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:

City of Edgewater Building Moratorium – A Bold Step in the Fight Against Flooding

On Monday evening the Edgewater City Council did the honorable thing in approving a 12-month building moratorium to protect residents whose homes have been repeatedly inundated with development-induced floodwater.

The measure took the form of two ordinances, one placing a temporary halt on annexations, rezonings, planned-unit development amendments, comprehensive plan amendments, site plans, preliminary plats, and final plats, including development applications.  

The ordinance passed on a 3-1 vote with Councilwoman Debbie Dolbow voting against…    

The other passed by unanimous vote and adopts a temporary moratorium on the issuance of building permits “…that would increase impervious surface area such as, but not limited to, new single family homes, additions, attached garages, detached garages, sheds, pools, driveways, patios on any parcel within the Florida Shores Drainage Basin…”

The moratorium does not limit commercial or industrial development in properly zoned areas of the city.  In addition, reports indicate that some 4,000 residential units already entitled to development will be “eligible to proceed.”   

According to an article by Sheldon Gardner writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Councilwoman Debbie Dolbow opposed the measure, raising questions about how tax revenue would be affected by the pause, where revenue would come from to fix stormwater problems, and the potential need to raise taxes down the road, among other things.”

On Wednesday, Ms. Dolbow posted on social media that she felt a permanent city manager should be “part of this process,” and the moratorium should not have been enacted until the stormwater masterplan is complete, explaining “The moratorium I was opposed to was the City Wide moratorium that delt with annexations, rezoning, etc. I felt these critical, much needed changes to our current Land Development Code and Comp Plan could have been accomplished without “shutting down” for a year.”

Many believe the pause represents a commonsense approach that will stop the hemorrhaging until a comprehensive solution to the widespread flooding can be found, and consider it a victory for threatened property owners, some of whom have spent multiple times their homes value on repairs.    

On January 14, the Volusia County Council will also have the opportunity to do the right thing and begin the process of implementing a temporary moratorium on new development in unincorporated areas until comprehensive growth management, stormwater, and smart building regulations can be put into place.

Chairman Jeff Brower suggested the temporary halt to new construction during the 2024 election.  Unfortunately, even the mere whisper of the “M” word has sent tremors through the powerful development community, and their sock puppets on the Volusia County Council are already working overtime to protect the interests of those who own the paper on their political souls…

For instance, during a contentious Volusia County Council meeting last November, frustrated flood victims gave nearly three-hours of emotional testimony ahead of the scheduled discussion of a temporary moratorium. 

Undeterred by the suffering of his constituents, Councilman David “No Show” Santiago moved to strategically postpone the discussion of countywide flooding – now considered the most serious threat to the public’s health and safety of our time – giving his handlers in the real estate development industry sixty additional days to ramrod fill-and-build development… 

That didn’t sit well with soggy flood victims fed up with the bureaucratic runaround.  

I’ve said this before, but the Volusia County Council’s persistent lack of definitive solutions and near-constant reluctance to do anything of substance is becoming a huge concern to anxious taxpayers. 

Now that development-induced flooding is too widespread to ignore – with Volusia County considered the most flood-prone location in Florida – it is time for residents to demand substantive action from their elected representatives, including a temporary moratorium to mitigate further damage, protect our property values, and restore our dwindling quality of life.

The special meeting of the Volusia County Council will start at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 14, in the Council chambers at the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Center, 123 W. Indiana Avenue in DeLand.

Volusia County School Board – A Question of Character

Accepting responsibility for ones acts and omissions is a key leadership trait. 

In fact, holding ourselves accountable, admitting blame, and accepting consequences is the highest mark of character, emotional intelligence, and personal courage.  It means taking ownership of our errors and shortcomings – never shifting fault to others, quibbling facts, or making excuses. 

History has proven that in the public realm constituents cannot have confidence in elected and appointed leaders who feel they are beyond accountability.  

According to reports, earlier this month, embattled former Volusia County School Board Chair Jessie “Whackadoodle” Thompson, sent an email to Superintendent Carmen Balgobin (?) announcing her intent to step down as School Board Chair after she disparaged Deltona High School students, referred to fellow board member Ruben Colón as a “tan gentleman,” and openly admitted to intentionally providing members with false information in order to pass certain items coming before the board.

