Lake County Fiscal Rangers

Will Tomorrow's Lake County Board meeting be a Battle, Snoozer or Doozer?

Tavares, FL - Monday, May 21, 2012

by Vance Jochim

Tomorrow's 9am May 22 meeting of the Lake County Board meeting could be boring, or outrageous?

It is a combined meeting, with the regular Board meeting agenda HERE, and a separate Zoning meeting in the middle of it, which has it's own Zoning issues agenda HERE.

But, here is our analysis of some agenda items that might need more research or be contentious:

Tab 3 - Naming of a Dept. of Justice Grant Coordinator - A skim of the initial "consent agenda" items didn't provide any major surprises, although consent agenda item Tab 3 is about a grant, and any grant makes me nervous, because it could include requirements that affect private property rights, long term spending problems, etc.   We would NOT even know about this grant except the Florida FDLE requires the County assign a coordinator for it via the County administration.   In this case, the issue is to authorize a PROBATION specialist to be a GRANT coordinator for a "Justice Assistance Grant".   The Board is not approving a grant yet, just a coordinator to get ideas and then submit a grant application which would be approved later.  Anytime the staff tries to ignore the fiscal impact and not specify it in the agenda description, I look for a boondoggle.  So, you have to open the agenda request document to find the grant to be "coordinated" is $113,436 to be distributed to "units of government within Lake County".    Hot bananas.  FREE money.  AND, you have to open a second document (kudos to staff for at least posting the attachments, so they aren't hiding the grant, just the amount to be given out or reasons...).  Neither the agenda text or the agenda request document mention the funds are REALLY from the US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) and our buddy Eric Holder.   So, you know any strings in the "grants" may be against the public interest.   Remember, this is on the consent agenda so the Board wasn't planning to discuss this in public.

    The attached notification letter says that: 

"FDLE (Florida Dept of Law Enforcement) has set aside $113,000 for use by all units of government within Lake County.  ...the funds can be used by local units (what units, they don't say...) of government to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime and to improve the criminal justice system.   The program announcement includes information from DOJ relating to "several areas of national focus" (i.e. what Eric Holder and Obama want...)."

"As a condition of participation (ok, that means there is a ball and chain) in this program, the units of government in each county must reach a consensus concerning the expenditure of these funds."  (Note, read our separate page HERE on consensus building techniques used by the left to push through Agenda 21 and other objectives without a VOTE by affected citizens.)

They go on and say "This consensus must include the projects to be implemented as well as the agency responsible for such implementation".   

The second attachment is only a form to designate the local coordiantor.

NOWHERE ARE THE GRANT REQUIREMENTS SPECIFIED... SO JUST WHAT IS THIS GRANT?  SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE, AND WE WILL MONITOR IT AND REPORT BACK LATER.  WHY WOULD THE BOARD APPROVE A COORDINATOR AND LEGWORK TO "DEVELOP A CONSENSUS" WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THE GRANT WAS, OR WHO THE RECIPIENT GOVERNMENT UNITS WERE???

Tab 9 - Proclamation for "Tobacco-Free Parks Month"  -  The Board is being asked to approve a proclamation designating June as "Tobacco-Free Parks Month".    We need to know if Commissioner Sean Parks is tobacco free or not?  (:-))

Tab 10 - Approves under the consent agenda to change position titles and delete the "Public Lands Manager position".   So, we spent $30-million in bonds to by a bunch of public lands, only let people use four of them (ie. the four that were opened after Commissioner Leslie Campione asked why none were open or had facilities).  My numbers may be off, but who is watching our $30-million investment?  (They are adding a park ranger, so maybe he will do it).

Tab 23 - Traffic Study for North Hancock Road in South County - if you are interested in the results after public meetings, etc then watch this presentation.    As usual with presentations, they don't provide any early handouts, etc. but you should be able to find the resulting Powerpoint attached to Tab 23 AFTER the meeting.   Here is the only description from the agenda request document:

"The Board of County Commissioners,on Sept 20, 2011 requested that the Department of Public Works evaluate the N. Hancock Road Corridor for traffic safety issues.  The study on N. Hancock Road begins at SR 50 and ends at Turkey Farm Road.  A public meeting was held on March 19th with residents and interested parties at the Cooper Memorial Library in Clermont.  Public comment was received and will be incorporated into the final document.  The Board of County Commissioners will receive the study results and evaluation by the Public Works Engineering Division."

Tab 24 - A public hearing on distributing $74,000 in impact fees for libraries to Mount Dora, Minneola and Howey.  Remember, the County waived transportation and school impact fees, but not library impact fees (or parks).  Both of those are much smaller than roads and schools.

REZONING PUBLIC HEARINGS are AFTER tab 24, so click here for the separate agenda to see if any subjects are of interest - so expect a break, then the zoning issues, then back to TAB 25.  We told you about this agenda last week.

- Zoning Tab 4 & 5 - Comp Plan Amendments

- Zoning Tab 6 - hearing on the Magrone Property

- Zoning Tab 7 - the controversial rezoning of the former Long & Scott private airport into a public airport which is being fought by neighbors and also environmentalists in the nearby Lake Apopka area due to possibility of bird strikes.  It ain't easy being a property owner and trying to get rezoning if the greenies get involved.

 

RETURN to normal Board agenda:

Tab 25 - Presentation by the St. Johns River Water management district - This is about the District's LAND GRAB where they own 600,000 acres of land in 18 counties, which might be over, and this presentation appears to be the result of requirements from Gov. Scott's office.  Lake County staff did NOT provide any details, but you can find them on the St. John's website HERE:   http://www.floridaswater.com/landassessment/  

These are the guys who shut off water flow to Lakes Dora, Eustis, Harris, etc.   But, they are presenting on a different subject.   Following AGenda 21, they have used taxpayer funds and over 35 years have amassed a collection of "public lands" and will describe what they have and a project to "assess" what to do with the lands.  (kinda like Lake County's public lands... not much is accessible by the public, which is an objective of UN Agenda 21 facilitated by the American Planner's Association.   Their goal is to convert as much land as possible to government ownership (communism - for the collective) and restrict human access to people migrate to government run transit villages...)

