SHOULD THERE BE SUNSHINE ON THE SEVERAL MONTHS OLD ELUSIVE LBTS AD HOC MARKETING “GROUP”?…

Dear Readers …apparently the $6,000 Feb. 23rd Caribbean party is off …for now …. The Town Manager contacted the commission today to report the following (a public record due to being sent electronically) … The question this writer had upon hearing once again of this Ad Hoc “Group” that is made up of those unknown to the taxpayers footing the bill as well as the commission was don’t they fall under the Florida Sunshine Laws?… I looked it up and found the following information posted below the TM’s email… It appears to me that they could fall under it from what we’ve heard about them thus far …If you look at b. – the fact-finding committees the fine line is if they only gather information but are not involved in the decision making but there is this portion of a decision made … “the team was authorized to do more than mere fact-finding in that it would be “participating in the decision-making process by accepting some options while rejecting others for presentment of the final negotiations to the city commission.” … Was this the case in the Caribbean party planned by the group and will they do even more in the process in the future?… I believe this Ad Hoc Group should be made known to the public with their meetings posted and their minutes a public record…especially if it’s my money they are spending…. Please take note that while the TM and her Asst. to the TM state the following concerning the future plans this Ad Hoc Group wants …”Town staff will be working with a LBTS marketing firm to develop the marketing plan for that.” and to deal with retailers west of A1A …”We are going to need some professional assistance to help us with the retailers as that will be time-intensive and we just don’t have the staff time to handle it. We will work on finding a company that can assist us with # 4.” (the west Comm. businesses) … More companies and more consultants… How come we don’t have enough staff?… We have an abundance of staff with very prestigious titles for a town this size and besides on Tuesday night there seemed to be enough staff to do the Feb. 23rd Caribbean party!… The next Commission meeting should include the names of those in the Ad Hoc Marketing “group” as well as their minutes to date with all future meetings distributed to the Commission in their monthly backup as well as giving ample notice of this group’s upcoming meetings to them and the public…

“From: Connie Hoffmann [mailto:ConnieH@lauderdalebythesea-fl.gov]
Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2011 12:55 PM
To: Birute Ann Clottey; Chris Vincent; Roseann Minnet; Scot Sasser; stuart dodd; Stuart Dodd
Cc: info@lbts.com ; Pat Himelberger
Subject: February Special Event & Other Marketing Activities

Commissioners,

We met with the Marketing Ad Hoc Group this morning and, with the short time frame ahead of us and the Commission’s suggestion that we come up with a different theme for the new February event, it was agreed that there wasn’t sufficient time to re-theme the event and pull off a quality event. Instead, the group suggested we:

1) Promote the events that are already planned for that week (Taste of the Beach, Friday night’s Aruba pig roast and Village Grille’s Jazz on the Square, Saturday’s Alley Oop Skim boarding and Dance Contest and Athena’s Music event) under the umbrella title of “Festival by the Sea”. Town staff will be working with a LBTS marketing firm to develop the marketing plan for that.

2) Concentrate on planning the June program to fill hotel rooms and marketing LBTS as a shore diving destination.

3) Hold a new event in February of 2013, which will give us plenty of time to assure it’s a great event.

4) Start working with the retailers on the western part of Commercial Boulevard on a program to stimulate business activity there.

I think that is a great plan and one that is in keeping with the Town Commission’s goals, so we will proceed unless the Commission directs me to the contrary. I will include this information in my Town Manager’s report in January so it is known to the general public.

We are going to need some professional assistance to help us with the retailers as that will be time-intensive and we just don’t have the staff time to handle it. We will work on finding a company that can assist us with # 4.

I am copying Judy Swaggerty on this email so she knows the Town will not be using their tent this year and so that she can convey to the Chamber’s Board of Directors what we are planning.

Pat, please advise the people on our business mailing list who were not able to attend today’s meeting of this plan, too.”

………………..
Excerpts from the Office of the Attorney General of Florida -Pam Biondi

“Government-in-the-Sunshine Manual
Chapter updated: 01/14/2011
What agencies are covered by the Sunshine Law?

2. Are advisory boards which make recommendations or committees established only for fact-finding subject to the Sunshine Law?

a. Publicly created advisory boards which make recommendations

Advisory boards created pursuant to law or ordinance or otherwise established by public agencies are subject to the Sunshine Law, even though their recommendations are not binding upon the entities that create them. See Town of Palm Beach v. Gradison, 296 So. 2d 473 (Fla. 1974) (citizen planning committee appointed by city council to assist in revision of zoning ordinances subject to Sunshine Law). The Gradison court, concluding that the committee served as the alter ego of the council in making tentative decisions, stated that “any committee established by the Town Council to act in any type of advisory capacity would be subject to the provisions of the government in the sunshine law.” Id. at 476. Accord Spillis Candela & Partners, Inc. v. Centrust Savings Bank, 535 So. 2d 694, 695 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988) (committee which compiled a report that was perfunctorily accepted by the board made a significant ruling affecting decision-making process and was subject to s. 286.011; “ad hoc advisory board, even if its power is limited to making recommendations to a public agency and even if it possesses no authority to bind the agency in any way, is subject to the Sunshine Law”); Monroe County v. Pigeon Key Historical Park, Inc., 647 So. 2d 857, 869 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994) (committee established by county commission to negotiate lease agreement subject to s. 286.011: “the Sunshine Law equally binds all members of governmental bodies, be they advisory committee members or elected officials”); and Lyon v. Lake County, 765 So. 2d 785 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000) (Sunshine Law applies to site plan review committee created by county ordinance to serve in an advisory capacity to the county manager).

The Attorney General’s Office has issued numerous opinions discussing the application of the Sunshine Law to advisory committees. The following are some of the advisory committees which have been found to be subject to the Sunshine Law:

community issues advisory bodies–AGOs 98-13 (citizen advisory committee appointed by city council to make recommendations to the council regarding city government and city services), 93-41 (criminal justice commission established by county ordinance to develop and make recommendations on criminal justice issues in the county), and 85-55 (community certification committee organized by city to act on its behalf in seeking designation of city as a blue chip community under a Department of Commerce program);

employee or personnel advisory bodies–AGOs 96-32 (employee advisory committee established pursuant to special law), 92-26 (committee responsible for making recommendations to city council on personnel matters), and 84-70 (grievance committees established pursuant to county personnel manual and responsible for bringing about “a fair and equitable settlement of the complaint”);

education advisory bodies–AGOs 03-28 (business assistance center advisory council created by community college board of trustees), 01-84 (school advisory councils created pursuant to former s. 229.58 [now s. 1001.452], F.S.), and 74-­267 (Council of Deans appointed by state university president);

legislation implementation advisory bodies–AGOs 92-79 (advisory committee authorized by statute to assist state agency with the implementation of legislation), and 85-76 (ad hoc committee appointed by mayor for purpose of making recommendations concerning legislation);

planning or property acquisition advisory bodies–AGOs 05-07 (lake restoration council legislatively created to advise water management district board), 02-24 (vegetation committee created by city code to make recommendations to city council and planning department regarding vegetation and proposed development), and 86-51 (land selection committee appointed by water management district to create proposed land acquisition list).

The Sunshine Law applies to advisory committees appointed by a single public official as well as those appointed by a collegial board. See, e.g., Wood v. Marston, 442 So. 2d 934 (Fla. 1983) (Sunshine Law applies to ad hoc advisory committee appointed by university president to screen applications and make recommendations for position of law school dean as committee, in deciding which applicants to reject from further consideration, performed a policy-based, decision-making function); Silver Express Company v. District Board of Lower Tribunal Trustees, 691 So. 2d 1099 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997) (committee established by community college purchasing director to consider and rank various contract proposals must meet in the Sunshine); and Krause v. Reno, 366 So. 2d 1244 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979) (Sunshine Law governs advisory group created by city manager to assist in screening applications and to recommend several applicants for the position of chief of police). Accord AGOs 05-05 (fact that advisory group was created by chief of police and not city commission and its recommendations were made to police chief would not remove group from ambit of the Sunshine Law), 87-42 (ad hoc committee appointed by mayor to meet with Chamber of Commerce and draft proposal for transfer of city property); and Inf. Op. to Lamar, August 2, 1993 (transition team made up of citizens appointed by mayor to make recommendations on city government’s reorganization).

b. Fact-finding committees

A limited exception to the applicability of the Sunshine Law to advisory committees has been recognized for advisory committees established for fact-finding only. When a committee has been established strictly for, and conducts only, fact-finding activities, i.e., strictly information gathering and reporting, the activities of that committee are not subject to s. 286.011, F.S. Cape Publications, Inc. v. City of Palm Bay, 473 So. 2d 222 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985). Accord AGO 95-­06 (when a group, on behalf of a public entity, functions solely as a fact-finder or information gatherer with no decision-making authority, no “board or commission” subject to the Sunshine Law is created). “In determining whether a committee is subject to the Sunshine Law, the actual function of the committee must be scrutinized to determine whether It is exercising part of the decision-making function by sorting through options and making recommendations to the governmental body.” Inf. Op. to Randolph, June 10, 2010.

For example, the court in Bennett v. Warden, 333 So. 2d 97 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976), held that a fact-finding committee appointed by a community college president to report to him on employee working conditions was not subject to the Sunshine Law. And see Wood v. Marston, 442 So. 2d 934 (Fla. 1983); and Lyon v. Lake County, 765 So. 2d 785 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000) (Sunshine Law did not apply to informal meetings of staff where the discussions were “merely informational,” where none of the individuals attending the meetings had any decision-making authority during the meetings, and where no formal action was taken or could have been taken at the meetings).

This ‘fact-finding’ exception, however, applies only to advisory committees and not to boards that have “ultimate decisionmaking authority.” See Finch v. Seminole County School Board, 995 So. 2d 1068 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008), holding that the fact-finding exception did not apply to a school board as the ultimate decision-making authority; thus the board could not take a fact-finding tour without complying with the Sunshine Law even though school board members were separated from each other by several rows of seats, did not discuss their preferences or opinions, and no vote was taken during the trip.

When a committee has a decision-making function in addition to fact-finding, the Sunshine Law is applicable. See Wood v. Marston, supra at 938, recognizing that while a “search and screen” committee appointed by a university president had a fact-gathering role in soliciting and compiling applications, the committee also “had an equally undisputed decision-making function in screening the applicants” by deciding which of the applicants to reject from further consideration, and thus was subject to the Sunshine Law. And see Roscow v. Abreu, No. 03-CA-1833 (Fla. 2d Cir. Ct. August 6, 2004) (committee created by the state department of transportation and composed of officials from state, local and federal agencies was subject to the Sunshine Law because the committee was responsible for screening and evaluating potential corridors and alignments for a possible expansion of the Suncoast Parkway).

Similarly, in AGO 94-21, the Attorney General’s Office advised that the Sunshine Law governed the meetings of a negotiating team that was created by a city commission to negotiate with a sports organization on behalf of the city. Even though the resolution creating the team provided that the negotiations were subject to ratification and approval by the city commission, the team was authorized to do more than mere fact-finding in that it would be “participating in the decision-making process by accepting some options while rejecting others for presentment of the final negotiations to the city commission.” Id.”

http://www.myflsunshine.com/sun.nsf/manual/A342F688127D5AFD852566F30055F8C8

more to come….

Tags: Here's The Scoop ... The February Caribbean Party Is Off ... For Now ... Is It Time To Let The Sunshine In? ..., Sunshine Laws In Florida and Fact Finding Committees
Posted in Boards, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, Local News, Local Politics, Opinions, Scoops, local government

IT’S ENOUGH TO MAKE US ALL BELIEVERS …..

