Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the news and newsmakers of the day who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life or detracted from it in some significant way.

First Step Shelter Board

When it comes to managing crisis and protecting the public’s confidence – most people can understand and forgive what they see themselves doing – that prism of principle, experience, ethics, integrity, and morality through which we view, and ultimately reconcile, those events that shock our conscience. 

There’s another old truism I’m fond of: “The cover-up is always worse than the crime…”  

Perhaps that’s why this week’s bombshell decision to block additional investigation into the serious allegations brought by three former employees of the First Step Shelter – accusations that include fiduciary maleficence, fraudulent activities, discriminatory bias, ongoing harassment, retaliation, breaches of confidentiality, unethical behavior, and fostering a toxic work environment – has left so many area residents (read: potential donors) in stunned disbelief. 

On Tuesday, before an investigative report has been made public, the First Step Board met to vehemently pooh-pooh the findings of a $5,000 inquiry – commissioned and paid for with First Step funds – and conducted by Ormond Beach attorney Scott Simpson, who offered to keep digging for an additional $3,000 (?) 

Which, to me, signals there may be more evidence and testimony to be uncovered… 

Inconceivably, despite a clearly incomplete investigation, the board voted unanimously to end any further probe into the serious allegations brought by three former senior officials at First Step, to include Patrick Smith, the director of philanthropy and engagement; Pamela Alexander, shelter housing coordinator; and Kim Kelly, a shelter nurse.

Not unexpectedly, only one of the complainants agreed to sit for an interview, while Ms. Kelly reportedly provided a sworn statement to Mr. Simpson.   

Look, call me crazy, but I don’t blame the whistleblowers for their reticence.  

If I were a First Step employee who came forward with credible allegations of fiduciary malfeasance, fraud, discrimination, and harassment in the publicly funded program – I might wait and cooperate with independent authorities responsible for conducting public integrity investigations – or heed the advice of my personal attorney – rather than sit down with an investigator/attorney hired by my former employer.    

I’m weird that way…

After digesting a disturbing article by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, I found the board’s blame projection and victim shaming nothing short of bizarre: 

“I’m totally against spending one more ridiculous dollar on this,” said board member Mike Panaggio. “There’s nothing we’ll get out of continuing the investigation.”

He said the shelter’s executive director, Victoria Fahlberg, should have been allowed to handle the complaints.

“I think this is appalling and it’s ridiculous we’re going through this charade,” Panaggio said.

Board members Susan Persis and Rose Ann Tornatore echoed Panaggio’s comments, saying they also don’t want to spend more money on the probe.

Panaggio charged that the complaint was part of an attempted coup to take over management of the shelter.”

Whoa.  Exactly who does Mike Panaggio represent on the First Step Shelter Board? 

Because something tells me his vicious tirade isn’t going to age well when it comes time for settling massive lawsuits…     

“Nothing to see here, folks.  Keep moving.  Just a charade – nothing more than an attempted coup – appalling and ridiculous.  Should have let the subject of the complaints investigate herself…” 

Weird. 

In another chilling exchange, Ormond Beach City Commissioner Susan Persis, a member of the board and current mayoral candidate, exposed her complete lack of reasoning, experience, and judgement when she leveled a pointed accusation against the primary whistleblower, claiming he “just wanted to cause a ruckus.”

Based on what evidence?

In turn, Port Orange Mayor Don Burnette, also a board member, and current candidate for Volusia County Chair, landed a few low blows of his own, “He wants to make a complaint, but he doesn’t want to participate.”

As usual, for reasons known only to him, Mike Panaggio took things a reckless, meanspirited, and irresponsible step further… 

“This is a scam,” Panaggio said. “We know why he did it; because you (Fahlberg) wanted him to do his job and come into work. We have a mess from the last (shelter fundraising) gala.”

