The Razzle-Dazzle of All Aboard Florida

Posted on August 13, 2014 by tomcampenni

How do you sell an old tired product? If you are All Aboard Florida, you take an antiquated and money-losing idea and make it seem fresh and alluring. You tell the public that it will bring jobs and tourists. You will proclaim that the product is needed and that it is a demand waiting to be fulfilled. You commission a few bogus studies and send some campaign contributions to the right people. You obfuscate and mystify facts and truth. Your mantra is that you are privately funded at the same time you go to the government and the taxpayers for the capital to modernize your infrastructure. That is in spite of the fact that your company has $64 billion in capitalization. Chutzpa is my way to describe this type of veracity.

I assume that All Aboard Florida thought they would have some opposition to this plan. They believed they could just steam roll over the locals because of their corporate power and connections. With a little public relations effort, they knew that we on the Treasure Coast would fold with the inevitability of their blitzkrieg. Well, it hasn’t happened that way. A grass roots effort was begun and residents didn’t quite see themselves as being powerless against this corporatist onslaught. Most elected leaders for our area at the federal, state and local levels sided with their constituents instead of that very special interest.

This entire idea of the return of passenger rail is shrouded in nostalgia. For that notion reminds the American people of a time that is generations removed from how we actually live today. It reminds us of a time before interstates and airplanes. A time when autos did not dominate because they were unreliable and the roads did not allow for fast and speedy travel. In effect, a time that ceased with the end of World War II and modern America. To AAF the future is here in an early 19^th century mode of transportation.

AAF wants us to believe that we citizens are standing in the way of progress. That it is we who are nostalgic to keep our way of life in spite of all the good things that the train can bring as it speeds at 70 or 100 or 110 miles an hour through our towns. If that is the way that AAF measures progress, then please let us not be part of their modernity. We are not asking that the Treasure Coast remain frozen in time, for change is inevitable. What we are saying is that we do not want to face the future by subsidizing an un-needed passenger rail service because that mode of transportation has not been profitable in almost a century. The costs in our money and way of life cannot be justified.

Growth, Population And Sustainability

Posted on August 9, 2014 by tomcampenni

Our county and city will be changing. That is a fact. It is not whether changes will occur but how the changes will occur. We can both anticipate and guide the growth or we can allow for unprepared and ill-conceived plans to happen. Some residents will say that growth is unnecessary and if we just say no it won’t transpire, but that is wishful dreaming. That attitude will only lead to things we know we don’t want such as sprawl.

Stuart is, by definition as a city, a place of greater density than other areas of the county. We should encourage development that will increase our population. Without population increase, the city will not ultimately be sustainable. While business development is important, it brings very little in new taxes directly to city coffers. Few people realize that sales taxes that are collected in the city do not go to Stuart directly but are re-bated by Tallahassee as a percentage of our population. In effect our businesses collect much more in tax than we receive back.

The city’s sustainability is only assured through residential population growth. That is why I believe it is so important to gear our development toward residential use. That may not always be possible, but that should be our goal. While I want to see Stuart maintain its business friendly reputation, I believe that at this stage of our growth we need to aim to increase our population.

Turning toward the county government, I would like to see a continuation of our slow growth policies in the western part of the county. It makes very little sense to encourage sprawl which will only bring increased taxes to pay for services which are outside the Urban Services Boundary. Inside the USB, new residential and commercial development is needed within a sustainable framework. Density should be allowed within the county’s CRA boundaries. Infill development needs to occur to inhibit sprawl outside the USB.

We live in a wonderful place with caring and thoughtful citizens. It is incumbent on all the elected representatives that they make sure that the best interests of the residents are paramount. This will only occur if we plan for the future in a cohesive manner. Nothing happens in a vacuum. One type of project will result in others being developed to compliment and augment what has already happened. Therefore it is important to remember this principle when we approve new projects.

Thinking of Stuart’s Future

Posted on July 28, 2014 by tomcampenni

As we think about how to re-develop our city for the future, it is important to keep in mind what we want to accomplish. Are we planning for the future using the assumptions of the past? Who will be our residents and what will they expect next year and next decade? Too often, our thoughts are ingrained in that past instead of seeing the needs of our future.

How and where will our residents work and live? A recent survey from the Pew Research Center of the millennial generation (those born in the 1980’s and 1990’s) shows that they want to live in an urban environment. This is an ideal development for cities. But in order to keep and attract that generation to our city, we need to examine what they want that urban environment to encompass.

They are against government intrusion into their lives whether dictating who to marry or how to earn a living. Instead of expecting a “job” by either big government or big business, they are entrepreneurial and expert at selling their own brand. They expect to form loose alliances of associates that come together to complete one task at a time. They don’t want to commute to work or be in an office 9-5.

