Zelko Kirincich says he doesn't think the numerous complaints will hurt his bid for the permanent directorship.
By STEVE HUETTEL
Published October 20, 2004
TAMPA - Through a contentious three-hour public meeting Tuesday, members of the Tampa Port Authority board listened uncomfortably to a litany of complaints about the public agency.
The man on the hot seat was Zelko Kirincich, the port's interim director since March who hopes to win the permanent job after a national search.
"This is not a good way to do business," said Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio.
"If you want to be in the big time, you've got to be a class act," said Joseph Diaz, a Tampa dentist in his sixth year on the port board.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms pointed right at Kirincich. "The way you are conducting business is deadly in the port community," she said. "It's the reason you have all this smoke out there."
On Tuesday, the port tenants and businesses charged that the Port Authority, which manages public land at the Port of Tampa, is slow in its business dealings, is disorganized and doesn't deal straight with them about what's happening at the facility.
The owner of a fishing boat repair business said he contacted the agency eight months before his lease was due to expire Sept. 30. On Sept. 29, his company received an offer of a three-month extension, said Gerry McCormick, who owns Diversified Marine Tech.
"I have 30 to 40 people working for me who don't know if they'll have a job tomorrow," he said.
Janet Kovach, who chairs the Propeller Club of Tampa, said she was amazed when members of her board started telling stories about dealing with the agency.
"Every single person at the table had a story about problems with communications," she told the port board. "You can delegate authority, but you can't delegate responsibility. There are problems and we're looking to you to solve them."
Kirincich said after the meeting he was concerned about the widespread discontent and was ultimately responsible for the agency's performance. Asked if he thought the problems would hurt his chances for the permanent director position, he said, "I don't think so."
Iorio, however, said she wants someone else in the job. "I respect the interim director, but I will vote for new talent," she said. "We owe it to our community."
The port board named Kirincich interim director in March after director George Williamson accepted a job with a building materials company in West Palm Beach. Board members decided to conduct a nationwide search for a permanent director.
But three members, all gubernatorial appointees like Diaz, voted in June to abandon the search and give Kirincich a one-year term as director, with Iorio and Storms voting no.
The move, without advance notice to the public - or to Iorio and Storms - created an uproar and led Kirincich to turn down the offer the next day. The search, however, hasn't started four months later.
It took staff until last month to rank search firms. The board picked Boyden Global Executive Search on Sept. 21, but the company couldn't get in touch with chairman Lance Ringhaver to complete the deal until two weeks later.
Commissioner Gladstone Cooper has taken over dealing with Boyden from Ringhaver, who is in Spain. The Port Authority hasn't signed the contract with Boyden because it is negotiating for a lower fee and needs to meet with Boyden next week to set parameters for the search, Cooper said. The search should take 90 days, he said.
"I think this is moving very slowly," Iorio said. "This is the most important thing we have to do - it has to be No. 1 on the agenda."
