Diversion Campaigns

This weekend, Mark Pino's column called out the School Board's debate of mandatory uniforms as a possible distraction to turn the public's interest away from other school issues. Welcome to the choir, Mark (see Wayne Who, Thursday, 2/28/2008).

This Tuesday, another diversion comes before the Kissimmee City Commission. Commissioner Jerry Gemskie proposes that the city be divided into two districts, East and West, with two commissioners serving/elected by each district. The Mayor would continue to be elected at-large.

First, this "districting" was labeled as a budget-saving move, as each of the "district" commissioners would have their salary reduced by 50%, because there would now be two commissioners serving each district's issues.

Then it became a "representation" issue, with the somewhat convoluted argument that allowing voters to elect 60% of their City Commissioners was somehow better than the 100% of City Commissioners they are able to elect today. The unstated elephant left in the room was that "someday someone is going to make us go to districts, so we should make the districts we want today rather than waiting for some outside party to do it for us."

We don't think that the cost savings argument holds much water, and we would prefer that our elected officials focus on other areas of the budget, rather than possibly opening the City Charter for revisions for the third time in a year.

As to the representation elephant, we hope that one of our other commissioners will ask the City Attorney some variation of the following question: "Mr. City Attorney, if an action is ever brought against the city calling for separating the city into districts, what is your level of confidence that you would be able to successfully argue before a trial judge that dividing the city into two districts, with two commissioners each, satisfies that requirement?"

We believe Mr. Smallwood is too professional to fall down laughing on the dais, but assuming that his answer is that the proposed districting would not satisfy any future redistricting requirement, that should be the end of the issue.

Time to move on to real issues.

Interlocal Meltown

As many of our readers know, the WayneWho staff has frequently written articles that in one way or another favor economic developemnt in the Osceola County area. We believe that our community must find ways to create high paying jobs in a sensible, economical way to make this an area where our grandchildren will continue to live many years from now. The problem with this belief is that our local governments are basically run by people we would not trust selling cotton candy at the fair. At least not as a sales team where their only focus was selling said cotton candy. As individuals, maybe their would be some hope, but as a group or a team, there is no way we would trust them with our investment.

You may be wondering what this has to do with economic development, so we will explain our thoughts on this. Creating economic development is not as difficult as it sounds if you can put the right tools in place. There are basically three components you need to build and sustain a strong economy. First, you must have a good transportation infrastructure to move goods and people around. This means roads, public transportation, rail freight, shipping, air transport, and anything else that companies might need. Secondly, you need a community where people want to live. A community that is affordable and offers benefits to familes that live in it. Third, and most importantly, you need a highly skilled and in most cases with today's econonmy, you need highly educated people. So most would say the key to all economic development is how well our schools perform, not only to create an environment where people want to move here so their kids can go to a great school, but also because you need a highly trained workforce to do the jobs that create economic development.

Simple Right??

In a School Board Update e-mail sent from School Board Member Jay Wheeler, that as he disclaims it, is not an official message from the Osceola County School Board, he reports on a breakdown between governments on an interlocal agreement. Mr. Wheeler reports that "the Board tabled an interlocal agreement with the City of Kissimmee about the new school going in at the Sports Authority. The City has inserted language about the need for the school district to pay for an excessive number of police calls." We are not sure how the school board could be upset by this when they agreed to it when the highly debated school was approved not too long ago. Jay's arguement is that, "roughly 70% of these students reside in the city of Kissimmee" which is not true based upon the numbers reported by the campus that is operating right now by the Osceola County jail because the students there are troubled. These are the same students that will be moved to the Sports Authority school. The school board itself even reported on the possible problems that they have had at the current facility in the past and reluctantly agreed that the Sports Authority School could pose some issues where police calls would be necessary. Of course the City of Kissimmee believed the School Board would honor their side of the deal and approved the Sports Authority School for troubled youths. And now the battle rages on over what was really said and what was really agreed to.

Mr. Wheeler then goes on to attack the City of Kissimmee and reports that it is the children of the City of Kissimmee who pose the real problem in our schools because 70% of the kids that have to attend this school come from the city.

Maybe these folks just do not understand the concept of working together or at least the concept of honesty. If our school board and other local governments are going to continue to fight like this can we really change our economic course? How can we create a highly educated work force when we can't even finalize a deal on a school that should never have been built in the first place? And for all those candidates out there running on the false promise of economic development, what are you going to do about these types of situations? The answers to these questions may mean more to the future of our community than you will ever know.

Evil Billboard Special Interest Crushed - Community Saved

The Osceola News Gazette takes over the baton of "we missed-the-point" from this week's earlier missed-the-point sprinter, the Orlando Sentinel. We are not sure if they do not check the articles to see if they actually make sense, or if they are really just that out of touch with the real issues that face our community, but today's editorial proves that they need to log into Monster.com to see if there is some new writing talent available.

Today their editorial heralds the triumphs of the county commission for standing up to the evil and powerful billboard cartels who have wrought havoc on our community. They were able to wield their special powers to strike down 3 (3 can be a big number) proposed billboards. According to the News Gazette, "Had the County Commission allowed these large signs, they would have been allowing visual blight. We have enough areas in the county and in our cities already where street graphics look trashy. The visual clutter and unsightliness of billboards – which should be limited to commercial or industrial zoned areas if allowed at all – would have detracted from the look of Poinciana Boulevard."

