Wellington Businesses Outraged by Mayor Margolis

  

                                                    September 20, 2012

Mayor Robert Margolis

Village of Wellington

12300 Forest Hill Boulevard

Wellington, Florida 33414

Dear Mayor Margolis:

After the election, several key leaders in our community suggested that the Wellington Chamber of Commerce could play a key role in reaching out in an attempt to heal the wounds created by an extremely divisive election.  An election which left wounded feelings on both sides.

As president of the Chamber, I believed in the prospect of healing the wounds and opening up lines of communication with the newly elected council members.  It was my fervent hope that this was not simply going to be a question of “we won and you lost. Too bad, so sad”.  I was hoping that although the Chamber chose to support other candidates, for the good of the entire community, everyone would “bury the hatchet” and move on toward working together.  To that end, I was authorized by the board of directors of the Wellington Chamber to reach out and start a dialogue with the newly elected members of the council in search of some common ground, and a seat at the table when it came time to making policy decisions which affect the business community and the community as a whole.

To that end I first reached out to Councilman Willhite.  I was pleased when word came back that he agreed to meet with me.  However, instead of a meeting, it was more of a lecture about what the Chamber should and shouldn’t be doing.  He spoke, I listened.  Not much in the way of a dialogue was started there.  When I bump into him at Gabe’s, he still barely makes eye contact with me.

Next I reached out to you.  (It should be noted that while I was reaching out to you, Mr. Greene launched a verbal assault on the Chamber at the end of a council meeting based solely on the information of one disgruntled individual, and we are still waiting for the apology I requested when I addressed the Council several weeks ago.  Needless to say, we have abandoned all hope of opening up any kind of dialogue with Mr. Greene, and hope that in the not too distant future he realizes that being a public servant is not suited to his personality.)

You and I met in the Village Council conference room on August 7, 2012.  We had a very cordial discussion about some of the issues that were presently pending and some of the issues which had already been raised by the Council which I suggested to you was anti-business.  You asked me to see what I could do about toning down the level of our disagreement with the actions and policy decisions of the new majority on the council.  I told you that I would, if the new majority would stop trying to “un-approve” things that had already been approved.  I also talked to you about WinterFest.  The event we have been holding at the Amphitheater for the past two years.  I told you that Vanilla Ice had already confirmed, and I invited you to attend and read “T’was the Night Before Christmas”, as was done by the previous mayor.  Your response was that we should meet again and discuss it at that time.

You and I met again, together with Victor Connor, and the Chamber’s executive director on August 28, 2012.  Mr. Schofield was there, and I recognize that you were somewhat burdened by the flooding issue which resulted from tropical storm Isaac.  We discussed the defeat of the 5.1.15 hearing on Wellington Country Place P.U.D., and that we needed to continue to communicate more in order to foster better relations.  We discussed with you the fact that we needed an answer as to whether or not the Village would be willing to host WinterFest at the Amphitheater once again.  We also discussed our request for the use of the council chambers for a candidates forum we have scheduled for October.  We have confirmations from the candidates for State Attorney, State Senate and State House that they will appear, and we need a place to hold this very important event.  Both you and Mr. Schofield suggested that perhaps the Community Center might we available rather than the council chambers, although our previous two candidate forums were held in the chambers.  We also invited you to give the State of the Village address to our next Chamber luncheon. 

At the end of the meeting, I thought that we had come to some kind of a meeting of the minds regarding our relationship moving forward.  Unfortunately, nothing could have been further from the truth.  I have now come to learn in my dealings with you to not listen to what you say, but watch what you do.  Since August 28^th we have emailed, and requested a response and confirmation from the Village regarding the use of the Amphitheater for WinterFest and any facility for our candidates forum, and thus far have not received the courtesy of a response from you or Mr. Schofield.

Our events require a significant lead time in order to schedule participants, and produce marketing materials in order to generate the crowds that we do.  In the past two years, attendance at WinterFest has been in excess of 5,000 people.  Families come out with their children to see snow, enjoy the arrival of Santa Claus, see some local talent perform, and watch our local resident celebrity Vanilla Ice give a free show to give back to the community.  Unfortunately, due to our inability to get any kind of response from the Village with respect to the approval for this event or the candidates forum event, you have left us with no other choice but to find other local venues that are actually interested in hosting our public holiday and civic minded events.

