Assessment changes?

[bellfla]

Can anyone tell me what the BOS decided on the assessment for the coming year?  Was unable to attend Thursday's meeting due to weather-related problems.

Thanks.
Dave

Won't someone please answer?  I would have been at the meeting if at all possible!

[sweetpea]

I guess NO one wants us to know!

[GOG]

WELL, IF THEY DON'T CHANGE THEIR MINDS???.....IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE REDUCED BY $60 PER ACRE.

WALT & CLIFF WERE THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COMPRIMISE.  VIC JUST CALL HIM, "STONEWALL".  CAN['T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON.  VERY DEPRESSING SITUATION WHEN THE ONES THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE, JUST IGNORE THE MAJORITY. 

SOMETHING SMELLS....IT'S TRULY A SAD SITUATION WHEN A FEW CAN TAKE CONTROL AWAY FROM THE MAJORITY, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT IS OUR MONEY!!

[For what its worth]

The $60 savings is better than nothing but the fact remains that the Assessment - Part 2 was taken under false pretenses at a pretend emergency meeting for  pipe dreams that have not and will not materialize. Remember, even at $265 per acre, that is a 30+% increase over the 2007 rate.  It is STILL an outrage. ( Especially in the present economy that the FERDs think they are exempt from...) They will SAY that some of the money-grab is for PAVING.  It is paving  THAT HAS EXACERBATED OUR EROSION ISSUES. (Roads are not porous! That means no percolation.) We need a better plan.

Therefore, the ENTIRE money-grab should be returned to its' rightful owners.  The BOS has lost the community trust. It is time for a REAL change out here and, whether the entrenched ones like it or not, changes are coming.

[GOG]

[/size]AMEN!!
IF YOU ALL WANT TO REALLY GET AGGRAVATED JUST TAKE A RIDE DOWN TO PALATKA BLVD & KIRCHHERR  ------  THERE IS NO REASON FOR THIS NEW GUARDRAIL TO HAVE GIVEN WAY ALONG WITH A GOOD PORTION OF THE ROAD AND THE SUPPOSEDLY REINFORCED DITCH.  THIS FOLKS IS AN EXAMPLE OF POOR PLANNING, CONSTANT THRU OUT FE./  WE CAN GIVE OUR VERY EXPENSIVE ENGINEER THE CREDIT FOR THESE MANY FIASCOS!!!    I AM NOT AGAINST ROAD OR SO CALLED CAPITOL IMPROVEMENTS, BUT NOT WHEN THEY ARE CONSTANTLY AND CONTINUALLY FALLING APART.  IT IS COSTING US MILLIONS OF OUR HARD EARNED MONEY AND IT'S TIME IT STOPPED!!

[pleeman]

I am one of the few who supported the INCREASE because I thought flooding would be fixed.

The flooding seems worse.

Broken Promises? And now accounting scandals?

What is going on?

I would hate to think our progress train is going off the "Cliff"!

 

[LittleOne]

would hate to think our progress train is going off the "Cliff"!

It would be nice if you are finally seeing the light Pleeman. They are going to destroy us.

[For what its worth]

AMEN, AMEN!!!  Please believe me when I say Thank-You for finally hearing us!!!  We have been to every meeting.  Talked to many, many scientists, lawyers and public administrators and staff.  SOO... many of us have pleaded and begged the BOS to STOP HIDING BEHIND THEIR STAFF (Who have a HUGE personal gain interest in keeping the train on this misguided course.)  At last year's Annual Landowners Meeting - DURING the meeting (Outside - The meeting stopped for him to return) I told a Board Member who I know well that there was a problem. He said "Prove it and I will lead the parade to roll back the $126 assessment."

I brought him the evidence.  But, they had turned him by then.

We did NOT expect to find that the Master Plan was SOOO... impractical and ineffective.  We expected that we would be left to argue that is a fine plan but we cannot afford it. WE FOUND OUT THAT THE PLAN HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH FLOODING AND WE WERE ALL SOLD A BILL OF GOODS!!!

We were told by an attorney that our best avenue of pursuit was to find Statute Chapter 298 violations and we would be able to find legal support.  We did just that and, as we have done with every bit of information we have found - WE BROUGHT IT TO THEIR ATTENTION!! WE ARE TOLD THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TOLD THEIR ATTORNEY THAT IT IS NOT PROBLEM.  THEY ARE ALLOWED TO BREAK THE LAW BECAUSE - get this - WE VOTED FOR IT!.  We have NOT voted for ANYTHING for a long time because THEY held the majority of proxies.

They seem to believe in a silent majority that support them.  We have contacted many, many landowners and have not found ANYONE who likes what is happening.  You do not have to listen to me. Look at the pictures!!! Talk to experts yourselves.

