“The objective of a community is not merely to survive, but to progress, to go forward into an ever-increasing enjoyment of the blessings conferred by the rich resources of this nation under the benefaction of the Supreme Being for the benefit of all the people of that community.

If a well governed city were to confine its governmental functions merely to the task of assuring survival, if it were to do nothing but to provide ‘basic services’ for an animal survival, it would be a city without parks, swimming pools, zoos, baseball diamonds, football gridirons, and playgrounds for children. Such a city would be a dreary city indeed. As man cannot live by bread alone, a city cannot endure on cement, asphalt and sewer pipes alone.

A city must have a municipal spirit beyond its physical properties, it must be alive with an esprit de corps, its personality must be such that visitors—both business and tourist—are attracted to the city, pleased by it and wish to return to it. That personality must be one to which the population contributes by mass participation in activities identified with that city.”  

–Justice Musmanno in Conrad v. City of Pittsburgh, 218 A.2d 906, 421 Pa. 492 (1966)

During my career in local government, I was often drawn to Justice Musmanno’s opinion when I needed to refocus.  To me, it speaks to the importance of good governance – to move beyond surviving from one political calamity to another – and the significance of cultivating a vibrant civic personality and “municipal spirit” to a community’s quality of life. 

There is a true crisis in Deltona.

Unfortunately, it appears the largest community by population in Volusia County is now foundering and very much in survival mode.  

This long-simmering catastrophe reached its flashpoint last week when Interim City Manager Jim “The Chiseler” Chisholm decapitated the municipal government with no warning and a well-choreographed series of resignations – leaving the Lost City of Deltona adrift in tumultuous seas with no one at the helm during the height of the budget season…

As helpless observers of this evolving trainwreck have known for years, the community has been cursed by radical dysfunction and maladministration, its esprit crushed by political infighting and compromised elected officials – its residents repeatedly set upon and humiliated – in a place still haunted and hindered by near-constant upheaval and the documented criminal conduct of a former City Manager who weaponized the justice system against engaged watchdogs,  the stench of which still wafts through City Hall like a grim specter. 

In September 2022, in a Barker’s View editorial later republished in the West Volusia Beacon, “Deltona needs stability and equilibrium,” I wrote:

“After 27 controversial years, it is now safe to say — based on the empirical evidence — that the City of Deltona has been a failed experiment, a cartoonish sideshow that has destroyed the public trust and organizational effectiveness of the local government.

Prove me wrong?”

Sadly, that dour challenge remains equally valid today.

In my view, this most recent debacle – a despicable series of organized events that saw the municipal government come unwound following a contentious City Commission meeting on August 7 – was the malicious handiwork of the vindictive Interim City Manager Jim Chisholm.

Rather than explain his role in the mysterious resignation of Director of Planning and Development Services Joe Ruiz, Chisholm started a camouflaging conflagration at City Hall that began with the abrupt departure of Deputy City Manager Rick Karl – just before The Chiseler fled the building like a diseased rat – followed by the quick exit of the horribly redundant second Deputy City Manager Suzette Cameron, who, after just six-months on the job, seems more interested in having her 80-hours of accrued sick leave paid than the disorienting effects of her departure on worried residents.     

In his letter of resignation submitted August 15, Director Ruiz wrote, in part:

“I realized that my vision and goals for the city of those on his planning program do not align with that of our city managers at this time. Therefore, I would rather leave the room for someone who can better align with his vision and future plans…”

In my view, Mr. Ruiz’ disturbing explanation deserves an in-depth investigation.

Because it is now clear that the only ‘vision and goals’ Jim Chisholm had for the beleaguered City of Deltona involved his own mercenary instincts, professional vanity, and egoistic self-interests, which he placed over the needs of the citizens and elected officials he was paid $200,000 plus benefits to serve.

Now, in a shameless display of arrogance, Mr. Chisholm steps away from the carnage he caused – refusing to provide a definitive explanation for deserting the community he had both an ethical and fiduciary responsibility to safeguard – dismissively stating in the News-Journal, “I am retired now and I love it.”

Let this serve as a cautionary tale to any entity or local government who would consider bringing this horribly damaged has-been out of hibernation…

Now that this suppurating lesion has been excised from the heart of Deltona, my sincere hope is that controversial City Attorney Marsha Segal-George will do the right thing and follow The Chiseler out the door and let the healing begin. 

Fortunately, offers of critical assistance are coming in from DeBary City Manager Carmen Rosamonda, County Councilman David Santiago, former City Commissioner David Sosa, previous candidates for the job Chisholm highjacked, citizen activists, and others who are trying desperately to keep the largest municipality in Volusia County afloat until a professional manager can be found.  

As I concluded in this space last September:

“If the City of Deltona is to remain a legitimate entity, then the elected officials must begin the painful process of sorting through the divisive baggage and set a collective vision, putting aside the mean-spirited “gotcha” politics, collusions, and accusatory maneuvers, to find a means of working cooperatively with community stakeholders to achieve civic equilibrium.

The good citizens of Deltona deserve better.”

___________________________

(The Deltona City Commission will hold a workshop at 5:30 p.m. Monday in City Hall to discuss the city manager search.)

Hi, kids!

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Assholes          Volusia County Council

“As someone who has followed County Government, I have watched as (Volusia County Manager) Recktenwald has become more and more arrogant and as many in upper management at the County have followed his lead. Recktenwald, and many in the County’s leadership, show great disdain for us little people who are paying the bills and for those who are doing the real work for us at the County down in the trenches and this attitude has only been bolstered by most, if not all, members of the Volusia County Council present and past. I know these things to be true because I have experienced them and watched them in person.

Try and email Recktenwald or the assistant County Manager Suzanne Konchan and see if you receive a reply and watch and listen to Recktenwald and his senior staff as they sit on the dais. As someone who has attended many County meetings of various kinds, I can tell you because of the tone that is set by leadership it is one of the most uninviting experiences you will have. It is beyond time for Recktenwald to be replaced.”

–Keith Chester, West Volusia, writing in the Facebook forum Volusia Issues, in response to the Barker’s View post, “Another Can of Worms,” Thursday, August 10, 2023

Human performance experts say that “leadership” is difficult to define. 

But, like many of you, I immediately recognize those important qualities when I see them – and when I don’t… 

So, how is it that the myriad issues that continue to hamper substantial progress here on the “Fun Coast” – the lock-step conformity to the stagnant status quo, strategic procrastination, ignorance of important issues, lack of clarity and communication, the dangerous state of our emergency medical services, public protection, beach safety, and other essential services – go perennially unaddressed by those we have elected to protect our interests? 

For instance, during Tuesday evening’s Volusia County Council meeting, a Lieutenant with the beleaguered Department of Corrections implored our elected officials to alleviate the increasingly dangerous conditions at our jail facilities before tragedy occurs and set a living wage for struggling corrections personnel. 

Crickets from the dais…

Another speaker described the Department of Corrections as “broken.”

In mute response, our elected officials stared silently like a flock of catatonic Potoos…

In addition, corrections officers and a union official described continuing dissatisfaction with mandatory overtime in the “tinderbox” that is Volusia’s jail facilities – where inmates are arming themselves with “shanks” (improvised edged weapons) fashioned from dining trays – and single corrections officers are frequently forced to violate safety protocols and transport dangerous inmates without adequate support.

Again, and per the council’s asinine policy of ignoring taxpayers who approach them for redress of grievances, the speakers were condescendingly snubbed by councilmembers…

I hope I am wrong – but I fear something horrific is going to happen at a Volusia County Jail facility – and now that they know about the conditions and choose to remain silent – that preventable blood will be on the hands of the Volusia County Council…

When citizens sought to speak on behalf of the Volusia Forever Advisory Committee’s much anticipated plans and goals (which were crammed onto the consent agenda) for the tax supported program designed to preserve conservation lands for future generations – they were lectured by At-Large Councilman Jake Johansson that they should have known how the County Council would vote on the issue before opening their pieholes and pestering the elected elite with their unsolicited and unwanted input.  

Bullshit.

Look, I realize most of what happens at these interminable time–wasting shams is choreographed behind closed doors well in advance of what passes for a “public meeting” – but Mr. Johansson should respect the right of citizens to be heard on matters important to them.

In fact, perhaps it is time Mr. Johansson – and his “colleagues” – spend less time scolding and dismissing the concerns of residents and county employees, and more time monitoring and correcting the rampant incompetence and mismanagement in County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald’s administration…

Time and again, we see worried citizens like Mr. Chester vent their growing frustration as taxpayers are forced to stand outside the locked portcullis of County government – trying desperately to make sense of the who, what, when, where, why (and how much) of the weird maneuvers and machinations playing out on the dais of power. 

Frankly, Mr. Chester’s spot-on observations of County Manager Recktenwald and his senior staff should shock the conscience of our elected officials – at least those who still value transparent and responsive government – because they are the ones who will ultimately be held responsible by voters for the arrogance and “distain” projected by senior bureaucrats with no political accountability. 

Look, I realize that is not the reality in Volusia County politics where the same Big Money insiders who consistently benefit from the corporate welfare, tax breaks, infrastructure, and other “economic incentives” influence the outcome of our elections with artificially inflated campaign contributions to their hand-select candidates who, in turn, protect the status quo and perpetuate the good old boy system that keeps the public teat patent for all the right last names. 

As an informed voter, I hope you will keep that in mind – along with the abysmal state of many of our county’s essential services – as the 2024 election season begins to heat up…

Angel               The Citizens of Deltona

Earlier this week, Deltona’s Interim City Manager Jim “The Chiseler” Chisholm took his football and went home in a huff…   

Two of his deputies followed suit leaving no one at the helm.

Good riddance.

It is no secret that the long-suffering citizens of Deltona have rightfully developed deep distrust and dissatisfaction with the cheap façade that passes for their municipal government.  It is equally clear that, to coin a well-worn phrase, “they’re mad as hell, and aren’t going to take it anymore…”

That seismic change was evident during last week’s Deltona City Commission meeting as a standing room only crowd packed the chamber to fight proposed increases in stormwater and solid waste fees – and to let their elected and appointed representatives know they will no longer tolerate the wholesale looting of public coffers by vendors and “charter officers” – or stand for mercenary tax and fee increases that are pricing some out of their homes.

Raucous public meetings are nothing new in the Lost City of Deltona – the natural result of years of suppression and frustration – but during the August 7 City Commission meeting, things reached a tipping point as residents stood together and fought valiantly against the rate hikes.  

During a spirited discussion of the fee increases, a steady stream of angry residents approached the podium, some providing compelling evidence of fund transfers – a weird form of budgetary three-card-monte – overcharging, bureaucratic incompetence, cuts to service delivery, and potential conflicts of interests by those elected officials who accepted campaign contributions from the very solid waste hauler they regulate… 

Following each impassioned plea, the audience erupted in cheers and applause.

After successfully dissuading the City Commission from approving the fee increases – the citizens let their thoughts be known on other questionable practices – including their suspicions surrounding the long-awaited agreement with Deltona’s controversial City Attorney Marsha Segal-George – which many saw as gifting Segal-George a blank check that could result in charges of $42,000 a month for her dubious legal services.

In fact, it was painfully apparent that residents had done more legal work analyzing the murky terms of the proposed contract than Interim City Manager Chisholm or any elected official on the dais…  

In addition, residents noted that Ms. Segal-George has been a precipitating factor in three lawsuits currently pending against the City of Deltona, formerly served as a principal in the very law firm the city terminated last year, openly questioned her bearing (she always appears to be a discombobulated spectator to me) and professional competence and challenged her basic eligibility to serve as a charter officer.

Citizens also demanded a hard stop to a proposed change to the fiscal checks and balances that would have allowed Interim City Manager Chisholm to exceed the $25,000 spending cap for already budgeted items.

Then things got interesting…

During comments, Commissioner Jody Lee Storozuk asked that the long-delayed City Manager search begin as soon as possible after dropping a bombshell that Rick Karl, another local government retread who Chisholm handpicked as Deputy City Manager three-months ago, told him that he would not remain in Deltona when Chisholm leaves…

Obviously seeing the handwriting on the wall, last week, Mr. Karl quickly submitted his resignation from the $165,000 post and skedaddled, citing the usual “personal and family” horseshit – rather than admit his loyalty lay with The Chiseler – rather than the good citizens of Deltona who paid his obscene salary and benefits package…   

It was obvious that the sustained nature of the brutal public criticism hit too close to home for Chisholm’s mammoth ego – which isn’t used to having his omnipotent power challenged – causing him to wail to the heavens, “I’m tired of listening to people saying how unprofessional I am, and how stupid you are, when we’re trying to move forward.  I’ve had it up to here!” to the mournful strains of “How Great Thou Art…”

In the end, like the classless asshole he is, on Tuesday, The Chiseler abruptly quit – tendered his resignation and scurried out the door of City Hall – haughtily declaring himself on “administrative leave” until September 14, and advising his blindsided constituents that he “…will be available for consultation while on administrative leave by cell to assist with the transition.”

My ass.

In an open letter to Deltona residents announcing Chisholm’s abrupt departure, Mayor Santiago Avila, Jr. explained:

“I’d earlier called for a Special City Commission Meeting to discuss the City Manager’s performance and my thoughts on the matter. Under Florida Law, the only time this type of matter can be discussed (with multiple commissioners providing input and feedback) is an open meeting. 

