FREAKY FRIDAY - Dear Congressman Bradley Byrne

The Ripp Report/Baldwin County Legal Eagle Face book

Fly Creek Full of Political BULLS—

Dear Congressman Bradley Byrne:

The Ripp Report, a nonprofit, was formed to expose political and judicial corruption in Baldwin County, which is unequivocally a target-rich environment. We are not constrained from telling the truth or influenced by the powers that be. Our intention is to inform our “constituents." You are similarly intended.

Our site, along with our sister site, Baldwin County Baldwin Legal Eagle, makes weekly posts we call “Freaky Friday.” Our last post reached 15,950 people. These are your constituents. Today’s post will be boosted for maximum exposure and we will let you know how many people have been informed of the real truth about Fly Creek in Fairhope, Alabama (Fauxhope).

I must admit I am surprised you had such an opportunity to talk about Fly Creek in Washington DC. You said that you have pressured the Corp of Engineers to keep it dredged. I am somewhat confused how a self proclaimed conservative, like yourself, while claiming to fight government waste, would support correcting damage caused by private contractors and land developers.

In a recent Lagniappe article,http://lagniappemobile.com/fly-creek-protection-remains-concern/ you mention the damage to fly creek was caused by “historic flooding.”

No Sir, the damage was caused by the Publix project development, which is abundantly clear to anyone who lives in the area.  You Sir, live in the area. A past lawsuit, photo documentation, violations, a dozen plus news articles, and numerous filed complaints all support the facts.  The cause of the damage is incontrovertible.

The RESPONSIBLE parties are Mr. Arthur Corte and Mayor Kant, and they continue their alliance to further damage the creek. There should be a criminal investigation into the collusion between these parties regarding how they continue to defy public concerns.  There is an overwhelming opposition to the Fly Creek Apartments.  Moving forward is ignoring future potential further damage to the creek. Restore act funds to repair private contractor damages to property is not what Restore Act funds or BP money was intended for.

You should be able to relate to the recently settled triangle lawsuit in Fairhope where the main characters are again Corte and Kant, costing taxpayers 11.25 million tax dollars. The lawsuit was settled by the Mayor who deliberately omitted any public participation or notification. They also placed a fire station on a dead end road and a new lift station, both adjoining the proposed apartments, for another estimated $1 million, at tax payer’s expense.

In the Lagniappe article Mr. Herder from Mobile Bay NEP states “there were a few property owners along the creek who would not let us onto their property “for a sediment analysis.” That owner was Mr. Arthur Corte. A sediment analysis was done previously and it documented that the sediment came from the Publix site. The Fly Creek Watershed Management Plan is a bogus report commissioned by Mayor Kant in an attempt to gloss over the real problem. The study NEVER identified any facts related to the Publix site; the whole intent was to deflect any responsibility of the Mayor or land owner. Estimates to dredge the creek range from 6 to 8 million dollars.

The proposed apartments were opposed by 95% of the hundreds of Fairhope “constituents” who attended the meetings leading up to its approval. The first of four meetings was with the planning and zoning board who voted against the rezoning. Mr. Corte then informed the Mayor that the outcome was not acceptable and that the Mayor would have to “FIX” the problem. The next three meetings, attended by hundreds opposing the rezoning, with less than 5% supporting it, was a classic example of the good ole boy network, and the Mayor did as he was told and “FIXED” it.

The Mayor and landowner care less about lawsuits tax payers will soon pay. The first lawsuit cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Due to the blatant obvious corruption of the planning and zoning board, all appointed by the Mayor, another lawsuit is on its way.

Mr. Byrne, using Restore Act Funds for such a corrupted project will only bring more lawsuits. Construction of apartment on the banks of Fly Creek WILL further damage the creek and we will repeat the whole process again.  This is insanity.  Please do not contribute to an already bad situation by making it worse.

Mr. Byrne, let me use this opportunity to explain a few other topics we are involved in and hope you will listen as these complaints come from “constituents.”

Baldwin County’s family court is a travesty. Judge Thomason’s court has impacted many families in a very negative way. This Judge shows no compassion for children while she favors bottom feeding attorneys fleecing their clients. Complaints about the particular courtroom and judge are totally off the scale. The Ripp Report  in concert with Baldwin County Legal Eagle will continue to file formal complaints and inform the Court of Public Opinion in an effort to remove her from the bench.

The abuse of BP funds in Alabama is absolutely disgraceful and the intended recipient, our environment, is left out due to the greed and mismanagement of our politicians. The first abusers were Sen. Pittman and Mayor Kant who siphoned off $636,000 of BP money for a contract for Sen. Pittman. . The City of Fairhope and Sen. Pittman ultimately left hundreds of boom anchors in the bay that contractually they were suppose to remove.  This fraud resulted in a FBI investigation and subsequent referral to the Alabama Attorney General, White Collar Crime Division. We are still waiting for justice. Kant and Pittman were caught red-handed. The Ripp Report continues to draw attention to Veterans benefits, claims and medical care. We have contacted your office on numerous occasions in reference to the REMAND status of many Alabama veterans. These cases often linger for years without any information to the veteran, or as to a time table or status. The REMAND cases the VA in Montgomery have on their docket represent cases they FAILED to address in early claims.

I appreciate your concern for Fly Creek. I do hope us veterans receive the same.

Mr. Byrne I voted for you twice and we share constituents. I want you to know that I am dedicated to breaking up the corrupt good ole boy club in Fairhope and exposing corruption in Baldwin County.

The Fly Creek issue is corrupt to the core and if you wish to do some good may I suggest you support a criminal investigation, with Mr. Timothy Kant being the primary focus.

Francis Paul Ripp

The Ripp Report

BCLE