City commissioners want to know why voters rejected the plan to redevelop Coachman Park into a destination.
By MEGAN SCOTT
Published March 16, 2004
CLEARWATER - Meeting for the first time since last week's election, city commissioners on Monday blamed convoluted wording for the defeat of a proposal to redevelop Coachman Park.
The question on last week's ballot asked voters to support a marina and new amphitheater at the park, along with a garage below the Harborview Center replacing the sprawling parking surface. It was defeated by a small margin - 680 votes.
"In talking with people, I sensed folks that voted against it wanted to vote specifically on each of the proposals," Commissioner Bill Jonson said. "Rather than saying, "Aw, commission, you go ahead and make your best choices for us."'
More than 13,000 people cast votes - 21 percent of all city voters - for that question, more than any other on the ballot, including the race for Seat 4 on the City Commission and 10 other proposed charter amendments. The commission-supported item was defeated by a 52 percent majority.
Commissioners said Monday the question probably had too many components. It listed boat slips, docks, dock master's office and an amphitheater as well as the parking garage south of Cleveland Street tucked under the new Memorial Causeway Bridge.
In essence, the question was a fixed-price menu rather than a la carte, Jonson said.
Precinct records show that people who voted in the polling place on Saturn Avenue south of Sunset Point Road in north Clearwater overwhelmingly supported the proposal. Most of the voters at Seventh-day Adventist Church on Lakeview Road, by contrast, opposed it.
Many residents on the waterfront also voted against the plan, which surprised Commissioner Frank Hibbard, who thought they would be some of the most ardent supporters.
Hibbard has suggested conducting a survey within the next couple of months to discern what part of the plan voters are against.
"There are a lot of folks who support doing things, but they want specifics," Hibbard said. "Basically if we eliminate all surprises so that there are none, I think people will support something on the waterfront. I think they understand it's underutilized land."
Commissioners also said there is some public misconception about the plans for downtown Clearwater. Only 60 or 70 residents show up at the public forums to discuss the plans. Some residents feel that the plan would only benefit Scientologists, commissioners said.
That's an "absolute fallacy," Commissioner Hoyt Hamilton said. "We have to get past that line of thinking."
Hamilton suggested removing the words "proposed" and the bullets from the ballot question. The bullets explain what a yes vote means.
Hibbard said the city should have listed prohibitions, such as no permanent seating at the amphitheater.
"It doesn't hurt to prohibit things that you never had any intention of having in the plan anyway," he said. "But what it does is it makes people feel more comfortable with the fact that they're going to get what they see on paper."
Carlen Petersen, who defeated Don Casey to win the commission's Seat 4, also blamed a controversial flier for the defeat. The flier, produced by Save the Bayfront, urged voters to oppose eight of the 11 proposed changes.
"Shouldn't we be allowed to vote on each item at a time by referendum?" the flier stated.
Petersen, an attorney, was present at the work session even though she will not be sworn in until Thursday. During her campaign, she supported developing the waterfront property, saying doing so was a catalyst for the struggling downtown.
"I don't think people want to save the parking lot," Petersen said. "People were afraid of generalities. We need to separate what we want to do. We have to take baby steps."
Regardless of when and how it happens, commissioners agree that downtown needs to become a destination. It needs art galleries, antique stores, restaurants and cafes.
Hibbard, along with Jonson, hopes to conduct the survey as soon as possible
"Ultimately, we need to go on the road," Hibbard said.
"Go around the different neighborhoods, drum up some focus groups. Or we need to do a true questionnaire either by phone or print."