I was concerned that the Commission was not receiving previously promised information in a timely manner. As well as direction that was being given was not being executed.”

In the end, Chisholm’s legendary arrogance was on full display as he took a cowards exit rather than have his performance (and rumored behind-the-scenes shenanigans) openly critiqued – always putting his own professional vanity and egoistic self-interests over those of the citizens and elected officials he was paid $200,000 plus the perquisites of a Potentate, to serve.

Right in the middle of the municipal budget cycle…

Once again, The Chiseler lives up to his well-deserved moniker.

Then, in a weird twist, just yesterday, Suzette Cameron – who served as “Assistant to the City Manager” before recently being promoted to deputy city manager, also fled the sinking S.S. Chiseler…

Last evening, the Deltona City Commission meeting in special session appointed Glenn Whitcomb, Director of the City’s Water Department, to serve as Interim City Manager.

In my view, in brusquely abandoning his sworn responsibilities to Deltona residents and the City Commission that put their faith in him, Mr. Chisholm violated a key tenet of the Florida City County Management Association’s Code of Ethics, which requires professional managers to dedicate themselves “…to the highest ideals of honor and integrity in all public and personal relationships in order that the member may merit the respect and confidence of the elected officials, of other officials and employees, and of the public.”

The fact is the good people of Deltona have been gored and ignored by those they should have been able to trust for far too long – subjected to the insatiable greed and incompetence of a long stain of charlatans – and abused by self-serving opportunists masquerading as senior public officials who repeatedly took personal advantage of the chronic leadership void. 

In my view, the long-suffering citizens of Deltona demonstrated a courageous example of citizenship in action – a galvanizing moment of coalescence between neighbors tired of the dysfunction, mismanagement, and gross fiscal irresponsibility that has left them feeling both victimized and disrespected.

The fortunate departure of Jim Chisholm, and his minions, should give hope to Deltona residents that change is possible as the City Commission begins discussions regarding what everyone hopes will be an open, transparent, and apolitical search for bold new leadership.  

Quote of the Week  

“The Ormond Beach Planning Board is holding its second hearing on Monday, Aug. 21 to continue the board’s hearing regarding building 276 homes on the Tomoka Oaks golf course property.

Please plan to attend to demonstrate your concern regarding this proposed development. The location of the hearing is Tomoka Christian Church, located at 1450 Hand Ave. in Ormond Beach. Hearing starts at 6 p.m. (This August hearing location is different from the July hearing location, so please be sure to write down the correct church address.)

We realize this is a busy time of the year with school starting and people taking end of summer vacations, but all Ormond Beach residents are encouraged to attend if possible to let our planning board members know we are opposed to the overdevelopment occurring in our city. The Tomoka Oaks neighborhood entirely surrounds the golf course property. If development is ultimately approved for 276 homes (or any number of homes) on the current green space, whose green space will be swallowed up next?”

–Carolyn Davis, Ormond Beach, writing in the Ormond Beach Observer Letters to the Editor, “Planning Board hearing for Aug. 21,” Monday, August 14, 2021

Good question, Ms. Davis… 

And Another Thing!

You read about this earlier in the week. 

Read it again…

Earlier this week, I began preliminary research to take advantage of the current “anything goes” development strategy at Ormond Beach City Hall and have my postage-stamp residential property here in the Northbrook neighborhood rezoned and permitted to accommodate an industrial medical waste incinerator which I hope to locate smackdab in my backyard.

Smart thinking, eh?  Yep, strike while the iron is hot, I always say…

While I am doing much of the legal legwork myself, I am not opposed to hiring the venerated Daytona Beach firm Cobb Cole to smooth out the bureaucratic humps and bumps once the trivial details are sorted with the malleable Volusia County and Ormond Beach planning and permitting apparatus.

Of course, I will ensure all appropriate “campaign contributions” are properly distributed… 

My vision is to construct a batch load, direct fire industrial medical waste incinerator running 24/7 at a constant 1,800-degrees – capable of handling all regulated medical waste – to include trace chemotherapy and pathological refuse, amputated limbs, rotten organs, biological tissue, bloody gauze, gowns, and dressings – you name it! 

You’ve got dangerous materials deemed too hazardous for normal solid waste handling?  

Well, just haul that shit over to idyllic Overbrook Drive and let Barker deal with it!

Out of sight and out of mind, amiright!

The absolute beauty of my ingenious business plan is to simply have my side yard classified as a Subtitle D landfill where the resultant dust and ash can be dumped! 

The way I’ve got it cyphered, that should be absolutely no problem in Florida’s wink-wink-nudge-nudge fox in the henhouse regulatory environment.  

What?  Screw the neighbors… 

I am not going to sit here and let a bunch of carping tree-huggers and dirt worshipers stand in the way of “High Paying Jobs,” dammit!

(Oh, one old crone up the street told me she didn’t want “heavy metals, PFAS, and dioxins, blah, blah, blah” in her grandchildren’s water supply – so, I’m going to bury her with a crippling lawsuit under the Bert Harris Act for violating my God given right as a Floridian to do whatever the hell I want on my slice of heaven, whenever I want to do it.  That’ll teach her to infringe on the goddamned economic viability of my property…”)

Besides, those living here in north Ormond will either get used to the odor, ash, and rumble of delivery trucks – or they won’t – but they will soon learn this is Volusia County and, by God, nothing stands in the way of “progress,” right?

Whatever…

My satirical plan makes about as much sense as placing a 20-million-gallon bulk fuel farm off two-lane Hull Road adjacent to a children’s play area and sports complex…

Shockingly, the murmurs and rumors that have swirled around the community for months were confirmed last week in a disturbing article by Sheldon Gardner writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal who announced that a massive petroleum farm is being built near Ormond Beach’s sports complex, municipal airport, and the Bear Creek subdivision. 

According to the report, “The planned facility will consist of 16 tanks, some 40 feet tall, that will store more than 20 million gallons of fuel and feed a steady stream of tanker trucks.” 

You read that right.

The complex, operated by Belvedere Terminals, is part of a planned hub-and-spur fuel distribution system located along the Florida East Coast Railway.  Of course, if you listen to Belvedere’s Chief Operating Officer Mike Benedetto, the operation will be so safe and “state of the art” those “active 55+” residents of Bear Creek won’t even know it’s there…

I’ll bet… 

Look, Florida needs a safe and reliable fuel supply chain – something typically confined to major shipping ports at Tampa, Jacksonville, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, and the Central Florida Pipeline Terminal at Taft – but no one I have spoken with in recent days could think of a more inappropriate location for a bulk fuel distribution site than the once quaint community of Ormond Beach.

On August 1, with little notice and, to my knowledge, no public input in the process, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued the final “air construction permit,” which authorizes construction of the Ormond Beach Terminal.

After residents voiced their concerns before both the Volusia County Council – and a standing room only meeting of the Ormond Beach City Commission this week – it became apparent our elected officials were as awkwardly out-of-the loop as residents were! 

According to meeting minutes from a meeting of the Ormond Beach Site Plan Review Committee made available this week, city planning and economic development officials met with representatives of Belvedere Terminals in June 2022 to discuss preliminary plans for the fuel terminal.

As I understand it (and I am not sure I do), the property is zoned heavy industrial and currently located in unincorporated Volusia County.  But because the terminal will be supplied by Ormond Beach utilities, once the project is complete, the 60-acre site will be annexed into the city as required by law. 

According to the News-Journal, “Belvedere Terminals will have to provide traffic impact information as part of the site review process with Volusia County ― the site is adjacent to city land but is in the county government’s jurisdiction.

“The project engineer will need to provide information during site plan review that the site and nearby infrastructure can handle the increased truck traffic. Improvements may be necessary,” according to Carol McFarlane, Volusia County’s director of Planning and Development Services.”

Which tells anyone paying attention that at least one high-ranking member of County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald’s administration was aware of the project in advance of this week’s News-Journal report…

So why are our clueless elected representatives in Volusia County and Ormond Beach acting like this is the first they’ve heard of this? 

According to the News-Journal, “While some have only recently learned about the project, it’s been known to city officials for more than a year, at least ― as well as its potential traffic impacts.

The Ormond Beach Site Plan Review Committee spoke about the project in June of 2022, according to meeting minutes. At the time, officials expected the project to bring about seven trucks an hour and over 160 trucks in a 24-hour period. The truck route was expected to be from Harmony Road to Hull Road, and out to U.S. 1.”

With the facility designed to accommodate a constant 24/7 flow of tanker trucks – entering the terminal presumably from Pineland Trail, taking the roar past those once pastoral ranchettes along Harmony Road, ultimately dumping the tankers onto US-1 at its unsignalized intersection with Hull Road – now, officials have swung a wild-assed guess and revised the traffic count to an estimated four trucks per hour…

Understandably, many residents who just found out about the planned monstrosity – in a largely residential community where most equate “heavy industry” with unobtrusive suntan lotion bottling facilities, warehouses, and light manufacturing – are rightly concerned about what the Belvedere Terminal will mean for their property values and rapidly diminishing quality of life.

They are also righteously pissed off at city and county officials for not giving them a heads-up…

So, why wouldn’t Ms. McFarlane bother to advise County Manager Recktenwald so he could brief members of the County Council?

And why did senior planning and building officials in Ormond Beach keep this news from the Ormond Beach City Commission before one of the most potentially inflammatory (pun intended) issues of the day became breaking news?    

Now, those poleaxed officials who should be in-the-know – heavy hitters like Chairman Jeff Brower, Councilman Troy Kent, and clueless Ormond Beach City Commissioners – are left scrambling to file letters of objection, appeal the FDEP permit, and fret over the specter of lawsuits should they fail to rubber stamp what everyone knows is coming…

In my view, heads should roll at City Hall and the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Complex. 

They won’t – but they should. 

Because I will bet you a Donnie’s doughnut that some of these “dumbfounded” elected and appointed officials were well aware of this insult months ago…  

This one bears watching, folks.

When We, The Little People are gaslighted and lied to long enough, watch helplessly while those we elect only represent the interests of their “Rich & Powerful” political overseers, repeatedly approve greed-crazed development with Pavlovian efficiency, and keep major projects that will drastically impact our lives and livelihoods hidden behind closed doors and secret “code names” – we become suspicious of government’s motivations and cynical of the process.

This is the result.  

Now, we are left to wonder if/when our elected representatives (who increasingly act more like corporate fixers than public servants) were aware that residents of Ormond Beach are about to be subjected to the lifechanging adverse impacts of an industrial fuel storage farm – and why there has been no public outreach by either Volusia County or Ormond Beach? 

And why the secrecy and faux astonishment by those who accept public funds to serve in the public interest?

Trust me.  This isn’t how a government of the people, by the people, and for the people is supposed to work.

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

Last month, the Volusia County Council rubber stamped the appointment of Michael Ryan to serve as Director of Community Information – our county government’s new chief mouthpiece. 

During his coronation, Director Ryan gushed, “I’m honored to join such a creative and dedicated team with a proven track record of effective messaging and a strong foundation of transparent and proactive communication.”

Last week, perplexed residents of Ormond Beach found out just how “transparent and proactive” local governments can be when they want to keep a secret…

The murmurs and rumors that have swirled around the community for months were confirmed in a disturbing article by Sheldon Gardner writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal who confirmed that a massive petroleum farm is being built on Hull Road – near Ormond Beach’s sports complex, municipal airport, and the Bear Creek subdivision. 

According to the report, “The planned facility will consist of 16 tanks, some 40 feet tall, that will store more than 20 million gallons of fuel and feed a steady stream of tanker trucks.” 

You read that right.

The complex, operated by Belvedere Terminals, is part of a planned hub-and-spur fuel distribution system located along the Florida East Coast Railway.  If you listen to Belvedere’s Chief Operating Officer Mike Benedetto, the operation will be so safe and “state of the art” those “active 55+” residents of Bear Creek won’t even know it’s there…

My ass.

Look, Florida needs a safe and reliable fuel supply chain – something typically confined to major shipping ports at Tampa, Jacksonville, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, and the Central Florida Pipeline Terminal at Taft – but no one I have spoken with in recent days could think of a more inappropriate location for a bulk fuel distribution site than the once quaint community of Ormond Beach.

On August 1, with very little notice and, to my knowledge, no public input in the process, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (sorry, I just upchucked in the mouth a little) issued the final “air construction permit,” which authorizes construction of the Ormond Beach Terminal.

While you and I were kept in the dark, those who accept public funds to serve in the public interest at Volusia County and the City of Ormond Beach were well aware of the fate that awaits area residents who will be impacted by near constant heavy truck traffic on already overstressed roadways. 

So, what happened to all that “transparency and proactive communication” horseshit Director Ryan crowed about?

“While some have only recently learned about the project, it’s been known to city officials for more than a year, at least ― as well as its potential traffic impacts.

The Ormond Beach Site Plan Review Committee spoke about the project in June of 2022, according to meeting minutes. At the time, officials expected the project to bring about seven trucks an hour and over 160 trucks in a 24-hour period. The truck route was expected to be from Harmony Road to Hull Road, and out to U.S. 1.”

