Customary Use and Our 30A Legacy

[mputnal]

Stone Cold J please do not feel sorry for me. It would be beneath you to try and empathize with The People who are all just free loaders just wanting what you have. Shame on all of us for believing the beach is open.

Do you really want to talk about Fake News? It is almost like you don't read your own post.

The BCC was correct. There was never any way to compromise with you. Let the courts decide. Then The People will weight in. Trust me when enough good people get arrested behind your buildings for trespassing The State will have to get involved. Eminent Domain is coming to a private beach near you. At least you will get some money out of the deal. Something tells me that will not be enough.

Do you have any remorse for building on the sand dunes and blocking our view of the worlds most beautiful beaches?

 

[mputnal]

You just completely obliterated what little respect I had for the content of your posts.

STRIKE 3 - YOU’RE OUT!!

Sometimes you just swing and miss. Sometimes the pitcher is just too dang good. In this case the pitcher winds up and throws a sinker. Yep that gets me every time.

Lets don't go down this road of attacking each other. I think we are both better than that. Lets just agree to disagree. Is that even possible?

 

[mputnal]

BlueMtnBeachVagrant I prefer to have friends not enemies. Maybe we are not friends but we are NOT enemies. I can assure you that I will never come on your property. When my family goes to the beach we ALWAYS go to a State Park. You see I am not your problem and never will be. In reading FBB etal I completely changed my mind about this issue. I agreed with many of your posts actually. However, I am now a believer in keeping the beach open to the public. I have given my reasons why and probably will not keep doing that over and over like FBB etal. We just have different perspectives and so the court will decide and then maybe The People will get to decide. I don't understand why people have to be enemies if they disagree about anything. Lets clean up this act and behave better. Your voice is important. My voice is important. Can we just leave it there?

 

[Reggie Gaskins]

MP, you're going to be surprised, when we meet, we're going to be friends quickly. Here's why... if you read my initial post, it was written from the heart, with no hidden agenda. I want you to read the following with a clear head;

I personally, passionately felt that the community needed to hear a factual perspective that was being deliberately censored from them. All BPO's were being surgically blocked/censored from a voice on social media by, well, guess who? That created an environment of broadcasting one sided misinformation. I truly felt it a community service to correct the facts. True story.

The fact that you feel the way you do about the beach does not bother me, I get it, I respect your opinion. Our moment of truth, you and me, would be if you chose to use a private beach with a videoed public demand and a blow horn, or merely with a chair and a smile. Period.
The Latter? No problem.
The Former? Enter right of exclusion.

Here's what I/we don't respect:
IMHO, a couple players have deliberately dividided our community over a power play to control other people's property and votes. There have been deliberately developed sets of lies, created behind closed doors, by REAL power hungry locals, that intentionally stir the pot with propaganda. It's my opinion that the mistruths are all surrounding;

Public beach vs Private Beach History
Quiet Title affect on public beaches
Taxation of beach property
Effects of HB 631 on beaches
BPO's
Customary Use history

They know the truth, but speak the opposite on all of the above 6. Why is that?

Follow the Money MP. BPO's are not the ones developing South Walton, or aiming for political power. Not a single one of them. Not one. IMHO, Those with the loudest Chicken Little voices have the most to gain by building, driving, representing, CASHING IN... on a new commercial version of South Walton.

Consider this - It's costing nothing for charlaitans to politically leverage the county to sue 5,000 residents with tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, spending none of their own. They do, however, solicit funds, presenting public as victims. The BPO's much then each spend a fortune defending themselves in court against this abusuve lawsuit. The self appointed leaders then get control of the spoils. Do the math.

Now, what are we drinking when we meet? A cold Shiner Bock for me, I'll buy first round.

 

[Jenksy]

It's more than a little unbelievable that a couple of local beach bums have caused such butt hurt to a few beach front owners. It mostly seems that's what this whole thread is about. Public shaming retribution. So lowbrow. It does lend credibility to the fact that Huckabee and his political friends are behind it all. Will we sink lower when Sarah shows up soon?

