WHERE’S A NET WHEN YOU NEED ONE? …
Dear Readers …the “misses ” just keep on coming when it comes to watching what is happening in this town… At what appears to be the last Roundtable meeting now that the Vice Mayor Dodd, Comm. Sasser and Mayor Minnet finally made the decision that the venue was not working as intended we witnessed the further decline of many on this Commission when it comes to governing …It began right out of the gate with Public Comments and the orchestrated lineup of UOT members including Mark Brown Editor of the BTSFuture , Diana Kuglar, Marie Chiarello, Edmund Malkoon (their choice for candidate in the north for 2012… unless they throw him under the bus at the 11th hour for a 2nd time), Bill Vitollo, and Ron Piersante sounding just as he did in 2006 and 2008 and 2010 taking issue with a Vice Mayor on some agenda item ….This time it was the referendum agenda item VM Dodd put back on after the UM design presentation where parking garages and a new Town Hall /Town Green took center stage once again … It was like a scene from the past watching the procession of a Town PAC come up and make sure to clap loudly off camera in order to portray a majority view held among the townsfolk… (sure looks like opposing VM Dodd for re-election has begun full force) ….. After Public Comment and some back and forth over when to have Rep. Allen West come to Town Hall (July 21st?) the Mayor had her first agenda item on the lengthy meetings and said it was not so much how long the meetings were taking but items discussed and brought back…ie…the VM’s referendum item…This exchange was painful to watch …with Comm. Vincent and Comm. Clottey wanting to retain roundtables…and Clottey wanting Roberts Rules which would have prevented the VM from bring the item back… They all talked about self policing..prioritizing…you name it …It has all been discussed before …This time though as stated above it was finally put to rest with the return of 2 commission meetings…The Town Manager obviously not informed of the pre-meetings which were the norm with Parker, Clark and Yanni and were quickly dissolved due to them turning into pre-voting meetings done with no one in the hall offered up a 2- hour roundtable prior to one of the commission meetings…It was the Mayor that quashed it…Good move on her part … At one point the Vice Mayor spoke up and stated they were being a little unfair as he addressed his agenda item being the cause for some of their comments …Too bad for the Mayor as the camera closeup of the VM included her well known smirk to her supporters in hall…Not a good look for her …never has been…never will be… They addressed the Town Atty. fees …and that too was a debacle at this stage in their terms…(to be posted later with “numbers guy” Comm. Vincent’s tomatoes commentary…priceless) …And then it was the Vice Mayor’s 2nd attempt to get this Commission to take a stand on the Master Plan for this Town and a referendum…(verbatim post to come) …He stated he had watched the UM design presentation and its inclusion of the big ticket items and also stated he wanted to get his fellow members on the record for where they stood on letting the people decide… The Commissioners who are joined at the hip with the UOT-PAC jumped on board and took a giant leap …literally …without a net to keep them safe in the next election …That is if those who still want a say in how their taxpayer monies over $5 million dollars are spent ….This time once again it included Comm. Clottey who asked about the privately funded portion of his intro…But it was all too much fun to watch as Comm. Chris Vincent said with such conviction “No,No, & NO!” (Hmm… the CIC No, no, yes, yes comes to mind from another referendum time)…when he was answered the questions after a barrage of his own to mimic Mark Brown about the costs not known…Unfortunately the Vice Mayor did not call him on his lack of memory when Comm.Vincent asked the cost of the parking garage…The cost was presented to them by the TM after the Deerfield garage guy was asked for his input..(prev. post) ….As far as the other items it’s not too hard to ballpark it …especially for a self proclaimed “numbers guy”…and RMA is supposed to have those figures this month…easy they said based on other municipalities …. It also seems to have fallen on deaf ears once again the time factor involved for a referendum item to get on the ballot…. The Mayor sighed and said such things as they have lost sight of the people and the people want them to make these decisions…(her people in the hall) … She actually said let the people put it on (as they did the height referendums) …and went further to add she is for referendums as long as they are not political!… Comm. Clottey said it was “premature” …and they need to put it to the people when they are ready to do something…Comm. Sasser asked the VM if referendums should be put on for anything 5 years out or more… The Vice Mayor said no…All agreed these items are 5-10 years or more away… Thus, the they went “splat!”…Flying without a “net”! …Why?… Because they are categorically on record once again stating we spent close to the same amount of money ($200,000+) as was paid to outgoing Town Manager Esther Colon on consultants and studies for a plan that will be obsolete 5-10 years from now for that future Commission just as the 2004 one was for this one!… How do they run now?… I believe the only way is that they need to make a pledge that they will not implement any of the big ticket items right after the 2012 election without a referendum vote!… If you listen to their supporters at public comments though that pledge will not be coming anytime soon…. If their polling is bad it might come to the forefront …in a haphazard…desperate move to retain the majority…. But I caution the voters…no pledge should mean no vote for any candidate running for a 2012 commission seat!… The Vice Mayor stayed true to his convictions …He seems to have realized that the redo of the Master Plan has gone too far … and I do believe he would easily make that pledge if he decides to run again …Comm. Clottey might make it as well…but with Malkoon running from UOT will she change her mind and go for another 4 years (the CIC website still shows no new president/board or new meeting date) ….The Mayor no doubt will be checking with her UOT supporters so no pledge is expected … As for this writer…I would have had more respect for those elected officials who stated on the record that they too agree with the UOT that it is this Commission’s decision to make without a referendum…That way while I would still oppose them, I would know this expensive re-do of the Master Plan was not done in vane!.. Just as I was against the CIC majority when they reneged on their promises to be different from their predecessors once in charge…I am against this majority who really do believe at this time they are entitled to pick up where they left off in 2007!…
more to come……
Tags: Civic Organizations, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Mayor Roseann Minnet-Vice Mayor Stuart Dodd-Commissioner Scot Sasser-Commissioner Chris Vincent -Commissioner Birute Clottey- Town Manager Connie Hoffmann, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, local government, Local News, Local Politics, Scoops, The Lauderdale-By-The Sea June 14 2011 Commission Roundtable ... Flying Without A Net ...
