Photo by Monroe Roark
Disagreements and arguments between the members of the town council of Kenneth City and the town manager are costing the small Pinellas town (roughly 5,000 people live there) more than its reputation.
While disagreement peaked over public records and how and when to report them to the public, the town council demonstrated its capacity to reach a consensus about one item: giving more time to residents to repair their property to have it up to code after damages from natural disasters.
Internal Affairs
The first item of business was to thank Chief Richard Graham (from Lealman) for his support. The moment was short-lived, as then-Council member Megan Zemaitis (she won the race for Mayor on March 19) delivered to the rest of the council printed copies of how other cities reported their public records online.
Last month, The Gabber Newspaper reported on the transparency issues of the town. Zemaitis asked to not approve the meeting minutes produced by the deputy town clerk, because they did not reflect in detail the Town’s work during the May 2023-February 2024 period.
“If a resident couldn’t attend, they can take the minutes and have a clear understanding of what took place,” said Zemaitis, arguing that that was not the case for the minutes at hand.
Zemaitis noted her comments from the Feb. 14 Council meeting as missing.
“None of [Vice-mayor Noble’s] comments were listed either,” she added.
“First of all, we don’t have a town clerk,” said Noble.
Kenneth City has a deputy town clerk.
Resignation Issues
“We did have a town clerk and our town clerk resigned,” said Noble.
The Vice-mayor of Kenneth City proceeded to read a letter of resignation from a previous town clerk.
Photo courtesy of Kenneth City
Council member Kyle Cummings interrupted Noble arguing a lack of decorum, citing “civil conduct” rules in Kenneth City.
“I have no problem with talking about the minutes. But I have a problem with reading a letter which reflects the conduct between an employee of Kenneth City and the city manager,” said Cummings.
Noble argued that because it involved Kenneth City staff, it was relevant.
“Thank you for your comments,” said Noble. “It’s a matter of public record.”
The Vice-mayor tried again to bring up the point, but then-Mayor Robert Howell called a 10-minute recess.
It was 6:39 p.m.
Minutes Taken, Minutes Lost
“I am not going to allow our manager or any other employee to be dragged through the mud like this,” said Mayor Howell.
Vice-mayor Noble continued with her statement.
“Our website does work,” she said, and also argued he town wasn’t simply not publishing; she protested the lack of detail. Town Attorney Ralf Brookes explained that the minutes aligned with statutes and noted that the minutes did not have to be filed verbatim. Noble said they need to serve with excellence, not just do the “bare minimum.” Council member Bob Arrison said that in the past one could reference the minutes to understand the concerns of the citizens. Council member Zemaitis highlighted that minutes are missing from the website.
Cummings said that the council is at the same place they started.
“It just looks like a pattern,” he added. Town Manager Lacy LaFave said that the website is broken and that it “doesn’t work.” She proposed to publish the videos on YouTube. Some 2022 meetings have been uploaded to the video platform.
LaFave told The Gabber Newspaper in late February “I anticipate the new website will be ready within two-three months,” via text. Members of the council agreed and built upon the proposal of documenting the meetings on video. Zemaitis noted that the files could be used to produce transcripts. Howell said that they could be in turn used to produce detailed minutes. Town Attorney Brookes continued to offer insight on the legal requirements of the minutes.
Continuing to Argue
“I’ve never had a [certified] town clerk,” LaFave said. “I came into a ghost town of every single department.”
Cummings said that there’s “bigger fish to fry,” noting a need to tend to other business at hand. LaFave said that the minutes are “statutorily correct.” She also said that some members of the council don’t follow rules of order, “which drives me crazy.”
When Noble brought back the point that Kenneth City had not had a certified town clerk in some time, LaFave interrupted the Vice-mayor again.
“Please refrain from attacking my staff,” LaFave said. Noble clarified she was not doing that. Arrison noted that they needed to hire what the town manager needed. LaFave said they “begged” other cities to poach their clerks.
“No one wants to come to work to Kenneth City because of the hostility,” LaFave added, before claiming that the town clerk who resigned had a questionable background.
The motion to approve the minutes failed to pass. A member of the public laughed.
Noble noted that they missed calling for public comment.
No One’s Business
Towards the end of the meeting, council member Arrison brought up the night’s events.
“Tonight we lost a potential business and we lost tax revenue,” Arrison stated in the final moments of the meeting.
Arrison was referring to two acquaintances of LaFave who showed up to the meeting. While it wasn’t the main reason they came, they spoke about their issues with the meeting.
“This is very discouraging,” said Jessica Tonkin. The businesswoman shared she came from Tampa to consider relocating in Kenneth City.
“If this is the type of thing that we can expect in the future, I won’t be coming back here,” said Taiylor Wennick, who also drove from Tampa to be there. Wennick singled out council member Zemaitis and claimed she was running a “smear campaign.”
Other Affairs
The almost two-hour-long meeting included comments from other members of the public. Someone noted the importance of keeping records available to the public, and another supported the idea of video recording the meetings, noting that it would even help against “eye rolls,” which were seen throughout the meeting. LaFave had several items to present before the council.
She introduced Lou Nguyen, who was there to share his plans to hold a spring event to bring out people and get local businesses and the community together.
Lance Schmidt gave an update on the process of auditing the 2022 finances of the town.
“We are very, very close to showing the audit,” he said.
“The audit is going to cost a little bit more” than what was voted on, said LaFave.
LaFave shared that there was also a legislative update. She noted that their liaison in Tallahassee has been working to get funds from the State for appropriations.
“This is real live-action news from today,” LaFave said, given that the Florida Legislature had wrapped up.
Town Attorney Brookes proceeded to read a letter from Tallahassee:
“I am happy to report that we were successful in getting half of the funding that you requested from the legislature for your multi-use emergency operation and community policing complex,” the letter read.
The amount is roughly $375,000 according to Brookes. The letter added that it still has to be signed and pass by the Governor of the State, “but I am already working on that front,” the letter from the State liaison said. Part of the letter noted that “Kenneth City has a lot of work to do to on rebuilding its reputation,” but added that they are “cautiously optimistic.”
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