So the News Gazette thinks it is good to completely kill advertising opportunities for the business community? Why give businesses an opportunity to grow and expand by attracting business using advertising such as billboards especially in a bad economy? "Smart - Business - Growth" would be one reason we believe. This is probably also a good time to point out that all the foreclosed signs that are up in our community provide more of a visual blight than 3 billboards will ever accomplish. We find the editorial of the News Gazette painting the picture of the billboard companies as some evil empire is somewhat odd considering that more advertising outlets means less advertising revenue for the Gazette. And to attack a competitor's business so publicly with words like 'trashy' is just 'trashy'.

The real problem of the wasted space used by this editorial, elected officials, and some candidates who are talking about billboards, is that it means they are not talking about the real issues and struggles that many in our community are facing right now. They are wasting time debating sign ordinances and issues that will not fix the problems created by the bad decisions leading up to the mess we are all now left to fix. To applaud the commission for standing up against a billboard company when they allow developers to build anything, anywhere, anytime, seems less than laudable. Not one of the WayneWho staffers could find a news article on the oversupply of billboard signage creating a massive downturn in our economy, or that hundreds of thousands of people have lost their homes because the billboard signage bubble burst. Maybe it is time for the Osceola News Gazette and our elected officials to figure out the true enemies who threaten our "Quality of Life." The WayneWho staff would rank the increased amount of gang activity and gang graffiti as bigger issues than 3 billboards.

Our position: Sentinel Misses The Point (Again)

In today's Editorial section of the Orlando Sentinel, the Sentinel suggests that St. Cloud may regret rejecting a government subsidized housing project. Again the Sentinel is repeating the false claims that the project would help essential workers, especially teachers, with no facts to support their claims. They blame the community for stopping the project because the community is not smart enough to understand the critical dynamics of the project and that the public is not capable of deciding where their tax money should be spent. They also blamed a shadow group called the not-in-my-backyard forces that we can not seem to find a listing for in the phone book. We guess this is because they are a shadow group that uses secret handshakes to communicate with so they do not have a directory listing.

It is time the Sentinel learned that they should do real research before publishing their editorials. The WayneWho staff is glad that the Landlords Association dedicated the time that they did into researching every aspect of the legislation and the proposal that was being crammed down the throats of the residents. It is sad that they are the only group that did their homework, but this is typical with government today. The Landlords Association even took the next step of trying to help find true affordable housing for Osceola County teachers only to be told that the properties were not suitable and not fit for habitation. So much for pride in your community. The "Preserve" project was a scam from the start and did little to help the essential workers who need it the most. This project was a only way that certain builders could secure their future during a housing downturn that they helped to create. It does not surprise us at all that the developers would turn their sights on a easier target such as Orange county because they have more money that can be thrown around at whim. Should be easy pickings.

The only point that the Sentinel was correct in addressing was that elected officials should be more interested in solving the affordable housing issues. County and City leaders have worked to push the low-income and service level workers out of our community because they don't contribute enough to the general fund. This has been accomplished by denying projects based on arbitrary rules and changing zoning to effectively zone out the middle class from our community. Since this has been a pattern of the local governments for the past 20 years, why should the taxpayers now have to pay to subsidize the housing of those the government has worked so hard to push out? Maybe the Sentinel should be using their journalistic talent to research these issues instead of throwing rocks at the hardworking people of our community. Maybe they could spend some time on finding out which developers are helping which elected officials campaigns so we can have a better understanding of what projects will be coming up for a vote soon. It is sad to see the Sentinel turn against the community and chime in on the side of the development community that has left our area lacking in so many basic quality of life issues, but we guess that the developers contribute more to their advertising revenues than the average citizen.

Horton Hears A Who

Timing is everything. This is especially true in the world of serious un-news journalism. Sometimes the timing of unrelated events seem to fit together like bread and butter. It seems the circumstances of perfect timing have developed over the past couple of weeks.

At the highly dreaded Osceola County Commission meeting from this past week where the developers of the Toho Preserve project and the public finally had a chance to argue their cases for and against the DRI (Development of Regional Impact), or county killers as we like to call them, an interesting fact was brought forward. One of the top brass from the DR Horton office in Orlando in his opening remarks explained how shocked the company was when they realized the public was not happy with their great project, and how tough this had been on the company. He then said, "I have read the blogs." (Stop for just a minute and let that one sink in.) So the question now becomes did Horton Hear a Who, or at least did DR Horton hear a WayneWho?

Now we must take a look at the almost magical quality of the timing of unrelated events that seem to have happened in unison that somehow came together in this single comment.

Just a couple of weeks ago, one of the great Dr. Seuss children's stories was releases as a full length motion picture. For those of us who have spent hours reading Dr. Seuss stories to our grandkids, it was nice to watch their excitement as the movie unfolded. It was also fun to see a story that many of us feel like we have read a thousand times come to life on a big screen. When the reality of what the DR Horton front man said finally sunk in, the great Dr. Seuss story seemed to take on new meaning.

For those of you who do not know the story, "Horton Hears A Who" is a story about Horton the Elephant who, on the fifteenth of May in the Jungle of Nool, hears a small speck of dust talking to him. It turns out the speck of dust is actually a tiny planet, home to a city called "Who-ville", inhabited by microscopic-sized inhabitants known as Whos. The Whos ask Horton (who, though he cannot see them, is able to hear them quite well) to protect them from harm, to which Horton happily obliges, proclaiming throughout the book that "a person's a person, no matter how small". In doing so he is ridiculed and forced into a cage by the other animals in the jungle for believing in something that they are unable to see or hear.

