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A union between the senior activity center and the community's recreation department is off, for now.
By ED QUIOCO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 14, 2003
PALM HARBOR -- Clutching white cardboard cutouts of wedding bells that read "Let's get married," dozens of retirees rallied Wednesday night in support of their beloved senior activity center.
It was the first public discussion of a proposal to merge the financially strapped Palm Harbor Senior Activity Center with the Palm Harbor recreation department. Supporters asked the agency that controls that department to have faith that the plan would work.
But after a tense two-hour meeting, the Palm Harbor Community Services Agency turned down that request.
"You can't just go totally by faith," said Ken Peluso, the agency's chairman. "I think that's just flat out irresponsible."
The merger failed on a 2-3 vote of the board of the Palm Harbor Community Services Agency -- which oversees the area's library and recreation department, and collects a small property tax to pay for those services. Board members Ben Gagliardo and John Downes voted in favor of the merger. They said the plan was a chance to help the struggling senior center while expanding the recreation department.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to join two great services organizations so that they can work together," Gagliardo said.
Peluso said he did not want to place the tax-supported recreation department at risk by taking on the activity center. He heavily criticized the proposal because the financial reports provided to support the plan had inconsistent budget numbers.
"How can we possibly think about merging two organizations without knowing actual 2002 figures?" Peluso said. "Don't expect me to make a decision based on confusing things."
The other agency members who voted against the proposal said they were not given enough time to review the thick packet explaining the benefits. Supporters urged the agency to approve the plan based on its concept and then tell their staff to come back with better numbers.
"If the staff can't balance it, I'm here to tell you: Give me a pencil, and I'll balance it," Downes said.
The proposal might be a calculated risk, said Terry Lannon, Palm Harbor's director of parks and recreation. "But again, the flip side is there is so much positive that could come out of this."
The recreation department would gain about $1.5-million in buildings and about 8.5 acres of land that would allow the expansion of recreation programs. In return, the senior activity center would gain access to the tax dollars that support the recreation department.
Opened in November 1999, the senior center receives no funding from local, state and federal taxes to maintain and run the facility. It survives on money received through donations, membership dues, user fees, rentals, a thrift shop and special events, and has an annual budget of about $212,000. This is its latest attempt to shore up its finances. In 2000, Palm Harbor residents voted against creating a special property tax to support the center.
"We could do so much more working with another program," said Irene Rausch, executive director of the Palm Harbor Senior Activity Center.
For one thing, she said, the two programs can apply for grants as one entity and share expenses such as the cost of maintenance crews and employee health insurance.
Supporters said the recreation department would not be at risk by the proposed merger.
"There is definitely the capability of taking this center on without in any way crippling the recreation effort," said Steve Putnam, the chairman of the Northern Pinellas Community Action Council, which oversees the senior activity center.
The vote disappointed the crowd, which let out a loud sigh when it was clear that the proposal would not pass.
"I think they focused too much on the dollar amounts and not what it meant to the community to have this thing go forward," said Fred Keiderling, 62, who attended the meeting.
The merger was placed on the agenda for the meeting next month, and the agency will form a committee to study the plan. In the meantime, supporters said they will work on getting a more detailed budget.
"When some of the board members said they did not have enough time, I certainly appreciate that," Rausch said. "The one who raised all kinds of picayune points, I really did have a problem with because -- despite explaining some of them -- it was never enough. Whatever was said fell on deaf ears, so that was disturbing."
The recreation department has traditionally focused on providing programs just for youths, Downes said. This was a good opportunity to let the department expand to providing services for seniors.
"This was a chance for the community to come together, and I just hope it's not a missed opportunity," Downes said.
-- Ed Quioco can be reached at (727) 445-4185 or quioco@sptimes.com .