Conservative PSJ, US

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NOTE:

The official and approved minutes of the PSJHOA's April 13, 2004 meeting include (verbatim) the following paragraph:

"Should the PSJHOA permit audiotaping of the membership meetings? This topic was discussed and a motion was made. Information that has been recorded at a P.S.J.H.O.A. meeting cannot be released for any reson [sic] without permission from each member involved. Motion by Ed Warner, second. 29 in favor with 1 opposed."

1) Why is the PSJHOA -- a community organization that is supposed to be about informing the public -- trying to stop someone from telling the public what is happening in the HOA? IF the PSJHOA is supposedly representing us, shouldn't we all be able to know what they are doing? What are they trying to hide?

2) Why is the PSJHOA trying to stifle my free speech rights? Why are they trying to shut me down? I am the only person recording the meetings and I am the only person -- even as I type this, the official website does not have minutes -- informing the public of what is going on in this way. If you read the PSJHOA newsletter, it does not have as much info as my site does, and it does not get published monthly (even though that is part of the contract upon membership). Why silence me? Why decide to keep the rest of the info unpublished? Why am I the only person being discriminated against? Why not allow and encourage free speech if the PSJHOA organization is so community oriented and wants to do what is best for the community? Why is it not best for the community to know the truth and the full extent of the PSJHOA's activities?

3) Was it just a coincidence that the newsletter did not get done for the month they decided to try to silence me?

4) Why did they wait to raise this issue until they knew for certain I would be out of town on a cruise? I had told people I wouldn't be there, and it was on my website, so they knew for certain.

Another question just came to my mind: If they say that "Information that has been recorded at a P.S.J.H.O.A. meeting cannot be released for any reson [sic] without permission from each member involved." then 1) How can they print the newsletters and do the minutes since that releases the info and not everyone who speaks gives permission for those things to be done? 2) Does this mean that they can't write anything about it as well? They can't write to their granddaughter about something that happened, or write to a Commissioner about something that I spoke on until they get my permission? Are they going to stand by this little Free Speech killer as well as enforce it on me? They need to remember, if the rule gets enforced for me, then they must enforce it for themselves.

Below are my notes for the June meeting, which I did attend, and I did record.

PSJ HOA Meeting June 8, 2004

Remember, these are MY notes and my info. These are NOT the official minutes of the PSJ HOA. By the way, I was asked by Helen Dezendorf to take notes because Vicki Smith was sick and couldn't attend. Rather ironic, isn't it?

The meeting at the PSJ Library was called to order at 7:03 PM. The minutes were not read due to the illness and absence of the Secretary. The Treasurer's Report was given as $3,802.44 in the treasury.

The Vipers Football season starts soon and the HOA had an ad in their program last year. The ad runs the whole season and costs only $65. The Board could handle this because it is less than $100, but Helen wanted to know if the membership had any objections to the ad being renewed. There were no objections. If I had thought about it, I would have asked how effective the ad had been last year. If it's doing us no good (not getting us any new members), then why bother?

Randy arrived at 7:06 PM.

There will be (now was) a Brevard Tomorrow meeting on June 11 at the Cocoa Civic Center from 9 AM to 11 AM. Helen wanted the Board of Directors members to attend, and anyone else to attend. It gets us recognition.

The official PSJHOA website is up; at least the basics. It is being worked on and the pictures are going to change and the info will be put up accordingly. Please send Helen an e-mail at the address psjhoahelen@cfl.rr.com if you wish to receive the HOA newsletter via e-mail. Approximately half of the HOA members attending the meeting have e-mail addresses, so this could save the HOA part of the mailing costs. The newsletter will also be posted on the website. Be sure to send her both names on your mailing list so that she will not take the other John Doe off the mailing list.

As Jeremy Johnson from the Florida Division of Forestry set up to give a talk about fire prevention, someone asked if anyone had taken a ride out to Fay Lake Wilderness Park since the fire. This person said that we lost the whole south end of the park. I've been there; it was a fire, but it wasn't anything that is lost. The areas burned always recover, unless it is a manmade structure. God's creation always recovers faster. Three months from now there will be green within the burned areas. This, too, shall pass.

