Letter from Michael Hoffmann to CRC - 5-19-23TO: Members of the AB citizens charter review committee, 5/18/23
FROM: Michael Hoffmann, michaelhoffmann(a�comcast.net
"Single -member districts as well as at -large districts with a residency
requirement inhibit good candidates from running from the AB eastside."
This belief presupposes that there has been a "golden age" of exceptional
candidates from the eastside who won elections and served the entire city
well in recent history. A look at the historical record over the last 25
years doesn't support the "golden age" presupposition.
Mayor Meserve opposed "one person, one vote." Elected by large
margins to a number of terms, he lied under oath while giving a deposition
and had to entirely exit politics, disgraced.
Mayor Reeves opposed "one person, one vote." Fined $1,000 for an
ethics violation committed at AB city hall.
Mayor Parsons opposed "one person, one vote." The city charter
forbids a commissioner from voting on a matter in which he or she has a
direct or indirect interest. A nonprofit suggested by the city attorney,
ABPAC, provided a legal loophole for Parsons.
Parsons and his wife created the non-profit arts committee and then
used his Commission position to "borrow" city funding so that the non-profit
could purchase the tidal clock and statue that stand at the city hall
crossroads — promising on record that the nonprofit would raise the funds
to re -pay the "loans" for the tidal clock and statue.
Eventually Parsons claimed he had NEVER promised to re -pay monies
advanced to purchase both the tidal clock and the statue. This is
contradicted by the July 14, 2008 COAB agenda minutes: "ABPAC still
plans on paying the money for the statue," said Parsons. In 3/26/10 T -U
Shorelines, Parsons told Drew Dixon, "We have not forgotten about the
debt." But, by 6/6/10 Parsons' tune had changed: "...the funding was never
technically a loan and the arts commission was never under any legal
obligation to pay the money back to the city."
State of Florida Commission on Ethics, July 21, 2010, Press Release, p. 3:
"No probable cause was found to believe that PAUL PARSONS, City Commissioner of
Atlantic Beach, had a conflicting contractural relationship simultaneously serving as a
City Commissioner and as a director of a non-profit organization which was doing
business with the City. The Commission also found no probable cause to believe that
Parsons had a voting conflict when he voted on measures related to the non-profit
organization for which he is a director and his wife is the chair."
Mayor Borno opposed to "one person, one vote." Stated publicly that he
"has never been in favor of districting and believes the voters did not
understand what they were voting for" in 2007. Borno was a die-hard
supporter of the flyover project who opposed construction of the JTA
earthen berm around flyover park and, in my absence, distorted my views
on the Commission record to justify his negative vote on the proposed
flyover earthen berm (COAB minutes, Feb. 14, 2000). Subsequently, Borno
created a non-profit committee -- modeled after the Parsons' non-profit
above and likewise based on legal advice from the city attorney -- to raise
funds and make the flyover park into a stone plaza and parade ground for
veterans, pushing aside neighborhood children. The plan to completely
militarize the playground ultimately failed, even after Mayor Meserve
promised to raise one million dollars for this grandiose project.
Mayor Ford, the current mayor, earlier this year nominated 11 AB citizens
from the east side to the CRC, seven [a majority and a quorum] of whom
were selected by Commission vote to serve. This mayor cast the deciding
vote that placed Mayor Reeves on the CRC, in place of former westside
Commissioner Norris who served with honor during the COVID years. And,
when offered an opportunity to add two members to the CRC, which is
permitted by the mandate, Ford cast the deciding vote against — preserving
the CRC ratio of one member from west of Mayport Rd. and 12 from the
east side.
AB Mayors between 1991-1998 should have known the massive flyover
project was on the drawing board since it involved two Beaches
municipalities, JTA, and DOT. The public never heard of the project until
1999 when JTA head Miles Francis proclaimed it a "done deal." Did no one
point out the obvious flaw from a perspective of safety? The existing Beach
Blvd. bridge comprised four road lanes and two drawbridges that had a
history of getting stuck in the up position. That anachronism was not
replaced until nearly a decade later, jeopardizing thousands of lives -- if a
killer hurricane had hit.
