Town Leadership
Share your news, concerns, ideas and solutions, and I’ll do my best to consilodate them here. Send through comments or by email to commonsenselp@yahoo.com.
Town Leadership
The process of hiring a new town manager is complete. We have a new leader sitting in the office of Town Manager. His name is Dale Sugerman and we look forward to discovering his leadership style and the direction he plans to take the Town of Lake Park.
The town organizational chart reminds us that the residents of Lake Park are responsible for the commissioners we elect and the direction they take. We hire them with our votes and we fire them with our votes. They choose the Town Manager. It is OUR RESPONSIBILITY as residents of this town to stay engaged and keep the commission and the Town Manager apprised of our thoughts and concerns as well as the ideas we would like them to implement for ourselves and our town. It is our job to hold them to the standard we set.
The Town Manager and the Commission should be running the town as directed by the residents. Town leadership begins with us. What kind of a leader are you?
“Be that force!”
I question the recent campaign practices that are illegal according to Town Ordinance the Town’s Employee Handbook. Why are these individuals allowed to blatently disregard the law and get away with it. If nobody stands up and asks the question, this kind of bullish behavior will continue to the point where they think its status quo. There have been many more instances of laws being broken and codes being ignored in our Town government. Its time for the tax payers to insist on accountability from our politicians.
Sure, like Hockman and Longtin openly breaking the Florida Sunshine act so they can spend town funds fixing the sprinklers in front of their houses. Oh wait, it’s not town funds, it’s a grant from the county. Hold on, isn’t that our tax money too?
So when are you and Patti returning the salary collected ?
They weren’t spending town funds. The gave of their time and their own money.
Karl, there you go again. Your brain needs to catch up to your mouth. Everytime I see something you write it amazes me. Come down to reality! If two commssioners are working on a sprinkler so the town doesn’t have to pay for installation that is just good business not sunshine law vilolations. Let me put it into simple terms so even you can figure it out: example #1: 2 commssioners in a office talking about town business after hours ….violation, #2; a commissioner living in the next county but still being on a commission that clearly states you must live in the towns limits…..violation, #3: 2 commissioners making evry effort to sav town money by working with others putting in a sprinkler system….. no brainer no violation….. you must do better than that old boy.
So where were the spriklers???? In front of their homes or on town property???
Sprinklers are on “town” property. I say “town” because really it belongs to the taxpayers, right? The sprinklers are in the median of Flagler Blvd. which runs along probably three dozen homes. Flagler Blvd. begins behind Publix and runs to Northlake Blvd. It is a thoroughfare, of sorts, in Lake Park. The commission has allowed it to fall into disrepair.
Oversight was needed years ago here in Lake Park and I am sure in many surrounding towns. The culture that lack of oversight has breed is scary at best. Lack of oversight and accontability creates power, powerful people and sometimes dictatorships. These people only have power when they are in positions to effect others. In the case of Lake Park it appears the worse has happened.
Yes…..I must agree….but WE THE PEOPLE can take back the control and oversight. We can attend teh meetings when we are able to, and remind the board members they were VOTED IN and can be VOTED OUT if they dont live up to thier responsiblities AND……..OUR EXPECTATIONS ! ! They have bitten off WAAAAAYYYYYY more than they can chew with this Marina fiasco. They will dump good money after bad jsut to TRY to save face, Its was pure folley, just like the parking meters.
Has anyone been told by the TM or her commission what they are going to do with the property on the corner of silver beach and us1???? What will the cost be to do what they want to do to it (including the building removal)? Who is paying for it? Was there a after project appraisal done? If yes, what was the after project appraisal?
As with everything government, the taxpayer pays.
WHERE IS THERE A LIST OF LAKE PARK EMPLOYEES AND SALARIES?
At the top of this page there is a link to the current year’s budget. Salaries are down a number of pages in that document, beginning somewhere around page 15 or so. The salaries do not reflect all benefits and many of the larger salaries jump significantly when the other items are added. They don’t necessarily list everything someone receives there in one place. For instance, the town manager also receives a phone allowance and receives $575 a month for car allowance, etc. There is a link to the proposed budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year at the end of the September 7th post, entitled: Open Mic Tonight. To really grasp it all, there are some summaries at the end of department listings that might shed some further light. Thanks for reading!
I watched the last commission meeting and was very upset by the condensending remarks, smirks, and facail reactions that were made by the commission to people who approached them with comments or ideas, the way the Mayor (who does he think he is) spoke to the other commissioners, and the way the Mayor (again who does he think he is) silenced Commissioner Hockman as he was making a statement and was in no way out of order. The only person that was out of order was the Town Manager and the Mayor let her rant and pretty much call Commissioner Hockman a lier. That alone should be grounds for dismisal. These people are unprofessional and out of control.
