Garcon Point Bridge Called a 'Financial Albatross'

http://www.weartv.com//news/features/top-stories/stories/waste-watch-garcon-bridge-called-financial-albatross-florida-40487.shtml

'The Garcon Point Bridge could be the most wasteful road project in the history of the state,' the article states.

lower the tolls to a dollar.....people will use it.

For those who haven't lived here long enough to know about it, why the Garcon Point Bridge was built is one the biggest reasons we should all hate and despise politicians and why they are our worst enemies.

It was the pet project of a local politican and his cronies who all owned real estate on the Garcon peninsula. It was built ONLY as an attempt to increase the value of that real estate.
The local politican whose first name is Bolley climbed the ladder of politician sleaze all the way to becoming Speaker of the Florida House.

During the 1990s, Bo Johnson publicly claimed he was against legal gambling, and at the same time he was on the payroll of Bally Casino to get a legalized gambling bill on the ballot, allegedly raking in up to $250,000 on the sly—so says an April 1997 report by the Orlando Sentinel. Two years later Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts, including conspiracy, extortion, and tax evasion, with more than $500,000 unreported over a five-year span. Johnson fought the charges to the end, and was convicted of four counts of filing a false tax return. At three years a pop per tax fraud count, Johnson faced up to 12 years in prison—but ended up with just two.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/news-taxcheatpoliticians/11/

He was a real chameleon. He looked (and talked) like the all american boy next door. That's why you can never judge a politician by his looks...



His daddy Leroy was also a politician (a Santa Rosa County Commissioner).
Leroy contracted the murder of another public official and died of a heart attack a week after he was arrested for it.

Truly a bridge to nowhere . . . I drive around and refuse to use it myself.

I use it maybe once a month, but would rather take 87 to Navarre and miss hey 98 traffic

It's really a bridge to nowhere... Even a dollar toll wouldn't matter.

Bob wrote:For those who haven't lived here long enough to know about it,  why the Garcon Point Bridge was built is one the biggest reasons we should all hate and despise politicians and why they are our worst enemies.

It was the pet project of a local politican and his cronies who all owned real estate on the Garcon peninsula.  It was built ONLY as an attempt to increase the value of that real estate.  
The local politican whose first name is Bolley climbed the ladder of politician sleaze all the way to becoming Speaker of the Florida House.

During the 1990s, Bo Johnson publicly claimed he was against legal gambling, and at the same time he was on the payroll of Bally Casino to get a legalized gambling bill on the ballot, allegedly raking in up to $250,000 on the sly—so says an April 1997 report by the Orlando Sentinel. Two years later Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts, including conspiracy, extortion, and tax evasion, with more than $500,000 unreported over a five-year span. Johnson fought the charges to the end, and was convicted of four counts of filing a false tax return. At three years a pop per tax fraud count, Johnson faced up to 12 years in prison—but ended up with just two.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/news-taxcheatpoliticians/11/

He was a real chameleon.  He looked (and talked) like the all american boy next door.  That's why you can never judge a politician by his looks...



His daddy Leroy was also a politician (a Santa Rosa County Commissioner).
Leroy contracted the murder of another public official and died of a heart attack a week after he was arrested for it.

His wife also went to jail for tax evasion.

I remember the murder for hire well......

Joanimaroni wrote:

I remember the murder for hire well......

He tried to murder Ben Henry Pooley.

"Ben Henry sought to clean out the county government and do away with the pork politics of the past long before many others recognized the need to do so," said Ed Gray III, a Santa Rosa County School Board member. "When he recognized graft or corruption, he brought it to a head and exposed people who needed to be. It cost him a lot."

The most publicized attempt on his life was in 1984. Leroy Johnson, father of former state legislator Bolley "Bo" Johnson, was arrested on charges he offered a hit man $10,000 to kill Mr. Pooley, who then was Santa Rosa County's public works director.

Leroy Johnson was running for a County Commission seat and was at the center of a sawmill scandal that Mr. Pooley uncovered.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement had Mr. Pooley pose in a fake murder scene -- squirting ketchup on his head -- and took photographs to trick Johnson into thinking the killing took place.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-03-03/news/0303020330_1_ben-henry-pooley-panhandle-leroy-johnson

TALLAHASSEE - A federal grand jury indicted former House Speaker Bolley "Bo'' Johnson on seven counts of conspiracy, income-tax evasion and extorting kickbacks from a campaign worker.

The indictment unsealed Thursday accuses Johnson, along with his wife, Judi, with failing to report $511,861 in income over a five-year period, ending in 1996. Johnson served as leader of the Florida House from 1992 to 1994.

The money was paid by 16 companies - including a casino giant, an Orlando transportation company, lobbying firms, road contractors, investment bankers, health-care corporations and real estate firms, most of which do business with the state.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1999-02-19/news/9902190187_1_bo-johnson-judi-johnson-bally

He's not the only goddamn state politican on the take.  He's just one of the ones who got caught.

I used it almost everyday a few years ago when I was driving my 2000 chevy one ton dump truck which only gets eight miles to the gallon.....I saved money. However, one day I took one of my trailers and the bobcat and they charged by the axles......I took 87 whenever I was hauling equipment.

