Rick Butler volunteers to replace an ailing Patricia Bailey-Snook on the county panel.
By ANNE LINDBERG
Published May 25, 2003
PINELLAS PARK - Blaming ill health, Patricia Bailey-Snook apologized to City Council members for missing all but two of the past 12 meetings of a county board.
Before she could promise to do better, council member Rick Butler volunteered to take her place on the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority. It was a position he had held reluctantly until September 2001, when he convinced Bailey-Snook to take his place by promising not to rid council chambers of an ugly couch.
Council members made Butler's appointment unanimous at Thursday's meeting.
"I would really like to thank (you) from the bottom of my heart," Bailey-Snook said after the vote. "He's a real gentleman and deserves a gold star."
Bailey-Snook, who has been ill the past few years, came under fire last week when it was discovered that she had missed 10 of the past 12 monthly meetings of the PSTA, which oversees public transportation in Pinellas County. The board collects about $21.4-million in property taxes and has an annual budget of about $35-million. Several routes run through Pinellas Park.
Her absences had gone unnoticed by Pinellas Park officials until PSTA executive director Roger Sweeney mailed a letter to the city.
According to PSTA records, Bailey-Snook had failed to show up at five meetings, despite telling officials that she would be there. Two absences were attributed to personal issues and the others were not explained because she did not return phone calls to PSTA administrators.
Although the PSTA charter, granted by the state Legislature which created the transit authority, says the appointing authority should remove a member who has had three unexcused absences, city officials were reluctant to do so.
It was Bailey-Snook herself who raised it at Tuesday's council workshop. Even then, Pinellas Park council members took the opportunity to laugh and kid about Butler's appointment.
Bailey-Snook began with her regrets: "I want to apologize to my council members for lack of attendance to the PSTA. I have problems in the mornings with the problem I'm facing. I will have surgery a week from tomorrow. . . .We're in our 43d surgery."
Butler: "Pat, would you like to me to take over?"
Bailey-Snook: "Would you do that?"
Butler: "Sure."
Bailey-Snook: "I would appreciate that greatly."
Butler: "Tell Mr. Sweeney I'll be back."
There was general laughter and Mayor Bill Mischler said, "Oh, my God, it'll never be the same."
Council member Ed Taylor: "It's his lucky day."
Bailey-Snook: "Well, they deserve it."
More laughter.
Mischler: "Pat, Pat, do you want to do that to Mr. Sweeney? That's the question."
Bailey-Snook: "No, not really. No, I have no hard feelings. . . .I put in 10 years there. I have no hard feelings. . . .My heart does belong down there. But I'm sorry. But like today alone, because of the bad night, of pain and all, I got up to have breakfast at 4 o'clock this afternoon. My mornings are bad. My mornings are bad and I can't help it until we get this surgery to correct this."
Bailey-Snook said she hopes this surgery works "because I don't know how much more strength I have for needles and tests and all this stuff we're doing."
She patted Butler's shoulder and said, "You're a very gracious gentleman and I appreciate that."
Butler: "I won't miss any meetings. He'll wish I did."
Bailey-Snook offered to go to the PSTA the next day in place of Butler.
Bailey-Snook: "I will go tomorrow to apologize to them."
Mischler: "When is it?"
Bailey-Snook: "Tomorrow. I'll go. No matter what, I'll go. To apologize to them because I owe them an apology."
But Bailey-Snook was wrong. The PSTA was not scheduled to meet Wednesday, the day after the conversation. The group is scheduled to meet this coming Wednesday.
She had no chance to discover that, however.
Before Thursday's pre-meeting workshop, Mischler asked Bailey-Snook: "Did you go to the membership yesterday? PSTA."
