Sail Honeymoon Agreement Result of 2010 Misunderstanding

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 …

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-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 ›

Dunedin Commissioner Bujalski Fined For Not Disclosing Finances

Julie Ward Bujalski will have to pay more than $3,000 in fines for not filing annual financial disclosures since 2010, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Dunedin City Commissioner Julie Ward Bujalski will have to pay the state more than $3,000 in fines for not filing an annual financial disclosure since 2010, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Bujalski, who has served on the commission since 2006, told the newspaper she had no excuse for failing to file in 2011 and 2012 and that she would do "whatever it takes to rectify the situation immediately." Bujalski was penalized $50 for filing two days late in 2010, a year in which both her parents died and she was seriously injured in a boating accident, the Times reports. She also owes the maximum $1,500 fine for not filing in each of the next two years. Elected officials are required to disclose their financial interests with the Florida Commission on…

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Are Dunedin Officials Playing Favorites with Sail Honeymoon?

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 …

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Evolving Dunedin

Major Downtown Improvements Coming Soon

City officials approved $261,400 in beautification projects to expand west side parking and unite the marina waterfront with Main Street at a meeting Thursday.

Downtown's entrances will see major improvements this winter. City Commissioners approved two big beautification projects, with a combined $261,400 price tag, during a meeting at City Hall on Thursday. One project will expand parking areas at the eastern entrance of downtown. The other will add palm tree landscaping and a pedestrian promenade that visually unites the Municipal Marina with Main Street. Downtown Parking Lots To See Improvements The city is doling out $81,999 for improvements to two parking areas and an alley near Highland Avenue and Wood Street. Joan Rice, city transportation and traffic engineer, said the project includes: The existing asphalt parking lot will be milled and resurfaced with pervious concrete, and also …

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Little League Eyes December Open for Concession Stand

City officials say the roughly $89,700 improvements on a Fisher Field concession stand should be complete.

Come December, the concession stand at Fisher Field should be open for business again, according to city officials. Tom Burke, city engineer, said the commission's approval for roughly $29,000 toward the final phase of the concession stand's restoration Thursday should be enough to make sure contractor Stamper Construction, Inc., can complete it by December. Once complete, the roughly $89,700 project adds improved access, a fresh paint job, upgraded electrical system for some new concession equipment, and refurbished restroom facilities.  Specifically, the last phase pays for: Mayor Dave Eggers said everyone seems pleased with the price tag and project. An earlier design, which included a two-story structure, would have been much more …

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-Ed Harris-

9:49 am on Sunday, October 21, 2012

This has been needed for so very long! Thank you Mayor Eggers for following through on this. I hope we can find a way to NOT wait 5-6 years to do more improvements.   more ›

Commissioner's Home Vandalized With Mustard, Silly String

David Carson's home in the Stirling Heights subdivision was the target of criminal mischief over the weekend, according to the sheriff's office. The commissioner is up for re-election in November.

Dunedin City Commissioner David Carson's home was vandalized over the weekend, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Carson told deputies that sometime Saturday night or early Sunday morning, someone came to his home in the Stirling Heights subdivision and stuck plastic utensils in the ground in his yard, squirted mustard on his garage door and truck and left silly string in the driveway and on his mailbox. "It wasn't just a drive by," Carson said, noting his house in the back of the subdivision was the only one vandalized. "They were motivated." Carson, who has served in the commission's Seat 3 since 2009 and is up for re-election next month, said he had no idea who might have targeted him or why. He has "no axes to grind," …

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joe sharp

11:20 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

Sorry,you got the story wrong...the police DID see the mess. You sound kinda guilty?   more ›

Railroad Spike Beating, Winemakers, Candidates on Patch Podium and More

OK, so you had a busy week. We understand. Let us catch you up on all the highlights!

1. A man armed with a railroad spike was arrested and charged with barging into a downtown Dunedin apartment and assaulting two people late Friday, deputies report. 2. Neither colon cancer nor financial strain is keeping the owners of Two Lions Winery from their vision of a bright future in Dunedin. 3. Accusations of political scheming surfaced last week when the city manager dropped an $800,000 package of city funding requests from Dunedin’s arts and cultural community dressed as a “Quality of Life Initiative.” What do you think of the controversy? 4. And just what does the future look like for quality of life in Dunedin? Patch asked the local candidates for mayor and the city commission about their vision. Here are there responses. 5. …

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Café Alfresco Plans Could Get Approval Tonight

After a months-long battle, the downtown restaurant might get to install a protective awning over its outdoor dining area.

After being rebuffed in their attempt to install a larger, retractable awning to fully cover their outdoor patio, employees at Café Alfresco might finally get their wish.  The city commission is reconsidering its February ruling in which it upheld a decision to allow improvements to outdoor dining areas, provided the changes are not permanent and the public area can be restored to its original condition.  The owners of the popular Main Street eatery have been trying to get the city to allow them to properly shield diners from sun, debris and animals by putting in an awning that will cover the entire outdoor area, as well as install a fence that will prevent patrons from leaving the patio with open containers.  “This was part of the deal …

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Leaders Decide Thursday on Tightening BB Gun Use

A proposed ordinance restricting BB gun use in all public areas will receive public comment for the final time at the city commission meeting May 3. Leaders supported tightened restrictions at the last public meeting.

Leaders To Widen BB Gun Restrictions

A proposed ordinance with language restricting BB gun use in all public areas will receive public comment for the final time at the city commission meeting May 3.

City leaders responded to the Public Safety Committee's request for tighter BB gun laws with even more restrictive language on Thursday. Leaders agreed with restricting BB gun use in city parks, as the Public Safety Committee proposed in response to the hunting of two invasive Muscovy ducks in a neighborhood pond in November, and they also asked City Attorney Tom Trask to add language to the city ordinance that would outlaw their use on all public property in the city limits. "To include public property ... I don't think it's at all unreasonable," said Commissioner Julie Scales, but shooting BB guns "in your own backyard, that's fine." Commissioner Dave Carson, who grew up in a hunting community where it was acceptable to store his hunting…

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