New big blue signs in SoWal

[5thGenFlo]

Although I get it a little late, I get the DeFuniak Springs Herald along with the Beach Breeze here in Nashville. I do remember reading about the signs and the competition to hire a company to make them. However, I don't remember reading anything about venues for public input nor any examples of what was coming. That's why my two cents stayed in my pocket instead of giving it to the TDC before they spent that money. I vote for removal of the big blue monsters, but can't we have the old ones back - or make new ones like the old ones? They were a better match for the area.

 

[rapunzel]

FYI, the reason legals are published in the DeFuniak Herald is because it is the only paper that legally meets the state statuatory requirements, i.e. is actually published in Walton County. It would be very expensive for the county to pay for legals in four papers, the Herald plus the three others that are read around here, and even then, people who are frequently out of town would miss some issues. The Herald is widely available in SoWal - folks may not know that south of the bay, it is in the blue boxes with the Beach Breeze, its sister paper, on the top. Or if you don't want to buy it, the legals are online, or you can get a mail subscription if you don't want to go looking for it.

Good points...but given that they only posted this in one paper with spotty circulation in the area most effected, perhaps they shouldn't have acted so shocked by the reaction. If they wanted input from the community, I think they could have easily gotten the design out. They could have put it on their website, for starters.

I imagine it's much easier to do these sorts of things if you don't get too many members of the community involved, and that's why it seems to be a bit of a pattern. I applaud Dave and everyone concerned, because maybe going forward everyone will see that it's better to do it on the front end than to deal with the aftermath.

 

[Dave Rauschkolb]

Although I get it a little late, I get the DeFuniak Springs Herald along with the Beach Breeze here in Nashville. I don't remember reading about the signs and the competition to hire a company to make them. However, I don't remember reading anything about venues for public input nor any examples of what was coming. That's why my two cents stayed in my pocket instead of giving it to the TDC before they spent that money. I vote for removal of the big blue monsters, but can't we have the old ones back - or make new ones like the old ones? They were a better match for the area.

I think the article was 2 or 3 years ago.

 

[Smiling JOe]

He wasn't there!!!

Seriously, he wasn't there after all that lecturing.

No, I had other things on my agenda this morning, which were planned long before this TDC sign meeting came about. However, I did write my emails to the appropriate people, thank you.

Nice report, Punzy. It seems that the TDC took notes at the Mosquito Control Meeting, where they let only two people from the public speak, for no more than 5 minutes each, before closing the meeting, saying that they had things to do.

 

[5thGenFlo]

Where do I send my check to help raise funds to get rid of the blue monsters and have the old signs (or ones like them) back?

 

[chrisv]

First of all I want to thank all who came out and also those few who were allowed to speak who so eloquently stated their position; talk about staying on point and holding folks accountable.

The TDC board and soon to be former Executive Director, came across as arrogant, condescending, narcissistic, and downright unable to recognize that their $260,000 baby is just plain ugly. It was obvious that they wanted to procedure the issue away, with Ms. Titus even blurting out "it's Robert's Rule of Order" at one point. After the first two comments were allowed, Ms. Titus tried to put it all to an end by stating "we get the gist." Fortunately John Gillis agreed to allow more comment, even though he was the one who placed a 10 minute time limit on the entire discussion. Ken Gifford did state that he didn't like the signs and had warned the board about their placement. Mike Stange and Maurice Gilbert repeatedly lectured us on how this plan had been in the works for up to 7 years and "where were you 4, 6 years ago", and while Mary Brown tried to explain how the number of 'lost' tourists asking her for directions had dropped since the signs went up, she was less than believable.

The TDC board is an unelected, non-policy making board, charged with spending tax money that is collected from visitors. For the most part, what they decide has little impact on most citizens lives. Unfortunately, that makes their board meetings pretty low on the list of meetings that concerned citizens must take off work to attend. Yet they act incredulous that we hadn't attended their meetings back when these signs were being discussed. While the signs weren't negotiated in some backroom deal, they sure had good cover to work under knowing that so few would bother to attend their meetings. They were clearly overwhelmed by the large turnout, which was noted by another gentleman in the crowd as the largest ever.

I do hope that Tracy and Claire get the support they need to conduct productive workshop meeting(s). Looks like the BCC meeting will be a good place to express one's opinion once again.

BTW, thanks to Rapunzel I've got a 'Big Blue Monsters Must Go' sticker riding proudly on my jeep

 

[NotDeadYet]

Well, I believe the word "notice" might me misconstrued here. I am assuming the TDC did more than post a notice in the paper. I believe, and I may be giving more credit than is due, that the TDC showed the design in an article, perhaps with photos or a drawing. That is the type of "notice" I was talking about. I don't think it was in a "legals" format. My beef is that the public was "informed" in a relatively obscure paper and only one paper at that.

Hmm. Well, I think your real beef is with the papers. The Sun will show up and cover something like this morning's meeting, because a lot of people turned out and it is an issue. But I don't think they normally send a reporter to the TDC meetings, unless something controversial like this or lifeguards or something like that is on the agenda. Likewise the Daily News, and for sure the Panama City paper doesn't cover much of anything out here. It is the papers that decide which meetings to cover and what topics from those meetings to turn into news. If the TDC wanted public input, which I doubt, they could have specifically called all the papers and requested stories and provided pictures to the papers.
I posted waaay back in this thread that I have a vague memory of what I now realize must be seven years ago. What I said in my earlier post was that even with a glimpse of the drawing in whatever meeting I was at, I had no idea of the scope of the project, or any real vision of what they would actually look like when installed. I doubt that anyone did, including whatever reporters might have been there.
So it seems like the TDC is up to the usual govt runaround. It isn't "your" tax money anyway, you don't understand what we are doing, blah, blah, blah, just sit down and shut up.

 

[5thGenFlo]

I think the article was 2 or 3 years ago.

I keep all of my Defuniak Springs Herald and Beach Breezes. Been getting it since early 2004. I'll go back and check them, but I'm pretty sure they didn't post a venue for public opinion on the signs. But, if they did post any examples of what the signs were gonna look like, do you know if they did so with respect to scale? Those puppies are huge.

 

[Alicia Leonard]

I keep all of my Defuniak Springs Herald and Beach Breezes. Been getting it since early 2004. I'll go back and check them, but I'm pretty sure they didn't post a venue for public opinion on the signs. But, if they did post any examples of what the signs were gonna look like, do you know if they did so with respect to scale? Those puppies are huge.

Those puppies are huge.


Dotty Nist or Jeff Powell might remember it. They both are in the SoWal office.

 

[GoodWitch58]

I applaud Dave's(and everyone's) efforts and certainly am glad to hear the optimistic take on today's meeting. I fear it is just more of the same: they "allow" the public 10 minutes and then hope the people will go away so they can continue business as usual...with almost no public input.

I have lived many places and my career was spent interacting with public officials, I have never seen public officials as arrogrant as the ones in Walton County...some other places were close, but it is as though Walton County officials take some pill once they are elected....whatever happened to the idea of government being the people's business?

It is my opinion that the only way this will be resolved in what we feel is a positive way--the signs removed--is for the community to rise up...the full time, part time, wanna be full time, wanna be part time, the tourists, many of whom have been coming here so long they are almost residents...in spirit anyway. Rise up and make our voices heard.

Can we get video interviews with people who are not physically here and get them to the meetings? Someone put it on YouTube....whatever Internet source is good....

have everyone write letters to the editors of all the papers; call the tv stations...make thousands of logo stickers...put together a campaign to remove the signs.