Just came back from the Town Commission meeting combo with a town cra meeting. Well you people voted for an incompatant boob as a Mayor and you got one. He shoved a vote through after the time statute (11:00PM) just to apease the Town Manager which was unprofessional and down right wrong. Even Mr. (auto vote for the Towm Manager) Rumsey was in favor of setting a new date to get it right. Again this guys ego is larger than the towns budget. Spoke down to a nice man who wanted to speak about his taxes, telling him he ran long and was disrespectfull of the other people when the only one who is disrespectful is the Mayor himself. Speaking to Commissioner Hockman like he was a 5 year old “AGAIN”. I wish that wind bag would speak to me like that he would be shown what happens in the real world.
I wonder if the vote is actually legal, if it went beyond 11:00pm as spelled out in the Town’s own Ordinance. I also question the Marina Director’s decision to reduce the fees for certain wet slips by going against the policy established by the Commission. That, in my opinion, is stealing from the tax payers.
Seems as everything in Town Hall is business as usual….breaking laws and squandering tax payers dollars. There is a complete disregard for the citizens and tax payers of this Town. The two Commissioners who do care are pushed aside and treated with so much disrespect that it makes me sick to my stomach. This kind of action will only go on so long before it gets the attention of the Commission on Ethics and the State Attorney’s Office.
Let me explain your confusion as I am a slip holder in the marina. Summer monthly rates are based on the overall length of the vessel till from May 1 to Nov.1 no matter what slip they are in.
Winter rates and annual rates are based on the overall length of the vessel or slip which ever is greater. Let me also add this marina is by far the finest marina to be moored at. The staff is very friendly and provides excellent service for the price per foot the marina charges.
I guess I would be a “Happy Marina Client” to if I was getting tons of savings while others are getting the shaft. Nice try with the summer rates nonsense, the policy might have been changed the minute the were outted but it has never been listed as such.
Read this article in todays PB Post. The Manager and HER commission will get theres in due time.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/palm-beach-county-spent-1-77-million-above-1885373.html
Once again, I drove by the lot on SIlver Beach Road as I do everyday and still have not seen one not one truck or truck trailer combo parked in this lot. I guess Maria will order the Marina Director to close the lower lot so that the people will have to park up in that lot so she can get some pictures that it is working. Wouldn’t put it past her. It looks like the people who did the research (not the town the citizens, why the hell would the town do research when purchasing a lot for $2.4M that would be responsible governing) where right on the mark when they said there was only a hand full of days a year when the lot is full. Well, we havn’t seen those days yet but I have seen a empty parking lot. Lets call it like it is this purchase was a big payoff to the developer plain and simple no matter how Mairia and Kendle wishes to frame it. Wonder what they have stuffed in thier mattress?
Again days pass by with no trailers in the lot…..someone should be held accountable for this lack of government control. The town manager who pushed this through should LOOSE her job over this and all the other mis-managing she has been responsible for. Yes I said responsible, I know that is a dirty word to those in charge but it is a real thing. Are you listtening Kendle????? Hold your BUDDY accountable!!! When you except it (Maria Davis) you must live and die by it…..this screw up not only happened on your watch you were directly responsible for it. YOU MUST GO. Have some self respect for yourself, the citizens of LP, and the few supporters you have left and LEAVE. Look at the brightside if you leave soon you might be able to con another town with Kendle and make a bundle like you did in LP.
Have you seen the Handicapped parking spot??? Its in the corner on the left right as you enter the lot. Almost nobody could get a trailer in or out of theat spot, especially if someone is parked next to it. Yet another example of the PISS POOR PLANNING that is Lake Park.
You are right went by there as I do everyday and the lot is empty. Still have yet to see ANY trailer in that lot since the purchase of that property by the Town Manager. They should just get the jail cell warmed up for her. I will say flat out what everyone else is thinking…..I wonder how much money she receieved from the sale of this property? There is no other answer, the commission should open an independant investigation into this matter but NOOOOOO Kendle Rumsey and that Bumbling Mayor would NEVER agree to this as they are involved head deep themselves.
14 more days have past since my last posting. Major hoilday boating on the ICW and yet not one truck or trailer in the lot as I went by the lot everyday. $2.4 million dollars paid for a empty lot that is Lake Parks “bridge to no where”! Even a bridge to no where is a bridge that put people to work building it, a empty lot only put money in a few peoples pockets who sold it and helped the sellers buy it. Hummmmm…..
Well here is a thought……as cold as i has been maybe htey can flood the lot so we can ice skate. Even if its just for a day, it would STILL be more use than it has gotten so far. And check out the “token” handicapped space as you come in on the left…..you would have to be in a hover-craft to get in and out of that spot. ITS USELESS for anything bigger than a VW Bug and a jet ski trailer.