Dear Readers … the phone started ringing and the texts started arriving a short time ago this afternoon that Cindy Geesey LBTS Candidate for seat 4 challenging Vice- Mayor Stuart Dodd in the upcoming municipal election has sent an email to her “supporters” that was true to form for Geesey… (classic Geesey some would say) … It explained her reasons for dropping out of the race while making sure to include a myriad of her well-known disses aimed at those who oppose her and her pals in any way shape or form! …… This writer is joined in those “slaps” by Candidate Mark Brown and the ByTheSeaFuture paper ….. It was full of pats on her own back for all she says she has done for this town over the years and what she says she wanted to do if elected as Commission …. as the uniter of both ends of town …..(Hmmm isn’t that her chosen candidate Malkoon’s campaign edict? ) … She ended it with her “record of service” list…

Her pal former UOT president Bob Fleishman was the “Town Crier” in getting the word out asap….. a close supporter it appears he must be from the flurry of calls made to many…but we also hear as usual he played both sides of the street politically…

She cautioned her opponent Dodd in her long email after offering him her support to rid himself of this out-of-town blogger who is a “cancer” in the town… I suppose that comes from years back when this writer stood at the podium and spoke about colonoscopies and the process after going through one myself and hearing of many others who just did the same…At that time Geesey and her co-horts somehow made the ridiculous leap that I was speaking of the former Town Clerk’s mother who had cancer!… (How would I know that?) …No matter how many times I have stated the facts Geesey and a few others preferred to hang on to the ruse…

What is ahead now that Geesey is out?…

Well, the UOT cancelled their meeting tonight after hearing it was unfair to have a meeting without her in town from none other than Bob Fleishman’s wife in an email to the UOT President on the 24th followed by another email on the 28th to the board claiming he did not respond …POA President Dennis Ritchie joined her as well as Louis Marchelos…. I am told their actions were met with a big division in the organization once they were carried out by the board … Confrontations took place at last night’s commission meeting over the change and the Geesey candidacy itself ….Most likely it will lead to a further divide now that it was all for naught upon receipt of this Geesey email today and it leaves the group with some real hard choices to make (or not?) as the 2012 LBTS race now comes down to Mark Brown vs Edmund Malkoon… two of their own!..

Mark Brown has been campaigning in the south end of town and has been receiving positive feedback and responses after a first- rate mailer sent out pre- door-to-door visits while we are told Malkoon was going to the north end first with a “green”themed flier stating he is a “uniter”… No red-white and blue …One reader said the green was for no experience while others said it conjures up negatives of greenfest…. and being green…Mark has a website and Edmund has a facebook page…In a town where the new census states we are an older population just how many voters are Facebook aficionados or friends?…

Ms. Geesey threw her support to Malkoon in her email  …. Question is …will that support turn out to be the kiss of death for him at the polls?…

Who in UOT will have a Brown sign in their yard and who will have Malkoon? ….Will the UOT stand across A1A with signs this time around?…Who will be under which tent on the day of the election? … One has to surmise that the CIC- PAC who are without any candidates this time around must be finding a little bit of joy this holiday season with such circumstances in play now for their PAC foes!…

Informed voters need to make a decision this time based on the candidate’s  credentials …as well as one-on-one time they have with each and the League of Women Voters single “Meet the Candidates Night” voted on last night by the commission…

For this voter as I posted last year…it will definitely not be Geesey’s candidate Malkoon ….After watching him in action on the MPSC  (see prev. post under board categories) …He bordered on ethics violations concerning Sunshine Laws with behind the scenes emails to fellow members he sent …..In my opinion…He hit a sour note big time when he emphatically stated commissioners should not be allowed at Master Plan Committee meetings!… He proved to me that he does not have what it takes to serve in an official capacity for this town at this time …

As for the news that Geesey is out in 2012 ……

THANKS SANTA!…. JINGLE BELLS…JINGLE BELLS…JINGLE ALL THE WAY …

more to come….

Tags: Here's The Scoop ... One Less Candidate For The 2012 Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Commission Race ... Geesey Sends Email Dropping Out ..., Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Candidate Cindy Geesey/ Stuart Dodd/ Mark Brown/ Edmund Malkoon, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea UOT-PAC
Posted in Boards, Civic Organizations, Local News, Local Politics, Opinions, Scoops, local government, organizations

HOW MANY HATS WILL BE TOSSED IN THE RING AND WHOSE WILL BE TOSSED AWAY? …

Dear Readers … it appears the CIC is getting ready to reactivate in some way….This writer believes their organization is severely diminished and still unorganized in a way that may not be salvageable …especially in the short term for the January 31st LBTS municipal election which calls for candidates to file for a run for a seat on the dais in a matter of just a few weeks from now on November  8th -22nd… They have suddenly (after this writer’s previous post) updated their long dormant CIC website to show their new Chair… That would be former 2010 Mayoral candidate Joe Couriel who lost big time after being a part of one the most disgusting campaigns to ever seen in our town …One fraught with yellow journalism…as well as trumped up charges of racism that many think put the nail in the coffin of not only his and his fellow slate of CIC supported candidates but the organization and By The Sea Times paper that supported them… Last we heard he was trying mightily to sell his house and leave town…Hmmm…. Besides the sudden updated website (although their meeting date is still for May 15, 2011) …coming right after my last post is the the Chair’s message which touts the very same need in the next commission for residential balance in the infrastructure and redevelopment just as this writer wrote about as well as several residents who spoke up at the podium throughout the past many months! … This one is a winner in the south… and anyone who doubts it will lose…in this writer’s opinion

As stated prior…. we are not sure if Vice Mayor Dodd and Mayor Roseann Minnet will have opposition this go round as they run for another term …but as previously posted we are sure that in the north end of town there will be quite a race with former editor of the By The Sea Future paper Mark Brown ( he resigned as stated on the cover of the latest BTSF paper) and former 2010 commission candidate and former MPSC Vice-Chair Edmund Malkoon ..both active in the UOT PAC …According to the new issue of the Pompano Pelican they both asked for support from that organization at the Oct. meeting ….What is shocking to this writer is that candidate Mark Brown is quoted as saying he did not want the organization to endorse only one candidate this time as they did in the 2010 election… Whoaaaa!…. What’s wrong with this picture? … First it is a major mistake to let either candidate go forward and expend time and money to enlist a treasurer then set up a bank account and file only to find out they will not be actively supported by the ever growing UOT PAC… If the organization keeps the present schedule …again according to the Pelican article not to meet until Nov. 30th and these two gentlemen go out and pound the pavement in the south end of town …even until that time (Nov. 30) or right up until January 31st the CIC endorsed candidate will win …and win big as these two will split the vote in the south and in Sea Ranch Club (3 buildings) … The UOT board may want to get on the phone and rethink their strategy sooner rather than later…It is this writer’s opinion Mark Brown is the stronger candidate to oppose Comm. Clottey … Long ago I posted that I did not think candidate Malkoon proved himself as a member of the MPSC…That opinion still stands…. He does not belong on the dais as a commissioner … Mark Brown is more suited for the position I believe …While I have often disagreed with Mark on many major issues I have always found him to be fair and honest as well as being open to hearing an opposing opinion while being meticulous in regard to ethics ….

The Pelican ends its article with Commissioner Clottey stating “no comment” when asked about running once again… While that really looks bad in print ( her campaign managers may want to get that taken care of asap ) …Many think she has rethought her original decision of serving one term only as she is the Chair of Halloween 2011…as well as being seen front and center at many town events over the past weeks as well as her car being parked in front of her former campaign managers …the Furths (owners and editors of the BTSTimes – still defunct showing their motel site rather than the paper) …One thing for sure you can be assured if she runs…the Furths will be running the show behind the scenes…or perhaps out front once more with the CIC website suddenly dormant no more …. One more clue…take a look at her comments over the past few meetings … there has been a lot of “small town” talk about town employees as well as residential improvements needed …. right in line with the new message from CIC Chair Joe Couriel! ….

I thought this was going to be a more independent type of election and posted that opinion a few times …but with the emergence of the CIC website update and the precarious state of the BTSFuture paper now that Mark is no longer at the helm as editor and writer and with the newly appointed senior writer who has only written a few articles for the last two issues and is new to town as a resident thus knowing none of the past political history…that may no longer be the case …we could see round 3 of the CIC PAC vs the UOT PAC…. Those throwing hats in the ring may need armor as well!…

More to come…

http://pompanopelican.webs.com/

http://lbtscic.com/

http://www.bytheseafuture.org/

http://www.bytheseatimes.com/

Tags: Here's The Scoop .... Let The PAC "Games" Begin? ... The Lauderdale-By-The-Sea 2012 Municpal Election ..., Joe Couriel Former Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Mayoral Candidate, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Birute Clottey, Lauderdale By The Sea Mayor Roseann Minnet, Lauderdale By The Sea Vice Mayor Stuart Dodd, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Commission Candidate Edmund Malkoon, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Commission Candidate Mark Brown, Laurderdale-By-The-Sea CIC PAC/ UOT PAC
Posted in Boards, Civic Organizations, Local News, Local Politics, Opinions, Scoops, local government, organizations

IT’S OMG TIME IN LBTS!  …

Dear Readers… what is that happens in the 2nd year of a LBTS Commission’s term?… I call it the 2nd year “bubble”…It’s when the majority and the administration are so insulated from commonsense and the divisiveness that is never gone in our town or anywhere else when it comes to politics …They take on the bull in a china shop mentality and go full-force with their one-sided views with all the bravado of the bull…as those opposed call it bull****…. The comeuppance as we all know comes at the polls as the opposition comes to power and the process starts all over again… Will that happen in 2012?…With the major Master Plan re-do…and the Town Manager’s less than 6-degrees of separation hired consultant contingency which looks to surpass the Colon-contract payout … on top of waiting for the big rains to come and remind all those voters of the “Lake Colon” and “Lake Bougainvilla” and “Lake Poinciana” … the only question will really be will opposition be some independent candidate as it was in 2000 or will the CIC get riled up over the above… and the below posts including the parking dept. being outsourced?…(We hear Rosa the Tomato Lady and Joan the Parking Supervisor ..longtime CIC members both are finding support in the south part of town to keep the status quo)…Once again if the majority takes a 360 turn those Commissioners /PAC/ Administration and their avid supporters  have no one to blame but themselves and the 2nd year “bubble” ….OMG!….

…………………..

HOW MANY NEVs CAN THE TOWN PURCHASE UNDER THE TOWN MANAGER ACQUISITION LIMIT IN 2011-12? …

‘Village Grille owner Dave Gadsby sits in his new method of getting around Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. ‘

Below is the Sentinel article about the Commission’s decision to have special parking spaces made available for those that can afford a NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle) …At the same time that the TM and Asst. TM have put forth to the Comm. it’s time to outsource the parking dept. to be more cost effective as well as cut down duties for Asst. TM Bentley (the TM stated it now takes up 1/3 of this time- how so with a longtime parking supervisor at the helm? )… The Asst. TM is quoted in this article stating  the following…”The vehicles can only be driven on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less, which covers the whole town. Officials are considering buying NEVs, which cost roughly $6,000 each, for code and parking enforcement operations, Assistant City Manager Bud Bentley said.”They’re cheaper to run and they give you a lot more interaction with pedestrians,” Bentley said. “People relate to our employees better when they’re in that type of vehicle.”…OMG!… At the roundtable meeting on the 14th of June …there was discussion concerning the TM’s desire to raise her $15,000 limit to purchase without Comm. approval (it had been higher and lowered in the past 4 years) …Comm. Vincent and Clottey were amenable to do so…Comm. Sasser, VM Dodd and Mayor Minnet were not…After Comm. Sasser asked how important it was it to TM Hoffmann she said she could live with it to get the rest of the purchasing manual moving forward…So it stayed at $15,000 …No doubt in this writer’s mind that an increase would only have left the taxpayers with even more consultants and studies …as well as perhaps 3 NEVs vs 2?… A sudden purchase of NEVs for Town staff may not produce the interaction the Asst. TM thinks it will…OMG!…

Sentinel article…

‘The town is taking a liking to Neighborhood Electric Vehicles, which are compact and environmentally friendly, and sees them as a good fit for locals to get around.

The town’s planning to make it easier for people driving NEVs to park in its crowded commercial area by designating some parking spaces for the street-legal golf carts only. One regular space can be converted into four NEV spaces.

“It just seems to make a lot of sense,” said business owner David Gadsby, who hasn’t taken his Mercedes convertible out of the garage since his NEV arrived a month ago. He hopes as demand increases the town will consider adding charging stations for the vehicles.
Video: Martin County teen featured on Animal Planet show after being bitten by venomous snake

The vehicles can only be driven on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less, which covers the whole town. Officials are considering buying NEVs, which cost roughly $6,000 each, for code and parking enforcement operations, Assistant City Manager Bud Bentley said.

“They’re cheaper to run and they give you a lot more interaction with pedestrians,” Bentley said. “People relate to our employees better when they’re in that type of vehicle.”‘

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/lauderdale-by-the-sea/fl-lbts-neighborhood-electric-vehicle20110619,0,3636973.story

…………….

