Looks like the boom finally hit in my right-wing community.
I was here in the nineties when the final stage of the community I live in was processed through the city. The process was so corrupted that I couldn't understand why no one else saw it or reacted to it in the same way I did. I tried on several occasions to try to bring attention to the issues and was gaslighted and defamed for my efforts. It took another 16 years before I began to understand that what I had witnessed was the kind of government that you get in a Republican backwater in Florida. This is what happens in a community where people are anti-government by nature and work to dismantle the process that was meant to protect us all, because they're only interested in profiting from the chaos. And, of course, we can't forget how everything grew geometrically worse by having attorneys who thought they could serve in both public and private capacities.
The details of what went wrong are something that has always been an objective of mine to write about as soon as my calendar clears up. Not sure that I will get to put it all down on paper before the coming lawsuit finally hits the courts. Nevertheless, it does appear that the other development has finally decided to take action, blaming our community for a poorly built retention pond structure, and all that goes around with that. Actually, I think they just want us to pay costs based on contracts between the two developments, for infra-structure that was poorly engineered and poorly installed.
Jesus. Where do I begin.
None of this makes me feel any kinship or sympathy to my own Association. This was long overdue. Anyone could see it coming, and most left the community because of it.
However, just to keep everything honest, I would caution that in case of a lawsuit the first thing one should remember is to include all the co-defendants. In that case, this Association should be able to list the following:
The City: Dear God people. Just show the picture that the THOA printed in their monthly in the November or December issue of 1997. It clearly shows this city's mayor, deputy mayor and commissioner involved with a ground breaking of the property months BEFORE we had the first public meeting. Wake up. The city co-opted your development. Yes, it does appear that there were people living in my own community that took part in backwater meetings and, in turn, advanced their cause by misleading - or outright lied to the rest of us in order to stifle dissent and expedite the approvals for a competing developer. That's how I see it.
And if that's not enough to seal our fate, let's remember how the Orlando Sentinel helped the sitting officials win another term by endorsing those elected officials. I plan to write how that extra term hurt us even further because the city manager had time to bring two critical players together in one of those seemingly innocuous board meetings - i.e. the arbor committee. Not long afterward, another, more ironclad contract suddenly emerged between the two communities.
The original contract was a ridiculous scribble that did not list specifics, like broken pipes or drainage. But the second contract was more firm, and I don't believe it would have ever come about if those public officials had not served a second term. So, thank you, Orlando Sentinel. You gave them time to cover the loose ends. Always serving the community.
In sum, I hope my Association thinks to ask the lawyer if it's not in line to add the city as a co-defendant. I'm not a lawyer, but it does seem to fit in with what I learned when I received a B.A. in legal studies.
Oh, and don't forget to look who was listed as board members of your own newly formed development in those early years. At least two of them helped to cut my nuts off when I tried to bring attention to the city's backwater agenda and its methods.
Let's see, did I forget anyone? I'm sure that I did.
For now, I will try to post whatever comes out of this legal scuffle, because I do believe that all of this is a product of governance from a Republican leaning good ole boy community. Good government process is not their thing. Backwater deal making is. I for one am glad that this is finally going to see its day in court. It may be painful to us, but the future residents of these communities will thank us for it, especially if the city finally accepts responsibility for allowing this to happen.