comments

Youngs, to his credit, did ask the tennis guy for SOME form of records, etc. to justify the 20k they are giving him every year. The tennis guy does seem to be doing a good job revitalizing the tennis programs and offered a few numbers to that effect. The idea was to subsidize him for a year to help him get started, and that year is up. If hes doing as well as he says he is, perhaps he doesnt need the subsidy any more. Youngs was right in that he should offer SOME justification for receiving the subsidy, some form of official accounting to show that the subsidy is still needed. He balked at offering that on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis, saying he would have to think about it. He seems to be, by all accounts, a good guy and is doing a good job, but STILL needs to be accountable. Its a new concept, accountablility, for this Council and Mayor to wrap their minds around, but much needed. Having anybody who works for the City be accountable to anyone but Gymbo is a totally alien concept and has never been tried before, so perhaps Youngs can make this small step toward real transparency and accountability his final contribution as a Councilman. Garcia was very unhappy with the idea of actual accountability happening, maybe, and headed it off before it could occur. He is perfectly willing to give away our 20k without ANY evidence that it is necessary AGAIN, because "Costs are irrelevent" and "immaterial" still seems to be his motto. That attitude, coupled with his effusively praising the City Manager for his hires after the Giglio fiasco, suggests that its a good thing hes not running this time because he seems to be losing his grip on reality. The idea of any actual accountability happening seems to be an alien and threatening concept to him and he resists those possibilities at every oppurtunity. Come on April. Dr. Mel P. Johnson

musings

Youngs questions were mostly directed at Sandy pell and Mike Aldredge, who are in charge of golf course operations. It was admitted that the losses may be a little less because when the projections were made gas was over $4 a gallon. Viewing the Comcast video will shed some light on what happened, or DIDNT happen. How telling was it when Youngs asked the City Manager, "Jim, we can do this whatever way you want." They were talking about annexation at the time but really could have been talking about ANYTHING. All the Council is waiting for is Gym to tell them what they need to think and do, and they will do it! Best is not the only actor awaiting direction up there on the dais. Can it be that Youngs has finally caught that dreaded Fiscal Responsibility Disease? Nah, probably not. Gym probably told him to bring this up to divert some attention and take some of the heat off him from this latest pool fiasco. Balance a complete and total lack of fiscal responsibility and oversight at the pool with a smattering at the golf course.

appointment comments

Is it POSSIBLE that, after THIRTY MONTHS, Billy and Youngs CANT find ONE person out of the 13,000 + residents here in the Springs to fill their appointments? How hard could they be looking? I know of 3 people right now who would volunteer readily. Perhaps they arent looking too hard because its NOT important to them? or maybe they are just too lazy? or perhaps they could care less about their duties and responsibilities as City officials? or maybe a combination of all three? It is apparent that Youngs has one foot out the door already and he just doesnt care if his appointments are EVER filled. Billy is a little harder to figure as he is presumed to be running again and wouldnt like this to become a campaign issue against him- lazy, uncaring, and irresponsible are not electable traits for a candidate, are they? IF those two would fill their appointments the issues of "not enough for a quorum" would just disappear, right? But they havent bothered to fill them for the past THIRTY MONTHS so its unlikely they will fill them any time soon. Lets not rush into this, right guys?

Haldol needed

"There's a monster amount of fear out there. This is global contagion. It's no longer just the United States," Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, N.J., told Reuters.Congress has to come up with a new plan, "or the damage is unimaginable," Henry Herrmann, CEO of mutual fund company Waddell & Reed, told Bloomberg News. Oh no ! Unhappy Talk is back! and its spreading all around the world! Smug contractor please come back! We want to hear your Happy talk stories about how the special interests and happy contractors will laugh and sing all the way to the bank! Sheer idiocy tonite. Borgemann convened a special session to get the vote on the loan done before Suntrust goes under. It dropped over 13 % today. The Mayor drummed up a phony sense of urgency for this ridiculous project and pushed it thru, even tho there IS no real need for it and we cant afford it. Who wants to bet that our taxes and fees continue to rise for the dursation of this project? The over/under is 20 million and 5 years to complete. Any takers? Dotson made a strong plea for some sense of fiscal sense but it fell on deaf ears. Youngs was late and it appears clear that he has lost his job AND any common sense or backbone he may have once had. Another sad thing to see. A heavy dose of Haldol is needed for this Mayor, Council, and City Manager to stop the insanity! Delusions of grandeur abound, and they are certainly dissociated from any sense of the real world, or real people and their current realities of daily living. If only they cared about anything other than their legacies and the special interests. Sad to see us sold out by outsized egos and ambition. In April, dont forget.

observations

It was encouraging to see all the effusive and well-deserved praise heaped uopn the Educational Board last night for all their hard work and dedication. They have provided a community service by sheparding this COMPACT policy thru to fruition. Kudos to the the Board and Councilman Youngs. To watch a fully-staffed, qualified, and motivated Board work together as a team for the betterment of the community and its residents is a wonderful thing, and EXACTLY how a Board is supposed to work! Youngs knows how valuable a service a Board can provide to the community and the Council because he is on a functioning Board himself. Wonder what could be accomplished if ALL Boards were fully-staffed and supported? Will we EVER see that?