Her meanspirited rant during a Moms for Liberty conference in Washington divulged that Thompson “…worked with our sheriff’s department to get something put into that contract, and then they voted to pass it without reading it through.  It was magical.

It wasn’t “magical.”  It was a lie.

In my view, Ms. Thompson’s fellow board members – and Volusia County taxpayers – have a right to expect their elected officials won’t use blatant falsehoods to push public policy or personal agendas…     

In December 2024, Thompson issued a lukewarm apology for her off-the-wall comments – which included describing her relationship with colleagues as “I’m hated by the rest of my board, and I can deal with that emotionally. They’re not nice people,” and offering her weird assessment of the motivation of newly elected board members Donna Brosemer and Krista Goodrich.

In her weak mea culpa, Thompson described her words as “poorly chosen,” claiming “I am sorry to the board that I sit with that my words caused you sadness and anger,” in other words, “Sorry I triggered you snowflakes…”

Unfortunately, Thompson only resigned her leadership role and will retain her seat on the board.

No word yet if any law enforcement agency charged with public integrity investigations have opened an inquiry to determine the extent to which Ms. Thompson’s admitted artifice may have corrupted the district’s contracting and procurement system…

Why not?

This week, Victoria Encarcion of Daytona Beach, in an open letter published in the West Volusia Beacon, wrote in part:

“I believe Chair Thompson’s actions warrant an ethics investigation. There are serious questions surrounding her actions and whether they adhere to the ethical standards expected of a school board member. There are questions about the validity of information presented to the board, specifically regarding agenda items and the sheriff’s contract. There are concerns about what information was withheld or misrepresented.

This requires a thorough and independent investigation to determine the facts and ensure transparency and accountability. The public deserves to know the truth about these matters.”

In my view, the absence of an independent investigation sends a terrible message to other elected officials that “feeding false data” to colleagues and constituents to influence the allocation of public funds is just ‘bidness as usual’ in Volusia County…    

In addition, Ms. Thompson forgot who she works for (and why) when she directed her resignation to Superintendent Balgobin.  What she didn’t forget was to deflect blame for her own abhorrent personal and professional conduct by claiming there are unnamed people “who seek to make me their focus and detract from the real work that needs to be done.”

Well, so much for that whole ‘leadership by personal example, moral responsibility, and accepting blame’ horseshit, eh? 

In my view, Jessie Thompson is a talentless actress playing a difficult role; crafting and perpetuating an image and persona of what she thinks a “conservative” school board member should be – brash, controversial, a sharp-elbowed change agent – yet she lacks the political, interpersonal, and negotiation skills to effectively legislate public education policies without creating a false narrative.

It’s okay to be a good mimic of those you admire, but it requires the perception and intellect to decern the reasons behind the politics, ideology, and actions you parrot. 

Unfortunately, it appears Ms. Thompson has assumed an artificial identity she is intellectually ill-equipped for – and the resultant drama and divisiveness has nothing to do with the furthering the interests of Volusia County students, parents, teachers, and staff…

This travesty has been a distraction, another embarrassing blackeye, and on January 14, Ms. Thompson should do the right thing for Volusia County and take her leave.

First Step Shelter – How much more can we afford?  

Back in the 1970’s there was a commercial for an oil filter company with the hook, “You can pay me now, or pay me later…” – meaning you can bite the bullet upfront and purchase quality protection or pay for catastrophic damage after going with an inferior alternative.

I was reminded of that classic spot last month when it was reported that two former employees of the First Step Shelter who blew the whistle on possible financial irregularities and mismanagement filed a lawsuit against both First Step and the City of Daytona Beach alleging that they were retaliated against and publicly defamed after coming forward with their allegations.  

Because they were.

In a disturbing December 2024 article in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, reporter Eileen Zaffiro-Kean continued her excellent coverage of this colossal shitshow:

“The suit filed early last week alleges the two former employees, Patrick Smith and Pamela Alexander, were fired in retaliation for their extensive complaints against the shelter, and that they’ve been publicly defamed by the city and shelter.

The city is named as a defendant because it’s intermingled with the shelter. The city owns the shelter building west of Interstate 95, has oversight powers of the shelter board and has contributed $400,000 per year since the shelter opened five years ago. The city also set up the nonprofit agency that became First Step Shelter, Inc.”

