tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83189023582791816282024-03-05T05:05:33.324-05:00Word, MiamiCitizen blog concerned with quality of journalism, current events, transparency/access to public information, and community building.
Interests include public records, policy analysis, accountability, ethics in politics.Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-73300337828022852142020-02-03T08:28:00.002-05:002020-02-03T08:28:26.513-05:00Virgin Trains Brightline Bait & SwitchSomething that concerned me greatly when Miami-Dade County decided to fund the purchase and construction of a train station for the private venture, Virgin Trains LLC. is that this relatively modest investment would be used by public officials to abrogate their responsibilities to the community under the SMART plan.<div>
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It's one thing for a politician to reject the ideals of the SMART plan, and to work towards their own vision, but it's quite another to claim this likewise modest project as fulfillment of the SMART plans Northeast corridor.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.miamidadetpo.org/smartplan.asp" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="1253" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKZB-JyaiA7es87UoZs9vQsjZ1rV0oLk8FsNsws1uRkz1Q1eBQoeoXIaV9CZk_GzVrbOThgU-3OFjGcFTK0QGwIvQGUOoIFRq6A7XSWCsnC72y7wmwIrRAzjQCRYEjbVO4QJbH6JOPw8/s400/ne+corridor.PNG" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.miamidadetpo.org/smartplan.asp" target="_blank">Lead agencies are FDOT and TPO</a><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGTH9sxPZPrVIUx_ETxGSFRPZNGCuIMwAradnj2CuB6IbvApWSShxu3Ie8vzna1g4GL-SzNS4D6WVV1pPQ53x00DRAMzGSmk-BOqYZVuY4ERLxJEULV-nBJxK6-3Hoo2whE35pMCXiI0/s1600/ne+corridor+explain.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1003" data-original-width="499" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGTH9sxPZPrVIUx_ETxGSFRPZNGCuIMwAradnj2CuB6IbvApWSShxu3Ie8vzna1g4GL-SzNS4D6WVV1pPQ53x00DRAMzGSmk-BOqYZVuY4ERLxJEULV-nBJxK6-3Hoo2whE35pMCXiI0/s320/ne+corridor+explain.PNG" width="159" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHvduOKWgZ0xc8Qzf6OqhmqU24Uz3PXY7XXs7lz5YfGkCHaWAudy7QDI5YtACWscZbFAUSmovlv-nbzw-9sjhHP4y3-OkdoXjuo1nh4OesvP6o5zYlLf4F6cPVWi-k8ig5PfJA4hiHKo/s1600/ne+corridor+map.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="515" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHvduOKWgZ0xc8Qzf6OqhmqU24Uz3PXY7XXs7lz5YfGkCHaWAudy7QDI5YtACWscZbFAUSmovlv-nbzw-9sjhHP4y3-OkdoXjuo1nh4OesvP6o5zYlLf4F6cPVWi-k8ig5PfJA4hiHKo/s320/ne+corridor+map.PNG" width="171" /></a></div>
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I want to make it clear, as some of these administrators move forward with their careers, that the Virgin Trains station near Aventura is not fulfillment of the SMART plan, and I have no idea why even <a href="https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2020/01/14/metrorail-leg-to-north-could-depend-on-state-federal-funds/" target="_blank">journalists are now starting to make that claim</a>.</div>
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It's inevitable, then, that Alice Bravo and Carlos Gimenez will start making the same claim. That they have implement the Northeast corridor of the SMART plan, however I simply ask that you look at <a href="http://www.miamidadetpo.org/library/smartplan-brochure-2019.pdf" target="_blank">this document</a> which clearly indicates that the NE corridor is supposed to be a series of stations, not one in downtown and one by county line.</div>
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<a href="https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2020/01/14/metrorail-leg-to-north-could-depend-on-state-federal-funds/" target="_blank"><span id="goog_2037258653"></span><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="1284" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgqgDNtfnojOUcsd46512moGUyMIyC6kji3kS76wLqYKloddxOY2F-8ZU3qV2yazn305-5PioRVfSNIk1glgG7D9HxLgn16aLrY1MyvnbYfJa7oZSwp5PYe2StOCYwqqoq9OdOARg4as/s320/for+brightline.PNG" width="320" /></a><span id="goog_2037258654"></span></div>
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Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-75539367801155578512020-01-29T14:02:00.001-05:002020-01-29T14:02:53.748-05:00The Utility of Grandstanding?<i>Primer on the structure of the Miami City commission.</i><br />
The City of Miami has a 5 seat commission which creates resolutions and ordinances for the city, and a mayor who administers the functions of the city and has chair powers over the city commission. The mayor can (must? does? I'm not sure) appoint a member of the commission to act as the chair on his behalf.<br />
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The public should understand that to pass ordinances and resolutions only 3 votes on the commission are required, however the mayor can veto these actions. Overturning the veto would require 4 votes of the commission.<br />
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<i>Now the immediate background of the situation at hand.</i><br />
In November of 2019 the make-up of commission changed after an election, creating a voting block of three white, Cuban-American career, politicians, and despite regularly paying lip-service to democracy, they more accurately act as though they were oligarchs in old Havana.<br />
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<b>Back-slap and a Half</b><br />
The moment Alex Diaz de la Portilla (his last name translates to <i>of the little door</i>) took his seat on the city commission he, Manolo Reyes and Joe Carollo aimed their political weaponry squarely at mayor Francis Suarez, and the prevailing order. There's a new order in the city of Miami.<br />
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As their first order of business the trio aimed wanted to fire the city manager. To justify this they moved to have the Auditor General investigate claims the city manager did illegal improvements to his home. The mayor vetoed this command, a move which the city attorney contends is invalid. And simultaneously commissioner Manolo Reyes issues an individual request to the Auditor General, citing language from the city code to justify the jurisdiction of such a directive.<br />
At this point I don't actually know the status of that request, and whether the Auditor General has pursued it. However before that could come to a head the city manager offered a letter of resignation, effective date to be determined. A rather sly, confusing move. By promising to resign at some point did the manager and mayor think they could avoid the fiasco of an investigation into the actions of city administration for the benefit of the manager.<br />
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The big, dirty, power move however came when the trio, by way of DLP, passed a resolution removing Ken Russell from the chair of two Community Redevelopment Agency boards and giving those seats to themselves, as well as the next week appointing each other to be the co-chairs.<br />
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<b>T</b><b>he Commissioner Doth Protest Too Much, Me Thinks.</b><br />
This all then brings me to my final, perhaps rather unimportant point: Commissioner Ken Russell whines too much. At both the meetings where the trio switched up CRA leadership Commissioner Russell made it a point to grand stand over his progress with the CRAs and the pettiness of the power grab. However, I can't help but remember many things local citizen blogger, Al Crespo, wrote about Ken Russell in the first year of his office.<br />
And I remember them because it seems that instead of handling the new reality of an opposition majority on the city commission, Commissioner Ken Russell wants to whimper into oblivion. Unless he can find a way to make good with DLP, whom he offended during the election campaign for funding a competitor, Russell will get nothing done in his current term. And he spends all future meetings with the same demeanor he's had so far this year, he'll be known undoubtedly as a lame duck, an ineffective whiner who cares more about looking good than getting anything done.<br />