It is extremely disappointing that we have had to make this decision.  We never expected that the vindictive nature of the new majority on the council would actually spill over into civic events that have become popular with the local community.  These events have nothing to do with politics, or any dispute relating to public policy.  This is exactly the kind of event for which the Amphitheater was designed and built.  Your failure to give us a simple yes or no answer to a very simple question is indicative of the “process over results” mentality that permeates your administration.  Never mind attacking businesses that want to invest huge sums in our community to create a permanent Global Dressage Festival, and attacking small businesses by having restaurants close at 11:00 pm on the weekends, I am 100% convinced that if this new majority was in power during the course of the previous 4 years, there would be no City Hall, Scott’s Place or Amphitheater in which to hold events.  In fact, I am willing to wager that four years from now we will still not see a new community center built because you are incapable of making the decisions necessary to get the job done, as you remain bogged down in process.

It was my goal to find a way to work with you for that would have been in the best interest of our community.  Since you have rebuffed my efforts, I will no longer try.

The Wellington Chamber of Commerce will find other venues for our functions.  We will also continue to watch what you do and report it to our members.  We will shine a light directly at every effort you make to restrict the business community and waste taxpayer dollars litigating with businesses who are just trying to make Wellington the Equestrian Capital of the World.

Sincerely,

          Alexander L. Domb
            President, Wellington Chamber of Commerce

Wellington Council Meeting - September 11th 2012

Given the circumstances which led to the failure of the Wellington Staff to attend the Equestrian Forum Master Plan meeting on Monday evening, the Equestrian Forum was in attendance and was represented by three (3) Steering Committee members at last night's meeting.

At the request of the Equestrian Forum Steering Committee, Amy Bock Esq., addressed the Wellington Village Council. Appearing as Legal Counsel for the Equestrian Forum, Bock clarified the the Equestrian Forum's mission to represent the views and concerns of Wellington's Equestrian industry. In addition, Amy Bock requested that the Forum be included in the Equestrian Master Plan process as a Stakeholder.

Most intriguing, however, was the council's reaction to the statement that the Forum was disappointed and embarrassed by the last-minute cancellation of the scheduled presentation by Village Staff at the September 10th Forum meeting. Though clearly against protocol, Wellington Council and Staff engaged in lively debate concerning the incident, culminating in personal apologies to the Forum by Mayor Bob Margolis and Council member Howard Coates and strong questioning of the decision by Council members Howard Coates and Anne Gerwig.

Mayor Bob Margolis added that he and his Staff were looking forward to meeting with the Equestrian Forum Steering Committee.

Follow-Up

On Thursday, September 13th 2012, members of the Equestrian Forum Steering Committee duly reviewed the audio tapes of the late Monday afternoon Agenda Review Meeting, September 10th 2012 of Wellington Council members.

The resultant outcome is that the official Village of Wellington audio recordings substantiate the Equestrian Forum position that certain Wellington Council members previously cited were predisposed against the Equestrian Forum meeting and initiated the dialogue leading to the cancellation of the Wellington Staff Master Plan presentation.

Wellington Council Snubs Equestrian Residents

The Equestrian Forum Steering Committee extends its sincere apologies to it's members and meeting attendees for the appearance failure of tonight's Guest Speaker, Michael O'Dell - Master Plan Project Director.

Despite an attendance confirmation several weeks ago, this afternoon Councilman, Matt Willhite laid the groundwork to cause Mayor Bob Margolis to cancel the scheduled Master Plan presentation without the courtesy of any notice.

The Equestrian Forum Steering Committee joined by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce and meeting attendants regret the ill manners of the members of the Wellington Council and the spontaneous prohibition of access to Village Staff.

Equestrian Forum Steering Committee

September 10th 2012

Equestrian Forum Meeting - September 10, 2012

You are Invited to Attend

The Equestrian Forum of Wellington will be holding monthly meetings for our members on a range of topics. We want you to advise us about desired topics.  The next monthly membership meeting will be:

 September 10 at 7:00 p.m.

                              Polo West Utopia

   2470 Greenview Club Drive

                            Wellington, Fl 33414

Our topic will be the Equestrian Master Plan currently being prepared by the Village. This Plan will eventually become law for the Wellington Equestrian Preserve Area (also referred to as the Equestrian Overlay District).  The scope of the Plan is expected to be far-reaching and will determine the size and range of venues, regulate homes, barns and equestrian facilities, set forth a trail system, and many other aspects of the equestrian community and industry.

Our guest speaker will be Mr. Mike O’Dell, the Village’s Project Manager for the Master Plan. Following his presentation there will be questions and comments from those in attendance.

As preparation of the Master Plan progresses, the Forum will be establishing positions on many of the issues that will be addressed, including what the scope of the Master Plan should be.  We want our members to be aware and involved in this process.  