With the facility designed to accommodate a constant flow of tanker trucks – entering the terminal presumably from Pineland Trail, taking the roar past those once pastoral ranchettes along Harmony Road, and ultimately dumping the loaded tankers onto US-1 at Hull Road – now, officials have swung a wild-assed guess and revised the traffic count to an estimated four trucks per hour…

Understandably, many residents who just found out about the planned monstrosity – in a largely residential community where most equate “heavy industry” with unobtrusive suntan lotion bottling facilities, warehouses, and light manufacturing – are rightly concerned about what the Belvedere Terminal will mean for their property values and rapidly diminishing quality of life.

They are also righteously pissed off at their elected representatives for not giving them the courtesy of a heads-up…

As I understand it (and I’m not sure I do), the property is zoned heavy industrial and currently located in unincorporated Volusia County.  But because the terminal will be supplied by Ormond Beach utilities, once the project is complete, the 60-acre site will be annexed into the city as required by law. 

According to the News-Journal, “Belvedere Terminals will have to provide traffic impact information as part of the site review process with Volusia County ― the site is adjacent to city land but is in the county government’s jurisdiction.

“The project engineer will need to provide information during site plan review that the site and nearby infrastructure can handle the increased truck traffic. Improvements may be necessary,” according to Carol McFarlane, Volusia County’s director of Planning and Development Services.”

I don’t know about you, but Ms. McFarlane’s robotic response aside, since when did Volusia County give two-shits about ensuring that adequate infrastructure is in place before permitting development anywhere? 

That’s the compounding effect of deception and distrust.

When We, The Little People are gaslighted and lied to long enough, watch helplessly while those we elect only represent the interests of their “Rich & Powerful” political overseers, repeatedly approve greed-crazed development with Pavlovian efficiency, and keep major projects that will drastically impact our lives and livelihoods hidden behind closed doors and secret “code names” – we become suspicious of government’s self-serving motivations and cynical of the process.

Now, we are left to wonder if/when our elected representatives (who increasingly act more like corporate fixers than public servants) were aware that residents of Ormond Beach are about to be subjected to the obvious adverse impacts of an industrial fuel storage farm – and question why there has been no public outreach by either Volusia County or Ormond Beach? 

Don’t waste your time asking them – Volusia County Councilmen David Santiago and Don Dempsey couldn’t find Ormond Beach on a map – and the rest have proven, time and again, that taxpayers should pay the bills and keep their pieholes shut…

Trust me.  This isn’t how a government of the people, by the people, and for the people is supposed to work – and its time those who swore an oath to protect our interests are held politically accountable for their pernicious actions.

Now that the unthinkable has become a reality in Ormond Beach, I hope you will let your voice be heard at the ballot box next year and begin the important process of finding a political solution to the corrosive problem of misrepresentation and incompetence while there is still something left of our collective quality of life to worry about.

(Photo Credit: Belvedere Terminals Company, LLC)

When I reflect on my time in a public safety leadership role – responsible both to, and for, others – what I regret most were those missed opportunities when I refused to listen.

Unfortunately, the “that’s the way we’ve always done it” rut – coupled with ego and obstinance – makes it is easy for senior administrators to forget that those who provide essential services are having their own experiences, gaining knowledge, and developing contemporary solutions to difficult day-to-day challenges on the fly. 

In time, those at the tip of the spear gain a unique perspective – a situational awareness that can be a tremendous resource for those willing to listen.   

I was reminded of that this week in a disturbing article by Sheldon Gardner writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal when a veteran Volusia County Corrections officer described critically low staffing levels at jail facilities, a dangerous situation which “…has made an already hazardous and stressful job even worse.”

According to Senior Corrections Officer John Miranda, acting as spokesperson for the Volusia Corrections Association, the union estimates that the Corrections Division of the Department of Public Protection is down some 70 officers and cautioned, “This is the most dangerous I’ve ever seen it since I’ve been here.”

Of a total compliment of 272, the Corrections Division has a staff of just 193 corrections officers, trainees, and supervisors overseeing an average daily inmate population of 1,291…

Senior Volusia County bureaucrats in the Ivory Tower of Power dispute Officer Miranda’s assessment – claiming the department needs 36 officers to be considered “fully staffed” – countering that they are “…unaware of any complaints about unsafe conditions.”

Really? 

It should now be apparent to anyone paying attention that there are many things County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald seems conveniently (and consistently) “unaware” of…

Inexplicably, our new County mouthpiece, Michael Ryan – a marketing flack turned expert penologist – coarsely dismissed Officer Miranda as a liar, claiming “We absolutely disagree with the characterization that the conditions of the jail are unsafe for either the inmates or staff.”

As history proves, Ryan’s despicable tactic is not surprising. 

Discrediting anyone who blows the whistle on serious problems in Volusia County government is the Recktenwald administration’s modus operandi. 

According to the News-Journal, “Corrections officers are seeking higher pay and better conditions as part of their contract negotiations. Key issues include the amount of overtime hours officers work to make up for the lack of staff. Officers also raised concerns about the issue during negotiations in 2021.”

Another significant issue confronting corrections personnel is the slow creep of mismanaged wage compression. 

During a recent bargaining session, Senior Officer Harvey Sutton described how new hires start at just $2.00 an hour less than 20-year veterans – and, according to a county job description, newly certified correctional officers receive just $21.32 an hour…   

In response, “Jeff Mandel, outside counsel for the county, told Sutton that the labor market keeps pushing the county to raise starting pay, and there’s not enough money to commit to a corresponding pay increase for everyone on staff.

“It’s an issue everywhere, and all I can say is that we’re trying our best,” Mandel said.”

Wait…  Outside counsel?

“Trying our best”?

Say what?

In my experience, correctional officers are the unsung heroes of public safety – serving under incredibly stressful and dangerous conditions – in close proximity to the worst of the worst. 

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, these brave souls served honorably – some working 14 to 16 days straight on forced overtime in confined spaces for considerable periods of time at significant risk to their personal safety.

Despite Director Ryan’s bullshit infused bilgewater, Volusia County correctional officers have been sounding the alarm for years. 

In 2021, the union stated that some correctional officers were afraid to come to work – ominously fearful that “something bad” was going to happen due to inadequate staffing – shortages which have forced officers to violate safety protocols, such as having a single officer check on high-risk offenders, and an inability to allow inmates adequate time outside their cells.

At the same time, Volusia County was awash in $107.4 million in federal COVID-19 recovery funds…

To add cruel insult, in December 2022 – during the height of the Flowers scandal at the jail – our elected dullards on the Volusia County Council – with no objective evaluation of their performance beyond the usual good ‘ol boy backslapping and anecdotal accolades from the dais – lavished a 4% pay increase on County Manager Recktenwald and County Attorney Michael Dyer – skyrocketing their obscene compensation to $246,706 and $230,607 respectively…

Earlier this month, for reasons known only to them – the majority of the Volusia County Council, acting on a motion by Councilman Danny Robins – arrogantly shot down a suggestion from Chair Jeff Brower calling for a public workshop to discuss serious problems with the county’s Emergency Medical Services. 

Instead of demonstrating leadership, providing policy direction (or a kick in the pants) to our lethargic County Manager, or discussing growing public safety needs in a transparent way – Councilman Robins and his “colleagues” once again abdicated their sworn responsibilities and deferred to Recktenwald (who painted us into this corner in the first place) to “…handle employee issues without interference from the council.” 

My God.

How far into this trainwreck are they going to allow Recketenwald to keep his hand on the switch?

This week, according to a half-page article in what remains of the “Local” section of The Daytona Beach News-Journal, we were told that Councilman Robins now is off to catch and kill snakes in the Florida Everglades – all while ignoring the massive can of worms at the Thomas C. Kelly Administrative Center that are threatening the health, safety, and welfare of staff and residents alike… 

I don’t make this shit up, folks.  

We deserve better. 

So do the brave men and women of the Volusia County Department of Corrections.

“When a fellow says it hain’t the money but the principle o’ the thing, it’s th’ money…”

–Hoss Sense and Nonsense, 1926

Sometimes during the legislative process, through the mind-numbing presentations, contrived distractions, and infuriating political posturing – a moment of schadenfreude emerges that makes me chuckle. 

That perverse pleasure I derive from watching stuffed shirt politicians wiggle and squirm over minor, but politically charged, issues – like whether or not they deserve a raise…

For instance, anyone remember back in 2021 when a previous iteration of the Volusia County Council voted 4-3 against a ballot initiative that could have resulted in a substantial pay increase?

For the record, Volusia County is different from many Florida counties in that our charter overrides the state mandate that defers to the legislature in setting salaries for elected commissioners. 

In Volusia, our charter states:

“The salary of a council member shall be 50% of that prescribed by law for the office of county commissioner. The salary for the county chair shall be 60% of that prescribed by law for the office of county commissioner. The salaries shall constitute full compensation for all services and in-county expenses, except that out-of-county expenses, as permitted by law, shall be authorized.”

Without that limitation, the legislative recommendation for Volusia County Council members would have gifted them an obscene $95,596 a year…

At present, the Chair commands $57,351 – while each of the district council members receive an ample annual salary of $47,798 – essentially for attending two meetings a month and schlepping around to a slate of ceremonial timewasters that never seem to improve our quality of life or lower our already exorbitant tax rate…

Damn.  If $48K doesn’t cover incidentals, I don’t know what will…

During a 2020 workshop, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth from our elected officials about how the position is far from a part-time gig, complaints about the cost of gas, and the imposition on their time that comes with fielding the piddling problems of their constituents. 

With many asset limited/income constrained Volusia County families struggling to find affordable housing, our elected elite had the unmitigated gall to publicly wallow in their own egotistic angst over how terribly expensive shameless self-promotion has become for politicians.

So, at the time, the Volusia County Council tuned their proverbial guitars to the doghouse bass and moaned the Poor Mouth Blues – openly mewling about out-of-pocket expenses, a lack of personal assistants or a vehicle allowance, and the high cost of their automobile insurance – before determining how to best couch ballot language for a pay increase that gullible voters might swallow.

Ultimately, it didn’t go anywhere – but it was fun to watch…  

Last year, the Palm Coast City Council voted itself a 151% increase for council members and hefty 163% bump for the mayor and added health benefits.

Last week, the Daytona Beach City Commission had the uncomfortable discussion about whether to increase their $23,650 annual stipend – and the $41,059 the mayor receives – with the majority agreeing that, after 17-years, it is time for an upward adjustment.

Perhaps it is. 

Now, the City Commission must appoint a citizens advisory committee to explore salary changes at least one-year ahead of the November 2024 election.

In a recent article by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, we learned that, due to city charter constraints, “An ordinance increasing commission salaries has to be adopted at least six months prior to the next regular city election. So commissioners would have to take their first vote on a pay hike by April 17 next year, and they would have to adopt the measure no later than May 1, 2024.”

According to the report, “City Commissioner Dannette Henry, the mayor’s sister, said the rising price of gas is one reason the raises are needed.

“It’s very expensive to be at all the events,” she said.

While the mayor and commissioner positions are considered part-time, that’s not the reality for those who make themselves accessible to their constituents and go to the many meetings and events held in addition to commission meetings.

City Commissioner Stacy Cantu said she logs more than 40 hours per week handling her commission duties.

“My emails and phone never stop,” Cantu said. “All the gas money comes out of my pocket.”

Cantu said she didn’t become a commissioner for the money.

“But I didn’t get into this to lose money,” she said.”

My God. 

These tales of the depravities of poverty in public service are like something out of an old Flann O’Brian novel…

Look, I realize that most politicians have a high opinion of themselves – but building resentment by publicly complaining about their remuneration in front of the tax-strapped folks who foot the bill (after they begged us for the job with the full knowledge of what it paid) is never a good look.

In fact, it’s loutish.

For the record, according to United States Census Bureau statistics (2021 dollars), Volusia County’s per capita income is $32,231 – with 13.8% of the population living in poverty.  

In the City of Daytona Beach, per capita income is just $26,196, with an astounding 21.8% of residents living at or below the federal poverty line (which, for a single-person household is $14,580, adding $5,140 for each additional person.)   

Perhaps our ‘powers that be’ have finally gotten a small taste of what financially strapped Volusia County families deal with every day – and the burden isn’t attending some stilted meeting, grip-n-grin, gilded soiree, Tallahassee hot air generator or political hobnob – but the real and ongoing struggle of keeping a roof over their children’s heads and putting food on the table.

I wholeheartedly agree:  It is time We, The Little People changed the way in which our local county and municipal elected officials are compensated for their “public service.” 

Look, elective service is a demanding and often thankless task that invites constant criticism from blowhards like me; yet each election cycle the same perennial politicians fight tooth-and-nail to seek and retain seats on the dais of power – even selling their political souls to the highest bidder to amass the campaign funds required to compete – knowing full well what the job pays before entering the ring.

In my view, public service is a privilege – one that requires sacrifice – giving back and devoting oneself to a cause greater than our own self-interests, while living up to the sacred trust that says those we elect will have our collective best interests at heart and give of themselves to improve our lives and livelihoods.  

The real reward being the knowledge that each day in office they have the opportunity and responsibility to make their community, county, or state a better place for everyone.

I have an idea.

