On The Beach Blog

Updated 06/28/2008 - 1:51 pm

What if someone called a Press Conference... and no one showed up?

Or, what if someone called a Press Con­fer­ence... and then had to call everyone back and tell them the Press Conference was off?

The latter is what happened with Deputy Mayor James Kametler and his new lawyer, David Falkner... yes, that David Falkner... this week when the "gotcha" announcement they had planned fizzled when they checked further and discovered that the John Roland they had uncovered with a residence in Florida, was not the John Roland who is still breathing down Mr. Kametler's neck a week after the election.

When Mr. Falkner alerted the media Wednes­day that his client Mr. Kametler would be holding a Press Conference on Thursday, this in itself was newsworthy. The Deputy Mayor has steadfastly refused to speak to the media ever since the media picked up OtBB's item on the unlicensed commercial activity ad­ver­tised at his residence at 24 Oak Street.

(It has been observed by more than one person close to Village Hall that Mr. Kametler's post-election actions are more in keeping with those of a des­per­ate candidate who finds himself on the short end of the count, than one with a one-vote lead.)

Having failed to establish that his opponent was a crypto-resident of Florida, the most recent scheme by Messrs. Kametler and Falkner seems to be focussed on trying to establish that Mr. Roland's home on Dune Road is unsuitable for year 'round habitation....

Is that the smell of desperation emanating from 24 Oak Street?

The follow-up...

Using the leads provided by OtBB commenters Clamqueen and Angel Face 13, a 'Net Search of Marco Island and Collier County (Florida) real estate and tax rolls, reveals that the Deputy Mayor and his wife Carol S. Meyer indeed own property at 1675 Diamond Lake Circle, but in Naples, not on adjoining Marco Island.

Public records show that the couple ac­quir­ed the land in late 2003 for ±$63,000 at a time that it was assessed at $47,000.

Block 4 Lot 9 is currently appraised at $110,00 even though the rolls and the aerial image do not reflect that it has been improved by a building... or since it appears to be a lot in a trailer park, had a mobile home or RV backed on to it.

In other words, a solid investment so far.

The important information uncovered is that no tax-reducing Homestead Exemption has been granted to the small parcel, but the Deputy Mayor's unproductive backdoor attempt to disqualify his opponent John Roland from a seat on the Village Board, suggests that he had himself considered this option.

And speaking of "options," the good news for Mr. Kametler is that Marco Island is actively looking for a new Police Chief, and he could likely obtain 322 letters of recommendation for the $103,364 position.

No word on the dental benefits, though.