In a bizarre display of secrecy and disdain, Oakland Park Main Street has again slighted the residents of Oakland Park. An event to honor hometown hero Jaco Pastorius and muralist Bill Savarese was held at Jaco Park on Dec 2, the day after Jaco's birthday. The concept of honoring a muralist alongside the music giant would be merely absurd, but the fact that this event was a private affair -by invitation only- borders on elitism. Bear in mind, OPMS is a public-private organization whose largest single contributor is the City of Oakland Park; that is, the taxpayers. Yet OPMS did not see fit to hold a public celebration of Oakland Park's best known resident.
The stink from this event continues to emanate. Prior to the event, the City Clerk's office advised GrOP that they were 'provided information that OPMS is not holding a Pastorius birthday event'. Yet in the City's monthly publication, The Oakleaf, it was reported as 'honoring the 60th birthday of the late jazz great Jaco Pastorius'. Either the City Clerk was misled by Oakland Park Main Street and/or there is a disconnect between the various City departments.
ReplyDeletehttp://oaklandparkfl.org/news/advisories/documents/OakleafJan2012.pdf