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Letter to the editor

Chamber has misgivings about shared building plan

Members say the city was supposedto give land to the group, which the city denies.

By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
Published November 7, 2007

SEMINOLE- On the surface, the idea would seem simple: The city, the Seminole Chamber of Commerce and the Seminole Historical Society would get together to share anew building.

Each would benefit. The city would get some public meeting spaces. The chamber would get a brand-new permanent home for $1 a year for the first 99 years. The Historical Society would also get a home.

Likewise, each would bring something to the table. The city would provide the funding, courtesy of the Penny for Pinellas, and two of the three lots where the building would be located. The chamber would donate the lot it currently occupies on 113th Street N. The lot is next to the city's two parcels.

The Historical Society would provide exhibits and help supply the "public purpose" (education) that state law requires for such joint-use facilities. The meeting rooms would also help establish a public purpose for the building.

But some chamber members object to the idea and have alleged that the city was supposed to give one of the lots to the chamber. The city denies the allegation and is waiting to see what the chamber intends to do.

The idea of creating a joint-use building is not unusual. Pinellas Park, for one, did something similar when it built Park Station on Park Boulevard. The building holds the Pinellas Park/Mid-County Chamber of Commerce as well as the art and historical societies. Pinellas Park's public information office is also there, as are well-used public meeting rooms. The city also contracted with Roe's Deli to move its restaurant there to give locals a place to eat breakfast and lunch and lounge over coffee.

Unlike in Pinellas Park, where the concept was supported by all parties, some Seminole chamber members are looking askance at the deal. They say they are not sure why the chamber should hand over a piece of property that the county appraiser's office has valued at $252,900 in exchange for virtually free rent in a multimillion-dollar building for 99 years. They're also not sure why the city owns the two adjacent lots. One of those, they say, was supposed to go to the chamber.

"In my research, I have found opportunities and opinions beyond the joint-use building, which would be more favorable to the chamber, especially if the city deeds the extra lot to the chamber," chamber board member Sandra Lilo said. "For now, the research and questions need to be explored."

Lilo urged the chamber board to take the time to examine all facets of the situation.

City officials are not pressuring the chamber for a decision. A Senior Center and public works building are first on the list of new construction.

And a memo from City Manager Frank Edmunds makes it clear that nothing about the proposed joint-use building is definite.

"There is no time line for this project. There is no commitment to construct this project," Edmunds said. "There are no activities underway to move this project forward until the city receives written confirmation from the society and the chamber."

Edmunds also points out that the whole joint-use building was the idea of the chamber and the historical society. The city only considers it a potential project.

Edmunds is adamant about one thing: The chamber was never supposed to get a second lot and the city has no intention of giving it to the chamber.

The dispute has its roots in the 1980s when Russell Stewart and his wife offered to give Lot 13 to Seminole. The council accepted and bought Lot 12 at the same time, according to a city time line. A year later, the Stewarts gave Lot 11 to the city. In 1997, the council sold Lot 13 to the chamber at no cost to be "exclusively" used as a permanent home for the chamber.

But Lilo has a letter indicating that the land gifts to the city were supposed to be a "pass-through" because of tax issues. The city was supposed to take title to the lots and then transfer them to the chamber. That never happened.

[Last modified November 6, 2007, 22:18:59]