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(Links may not be appropriate for a work environment.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.thecrespogram.com/doe-eyed-millennials.html" target="_blank">July 18, 2016</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoAJK-ErMyd6Ggq0Jg2rC9ZC82WDIGut2im6mxvKEHyMolFW08Db_CUokbFGQ7qfBbT1I_F-V_wCKV_g0CT7_j7KSwfmeYb1qdrg7BEQ8JOf7NXKQcRhzPJ68i_c9Bf1iE8jM4JXCBls/s1600/only+in+politics.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="79" data-original-width="1008" height="25" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoAJK-ErMyd6Ggq0Jg2rC9ZC82WDIGut2im6mxvKEHyMolFW08Db_CUokbFGQ7qfBbT1I_F-V_wCKV_g0CT7_j7KSwfmeYb1qdrg7BEQ8JOf7NXKQcRhzPJ68i_c9Bf1iE8jM4JXCBls/s320/only+in+politics.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.thecrespogram.com/as-the-re-plat-thickens-mobile-.html" target="_blank">Septeber 18, 2016</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHAhGfuNcYF_fHyUBAyeX_v8lIViRQvxqGagIYbZo8Gc12C7KI3TnsbvQXsjrjz4aRlLFWb3JcitYo_dCHsDABy4Ce82hwSPUB9xMBA19XyaLHxhFEtFSabKJ30rAHvAEVQPP3I1xb3c/s1600/lightweight.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="938" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHAhGfuNcYF_fHyUBAyeX_v8lIViRQvxqGagIYbZo8Gc12C7KI3TnsbvQXsjrjz4aRlLFWb3JcitYo_dCHsDABy4Ce82hwSPUB9xMBA19XyaLHxhFEtFSabKJ30rAHvAEVQPP3I1xb3c/s320/lightweight.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.thecrespogram.com/its-about-process-mobile-.html" target="_blank">Approximately November 2016</a><br />
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<br />Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-19306202626731883922020-01-24T08:31:00.002-05:002020-01-24T08:31:50.363-05:00CITT Special Meeting to Consider Giving Virgin Trains $50M+<i>This is an old post that I didn't publish in time, but decided to go ahead and get it up as an example of something I did.</i><br />
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Since Tri-Rail's Steven Abrams was first quoted in articles by the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article232461917.html" target="_blank">Miami Herald</a> and <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-ne-more-brightline-stations-south-florida-20190710-fyoj3ga5v5emnas3ziiq72qi5i-story.html" target="_blank">Sun Sentinel</a> as saying Virgin Trains was thinking about building a station in Aventura, all the focus was on them looking at Boca Raton and Hollywood.<br />
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On July 22, <a href="https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190722/virgin-trains-eyes-boca-other-stops-to-boost-riders-and-revenues" target="_blank">the Palm Beach Post suggests the thoughts are now a plan</a>. Author Jeff Ostrowski writes that Virgin Trains "now says it will add stops at PortMiami, Aventura and on city-owned property next to Boca Raton’s library." Though they don't particularly cite whether this is actually a shift from the less committed statements by newspaper writers previously. Interesting to note in this article is that "Virgin Trains USA President Patrick Goddard proposes that Virgin Trains would pay to build the train station..."<br />
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On August 12, the <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/transportation/fl-bz-brightline-stations-outlook-20190812-zzsscpe7vffkdpomb6gppmi2ly-story.html" target="_blank">Sun-Sentinel quotes</a> Virgin Trains USA senior vice president of corporate affairs, Ben Porrittm as saying "Boca Raton, PortMiami and Aventura are our top priorities today."<br />
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Pretty early on I somehow got it in my head that Virgin Trains wanted to break ground by the end of the year. I can no longer find that link, so I won't make that claim any more. Maybe I confused a promise to announce three new stations by the end of the year with breaking ground. However in trying to search for that article I came across some interesting information about Virgin Trains USA's finances.<br />
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On June 12, <a href="https://www.cdfa.net/cdfa/cdfaweb.nsf/0/5CE40CD772675F96882584180058DB06/$file/%24950%20million%20in%20bonds%20for%20Florida%E2%80%99s%20Virgin%20Trains%20USA%20price%20Thursday.pdf" target="_blank">The Bond Buyer reported</a> "$950 million in bonds for Florida's Virgin Trains USA," and seeing this I couldn't help but think, <i>why would this company need corporate welfare?</i> Reading the article I discovered that "the FDFC sold $1.75 billion of bonds USDOT-authorized bonds on behalf of Virgin Trains..."<br />
From an April 3 <a href="https://www.bondbuyer.com/news/wowed-investors-snap-up-bonds-for-virgin-trains-usa" target="_blank">article, again from The Bond Buyer</a>, they detail that this bond was partly used to service a previous $600 million bond offering.<br />
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I didn't even know about their bond offerings until today, however I think this demands even more attention to what the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article235638977.html" target="_blank">Miami Herald revealed</a> on Friday, September 30. Published just after people many people left work, it claims "Miami-Dade may spend $76 million to build a Virgin rail station by Aventura Mall." And based on everything I know now this headline seems unfortunately accurate.<br />
On Monday the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article235688317.html" target="_blank">Herald further clarified</a> that the station would possible not include any connection for regional Tri-Rail.<br />
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---<i>Unfinished</i>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-27806909337768918002019-10-10T15:36:00.002-04:002019-10-10T15:36:51.578-04:00Citizens' Independent Transportation Trust Special Meeting Thursday, October 10, 2019 6pmThese are the necessary documents a person would need to read by 6pm to make a fully informed decision about whether or not to support an item before the CITT.<br />
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_an1axV5XsrjSbwI71CmyeFQSUA3uNGg/preview" width="640"></iframe><br />
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h_dIQjQtP3HyM3ZyBYPm8HK8yFcRrUbv/preview" width="640"></iframe><br />
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xvQsk4kuzBq3rIxWB3rjKYHUkJCplE95/preview" width="640"></iframe><br />
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wAHdV2fC9nEf2y9ANKnwLXyp7XM-yctc/preview" width="640"></iframe>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-22891366621051850542018-10-01T17:54:00.002-04:002018-10-01T17:54:25.531-04:00Open Letter on Incorporation Facts<span id="docs-internal-guid-261e91d9-7fff-cb83-6e37-98f2d96b500f"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-261e91d9-7fff-cb83-6e37-98f2d96b500f"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Neighbors,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We will vote in November on whether to become a city. If </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> wins, our county commissioner will select a committee of residents to develop a founding document, called a charter. This committee will present their charter to the county commission, whose approval results in a second election to approve the charter. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the second election would allow the County to create the city.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please allow the following considerations to inform your decision. I have detailed many of these facts with documentation on my blog. I invite you to E-mail me or reach me on social media if you have specific questions or want to start a discussion.</span></span><br />
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Status Quo</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (or the situation today)</span></span></u></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-fb59bea7-7fff-60dd-e45a-5792b7f7af8d"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In our community many people get by most of the time without much issue, but we do ourselves disservice if we accept the situation today as good enough.</span></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Severe parking shortage in the condominiums</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Flooding of properties and roads during storms</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Extreme rush hour traffic on our most important thruways</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Car break ins and thefts</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Armed robberies</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Local tax money funding services in other areas of the county (donor community)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sharing a county district with other areas, decreasing the attention our representatives give us, and the services we get for what we spend</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If We Become a City we would</span></b></u></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">elect a local city council, hires employees to maintain the city,</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">contract or develop locally dedicated police, increasing service substantially, but also greatly increasing the cost</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">develop a local planning and zoning code, as well as enforcement mechanisms</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pay ~5% of our budget to county for 7 years as mitigation</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-766eafdd-7fff-1e4d-c6ea-1b0dc3947d18"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I cannot quickly or easily answer whether taxes will go up if we incorporate, though they </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">can</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> go up even if we don’t. Many neighbors would pay marginally more in taxes for increased safety and property values, which could come with a </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">well</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> managed city. If we become a city we must work hard to make it a good city. Miami Dade County has many rather unfortunate cities. Most of them, in fact.