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Truth elusive in road dispute
By ANNE LINDBERG © St. Petersburg Times, published May 27, 2001 PINELLAS PARK -- For people seeking the truth in the dispute between this city and the county over who agreed to help pay for drainage improvements along Park Boulevard, the answer seems to lie in one of two directions: If you believe public records on file at City Hall, then Pinellas County officials agreed to contribute only to the design phase of the project. Any other contribution could be debated later. If you believe the Pinellas Park Council and City Manager Jerry Mudd, there was a verbal agreement that the county would contribute one-third of the millions it will cost to fix Park. They say the county is reneging on a promise. Council members believe Mudd so strongly, in fact, they've passed a resolution asking the county to honor its commitment to the city. They've asked that Seminole, Kenneth City and the beach communities join in urging the County Commission to ante up because Park Boulevard is one of the main emergency evacuation routes. They have threatened to close Park to evacuees should it flood. Last Tuesday, the Pinellas Park Council stepped up the rhetoric as one council member suggested Pinellas Park should withdraw its financial support for the project because Park is a state road and the evacuation is a county problem. "To be honest with you, if you want to bring a quick close to this tonight, let's stop the project right now," council member Rick Butler said. "Stop it. "As a City Council, make a decision based on the fact that we have no support from Pinellas County." Council member Patricia Bailey-Snook said, "That wouldn't be fair to the people who own the businesses (on Park)." Said Butler, whose real estate agency is in the 5600 block of Park: "That's not my problem. My problem is we have dealt and bargained in good faith. My problem is we have a project going on and, based on a lack of commitment, stop the project." Pinellas Park has "stepped up as a community," Butler said, by putting in flood warning signals and making arrangements to close Park in case of major flooding so people would not be stranded or hurt. "We have done everything in good, level-headed sense to make this thing happen. Now, you want to send a clear message, stop the project tonight based on a lack of support from Pinellas County," Butler said. "See how fast that gets a response." The council decided to continue to negotiate, but Butler's oratory was a clear indication of Pinellas Park's conviction that it had some sort of agreement with the county. The existence of such an agreement is not supported by public records that Mudd recently gave to the council. Discussions with the state and county over drainage began in 1995. But it was not until 1999, when new council members threatened to close the road to evacuees because the flooding was so severe, that the county and state began to take serious notice of Pinellas Park's claims. A series of meetings began between Mudd, former County Administrator Fred Marquis, and other county and state officials. By Mudd's own description, the door to an agreement of three-way funding repeatedly opened and closed. In early February 2000, it appeared the city, county and state had agreed to generally split the cost three ways. The "Three to Get Ready Partnership" was gleefully announced. Then, on Feb. 25, Marquis wrote Mudd a letter to "clarify" the status of funding. In that letter, Marquis agreed to pay up to $100,000 for design of the project. But, Marquis added, "while it is true that I support solving the drainage issues on Park Boulevard through a financial partnership between FDOT, Pinellas County and the city of Pinellas Park, the sharing of construction costs will be determined at a later date once the design is complete and accurate construction costs are known." Mudd said Wednesday that he later met with Marquis, who changed his mind and agreed to contribute one-third of the construction costs. "My sense was that when the plans were done, they would review it and we would get a partnership that resulted in one-third, one-third, one-third," Mudd said Wednesday. "Did I know with absolute certainty? No, I didn't." Additionally, Mudd, who touts his habit of writing memos or letters back to people to confirm details of meetings, never wrote Marquis about that meeting. He never wrote another letter outlining the agreement. "I don't confirm every conversation I have," Mudd said. He added, "I knew he wasn't going to put it in writing. . . . He wasn't going to stick his neck out." Doesn't that mean Interim County Administrator Gay Lancaster and the County Commission are right when they say there was no agreement with Pinellas Park? Mudd conceded, "If you go by the paper trail, that's what it says."
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