By CARRIE JOHNSON and MICHAEL SANDLER
Published May 20, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - Since November, Mayor Rick Baker has been working to persuade residents of Feather Sound to join the city. Now he's bringing the city to the small unincorporated neighborhood.
Baker has entered into an annexation agreement with Fred Bullard, the man who founded Feather Sound in the 1970s. According to the deal, two of Bullard's parcels of commercial land along Ulmerton Road will be added to the city's tax rolls.
Bullard will also hand over ownership of the private roads he controls in Feather Sound, including Egret Boulevard, a primary entrance.
In exchange, the city will give Bullard $1,000 and pay for the repair and maintenance of those roads, which have fallen into disrepair.
It's a boon for city leaders. Bullard's property was assessed at $9.1-million in 2003 and will provide about $65,000 per year in property taxes, city officials estimate.
It also gives the city an opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of living in St. Petersburg. City officials plan to spend about $425,000 to improve the roadways, including a splashy entranceway complete with Medjool date palms.
Baker said he's responding to the complaints of Feather Sound residents, many of whom voiced frustration over the condition of the roads.
"Talk is cheap," said Kevin Dunn, the city's managing director for development coordination. "Sometimes you need to be able to demonstrate what you have voiced. I think this is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the city's philosophical commitment to improvement and enhancement."
But county leaders say the move may not be popular within the community.
"I think once this gets out, the people are not going to be happy with Fred," said Pinellas County Commissioner John Morroni. "It's a legal transaction, so he can do whatever he wants to do with his property. But I don't think it will sit well with the community."
The City Council still must sign off on the annexation agreement and a public hearing must be scheduled before the annexation is complete. No residences are affected by the deal.
Late last year, Baker and a group of his administrators began holding meetings in Feather Sound to present an argument for annexation. There were several recurring themes during those talks, including complaints about the roads, Baker said.
Baker asked Dunn to look into the problem. After learning the roads belonged to Bullard, Dunn arranged a meeting.
Bullard told Dunn he had been trying to persuade the county to take over maintenance of the roads but his offers were continually rejected.
So Bullard, who created Feather Sound from 1,135 acres he bought from the estate of land baron Ed C. Wright for about $7.5-million in 1973, agreed to annex his property to the city.
"It was a simple process," Bullard said. "We felt the city of St. Petersburg provided us with a better opportunity to maintain the streets and the landscaping - the things we've been trying to get done for more than 20 years but the county was not able to do."
County officials said Bullard isn't telling the whole story. They say Bullard years ago refused to make needed repairs to his roads that would meet the county's standards.
"I told him, "Fred, you are going to have to fix these roads,' " said Morroni, who lives in Feather Sound. "He said, "Well why don't you just take them off my hands.' "
Morroni said Pinellas can't use taxpayer dollars to fix private roads. For years, the board had an unwritten policy that it would accept only roads that met county standards.
Feather Sound had its own taxing district, but the board's code only allowed that money to be spent on street lights, maintenance of recreation facilities and landscaping.
County leaders met with Feather Sound residents on the taxing district board last fall. They came up with a plan to allow a one-time use of taxing district money for road repairs, about $100,000. Together, they went to see Bullard with the plan.
But this offer came after Bullard began negotiating with the city.
"Now, Fred won't let them," said County Commission Chairwoman Susan Latvala. "He owns the roads. They can't do work on his roads without his permission. There is more than meets the eye here."
Baker said he'll continue his talks with neighborhood residents after the city's engineering department has a chance to start on the roadway improvements. "I think this will be a good thing," Baker said, "both for the residents of Feather Sound and the residents of the city."
