With his vote against allowing home-based start-up bakeries in Palm Coast, City Council member Bill Lewis may have drawn the first opponent of his re-election campaign, should he decide to run. Lewis conceded that he’d once started his own business from his home. But he didn’t want Cheryl Sheppard to do likewise, because he fears his neighborhood would go commercial—a groundless fear, since the city administration, the mayor and Sheppard made clear that there would be no visual and audible difference between the kind of business Sheppard wants to start and any other of the many home-based businesses the city allows.
Sheppard, the professionally trained baker who’s been trying to start a business from her kitchen in Palm Coast’s K Section, but has repeatedly been thwarted by the council, is now considering a run against Lewis in 2014.
Meanwhile, she’s still looking for a kitchen where she could start a baking business, selling the goods at special events and to various businesses. She and her husband, Rick de Yampert, her business manager, never intended to sell out of their home. They never intended to bake more than $15,000 worth of goods (in gross sales) in a given year. Their home would not have changed appearance, nor would traffic patterns have changed, with the most deliveries they’d get being no different than the average home getting the occasional visit from the UPS truck. And once the business would have started rolling, Sheppard intended to use the built-up capital to invest in a storefront business since, in any case, a home-based kitchen limits growth and profits.
For a Palm Coast City Council that has been preaching the virtues of entrepreneurship, small business and small-business assistance to the point of establishing a government division with that name (the Business Assistance Center, which spends much of its energy counseling home-based businesses) the Sheppard-de Yampert plan appeared to have all the ingredients for a happy entry in Palm Coast’s back-patting newsletter.
Twice in the last few months, the city’s planning board approved the proposal. That proposal would have merely aligned Palm Coast with state law, which just last year changed in order to enable such businesses, and bring them under the regulatory arm of the state’s division of agriculture. And for a time, it appeared as if a majority of the council was ready to approve it.
Then came Lewis’s opposition, which council member Bill McGuire joined—for different reasons—as did, finally, Mayor Jon Netts. The see-sawing took place over a series of meetings at which Sheppard and de Yampert pressed the issue with mounting evidence that contradicted virtually every claim Lewis was making, and Netts conceding that the city had no legal exposure: it could not be sued if, for example, someone got ill from the food.
It made no difference. On Tuesday, the council voted 3-2 to kill the proposal for good. It did not do so before Lewis, in a remarkable set of statements before the vote, reasoned against the proposal by going as far as suggesting the likes of Sheppard and de Yampert were potential criminals: called De Yampert and Sheppard potential criminals: “We hear a lot of comments about we won’t do this and we won’t do that,” Lewis said, referring to the pledges of home-based business owners to abide by the law. “But most of us know, over time, and it’s not a matter of trusting your citizens, if the citizens were to be trust-worthy and do what they’re supposed to do, we wouldn’t have jails and wouldn’t have to worry about arresting people. But we don’t. So we have to have rules and regulations and we have to make sure that we’re protecting what most of the people in Palm Coast move here for, and that’s a nice, quiet residential neighborhood. Sure, people do other things, but at least we have some regulatory power. With the state, we do not.”
That, too, was false: the city is not giving up its right to apply code enforcement to the kind of business Sheppard would run. To the contrary: it would be an added category. And while the city isn’t necessarily equipped to inspect a slew of new kitchen businesses, one or a few would not “break the bank,” in Netts’s words. Still, Lewis persisted in his opposition.
As did Netts and McGuire.
“When we approve this, we are giving tacit approval to this cottage food industry, and the city is giving its imprimatur on the business,” Netts said. “Mr. Lewis suggests that not everybody is honorable, and somebody steps a little bit outside of the law and creates a product that is a threat to public health and safety. I look at the proposed label that is prepared by Tallahassee, and it gives Palm Coast as an address, and if that label is on this cupcake or on this baked good, whatever it may be, the implication, in my mind at least, is that the city has somehow approved it.”
McGuire put it this way: “Certainly there’s a lot to be said for entrepreneurship, but when you go into business, it’s a risk-reward situation, and a lot of us that have gone into business, Mr. Lewis has, I have, you lay out a lot of risk in order to hopefully get that reward. When I was in Missouri I took a second mortgage on my house so I could start a business. You can’t have all the reward and not take any of the risk, and I think that in a case like this, the risk falls on the city.”
