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The Stepford Wives?

What was different about last night’s commission meeting? There was only one thing. The Commission and everyone at the dais had lap tops in front of them instead of paper backup. As you glanced up to the front of the room, 5 reams of paper were staring in your face to make the point that by going paperless, we would save all that money and paper. “Green” people must have been frothing at the mouth on that decision.

Years ago a public company for which I worked made that same decision. I think it was someone in IT who convinced the CEO that this was the way of the future or something. It lasted about two weeks. As far as I am concerned, downloading backup of 466 pages is nuts and certainly inconvenient.

The rest of the entire 4.5 plus hours was all of the same. I don’t have to write one thing about it. Just think 5-0, 5-0, 5-0 as you scroll down that paperless backup. This is the constant theme of this Commission.

Even when they knew of the opinion of our bond counsel, Rick Miller, who stated in backup that it was determined that such a borrowing by the City and loan of money to Compass, creates an unconstitutional lending of credit under Article VII, Section 10 of the Florida Constitution, they voted for it. And even when they knew that this type of loan could not be done on a tax exempt basis since the Compass improvements had already been made, they voted unanimously for it anyway. Stanton drafted the Lease that was praised by Tony Plakas.

They ended up changing the zoning on Federal for transient lodging opening up the gates for more illegal immigrants as now they will allow cooking in the rooms. Instead of containing this problem where it is, it now will grow east of Dixie. Prostitutes will still hang out. The only thing different is that now the hookers will be able to get a bite of an all together different kind in their ready made little kitchen. Not only this, they changed zoning for an investor who says that he MIGHT buy up some of these properties but he needed us to change the zoning. He wasn't there last night, supposedly in Finland, trying to convince them to come to Lake Worth. Good one. Once again, we change zoning for a developer/investor. If we see some sort of an infraction we are supposed to report it. Right. The police can't even clean up the prostitution.

Commissioner Golden, for about the 4^th time, reminded me of a Resolution passed in the 1998 or some such year that said we were to no longer call illegal aliens, “illegal, that the word was “undocumented.” It is what it is, Commissioner.

The Commission went round and round about sending the #$%^ ambulance to Haiti. Commissioner Jennings did extensive research and her conclusion was to send it to St. Nicolas Hospital. Even Retha Lowe got in the act and spoke that it was decided four years ago to send it to the Red Cross and that’s where it should be sent. In the meantime, they have had an earthquake killing hundreds of thousands of people. Haitians in our community were there speaking for the Red Cross. Times change Retha, and as I recall, most of your decisions were horrible and sold the city down the drain.

After an unbelievable amount of time, they voted to send it to the Red Cross with Jennings making the motion. I guess we shouldn’t have worried so much about who was going to care and maintain the truck but just getting it there so that it could help people. The Red Cross is as corrupt as any other organization and even with a normal donation, they have a lot of overhead. Perhaps Doctors Without Borders could have figured out the best place where it should have gone.

Only one of my questions was answered last night--the pod at the shuffleboard court. Commissioner Golden said that it should go and Mayor Varela said that they have to do what it takes or words to that effect...that it was used for housing donations to Haiti. What about obeying your own ordinances on that sort of thing, Mayor?

All in all, this Commission is like putty, totally molded to the City Manager's point of view and all of her goals. One more thing, she and Joe Kroll are flying together to Chicago to look at garbage.