THE LBTS-POA – STILL POLITICALLY TONE DEAF WHEN IT COMES TO THE HOMETOWN HERO NOMINATIONS …. OMG …

The LBTS-POA is supposed to be “non-political”…The problem of their past boards not being able to remember that point has come to the forefront yet again with the POA letter to their still-dying membership to re-up their annual $10 dues sent out on June 7, 2011 which contained a page for the POA Hometown Hero Nominations… I was faxed that page by a Reader…after receiving 2 of the same membership letters but no nomination sheet….Hmmm……The choice of the POA “Hero” was to be sent back by June 14th to have the person(s) ready to go in the July 4th parade…The list on nominees… OMG!… The 1st nominee is Louis Marchelos from Athena/ The Pier…I have no problem with Louis being the Hometown Hero …but not for this year’s event…Not after his way off-base accusations at the podium last month against this year’s chair of the event VM Stuart Dodd as well as the Town of holding secretive meetings and the time and costs due to his wrong unconscionable assertions… Marie Chiarello, I have no problem with someone nominating her …That goes for Ken Brenner and Wayne Dillistin of Interior Digs as well …Where I do have a problem is despite my opposition to former Commissioner Jim Silverstone on political matters …was there really no one on the POA Board who could see how wrong it was to send out this list and just have his name with (No reason given)…Was there no one who thought they should take the time to add his contributions to the town?… OMG!…Maybe if the nominator had done the same for Silverstone a two-fer as they did for Ken and Wayne and added Jim’s wife Peggy… a paragraph of their volunteerism would have been forthcoming?… In any event…below the jpg of the POA letter are the reasons for former Comm. Silverstone…OMG!…

……………

Jim Silverstone- What the  “non-political” POA Board should have added to the Hometown Hero Nominations…

Former Commissioner Jim Silverstone became involved with the Town as head basketball coach for the Optimist Club’s Youth Team, where he also served as President in the past. He is a longtime member of the LBTS Volunteer Fire Department.  He was vice president of the organization, then the chief financial officer, served as president of the VFD and is currently the VFD’s Fire Chief. Commissioner Silverstone also served as chairman of the firefighter’s pension board. As a member of the VFD he has been Santa on their annual Christmas firetruck delivery as well as in the Christmas-by-the-Sea events and for photo ops at events during the holiday season.He has been Count Dracula and served a C0-Chair and Chair of past Halloween events as well as Co-Chair of 4th of July. Commissioner Silverstone was also selected to serve on the Town’s Charter Review Board as vice chair and is proud of its accomplishments. He became a Town Commissioner in 2006, serving one 4 yr. term after being involved in prior elections over the past 15 years. Commissioner  Silverstone was responsible for the Town’s Mission Statement.His hobbies include skin diving and scuba diving, road biking, basketball and chess.He is married to Peggy Moehler who has contributed by volunteering throughout the years in all the Town’s events with her time both through personally and through Aruba Beach Cafe which will once again play an significant role in this year’s July 4th festivities. (just take a look at the July 4, 2011 flyer below )…

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LBTS TOWN TOPICS ….PR  IN 2005…PR IN 2011 … SAME PLAYERS … SAME ENCHILADA …OMG! …

The July/Aug/Sept 2011 Town Topics is online and it is total PR for the money spent thus far to redo the Town’s Master Plan..including comments like these … ‘Edmund Malkoon, a resident who dropped by Jarvis Hall several times during the week UM was in Town, liked many of UM’s final
design proposals. “I really think we can do the majority of them,” he said. “We have a chance of getting things done this time. We have the money.
We’re not broke.” …Readers know Malkoon was the C0-Chair of the defunct MPSC and as of now we are told is former UOT Pres. Fleishman’s choice to be the UOT candidate for Commissioner from the north in 2012… ‘Resident Ron Piersante, who also visited Jarvis Hall numerous times during the workshop, said the Town cannot afford to put UM’s designs and ideas on a shelf, as it did with previous economic reports. “The Town’s got to do something,” he said’…..and photos of those same gung-ho supporters rallying to do the “whole enchilada” when it comes to Town’s redevelopment.. The question again is of course do these photos and comments from that side of the LBTS political divide make for a lash-back in 2012 as there was in 2006?…OMG!..

April 2005 Town Topics …pgs. 1 + 4

July/Aug./Sept 2011 Town Topics …

……………….

HOW MANY WET NOODLES DOES IT TAKE TO STOP A SINKING SHIP? …OMG!…

The Town Manager Report is online in the backup for the Tues. June 28, 2011 Commission Meeting …Here are some of the highlights …OMG!…

Page one was putting out the fires of what has or has not been accomplished while this administration has been all-hands on deck …total immersion into the Master Plan re-development … It includes the 1st draft of the 5 yr finance plan for the Master Plan…The very late to the table ranking of engineers for the sewer system evaluation … evaluating 25 submittals of professional services that tie in with redevelopment of the Town… The proposed changes in building permits …for which she hire ousted former TM of Davie Gary Shimun (prev. posts) …and fire plans review & inspection fees that were reduced… The months old undergrounding of El Mar that proved after all those months delaying “Lake Colon” with yet another paid consultant to be just as we knew when it began …cost prohibitive and an area not conducive to place transformers… Next on the hit parade was the time spent with Planner Cecelia Ward and the TAtty. to become more efficient… Asst. TM Bently, Ms. Hoffmann said was busy with Code enforcement working on the many hotels that are not in compliance in a big way… She added he dealt with the July 4th back and forth…(yep…that would be Louis Marchelos candidate for POA Hometown Hero) …as well as the A1A LAP program that always seems a thread away from going south….The latest issue has to do with the Town selected contractor coming in too high in cost and the negotiating going on in the 11th hour that might leave the Town to move over to the second place contender… TM Hoffmann states next she has been so busy she has not had a chance to change the proposed contract language in the new BSO contract…and will get into that in July… The OMGs keep on coming with the Global Coral Reef Project that was to be up and running by the end of May…(anybody left to buy into that one at this juncture?) …They did nothing in June despite a few weeks of calm seas…and an annual buoy permit that they let expire…Now we have a new set of buoys and the TM states that makes for a renewal that is not simple and new photos  and specs were sent to the Coast Guard last week… Under the contract Dr. Goreau is to keep those permits current and  to make sure the Town is informed of delays…Hmmm…another contract…another breach…and any guesses of repercussions for their inaction…Nada…OMG!… Please someone throw in the towel…high-tail to John Birch Park and see what’s what with Fort Lauderdale’s coral reef project… Again the TM states the hotels hit with violations are suddenly able to make updates without public monies…OMG!…There will be a cost reduction for telecommunications of $2,000…No details on whether that savings was eaten up by consultant costs though…. The TM mentions the changes made to the Town’s website…While it looks nice many archived reports/agendas/minutes for certain years as well as Town Topics etc…are not available as of yet … Also since there is no “Professional Services” …consultant update included in this month’s report there is nothing to say how much the former “webmistress” was paid for her services…According to the 2010-11 budget there was a budget of $15,000 for the job…No RFP was sent out for the job as far as we are aware of… Then there’s this in her report…
‘Workload
I think it should be apparent that the workload we are managing borders on being
unmanageable for a staff of our size. One only has to look at the project list to see that
I respectfully request that the Commission add no more assignments between now and
the end of the fiscal year and understand that the current list of assignments cannot
possibly be completed this fiscal year believe my focus should be the budget and the
priorities you set for me last fall.
If it is the Commission’s desire that also focus on moving forward with design contracts
for certain capital projects it will be necessary that you revisit the priority list and agree
to remove some items to free up time. You would then need to advise me which capital
project you deem most important to move forward.’

OMG!… Talk about a set-up before the TM’s 1st Town Manager annual Evaluation in September…. After that is the priority list with the same pink highlighted portions that reflect what is due to be done this month and next…drainage…sewers etc… same priorities as last year this time…

Of note…One of the years this writer wanted to look at was 2008…not available last week…but checking now it is on…I will now look to see if my recollection is correct ….. I believe in 2008 or 2009 there was an item on the agenda for the Commission to make it possible for the TM to remove or add positions without Commission input…I am not positive it was approved as presented …or approved for just for the removal of positions….I would not be surprised if it was both …If so it makes it so that this TM needs no Commission/public approval to add a Marketing Director/Project Manager/Economic Development Director or remove any staff positions such as Code Supervisor …Parking Supervisor ….as she see fit…OMG!….

Looking at other items of interest in the backup online for Tuesday night’s Commission meeting…Item 13c will be the resolution for the revised purchasing manual which includes the $15,000 limit for the TM to spend without the Commission’s approval…The audit committee is looking further into the portion of real estate acquisitions …Just a reminder all those on the audit committee are pro-whole enchilada…13b is changing the Commission meetings from one meeting/1 roundtable back to 2 Comm. meetings… 11c and 11d are the new $60,000+ sweeper for Don Prince and his “guys” to keep up with the big guys down the A1A road…Ft. Laud + Pompano as well as the agreement for the services for a sweeping company for A1A…The Commission needs to take another look at the backup because the numbers compared are not apples to apples in this writer’s opinion…Talk about taking the detour from our priorities …Bel Air’s Civic Assoc. Board (including Edmund Malkoon UOT candidate 2012?) asked in a letter on June 13th that the Town to get involved to stop Port Royale located across the intracoastal in Fort Lauderdale to prevent them from building a 15-story building!… The Asst. TM already did some looking into the project and found it passed the Ft. Laud. P + Z (9-0) and will go in front of the Ft. Laud . Comm. in mid- July….Now it is on the agenda to get direction from the Comm. to pay planning consultant Cecelia Ward $1,500 to go and plead for the Bel Air LBTS residents who say it will impact their property values …OMG!… We have absolutely no jurisdiction …it’s Fort Lauderdale…and there are other tall buildings to the west …..To have even gone this far in staff time… and then to put it on the agenda ….OMG!…

…………..

JULY 4, 2011 ….LOOKS TO BE IMPRESSIVE…NO 2ND YEAR “BUBBLE” FOR VM DODD’S 2ND CHAIRING OF THE 4TH ….OMG!….

Link to LBTS Town Website… http://www.lauderdalebythesea-fl.gov/

more to come….OMG!…

Tags: OMG ... It's The Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Second Year "Bubble" Curse ...
Posted in Boards, Civic Organizations, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, Local News, Local Politics, Opinions, Scoops, local government

LET’S GO DOWNTOWN …ICE CREAM?…YOGHURT? … OR A PUPPY? …

Dear Readers …you either love it or you hate it… So what else is new when it comes to LBTS…This time the issue is a puppy-jewelry store in the downtown area between Kilwinns and Cocoyoghurt… The P + Z board somehow ended up with this store as their sole item of business Wed. night (5/18/11) under conditional use …The applicant paid $900 to go through the conditional use process …This was after this  item was at the tail end of a Comm. Roundtable last month where the response from the Commissioners was less than enthusiastic as they laughed at the combo of “doggies and diamonds” …Again, I believe due to all eyes on”pie in the sky” redevelopment issues the staff/Comm. was remiss in putting this on the next Comm. meeting to attach it to the new business ordinances to either not allow it in town or make it allowable only west of A1A as other businesses are … I am for one am not for it in the location desired … I’m not a fan of these types of businesses …but especially in the heart of town…Forget the big plans for the town…What does it matter when we backtrack to let items like this fall through the cracks and get stuck with them … Did this applicant go through a $900 process for nothing? …I would have thought so until the P + Z board voted 3-2 in favor of it!…Chair Buz Oldacker/ Pat Murphy and Bend Freeney voted yes…VChair Yann Brandt and Peanuts Wick voted no…Alternate Eric Yankwitt was not allowed to cast a vote but he would have been a 4th yes vote….The staff also recommended it with the requirements for odors /soundproofing/ventilation /up to 15 puppies at any time under 10 pounds… The applicant was not someone this writer felt any confidence in after hearing his presentation …He was asked if he had ever put in the kind of insulation required and answered no… A look at his store with a different name in Miami Beach online produced 11 reviews which were approx. 50/50 for good and horrible results found in purchasing a puppy… More important though is what VChair Yann Brand stated …the Town code requires that the use promote that area not just satisfy… Is that what this type of a store will do so?… This will be in front of the Commission to make the final decision …Let them know …love it or hate it?…

more to come….

Tags: Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Planning & Zoning Board Approves Puppy Store In Center Of Downtown Area
Posted in Boards, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, Local Politics, Scoops, local government

POSTED NOTES OF THINGS TO POST ….

Dear Readers … a walking 1 year old Lilly who only wants to go…go …go …leaves limited time to stop and sit down to post or even finish posting in these seemingly endless hectic days that result from such milestones …There seems to be just enough extra moments to catch up with those out and about in town and to take a look and tag information received and retrieved on the internet … then jot it down on a posted note and stick it onto the pile that cover the left side of my laptop of posted notes to remember and refer to … Below is a fistful of those and should make it possible to make that imposing mound of posted notes near my left wrist a much less imposing mass …literally and figuratively for this writer …

MAIRZY DOATS …..

APRIL 27, 2011 … 13 LBTS ORDINANCES 1ST READING/2ND READING & RESOLUTIONS … AMENDING/CLARIFYING & PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY /CONFLICTS AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE …

“Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?

Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?

If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, A little bit jumbled and jivey. Say, Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?

Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?”

Source: http://lyrics-a-plenty.com/m/mairzy_doatsat.lyrics.php

When it came to the assembly line of ordinances that came before the Commission at their last commission meeting for first reading and second reading along with the plethora of resolutions…thirteen in all …..the above song came to this writer’s mind as each one was read by the Town Attorney….. “If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, A little bit jumbled and jivey.”… “Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?”…   All those ords and resos brought forth very little Commission discussion save one item that removed signage due to the Master Plan redevelopment plans in the works (after being approved prior in lengthy P +Z discussion as well as this Comm. and being written up by the TAtty.)  with no public comment on 12 of the items … This writer really wanted at least one of the Commission members to put the onus on the Town Atty. that these 13 ords and resos actually contained what had been agreed to and actually no longer contained what was directed to be no longer included because there is no way they all read through the 13 items before approving them especially after receiving them on the evening of the previous Friday or later depending on when they picked up their fob with the backup and actually opened it up before Wednesday night’s vote… There is reason for such a request being on the record in my opinion…We have seen in the past votes for ords and resos which did not contain either in the final approved product only to find out later on while facing a situation that came before them … I further wonder the cost for all these ords and resos from the Town’s contracted law firm as some of those newly passed this evening are still not correct and will need to be amended or totally redone after the Master Plan as well as the Comprehensive Plan and the Charter next year… According to the April TM Progress Report “costs running ahead of budget” with out attorney costs at this point in the fiscal year … in the Mid-Year Budget Report there was a current monthly charge that was included that included “Administration 52,730.03/ Legal Expense 44,859.00 with more resos wanted by Mayor Minnet at each Commission/Roundtable meeting to make the County/State know where we as a Town stand on different issues…The question is what does a reso cost?…What does such a reso do once it is received by the County or State? …(filed and forgotten?) …. Is it really necessary?… One such issue coming back on the next Roundtable Tues night besides the signs is conditional use parking program …It appears that it was not made clear to the Commission that conditional use was already in our code …which means for those who want to continue to use their parking lots for beach parking …. parking not needed to meet their parking requirements … “shared parking” … they must follow the steps in place which include a $900 application fee and they must appear in front of the P & Z …Hmmm… Again we are going to “stick it” to our two major tourist attractions in town Aruba Beach Cafe and the Pier … Shades of the fees former TM Colon collected in her administration…I don’t believe it was done in the same manner by any means by this Administration …but due to a lack of full information being presented to the Commission of the impact to add this parking program to the conditional use code which has now led to this most unfortunate outcome … “If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, A little bit jumbled and jivey. Say, Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?”….

Now to more from the pile …

The BSO contract is on tomorrow night’s Roundtable and contained in the backup on the Town website …As previously posted Comm. Sasser asked the question of going out for RFP after he stated he had been asked and assumed other Commissioners had as well… I have asked at least one other who has not been asked for an alternative to the BSO and when I have asked the question of others from both sides of the political divide in town …I too hear no desire for an alternative public safety provider nor our own department… The Commission after some lengthy disjointed discussion on the dais called for a workshop first per the Mayor but changed it to the Roundtable after the Town Manager stated they did not have much on the agenda … According to the backup 3e BSO informed the Town that the State Attorney General in an opinion concerning Hallandale Beach found that no public safety provider can cross over to another municipality to supply service except by mutual aid…The TAtty. concurred …That leaves one option…our own police force …That option was a loser in the last election…big time!… In the meantime further numbers came to  the negotiations last week as the TM said they would…According to the backup from a May 5,2011 meme the TAtty. states the increase will be $545,000 more than last year …which avid readers will recall this writer posted previously would be the case…I have been hearing this since last fall …. a line item budget has been requested …. The regional costs are not included in that price as we were told would be the case going forth with services such as the call center ..The TM added the cost for that was $132,000 not $125,000 as stated at the 4/27/11 meeting… There are grant programs that would possibly allow some aid for a police staff position as well as using some of the LETF …(not sure how that one works?) … Also the backup states the cost for the crime lab being tacked on separately to municipalities has not arisen to date… This writer is still of the opinion that the current BSO Police are our town police department …Public Safety is always the largest piece of the budget pie in any municipality and the actual cost now known in black and white when compared to what we were expecting we would be hit with is half or a quarter of what was long believed to be coming our way after our “subsidy” ran out! … Commissioners should now move forward with the BSO …working with them to deal with the County… “If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, A little bit jumbled and jivey. Say, Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?”….

Looks like the Municipal Election will come a few months early next year just as it did in 2008.. Backup 3ai states it is an option just as it was then and will save the Town $11,412 …If Mayor Minnet, Vice Mayor Dodd and Comm. Clottey decide to make another run as all are allowed to do under the term limits… they have to go along with the earlier election… not only due to a precedent set but for fiscal responsibility… The date could be January 3 or 31, 2012 … qualifying date for candidates mid-Nov. (no set date as of yet) … That leads to the next item on the agenda put on by VM Dodd …item 3aii Referendum Ballot items on the big ticket items that will result from the Master Plan Redevelopment Plan in progress… Included in the above item 3ai was the timeline to make that happen…
‘January 3, 2012 Election Ballot Deadline- Approximately late October or early November, 2012
Ordinance on 1St reading August 23, 2011
Ordinance on 2d reading September 27, 2011
Send to Supervisor of Elections Early October 2011
January 31 2012 Election Ballot Deadline- Mid November, 2012
Ordinance on 1St reading September 27, 2011
Ordinance on 2d reading October 25, 2011
Send Ballot to Supervisor of Elections Mid October, 2011

When covering this item it is imperative due to the expected change in the date of the election for the Commission to move ahead and get the referendum items on …for financing the undergrounding of El Mar Drive/ Town Hall Complex and Plaza Redevelopment (El Prado parking lot) /public parking garages …It is this writer’s opinion that any elected official running for another term and chooses not vote to allow for these referendum items to be on the ballot in January should seriously reconsider running again… This writer has heard from many in the south end of town as well as SRC and they will seal the fate of 2-4 more years based on that decision… These taxpayers are not stupid…They do vote with their pocketbooks and do not believe these items are moot after the 2012 election unless they the voters make it clear they are moot… SRC  year after year has overwhelmingly voted no to reserves wanting to hold onto their own money and then be assessed at the time additional funds are required and votes are required on the projects …Building B which is my building has a new assessment of $4000+ based on my apartment size for this year … Add to that the fees that have increased for sewer…water…and other utilities as well as gas going up…groceries going up and those who have seen their savings take a hit… Others who missed the “hit” personally last time are feeling it now… They want to vote on the redevelopment…These return candidates know they cannot win without SRC and the voters in the south end of town…  VM Dodd should not close out this item until he has consensus one way or the either with each member on the record… Add to that the Mayor has an item 3b to address whether to have an Aug. meeting as VM Dodd wants to stop the avalanche that arises each year in September when the Comm. forgoes Aug. altogether …More important now would be the required 1st ord. reading for the ballot items in Jan!… “If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, A little bit jumbled and jivey. Say, Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?”….

Item 3f is the Parking System Debt … and paying it off… The Town as expected wants to keep it… We  borrowed $2 million dollars at 3.95% in 2005  compounded monthly from Sun Trust … Annual principal payments are $146,000 with annual interest payments at $31,000 … The Parking Fund pays the costs… as of May 3, 2012 …

‘The payoff amount of the loan is as follows
$1,396,965.27 Principal
112,223 Pre-payment fee
4904.90 Interest
$1,514,094.07 Total’
The Finance Director answered the question of the pre-payment penalty reiterating what he stated on April 27, 2011 that it was standard language in these type of contracts offering protection to the bank… He went on to give some ways to pay off the loan after saying he had spoken to Sun Trust about the penalty cost and they are looking into it (Comm. Sasser asked that be done) .. adding the penalty cost is too high at the present time for prime rate interest rates are at the lowest we have seen them in “modern times”… He said if we pay off the loan it will take 2-2&1/2 years to recover the pre-penalty costs (if not reduced) by avoiding the int. payments we would make… He again stated the Parking Fund does not have the funds to pay off the debt …adding the Gen Fund has $3 million and to take it from there would cut into projects …(Hmmm…how much was transferred to CDs in the last few months for 12-18 mos.at a really low return rate?) … Finally Mr Haag states we could refinance the loan… which may or may not cost us depending on the bank we deal with (requires an RFP or SunTrust negotiations) … This item ends with the desire to have the funds to expand the parking …signage …location and pay stations  over the next 3-5 years… This writer says…pay off the debt…What does it cost for the Parking Dept. vs. what we get back? .. You bet parking garages better be on the ballot… “If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, A little bit jumbled and jivey. Say, Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?”….

Is LBTS growing government… Is patronage a word that’s very familiar in Chicago becoming the norm in LBTS?… We have a list consultants …some with ties to our Town Manager in her capacity as a headhunter for Town Manager positions as previously posted with the hiring for one month at $6,500 of ousted Davie TM Gary Shimun (similar to LBTS Colon ouster) …simplify the permit fee schedule and keep permit fees for small jobs reasonable… Now we hear a consultant Pat Himelberger has been placed into the budgeted position of Asst Municipal Services Director for the remainder of the fiscal year. …working 25-30 hours a week on an interim basis in this position. …(maxed out under the $15,000 TM no Comm. required allowance?) ….She is taking over some projects such as the new telephone system, parking operations RFP and will help to review all of the responses we will be getting to various RFPS and RFQs. …TM Hoffmann knows her through work she did at the City of Oakland Park where she progressed through the ranks from Special Projects Coordinator to Assistant to the City Manager, and Assistant City Manager. Pat is a certified Project Manager….Perhaps this is a “stepping stone”…for the Master Plan Redevelopment position coordinator to come?… To this writer it seems a strange title for work being done… budgeted position or not…  I believe in the past that position showed up in front of the individual who is now the  head of Community Standards… In the TM April Report Ms. Hoffmann stated she was not going to replace the part time position of a finance employee who resigned …and was increasing the salary for further employment of a new Finance Director… Now we have a new part time employee…no mention of the salary…  An RFQ  for a variety of professional services is set to go out as early as the 18th …most covers services that we would need for redevelopment projects …(studies/designs/redesigns and coordinating companies used) …”If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, A little bit jumbled and jivey. Say, Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?”….

The Halloween investigation has ended with nada!… We heard the BSO took their investigation report to the States Atty. and was turned down by more than one due to the insufficient evidence of the items… Also it appears that the person with the answers of what was in the warehouse and what was removed…Marc Furth would not be interviewed saying it was only to give him “grief” and any further information would have to be done through his attorney.. That appears to have been the extent of that portion of the investigation… There was a “hand-off” of blame through the ranks of the previous Administration when asked about the contents missing and who gave the go ahead for Furth to remove his items from the west warehouse… We hear  former TM Colon responded that she asked Municipal Dir. Prince to personally assist the move with Furth of only Furth’s items…Prince passed the job on and does not state he was told not to… The employee who went with Furth saw Furth discard items into a dumpster stating they were ruined from the bad weather at the previous Halloween…He took a “mummy” with him… That employee and another employee said they were not bothered by the items going in the dumpster believing they belonged to Furth… They said they passed that information up through the ranks after the fact… Others in town were interviewed on the weather and the items..They discounted bad weather ..No weather report was included in the report to clear that up…(This writer was there that year and posted…no bad weather is correct)… The receipts for the Furths added up to approx. $500 and total of items is said to be well above that… The outcome for the Town…we now keep a current inventory…which is good…The outcome for the former Haunted House / Special Event Coordinators Furth … is bad…leaving a bad taste in the mouth of anyone who reads the actions and the outcome of this report …Hmmm… will that come up on May 15th as the CIC meets to vote in new board members?…”If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, A little bit jumbled and jivey. Say, Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?”….

Speaking of Furth… takes me to the coral reef project still not in the water after all these years and monies spent… The Town Manager informed the Commission a few months ago about trying to get a grant for the project and signage… Last week the Town learned it would most likely not get any funding… After asking for feedback one reason that came back for no funding we hear was due to the feasibility of Biorock technology…This writer posted about that long ago when we were at odds with the vendor and I Googled to research the issue… The outcome though …this Commission chose to go ahead and provide further funding for future maintenance…”If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, A little bit jumbled and jivey. Say, Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?”….

