Longboat Observer
YourObserver.com
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2012
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
3A
by Kurt Schultheis | Managing Editor
Larson calls letter into question Fire chief Longboat Key officials question whether a town pension board has the right to do anything other than manage the plan’s assets and look out for its best interest. Longboat Key Commissioner Lynn Larson is concerned the General Employees Pension Board of Trustees has overstepped its boundaries. In August, the board made comments and decisions at a quarterly meeting with the intention to protect the pension plan for general employees. At that time, board members expressed concern when Town Manager Dave Bullock announced his intention to freeze pension plans by Jan. 1 and transition them to 401(a) plans. Trustees agreed at that meeting that they would ask the Longboat Key Town Commission to hold off on imposing changes to the plan until they received more information. The board voted 4-0 to authorize Board of Trustees Chairwoman Donna Spencer to draft a letter asking Bullock for cost comparisons between the plan he proposed to freeze
versus a pension plan that would be closed to new hires while allowing current employees to continue accruing pension benefits. Spencer, though, didn’t draft a letter to Bullock until Oct. 1, explaining she hadn’t received enough direction from the pension board’s attorney to do so. The letter that Spencer wrote stated: “It is further requested that no changes be made to the general employees’ retirement system prior to changes, if any, to other town pension plans and prior to the requested meeting.” Larson, a former Longboat Key Police Pension Board trustee, is questioning, in particular, the board’s decision to send a letter. “As a former pension trustee for the police pension board, I was not aware this is a duty the trustees should be exercising,” Larson said. “I believe its duties include
management of their assets to deliver the benefits that have already been assigned to the employees.” Board Trustee Larry Linhart informed his fellow board members in August that the board should not be asking town officials to hold off on pension changes or interfering with such issues. “This board is a function of the plan documents ... I see nothing in the plan documents that states we have the authority to undertake this (i.e. writing a letter to ask for a pension decision delay),” Linhart said. “Our responsibility is to tell the town what the proper funding is for this plan.” Board of Trustees attorney Lee Dehner told board members they can’t interfere with any collective bargaining process, but didn’t state the board members were crossing any line. Bullock, meanwhile, has
informed general employees and the board he can’t meet to discuss proposed pension changes now that a union is being informed. The town’s general employees are seeking to unionize, which would freeze their benefits and pensions, forcing town staff to negotiate with them before their pension plans could be turned into 401(a) accounts. At 9 a.m. Nov. 15, town staff will hold a telephone hearing with PERC officials to discuss the unionization before the potential members hold a vote to form a union. Bullock has also said it’s doubtful he would make any changes to the general employees plan or extend any proposals to a future union until a contract is finalized with Longboat Key Fire Rescue. Any sort of changes proposed to the general employees pension plan is no longer expected by Jan. 1.
CRAB GRAB
Rachel S. O’Hara
Robert Hicks dumps 135 pounds of stone-crab claws onto a work table in the kitchen Thursday, Oct. 18, at Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant. Stone-crab season officially began Monday, Oct. 15.
crossed signals
by Robin Hartill | City Editor
Vandal hits anti-cell tower signs An unknown suspect spray painted the word ‘yes’ over a ‘No cell tower’ sign and knocked over at least two others. A proposed 150-foot cellular tower for the Longboat Island Chapel property has caused static in the town in recent years. To voice their opposition, a group of residents near the chapel property made signs that read: “No cell tower” and placed them on their properties. But, recently, someone spray-painted the word “yes” over an anti-tower sign. According to a Longboat Key police report, Ronald Platt reported that sometime between 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, and 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, an unknown person vandalized the sign at his prop-
erty in the 6200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive. Platt’s sign is nailed to his gate. He told police the sign was valued at $60, the report states. Platt also reported that his neighbor’s sign and a sign from a vacant property across the street were missing. Police canvassed the area and found both missing signs, which appeared to have been removed from their stands and left concealed in shrubs. Officers replaced the signs that had been taken from their locations. The Longboat Observer was unable to reach Platt for comment.
Platt’s neighbor, Gus Sclafani, whose sign was removed, reviewed his video surveillance from his home and was able to see the suspect on camera. The suspect wasn’t someone he knew, although he said he might be able to identify the man if he saw him. “The upsetting thing is that they come on personal property and do something like that,” Sclafani said. Former Mayor Jeremy Whatmough said that the sign on his property nearby was not disturbed and expressed surprise that the incident would occur on Longboat Key.
The reported vandalisms occurred two or three days before an Oct. 15 Longboat Key Town Commission workshop that included a discussion of TE Connectivity’s telecommunications study, which took place in the spring, on the agenda. Currently, there is no active cell-tower application on file with the town, because applicants Jim Eatrides, of Alpha Omega Communications, and Kevin Barile, of Ridan Industries II, haven’t submitted final materials since they voluntarily withdrew their application late last year. During the five-hour workshop, however, discussion often turned into yet another debate about the merits and drawbacks of a potential tower.
asks for clear paths to properties The Fire Rescue chief wants communities to contact the department before beginning entrance work to ensure access for emergency vehicles. If you live in Windward Bay or a highrise along Club Longboat Road and dialed 911 in the past week, you might have gotten a slower-than-usual response time. The reason? Pavement projects blocked access points that firefighter/paramedics use in emergencies, but because permits weren’t required for the projects, first responders weren’t notified that they were under way. Instead, they found out about the project while responding to medical calls in both communities. “There were a couple of calls at Windward Bay during which we could not gain access to the south end of buildings and we had to park in the main roads,” said Longboat Key Fire Rescue Chief Paul Dezzi, who told firefighters that they would need to go through bushes to access Windward Bay in the event of a fire. In another call, firefighters entered Club Longboat Road at its north entrance, then had to turn around, go further south on Gulf of Mexico Drive and access the road at the south entrance. Each response was most likely delayed by three to five minutes, Dezzi said. Firefighters counted seven similar projects just last week, including the Windward Bay and Club Longboat Road projects. To avoid delays in emergency response times, Dezzi is asking properties to contact the fire department before making repairs to property entrances and asphalt. With notification, firefighters can drive through the area and determine how they would access it in an emergency. The department can work with contractors to ensure that they aren’t blocking access. Longboat Key Police Chief Pete Cumming said that although he was concerned that police vehicles could have trouble getting into properties during recent projects, access hasn’t been an issue. Still, he urged properties to contact the police department as well as the fire department before beginning projects that could impact road access. “I think it’s just a matter of common sense to notify us if a road is going to be blocked,” Cumming said. Contact the fire department at 3161944 and the police department at 3161977.
Auto alerts The Longboat Key Police Department will soon begin leaving “auto alerts” on vehicles in parking lots to remind motorists to lock vehicle doors and remove valuables. According to Police Chief Pete Cumming, officers will walk through public parking lots looking for anything visible that could make the vehicle a target: a door that is clearly unlocked, an open window or valuables that are located in plain sight. Officers will then leave an alert with boxes checked for whether the vehicle is locked or unlocked and a list of any visible items that should be removed from the vehicle.