Triangle Lawsuit - The Real Cost to Taxpayers
The Ripp Report
October 28, 2013
Dear Fairhopians,
All right citizens, sit down in front of your computer, get a clear head and listen to the deal that the City of Fairhope has been dealt by our mayor, Timothy Kant.
While the city council is trying to come up with money for educational funds, our mayor has been wasting millions of our tax dollars. Now, we can be assured that it will cost us millions more. Let me make it clearer for you. Every man woman and child in Fairhope is going to pay at least $2,000 for present and past decisions related to the Triangle lawsuit. Mayor Kant is fully responsible.
I know the city council was motivated to settle this issue. I feel this council, just like the last, has been manipulated by the mayor, resulting in horrible decisions, no leadership, lawsuits and millions of dollars in taxpayer money down the drain.
The city’s agreement to purchase the Triangle property for $8.7 million is not the true purchase price figure. The attorney fees were well over $2 million and spawned yet another lawsuit against the city by our own insurance company. No one has divulged where that important case now stands. That brings the cumulative or effective purchase price to at least $11 million to our taxpaying community.
On a positive note, the City of Fairhope should thank the Dyas Family, immensely. They are selling the land well below its appraised value. They are so thoroughly disgusted, however, that they “don’t want to pass this problem on to their children.”
The Triangle Property will be an asset for the City of Fairhope. But, it comes at an extremely high price. The deal hides any form of accountability.
On the negative side, it displays a masterful pattern of deceit by Mayor Kant. There has been zero accountability whatsoever for the Publix Project: $1 million in assessed violations by the tree committee, a damaged, federally-protected watershed, and a creek full of stifling red clay and mud.
Now hang on. Here comes the best part of this deal. Mayor Kant, through his connections, has guaranteed that BP will pay for everything. And he has a backup plan! If they don’t, YOU WILL!
Don’t worry, Kant says, he will just get it from the electricity fund, the water fund or whatever fund he may wish to raid. And if we get a little short—we’ll just go up on everybody’s utility rates!
Please remember this is the same mayor who has been summoned to a federal grand jury in Mobile; the one in which the City had to provide subpoenaed documents, as well as full confidential testimonies from city employees in relation to allegations of grant fraud in the BP boom scandal.
You probably should take a deep breath before you continue reading. As I understand it, the proposal offered by the mayor states that the city is asking BP to clean up the environmental damage caused by Mayor Kant’s cozy relationship with Publix developer Arthur Corte, which by the way– spawned the Triangle Lawsuit. The hypocrisy of this proves Mayor Kant is a sociopath! How in the hell does he think BP funds would be given to Fairhope for this purpose in light of the well-known transgressions of he and the Montrose senator? Also, half of the Fly Creek Watershed is on private property, owned by the same developer, Arthur Corte. Or, just maybe the mayor is ahead of us?
The mayor probably doesn’t really expect BP funds. He realizes this is his only way out other than settling, and he feels that would be a defeat. So we, the taxpayer, are going to pick up his hefty tab, and he avoids any blame or accountability.
The City of Fairhope’s application for Restore Act money related to this project—The Fly Creek Restoration Project Number Three—smacks of outright corruption and fraud. It is full of misleading statements. First, it states that Fairhope “took a direct hit from the BP spill.” Second it states that Fly Creek sustained damage " QUOTE " and third, the amount of money they are asking to reclaim the creek is $19 million, a full $8 million more than the cost of the “deal” Kant is pushing. Those figures were never discussed by him or the city council.
The City of Fairhope TTI Swamp project is another grant the mayor is seeking. This project appears to be another purchase to resolve a lawsuit or potential lawsuit, before it happens. The total asking price for this venture: $4 million. The third project is overwhelming. The city is asking for a staggering $500 million from BP.
Hypothetically, I wonder what happens if the mayor is indicted for BP fraud while he is trying to solicit money from BP? I don’t how that would work.
The mayor is in quick sand.
Let’s see how long he can tread.
Karma’s gonna git ya Timmy.