Hey, Kids!

Loyal readers of these often-irreverent screeds know that if you analyze them with the right kind of eyes, hold your nose and suspend disbelief for a brief moment – you can often find a kernel of truth – an almost precognitive foresight that gives a glimpse of our future here on Florida’s Fun Coast.

I don’t know where it comes from. . .  Some divine gift of political clairvoyance, I suppose.

Or maybe, like you, I’ve just seen it all before?

Way back in those heady days of 2017, I wrote a prescient little ditty about a mysterious “Russian” developer – d/b/a Protogroup, Inc. – a company owned by Alexey Lysich, currently of Palm Coast by way of St. Petersburg (and I don’t mean ‘heaven’s waiting room’ over in Hillsborough County), who everyone who is anyone in the Halifax area pinned their hopes on to build the next big thing on our beleaguered beachside.

Last June I said, “Anyone who has driven down A-1-A recently has seen the gash in the sand that we are told will be the foundation of the towering twin-spires of the Daytona Beach Convention Hotel & Condominiums – a $185 million beachfront monstrosity that is being constructed by Russian developer Alexey Lysich’s Protogroup.

The ground has been cleared and the pilings driven into place – the foundation of this spectacular new addition is ready to go – and everything is in place.

Except the financing.”

At the time, according to a very informative article in The Daytona Beach News-Journal:

“In a 2012 foreclosure sale, Florida-company Protogroup, which lists Lysich as vice president and his brother as president, bought 4.5 acres, just south of Seabreeze Boulevard, for $6.3 million. Protogroup’s vision for the property is a massive 1.1 million-square-foot complex with two 300-foot-plus oceanfront towers connected by a catwalk suspended over the Oakridge Boulevard beach approach to maintain public access to the sand.”

The original plan called for the convention center and condominiums to be open for business by the fall of 2015, but, like most ambitious projects here on the Fun Coast – from Rock-n-Roll hotels to homeless shelters – months dragged into years and, well, here we are. . .

It was – as our ‘Rich & Powerful’ like to say – the latest, greatest “Game Changer” – the panacea project that would save us rubes from ourselves and cure every ill we face from crippling economic blight to head lice.

Of course, former Daytona Beach Mayor Glenn Ritchey got in on the act and took personal credit for bringing the project to life after he single-handedly negotiated the deal with Mr. Lysich through the aid of a Russian translator. . .

At the time, we read that Mr. Lysich and his family sunk a ton of their own money into the project – which I found most admirable.  After all, most developers would have just thrown some money around the right political campaigns and reaped the largesse of their elected hired hands.

Hell, if Mr. Lysich had played his cards right, I’ll bet Volusia County and the City of Daytona Beach would have thrown enough money at him to more than cover his overhead and reduce his personal liability in the project to a few rubles.

But not Protogroup.

Apparently, they wanted to finance their development the old-fashioned way:  By borrowing the money from uber-wealthy foreign nationals seeking resident alien status in the United States. . .

Protogroup was said to be seeking investors under the EB-5 visa program, which some described as “murky, loosely regulated, and prone to abuse.” 

Then, the News-Journal revealed some disturbing information that an Alexey Lysich of St. Petersburg, Russia may have been involved with an off-shore bank account in the Seychelles  – a practice which is perfectly legal in some countries.

Unfortunately – and I know this is incredibly hard to believe – off-shore banking is sometimes used by unscrupulous people and businesses as a mechanism to launder money, hide assets and avoid the payment of U.S. taxes. . .

But none of that worried our ‘powers that be’ because our collective fears were assuaged when Mr. Lysich said that “. . . he doesn’t think it’s him, and that it could be anyone because “it’s a leak.” He had no further comment about it. He also said his family has no connection with the Russian government or contact with President Vladimir Putin.”

“Money is money. It’s U.S. dollars that I pay to the general contractor,” he said.”

Except, according to Protogroup’s general contractor, W.G. Yates Construction – they haven’t been paid by Mr. Lysich’s company in over three-months. . .

Well, money being money and all, last week the City of Daytona Beach saw fit to slap a Stop Work Order on the project – effectively putting the brakes on the spires that now sit like a whistling ghost tower – a gray monolithic monument to everything that’s wrong with our struggling core tourist area.

For a few anxious days, Fun Coasters were riveted by headlines such as “Stalled $192 million project causes worry,” as we sat in the shadow of the dull gray skeleton of the half-finished project.

Even our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley, felt the need to insinuate himself into the discussion (?) by doing what our elected county officials do best – taking sides in matters that don’t concern them.

According to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Old Ed said, “. . .he placed his faith in the statements by Protogroup’s Lysich that contractors had been paid, that a new, yet-to-be-named contractor was in the area and that new permits would be issued soon.”

“I have no reason to doubt that,” Kelley said. “I’d rather be optimistic about it than to say that it’s gloom and doom. I don’t believe they would have gone this far, put this much effort into the project, just to stop right now. Who are you going to believe? If they were paid in advance why would there be outstanding invoices? One of them is misstating something.”

Because – even if only two entities on earth know the facts – as a sitting member of the Volusia County Council, Old Ed Kelley is genetically programmed to immediately side with the “developer du jour” in all matters large and small.

That’s what passes for effective leadership here, folks.

The one person in our community who explained this dismal situation with perfect clarity was Tony Grippa – former chairman of that time-buying exercise known as the ‘Beachside Redevelopment Committee’ – whose bureaucratically neutered recommendations are now growing a thick patina of dust on executive credenza’s in city and county offices up-and-down A-1-A – called for an investigation by the Daytona Beach City Commission.

“I have real concerns, given what I know about Yates Construction’s reputation,” Grippa said. “If they were willing to continue the work, it’s troubling that the investors are not moving forward with the project. 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.”

Amen.

Make no mistake, it’s not just the City of Daytona Beach that lacks a clear strategy for the revitalization of our beleaguered beachside – our most important economic engine.  When it comes to “vision” – our current crop of elected officials on the dais of power in DeLand (with the lone exception of Councilwoman Heather Post) have the foresight of one of those cave-dwelling salamanders who spend their slimy little lives in total darkness, slithering around in a dark hole in the ground.

After all, Old Ed and the Funky Bunch have uber-wealthy insiders with an obscene profit motive to do their thinking for them.

I ended my 2017 piece entitled “Money is money, Fuggedaboutit…,” with the following ominous statement, “Look, I wish Mr. Lysich well – and I hope his mega-project does everything for Daytona Beach that Mayor Ritchey promises it will – but we’ve been fooled before – and I’m not sure we can afford another boondoggle on the beach.”

But I think Mr. Grippa summed it up better when he said earlier this week, “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.”

Gentle reader, the stakes are high.  Just don’t look for clarity anytime soon – because things just got murkier. . .

On Wednesday, we learned that Protogroup – now d/b/a PDA Trading Inc. – owned by Alexey Lysich and his father, Petr, has hired a new general contractor – currently known as Gryffin Construction Corporation.

Even with a new contractor selected, given the questions that remain about on-going lawsuits, past performance claims and other issues  – we now have no confidence that the same thing won’t happen again a few days, weeks or months from now.

And that could have a devastating impact on a core tourist area clinging to life by what’s left of its fingernails. . .

I, for one, join with Mr. Grippa in calling for an immediate investigation of the circumstances that led to this abrupt work stoppage – and the subsequent hiring of a company that apparently reactivated the corporation with the State of Florida just three days after the stop work order was issued – so that wary citizens, potential beachside investors and entrepreneurs can have some assurance that this project won’t wither and die like so many “game changers” before it.

Like a smart friend of mine recently said, “Get out the popcorn.  This ones going to have a lot of twists and turns. . .”

Indeed.

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:             Cici Brown

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual international campaign to increase awareness and raise funds for research, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure.

Last week, Cici Brown – wife of Brown & Brown board chairman J. Hyatt Brown – bravely spoke about her battle with breast cancer at a wellness luncheon hosted by Halifax Health.

I learned something from Mrs. Brown’s experience:  Some 85% of women with breast cancer have no family history of the disease.  I also learned that 90% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer survive due to technological advances in treatment and care methodologies.

According to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Halifax Health now offers the 3-D mammogram, which has allowed doctors to discover 40% more early stage breast cancers by permitting them a view of layers of breast tissue instead of a single image provided by standard two-dimensional mammograms.

The Center for Disease Control’s United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends that “. . .if you are 50 to 74 years old, be sure to have a screening mammogram every two years. If you are 40 to 49 years old, talk to your doctor about when to start and how often to get a screening mammogram.”

Kudos to Mrs. Brown for having the courage to speak out as a cancer survivor and educate other women on the importance of getting regular screening.

Asshole:          Daytona Beach International Airport

Look, there’s enough blame to go around on this one – but DIA shill Jay Cassens just happened to become the face of this latest ‘economic development’ boondoggle – so that county-funded bunch takes the cake this week.

Just three-years after Volusia County economic development types ponied up some $2.3 million in public incentives to lure JetBlue to Daytona “International” Airport – the carrier has announced plans to give area residents the slip as it moves to more lucrative markets and works to consolidate “underperforming” routes.

In luring the airline to Daytona Beach, our “movers & shakers” went so far as to develop a “travel bank” among local companies – to include Brown & Brown, Consolidated-Tomoka Land Company, International Speedway Corporation and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – which agreed to spend over a quarter-million dollars over two-years with JetBlue if they agreed to grace us with a one flight per day to New York’s JFK.

Add to that some $25,000 in free upgrades to the airlines gate location at DIA (that you and I paid for) and it was a pretty good deal – for JetBlue anyway.

Now, in typical Volusia County fashion, those of us who pay the bills and suffer in utter silence are left holding the bag on another disappointing “investment” that never seemed to live up the hype. . .

Not to worry – according to the always optimistic Chamber of Commerce set – you and I got a fantastic return on our multi-million-dollar outlay in “landing fees, facility charges, concessions such as airport parking fees, rental cars, food and beverage purchases at the airport’s restaurants (they have more than one?), and purchases at the airport’s gift shop. . .”  

My ass.

Look, I’m just spit-balling here, but that’s a butt-load of magazines, Tic-Tacs and bottled water. . .

Why is it that DIA officials crow, ad nauseum – month-in-month-out – that passenger traffic at DIA looks like some out-of-control airlift with hundreds-of-thousands of people flying in and out of Daytona Beach (which essentially consists of Delta and American giving folks a lift to and from their regional hubs).

Riddle me this:

If DIA is such a major success – with demand set to increase year-over-year –  then why in the hell can’t we attract national air carriers without pissing away millions in public funds, private pledges and other over-the-top incentives then demanding that our business community get down on their hands-and-knees to beg them to service our feeble market?

And what’s to prohibit Mr. Cassens and the crew at DIA from ramming yet another ‘next big thing’ down our throats with tall-tales of all the ways you and I will “benefit” from throwing good money after bad in the latest, greatest corporate welfare giveaway?

Angel:             Eddie Hennessy

 I often pick on The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s business writer Clayton Park for his near-constant cheer leading efforts on behalf of our ‘movers & shakers’ as he continues to throw Chanel No. 5 on the hog.

But when he’s right – he’s right.

In this mornings paper is a wonderful article about one man’s efforts to almost single-handedly bring positive change to our beleaguered beachside.

By any measure, the multi-million-dollar restoration of the Streamline Hotel is a visual metaphor for the rest of the Halifax area – a dilapidated blight generator that then Chief Mike Chitwood once referred to as a “Den of Iniquity” – a once grand art deco style hotel which holds the distinction as the “Birthplace of NASCAR” after Bill France and friends met in the rooftop bar to hammer-out details of what would become racings sanctioning body.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of decrepitude, local entrepreneur Eddie Hennessy turned his vision into reality when he spent some $6 million to completely gut and rebuild this grand hotel – opening to great fanfare and success last year.

In the process, Hennessy generated some much-needed publicity for the “World’s Most Famous Beach” when the hotel’s renovation was prominently featured on a nationally televised reality show.

Now, Hennessy is breathing new life into areas surrounding his signature project.

Earlier this week plans were released for the imminent demolition of the former Shell’s restaurant property – another blighted shithole that has sat vacant for years.

According to Clayton Park’s excellent piece, “Streamline owner looks to ‘revitalize’ beachside”:

“He (Hennessy) confirmed that he is demolishing the long vacant former Shells seafood restaurant directly south of the Streamline to make way for a yet-to-be announced beachside redevelopment project.

The development will include most of that block as well as the block immediately west of it which fronts East International Speedway Boulevard.

It’s all part of his plan to “clean up the town,” he said, declining to divulge further details at this time.

“Streamline is the catalyst to the vision that I have,” he said. “I want to give Daytona Beach what it deserves as the World’s Most Famous Beach. It needs to look like it.”

 From the “No Shit?” file, Nancy Keefer, CEO of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, said of Hennessy’s bold plans, “It is important for the private sector to step up,” when it comes to effecting positive change on the besieged beachside.

Who else is going to do it, Nancy? 

Our ‘powers that be’ in Ormond Beach?

Those dullards on the Volusia County Council?

The Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce?

These ineffectual do-nothings have had decades to do something – anything – to fundamentally change the cycle of blight, dilapidation and hopelessness that has left our core tourist area in tatters, created an artificial economy of haves-and-have-nots and perpetuated this shit-show of abject corruption and neglect that has crippled a once great tourist destination.

Don’t take my word for it – take a leisurely drive down A-1-A from Ormond Beach to Daytona Beach Shores.  It’ll open your eyes.

Now, I join the growing chorus of concerned citizens who are begging the City of Daytona Beach and other beachside communities to get the hell out of Mr. Hennessy’s way, remove all bureaucratic impediments standing in the way of his bold vision and do everything possible to support entrepreneurial efforts to bring real economic development to the Halifax area.

Trust me.  It’s now or never.

Asshole:          Daytona Beach City Commission – First Step Project

Like everything else in Volusia County, we can’t even build and operate a homeless shelter without some weird sleight-of-hand between a public entity and an uber-wealthy government insider.

In fact, I’ve made a game out of it based upon the old “Six Degrees of Separation” theory that claims any two people on earth are just six or fewer acquaintance links apart.

I call it One Degree of Volusia.

Invariably, a curious citizen can link most any corporate handout or sweetheart deal involving the massive transfer of public funds or assets to a private, for-profit interest with any member of our secret camera stellate at the Volusia CEO Business Alliance with just one move.

Try it sometime.

Last week, Daytona Beach City Commissioners moved to sell fill dirt from the 626-acre publicly-owned site in the pine scrub off ISB where the new First Step homeless assistance center is ostensibly going to be built sometime in the next decade.

In keeping with what city officials have described as “value engineering,” by unanimous vote, last week the City Commission approved an amended agreement with P$S Paving which allows the contractor to dig two or more “retention ponds” with a “target volume” of 40-acres (by comparison, the First Step site sits on about 10-acres?) for an estimated haul of 1.4 million cubic yards of extremely lucrative fill dirt.

You see, quality dirt is important to Florida developers – especially during periods of explosive growth.