Council member Frank Meeker dismissed the notion that Palm Coast would be liable for anything. And fellow-councilman Jason deLorenzo, who’d championed the Sheppard-de Yampert plan, pointed out the council’s contradictions in his final words on the matter: DeLorenzo: “Entrepreneurship is part of the fabric of America, and I believe this type of business will create a stepping stone or a bridge to a storefront,” he said. “Just by sheer volume, if they are successful, they will have to move out of their house because they’re going to need a commercial kitchen, and you would not be able to bake the volume, and plus there’s strict state guidelines on the gross amount of money they’re allowed to make off of this before they have to leave the home and go to a storefront. So I think this creates an opportunity for them to get started and then to move on to a storefront, something we desperately need here in Palm Coast—to fill our storefronts.”
Sheppard and deYampert spoke, too. Their full remarks are reproduced below. But the battle was lost.
“The next move as far as the cottage food industry proposal,” de Yampert said in an interview this afternoon, “is to continue our search for kitchen space somewhere in the area that we can rent or lease, which we’ve been doing all along in any event. So of course the idea as a home-based business is not going to happen in Palm Coast. However, however we also are going to look at other cities in the area to see if they would allow home-based baking businesses. So that is an option. We’ve been meaning to check Ormond Beach, Bunnell, Flagler Beach, Daytona Beach.”
They would move. But “that’s far from an ideal option.”
The council, de Yampert said, voted its fear rather than its reason. “Likewise vice mayor Lewis,” de Yampert continued. “He basically said that state government is incompetent. I just found it very odd to hear that a government representative had such disdain for government.
Cheryl Sheppard’s and Rick de Yampert’s Statement to the Palm Coast City Council:
Thank you for considering our proposal for cottage food businesses in Palm Coast.
By now the council, city staff, the planning board and some citizens are familiar with the issues involved. However, because this is the first time the council is considering this issue as a proposed ordinance, we would like to reiterate the two key issues that have come up in past council workshops: One, the “invisibility” of cottage food businesses and potential disruption of neighborhoods. And two, food safety.
Concerning whether cottage food businesses would disrupt neighborhoods: This is key — the city land development code (section 4.12) ALREADY allows home occupations that create products for retail sale off-premises (that is, away from the home).
Except for the specific mention that prohibits food-based home occupations, we are proposing that NONE of the other current home occupation provisions be changed. The rules prohibiting deliveries, sales out of the home, signage, etc. would remain as is.
Councilman Meeker rightfully noted this during a past workshop. Home baking would entail no additional burdens on the city and neighborhoods than are ALREADY addressed and allowed under city code.
For anyone opposing our proposal, let’s come to an understanding about what you are opposing: You aren’t opposing just cottage food home occupations . . . you are opposing home occupations as ALREADY allowed by city code.
Go to the city’s website, palmcoastgov.com, then click on “Local Business Search,” then click on “Arts & Crafts.” There you will see 10 such businesses currently operating out of Palm Coast neighborhoods. EEvidently these businesses are making their candles, wood carvings, widgets or whatever and vending them at festivals or flea markets.
If we were planning a home occupation that sold cupcake-shaped pillows rather than cupcakes, we already would be in business, with no controversy because city code would automatically allow it — and yet all the traffic, delivery, signage and enforcement issues would be the same.
As Councilman Meeker said in a past workshop session, and we are paraphrasing here: If the city doesn’t allow cottage food as a home occupation, then the council needs to reconsider the entire idea of home occupations.
Concerning food safety: In July 2011, the State of Florida passed its cottage food law, which directly and specifically addresses food safety issues, and contains provisions for handling any public complaints.
Yet in the council’s May 8 workshop session, Vice Mayor Lewis, fully aware of the state’s cottage food law, expressed reservations and concerns about public safety issues. Mr. Lewis, that’s certainly your right to hold such a view, but let’s be clear about what your position entails: Basically you are saying that you don’t trust Tallahassee to uphold its end of the deal.
But the state’s cottage food law was adopted with extreme diligence and with the public’s safety in mind, and that law makes it clear that none of the food safety issues would be the responsibility of the city.
