- April 26, 2024
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Same old story: City puts developers’ interests ahead of taxpayers’
Dear Editor:
Let’s be honest here: Michael Chiumento is losing his shirt and he doesn’t like it. His beautiful building in Town Center is for sale, and he has no buyers. And he is thinking the same re that old, dilapidated hospital he is trying to unload on the county for millions. Did he expect to make it big here? Of course. Everybody who bought up the land here in Palm Coast expected to make a killing on it.
And suddenly, we’re once again trying to spend like it’s 1995.
If the Town Center landowners were so concerned about development, why didn’t they do a land swap with Grand Haven and build all those high-end senior housing units over there instead of ripping out all the woods on Colbert Lane, to the dismay of all the neighborhoods around them? We were promised that all new building would go in at Town Center.
You killed all future development prospects when you allowed all that nice housing at Town Center to be turned into Section 8 housing. Nobody will build near Section 8 housing. Section 8 housing does not go up in value, it goes down. Anybody remember Cabrini-Green?
To our elected officials: We already held an election on this, so you know how the taxpayers feel. If you are not happy with the building you’ve got, move to another city.
And to the city manager: Don’t even think about lending any more money from the city water fund to developers without taxpayer permission unless you want to be prosecuted.
Oh, and you know all that land at Matanzas for the new freeway off-ramp? Well, you can already guess the story behind that.
I know that we can go to the courthouse and get all the information re who owns all this land the city suddenly wants to buy at our expense. But maybe it’s time to have full disclosure at council and commission meetings if the project involves taxpayer funds?
I’m not against anybody making a buck, but we’re buying far too much here at inflated prices to appease friends of the council, chamber and county commissioners.
Anybody remember the Sunshine Laws? Maybe it’s time to enforce them?
Linda Hansen
Palm Coast
The center of town is on Palm Coast Parkway, not Town Center
Dear Editor:
I don’t go to Town Center very often; I don’t need to. Within a radius of about three miles I can get my coffee at Starbucks, go to the dentist, buy plants at The Home Depot, pick up a treat at the pet store, return my library books, get a shirt at Kohl’s, get gas for the car, get shoes at Bealls, get a pair of pants at Belk, more plants at Lowe’s, have lunch at Carrabba’s, get cards at the new dollar store, shop for odds and ends at Walmart, get ice cream at Publix and be home in about two hours. Later, when I go to the gym, in the same area I will pick up a prescription at CVS, buy ink at Staples, go through the car wash and have dinner at Salsa’s.
This is the area that most of us consider our downtown, and, since we don’t have public transportation, it is nice that all these places are close to one another. In the middle of the area sits our current City Hall. I can see the logic of exploring the possibility of buying their current location. It is convenient to everyone who lives and shops here, except the developers and landowners, and would save us the costs associated with a move.
Retail companies make their decisions on store placement on the basis of demographics. Thinking that those decisions will be influenced by where the City Hall is located is patently absurd.
Karl Bradley
Palm Coast
More effort needed by sheriff to stop speeding on Farmsworth Drive
Dear Editor:
In answer to Mr. Toth, I take a lot of pride in my neighborhood. It is just those who drive though it don’t.
It took four months and three letters to Sheriff Jim Manfre before I ever got a call about the speeding problem on our street. Oh yes, they come out here and watch every so often. Even gave me a progress report: “We only saw people doing 39 mph.” Well, the speed limit is 30 mph.
Did they get a ticket? Heck no. They say it is hard to catch people. Well, if they stood in my driveway behind my magnolia tree with their radar gun vs. sitting on the side of the road out in the open where everyone can see them, I bet they could catch someone. I was told they were going to start patrolling 3-7 p.m. when the folks on their way home seem to forget the speed limit. Have not seen anyone yet.
What is needed is a true effort by the sheriff to reduce the speeds. Until that happens, nothing is going to change.
I know we are not the only street where this happens but when you almost get run over more than a couple times trying to get in or out of your driveway, you get fed up.
Ken Gistedt
Palm Coast
