Strider banned from SPAR building

[Omarvelous09]

I miss the 90's SPAR...

[GaryGJ]

  I think this whole thing is funny!!!! Grown people with nothing better to do. I don't either thats why I'm here. Anyway I've known Joe for the better part of five years and have been and am in close contact with him since. Strider has got to be one of the most mild mannered, even tempermental person I know. If Joe raises his voice to anyone, including Louise, they most probably deserve it. LOLLOLLOL!!!!!!!!!!!

[nvrenuf]

Upon rereading this entire post, it looks like everyone is quite aware that it's "select few individuals" and not the entire neighborhood...

As I said, this forum, not this particular thread. Its been implied many times, and frankly its insulting to assume we are all sheep. Don't get me wrong, there are some. Must have been reading too many threads and commented on this one, or else something here made me think it, can't remember. Either way based on SPAR membership one might come to the conclusion that they barely represent more than themselves. The other option is that lots of us agree but we're just too damn stingy to pay dues.

[ChriswUfGator]

Sounds like they should change their acronym to RAPED: Restoration And Preservation Exclusively for the Directors.

ROFL LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, this one is a tie with Stephen's "blind prophet" comment as the best MJ post of 2009!

[ChriswUfGator]

If what was said about SPAR circulating a list of businesses, the sole purpose of which is for the members to band together and call code enforcement en masse in an effort to shut them down, then SPAR should rightfully get hit with tortious interference.

uhm..calling code enforcement to report violations of the law is not and will never be tortious interference with a business or contract, but don't listen to me.....file away... hire those trial lawyers they need the business!

Your statement rests on the assumption that Strider's rooming houses are illegal. They're not.

[sheclown]

This also stems from the fact that Strider blasted the SPAR executive board for their election irregularities -- remember those of a year ago?  The Q & A session and etc?  He made very vocal concerns about officers remaining on the board in spite of the fact their term had run out.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,3994.0.html

[sheclown]

It's an interesting legal situation as public meetings like Shadco, Springfield Round Table are held in the private SPAR building.

Furthermore... should he be arrested for trespassing, would it be by the off-duty JSO officers hired by SPAR? 

That is also an interesting pickle.

[fsu813]

- Stephen, to your earlier post.....is there is anything else that is lawsuit worthy, in your opnion, besides the circulation of codes & laws to watch out for on certain properties & the opinion that here were some environmental concerns the held up a deal?

Noone addressed why, if they dislike SPAR and what they stand for so much, why don't they form another neighborhood organization....if nothing else as a counter-weight. Or simply join SPAR and work constructively to adjust it from the inside. Since noone addressed it, I guess noone is interested.

- braeburn, to your earlier post, people can do things with thier own money & property that are with-in the law and have their neighborhood not like it. That is allowed, ya know. In fact, in less dramatic examples it's common (color, trash, maintenance, lots of traffic, etc). In general it comes down to 1 thing: property values & desirability. If there is an argument to be made how boarding houses/rehab houses increase property vales & desirability, i'd like to hear it. There are many obvious ones to be made how they decrease values & repell interest. I can certainly understand why SPAR generally does not support something - anything - that lowers property values & makes potential home buyers look elesewhere. Does SPAR support anything else that lowers values - perhpas you can think of something? Also, i don't beleive Zombie Bikes is exactly the apple of the SPAR directors eyes....but they support it b/c it brings new people and interest into the area.

btw,  i think this "drama" is interesting & entertaining. I would hope noone has any real hurt feelings or issues. I can't see why anyone wouldn't understand both sides of the argument.

[sheclown]

It is difficult to work from the inside of an organization which does not allow its own board members to speak up.  Not to mention the membership as a whole.

Hurt feelings?  It is a tad larger than that. 

[DetroitInJAX]

Love the RAPED moniker...  I was teary-eyed with laughter.

[Karl_Pilkington]

Your statement rests on the assumption that Strider's rooming houses are illegal. They're not.

yeah, no it doesn't.  I understand they are perfectly legal, but what you may not realize is that even legal businesses have code violations.  But hey I understand you're trying to drum up business (it is tough out there) and of course a difference of opinion on legal matters results in plenty of lawsuits (and can also be quite lucrative for those 'greedy liberal trial lawyers' when they're billing by the hour), so I say litigate to your hearts content.

this whole thing is nothing more than a tempest in a teapot, the boon for many lawyers.

[AlexS]

Or simply join SPAR and work constructively to adjust it from the inside. Since noone addressed it, I guess noone is interested.

I tried that. Simply because some events are not discussed on this forum or this thread, does not mean they didn't happen.