It’s called supply and demand, baby.

Given our sensitive topography, dirt is necessary for filling, stabilizing and raising the grade of building sites.  With the current sprawl of residential developments that have been approved along the spine of east Volusia from Farmton to the Flagler County line – suitable fill dirt is in short supply – and he who controls a massive quantity of it can, in essence, set the market and become incredibly wealthy in the process.

Under the terms of the arrangement, P$S Paving will pay the citizens of Daytona Beach just $1.50 per cubic yard – or $2.00 per cubic yard if they are permitted to dig more ponds on the city land.

Now, city officials and other “experts” they spoke with claim that after permitting and overhead, fill dirt excavators net just a couple bucks per cubic yard.  Hell, to hear them tell it – it’s hardly worth the effort. . .

Bullshit.

Look, don’t take my word for it.  Do a quick Google search on what you would pay per cubic yard for fill dirt on the open market.

Go ahead – I found it selling locally for as high as $25.33 per cubic yard.

As I understand it, once permits are obtained, P$S Paving will pay the City of Daytona Beach $1.06 million – and an additional $1.06 million once the dirt is excavated.  To facilitate the deal, P$S Paving also agreed to knock $1.06 million off the $1.62 million it was charging the City for “site preparation work.”

The City of Daytona Beach is claiming that the deal will reduce the stratospheric cost of the shelter project by as much as $2 million.

At the rate costs on this mismanaged boondoggle have been rising – that’s like throwing a deckchair off the Queen Mary. . .

Ultimately, under the terms of this arrangement, which, in my opinion, has absolutely nothing to do with the “site preparation work” the company was originally contracted for – P$S Paving stands to pocket between $7 million and $14 million on the deal.

Now, way back when I accepted public funds and served in the public interest, I always felt that government had both a moral and legal obligation to sell public assets to the “highest and best” bidder, or at public auction, following a statutorily mandated publication process set in the best interest of the community.

Why?  Because its good public policy, that’s why.

It’s also the law.

When you factor in the massive lift station, with a capacity hundreds of times more than what would be required for the First Step project, and one gets the sneaking suspicion that the remaining 616-acres of property – which will ultimately have some 40-acres of retention and water features – is being groomed for another, more lucrative, use that has absolutely noting to do with warehousing the homeless?

I do.

In my view, it has all the earmarks of another “lifestyle” community.

Time will tell.

It’s this messy blend of public/private – a shell game that involves hiring a prolific government contractor for one purpose, then conveniently “amending” the agreement to include the potential of a multi-million-dollar windfall for that same contractor – without any competitive process to ensure that the long-suffering citizens of Daytona Beach are receiving anything close to fair market value for their property.

It stinks.

Add to that City Manager Jim Chisholm’s arbitrary decisions to “value engineer” this out-of-control debacle by simply transferring construction costs to the First Step Shelter Board – a multi-disciplinary group of volunteers who are working diligently to raise operating funds, yet have been treated like mushrooms by the City since its inception – and you get the idea that things may well be worse than any of us know.

I guess it’s good to be connected.

It’s even better to be a sitting member of the Volusia CEO Business Alliance – like Tim Phillips, president of P$S Paving. . .

See what I mean?

I’m just spit-balling here – but aren’t we supposed to have an Attorney General in this state charged with investigating public/private partnerships when they detect a whiff of shit? 

What happened?

Quote of the Week:

“It is time to stop approving further residential development on the city’s west side until we understand all the consequences and create a long-term strategy for responsible development. Developers should not be the only people who will benefit from the growth in our community, while the rest of us pay the price.”

–Linda Smiley, president of Citizens 4 Responsible Development, writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s Letters to the Editor, “Put the brakes on intense growth,” Tuesday, October 9, 2018

And Another Thing!

Eventually, the Volusia County Council is going to have to make a decision.

Recently, those dullards we elected to represent our interests on the dais of power in DeLand kicked the can a little further down the road on perhaps the most import decision of their tenure – the selection of our next county manager.

But rather than show bold leadership and move forward with efforts to select the best and brightest executive we can afford – there is “disagreement” among our elected officials as to how best to simply begin the process.

In my view, Volusia County employs some incredibly smart people who are infinitely capable of gathering a comprehensive list of qualified candidates.

We also have very talented public servants in every municipality in the county who routinely perform complex background investigations, gather open source information, interview former employers, character references, perform neighborhood canvasses and learn everything humanly possible about potential public employees.

Instead, the Volusia County Council has chosen to employ their patented political insulation tactic of paying thousands of taxpayer dollars to a contractor to do what they are infinitely capable of doing for themselves.

Now, council members will hear pitches from two headhunter firms before selecting one to represent our collective interests for around $25,000.

In turn, the winning consultant will trot out the usual list of “Managers in Transition” and a few from the Great Frozen North who are looking for a retirement gig in the Sunshine State.

The Intrepid Councilwoman Heather Post is right – this is the most important decision the council will make.

But why not make it an open, transparent and inclusive process – conducted in the bright light that only open government laws can ensure – then remove the middleman and make this a countywide selection that we can all be proud of?

Or, maybe they should just cut the shim-sham and do what will ultimately happen anyway = Just put it to a secret vote of the Volusia CEO Business Alliance and be done with it. . .

Here’s hoping that all members of the loyal Barker’s View Tribe will take a minute this weekend to make a donation to the American Red Cross or the relief and recovery organization of your choice in support of those affected by Hurricane Michael.

You’ll be glad you did – and God knows they need the help.  Thank you.

Looks like we may have our first touch of “Fall Weather” on Saturday morning!  I don’t know about you – but I’m ready for it. . .

Barker’s View will be on a brief hiatus next week, taking a short ‘pause for the cause’ as Patti and I take a few days away.

As always, have a great weekend, kids!

 

 

 

 

In September 2016, a friend and I set off to explore the coastal panhandle from Panama City Beach east to the quaint fishing community of St. Marks, then south to Steinhatchee. 

With Hurricane Michael set to impact the area sometime tomorrow, I was reminded of that remarkable trip – and the beauty of Florida’s Forgotten Coast. . .

Originally published September 2016:

How about we ease off government and politics for a minute and have a little adventure to clear our mind, eh?

Last weekend, my best friend of 50 years and I took off on a lark.

Just bugged out.

I threw a comfortable pair of shorts, a well-worn fishing shirt, and my toothbrush in a Goruck SD-15 rucksack, packed the Yeti Hopper with a half-case of iced-down Tecate and a few soft drinks, filled up with a full tank of freedom then pointed the SUV northwest.

Our loose mission was to explore Florida’s “Forgotten Coast” – roughly the undeveloped area between Mexico Beach on the Gulf of Mexico to St. Marks on Apalachee Bay – see the sights along the way and assess the damage from Hurricane Hermine.

Our trip to the panhandle took us around Jacksonville on I-295, through Orange Park, then west on the terribly monotonous I-10.  Once past Tallahassee, and a few miles west of Marianna, we steered south on Highway 231 through Alford and Youngstown, not much more than dips in the road – dots on the map, really.

The drive along 231 was very reminiscent of some of the back-roads I’ve traveled in my native east Tennessee – collapsing clapboard buildings, an occasional pecan orchard, and rural frontage dotted with small roadside vendors selling local honey, homemade quilts, and hanging dried gourd birdhouses.

We spent Saturday night in Panama City – a tacky, slightly down-at-the-heels beachside “resort” community which reminded me a whole lot of Daytona Beach.

A town that is obviously facing some of the same issues we experience here.

For instance, one of the first things you notice driving south over the causeway – because its literally all you can see – is the colossal, monolithic masonry wall that is the 765 unit Laketown Warf condominiums.

This immense structure looks like one of those massive collective housing projects from the former Soviet Union – gray, bland, and so incredibly vast it completely obscures everything around it.

So big that the tourists that inhabit it look like ants crawling along its dreadful exterior catwalks.

Interestingly, the history of the project is not unlike what we routinely experience here:  A big-talking, ego-maniacal developer rides into town fancying himself a southern-fried Donald Trump, throws money around until he gets what he wants, then goes broke mid-stream.

Eventually, someone else comes along and fashions, on-the-cheap, a toned-down version of the Bellagio-style opulence the original speculator promised everyone was coming before he went bankrupt and fled back to the outskirts of Destin.

The developer – a shameless self-promoter named Jerry L. Wallace – even published an autobiography entitled, “Dealmaker: A Billionaire’s Blueprint for Success” in which he refers to himself as the “consummate dealmaker,” a “pioneer and trendsetter,” etc.

Unfortunately, the book had to be reissued when Forbes reported that Wallace’s actual net worth was substantially south of a billion dollars. . .

Like any good “tell ‘em what they want to hear” speculative developer, Wallace countered that the book’s re-release was simply to generate “a broader appeal.”

Indeed.

As for Panama City Beach, the extreme density of beachfront development, rundown goofy golf links, cheap t-shirt stores, a smattering of theme hotels and a few weird Styrofoam sculpted gift shops stand shoulder-to-shoulder making it impossible to see the beach, or even the wide expanse of the Gulf, until you get a glimpse driving past one of the small public beach walkovers with even smaller public parking areas.

We’re here.  L.A. – Lower Alabama – the original “Redneck Riviera.”

What they don’t have is a lack of occupancy.  Things are booming in PCB, even after Labor Day.

After several attempts to find a room on the beach – which were selling for $185 per night with a two-night minimum – we found that the beachside was almost completely sold out, so, we found a comfortable chain hotel approximately 15-minutes inland.

I’m not sure what they’re doing right, but I suspect Panama City’s close proximity to south Alabama and Georgia is the difference between here and there.  Most of the visitors we saw hailed from the deep south and families with small children made up the bulk of a very diverse demographic who appeared to be spending freely at the hotels, restaurants, and tourist shops both on and off Front Beach Road.

We stopped at a sprawling restaurant just off the main tourist drag called Angelo’s Steak Pit for a couple of drinks, a huge 32-ounce Porterhouse, and a thick Ribeye of dubious pedigree.  Let’s just say when you leave a steakhouse lamenting, “Something’s up?  Was that beef?”  Seriously.  You’re in for a long evening. . .

On Sunday morning we got up early on Central Time and began moving east along US Route 98, the longest US road in Florida, stretching along the southern coast of the panhandle with some of the most spectacular views in the state.

Across the East Bay bridge and through the sprawling Tyndall Air Force Base, home of the 325^th Fighter Wing and First Air Force.

The base is bisected by Route 98, allowing interesting views of a variety of military infrastructure and glimpses of the flight line through the trees with gray fighter jets and expansive maintenance hangers; then farther along we pass a cool target drone launch site with UAV’s on pads in a tight semicircle facing aerial gunnery ranges over the Gulf of Mexico.

The easternmost sections of Tyndall AFB include long stretches of heavy pine scrub marked with ominous signs announcing “Ordnance Disposal Area – Keep Out.”

We did.

Along the way we stopped and explored the town of Port St. Joe – a small beach community that is doing it right – with charming shops in the historic downtown, ample parks and playgrounds, and a great public marina on St. Joseph Bay that bills itself as the ‘Friendliest Marina in Florida.”

I found a great fly rod and reel at Port St. Joe’s Bluewater Outfitters – a small, but overstocked, all-things-fishing shop centrally located in the Piggly-Wiggly Plaza.

Interestingly, it’s also where we did some gift-shopping for the wives at home. . .

Moving east, we toured Cape San Blas, a seventeen-mile strand on the barrier peninsula with considerable stretches of open, pet-friendly white sand beach culminating in the beautiful St. Joseph State Park and Bay Aquatic Preserve, known locally as “The Point.”

The area has a very casual, laid back feel populated by pastel rental homes, vacation bungalows and those weird geodesic domes, all built on stilts along beautiful Highway 30E.

We stopped at the Cape Trading Post, a small family-owned store offering a limited grocery selection, local souvenirs and a fully stocked liquor store with a very friendly staff, impeccably clean restrooms and cold refreshments.

Leaving the Cape’s thin spit of land, we observed an incredibly unique ecosystem that brought the slash pine scrub right up to the soft white sands of the Gulf of Mexico.  Similar to what you would see on the banks of a freshwater lake in Central Florida.

We both agreed – well worth the drive.

We continued along the coast passing St. Vincent Sound and into the quaint village of Apalachicola, a community of 2,200 with that true “Old Florida” feel of a small coastal town.

Now, everyone has heard of Florida’s “Oyster Capital of the World.”  But until you visit it’s hard to image just what a beautiful, unrefined pearl the City of Apalachicola truly is.

Remnants of the past are evident in the community’s beautiful Victorian homes and the shacks housing rough, hardworking oystermen and other maritime businesses operating along the expansive waterfront.

Apalachicola’s historic downtown, featuring small shops and fashionable boutiques, is an active participant of Florida’s Main Street Program, a technical assistance service managed by the Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources.

Everywhere you look leaves the unmistakable impression that Apalachicola is intent on building their brand by fiercely protecting that which makes the area so unique.  They are doing this by following the highly successful “Main Street” philosophy that has been so transformative in the City of Deland and elsewhere.

The Mayor of Americus, Georgia, Russell Thomas said of this collaborative effort, “For the longest time, we all waited for a white knight to ride into town and fix the problems.  But the Main Street people made us realize that the only way to get it done right was to do it ourselves.”

Sound familiar?

After our windshield assessment of Apalachicola’s beautiful downtown and scenic neighborhoods, we stopped off at the Boss Oyster, a funky little seafood shack which, according to the menu, reassures that your oysters are chilled from “bay to belly.”

Incredibly, the menu offers oysters 29 ways – from Oyster St. George, featuring asparagus, garlic, shallots and Colby cheese, to Oyster Monterrey topped with hand-picked blue crab, sherry, and jack cheese.

Unfortunately, due to the effects of Hurricane Hermine, the Boss Oyster was serving only Louisiana oysters during our visit.

That said, we each had a bowl of some of the most exquisite oyster stew I’ve ever eaten with no less than a half-dozen of the tasty saltwater bivalves swimming in a luscious, heavy cream-based broth.

While my buddy enjoyed a dozen more steamed, I devoured a lightly dressed fried oyster Po-Boy washed down with a cold glass of proper sweet tea.  The great food and scenic location made for a memorable lunch overlooking the beautiful Apalachee Bay at the western extent of the “Big Bend” coastline.

Apalachicola is one of those places that you simply can’t forget.

As we prepared to head across the bridge to Eastpoint and on to St. George Island, we took a quick look back for a nice hotel the girls would enjoy on our inevitable return to this unspoiled hideaway.

 

Next – Part II: St. George Lighthouse, Cold Beers in St. Marks, then south to Steinhatchee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social media continues to amaze and confound me.

My presence on various sites has given me the opportunity to remain in contact with long-lost friends, distant family, former colleagues, Army buddies and school chums – and allowed me to meet some really neat people from all walks of life and diverse interests.

Some of us push really personal things out to our ‘friends’ here in the great ether of the internet via social media – births, deaths, weddings, serious illness, hiring, firing, break-ups, make-ups, family issues, etc.