This writer was sent some pics of the new benches and Adirondack chairs the Town Manager purchased for the pavilion and El Prado Park …colorful pinks, yellows etc …with a Key West feel … Like em? … Cost not disclosed ..yet …

The Town consultant for traffic engineering looked into our contract with Broward County after they turned us down for re-striping some roads in the south end of town…She told us to appeal and after doing so the County is going to that and more …saving us approx. $5,000 if we had to do it ourselves… Hopefully the Town will look townwide for other areas in need of work as well …

A few months ago it was the return of the issue of speedbumps on south Seagrape a subject hashed out long ago by the Town …Now it is the issue of Terra Mar and beach access … 100 signatures were given from residents wanting access… The Mayor put it on the Roundtable… The Mayor should have already been well acquainted with the answer the TAtty. gave on the issue once again… There is no statute requiring access to the beach …The problem for Terra mar is still the same one …only a portion of Terra Mar homes have access through a beach private access entryway that goes along with the property… Tera Mar is certainly asking for a lot these days… ala Bel Air pre- 2010 …

The County has saved millions to fight redistricting which will impact our County Comm. Chip LaMarca the most… upwards of $30 million …Funny how money is saved for items that impact future elected positions… This writer is not for redistricting … Broward County’s new Ethics Ord. is on the Roundtable for tomorrow night.. It is quite “enhanced” and overwhelming to municipalities …Question is can they adhere to it themselves? …

Save The Date …May 19, 2011 9 am-4 pm Broward SR A1A Highway Day & Municipal Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Roundtable and Expo at the Wyndham Sea Gardens Beach and Tennis Resort 615 N. Ocean Blvd. Pompano Beach… Network & Expo displays from various local municipalities and businesses along the A1A corridor. More info…call 954-946-7195/954-401-0932/954-786-4048…CME Representatives Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach, Pompano Beach, Sea Ranch Lakes, Lauderdale By The Sea, Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach, Hollywood and Hallandale Beach …RSVP by May 13, 2011…

The new calendar for May is on the Town website…so small it is hard to make out the dates to save for in-town events in Jarvis Hall … Hope the banners are up and the publicity is large-scale for the May 21, 2011 U of Miamai Design Charette 9am-noon as well as the days to follow open to the public … 5/22 10am-5 pm …5/23 9am-5pm …. 5/24 9am-5pm…5/25 9am-5pm…5/26 9am-5pm with a 6 pm Commission Workshop -Review UM Designs…

The knock on the door means Lilly is ready to go…The mound of posted notes is at a much more comfortable level now …and this writer will stop for now ….  with …

more to come….

“If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, A little bit jumbled and jivey. Say, Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. Oh, mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey A kiddle divey, too. Wouldn’t you?”….

Tags: Lauderdale-By-The-Sea April27 2011 Commission Meeting & May 10 2011 Commission Roundtable Items On Agenda/ How Many Ordinances & Resolutions Can You Read In A Day & Vote On?/ Conditional U, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Mayor Roseann Minnet- Vice mayor stuart Dodd- Commissioner Scot Sasser- Commisisoner Birute Clottey- Town Manager Connie Hoffmann- Finance Director Doug Haag
Posted in Boards, Civic Organizations, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, Local News, Local Politics, Public Safety, Scoops, Sea Ranch Club, local government, organizations

THERE’S STILL NO SPRING IN CHICAGO …

Dear Readers … Under the weather .. The Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park was officially turned back on amidst gray skies…and rain and cold temps have continued on in the days that followed…snow..more rain and golf ball size hail …you name it…As a result not only do we suffer from the lack of sunny skies.. and figuring how many layers to pile on if we dare to go outside …but sickness abounds from all around coming from those in various stages of having the common cold …ugh!..

This writer has been on the cusp of being a full fledged recipient …and dodging that bullet ….thus far… I did take the time to watch the presentation to the the Commission from April 12th after dealing with  computer “buffering” issues on the day of …I previously posted that portion would be part 3 of the posts covering that LBTS Roundtable and it will be…but I need some time to ponder just how I want to write it up… Those who missed it can find the backup and the video on the Town’s website  … http://www.lauderdalebythesea-fl.gov/ … or for some insane reason it can be found in the backup for tonight’s Planning & Zoning Board meeting at 6:30 pm as Planner Cecelia Ward will be making a second presentation to them…The question for me is ….WHY?… The Town should have required the members of this board to either attend or watch the meeting on the 12th or watch the video online afterward… The board should then have been asked to submit any questions they had of Ms. Ward to her… According to the P & Z backup online this is the only item on tonight’s agenda… What a waste of time and money to have staff there as well as the TAtty. …as well as opening the Jarvis Hall for a repeat presentation that most likely will be given to 3 or 4 members with no audience (if previous P & Z meetings are any indicator) …  and due to this being Passover and Easter week …And if that isn’t bad enough … It conflicts with the Open House for the Welcome Center at the LBTS Chamber of Commerce set from 5-7 pm!…  Bad planning indeed!…

This writer will take the weekend to mull over the part 3 post in between birthdays…holidays …dodging germs …and freezing at the first Cubs game I am scheduled to attend this season at Wrigley Field on Sunday according to the weather forecast!…Double ugh!…

Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all … & of course ….enjoy and be thankful for sunny .. warm LBTS!…

Easter- By-The-Sea info … http://heresthescooponline.com/

more to come…

Tags: Happy Passover & Happy Easter In Lauderdale-By-The-Sea
Posted in Boards, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, Local Politics, Scoops, local government

ROPING THEM IN ONE BY ONE …

(found on http://www.kimwilliamson.net/)

Dear Readers …it was a late one last night with the combination Special Meeting /Roundtable…It began at 7 pm and ended approximately fifteen minutes short of April 13th! … That being said this writer turned in shortly thereafter and will need time to go through the voluminous content covered …

What I saw was a Town Administrator and Commission who finally seemed to be trying to “rope in the $teer” of priorities as well as which “contenders” and “handlers” would be headed to the championship ring …..  By that I mean of course which consultants would continue on in the implementation of the Master Plan .. what that implementation really means (at least at this juncture) and putting the onus of how much money will be spent and when (year 1-year 5) and the prospect of putting it to the voters in March 2012 for those $teer that are out of reach without enough “backers” to buy the amount of rope it would take to lasso parking garages/Town Hall Complex/underground utilities and ? …

Again I have to go back to a previous post of Monday morning quarterbacking and the belief that much of the last months of time and money spent on meetings whether it be committees/boards…Commission…series presentations and citizen input could have been better served with a moratorium set and a full table presentation from all the consultants hired by Town Manager Hoffmann …especially after hearing her last consultant Planner Cecelia Ward speak last night …(originally scheduled long before tonight in Feb. and unfortunately displaced for the parking workshop) …in a manner that was easy to follow and understand…So much so that longtime Town Planner (contracted out ) will get now the boot from the Town as well as Keith & Schnars who was hired by the previous commission to replace Keller and then never used it said due to a large bill that came due at the start of their association with the Town that made that association essentially null and void …with the former TM using Keller in their place while once again keeping her decision from the full commission that wanted Keller replaced!… Ms. Ward found much of our comprehensive plan was never updated and  only a few changes were made to land development regulations after the 2004 Master Plan was adopted… Some conflict was also found in our codes and the current Town Charter …(The Charter due to be reviewed in 2012 will now be on the next commission’s “plate” after March 2012 with full consensus from the Commission last night )…  as well as Broward County Flexibility Rules we must be following concerning mixed use in place (perhaps grandfathered) but not in-line with Broward as required…… This writer called Mr Keller for his input and to see if he saw this report…He took my call and replied he had not seen the report…I told him where he could locate it on the Town’s website …He responded the previous administration was aware of these inconsistencies and the need to address them but did not follow through for whatever reasons.. He stated possibly budgetary… I stated that I surmised he would likely be “bashed” for this coming to light in the Ward report and perhaps he would want to state what he told me…He responded he is a consultant to the Town and usually doesn’t do anything unless asked… I stated perhaps he might want to e-mail his side…He thanked me and I thanked him for his time  … Mr Keller was not at the meeting last night…I don’t know if he e-mailed beforehand or even read the report…but as I surmised above above he was indeed definitely “bashed” by Commissioners after the report and he will now be a former consultant for the Town from the consensus and direction given to the TM!… Ms. Ward certainly must be at the top of the list going forth and rightly so… (if her rate is acceptable) …One eye-opener ….it appears from Ms. Ward’s report taller buildings can be built according to the Charter not being changed after the 2006 height referendum in the downtown area! …

The Town Manager started the Special Meeting portion dealing with the implementation of the Master Plan (under Old Business) and the Community Design Workshop with UM and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk (see previous posts) … TM Hoffmann was clearly ready to set the tone of better explaining the process of each component going forward with the implementation of the future design of LBTS … She spoke of the participants UM already pulled together as well as the date May 21-26th with full citizen input inclusion as well as the cost and time difference if this was done in-house after being asked by Comm. Sasser … 5 days with over 30 professional participants for $16,500 plus the Town’s consultant Traffic Engineer for $1,500 vs. individual consultants hired to assist staff at a cost she estimated to be $100,000+ …(based on $75 an hour) This writer just hope a well coordinated full-out effort is made to get the P.R. on track prior to the set May 21st starting date as well as coverage of the event itself … Comm. Vincent continues to drive me to distraction with his endless stream of unconsciousness ..He wrongly made statements about using the Art Institute students vs. the UM students calling the AI experience an embarrassment… The TM tried to rein him in by including in her answer the AI is always welcome as she described the difference…She added the professionals would include Real Estate people who were involved in South Beach redevelopment of boutique hotels …. VM Dodd followed up Comm. Vincent to speak of the difference and to state the importance of specifying the parameters  from the start….Comm. Clottey further sullied the AI students by stating UM participants “were not just students from the Art Institute”…UM were a “higher level” …Ugh!… The only embarrassment that came out of either experience with AI pavilion or the El Mar Drive medians came from the former Town Administration and some on the former Commission including Comm. Clottey!… (Clottey also wanted to add Bougainvilla into the study but the TM stated UM was “already stretched “.. (the A1A study now not only includes Comm. Blvd by the beach but the whole blvd from the Intracoastal to the beach) …The Town Manager described the design work which ranged from conceptual street drawings to new facades for 2 hotels on A1A between Pine and Palm as well as architectural drawings of what the two El Mar Drive anchor hotels could be within our code along with economic performas … Comm. Sasser asked about what we have when we are done and will that information allow us to go directly to RFP …The TM said no “but it will advance us significantly”… It is more than we have now from the previous Master Plan which was “just a statement”… (Not sure I agree with that one..after seeing previous renderings etc… ) … She stated we will still need engineers and spoke of what happened with Ocampo when they designed around the AI winning medians …and how it was not approved in the end and shelved… TM Hoffmann stated “What can I say it’s Lauderdale By The Sea”…going on to say everyone is invited to this one for input throughout… With the drawings and commission priorities then we go out for detailed designs with an RFP …This is when Comm. Sasser asked about the cost differential (see above) … Comm. Sasser also asked about what becomes of the anchor portion submitted by UM since the these properties are privately owned..The Town Manager responded by walking us through what has taken place before and what is usually the case when new business ventures come to town. They come to the development office and inquire about a certain property …The development office and the Town would also take the UM plans and show them to the owners of the properties to show them what is possible and see if they bite …The Town could go further by seeing if those owners would be interested in someone who would be willing to go to the next level of redevelopment…Comm. Sasser stated that seemed to tie into the branding and marketing they spoke about at the last meeting and was the Mayor’s #1 item …Comm. Vincent speaking it seems just to speak  … made a Freudian slip and said he “concluded” with Comm. Sasser’s questions about the “huge savings” with RMA  yada yada yada … The Mayor stated she was in favor of the participation and repeated much of what the Town Manager said stating this was to generate plans and allow the Town to cost out projects … She ended on the same not the Town Manager started on…trying to further define what the purpose this served  and how it would fit in going forth in the big picture …VM Dodd made the motion Comm. Vincent made the second and it passed 5-0 …Set for Jarvis Hall May 21-26th…

