CC Minutes 03/24/2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Commission Meeting March 24, 2003 Page 23 HART: I just wanted to also make a comment about the letter that went out from the "Casselberry Taxpayers Against Government Electric. I haven't really said anything. I have been very quiet about it not thi~'mg that there was an appropriate time but I just wanted to make a few statements for the record. I wanted to clarify some of the statements that was in that letter in regards to myself personally. I believe in the democracy that we have and the freedom that we have of speech in the written word but I also believe that if you are going to print something and distribute it to a number of people or even to one person that you should be accountable for the things that you say in that letter and be very careful of the accuracy. It stated that I did not support government utilities during my campaign but since my reelection, 1 am supporting the City's pursuit of government utilities. I would like to ask anyone if they can provide any documentation where that I said that or made that statement. I am not back peddling and I would like for them to show me that because I just don't recall that. I have spoken to a lot voters and during that time and I made it very clear to everyone, whether they were opposed or supported government utilities, how I stood on that issue and I just wanted them to hear how I felt about it. I wasn't out to get popularity or votes. I have never swayed from my decision. The letter generated a lot of phone calls, many of them were opposed to government utilities but most of them were very nice and it created a lot ofraipor that I didn't have with those people before, because I had not actually talked to them. It was interesting and I tried to turn it into a positive thing by inviting them to the next workshop and also tell them that there would be more. We shared comments and concerns and I told them exactly where I stood and it ended up on good terms I felt. I also received a lot phone calls from people that supported it and those people are kind of quiet, they are like me, they don't say anything until they really have to. I felt better about that because at first I was just getting people that was opposed to it. I am finding that I am running into people even in stores and, the grocery store, Target that know me and know that I never said anything other than I wanted to keep all my options open and I was not going to make a decision until everything was out on the table and I would defiantly make an informed decision at that time. That has always been my position and it always will be. I felt that way long before I decided to run for reelection, I felt that way during my campaign and I still feel that way. I just don't think that we have reached that point yet and I am trying very hard to keep my blinders on to make an informed decision. But everybody that I talked to I tried to encourage them to come to our meetings to express their feelings and to really learn the whole story and not just take something that comes through the mail as gospel. I venture to say most of those people I never talked to and they never talk to me and they had no idea, they were just taking the written letter for gospel. I also was offended, probably more so, in how they tried to discredit our Public Works Department in stating that they didn't know how to run that department, pointing out our high water and sewer rates. Some had interpreted that as us being the highest in the county and one even commented that we were the highest in the state. I don't know where that came from, but anyway, I have tried to explain that also. I would like to congratulate Mr. Segreto for the superior job that he and all the public employees are doing. I think going to some of these annual conventions and talking to people that have no interest in the City of Casselberry have nothing but wonderful things to say about