"The perceived slow pace the city seems to be moving at is exasperating the problem" Is Council being kept in the Dark?

Greg,
Can you brief us on the cost participation agreement referred to in the email below, and if it differed in any way from what we normally do and why?
Also, when you briefed me last about the neighborhood meeting for Powers Avenue/Atlantice Marine, you told me that Community Development would need to make some determinations about the allowable property uses and the like.

• When do you expect this to occur?
• Is there anything else we are waiting on to be able to make these judgments?

With the exception of the Clerk’s office, the perceived slow pace the city seems to be moving at is exasperating the problem. Are we handling the request we received on the 10th from atttorney Morris for administrative rezoning seperately or in concert with the determination? Please bring me up to speed as soon as you can.
Thanks,
Don
Don Burnette, mba
Vice Mayor, City of Port Orange

From: Mike Gardner [manddgardner@cfl.rr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 11:42 AM
To: Griffith, Fred; Kisela, Greg; Roberts, Margaret
Cc: Aaron Patterson; Green, Allen; Ford, Bob; Kennedy, Dennis; Dianne Gardner; Burnette, Don; Bastian, Drew; Dru Urquhart; Fred Lindsay; Fred Urquhart; Jack Wiles; Kela Lindsay; Kim McNew; mvp100; Paul Rozar; Clark, Wayne
Subject: Atlantic Marine-no straight answers
Dear Mr Kisela,
Since Atlantic Marine and Jack Wiles first approached the City to develop property at the corner of Lemon and Dunlawton, they have:

• illegally destroyed a forest,
• tried to push a used boat lot into our neighborhood, and
• tried to scam the City into letting them “continue” a business that never existed.

Now the City has agreed to pay their water bill! I’m referring of course to the City Cost Participation agreement approved by City Council on 10/15/13 which authorizes spending up to $33,500 in taxpayer money to help run water service to the proposed development. We understand that the City enters into such agreements all the time and in fact entered into a very similar agreement with Publix Supermarket just one week later on 10/22/13. What wedon’t understand is why Atlantic Marine was given a sweetheart deal and Publix was only given what is allowed by law. Both projects involved the City’s requirement/request that the developer upsize from an 8″ water main to a 10″ water main. The Land Development Code allows the City to pay only the difference between the 8″ and 10″ mains and it did so for Publix–for Atlantic Marine the City sweetened the deal to a 50/50 split of the total cost.

• Why the preferential treatment?
• Was the City Council even aware of the special deal?
• What other special deals have been made?

As citizens and taxpayers we expect answers to these questions just as we expected answers to all the questions we asked you and the developer at last Wednesday’s meeting. Unfortunately, what we most often get is “I don’t know” or “I’ll have to check on that.” These are not answers–they are evasions and we all know that when you can’t get a straight answer from someone it means something is crooked.
We have been promised answers by certain dates and seen those dates come and go with no response. Even Council members can not get straight answers from you. Councilman Ford has repeatedly asked the same questions we have asked with the same result–nothing. We believe that the only way to get to the bottom of this mess is to appoint a special investigator with the power to subpoena witnesses and documents. Anything less is just continuing the government in the shade we have now.
Mike and Dianne Gardner
618 Ruth St
Port Orange, FL 32127