The courthouse cafeteria, which Blind Services has run for decades, could be up for competitive bidding.
By MICHAEL SANDLER
Published February 3, 2004
[Times photo: Carrie Pratt]
Bob Mager hugs his Seeing Eye dog, Cee Gee. Mager took over Kricket's Kafe at the Pinellas County Courthouse in September. He was recently told his contract will end in June. The county wants businesses to compete for the job.
CLEARWATER - Bob Mager thought he finally caught a break.
Last fall he opened Kricket's Kafe at the Pinellas County Courthouse. The business gave Mager a boost, coming three years after his failing vision stole his trade as a plumber.
He and his wife cleaned up the first-floor cafeteria. They added lasagna and taco salad to the menu. They felt good about the place and about earning a living together.
Then Mager went to pay his rent in November and learned that feeling wouldn't last.
Pinellas County is thinking about ending its 41-year-old relationship with the Florida Division of Blind Services, the state agency that paid for Mager's overhead and helped him get started with the cafe.
For decades, the county leased the space at a discount to the state agency, which then helped visually impaired people get started.
But last June the County Commission decided the time has come to allow others to compete for the space. Open competition would attract more money for the county, they said, and would improve the level of service.
Mager, who pays the discounted rent out of his profits, was told his contract would end in June. He could compete with other vendors, if he wanted. But it would cost him nearly six times the rent, something he doesn't see happening.
"Legally, they of course have a right to do what they want to do," Mager said. "But morally, it doesn't make any sense. It's tough enough for people like me to find work."
The county administrator says the commission is not seeking to evict a blind man. It's just business.
"I don't think anybody has closed the door on their continued operation," County Administrator Steve Spratt said. "All we are trying to do is evaluate the market response to that space."
Mager's blindness developed slowly. Through the years, a thyroid condition called Grave's Disease triggered hormones that attacked muscles in his eyes. Though painful, he still managed to work as a plumber and could even drive.
In October 2000, a car towing a horse trailer broadsided his car on the passenger side. The collision left him seeing double, triple and quadruple. He had trouble with his balance. He lost nearly all of his sight in the left eye and his vision was limited in the right. .
That put an end to driving. He had to quit plumbing. He turned to Florida's Division of Blind Services for help.
"I was about to give it all up when my counselor said, "Would you be interested in doing something with food?' " Mager remembered. "I said, "I would be interested in doing anything.' "
The job came out of the Randolph-Sheppard Act, a 68-year-old federal law that gives the blind a priority in federal food-service contracts. Federal agencies can't give their business to anyone else unless the blind don't want it. Like many states, Florida followed Congress' lead and passed a similar state law.
Local governments across Florida also adopted policies giving blind people preference in obtaining concession contracts. But those policies are voluntary, said Craig Kiser, director for Florida's Division of Blind Services.
Since 1963, Pinellas honored the policy with a contract signed on carbon paper.
Blind Services purchased the equipment and over the years trained managers to run the cafeteria. Mager, who started in September, pays Pinellas 1.5 percent of his gross take for rent - about $180 last month.
"We've been working with the Division of Blind Services for many, many years," said Carl Barron, the county's director of general services. "However, we are looking at retail opportunities that do affect some of the relationships with folks we've had in the past."
Barron said that the cafe site will be closed in June and undergo major renovations. In the meantime, his staff is working on a new contract that outside vendors can bid on. At the moment, the idea would be to lease the space for 8.5 percent of the gross take.
Kiser, of Blind Services, said his staff still hopes an agreement can be reached.
In 2001, Hillsborough County announced it planned to end a contract with Blind Services but reconsidered in 2002, and the vendor is there today.
In Pinellas, the commission's direction is part of a broad strategy aimed at generating new money without raising taxes. Other ideas include leasing county-owned property near the airport for a Cracker Barrel and allowing concession stands at county-run parks.
"Obviously, we want to make some money off of it, if possible," Commission Chairwoman Susan Latvala said. "But there are a lot of people in the courthouse who want an opportunity to have a quick, inexpensive place. That's the purpose of having it there."
Latvala added the county has encountered serious health hazards on the site. Employees have complained about the odor, water dripping from the ceiling and the overall mess inside. She said Mager cleaned those problems up and says she hopes he will compete for the contract.
Mager, who takes home about $2,800 a month for both he and his wife, said he cannot do that. Blind Services won't pay the difference in rent, he said. As for service, he wants to know where else employees can get a meal for $3.73, the price he charges for lasagna, a salad and garlic bread. He called Commissioner Karen Seel last week to ask for help.
"I was surprised by his call," said Seel, who voted for the change. "I said, "Do you want to bid?' He said he can't."
Seel said she is committed to putting the contract up for bid so the county can consider all the options. But she admits they never had a candid discussion about possibly evicting a blind man. She intends to bring that topic up today when the commission meets.
Mager doesn't want to be seen as a charity case. He works hard, he said. He has memorized the floor plan of the courthouse and gets around on his own. Finding other work when visually impaired is tough, he said.
As he awaits a final decision, Mager put a petition out this week for customers to sign. By 11:30 a.m. Monday, he had collected 52 names.
Catherine Rengert, an employee in the Property Appraiser's Office, signed it.
"If you get outside competition, it's going to be more expensive," Rengert said. "You can always go outside. Blind services have always been here. Why change a good thing?"
