Commissioner Mark Brown, Commissioner Stuart Dodd, Mayor Roseann Minnet & Newly elected Commissioner Elliot Sokolow Election night March 11, 2014

Dear Readers… The voters of LBTS got it right once again!… Candidate Elliot Sokolow won  the election for Commission Seat 1 tonight in a very close race due to candidate Eric Yankwitt not dropping out …in my opinion… Candidate Sokolow did everything right in this election and deserved this win!… He was prepared and organized from the start…He sent out the first mailer with the absentee ballot attached and he won the absentee ballot vote with 202 votes…former Commissioner Clottey who sent out an absentee ballot weeks later won 173 votes and Candidate  Yankwitt who did not won 50 votes … Elliot walked door- to- door … He sent out a second personal post card from his wife  … as well as taking out informative ads and attended meet and greets …He answered every question he was asked by newspapers ( by email and in person) and voters and businesses as well as organizations and in debates without ever changing his answers no matter the audience…He received the Pompano Pelican endorsement after the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board blew their endorsement by not knowing the current facts of our town…Elliot sent out a final mailer which contained the endorsement of the full LBTS Commission as well as the Mayors of Sea Ranch Lakes and Pompano Beach and the Chair of the Hillsboro Inlet Commission!… He made a large number  personal calls and availed himself to all those who called him or stopped him throughout his run for seat 1 whether he was walking into town, to commission meetings, to attend special events, to meet the business owners or even while holding his sign in the last days leading up to election day!… On election day he was at the Town’s  Jarvis election hall from 7 am until 7 pm to hand out palm cards and meet all those voters who made their way to cast their ballot…. All in all Elliot Sokolow did just as those who commissioners that endorsed him  had done…his due diligence …thus earning his seat just as they all did!… Perhaps Commissioner Sokolow will also do what so many of the present commission have  done if he chooses to go for a second term…be unopposed!… Congratulations to Commissioner- Elect Sokolow and all those who supported him, aided him in his campaign, endorsed him and voted for him!… LBTS will now move forward much as it has over the last two years with a commission comprised of those who want the best for our town and will continue the civility we have all enjoyed on the dais and in the town for the most part!….

For those who tried unsuccessfully to define this fine man negatively …tried to revise our town’s history …put forth false claims and fear-mongering of the town’s finances and future … as well as ignoring the election rules  and regulations…their political days are definitely over …as their consequences for actions this election of not adhering to those requirements may not be!….

The referendum items results are as follows- #1 yes/ #2 yes/#3 no/ #4 yes/#5 no/ #6 yes ….#3 …the Mayor -Commissioner without a 2 year gap should have passed and should come back on the ballot in 2016 ..to make it fair ….and most likely will!….

More to come…..

COMMISSIONER SEAT 1 DISTRICT 1 LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA (VOTE FOR 1)

2 of 2 Precincts Reporting

Tags: Lauderdale by the Sea Commission Seat 1 Election March 11 2014, Lauderdale by the Sea Commissioner Mark Brown, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Stuart Dodd, Lauderdale By the Sea Commissioner-Elect Elliot Sokolow, Lauderdale By The Sea Mayor Roseann Minnet, local government, Local News, Local Politics, News, Opinions, Politics, Scoops
Posted in Uncategorized

DID SHE SUBMIT THE “CUBAN” QUESTION?….

Dear Readers…in the previous post this writer wrote about the fear-mongering that was introduced at the Feb. 16, 2010 Meet The Candidates Night meeting when a a question asked by the moderator from the League of Women Voters…As I awaited her response (see below) …little did I expect that the person who submitted that inflammatory question may have been the Town Manager herself!…

I saw today a memo Town Manager Esther Colon sent to the Commissioners dated on the very day of the MTCNight meeting …Feb 16, 2010…The verbage used in this memo which was a response to an “Open Letter” Commissioner Dodd sent to his fellow Commissioners and the Town Manager on Feb. 9, 2010 was identical!…WOW!…How was that possible?  You can judge for yourselves…

Also included was a diatribe …yep another one…that feeds into the belief from many “insiders” in Town Hall that the Manager wants to be fired… She is still in this writer’s opinion trying to justify actions made by her that cannot be justified…Again you be the judge (as one Yellow- paper wrote in their last edition)…

While you are reading this..know this….today we hear the Town Manager hot on the heels of Commissioner Jim “He’s NOT a nice guy” Silverstone’s false statements last night concerning wrongdoing by the Director of the Senior Center has tried to “strong-arm” him with going to Broward County to do an audit he will not be allowed to participate in…and stopping any payment to him at this time without the knowledge of all the Commissioners!… This rings true to me, due to the FACT that this very same “Public Servant” who states in her memo (below)  “In my immediate family, there are four Public Servants and my family’s combined years of public service are in excess of 80 years.” has repeatedly gone after the former Town Fire Marshal to first stop his unemployment benefits (he was entitled to them)…She appealed them…She lost and is trying to appeal them again…OUCH!…

The question now…When and if this stops…with a new commission in March?…

……………………………………………

“Letter to all Commissioners, Mayor, Vice Mayor and Town Manager

February 10, 2010

DO NOT REPLY BECAUSE OF SUNSHINE

I was appalled by the lack of respect and decorum shown by various members on the Dias including the town manager. I would respectfully suggest that the manager carefully reads the ICMA ( International City/Council Manager’s Association) tenets and code of ethics in full. Pay particular attention to tenets 5, 6 and 7. How can you claim that you were not getting involved in politics and then carry out a full scale attack on one of the local newspapers with whom you have a difference of opinion?

Secondly: I wish to point out that the commission voted on the rules of decorum and it was to be only one warning and the vice mayor brought to our attention that this also applied to members of the dais. After only one warning then anyone in the audience or on the dais including the manager can be removed.

Thirdly – I want you all to pay close attention to the difference between a “personal attack” and a “personal opinion”. We have laid down very broad parameters that allow members of the audience the right to address us by name and then criticize the way we carry out our duties as elected officials. It is unpleasant to have to sit through comments such as “Commissioner Dodd you are clueless and have no idea how to conduct the town’s business – why don’t you pack up and go back to England”. This is a personal opinion nothing more. The reference to another country such as England or Cuba is allowed and can not be considered as a “personal attack”. If someone calls you a “liar” or a “thief” or “of doubtful parentage” then these definitions come within the realms of “personal attacks” and the speaker should receive an immediate warning. At last nights meeting in my opinion there were no public comments that were “personal attacks” within our very broad guidelines. The mayor was elected to be the one with the gavel – let her decide whether the speaker crossed the line.

I hope our last two meetings can be conducted with some vestiges of respect towards each other and an understanding of our roles within the municipality and the reasons why we were elected. We are there to serve the people and the manager is there to guide and assist us in every aspect of carrying out our duties (tenets 8, 9 and 10).

Stuart Dodd

A full copy of all tenets can be found on the ICMA web site” http://icma.org/main/bc.asp?bcid=40&t=0

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“Town Of Lauderdale-By-The -Sea

OFFICE OF THE TOWN MANAGER

MEMORANDUM

February 16, 2010

To: Mayor Roseann Minnet

Vice Mayor Jerry McIntee

Commissioner Birute Clottey

Commissioner Stuart Dodd

Commissioner Jim Silverstone

From: Esther Colon, Town Manager

Subject: February 9, 2010 Commission Meeting

This memorandum is in direct response to a letter dated 02/10/2010, authored by the Honorable Commissioner Stuart Dodd, Town of Lauderdale by the Sea, and addressed to “All Commissioners, Mayor, Vice Mayor and Town Manager.”

Since this letter is addressed to me. I see it as only fitting and proper I respond.

We are currently in the midst of a very nasty political campaign that sees to bring out the worst in peple resulting in unsubstantiated, misguided and uniformed expressions that are publicly reported as facts, when the truth remains untold.

I need not remind you that I am not a politician running for office. I am not participating in any political campaign, and I have not publicly endorsed anyone running for office,

I am a professional contractual employee of the Town of Lauderdale by the Sea. I was contracted as the Town Manager, and pursuant to Florida Law and the Town’s Charter, I am obliged to comply and insure compliance with existing laws and ordinances. My actions are not guided or motivated by any underlying political motive, as I am not an elected official, nor do I want to be. I am an appointed employee of the Town. I was appointed by a majority of a sitting commission, made up of five elected officials.

Lately, an item contention has been the claim that I have an employment contract for life. That could not be further from the truth. The truth is that I serve art the pleasure of the five sitting member commission. If you do the math, it takes one swing vote on the commission to terminate my lifetime contract. If at any time, three sitting commissioners decide that my services are no longer needed or desired you need only to speak up and vote your conscience.

Having said that, after more than 30 years of public service and countless accomplishments and recognitions, I refuse to apologize for a contract that I negotiated in god faith,in a public forum that was approved by five elected officials. If you disapprove of my performance, all it takes is that one swing vote. In the meantime I intend to carry out and fulfill my duties as Town Manager until otherwise decided by a majority of the Town’s Commission.

Now, I would like to address the issue of freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. I do understand that publications in this country have the absolute constitutional right to express and print their opinions. This is an immense power that can be used to mislead the public into believing information as factual when in reality it is information expressing one biased political viewpoint. Let me remind you that every story has three sides, two opposing opinions and the truth somewhere in the middle. It is also my constitutional right and responsibility when it relates to facts I know not to be true.

Freedom of speech does not give a person license to be disrespectful and or discriminatory. Although commissioner Dodd opines otherwise, a comment “Why don’t you pack up and go back to England” when directed at a person of English ethnicity, or a comment such as the one recently made at the February 09, 2010 Commission meeting. “Cuba, get out of this country, get back in your boat, go find your paddles, go back to you dictator”, is very much offensive, insulting,disrespectful, unprofessional, disgusting, demeaning, annoying, discriminatory…. need I say more? No, this is not an expression of an opinion; far from it. In fact, it is foul conduct that constitutes disorderly conduct. I can not more strongly express my disagreement with Commissioner Dodd’s opinion that these comments are not personal attacks. If they were not personal, please explaining to whom these comments were directed to?

As for going back to Cuba. I should not dignify the comment with a response, but let me say my father was born in the US and served honorably in the US Navy and my mother was Cuban born and worked her entire life in New York retiring from her job and realizing the American dream of owning her own home with a white picket fence. In my immediate family, there are four Public Servants and my family’s combined years of public service are in excess of 80 years. And last but not least, I was born in the State of New York, in the United States of America. The Cuban comment was not an opinion; it was an utterance of complete disrespect. It goes without saying that even though I am not one myself, we are a country of immigrants, a fact that I am proud of.

The biggest insult though is Commissioner Dodd’s admonition of my conduct as it I were his direct subordinate (God forbid). Commissioner Dodd, not only are your opinions misguided, but I for one, am not certainly bound by them. What in heaven’s name wee you trying to accomplish with your letter?

Respectfully submitted Esther Colon, Town Manager”

………………………………………..

COMPARE….

QUESTION READ FEB 16, 2010 LOWV MEET THE CANDIDATES NIGHT…

Moderator Carol Smith- “This is a question on decorum on the dais. Freedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the Unite States Constitution and by many State Constitutions etc.considering our protection on freedom of speech.
However, being educated enough to know when racism is being brought into Town meetings, how do you view the issue of recent public comments made in Town meetings such as Banana Republic. get out of this country, get back in your boat, go, I’m reading this, go find your paddles, go back to your Dictator. As a member of the Town council will you continue to allow this type of speech as freedom of speech or do you think it should be considered proper.”

MEMO SENT BY TOWN MANAGER ESTHER COLON FEBRUARY 16, 2010…

“Freedom of speech does not give a person license to be disrespectful and or discriminatory. Although commissioner Dodd opines otherwise, a comment “Why don’t you pack up and go back to England” when directed at a person of English ethnicity, or a comment such as the one recently made at the February 09, 2010 Commission meeting. “Cuba, get out of this country, get back in yout boat, go find your paddles, go back to you dictator, is very much offensive, insulting,disrespectful, unprofessional, disgusting, demeaning, annoying, discriminatory…. need I say more? No, this is not an expression of an opinion; far from it. In fact, it is foul conduct that constitutes disorderly conduct. I can not more strongly express my disagreement with Commissioner Dodd’s opinion that these comments are not personal attacks. If they were not personal, please explaining to whom these comments were directed to?”

………………………………

THE FACTS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS MADE FEBRUARY 9, 2010…(prev. post)

This writer wrote a post on Commissioner Jim Silverstones “Whopper” of a $3 million dollar deal (prev. posts) that included an excerpt from a story I wrote for the BTSTimes in 2007…

“BC-FUNNY STUFF- “The audience was incensed and one resident screamed out in disgust, accusing the Mayor, the attorneys and the developers of being thieves! ( This resident is from Cuba and could not contain his anger towards this happening in his country.)… Yep, it’s him…Mayoral candidate Joe Couriel!…”

At public comments resident Bob Schuyler spoke about that article and included the following statement “Then a local resident from Cuba called all involved thieves. How about the one dealing from his personal office?” Meaning Comm. Silverstone and his statement on Jan. 26, 2010 that he made a deal in his office on Commercial Blvd…

Joe Couriel the Furth-CIC-endorsed candidate for Mayor came to speak and he said this as he ended his comments…” Um, thank you very much and ah, by the way I did call out thief. I was pro, very proudly removed from the audience at that time because those that made that deal gave away two million dollars of our money and ah, we could’ve had more. But what happened to that other two million who knows? Maybe one day we’ll find out. Thank you.”

…………………………………

BC- First, Comm. Silverstone take note… Joe Couriel acknowledges this writer wrote the truth in 2007…Take note readers- Joe Couriel candidate for Mayor says ” I was pro, very proudly removed from the audience at that time”…and Take note voters- Joe Couriel candidate for Mayor says “because those that made that deal gave away two million dollars of our money and ah, we could’ve had more. But what happened to that other two million who knows? Maybe one day we’ll find out.”…either he is buying the “Whopper” Commissioner Silverstone was selling on Jan. 26th…or perhaps he too needs to visit the Fl. Ethics Commission to explain any knowledge of  an ex parte communication violation Comm. Silverstone was a party to?… OOPS!…

………………………………….

Right after Joe Couriel, resident Chuck Gress was called to the podium to make his public comments which ended with this ” We’re a democracy and not a dictatorship. You want your  like run by a Dictator move to Cuba. Ask yourself this, ask this, how many people are on the nightly news with stories being reported about them making rafts out of coconuts and plywood trying to paddle to Cuba?”

……………………………..