I will get off the soap box after one more comment.  Can anybody tell me how the Quickbooks Accounting Software can make SOOO...many errors??

(Editied for typos)

[steyve]

We were unable to attend the meeting also. At times we were never aware of when the meetings were. But the last few months since our tax's were increased for the WTF ( I know what my meaning is for those letters) We have been checking the FECC site and are now aware of when meetings are. After reading of laws being broken and accounting issues, makes us wonder WTF is going on. Enough is enough !! I have watched all week where Palatka Blvd has washed away after the storm came through. Its almost like a comedy show watching the FERR ( village people) stop by and look, we sit there and say . ....Gawd if we could tape what they are saying......it would sound like this................. " Yup its a hole".  The old saying is....." if it walks and talks like a duck its a duck " What a bunch of crooks. Something has to give , do we need to vote them all out and start new ? I imagine its goingt to be really interesting at the Land Owners meeting , and we'll be there for this one !

[WRONG]

IF YOU ALL WANT TO REALLY GET AGGRAVATED JUST TAKE A RIDE DOWN TO PALATKA BLVD & KIRCHHERR  ------  THERE IS NO REASON FOR THIS NEW GUARDRAIL TO HAVE GIVEN WAY ALONG WITH A GOOD PORTION OF THE ROAD AND THE SUPPOSEDLY REINFORCED DITCH.  THIS FOLKS IS AN EXAMPLE OF POOR PLANNING, CONSTANT THRU OUT FE./  WE CAN GIVE OUR VERY EXPENSIVE ENGINEER THE CREDIT FOR THESE MANY FIASCOS!!!     I AM NOT AGAINST ROAD OR SO CALLED CAPITOL IMPROVEMENTS, BUT NOT WHEN THEY ARE CONSTANTLY AND CONTINUALLY FALLING APART.  IT IS COSTING US MILLIONS OF OUR HARD EARNED MONEY AND IT'S TIME IT STOPPED!!

Hello......... well I looked at the site to see the pictures because "Pictures don't lie", so I took that ride around the corner to see it with my own two eyes.  Not because I wanted to get aggravated (I have passed that point now it is all about action), merely because I wanted to see if the end pieces that were left in the canal from September when they repaired this same intersection the other time from that Autumn Equinox Event (or whatever it got titled) were still there.  Was I surprised to see that they were not?  Why no, and yes they are!  And yes I did say that this is the second time this same exact location has majorly failed and was in dire need of repairs again!  I can personally say that I know for a fact that this is the second time there could have been others, before my eyes were open and I became involved with these issues.

[burrdrywall]

WHAT CAN WE DO 2 FIX IT??

AS FAR AS THE BOOKS! IF PEOPLE ARE HUMAN AND HUMANS MAKE MISTAKES!! RIGHT

THE BAD THING ABOUT MONEY IS THAT IT LEAVES A TRAIL

SO IF X = ALL DOLLARS IN, AND Y= ALL DOLLARS OUT, FUNNY LOOKING AT THE THE BUDGET IT IS BALANCED X=Y, JUST SOMETHINGS WERE PUT UNDER THE WRONG NUMBER ( I NEVER FIRED ANY OF MY EMPLOYEE'S OR CALLED THEM A THIEF OR STUPID FOR MAKING SIMPLE MISTAKES, CAUSE IT HAPPENS! JUST AS LONG AS THE CHECK BOOK BALANCED)

EVEN THE FEES COLLECTED ARE TRACABLE, AGAINST PERMITS PULLED BOTH FROM THE DISTRICT AND THE COUNTY

WE PAID OUR COMPTROLLER/OFFICE MANAGER OVER $150K A YEAR 8 YRS AGO,  WHAT DOES THE F.E. PAY THEIRS?

BUT THE REAL QUESTION IS

WHO PAYS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PEOPLE THAT DIDNT PAY THEIR TAXES

COLLECTION RATE WAS ONLY 83%! WHO MAKES UP THE 17% LOSS IN REVENUE? CAUSE THAT IS THE QUESTION

TAX DEEDS WILL MAKE UP SOME OF IT, BUT IF IT IS ANYTHING LIKE N.C. THE FLOAT IS OVER 9%

2 F.E RESIDENTS THIS COULD MEAN ABOUT A $25 INCREASE PER ACRE TO CARRY THE FLOAT

[For what its worth]

Those numbers that I heard are $40 off the grab and $20 off the CIP from paying off Phase I Paving debt.  Sure hope I am wrong.  I would LOVE to get it even lower.