The city’s embroglios with the enigmatic “shelter” go far deeper than that – all the way back to its obscenely expensive beginnings in the inner-sanctum of former City Manager Jim “The Chisler” Chisholm – someone not known for transparency. 

Now it looks like things are about to get even more costly for Daytona Beach taxpayers as the whistleblowers seek a jury trial and damages in excess of $50,000…

In my view, compounding the problem (and the liability) – rather than defend these whistleblowers after what passed for an inconclusive “investigation” by an outside attorney (an inquiry that amounted to little more than a few interviews) – some board members set about protecting Executive Director Victoria Fahlberg by publicly destroying the personal and professional reputations of the former employees, questioning their motivations, and shielding Fahlberg from serious questions regarding her management and oversight of the program. 

In a mind-bogglingly negligent action, the board allowed members to unleash their collective bile on the former employees in an open public meeting and on social media, calling their willingness to come forward with concerns “appalling and ridiculous,” a “scam,” and a “charade” – ensuring that no other First Step employee would ever dare come forward again.  

Would you?

Then, for reasons that have never been released or explained to those of us who pay the bills, the cowardly First Step Shelter Board voted unanimously to accept an incomplete investigation and stop any further inquiry into the serious allegations of fraudulent practices, rule violations that created a dangerous environment for staff and clients, discrimination, and workplace harassment. 

In my view, perpetrating a coverup in plain sight. 

In the aftermath, concerned taxpayers have questioned why the First Step Board engaged in such blatant deflection and victim shaming before the investigative report was made public?

To his credit, Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry, who serves as the First Step board’s president, has said publicly what anxious taxpayers have been thinking all along:

“There are things at the shelter that rise to a deep level of concern,” Henry said. “The situation we’re in is because of leadership.”

In my experience, when an appointed board member and the executive director of a publicly funded social service have goals and opinions that are counter to the interests of the governing/funding organization – in this case the City of Daytona Beach – then it is time for them to do the honorable thing and resign or be terminated.

Don’t look for either of those commonsense measures to be taken in this bizarre case…   

Now, the City of Daytona Beach is facing a massive lawsuit – and the Volusia County Council is rightfully withholding the bulk of the shelter’s annual funding until they can be assured taxpayers (and employees) are being protected from retaliation and financial mismanagement.    

It’s the right thing to do.

I’ve said this before, now is the time to mitigate further damage (and liability) by purging these heels from the First Step Board of Directors and allow space for those with the personal and fiduciary responsibility to begin the arduous process of restoring the public’s trust in the First Step Shelter before one more public dime is spent.    

Quote of the Week

“A section of Atlantic Avenue in Ormond Beach may be a dead zone for resorts, restaurants and other businesses.

Some prefer the word cursed while others use jinxed to describe locations and sections of streets that seemed destined for one business after another to fail.

No matter the descriptor of choice, the recent closings of Dalmare Italian Chophouse, The Wave Sports Bar & Grill, Makai Beach Lodge and the temporary shutdown of The Maverick Resort raised the specter the area isn’t particularly hospital to businesses.

Those four businesses are on a bit more than a one mile stretch of A1A, falling between Rockefeller Drive to the north and Howard Drive to the south, and join many others that have failed over the years.

“Every town has got those areas that just never seem to click,” said an employee of a business located along this corridor.

The employee asked for anonymity before referring to the two restaurant locations occupied by Dalmare Italian Chophouse and The Wave Sports Bar & Grill as hard for any business to stay open for long.

Even establishments that are doing well in the profit and loss columns might get shut down because of a storm, such as Hurricane Milton. It closed the Makai Beach Lodge and temporarily shuttered The Maverick.”

–Journalist Charles Guarria, Hometown News Volusia, “Business success disappears in an Ormond Beach ‘dead zone’,” Thursday, January 2, 2025

I found Charles Guarria’s interesting piece on the perennial “dead zone” that is A-1-A – a/k/a Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway – a commercially challenged stretch extending from Granada Boulevard south to be thought provoking, which is what a well written news article should do.

Perhaps the beachside is cursed by some ethereal witchery…

Or is it something else?   

