SPAR Tries to Pass Law to Ban Non Family Members from Living Together.

[CS Foltz]

Well if you were in the Military.....depending upon your rank, you would be entitled to "x" amount of cubic space but this ain't the Armed Forces! SPAR is tying to get those involved in halfway houses or boarding houses excluded and there are no laws on the books at this time that would prohibit that from being done! They keep stomping on people toes and you guys may have to take legal action......I see it coming down to that!

[strider]

Hmmm, don't suppose I'll be invited to this meeting do ya?

Hey, I saw Sean that day as well...do I get any brownie points?

[sheclown]

I would like to go to a meeting about us as well.

Probably top secret, Joe.

Dan, Alex, Doug, Matt, Phil...you guys okay with SPAR doing this?  Holding meetings with city officials without inviting us, consulting us, talking to us?  Is this how a neighborhood organization ought to conduct business?  Making us a "Red Alert?"

Just wondering, here.

[strider]

Just so no one will have to go dig this up:

an e-mail we sent to Dr. gaffney's office today.

Dr. Gaffney,

This is our official request that we be included in any future meetings and discussions on the “rooming house issue“ in not only Springfield, but all of Jacksonville.  This issue and the discussions surrounding this issue have an impact on the rights of many.

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Joe Markusic
Gloria DeVall

And apparently, sheclown, everyone, Dan, Alex, Doug, Matt, Phil,  is alright with with how SPAR Council is conducting it's "business" against us....good to know....and that means, we will continue to do what we must...

[AlexS]

And apparently, sheclown, everyone, Dan, Alex, Doug, Matt, Phil,  is alright with with how SPAR Council is conducting it's "business" against us....good to know....and that means, we will continue to do what we must...

Silence does neither imply agreement nor disagreement. So don't put words in my mouth. I will say myself what I have to and decide when and if to do so. Enough for now.

[strider]

Alex, my point was, we are told that we are wrong for dragging this all “through the mud“, but it certainly seems OK to many that SPAR Council does it to us. We are told we need to go get more facts before we post anything, yet we get excluded from meetings where few facts are offered by SPAR Council. Perhaps it was wrong to include you in that statement, but then again, perhaps you could have spoken up and said it was wrong on SPAR Council’s part if that is how you feel.  When a question is asked and goes unanswered, the wrong conclusions can be drawn. You can certainly be lumped in with the wrong faction. If that is the case here, just say so and I will be happy to apologize. But the middle of the road is not always the best path.

[sheclown]

It was my question and I get to answer (not you Strider -- eat some lunch, you are getting grumpy).

Alex isn't going to do anything until he has had a lot of time to think about it.  He is methodical. Doug certainly is too classy to get involved in a SPAR Wars on the forum.  I don't really know Matt well, and Phil has said that he just wants to be left alone.  That doesn't mean that they would not stand up for us and for our rights in a less public forum.  Maybe, maybe not.

Silence just means that it isn't laid out for everyone to see.  You know as well as I do, many many things are happening behind the scenes both for us and against us.  Time will tell.

Love ya.

[nvrenuf]

Sorry for 2 posts, just trying to up my perceived credibility; get out of Newbie status.

Dude, you are so not even close. Cindi has you beat by double.

[ChriswUfGator]

I would like to go to a meeting about us as well.

Probably top secret, Joe.

Dan, Alex, Doug, Matt, Phil...you guys okay with SPAR doing this?  Holding meetings with city officials without inviting us, consulting us, talking to us?  Is this how a neighborhood organization ought to conduct business?  Making us a "Red Alert?"

Just wondering, here.

Whether I agree or disagree with the issue is irrelevant.  I don't see any reason why you should expect to be invited.  People and organizations have a right to speak with their councilman without inviting anyone else.  This being the case, you should have a meeting with him as well to speak your mind on the issue; it doesn't necessarily need to be a group meeting (both sides present simultaneously) at this point. 

Your legal assessment is a bit off...

You're welcome to read the relevant portions of F.S. 286.0115 yourself:

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0286/SEC0115.HTM&Title=-%3E2008-%3ECh0286-%3ESection%200115#0286.0115

SPAR is discussing these issues with COJ representatives not in a vacuum, but with an eye towards the introduction of legislation. So by failing to publicly disclose the nature and content of the ex-parte meetings, and by failing to make them part of the public record, this situation creates the presumption of prejudice when reviewing the closed-door meetings and any legislation ultimately produced by the parties involved.

I gotta say, between this B.S., and the stack of e-mails and bogus complaints about them that they've accumulated, all coming from the same source (SPAR), strider and sheclown are sitting on a pretty decent lawsuit against SPAR and COJ for tortious interference, if and when anything ever actually happens. I hope SPAR's D&O and E&O policies are paid-up. They're going to need it.

And this closed-door ex-parte communication between an elected member of a governing body and a quasi-governmental entity (by virtue of its receipt of grant funds, its involvement in local law enforcement through the crime fund, etc., etc.) regarding legislation that ultimately impacts someone else's business, not to mention however many other people, is really not helping matters any.

Everybody involved here is pretty much cruising for a bruising. I've said on here 100 times Joe ought to go hire a lawyer, especially after Louise tried to 'ban' him from a public meeting (which she can't do) with bogus assault allegations. But despite it not being in their best interests, he still seems intent on trying to work things out anyway. Personally, I'd have already landed them in court by now, I can't understand it myself. So as much everyone wants to run around vilifying them for their chosen profession, I think Joe & Co. have shown an exceptional amount of patience with this situation.

But keep poking that beehive and patience, like any well, eventually runs dry. He has a *right* to the information *by law*. Nobody has to "invite" him to share in what should be a public meeting to begin with, and he doesn't have to beg to learn what was discussed. Let me repeat: He has a *right* to it.

[sheclown]

Chris, You're hired!!

[02roadking]

with the evidence presented so far ..... you would lose...... as if I was a juror anyway.

[sheclown]

I went to the link.  I will need to print it out to digest it, but I hear what you are saying.  I did call the city today and talk to them about the Sunshine Laws, meetings and etc.  You gotta love Florida.

[Dan B]

Chris, You're hired!!

You know Gloria, if thats the route you feel you need to go, you might be better off hiring some actual lawyers (you know, ones that are allowed to practice law), rather than the pretend ones that like to spout off around here.

At least, that's what I would do.

[sheclown]

 Chris has righteous "spouting" directly from law school.

[AlexS]

Chris has righteous "spouting" directly from law school.

But isn't "spouting directly from law school" prohibited until you actually pass the bar ? Just wondering.