The truth will out
To the editor:
At the Board of County Commissioners Meeting on Sept. 15, the board voted to take the Lee Plan amendments off the calendar for further reflection. During the lengthy discussion preceding the vote, Board Chair Cecil Pendergrass’ statements raised troubling questions about democracy in Lee County.
Since Aug. 25 when the County Community Development Office held an “informational meeting” to announce that the 17 Community Plans for Lee County would be eliminated by the BOCC in 22 days, residents have been in an uproar. Many said this coup is developer-driven and is being sprung on the people by county staff during the Dirty Tricks month of August. A former commissioner and founding member of the Executive Regulatory Oversight Committee resigned in protest in a letter to Commissioner Pendergrass. The newly formed Coalition for Lee Communities (LeeCommunities.com) is taking a public lead in opposition and raising funds for the upcoming fight. The media is feasting.
When it became clear the other commissioners would not allow the amendments to be rammed down their throats – as well as the voters’ throats – Chairman Pendergrass took the offensive. A certified court reporter has transcribed this part of the meeting. Pendergrass: “[S]o going back to you said we made this motion 17 months ago and I — we’ve been — I’ve been living this the last four years basically. We’ve been talking about this the last four years. That’s why I was kind of surprised — surprised to hear today that some of the commissioners were not provided — because I was able to have all the information.”
This may be a revelation from Commissioner Pendergrass, who rarely shows his cards. So Commissioner Pendergrass, if you and the staff – and developers according to the skeptics – have been planning on getting rid of the 17 Community Plans for four years, why didn’t you tell us? And why wait until August, putting approval of the destruction of the 17 Community Plans on a 22-day path to approval?
Maybe we have the answer, depending on whom you believe. The Executive Regulatory Oversight Committee approved the plan amendments on Sept. 9, and the Lee Code Land Development Code and Advisory Committee approved them on the 11th. At both meetings, residents complained again that they had no notice that the Lee Plan would be amended, let alone that their 17 Community Plans would be eliminated. Perhaps in frustration, the manager of the County Zoning Division said that the Commissioners told Staff not to involve the public. For me, that’s a WOW moment.
So what should the voters believe Commissioner Pendergrass? No worries, he gave us the answer at the hearing.
“And what’s very frustrating for me is we’re very transparent [(inaudible) use the word transparent because this — this is politics at its finest; okay? So let’s be realistic. This is politics (at) its finest. We are transparent. We’ve been working on this for many, many years, public meetings.
“So I think if we need to obviously get the true facts out there
. . . so that you don’t get approached at church with some false information obviously.
“We get the true information out there and we actually — we provide the narrative, the true narrative, not the false narrative out here by three people. So that’s the most important thing. We have to drive that messaging instead of allowing it being driven by other people.”
So according to Cecil Pendergrass, a handful of people are putting out false information. He directed the staff at the meeting to get the “truth” out there and “drive that messaging.” So what is the truth? Has the BOCC and staff been working in secret over the past four years — perhaps with developers and their lobbyists – to get rid of the 17 Community Plans? And is it true, as the zoning manager said, the commissioners wanted to hide the ball from the public.
And Commissioner Pendergrass, what exactly do you mean this is “Politics at its Finest”? When this is all over — and perhaps sooner – the truth will out.
J. Michael Hannon
Matlacha