Guest BloggerMary Watson
John Prince Park, our wonderful family public park
John Prince Park is home to the Florida Gopher Tortoise. Where the Board of County Commissioners is planning to put this stadium is highly populated with a threatened species, the gopher tortoise.
Why so important? It is a "lynchpin" species and some 400 other species depend on it. It preserves the biodiversity and functioning ecology of the park and keeps the natural area in balance. Its burrows, which may be up to 40 feet long, are also protected. Any construction needs to get a permit from Fish and Wildlife Commission, a more complex permit would be necessary as there are surely greater than 10 located here. This is documented (they even have a smart phone app, so we can pinpoint with GIS the location of burrows).
Spring training is right in the midst of their mating season and these are very shy creatures. Each one must be removed and relocated to a suitable environment and a penalty of more than $3000 per tortoise paid to FWC. Entombment or burying the tortoise is strictly forbidden and there is a 24/7 hotline to report any violations 888-404-FWCC. Protected under Florida Statute 68-A-27. Some time back there were plans to develop an area of the airport next to this. It was scrapped partially due to being a tortoise habitat.
2. This park is deed restricted since 1939. It is the legacy of John Prince, a great county commissioner, who convinced developers to donate this land--so the beauty and nature would be preserved for future generations. As one person said very aptly: "John Prince Park is our Central Park." It is a natural body of water, not man made. The deed states it is to be used "for park and forest only," NOT a stadium. Many people and families both locally and coming from other areas use it daily for recreation, fishing, exercise, community events and charity events such as races. There is no other near area in the park to relocate all these activities. Along with the tortoise there are other threatened species and many birds, wading birds and migrating birds. Among them are great blue and white herons, Limpkins, burrowing owl, and nesting for the great horned owl.
3. I am told the Audubon Society planted many memorial trees there close to the Custard Apple Slew. This would be destroyed, as well as the campground which just since January has brought in $4 million.
4. There is a very good article from Bloomburg Business Magazine explaining that the return on investment for baseball stadiums is a mere 11 cents on the dollar of invested money. This will cost us anywhere from $110-$230 million dollars, all of which will be paid for by us, the taxpayer. They are planning this little venture the same year they are asking us to increase the sales tax (a regressive tax which hits the poorest the hardest) by 17% for the next 10 or 20 years. The article shows how this is really a game of the billionaires (like the Braves) who "sucker" a city into building this for free for them with the promise of economic benefit. It is a myth as this never happens. The city will pay several hundred million and in 10-20 years the Braves, worth 1.2 BILLION will leave for greener pastures and we are stuck with another blighted area like before. This is irresponsible totally from a financial perspective, in a county supposedly so strapped for cash they are asking us to increase our tax rate. We need this like a fish needs new expensive high heels. And this is interesting: there is usually a 1 million dollar "finders fee" that goes to the person, persons who arrange this for the corporation.
4. The argument that this is a great opportunity for our young aspiring baseball fans is very slanted. Thousands who presently enjoy the park will lose that and many cannot afford the $45 to attend these games. This is of, by, and for the rich at the expense of all the people who presently enjoy the park--which of course was the purpose the park was created. I believe this would also destroy two newly created park areas: new exercise machines by the walking trail, and next to that a unique wheelchair handicapped exercise area. And this is taken away so a few wealthy can enjoy this for a few months a year. And we the county taxpayers recently paid for this.
5. This is taking deed restricted public property and confiscating 80 years of thriving native ecology to destroy at least half of it for a corporate entity worth $1.2 billion. This is charity to the billionaires paid doubly by us who lose a park and get a whopping big bill for 20 years.
MARY WATSON,
LAKE WORTH
8 comments:
Wow - the whole post is amazing!
I love these 2 statements:
"We need this like a fish needs
new expensive high heels."
"And this is interesting: there is usually
a 1 million dollar "finders fee" that goes
to the person, persons who arrange this for
the corporation."
Interesting is how the Million Dollar Fee
would be split between so many ignorant &
Corrupt ELECTED OFFICIALS!
There is Nothing New under the Sun!
"It is of great importance to set a resolution,
not to be shaken, never to tell an untruth.
There is no vice so mean, so pitiful, so contemptible;
and he who permits himself to tell a lie once,
finds it much easier to do it a second and a third time,
till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies
without attending to it, and truths without the world's
believing him. This falsehood of the tongue leads to
that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good disposition."
--Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, 1785
Great article. Thanks, Mary. It does make yhu wonder the way they are pushing a losing proposition and keep telling us this is an economic boom, if not some pay to play is taking place.
I would urge readers to click on the link to the Bloomberg article. It's very well written. Is a bit lengthy so I just want to put the following paragraph up:
"The Braves are similarly methodical about using other people’s money to build their ballparks. In 2001, for example, while trying to persuade Rome to build a $15 million, 5,105-seat stadium for the Single-A Braves, who then played 150 miles south in Macon, the Braves brought local officials to Turner Field for executive dinners and to watch games from the owner’s box. “It was hands down the highlight of my life,” then-Floyd County Manager Kevin Poe says. That November, Rome voters approved a 1¢ sales tax to pay for the stadium by a 142-vote margin.
Please note that we, also, are being asked to vote in a 1 cent sales tax in November. Remember this when you go to the polls to vote.
And that Scott Maxwell, Hal Valeche, Priscilla Taylor, and Shelly Vana were all out wining and dining the Braves. Hal Valeche gave $500 to Scott's election campaign. Scott was a chief pusher as well to take our public property, Lake Worth beach, and allow Hudson Holdings to privatize it. Mary Watson
The article also says that (much like the beach negotiations last
year) most of the negotiations are kept out of the sunshine. The one town, Pearl, lost its credit rating, had to refinance the bond multiple times, and sounds like it is well on its way to bankruptsy.
All for a ballpark.
Mary's article should be in the Palm Beach Post Editorial. Very well written and obviously very well researched. I think more people would understand what a great place John Prince Park is and it might even generate more income annually with more campers coming here.
Where are they loosing money. Here are the camp ground fees:
We have basic and full service sites available. The basic service is 30 amps of electric/water and is designated for tents or RV's. The full service is 30 or 50 amps of electric/water /sewer and is designated for RV's only.
Basic Service Full Service
Daily- $31.36 $33.60
Daily Lakefront - $33.60 $35.84
Weekly - $188.16 $201.60
Weekly Lakefront- $201.60 $215.04
Monthly- $784.00 $840.00
The most important thing an elected official, in my mind, is tasked with is being a good steward of our tax money. Article after article after article, from a myriad of media sources, show and demonstrate that stadiums are just a losing proposition for tax payers. The studies universally show that tax payers never get back what they spend and the purported economic benefit of stadiums is all hype.
So, with all those studies with all those other communities and politicians to lose from, why would anyone be pushing this proposition?
I bet those pushing this can think of a $1,000,000 reason---. Follow the money.
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