Mr. Sabol is a practicing attorney and a political appointment of the CRA who was elected Chair by his fellow members. His rebuttal is in two parts--
PART 1
Under normal circumstances, I would never post a comment on any issues involving my position with the CRA. In this case, however, I feel my position as the CRA Chair requires me to do so in light of the fact that my Board is being wrongfully accused of catering to special interests and being ineffective.
I truly believe that every single member of the current CRA Board has one goal in mind – to improve OUR City. We are not only volunteer board members we are residents of Lake Worth as well. I recognize that various members of our Board (and member of the public for that matter) have different opinions on what is best for Lake Worth, but that is exactly the reason why our Board should remain intact and independent. We are not politicized. We are not influenced by the whims of political emotions. We are not influenced by false and sensationalized accusations of racism and gentrification. We are not influenced by the tyranny of the City Manager. We are not influenced by the misinformation published by local news outlets. We are not influenced by the uninformed opinions of one or two very outspoken members of the community who seek to dramatize our actions so they can stroke their own ego and perpetuate their delusional feeling of self-importance.
The only influence our Board responds to is what we each individually believe is in the best interest of Lake Worth. Sometimes the right carries the vote and sometimes the left carries the vote, which again, is exactly the reason the CRA Board should remain independent and intact. America is a nation built upon compromise and respect for any and all opinions and I truly believe the current CRA Board is a perfect example of what has made America the refuge for all persons who are persecuted and oppressed around the world. Members of our CRA Board often disagree with each other and with the opinions of members of the public, but we do so in a respectful manner and express our opinions with our vote, rather than through personal attacks. Our CRA Board has pledged to debate the issues, not the members and to criticize an opponent’s reasoning, NOT the opponent personally.
To say the CRA has wholly failed to eliminate slum and blight is simply false. Remember, the CRA does not replace the City’s responsibilities to the communities within the CRA District, we supplement it. Before the Gateways were completed, the two main entryways to our City were the poster child for slum and blight. I have heard many stories from business owners and residents that when giving directions to their home or business, they would avoid sending people down 10th & 6th at all costs. Now, the slum and blight has been alleviated along the Gateways. The spill-over effects of the Gateway improvements has already begun, but to completely eliminate the blight of the neighborhoods near the Gateways will be a slow and gradual process, which has unfortunately been further delayed by the economic recession.
Moreover, the CRA single handedly obtained the NSP 2 Grant. Without that Grant, the CRA budget (regardless of who controls it), would be slightly above $1M. However, thanks to the CRA’s vision, diligence and independence, our budget is now over $23,000,000.00, all being spent in a very specific and controlled manner, with one single purpose – to eliminate slum and blight. Not only did the City refuse to assist the CRA in applying for the Grant, they expressly discouraged the CRA from applying for the Grant.
Part 2, the conclusion, coming soon
Note: Mr. Sabol's explanation and opinion on several aspects of his article do not reflect the opinion of Lynn's Little Bit of Trivia. However, we firmly believe that Mr. Sabol has the right to rebut or to "dramatize," knock us, as well as our "egos," on our azz and to use whatever justification he chooses to make his point. We also believe that the CRA is a political Board and members are appointed by politicians. It is the Commission that will have the final say and rightly so.
The following e-mail was sent to Mr. Sabol on Feb 9th. We did not get a response until today when the taking back of the CRA by the LW Commission became a possibility:
Hi Cary--
Patrick Parrish, Editor of the above, has implied that there is hanky panky going on in the NSP2 grant money by paying too much for properties. He says that the appraisals are coming in "sky high" over the County fair market prices. He also implies that there is something shady going on with Tiger Investment Group, owner of some of these properties.
Any comment?
The CRA has been a wasteful endeavor consisting of unelected board members who are unresponsive to the citizens with many who have fallen in love with their own egos and importance. They need to work with THE COMMISSION, NOT AGAINST IT.
ReplyDeleteBy taking it back, we can eliminate the duplication of services--attorney and management. We must have elected officials in charge of the money. The CRA members need to take down their mirrors.
R. Exline
That would be great if our elected officials didn't tell us to get used to living in a ghettoe, or floreclose on their homes. Right
ReplyDeleteThere has always been abuse with CRA's whether in Boynton Beach, Riviera Beach, Delray or Lake Worth. Corruption has not been uncommon such as members rewarding money to themselves, friends and associates. To stop the abuse is to have elected officials take control. The voters then would have a choice to clean it up.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the connection to Broward County?
