http://www.sptimes.com/News/062500/SouthPinellas/Two_Lealman_fire_offi.shtml Two Lealman fire officials 'chitchat' with Pinellas Park By ANNE LINDBERG © St. Petersburg Times, published June 25, 2000 LEALMAN -- Faced with dwindling territory and the prospect of sharply higher taxes, two high-ranking Lealman fire officials met Thursday with Pinellas Park representatives to discuss the possibility of merging the two departments. Lealman fire Chief Gary Wolff said no decisions were made as a result of the meeting he and Fire Board president Linda Campbell held with Pinellas Park City Manager Jerry Mudd and fire Chief Ken Cramer. "We were chitchatting," Wolff said Friday. "Nothing came out of that. It was informal." Informal or not, reaction to the meeting was swift. At least one Pinellas Park council member was dismayed to learn of the talks. "I have no interest whatsoever," Rick Butler said. "The residents of Lealman don't really want to be a part of our community. . . . I'm not going to the dance again. Can't do it." The possibility of a merger was one of several topics, Wolff said. "We were also feeling them out on their annexation efforts," he said. The outcome of that part of the conversation was good, Wolff said. Pinellas Park officials assured Wolff and Campbell that they have no immediate interest in annexing into the Lealman area. Annexation is a touchy topic for Lealman these days. This month, voters in a portion of the Lealman Fire District voted to join the city of Seminole. Fire taxes that normally go to Lealman will now go to Seminole, although Lealman still will provide fire service. But Seminole has no obligation to pay Lealman for those services. Residents still in Lealman will have to absorb the costs of serving those people. The loss is estimated at $146,000 a year. To make matters worse, Lealman's proposed budget for the coming fiscal year is about $283,000 more than this year's $3.9-million budget, which means Lealman taxpayers will pay an estimated 12 percent more in taxes the coming year unless some changes are made. The prospect of escalating taxes combined with rhetoric from Seminole that it plans more annexations has Lealman firefighters and officials worried about the future and the real possibility that taxpayers simply will not be able to pay for the district in the long run. "The biggest thing that scares us is the Seminole annexation," Wolff said. "How much more are we going to lose?" The prospect had Lealman firefighters so worried that one of them, Tom Conley, asked board members at last Monday's workshop to remain open to the possibility of merger if the situation became hopeless. A merger has been considered before. Last year, Lealman officials seriously talked with Pinellas Park about taking over the district after they discovered that their firefighters were not eligible for state retirement and long-term disability benefits. While the board voted to dissolve and merge with Pinellas Park, firefighters wanted to merge with St. Petersburg, which had also offered to take over the district. Board members rejected St. Petersburg because a merger with that department would have cost taxpayers more than a merger with Pinellas Park. The firefighters wanted to go with St. Petersburg because the pay and benefits were better. Lealman residents also objected going with Pinellas Park, saying it would open them to easier annexation. The merger idea was dropped and Lealman applied to become a special fire district, which would then be eligible for the state benefits. That has passed the Legislature and won the governor's approval, but voters must make the final decision this year. But with the prospect of shrinking taxable territory and rising costs, Lealman officials have become worried about the feasibility of the special district. That's why they contacted Pinellas Park. It's a "fallback" idea, Wolff said. Pinellas Park officials, who still are chafing from the hits they took about their city and their intentions in the last merger talks, were wary but willing to discuss the issue when Campbell called asking for an appointment. But the first thing they did was remove from the table the offer they made during previous negotiations. Last time around, Pinellas Park had offered to hire all Lealman employees and was willing to discuss bringing them in at the salary they were receiving at the time. Pinellas Park was also willing to waive the probationary period. This time, that would likely not be an option, said Mudd, the Pinellas Park city manager. If there is ever a merger, he said, Pinellas Park officials could hire who they wanted and how many they wanted. Those employees would come in as new employees, he said. While that sounds harsh, Mudd said the reality is that the district will bring in fewer tax dollars in the future. "In the long scheme of things, there may have to be less employees for that district" regardless of a merger, Mudd said. Also, before talks become serious, Mudd said he wants evidence that Pinellas County, the Lealman Fire Board, the Lealman firefighters and Lealman residents all support the merger. Otherwise, he said, Pinellas Park likely would not be interested. He said Pinellas Park officials would study the matter further. Wolff maintained that the conversation was merely a fact-finding mission. "We're on a day-by-day basis," he said.==============================================
Message: 1 Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2000 10:46 -0400 Subject: Seminole moves fire station but feud lingers
From the St. Petersburg Times (http://www.sptimes.com)
Some info on the new Seminole Fire Station, and "Indian Rocks Fire District" is now the "Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District". Do districts still have conditions? Or is it now the whole county? Before it would be something like "Pinellas Park is now on Condition 4, Single Engine Response for Automatic Fire Alarms" ---------------------------------------------- http://www.sptimes.com/News/070500/NorthPinellas/Seminole_moves_fire_s.shtml Seminole moves fire station but feud lingers By WILMA NORTON © St. Petersburg Times, published July 5, 2000 SEMINOLE -- A tenth-of-a-mile move by Seminole should put to rest a months-long donnybrook with the Indian Rocks Fire District. Seminole now plans to build its new fire station on the east side of the Park Boulevard bridge. From the station, Seminole will provide fire service to the three Redington communities in partnership with Madeira Beach. Seminole's acrimonious spat with the Indian Rocks district started last fall when Seminole and Madeira Beach entered into a contract with the Redingtons for fire service, beginning Oct. 1. The Indian Rocks district has been providing the service and had hoped to do so permanently. The Redingtons, saying they had tried for months to reach an accord with the Indian Rocks district, decided to look elsewhere. Part of the Seminole-Redingtons deal included a new fire station on the site of the county boat ramp where Park Boulevard meets Gulf Boulevard. That land lies within the Indian Rocks Fire District, and the district's board said it would fight to keep Seminole from building a station inside its boundaries, setting aside up to $25,000 for legal fees. Seminole, in return, said it might sue to get the station built. Aside from a lot of arguing, not much progress has been made in settling the dispute. Throughout the fracas, Indian Rocks officials have said they had no legal reason to contest the Seminole-Redingtons deal if the station moved out of Indian Rocks territory. Seminole now plans to make that move. To build at the county boat ramp site west of the Intracoastal Waterway, Seminole needed a zoning and land use change from Indian Shores, something that town's zoning board has rejected. That was the final push Seminole needed to move east. The Redington communities have agreed to allow the move. The station, which Seminole plans to spend about $500,000 to build, now will be constructed on the site of the former county toll office on the south side of Park Boulevard, just east of the bridge. The County Commission is expected to lease the property to Seminole July 11. Representatives of the Indian Rocks district appeared before the County Commission last week, raising other objections to the Seminole-Redingtons deal. They said they weren't sure the contract made good economic sense. County Administrator Fred Marquis, however, told them that the commission doesn't need to get involved in whatever political acrimony remains between the fire district, Seminole and the Redington communities. "This board is in the role of leasing a piece of property," Marquis said. "I don't think this is the forum or the board has any say-so" in the dispute. Commissioners did, however, urge the fire district and Seminole to have one more meeting to try to work out their differences. Until the new station is built, Seminole will respond to fires on the beaches from its Station 31, near Seminole High. The Indian Rocks district, which recently changed its name to the Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District, will continue to provide emergency medical services to the Redington communities for eight more years, until its contract expires.
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