Next item on the Special Meeting (under New Business) was for RMA’s 2nd contract which would also be approved 5-0 after they too were not only “corralled” but RMA principal Chris Brown seemed to be “bowing”  to the reality of any parking garages and the “whole enchilada” of redevelopment being way down the line in the 5- year plan with the “what we can afford to do” being the “grand prize” for this and next year’s “main event” … The Town Manager commented first “This is the fastest contract ever put together in recent town history”…It was asked for the previous Tues. evening… She stated the cost of the proposal ($19,900 plus reimbursements expenses)… She further said they would offer a “dose of reality to UM”…(Hopefully a dose of reality to RMA is not to spend all we have in our coffers asap)… Town Manager Hoffmann spoke of the 5 year plan and where the funding would come from as well as rough costs …staffing and tying it all up…The VM spoke as well on how RMA tied it together..Comm. Clottey spoke of costs and her concern of a parking garage that could cost $6 million …The TM stepped in to “corral” Clottey and  the dollar amount thrown out with itemization and priorities done in steps ..RMA’s Chris Brown added it would be a 1st draft of all items in the implementation plan and the garage will be in there with “fairly accurate numbers”…adding “if you can afford it is another matter”… further still adding “probably in your 4th or 5th year or beyond”.. (BINGO!) .. He stated the plan for A1A will be as accurate as they can be using contracts RMA have down to perhaps details such as costs of a Royal Palm vs another tree (shades of Happy Vasil who lost her palm tree in the north Seagrape Dr. development and her desire for Royal Palms to replace them which were to cost thousands …and were quickly taken out of the equation!) …Comm. Clottey stated she thought Bougainvilla and Poinciana needed attention ahead of branding saying “we can’t put our heads in the sand”…(These streets do need attention…drainage/swales/parking beautification) …Comm. Sasser asked when it would be ready …”end of June?”…The TM said it would be the first 2 weeks of June …(Contract says June 1st)… Comm. Sasser went on to asked about the branding and marketing and stating he did not see it in the scope of work …The Town Manager said it was not included in this project and that they had their hands full with this…She spoke of the “marketing arm..the hotels and businesses …Comm. Sasser wanted to know costs and the TM said they needed to come back with those but she needed direction to do so… Comm. Sasser stated it was clear and concise and what he expected and now we will see what we can afford with the money we have and as for the rest needing bonds that could be put on the ballot… Chris Brown said it would be presented that way exactly and stated their would be no bond in the 1st year …basically this is “a five-year decision tree”…( Remember-money don’t grow on trees!) …The TM said all this info will be in place to make decisions pre-budget time … The Vice Mayor was taken aback by Comm. Clottey’s comment about the parking garage reiterating his stance on the need being even further out than 5 years and alternative parking needing to be factored in to the current numbers provided (shared parking program numbers as well as street parking ) … “Cart before the horse… Chris Brown showed he was not a pro-parking garages as he was at the previous meeting (see prev. RMA presentation meeting post) …He spoke about the studies that needed to be done ahead of the $6 million dollar parking garage (s) … A “demand study”…A parking study” ..He said it was not all “supply and demand” again stating what we started out at long,long ago with destination and how far people are willing to walk… He covered the current “demand” as he had prior of East of A1A restaurants vs west of A1A…He talked once again about signage problems and their impact …and the need for getting people to cross El Mar Drive..He cautioned once more as well of how better restaurants west and redevelopment “could make things change overnight”… The Town Manager rope in hand…knot pulled tight…jumped in to talk of “other options”…”A garage is expensive proposition”… the need to “exhaust other options before going that route.”…BINGO!… Later on at the Roundtable the item to expand the “White Elephant” A1A (Bougainvilla) lot by purchasing an apartment building  was met with no support from the commission and quashed (after we paid for 2 appraisals and drawings ..cost?)…Comm. Vincent wanted to know the Chamber’s inclusion and once again “gunning” for VM Dodd (who’s advising this guy these days?) …nastily stated they were “spinning our wheels” talking of the garage inclusion ..He said Clottey’s question was a good one (it was) and then he did his now usual disconnected barrage of commentary that leaves many shaking their heads … Chris Brown stated he would work with staff and told them they had a limited amount of money and they “will need to decide on suggestions that come from the point of view of what’s best for redevelopment” which is what will come from RMA as well as “strengthening your tax base.”… Comm. Clottey asked about infrastructure repairs not included in the report and spoke of nice things to do for tourists vs standing water problems residents are dealing with… The Town Manager reminded her we have the drainage numbers and some of those previously time lined approved projects will overlap with the Master Plan and economic plan ..(In the TM backup was the inclusion that we may face cost overruns for drainage in the south end (Flamingo ) due to problems in another nearby Ft. Laud drainage project not producing the desired result.. Not known yet is if planned installation of drainage wells within Flamingo Ave.is viable option to resolve completely flooding issues..The Tradewinds Dr. project is complete and Chen has applied for permit to construct…Comm & El Mar survey is completed…RFP is being prepared for downtown core project (This writer believes Comm. dropped ball on this one- should have gone with Chen and new tightened up contract ala Choice contract rework to get moving asap) …Comm. Clottey perhaps in election mode (is she going for a 2nd term?… She was seen on the break in quite a long back & forth whispering session with former UOT Pres. Bob Fleishman last night)… stated she “wants them put together” going on to say “We’re not going to borrow $50 million “…”Not gonna happen”… The Mayor asked what Comm. Sasser had earlier when addressing the UM item to the Town Manager concerning staff available vs RMA …The TM responded as she had at the RMA presentation the week before we have an Interim Finance Director about to leave and when the new one comes in mid-may (not yet named) ..He or she will need to “jump into the budget”… This is when she spoke of Aug-Sept for results vs. a June 1st deadline with RMA doing the job… adding RMA can provide not only quicker costs but better cost estimates and using them will not draw staff away from other priorities ..The Mayor asked about branding as well reiterating her stance… Chris Brown said that would have a cost and they could start it earlier “shepherd it” assist in the marketing and “select from 3-4 of the best in the business”…He said “I don’t want to oversell my services.”..The Mayor explained even more of what “RMA would supply us with” …how the “Commission would pick and choose what to allocate”..”with the budget”…She spoke of “past loss of opportunities by not being ready”…and it is “important to move forward (Some of her constituents will not be so quick to sign on with any of those statements)… The Town Manager asked the Commission if they wanted to move forward with the marketing plan… She advised to go forward with this project and then do that one (New RMA contract..New cost$)… Chris Brown joked(?) that contract would be ready next Tues…The motion was made by Comm. Vincent and seconded by Comm. Clottey…passing 5-0…

The last item of business was an item put on by the TAtty.concerning the Buena Vista Hotel on El Mar Drive and a declaratory judgment received for commercial garbage charges vs residential and the inequity under Fl. law… It is I believe on behalf of all such properties in town (this one has been on the dais before) …Choice is named as well…It will most likely include not only the monthly cost discrepancy but recycling inequities as well as franchise fees to the Town…A shade session is set for April 27, 2011 with TAttys. Trevarthen and Dan Abbott at 6 pm…That will preclude the Comm. from discussing the matter …

The meeting was adjourned and a break was taken for moving to and setting up the Roundtable … where the rope’s “knot” was indeed slipping here and there throughout the long session …

More to come…

Tags: Buena Vista Hotel Lawsuit with Lauderdale-By-The-Sea & Choice Environmental Commercial vs Residential Charges, Cecelia Ward, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea April 12 2011 Special Meeting/Roundtable ... #1 .... Roping In The $teer And The "Contenders" ..., Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Town Manager Connie Hoffmann, Mayor Roseann Minnet-Vice Mayor Stuart Dodd- Commissioner Scot Sasser- Commissioner Birute Clottey- Commissioner Chris Vincent, RMA Chris Brown
Posted in Boards, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, Local News, Local Politics, Scoops, local government

CHECKS AND BALANCES … ARE IN THEY IN ORDER? ….

Dear Readers … It seems that this writer has come full circle when it comes to local politics in LBTS … The very fact that I posted once again on this site after I said goodbye in December (due to a feeling of the time being right to do so and the open and witnessing transparent government thus far ) …. and voiced some dissatisfaction and concern with the commission/ administration as well as asking in a follow-up post what the political climate is and where the local voters stand at this juncture has resulted in some former foes who became fast allies for a short time to become foes once more… Hmmm…. Quite frankly ….for proud card- carrying G.D. I. …it was never a matter of IF this would happen but WHEN!…And that when is now … or so I have been told! …

Let’s get this one straight … It is not necessary nor is it desirable for supporters of elected officials to attempt to silence those who choose to carry out what is their right and quite frankly their duty living in this country  …to speak up …to question …and voice dissent … In fact it only serves to make those who deal with the issues at hand and not the “personalities”delivering those issues speak louder and more often! ….

For this particular voter …taxpayer and resident … it is silence … apathy and a lack of transparency combined with silence imposed from a few that have long provided the perfect safety net for bad acts taking place behind the scenes whether done with purpose and/or done from a glaring lack of knowledge of the past …

As an active participant in local politics over the last 6 years I have been informed by those who came before me as well as witnessing  and uncovering many bad acts that took place behind the scenes in two past administrations …They grew in succession with fervor when allowed to do so due in large part to those supporters of whomever was in charge at that time attempting and in some cases succeeding in silencing the questioners as they circled the wagons in order to “protect” those “pals” in office or employed by the town…

Many of these bad acts never saw the light of day after they are discovered and took a lot of stubborn determination and
resiliency on the part of a few vigilant people to see they were made public and those involved were held accountable….Many such bad acts are still being revealed long after the perpetrators are long gone or covered by legal agreements that lets them off the hook ….We’ve seen acts of manipulating minutes …acts of closing down a fire department after a loss at the polls … preferential treatment of funding “pet projects” ….behind the scenes direction to “subsidize” (for lack of a better term) … services such as the sewers in both the Sea Ranch Club/SRL North Condos and the south end of town …drummed up criteria to garner votes from the Palm Club at one point in time and feigned ignorance ….(that too was definitely drummed up …. in this writer’s opinion) ….when those votes were not coming forth years later ….a lack of backup materials or bogus backup materials supplied to trusting majorities on the dais by past administrators and past attorneys along with perhaps one or two fellow dais members that produced votes that ended up costing the taxpayers the big bucks …such as the former audit multi-year contract…the former Town Manager’s contract …as well as other sub-standard contracts such as solid waste or west warehouse Realtor to name a few… We had a lack of forthcoming information on how much money we actually had on hand and where it was …. There was unilateral action taken by former Town Managers concerning hiring department heads that didn’t fit the job description by intentionally thwarting those potential candidates for the position in the lack of advertising in the town’s policy required venues … The same unilateral action was taken with “favored” contractors as well as town projects such as the Commercial Blvd. Pavilion ….

Knowing all of that ….and not forgetting all of that …..there is no way this writer or any other well informed constituent should let down their guard and stop watching or questioning the current commission/administration in exactly the same manner! …. There are some questionable and disconcerting situations I see that definitely give me pause …so much so that at times I have felt some unwanted familiar pangs in my gut …  I stated in my goodbye post last Dec. I would continue to be engaged and participate and that is exactly what I am doing…

Here are some of my concerns … I feel this commission/administration after being “on a roll” for the first 3-4 months has stalled and faltered in the months that followed to the present….

I believe the commission meeting -roundtable experiment offered up by Town Atty. Richard Weiss at the procedural meeting at the start of the new term has failed miserably and should be scratched…The intent was really never implemented (the roundtable was to be the longer meeting allowing discussion of new ideas from the staff or commissioners to see if there was consensus to go forward and the commission meetings were to be shorter due to less discussion and consensus formed at the roundtable discussions) …After seeing the recent addition to the roundtables of having presentations and last minute special meetings to allow voting this Aventura model of governing is simply not conducive to LBTS….

