Page 10 Friday, May 20, 2011 Longboat Key News

the black birds whose names I don’t know, who also come for breakfast.

While waiting for the larger birds to feed, the mourn-ing doves and smaller birds sit on the wires on my side of the street, waiting and dropping their droppings on my car roof and on that of a friend who keeps her car in my driveway, ruining the finish on both cars. Who is to pay to fix that?

And how would you like not being able to run on your lawn or sit there because of the bird droppings?

And what about the noise during mating season?For years there was no problem in the Village because

most people did not feed the birds. Instead people put up signs that said “Do Not Feed the Birds.”

My neighbor did not feed the birds when I moved into my house early in 2001. Why she started, I will probably never know.

If you have a better solution to the problem than cull-ing the females, please let me know. Otherwise, please better inform yourself of the whole story before taking one side over another and ridiculing in print ordinary citizens who are suffering distress and who are making an effort to resolve the problem for themselves and for their like-minded neighbors.

Tama TrabermanLongboat Key

Clinton, N.J.

Do not eliminate peacocksTo: EditorMy husband and I read Steve Reid’s column

“Schizophrenic Commissioners and their 12 Angry Peacocks” and appreciate being able to weigh in with our opinion.

Our family has owned a Whitney Beach condo for forty years and we’ve all enjoyed the special treat of spotting peacocks in the Village while out biking. Our grandchildren delight in finding peacock feathers and dazzling other passengers when flying home. The pea-cocks add a special, humane charm to the atmosphere of the Village. I wish I could sympathize with those who don’t like the raucous calls or the droppings of the birds but, if it’s such a serious factor, I wonder why they didn’t buy somewhere else on the Key. Were the peacocks in cahoots with the realtors and hid out?

We can understand why it would be prudent to limit the size of the population but, please do not eliminate them.

Alice and Bob Gridley,Longboat Key

Peacocks should stayTo: EditorMy wife and I bought a second home here on

Longboat Key six years ago. Every time we’ve had visi-tors we’ve visited the peacocks and the Restaurants in that area. Since it’s our second home we cannot vote on the matter, but our opinion is that all the peacocks should stay! In most cases the peacocks were there before the residents and they knew what they were getting into. Perhaps a door-to-door survey in the area is in order?

John HolcombLongboat Key

Time frameTo: Thomas Kelley Tom, I wanted clarification of the time period that

Morgan Stanley was working for the Firefighters Pension Board, as Mr. Seidel used the 10-year period starting in 2000 to calculate his “underperformance” percentage of 1.25 percent for the decade. You recall that Alison Patton of Morgan Stanley stated Friday they were not working for us for the first two years, so Mr. Seidel’s figures were not accurate.

I asked Tim Hester for a specific time frame and attach his response. I believe we should ask Mr. Seidel to restate his performance numbers to reflect the exact time period that Morgan Stanley was working for us, and not tag them with the previous firm’s performance. It may make a dramatic difference.

Shannon GaultFirefighters Pension Board

To: Shannon GaultOn Jan. 25, 2001, the plan signed an agreement with

Dean Witter Reynolds & the Glover Group for Investment Performance Monitoring and Advisory Services. At that time, the investment firm of Rittenhouse was already hired as the sole money Manager and we were hired to act as the Investment Monitor and Advisory Services. Soon after being hired, we made diversification recom-mendations to the board.

On May 22, 2002, the LBK Firefighters Plan contracted with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter to implement the diversification strategy using the firm’s “wrap” platform. These services were performed under the “Access” pro-gram and funds were transferred to MS Trust Company. It was in September 2002 when the recommended changes to diversify away from the plan’s single manager (Rittenhouse) finally occurred. At this time, Fox (LCV) and Templeton (Int’l) were added. Soon additional asset classes and additional managers were added.

In 1997 Dean Witter and Morgan Stanley merged to form Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. The Dean Witter name was later dropped.

From the beginning, Joseph Carter was a part of the Glover Group. In December 2008, Al & Scott Glover left Morgan Stanley. Following their departure, the plan agreed to continue the relationship with Morgan Stanley and the Carter Hester Group.

As always, please let us know if we can be of addi-tional service.

Tim Hester, first vice president/financial advisorMorgan Stanley Smith Barney

Melbourne, Fla.

Meeting with Tom CampbellTo: Town Commission, Town Manager Bruce St. Denis Your e-mail is somewhat confusing. My agreement to

meet with Mr. Campbell arose out of a request by you that I do so during the course of our one-on-one meeting to go over beach philosophy in general and the charts based on CP&E data I provided to you during this meet-ing (and then later, the other commissioners). The meet-ing with Mr. Campbell was not a meeting I instigated or requested and was simply a courtesy toward you, one which I might add that I was not and still am not com-fortable with given stated preferences during a prior commission meeting.