Horton knows the danger that the Whos face so he tells the Whos that they need to make themselves heard to the other animals, lest they end up as part of "beezlenut stew", which they finally accomplish. The Whos finally make themselves heard by ensuring that all members of their society play their part. In the end it is the smallest Who of all, Jo-Jo, who provides the last volume lift to be heard, thus reinforcing the moral of "a person's a person no matter how small".

Now convinced of the Whos' existence, Horton's neighbors vow to help him protect the tiny community. So now we must ask another question, will DR Horton protect our community? Will Horton protect all of the Whos in Who-ville? Does Horton have a record that matches the protector status that they claim?

The answer to those questions from those who live in other places DR Horton has been developing is a resounding "NO." Besides the fact that DR Horton is racking up serious financial losses coming out of the first quarter of this year because of having way too many homes they cannot sell, other problems and lawsuits now plague them. One of those issues is a New Jersey Carpenters Union who has filed a lawsuit against the home building giant alleging that the homebuilder has engaged in widespread corruption and tax fraud. The lawsuit also accuses DR Horton of hiring undocumented workers in an illegal hiring ploy. Sounds a little different than the benevolent Horton of Dr. Seuss fame, but with stocks plunging and being downgraded, corporate interest can outweigh the interest of a community of Whos. Of course during the DRI sales pitch, DR Horton makes it sound like they are protecting our community by bulldozing it, but that is typical of our development friends.

Although the WayneWho staff does not believe that DR Horton will protect us like Horton the Elephant, we do believe that there are lessons from the story that do relate. If all of those people who are interested in protecting our land and teaching our county commissioners what "Smart Growth" really means would make their voices heard, we could protect our community and protect ourselves in the process. Once again the moral of "a person's a person no matter how small" might ring true. Till then the WayneWho staff will do its best to let the residents of Whoville know what is going on no matter how much ridicule we face.

For now we would at least like to give a shout-out to our avid readers from over at the DR Horton offices in Orlando. We look forward to seeing you again in the commission chambers and we hope you continue to enjoy our brand of un-news.

Not In My Backyard

It is scary what some people want to put in your neighborhood, or in this case the neighborhood we call Osceola County. A battle is now raging over the northernmost DRI (Development of Regional Impact) known as Toho Preserve. Proponents (the development community and the county commission) and opponents (the NIMBY, or Not In My Back Yard crowd) are debating the future development of this project that will forever change our community and the face of Lake Toho. Unfortunately the NIMBY's are losing the battle because as Kissimmee Mayor Jim Swan noted at one meeting, the public is clueless.

It is this clueless argument that seems to be at the center of this debate. Some blogs are doing articles on this issue right now and the County Commission on a weekly basis explains the perceived fact that a resident of this community is not considered a "professional with bona fide evidence" no matter how directly the the DRI would impact their quality of life. In an article posted on one blog today, they argue that the development cannot be stopped by the people because they are not experts or qualified in understanding state laws regarding land use. Their article goes on a few paragraphs later to reprimand citizens that skip or find creative ways out of jury duty, which they argue is a basic responsibility of all citizens. So we guess that this blogger, and the county commission, believe that the people are capable of serving on a jury of their peers to decide a case that could include death on behalf of a defendant with all the intricacies of our current legal system, but they are not competent in understanding that building 6,000 homes is going to screw up the quality of life for the existing residents in their community. Hmmm? While this may be a convenient shield that the commission can hide behind to help their developer friends, we are not sure this holds up to protecting the rights (property rights) of those who already live here. Maybe the public should form an organization called the MetroPublic Planning Agency so they could magically gain the credentials needed to be expert witnesses for what is best for their backyard. If nothing else we would encourage the group to not give up, do not compromise, and fight with everything in you to protect your property rights.

What is amazing about the system of government we enjoy in America is that the individual's property rights carry just as much importance as the largest developer. The expert testimony that any resident can give right now is how the proposed number of homes will lower that value of their own home. If the value of their homes is lowered by knowingly and recklessly increasing the inventory of available homes, then either the project should be stopped or compensation is owed to those who will be adversely affected. Also remember that the "Smart Growth" bill that the State of Florida passed is meant to protect the "Quality of Life" of residents and not the developers who have fed off of our community all of these years. There are many communities in Florida that have stopped growth in court by arguing the need to protect Quality of Life. Let the developers sue. Case law is on the side of the residents and not the developers. It is just too bad the commission is not on our side.

This brings us to our final point about the NIMBY argument. While we believe that those who are arguing to protect their property rights have every right to do so, we find it sad that many of those fighting this battle now have been absent for the over-development that has gone on until now. This is not the first time that team of government/developers has worked to subvert the will of the people, but where was the outrage then? Many of those now arguing to protect their property rights now have either been silent during other development squabbles or actively supporting the development community with no regards to the effects of the backyards of their fellow residents. Many of those now opposing this development supported the campaigns of the commissioners who will now determine the fate of their backyard now. It is no surprise that those on the bench now are pro-development because they have told us this at every election and at every commission meeting, and many of the NIMBY crowd have voted to put them back in office.

These statements are not meant to scold. They are meant to underscore the importance of your responsibility as a voter and as a citizen. Your participation in the Toho Preserve battle, no matter the decision, should not be the end of your involvement. If more of the public were involved with government then there would be less opportunity for the commissioners and the development community to slip-one-past the goalie. At least be involved enough to protect yourself, and your backyard.

