Sandy Murman

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tribune article on county negotiating with Tampa Bay Rays:

By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune
Published: March 22, 2012
Updated: March 22, 2012 – 6:58 AM

TAMPA —
Growing restless at what they call a stadium standoff, some Hillsborough County leaders say they are willing to start talking with the Tampa Bay Rays about a future on this side of the water.

This week, Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan signaled he’s willing to champion talks between the Rays and the county. Ideally, Hagan said, he might be involved in those discussions, along with Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and someone from the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

Getting to that point could be tricky, though.

The team is bound by contract to play at Tropicana Field through 2027, and St. Petersburg has vowed to hold the Rays to their contract. St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster has said he might allow the team to look around St. Petersburg for a new ballpark site but not across the Bay.

The challenge for Hillsborough’s leaders: finding a way to talk with the Rays without igniting a legal battle with St. Petersburg.

Hagan said he will ask the county attorney whether Hillsborough County can engage the team in discussions without provoking a lawsuit. He also expects to bring the issue before the full county commission within a few weeks.

He wants to see whether Hillsborough has a stadium site suitable for the Rays, and he’s frustrated at what he sees as inaction on the issue in St. Petersburg.

“To sit idly by and see if the issues mysteriously work themselves out is impractical,” Hagan said.
The Tribune was unable to reach Foster on Wednesday. Leslie Curran, chairwoman of the St. Petersburg City Council, said she had nothing to say about Hagan’s efforts to speak with the Rays. She’s focused on helping the Rays succeed in St. Petersburg.

“I guess we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing,” Curran said. “This year, it’s improved ticket sales this season and improved attendance this season.”

To be sure, other groups already are working on the Rays stadium deadlock.

A group called the Clutch Hitters is lobbying local government leaders on the need for a new stadium. A group led by the Tampa and St. Petersburg chambers of commerce is studying how to pay for a new ballpark.
The chambers’ group expects to issue a report this summer. The group, however, isn’t studying where to put a new stadium.

Hagan said location is a crucial issue. If a stadium were built at the Florida State Fairgrounds east of Tampa, for example, the state might be persuaded to donate the land. If it were built in downtown Tampa, a stadium might qualify for a type of property tax funding called tax-increment financing, he said.

How can you consider paying for a new stadium without knowing where it will be, he asked.

The Tribune polled four other county commissioners on Hagan’s push to start a dialogue with the Rays. Sandra Murman and Mark Sharpe support the idea; Al Higginbotham and Victor Crist say talks would be premature.

Step one is reaching out to the Rays, but not necessarily lobbying to move the team across the Bay, Murman said. Still, she said, she respects Hagan’s efforts to break the stadium deadlock.

“Let’s try and get the ball moving down the road here and see if we can get something done,” Murman said.
Crist said he would rather let St. Petersburg and the Rays continue negotiating. He’d also prefer to see the chambers of commerce issue their report first.

“I think it’s safe to say that I’m not there yet,” Crist said.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Patch.com article on the proposed noise ordinance:

Government

Commission Delays Vote on Anti-Noise Ordinance
Commissioner Al Higginbotham wants to make sure the ordinance is enforceable in court.
By D’Ann White

Complaining that the proposed county noise ordinance handed to commissioners Jan. 19 was filled with typos and other mistakes, County Commission Al Higginbotham made a motion to continue discussion on an anti-noise ordinance until Feb. 22.

His motion was unanimously approved by commissioners who agreed that the ordinance simply wasn’t ready for consideration.

In 2009, State Attorney Mark Ober stopped enforcing the county’s noise ordinance following a court decision that ruled the ordinance unconstitutional.

Since then, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has been bombarded with complaints about noisy concerts, parties and machinery.

Last year, the sheriff’s office got 6,079 complaints about excessive noise.

However, a revised ordinance presented to county commissioners Jan. 19 wasn’t acceptable, said Higginbotham, who noted the ordinance talked about “preserving the peach” instead of “preserving the peace” and was based on a Lee County ordinance, which has been challenged in court.

“We’re not prepared to go forward,” said Higginbotham. “We need to sit down and draft an enforceable ordinance.”
He suggested the sheriff’s office, county attorney’s office and the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection get together and come up with a comprehensive ordinance that’s enforceable.

