Darren Glaude, Seminole County Watch columnist

As a child, it never occurred to me to wonder where trash went once it left our house.  It was just gone, without any thought beyond just that. 

It was not until sometime later that I came to learn that trash did not just disappear, and that even though it was out of sight and out of mind, it nonetheless still existed and had to be dealt with.

Periodically, I think of my youthful naivete as I drive down State Road 419 past the Central Transfer Station of the Seminole County Environmental Service's Waste Management department.  It makes me laugh to think now of how I failed to think then of what happened to garbage once it left my sight, and that it had to go "somewhere."

It is somewhat amusing to ascribe such infantile thoughts to a child.  It totally loses its humorous aspect when such infantile behavior is ascribed to adults.

Such juvenile behavior was displayed by adults at the March 28 meeting of the Winter Springs City Commission.  Previously in this space, we have been less than amused by the arrogance and juvenile behavior of the commissioners.  It is sad to say that not much has changed over the past few months.

Once again, as previously, Commissioner Michael Blake acted as ringmaster, leading his fellow commissioners through an act that turned the commission proceedings into a circus. 

In the end, it could be, and was by some, dismissed as just a little good clean fun.  But at a deeper and much more serious level, it made a mockery of the uncontrolled growth and development that is destroying our quality of life here in Seminole County.

The commission was debating the approval of Jesup's Reserve, a 160-unit townhouse development to be built in the Town Center area of Winter Springs (also known as downtown Winter Springs).

The developer had appeared before the commission one month earlier, and was told to return after having made some modifications to his proposal.  During that meeting, commissioners spent more than an hour grilling the developer over a series of deviations from code that were included in his plans for the development.

Despite belaboring deficiency after deficiency that was found in the proposal for the development, commissioners in the end ignored all of the deficiencies and approved the development agreement.

Now the developer was back to seek further approval of his subsequently-revised plans. 

Shortly into the presentation, Commissioner Blake declared adamantly that he could not approve the proposed plans, and that it had come time for the commission to stop acting like rubberstamps and start doing their jobs.

As the developer's jaw fell to the ground, Blake pushed through a quick vote that carried by a 3-2 margin to deny approval of the project.

The developer stood stunned, and there was mixed reaction among many of those present in the commission chambers.  It was something that had been long overdue, and for a variety of reasons, the one agreed reaction among all was shock that it had been done.

Just as quickly as he had made his original motion, Blake put forth, as a member of the prevailing side, a motion to reconsider.  The commission approved the developer's proposal, despite it's serious shortcomings, by a 5-0 vote.  When the developer fell backwards into his seat, the look of shock still on his face, everyone had a good laugh as he uttered the hope that the commission had enjoyed itself at his expense.

What everyone missed is that the laugh was not at the expense of the developer.  Instead, Blake and his fellow commissioners enjoyed their laugh at the expense of the residents of Winter Springs, the very people they were elected to serve.

Jesup's Reserve has some serious deficiencies.  It fails to meet the stringent code of which the Winter Springs city commission was so proud when it was enacted.  It raises concerns about water runoff and traffic increases beyond what the infrastructure will be able to handle.

Yet commissioners continue to look past these deficiencies to give unanimous approval to a development that should not occur as planned.  Rather than taking their charge, and proposed development, seriously, the commissioners chose to make light of it and have an easy laugh.

Keep that in image in your mind, and recall it in the future as you wonder how downtown Winter Springs became what it will become. 

Remember the image of the politicians and developers slapping one another on the back and laughing as they make a mockery of responsible development.  Remember their infantile behavior, despite allegedly being adults, and their failure to acknowledge that things still need to be dealt with, even if they are pushed aside and out of sight.

Several years into the future, when no one is laughing at the problems that are now being created by our current commissioners, remember that it was they who truly had the last laugh.

Email Darren at darrenglaude@seminolecountywatch.com