City and County Commission public video clips of interest
Sound policies are those that consistently produce time tested tangible results, while shaky, all hat and no cattle policies result in horrific revenue management and tax increases. Shaky policies that promise much but produce very little are easily exposed by going back and looking at what was promised and comparing it to what was delivered.
Reviewing policies based on chronological video evidence allows us to see who had/has vision and who lacked/lacks vision. Video evidence from the past has a tendency to make one look like a genius, or a fool. Gatortown Review by means of short video clips fact check what was said then, and how it compares to what is being said now, and subsequently what were the results.
2022-02-18 16:15:37 There is no reason to continue practicing the same old environmental racism polices. The only thing standing in the way of changing environmental racism policies is the will of the politicians. When will a local government official stand and say 'not on my watch' to those who find comfort in following status quo policies?
2022-02-18 15:47:56 A hazardous dump does not belong near any type farm let alone an organic farm that supply food to local school children. A residential neighborhood, an organic farm and a construction demolition dump trying to coexist. If you listen to the Alachua County Health Department and the DEP, they will tell you the three are a match made in heaven.
2022-02-18 15:38:32 The only way to stop the dumping is to make the dump a campaign issue. That is where the rubber meets the road and how you enact real change. Voting for candidates who support dumping then turning around and complaining about dumping to those same candidates makes no sense.
2022-02-18 10:09:52 Was the eastern urban cluster development plan just part of a shell game the county used in order to get support for the western urban cluster? The Unified Land Development Code did not favor the eastern urban cluster in the ways it did the western urban cluster. Since the ULDC plays such a major role in determining what get built where, the eastern urban cluster never really got off the ground. The county never officially scrapped the eastern urban cluster idea; it just eliminated it through the process of omission.
2022-02-17 20:58:02 The plan to develop an urban cluster had to be sold to the public in a way that had all the earmarks of fairness. Initially it was billed as an eastside activity center initiative. The eastside was asking what about us at the time, so it was granted the right to lay claim to being the location of the first urban cluster in the county.
Meanwhile behind the scenes the planned west side unincorporated urban cluster was raring to go, the only thing needed was a little show and pretense to appease some who may have had some malaise about what the county was getting ready to pull off. Many county staff members were complicit in the way this was handled.
2022-02-17 20:24:20 You know something is wrong when the Chairman of the County Commission along with the other board members and staff, go to great lengths to defend having a hazardous demolition debris dump smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood. If that is not strange enough, try this, they even voted unanimously to allow the size of the dump to grow exponentially.
2022-02-17 20:14:58 Chairman Chestnut and board of County Commissioners hurriedly approved Construction and Demolition dump expansion in African American residential neighborhood in Southeast Gainesville.
2022-02-17 19:43:54 Demolition debris from old buildings commonly contains hazardous materials of yesteryear. It is not uncommon for drywall in old structures to have several layers of paint that dates back to a time when lead paint was fashionable. Once crushed and pulverized at C and D dump facilities drywall that contains hazards like mold and lead transform into dangerous particles that can become airborne.
Better codes and standards prevent new construction from making the mistakes of the past that resulted in immeasurable amounts of health issues. When old buildings are razed the dangerous demolition debris has to go somewhere, and oftentimes that somewhere is either in or near communities of color.
2022-02-17 17:46:58 The BoCC doesn't believe the data that says residents living in close proximity of the Florence Construction and Demolition debris dump suffer a higher rate of health related issues than those who don't. There has been no action taken by the BoCC to try and mitigate this problem. One must ask do they care?
2022-02-17 17:38:07 What!? Equity plans must be very complicated before they can be effective. In other words, before you can address equity issues you must undertake the painstaking process of figuring out how to determine what the goals should be.
2022-02-17 16:37:57 The word on the street is president LBJ during his quest to pass the civil rights act had to engage in what can only be described as WWF style diplomacy with several members on the house and senate. He even kept a pair of Texas pointed toe 'diplomacy boots' in the oval office specifically for those who were not committed to equity. The first thing any member of congress who was invited by the president to the oval office would look for was if he is wearing his diplomacy boots.
The point being there will always be opposition to equity, so the real question becomes how will you deal with it? There are two possible ways; don't make waves and just draw a paycheck, or be willing to fight for equity, even if it means losing your job. Any equity officer, who doesn't cause waves in an environment that saw a need to hire such a person, probably is not worth their weight in salt.