No truth to it...

After listening to the term "failed road program" on local talk radio for the past week, I decided to make several inquiries at the Hernando County Department of Public Works. The local talk radio show host stated on Tuesday that the money for the expensive computer system had been wasted and not spent on its intended purpose of road maintenance. Even though I knew that this statement had no truth to it, I decided to contact the county to verify the program was implemented, as promised by the county engineer.

My question was, "Did the computer system ever get implemented into a viable maintenance reporting tool for the county road system? "

This morning I received a very informative email from Pavement Management Coordinator, William Busch. Here is a portion of the text from his email:

The county's Pavement Management System, was implemented in 2000 and has been used to complete the task of repaving and repairing 695 miles of neglected roadway. This was accomplished on time and within budget. A remarkable feat considering the funding ($.03 gas tax) increased 28% between 1999 and 2007, and the price of asphalt increased 129% during the same time period.
A little about our system; PAVER™ is a pavement management system beneficial to all organizations responsible for managing their pavement network. It provides easy access to pavement inventory and inspection information, accurate analysis of current and future conditions, graphical presentations of reports through GIS, and optimization of work planning even with budget restraints.
Funding for Micro PAVER™ is provided by the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The American Public Works Association (APWA) and the University of Illinois have contributed significantly to the further development of Micro PAVER™, constituting its worldwide use by cities, counties, airports, planning commissions and universities.

Nobleton was one of the first areas to benefit from the residential road paving management system in Hernando County. Our tiny little community had our roads completely repaved in 2000. Even though Nobleton only has 13 paved streets, counting the intersections, this repaving effort by the county really improved our property values as a community. The residents in Nobleton were so impressed because our roads had not been repaved since 1956.

The Hernando County Board of Commissioners will vote on the extension of the $0.03 gas tax for the Road Paving and Maintenance System for the residential road system. Although I dread paying any increases at the gas pump, the use of gas tax money over the last seven years has dramatically improved our county to increase our property values as homeowners. Everyone paid this tax, including visitors to our county. By including the collector roadway network into the Road Paving and Maintenance System, it would enable the continued free flow of traffic, from the residential communities, for work, shop and leisure activities. I urge the commissioners to vote in favor of the continuation of this gas tax, with the inclusion of the collector roadway network, on Tuesday.

*****Please note that I received an email from the radio talk show host this morning (6-18-07) requesting clarification to this post for accuracy. The following is a portion of the text of that email from the talk show host:

I know your concern for accuracy, so therefore I hope you'll correct your blog entry, "No truth To It..." While a listener did make such a statement on my show, I made no such assertion. And, in fact, made a statement concerning how I didn't even know they had such a thing as he and you describe. In fact, I'm not completely sure you and he are talking about the same thing, but regardless, please let your readers know that the statement was by a listener, not the host.

Retain the decorum...

Hernando County Administrator, Gary Kuhl, should be commended for directing all questions about upcoming budget concerns with their Community Relations Director, Brenda Frazier. Budget Director, George Zoettlein will be extremely pressed to meet the one week schedule to implement state-mandated tax cuts from the Florida Legislature's new property tax bill into the county budget for the county commission meeting on June 26, 2007.

Curbing the tide of incomplete information, or just plain misinformation, during this critical period is just common sense. The public is already extremely concerned with the budget process but does not need inflammatory articles in the newspaper, driven by anti-tax crusaders. In that same token, the public would be much better served if the Clerk of Court, Karen Nicolai and County Commissioner David Russell went through the proper chain of command to request information be placed on county commission agendas instead of upstaging the county administrator and Jeff Stabins, our county commission chairman in the media.

Funneling budget information through the Community Relations Director will allow Gary Kuhl the ability to retain the decorum necessary for the budget director to complete his work by next Tuesday. Pray that the decisions made by the Hernando County Board of Commissioners will be in the best interest of all of us that live in this community.

Name recognition alone...

Bless Commissioner Jeff Stabins heart! Mr. Stabins said we need a sponsor for Hernando County Government's tax woes, like Coca Cola or Wal Mart. He estimates that $10 to $12 million "cuts" will be necessary to make up for the state's property tax package.