I think the state of Florida needs to force a bankruptcy of the bondholders by petitioning for an involuntary bankruptcy. The trustee would render the bondholders value down to ten cents on the dollar, and make sure at one dollar per crossing the state would get their current costs. a maintenance reserve was maintained, and the bond holders got 10% of their payments. The trustee could extend out the payments to the bondholders for the useful life of the bridge, but the maintenance fund would have to have sufficient funds to keep the bridge going for fifty years.

I remember when that happened. I think Ben Henry Pooley was the husband of Annette Pooley who ran Annette's Rest Home for many years in Milton. They come from a long line of politicians.

TEOTWAWKI wrote:

Amen to that.

What gets more use Ichi, the ballpark or the bridge?

What gets more use Ichi, the ballpark or the bridge?

He will never answer. He refuses to accept the great attendance numbers, and he tries to call the entire Maritime Park project the ballpark. The difference with Hallmark is that half way across the bay during buildout of the bridge.......he would announce the bridge is not working and cars are falling into the bay.......

2seaoat wrote: he tries to call the entire Maritime Park project the ballpark. .

seaoat, that statement is one of the most ironic things I've ever read.

Why? Because as you'll recall, the idea for the "maritime park" the voters approved indeed was a lot more than just a ballpark.
But after the voters approved what was to be a lot more than just a ball park, what did it become? Just a ballpark. lol

Today,More people will cross the bridge than will use the ballpark.

I remember when that bridge was being proposed, it had it's cheerleaders too. And they called it "progress" then too. And they said anybody who didn't think it was a great idea were just naysayers too. lol

The difference with Hallmark is that half way across the bay during buildout of the bridge....... he would announce the bridge is not working and cars are falling into the bay.......

And Sea Oats would wait until the bridge is built, then spend millions of dollars promoting it, then move a 1,000 miles away and tell us how to fix it. LOL

Hardly Bob, the development lots are now being built out. I like the naivety of how a development builds out.......but if you think after build out that the park will have a negative impact on the taxpayers, I can only snicker......this thing is a cash cow for the taxpayers over the 30 year bonds, and like the flat earthers.....the farther you go out....you will fall off the world......sorry....nobody is falling and this thing is an incredible success and no matter how many times you say it is not does not make it so......a simple two dollar tax on the gate would pay for the park with no build out, with close to a million of lease payments a year to come with build out and a renegotiated concession deal in eight years.....put it in the bank.

The bridge however cannot make it with revenues right now and the ballpark is making 500k to a million profit for Mr. Studer and the taxpayers are still getting almost three quarter a million from just the ballpark leases without one build out of the development lots......all this done in a recession.....a remarkable accomplishment.

ballpark is making 500k to a million profit for Mr. Studer

Would you mind posting your source of information?

2seaoat wrote:Hardly Bob, the development lots are now being built out.  I like the naivety of how a development builds out.......but if you think after build out that the park will have a negative impact on the taxpayers, I can only snicker......this thing is a cash cow for the taxpayers over the 30 year bonds, and like the flat earthers.....the farther you go out....you will fall off the world......sorry....nobody is falling and this thing is an incredible success and no matter how many times you say it is not does not make it so......a simple two dollar tax on the gate would pay for the park with no build out, with close to a million of lease payments a year to come with build out and a renegotiated concession deal in eight years.....put it in the bank.

The bridge however cannot make it with revenues right now and the ballpark is making 500k to a million profit for Mr. Studer and the taxpayers are still getting almost three quarter a million from just the ballpark leases without one build out of the development lots......all this done in a recession.....a remarkable accomplishment.

There is nothing naive about the absolute fact that what was promised has little in common with what was built or will be built. As a person who has worked directly for or represented numerous developers, real estate firms, architects, engineers and contractors, I have more than a passing familiarity with the processes, phases, draws, completion schedules, etc. that you are referencing. Please stop excreting that bodily fluid on my leg and calling it rain.

Floridatexan wrote:

2seaoat wrote:Hardly Bob, the development lots are now being built out.  I like the naivety of how a development builds out.......but if you think after build out that the park will have a negative impact on the taxpayers, I can only snicker......this thing is a cash cow for the taxpayers over the 30 year bonds, and like the flat earthers.....the farther you go out....you will fall off the world......sorry....nobody is falling and this thing is an incredible success and no matter how many times you say it is not does not make it so......a simple two dollar tax on the gate would pay for the park with no build out, with close to a million of lease payments a year to come with build out and a renegotiated concession deal in eight years.....put it in the bank.

The bridge however cannot make it with revenues right now and the ballpark is making 500k to a million profit for Mr. Studer and the taxpayers are still getting almost three quarter a million from just the ballpark leases without one build out of the development lots......all this done in a recession.....a remarkable accomplishment.

There is nothing naive about the absolute fact that what was promised has little in common with what was built or will be built.  As a person who has worked directly for or represented numerous developers, real estate firms, architects, engineers and contractors, I have more than a passing familiarity with the processes, phases, draws, completion schedules, etc. that you are referencing.  Please stop excreting that bodily fluid on my leg and calling it rain.

   Taxpayers voted on the artist rendition of what was to be......