We must note again that our proposed home baking business will adhere to ALL of the current Palm Coast rules for a Class 2 home occupation: No serving customers out of our home. No delivery trucks bringing us supplies. No signage at our home or on our vehicle. We will be using our home for food prep, then vending our goodies at festivals and also delivering them to clients.
In closing, we believe that at some point government has to put faith in citizens and the law.
If traffic engineers say that a safe speed limit for Palm Coast Parkway is 45 mph, does government make the limit 35 mph in anticipation of those drivers who will push the boundaries and drive 55 in a 45 zone?
The state’s cottage food law and existing city regulations will allow home-based baking to operate as safely and as invisibly as any other Class 2 home business.
It would be unjust and discriminatory to not allow home-based baking while allowing other home businesses that make retail products.
It is only right and just that the city of Palm Coast update its land use code accordingly.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this proposal.
Nancy N. says
On behalf of all the home-based businesses in this city, I’m highly offended at Bill Lewis’s statement that seems to treat us all like we are criminals who can’t follow the rules.
And if you follow Bill’s “logic”…it leads you to two conclusions.
1. We should never give anyone a driver’s license ever because some drivers break the rules.
2. It doesn’t matter if we ban home bakeries or not, because people are just going to break the rules anyway and do what they want.
What are you going to do Bill, lock us all in our homes and never let us do anything for fear we might do something you don’t like? Oh wait…that won’t work. You don’t think we can even be in our homes without breaking your community rules.
patty says
All I can say is, short sighted, close minded, old fogeys!
K says
Time to replace those three windbags.
lefty loon says
Oh…..this is bad for my business. How can I get the government to take your money that you worked hard for and give it to me if they won’t let you people in the private sector work? Better yet how does the government think they will get paid if they continue to shut down private business? This is very very bad.
Palm Coast Resident says
Thank You Palm Coast City Council !
kenpc says
The mayor and councilmen who gave their “reasoning” for voting against the home-based baking business are proof of Lincoln’s saying: “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”
Magnolia says
People, I have been TELLING you this council must go. NOW do you believe me? We have trash trucks, UPS trucks, FedEX trucks, and landscaping trailers on our streets.
NOW you know why Palm Coast has no businesses, not unless you’ve got a big check in your hand to give this council.
Mr. Lewis is afraid his neighborhood will go commercial, but he could care less about mine. Cheryl, PLEASE run against this man. We need some sanity on this council.
I'm Not Saying...I'm Just Saying says
While we’re at it, let’s shut down…or even knock down all the storefronts. After all, they’re creating the potential for a criminal element- producing a product and having cash on hand that others might want to steal. Not to mention all the vandalism that could happen if someone decides to get cinder-block happy.
Gotta shut down all the restaurants, too. A patron could get behind the wheel after a few beers and cause an accident. A shipment of tainted meat could make people sick.
Oh, I forgot the gas stations. There’s a potential criminal element of pumping without paying.
Ella says
Fine. This is the perfect opportunity to create a kitchen incubator.
Lefty Loon says
Oh no people really don’t like Fascism. You don’t want government handout? Money in a bottle? You want to work? Unbelievable.
NortonSmitty says
Croatians!
Johnny Taxpayer says
This is ridiculous. Ms Sheppard should go ahead and bake her cupcakes in her home kitchen. I don’t even see how the city could enforce this ridiculous code. Code enforcement has no means to enter her house and inspect her kitchen, and no customers will come or go from the house, so how would they know? She did the right thing by trying to follow the rules, but when the city council goes out of it’s way to make starting a business so difficult for no legitimate purpose, it’s time to revolt by not complying with the ridiculous rules.
In related news, this is just another example of how much Mr. Meeker will be missed the sole voice of reason on this city council against 3 big Government clowns that think they need to be involved and regulate every aspect of life in the city but come election time they’ll have all the answers on how to bring jobs here. Do you think these types of stories do anything other than further enforce the valid view that Palm Coast is anti-business??? We can only hope whoever is appointed can fill Meeker’s shoes as the voice of reason, but given the fact that these 3 clowns will have a majority say in this regard, i’m not very hopeful. DeLorenzo is getting there as a second voice of reason, hopefully he keeps it up and fills the void.
And I hope Ms Sheppard does run against Mr. Lewis, I would be honored to make the first campaign contribution.