So, watch this presentation, and get mad when you see how much land has been removed from the tax rolls and whether humans can even access it.  No details were attached to the agenda, such as a list of affected lands.  If you are interested in how taxpayer funded lands owned by the St. John's Water District are managed, come to the meeting or watch the video, and provide public input.  Who knows, an endangered lizard might talk.

AND, since the Lake County staff would not provide any details, we found updated details on their "2012 public land assessment" on the St. Johns website HERE:  http://www.floridaswater.com/landassessment/     It says "the district OWNS 600,000 acres of land in it's 18-county service area."  They are examining every acre to determine "the need for conservation purposes."    "Sometimes the District may have bought "acreage that has minimal water resource value".    READ the website page - there is a PUBLIC COMMENT FORM

It appears one of the reasons for this "assessment" is that Florida loosened land use regulations last year (thanks to Gov. Scott) and they were probably told to actuall review and manage the land they had and examine alternatives.   So, we could have a McDonald's on the Dora Canal???

Tab 26 - More on the Long & Scott Aviation Growth Center  - go to this page to see the attachments.  I did not read them at time of publishing this.   http://www.lakecountyfl.gov/AgendaDocPop/connect.aspx?ParentTrackingNumber=6526   

I have nothing else at this time, but the St. John's presentation and the Long & Scott Aviation Center issues should be doozies...  I may add something else in the morning. 

vj

How Socialists use Agenda 21 & "Endangered Species" Designations to Increase Energy & Other Costs

Monday, May 21, 2012 -   Tavares, FL

by Vance Jochim

A lizard in New Mexico and Texas could increase US gasoline costs if the EPA had their way, and Lake County elected officials and voters could learn a lesson from the fight with the EPA there.

Here in Lake County, we have a Comprehensive Land Use Plan that has been modified somewhat, but not enough.   It was developed when Florida had adopted "Growth" plans derived from legislative guides produced by the American Planner's Association (APA) which were created using funds from numerous Federal Agencies directed to implement the United Nations Agenda 21 by Bill Clinton's Presidential Council on Sustainable Development.

For more background on Agenda 21, see our info page at tinyurl.com/HaltAgenda21   .

Now, we have a good example in the following article about the stealth method used nationally by the EPA to implement Agenda 21 objectives of using enviornmentalism as a cover to increasing energy costs, reducing values of private property, etc.

http://epaabuse.com/3424/editorials/proposed-listing-of-sagebrush-lizard-as-endangered-species-threatens-energy-production/  

The article explains how the EPA can define an "endangered species" such as a lizard, then prevent landholders from developing or building on their land to "protect" the lizard.   I don't know about you, but my Florida backyard and magnolia tree is full of lizards in good health. In this case, the EPA tried to prevent oil drilling on some lands by declaring a local lizard as endangered. 

I once lived in California, and land development was halted for decades due to the existence of some "endangered species".

But, apparently, the courts mandated a delay in implementing a moratorium on development because, like Al Gore's "junk science", they question the validity of EPA "science" in defining the lizards as endangered.

Citizens in the area of New Mexico and Texas that would be economically decimated by lizard restrictions rose up and rebelled and challenged the "science" behind the EPA decision.  The courts agreed, and specified the EPA had to support their lizard endangerment science within 6 months, which is where they are today...

Ok - for you elected officials who don't understand how Agenda 21 objectives are used by the Federal government and your local land use planners to damage property rights and increase cost of energy so "preferred" energy alternatives like solar or wind are used more, here is an example. The EPA can declare a lizard as endangered species, then prevent oil drilling to protect the lizard.   This reduces energy from oil, increases cost of oil drilled, making it only 1/2 the cost of solar and wind, vs 1/3.   AND, somewhere in there are probably provisions so that only the government can take over the land.   The same thing is done to reduce mining, forestry harvesting, and other resources, so the owners sell or give the land to the government.   EVERY time you hear the phrase "endangered species" think about what the real objective is...

And in Lake County, where the greenies have pushed through restricions on mining in south county etc., your days may be ending... and Lake County Board members and zoning commission members might start challenging the comp plan restrictions that don't pass the Agenda 21 smell test.

vj

 

Ronald Reagan Famous Speeches - Some Lessons Learned

Tavares, FL   -  May 12, 2012

by Vance Jochim

In 1981, Ronald Reagan took office for eight years as US President, and Netflix has a DVD "President Ronald Reagan: The Great Speeches" which I just watched.

- He took over from Jimmy Carter when interest rates had gone up to 21% due to Carter's liberal spending programs (Gee, sounds like Owebama, doesn't it).   We still had the huge welfare program that continued to pay funds to low income, non-working citizens for LIFE.   

- At the time, we still had a "cold war" with the Communists in Russia, and there was a wall between East & West Berlin.    Carter had launched a botched rescue of people in Cuba which failed.

- In an early April 18 speech, Reagan says "Our Government is too big, & spends too much".

- One 1982  speech talks how Reagan's administration has transferred liberal social programs down to State governments and how interest rates have dropped to 15%, and inflation has dropped from 12.4% to 8.9%.

- Reagan discusses the harmful ideas of communists, class war and Stalin's schemes to implement Soviet doctrine and "totalitarian power".

- Reagan talks to a national organization of "Evangelicals" and discusses the need for improved morality, prayer in schools and other social conservative issues.   You don't hear that today.

- In his 1984 Acceptance speech as the Republican nominee for his second Presidential term, he talks about the recent Democratic convention in San Francisco and tells the packed Republican convention "We didn't discover our values in a poll taken just before our election, and we didn't set a weather vane on top of the Golden Gate bridge before talking about the American family..."   "Their (Democrat's) Government only sees people as members of groups (i.e. socialism or communitarianism) ... ours sees them as individuals.  "  

"Inflation was not borne on the wind as some type of plague, but it was a deliberate part of their (Democrats) official economic policy they said was needed to maintain prosperity.  They didn't tell us that with inflation would come the highest interest rates since the Civil War.    Average monthly home payments nearly doubled and home building ground to a halt.  And, who controlled both houses of government and the executive branch ... not us (Republicans).  "  

"Farmers have to fight insects,  the weather and the marketplace and they shouldn't have to fight their own government..."

"Democrats never met a tax they didn't like..."

- There are numerous famous quotes and uplifting jokes and stories, so I suggest you get the DVD from Netflix and watch it also.   Or, try CSPAN's website and they might have many of the speeches also, but maybe not the ones to private groups.