According to the News-Journal’s report, the subject of the whistleblower’s allegations, First Step’s executive director Dr. Victoria Fahlberg, pointed back at her accusers:  

“Everyone’s focused on me and not the whistleblowers,” she said. “I’m just so angry and frustrated.”

(Yeah.  That sensation you just experienced is normal.  I cringed too…) 

According to the report, Fahlberg said the complaints enlightened her to “what’s been going on behind my back for a year and a half.”

Say what? 

To her immense credit, the intrepid Daytona Beach civic activist Anne Ruby addressed the First Step Board and cautioned them to speak to the whistleblower’s attorney and conduct a forensic audit.

According to the News-Journal, “Something smells very badly,” Ruby said.

She said when the whistleblower complaint and report are available to the public, “you’re going to be sorry.”

But board members did not agree with her.”

Wow.  I agree with Ms. Ruby – something smells very badly… 

It is important to note – this is the same First Step Board that recently discussed how best to exempt their meetings from Florida’s Sunshine Law – apparently forgetting they rely on a combined $4 million in scarce public resources every five years just to remain in existence. 

In my view, this should signal the beginning of the end of the First Step Shelter Board.

Let me be the first to call for these shockingly irresponsible cowards to resign, en masse, and allow a proper, thorough, and completely independent investigation by law enforcement or other regulatory authority into the management and administration of the publicly funded shelter. 

In fact, the City of Daytona Beach and County of Volusia should demand it.

By any measure, this is now becoming a godawful embarrassment for the City of Daytona Beach – and the board’s actions on Tuesday have irreversibly undermined the public’s confidence in the troubled program.     

Regardless of how these serious allegations are ultimately vetted, the damage to the character and personal reputations of those who found the courage to come forward and bring their concerns to light is now complete – a frightening message to other potential whistleblowers of the terrible fate that awaits anyone who challenges what is apparently Mike Panaggio’s personal fiefdom… 

Most important, this blatant deflection and shameful self-protection by those with a fiduciary responsibility to protect public funds should give caution to any elected official who will be asked to appropriate millions in additional tax dollars to financially support this opaque and enigmatic program.

Save New Smyrna Beach

Regular readers of these weekly raves have probably gathered – I’m not a huge fan of what our civic ‘visionaries’ perceive as “progress.”  Especially when it comes to the mindless destruction of the natural attributes and inherent charm that make picturesque beach towns appealing to residents and visitors. 

For years, I pointed to Flagler Beach and New Smyrna Beach as two unique seaside spots that ‘got it right.’ 

In the past, both communities worked hard to retain their allure while similarly situated places raced headlong into the abyss of growth and sprawl – rapidly becoming a homogenized everyplace – devoid of the character, eccentricities, and unconventionalities that set them apart. 

In my view, when Flagler Beach officials allowed a “Margaritaville” hotel at the beautiful intersection of A-1-A and SR-100 – what was once a public greenspace for songwriter’s festivals, art shows, and farmers markets – is now dominated by another “theme” hotel, a faux reproduction of what was already there.

In my view, that shortsighted capitulation was the sad epitaph for Flagler Beach’s much sought-after laidback lifestyle.    

Then came the “voluntary annexation” of the contrived community of Veranda Bay – marketed as the “Last stretch of Intracoastal property on Florida’s East Coast” (how sad) – which will double the size of one of the last vestiges of Old Florida left on the east coast – in my view, a mistake that may signal the death knell for one of the most distinct beach communities in Florida.   

Unfortunately, the enticement of small-town politicians to a developer’s view of “progress” isn’t limited to Flagler Beach…

To their credit, concerned residents of New Smyrna Beach recently voiced their opposition to a proposed five-story mixed use monstrosity proposed for South Atlantic Avenue that would tower 60 to 65 feet above the surrounding area.   

According to reports, the project – which flies in the face of New Smyrna’s zoning laws and Land Development Regulations – was recommended for approval by the city’s planning and zoning board (?), and would include a 321-space parking garage, a rooftop bar, retail space, and a restaurant. 

