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…

The City of Edgewater Sets a Bold Example

In my recent autopsy of our local election results, I took some criticism for voicing the view that Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower’s victory represents a “mandate” for direct action on those environmental and growth issues he championed during his tumultuous first term.   

A reader suggested that my “…use of the word “mandate” in connection with a county-wide election having a margin of about 7,000 votes (about a percentage point) is ill-advised. More accurately, that’s a “squeaker.”

Although I hate explaining myself, the fact is, Mr. Brower’s grassroots campaign was outspent (4:1), he was openly maligned by his elected “colleagues” on the dais (who beat Brower like a borrowed mule at the bidding of their well-heeled overseers), he was falsely accused in a mysteriously funded glossy mailer of mollycoddling sex offenders, while his opponent received the ringing endorsement of all the right last names and the Republican Executive Committee of Volusia ran interference – yet, he still emerged victorious on a platform focused on smart growth initiatives.

So, I’ll stick to my original assessment… 

In my view, given all the internal and external obstacles he overcame, Brower’s win represents a clear citizen mandate for addressing the impacts of malignant growth on existing residents, infrastructure, and public utilities.

As evidence of that, just days before the election, Chairman Brower appeared on the steps of the Volusia County Courthouse in Daytona Beach flanked by flood victims to call for a temporary moratorium on development until a flood mitigation plan can be reached.

The angry response from development shills like District 3 Councilman Danny “Gaslight” Robins, At-Large Representative “Jake the Snake” Johansson, and Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry was telling – and demonstrated just how far some compromised politicians will go to kiss the sizeable asses of their political benefactors – always to the detriment of their waterlogged constituents.

Now, some observers are suggesting that the meanspirited kabuki staged by Robins and Johansson in the face of devastated flood victims represents what’s to come in Brower’s second term – others believe it signaled the exact second Jake and Danny’s political careers ended…

To prove the urgency many elected representatives across the region are giving the problem, last week the Edgewater City Council held a workshop to discuss two proposed moratoriums – a temporary pause to give them time to address flooding in the heavily affected community.

One would limit residential development citywide with exceptions for commercial development and Hurricane Milton repairs.  The other would place a hold on the issuance of building permits that may “increase impervious surfaces” in the Florida Shores Drainage Basin.

According to an informative piece by reporter Brenno Carillo writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, the Florida Shores moratorium “…would stop “consideration of building permits that would increase impervious surface area, such as, but not limited to, new single-family homes, additions, detached garages, sheds, pools, driveways, patios on any parcel within the Florida Shores Drainage Basin” area, according to the presentation.”

In addition, “The other moratorium would be citywide and imposed “on the consideration of annexations, rezonings, comprehensive plan amendments, site plans, preliminary plats and final plats,” according to Solstice.

The measure would only affect residential developments, not commercial or industrial projects.”

To his credit, Edgewater’s man-child Mayor Deizel Depew said he “cannot in good faith” approve more development until a comprehensive stormwater masterplan is in place.  

“I’ve lived in Florida Shores my whole, entire life,” DePew, 20, said. “We don’t know where our current watershed is going, we have several developments that have come on board since 2014. (The stormwater masterplan) needs to be updated as fast as can be.”

In my view, if Edgewater can see the dire need to tap the brakes while they evaluate changes to how and where they develop in the face of recurrent flooding, why can’t Volusia County take the lead on controlling fill and build development practices, improve stormwater management, and work cooperatively with the municipalities to find answers?   

That’s rhetorical… 

In my view, the glaringly obvious answer is the voracious greed of a real estate development industry that owns the political souls of the majority of the Volusia County Council – most of whom are bought and paid for marionettes with inherently corrupt instincts and an egoistic need to be considered part of the “in-crowd” – dull tools who dutifully serve their master’s to the detriment of those of us who are expected to pay the bills and suffer in silence. 

According to reports, Edgewater officials will hold a townhall meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, November 18, at the Bella Vista Baptist Church, 3232 South Ridgewood Avenue. 

Residents will be provided additional information on flood mitigation efforts and have an opportunity to ask questions.  In my view, if Edgewater officials hold the course and use lessons learned to form best practices, this dynamic community-oriented approach could be a blueprint for how Florida governments ultimately address development induced flooding.

DIY Engineering in Palm Coast?

Unlike the City of Edgewater, it appears Palm Coast officials are opting to deal with development induced and infill flooding by not dealing with it… 

Sound familiar?

When angry homeowners stormed Palm Coast City Hall last fall demanding answers to a flawed drainage system that allows runoff from new development and infill projects to flood adjoining properties, a temporary moratorium proposed by City Council member Theresa Pontieri was quickly nixed by the shortsighted majority. 