Advice from Jack Welch

Regular readers of our little blog will recognize that, from time to time, we see something in the national press that we feel specifically applies to a local issue.

Today we quote from Jack & Suzy Welch's BusinessWeek column, where they respond to a question that comes up regularly in Florida tax discussions, from a column titled "Trim the Fat, Not the Service."

Question: How do you maintain service levels when you're headed into a recession?

Given that everyone from Ben Bernanke to the corner grocer is predicting a slowdown of some sort, we expected recession questions, so thanks for being the first to check in. And thanks, too, for picking service as your focus. You're on to something vital. Because no matter how bad the economy gets, your company's response to it should show up last, if at all, in its interface with customers. Instead, its response should show up first, and for as long as possible before the next upturn arrives, deep inside the organization - in its gut, where all the fat is stored.

Sure, we know what most people are thinking right now - that their businesses don't really have any fat and that cuts will go right into muscle. They're thinking: "With all the competition we've been up against in recent years, we can't get any leaner."

But you can, and you will. Because you do have fat. Indeed, virtually every company does, thanks to the past several years of sustained growth. Call it "Recovery Poundage Syndrome." Whatever; it's not new, and it's unavoidable. The challenge, as a leader, is to know where to start looking for it.

The telltale signs are myriad. A headquarters parking lot that's growing short on spaces. A company cafeteria with longer lines. We all know that head offices don't make or sell anything; they're just overhead. But in good times, staff functions tend to "put on weight," meaning more data gatherers, report writers, program analysts, and the like, often simply tallying numbers around the latest management fad.

Even R&D is not immune to excess. During growth periods, managers tend to sprinkle money on all sorts of nonessential projects that seem like good ideas at the time. With a recession looming, it's time to rigorously prioritize. Similarly, businesses also seem to accumulate consultants when the going is good. Now we're not denigrating consultants: We've written before that they can be useful for clearly defined projects. But a fat-cutting mission calls for a close scrutiny of every contract. If your outsiders are not paying richly for themselves in added productivity and ingenuity, it may be time to say goodbye.

Boom times also tend to enhance, shall we say, the quality of company gatherings. Normally, one simple off-site retreat a year does it. With a long expansion, companies somehow find a way to go to two or more, in increasingly exotic locales. Look, we enjoy these excursions as much as you do. But before people can complain that their company is slicing muscle, such expense multipliers have to go.

To be clear, we're not saying that, down the road, there won't be cuts that hurt. Every recession takes a real and painful toll. But given the natural plumping up that goes on in long growth cycles, we'd make the case that it takes a while for companies to get all the fat out. In the meantime, leaders cannot fall back on the all-too-common approach of across-the-board cuts that trim where they shouldn't.

Finally, stay focused on your customers. You may be on a diet, but they don't need to know it.

Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre - Green with Envy

Deja Vu

Like the file footage WFTV aired when reporting this story, we felt it was 2007 all over again when news broke that Kissimmee was named as an All-America City finalist.

But wait, it's 2008 and here we go again.

The City press release states "A delegation representing the City will travel to Tampa, FL for the final round of competition scheduled to take place on June 4, 5 and 6," which brings us right back into the debate of the cost of a beauty pageant verses priority for our citizens. The debate may actually center around cost verses the overblown egos of elected officials, but that is a discussion for a later date.

We note that in the 2007 press release, Kissimmee was one of 21 finalists. In the 2008 release, Kissimmee is one of 17 finalists. Has the national economic turmoil caused fewer municipalities to apply for these contests? Have the other cities realized that their never ending pursuit of victory in a pageant that does not matter is like being forced to watch another year of the ratings disaster known as "Big Brother" on CBS? Or, are other cities getting smart and focusing on the needs of their residents?

So the progression begins:
"We were a finalist last year, so we have to apply this year."
"We were named a finalist this year, so we have to send a delegation to compete."

So before the next statement becomes reality...
"We have to send a delegation, so we need to fund it from the commission discretionary fund."

Let's demand financial accountability and responsibility in this time of downsizing and tight budgets. Let's demand that the City seek outside funding to attend this competition, and that no city staff time be used in its pursuit. If any taxpayer money is going to be spent, then we need to demand that the City show the potential value that justifies the expenditure.

Hot Dog

On March 23rd, the City of Kissimmee will celebrate its 125th Birthday Celebration. The City of Kissimmee was incorporated on March 23, 1883. It has been a long time since the 33 or 36 eligible voters of a small trading settlement know as Allendale voted to incorporate and become known from that time on as Kissimmee City which many years later would become Kissimmee.

We got to wondering who else might be celebrating their 125th Birthday this March, if anyone. Sure enough, we have another celebration we should all enjoy.

Oscar Mayer (as in hot dogs) is celebrating its 125th anniversary this March just like Kissimmee. Hot dog! Oscar Mayer is on a roll, and that's no baloney, at least according to Kraft executives.

Maybe someone can give a call and get the VIP's a ride in the Wiener mobile for giving up their VIP Food Vouchers to the senior in our community who are in need right now. It is the least we could do.

Everything old is new again

Some recent news stories involving other Central Florida communities seemed to strike "close to home."

