Hydrant questions remain unanswered

The Lealman fire commission is trying to figure out who should pay for extra fire hydrants.

LEALMAN - Fire commissioners said Monday they have not followed through on a promise, made months ago, to ascertain the state attorney general's position on who should pay for fire hydrants in this unincorporated area.

The information came to light after Commissioner John Frank expressed surprise that the fire union had not weighed in on the lack of hydrants in the Lealman Fire District. The shortage, Frank said, is a matter of firefighter safety.

Last June, a fire destroyed a three-story, 54-unit building at Town Apartments North condominium. The nearest hydrant was more than 600 feet away.

Chairman Mike Brophy defended the union's silence, saying, "It would not be in their best interest to jump in on a political football between the county and the city of St. Petersburg and, indirectly, us."

Brophy said the fight is between St. Petersburg, which supplies water to Lealman at a 25 percent higher rate than to its citizens, and Pinellas County, which should set standards for the number of hydrants in Lealman.

The best Lealman can do, he said, is send a letter to the state attorney general asking if St. Petersburg's 25 percent surcharge should go to pay for the hydrants. In fact, he said, the commission promised to send that letter months ago but other issues had sidetracked the group's attorney. Brophy said he is working with the attorney to produce the letter.

"What is in play at this moment in time is a letter is being sent with the approval of this board some months ago to the A.G.," Brophy said. "It's still in the works.... That should be done next week....I want this thing in the mail, like, last month."

The county knows the letter will be sent, Brophy said, and is awaiting the answer.

"With a positive letter in our behalf," he said, "then we have something to help the county."

Fire commissioners sniped at each other over more than hydrants during Monday's contentious meeting.

The minutes of the Oct. 6 special meeting showed all five board members present and voting on issues, particularly the purchase of land for a new fire station.

That was wrong, however. Commissioner Linda Campbell attended a lengthy workshop before the special meeting, but she left after the special meeting began and did not cast any votes.

Frank said he wanted the minutes to reflect the reason she left: To go home and watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play the Indianapolis Colts.

The suggestion angered Campbell who denied she left to watch the game.

"No, Commissioner Campbell left because she had a houseful of company," she said Monday. Then she told Frank: "You'll do anything you can to disrupt (the meeting)."

But during a break, Campbell conceded her company was there to watch the game. Campbell said it was not drastic that she had missed the vote to buy land for a new fire station because she had been there for the discussion during the workshop. The missed meeting, she said, lasted only a few minutes.

Campbell later snapped at commission member Bill Adams, a contractor, who was questioning the costs of blinds and other items for Fire Station 19. First, she folded her arms across her chest and made a face as she mimicked Adams.

When Adams said he knew what he was talking about, Campbell shot back: "We don't care what you've done, what you know."

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