TOWN MANAGER COLON’S “TOTAL RECALL”…. DO YOU REMEMBER?….
Dear Readers…as you know full well by now whenever the Town Manager says “As you recall”…It means antenna up..red alert…and don’t fall for it …We have been seeing it a a record pace lately as it appears the Town Manager is chasing her tale (not a spelling error) and is falling behind in trying to clear up her major mishaps due to unilateral decisions…and keeping the Commission and the taxpayers in the dark…essentially waiting for the other shoe to drop…
At the Feb. 23, 2010 Commission meeting Commissioner Dodd decided to give the Town Manager a dose of her own medicine …(she had put under TM Report at the Feb 9th meeting 8. TOWN MANAGER REPORT a. Clarification of recent issues)… So he put on…16c “Discussion and/or action on Town related business items.”…
Commissioner Dodd began with informing the Town Manager he had a copy of his questions for her and to enter into the minutes (good luck with that)…Here is what he submitted…
“16c) I put this on the agenda since the last time I went to see the manager and ask about her item – Clarification of Recent issues I received the answer – I’ll tell you tomorrow. I decided to publically ask for an update to be available at the next commission meeting on the following topics.
1) Please produce a time line over the negotiations from the first complaint to the final projected resolution date with Choice on the multi family and the mixed commercial/residential issues. I first placed this on an agenda on Oct 13th long after the first complaint was received. – At that time the manager stated we had to change the ordinance before she could go and talk to Choice. An Ordinance was drawn up but put on hold. The manager changed her stance because there was no point in doing an ordinance if Choice wasn’t willing to negotiate. The manager was then instructed to go and negotiate and if successful the commission would then change the code.. Where have those negotiations stalled and why? I will be asking for those affected to receive a rebate based on the date the contract was given to Choice. I find it surprising this has taken so long when we can put through plans, approvals, permits and complete drainage repairs in Bel Air outside a commissioner’s house and yet picking up the phone and resolving two small issues in a contract is dragging out into months and months.
2) Sale of the Dixie property – Why did the town manager not bring this back to the commission once the six months had expired. According to the video the commission granted Asset Management the right to sell and promote the property for a very low commission for six months. You get what you pay for and nearly 18 months later we still own the site – it doesn’t appear to have been advertised properly on the MLS and we still own it and it’s costing us money. Why wasn’t this added to the famous “tickler” or “brought forward” scheme that I was informed about when I first became a commissioner – I guess it fell through the cracks? We need to place this commercial property in the hand of the best commercial real estate broker and alter the price to reflect the current market.
3) Turtle lighting – Could you please refresh my memory as to when the commission passed the expense to put up the shields or did the manager make the decision and keep the cost under $15,000?
4) What action would town staff recommend to resolve the lighting at the Minto parking lot. I don’t propose to ask why were the wrong lights installed in the first place or who was responsible since that’s unproductive. I would like to ask staff to bring a solution back to this dais because the town could be liable if someone falls over because we have to turn off all the lights again this year. I personally feel this should be a higher priority than the tennis court lighting and want to ask the manager whether there is enough money in the budget to resolve both issues.
5) Please confirm the funding for the senior center to Bien Aime has not been stopped as stated in a recent memo and that Amelio will be present at the proposed audit by Broward County . He is primarily responsible for the wonderful senior center support and success over the past few years and knows more about the internal workings than town staff since he deals with the members every day. I have stated on record if the terms of the grant can’t be met because they are too onerous I am publicly asking the town manager to bring it back to the dais before taking any unilateral actions of her own. It is up to the dais to make the decision if they wish to fund the centre from other sources and not the managers.
6) While this town employs Chen and Associates as the engineer of record can I ask the town manager whether the town complied with all the requirements of the Florida statute
287.055 Acquisition of professional architectural, engineering, landscape architectural, or surveying and mapping services; definitions; procedures; contingent fees prohibited; penalties.—otherwise known as the Consultants Competitive Negotiation Act.
My question is simple – Should this town have gone out for an RFQ knowing the size of the project to be $1,000,000 in order to comply with the terms of the act.
I feel compelled to ask these questions publicly and to ask this copy of my questions be placed in the minutes as a record.”
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The Town Manager ” I believe I have responded to three of these items in writing via memo. I have met with Choice. I have provided the information that they have requested. At the second meeting they came with their attorney. I told em I would not meet with their attorney unless my attorney was present. The attorney stayed out in the lobby. You both got copies of the letters I sent. It is in the hands of Choice to come back and tell us what they want to negotiate. I cannot do anything else but provide you with the information they provided me.
As far as the sale of the property. I gave you a memo of that. You are correct you have all the dates right. I gave you a chronological event of what happened and IF YOU RECALL when I attached the documents to the memo purposely because we had over 25 Realtors, most of them came from the ah, our tourist guide and we had some local Realtors. I believe one was called By The Sea. One was called Sandy Stella and it appeared that we had a lot of local competition with different rates and The Commission chose not to go that route. I sent the memo for that reason. The Commission has not given me direction. If they want me to RFP it or what they want me to to do.