 

[James Bentwood]

BPO's are not the ones developing South Walton, or aiming for political power. Not a single one of them. Not one. IMHO

You just lost all credibility. Such BS. I and almost everyone reading this forum know quite a few who are active in business, development and real estate in SoWal. And many more who are active in politics.

 

[Dave Rauschkolb]

MP, you're going to be surprised, when we meet, we're going to be friends quickly. Here's why... if you read my initial post, it was written from the heart, with no hidden agenda. I want you to read the following with a clear head;

I personally, passionately felt that the community needed to hear a factual perspective that was being deliberately censored from them. All BPO's were being surgically blocked/censored from a voice on social media by, well, guess who? That created an environment of broadcasting one sided misinformation. I truly felt it a community service to correct the facts. True story.

The fact that you feel the way you do about the beach does not bother me, I get it, I respect your opinion. Our moment of truth, you and me, would be if you chose to use a private beach with a videoed public demand and a blow horn, or merely with a chair and a smile. Period.
The Latter? No problem.
The Former? Enter right of exclusion.

Here's what I/we don't respect:
IMHO, a couple players have deliberately dividided our community over a power play to control other people's property and votes. There have been deliberately developed sets of lies, created behind closed doors, by REAL power hungry locals, that intentionally stir the pot with propaganda. It's my opinion that the mistruths are all surrounding;

Public beach vs Private Beach History
Quiet Title affect on public beaches
Taxation of beach property
Effects of HB 631 on beaches
BPO's
Customary Use history

They know the truth, but speak the opposite on all of the above 6. Why is that?

Follow the Money MP. BPO's are not the ones developing South Walton, or aiming for political power. Not a single one of them. Not one. IMHO, Those with the loudest Chicken Little voices have the most to gain by building, driving, representing, CASHING IN... on a new commercial version of South Walton.

Consider this - It's costing nothing for charlaitans to politically leverage the county to sue 5,000 residents with tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, spending none of their own. They do, however, solicit funds, presenting public as victims. The BPO's much then each spend a fortune defending themselves in court against this abusuve lawsuit. The self appointed leaders then get control of the spoils. Do the math.

Now, what are we drinking when we meet? A cold Shiner Bock for me, I'll buy first round.

This despicable, implied, vindictive, shaming, retribution, narrative truly is BS and so carefully, indirectly directed at me. So, if that is the case let me enlighten you.

1. The last thing I will do is seek political office. Not interested; I have nearly 5 restaurants to manage and spending my time looking after 260 employees and my family to find time for that. What I have done and do for this County is purely because I love this place and our community deeply nor for financial or political gain (more below). I do; however have time to work on important issues affecting our quality of life and property values like proposals for offshore oil drilling in Florida's waters and keeping our beaches available to all. Stopping the monster houses is also a priority. You are the one who should run for office if you want to change the game; might be hard to win though if private beaches is going to be your platform; you might also drop the fake name.

2. The notion that I am trying to keep our beaches public to increase my business is pure bullshit. If CU were reinstated and for some reason I had to close my bar on the beach I would happily do it. I am very fortunate to be in the center of 30A and built my businesses for 33 years in Seaside. The business has been and I believe always will be solid/growing; even with a slow moving construction project out front sales are up. Regarding business being up or down, ask some non beachfront owners, realtors and rental companies in areas near certain beach accesses; Business up? Not so much for some. I believe this will be the Achilles heel of private, exclusionary beaches in South Walton.

3. The three year bipartisan effort to incorporate South Walton was to create a representative government for South Walton; I am proud of every minute and dollar I spent on that effort. We worked on this project to create a municipality with 6 City commissioners and a mayor all residing full time in South Walton; our neighbors close to the pulse of our issues and most equipped to solve them. It was a noble effort by good people on equally both sides of political spectrum; It failed but someday I hope it will happen. Someone else besides me will have to carry that torch though. Interestingly, three of our board members differ from my opinion regarding public/private beaches though, yet we will always be close friends. They are people of the highest integrity and character with no malice towards me. We all just recently reunited for a wonderful dinner together.