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To be an exception we need to work exceptionally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With great hopes for our future,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prem Lee Barbosa</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click on map to see original size.</td></tr>
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</span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-62596791466728904092018-08-14T17:38:00.003-04:002018-08-14T17:38:41.360-04:00NEMAC Timeline Part 3 January 21, 2015The <a href="http://wordmiami.blogspot.com/2018/07/june-5-2018-mayors-memorandum-part-1.html" target="_blank">Mayor's Memorandum</a> included a convenient timeline highlighting a period in which the county stopped considering the question of incorporation.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_74E_MoVjNOYI1Z4kMzB-WPkANhyphenhyphenhz5L6vq-uf8_L9IDk_Wm7svrN46c9bb8yQ5M9HC2T0ihG6nN4Cq_lWsmel7gSN73lzZdnvJcIJF0TSkxLkPtZKNoNIOH2XK5i5MfN4tZuglg-sY8/s1600/mayor%2527s+memorandum+timeline+moratorium+timeline.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="74" data-original-width="657" height="45" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_74E_MoVjNOYI1Z4kMzB-WPkANhyphenhyphenhz5L6vq-uf8_L9IDk_Wm7svrN46c9bb8yQ5M9HC2T0ihG6nN4Cq_lWsmel7gSN73lzZdnvJcIJF0TSkxLkPtZKNoNIOH2XK5i5MfN4tZuglg-sY8/s400/mayor%2527s+memorandum+timeline+moratorium+timeline.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Over 6 years</td></tr>
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I don't know if the NEMAC completed their study by April of 2005, but since it doesn't appear in the timeline I assume as much. The Board of County Commissioners established a moratorium on incorporation in November of 2005. A moratorium prohibits an activity. (Like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_United_States_deepwater_drilling_moratorium" target="_blank">President Obama's 2010 moratorium on offshore drilling</a>.)<br />
In 2012 the BCC changed its mind and lifted the moratorium. Two and a half years later Commissioner Heyman reintroduced the NEMAC officially. However according the the Mayor's Memorandum the NEMAC reconvened February 2013, almost two years before.<br />
To this date I have not discovered under whose authority they met, nor who called any of these meeting, but I have inquired with county staff.<br />
I also await the minutes for these NEMAC meetings. Hopefully those can address some of these concerns.<br />
On to the Resolution!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The resolution packet starts off with two memos, the first informing us that Sally Heyman requested the preparation and placed the resolution for consideration at a BCC meeting (January 21, 2015). The second memo comes from the mayor with some pertinent information.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZz5LUHHeBgAFmi5gc6fpl2zrx_1M6hjTr4SOo2WSxcqUldHhMYh6jc4_WreJsu79PJE0CeHP9tTcTnjnguiba4eaDbi6zB2r3hDh8AeNMV_aVqwvTnZ9PYITt5UudZ1m9UXjnD5wrpHA/s1600/mayor%2527s+memo+complete.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="658" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZz5LUHHeBgAFmi5gc6fpl2zrx_1M6hjTr4SOo2WSxcqUldHhMYh6jc4_WreJsu79PJE0CeHP9tTcTnjnguiba4eaDbi6zB2r3hDh8AeNMV_aVqwvTnZ9PYITt5UudZ1m9UXjnD5wrpHA/s640/mayor%2527s+memo+complete.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I recommend reading those two paragraphs as they summarize many details, including the deadline for the NEMAC to report, and the conclusion of its existence if "the Board submits the question on the creation of a new municipality to the electorate."<br />
Finally, it reiterates the NEMAC meeting again starting in February 2013, with county staff participation.<br />
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Then we get to the ordinance itself. Let me here admit that I don't know the particular difference between a resolution and an ordinance but the first two WHEREAS highlight at least one difference.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicOC3KxAknVVTr605AxhiIrEU6x8iNbZ_KXrYOTB_fL0sMJ-L7NlWUYxmMCYi4_KyiOlO1JkO83RQRZFEYmV5IEc4W7gMDdEoLwCgcBttLgDHfz-AmswNCH5OAkE05ULkrSlQybEx0Po/s1600/whereas+resolution+ordinance.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="660" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicOC3KxAknVVTr605AxhiIrEU6x8iNbZ_KXrYOTB_fL0sMJ-L7NlWUYxmMCYi4_KyiOlO1JkO83RQRZFEYmV5IEc4W7gMDdEoLwCgcBttLgDHfz-AmswNCH5OAkE05ULkrSlQybEx0Po/s400/whereas+resolution+ordinance.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The third whereas mentions something that always perks my antennae: submission of a report!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-i-Omv6YVU1CD37QaehfWj_v5u61Tp6U3upEQ6RQlA6lenxhQnGwn6C3hGekkWD2JulOzMadiWogLmC98E7ITtQNAldb8DYIcFLMY-WRqcOVQz8Qso-oUm0AcsC_tiJnC2LGkqEFp7c/s1600/whereas+nemac+submits+report.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="75" data-original-width="650" height="45" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-i-Omv6YVU1CD37QaehfWj_v5u61Tp6U3upEQ6RQlA6lenxhQnGwn6C3hGekkWD2JulOzMadiWogLmC98E7ITtQNAldb8DYIcFLMY-WRqcOVQz8Qso-oUm0AcsC_tiJnC2LGkqEFp7c/s400/whereas+nemac+submits+report.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Though outdated, I have interested in seeing the form and content of this report. In previous posts I speculated on whether or not the NEMAC ever completed their report. It appears so.</div>
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Then a couple lines ahead things start to get interesting.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZx0gLaSFrMHPihV2z3FxhW3HnjA5vmnPjp0-Nr9kXwLaaHCTYwGIw7T-vCPOEoMZWpWS-G0BFDrRLjUPOiKR9-xLtpeaLlnaH152gZqKqg9CCEjf-vne25Yx26WA0j7IJeu2VnQRJjnk/s1600/whereas+meeting+and+expiration.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="645" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZx0gLaSFrMHPihV2z3FxhW3HnjA5vmnPjp0-Nr9kXwLaaHCTYwGIw7T-vCPOEoMZWpWS-G0BFDrRLjUPOiKR9-xLtpeaLlnaH152gZqKqg9CCEjf-vne25Yx26WA0j7IJeu2VnQRJjnk/s400/whereas+meeting+and+expiration.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The first WHEREAS suggests the NEMAC reconvened at the behest of county staff, but the second acknowledges it didn't exist anymore.</div>
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Then we get to the action! Section 2 of the ordinance is where the county seems to brush under the rug the fact that the NEMAC may have met for two years without authorization from the Board of County Commissioners.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyiiTw8WSKyP5nIeE4ggVgdG5wlTQx-uM_kHGi-wNf6KmeoVEG08cM1pyJjKm62ph4C4ZFP6mgT3WVtASeRLj26iHb9tXCAX01BpNm6MxY8atV8OZHdP-EemuU_av_XkYbnlQPAD7PA4A/s1600/section+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="97" data-original-width="629" height="61" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyiiTw8WSKyP5nIeE4ggVgdG5wlTQx-uM_kHGi-wNf6KmeoVEG08cM1pyJjKm62ph4C4ZFP6mgT3WVtASeRLj26iHb9tXCAX01BpNm6MxY8atV8OZHdP-EemuU_av_XkYbnlQPAD7PA4A/s400/section+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This means that ANY meeting of the NEMAC after it was officially dissolved now gets considered official and legitimate. I'm surprised how often governments do this. And I have to wonder its legality.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg031R8O9ujB4pu4DSswvRknII43dFlcPQNqR20QXILgWxGoQF0kCZoT95H41bdWWgyexvYBF4V3eJaSf5wOlRmUffxLgMnlcvtHoGBT9wCXyNAkymw3a9aS07On0J8ESkZrmWRpr0-IBQ/s1600/section+3+pmg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="647" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg031R8O9ujB4pu4DSswvRknII43dFlcPQNqR20QXILgWxGoQF0kCZoT95H41bdWWgyexvYBF4V3eJaSf5wOlRmUffxLgMnlcvtHoGBT9wCXyNAkymw3a9aS07On0J8ESkZrmWRpr0-IBQ/s400/section+3+pmg.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The county contracted PMG Associates to conduct a $200,000 study. I don't know the relationship between this and that study, but it's on my list of posts to write. I will need the courage to read the long study, but I will get to it.</div>
