Move Over Joe Rogan

 

David Carson has come up with a brilliant idea. My only wish is he had thought of this the next meeting after Andy Betterton put the ban on comments on the live stream of city council meetings. The meeting held Tuesday September 4th had a few controversial expenditures and it seems David was tired of speaking before the council knowing full well that they were not listening to a word of dissent that he or anyone else had to say. Jimmy Oliver went so far as to put it in his concession speech after he lost the election for representative of D-6 (paraphrasing) that he had planned to get with Jackie Hendrix and get as many of his pet projects through as possible before his time ran out. He was going to make sure the “good ol boy” million-dollar taxpayer items got approved so he  could say some day he built them. One is the million-taxpayer dollar parking lot at the Sportsplex.

It had come up before when and Kaytrina Simmons voted against immediate approval saying this kind of expenditure should not be voted upon until after the election. This week Kaytrina is out of town and Blake Edwards as president pro tem has the power to call a special meeting. That is just what he did when Bill Griffin voted against immediate considerations this time because Kaytrina was out at the meeting. Well, Blake Edwards had other ideas. The good ol boys were not going to wait so Blake called a special meeting to be held Thursday afternoon at 3 pm. This is the 2nd vote and only requires a majority which if all the ones who are present and voted out of office along with Jackie Hendrix, there goes the money for the parking lot.

Look for this crew to cram in as much as possible between now and November 1st when the new council is sworn in. There is one more item which I must mention that was on Tuesday’s agenda. Well, it wasn’t. It was a “change order” This is an expense on a project that is not included in the bid amount and needs council approval to be allowed to be spent. It was for a sewer line for the new Pickleball Court. Tad Cole got up and gave a presentation of how the line was probably 50 or 60 years old when they were run to the bathrooms at then Point Park and they needed to be replaced for the new bathroom complex. It was like something out of a sitcom when Bill Griffin asked if the architect had purposely designed the bathrooms to look like The Forks of Cypress. Yes, Bill. Antebellum toilets! I could not help but think they were making sure new sewer lines were run to the “Antebellum” bathrooms at this new pickleball park but were still unconcerned about the sewer lines in the middle of Wood Ave that leaked human waste into the streets. Tells you were priorities lie and is a pat on the back of the voters in Florence. Only 1 of the whole crew was reelected, Jackie Hendrix. They were still disrespecting Kaytrina Simmons by going ahead and having a vote behind her back, but she will have her day when she watches Blake Edwards and Jimmy Oliver walk out the door.

This is where David Carson comes in with commentary on the live stream. It will be a good way to send off these council people who were voted out by letting them know what some, Well, MOST voters really thought of them and their decisions and can be a useful tool for the new incoming representatives to get feedback from the public on upcoming agenda items AS THEY ARE BEING VOTED ON. I think it is the idea whose time has come and will take transparency and participation in city government to a whole new level. Look for it on the Florence, Al. Open Meeting Project Facebook Page.




THE FLORENCE DETECTIVE

What Jivin' Jackie Said

 

What if we said to you "Don't vote for Joe Blough, he was born with 12 toes?" You would probably first think why in the world would you need to know that and, second, why would any honest, normal person even say something like that?

You may remember that unelected Florence councilman Jackie Hendrix sent word, not to us, but to a male friend, that he was never the business partner of Eugene Sak. That wasn't all he said about the Sak family; he made a statement concerning something that is absolutely no one's business, while implying (?) that this made Sak something less than most people.

If we didn't like the big time jiver before, we certainly don't now. 

Speaking of District Two, our friend River Zurinsky has announced that he will be running for that seat. It's still early; we won't know until June just who is running in the August municipal elections. Therefore, we're not making any endorsements at this time.

What we are doing is suggesting you start checking out the announced candidates. If you don't know River, you should!

The Eugene Sak-Jackie Hendrix Connection

 

Eugene Sak is a Florence developer who has appeared before the city council several times seeking loans or tax rebates in connection with the old Motel 6/Days Inn building on South Court Street.

Sak's latest request (below) will again be placed before the council on August 13th:

• A return to the developer of 50% of proceeds on city sales and ad valorem tax collected from the hotel over a 15-year period or until that total reaches $3 million.


• The city provides public infrastructure with a cap of $175,000.


• A waiver from the city on permitting and related fees after a $10,000 fee cap is met by the developers.

It's assumed that Councilman Jimmy Oliver will vote yes, while Michelle Eubanks will vote no. It's unknown how Ms. Simmons, Mr. Edwards, or Mr. Griffin will vote.

How about the council's newest member Jackie Loyd Hendrix Jr.? It's a pretty safe bet that Hendrix will vote yes. Why?

For over a decade, Eugene Sak owned Grand Rental Station and its subsidiary Party Plus. During much of that time, the manager of that endeavor was Jackie Hendrix Jr., now owner of Party Pros.

Did we say we believe Hendrix will vote yes? Perhaps not; an honest council member in that position would abstain.

*****

Hendrix, as we have previously pointed out, is also the founder of a 2024 foundation formed to benefit the Florence Recreation Department headed by Bill Jordan. A council member has stated that foundation is similar to one formed in 2010 to benefit Florence police. Who formed that entity? Eugene Sak.