On April 11th, Leon County Commissioner Brian Welch did an interview on The Steve Stewart Show on Real Talk 93.3. Welch was asked to address a number of current issues facing Leon County, provided below are his responses.
Northeast Park: Welch said that he’s excited for the future of the park and that construction should start later this year, and be completed by the end of 2025. The Blueprint Board will ultimately have the final say on the design of the park in May. However, as of now the preliminary concept design includes, baseball/softball fields, two or three sand volleyball courts and two or three pickleball courts, along with playgrounds and more.
Amazon: When asked about Amazon’s delay in hiring, Welch stated, “I’ve never been nervous about Amazon.” Welch also noted that he expects Amazon will be fully staff and operational or at least online by the end of this year.
Homelessness Workshop: The upcoming homelessness workshop is scheduled in May. Welch was asked what he thought might happen at the workshop and if the homelessness problem has improved. Welch explained that previously his main concern was organized panhandling, and that he has not personally seen any organized panhandling of groups of people since they decided to have workshop.
Marijuana Decriminalization: Previously, the County Commission voted 4-3 against marijuana decriminalization. When asked why he voted against it he stated, “I don’t think it’s fair to law enforcement or our state attorney to put them in a position to violate state law and federal law for that matter.” He claimed that no matter how you feel about the issue, “It’s not in our jurisdiction.”
Rent Control: There has been talk among County Commissioners about an ordinance to require landlords to give more notice for rent increases. However, Welch explained that he doesn’t think there will ever be anything to vote on because the state would preempt it before it went to the County Commission.
Protestors: On the issue of protesters being allowed to camp in front of the court house after being arrested at city hall, Welch stated, “It is definitely an administrative issue. The county commission did not vote on that.”
Leon County Commissioner Brian Welch Addresses Six Issues added by Tristyn Leigh on
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Personally, I’d like to see better questions asked of Mr. Welch. While all of the questions are important, I’d like to first and foremost ask him why they are trying to totally trash NE Tallahassee with the continued development and deforestation of our area. How come he is only interested in supporting development with multitudinous houses located on tiny lots with bike lanes so you can walk and bike to the store. What stores is he talking about? Kohls is empty and there are only a few tiny stores at Bannerman Crossing. Otherwise it’s restaurants, restaurants, restaurants. Where is the infrastructure for Bannerman Road? Does he realize that the City thinks that Bull Headley and Bannerman are the same kind of intersection as Capital Circle and Mahan? Excuse me? Is anyone concerned about the traffic on Thomasville Road? Or has anyone seen that the housing being developed is not affordable? And, how about the fact that Hawks Rise, Deerlake, and Chiles are at capacity? He should know this being a teacher. Where are they going to put the kids? Oh, I see, after they build all this stuff then maybe they will think about schools and widening the roads. Instead of thinking of that first.
Frankly, Mr. Welch is no better than Brian Desloge. He talks a good talk, but he’s all for his personal agenda without representing his entire constituency.
@NE Moderate McLeod? He should stick to restaurants. Don’t ruin a good thing by getting into politics.
@Edward Lyle Welch has been best on homelessness so far without support of the Board. That’s not his fault. He’s one vote. He’s vocally supported doing more and still wants to. Also, listen to the full interview. He answered the question on protesters that was asked. Wasn’t really asked his opinion, just how it went down.
Brian Welch is either blind, or he’s lying. Every stop light I catch, there are at least two panhandlers who are also homeless. He’s lying…
Well… it didn’t take him long to acclimate.
1. Homelessness Workshop: “… he has not personally seen any organized panhandling of groups of people since they decided to have workshop.“
The plausible deniability words he uses are “organized” and “groups”. And is he actually trying to imply that simply announcing yet another wasteful and feckless “homelessness workshop” scared them away?… wow, talk about disconnected. Not all panhandlers are homeless, slick, get out of the house once and a while will ya.
2. Marijuana Decriminalization: ~ He claimed that no matter how you feel about the issue, “It’s not in our jurisdiction.”
