At Village of Palmetto Bay council session on July 11th
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 3rd 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
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 3rd 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
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