Oldsmar takes another look at annexing its neighbor, which has enticing big property tax revenues but also blight.
By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published November 10, 2003
OLDSMAR - To many of the people who live there, West Oldsmar is a forgotten place.
It is a 150-acre peninsula just southwest of the city limits. It sits atop Safety Harbor and is split in half by State Road 580. Population estimates are hard to come by. Maybe 800 or so people call the place home.
Most of the time, residents say, local officials don't give them a thought. Many like it that way.
These days, however, West Oldsmar is getting a close look from its neighbor to the north.
Some Oldsmar city officials are looking at West Oldsmar and thinking annexation.
City Council member Jim Ronecker, who's leading the effort, said Oldsmar would see significant new tax revenues by adding West Oldsmar, which has a total taxable property value of $25.2-million, according to the Pinellas County Appraiser's Office.
"For the city, it's a major windfall," Ronecker said. "For the residents of West Oldsmar, the marketability of their home would increase as improvements are made.
"It also will give them better representation in government, where right now they don't have much say."
But there are two sides to West Oldsmar, and if the city goes ahead with annexation plans, it will get both.
The south side is lined with half-million-dollar waterfront homes, foreign cars and the occasional sign that warns, "Area under surveillance."
The other is littered with couches rotting on the sidewalk and lawns with knee-high grass.
Resident Marilyn Eddy, 64, who has lived in the north end of West Oldsmar for six years, said the trash at times is unbearable. Because they're not in the city, residents pay independent trash collectors to haul their garbage, and some won't take large items.
"That's why there are couches here all the time," she said. Nearby, there's an abandoned teal-and-pink bicycle, a gray recliner and a dryer that's been tipped over.
"The city could do something about that," Eddy said. "They could make things a lot better."
On top of improved service, the city provides cheaper trash pickup. West Oldsmar residents pay about $23 a month. The city charges its residents $12.70.
"If we do this, we're going to spend a lot of money over there fixing it up," Mayor Jerry Beverland said. "We're going to have to convince a lot of people on this side that it's worth it."
That means getting the residents of West Oldsmar to agree in a referendum to be annexed. Back in 1988, they were asked the same question, and the answer was a resounding "No."
For some, it still is. Though he lives in Dunedin and won't get a vote, Pete Carentz opposes annexation. Carentz moved his small produce stand to West Oldsmar to avoid the hassles of municipal government.
He said he's worried if Oldsmar moves in, the red tape will come with it.
"There are less regulations," said Carentz, who moved his business from Clearwater. "It is easier for business."
West Oldsmar residents already receive their water and sewer services from the City of Oldsmar but pay a surcharge of about 25 percent. Because they are a part of unincorporated Pinellas County, residents also must pay fire and library taxes city residents do not pay.
When the tax bills are worked out, West Oldsmar residents pay about $1.29 more in property taxes per $1,000 of assessed, nonexempt property value. For a $125,000 home with a $25,000 homestead exemption, West Oldsmar residents pay $2,327 a year in property taxes while city residents pay $2,198, $129 less.
Mike Stang, 48, who owns four properties in West Oldsmar and rents to Eddy, said that for low- to modest-income homeowners and tenants, money is important. He said he supports annexation.
"It doesn't take a genius to come in here and look at this place, then go over and see the area around (Oldsmar) City Hall and notice the difference," Stang said. "That's gorgeous over there. This, this looks like a war zone."
A West Oldsmar resident for the past six years who had lived in Oldsmar, Paul Rosebach said the county has ignored problems for too long.
"It's a slum," said Rosebach, 49, who rents a place on Meriden Avenue at the north end of West Oldsmar. "There are nice places around here, but generally, no one cares. Oldsmar's a great little city. And this is an eyesore."
But when it comes to annexation, the city's been down West Oldsmar's bumpy, gravelly roads before.
In 1988, the City Council started talking about annexing West Oldsmar, but then-Mayor Tom Pinta said there wasn't enough interest from the residents.
"They would not listen to us," Pinta said. "From the very start, we had to defend ourselves. It turned out to be a waste of time."
Pinta, 88, was for annexation in 1988, but not now. Today's Oldsmar is already overbuilt, he said.
"We don't have a thing to gain with that little area," Pinta said. "When we talk about growth, make it higher, wider, bigger, denser, is not what Oldsmar needs."
Ronecker said Oldsmar's growth in the past 15 years is a success story. It's one of the reasons West Oldsmar residents might feel differently about annexation as well, he said.
"This is a much different city than it was then," he said.
Pinellas County planning director Brian Smith said the county won't oppose annexation. County officials, who have tangled with Largo over several proposed annexations, simply are concerned that the process is thought out properly.
"It's the choice of the people," Smith said. "But a lot of people have been annexed that didn't want to be annexed. Someone needs to be the watchdog for that."
City Manager Bruce Haddock said the city will present a cost and benefit analysis to annex West Oldsmar to the Council members in February. If they approve the annexation, West Oldsmar voters must also agree by referendum. That question could be on the ballot as soon as fall 2004.
Rosebach said a city takeover would be the best thing for his forgotten community.
"The county pretends we don't exist," he said. "They ignore us, they don't enforce a thing. Maybe Oldsmar can come in here and turn this place around. You know they'd at least care."
- Staff photographer Douglas R. Clifford contributed to this report. Aaron Sharockman can be reached at 727 771-4303 or asharockman@sptimes.com