Ok , ok, ok, it has been 7 days since I lasted posted about the subject of the property on the corner of silver beach and US1. I must admit on Saturday the lot was used for the first time since it was purchased almost a year ago. Yes, you heard me it was used. It seemed a gratfull boater used the lot for at least 5 minutes to pull his trailered boat in, put his gear away, and make sure the trailer was hitched properly, he then drove away. So lets tally this usage up shall we: $2.4 milion (purchase price) + $25K (approx building removal) + $5K (approx fence installation) + $2K (approx stripping and cleanup) + $25K ( minumum to the lawyers) + etc. = $2.5 million (give or take not including debt service) for one person to adjust his trailer and put away some gear for five minutes. Can anyone tell me who has lost thier job over this? I will answer that question no one!!
Another week goes by and the lot on silver beach and US1 looks abandoned. Amature striped trailer parking spots line this abandoned lot that the town manager “had to have” for 3 times it’s worth ($2.4 million plus). Can anyone explain to me what the debt service is for this lot per month. It is really hard to wrap my head around this stupidity. When I go to the town meetings it appears no one including the commissioners are questioning the town manager about the usage or status of this lot. Now we are stuck with this huge debt and no one has been held accountable. The town manager should be the first to go and go now. I think it is also time for another news 5 report of this stupidity, fraud, and misuse of taxpayers money.
The Town Manager claimed in an email to an adjacent resident, without providing any substantiation, that the trailer parking lot is full every weekend during the months of April through September. If the expanded parking lot fills up during those times, there would be a maximum of 1,440 potential additional boat launches. (24 wks x 2 days x 30 spaces). Not considering operating expenses or the Town’s proposed investment of $300K, County debt service cost alone would be $124 per launch, for which the user is charged $10. However, adjacent residents claim that the current trailer parking lot is full at most 5 times per year. If on those days all the additional spaces became occupied, that would represent only 150 launches per year. In that case, the annual debt service cost to the County would be $1,192 per boat launch.
* Annual debt service cost of the Waterfront Access Bond is 7.45%, not including administrative expenses for the program. Debt service costs above are calculated by applying 7.45% to the $2.4 million grant.
OHHHHHH BOY ! ! ! Its REALLY hitting the fan at Twon HAll now ! ! ! If it wasnt such a shame I would be laughing.
What is up with the Finance Director resigning on the day they learned the State is going to “investigate” the ethics complaints. Yes you heard me “investigate”. She resigned at the Town of Lake Worth just before the results of a audit of the Finance Department was published…hmm. Those results were very interesting as well as the recommendations. Sound familiar? Why on earth would the Mayor meet with the developer they bought property from with Karan Marcus? I am ready to file suit against the Town the minute they build that tiki bar and give it to Summers and his partner they bought the property from as they have never given anyone else a chance to bid on the lease etc… Can anyone say conflict of interest! This is what they should be investigating. This doesn’t pass any smell test anywhere. A complete investigation of where the money went is required. No one in any office fights this hard for a project that clearly went beyond the scope, avoided zoning, and violates the same laws that placed these people into office. The Mayor doesn’t want an investigation as his wife and friends might just be implicated. Sorry, but I said it. No one else wants to but it is what everyone else has been thinking. This Mayor should resign and resign now as he has lost any dignity that he might have thought he had. He is obviously out of control and over his head.
AHHHHHH YES ! ! ! Life in the Magnificent Mile……..
In case any one missed thi exchange on the blog.
Jim Lloyd
February 18, 2012 at 6:24 pm # Wayne, Wayne, Wayne… can’t we all just get along? NOT! You are right on. Even those on my side have excluded me from things because of my abrasive character. Well, sports fans, guess what, after Wednesday’s pitiful spectacle, all bets are off. I’ll fight’em alone if I must, but we need to clean house. And that means is the pitiful “town lawyer” (who was one of maria’s biggest patsies), Stevens and DuBois, who would not be on the dais without maria’s all-out effort to get them elected, and Rumsey, a whole other story that I don’t have time to get into right now.
Reply Wayne
February 20, 2012 at 10:17 am # Jim,
You know the obvious thing is those who need investigating never initiat an investigation. A forensic investigation on every dollar that was given to Creber (South Florida) should be 100% accounted for period. If certain commissioners who are rummored to have had finacial problems during the time of this deal and those problems suddenly went away (poof) then they should also be investigated just to show transparancy. Let the chips fall where the may if these so called officails have nothing to hide then they should not be so quick to push back 100% of the time.
