Walton County may have bought land they already own

[scooterbug44]

The more they investigate, the more incompetence and questionable behavior is revealed:

"The report states that Miller, who had partnered with Blue on at least one business venture, was asked to represent the county’s interests in the Chat Holley purchase, but that no one who was interviewed for the report admitted to making the request.

Commission Chairman Scott Brannon signed off on a contract dated Sept. 21 to buy the property from 331 Bayside Properties, a company run by Blue and his wife Alexis Pleas.

At the time, Bay Oak Estates still held the title to the property, according to county records.

However, the attorneys conducting the review found that no one for the county, including Miller, reviewed either the contract or the closing documents.

The report also found that there is a 9-foot gap between Chat Holley Road and the purchased property, which would require additional land acquisition to construct the turn lane."

http://www.waltonsun.com/articles/walton-7778-county-report.html

 

[Alan Osborne]

Let's put on our common sense glasses and look at this "DEAL"

Well, It appears sometime about two years ago the County put George Ralphie Miller on retainer for about 10 grand a month as Special Counsel. There appears to be no defined duties or responsibilities. Imagine that!
24 Months X 10 grand a month = Almost a quarter Mil! ( Pretty good work if you can get it, wink.. wink)
Well, somebody (Who was it?) on the staff told the BCC that they needed to buy some land to add a turn lane to Chat Holley and 331. Seems reasonable so far, so the BCC approves some money for the purchase 4-0. (Scott’s not there that night, by the way) Now the facts get fuzzy.

Apparently George Ralphie Miller assigns himself to the project, because according to the report no one else did. He does not have an engagement letter directing him to do so and when questioned about it, Mr. Miller can’t remember who retained him or who assigned him to this task to represent the county. When questioned, all commissioners denied hiring him and so did the county attorney. (Since when did an attorney with decades of county experience forget who hired him?) Sorry, I digress, George Ralphie continues on his self appointed task.

George Ralphie and Mr. Blue get a deal worked out for the property and assign the task of preparing the paperwork to Burke and Blue. (Wait, isn’t that what George Ralphie getting paid to do?) Wait a minute, how did loyd get in the deal?(Is that with two LL’s, who cares?) Apparently he doesn’t even own the property in question yet. Then why was he made an offer? According to the report, George Ralphie and loyd have done business together before. (Ralphie’s been on retainer as a county attorney for 24 months, ethics laws apply to him, former business partner…HMMM Houston we have a problem!) Sorry, I digress again lets continue.
Now comes October 8, and Lloyd needs a signature by COB today or he will lose some money. George Ralphie takes Scott a contract to sign and even Scott questions it. But after assurances from George Ralphie, he signs it at 9 o’clock on a Friday night.(Scott according to his disclosures is a real estate guy, you think he would have asked where the attachments were, title commitments, staff reviews from the county, surveys, ect. Just thinkin out loud here.) Any way it’s a done deal, counting George Ralphie’s fee’s, the county just spent 400 grand and is the proud owner of new property! (Lucky County!)
So what did they get? (ding, ding, ding.. BENT OVER!)
They are the proud owners of a piece of property with a gap in it that won’t let them do what it’s intended purpose is. Even better they will have to buy some more to make it work and some nasty title restrictions to go along with it. Now they have to hire outside counsel to investigate. More money! No big deal right? I mean everyone’s happy and since it’s only 500 grand and most of them live north of 331 bridge anyway. 89% of that money came from south of that bridge, so no skin off their wallet, right? I mean well, loyds happy now that he’s been thrown a bone(wink..wink), he was so pissed when the TDC decided they didn’t want to relocate to his property on the bay(Dawn either got fickle or wise). When it’s all said and done, the land plus ralpies fees and all the other people involved were approaching a cool 750k investment. I’m sure the good people of sowal would like to have spent that money on our parks, beaches, fire departments or schools, but oh well.
So did George ralphie staff this? Apparently not. Did he review the title commitments? Apparently not.
Did he do anything he was supposed to do? Doesn’t look like it. (Does he know better? He should, he’s special counsel with decades of experience as a county attorney.) Again, who was it that anointed loyd?
Does this smell of corruption? You bet! (If you know the players, it smells so bad you will have to hold your breath.) At a minimum it’s a clear case of malpractice and an ethics complaint on George ralphie.