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Otherwise, this only interests as it reveals orchestration behind the process for determining the feasibility of a new municipality. If you recall from my post on <a href="http://wordmiami.blogspot.com/2018/07/june-5-2018-mayors-memorandum-part-3.html" target="_blank">PMG Associates, Inc.'s budget review</a>, they contributed very little, if any, productive input to the NEMAC Pro-Forma input.</div>
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It strikes me as a terrible use of public money, but in incorporating the PMG study into the NEMAC process it gives it some kind of air of legitimacy, since, as far as I know, no other third party provided any feedback or review of the NEMAC process, or any of its resultant documents.</div>
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Then I found an interesting tidbit in Section 6, raising a question of why the Mayor excluded this in his memo:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgD0iSxDfhQ3k9OVC0vPCsWb5GCs5gtdvibFhFmrvymppIfQzG9wIrGFU5q2Dhfl-owCXl_S9rZGpCBuzcHziVsy95cg0tKiFhXIJIOXRgZT6-oblFFNfjZq3hMaC84FllYd7oou-IPQ/s1600/SECTION+6+excerpt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="83" data-original-width="649" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgD0iSxDfhQ3k9OVC0vPCsWb5GCs5gtdvibFhFmrvymppIfQzG9wIrGFU5q2Dhfl-owCXl_S9rZGpCBuzcHziVsy95cg0tKiFhXIJIOXRgZT6-oblFFNfjZq3hMaC84FllYd7oou-IPQ/s400/SECTION+6+excerpt.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Regardless of the other conditions, the ordinance gave the NEMAC a max of two years.</td></tr>
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As it was adopted April 21, 2015, and given the facts of which we have awareness, the NEMAC officially ceased to exist either six months after the BCC accepted the PMG Associates, Inc Study, or on May 1, 2017. Whichever came first.</div>
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At this time I don't have any document extending the NEMAC beyond that. I will look for such a document, and I will also determine to which study the BCC referred in this ordinance: the October 2015 study or the April 2016 Budget Review. If the October 2015 study, it means the NEMAC should have ceased existing in May of 2016. If the April 2016 study the NEMAC should have ceased existing November 2016.</div>
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pF1V_wow5_OwOP_TvY0ucEmnGbxNuj-e/preview" width="640"></iframe>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-35048548719248192052018-08-14T14:47:00.001-04:002018-08-14T14:47:32.192-04:00East and North to Highland Oaks Neighborhood Walk Around August 14, 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As I planned, on my walk today I traveled East into the single family residential neighborhood. I didn't walk yesterday due to the rainy weather. Likely in the future I won't skip my walk on account of rain.</div>
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While I took many photos I didn't necessarily do a lot of noticing because I did not have familiarity with much of what I came across. I live pretty close to where I usually work, but I tend to take the same route every day.</div>
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I availed myself to the chance of seeing places I hadn't before. For the most part I let the incorporation signs guide me!</div>
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So expect to see a bunch of those, and some random other thoughts. Press on an image </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPHoe1x6Uix_WCbsgkEn2BjcWsT0j0q_HXadZQJYT2M4xRbzOGqxlTipAhEJ-lNB9tGfGy5EJ31wy1rPjj7fQicXLCJt0EV0xBIPZg_X7xZKfsnC3PctydtqbhdyOLLPW8suWTTdNEhk/s1600/IMG_20180814_094040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPHoe1x6Uix_WCbsgkEn2BjcWsT0j0q_HXadZQJYT2M4xRbzOGqxlTipAhEJ-lNB9tGfGy5EJ31wy1rPjj7fQicXLCJt0EV0xBIPZg_X7xZKfsnC3PctydtqbhdyOLLPW8suWTTdNEhk/s200/IMG_20180814_094040.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YT3Bn1KIG6g9tjrZ-CbFN3298jcMjXtz3KWZZsmpFvoC4rtnRgXkfvQmp2aH7kmwrUW3XaexO_wEB78Dbn6Yj1OayUjqck7qAvknOC4lsymQGe3d7aukXoQANy_Hl-lbkVg081RlamA/s1600/IMG_20180814_094052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YT3Bn1KIG6g9tjrZ-CbFN3298jcMjXtz3KWZZsmpFvoC4rtnRgXkfvQmp2aH7kmwrUW3XaexO_wEB78Dbn6Yj1OayUjqck7qAvknOC4lsymQGe3d7aukXoQANy_Hl-lbkVg081RlamA/s200/IMG_20180814_094052.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Look at these dipping swales! I wonder how much higher the road is than the first floor of the condominiums on the north side of 191st Street. Also notice how much the driveway drips fro the street to the parking lot.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwH9xxmBGddwSdkazl6tthTU8VxCgG9rWnpeg90KBEhcfjYVsvzqOZyBPAfAarbeFqL5gtRaVuZRNiykJdux6uPBQjlNjGtfKfNMbWswwx4pZu-zZlLvYM4ap-sSd0LztV6fvgvVX6D7E/s1600/IMG_20180814_094137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwH9xxmBGddwSdkazl6tthTU8VxCgG9rWnpeg90KBEhcfjYVsvzqOZyBPAfAarbeFqL5gtRaVuZRNiykJdux6uPBQjlNjGtfKfNMbWswwx4pZu-zZlLvYM4ap-sSd0LztV6fvgvVX6D7E/s200/IMG_20180814_094137.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIG-tCNTvHt100Qo6FU8gYb3CJuhzTohjSg3eswct7uSCy8o4Io1QUOsecK3fjTMdx3_ig1PT_N-FDTgk5Clt6-GVrz5v7jmthEH4cSUDJ9D1KNUumUz53lTYLXscEvFeJ7DPelPwYUI/s1600/IMG_20180814_094331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIG-tCNTvHt100Qo6FU8gYb3CJuhzTohjSg3eswct7uSCy8o4Io1QUOsecK3fjTMdx3_ig1PT_N-FDTgk5Clt6-GVrz5v7jmthEH4cSUDJ9D1KNUumUz53lTYLXscEvFeJ7DPelPwYUI/s200/IMG_20180814_094331.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPDXbTSrAnV0kO_bqXCySm2okgxI21YLJqcMoSqn8PC5RsGx8kWgCB1g6CxMGj9ySNStokduLHBRL5-DcKUBBVZ4UkBlNVOcsjICOzNDT5zUXcxGrONzS_dODjib9nqdgWRFXmTFLaqQ/s1600/IMG_20180814_094644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPDXbTSrAnV0kO_bqXCySm2okgxI21YLJqcMoSqn8PC5RsGx8kWgCB1g6CxMGj9ySNStokduLHBRL5-DcKUBBVZ4UkBlNVOcsjICOzNDT5zUXcxGrONzS_dODjib9nqdgWRFXmTFLaqQ/s200/IMG_20180814_094644.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKJycNdwIqd2RothxljIVi_80SqWkhAxlDUIgUj1_ItJZu5Dfv-LACMmCIlzqTrMGkLsJBiPiQ7JsAj-Sr_hETqWnI8fA86zkcgwom3YKb974zzsdPR6ulUMdBSMSqgc2lw41-cZA2Jw/s1600/IMG_20180814_094401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKJycNdwIqd2RothxljIVi_80SqWkhAxlDUIgUj1_ItJZu5Dfv-LACMmCIlzqTrMGkLsJBiPiQ7JsAj-Sr_hETqWnI8fA86zkcgwom3YKb974zzsdPR6ulUMdBSMSqgc2lw41-cZA2Jw/s200/IMG_20180814_094401.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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This part of the neighborhood has terrible car problems. Not only do we drive 30 mph down a high density residential street, with virtually no pedestrian crossing ability, but condos have given up lawn space, an sometimes cars resort to parking in the county swale.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BgcNVvLwdWCIiaz3ydnvmq8azFtksqE1n_fSVluUSjdKNtsygN0h_b1hUDTC0QelgzKrr1EFud_PPGHULi_j9c8oXyj0itt7qICyb8nx9rvVp9892r2k4mz7YvQa2IkYsz5mD9CIQCE/s1600/IMG_20180814_094715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BgcNVvLwdWCIiaz3ydnvmq8azFtksqE1n_fSVluUSjdKNtsygN0h_b1hUDTC0QelgzKrr1EFud_PPGHULi_j9c8oXyj0itt7qICyb8nx9rvVp9892r2k4mz7YvQa2IkYsz5mD9CIQCE/s320/IMG_20180814_094715.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first <b>NO</b> sign I noticed on my walk. I've seen it hundreds of times, so it blend in to the scenery for me at this point. I wonder if the condominium association board approved the placement of this sign.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5a3Wddw23klqrFPSxm0smqgODTxztCvPv1jIP7TazVl_ZaUNTM54dI7OwIB4dhy-mbBc7sUwKK7EapBc_fiR_hF7GQ9WGOz2s-JDYLmaKK1y6hLKMxmEptaDPm_m7dSDDXPywNxz6iYs/s1600/IMG_20180814_094817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5a3Wddw23klqrFPSxm0smqgODTxztCvPv1jIP7TazVl_ZaUNTM54dI7OwIB4dhy-mbBc7sUwKK7EapBc_fiR_hF7GQ9WGOz2s-JDYLmaKK1y6hLKMxmEptaDPm_m7dSDDXPywNxz6iYs/s400/IMG_20180814_094817.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I also noticed this second tower above the building 1701. It has the same style of the other tower at the building center.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0Pr_Gj3s2uaxjiCddaGJm2WXok2Y3hsXGoDgsmzSFYu0YSCt0XYCKDL6n6_D44k5d_GqedYD9xZpnCBUmeb0PeYx0N2z7Hh17c6CdoAwJCpHdnw40oAgWhentIvr5u_RFEpa2oFRQCg/s1600/IMG_20180814_094946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0Pr_Gj3s2uaxjiCddaGJm2WXok2Y3hsXGoDgsmzSFYu0YSCt0XYCKDL6n6_D44k5d_GqedYD9xZpnCBUmeb0PeYx0N2z7Hh17c6CdoAwJCpHdnw40oAgWhentIvr5u_RFEpa2oFRQCg/s320/IMG_20180814_094946.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My block ends at a T. On Thursday's walk I went right so today I turned left.