Pier Mediation Continued
The City of St. Petersburg and Kathleen Ford met in a daylong mediation on Friday.
A daylong mediation Friday between the City of St. Petersburg and local attorney Kathleen Ford did not provide a conclusion to the lawsuit regarding the VoteOnThePier petition.
"None of the attendees are permitted to discuss any progress or details until mediation is completed one way or the other," Tom Lambdon, Chairman of VoteOnThePier, told Patch of Friday's mediation.
The mediation between the city and Ford, who is representing a handful of VoteOnThePier petitioners, will be continued at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 28.
Ford is suing the city because of city council's decision not to hold a referendum on the future of the St. Petersburg Pier despite VoteOnThePier collecting the required 15,652 verified petitions to force a public vote.
Friday's mediation went on as planned because Ford and the city agreed to a "stipulation" on Monday, Jan. 14. The agreement had Ford remove more than 15,000 petitioners from the lawsuit who were listed as plaintiffs.
Joe Patner, representing the city in the suit, said he was happy to get thousands of petitioners out of the lawsuit.
"We were able to get those innocent citizens who were just petition signers who were dragged into this lawsuit without their knowledge, they’re all out," Patner said outside the courthouse on Jan. 14. "And we can now proceed along."
Rider
11:37 am on Saturday, January 19, 2013
Wondering what games....I mean, strategy, the city is using to stall this!!!!
sparky
11:42 am on Saturday, January 19, 2013
Joe Patner sounds like he is looking for a job with Morgan Morgan. Those of us who signed the petition were aware of what we were signing. I suspect that the city has no actual desire to mediate and if just running the clock until the wrecking ball drops.
Oliver Katt
12:20 pm on Saturday, January 19, 2013
I wasn't an 'innocent citizen.' I was fully aware of what I was doing when I signed that petition. Joe Patner needs to disabuse himself of the notion that the rest of us are too ignorant to know what we're doing.
Concerned Floridian
6:38 pm on Saturday, January 19, 2013
I agree. At the same time, belittling the petition signers is either derisive or a plain act of contempt. Aimed at scaring more than 'protecting.'
The city attorneys are not representing folks anymore, nor our common wealth, they are representing 'special' interests. Folks, we have become too ordinary to be considered special...
sparky
10:44 am on Sunday, January 20, 2013
Rumor is that Joe Patner was nixed for the top legal position just across the bay recently. I guess they had better insight to his lack of skill than the current administration where he misrepresented to the council what happened at the hearing before the judge in this suit Joe Patner thinks more of himself than we citizens think of him.
InsiderMyself
11:43 am on Sunday, January 20, 2013
Thanks Kathleen for standing up for us!
We know what we sign, when we sign petitions. It's a poor slant, that you are "dragging" people into this. People chose to be a part of this, and are of sound mind.
Go Ford!!!
Les B.
12:11 pm on Monday, January 21, 2013
I love The Pier. It's a shame if it is removed. Thousands of visitors visit & use The Pier yearly. It will greatly be missed. I am not interested in what is replacing The Pier.
trunyonster
3:10 pm on Monday, January 21, 2013
the day that disgusting inverted pyramid explodes will be a good day for the whole area. the people that want to save that gross thing are out of touch and don't want tampa bay to extend it's reputation beyond old farts, strip clubs, steakhouses, and eye-sore hotels on the beach. allow st. pete to full-on blossom into an art's capital with a piece of architecture that could be for the city what the opera house is for sydney or the walt disney concert hall is for LA.
LET THE REGION MOVE FORWARD. idiot residents stopped the downtown baseball stadium, now they don't want the pier, because they want st. pete to be stuck in a flippin time warp. or they're one of the 2 people that dine at the columbia on a monthly basis. or they're some person from safety harbor who doesn't even live in the city anymore.
amend the city charter to instruct instantaneous explosion of that grotesque eyesore that is the pier. i'm not sure why this whole thing is even being debated.
sparky
4:42 pm on Monday, January 21, 2013
So, you are in favor of spending 80 plus million going to more than 120 million dollars on a new pier that is aside walk to nowhere. You are in favor of the city fathers and hired city hacks violating the city charter to do this without a vote. You are in favor of the financial costs for government levying you whatever they want because you are too dumb, stupid, uncaring or choose one...that you will go with whatever they think is best.
Johann
4:46 pm on Monday, January 21, 2013
Trunyonster, you're not helping your cause with crap like you just posted. Why don't you move to Seattle with the rest of the pseudo-hipster douchebags?
InsiderMyself
11:12 am on Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The region can only move forward, when the city follows the law and allows a vote on the pier matters. There are some who signed the petitions for voteonthepier, who like the Lens, but understand the law. Many have still not forgotten they did not get a vote on the "dome" stadium, nor should they!
Walter Talley
11:28 am on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Does anybody really know what the city chartter states about things like the pier? I think I am going to look it up. The deal stinks of cornyism and should be brought into the public eye and put under a spotlight and magnified. I tthink I will show up at the
mayors night out and ask a few questions but not without research of the ture facts.
InsiderMyself
2:56 pm on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Here is Ford explaining more illegal activity that took place, when monies were appropriated to refurbish the Pier, all done under Rick Baker. Then they had the new mayor Foster change the wording. Before you even get to the charter, you really need to address this...or get the council to address this: only 3 min.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIltc-LVqvk&feature=em-share_video_user
Then you can listen to another explanation after the actual hearing, Ford gives a full briefing to the press. LIsten right here. You'll hear more right here about the law, than anything you can look up and apply to these procedings.
http://youtu.be/rD_MnYSy1VI
You'll learn more in 10 min in these combined videos on this Pier process.
Philip Barisciano
5:01 pm on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
The present pier can and should be repaired to save not only. Money but the environment and the ecology of the area .This mayor and his group of small minded people have no interest in helping our citizens!!!!! Raise hell by using your phones and computers