The Realtors, landowners, developers, etc. are on a political war path. They just formed a Political Action Committee to be able to grow up our downtown and defeat the citizens referendum. Loretta Sharpe, Realtor and former candidate for Mayor and now on the Historical Preservation Board with Wes Blackman, is the Chair of a PAC called Friends of the Gulfstream. Greg Rice, property owner in the area this referendum affects, is the Treasurer.
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Basically we are all "friends" of the Gulfstream. It is too bad that the former owner paid too much at the wrong time and tried everything imaginable to get favorable waivers for this property with some of the very people fighting the referendum. We all would like to see this property come back to life as a hotel. It is grandfathered in as far as the heights referendum is concerned and the height of this property can not be affected.
To allow nearly seven story buildings east of Dixie to the Intracoastal and ten story buildings west of Dixie is not in the best interests of Lake Worth. It is only in the best interests of Realtors, landowners, developers and the like.
15 comments:
I wish these people that want to live in a high rise city would move to one! These people ,like Wes,Loretta ,and Greg don't care about lake Worth. They only care about how much money they can rape out of this city.These people are scum.
Wow. A real estate investor who lives in the Lucerne Condominium and a member of the P&Z who approved the Lucerne Condominium have formed a PAC. What a hysterical name!! I wonder which of their friends will contribute to their PAC??!!
Real estate agents
Real estate PACs
Builders
Builder PACs
Real estate investors (slum lords)
Developers
Developer PACs
PACs from Tallahassee that we have never heard of
LOL. PLEASE, Please, go back to 1st grade and learn proper grammar. The word is YOU ARE, not YOUR. Is this Wes' side-kick, Jim, the loser? At least you spelled SHIT correctly. You are familiar with that.
this is the same old story that we keep fighting year after year.,Developer money comes in and wipes out the message.Money talks and it's impossible to stop them in this town.if it's not developer money it's Chamber money or big mouths east of federal.
So, the proponents of height restrictions can form a PAC, but the opponents are not suppose to? And I believe I am correct in that Wes, Loretta, and Greg are all citizens of Lake Worth. Your "citizens referendum" does not speak for all the citizens, as in a democracy, it only speaks to one side of the issue, the other side of the issue deserves to be heard.
Lynn,
You know where I stand on the up-coming proposed referendum. Like I often say, “if we all liked the same thing Baskin Robins would only need one flavor of ice cream.” We all want different things. Lynn, how can you say with a straight face the only people who will make money with financially sustainable hotels in our town is developers, realtors, planners and the CRA? While it might look like our downtown business is bustling, stop in and ask those business owners and staff how business really is? Last night at the South Palm Neighborhood Association meeting Rod Regan, from Brogue’s said when The Gulfstream closed Dave’s business dropped 30%. That meant that their staffs wages dropped, their suppliers business dropped and they no doubt had to reduce their payroll. That’s just one business in our downtown. Go ask them all. Our city has invested millions of dollars from our electric utility fund to rebuild our Casino over on the beach. Money we hope to recoup from our tenants and parking fees. Don’t you think a few more economically sustainable hotels in town would benefit those businesses and employees too? Our governor said yesterday at The Form Club luncheon that in 2012 FL had 86 million tourist visit our state. Tourism was up in 2012. But the sad thing is none of those tourist visiting PB County spent one night in a LW hotel. They might have visited LW but they couldn’t spend even more of their vacation dollars here in our town like people do staying in hotels. When you say that the CRA would only benefit from new buildings in the area that initiated this referendum is also incorrect. How about the utilities the city would sell to the potential new hotels, (by the way The Lucerne paid over $200,000 in utilities last year)? How about the cities portion of sales tax, how about the payroll dollars from all the new jobs that would be generated and spent here by our residents? How about the business that our local service industry would benefit from servicing and maintaining those new hotels? How about all the extra rounds of golf at our golf course that would be generated from our hotel guest? Can you see that it’s not just your above mentioned select who will benefit when we give our historic Gulfstream a chance to be economically sustainable and welcome a couple of new hotels no taller than the several buildings already there in the area? We all will benefit when we get hotels back in LW.
While I sympathize that a local business LOST business due to the Gulfstream's closing, this is not about one business here. Unfortunately Schlesinger paid way too much for the property. He was leveraged out, lost the place and it lanquished in foreclosure for years. This happened to a lot of people. Who are you blaming for it? The Gulfstream could be a hotel once again and it could be a 4 story hotel extension on the property like the Hyatt just built in Delray. Sorry, I am into a million things at the moment so I can't address your comments.
You have a view; I have another. thanks, Greg.
I think it was said citizens referendum, nothing about starting a PAC. The residents walked the streets and got petitions signed thanks to a commission that forced the issue. There is a difference in doing that and forming a PAC to raise money to defeat the other side. Would you not agree, anony?
Loretta, OMG. She needs gto retire making terrible ddecisions on the hisgtorical boaqrd. greg is a \slum landlord isn't he?
Your comment about allowing 7 and 10 story buildings not being in the best interest of the city. What are you basing that opinion on?
@4:45--The 1,719 people who signed the petition who said they didn't want our downtown to grow vertically. We have 2 opinions here, anonymous. I don't expect some people to agree with keeping our small city small and not allowing 6 and 10 story buildings dot the landscape in our downtown. I don't have any interest in it other than knowing what I like for a city I have lived in off and on since I was a kid in 1952.
I will listen to the boards and see if these people mention their affiliation w/the PAC. Seems a conflict of interest if you sit on the board deciding to approve or disapprove the LDR's and are part of a PAC fighting the people's petitions. If they had 1700 petitions that said different then it MIGHT be a different story.
But it is not, is it???
Things that make you go "Hummm"
The real problem is 3 commissioners think their vote can trump the charter!
Houston, we have a problem!
You mean to tell me that Loretta is still hanging around? I thought she moved to Costa Rica. Go back.
Great point, Weetha. I would imagine it is a conflict of interest.
Two superb reasons not to lsiten to antying this pac has to say, greg Rice and Loretta sharpe. Don't ruin my day.
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