Instead, the city’s building and stormwater departments tweaked language in a “technical manual” that (finally) placed responsible height limits – no more than 22 inches above the crown of the road or more than a 10-inch height difference between the floor elevation of neighboring homes – on future growth. 

But what about waterlogged existing Palm Coast residents?

Well, dust off your civil engineering degrees, folks… 

Unbelievably, City officials – in cooperation with something called the Residential Drainage Advisory Committee – will now offer homeowners five cubic yards of city owned “surplus dirt” to use as they see fit to control stormwater runoff flowing from adjacent lots.

You read that right.

According to city press release, “It’s important to note that drainage fixes are not one-size-fits-all. Each property has unique needs, and some projects may require additional steps. If machinery is used to spread the dirt on the premises, homeowners will need to obtain a grading permit issued by the City of Palm Coast. The permit ensures compliance with local regulations and helps maintain proper drainage functionality.”

A grading permit will set resident’s back $82 bucks.

To fix a problem the City of Palm Coast created?

Whatever…

Because the City of Palm Coast cannot legally use public funds for private benefit, to keep things on the up-and-up, the “surplus” dirt will be available to all taxpaying residents of Palm Coast – not just those experiencing flooding. 

According to the release, the program has been assisted by a local surveyor who conducted surveys of 29 residential properties to help identify areas in “need of improvement.”

What could go wrong?

During a meeting earlier this week, bewildered Palm Coast residents voiced their logical concerns. 

According to an article in the Ormond Beach Observer:

“I’m telling you right now, this is not going to work,” resident Celia Pugliese said.

P Section resident Jeremy Davis has been one of the council’s most vocal critics on how the council and city has responded to residents’ drainage issues. He has told his story multiple times: a house was built in the empty lot next to his at a much higher height and since then, he said he has had water coming on to his property and even in his home that was never there before.

Davis called the 5 cubic yards offered “hilarious.”

“That’s not going to help me,” Davis said. “This is a waste of my time.”

Davis said it would be equally unfair for residents like himself to be required to pay for a permit to fix a problem caused by city staff and builders approving a home built higher than existing homes.

“Come up with real solutions,” Davis said.”

I agree with incredulous Palm Coast residents – but bureaucrats know that real problem solving can get expensive and time-consuming – while kicking the can down the dusty political trail costs nothing…

So, it appears the City of Palm Coast is opting to permit shade tree hydrological engineers to develop a hodgepodge of drainage “fixes” – 29 competing solutions, each designed to manage flooding on individual parcels – without ever addressing the mercurial problem of stormwater management.   

Look, there’s a reason doctors suggest you don’t remove your own inflamed appendix – or perform a root canal on that touchy molar – because those procedures are better left to trained professionals. Educated, experienced, and credentialed experts who can diagnose the problem holistically, find a solution, and develop a comprehensive treatment plan without doing more harm in the process.

In my view, like the remainder of Florida, the massive municipality of Palm Coast has been set upon by elected development shills who weaseled their way onto the dais of power and took full advantage of the shambolic dysfunction that permeates the City Council to foment more, more, more malignant growth and willy-nilly residential infill without any viable plan or smart growth regulations.

Now it is time for cities and counties who have adopted growth at all cost development strategies to be held legally and politically liable for permitting what they knew or should have known would have catastrophic impacts on existing residents.

In my view, that level of officially sanctioned negligence should be criminal…

Quote of the Week

“Several residents who live near the future development spoke before the board at its meeting on existing flooding issues, and voiced concerns that the development of Ormond Crossings will worsen conditions.

“It floods even if you do not have a hurricane, very, very badly,” Ormond Beach resident Jordan Huntley said.

Resident Darrel Bugno said he’s lived in his home in Durrance Lane for over 25 years and has experienced water in front of his driveway over 3-and-a-half feet deep.

“It happened last year,” he said. “It happened this year. And what’s going to happen next year? If this goes in, the people who have houses out there are all going to flood out. Water came within 10 feet of my house.”

On behalf of Ormond Crossings’ developer, representative Jamie Poulos said that as the development moves forward in more detail, a master stormwater plan will be created, to be reviewed by the city, the county St. Johns River Water Management District and FEMA.”

–Jarleene Almenas, Ormond Beach Observer, “Ormond Crossings amendment gets OK by Ormond Beach Planning Board,” Wednesday, October 30, 2024  

In the hubbub of the election, the first amendment to the slumbering behemoth known as Ormond Crossings escaped mention. 