Commentary by the Steering Committee

There was a universal feeling of exhilaration immediately following the Village council’s decision to allow the derby and dressage season and the GDF at the new Equestrian Village venue. And while everyone is excited that we will have a 2013 GDF and derby events, the reality is that our equestrian industry remains tethered to the surreal political dynamics of Wellington.    

Any other city council would be discussing how it could help make an equestrian season a success so that the economic and financial benefits to residents and businesses are maximized. In Wellington, however, we are elated by an action that should not have been needed in the first place.  

Our council discussed conditions and restrictions rather than making Wellington a world-class dressage destination.   

We do not have leadership in Wellington. We do not have a chief executive or legislative body providing a vision and inspiration. Instead, we have a majority of council members who themselves have stated they are concerned with “the process”.  The council behaves more like a code enforcement board than a legislative body. They’ve repeatedly said that their mission is to enforce rules in reference to the equestrian industry. That is not leadership. That is bureaucracy.

So long as the Council majority can punish Wellington Equestrian Partners they seem not to care about the collateral damage to residents and businesses. This has been repeatedly pointed out by council members Howard Coates and Anne Gerwig. Councilman Coates refers to the actions of the majority as a “scorched earth” approach that is political payback that damages Wellington residents and businesses.    

The local media have publicly connected the dots from the campaign contributions in March to the deleterious actions of the council majority. Below is a recent editorial from the Palm Beach Post. It describes the Council’s selective and punitive enforcement of rules.

We thank the council for its actions regarding the 2013 dressage season. The eyes of the international equestrian community were on us. Cancellation of the 2013 season at the new venue would have been devastating to Wellington’s equestrian reputation and costly to its residents and businesses.

We thank the Council for not accepting the unrealistic conditions being demanded by the Jacobs family in exchange for their support of dressage. The Jacobs offer of support was disingenuous. Imposition of their conditions would have meant no derby and dressage season. Their offer of “support” was cynical.

It is frustrating and disappointing, however, to have the Village council majority continue to spend what will be hundreds of thousands of dollars of our tax money to implement the Jacobs’ agenda and to damage us.

A covered arena would be wonderful for us to use now. It’s hot and sunny here in South Florida. A covered arena is something full-time Wellington residents have sought for decades. But the fact is a  majority on the Village Council has denied us the ability to use this facility year round and our money is being spent on lawyers to defend these and other actions that are restricting us and our sport.

The covered arena is named the Van Kampen Arena in memory of the late investor Robert Van Kampen, who established a family legacy of philanthropy and charitable giving. The Van Kampen Arena was to be available 30 days a year for use by charities and non-profit organizations. Kimberly Boyer, one of Robert Van Kampen’s three daughters who is extensively involved in the local equestrian community, was instrumental in spearheading creation of the dressage facility.

Now the Village has made the arena unavailable during the months it is needed most and unavailable for 30 charity events, and the barns cannot be used as a safe-haven during times of emergency such as the current flooding of barns throughout the Equestrian Preserve.

Mayor Bob Margolis helped spearhead creation of the legal wall that prevents us from using the venue year round. We ask: “Mayor Margolis, tear down that wall”.  

It takes only one more vote on the council to provide stability to the equestrian industry. We ask that the Mayor place our interests above special interests. Please put an end to the lawsuits and let’s all work together for the betterment of Wellington.  

Editorial: Wellington should get horse sense on equestrian events

Monday, Aug. 20, 2012

By Rhonda Swan

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

The sport of dressage is all about style and grace. Then there’s Wellington, where the political sport is to abandon not just style and grace but reason when discussing its hometown equestrian industry.

Last week, after the predictable marathon meeting, the council sort of, maybe agreed on hosting the 2012-13 Global Dressage Festival. As always, the issue came down to Mark Bellissimo, the festival’s producer, vs. the Jacobs family, which has a large horse complex in Wellington and this year spent $500,000 to install an anti-Bellissimo majority on the council.

Last month, the council revoked the previous council’s approval for a dressage arena that Mr. Bellissimo’s Equestrian Sports Partners had proposed in the Equestrian Preserve. The group missed a platting deadline required for a master plan for the 59-acre site and compatibility determination for the arena. Previous councils would have granted an extension. The new council chose not to, though all three who voted against the extension said during their campaigns that they supported the arena.

“This is the kiss of death for Wellington’s future,” Victor T. Connor, president-elect of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce wrote in a letter to The Post. “No business will invest in a community that retroactively un-approves previously approved projects and requiring returning the property to its previous use.”

The dressage arena was intended to be the centerpiece of a proposed $80 million Equestrian Village. The new majority’s coldness toward Mr. Bellissimo’s proposals prompted Equestrian Sport Partners to withdraw its bid to host the 2018 World Equestrian Games, which would have been an economic boost to the village. “Recent actions by the newly elected members of the Wellington Village Council to impede the development of equestrian sport in Wellington,” Mr. Bellissimo wrote in a statement, “has forced us to withdraw our bid.”

