A Riverwalk Scam Just In Time For Christmas

from :  Ted Noftall
to :  All

Should we be accepting of anything less from the Port Orange City Council that we do from the Port Orange Police Department ?
If the POPD  can be expected to warn taxpayers of the dangers  of having their cars burgled by thieves for $thousands this time of year,   shouldn’t  Council  likewise be warning taxpayers of the danger of having their wallets picked for $millions   by the Riverwalk Promoter ??.
Is  Council doing their job of looking out for taxpayer interests,  OR are in the tank for the Riverwalk shark ???
Ask yourself;

• *)   why have the proposed land swaps never taken place.

• *)   why is the City depicting as parkland,  property that it does not own.

• *)   why has the City Attorney never presented a written legal analysis of this project

• *)   why have   City Planners   never disclosed  the difficulties associated with this project.

• *)   why are all the Promoters recent drawings now bearing  the City’s copyright protected  Logo

• *)   why are the costs of parking, water retention, and required utility upgrades not being discussed.

• *)   why is the City permitting dirt parking  that relieve the promoter from requiring water retention ponds.

• *)   why did the Mayor decide to take himself off the “conflict of interest” list and start voting for his Buddy again.

• *)   why was  the Riverwalk Promoter allowed to construct commercial parking lots on land zoned  recreation and conservation.

• *)   why is the City negotiating land swaps with a Promoter whose has never demonstrated  a financial capacity to develop this project.

• *)   why has the City in 20 years,  never  ever presented a depiction of a park that was ever anything more than the scraps that were left over after the Promoter has taken all that he needs and wants.

• *)  why is the Promoter insistent that the Manager direct Council to extend the Town Center CRA  if he has not been promised the incremental tax revenue from his project ………….  something that no other Developer has ever received.

Be honest and ask yourself if the City’s investment in Riverwalk  ever had a purpose beyond  dressing up the riverbank in front of the Promoters waterfront development.
While Riverwalk has been a rope-a-dope taxpayer bait and switch hustle from its inception,  recent Promoter confidence  and  the sudden enthusiasm  of everyone on Council would suggest that the Mayor is not the only one with a son on the Promoters payroll.
Merry Christmas Fellow Taxpayers
Ted Noftall