By Tim O’Meilia
The logo on the main page of “The Un-Official Guide to the Town of Gulf Stream” website includes an upside-down town seal. Take that as a hint to the content within.
Gulf Stream resident Christopher O’Hare’s site skewers town management, challenges town commissioners’ decisions and mocks town officials and commissioners in parody videos.
Above the masthead is a disclaimer: “This website is not endorsed by or affiliated with the municipal entity known as the Town of Gulf Stream. Nor do we want to be.”
He fibbed. On Oct. 11, he asked commissioners to put a link to his site on their official site.
The town attorney said no.
“Inappropriate,” Town Attorney John Randolph called it.
Randolph said the town’s site, www.gulf-stream.org, includes only links to other government-related sites plus The Gulf Stream School. A reference to the town’s web-hosting company, the Green Group, has been removed.
O’Hare later said he created the web site, www.townofgulfstream.com, because “a lot of investigative reporting is not being done.”
The website is not his first tangle with the town. He filed two lawsuits against the town in Palm Beach County Court in October, claiming public records law violations.
The suits claim the town did not reply quickly enough to his requests and that he was charged too much in fees for a variety of documents, including those related to a 2004 accident involving a town police officer, in which two bicyclists were injured. Although the town claimed both the officer and the bicyclists shared fault, the town settled a $15,000 claim with each.
A 12-year town resident, O’Hare has clashed with town officials over code requirements several times since he moved to Place au Soleil two years ago. His request for a metal roof was denied in May 2012 by the town commission. Three appeals in Palm Beach County Circuit Court were denied, the latest in June.
Comments
The officer who used his patrol car to cause the bicyclist to crash on A1A is the same officer who violated my privacy by trespassing inside my home. The public records request mentioned by Mr. O'Meilia was to find out why the Town of Gulf Stream would trust someone like that to police our community. I discovered that no mention of this officer's acts were in this man's file and no Town action had been taken in regard to his behavior. It was very difficult to get all these records from the Town.
I have heard horror stories about the Town's bad behavior from my neighbors for years. Most people will go along to get along and suffer in silence. Hopefully my web site will give these people a voice.
The web site www.townofgulfstream.com, servers a public purpose. Without scrutiny or challenge, power can become very corrupting and abusive. More evidence of this will be forthcoming in the months ahead. I welcome all readers to visit and comment.
Chris O'Hare