BC- again, Readers can see the comments came from an article written by this writer in the By The Sea Times in 2007 …

First  LBTS Resident Bob Schuylar referenced it in his comments directed to Comm. Jim Silverstone and not to Town Manager Colon …

Second Mayor Candidate Mr Couriel said the 2007 article was truthful…and he did yell out and was removed from the hall…and was proud of it…

Third LBTS Resident Mr. Gress made his comments that have been said often by politicians and immigrants from Cuba and those comments in this writers opinion were “used” by the Town Manager, the Vice Mayor and several backers of Candidates Silverstone, Evans and Couriel to rile up the hall!….

Perhaps the Town Manager should revisit the video and see what was actually said… http://lbts.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=287

As far as the contract the Town Manager speaks up “Lifetime contract” she knows full well is used due to the FACTS that she has no term in her contract, something this writer is told was in her initial contract agreement…and if she is terminated she walks away with one full years salary to the tune of $160,000 + …and no matter how many times this Town Manager, Commissioner Silverstone, Vice Mayor McIntee or her backers try to make the taxpayers look elsewhere …this “truth” is contained in her own words…the words of Commissioner Silverstone and Vice Mayor McIntee from 2007 to 2009 when all three repeatedly told the taxpayers her contract was the “SAME” as her predecessor with the exception of not having 10 weeks paid leave…It was this writer who found she had put in a one years salary that former Town Manager Bodb Baldwin never had…also found by this writer!…

Here’s the kicker, Madam Manager.. I recall and Readers can see for themselves the video of the two meetings in May of 2007 when you were hired and your contract approved…If at that time you asked publicly for a years salary to be included…judging from the Commission, who were falling all over themselves to give you this “permanent” (Then-Comm. McIntee’s motion)…no on would have said “BOO!”…It’s the 2 years of continuing to assert a falsehood that is thew root of the problem…truth can always be found when armed with the contract, the former TM contract…the minutes and the video!…

As for the Town Manager not being political…and not wanting to be an elected official…I ask the Commission on February 23, 2010 to ask the Town Manager to leave the center seat of the dais and sit with her staff in the hall. She should come to the podium when the Commission needs her report or her input as is the precedent in many municipalities and will surely comply with her desire not to be perceived as a commissioner!…

And finally, I did  receive a reply from Ms. Smith the moderator from the LOWV…it was even more disturbing and gives this writer pause in my opinion of the Broward LOWV and their method of conducting such forums… I replied and that is below as well….

…………………………………

THE E-MAILS LOWV…Feb. 17, 2010….
Re: Questions for LBTS Meet The Candidate Nights
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 11:20 AM
From:
“Carol Smith”
To:
“Barbara Cole”
Dear Ms. Cole,
I did not write the questions–I merely read what was submitted. Even the Sun Sentinel in its article on Lauderdale by the Sea identified the rude behavior during some Town meetings. Where the problem lies, I do not know. It is up to the candidates to address the question as presented. That particular question will not be asked on the 25th–it’s already been answered. It is not up to me to check the facts in the question. Someone thought the question important enough to be asked.

The voters will make their choices on March 9.

Thank you for your interest.
Carol

………………………..
Re: Questions for LBTS Meet The Candidate Nights
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 12:42 PM
From:
“Barbara Cole”
To:
“Carol Smith”
Ms. Smith, I am disturbed by your response. The Sentinel article was also the recipient of many responses from some of the candidates and LBTS citizens for false statements made.
I feel you inflamed a situation by using that “Cuban” question. I also think the writer of that letter needs to be made public.
I say this due to a memo I have posted this afternoon from our Town Manager to the LBTS Commissioners that contains the very same verbage used in your question. The memo was distributed on Feb 16, 2010.
How is it possible that the verbage was identical?
Either the question was submitted by the Town Manager, or the Town Manager was in possession of it and used the letter submitted for this meeting prior to the meeting.
Both scenarios are cause for concern.
I still feel the LOWV owes the voters and residents of LBTS an apology at the Feb 25, 2010 meeting.
Barbara Cole.

…………………………..

This is another LBTS Rorschach test…..

more to come….

Tags: Broward League Of Women Voters, Lauderdale by the sea Commissioner Jim Silverstone, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Stuart Dodd, Lauderdale By The Sea Fear-mongering By Town Manager?, Lauderdale By The Sea Town Manager Esther Colon, local government, Local Politics, Scoops
Posted in Uncategorized

PULLING THE “MAT” OUT FROM UNDER THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ……

Dear Readers… The Town Manager does not like what she cannot control….and she cannot control the Chamber…So she retaliates…we’ve seen it before …over and over again in the last 2 years …All done with no regard  to protocol or the commission-manager form of government spelled out in the Town Charter…Why should she care…she knows the current majority on the dais Comms. Silverstone-Clottey and VM McIntee will have her back no matter what unilateral action she takes…And if at anytime the majority changes and the “party” is over …TM Colon knows she has her ace in the hole …The Silverstone-McIntee 2007 contract they kept under wraps for 2 years that gives her $250,000+ if she is terminated!….

The Manager held off in giving the Chamber their budgeted $28,000 dollars until the 20th of January and then went ahead without consulting the Commission and chose to pay out $19,081.23 to bring them back to a 0 balance according to the Chamber’s profit and loss statement…After the fact she put it on the Jan. 26, 2010 agenda under Manager’s report…Needless to say, once again her unilateral actions brought forth a flurry of upset from the Chamber, their supporters, businesses and the minority Commissioners on the dais in the days in between… UGH!…

Before we cover the meeting…let’s go back over a few important points…

On July 28, 2009 the Town Commision had a Special Hearing on the 2009-2010 budget…from the minutes… http://www.lauderdalebythesea-fl.gov/town/spc-meetings-09.htm

“Commissioner Clottey believed that if ANOTHER $20,000 donation by Broward County Vice Mayor Ken Keechl was received for the Chamber, that amount should come off the budget.”

“Mayor Minnet reviewed the items discussed”..

“10) SHOULD the Chamber receive a $20,000 donation from the County for the Visitor Center that amount should be reduced out of the budget.”

“It was the consensus of the Commission that SHOULD the Chamber receive the $20,000 donation from Vice Mayor Ken Keechl, the Chamber would only receive $8,000 from the Town”

BC- The Commission was in consensus only if the Chamber received a 2nd $20,000 from the County there would be a deduction of the $28,000 budgeted to them!…

On page 47 of the 2009-2010 LBTS Adopted Annual Budget ” Municipal Building- Chamber Of Commerce”

“Funding of contractual service for the Chamber of Commerce Welcome Center. Maintenance, operating, building supplies, and repairs. Funded allocation of maintenance worker for maintenance of grounds and building.”

On Page 49-“Cultural & Recreation”

” Funding of contractual services for the concert series . Funded equipment maintenance and service agreements. Provided funding for special event activities for Easter, Halloween, Christmas By The Sea, July 4th and other special events sponsored by the Town.”

On Page 64- “Municipal Building -Chamber Of Commerce”

“GOAL: To act as host to visitors while providing a wide range of information to residents and visitors.”

“DEPARTMENTAL OBJECTIVES: To assist in their transportation needs to assist visitors during their vacation to provide tour information to major attractions and restaurants in South Florida, and to provide assistance to visitors in finding accommodations.”

“ACHIEVEMENTS: The Chamber provided assistance to over 7,845 residents and visitors that walked in as of 04/30/09, made 1,440 Visitor’s guides as of 04/30/09,. The web-site has recorded 43,318 as of 04/30/09.

On page 65 General Fund -Chamber of Commerce… the adopted budget under “maintenance materials” jumped from 2,750 to 18,601.00…Hmmm….

In the justification sheets it was 33,251.00of which 30,000 was for a new roof …it was addressed prior to the special hearing by Comm. Dodd after he was informed the Chamber did not need a 30,000 new roof…somehow the amt. is now approx. half… If the Chamber is still not in need of a new roof…the $15,000 plus the 9,000 …will go into what many refer to as the Town “slush fund” that begins in June of every year…Those “unencumbered” funds are then used for all kinds of things…left to the Town Manger’s discretion…in the last 3 months of the budgeted year for items such as new vehicles for staff …. OUCH!…

We are told …The Chamber is open 7 days a week, 8 hours a day 52 weeks of the year…The employees make $11 per hour and that comes to 32,032.00…add in social security and the cost annually is 36,837.00…

To date the Chamber of Commerce has not received their new contract from the Town…

The Town Manager’s Report- The Manager said she sent the Commissioners a memo which included the Chambers profit and loss statement ending in Dec. 2009 …on the cover it stated that and  “Payment for the loss will be made accordingly.”…She went on to try and justify her unilateral actions by repeating that the Chamber is a non- profit organization.

The Mayor spoke and said that this was supposed to be an appropriation for the funding of the Chamber and questioned the Town Manager on changing that allocation to be based on the Chamber’s profit and loss. She asked about such changes being made at the discretion of the Town Manager.

The Manager shot back it was not at her discretion and then did what is now the Esther Colon M.O. of covering her actions…Readers…anytime TM Colon starts her response with “As you recall”…sit up and pay attention because it never fails to be something that never took place!… This time was no exception ” But if you recall the Chamber received $20,000 from Broward County so that would probably be my assumption of why their loss was only 18,000 dollars. But I don’t believe that this town can use private funds for private gain when they are clearly a non profit organization and that is why I remitted the funds in the amount of the loss.”

The Commission addressed the issue later in the evening when Comm. Dodd’s item came up  in New Business… Comm. Dodd added to the Mayor’s earlier comments about the Commission budgeting 28,000 for the Camber for the year and put forth the Town Manager should not have changed what was voted on for this year…He said it put the Chamber in a bind as they already budgeted for the amount the Town had advised them they would receive…

Comm. Silverstone who always has the Town Manger’s back …( a vote for Silverstone means 4 more years of having TM Colon)…answering the minority Commissioners about the money the Chamber was “shorted” by the Town Manager  Silverstone said ” Thank you, missing money? Nothing’s missing! It’s just that it’s not a profit organization. I don’t understand that! I don’t understand the logic in that! Why we, we’re in a sense giving them a profit then. We’re using taxpayers money to give them a profit. How do you justify that? “…

BC- Hmmm. The VFD is a non- profit that takes the excess funds and puts them in a fund in the bank…paid for by the taxpayers…

The Town Manger then reiterated the non profit status and held up their documents for effect…

Comm. Silverstone ” So, so if somebody can justify to me. I’ll vote for it. If you can justify to me why we should do this, why we should use taxpayers money to in effect give them a profit you got my vote.”

Commissioner “Clueless” Clottey tried to do a McIntee …wheel and deal on the dais with offering up that they already gave the Chamber $4,500 so they were actually closer to the 28,000 …Hmmm…problem is …the 5,000 was in ADDITION to the 28,000 per the budget!…Apparently Clottey forgot her statement in July 2009  when she brought up the 20,000 from the County and really crossed over into la la land with stating ” Ah, this is supposed to kinda be reimbursing the Town for what they have paid.”… HUH?…She also said “We’ve already given them way over the 20,000 this past year, we have!”…

The Town Manager or as she is now known Commissioner #6…went after Comm. Dodd saying she looked at her files from 2006 when Dodd asked about the Chamber and why they were making a profit… With zeal she wanted to do a “gotcha” …But what Comm. Dodd will tell you is he was unaware of all the Chamber did at that time, like so many of us drinking the Kool-aid of anti- Chamber of Commerce!…After he zingers she said meekly she would follow the direction of the commission… Cart before the horse…comes to mind…

Comm. Dodd again spoke of what was budgeted and that his was deja vue to the Town Manager’s actions with the Chamber’s Christmas By The Sea monies shorted by the Town Manger without consulting the commission…

The Town Manager did not back down on his past inquiry and tried mightily to use it to back up her unilateral actions…

Mayor Roseann Minnet asked about the dates of the profit and loss for the Chamber which are January to December  not coinciding with the Town’s budgeting time…She again spoke of the Town appropriating the money for projects throughout the year for the Chamber of Commerce and said ther were no stipulations attached….She said the Chamber should be funded the full amount and asked about the VFD and their non profit status…

Rudely, the Town Manager responded to the Mayor that the VFD had a different contract than the Chamber …adding “I’m sure you looked at that one!”…(insinuating the Mayor looked into the VFD contract)…

Diane Boutin Manager of the Windjammer Resort came to speak as a “loyal member” of the Chamber, not a board member…and addressed the role of the Chamber as “the sole marketing arm for the Town of Lauderdale By The Sea”…it brought LBTS to national attention 8 -9 years ago and spoke of the tax revenues …She spoke of the visiting center …being historic …for 45 years…and the A1A Scenic highway and supporting it just as supporting the Senior Center and the VFD and their new equipment…She said it was contractual work they do for the Town and it is not a donation…

The Vice Mayor (we are counting down the meetings until he’s history)… went after the Chamber spouting Furth-isms…of the Chamber being mostly outside businesses that diminishes their standing…He brought up the Green Market (that shut down thanks to his actions)…and his tirade from the past when he played his “David vs Goliath” due to a vendor being an out of town flower shop competing with local flower shops…Those shops are now gone…He tried to call for the vote on Comm. Dodd’s motion to give the Chamber the full 28,000

Comm. Clottey a tried to amend the motion to deduct the 4,500 (Christmas By The Sea budgeted funds-separate from the budgeted 28,000) Dodd accepted it but there was no 2nd…

Paul Novak President of the Chamber rose from the front row to speak and Vice Mayor McIntee (still having the gavel after taking it when Mayor Minnet 2nd Comm. Dodd’s motion) ..tried to stop him due to the late hour…Mr Novak said he wanted to respond to  McIntee… He said the Chamber cannot stand on its own “in our geographic location”…He said they Can’t make it, that’s why they go out of town and “there’s nothing wrong with it.”… He addressed McIntee’s comments about the flower shops and the farmer’s market …saying for $20 those shops could have participated…it was a success…He said they are  a welcome center and it costs a  lot of money to run it…that we are the only welcome center in Broward County …they expected 28,000 and the 20,000 was “a windfall” from Broward County …He said they look at the Town as sponsors of the Chamber …They are the only group that promotes this town “if you want to blow the Chamber away I don’t know who else is going to do what we do. It’s not that simple.”…He went on to speak of the change from 35,000 a few years back to 28,000 and said 28,000 was not “exorbitant”…Paul said 30% are out of town businesses and they have 280 members…He appealed to them for the 28,000 and asked for “some kind of clear path of knowing what is going to happen in the future”…

Comm. Silverstone (his insert foot in mouth finale)… ” Last bite of my apple here. I appreciate the Chamber Paul and appreciate what’s been done but I also know we have a contract with the Chamber (has Jimmy even seen it?) and I also understand that um, um I have politically, the smartest thing for me to do politically would be to give you money and vote for it and go that’s the thing to do but I have a higher responsibility to the citizens of this town and the people who pay taxes and unfortunately the reality is 90% of the tax money that comes in of all the money that comes in to support this town comes from residents and I’m probably being generous with that. (Shades of Oliver Parker!)… I cannot. I’m not doing my job by giving money to a non profit organization. I can’t justify it with the taxpayers money. Ah, you have a contract. If you need more that’s next year. Ah, this year you came under budget. But I, I can’t justify giving you ah, ah what in turn is a profit. It just does not make any sense to me. It’s not right to the citizens taxpayers of this town. Um I yield.”…

BC-4 more years…people..you really want 4 more years of this?…

Mayor Minnet” I look at this a whole different way. This is not looking at the whole picture of what the Chamber actually does for this community and how they offset what the residents have to do because id you took the mix of the businesses out of what they offer to this community as far as revenue is concerned taxes on the residential base would be considerably higher. These businesses and this Chamber is saving this town money by bringing revenues into this town by staying with us and continuing to service that visitors center.Even though I know it does serve quite a bit of Broward County, it’s still in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea. It still is a name recognition for the Town Of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea and that’s what the most important thing is. So I’m looking at the bigger picture here and the long term benefits of what it has for the residents of this town. You can look at it any other way you want, this was an appropriation fro the Chamber of Commerce and I will leave it at that.”

