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Kenneth City
By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
KENNETH CITY -- A former council member has made good on his pledge to come back and run for mayor. Ron Sneed, who left the council a year ago to take care of his family and other personal matters, is facing off against incumbent Bill Smith in next week's election. In the Town Council election, voters will choose among political newcomer Philip Redisch and incumbents Teresa Zemaitis and Al Carrier for two open seats. Mayor Smith said he's running for re-election to work on unfinished business. Prime among them, he said, is drainage. The town contracted with a company to photograph and line all the drainage pipes, but the problem is still not licked, he said. Otherwise, Smith points to successes during seven years in Kenneth City government, four of those on the council and the past three as mayor. Smith said he was instrumental in helping get the Willow Lakes townhouse project off the drawing board and into reality; he ensured fire and emergency service by contracting with the Lealman Fire District; and he was the prime mover to get Pinellas Park to handle the town's building department. As a retiree, Smith said he can be a full-time mayor. Sneed resigned from the Town Council in January 2002 to spend time with his family and get a business started. But the night he announced his resignation, Sneed also vowed to run for mayor this year. With his business, Residential Remodeling Solutions, up and running, Sneed said he can deliver on his promise to run and to serve. "I think I can serve the city well," Sneed said. "I want to become proactive rather than reactive . . . bring unity to the community." One of Sneed's priorities also is the town's drainage system. Officials, he said, spent more than $600,000 on evaluating and lining the drains. That was supposed to be a first step to repairing all problems. But "nothing has been done for 18 months. I will put together a plan to get these storm drains fixed," Sneed said. Another goal, he said, would be to get town departments to work more closely with each other. Cooperation between public works and police could mean increased code enforcement, he said, and help improve Kenneth City's appearance. Sneed also would like to bring increased accountability to the public works department. Some people complain, he said, that the department's workers do nothing. If they kept a list of what they do, that should quiet any critics because the workers' efforts and accomplishments would be clear. Town Council Philip Redisch, the newcomer, says he is running to give something back to the town. Teresa Zemaitis says she's running to complete unfinished business. Al Carrier, the other incumbent, isn't talking, at least not publicly. "I'm not going to say anything. No comment," Carrier said Monday. Redisch, a Brooklyn native, is interested in volunteerism and being active in community affairs. Now that his two-year term as president of Congregation B'nai Israel is coming to an end, Redisch said he has the time and expertise to give to the town. "I have to give back to the city," Redisch said. "You can't live in a vacuum today. You should be involved in as many things as you can." His interest in Kenneth City government has been fueled by frequent attendance at council meetings. "I just sit at the meetings and it seems that some people are always negative and other people are positive," Redisch said. If elected, Redisch said he would seek to bring a more positive attitude and more unity to the council. Redisch said he is concerned that the council last year approved a $96,000 plan to improve the playground at the Community Hall. Part of the approval was a pledge to get a grant to pay for most of the work, but the money has not been received. "If you're going to build something for $96,000, you've got to make sure the money is coming," he said. Zemaitis wants to continue her work on the council, and one of those unfinished tasks would be the playground. There's another playground on 43rd Avenue N "that's a disgrace," she said. That one also needs to be improved. "I would like to try to get a grant for the small park as well," Zemaitis said. Zemaitis said she would like to revisit a campaign promise from the last election: free library cards for town residents. Right now, residents pay for a card, and the town reimburses them part of the cost. Soon after she was elected in 2000, Zemaitis said she had a deal with the Pinellas County Library Cooperative to give Kenneth City residents a free card and send the bill to the town. But the council rejected the idea. "That's something I would like to bring up again," she said. "I still feel that's the way it should be." Zemaitis, at 34, is the youngest member of the council and may be the youngest ever elected in Kenneth City history. She said her age is an asset, providing a balance to other council members and a voice for a growing number of young families with children. THE MAYOR The job: The mayor is elected in a nonpartisan, at-large election of all registered Kenneth City voters. The term of office is three years. The mayor earns $6,000 a year. William 'Bill' Smith AGE: 74. BACKGROUND: Smith has been Kenneth City mayor since 2000. Before that, he served on the Town Council beginning in 1996. He served for three years as the town's representative on the Pinellas Planning Council, which oversees countywide planning and development. He is a former member of the Kenneth City Homeowners Association. He is retired. He and his wife have two daughters. ASSETS: Home, IRA. LIABILITIES: None. INCOME: Social Security, IRA, mayor's salary. Ron Sneed AGE: 43. BACKGROUND: Sneed served on the Kenneth City Town Council from 1998 until January 2002 when he resigned to concentrate on his family. He owns Residential Remodeling Solution. He is also a licensed insurance agent and residential contractor. He is married and has two children. ASSETS: House, annuity. LIABILITIES: Mortgage, VISA card. INCOME: Residential Remodeling. COUNCIL MEMBER The job: The Kenneth City Town Council is a nonpartisan body of four members and the mayor who oversee the town government. Each member has charge of a government department. They meet as a group at least twice a month, once in a regular meeting and once in a workshop, and serve two-year terms. Council members earn $300 a month. Kenneth City has a population of about 4,400. Albert L. Carrier AGE: 67 BACKGROUND: Carrier has served on the Town Council since 1999. He is a former member of the Kenneth City Homeowners Association and served as vice president and chairman of that group's Student Scholarship Committee. He also has been a volunteer at Kenneth City's bingo nights and has coached and umpired Cross Bayou Little League baseball. He is retired. ASSETS: Home. LIABILITIES: None. SOURCES OF INCOME: Retirement, council salary. Philip Redisch AGE: 67 BAKCGROUND: Redisch is a Brooklyn native who worked as a cabdriver on Long Island before moving here 24 years ago. He owned several cabs and was president of Independent Taxi Co. on and off for about 10 years until he retired two years ago. He is president of B'nai Israel Congregation in St. Petersburg. He is a volunteer at Menorrah Manor. He was a national officer of the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs and volunteered with the Mahaffey Theatre. He is married and has three children. ASSETS: Home, stocks, bonds. LIABILITIES: None. SOURCE OF INCOME: Social Security. Teresa Zemaitis AGE: 34 BACKGROUND: Zemaitis is a native of Queens, N.Y., who moved to Kenneth City a little more than four years ago. Since coming to Kenneth City, she has covered town government for the Sentinel, a community newspaper that no longer publishes. She served on the Activities Committee, which helped establish the Kenneth City Library, and served on the Capital Improvements Committee. She is a teaching partner at Westgate Elementary, teaching reading. She is married and has a daughter. ASSETS: Home. LIABILITIES: Mortgage. SOURCES OF INCOME: Westgate Elementary, council salary.
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