8/7/2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Randy Phillips, 1645 Highland Avenue, stated he had worked for the Dodgers for 12 years, supported the project and asked that consideration be given to what would happen to the fobs if the Dodgers were to leave. Freddie Woolfork asked the Board to consider those individuals who cannot be at the meetings because of employment responsibilities. He also asked the Board to consider that hardly anyone knows where Gifford is but everyone seems to know that Vero Beach is where the Dodgers are. He also mentioned the many contributions of the Dodgers organization to the Gifford Youth Activity Center and Dodgertown Elementary. He wholeheartedly supported the project. Chairman Ginn asked if there were further comments by the public (there were none) and then thanked the members of the public for their input and reminded everyone that there had been public meetings on 7/24/00, 8/29/00, 9/5/00, and 9/7/00 where public input was allowed. The Board always allows the public to speak and has never limited the time allowed. Whichever side you are on, the Board has made an effort to be fair. Commissioner Macht responded to some personal remarks about himself which labeled him as the architect of this agreement, which is not true. Staff has worked heroically on this project. Any remarks attributed to him saying the public at large would not be able to digest the voluminous documentation involved were meant solely to describe the amount of time necessary to review all that documentation, and not meant to imply that the public at large was incapable of digesting the material. He confessed that he had lost interest in baseball when the players became millionaires but he is a firm supporter of the citizenry of Indian River County and believes that the baseball industry is very important to the local economy. That is the reason he is willing to accept the responsibility and subject himself to AUGUST 7, 2001 -73- BK II9PG087