Photo by Monroe Roark
“Forget muffin of the month, it’s coffee with a KC cop!!!” reads the latest Facebook post from the Town of Kenneth City.
Residents can find more police-related content on the Facebook page of this Pinellas town. But, when it comes to public information, the last Council minutes available online are from 2022; and the last agenda from July. The 2024 adopted budget is not online. A budget timeline stated it was due to become public record in October.
The Gabber Newspaper looked into these records and what happened. The town has no information available online and would not make the records available at a in-person visit, or when The Gabber Newspaper followed the described protocol for requesting minutes via email.
Attending a public meeting was due. The Gabber Newspaper attended the Feb. 14 meeting.
Before the meeting, The Gabber Newspaper requested missing minutes and agendas. The Town has yet to fulfill that request.
A Valentine’s Day with the Kenneth City Town Council
The meeting started at 6:30 p.m. The agenda was visible in a bulletin board outside the city’s community center. Thirteen people attended.
On the dais sat Megan Zemaitis, Bonnie Noble, Bob Arrison, and Mayor Robert Howell; Kyle Cummings did not join.
The items in the agenda addressed changes to planning, zoning, and floodplain fees. Council approved these unanimously.
A member of the public asked about the new website. Another resident asked what happened to a magistrate meeting slotted to happen last week. Answer: The Town rescheduled it.
Town Manager Lacy LaFave, serving since spring 2023, said the town would meet with an expert on Feb. 15 to work on the website.
Officials discussed actions to update the town code, or “clean it up,” in LaFave’s words.
The manager congratulated staff for the work that had been done since she took office, and noted that the contract with the police department was up for renewal this year.
LaFave thanked the Pinellas Park Fire Department for donating a generator and for agreeing to support Kenneth City with emergency services.
“I always want the backup to the backup to the backup,” LaFave said.
Not everything ran smoothly, though.
A back-and-forth ensued between LaFave, Attorney Ralf Brookes, and Councilmember Noble over the city’s website.
“We have hired professionals [for this]” reiterated LaFave.
The process for the website has been tricky; with some contractors quoting more than $100,000, while others a few thousand. Zemaitis made note of this.
“They have said our website is such a mess,” LaFave said, before noting some companies would not take the project.
Based on input from other meetings, Noble requested inclusion of items to the website.
“This is what the citizens wanted,” Noble said.
Mayor Howell asked the council and the manager to pause the discussion and continue with the right people in the room.
At 7:41 p.m., the meeting adjourned.
Afterwards, LaFave told The Gabber Newspaper that they are moving at an expedited speed to get the city up to date.
Florida Laws Mandate Transparency
The Gabber Newsletter sent an email on Feb. 12, requesting the missing minutes from 2023.
“Every person has the right to inspect or copy any public record made or received in connection with the official business of any public body,” states Section 24 of the Florida Constitution. Via email, The Gabber Newspaper asked LaFave to comment on this. At press time, she had not responded.
While Town Hall meetings are open to residents who want to attend every second Wednesday of every month, the website has not made crucial records available, such as the 2024 budget, agendas, or minutes from meetings.
Although the Town recorded the Feb. 14 meeting, officials have not yet made the minutes from the last public meeting — or any others — available. The town has not published agendas on its website since July 2023, and has not made minutes available online since Nov. 22.
The Gabber Newspaper met Mayor Robert Howell on Feb. 19. He told The Gabber Newspaper he leads the legislative body of the town. Public records fall under town clerks, part of the executive branch. “We were we were supposed to have had them [at the meeting],” Howell said. “I don’t think the town clerk brought them.”
“I know for a fact that [LaFave] has contacted different people about coming in and taking over our website and fixing it,” Howell said. He noted that it was not a matter of the town administration not working on it, but rather getting the right contractors to fulfill the job. “Nobody has done the job that the staff down here is doing. And they’re working hard.”
The town does keep residents up to date with community activities with the police via Facebook.
The Gabber Newspaper will continue to follow this issue. Start at the beginning of the town’s troubles, made public in 2022.
About the San Pedro Gazette
Sebastian Gonzalez de Leon y Leon also publishes the San Pedro Gazette, a fact-based news site focusing on St. Petersburg city hall.
To support hyperlocal journalism in a meaningful way, The Gabber Newspaper partners with San Pedro Gazette, whose mission it is to “bring stories of policy, science, and humanities to the residents of Saint Petersburg, Florida, and Pinellas County to educate and empower the public.”
This professional grassroots journalism project puts a laser focus on St. Petersburg politics. Check out their website and subscribe to their newsletter. You can reach out to Sebastian via email, too.
