End of an era - indian-rocks-rotary.org · allows the club to assist the food pantry and numerous...
1
Seats change, but no council election in Belleair Beach Meantime, legendary disco singers from the 1970s perform in St. Petersburg ... See page 1B. Isley Brothers headline New Year’s Eve show in Treasure Island Volume XXXVI, No. 27 December 29, 2011 www.TBNweekly.com BUSINESS Chamber plans economic seminar The Central Pinellas Chamber of Com- merce will present Focus on 2012: A Tampa Bay Economic Forecast, on Tues- day, Jan. 10, at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort, 1160 Gulf Blvd. The program will feature business experts who will dis- cuss significant global, national and re- gional issues destined to impact the Tampa Bay economy. ... Page 11A. Features Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-7B Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7,10,12A County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-3,6A Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-3B Just for Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2B Outdoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9A Pets of the Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12A Police Beat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5A Viewpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8A Call 397-5563 For News & Advertising Local group sends cards to soldiers A Seminole organization called Cards 4 Soldiers brought cheer this holiday season to a large number of the nation’s military personnel overseas. The card giving crew, headed by Cheryl Mesick and Sheilanne Carlin were able to send over 18,875 Christmas cards to soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. It was a small idea that blossomed into a holiday tradi- tion. ... Page 3A. OUTDOORS Vidalia, mom doing quite well It’s been a month since the successful rescue of little local bottlenose dolphin calf Vidalia, cut free on Nov. 15 from the body noose of discarded fishing line that cut him for half of his young life. For the first time since the rescue, we saw Vi- dalia and his mom Valiant over the weekend. Both seem to be doing quite well. ... Page 9A. We Pay Cash For Gold & Silver! We Pay Cash For Gold & Silver! 6206 54th Ave. N. St. Pete • 544-6464 3209 Tampa Rd, Palm Harbor Shoppes at Cloverplace • 727-785-6464 090111 Visit Our New Location: 13611 Park Blvd. Suite G, Seminole • 369-8299 122911 Nadia O’Neal, D.D.S., P.A. “Where your changes your life.” Our Family Wishing Your Family Happy New Year 12046 Indian Rocks Road, Largo 727-595-1222 • www.VONailsAndSpa.com FACIALS • SPA THERAPY • WAXING • NAILS AND MORE Not available with other offers. Expires 1/15/12 Full Set or Spa Mani-Pedi Not available with other offers. Exp. 1/15/12 121511 We Offer SHELLAC for Natural Nails 20% OFF All Services for New Clients. $ 5 00 OFF Photo by BRIAN GOFF Matt Cummings, managing member of the Belleview Biltmore ownership group, stands in front of the historic, deteriorating hotel. The owners plan to ask for a demolition permit in January. End of an era Belleview Biltmore’s fate is becoming apparent By BRIAN GOFF BELLEAIR – The year 2012 could finally see a resolution of the fate of the Belleview Biltmore Hotel. The hotel has been closed and deteriorating for years and has upset town officials, nearby residents, historical propo- nents and the owners themselves. But the day of reckoning appears near. The town recently received a consultant’s report that out- lined what would happen if the owners decided to demolish the building and build upscale townhouses as they have in- dicated. Town Manager Micah Maxwell says the report was neces- sary because of the historic nature of the property. “The town has never gone through such a demolition be- fore,” he said. “New rules were passed four years ago which requires a certificate of appropriateness so we had to know where we stood and what the correct action would be.” That certificate would require the owners to meet certain standards and answer certain questions before being al- lowed to proceed. Nothing in the report has discouraged the owners, according to the managing member of the owner- ship group, Matt Cummings. “We realize how much work there is to demolish an his- toric property. So it will take time. We have put our inten- tions through an exhaustive legal review and hopefully we will have all that done in January and we can begin the pro- cess,” he said. What the owners, the Ades brothers of Miami, intend to do with the property is no secret. They are proposing to tear down the existing structure and build townhouses. They in- tend to save part of the hotel and re-create other parts. The townhouses will contain an artifact from the hotel, likely a pane of stained glass from the Tiffany Ballroom ceiling. How many townhouses there would be is now under review. They will likely seek permission to build more than the 83 mentioned in