The Steroids of Politics

Every once in a while an event happens in our Village that has political repercussions for years to come.   This event will probably occur at this week's Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday, August 7^th, at 6:30pm.  There is only one item that has been placed on the agenda for discussion: the release of all Palmer Trinity Shade Sessions.

This topic of conversation is a long time coming and is invaluable to putting this sordid little affair behind us to rebuild the Village of Palmetto Bay's reputation within the community.  The release of these Shade Sessions is also expected to end the political lives of Mayor Shelley Stanczyk and Councilwoman Joan Lindsey.

Just as major league baseball has finally started to address steroids, we as a community should finally address the individuals who were the root cause placing this community into five years of protracted litigation with Palmer Trinity.  The cost to this community goes well beyond the money we've spent fighting the litigation, just as the use of steroids by professional baseball players go beyond enhancing athletic performance.   It's all about an individual's lack of ethics, narcissism and self-absorption.

Baseball needs to be played without drug enhanced players who actually care about the purity of the game, just as the Village of Palmetto Bay should be run by Politian's who really care about their constituents and don't get caught up in self-glorifying behavior and ugly vendettas.

It will be interesting to see Mayor Stanczyk and Councilwoman Lindsey recite the same contrived gobbledygook they've been preaching from the dais for the past year (i.e. it's not in the best interest of the Village to release Shade Session transcripts, etc.)  I would really appreciate one of the remaining Councilmembers to have the intestinal fortitude to state on the record that it wasn't in the best interest of the Village for either the Mayor or Councilwoman to continually vote for extending the Palmer litigation for five years.  Mayor Stanczyk and Councilwoman Lindsey were a major contributing factor of this predicament and now they are trying to stop disclosure because it may make them look really bad.  It's interesting the way that works.

As Alex Rodriguez is expected to appeal his suspension from baseball today, I would expect that Village Attorney to attempt to keep the Shade Sessions secret long after the vote this week to release them.  Expect the Mayor to state on record, at some point, even though there was a vote to release that passed, it's in the best interest of the Village that our Village Attorney files a motion with the court to keep the information secret.   And, by the way, they will be using your tax dollars once again to hide the truth.

At the end of the day, the litigation will be settled, and Palmer Trinity will get exactly what they wanted five years ago.   The Village can't afford to settle for anything less because they will otherwise be liable for extraordinary damages.  The Neighborhood Protection Ordinance that was passed in November 2012 will be thrown out as a concession to prevent Palmer from receiving a judgment that could be millions of dollars.   For engaging in behavior that is detrimental to the 'game,' let's hope that Mayor Stanczyk and Joan Lindsey get a lifetime ban from politics for the sake of the Village.     It should start at the ballot box next election.

David Singer

Village of Palmetto Bay the New Vegas

At Village of Palmetto Bay council session on July 11^th Councilman John Dubois reintroduced an agenda item to release shade sessions related to the Palmer Trinity's Third District Court of Appeals case.  As usual, with defeat looming on the horizon and in an attempt to once again maintain the status quo, Mayor Shelley Stanczyk, Councilwoman Joan Lindsay and their minions, the Concerned Citizens of Old Cutler, Inc. (CCOCI), fought a bitter battle of words to keep these meetings hidden from the Citizens of Palmetto Bay.   This fight was nothing more than self-serving rhetoric from a group of individuals who could care less about Village of Palmetto Bay.  Their main concern is a desperate attempt in saving their political carcasses.

Approved for release is a Shade Session that took place in January 2012 which, when released, will reveal that the Village engaged an attorney who specializes in appeals who advised the Council, including the Mayor Shelley Stanczyk and Councilwoman Lindsay, that the odds for winning a long protracted appeal against Palmer Trinity were no greater than 30% (these odds are worse than gambling in Las Vegas.)  The attorney hired was Raoul Cantero of White and Case - a highly regarded former Florida Supreme Court Justice. One would expect that they would have respected the opinion of an expert they brought in to advise them on a subject that was his specialty.
When faced with the brutal fact that there was as little as a 30% chance to win an appeal against Palmer Trinity's court order, three of our self-righteous Village leaders (known to some as 'the three amigos' -- Stanczyk, Lindsay, and the former councilman Brian Pariser) decided to double down and continue to waste Village time and money with the appeal.  This fight should have been resolved years earlier but instead was used as a political grandstanding for the up-coming elections. 

Ultimately when opinion of the ill-fated appeal was released, the Third District Court wrote that the Village "acted with Willful Disobedience of a Court Order" and the Village's actions were "an exercise in superfluousness and futility." Maybe they should have heeded their expert and saved the Village from embarrassment.