- During Reagan's 8 years, they created 19-million new jobs.

- The US was regarded by the world as the savior of "Freedom because the Berlin wall fell and the Soviet Union collapsed into separate countries.  Fear from Russian violence or nuclear war dropped significantly.  Defenses were rebuilt to "carry a big stick".  Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan.    Nuclear fears were reduced through reductions in nuclear missiles on both sides of the Atlantic.    Tax rates were cut significantly.  Family income went up the last four years of his term.  "Our first principle is to believe in ourselves."  - not big government.'   "We the people tell the government what to do, it doesn't tell us... We the people are free".   "Most other governments tell people what they can do, but in the US, "We The People" tell government what it is allowed to do...".    "As government expands, Liberty contracts...".  "We have to teach history not based upon what's popular now, but what's important."  

- The best single speech is his final Farewell Address to the Nation from the Oval Office on January 11, 1989 before leaving office.  Be sure to watch it, where he talks about "We the People", comparisons of Communism vs US lifestyles, the benefits of reduced governments, Freedom, etc.

Ronald Reagan was the original Hope and Change guy who actually did it with DEEDS, not PROMISES.

vj

Lake County Commissioners Need to Deny Re-Zoning for Clermont Mosque

Tavares, FL - March 26, 2012

Update:  On Tuesday, March 27, the Lake County Board denied the re-zoning request described below, basically for the types of reasons I mentioned.  vj

Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 27, a group called the Clermont Islamic Center (CIC) is trying to get a 4+ acre section of land near Clermont re-zoned by the Lake County Commissioners from Agriculture to Community Development so they can build a 2500 sq. foot , 45 foot high Muslim Mosque with 199 parking spaces.  It would be in an agriculture area with single family homes and lack of adequate roads to handle the expected traffic of 2,000 vehicle arrival & departures per day.  It would be the highest building in the entire area except for the Citrus Tower.  

Both the City of Clermont Council, and the Lake County Zoning Commission have voted against the re-zoning.   However, the Lake County "planning & growth" staff DID recommend the re-zoning, but their reasons are vague, based upon the new County Comprehensive Plan (which makes it suspect right there) AND the possibility they screwed up and did not calculate the true traffic impact the mosque would have on the area.  The Lake County Planning staff seems to be totally out of touch with reality on this decision, and we question why all their reasons sent to us in an email were based upon the planning code or comp plan, and not the affect on traffic or the neighbors.

Look at this google maps picture of the area, and you see similar 4+ acres lots all around it with single family homes. The Islamic Center is the lot with the "A" symbol.  This land is not in the City of Clermont boundaries, but apparently in a County area that is a "joint use" area where both Clermont and the County have jurisdiction.   The horizontal road fronting the Islamic lot is Lost Lake Rd, and the vertical road nearby is Hancock Rd.  Both are currently over standards for traffic loads.

This is not an issue of religious discrimination but an issue of improper land use unfair to the existing neighbors. 

I previously sent out an email with background facts and attachments regarding the issue to those on the FiscalRangers email list.

 

If you are not familiar with the issue, read or watch these video reports:

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/lake_news/031412-Clermont-rejects-mosque-proposal    <<<< This video report also includes a scene where a Sheriff’s deputy was serving them for an overdue $200,000 debt.

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/subindex/news/faith_news  

http://www.southlakepress.com/030912mosque   

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-12/features/os-clermont-mosque-expansion-20120308_1_zoning-board-islamic-center-neighbors-dread  

Our opinion is that this is an improper land use change unfair to local property owners and the the taxpayers, since it would create a huge increased traffic burden that would have to be mitigated with new roads.  I am told the current roads (Lost Lake Road and Hancock Rd) already exceed capacity and there are no capital funds to expand them for at least five years because the area roads were based on agricultural, low traffic load, not high traffic purposes like mosques or businesses.

In my opinion the Islamic Center group purposely selected a low cost area rather than find and buy property properly zoned for Community Groups like Churches.  They knowingly bought a property surrounded by agriculture operations with single family homes, and started having events where up to 140 cars have been parked on their lot and adjoining road, purposely ignoring the land use restrictions on the area.  The group says the project is not a mosque, but their building plans specify that a worship area will have 200 seats.  The group also wants outdoor speakers which would disrupt the neighbors.  Most of the lot would be covered by the 25,000 square foot building and 199 paved parking spaces. 

Here is a diagram of the lot plan.  How do you think that looks in the existing neighborhood?

Download Islamic Center lot plan

I have received emails from the County staff citing their reasons to support the re-zoning, and detailed notes of local Clermont area citizens angry over the dis-regard for the current agricultural land use environment and dis-regard by staff over the extreme changes in traffic that will occur if the re-zoning is approved.

Reasons to Deny the Re-Zoning

- Just looking at the satellite picture of the adjoining properties indicates that a mosque with high vehicle traffic is out of character with them.  

- Staff claims that such re-zoning is allowable per the Comp Plan indicates there must be a real problem with the Comp Plan to even allow such extreme changes in land use.  Several of their reasons specify that unspecified conditions should be met first.  Why not clearly say what the conditions are and requre they be met BEFORE any consideration of re-zoning?

- The narrow road used to gain access to the lot  cannot handle the projected traffic of 2,000 trips per day, nor overflow parking.   No re-zoning should be considered at all without the roads being updated to handle the traffic.   A main reason for land use planning is to concentrate different land uses in the same areas, thus you don't have to provide infrastructure like roads, sewers, etc .  The attempt to re-zone to allow a high traffic operation ruins the concept of clustering like land uses together, and the taxpayer has to pay for it.

- Allowing a mosque (or  McDonalds, or a Target store with high traffic and noise) in the area completely disrupts the property values of existing landowners and is a taking of property values.  Neighboring homeowners should have the right to sue the County for loss of property value.

- Noise and excess traffic were the reasons why the Lake County Board rejected a proposed concert in December, and that was for a single event.  The effects of this requested re-zoning are much longer and the re-zoning should be rejected for the same reasons.