As I remember, the commission earlier indicated that it preferred to hear Kevin Bodge make his presentation prior to meeting with Mr. Campbell, thereby render-ing the offer by Mr. Campbell regarding any and all commissioners tomorrow contrary to and in effect circumventing the intentions of the commission. Most certainly, any given commissioner can and should do as they personally desire on an individual basis, but it does mean that we/they can only meet with him on a solitary basis, because to do otherwise at this point absent a duly noticed meeting would be a violation of the Sunshine laws.

In fact, now that I have had time to think this over and place my thoughts and all circumstances in writing, to keep myself on an even playing field with the other commissioners, perhaps it would be more proper for me to also defer any meeting with Mr. Campbell at this time, until after we have all heard Mr. Bodge. Consequently, please notify Mr. Campbell that I no longer plan to meet with him tomorrow. I am certain that you have provided him with all of the charts given to you and commission-ers, and if he has any questions, he is welcome to e-mail them to me.

Commissioner Phill YoungerLongboat Key

Beach Data To: Town Manager Bruce St. DenisTo confirm our conversation this evening, I will be

available to meet with Tom Campbell this Wednesday up until about 4 p.m., but not Thursday. Since you will not be able to attend the meeting, perhaps it would be beneficial to have Juan attend, so that he, as a representa-tive for you and the town, will be better aware of what transpires. If Juan cannot attend, perhaps James Linkogel could sit in.

In addition in pursuit of my request that Kevin Bodge be provided with the beach data you and the other commissioners received last week, I am re-attaching the files, with some of the chart fonts slightly increased to assist in readability. All of the charts, of course, remain as derived from data provided by CP&E. For his conve-

nience, I have included Mr. Bodge in this e-mail at what I think is his correct e-mail address. If it is not, please forward the attachments to his correct address. I must say that I was quite impressed with his presentation in Jacksonville, and most certainly his credentials, and as I believe to be true for all of us, I look forward to hearing Mr. Bodge when he visits with us.

Commissioner Phill YoungerLongboat Key

New revenue sourcesTo: Dave EttingerI too enjoyed talking with you about how your publi-

cation, “Must Do,” might help improve business for the restaurant owners on LBK.

As I indicated, I plan to discuss our conversation with Tom Aposporos, the president of the LBK Chamber of Commerce. I will also pass on to Tom your business card and a copy of Must Do. Finally, I will encourage Tom to follow up with you.

Commissioner Jack DuncanLongboat Key

To: Commissioner Jack DuncanI enjoyed our brief conversation yesterday at the SCVB

Award Breakfast about building destination traffic to your Longboat Key constituents’ places of business.

Here is a fact. If I advise my houseguests to shop and dine on Longboat Key, it’s going to happen. That means that they will spend some of their vacation money with Longboat Key business owners and less with those downtown and on Siesta.

Must Do was designed to have that same level of power except that rather than drive two to four people at a time your way, we can deliver thousands of them. I am very interested to meet with you to learn more about your goals for Longboat Key business development. I suspect also that Must Do has a set of tools that may be ideally suited to part of that revenue growth mission. I am available to meet next week. Let me know what day and time is good for you.

Dave EttingerPublisher, Must Do Visitor Guides

To: Dave EttingerThanks again for your continued interest in LBK and

your desire to help improve our commerce.Commissioner Jack Duncan

Longboat Key

The thing speaks for itselfTo: Planning and Zoning Director Monica Simpson,

Town Commission, Planning and Zoning BoardThank you for your erudite explanation of your opin-

ion of “existing permitted density.” I would like to agree with you — but then, in my humble opinion, we would both be wrong.

My granddaughters (the lawyers) explained to me the meaning of res ipse loquitur — the thing speaks for itself. The existing 2007 Comprehensive Plan clearly and precisely states: The figures in Table 3 show 275 dwell-ing units left to be built in the Town of Longboat Key. The maximum number of residential units that may be built in the town under the existing permitted densi-ties is 9,871. This Comprehensive Plan was adopted five years after the so-called Pomeroy Report was sup-posedly proclaimed to be the new “law of the land on Longboat Key.”

Spin it as you will. The thing still speaks for itself.Merely as another point of information and clarifica-

tion, please see the first two “WHEREAS” at the begin-ning of Ordinance 2008-34 (Note: This ordinance was adopted June 18, 2009, seven years after the so-called Pomeroy Report):

WHEREAS, the Charter of the Town of Longboat Key, Article II, Section 22(b), “Comprehensive Plan for town,” does not permit an increase in the allowable density as established by the March 12, 1984, Comprehensive Plan, without a referendum approved by the electors of Longboat Key; and

WHEREAS, the electors of the Town of Longboat Key voted to allow the town to consider the distribution of 250 tourism units in a referendum vote on March 18, 2008, as required by Article II, Section 22, as set forth in Section 160.04 of the Longboat Key Code of Ordinances; and also please refer to DCA’s extensive approval of Longboat Key’s adding 250 units (DCA 09-1).

EditorLettersLetters, from page 5

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