As the dredged material is dumped near their homes, people ask why tests aren't being done regularly.
By LORRI HELFAND
Published March 14, 2004
LARGO - Last fall, when they found out that sludge from a county dredging project might be dumped in their neighborhood, resident after resident approached the lectern to tell the Largo City Commission the idea stunk.
They begged their leaders to vote against a proposal that would let Pinellas County pump 20,000 cubic yards of sludge from Harbor Lake to the site owned by the Pinellas County School Board near Wilcox and Vonn roads.
Despite their pleas, commissioners voted 5-1 in favor of a land use change that allowed the project on the lake, which was part of a drainage improvement plan for McKay Creek.
At the time, a county representative assured city officials and residents the silt would be tested to make sure it was safe, and that they would be kept in the loop as the project progressed.
Fast forward six months. Residents say they have no idea what's going on at the 30-acre site. They're worried what the dumping could be doing to the environment, their health and their property values. And they're upset that no new tests have been conducted.
The county's public works project manager, Bernard Kendrick, said the last comprehensive tests were done in 2001 at the creek dredge site. At the time, they showed no excess metals, pesticides or organic materials that would be harmful to the land.
That doesn't wash with the residents, especially Stanley Gams.
"You would think they'd want to know what's in there fairly close to when they pump it," Gams said. "That is, if they care."
But Kendrick said the most practical method is to test before dredging, as was done in 2001, and again after all of the silt is at the site. Crews finished pumping the materials about six weeks ago, Kendrick said, and heavy rains prevented testing earlier.
"If there was something found to be detrimental, we'd take it off the site, but I don't anticipate that being the case," Kendrick said.
Kendrick said he submitted a formal request for funds for testing, but he did not have any idea when the new tests would commence.
Jerry Herron, county director of public works financial services, said Kendrick's fiscal team made an inquiry on March 3, but no formal request for funds was required.
Nevertheless, Jim Miller, the school district's director of real property management, said he thinks the materials at the dump site are safe.
"If we thought there was anything contaminated, we would not let it on our site," Miller said.
Miller said the School Board entered into the agreement with the county to save taxpayers money and to possibly use some of the sediment as fill material for future projects.
City Commissioner Charlie Harper said he doesn't think there is foul play at work.
"But if there's something wrong with that dirt," Harper said. "They're going to have to do something pronto."
Back in September, Harper pressed Kendrick, seeking assurance that the county would monitor the project and continually test the materials. Kendrick said he would do what was necessary to satisfy the city and nearby residents.
But resident Bryan Jenkins, who lives on 5 acres across from the site, said he doesn't understand why tests weren't done sooner.
"I'm not happy. They haven't been dredging for a month and a half now," Jenkins said. "Where's the "continuous' at?"
His frustration dates to 2000, when city officials had to call a meeting with county engineers because county trucks were dumping sediment from McKay Creek onto the lot without the city's permission. Neighbors complained then, too.
Jenkins said the county's previous action should make the city wary now.
"The county lied to them before," he said. "They should not have allowed it."
City officials stopped the dumping, saying the land was zoned institutional, and permitted only construction of public buildings such as a school or hospital.
No schools have been built and there are no immediate plans to build schools on the site, Miller said Thursday.
In the past, commissioners had unanimously turned down similar projects, but this time around they said they saw no other options.
Several residents said they're concerned that a July sewage spill in McKay Creek that occurred on the west side of Indian Rocks Road a few hundred feet from the dredge site may have contaminated the sediment that is now being dumped near their homes.
Kendrick said he had sediment tests conducted after the spill, but tabled them after the county utilities department started doing its own tests on the creek.
On Thursday, more extensive tests began on McKay Creek, conducted by researchers from the University of South Florida and Biological Consulting Services of North Florida.
Like her neighbors, Michelle Mahank wants to see more tests on the silt near her home. She's also worried the project would hurt her property value.
She empathizes with residents near McKay Creek who wanted the dredging to prevent flooding. But those residents knew there was a creek when they moved in, she said.
"When I moved here I didn't have a dump in my back yard," Mahank said.
The dump site is across the street from Mahank's home. But it practically is in Danny Weil's back yard.
Weil said he doesn't have many complaints about the project itself.
"It seems like they're doing the right thing, but you've still got to wonder," Weil said.
His main complaint is aesthetic. The dump site is ringed with oak trees. But a section at the north end is barren, framed by dead oaks. From his back yard, he can see a mountain of sandy soil. A hill of deep brown dirt and vegetation sits southwest of his yard.
"My whole thing is they're just destroying that beautiful piece of property," he said.
On the positive side, Weil said, "It didn't smell as bad as it did the last time," when the county dumped silt there without the city's permission.
The land use change in September will also allow Largo to pump 10,000 cubic yards of silt from Church Creek to the site.
Community Development Director Mike Staffopoulos said the property would not become a dump because the land use change only allowed for the two creek projects.
City engineer Todd Bosso said Largo might award a contract for Largo's project in May, but only if funding is available.
Jenkins wife, Sherion, said she hopes it doesn't happen.
"We're going to get the brunt of it no matter what's decided," she said. "We're not looking forward to them doing it again."