- Approving the re-zoning would be a strong negative signal to Lake County property owners about the safety of buying land in Lake County, when the Board or staff could re-zone a neighbor to some non- reasonable type of land use.  That is what they have in some parts of Texas - you have a mortuary next to restaurants and porn houses, and a rendering plant on the other side of a wall of a housing tract.  The value and use of existing landowners should be protected at all costs, or the County needs to step up and pay market price for properties around a new land use area before rezoning it.

All the above are reasonable, and legitimate reasons to deny the re-zoning in agreement with the Clermont City Council and the Lake County Zoning Commission.

If the organizers of the Islamic Center want to show they truly respect the laws of the US, and relations with neighbors, they need to find land properly zoned and sized for their mosque with adequate infrastructure.

vj

You can watch the meeting online, starting tomorrow, Tuesday, at 9am HERE.  Click the "Live Board Meetings" link, and you can read or download both the main agenda and the zoning agendas from the same page.  The re-zoning issue is tab 8 of the Zoning Agenda, so it could be 3+ hours before they reach it.  OR, sometimes the Chair moves high interest items earlier in the meeting, so it could be anytime.  Meetings usually run 4+ hours until done with no lunch.

 

Phyllis Schlafly on the "Mischief of Agenda 21"

This EagleForum,org article is a good overview of the United Nations' Agenda 21 Plan to move to a One World Order and implement socialism in the US and other countries. 

If you search on "Agenda 21" on their site you will find other articles also.

From:

http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/2011/dec11/psrdec11.html

The Mischief of Agenda 21

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa opening on November 28, called COP-17, is one of a series of UN meetings working toward a specific goal. Advertising for this meeting featured a long list of invited celebrities including Angelina Jolie, U2's Bono, Ted Turner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Gore, and Michael Bloomberg.

The UN goal is to move the United States into global government by environmental regulations and a vast network of taxes. These newly-imposed taxes will give the UN a tremendous stream of money in addition to U.S. dues and congressional appropriations.

The plan for taxes was launched at the 1992 UN meeting in Rio de Janeiro, known as the Earth Summit, where Conference Secretary General Maurice Strong produced a 300-page document with 40 proposals called Agenda 21. The tax-seeking route then proceeded through UN meetings in Cancun in 2010, in Durban this November, and will be finalized next year at what is called Rio+20 (i.e., Rio de Janeiro after 20 years).

Agenda 21 is a comprehensive master plan to reshape and control the U.S. and lock us into the clutches of the UN under the innocuous phrase Sustainable Development. Along with 178 countries, President George H.W. Bush accepted Agenda 21 as "soft law" adopted by a new tactic called collaborative consensus building, instead of by treaty.

Bush popularized the term New World Order, but left it for others to define. Mikhail Gorbachev said the threat of an environmental crisis will be the international key to unlock the New World Order, and President Bill Clinton issued an Executive Order in 1993 creating the President's Council on Sustainable Development.

Advocates of Agenda 21 talk about the three E's of Sustainable Development: Economy, Equity, and Environment.

Equity means replacing our American constitutional system with central planning and "social justice," which is a code word for redistribution of wealth, abolition of private property rights, and giving favored corporations tax breaks, grants, and use of Eminent Domain.

Economy means shifting from a private enterprise system to government-private-corporation-partnerships. That would be a giant step toward total government and UN control of our economy, with the ability to redistribute our goods and services to foreign countries.

Environment means giving animals and plants more rights or at least equal rights with humans. It also promotes worship of nature and Mother Earth.

To talk about Agenda 21, you will have to get used to a new vocabulary: green jobs, green building codes, going green, regional planning, smart growth, biodiversity, sustainable farming, growth management, resilient cities, sustainable communities, redistribution, urban growth boundaries, redevelopment districts, and consensus.

Agenda 21 wants to herd people into crowded communities, with limited housing space and limited parking spaces. This will promote the green goal of reducing our use of automobiles, allowing only electric cars that can't go very fast or very far, so people will have to walk and use bicycles and mass transit.

Agenda 21 supports the Wildlands Project, which seeks to re-wild 50% of our nation and turn it into a pre-Columbian wilderness where animals roam freely and humans are crowded into limited spaces. Already, we find that rural roads are not being repaired or maintained.

Agenda 21 has started its attacks on rural and small-town property rights. Six hundred U.S. cities and counties have signed on to ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, pronounced ik-lay), putting themselves indirectly under supervision of UN regulations and restrictions.

Advocates of Agenda 21 believe the earth is overcrowded. They demand an 85% reduction in human population.

It's a major goal of Agenda 21 to lower the U.S. standard of living by cutting our use of energy. Agenda 21 plans to use smart meters, smart grids, and smart growth so that our nation's use of electricity can be controlled, limited, and redistributed.

Schools and universities are important to Agenda 21's goals. The plan is to make them indoctrination institutions, where kids are taught "green" propaganda, as well as global education to make them citizens of the world.

When you get down to the nitty-gritty, what these UN climate conferences are all about is getting the UN to impose taxes that will give the UN an immense flow of money so it doesn't have to worry about Congress cutting off appropriations.

This UN plan means imposing UN taxes on currency transfers, fossil energy production including oil, natural gas and coal, the commercial use of oceans, international airplane tickets, and all foreign exchange transactions.

Taxes of this magnitude would give the UN so much power that it would become a de facto world government. Tell your Members of Congress to pledge that the day the UN adopts this extravagant anti-American nonsense will be the day we say goodbye to the UN.

 

 

Updated Jan 15th: Lake Dora water flow from Lake Apopka shut off by CAT People at St. Johns River Water Management District

Updated Jan. 15, 2012 to include Fox Orlando interview link to their website.

Updated Jan 9, 2012 after the meeting:  The Lake County public hearing of the St. Johns River Water Management District meeting was held Jan. 5th to discuss water level management practices affecting Lake County lakes.  Our update with conclusions and our recommendations are in section PS8 at the bottom of this document.  (Several updates added to section PS8 with the latest on Jan 9th).  Links to local media articles on this meeting also added to section PS8 thru 1/9.  The ST. John's Board is having a Baord meeting in Palatka on Jan. 10th to decide their actions, and we will post a NEW article.