For the uninitiated, the 3,000-acre project dates to 2002 when Ormond Beach was a much different place and will span the east and west side of I-95 and areas south of US-1, blanketing areas of Volusia and Flagler counties with 2,950 residential units and some 2.5 million square feet of retail, office, light industrial and warehouse space.

According to the Ormond Observer, last month, the Ormond Beach planning board voted to approve a request from the developer of Ormond Crossings to allow single-family homes in place of multifamily units in a portion of the property south of U.S. 1.

“Why the change from multifamily to single-family? Poulos said it’s because of the wetlands.

“We’re trying to minimize wetland impacts,” he said.”

Sure they are… 

I found it disturbing that while plans are moving swiftly through the approval process, the developer has yet to produce a master stormwater plan detailing how they will mitigate flooding concerns – especially now that longtime area residents have made it clear the area is already susceptible – going on record that the thousands of residential units proposed for Ormond Crossings will only exacerbate the problem. 

This one’s important.  Because if they get it wrong, our grandchildren will pay the price…

My hope is that Ormond Beach’s new Mayor Jason Leslie will provide the strong leadership necessary to address how development amendments are considered (let alone approved) without so much as a comprehensive stormwater plan in place – all while the experiential concerns of frightened existing residents are glossed over by some developer’s mouthpiece with a chip in the game.   

And Another Thing!

On Monday, I watched as the Deltona City Commission interrupted Veteran’s Day observances to hold a special meeting during which the solemn oath of office was administered to four newly elected members.    

A heady celebration of what many long-suffering resident’s hope foretells new beginnings, rather than more of the same…  

Time will tell. 

As I watched the transfer of power in the Lost City of Deltona – the typical ceremonial pomp, with the freshman commission members preening and posing for photographs with their proud families – I thought it fortunate that attendees were spared the acrimony many feared when former Commissioner “Jody Lee” ominously threatened to “name names” regarding what he described as “election interference” and issues with charter officers in a post-election interview with the West Volusia Beacon.  

In fact, neither “Jody Lee” or former Commissioner Dana McCool attended the special meeting…

Which was disappointing. 

But hard feelings run deep in politics – especially in Wild West Volusia… 

The last thing the longsuffering residents of Deltona need is more posturing and melodrama from the dais of power – and regardless of the venom and rancor of the campaign season – continuity of governance and confidence in our sacred democratic process demand an orderly transition. 

Unfortunately, despite the hopes of a new majority, Deltona’s external interests and influences were palpable in the Commission Chambers – like worms in the wood that forms the very structure of governance in that troubled place – entrenched, damaging, and hard to see from the outside looking in.

But on Monday, hope reigned supreme for long-suffering residents desperate for a way forward.

Those necessary changes begin with strong leadership. 

An end to bullying, obstructionism, and playing the martyred victim – more honest dialog, transparency, and attention to the real needs of those who pay the bills – less deference to influential special interests.    

My stock in trade is poking fun and making snide observations on the abject absurdity inherent to local politics – a jaundiced look at the weird machinations of governance here on Florida’s “Fun Coast” – my take on the interesting characters both in front and behind the curtain who manipulate the rods and strings.

In retirement, offering unsolicited advice, criticizing those actually in the arena, and pointing out where the strongman stumbled has become a guilty pleasure of mine.  After a lifetime in public service, these often-caustic screeds are cathartic – an ipecac of sorts – a creative outlet that helps purge my craw of the issues of the day…

The fact is, during a lengthy career in municipal government, I learned a few things about the importance of local governance and the delivery of essential services, including the actual role of elected officials in how the sausage gets made and the significance of accountability, accessibility, transparency, and trust.     

I originally posted a version of these maxims following the hotly contested elections of 2020, sort of an “Idiot’s Guide to local Governance” from an uneducated rube who clawed his way to middle management and hung on by my fingernails… 

In my view, these lessons remain relevant for newly elected officials, and a reminder for those incumbents who continue to wield power from their respective dais of power.   

During the campaign season, I took in the pie-in-the-sky goals of some of our newly elected officials who are about to experience their first sweet taste of power and influence in the microcosm of a local or regional government – where the haughty trappings of office and the obsequious fawning of their “new friends” with ulterior motives can be more intoxicating than 101 proof bourbon.

Meeting those highfalutin goals won’t be easy for most – and downright impossible for some – especially in places like the gilded Volusia County Council chamber where Chairman Jeff Brower learned a few things during his first term about what happens to campaign promises and legislative effectiveness when a square peg refuses to be forced into the round hole of conformity…

During my productive life, I once heard a story from a newly minted city commissioner who was invited to a congratulatory dinner by a prominent real estate developer.  The incredibly impressed neophyte politician – a service industry worker by trade – was over the moon with newfound hubris when the wealthy businessman paid for his dinner and drinks with a flashy “Black” American Express Centurion card.