In my view, this represents a textbook example of how developers rely on elected officials to change, amend, vary, ignore, and make exceptions to the very zoning and land use regulations that were enacted to protect the character of their community. 

Don’t take my word for it – look across the width and breadth of Volusia County for glaring scenes of how exceptions have been used to destroy pristine ecological areas, foul our sensitive water supply, outpace transportation and utilities infrastructure, and encroach on wildlife habitat, as developers and their handmaidens in public office sacrifice our quality of life on the altar of greed.  

According to reports, thanks to public opposition to the proposed parking garage, on Tuesday, the project’s applicant, NSB Capital Group, withdrew its agenda items from consideration by the New Smyrna Beach City Commission.

In a social media release this week, the City of New Smyrna Beach explained, “These ordinances, related to a proposed five-story restaurant and retail development with an attached 321-space parking garage, will not be considered for either approval or a previously requested continuance during tonight’s meeting.”

Some wary NSB residents are calling the postponement a “delay tactic” to allow time and space between upcoming municipal elections and what they fear will be another bite at the apple… 

Time will tell. 

There is a reason the citizens of New Smyrna Beach once said “No” to building heights of more than three stories in Neighborhood Business Districts.  My hope is that if this project returns, New Smyrna Beach officials will remember and respect those zoning regulations for what they represent.    

Kudos to the residents of this quaint beachside community for standing firm in their commitment to protecting the best attributes of New Smyrna Beach.    

Commercial Fisherman Jimmy Hull and Attorney Dennis Bayer

“The arrogance of man is thinking that nature is in their control and not the other way around.”

— Ichiro Serizawa, “Godzilla”

There is one constant in the universe:  In man’s futile quest to dominate and control natural processes and the environment – Mother Nature always wins… 

Yet, in our infernal arrogance, we blunder on – convinced we can violate physical laws we barely understand, crashing about, trying to “fix” what we perceive as environmental “problems.”

Small minds with important titles, using the force of heavy equipment and hydraulics – supported by massive amounts of money and advanced technology – refusing to consider adaptation to live in synergy with the forces of nature.

I recently read an article questioning the practice of beach renourishment which asked the question, “How many times can a public beach vanish?”

The disturbing answer appears to be: As many times as politicians are willing to use our tax dollars to rebuild it…  

Rather than consider the long-term environmental impacts and unintended consequences of dredging and pumping operations or, God forbid, limit further development along the natural erosion control provided by the dune line – we do the same thing over-and-over again, always expecting a different result – then stand slack-jawed when the inevitable storm takes artificially placed boulders, sand, and expensive riprap out to sea…    

Recently, Jimmy Hull, a longtime commercial fisherman and owner of Hull’s Seafood & Market in Ormond Beach, realized something the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers apparently forgot to consider – the potential ecological impacts of beach renourishment operations off Flagler Beach that are dangerously close to a living reef and several long-established fisheries. 

As I understand it, the project essentially vacuums sand (including mollusks and other small sea creatures) off the ocean’s living bottom, then transfers it to the beach where the sand is used to replenish sections of the beach lost to erosion, while the water returns to sea.

What about the mollusks, crustaceans, and other sea life?  They just die… 

According to an excellent article by reporter Frank Fernandez writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week:

“The project calls for placing 1.31 million cubic yards of sand onto a stretch of Flagler Beach from about Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area to North Seventh Street for a total of 3.5 miles. The Army Corps project is 2.6 miles of that stretch. Weeks Marine was awarded the $27 million contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the initial project area of 2.6 miles.”

To protect the living waters off Flagler Beach, Mr. Hull contacted Dennis Bayer, an attorney and trained zoologist with extensive knowledge of Florida’s coastline, who recently took the growing concerns of area residents to the Flagler Beach City Commission. 

