July - 09 - 08 Update
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On Saturday July 5 th. Dave Jones, Jimmy Anderson, Bill Thompson and Roy Hunt spoke with Manatee County Commissioner Joe McClash at the Parrish Pizza and Politics Rally Political Rally held at the Train Museum in Parish.
We reminded Mr. McClash that we are still in need of and are actively looking for a new flying site within a close driving distance of the old field.
I showed Mr. McClash photos of a small parcel of land that is owned by the Port of Manatee. I explained that this land is only 15 acres out of the over 1100 acres that the port owns and that its covered with Brazilian Pepper Trees and that we are willing to remove the Brazilian Peppers and maintain the land at no cost to the county. I indicated to Mr. McClash that we are not asking Manatee County for any money only for the use of the land and that we will do the removal of the Brazilian Pepper Trees and the maintenance on the land that we clear for flying and that we will build our own sun shelter at no cost to the county. I explained to Mr. McClash that the State of Florida has a mandate to keep the Brazilian Peppers from spreading into native plant communities and displacing them, "local regulations and environmental guidelines require eradication of Brazilian Pepper wherever possible." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_pepper
And that we would be helping the county by removing about 10 acres of Brazilian Peppers
at no cost to the county.
For those of you that don't know.
Mr. McClash is the chairman of the Manatee County Port Authority.
The members elected him as the chairman of the Manatee County Port Authority on Dec. 18 2008.
Mr. McClash previously served as chairman in 2007 and 2003 and he served as first vice chairman in 2000 and 2001.
Mr. McClash told us that he would discuss it with the Port Authority and get back to us within 4 to 5 weeks. So now we wait to hear back from him, In the meantime we still need to call all of the people and contact numbers listed at the end of this posting and tell them that we want a flying site, We still need to be a pain in the neck and a nuisance!
If enough of us call every day, they will get the message that we are not going to go away and that we want a Radio Control Model Flying Field.
Be nice and be polite but be prescient.
A few weeks I spoke with Joe Beshar at the AMA Joe is the Flying Site Assistance Coordinator for the Eastern Region of the US and he told me that we have to be pain in the neck and a nuisance if we want to get any help from the county. He has seen this time and time again and the only thing that works is being prescient and a nuisance and sooner or later they will get so tired of hearing from us and seeing us that they will give in and help us. He said that it is the only way we will get what we want.
Please Stop what ever you are doing get and make the calls now!
Do it every day and they will get the message
"Please make a copy of this and make the calls everyday, become a real pain"
And help get us a flying field.
Contact Commissioner McClash at.
Phone: office: 941 748-4501
Home Phone: 941 792-2806
E-Mail: joe.mcclash@mymanatee.org
Contact the Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker at.
Phone: 941-745-3717
Contact Manatee County Parks and Recreation at
Cindy Turner Manatee County Parks and Recreation Office
Phone: office: 941-742-5923
E-Mail: cindy.turner@mymanatee.org
Len Carswell Manatee County Parks and Recreation Office call
Phone: 941 742-5923
E-Mail: len.carswell@mymanatee.org