It was an effective prop, of course.  The trappings of success.    

A physical reminder of all the fine things money and power can bring, and I thought how easily alliances are changed, ethics compromised, and campaign promises ignored when the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker enter this heady new world – a place where they are finally treated like “equals” by people who wouldn’t have given them the time of day before the election – a slippery slope where wide-eyed novice politicians are told anything is possible with the right application of the people’s money. 

An ultimately cruel and unforgiving place where the losers are immediately forgotten, like so much worthless rubbish when they no longer hold value for those once ingratiating “friends” who stand at the nexus of public funds and private profit motives.

Nobody said public service would be easy.  If someone did, they lied to you.   

Trust me – you’re going to hear a lot of artful avarice and misrepresentations during your term. 

If I were to purchase a gift for newly elected politicians preparing to take their seat it would be a simple hand mirror.

When the time comes – and it will – when the crown lays heavy and the feeling of infallibility overcomes the willingness to listen, when neighbors are screaming for their head, and chippie critics like me are bitching about how they screwed up the difficult calls, when compromising their personal ethics would be the easiest course, or when special interests who contributed to their campaign lobby hard for a controversial vote – they could use that mirror to take an introspective look at themselves and remember all the reasons why they sought to serve in the first place. 

To those ascending or returning to high office, here are some things I learned after a long public life that may help once the euphoria of the “big win” and self-aggrandizing celebrations have ended. 

Consider it the last gift you’ll receive with no strings attached:

Those rubber-chicken dinners – elegant “galas” with haughty elbow rubbing, ego massaging speeches, and silly plaques are not important.  Coffee with a concerned constituent is.

All people really want is to be heard.

Pay attention to those who pay the bills.  Make a place at the table for your constituents, hear them out, respect their hard-earned opinions, fight for their right to participate in a meaningful way, then incorporate their suggestions into the decision-making process.

Humility, and a true willingness to admit honest mistakes – then working hard to correct them – is omnipotent to winning and keeping the public’s trust.  Never forget that people can forgive those errors and omissions they see themselves making.

Your constituents – your neighbors – understand that you are human, but they expect and deserve a commitment to the ultimate in ethical, moral, and honorable behavior that respects human dignity, obeys the rule of law, and brings honor to public service. 

That means keeping your public and private life unsullied as an example to all.

(Read that again.)

Citizens also demand that their elected representatives hold themselves and others in positions of power accountable for their actions. 

Anything less weakens the system.

As hard as it may seem at the time, effective servant-leaders use the withering criticism they receive as a barometer of community sentiment.  The loudest person in the room is not always right. 

They aren’t always wrong either.  

You can always tell when an elected official has gotten their feelings hurt when they drone on from the dais, sugarcoating their “service” and “accomplishments,” rewriting recorded history, marginalizing their detractors, and labeling critics “liars” – all while heaping accolades on senior staff members who sooth their ego by telling them exactly what they want to hear.

That sense of elitism springs organically in the cloistered Halls of Power…

When making decisions on development and zoning amendments, consider our fragile environment and water source. That’s not the popular approach with the “Rich & Powerful,” but protecting wildlife and greenspace should be nonnegotiable.

I encourage you to support those career civil servants who do the heavy lifting and deliver essential services to the community.  Listen to their suggestions and never use them as pawns or scapegoats for political expediency.

They were here when you came, and they will remain when you leave…

Demand exacting standards of excellence from the city/county manager – he or she holds more cards than any one elected official – and they are the gatekeeper to the information you need to make an informed decision. 

Give the executive the courtesy of frequent, fair, and objective performance reviews – criticize privately and praise the team’s effort publicly – so the manager always knows where they stand, what you expect, and how they can improve.

These professionals earn a lot of money and perquisites because they understand the responsibilities and volatility inherent to managing a machine with a lot of moving parts that is fueled by public funds.  

Should the time come, never hesitate to change tack, and bring new vision and leadership to the team.  In my experience, holding onto bad managers for the sake of short-term “stability” is the leading cause of governmental dysfunction – civic damage that can be extremely expensive to repair.

Most important – in public service, moral courage is defined as the mental and ethical strength that sees us through challenges and ensures we do the right thing – despite the potential personal or political cost.

Lead by personal example as you make the tough decisions that impact the lives and livelihoods of those you serve. 

Find that moral courage – hold firm to your sacred oath of office and core values – and take pride in the fact your neighbors have put their confidence in your ability to lead, to work collaboratively, and your vision for our collective future.

Lastly, remain humble, never lose sight of the impermanence of power and position.

“All glory is fleeting…”

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