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| Nearby condo owners in 2017 were interested in buying our 300' gulf front property, having us restore the dunes and remove pedestrian and car accessibility; for this, they would pay less than what we paid for the same property four years earlier (in 2013) and these same nearby condo owners would then be able to use this beach at will--but Escambia taxpayers would not have been given access to this beach! |
Thank God it didn't happen!
Earlier this week a batch of emails was published on the Escambia Citizen's Watch site that dealt with the Property that Escambia County Owns on Perdido Key next to the Crab Trap Restaurant.
This particular piece of property was purchased in 2013 for the express purpose of providing Perdido Key Beach Mouse habitat.........and PUBLIC BEACH access.
This particular property has generated a lot of heated discussion lately, as the sense I have had is that there was/is a coordinated effort afoot to block the public from accessing this beach.
But this property belongs to the public, the taxpayers. I have said it over and over and over and over.....
like a broken record. We will #OpenOurBeach
Because beach access is precious in Florida. And it is becoming even more scarce.
And the comfortable status quo of nearby condos being the only ones able to currently access our beach easily is an untenable situation which the board is going to rectify in short order when we #OpenOurBeach
Meanwhile, just last year, I joined my counterparts in voting to purchase more beach property at Perdido Key--but unfortunately we were out-bid for that parcel.
Apparently, though, at the same time we were all trying to get more beach access at Perdido Key for citizens---a push was being made behind the scenes to divest the taxpayers of the very beach property the taxpayers purchased in 2013 to provide MORE access to the people with.
Sounds crazy right?!? It sounds crazy to me.
Had I known of or been privy to the contract contained within these documents, I would have ripped that document up and thrown it in the trash. I would NEVER vote to sell that to private condo owners in 2017 (at less than what we paid for it in 2013 price wise)
Thankfully, attorney Stephen G. West (see his email of concern below) with the county shot this whole idea down in the early stages of this plan being concocted......
Glad he did, and I'm glad I now know of this effort to keep the public off this beach. Even more motivation for us to do the right thing now and as quickly as we can, to #OpenOurBeach
11 comments:
Thank you for this, Commissioner Bergosh.
You are kind to employ the pronoun "we" in what was in fact Doug's failure to obtain a second beach access with the 1M that was reallocated to him to do so.
Most who follow this issue are well aware the failure is due to (1) Doug not using the full 1M that the County reallocated to him and so (2) low-balling the offer.
Because (1) Doug fancies himself a real estate mover and shaker, and (2) he wanted to leave himself with some pocket change on the deal.
Of course, he was out-maneuvered (if you can even call it that, per such a ham-fisted move), and the Gulf-front property was scooped up by a buyer who not only understood its true value but also wasn't invested in having the "win" of strong-arming a real estate deal.
I realize this is somewhat off-topic, but it is time for the BOCC to get down to reallocating that 1M back to David Forte so he can finally implement his County-wide smart-lights system that he had planned, for such a long time.
Please don't let Doug squat on that money any longer. There are no parcels available for that amount for beach access; he is well aware of it, which is why he was arguing for 10M of RESTORE funds for 100 linear feet of beach (who knows where).
The silver lining in this situation is that anybody who has eyes will see that the citizens who have been in an outcry over his lack of transparency have been spot-on. His out-of-the-sunshine dealings are ripping District 2 apart, destabilizing the BOCC, and having a horrible impact on Escambia County as a whole.
If anybody thinks that this Beach Access #4 is the "smoking gun" rather than the "tip of the iceberg," I've got a Corry Bridge to sell you.
Melissa Pino
413 SE Baublits
Who was trying to sell this? Was D2 Underhill his aid James Owens behind this? D2 is really the droid called 4-1/3-2, which is his losing board voting record on issues such as this. Wasn’t 4-1/3-2 on tv recently saying he never tried to sell this property, but released emails on JUECW show he did. It looks JUECW printed the truth for once. How long until they remove and bury that story?
I know some of us post anonymous and hope some how others will wake up. I started look in close after moving here and it was so obvious that Underhill had his claws in the Facebook site ECW and was pulling a fast one on the county. But you the BOCC as a whole need to grow a pair. It is obvious that some hope people are not paying attention Barry.. and May .Just go ahead. Talk about it. We see you.
