PB: COW Meeting Tomorrow Night – Following Flinn
by SDM
It’s always interesting to watch a politician trail in the wake of another, trying desperately to live up to the leader that went before her. Americans become tired quickly of cheap imitations, which is why Vice Presidents who attempt to follow popular Presidents never seem equal to the challenge.
Palmetto Bay has its own version of this succession problem as Mayor Stanczyk flails desperately to appear to be a leader cut from the same bolt of cloth as that which gave us former Mayor Eugene Flinn. Now, don’t get SDM wrong here, Mr. Flinn made many mistakes during his tenure. He voted along with Stanczyk to punish Palmer Trinity. He often ran his meetings with an imperiousness – or at least the appearance of same – such that residents walked away thinking him pompous.
Even given those negative, however, it is undeniable that on balance Flinn’s tenure was a success. The village was stable financially. It worked through innumerable disputes with the county as it became an independent government. Village leaders rallied to Mr. Flinn to invest in parks and many other projects that will benefit the community for years to come. Flinn didn’t do it on his own – folks like Neidhart, Feller, Robinson, Breder and others tweaked the ideas and added their own. But they did so as a relatively unified group.
The Stanczyk example is blatantly opposite. In a pathetic attempt to follow the leader, Stanczyk will hold a COW meeting tomorrow night in an attempt to justify her term in office…measured against the standard Mr. Flinn continues to set. Let SDM explain.
In Mr. Flinn’s post-election blog post titled A holiday wish list for the new Palmetto Bay council, he laid out his wish list – really an agenda for action for the next council. Following are some of the key points he raised:
1. The status of two fire stations that the original Palmetto Bay village council worked with Federal, State and Local (County Commission and Fire Department) officials.
2. The status of the implementation of the new permit fee schedule and other recommendations of the Palmetto Bay Building and Permitting Advisory Committee Final Committee Report.
3. Should Palmetto Bay purchase bayfront land that is currently available?
4. It is time again for a village-wide strategy session. Goals need to be set. … Pinecrest recently completed a major update to its strategic plan. It is time for Palmetto Bay to do the same.
5. A public meeting needs to be held on the Franjo Triangle and US1 Island zoning district area.
6. The future of committees needs to be discussed.
7. Greater transparency on appointment to village boards and committees.
Now, let’s compare the first COW agenda with Flinn’s agenda:
1. Status on hiring of new employees including parks, and police, special events programming, and impact with the upcoming hiring of new special events person (Mayor Stanczyk)
2. Coral Reef Playground equipment (Mayor Stanczyk)
3. Coral Reef Park Concession stand and concessionaire information including income,hours, and status of contract (Mayor Stanczyk)
4. Health fair updates (Mayor Stanczyk)
5. Accountant’s response to financial criticisms and Town Hall Meeting (Mayor Stanczyk)
6. Sound ordinance regarding Palmetto Bay Village Center (Mayor Stanczyk)
7. Zoning of parks (Mayor Stanczyk)
8. Review of zoning designations that affect rebuilding of homes, such as at Paradise Point (legally non-conforming) (Mayor Stanczyk)
9. Disc golf (Mayor Stanczyk)
10. Review of possible changes, recommendations to FT & I district and update process (Mayor Stanczyk)
11. Implementation of the recommendations of the Permitting and Building Committee (Mayor Stanczyk)
12. Meditation Garden (Mayor Stanczyk)
13. Fire stations (Mayor Stanczyk)
That’s pretty good, three of thirteen items directly taken from Flinn’s blog. Items 3 and 5 were raised during the campaign by Recall Palmetto Bay and the candidates.
Stanzcyk’s item 1 appears to SDM to be a discussion of the un-requested police officer and another hidden attempt to turn Thalatta Estate into a full-time wedding venue.
Item 2 is a perpetual problem that village residents have been complaining about at every meeting, or at least so it seems to SDM. The issue is that the village installed new equipment at Coral Reef Park tailored for small children and all the toys for older kids have been removed. Village staff blamed the situation partially on the ill-advised moratorium. What goes around comes around.
Item 6 looks like the beginnings of a new controversy to assuage CCOCI and the SOPs. Perhaps Stanczyk wants to make the Palmetto Bay Village Center less attractive for weddings so that she can hold them at Thalatta.
