Wanting to put a toll road through Split Oak Forest should be an affront to every citizen of Osceola and Orange County. This land was conserved IN PERPETUITY because builders destroyed habitat to allow development. I don't think the intention was to set aside Split Oak Forest until another offer came along. Fred needs to go back to school or open a dictionary since he doesn't seem to understand the meaning of those words.
in perpetuity idiom
Definition of in perpetuity
formal
: for all time : forever
//The land will be passed on from generation to generation in perpetuity.
So, March 5, 2018, as I pointed out in a prior post, Fred Hawkins tells me to let the process play out when I suggest that it isn't a good environmental decision to put the Osceola Parkway Extension toll road through Split Oak Forest or beyond Narcoossee Road, for that matter.
April 13, 2018: Fred gets his marching orders from Tavistock as shown in this email.
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He quickly replies that he got the email and cc's disgraced former State Representative Mike Horner. You may remember back in 2012 when Horner, who was running for relection in HD42, pulled himself from the race after his name was linked to a prostitution ring. Ok, Mike was never convicted of anything, and as such, has since been hired as a lobbyist for Osceola County including the School Board. I don't know about you, but it is a huge red flag for me on the questionable decisions our leaders make on behalf of the citizens. It kinda makes me think that when it comes to politics in Osceola the citizens are in the dark about a LOT of things behind the scenes.
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April 15, 2018: Hawkins passes the Tavistock email to his favorite designated Environmental henchman Charles Lee of Florida Audubon who agrees to keep this letter and their clandestine presentation a secret. At some point in 2008/9, right after Fred Hawkins and Brandon Arrington began their reign as Osceola County Commissioners, Charles Lee changed from fiercely fighting for protection of the undeveloped lands in Eastern Osceola to acquiescing to the whims and wants of Tavistock and the Deseret Ranch people. Sad to say that all of this road nonsense wouldn't be at issue if Charles had just stuck to his guns instead of turning into the Monte Hall of the Environment. He's more a "Director of Development" for Audubon than a Director of Advocacy. It's sad! The builders know who will play, which is why Charles and Audubon are called upon to represent the environment in so many projects....he's the developers "go-to" man....an environmental sellout.
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If you read the prior blog, you know about the May 2nd letter from the Osceola Board of County Commissioners to Tavistock agreeing to the April 13th letter demands. Makes you wonder just who is in charge of running Osceola County anyway?
Fred's Penchant of Keeping People in the Dark
As with quite a few of Fred's questionable initiatives (think Osceola COAL ASH), he and County Manager Don Fisher know well in advance what is coming down the pike, but rather than give everyone time to digest and study his evil deals, he keeps them secret until the last minute and rushes them through as last minute agenda addendums and surprise Commissioner discussions. It is his modus operandi and it stinks. We don't need this type of mindset at the state level!
Because of the continual secretive behavior, I say #HellNoHawkins2020.
Select Resources:
The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in perpetuity. Accessed 15 December 2019.