I’ll give him credit for that because it’s a solid and factually-unimpeachable argument.
3. Rent Control: David is on the right track here. Landlords should be prohibited from increasing rent mid-lease. And if a rent increased is planned, they should be required to give 60-days notice prior to the current lease end date, thus providing adequate time for a tenant to accept it or plan to not renew/vacate.
4. Protesters: Narcissistic Marxicrat clowns seeking some camera time is all. However, a lame dodge of the question by Welch. Man-up sport.
Look out for Drew McLeod. A Republican could easily snap up this conservative-leaning seat.
@Snidely — I checked at the USAA site and the only way they’ll grandfather me in is if my father enrolls first. Since he passed away in 2014, that’s just not gonna happen….
@ A Skeptic = Yes, that is correct which is why I don’t understand why the Commissioners are spending so much time on this issue unless Landlords are NOT following the Laws.
@ASkeptic: I have not vetified this myself yet so dont hold me responsable if not accurate. But I was advised by a friend that if your parent served and you have their SS# USAA might still be an option.
@Pat — I’ve never served in the military so USAA isn’t an option. I am searching for other quotes though….
@David — A lease is an enforceable contract and Landlords cannot arbitrarily raise rents unless a clause in the lease specifically allows it. (Even then, there are rules.) If the lease is month-to-month, the lease period is 30 days. (The lease is also subject to sales/tourist taxes.)
I believe that the landlord must give 30 days advanced notice and time the increase to sync with the next lease period (after 30 days) start.
Organized panhandling is a HUGE problem in Leon County. All one has to do is open your eyes. I have witnessed sex trafficking, people faking disabilities, and people being picked up in nice vehicles at the end of the day. People using infant babies in the middle of intersections. Wake up!
This problem is ignored year after year after year. If you are an elected official and have done nothing on this issue, ignore the issue, or have no plan to address the issue you should be voted out.
Homelessness Workshop: There are a group of panhandlers that are organized at Cap. Circle and Crawfordville Hwy. They swap out every couple hours.
Marijuana Decriminalization: You don’t have to Decriminalize it, just let the Officers know that, if they stop some one that has a Personal amount of Pot on them and they are being respectful, just have them destroy it right their and let the go with a warning.
Rent Control: Landlords should NOT be allowed to increase the Contracted Rent Amount set until the Contract has ended.
Protestors: The City Commissioners really baffled me on this one…..didn’t they do a Proclamation to show that they were FOR Abortions? But then, It also baffles me that they are not Protesting at the Capital.
@ A Skeptic, same insurance story with my shack. Called USAA and they beat Farm Bureau’s renewal rate. Instead of a $4,040.00 increase with FB, USAA was only a $1,000.00 increase. There is a lesson in these comments for Renters.
Ref: “Homelessness Workshop:”
Havana doesn’t have a homeless problem because the residents don’t feed them or give them cash. Stop feeding the homeless and giving them money and the problem will go away.
I’ve stopped buying Anheuser Busch products. i.e. Busch beer, Bud and Bud Lite. Went back to Coors Lite and it serves up nicely in a frozen thumbprint mug.
“Welch explained that previously his main concern was organized panhandling, and that he has not personally seen any organized panhandling of groups of people since they decided to have workshop.” — Apparently, he’s not left his house in a while.
“There has been talk among County Commissioners about an ordinance to require landlords to give more notice for rent increases.” — Landlords are the middle man between the renter and the cost of owning and maintaining a property. Will the commissioners also require the county, insurers, utilities, et al, to give advanced notice of price increases? Literally yesterday, I opened a bill for my homeowners insurance. The South Florida disaster last year drove insurers out of business or into huge price increases. My homeowner’s premium went from about $2,000 to $6,000. $350/month increase. If that’s paid from escrow the $4,000 shortfall must be made during the next year AND the next year’s premium escrowed. $750/month to catch up. To the landlord, that’s often the different between positive cash flow and subsidizing the cost out of pocket. Or is the commission just interested in the renters’ votes?