In fact, I’ve learned more about some people I’m scarcely acquainted with than I wanted to. . .

Many people I know are protective of their space – only letting family and close friends into their ‘inner-circle’ and perhaps that’s sound personal policy in this day and age.  In reality, I have a small handful of long-time friends in my ‘real life’ – tried, true and trusted members of my tribe who I’ve known all my life – wonderful souls who I trust exclusively and who have my best interests at heart despite my many faults and foibles.

I never lose sight of the fact that social media has nothing to do with real friendship, nor, I hope, will it ever.

When I receive requests I tend to take all comers – if you want to be ‘friends’ with me, well, I’m just appreciative of the fact someone took the time to reach out and share whatever their online persona may be with me (you know, that “face” people put forward on Facebook that makes us stars of our own reality show – then, when you meet them in person, you realize just how big the difference can be between someone’s ‘online’ and ‘offline’ personalities. . .)

Whatever.  We all do it.

I assume when I invite you into my online home that you will accept me for who and what I am – warts and all.

My ‘real’ friends can attest that I find humor and irony in most everything – the good, the bad and the ugly – perhaps a holdover from my days in law enforcement where we psychologically dealt with (often unsuccessfully) the tragic consequences of mans inhumanity to man with inappropriate jokes – we laughed rather than cry.

If we ever have the opportunity to meet, you will find that I am exactly what you get on the pages of this blog – a weird prophet with booze on his breath – profane, confused, concerned, irreverent, socially inept and always perplexed by the machinations of government and the gross betrayal of those we elect to look out for us.

Earlier this week, I posted a crude joke (admittedly meant in poor taste) dealing with the Kavanaugh appointment.  It was based upon a vulgar t-shirt slogan that some internet entrepreneur is hawking in the immediate wake of one of the most divisive two-week periods in the history of our nation.

I didn’t make and market the t-shirt – it was being advertised on Facebook! 

Most of my ‘friends’ took this stupid attempt at off-color humor in the spirit in which it was posted.

Others were so profoundly offended by my base political incorrectness that they blasted me with bitter contempt and angry vitriol – then immediately ‘unfriended’ me (something only possible in the digital age), banishing me to that dark place where anyone who challenges our sensibilities or – God forbid –  disagrees with us on the issues of the day are flushed from our lives with the click of a button.

What I found most unfortunate was that some of those who expelled me to social media purgatory are folks I’ve known and cared about for a very long time – before there even was a Facebook or Twitter – or internet, for that matter.

I removed the post.

Not because some overly sensitive social media ‘friend’ was unrealistically offended by something stupid I wrote – but because the thought of legitimately offending someone I have known most of my life was more distressing to me than any attempt to express the irony of this hyper-partisan shit show our nation has endured through a bad joke.

Taking it down was the right thing to do.  But it hurt that we are losing our freedom of expression at the altar of political and social correctness.

I hope whichever side of the political spectrum you fall – we can all agree that what the world witnessed during the Kavanaugh confirmation process was a national embarrassment – shamelessly perpetrated equally by both Republicans and Democrats.

Somewhere along the way we’ve become a nation of professional victims – with every issue, large and small, dissolving into a polarizing political nightmare of accusations and counter-accusations – the politics of personal destruction – coupled with the ability to turn off unpleasant people with differing opinions at the speed of a mouse click.

Nobody laughs anymore.

We are a people who have lost their sense of humor – divided cleanly along ideological lines and physically incapable of accepting any views different from our own or that of whichever political party we identify with.

For those who have threatened to never read these screeds again, I say good – given the circumstances we find ourselves in – you are doing yourself a favor by closing your mind, battening down the hatches, and shielding your personal sensitivities from my silly rants.

I don’t write them for a larger audience anyway – and, believe it or not, my opinion is no more valid or invalid than yours.

Even when Barker’s View began reaching thousands of people each month, I never once accepted advertising on this site, or, God forbid, charged for the feeble content – and I have never forced anyone at anytime to access this site.

I welcome everyone equally.

I’ve always considered Barker’s View a modern-day salon where people of all political persuasions can come and discuss the issues we all face in a safe and comfortable ‘no judgement’ environment.  In fact, I have only censored the views of readers once or twice – when the posts were physically threatening to someone else.

That has no place here.

The fact is, I would write these opinion pieces on our collective experience here on Florida’s Fun Coast if no one read them at all.  The writing is cathartic for me – a tonic to salve my anger, disgust and disbelief – and purge my own irreverent thoughts on the news and newsmakers of the day.

This blog site just happens to be a convenient place to park them.

I appreciate that so many wonderful friends and neighbors take time from their busy lives to stop by and consider my alternative opinion on the issues – and I really enjoy the larger debate and discussion these posts drive in the community.

In my view, to be offended by the goofy opinions of someone else is preposterous.

We live in an era where we can ‘unfriend’ each other at will – that is our right as denizens of the murky world of the internet – but I worry when we attempt to silence the views of others through blind rage and keystrokes.

Trust me.  In today’s political climate, at all levels of government, there is more than enough intrigue and machinations to be actually shocked and offended by without fighting among ourselves because our sense of humor or political opinions differ.

How were we able to live peacefully together as friends and family with differing viewpoints before the advent of the internet? 

How did we maintain quality interpersonal relationships before the Age of Unfriending? 

At what point did we dissolve into 326 million individual victims with political opinions so incredibly strong that they can destroy long-term human bonds in a digital nanosecond?

God help us. . .

 

Photo Credit: Toronto Sun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, kids!

That wise old sage Abraham Lincoln once said, “I will prepare and someday my chance will come.”

We cannot predict where our life’s path will lead – or begin to know what tragic circumstance – or wonderful opportunities – lay ahead of us.  It’s that mystery and anticipatory sense of ‘what will be’ that makes the trajectory of our lives such a rich and beautiful experience.

Without that element of the unknown, there would be no risk, no excitement – no sense of adventure.

For instance, when I began this little experiment in alternative opinion blogging, I could not have imagined the many wonderful people I would meet – civically active citizens who work hard to improve our lives here on Florida’s Fun Coast.  The insiders and outsides who care deeply about our future and take the time to read and analyze all aspects of the important issues of the day.

Nor could I have imagined the places Barker’s View would take me.

On Tuesday, I had the distinct honor of serving as a guest speaker at the prestigious Stetson University in DeLand, where I spoke to journalism students on the topic of opinion writing.

Wow.  What an incredible experience!

Regular readers of this forum know that I have no formal education.  When I was a young man I just never had the smarts or perseverance for it.  Perhaps that’s why I was so touched to have been invited to this esteemed campus to impart some hard-earned wisdom to Professor Mike Lafferty’s incredibly gifted students.

I like to say that I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the School of Hard Knocks – and experiential learning is the most expensive education you will ever earn.  As a result, through the many years and trials of my life, I have become a good mimic, with a finely tuned ability to recognize quality traits and skills I admire in others, then attempt to emulate them in my own life.

It’s how I learn.

That’s why it was so special just to be in the presence of Mr. Lafferty (an accomplished veteran journalist and opinion writer with the Orlando Sentinel) and his inquisitive students, as they explored this segment of the art of journalism – a pursuit vitally important to the health of our Republic and society.

For my part, I thoroughly enjoyed spending time in historic Elizabeth Hall – described as Stetson’s “signature building” – named for founder John B. Stetson’s wife.

It is exactly what I think of whenever I envision what a college classroom should look like.

I arrived for the 8:30am class early, admired the impressive Holler Fountain and Palm Court, before exploring the inside of Elizabeth Hall.  After I climbed the grand staircase, a very kind lady from the University’s History Department rose from her desk and warmly greeted me, then unlocked the old wooden door with an antique transom window from the days before air conditioning and escorted me into room 313.

As we made small talk, she explained a little about the history of the building, then asked, “Are you a guest lecturer this morning?”

Confident that my long white beard was enough to camouflage my inherent ignorance and present at least the appearance of the professorial wisdom one expects of an esteemed academic “lecturer,” I confidently puffed out my chest, casually slid my Saddleback satchel onto the floor, and proudly explained that I was to be interviewed by Mr. Lafferty’s journalism students.

She immediately responded, “Oh, have you done something worthy of being interviewed?”

 I was dumbstruck.

It felt like a scene out of “Shemp Goes to College” – the forgotten Stooge lost on a renowned university campus – crippled by acute onset Imposter Syndrome – a fish out of water.

I was a yammering, stammering mess.  A soup sandwich.

Desperately sputtering and searching my feeble mind for the right answer (“What in the hell have I done with my life that would warrant being interviewed by these smart people?”)

Think, Barker! 

I furiously struggled for any intelligent response that might explain why a schlub like me would be standing in this hallowed hall – and nothing came to mind.

My chance had come – and I drew a blank. . .

My utter lack of academic preparation had been exposed.

That’s when I came to the stark realization that I had just failed my first and only college exam. . .

Oh, well – as a wise friend of mine likes to say – “We can’t all be astronauts.”

I guess not.

But for one brief moment, I had the distinct privilege of spending quality time in a beautiful setting discussing issues important to me with a wonderful group of bright and intuitive young people – each of whom were incredibly kind, intellectually challenging, and made this old man feel most welcome in that special place.

Thanks for making this uneducated bumkin feel like I had something to contribute.

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:

There was a whole lot of Volusia County in the news this week, so let’s dig in, shall we?

Angel:             Former Holly Hill City Manager Russell Smith

It was 1985 and I was a young patrol officer with the Holly Hill Police Department.

At that time, I was so far down the totem pole that I was essentially subordinate to everyone in the building.  While I didn’t know who he was, or quite what he did, I knew that the City Manager carried a lot of weight.

When I was hired two-years before, I had been briefly introduced to then City Manager Charles McCool, who shook my hand and welcomed me to the community.

Beyond that, all I knew was the CM was my bosses, bosses, boss – and something best avoided if at all possible.

Russell Smith was appointed City Manager in 1985 – one of many who would hold the job during my long career in the often-volatile atmosphere of small-town politics.

Needless to say, I was shocked, and more than a little frightened, when one day I was called in off the road and told by Chief Pat Finn to report to the City Manager’s office.

I was equally surprised that Mr. Smith was so incredibly warm and welcoming to this young nobody.

During our short meeting, he explained that I had been selected to receive an award for some long-forgotten deed that someone, somewhere thought worthy of recognizing, and asked if I would mind if he and his wife joined me at the banquet?

Wow.  For a 24-year old flatfoot cop, that was more of an honor than any plaque or accolade I could ever hang on the wall.

It may have been just another rubber-chicken dinner for a veteran city administrator – but it stands out as a very special memory in a career full of special memories.

By taking the time to break bread and learn about me as a person – not just an employee – he humanized the role, and, through his example, showed me that the person at the very top of the organization truly cared about the person at the very bottom of it.

I never forgot that.

Last week, The Daytona Beach News-Journal featured Mr. Smith – also a decorated World War II veteran who is now in Hospice care – in a wonderful piece written by Jim Abbott detailing what he considered his life’s most meaningful accomplishment.

The establishment of Holly Hill’s beautiful Sunrise Park.

As a career civil servant I was far removed from the politics of the day, but I vividly recall the turmoil that surrounded a sandy spit of land near the intersection of what is now LPGA Boulevard and Riverside Drive – at the time known only as “Sandy Point” – where a high-powered developer planned to build riverfront luxury housing and rope off this very special area for the privileged few.

With the help of then City Attorney Butch Simpson – who, in my view, epitomizes the character, values and calm sense of contemplative patience that made him one of the best municipal lawyers, and men, I ever knew – Mr. Smith battled the developer for control of the property and ultimately secured it for public recreation.

Today, Sunrise Park provides generations of Halifax area residents direct access to the river for fishing, exercise, family celebrations, picnicking and community festivals.  In my view, it is a very special place, with one of the most beautiful views of the Halifax River anywhere.

It also stands as a fitting tribute to Mr. Smith’s dedication to improving the quality of life of his constituents.

In a lifetime of memories from The City with a Heart – a very special community that had such an indelible impact on my life – Russell Smith’s innate kindness, vision and willingness to hold firm to his principles in the best interests of those he served taught me a lot about what public service should be.

Godspeed, Mr. Smith.  We need more like you.

Asshole:          Volusia County Council

Even when they are given the opportunity – and political insulation – to do the right thing, Old Ed and the Funky Bunch prove once again they are physically incapable of doing right by their long-suffering constituents.

After multiple publicly-funded studies proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that current impact fees – which have remained relatively constant since 2003 – should be more than doubled in certain categories, this week we heard from the usual suspects why asking developers to assist with critical infrastructure improvements is verboten in this bastardized oligarchy.

According to our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley, “When you look at some of those costs, when you look at what they are proposing us to charge, why would developers pay that much?” he said. “I’m totally opposed to impact fees (being so high) that they prevent the job growth that we need or raise the price of homes out of the affordability to some people.”

Instead, Old Ed would have you and I sit in gridlock traffic – sipping our own recycled sewerage – rather than even suggest that this upside-down strategy of suppressing impact fees to 2003 levels while permitting developers lucrative “credits” for certain transportation infrastructure improvements benefitting their projects in 2018 dollars –  credits they can turn around and use to “pay” impact fees – has left you and I, the long-suffering taxpayers of Volusia County, holding the bag.

At Tuesday’s Volusia County Council meeting, our elected officials once again prostrated themselves before their masters and proved, once and for all, exactly who they work for.

Earlier this year, for the first time in a long time, every municipality agreed with Volusia County in collectively pushing for a half-cent sales tax increase for long-overdue transportation infrastructure improvements.

For some reason, every elected and appointed official in the county (with one or two notable exceptions) believed that it was essential to increase the sales tax burden on every man, woman and child to pay for transportation enhancements – yet, the mere suggestion that impact fees should be substantially increased has resulted in absolute paralysis in DeLand.

During the meeting, those cowardly assholes on the dais of power didn’t have the political acumen to even feign interest and ask questions of the consultant we paid handsomely to tell us the obvious.

Really?  

To add insult to injury, at the same meeting, an attorney for Minto Communities – the Canadian developer who has partnered with gazillionaire entertainer Jimmy Buffett to plop a faux beach community directly on top of our aquifer recharge area adjacent to municipal potable water wells off LPGA Boulevard (even as a true beach community just a few miles east on A-1-A is allowed to wither and die from civic neglect) cried the blues to the County Council about how their flip-flop shod residents (who are scooping up those $200,000 – $400,000 cracker boxes in the pine scrub west of town at an alarming rate) deserve a break on impact fees because they are an older population.

Excuse me?

You don’t think an additional 12,000 to 16,000 Parrotheads unleashed on area roadways isn’t going to have a massive impact on our already overcrowded transportation infrastructure, water usage and other essential services?

Whatever.

In turn, Old Ed and the Funky Bunch did what they do best: Absolutely nothing.

Stall.  Delay.  Complicate.

Now, in the most poorly executed prevarication in the history of local politics, the Volusia County Council would have us believe that they want our “help” with this growing debacle.