Magnolia says
Appointed to fill Meeker’s shoes?????? We don’t get to VOTE??????????????????
anon says
Lewis is very much out of touch. His perspectives are the basis for why this city is in a quandary that it won’t get out of any time soon.
If he doesn’t have a windmill to tilt at he finds one, such as all of the trailer truck parking at WalMart, Lowes and Home Depot. Those businesses should have told him to take a hike.
When he was running for the town council several years ago he cornered me as I was traversing out in public.
He wanted my vote and gave me the usual politician’s spiel.
Now if he sees me he acts like he doesn’t know me, like I just dropped down from the moon.
I am a marketer and I know how to turn out votes, so if Cheryl runs I will be more than happy to assist.
Joe A. says
I hope Ms. Shepphard keeps baking her home. There is no way they are going to stop this. Who is going to ring her bell and ask what’s cooking? Not Bill Lewis, Not Jone Netts and Not Bill McGuire.
I get Mr. Lewis ultra safety stance. I get it. But give in a little. Make a compromise.
As for the obnoxious Bill McGuire. You may have been able to afford a second mortgage on your home and been able to been a white collared business man sitting behind a desk. But we here in Palm Coast do not have that luxury. The housing market sucks here so much, that some of us are upside down. There is no damn RISK to the city. You have someone baking in their own kitchen, something everyone else does!!!! They do not have a show room, or expecting high traffic!
I just don’t know what you people are thinking. I can not wait to vote out this board out. They seem to have their heads up their ass!
Deep South says
@ Joe A. The ol’ dog came back and bit you in the butt. What was the turnout at the last Mayor’s election ?
I believe it was turnout of 5 percent.of the registered voters here in our fine town. No one to blame but our selves for keeping these behind the times and out of touch folks in office. Perhaps y’all will learn next time and get out and vote.
Ben Dover says
They don `t want anyone staying home all day working , they need us out and about so we can possibly get caught by one of their (its not about the money camera`s) geez guys how are they gonna get their kickbacks if we are not out there to get caught by one of they`re rigged lights? they need Ms Sheppards dough too!
Gia says
It’s about time. No for that kind of business. Who would take liability?
Flagler Native says
It’s just such a shame that Mrs. Sheppard has come forward and made herself known. If she had stayed quiet she could’ve just kept selling her treats “out of her back door” so to speak, P.C. officials are so stupid they never would’ve found out. Btw, if you read this Mrs. Sheppard..can I get a menu? It looks so yummy:) Wish I had time for home cookin’
Cheryl Sheppard says
@ Joe A, @ Johnny Taxpayer, @ Flagler Native . . . I am hoping to vend at area festivals, and all the ones I have checked into require vendors to have a business license and liability insurance (which of course is reasonable and expected).
Yes, I looked forward to serving individual customers by taking orders by phone and my website, and then delivering to them (minimal deliveries TO customers are allowed for class 2 home occupations in Palm Coast, just like the pizza people make deliveries … it’s deliveries of SUPPLIES TO homes that are prohibited).
Yes, I could do a certain amount of baking “underground.”
But, for my business to thrive and grow, I would need to reach a much bigger customer base. Hence the plan to vend my treats directly to people at festivals, farmers markets and the like. Port Orange Family Days say they draw 60,000 people over the course of their weekend festival.
bill harvey says
what a bunch of idiots on the council, backwards and dumb. a nice quiet residential neighborhood with no jobs, real bright. take a look at all the forclosures in this city and they are increasing and we have these old nitwicks chasing jobs away. ask how many high school graduates who are going away to college if they are going to come back here and raise a family. i heard that Pro Bass wanted to come here but the city rejected them because they did not like the style of their building and the same goes with sonic burger. if it was another golf course for all the all farts there would be no objection and than they want nurses to take care of them in their old age and complain that they are overpaid. i would not let these guys manage a kool-aid stand.
Ben Dover says
Really they turned away Sonic Burger , geez I guess they are getting kickbacks from McDonalds , and Wendy`s too , we got 3 each of them slop holes, a little variety would be nice , 5 Guys , Sonic, Jack In The Box , I was so sick of them two long before they put the 2nd ones in , couldn t believe we got a 3rd of each,and when are these morons gonna give us a gas station near town center , so sick of having to drive to Bunnell , or 95 to be gouged , these idiots really need to go , I mean really who builds a big Town Center and leaves out a gas station , it was costing me five bucks in gas, just to go get gas when prices were really high .