Tavares, FL - Dec. 27, 2011 (Updated 4pm, Jan. 4th) - Water levels in Lake Dora & downstream lakes are dropping due to actions to completely shutoff water flow to them from Lake Apopka.  Alien CAT People working at the St. Johns River Water Management District started shutting off water on Dec. 8th from Lake Apopka to Lake Dora and all Lake Countians should get organized. (True, except for the CAT reference (:-))  )

A public hearing for Lake Countians has been scheduled for Jan. 5th at 5pm in the Mission Inn in Howie-in-The-Hills and details are below in the PS1 section.  We encourage all readers concerned about dropping water levels in Harris Chain lakes to attend the meeting.  You will see a presentation from the staff of the St. John's River Water Management District about why they have turned off all water flow from Lake Apopka to Lake Dora and other Lake County lakes.  Our observations are that water has dropped 5 inches in four weeks, and is dropping about 1 inch per week.  You can also give public input on your concerns about lower lake water levels - not being able to get boats out of docks, dropping property values, and not being able to get a boat through the Dora Canal.   Please be there!!

We expect numerous attendees from Lake Griffin, plus members of the Sunnyland Antique & Classic Boat Society plus members of the Triangle Boat Club.

This is an update on the issue of water flow being shutoff as pf December 8th, 2011 from Lake Apopka to Lake Dora and downstream lakes by the St. Johns District staff , when hardly any of them or members of their board live in Lake County.  There also was no previous public hearing for Lake Countians that we know of.  Lake Griffin has suffered dramatic drops in water levels, and Lake Dora is down by about 5-6 inches in the last 4-weeks since the water shutoff was implemented (my estimate based upon the canal I live on).   After the Lake Apopka Restoration Summit on December 14, the staff agreed to increase the outflow of water into Lake Griffin but NOT allow water to flow INTO the Harris Chain from Apopka, resulting in a constantly dropping water level.

Originally, we thought it was Lake Apopka area environmentalists doing this to Lake County, but a FiscalRangers investigation found that the St. Johns Water District staff are really CAT PEOPLE aliens who hate water.  Thus they have apparently  initiated a plan to shutoff all water flow to Lake County lakes so they don't have so many lakes.  (OK,  for those in Apopka, the Wekiva area or in the Ocala forest, that reference to Alien CAT People is a joke).

We covered the issue initially on THIS post along with news for a recent Lake County Board meeting where the water level issue was discussed on the meeting agenda.  About 50 people from Lake Griffin, and about 20 from local boat clubs showed up.   Commissioner Leslie Campione spearheaded a discussion and allowed public input.   The Lake County Board does NOT have authority over water levels but can use their bully pulpit to engage staff and Board members of the St. Johns River Water Management Distrist.   She agreed to contact them, and also write a letter on behalf of the board to request increasing water flow to Lake Dora and downstream lakes, including Lake Griffin, which is very low.    She also announced the public hearing below.

There will be a public hearing organized by the St. Johns Water District staff in Howie-in-the-Hills on Jan. 5th at 5pm at the Mission Inn to get "public input" on the water cutoff, and details are in the PS1 section below.

You can verify Lake County water levels, discharge rates and rainfall levels for each Lake HERE at the St. Johns webpage that tracks it.   Click on the links for the "Upper Ocklawaha River Basin.  The "Burrell Spillway" rates are the flow of water OUT of Lake Eustis to Lake Griffin.  Please bring your "NO CAT PEOPLE" poster to halt this dastardly feline plot by the ST. Johns Water District to lower Lake County lake water levels.  However, I live on a canal off Lake Dora and it seems to me that water levels have dropped about 5 inches, more than the charts show.  However, that could be that the "regulated" water levels vary by month of the year, while I am looking at an expected average water level marker.

HERE is the website page for the recent Lake Apopka Summit which was mostly to discuss Lake Apopka restoration efforts, but where the issue of dropping water levels was discussed.  St. Johns staff appeared disguised as real people, but we now know they are water hating Alien CAT People ((:-)).   Now they have all the presentations from the earlier Lake Apopka Summit on the webpage, so you can download them from HERE. 

Update Jan. 4:  Lake County Commissioner told me she visited the St. Johns offices today and also presented Lake County concerns to them.  She will be at the Jan. 5th meeting.

Quick - forward this email to other Lake County boat owners, Griffin Lake residents, waterfront owners and other residents and businesses concerned about dropping Lake water levels in Lake County.   Encourage them to attend the Jan. 5th Public Hearing.  Do this before the Orlando Sentinel's columnist discovers our research regarding CAT People aliens running the St. Johns Water District and writes a story on it. 

Bookmark THIS page for updates on the upcoming meeting and results which will be posted here in the sections below.

FiscalRangers.com Opinion (read the PS sections below for more background)

- The water level shutoff was done without any public hearings in Lake County that we know of.

- No Lake County agency has authority over water levels, not even the County Board or Lake County Water Authority. The effect is that the St. Johns District, headquartered in Palatka, FL  follows the UN Agenda 21 tactic of creating "regional" groups that can't be directly sanctioned by local voters and they are out of our voter control, but yet they control our water levels.  There is one vacancy on the Board for an area including western Lake County, but it may take 2 months yet for Gov. Scott to make the appointment, and not necessarily a Lake County citizen.

- Lake Griffin residents visited the recent Apopka Restoration Summit and lobbied to get a bigger water flow, which was APPROVED, thus increasing water flow OUT of Lake Dora, Harris & Eustis, while still not allowing any inflow of water, thus levels will drop faster.

- The Federal Corps of Engineers or the St. John's staff (not clear on this) establishes standard water flow rates, but the St. Johns staff shutoff ignores those standards, and an explanation how they could ignore the water flow standards and implement the shutoff is needed.

- The shutoff also seems motivated by a Lake Apopka support group and possibly environmentalists in the Water District, without any consideration of the effect on Lake County water levels, property values, economic development effects, etc.

- The St. Johns Staff are really Alien Cat People who don't want Lake County to have any lake water.  (snark, snark!)