Perhaps, in the true spirit of public service, we simply make our elected officials whole – reimbursing them for all out-of-pocket expenses, milage, and approved travel as required – with a reasonable cap and regular audits to prevent abuse.  

In my view, that is a fair, equitable, and across-the-board solution that eliminates these recurring compensation arguments – and the inevitable hurt feelings on both sides of the dais – so that the only expenditure our elected representatives have is their time and talents in service to their constituents.

Hi, kids!

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Angel               Daytona Aquarium & Rainforest Adventure

In many ways, the City of Daytona Beach has become a paradox – with contradictions and differences between existing neighborhoods, our core tourist area of the beachside, long-neglected Midtown, and the burgeoning “New Daytona” along Boomtown Boulevard east and west of I-95. 

For many who live and work on the beachside, hope continues to dwindle as our ‘powers that be’ seem content to take a piecemeal approach – throwing Chanel No. 5 on the tired old hog with a taxpayer supported restaurant here, the purchase of private property with public funds there, and still unrealized assurances of a Main Street renaissance – rather than present a comprehensive plan for revitalization and renewal.

For instance, we were promised the long-awaited $22 million East ISB overhaul would be underway this year – transforming our dilapidated gateway to The World’s Most Famous Beach – a goal that has been the fervent promise of every incoming chairperson of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce for decades.

Now, here it is August – and the only visible movement on the project is some unfinished utilities work that has destroyed the expensive landscaping at the intersection of ISB and Atlantic Avenue during the summer tourist season…  

Whatever.

In my view, this unfulfilled potential and chronic stagnation have left many feeling disheartened – reluctant to enter the byzantine maze of permits, hoops, and hurdles required for entrepreneurial investment in the Halifax area. 

Afterall, who wants to invest in infill and renovation, when it is so much easier to rezone and clearcut a piece of undeveloped pine scrub near shiny new “theme” communities and those massive sticks-and-glue apartment complexes on LPGA Boulevard?

Last week, in an excellent article by Charles Guarria writing in Hometown News Volusia, we learned that two bold investors – Andrew Podray and Cliff Grosvenor – are working to transform the former Daytona Mall property into something refreshingly unique at the challenged intersection of International Speedway Boulevard and Nova Road.

According to the report, “What became apparent at a recent neighborhood meeting inside one of Daytona Mall’s vacant stores is there are two businessmen who are maneuvering to upgrade the mall. One is Andrew Podray, the owner of Daytona Center LLC, who recently purchased the rest of the mall he did not own, and the other is Cliff Grosvenor.

Mr. Grosvenor doesn’t own any of the mall property, but he is leasing a large section of it to construct an aquarium. The Ponce Inlet resident is turning nearly all of the former Burlington store into the Daytona Aquarium & Rainforest Adventure.”

The desperately needed attraction will include interactive exhibits, educational programs, a café, arcade, and space for birthday parties.

According to Hometown News, Mr. Podray is seeking to have the remainder of the mall property rezoned by the City of Daytona Beach to allow for possible multi-family housing and a variety of commercial enterprises.

That sounds like a good plan – and a great start.  

Kudos to these two intrepid investors for taking a chance at the very heart of Daytona Beach!

We need more like them…

Asshole           Volusia County Council

Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower and Councilman Danny Robins have one thing in common:

They both think I don’t like them… 

The fact is, I don’t really know them. 

I had lunch once with Mr. Robins after he announced his candidacy, we’ve spoken on the phone a time or two, and exchanged texts on various issues.  Likewise, I enjoyed a lunch with Chairman Brower and one of his sons, we talk issues on occasion, and I spoke on his behalf at a campaign rally when he ran against former Council member Deb Denys in 2020. 

The fact is, I don’t know Robins or Brower well enough to dislike them. 

You may find this odd, but I still believe in the quaint and fading notion that well-intentioned people – including those elected to serve the public interest and blowhard critics like me – can disagree politically without hating one another.  

At least I hope we can…

As I get older (unbelievably, I’ll turn 63 on Monday) I don’t waste a lot of time worrying about whether people “like” me or not (only in retirement can one say that with complete authenticity) – and a friend of mine recently summed it up when they said, “Mark, Barker’s View is like the Walmart of blogs – everyone hates it, but they know they need it…” 

One thing I understand all too well is the political tactic of using contrived drama and interpersonal conflict as an effective means of derailing your opponent’s agenda…

Trust me.  You don’t need a Political Science degree from Georgetown – or a Ph.D. in Psychoanalytic Studies (although that would help) – to discern the level of dysfunction and internecine horseshit that continues to hamper the “people’s business” on the dais of power in DeLand – or the cheap political posturing and puffery designed to frustrate substantive change and ensure the status quo.

While I appreciate the fact that Mr. Robins frequently brings new ideas to the table (which range from the reasonable to the ridiculous) in a place not known for embracing innovative change – I happen to disagree with his infuriating political obstructionism, opportunistic self-promotion, and near-constant grandstanding (for the uninitiated, that’s kind of a theme around this blogsite…) 

In turn, Chairman Brower’s recurring Caspar Milquetoast impression has helped his “colleagues” on the dais paint him as horribly weak and ineffectual.

That political pushing and shoving goes with the territory, I suppose.

But it is divisive and unnecessary shit like Mr. Robins’ recent grammatical nightmare of a manifesto on drowning deaths that tells us all we need to know about why nothing of substance happens on the Volusia County Council…

Last Sunday morning, Chairman Brower, a former ocean lifeguard, posted a News-Journal article to his Facebook page detailing the fifth drowning death on Volusia County beaches this year under the apt caption, “Enough.” 

Brower’s post stirred a spirited debate amongst us Facebookians on how beach safety can be improved in an era when attracting and retaining qualified lifeguards is a difficult undertaking – especially when the starting pay for a part-time guard, who is expected to risk their lives recuing others from dangerous surf conditions, is just $15 an hour… 

According to a report on this most recent tempest in a teapot by The Daytona Beach News-Journal:

“Robins took issue with Brower’s approach to the topic, writing that lifeguards have kept “drownings down” despite the shortage. He wrote that there have been five drownings so far this year, and 8 in 2022. Based on his numbers, which haven’t been independently verified, the county is averaging about 6 drownings a year since 2013.

“Although terrible and tremendously unfortunate, drownings have occurred. Your Volusia County Council has continued to provide record funding for our first responders overall and are ALWAYS striving to do better.

For an elected official to exploit and paint a false picture to the public, our businesses and local economy that our beach is inherently unsafe is simply LOW and UNTRUE.

Quite frankely, (sic) this is a pattern coming from the CENTER OF THE DIAS (sic) and is a SLAP IN FACE to the hard working men and women of Beach Safety and the lifeguards.”

(WTF?  Don’t council members have high-paid scribes on the county payroll to write this shit for them?)

Of course, Robins’ screed caused Mr. Brower to go on the defensive (anyone see a pattern there?), claiming that he was only attempting to bring attention to the chronic lifeguard shortage:

“Brower said he’s spoken with county leadership and plans to seek council support for a workshop on addressing issues such as lifeguard pay.

“It doesn’t need to be ugly, but I’m afraid somebody’s going to try and make it that way just for political purposes, but that’s on them if they do that,” Brower said.”

Look, social media spit-spats are one thing, but during the Volusia County Council meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Robins upped the ante by strategically shutting down Chairman Brower’s call for a public workshop to explore the serious issues plaguing Emergency Medical Services – to include recruitment and retention, response times, working conditions, and the horribly flawed deployment strategy that leaves overworked paramedics and EMT’s nowhere to recuperate, decontaminate, and resupply between calls for service.

Unfortunately, once again, the Council put politics over people when Mr. Robins made a motion to table the issue in favor of allowing County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald – on whose watch we got into this intractable mess – to “handle employee issues without interference from the council.”

Great… Once again, public safety falls to the sword of political posturing.

Unfortunately, this will get worse as we enter the silly season when three seats – including Chairman Brower, District 2 Councilman Matt Reinhart, and District 4 Councilman Troy Kent are up for grabs. 

In Volusia County – the more things change, the more they stay the same – because the puppeteers who manipulate the rods and strings on these malleable marionettes remain the same…  

I hope you will remember that at the ballot box in 2024 – and 2026…

Angel               Bethune-Cookman Alumnus Percy Williamson

I recently watched the moving documentary “Mary McLeod Bethune Goes to Washington” on an installment of the PBS series Florida Frontiers, a production of the Florida Historical Society.

The episode explored the fascinating history of the Mary McLeod Bethune statute – which now represents Florida in the United States Capitol – and memorialized Dr. Bethune’s enduring legacy to our nation and the world.   

The oral histories – told by those in the community who remember Dr. Bethune during her lifetime – and others who were instrumental in seeing the statute become a reality – including Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry and Ormond Beach philanthropist Nancy Lohman, resulted in an inspirational story that reminded me of the importance of Bethune-Cookman University to the life of our community.

Please find the episode here: https://tinyurl.com/5yvvszm8  

For a variety of reasons (not the least of which was gross mismanagement and personal greed by those with a fiduciary responsibility to students, alumni, faculty, and staff), B-CU has fallen on tough times – resulting in real threats to its accreditation, allegations of fiscal misconduct, massive debt, declining student enrollment, and a lack of stakeholder confidence, all resulting in dwindling fundraising.

Then came the highly publicized split between B-CU’s tumultuous “leadership” and the Mary McLeod Bethune National Alumni Association.  Following the long brewing separation last year, a News-Journal op/ed authored by Kevin L. Davis, a 1974 graduate of Bethune-Cookman College, heartbreakingly noted, “The state of the union of Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU) is in tragic disarray…”

To their credit, the alumni association has long demanded an end to the malfeasance that has blemished the Board of Trustees resulting in a revolving door of presidents and senior officials.

Unfortunately, at a time when these mounting internal and external issues require an “all hands-on deck” approach – B-CU’s wayward Board of Trustees opted to file an incredibly expensive federal trademark infringement suit, essentially excommunicating the alumni association.

How petty.  And shortsighted…

According to a January 2022 report in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “B-CU is demanding the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune National Alumni Association stop using the university’s name, logos and trademarks — as well as its founder’s name. The suit alleges the alumni group has nonetheless infringed on those trademarks and “falsely represents that it is associated with the university.”

In keeping with their mission, the alumni association remains committed to defending Dr. Bethune’s legacy – as legal fees continue to mount on both sides of the divide…  

This week, it was reported that Daytona Beach native Percy Williamson, an honors graduate of Bethune-Cookman University with a distinguished history of service in both the public and private sector, has formed Sustaining the Legacy Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit separate from the Mary McLeod Bethune National Alumni Association, dedicated to raising funds for the organizations legal bills so other donations can be used to support students.

To read more about the legal defense fund – or make a donation to this most worthwhile effort – please go to https://www.stl-legaldefense.com/ or contact Mr. Williamson at stldefensefund@gmail.com . 

Quote of the Week

“A business owner who transformed a historic building in a South Carolina redevelopment area into a brewery, taproom and restaurant is interested in taking over the Corbin building on Main Street.

Andrew Baumgartner, owner of Savage Craft Ale Works in West Columbia, S.C., was the lone responder to a Daytona Beach city government request for proposals for the large, city-owned structure.

Only city officials and Baumgartner know what’s proposed in a plan he sent on July 25. The documents won’t be available to the public until late August. The proposal could be unveiled sooner if the city decides before Aug. 25 that it wants to lock in an agreement with Baumgartner.”

–Reporter Eileen Zaffiro-Kean, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Beachside could get new beer garden,” Tuesday, August 1, 2023

It appears the City of Daytona Beach’s growing business empire may be expanding with the addition of a brewpub in the taxpayer owned Corbin building on Main Street. 

According to reports, Savage Craft Ale Works was the sole respondent to a request for proposals to partner with the City of Daytona Beach to repurpose the property…  

The owner of the popular taproom and eatery located in West Columbia, South Carolina, will now negotiate terms with city officials to bring a craft brewery, restaurant, and live music venue to the 39,300-square-foot building at 777 Main Street that Daytona Beach residents purchased in March for $3.1 million. 

At that time, city officials envisioned a food pavilion housing a variety of dining and entertainment establishments all under one roof. 

Last week, I took a drive down Main Street and was shocked (not really) by the condition of some properties, many of which appeared dank, vacant, and uninviting. 

That includes a storefront in the 700 block, just southwest of the Corbin property, that has a series of tattered flags attached to the front (including the sad remains of a now desecrated American flag) that are so torn, frayed, and weather-beaten they add to the bleak appearance of blight and dilapidation the City of Daytona Beach has spent millions in Community Redevelopment Area funds to eliminate.  

Where did all that money go?

Never mind all that.  Now is the time for hope and happy talk – and the notion of CRA accountability and transparency just opens another ugly can of worms – and begs more questions, right?   

Right…

While it appears city officials are not interested in improving the appearance of Main Street to make it more attractive to entrepreneurial investment – they appear open to collaborating with Savage Craft Ale Works to see the popular establishment become a reality – including the option of selling the property, if necessary. 

Because everything remains hush-hush, there is no word yet on what, if any, “public incentives” are being considered to sweeten the pot…   

Stay tuned.

