GOT FLEAS
Fairhope is seeing the results of a Council and Mayor more dedicated to special interests than the majority of their constitutes.
It is an absolute shame the Fairhope Waterfront Project became such a divisive tool, used by elected officials, to distort the project and lie to the public. The vast majority of Fairhope citizens have no idea what the original plan was and the opportunity they have lost.
Fairhope’s, $6.2 million waterfront park has been so watered down that it has become a renovation project. For over 18 months the Waterfront project moved through the bureaucracy of government. Hundreds of citizens participated in public meeting offering their suggestions.
Then came the municipal elections and the political distortions about the overall plan. In as little as a few weeks, in the new administration, the entire plan went from something resilient and sustainable to short sighted maintenance.
The $6.2 million project is being paid for with money from the Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities and Revived Economy, RESTORE, Act that distribute funds from the BP oil spill. In Fairhope, the work is intended to stabilize the bluff overlooking Mobile Bay and the waterfront.
This grant should be audited for monetary and required standards of the grant.
The Waterfront Project got off course for one reason only, POLITICS.
Howling Raines should also get credit for his contribution of distorting the facts and attacking Mayor Wilson. The irony is that Mr Raines is now coming to the conclusion, that the current administration is suspect because: “the proposal will not be fully vetted by citizens prior to council approval.”
No shit Sherlock, get in bed with dogs and ya going to get fleas.
Howell Raines, who was a vocal critic of the previous plan, said this one also doesn’t pass muster.
In a letter to Sullivan and Council President Jack Burrell last week, Raines expressed concern the proposal will not be fully vetted by citizens prior to council approval.
Mayor Wilson held 10 fold the public participation, regarding the Waterfront Project, be it meetings or written surveys. This council gave little notice, 14 days, and then moved forward with radical changes without public comment.
Howling Raines could have seen this coming, if he had been reading the Ripp Report. Howling is a part time resident and he got fleas hanging with the dogs, it up to him to get treated!
Howling attacks the plan, the grant, the engineering firm, that the council approved, the landscape architect, public works, community development and city employees.
The bottom line is that Fairhope loses, special interests wins and Howling Raines has fleas.