the initial plan. Cummings says it is now practically a certainty they will proceed to seek permission to move on with that plan. He says there is no way the hotel can be salvaged. “We’ve talked to hoteliers from New York to Los Angeles, in Europe, everywhere and they are just not interested,” he said. “It will be close to $200 million by the time this is fin- ished to fix this hotel up. And history indicates that whoever puts up that kind of money will lose in the end. They will end up selling for pennies on the dollar.” Cummings has said they aren’t interested in selling to anyone who doesn’t intend to keep the property as a hotel. “We got an offer recently, for a lot more than we paid, but the buyer wanted to build 500 apartments on the site. We figured that the plan would never pass and the property would revert back to us anyway. By that time six months would have passed and nothing would have been done. We weren’t interested in that.” Maxwell says the consultant’s report does outline some hurdles that the hotel owners would have to overcome, but he says they could do it. “When you look at the list of items you will see there are some difficulties. How many remains to be seen, I just can’t answer that at this point.” See BILTMORE, page 4A By WAYNE AYERS BELLEAIR BEACH – Council member Mitch Krach is giving up his council seat after serving five years. Rob Baldwin, who is returning to council after a one- year absence, will replace him. Vice Mayor David Dumville and Councilmember Leslie Notaro will remain on council and begin new terms in March. No council members will be on the ballot in the mu- nicipal elections to be held March 13, as Baldwin, Dumville and Notaro were the only candidates to quali- fy for the three seats up for election. During his previous terms in office, Baldwin oversaw the construction of the new City Hall, a $3.9 million un- dertaking. He left council soon after the project’s com- pletion. Baldwin said when he returns to council he wants to be involved with public works projects and making sure the city is well maintained. While a vote on council members will not be needed, the city will still hold an election in March to allow vot- ers to decide a referendum issue and charter amend- ment. The referendum question to be decided asks voters whether the city council “should develop a plan and fi- nancing to underground all public utilities throughout the city, with the cost to be amortized over the full term of the obligation and be repaid as an assessment to run with the land for those properties benefited by utility undergrounding.” Most of undergrounding utilities in the entire city will be substantial, and city officials have indicated a mil- See BELLEAIR BEACH, page 4A Holiday donation Claire English and Michael Schulz of The Rotary Club of Indian Rocks Beach display the club’s donation to the Beach Community Food Pantry at Calvary Episcopal Church for holiday meals for the hungry. The support of the local community allows the club to assist the food pantry and numerous other organizations throughout the area. The Rotary Club of Indian Rocks Beach meets Wednesday mornings at 7:15. For more information, call 403-4060 or visit www.irbrc.com. Photo courtesy of BRUCE SOBUT County renews Sunstar contract By SUZETTE PORTER CLEARWATER – After more than two hours of debate Dec. 20, Pinellas County commissioners approved a contract ex- tension with Paramedics Plus, giving the Texas company exclusive rights to trans- port service for at least two more years. According to the terms of the current contract, the commission had to inform Paramedics Plus of their intentions to renew by Jan. 1, 2012. The alternative was to find another service provider by Sept. 30, the date the current contract expires. County Administrator Bob LaSala and staff recommended approval of a three- year contract that included $10 million in savings over the life of the agreement. But commissioners were reluctant to tie their hands for that long in light of cur- rent proposals for changes in the county- wide emergency medical service system. Outgoing commission chair Susan Latvala favored the three-year extension. “Until we find a better, cheaper way to do something, this contract is cost-effec- tive,” she said. The other six commissioners weren’t so sure. The majority of the public fa- vored letting the contract expire – some- thing that almost seemed a possibility after commissioners failed to agree on the first two votes. They had three options to consider. Option 1, a three-year extension with a savings of $10 million. Option 2, a two- year extension with the possibility for a third year, allowing six-month pilots to allow fire departments to do emergency and nonemergency transport. A third option, passed out to commis- sioners just before the meeting, prompt- ed harsh words from Commissioner Ken Welch, who asked why it was received at the last minute. LaSala explained that