The Palm Beach Post article on why one commissioner wants longer meetings. The Post also has a poll on this subject.
You know, it's not the length of the meeting that is the problem. What the problem is here is not enough information is coming before the commission and the public for discussion. Many items are placed on the Consent Agenda to pass quickly, i.e, a refuse heavy equipment truck for $247,978. Staff is making many of the decisions behind closed doors--think demolition of shuffleboard courts. Perhaps the majority commission knows of these decisions and is informed in their one-on-one meetings with the city manager but many times the minority is kept in the dark. Also, the public only gets two minutes to speak and even that's too long for some on this dais.
I would rather see a poll asking the residents if they felt this commission and staff were transparent (ITN?) and if they felt that important issues, especially those affecting the purse strings, should come before the public.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Quotes of the Day - Setting the Record straight
Comment Up
Tuesday night, there was a lengthy discussion on the Beach Fund Budget. As you recall, this majority commission voted to operate our beach in the RED for year 2016. They would not raise revenue and they added hundreds of thousands in additional costs to ensure failure as well as dipping into capital revenue.
"The numbers are accurate as long as the public knows the debt has NOT been paid back...This commission decided, not unanimously, NOT to pay back the debt that they were obligated to pay."
~ Mayor Pam Triolo
Setting the record straight:
"It was to pay it back at a different pace--it was NOT to NOT pay it back."
~ Commissioner Ryan Maier
Tuesday night, there was a lengthy discussion on the Beach Fund Budget. As you recall, this majority commission voted to operate our beach in the RED for year 2016. They would not raise revenue and they added hundreds of thousands in additional costs to ensure failure as well as dipping into capital revenue.
"The numbers are accurate as long as the public knows the debt has NOT been paid back...This commission decided, not unanimously, NOT to pay back the debt that they were obligated to pay."~ Mayor Pam Triolo
Setting the record straight:
"It was to pay it back at a different pace--it was NOT to NOT pay it back."
~ Commissioner Ryan Maier
Thursday, October 22, 2015
The "I'm a businesswoman" Bully?
Comment Up
"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.
"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.
NAPC gives its Thanksgiving dinner business to CJ's
The NAPC is having its annual Thanksgiving dinner and Food Drive at CJ's Restaurant located at 606 Lake Avenue on November 14th beginning at 5pm. The cost for dinner is $20 for advanced tickets and $25 at the door. We understand that the restaurant is under new management with Karine Albano, formerly of SouthShores and I have been told that conditions have improved. The right employee can make all the difference.
Don't you just hate that " barker" sitting out there encouraging you to eat every time you walk by? CJ's Island Bar & Grill has had some sanitation issues and was closed June 25. According to the Sentinel, a state health inspector observed violations that included:
- Thirteen live roaches were on the premises; commercially processed, ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous (for time and temperature) deli meats were opened, held more than 24 hours and not properly date-marked;
- Raw beef was stored over ready-to-eat French fries;
- There was an accumulation of a black substance inside the ice machine;
- The food manager’s certification had expired and there was no proof of required, state-approved training for employees hired more than 60 days ago.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Protest tomorrow in Palm Beach Gardens
Comment Up
Oh wow, Democrats have something to protest about once again without even waiting for all the facts to come in and an investigation concluded. "Let's go out and have a demonstration in front of police headquarters--we'll teach those cops a thing or three," says all those liberal progressives.
Representative Bobby Powell, Jr., (District 88) will be speaking at the Peaceful Protest rally that will be taking place tomorrow, October 22, 2015 at the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department at 10 AM.
Oh wow, Democrats have something to protest about once again without even waiting for all the facts to come in and an investigation concluded. "Let's go out and have a demonstration in front of police headquarters--we'll teach those cops a thing or three," says all those liberal progressives.
Representative Bobby Powell, Jr., (District 88) will be speaking at the Peaceful Protest rally that will be taking place tomorrow, October 22, 2015 at the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department at 10 AM.
At the Lake Worth beach
Comment Up
It was a beautiful but windy day today with rip currents. The air temperature was 84^ and the Atlantic was 81^. No one was in the ocean while I was there. Our fabulous Olympic Pool was closed as the hours of Operation are:
Thursday, Friday & Monday--8am - Noon
Saturday & Sunday--9am - 4pm
It was a beautiful but windy day today with rip currents. The air temperature was 84^ and the Atlantic was 81^. No one was in the ocean while I was there. Our fabulous Olympic Pool was closed as the hours of Operation are:
Thursday, Friday & Monday--8am - Noon
Saturday & Sunday--9am - 4pm
Quotes of the Day - Scott Maxwell and Chris McVoy
Comment Up
Regarding our Beach Fund...the back and forth went something like this:
Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell: We have an obligation to pay back the fund loan. How do we move forward with this kind of information [City's Summary of Revenues and Expenses] on the street?