Just a few loose ends need to be cleared up before the county marches out into the corporate world looking for sponsorship for the county. What criteria will be used to choose a corporate sponsor and who will be in charge of negotiating the deal? Maybe we could have a contest, with the winner being chosen from by citizens. Would the winning sponsor be chosen from the highest bidder or on name recognition alone?

Just imagine if the World Wrestling Federation were chosen as the county sponsor. We could blend this corporate sponsor's slogan into the framework of our county government with a snappy phrase like, "The World Wrestling Federation proudly sponsors Hernando County Government where politics are locally known as a contact sport!"

If you are not excited with a sports aspect, possibly an over the counter medication, with national name recognition, is more to your liking for county sponsorship. This slogan should ease everyone's mind, "Preparation H proudly presents the Board of County Commissioners, where they hope to sooth and cool your approach to local government."

The possibilities are endless for corporate sponsorship and so are the outlandish slogans. Do we really need to sell our county to the highest corporate sponsor when the answer is sitting right in the commissioner's backyard?

One suggestion to save $4 million right now would be to freeze all expenditures for new county vehicles for one year. Try dusting off a copy of the 2002-03 budget to refresh your memories of how it was before the county was flush with all this "new money" from the building boom, commissioners...

Entergetic voice

Ernie Holzhauer, the energetic voice of Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, has retired after 37 years on the job. Ernie has been the long time spokesman of WREC as their director of Public Relations. He will be missed by all of us for his conscientious approach during hurricane season, with his reassuring voice on the radio, during disasters to guide us through the darkness.

Ernie Holzhauer will be missed by many of us. His positive, upbeat attitude has been an inspiration to many of us in the community over the years. Good wishes go out to Ernie as he pursues that dream of finishing his master degree. Enjoy your retirement, you deserved it, Ernie!

Breathtaking views...

Our safari to South Africa was a thrilling and exhilarating experience, from the safari to the sightseeing in Cape Town. The 22 hour airline flight to reach South Africa is always grueling but well worth the experience of visiting this gorgeous country. The area where we hunted on safari vaguely resembled the state of Arizona, with its mountains and cactus. It was really amazing to see Aloe Vera plants, with brilliant orange blossoms, growing 8 to 10 feet high on the mountain side.

Our safari was action packed with my husband darting a White Rhino from about 20 yards, while I bagged a Black Wildebeest, Kudu, Impala, Gemsbuck and a white Spring Buck. Our great room at home has long since been re-named as our game room. Needless to say, our taxidermist also looks forward to our vacations!

The Kudu has been nicknamed the gray ghost for a reason. This large animal hides in treed areas, with only the tips of its horns peeking over the tree tops. My hunt for the Kudu could only be described as spiritual in nature. While hunting Kudu, it was necessary to climb down a mountainside in pursuit of this magnificent creature, only to have it allude us early in the day. This was a frightening experience since I am not particularly keen on climbing anything higher that a step ladder. Later in the afternoon, I was able to sight-in another Kudu with success. This animal weighed approximately 1,000 pounds and had 46 inch horns.

Each hunt required running, and climbing the landscape but was well worth the experience. It was eerie to stand on rocky elevations, listening to baboons bark like dogs, and see the rhinos roam the countryside. The impression of this countryside, from its wild animals to its uncomplicated people, is like taking a step back in time.

Our sightseeing trip to Cape Town was well worth the trip even though the weather was less that perfect. We visited a nature preserve to see the beautiful penguin population. These birds mate for life so it was interesting to see the family structures from mom and pop, to the babies in their nests. We were even fortunate to observe a seal doing the back stroke in the harbor near our hotel.

One of the most spectacular sights was seeing the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, simultaneously, as we stood on a cliff of Cape Point. This view of the Cape of Good Hope took our breath away while the cold winter wind blew in our face.

The most reassuring feeling came when we touched down at Tampa International Airport. In the words of Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, "There's No Place Like Home!"

Brief note

Just a brief note to let everyone know that I have temporarily disconnected the comment portion on my blog due to actions of a few individuals. Although I welcome all comments, pro and con, there is no place on this blog where profanity will be permitted...

