Are Palmetto Bay officials serious? No one can give out free food at the 4th of July event? Another textbook example of bad leadership

Not again.  Say it ain’t so! Have current village finances sunk to the point to where everything forward will be on a pay to attend set up? Let’s hope not.  This is not a good way to run event sponsorships or encourage participation. Apparently no one or business can supply free food at the upcoming village celebration. This is bad policy. Someone needs to issue an appropriate clarification regarding this developing situation.

 

The situation is contained in the following e-mail that I was copied on. This is not the first time that there has been an active dispute regarding sponsorship and participation in village events.  Now it appears that certain government officials want to pick and choose, or worse, control who participates in village events.  How do I sign up to get on this “approved list.” 

 

Here is the apparent dispute summarized in the e-mail (note that I have also attached the actual e-mail in the embedded .JPEGs, page one and two - click "Read more" below to view the actual e-mail in .JPEG format):

 

Subject:	Confirming our conversation
From:	dmsinger@bellsouth.net (dmsinger@bellsouth.net)
To:	esilva@palmettobay-fl.gov;
Cc:	pfiore@palmettobay-fl.gov; jdubois@palmettobay-fl.gov; sstanczyk@palmettobay-fl.gov; tschaffer@palmettobay-fl.gov; jlindsay@palmettobay-fl.gov; dmsinger@bellsouth.com; EVE9621@aol.com; eugeneflinn@bellsouth.net; mark.auerbacher@bipc.com; malexander@palmettobay-fl.gov; jim@eyeonpalmettobay.com; esilva@palmettobay-fl.gov; AUSBLA@aol.com; ddelsalle@palmettobay-fl.gov;
Bcc:
Date:	Friday, June 27, 2014 12:27 PM

To memorialize our conversations over that last couple of days, I would like to confirm the following information with you. If no response is received I will assume you are in agreement with my assessment and recollection of the events.

 As an partner in a restaurant I would like to give away free food at the Village’s 4^th of July celebration.

 You have made it perfectly clear that giving away food will be and is not acceptable to the Village of Palmetto Bay.

 You have refused to give me access to public land to give way free food to the residents of Palmetto Bay.

 You have refused to let me use third party land to set up a 10 by 10 foot tent and give out free food to residents.

 You have advised another resident who is running for district one that it is not acceptable to give out free bottled water during the 4^th of July celebration.

 You have required that I fill out a special event permit to have access to 3^rd party land, which you could not confirm any other vendors are being required to fill out for this event.

 You have asked and accepted free food from my restaurant for the Downtown Development Task Force without me filling out a special event permit form.

 You can not verify if the Village of Palmetto Bay has filled out a special event permit form for the 4^th of July celebration.

 You have threatened to have me fined, removed or arrested if I attempt to give out free food at the 4^th of July celebration.

 There will be no other vendors or residents giving away any free items.

 You have informed me you have gone out of your way to contact a 3^rd party landowner to restrict my assess to his property.

As such you have made it impossible for me to celebrate the 4^th of July by restricting my rights to free speech and assembly within the Village of Palmetto Bay on the anniversary of the Independence of our County.

Congratulations.