Updated, April 4, 2025: Still waiting on documents from our St. Johns County Administrator and Interim St. Johns County Attorney, dragging their heels, business as usual. The thick plottin'.Crafty County managers started plotting their approach to the tree ordinance before the holidays last year. By January 6, 2025 change order for an existing contract, our St. Johns County government is spending $73,352 to pay INSPIRE PLACEMAKING COLLECTIVE, INC of ORLANDO to evaluate a proposed tree protection ordinance. No public engagement! Is that a contract violation of public policy, or what? Six month delay. More money for Orlando consulting firm. $73,352 now oddly added to the contract for its work on our Comprehensive Plan. Tree ordinance is a different subject than Comp Plan. "One of these things is not like the others," as they sing on Sesame Street.
That dawg won't hunt.
Is this uninspiring INSPIRE PLACEMAKING COLLECTIVE, INC. contract a proverbial "dog with fleas?" (In the words of the Michael Douglas character, Gordon Gekko, from the movie Wall Street).
Is INSPIRE even qualified to opine on tree preservation? You tell me. Arf!
Why were expert arborists not invited to bid?
Who in INSPIRE will do the work and what is their expertise on environmental law and trees?
Without "public engagement," this $73,352 now brings the total budget for INSPIRE to $491,300.35.
Is this waste, fraud and abuse?
COMMISSIONERS: PLEASE ASK controversial St. Johns County Administrator JUNYAO "JOY" ANDREWS, who was "the decider" on this odd assignment, instead of finding an environmental lawyer or tree expert, or both.
I've left a message for the INSPIRE project manager, Mr. Christopher Dougherty, to ask about who is doing the work and their qualifications. More later.
It's our money. Who's advising the County on protecting our trees, and what are their qualifications on environmental law and trees? Inquiring minds want to know.
You're complaining about something when they're protecting trees? I thought you were pro tree protection. By God they ought to cancel the whole thing and instead hire whoever Slavin says and not allocate any of the money to the tree protection. That's what we'd get if Ed Slavin was in charge anyway... something wacky like that.
ReplyDeleteWho's "complaining?" Is there an expert on environmental law, or an arborist, on the "team" of this corporate consulting organization? We have a Right to Know. It's our money. Knowing SJC after living here 25 years, I understand their tactics. Developers will try to weaken the tree protection ordinance. We need qualified advisers. Not overly impressed with INSPIRE PLACEMAKING COLLECTIVE, INC. We need to enlist real experts (cheap or free) who know what they're doing. When Commissioner Joseph proposed a tree protection ordinance in 2023, she was treated disdainfully. Is $73k being spent wisely? Is County Administrator Joy Andrews capable of doing her job without fear or favor? Or is our County Administrator a cat's paw? Character counts.
ReplyDeleteOk well since they didn't have an environmental expert on the team then scrap the tree protection. Those poor trees will just have to suffer because of politics, just like people do.
DeleteYou're clearly complaining Slavin. Just no insight. Your age might be getting the best of you and someone might need to take away the keys.
DeleteWhy the last-minute contract change order? "Why not the best?" (As Admiral Hyman Rickover once asked a young Naval Academy graduate, Jimmy Carter).
ReplyDeleteIn SJC, we're surrounded by mediocrities. We can do better. We must do better. And we will do better.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we can't do any better than what we've got. Are you suggesting they pay specific people to move here? Are you in favor of kidnapping people and permanently relocating people here to serve the community like in Ancient Rome?
DeleteThe Growth Management Director, Michael Roberson, is the man who threatened Trey Alexander Asner and forced him to resign as Cultural Resources Coordinator. Retaliation for doing his job "too well." Never again. It's time for Mr. Roberson to retire.
ReplyDeleteYou should get a job with the Trump administration Slavin. You want people fired constantly.. you'd fit right in. They'll pay you top dollar to find any reason under the sun to fire a bunch of people, then in the end you'll probably be fired just because someone feels like it. Apes have more sense.
DeleteMore "Anonymice" posts? "Anonymize." That's what the late great Nixon-Agnew speechwriter and Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist would have called them.
ReplyDeleteThe more anonymous post was made yesterday by someone who agreed with your argument, which was infused with accusations which you still haven't provided actual proof and evidence for. You're very biased. Hopefully you aren't accusing others of bias if you're biased.
DeleteThree kinds of people can be said to entertain fools for a living. A priest, a lawyer, and a psychologist. In a post industrialist, post agrarian economy... trafficking in fools is a lucrative business. So we can understand why there's not much incentive to encourage wisdom or go around speaking the truth.
ReplyDeleteYou seem petty, disrespectful, ageist. I responded with alacrity to Anonymice "complaining" comment on original post. Then I learned more and I wrote more. You grasp at straws. Ageist hobbledehoy.
ReplyDeleteUncultured, uneducated, dry drunks of St John's County battered by decades of inegalitarianism and poor leadership. Even the ones with scruples believe in things not backed by proof or evidence and push bad politics. Folks, this is not advanced civilization.
ReplyDeleteUSA has fallen to the crooks, the fascists, the religious wackos, the confidence men, and the anti-intellectual sub-apes.
ReplyDeleteIt's our money but pay three different people a total of 648K instead of one guy 216K? Or are you just gonna stiff three people and pay each one 72K a year? Who can we expect for someone who takes that job for 72K a year and someone that nobody likes or has any friends? Waiting for answers Slavin. These aren't hard questions.
ReplyDelete