Saturday, July 9, 2016

Video from citizen reporter Peggy Fisher: What happened after Katie McGiveron's outburst at the July 7th Commission Workshop

Katie McGiveron is Chair of the CAUT PAC which defeated the "LW2020" bond to fix Lake Worth's roads in 2014. To read about her outburst at the July 7th City Commission Workshop use this link. The latest news is the City has to spend $9 million more because of that failed vote, which lost by only 25 votes. You might remember this yard sign by CAUT:
Also, because of his "concerns" about sea level rise Commissioner Chris McVoy campaigned against the 2014 bond. The next time you go to Publix, commissioner, try riding your bike on North 'J' Street. Good luck.
The latest meme by McGiveron and her supporters is "Charrette". The call for more charrettes by McGiveron and Commissioner Chris McVoy continued after the meeting as you'll see in the video below. Anyone can guess as to why the call for charrettes by McGiveron and McVoy wasn't made 2 years ago, a year ago, or even last week. But now, as the City moves forward with a plan to fix the problem, more delay tactics come to the fore.

At the 25 second mark in the video things start to get interesting. In the hallway after the meeting Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell tries to explain the situation to McGiveron but she has trouble grasping what's happening and doesn't seem to be listening to what Maxwell is saying. Citizen reporter Peggy Fisher caught all this on video and followed McGiveron into the conference room.

At the 55 second mark McGiveron says to Fisher, "Peggy please stop recording."

Fisher responds with two words, "public building."

As McGiveron and McVoy leave the room Fisher makes two observations:
"Maybe we can get Commissioner McVoy to point out what he proposed." And "I want to hear his [McVoy's] plan. I haven't heard his plan."
McVoy doesn't respond to Fisher because the answer is obvious: McVoy doesn't have a plan although he had 2 years to come up with one. The video is only two minutes long:
The citizens of Lake Worth are demanding that the roads be fixed. Three elected leaders are moving forward with a solution:
  • Mayor Pam Triolo
  • Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell
  • Commissioner Andy Amoroso
Two years is not quite long enough for these elected officials and they want more time*:
  • Commissioner Ryan Maier
  • Commissioner Chris McVoy
Now consider this information from The Palm Beach Post:
From a 2014 Post editorial supporting the "LW2020" bond: ". . . a chance for the city to turn that disappointing history on its head."
Post endorsements in the elections last March: ". . . current leadership has kept its eyes on the right goals. . .". And what shouldn't surprise anyone:
Note how the electeds voted on another crucial Lake Worth topic: the Gulfstream Hotel re-development project. Surprised?
*Commissioners Ryan Maier and Chris McVoy, if they choose to run again, are both up for re-election on March 14th, 2017. To learn more about that use this link.