So as Stuart re-writes the Land Development Regulations or develops Sailfish, we need to take into consideration the residents that will be living in our city. We need to make sure that home occupation is not unduly burdened with antiquated notions concerning parking, for example. During the 19^th and 20^th centuries, artisans and farmers became office and factory workers travelling to a central destination. It now seems we are returning to an earlier time when there was not a distinct place to live and another to work. The most important thing we can do as a city is not be an impediment to these developments.

We must let the market decide what is needed. Ten years ago, who could have foreseen that millions of people would be able to act as hoteliers by renting out rooms in their homes to strangers through the use of airbnb. It is fruitless to try and stop this and other uses from occurring, and instead we should promulgate sensible and not overbearing rules to encourage the payment of taxes for these new uses.

Cities, such as Stuart, will also need to think about re-purposing their half empty retail centers. It is important that we do not stand in the way of zoning and use changes to allow apartments or offices to be built within the center. We are probably at least 20% overbuilt in the retail category, and because of changing shopping patterns, absorption is not likely.

The best we, as a city, can do is to not get in the way of our own future. That does not mean we allow anyone to do anything. Builders and developers still need regulation. It is up to government to make sure that whatever is built is sustainable so it can contribute to our tax base. Our height limit does not need to be changed in order to accomplish this. In fact, it would be detrimental to our old Florida “brand.” Stuart needs to cultivate the right mix for today and, more importantly, for tomorrow.

NOT All Aboard Letter to Senator Sessions

Posted on June 17, 2014 by tomcampenni

TOM CAMPENNI

700 SW SAINT LUCIE CRES.

STUART FL 34994

June 17, 2014

The Honorable Jeff Sessions

Room 326 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Sessions:

As the ranking member of the all-important Senate Budget Committee, you have dedicated yourself to weeding out tax-payer supported boondoggles. You have shown leadership with your opposition to “XpressWest’s FRA loan. It is important that you oppose all such loans including the “All Aboard Florida” $1.5 billion loan for high speed passenger service from Miami to Orlando.

Like “XpressWest,” “All Aboard Florida” is another example of a private company proposing rail service using tax payer financing. This is nothing more than the taxpayers taking the risks without any upside potential. The private company will have very little downside and, in the very unlikely case of success, all the reward. If ventures like these were such worthy and needed projects, why doesn’t the private sector fund them? That answer is rather obvious.

There is not one example of a passenger rail system in the United States that has been operated profitably in decades. Why doesn’t “All Aboard Florida” which once you peel back the “corporate vale” is owned by the $64 billion hedge fund, The Fortress Group, pay for the new tracks themselves? (They are contemplating buying a huge New York City property development of thousands of units spending nearly $6 billion dollars of their own money) If they are to receive the loan, it would be nothing more than an example of big corporate welfare at a time when we, as a nation, cannot afford to maintain our existing public roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

“All Aboard Florida’s” plan for high speed rail will run through countless small downtowns, such as my hometown of Stuart, on street grade without a sealed corridor which is a very dangerous proposition. The right of way they will use was created for Flagler’s railroad on the east coast of Florida in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. At that time, South Florida was a sparsely settled area. The state now comprises 19 million residents and is (or soon will be) the third largest in the nation.

The last time passenger trains operated on that track was in the late 1960s when it was discontinued for lack of profitability. Amtrack already runs 4 trains per day between Orlando and Miami unprofitably. Amtrack’s price is about $35.00 one way and takes a little over five hours to complete. “All Aboard Florida,” which will take 3 hours, will purportedly charge approximately $100 one way. Given that the company will be borrowing the funds to buy track and trains, how will it be profitable even with the company’s fantasy ridership projections?

I urge you to look into this and to stop the use of taxpayer dollars to fund one more corporate subsidy for one more favored company. Our government, through our elected representatives, cannot continue to be in the pocket of elite corporatists and then claim to be with we, the people.

Sincerely,

Tom Campenni

NOT All Aboard Letter to US Rep Ryan

Posted on June 17, 2014 by tomcampenni

TOM CAMPENNI

700 SW SAINT LUCIE CRES.

STUART FL 34994

June 17, 2014

The Honorable Paul Ryan

Room 233 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Ryan:

As the Chair of the all-important House Budget Committee, you have dedicated yourself to weeding out tax-payer supported boondoggles. You have shown leadership with your opposition to “XpressWest’s FRA loan. It is important that you oppose all such loans including the “All Aboard Florida” $1.5 billion loan for high speed passenger service from Miami to Orlando.

