Letters to the Editor

+ Consider the effects of extension denial
Dear Editor:
I have been an owner, without a break since 1974, at the Colony, and now at another address and I have observed the Longboat Key Town Commission take up one fruitless issue after another. This has cost the town and its residents hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and judgments. The commission is about to do it again by denying the Colony owners an extension for rebuilding.

I can assure the commission that if no one else is prepared to do so, I personally will launch a lawsuit against the town and its commission.

Residents should get ready to waste more money defending a dumb move by the commission. It has done it before and is about to do it again.
Paul G. Morton
Toronto

+ Another Colony extension means further inaction
Dear Editor:
I wholeheartedly agree with your thoughts that now is the time to “get it done” at The Colony. Inaction to date has caused this once vibrant resort to deteriorate into a broken down eyesore that any sensible person can see is wrought with health-and-safety issues for its nearby neighbors. However, this should not be viewed as just a localized mess, but, instead, all Longboat Key stakeholders need to consider the real possibility of spreading reputational damage and property value hits if nothing is done in short order.

If anyone believes a further extension to the Colony’s tourist-use designation is a good idea, I urge them to listen to the audio from the commission meeting of March 5 (available on the Longboat Key town website). In summary, Colony Association representatives were there at the urging of the commissioners to provide a report as to what progress had been made in the 10 months proceeding the initial extension granted in May 2011. Suffice it to say, the meeting quickly turned into a marketing pitch from the property development partner selected by the Colony Association.

When pushed by the commissioners, it became very clear the legal entanglements were still firmly in place and thus the initial extension had created absolutely no incentive to move the parties toward resolution. What has changed in the past five months since the March “progress report?” Well, other than the aforementioned development partner exiting the project, it looks and feels like not much. 

So, I suggest to you that the real monumental tragedy here is in the inaction and negative spillover effects it is having on the neighbors of this once important Longboat Key destination. I just don’t see how allowing another extension changes anything other than enabling more time for further property deterioration and increased legal maneuvering.

Full disclosure — I am one of the Colony’s nearby neighbors, and I can’t help feeling I’m an innocent witness to a gunfight and I am now being hit with stray bullets.
Greg Van Howe
Longboat Key      
 
+ Our compliments to Waste Management
Dear Editor:
Having spent several months abroad, we recently returned to our Longboat Key home to discover that Tropical Storm Debby had caused significant damage on our property. We had several fallen trees and a great deal of yard debris to clear, which we set about preparing for collection.

The significant amount and size of the debris meant that we could not rely on the weekly Wednesday collection service to help us. We called the town of Longboat Key Public Works Department where we were advised to contact Waste Management to arrange a special pick-up. 

We would like to share with your readers the positive experience we had with Waste Management. Its customer service team quickly sent out a route manager to provide us with an estimate, and when we were ready, they promptly and professionally arranged collection.

With the uncertainty of Tropical Storm Isaac to contend with, Waste Management reacted quickly to our request to expedite the collection and ended up coming that same day. 

Everyone we dealt with, whether from customer service, route management or collection, was professional, efficient and courteous. We would like to extend our compliments and thanks to the Waste Management team that provided such exceptional service.
Katherine and Christopher Banner
Longboat Key

+ Obama has created wealth
Dear Editor:
The writer (of the Anti-American President) seems to be typical of anti-Obama right-wingers. He refuses to acknowledge reality and actual achievements.

Regarding “No creation of wealth:”

A) Does the near doubling of the stock market during Obama tenure represent “no creation of wealth?”

B) The auto industry being saved from virtually being destroyed, creating/saving 1 million jobs, achieving the highest profit in many years — no creation of wealth?

C) Four-and-a-half million private-sector jobs were created in more than 30 consecutive months — no creation of wealth?

When did President Obama ever demean wealth and profits from private enterprise?

Can’t the writer understand that the president is asking for fairness in this country? Witness — the wealthiest of Americans reap the highest level of income and pay the lowest taxes, ever.

Is that state of affairs OK with the writer?
Elliot L. Aronin
Sarasota