the county did- n’t receive the offer until late Monday. Then it went to the county attorney’s of- fice for review. “Personally, I think the contractor dropped the ball,” Welch said. LaSala said Paramedics Plus had pre- sented the third alternative at the coun- ty’s request. Welch still wasn’t satisfied. “I haven’t read it,” he said. “Are we going to take a break and let me read it?” Later in the discussion, Commissioner John Morroni said he was responsible for the last-minute addition. He ex- plained that he had been talking on the phone with Ed Armstrong, a local attor- ney representing Paramedics Plus, on another matter Dec. 16 when he men- tioned he wasn’t happy with either con- tract proposal. Morroni outlined what he would like to have in a contract, and Armstrong ran it by his client, who agreed to work on a third option, which was presented to the county on Monday. This option provided $2 million in savings in the second and third years of the agreement, but does not allow for pilot programs – something Welch and Commissioner Neil Brickfield wanted. Commissioner Norm Roche pushed for a fourth option – three one-year exten- sions, which he said gave the county the most flexibility to move forward on po- See SUNSTAR, page 4A COUNTY World record try comes up short Bill Marra of Seminole attempted to achieve a feat that would last a lifetime, breaking a Guinness World Record at Tropicana Field. For nearly 20 years, he wanted to break the world record for the longest indoor flight of a paper airplane. On Dec. 2, he got his chance. ... Page 2A. Reversal fails on fluoride issue County Commission Chair Susan Lat- vala relinquished the gavel to her vice chair, John Morroni, so she could make a motion Dec. 20 – the commission’s last meeting date of 2011 and a final oppor- tunity to reverse a decision made Oct. 4 to stop providing fluoride in the water supply. Her effort failed. ... Page 2A. VIEWPOINTS Mary Sanchez Columnist says we need a TV sitcom to pro- mote Muslimism. ... Page 11A. © 2011 Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved www.tbnweekly.com
Transcript of End of an era - indian-rocks-rotary.org · allows the club to assist the food pantry and numerous...
Seats change, but no council election in Belleair Beach
Meantime, legendary disco singers from the 1970s perform in St. Petersburg ... See page 1B.
Isley Brothers headlineNew Year’s Eve showin Treasure Island
Volume XXXVI, No. 27 December 29, 2011www.TBNweekly.com
BUSINESS
Chamber planseconomic seminar
The Central Pinellas Chamber of Com-merce will present Focus on 2012: ATampa Bay Economic Forecast, on Tues-day, Jan. 10, at the Sheraton Sand KeyResort, 1160 Gulf Blvd. The program willfeature business experts who will dis-cuss significant global, national and re-gional issues destined to impact theTampa Bay economy.
... Page 11A.
FeaturesBusiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11AClassifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-7BCommunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7,10,12ACounty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-3,6AEntertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-3BJust for Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2BOutdoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9APets of the Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12APolice Beat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5AViewpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8A
Call 397-5563For News & Advertising
Local group sendscards to soldiers
A Seminole organization called Cards4 Soldiers brought cheer this holidayseason to a large number of the nation’smilitary personnel overseas. The cardgiving crew, headed by Cheryl Mesickand Sheilanne Carlin were able to sendover 18,875 Christmas cards to soldiersstationed in Afghanistan. It was a smallidea that blossomed into a holiday tradi-tion.
... Page 3A.
OUTDOORS
Vidalia, momdoing quite well
It’s been a month since the successfulrescue of little local bottlenose dolphincalf Vidalia, cut free on Nov. 15 from thebody noose of discarded fishing line thatcut him for half of his young life. For thefirst time since the rescue, we saw Vi-dalia and his mom Valiant over theweekend. Both seem to be doing quitewell.
... Page 9A.
We Pay Cash For Gold & Silver!We Pay Cash For Gold & Silver!
6206 54th Ave. N.St. Pete • 544-6464
3209 Tampa Rd, Palm HarborShoppes at Cloverplace • 727-785-6464
090111
Visit Our New Location:13611 Park Blvd. Suite G, Seminole • 369-8299
122911
Nadia O’Neal, D.D.S., P.A.
“Where your changes your life.”
Our Family Wishing Your Family Happy New Year
12046 Indian Rocks Road, Largo727-595-1222 • www.VONailsAndSpa.comFACIALS • SPA THERAPY • WAXING • NAILS AND MORE
Not available with other offers. Expires 1/15/12
Full Set orSpa Mani-Pedi
Not available with other offers. Exp. 1/15/12
1215
11
We OfferSHELLAC for
Natural Nails
20% OFFAll Services
for New Clients.