I was hoping for a continued line out the door of  “at will” employees who were employed and in some cases elevated to positions beyond their abilities (in this writer’s opinion) as well as “outside the box” implementation of contracting out for town services in order to streamline the number of 30-40+ hour employees with full health insurance, benefits and pensions we currently employ … Do we really need an accountant and two account specialists to work under the Finance Director in a town this size? … (Do we really need a supervisor of Community Standards a department this writer long ago wrote about as a “bogus” dept. …that was implemented under a former Town Manager as a catch-all to skew the numbers of employees and salaries from other departments )…

The town website has been updated to a certain extent but in the process a good  portion of the backup materials for special meetings/workshops and board/committee meetings is now gone …A big loss in this writer’s opinion due to the importance of having what materials were supplied to those making important decisions at the time being available after the fact… Old bad acts of improper or absent backup supplied screams out for those backup materials to remain online…. Also MIA has been the quarterly finance report as promised when the monthly report was canned on the advice of the Town Manager.. If it had been available when it was supposed to be the next concern of mine might have been known earlier …

Consultants …A whole new slew of them … As of now we have spent or are in contract to spend over $125,000 in consultant fees over and beyond the employees still on the payroll … The Commission asked for the list of them at a roundtable meeting a few months back and were provided the list soon after, although it was not included on the Town website in the backup report (it was just noted it was emailed to the commissioners) …Those consultants were unknown to the commission as well as the taxpayers …They were hired under the Town Manager’s $15,000 cap allowance which coincidentally is now under consideration with the advisement of the TM to increase it to $20,000 along with increases in other depts. in the proposed updated purchasing manual..The purchasing manual updates were also done by a consultant… A good portion of those consultants hired are being used for the Master Plan revision …which in turn leads me to the next major concern I have …

The Master Plan…It was my understanding that the commission early on when asked for direction advised the Town Manager to simply revise the 2004 Master Plan ….not to redo it!.. While the wording used since then is it is a revision ….the process I have been watching says otherwise with the cost of consultants…along with the extensive time used thus far by town staff, boards and committees … When it appeared the MPSC was doing a do-over the TM was sent in and directed by the commission to lead them through the revision….What resulted were TM “exercises” that only led to more time wasted with those members who either had no knowledge of the past or did not care to pursue any input from those sitting at the table who possessed it all…  To say it was nerve-racking is putting it kindly… Former Town Planner and current long -time contracted town consultant  Walter Keller … presented the committee with concise pages of what was accomplished, abolished and left to do in the 2004 Master Plan …It went right out the window …

This writer made a public records request for some reports including the Goodkin Report prepared for the town in Aug. 2004  … Thus far, in this long drawn out process of updating the plan which has included not only the use of consultants but three programs with speakers (poorly attended after the first speaker, David Sukor)…one meeting for the retail businesses (one new retailer to town showed up) …followed by one hoteliers meeting (well attended and informative I am told but unfortunately not recorded for all to see)…. and one resident input meeting ( approx 10 in attendance on a Sat. morning which involved overtime for staff and opening Jarvis Hall … The next two are on the 24th 7-9 pm and 26th 10-noon in Jarvis Hall) ….I have not seen or heard anything improving upon what was contained in that Goodkin Report or the 2004 Master Plan!…

Sometime before the April 12th roundtable the Town is set to have RMA to present their findings… Leading that presentation will be Chris Brown, the man who led the way for Delray Beach being revitalized and is currently the Pompano Beach consultant on their redevelopment He impressed many when he spoke at an earlier meeting which led to his hiring … Although the roundtable is 3 weeks out no date has been shown which seems to be a running pattern for all these presentations and meetings ….For this writer this will be the finale of sorts to see what if anything goes beyond what we already had on the shelves and in the hands of the current TM, Commission, MPSC , speakers and newly hired consultants……The Fort Lauderdale consultant (contracted at up to $15,000) was bumped when there was yet another scheduling snafu (Town Clerk White strikes again?) with the parking exemption workshop taking its already scheduled time… There has been no talk of a rescheduled presentation…

The MPSC was ultimately disbanded at the March 8th roundtable after statements made by a few members at their Feb. meeting they had completed their revisions and did not know what else to work on….A new advisory board will be added .. an Economic Viability /Task Force Committee…The TM stated RMA would give insight on what it would entail and they would recommend the criteria needed in order to sit on the committee ….It is hoped by many that the end of this “revision” will come at that April 12th roundtable …

The result of this ongoing, disjointed journey to update the Town’s 2004 Master Plan has been many of those priorities made by the incoming commission that have been sidelined or ignored in making their way back to the dais or table to address and get moving on…

Let me just add at this point that politics like sports allows for Monday morning quarterbacking…and so I will do that now on the issue of the Master Plan revision… After finally finding out about the consultants hired by the Town Manager I believe she should have advised the full commission she was going to do so and then when asked by the commission to “lead” the boards and committees she ought to have called for a moratorium while the consultants did their work …Then there should have been a few meetings with a roundtable of the consultants armed with the previous reports the town had in 2004 to give their take on any additions or deletions required along with those constituents, businesses and consultants still around who participated and implemented the 2004 plan …This should have been combined with input from all residents and businesses …Of course I also would have wanted an all-out marketing of these meetings done well in advance in many different venues in order to be sure we had the same full to capacity Jarvis Hall turnout seen in the photos of the 2004 Master Plan resident meetings….

I am always looking for a beginning—a middle and and an end with anything being implemented large or small …A completed package tied neatly together with the proverbial bow ….Unfortunately that seems to be amiss once again big- time whether at monthly commission meetings/roundtables or with this project with new people placed at the helm…

We have seen three months of the Town Manager reports not being addressed on the dais and heard old familiar statements of the late hour being the reason (although some reports lack updated information in the backup)…The TM and TAtty. reports will now be moved back to behind the public safety reports as they were when this happened under the previous TM…. As nice as this TM may be the expectations must be the same for the position held and not the person holding it…

I was a strong proponent of the full parking exemption plan with no caps and a full- out marketing campaign to ignite some excitement for businesses to come to our town…It was avidly supported by Vice Mayor Dodd and Comm. Sasser (who have suddenly become the minority on the dais) …That too fell on some disconcerting behind the scenes lobbying from the administration to counter it and unnecessarily complicate it …There was major waffling that came from Commissioner Vincent and I was really saddened that it faltered as long and as badly as it did… I was happy to see former Chamber President Paul Novak, the first vocal advocate of the parking exemption at a MPSC meeting he chaired a few years back go out on a limb and write about it although I hoped he would have been joined by more businesses coming consistently to the podium as this issue dragged on… Only longtime resident and P & Z Vice- Chair Yann Brandt was consistent at trying to drive home the win-win this would be at the podium as well as on the dais at P & Z board meetings  …..Recent news in the Sentinel of a couple of big- time investors buying small motels near the beach in Ft. Laud. show that there is a future to be had in hospitality …in the right place with the doors “open for business” which can only happen if you have a reason to invest and a town that offers great customer service to those starting a business without endless impediments that result in jumping through hoop after hoop ….

This writer also strongly believes that business comes before parking and not the other way around in this town….Those with considerable knowledge in this area have affirmed the following…You get the great restaurants to come…retailers will follow…You get first-rate global marketing of coming to this unique tourist destination in south Florida with the widest beach around for miles  ..A pedestrian friendly town with weekly and monthly special events held in our popular and historic town square … Add to that an investor or two who can buy out and take over the two larger hotels at either end of El Mar Drive making them the first class anchor resorts they should be which would ultimately lead to the MIMO type small boutique hotels-motels in between them being updated thus allowing them to charge the big bucks for lodgers as they do successfully in Key West at their Bed and Breakfasts…Visitors would come assured they never have to leave town limits or use their cars unless they want to during their entire stay ….

The coral reef project particularly concerns me due to the past inaction to this vendor and the failure by the full commission to do what we would have done with any other provider …look elsewhere for an alternative …As previously posted, we did not have to look far …A successful reef restoration project is right up the road in Fort Lauderdale… Instead we played cat and mouse citing monies already invested … A lame excuse ….remember the amount shelved for the Jarvis Hall enclosure? …We also extended out a longer contract for monitoring and maintenance for more money …We will see if and when this project becomes a reality so many years after it began…

Lake Colon… Lake Colon …doomed to rise again and again from the Commercial Blvd Pavilion to the Village Grille or beyond, now that it has pushed off to the summer of 2012 due in large part I believe to the Master Plan implementation and the parking exemption issue taking priority…This was an election issue…Former Vice Mayor McIntee downplayed its importance while the current commissioners/ mayor running as candidates vehemently disagreed… So what gives? …

Again, this Monday morning quarterback will give my take on what I would have liked to see happen… I would want this project done asap along with improvements in that general area such as parallel parking (I am not a believer in the reality of no cars east of A1A)…widened sidewalks…historic and informative signage and beach friendly rentals of chairs etc….for the newly approved water activities and coral reef restoration (a positive action taken by the commission …well done) ….and cutting back and/or getting rid of the medians to show those who want nothing done in this town and those who want “the whole enchilada” that a project can actually be done well from start to finish…It would certainly be a first for this town …I would have also liked to have seen some implementation of possibly moving the sidewalks west of A1A in order to veer pedestrians to those businesses in the strip malls with parking lots in front until the economy kicks in and the former plan of reversing the buildings and those parking lots when those buildings are bought and replaced…

On the issue of the “found” millions we have in various bank accounts … should surprise no one… John Thompson is on the record for coming to the podium for years asking about where the money was each time the emergency funds were increased at the budget meetings…Often he was there alone….A hotelier-resident spent a lot of time going over the yearly CAFR when they were finally released connecting the dots ultimately seeing the ever-growing surplus amounts stockpiled …Their questioning was met with stonewalled responses at best… But alas we found out in the Town Manager’s report a few months back that 2 million was transferred to the Bank United facility in town and put into CDs without the knowledge of the full commission…That was followed up with  statements of more funds that would soon be moved as well … Disconcerting?  ..Yes!….Not long ago it was an issue when an account was opened for the VFD beach patrol when it was decided they could not be funded by the fire assessment and that was for approximately $40,000….

One more point on the “found” millions… I am of the opinion that it should be used in part to deal with the expected BSO contract increases (no regular updates/discussion on this priority item) …and to keep the millage rate down again for the next fiscal year… It should be possible to implement with getting back to “outside the box” staffing and fiscally responsible budgeting while addressing and acting on the other priorities of drainage and infrastructure…

I will stop here for now and simply conclude with this as I head home for a short stay and make my way to the podium for public comments at the March 22nd Commission meeting …. No one should be attempting to silence those who ask questions or voice dissent and no one who has questions, concerns or disagrees should fear those who want them to remain silent… Instead they should fear what has happens when they do nothing!…

More to come….

Tags: Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Checks And Balances One Year Later
Posted in Boards, Local Politics, local government

WILL THIS BULL GO FAR? …

Dear Readers .. The evening was divided into two separate meetings … The regular P & Z monthly meeting to address the parking “suspension program” and the change in code …(see prev. Rdtable agenda /Town website P & Z backup for a look at it) …and the workshop to address other areas of parking and signage… The board lent itself to these two separate meetings in two entirely different modes of operation and rationality …in this writer’s opinion… The only constant…was Vice-Chair Yann Brandt who stepped into the role of Chair for both due to Chair Buz Oldaker’s excused absence and showed how a meeting should be run by a Chair…The Mayor and other Board/ Committee Chairs may want to review the archived video…(link below)…for a look at how it’s done… Kudos to Yann on a job well done!…

