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Fire chief, others say it's time for change
By AMY WIMMER © St. Petersburg Times, published December 10, 2000 MADEIRA BEACH -- After a 19-year career with the city, fire Chief Brian Turini resigned Monday, six months after a consultant reported division and a lack of leadership in the Fire Department. Turini had been on probation since May, when City Manager Mike Bonfield laid out a 28-point improvement plan for the fire chief. Turini said he had mixed success meeting those goals. "Some of those objectives we were meeting; some we weren't," Turini said. He resigned days after meeting with Bonfield to review his progress. Both Bonfield and Turini said their parting was amicable. Turini is the fourth high-ranking city official to leave Madeira Beach in the past two years and the second in two weeks. He leaves with a severance deal of more than $30,000. "Nobody was upset or anything," Turini said. "I didn't think I would be doing myself any good or Madeira Beach any good by staying." Said Bonfield: "He just came to a decision that it was time to do something different." Turini and the city manager began working on improving the Fire Department about a year ago, but the department's shortcomings were highlighted in a report this summer by city-hired consultant Robert Chambers. The report said the department's inspection program was in "disarray," its teamwork "critically absent." Chambers cited a litany of other problems: Firefighters rated morale at a 3 or 4 on a 10-point scale. They worked well together while on calls, but often blamed each other for mistakes after they had returned to the fire station. The department inspected only 10 percent of Madeira Beach businesses in 1999, even though city policy calls for 50 percent. At the time, Bonfield said, "I kind of understood the breadth of the problem, but I guess maybe not the depth in some areas." The consultant said Bonfield would be justified in firing Turini. But other problems cited in the report -- specifically, the fact that the fire chief was responsible for non-firefighting responsibilities such as code enforcement and parking violations -- convinced Bonfield that Turini deserved an opportunity to improve the situation. Turini started overseeing parking when the city dissolved its Police Department five years ago, and code enforcement when Madeira Beach decided not to hire a new building official after Fred Hawes resigned in early 1999. The Sheriff's Office handles law enforcement, and the county handles building permits, but the Fire Department took on some aspects of both departments. "If you work for a place and you care about it at all, you're going to do what needs to be done," Turini said this summer, explaining why he ended up with duties unusual for a fire chief. Rick Feinberg, president of the St. Petersburg Association of Firefighters, described Turini as "a nice guy, a great guy who would do anything for anybody and would do anything for the city." But Feinberg felt Turini lacked leadership skills and called his departure from Madeira Beach "overdue." Also this year in Madeira Beach, veteran firefighter and paramedic Larry Wade was fired after a series of medical missteps, including giving a patient an overdose of morphine. Feinberg said city firefighters enjoy a recently approved contract that makes their salaries competitive with other departments in Pinellas. Employees are more optimistic these days, he said. On Tuesday night, the Madeira Beach City Commission appointed Lt. Dan Mentessi, a longtime firefighter with the city, as interim fire chief. Bonfield said the city probably will look outside the department for a permanent chief, primarily because the job requires a bachelor's degree. Bonfield resisted suggestions that the city is trying to overhaul its top leaders, even though the city has seen a lot of turnover among high-ranking positions in the past two years. Bonfield, who has been with the city for a little over a year and a half, replaced City Manager Kim Leinbach, who resigned amid questions about his role in getting a federal grant for then-City Commissioner Tom Saxon. Ultimately, Saxon sued the city in a dispute that continues today. In February 1999, former Building Official Fred Hawes also resigned in response to growing pressure stemming from his role in the Saxon case. And just last week, the City Commission opted not to renew its contract with City Attorney Andrew Salzman. Madeira Beach Mayor Tom DeCesare said he thinks Turini's decision came at the right time. "This is best for him. He was under the gun. It's difficult when you are on probation and waiting for the shoe to fall," DeCesare said. Turini said he and his wife, Betty, are reviewing several options for their future. Some are unrelated to firefighting. "I was there almost 20 years. It was a good run. I got a lot out of Madeira Beach," Turini said. "Now I'm going to cool my heels." PREVIOUS COVERAGE:Fire code inspections way behind schedule Troubles found in Madeira firehouse
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