Belleair may install temporary commissioner to sit in for mayor during pivotal vote – Tampa Bay Newspapers

BELLEAIR The Town Commission may install a temporary replacement for Mayor Gary H. Katica who has been absent for treatment of Parkinsons disease since October to ensure there are enough votes to close down the citys water department in January.

With Katica out of reach, only four commissioners are now available for that vote. The city charter requires a supermajority vote when creating or disbanding a city department.

Deputy Mayor Karla Rettstatt brought up the predicament Dec. 1 as the commission discussed whether to switch to Pinellas Countys water supply or build its own $14 million reverse osmosis plant. The commission hopes to vote in time to meet construction deadlines.

If the commission decides to go with the county, the commission would then have to vote to disband the Belleair Water Department, which now maintains the town water supply and bills Belleair customers for water consumption.

Its not something I look forward to bringing up, but have you talked to the mayor? Rettstatt asked Town Manager J.P. Murphy. Except for an email stating the mayor would not be attending a mayors council luncheon, Katica has not responded to attempts to contact him, Murphy said.

Ive got calls into his telephone his primary means of contacting him and his voicemail is full. I sent him an email and a couple of other people have tried to talk to him.

A phone call to the mayors personal number from Tampa Bay Newspapers also led to his voicemail, which was full. However, he did return an email that said he was currently in Morton Plant Hospital.

Rettstatt suggested a member of the towns Finance or Infrastructure boards the groups that have been studying the move to a new water supply sit in temporarily for Katica until the town decides its water future. It was not a move to remove the mayor, she told fellow commissioners.

It doesnt make him not the mayor, Rettstatt said. If hes not going to be able to attend through January, we need someone on the board on a temporary basis as a commissioner to have five sitting.

The commission must be in position to make the January vote, Commissioner Michael Wilkinson told Tampa Bay Newspapers. Murphy and Town Attorney David Ottinger will continue to reach out to Katica, he said.

They need to find out what his capabilities are in getting back to work, Wilkinson said. It is a critical vote; if you disband a department, whether its water, police, or recreation, you need a supermajority, four of five votes.

Wilkinson, who has been in Belleair since 1994, ran for commission after Katica advised him to serve the town.

Mayor Katica is dedicated to the people of Belleair, he said. He is personally a good guy, one of the reasons I got involved. He urged me to join the commission.

Katica announced he had Parkinsons nearly a year ago, in January 2020. He has been mayor for 14 years and a commissioner for three years. He attended some meetings remotely via Zoom after the outbreak of COVID-19 limited in-person participation. He has not participated remotely since October, however.

Sixth Circuit Judge Holly Grissinger reads the oath of office to Lt. Randall Chaney at the Dec. 1 Belleair Town Commission meeting. Chaney joins the Belleair Police department from Largos police department. Patrol officer Miranda Wincek, recruited from Pinellas County Schools Police, also was sworn in at the meeting.

Sixth Circuit Judge Holly Grissinger read the oath of office to a new Belleair Police lieutenant as well as a new patrol officer at the Dec. 1 meeting. Its all part of a managerial strengthening at the top of the agency, Belleair Police Chief Richard J. Doyle told Tampa Bay Newspapers.

Lt. Randall Chaney, who retired after 33 years with the Largo Police Department, took the oath, as did Miranda Wincek, who Doyle recruited from the Pinellas County Schools Police. Chaney will serve alongside Belleair Police Lt. Brian Beery, who is in charge of Criminal Investigations, Internal Affairs, and other administrative functions. Chaney will be in charge of training, patrol operations, and updating procedures, including use of force, Doyle said.

Lt. Chaney will update general orders and other ways we do business, said Doyle. He will update the training of our officers who are on the road; though our average officers experience is 20-plus years, a lot of policing rules have changed over time. Tactics have changed.

The added support helps Doyle concentrate on other missions, such as improving situational awareness for his department. That means integrating communications with neighboring police departments and adopting a computer-aided dispatch system that lets Belleair police access emergency response calls to Clearwater Police, Largo Police and the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office. Doyle represents Belleair, Indian Shores, Gulfport and other smaller Pinellas towns on a countywide panel of police, rescue, and emergency medical services chiefs seeking interoperability among departments.

There was a shooting in Largo, and three of our officers were a half-mile away, Doyle said. They knew nothing about it as it happened; Largos calls dont come over our computers. We also have a different radio system. The suspects may have fled into Belleair, but 10 minutes later, by the time we got the look out, they were gone. We can respond if we are aware.

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Belleair may install temporary commissioner to sit in for mayor during pivotal vote - Tampa Bay Newspapers