Clearwater Welcoming New Mayor Andrea Lawrence-Wheeler

CLEARWATER -- There's a new mayor in town and she's setting up shop in city hall.

Andrea Lawrence - Wheeler will officially be sworn in as the mayor of Clearwater on Monday. She ran unopposed for the mayor's seat. Current Clearwater Mayor Pete Edmonson decided to not run for re-election.

Lawrence - Wheeler already has big plans for the city, starting with finding out exactly what residents would like to see.

"The number one thing I want to do is find out what the residents of the city of Clearwater want, what their goals are moving forward. We represent the constituents, no one just speaks for themselves. I want to work on a survey or just getting people more involved. I think the last formal survey we put out as a city was in 2013."

A large part of getting more people involved is encouraging residents to reach out. Lawrence - Wheeler says she's putting a huge emphasis on being transparent and open to all.

"Another way I want to find out [what residents want] besides the survey is by hopefully encouraging people to contact their council members and contact the mayor. If you go on our website we have emails on there, phone numbers on there, really easy to contact us, call us and tell us what you want."

Lawrence - Wheeler says she's already had several residents reach out to her and she hopes the trend continues.

If you're looking to get more involved with the city, there are some positions opening up. Lawrence - Wheeler says her current council seat is up for grabs.

"People are encouraged to apply. So contact city hall or go on the website and you can apply after we adopt the formal process on Monday."

Also, positions are opening up on the parks commission. Lawrence - Wheeler has served on the parks board. She says it's definitely time well spent.

"There's parks commission openings and I always encourage people to do that one because it's fun. There's money there and you get to see improvements. You get to see kids and grandkids, nieces and nephews enjoying parks immediately."

Openings are also available on the planning and zoning commission. If you'd like to learn more about these openings reach out to city hall.

Clearwater's City Council meeting is on deck for Monday at 7:00 p.m. at Clearwater City Hall. Typically council meetings are scheduled for the second Monday of every month.