- The recent Lake Apopka Restoration Summit (see below) and possibly the upcoming hearing may use the UN Agenda 21 tactic of developing "consensus" using a modified "Delphi" decision making technique actually designed to only present and obtain feedback leading to a staff pre-determined result.  Delays in public notices can be used to reduce opponents knowledge of the meeting, while favored groups will receive advance notice. (as of Dec. 29, the St Johns District still has not issued a promised press release or agenda on the Jan 5  meeting).  No actual VOTE of attendees will be taken on an issue, but the organizers will later announce a "consensus" was reached to move forward on the pre-determined objective.   Watch for that "consensus building technique" in any public meeting you attend. Watch for experts that only support one favored approach, and not alternatives.   Watch for no formal assembly of issues and recommendations before the group, and a vote.  Intead, later, only favored viewpoints will be documented and opposition information will be excluded.  This technique, in my opinion, was used to develop some land planning components in the Comp Plan for Lake County.  The issue of Agenda 21 or "Visioning" meetings to announce "public consensus" on pre-determined outcomes has been identified in numerous articles posted regarding the Obama administration and socialist tactics.  Watch for those tactics.

- It is possible some actions are needed to improve water quality and sound water flow management can be one of those tactics.  But Lake Countians need that information clearly presented so they can decide, not environmentalists or District staff.  That is the difference between freedom of choice and government defined outcomes.

Conclusion:

Lake Countians need to attend the meeting, provide public input, then afterwards send their opinions to the St. Johns River Water Management District Board, local Lake County Commissioners, and other agencies.  AFTER the meeting, we will update the PS8 and PS9 sections below with info on the meeting results and who to send your recommendations to. 

Vance Jochim

FiscalRangers AT comcast DOT com

Below are additional background facts and details on the Jan. 5th meeting:

Several articles have also been published in the Daily Commercial and Orlando Sentinel Lake section.

PS1:  Here is an update on the public hearing next week on January 5th.  I just received this from the Executive office, and apparently the press release will go out soon, so put this meeting on your schedule:

Information on the January 5 meeting: (from SJRWMD Sr. Assistant Marji Hightower)

SJRWMD Projects and Land Business Meeting:

Mission Inn Conference Center

10400 County Road 48

Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida  34737

5:00 PM to 7:30 pm

UPDATED 4pm, Dec. 29, the official St. Johns District press release about the Jan 5th meeting was finally issued after 4pm HERE.  They also updated and posted a "Get the Facts" page HERE on "Discharges Changed on Harris Chain of Lakes".  Fiscal Rangers also confirmed the meeting IS scheduled in a room that will hold 200 people at the Mission Inn, so plan to be there if you are concerned about water levels. (updated Dec. 29)

When any official press release about the meeting is posted, you should find it HERE. 

There is NO separate agenda for the Jan. 5th meeting.  Public input will be limited to 3 minutes per person, and spokeman for organizations can have up to 5 minutes.

PS2:  Links to SJRWMD website:

Main website:  http://floridaswater.com/

http://floridaswater.com/governingboard/representationmap.html    - shows Board areas

http://floridaswater.com/governingboard/boardmembers.html  -  shows Board members and bios - their pictures are disguised as "normal people" and not their REAL Alien CAT People images (:-)).

For additional information about Lake Apopka, contact David Walker, basin program manager for the St. Johns Water District, at (386) 329-4833 or dwalker@sjrwmd.com .

PS3:  Update Dec. 29 on vacant St. Johns District Board position - Currently there is a vacancy on the Board of the St. John's water district, and it is for the "area" that includes western Lake County, including Lake Dora, Harris & Eustis.  Lake County needs a representative on that Board.  Nominations have already been submitted by local Lake County organizations.  I talked to Gov. Scott's Appointment office today, Dec. 29, and was told some applicants have already been excluded and others are "in the pipeline", including one favored by many Lake County residents.  The limiting factor is getting time with Gov. Scott to discuss the applicants and for him to talk to them.  They estimated a decision will be made in January or February, but cannot be more specific.  (Added Dec. 29)

PS4:  Minimum Input on the Water Cutoff was Provided by Lake Countians - We were told by a St. Johns representative that they had told Board members of the Lake County Water Authority as well as the Lake Harris Chain of Lakes Restoration Committee about the water cutoff, and not much resistance was encountered.  It seems that the St. John's staff thought that just making presentations at those two groups was adequate effort to get input from Lake Countians.  It is not, in our opinion. 

You can read the minutes of the Oct. 19th, 2011 meeting HERE of the Lake County Water Authority (scroll down to page 4 and see section on "Temporary Changes in Management of Harris Chain of Lakes Levels").  The Board was told of the Lake County water level changes, but notice that there were staff recommendations to the Board, but the Executive Director recommendation was:  "No action required. For information only" which means they didn't act on the recommendations or publicize the issue.  I don't know if the issue received much publicity until the Lake Apopka Summit earlier this month when many vocal residents of Lake Griffin gave public input and word spread on the water shutoff.  (added Dec. 29)

PS5:  Standard "Natural" Water Flow rates from Lake Apopka to Lake Dora and other "downstream" lakes are defined by the Federal Corps of Engineers (need to clarify this - others say the St. Johns staff sets minimum & maximum levels)  as the "regulated" levels, but the St. Johns staff apparenlty ignored or waived those standards in a "pilot study" by shutting off ALL water flow -  so, their right to do so is questionable and needs explanation.

PS6:  Was the Water Shutoff Due to Excess Influence of Lake Apopka Environmental Zealots or Real Estate Developers?   Evidence exists that a Lake Apopka support group has pushed to increase the Lake Apopka levels to improve THEIR wetlands areas without considation for the downstream lake levels. 

PS7:  St. Johns webpage on the recent Lake Apopka Restoration Summit - Here is my comment I posted on that page today, Dec. 29, which may or may not be approved by them.  If you go to this page above, then click the link to see the main Lake Apopka page, you can see attachments of presentations made at the meeting:

"This meeting was about the restoration of the lake (Apopka), but kicked off a bigger discussion about the right of the St. Johns staff to arbitrarily shut off natural water flow defined by the Corps of Engineers from Lake Apopka to Lake County,  Lake Dora and other downstream lakes depending on that water flow.  This summary here ignores the 50 or so people from Lake Griffin that protested the water shutdown.  I cannot help notice that this meeting was held following the modified "Delphi Technique" used by environmentalists and UN Agenda 21 supporters to obtain local "consensus" by presenting pre-determined facts, organize and hear feedback, then ignore any negative questions, NOT hold any type of formal vote, and then announce a consensus was reached. 