Given the fact several businesses, including the World’s Most Famous Brewery, the beachside’s first microbrewery owned and operated by the enterprising Tom Caffrey and Krista Goodrich, have enjoyed hard-earned success on Main Street – they were forced to do it the old-fashioned way: Through personal investment, navigating the bureaucratic steeplechase, and sweat equity. 

My hope is that the City of Daytona Beach will remember the pride and perseverance of those locally owned businesses who planted their flag on Main Street and stood firm – waiting patiently for the change we were all promised was coming – before skewing the playing field in favor of the newcomer on the block…

And Another Thing!

Wow.  What a difference a year makes, eh?   

One year ago – August 2, 2022 – during the heat and clamor of an election year, the majority of the Volusia County Council publicly humiliated Chairman Jeff Brower on contrived charges he “politicized” a planned public workshop to discuss the Florida Wildlife Corridor. 

(Sound familiar?)

The forum was designed to educate citizens by bringing together “…non-governmental organizations, members of the public, agencies, policy makers and local stakeholders to share information on the value of the corridor to people, wildlife and the economy.” 

For those joining us late, the Florida Wildlife Corridor carves out approximately 18-million acres of connected conservation lands and waters to allow displaced wildlife a means of traversing the sprawl of zero lot line cracker boxes and half-empty strip centers that continue to encroach on their shrinking habitat.

At that time, former Councilman Ben Johnson – in a choreographed political skit for the ages – bitterly fumed from the dais, accusing Brower of lying about the true nature of the workshop – portraying the educational forum as “a cheap political stunt” designed to promote a slate of candidates supported by Chairman Brower.

Of course, Mr. Johnson’s broadside was quickly supported on all flanks by Councilman Danny Robins, along with former Council member’s Billie Wheeler and Fred Lowry, who took turns cutting into Brower (and former Council Member Heather Post) with a ferocity and faux indignation that demonstrated to their political overseers they were earning their keep during an important election season.

West Volusia Beacon reporter Al Everson later described the orchestrated political hitjob as a “…fierce, raucous, verbal brawl.”

In his usual tepid defense, Brower said, “It was not a political move to hurt anybody on this council. It’s what I wrote in that sentence: I want the public to know where we stand. The public deserves to know where we stand on preserving land or not, and you can try every single meeting to squash this. It doesn’t need to be squashed.”

Yet, squashed it was…

In my view, that entire ugly chapter in an even uglier period of foot-dragging on environmental and development issues was just as Mr. Johnson said – a cheap political stunt – but one perpetrated by Volusia’s Old Guard, carefully designed to further the evisceration of Chairman Brower.

Along with the marginalization of any candidate who supported tightening the reins on the malignant overdevelopment that has now metastasized across the width and breadth of Volusia County… 

At the end of the day, the entrenched insiders got what they wanted all along – a perennially ill-informed electorate – as the wildlife corridor workshop, with some two hundred people already registered to attend, was “postponed” indefinitely.

As history now reflects, the 2022 election fell just as the Big Money players ensured it would…

Remember?  I do.

On Tuesday, the bulk of our “new” Volusia County Council (who I’m sure, will now nominate themselves for the John Muir Award for Political Douchebaggery) did the very least they could in voting to allow staff to seek a federal grant opportunity to purchase lands that would bridge gaps in the wildlife corridor.

In a report by Sierra Williams writing in the Ormond Beach Observer we learned, “The County Council voted 5-0 to partner with the Alachua Conservation Trust as the trust applies for a Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.”

Apparently, Councilmen Jake Johansson and Don Dempsey had better things to do…

It was explained by our new Community Services Director Brad Burbaugh, that the program is “…essentially a co-investment of federal dollars in our local program.”

According to the Observer:

“The trust worked with Volusia Forever staff to develop the “Lake to Lagoon” partnership proposal for the RCPP grant. Tom Kay, an executive director with the trust, said the trust can apply for a grant of up to $25 million.

If awarded, the funding can be used to buy conservation land and conservation easements from landowners, he said.

The county would need to commit to a local match of $25 million, spread over the next five years, for the $25 million grant.

Kay said the county has lined up $5 million of the match from smaller, local conservation organizations.

The $20 million the county would commit as a match would stay in the county and would come from Volusia Forever’s dedicated ad valorem revenue and reserves.”

Regardless of your thoughts on the merits of Volusia Forever – we live in an age where paving over a threatened species, or cutting them in half with heavy equipment, has become the cost of doing business. 

Now, gopher tortoises, black bears, whitetail deer, and other species have lost out to the voracious greed of speculative developers who hold the political paper on the souls of the craven politicians who facilitate it.

To ameliorate their guilt and mitigate any political damage – the same elected officials who rubberstamp land use changes and literally pave the way for more “planned unit developments” and industrial warehouses that interface with residential neighborhoods, pouring traffic onto already congested roadways – beat their chest and crow about these “wildlife corridors,” narrow patches of contiguous natural space that allow wild animals a chance to run, fly, or swim from the vice-like growth that is rapidly destroying their last remaining habitat in the perverse name of “progress.”

Sad.

In my view, the real credit in this ongoing fight goes to those committed local environmentalists, people like Suzanne Schrieber and Dream Green Volusia – who, despite watching more of our greenspace sacrificed each day on the altar of greed – keep the faith and hold firm to the belief that our quality of life depends upon the visionary conservation of our natural places for future generations. 

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

_________________________________

I’m taking a short pause of the cause next week.

In the interim, please feel free to peruse the voluminous archives at the bottom of this page.  As I like to say, it is amazing how the more things change, the more they remain the same here on Florida’s fabled “Fun Coast.” 

As always, whether we agree or disagree on the issues we collectively face, thanks so much for reading. 

See you soon!

MDB

Hi, kids!

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

What a glorious week it has been around Barker’s View HQ! 

On Wednesday evening, Patti and I joyously welcomed our third grandchild – a beautiful heaven-sent baby girl named Julia – who arrived in this big ol’ goofy world a happy and healthy 7-lbs 13-ounces!

Once again, our lives are blessed beyond measure…

I am happy to report that mom, dad, and baby Julia are doing well and resting comfortably.    

Through these rambling screeds, my goal is to provide you with an alternative opinion – neither always right, nor always wrong – a slightly skewed perspective on our collective experience for which you may have forgotten to ask in the fervent hope that we can change tack and leave this beautiful place we call home a better place for those who come after us.

In my view, as stewards of the future, preserving, protecting, and enhancing the interconnected spheres of our civic, social, economic, and environmental assets is the sacred obligation we have to our children and grandchildren – and I believe that should be the guide star by which our elected and appointed leaders focus their actions, appropriations, and policies.  

I know.  But new beginnings bring optimism even to this cynical old soul, hope for a better life for those we are borrowing all this from, a life filled with good health, happiness, purpose, service, challenges bested, integrity, knowledge, curiosity – and love… 

From the bottom of my beat-up old heart, thank you for the prayers and well-wishes! 

I would like to begin our weekly installment of A&A with a parable of sorts. 

Perhaps you’ve heard it?

Protogroup & The Beanstalk  

It reads like a weird Aesop’s fable.

The tale of a Chief Building Official in a kingdom by the sea who allowed himself to be made a fool, time-and-again, by the developer of a high-rise condominium – great twin spires the villagers were told would eventually wind into the heavens like a magical beanstalk – a panacea that would cure their down-at-the-heels resort town of all its woes…

Secretly, everyone knew in their hearts that the great pinnacles lacked the funding required for completion – but the building inspector kept a brave face, repeatedly rattling his rusty sword and threatening bold enforcement action – yet he always blinked with the developer’s every feint and false start.

Oh, the building official huffed and he puffed – as the townsfolk grew increasingly nervous about the condition of the unfinished monolith’s exposed and corroded bones – but every time they thought the developer would finally be held to account, the slightest stir on the site would stay the inspector’s threatened enforcement proceedings until it became clear the one person responsible for protecting the public’s interest (and occupant safety) had no teeth.

Ultimately, the town’s only hope was exposed as a neutered watchdog – and the kingdom’s enforcement apparatus was laid bare as a frail and impotent sham. Over time, the villagers lost confidence in the very system designed to safeguard their interests…

The moral?

In the aftermath of the tragic Surfside Condominium collapse, when it comes to protecting the public trust and ensuring developers live up to their promises:  Don’t bluff.  

After months of tough talk from Daytona Beach’s Chief Building Official Glen Urquhart following years of stagnation at the Protogroup’s unfinished oceanfront project’s north tower – to include threats of condemnation and revocation of construction permits – it appears things are back to square one after a sandblasting session on the rotting rebar jutting from the foundation was all it took to stop enforcement action. 

Again…

In September 2022, the City of Daytona Beach issued a condemnation and demolition order citing the lack of construction activity and questions surrounding the structural integrity of the exposed steel reinforcements – ordering that the site be cleaned up and a structural engineer create a plan to ensure the columns are strong enough to support the proposed 31-story tower – which, if it ever sprouts, would be the tallest building in Daytona Beach.

Many were disappointed when that order was rescinded, and a new work order issued – this time good for six months – so long as Protogroup adhered to a city mandate to “keep things rolling.”

They didn’t.

In April, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that the project had once again stalled out, quoting Director Urquhart:

“When the city agreed in September to give Protogroup another chance, the company was told it would have to show work was well underway on the condo tower by April 9 and undergo a city inspection by that date. Urquhart said the agreement was clear: No progress and no inspection, no more construction permit.”

Ultimately, the City of Daytona Beach made good on its promise, pulled the construction permit, and denied the Protogroup’s request for a 180-day extension.  

According to an article by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal last week:

“A month ago, city Chief Building Official Glen Urquhart was losing his patience yet again with an unfinished oceanfront condominium tower that’s been stalled out over the past few years.

Urquhart said in mid-June that if he didn’t see a real attempt to get the $100 million project back on track, he was probably going to hit the construction site with a condemnation and demolition order.

But after a few meetings between city and project officials, Urquhart is seeing developer Protogroup make moves toward restarting construction on the proposed 31-story tower at the eastern tip of Oakridge Boulevard.

Urquhart has decided to give the beachside venture a stay of execution, the same thing he did last fall after slapping the project with a condemnation and demolition order, and then withdrawing the order.”

Again…

Perhaps more ominous, according to reports, buyers who have already put deposits on units were originally told the condominium would be completed by December 2024 – now, that date has been pushed to “…the spring of 2027.”

From an unauthorized “contra-lane” on Oakridge Boulevard, to blocked beach access, the cluttered eyesore in the heart of our core tourist area, and lengthy periods of inactivity, it is now apparent that Protogroup can do as they wish – while city and county officials act like comically distracted professional wrestling referees – because there is nothing anyone can do at this point.

Now, we are at Protogroup’s mercy.

In Mr. Urquhart’s defense, our elected officials castrated the regulatory apparatus the very minute they allowed a project of this enormity and magnitude to proceed with only “loose” agreements and a malleable performance assurance plan in place – and they cemented this impotence by failing to maintain constant oversight, inspection, and monitoring – which apparently has fostered a laissez faire regulatory environment and a “we do what we want, when we want to do it” attitude in the executive suite. 

Now, there is no going back.

Look, I hate to be the one to keep receipts, but…

“In an October 2018 piece in The Daytona Beach News-Journal by reporter Jim Abbott, the former chairman of the ill-fated Beachside Redevelopment Committee, Tony Grippa, said:

“The city still lacks an overall strategy as it relates to A1A and the beachside corridor, and this is what happens when you put all your eggs in one basket.”

At this point, however, completion of the project is imperative, Grippa said.

“It would be absolutely devastating to have, in addition to all the old boarded-up buildings, now a new partially completed building,” Grippa said. “That sitting vacant and empty would really hurt the beachside, optically, economically and emotionally.”

Does anyone remember the Beachside Redevelopment Committee?

I didn’t think so…

Perhaps the real lesson is, “Rules without enforced consequences become mere suggestions.”

Angel               Environmental Consortium Fighting for Spruce Creek  

As a Florida resident, I often feel like we are living in a topsy-turvy parallel universe…

A bizarre fourth dimension where, rather than defend our environment, protect the source and quality of our drinking water, and respect our interdependency with Florida’s sensitive ecology – the opposite holds true. 

Our elected policymakers defend the indefensible – allowing greed-crazed insiders to shit in our collective nest and destroy those life-giving ecosystems – as though paving over every square inch of our state is the inalienable right of those who can pay-to-play.

Now, a consortium of courageous local environmentalists is challenging a stormwater permit issued by the St. Johns Water Management District to the Florida Department of Transportation which would facilitate the controversial interchange at I-95 and Pioneer Trail, something experts believe will destroy a diverse wildlife habitat on one of the most sensitive watersheds in the state. 

Recently, national media outlets – including the Washington Post and Forbes – exposed the murky allocation of $92 million in federal Covid relief funds to expedite construction of the interchange, which (as everyone with two synapses still firing knows) will service our High Panjandrum of Political Power, Mori Hosseini’s, massive ICI Homes Woodhaven development.

According to a report by Mark Harper in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week, Mr. Hosseini denies receiving favorable treatment based upon what many see as his transactional relationship with Governor Ron DeSantis – “…noting he purchased the land some 20 years after it first landed on transportation plans.”

