City considers purchasing property on 75th Avenue

By AMY WIMMER

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 10, 2000

ST. PETE BEACH -- The city might purchase another property at the Corey Causeway entrance to St. Pete Beach.

Vincent and Margaret Narcisi, who own the property at 217 75th Ave., have offered to sell the site to the city before putting it on the market. The price tag is $295,000.

The City Commission last week authorized city staff to begin negotiations for the property's purchase.

"The owner of the property is going to put this on the market for sale and has asked me to present it to you first," W. Paul Resop II, a real estate broker, wrote in a letter to City Manager Carl Schwing.

The property, which is 5,350 square feet, is now occupied by Coastal Glass and sits on the west side of the St. Pete Beach police station.

"They're giving us, basically, a first shot at buying this property," Schwing said.

The owners offered the property to St. Pete Beach because the city owns so much land in that area and soon will build a new city hall across the street on Corey Avenue.

"I feel that this is an opportunity for the city to acquire a property that could be utilized for additional storage for the city, work area for repairs to city vehicles, additional offices, or additional property for the city to have for any other number of uses," Resop wrote.

Private firm will handle Busch estate lawsuit

City Attorney Jim Devito told commissioners last week that John DaSilva, the Pass-a-Grille resident suing the city for refusing to let him rent out the old Busch estate to corporate clients, has a weak case.

"The city has got a very strong position in this case," Devito said. "We believe that the (city) will be successful."

The city's liability insurance company hired the Tampa law firm Fowler, White, Gillen & Boggs to represent St. Pete Beach in the lawsuit. Conal Doyle, a lawyer with that firm, will handle the case.

Devito said he passed on the city's information on the case, including affidavits that DaSilva submitted several weeks ago when he was trying to get an occupational license to rent the property. The affidavits are from several employees and other people, who attest to the Busch estate's historical use as a business rental property.

The Busch estate was owned by Anheuser-Busch and used to host several celebrities in Pass-a-Grille.

DaSilva sued each of the city commissioners individually, alleging they violated his constitutional rights by forbidding him to use his property as he wanted. Devito said he expects the allegations against individual commissioners will be tossed out of court.

City Commissioner Jim Myers said he likes how the city's insurance carrier deals with litigation.

"They have a good attitude," Myers said. "They don't like to settle."

Ex-mayor resigns from sewage facility board

Former Mayor Bob Douglass has resigned from the Northwest Advisory Board, a panel that discusses how much St. Petersburg charges Treasure Island and St. Pete Beach for the use of its Northwest Treatment Plant, a sewage facility.

Douglass sat on the board for about 20 years, City Manager Carl Schwing said. The board consists of three representatives from St. Petersburg, two from Treasure Island and two from St. Pete Beach.

Most proposals to increase the rates that St. Petersburg charges St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island are turned down by the board on a 4-3 vote, with St. Petersburg's representatives voting in favor of the rate increases and the beach cities voting against them.

St. Pete Beach and St. Petersburg are entangled in a lawsuit over whether the larger city is charging too much for the use of the treatment plant. Treasure Island, which also uses the plant, watches the lawsuit closely because it could have implications there as well.

The new representatives on the Northwest Advisory Board will be Schwing and St. Pete Beach Utilities director Bill Miller. Finance director Steve Gallaher will be the alternate.

Because the board is advisory, its recommendations against rate increases are generally ignored, Schwing said. The city plans to take advantage of Douglass' institutional knowledge of the board.

"We go to the council in St. Petersburg and say, "Please don't raise the rates; you're violating the agreement,' " Schwing explained. "And then they pass (the rate increase)."

St. Pete Beach's sewage treatment plant was shut down by federal environmental regulators in the 1970s. St. Pete Beach then turned to St. Petersburg, helping to pay for the bigger Northwest Treatment Plant.

City's financial report wins recognition

The Government Finance Officers Association awarded the city of St. Pete Beach the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the city's comprehensive annual financial report.

The certificate is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, according to the Government Finance Officers Association. Stephen R. Gallaher, finance director for the city of St. Pete Beach, prepared the comprehensive annual financial report.

St. Pete Beach has received the award for four consecutive years.

A panel assembled by the Government Finance Officers Association judged the report met the program's standards, including demonstrating a constructive "spirit of full disclosure," according to a press release from the agency.

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