The Staff provided synopsis for the meeting…

Unfortunately, the meeting this evening began as expected by this writer when addressing the parking exemption issue that became the parking suspension program thanks to staff taking it in a direction contrary to what was directed at the Nov. Comm. Rdtable as well as the lack of two “business” oriented Commission members going for a full exemption rather than a suspension…again due to an active administrative drive to do so…We are well aware of the many phone calls and meetings from the Administration and TAtty. to push for the latter leading up to meetings by both the Comm. and the P & Z… Three members of the board acted as if the actions made by the Commission between their last P & Z workshop ..(prev. post) …and this meeting did not happen and proceeded to repeat their stances of ” a plan”…inequity to businesses for restaurant/restaurant-type businesses to have no parking requirement…  Dir. Bowman once more proved to me he is still not the right person to be the head of a department when he could not answer questions which took place at those meetings he either attended or watched … Yann tried from the outset of this meeting to remind the board of the fact that the Comm. had two roundtable meetings and a Comm. mtg. and they were charged by the Comm. to discuss what was before them as a result..He suggested they go around the table and do so…(This is also the direction given by staff in the synopsis above) …. Eric Yankwitt asked about how a report would be done..how it would be measured and had concerns over the season/off- peak times not being separated stating that the data “grouped” in this manner making washing away the distinct differences …He wanted that addressed… Ben Freeny repeated much of what he said in Nov. and spoke of the lack of substantive supporting data he wanted before going along with this… He said the parking facilities belong to the taxpayers and they will bear the “brunt” of this…He acknowledged the discussions made by the Comm. but said he felt they made their decisions without enough information and are “shooting from the hip”… He was concerned how this was going to impact the taxpayers… He said he could not recommend the suspension program followed up by saying it was a “moot point” anyway after the Comm. went ahead on it in the interim… Yann Brandt stated he appreciated his opinion but this was what the Comm. gave to them and they needed to get back to recommending it or not…Ben acknowledged that but went on to ask Jeff Bowman if he received any “substantive information” to look at …Jeff replied the Comm. had spoken about the number of empty storefronts  and that why..HUH?… Peanuts Wick began in his usual bombastic style asking when it became our job to fill 11 locations …He asked Jeff about any other municipalities without parking requirements…Jeff answered he did not know…(at the RDtable meeting the evening before it was discussed and West Palm Beach was brought up) …Peanuts went on to say this really bothered him as he went off on 101 Ocean not paying for parking anymore from what he understood took place at the previous evening’s roundtable …He pointedly asked Jeff about that after going off as well on the Chamber of Commerce working with business elsewhere in his experience vs. in our town…stating it was unfair to the citizens …He asked about other restaurants who pay such as Blue Moon and Benihanna.. Jeff replied he was not prepared to answer Peanuts only prepared to answer the code changes they had before them…technical questions… Yann tried unsuccessfully to inform Peanuts according to staff the only impacted business would be 101 Ocean after staff said they are the only business paying the Town for parking (multiple times the staff asserted this as fact)… He also tried unsuccessfully to state it was no parking req. from a date certain going forth… The Atty. said she did not recommend “attempting” to make something retroactive..Peanuts on a tear said to the Atty. doesn’t this give an undue advantage to new restaurants?..The Atty. responded it’s a different situation …Peanuts wasn’t having any sure that there were more restaurants in the same position as 101 Ocean…Jeff Bowman did not speak up to correct him or retract the staff’s previous assertions… Yann spoke up stating his role this evening as Chair and the need to address the structural aspects and to stay on course with what they were asked by the Comm. to do …Peanuts sniped and made a point of order saying he still had the floor …He said he would go for debate after the questioning and comments were done… Yann asked about the removal of the beer gardens and Jeff said they were never part of the code and therefore removed ..housekeeping …Yann then asked for any debate as well as any additions / subtractions of the red portions… Peanuts quickly suggested they don’t go to zero parking requirements and strike J altogether..He was not prepared to put this through …or he suggested a no confidence vote…He veered off to talk about each board member being appointed by a different Comm. and disagreeing with the Comm. who appoints them…He spoke of Comm. Clottey who appointed him and how she told him they needed people who disagreed on the boards… Eric stated in light of Peanuts said he again wanted to know of any correlation with the Master Plan and likened what they were doing to Obama’s extending the the tax cuts for 2 years ..that we’ll fight about it for 2 years ..It’s “premature” he said to entice restaurateurs …revitalize restaurants…If it’s just a “moratorium” for a 2 yr . period “I wouldn’t invest.”.. (BC-Case in point made the evening before by the “minority on the Comm.”)… Ben said he has an “issue” with J. and  would people would be “grandfathered” in…He said they would be ..He concurred that most of the changes they were being asked to make were housekeeping and for consistency …He said J. (suspension program) was something new and he supported striking J. and sending the rest to the Comm… Yann replied that he could see where this was going ….(no support from P & Z for parking suspension program) … He would like to see if go through …He addressed the application that was included when it became a 3 year program and asked for it to be an addendum possibly attached to getting the business tax license requirement…The Atty. said it could be given with them but she did not recommend them as one application… Yann stated he disagreed with the application as a whole…He spoke of the 3 year period and that he was still for a full exemption with no end time…due to the fact that no government is permanent ..He spoke of the amount of time the administration spent fighting that exemption and that raised the ire of Asst. TM Bud Bentley who was introduced by Colleen (Devel. Dept. ) as Ben Bentley…Bud said he took “umbridge” with the comments he was hearing of the administration’s role in this process …Bud reiterated his and staff’s actions after the Nov. Comm. Rdtable and that they took the direction to be a “stimulus” program to fill storefronts until we have a “parking problem” … a “temporary program”… The Comm. did not focus on when it would end and the staff chose to “concentrate” on that for “business property rights”…HUH?… He said they only took direction from the Comm. and had no problem if they wanted to call it an “exemption” program vs. a “suspension” program…HUH?…Yann replied he did not mean to “editorialize” ..but at the first roundtable it was “clear”it was an “exemption” and it came back as a “suspension” program…He also told Bud “not to worry” he had “support” for the “suspension program”… (BC- unfortunately)….Peanuts said they should pass this forward with an amendment …He made a motion to pass it approved…Ben made the 2nd… to strike J. and make it equitable for the entire town…Peanuts stated strike J. and the Comm. can take their recommendation or “tell us to stick it.”..(BC- the Commission should tell them to stick it!) ….Ben said he agreed with that..The Asst. TM said the motion was to strike J. (suspension program)… Peanuts re-stated it as a confirmation… The Atty. cautioned them the way they were proposing it there would be no parking standard for restaurants… and told them to leave the black portion to accomplish what they wanted ..the status quo …Peanuts withdrew his motion…Ben withdrew the 2nd.. The TAtty. walked Peanuts through what he wanted to do…Yann reiterated it removed the strike-thrus/deletions from J. ….Peanuts made the amendments…it passed 3-1 Yann voted no..The rest of the item also had a 3-1 vote with Yann voting no…

The board ended with comments before going to a 10 minute break to deal with the remaining parking items and signage..As expected Peanuts did some  PR and threw out thanks to those who attended his Marie White Christmas event held the previous Sat. ..Eric followed suit and addressed the viewers he hoped were watching while acknowledging he wished they came to the hall…Ben also wished all a happy holiday and reiterated his standpoint on the topic just voted on…He did a Roseann by saying he was for growth and business and stated during the campaign the Commissioners talked of a plan and not piecemealing and he saw this as leading us down the wrong path..Yann thanked the staff for all the work they supplied to aid in the decision making process..He also spoke to those watching and stated this was an advisory board and that in this capacity they were presented with items “one-by-one” thus they are piecemealed He stated they are not part of the MPSC ..and again said he was disappointed where the parking has gone ..He acknowledged that’s governing..and said all those who have been fighting for such a change in a parking requirements should have been here …He said “politics is not a spectator sport” ..He spoke of the Comm. being “flexible” and acknowledged also the change that happened between meetings as such… He spoke of his father (Uli Brandt) and ow he encountered negative remarks and accusations after pushing forward change for hotels being only to benefit himself… (Yann has been accused of the same despite the fact there is no truth to the rumors of Mugs coming to LBTS)… He wished all season’s greetings and asked for a motion to adjourn…

BC-This portion of the meeting closed with no public comment made due to no one being in the hall to comment…Were they all at the Village Grille Holiday party instead? …I must make the point that this issue is still not over as the individual building/business/restaurant owners could take it upon themselves to come and identify themselves as speakers have done in the past when coming to the podium and prefacing that their comments are their’s alone and not associated with a particular board or committee they may serve on in order speak up at 1st/2nd reading (Jan . 11/25th) and change the lackluster 3 yr.suspension program agreed to at the Dec. 7 & 14th decision made by the Comm.to a full elimination of the parking requirements by offering up their substantive long- held point view and business expertise …If the Chamber believes it must remain non-political it does not pass go on this issue …in this writer’s opinion…This is business related issue…A former member of the Chamber board told me long ago he thought the Chamber should have a seat on any Business Development Committee put in place… This sure seems like a precursor to such a committee….The Chamber and businesses should have shown a continued presence at all of these meetings after they came to the Nov. P & Z meeting as well as making the same effort to promote the exemption as the Administration did to take it down a full notch to become a 2 yr. parking suspension program that ultimately became 3 yrs. with a compromise offered up by VM Dodd on Dec. 7th……Each one should come to make the same statements made by VM Dodd/Comm. Sasser/ Yann Brandt /this writer and even P & Z member Eric Yankwitt at this meeting …a moratorium will not produce the same result… 527 parking spaces can indeed be filled by having a destination known for high quality restaurants…It’s the equivalent to West palm Beach having a parking garage in place prior to lifting their parking requirement as put forth by Mayor Minnet at the Rdtble…in this writer’s opinion…The taxpayers will be served by such a change …not burdened… The idea perpetuated that the taxpayers will lose revenue if this exemption is enacted is a truly mind boggling…. A turn-around of this ordinance is definitely something that can and should happen….letting this slip away or pass in its current form would really be a shame …

They took a break to set-up for the workshop to follow….

…………………..

SOMETIMES THE BULL CAN BE EASILY LIFTED ….

After a break the board came back to the table to have their second workshop dealing with other parking items as well the signage code that was tabled at November’s workshop in order to have enough time to fully discuss it …

The Staff provided synopsis for the workshop….

The second part of the evening provided a sharp contrast to the first… as Yann  Brandt finally managed to keep everyone on the task before them…They swiftly dealt with item 1 and the remaining parking changes …including off street and shared parking …Yann did inquire about the pier parking lot and the required spaces vs. used spaces and asked for it to be looked into…For  a moment it seemed Jeff Bowman was not getting what Yann was asking for and that Yann had no support in the request until Peanuts Wick surprisingly got it and he too was interested in the answers being provided … Yann also addressed the Hotel/ motel issue of the ration requirements currently in place touching on Comm. Clottey’s desire for some relief for their parking requirements.. (she addressed this at the Nov. roundtable when the parking exemption was brought up) … Time-shares will be included in the research provided from staff  for the next meeting ….There was consensus and no objections on the above and they moved on to the signage … The staff provided the matrix Yann had asked for at the Nov. meeting …a list of signs …the sign types along with what is allowed by zoning district as well as any restrictions….Yann put forward that they have discussion on what is prohibited vs. permitted and restrictions on the permitted signage…He asked if there were any prohibited signs listed that should be permitted… Peanuts wanted to know why pole signs were allowed and then not allowed …Yann responded there was  1999 ord. to allow them and it was changed in 2001..to become non-conforming ….He asked Jeff Bowman if those years were correct and Jeff responded they seemed so.. Ben asked about looking at the Master Plan from 2005 and then see what the changes will be from the MPSC … Eric asked as well why the change from permitted to prohibited as well as commenting it was another item that will live or die again asking why they had no background supplied on this…Yann responded it was most likely politics in play for the change ..Eric said he needed a “basis of understanding”…The Atty. said it was most likely aesthetic issues along with the non-conforming designation …Yann said the MPSC is important but they are not on the same page as the P & Z with this code at this point i n time ..He spoke of the board deciding which ones (signs) they want to see at this point …Peanuts brought up sandwich signs being prohibitive and that he wanted them to be allowed especially for those businesses that are far from the street on Comm. Blvd… He went on to talk about the setbacks and how they hinder these businesses …Yann asked pertinent questions of Peanuts such as the hours of uses …the location ….and how many based on what….They concurred and in the end they decided they would be permitted but temporary and brought inside at the end of the business day.. per business door front… The consensus was also for staff to take care of the particulars concerning Right of Way issues…Yann stated permitted signs would be pole and sandwich signs …He asked about pylon signs..Peanuts passed and Eric asked what balloon and bench signs were…Jeff said he could read the definitions from the code and did so… Balloon signs were inflatable and bench signs were on benches … BC- no kidding!… Peanuts wanted to know why we did not allow for bench signs citing that it could generate revenue …He added it should not include benches on the beach…. Yann asked the Atty. about the Broward County Transit benches and who owned them ..The Atty. said she did not have enough information Yann said benches would be moved to permitted… BC- At the pre-bid meeting a few years back former Asst. TM Olinzock stated he turned down free bus shelters offered to the Town due to advertising that would be allowed…At that time it was news to me as well as several sitting Comms. as it was never brought in front of the Comm. to discuss…Yann said they had four items to discuss… Eric asked about the string lights around windows ..They were talking about holiday lights not being allowed all year long… Ben said this was mostly housekeeping and conforming with the law..It would be helpful to separate them which would lead to less discussion… They finished up by deciding pole signs would be allowed for the RM 25/RM50  hotels/motels but not condos…Peanuts responded to Eric who asked why he wanted the distinction the signs were to draw business… Ben concurred…The staff had no comment when asked for any by Yann and there was consensus … Pylon signs produced agreement to not allow them from Yann, Peanuts and Eric…Ben disagreed stating they were more costly and he liked to have a variety of signs..He was the only yes vote so Pylon signs would be on the prohibited list… Sandwich signs had consensus as stated above to be permitted and classified as temporary signage in the B1 and B1A districts …for as long as they want them…Yann then turned to the public comment made by Kilwin’s owner concerning the code not allowing for more than 3 colors for a sign.. Jeff stated it did not include white as a background color… After discussion on changing it Eric spoke up about going for a variance if a changed from the code was desired….Jeff responded the cost for a variance was $900 for just the application fee…Eric was not sympathetic to that cost and stated a business owner takes his risks when he takes his his risks …Ben agreed ..Yann pushed it further and said the background color was subjective…why not allow that white was not considered a color no matter where it was located on the sign…and he would like to see that stricken ..Be added they could remedy it by saying whatever background color used was not counted in the number allowed …Yann said why not just allow four colors…Unfortunately the meeting was stopped by a sign that appeared stating this event ended…It was back on shortly thereafter .. but this writer did not watch the rest ….I was informed that number of colors allowed for signs was left as-is along with the bench signs not being allowed and a change was made for menu signs which were increased in size from 4ft. to 6 ft…

The meeting is archived …and took 2 hrs 15min. according to the Town website…which again showed how well it was chaired by Vice Chair Yann Brandt …

http://lbts.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2

more to come…

Tags: Scoops, The Lauderdale By The Sea December 15 2010 Planning & Zoning Board Meeting/Workshop On Parking & Signage
Posted in Boards, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, Local Politics, Scoops, local government