clarification

Nineteen days ago a FOI was made requesting to "see the revenues we have received over the past three years from Miami Dade Aquatics Club, Columbus HS, and Reagan HS for practices, meets, etc." No reply from the City as of yet, nineteen days later, but they HAVE made the daily logs available. Since all the revenues were requested, is someone to suppose that all the information is contained there? If there were other revenues in another account they would be covered by the request, no? The request was NOT for SOME of the revenues - it was for the revenues, period, and is all-inclusive, no matter WHAT account they may be in. Perhaps that point needs to be clarified for the City, so there will be NO misunderstandings. After 19 days, and all that is offerred is the daily logs, one would probably assume that ALL of the revenues that have been paid are noted in the daily logs, as there have been NO other sources made available.

in need of a handout?

lets see.. 100 swimmers paying $100 a month, thats ten grand a month! 120k per year! does THAT sound like a struggling team that needs a handout? not counting all the other monies made at meets- concessions, heet sheets, admission fees, pool rentals NOT paid... practically FREE practices.. all courtesy of the Springs taxpayers! A thriving swim team that practices here because we are one of the few pools that are heated, and will allow them to use our heated pools for almost NOTHING! Residents pay 20k+ heating bills, and they pay $200 a month? Even $500 a month is ridiculously cheap! For a team with 100 swimmers? Does 120k a year sound like a struggling enterprise in need of a hand out? They were paying at least $1300 a month at the jr college, and then moved here when Gym offered them our pool for $200 a month? And there IS no record of that $200 a month ever have been paid!? An FOI was made requesting any and all revenues paid to the City by MDAC back three years. We shall see.

rosters requested

The resident today requested a roster of all the swimmers that use our pool, including their current addresses, via FOI. In addition, he requested via FOI to see all the revenues received over the past three years from MDAC, Columbus, and Reagan HS for meets, practices, etc. He forgot to request same information from MSSH, middle school, and the Rip Tides polo team, but will correct that oversight soon. It is generally believed that we received $500 from this years polo camp, but memo says we will receive $1350 for the next one. Rip Tides are reported to be nonprofit, but they should STILL pay the going rate for nonprofits. Camp is all week long and doesnt interfere with any of the other pool activities, including the swim teams, accordint to memo.

now is the time for action

Those who would like an investigation of the pool operations need to contact Mr. Dotson or post your information here so it can be relayed to him by the resident. Numbers will be checked for accuracy, of course, against FOI numbers and information currently in hand. Several outstanding questions remain about how the pool operates- for instance, who receives punch cards, how are they bought, in what dollar value, and how are they accounted for? Are they issued to swim team memebers? Scuba? Polo? Who?

facts and figures

You might be surprised how much factual information can be found on this blog. There are numbers, of course, and the information receved is mostly of a confirmatory nature, or an explanatory nature, where it explains the numbers already known and how those numbers were derived. Numbers that seem out of bounds or implausible are checked against other known numbers for accuracy. Its amazingly simple to do and opens up avenues of information that were previously unknown, sometimes. For instance, it may be that those 6 Springs kids on the MDAC swim team may not even be 6at some times in the past; could be less, considerably less, close to, or even zero, at times. A LOT of the information received here in the past, especially regarding the pool operations, has been remarkably accurate, and corroborated by the numbers and information available now. The Internet and the Freedom of Information requests can be incredible sources of accurate information, especially about local events.

lumpy sum

The lump sum came form somewhere, right? The numbers that made up that lump sum needs to be revealed in detail. Are they saying that the sales taxes on that money has been paid? The 47k that is indicated in pool admissions needs to be fully elucidated regarding the origins of those monies. Are they saying that the meet and practice monies are included in the admissions figures? How much of each? Perhaps a FOI will shed some light on this topic. How would we find out if the sales tax has been paid? We have swim practices and meets but there is NO record of any monies received from those activities? No record of scuba or water polo money? Ridiculous. No record of private pool parties? swim lessons? If, as it seems, that all of them are lumped into ONE sum, then we need to sort them out individually, no? That information MUST be available somewhere.

comments continued

Third, the only downside to closing the pool during the school year is that we would probably lose some honest, very capable, and concerned lifeguards. Lastly, there might be a case made for leaving the pool open IF the swim team was nonprofit AND there were significantly more Springs kids involved, but that isnt the case in either situation; and IF there were NO facilities close to us for them to use, but there are. There could probably even be a case made to rent the pool to the private team, and teams, at the standard and going rates for practices and meets, to defray our HUGE losses. There can be NO justification for allowing a private team with 6 Springs kids to make 75k while 13,000 residents pay all the expenses and take a 300k loss per year. IF there are hundreds of residents using the pool during the school year there would be documentation and revenues that would reflect that, right? Where is that documentation and those revenues? A resident is going to City Hall this week and review the paperwork regarding admission revenues and special events such as meets and practices for the past three years, and will report the findings of that FOI here. Insanity would be allowing clueless, if not corrupt, City officials to repeatedly rob, rape, and plunder our residents tax monies and expect it to magically change without the residents REQUIRING changes be made! Stop the City Hall insanity!!!

request for information

A FOI was made last week to document and verify all the pool rental revenues for the past three years for meets, etc. A competent Rec director should have those figures close at hand, no? or at least be able to track them down, right? We shall see.

pool info needed

A Freedom of Information request was made a couple days ago requesting a copy of the new Rec Directors application. Another FOI request was made today for a record of all the revenues derived from special events ie meets, etc., and swim team practices,for the past 3 years. The last FOI so far has to do with the weekly or monthly records of pool admissions and the resultant revenues for the past 5 years. Lets see how long it takes them to respond and what the numbers are. The City Clerk is NOT aware of ANY contracts associated with pool activities. A resident asked the Asst City manager today in his office if the Asst City Manager was aware of any fabricating or padding of admission numbers at the pool. The Asst city Manager refused to answer and ordered the resident out of his office, saying that the resident will have to make a FOI request for any pool information. It was a simple YES or NO question and is peculiar in that just last night Mr Gorland directed the same resident to come to him with any questions he may have about the pool or Rec Center. When the resident agrees to his request and follows thru, he is ordered out of his office. Some alternative honest reponses might have been, "NO". "YES", "No but I will seriously look into it and let you know what we find"; "YES, it has been a problem in the past but we have resolved it, and THIS IS HOW we did it"; or "I have no idea what you are talking about". None of those possibilities happened. If somebody was making up numbers or stealing money by not reporting admissions in MY business, I would want to know it, and I think most honest businessmen would want to know too. Why do our City officials NOT want to know? There is no reason to suspect any of the lifeguards at the present time but it WOULD have to be somebody who handles the monies on a regular basis.

bikers

Bike cops are an idea whose time has come. For the little area we have to be covered they are perfect, as they can cover a lot of ground and make their presence felt while getting fresh air, sunshine, and a good exercise program to boot. Not all, of course, but a third or so, maybe. Being out of the car gives them additional oppurtunities to talk with residents and learn what is happening too, like foot patrols do. More motorcycles may be a benefit too. How long does it usually take for a Freedom of Information request to be honored?