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Newly elected Madeira Beach officials say no purge of City Hall planned

 
Madeira Beach Mayor-elect Maggie Black met with the city manager on Tuesday.
Madeira Beach Mayor-elect Maggie Black met with the city manager on Tuesday.
Published March 23, 2017

MADEIRA BEACH — If newly elected Mayor Maggie Black has anything to do with it, last week's election will not result in a 2011-style bloodbath for city employees.

The future of two hotel developments is not so clear, however. Several new lawsuits have been filed by residents who hope court victories will affect the proposals.

Three newly elected commissioners are also hoping to resurrect a citywide referendum that would allow voters to weigh in on the height and intensity of any new developments.

Six years ago when an election similarly shifted political power on the commission, the city lost its city manager, city attorney, city clerk, finance director, public works director and human resources manager to either firing or resignation.

"Cleaning house is not on my agenda. I would like to squash that rumor right now," Black said Tuesday, shortly after a private meeting with embattled City Manager Shane Crawford.

Both described their encounter as a "good meeting" and said they felt they could work well together.

"We got on the same sheet of music," said Crawford. "She said there was no underlying campaign to fire me or to come in and clean house."

Crawford said he plans to reach out to the other new commissioners to "bury the hatchet" over developments.

He is also cautious, however, about any actions that would open a door for developers to sue the city.

"The toothpaste may be out of the tube," Crawford said.

Newly elected Commissioner John Douthirt also indicated he has no intention to fire Crawford.

"Shane is doing his job, what he is paid to do, so why get rid of him? Why bring in someone else to retrain?" Douthirt said.

Douthirt said he is also concerned about the city's $14 million in debt and wants to look carefully at current spending levels. He is opposed to any further property tax increases.

The third newly elected commissioner, Nancy Oakley, declined to indicate her intentions toward city staff, instead urging residents to come to the April 11 meeting, when the three will be sworn into office.

Last week after the election, Crawford wrote the newly elected officials a letter saying he had heard on the "coconut grapevine'' that he might be fired.

That rumor and last week's election resulted in the withdrawal of a candidate for the city planning director, according to Crawford, and has made it difficult for him to recruit a new finance director.

Crawford urged the new commissioners to act quickly if they do intend to fire him. At the same time, he said he was willing to work with the new leadership.

For Black and Douthirt that appears to be enough.

Meanwhile, soon-to-be-former Mayor Travis Palladeno pledged his support Tuesday for the new commission.

"Hey, it's politics. I get it," said Palladeno, who is in the process of buying the John's Pass Village-based Alligator Attractions and has been offered a job with Maine-based Florida Parking.

He also acknowledged that considering two major hotel projects at virtually the same time "might have been a little too much."

Editor's note: This article was changed to reflect the following correction — In Madeira Beach, there are several lawsuits challenging zoning laws that if successful could affect proposed redevelopment projects. This article originally incorrectly named a project that is not named in the lawsuits.