A formal vote is needed by all stakeholders, and "consensus" should be a referendum of all stakeholders, not a fixed meeting process to reach a staff determined goal.  Lake Countians are tired of the St Johns staff and board arbitrarily making decisions without formal votes or representation by Lake County on your Board. 

As of today, Dec. 29, the District still has not published the press release or agenda for the January 5th public hearing at the Mission Inn at 5pm.  Does that mean only favored attendees will receive notice of the meeting to get another "consensus"?"  ( Update:  Magically, I received the press release and a VERY brief agenda statement after they got this comment and a link to this blog posting - vj)

Vance Jochim - FiscalRangers.com

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PS8:  This section PS8 added Jan. 6th, AFTER the public hearing:

PS8: Post Meeting Synopsis -  Jan 6, 2012 - (by Vance Jochim, FiscalRangers.com ) The public meeting was held last night attended by about 300 members of the public.  It was standing room only.  

The staff of the St. Johns River Water Management District gave a Powerpoint presentation on the current water level situation related to Lake Apopka, Dora, Eustis Harris (also known as the Superpond) & Lakie Griffin, current practices, reasons why they shutoff all water flow from Lake Apopka to Lake Dora and downstream lakes, and then presented five staff selected alternatives for discussion.   Five members of the St. Johns Board plus their Executive Director and several staff were present also.  They allowed all who wanted to provide public input for 3 minutes do so, and about 50 speakers gave public input (inlcuding myself), including some elected officials, city managers, representatives of the Sunnyland Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society, two other local boat owner groups, etc.    All were concerned about lower water levels in all the lakes and questioned why no water was being transferred from the source lake, Lake Apopka, to the other lakes.

The St Johns staff will post their Powerpoint soon, and you should be able to find it on this webpage:  http://www.sjrwmd.com/lakeapopka/   .

HERE is a link to the Channel 9 TV segment on the water level issue effect on Lake Griffin, but not the meeting.

Here is an overview article in the Orlando Sentinel BEFORE the meeting.

Here is the Daily Commercial Article on the meeting - added Jan 8, 2012

Here is the Orlando Sentinel article about the Jan 5th meeting - published Jan. 9, 2012.

HERE is the link to the Fox Orlando 35 TV report by Tracy Jacim AFTER the Jan. 5th meeting with an interview of Riley Wardrip of the Sunnyland Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society.  (added Jan. 15, 2012)

My observation of the staff presentation & public input is:

- Their focus on retaining all water in Lake Apopka is primarily a commitment to restoring Lake Apopka water "quality" by increasing water levels in Apopka to REDUCE the ratio of phosphorus in the water. 

- The staff publicly stated, when asked, that that there was NO ECONOMIC ANALYSIS prepared to identify the economic problems downstream caused by the elimination of water flow to the Superpond.   Thus their methods and priorities focus only on water quality and not economic effects.

- They base their standards of minimum and maximum water levels on OLD Corps of Engineers Data, and then claim they have power to ignore them to shutoff the water.   As one speaker asked, "that is illegal" to alter water flow from the standards and the staff said they notified the Corps of Engineers, but did not have to seek their approval.   This apparently is an unresolved issue of authority.   And, are the water level standards defined to meet environmentalist expectations vs more reasonable expectations?

- During the "rainy season" of the year, the St. Johns staff will release more water and drop water levels in case heavy rains or hurricanes drop "too much" water in the lakes.  However, speakers say that there has never been a situation where heavy rains or hurricanes caused water to overflow normal seawall levels.   Several speakers questioned the need to release water based upon a varying "regulated" level during the rainy months.  Why not HOLD the water to offset draugh and low rain times of the year, and the staff didn't really answer.

- People asked why the St Johns District or other organization have the authority and budget to clean all the logs out of the Dora Canal so boats can get through in low water seasons.  I have been told there is some Federal environmental rule preventing dredging or alterations, but no one had an answer.  

- Water levels could be retained at a higher level if more "water storage" facilities were created, such as the North Shore retention area of Lake Apopka, or a new project on Lake Harris.  The staff talked about these, but didn't include the possible storage data in their forecasts.  It seems to me and several speakers that adding water storage areas would help offset low water conditions in the dry months of the year.   That was not part of the staff alternatives.

- Staff alternatives - in the earlier blog details above, I discussed the risk of staff using the Delphi technique favored by environmentalists to gain "consensus" but only for their own pre-selected actions.    The cynic in me says this happened at this meeting.   The staff gave a presentation showing their justifications and then listed five alternatives, all based upon only changing water flows.   They listened to public input, but TOOK NO VOTE OF THOSE PEOPLE PRESENT.  They also did not add or alter their alternatives to include the public's proposals to include better water storage methods or give a larger ranking to economic factors vs just environmental considerations.  

- The Board did not make any decision - they will tour the lakes today, Jan. 6th, (who actually is giving the tour and bending their ear?) and then discuss the public feedback at the next Board meeting in Palatka next Tuesday.  I will post another blog article when the results of that meeting are known.

RESOURCES:

Here is the Powerpoint shown at the meeting by the St. Johns District staff.

Download SJRWMD

Here is a shorter Powerpoint shown by Charles Clark, board member of the Lake County water Authority.        Download Charles Clark - Harris Chain Parity

 

FiscalRangers.com Conclusions & Recommendations:

- The St. Johns Board clearly knows more about Lake County concerns after yesterday's meeting with 300 showing up, in a standing room only room. They also should realize that economic impact concerns should have as much or more ranking as water quality issues when establishing water level management policies affecting Lake County lakes.

- The Board should implement option 4, which allows water to drain from Lake Apopka into Lake Dora, and from the Superpond into Lake Griffin.  (Lake Griffin is really low).  However, who knows if the staff recommended flow rates are appropriate?   However, rather than just this one action, they need to ALSO need to take immediate action and establish recommended policies described below.

- The Board needs to give a much higher consideration to economic issues vs just environmentalist concerns when defining water flow policies for Lake County.  They need an objective, professional economic analysis of the negative economic impacts on the Superpond and downstream Lake Griffin when water levels are low.  That information should be given a 50% weighting when approving water level management actions.

- The Board needs to investigate all the "water level "regulated" and minimum and maximum water level standards" cited by staff which may be really old, and determine if changes are needed.  They clearly need to examine whether a "regulated" level standard used to DRAIN water from the lakes in mid-year is really justified, when water RETENTION helps offset seasonal water level fluctuations.  This should be part of their announced Board action.  Why allow higher outflow during the rainy season when the water could be retained to offset dry periods?

