commentary

Those who doubt my numbers need only to make their own FOI and confirm them. I encourage that. Its not hard to do, although it CAN take some time and persistence to get the results. I have copies and will pass them out to those who are interested. I cannot prove there is anything illegal YET. I DO know that the bathrooms can be built for 140k, and we spent almost 415k for them. Those are itemized and detailed FACTS. Where did the 275k we paid, over and above the actual cost of construction, go? Where did the 350k go on the CC project, over and above the actual costs? We KNOW it doesnt cost that much to build them, so WHERE did that money go? We have the only 207k bathrooms in the country! I dont believe that Donald Trump has 207k bathrooms, but WE DO. Dr. Mel P. Johnson

requested numbers

The numbers I quote are the result of Freedom of Information requests from the City. They are available to anyone who wants them. The bathroom numbers are 414k+ and come from the same source. The bathrooms were 558 square feet EACH. Do the math- 1116 square feet that cost 414k+ dollars. Dont believe my figures- go and find out for yourself. You wanted simple straightforward answers- you got them. Dr. Mel P. Johnson

FOI redux

Yes, there was something in there about the Wet Dolfin Academy or something, and very possibly a receipt, altho some of it was in Spanish. Will check again tomorrow. The invoice question is a good one. Perhaps a FOI for the HS billing invoices and subsequent payments would be in order. A FOI for MDAC billing and subsequent payments might be even MORE interesting! A FOI from the resident dated 12-10-08 requested to see all "the revenues we have received from Miami Dade Aquatics Club, Columbus HS, and Reagan HS for practices and meets, etc." A current roster of names for those entities was also requested via FOI the same day. No word so far, but they DID make the records available for viewing and copying. Curious if that meets the requirements for an FOI- you think?

4 out of 36 payments made?

A resident who has reviwed the daily logs from 2006 thru most of 2008 has only been able to find payments for 4 months. Thirty six months, even at $200 a month, is $7200. Minus $800 in possible payments, is stil $6400 due the City. The City MUST have records IF those payments were really made, right? Only four months have been documented of those past 36 months- where is the rest? Billing for something is ONE thing, actually receiving payments is another. Receipts, deposit slips, and/or bank statements should confirm or deny such payments have been made. Several FOI requests have been made in the past month or so, requesting this information, so maybe we will just have to wait for them to figure it out. One on 11/10/08 requested to see the "rental revenues we have received from the pool for meets over the past three years- who rented them, for how much, etc." The next day another FOI requested to see " the record of the pool admissions and the resultant revenues received for the past five years." No word on either request so far, from the City. A resident has done some checking on his own back thru 2006, which would probably amount to a partial request accomodation. The records are available for review, that is true. It will be interesting to see if the City's numbers match up with the resident's numbers. Billing residents the full price while giving for-profit teams with 90% nonresidents a 90% discount is preposterous! Its the RESIDENTS who should get a discount, if anybody!!! WE are paying the bills!!!

more daily logs to be reviewed

More daily pool logs are to be reviewed tomorrow by the Resident. It is a full ten days after the initial review and it will be interesting to see if the numbers noted before still match the numbers to be reviewed tomorrow. Still no word on the FOI regarding the previous three years revenues realized by the City for MDAC, Columbus, Reagan, and scuba. Some City Hall personnel on vacation last week is probably a valid reason for not viewing it during that week. It will be easy to tell if numbers have been altered, as specific notes were taken last time, and can easily be referred to.

In NO manner, shape, or form does the resident believe this pool inquiry is futile or overwhelming. Ferreting out all the details is not necessarily what he enjoys most or is best at. He is best at taking the details and putting them together into a bigger picture. Ha cannot do that without accurate and timely information and truly appreciates those who help with the details. He is not in the least discouraged or disinterested in this pool situation. He is hoping that those with pertinent information and expertise at interpreting it will help from time to time, anonymously if necessary. More information was provided last night but a LOT of necessary information remains to be seen. Better questions are needed, and probably in the form of FOIs. This will NOT be easy, but it IS doable.