Tower “Rehab” Project Gets Narrow Go-Ahead as Woods Joins Gerard, Black Againstby Leo CoughlinLARGO – The City Commission narrowly approved at its meeting Tuesday night a change order that keeps alive the project to “rehabilitate” the southeast corner of Bay Drive and Seminole Boulevard. And City Manager Mac Craig undoubtedly read the tea leaves on probably what is the sentiment of the commission and is definitely the feelings of the public and got Alan Zimmet, the City Attorney, to tone down demands for another raise. As tipped off in their comments two weeks ago, two members of the commission who very seldom agree on anything, joined a third member in voting no on the “clock tower fountain rehabilitation.” Mayor Pat Gerard and Commissioner Mary Black have expressed their views on the reality of the current tough economic times and voted against the project. They were joined by Commissioner Rodney Woods who, up to now, has always voted in the affirmative for the project. An amusing sidelight that might give a clue to this change of heart came when Curtis Holmes, a resident who says he will oppose Woods in the November election, opined during the hearing on the matter that “this will be a factor in the election come November and voters will remember the spending of the money.” Following this, Woods joined Gerard and Black in opposition, but it was not enough to stop the project. Apparently, Commissioners Gigi Arntzen, Harriet Crozier and Woody Brown were persuaded by Commissioner Bob Murray’s comment along the lines that the project is beyond the point of no return. He was referring, apparently, to the $30,000 already spent and also apparently is unfamiliar with the concept of cutting one’s losses. The project was back before the commission Tuesday night, with another and different price tag on it. Last time out, the cost of taking down the clock tower and the surrounding area was put at $235,000. At that time Holmes suggested that the city could wheel the public works department in there and get the job done for a fraction of that. But the commission had the question of approving a change order for the project up for discussion with a collateral ordinance that, in short, was emblematic of scrambling for money. Before, what is on the corner was proposed to be ripped up and re-landscaped to the tune of at least $235,000. Now the price is $230,000. An adjunct to all of this is to put up a new clock on a triangular piece of ground just to the west in the middle of the intersection. That cost is put at about $100,000. This is how the staff proposed to scare up the $230,000 to get the job done – Transfer $210,000 of drainage project savings now located in the Penny for Pinellas fund (all of which is now totally committed to one project or another with prospects of the fund generating less income) to the Recreation, Parks and Art Department along with $20,000 from the undesignated tree fund balance. This project has been around since the fall of 2007 in various reincarnations and has been bounced from the Parks Department to Public Works to a combination of the two and back to the Parks Department now whose hicockalorums are panting with passion to get this money spent, Gerard, Black and Woods notwithstanding. As to Zimmet, in the words of Craig in laying out his recommendation on the review of the part time city attorney, “I recommend that the City Commission award a zero percent increase in the City Attorney’s retainer.” That is a bit of a shock with a fellow who began his employment with Largo in 2000 with an $84,000 retainer and in eight years of relentless 4 percent increases brought his retainer to the current $117,837 yearly, or $2,266 a week for part time work. In addition to the retainer, Zimmet and his firm are paid hourly rates for lawyer work involving, as Craig described it, “litigation, workers compensation matters, administrative hearings and extraordinary matters that are beyond the general work of the City Attorney.” That current rate is $160 an hour and while Zimmet forwent any increase in that rate last year, the rate now is being boosted to $170 an hour, which is reasonable by any current standard. Craig’s memo pointed out that the increase in the hourly rate might “increase total (legal) expenditures by up to $10,000 per year based on historical litigation expenditures.” So, however it is parsed, Zimmet winds up with more money. In this case, if Zimmet winds up with $10,000 more next year that represents an 8.5 percent increase, instead of the usual 4 percent. Which raises the questions of how acute a guardian Craig is of taxpayer funds and if commission members know anything about arithmetic.
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