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Town lashes out over Lealman's new lines
By ANNE LINDBERG and MAUREEN BYRNE AHERN Kenneth City Town Council members voted Wednesday to sue if the county fails to restore an annexation planning area around the town. The threat of lawsuit was in response to a June 4 decision by the Pinellas County Commission to move annexation boundary lines in mid county to coincide with the borders of the Lealman Fire District. The change, which commissioners limited to one year, shrank the planning areas of three cities: Pinellas Park, Seminole and St. Petersburg. Kenneth City was hit harder. The county's decision temporarily deprived the town of any place to expand. "I believe it's blatantly unconstitutional," said town attorney Paul Marino, urging the council to take action. Under Florida law, before governments can sue each other, they must go through a mediation process. "If that fails," Marino said, "then, of course, we can test the actions of the county in court." County officials declined to comment, saying they had not seen the resolution that Kenneth City passed. The county decision to temporarily protect unincorporated Lealman from voluntary annexations has also outraged two of the other affected cities. Pinellas Park officials briefly considered reversing their longstanding policy against annexation by referendum so they could continue to take property in the Lealman area. Pinellas Park Council members decided to wait to see what would happen in negotiations with the county, but agreed to revisit the issue in late summer or early fall if nothing had been decided. Pinellas Park Council member Rick Butler said he thought the city should hire a lobbyist to represent the city's interests in Tallahassee and elsewhere. Elected officials in Seminole complained about temporarily losing the ability to voluntarily annex into a small piece of Lealman on Tyrone Boulevard on the west side of Park Street. They claimed they had not been notified of the potential change in boundary lines. Also wrathful was Dave Healey, executive director of the Pinellas Planning Council, which is composed of elected representatives from the county's 24 municipalities, the County Commission and the School Board. The council had recommended that commissioners not move the lines. Healey wrote a memo to planning council members on June 7 outlining some of his objections to the changes in the ordinance. The change was a "confusing, open-ended and perhaps legally flawed measure that at best is ill-founded and poorly crafted," Healey said. In particular, the portion that dealt with the one-year limitation was "clear as mud" and made it appear that the line change could be perpetuated indefinitely. Healey also alleged that the commission had not let Seminole know that a portion of its planning area was subject to change. Similarly, he objected to the commission's decision concerning some Kenneth City annexations. The commission said Kenneth City could proceed with 12 annexations that were pending on June 4 when the line change was made. But commissioners barred the town from beginning six new annexations. Healey said that was wrong and the six annexations should be allowed. He also protested the "apparent disregard" that commissioners gave to the planning council's recommendation not to change the lines. Kenneth City's Marino referred to Healey when urging the Town Council to pursue legal remedies. "Mr. Healey made it very clear and I concur 100 percent . . . that they violated both the spirit and the letter" of the original ordinance, Marino said. "We really need to test the authority that they usurped from the Pinellas Planning Council and the cities." Healey's and Marino's sentiments found fertile ground in Seminole where officials said they did not realize the change would affect Seminole. "(The lines) were apparently moved without due process," said Mitch Bobowski, Seminole's director of general services. Pinellas County Administrator Steve Spratt found it hard to believe Seminole officials did not know. The issue was widely advertised and written about in the paper. Additionally, the issue was discussed by the planning council, of which Seminole is a member, he said. "I don't think this is one of those stealth actions that came in under radar," Spratt said. County attorney Jim Bennett agreed that Seminole had ample notice of the change. It was advertised as affecting Lealman and the surrounding areas, he said. "That was sufficient as far as I'm concerned," Bennett said. Seminole officials countered that during the process there was never any mention of Seminole losing a portion of its annexation planning area. When city administrators realized the Lealman lines included an area north of Tyrone Boulevard and west of Park Street, they contacted the county. Bobowski and City Manager Frank Edmunds brought their concerns Wednesday to Assistant County Administrator Jake Stowers. Bobowski said Stowers told them he would find out exactly how much of the disputed area was inside Lealman's new boundary lines. If Lealman's new lines end up affecting Seminole's annexation planning boundaries, Seminole city staff then would ask the council what direction to take, including the possibility of a lawsuit. Members of the City Council said last week they were disappointed the county had moved the annexation planning lines. Less than a month after the American Assembly, a three-day conference where city and county leaders vowed to work together on issues such as annexation and services, it appears the relationship between the county and cities is more tense than ever. "This is very disheartening for me," said Seminole Mayor Dottie Reeder. "This violates everything that everyone was hoping would come out of the American Assembly." If you're interestedCounty commissioners are scheduled to receive a copy of the Lealman Feasibility Study during their meeting Tuesday. The meeting, which is open to the public, begins at 3 p.m. in the commission chambers on the fifth floor of the Pinellas County Courthouse, 315 Court St., Clearwater. Pinellas Planning Council members are also scheduled to receive a copy of the report during their Wednesday meeting. The 9 a.m. meeting will be in the commission chambers. Members of the Lealman revitalization team are scheduled to receive a short report on the study during their meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Lealman United Methodist Church, 4090 58th Ave. N. For information or to get a copy of the report, call Gordon Beardslee, general planning administrator with Pinellas County, 464-8200.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks Letters |