So great...

I am off to South Africa again in search of the mighty Black Wildebeest. It is so great to be blessed with such a wonderful son, daughter-in-law and super employees that will tend to business while off we are off seeing the world. I'm just as excited about the prospect of seeing penguins in Cape Town as I am anticipating our safari. I will talk to you when I return from vacation on June 12, 2007.

Good-hearted souls

Do you remember the graffiti that was spray-painted on the old railroad car at the old Brooksville Train Station? Well, some really good-hearted souls cleaned up this mess with a coat of paint. These same good Samaritans also mow the grass and work as handymen to make necessary repairs for the train station. These generous individuals are members of the American Legion Post at High Point. These men even volunteered for security detail for the Brooksville Raid in Janaury which helped ease the burden for Jan Knowles. It sure is great to have individuals of this caliber in our community.

Possible replacements...

Yesterday, a radio report listed possible replacements for Paul Wolfowitz, the head of the World Bank. One name that was mentioned was Robert Zoellick who was the former Ambassador of Finance and former Deputy Secretary of State under Condoleeza Rice. Robert Zoellick is the son of Gladys Zoellick, a resident of Timber Pines.

GOP will punish Florida

Did anyone catch the small article in today's metro section of the Times about Senator Mel Martinez? It was titled, Martinez says GOP will punish Florida. Seems Mr. Martinez intends to impose sanctions for the 2008 Presidential Preference Primary if Governor Crist signs the legislation to hold the election on January 29th. The Florida Legislature made this law for an earlier election and it is projected to be signed by the Governor next week. Doesn't the republican party have enough problems with credibility without the RNC chairman threatening a loss of delegates?

Hit a few snags...

From the information in this morning's Hernando Today, it looks like the second pick for the new city manager position of Brooksville has hit a few snags. It appears that Ms. Norman-Vacha has made demands the mayor, David Pugh, Jr. is not willing to accept into her contract. Mr. Pugh is right to thoroughly scrutinize these unreasonable details of this contract for new city manager.

It seems that Ms. Norman-Vacha wants her starting pay to be $83,500 a year which is $8,500 over the amount offered to Mr. Bobowski. Why should the second choice for city manager be worth more than the first?

The city attorney brought into question her credit history which has some flaws in payments history . The city council should stipulate that Ms. Norman-Vacha be required to pay for her own bonding as a condition of her contract if it exceeds that of her predecessor, Richard Anderson. This would be the only fair way to make sure the taxpayers are not burdened by anything that may, or may not, be in her credit history.

Ms. Norman-Vacha does not want to be held to the same standards as rank and file employees with the city of Brooksville under their personnel policy. She does not want to be held accountable for misfeasance, malfeasance of nonfeasance. Does the city council realize that if these items are granted, the dismissal of Ms. Norman-Vacha from her contract would be very difficult, if not impossible? Who is going to determine "just cause" if she does not have to follow standard protocols?

One item that was not discussed in these contract negotiations was the residency of the new city manager. It was a stipulation for the city manager to live in Brooksville when Richard Anderson held the position. Will Ms. Norman-Vacha be moving into the city?

Ms. Norman-Vacha has indicated that she wants to continue with her personal business venture when hired as city manager. Isn't the city manager position a full time position?

It will be interesting to see if the city council votes to contact their third choice, Mr. Lester Baird at Monday night's meeting if this contract cannot be ironed out with Ms. Norman-Vacha.

eLert system

If you haven't signed up for the Hernando Sheriff's Department's eLert system, I highly recommend it. The Hernando County Sheriff's Department developed a system to automatically send out alerts via email to all that have subscribed to the service. I signed up for this service several months ago and have been notified of all the major crimes before they reach the local media. For instance, an eLert was sent out for the suspects in the armed robbery and shooting at Boyette Groves within hours of the crime. This week I received an eLert that included photos of bank robbery suspect who was apprehended the next day. If you want to sign up for this service, here is the link: http://www.hernandosheriff.org/eLert/

Offensive behavior...

