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House for city manager turns up on Penny wish list

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published February 21, 2007

Amid an ongoing financial controversy concerning its former city manager, Indian Rocks Beach is proposing to spend part of its future Penny for Pinellas sales tax revenues to buy a house for its city manager.

The house is the second item on a long list of projects proposed by former City Manager Al Grieshaber and approved unanimously by the commission last August. No dollar value was given for the house or the other projects.

Countywide voters will be asked in March to approve extending the extra penny sales tax to fund countywide capital projects, including, presumably, buying a house for the Indian Rocks Beach city manager.

Indian Rocks Beach's share would be about $6.5-million.

During the commission discussion of the Penny for Pinellas extension last summer there was no discussion of the proposed house purchase. What the commission did talk about was adding a few projects to Grieshaber's proposed list, including pedestrian shelters on Gulf Boulevard, general infrastructure improvements, and possible relocation of City Hall.

Other items on the project list include: expansion or construction of a new library, marked crosswalks at all beach accesses, beach walkovers, restrooms at Chic-A-Si Park, stormwater and sewer system improvements, renovating City Hall, a high-and-dry marina at Keegan-Clair Park, purchasing the Beach Art Center, a pedestrian bike bridge over Walsingham Road, bicycle trails, and a waterfront boardwalk and day-use dock facilities in the Narrows.

The house, according to city officials, was Grieshaber's idea.

When contacted, both Mayor Bill Ockunzzi and Commissioner R.B. Johnson said they actually are opposed to buying a house within the city limits for future city managers.

"Holy cow, I can't imagine the cost, and the city manager might not want to live in it. I don't think this is a good idea. It would be a waste of money," said Johnson.

Nonetheless he and all commissioners at the August meeting (only Commissioner Jose Coppen was absent) approved the project list.

Both Johnson and Ockunzzi stressed that items on the project list in the Penny for Pinellas resolution will not necessarily actually occur.

The resolution states, however, that the commission "accepts the proposed infrastructure projects" that would be funded by some $6.6-million in sales tax revenues generated between 2010 and 2020.

"A lot of the items are ridiculous," Ockunzzi said. "Doing them would depend on a lot of other things happening first."

Ockunzzi said although the idea of providing a house for a city manager has been discussed several times by the commission over the years, it was never a serious proposal.

"I suppose if we ever required the city manager to live within the city limits, it might be something to consider," he said, adding that if that occurred he would favor giving the city manager a housing stipend instead.

Since the City Commission approved the house as part of its proposed project list, Grieshaber resigned to take a similar post in Sun n' Lake and is under fire from the Indian Rocks Beach commission for allegedly improperly taking city money for what the city says are undocumented relocation expenses and overcharged compensation time.

The city attorney has sent Grieshaber a registered demand letter that he reimburse the city for $15,650.04. The commission has directed its attorney to pursue the matter in court if the monies are not returned. As of Monday, Grieshaber has not replied.

[Last modified February 20, 2007, 21:04:03]