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjqhmyV1MUiaALxPdzv-DzlHS1T2C1yRkidE5Kc5LHtVpp4w3_JOo9KQS7ouCPOX1EVKUO2wdS8sEyd49XQZruj2Vk6OY3pJSD2wpKDfN2NljwATUjXnd4kqXTpKvWTWPPvSO612s4vw/s1600/IMG_20180814_095108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjqhmyV1MUiaALxPdzv-DzlHS1T2C1yRkidE5Kc5LHtVpp4w3_JOo9KQS7ouCPOX1EVKUO2wdS8sEyd49XQZruj2Vk6OY3pJSD2wpKDfN2NljwATUjXnd4kqXTpKvWTWPPvSO612s4vw/s320/IMG_20180814_095108.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first <b>YES</b> sign on the walk. More of both to come.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqGt-JL_LfAEWaEPNVm3J9IX01SIAgpfMWGAOOiP5MvcCXfKBIE3er1WJiqVxGnh0mE13GJ9kWd4pdmWlSjBD50od5kYeB9vKpCK170FJHcr7q1M75HYui5pW3P6KdF9VaM3uvKxdn6s/s1600/IMG_20180814_095556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqGt-JL_LfAEWaEPNVm3J9IX01SIAgpfMWGAOOiP5MvcCXfKBIE3er1WJiqVxGnh0mE13GJ9kWd4pdmWlSjBD50od5kYeB9vKpCK170FJHcr7q1M75HYui5pW3P6KdF9VaM3uvKxdn6s/s200/IMG_20180814_095556.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-6zZYgCNL2049hPZyimXlT3oTwZbYDqiYfmGYEsF5DWyjPUVKRH8NbS8zplhqVaLV8Qyv0o5emUCiCEF9ToVNdmVvfP-w2u1g4H0Pi3x2jTxgiZl9OJiQI5muob4xbinbE4sxngIH70/s1600/IMG_20180814_095617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-6zZYgCNL2049hPZyimXlT3oTwZbYDqiYfmGYEsF5DWyjPUVKRH8NbS8zplhqVaLV8Qyv0o5emUCiCEF9ToVNdmVvfP-w2u1g4H0Pi3x2jTxgiZl9OJiQI5muob4xbinbE4sxngIH70/s320/IMG_20180814_095617.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This street corner has amazing shade from these two trees in the swale. Compare it to the shade-free places around it. I love tree cover! (Though make sure they're properly maintained.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDXSfjja8cpKygqgJizu6EdpsdpfO-SPTJ9NWcTTt0Yp-qSmGB75P6VSIuiAU-kZX9Jt-b7MXiiG3jbZMGRa518TdlQiqR72YjEANKG1ppcEZXaD6LjLakYxjLAuNL9lIvJK9lfbRVwM/s1600/IMG_20180814_095707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDXSfjja8cpKygqgJizu6EdpsdpfO-SPTJ9NWcTTt0Yp-qSmGB75P6VSIuiAU-kZX9Jt-b7MXiiG3jbZMGRa518TdlQiqR72YjEANKG1ppcEZXaD6LjLakYxjLAuNL9lIvJK9lfbRVwM/s320/IMG_20180814_095707.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Organic bananas anyone?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl3-0S1hkdBE7CgShwV_bxQEvWWb50fQJBcWfSjqCqUL6cyhYS_fXS9JY7vTPRaHwD-C8YBuw4ESARe1G_WTL8xIuuDT7kGsBbrrOCxsJ9nP-Xba2kvu2aQnqqCHpckRIogczTYJp3kcw/s1600/IMG_20180814_100352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl3-0S1hkdBE7CgShwV_bxQEvWWb50fQJBcWfSjqCqUL6cyhYS_fXS9JY7vTPRaHwD-C8YBuw4ESARe1G_WTL8xIuuDT7kGsBbrrOCxsJ9nP-Xba2kvu2aQnqqCHpckRIogczTYJp3kcw/s320/IMG_20180814_100352.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at these hanging pods!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVI5a8f3MHcE9hcxCwXUQwPkvyN086LkskmAM0tC3OBWmPvRVUt1pYB6uCXHyXzJqfxk9ck6Gzyhb5KNAQNQj_tGToUebphjFw-pKhxrQ4MvAOk8pYaa_RepVbvs48ICvNEBmq50nwiH8/s1600/IMG_20180814_100458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVI5a8f3MHcE9hcxCwXUQwPkvyN086LkskmAM0tC3OBWmPvRVUt1pYB6uCXHyXzJqfxk9ck6Gzyhb5KNAQNQj_tGToUebphjFw-pKhxrQ4MvAOk8pYaa_RepVbvs48ICvNEBmq50nwiH8/s640/IMG_20180814_100458.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This tree took my breath away. What an attention hog!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRpY2_twj2_WqIvcTve6lbCEMEqCCKZIpWtLLeeDHq5DJZDoDhe552oMnCgl6hFhGn1fTYSTrRoasKK2urgBb_cNAmrMqUwEtXgsuXdmuKr5tzqtd9qZWyqGLFXvSLImUvr3Rkre2e2I/s1600/IMG_20180814_102426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRpY2_twj2_WqIvcTve6lbCEMEqCCKZIpWtLLeeDHq5DJZDoDhe552oMnCgl6hFhGn1fTYSTrRoasKK2urgBb_cNAmrMqUwEtXgsuXdmuKr5tzqtd9qZWyqGLFXvSLImUvr3Rkre2e2I/s320/IMG_20180814_102426.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWK2a-rY_21184vOb5EsoL8_2oC590vhDgTTeswsTQfyavF7AvfqpbRHFOoTE4tEWmAyEQFBnOzqNTeoUSx0SOb2segrahkG364lDDe7RbwGnoNoEqaFuQIjwheOuscU992_Iz9DtC0vc/s1600/IMG_20180814_102524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWK2a-rY_21184vOb5EsoL8_2oC590vhDgTTeswsTQfyavF7AvfqpbRHFOoTE4tEWmAyEQFBnOzqNTeoUSx0SOb2segrahkG364lDDe7RbwGnoNoEqaFuQIjwheOuscU992_Iz9DtC0vc/s320/IMG_20180814_102524.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRyxa87tBALEifQDLby53xzFEmLUuYKk8M7p83I8K-QDST1mKJms6PLbYsYmNwV4jEIuX84VbGq2bZZVvQ9SDRvVSXJCJ0X-O0sV01SW50al9xejmRo18cjZV49b5amJ5HenaYDorj2YM/s1600/IMG_20180814_102607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRyxa87tBALEifQDLby53xzFEmLUuYKk8M7p83I8K-QDST1mKJms6PLbYsYmNwV4jEIuX84VbGq2bZZVvQ9SDRvVSXJCJ0X-O0sV01SW50al9xejmRo18cjZV49b5amJ5HenaYDorj2YM/s320/IMG_20180814_102607.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I always wondered about this odd driveway situated just off Ives Dairy Road. It connects to at least five properties. One of them with the <b>NO</b> sign in the previous image.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_eoUL6GWm2royWUX-GuSVPBVAyrB8X3S1eB2CGIg7Z6SSnP_1lzpEgfw6PEjGIkMCB_SJ6JQ1TeH2ZFSO0SRB3_STizY2S0P0CzNxeUyRsaYzqPcSonaMJOZypTxiCLPMii16eRNRxM/s1600/IMG_20180814_102754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_eoUL6GWm2royWUX-GuSVPBVAyrB8X3S1eB2CGIg7Z6SSnP_1lzpEgfw6PEjGIkMCB_SJ6JQ1TeH2ZFSO0SRB3_STizY2S0P0CzNxeUyRsaYzqPcSonaMJOZypTxiCLPMii16eRNRxM/s640/IMG_20180814_102754.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didn't want to stand in the middle of the road to take this image, but there's debris from a crash right in the middle. Ives Dairy and NE 24th is a traffic nightmare.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUgGplKVY19E2aZO2UQRVEqpi5tyOyCWNiM1y9sEKmNUTWZZ1sihPpBbqko86XOh_jfJHB5SASX1HyE8DJiNSDfBMiF2qdLOgLdrrqthPnx5lznH16tlsLENoklRkmV1o5HWwcsem_Efs/s1600/IMG_20180814_103517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUgGplKVY19E2aZO2UQRVEqpi5tyOyCWNiM1y9sEKmNUTWZZ1sihPpBbqko86XOh_jfJHB5SASX1HyE8DJiNSDfBMiF2qdLOgLdrrqthPnx5lznH16tlsLENoklRkmV1o5HWwcsem_Efs/s400/IMG_20180814_103517.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After stopping in at Highland Oaks Middle to say hello to some staff, I went right on my way home. Look how traffic gets stuck at 10:35 am on a Tuesday. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41g8_XTjHDkVH3Es5-VIX9vviyrqOy2ZD-eFspD2VRnXVhGRuDpgUHGq1AG6HvTnZbb_49YajGfCOYf86dIy2huMVQJXCjqhkC-QlAaJoaresoWZ_kIBQqC4b2vcbqOOy3NFA_nzlDVI/s1600/IMG_20180814_103654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41g8_XTjHDkVH3Es5-VIX9vviyrqOy2ZD-eFspD2VRnXVhGRuDpgUHGq1AG6HvTnZbb_49YajGfCOYf86dIy2huMVQJXCjqhkC-QlAaJoaresoWZ_kIBQqC4b2vcbqOOy3NFA_nzlDVI/s640/IMG_20180814_103654.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After crossing the street on my walk signal I took this picture to show how traffic from over 30 seconds ago still hadn't moved. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTT7tTB_e6l0Xix6NWmjpoeDhlxrGP1JqngtCjxnoT1cT9Nqo_QGklPZvSzucLMI1qgFGy1HBAaWecblUnTB-w-ZFr9IsZfY0Dy7WQGdtyW_R3viNSeCZYD8VqrRJWH28fZ45kgak0VA/s1600/IMG_20180814_104121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTT7tTB_e6l0Xix6NWmjpoeDhlxrGP1JqngtCjxnoT1cT9Nqo_QGklPZvSzucLMI1qgFGy1HBAaWecblUnTB-w-ZFr9IsZfY0Dy7WQGdtyW_R3viNSeCZYD8VqrRJWH28fZ45kgak0VA/s640/IMG_20180814_104121.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Though on private properties, this is one of the only views I have seen of any of the lakes surrounded by private single family residences. I wish the lakes were a bit more accessible to the comm.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieBEVX30hZ-i5l-_DFMKLNdkFmqw9g6ZrMTQkVaNUS04eE9tkMWZ8qBKQGg0m7TZFE-OZ7U7t0syPttzdcRIuo2Wv1P4By9RfdmoXq3RtblL1s2rBQA7_qQjkSBScSj1GQrFGSY92WAT4/s1600/IMG_20180814_104314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieBEVX30hZ-i5l-_DFMKLNdkFmqw9g6ZrMTQkVaNUS04eE9tkMWZ8qBKQGg0m7TZFE-OZ7U7t0syPttzdcRIuo2Wv1P4By9RfdmoXq3RtblL1s2rBQA7_qQjkSBScSj1GQrFGSY92WAT4/s200/IMG_20180814_104314.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimn-eXWeM8qzFP_VDEQ8Z99Ga3LJ5cnE6TUIQ9qoGrdaG5z56l8yrk2rVjsmqEXFLnbMkx9T_NUgMiMpgdBxErMZfCSSOxEYmpfb9JRe49unNUoIusrVFZbUYgGdQBRX339VGdKhSYppU/s1600/IMG_20180814_104610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimn-eXWeM8qzFP_VDEQ8Z99Ga3LJ5cnE6TUIQ9qoGrdaG5z56l8yrk2rVjsmqEXFLnbMkx9T_NUgMiMpgdBxErMZfCSSOxEYmpfb9JRe49unNUoIusrVFZbUYgGdQBRX339VGdKhSYppU/s200/IMG_20180814_104610.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUE_UVYpZuaVzdsvGemYdV-Z75K4RK6Gxqk4at0HL1bHSLeLAWmIw4tgLcHSTs-Ue2sjXj6w4TxIa2LTAdtAIhyXe3vOBItkgtdInhQhNOUFfYTayuTXCUOk0j8GnGH8_QO2-ASIQRPsM/s1600/IMG_20180814_104654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUE_UVYpZuaVzdsvGemYdV-Z75K4RK6Gxqk4at0HL1bHSLeLAWmIw4tgLcHSTs-Ue2sjXj6w4TxIa2LTAdtAIhyXe3vOBItkgtdInhQhNOUFfYTayuTXCUOk0j8GnGH8_QO2-ASIQRPsM/s320/IMG_20180814_104654.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seems even video cameras didn't stop thieves from taking a couple bicycle wheels. Never leave bicycles in publicly visible places without having all easily detachable components under lock, preferably a metal U-Lock.