Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Let's Clean Up the City of St. Augustine, Florida

Nearly three months ago, St. Augustine Commissioners deferred to Commissioner ERROL JONES to respond to questions about the City's illegal dumping of 20,000 cubic yards of contaminants in the Old City Reservoir. JONES blasted "unsubstantiated allegations," while JOSEPH BOLES said he was "tired" excoriated citizens "trashing" CITY MANAGER WILLIAM B. HARRISS. BOLES has been silent on the "trashing" of our Old City Reservoir with enough contaminants to fill in six Olympic size swimming pools to a depth of six feet (or cover a football field to a depth of eleven feet). Citizens are "tired" of the City's excuses.
At the May 22 Commission meeting, Commissioner Jones accused citizens of "whipping" him at every meeting, saying he surrendered. "Uncle, uncle, uncle," he actually said.
JONES claimed the "science experient" (not shown by choice of City employees controlling the camera) did not show coquina. The material shown was from another pit on Holmes Boulevard.
The environmental injustice of the City's illegal dumping in a lower-income neighborhood has not been discussed.
Nor has the City Manager's malfeasance and insouciance to basic expectations of governmental managers.
On March 13 & 27, Commissioners gave City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS the immoral equivalent of a "group hug," giving him a framed "heck-of-a-job" award.
On May 17, the City's Orlando (Akerman Senterfitt) environmental lawyer William Pence , filed a response with FDEP that admitted all of the facts reported to the National Response Center on February 17 and investigated on-site by EPA and FDEP commencing February 27. The response raises more questions than it answers (e.g., nothing about what happened to the fish in the Old City Reservoir, a defective sampling plan, and conflict-of-interest self-monitoring). A public hearing on-the-record with witnesses under oath is required.
Was there an apology? No.
No apology for illegal dumping.
"Mistakes" were made, JONES said, like Richard Nixon.
No apology for restricting individual citizens' rights to speak at both the beginning and end of meetings (subject of a CERCLA whistleblower complaint filed on April 20).
Mayor Gardner was absent on May 22.
On February 24, he said that there was only "clean fill" being dumped in the Old City Reservoir.
That's what City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS told him.
WILLIAM B. HARRISS let Mayor Gardner down.
Commissioners let our City down.
"There are no bed springs in clean fill," John Marler, a 50-year environmental regulatory manager retired from EPA says.
Coquina pit lakes are like an "open sore, going straight down to the aquifer and groundwater," says John Henry Hankinson, Jr., former EPA Region 4 Regioal Administrator.
There are no refrigerators, metal tanks, asphalt, toilets, or other debris in clean fill.
Our City put our City employees at risk, sorting through 20,000 cubic yards of material from the Old City Reservoir, without hazardous waste training.
Commissioners won't even answer when they're going to provide the training.
The City's May 17, 2006 response to FDEP did not address the training issue.
Commissioners and City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS play God, risking workers' lives, and don't deign to talk about it.
They won't answer questions.
They take umbrage. The City Attorney sends hate mails saying what a horrible person one is who dares to seek the truth.
"Get a life," was the rejoineder of one apparatchik.
Life and death is at issue.
The life and death of people and republican, democratic values of limited government and self-government are at issue.
The life of City workers and people drinking from the Floridan aquifer was not considered when illegal dumping took place. No training. None.
The life of people drinking from the aquifer and groundwater for the next centuries was not considered.
St.Johns River Water Management District told the City not to dump in a January 8, 2006 certified letter. SJRWMD wanted to know what the City proposed to dump before issuing a permit. Instead of answering the letter, the City dumped 20,000 cubic yards of material.
Even after criminal investigators interviewed City managers on February 27, more dumping took place.
Then our City had the audacity to ask SJRWMD for an after-the-fact permit (something Commissioner SUSAN BURK opposed in 2000 for the Casa Monica Hotel's request to fly our American flag she thought "offensive" (too big, from a pole she and Messrs. DONALD CRICHLOW AND GEORGE GARDNER, then on the PZB, thought too tall).
Our City is too short.
Too short-tempered in response to Sunshine public documents requests, threatening arrest and authorizing an illegal SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) against Dr. Dwight Hines.
Too short on willingness to mediate public document requests.
Too short on planning
Too short on environmental and moral values.
Too short on explanations.
Too short on appreciation for the citizens who fund its bloated $45 million annual budget (some $4300 for every man, woman and child in our City). Our City does not run schools or a municipal electric system. The budget seems gold-plated. There is no Zero-Based Budgeting.
Meanwhile, we're spending $1.5 million in tax money to pay for a $2.5 million out-of-court settlement for an African-American man made a quadriplegic by SAPD.
Taxpayers will now have to pay to clean up the Old City Reservoir.
Our City did not learn from Clay County, where several officials were indicted and the cost of its cleanup of illegal dumping may top $9 million.
It's our money and our environment.
Instead of saying "thank you for speaking out," Commissioners and City managers glare at citizens holding them accountable. Commissioner BURK said the problem was "one disgruntled citizen."
Or is the real problem dysfunctional City government, one where lack of checks and balances empowers waste, fraud, abuse, misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance, a place with some 400 busineses benefitting from blanket purchase orders, where loose-as-a-goose procedudres, a lack of openness and transparency allow imperial managerial potentates throw their weight around?
For over 440 years, St. Augustine has been governed in the spirit of Pedro Menendez, an autocrat. (Menendez ordered the first anti-Gay hate crime in the history of North America, ordering a man killed because he was "a Sodomite and a Lutheran." Menendez brother-in-law wrote it down.
In the wake of a City Founder who literally got away with murder, all succeeding City administrations have had an inflated idea of their power and abilities.
Before he retired, HARRISS' predecessor actually put a Burger King cardboard and plastic crown on his head in response to a citizen raising concerns about Commissioners' coronating City Managers without national searches.
Our City Manager, WILLIAM B. HARRISS, and his eight year reign of error are up for review.
While former City Commissioner John Reardon in 1998 wanted HARRISS to have annual performance evaluations, and we asked for them more recently, Commissioners rejected the idea of evaluating HARRISS' performance, preferring to confer a "heck-of-a-job" award and carp at dissent.
We must roll up our sleeves, decide on a national search for the next City Manager, and establish priorities.
The Nation's Oldest City is worth saving. This beautiful place and its people deserve better than they have in our City government management and Commissioners.
Unjust stewards who have contempt for our environment and our democracy must lead, follow or get out of the way.
In St. Augustine, we get to overthrow the government every two years.
This year, the terms of Commissioners GEORGE GARDNER (Mayor), JOSPEH BOLES and DONALD CRICHLOW expire.
They either face the voters or retire.

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