- April 25, 2024
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Dear Editor:
Our elected county officials have hired Vancore Jones, a politically experienced public relations firm from Tallahassee, using our tax dollars, to tell us residents how dumb we really are. Steven Vancore is teaching our commissioners how to sell the half-cent sales tax (snake oil) to us taxpayers who just don’t understand how great it will be. After all the public just doesn’t understand sales tax. Thank you Mr. Keith Chester who spoke against the tax increase, who stated that previous grants haven’t solved our infrastructure problems, why should we believe that the tax increase will. My big question is, after it’s discovered that the half-cent sales tax wasn’t enough, do they tell us we just need another half-cent sales tax and all will be well. It will never stop as long as we drink the snake oil.
Michael Deck
Ormond Beach
Dear Editor,
One could tell at the Feb 26th meeting that the commission seemed a bit unfazed by the continued citizen requests for a different view for Ormond Pointe then what their developer, Paul Holub, recommended. Insight as to what Paul the developer may want for our fair city of OB may be directly noticed on Dunlawton in PO. Yes, Paul has had a hand in the debacle that is now Dunlawton by the I-95 exit. It is a mess. And yes, you can see Paul Holub's name and number on the signage for franchisers who may want to add "More of the same" style of development in the PO area. I cannot help but think, "No thanks," when I drive through that mess each day. Yes, the commission ignored the city Planning Board, the city staff and ultimately their citizens when they allowed the car wash. Do we want to see Granada Boulevard turned into an OBT or Colonial, or closer to home, Dunlawton? That is what I see in our future. And more than two-year term because our neighbors do? Lest we forget this is the same commission who after they won reelection posted on Granada in an obviously gloating and childish way, "NO Cando Ormond." And these commissioners want to stay in office for four-year terms. NO CANDO!
Ashlee Gruenewald
Ormond Beach
Editor’s Note: It’s not clear who actually posted the electronic message at Granada Pointe after the election.
Dear Editor:
Anybody that did (or did not) attend the painful OB Life sessions will attest that they were a farce. Anything associated with a political ploy has to labeled as such. If all THEY could glean from the distorted results was "quality, sustained growth and maintaining small town charm," THEY could have saved the Ormond Beach taxpayers $35,000 (the cost of OB Life) by not conducting that series of pre-packaged questions. All THEY had to do was read the "Letters to the Editor" in the Ormond Beach Observer last year where our residents were begging for the same during last year's election campaign process.
And 667 attendees is a stretch! Some attended more than one time - like me. I attended all six sessions. Therefore, I, individually, was counted six (6) times in the attendee total. There were others like me as well. And some respondents (i.e. attendees) who answered the automated, animated polling to various questions were not from Ormond Beach. DUH! How could anyone determine who they were and what, specifically, were their responses to the questions? Yet, their answers were included in that glorious package that became the substance for a strategic plan. Oh yes, and just how many thousands of adult beings do we have in Ormond Beach (that saw through the smoke screen and did not attend OB Life)? Yet THEY are taking a paltry (and faux) figure of 667 and calling that gospel!
The preceding may sound repetitious — and it is. In, at least, two previous "Letters to the Editor" last fall, I did address this issue although, when I did, the final figures were not in. But, the writing was on the wall, so to speak. And if I am being repetitious, then the title of this piece should have been - "WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE - AGAIN!
As the saying goes, liars can figure, and figures can lie. Go figure!
P.S. I will admit that the best session was delivered by the folks at Leisure Services — structured and informative.
Ed Kolaska
Ormond Beach
