re: DeSantis Admin Wants to Put Golf Courses, Pickleball Courts and More In FL State Parks

Imagine if we voted in Desantis for the Prez run

Dude would have been crushed

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James Gaddis had just returned home Saturday afternoon when he found a dismissal letter waiting on his Tallahassee townhouse’s doorstep.

The former two-year Florida Department of Environmental Protection employee told the Tampa Bay Times he was the one who leaked information about the state’s plans to build golf courses, 350-room hotels, pickleball courts and more at nine state parks, including two in the Tampa Bay area.

Now, the agency appears to be firing him, according to a copy of the letter shared with the Times.

Gaddis, 41, who was hired by the agency as a cartographer, said his actions weren’t political, and that there were two main reasons he chose to speak out: The rushed secrecy that was behind the park plans, and the vast environmental destruction that would be caused if they were to be completed.

“It was the absolute flagrant disregard for the critical, globally imperiled habitat in these parks,” Gaddis said in an interview Monday morning. Gaddis said he was tasked with making the proposed conceptual land use maps that depicted the golf courses and other developments. Two proposals were especially egregious in his eyes: The Jonathan Dickinson State Park golf course, and the 350-room hotel at Anastasia State Park.

“This was going to be a complete bulldozing of all of that habitat,” Gaddis said. He recalls his hand, hovering over a computer mouse, shaking with anger and frustration as he was told to rush his maps from senior leadership. “The secrecy was totally confusing and very frustrating. No state agency should be behaving like this.”

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LINK

He was fired, started a Gofundme, and has 3 years salary in it so far. He is also making the rounds on the local news, claiming whistleblower status.

Almost $150k

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golf course is environmental destruction?

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I'm not 100% sold on the idea but also not 100% against it. But a good golf course designer (and knowing who is involved) would work within the provisions of the land.. they take pride in doing the least amount of alteration

Again not sure all areas a suitable but some are... The Ryder cup next year is going to be played on a course in a NY state park

Some parks are there to protect and enjoy a unique natural environment and some are for entertainment and use by the population. Also, parks never get enough funding to staff and maintain.

That said, as long as they do this on parks meant for recreation and not with historical or environmental significance I don’t have a problem with it.

A lot of people that go to work for the park system are environmental nuts so it’s not surprising that they freak out about the possibility of eliminating a pine forest….thats just like every other pine forest in the south…to build a golf course or resort.

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The Ryder cup next year is going to be played on a course in a NY state park

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We have a saying here in Florida...



I assume y'all have a similar saying about Mississippi, like don't 50 up my 49 or some shite.

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News of his firing came as two Democratic state representatives pressed the agency about who was involved in drawing up plans that appeared to include no-bid contracts destined for mysteriously pre-chosen developers outside the requirements of Florida law.

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Swamp gonna swamp.

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But state parks like Ravines is .worth some modification Not sure if it's on any list but I'm would think that other parks are in the same condition

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I assume you mean ravine gardens near palatka, not the failed mark mccumber golf course neighborhood in clay county called the ravines there were 9 parks on the list. I think they were all water front, most being ocean front. Not to say ravine gardens couldn't be a nicer park, just not sure pickleball, golf, condos, etc are the right angle to accommodate that. It's also fairly small at ~60 acres.

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like the fuss of tearing down the old Jax Suns stadium.

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Lol, there's been more push back over the Lerp sign than there ever was over wolfson park.

Florida is about out of land to develop.
The development battle has been going on for decades in Fla, with developers often winning.

Taking the small amount of preserved nature and developing it is asinine.
If the state wants more public space with golf, etc., buy up private land.

Yes, Florida has one of the greatest parks on the planet, the Everglades, but development to the north has significantly altered it by reducing freshwater flowing south.

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assume you mean ravine gardens near palatka,

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Yes Ravines in Palatka ( can't call it gardens).

I wasnt insinuating making anything out of it because it is small and fairly worthless to be honest ..but insinuating more along the lines of ..how many parks are in that same category of ...slap a trail sign on it and call it a park ( ...admittedly like Jacksonville has done with any green space that is more than 20x20 ft )

I dont know that 9 are needed but 1..2...possibly three places could be done environmentally complaint and produce a revenue stream like theRTJ effort for the Alabama retirement system

LERP sign..i didn't know there is any fuss about it
other than ... artist can't actually do it and can't afford it if he could but it was the Lynch pin of the winning effort somehow. I did complain about the old stadium though...and the nostalgia but the (not ) new park is so much better. I learned from that, and married into the design architecture world....when you have the right talented people doing what they do best, you can get a far better product than expected. The Nicholas design group (who I think is involved ..know what they are doing)