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Landlord contests flood grant status
By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA MADEIRA BEACH -- Former City Commissioner Tom Saxon is suiting up for a flood grant battle again, this time over a rental property that the state says does not qualify for funding. Earlier this year, Saxon applied for a $127,206 flood mitigation grant for a three-unit rental property at 14101 N Bayshore Drive. The property, which he purchased in 1998, has flooded several times, he says, causing inconvenience to his renters and damage to both his property and the renters' belongings. Last month, the state kicked the application back to the city, which acts as the official applicant on behalf of property owners. Saxon's property was ineligible, according to the state, because it is considered a "secondary residential structure." According to Frank Koutnik, chief of the state's Bureau of Recovery and Mitigation, secondary residences are considered for grants only after the eligible primary residential and commercial properties have been funded. Because Saxon's property is not his primary residence and other primary residential structures qualified for available grant money, Saxon was not eligible in the current round of funding, Koutnik said. Not so fast, said Saxon, who has been on the phone to the state and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials and is compiling a thick portfolio of correspondence. He is arguing not so much with the state's rule prioritizing grant awards, but the state's classification of his property as secondary. "This is not a secondary residence. It is a primary residence that is occupied by renters," Saxon said. "They have no other place to live when it floods." He says the state's decision is arbitrary and discriminatory against renters. "I'm not a combative person, but I do believe in standing up for my rights. I'm not looking at changing the selection of the properties, I just want to be fairly considered," Saxon said. He says his rental property is in the "bowl of the city," sits right next to the city's pumping station and has flooded numerous times. During Tropical Storm Gordon in September 2000, 2 feet of water invaded one of the rental units on the property, Saxon said. So far, city officials are keeping their distance in the controversy, acting as conduits between the state and Saxon. Last month, Saxon won a three-year battle with Madeira Beach over a $65,783 flood grant for his home. The court fight cost the city nearly $60,000 in attorney fees. In that case, the city refused to give Saxon the grant -- which the state had approved -- arguing that Saxon had used his position as a city commissioner to better position himself to receive the grant. A circuit court judge disagreed, however, ruling last month that Saxon should get the money because the city failed to prove that any other property owner had been substantially damaged when Saxon was awarded the grant. The judge found no evidence that Saxon had used undue influence to get the grant. He said the city acted arbitrarily in withholding the funds, and also criticized the state's administration of the flood grant program. Saxon has another court case pending against the city -- involving the same rental properties he hopes will be approved for a flood grant. He is contesting a Board of Adjustment denial of a variance that would have allowed him to replace the existing two structures on the property with a single, two-unit structure.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks Letters |