$500
OFF
Photo by BRIAN GOFFMatt Cummings, managing member of the Belleview Biltmore ownership group, stands in front of the historic, deterioratinghotel. The owners plan to ask for a demolition permit in January.
End of an eraBelleview Biltmore’s fate is becoming apparentBy BRIAN GOFF
BELLEAIR – The year 2012 could finally see a resolutionof the fate of the Belleview Biltmore Hotel.
The hotel has been closed and deteriorating for years andhas upset town officials, nearby residents, historical propo-nents and the owners themselves. But the day of reckoningappears near.
The town recently received a consultant’s report that out-lined what would happen if the owners decided to demolishthe building and build upscale townhouses as they have in-dicated.
Town Manager Micah Maxwell says the report was neces-sary because of the historic nature of the property.
“The town has never gone through such a demolition be-fore,” he said. “New rules were passed four years ago whichrequires a certificate of appropriateness so we had to knowwhere we stood and what the correct action would be.”
That certificate would require the owners to meet certainstandards and answer certain questions before being al-lowed to proceed. Nothing in the report has discouraged theowners, according to the managing member of the owner-ship group, Matt Cummings.
“We realize how much work there is to demolish an his-toric property. So it will take time. We have put our inten-tions through an exhaustive legal review and hopefully wewill have all that done in January and we can begin the pro-cess,” he said.
What the owners, the Ades brothers of Miami, intend todo with the property is no secret. They are proposing to teardown the existing structure and build townhouses. They in-
tend to save part of the hotel and re-create other parts. Thetownhouses will contain an artifact from the hotel, likely apane of stained glass from the Tiffany Ballroom ceiling. Howmany townhouses there would be is now under review.They will likely seek permission to build more than the 83mentioned in the initial plan.
Cummings says it is now practically a certainty they willproceed to seek permission to move on with that plan. Hesays there is no way the hotel can be salvaged.
“We’ve talked to hoteliers from New York to Los Angeles,in Europe, everywhere and they are just not interested,” hesaid. “It will be close to $200 million by the time this is fin-ished to fix this hotel up. And history indicates that whoeverputs up that kind of money will lose in the end. They willend up selling for pennies on the dollar.”
Cummings has said they aren’t interested in selling toanyone who doesn’t intend to keep the property as a hotel.
“We got an offer recently, for a lot more than we paid, butthe buyer wanted to build 500 apartments on the site. Wefigured that the plan would never pass and the propertywould revert back to us anyway. By that time six monthswould have passed and nothing would have been done. Weweren’t interested in that.”
Maxwell says the consultant’s report does outline somehurdles that the hotel owners would have to overcome, buthe says they could do it.
“When you look at the list of items you will see there aresome difficulties. How many remains to be seen, I just can’tanswer that at this point.”
See BILTMORE, page 4A
By WAYNE AYERS
BELLEAIR BEACH – Council member Mitch Krach isgiving up his council seat after serving five years.
Rob Baldwin, who is returning to council after a one-year absence, will replace him. Vice Mayor DavidDumville and Councilmember Leslie Notaro will remainon council and begin new terms in March.
No council members will be on the ballot in the mu-nicipal elections to be held March 13, as Baldwin,Dumville and Notaro were the only candidates to quali-
fy for the three seats up for election.During his previous terms in office, Baldwin oversaw
the construction of the new City Hall, a $3.9 million un-dertaking. He left council soon after the project’s com-pletion. Baldwin said when he returns to council hewants to be involved with public works projects andmaking sure the city is well maintained.
While a vote on council members will not be needed,the city will still hold an election in March to allow vot-ers to decide a referendum issue and charter amend-ment.
The referendum question to be decided asks voterswhether the city council “should develop a plan and fi-nancing to underground all public utilities throughoutthe city, with the cost to be amortized over the full termof the obligation and be repaid as an assessment to runwith the land for those properties benefited by utilityundergrounding.”