Sincerely,

Tom Campenni

Why Am I Running for Stuart City Commission?

Posted on June 14, 2014 by tomcampenni

I was asked yesterday why I was running for Stuart City Commission. The simple answer is I believe that the city is at a tipping point. If we are not careful, we will cease to be a successful municipality. Our downtown has made impressive improvement in the past 25 years in attracting shops and restaurants. But a downtown needs to be more than a block or two of business establishments or it becomes just another outdoor mall.

To be vibrant and sustainable, a downtown needs to attract residents and the infrastructure to support that population. We are at that point today. Too often, city governments believe that a few boutique stores or restaurants alone are enough to be self-sustaining. If the patrons, owners and employees of the mercantile live elsewhere, then it is a Potemkin village and not a true living city. You need the vitality that is only possible by a concentration of residents being there 24 hours a day.

The key to this organic development is not the “one off” of the proposed Northpoint hotel. It is the un-glamorous building of needed housing throughout the CRA for the patrons, owners and employees of the city’s businesses. The housing stock has to be for all population segments which include both rentals and condos. Incorporated with that residential development is the need for retail so that businesses catering to the increasing population can shop for everyday necessities. While not to be ignored, the need for new office space will be less and less as more and more of us work from home.

Without increased population, the city cannot maintain enough of a tax base to continue to provide services even to its current residents. However, it is important that while seeking new residents, jobs and businesses, we do not lose sight of our “Old Florida” charm and livability. There is absolutely no need to go above the current 4-story height limit or have buildings with architectural styles more suited to Boca than here. The only people who believe that new development is an either/or choice are those that lack imagination. Stuart has a well-established reputation and life style that I will fight to keep while allowing for growth.

We should not look for the “single project or developer” concept so ingrained in many of us. Anything that will be sustainable and successful will require more than any one person or project can accomplish. That is why I pledge, if elected, to work with my fellow commissioners and all stakeholders to not only have growth but to do so in a manner in which we will not lose all that is special and unique to us.

Maintaining Stuart’s Unique Charm AND Economic Prosperity

Posted on June 5, 2014 by tomcampenni

I am a strong proponent of economic development for our city. I believe that we can maintain our unique “old Florida charm” and still bring new businesses, jobs and residents to Stuart. However, I am not in favor of changing our 4-story height limit (which, according to code, can be as much as 60 feet from slab to peak). I do not want to see Stuart become Delray Beach or City Place. If we are to stand out from the rest of South Florida, we must maintain and enhance our strengths not try to emulate others.

If elected, I will strive to enhance our Economic Development Department. I would like to see it act as an ombudsman with every city department for anyone trying to open a business or construct a building. Most interactions between the public and city departments are informational and problem solving. Every employee should be customer centric. The city government should not be seen as an obstacle but as a resource.

That is not to say that we do not enforce our rules, regulations and laws. Bad projects are still bad projects. Those rules, etc. are there for the safety of all. We do need to treat everyone the same whether they have just come to town or their family has been here for generations. There is no room for favoritism at City Hall. Cronyism will sabotage our efforts to increase our economic development.

At the same time, I am not in favor of subsidies for any individual or business regardless of the promises made for expansion or bringing employment. Subsidies come from tax revenue collected from our citizens by the city, and tax revenue should not be used to benefit a favored few. The role of government is not to pick winners and losers, but to make our city a good place for every business and family to succeed and thrive.

Within the framework I have outlined, I will work with anyone to accomplish his or her dream of starting or expanding a business in Stuart. I will sit down with any developer who wishes to build here as long as what they propose is in keeping with Stuart traditions. New residents are drawn here because of our water front, neighborhoods, parks and way of life. We cannot destroy any of it in the name of economic progress. Actions that do will only be counterproductive and lead to the opposite of what we are trying to achieve.

Stuart’s Long-Awaited Smith-Turner Park

Posted on May 30, 2014 by tomcampenni

For most Americans, Memorial Day is the first day of summer. We have a cook out or go to the beach. It has evolved into just another day off from work, but in truth, it is the closest we have to a religious observance in our secular country. For it is on this day we, as Americans, are to honor all those that have sacrificed their lives for our freedoms.

As a kid, I can still remember old timers referring to it as Decoration Day. This was conceived as a day to remember the fallen of the Civil War. But eventually it became a day to remember all those that died in every American war. Veterans in their ill-fitting uniforms marched in parades. Children took part as did anyone that wanted.

Parades and memorial services have ebbed and grown over the years to match the mood of the nation. The day hit its nadir during the height of the Vietnam War when all things military, including past and present service members, were held in low regard by many. Fortunately, those days have receded into memory and the military people are thanked for their service.