BC- This is who we need in the “center seat” on the dais for the next 2 years!…

Commissioner Clottey interrupted the vote to say she wanted to make a motion afterward…The vote was taken and it failed 3-2!

Commissioner Silverstone-Commissioner Clottey- Vice Mayor McIntee voted against the 28,000/ Mayor Minnet-Commissioner Dodd voted yes to honor the 2009-2010 budgeted amt. for the Chamber…

Comm. Clottey again tried for the 4,500..it died for lack of a 2nd…

The LBTS Chamber of Commerce was “shorted” by the Town Manager-Commissioner Silverstone-Commissioner Clottey- Vice Mayor McIntee $9,500 this year!…

The Commissioners receive approx. 10,ooo a year plus….perks and “pet” programs funded…

Commissioner Silverstone received in 2009-2010 from the Town  …insurance-cellphone allowance- his recreational programs 34,000/ Easter By The Sea 3,000/Halloween 4,000

Commissioner Clottey received in 2009-2010 from the Town …insurance- cell phone allowance – her concert series 7,500

VM McIntee received in 2009-2010 from the Town …. cell phone allowance- his recreational programs 34,000

Comm. Dodd received in 2009-2010 from the Town…cell phone allowance

Mayor Minnet received in 2009-20110 from the Town ……nothing…nada….zip!…

more to come……..

Tags: Broward mayor Ken Keechl, Lauderdale By The Sea Chamber of Commerce, Lauderdale By The Sea Chmaber shorted budgeted funds, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Birute Clottey, Lauderdale by the sea Commissioner Jim Silverstone, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Stuart Dodd, Lauderdale By The Sea Mayor Roseann Minnet, Lauderdale By The Sea Town Manager Esther Colon, Lauderdale By the Sea Vice Mayor Jerry McIntee, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, local government, Local Politics, organizations, Scoops
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THE DOORS OPEN TO QUALIFY TOMORROW  9 AM …..

Dear Readers… It’s quiet today in Town Hall…but tomorrow it will be quite a different story…Tomorrow is the first day the candidates for the March 9, 2010 Municipal election can qualify to officially run for a seat on the LBTS Commission!… We know three declared candidates already…Mayor Roseann Minnet, Scot Sasser and Chris Vincent…You know them as well… They made their way to your neighborhood in the past weeks….and you now see their signs all over town…from the north to the south… Who they will be running against is still up in the air!…As previously posted the CIC canceled (according to their site) a meeting tonight …It was thought they would be announcing who the CIC would vote to back one day before the official qualifying begins….This is quite a change from the 2008 election….In the CIC that was Chaired at that time by then-candidate Stuart Dodd and Vice-Chaired by this writer…the candidates had already answered an extensive CIC questionnaire put together by CIC member and former Mayor Ken Wardlaw…The candidates had been to several CIC meetings to answer questions and the CIC was mailed ballots to vote for candidates…as well as a final vote done prior to this time to officially validate that the candidates were CIC endorsed…

With the fallout of Vice Mayor Jerry McIntee’s big gamble and big landslide loss for VFD Fire Chief and his all-out “war” to take the VFD down and go after Chief Perkins with an “oversight” assist from Town Manager Colon (prev. posts)…how could the CIC back him?… After all, THE major accomplishment for the CIC-PAC after getting the “Broom Boys” elected in 2006 and getting the majority on the dais in 2008, was and is the return of the VFD!.. So can the organization and the Furths still find a way to back McIntee now that he is actively trying to destroy the VFD because they did not support him for Fire Chief?… That will be some spin if they do!…Just how much Kool-aid would need to be consumed to make that appear kosher?… As for Jimmy-boy (He’s NOT a nice guy-and certainly NO gentleman) Silverstone…We are told he too is actively helping McIntee and Colon fro behind the scenes to hurt the VFd (being we are told 1 of ONLY 4 -5  members that actually voted for Mcintee to be Chief)…We  have heard from countless patrons that his Fiancee’ does not want him to run…And those he used to be friends with but threw under the bus to aid and abet his BFF McIntee and TM Colon have told him his “unfinished business” is finished and to get his priorities straight!.. “Walk away from the dais,you’re done!”… Cristie Furth, appears to have no one left to enlist..Will she usurp Silverstone’s Fiancee’ and get Jimmy-boy to do what then-candidate Dodd would not?…(Sausage series-cat.)…Ms. Furth, as longtime readers will recall was promised by then-candidate McIntee in 2006 that in the next election (2008) he would back her for commission …That did not happen when Stuart Dodd chose to run for the seat…(This writer backed him)…Stuart would not switch to run for Mayor (despite Cristie’s pushing hard for it)…and McIntee while feigning his support for Christie did “a McIntee” and threw her under the bus as she was assured of time to explore her options by enlisting Peanuts (who will always be Peanuts, not Larry) Wick…Thus ending her run in 08…We have heard for some time she would try again for a commission seat…and unless it is she who wants to run against the incumbent Mayor… In the end it will be quite interesting to see who has Jimmy-boy’s ear ..the Fiancee’ or the Furths?… As for Peanuts… We are told his longtime acquaintances have also told him, take a pass…Especially after his embarrassing “boy-messenger” time at the podium at both meetings in December…and going after the Mayor’s long- gone previous campaign manager and Greenfest …a non-starter for a “paltry $33″…that has cost the taxpayers much more in Town attorney fees…Also, he’s a goner for a run after Commissioner Clottey essentially called him a lush for his intoxicated and slanderous attacks on the Mayor in her [Clottey] presence at the Chamber’s Holiday party at Aruba in order to defend herself for not interjecting or stopping him after a resident called Clottey out on her “assist” in the diatribe at public comments!…We hear overtures have been made from the “Gang” to the Bel Air Assoc.President and Vice President…. to no avail..A look at the last  required CIC  filing with the Town proves that  the lack of attendance in Jarvis Hall since the orchestrated “CIC-Parade” of support for TM Colon…(prev.posts- TM annual performance review) is due to lack of members…In 2009…most members were from one building of  a new member’s ( Furth friend /BTSTimes staff writer) building in the south and VFD members…. One member that is new, a VFD member has told many he was being actively “courted” to run for Mayor is now as of Dec. 14th a newly elected  officer in the VFD and openly anti-McIntee …So there is a conflict ..via the still in place and again observed VFD By-laws prohibiting an officer from being an elected official…

So what can we expect in the next days of qualifying for the March 9,2010 election? … Who knows?..

The disarray in the CIC finds itself in now, was written on this site long, long ago…right after the last election…with the Sausage series…The PAC voting  Cristie Furth and Moe Mcintee  (the new Vice Mayor’s wife) in as Chair and Vice Chair…They actively changed the organization from a “watchdog” group to a Jerry McIntee “Cheerleading” group…and nothing else with the vile e-mails and verbal attacks from these two and the current Chair/ BTSTimes Editor Bob Roberts toward CAC (pre-CIC)  founder John Thompson…the “tar and feathering” of Commissioner Stuart Dodd after he requested a simple and long known “sabbatical” from the CIC ( Sausage series)…and the continued false statements of him being a “turncoat” when a look at Dodd’s 2008 campaign and his actions over the last 2 years prove he has not changed one iota …the CIC has!…

Guess the word got out loud and clear….from one end of town to the other…why in the world would anyone in their right mind want to run for the commission endorsed by the CIC, much less belong to this failing organization itself?…The CIC  in 2010 remains as it was when this writer left it in 2008….LBTS’ own “Hotel California”…”You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave!….Just ask the VFD!…

Who will be walking through the Town Hall door tomorrow?…. Mayor Roseann Minnet, Scot Sasser and Chris Vincent…three fine candidates…who are fully supported…totally organized and ready to earn your vote!

more to come….

Tags: Civic Organizations, Lauderdale By The Sea Candidates Mayor Roseann Minnet/Scot Sasser/ Chris Vincent, Lauderdale By The Sea CIC, Lauderdale By The Sea Com. Jim silverstone, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Birute Clottey, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Stuart Dodd, Lauderdale By The Sea March 9 2010 Municipal Election, Lauderdale By The Sea VFD, Lauderdale By the Sea Vice Mayor Jerry McIntee, local government, Local Politics, Scoops, VFD
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A FINAL LOOK BACK AT 2009 …..

Dear Readers …as promised the real retrospective of what happened in LBTS in 2009…Informed readers know that repetition of “fearmongering” by the “gang” cannot pass muster this time around…because nothing goes unchallenged ….What has been posted from daily is an accurate account their own actions and in their own words …

IN 2009….

We heard Calypso’s time was running out prior to the presidential election and in the end it was a no go after communities came together to speak out against it… We saw that the pavilion had a permit problem at the end of 2008 and the start of a unilateral decision made by the Town Manager to change the Forbes design seen only when a rendition was put up causing quite a ruckus that continued on throughout 2009…and continues still…We saw fees increasing at an alarming rate brought forth by the Town Manager and staff through codes and code sweeps…Moe McIntee went “Truth Deflector”…and tried unsuccessfully to remain anonymous as she “slapped” those who called it like it is …Vice Mayor McIntee made a scene at Athena By The Sea and was called out in a letter …with fallout to come…A drowning victim was found on the beach…The CIC called for members to re-up and found their re-up efforts were re-down…Vice Mayor McIntee was now VFD Deputy Chief McIntee despite promises made after his last turn in the same role and breaking the VFD By-laws…The Pelican Hopper was hopping out of money and needed an influx of taxpayer cash…it would come unilaterally from the TM…Height referendums  were discussed at workshops …Palm Club residents were called to come to Jarvis Hall with Vice Mayor Mcintee “pulling a Parker” on them…with false hopes of ” Gold Shovel” federal funds for the sewers…Vice Mayor McIntee went after the Pier sign to take it down …Athena By The Sea owner Louis Marchelos caught his hypo-Crissie on tape and played to a “hissing” response from the Vice Mayor’s wife…In the infamous “Cockroach” exchange…an encounter after the meeting with Mr Marchelos.. a filed McIntee  police report ..The incident was published in and outside of town limits in local newspapers…and in Feb. Moe McIntee had a different version at the podium…(like husband like wife)…Decorum special meeting…The Master Plan Steering Committee began talk of the medians for the south per the Manager’s continued instruction the Oriana million could only be used for that part of El Mar….only to find at years end she was wrong…and the “Gang would” vote in Dec. to spend the million on it anyway…no matter walkers of El Mar and the MPSC do not want it!…

The ribbon cutting for the $2 million dollar Public Safety building…despite the BSO not in…and VFD not allowed to sleep there …Bags finally came off the meters throughout town…The new VFD-ATV  broke …Vice Mayor was caught in the “purchasing” on the repairs /new  apparatus despite a letter to the Fl. Ethics Comm. he did not have any such role…Comm. Silverstone began frequent his freedom of speech “Norm Crosby”/ answering the public comments made act…Joe Couriel thrown out of the meeting called VM McIntee “God”…Vice Mayor McIntee was now called a “Vigilante” in town for patrolling and calling out code violations…Vice Mayor McIntee was proposing his VFD referendum to make the VFD a lifetime public safety provider…Vice Mayor McIntee, Comms. Clottey and Silverstone  wanted to put bathrooms in the alleyway…This writer found out Deerfield Beach was asking for the annual performance review for their Town Manager and began the search to see if TM Colon was to have on as well…The pre-proposal meeting took place for the Waste contract RFP …This writer found a seriously flawed contract brought to the table by the Town Manager and poorly presented by her Asst. TM Olinzock..it contained a requirement for a toter per unit and warnings given verbally that day and posted of the up-rise that would ensue fell on deaf ears…This writer received the Manager’s contract to find an annual performance review was indeed required before the budget was adopted each September…This was just the beginning for that portion of Esther Colon’s contract and for what else she put in it….