First, we read that Eustis recently completed an 8-month study of what could be done to attract more business to their downtown area. The key recommendation seemed to be to reduce the speed in downtown. This would do two things, said the study: First, drivers would move more at a speed that would allow them to notice businesses downtown. Second, the reduced speed would tend to make other routes more attractive to drivers who were using downtown as a shortcut. Those involved in the study noted that these ideas were applicable not only to Eustis, but to any community with a struggling downtown. Seems like we've heard this somewhere before, yet even more locally. So let's get on with it. We will note that, if you look at The Loop parking lot, there's no way you're getting through there at more than about 15 MPH, and we're starting to wonder if that wasn't intentional.

Second, there was news of a group of angry residents protesting Winter Springs' proposed Fire Fee. Of note was that the city's consultant had not, as of meeting time, figured out what the fee would be. News outlets noted that not one person attending the meeting was in favor of the fee. We wonder if the tables have turned, and if Kissimmee were considering a Fire Fee today, as opposed to last fall, whether it would have passed so easily, now that the public backlash to municipal service fees appears to be in full effect.

Dividing Kissimmee - 2 Staffers Chime In

Swing and a miss

Add us to the chorus of "you want to do what?" voices responding to Commissioner Jerry Gemskie's recent proposal to divide city representation in half to try to reduce city commissioner salaries as a budget-saving move.

As we understand the proposal, Commissioner Gemskie proposes to divide the city into two districts, east and west, each electing two commissioners. The mayor would continue to be selected by all city voters. Then, because each individual commissioner would only be accountable to half of the city voters, Commissioner Gemskie proposes to cut commissioner salaries in half.

Of course there are a bunch of issues with this plan. First, do we want to be east and west Kissimmee? Second, it elevates the mayor, as the only at-large office with double the salary, rather than the largely ceremonial title that the mayor holds today. Third, it reopens the city charter for yet another "tweaking" by our "we know best" commission, only months after the handpicked Charter Review Committee failed to come forward with even one recommendation for a change to the charter. Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, if this is a budget-saving move, if and when the city's financials improve, with the commission then vote to return their salaries to "normal" or beyond?

Kudos to Commissioner Irizarry for rejecting the proposal outright. The other commissioners, by indicating that they wanted to study the issue further before deciding, have allowed this discussion to live on.

We have a couple of suggestions if the commission would like to save some bucks quickly: Stop receiving a stipend for cellphones/mileage/other expenses. If you need a city-provided computer, take a hand-me-down...how much computing horsepower do you need to browse the web and read e-mail? Two words: snack tray. Two more words: coffee pot. And finally, if you are feeling generous, you could write a check back to the city for some of your salary.

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Surprising Move

At last week's City of Kissimmee Commission meeting, Commissioner Gemskie made a surprise proposal to create single member districts in Kissimmee and then cut the pay of the commissioners. The mayor's seat would still be an at large seat so that seat would not see a decrease in pay. Simple enough, right?

The WayneWho staff finds this to be an odd proposal to bring forward now after the commission shut down all community input on this issue last year when the discussion of a charter review committee was taking place. The committee and the public were not allowed to bring up any of these topics, or discuss pay or our structure of government because the commissioners knew what was best for us. Is Mr. Gemskie admitting the commission did not know what was best and that maybe these ideas should have been opened to the public last year? Or is this just an attempt to make Commissioner Irizzary mad?

What we find most interesting about Commissioner Gemskie's proposal is that he is now advocating for a "Strong-Mayor" form of government so we can fire the city manager. When he had run for office in the past he had always defended the city manager and said that he was against this type of government, but it appears that things have changed. Changing the mayoral position to one that is elected at-large is the first step towards a "Strong-Mayor" form of government. Again we have to wonder why the commission did not let the public discuss any of this last year?

The WayneWho staff has discussed at length many of these issues, and we feel that there is another way. Commissioner pay should be performance based. In other words, commissioners should be paid based upon their effectiveness for the community and the residents. We know that this commission would be taking a bigger pay cut than the one Commissioner Gemskie has proposed, but you would get what you paid for. And besides, if it saves even one job, then it is worth it, right?

Part Three

Bought and Paid For:
Political Sell Outs in Osceola County

For years Tim Salopek, lead man of Omni Waste, has been a seriously “concerned resident” of the areas he has moved to. As mentioned earlier, when Salopek moved to St. Cloud, he also set up in Punta Gorda, Charlotte County. After becoming involved in the Osceola County community and developing close ties to county commissioners as well as Fred Hawkins, Jr., Salopek pulled up the tent stakes and headed down to Charlotte County. While there, it is reported that Salopek and his fiancée, Pat Weitfeldt, became very involved in Republican politics and the community. Listed below are how involved and “community oriented” the waste group as a whole has become in Charlotte county since Osceola County:

Aug. 25, 2006
-$5,000 to the Republican Executive Committee

Oct. 2006
-$3,196 in food for GOP picnic

2006 Elections
-more than $7,000 to candidates Suzie Hackett, Adam Cummings (won)and Dick Loftus (won)

Feb. 2007
-$3,500 in food and beverages for Republican function

May 2007
-$5,500 to the Republican Executive Committee

In all, the waste group has donated more than $23,000 to County Commission candidates and the Charlotte County Republican Executive Committee.

The waste group also contributed more than $10,000 statewide to Republican candidates in the 2006 general election.