Mayor Bob Margolis has said previous councils favored Mr. Bellissimo too much. “I’ve never seen this type of open-door policy,” Mr. Margolis told The Post Editorial board,” for people getting what they want.” That may have been true. It’s just as wrong, though, to target someone for unfavorable treatment. Unless it starts looking out for Wellington first, the council will look like the wrong end of a horse.

Randy Schultz

for The Post Editorial Board

GDF Gets Temporary Permission to hold the Festival

After months of council votes, lawsuits and debate, the Wellington Village Council has allowed Equestrian Sport Productions’ Adequan Global Dressage Festival to move ahead with the 2012-2013 show season at its new facility in Wellington, Fla. 

According to the Palm Beach Post, the five-member council met on Aug. 14 to vote on an issue with temporary stabling and other details of the festival. The final vote was 4-0 in favor of the dressage competitions, with one councilman, John Greene, recusing himself from the vote for personal reasons.

The council agreed to suspend the revocations it passed last month after ESP agreed to put lawsuits they filed against the village regarding the project on hold.

A final vote rejected conditions set forth by the Jacobs family members, who own property adjacent to the festival site. While he has stated that he supports dressage in Wellington, Lou Jacobs wrote an open letter to ESP CEO Mark Bellisimo in which he set forth a list of conditions for the Global Dressage Festival, including no strobe light shows, concerts or live entertainment. Jacobs also requested limited competition hours and loudspeaker use.

While the council considered Jacobs’ conditions, they largely followed Wellington staff’s recommendations. The Global Dressage Festival will be allowed to hold 10 events between Nov. 1 and April 30, 2013. Only 2,000 people are permitted on the grounds due to parking limitations. Events will end by 10 p.m. on weekends to reduce noise to the nearby neighborhood, and all entry will be from South Shore Boulevard. The council also approved a temporary stabling tent, which will be adjacent to the permanent stabling at the facility.

"We are very pleased with the results of last night's vote and can now proceed with the 2013 Adequan Global Dressage Festival," said Bellissimo in a written statement. "We applaud the Village Council for recognizing the economic contributions of dressage and the Adequan Global Dressage Festival to the health of the local equestrian industry and community of Wellington."

 

Wellington set to Decide Dressage Festival Fate Tuesday

By Mitra Malek

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

WELLINGTON — 

This time, a new group has formed to make sure a huge dressage event that producers of the Winter Equestrian Festival had nearly cinched under previous Wellington leadership continues despite perceived resistance from current leadership.

The tug-of-war that erupted in the village’s equestrian community early this year has ratcheted up a notch.

“The hostility of Wellington’s government towards the new dressage venue … has become known globally,” reads a petition from the Equestrian Forum, as the group is known.

“People aren’t believing it’s going to happen,” said committee member Terri Kane, an equestrian farm owner.

“We ask that the council take immediate action to ensure there is an equestrian season at the new derby and dressage venue,” the petition reads.

That action, they said, needs to happen during the Aug. 14 council meeting.

The back story: the village council in May and July revoked approvals the previous council had granted related to the event because the producers, headed by Mark Bellissimo and Michael Stone, had missed a platting deadline and not formally asked for an extension.

But the show can go on. Producers can apply for special use permits.

“This isn’t a crisis,” said jewelry store owner Jack Van Dell, who has been in Wellington for 30 years. “This is not the end of the world.”

That launched a shouting match, though not the only one Tuesday.

“I personally feel betrayed,” said rider Carol Cohen. “I’m angry. I’m upset.”

Cohen, along with a very vocal handful of the 75 or so people who attended the Equestrian Forum’s inaugural meeting, were in near-panic mode.

Riders need to firm their plans in August, and the steering committee fears the special-permitting process could take months.

Kane, along with Jack Mancini, Gaye Scarpa and Kathy Mailloux, formed the group last week, they said. The steering committee includes one more member who wants to remain anonymous, said committee member Jack Mancini, an equestrian photographer.

“We are not aligned with any entity,” Mancini said.

Mayor Bob Margolis and councilmen John Greene and Matt Willhite were at the meeting. The Equestrian Forum in its literature lampooned the three newly elected men for their revocation votes on the Equestrian Village project, which would have housed the dressage festival.

Greene after the meeting Tuesday said consideration for a special-use permit could certainly be on the Aug. 14 agenda.

“I’m not concerned with every ‘i’ being dotted and every ‘t’ being crossed,” Green said. “We are not going to kill dressage.”