The article in this morning's Hernando Times, in reference to the criminal complaint filed against David Pugh, Sr., by city councilman Richard Lewis caused me real concern. It appears that the content of this article was based on the comments of the friends of Mr. Pugh, Sr. and they have attempted to paint Mr. Lewis in a negative light.

The city attorney stated in this article that Mr. Lewis had "completely embellished" the incident and fabricated information. It must be noted that Mr. Lewis had attempted to have the city attorney dismissed from his position at the council meeting earlier in the evening and possibly that is the reason why the city attorney made such outlandish statements to the newspaper reporter.

I had a similar incident happen to me with Mr. David Pugh, Sr. Several months ago, before a Brooksville City council meeting, Mr. Pugh, Sr. came at me in a very hostile fashion, attempting to bully me. I did not agree with the actions of his son, the mayor, and thank goodness my husband was there to intercede on my behalf to stop this aggressive behavior by Mr. Pugh, Sr.

Another incident occurred not long ago with two elderly ladies at city hall. These ladies were in a conference room at city hall listening to recordings of prior city council meetings when Mr. Pugh, Sr. barged into the room screaming at them. These poor ladies had to call for help to have him removed from the room.

This offensive behavior of Mr. David Pugh, Sr. has reached a point that it can no longer be ignored by anyone. Councilman Richard Lewis needs to be commended for having the foresight to walk away from this incident with Mr. Pugh, Sr. and file the proper complaint with authorities.

Fabrication of her friends...

Excuses for delaying Mitchell Bobowski's contract until the city council meeting are becoming very clear. Council members Bradburn and Bernardini wanted to sway Mr. Pugh into changing his mind for the new city manager choice. Too bad Mr. Pugh acted on bad advice by his cohorts on the council who also convinced Mr. Burnett to change his mind and enter into contract negotiations with T. Jenenne Norman-Vacha.

I telephoned the city of Hazel Park, Michigan about an hour ago and spoke with their city manager, Ed Klobucher. Mr. Klobucher was quite cordial and stated emphatically that, yes, Mr. Mitchell Bobowski was their city manager during the late 1980's and earlier 1990's. Mr. Klobucher stated that he was on the zoning board appeal commission when Mr. Bobowski was their city manager and remembers his tenure quite vividly. Mr. Klobucher even said the Mitch Bobowski was responsibile for many economic developments projects that the city still utilizes today.

Seems like it is just another chapter in this sad, sorted history of this new council which has been commandeered by Mr. Bernardini and Ms. Bradburn. They side-stepped their own procedures to get a second bit of the apple for the new city manager position. Too bad Ms. Vacha will enter the city manager position based on the fabrication of her friends...

Nit-Picking

Turn out the lights, the party is over in the city of Brooksville for Mitch Bobowski, the first choice for new manager. Last night at the city council meeting, a 4-1 vote was taken to proceed with contract negotiations with T. Jenenne Norma-Vacha. It seems that the term nit-picking took on a new meaning with 4 of the 5 of the city council members.

Mr. Bernardini's was overheard making a comment last Tuesday evening saying, "It ain't over yet", in reference to the new city manager position. Those who heard the comment took it as a threat to Mr. Bobowski's contract negotiations. It looks like they were right.

It will be interesting to see how long the remaining department heads stay in their positions after Ms. Vacha becomes city manager. Several names come to mind but they will be left unsaid today. Those that crossed her over the years may be looking for employment elsewhere after this new tsunami sweeps over the city...

A big thanks...

I attended the Hernando County Fine Arts Council annual "Arts in the Park", art festival over the weekend at Tom Varn Park. The festival turnout was good even though a few in the community were a little confused about the changing of the date. Previous festivals have taken place over Memorial Day weekend but the festival community decided last year it was just too hot to be enjoyable on that date. It rained late Saturday afternoon but thank goodness no one had their art projects damaged in the down pour. The rain held off on Sunday until the end of the day so everyone had the opportunity to leisurely visit the park.