Anonymous 7:50 That is funny. Four one, three two. Like a play on Star Wars Droids Artoo D2 and C Three P O. Funny. Four One, Three Two, and may the force be with you. Live long and prosper. LOL
What are the voters deciding? You have to let the voters decide, since they are paying for it. The condos owners voted Underhill in, but youre not giving them any voice. Tired of these politicians. Im a condo owner right here in Perdido Key. I talked to many taxpayers, and they don't give a hoot.
I find it nefarious that every time Underhill is asked about this rather than explain what he is doing he cites the PKMP and HCP and says no one will understand.
It looks like he has Tim Day doing his bidding. No wonder Tim and Chips had the deer in the headlights look when questioned about this and doing the public presentation. Did they mention this? NO.
It still looks like the D2 commissioner is trying to keep that Beach closed, most likely because it is close to his house and he want the private access for himself.
I am happy the County is working to open this and this is coming to light but while that is happening why is this county commissioner not being put up and investigated for unethical behavior and intent?
Is is because the rest of the BOCC and administration has allowed this to go on under their watch? Well, you see it now and many are watching how you all handle it. You hoped the voters would have riddled you of him but it didn't happen, now with a Democrat challenger that is very unlikely especially after watching their melt down nationally the last few years. What a shame the D2 still voted him in during the primary and the ECW still covers for him.
Escambia stinks and it's not from the red tide. It stinks from the office of D2. He should be investigated, even if a Democrat holds the office for a while.
What do you make of the "Hamstring" BCC comment? I would be livid if I were on the BOCC and had to serve with this corruption hanging over my head and sitting beside me.
Does one bad apple spoil the whole bunch? Word on the street is because he is so far in with Morgan and State's Attorney vis a vis then everyone will let him get away with this. Will you and your brother allow this?
Disgusting.
I know I know..Accused doesn't mean guilty..Or well does it? New day in America.
#Lockhimup
While you are at it look into the money you approved for the Inlet protection Plan. Why did you do that. Did you just hand it to Underhill and the Natural Resources division. he said he needed about 200 K I think. Research it.. The BOCC voted to give Underhill money on top of what the purpose was, Where did he spend it? Also you all approved a change order for the Living shoreline that he won't give up the public record on. I get it the board approved it, you trusting selves. He is playing you and ripping off the taxpayers. We see it. Don't you?
Anonymous, the story of 4-1/3-2's (hahahaha) back-door dealings with the Seafarer per Public Access #4 was broken by Michael McMcCormack on FSECW (Escambia Citizen's Watch, Free Speech).
Michael has been doing great work to get to the bottom of exactly what games Doug has been running on that taxpayer-owned property. JUECW was finally pressured into posting the County docs, because the whole town was talking about it, and they realized their inattention looked oblivious and foolish. So Jacqueline allowed the docs, and they are busy now trying to whitewash Doug's dealings.
Don't worry; whether it disappears off JUECW is irrevelant. The permanent URL on FSECW is
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1682072068725988/permalink/2145745455691978/
Melissa Pino
413 SE Baublits Drive
The BOCC should vote NO on appointing Underhill for the RESTORE money coming in. He has proved that he can't be trusted. You or barry should handle that. http://agenda.myescambia.com/agenda_publish.cfm?id=&mt=ALL&get_month=9&get_year=2018&dsp=agm&seq=14963&rev=0&ag=4096&ln=45047&nseq=14927&nrev=0&pseq=14936&prev=0#ReturnTo45047
Note Bergosh linked it to the Free speech site of Escambia Citizens Page and NOT the Underhill site posing as a citizen page. Maybe there is hope after all. Thank you chairman Bergosh.
Im going to say this: Im seeing a bunch of dogs on the beach and this is unacceptable. Dogs should not be romping on the beach, ruining the pristine, pure, nature. I am unequivocally opposed to dogs on the beach and anyone who keeps letting them out needs to be fined or worse, locked up, because I'm tired of being the volunteer to pick up the dog poop. If I see one more pile of dog poop, I'm letting it pile up and the county can pick up the mess.
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