Mary Beth Mudrick says
Come to Palm Beach County!
Deep South says
The city council and mayor are so out of touch with the goings on in PC. How many small business electricians, plumbers, lawn cutters, and on so on, and so on are working out of their homes here in PC ?.. Just drive around and see all the small business trucks, trailers, and lawnmowers parked at the homes of these small businesses. They are not protecting or enforcing city laws. They are just picking and choosing what small businesses can work out of their homes,and which one cannot. Bill Lewis you even contradicted yourself by saying that when you first started out you worked out of your home, and then moved out and lease a place. Where Bill Lewis, not here ? If the city was really enforcing the law they would make ALL these small businesses that I mentioned earlier get out of their homes and lease a place to run their business.Such a contradiction, such a joke.
Jojo says
It was a good decision and for a number of reasons: I don’t want cars pulling up to my house all day long in the neighborhood (notice I didn’t say my neighborhood) to fetch whatever goods one is selling. There is no oversight when it comes to inspecting home bakeries and I certainly wouldn’t buy from them. The City is creating a dangerous precedent with respect to food born disease and possible food poisoning such as salmonella outbreaks. Who will investigate and notify the CDC if there is such an outbreak. The State of Florida won’t inspect home grown bakeries. I say the City is leaving itself wide open for a lawsuit. They created it with no oversight. Yes, no inspections.
Another thing, we already have people that are beauticians which I feel is a nuisance and are allowed to work from home with an Occupational License. These people are scabs that take money from businesses that have a storefront in Palm Coast. They support this City with taxes and pay salaries to beauticians that work there. Why allow cars in and out of our communities as a nuisance to residents that retire here for the peace and quite they have left in their lives.
We have the woman in Ormond Beach that wants to give swimming lessons to toddlers to prevent drowing at the expense of neighbors who have to put up with children screaming in the pool next door. The Ormond Beach had the audacity to stand up for the neighbor(s) solitude.
A persons home is their enjoyment and I’m sure a lot of us didn’t expect to buy a house here with these distractions in our last years on earth. Today, it’s not as easy to pick up and move a home – not in this economy anyway. Which brings me back to the issue. Why is the City allowing these OL’s anyway? They’re nothing but trouble.
RJ says
A free market economy is self-regulating. How long do you think people will buy from this home based bakery if it is making people sick and rife with disease? In fact you hit the nail right on the head with your own words, “and I certainly wouldn’t buy from them”. Most people won’t run a business for long if no one is buying. If people don’t want her goods, they are FREE not to buy them and they should also have the freedom TO buy them. Having the FREEDOM to buy and sell as an individual chooses is the fundamental basis of liberty.
However, you go on to say, “these people are scabs that take money from businesses that have a storefront”. Ahh, protectionism and entitlement. A lot of conservatives are fine with this concept applied to “business” and appalled when applied to the “poor” or the “individual”. It should be appalling when applied to either! If these other bakeries can’t compete, by what right… BY WHAT RIGHT do they or you or anyone else have to hold this person back, to obstruct her liberty, to subjugate her for your perceived benefit of others and for yourself???
By her own self interest, all of the fears you whine about are utter non-sense. Too much traffic in a neighborhood — People don’t want to go to a house and knock on the door to buy cupcakes… they would rather go to a store, but if those cupcakes are good enough they might buy them at a special event or order them for delivery… the sooner she can get TO A STOREFRONT the better for her and in her own interest. By her own words she would do so now if she could. Instead of begging for handouts, grants, tax breaks, special treatments, or taking on high-risk DEBT… she is trying to earn money in the most HONEST and respectable way possible… by trading VALUE FOR VALUE!!!! She is starting within her means, not the means she thinks she might get. She is not risking somebody else’s money… If only EVERYONE were of such high character!
