Monthly Archives: December 2015

Sandy “Fiscal” Ferencz

. Fiscal Issues, Uncategorized .

This year the city gave all full time employees a $700 bonus.  Full time is defined as a city employee who works at least 30 hours a week.

The Public Works Department uses men from a staffing agency to augment their full time employees.  These 5 mean are employed by the staffing agency and not the city of IOP.

Ms. Ferencz wanted to give each of them $700 as well.

The IOP Observer is not taking sides on this issue, rather just reporting what it has heard as you can be sure this won’t be in any minutes…if and when they ever get published.

The Isle of Atheists?

. Uncategorized

What do you notice as you drive or walk around the island every Christmas?  No snow?  Of course.  But also no Christmas lights, or at least not very many of them.

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Why are there so few houses with lights on them?

Is the IOP full of atheists?  Muslims?  Jews?  No wait, Zoroastrians?

Of course not.  The reason there are so few lights is that no one lives here.  The homes on the IOP are 1/3 owner occupied.  An empty house is not going to decorate itself.

Which brings me to my question.  If there are so few of us living here, why can’t we get the kind of city we want to live in?

Why won’t our councilmembers do something about the congestion on Palm Blvd?  (Which, by the way, is only going to get worse?)

Why does council take care of the rich investors on Ocean Blvd but not the rest of us?

Why do we have to pay to launch our boats from a ramp we bought and own?

Why aren’t we guaranteed a parking spot at the marina that we bought and own?

Why can’t we have a nicer business district that appears to this writer to be mainly focused on maximizing parking?

I could go on, but this is Christmas time.  If you have anything you would like to add to the list, hit the reply button.

Just What is Morgan Creek Grill?

. Fiscal Issues, Uncategorized .

Is it a restaurant?  Is it a bar?  Is it a live music venue?  Is it all three?

What does its lease with the city say it is?

Below are some pics of the new bandstand completed several months ago.

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The bandstand is basically a plywood box with some insulation on the inside.  Now, I am not a contractor, but for the life of me I can’t see how this cost $20k!  But that is none of my business.

It appears to have mitigated the noise which is great.  My question is this:  Does MCG’s lease with the city include provisions for running an outdoor live entertainment venue?  I mean, this is not really part of the business of running a restaurant.

I applaud MCG for being an aggressive business, that is what this country is all about.  They clearly did this to make more money.  I’m all for it.  But if this is not in the original contract with the city, that contract needs to be modified so that the city is getting an appropriate piece of the pie.

People who have never seen these contracts will say, “Well, as the leasee makes more money, the city gets percentage, so the city makes more money, too.”

Technically this is true.  But from the time I was on city council 4 years ago, I can tell you the city gets a pittance of the increased revenue.  If you don’t believe me, go to City Hall and ask to see the contract.  You have a right to see it and they will give you a copy.

You will be shocked.

There is nothing more lucrative than government contracting…at any level of government.

IOP Parking Expo

. Parking, Uncategorized .

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IOP held a very informative expo at the Rec Center on Dec 3.  City administration was present to answer questions as was our city attorney.  Most of the city councilmembers were there and available for chatting.  A shout out to Councilmember Bettelli who backed parking on the “sacred” Ocean Blvd.

Look at the map below:

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Streets in red are for beach parking by anyone.  Streets in green require a residential permit to park in the easement.

But, look closely.  There are some streets that are white.  For example, a good long stretch of Waterway leading up to the marina.  Who can park there?

Anyone!

The IOP Marina, bought and paid for by the citizens of IOP needs to make sure they have tons of parking to service all those people who do not live here.

Not only does a property we bought and own charge us to launch our boats, they actively encourage off island residents to come here and generate more traffic.

It just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.  How about you?