Right now, the Charlotte County Commission is in arbitration with Omni Waste because of denying the waste group permission to turn part of a citrus grove into a regional landfill that would take trash from 16 other counties. This nearly 1,300-acre piece of property would contain a 300-acre landfill at a height of 318 feet. The catch is that the regional dump is basically next door to the Babcock Ranch, a 74,000-acre environmentally sensitive state preserve. So what are Charlotte County’s residents’ concerns: the hundreds of trucks a day on the highway, the odor of waste as well as the environmental impacts. The state’s acting director of state lands for the Department of Environmental Protection also noted the negative impact the landfill would have on the community.

Still, Omni pressed on. Fortunately the Charlotte County Commission turned down the request citing traffic, environmental and land-use compatibility requirements as well as drinking water resource issues. So, Omni threatens a lawsuit. Arbitration has been called for to see if it can be resolved before litigation ensues. Sound familiar?

Upon investigating the supporters of those that are also concerned and supportive of the candidates in the possible soon-to-be Charlotte County Regional Dumping Area, some surprising correlating contributors jumped right off the pages:

2006 to Charlotte County Commission candidate-Richard Loftus
-$500 Fred Hawkins
-$500 Pat Hawkins
-$500 Fred Brunson (Lundquist Excavating, Inc.-Kissimmee, Fl.)
-$500 William Lundquist (Lundquist Excavating, Inc.-Kissimmee, Fl.)
-$500 Kenneth Cargill (chief engineer for Omni Waste Inc.)
-$500 Timothy Salopek
*Received more than $2,000 from individuals involved with Omni.

2006 to Charlotte County Commission candidate-Adam Cummings
-$500 Fred Hawkins
-$500 Patricia Weitfeldt (fiancée of Timothy Salopek)
-$500 Timothy Salopek
-$500 Lundquist Excavating, Inc (Kissimmee, Fl.)
*Of the more than $28,000 Cummings raised, more than 12% came from Omni Waste affiliated individuals.

2008 to Republican candidate for the Florida House Dist. 71-Ken Roberson
-$250 RJ Whidden $ Associates, Inc (Kissimmee, FL)
-$250 Xentury City Development Co. (Orlando, FL)
-$250 Tupperware (Orlando, FL)
-$250 State Housing & Development (Kissimmee, FL)
-$250 Center State Bank (Kissimmee, FL)
-$250 Hanson, Walter & Associates (Kissimmee, FL)
-$100 Franklin Surveying & Mapping, Inc. (Kissimmee, FL)
-$150 Titan Land Company, LLC (Kissimmee, FL)
-$250 101 Park Place, Inc. (Kissimmee, FL)
-$250 McLane Company, Inc. (Kissimmee, FL)
-$250 Fred Hawkins, Jr.

2008 to Republican candidate for the Florida House Dist. 111- Rafael Perez
-$250 RJ Whidden $ Associates, Inc (Kissimmee, FL)
-$250 Xentury City Development Co. (Orlando, FL)
-$250 Tupperware (Orlando, FL)
-$250 State Housing & Development (Kissimmee, FL)
-$250 Center State Bank (Kissimmee, FL)
-$250 Hanson, Walter & Associates (Kissimmee, FL)
-$250 Timothy Salopek
-$250 Fred Hawkins, Jr.

We kept an open mind even though the Osceola News-Gazette implied that contributors will sometimes give through other people, but in fairness, we tried to list all of those from this area that we noticed who contributed and wondered why are they so concerned about the Charlotte County region’s elections?

So in being the candidate for “change,” is Fred Hawkins, Jr. really “listening to the people” like he claims? It is somewhat curious that although the people of Osceola County were against a waste dump, when time came to make it a bigger regional dump, Mr. Hawkins (former chair of Planning and Zoning Board) stated that the permission was granted with no fuss. So we wanted to see if Mr. Hawkins was interested in “changing” things in Charlotte County as well as he is here in Osceola County. Is he going to listen to the residents of Charlotte County as much as he was listening to the people here in Osceola County when they said “no dumping here?”

Upon further investigation into Mr. Hawkins’ financial report for his Osceola County Commission District 5 race, we found some amazing similarities between all of these concerned businesses and citizens as well as some potential new special interests:

-$500 Timothy J. Salopek
-$500 Patricia Weitfeldt (fiancée of Timothy Salopek)
-$500 Kymberly Brunson
-$500 Lundquist Excavating
-$500 WLFR LLC (managing members Fred Brunson & William Lundquist)
-$500 S2L, Inc. (Design company for Solid Waste materials)
-$500 Gus Nayyer (Planner)
-$500 Ann Nayyer
-$500 Russel Maynard (Land Designer/Owner of Central Fl. Land Design)
-$500 Mary Maynard
-$250 Turtle Creek Land Co.
-$500 State Housing Development

Altogether we calculated approximately $15,000 in contributions from companies and individuals that we believe will benefit from more growth in Osceola County as well as a generous $1,000 donation from Mr. Hawkins’ campaign to the Holopaw Homeowner’s Association’s Christmas party. Look familiar?

We feel that it’s going to be real hard for Mr. Hawkins to “change” the current established system as he claims with all of these interested companies and individuals tugging at his ear or wallet. If most of this money is coming from these special interests, who will Mr. Hawkins ultimately be listening to? If nothing else it looks like the developer crowd is ready for someone to say "Yes We Can" as they plan their way into dumping more growth into an area that can not afford it. We say: Follow the money!

