Confusion Common in Recent DFAC Decisions

Confusion seems to be a theme in recent commission discussions involving the Dunedin Fine Art Center.

Most recently, city commissioners approved a contract giving the Dunedin Fine Art Center a 20-year lease extension. It nearly missed city attorney review, reportedly a normal procedure for city contracts. 

The oversight chilled some commissioners, with the mayor calling it "disturbing" and "ridiculous."

The June 6 commission meeting isn't the first time city leaders have expressed confusion over discussions involving the Art Center. The following is a chronological summary of other decisions and discussions in the last nine months:

Sept. 20, 2012: Despite not having a funding source, City Manager Rob DiSpirito pitches a "Quality of Life" spending package that spread $800,000 among the Dunedin Fine Art Center, the Dunedin Historical Museum and the Blatchley House at Weaver Park; and dedicated a percentage of code enforcement fines to neighborhood beautification efforts. In the plan, $500,000 was slated to help DFAC match a state grant, $200,000 was for museum renovations and $100,000 was for the conversion of the Blatchley House into an environmental education center. The neighborhood beautification plan had no budget impact. DiSpirito called it a "broad-based" and "inclusive" alternative to economic development, but more than one commissioner criticized how the projects were tied together in a single package and said each one should be evaluated and voted on individually. The timing of the proposal, brought up during a workshop just before a city election, seemed politically motivated, former Commissioner David Carson said. He suggested that voting on the package take place after the election. (Political newcomer Heather Gracy, whose campaign was backed by a number of Art Center members, went on to defeat incumbent Carson in the 2012 election.) The neighborhood improvement part of the "quality of life initiative" was later dropped.

• Fine Art Center, Historical Museum Request $800,000 From City
• Vice Mayor: Politics Not Involved in 'Quality of Life' Proposal
• Leaders Vote on $800K Package for Dunedin Fine Art Center, Historical Museum, Blatchley House

Feb. 21: Commissioner Julie Scales motions to support a $800,000 spending package for the Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin Historical Museum and an environmental education center inside the Blatchely House at Weaver Park. After a lengthy, 80-minute discussion, just as leaders cast their vote based on Scales' motion, she clarifies that her motion was not intended to support improvements at the Blatchley House, disappointing some commissioners who gave positive feedback for the project and thought the motion supported it also. The spending package passed in a 4-1 vote, with Mayor Dave Eggers dissenting. (Eggers criticized the plan, saying he didn't think the projects needed to be "lumped together.") After the vote, the city manager still was unsure what Scales' motion meant. He sought legal clarification from City Attorney Tom Trask the following day. After review, Trask confirmed that the motion was for all three items in the spending package. "The motion is what controls your direction, not the discussion," he wrote in a Feb. 22 email. 

• Confusion Follows $800K Vote for Dunedin Fine Art Center, Historical Museum, Blatchley House

June 6: City Attorney Tom Trask discovered he had not reviewed a proposed 20-year lease extension for Dunedin Fine Art Center before a commission meeting discussion about the contract. Mayor Dave Eggers had called Trask for his interpretation of a paragraph that Eggers feared would put the city on the hook for the Fine Art Center's utility bills. City Manager Rob DiSpirito said he was not aware that Trask had not reviewed the document. Trask criticized how the proposed lease is "confusing" and "jumps around all over the place." As Eggers asked the commission to consider allowing Trask to review the lease and bring it back to the next meeting, Commissioner Julie Scales motioned to move forward on the proposed agreement as-is. It was immediately seconded by Commissioner Ron Barnette. Eggers protested. Trask proposed his edits on the spot. Scales amended her motion to include Trask's edits. It passed unanimously.

• Dunedin Fine Art Center Lease Nearly Skips City Attorney Review