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Dredging Vote Churns Up Controversy In Gulf Harbors

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 16, 2008

GULF HARBORS - It meanders through the heart of this west Pasco County subdivision, past a state-protected nature preserve of mangrove stands and Brazilian pepper trees.

The no-name channel is one of the main waterways guiding boaters from Gulf Harbors Woodlands out to the open water. It also happens to run past the home of Vincent Assini, chairman of the civic association's board of directors.

So when a group of homeowners caught wind that the five-member board had voted to spend more than $16,500 to dredge a small portion of the channel, they cried foul.

Especially after they learned their association fees would be paying for it.

"I'm not against dredging, but why just this channel?" said George Duncan, a longtime resident and former board member. "They didn't even ask people if they wanted it."

Duncan and a few other residents gathered dozens of signatures on a petition calling for a community meeting to discuss the board's decision to authorize the expenditure.

"This will only benefit a small minority of residents," he said. "It's totally unjustified."
Assini denies he has a conflict of interest in the project. "This is not a Vince Assini project; it's a Gulf Harbors Woodlands project," he said. "We are obligated, by our transfer agreement, to dredge channels and keep them clean."

The decision was made at a board meeting in December after the civic association was contacted by a homeowners association in neighboring Sea Forest, Assini said. Dredging of another section of the same channel is in the works there.
Assini put the item on the agenda, a vote was taken and it passed 3-2.
Assini estimates that at least 60 percent of the waterfront homeowners use the channel and said Sea Forest boaters depend on it for access to the Gulf of Mexico. "To say that only a few will benefit is hogwash," he said. "This is a community effort."

The rancor over the channel dredging is the latest controversy to divide residents in this deed-restricted community of about 370 homes off Marine Parkway.

In 2002, the association sued Lynn and Tom Johnson over a swing set they had erected in their backyard, saying it violated deed restrictions. The Johnsons argued the play set was not an outbuilding, that deed restrictions were selectively enforced and that neighbors didn't object.

When the case finally went to court in March 2005, Circuit Judge W. Lowell Bray Jr. sided with the association. The couple filed an appeal but lost, and they eventually settled with the association, agreeing to pay about $16,000 in restitution.

In the end, the Johnsons accepted the court's decision and took the swing set down.

Another Lawsuit Bites Into Budget

Then the association took residents David L. Doolittle Jr. and Fred Karmat to court, claiming they had built a prohibited catwalk to docks adjacent to their homes.

After a flurry of rulings and appeals, that case is still pending a final outcome.

But the costs of the legal challenges have weighed heavily on the association's budget, splitting the community between those who support the litigation and those who don't.

Duncan, who as a board member voted to take the legal actions, has come under fire from some residents. He calls it a matter of principle.

"It's simple: Either we live in a deed-restricted community or we don't," he said.

Association Fees Rise

Besides eating away at the community's budget, the litigation has been driving up association fees. Some residents say they've gotten little in return.

Realtor Chris Belloise, who moved in eight years ago, said he's seen his annual fees increase more than sixfold, from about $100 to $650 a year.

Much of that, he said, has gone toward waging legal warfare against the community's residents while upkeep of the pool, clubhouse and other areas has been neglected.

"We're really not seeing anything for our money," Belloise said. "It's troubling."

Duncan said the dredging project is a different issue.

"My problem with this is that they weren't authorized to spend the money," he said.

The controversy over the channel project could reach a climax Sunday, when residents are expected to gather to discuss the issue.

Copies of an anonymous letter were left on doorsteps this week, calling the project an "unauthorized expenditure."
Assini said he hopes to "set the record straight" about the dredging to critical residents.

But he knows that some in the community likely will never be appeased.

"Whenever we have issues like this, the crazies come out of the woodwork," he said.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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