By her own self interest, having unsanitary conditions, nasty food that makes people sick… how long will people buy from her? How long before someone else starts competing with her by maintaining sanitary conditions and higher quality? Why would she allow this for HER own good? And if she does, and people ARE FREE to not buy from her, she will go away. As opposed to your ideal of protectionism, applied to the taxpaying storefront, would grant monopoly by government sanction removing all incentive to be clean, have high quality goods, or in any other way COMPETE. Why would you waste money on a clean bakery if there was no one else ALLOWED to bring one to the market?
Government needs to get the hell out of the way and so do people like you.
Ben Dover says
Well if that is really their reasoning , why did they allow the section 8 drug dealers in our neighborhoods, I sure as hell would rather someone coming to my neighbors house for muffins , then drugs , and I`,ll take screaming babies over Suv`s decked out with bass rattling my windows at all hrs of the night , this city counsel has destroyed this community , they keep turning businesses away , people need jobs , we are number 1 in the state in foreclosures, theres a number to be proud of huh , they need to start addressing the real problems in this city and stop trying to figure out ways to screw the citizens out of their money
Nancy N. says
Jojo there are multiple factual errors in your comment.
“I don’t want cars pulling up to my house all day long in the neighborhood (notice I didn’t say my neighborhood) to fetch whatever goods one is selling.”
Current home based business rules in the city don’t allow for sales to customers of product out of your home, and Ms Sheppard wasn’t asking the city to change that. Her business plan was to take the products for delivery or for sale at places like festivals.
“Who will investigate and notify the CDC if there is such an outbreak.”
These tasks will be done by the same people that conduct the reporting and investigation of food-borne illness related to every other food-related business that operates out of a storefront in this town: local medical providers and the health department. State inspectors do not have a role in dealing with food-borne illness after it occurs.
“I say the City is leaving itself wide open for a lawsuit. ”
The city’s own attorney said that the city would not be incurring liability from home-based bakeries.
“These people are scabs that take money from businesses that have a storefront in Palm Coast. They support this City with taxes and pay salaries to beauticians that work there.”
I am self-employed and work out of my home as a writer. I pay taxes to this city and pay myself a salary, out of money that comes into this community from clients OUTSIDE of Florida. I bring money into this community, and my company’s profits are kept in this community. By contrast, many of the businesses in this community are chains that are paying their local employees and their taxes and then sending their profits earned off local citizens to their corporate headquarters in some other state. Exactly who is the better business citizen again?
What exactly do you have against people who work from home? Calling us “scabs” sounds like you think we don’t have real jobs. A business is a business. A storefront is not some magic measure of whether a business is “real”. The money that I earn and then spend in this community is not any less real because it was earned in my home office.
“A persons home is their enjoyment and I’m sure a lot of us didn’t expect to buy a house here with these distractions in our last years on earth. …Why is the City allowing these OL’s anyway? They’re nothing but trouble.”
My neighbors had no idea that I worked from home until I told them. They thought I was just a regular stay-at-home mom because they didn’t see anything at my house that told them otherwise. My neighbors who are part of a homeschooling group have 10x more traffic at their house than I do! No one ever comes to my house for work.
Welcome to the 21st century! Technology is allowing people to develop new ways of working. I work in an industry that didn’t exist 10 years ago, and I do it from home while caring for a disabled child, thanks to the internet. Times are changing.
Magnolia says
Nancy, you forgot to mention that the City outsources most of it’s work OUTSIDE of Palm Coast. That upsets a lot of small business owners here.
Dawn says
I have lived in states where the Dept. of Agriculture comes into your home/kitchen and inspects it. This is so it can be certified as a commercial kitchen. We have to follow Serve Safe guideline such as Temp control of freezers and fridge units, Sanitation and Storage. This is in order to Make and Package baked good from our homes. The kitchen is then certified. They even watch you go through a recipe to see how you perform your duties. They take swabs to analyse how clean your surfaces are.
Why can’t the Dept. of Ag. do this here. If the concern is safety make all home based bakeries have to have certification and make the bakers have to have Serve Safe certification as well.
As for the disturbance of the communities, most of the time there is a code that states that you are not allowed to have customers come to your place of residents to buy and pick up orders. This keeps traffic down and insures the integrity of the community life style. If you boast quiet neighborhoods then why can’t we DELIVER the products. This solves the problem of upset neighbors and food safety.
Any thought?
PJ says
Come on folks this what it is all about here in Palm Coast.
