"Listen to the people and see what they want...Do I want you to change the terms [loan to ourselves for casino rehab] NO, because I'm a businesswoman but I'm sure SHE does [as she turns and points her finger at me]; she's not working anymore.Why don't you let the people say what they want. You know it would be really nice if just once a commission, a full commission, listened to what all of the people wanted."
~ Loretta Sharp
Former candidate for office (we know how that one worked out) and the mayor's appointment on the Historical Resource Preservation Board.
I really hate to inform Ms. Sharpe but the people already spoke to the beach redevelopment on many occasions and several charettes were conducted. Why you people continue to try and change our beach and casino complex is the mystery. Does it EVER end with you? Are you ever going to make right decisions as business people or do you want to continue to operate in the red, bitch, moan and groan? And how dare you decide, out of the sunshine, that you want some developer to take over our casino on a long-term lease? Why don't you understand Business 101? Hands OFF our Beach...the people have spoken.
Waiting for the next illegal banner to go up.
Loretta Sharpe is a lying piece of crap. Triolo should have stopped the meeting and had Sharpe removed from the room.This woman is on a board? What a horrible joke on the tax payers of Lake Worth. Did Loretta recuse herself when her foreclosed property and it's new owner came before the board ? No. That alone should get her removed from the board.I suggest that we hook up Loretta's mouth to a wind turbine. She could generate enough electricity to power the whole town.
ReplyDeleteLoretta is a special person. People put up with her just like they do with Peter Tim.
ReplyDeleteWhat on earth about being a business woman would lead you to reject the possibility of balancing the budget?? Huh? Does business acumen dictate that we must make the beach appear to operate in the red? I have to ask whose business. I did notice when going over my notes from the meeting that again the gang of 3 all seem in lock step that the beach MUST NOT be allowed to operate in the black. And now the mayor wants to supposedly follow and honor the "previous" commission whom she purports to say wanted to transfer the loan from ourselves to a bank loan? The same commission supposedly who ruined the city before they came flying in to the rescue? What's up with that? And I noted as well the comment, maybe a threat--to increase resident parking. Does that mean selling parking decals for the $2500 HH was going to charge us? I think Chris should get a medal of honor for actually pulling some truth in numbers and fact about this entertaining free for all on the dais. And to think for $.54 monthly extra on the water bills this could all go away--(Actual numbers from the Indian financial gentleman who spoke, (did not write down his name).
ReplyDeleteI do have to wonder about Loretta Sharpe's influence here. Apparently it's up to her to throw away any blue cards she doesn't like?? And be rude and loud to anyone she doesn't like? Does the fact that she's clubby with Szerdi make her immune from the rules? And why on earth is she so rabidly angry with so many people?
ReplyDeleteShe's such a great businesswoman that she let her house go into foreclosure. I'm not sure we really should be listening to her on things like financial prudence and balanced budgets.
ReplyDeleteBornstein is a conduit between Commissioner Maxwell, Mayor Triolo and Commissioner Amoroso.Bornstein tells them their talking points on the beach ie the beach is a white elephant and that's the story and we're sticking to it.Is anyone stupid enough not to know that these three and their friends were regularly meeting with Hudson Holdings and Szerdi? Only an upcoming election and the wrath of the residents have put the brakes on their plan to give away our beach front property.
ReplyDeleteAnd if the damn secrecy doesn't STOP and we ALL work together to elect good people to this Commission ,our beach will be gone.GET IT, Joann, Laurie and Linda????
Yes, it’s a fact, if the 5,000 sq. foot potential restaurant space at the casino was rented it would increase our revenue numbers. Even if we could rent the space for $40 per foot we would just about break even IF you include the parking revenue. But with the poorly thought out design of the building and parking limitations it will never rent for $40 a foot. Without valet parking and a centrally located elevator to the space, high-end restaurant clientele would not support the location. Let’s face it, the folks that live to the north and the south of the casino have money and eat out a lot. Restaurants are a big business here in south FL. Even with no marketing of the space if those problems were not there that space would have been rented a couple of years ago when the economy started to picked up. With all the local publicity featuring the deficiencies at our new casino complex the best real estate broker in the country couldn’t rent the space for enough money to make the development profitable. Even if a potential restaurant group from out of state was interested and was never exposed to the local media’s coverage, a quick Google search would give them multiple links to show the defects and problems with the development. I do agree that an increase in parking fees would help make up some of the expenses and maintenance of the building and public space. The parking revenue is the only thing that is profitable over at the casino. But the profit from the parking should not have to be used just to support the businesses over there, it should be used to maintain our roads, our parks, our library and other public services, not to provide a small group of business a location to operate their business and employ only a couple hundred people. The city taxpayers have invested $8 Million Dollars rebuilding the casino. If we hadn’t received the $5 Million addition dollars to improve the parking and landscaping from the county we wouldn’t see a return on investment, on what was spent, until the money we borrowed was paid back. By that time, with the expense of maintaining an oceanfront development we’d need to re-do the project again.
