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 7th, 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