According to Dustin Wyatt’s excellent article in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Ed Kelley said, “Here it is,” referring to the latest 44-page study. “We want you to see it. We want you to weigh in. We are asking for your help.”

He added: “It’s very important that we get as much information to the public as we possibly can.”

 Yeah, right.

Remember last spring when Old Ed crowed, “I don’t need a consultant to tell me what we should charge,” braying that he didn’t want a consultant involved in the process at all?

I do.

And guess what?  He doesn’t want our “help” now either.

So, now our elected dullards in DeLand want to hold a “series” of Town Hall circle jerks across the width and breadth of Volusia County – dog and pony shows where they can trot out a few shills for the real estate development industry and try and convince We, The People that good folks like King Mori Hosseini and other uber-rich tycoons shouldn’t pay their fair share for the growth that’s making them even wealthier – but you and I should.

Even as more and more building permits are issued under the current wholly inadequate impact fee structure. . .

My ass.

What more is there to talk about?

Folks – make no mistake – in my view, Chairman Kelley, the always arrogant Deb Denys, the Right Reverend Dr. Fred Lowry and his sidekick, the Rip Van Winkle of county politics, “Sleepy” Pat Patterson, have, once and for all, exposed themselves as manipulative strawmen – totally beholden to their political benefactors and steadfast in their collective resolve that you and I should pay – not those who stand to profit most.

“I think we need to take as much time as required to have these community conversations and with the organizations and get as much input as we can and discussion,” Councilwoman Denys said. “We need to do this well and thorough and be as transparent as we possibly can.”

Bullshit.

The very concept of honesty and openness in government is anathema in Volusia County government – a dark place that values secrecy, subterfuge and cover-up to protect the status quo at all costs.

One bright spot during an otherwise dismal meeting was when the intrepid civic activist, Ken Strickland, spoke bold truth to power:

“If you think you’re going to get that sales tax passed without a serious increase in impact fees, you will be sadly mistaken.”

Damn straight.

If you think this problem is going to resolve by reelecting these cowardly sell-outs who have no problem hawking our best interests to the highest bidder, you are sadly mistaken.

It is what it is.

In my view, it smells a whole lot like quid pro quo corruption.

Asshole:          Volusia County Council – Deuxième Partie

“Killing the messenger” is a metaphorical phrase used to describe the act of blaming the bearer of bad news.

Unfortunately, it has also become active public policy in the halls of power in Volusia County government.

The Volusia County Council has sent a stark message to any public employee or contractor that anyone who dares expose evidence of fraud, corruption, dysfunction or mismanagement does so at great peril to their job and professional reputation.

The latest casualty of this War on Truth is James Pericola, who, until last Tuesday, served as Volusia County’s federal lobbyist in Washington D.C.

In August, Mr. Pericola did what any ethical recipient of public funds would when he wrote a scathing letter to the county council and staff alerting them to the abject dysfunction, a ‘filtering’ of information by jackleg bureaucrats before it was provided to policymakers and the complete “lack of transparency” that pervades literally every function of county government.

He also had the courage to notify our ‘powers that be’ that overpaid county staffers are too damn lazy to get off their ass and actually engage with federal authorities who hold the purse strings on millions in federal grant funds.

In my view, it was one of the most revelatory and important pieces ever written about the machinations of Volusia County government.

In typical fashion, rather than immediately investigate Mr. Pericola’s credible claims of a highjacked system that seemingly serves itself, rather than its constituents who pay the freight, our elected dullards circled the wagons and launched a vicious attack on Pericola – and anyone else who would dare move to challenge the status quo.

Old Ed claimed the allegations were no more than ‘sour grapes’ after the county made a $90,000 ‘make-work’ job for a former Congressional staffer to handle “government relations” – then opted to go out to bid on the federal lobbying contract at less than half of what Mr. Pericola’s firm was being paid.

The coup de grace came this week when the county council voted 5-2 (with Council members Post and Joyce Cusack on the side of right) to terminate Mr. Pericola’s firm  with just two short months remaining on his contract.

Talk about petty.

Talk about ‘sour grapes.’

Talk about a chilling atmosphere for anyone who seeks to expose the truth.

Now that he is free from the iron shackles of a shadow government bent on secrecy and behind-the-scene intrigues, I sincerely hope Mr. Pericola will speak out and tell long-suffering Volusia County taxpayers ‘the rest of the story.’

We deserve to know the truth.

Quote of the Week:

 “Are you going to take your information from some EMTs or some firefighters?” Kelley said. “Or are you going to take your information from the people that administer the system?”

–Volusia County Council Chair and Congenital Fraudster Ed Kelley, speaking on Councilwoman Heather Post’s attempt to shed light on our mismanaged and overburdened emergency medical transport system in the Ormond Beach Observer, “Volusia County Council Chair Ed Kelley talks EMS after using it himself,” Monday, September 24, 2018

While driving across the Palmetto Curtain on his way to what passes for a public meeting of the Volusia County Council, Chairman Kelley rightly sensed he was having a cardiac episode.

Once he arrived at the Thomas C. Kelly Administration building, Chairman Kelley was attended by Volusia EMS Medical Director Dr. Peter Springer, who was there to address growing constituent concerns about response times and the availability of ambulances in the wake of revelations by EMT’s and firefighters that there are periods when no emergency transport service is available due to understaffing and system mismanagement.

Those concerns have been repeatedly echoed by municipal fire chiefs and public safety unions – including the Volusia County Professional Firefighters Association.

According to Old Ed, at the time he was taken ill, Dr. Springer apparently gave his patient in the throws of a cardiac event (which ultimately resulted in the placement of a stent) the option of having the EVAC unit respond, “hot and fast,” which I assume means a Code 3 response with lights and siren?

The alternative response being, I suppose, “cold and slow” like you and I can expect. . .

(It’s funny, but my doctor never gives me those options.  You know, like, “Hey, Mark, do you want to take those blood pressure pills I prescribed – or would you rather have a stroke?  Your call, old buddy.”  No.  He pretty much tells me what’s best and I do as I’m told – after all, he’s a learned doctor and I’m a hypertensive time bomb. . . them’s the rules in the real world.)

Oh, well.

We’re told Chairman Kelley bravely refused the “hot and fast” treatment apparently reserved for the political elite – then twiddled his nibs for some 18-minutes while the lone available ambulance trundled its way back from Sanford.

Add to that the time it took to actually transport Chairman Kelley to the hospital and you get some idea what local first responders are concerned about.

District 4 Councilwoman Heather Post – demonstrably the only sitting elected official on the Volusia County Council who is dedicated to representing her constituents rather than the all-powerful special interests – recently met with County fire and EMS officials to discuss the issue and came away with the view that Volusia EMS staffing levels are “scary.”

(Imagine that.  A sitting County Council member sitting down with those who actually provide services to get their first-hand take on the issues?)

Almost immediately, Old Ed went on the attack – calling Ms. Post’s educated opinion “reckless” and, as usual, completely dismissed any reasonable calls for oversight and accountability of this critical service.

When Post gave repeat examples of EVAC runs that showed response times of 30-minutes or more during a one-week period – including a case on August 8^th where it took an ambulance some 36-minutes to reach a stroke victim – her credibility was immediately assailed by Dr. Springer and those arrogant dolts on the dais of power.

Incredibly, our Emergency Medical Services Director had the chutzpah to challenge Ms. Post with the inane query,  “Do we know if there were any bad outcomes from that?”

My God.

No worries.  It’s become great sport for Post’s “colleagues” to snicker and watch as staff, senior administrators and contractors approach the podium and verbally abuse, challenge and marginalize her – or anyone else who attempts to expose gross mismanagement or abject corruption in County government.

Look, don’t take my word for it – or even Councilwoman Post’s.

Call your Fire Chief – or speak with those brave men and women who are actually in the field providing this critical services to our community – and ask them if everything is hunky-dory with Volusia County EMS.

You might be surprised what you hear. . .

And Another Thing!

More dismal news out of DeLand this week.

Here, take it straight from the intrepid Paul Zimmerman, who, along with those dedicated grassroots advocates at Sons of the Beach – Florida’s premier beach driving and access advocacy – is actually in the arena, fighting hard to protect and preserve our most precious natural and economic resource:

Wednesday, October 3, 2018 – 8:25pm:

“Judge Randal Rowe ruled in favor of Volusia County today granting their motion for dismissal of the Sons of the Beach case challenging the Hard Rock Hotel developer’s compliance with ordinance 2015-07.

Judge Rowe granted the SOBs the opportunity to file an amended complaint within 20 days. The Sons of the Beach will sit down with our attorney, David Vukelja, and discuss our options moving forward.

Judge Rowe recognized the distinction between the basis of this case and the previous SOB cases.

Judge Rowe ruled in favor of the county based on his interpretation of case law regarding the issue of “STANDING.” To have “standing” in a case, one must prove that they are damaged in a unique and specific way. If the county government passes a bad law that damages ALL of the residents in the county equally, there is no recourse through the court system.  If everybody is equally damaged no one has “standing” – this is the law in Florida.

The county council, as elected representatives, are supposed to be the WatchGuard in such matters, not the courts. So, for all intent and purposes, it is the responsibility of the voters to elect – or vote out of office – those representatives that pass bad laws.  This is how our current system operates – the citizens are at the mercy of those they elect.

Stay tuned for a list of candidates that will be endorsed by the Sons of the Beach and Friends for this November’s election. The Sons of the Beach will never give up and we will continue to fight to Save Beach Driving.

Damn right.

If you believe, as I do, that beach driving and unfettered access to our public beach is paramount to our unique social and economic heritage as a world-class destination, please join us on Sunday afternoon for a Sons of the Beach and Friends Fundraiser from 1:00pm to 4:00pm at Lost Lagoon, 2004 North Dixie Freeway (US-1), New Smyrna Beach (located at the beautiful New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport).

A great lunch buffet will be available – and you can purchase some cool SOB swag, including T-shirts and other logo merch.  While you’re there, please participate in fun 50/50 raffles and enter to win some neat door prizes.

I encourage all members of the Barker’s View Tribe to come by for a cold beverage and good times with some of the coolest, most civically engaged people I know!

Your totally uncool scribe hopes to be there as well.

I always enjoy meeting those who support this blog and talk about the issues that are important to you.

If you are new to the Halifax area – or just care about our collective future here on the beleaguered Fun Coast – come out and meet some new like-minded friends – or catch up with old friends who are actively fighting the good fight against government overreach and corporate thievery of our beach.

Trust me – you’ll be glad you did.

All proceeds go to local political candidates who support YOUR RIGHT to beach driving and returning sanity to beach management and access for everyone.

Beach Driving IS Beach Access! 

Up next week:  The dirty business of selling dirt at the languishing First Step Shelter.  Open and transparent bid process?  Fair market value for a public asset paid for with public funds?  Skyrocketing costs?  And whose getting rich warehousing the homeless?  You be the judge. . .

That’s all for me – have a great weekend, kids!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All good politicians practiced in the art of evading meaningful policy decisions know that the “We need your help” strategy of political deflection is a proven and effective means of controlling the playing field, deflecting attention, changing opinion and buying time.

Of course, like any backhanded magic trick, this timeworn move requires that the political body possess a level of legerdemain, the skillful ability to coax the audience into suspending their sense of disbelief, and ignore their critical faculties, if only for a moment.  Because when it’s practiced by ham-handed, two-bit liars with intensifying credibility problems it looks like what it is – cheap political fakery.

When politicians lack the inherent trust of their weary constituents – stalling an overdue increase in impact fees looks exactly like what it is – a clumsy delaying tactic – which appears very similar to good old-fashioned cowardice, and a shameless effort to protect the profit margins of their uber-wealthy campaign contributors and political benefactors in the real estate development community.

Because that is exactly what they are doing.

Volusia County hasn’t increased fees for growth and development in over 15-years – a fact that sent shock-waves through area residents who are readying themselves for the coming onslaught of traffic gridlock, “toilet to tap,” and other quality of life nightmares that come from out-of-control sprawl currently under construction along the eastern spine of Volusia County.

In fact, the reluctance of those dullards we have elected to represent our interests on the Volusia County Council to reasonably increase impact fees on their political sugar daddies derailed a half-cent sales tax initiative that we were told was absolutely essential to funding critical transportation infrastructure improvements.

At yesterday’s Volusia County Council meeting, our elected officials prostrated themselves before their masters – and proved, once and for all, exactly who they work for in the bastardized Oligarchy that no longer bears any resemblance to a representative democracy.

While every elected and appointed official in Volusia County – as directed by their political puppeteers over at that Star Chamber known as the CEO Business Alliance – think it is absolutely essential, right and good to increase the sales tax on every man, woman and child in Volusia County to pay for transportation infrastructure improvements, the mere suggestion by recognized experts that they raise impact fees on developers to assist that goal has resulted in absolute paralysis.

During the meeting, those cowardly assholes on the dais of power didn’t have the political acumen to even feign interest and ask questions of the expert we paid handsomely to tell us the obvious:  That impact fees haven’t been increased since 2003, and are hopelessly outdated and in desperate need of serious overhaul, if we hope to meet our emergent transportation infrastructure needs in the wake of out-of-control sprawl.

To add insult to injury, at the same meeting, an attorney for Minto Communities – the Canadian developer who has partnered with gazillionaire entertainer Jimmy Buffett to plop a “lifestyle” community directly on top of our aquifer recharge area adjacent to municipal potable water wells off LPGA Boulevard – whined the blues to the County Council about how their flip-flop wearing residents (who are scooping up those $300,000 – $400,000 cracker boxes in the pine scrub west of town at an alarming rate) deserve a break on impact fees because they are an older population (?)

Whatever.

In turn, Old Ed and the Funky Bunch did what they do best: Absolutely nothing.  .  .

According to Dustin Wyatt’s excellent article on this growing debacle in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Here it is, folks,” said County Chair Ed Kelley, referring to the latest 44-page study. “We want you to see it. We want you to weigh in. We are asking for your help.”

He added: “It’s very important that we get as much information to the public as we possibly can.”

Yeah, right.  This from the guy that didn’t want a consultant to review the matter in the first place.

Remember?  I do.

Back in May, Old Ed crowed, “I don’t need a consultant to tell me what we should charge,” saying he didn’t want a consultant involved in the process at all.

So, what’s changed?

Clearly, Chairman Kelley and his “colleagues” have determined that, in light of the revelations of the Duncan Associates study, which prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that our elected officials have – for 15-years – put their developer friends at a distinct advantage by suppressing impact fees and providing lucrative credits all while saddling their long-suffering constituents with higher taxes and the threat of traffic gridlock and inadequate essential services – they need to buy precious time.

Folks – make no mistake – in my view, Chairman Ed Kelley has once and for all exposed himself as the craven liar and manipulative shill he has always been.  Unfortunately, none of our elected officials – including the always arrogant and politically vulnerable Deb Denys – who orchestrated this blatant delay strategy – stood in our defense.