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsB4uXF0xlag0M-uPOjSkS3leR5regVjnskCREec0do_vSUKX3kZWa8Xxw2u0jvl4itwP7ga0oBEcu6Esj62hCrPBtfJQJiqBZVxQhQKIoEIyBMOjmq9euBab-BjoptZI7tC368yMZNQ/s1600/IMG_20180814_105536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsB4uXF0xlag0M-uPOjSkS3leR5regVjnskCREec0do_vSUKX3kZWa8Xxw2u0jvl4itwP7ga0oBEcu6Esj62hCrPBtfJQJiqBZVxQhQKIoEIyBMOjmq9euBab-BjoptZI7tC368yMZNQ/s320/IMG_20180814_105536.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aside from the all-access guard gates, I don't know any other entrances to this part of the neighborhood, but one could easily traverse this fence. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKwod0w-qf-TT1t2YAdnc3SjPQfmkRrTvU7QJDGnQohDHjhMsrCBU-n3ZTGjwTNrVdfoPveT3oRFVvNgodzwPInjq0jc2SmCWgxuKIDDXibwji-OjqNZN-bhbqObSEILpkdiyFIrz92w/s1600/IMG_20180814_105615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKwod0w-qf-TT1t2YAdnc3SjPQfmkRrTvU7QJDGnQohDHjhMsrCBU-n3ZTGjwTNrVdfoPveT3oRFVvNgodzwPInjq0jc2SmCWgxuKIDDXibwji-OjqNZN-bhbqObSEILpkdiyFIrz92w/s320/IMG_20180814_105615.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjcfquUze3naMMZDdoN09IJqMyE2Bb9IKJ2CzOD7IgKRHakLvZBi8oaH5JkWTs3CExt0s3y-ck72XFUSKmZ4a3sGBSONusqphN8EVVyRaZQ15Ha5LWg3MBM3s101MJTZXmvnWQTysJ5r8/s1600/IMG_20180814_105646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjcfquUze3naMMZDdoN09IJqMyE2Bb9IKJ2CzOD7IgKRHakLvZBi8oaH5JkWTs3CExt0s3y-ck72XFUSKmZ4a3sGBSONusqphN8EVVyRaZQ15Ha5LWg3MBM3s101MJTZXmvnWQTysJ5r8/s200/IMG_20180814_105646.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGi4Mitr8tqztcEEGyN_7HGttcQarx5BYahyphenhyphen90fEzkBemsFAWHfyg7VKBFyBwHhVlT13_GYIXvK7p_lyNiNgb_D7f49su825dxkPijNt3uL3xoyv8YCMJU6RMcDyr_ntJTHj2LZYGdkys/s1600/IMG_20180814_105752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGi4Mitr8tqztcEEGyN_7HGttcQarx5BYahyphenhyphen90fEzkBemsFAWHfyg7VKBFyBwHhVlT13_GYIXvK7p_lyNiNgb_D7f49su825dxkPijNt3uL3xoyv8YCMJU6RMcDyr_ntJTHj2LZYGdkys/s200/IMG_20180814_105752.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ExVuKU8EyHg-ER8MAAlzU_9sEkHZ9XPCAMuDsto2Fqt0cYoEZxawF6uPJkJHUDgYndiGjt7QZBgyTyFvBcmMdqyFB_CzBFTfWtf64aBWT95w-fQr5_OHU2Yb41dS-KmsSdsfMnACFaU/s1600/IMG_20180814_110336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ExVuKU8EyHg-ER8MAAlzU_9sEkHZ9XPCAMuDsto2Fqt0cYoEZxawF6uPJkJHUDgYndiGjt7QZBgyTyFvBcmMdqyFB_CzBFTfWtf64aBWT95w-fQr5_OHU2Yb41dS-KmsSdsfMnACFaU/s320/IMG_20180814_110336.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iShas3YfFGndtiXRXtGI9YvMjD76wmeCFAF_EzkxMC4arSNghBhWk1nRQ6cOt5hNao03HTBScXn2FEZSGKxKw0C3nyfIYCvzC23B_NXNAIf4kYVnt_pmqlWHvyysZG9woexWzdGuYiU/s1600/IMG_20180814_110348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iShas3YfFGndtiXRXtGI9YvMjD76wmeCFAF_EzkxMC4arSNghBhWk1nRQ6cOt5hNao03HTBScXn2FEZSGKxKw0C3nyfIYCvzC23B_NXNAIf4kYVnt_pmqlWHvyysZG9woexWzdGuYiU/s320/IMG_20180814_110348.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4au6G5flkUlp-4khlp6oC-5YUgj-1y2orjqHB9PFpIPWliWVGCKAA0bv93zeZ2V1d428wCqNHDhKEJ_eMHKecCEy9lmK9kuik_lYDG7iXQHNkjwS91CMftN-SSiFnVBonC3mHl4aE1S4/s1600/IMG_20180814_110500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4au6G5flkUlp-4khlp6oC-5YUgj-1y2orjqHB9PFpIPWliWVGCKAA0bv93zeZ2V1d428wCqNHDhKEJ_eMHKecCEy9lmK9kuik_lYDG7iXQHNkjwS91CMftN-SSiFnVBonC3mHl4aE1S4/s640/IMG_20180814_110500.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another one of these bodies of water which take up a significant portion of the surface area around here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjil3GTRNHeKC3EQD8VSgud-eXiYUbEASXoOvmJ1QUyTtw5e62m7BdJtGbXhZLyPpsr5QfKH-OLHrsU06oJzZcrYd59P1PJeZTHBYs9AcREVPf68sx6B7sNroL55Etgvk9EzCh4tULTK60/s1600/IMG_20180814_110654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjil3GTRNHeKC3EQD8VSgud-eXiYUbEASXoOvmJ1QUyTtw5e62m7BdJtGbXhZLyPpsr5QfKH-OLHrsU06oJzZcrYd59P1PJeZTHBYs9AcREVPf68sx6B7sNroL55Etgvk9EzCh4tULTK60/s200/IMG_20180814_110654.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Yes </b>sign on the left</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeCyRL8pl-Nyht3FA7lTTwBa5RCR6EqUAGYt2h4D1oA3T-WYQEALcRiDIHpitKsihEQXtufzDo9Rqd2ouIIXgwFOGNoCfyVi3sWedUZV_uHGv0Lp90ZX3eCgm8R8EDp-wRAkaNdHuebY/s1600/IMG_20180814_110906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeCyRL8pl-Nyht3FA7lTTwBa5RCR6EqUAGYt2h4D1oA3T-WYQEALcRiDIHpitKsihEQXtufzDo9Rqd2ouIIXgwFOGNoCfyVi3sWedUZV_uHGv0Lp90ZX3eCgm8R8EDp-wRAkaNdHuebY/s400/IMG_20180814_110906.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The truck in the middle actually covers up a third <b>YES</b> sign. Bad timing on my part.</td></tr>
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Based only on this walk around my neighborhood I think most people with an opinion support incorporation. I will continue to photograph signs I find throughout my walks. Perhaps I'll upgrade to bicycling soon so I can get a little further, like down to West Dixie, or up to 215th.Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-42684751619239702922018-08-11T20:33:00.001-04:002018-08-11T20:33:41.134-04:00Neighborhood Walk Around August 8,9, 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I decided to start walking daily to get fresh sunlight while awaiting my work year to start. As a typical millennial I couldn't help taking pictures of anything that caught my attention. Given my recent strong of posts regarding incorporation I couldn't help fixating on thoughts of what the county doesn't do well that a city might accomplish more efficiently and effectively. I invite you to spy some untypical views of my community, and my thoughts of them. On these two walks (Thursday and Friday) I went south so Skylake Plaza, and back. </div>
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On Monday I will instead walk east towards the single family neighborhood.</div>
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Thursday</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH4OqtHNqezl6rlG13sCuYJ6WVOVJ6uejyvYLAIlhXlWNIfj3WoG6bYnCACjb3sRu_B1163Hb04OU1fSk4UwU26FcrB5iZBhnNN7GiT_kgNgHdbtd2Nufg8ipvhflgT5KSyW6BwUoTjsc/s1600/IMG_20180809_095428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH4OqtHNqezl6rlG13sCuYJ6WVOVJ6uejyvYLAIlhXlWNIfj3WoG6bYnCACjb3sRu_B1163Hb04OU1fSk4UwU26FcrB5iZBhnNN7GiT_kgNgHdbtd2Nufg8ipvhflgT5KSyW6BwUoTjsc/s320/IMG_20180809_095428.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I recently met with members of the Sky Lake and Highland Lakes Area Home Owners Association and one of them mentioned a past effort to prevent construction of a communications tower. I told them that one of the buildings on my block <b>does</b> have a communications tower in it. Someone told me they receive substantial compensation for the lease of the space.<br />As a private condominium details of the contract like do not fall under any kind of public records laws.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbBNnnahlacCPpDHIBYNFmAIehzq575HGt6D1Jivkoqa53sXWmqiE0_qoy_sF81lPmASsmhrjVFIAyBHN5bUJdEwosAl9ZLLWbvNRb4O6kFBzcqajlHk43YS7O_o3eK5pyUYqBHF04CI/s1600/IMG_20180809_100110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbBNnnahlacCPpDHIBYNFmAIehzq575HGt6D1Jivkoqa53sXWmqiE0_qoy_sF81lPmASsmhrjVFIAyBHN5bUJdEwosAl9ZLLWbvNRb4O6kFBzcqajlHk43YS7O_o3eK5pyUYqBHF04CI/s640/IMG_20180809_100110.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As I walked south on 18th Avenue I saw something very familiar, but which now had a different context for me, however first notice a parking space next to this pump station.<br />In the resolution on Northeast incorporation the county demands retention of four pump stations. It seems the county did not include this one as per the addresses in the resolution included here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzG0JF0S73WKhTDQP_TPPOlTpOiuKqn7-GLojKCbAPfUwgo1bOuUazW63v98GRYrpwmqZp5lJJCqjxF2BS3v87xGXwoZ6ggNDMmaKTNq2DOUB4XcbvGd7sGJoljxpB6JArzv92MrJWJo/s1600/whereas12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="681" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzG0JF0S73WKhTDQP_TPPOlTpOiuKqn7-GLojKCbAPfUwgo1bOuUazW63v98GRYrpwmqZp5lJJCqjxF2BS3v87xGXwoZ6ggNDMmaKTNq2DOUB4XcbvGd7sGJoljxpB6JArzv92MrJWJo/s400/whereas12.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I found this pump station between 191st and Miami Gardens Drive, well south of 19720 NE 18 Avenue.<br />This circumstance immediately raises the question of <i>why</i> the county wants some pumps and not others.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8ju6xbWJIuHFwlwstdQ8gB79QbGT5wnCycY-tNhCa3-fTDDIQHT338-3eidMCfaKp4-NORgyEPkwpE1LGZ1yDQ01bvhaoIqqCGj3nk6_FD_2j7v9IOqZkpuejj9vT20CrYgm5RNizbA/s1600/IMG_20180809_100339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8ju6xbWJIuHFwlwstdQ8gB79QbGT5wnCycY-tNhCa3-fTDDIQHT338-3eidMCfaKp4-NORgyEPkwpE1LGZ1yDQ01bvhaoIqqCGj3nk6_FD_2j7v9IOqZkpuejj9vT20CrYgm5RNizbA/s320/IMG_20180809_100339.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many of these <b>NO</b> signs went up several years ago. The Yes campaign only recently got their act together and have a much prettier design. I will feature such an image when I find one.