Did we address what the agenda item called for to discuss the financials and come to an agreement as to what the numbers are and the answer is "no" because these are the same numbers that we started with when we opened up the meeting.
Commissioner McVoy: They're correct.
Vice Mayor Maxwell: They're NOT correct.
Commissioner McVoy: I'm sorry. The Finance Director and our City Manager tell us they're correct. If you're keeping books of the city, maybe you've got a different set of books.
Regarding our Beach Fund...the back and forth went something like this:Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell: We have an obligation to pay back the fund loan. How do we move forward with this kind of information [City's Summary of Revenues and Expenses] on the street?
Did we address what the agenda item called for to discuss the financials and come to an agreement as to what the numbers are and the answer is "no" because these are the same numbers that we started with when we opened up the meeting.
Commissioner McVoy: They're correct.
Vice Mayor Maxwell: They're NOT correct.
Commissioner McVoy: I'm sorry. The Finance Director and our City Manager tell us they're correct. If you're keeping books of the city, maybe you've got a different set of books.
Global Terror Busting Network
Blue Helmets to Supplant America’s Blue Line
Blue Helmet United Nations personnel will be replacing municipal police forces whose ranks have been harassed and hollowed out over the last year by Obama activists in groups like #BlackLivesMatter.
Marxism always moves in to fill the vacuum left behind by anarchy.
Like all things named by the UN, the ‘Strong Cities Network’ (SCN) sounds benign and good for society, a society distracted from what is really going on by their own self-serving governments.
The Strong Cities Network is being launched in a day when millions of illegal aliens are flooding American borders while the Obama administration looks the other way. SCN makes its debut at a time when the public at large is forbidden to identify Islamic terrorists as Islamic terrorists; when citizens who dare to stand up for individual rights are automatically branded as dissenters who must be cowed into silence.
Read more... at Canadian's Free Press.
Dept of Justice Press Release
"Visionaries" want our Beach to fail
Comment Up
The last item on the agenda was discussion on the Beach Fund. City Manager Bornstein brought it back for discussion as he wanted the information to "sink in." I am sure that he is as perplexed as the rest of us when it comes to the majority's decision to purposely operate at a loss at our beach. Now what businessman would consciously do that?
"We promised the people," said Triolo when talking about the loan rate and term. What you also promised the people was to make right decisions for the health and welfare of our city. What person of any responsibility would vote not to do that? The money that was borrowed to build the Casino is our money and we can pay back this loan at any rate and at any pace we choose.
When you are operating a business, there are times when you need to borrow capital and you negotiate the best rate and terms possible. Most businesses borrow from financial institutions; we borrowed from ourselves. There are many times when you re-finance that loan in order to alleviate financial pressures or to get a rate that is more advantageous. We have done that at City Hall with some of our outstanding loans/bonds. It is a normal operating procedure. Maxwell complained that there was never a policy decision to pay the loan from ourselves.
But restructuring loans isn't normal to Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell nor is it normal to businesswoman Mayor Pam Triolo. I would think that commissioner Amoroso would understand.
Maxwell has been about doom and gloom from inception and wants to know if any of the merchants at the beach have been asked about raising parking fees. That's sort of like asking your tenant who leases your house what they think about your raising their rental amount. Do we ask all our customers about what they think about water rates going up and if they approve? Really stupid stuff. What do you think they would say? And why do they still want to engage the community about our beach? We already decided what we wanted at our beach.
What never is mentioned is the negotiation with Morganti, the builder, and what is going on in that regard to fix the problems we have had at the casino. How much money would it take to fix those problems and how much money are we spending on legal fees? Are we close to any kind of compromise?
The only conclusion that one can arrive is that the "visionaries" want our beach to fail. The shoved more expenses onto the beach without approving ways to raise revenues. Last night, the only positive was that they voted to formally end the latest proposal by Hudson Holdings. The other negative is that they didn't make another motion to go out on an RFP to find a broker to handle our un-leased second floor 5,000 sq. ft. space. The entire beach plan was predicated on all space being leased. Why wasn't a motion made for an RFP? Maxwell didn't want it to happen. Someone should have made the motion anyway and got it on the record.