Jeremy suggested in his talk (put into my wording):

• Clean the debris away from your house. He suggested 30 feet.
• Don't grow "drapy" trees over long driveways. They catch fire and are a danger to firefighters.
• There is a national standard of having your wiring to your house at least 13 feet, 6 inches high. Following this standard will help ensure that the firefighters who are trying to cut a fireline on a tractor won't be tearing down your house's wiring while trying to go under the wires.
• Clean the pine needles off of your roof. I would suggest cleaning them away from the house and out of your gutters as well.
• Remember that burning trash is illegal in PSJ due to the density of our population. If you do burn trash, and embers from your fire start a fire elsewhere, then you can be charged for the equipment they have to use to put the fire out: tractors cost and helicopters do, too! This could be very expensive!
• Stay away from the helicopters that are fighting the fires. Those pilots cannot pay attention to you and the bucket and the blades all at the same time. You are the one they are not looking at because they are concentrating on their flying and the bucket. Don't go take pictures, don't go watch closer, don't wave and expect them to wave back. Leave them to do their jobs.
• Fireworks are dangerous fire starters. If you want to do your own fireworks, please be responsible.
• Teach your children fire safety and fire prevention. Teaching them only fire safety means that if there is a fire, they will know what to do and be safe. That's good. But preventing the fire in the first place will keep them safer than teaching them to stop, drop and roll. Scars stay with them; having them unscarred is much better.
• If you are driving through an area that has a "Smoke on the Highway" sign, please slow down. There could be fire fighters in the area, fighting the fire at the roadside and if you are going 65 miles per hour to get through the smoke faster and you don't see them... You know the rest of the story.
• If there is a fire in your area, sprinkling the yard and "watering" your roof can help save your house. But don't do this so long that it endangers your life. Your house can be replaced; your life can't.

Jeremy Johnson said that there are materials available at the station for the children to write reports on fire prevention. If you would like to stop by, call the station at 590-6465, there is usually someone there.

Maureen Rupe wanted the HOA to know that the Charter Review Committee is active again. The Charter's Report and info is available on the web at the committe's website. Helen read the "most important" proposed changes to us. She said they were:

• Making the Preamble part of the Charter.
• Changing the charter review process from every six (6) years to every eight (8) years and increasing the time frame they have to accomplish the review from one year to eighteen months (1.5 years).
• Publication of more info and public disclosure before tax changes.
• (The one Helen thinks will effect PSJ the most:) If a municipality wants to annex an unincorporated area, then the municipality will have to annex the roads of the area as well. This will prevent cities from annexing the land, but not the road and leaving the tax burden for upkeep on residents of the unincorporated area.

CONCEPT SUMMARY OR PROPOSED WORDING: Brevard County shall not adopt, enforce, modify or in any way create any new regulations or policies which will detrimentally affect a persons [sic] right to use of their property without due process and just compensation.

REASON: Too many individuals or specific interest groups have an agenda to push at the expense of other peoples [sic] rights and livelihoods.

The 4th of July celebration -- Thunder Over Indian River (TOIR) -- was brought up. Randy gave a list of things that were going to happen. It sounds like a lot of stuff to go see, do, eat, etc. The HOA is participating and needs volunteers to staff their "booth." If anyone is interested in helping, contact Helen and tell her you'd like to help.

But, there is a problem: Randy is still trying to raise money for the event. I happen to know that the PSJ Bulletin (I am on the staff) tried to sponsor the event, wanting to give $100 to support it. However, after two e-mails to Randy failed to get a response, I, personally, called the contact person listed in Happenings to see if we could sponsor TOIR. I asked if she could e-mail the sponsor form to us at our e-mail address. She said yes. After a week of no sponsor form, I called her back and asked if she could send it. She said no. I asked why and she said I'd have to talk to Randy about that. I said okay, and let it hang. She explained that when told that the PSJ Bulletin wanted to sponsor TOIR, Randy had said (an exact quote from her), "There's no way he'd let you sponsor" it. If he's in such dire need of money, how can he turn down a serious offer of $100?

The National Neighborhood Nite Out (NNNO) was next on the agenda. The HOA wants to ask all of the TOIR participants to participate in the NNNO. Helen is going to ask McCotter Ford to bring the bouncy thing (Giant Pillow, Space Walk, whatever it is called now) again this year. The HOA needs volunteers to help with this event, also. Parking will be a problem again this year, as it was last year. Please be respectful of the homeowners' properties around the Community Center. Yes, there is a County setback on their property. But you don't like it when your neighbors have their friends park their vehicles on the setback in your yard, so why should these people have to put up with it just because the Community Center was put near their house? Be considerate, folks. It's not your yard, you don't do the work, and you don't have the tire marks as often as they do. Please. The HOA needs volunteers to help with painting and raising signs for the NNNO. Things will change a little here, too, they're trying to make it better.

