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Politics

Beach politics 'lethal'

Madeira Beach has spent almost $100,000 this year in fees involving lawsuits.

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published October 1, 2006

MADEIRA BEACH - In this city where the color of the sidewalk can stir endless debate, even the most outspoken critic is growing wary of talking for fear of being sued.

Lawsuits have become a common expression of discontent in Madeira Beach, prompting the city to spend nearly $100,000 in attorney's fee so far this year, leading to days in court and hours of aggravation for city officials and residents alike.

In the past two years, three of the four city commissioners have been named in separate lawsuits, the city itself has been named in two cases, and neighbors have begun threatening to take one another to court over all kinds of disagreements.

"It is a little out of hand," said Patricia Anderson, a St. Petersburg attorney who is representing Commissioner Art Thomas in a libel suit. "If Tip O'Neill said all politics is local, then I say on the beach all politics is lethal."

First, a local restaurateur filed a lawsuit against the city for breach of contract last December after the city said it could not go through with its contract to lease him a space in Archibald Memorial Beach Park. The U.S. Department of Interior, which must sign off on all city plans for the park, had objections about how the land would be used.

That same month, a resident filed a lawsuit against the city and Commissioner John Wolbert, alleging both parties had broken the city charter that states all commissioners must live in the city. Wolbert has been living in Seminole since his Madeira Beach home was damaged in Hurricane Frances. His home is being reconstructed.

Then, a group of 11 residents slammed Thomas with a lawsuit in March, alleging that Thomas had libeled the plaintiffs by publishing a letter in the Beach Beacon calling the plaintiffs a "small radical group" who were unsuccessful in their "threats or pressure to make me come around to their way of thinking." Each plaintiff is asking for damages in excess of $15,000, according to court documents.

In June, Tim Adams, a former candidate for city commissioner, filed a lawsuit accusing his opponent, Commissioner Arnold T. Alloway, of defamation based on a campaign flier distributed the day before the election that contained false information about Adams' criminal record and history.

Most recently, the county, which is contracted by the city to provide building permits, has charged Donald Colson, a resident of Lillian Drive, for submitting an erroneous application to build a boat lift. The case will appear in Circuit Court later this month.

City officials said the lawsuits are a result of bad politics and bad luck.

The city is only covering the expense of the two lawsuits filed against it, and has decided not to financially support the commissioners who are being sued. Still, the city has spent more than $92,000 in attorney's fees this fiscal year and expects to spend thousands more next year.

"This is about people trying to push the commission to do what they want," said Michael Connolly, the city attorney.

Leonard Englander, a St. Petersburg attorney, said his client, Frank Chivas, the owner of the restaurant to be built at Archibald Park, had no choice but to sue. Never mind that the federal government was blocking the city from completing its side of the lease.

"That is not our problem," Englander said. "That is the city's problem."

Roger Koske, a former city commissioner who filed the lawsuit involving John Wolbert's residency, said he thinks most of the lawsuits are "vindicative," except, of course, for his own.

"I am not disgruntled," he said. "This is about doing what is right."

[Last modified October 1, 2006, 08:21:30]