In turn, Flagler Beach County Attorney Al Hadeed notified the Army Corps of Engineers who convinced him that dredging operations are being conducted some 2.5 miles away from the natural reef system, with the project manager assuring the dredging is “not impacting commercial fishing areas.”

According to the News-Journal, Mr. Bayer is concerned that agencies conducting the operation were unaware of the presence of the live bottom.

According to the report, “Hull said July 30 that the dredging should be farther from the reef.

“Don’t get your sand out here where you could jeopardize this living priceless reef,” Hull said in a phone interview. “It’s all live bottom. It’s full of small shrimp, small crabs. It’s the food chain. The web of life. “

But he said plans were unlikely to change now.

“This multi-million-dollar train has left the station a long time ago,” Hull said.”

In addition, Mr. Hadeed advised in the News-Journal that according to evaluations, the Corps understands “…there will be some morbidity,” which, I think, is legalese for the fact some sea life will be collateral damage… 

Look, I appreciate the reassurance from attorneys and engineers that things on the seafloor will eventually return to normal when the dredging is complete, but who – beyond concerned citizens and commercial fishermen who understand the importance of this natural resource – is independently overseeing this environmentally sensitive operation to ensure the living reef is not disturbed or buried in silt? 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a long history of beneficial public works projects, frequently taking on difficult problems in the spirit of the organization’s motto “Essayons!” — “Let Us Try!”

Unfortunately, they also have a grim reputation for colossal and incredibly expensive failures… 

I think reporter Tony Schick writing for Oregon Public Broadcasting said it best in a November 2023 article on an incredibly expensive remediation plan to save salmon trapped behind the Corps’ dams on the Willamette River:

“The Corps has plunged ahead time and again with billion-dollar construction projects based on assumptions that don’t exactly pan out. In some cases, the agency goes on to spend billions more restoring the natural environment it manipulated.”

Like many, I’m hoping for the best in Flagler Beach.    

That said, perhaps it is time we consider if these massively expensive artificial renourishment projects are the best way to resolve the issue of Florida’s rapidly eroding shoreline and begin the exploration of symbiotic strategies – including a moratorium on development and the possibility of a managed retreat in threatened areas – a plan to allow natural processes the ability to protect and restore beaches as Mother Nature intended…  

Quote of the Week

“Someone who purchases a tract of land doesn’t, and shouldn’t, have the right to ignore the zoning restrictions for that land. Likewise, when someone purchases land for which code requires a special exception for certain uses, the buyer understands (or should understand) that limitation at the time of purchase. Property rights are clearly not absolute. They are closely tied to the zoning and approval process in place when the property was purchased.

County Council has the right to remove some of those restrictions. However, there are several reasons that they should be very careful about doing so.

First, neighbors also have property rights. Removing restrictions for one tract of land can infringe on the property rights of neighbors. Say we have neighbors, A and B, and that when B purchased their land, code prevented A from putting a hog farm on their property, or at least required a special exception. It’s not fair to B (and their property rights) for council to later reduce or drop the requirements for establishing a hog farm, and even eliminate B’s right to offer input. (B might even consider a lawsuit.)

It’s good to champion property rights, but it’s essential to also consider the property (and other) rights of others who might also be affected.

Second, there are often unforeseen circumstances and unexpected consequences. Changing from “Special Exception Required” to “By Right” forfeits the ability to address unanticipated situations, sets the county up for problems similar to what it’s experiencing with the Belvedere Terminals fuel farm, and suggests that council hasn’t learned well from that experience.

Finally, County Council should be very slow to adopt any rule changes which reduce citizen involvement.”  

–Steve Wonderly, as excerpted from the Ormond Beach Observer, Letters to the Editor, “Removing zoning restrictions will need careful consideration,” Tuesday, August 6, 2024

The great Florida storyteller and editorialist Carl Hiaasen once explained, “The one thing a column does is it gives readers a sense that they’re not the only ones who feel a certain way: ‘Oh good, he not only agrees with me, but he’s putting it in writing.’ It strengthens the positions of those whose voices are not always heard, or not always listened to, as they should be…”

I agree.  With both Mr. Hiaasen – and Mr. Wonderly. 

Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone is listening in the cloistered Halls of Power in Tallahassee – or Deland… 

In the view of many, thanks to the unchecked gutting of land development restrictions and environmental protections, Florida has become a developer’s playground – a wide-open wasteland where anything goes, and growth at all costs (and I do mean ‘all costs’) moves at such an astounding pace that the old-fashioned concept of concurrency – ensuring adequate public infrastructure to support further development – no longer factors into the greed-crazed equation.

Perhaps most infuriating, those we have elected – and the senior administrators appointed to represent our interests, plan for growth, manage resources, and protect our sensitive natural places – continue to malleably yield to mercenary forces, rubber stamping malignant growth, changing the topography of the land, destroying wetlands, paving over recharge areas, then act surprised by widespread flooding each time it rains. 

In turn, those carefully choreographed “public hearings” on zoning and land use changes typically take the form of a senior staff member reading from a PowerPoint in robotic monotone, a bureaucratic apraxia, droning on, ad infinitum, while the decision-makers stare into space, lulled into a trance by the sheer tedium of the acronyms alone, waiting patiently for the opportunity to serve their masters…   

Oh, you wanted to provide input, John and Jane Q? 

Make a salient point, or explain how the project will directly affect your life, home, or livelihood? 

Good luck.  You’ve got three minutes, asshole…   

As a result of their abject arrogance, many communities are suffering the claustrophobic effects of critical density – with waiting times in local emergency rooms now exceeding five hours or more on any given day, traffic congestion on most major thoroughfares requires the patience of Job to get from point A to B in (enter any Volusia County city here), and the environmental impacts are evident everywhere you look – and, most disturbing, in places you cannot see – like our endangered aquifer. 

Now, election season is well underway – that time every two to four years when incumbent politicians emerge from their exalted perch in the Ivory Tower of Power and pretend to “listen to our concerns,” call us “neighbor,” and act like we’re old friends – while newcomers to the political scene try and convince us they have a different vision (while accepting massive campaign contributions from the very same developers and real estate interests that own the political paper on incumbents?).

Perhaps now is the time we should ask those seeking our sacred vote the tough questions about the tattered remnants of our quality of life – and hold those who have lied to us politically accountable for their self-serving deceit and acquiescence. 

In my jaded view, we now live in a place where our elected officials have become little more than chattel – beholden to those “Big Money” interests with a chip in the game.  Don’t take my word for it.  Follow the money. 

Cui Bono?

If not now, when?    

And Another Thing!

This week I took advantage of early voting at the Ormond Beach Public Library. 

As always, Volusia County’s outstanding Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis and her incredibly attentive staff made this sacred civic duty a friendly and efficient experience. 

As a confirmed No Party Affiliate, I was limited to just two non-partisan races in the primary (Volusia County Council and Volusia County School Board District 4) – but it was well worth the time spent – because those we elect will allocate our tax dollars and shape public policy, actions that will directly (and irreparably) impact our lives and livelihoods.    

I typically don’t make political endorsements on this blog site, that would be pompous and pretentious.  (Fact is, I’m both pompous and pretentious, but my guess is no more valid or informed that yours.) 

Like you, I do my homework, hold my nose, and roll the dice.   

I naturally assume if you are reading Barker’s View you are what many politicians fear the most – an “educated voter.” 

Someone who takes the time to gain insight into the collective issues we face here on Florida’s “Fun Coast” – an active and involved citizen capable of determining which candidate and platform best matches your personal vision for our future.

It can be difficult to sort the wheat from the political chaff this weird day and age – but it’s important. 

