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2 longtime town mayors plan to leave office, retire

Redington Shores' J.J. Beyrouti and Indian Shores' Don Taber will leave behind a legacy of dedicated service.

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published September 18, 2005

REDINGTON SHORES - The beaches will lose two longtime mayors next spring when Redington Shores Mayor J.J. Beyrouti and Indian Shores Mayor Don Taber step down from office.

Both announced to their commissions this past week they do not intend to run for re-election in March.

"It will be very hard for me to take a step back but, after 12 years of service, I've got to take care of my family," Beyrouti said Friday.

His 90-plus-year-old father is ill and Beyrouti says he will be spending much time with him and his family in Lebanon while caring for his father's needs.

"I moved to town 24 years ago and started a business here. My kids were raised here. I served the town for 12 years. My dad is very ill and I have to be with him in his last days," he told his commission.

Beyrouti was first appointed to the town's Board of Adjustment in 1993, was elected a town commissioner in 1994, appointed vice mayor in 1995, and first elected mayor in 1996.

He served continuously as mayor until a brief break last year when he made an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the Pinellas County Commission. After that election, he was reappointed as mayor by the commission, and was re-elected by voters last spring.

"J.J. has put a real stamp on Redington Shores and all the beaches. He has been an extremely dedicated person, very unselfish with his time and effort to the benefit of the community," says Redington Shores Commissioner Lee Holmes, who has served with him for some nine years. "He has moved us forward into the 21st century and helped make a better quality of life for our residents."

Beyrouti says he is leaving the town "financially one of the strongest in the state."

He is proud of a long list of accomplishments over the past 12 years, including: winning more than $6-million in state and federal grants; maintaining one of the lowest millage rates in the county; sharply increasing property values through progrowth policies and the annexation of the former Parsley's Mobile Home Park; building a new town hall; establishing a "vision" for the town's growth; embarking on a townwide storm water and sewer project and repaving all town streets; and, most recently, negotiating a 20-year fixed, 3.75 percent bank loan to underground the town's streets.

"We united the town," says Beyrouti. "We had a good run. I believe the future for Redington Shores is great and hopefully will have right people to keep our progress going."

Taber is similarly proud of his long history of service to his town. He has been mayor for the past six years and served as a commissioner for three years before that.

"It's been a real pleasure and I've enjoyed it," says Taber, while admitting he looks forward to retirement from politics. "There will be sad days for a while, but I am ready to move on. I will be doing a lot of traveling. There are so many things in this country I haven't seen."

Taber was first elected to the Indian Shores Commission in 1993, becoming mayor in 2000. He is now completing his sixth year as mayor.

"I accomplished all goals I set out to do," he says, citing his town's more recent project - the $6-million undergrounding of utilities and beautification of Gulf Boulevard.

During his tenure, the town has increased parking at its town hall, installed lighted tennis courts, put swim buoys on the beach, and created an "emergency outpost" where the town could operate safely during and after a hurricane.

"The main job for me was to get Gulf Boulevard going. Because DOT didn't want to do a project on a two-lane road, we even had to go to the governor in 2001. In the end, we did it," says Taber.

Their absence of both Beyrouti and Taber will be felt, as well, by the larger beach communities. Both men have been very active over the years in beach politics, serving on the Barrier Islands Governmental Council and the countywide Mayors Council, representing 24 towns and cities.

Taber currently is president of the Big-C. Beyrouti was president in 2003, when he also served as president of the Mayors Council.

The two men have been largely responsible for limiting federal and state restrictions on beach redevelopment, while increasing the level of beach renourishment. Most recently, the two have been at the forefront of efforts to underground utilities and beautify Gulf Boulevard.

Beyrouti has also served as a trustee for the Florida Municipal Insurance Trust, and served on the Pinellas County Tourist Development Council, the Pinellas County Economic Development Council, the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce, the Suncoast League of Municipalities, and the Federal Action Strike Team.

"Maybe J.J. and I will start up club of retiring mayors," jokes Taber.

If they do, membership might also include recently retired North Redington Beach Mayor Harold Radcliffe and Indian Rocks Beach Mayor Bob DiNicola, who between them had decades of service to their communities and the broader beach community.

[Last modified September 18, 2005, 02:15:36]