This
battle about the Conference Center now has very little
to do with any kind of truth...
To all,
If you’re following
the newspapers and the other side’s mail outs,
you realize that this battle about the Conference
Center now has very little to do with any kind of truth.
Our only way to reply to their “spin” on every fact
of the issues is to use radio and newspaper
advertisements in the final 5-6 days and hope that our
people will turn out and vote.
Their people will do
that.
To that end, we’ve
raised over $3000.00 to their probable $100,000.00
($88,000.00 at last report a month ago). We still would
like to hit $5000.00 in donations
and any amount will be appreciated. When asked if we
were “miffed” at their large amount, I told the
Daily News that there is no profit in what we do and
that the Truth is always cheaper to tell. For some
reason, they didn’t print that part of the letter.
We also need volunteers
to man the 13 precincts all day on May 15th in four hour
shifts, so come on out and spend the day with us. People
will have questions even at that late date.
I can be reached at
837-0468 or cellular: 585-6550, or gaylan@cybertron.com.
We’ll meet this coming Tuesday night ( 1 May) at the
FWB Shonies on HWY 98, at 6:00 P.M. Send checks made out
to: The Freedom Committee, % Gaylan King, 955
Airport Rd, #1514, Destin, Fl, 32541. We will be
grateful.
This has been a long,
hard pull. I believe that we’ll win the referendum,
but we must do so in convincing fashion since they
secretly changed the law by which we oppose. I don’t
want their “spin” on taxes and jobs to “scare”
up a victory in the last moments, and they’ll try to
do that.
I’ll soon publicly
challenge them to a debate anytime, any place; I doubt
they’ll take up that challenge. I’ve been
speaking from their very mail outs, and can refute any
and all of their supposed points.
The bottom line in all
of this is that we have to repeal CO89-23, which creates
the Bed Tax/TDC, and start over if the whole county is
to ever have a voice in tourism. This means that I’ll
publicly campaign countywide to re-instate the Bed Tax
(2% for that moment), which will cause a new TDC (The
old crowd must go) to be formed. This new bed tax will
be COUNTYWIDE and produce 25%, or more, additional
revenue. The current 4 % tax produced, I believe, over
$8 Million, for the last year. Darryl Jones said the 3rd
and 4th cent amounted to, “just over $4M.” We have
never been against the Tax or a TDC per se; our current
TDC is out of control and must be replaced. I assure
everyone that those individuals are not the only ones
able to entice ants to this picnic or to manage the
current tourist business.
Our next goal will be
immediate pressure on Clary and Melvin to change the
Florida Statute as many other states have done, to allow
the county to control spending of this county tax for
roads, water, sewage, etc.. The Florida Tourism Lobby,
which currently dictates the use of the Bed Tax, has
made a desert out of South Florida and their time has
come to go.
With that accomplished,
we should nourish the present tourist market and jobs,
but make careful adjustments instead of the current
wholesale spending that might not be necessary. People
know where we are located and will come. We might just
save the tourism business through common sense instead
of greed. When you fear thirst and your well is full,
you have the thirst that is unquenchable.
This really shocked me.
Gen. Aderholt and I attended the last TDC Board meeting
and something Darryl Jones said clicked some facts into
perspective. On May 21, 1999, when they doubled the bed
tax to build the conference center, Mr. Deckert said the
county had 6900 rooms/units for rent when the TDC was
formed in 1989; there were now (1999) 13,000 rooms and
weren’t they good fellows? Five minutes later, he said
that we also had to fill these rooms and the conference
center would help to do that.
So, they allowed
developers to build 6100 rooms in those ten years.
Guess what; they’ve built 5,000 rooms in the last 2
years, a total of 18,000 according to Mr.
Jones, and they must be filled, or else. Can you now
guess what this is all about? That massive number of
rooms, nurtured by the politicians and their backers,
will continue to grow if we allow the current crowd to
continue in power, and that dreary scenario will play
out over and over again until no one will come here. Not
enough rooms; build more! Not enough tourists;
advertise more! Etc.
So spread the word,
volunteer, send support donations, VOTE! We’ve worked
pretty diligently at this project but can’t do that
last part (vote) for anyone but ourselves.
Think about it.
Cheers!
Gaylan
The Freedom Committee
