Grand Jury Report on Walton Planning Department

John G

When your best friend is the State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit (which by the way Patriot Games, encompasses Santa Rosa County where the Jones/Camacho lawsuit was transferred to when every Judge in this county recused themselves) you can make a lot of things disappear.

I'm not saying its right, but it is what it is.

Does anyone know whether or not there are currently signs to the park Cecilia Jones almost killed herself taking credit for on North Eden Drive off Chat Holley Rd? The one that is about 200 ft from her front door in District 5 on a dead end street?

How cozy is that? Must be nice to have the taxpayers build you a personal playground, 200 ft from your front door.

Sorta reminds me of when Gordon Porter was a sitting Commissioner and had a private road paved that led to a building he owned now called the Panhandle Opry.

This is one convoluted mess.

This "investigation" started back in June 2015 when un-named "county residents" lined up to urge County leaders to have the State's Auditor General investigate the failure of County planners to collect the 600,000 dollars. It seems a mysterious packet of information was sent to the State Attorney's office which included an email that detailed the 600,000 collection error.

Melissa Ward "allegedly" sent out the email in May of 2008 to Pat Blackshear in which she confessed to leaving out some zeros that left a property with an assessed value of $12,285,000 with the bill for a property assessed at $12,285 and accepted responsibility for the error.

Pat Blackshear sent an email to Mark Davis (County Attorney) in June 2015 denying that she had ever seen the memo from Melissa Ward and said "someone or several" are lying and claimed the memo "looked fixed".

Enter Suzanne Harris and Bob Hudson who lined up to urge county Commissioners to find out if this was an isolated incident or if other local developers benefited from other planning oversights and in fact there were 2.

The missing money was never being looked at as a criminal act according to Eddins.

Cindy Meadows actually led the charge to get the Auditor General involved (which obviously backfired on her) but other Commissioners declined. Imfeld said said he’s notified the county’s auditing firm, Carr, Riggs and Ingram, of the Ward error yet the firm has never identified any issue with cash flow or how things were done. (That's a problem.)

Harris and Hudson believe the County has stonewalled their efforts to get information.

Oh what tangled webs are weaved...

I don't have an issue with Hudson's involvement because I do truly believe he is coming at this from a taxpayers perspective and wants to know (as do the rest of us) why there are so many problems in this county and how taxpayer funds are being spent, misappropriated (or not) and how to improve county government.

I am however beginning to question Ms. Harris' involvement because I just can't figure out which side of the fence she is on. Some time ago she filed an ethics complaint on Larry Jones which was dismissed, that Brannon and Clay Adkinson asked her to file yet, she claims she despises both of them. Most recently she has said she would run for Imfeld's Commission seat and complained bitterly about Brannon "paying Nelson" to dig up information on how many times she has appeared before the County Commission. Harris was worried about being kicked off the Planning Commission and would go door to door telling people why Brannon wanted her removed.

I have a headache.

Every commissioner has special interests backing them, to think otherwise is just stupid and foolish at best.

Cindy Meadows prize pigs are D.R. Horton and the golf cart companies.

Before everyone acts as though she's above board just fast forward to 2:08:00 on this tape:

BCC Meetings

Note the love she shows for her constituents.

Every commissioner has special interests backing them, to think otherwise is just stupid and foolish at best.

Cindy Meadows prize pigs are D.R. Horton and the golf cart companies.

Before everyone acts as though she's above board just fast forward to 2:08:00 on this tape:

BCC Meetings

Note the love she shows for her constituents.

Does BCC C. Jones ever attend the BCC meetings she was elected to attend?

Misty, Kudos to You again for your historical recall of events. It was S. Harris and B. Hudson who blew the lid off this by announcing it at the BCC Meeting (the missing $$$ that is). Pat B. then also chimed in at the meeting. BTW, how did they determine she was lying?

That public "outing" of the issue then sped up the investigation with The State and WCSO. IMO, they were looking for a way to make it all go away quietly... Thus, the reason NO ONE has heard about Kendal Marse's arrest and the case file that sat dormant for years...

The Grand Theft arrest of Marse was meant to never have happened. That's why the first investigator took it to the point of having to do something if they went on the case and then abruptly stopped. (This occurred when Mickey Marse was still mayor of Freeport). WHO told him to close / suspend that case? That is a question that needs answers. If not for the new investigator finding the case, we wouldn't be having this discussion about a Grand Jury.

With the Public fully aware of the "big investigation" after its outing at the BCC, the powers that be needed to change course quickly. Can't cover it up completely, but we can spin it to "our" favor. Since neither Bill Eddins or Mike Adkinson want to investigate and / or arrest their friends, they decided to let a Grand Jury hear the case. What was selectively presented is the mystery. I find it unacceptable that this jury would have heard all the corrupt details of the goings on in Walton County and their only concern is if Com. Meadows influenced someone's hiring... That and Hal Laird's termination.

Again, no one seems to care who benefited from the missing $800,000... Why?

As for C. Jones, she was conveniently absent from the flag vote... Always found that one odd. Let's she if she shows up on Oct. 13th.

Matt J., I didn't know Com. Meadows was inkahoots with Golf Cart companies. Do you know which one (s) ?

John G wrote;

Again, no one seems to care who benefited from the missing $800,000... Why?

Honestly John, I don't think anyone benefited. The only way someone would actually benefit is if the money had been collected and someone pocketed the money. Since the money has never been collected it seems impossible that anyone benefited.....except the developer who never had to pay it!

Pat B. then also chimed in at the meeting. BTW, how did they determine she was lying?

