The Squeaky Wheel

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Well, the first hurdle is over.  The dais made certain that their supporters were on hand, even wearing baseball caps that were handed out to them that adorned the chamber.

Last night the commission room was ignited. One premature suggestion supporting John Prince Park as a Spring training camp for two major baseball teams was the cause of that ignition because the city commission, in all its desperation for Lake Worth revitalization, had a Resolution supporting John Prince Park for the field. Those who supported the Resolution and who live nowhere near John Prince Park, were out in force.

The president of the Neighborhood Council, an association that swears it is not political but in reality the most political organization in Lake Worth, had rallied the association members who had previously voted in support of the idea.  She spoke to the subject and got her friends there such as West Palm Beach Commissioner Shanon Materio who said she was "jealous."  Every means was used to show support for this Resolution. The entire chamber was under an emotional umbrella all in the name of economic development and all in the name of sacrificing one area of the city for that gain. Force is in numbers and it is he who screams the loudest that makes the impact.

A few people spoke from the Residents of Lake Osborne Heights (an association that is NOT political) against the idea because it is their neighborhood that would be affected and impacted. Most residents are long gone now from commission meetings--they stay away as their voices are never heard even when they speak or even when they win an election that the city politicians refuse to honor. Commissioners don't return their phone calls and don't find time to meet with them and if there is opposition to their views, they take opportunities from the dais to belittle or make condescending statements towards those who disagree. They forget that they represent all of the people, not just some of them.

Tripp Cioci from ROLOH spoke and with tongue in cheek, suggested that they consider the golf course or Bryant Park for the Spring training camp.  He also conjured up a recorded document pertaining to the John Prince Park property dated April 12, 1940 that reads:

(This conveyance is made on the condition that the area above described is to be used for park and forest purposes only, and should said area be used for any purpose other than park and forest, the title to said land shall automatically revert and become the property of the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund of the State of Florida.)

Katie McGiveron, Vice President of ROLOH said, "We ask that our elected officials pay more attention to the very real concerns of very real families than they do to an ill-advised pipe dream pushed by a disgraced ex-Congressman turned lobbyist.

The final vote was 4/1 with McVoy dissenting.

The squeaky wheel, an American idiom used to convey the idea that the most noticeable (or loudest) problems are the ones most likely to get attention, gets the grease. The dais and the political neighborhood association council accomplished its goal last night--slip, sliding away on political oil.