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Ex-official of Treasure Island gets $5,000 fine

By KATHY SAUNDERS
Published April 26, 2006

The fine is the largest ever levied on a Pinellas County official, said Helen Jones, a spokeswoman for the Florida Commission on Ethics. Previous fines have been $1,000 or less.

The ethics commission voted unanimously Friday to accept a judge's finding in January that concluded Ellsworth did violate ethics rules when he voted twice in 2002 on development code changes that would have allowed taller buildings on the beach, including land owned by his employer.

Ellsworth, who was voted out of office in 2004, said he plans to appeal. He has proclaimed his innocence throughout the process, including in January when Judge Susan B. Harrell first recommended the fine.

The votes were part of a hotly contested proposal to put two 10-story hotels on the north end of the beach. The zoning changes also would have made land owned by the Rice family more valuable. Ellsworth worked for the Rice family as general manager of the John's Pass Marina, a position he still holds.

In recommending the fine, Judge Harrell said Ellsworth's employers stood to gain from the vote. She said it was "clear that Agnes Rice was seeking amendments to the LDRs (Land Development Regulations) that would provide more flexible use of the land she owned."

During the battle over tall buildings, the Rices, the city's largest landowners, apparently were planning a project called Kingfish Point that hinged on the commission's vote. Agnes Rice and her family operate Gator's on the Pass and own about 10 acres on the northern tip of the city.

When Ellsworth cast the controversial votes, he was among the majority on the commission who agreed to send the proposed land use changes to the city's planning and zoning board in May 2002.

That October, the commission formally adopted the changes. A week later, voters overwhelmingly rejected the tall building changes and a circuit judge eventually barred the city from enforcing the new laws.

[Last modified April 26, 2006, 07:44:54]