110 W. New York Ave., DeLand, FL
386-734-4622
By Pat Hatfield
posted Nov 5, 2008 - 1:32:39am
It's a year of change, around the state and around the country.
So it was in DeBary. Incumbent Mayor George Coleman lost his seat to challenger Bob Garcia by a margin of around 11 percent — 44.34 percent to 55.66 percent as of 10:50 p.m. on Election Day, with all but 527 provisional ballots counted.
Garcia said, "I'm so excited. I'm so proud. It will be an honor and privilege to serve the people of DeBary."
Though he won't be sworn in until January, Garcia plans to start working on an agenda immediately, talking to residents and putting together a vision statement for DeBary's future.
DeBary Downs, the proposed quarter-horse track and poker room planned at the intersection of Dirksen Drive and South U.S. Highway 17-92, is very much on his mind.
Garcia wants the people of DeBary to decide whether or not they want the facility. He will propose putting the matter on a special ballot.
If the people vote no, "then it's no," he said.
If the people vote yes, Garcia said, then careful planning will be required in terms of hours of operation, what services or additional activities will be offered and what additional city services will be required.
Garcia also plans to start working on stormwater and water issues, as well as economic development.
As for Coleman, he said, "It's one of those things." He believes DeBary residents were unhappy with finances and the devastation of Tropical Storm Fay.
He believes the city's reserves, now just over $1 million, will total around $3 million when FEMA money comes in.
As for Tropical Storm Fay, Coleman said, "Most people realized we could not control that."
Coleman said he plans to continue working for the city until the January transition.
He's served as an elected official of DeBary since 1999, and is not "that unhappy" with a chance to rest and travel with his wife, Joan, perhaps to the mountains.
Coleman said he will still be involved in the city's life, and will have more time for church activities.
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This land was formerly used as a ball park, but that plan was abandoned because it was too swampy.
These homes on the western shoreof Lower Lake sit on truck loads of hard pack clay fill which does not drain properly. They were built at close to the highwater mark without the most basic mitigation requirement of foundations several blocks high. This requirement would seem to me to be fundamental before any permitting was granted.
The problem was escalated by permitting further construction on the East Side of Lower Lake. The land was elevated with truck load after truck load of more hard pack non draining clay. The affect on Lamonte Pointe Court was similar to a tipped tea cup. Water that used to disperse on to that vacant wetlands now had no place to go but to back up on to the homes in the court on Lamonte Pointe.
Who profited from this permitting debacle? The county looking for a broader tax base? We are all familiar with the phrase LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION (COUNTRY CLUB AREA) big taxes.
Officials (personal gain) in the county entities involved?.
GREED at all levels is apparent.
Are we looking at incompetence, apathy, corruption or all of the above. The records of who is responsible for this catastrophe are in the County and City of DeBary Files to be explored and evaluated and wrong doers punished to the limit of the Law.
Mayor Elect Garcia, will be in a position to
investigate this situation by contacting the proper authorities at State levels.
Those who speak of the "stupidity of the buyers of these properties" should know that many homeowners were retirees from the North who were unknowingly preyed upon by being told lie after lie, regarding the potential of flooding in our neighborhood. That entity should also be held accountable.
This was NO ACT OF GOD as it is being portrayed by the County officials who gave approvals in DeBary.
Geri Bennett
207 Lamonte Pointe Court
Debary, Florida 32713
386 774 6968
These homes on the western shoreof Lower Lake sit on truck loads of hard pack clay which does not drain properly. They were built at close to the highwater mark with out the mitigation requirement of foundations several blocks high. The problem was escalated by permitting further construction on the East Side of Lower Lake. The land was elevated with truck load after truck load of more hard pack non draining clay. The affect on Lamonte Pointe Court was similar to a tipped tea cup. Water that used to disperse on to that vacant wetlands now had no place to go but to back up on to the homes in the court on Lamonte Pointe.
Who profited from this permitting debacle? The county looking for a broader tax base? We are all familiar with the phrase LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION (COUNTRY CLUB AREA) big taxes.
Officials (personal gain) in the county entities involved?.
GREED at all levels is apparent.
Are we looking at incompetence, apathy, corruption or all of the above. The records of who is responsible for this catastrophe are in the County and City of DeBary Files to be explored and evaluated and wrong doers punished to the limit of the Law.
Those who speak of the "stupidity of the buyers of these properties" should know that many homeowners were retirees from the North who were unknowingly preyed upon by being told lie after lie, regarding the potential of flooding in our neighborhood. That entity should also be held accountable.
This was NO ACT OF GOD as it is being portrayed by the County and officials who gave approvals in DeBary.
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