Like old-fashioned neglect and a lack of strategic vision by those who accept public funds to serve in the public interest… 

In 2018, when “The Grippa Group” – a blue ribbon “beachside redevelopment” committee comprised of Volusia County’s best and brightest – issued their bureaucratically neutered final report listing ways our core tourist area could be revitalized, I wrote:

“Perhaps the Grippa Report can bookend the 2011 tourism study wherein the Volusia County Council paid $100,000 to an out-of-state consultant to conduct a review which concluded that our beachside “tourism product” was a serious impediment to attracting visitors and economic development, “…there is no “plan” for who is leading the effort and how these challenges can be improved.”

Now, fourteen-years later, there still isn’t.

For a better perspective, I encourage everyone to take a drive down Atlantic Avenue and absorb the “feel” of the area like a visitor might – sense that ‘down at the heels’ vibe, the remnants of our once famous “Boardwalk,” and the unwelcoming appearance that greets residents and those tourists we spend heavily to attract year, after year, after year…   

In order for entrepreneurial investment to be attractive and financially practical on the Halifax area’s blighted beachside, investors must be free of the bureaucratic formalities, exorbitant fees, mind-numbing applications, timewasting processes, and the repetitive hurdles that continue to force investors to walk away, small businesses to close, or relocate to more “business friendly” areas.

Sadly, rather than call our publicly funded (and horribly redundant) “Economic Development” types on the carpet and demand an explanation for where an estimated $120 million that was ostensibly spent in the area between Oakridge Boulevard and International Speedway Boulevard went, neglected residents and business owners have been ignored for so long they have come to accept the fatalistic view of those who should be working for positive change.    

For instance, in 2019, Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Nancy Keefer admitted during a walking tour of our blighted core tourist area that it may take “30-40 years” to turn things around.

As members of the Daytona Regional Chamber prepare to don their finery and throw its annual soirée (this year’s theme “Let Us Entertain You!”) – a time for everyone who is anyone in Halifax area high society to exchange plaques and accolades while Rome burns – perhaps the Chamber’s incoming Board Chair, Mike Sznapstajler, a land-use attorney with Cobb Cole Law Firm, can expedite “turning things around” beachside? 

Because, in my view, throwing your hands up and acquiescing to the stagnant status quo, rather than ‘rock the political boat’ isn’t a good look for a Chamber of Commerce, and it damn sure does nothing to encourage struggling beachside businesses who continue to fight a losing battle in the absence of any comprehensive revitalization plan. 

Am I wrong?  Probably… 

Slowly but surely, many are coming to the realization that the Halifax area (like much of Volusia County) lacks the talent and vision to turn things around in our core tourist area and elsewhere.  In my view, it is now time to bring in outside experts – a firm that specializes in urban planning, architectural and landscape design, and ‘placemaking’ that employs high-performance economic development professionals with a proven history of revitalization – then get the hell out of their way. 

Yes, that will require eliminating the lucrative “positions” of some current do-nothings – including the ‘good old boys travel club’ over at “Team Volusia” – but its now, or never… 

Fortunately, there are bright spots. 

Small businesses are lighting up Main Street, drawing crowds, and changing the character of the street – sparks of inspiration that continue to flicker amidst the darkness of economic futility –and give hope for the future of the Main Street Redevelopment Area and beyond.

I’m not talking about the artificial “New Daytona” over on Boomtown Boulevard or some contrived “theme” subdivision.  I’m describing a “real” beach town, and one of the most downtrodden tourist destinations on the Eastern Seaboard, a place that for reasons yet to be explained has been allowed to wither and die while areas west receive the attention, and money.

By now it should be painfully clear to anyone paying attention that those who pass for “economic development” gurus in the Halifax area have grown tired and visionless, content to use a gross form of corporate welfare cloaked in secrecy to attract the low hanging fruit of warehouse scutwork and untested aviation adventures – while ensuring all the right last names have their for-profit ventures underwritten with public funds – rather than work to foster a free, open, and level marketplace that supports the private investment we so desperately need.

And Another Thing!

As George R. R. Martin said in A Clash of Kings, “When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”

It’s a thinly veiled secret that the Lost City of Deltona is facing serious internal and external issues, real impediments to civic progress and good governance.  Unfortunately, given the sins of the past, more internecine turmoil is the last thing longsuffering residents need right now.    