We saw 2nd readings of ordinances …go back to the drawing table numerous times…$$$$…boats and Tennis and more…because some commissioners could not do their homework..Comm. Dodd offered up a code of Ethics based on the Miami/ Dade ordinance…and it died as a “2-hats” ordinance from the dais majority…contents buried in it would come back into play later in 2009 with the “cone of silence” lame excuse by the TM who erroneously after she used it to imply the Town had such it on the books …and it wad found we do not…… Broward Commissioner Ken Keechl gave the Welcome Center $20,000 and the TM, and Comm. Clottey tried to take it away from the Chamber’s annual amount for 2010… as the Chamber had to jump through hoops to get the check from the Town…. A look into the audit for this writer brought forth the news that the Town Manager had unilaterally accepted a 3 year $200,000+ contract with the (way too) long Town Auditors after a look back at the video and the minutes showed she was “informing” the commission of her actions never getting a vote and she supplied them with the prior contract with the prior amounts made to the previous commission although the Town had a current packet at that time…Comm. Dodd chased this one down…leading to an ongoing RFP/ITB conflict that later boiled over in July…The new RFP for audit went out at the end of the 2009…Looking forward to the 2010 election and needing new blood in the CIC the majority CIC dais member voted for spending over $50,000 for blacktopping N. Tradewinds despite protestations from other area residents that said there’s was worst……The recipient became a CIC member and a writer to the BTSTimes Editor…. Bel Air and Terra Mar residents were at odds over the way Bel air got its new signs and Terra Mar’s bridge is again pushed to the future…(in the budget for over 5 years).On March 10, 2009 this writer posted an article from the Miami Herald Business section that Mayor Minnet and family had sold a warehouse for $416,340 stating maybe the Mayor could help the Town with their still unsold and never brought back to the dais west side warehouse sale …The Mayor’s warehouse would pop up at the last meeting of 2009 with the Vice Mayor and his anonymous letter where he lied and said she flipped a house for that amount and he had a letter from the not so anonymous letter writer…There is no letter…and the Mayor requested it on Dec. 9th with still no response from the VM…because this was the sale..and again McIntee screwed up his “investigation”…RFP bids were opened for the Waste contract bids..no problems at all reading them “aloud” after being “publicly opened”…but that would change in July anyhow…The last sight of any real number of CIC members were directed to Jarvis Hall after a CIC meeting to “parade” to the podium and support the TM and thwart an annual performance review…..The CIC tried again to have a Town Hall meeting after failing with the 1st one…and failed once more……it was the last one…Planning and Zoning finally sat on the dais to get to some land regulations…(Chap. 30) …and found as the year went on most went un-noticed by the dais..at the end of 2009 another portion is in the works for 2010…ISO had a workshop for the community and no one came except this writer, and the Sentinel and a few commissioners…..Waste Management after the bid opening sent out a last ditch letter to longtime customers…Choice Environmental won the contract …and the “toters” this writer warned about early on…came into play just as predicted..an uprising with the increase of fees as well as cans…The pavilion saw a sinkhole and flooding…renamed “Lake Colon”…..A police chase took place..SWAT teams were in place and a BTSTimes newsflash was at odds to give way to the rumblings of a LBTS Police Dept. from the Mc-Furths…A semi tractor trailer came a rushing down Commercial and ended up at the pavilion and in the news…Later in the year it would be a car chase from Radio Shack and a car on its side at the pavilion….Suddenly majority on the dais began a new “mantra”…”we’re in the black”…although numbers from the multitude of Sun Trust Bank accounts would not be brought forward until right before the 2009-2010 budget in September…A fire in a kitchen condo and a few incident reports at odds with the VM/ Comm. Silverstone’s dais accounts for pats on the back to the Dep. Chief… … McIntee again sat on the dais and spoke of the end of his and Comm. Silverstone’s 2006 Fl. Elections complaint investigation..whitewashing the many “probable cause” findings…

McIntee went after the Mayor still on the Mayor’s  problem with Greenfest…all for a paltry $33 …the cost to the Town must be tenfold at the very least……This continued on even as late as Dec. through  McIntee/ Furth  “minion” and former candidate for Mayor /P&Z Chair Peanuts Wick at 2 public comments …He was “outed” on his intoxication by Comm. Clottey after his “slanderous” comments concerning the Mayor were repeated at public comments in a recap of the Chamber’s Holiday party …The Pier and Athena By The Sea made the New York Times Travel section…along with La Spada  winning Zagats 2009 award later in the year…The Beach Pavilion had their ribbon cutting…and Comm. Clottey though she had no part in the project became the MC…This writer sent her an open letter  to that effect…The project shut down within hours due to faulty siding and continued problems…Thanks to PIO D’Oliveira the backup material for meetings was not to be online on the Town website until the next meeting…Former Mayor Oliver Parker showed up in the news to perhaps run for County Commission against Ken Keechl…Parker would rise up again in the news concerning his run against Bogdanoff…a possible 2nd run for that seat…and later in the year as a BFF to the Furths and Clottey and Moe Mcintee… who sang his praises for keeping decorum as Mayor …and again as a nominee for the Hillsboro Inlet by fast food pal Clottey after she threw Comm.Dodd under the bus……and then he changed his mind per an interview in the Pompano Pelican?…Easter By The Sea took place as a drowning arose and the ATV’s were stationed in the park with the Dep. Chief’s sign front and center…it included mandatory VFD participation at the Mc-Furth led event…July 4th fireworks on the beach began and this years event was filled with appearances of breaking sunshine…non-RFP fireworks…and we hear an accusation by the VM that threw the then-Fire Marshall under the bus for a “Kick-back” to “job” the appearance of bidding on the display from the beach…Turtle and environmental groups were mortified…TM Colon assisted in lack of public notices etc….The noise ordinance began with Comm. Clottey and more “claims” on phone calls of complaint…although no one ever came forward to verify them……and ensued for some months…bringing lots of angry residents and businesses to the podium…and hilariously videoed “field trip” to do a “gotcha” on the entertainment providers… The Vice Mayor went after the Mayor in an orchestrated display with the BTSTimes for her removal from her condo board ……it backfired ..Jay Leno did his “headlines” using the By The Sea Future’s “Town’s Colon wins an award”…The Furths through “besotted, clueless” Clottey had the Anglin monument moved across A1A in order not to interfere with their July 4th extravaganza…McIntee Free Zone signs went out to keep the unwanted first responder on scene for medical/fire calls outside their door…

The Hyperbaric explosion took place while the VM was out of town…BSO had a real hero and the VFD was heroic as well as AMR in an event that touched us all…  The Dep. Chief came back with his usual P.R. overload that was embarrassing  considering the devastation of what took place…Aruba canceled it’s Beach Bash..due to the ongoing noise ordinance /code invasion…The VFD was still feeling their oats when they went on a mutual aid-McIntee free…A suicide took place in Bel Air and the VM broke the VFD By-laws/ first responder and changed the story later in the year when the 1st investigation was posted and printed…It would be active at the end of 2009 still…A ceremony would be held to Hero BSO Deputy John Melbourne for his role in the Hyperbaric explosion…The ISO report came out and the Town retained the same as BSO with a dismal training score under McIntee’s training direction…… The power went out in downtown with 2 electrical fires.in one day…..McIntee faced with a crowded Jarvis Hall withdrew his  call for a permanent VFD referendum…..5 near drownings More riptide encounters brought a flurry of beach incidents..and VM McIntee and his photog Marc Furth put together a powerpoint to show the Beach Patrol in action…another near drowning followed …Bert J.Harris came into play serving the Town with 4 north end properties lined up with lawsuits…Comm. Clottey had her 1st concert series at the Community Church…Marc Furth was tagged as the VM’s personal photog…Chief Gooding came to the podium to address Comm.Clottey’s charges of residents fearing to contact BSO and did not know  then that his days were numbered…Kite surfing was put on the forefront…bringing forth quite a number of agenda item discussions and groups with input for regulations and fees pro and con that in the end went nowhere…Same scenario for lifeguards on the beach…The Mc-Furth gang was talking of  replacing  BSO police……The VFD “Bee Foam” incidents took place ….Beach access was  being used to keep the alleyway closed ….it was introduced yet again in a flawed “traffic study” wrapping that was payback to the Marchelos brothers…and made the news in and outside town limits in print…Doubled up another year with dueling Hurricane events…and a dismal turnout for the Town sponsored one where the soon to be terminated Fire Marshal was thwarted from his speech due to TM fears of questions about the fireworks on the beach…The Scenic Highway was approved for LBTS and neighboring coastal towns……Manatees were beached en’masse and an overzealous Deputy Chief wanted to assist…told to stand down by the experts…he had his 15 minutes to embarrass us all with crass statements made on and off the dais… BSO Chief Gooding was thrown under the bus by TM Colon with a big assist by Clottey, Silverstone and McIntee…after the TM pulled the plug on the long agreed upon BSO renovations… A special meeting was called by the Mayor to a packed room of Chief Gooding supporters… The Town Manager stood her ground…The Vice Mayor was asked for his e-mails in the matter by resident Yann Brandt…Some weeks later  McIntee told constituents from the dais he deleted all 3 1/2 years of emails..He further lied about writing e-mails…and this writer posted many from his past…The VM  proceeded to ask for email from his opposing dais members Mayor Minnet and Comm. Dodd…for payback…going to the State Atty. to get them, the same State Atty. looking into his own lack of e-mails produced…It ended later in the year with the state not wanting to get involved…and only Mayor Minnert turning over the PRR made by the VM through the Town Manager…..the other 2  Mcintee and Dodd are still in a holding pattern…The fallout from the TM termination of Gooding resulted in a talk radio interview “Th Banana Republic of LBTS”…The Furths put on the July 4th event…They were the CIC “Citizens” of the year…small participation by non -CIC members (the few left)…and mandatory for VFD… smaller turnout for the parade/ event in El Prado park…The fireworks were on the beach…with highly accessorized ATVs and VFD Seadoo taking up the center of Town’s fenced of El Prado beachfront…The numbers for the event were “jobbed” something seen again with the Halloween event………Clottey resorted to pull out her “degrees” to stand up against her mounting lack of support in her role to oust the Chief…The TM assisted in buying VM/Dep chief McIntee a brand new red command car…which was as it turned out only his til the year ended…The Town Manager’s contract was posted on this site to show she had a guaranteed $250,000 addition to it if she was fired…unlike the “as is” she required for her staff including the soon to be terminated Fire Marshal Alex Stevenson…The VFD Fire Inspector was given a 2 titled job…Also posted was a side by side comparison of Colon’s contract and her predecessor Baldwin…showing they were nothing alike as she/McIntee and Silverstone insisted for 2 years!….The VFD purchased a $150,000 102′ ladder truck with a big “purchase” assist from the Dep. Chief….and multiple attempts and removals  on the agenda with an offer to the town  to buy it a a reduced rate…after the fact…. Fire assessment and millage were addressed and a unilateral Sun Trust acct. for the VFD Beach Patrol was put in place by the TM after it was found to not be allowed to come from the fire assessed funds as was being done…A goodbye party at Village Grille for outgoing BSO Police Chief Scott Gooding…with Sheriff Lamberti  to sing his praises…No longer were RFP’s read aloud after publicly being opened…in an effort by the TM to stop transparency and accountability in the process…with the info being posted by this writer ….A fallout would ensue after a room full of vendors came and were turned away in Jarvis Hall…with calls of “backroom deals”….Adding to further RFP problems seen in faulty and substandard TM practices for putting out the parking RFPs …resulting in a new low in dealing with “Who’s the Boss” and insulting interested vendors like Chris Hood …with untruthful assertions made   by the “tag team” McIntee and Colon…Fishing from the beach started with an assist from this writer to a comment sent in for help and a directive to come to Jarvis Hall and speak at public comments……the Broom Boys took it as a sign of a new voter and a way to cause yet more trouble for the Marchelos…and eventually despite it was voted in 3-2 despite the will of the people…The Manager left her Finance Director here and went to partake in a basic course at the very place that gives her kudos for her presentations of budget (not the budget itself)…Later in the year after the 1st quarter the new Furth assisted budget book would appear to give her another presentation award in 2009…This writer through a PRR obtained (finally) TM Colon’s resume…in fact 2 were found that showed why she hires from within…it was familiar territory ..as she did not meet the requirements for her 1stposition as well… Another PRR and we found the Manager’s contract was in the 2007 backup…or was it?… Still questionable…leaving the Broom Boys either complicit in the contract or accountable for lack of due diligence…

The old BSO Chief was gone…New BSO Chief  Oscar Llerena was brought in to work with Lt. Angelo Cedeno…..The RFPs went out for the slimmed down BSO renovation…with again the results not being read aloud…extra time and money spent to keep all in the dark with Ocampo and the deadline missed as was required…again swept under the rug……The administration went ahead and changed out the windows in the existing BSO headquarters…The TM bought new vehicles for town and tried unsuccessfully to sell the old…also unsuccessful in selling the development trailer…on its way out…as Minto is allowed trailers across the way with no expiration date…We still we have the warehouse in the west…and no updates on the dais…We finally learned about the money for capital improvements…thanks to Comm.Dodd/Resident Yann Brandt  persistence and the hefty pre-payment penalty thanks to Finance Director Colon’s past direction……we took a financial hit due to the TM secrecy and lack of response for the requests…despite Comm. (He’s not a CPA) Silverstone’s bait and switch attempts to give the TM cover…In a 4-0 vote at the 1st Sept. budget meeting …Clottey was M.I.A. ..the direction was pay it off…TM Colon paid it off the next morning.. with no negotiation… We had the adoption of the annual budget scheduled on Yom Kippur…with fallout and the “slights” spoken by  McIntee and Silverstone that cannot be wiped away…despite McIntee’s action of trying to appease the Town’s Jewish residents by enlisting a  Chabad Rabbi to give the invocation thus  bypassing protocol and going behind the Town Chaplain’s back…There was a unilateral action by Town Administration using a Wilton Manors copied Townwide survey…It out with the politically driven and factually inaccurate question for the townwide height of 33’……The expected dismal response came in…It was used as P.R.in a slanted Town Topics entry at the end of the year…. Comm. Clottey and TM Colon put out an RFP for the Senior Center…bypassing the rest of the commission and treating the center’s Director very badly…In the end the Director was re-upped…there was alot of bad P.R. and less than truthful response for their actions on the dais…and payback from the Manager with not allowing under 60/non- residents from attending after 9 years…at the end of the year petitions are in the works once again……Fees for town went up 5% in 6 months rather than a year…The “Gang” brought some back down to appease their upset supporters…The Town Manager fought back often from the dais saying she will be the “browbeater” of her staff and will not be the “browbeatee”…The TM went after a early candidate for McIntee’s seat early on with a questionable and unconvincing use of the BSO to undermine his podium claims…it failed…The Manager’s performance review consisted in the end of 2 round tables…a special meeting with a “Range Rider” brought in though unfamiliar with the town…and a borrowed  Lauderhill based evaluation  done by 4 of the 5 commission members of the dais…More Referendum workshops …. heights and ethics and lifeguards…Halloween came with alot of unnecessary Mcintee noise …literally…and more “jobbed” numbers of the cost……… Esther’s evaluations of her staff proved she evaluated THEM annually …McIntee tried to get the sewers in front of his house fixed  “anonymously”…and withdrew the item when caught…A number of candidates came forward for the 2010 municipal election to run against the “Broom Boys”….Unite Our Town now the largest growing Town PAC had a fundraiser at Athena By The Sea and an overflowing crowd….The CIC’s was not so plentiful except in the propaganda published after the “it’s a fundraiser …it’s a dinner…it was a fundraiser after all” event in the Surf and Yacht Club whose Board has asked the CIC Chair/BTSTimes Editor Bob Roberts to stop the CIC use.. A meeting set for Jan. 3, 2010 shows Robert’s does not abide by the rules either……Bonnet House was the sight for the ribbon cutting ceremony for A1A scenic Highway….McIntee again tried to get the cul-de-sacs back and go after the “developers” of Garden Court…The VFD sent out a colorful mailed plea for Booster Fund donations claiming they needed the money and saying it was tax deductible…which it is not…a big problem for longtime VFD Registered Agent Comm. Jim Silverstone… McIntee went on a cruise and left the Furths high and dry…as the vote for heights and ethics  went down…and off the 2010 March ballot…It happened in a preview of a whatt a McIntee -free dais can be like…Commissioner Clottey accused political opponents of vandalizing her car…and later it was found she made no police report…McIntee came back and returned to the dais on Dec. 8th with an anonymous ( or was it?) letter accusing the Mayor’s occupation …and ended up with the majority voting to allow for anonymous letters being accepted as long as one commissioner knew the identity……A 1960s evaluation was posted about a certain “Quack” at the beginning of his chosen occupation…. Upon his return from the sea …McIntee chose to throw his Chief of the VFD under the bus…and ran for Fire Chief position himself ready to resign from the commission ( or was he going for both?)……He lost in a landslide… as a complaint made against him for his altercation in Mexico was read and put with 5 others in his permanent file…He is said to have made threats and then went underground…although he attended the CIC- Carribean Christmas party and was promptly welcomed back into the Furth Town East fold…He went away for Christmas only to return a few days before New Years Eve with a TM “oversight” assist to go after the  VFD ….and take down what he said he built… The VFD are seeing support everywhere without him…knowing now his threats were empty and when all said the “problem” was not with the VFD ..it was with their leadership…They really meant it was with McIntee!… The new candidates, Scot Sasser and Chris Vincent were busy going door to door .. Chris had  a Boat Parade fundraiser…and they are way ahead of whomever they run against…The CIC has yet to announce…with word going around McIntee is over…or McIntee is in…Silverstone is not yet finished…or Silverstone will finally put his Fiancee’s wishes first and not run…And Cristie Furth is still trying to ascend to the commission…… Christmas brought a weekend of overflowing garbage /recycling cans…due to a change in the Choice contract…and a myriad of calls that despite the Colon negotiated contract brought Choice out to deal with the lack of oversight…New Years Eve was last night…it was another McIntee- free event.. Fireworks and warm wishes were the universal theme of the night….as the ball dropped and shouts were heard in Pelican Square…”Happy New Year!”..