Scott Maxwell was mad and didn't want to agree on the numbers provided by our Finance Department and presented by the City Manager.
Summary of Revenues and Expenses
Neither wanted to hear the facts or listen to the truth
The last item on the agenda was discussion on the Beach Fund. City Manager Bornstein brought it back for discussion as he wanted the information to "sink in." I am sure that he is as perplexed as the rest of us when it comes to the majority's decision to purposely operate at a loss at our beach. Now what businessman would consciously do that?
"We promised the people," said Triolo when talking about the loan rate and term. What you also promised the people was to make right decisions for the health and welfare of our city. What person of any responsibility would vote not to do that? The money that was borrowed to build the Casino is our money and we can pay back this loan at any rate and at any pace we choose.
When you are operating a business, there are times when you need to borrow capital and you negotiate the best rate and terms possible. Most businesses borrow from financial institutions; we borrowed from ourselves. There are many times when you re-finance that loan in order to alleviate financial pressures or to get a rate that is more advantageous. We have done that at City Hall with some of our outstanding loans/bonds. It is a normal operating procedure. Maxwell complained that there was never a policy decision to pay the loan from ourselves.
But restructuring loans isn't normal to Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell nor is it normal to businesswoman Mayor Pam Triolo. I would think that commissioner Amoroso would understand.
Maxwell has been about doom and gloom from inception and wants to know if any of the merchants at the beach have been asked about raising parking fees. That's sort of like asking your tenant who leases your house what they think about your raising their rental amount. Do we ask all our customers about what they think about water rates going up and if they approve? Really stupid stuff. What do you think they would say? And why do they still want to engage the community about our beach? We already decided what we wanted at our beach.
What never is mentioned is the negotiation with Morganti, the builder, and what is going on in that regard to fix the problems we have had at the casino. How much money would it take to fix those problems and how much money are we spending on legal fees? Are we close to any kind of compromise?
The only conclusion that one can arrive is that the "visionaries" want our beach to fail. The shoved more expenses onto the beach without approving ways to raise revenues. Last night, the only positive was that they voted to formally end the latest proposal by Hudson Holdings. The other negative is that they didn't make another motion to go out on an RFP to find a broker to handle our un-leased second floor 5,000 sq. ft. space. The entire beach plan was predicated on all space being leased. Why wasn't a motion made for an RFP? Maxwell didn't want it to happen. Someone should have made the motion anyway and got it on the record.
Scott Maxwell was mad and didn't want to agree on the numbers provided by our Finance Department and presented by the City Manager.
Summary of Revenues and Expenses
Mark Kirk, the only Republican voting against the Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act
Now we know why the Democrats got that one vote from a Republican Senator on the Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act:
He's from Illinois--that explains it all. Illinois is the most liberal state in America. Kirk was elected to the House in 2000. During his fifth term in November 2010 he won two concurrent elections: to finish the final months of former Senator Barack Obama's term (explanation number two) and to serve the next six-year term. He was sworn in on November 29, 2010, and began a six-year Senate term in January 2011.
He's from Illinois--that explains it all. Illinois is the most liberal state in America. Kirk was elected to the House in 2000. During his fifth term in November 2010 he won two concurrent elections: to finish the final months of former Senator Barack Obama's term (explanation number two) and to serve the next six-year term. He was sworn in on November 29, 2010, and began a six-year Senate term in January 2011.
Democrats are selling out America
Comment Up
This is why we can't get anything done. Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act, needed to overcome a 60-vote threshold. Republicans only needed 7 more votes to stop sanctuary cities. One Republican voted against it and the rest were Democrats. You have to wonder why they want these criminals in this country...is it all about selling out America for federal dollars? Why don't they want to turn over illegals to ICE who are in this great country illegally with many committing horrible crimes such as murder of our citizens. Liberals are ruining our country.
This is why we can't get anything done. Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act, needed to overcome a 60-vote threshold. Republicans only needed 7 more votes to stop sanctuary cities. One Republican voted against it and the rest were Democrats. You have to wonder why they want these criminals in this country...is it all about selling out America for federal dollars? Why don't they want to turn over illegals to ICE who are in this great country illegally with many committing horrible crimes such as murder of our citizens. Liberals are ruining our country.
The Clock Kid is moving to Qatar
“Clock kid” Ahmed Mohamed and his family announced Tuesday in a news release that they will move to Qatar, less than 24 hours after the 14-year-old met with President Barack Obama at the White House. Read about it...
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