North
Florida Broadband Authority: NFBA road shows moves to
Lake City for a double dose of free money
Posted September 5, 2012 09:35 am | Part XXIII
LAKE CITY, FL - Last night in Lake City, the proponents of big government, led by North Florida Broadband Authority (NFBA) insider, City Manager Wendell Johnson, took two rubber stamped steps and gave the ultra secretive Obama stimulus funded NFBA a double victory. The City Council in two 4-1 votes, first agreed to begin funding an environmental study for the proposed new worldwide headquarters for the failing NFBA. Then, twenty minutes later, voted to lease a City water tower to the NFBA for free, which will enable the NFBA to sublease it to a private business. The NFBA, a governmental agency and the private business can turn, or try to turn a profit. City Councilman Jake Hill was the only nay vote.
The Worldwide Headquarters came first
The first item for business was the funding of an environmental assessment for the Vann family's downtown building, which Richelle Sucara, the NFBA's $200,000 plus a year general manager, plans to use as the worldwide headquarters for the NFBA. The NFBA Board of Directors never approved the purchase or the funding for the future renovation of this building, which, if the deal is ever completed is estimated to cost over a million dollars.
The environmental assessment will be funded through the Lake City Community Redevelopment Authority. The purchase is expected to be funded by the City.
The free water tower
NFBA Chairman Langford and General Manager Sucara were
shielded from questions by City Manager Wendell Johnson.
After getting the free goods, they didn't even say
"thank you".
Twenty minutes later, the City Council was presented with a 27 page lease, which was just made available to the Council at the meeting. It was clear that none of the City Council members read the lease, there wasn't time, or knew what was going on with the NFBA.
City Councilman George Ward told the Observer he didn't follow the NFBA and that he trusted the judgment of City Manager Johnson on this issue. That is the case with all the City Councilmen except Jake Hill.
Unannounced and sitting in the audience in the Council chamber, were NFBA General Manager Sucara, NFBA Chairman Tommy Langford and NFBA Vice Chair, Pat O'Neal.
City Manager Johnson did not announce them, nor did he make them available for questions from the City Council. He may have had a good reason.
The North Florida Broadband Authority has three employees; no or limited revenue; an outsized payroll; at least $750,000 of debt; has squandered millions; is under a squashed investigation by the OIG; makes up procurement rules as it goes along and has been involved in what some would call bid rigging; refuses to answer questions; is in bed with the NTIA; and appears to continue to be fully funded by Obama dollars from Washington.
Sleight of Hand
Previous incarnations of NFBA leases had a sentence that gave a current market value for the proposed property that municipalities were being asked to lease away for nothing. The attorneys and/or council members in the cities of Starke and Trenton questioned the value and questioned why their cities should give away an asset for which they could receive money, especially when the NFBA had the right to sublease the property for a profit, to a for profit business.
The councils in Starke and Trenton came to their meetings prepared and their council members, managers and attorneys peppered the NFBA representatives with questions.
In both those communities, as in Lake City, the NFBA was looking for free space on a city water tower. Additionally, both those cities had internet service, although not to the extent of the full, multi provider coverage available in Lake City.
City Manager Johnson admitted that there were some "issues" with the ($30,000,000) NFBA grant, but said the people on the NFBA Board were good people.
CM Johnson said he believed in the success of the NFBA and the NFBA is moving forward. "I am very confident that it is going to succeed," he said, adding, "We are not giving anything away, we are gaining."
The initial 8 year term of the lease, with a minimal $500 a month tower lease, will cost the City $48,000 in lost revenue.
In Lake City, long time City businessman, City Councilman George Ward was the only one who asked a question. A little while after your reporter asked the Council why the City should lease for free an asset that was owned by the people of the City, an asset that NFBA could sublease to a private business for a profit, Councilman Ward asked if there was still going to be water in the water tower.
CM Johnson told him there would still be water in the tower.
CM Johnson added, "You have to generate revenue and the way to do that is through in-kind [contributions], until you start gettin customers and growin your customer base. It's a business. It's not goin to start off bein the greatest business in the world. It's got to go through business challenges... If I thought for one minute there was somethin contrary about the NFBA, I wouldn't be a part of it."
The NFBA was supposed to have, and indeed could have had customers using the network over a year ago. All it has and had were excuses and is now over a year behind schedule.
Mayor Witt called the question. Only Councilman Hill voted against the free lease for the NFBA.
After the vote concluded, without so much as a thank you, the $200,000 plus NFBA General Manager and her troop high tailed it out of the building.
Epilogue
After the meeting, City Councilman Jefferson told the Observer that he didn't know anything about the NFBA adding, "That until you pointed them out in the audience, I didn't even know they were there."