4. The lawsuit is a result of HB631. A bill you supported then tried to stop the procedure set forth in it; "you can't have it both ways."

5. You calling me a liar does not make me a liar. We have differing opinions on the public or private history of our beach. Nothing will change that I believe.

6. Regarding some BFO's being censored/blocked by "Guess Who?" You will have to ask the admins of that social platform; I am not one of them. But you already know that.


I know a certain Irish Pub that carries Shiner Bock...more crumbs "than a NY deli." I know your offer was for MP but I have always liked that beer too. Someday perhaps we will have a beer when this is all settled.

 

[FactorFiction]

I intended to be done with this thread, but I'd like to respond to your post, Dave. The following is my opinion only.

1. I think your support to prevent offshore drilling in Forida's water is admirable and very few would disagree with your position. Likewise with monster vacation rentals. Beach property rights have been given a bad name. That's unfortunate. I think we all know that the likelihood of a private beachfront owner winning an election is slim to none at this point no matter who they are. Even good people willing to compromise in any way have little chance.
2. You have built very successful businesses. Congratulations. That takes a lot of dedication and hard work. If tourism declines some, you will still be fine and, so far, most weekly rentals are doing fine, too. There are always exceptions. Most people seem to believe that we have exceeded our capacity to give locals and visitors their desired experience. Perhaps decisions need to be made with more regard to people living here, while still giving due consideration to tourism as well.
3. I'll only say about this one: I read, I listened, I saw the passion for incorporating among the admirers, but it was all too optimistic in my opinion. Nevertheless, I respect the time and efforts spent on the project.
4. You are making assumptions here. Many beach property owners would have liked to try other means to bring peace to the beach than lawsuits. Remember Beach Share? No, I am not Mr. H for those who have guessed that in the past. It was a starting point that could have been explored and massaged. Instead it was tossed aside with no consideration. I truly believe that most BPOs would have shared their beach areas with respectful beachgoers. If there were some who didn't, is it the end of the world? I don't think so. Unfortunately, for millions of people to co-exist peacefully, that generally requires RULES and ENFORCEMENT. You and I may even agree on that. The RULES were proposed by the BCC and then further refined by a committee of people who were composed of CU advocates (6) and property rights advocates (5). That committee made a unanimous recommendation to the BCC. The proposed rules were altered to some degree by the BCC and legal counsel, but what really derailed peace on the beach was lack of education/information/notice and lack of enforcement. Removing the right of exclusion without enforcement sunk the ship IMO. Sometimes decisions are made too quickly and without sufficient preparation to allow them to be successful. Just my opinion.
5. This goes two ways. None of us knows each others heart or mind. Many CU advocates and many BPOs are good, decent, well meaning people. I count many on both sides as my friends and see both sides. What is truly sad about all this is the damage that has been done to the cohesive community "personality". This was once a charming, friendly, live and let live, quiet, artsy, laid back place. Social media conflict is tearing us apart at the seams. Let's find our common ground again to the greatest extent possible. The court(s) will decide the CU issue, but there are so many other issues that Walton County residents can work together on to make this a wonderful place to live and visit. It still is, you know, if the rhetoric and conflict would just tone down. It isn't helping anyone as far as I can tell.
6. Shutting off constructive voices in a community by blocking/censoring/demeaning/disparaging and whatever means of silencing people, doesn't seem productive to me. Differing perspectives often lead to the very best solutions to problems. In business, I got far more benefit from listening to those who disagreed with me than from those that just agreed with everything I said. The differing perspectives caused us to be more inclusive and more creative in problem solving.

These are my thoughts/opinions and mine alone. I am not speaking for anyone else. I just want to see our community heal. I love it when I occasionally run into someone who doesn't participate in any social media and doesn't seem to pay much attention to local news. They seem to have no idea about this conflict and they are happy and enjoying the community and the beach!

