Remarks by James E. McDonald
121 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 4 of 5
- Play at 1:35:20
“Totally get. We got to work with them. But on the other hand, they've done something that has a direct impact on us and every other municipality. And the county. And the county. So they've got to – okay, I want to – yeah, we – I get what you're saying. We've got to work with them, assuming – well, somebody's up for re-election and somebody's not. Or both are. I don't even know. But okay. All right. Anybody hate that idea?”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 1:41:07
“Anything but the 8th. I have to be flying back from...”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 1:41:49
“You never know with the air travel. Especially coming from there.”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 1:42:29
“When you want to, or two weeks between? Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter? Okay.”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 1:43:16
“I cannot do the 23rd. I just saw something. I can do the 24th. Or the 22nd, I'm good. Either way, but the 23rd. I was doing the 22nd. Okay.”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 1:46:30
“Where are you going to be, Mary? Where are you going to be calling in from? Where?”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 1:47:30
“I would go to something. I'm not spending. I don't want to spend overnight. I'd go to a meeting or two just to say hello to people. You're it then. Okay, you're it if you're going to go. I nominate Jim McDonald.”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 1:47:41
“Oh, you don't want to go? No, no, no. I will go to some meetings if it's like the transfer or something like that, but I'm not going to spend the night there. Don't worry. Where are you going to spend the night?”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 1:48:08
“Well, I was active when I was here before, so it's good to meet old friends and stuff like that. It's like the other night at the Miami-Dade. I think it's great. I loved it. I walked in and practically everybody there. See, it's perfect. It's great fun. All right. It's a win-win for you to get.”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 1:53:06
“I have a question on the manager. So if we were to hold off, how much would we already spend?”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 1:54:01
“That's really the only issue. Did I understand you correctly? Based on your analysis, if we were to go forward with this project now, under the numbers that we currently have the revenue and what's anticipated that we can do this?”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 1:55:34
“I respect what Jerry said. But I also think that we spent money. This council and this government operates in a deliberative fashion. We just don't do things by the seat of our pants. There's a lot of study. So we've taken, we, you guys have taken, I wasn't here, but you did a lot of work. on deciding to purchase the property. You've spent money on design. We now are at a point where we've got to sign the contract and move forward with the contractor, which if we don't, we know if a year goes by and we go back to it, the amount is going to go up. I just think we have to act responsibly and do…”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 2:08:36
“Well, I, I'm listening to what you're saying and as, The previous council has worked many years on this project. We're now down to the wire. We either sign the contract and move forward, or we don't. And then we spend more money on taking things out of the project. We're going to save x dollars, whatever. And then we're going to go back and bid it out again. And most likely, the cost coming in is going to be higher than what we just saved. I mean, we are at a point. Let's say it's value engineering. Whatever it is, take out x, y, and z. Let's say you save a half a million or a million. We get…”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 2:15:11
“I'm hearing Ariel say, expressing a lot of issues that I would have thought would have been dealt with as this council has reviewed this project for how many years it's been before you. the numbers that cost 2.1 million to run the car. All the numbers, I mean, this is not a new project. This is a project that's been worked on for how many years now? I've been off six months. Lots of years. Lots of years. So we're now, this group collectively, we're at a point where we've got to sign a contract. And as the manager was saying, they're not going to negotiate. They're just going to say goodbye.…”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 2:26:37
“But see, I wasn't part of all this. But as you said, this council has spent a lot of time getting public input. People want the park. I notice whenever I go to the community center now, it's jam packed with people using it. And the reason why we want to do this is to bring more activity over to the new park to allow for expanded activity in the current community center. So when people have spent a lot of time with public input saying we want this park, and the manager is saying we can afford it, she's crunching the numbers. than for all of a sudden on the eve of signing the contract. And I…”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 2:28:49
“But I'm hearing somebody make a motion. I'll make the motion that we approve the contract with the proviso that the manager and staff be instructed to immediately begin the We'll call it the value engineering to cut out where we can to reduce the ultimate cost of this project, to cut it down. That's a resolution of this council instructing staff to take the contract and now be looking for places to reduce the total cost of this project, whether it's, as the manager said, the building that's not attached to the main house, put that aside. Don't do anything with it. If it means eliminating a…”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 2:34:54
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 2:47:58
“Correct. Are these vertical or horizontal? They're vertical. Vertical. So our code is four inches? No, three and a half inches. Three is the minimum. Three and a half minimum. And the plan showed four, and it ended up at three.”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 2:48:15
“So there's a little bit. Right. OK. Why do we have the, what's the reasoning behind 3.5 minimum?”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 2:48:46
“So a minimum of 3 is half inch, obviously, narrower. Right. Other than our code saying minimum 3.5, this is three. So a little bit less space between. Correct, yes. OK.”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 2:49:13
“The contractor built it at three. Right.”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 3:00:34
“I would say this. That's pretty heavy. From what I'm seeing and hearing, I would give him a variance. And then if there is this kind of discrepancy among the gaps, then staff needs to look at it. But at this stage of the game, for this particular matter, I would reverse the administrative decision and grant the variance for the three-inch spacing. It'll look fine to me. Not for nothing, but we haven't got through the whole presentation or asked any questions.”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 3:20:41
“OK. To approve as is built. I mean, what's out there? Right, right.”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 3:22:12
“My opinion. If this is recurring, It does seem staff has got to make clear to anybody coming in for a permit to make sure they understand what the code says. They did understand what the code said. The plans were to code. I get it.”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026
- Play at 3:26:01
“So it's not to strike the language that it's unconstitutional, but just to clarify it.”
Village Council · Jun 11, 2026