Perhaps this should be entitled--Giant corporation worth billions takes advantage of poor city--or--Lake Worth would sell its soul to the devil. Take your pick. I don't care.
The city wants to cave in once again to 50 years more of billboard blight. We are offended by the idea of hot-dog carts at our beach cheapening the area and giving it the affect of Coney Island but now, once again, we have an LED billboard located at 1802 Fourth Avenue North just west of I-95 that we will have to put up with for 50 years if the city commission votes for another bad deal, this one having an LED face on both sides. It's on the Consent Agenda so I am assuming that EVERYONE UP ON THE DAIS WANTS IT.
When it comes to the billboards along I-95, we have had to endure this horrible decision since the commission from hell approved them.
The Billboard blight has been a fiasco since the day that Florida Outdoor Advertising LLC in 2001 and later Interstate Outdoor Advertising, Inc. in 2007 blitzed into town and told our city that they were going to install billboards on our property along I-95. They filed the necessary applications and were subsequently denied because of our sign ordinance. Interstate Outdoor Signs then filed suit. They knew how to play the game as they had been successful in many other cities doing the same thing and of course they knew that most cities didn't have the money to fight them in court. Screw your sign ordinance they said.
We tried to fight the bastards by defending ourselves and hired outside counsel with the firm of Johnson, Anselmo, Murdoch, etal. Interstate told our city attorney at the time, Larry Karns, that they would resolve their lawsuit and settle with us rather than going to court saying that they had won these cases and it would cost the City a a bundle in legal fees if they pursued. The City capitulated and rolled over petrified about another lawsuit that would cost us hundreds of thousands. After all, we were playing against the big deep-pocketed boys.
The First deal that they offered was as follows:
- A 20 year lease minus 1 day
- Interstate was allowed to install 3 billboards on the west side of I-95 on private properties.
- Interstate was allowed to install 3 billboards on the east side of I-95 on city owned property.
- They offered a one time payment of $2,650.000 after approval was given.
But it doesn't matter which deal we went with as the city settled again. This time we ended up receiving a check in the amount of $1,240,000 on February 24, 2010 and it was authorized to be deposited into the CIP account. That money is ALL gone. Twenty years of billboard blight and $1.2 million gone and spent in a flash. Money burns holes in the pockets of Lake Worth and not one dime was spent on potholes.
The city's explanation for this new BS: The City’s LDRs prohibit billboards in the City and required that existing billboards would have to be removed by 2019, unless, however, any billboards that were subject to a settlement agreement could remain in place for 20 years or as set forth in the settlement agreement.
That Settlement Agreement allowed Florida Outdoor Advertising to construct a static billboard at 1802 Fourth Avenue North just west of I-95. The Settlement Agreement did not contain any termination clause setting a time when the billboard would have to be taken down. Now these thugs, who are experts at screwing cities, approached the city and have negotiated a settlement of this matter, subject to Commission approval.
The proposed settlement would allow Clear Channel (entity names change throughout the years) to replace both faces of the billboard with LED signage which could remain in place for 50 years. The City would receive ten (10) hours/month of free public service advertising space. The City would be paid $25,000.00 per digital face ($50,000.00 total) per year increasing 10% every 5 years during said 50 years for a total of $3,984,385.
About 88 percent of Clear Channel Outdoor is owned by iHeartMedia which was taken private in 2008 by Bain and Thomas H. Lee Partners for $19 billion. Clear Channel Outdoor is the second-largest outdoor advertising company.
This is on tonight's agenda.
10 comments:
All that Maxwell and the other two ass-heads Triolo and Amoroso have done is blight the neighborhood west of I-95. First the destruction of a county park with a baseball stadium less than 100 feet from our homes, now 24/7 LED light pollution ! City created dumps around Lake Osborne drive that were only cleared up after threats of fines and law suites.Code dept created residential DUMPS like the one on Wright Drive and the dump without a damn roof less than 100 feet from Commissioner Maxwell'
s own home ! Bankrupting every citizen and business in town with a ridiculous poorly written 63,000,000 money grab !
We need to do Triolo, Maxwell and Amoroso a favor. We need to kick them out of office so they can go to work for Hudson Holdings full time.
I hate the billboards, but the LED billboards are horrible. They screw with my night vision they are so bright. How are they even legal since they are a hazard for drivers at night?
This is yet another reason HH scares me, the City has shown time and time again, regardless of who is in charge, that they cannot negotiate anything properly. Even if HH came forward with a good idea, the City would fail to protect itself or cower at the first threat of litigation and we would get stuck with something a million times worse.
Damn our code department! Your responsible for every blighted nasty property in Lake Worth and everything else wrong with this city! Our commission is a bunch of honest leaders while behind the scenes your the ones pulling the strings! Its not the innocent property owners responsibility to monitor their properties, its your fault their properties look like crap! Get on your game or resign!!!!! Better yet lets just fire the entire code department and let the Lake Worthians just govern themselves.
Now you're getting it, 3:22!
Exactly, we need to just disbar the code department as well as the Building and Zoning and let everyone just do what they want to do without any regulations. But keep the commissioners and CM because they have our best interests in mind, especially the CM he only makes a measly salary of $140,000+. I don't get why everyone is so against HH just let everyone do what they want to and let us live our lives how we want to, free from government oppression and control. There is really no reason for code to exist or any of Mr. Waters department of Sustainability. Power to the People!
Alright now, let's not get carried away with tongue and cheek comments that are only meant to provoke. Of course we need the code department. In fact, we need it more than ever. Now and then something slips through the cracks in the permitting process like 535 Wright Drive or an over zealous code officer perhaps just trying to do their job. Wright Drive is an abomination that never should have been allowed.
I agree with you Lynn,
So lets do what can do help our code department not bash them on various topic points. I agree Wright is a problem but at least there is a open case on it, which means their trying to rectify the problem. Lets let them do their job and if it does get closed we deserve to know why it was straight from the horses mouth rather than public opinions.
The Wright Dr house is just one property. It has had numerous complaints through the years. Right now this owner has taken advantage of our flawed system. It's a disgrace.
The case presently opened on it is parking on the lawn. I anticipate many more infractions at this location.
Yah hopefully code is able to take care of it. But some people are completely okay with a daily fine after it goes to court rather than actually fixing the problem. Theres only so much code can do.
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