There was a shakeup at the Collins Center thanks to former FPL turd Jeff Bartell. He led the way to force out Director and President Roderick Petrey. Heard the Miami Herald has it wrong. And what is AIF ass Barney Bishop doing on the Board of the Collins Center anyway? Was Roderick Petrie forced out by them? Did Allison DeFoor have a major role in what happened? Don't have the whole story yet but the shake up is huge at the Center and word is the Tallahassee members might be the staws stirring the drink, all following Bartell's orchestration. Outgoing Board Member Manny Diaz is involved so is Helen Ferre. They were incoming, soon be outgoing, Board Members. They didn't like that first meeting. Merritt Steirheim is in for the time being. Any insiders have the scoop? There is such a turnover on the Board I can't get the membership straight.
Whomever put Barney Bishop on this Board should be shot. He knows as much about public policy and smart growth as I know about Bible studies and the Torah -- yep, nothing!
12 comments:
Petrey was well respected and a true believer in smart growth. Sorry to hear about this.
It is a sign of the times to see a flame-out involving these self-described community leaders. Parker Thompson and DeFoor are both Bush, go-to guys. Barney Bishop is a disaster. Helen Ferre, probably in over her head. Not hard to picture that raising money to promote smart growth policies is the last on any donors' list trying to preserve cash flow from the housing market collapse in Florida. Collins Center was always just OK, but very timid about the politics of growth. On the other hand, the money has to come from somewhere and you can't bite the hand that feeds you, can you? What's Bartell's problem: too much free time on his hands? Can't he find something productive to do like chase dog owners out of parks near his home?
New board members were being manipulated to do the dirty work. They just didn't know it. There is more to this story than meets the eye.
"Heard the Miami Herald has it wrong."
No surprise there. They were wrong in how they reported the Virginia Key Marine Stadium land deal.
Do tell. Any board that includes Barney Bishop is a fraud from the start.
Maybe Jeff will weigh in on this issue; he's a frequent reader of EOM.
This reminds me of the way Judith Drucker was treated. These people devote their life and then are whisked out at the first opportunity when they are vulnerable.
Maybe Barney Bishop was put in there to kill off any signs of life in sensible land use planning in Florida. We know who is paying his freight.
Another attempt by FP&L to highjack the State’s renewable energy policy and control Florida’s renewable energy market. Watch for upcoming events sponsored by the Center - on deck, a conference scheduled for late October.
I agree that ther might be more here than meets the eye. Just as there was in the Judy Drucker comment above. As much as we truly owe a debt of gratitude to her for creating a fabulous market for top knotch concerts in So Fl, the "dying years" of the Concert Association found her travelling to NYC for Pavarotti's birthday at The Plaza Hotel, expensive room and all, while staff was not paid - and many many other such luxuries. Who really knows what happened at the Collins Center.
The Collins Center has always been too timid for fear of upsetting one connected insider or another. But appointing Manny Diaz? He hated planning. As the disgraced ex-Mayor of Miami he allocated billions to putting concrete buildings on taxpayer owned park land. Then he spent $10 mil on the vilified and asinine zoning plan called Miami 21.
Manny Diaz started with a $140 mil surplus and left with a $120 mil DEFICIT. Who needs advice from this chump?
Manny Diaz ruined Miami. He set Miami back by decades.
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