It is a new day in St. Pete Beach.
Overnight, your City Commission changed from four originally-appointed commissioners reflecting the will of the resigning prior commission, to a majority-elected commission reflecting the will of the voters.
As you may recall, Mayor Adrian Petrila was elected with 60% of the vote versus former incumbent Al Johnson. In last week's special election, District 2 Commissioner Lisa Robinson defeated appointed incumbent Nick Filtz by an even larger margin of 71% to 29%. District 4 Commissioner Joe Moholland was unopposed, as the appointed Richard Lorenzen had extensive travel plans and did not choose to run for his seat.
The irony is not lost that each of these two new commissioners volunteered to be appointed during December's chaotic resignations. Both were passed over by the resigning commissioners, who hand-picked their successors and biased the process to exclude these individuals who each had interest and experience in our civic affairs.
The resigning commission's antics during this process included:
- Then-Commissioner Mark Grill singling out Mr. Moholland to ask him about support of and political donations to Mayor Petrila's campaign.
- When only Ms. Robinson had volunteered to serve as District 2 commissioner, resigning commissioners changed the rules and extended the application period over the objection of Mayor Petrila.
- Resigning Commissioner Ward Friszolowski, a District 3 resident, subsequently bragged about personally recruiting Nick Filtz who was ultimately appointed in District 2. This appointment was notable for Mr. Filtz's acknowledgement that he had never before attended any City Commission meetings, and he was unfamiliar with the difference between our Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code.
It is with great relief that we can say this morning that our city is now under much more experienced leadership. We encourage all residents to watch the City Commission meeting above, where our mayor and the two new commissioners made significant contributions:
- Under Mayor Petrila's leadership, the Commission agreed unanimously to work with the consultants hired to help us update our Comprehensive Plan to propose a temporary moratorium on development that would be affected by Comprehensive Plan changes. The City Attorney confirmed that updating the Comprehensive Plan is a standard and justified reason for such a moratorium.
- Commissioner Robinson agreed on a process with our City Clerk to publish lobbyist registration information on our City website, and to ensure that our lobbyist registration forms contain sufficient detail to so we are informed who is lobbying our city, and for what purpose.
- Commissioner Moholland offered detailed recommendations for how the City can better leverage our various citizen boards to take full advantage of the talent in our community. These recommendations will be reviewed by the commissioners and discussed at the next meeting.
Finally, Commissioner Moholland opened a discussion that resulted in a motion to give our City Attorney, the Dickman Law Firm, 90 days notice to terminate our at-will contract (video begins at 2:09:09 above). This motion was supported by public comment (beginning at 2:20:30 above), and passed with a 3-2 vote with Commissioners Moholland, Robinson, and Mayor Petrila voting in favor, Commissioners Marriott and Rzewnicki opposed.
Commissioners Marriott and Rzewnicki expressed hesitation at making this change. We are also sensitive to the fact that our new City Manager has a tremendous amount on her plate. However, the City Attorney himself reassured the audience that the transition would be orderly, and that it is best for everyone that his firm not be employed if it does not have the confidence of the Commission.
You might be wondering, why is changing our city attorney good for our city?
It was discussed last night that St. Pete Beach spends significantly more money than surrounding and comparable cities for legal services. Perhaps this burden is the result of our having more conflict than other cities, which begs the question, why do we have so much conflict?
It is helpful to consider the root causes of our current situation. Because St. Pete Beach has a decades-long history of dysfunctional relationships between residents and the city, city manager, and city commission, these dysfunctional relationships express themselves in guidance and priorities set by the commission, and executed by the city manager and city attorney.
Therefore, we are where we are because of where we have been -- the actions of prior commissions and city managers, and the counsel given by our city attorney.
Residents know we can do better. In the aftermath of former city manager Alex Rey's resignation, we learned a tremendous amount about the pathological work environment and lack of financial controls during his tenure.
We learned how the former commission supported him and enabled this behavior, watching them push back against Mayor Petrila's efforts to introduce accountability... until the documented complaints became too obvious to ignore and forced the city manager's resignation.
With the resignation of the commissioners who enabled this poor behavior last year, residents have now turned knowledge into power, and the ability to use that power responsibly for the betterment of our community.
The time has come for unity -- coming together with our city government in a partnership of mutual accountability. We need a City Attorney who likewise values accountability in our government, and views legal conflict with residents, as we do, as an unnecessary cost and absolute last resort.
Finally, two quick requests:
- Because your voice is so important, please email our commissioners ([email protected]) and let them know that you support their efforts to reorient our city government in alignment with the residents. There are still a few who seek division; it is crucial that residents speak with a united voice.
- Your donations are needed, and greatly appreciated. Also, in response to questions we have received, know that donations made to Protect St. Pete Beach are not public record since we are an education / advocacy group and not a political action committee.