“I think we need to take as much time as required to have these community conversations and with the organizations and get as much input as we can and discussion,” Councilwoman Denys said. “We need to do this well and thorough and be as transparent as we possibly can.”

Bullshit.

To speak frankly – in my opinion, these sneak thieves are stealing our quality of life and looting public coffers (with the full acquiescence of our elected representatives at all levels of government) while placing the financial burden and instability squarely on the backs of beleaguered Volusia County residents – many of whom are living well below the poverty line while trying to eke out a living in this artificial economy these bastards have created.

When is enough, enough?

When will these shameless assholes finally be satiated?  

This gross iteration of our wholly compromised Volusia County Council wouldn’t know ‘transparency’ if they fell over it.

In fact, they have proven – time and again – that the very concept of honesty and openness in government is anathema in an organization that values secrecy, subterfuge and cover-up to protect the status quo at all costs.

One bright spot during an otherwise dismal meeting was when the intrepid civic activist, Ken Strickland, spoke bold truth to power:

“If you think you’re going to get that sales tax passed without a serious increase in impact fees, you will be sadly mistaken.”

Damn straight.

And, if you think this problem is going to resolve by reelecting these hubristic shitheels – cowardly sell-outs who have no problem hawking our highest and best interests to the highest bidder – to positions of high power you are sadly mistaken.

It is what it is.

And, in my view, it smells a whole lot like quid pro quo corruption.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hear the rumors.

Well-meaning people say, “Too bad about Barker.  Poor bastard.  I heard he went crazy a few years back.”

Or, “He had such a bright future, then he retired and started tilting at windmills – writing that wacky blog  – becoming increasingly reclusive and espousing his weird theories about government corruption.  Sad, really.” 

“He drinks, you know. . .” 

 Look, I get it.  I’m damaged goods – something best avoided.

I’ve heard that in some circles there are real consequences for reading my screeds – let alone agreeing with them.  Trust me, even those brave ‘movers & shakers’ who dare to associate with me in complete confidence do so at the very real risk of being branded a subversive and forever locked out of the inner-sanctum where the real money changes hands.

But a few intrepid souls see this forum as a lone voice in a very dark and dense wilderness of political intrigue – cynical musings on a once promising place in Central Florida – a potential paradise with all the natural amenities one could want for civic success – that has been repeatedly violated and exploited by the overweening greed of a few well-connected insiders who somehow convinced us this is what ‘progress’ looks like.

Others hold me up as the incarnation of some primeval soothsayer – a demented prophet with the preternatural ability to augur the machinations of a virtual shadow government gone rogue.

As a result, smart people often ask me if things can get “any worse” when it comes to this godforsaken quagmire that is Volusia County government?

The fact is I don’t know.

Frankly, I’m as clueless as everyone else – and if anyone tells you they have the answers they’re as full of shit as a Christmas goose.

We live in strange times here on Florida’s Fun Coast.

Given the events of last week – when credible allegations were exposed that mealy-mouthed bureaucrats in Volusia County government purposely engaged in the pernicious act of “filtering” information provided to policymakers, then withheld publicly-funded studies altogether – were wholly ignored by our ‘powers that be,’ one can only speculate when we will reach the political nadir of this Oligarchical system that will stoop to any means necessary to silence criticism and protect itself from external scrutiny.

What I do know with certainty is that those who enjoy direct access to the public tit – the seemingly inexhaustible supply of our hard-earned tax dollars that flow into government coffers – maintain their suckling position by funneling massive amounts of cash into the campaign accounts of hand-select candidates.

Although perfectly legal, this filthy quid pro quo process has reduced our system of local governance to little more than a cheap livestock auction.

Typically, politicians who receive the nod from those The Daytona Beach News-Journal refers to as our “Rich & Powerful” have very similar personal characteristics:  They are extremely loyal to the hand that feeds them, well-disciplined and maintain lock-step fealty to an entrenched power structure; however, by design, those selected to “serve” are not very bright and physically incapable of independent thought.

In exchange, the powerful puppet masters allow them the trappings of social and political standing – all the ego massage and sense of superiority these haughty shitheels need to feel important while they serve as figureheads of a system that uses them like dull tools.   

But, in the end, they extract a mighty heavy price for this Faustian bargain – and it’s you and I who ultimately pay the bill.

As I’m fond of saying, if politics truly is the art of controlling one’s environment – then those who possess the financial wherewithal and an unquenchable thirst for more – have perfected the cycle of crony capitalism here on this salty piece of pine scrub we call home.

It’s called ‘ROI’ – Return on Investment – and our wide-open campaign finance system is tailor made to ensure that the economic playing field is perfectly groomed and tilted in favor of those who can pay-to-play.

At Tuesday’s Volusia County Council meeting, residents will get an eye-opening education on how a few incredibly powerful insiders in the real estate development community have been well-served by their hired chattel on the dais of power in DeLand.

As you are probably aware, Volusia County hasn’t increased fees for growth and development in 15-years – a fact that sent shock-waves through area residents who are readying themselves for the coming onslaught of traffic gridlock, “toilet to tap,” and other quality of life nightmares that come from out-of-control sprawl currently under construction along the eastern spine of Volusia County.

In fact, the reluctance of those dullards we have elected to represent our interests on the Volusia County Council to reasonably increase impact fees on their political benefactors derailed a half-cent sales tax initiative that we were told was absolutely essential to funding critical transportation infrastructure improvements.

In February, county council members decided – as the Right Reverend Fred Lowry said – “letting a sleeping dog lie in this case might be the best situation” and opted (once again) to simply not address the issue of asking new growth even partially pay for itself.

At that time, citizens were told that we were too stupid to understand the byzantine calculations used to determine impact fees – even as nationally recognized experts “called Volusia an “outlier” because the county hasn’t raised its rates in 15 years.”

In my view, 15-years is a long time to let that narcoleptic cur sleep. . .

The council’s decision to, well, do nothing, flew in the face of a 2007 study now gathering mold at the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Building that suggested drastic changes to the fees paid by developers to offset the cost of transportation and other infrastructure impacts.

According to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “That study suggested hikes up to 300 percent in some categories.”

The Volusia County Council doubled-down on their decision to hold firm on outdated impact fees in March.  Then, in May, when public criticism reached a crescendo, Volusia County and municipal governments agreed to postpone a vote on the much-ballyhooed half-cent sales tax.

What we didn’t know was that – two years ago – the Volusia County Council commissioned a $50,000 study with Texas-based Duncan Associates which, similar to the 2007 study, recommended impact fees be increased “three times higher” in some categories.

The study also suggested drastic changes to a county ordinance that is, in essence, giving away the farm to real estate developers.

The problem is – this incredibly expensive analysis was never provided to our elected officials during the decision-making process.

Not in February.

Not in March.

Not in May.

And not in June, when the Volusia County Council voted to again hire Duncan Associates to perform yet another study of current impact fee rates.

The results of that analysis are incredibly damning.

Sickening, in fact.

You can read it for yourself  here:  https://vcservices.vcgov.org/agenda/agendas/20181002/Item-12-supp-study.pdf

As I understand it, for the past 15-years, Volusia County has kept road impact fees well below current costs for infrastructure improvements – all while state law permits impact fee “credits” for developers who increase capacity to roads that are not site-related.

In turn, these credits can be transferred or sold to other developers for use in the same or adjoining areas – or submitted back to the county in lieu of impact fees.

The County has historically charged fees that haven’t been adjusted since 2003 – while providing credits to the developer in 2018 dollars.   

You read that right.

That sweet arrangement has resulted in a large portion of impact fees on recent growth being paid with credits.

According to Duncan Associates, “Over the last five years, credits accounted for half of total revenues in the Zones 1 and 2 (east Volusia), and over one-third county-wide.”

In turn, you and I face the catastrophic consequences of out-of-control growth on our roadways, water sources, police, fire and other essential services – even while astronomically wealthy developers feed their insatiable appetite for more, more, more.

And every damn one of those tools we elected to represent our highest and best interests on the Volusia County Council knew about it – yet consciously chose to ignore the disparity, “Let a sleeping dog lie” as it were – all while scheming to increase the sales tax and shift the burden to every man, woman and child, rather than ask their campaign sugar daddies for their fair share.

That’s despicable.

And, in my view, it should be criminal.

After all, any public servant with the professional ethics of a broke-dick dog can see that this incredibly lopsided and lucrative disparity is counter to their sworn duty to protect their constituents from usurious and fraudulent practices that benefit a few at the expense of many.

And you can bet your ass none of this happened by accident.

In my view, the ultimate goal of any ethical, moral and constituent-focused elected body is to further the public’s trust in their government by putting their personal, financial and political interests (and those of their friends and contributors) aside in furtherance of the broader public interest.

When multiple external studies prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that our elected officials have served the needs of their campaign benefactors – for years – bolstering their profit margin and denying We, The People adequate funding for transportation infrastructure, all while approving massive development from Farmton to the Flagler County line – that’s a problem.

In my view, this base chicanery has destroyed the community’s sacred faith in its elected leadership.

As Georgetown University’s Mark E. Warren wrote in his study on democracy and trust, “a government viewed as corrupt cannot be trusted.  And a government that cannot be trusted will be crippled in its capacity to lead.”

Sound familiar?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, kids!

Although you can’t tell it by the temperature, the calendar says fall has arrived – my favorite time of the year!

Let’s face it, unless you make an annual pilgrimage to western North Carolina – those of us who inhabit Florida’s Fun Coast don’t get to enjoy the crisp days, kaleidoscope of golden leaves and frost on the pumpkin that mark the change of seasons in northern climes.

But most long-time residents agree that we have a few traditional elements that differentiate a Florida autumn from the Dog Days of summer, for instance:

Our cars will be fouled with the carcasses of those flying nymphomaniacs known around these parts as “lovebugs,”  insects who ride to Glory – in flagrante delicto – on our spattered windshields each September.

Despite the constant squawking of airport executives who try their level-best to convince us that Daytona International Airport continues to experience an overloaded airlift of visitors month in, month out, you and I will notice that the tourist trade is  beginning to thin out, the wait for crab legs at Charlie Horse is slightly less than interminable and we have more real estate to ourselves on our favorite stretch of beach.

Another sure sign of the autumnal equinox is that our taxes are going up.  That’s a given.

In my experience, people don’t mind paying their fair share of the civic load, so long as what they are being asked to pay is just that – a fair and equitable share.

Way back in 1927, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. said it best when he wrote  in an opinion, “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society. . .” 

I should know.  Like the song says, I made my living off other people’s taxes for over three-decades.

In that time, I found that citizens are more than willing to pay for quality essential services – so long as they feel that those they elect to steward their hard-earned tax dollars have the community’s best interests at heart.

While taxation is necessary to preserve civilization and social order, in Volusia County, residents have consistently seen instances where the needs and wants of those least able to afford increased tax levies are ignored, while the for-profit interests of uber-wealthy insiders and campaign donors are met every time.

We are asked to subsidize “synergistic” shopping and entertainment centers owned and operated by Forbes-listed billionaires – then forced to pony up a sales-related “enhanced amenity fee” – a money-grubbing tax by any other name – if they want to shop there.

We stand helpless while those on the dais of power give away public assets, underwrite private projects with our money and use our most precious natural amenities as a cheap bargaining chip with out-of-town developers.

Then We, The Sheeple are forced to absorb the social and economic consequences as our elected officials abuse their ability to impose exorbitant fees on constituents for the increasingly limited use of our public beach and other recreational facilities which we already support with our tax dollars.

We watch as those dullards we have elected to represent our interests – little more than bought-and-paid for tools of those who can afford to pay-to-play – allow their political benefactors to build massive developments without supporting infrastructure, destroy our natural places and threaten our water supply while calling this obscene western sprawl “sustainable growth,” all while predatory land barons hire mercenary marketing gurus to convince us that our quality of life will somehow be enhanced by these bullshit “lifestyle” communities.

Don’t get me started. . .

In November, Floridians will be asked to vote on Amendment 1, a Constitutional change expanding our state’s homestead exemption program by adding the exemption from property taxes on the $25,000 of home values between $100,000 and $125,000.

As I understand it, and I’m not sure I do, the measure will bring the maximum homestead exemption up to $75,000.

Some experts estimate that, if approved, Amendment 1 could result in annual statewide losses of $650 million in local government revenues – you know, the hometown funds we use to provide quality police, fire, emergency medical services, code enforcement, treat our water, etc.

Look, I’m the first to admit that tax cuts are almost always a good thing – but I question whether this lopsided measure is yet another unfair tax giveaway to our most wealthy – a Constitutional amendment which will ultimately shift the burden to struggling low-income families, renters and others who can least afford an increase?

For instance, a study conducted by Volusia County Property Appraiser Larry Bartlett found,  “The percentages varied among Volusia County’s 16 cities, but the most glaring difference was illustrated when comparing Holly Hill to Ponce Inlet. In Ponce Inlet, 90 percent of the homes would qualify. In Holly Hill, only 5 percent would.”

 Further, Mr. Bartlett wrote, “Our analysis suggests that Volusia County’s tax base will be reduced by $1.3 billion if the voters agree to increase the exemption. What will happen when the tax base is decreased? The taxes on the remaining properties go up.”

Is Amendment 1 a good thing for Volusia County residents?

Again, I don’t know.

But it is increasingly clear to me that Mr. Bartlett – the person we have elected to represent our best interests in these matters – is absolutely right in his assessment that if Volusia County’s tax base is reduced for higher-priced homesteads, the deficit will almost assuredly be made up for with a higher burden on the rest of the tax base.

There’s an old saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” 

Sometimes when we get what we want – we lose what we had.

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 School District

Some chary old rube once lamented, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

It means that most people learn from their mistakes – and become wary once deceived.

Unfortunately, in Volusia County, this idiom has become the mantra of cautious constituents whenever they are forced to deal with a school district gone haywire.

Last week, during a public meeting in New Smyrna Beach, district officials told concerned parents that Read-Pattillo Elementary School will not merge with Chisholm Elementary, which is currently undergoing an estimated $21 million rebuild that will increase capacity from a current 450 students to 750.

It’s part of our “1/2 cent sales tax at work.”  It’s also 180-degrees counter to what parents were told earlier this year.

In July, the Volusia County School Board announced that it was planning to merge the two schools, rather than build a replacement for Read-Pattillo, resulting in an estimated savings of $23 million.  The board’s original plan called for using half-cent sales tax money to complete the Chisholm on-site rebuild – then replacing Read-Pattillo with a K-8 (similar to what Holly Hill got stuck with) in the Venetian Bay area of New Smyrna Beach.

In June, district staff announced that enrollment estimates wouldn’t support investing in both Read-Pattillo and Chisholm in the next five years.

Naturally, parents rallied in support of keeping Read-Pattillo students, staff and teachers together.

People are funny that way – they want the best education possible for their children – and that begins with the stability and identity of an established, well-performing, community-based school they trust.

According to one parent, speaking in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “I just feel like pretty much they came to sugar coat and calm us down,” said Sophia Green, who has a son in fifth grade at the school. “They couldn’t give us a straight answer.”

