A misunderstanding prompted the 2010 commission to hold off on sending Causeway concession services out to competitive bidding until January 2013.
Dunedin officials made a deal with Glen Steinke three years ago, in an effort to right a perceived wrong. The 20-year kayak rental concessionaire had been operating Sail Honeymoon on Dunedin Causeway under an oral contract for six years at the time. He worked under year-to-year renewals at the city's request because officials were waiting to see how or if Pinellas County's pending plans for a larger free-span bridge joining the mainland to Honeymoon Island would impact the future placement of the concession. In the middle of what Steinke believed were talks to extend his license agreement again in 2010, city staff discovered that he had expired on his renewal extensions, which meant the time had come for the city to put the Causeway …
A legal agreement the owner of Sail Honeymoon made three years ago with the city requires that he re-bid for his business, but some commissioners are looking to create a loophole to bypass the bidding process.
Glen Steinke knows he's getting a good deal. He's paying $1,000 a month to run a kayak and sailboat rental business on the only land bridge connecting a million annual visitors to Honeymoon Island State Park. Steinke has an agreement with the city to run Sail Honeymoon on the Dunedin Causeway. He has been there for the better part of 20 years. "You're not getting a good deal," Steinke told commissioners during the Jan. 24 public hearing. "I'd like to give you more money. I'd like a long-term contract in exchange." A legal agreement he made three years ago with the city requires that operations of the iconic concession would go to bid on Jan. 18, before the contract expires on July 31. But commissioners are divided when it comes to …
28.059878
-82.813209
Sail Honeymoon
61 Causeway Blvd, Dunedin, FL
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943570
/locations/8748845
28.012849
-82.785374
Dunedin City Hall
542 Main St, Dunedin, FL
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944000
/locations/8748846
Sail Honeymoon is fast approaching the end of its concessionaire license agreement with the city, and some residents and elected officials want to amend the contract so the business can stay. Here's what Dunedin's saying about it.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
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Wednesday, January 30
Dunedin Patch's story last week about efforts to work around legal conditions outlined in Sail Honeymoon's contract has gotten lots of attention from readers. Commissioner Julie Scales, along with the Dunedin Beach Civic Association, is supporting a last-minute amendment to a concessionaire contract for the iconic kayak and sailboat rental business as it is about to expire. Although owner Glen Stienke is allowed to re-bid, the city is required to open it to other bidders as well. The story attracted several insightful comments on Patch, and below are just a few of them. What's your take? What do you think of the last-minute effort to amend a city contract? Is it fair to other concessionaires in Dunedin to make an allowance for one? Post …
-Ed Harris-
10:15 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Mr. Steinke, The law is the law and if the City feels they have no other choice, then they have no other choice. I do disagree with that thinking since there are always choices. However, I am only interested in doing business with you. As a customer, I am loyal to you and I am not interested in doing business with anyone else. If you do not get awarded the contract please let us know where you … more ›