As the sun finally sets on what looks to be the end of the last year of a 4 year reign of McIntee terror…This writer looks forward to a much different…much shorter year in review next December…coming from a newly elected commission that provides me with nothing much to write about…due to representing the will of  all of the town’s people …openly, honestly and transparently… as the sun rises in 2010!…

more to come….

Tags: Boards, Civic Organizations, Lauderdale By The Sea 2009, Lauderdale By The Sea BSO, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Birute Clottey, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Stuart Dodd, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissionr Jim Silverstone, Lauderdale By The Sea Mayor Roseann Minnet, Lauderdale By The Sea Town Maanger Esther Colon, Lauderdale By The Sea VFD, Lauderdale By the Sea Vice Mayor Jerry McIntee, local government, Local Politics, Public Safety, Scoops, VFD
Posted in Uncategorized

THE “GOOD GUYS ” … Village Grille and Pub ….12/22/09 …..

Candidate Scot Sasser and wife Teresa

Commissioner Stuart Dodd, wife Penny, Candidate Chris Vincent, Dave Gadsby and “Photog” Paige Vincent

Dave Gadsby, Lucke Riccioti, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Judy Swaggerty, Chamber Board Member Guy Contrada, Chamber Board member Ed White

more to come …..

Tags: Lauderdale By The Sea Candidate Chris Vincent, Lauderdale By The Sea Candidate Scot Sasser, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Stuart Dodd, local government, Local Politics, Scoops
Posted in Uncategorized

“IF  YOU WALK LIKE A DUCK, IF YOU WADDLE LIKE A DUCK, YOU GOTTA BE A DUCK” Vice Mayor Jerry McIntee 12/8/09 …

Dear Readers …at the December 8, 2009 Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Commission meeting Vice Mayor Jerry McIntee put an item on for new business… “16 c. Discussion and/or regarding the conflict of interest regarding Mayor Minnet voting on any development issues when in fact she is a full blown developer herself (Vice Mayor Mclntee)” ..It was what this writer held off to comment on this meeting… I spoke of what I previously posted on this site…that this was a letter sent to the Vice Mayor and that the Vice Mayor then gave it to the Town Manager and she distributed it to the commissioners and sent it on the the Town Attorney to look into… The letter in question was anonymous, we were told.. …which according to all past Town Hall rules was not to be accepted, much less distributed… But the Vice Mayor and the Town Manager decided that since it did not come directly to the Town Hall…going instead to McIntee’s house ( I have made a PRR for the envelope w/ return address…public record and stated received by McIntee)…it did not fall under that criteria..Hmmm….I spoke to the Vice Mayor, Commissioner Silverstone and Commissioner Clottey along with the Town Manager telling them they took a page out of their adversaries playbook from 4 years ago and stepped it up a notch…(The new Mc-Furth BTSTimes…is a case in point…The poor pseudo-Furth grandchild is put on the cover of what amounts to be a paper full of nothing but reacting to their rival’s paper and printing false accusations at 2 fine family men who have chosen to step up to the plate for a change to be made in the town they are raising their children in and run for Town Commission!) It was a new low…for LBTS commission meetings…many did not think that was even possible…Surprise!…

I walked away to take my seat and as I was about to sit down I heard the following  as the Vice Mayor began to speak…

VM- ” Ok, I got a letter from a woman and”

I could not help it, I said out loud “How do you know?”.. He said it was anonymous prior to this meeting..I was kicked out after a 2nd warning for that. I left and listened to the rest from the front door of the hall…

The Vice Mayor continued..” Ok, I received a, a letter in the mail from a woman and the woman called me after the letter and did not want to divulge who she was or her name because she was afraid of retaliation. Ah, the information she gave me was clearly Town business. When I received it in a written form in my hand and I was contacted by the individual to look into it, it suddenly became Town business. Once it becomes Town business I’m obligated to turn it over to the Town. I went to the Town Manager and she was not voluntarily putting this into out boxes. I requested she do that because it became a public record. And once that individual claims that the Mayor is a house flipper and ah, is nothing more than ah, well I can read it all.”

He proceeded to read the not so anonymous letter (the VM knows the accuser) casting aspersions to the Mayor…clearly, the Vice Mayor was relishing each nasty word ( was he smacking his lips?) as he said them…his pals Clottey and Silverstone were so zoned in it was like they were having a CIC- induced group hug!… He went on to read from the 2nd and 3rd articles of the Mayor’s incorporation papers droning on with the definitions found in any such documents…rudimentary in nature…but it was all the Vice Mayor needed to allow him to introduce the nasty letter and  create in Jarvis Hall what amounted to what an low-life attorney does deliberately in the courtroom causing the judge to instruct the jury to disregard what they have heard…which we all knows is a virtual impossibility… He went on…

VM- ” Clearly the corporation guidelines of a developer. I was always under the impression she sold lights folks! I’m being 100% positive and honest about that!  (That was the only thing he was 100% honest about!) I never knew she was a developer. When I found out she was, I wen to the Town Manager and asked her to distribute what I had because it became a Town record, asked her to send a letter  to the Town Attorney.  ”

BC- So if we are to believe the Vice Mayor thus far in his 2nd attempt to explain his despicable action, he proceeded because she might be a “developer” ….and that was enough to warrant paying taxpayer funds to have the Town Atty. look into the Mayor’s corporate papers!..WOW!…

VM- ” The Town Attorney sent me a letter back saying she’s [Mayor Minnet] IN NO VIOLATION OF THE LAW. SHE’S DONE NOTHING WRONG, SHE’S HAS THE RIGHT TO BE WHATEVER THE CORPORATION PAPER SAYS SHE IS.”

BC- But that was not good enough…the Vice Mayor always quick to sink lower than the rest of the scum-divers he swims with headed for the drain…Watch out for the back-splash!..

VM- ” So now when the woman calls me back to ask what I  did she’s probably watching this now on T.V. she’ll have the same answer I got. It’s legal what Mayor Minnet is doing . That there’s no big hidden game here. That’s it, so, so I yield. That’s it.”

BC- The jury will disregard the elephant in the room…yeah right!

The Mayor was prepared, but began by asking for a copy of a piece of paper the Vice Mayor falsely claimed was included in the paperwork from his “anonymous” woman-support ( the same woman who ended her letter stating she hoped it would “help the Vice Mayor) …The Vice Mayor had claimed the Mayor sold a house …in Fort Lauderdale for $340,000…This writer posted months ago that the Mayor sold a warehouse in Fort Lauderdale …it was in the Miami Herald Mon. Business section…and I commented at the time maybe she could give the Town some pointers on selling the never addressed Town warehouse still not sold…As of today the VM has not produced the “house sale” due to the fact he lied!… And no matter if it was a warehouse or as he claimed a house…he also stated it was in Fort Lauderdale…So when and if the Vice Mayor finally unloads his Buffalo home that has been on the market for over 2 years will he also be a “house flipper?”?…Perhaps the Town Atty. should look into that one…OOPS! That residence was already looked into last time around when he was running……
…………………………………………………………….
“Lauderdale-by-the-Sea candidate fined for
claiming two homestead exemptions

A Lauderdale-by-the-Sea commission candidate has been slapped with a $6,919 fine for claiming two homestead exemptions, one local and the other in New York.

The Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office reports Jerome McIntee, a candidate in the March 14 election, has claimed the double tax break since 2002. That violates a Florida law that says a homeowner can claim only one primary residence for tax relief even if a second home is out of state.

The $6,919 fine reflects the Broward taxes owed, as well as government expenses.

McIntee, a retired police officer, has improperly received tax relief since 2002 on his 1,600-square-foot home in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a property assessed at $318,000. During that time he also received similar relief on a $170,000 home in East Aurora, N.Y., according to a Feb. 6 letter to the candidate from the Broward Property Appraiser’s Office.”

http://www.rusthompson.com/archive9.html

…………………………………………………………………

Mayor Minnet-” Vice Mayor McIntee I have listened to some outrageous remarks, but this one is the worst. The bottom line is a person who was very, very mad made up lies and claimed lots of things and you took this anonymous letter, which should not have been accepted and made it public record without checking the facts. I too have received many anonymous phone calls and letters and these go right where they belong. Let me show you where they belong. (she held up the garbage can). Vice Mayor you stated verbatim if you have a situation where you get a nasty letter from a purveyor or a person trying to business with the Town, I would go right to the Town Manager and say Town Manager please investigate for me. Of course you’re going to say this was a concerned resident and not a purveyor. But I further ask did you try and even get another persons side of the story? Did you even question if this person was a resident of this town? But it’s obvious that you know this person because if you read this letter Vice Mayor it says I hope this letter helps you Commissioner McIntee. Almost sounds as if that’s a solicitation from someone.”

The Vice Mayor mumbled a response and the Mayor asked him to be respectful to her as she was listening to him…

Mayor-”  Vice Mayor I go on to say when you stated that the purveyors were similar to the resident, excuse me, this Lauderdale By The Sea resident did sign their name. As I stated how do you know that this was even a resident? Vice Mayor you interrogate people, you talk for other people when they are not present, represent yourself as speaking for all when in fact you are one vote, one voice, just as we all are on this dais.Vice Mayor you continuously say how much you are saving this town. Well I ask you, how much are you costing this town in time and outrageous requests for Town attorneys? And let me further state at the December 1st commission meeting, which a certain person was not in attendance, went extremely well. We had 3 ordinances to review for first reading. We had a full agenda. We all stated our stand , we made motions in the proper way, didn’t have a problem with them. Which I find interesting cause we do tonight. (Comm. Silverstone was needling the Mayor on her duties-per-Furth -plan ) What a concept! And how come tonight we can’t do that? Vice Mayor I want to say something you said at last night’s meeting if the complaint came to me I would have gone right to the horses mouth. Did you do this? Oh yes you talked to the Town Manager and when she said she wouldn’t put them in the boxes you went ahead and did it and then sent a request to the Town attorney and then continued to distribute them to all the commissioner. So you’re right you made this public record. Your blatant antagonism toward me on this dais is getting redundant and ridiculous. My business speaks for itself. I have been in lighting for over 30 years. My family started a lighting business. I was born and raised in this town and it really bothers me that you hit the integrity of who I am. Many people in town know me. They know my family, they know who I am. My occupational license states that I am a lighting designer. I don’t question anyone Else’s occupation up here on the dais. And if I had gotten an anonymous letter I would put where it belonged, where I showed you it belonged. Ten years ago I did pursue my own company and went on my own and became a lighting designer. You asked me about my articles of incorporation. Let me read the very first article that you neglected to read which states as typical on any standard form article one to do and transact any and all business as permitted under the laws of the State of Florida and the United States. Let me repeat that again Vice Mayor, any and all business. Sure I could have put down a thousand businesses if that’s what you wanted me to do, but no I don’t need to do that because everybody knows that I do lighting and lighting design. You know as far as a house flipper is concerned I have lived in my home for over 15 years. I have been involved in my family  businesses throughout this county. So if you’re questioning my family business, Vice Mayor then get the facts straight. And in the future come to me or come through the Town Manager and ask me the question. Not relying on an anonymous letter when you can’t even verify or let this dais know that she may or he may not even be a resident. Vice Mayor you continue to create your own set of rules and change them when you see fit. As you did last evening when it was brought up about the discussion for El Mar and it also being on the agenda. Are rules made to be broken? I have always asked everyone to please contact me. I’ve asked the residents to contact me. and  I would have assumed that this dais would have done the same thing and at least have the decency and integrity to treat each other respectfully. But after hearing some of the things that have been going on in this town this past week. The things that have been said about me. It’s rather unfortunate. It’s as bad as a school yard!  You may not always like the answers but you will get an answer and Vice Mayor I want an apology for your blatant attacks on my integrity. …

THE ROOM ERUPTED IN APPLAUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Commissioner Dodd spoke about the rules of anonymous letters and stated that if it had been him, the response from the Manager would not have been the same as for McIntee… He asked McIntee to answer why it was appropriate to break the rules…there was a silence…the mayor said the Vice mayor should answer and while he was at it he could make the apology she asked for…

The Vice Mayor made a snide remark about not pushing his button and saying the Mayor would “yell” at him for not pushing it…. He then went into version #3 to defend his despicable act of putting this on the agenda…

VM-” I’ll be glad to, here’s where two of you people up here must not have been listening. I had a phone call from the woman saying I sent you this. I don’t want to use my name because I’m afraid of retaliation. That’s the bottom line here.”

