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Former club building is stripped
By JENNIFER GOLDBLATT © St. Petersburg Times, published April 26, 2001 NEW PORT RICHEY -- Edsel Hahn was innocently unfastening the awnings that hung over the New Port Richey Shuffleboard & Tourist Club courts Monday when police stopped him and said he was stealing. "My impression from the club was, if it was bolted, you could take it, if it was welded, it had to stay," said Hahn, 50, whose in-laws are club members. "They asked me if I wanted the doors." Nevertheless, he promptly returned the awnings and abandoned his plans to build a garage with them. On Wednesday, he brought back the kitchen cabinets. As word spread that New Port Richey police officers were searching for whoever stripped the city property, many items were returned to the club Wednesday afternoon. The water heater was brought back. The water fountain was wheeled in on a golf cart. Still missing are the kitchen sink, two air conditioning units, the lights and a toilet. Inside the building that has housed pinochle, euchre, bingo and pot-luck dinners for half a century, nearly all that remained intact were two needlepoint wall-hangings that said "New Port Richey Shuffleboard Club Inc." Outside, a gas heater was uprooted from the concrete; fencing was torn down; benches and awnings had vanished, and "Good Bye Shuffleboard We'll Miss You" was etched in chalk on the 16 courts. The shuffleboard club had been renting the city-owned property at 6145 Grand Blvd. for $10 a month since the 1950s. After a bitter series of City Council meetings last year, the city declared the prime downtown property to be surplus. In February, the city agreed to sell the 5,000-square-foot building to chiropractor Dr. Laura Kinkead for $200,000. The club was ordered to vacate the property by May 1. The sale has not yet closed. Police got word from the city on Monday that people were taking things they weren't supposed to, said Captain Darryl Garman. Inside, the lights were gone. The toilet, sink and fixtures were stripped from the handicapped bathroom. Wires hung from the ceiling where lights once were. The city shut off the electricity to eliminate the fire hazard. Police are interviewing club members, Garman added. "We want to find out who they are, what they took, and where they took it." Under Florida law, anything permanently affixed to a property becomes a part of the structure and a possession of the property owner. City staff is now assessing the damage, said assistant city manager Gerald Paradise. Once police finish their investigation, the city will decide whether to press criminal charges. Club president Betty Seydell, 82, said she didn't know anything about the incident. All she knew was that the club's piano she'd promised to her son had vanished. Seydell referred calls to Arlene Gildersleeve, the club's treasurer and bingo chairman. Gildersleeve said she was in charge of distributing tables, chairs and silverware inside the building, but doesn't know anything about the theft. She says that when she left at 12:30 Monday afternoon, the distribution was going along as planned. The first she heard of any problems was a call from the police Tuesday afternoon, ordering her to the club for questioning. "I'm being hung out to dry," said Gildersleeve, 69. Paradise said he did not think the damage would jeopardize the sale, but it might affect the terms. Mayor Wendy Brenner was aghast. "They've basically tried to gut the entire building inside and out, and it's probably going to cost the city some money," she said. "I'm just absolutely speechless."
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