It’s time for Gov. Rick Scott
to replace embattled St. Johns River Water Management District chairman John Miklos, writes Lauren Ritchie.
John Miklos shouldn’t even be appointed as dog catcher.
That guy would find a way to turn it into a money-making business for himself, even if it meant grinding and grilling puppy-burgers and selling them to oblivious first-graders for a nickel.
Miklos, 48, is the chairman of the St. Johns River Water Management District, where he has been nothing but controversy and trouble because of his stubborn refusal to understand and rid himself of myriad ethical conflicts. Now is the time to get rid of him, and Gov. Rick Scott should take the opportunity — his term has expired but he continues to serve temporarily.
Miklos was appointed in March 2010, and since then the Orlando Sentinel has written 43 stories, editorials and columns that mention him. Only four were not about his raging conflicts and his cavalier attitude toward them. You can consider this No. 44. Miklos applied recently for a seat on the Development Advisory Board in Orange County reserved for “an environmental specialist with a degree in a related scientific field.” The fellow who nominated Miklos for the nine-member board looked more closely at his history then did the right thing: He withdrew his backing. Miklos later bowed out of the running.
Several million people live in Central Florida, and a number have college degrees in the area of environmental studies along with a genuine caring for the environment that qualifies them for the board, which recommends policies on how the county should grow. Pick one. Really, it’s not that hard. Send out letters, advertise on social media. Get some new faces in the running.
Governments get into the rut of choosing only those who are clamoring to serve. That’s how the public ends up with the likes of Miklos, who may have the qualifications on paper but whose actions define him as a self-serving politician.
Here are a couple samples of his conflicts:
Miklos’ environmental consulting company obtained a valuable permit to destroy wetlands for his client, Park, Bark and Fly, a parking provider near Orlando International Airport, from the St. Johns, even though the water district had imposed a $200,000 fine against the business for wetlands destruction. Would that have happened if the business hadn’t had the chairman’s firm as its consultant? One has to wonder.
Two years ago, DeBary in Volusia County hired Miklos’ firm to buy district-owned land to use as part of a public-private development, drawing protests from residents who said his firm shouldn’t be involved.
They were right. The subtle pressures that quietly slither into
the decision-making are hard to pinpoint and describe when it’s the boss’s project. But human nature dictates that they’re in play. Eventually, they change the culture of any organization — and not for the better. That’s especially true when the person at the heart of the conflict is a strong, arrogant personality like Miklos.
His company does far too much business on behalf of commercial developers and home builders with the St. Johns to ignore. That’s why Scott should appoint someone else — someone whose company doesn’t regularly appear before the St. Johns asking for permits to drain or fill wetlands, as Miklos does. Now is the time.
The term of the chairman, who holds a bachelor’s degree in limnology from the University of Central Florida, ran out March 1, and so far, no one has been appointed. The legislation creating the district allows him to serve for 180 days after the appointment expires if the governor does not appoint a successor.
Today is Miklos’ 164th, which means he has 16 days before he can no longer serve on the governing board of the water district. Perhaps that the is the reason he wanted to get on that Orange County board that helps govern growth.
Scott should choose someone with a respect for the environment rather than a person whose business is to get permits to tear it up. In addition, the water district is in dire need of leadership that can formulate a plan to protect drinking water and find the courage to do it.
Unfortunately, all that is about as likely as developers giving up on Florida and moving to build in Kansas.
Want to weigh in? Here’s an email to tell the governor know what you want in a governing board member: appointments@eog.myflorida.com