There are reports about children swimming in Fay Lake Wilderness Park. Not a good idea, kids. There are alligators in the lake. They do get hungry. If you are closer to them than fish, a stray cat, or whatever, then you are going to be lunch! Don't swim in that lake. It is not safe!

Desalination (not desalinIZation) update: Truman is going to be giving the HOA a "heads-up" for the meeting dates, times and places for the desal educational meetings. Please try to attend these meetings. The information given at the last meeting DID pertain to the plant they are considering for our area (no matter what you read or hear elsewhere, the info DID pertain to us), and the meetings are very informative. They are put together by the Marine Resources Council (MRC) who is as interested in the water quality of the Indian River Lagoon system just as you are. The MRC is beholden to no one; offend a lot of people with the truth; and are just plainly into the quality of the water of the Indian River Lagoon system. Pete Costello and I met with the head of the Marine Resources Council and I believe we can trust his organization. Their website is very good. Please take the time to check it out and stay informed on this issue. Don't take just anyone's word for the truth; do the work and the research yourself. I will be putting info onto my site in the near future about this important issue, but first I have to read a LOT of info in order to be more informed on this. So come back often and check for yourself the links I will be posting; don't just take my word for it. Also, how many of you know that there is already a working plant in Melbourne of the same kind they want to put here? It's not doing horrible things down there and if you have gone to the Melbourne Mall lately and had a drink of water there, you have tasted the water this kind of plant can produce. So you've already been impacted by this kind of plant and you weren't being told so by others providing information to PSJ residents.

It was mentioned that if Orange County wanted to get "righteous" about the desal plant sending water to Orlando issue, they could tell the City of Cocoa to "drop dead" because Cocoa gets their water from Orange County and pipes it over here. Orange County needs the water. My question: They are looking at a way to get their water at a relatively cheap price; do we want to do away with our water to keep them from getting theirs? Or should we build the desal plant here in order to get our water, and let them get theirs from Cocoa's source? It's something to think about.

D.J. Olson was recognized with a plaque for her years of dedicated service and hard work in the C.O.P. program. She retired several months ago from the program.

Helen asked if anyone heard about a skate park being built in Cocoa Beach? Is this a County-funded project, or is it a city-funded project? She said we don't want them to get one when we've been hollering for a long time for one. "If it's Parks and Rec. [funding this], then it's time for us to jump up and down." I don't know why Cocoa Beach getting a skate park is so bad, after all, it's not a zero sum game. We can still get one, sooner or later. Maybe they offered matching funds, or whatever. Maybe they have a place to put it, when we don't. We just have to keep at it. Don't take the ball and go home because we don't have one yet.

Cheryl Page of North Brevard Parks and Rec. has been promoted and now the person in charge of our area is Terry Lane. The rest of the contact info is the same: same phone number, same e-mail, etc.

By this time, the sign-up time for the Fay Lake Wilderness Park committee has closed, and the vacancy will be filled soon.

The PSJ Advisory Board's members -- all except one -- will be up for re-election on the next ballot. At least two of the current members will not be running for re-election. There is also a possibility that the one that is not up for re-election this term will be leaving our area, so ALL of the seats may be available. What a chance to make a change! If you would be interested in being on the PSJ Advisory Board, please apply in T-ville at the Courthouse and you can run against the incumbent. We have a possibility of having a different Board if you run. So, why not try it? It's some work, and some head-butting, but if you want to dip your feet into the political arena, go sign-up (you'll have to pay a fee) and run for this elected position. We have at least six possibilities; why not one of them be you? Remember, the recommendations of the PSJ Advisory Board have never been overturned by the County. If you are happy with that, fine. If you are not, then get involved. It was said, that "since they took all of the power away...": since when was this position supposed to be about power? The Board was set-up for STRICTLY zoning issues! There was not supposed to be any "power" associated with the Board. If you read the ordnance establishing the Board (and I have studied it thoroughly), then you see that there is supposed to be no power associated with it. Those who want power need not apply; run for Commissioner!

The corner of Fay and Grissom was said to be a hot zoning issue. People are told by realtors or whomever that they can buy the property and change the zoning easily and put in whatever they want after a quick zoning change. This is not the property owners' doing. If they are lied to by the people selling the property, the realtor representing the buyer, or whomever, then that's the liar's doing, not the property owners'! Keeping the zoning as residential, I can partially understand. But blaming the owners for trusting a liar is not the owners' fault. The owners, in my humble opinion, should sue whoever it was who lied to them as they purchased the property for loss of revenue.