The turtle lighting. We had a workshop the other day. FPL is workin’ with Florida Wildlife and staff.They are trying a sample cover for the light. It’s some creative thing that they did for us and if they accept that those shields will be going up.
Minto parking , I’m surprised you aksd (asked) me that question. I wrote you a memo. I also informed you that Minot gave me a couple of thousands of dollars to put shields those lights. What happened was FPL put in the wrong lights. So I do have the money in the bank. FPL, the manufacturer, Mintos and the Florida Wildlife are currently workin’ with us to see if the shield that they came up with will adapt to the lights that are there. If they do we’ll probably be givin’ some of the funds back to Mintos because they gave us a little bit extra than we needed.
As far as the Senior Center audit we have been put on notice um. the auditors like any other auditor of the county. They have informed us that when they’re ready to come in and do an audit they will pick up the phone and say we will be here on x date and they will perform the audit.
Um as far as section 287.155. I know we’re abidin’ by it. I, I know the competitive act but I will respond to your memo and I will attach the same memos that I already supplied you and every Commission member. But I will respond to the inquiries.”
Commissioner Silverstone” I just want to say I’m disappointed. This is no way to ah, transact Town business. Um these issues are important. I remember getting these memos. We discussed theses. Um, why are we wasting time on this. I don’t know. It’s not the way we do things. To get the business done of the people and um, I just want to make sure that I stand cause it’s not the way we do business here. I yield.”
Mayor Minnet” Thank you Commissioner Dodd for bringing that up.”
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Here we go… Choice is at a standstill and the residents are suffering…Commissioner Silverstone thinks it’s wasting time…just hours after yet another resident came at public comments looking for a solution…OUCH!… Yesterday the Town Manager reissued the contract and a time-line
The warehouse property…(prev. post) according to the July 2008 meeting the Commissioners gave the Town Manager direction..a 6 month contract after the Manager and Asst. TM Olinzock added to the packet Advanced Assets Management without informing the Commission of prior contracts with the company…The Mayor read aloud what the company would do…and according to the memos a year and a half later …most of that was not done…Now the TM is saying she had no direction?…Come on!… Her recollection of “I believe one was called By The Sea ” was disingenuous at best…
The lights and the shields…we first heard about shields being installed at the 2/17/10 MPSC meeting when Comm. Silverstone stood up and told us they were being installed he saw the plans from Don Prince (Municipal Works Director)… The shields the TM says will go up “if they accept ” have been put up on every other or every their light pole on El mar last week…So why no advance notice or update at the prior meetings and the workshop as many residents spoke up?.. Since when did FPL do any shields for free?…
The wrong lights were put up in the Minto /El Prado Parking lot…we all knew that…but that it was FPL that did it…that’s sure a new one!…I want to see that memo ..the date and some proof from FPL and Minto…”who gave me a couple of thousands dollars”…and just where in the financial reports did it show it in the bank?…
The Senior Center …Who called whom for the audit…We heard the hard worked and much admired Director has been treated badly by this Manager …The Manger we heard has all his books after she demanded they be turned over…We were told the Town Manager said a staff member would g to the audit and not the Director…who was also informed his payments have been stopped…Someone needs to call the county to see if they are aware of the Town Manger’s strong-arming…
As for the Million dollar project without an RFP…this one should be quite interesting…as many questioned the size and thes cope with no RFP early on in the process…Just one more big ticket project that it look like this Town Manager may have bungled…
Commissioner Silverstone says he remembers all the above, read the memos…perhaps he remembers it the same way he remembers the Kite surfing Ordinance he tried to pass off as instituted by him…only to find out it never happened…and he wrongly stated at the 2nd debate it was “tabled”…after declaring if elected it would be the first thing he brings back… A memo came on February 23, 2010
“Kite surfing
We received phone calls pertaining to Kite Surfing and both Police and Code Enforcement departments are monitoring the area. The above subject has been the topic of discussion since April 28, 2009. This discussion was deferred to July 29, 2009 as a presentation was made by supporters of Kite Surfing, but they never came to the meeting so Vice mayor McIntee withdrew the item
Respectfully submitted EC”
Just as I said when I was so rudely told to “shut up” and told it was “Tabled” at SRClub the evening before…I said exactly what TM Colon states in her memo…So when Jimmy-boy says he remembers something…it’s akin to Town Manager Colon’s “as you will recall”…”Total Recall?” ….Totally unbelievable!…..
more to come….
Tags: FPL puts in the wrong lights in Lauderdale By The Sea Claims Town Manager Esther Colon, Lauderdale By The Sea awaiting Choice Environmental to return to negotiate?, Lauderdale By The Sea Commission meeeting 2-23-2010, Lauderdale By The Sea Senior Center County Audit, Lauderdale By The Sea Town Manager Esther Colon, Lauderdale By The Sea warehouse to go for a Realtor?, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, local government, Local Politics, Minto pays for shields on wrong lights in Lauderdale By The Sea Claims Town Manager Esther Colon, Scoops