And therein lies the problem.

The complete lack of transparency – coupled with the historic problem of bait-and-switch maneuvering, political insulation tactics and cover-your-ass decision making – naturally lead people to the unmistakable conclusion that regardless of the function or taxing district – Volusia County government entities simply cannot be trusted.

As a result, parents and teachers are forced to speculate on what their future may look like based upon an extrapolation of previously known facts and conjecture.

For instance, a smart friend of Barker’s View who follows these things with an educated eye recently speculated, “The current enrollment at Chisholm is in the 400/425 range.  So. . .where do you think those students to fill those seats will come from?  The state will not let the district overbuild.  So, somebody must have told the Florida Department of Education that the new Chisholm will be full.  How do you think that’s going to work out?  Also, there is/was a presentation scheduled for the next School Board meeting concerning cost savings from closing Read-Pattillo. . .”

 See why Read-Pattillo parents are naturally skeptical of what they are being fed?

In other news from Volusia County schools, this week we were treated to a ‘feel-good’ piece in the newspaper touting the fact that only 46 students took the option to flee the sinking Palm Terrace Elementary School in Daytona Beach after it chalked-up its third “D” grade in as many years.

According to the article, each school day, Palm Terrace Principal Tucker Harris leads students in the inspiring self-affirmation:

“I am loved. I am courteous. I am capable of great things. I am a dynamic dolphin.”

He should add to that:

“I am a victim of the system.”

“I am lost in the growing chasm between irresponsible fiscal policy and decreasing standards.” 

Look, I applaud Principal Harris for doing all he can – with a true sense of urgency – to bring the struggling Palm Terrace out of its seemingly unrecoverable dive.  However, I question when he, and the dedicated teachers and staff, can expect any outside help?

According to the News-Journal, “As the district dips into its reserves to cover a $3.21 million budget deficit for this year, Palm Terrace Elementary missed out on $1.4 million in grant money from the state for failing schools last year. Blue Lake Elementary received $1.3 million from the same program. The school pulled its grade up to a C this year.”

Perhaps more disturbing, long-time Volusia County educator Elizabeth Albert – an academic coach at Palm Terrace – expressed the concerns of many when she said:

“I don’t see any visible evidence of the district prioritizing the needs of our school and our community,” Albert said. “I don’t know why they have not taken any steps to provide equity and fairness.”

I don’t either.

These issues include several teacher vacancies and a perceived lack of external support for initiatives that have helped turn around other struggling schools.

Look, my hat’s off to dedicated teachers, staff and leaders like Tucker Harris and Elizabeth Albert who are desperately working to turn around Palm Terrance and other stressed schools throughout the district – all while senior administrators continue to sit on their collective thumbs in their Ivory Tower in Deland.

Why is it that our elected officials on the Volusia County School Board have simply acquiesced to the fact that Superintendent Tom Russell and his “Cabinet” are clueless as to how to save our schools – and our children – from the malignancy of mediocrity?

Angel:             Amy Pyle, Candidate for Daytona Beach City Commission Zone 3

In my view, Amy Pyle, the dedicated neighborhood improvement activist and current candidate for the Daytona Beach City Commission Zone 3 seat, has done more to enhance the quality of life of area residents than perhaps any sitting member of an elective body in Volusia County.

In fact, her efforts to advance the Halifax area, mend the sins of our past and improve the vitality and livability of our neighborhoods transcends any political aspirations.

Amy Pyle is a true grassroots advocate – and she cares deeply about our future while preserving our heritage.

Most recently, some friends of Amy’s campaign contacted Mark Shuttleworth, owner of Florida Victorian Architectural Salvage in Deland, to evaluate what items could be saved from the historic “Coquina House” which will soon be demolished to make way for the Brown & Brown headquarters on Beach Street.

According to Amy’s recent social media post, her friend, Stephanie Ruta, of Daytona Beach contacted Brown & Brown and received permission to salvage items having architectural value from the home.

These extraordinary efforts are helping to save and re-purpose materials and craftsmanship of historical significance in our community.

During the salvage operation, Amy interviewed Mr. Shuttleworth at the site and learned that much of the coquina can be saved – and the doors and windows have been rescued for other projects.

 According to Amy, “We have so many historic homes and structures that have seen better days – I support them being restored wherever feasible.”

Rather than simply making a campaign season suggestion, Amy Pyle has a viable plan to help property owners by encouraging deconstruction, assisting reuse markets like Florida Victorian Architectural Salvage and incorporating upcycling into public policy:

“So how can the City encourage preservation or at bare minimum salvage of materials that might otherwise become landfill?  By assisting owners to find avenues of restoration or salvage that they might not have otherwise considered.  By a ‘checklist’ that might be reviewed before a property is considered for demolition. Mark also gave me a couple of contacts in other cities that have enacted similar methods, so I can learn more.  I believe we can do better, and this is just one example of how.”

Kudos to Amy Pyle and her civic-minded supporters as they work hard to make the City of Daytona Beach a better place to live, work and play.  For more information, please visit www.amypyle.com – or better yet, listen as Amy discusses her ideas and candidacy this afternoon on GovStuff Live with Big John beginning at 4:00pm.

In my view, Amy’s the real deal – and a refreshing option for Daytona Beach voters.

Angel:             First Step Shelter Board

Here’s a tip o’ the Barker’s View scally cap to the First Step Shelter Board for working to get hard answers on how construction costs for the languishing homeless “service center” soared from $2.8 million earlier this year to the current ‘estimate’ of $6 million.

On Wednesday, during the groups first meeting since the astronomical price increase was made public, board member and Port Orange City Councilman Chase Tramont rightly pressed Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry for answers.

Councilman Tramont is right to seek the truth and clear the air.

Most people I talk to are unaware that this project is being managed – in its totality – by the City of Daytona Beach.

We are told that the City’s Community Relations manager, L. Ron Durham is in charge  – but it is most definitely being directed by City Manager Jim Chisholm, who, according to Durham, has “looked at every option under the sun to lower the cost.”

“We are working daily to value engineer this project to bring it down to the lowest cost possible,” Durham said.

Look, I know a little about project management – and a collaborative, open and transparent process involving all stakeholders in the planning, coordination, financing, control and monitoring of complex projects is always better that the cloistered, myopic environment of an autocratic system where critical information is intentionally withheld from key decision-makers and future funding sources.

Sound familiar?   

When everyone responsible for the success of a project has equal access to the same information – communication and collaboration ensues.  After all, two heads are always better than one, and the sense of collegiality that naturally flows from a process where everyone’s thoughts and opinions are considered builds buy-in and ownership – especially from those segments of the community where the bulk of operational funding will ultimately originate.

Unfortunately, in parochial systems dominated by elected and appointed officials who are more concerned about maintaining a perceived sense of “power” than relinquishing any measure of “control” or, God forbid, actually sharing success with others – inherently, the ‘powers that be’ will tenaciously hold on to the deadweight of a disastrously compromised project, even as it pulls them deeper into the depths of failure and suspicion.

It’s arrogance, I think.

Or base stupidity.

But aren’t those human frailties often one in the same?

During the meeting, even darker concerns arose when Holly Hill City Manager Joe Forte asked if the “value engineering” Daytona Beach seems so proud of is, in reality, bureaucratese for shifting costs to the First Step Shelter Board?

Damn good question.

The intrepid Mark Geallis, executive director of First Step Shelter, admitted he’s “blurry” on whether or not his organization will be left responsible for post-construction big ticket items – like the kitchen exhaust fan, running cables and wiring for computers and telephones – and other items critical to the operation of the shelter.

Again, Rev. Durham – the project’s long-identified ramrod – was unable to give Mr. Geallis and the board members a firm answer, asking the shelter’s executive director to “draw up a list of questions” and he’ll get back to him. . .

I don’t make this shit up, folks.

However, to make matters clear as mud, Rev. Durham did say, “The city’s responsibility is to build the building.  The city asset is the building.  Everything within the building will be the asset of First Step Shelter.”

 I think Mr. Forte and Director Geallis just got their answer. . .

In a pointed message to the City of Daytona Beach, Councilman Tramont voiced the very real concerns of many when he said, “I don’t want to be put in the position again (where) I’m being shocked by numbers I have never seen,” Tramont said. “Our reputation and the perception is the very thing that our success hinges on.”

Indeed.

Asshole:          Volusia County Council

In my view, reporter Dustin Wyatt of The Daytona Beach News-Journal has done yeoman’s work in digging for the facts after the revelation that our federal lobbyist – Jamie Pericola – tried desperately to alert our elected dullards on the Volusia County Council to serious internal dysfunction – including shocking allegations that senior officials were “filtering” and intentionally withholding critical information from elected policymakers.

In most places, where ethics, organizational transparency and accountability mean something, the mere suggestion of behind-the-scenes manipulation of public policy by politically unaccountable civil servants would have resulted in an immediate top-to-bottom investigation and housecleaning.

(So, don’t give me any happy horseshit about the County Council’s commitment to a “full-time internal auditor.”  Chairman Kelley has proven – by word and action – that he would rather take an ice water enema than open the books to outside scrutiny.)

Without any attempt to confirm the validity of Mr. Pericola’s claims – almost immediately, our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley, and his narcoleptic cartoon sidekick, Councilman “Sleepy” Pat Patterson – regained their collective consciousness long enough to call Pericola’s credible accusations “sour grapes” – thus tripping the switch that initiates the County’s patented “Admit nothing.  Deny everything. Make counter-accusations” damage control strategy.

Now, the always arrogant Councilwoman Deb Denys has piled-on, labeling Pericola’s letter a “misrepresentation” that was (naturally) “blown out of proportion.”

Well, of course it was, Deb!

I mean, if Volusia County is known for anything – it’s crystal-clear pellucidity, it’s openness to constructive criticism and unwavering willingness to take swift, decisive action to ensure accountability.

Right?  Right. . .

Now the reign of former County Manager Jim Dinneen has come to an unceremonious end, Director of Public Protection Terry Sanders has retired from a stellar career in public service – and I hear unsubstantiated reports through the Barker’s View telegraph that things are now getting uncomfortable for Director of Beach Safety Ray Manchester as well.

Is this an internal purge of anyone in senior management seen as responsible for the series of debacles that ultimately led to Little Jimmy fleeing the Thomas C. Kelly Administrative Building like a diseased rat?  Or have our ‘powers that be’ been forced to implement the Council’s final solution of scapegoating a few high-profile senior staff members in an election year to save ol’ Deb’s political hide come November?

In Dustin Wyatt’s follow-up piece, we also learned that Mr. Pericola’s assertion that Volusia County bureaucrats could have done more to engage with federal officials to secure grant funding for a variety of needs – to include improving water quality in the Indian River lagoon –  has been independently confirmed by Edwin Benton, a professor at the University of South Florida.

“If you want the money, you have to jump through hoops,” Benton told the News-Journal.  “Any time a (federal) agency offers a chance to sit down and meet with you, it’s always to your advantage.”

“Turning down such an invitation, he added, would be a “huge, stupid missed opportunity.”

(Wow.  Now, I can’t wait for Old Ed to tell us what malicious motivation Professor Benton has up his sleeve. . .)

 According to the report, internal email records prove that Mr. Pericola has been “begging county officials” since early 2018 to meet with United States Department of Agriculture executives to “better position themselves for money” which could have assisted the City of Oak Hill with a water project beneficial to the health of the lagoon.

Apparently, John Booker – a staffer with former Congressman John Mica’s office who landed on his feet with a $90,000 annual “government relations” gig with Volusia County – couldn’t be bothered to get off his ass and call the USDA to even assess the potential.

According to Wyatt’s informative piece, Booker didn’t have the decency to return the reporter’s emails and phone calls seeking comment, either. . .  (Guess he caught on to that whole “transparency” thing pretty quick, eh?)

At the end of the day, no one – not one person employed by Volusia County who accepts public funds to serve in the public interest – met with federal officials to determine eligibility for federal grants or low interest loans which could have assisted the City of Oak Hill in transitioning from septic tanks to a municipal sewer system.

“So while Oak Hill got $61,000 from Volusia for its septic tanks, the city of Dunnellon in Marion County got $12 million in May for wastewater infrastructure from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.” 

My God.

Of course, not to let a little thing like independently confirmed facts stand in the way of besmirching the character and good reputation of yet another whistle-blower; Chairman Kelley, quickly took a swipe at Mr. Pericola – calling him a ‘one-man band’ and alluding that the county needs “an orchestra trumpeting Volusia County’s cause” in Washington.

“In my opinion, he never should have been hired,” Kelley crowed – even as “Sleepy” Pat tried to convince his colleagues on the dais of power that we no longer need a federal lobbyist at all.

Say what? 

In my view, regardless of the information provided – and irrespective of the qualifications or purity of the motivation, when anyone brings serious issues about county governance to light – the song remains the same.

If you can’t muzzle the whistle-blower: Marginalize the message – then personally destroy the messenger.

From former Volusia County Medical Examiner Dr. Sara Zydowicz and Sheriff Michael Chitwood to Councilwoman Heather Post and now Jamie Pericola – the ‘system’ will protect itself at all costs.

Quote of the Week:

“The cost to operate this facility (First Step Shelter) will increase incrementally and its success in reducing the street population will be minimal. The shelter’s remote location, five miles outside of Daytona Beach, dooms this project from the get-go.  The City Commission is right to stick with the hard-walled construction plan because at some point in the future the building will be re-purposed into something more useful.”

–Dave Byron, former director of community services and official spokesman for Volusia County government, writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s Letters to the Editor column, “Think shelter angst is bad now, wait.” Tuesday, September 25, 2018

And Another Thing!

Earlier in the week, a harrowing snippet of body camera footage was released by the Daytona Beach Police Department which showed Officer Christopher Maher intervening as a subject – later identified as Derrick Goodin, 21 – violently threw a man off the Main Street bridge and into the water some 30-feet below.

As the video progressed, we see Officer Maher confronting Goodin at gunpoint, ordering the violent suspect to the ground – but not before Goodin turned his back to the officer and quickly reached into his front waistband.

My heart stopped.

Officer Maher demonstrated amazing restraint, and acted in the true spirt of the police service, when he captured the moment Goodin withdrew his hand and tossed what appeared to be a wallet off the bridge before assuming a prone position on the sidewalk.

In my view, thanks to Officer Maher’s extraordinary heroism, all citizens of the Halifax area got a momentary glimpse into the incredibly dangerous situations the men and women of law enforcement face everyday as they go in harms way to protect my family and yours.

Thank you, Officer Maher – and all the outstanding officers and staff of the Daytona Beach Police Department – for your incredible courage and dedication.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

 

 

If you haven’t yet, it’s worth your while to read Daytona Beach News-Journal editor Pat Rice’s excellent essay in today’s paper, “Sorry to disappoint Daytona’s city manager, but. . .”

It’s a good point, well-made.

Regardless of jurisdiction, the one constant in local governance is that, for a variety of reasons, appointed senior officials, like city and county managers, enjoy an incredible level of professional protections that those in the private sector will never know – even when their decisions and behavior are far from professional.

