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Letter to the editor

Big rebuff of beach access

Pinellas has spent almost $3-million and can't get a deal on parking.

By WILL VAN SANT
Published July 3, 2007

A skateboarder passes two properties Pinellas County bought for beach parking in Indian Rocks Beach for $2.8-million in Penny for Pinellas money.
	[Times photo: Jim Damaske]

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH - A standoff between this coastal town and Pinellas County over beach access could doom a nearly $3-million investment of taxpayer money.

Eighteen months after buying two parcels for parking lots, the county faces the prospect of having to sell the property in a stagnant market because Indian Rocks leaders refuse to endorse the plan.

The ill-fated deal has its roots in the leadup to March's Penny for Pinellas referendum.

County leaders realized in January 2006 - 14 months before a vote would be held on extending the 1-cent sales tax until 2020 - that not a single beach access project had been completed.

Voters had repeatedly said in Penny focus groups that their top priority was more access to the beach.

So that month, when two Indian Rocks Beach parcels on the east side of Gulf Boulevard were up for sale, the county jumped, spending $2.8-million in Penny cash for 0.8 acres between 23rd and 24th avenues.

The county failed to secure promises from Indian Rocks to grant the land use changes that would be needed to build parking lots on the parcels, which were home to a gasoline station and a small strip of businesses.

The Penny easily passed in March. But the public still has no additional beach access.

"We were under the gun, trying to follow through on our promises for Penny for Pinellas, " said County Commissioner Karen Seel, one of two commissioners who voted against the purchase. "There was just a lot of pressure."

Seel said she objected because Indian Rocks' commitment was unclear, the beach town had plenty of public parking and the cost was too high. The roughly 60 parking spaces would go for about $46, 667 each.

"I just felt like it was a huge price tag, " Seel said.

The county had been in the hunt for beach access opportunities since 2005. The way Pinellas officials remember it, Indian Rocks approached the county regarding the parcels and gave no indication they would balk at what was planned. "I don't recall hearing any objection or negative comment, " said County Administrator Steve Spratt.

Indian Rocks Mayor Bill Ockunzzi remembers differently. Ockunzzi said the city was clear its preference was for acquisition of vacant land on the west, or beach side, of Gulf Boulevard.

In a letter sent a month before the purchase, then-City Manager Al Grieshaber asked then-County Commission Chairman John Morroni to place emphasis on "purchasing vacant gulf front property in lieu of existing businesses and business property."

"They didn't listen, " Ockunzzi said. "We found out these parcels were under contract, " within days before the County Commission voted.

Ockunzzi said city leaders have no interest in allowing the county to replace viable business property with parking lots.

Shortly after the purchase, the county spent $17, 600 to demolish the gas station, lay sod and erect fencing at the site. By the end of 2007, another $25, 000 will be spent to demolish the business strip and determine whether asbestos is present.

If asbestos is found, which is likely, another $25, 000 will be needed for cleanup.

County and Indian Rocks officials are still trying to reach some sort of compromise, but if the dispute can't be resolved, the parcels will be put on the market.

From 2005 to 2006, property values in Indian Rocks Beach leaped 30.8 percent. From last year to this, they dropped 0.7 percent. On Monday, a 15-block stretch of Gulf Boulevard north of the county's parcels had 12 residences or vacant lots for sale.

"I hope we can come out whole, " Seel said. "But I think we bought that property at a premium."

Spratt, the county administrator, said opportunities to secure affordable beach access are rare and commitments must often be made quickly. He said the deal was given sufficient scrutiny before money was committed.

"At this point I don't believe there is a lost, stranded investment, " Spratt said. "It will still be put to use for the public's benefit, one way or another."

Will Van Sant can be reached at vansant@sptimes.com or 727 445-4166.

[Last modified July 3, 2007, 00:24:58]