Item 8 will be very interesting given the public hearing that SDM covered in the blog post: Palmetto Bay – Paradise (Point) Lost. The NPO has forced the issue of what to do with nonconforming uses into prominence.
Item 12 came directly from an appeal to the council by former Councilwoman Linda Robinson who was concerned that this lovely little garden in Coral Reef Park has been deteriorating. The garden is in memory of Robinson’s late husband Ken, a village founder.
So, if you’re counting, Mayor Stanczyk has essentially entertaining 75% of the agenda of Flinn, the opposing camp, and other former council members.
SDM Says: Mme. Mayor is either wisely stealing the agenda of the opposition or coming late to the notion that Flinn’s method of hearing all sides really works. SDM will withhold final judgment on whether Stanczyk’s COW agenda is just another cynical ploy or the beginning of a political turn.
The Stanczyk items contain some topics worthy of discussion. What is the issue with “zoning of parks”? Is the village going to attempt to exempt its own properties from the constraints it applies to our property? Perhaps they don’t want to conform to the fencing requirements, or the noise limitations? The king always prefers to make rules for others while not applying them to himself.
And what’s this about disc golf? SDM understands that a disc golf course was installed at Palmetto Bay Village Center. Can Palmetto Bay be trying to eliminate disc golf, too? SDM can’t wait to find out.
I have often wondered that if I owned Thalatta park would the Village agree to allow me to run a wedding and party venue?
Mayor Stanczyk obviously reads South Dade Matters and has gone into full reaction mode. Check out the revised COW agenda: http://www.palmettobay-fl.gov/sites/all/files/2012-12-12_cow_agenda-rev.pdf The first 4 remain the same, but old numbers 5. Accountant’s response to financial criticisms and Town Hall Meeting (Mayor Stanczyk); 6. Sound ordinance regarding Palmetto Bay Village Center (Mayor Stanczyk); 7. Zoning of parks (Mayor Stanczyk); 9. Disc golf (Mayor Stanczyk); 10. Review of possible changes, recommendations to FT & I district and update process (Mayor Stanczyk); 11. Implementation of the recommendations of the Permitting and Building Committee (Mayor Stanczyk); and 13. Fire stations (Mayor Stanczyk) are now purged. The entire reason for discussing these items at a COW, not a televised meeting is that it is a way to stay under the public radar. Palmetto Bay’s Watchdog, SDM, has ruined that plan. At least for now.
Perhaps she is scared to publically admit that nothing has been done on these projects, especially the fire stations.
The other shoe is about to drop. Watch how she has mismanaged both the Coral Reef Playground equipment. 3 of the 5 sitting council members voted for this equipment: Stanczyk, Fiore and Lindsay and are now trying to pin this fiasco on staff. The new equipment is sterile. Neither the kids nor the parents are happy with the new equipment or how it is relocated, but the council could not leave the existing playground alone.
It is also time for the mayor stop pretending that everything needs to bring in revenue to the parks. Mayor Stanczyk is finally going to admit that the last concessionaire has abandoned the concession stands. This is a fact that has been hidden from the public. This will never be the money maker she is pretending it will be.
Stanczk is a bust. Pack your bags Mayor.
You are just now getting around to realizing that the Mayor is a bust?? Wow! a little slow on the uptake there.
One of the best scenes in the Wizard of Oz, is when Toto pulls back the curtain to reveal that the great and most powerful Oz, is neither great nor powerful. Oz turns out to be just a normal guy who in real life happens to be a fortune teller/snake oil sales man who runs an entire city as if he was a Wizard.
So who really runs the Village of Palmetto Bay? Is there a Wizard, Fortune Teller, Snake Oil Salesman or just an individual playing Village Manager?
Our Wizard’s name is Ron Williams and he controls the Village. I’ve had the opportunity this week to review his personnel file and this is what I’ve found.
First, I’m obligated to disclose that I’m not exactly Ron William’s biggest fan. I find him to be arrogant, condescending, elusive and never forthcoming or cooperative in regards to providing me with answers related Village finances.
Prior to becoming the Village Manager, Mr. Williams was employed to be the Director of Public Works for the Village of Palmetto Bay in May of 2003. Previously to being hired by the Village he was a math teacher, worked for the State of Florida in a management position and City of Miami in various administrative positions. Apparently, Mr. Williams left both the State of Florida and City of Miami for what he states as “political changes” in his employment application. Nowhere in his previous employment did he serve as a City Manager of a Municipality according to his employment application.
