Crystal Beach residents meet and agree to let work continue on the pier.
By TERRI D. REEVES
Published October 10, 2003
CRYSTAL BEACH - Residents of this tiny waterfront community came together again this week to discuss issues close to their hearts.
This time, however, they didn't end up at each other's throats.
Unlike the last time, their meeting was held indoors, not in the parking lot outside a locked town hall. There were no near-fistfights. And the news that Crystal Beach's beloved old pier would reopen soon seemed to meet with general approval.
"I am looking forward to the day I can bring my grandchildren to enjoy a safe and renovated pier," said Tony Leotta, 59, an electronics engineer who has lived in the community for 25 years.
It was standing room only in the small, freshly painted Crystal Beach Community Association Hall as more than 100 people filed in for a general membership meeting Tuesday night.
A sign at the door warned that the meeting was being recorded by audio and video. Two Pinellas County sheriff's deputies were on hand to talk about local acts of vandalism, and, for some, their very presence was a not-so-subtle reminder of the heated meeting in August.
Two months ago, a group of residents organized the previous meeting to voice their concerns about the renovation of the 62-year-old community pier. Some were angry that the pier was closed. Some wanted the craggy pier repaired by volunteers. Others wanted to know why a contract for repair was signed without a vote by the general membership. One woman called for the resignation of association president Anne Allen.
Fearing an angry mob, Allen and other board members were no-shows, leaving the group to air their feelings in the parking lot. Things got testy, and two men nearly came to blows.
This week's meeting was a bit tamer. This time, the board's supporters clearly outnumbered the dissenters. And despite some differences of opinion about how the project has been done, virtually everyone seemed to be looking forward to the pier reopening.
The day after the meeting, Allen said in an e-mail she sent because of a case of laryngitis that she was grateful for the $9,000 raised by the community to get the job done.
Allen said the work on the community pier is on schedule and that a dedication ceremony will be held on Nov. 1.
"Obviously, the majority of people support the pier renovation because about 300 families gave donations of $25 or more," Leotta said. "The county chipped in $10,000 (from a Neighborhood Enhancement Grant) and so together that is a favorable vote of confidence."
Leotta said he thinks much of the anger toward Allen is personal.
"It's unfortunate and not for the good of the community," Leotta said.
During the meeting, resident Marlene Milburn said she had heard that some members had contacted Pinellas County Commissioner Susan Latvala and were trying to "interfere" with the grant for the pier renovation.
"Who wouldn't want $10,000 for the pier?" she said.
"We had some phone calls," Latvala said on Wednesday. "Some people were concerned about what the grant was for and had questions about it. It seemed like there was some miscommunication."
She said the grant was approved and would be disbursed when the work is finished.
Chris Randall, a 42-year-old resident of the community, was one of the residents who questioned why the general membership wasn't polled before signing a contract to have the pier renovated.
"We could have made the money go a lot further," she said. "In the past, it has been a tradition where community members have taken hammers in hand and done the work themselves."
She said a local building supply company had offered to donate lumber and perhaps the whole pier could have been renovated by using homegrown talent.
"Now we just have a patch," she said.
While the pier repair project was the summer's hottest topic in this quiet community, this week's community meeting also touched on vandalism at the pier, association spending and bylaws, liability issues and insurance, and relinquishing control of Live Oak Park to the county.
Sometimes people agreed.
All seemed concerned that the County Commission has proposed to sell a county-owned retention pond to Talk America to turn into a 130- to 140-space parking deck for the company's employees. The property is located just outside Crystal Beach at Alt. U.S. 19 and Alderman Road.
Sometimes they disagreed.
Robin Bleier, who helped organize the meeting in August, raised some questions regarding the spending for event insurance. After the meeting, she said she felt belittled by Allen's supporters.
"A mature president would allow others to agree and disagree as opposed to encouraging heckling and humiliation as experienced here," Bleier said.
At the end of the meeting a four-page list of questions and concerns were handed out to the members as they exited the building. Bleier said she hopes the questions will be answered by the next meeting.
Resident Jerry Wills left the meeting a bit early and seemed disgusted. He described Allen as a tireless worker who gave countless hours to the association.
"This is an unpaid job, and for her to take that much crap is ridiculous," he said.
Still, one of the board members said she learned something.
"We need to bring more issues to the general membership to be discussed and voted on in the future," board member Sue Conlon said. "We could improve the process of allowing input."