ReplyDeleteAnd on the comment the mayor made that said it was recommended by then LW Finance Director Steve Carr that we should finance the project ourselves and then when it’s all rented out take out a traditional mortgage. That was recommended at a public meeting by the finance director. The probability of finding an institutional lender to loan money on that development with margins as thin as the P&L statements show now would be hard to find.
The beach and casino project has been a political football that this city has kicked back and forth for decades. We need to all; who participate in the process, get together and work on a doable plan to make the investment of over $13 Million Dollars of taxpayers’ money payoff for this city that we all want to see succeed.
Whether you agree or disagree it with, anybody who speaks at the podium, be it Loretta, Mr. Timm, Joann Golden, Katie McGivern, Peggy Fisher, the Moms squad with kids in tow or all those smelly people calling for us to provide for all their 'needs' including their right to urban camping in the park, it's still democracy and under the rules are allowed to speak for two minutes.
ReplyDeleteMost intelligent people can ascertain the amazing displays of delusionary oratory by some half wits from that of intelligent, well thought out, pragmatic and realistic opinion based upon fact. At the end of the day it's still all opinion, and like assholes, everyone has one... Except the crazies, some of those have at least two-opinions that is, and freely offer it up if you make the mistake and ask
I think the real bugaboo for some people is, that there were guarantees and promises made by a previous administration, and sold to the public as such for their support in renovating the casino. And now, because the fact of hard numbers and expenses have come home to roost, and it's clear that without the parking fees, the $500,000 grant, and deferment to zero dollars of repair reserves that the casino is running in the red if those factors are considered.
The city of Lake Worth should be thanking it's lucky stars that no bank loan was secured because if it had you certainly would not have been able to renegotiate a loan on the fly and we would have been bound to perform and pay back the loan in the timely fashion such an agreement would call for.
In business that's called false advertising and bait and switch. In city government that's called losing face and the trust of the people. And in the bond markets it's called losing your rating. How are people supposed to take you seriously when can we change the rules to suit whims at the moment because of flawed business plans of the past and execution. It's totally irresponsible and civicly repugnant.
And all this bickering back-and-forth serves no purpose than to demonstrate to the world that the minority on this commission has no dexterity of understanding the differences between a balance sheet, a financial statement, and a budget; nor any disire to comprehend or political fortitude that when you put lipstick on a pig, you in fact still have a pig.
And of course the beach park and Casino could be making more of a profit if Bornstein and his out of the sunshine trio made the empty space into a vanilla box and hired a competent realtor to lease it.
ReplyDeleteThe other neglect by this trio and their master manipulator is the enhancement of the present "ballroom" by adding paintings, plants, end chandeliers, so that it could be rented as an upscale ballroom for 10 times what it is now rented for.
Long opinion.
ReplyDeleteThe minority on this commission are the ONLY ones who are demonstrating any knowledge and understanding whatsoever. Mr. Waters had said, on the record, that it was NOT a flawed business plan.
The reason why we did not go to the bank was for that very same thing that you mention, anonymous. Isn't it great that we can finance ourselves? Isn't it great that we have our own utility that can contribute $9 million to our operating budget to keep our great little city going? Isn't it great that we have 2 people on the dais with some business sense that understand you need additional revenues before you increase costs?
It was THIS commission that offered the ten year leases to the merchants. It was they who offered the price and terms. Get them to take some responsibility if the rents are too low.
Dear Long Opinion @2:27--
ReplyDeleteI forgot one thing that you said--it's still democracy and under the rules are allowed to speak for two minutes
I agree with that but what I disagree with is one antagonistic person calling out other citizens by name, turning and pointing fingers or someone else yelling in my ear as I sit there minding my own business. That is NOT democracy but rather just plain boorish and juvenile behvaior.
The mayor needs to follow decorum. She doesn't. That is not being a leader but just another bully.
I don't think anyone sitting on that Dias has any sense. The only reason the beach hasn't been sold off to a greedy developer (and this goes for the golf course and bryant park as well) is b/c they can't. Luckily the public has had enough sense to pass amendments to our charter to protect our valuable public lands.
ReplyDelete1:35 is pretty funny. They state that nobody should be listening to Loretta Sharpe because her house went into foreclosure but you'll elect folks who were foreclosed on multiple times. Sound logic but consider the source.
ReplyDelete"elected folks who were foreclosed on multiple times?
ReplyDeleteName one. And don't say Mulvehill as her house was not foreclosed. So, who else?