[burrdrywall]

the assessment

maintanence = $199 and the cip=$126  total=$325

paying off phase 1 paving will stop the $20 service on the loan, this comes off the maintanence side

the new assessment $60 lower

maintanence =$179 and the cip=$86  total =$265

just worried bout the 1050 acres that didnt pay their taxes, didnt mean 2 confuse any1, guess we will c what happens

[For what its worth]

Tax deed sales begin on June 1st, I believe.

[pleeman]

Jack or someone... could you explain all these abbreviations?

Where is my $126? What will it be this year? Why did my money go away from me to collect interest for someone else?

Is the plan changing? Is there a new one? How much is the new one?

I have been to the FERW site but a lot of the info is buried in legal mumbo jumbo.

When are my taxes going to stop flooding?

"Just the facts maam'!" as Joe Friday used to say.

 

[GOG]

ALL I CAN TELL YOU, PLEEMAN, IS THAT THE ABBREVIATION "CIP"  STANDS FOR CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN

THE SECOND THING, WHICH YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT MOST PEOPLE DO KNOW, IS THAT YOU CANNOT STOP FLOODING!  ALSO, WHEN YOU LOOK AROUND THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES, FE FAIRED RATHER WELL WITH THIS LAST STORM.  HOWEVER, DUE TO POOR PLANNING AND ENGINEERING, MANY SO CALLED "CIP's" FAILED.[/u]

[pleeman]

I know I have made a lot of noise but I want to stick to the facts.

I read we had 24" of rain... True?

When was the last time we had this much?

When was the last time we flooded the main bridge over?

I am just saying it seems worse and we PAID to make it better.

If the box culverts and CR13 Bridge clean out were done would we NOT have a flooded main FE BLVD. bridge?

Questions and Factual answers!

I understand Mother Nature will do what she wants but sometimes my Uncle Sam can keep her in line!

Please don't mention levees!

[WRONG]

From What I can understand for the moment because things change as so we have been told so many times

[WRONG]

And if you really want to look straight down the horses mouth LOL, you may want to do what we had to do and go back on this site and research Mike Kelters post and see if you can see the other end cause we sure were not able to because it truly is a "Horse of A Different Color" or should I say many colors!

[burrdrywall]

I know I have made a lot of noise but I want to stick to the facts.

I read we had 24" of rain... True?

When was the last time we had this much?

When was the last time we flooded the main bridge over?

I am just saying it seems worse and we PAID to make it better.

If the box culverts and CR13 Bridge clean out were done would we NOT have a flooded main FE BLVD. bridge?

Questions and Factual answers!

I understand Mother Nature will do what she wants but sometimes my Uncle Sam can keep her in line!

Please don't mention levees!

from the cowpen branch weather station, it looks like just under 15" for the event( now that is the closest i could pull from and rain falls different in places) so that could be true or false i got a little over 16" at my place. flagler county is upstream from us and i am sure we helped them drain

i heard 2004, but we were dry, so it wasnt as bad as it could of been

i think it is the first time since its been replaced, we were close last year

i believe they just got the money and no loans or bonds were made against it

as far as flooding, something needs 2 b done


 

[burrdrywall]

OVER A MILLION IN TAX DEEDS!!! HOPE THAT AUCTION GOES WELL

[GOG]

HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIVED IN FL, JACK?  DO YOU READ THE HEADLINES? 

WELL, I HATE TO BE THE ONE TO TELL YOU THIS, BUTYOU WILL NEVER, NOT EVERBE ABLE TO CONTROL MOTHER NATURE. 

WE HERE IN FE FAIRED WELL COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTIES IN THE STATE. MOREOVER, REMEMBER FLORIDA IS ALMOST AT SEA LEVEL
ONE OTHER THING TO KEEP IN MIND, THE  MORE PAVEMENT, THE LESS WATER GETS ABSORBED, THUS THERE IS MORE FLOODING.

[burrdrywall]

lived here 4 over 30 yrs and here in the fe for 13yrs

true with the mother nature thingy

we just need 2 get rid of the man made crap like ashley crossing.
where flows are restricted right ( one side is 4+ inches higher than the other in peak flow conditions )

u need to read my post in the vault on runoff

actually the paved roads cause more erosion because of increased flow rates, which in turn goes to the creek as sediment making it shallower and as some models show even the new ashley culverts will b waterfalls if we don't stop it!

we can spend millions 2 fix it or millions 2 maintain it

i think if my kids had a voice on their lots they would say fix it, cause they will have enough 2 worry about with the stimulas (lol) when they get older

again i will say it is time we all came together on a plan (something we can all get behind) b4 our window of oppurtunity closes

the once in a hundred year oppurtunity is here. ask yourself what is the price of gas, building supplies and labor, down by about 30% !! enough drama, tell the bos to come up with a new (cip) and hopfully it is something every1 can get behind, lets bond at low rates and lets get 2 work

it sounds like we need a work shop or a meeting of the minds is thursday 2 early (lol)

or option  b

[burrdrywall]

bond the 21 million for 30 yrs give the roads 2 the county
do away with the current cip of $86
raise the assessment another $150 and get our roads done

hadnt done all the figures on the $179 but it 2 will b reduced

and have an assessment around $300

do able solutions

[For what its worth]

I have been thinking ALOT about doing the roads to acceptable county standards.  I cannot fathom why that was not ALREADY the standard when all this paving began. Had the paving been done to standard, they could be submitted to the county incrementally.  As we pave, we turn the roads over.

