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By ANITA KUMAR © St. Petersburg Times, published June 21, 1998
Roberto, who ends his first year as city manager Tuesday, makes a point to walk up to strangers on the way and ask them what they think about living in Clearwater. He does the same thing standing in the checkout line at Albertson's. And when he drives through the North Greenwood area and sees teenagers hanging out on the streets after school. He even questions people while working out at the gym each day at 5 a.m. "What I'm trying to find out is do they think we are doing a good job," Roberto said. "If something's not working, I want to know." More so than any other Clearwater city manager in two decades, Roberto sees his job out in the community -- meeting people, passing out business cards and listening to complaints and compliments. Whether people like what he has done or not, it's clear people know his name. "It's refreshing," said David Stone, president of Citizens Bank & Trust, who has worked in downtown for almost 30 years. "We haven't had someone in that job that's visible, that's out there making things happen." Roberto, 42, works long, intense hours running the day-to-day operations of Clearwater, a city with 104,000 residents, 1,600 employees and a $165-million budget. For the most part, he has won over city commissioners, residents and business people. They can't say enough about his aggressive, outgoing style and his seemingly endless stream of ideas. In many ways, they credit Roberto with creating the feeling of rebirth that has washed over the city and culminated last week when the commission took a leap toward redevelopment. But as Roberto's first year comes to a close, some people are beginning to wonder whether he is too aggressive -- trying to do too much, too fast and creating unrealistic expectations. After all, they say, this is a man who has no qualms about outshining his bosses, spending money on grand projects and meeting with top leaders of the Church of Scientology, which is based in Clearwater. "You need to give people the freedom to dream," Roberto said. "You need to give them hope and direction. If we don't set high expectations, who will?" * * *Roberto is occasionally mistaken for a politician. And it's no wonder. In his first year, he spent the bulk of his time getting out of the office, shaking hands, giving out his cell phone number and making promises. From 6 a.m. on -- and sometimes before -- Roberto's calendar was jampacked. He was spotted at homeowner and civic group meetings, taking neighborhood tours and meeting with just about anybody who called his office. Roberto, still in the suit he wore to the office, even spent a hot afternoon riding through the South Greenwood neighborhood on a bike. "If anyone doesn't know him or know of him," said Sheila Cole, president of the Clearwater Beach Chamber of Commerce, "they're living in a cave." Roberto said the meetings have helped him get residents, commissioners and city staffers to agree on one vision for Clearwater. So much so that when Roberto unveiled his sweeping redevelopment plan, "One City. One Future," in January the meeting was dubbed a "lovefest." That in a city where some groups -- from downtown to the beach -- spent years bickering, and others, such as North Greenwood, have been left out. "He included us a lot in the process along the way," said Jonathan Wade, president of the North Greenwood Association. "The first year we spent getting the entire community and organization on the same page," Roberto said. "That is an awesome task. Most people spend a lifetime on that. We did it in 12 months." Roberto takes what people tell him and funnels that into a concrete plan. By the time his staff gets a chance to tackle one idea, Roberto is talking about another one. He once toyed with building a baseball stadium on the waterfront downtown and keeping the Memorial Causeway bridge after a replacement is built. "I would equate the current administration to living in the middle of a tornado," police Chief Sid Klein said. "I think he's the right guy at the right time, and I think we'll all benefit from it, if we don't die first." Some ideas, such as the new stadium and keeping the old bridge, have died. But his ideas have made people more enthusiastic and upbeat about Clearwater. "He has brought back tremendous community spirit, hope and inspiration," Commissioner Karen Seel said. People note his accomplishments: He completed the troubled Municipal Service and Harborview projects. He helped redevelop the old City Hall and Sunshine Mall properties. He has reorganized staff, brought in new employees and streamlined government. "There were a lot of missteps or no steps prior to his arrival," said Brian Anderson, spokesman for the Church of Scientology. "Now there seem to be tangible results." * * *Roberto is aggressive. But some are beginning to wonder whether that's always a good thing. Some commissioners want Roberto to stop lobbying them. Some residents worry about how freely he appears to spend money. Others question whether he should be meeting with Church of Scientology officials. But by far most criticism has been about Roberto doing too much. "You can't put it all on your plate," said Lois Cormier, a South Greenwood resident and longtime City Hall watchdog. "You see it all and you want it all, but you just can't have it all. He needs to realize that," Cormier said. Roberto started massive redevelopment plans for downtown, the beach, North Greenwood and Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard. He is trying to improve the look of each neighborhood. And he wants to share projects with businesses, such as Clearwater Mall, and other governments, such as the school district. Employees seem to like Roberto's style and get a kick out of his creative ideas, but they say there is too much pressure to do everything. Roberto, a big fan of technology, receives about 100 e-mail messages a day, mostly from staff. Roberto, who is demanding, abrupt and animated, admits some employees have left because of him. "He has tried to do so much," said Doug Wlasiuk, president of the local Communications Workers of America, which represents 900 city employees. "It's fine to have all these projects scheduled, but let's accomplish some things first." Even Roberto agrees he is doing more here at a faster pace than in North Miami Beach, where he spent nine years as city manager. "I kept hearing the same things over and over again," he said. "The public is frustrated with the pace of government." Not everyone thinks he is doing too much. Some people, including several commissioners, think he is not acting quickly enough. Seel, Mayor Rita Garvey and Commissioner J.B. Johnson said they had hoped Roberto would be well beyond the planning stage on some projects by now. "All we've been doing for seven, eight, nine months is talk," Johnson said. "The people want to see some action, and as of yet we haven't seen anything." Roberto said he is proud of what he has accomplished and has no regrets but would have liked to focus more on Clearwater Mall, the Penny for Pinellas tax, individual neighborhoods, the beach and quick fixes. He said he also had hoped to be further along on some projects but had to spend time filling vacant positions and reorganizing staff first. "One of the greatest mistakes we could possibly make is building something for the sake of building something," he said. "When you rush out and do something, nine times out of 10 you regret it." * * *Just about everyone, including Roberto, agrees his second year will be his most important. He needs to begin building the projects, improving the infrastructure and encouraging economic development. "If the dirt doesn't move by fall, God save his butt," said John Wiser, a longtime Countryside resident. "We expect him to deliver." Roberto said he is up to the challenge. During the next year, he plans to finish filling vacancies, recruit businesses, come up with block-by-block redevelopment plans, figure out how to pay for the projects and, most important, start construction somewhere. "If he gets half the things done that he wants to, he'll be a hero," said Steve Griffin, the former president of the Morningside-Meadows Homeowners Association. Roberto said he plans to be here long enough to get everything done. He said his wife, Debbie, and daughter, Christina, 7, have enjoyed living in Clearwater even more than they thought they would and plan to stay 10 years. "I think Clearwater is a great place," Roberto said. "But I'm
always thinking of ways to make it better. I just know in my heart
if we continue to work hard, we will absolutely succeed."
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LEARWATER -- At lunchtime, Mike Roberto leaves his third-floor
office at City Hall and strolls down Cleveland Street to grab
a sandwich.
