For a small town, South Pasadena has a big critic.Dan Calabria leads a group known as South Pasadena Voters Watch, which has charged itself with monitoring — and annoying — the administration of longtime Mayor Fred Held.
Calabria, 66, has filed numerous complaints with the state, alleging fraud and conspiracy, among other things, within tiny South Pasadena's municipal government.
City Attorney Linda Hallas keeps an eight-inch-thick binder filled with more than 800 letters from Calabria, including one in which he asked the mayor: "What happened, dear Freddie, did you get your Depends in a wad?"
You could say Calabria, known for his vitriolic letters in the St. Petersburg Times and Weekly Planet, is committed to his tasks. But, as Hallas would add, "that's a nice way of putting it."
Whether Calabria, who made an unsuccessful bid for South Pasadena City Commission in 1996, is a concerned citizen or letter-writing nutcase, he's been able to capture the state's attention. Last month, an investigator from the Department of Environmental Protection's inspector general traveled to Pinellas County to check on what Calabria termed "fraudulent concealment."
Calabria alleges that Hallas filed a misleading application for a Florida recreation grant that requested $42,000 to build a gazebo picnic pavilion in Galatea Garden, a two-acre municipal park on Sunset Drive South. If true, it would be the most recent in a list of problems the city has had with Galatea Garden.
In 1997, upon the death of former South Pasadena resident Galatea A. Lebus, her estate left $1-million to the city on the condition that it use the bequest to enlarge a small park or build a new park named after Lebus. The trust described in great detail what the park should look like and how it should include a statue of Galatea, a Greek mythological character after whom Lebus was named.
However, South Pasadena, which is less than a square mile in size, couldn't accept the $1-million immediately because it did not have enough available property for the park. Its one option was empty land on Sunset Drive, next to a condominium tower and two blocks south of City Hall, where Bayside/Holly Gardens park and a public works building were located.
Unfortunately, Patricia A. McKinley's house was located smack in the middle and she wasn't selling. In fact, the retired McKinley planned to live the rest of her life in the small South Pasadena home.
City Attorney Hallas then petitioned the court for eminent domain, explaining that taking McKinley's house was required to build a much-needed park. But the city had already exceeded its goal of one acre of parkland per 250 residents. Before Galatea Garden's construction, South Pasadena had 193 residents for each acre of parkland.
"Clearly, the motivation here is not to provide needed parkland for its citizens, but rather to collect and keep the $1-million bequest," argued McKinley's attorney.
A judge agreed, denying Hallas' petition due to her inability to establish "the existence of a reasonable necessity for the exercise of the eminent domain power." The ruling, however, came one day after McKinley died at age 65.
Calabria believes the stress of possibly losing her home contributed. "That was a sad chapter in this city's history," he said of the attempt to declare eminent domain.
South Pasadena then purchased McKinley's house from her estate for an inflated price, allowing it to build Galatea Garden and secure the $1-million bequest. Today, the small manicured park features two fountains, the statue of Galatea and a plaque explaining the Greek myth.
Now, South Pasadena will use the $42,000 in grant money it received from the DEP to build a gazebo picnic pavilion on the north section of park — assuming, that is, the state's investigator, Gary Wiser, doesn't find any truth to what Calabria has alleged.
"He was able to articulate some possible inappropriate point awarding," Wiser said of Calabria.
To receive the state grant, applicants must first show that they qualify for at least 53 points. If they have enough points, their applications are put on a list given to the state Legislature. In previous years, the Legislature has awarded grants to all applicants that make the list.
In its October 2001 grant application, South Pasadena showed that it qualified for 75 points, more than enough to make the list. However, Calabria claims 23 of the 75 points were bogus. That would mean South Pasadena should have received 52 points, not enough to make the list and, in turn, receive the $42,000 grant.
The 23 points in question were awarded thusly: seven, if the project meets regional needs; three, for building or renovating an outdoor picnic area; and 13, if the project meets the highest-priority funding needs.
Calabria said that the project does not meet regional needs; that a picnic area is not needed since there are already 10 tables at Maynard A. Duryea Park, another municipal park directly across the street from Galatea Garden; and that the project does not meet highest-priority funding needs.
South Pasadena doesn't have a public library. That should be the highest-priority funding need, Calabria said.
Since Wiser traveled south to investigate, Hallas has reviewed the grant application and stands by it. Hallas, who practically wields the power of a city manager, says Calabria simply can't understand the grant application, which doesn't ask if another picnic area is located across the street.
"I think he has a reading comprehension problem," Hallas said of her outspoken critic.
Calabria, of course, disagrees.
Hallas, who makes $111,000 working for a city of less than 6,000 residents, is one of the highest-paid municipal attorneys in Pinellas. In Clearwater, with more than 108,000 residents, the city attorney earns $120,000 annually.
"Here we are, one of the smallest cities in Pinellas, and we have one of the highest-paid city attorneys in the county," Calabria said.
Even so, Hallas and the South Pasadena government may not have done anything wrong. Wiser will release the findings of his investigation in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, a conclusion recently came to another complaint that Calabria lodged against his city government. A judge ruled that the state Department of Transportation did not follow procedures when it permitted South Pasadena to build a large mural identification sign on Pasadena Avenue South. However, the judge recommended the DOT throw out Calabria's complaint because he lacked legal standing.
Both Calabria and Hallas claimed victory in the ruling.
Hallas, who sighed when a reporter mentioned Calabria's name, wishes the City Hall critic would find something else to do with the free time retirement has awarded him.
"He's worried about the taxpayers' money," Hallas said, "but he's not worried about filing these frivolous complaints."
Contact Staff Writer Trevor Aaronson at 813-248-8888, ext. 134, or trevor.aaronson@weeklyplanet.com.
This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2003.