Please get out and vote everyone of these sad group of politicians and this city manager out.
We are just a group of fools we let them run a muck.
Here again you the people are treated like just common piece of trash.
You a person just trying make a living.
You an American or perhaps a resident alien with a green card trying to live the American dream.
You and you know who you are should stop trying to better your way of life, that’s right.
You yea you you live in a City that let’s you only live the life they want you to live.
You yea you you are nothing that’s right i said it nothing so don’t even try to live the liberties that many have died to allow us to live.
You go back to where you came from, NY, NJ, New England, maybe Europe, or Russa or Middle East just go back because you that’s right you can’t even bake a cake here in Palm Coast so why life here is a mess in this Palm Cast city government.
If you can’t live that American dream of starting out with nothing and becoming rich or better yet, even just try to put food on your table.
Yea you it’s too much for this City Council to even ask for.
GET OUT AND VOTE THEM OUT………………………They make me sick!!!!!!!!! Not the folks baking in their homes.
another voice says
Disgusting and pathetic. What the hell is wrong with these old fools? Seriously–has Bill Lewis looked at the unemployment statistics for the county his little corner of the City Fifedom sits in? Does he understand how many homes are in foreclosure?
When all we ever do is “worry about liability from lawsuits” that says to me that our government is completely co-opted by Big Business. Capitalism–and crony-ism–run amok in this town.
"My Daily Rant" says
Bill you should be ashamed of yourself.With so many people out of work you would think it would get a thumbs up.When elected to office you should be thinking of the people, not yourself .Its funny everybody blames Republicians because theres no jobs,still blaming Bush, Your proof of where its coming from.Oh and Bill you just lost a vote. PEACE
bill harvey says
you know what this guy lewis does he drives around the city and writes down all the violations he sees and than goes home and gets on his computer and enters Helium Complaints to code enforcement, get a life and volunteer at the church.
Ben Dover says
Well who else is to blame , Bush is the one that lied his way into a war that cost this country 12 billion a month for ten yrs, he ruined the economy and is responsible for the deaths of 6000 young men and women , not to mention the thousands of injured who`s medical benefits he cut, he should be in prison ,along with all his buddies on the hill taking bribes from the drug and insurance companies, and use loopholes to get out of paying their fare share of taxes what the hell does any republican have to rant about????
Magnolia says
@ Ben: And this has WHAT to do with cupcakes?
Ralph Belcher says
If you listen to all of what Councilman Lewis said, he isn’t trusting of his constituents (nor the state). However his constituents trust him (I’d go to thing). Remember the tires you bought at Wal Mart got there by semi-truck, not a fleet of mini-vans or Honda Accords.
I will support his remarks about having vehicles coming-and-going all day or night. But the cupcake thing is not one of those type of situations. The baker will presumably bringing in flour and ingredients just like she was on another grocery run, and loading the tins/tupperware as if she was going off to a elementary school party. Bill Lewis, your oars are out of the water on that one. You meant well, I’m sure. But you missed the mark. If the baker can make the mortgage payments by baking confections, then that’s one more house you won’t have to put on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Think, mister, think…
Dadgum says
Democracy has spoken.
Never heard such weiners, malcontents and sour grapes.,oh and, Hostess is laying off 500 workers down in Palm Beach because of scabs taking their jobs.
Flagler Business Owner says
Business owner in Flagler County will not locate in Palm Coast due to poor decision from local leaders. I sell commercial merchandise nationally and am known to local government purchasing people. Our local government buyers think buying from outside our local area is preferred.
When tax money supports local business the money goes right back into the local economy. Is that so hard to understand and support? Power without absolute accountability leads to corruption. I could move to Palm Coast but the repetitive negative policies will keep me and many others businesses away.
Jenny Nazak says
And why, may I ask, would it be so bad for a neighborhood IN AMERICA, LAND OF FREE ENTERPRISE, to “go commercial”? It’s not like we’re talking about a bunch of loud machine-shops here after all. And in a land where unemployment hovers at 12 percent, should we not be encouraging micro-entrepreneurship?? Or would we rather just keep folks on the dole??? Your tax dollars at work, supporting people who are unemployed because local government won’t get out of their way of establishing an honorable enterprise!