Sinking and unsightly, a houseboat with a quirky ownership history sits just off Clearwater Beach's Island Estates.
By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published September 12, 2004
CLEARWATER - The city's first venture into marine code enforcement has proved quite the conundrum.
For more than 50 days, the run-down houseboat has been docked alongside condominiums on Clearwater Beach's Island Estates. It has been flooded and smacked by waves.
Now, it's stuck in the channel. The kitchen sink is filled with water. So is the kitchen.
Neighbors want the unsightly barge out. The city does, too.
But no one can find the owner. And for the city, these are faraway waters a foot offshore.
"This is a boat in the middle of the channel. Where do we file a lien? How do we fine the owner?" said Jeff Kronschnabl, who leads the city's code enforcement operations. "We never had to do this before. For us, it's new territory."
The barge came to Clearwater earlier this year when someone donated the houseboat to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Executive Director Dale Schmidt said the aquarium takes in boats of all kinds, in return for a tax write-off for the owner. The aquarium sells the boat and takes the profit.
In this boat's case, Schmidt said the aquarium asked for $40,000.
But after 30 days on the market and no takers, Schmidt cut a deal for $20,000 with James Enright, a Pinellas County man who owns properties across the area.
Back then, the boat worked.
"It is big. We wanted to get it off our hands," Schmidt said.
Apparently, so did Enright.
Shortly after he bought the boat, he sold it again, to a St. Petersburg man named Steven E. Smith. City code enforcement officials found the bill of sale dated July 24.
When reached by a Times reporter Friday, Enright said he gave the houseboat to Smith in exchange for work on a few rental properties Enright owned.
The reporter then asked why Enright didn't just give Smith $20,000 for his work instead of a houseboat.
Enright hung up the phone.
Earlier, Enright had told city code enforcement officer Julie Phillips that Smith lived in one of his St. Petersburg rental properties.
Phillips asked for Smith's contact information.
Enright, Smith's landlord, said he had a cell phone number for Smith, but that it had been turned off.
"At first, he told us he didn't know who Steve Smith was," Phillips said. "It's so long and detailed and frustrating."
Code enforcement officers have not heard from Smith or been able to locate him. Phillips said she can't even confirm he exists.
All this time, the boat has sat in the channel. Now, it's 5 feet under water, floating junk that doesn't even float.
"It's not serviceable," said city marine and aviation director Bill Morris. "It's certainly not something I would look to use. It's just so big."
Kronschnabl has said the city wants the boat removed. But with constant attention to storms in the past month, the houseboat has dropped down the list of priorities. It will cost between $5,000 and $8,000 to scrap the barge, which the city intends to do.