-The Board needs to factor in all current and future water storage methods that would be used to offset the fluctuations in water levels between rainy and dry seasons.  Improving water storage methods should have as much priority as water quality efforts.   Doing so could result in "managed" acceptable water levels year around for all the lakes. 

- The St Johns staff should take a leadership action in finding a way and funding clearing out the Dora canal of old logs and brush to reduce damage to boats trying to get through the canal in low water level times.

- Citizens in Lake County need to keep monitoring and questioning the St. Johns Board and staff about their practices.   I recommend a public hearing for Lake County citizens every six months to ensure the District water management practices have visibility and the District keeps Lake County concerns and priorities in mind.

- Lake County leaders in the County Government, the Lake County Water Authority and the Lake Harris Restoration Council need to form a standing Lake County committee including boat owner groups, waterfront owner groups, water dependent business representatives, etc to monitor actions of the St. Johns River Water Management District to ensure we have a representative on the St. Johns Board,   They need to have funding to publicize the events and get public input and become active in lobbying the St. Johns Board for actions that benefit Lake County. 

- Lake County deserves a fixed representative spot on the St. Johns Board, and we shouldn't be split into "areas" where the Board representative is from a different County are area not part of the Harris Chain of Lakes.   The St. Johns Board should be asked to redraw their Board member areas to create one for Lake County and the Harris Chain.  

- If the St. Johns District Board continues to be unresponsive to these issues and concerns, Lake County leaders should consider asking Governor Scott to SPLIT the St. Johns District into a separate District just for the Harris Chain of Lakes, and ensure the new District's Board is made up on representatives from each affected lake area, rather than from some remote county or separate waterway.

This blog will now keep monitoring this action.  I videotaped the entire meeting, but it is too big for uploading to the internet.  Anyone who wants a copy on a DVD disc with five .AVI video files totaling 3.4gb should contact me.  Additionally, you can get the official Board audio recording of the meeting by calling the St. Johns District offices in Palatka, asking for Sandy Bertram, District Clerk at (800) 451-7106.  She can mail you a CD with the file on it.

Vance Jochim

FiscalRangers@comcast.net  

PS9:  After the Meeting, Send your Recommendations to THESE people and agencies:

    To be filled in after the meeting by Jan. 7th. v

vj

 

 

Agenda 21 - Citizens of Rutherford County, TN Object to Planning Commission Revisions to Comp Plan

Dec. 15, 2011 - Citing the UN Agenda 21, which focuses on "one government" and reduction of property rights, "concerned citizens" of Rutherford County, TN objected to plans by the County Planning Commission to "update" zoning laws to comply with a new "Comprehensive Land Use Plan"  (aka Comp Plan.

This article gives an overview of complaints and the issues, which seem to center on revising zoning related to rock quarries to shift them to an "industrial" use and subject them to changed setback requirements and state level approvals which were not required before.

I didn't read anything in the article that was specific enough to understand what property rights were being removed except that if a land owner wished to create a rock quarry, they would be subject to much LOWER setback requirements than currently, and subject to State approvals.

Favorite quote:

“All this is, is a hidden anti-development, anti-growth agenda under the veil of preservation and scenic beauty – all at the expense of the property owner,” said Timm Rudd, Rutherford County Republican Executive Committee member and real estate agent.

Apparently, in this County, the zoning has not been updated since 1984 (similar to what happened in Lake County last year).

I called and talked to Elizabeth Ernslie in the Rutherford County, TN planning office.   Tennessee does not require comp plans - they are optional.    The plannning recommendations are in the draft stage, and expected to change when the Commissioners review the draft.  By the way, you think it is hard here in Lake County to get a decision past FIVE Commissioners.   There, they have 21 of them.

The planning draft issues that would get property rights advocates up in arms are (not all in the article):

- Reducing rural density from 3 houses per acre to ONE house per acre, which owners consider a devaluation of future value.  The planning department's logic was that they still have many rural, dirt roads and reducing density will reduce need to pave or repair them.   I didn't ask if current owners would be grandfathered in or not to the current higher setback.  Our observation is they are using zoning rules to reduce density rather than an alternative of letting current owners to create a tax district to pay for added road costs (i.e. market based method vs government regulations).

- Changing setbacks for rock quarries.  Currently, quarry noise control setbacks are 1500 feet and there are four quarries in the County.   Setback reductions improve land usage by the quarry owners but reduce noise control setbacks for neighbors, which reduce their property value.   So, quarry owners benefit and nearby home owners do not.  

-  Planning emphasis is to encourage people to move closer to cities (an Agenda 21 aim) so residents can use existing city sewers and not septic tanks (sound familiar?).   Tennessee has rocky soil which doesn't work well for filtering septic tank contents, I was told.   So, the changes are being proposed to push population to city centers to reduce infrastructure costs.  But, why not just accept septic tanks in rural areas?

Agenda 21 is frequently described as a socialists method underlying "logical" planning methods by well meaning planners to result in increasing costs of rural and non-urban homeowners.  The socialists aim is to make the US like communist countries where land is controlled by government.  They do this by influencing well meaning planners to incentivize rural residents into population centers which in the future can be more well controlled by government.

Observers would claim that education of planners to move towards A21 goals was started by Bill Clinton with grants, so it is now natural for them to think society is better off with everyone pushed into population centers.

Meanwhile, here in Florida, the Florida Tea Party Network is having a one day conference on understanding Agenda 21 in Jacksonville.   See details HERE.  

Which do you think is happening here?    Should everyone accept the logic of planning departments, or fight efforts to reduce rural property values or increase costs of rural living in order to push people into population centers.  

Here are some quotes of the critics of the plans:

Jake Robinson, a Rutherford County Commission candidate in 2010, railed against the perceived international threat in the additional time he was allowed to give a Power Point presentation.

“It's not just about me and my plan, my yard. If I sit back and say, 'oh, this just affects folks in the rural area and the farmers. I don't care about those guys,' but if they violate their property rights, they will violate mine next,” said Robinson, who is married to County Register of Deeds Heather Dawbarn.

Vance Jochim