In the days leading up to the city commission meeting Tuesday, September 6, two "pods" sprouted on either side of the picturesque stand-alone frame house on stilts, the only habitable structure on the little island east of State Road 24 between the #4 and #3 bridges. The island, known locally as Walter Beckham`s Island, is owned by Gainesville-based 2 Brothers Investment LLC. Unfortunately for Cedar Key`s part-time buildings inspector Walt Brown, whose contract was up for renewal by the City Commission, the pods` construction violated mean high water line and protected wetlands regulations. After lengthy discussion Tuesday evening that failed to establish who was at fault for the non-compliance, the commissioners voted not to renew the city`s contract with Mr. Brown. The contract had come up for renewal in June but, as Mayor Heath Davis explained to the public before he invited Walt Brown to the City Hall podium, the building inspector`s contract had been extended for 90 days in order to allow commissioners to speak with Mr. Brown individually before acting on the renewal.
A history of highly visible permitting anomalies - notably a permit issued to Sunset Isle RV Park and Motel - led the commissioners to ask for the 90-day extension. Commissioner Scott Dennison began the commission`s discussion by asking Mr. Brown to respond to a letter to the commissioners from Cedar Key resident Frank Offerle asking for clarification regarding the building permit issued by Mr. Brown for the construction on Walter Beckham`s Island. Mr. Brown told the commissioners that he had learned only that day that one of the pods had been constructed in violation of the required 50-foot set back from the mean high water line and that he had issued a stop-work order on the job. On questioning, Mr. Brown stated that he had suspected a week earlier that the vertical supports for the construction were not correctly placed and that he had asked for an as-built survey to verify the poles` location. He stated also that he had informed the contractor, Cody West, that continued construction would be at the builder`s risk. The pods` walls and roofs were completed in the intervening week. Another line of Commissioner Dennison`s questioning concerned Walt Brown`s characterization of the pods as "additions" (to the existing building) rather than as "new construction." Commissioner Dennison asked, "Is this still a single family dwelling?" Mr. Brown replied by stating that he had advised the contractor to eliminate originally planned kitchen facilities for each pod. With that correction, he judged the pods to be "an addition to a single family dwelling." Cedar Key`s Land Development Code (Laws of Cedar Key 6.07.02), cited by Mr. Offerle`s letter to the commissioners, defines an addition to an existing building as "Any walled and roofed expansion to the perimeter of a building in which the addition is connected by a common wall other than a fire wall. " The code goes on to state, "Any walled or roofed addition which is connected by a fire wall or is separated by independent perimeter walls is new construction." (See accompanying detail from the building permit granted for the construction.) Walt McJordan joined Mr. Offerle in judging that inadequacies in the permit issued by Mr. Brown contributed to the non-compliant construction, while local contractors Ronnie Taylor and Ken Edmunds testified that the burden of compliance should be on the contractor. Mr. Taylor cited the city`s lack of a full-time building inspector as responsible for permitting and compliance shortcomings. Before the commissioners convened the special meeting of the city commission to act on the building inspector contract, the commissioners sat as board members of the Community Development Agency (CRA) for the CRA`s regularly-scheduled monthly meeting. Cedar Key`s former CRA director Greg Lang, now representing contractor Mittauer & Associates, reported for Mittauer on Phase II roadwork, including a description of last week`s emergency repair of old sewer pipes beneath State Road 24 just east of Second Street. Mr. Lang reported that the Phase II work is in its twelfth and last month. Work should be completed within the week and a final review compiled within a month. The cost is estimated to come in approximately $150,000 under budget. Commissioner Scott Dennison suggested further street improvements that might be undertaken with the unused funds. Vice Mayor/CRA Chair Gene Hodges directed city attorney Holly Blumenthal to check the eligibility of such improvements for CRA funding. In other business before the special meeting of the city commission, the commissioners took under consideration a Cedar Key Aquaculture Association proposal for monitoring what has been problematic dumping at the shell pile boat ramp, heard a report from former city attorney David Coffey on the moribund Form-Based Code Committee, and approved a proposal presented by Josh Wilson for sidewalk repairs at two locations along the west side of Second Street (just south of State Road 24 and in front of the Capital City Bank). | 