Sources:
Charlotte County Supervisor of Elections
Candidates’ financial reports
Florida Department of State, Division of Elections
Sun-Herald News (sun-herald.com)
Sarasota Herald Tribune (heraldtribune.com)

And we mean "REDO"

A few articles ago we stated that the year of 2008 would be the year of the do-over, or to some, redo in our local area, but even the WayneWho staff has been surprised by some of the recent redo trends. In this week's Orlando Business Journal a hard look is given to the Osceola-Kissimmee area including the tourism sector along West 192. For those of you who do not remember, the West 192 area just enjoyed a "redo" less than 2 years ago with a makeover price tag of $30 million. At the time, this makeover was billed as a way to revitalize Osceola County's tourism corridor which would create jobs and growth in our community. In reality it has created a haven for armed robberies, increased drug activity, prostitution, and a drain on the taxpayers of our community. Once again, the 192 tourism corridor has earned a bad reputation.

As a result of these problems, Osceola County officials want to spend more money to once again revitalize the area by encouraging the development of new sports facilities and by partnering with an existing hotel to expand the county's inventory of convention facilities. The head of the tourism arm of the Chamber of Commerce says the county should find a partner to help develop multi-use sports fields between highway 27 and SR 535 because the current sports complexes don't have enough space to meet demand. On further study by the WayneWho staff, the county's current sports complexes are not being used enough to cover the expense that is billed to the taxpayers for having them, so building more makes even better sense to us. Of course the real problem noted in the article is that since they are located on the "EAST" side of town they just don't fit the requirements of many sports organizations that we are trying to attract to the "WEST" side of town.

In the studies done by those who have proposed these ambiguous sports complexes there has been no definition of what type of "sports" would be served by these taxpayer subsidized facilities. We can only guess with the record of success that these redo's have had, that West 192 will soon see its share of Cole Slaw Wrestling, Cup Stacking Competitions, and maybe even Catfish Grabbing from our soon to be built roundabout fountain. With the success of the Osceola County Economic Development team, all we can say is that you need to get your ticket early and bring your poncho, cause the slaw is gonna be flying. Chamber Members receive a 10% discount for all slaw related venues.

Snack Time Is Doomed

Thank you for all of the e-mails of support yesterday for our "VIP's for Seniors" voucher transfer program. We hope that those of you who contacted us to help the seniors in need in our community will make good on your commitments. The seniors of our city need your support.

As for all of the e-mails we received yesterday about the Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber of Commerce censoring its election forum, we are not sure why anyone would be shocked by this action. There are really two points on this issue.

Point 1: The web site for the Chamber of Commerce should be a professional beacon on the Internet that draws people to want to open businesses in our community. A Chamber of Commerce almost by definition is an organization that paints a rosy picture of the business community they represent. Although this information may be misleading and sometimes stretching the truth, that is what members of a Chamber pay for. If Boeing was looking to relocate a plant to Osceola County, do you think they would want to see the truth that we have a divided community with business leaders and elected officials that are completely clueless? No, they would probably move on to a community that has an All-America City logo on its phone book. In keeping with the "Professional" tenor of the Chamber's message, they should probably tone down their forum. We do find it hard to believe that so many would demand "Free Speech" from an organization who's sole purpose is to spin local problems into benefits. Our suggestion is to write letters to the editors of our local papers. They have both committed to printing just about anything, so you should have a better chance of getting your information out to the public that way.

Point 2: We have to question the level of ignorance of those who thought starting a blog on politics was going to be a nice and pleasant experience. Have you been living under a rock for the past five years? Bloggers are use to saying what they want and are not easily controlled. We even have the "Now-You-Simi, Now-You-Don't" political blogger operating in this area (or outside of it) who comments on local issues by remote while hiding from the "Black Helicopters" that are trying to scramble his brain waves. Maybe the Chamber should leave blogging to the un-news professionals who take it more seriously or at least have already been fitted for their aluminum foil deflector beanies.

As a final note we would state that we were very disturbed by the reports from Chamber President Mike Horner that one of the candidates was being paid by the Big Popcorn special interests groups. We had heard rumors of his plans to destroy the potato chip industry and we have been very concerned about the fate of snack time in Osceola County. However we do not believe that snack time is doomed. We have recently heard reports that the great brain trust known as the Osceola County Economic Development Team is on the case and is looking into ways to remove health labels from all snack food packaging. This should level the playing field for the opposing forces and open the door to other industries that just honestly care about our community.

VIP's For Seniors

Last night's City of Kissimmee Commission meeting was host to an ironic set of events that left the WayneWho staff wondering about what part of "for the public good" the commission does not understand. Smiling for a photo opportunity with the dedicated staff of the Council on Aging, praising their efforts, and talking about your commitment to their cause does not mean you are doing what is best for your community. It is political double talk and means you are looking at a re-election bid.

Thus the evening went last night. The commission first gave a proclamation raising awareness for the March For Meals program, and then voted to create government subsidized food vouchers for the board members and volunteers that serve the City of Kissimmee. What is really interesting to us is who is going to profit from this monetary shell game.

First, as was identified again last night, a budget of $25,000 was set aside so Commissioner VanMeter could help plan the Birthday Celebration for the City of Kissimmee. Additional funds have been spent outside of this amount for the Birthday Celebration, but this $25,000 of taxpayers money was put aside in her own personal party slush fund. We are not adding in the money spent on the pretty banners through the downtown area, the commemorative 125th Birthday Books, or the money that was separately given to groups to put on the events whether or not the City of Kissimmee was involved with the Birthday Celebration. Of course last night Commissioner VanMeter not only worked to distances herself from the slush fund of tax money, but showed the true lack of monetary controls on the expenditures from that fund. Her ignorance at what the Chamber of Commerce's downtown group had planned for the celebration probably came as no surprise to anyone except the WayneWho staff whom believes that, at some point, government will make the right decisions.