Only reasons I can see for NOT obeying standards is that sub-standard roads insure the future of the District -- job security.  The other reason could be to cover more roads with less quality.  That does not appear to be working out too good.

[burrdrywall]

let the county do the work
it would look like this

21mil would cost land owners about $165 per acre for 30 yrs

cost saving from the elimination of 5 jobs and the equipment would bring the maintenance budget down 2 about $139 per acre

get rid of the current (cip) and use the approx 2.5 mil in reserves 2 do the culverts at ashley and money down on bond

(2 mil reserve $700000 in the cip account and paying off phase 1 - $200000 = about 2.5 mil)

bringing the  assessment to 304 per acre

additional savings may not all be realized so a guesstamint on the maintenance side could b as low as $99 dollars 4 drainage

so an assessment between $274 to about $325 and we have the county roads  kinda like st augustine south

their might b some additional road costs but the 21 mil should last long enough for the cra fund 2 build

this should also include all signs, guardrails and speed humps as needed per county standards

we have access to cheap money and we have lots of options the worse 1 would b 2 do nothing

also when it came time to resurface it would come out of the general fund not like the 1.4 we are getting ready 2 spend

 

[febubba]

And the county will do this out of the goodness of their hearts??  Our taxes would increase at least 3 fold if the county were to maintain the roads.  If something needed to be fixed expect probably a 2 or 3 week wait, or do you think that they will just jump because it is in Flagler Estates.  Come on people, use your heads!!!

[burrdrywall]

option b is a pipe dream  febubba or a 10 second brain fart (lol)

i was just tring 2 show the need of every1

2 come together and roll up their sleeves and work out thier differences

we can grow together or fall apart

[GOG]

WELL, YOU CAN BET ON ONE FACT.....IF THE COUNTY FIXES THE ROADS, THEY WILL BE FIXED!

LOOK AT WHAT EACH ONE OF US IS PAYING TO THE FERWD FOR SUCH SHODDY WORKMANSHIP, FOR SENDING ALL THE SEDIMENT DOWN THE DITCHES INTO THE ST. JOHNS, FOR TRUCK LOAD UPON TRUCK LOAD (THOUSANDS OF $ WORTH) OF DIRT AND RIP RAP TO BE PLACED TIME AND TIME AGAIN, YEAR AFTER YEAR, ON TOP OF THE DITCHES ONLY TO BE WASHED AWAY WITH EACH RAIN.

THE SO-CALLED ENGINEER MUSTA GOT HIS LICENSE FROM SEARS!  ONE MORE THING, THE COUNTY WILL NOT CHARGE US ANYMORE THAT THE DISTRICT DOES, AND AT LEAST OUR PLEAS AND COMPLAINTS WOULD BE HEARD, NOT IGNORED AS IS THE NORM FOR THE BOS, WHO TOTALLY FORGET WHO THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE REPRESENTING! 

[bellfla]

WELL, YOU CAN BET ON ONE FACT.....IF THE COUNTY FIXES THE ROADS, THEY WILL BE FIXED!

LOOK AT WHAT EACH ONE OF US IS PAYING TO THE FERWD FOR SUCH SHODDY WORKMANSHIP, FOR SENDING ALL THE SEDIMENT DOWN THE DITCHES INTO THE ST. JOHNS, FOR TRUCK LOAD UPON TRUCK LOAD (THOUSANDS OF $ WORTH) OF DIRT AND RIP RAP TO BE PLACED TIME AND TIME AGAIN, YEAR AFTER YEAR, ON TOP OF THE DITCHES ONLY TO BE WASHED AWAY WITH EACH RAIN.

 ONE MORE THING, THE COUNTY WILL NOT CHARGE US ANYMORE THAT THE DISTRICT DOES, AND AT LEAST OUR PLEAS AND COMPLAINTS WOULD BE HEARD.
2 points:

1.  County doesn't fix roads good. They have repaired Hastings Boulevard (west of FE) 2 times in last 6 months and it is still falling apart!

2.  When has the county EVER listened to us "red-headed step children" out here in Flagler Estates???  NEVER!

Just going from bad to worse!!!


Moderator NOTE: I had to remove quoted slanderous accusations.