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWrt21slve3nm1p_Hmcjy7HH-JVRczaicPY2V2HdU4rTrHVhky9L_usWp8661GXNBRVNjB6Y2Idxzn2awc1v5FsltXMP8aEivc4yAnncAwybiV9JrKB8QBtzZjfAQ75FKIMm-Su9Txqg/s1600/bus+cut.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWrt21slve3nm1p_Hmcjy7HH-JVRczaicPY2V2HdU4rTrHVhky9L_usWp8661GXNBRVNjB6Y2Idxzn2awc1v5FsltXMP8aEivc4yAnncAwybiV9JrKB8QBtzZjfAQ75FKIMm-Su9Txqg/s1600/bus+cut.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have a great interest in mass transit. Seeing a handful of people at a bus stop speaks volumes to me. These people waited in front of Skylake Plaze at 2:05pm on a Thursday. I recall a very hot day. I wonder how much residents, employees, and visitors use mass transit in our neighborhood.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHi2lMnDKZ9d1FN9EBuWC46JL7nYhh7wtpB-jTs9UUdlO042Vva3wPg9mEIAuU0IYoXWr8AQ2DQQ9Hf-Zu9aUk_h_CO-X-dcsOpe2s9zCzBiFAj8Kviis7PCRdd3r2qbHDuzzc6b_j9IY/s1600/IMG_20180809_100701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHi2lMnDKZ9d1FN9EBuWC46JL7nYhh7wtpB-jTs9UUdlO042Vva3wPg9mEIAuU0IYoXWr8AQ2DQQ9Hf-Zu9aUk_h_CO-X-dcsOpe2s9zCzBiFAj8Kviis7PCRdd3r2qbHDuzzc6b_j9IY/s320/IMG_20180809_100701.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most recent development in my immediate area.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXemhhVE1iKHdbMT9MJ427ykvmfvnhygaGlO_48xLCB3EjRzxI1SIeaZuzhyphenhyphenryB22urXpJ4UVGVEcSW5H6YaUs7b4MMBlKFTto-zNA33FY8SZOIlwQ8BvAlXXfvM4dgwjRxfZicIpXEA/s1600/IMG_20180809_101050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXemhhVE1iKHdbMT9MJ427ykvmfvnhygaGlO_48xLCB3EjRzxI1SIeaZuzhyphenhyphenryB22urXpJ4UVGVEcSW5H6YaUs7b4MMBlKFTto-zNA33FY8SZOIlwQ8BvAlXXfvM4dgwjRxfZicIpXEA/s640/IMG_20180809_101050.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks as though we lost a gas station and gained another bank. I find gas in this area too expensive and did not frequent that station.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKe0NdXk1RmutU39F0YKmHaJqz__pF2ExqKX7oLlGsTPwvX-auwRy04JvuoySK6KZsiMb2_eQGUQCgUIeQXYcyS-Y_JHVFB1DqJc7PjNnFFj9mfn77hRcQBN6LXniIMCEt5Rjw76W16KE/s1600/IMG_20180809_101548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKe0NdXk1RmutU39F0YKmHaJqz__pF2ExqKX7oLlGsTPwvX-auwRy04JvuoySK6KZsiMb2_eQGUQCgUIeQXYcyS-Y_JHVFB1DqJc7PjNnFFj9mfn77hRcQBN6LXniIMCEt5Rjw76W16KE/s640/IMG_20180809_101548.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More <b style="font-size: 12.8px;">NO</b><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> signs in front of a condominium. I wonder if the boards of these respective places approved these signs. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwNs0BszqMRogeB0paaUB7Huah7AYJsxHJhxonHu7QRNUrOXubY2KE6ypSMA7dzI2wFaojwnmYt6zU6N4zITvyNAwlItacoBrKHbzBc9yLUVjSUAnLHqMLDL4zOCfiKd8ACtsi2K7VNE/s1600/IMG_20180809_101557.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwNs0BszqMRogeB0paaUB7Huah7AYJsxHJhxonHu7QRNUrOXubY2KE6ypSMA7dzI2wFaojwnmYt6zU6N4zITvyNAwlItacoBrKHbzBc9yLUVjSUAnLHqMLDL4zOCfiKd8ACtsi2K7VNE/s640/IMG_20180809_101557.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPxHGm6l8Rv7jy4CiBlajAWBaF-gruNHwHccq-I_CxVEos-p9Xc2SGKUXLV0LEVU5fNZbOHReW7QGPVB5D20xQQkwaKYCUDJD9Hu6-lv1-VkWAWv8jKOW4HxQl3Ud84MW1R2baAJcWZw/s1600/IMG_20180809_101710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPxHGm6l8Rv7jy4CiBlajAWBaF-gruNHwHccq-I_CxVEos-p9Xc2SGKUXLV0LEVU5fNZbOHReW7QGPVB5D20xQQkwaKYCUDJD9Hu6-lv1-VkWAWv8jKOW4HxQl3Ud84MW1R2baAJcWZw/s400/IMG_20180809_101710.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When eastbound traffic at the intersection of Miami Gardens Drive and NE 15th u-turn vehicles regularly drive onto the swale, creating this desert next to a patch of grass.<br />If I understand correctly Florida Department of Transit has jurisdiction of Miami Gardens Drive, rendering both the county and any potential city unable to directly address the design issues which generate these kinds of problems.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQytPHtAUQewCSZgdBsYj_0mVUSUjtUNd54yvnMg7EV_QuGaqEFl-XH3c29VOwuwVl5WKw_J1tQetpUjoynTRAenO2gb45ahSLNvp8BgUCTeZ_PmhMmfi3Oqa-o_c9o13JGf4d71viAzI/s1600/IMG_20180809_101952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQytPHtAUQewCSZgdBsYj_0mVUSUjtUNd54yvnMg7EV_QuGaqEFl-XH3c29VOwuwVl5WKw_J1tQetpUjoynTRAenO2gb45ahSLNvp8BgUCTeZ_PmhMmfi3Oqa-o_c9o13JGf4d71viAzI/s640/IMG_20180809_101952.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I crossed the street to acquire this photo as it features the largest buildings in the Northeast. Buckley towers in the background has a twin out of view behind it. Both buildings have more than the 8 floors in the much newer Sky Lofts.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NxIyYSaWiPQ6FLr-t7D_TnIL4BROa-8sO8Cex4EHMOG0k1q9JJSI-K128MxskYS17N991H4edB0ZjYGEOq3GxUIk-B_q87wqprmxzm4XxmCsByiBBoYJyZJlJAF-dpVubwHviCBk6ZU/s1600/IMG_20180809_102126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NxIyYSaWiPQ6FLr-t7D_TnIL4BROa-8sO8Cex4EHMOG0k1q9JJSI-K128MxskYS17N991H4edB0ZjYGEOq3GxUIk-B_q87wqprmxzm4XxmCsByiBBoYJyZJlJAF-dpVubwHviCBk6ZU/s320/IMG_20180809_102126.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I photographed this image to remind myself to learn more about the public works project highlighted in the poster near the center of the photo. Consent Decree (meaning there was no discussion or debate) Project #4.09(2) Furnish and Install 12" DI & 16" HDPE Pipe from Miami Garden (sic) Dr. along NE 14th Avenue to Station No. 0455.<br />I can't make out the last line in the photo stating the Project #.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwFuBT-EO38epPWEwPn6kjIM86X9_mn7NeRpx3WelSgeQIWOR_-vX6b8t9d4hddyB4g3KBI1YZZ_2gyQ-MHfic_htqAv0sdCD3BKxo4t9LhOOL9kAXioEs4U9qUr_v4P9sIvFmYyNS3k/s1600/IMG_20180809_102252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwFuBT-EO38epPWEwPn6kjIM86X9_mn7NeRpx3WelSgeQIWOR_-vX6b8t9d4hddyB4g3KBI1YZZ_2gyQ-MHfic_htqAv0sdCD3BKxo4t9LhOOL9kAXioEs4U9qUr_v4P9sIvFmYyNS3k/s320/IMG_20180809_102252.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I presume they installed that pipe on the east side of 14th Avenue.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUAaGvhsu8NcQTGECIoWGveHeQVUzBF5zpeCjiq-g4u5kQq2yRFv-AFQw4ia09oSbbhxTRMDnLCxyseDCaTrqeSuUgzsS9qGto3IhtnbVAKVfwzHMK5DS8kOh1L5CslbdSmYStH7MWwVY/s1600/IMG_20180809_102332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUAaGvhsu8NcQTGECIoWGveHeQVUzBF5zpeCjiq-g4u5kQq2yRFv-AFQw4ia09oSbbhxTRMDnLCxyseDCaTrqeSuUgzsS9qGto3IhtnbVAKVfwzHMK5DS8kOh1L5CslbdSmYStH7MWwVY/s640/IMG_20180809_102332.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ducks hang out here. I wish people wouldn't feed them. They don't need your food as they have evolved over millions of years to find their own food. Ducks crossing the street to eat food left in the grass regularly die from car collisions.<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1cn8g_EFaBDdGbc-5esuAaOF5VIW6lEQ2U81JaTET8Ol1iuE8iK2Xy6oqqwqPdv4ueg7lxflcPSd-2iCEsPqrEqvpqcFPE5uNUTMMmoTPTLXo5UIURLz7mVj-m69Q4RqLMYCcAtaAqlY/s1600/IMG_20180809_102442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1cn8g_EFaBDdGbc-5esuAaOF5VIW6lEQ2U81JaTET8Ol1iuE8iK2Xy6oqqwqPdv4ueg7lxflcPSd-2iCEsPqrEqvpqcFPE5uNUTMMmoTPTLXo5UIURLz7mVj-m69Q4RqLMYCcAtaAqlY/s400/IMG_20180809_102442.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I first moved to the area people did not park on the swale to the west side of 14th Avenue. I only found two cars this time, but likely many more after 6pm. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
Trash along the west side of 14th Ave., a small sampling.</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialeJHlEVkK4PNAO9VSQIWCqLnxux2gPPect8jLF6zB9xEwytid1jqYH4KJW5INAQjNhE_PLrklGEcbTKWjCfeyY0PvnD8YkcZDwpQX5oEeSV0TxUwkFSvdp6gjPmLBW1tHKJMFHhS13I/s1600/IMG_20180809_102930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialeJHlEVkK4PNAO9VSQIWCqLnxux2gPPect8jLF6zB9xEwytid1jqYH4KJW5INAQjNhE_PLrklGEcbTKWjCfeyY0PvnD8YkcZDwpQX5oEeSV0TxUwkFSvdp6gjPmLBW1tHKJMFHhS13I/s320/IMG_20180809_102930.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgigshD-cIOx3q6WfS75GM0vikgQyHtJbIz8Z3ur-V8yD5UzwPsBWAURTtBV3PI9RABup0rRxr2TemmPm3Ivlu-hAay6RNEX4XSYgdp1WZp-JQoGnuV3Xoxd3ddrW5jj6eeJ_wOTHmXKK8/s1600/IMG_20180809_103147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgigshD-cIOx3q6WfS75GM0vikgQyHtJbIz8Z3ur-V8yD5UzwPsBWAURTtBV3PI9RABup0rRxr2TemmPm3Ivlu-hAay6RNEX4XSYgdp1WZp-JQoGnuV3Xoxd3ddrW5jj6eeJ_wOTHmXKK8/s400/IMG_20180809_103147.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lack of available parking in the condominium lots also lead to many cars left in the swale on the north side of the bridge on 14th Avenue. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2U30dlBJUuDiu0XuDkOd_OjDphNviv5N3_c926KafPAQLItWdVNp39ai_XLJQgbB4c_XHzj8Vf0PJbW0whocGkboT4m_ufU6jq4c5SMe6OoOSDJt685sQSY4K5ayq9UuzRUfzXzalCxY/s1600/IMG_20180809_103252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2U30dlBJUuDiu0XuDkOd_OjDphNviv5N3_c926KafPAQLItWdVNp39ai_XLJQgbB4c_XHzj8Vf0PJbW0whocGkboT4m_ufU6jq4c5SMe6OoOSDJt685sQSY4K5ayq9UuzRUfzXzalCxY/s640/IMG_20180809_103252.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another pump station. Also not included in the county's demands for incorporation.</td></tr>