Before we get to the heart of our argument, we must point out the other side of the commission's decision last night. The city commission just OK'd giving money to a business group that will profit by selling food at an event that will be in competition with the restaurants that are already in the downtown area. Sounds like sound economic development to us!

Our article yesterday pointed out that since the commission had already lost track of the money spent for the Birthday Celebration and that it appeared that there was $650.00 that had not been spent, that maybe we should divert this money to the March-For-Meals fund raiser since March is also Kissimmee's Birthday Month. If there was a functioning brain cell left on the commission, or with the chamber for that matter, they could have used this to the advantage of the seniors in our community by creating a public call for matching monetary support from businesses and the public alike. Another opportunity missed.

The staff at WayneWho was obviously disappointed that the City of Kissimmee Commission voted against the seniors of our community last night, but we believe that there is always a way to recover a fumble. WayneWho would like to make a public plea for support for "VIP's for Seniors" where the government subsidized food vouchers that are going to be given to board members and volunteers for the City of Kissimmee are instead given to seniors in need. Take the food voucher that the DKAC is going to send you and give it to a senior you know is having a hard time or give it to the Council on Aging so that they can give it to a senior who is on the Meals-On-Wheels waiting list. Make sure that the City of Kissimmee's 125th Birthday is more than a spectacle of betting on which square a cow is going to poop in. Let us all make sure that we remember the true sense of community that built our city and has kept it strong for 125 years. In Kissimmee, we put needs of others before self and we take care of our own. Let "VIP's for Seniors" be the start of a campaign of public and financial support that bypasses the ignorance of elected officials and returns the power of giving back to the people. The WayneWho staff thanks you in advance for your support in this cause and appreciates you working to spread the good word.

God bless.

Creative Financing

Kissimmee's 125th Birthday Celebration is rapidly approaching and while the WayneWho staff looks forward to a day where we take a moment to remember the heritage of our community, we are disturbed by frivolous expenditures and the loose purse strings of the organizations involved with the events. In a time of extreme budget cuts, possible personnel downsizing, and reductions in public safety services we would hope that an organization such as the Chamber of Commerce would resist the temptation of finding creative ways to suck more tax money from our residents.

At tonight's City Commission meeting, the Chamber will ask for an additional $650.00 to provide 130 vouchers to the city's board and commission volunteers which could then be redeemed at the Birthday Celebration for a hamburger, chips and a drink. This great 'Thank You' is to make up for the board appreciation dinner that the city decided to cut from it's budget this year. A decision, by the way, that received no complaints from any board members and that has been generally characterized by most volunteers as 'a smart move' and 'what is best for the city.' As opposed to those who serve the Chamber, city board members and volunteers are not always in search of the next food and beverage opportunity and serve our community to serve our community.

We know that many of you reading this post look at the $650.00 amount and ask why we would make this a big point. Quite simply, it is because we would like to see a complete accounting of all of the additional funds that have been spent on this event in a bad budget year the likes of which our city has not seen in a very long time. Birthday books, birthday banners, and additional taxpayer funds given to organizations to hold a street party. There should be an audit. There should be accountability.

If the chamber was community oriented in any way, they would withdraw this request, admonish Commissioner Grieb for the suggestion, and come up with the money on their own or in the form of a sponsorship to thank the volunteers. Then they would request that the $650.00 be used to buy meals for our seniors in need through the Meals-On-Wheels program because that is where resources are needed the most. Simply put, a vote to give the Chamber of Commerce additional funds in this way is a direct vote against the seniors in our community. It is time we see responsible spending habits return to government.

The economy & Vine St. big-box retail

Three of the remaining big-box retailers located on Vine St. have had financial results in the news lately, and the news has not been good.

Home Depot, K-Mart, and Target all announced missed sales goals in the last week. Home Depot and Target's results appear to be directly related to the economic downturn and a slowdown in consumer spending. K-Mart has had issues ever since their merger with Sears in 2005, and it appears that the honeymoon period for that merger has passed.

What will be telling over the next six months or so is how the economic downturn impacts these retailers' locations on Vine St.

Home Depot has long been rumored to be looking for a site along Osceola Parkway, which would put them closer to the developing area of retail, as well as their chief competitor, Lowe's. Will a downturn accelerate that move, as they try to move closer to the "action," or will it slow the move, as they try to extract all possible sales from an existing location, rather than investing in a new one?

K-Mart this week announced that they would be reducing underperforming stores and selling real estate. Will the Kissimmee K-Mart make the cut? Might K-Mart get a "second chance" as consumers look for lower-priced goods?

We don't hear about Target stores closing very often, but the Kissimmee Target store has two nearby SuperTarget siblings. Will they remain as an anchor on Vine St. if the retail environment there continues to deteriorate?

Meanwhile, we heard on the radio this week that Burlington Coat Factory has opened at Osceola Square Mall. Welcome to Kissimmee! One hint, though...we can always tell when out-of-state actors are used in radio spots, because their mispronunciation of Kissimmee is glaring. (An aside to the local economic development folks, maybe we could issue a pronunciation guide.) Anyway, mispronunciation aside, we hope you'll be successful here, and to steal the tagline of another local business, you're OK with us.