The allegedly illegal sign said "Call." So a council member did, right in the middle of the council meeting and on TV.
By ANNE LINDBERG
Published August 22, 2004
PINELLAS PARK - To deal with a citizen's complaint about illegal advertising signs in the right of way, council member Rick Butler called the offender - during a public meeting, on live television.
"It needed to be done," Butler said Thursday. "I think a lot of times people don't even know what the rules are. I hope, I don't know if she will, but I kind of got the impression she won't do it again."
Butler added, "Speaker phones are a great thing."
Jeff Allen, owner of Hi-Tech, the company Butler called Tuesday night, said he was stunned by the call.
"They got my wife. They didn't say they were recording her," Allen said. "I didn't think that was very cool of them to put her on the spot like that."
Allen said he knows Butler and has done work for him in the past. While he still likes Butler, he said, he feels the situation could have been handled differently.
"You don't do stuff like that," Allen said. "It's not very professional."
Allen's wife, Shana, said she was "totally floored. I didn't know what was going on. I thought it was a prank call at first. . . . It was so nonchalant."
Mrs. Allen found out it was no prank when her niece called to say she saw the sign and heard her voice on television.
"I'm totally disgusted with it now that I think about it," Mrs. Allen said. "Now, that I'm thinking back, I should have said a lot more than I said. . . .He talked to me like a 2-year-old."
Both Allens said they felt unfairly singled out. The signs went up about two months ago, they said, before they realized it was a violation of city rules. Soon after the signs went up, a Pinellas Park police officer called and told them to take the signs down. They did, both Allens said.
"I thought everything was over, then two months later, I get a phone call," Jeff Allen said. "There's a thousand (other) signs out there."
The sign that caught the ire of Pinellas Park resident Randy Heine advertised "We buy houses CASH." Heine brought it to the meeting to ask the council to put "teeth" in its ordinance that bans signs in city rights of way. The sign also contained a phone number, but no company name.
Butler reached in his pocket for his cell phone.
"What's the number, Randy?" Butler asked.
Mayor Bill Mischler told Heine it is expensive to pursue folks who illegally hang signs in the right of way.
Council member Patricia Bailey-Snook asked, "Randy, what's the number?"
Butler repeated: "What's the number?"
Mischler: "He's calling them now."
Heine, to Butler, who is a Realtor: "You got a house for sale?"
Bailey-Snook: "No, he's calling to tell them to stop it."
Mischler: "He's calling the guy now. He's calling 'im."
Heine: "Live, on TV, huh? That's the way to handle it."
Mischler: "But there is a cost, no matter what. If we have code enforcement people go out, there is a cost. If we take them through the code enforcement board, there is a cost. There's always a cost and we have to try to keep on top of this, but we're working diligently."
There was a ringing from Butler's phone.
A woman's voice said, "Hi-Tech."
Butler: "Hi-Tech, how you doing?"
Woman: "Good."
Butler: "Good evening, I'm Rick Butler. I'm not calling you in my official capacity as a City Council person, but you're putting your signs on utility poles in our city - and you're on TV by the way - so I just want to let you know. And we really frown on you putting that on telephone poles. Could you stop doing that for us? At the city of Pinellas Park."
Woman: "Okay."
Butler: "Promise me, cross your heart?"
Woman: "I'll, uh, yes."
Mischler: "What's her name?"
Butler: "Okay, I promise I won't call and put you on the spot anymore."
Mischler: "What's her name?"
Butler: "Well, it's Hi-Tech. She's not going to identify herself, are you?"
Woman: "No."
People in the room broke out in laughter.
Butler: "Okay, now you promise you're not going to do it now more, right?"
Woman: "Yeah."
Butler: "Okay, and if I ever get to meet you in person, I'll buy you a beer and we'll be good friends."
Woman: "Okay."
Butler: "Okay, you have a good night."
Mischler told her to watch cable Channel 15, the city's television channel so she could hear herself on television.
Butler hung up and said, "Randy, it's taken care of."
