Kenneth City may study merger with Lealman

By ANNE LINDBERG

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 29, 2001

KENNETH CITY -- Reacting to people who wanted to find out if the notion of taking over Lealman makes good sense, Kenneth City council members plan to decide next month if the county should study the idea and report to them.

"We need to know," Kenneth City Mayor Bill Smith said Friday. "It's going to take a lot of research, (but) I think it's worth that investment to find out if it's a good move for the city."

Smith said he did not know what it might cost for the Pinellas Planning Council to estimate the amount of money such a move would bring into the town and the costs associated with an enlarged city.

It would be easy, he said, if Lealman, with its 36,000 people, were going to take over Kenneth City, with 4,500 residents. But having the tiny town wanting to swallow the bigger area means it would take more work to estimate some of the costs involved. The study would take four to six months to complete.

The council's decision to place the item on its Aug. 8 agenda came after Wednesday's workshop. About 120 residents from Kenneth City, Lealman and St. Petersburg, as well as a couple of Pinellas Park employees, crowded into the Community Hall to hear David Healey, director of the Pinellas Planning Council, talk about the mechanics of having Kenneth City annex Lealman.

Such an annexation, if it were to happen, could take from nine months to two years, Healey said. The real question, Healey said, is whether such a move is good for both Lealman and Kenneth City. That cannot be done without a study.

For the Lealman residents who approached Kenneth City with the idea, that answer is easy. They are fearful of annexations that are tearing their community apart and causing tax increases. They say they can benefit Kenneth City by bringing that town a bigger tax base, an area with more businesses, one that's ripe for improvement and that has more green space.

But those arguments had little effect on some who attended Wednesday's workshop.

"I'm definitely against annexation and I know my neighbors are," said Nick Mazza, a resident of the unincorporated area. "We like it the way we are."

As Mazza sat down, someone yelped, "WOO!" and there was a burst of applause.

Kenneth City resident Keith Bedillion was also against the idea.

"There's no way I would agree to this," Bedillion said. "If it happens, I'll be the first one out of here."

Also against the annexation was former council member Gene Kouns, who had moved out of state for a while but has recently returned "home."

"I came back here to be home and then you want to mess it up," Kouns said. "Let's not give away this beautiful city of Kenneth City."

Opinions like those did not surprise Ray Neri, head of the Lealman Community Association and one of the leaders who approached Kenneth City about the proposal.

"I expected to hear what I heard. I expected to hear people fighting change," Neri said.

Some people felt differently.

Kenneth City resident and activist Ted Weisner encouraged council members to explore the possibilities.

"What I'm really hungry for is some information," Weisner said. "If the cost is not exorbitant, I would not mind spending some of my tax money so I can make an educated decision about the future of the town I live in."

Applause greeted his statement.

Lealman resident Pat Erdmann said she understood Kenneth City people who did not want their city to change. Like them, Erdmann said, she loves her community and did not want it to change. But the fact is, she said, that change is happening and annexations are happening.

There must be a way that both communities could come together and benefit each other without having to significantly change, she said.

"I truly wish we could cooperate, get the facts together," Erdmann said.

Neri said the community association does have a fallback plan in case the annexation talks with Kenneth City fail. That plan could include a move by Lealman to become an independent city, but Neri said he does not see that as the optimal solution to the area's problems.

The best solution as far as he's concerned is the Kenneth City merger, but "whether people catch that vision or not is another thing."

"We really would like to see this happen with them," Neri added. "It's a good marriage, (but) I don't think they see it at this point."

If you're interested

WHAT: Lealman Community Association monthly meeting. Among the topics will be a report on the possible annexation of Lealman by Kenneth City. Lealman and non-Lealman residents are welcome.

WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday

WHERE: Lealman Fire Station 18, 4017 56th Ave. N. FOR INFORMATION: Call association president Ray Neri, 527-5352, or co-vice president Marcie Lauster, 343-8199. The community association also is willing to make presentations to groups about what it sees as the necessity to protect the area's borders by joining with Kenneth City, or some other tactic.

WHAT: The Kenneth City Town Council will decide whether to ask the Pinellas Planning Council to evaluate the costs and benefits of annexing Lealman.

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 8

WHERE: Community Hall, 4600 58th St. N, Kenneth City

FOR INFORMATION: Call the Kenneth City Town Hall, 544-6655

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