The town of Belleair must decide how to spend an extra $4 million dollars from an unexpected source.

Residents in one Belleair neighborhood are shocked. John Sikorra had no idea he was living next door to a multi-millionaire.

“He was very much to himself, Sikorra said. "He was very private. Nobody really knew him very well. He went to the hospital and passed away about a week later."

Officials in Belleair had been notified that the town might receive John Osborne's home. What they did not know was how much more he had to give. Mayor Gary Katica got a call from his Town Manager shortly after Osborne's passing.

“He calls me and he says, 'Are you sitting down?' I said, 'yeah.' He said, 'Mr. Osborne’s estate is $4 million,” recalled Mayor Katica.

Osborne had left everything to the town of Belleair.

Neighbors are still in disbelief.

“It was a little surprising that he was sitting on that kind of money," Sikorra said.

Mayor Katica is already looking at ways to use the extra funds.

“The golf course is one of the items that has come up," he said.

The Mayor believes that purchasing the golf course will ensure that it is never sold to developers. Pay raises for city employees and improving the town's infrastructure are also options under consideration.

John Osborne has a sister in New York but no other family. He was 79 years old.

Belleair Mayor Gary Katica says it will take time to determine where the money will go. City officials will take additional recommendations from the town's manager and the commission will make the final decision.