WOW, it has been “”50″”” days since I last posted about the subject of the property on the corner of silver beach and US1. As has been the case since the complete stupid purchase of this property it lays empty and a eye sore. Is that what $2.4 million buys a town? That is like a person who can’t afford his house buying a Sports Car without the means of putting gas in it. The commissioners who pushed this project forward should resign. This is not a small issue. There are “many” (I included) that think there was foul play in the making of this deal and feel a full and independant investigation should follow. The debt sevice alone is out of this world. People of Lake Park wake up!
Well, it is comming up on a year since the Town and her partners in the County gave Wayne Creber $2.4 Million Dollars for the property on the corner of silver beach and US1. Since then, the the 2cent building had to be removed at towns expense, parking lot was cleaned at towns exspense, strips were painted at towns exspense, it has “NEVER” been used, is vacant, no investigation conducted on the process or posible criminal actions, the Town Manager who was the main focus of this deal was forced to resign on other money wrong doings, no investigation into her, her dealing overal, etc, the finance director resigned with no investigation, no aduit requested by the commssion, etc etc etc…….. This situation and this town needs a good investigative reporter it wont take the reporter long to dig up this mess.
I must admit when I am wrong so here goes…..
Yesterday I drove by the lot on the corner of Silver Beach and US1 and (hold on to your hats) there was a small truck with a boat trailer parked in a parking spot…..YES, the lot was acually used for the “FIRST” (in OVER a YEAR) time since Commissioner Rumsey, Mayor Dubois, and since fired Town Manager Maria Davis single-handedly pushed this down the throats of the people of Lake Park. I am guessing that the debt service for one truck and one trailer to park must be at least $250,000.00. Great job folks!
Lake Park has been a very corrupt town for as long as I can remember. The town managers and mayors have NEVER been held accountable for their actions and dirty dealings. The town needs to hold their elected officials accountable under all circumstances.
By now, those of us who were at the Town Meeting (4/18/12) or who viewed it on TV have had some time to think about it. Certainly, my head is spinning with the thoughts of the great opportunity that opens before us… We have the chance to help the people we elected choose a new Town Manager for our community!
This is a very complicated and tricky undertaking. Shall we be guided by the back-lash of our disgust with the high-handness of the former management policies? Shall we use this opportunity to make sure that such things never happen again — and thereby risk the chance of taking out our anger and frustration on some underserving new Manager? Or will we align ourselves with the current big business practice of over-rewarding executives for just adequate job performance? What are just and good perks for a job well done, anyway? Where is the line between ‘just and good’ and fostering an undeserved attitude of entitlement? This is a tricky business, indeed!
Last night seemed a shaky beginning… I was surprised to discover that we had not yet reached a concensus about such things as: Should the new TM be required to live in Lake Park? What qualities should we be looking for in a new TM? Those on the dais were (understandibly) quiet about a proposed salary. I agree that such things should be left for individual negotiations. But, does anyone know what is the actual going rate for such a position in a town like ours? The cover letters written by the job applicants seem to indicate the position calls for $100,000 yearly, plus perks. Apparently, we can afford this, since we paid it to the last Town Manager…
Our Town Officials are being guided in these efforts by a Mr. Bressler, a consultant and member of an orginization (I’m sorry, the name escapes me at the moment.) made up of past Town Managers and similar executives who volunteer their time and expertise — at no charge — to towns in situations like ours. We have much to thank him for! I hope that our officials take his advice and find ways to use it in NEW AND INVENTIVE ways. We have the opportunity to break away from ‘middle of the road town management’ and do something fresh and original here.
But, I got off the point… Perhaps we all don’t want something fresh and original. Maybe just plain old good management is what we need. Whatever…. It’s simple. If we don’t give voice our opinions we can’t expect to be heard.
Good questions Diane. I was offered the town manager position by two much larger towns in the north east US a few years ago, but was not willing to live in the cold weather climate. It is left unsaid but I will say it anyway, these two towns are run so much more smoothly than Lake Park and with much less over head and BS. The Town Manager position is a “PART TIME” position in these towns. Life is simpler, in these towns. These towns only maintain the government vs grow the governement and that is your issue in Lake Park. People running Lake Park seem to make themselves more important than they are. By growing big government (shell game) they make themselves more work or paper shufling which requires more time spent by the town manager and staff, it also requires more staff. In reality, what gets done? pretty much nothing but these people are employed at the tax payers exspense to do virtually nothing but shufle papers. Yes they seem like busy litle bees but for what? Why doesn’t Lake Park back up and return to simpler times, put a hault on spending, roll their sleaves up and review what they have and what is needed, maybe read some history how our fore fathers set up this country, and seek a true leader. It is not really that difficult if those running this town would just put their political views away and do what is best for the citizens.