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A South Pasadena resident challenges the need for a state grant of $42,000 to construct a pavilion in Galatea Gardens park.
By AMY WIMMER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 25, 2002
SOUTH PASADENA -- Dan Calabria thinks he knows government waste when he sees it.
So when the state delivered a $42,000 grant to his home city, South Pasadena, Calabria started raising red flags, even though the money did not require local matching funds and came without strings.
The grant is for a picnic pavilion in Galatea Gardens, a city park across the street from Duryea Park, which already has plenty of picnic shelter space, Calabria says. Besides, he continued in letters sent to the Department of Environmental Protection, South Pasadena founded Galatea Gardens with a $1-million bequest from a deceased resident and still has $200,000 of that money sitting in the bank.
"It is fiscally irresponsible to award any monies to any entity that is clearly attempting to game the system for purely self-serving, political purposes, which flies in the face of equitable principles," Calabria wrote in a letter to DEP, which awarded South Pasadena $42,000 through its Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program.
Calabria believes his questions point out fallacies in the DEP's grant program which, according to DEP spokeswoman Kathalyn Gaither, funded all eligible requests this year.
Calabria suggests the DEP should conduct more on-site visits to check the validity of grant requests. He believes the city would have been turned down for the pavilion if state officials had realized the city already has one across the street.
Linda Hallas, South Pasadena's city attorney, who submitted the grant application for the city, said Calabria is just being a pest.
"He lives in South Pasadena. We get a 100 percent grant, and he writes to the state and says we shouldn't get the money?" Hallas said. "What's wrong with this picture?
"In my opinion, at this point, he's so over the edge, he's just tiresome to deal with."
Calabria contends that South Pasadena exaggerated its application by saying the city could not afford a picnic pavilion in its Galatea Gardens budget. Galatea Gardens did not include a picnic pavilion because the city did not have enough money in its budget. He said that is not true, considering that $200,000 is still left from the bequest.
Hallas said Calabria's complaint is not relevant because the grant is not a needs-based program.
South Pasadena opened Galatea Gardens two years ago, the brainchild of former resident Galatea Lebus, who left $1-million for the city to create a peaceful place where people could enjoy nature. Among the requirements outlined by Mrs. Lebus was that the park must have a Greek theme and must feature a statue of the Greek mythological figure Galatea, Mrs. Lebus' namesake.
By accepting the money, the city agreed to maintain the park perpetually, even if the money eventually ran out. South Pasadena set aside $200,000 of the $1-million, Hallas said, hoping the city could maintain the park using only interest gained from that money.
Because the $200,000 has accrued less interest than expected, the city has dipped into the money to fund maintenance for the park.
Hallas said the city applied for the grant to provide shade for its elderly residents. Most of the park's trees were planted when the park opened and are still too small to provide much shade.
"It gets pretty hot out there," Hallas said. "You don't see too many people out there for a long period of time meditating or reading."
But Calabria said he doesn't see too many people in the park, period.
"This park is virtually empty 95 to 99 percent of the time and will remain so regardless if this structure is built," Calabria wrote, "since the park is most frequently used for its toilet facilities by tennis players across the street."
Gaither, the DEP spokeswoman, said Calabria is scheduled to discuss the grant this week with the agency's ombudsman and DEP officials.