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Starkey suit entangles Pasco commissioner in land plat question

 
Pasco Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey won't be allowd to vote on a pending real estate plat, said the county attorney, because of a conflict of interest. The development company seeking the plat - a legal document recording the boundaries of lots -  is suing companies owned by Starkey's husband and brother-in-law over a disputed drainage easement.  The plat request was withdrawn from the Oct. 25 commission agenda after Starkey drew attention to it.
Pasco Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey won't be allowd to vote on a pending real estate plat, said the county attorney, because of a conflict of interest. The development company seeking the plat - a legal document recording the boundaries of lots - is suing companies owned by Starkey's husband and brother-in-law over a disputed drainage easement. The plat request was withdrawn from the Oct. 25 commission agenda after Starkey drew attention to it.
Published Nov. 2, 2016

NEW PORT RICHEY — Near the start of each Pasco County Commission meeting, commissioners and staff members routinely pull items from the consent agenda — the non-controversial items approved in a single vote — for further explanation, to correct scrivener's errors or for additional work.

On Oct. 25, the pulled entries included Item C-15, the recording of a land plat dividing 12.4 acres into four parcels for two property owners, including 54 West Inc.

"C-15 is being pulled for now and, uh, may be brought back later. Is that good enough, Michele?'' commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey asked as she looked to County Administrator Michele Baker for guidance.

"Yes. Withdrawn. We'll bring it back when it's ready,'' Baker answered.

What wasn't said was this: 54 West Inc. is suing companies owned by Starkey's husband, J.B. "Trey" Starkey III, and her brother-in-law, Frank Starkey, over a disputed drainage easement on the commercial property at the northeast corner of State Road 54 and Starkey Boulevard.

The episode renewed criticism that the Starkey family's development interests pose potential conflicts with Kathryn Starkey's role as an elected officeholder.

"It's hard when you have an interest in the land in the county in which you are a commissioner. It's a conflict of interest, and it shouldn't be allowed,'' said Barry Horvath, Starkey's Democratic challenger for the District 3 commission seat in the Nov. 8 election.

"Maybe that's a perception, but it's not a realistic issue,'' answered Starkey's husband, Trey.

Commissioner Starkey said she drew the staff's attention to the matter before the Oct. 25 meeting to avoid a conflict.

"I don't want to get in trouble. That's why I brought it up,'' Starkey said.

"In an abundance of caution, we just pulled it,'' said Baker. "It certainly was nobody's intent to hide anything.''

County Attorney Jeff Steinsnyder said he and County Engineer Margaret Smith recommended withdrawing the item from the agenda until the county surveyor could determine if the plat involved the easement under litigation. (It does.) When it does reappear on a future commission agenda, Steinsnyder said, Starkey will have to abstain from voting because of a conflict of interest.

The suit, filed in Pasco Circuit Court in May, contends the Starkeys' Longleaf Development Co., Starkey Ranch Investment Co., SRI2 LLC and Starkey Blueberry Farm interfered with 54 West's ability to develop its property by improperly claiming a surface water drainage easement on the land.

54 West is a 3-year-old company formed by John Hudson, who died in June, and Gary Blackwell, a real estate broker/developer and former Pasco Planning Commission member. Blackwell was out of town and unavailable for comment. His local attorney, Steve Booth, declined to comment to the Tampa Bay Times.

Two Starkey companies, Starkey Ranch and Starkey Land Co., formerly owned the land at the highly visible intersection, but Fifth Third Bank took ownership in 2012 after filing a foreclosure lawsuit. 54 West Inc. acquired the land from the bank in 2013 – 14 years after J.B. Starkey Jr. had granted a perpetual drainage easement over the property to Longleaf Development.

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The validity of that easement is the heart of the dispute. According to the lawsuit, Starkey Jr. encumbered 137.6 acres of land with the drainage easement, even though he only owned 14.5 acres.

In September 2015, as 54 West began to develop the site, it received a cease-and-desist order from the Starkey companies' attorney, Kurt E. Davis of Tampa. It said construction would interfere with his clients' rights as holder of the easement.

"We have a drainage easement, we're using it and we're defending it,'' said Trey Starkey, "and they knew about it before they bought it.''

James Powell, the attorney for 54 West, replied to Davis that the cease-and-desist order could cost his client more than $2 million if it lost a purchase contract because of the Starkeys' position.

Powell's letter said a title insurance company, First American Title Insurance, had examined the easement and dismissed its applicability. Among the reasons: J.B. Starkey Jr. didn't own of all the land covered by the easement; the easement didn't identify which properties benefited from the drainage, and the easement, if valid, applied to only a portion of the property owned by 54 West, but the cease-and-desist order encompassed all 12 acres.

The Starkeys denied any wrongdoing, and their attorney sent a second cease-and-desist order in November while also asking that 54 West remove fill dirt that had been brought to the site. This time, attorney Susan K. Spurgeon of Tampa responded in a Dec. 28 letter that the easement "does not grant any interest to Longleaf and constitutes a cloud on the title to the insured parcel.'' It asked Longleaf to release its easement in a timely manner because one of the parcels was under contract for sale.

"Your client's claims under the drainage easement are interfering with the insured's ability to close the sale,'' wrote Spurgeon, who later declined comment when contacted by the Times.

By May, the letters had ended, and the litigation had begun. At the time, Circle K Stores Inc. and Vantage Properties had separate contracts to buy two of the four parcels, but delayed their closings because of the clouded title, the suit stated.

A Lakeland company, JB Trinity LLC, part of JB Realty Partners, closed in August on a $360,000 purchase of a 1-acre parcel at the rear of the property. It is developing a medical-related building, and the company said it is not affected by the easement dispute. However, the lawsuit said the delayed closing damaged 54 West.

The case is scheduled for a hearing in December before Circuit Judge Kimberly Sharpe-Byrd.

Trey Starkey defended his wife's performance as a commissioner.

"Drainage is so important, she needs to bring up a drainage issue every time whether she's involved or not," he said. "She did the right thing.''