Indian Rocks Beach City Commission

Four candidates are running for two seats, and voters face a referendum on city real estate transactions.

By ANDREW MEACHAM
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 2, 2003

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH -- Four City Commission candidates are focusing on taxes, spending and zoning as ways of preserving a sense of small-town community.

The candidates are running for two seats. James Palamara and Patricia Emser are incumbents, but only Palamara has been elected. Emser was appointed in December to fill the vacancy left by Joanna "Cookie" Kennedy, who left her spot to run for the state Senate.

Bill Ockunzzi and Stephen Small have not run for local office before, although Small volunteered for the seat awarded to Emser and Ockunzzi serves on the Planning and Zoning Board.

Also on the ballot is a referendum which, if passed, would require the city to gain voter approval before buying or leasing any real estate outside city limits.

The referendum arose from plans to redevelop city-owned waterfront property and relocate the solid waste facility there to Pinellas Park.

"We have a very outstanding solid waste service here," said Ockunzzi, who supports the referendum. "Everybody is almost universally for the (sanitation) employees. There is a concern: What if their home base is moved outside the city? Will they continue to have side-yard pickup or will we have to put the containers out on the street? Is this the best deal that could be found? What will the existing site become? A restaurant? A park? That part is pretty unclear to residents."

Ockunzzi also supports a super majority vote -- four of five commissioners -- before the city's Comprehensive Plan can be changed to permit taller buildings or increased density.

Small has said he is wary of unchecked development but disputes more referendums as a solution. "We've become a proposition town like in California, where a little band of activists can become tyrants," Small said. "It only takes 300 people to start a referendum," he said, referring to a charter provision that 10 percent of the electorate can place an issue on the ballot. "That's just not right."

Instead of creating more referendums, Small said, he wants commissioners to think of ways to increase turnout at public meetings. "Every issue that comes before the City Commission is exposed at least twice. We have a workshop and a meeting to get information in front of the public," he said. "Somehow we've got to find a way to pack the place."

Small said the city's current codes and zoning regulations have outlived their usefulness. As a result, Small contended, variance requests for setbacks or docks consume commission meetings.

Emser also opposes the referendum: "From a business perspective, forcing a vote before securing a contract may severely limit the city's ability to negotiate in a timely and cost-effective manner."

Another problem that has caught her attention: coastal homeowners trying to keep their homeowners insurance policies and still get coverage for windstorms such as hurricanes.

"We cannot do a lot with a tax bill," she added, a reference to Palamara's vocal support of a lower millage rate. "But if we can tackle problems associated with insurance, we can realistically save homeowners hundreds of dollars a year."

Emser also favors tougher codes, stronger enforcement and support of civic beautification efforts.

Palamara also supports finding ways to cut down on properties that repeatedly violate codes and to develop a recycling program. He supports lower property taxes and backs the spending referendum: "We should continue solid waste service the way it is."

Palamara's support of voter involvement doesn't stop at this referendum.

"I would like to see voter approval for any new taxes or fees," Palamara said. "I think we are taxed enough in this town. If we're going to have any new fees or taxes, we should let everybody vote on it."

-- Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

The job

Commissioners hold monthly meetings in addition to participating in workshops and committees. They establish policy and decide city ordinances, local laws and land use regulations, as well as grant or deny variance requests. They establish a city budget and approve major expenses. Commissioners serve two-year terms. Their pay as of April 1 will be $373.23 a month.

Where to vote

City Hall, 1507 Bay Palm Blvd. Commission chambers. Polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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