 

[Dave Rauschkolb]

I intended to be done with this thread, but I'd like to respond to your post, Dave. The following is my opinion only.

1. I think your support to prevent offshore drilling in Forida's water is admirable and very few would disagree with your position. Likewise with monster vacation rentals. Beach property rights have been given a bad name. That's unfortunate. I think we all know that the likelihood of a private beachfront owner winning an election is slim to none at this point no matter who they are. Even good people willing to compromise in any way have little chance.
2. You have built very successful businesses. Congratulations. That takes a lot of dedication and hard work. If tourism declines some, you will still be fine and, so far, most weekly rentals are doing fine, too. There are always exceptions. Most people seem to believe that we have exceeded our capacity to give locals and visitors their desired experience. Perhaps decisions need to be made with more regard to people living here, while still giving due consideration to tourism as well.
3. I'll only say about this one: I read, I listened, I saw the passion for incorporating among the admirers, but it was all too optimistic in my opinion. Nevertheless, I respect the time and efforts spent on the project.
4. You are making assumptions here. Many beach property owners would have liked to try other means to bring peace to the beach than lawsuits. Remember Beach Share? No, I am not Mr. H for those who have guessed that in the past. It was a starting point that could have been explored and massaged. Instead it was tossed aside with no consideration. I truly believe that most BPOs would have shared their beach areas with respectful beachgoers. If there were some who didn't, is it the end of the world? I don't think so. Unfortunately, for millions of people to co-exist peacefully, that generally requires RULES and ENFORCEMENT. You and I may even agree on that. The RULES were proposed by the BCC and then further refined by a committee of people who were composed of CU advocates (6) and property rights advocates (5). That committee made a unanimous recommendation to the BCC. The proposed rules were altered to some degree by the BCC and legal counsel, but what really derailed peace on the beach was lack of education/information/notice and lack of enforcement. Removing the right of exclusion without enforcement sunk the ship IMO. Sometimes decisions are made too quickly and without sufficient preparation to allow them to be successful. Just my opinion.
5. This goes two ways. None of us knows each others heart or mind. Many CU advocates and many BPOs are good, decent, well meaning people. I count many on both sides as my friends and see both sides. What is truly sad about all this is the damage that has been done to the cohesive community "personality". This was once a charming, friendly, live and let live, quiet, artsy, laid back place. Social media conflict is tearing us apart at the seams. Let's find our common ground again to the greatest extent possible. The court(s) will decide the CU issue, but there are so many other issues that Walton County residents can work together on to make this a wonderful place to live and visit. It still is, you know, if the rhetoric and conflict would just tone down. It isn't helping anyone as far as I can tell.
6. Shutting off constructive voices in a community by blocking/censoring/demeaning/disparaging and whatever means of silencing people, doesn't seem productive to me. Differing perspectives often lead to the very best solutions to problems. In business, I got far more benefit from listening to those who disagreed with me than from those that just agreed with everything I said. The differing perspectives caused us to be more inclusive and more creative in problem solving.

These are my thoughts/opinions and mine alone. I am not speaking for anyone else. I just want to see our community heal. I love it when I occasionally run into someone who doesn't participate in any social media and doesn't seem to pay much attention to local news. They seem to have no idea about this conflict and they are happy and enjoying the community and the beach!

I very much appreciate the tone, spirit and content of your reply Fact or Fiction. We have been here before. Reasonable, respectful and without malice. I am all for finding common ground and I have been working on ideas to do just that; hopefully they will bear fruit. Time will tell.

 

[bob bob]

I very much appreciate the tone, spirit and content of your reply Fact or Fiction. We have been here before. Reasonable, respectful and without malice. I am all for finding common ground and I have been working on ideas to do just that; hopefully they will bear fruit. Time will tell.

It's astounding to me how you are being attacked. Having different opinions and standing up for what you believe is what America is about. Anyone trying to silence you I don't understand.