Brown faces off with Jaleski

A recent suggestion by Commissioner Gene Jaleski that the town look into a Vision Plan conducted by Golden Valley, Calif., and consider performing a similar plan upset and frustrated another commissioner last week.

In an e-mail sent to the town clerk for commission distribution Feb. 9, Jaleski asserts the town could assemble a non-political, community-based group to look into the town’s future.

Commissioner Jim Brown, who worked on the town’s Vision Plan that was accepted by the commission three years ago, called the Golden Valley plan, which addresses only environmental issues, “something that came out of the Sierra Club.”

“Longboat Key has done a lot to keep the environment safe, but has continued to ignore the Vision Plan that the citizens spent time, effort and money to establish,” Brown wrote in an e-mail to Jaleski dated Feb. 10. “Please take off the rose-colored glasses and respond to the citizens”!

Jaleski responded in an e-mail later that day insinuating the town’s Vision Plan “failed to see the light of day” because it wasn’t done properly.

In the e-mail, Jaleski also asked Brown to exercise civility.

“It is not necessary to talk down to one another with unnecessary personal attacks or derisive comments about other communities,” Jaleski wrote.

But the follow-up e-mail only seemed to frustrate Brown, who responded with another e-mail dated Feb. 11
Brown wrote: “Gene ... Your response just tells me that you have no idea what you are talking about. The Vision Plan that is sitting in the ‘commissioners’ laps was widely accepted by the voters and the community as a whole. You constantly harp on how much money the town spends on consultants, yet at every commission meeting you suggest some new idea with the need to hire another consultant. Is it okay for you to want consultants but not the rest of the town?”

Brown told Jaleski he hopes Jaleski will bring forward his Vision Plan approach to the commission so it can be decided if it has any support or not.

“If not,” Brown wrote, “maybe you could stop putting down the plan we spent two years developing with the input of all the town’s citizens and try to support the wishes of the people who put us in office. I don’t think anyone has their head in the sand but some may have their head in the clouds! Stop looking for something on the Internet when you already have what you need. No response necessary.”

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]