From Page 3 7 IslandVibesIOP.com NEWS address and/or complete: • IOP’s comprehensive drainage plan to handle stormwater issues • Cleaner beaches and waterways • More effective enforcement of our livability issues • Protecting “our right” to govern through Home Rule “Our city council has been addressing these priorities for some time now and have accomplished major improvements with many of them,” Streetman said. “But there’s still work to be done to continue to improve our residential quality-of-life issues.” At the height of the island tourist season, visitors often outnumber residents by a ratio of more than 4-1 and sometimes nearly 16-1 – with as many as 60,000 visitors during the July 4 weekend. Over the past year, the city council has been looking into different Streetman wins runoff ways to handle the growing influx of visitors, such as more efficient public parking, improved roadways and drainage, stronger police enforcement of beach rules and mainland busing to alleviate an overflow of personal vehicles on the island. Streetman said while visitors are always welcome, too many can put a strain on resources if not properly managed. “And we must also continue to improve access to our beautiful island through effective compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure everyone can enjoy our beaches and public accommodations,” Streetman said. Council members at times have been divided over the best ways to handle specific island problems and concerns, such as the shortterm rentals issue from 2022 and 2023, the ban on wildlife feeding from summer 2024 and the ongoing issue of a workable noise ordinance. Streetman reiterated that with all the island’s current issues and others held over or pending for 2025 and beyond, effective collaboration among council members and between members and IOP residents is still as crucial now as when he last served on council. “And now with the main election and runoff over, I want to continue to work on the things I was doing when I left,” Streetman added. “To this end, I pledge to promote and improve civility and teamwork and more involvement collaboratively with all residents of the island, including regular community meetings. Our residents are an unlimited source of great ideas and we need to encourage more feedback and input from them. Through this approach, I think we can make IOP an even better place for residents and visitors alike." “Our city council has been addressing these priorities for some time now and have accomplished major improvements with many of them. But there’s still work to be done to continue to improve our residential quality-of-life issues.”
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