustments for Town employees consistent with area labor markets, and the attraction and retention of a higher quality, skilled labor force.
Near future projects include completion of a Town-wide bicycle & pedestrian master plan, widened sidewalks and decorative lighting, renovations to Town buildings and park facilities, LED informative signage, and the construction of additional Town facilities that, upon completion, will provide an element of financial return on the initial investment to enable more resources to be provided, albeit for less net funding. We invite you to experience the newly branded, thriving Kenneth City community – a place that one can call home, yet still be 20 minutes from everything Tampa Bay has to offer.