Dennis
We provided two presentations to directly address the concerns about how much we have paid for the NSP properties and have discussed the issue at a number of meetings. The NSP Grant requires us to pay, at a minimum, 1% less than the appraised value of each property. We provided both a presentation from our legal counsel as well as our appraiser on this issue, who happens to specialize in government programs, particularly NSP Programs.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that we have purchased some properties above the County appraised value, but we have also purchased a number of properties below the County appraised value.
Anyone with real estate experience knows the County's appraised value has very little to do with the actual market value of a property. There are many, many factors involved in determining the market value of a property and the County's appraised value is only one small part of that equation. I have seen properties sell for less than 1/2 the County appraised value to over 300% the County appraised value. The simple fact is that the County's appraised value has very little relevance to a property's true market value.
Cary Sabol
Mr. Sabol, you say that you are not political but then in a next paragraph you admit that you have members on the left and then on the right. Does this not show politics? You accuse people of being uninformed and stroking their own egos only because they are disagreeing with you. I would say that you are not tolerant of anyone's views if they differ from yours. Am I wrong here?
ReplyDeleteI am extremely happy about the 23 mil grant and hope that you can do positive things with the money.
Helen M.
Dear Helen M.,
ReplyDeleteWhen I say "right" or "left" I mean that each issue has proponents and opponents on each side of the political spectrum who come to speak at our meetings. Sometimes our Board's majority vote is in favor of those on the "right/conservative" side and other votes are in favor of those on the "left/liberal" side. Which shows that we are issue driven and make each decision on its merits, not a Board that blindly sticks to political ideologies.
Feel free to come a meeting or listen to the recordings of past meetings and you will see each member of our Board is not only tolerant of, but embraces differing opinions on each issue.
Thank you for your comments and I will be happy to answer any other questions as my time permits.
Cary Sabol
The problem that I see (that is not addressed in comments or posts) is that Mr Sabol would like for the board to give him and one other board member the power to sign off on some of the NSP expenditures whenever staff "needs" time-sensitive approval. I believe that this privilege has been requested and discussed more than once.
ReplyDeleteTo allow this would be unacceptable. To ask for it makes me question Mr Sabol's commitment to transparency and respect for the opinions of his fellow board members. And his opinion of the city manager is irrelevant. He can run for office if he doesn't like the commission's choice of manager. I personally think that, in light of the very low quality managers we've had in the last several years, some micro-management is just what the doctor ordered. Anyone who has paid close attention to our audits and our unfettered cash outflows to union pension funds (not to mention the criminal activities several departed department directors) knows that Stanton is doing an excellent job of getting the city back on track.
CRA Volounteers not only are not experienced professionals in their field they waste time and money. Its like putting aa Neuor Surgeon in a Pool Cleaning position. Cary Sabol cannot evan afford an office or a fax machine. He works out of a PO Box 15981 W. Palm Beach Fl 33416 and could not evaen manage partners in note worthy law firms. His current Gig is siding with a Lake Worth homeowner who's daughter fraudulently homesteaded a property with a current longstandinng teneant renting it. The tenant doesn't even know the daughter. The daughters parents gave the home to the daughter and hounded the tenant to pay them cash for years. Cary Sabol is now harrassing the tenant who has refused to scam with the Landlords daughter. The landlords parents are not owners of the property or licensed property managers. They've bbeen stalking and harrassing the tenant for months. The tenant has attorneys of record, iinstead Sabol addresses the tenant to harrass her. His clients are Criminal, Fraud, and Stalkers. Sabol? Just another attorney giving the legal profession a Bad Name!
ReplyDeleteThis is how CRA operates. They send you the wrong application 3 or 4 times.they take your personal information. Most banks won't finannce with a 15 year deed restriction that they don't ever divulge to you. You have to give them all of your personal info. Then wing it on what the terms may be. You can have all the qualifications necessary and be approved by a bank. NSP2 has no lenders for anyone without a credit Fico score despite excellant trade and rental references. They tell you it counts months after the run around they tell you it doesn't. They won't show you any propertiees without passing their terms or being preapproved for amortgage. Of course they avoid telling you everything. You have to contact them frequently so yoour file. Doesnts get lost. Then you learn this FAMILY LENDING IS ALLL A SHAM. A 20 year old male driving a BMW gets a 2000 sq ft townhouse and 2 car garage. His obligations are 15 years with CRA not to rent it and can only sell to a qualifiied CRA applicant. Hmmm? How many times ahas a 20 year old moved in 15 years? Its easier to find a wall and just Knock yourself out instead of dealing with them. LOL
ReplyDelete