11/114
13
Halloween activities and more... 5
Weekend Editioi
The Beaches
October 15, 1999
Ponte Vedra Beach • Jacksonville Beach • Neptune Beach • Atlantic
State: Beach Blvd. nee
by PAIGE G. GNANN
_STAFF WRITER
Replacing the Beach Boulevard In-
tracoastal Waterway bridge has be-
come a safety issue.
Florida Department of Transporta-
tion (DOT) project manager Peter
Lawrence said there has been a push
in the district office to get funding
for the bridge's replacement since
Hurricane Floyd brushed the coast.
The Beaches got lucky with Floyd
7
two ways, he said. First, the massive
hurricane shifted eastward, miss-
ing the area. Second, the Beach
Boulevard drawbridge worked.
"If something had happened to the
bridge [during Hurricane Floyd], it
would really have been devastat-
ing," Lawrence said in a telephone
interview Thursday. "The bridge
could have become a serious issue.
We're trying to replace the bridge as
a safety issue."
Although the need to replace the
bridge has been recognized for the
past several years, funding for the
replacement lacked priority for
DOT.
But Floyd seems to have put the
work in perspective, at least from the
district office's point of view, La-
wrence said.
"There's recognition here that we
have a lift span bridge and we only
have three bridges to get to the
;ee Calendar A-6
Leader
Beach • Mayport
Vol. 37, No. 31. 50¢
ids new bridge
mainland," he said. "We've seen
the importance that we need to get rid
of these [lift span] bridges."
In the meantime, some repair work
has been scheduled for the bridge.
Mike Goldman, DOT spokesman,
said work scheduled to begin this
month has been delayed until the
end of November. DOT will replace
locks and some grating on the draw-
bridge.
The work has stalled because
workers are waiting for the new
locks to be fabricated, he said.
The $368,000 work is DOT's 'Band-
Aid" solution to the bridge, which
spans the Intracoastal Waterway at
Beach Boulevard, until a new bridge
can be built, Goldman added.
The drawbridge has occasionally
become stuck in the open position
during the past year, often during
morning or afternoon rush hour.
■■■11tn _
Furness, Lt. Col (USAF -retired)
ation of colors Wednesday at a
►g high school ROTC programs.
photo by Paige G. Gnann
__ _ iratP5 12c vParc
om
ing
ob-
in
ty
s,
y,
---.,tetieach
JTA funds for Flyover
should be used to build
a new Beach Blvd bridge
To the editor
I was pleasantly surprised to
tch read in The Leader that the
w Jacksonville Transportation
Authority is not required to
we.
build the Mayport flyover,
1 and that those funds could be
iv3 shifted elsewhere.
U()-S(tii
Once the Wonderwood Con-
nector is completed in 2003,
the Mayport Navy base will
have an exemplary route for
hurricane evacuation.
it The next priority for the
Id Beaches ought to be replace-
1- went on the Beach Blvd.
3e drawbridge over the ICW,
- which could be constructed
using the funds from the flyo-
ex_ e
rhY
ver and money from the Flor-
ida Dept. of Transportation.
The DOT, which has the
primary responsibility for
Beach Blvd., could imple-
ment its new seven-day, 24-
hour priority construction
schedule to have the new span
in place in record time .
Once the Wonderwood Con-
nector and a new Beach Blvd.
bridge are in place, it would
be appropriate to revisit the
Mayport and Atlantic inter-
section to determine what, if
any, alterations are needed
there.
Michael Hoffmann
Atlantic Beach
'tt (4) 6L--,:(
1
E
1
1
1
Capie1,a S7'
M1c Oe_
F4.- 3)-2-33
AA4.F61
S+
Gf c,
Lc -1.j
01 ft