Now, FDOT claims the “purpose and need” for the interchange “…is as much about economic development as it is transportation.”

Yep.  Here we go…

Whenever government gets caught with its pants down – the bureaucracy immediately retreats to the “high paying jobs” argument to wheedle their way out of an embarrassing jam – knowing that, when people have been denied a living wage long enough, they will acquiesce to just about anything to feed their families…   

Now we are asked to believe a 2017 “justification report” that claims the interchange is to “…support the economic viability and job creation associated with planned and approved future development in the vicinity of the study area, to reduce congestion at the adjacent I-95 interchanges, and to better serve regional trips originating in and destined to the study area.”

Of course, the FDOT narrative swings a wild-ass guess that the interchange will contribute $2.5 billion in economic impacts during construction – and $775 million annually in “…permanent, ongoing impacts from spending associated with new household operations and additional office/retail/hotel employment.”

Bullshit.

According to the News-Journal:

“Another 2017 FDOT study looks at how the interchange will affect the surrounding area. The impact on wetlands and surface water will be “substantial,” the study concluded, while there could be a “moderate” effect on historical and archaeological sites, water quality and quantity, and wildlife and habitats.”

“The study acknowledges that “indirect effects” have already occurred on the preserve and other rural areas near Pioneer Trail and Turnbull Bay Road on both sides of I-95.”

In my view, “substantial” adverse impacts to wetlands and surface water should have been a hard stop for the interchange. 

It wasn’t…

To their credit, the group – identified by the News-Journal as Bear Warriors United Inc., a Seminole County-based nonprofit, the Sweetwater Coalition of Volusia County Inc., and four individuals, including Bryon White, Katrina Shadix, the founder of Bear Warriors; Derek LaMontagne, a Port Orange resident who’s affiliated with Sweetwater; and Lori Sandman, a Daytona Beach attorney – have joined forces to protect the threatened Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve and environs from what many see as a foregone conclusion.

According to the report, the group’s petition cites, among other environmental and procedural concerns, that “FDOT, in presenting to the River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization in January for its approval, misrepresented facts, primarily using an outdated map and stating the “direct” impact of the project would be on 49 acres, while an Environmental Protection Agency letter from Oct. 4, 2022, stated there would be 55 acres directly impacted and 10 acres of secondary impacts, according to the petitioners.

The petition cites other concerns, including the St. Johns River Water Management District permit, which “belittles or hides” the impact on Spruce Creek by referring to it only as an “unnamed canal” and an OFW, or Outstanding Florida Waterway.”

The matter will be heard by an administrative law judge in Tallahassee next month. 

Kudos to these courageous environmentalists who are standing firm in a David and Goliath fight to preserve the Spruce Creek watershed for generations to come from the devastating impacts of the malignant spawl that the Pioneer Trail interchange is tailormade to serve. 

Asshole           Roundtable of Volusia County Elected Officials

It is no secret that the Roundtable of Volusia County Elected Officials – that political insulation committee that ensures ‘groupthink’ and crushes independent thought to preserve the mirage of competence – rarely accomplishes anything of substance. 

The roundtable was exposed for what it is (and isn’t) a few years ago when the group was led around like a dazed bull with a ring its nose by that mysterious camera stellata over at the CEO Business Alliance – who tried desperately to use their elected hired hands to levy a half-cent sales tax on Volusia County residents ostensibly to fund transportation infrastructure projects – even as the bulldozers roared in a disastrous “cart before the horse” growth strategy.

Fortunately, Volusia County taxpayers overwhelmingly voted down the money grab – refusing to give more of our hard-earned money to the same dipshits who got us into this gridlocked mess in the first place – especially after we witnessed them lavish funds on the whims of their oligarchical political benefactors.

In November 2021, the late great political watchdog, Big John – who moderated the political affairs radio forum GovStuff Live! – addressed the Knights of the Roundtable, then waited patiently for someone, anyone, to address the fact Volusia County had no discernable transportation infrastructure plan in its then $1.1 billion budget.

When it was clear the meeting would adjourn without any substantive progress on the most critical issue facing Volusia County residents – Big John asked why the powerful group of preeminent politicos refused to address the 800-pound gorilla in the room?   

In March 2022, Volusia’s half-bright Bilderberg finally formed a “transportation subcommittee” ostensibly to address infrastructure needs now that growth has been allowed to outpace our antiquated roads, utilities, water resources, stormwater management systems, medical facilities, etc., etc., etc.… 

Now, 20-months after Big John demanded answers – the Roundtable’s subcommittee finally met last Monday at the Volusia County Road and Bridge Northeast Services Facility in Daytona Beach.

What a friggin’ farce…

Unfortunately, it is frighteningly evident to existing residents that gridlocked roads might be the least of our problems.

Clearly, some very important people in our community have convinced our ‘powers that be’ that the continued erosion of our land development codes, bending over for speculative developers, and slashing our natural places to make way for more cookie cutter zero-lot-line cracker boxes that allow out-of-state developers to haul even more money out of the pine scrub constitutes the “highest and best use” for the thousands of sensitive acres that once comprised the source of our drinking water. 

According to reports, during the meeting, talk naturally turned to reanimating the festering corpse of the half-cent sales tax…

Who saw that coming, eh? 

In Volusia County, no tax initiative is ever dead – even when 55% of voters scream “We don’t trust you, assholes!” 

According to a report by Jarleene Almenas writing in the Ormond Beach Observer:

“(Port Orange Mayor) Burnette said the committee should discuss funding opportunities for road infrastructure.

He noted that Volusia considered implementing a half-cent sales tax to fund infrastructure and water quality projects in 2019, but 55% of voters rejected it in a special election. Burnette said he was hesitant to consider a sales tax as a future funding source, given that history.

“If that’s where everybody wants to go and we want to float it, then that’s fine and great,” he said. “But I want to make sure that we do this right and that we have citizen committee involvement.”

The committee will meet again on Aug. 28.”

And, just like that, ol’ Don “I’m against it, but if you guys are for it, then that’s fine and great” Burnette’s run for Volusia County Council Chair was D.O.A… 

Now, standby to standby for more, more, more expensive studies, polls, cross-county dog-and-pony shows, frittering over ballot language, “visioning sessions,” scary yarns spun by hired consultants, expansive municipal “wish lists,” and extensive meddling by wealthy insiders with a chip in the game.   

While the clock ticks, and the bulldozers roar…   

Quote of the Week

“Nothing is certain in life but death and taxes” (and fees). The Palm Coast City Council is poised to continue charging us all more for the privilege (or whatever) of living here.

They already know, and we should, that the situation of increasing taxes and/or fees will continue indefinitely, unless we stop it.

Right now, the mayor and council have this grand dream of a new Palm Coast doubled in size with the addition of their planned new developments west of U.S. 1. This would be their forever legacy.

But perhaps that legacy would be tainted by the ongoing deterioration of the old and gray and uninteresting current Palm Coast. Traffic jams, huge trucks tearing up the roads, dangerous streets without sidewalks, every stitch of greenery torn away, drainage and flooding concerns, etc., etc.

They need to hold back the developers and their city staff pals from forgetting the “old” Palm Coast and only looking to the wonderful new city they say is ahead of us.

Well, I say to hold off on this brave new world for at least two years and focus all the time, money and staff on getting the city that is here and now up to par. Streets and drainage repaired, sidewalks where necessary, a touch of the natural Florida in all neighborhoods, parks, and more.

It’s a lengthy list of our needs, but one that should be met prior to any of their grand dreams.

Otherwise, it’s a nightmare.”

–Jeffery C. Seib, Palm Coast, Letters to the Editor, Palm Coast Observer, “Council should focus on existing Palm Coast, not expansion,” Thursday, July 20, 2023

What he said…

And Another Thing!

For good reason (namely what remains of my tenuous sanity) I shy away from state and national politics. 

But sometimes (like you) I shake my head and ask, “What the hell were they thinking?”

Last week it was announced that Governor Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign fired thirty-eight staffers as his poll numbers continue to plummet and deep-pocketed donors rethink their support for what has all the appearances of a rudderless scow…

That does not bode well for Gov. DeSantis’ political aspirations as the hits just keep on coming.

Despite what we are asked to believe, these are not the machinations of a vindictive media – or the ravings of blowhard bloggers like me – but self-inflicted gaffs that have led even Gov. DeSantis’ most committed supporters to question who is choreographing his shambolic campaign? 

Last week, a number of outlets exposed trouble in the ranks of Gov. DeSantis’ ill-thought Florida State Guard – the resurrection of a force once used to augment Florida National Guard units deployed overseas during World War II – which now appears to be a weird cross between state sponsored costumed roleplay and a private militia… 

As the first 120 members of the FSG graduated from what one recruit (a former military officer) described as a ‘slapdash’ training program at Camp Blanding – information has emerged regarding the militarization of a force originally billed as a means of supplementing community resources during natural disasters. 

In a statement, Gov. DeSantis said:

“Even though the federal government has underfunded our National Guard, we are ensuring that we have the manpower needed to respond during emergencies. I’m proud of these men and women who answered the call to take on this important mission. When the need is greatest in their communities, these Guard members will be ready to answer the call.” 

As polo shirts gave way to camouflage fatigues, some former recruits are reporting that “inexperienced” Florida National Guard troops trained the FSG volunteers in what was described as a “boot camp” style program – two-weeks for prior service military and 28-days for civilians – that devolved from emergency management and Red Cross sheltering skills to combat and simulated weapons training. 

You read that right.

One retired Marine Corps officer – a disabled veteran – claimed he was subjected to “abuse” by two National Guard non-commissioned officers who forced him into a van “after he expressed his displeasure at how recruits were being treated.”

According to reports, the guard force has been beset by leadership issues since its inception, with its first commander, retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Chris Graham, lost to suicide last October.  In January, Gov. DeSantis appointed the program’s deputy director, Louis Soler, a captain in the United States Navy Reserve, to lead the FSG.

In June, DeSantis’ office announced Soler was stepping down due to “personal reasons.”

According to reports, before his departure, Soler recruited retired Navy veteran Brian Newhouse to lead one of the Guard’s three divisions.

Newhouse was also escorted off the joint training base on the first day of the course after lodging complaints about safety and scheduling – to include the fact physical training was conducted without emergency medical personnel present. 

According to a report in the Tampa Bay Times, Newhouse said, “The program got hijacked and turned into something that we were trying to stay away from: a militia.” 

“I don’t even think the governor knows what’s going on.  I don’t think this is a fly on his radar right now,” Newhouse said, noting that DeSantis himself is a Navy veteran who would never countenance the physical abuse of a retired military officer and FSG volunteer.

With its mission still undefined – and detractors equating the State Guard to the Governor’s private Tonton Macoute – in my view, now is the time to ditch the military cosplay and return focus to the emergency response and humanitarian mission.

With hurricane season heating up, that is something all Floridian’s can support – and those who have offered to serve their fellow citizens in the Florida State Guard deserve better…

As a former credentialed Florida Professional Emergency Manager, I can say with confidence that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association, State Emergency Response Team, and other recognized disaster response and recovery groups are experts at providing professional classroom training, equipment, and scenario-based exercises that can prepare Florida State Guard personnel to operate effectively within the National Incident Management System. 

In my experience, that is the difference between being an asset – or an obstacle – during a disaster. 

In my view, Gov. DeSantis has a variety of hurdles ahead in his quest for the White House in 2024 – not the least of which is the gnawing doubt affecting even his staunchest supporters who continue to shake their heads and quietly ask “WTF?” when these unforced errors continue to surface. 

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

This week Volusia County District 3 Councilman Danny Robins saw the self-serving need to wade into the latest skirmish in the “Culture Wars” when he voiced support for an ‘alternative country’ artist named Jason Aldean, who released a song some have used to stoke yet another contrived controversy.  

I’ve never heard Mr. Aldean’s music.

Don’t hold that against me.

I grew up on old Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Guy Clark, George Jones, and Earnest Tubb – which means I abhor the alternative…

According to an article by Sheldon Gardner writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, last Friday, Councilman Robins posted his support for Aldean on social media after fiery criticism of his recent release “Try That in a Small Town” – a contrived product, no doubt composed by a writers consortium, recorded over an electronic drum loop, packaged by a marketing team, and sung by a young man who is carefully dressed, coiffed, hatted, and presented by a record company’s image group – then consumed by millions of young people who have no concept of what ‘country music’ was. 

That’s why they call it the ‘Music Business.’

Because everyone is offended by everything these days, self-absorbed culture warriors on both sides of the divide, seized on the opportunity for a Summer of ‘23 brouhaha (as though it wasn’t annoyingly hot enough already) – with those on the “left” claiming the tune represents racist dog whistle – while those on the “right” defend it as “God, Guns, and Apple Pie” patriotism.

The fact is, it’s neither.

For the uninitiated, we live in a shameless age where any publicity is considered good publicity, and I have no doubt this latest sociopolitical tempest in a teapot was carefully crafted by Mr. Aldean’s record label and management team ahead of his 39 city “Highway Desperado” tour which began July 14. 