The bedrock principle of our democracy – that all power is derived from the consent of the governed – is rooted in the conduct of fair and trustworthy elections, the idea of “one citizen, one vote,” that purely American concept of political equality.

In Volusia County, we can thank Supervisor Lisa Lewis and her staff for maintaining public confidence in our electoral process.

Unfortunately, far too many area residents have fallen victim to the curse of political apathy – that feeling of indifference born of having the rug pulled out from underneath them one too many times – the sense that their participation doesn’t count now that their voice is increasingly muted by elected officials (and the entrenched insiders they serve) who seek to suppress citizen input in governance. 

I also believe that the abject ugliness of the modern blood-soaked political battlefield – a fetid slit-trench where anything goes – has turned many good people off, especially at a time when political polarity has turned elections into an ‘Us vs. Them’ brawl. 

Now, even local campaigns resemble a back-alley knife fight, underwritten by massive contributions flowing from powerful forces supporting hand-select candidates, cash that skews the battlefield, as special interests cut-and-thrust with ominous television advertisements and exaggerated glossy mailers.  (See the allegations, accusations, and insinuations flying in the Florida Senate District 7 for an excellent example).  

Then there are contests like the extremely creepy race between incumbent Volusia County Clerk of the Court Laura Roth and a mysterious newcomer named John Flemm that has left veteran watchers scratching their heads.

Flemm, a 22-year-old resident of DeBary, has published bizarre social media posts making outlandish allegations, and recently distributed a misleading mailer smearing Ms. Roth with baseless accusations regarding issues completely out of her control – like gun rights, being “weak on crime,” and insinuating Ms. Roth gave herself pay raises.  (She can’t.  Her salary is determined by state statute.) 

Initially, I thought the Flemm campaign was a bad piece of comedic performance art – a farcical act of political satire that would leave us laughing at the absurdity of it all.  But the antics of Flemm – who comes off like an AI generated caricature of the archetypal partisan ideologue – and his handful of “supporters” aren’t humorous at all. 

Just another desperate also-ran taking the low road of mudslinging, demonstrably false accusations, defamation, and confrontation.    

We’ll talk more about the equally enigmatic Mackenzie Quinn the lone Democrat in the Clerk’s race who appeared out-of-the-blue, someone even local Democratic leaders suspect may be a “ghost candidate,” after the primary is decided on Tuesday…    

This week, retired Circuit Court Judge James Clayton rightfully defended Ms. Roth in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, saying “Either he’s (Flemm) incredibly stupid or he’s banking on the voting public to be ignorant as to what the clerk does and what the clerk’s office functions are.”

I agree. 

Further, Judge Clayton explained, “The clerk of court has absolutely nothing to do with law enforcement or gun rights — period,” Clayton said. “That’s just an outright misrepresentation. Some people would call it a lie.”

As a longtime spectator of Volusia County politics, I’ve seen some peculiar strategies at play in local races, but – with apologies to John Randolph – something about the Flemm “campaign” stinks ”like a rotten mackerel in the moonlight…” 

In my view, these mysterious machinations best demonstrate the importance of studying the issues – and getting to know the candidates – to include their character, competency, vision, and basic understanding of the duties and responsibilities of the position they seek.

There.  I feel better for speaking out about that – and for supporting the re-election of Laura Roth.    

Other local races, like those incredibly important hometown city commission and county council contests are seen by many as a referendum for fundamental change – where maintaining the status quo often means continued bureaucratic bloat, rising taxes, and the civic stagnation that has made Volusia County a cautionary tale to the rest of Central Florida…   

Regardless of your views, your vote – and your voice – are important.  I hope you exercise both this election season.  

In Volusia County, early voting ends tomorrow, Saturday, August 17 at 6:00pm. The primary election will be held Tuesday, August 20, 2024.  

Vote like your family’s quality of life depends upon it.

Because it does.

For more information, please visit www.volusiaelections.gov

That’s all for me.  Have a great weekend, y’all!