Is it safe to assume that Melissa Ward admitted it was her error and the lie occurred when Pat Blackshear sent the email to Davis saying she knew nothing about Melissa Ward's admission when clearly the note existed in the file that Hal Laird found?

I don't know Melissa Ward personally but because she is no longer employed by the County (was terminated) and has nothing to gain by admitting her own mistake, I can't see a reason for her to lie so, obviously someone did.

At this point I think the only thing that's safe to assume is there was a he!! of a lot of things that weren't presented to the Grand Jury. Apparently for political reasons and that's sad......

Honestly John, I don't think anyone benefited. The only way someone would actually benefit is if the money had been collected and someone pocketed the money. Since the money has never been collected it seems impossible that anyone benefited.....except the developer who never had to pay it!

So the developer saves $600,000 because someone made a clerical error at the planning department. Any thinking person is going to look at bank accounts of planning department employees.

Why haven't the developers been named? They had to have known they were on the lucky end of the miscalculation. A person with integrity would have come back to the county and pointed out the error, and paid the actual fees owed.

Is the property in question Redfish Village?

If so, look at the developer and their articles of incorporation. Many might see names they recognize. I did.

graytonbeach guy alluded to the property not being worth what is originally appraised for. Is it safe to assume that is because the developer pretty much destroyed the land, some of which was designated for preservation?

The developments were named in the grand jury report. For the names of the developers themselves, they will be in public records somewhere. I suppose you can ask why the county hasn't offered up that info, or you can go dig for it.

Why haven't the developers been named? They had to have known they were on the lucky end of the miscalculation. A person with integrity would have come back to the county and pointed out the error, and paid the actual fees owed.

The developer was named....McCormick. I agree the developer had to of have known he was on the receiving end of a very lucky miscalculation.

So the developer saves $600,000 because someone made a clerical error at the planning department. Any thinking person is going to look at bank accounts of planning department employees.

State Attorney Eddins said "the missing money was never being looked at as a criminal act".

However, perjuring oneself before a Grand Jury can get your a$$ thrown in jail.

Mike McCormick was also the developer of Lakeside BMB

I'd upload the plats, but the files are to large. You can look them up on the clerks website.

Seems this isn't the first time there has been controversy surrounding Mike McCormick

Redfish Village - changes to the development

My guess is the person who got the money is one that always had their puppet in the planning department. Think about it, I get someone to change the numbers you pay me a percent of what I saved you. Hal Laird was a puppet who got cut loose. Cindy got the blame. As for Larry Jones, he is a totally different story.

My guess is the person who got the money is one that always had their puppet in the planning department. Think about it, I get someone to change the numbers you pay me a percent of what I saved you. Hal Laird was a puppet who got cut loose. Cindy got the blame. As for Larry Jones, he is a totally different story.

If the money was never collected Suzanne, no one but the developer benefited because he never had to pay it.

Unless you can prove that it was collected and the "puppet master" benefited, that is just a conspiracy theory on your part.

Everyone knows C. Jones has a puppet in the planning department. What everyone doesn't know is whether or not he testified before the Grand Jury and if he did, did he testify as to how he got his job and who he previously knew and worked for to get it? If not, why not?

Again, State Attorney Eddins said "the missing money was never being looked at as a criminal act". Perhaps that's the real problem!!

It is very simple to figure how someone could benefit. For example, I charge you 600,000 less in fees than you owe and then you make me a gift of 100,000 or so. I make money, you make money and the taxpayers take it on the chin.

It is very simple to figure how someone could benefit. For example, I charge you 600,000 less in fees than you owe and then you make me a gift of 100,000 or so. I make money, you make money and the taxpayers take it on the chin.

Well Danny, I think you and I both know Melissa Ward didn't do that but I won't speak to that on the others. I don't know them. I did allude to people acquiring allot of land who have worked in County government but it wasn't anyone actually working in the planning department.

Who knows, maybe that's the problem...people couldn't grease their own palms because there were to many hands in the cookie jar.

So Danny since you know her, do you think the jury got the whole story on cindy's employee or the story somebody wanted them to hear?

Catalano is the supervisor who "washed his hands of a hiring" because of pressure from Meadows to hire an unqualified person.

Pot calling the kettle!

I'm told Catalano also testified before the Grand Jury. I guess the questions of how he got his job never came...and IMHO, those questions weren't asked because the State Attorney didn't wanna implicate his best friends wife!!

Patriot Games said, "That being said, I would like to read the transcript of what was presented to the jury by the prosecution.(since there is no defense in a grand jury) That would tell the tale so to speak.............
There is a smell starting to come from this whole circle of influence of Eddins, Adkinsons and the Jones."

Grand jury proceedings are privileged and confidential. This is true of every grand jury, not just this one. Yet the fact that many details cannot be disclosed (Bill Eddins references this fact in the press conference) hasn't prevented rank speculation by three of the posters, those same three that are dominating the thread with wild accusations. How do you get Catalano as a conspirator when the failure to collect the fees happened in 2005? I don't know how old Catalano is, but he looks as if he would have been in middle school at the time this occurred. Don't let such obvious facts keep the three of you from grinding your axes. I guess you think you are advancing your cause. To the contrary, you're efforts are backfiring and you have compromised any shred of credibility you might still have.

Misty: Catalano was the supervisor who "washed his hands of a hiring?" Man, I just don't get how you could logically arrive that that conclusion. I thought he was Comm. Jones' pet, according to you. How does that put him acting at the direction of Meadows? I think in your haste to advance your conspiracy theories that you have let your tinfoil hat fall off.

This thread has devolved from a straight-forward posting of the grand jury's report to the ranting of three posters who lost their credibility many, many posts ago.