Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Thank You For the Opportunity to Serve the Village.


Tracy Truppman and Jenny Johnson-Sardella won four year terms on the Commission, and Will Tudor won a two year term.  Dan Samaria and I did not win opportunities to serve you on the Commission.

I have served the Village continuously for about 11 years-- the last three on the Commission-- and I will continue to serve the Village.  I will ask the Commissioners to appoint me to any Board that is undermanned.  I will continue to attend Commission meetings faithfully, as I always have.

I am very proud of my service to the Village, perhaps especially my time on the Commission.  I'm very glad we outsourced sanitation.  I'm glad we belatedly did the best we could to try to expand and diversify our tax base through an attempt at annexation.   I'm glad we very materially improved Village Hall.  I'm glad we opened and deepened the discussion about driveways and swales.

I'm sorry we didn't complete that discussion.  I'm sorry we didn't succeed in increasing our revenue as we needed to.  I'm sorry we did not (yet?) commit to improving our medians.  We didn't quite get around to a Code Ordinance regarding landscaping, especially on new construction and substantial renovation.

The new Commission will have a chance to do that, if it has the wherewithal and ambition for the Village.  The new Commission can revisit the matter of outsourcing sanitation.  It can either cancel the contract with WastePro, or it can decide not to renew that contract, and instead to rebuild the program "in house."  The great thing about doing this is that now, it is exactly the same task as if we had done it instead of outsourcing: we would have to, and would have had to, buy new trucks and hire new personnel.  It's just a matter of what the new Commission wants for the Village and its residents.  As I have said before, the experiment we tried was outsourcing.  The experiment we didn't try was keeping the garbage collection program in house in the right way, and sending out the bill that would have been appropriate.  The new Commission may want to try that experiment.

Thank you again.  I'm not going anywhere.

Fred
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4 comments:

  1. Judith Marks-WhiteNovember 9, 2016 at 9:19 AM


    In the end, it is democracy that determines the winners and losers. And its repercussions run rampant and affect the lives of us all. Most people look for myopic “solutions” to problems, and decisions get made or displaced. Biscayne Park is a microcosm of a larger picture, and the Village’s choices will ultimately control and manipulate their future. Last night, BP passed on Fred Jonas, and I wonder why.

    Fred Jonas’ unswerving determination and his dedication to Biscayne Park have undeniably made a difference. His investment in the Village has never faltered. He has been consistently and loyally committed and steadfast in his beliefs of what constitutes “For The Best We Can Be.”

    Fred Jonas stood firm in those beliefs, even when it cost him popularity votes. Even then, he persevered and stayed true to the values for the betterment of Biscayne Park. That takes great strength of character and exactly the leadership qualities needed to run a Village.

    Donald Trump and Tracy Truppman, and Jenny Johnson-Sardella and Will Tudor, won, and Hillary Clinton and Fred Jonas lost. It gives me pause.

    Judith Marks-White
    Westport, CT

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FredNovember 9, 2016 at 10:06 AM

      Oh, Judith. That's very kind of you, if it's slightly histrionic, and overly complimentary to me.

      You do have to take into account two things. One, as you say at the outset, is that we live in a democracy, and the people/voters can have whatever they want. I have tried to explain why what the voters of BP might want-- and showed that they do want-- is a bit fraught and might not make sense, but the voters here are entitled and welcome to disagree with me.

      The other thing is that my way of approaching things-- just the style aspect of it-- is off-putting to some people. As one of my neighbors put it elsewhere, he felt the dilemma of having to distinguish the baby from the bathwater. And if the voters here are more concerned with style than substance, they don't have to accept the substance. They can throw it out, which they did. That's their right.

      Or-- and this is also perfectly legitimate-- they don't want "the Best We Can Be." I have said that for us to treat ourselves properly, we need to pay more in taxes, and/or annex some other area. Some people don't want to pay more, and/or they don't want to annex. They feel so strongly about it that they would rather do without than to do what's necessary to have. Again, that's their choice.

      I wasn't going in any way to change what I was offering, and what I think is important and what I believe in. I was more than willing to be replaced, if I won't sell what people prefer to buy.

      I didn't lose. For myself, I won. It's vastly easier not to be a Commissioner than to be one. Part of the thing about which I cautioned my neighbors, and the people running against me, was that they have no idea what I'm talking about.

      Fred

      Delete
  2. CHUCKNovember 9, 2016 at 9:23 AM

    There's still a lot to do, nice post Fred.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousNovember 13, 2020 at 5:26 AM

    All of you need to stop wasting our money with all of these unnecessary projects. All of this drive to waste our taxes goes in absolutely the wrong direction. Reduce spending not increase taxes. Fred is exactly the wrong spend and tax mentallity to oppress homeowners. Stop planting vegetation that requires even more maintenance. The job to do is to keep Fred and others like him who want to increase our taxes out of government.

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