Harbor Bar Deck Issue Sparks Debate in Safety Harbor

Coming into Monday night's City Commission meeting, it looked like the plan to build a deck adjacent to the Harbor Bar on city land was a mere technicality or two away from becoming a reality.

The two sides had already basically agreed on terms of a user agreement a few weeks ago, which called for the Main Street bar to build the 1,500-square-foot deck along the east side of the building; it would be used jointly by the city and the business for a period of at least ten years.

But at the last commission meeting, Commissioner Rick Blake raised objections to the deal, questioning whether it was a good idea to allow the bar to use the city's land free of charge for such a lengthy period. That caused the city to revisit the terms of the agreement with the bar owner.

Monday night the plan hit another snag, as residents spoke out against the proposal, causing the commission to rethink and possibly rework the original arrangement before agreeing to the deal.

"I think it's a very bad idea," Los Prados resident Dale Tindall said during the 'Audience To Be Heard' portion of the meeting. 

Fifth Street North resident Colleen Shepherd also expressed displeasure with the plan.

"Those of us living in the immediate area south of the Harbor Bar are a little bit disappointed that this whole issue got this far," she said. 

Shepherd raised concerns about hearing music and patrons on the deck late at night and seeing a television flickering in her windows all night long.

"There really is no such thing as a quiet outdoor bar," she added.

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The catch with Shepherd's earlier comment is that there was no lease agreement between the city and the bar - originally.

Under the original user agreement, the bar would build and maintain the deck, anyone in the community could use it up until a certain point in the day when the bar would take over, and after 10 years the parties would look into renewing or cancelling the agreement.

But the concerns raised forced the commission to reconsider the arrangement by turning the user agreement into a lease agreement.

"At least two commissioners said they would be more comfortable with a lease agreement," City Manager Matt Spoor said following a lengthy discussion.

"We could draft terms of a lease agreement and bring it back before you and see if you're favorable to that or not."

All parties agreed, including Harbor Bar general manager John Zemzicki.

"I do understand everyone's opinions," Zemzicki told Patch after the meeting. "If I was on the outside of the issue and not directly involved, I'd have concerns about this, too."

"But we're not trying to recreate our bar out there," he said of the deck, which will be a Margaritaville-themed area with a natural tree canopy, six tables and no umbrellas. "It will be under our name but it will be run in a different way."

Zemzicki said he is open to a lease agreement, despite the fact it would add to the overall cost of the project, which is estimated at $25,000 just to construct the deck.

He said he doesn't want to alienate the bar from the community; on the contrary, he is hoping Harbor Bar can become an even bigger part of Safety Harbor through this agreement.

"We want people to use it and see us as a part of the community, not just a business in the community," he said. "There used to be a stigma attached to this place. That has ended."

"We even renamed the place 'Harbor Bar' because we are a part of Safety Harbor."

Harborites, what are your thoughts on the issue? Sound off in the comments below.