From the vantage point of over 30-years in municipal government, I know a little bit about the perils of political instability, and the internal strife that comes from ideological clashes, and just good old-fashioned petty bickering between competing political factions.

As a result, I’ve seen good managers demonized and demoralized, pilloried for trying to do the right thing despite the prevailing political winds; left with no alternative but to move along and ply their often-itinerant trade elsewhere.

I understand the need for reasonable legal protections.

Conversely, as a resident of Volusia County, I’ve seen some of the most quisling, totally inept assholes ever to worm their way into public management, thrive – at least for a while – as they enjoyed the internal and external political protections that come with facilitating the flow of public funds to the private, for-profit interests of well-heeled campaign donors and political insiders.

Sound familiar?

In a Council/Manager form of government, the manager is given extraordinary powers over every aspect of government services.  For instance, the executive has complete autonomy to hire and fire employees, set internal policies, personally direct the operations of all departments, agencies and services of the government and administrate all financial and budgetary processes.

As I’ve said before, We, The People elect the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker to serve on a council or commission – similar to a corporate board of directors – who appoint a manager with ostensibly strong managerial and organizational skills to run the day-to-day operations of the government, make public policy recommendations and provide information to assist the legislative function.

Most do a fine job – and some do an exceptional job – serving multiple masters while bringing economic and civic progress to their communities.

The ‘system’ also insulates career civil servants, the professionals who provide essential governmental services to the community, from the often politically motivated nature of elected officials who are normally prohibited by charter from directing or interfering with operations.

That’s important.

Perhaps the one aspect of the system that gives the manager ultimate power is the fact that he or she personally controls the flow of information to the members of the elected body.

That can be dangerous.

Florida’s open government laws specifically prohibit two or more elected officials from discussing matters coming before the collective body in private.  As a result, the only conduit they have to the “real story” – the nuts and bolts of the issues – is through individual meetings with the manager.

While individual commissioners have some leeway to conduct independent fact-finding – some charters and transparent managers allow commissioners to speak with department heads – but most rely solely on what they are told by the executive.

As a result, many times the legislative process dissolves into little more than a rubber-stamp of the manager’s prerogative.

In our representative democracy, the only thing standing in the way of a government executive transmogrifying into a tyrannical despot is the elected body – politically accountable policymakers charged with the direct oversight of an extremely powerful individual.

But what happens when that executive enjoys the external protections of our “Rich & Powerful” – those who directly control the campaign purse strings and possess the political clout to make or break the ‘Kings and Queens’ who reside on the dais of power in local government’s large and small?

In Volusia County, a big factor is the enormous sums of cash which are infused into local political campaigns by those special interests seeking continued access to the public trough.

Another issue is the incredibly lopsided “Golden Parachutes” that have become de rigueur in City Halls and County Administrative offices everywhere.  In 2011, the Florida legislature put limitations on public employee severance pay – providing that payouts may not exceed an amount greater than 20 weeks of compensation – and  a prohibition on severance pay when the employee has been terminated for misconduct as defined in Florida Statutes.

Anyone else enjoy that kind of safety net?

In June, when former County Manger Jim Dinneen fled the building amongst growing questions over everything from the condition of publicly-owned properties to the state of our Medical Examiners function, he received a lump sum payment equal to his base salary for twelve months: $249,046.

During his tenure, I often thought that Jim Dinneen wouldn’t last 15-minutes in a meritocracy – such as any successful business owned by a member of the Volusia CEO Business Alliance – yet, for obvious reasons, Mr. Dinneen was the darling of this bastardized Oligarchy we find ourselves in.

In describing the difference between the public and private sector approaches to performance issues that have resulted in the First Step Homeless Shelter debacle, in his excellent piece, Mr. Rice opined”

“In private business, whoever was in charge of that project would be fired. Or, if they had a really nice boss, responsibility for the flailing project would be taken from them and they would be relegated to another — probably lower down the ladder — job they were deemed capable of doing. But that’s not how the city of Daytona Beach has approached construction of its over-budget, behind schedule, First Step Shelter for homeless adults.”

Isn’t that the damn truth?

Make no mistake, while the First Step Shelter catastrophe is a fine example of government ineptitude and mismanagement in action – these disasters are not limited to any one local government entity or department.

In fact, one need only look at the dismal state of our beach management, our emergency medical transport service, the revelatory exposures of whistle-blowers on everything from the “filtering” of information or withholding publicly-funded studies from decision-makers altogether – to the paralytic dysfunction that has hampered significant progress on the most intractable local problems of our time – and you get an idea of just how pervasive the problem is in the Halls of Power throughout Volusia County.

In my view, its time constituents begin holding senior public managers accountable for these continuing embarrassments by electing candidates who will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, Kids!

It’s been something of a roller-coaster ride of emotions here at Barker’s View HQ this week – and sometimes in life, all we can do is strap in, buckle up and hang-on tight.

On Tuesday, after a valiant struggle with aggressive breast cancer, our loyal and loving pet of 15 years went to wherever good dogs go.

Her name was Diamond, and she came into our family as a puppy when our then teenage daughter, as kids will often do, snuck her into the house knowing that once Patti and I laid eyes on her the answer to that age-old question “Can we keep her?” would be a foregone conclusion.

As she suffered the indignities of advanced age – losing her eyesight, hip pain and an aggressive tumor – we steeled ourselves for the inevitable.

I wrote on social media this week that in over 30-years as a cop, I saw a lot of really bad things – the worst of man’s inhumanity to man, as they say – and I never cried.  Not once.

I think those in the emergency services develop a coping mechanism that allows us to absorb and compartmentalize pain and suffering, otherwise the frequency and horrific nature of human tragedy would simply be too much to take.

But the cranny of my brain where those damnable memories and emotions are stored must be full – because I’m not embarrassed to admit that I openly wept, and I’ve remained an emotional mess – a true and overwhelming sense of loss more akin to a close family member than a pet.

But in the Barker household – our pets have always been a very big part of our family.

It’s strange.  When my father died in the Spring of ’93 at just 63-years old – only five years older than I am now – I didn’t shed a tear – and I began to worry that perhaps my heart had become calloused, no longer capable of expressing extremes of emotion like “normal” people.

Given how close my dad and I were, it bothered me terribly.

Then, out of nowhere, nearly two-years after his passing, I sat bolt upright in bed at three o’clock in the morning overcome by a crushing wave of grief the likes of which I had never known.  I buried my head in the pillow, and wept until daylight – a wonderful sense of release and acceptance flowed from those tears.

The incomparable songwriter, Guy Clark, once wrote in an ode to his father entitled, “The Randall Knife”:

I’d cried for every lesser thing

Whiskey, pain and beauty

But he deserved a better tear

And I was not quite ready

I understand what he was trying to say. . .

Our old gal was most assuredly a constant in our lives – and her passing has left an immense void in our house – and in our hearts.  But with her passing, Diamond reassured me once again that I still have the capacity to feel.

Our Nola – just 4-years old – has never known a day without Diamond’s comforting presence in her life, and it is heartbreaking to watch as she waits in vain for her to return – laying on Diamond’s day bed, sniffing frequently at her now empty collar and searching every room of the house for her missing sister.

When the time came this week, Dr. Long and the incredible staff at Tomoka Pines lit candles, created a comforting environment and helped our dear girl slip from this world to the next as Patti held her close and told her how much she was loved.

We will collect her cremated remains in a few days – and her urn will join those of our other “fur babies” who crossed before her.

The great nature columnist Gene Hill once wrote, “Nobody can fully understand the meaning of love unless he’s owned a dog. A dog can show you more honest affection with a flick of his tail than a man can gather through a lifetime of handshakes.”

Indeed.

Then, from the depths of sadness comes pure joy!

As Diamond was preparing to cross the Rainbow Bridge, a true blessing came to our family in the form of a 7-pound 2-ounce baby girl named Bee.

Our new niece was born!

As Bob Dylan once wrote, “Who is not busy dying is busy being born.”

Isn’t it the truth…

So, on Tuesday evening, Patti and I opened a good bottle of wine and raised a toast to a life that brought so much joy – and one that will perpetuate that pure and unequaled emotion.

Welcome to the world, Bee – here’s to a long life of all the best this fragile but beautiful existence brings.

Your aunt and uncle love you more than you know…

You know, some days you write the blog, and some days the blog writes you.  Many times, these screeds of mine are very personal, and very cathartic – a therapeutic purgative during trying times that helps me cleanse my mind by getting it on the page.

Thanks for indulging me.

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:             Dr. Kelly Long and Tomoka Pines Veterinary Hospital

In my view, anyone who provides care for sick and defenseless animals is the textbook definition of an “Angel” – and I sincerely and forever appreciate the love and compassion Dr. Kelly Long and Dr. Nick Avis, along with their exceptional staff of veterinary professionals, have shown my four-legged family members through the years.

Those in the medical field – be it human or veterinary – are doing God’s work, and it takes a special person to dedicate their lives to caring for the health and welfare of others.

Thank you for making a very difficult time such a beautiful and meaningful experience for those left to grieve.  By your kindness, you brought comfort to those who desperately needed it.

God’s work, indeed.

Asshole:          Former Lake Helen CM Jason Yarborough

Only in government do we perpetuate bad behavior and poor performance by rewarding it at every opportunity.

From paying massive legal fees to defend gross sexual harassment and gender discrimination claims, to lavishing perpetual salary and benefit increases without any legitimate performance metrics – rather than hold senior administrators accountable for their actions and ensure a commitment to the highest ideals of the public service – in Volusia County governments, large and small, our elected officials inexplicably reward appointed officials regardless of their abhorrent personal or professional conduct.

This incredibly expensive process usually begins during periods of transition – when a tumultuous period ends with a community selecting a new manager – someone who promises to return peace and stability to City Hall.

As a result, in desperately seeking equilibrium, elected officials invariably enter into lopsided employment contracts, with hefty compensation packages, often including multiple retirement options, investment plans, vehicle and housing allowances, paid health and life insurance – and incredibly lucrative severance packages should they flee or be terminated.

Clearly, these ‘Golden Parachutes’ are designed to protect the manager from political instability – often by requiring a super majority vote to terminate their employment and other shields that are unheard of in the private sector.

Unfortunately, these contractual obligations often hamstring the elected body from taking action to eliminate the cancerous effects of bad management.

When elected officials fail to provide necessary oversight – or are limited from doing their jobs by external political pressure – the enormous power and influence held by city and county managers can lead to horrific abuses and expensive mistakes that often leave We, The People holding the bag.

Last week, the tiny hamlet of Lake Helen agreed to a ridiculous financial settlement with its former City Manager, Jason Yarborough, which essentially calls for taxpayers to shove $40,000 of their hard-earned dollars in a brown paper bag and hand it to Yarborough as he escapes the building.

As I understand it, from September 2016 to March 2018, a technical glitch in the city’s utility billing software resulted in residents of the Lake Helen Villa – a 55-and-over mobile home park – being under-billed for water service.

When Yarborough was made aware of the problem earlier this year, city staff corrected the anomaly by manually uploading meter readings to the city’s system.

No big deal, right?

Wrong.

The real problem began when – rather than owning up to the billing error and reporting the issue to the Lake Helen City Commission – Yarborough and other senior officials kept quiet.

For months.

As a result, a simple technical malfunction was allowed to deteriorate into a major cover-up.

Then, to add insult to injury, Yarborough offered to resign his $118, 570 per year job if the City Commission agreed to a generous 16-weeks of severance pay.

That comes to approximately $48,000 before taxes.

Unbelievable.

According to Yarborough’s employment agreement, he would be entitled to the 16-weeks of pay if he was terminated absent official misconduct as defined in Florida statutes.  The City also agreed to provide him 30-days’ pay – along with a buyout of accrued leave time – if he resigned the position with 30-days’ notice.

What bothers me is that in July – while he was actively hiding the billing snafu from elected officials – the City Commission generously gave Yarborough a $6,300 pay increase – and raised his “travel budget” from $6,000 to $7,000 annually.

This isn’t the first time Yarborough has had trouble with a water utility.

In 2014, he resigned as public works director for the City of Port Orange after an internal investigation found his department had spent some $411,000 without commission authorization for water meters.

Jesus.

In a syrupy press release following his latest five alarm fuck-up, Yarborough said:

“I am proud of what we have accomplished in the last four years, and I look forward to seeing the results of the plans that we have started,” he said. “I wish the city and the organization all the best in the future.”

 Great.

And, just like that, Mr. Yarborough walks away from this steaming mess. . . $40,000 richer for the effort.

In the public sector, when senior managers attempt to cover-up errors and omissions – or withhold critical information from decision-makers – they are summarily fired and escorted off the property, never to work in that particular pursuit or profession again.

Not in government.

It seems no matter how egregious the foul-up, government administrators invariably land on their feet with a lucrative severance package and suddenly transform into ‘managers in transition’ – laying in wait for the next unsuspecting burg to ignore their past faux pas and give them one more bite at the apple.

Over a long career in municipal government, I’ve been blessed to serve with some of the best managers in the business – and cursed to work under the yoke of some of the most unethical, double-dealing, quasi-criminal assholes to ever hold that lofty position.

In my view, its time local governments begin holding disgraced public managers accountable by defending their citizens from these astronomical severance payouts in the wake of scandals and acts of gross mismanagement that continue to undermine our faith and confidence in government.

Asshole:          County of Volusia

Volusia County residents are still digesting the bombshell dropped by James Pericola, a federal lobbyist whose Seward Square Group currently represents our interests in Washington D.C. under a $90,000 annual contract.

In his correspondence to the Volusia County Council, Mr. Pericola courageously exposed the tragic consequences of an organization that “. . .promotes a lack of transparency which leads to a dysfunctional and ineffective process that largely leaves the (county) Council out of the loop.” 

In perfectly describing the truly frightening process at play where critical information was “filtered” by then County Manager Jim Dinneen and his senior staff – and publicly-funded studies were purposely withheld from policymakers altogether – Mr. Pericola wrote:

“As a result, countless opportunities are missed, and mistakes are constantly repeated because there is no oversight from the Council other than the hiring and firing of firms. This process is also filtered, as the Council relies heavily on the Manager’s recommendation. Remaining in the good graces of the Manager has been prioritized over establishing an open and collaborative process. Once the Council hires a firm, staff actively works to limit contact or are ordered to filter information and opportunities to the Council. Thus, the Council does not see actions, recommendations and proposals the staff choose not to act or report on either because they don’t want additional work, or because they do not understand the issue, or possibly have another agenda.”

Rather than act upon the intelligence provided by Mr. Pericola – and launch an independent inquiry to determine the depth of the problem and identify the possible impact of ‘filtered’ or deliberately withheld information on past and future public policy decisions – certain Volusia County politicians immediately unleashed their patented “Admit nothing.  Deny everything.  Make counter-accusations.” damage control strategy that has allowed this pernicious system to perpetuate itself for years.

