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Candidates agree on Crystal River issues
By ALEX LEARY
© St. Petersburg Times, CRYSTAL RIVER -- Setting a broad agenda, City Council candidates agreed on most issues during a forum Thursday night, saying the city should revise an agreement with the county that hinders annexation, improve Kings Bay and support the new city manager. But there were differences on the future of the police department and privatization of city services. And incumbents were faced with criticism that they had accomplished little in the past two years. "I didn't realize I was that bad," council member Ray Wallace joked after challenger Kitty Ebert said she was running because residents are "dissatisfied" with the progress of city projects. Wallace pointed to new sidewalks, a traffic signal near the mall and the lengthy contracts given to Police Chief Jim Farley and City Manager Phil Lilly. Fielding a question about the city's problems with annexation, Ebert, a former council member, said she could not think of any compelling reasons why residents outside the city should want to join -- a subtle jab at the current administration. The city should stop providing services such as water and sewer to outsiders, Wallace said. They could only get them if they agree to annex. An interlocal agreement with the county prohibits the city from requiring annexation, voluntary or involuntary, as a condition of utility service. All the candidates in the nonpartisan races agree that provision needs to be reviewed. Two newcomers are seeking to replace Joe Chrietzberg, who decided not to seek re-election because of work demands. Wes Stow, a well-financed Republican party leader, is facing massage therapist Susan Kirk, and they provided the clearest differences during Thursday's forum, hosted by the Citrus County Chronicle. Stow, who repeatedly said he liked to "think outside the box," suggested the police department be compared with the Sheriff's Office, to see which could offer better service. There has been talk for years about the county taking over, and Stow seemed to be warm to that idea. Kirk flatly rejected the suggestion. "It's not just a money issue," she said. "It comes down to having control over our own services." As uniformed police officers looked on from the back of the room, Wallace said he would keep the department. Ebert said she would, too, but said there might be ways to trim the budget. The planning and building services offered by the city might also be absorbed by the county, Stow said. "Everything should be on the table." Kirk said she was against privatization. Rescuing the audience from a barrage of platitudes and dreamy statements of civility and clean water, Chronicle Publisher Gerry Mulligan posed the most intriguing question of the evening: Would Stow and Kirk had kept former manager David Sallee or sent him packing? "I don't want to Monday morning quarterback the City Council," Kirk said, dodging the question. Stow barely hesitated before saying he would have retained Sallee. The matchup between incumbent Mike Gudis and John Kendall, former leader of Citizens for Reform, promised to be the one to watch. The men agreed on most issues. The city should retain the police department; Kings Bay needs to be cleaned up; septic tanks need to be replaced with central sewer lines; the city needs to increase its tax base; the interlocal agreement needs to be changed. Kendall took the same subtle approach as Ebert and asserted that the council under Gudis' watch had not accomplished much and that it served a powerful minority. He said he would work for the "little guy." Gudis raised many of the same points as Wallace and pointed to the improvements in downtown as proof of his effectiveness. Some businesses along Citrus Avenue have new facades and there is a planned boardwalk along Kings Bay.
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