The Willow Creek development (the one going in north of us on Grissom Pkwy.) is said to have been annexed by Titusville, but not Grissom Pkwy. So it was said that we -- the unincorporated area of Brevard -- will pay for the installation of the traffic signals (supposedly 26 of them are needed) to control the traffic that will be traveling on Grissom between here and 407/405 (whichever it is). There's only one problem with this statement. People who live in cities still pay County taxes. So they aren't getting out of anything by living in the city without the road they must leave their development on being in the County. Get real. Wake up, folks! Remember that was one of the reasons we didn't incorporate; because we didnt' want to pay another government tax. People who live in incorporated areas of Brevard County pay both city taxes and County taxes. Never forget that.

The West Connector road is now supposedly scheduled to start in December of 2005. The County Commission is doing two "quick takes" for this road on the next agenda (July 13th) for taking people's property away from them now and letting the attorneys settle on a price later. That sounds like highway robbery to me. I am a property rights advocate. I hate to see the State, County or any government authority come in and bully people and steal from them. That's what this sounds like and it's not right. Give people what they are asking for or find another route. I live west of I-95, so I am impacted by this west connector road just as much as anyone, but I don't think that my "other way out" is more important than people's property rights. We need a west connector for the safety of the residents and the school children west of I-95; I have been advocating that for years. But I will never advocate theivery! A quick take sounds like theivery to me and I don't think it's appropriate. Work with those who work with you; or put scrub jays and turtles after people and use the Florida Forever land that is apparently more important than our children's lives!

Someone in the audience said that a pool by the schools will increase the traffic on Fay and that will really create a problem.

There was a motion to adjourn and we adjourned. We had 24 people in attendance. Adjournment was about 8:25 PM.

PSJ HOA Meeting April 13, 2004

Due to a very bad cold, I was unable to attend this month's meeting. Well, I'll amend that: I chose not to attend this month's meeting because I didn't think the people at the meeting would want my very bad cold. So I stayed home and coughed my way through the night.

However, a friend did attend the meeting and they did go ahead and do their bylaws changes, even though they did not have the required 35 "members in good standing" (paid dues the month before at the latest) in attendance. They also did hold their elections (which doesn't need 35 MIGS [members in good standing] to attend). The Officers are now:

President: Helen Dezendorf
Vice President: Randy Rodriguez
Secretary: Vicki Smith
Treasurer: D.J. Olson

They also decided to prevent recordings of the meeting because someone didn't want people putting things up on the internet about what happens at the meetings. This someone was afraid that someone's words would be taken wrong and that things said in jest would be taken seriously.

Being the only person putting anything up on the internet at the present time about the PSJHOA, I think I should defend myself. Everything I put up on my internet site, I put up in context and represented it as it was said at the meetings. I never posted anyone saying anything as a serious phrase, word, nor utterance that was not serious. I never posted anyone saying anything as a joke that was not a joke. I did record the meetings and all but one meeting that I attended and recorded, I have the recordings for. I have the proof.

If the PSJHOA doesn't want the general public to know what is going on, and have easy access to notes from the PSJHOA meetings, I would like to know why they want to hide their words and what goes on at their meetings. I want to know why they don't want people to understand who they are and what they say. That's no way to run an organization that is supposed to be "speaking for the residents of PSJ." IF they are supposedly speaking for us, then shouldn't we be able to know what they are saying? What is it they are trying to hide? Why don't they want people to know the truth? What are they afraid of getting out?

If you want to find the answers to these questions, go to the meetings and see what happens for yourself. Or, I will attend as many as I can -- now as a press representative because I am on the staff of the PSJ Bulletin -- and as a member, and I will report to you what I have found out. IF they supress the taping of the next meeting I can attend (I'll miss the May meeting due to being on vacation and out of state), then I'll have to tell you about that, won't I?

Better yet, go ahead and ask them now why they want to hide what's happening during their meetings. What is wrong with the public knowing what the truth is about what the PSJHOA is doing. Ask them to record their meetings and to make the recordings available at the library -- even if it's just as a reference and can't be checked out. That would allow the PSJ Residents they are supposedly representing to find out what -- exactly -- is being said on their behalf. And wouldn't you like to know that?

Or, attend the next PSJHOA meeting May 11, 2004 at the PSJ Library on Carole Ave. at 7 PM. Ask the leadership to record their meetings and make the unedited tapes available at the library as a public service. Ask them to not hide their opinions, ideas and words from the people they are supposedly representing. Find out if the leadeship is truly not afraid of their own words being known.

NOTE: Not all links work at this time.