Mr. Williams initial salary at the Village as Director of Public Works was $75,000, after approximately four years in that position he was hired as the Village Manager for $137,000 plus benefits. Not a bad jump in salary for four years worth of service and no prior experience as a City Manager. Mr. Williams’s current salary is $150,316 plus numerous benefits. Nine years at Palmetto Bay has resulted in a doubling of his salary. These increases occurred during the worst recession the United States has ever experienced.
While in the position of Village Manager, Mr. Williams has had one ethics complaint filed against him for an alleged oral meeting with a vendor prior to contracts being awarded. That ethics complaint was dismissed on January 24, 2012.
One of the most interesting items I found missing from Mr. Williams personnel file was the lack of annual reviews. Per his employment agreement dated May 10th 2007, states the Village Manager shall be given a written evaluation by the Council and Mayor. Has Mr. Williams really been employed in the most important position in the Village without a yearly evaluation? Were the evaluations pulled from his personnel file before his information was given to me or was it just a dereliction of duty by the Mayor and Council in forgoing his yearly assessment? That question needs to be answered.
So, David, where is the smoking gun? There isn’t one. I can tell you that Mr. William’s has been at the helm with large salary and benefit increases while the Village loses millions of dollars every year from its reserves. After five years of on-the job training, Mr. Williams has so far been a wizard of cloudy and questionable financial decisions. Our travel down the yellow brick road will prove to be a long and prosperous one as long as there is sound Village financial management. For that to happen, Mr. Williams and his Village Staff must be financially prudent and transparent with our tax dollars.
Perhaps the most exciting thing to come out of the COW tonight was watching Joan Lindsay and Tim Schaffer get served with a lawsuit while on the dais, which I filed against them as private individuals on behalf of Louis Medina for slander.
Lindsay must have known it was coming, because she immediately told my process server she would not accept service for her husband Jerry Templer, who is named in the suit but was conspicuously missing in action, along with Gary Pasterella.
Stancyk, Delores Triana, Gary Pasterella and the owner/content provider of PBCHECKSTHERECORD.ORG are also named in the suit. Stanczyk and Triana were served last weekend.
Talk about throwing a turd in the swimming pool. I bet the next thing we see is an ordinance prohibiting service on councilmembers while on the job.
Back in Gotham, the suit alleges these clowns spread rumors to voters that my client was a “boletero” working for John DuBois and Howard Tendrich. A “boletero” is malignant, racially and ethnically charged Spanish term meaning someone who commits absentee ballot fraud, which is a felony.
Interestingly, PBCHECKSTHERECORD.ORG seems to have deleted these articles referencing Mr. Medina as a “boletero.” However, yours truly, knowing the website would attempt to cover its tracks, printed every article from the entire site. Don’t they know the web never forgets.
The offending web pages may have not been intentionally removed. My conjecture is that these web pages were hosted on Joan’s computer. The question is whether Joan’s hard drive blew up again. Perhaps you will have the joy of adding a new count: “spoliation of evidence.”
We have all seen this same play before.
Insofar as service of process, Joan was over the age of 15 last time I checked, so she can certainly be responsibility for forwarding the suit on her husband. I think you have two outstanding choices for service on the coward hiding from service. The first is to service him at the Palmetto Bay Christmas party at Ludovici Park on December 22. The second is allowing him the joy of service by publication. Run the legally sufficient advertisements both in the Palmetto Bay News and Business Journal.
I have been to dozens of Council meeting over the years and I have never not seen Jerry Templer there. He’s usually there with clipboard in hand taking notes; writing down the names of anyone who dares comes to the dais and speaks against his wife Councilwomen Joan Lindsay.
I believe he’s writing the names of the people down as his form of intimidation and harassment. Of course, Jerry is the same guy that tore down the Recall Sign during early voting and stopped it into the ground right in front of me. So violence certainly isn’t something that Jerry is afraid to use.
Also missing the ever present Gary Pasterella. I have never seen a meeting without Jerry and Gary. So why weren’t they there? They knew they were about to be served with a laws suit for slander and decided to stay away.
We have finally found a way to keep these two troublemakers away from City Hall. It’s Genius in its simplicity. Somebody files suit against them right before every council meeting and we won’t have to be subjected to them anymore.
