Two Port Richey figures are at it again. One says his complaint is just business; one says it's very personal.
By ALEX LEARY
Published June 26, 2003
PORT RICHEY - Last month, City Council member Bill Bennett tried to get City Attorney Paul Marino fired - an effort that failed amid a barrage of tense words between the men.
Now Bennett says Marino is trying to retaliate.
Not long after the May 13 City Council meeting, a tip was passed on to Building Official Bill Sanders that an addition to Bennett's home on Limestone Drive might have been built without a permit.
The source of the complaint: Paul Marino.
"It's a vendetta," Bennett said Wednesday, pointing to a May 28 e-mail from Sanders to Marino that indicates the attorney was inquiring about the property.
"Doesn't that seem like payback?" Bennett asked. "Why is Paul Marino directing a city employee? He doesn't even live in the city."
While Bennett denied there was anything improper with his property, Marino bristled at the notion he acted out of revenge.
"It's totally untrue that this is some kind of a payback because of his personal dislike for me," Marino said in a telephone interview from his Clearwater office.
He portrayed his role in the matter as something akin to public service.
"My job duty is to protect the interests of the city, whether I'm a citizen, contract employee or not," Marino said, adding, "I learned a long time ago that whenever you get any information, founded or unfounded, reasonable or unreasonable, just to pass it on."
Asked to name the person who informed him of the problem, Marino said he could not recall. He later said the tip could have come from within City Hall.
At issue is a two-level garage behind Bennett's home. Marino inquired whether an addition was built without a permit.
In a letter to Bennett, Sanders wrote that he could not find a permit or other official records.
If no records exist, Bennett said, that is a problem for the city to deal with. He said the garage was built in 1980 and necessary permits were obtained.
The back section of the garage was higher than the front, he said, to accommodate his airboat. In 1992, the back was converted to an office. Bennett said the work was less than $1,000 - under the amount required for a permit.
Sanders did not work Wednesday and could not be reached. But Bennett said Sanders told him the issue was resolved.
The dispute was not the only issue of note involving the building department Wednesday.
Police are looking into the disposal of city records in a trash bin at a Sunoco gas station on U.S. 19.
Resident Lisa Vayre said she stopped to fill her tank shortly before 11 a.m. and threw out some trash from her car when she saw a document with "City of Port Richey, Florida" across the top.
It was a notice of violation, dated Wednesday and torn into pieces. Vayre also found two violation reports, one with a picture attached.
Code enforcement officer Lou Barba told the Times he tossed the reports because he no longer needed them. "I was just clearing out my truck," he said.
The notice of violation was for a boat parked in front of a home on Bay Boulevard. Barba explained that he spoke to the homeowner, who said her husband was away and the vessel would be removed in seven days. With that assurance, Barba said, the notice was "useless." He said he still had original paperwork on the violation.
As for the other papers, Barba said one case was referred to the Police Department because it involved a trailer parked in the right of way, and the other was given to the building inspector.
Vayre provided an account of her discovery to police, who are determining if Barba acted properly in discarding the documents.
