Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners press staff after Krabby's lease default; title search and lease inventory ordered
Summary
A lengthy Feb. 17 discussion revealed a tenant default at Krabby's and raised wider concerns about city lease administration. Commissioners sought an immediate inspection and security of the property, a title search, and a compiled list of city leases; city manager said staff had sent a cure letter and is assembling an aging receivable schedule and lease inventory.
The Fort Pierce City Commission spent a substantial portion of its Feb. 17 meeting addressing Krabby's restaurant, which staff said had defaulted in rent and in reimbursing the city for property-tax bills. Commissioner Curtis Broderick characterized the matter as a tenant default and sharply criticized city lease administration practices and oversight.
Broderick said the city is now ‘‘underwater in this thing, $215,000, give or take a few dollars," referring to unpaid real-estate tax reimbursements the city bills the tenant for under the lease. He called the apparent multi-year lapse in receivables and follow-up "horribly mismanaged" and urged immediate action to secure the facility and determine the condition of equipment and perishable goods left on site.
City manager (referred to in the record as "Mister Chess") said the moment staff became aware they sent a cure letter (delivered Feb. 5) giving the tenant until Feb. 15 to cure arrears; when it was not cured, staff moved to take further legal action. Chess said staff has already ordered a title search, is preparing an aging receivables schedule, and plans to compile a single, department-aggregated contract/lease inventory for commission review. "When I found out about this ... I drafted a notice ... When they received that letter on February 5, they had February 15 to cure," he said.
Commissioners pressed staff on several operational points: whether the city had secured the vacant facility and changed locks; whether power had been turned off (staff said not yet and explained the process for transferring utility accounts); whether any mortgage or subordination agreements existed that could complicate city efforts to retake control; and whether contract management responsibilities are centralized or scattered across departments.
City attorney Miss Hedges confirmed staffcan take legal steps consistent with state abandonment provisions and noted that title work had been ordered to reveal any lender subordination. City manager indicated staff will deliver a summary of all city leases, aging receivables, and a plan for centralized management and monitoring; he said a property-management function (previously proposed in the budget) is still planned as part of the deputy city manager role and other fixes.
Public speakers expressed concern about access, parking and the marina project, and urged rapid action to return the site to productive use. Commissioners described this episode as symptomatic of broader control and communication issues across departments and asked staff for an immediate, plain-language briefing with a list of remedial steps and timelines.
The commission did not take a final formal action to seize or reassign the property that night; staff said a title search and legal steps are in process, and pledged to report back with a consolidated lease spreadsheet and an aging report so the commission could direct next steps.
