The CONA vote on the stadium

Here's the link to our news item about last night's vote of the St. Petersburg Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA) vote AGAINST the stadium proposal. The vote was 19-3.

Here's the report that the full CONA board voted on: Download cona_report.pdf

Comments

Hi Howard,

First off......YEAH C.O.N.A.!! They listened and learned and essentially shifted their beginning perceptions of the stadium proposal through hard work and research. Since it was mentioned in today's editorial that one of the reasons for waiting for more facts before deciding on going to referendum was that "A diverse review committee appointed by the Chamber of Commerce, for example, is not expected to release its recommendations until the end of May" I needed to comment. I had a phone call from one of the members of this diverse committee just this weekend.....and during our stadium conversation, the committee member complained that THUS FAR............there has been one AND ONLY ONE meeting of the whole committee since inception. This fact was related to me with quite a bit of consternation. How in depth a review can be produced with a little less than a month left to start discussing the chamber's findings and write their opinion? I think it might behoove a Times reporter to ask as to the status of this committee and it's information gathering to date.

Lorraine

[Larry]

Gee, sorry Howard, guess I missed it in the paper.

[Don Mott]

I think that pretty well sums it up. I think CONA did a pretty good job of covering the bases, pun intended.

The Chamber of Commerce is a joke. They are nothing more than a money conduit to the lobby groups (ie - Fl Chamber of Commerce) for the Sembler's and other local developers to pay off the politicians for their vote. Word on the street is, the Sembler's own the Chamber. Knowing all this, they don't need any meetings. Why spend money on coffee and donuts when they can give the money to some politician. Guess what their findings will be.

Here is the transcript (office tape system) of the Rays/Mayor first meeting in Feb '07.

http://www.geocities.com/ante_chamber/transcript.htm

[Steve Lange]

First POWW spoke out in opposition. Then the CONA report came out in opposition. Then the City Staff report came out basically supporting many of the positions of POWW and CONA. Now I am waiting for the Agency on Bay Management, who in their March meeting were none too thrilled with the Rays and their consultants. I expect an opposing opinion to come from this group in the near future.

Now the Rays want County money and to extend the hotel (bed) tax.

Mr. Kalt, Mr. Silverman, Mr. Sternberg, when are you going to see the hand writing on the wall and quit wasting all of our time and dividing our community.

I fear when this is all over the Rays will have suffered such PR damage that they will never recover. And all because a bunch of young men are greedy. Sad.

Steve Lange