ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — A resident who lives directly across the street from the Pass-a-Grille shuffleboard courts said he and some of his neighbors have been opposed to having the city pay for a historic home to be moved to the property to become the new clubhouse.
What You Need To Know
The St. Pete Beach city commission will see a presentation on Tuesday about the cost of relocating the historical house
The city has estimated it will be short $475,000 to fund the project
A resident who lives across the street from the shuffleboard courts opposes moving the historical home to the property
The soonest the house could be moved off the current property is 14 months, which conflicts with the owners desire to begin construction in January
“When you move an old house or even touch an old house, it cracks more. You find more termite damage,” said resident Glen Drobney. “So they’re assuming that nothing will be wrong with this house as they move it. But that’s just the beginning.”
The 90-year-old shuffleboard clubhouse was substantially damaged by last year’s hurricanes, as were many historic homes in the Pass-a-Grille area. Historical Preservation Board Chairman Bill Lowery said 30 historical homes have been demolished in the past year.
Lowery came up with an idea to try to save a roughly 100-year-old home that did not flood. The owners of the historic home are offering it to the city for free. The cost to physically move the home 15 blocks has been estimated at about $160,000, while the total city budget for the project is $177,000.
“My feeling is at some point that fiscal responsibility has to start kicking in,” said Drobney. “It may be a free house, but is it really the best decision for us?”
Drobney said he would rather see the city purchase a gazebo, similar to the one in Hurley Park, as the new shuffleboard clubhouse and put the rest of the money towards sewer and storm mitigation projects. St. Pete Beach needs $200 million to fix the city’s problematic sewer system.
“We call and ask for sidewalks to be repaired or flooding that we’re having to be addressed and they keep saying we’re out of money,” he said. “We need to sit down and think this through rather than just throwing money at a problem that fixes a temporary issue. An old house is a temporary fix to a bigger problem that represents this area.”
At the city commission meeting on Tuesday, Public Services Director Camden Mills will have a presentation about the cost of relocating the historical house. According to Mills, the city has estimated it will be short $475,000 to fund the project. The soonest the house could be moved off the current property is 14 months, which conflicts with the owners desire to begin construction on their new home in January.
Lowery said that based on the extended timeline and increased cost, he feels the project will not be approved by commissioners on Tuesday. He still believes it was a good learning experience, having the community pay more attention to historic issues in Pass-a-Grille after the storms.
As for the shuffleboard clubhouse money, Mills said $94,000 could be used for any other project. While the remaining $83,000 could be reallocated with commission approval. The demolition of the old clubhouse, which cost $8,000, is expected to happen later this month or next month, according to Mills.