Lauren Miro, August 3, 2012

A new voice representing equestrian professionals has come to the table regarding Wellington’s divided equestrian industry. The organization, dubbed the Equestrian Forum of Wellington, is hoping to represent those who make their livelihoods from the industry.

More than 75 people packed into Utopia at Polo West on Tuesday, July 31 for the group’s inaugural meeting, which became heated at times.

Formed by equestrian professionals Jack Mancini, Terri Kane, Gaye Scarpa and Kathy Brown Mailloux, the group formed after, they said, several recent decisions put the upcoming equestrian season in jeopardy.

“Our purpose was to bring together people who have an opinion on the equestrian industry in Wellington that might be a little different than what we’ve heard or experienced,” Mancini said. “I think many people feel that the equestrian industry has not been given a voice.”

By “equestrian industry,” Mancini said he was referring to those who make the bulk of their income from the horse show season — be they grooms, vets, retail shop owners, photographers or any people in any other profession.

“I am a small business owner, and I depend on the equestrian events in Wellington — all of them,” he said.

Mancini stressed that the group was not aligned with any side of the debate but purely intended to represent the equestrian professionals in Wellington. “It’s for people who make their living from this industry,” he said. “That’s what’s important.”

The group’s founders point to recent decisions by the Wellington Village Council that they say have created a crisis surrounding the equestrian industry.

After the master plan allowing a permanent dressage arena on the Equestrian Village property was revoked, Mancini said that no other permits had been issued to allow shows there.

Mancini said that although opponents of the equestrian venues want to return Wellington to its roots, the community has changed.

“Since Prince Charles played polo on that site, the identity of Wellington was forever changed,” he said. “It’s not a little town that supports the use of horses. It’s much larger than that. It’s one of the biggest world destinations for people to come watch show jumping, polo and now dressage.”

But with the revocation of the Equestrian Village master plan, Mancini said the Forum founders were concerned about the upcoming dressage season.

Kane, who owns a dressage farm, said that last year the dressage barns saw record numbers of occupants. “For the first time, we were turning people away,” she said. “But because of the things that have happened since then, people think the dressage season is not happening. I should be taking reservations now, but people are not planning to come to Wellington because they don’t know if there will be a competition.”

As its first order of business, the group has asked those in support to push for council members to grant all necessary permits for the 2013 season to happen.

“It has not been approved on the agenda,” Kane said. “We need to make our voices heard and let them know it’s very important.”

Mancini said that another immediate way people could help would be to sign a petition that “calls on the Wellington Village Council to take immediate action to allow the Global Dressage Festival… to occur at the dressage and derby facility.”

Equestrian Sport Productions President Michael Stone said permitting is a complicated process.

“The problem is that it’s not as simple as getting a special use permit,” he said. “The process could take three or four months. In addition, the special-use permits did not give us permission to use the permanent structures.”

But Stone told the group that his organization had been in talks with the village. “We are working with the council,” he said. “We believe we will get somewhere over the next two to three weeks.”

Discussion got heated when veterinarian Dr. Scott Swerdlin pointed out that most of the council was present and suggested that they address the matter.

But Mayor Bob Margolis said that would be a violation of the Sunshine Law.

After the meeting, Councilman John Greene told the Town-Crier that although he could not speak at the meeting, he would be in favor of issuing the special-use permits necessary for the 2013 Global Dressage Festival.

“We are not killing dressage in Wellington,” he said.

Greene pointed out, however, that his concerns with the master plan changes included allowing events on the site that were not necessarily equestrian-related.

Margolis also said he supports dressage. “The council is committed to making sure there is a dressage season in Wellington next year,” he told the Town-CrierWednesday.

One speaker, local businessman Jack Van Dell, said that he understood that if the show promoters sent in their applications on time, they would be approved.

“Everyone in the free world who lives in Wellington wants to see the success of the equestrian industry,” he said. “I understand that it is on the Aug. 14 agenda. As I understand it, it will be approved if [promoters] send all the proper papers. This is not a crisis. It’s not the end of the world.”

Carol Cohen of Two Swans Farms said she felt betrayed.

“I am in shock that this has happened,” she said. “I’m angry. I’m really passionate about this. What can we do?”

Several attendees suggested a door-to-door campaign and making shirts and other propaganda to make non-equestrian residents aware of the issues.

Mancini said he’d like to see everyone with a professional interest in the industry get involved.

“What that means, I don’t know yet,” he said. “We would like to form committees and get people involved to make us an effective voice for our cause. We’re gathering momentum.”

For more information on the Equestrian Forum of Wellington, e-mail equestrian.forum@live.com.