They should send Mr. Robins a thank you note for helping perpetuate the horseshit and hype…

Look, I haven’t listened to the song – but I read the lyrics to “Try That in a Small Town,” and, in my view, there is nothing overtly racist about it.  (Although the “coincidence” wasn’t lost on me that the accompanying overproduced music video was filmed at the infamous Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where an 18-year-old African-American was brutally lynched in 1927…)

According to Aldean’s detractors, the song is a call for racial vigilantism – full of triggering tropes and emotional hot buttons like lawless riots, anti-police rhetoric, gun confiscation, looting, violent crime, and “anti-American” behavior – something the self-promoting Councilman Robins took full advantage of when he grabbed on to Aldean’s coattails. 

According to the News-Journal, “Robins added that the music video contains images or clips that were real, and that Aldean “refuses to sit back and be quiet anymore.”

“He refuses to be silenced, he stands by his values and not afraid of backlash and he’s got a pair. If some people don’t like it, o well. Their thin-skinned interpretation, feelings and opinions don’t change the facts,” Robins wrote. “As far as I am concerned he is a good man and we need more people like him. I stand by my public support.”

Congratulations, Councilman Robins, like a swooning teenybopper, you bought the marketing strategy – hook, line, and sinker…

Whatever.

Hey, Danny – Word to the wise:  It was a business decision. 

Get it? 

My God, how heartbreaking. I feel like I’m telling Mr. Robins the Easter Bunny isn’t real…

Whenever I read about one of these engineered controversies, I always ask myself “Cui Bono?”

To whom is it a benefit?

Media and entertainment companies – especially social media – have a vested interest in stirring controversy because they profit from the audience it drives, politicians gain notoriety when they get their name in the paper, and professional crybaby’s benefit from their next 15-minutes of victimhood…

It is similar to how both political parties work to divide voters with increasingly outlandish “Us vs. Them” rhetoric – fostering conflict and creating a distraction to better serve those special interests who feed the machine with massive campaign contributions – rather than find common ground and compromise on those issues important to all citizens.   

In my view, it is time citizens (and our political leadership) come to the realization that patriotism isn’t a beer brand – and it damn sure has nothing to do with another cultural controversy designed, subliminally or on purpose, to exploit our differences – and provide another forum for the fringe elements to fan the flames of divisiveness and controversy as a means of pushing an agenda.

Or selling concert tickets…

In my view, We, The Little People are being manipulated by forces, internal and external, intent on destroying the United States of America without ever firing a shot – and when those elected officials we expect to demonstrate strong leadership engage in gross political grandstanding by wallowing in the muck of another manufactured controversy – it fans the flames of conflict, legitimizes polarization, and pushes us ever closer to the goal of those who seek to divide and conquer.

It is time that citizens recognize this tripe for what it is.

Trust me.  We have enough issues right here in Volusia County to keep Mr. Robins and his “colleagues” on the dais of power in DeLand busy for the foreseeable future – real problems – like our inadequate transportation infrastructure, overdevelopment, traffic congestion, dwindling water quality in our lakes, rivers, and springs, devastating flooding, disastrously low wages contributing to a workforce housing crisis, gross mismanagement and distrust in County government, our dwindling quality of life, coastal erosion, rising taxes and fees, and the myriad other civic, social, and economic issues that are wholly ignored, or kicked down the dusty political trail, by these dullards we elect to serve our interests. 

In my view, as Mr. Aldean sells out arenas and cashes massive checks thanks to his carefully developed notoriety – it is time for Mr. Robins and others to stop the political showboating and focus on the issues important to the lives and livelihoods of long-suffering Volusia County residents.

Hi, kids!

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Asshole           Volusia County Council

“I would like to thank the County Council and County Manager Recktenwald for giving me the opportunity to serve Volusia County,” said Ryan. “I’m honored to join such a creative and dedicated team with a proven track record of effective messaging and a strong foundation of transparent and proactive communication about the many services, programs and amenities Volusia County offers its residents.”

–Volusia County’s Director of Community Information Michael Ryan, Tuesday, July 11, 2023

“We will continue to be your single source of truth … unless you hear it from us it is not the truth.”

–George Orwell ‘1984’

According to Barker’s Paradox:  Once a bureaucracy reaches a certain size and consistency, it exists only to serve, protect, and perpetuate itself.

Externally, it accomplishes that by controlling the narrative, rewriting history, and directing the flow of information in a way that limits criticism and protects those at the top from being openly exposed as incompetent – or worse…

Last week, the Volusia County Council rubber stamped County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald’s new senior director for communications, marketing, and media relations – arguably one of the most important functions of government – whose role is to keep constituents engaged and informed.

Either Mr. Ryan hasn’t been here long enough – or, after 20-years in the trade, he fits the stereotype of the obfuscating government spinmeister perfectly – because his radiant description of the county’s, “…proven track record of effective messaging and a strong foundation of transparent and proactive communication” is complete bullshit…

It’s also a big part of Volusia County’s “trust issue.” 

I would have preferred Director Ryan looked weary Volusia County residents in the eye and said, “We haven’t always been as open and up-front in communicating with our citizens as we should have been.  I’m here to fix that.” 

According to reports, Ryan’s appointment fills the vacancy created when The Wreck transferred his former senior mouthpiece, Kevin Captain, to head the Emergency Medical Services division. 

In my view, if Director Ryan’s conscience allows him to report that Volusia County has a record of transparency and “effective messaging,” then he will have no problem picking up where the equivocating Mr. Captain left off, and will serve the needs of the Recktenwald administration seamlessly… 

As anyone paying attention will recall, it wasn’t so long ago that Volusia County became infamous for “Public Policy by Ambush” – voting on important issues that directly affected our lives and livelihoods after strategically leaving details off the printed agenda to prevent even the possibility of contention or public input.

A weird time and place where a $50,000 publicly funded study recommending massive increases in impact fees for oligarchical developers was willfully suppressed – hidden from policymakers and the public – as the operative ethic became “let sleeping dogs lie” with whispered discussions held, sotto voce, behind closed doors…

How about the blatant lies that were pushed regarding Amendment 10, etc., etc.?

Remember?  I do.

Let’s face it, Volusia County’s communications strategy has historically been the exact opposite of open and transparent – a noxious exercise in rapidly putting copious amounts of smoke in the air and circling the wagons during times of internal crisis – then carefully crafting an opaque message that quibbles the facts and defends the indefensible. 

It’s called ‘polishing a turd’ – and it has become a mainstay of Volusia County’s process of political procrastination – kicking the can down the dusty trail, dragging things out (often through multiple iterations of the county council), and ensuring that nothing disrupts the stagnant status quo. 

The unfortunate result has been a slow erosion of the public’s confidence in their government…

Perhaps once Mr. Ryan gets established in his comfortable office at the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Building and looks through the dusty scrapbook left by his predecessors – he may want to “walk back” (as spin doctors like to say) his initial glowing description before history returns (as it always does in Volusia County) to bite him in the ass… 

During last week’s Council meeting, we also learned that Volusia County will be spending $3.2 million of our money to purchase a former car lot at 1720 Mason Avenue in Daytona Beach to relocate the Emergency Medical Services facility. 

Why?

Because the County’s previous building on Carswell Avenue in Holly Hill has been allowed to strategically rot – suffering from several “major and costly structural issues,” including a “termite infestation” and roof repairs estimated at a whopping $2,000,000. 

You read that right.

According to the July 11 agenda report, “…repairs cannot be undertaken without shutting down and relocating operations for 8 consecutive days in order to fumigate the building.” 

God forbid.

So, our ‘powers that be’ simply went out and bought a new one… 

To my knowledge, there is still no word on who in this byzantine bureaucracy was responsible for allowing the current EMS facility to fall into complete disrepair – so broken-down that a valuable public asset had to be abandoned in place – because accountability is anathema in the Recktenwald administration.   

According to the agenda report, prepared by something called the “Facilities Management Division” – a bureaucratic subsidiary of the “Business Services Department” (who reports to God knows who in the hierarchy) – explained the rationale for the new building: 

In June, a proposal was floated in the five-year capital improvement plan that would have placed taxpayers on the hook for a new EMS facility costing an astronomical $23,000,000.  Now, after renovations to the recently approved building totaling an estimated $4,500,000 – you and I will pay $7,700,000 to replace the ruined facility in Holly Hill…

Wow.  The old Volusia County ‘switcheroo’ – where senior staff tells taxpayer’s they are going to put the shaft to them for a $23 million replacement – then act like they did us a favor at $7.7 million…    

In the private sector, if someone in a position of responsibility fails to perform preventive maintenance and allows a critical asset to become so dilapidated and unserviceable that it requires over $7 million in replacement costs – stockholders would demand the head of anyone who failed to provide adequate oversight and facilities management.

Right? 

Trust me.  This isn’t the first-time senior executives in Volusia County have allowed public facilities to deliberately decay – then ask our elected dullards for permission to dip into that bottomless Pot of Gold we golden geese magically keep brimming with cash – to pay for their gross irresponsibility… 

My ass.

In my view, with a budget now pushing an obscene $1.6 billion – it is high time our elected representatives began the difficult process of holding senior appointed officials accountable for their continuing mismanagement of public assets.

Angel              Flagler Beach City Commission

The old proverb “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is never truer than in local government – where City and County Managers tend to gather some baggage during their service as itinerant administrators – moving from one place to the next, often leaving under tumultuous circumstances, only to be welcomed by another community just coming off a similarly turbulent period.

Fortunately, sometimes a council or commission goes to the Island of Misfit Toys and finds just the “right fit” for their community – and it appears the Flagler Beach City Commission has found the leadership they desperately need in their new chief executive, Dale Martin – who was recently appointed by unanimous vote. 

Now that Mr. Martin has officially accepted the position, contract negotiations are expected to begin soon. 

According to reports, earlier this year, Mr. Martin was terminated on a 3-2 vote of the Fernandina Beach City Commission following a messy period of political horseshit and internecine upheaval. 

In an odd twist, just two-months later, a Fernandina Beach citizens advisory council assisting with the search for a new manager briefly considered recommending Mr. Martin be rehired – but ultimately decided that door had closed…

According to FlaglerLive!, Mr. Martin was “Born and raised in Michigan, and served four communities there before moving to Connecticut “before learning to love Florida,” where he served until March this year as city manager in Fernandina Beach. “I’ve come to enjoy the Florida coastal life. I think that’s where my skill set is involved,” he said.” 

During a public Q&A last Friday, Martin was asked by Commissioner Rick Belhumeur “What scares you about taking the job in Flagler Beach?”

According to the report, he responded confidently, “Absolutely nothing,” he said. “I was a former military officer. the decisions I can make as a military officer could kill people. The worst we’re going to have here is flooding, drowning or fire and you will be notified the instant I am of any of those instances.”

What I liked most was when Mr. Martin described Flagler Beach as “quirky” – intended “lovingly” – because it is. 

In my view, that proves Mr. Martin understands what is special about one of the last remaining slices of “Old Florida” on the east coast…

Congratulations and best of luck to Dale Martin – and the Flagler Beach City Commission – for coming to unanimous agreement in service to the citizens of this unique community. 

It’s nice to see a sense of hope, enthusiasm, and collegiality return to Flagler Beach!

Asshole           Volusia County School Board  

I recently received this screenshot of a now-deleted social media post by Volusia County Schools Recruitment & Retention – the arm of our school district scrambling to fill the critical shortage of qualified teachers ahead of the 2023-24 school year:

Wow. 

It appears Volusia County District Schools has taken to publishing quotations from the radical Marxist and murderous dictator Vladimir Lenin – father of the Red Terror during which hundreds-of-thousands were imprisoned, tortured, and exterminated between 1917 and 1922, along with countless other atrocities – as a means of inspiring its tepid recruitment efforts.

Of course, as soon as a smart watchdog pointed out the ominous connection for those who have clearly forgotten history at Volusia County Schools – the quotation quickly evaporated from the district’s public social media site…

So much for preserving the public record, eh? 

I don’t make this shit up, folks.

This week, I was reminded of another line once uttered by the district’s communist hero that our elected “representatives” on the Volusia County School Board seem to be rapidly embracing:

“Why should freedom of speech and freedom of press be allowed? Why should a government which is doing what it believes to be right allow itself to be criticized?”

–Vladimir Lenin

Sound familiar? 

Next Tuesday, the School Board will consider draconian changes to the way We, The Little People are permitted to provide input on public policy and interact with those we have elected to represent our interests on the dais of power. 

These proposed amendments to the policy on “Public Participation in School Board Meetings,” include:

Achtung!   

“Citizen’s remarks should be directed to the presiding officer or the Board as a whole and not to individual Board members. Speakers may not address Board members by name, and personal attacks against individual Board members, the Board as a whole, the Superintendent, or District staff are prohibited.”

“Speakers commenting on agenda items shall confine their comments solely to the agenda item being discussed. During the public hearing, speakers must limit their remarks to matters related to business of the District. Unless it is an agenda item, speakers are prohibited from discussing their own pending court cases and filed claims or complaints against the District or District personnel. Similarly, employees are prohibited from discussing any disciplinary matter that affects them individually unless it is an agenda item.”

“Speakers may not use any form of profanity or loud and/or abusive comments Speakers shall not engage in personal attacks, abusive language or other conduct which interferes with conduct of the meeting. The Chair has the right to terminate any speaker’s privilege to address the board if this rule is violated. Members of the audience should be courteous to all speakers and shall refrain from making audible comments or applauding speakers during the meeting.”