Comm. Dodd-” Then it goes in the bin.”

VM-” No, it’s not anonymous. I know where it came from.”

HERE IT IS FOLKS….ROCK BOTTOM OF THE CESSPOOL…HOLD YOUR NOSES!…Get the Purell!…

VM-” You don’t have to read it  is the bottom line. Let’s clarify something else. The Town Manager was directed by me to distribute it because I asked that, it was directed by me to distribute it because I asked that. It was decided that anything comes out has to go through the Town manager can’t be put in the box by yourself. (VM did that with the former Battalion Chief letter) She did nothing but take direction from a commissioner which any of, none of you had to read it! Throw it out the minute you saw what was inside. You throw it out! I had a phone call. She sent me a letter . She cooperated with a piece of property that was flipped in Fort Lauderdale and she cooperated with the absolute papers. (not true) Now clearly you know there’s not one red hair (herring?) about lighting contract. It’s all about development. Clearly she had a point and the point is clear if you walk like a duck, if you waddle like a duck, you gotta be a duck and that’s what #3 says clearly. I buy and sell property. Refurbish then that’s it and she showed me a document that showed she did property in I think it was 6 to 7 months ago in Fort Lauderdale for somewhere around 300, 340 thousand I think I may be off.”

BC- The Vice Mayor said SHE [anonymous writer] SHOWED ME A DOCUMENT… he met with the woman that said “I hope this helps you Commissioner McIntee”…OOPS!…

Mayor Minnet-” Excuse me Vice Mayor, that is a blatant lie!”

VM-” I said I’m not sure about…”

Mayor-” Even the thought of saying, Vice Mayor.”

VM-” I’ll get it for you.”

Mayor- ” Is cause for me to really question your…”

Commissioner Dodd asked the Vice Mayor again “Vice Mayor I’ll repeat my question because you haven’t answered it! You waffled off about the contents of the letter and i will ask you again Vice mayor what gives you the right to ignore our rules that we agreed in an attempt to discredit the Mayor by putting out an anonymous letter?”

The Vice Mayor…looking like a duck weighed down his own “muck”…lamely tried to compare his actions with Comm. Dodd sending an apology to a vendor who was informed of bad behavior from town staff (prev. post)…Comm. Dodd called him on it…and again Vice Mayor “Quack, Quack”…went back to excuse #3…

VM-” Nobody has to read it! It was your decision. You could throw it away. It’s public record. The minute I got it, brought it to the Town Manager, it became a public record that I felt was only fair. Everybody had a choice to , to read it and respond to it.”

Commissioner Dodd tried to make sense of what McIntee was trying to hang his hat on…and could not…(who could?)..The Vice mayor wanted Comm. Dodd to agree it was a public record…

Comm. Dodd- ” As far as I’m concerned I don’t want to waste my time. We wasted 30 minutes discussing an anonymous letter.”

VM-” Don’t read it!”

CD-” It’s not a question of don’t read it. It shouldn’t be in our mailboxes.”

The Mayor cut in and said “Bottom line, Vice Mayor  you shouldn’t have put it on the agenda, that’s the difference.”

Comm. Silverstone ever the befuddled “Not Nice” BFF…actually said the following…” Well, I just think, ah, ah we have an environment that has been created by allowing people to um, maybe they’re angry over the country as a whole because of economic situation and other reasons.”

The Mayor had to warn the audience who could not wrap their heads around Comm. Silverstone’s conclusion of what just occurred!..

CS-” And, ah, um, it just seems that this is continuing in one form or another. The mayor, I mean the Vice mayor had a right to do what he did and it was his decision and that’s it. We also have the right decision not to pay attention to it. Um.”

FORGET THE DUCKS…COMM. SILERSTONE IS A LEMMING!…AND HE IS NOT A NICE GUY…HE’S JUST MCINTEE LITE!…

Dear Readers…I too have an anonymous letter…It is a public record…and I will post it next?…Hmmm…..Just remember afterward….” Nobody has to read it! It was your decision. You could throw it away. It’s public record.”…”It became a public record that I felt was only fair.”…”IF  YOU WALK LIKE A DUCK, IF YOU WADDLE LIKE A DUCK, YOU GOTTA BE A DUCK” Vice Mayor Jerry McIntee 12/8/09 …

more to come….

Tags: Lauderdale By The Sea 12/8/09 Commission meeting, Lauderdale By The Sea anonymous letter, Lauderdale by the sea Commissioner Jim Silverstone, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Stuart Dodd, Lauderdale By The Sea Mayor Roseann Minnet, Lauderdale By the Sea Vice Mayor Jerry McIntee, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, local government, Local Politics, Scoops
Posted in Uncategorized

NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY …. DISCOUNTS FOR 3 OR MORE … ….

Dear Readers … the continuation of the November 10, 2009 commission meeting took place last night on December 7, 2009…and being out of whack turned out to be the “theme”   of the evening…

We began with Commissioner Clottey still on her Hillsboro Inlet “bent”… to throw Commissioner Dodd off the board…It was combined with the new business item put on by Commissioner Dodd…He tried unsuccessfully to ask her why she would proceed with this change…and gave the facts of how this appointment was historically made and how it has and is a long term appointment from most municipalities including LBTS……Her ridiculous statements and her tone in response warrant more and more concern that this woman is not dealing with a full deck…Her shrill “explanations” …don’t make any sense at all…She met Oliver Parker and he asked her to put this on and he wants his old job back and she said she would do it…Is that “sound” decision making?…Never mind the history of the CIC and former Mayor Parker…(Recall)…She tried to say it is a job to be rotated like the others that the commissioners attend ….despite being informed otherwise……She tried to say it was to get “us” known out there beyond town limits…..Really?… If that’s her reasoning…how does she justify nominating Parker to return once “out there” again?….With Comm. Clottey,  up is down and down is up…getting defensive over all her “time” spent for Town duties…5-6 days a month…and sometimes they go from 9:30-2:30… WOW!…Give the commissioner one of those cheap “medals” the Vice Mayor wanted for the “heroes” among us!…Give me a break!… The Mayor was right on target and said the new representative would most likely be on for a month….But Clottey being Clottey did not care…she was going to move forward for her new best friend..Mr Oliver… or maybe galpal, Maria… With her majority on the dais, she, Silverstone and McIntee voted to put this through…with a cutoff of Jan. 7th …SEND YOUR APPLICATION IN !…. http://www.lauderdalebythesea-fl.gov/ …The Mayor responded this was “unfortunate”…Get this woman a couch!…

Too, too funny in order to make up to those long ignored Jews among us in LBTS …(this writer is Jewish)…the Town did a mea culpa by putting on the agenda to change the date of a meeting in Sept. to accommodate the Jewish Holiday of Sukkot …not an important holiday for most…and after the Mayor asked if this was under the direction of the Jewish Federation and found it was from the long-term calendar the received 2 years ago Town ignored (prev. post)…Commissioner Silverstone motioned to defer it until the 2nd meeting in April…. saying it wasn’t that important…A vote was made 4-1…Vice Mayor McIntee voted no…to the deferred action…perhaps thinking a no vote would “score” him Jewish points…this election year!… Get this man a couch!…

The Cone of Silence…Commissioner Dodd read from his prepared notes …

“I have reviewed the video of the end of the previous meeting several times. I am not going to get into any controversial discussion or argument at 11.15 p.m. after a 4 hour session. I can tell you I will always put the unresolved issues on a fresh agenda item to be discussed at another time. After careful consideration it appears the town manager was trying to imply a commissioner had broken one of the rules regarding the “Cone of Silence”. She stated verbatim – I guess we forgot about the cone of silence that was handed out in January 2009. She state shortly aft verbatim – If this town commission is going to allow or is going to communicate with vendors and accept bids that are non responsible ( I think she meant non responsive) the issue is on this dais.
First I would never dream of interfering, negotiating, and making false promises during any part RFP process. The bids were opened on the parking RFP months ago and I was contacted by the vendor with a problem with our town staff and I chose to reply and send a copy to the town as a public record. I received the following – E-mail from a vendor bidding on a town RFP. “ What in hell is going on in Lauderdale by the sea” . She expressed how rude the caller from LBTS was. He said the person was short and requested the contract and just hung up the phone. The caller from LBTS didn’t even provide sending instructions. This was the second call – It must have been bad ….. The rudeness and unprofessional contacts with our customers however – has no acceptable format.
I replied – On behalf of the commission please accept my apologies. I asked on September 11th for the evaluation and reason behind the town staff’s strange choice when your RFP to the casual observer to be in the best interests of the town. Please accept my personal apologies……….

I’m sorry Commissioner Silverstone if this e-mail apologizing on your behalf has upset you and that you want to be excluded from any situation where an apology is in my opinion required. If you receive a personal e-mail that requires an apology on behalf of the town I would ask you kindly to include me in. Remember it was an e-mail addressed to me and I had no way of knowing whether it was also sent to anyone else.
We are public servants and the correct solution in my opinion would have been for the town manager to call the vendor, apologize and ask the vendor whom from the Plantation PD called him with the complaint but it appears from the memorandum we all received that this didn’t happen and the vendor hasn’t yet had an apology nor is he likely to ever bid on any future town contract after the treatment he received publicly from this town

I personally feel my actions in no way infringes any Cone of silence or other rules regarding RFP’s and is in fact the code of decency to apologize unless you believe the vendor made it up. We are public servants and should act and behave as such.

If we are raising the cone of Silence – I feel the Vice Mayor telling Armelio – “We just have to go through the motions” even before the bids were opened to be a blatant and far more serious infringement. What about all our conversations with Minto where all the commissioners privately met with Minto to discuss changes to their next building phase. Does that constitute a breach of the cone of silence?
What about conversations with Choice representatives after the bids were opened
Does that constitute a breach of the cone of silence?

I will not be accused of anything by innuendo by the town manager or anyone else – get the facts straight and ask the question if you have something to say. I have said before – if you have a problem call me and I will come and see you in your office and with a witness if you want – I’m not the one with the problem.

Also for the record the cone of silence was actually in the ethics ordinance back-up that I tried to get this dais to introduce earlier this year.

Also for the record this town does not have a Cone of silence ordinance as adopted by other municipalities into their code, this town has no reference to cone of silence in the purchasing manual and there was no reference to the cone of silence in the parking RFP. I fail therefore to see how this commissioner could be accused of breaking it by sending an apology after the bids were closed months ago.

I yield”

Commissioner Silverstone as usual was his befuddled, incomprehensible self…”I will never speak for you or anyone commissioner.”…. Does he have a limited Rolodex in his head…and this time…he rolled it to T for Town Manager form of g0vernment?…He stated the commission is not to “interfere” with the Town Manager by contacting the vendors…that to do so was “totally irresponsible”…He brought up the Miami ethics materials brought forth to deal with the “2-Hats” ethics problem, and laughably to those who know his M.O. tried to say he read it!…No way…the portion on the “cone of silence” was buried pages back…and RFPs were not even on the radar until the following summer !..OOPS!… And if you follow Commissioner Silverstone’s thought process (stop laughing, readers)…He would have you believe that the commission should “adopt” a “cone of silence” because it was included in a backup!…No Ordinance required…Good God!… He actually tried to say that he has read the Charter many times since he became a commissioner…OK, maybe he did…but did he retain it?…This writer thinks not!…He has said the same for the codes…pretty funny that he ended up removing his item that followed this…for a change in the Town Code to deal with uncompleted building sites…after sheepishly admitting the Town Atty. told him it was already “on the books”…OUCH!… Get  this man a couch!…

The Town Manager did her repeat performance…it’s her staff…they did nothing…and she too stuck with the buried Miami-Dade “cone of silence” as her premise to admonish the commission (prev. post- LBTS agendas,meetings) …in October…She said if a “certain Commissioner wanted to believe a Vendor”…so be it…she stands behind her staff…Get this woman a couch!…

Then it was Vice Mayor McIntee’s turn…

“You know I’ve listened to some outrageous statements but this was one of the worst. The bottom line here is that a gentleman who didn’t get a bid was very mad and very upset and he sent a very nasty email and claimed a lot of things happened. And when he sent that email to Commissioner Dodd he responded by saying I’m sorry. The problem with him saying I’m sorry is there was never any attempt to determine if the staff broke any rules or did anything wrong. That’s where the problem lies. The staff was thrown under the bus by Commissioner Dodd by him apologizing for their actions when in fact they did nothing wrong. And that’s wrong. That’s absolutely wrong. If you have a situation you get a nasty letter from a purveyor or person trying to do contracts with this town, I would go to the Town Manager and say Town Manager please do an investigation for me. See who talked to this person. Get their side of the story. I would never, never accept the side of a,a purveyor of contracts to this town as being truthful and completely legitimate without verifying it! I have complete trust in our employees. They’re pretty good people. In the dissertation that, that he read to us he never said it ain’t so! Plantation sent a letter back saying none of their employees said that our employees were nasty to them.They did an investigation and they consulted all the people in Plantation who contact, who were in contact with our employees and each and everyone said they were congial, conga, excuse me…they were very nice to each other, friendly, appropriate activities. That was never mentioned yet Commissioner Dodd had that letter which said it didn’t happen in Plantation. So everything Mr. Hood said which is in my hand were lies. But yet, he apologized for the lies that Mr. Hood generated against our employees and that fact is just terrible. Our employees are good hardworking people and to take their word without an investigation with our so much as a say so. Maybe it was Nilkki? Maybe it was June? Say June did this happen? Could you tell me? Because I believe if they went to the Town Manager and said can I ask Nikki if it happened she’s probably give her permission to do it. But I couldn’t do it without the Town Manager but I would at least go to the complaint. I would never, never send a letter that I apologize for the whole commission.! I wouldn’t accept that. If the complaint came to me I would have gone right to the horses mouth. Did you do this? And when did it happen? I would have called Mr. Hood up and say Mr. Hood could you be more specific? What was said? What time was said? I would see who was working that day. I would see it was documented. But most of all when I finally got a letter from Plantation, the government of Plantation saying it ain’t so. Your employees were nice to us. Then I would have senbt a letter back to Mr. Hood saying I’m disappointed in what you said. Apparently your accusations are not true.”

Commissioner Dodd -“Point of information , nobody ever contacted Mr. Hood from this town. That’s the point that I’m trying to make.”

VM- ” You contacted him! They don’t have to.”

CD-” He contacted me! He sent me a letter!”

