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After months of turmoil and debate, St. Pete Beach commissioners agree on a $3.39-million contract.
By AMY WIMMER
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 2, 2001
ST. PETE BEACH -- After 18 months of negotiations, one failed contract and hours of listening to public comment, city commissioners again have agreed to a plan to buy land and a new City Hall from a local developer.
The City Commission voted 4-1 Monday evening to sign a $3.39-million contract for a new City Hall.
Developer Paul Skipper, a principal in the company that owns the land City Hall will occupy and the one who will construct the building, had signed his name to the contract before the meeting began.
"This building, long after the commission's gone and the mayors are gone and we're all gone, 10 years from now, that building's going to be my building that I've done until the day I die," said Skipper, making a rare appearance at a City Commission meeting to endorse the project. "So I have a strong interest in making this building come out the best I can."
City Manager Carl Schwing called Monday night's decision a "turning point" for the city of St. Pete Beach, pointing out the pluses of the project touted by its proponents for more than a year. Among other advantages, building a new City Hall on Corey Avenue will open the city's current site for a public park and replace the aging buildings of the current City Hall complex.
The decision caps several tumultuous months of studying an issue that dominated city business. The project fell through in early January, and city commissioners began investigating other options for replacing or rebuilding the existing City Hall at 7701 Boca Ciega Drive.
Monday night's decision, in which commissioners voted to sign a new contract with the developer, also kicks off 13 months of construction on the new building at 155 Corey Ave. The city will pay $3.39-million to Long Key Properties, the owner of the property, and Paul J. Skipper Inc., the developer. That figure is $95,625more than the contract figure of one month ago, when the commission authorized city staff to begin renegotiating with the developer. Schwing explained that the higher figure compensates Skipper for final contract details negotiated into the deal over the past month.
The final figure also is less than the professional appraisals the city authorized. One appraisal valued the land and building, one valued only the land and one valued only the building. The average value of the land and building, according to the three appraisals, is $4.62-million.
The project's total cost, including landscaping, new telephone and audio/visual systems, furniture and other amenities, will be $3.94-million.
St. Pete Beach will pay for the new City Hall using a variety of sources: $215,000 from its building maintenance fund, unnecessary because the buildings will be razed once City Hall is completed; $1.2-million from the city's sale of Star Island in the 1980s; $170,000 from its Capital Improvement Program; and $167,000 from the vehicle replacement fund that is no longer needed because the city leases some vehicles.
The city will finance $2.18-million of the project through the Florida League of Cities, which will pool St. Pete Beach's financing needs with other cities around the state to find a more favorable interest rate.
Acknowledging probable defeat, most opponents of the project didn't show up for the meeting, though some who have objected in the past expressed support Monday night. Only one person spoke out against it.
"There's such disgust nobody even cared to go," said Ralph Lickton, the resident who last year encouraged the State Attorney's Office to investigate whether the city violated any laws by not publicly bidding the project. The state attorney found no criminal wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, several longtime supporters of the project, including three former mayors of St. Pete Beach, spoke in favor of the new City Hall location.
Former Mayor Ron McKenney recalled a similar situation in the 1970s. He said the City Commission, faced with poor finances, considered what it believed the city would need 25 years in the future and made a series of important decisions that residents still benefit from today.
Among other projects, the commission at that time developed Egan Park, built the gymnasium and the Upham Room, and brought a new park to Pass-a-Grille. One resident who lived in Pass-a-Grille fought the commission's plans and insisted the spending, which totaled about $1-million at the time, was a waste of money.
Time, McKenney argued, proved that the commission was right.
"You're leaving a legacy, as they did," McKenney told the City Commission on Monday.
McKenney's point was not lost on the audience. Most of the opposition to the new City Hall has come from Pass-a-Grille residents, considered by many vocal supporters of the new City Hall to be malcontents and troublemakers. The commissioner who represents Pass-a-Grille, Lolly Kreider, has been the only elected official to vote against the city's deal with Skipper.
Monday night, moments before casting another vote against the city contract with Skipper, Kreider urged her constituents to "accept the final decision that we come to tonight and go forward with a positive attitude about this project."
Said Kreider: "I hope that I can say in 10, 20, 30 years from now that this was the best project this city has ever undertaken that I never voted for."