Our clueless County Chair, Ed Kelley, joined Councilman “Sleepy” Pat Patterson in calling Pericola’s revelations “sour grapes” – accusing the lobbyist of disparaging Volusia County after the council slashed funding for federal lobbying and hired a former congressional bureaucrat, John Booker, to handle governmental relations.

Really?

The problem is – like any number of whistle-blowers who have come before him – Mr. Pericola has absolutely nothing to gain by exposing the internal dysfunction and organizational corruption that has cost Volusia County residents untold millions in federal dollars that could have been used to address serious issues ranging from the opioid crisis to water quality.

Now, former Assistant County Manager Mary Anne Connors has joined the fray.

In a recent Letter to the Editor of The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Ms. Connors opined:

“Jamie Pericola’s self-serving and petulant attack on Volusia County staff and the former manager is a sorry excuse for his firm’s inability to deliver a product of continued value to the county. He describes federal funds that are prospective and “might have been” as an actual loss, and The News-Journal panders to his claims as credible. Shame on both for the superficial understanding and treatment of important issues.”

Self-serving?  To what end?

And her claim that Pericola’s descriptor of “prospective and “might have been” federal funds as a loss is incredibly disingenuous.  The fact is, federal competitive and programmatic grant funding is like the lottery – you can’t win if you don’t play – and accusing the newspaper of having a “superficial understanding” of important issues is eerily similar to Volusia County’s admonition that We, The People are too stupid to understand impact fees and other initiatives that always seem to benefit all the right last names.

According to Ms. Connors, “Neither Pericola nor The News-Journal scratch the surface to understand or communicate why a long-term problem is acknowledged and actually difficult to resolve.  It’s easier to point fingers and claim a lack of transparency, a subjective term commonly defined in retrospect.”

My God.

Is literally everyone out of step but Volusia County government?

Are all of us out here in the hinterlands who see a serious problem with transparency in County government completely nuts?

Anyone else see a distinct pattern emerging here? 

I have never seen an institution so oblivious to the fact that the sham has been exposed – the cronyism, the gross manipulation of public information, the constant stream of tax dollars to underwrite the private for-profit projects of wealthy insiders and campaign donors, the giveaway of public assets and the complete lack of oversight that has allowed senior managers to operate what is in essence a shadow government – totally devoid of political accountability.

They’re like a mendacious toddler, hands and face covered in chocolate, repeatedly denying any connection to the pudding.

Whenever anyone with inside knowledge of the problem breaks with the lock-step conformity that has resulted in the paralytic dysfunction that has hampered any substantive progress on the serious issues we face  – the immediate response is to attack, marginalize and destroy the messenger – then disparage the message itself as an effective means of protecting the Oligarchical system at all costs.

Don’t take my word for it – ask former Volusia County Medial Examiner Dr. Sara Zydowicz, current District 4 Councilwoman Heather Post, or Sheriff Mike Chitwood  – how going against the grain and attempting to expose the internal machinations of a government gone haywire worked out for them.

Now, add the name Jamie Pericola to the growing list of whistle-blowers who – as recipients of public funds – tried valiantly to do the right thing by Volusia County residents in keeping with their high sense of personal and professional ethics.

Trust me.  There is nothing self-serving about doing the right thing – risking everything to expose corruption and abject dysfunction – and I believe that Mr. Pericola’s revelatory letter is perhaps the most important thing written about Volusia County government since the Charter.

I suspect we’ve just seen the tip of this iceberg.

Asshole:          The First Step Money Pit

The out-of-control shit-show that is the First Step Shelter project took another weird turn this week when the Daytona Beach City Commission decided to ignore reason and press on – full-steam ahead – with the massively expensive homeless “shelter” that has languished interminably.

In my view, it’s never too late to right a wrong – or take a step back and consider if there is a better way forward.  Inexplicably, the collective wisdom of City officials has been to simply accept a $6 million price tag, to the exclusion of any reasonable alternative, simply because they are “committed to the road and need to stay the course.”    

I don’t know about you, but when it’s my hard-earned money at stake, I have never found it difficult to change course and consider options before a major purchase when I could save a buck.

Perhaps therein lies the problem.

Contrary to what some in government have come to believe – this isn’t Monopoly money at play here.

In light of all the looming issues surrounding this project – not the least of which is how the First Step Shelter Board will now convince leery donors to contribute cash and in-kind services to cover recurrent operational expenses – it is becoming evident that many in our community have lost faith.

And given the prevalence of chronic homelessness and vagrancy that are now “in your face” problems for every resident of east Volusia County – the cost of a failure of leadership at this juncture is serious cause for concern.

I could be wrong – but from here in the cheap seats – the entire process has taken on the appearance of a rudderless ship.

Originally, we were told that the Rev. L. Ron Durham, in his role as Community Relations Director for the City of Daytona Beach, was the head ramrod – now, City Manager Jim Chisholm is defending everyone from the architect to City staff from legitimate criticism – and We, The People still don’t have answers as to how construction costs skyrocketed to an estimated $6 million – for a building that has yet to come out of the ground?

Is what we’re witnessing just good old-fashioned bureaucratic ineptitude?

Is it possible that no one at City Hall could have foreseen this financial quagmire before the project reached this point of no return?

Why don’t senior government officials speak to reporters anymore?  Has the whole idea of effectively communicating with taxpayers on difficult issues of community concern been relegated to a paid mouthpiece with nice hair and a canned news release?

Or is what we’re seeing evidence of something far more sinister?

And, perhaps most important, when are we going to get answers?

You be the judge – because at this late date – I’ll be dipped if I can understand it. . .

As a recent editorial in The Daytona Beach News-Journal said:

“Daytona Beach, with the most visible homeless problem, has the most to gain. But city officials — most notably, City Manager Jim Chisholm — have been bafflingly non-communicative about the shelter’s progress and realistic cost estimates. If, as they claim, city officials expected the final price tag to go up, why didn’t they say so as the $2.5 million price tag was cited again and again? Why wasn’t it at least communicated to members of the shelter’s governing board? South Daytona Mayor Bill Hall, a former police chief and First Step board secretary charged with keeping the board’s minutes, says he’s sure nobody ever mentioned that the price tag was a few million bucks higher. We believe him.”

I do too.

Bill Hall is one of the most honorable men I know.

It’s just one reason why I won’t be surprised if the next thing we see are members of the First Step Shelter Board jumping ship before this maelstrom of suspicion and unanswered questions really gets out-of-hand – and who could blame them?

I mean, since when did volunteering your time and talents to do good work on behalf of those less fortunate require having your good name associated with something like this?

Tragic.

Quote of the Week:

“We continue to try and purchase prosperity by giving away beach ramps or taking cars off the beach.  We would appreciate if you stop giving away our public assets for the benefit of people who come here from somewhere else.”

–Beach Driving Advocate and Citizen-Activist Ken Strickland, speaking to the Volusia County Council just before they gave away another 20-feet of publicly owned beach access to the developer dujour, Orlando-based Avista Properties, Inc.

Well said, Ken.  And infinitely true.

And Another Thing!

Here’s something fun and civic minded to do this weekend – straight from the Sons of the Beach – Florida’s premiere beach driving and access advocacy:

“Come on out and have some fun and Help Save Beach Driving!

Luke and the Crabby Joe’s crew on the Sunglow Pier are hosting another party for the SOBs. We have a Court Date on October 3rd and proceeds from the event will go to our legal fund.

David Vukelja, the SOB attorney, is committed to challenging Volusia County’s continuous attempts to privatize our beach.  YOU can help!  Buy a delicious Crabby Joe’s lunch ticket and you will be eligible for door prizes.  We will have NEW very cool T-shirts, raffles, and a 50/50 drawing (our last one was over $150.00 to the winner).  See you Sunday…Help us Save Beach Driving!”

I encourage the entire Barker’s View tribe to come out this Sunday from 1:00pm to 4:00pm and support a great cause!

Crabby Joe’s is located right over the ocean on the Sunglow Pier – 3701 South Atlantic Avenue – Daytona Beach Shores.

Also, Barker’s View joins all Volusia County residents in wishing our County Council Chair, Ed Kelley, a complete and rapid recovery after he felt under-the-weather earlier in the week.

Look, I realize I give Old Ed a lot of crap – most of it deserved – but that’s politics, not personal.

Here’s hoping you’re back in the fray real soon, Mr. Chairman!

That’s all for me!

Have a great weekend, kids!

 

 

“Admit nothing.  Deny everything.  Make counter-accusations.”

This phrase is often credited to Roger Stone, the infamous political consultant and “dirty trickster” whose antics go back to the Nixon-era.  He’s currently embroiled in the Mueller investigation, along with his former business partner – Paul Manafort – in the Washington-based lobbying firm Black, Manafort, Stone.

More accurately, the expression has been the mantra of spies and cops working undercover as a means of avoiding detection, and limiting scrutiny, by putting anyone who challenges you on the defensive.

The strategy appears to be working equally well for certain elected officials on the Volusia County Council.

In perhaps the most important revelation of the inner-workings of Volusia County government since the rotten reign of former County Manager Jim Dinneen ended with him fleeing the building like a cheese-stealing rat – this week, The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s intrepid reporter Dustin Wyatt exposed an August 6, 2018, correspondence from James Pericola, Volusia County’s federal lobbyist who is paid some $90,000 annually to seek funding for local needs in Washington, wherein Pericola spills the beans on a shocking “lack of transparency” and paralytic dysfunction in county government.

Sound familiar? 

It should – because Pericola’s stark revelations serve to confirm everything I’ve written about the Dinneen administration, and our bought-and-paid-for stooges on the Dais of Power in DeLand, for the past two-years – and proves I am not alone in my near-constant criticism of the cult-like cloak of secrecy that permeates every aspect of Volusia County government.

Since taking office, Sheriff Michael Chitwood has screamed about the County Council’s complete lack of transparency and backroom dealings to anyone who will listen.

Most recently, District 4 Councilwoman Heather Post also sounded the klaxon – exposing horrific issues with essential county services from the deterioration of the Sheriff’s Office evidence facility, questioning the debacle at the Medical Examiner’s Office and shining an uncomfortable light on the myriad problems at EVAC which continue to place your family and mine in grave jeopardy.

In his incredibly revelatory letter to Chairman Ed Kelley and members of the Volusia County Council, Mr. Pericola described an organizational structure and culture that. “. . .promotes a lack of transparency which leads to a dysfunctional and ineffective process that largely leaves the Council out of the loop.”

 In perfectly describing the truly frightening process at play where critical information is “filtered” by the County Manager and senior staff – or withheld altogether from policymakers – Mr. Pericola wrote:

 “As a result, countless opportunities are missed, and mistakes are constantly repeated because there is no oversight from the Council other than the hiring and firing of firms. This process is also filtered, as the Council relies heavily on the Manager’s recommendation. Remaining in the good graces of the Manager has been prioritized over establishing an open and collaborative process. Once the Council hires a firm, staff actively works to limit contact or are ordered to filter information and opportunities to the Council. Thus, the Council does not see actions, recommendations and proposals the staff choose not to act or report on either because they don’t want additional work, or because they do not understand the issue, or possibly have another agenda.”

My God.

The letter went on to describe serious missed opportunities for federal funding to address important issues such as the opioid crisis and the County’s failure to pursue USDA water grants.

Even while Volusia County drug rehabilitation programs faced serious budget cuts and the raging opioid epidemic continues to take hundreds of local lives each year.

This isn’t the first time a lobbying firm has expressed critical concerns about the abject dysfunction in DeLand.  In November 2014, Richard Gold, a senior lobbyist with Holland & Knight, decided they no longer wished to represent Volusia County due to “. . .clear and apparent fractures in the County Council.”

Again, any of that sound familiar?

On September 4, the Council selected a state lobbying firm – Southern Strategy Group – who just happens to represent Consolidated Tomoka Land Company, and Mori Hosseini’s fiefdom over at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – both heavy-hitters who pour tens-of-thousands of dollars into the campaign accounts of County Council incumbents – while Pericola’s Seward Square Group will serve out its current contract through December.

Almost immediately, our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley – and his lockstep confederate, “Sleepy” Pat Patterson – initiated their patented strategy of circling the wagons, marginalizing the messenger and protecting the ‘system’ at all costs.

In a clearly orchestrated tactic to systematically disparage Pericola and trivialize external criticism, both Kelley and Patterson described the lobbyist’s damning revelations as “sour grapes.”

“How would he know anything about our (level of) transparency? I don’t know what he could be referring to,” Kelley said. “It would be ridiculous to say that we have no interest in grants. There would be no reason for us to not pursue a grant.”

Really?

You don’t know what he’s referring to? 

The lack of transparency in County government is legendary – and literally everyone who is paying even marginal attention has watched in utter disbelief as Jim Dinneen and senior county administrators perpetuated one colossal five-alarm fuck-up after another.

We have seen our elected dullards stand idle as Mr. Dinneen foisted his “public policy by ambush” strategy – using off-the-agenda revelations to ramrod the hidden agenda of uber-wealthy insiders who provided him the political insulation needed to operate what amounted to a shadow government – totally devoid of external accountability – more akin to a protection racket than a representative government.

I’ve said it before – in my view, either Ed Kelley is suffering from a weird form of cognitive dissonance that allows him to create alternative facts, ignore material evidence and blatantly lie to his constituents whenever it serves the needs of this bastardized Oligarchical system – or he’s the dumbest human being to ever hold elective office.

In light of Mr. Pericola’s revelations, now there is no doubt as to why this doddering asshole has fought like a rabid badger to prevent a forensic audit of county finances and operations – and the machinations of that ineffectual, narcoleptic marionette, “Sleepy” Pat Patterson, have now become self-evident.

In addition to Heather Post, it appears Councilwoman Billie Wheeler may well be coming to the realization that all is not as it seems in the Thomas C. Kelly Administration building.

Better late than never, I guess.

According to the News-Journal, “Wheeler, who had a phone conversation with Pericola this week, said it’s clear that there are still changes that need to be made going forward. “If the lobbyist is saying we (council members) need to be more involved, I want to make sure we step that up.”

More involved?  Christ, you’ve been asleep at the switch since taking office!

Billie – please – wake up and smell the coffee.

Things have happened in spite of you, not because of you – get it? 

Your “staff” has willfully and intentionally kept you out of the loop – now, do something about it, dammit!

Gentle readers, this incredible turn-of-events may well expose – once and for all – the internal intrigues that have plagued Volusia County government and continue to hamstring any substantive progress on the serious issues we face.

With millions in public funds funneled to the private project’s of well-connected insiders and campaign contributors – facilitated by an internal structure that filters information, conceals the results of independent studies paid for with tax dollars, demands lock-step conformity by elected officials charged with representing our interests, and besmirches the character and reputation of whistle blowers or marginalizes anyone who dares to expose the truth – we have finally seen the first real evidence of the gross mismanagement and abject corruption that has plagued us for years.

The situation is now undeniable.

Folks, in my view, this one is important – stay tuned – things are about to get interesting for Old Ed and the Funky Bunch. . .