“The State Attorney should be able to go to court when necessary to enforce this,” he said.

“I agree,” said Commissioner Sandy Murman. “Let’s get it right.”

She asked staff to also research city of Tampa guidelines for better controlling noise at public and private events.

“Some of these events adversely impact neighborhoods and churches,” she said. “We need to address a special events permit without reinventing the wheel.”

Commissioner Murman quoted in this article in the Tampa Tribune regarding gas pumping assistance for disabled persons:

PETER MASA/STAFF

For Kevin Poindexter, refueling at a busy service station can be arduous, but a new county ordinance requires stations to post a phone number for attendants, so he can contact them for help.

By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune
Published: January 09, 2012

TAMPA —
Kevin Poindexter pulled the red 2000 Chrysler Town & Country minivan up to pump 7 at the Mobil gas station on Busch Boulevard and 46th Street and began what for him is an ordeal.

A wheelchair user, he hit a lever in the van that opens the sliding side door and another that lowers a ramp. He moved out of the drivers seat, into the chair and rolled down the ramp, which extends about five feet from the van.

“I hope no one runs over my ramp,” he said. “I had that happen before when someone pulled up right behind me, then tried to drive around me instead of waiting.”

Poindexter wheeled into the store, up to the attendant and paid for gas.

As he did, a man in a pickup with a long utility trailer pulled up to the pump behind Poindexter. After a few minutes in the store, Poindexter wheeled back and began pumping, all the while, he said, thinking back to last year when an impatient driver destroyed his ramp.

Poindexter, a Navy veteran, survived his service to the country intact. But he has been confined to a wheelchair since 1997 after being shot in the back as someone tried to carjack him in Chicago while he was on leave.

For most people, filling up the gas tank is no big deal. Pull up to the pump, get out, pay, gas up and go.

But for Poindexter and other disabled drivers, a trip to the gas station is inconvenient at best and dangerous at worst.

Some relief arrived Jan. 1 for the more than 63,000 drivers in Hillsborough County who, like Poindexter, have permanent handicap stickers for their vehicles.

Thanks to an effort by Paralyzed Veterans Of America — of which Poindexter is a member — and County Commissioner Sandy Murman, Hillsborough County now requires gas stations to provide a number at the pump that handicapped motorists can call to get an attendant to come out and pump gas for them.

She said she opted to back the gas pumping assistance ordinance after hearing from Sandy Sroka, the county’s Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator, who told her of the problems handicapped motorists experience.

The ordinance is the brainchild of Ben Ritter, government relations director for the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America. He said he wanted an equitable solution, not just for veterans, but for all handicapped drivers. Nearly 7 percent of the county’s 940,000 licensed motorists have a permanent handicap sticker, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

A 70-year-old retired Marine sergeant who was paralyzed from the chest down after a post-service surgery went awry, Ritter said the idea came to him about four years ago after being unable to reach a call button at a gas station.

“My background is in sales and marketing, said Ritter, a real estate broker. “Sometimes, the common-sense, easiest solutions work best.”

Ritter’s solution was to require stations to display placards at the pumps carrying the International Symbol of Accessibility logo — the white wheel chair on a blue background — with a number to call to get an attendant, as federal law requires.

“It is easy and inexpensive,” Ritter said.

Mike Aldred, sales manager for J.H. Williams Oil, likes the idea.

“It is easy to implement, not costly, and a simple plan,” Aldred said.

About 18 months ago, Ritter contacted the company and they agreed to test the program at their Citgo station at 19th Street and Adamo Drive.

Aldred said the company spent about $100 on the placards and gets about four or five requests a week.

“It was simple. It worked and is really something that needs to be done everywhere,” said Aldred.

The Hillsborough ordinance has no penalty provision, said Murman. “If we find there is a problem complying, we may come back and address that later,” she said.

After pumping his gas, wheeling back into his van, hopping back into the driver’s seat and hitting the levers that roll up the ramp and shut the side door, Kevin Poindexter said he appreciates the new rule.

“The gas pumping ordinance will be very helpful,” Poindexter said.

Recognizing the Junior League of Tampa Bay Inc.’s 85th Anniversary and their dedication to improving the lives of residents in Hillsborough County.