VM- ” And he accused the town of breaking the rules and being nasty!”

CD- ” Why didn’t the town contact him?”

VM- Did you go to the Town Manager?”

CD- ” I sent a copy of my email to the Town Manager for her to follow through.”

VM-“Did you apologize before you investigated?”

CD- It doesn’t cost anything to apologize. You said talk to her [TM] personally.”

VM- Wait, wait that’s the nit of the problem! You have to investigate!”

CD- “The Town didn’t investigate.”

VM-” But, but before you apologize for an action you investigate to make sure the action occurred or else you’re putting all the responsibility on those poor Town employees and you threw them under the bus and that’s why there’s problems!”…

BC-First…Commissioner Dodd forwarded the email he received about the situation (prev. post)…Mr Hood would not have sent such an email if he had not been contacted in the vetting process…There was no approved bid at this time……The town received no letter…and what McIntee had amounted to emails between Plantation and Kaola King  consisting of a few line exchange….No investigation in Plantation…..and the “person” responsible …this writer believes…was neither of the women accused…He is taking cover…and being covered by his mentor!… Comm. Clottey is on record at the final award of the RFP saying she had spoken to Mr Hood while it was in process…..Commissioner Silverstone, Commissioner Clottey and the Vice Mayor all shook hands with Mr Hood at the end of the process…In fact Commissioner Silverstone sent Mr. Hood an email…

………………………………………………………..

“Wednesday, October 28, 2009 9:19 AM

Mr. Hood,
I was wondering why you stayed for the entire 5 hour ordeal. Turns out you made the effort to meet each one of use and to thank us. That was a step above and beyond. I was most impressed and further more after I received your email below.
Thanks for achieving your intent. It benefits both of us.
Best regards,
Jim Silverstone
Commissioner LBTS”

……………………………………………………

As for the above statements. made by the Vice Mayor…..folks…read them again…and then see the (not quite so) anonymous, letter about the Mayor (prev. post) and what the Vice Mayor did with it…on Dec. 8th agenda…and you will see…THIS GUY NEEDS A COUCH!… TALK ABOUT HYPO-CRISSIE!…

Commissioner Clottey added her 2 cents..putting her foot where it’s spent a lot of time..saying the “gal” at the end (Nikki) never said a a nasty word to anyone (not true…prev. post…it’s a Colon trickle down Town Administration, with the exception of Kaola King, the Finance Director whom I do not believe was involved until after the rude hang-up)….. Commissioner Clottey said you have to judge someone on their prior action…and on that we all agree…This woman needs a couch!…

The Mayor thanked Commissioner Dodd for putting this on…

Back the Commissioner Clottey and her phobia of the BSO police …her phantom phone calls and phobia of “those people”, the homeless… She spoke of calls she received from residents “uncomfortable” around “Washington Beach Park”…(that would be Washingtonia …Commissioner)…She admitted she again did not contact the police and it was obvious she did not tell them to contact the BSO police…BSO Police Chief Llerena came to the podium and said “there is no easy answer” …and that one gentleman in that area is there everyday reading and not doing anything that is a disturbance…He spoke about the massive lawsuit in Miami for harassing the homeless…and said he and his men have never witnessed anyone sleeping… We hear the person Clottey almost “tripped over” was also a resident…This woman needs a couch!…

The Mayor asked the Chief if residents should contact the police…and the Chief that the vast majority of calls produce nothing suspicious,,,that they have a right to be there..The Town Atty. spoke of case law and confirmed the Chief’s words of caution…

The Vice Mayor ever the diplomat said “I don’t think we should go near this. The Lieutenant’s out there on the ATV, I don’t know if they’re looking at the girls!”… Crass, VM really crass…This guy needs a couch!…

Commissioner Silverstone went counter to Clottey’s assertions saying his phone calls have decreased…and asked about shutting down access to the beach!… This guy needs a couch!…

The Mayor asked about signs…and the Town Atty. addressed overnight parking restrictions…(which we already have on the books)…OOPS!…

Vice Mayor McIntee I don’t think we should direct the Town Attorney to spend any money…Pretty funny after the anonymous letter and Greenfest…etc…Get this guy a couch!…

Then it was time to address Clottey’s item concerning this writer and her unfounded and unsubstantiated accusations that I called her “inappropriate words”… “Despicable and disgraceful” for her actions toward Commissioner Dodd and the Hillsboro Inlet…Appropriate then and appropriate still!.. Comm. Clottey dialed it back but fraudulently contended that it was heard by others…Could not be…cause it did not happen… More of her empty political accusations…By the way Note to the Commissioner… please stop trying to talk to me….off the dais…those days are long gone ….You made your decision to be fully complicit in Mc-Furth bad behavior…This woman needs a couch!…

Clottey again…disingenuously acting as if “slogans” for the Town suddenly came to her…( a McIntee- type epiphany…courtesy of the Furths)..The slogan contest was a regular item in the BTSTimes this last year…and need not be an issue at this point in time…No surprise the Vice Mayor and Comm. Silverstone were for it… They’re all late night  “regulars” at Town Hall east…no matter where they park…Get these guys a couch!…

We ended had less than 24 hours….before we all headed back…for the last LBTS Commission meeting of the year….It turned out to be …the meeting that put the nails in the CIC- coffin…so off the wall…that a couch is no longer an option…

Vice Mayor McIntee…Commissioner Silverstone and Commissioner Clottey…need to be committed!…

more to come…

Tags: Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Birute Clottey, Lauderdale by the sea Commissioner Jim Silverstone, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Stuart Dodd, Lauderdale By The Sea Mayor Minnet, Lauderdale By the Sea Vice Mayor Jerry McIntee, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, local government, Local Politics, Scoops, scoops. Lauderdale By The Sea cont. Commission meeting of 11/10/09- on 12/7/09
Posted in Uncategorized

NO 33′ REFERENDUM? … ….TRY FOR THE WHOLE ENCHILADA …

Dear Readers…The “Broom Boys” need something to run on…and with 33′ feet off the ballot(?)..the next best thing is the “beautification” of El Mar Drive…That $980,000 dollars is Furth strategy # 2… Vice Mayor and his Pal Jimmy- Boy Silverstone couldn’t come up with enough convoluted reasons sitting around the table tonight to justify taking that money and putting into the south end medians on El Mar fast enough..it’s a safety issue…No it’s a shade issue…No it’s an educating the walkers issue…No it’s something we owe to the kids who came up with the idea…No we owe it to the Master Plan Steering Committee…despite the fact that the committee was saying to put the breaks on it until after the March election!…

Ocampo seemed to be all on board in  pushing through this ridiculous idea that the walkway for Ell Mar Drive should be the medians from Palm to Pine!…As one resident said…”If sidewalks were supposed to be in the medians they would be called middlewalks!”…

This writer calls for timed cameras to watch the activity on El Mar In a day…In the morning you have the large contingency of walkers…runners…bikers and such…and throughout the day…there will be groups walking into and out of downtown….And all day long you have the dogs!… Big, little and every size in between…from this neighborhood and beyond…Dogs are prohibited from going …pun intended …in the Town parks… and so they use the medians…Count the dogs…from the surrounding buildings and those brought here for their daily walks!…. Take away the grassy medians …and where do the dogs do their business?… It’s definitely a fitting finale for the Million dollar payout for 5 extra feet in the set-back!…

Tonight’s meeting started off with the “Broom Boys” tripping all over themselves in trying to justify breaking the commission’s own rules of not discussing anything that appears on the next agenda…after Commissioner Dodd and the Mayor called them on their actions…So close are they now after 4 years on the dais…that, like some old married couple..they can finish each other sentences!… Now that’s getting in touch with their feminine side!…OUCH!…

The Mayor correctly said the minority (Dodd and herself) would not prevail…as McIntee told it like it was…no doubt unaware of his candor…He basically admitted they had to break the rules…because if they didn’t do it  now…the project can’t get going…Yeah, baby…Silverstone, so accommodating as  his sidekick said “technically” this was not a “new issue” so therefor it should get a pass… Commissioner Dodd again drove home the point they were indeed breaking their rules!…Commissioner Clottey asked to comment said she had no response…

They went on…

Siting at the table in front with the commissioners were the Master Plan Steering Committee members Chair Paul Novak, Vice Chair Sandra Booth, Bob Eckblad, Marilyn Carr and Maryann Wardlaw …conspicuously absent was Taco Bell East owner and operator -BTSTimes Publisher/Editor Marc Furth and a couple others… Ocampo architect Ernie Ojito and on the dais Raul Ocampo who began a powerpoint presentation…

On the “menu” tonight 4 choices…to choose from for the Oriana “Million”…or more…or less…

Item #1- was the previous single choice offered up to the commission when we were operating under the pre-“Mr Oliver”-Clottey fast friendship…that threw the Town Managers almost 2 year assertions under the bus…Thinking we only could use the funds south of Commercial…and after a rather embarrassing MPSC/ commission round table some months back…Ocampo was directed to work with the Art Institute student’s designs for the medians and come up with some renderings…and they did…It was pet walks, benches, exercise areas, water features…and shade..

Item #2 – Someone directed Ocampo (who?) to do the same medians as in item #1…but to add “stamped concrete in the 2 adjacent lanes on either side of the medians for walking…textured they could be used for pedestrians or special events…and cordoned off…(This writer immediately thought this was Comm. Silverstone and his “squiggly lines” for walkers not cars) …at a cost of $796 per linear foot or $796,000 per 100 linear feet…

Item #3- widening the sidewalks to 8 feet (they are now varied from 4, 5, and 8 ft. )…median landscape only…redoing drainage…the cost $1030.83 per linear foot…or $1.030  per 1000 linear feet…

Item #4- THE “FULL ENCHILADA!”… per Ocampo…do the medians (#1) …do the adjacent lanes (#2) …do the 8 foot sidewalks (#3)… do it all!…the cost for the belly buster…$1412 per linear foot or $1.412 million per linear 1000 feet…

The distance for Pine Ave in the north to Palm Ave. in the south….5000 feet … or $5 million!…The original (#1) was approx. a 1000 feet…or 20%… of the entire length of El Mar Drive…

Having quire a “Mac attack” (wrong fast food joint )…the Vice Mayor pulled another “Bogdanoff” moment (prev. post…”Punked”)…when he insisted over and over again that Pine ave (north end) to Oriana was a 1000 ft.!… Comm. Dodd tried hard to make him (McIntee) understand Oriana was south of Commercial…3/4 of the way…far beyond a 1000 ft….Explaining he meant Palm…(south of Oriana)…As insolent as as always.. the Vice Mayor insisted that was what he said (watch the tape…with the Truth Deflector, VM)…

Finally Chair Paul Novak jumped in to speak about the cost being somewhere in the neighborhood ….pun intended of 3500-4000 square feet excluding the Oriana and Minto medians ….

VM McIntee was none too pleased with the Chair…saying we needed to do it because of the kids…But Paul Novak didn’t back down (Thank you, Paul)… and said the money should now go to both ends…reiterating the faulty information the committee was working under…

VM McIntee said that would mean starting over…(Yeah!)…

Paul Novak addressed the 8 foot sidewalks….and Commissioner Dodd asked about the drainage costs…Ocampo said options 2 and 3 do not include any drainage…Ernie Ojito spoke about how to do the drainage …the breakdown and the options that could be “pick and choose” on option 1.. (Is that with or without the sauce?)… Chair Paul Novak said he was for the “whole enchilada …that it would cost less in the end than doing it piecemeal…

Ernie Ojito spoke of the existing always and the conflict with the back-out parking….The Mayor spoke about the changes for backout parking with new development…but Ojito countered that non-conforming can stick to theirs…

VM McIntee was not having any…he was a man on a “mission”…to spend the “Million”…before he was tossed off the dais in March…He again said the “bottom line” was there was a million…for a 1000 feet at the south end…no problem…”no turmoil”…

Ernie Ojito like what he was hearing from VM McIntee and again spoke of the students…and the “components” that could be added or deducted in the bid process…

VM McIntee his foot shaking …his jacked stuck up in his chair…leaned forward…”back-out not in the game”..and we take care of the drainage…Comm. Dodd again tried to straighten him out…VM McIntee was belligerent…”I’m asking him”(Ojito)……Ojito said  …$100 per linear foot plus demolition … and you cannot “piecemeal” drainage …cost $650,000- $750,000..

Commissioner Clottey misread her  menu and could not get the combo…she asked why when she added the total bill it was 2.9 million and she kept getting 4.9?… Ojito told her she was looking at the price without the medians of 2.9!…

Discussion moved onto power…and how to get it to the medians…that have none…Comm. Clottey again showing her ineptness ..(sort of like her previous statement of “lifting the rock”…when discussing the new Bel Air monument signs)…said maybe we could go solar for lights…Ocampo and Ojito explained the costs substantial upfront for solar…the “redundant system”…”not reliable”…and in need of regular power to supplement the storage battery system that deteriorates over approx. 2 years…

VM McIntee was ready to get moving…”service from the medians…outrageous…costs off the wall!”…

Commissioner Dodd questioned the need for transformers…and Ojito said for simplicity of the system…

Commissioner Silverstone chimed in that option one would have drainage and utilities far enough away not to interfere…in the future.. He followed that up with how long?…7 months to 1 year!…Due to problems with getting contractors …and permits…Comm. Silverstone was ready to go…saying this was the “best direction”…for the million…

Commissioner Clottey wanted to know about “disruption”…and Ocampo said of course there will be some…but it will be “scheduled”….(we heard that one before…with the pavilion and street closings…OUCH!)…She also asked about the permitting process…and the answer was 3 months…going down to 2 after more discussion about lack of permits in the building dept…

Commissioner Dodd wanted more information on the stamped areas (2 El Mar lanes…think Pompano Beach crosswalks on Federal Highway)…and the noise that was mentioned in the presentation…and if it’s conducive to walking…There will be noise from driving on it…

VM McIntee…said there wouldn’t be a shovel hitting the ground until June…that’s when Ocampo cut his months for permits down to 2…and VM McIntee said season would not be in jeopardy…

Paul Novak asked quickly about the next season…and Ocampo said they would be doing the “finishes” then…

The Mayor spoke of concerns for people crossing the street to get onto the medians…the medians are not contiguous …

Paul Novak said he would not widen the sidewalks 1 inch…people will still walk in the streets…even with the medians…The Mayor concurred the pedestrians won’t use it anyway…

The Vice Mayor was still on a tear…”It will look prettier!”…

Commissioner Dodd agreed with Paul and the Mayor…and said lowering the speed limit was a better way to keep the walkers safe…

Vice Mayor McIntee must have thought he could “will” this desperate election attempt to include these south end medians on his palm card election bullet points to pass out next in town month…”Worth a try”…he said (Worth a million dollar try?)…

Ocampo was pushing the medians…for shade…

VM McIntee was like a dog who was just thrown a bone…”Shade is the issue”…(Since when?)….