In my view, now is the time when those at the top of the municipal government should embrace transparency and encourage community involvement and input.  That said, why did city officials resurrect ways to silence those who pay the bills and stifle dissention during the City Commission’s first public meeting of 2025?

On Monday, many Deltona observers were left wondering what in the hell City Manager Dale “Doc” Dougherty and Mayor Santiago Avila, Jr. were thinking when they posted an agenda item proposing adoption of a host of subjective rules for public meetings?

For the record, this isn’t the first time this horribly challenged municipality has gone down the rabbit hole of political insulation, but history always seems to repeat itself around these parts… 

For instance, during the tumultuous reign of former City Manager Jane Shang, it became glaringly apparent that Deltona’s elected and appointed officials had simply given up on the concept of truth, transparency, and honor in public service in favor of some shambolic shitshow that bore no resemblance to a functioning municipal government – a weird pastiche of Three Stooges slapstick wrapped in a gut-wrenching Greek tragedy.

Following one particularly raucous meeting in 2019, The Daytona Beach News-Journal did an excellent job of describing the chaotic scene:

“Explicit language from residents at the lectern addressing city commissioners was frequent, though sometimes hard to hear over occasional chants of ‘lock her up’ and other similar demands. There was even a profanity-laced tirade by phone from someone out of state made during the raucous proceedings for which at least one child was present.”

Strange times.

Admittedly, due to resignations and recent elections, things have taken a distinctly more civil and businesslike tone since those wild and wooly days of yore.  But I still hear rumors and rumblings about the intrigues and influences worming around behind closed doors at City Hall…

So, during this unusual period of relative stability on the dais, why poke the sleeping bear of citizen dissent?

Why add to the very real suspicions of taxpayers by freezing them out of public meetings, relegating their participation to a fleeting two-minute audience before the elected Monarchy, restraining them with one-sided rules that allow the often moody Mayor to shut them down, and demanding they jump through the ridiculous hoop of “requesting to speak” in writing before exercising their inalienable right to free speech?

On Monday evening, the Deltona City Commission voted 6-1 to table and ultimately workshop the controversial agenda item amending “operating guidelines,” rules, and procedures ostensibly designed to “…clean up and streamline” the conduct of public meetings. 

When I saw that newly elected Commissioner Nick Lulli cast the lone “No” vote – an elected official who has championed First Amendment issues after being brutally attacked for speaking his mind on civic issues – some residents felt he may have supported the measure – so, I asked him about it. 

Not surprisingly, Commissioner Lulli explained he knew that many in the community were opposed to the proposed rules – and he wanted to vote the matter down outright, rather than resurrect it for discussion at a workshop – time Mr. Lulli feels could better be spent finding solutions to excessive water rates and other critical issues facing Deltona.

Good idea.

In my view, the right of those who pay the bills to speak freely at public meetings forms the foundation of a representative democracy.  A constitutionally protected freedom that ensures our ability to voice a differing viewpoint, criticize government without fear of retribution, and express our thoughts on the administration of public policy and the allocation of tax dollars by meaningful participation in governmental actions that should not occur in a vacuum.

Sometimes that participation arouses the full range of human emotions, the spirited debate of ideas, a confrontation of philosophies, and righteous criticism – the necessary interface of free citizens and their duly elected representatives – often referred to as the “brutality of accountability” in a democracy.   

In my view, anything less is un-American – and ministerially self-serving for those who accept public funds to serve in the public interest.  

Unfortunately, far too often, those who hold themselves out for public office discover after the backslapping of the victory party that it’s a whole different ball game the first time they come bad breath-to-bad breath with an angry constituent. 

That’s when they learn not everyone is their friend – and even constructive criticism can sting. 

Unfortunately, efforts to armor their sensitive egos often result in ludicrous “civility ordinances,” and “Rules of Decorum,” asinine vanity regulations designed to pull the reins on vigorous debate and shield senior officials from the discomfiture of open criticism during public meetings.

Bullshit.

During my lengthy career in municipal government, I learned that constituents would accept honest mistakes, fee increases, and tax hikes if properly explained.  They’ll even put up with aggressive code enforcement – for a while anyway…

What they will not tolerate is having their rights to free speech and self-expression trampled for the convenience of the bureaucracy.

Nor should they.

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