Thank you Anonymous for your excellent suggestions regarding service of process. I like the first better than the second for obvious reasons. But service by publication is certainly a good one. Maybe I’ll purchase a full page notice in the Palmetto Bay News and Business Journal. Thank you also Mr. Zisman for your astute observations.
Sorry to post again but having gone to the meeting last night and watched the discussion on the play ground equipment and other mundane subjects SDM called it. It does look like Shelley and Joan were doing there best to pin the latest playground debacle on staff.
But my favorite part of the meeting is when Shelly turned to Ron Williams and asked him if we currently had a Concession Vendor at the park. Like she didn’t know. Give me a break Mayor. Ron calmly said no Mayor that vendor has left. So Shelly ask what are we doing? Ron replied, we are currently trying to get one of the youth clubs or teams to use the facility for fundraising. What? A million dollars of my tax money spent on the building and that’s the best we can do?
Well my favorite comment came moments later when Ron said he was considering lowering the rent to attract a new vendor. He said if we lower the rent so the Vendor could Break Even, we could find a new vendor. Ron, I hate to lay you under the bus, but that’s not how it works. Please feel free to call me and at no expense to the City I will write business plan for the concession stand that will allow the New Vendor and Village to make money. Other wise lets designate it a 501C3 No Profit Organization and not worry about making a profit. At least we’ll be able to buy a Coke and Hotdog.
Everyone wants to know where are Gary Pasterella and Jerry Templer! I hear they took off on Jerry’s sailboat for one of those Hollywood style “fishing trips” (if you know what I mean).
It is interesting to note that we have dueling groups of “amigos” out there in Palmetto Bay. In one corner, is the anti-Palmer group represented on the Council by the Mayor, Joan Lindsey and Tim Scaeffer, in the other corner, which is basically an anti-establishment group whose representation on Council is through Patrick Fiori and John Dubois. The net effect is the complete breakdown on any progress, community spirit and the total breakdown of civility.
Why?
This was a nice community full of promise and vigor doing wonderful things for its citizens; with a very progressive and forward thinking Council.
The latest salvo at tearing away at the very fabric of this Village is by David Singer’s Toto referenced shot at the Village Manager.
Again, can someone enlighten me as to what the purpose of the post was?
To tear down and humiliate a professional whose career spans decades in the public sector? Let’s try to educate you Mr. Singer on some facts, let’s start with your comment on him being the wizard who manipulates the council to run roughshod over the Village, well that totally bogus, the Manager does the bidding of the Council, they are his boss and the Council represent the citizens such as yourself in all policy decisions. It would be nice if you understood what’s what in politics before you open your mouth and place mis-information out there on the web. Prior to his appointment to the Village Manager’s job, Ron was in charge of GSA (general service agency) and one of the Assistant City Manager’s for the City of Miami.
Why is this relevant?
The budget for that Department exceeded that of the Villages by more than 2 million dollars and he had three times the amount of employees in comparison to our Village. This, combined with institutional knowledge is what made him the wise choice to become our Manager when the original Manager was forced out by Council. Every important addition in infrastructure to date has been done under his Management period. Now as to his stated reasons of changing in political status as reasons he left previous employment locations, if this Manager is ever forced to resign or be fired, what would happen to staff?
Think the new Manager would replace key players with people he knows and are loyal to him?
Think current staff would stay in this climate we are currently under that you are helping create?
His salary is also brought up by you, yet no comparison to other Cities is given. For the record his salary is below the norm for the County and much less than what a high level executive/ C.E.O. of a major development company would make. Are you overpaid for your job? The point is he is underpaid in comparison; he has seen the reserves for the Village increase on a yearly basis through the major downturn this nation has face and has been a steady influence for all. Of course, there have been missteps, not everybody can be as perfect as you, but most of the major issues are directly attributable to Council direction. Mr. Singer, this Village faces many challenges and issues, its best to focus on those and not on a smear campaign against staff or the Manager, this makes you look small and petty as if you really are grasping at straws in your recall campaign. Is this the best you got? If it is you’re going down the drain rather quickly.
The Anon above is to be commended. There is no quiotesn that Office holders shall be subject to the term limits provisions in effect at the time they began their service in office removes even the appearance of conflict. It is sad that we know that this will not occur as this Charter change committee has been a shame from the beginning. It is all about the power and egos of Shelley Stanczyk and Brian Pariser.