INDIAN ROCKS BEACH - It turns out there should never have been any confusion over Whitehurst Avenue, the land at the city's southern border with Indian Shores.
Andy Salzman, the city attorney, made that clear in so many words at last week's City Commission meeting.
Salzman, who at times seems to have been drawn into the web of contrived confusion because of the legal role he plays with the city, said May 22 that "IRB absolutely owned all of Whitehurst" and the party who made a claim had no ownership of the 7.3 foot strip he claimed.
Unfortunately, Mayor Bill Ockunzzi who kept the confusion issue going for weeks, even trying to crank in Indian Shores officials for high level meetings and putting his own touches to legal documents surrounding the case, was not present to hear what was good news to everyone else.
The ongoing mystery was why the "confusion" element was kept alive so long. It seemed very fishy to some, particularly Commissioner Jose Coppen who demonstrated again and again that the ownership was clear cut and there was no confusion.
Many stories over the past six to nine months explored all the ramifications of the case which centered around a private individual desiring to construct a condominium building right at the city line and claiming some portion of the land that actually belongs to Indian Rocks Beach.
The private party had a lawyer who offered - and had the process right to the brink of completion - an accord with the city that would have satisfied the private party's claim and stripped IRB of some of its land.
In spite of all protestations to the contrary, again particularly by Coppen, the "confusion" ball was kept in the air.
The next step is for an injunction ordering the removal of a fence that was placed inside the IRB access at Whitehurst by the private developer.
What was decisive in establishing IRB's rights at Whitehurst was an extensive title search and a site survey.
One point that was made at the May 22 meeting was the urging to keep Steve Cottrell as the full-time, regular city manager, elevating him from his current interim position.
Cottrell was the former town manager in Belleair which is similar in size to Indian Rocks Beach, plus Belleair had its own water and waste system during Cottrell's tenure there, so he is fully familiar with running a city IRB's size.
In that regard, the consensus at the commission meeting last week was to stop accepting applications for the manager job by June 15 (with no obligation to interview any applicant).
Negotiations with Cottrell for the manager job are expected to start soon.
The commission on second reading passed an ordinance providing for an additional $25,000 homestead exemption to senior citizens who qualify by virtue of age and household income.
Cheryl Davis, assistant city clerk who is retiring after many years of service, was honored at the beginning of the May 22 meeting.
