Wednesday, June 3, 2009

In order to avoid 3-3 stalemate votes on the City Commission, officials may appoint a former District 3 commissioner to serve the remainder of Commissioner Dan Kolhage's term when he resigns on July 3.

No decisions were made at the Tuesday City Commission meeting, but Kolhage told his colleagues that he wanted to avoid tie votes during the city's budget season and said he had spoken with former commissioner Joe Pais about finishing the term.

"You could have a tie and not end up having a budget," Kolhage said. "And Mr. Pais told me that he absolutely has no desire whatsoever to run for or seek election."

That assurance was enough to change Commissioner Barry Gibson's mind about appointing a temporary replacement for Kolhage.

"I initially was not in favor of appointing someone without experience, and giving that person an unfair advantage in an election," said Gibson, suggesting that Pais submit an informal letter to the commission stating that he does not intend to run for office.

Commissioner Mark Rossi, while commending Pais, pointed out that there could be others in District 3 interested in completing Kolhage's term. He would like to hear from other interested parties, and also said he wanted to hear from Commissioner Bill Verge, who was absent from Tuesday's meeting.

City Attorney Shawn Smith will bring a proposed resolution to the commission at its next meeting that will enable officials to formally nominate people to replace Kolhage.

"But you may very well decide not to appoint anyone," Smith said.

Gibson added that he would not nominate anyone who didn't state that they will not run for office.

Mayor Morgan McPherson also is eager to avoid a 3-3 vote, he said.

• Also on Tuesday, commissioners had several questions for Transportation Director Myra Wittenberg about the proposed transportation facility on Stock Island and the cost of public transportation in general.

The city's bus service loses about $1.7 million per year, Rossi said, questioning the number of empty buses he sees around town.

Kolhage agreed, and suggested scaling down the bus service except in areas where it is most often used, including the Senior Citizen Center on Kennedy Drive and in Bahama Village.

They asked City Manager Jim Scholl to find answers to some questions about the proposed Stock Island facility, such as the cost of maintaining and operating the building.

•Commissioners also learned of a new flowchart created by volunteer Norman Fowler and the city's Planning Department.

The new chart clearly outlines the process for people to apply for building permits, and states which approvals are necessary. It is available for public viewing on the Planning Department's Web page, said City Planner Amy Kimball-Murley.

"We wanted to reduce the amount of time and energy that each individual has to go through in this process," she said.

•Finally, commissioners at a later meeting will consider a new ordinance that details how Code Compliance fines are handled.

The new ordinance allows a special magistrate, or judge, to reduce fines by up to 90 percent as long as the property owner has come into compliance and corrected the code violation.

Commissioner Teri Johnston worked closely with the code department and legal staff on the ordinance and said she was pleased that the new ordinance "takes the politics out of fine mitigation" because it no longer would be up to the commissioners, but rather the judge.

mbolen@keysnews.com