[fsu813]

ok.

so while SPAR represents only a small % of the neighborhood, according to some on here, and while there are many people who don't like some of things SPAR does.......common sense would point to this other large group of people forming a neighborhood organization, would it not? if you have the numbers & the motivation - what's stopping it from happening? the more the better, as far as i'm concerned. i'd probably be a member of both.

[ChriswUfGator]

Your statement rests on the assumption that Strider's rooming houses are illegal. They're not.

yeah, no it doesn't.  I understand they are perfectly legal, but what you may not realize is that even legal businesses have code violations.  But hey I understand you're trying to drum up business (it is tough out there) and of course a difference of opinion on legal matters results in plenty of lawsuits (and can also be quite lucrative for those 'greedy liberal trial lawyers' when they're billing by the hour), so I say litigate to your hearts content.

this whole thing is nothing more than a tempest in a teapot, the boon for many lawyers.

See, that sounds nice and snazzy Karl...

But the problem is, this is what you actually said:

uhm..calling code enforcement to report violations of the law is not and will never be tortious interference

So again, your original statement that I responded to rests entirely on the assumption that Strider's rooming houses are illegal, even according to your own words. They're not.

This is the great thing about message boards, you can't backpedal. Everything you said's right there in black and white.

[strider]

To be honest, I wasn’t sure if this thread should have been started, but Sheclown did it so I didn’t have to make that decision.  I had originally planned on posting all of it on SPAR Council’s  forum, but hesitated because I was hoping SPAR Council’s executive board would embrace the truth.  Based on the most recent letter from Mr. Moulton, it seems that they will not.

I am a little surprised at the turn this thread has taken.  Some of what has been posted is very true while some of it is very far off the mark.  One fact is that while I did indeed raise my voice to Louise, I did not bang on desks, throw chairs or continually interrupt the speaker like some other ‘favorite sons” of SPAR Council have done in public meetings.  I was simply rude to her by raising my voice and that is it.

Stephen is very right in that SPAR Council’s strategy for commercial development is very flawed.  It may be very much in tune with some national expert’s ideas, but it is very exclusive when Springfield needs, no requires, a strategy that is all inclusive.  Our thrift store is an example of this.  Spar Council representatives have come out and condemned this store for both who we are and who we help and also because it is a thrift store.  The facts are that the store helps people who are doing the right thing and trying to be good citizens and it helps Springfield as a whole because it is helping Main Street become the walk-able retail corridor we all want.  To be all inclusive, SPAR Council would have to embrace our store publicly and yet, not a word from them except negative comments.

As far as the harassment issues, they very much exist.  Code enforcement is a complaint driven system.  Once SPAR Council calls in a complaint, a code enforcement officer goes on site to check it out.  He talks to the resident and/ or owners and decides whether there is indeed any kind of code violation.  He then takes suitable actions.  In all cases, we have been found to be legal and to meet all relevant codes.   As the number of complaints about each house grows from SPAR Council, even the city finds it tiresome and begins to acknowledge that it is being used to harass us.  Unfortunately, there is nothing the city can do about it but to continue to respond to the unfounded complaints and waste more of your tax dollars on SPAR Council’s harassment of us.   

It should also be stated that we have one half-way house (which holds both a legal rooming house license and a commercial kitchen license)  under a non-profit and several legal rental houses under a for profit LLC.  What many here are calling rooming houses are nothing but legal rentals.  But calling our rentals a rooming house helps SPAR Council’s cause. 

SPAR Council is struggling.  Their developer/ supporters are hurting, the neighborhood does not come out and support them much and  the city is growing tired of their way of doing things.  The executive board no longer bothers to follow the by-laws it helped write and the battles they choose to fight “on behalf of the community” seem to be the wrong ones and ones that they lose.   They lose because they depend on lies and misinformation rather than the facts.   The rooming house issue has worked before to get the community to at least seem like it is behind them so they are trying it again. 

But wouldn’t you think they would address the real problems Springfield is facing?  The loss of multiple historic structures, the real estate prices that have fallen 60% plus since last year alone, a employment picture that is causing an increased need of low cost housing  and a Main Street that looks more like a war zone than a viable retail corridor.  Working with people rather than against people seems like a more viable strategy. 

As to forming a new organization?  It was talked about, but to be honest, most people do not care enough nor, with all of today’s worries, is it a high enough priority.  I believe they feel that SPAR Council doesn’t help much, but doesn’t hurt much either.  The SPAR Council executive board, I think, depended on this when they started to ignore the by-laws and take over the organization.  SAMBA could be the next big organization, but we have to wait to see if they are an exclusive driven organization or one that wants to be all inclusive. 

This got a little long, so if you “too long, no read”, I understand!