Surprisingly, 8 of the 9 board members were present. Absent was Yonnie Patronis. Board member attendance at the 8 meetings, including the 2 strategic planning sessions, held during the first half of 2008 has been quite poor. 3 members have attendance records of 50% or less and only 3 members have missed no more than one meeting. The worst was at the strategic planning session held two weeks ago when only 2 board members were in attendance. I understand that board members are not compensated, but people should not agree to serve unless their schedule allows regular attendance. Hopefully the City Council and County Commission will consider ability to attend meetings when considering future appointments.

Turtle Protection Ordinance

Based on recent reports in the News Herald, I understood prior to the meeting that a compromise had been reached between Staff, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the local property owners for a new draft ordinance to replace the one approved by the board in December. As expected, the prior draft ordinance was rejected by USF&W and effectively put any future beach nourishment on hold. Both the USF&W and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were in attendance at this meeting to complete the process. Based on the News Herald reports, I expected the new draft ordinance to be approved by the board ending the standoff between PCB and the Federal Government. I sure was wrong.

Continue reading “6/10/08 TDC/CVB Meeting: Turtle Ordinance, Grand Lagoon National Tournament” →