I noticed a sign posted on the Freeport Old City Hall building advertising a Dance Studio at the City of Freeport owned PUBLIC property building. I called the number on the flyer and the woman answering the phone said "the city paid the renovation of the old city hall for the exclusive use of her private company for profit to operate her dance studio." She also said the dance studio is located in one of the old fire dept garage bays. She stated that this plan has been in the works for over a year and the mayor is advertising her dance studio as a parks dept program. BUT she also said she charges a fee for all her classes. I am not sure if this legal or illegal use of a city build, a public building. But the parks dept director has been harassing groups of private citizens using the public park located at the Hammock Bay sport complex. Latilda and the parks director has gone as far as disabling the basketball court lights and locking out the switch to force the groups to relocated their sports and exercising groups or pay a fee for the use of the TAX PAYER funded public park. The Freeport Mayor Russ Barely used tax payer dollars to pay for renovation of a public building for this private for profit business to operate. This seems dirty to me. And I am going to find out tomorrow! Northwest Florida Daily News and WMBB TV-13 needs to see this arrangement.
