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Talk of recall further roils Crystal River
By ALEX LEARY, Times Staff Writer CRYSTAL RIVER -- A local businesswoman planned Monday to start a petition to remove John Kendall from the City Council, saying his actions in recent months prove he is "not a team player." Brendalee Combrink, owner of Nature Coast Trading Co., said she has been thinking about a recall effort for a while but decided to follow through after a meeting last week during which Kendall criticized City Manager Phil Lilly's job performance. A large crowd of Lilly's supporters attended the meeting, including his wife, who told the council she would do everything in her power to get him to quit. "All he wants to do is tear people down," Combrink said, also calling attention to Kendall's public battles with police Chief Jim Farley over the future of the Police Department. "He's not a team player," said Combrink. "He's doing nothing but trying to break our city apart." Kendall, who is completing the first year of a three-year term, said Combrink does not have adequate justification for a recall. "They don't understand what I'm trying to do," he said. "I want the city manager to pay attention to running the day-to-day operation of the city. I don't know how they can define that as disruptive." In order to remove an elected official from office, a petition must be signed by at least 250 registered voters and it must contain a statement of no more than 200 words explaining the grounds for recall. Under Section 100.361 of the Florida Statutes, the reasons can be malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability and conviction of a felony involving "moral turpitude." As of Monday afternoon, Combrink, who is not a city resident herself, had not drafted the statement and was not sure how the case would be built against Kendall. But she said word had already gotten out, and people said they would sign the petition. This is not the first time a council member in Crystal River has been the subject of a recall effort. In late 1996, the Committee to Recall Daryl Oster, who once aimed a banana at other council members and pretended it was a gun during a statement about the Police Department, obtained enough signatures but ran into other snags. The signatures were invalidated by the city clerk because the petition was too wordy and did not limit its accusations to the legitimate grounds for recall allowed by law. The effort cost the city $3,300 in legal fees after attorney Clark Stillwell spent nearly 30 hours researching questions surrounding the recall. "I suggest before any hazardous action is undertaken that we look at the history of Daryl Oster," said Kendall backer Chris Lloyd. "It's never going to happen." But Ed Tolle, a former council member, said public sentiment is building against Kendall. "I'd be very happy if he was recalled," Tolle said. "I think he is a real jerk." -- Alex Leary can be reached at (352) 564-3623 or leary@sptimes.com.
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