So, now the BCC is armed with this information, what will they do? Expect them to do nothing but change some policies, move along folks there’s nothing to see here. Will they sue his insurance for malpractice and report his actions to the commission? Most likely not, as he knows too much information and is too connected to take down without some others falling with him. An ethics complaint could get him in hot water with the Florida bar and that could be risky for many.
If you don’t like this stuff, write your commissioner and show up at Tuesdays BCC meeting and demand action. It will probably go down like this, C- will pray about it.( then execute deal brokered by the sixth commissioner) Say-ruh- will be very concerned, but in the end won’t hold ole George to task. K- will crap himself silently as he is unsure how to vote with L & S at odds with each other. (He's known about this garbage for years) L- he’ll be tickled this meeting isn’t about solid waste and finally S. This one is a crapshoot on what he will do with the spotlight on the Friday night closing. His connections to both of these people run so deep, so your guess is as good as mine. No good choices for him.:roll:
Don’t think I’ll be there, as watching the “ players”, execute the deals brokered over the last few weeks will make me sick.
There are three seats up at the next election, it’s time to clear the board. I took my shot at it and now it’s your turn. Take mine and Bob’s advice sowalers, vet a single candidate and support them. Don’t divide the vote! Learn your lessons or face 4 more years of representation without taxation, If not the inner circle will pick your commissioners and spend your tax dollars as they see fit.
Peace out to you sowalers! Me, I carry a gun in case I have to shoot back. (Thankful for the right to bear arms and carry a permit. Thanks to all you veterans out there for this privilege! You Rock!) Take it, or leave it, that’s my opinion on this deal. Read the report yourself and form your own opinion. Maybe it was all just an innocent mistake. If so I’ve got some brown sand I’d like to sell you for beach restoration, don’t worry, it will bleach out after a while. Trust Me.
:leaving:
Alan

PS. I miss the thanks button Kurt.

 

[scooterbug44]

Alan, that made me laugh out loud!

IMO there is no way that many people with combined real estate purchase experiences numbering in the hundreds could make those "mistakes" - and especially not that many "mistakes".

They've been colluding and screwing us for years, but this may be their Opus - and hopefully also their downfall!

P.S. I copied it to DB to share the humor with others.

 

[rocketman]

Thank You!

Alan:
Thank you for a great response from a fellow veteran. I would welcome your thoughts regarding whether the county owned the property previously.

Rock on,
Rocketman

 

[Alan Osborne]

Thanks for the PM's

If you are enjoying my political satire of local events, please send me a PM and tell me what current political issue you would like me to write about. If i have the time, I will investigate it and provide you my twisted prespective on the issue. Makes a good editorial anyway. If you hate my stuff, don't read it. Without a thanks button, hard to tell if the issue is relevant to people. If you can't provide me with factual information, then I can't do it. Can't have satire without the facts, but apparently you can run a commission without them. Have a great weekend and be passionate about your beliefs.:boxing: you have the power!
Alan

 

[idlewind]

LOLOLOLOL Great commentary Alan, you may have a future in journalism.

 

[rocketman]

Well Done!

Alan:

You are the man! Get after it (them)!

Rock on,
Rocketman

 

[Lake View Too]

I really love Alan's assessment also. The problem is, and it has always been this way, in the local and national arena, that we, as citizens, have no memory. We only remember the events that happened yesterday. There has got to be a way to resurrect the details of this despicable deal when it comes around to election time.

 

[Alan Osborne]

I wish they would run that in the defuniak paper as an editorial. The one I posted earlier was funnier, but it got deleted as soon as it was posted and I couldn't remember the exact rant I was on. Dang it! Where be all the usual nay sayers out there ? cricket....cricket Defenders of the inner circle, will you please report to the podium. You have the floor.

P. S. I miss my chats with intrested girl, I hear she's got better looking.

When does election season start? Apparently NOW!

 

[Chuckster]

Thanks