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It's about to get quiet at the Sponge Docks

Tarpon gives the initial okay to a ban on loudspeakers.

By ELENA LESLEY, Times Staff Writer
Published November 8, 2007

Merchants on Dodecanese Boulevard have long used loudspeakers to market goods and services. Tarpon Spring plans to ban the devices after a vote Nov. 20.
	[Joseph Garnett Jr. | Times]

TARPON SPRINGS - Those at the Sponge Docks who tout the virtues of their boat trips, souvenirs and family cuisine via loudspeaker will have to bring down the volume before the end of the month.

Tarpon Springs city commissioners gave preliminary approval Tuesday night to an ordinance banning such amplified marketing techniques from the city's major tourist strip.

Mayor Beverley Billiris, whose family owns a business on the Sponge Docks, recused herself from the vote due to a conflict of interest.

The ordinance comes back for a second and final vote Nov. 20.

"I think we need to terminate this," Commissioner Peter Dalacos said of the racket at the docks. He, like a number of concerned merchants, worried the constant yammering over loudspeakers makes Tarpon Springs look and sound like a carnival or flea market.

But others say that's how it's always been.

"Why fix it if it's not broke?" asked Naomi Kitsos of Sponge-O-Rama.

It's newcomers who are causing trouble, complaining about a lively atmosphere "that was probably there before they were born," said Ted Billiris of St. Nicholas Boat Line.

"The business we're in existed a long time prior to their coming here," said Billiris, the mayor's brother-in-law. "If they don't like it, they can pack up their little bags and leave."

As proposed, business people cited for violating the ordinance could be fined, with the penalties getting larger for repeat offenses. But city officials are still working out the details and expect to have more on Nov. 20.

This isn't the first time loudspeakers have sparked controversy.

After a loudspeaker war broke out in 1997, with dueling businesses broadcasting their insults across the docks, the city banned all speakers from the area. A couple of years later, the devices returned. The city agreed to allow PA systems for designated attractions, as long as they broadcast pre-recorded announcements only four times an hour, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The snag: No one followed the rules.

Police Chief Mark LeCouris called the situation, with its constant bellowing, flag-waving and menu-hawking, "a nightmare."

Last month, the Sponge Docks Merchant Association circulated a petition calling for a ban on the devices. Sixty-seven of about 80 merchants signed it, said association secretary Barbara Brice.

Those who didn't - mainly the people who actually use the devices - say they're an essential business tool.

Yes, there has been abuse, but merchants should try to "find a solution, not a punishment," said George Billiris, the mayor's husband.

Dismayed by the commissioners' decision, Ted Billiris told them they were "opening the door for a suit that will burn your seat."

Ted Billiris had calmed down Wednesday, saying he will do what the city mandates, but added that he hoped this wouldn't be the end of loudspeakers at the Sponge Docks.

While commissioners plan to ban the devices after the second vote, Dalacos said he hoped dock merchants could work out an agreement. After a period of tranquility, they could reapproach the commission with their proposed compromise, he said.

Good luck, say merchants who know how fractious the docks can get.

"If I knew the solution," said Ted Billiris, "I would be Santa Claus."

Elena Lesley can be reached at elesley@sptimes.com or 727 445-4167.

[Last modified November 7, 2007, 22:13:49]