The "Art in the Park" festival was put on by some very hard working volunteers in our community. These people worked for at least six months behind the scenes to be able to present this wonderful festival for our community, from lining up the exhibitors, to making sure the porta-potties were ready on opening day. The festival committee consisted of Linda Anderson, Kathleen Wilson, Patti Cotter, Lois Hall, Tony Covell, Mikel Hannnigan, Jan Knowles, MJ Russel and Lee Parent.

Besides the festival committee, many other people assisted in making this festival a success this year. The young adults of Navy JROTC from Central High School volunteered as parking assistants and the Scouts manned the Coke wagons, selling cold drinks to the thirsty crowds. Many retired, semi-retired, and just plain working folks donated a few hours over the weekend to help the festival committee. Each of these hard working volunteers worked to make this festival a success and really deserve "a big thanks" from all of us in the community!

What a difference

Did anyone watch the first republican presidential debate on MSNBC last night? It was conducted in the Ronald Reagan facility in California. Nancy Reagan was in attendance with the Governor of California as her escort. Mrs. Reagan looked frail but elegant just the same as she entered the hall. The most amazing part about this debate last night was the emphasis placed on "greatness" for the former President Ronald Reagan by all the personnel at MSNBC. What a difference a few years makes in their praise for President Reagan by the media.

Most of the candidates were equal in this first debate. In my opinion, none of the candidates made a home run, so to speak, with any profound platform statements. In fact, the republican party has been sorely lacking when it comes to developing any new ideas during this primary season. The moderator asked the candidates several questions which were meant to be a one-line answers by the candidates. This gave MSNBC a method to collect sound bite information for later in the election.

Rudy Giuliani was the only candidate to answer the question about the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade in direct opposition his opponents, stating he believed it should be a woman's choice even though he personally did not agree with abortions. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Giuliani prevails with his centrist opinions in the Presidential Primary. This will be a litmus test to gauge the far right wing's actual power compared to the moderate wing of the republican party in this election...

Be careful

For those of you waiting for a decision on property tax reduction from the Florida Legislature, you will have to wait a few more weeks. The Florida House, Senate and Governor cannot agree on the language necessary to give Floridians relief from high property taxes in the last few days of this Legislative session. In fact, the term rancorous has been used by the media to describe this stand-off by by House Speaker, Marcio Rubio, Governor Charlie Crist and Senate president Ken Pruitt. All talks have been suspended on property tax reduction in the Florida Legislature until a special session is held for June 5-15, 2007.

Many groups have expressed concerns about the impact that these proposed reductions could have on our economy. One main item of concern that has not been fully addressed is non-homesteaded properties that include commercial property. If your first thought is so what, businesses make enough money, think again. Commercial property owners already pay a lion's share of the property taxes in this state and without proper oversight by our Legislature on carefully structured property tax reduction, the economy could come to a screeching halt. The business community, which includes the tourist related property, cannot bear the burden of increased property taxes.

The term "be careful what you wish for" should be the motto of our House, Senate and Governor when they bang the gavel on June 5th, the first day of the special session...

"Art in the Park"

The Hernando County Fines Arts Council will host their annual arts and crafts festival this weekend, titled "Art in the Park". Over 150 exhibitors will display their works that range from water color, oil,graphics, acrylic, mixed media, photography, pen and ink, and fine crafts on the walking trails of beautiful Tom Varn Park. Come out on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to enjoy the art festival which will also include live entertainment and many food vendors for your pleasure. See you all this weekend!

New city manager...

Congratulations go out to Mitchell Bobowski, the final choice for new city manager of the City of Brooksville. Mr. Bobowski has many years of public service ranging from Hazel Park, Michigan to the city of Seminole in Pinellas County. He has government management experience which includes being a general services director and city manager.

Mitchell Bobowski served as General Services Director in city of Seminole from 1999 to 2006. He served over a population of 18,500 in the city of Seminole and is very familiar with economic development which will be beneficial to our community. As a added plus, he supervised planning and community development, building and code enforcement and public works departments in Seminole. Mr. Bobowski was the city manager of Hazel Park, Michigan, from 1987 to 1994, who responsible for an annual budget of $12 million, with 135 full time employees.

Many of us in the city of Brooksville are looking forward to having this new city manager come on board. Congratulations, Mitchell Bobowski!