 I have yet to read these shade sessions, but if were a betting man, I'd believe that Mayor Shelley Stanczyk, Joan Lindsey and their minions (CCOCI is also named as a defendant in the ligation) were also informed that the League of Cities insurance coverage they had in place did not insure the Village for potential financial liabilities for revenue losses sustained by Palmer Trinity associated with lost enrollment due to the delay in the expansion of their school. 

When the shade sessions are finally redacted (to remove material unrelated 3^rd DCA case) and released, one can only wonder what other bombshells will be revealed and how Shelley Stanczyk and Joan Lindsey will fight the release the remaining sessions.  I do remember former Vice Mayor and Attorney, Brian Pariser, stating on the record "anyone can sue anyone."  Yes Mr. Pariser is correct, anyone can sue anyone, but he, most of all, should have understood the ramifications to the Village when he voted to continue litigation against Palmer Trinity with a 30% chance of success.  I wonder how many cases he would take on a contingency basis with those kinds of odds. 

With Eve Boutsis's future as Village Attorney on shaky ground (a recent release of a Request for Proposal for a Village Attorney has been released,) it would be a waste of time to try and figure out what role she played in the appeal.  She certainly got her pockets well lined with attorney's fees for her advice.   I would hope that she had the intestinal fortitude and legal wherewithal to advise Shelley Stanczyk, Joan Lindsey and the CCOCI that they were leading the Village down the road to financial devastation.  I guess we will see soon enough.

Our Village politicians need to understand that the job requires and demands more than shaking hands and kissing babies.  The Village needs honest, intelligent and morally inclined individuals who will serve the needs of the Citizens of Palmetto Bay over their own.  As long as the Village is represented by Mayor Shelley Stanczyk and Councilwoman Joan Lindsey, prudent and proper governance will never be the priority.

David Singer

My Top Ten List

Six things you should know prior to the July Council Meeting;

1.  Mayor Shelley Stanczyk is facing 6 possibly 12 ethic violations which are now being investigated by the State of Florida.  These violations relate to the website pbchekstherecord.com that she is accused of setting up and paying for which vilified and slandered Village of Palmetto Bay residents along with her political revivals she was not supporting in the last year's election.   Will the Mayor finally address these violations to the citizens of the Village?

2.  Vice Mayor John DuBois will once again address the Council about release of the Palmer Trinity Shade transcripts.    Will it finally be verified that Councilwomen Lindsey, Mayor Stanczyk, and their Merry Band of mentally misfit followers have essentially cost the Village of Palmetto Bay up to Five Million Dollars for which there is absolutely no insurance coverage? 

3.  When is a Post Office a Library?  Apparently, when the Village Attorney and the Village Zoning Director are reviewing a zoning application.  The embattled Village Attorney, Eve Boutsis, has apparently written a letter denying permission to the owners of the former Village Hall (the Sontag Building on SW 152^nd street just east of US-1) to Lease their building to the US Postal Service as a Post Office.  Her justification: the facility can't be used as a Library. (Yes, you read it right.)  I believe it's time for the Village Attorney to bone up on her vocabulary.  A library contains books, periodicals, etc. for people to read and borrow, while a Post Office is where postal business occurs -- two totally different uses.

 4.  The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR) has confirmed that it has initiated an investigation into the audited Village Financial Statements.    A complaint was filed against the Village of Palmetto Bay auditor's Cherry Bekaert LLP.  The complaint was filed against the auditing firm for the potential understatement and nondisclosure of liabilities associated with both the Palmer Trinity and Shores Litigation which could, as stated before, cost the Village up to Five Million Dollars.  The DBPR found the complaint worthy of investigation (this is no small thing.)  Cherry Bekaert LLP, might be in trouble for taking Village staff's and the Village Attorney's word that there were no potential liabilities.  Staff seems to spin things to look favorable regardless of the potential hazard. 

 5.  Does anyone in the Village of Palmetto Bay hierarchy care about the potential FPL easement lines which are proposed to be 100 feet in height and 4 feet wide and are schedule to be installed down the US1 corridor?   While the cities of Coral Gables, South Miami, Pinecrest and Miami, headed by Mayor Cindy Lerner, are litigating to stop installation of these horrendous transmission lines, our Village Mayor is nowhere to be found.     Mayor Stanczyk is too busy fiddling while the Village of Palmetto Bay burns to address a serious risk to various property owners and business community on the US1 corridor.   I can't think that anyone who could be doing a worst job as Mayor.

6.  South Dade Matters has bought to our attention that the Village Manager plans on reintroducing an Art in Public places agenda item that has already been defeated at June's Council Meeting.  I for one would appreciate it if Mr. Ron Williams, or as I like to call him Palmetto Bay's own tax and spend bureaucrat, would focus on reducing the Village expenses since we will soon have a rather large legal settlement to pay along with Palmetto Bay's falling taxable home values. 

You can say a lot of things about the Village of Palmetto Bay and one would be it's never a dull place
to live.