TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — The City of Treasure Island has a lot more to repair than just buildings nine months after Hurricane Helene. Relationships are also in tatters.
The coastal community is deeply divided, which has sparked infighting between elected leaders and members of the public.
Tuesday evening, all of those pent-up feelings exploded during a commission meeting that left the mayor, John Doctor, embarrassed.
WATCH: Divide deepens between Treasure Island commissioners and public during fiery meeting
“For us to be up here calling names and talking at it’s just disappointing,” he said. “I have other words for it, but I’ll call it disappointing.”
Since Hurricane Helene, at least 38 city workers have resigned from the City of Treasure Island government.
Monday, an anonymous letter was sent to the city manager from an alleged city employee.
The letter claims that members of the public are bullying city workers.
“In this current state of aggression from an isolated few, these individuals have bullied our community into submission,” the anonymous worker writes in the letter. “At what point do we say enough is enough?”
In a Monday interview, former Mayor Tyler Payne said the hostile climate is part of the reason he resigned in the weeks after Helene.
Tuesday, two other city workers both told ABC Action News they also don’t disagree with the letter’s claims.
However, in the Tuesday commission meeting, members of the public shot back and said they have not bullied city workers or threatened them. Instead, they described their rhetoric as healthy criticism of the city’s actions in the wake of Helene.
“Anyone can come to these meetings and voice their grievance they have with their local government, and that’s our duty as citizens to do that,” said West Evans.
But the drama did not end there.
In the meeting, both Commissioners Tammy Vasquez and Arthur Czyszczon accused a fellow commissioner, Chris Clark, of partaking in the bullying and hostility.
ABC Action News has not yet been able to substantiate their claims, and Clark denied them.
“I’ve never threatened anybody,” he said.
Meanwhile, some members of the public accused Vasquez of hostility. She admitted to anonymously arguing with city residents on Facebook. In one of the comments, she refers to a member of the public as a “disgusting individual.”
The infighting between the commission and the community leaves the city in a precarious position in the midst of a new hurricane season.
Right now, as the city continues to recover after past hurricanes, not only is the commission deeply divided, but some city departments are also short-staffed after the wave of resignations.
Mayor Doctor, a voice of calm in the room during the otherwise-contentious meeting, said he is no longer as excited to serve as Treasure Island’s mayor.
“It’s not what we need,” he said. “We need positive energy, and we need to all be moving step-in-step.”
"We don't come home until they do."
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