“Any action or noise that causes or creates an imminent threat of a disturbance or disruption, including but not limited to, clapping, applauding, heckling, shouting comments from the audience, or verbal outbursts in support or opposition to a speaker or his/her remarks is prohibited. No signs or placards shall be allowed in the Board meeting. Persons exiting the Board meeting shall do so quietly.”

You get the gist – and the list of controls and prohibitions goes on.  Ad nauseum… 

Don’t take my word for it, read the proposed amendments here: https://tinyurl.com/29rrw926

Penalties for any insolent Subject of the Realm who fails to properly genuflect before our Monarchical Clerisy – or is found guilty by imperial edict of the chair of “making impertinent or slanderous remarks” that offend the cognoscenti – will be subject to having their microphone disabled, the meeting recessed so board members can flee the glare of their constituents, or be physically removed from the public building… 

In my experience, self-serving politicians and entrenched bureaucrats always attempt to quash dissent, public participation, and civic activism by cloaking their overweening censorship under subjective “rules of decorum.”

It has become obvious to most that some local government entities would prefer taxpayers simply acquiesce to their symbolic “public meetings” – choreographed façades where predetermined policies and expenditures are rubber-stamped – while the ‘people’s business’ is hammered out behind closed doors, shaped by insider influence, far from the prying eyes of us rubes who are expected to pay the bills and keep our pieholes shut.   

In my experience, expansive rulemaking designed to enforce a one-sided notion of “decorum” is usually the first sign that an elected body is in serious trouble (à la The Lost City of Deltona) – and it’s no secret that the Volusia County School Board has been mired in deep doo-doo for years…

The symptoms of internal dysfunction begin with the discussion of “public participation” as a means of maintaining the “dignity” of the proceedings – which, by their very nature, should be contentious, participative, and filled with the vigorous debate of competing ideas – because the lofty decisions that come from these deliberations directly affect our children’s futures. 

Now, for reasons known only by those who reside in the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand, the School Board has reconfigured the meeting space, placing physical and subliminal barriers between the board members and those they serve, and now seek to outlaw substantive interaction from the public podium.

They don’t like applause.  They don’t like signs.  They don’t like your opinion. 

And they don’t like you.   (Unless they’re groveling for your vote come election time.)  

Despite what the district may believe based on their fascination with Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov – good citizenship is not silent subservience to an entrenched power structure convinced of its own infallibility – and the process of crafting inclusive public policies should not be at the comfort and convenience of a few hypersensitive prima donnas perched high on the dais of power.

In fact, the Florida Supreme Court has likened public meetings to “…a marketplace of ideas, so that the governmental agency may have sufficient input from the citizens who are going to be affected by the subsequent action of the [public body].”

If citizens cannot make themselves heard before their elected representatives at a public meeting – in a building paid for with their own hard-earned tax dollars – among politicians and senior staff who accept public funds to serve in the public interest – then where can they voice their passion on matters of civic importance?

In my view, it is time for those who hold elective office – especially on the Volusia County School Board – to be reminded that all political power is derived from the consent of the people.

Under our democratic system – that reminder comes at the ballot box…

Angel               Beach Advocate Richard Waters

This week Volusia County lost a tireless warrior for beach driving and access with the sad passing of civic activist Rich Waters. 

As a proud member of Sons of the Beach and a dedicated environmentalist, Rich worked hard to preserve our most precious natural resource, diligently conducting research, checking the facts, advocating for public access, and courageously sounding the klaxon. 

All Volusia County residents and visitors who enjoy our beautiful beaches owe a true debt of gratitude to Richard Waters.  

My sincere condolences to Karen Waters, and all of Richard’s countless friends and colleagues, on his immeasurable loss. 

He will be missed… 

Quote of the Week

“Concerns among the residents ranged from increased traffic and lack of medical infrastructure to support further growth, to the incompatibility of lot sizes and a decrease in quality of life, particularly for the estimated 170 property owners whose homes back up to the golf course.

Residents don’t want cookie-cutter houses, said Tomoka Oaks homeowners Barbara Handsman Doliner. They don’t care if the subdivision is gated or if the developer puts in sidewalks. That’s not the point, she said to the board.

“The point is the shoe doesn’t fit,” Doliner said. “This Cinderella will never have that shoe fit, no matter how many different ways it’s going to be packaged to us.”

–Editor Jarleene Almenas, writing in the Ormond Beach Observer, “Too important to rush through: Planning Board asks developers of Tomoka Oaks golf course to reevaluate plans,” Friday, July 14, 2023

A tip o’ the cap to the Ormond Beach Planning Board and city staff for tapping the brakes and carefully considering the myriad issues surrounding a proposal to shoehorn 276 cracker boxes onto the former Tomoka Oaks Golf Course – a plan many believe will have devastating impacts on existing residents and already fouled traffic on busy Nova Road. 

Look, I’m not ready to go crazy with fawning accolades for Ormond Beach’s planning apparatus – because history proves that, when it comes to development issues, there’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip…

According to the Observer’s report, during a recent public meeting to consider the development agreement, Planning Board Chair Doug Thomas – who lives in Tomoka Oaks – said, “I’ve been on this Planning Board for 33 years, and I’m going to tell you: This is in the top five of the most important issues I’ve ever heard.  And I am not going to go along with forcing this through — If it takes us two months, if it takes us three months.”

Chairman Thomas is right. 

And, if development in Tomoka Oaks is inevitable, then residents – and their elected representatives on the Ormond Beach City Commission – should demand the “highest and best” product to ensure property values and the quality of life of existing residents.

As board member Al Jorczak said:

“We should not be looking at just augmenting what has been done in the past,” Jorczak said. “We should be looking for excellence — what can we do that goes above and beyond what we’ve already done, that helps make Ormond Beach the jewel on the East Coast that people want to come here and live.”

Regardless of where you live in Volusia County, this is one to watch…

And Another Thing!

Visiting Volusia County beaches this summer?

Prepare to self-rescue. 

In a disturbing exposé in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week, reporter Sheldon Gardner explained that Volusia County Beach Safety and Ocean Rescue is experiencing a chronic shortage of lifeguards.

More troubling, it appears they are also unable to adequately manage the ones they have…

By any metric, protecting 47-miles of coastline is a difficult and essential task – currently covered by what Volusia County Beach Safety estimate at some 44 full-time lifeguards/EMTs and “about” 190 part-time lifeguards currently on the roster.

I guess +/- “190” is close enough for government work, eh? 

According to a News-Journal interview with Beach Safety Director Andy Ethridge, “…about 65 of the part-timers haven’t worked this summer. Some of them are traveling or have other jobs but like to remain on the books so they can return to work for Beach Safety when they want to.

“But if they’re not actively working for me it doesn’t help me. So it sounds bad when I say I have 200 lifeguards but only 120 of them are working,” he said. “That’s not a good look. So we’re trying to find out ways to motivate them and get them in here more often.”

Wait.  Not a good look?  

Back when I was a productive member of society, responsible for providing for the public’s safety – when I scheduled someone to work, they were expected to show up on-time and prepared to perform the task they were being paid for.

Or they didn’t work there anymore… 

In fact, in my former agency, part-time personnel were required to maintain the same training and readiness standards as full-time employees – and worked a mandatory number of hours each month as a condition of keeping their position. 

In my view, if you want to count yourself in a vital public safety role – then you should be willing to serve in that capacity when and where you are needed.  In over three-decades in public service, I have never heard of a situation where part-time employees keep themselves “on the books” and work – or not – at their leisure. 

That ‘do what ‘cha wanna’ policy makes it virtually impossible to adequately schedule qualified personnel, plan for seasonal needs, or maintain good order and discipline in the lifeguard corps. 

As I’m fond of asking, how’s things around your place of business?   

Outside of reasonable accommodation, do you permit employees to dictate when and where they will work, then play a guessing game whether your operation will be adequately staffed day-to-day? 

I didn’t think so.  Because that is the textbook definition of mismanagement…

In my experience, people work to make a life and provide for their family.

In Volusia County – the cost of living is increasing exponentially, while wages remain relatively stagnant – with options increasingly limited to $15 an hour warehouse scutwork at (insert most recent mega-logistics center here). 

Ironically, $15 an hour is the same wage offered to part-time lifeguards – while full-time employees fall into a salary range of $36,691 to $60,029 for this dangerous and demanding role.

So, if Director Ethridge wants to “motivate” his lifeguards – I suggest our ‘powers that be’ in DeLand start prioritizing what is important – and what is not – then pay those brave souls who enter the ocean to save lives what they are worth.

I fear if the Volusia County Council continues to do nothing, all beachgoing residents and visitors can do is wait helplessly – hoping their name doesn’t follow the next grim headline, “Another victim dies after being caught in rip current on Volusia County beach…”

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

Hey, taxpayers of Daytona Beach – welcome to the restaurant business!

According to a report this week by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Mexican-based Grupo Anderson’s – the venerated international hospitality consortium with over 50 business units and a portfolio of 15 brands operating in four countries – will be partnering with the citizens of Daytona Beach to bring Señor Frog’s to a publicly owned beachfront lot in the city’s core tourist area.   

What?  You don’t know anything about running a bar and nightclub? 

No worries, Grupo Anderson’s will be doing the heavy lifting. 

According to the News-Journal, “Señor Frog’s has agreed to lease the city-owned property just north of Harvey Avenue for the next 50 years, and the city will give the project a boost by covering $500,000 of its construction costs. The city will also pay a broker’s commission subsidy of $61,625.”

What’s the return on investment for Daytona Beach taxpayers?

Well, the City of Daytona Beach will serve as the eatery’s landlord – collecting monthly rent of $10,000 – doubling to $20,000 per month by the sixth year of operation – with a 3% annual increase beginning in year seven. 

In addition, “The city will also charge Señor Frog’s percentage rent, collecting 3% of annual restaurant revenue that exceeds $5 million. The 3% payment on all sales over $5 million can provide an additional $30,000 per $1 million in sales.

The city is also getting a $9 million development on the .75-acre parcel between the beach and Ocean Avenue that’s been empty for decades and only used for parking in recent years.”

To help grease the skids, in addition to approving the $500K contribution and 50-year lease – concessions were granted “…that includes land development code waivers to allow the bar use and to reduce the minimum number of parking spaces required.”

I’m just curious, but which department at City Hall will be responsible for auditing the books at Grupo Anderson’s to ensure the accuracy of reported revenues?

Or will our new business partner be on the honor system? 

So, how’s things at your mom-and-pop shop?   

Anyone at City Hall bending over backwards to help cover your construction costs, run interference for permitting hurdles, or offer flexible operating hours in exchange for a slice of the pie when (and if) you become successful? 

No? 

According to a report by Charles Guarria who covered the announcement for Hometown News Volusia, to her credit, when the City Commission voted as the Community Redevelopment Agency – Commissioner Stacy Cantu cast the lone “No” vote for gifting Grupo Anderson’s the $500,000 buildout spiff and brokerage fee.

“I don’t believe our CRA should be giving them a $500,000 buildout,” she commented the next day in a phone interview. Commissioner Cantu has nothing against Señor Frog’s opening in Daytona Beach. However, the $500,000 and $61,625 amounts didn’t sit well with her. Commissioner Cantu would have preferred to use the money for already established bars and restaurants.”

As I see it, therein lies the problem of a municipality using tax dollars like a private hedge fund…

It doesn’t matter if taxpayers would prefer that public funds be used to repair potholes, provide water and sewer utilities, fund police and fire protection, and provide for the common good – residents of Daytona Beach are now part of a pooled investment fund with diversified interests in real estate, hospitality, office space, and multi-family housing.

I’m not sure that’s how any of this is supposed to work in a free, fair, and open marketplace – but after decades of dissuading entrepreneurial investment, penalizing existing businesses, and erecting so many hurdles that many new enterprises have established themselves in neighboring communities – it’s one way of stopping malignant blight and igniting interest in redevelopment.

In a June 22, 2023, article in the News-Journal, “Daytona Beach hopes buying $2 million of mostly blighted land will help start a renaissance,” we learned:

“Within the course of four hours Wednesday night, city commissioners took a series of votes that maybe someday will be remembered as the spark that ignited the redevelopment desperately needed east of Clyde Morris Boulevard.

Commissioners agreed to spend nearly $2 million buying privately owned property in Midtown and on the beachside that’s hoped to become the site of a new hotel, restaurant, shops, a movie theater, office space, multi-family housing, and an African-American museum.

Commissioners also voted to donate 10 city-owned lots, some of which are in the impoverished Midtown neighborhood, to two agencies that will use the land to build affordable housing.”

Look, no one likes a rum drink by the beach more than I do – and I am the first to scream and kick that something must change in the Halifax area.  In my view, a destination like Señor Frog’s is a wonderful addition to Daytona Beach and has the potential to serve as a catalyst for good things in our down-at-the-heels core tourist area. 

Now that the spark has been struck with public investment in for-profit interests – perhaps it is time for government to get out of the marketplace – and work to make the permitting and approval process easier for private businesses to open and thrive without the need for “creative” (and risky) public subsidies and corporate welfare schemes…