Most of undergrounding utilities in the entire city willbe substantial, and city officials have indicated a mil-
See BELLEAIR BEACH, page 4A
Holiday donation
Claire English and Michael Schulz ofThe Rotary Club of Indian RocksBeach display the club’s donation tothe Beach Community Food Pantryat Calvary Episcopal Church forholiday meals for the hungry. Thesupport of the local communityallows the club to assist the foodpantry and numerous otherorganizations throughout the area.The Rotary Club of Indian RocksBeach meets Wednesday morningsat 7:15. For more information, call403-4060 or visit www.irbrc.com.
Photo courtesy of BRUCE SOBUT
CountyrenewsSunstarcontractBy SUZETTE PORTER
CLEARWATER – After more than twohours of debate Dec. 20, Pinellas Countycommissioners approved a contract ex-tension with Paramedics Plus, giving theTexas company exclusive rights to trans-port service for at least two more years.
According to the terms of the currentcontract, the commission had to informParamedics Plus of their intentions torenew by Jan. 1, 2012. The alternativewas to find another service provider bySept. 30, the date the current contractexpires.
County Administrator Bob LaSala andstaff recommended approval of a three-year contract that included $10 millionin savings over the life of the agreement.But commissioners were reluctant to tietheir hands for that long in light of cur-rent proposals for changes in the county-wide emergency medical service system.
Outgoing commission chair SusanLatvala favored the three-year extension.
“Until we find a better, cheaper way todo something, this contract is cost-effec-tive,” she said.
The other six commissioners weren’tso sure. The majority of the public fa-vored letting the contract expire – some-thing that almost seemed a possibilityafter commissioners failed to agree onthe first two votes.
They had three options to consider.Option 1, a three-year extension with asavings of $10 million. Option 2, a two-year extension with the possibility for athird year, allowing six-month pilots toallow fire departments to do emergencyand nonemergency transport.
A third option, passed out to commis-sioners just before the meeting, prompt-ed harsh words from Commissioner KenWelch, who asked why it was received atthe last minute.
LaSala explained that the county did-n’t receive the offer until late Monday.Then it went to the county attorney’s of-fice for review.
“Personally, I think the contractordropped the ball,” Welch said.
LaSala said Paramedics Plus had pre-sented the third alternative at the coun-ty’s request. Welch still wasn’t satisfied.
“I haven’t read it,” he said. “Are wegoing to take a break and let me read it?”
Later in the discussion, CommissionerJohn Morroni said he was responsiblefor the last-minute addition. He ex-plained that he had been talking on thephone with Ed Armstrong, a local attor-ney representing Paramedics Plus, onanother matter Dec. 16 when he men-tioned he wasn’t happy with either con-tract proposal.
Morroni outlined what he would like tohave in a contract, and Armstrong ran itby his client, who agreed to work on athird option, which was presented to thecounty on Monday. This option provided$2 million in savings in the second andthird years of the agreement, but doesnot allow for pilot programs – somethingWelch and Commissioner Neil Brickfieldwanted.
Commissioner Norm Roche pushed fora fourth option – three one-year exten-sions, which he said gave the county themost flexibility to move forward on po-
See SUNSTAR, page 4A
COUNTY
World record trycomes up short
Bill Marra of Seminole attempted toachieve a feat that would last a lifetime,breaking a Guinness World Record atTropicana Field. For nearly 20 years, hewanted to break the world record for thelongest indoor flight of a paper airplane.On Dec. 2, he got his chance.
... Page 2A.
Reversal failson fluoride issue
County Commission Chair Susan Lat-vala relinquished the gavel to her vicechair, John Morroni, so she could makea motion Dec. 20 – the commission’s lastmeeting date of 2011 and a final oppor-tunity to reverse a decision made Oct. 4to stop providing fluoride in the watersupply. Her effort failed.
... Page 2A.
VIEWPOINTS
Mary SanchezColumnist says we
need a TV sitcom to pro-mote Muslimism.
... Page 11A.
© 2011 Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved www.tbnweekly.com
![Geology of the Paleozoic Rocks, Navajo and Hopi Indian ... · Geology of the Paleozoic Rocks, Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah By]. H. IRWIN, P.R.](https://static.fdocuments.in/doc/165x107/5ec43e11f472905a6452db97/geology-of-the-paleozoic-rocks-navajo-and-hopi-indian-geology-of-the-paleozoic.jpg)
