Today's Letter's: Land purchase overlooked other options

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published August 3, 2007

The sale of Pinellas Property Appraiser Jim Smith's land is infuriating me more each day. Not only did the county purchase this lot, it allowed County Attorney Susan Churuti to negotiate a sale for $225,000 to avoid litigation.

If Smith had been offered the $59,000-plus the property was appraised for (by his own office), he had the right to refuse, to further negotiate or sue the county. Now, it seems, the most he would have received by suing the county would have been $100,000, according to Florida's sovereign immunity law. A higher settlement would have to be determined by legislation. So in reality the country could likely have purchased this property for under $100,000 if officials had stuck to their guns.

Commissioner Ken Welch and other commissioners, as he states, claim they had incomplete information at the time they approved the deal. Then why approve it if there are still questions?

County Administrator Steve Spratt said it was important to separate Smith's ownership of the land from the value that Spratt's public works professionals see in county ownership. "This property is uniquely situated and helpful to them," Spratt said. Could this be a strategic move to further the destruction of Brooker Creek Preserve by giving it to developers?

Spratt and the commissioners did not explore less expensive alternatives to purchase this land and obviously seem ignorant of Florida's sovereign immunity law or just didn't care about spending other people's money. This County Commission shows no leadership, backbone and most important no fair representation to the residents and taxpayers of Pinellas County.

Maybe the grand jury will find enough to prosecute, or maybe not. But we the voters and taxpayers must hold them accountable.

Jack Burlakos, Kenneth City

Many share blame in transaction

It was disturbing to see that the blame for the Pinellas County property appraiser's highly questionable land sale seems to have been laid largely at the feet of County Attorney Susan Churuti.

While Churuti, in my opinion, acted improperly, what about County Commission Chairman Ronnie Duncan, who knew full well what was going on? Administrator Steve Spratt and the county commissioners should be held accountable, too, for not questioning the facts surrounding the sale. All of these folks have let the taxpayers down, some by their actions, some by their inaction.

For those of us who have supported the Penny for Pinellas as a way to improve our community, this is a double slap in the face.

S.W. Graham, St. Petersburg

Insider land deal is indefensible July 31, editorial

Outrage is in order

I am a resident of Zephyrhills, but have followed this story with great interest. The crucial role of the press in our society is exemplified by the Times' reporting of the events, and more so by your editorial treatment of the circumstances and participants.

I am in total agreement with your assessment of the spurious arguments made by attorney Debora Moss on behalf of her client, Susan Churuti, and by Commissioner KenWelch.

Where is the public outrage over this blatant abuse of trust placed in our elected government officers and our public officials? I noted that many of these characters have held office for more than 10 or 20 years! Perhaps voter complacency will end here and now.

The citizens of Pinellas County are owed sincere apologies from all concerned, and resignations from several. And why not pursue legal action to void the sale and start over with Appraiser Jim Smith standing as a simple citizen?

Harvey Rubin, Zephyrhills

A good deal, but ...

Was the Jim Smith land deal done in a sneaky manner? Yes.

Am I surprised? No.

The real point is the property appraiser's assessment of his own property. His originally listed sale price of $400,000 was not out of line. Do a search. Try to find a lot that's more than an acre in Pinellas County under that price. That's not mentioning that the property was on a creek and was next to a beautiful preserve. And the county didn't damage the land. It improved it. It will no longer flood. The county got a good deal at $225,000.

But Jim Smith should be fired and charged with fraud and made to pay back taxes on the true value of the property.

I think I'm going to appeal my property assessment. If I use Smith's math, the county owes me a refund in the thousands of dollars for the last six years.

Karen D. Miller, St. Petersburg

Follow that fox

The Pinellas County/Jim Smith/Susan Churuti deal was done primarily behind closed doors. The public knew little of the sale ahead of time and the purchase sped through with a unanimous vote.

Whoa! What was that blur ? A fox?

Commissioners need to be asking more questions and looking into things better before they vote if they don't want to look suspicious. We deserve their time and diligence, especially when it comes to purchasing property from another county official.

Who is watching the hen house anyway? Monitoring real property sales and business dealings of county officials is an important activity, and the public deserves to see the paper trail because the fox was here. I believe he was spotted somewhere running along Tarpon Woods Boulevard with a hen in his mouth.

Barbara Walker, Palm Harbor

Deal is jolt amid calm July 29, story

Work vs. politics

This article indicates that after he was elected 18 years ago, Jim Smith was "... hiring a team of professionals and delegating many day-to-day duties to them." The article goes on to say that most work was done by chief deputy appraiser Pam Dubov. Smith "was predominately in the political circuit, where Pam was in the operational," according to a former county administrator.

These comments indicate to me we have been essentially paying for others to do much of the work of the property appraiser. Perhaps in the future we should vote to elect two individuals for the position, one political and one operational.

Also, the article indicates a passion of Jim Smith is sculpting. As an artist, perhaps he should consider the time and energy that being a county property appraiser takes away from his sculpture. He might also consider if he can then provide the leadership and direction necessary to justify an additional future term in office if he was to be re-elected.

Douglas Land, St. Petersburg

Cancel the deal

I have followed the story of the Jim Smith land deal closely, and one word comes to mind: "disclosure." Because of Smith's position as an elected official and a paid county employee, it is my opinion that this purchase should have been handled more publicly. That way we taxpayers could have had more input, and perhaps the sale would not have taken place.

However, in the midst of budget cuts, tax problems, etc., the county elected to push a "secret" deal through based on Smith's concern that the county "ruined" his property.

Not only did taxpayers buy his property, they also paid County Attorney Susan Churuti to handle the deal, and paid for Smith's secretary to hand out or send fliers promoting the property.

Whether or not the grand jury decides to indict anyone over this sham, I sincerely believe that the sale should be rescinded, and Jim Smith should continue to market his overpriced piece of land to the private sector. Let today's market determine the value.

Nancy Dively, Tarpon Springs

One of the best

In my many years in county government, working with various county attorneys, first as the elected clerk of circuit court of Sarasota County and later as an official of Pinellas County, I found Susan Churuti to be one of the finest and very best.

When I worked with her, I found her to be highly principled and with the utmost of integrity. During that time, I know she saved the county millions of dollars. To lose her outstanding expertise in county law and Pinellas County would be an injustice and would end up costing the county more.

In my opinion, she is irreplaceable.

Bob Zinn, Dunnellon

[Last modified August 2, 2007, 22:22:15]