THE INSIDE STORY OF THE 2014 SUPER BOAT RACE DISASTER!

Part 3 in a Series. Please see Parts 1 and 2 below.

THE INSIDE STORY OF THE 2014 SUPER BOAT RACE DISASTER!

EXCLUSIVELY ON STOP BAD GOVERNMENT!!

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The Charlotte Harbor Super Boat Grand Prix

The Rest of the Story

Part 3 in a Series

The Englewood Fire Company – 2 people, 2 miles, 2 minutes – $19 grand!?

How does taxpayer funded Englewood Fire Department dare try to charge $18,720 for 2 days work consisting of parking one emergency vehicle, staffed with two people to block the main entrance to the race, based just 2 miles and a 2 minute drive from the event?
In Englewood, Charlotte County, it’s very easy.

Greed is a funny thing. Self-importance is even funnier.

When the “race” was proposed, our local “government safety groups” saw ways to make some easy money from the race event’s volunteer committee, sponsors and admission fees. Dollar signs, rather than community effort, were what those government managers focused their sights.

Greed

Once again, a little background. The other five race venues in Florida have the same safety risks and exposures. In order to make the event a success and bring it back the following year(s), they developed a positive community working relationship. Translated: The emergency equipment and personnel were stationed nearby and ready to go. The same people and equipment that were already “on duty” and being paid their normal wages, were simply placed at a different spot, but doing the same job. Waiting to respond to an emergency. Same job, same daily cost, same response. No difference than what was done a week before or a month later. Most importantly, there was little or no cost to those race events.

Unfortunately, Englewood Fire Department “leaders” saw a way to make some extra cash for doing the same thing that they’d have done 2 miles and 2 minutes away. Sit, wait and respond, if necessary.

The Race Committee pleaded with the Englewood Fire “Chief”, on numerous occasions, that the proposed fees ($18,720 for two days…of sitting by the beach) simply would not work. The Chief’s shocking response was, “If we don’t get paid, we don’t sign the permit for the event to proceed”. It was brought to the Chief’s attention that the five other Florida race sites were able to provide public safety at minimal, even NO cost, AND that the event was being held to put Charlotte County and Englewood on the map and provide a positive economic impact to the area. His response was, “that’s not the way we work here”. Some people might call that “extortion”.

Self-Importance

Many civic-minded people might have enjoyed watching the Englewood Fire Marshall prance around letting one and all know how important he thought he was to the event. His favorite phrase, “I’ll shut this event down if I’m not satisfied”, became a running joke among many. It actually became comical, months prior to the event, as the race committee walked the festival site with him. During that hour-long meeting, the Fire Marshall uttered his “shutting down” line no less than 15 times. He seemed determined to let one and all know who was the boss and HE was “going to shut it down”. Is this a community minded, public employee? His words, actions and thoughts seemed more aimed at stopping the event from happening.

Let’s be clear. Safety for all was at the very top of the race committee’s list. Money, ego and self-importance seemed to be more important to the government safety departments. The good news is, thankfully, that no safety incidents occurred. All festival fans and the race teams had a safe and happy weekend.

Only after months of repeated pleas, and faced with the fact the race committee simply could not meet his demand for $18,720, did the Fire Chief make changes to his safety plan. Very minor changes, I might add. See the nearby charts. Funny that those little changes cut the “fee” by $5,000! His original plan was for 8 firemen and 3 vehicles on Saturday and 16 firemen and 5 vehicles on Sunday. As we walked the grounds Race Weekend, we saw two firemen and one vehicle at the main entry point. That’s all we saw, but we supposed there could have been others. We just didn’t see them. Also, by adding a “Site Inspection” fee in the February proposal, well, that was further proof that he was just making it up as he went. So the $13,765 fee contributed significantly to the cost overruns, compared to the other races in Florida, which contributed significantly to the race not returning.

Consider this, would YOU want to bring a top-of-the-line, world class event to our beautiful area if you had to work with such an amateurish, dictatorial and provincial attitude? Other race communities in Florida seem to get it. Englewood Fire Department? Not so much. If you were interested in making a proven, very successful international racing event a failure, copying the Englewood Fire Department would be a good start.

Greed and self-importance are funny things to witness, but very expensive to experience.

Will greed and self-importance once again be the goal when the Englewood Waterfest debuts this year?

Let’s hope not.

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Next up in Part 4: $30,000 for a few Band-Aids…and a lot of huffing and puffing!

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Editor’s Note: The following inside story was given to Mr. Scott Andrichak, who provided it to Stop Bad Government in Charlotte County.

The authors stated they wish to remain anonymous out of fear of repercussions from the County Commissioners, County Administration and the Sheriff’s Office.

SBG puts this information before our readers, as the authors write, to give you the rest of the story. There are facts and figures here that have not been reported elsewhere.

Mr. Andrichak says the only changes made were to punctuation, clarity, etc.
We here at Stop Bad Government made no changes.