For nearly 50 years, two young Stuart service men that died in the Vietnam War were never honored. Richard Smith and Larry Turner each gave his life for the United States in a war that most Americans hated. And that was one of the reasons that their sacrifice was not rewarded. But that was not the only reason they were unrecognized.

For these two soldiers were African-Americans in a place still mired in racism at a time that still had some sanctioned segregation. It was not fair or right…it just was. The armed forces were long integrated by then, but unfortunately not our community. In some ways, it still isn’t. But on this Memorial Day, Stuart took one step closer to righting this particular wrong.

Through the efforts of Commissioner Jim Christie, City Manager Paul Nicoletti, and so many others regardless of race, we came together to honor these fallen soldiers almost 50 years after their deaths. On Memorial Day, we dedicated Smith-Turner Park in final memory to their sacrifice. But it was more than that. It was an opportunity to help heal the sins of our past. Some of us in Stuart spent the day as it should be spent remembering our fallen heroes.

Written For Florida Not All Aboard Website

Posted on May 29, 2014 by tomcampenni

As a kid in the mid-to late-1950’s, I vaguely remember taking round trip train
rides from New York to Hollywood, Florida. For the first meal on board, which was
either made by my Florida grandmother or my New York grandmother, the food
was pretty good. Subsequent meals, however, were not. I either slept sitting up
on a bench seat or my head was in the lap of a parent. I couldn’t tell you if it
took one day or three for those journeys.
Travel by rail did revolutionize our country. But, it never was free from
government subsidy. From their very early days, railroads received free land from
state and local governments. In the mid 19th century alone, the total was over
200 million acres. The railroads used that land as collateral to sell bonds to
investors.
Railroads were losing money and going broke from their beginnings, and in the
Panics of 1873 and 1877, many railroad companies became insolvent. The Panic
of 1893 was largely brought about by overbuilding and shaky financing of
railroads. Nearly 25% went bankrupt. This resulted in consolidation of lines into the
hands of a few men like J.P. Morgan and James J Hill. Ultimately, the
government tried to break up these monopolies but only partially succeeded.
In the 20th century, railroads began their long decline because of our interstate
highway system and easily affordable air travel. What I remember as a child
was the last gasp of widely available interstate rail travel. While I am sure some
Americans may think with nostalgia about train travel, like airlines today it was a
way to get from point A to point B. Railroad travel though shrouded in mythical
romance like so much of the American past was never very romantic.
All Aboard Florida is just one more myth. It is one more fantasy which is being
spun out to Floridians and especially to those of us on the Treasure Coast. When
our country was young and we had boundless stretches of unoccupied land,
where the tracks were laid didn’t matter. We are a hundred years past that.
Stuart and Martin County are not places on the 19th century prairie or Florida
Savannah. We are in the 21st century with cars, trucks and planes not horses
and wagons.
When do our governments in Tallahassee and Washington begin to take into
consideration, we, the people, instead of big corporations with the right
connections? The supposed property rights of one hedge fund cannot trump
the rights of 19 million Floridians. Laws that may have been apropos in 19th century America cannot be allowed to be used as an excuse to ruin the lives of
the people of Stuart and Martin County in the 21st century.

Sensible City Growth

Posted on May 21, 2014 by tomcampenni

Stuart is now entering a growth phase which will accelerate with the improving economy. The task of the City Commission will be to guide that change so that it will be positive for the entire city. Benjamin Disraeli, the 19^th century British Prime Minister and author, wrote that “Change is inevitable. Change is constant.” No truer words were spoken.

I am running for City Commission to help maintain Stuart’s “old Florida charm and life style.” At the same, time I realize that we must attract new residents, new jobs and new businesses to maintain and expand our tax base. These two points are not inconsistent. However, we cannot allow any single project to misdirect that vision.

Sometimes we may lose sight of the ultimate goal. We may see any individual project as the end rather than only one means to the final achievement. That is why our city government must examine each development project not in a vacuum but rather how our future will be enhanced by any single project. It is not enough that a project is viable. It must contribute to our ultimate goal.

There are some in and out of government who want to take Stuart and make it Naples or Delray or City Place. The majority of our citizens have spoken loudly and often that we do not want to be those places. So, instead of trying to be we should look to what we can be.

That does not mean that downtown remain frozen as is because Disraeli’s maxim is correct. We can have a vibrant restaurant, entertainment and arts scene while remaining true to our values. We can have new residential and retail opportunity throughout our city without disrupting our way of life. We need to have a City Commission that will make sure that our government adheres to our wishes.

Martin County Moment

Local Issues on the Treasure Coast

Category Archives: City of Stuart