Ever befuddled…Comm. Silverstone wanted to know about his “original idea” of striping the lanes…asking “any possibility”…YIKES!….Ojito told him what everybody in the room already knew…”Option #2″…Ocampo said they could discuss making the roads less wide when they widened the sidewalks…(Hmmm. sounds like Seagrape Drive lane talk)…

Comm. Silverstone went on about “liability” of walking on the stamped concrete lanes…Hmmm…(but he just said he wanted a lane for walking)…Ojito spoke of the cost to cut to one lane…(HUH? …No Cristie Furth came a running upon hearing El Mar 1 lane?)…..

Jimmy Silverstone must have had good quick kick under the table from his pal on his left…..because suddenly he did a total switch…he is now for the medians in the south end..(a look at his past dais comments were against the medians) …”Broom Boys”…united in 2010!…

More discussion on the stamped concrete and its impact on ADA…and talk of losing the stamped surface with a “re-do”….

MPSC member Bob Eckblad spoke about the “goal” not being “to spend a million as fast as possible”…and spoke about going to the Town Manager to see how to include the project in budgets to come…

Commissioner Clottey brought up the dire future with the numbers she heard from the Broward County Property Appraiser Rep. at the POA (prev. post)… But Bob inquired about borrowing 4 million if need be…

VM McIntee wasn’t having any …clearly showing his disdain for Mr Eckblad…”That’s another topic!”.. Mr Eckblad tried to continue..and again was cut off by Comm. Silverstone…

Vice Chair Sandra Booth spoke and said she felt now the improvements should be done in phases…no longer behind the medians being put in now…

VM McIntee was not happy, with what he was hearing from the committee…and spoke of dire straits to come…No government money…”5 million like finding 50 million” taking Mr Eckblad again to task…He said we have no debt…and he wasn’t going there…

VM McIntee wants to “Showcase a little event”…(code-speak for election propaganda)…and then told Bob Eckblad they would both “be pushing up daisies” if they put this million dollar project off!…

The Mayor was quick…and put the Vice Mayor in his place…saying they were not putting off anything…that she was not “doing this for me, today” …but doing the right thing for after…

Ocampo said it was important to do all of El Mar…the entire stretch…and Commissioner Dodd said it should go back to the Master Plan Steering Committee…for conformity…one plan…”the million is not going away”…Comm. Dodd said to” spend a million in the south end is wrong”…they need “an overall concept, not piecemeal”…get “coordinate” and do it next year…”not rush ahead”…

Commissioner Clottey said option #1 is part of option #4…(How long are the VM’s legs anyhow?) …and Comm.Silverstone stepped in to again try help VM McIntee seal the south end median deal…going over the previously discussed “students”… VM McIntee swooped in …to add again drive home his point…the terrible shape the government is in…”We can regroup”…but they “have a plan everyone’s happy with (HUH? The MPSC…has said otherwise tonight!)…)…We blew it on Minto  (Furth-prickly bushes)…saying we need “shade”…”safety”… on El Mar Drive…

The Mayor was all for incorporating all the ideas…and still wanted to hold off for now…speaking of the fees and the costs…

Paul Novak again spoke for the majority of his committee…and those in the hall …Wait…..Give the MPSC 2-3 months and let them go over it all again…He agreed with Comm. Dodd…Ernie Ojito offered the committee technical assistance…and somehow the meeting went off into storm water fees in the plans… (with the present majority/TM in 2010)……The legalities and illegalities…… and the after some less than kind exchanges from McIntee to Eckblad (New sparring partners?)…Paul Novak again asked for time…

VM McIntee was asking for Paul to “bring in more kids” to do the rest of the medians…and Paul responded “we don’t need anymore”…just time…

After a little more than an hour…it was clear…to most…This one’s gong down…3-2… a done deal…

Mcintee…Silverstone and Clottey…will be voting to spend a million tonight…at the 12/8/09 Commission meeting…Cha Ching…Cha Ching…Cha Ching…

What’s a taxpayer to do?…

Vote them out in March…and let the next commission cancel the “gangs” “Fast” food order…..

Taco Bell Doggy Bags for all!….

more to come…

Tags: Boards, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Birute Clottey, Lauderdale by the sea Commissioner Jim Silverstone, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Stuart Dodd, Lauderdale By The Sea El Mar Drive Beautification Project, Lauderdale By The Sea Mayor Roseann Minnet, Lauderdale By The Sea Oriana Million, Lauderdale By the Sea Vice Mayor Jerry McIntee, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, local government, Local Politics, Ocampo and Associates, Scoops
Posted in Uncategorized

THE SUN SETS …AT SEA AND AT HOME …RIP 33′ Ft. Heights…

Dear Readers … For the first time in a very long time Vice Mayor McIntee did something good for this town… He took an excused absence and cruised away from from the first readings of the March 9, 2010 Referendum ballot questions… and while he and the Mrs. were relaxing  on the deck  or pulling the lever on the slot machine…It was the voters and the residents of Lauderdale- By- The- Sea that won big!…

With his departure for destinations unknown…and Commissioner Clottey’s failed attempts to defer until he arrived back at port… It came down to zip on the ethics…zilch on both height “clarifications”…leaving this next election to be run head to head on the records of the “Broom Boys” if they still go for another 4 years!…

We heard the clickety clack of  BTSTimes Owner/Editor Cristie Furth…as she walked from her corner in the back of the room to go backwards in time yet again…to  reach with all her might and go after the “Ghosts” of the elections past … It was another feeble attempt to try and remind those that it was not so very long ago she and her co-horts were the ones hearing the applause and they were the ones leading the way in going up against bad acts on the dais…

Sadly for Ms. Furth and her ever disappearing CIC-crowd.. they cannot grasp that bad acts know no particular group.. Bad acts are bad no matter whom it is doing them!.. She and her “gang” blew their chance to show they were different from those they built their empire on to defeat….when they took over the commission!…

There were no “attacks” made from the podium, and numerous orchestrated attempts from Commissioners Silverstone and Clottey this evening to call any commentary from residents and constituents who chose to come to the hall and speak out on the unnecessary referendum items, or commissioner comments made by Comm. Silverstone  at the last meeting after he chose to call them “anti-American”  and “anti-Town”…again showed the desperation that hangs over the CIC – inner circle!…

When it came to the referendum items the ethics  went down first as expected…as previously posted the intention for ethics went from zero to sixty in complexity …and as stated by Candidate Scot Sasser it took a wrong turn from what Commissioner Dodd had asked for…which was a simple, common sense ordinance that was based on one’s character and sense of duty to the office…Commissioner Dodd said appearance of conflict did matter…despite the senseless protestations in response from “2-Hats” BFF Commissioner Silverstone that “appearances are subjective”…Hmmm….

Strangely it was Commissioner Clottey in the first of many “episodes” this evening that gave all pause once again about her mental state…She admonished her constituents for not going out and coming up with their own referendum on ethics…(Later, this writer informed the commissioner that if she would have followed her own advice on calling and not making assumptions and called or asked those she was slapping down, why they did not have a petition referendum, they would have told her they were informed it was too late in the game, thanks to the stalling done by none other than…her and her group!) .. After some short discussion on the dais…Ordinance 2009-32  failed 3-1 with only Clottey voting yes…( she originally is on record saying she would not vote for an ethics referendum, but she would sign a petition for one!)…OOPS!…

Then it was the “lowering: the height to 33 feet in south end of town… with  Commissioners Silverstone and Clottey down at their end of the dais contentious  and convoluted in their stance.. They heard the people in the hall who chose to speak on the subject and if they held true to their records on past public commentary and “the will of the people” they would have seen this was a no go…But they knew where their bread is buttered on the height issue and where they park their cars  daily……at Town Hall East… They also knew they better do whatever and say whatever they could, even if it flew in the face of public opinion and the facts…as not to deal with the wrath of Christie Furth the Town’s resident “33 Foot Crazed Woman” (prev. post)…sitting all alone in the corner in the back!.. They tried..they tried hard…doing further harm to their credibility in the process to please Ms. Furth..but it was not to be..

Comm. Clottey showed her fellow commissioners a map of zoned areas in town and tried to deceive without proper explanation the listening audience with talk of 150 foot buildings zoned in the south end of town…( which later were explained to be the existing Sea Ranch Club condos, and two south end condos along with the Surf and Yacht Club aka CIC meeting headquarters…no longer allowed to go that high per the current height restriction of 2006 )…and as she grasped at straws to save the 33′ ballot item. ..she further put her foot in her mouth by again repeating falsehoods from her seat on the dais insisting there was a need for this to be voted on because the voters in 2006 did not get in the Charter all of what they voted for in 2006…

Talk about “clarification”…the new Furth invented word used to ramrod this 33′ foot lowered height referendum into the 2010 race…There was clarification alright tonight …but it came from none other than Mayor Minnet, who found decorum  and control of the dais was easy in this McIntee free zone this night…and both had to really hurt the McIntee-Furth-Silverstone -Clottey contingency where they sit!… TOUCHE’………

Mayor Minnet popped their political bubble…with the help of not one but two Town Attorneys…and she was assisted in her “gotcha” by none other than a “clueless” Commissioner Clottey!..Mayor Minnet thanked Commissioner Clottey for the informative zone  map…and said the zoning districts looks pretty straight forward, it certainly made it clear to her what heights were in place throughout the town…She then went on to ask the Town Attorney if she [Atty. Trevarthen] had checked and compared the petition voted in 2006 height referendum to the Charter and if the words of the petition had “accurately been inserted into the Charter”…Ms. Trevarthern said “yes” and brought forward her colleague Atty. James White. He said “the 2006 Charter referendum was properly codified into the Charter”… Both attorneys concurred that everything with the small exception of a clause was definitely in there. The clause was put into section 5 when found some time ago in this process and Atty. Trevarthen further “clarified” that even without it being included prior to their rectifying it’s absence it had and does have legal standing..OUCH!…

Not done yet, this writer wondered which one of the Mc-Furth patsy’s at the left side of the dais would try to stall this all important CIC-“Broom Boys” platform issue for the return of the much needed 3rd vote of the cruising off into the sunset ( a self-fulfilling prophecy?)…Vice Mayor to keep Cristie Furth happy …It was Clottey!…Besotted, clueless Clottey…who was ignoring the “will of the people”…who paid no heed and showed no sense of embarrassment for her deceit in repeating false statements about the 2006 petition not being correctly inserted into the Town Charter…Somebody get the net…She was whacked!… She didn’t like it and wanted McIntee included on the 8th…a motion was made to “defer”…and it went down 2-2..Dood-n0/ Clottey-yes/ Silverstone yes/ Mayor-no….A vote was taken…THANK YOU HALLOWEEN COMMITTEE!… With the voting board still out of order from their event…it was again done by roll…and it also went down 2-2!… But Clueless and now in this writers opinion, corrupt Clottey tried to change her vote to accommodate her beloved Furths… Perhaps, already fearing the wrath of Ms. Furth…She was met with a very straight forward Comm. Dodd who said he would then change his vote!…and discussion ensued over changing votes…prevailing sides…advice from the Atty. and the Town Asst. Clerk…There was no prevailing side…and then it came like a wave throughout the hall….the  sudden realization that the 33′ foot woman was defeated!… Vice Mayor McIntee and wife may want to stay on board!…

Commissioner Dodd called a break…and the room erupted in glee …the “will of the people” prevailed… as it did when the battered and bruised majority did so long ago, when they were in the right!..

After a brief time out…there was still the second version of the heights referendum to address…..and a few public speakers to speak on what many thought was a mere formality to address and discount.. Former candidate Edmund Malkoon called Commissioner Clottey out on her actions. and her declarations made concerning the last 3 times the voters dealt with the 3 over 1 height issue.. ..He  implored a loose lipped Commissioner Silverstone from further putting the Town in jeopardy after he [Silverstone] spoke at length about the Bert J. Harris lawsuit during the previous ordinance on height as the court reporter for the plaintiffs busily typed away!… YIKES!.. He was followed by his mother who also spoke to Commissioner Clottey and told her not change her votes every 5 minutes…..and then last to speak, none other than the 33 foot Crazed Woman who returned to the hall to again clickety clack to the podium to address the Town Atty. about any allowed increase in height that could be done solely by the commission…One last grasp at her attempt to control the 2010 commission race (with her possible run in the south) … Incredibly, Ms. Furth said she could live with 44′ in the end!… (This writer has put in a public records request for the accounting for legal and ads for the referendum items… instigated by miss one height only, herself!) ….. Commissioner Silverstone did his sidekick duties and asked the Town Atty. to answer Ms. Furth…and the Town Atty. said they could not increase if residential, only if by the Charter…..Again, voters need to ask themselves, how many thousands of taxpayer dollars were spent for these unnecessary referendums?…Silverstone looked like he was looking for a life jacket!…(perhaps his BFF can give him one from the ship he is on)…Commissioner Dodd went over what his stance was and how he spent the last 2 years hitting a brick wall to deal with the aftermath of the Overlay District removals, in trying to make use of the Master Plan Steering Committee and the Planning and Zoning Board… He spoke of  the consequences as addressed at both height public comments allowed by Manager of the Windjammer Diane Boutin and the impact these changes (not “clarifications”) in lowering the heights would have on her and several other timeshares if enacted and said there was a need to expand on the non-conforming definitions in the future….. Commissioner Clottey played it safe and said she would remain quiet due to the litigation situation…and a vote was taken Dodd-no/ Silverstone -yes/ Clottey -no/ Mayor-no…3-1…

Ordinance 2009-34 was also defeated….no 2nd reading…no referendum!…

Referendums ….One- two- three …Ethics- 33’Height version #1- 33′ Height version #2 ….SUNK!…

Nothing like a cruise!

more to come….

Tags: By The Sea Times Editor/Owner Cristie Furth, Lauderdale By The Sea 12-1-2009 commission Meeting, Lauderdale By The Sea CIC, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Birute Clottey, Lauderdale by the sea Commissioner Jim Silverstone, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Stuart Dodd, Lauderdale By The Sea Heights Referendum. Lauderdale By The Sea Ethics Referendum, Lauderdale By The Sea Mayor Roseann Minnet, Lauderdale By The Sea Ordinances for Referendum 2009-32/2009-33/2009-34, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, local government, Local Politics, Scoops
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