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Century Botches Public Hearing To Change Land Use For Council Member’s Father
September 6, 2020
The Century Town Council is being forced to reconsider a land use change for the father of a council member after town staff botched a legal notice.
James Smith, Sr., father of council member James Smith, Jr., requested a use change for just over of a tenth of an acre at 220 East Pond Street from public/institutional to low density residential. It’s ordinary business that took a turn due to Florida’s Sunshine Law.
The town council held a required public hearing on the change during their August 17 meeting. James Smith, Jr. made a motion to approve the action, but was informed by Council President Ann Brooks that he could not make the motion due to a conflict of interest. On a new motion by Luis Gomez, the council approved the change 4-0 without a vote from Smith.
But it was later discovered that the public notice published by the town did not include a date for the public hearing, invalidating the entire process.
The council will hold a new public hearing at or after 7:25 p.m. on Tuesday, September 8 and vote again to approve or deny the change.
The town’s planner will pick up the tab for the publication of the improper public notice.
Pictured above: The red area shows the property at 220 East Pond Street. Pictured below: This published public notice did not indicate the date of the meeting. NorthEscambia.com graphics.
Comments
20 Responses to “Century Botches Public Hearing To Change Land Use For Council Member’s Father”
REGARDING:
“My mistake–no blame should be placed on the Century Town Council. Debbie Nickles, Century Town Planner”
Good job, Debbie. Mistakes happen. An honorable person like you owns up to them and moves forward. Also good of Ann to keep it all on the up and up as it should be.
David for honor
@Century Native—”INSTEAD OF ALWAYS BLASTING NEGATIVITY!!!” Maybe, just maybe it’s because there is so much negative stuff going on day after day, month after month, year after year non stop. Looks like a bunch of grade schoolers could do a better job running the town. Are you saying this stuff is all made up? I guess the truth hurts?
“Century Native” sounds like the town’s treatment plant; effluent with no place to go. A potential run for office; mayor perhaps? The whole town is collapsing under its own weight of failure with no one to pump the… well you know… the stuff out.
@Century Native: “not doing nothing” is a double negative. Which means those posting are in fact doing something. The facts speak for themselves. Century is economically disadvantaged, and the current leadership is incompetent to the point that they can’t even advertise a public meeting correctly. Go ahead and be bitter about the comments on a PUBLIC FORUM. Century residents continue to vote in these imbeciles.
Why is Century always in some sort of turmoil or corruption? It reminds me of the days when Prichard was always in the news.
Seem like to me a lot of people can run town council but not im office for you people to be so informed on what goes on in the town of Century why haven’t you put forth the effort to make it a better place instead of going on and on and not doing nothing to help the situation instead of always playing the field of complaining everytime i see something from this news source about Century its always negative i’ve never known that there was so much negativity in the small town of Century Fla smh HELP YOUR TOWN AND FELLOW NEIGHBORS INSTEAD OF ALWAYS BLASTING NEGATIVITY!!!! No wonder things go down hill because yall are to busy being negative instead of lending a helping hand to make it better.
Walt Disney..
You are so GOOFY.
Leadership that is so bumbling and incompetent, who could trust or believe anything they say?
As the Century Town Planner, I accept full responsibility for not including the date in the Public Notice that was advertised in the Tri-City Ledger. The Town Council was only following through with the Public Hearings at my direction. I composed the advertisement, proof read it several times, and simply did not see that I forgot to insert the date for the public hearings. My mistake–no blame should be placed on the Century Town Council. Debbie Nickles, Century Town Planner
Every time there is a story about Century I hear Yakety Sax playing in the background,,,,,
So how about the FDLE investigation loops back around to The Town of Century and the City Council for co-signing on bonds that are not quite kosher?
Wouldn’t surprise me a bit. That business of not putting something as routine as the DATE of a meeting on the Public Notice is just Dumb.
Unless, of course, they didn’t want We the People to know of the meeting.
How long till elections?
2020’s tiny glimmer of sunshine was Mike Hill being DEFEATED and out of office. Let’s Keep him OUT.
Wow, look a lot like pensacolas city council. Just a pathetic bunch of boobs
Rich father tells his three sons that he is dying and wants to buy them something special. Father to first son, What would you like to have? 1st Son: I would like to have a Island out in the ocean with a nice boat. Father: You got it. Father to second son, What would you like to have? 2nd Son: I would like to have a Mansion in the Hamptons with a Lamborghini. Father: You got it. Father to third son, What would you like to have? 3rd son: Well dad I’ve always wanted a Mickey Mouse Outfit. So the father bought him Century…..
Now we know why Forest Gump left there 30 years ago…..he was way over their head
M I C…K E Y…MOUSE.
?
Less than a month for an ATTEMPTED change of land use in this county. That’s impressive to the point of highly CORRUPT POLITICS. TRY THAT SPEED DOWN IN OUR REGULAR COUNCIL.
geeeez! you would think they could hold a meeting to do the towns business on simple issues. dysfunctional is the right word.
Good Grief, how many times does this make where Century Town Council has dropped the ball due to this very same thing?
You’d think that ONCE would have been Enough.
Sounds like the whole bunch needs to go to a training session for how to properly operate and function their jobs.
Pitiful.
Century – what a Mickey Mouse operation. They need some help finding good leadership.
Town Clownsil gets dumber by the minute!