CLEARWATER - It was only a 20-minute delay, but it cost the city $52,200.
Because of a missed deadline in March, the Juvenile Welfare Board rejected Clearwater's grant request to fund summer camps for poor children in North and South Greenwood. It was the first time in five years the city's application was rejected, endangering two camps for 95 middle school children at the North Greenwood and Ross Norton recreation complexes.
On Monday, the City Council agreed to pick up the tab this summer for the 10-week programs, with the understanding that the grant will be restored next year.
But City Council member Hoyt Hamilton complained that the matter should have been resolved differently. Clearwater's track record should have bought the city some leeway, or at least a phone call from the Juvenile Welfare Board about the missing application, he said.
"Shame on the Juvenile Welfare Board for being that strict with the rules," Hamilton said, adding later, "I think both parties are guilty rather than just us dropping the ball... A little communication on both sides would have prevented this from happening."
Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger, a member of the Pinellas Juvenile Welfare Board, said the agency has tightened regulations governing grant applications. In the past, points were deducted for late applications; under the new rules, late applications are not eligible for consideration.
Dillinger said the agency's budget committee has set aside enough money to fund the programs next year, provided Clearwater's application is complete and submitted on time.
But he said the city is not guaranteed the money and has to live by the same rules as the other applicants.
"Once you start making exceptions," he said, "you might as well not have a rule."
City Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Dunbar said the mistake was an unintentional oversight. A staff member, he said, misplaced the grant application under another pile of paperwork.
"It was on somebody's desk," Dunbar said. "They realized that day that it was due that day and tried to hurriedly get it down to JWB."
Instead of making the 5 p.m. deadline, the application was filed at 5:20 p.m.
Dillinger, who praised both camp programs as effective, said he argued against granting Clearwater a second chance this year.
"We heard that it was traffic (that caused the delay), but Tarpon Springs made it on time," he said. "And they got funded."
The Juvenile Welfare Board has rules for a reason, and bending them can be problematic, said City Council member Carlen Petersen.
"We shouldn't be missing deadlines like that," she said. "Really, the fault lies with us."
Clearwater could have chosen not to pay for the camps this year, but the council agreed to take money from savings. Formal approval is expected Thursday during a 6 p.m. meeting at City Hall.
