Dear ARC

In the general spectrum of kiss-off letters, Gulf County ARC & Transportation received a doozy last week.

In response to a letter from the ARC board requesting a face-to-face with the Port St. Joe Commerce Center Association, Inc. board and for a discussion about an equitable resolution to the problem of future services and assessments, the association dashed back a letter that must have sounded recognizable to many a spurned paramour during, say, war time.

"Dear John, you're a great guy and performing a great service, but ..."

According to the letter from a board member representing the commerce center association, the board recently met and discussed the inquiries from ARC & Gulf Transportation regarding ongoing issues on dues, liens, etc.

That was mighty magnanimous of the board, but the obligation of the board of this non-profit organization, as the letter stated out, is to all the members of the association.

And while the letter's second paragraph was an expression of the association's appreciation for all the Gulf County ARC & Transportation public service efforts in the community on behalf of so many disadvantaged people, the association was not budging.

Sort of like describing a blind date as having a great personality, the letter details that the board is not able to make exceptions in the case of assessments and dues, save for following "the strict guidelines" provided in the covenants on the association.

Specifically cited is Article 11.7 which details the process for termination or amending the covenants.

The letter goes into detail about shared benefits and burdens within the association, the association operating without profit for the sole and exclusive benefit of the members and to promote matters of common interest and concern of the owners of the property.

Then, in a nice piece of parsing language, the letter effectively defuses a central claim of ARC, that it does not receive services from the association -because of its own work crews comprised of folks with challenges most of us will never experience - the letter maps out that the claim is for all intents and purposes a moot point.

The association serves the whole, geography and services received have little or no impact with regard to a single property owner, just the whole.

Nice bit of smoke and mirrors on that one.

And in respect to a face-to-face meeting between the respective boards involved, well, the ARC board was invited to participate in upcoming meetings as part of the process of crafting the 2010 budget for the association.

In other words, fuggadaboutit.

This invitation followed a discourse on how the association had worked to reduce the budget for all members in 2009 and how that was accomplished without taking into account bad debt and delinquent payments, long-term contingencies and an anticipated increase in utility fees.

Sounds like a county budget PowerPoint presentation.

But the key here is what is missing from the letter.

Article 11.7 does indeed spell out that owners holding two-thirds or more of the total votes within association may amend or terminate any of the covenants.

What was left out of the letter is that as long as the developer, The St. Joe Company, owns land within the commerce center any amendment or termination can only be accomplished with written permission from St. Joe.

"Further, until such time as the Developer (St. Joe) shall not own lands subject to this Declaration, the Developer shall have the unilateral right to amend this Declaration without the consent or joinder from any other party in any manner which does not materially and adversely affect the value of the Lot or other building parcel located within the Property."

In less legal terms, therefore, as long as St. Joe owns land within the commerce center, it is judge and jury of anything it may want to do, provided it does not "materially" impact other owners of property in the development, a word that in a court of law has myriad interpretations.

And, wouldn't you know, according to the county's property records, not only does St. Joe own land in the commerce center, it owns more acreage than any other property owner.

This begs the question, what has Gulf County ARC & Transportation done that would adversely impact other property owners in the commerce center?

Theirs is one of the most attractive and clean buildings in the development, the two non-profits take care of their own landscaping and it is first rate, particularly compared to the dirt lot and decaying asphalt road leading to the city water plant outside ARC's front door.

Further, while Gulf County ARC & Transportation was forced to take down its sign on the front of their property, an appropriate, moderately-sized sign, because no members of the association are permitted such signage, there across the street is the ugly, mangled upside down metal sign with the little white bird - the St. Joe emblem - on it promoting the commerce center.

Can we spell hypocrisy?

This entire episode in which the association has threatened liens for delinquent dues, refused to discuss remedies to an economic situation Gulf County ARC & Transportation can ill afford and generally spit on the shoes of folks who perform invaluable services for some of the most at-risk in our community is outrageous.

The St. Joe Company can put an end to it immediately.

Are you listening Jacksonville? Port St. Joe, the town the company built and has often shunted aside, is on the line.

The foundation you created to help fund good works around the region has "community" in its name.

Time to show some of that community spirit and there are few better works being performed right now than the services provided by Gulf County ARC & Transportation.