Backroom Talk
Fire district takes the heat outside
Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue Chief Ken Grimes didn't get much time to cool off after a hot night at Chief E.D. Williams Park in Indian Shores.
Roughly 50 people had gathered under a pavilion there Aug. 18 as the fire district approved sharply higher assessments for short-term rentals by reclassifying them as commercial properties. The hearing was moved outdoors because the adjacent Indian Shores Municipal Center was being used as a primary election polling place.
A day later, Grimes was back before the Indian Shores Town Council talking about how things went.
He acknowledged the district faced “opposition” to its decision to reclassify nearly 1,900 vacation rentals from residential to commercial for fire-assessment purposes. But he also said some owners who met with district officials came away understanding the reasoning behind it.
His advice to town officials who hear from unhappy or confused property owners: Send them his way.
“Come into my office and sit down and talk to me,” Grimes said, adding that the district would explain how it arrived at the assessments. “We're very transparent.”
Grimes also acknowledged the rollout might not have been flawless, saying the district “probably made some mistakes” but tried to handle the change as responsibly as it could.
Apparently, taking the heat comes with an open-door policy.
No sharks, no objections
A shark-fishing ban in Indian Shores that once generated plenty of attention went out with barely a ripple.
The Town Council voted Aug. 19 to repeal its prohibition on shore-based shark fishing after its attorney advised that Florida law preempts local governments from regulating the activity on beaches they don't own. The town had adopted the ban in 2023 after a 10-foot pregnant tiger shark was found dead on the beach.
When Mayor Diantha Schear opened the repeal for public comment, nobody in the sparsely attended audience spoke. Council members then approved it without debate.
So after three years on the books, Indian Shores' shark-fishing ban disappeared without anyone taking the bait.
‘Stump the city manager’
Seminole Mayor Leslie Waters felt compelled to lay down some ground rules before the Aug. 11 meeting.
Waters told council members not to take pictures or send text messages from the dais. And if they have questions that can be answered ahead of time, she wants them to call the city manager rather than springing them on her during a meeting.
The mayor had a name for that practice: the “stump the city manager game.”
“I'll cut you off,” she warned.
Waters conceded she hasn't always followed her own advice, admitting she's been guilty of taking pictures during meetings.
How many strikes does he get?
Largo Vice Mayor Chris Johnson couldn't completely leave city business behind while staying at a short-term rental in Georgia.
At an Aug. 11 work session, Johnson said he struck up a conversation with a local enforcement officer in Putnam County and spent about half an hour peppering him with questions about how the county regulates vacation rentals. He came home impressed with its “three strikes” policy for problem properties.
But his impromptu research project didn't win everyone over.
“My wife was very irritated with me, 'cause I kept her from shopping,” Johnson said.
Who's inside Fiona?
A discussion at the Aug. 3 Safety Harbor City Commission meeting about a city mural briefly turned into a City Hall mystery:
Who, exactly, is Fiona?
More specifically, commissioners wanted to know who gets inside the costume of the city's freckle-faced, redheaded recreation department mascot, decked out in a purple-and-yellow “REAL Fun!” outfit.
That sent the commission down a rabbit hole as officials tried to figure out if anyone knew the identity of the person behind — or rather, inside — Fiona.
For the moment, what happens inside Fiona apparently stays inside Fiona.
Do-over
As if one vote weren’t enough, town commissioners in Redington Shores got a second chance Aug. 12 to take a vote they already took seven months ago.
The town approved zoning and land-use changes in January for a property where the owners want to rebuild a home on a lot that has historically been zoned commercial.
There was just one problem: Pinellas County was supposed to approve the changes first.
The town says it learned of the problem after its January vote. The county has since signed off, but commissioners repeated the second reading to make everything kosher.
No room for an encore
Live music is fine in North Redington Beach. Just don't start planning Coachella.
Town commissioners discussed outdoor entertainment during a July 29 review of the town's ordinances and decided the little beach town simply doesn't have the room — or the parking — for large-scale outdoor events.
So they told Town Clerk Mari Campbell to work up an ordinance allowing businesses to continue offering the outdoor entertainment they already have while prohibiting large outdoor events.
In other words, the band can play on. Just don't expect a festival.
Summoning demons
Largo commissioner Curtis Holmes knows his limitations.
When presented with the opportunity to sing “Happy Birthday” to Mayor Woody Brown during the Aug. 11 work session, he politely declined.
“I would sing Happy Birthday, but the last time I sang, some people thought I was summoning demons,” Holmes said.
The response from the dais was quick: “No thanks.”