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<h3>
Friday</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3lvZf2S5emJNr-KOI_o6UKQazLqoiXklr6pPedFQLd1jPnf9ZpBXzN0mgOIB5mYfuvnNc10ntXZELw-fRaIs382XuSZsEBpdwidHLUPDab-fPUiIdgyUu7ohHjXa1g0ZlEEL94jSLX2s/s1600/IMG_20180810_110828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3lvZf2S5emJNr-KOI_o6UKQazLqoiXklr6pPedFQLd1jPnf9ZpBXzN0mgOIB5mYfuvnNc10ntXZELw-fRaIs382XuSZsEBpdwidHLUPDab-fPUiIdgyUu7ohHjXa1g0ZlEEL94jSLX2s/s400/IMG_20180810_110828.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Open utility box.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTaNR9uLHeYXggRs1uRTR7OApUHfQlPVpda5waaH-05K9YTUkZ39PPBGnjxuKgq8JdIzFuHq_XWkr2ue2yqmr4RJqTZOPODlk79cckNi2B6PlkwpQw5aBV9vm52qLQgc8GG8JFaA2BMqQ/s1600/IMG_20180810_111222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTaNR9uLHeYXggRs1uRTR7OApUHfQlPVpda5waaH-05K9YTUkZ39PPBGnjxuKgq8JdIzFuHq_XWkr2ue2yqmr4RJqTZOPODlk79cckNi2B6PlkwpQw5aBV9vm52qLQgc8GG8JFaA2BMqQ/s400/IMG_20180810_111222.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I found this along 14th Avenue. (I went counter clockwise on Friday)<br />Telecommunications companies use fiber optics to transmit large amounts of data. Homes and buildings equipped with fiber optic wiring can take advantage of this technology for some of the fastest internet speeds available to regular consumers. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxjS-FfnH0kR8BAjrOOAb6zRWE6eAo_mIYo1gZA4VoWb6c7723Hxqh7L-2kOLcosHtKruUqLl7EJ8tCi4p6Ns1ej-IpDFY570KX-pYtUsWya5uJrWUkl_ktlvLvQjmXNfvk52WXs4llro/s1600/PANO_20180810_110536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="1600" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxjS-FfnH0kR8BAjrOOAb6zRWE6eAo_mIYo1gZA4VoWb6c7723Hxqh7L-2kOLcosHtKruUqLl7EJ8tCi4p6Ns1ej-IpDFY570KX-pYtUsWya5uJrWUkl_ktlvLvQjmXNfvk52WXs4llro/s640/PANO_20180810_110536.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I stopped at the bridge on 14th Avenue to create a panoramic of this water. Under me the water runs east towards the ocean. I don't know the name of this body of water, or if humans made it. I would love to see the border areas which aren't accessible by people converted to some kind of swampy forest to get more plant life and water retention. </td></tr>
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I took no more photos Friday as I saw all the same things. Thank you for sharing my walk!Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-74013817251287189412018-08-07T11:55:00.003-04:002018-08-07T11:55:45.575-04:00March 19, 2014 HOA Incorporation & Annexation UpdateThe Sky Lake and Highland Lakes Area Homeowners Association does the only lobbying with the county on behalf of the Northeast unincorporated municipal service area. All members of the HOA with I communicate seem either willing to help me, or forthright in directing me to someone they think will.<br />
One such neighbor, Lenny Feldman, a former president of the HOA, provided me a very interesting document he developed. This provides some insight into the thoughts and concerns of some of my neighbors. It also demonstrates how the numbers have changed over the years.<br />
<br />
It starts off with stuff I already know about the "Options" regarding changing boundaries: incorporation, annexation, merger. Keep in mind that many people living in the incorporation have the fantasy of annexation by Aventura, so it certainly stood out to me on the next pages where it mentions Aventura twice:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5Q7OcB_oaadm-3gfw0Xf9xQjfBzYsiGkmX_DRKWUEWJ52OojLO-ca4gHzW55WcWNhnjAUodLl5XiK5YBzmC_rJs2YU-6TBEI8fRzsP92DjvU0At6eqxWCuE-vET3Is44bNeJNQXOn-8/s1600/aventura+2004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="138" data-original-width="716" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5Q7OcB_oaadm-3gfw0Xf9xQjfBzYsiGkmX_DRKWUEWJ52OojLO-ca4gHzW55WcWNhnjAUodLl5XiK5YBzmC_rJs2YU-6TBEI8fRzsP92DjvU0At6eqxWCuE-vET3Is44bNeJNQXOn-8/s400/aventura+2004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fourteen years ago Aventura already rejected the possibility of annexation</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvcNzV0zphbNWaxWCYrPXZ6NI5PSbTKQm5FCjsirZ8hVyw4wSW3EodPMmVQMkKNVgaCOCq_lH1qsmXzGU-XqGEsIsLKFBqAthKCnXptDN6Y_MTc2RTuR9OD6xLK63MFrc7AKGSbKMNw8/s1600/aventura+2008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="114" data-original-width="735" height="61" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvcNzV0zphbNWaxWCYrPXZ6NI5PSbTKQm5FCjsirZ8hVyw4wSW3EodPMmVQMkKNVgaCOCq_lH1qsmXzGU-XqGEsIsLKFBqAthKCnXptDN6Y_MTc2RTuR9OD6xLK63MFrc7AKGSbKMNw8/s400/aventura+2008.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another rejection in 2008. Why conduct a study during a moratorium?</td></tr>
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<br />
Not only that, but it also mentions the Planning Advisory Board recommending incorporation, and an analysis by an independent third party:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjKT_SOvXIL6CxXM5a-xkL370Om9O227C-3J6M4dWmq-UQrQaabNbYcTureMz4sUgff6TDyEtIfwwN5y4UapWRWq-A1venhuyYkaHIdAJmJj-zGzuTTtC0r8RO_naFguRV_LOhGeGk04/s1600/PAB+recommendation.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="79" data-original-width="696" height="45" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjKT_SOvXIL6CxXM5a-xkL370Om9O227C-3J6M4dWmq-UQrQaabNbYcTureMz4sUgff6TDyEtIfwwN5y4UapWRWq-A1venhuyYkaHIdAJmJj-zGzuTTtC0r8RO_naFguRV_LOhGeGk04/s400/PAB+recommendation.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4FJcy_50sFam1DipAjEGtlQXxK_TTnGbefDhpv5Qv0bMWn4QIVZAnLtCK_WctB7p2nhVCWxy4BWGRIOOMx02Tq-zV-hQh-2y5-ZwlKMhQA8LCmkSzcDb5SD_xdEwvaRtsHyWnSOC94bU/s1600/independent+analysis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="76" data-original-width="739" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4FJcy_50sFam1DipAjEGtlQXxK_TTnGbefDhpv5Qv0bMWn4QIVZAnLtCK_WctB7p2nhVCWxy4BWGRIOOMx02Tq-zV-hQh-2y5-ZwlKMhQA8LCmkSzcDb5SD_xdEwvaRtsHyWnSOC94bU/s400/independent+analysis.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also, two new documents to find!</td></tr>
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Given this information, it seems the Board of County Commissioners would have voted on an incorporation referendum as soon as the District 4 Commissioner would put it on the agenda. Telling from the timeline in the <a href="http://wordmiami.blogspot.com/2018/07/june-5-2018-mayors-memorandum-part-1.html" target="_blank">Mayor's Memorandum</a> that would have been the next step. Except perhaps for the moratorium[s] the BCC placed on annexation and incorporation:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx7pW68hyQphgaldepjjkKoBUixQsvR_7PS_-dHGubSIeVH8J2I3OWfy4LJtNDr4ful1rVg6FIvYwOfL5D0Oaz7ZFEYVgPQqR1oY3AmonL5xyI98U1tcgvtUnuowmN0bgZv6ho0hgElw8/s1600/moratorium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="713" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx7pW68hyQphgaldepjjkKoBUixQsvR_7PS_-dHGubSIeVH8J2I3OWfy4LJtNDr4ful1rVg6FIvYwOfL5D0Oaz7ZFEYVgPQqR1oY3AmonL5xyI98U1tcgvtUnuowmN0bgZv6ho0hgElw8/s400/moratorium.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why did they have to do it twice?</td></tr>
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While I invite you to read the document itself at the bottom of the page, I point out a few other interesting tidbits from the presentation.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RB3XBXEXaNIdgJp6pU1wO68ypO6NHC10QnBh1U5rq_VhEQo0zepvgZQZ8DDGubx6Zt-HpfOIWjvlMXuuL0CZ9nP7GSVw1YO98CHxTQDcxqBjzs13vuCVO3z5c6IkFZirbpcK6LejkhQ/s1600/task+force+study.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="726" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RB3XBXEXaNIdgJp6pU1wO68ypO6NHC10QnBh1U5rq_VhEQo0zepvgZQZ8DDGubx6Zt-HpfOIWjvlMXuuL0CZ9nP7GSVw1YO98CHxTQDcxqBjzs13vuCVO3z5c6IkFZirbpcK6LejkhQ/s400/task+force+study.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notable dates</td></tr>
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In the "Initial Figures" section I notice the UMSA county rate went from 2.447 mills <i>down</i> to 1.928 mills, a primarily revenue neutral move given increased property values.<br />
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I could say many other things about the details in the presentation, but they mostly rehash things I wrote about in my previous posts on the subject, however I will leave you with a snippet from their Cons and Pros section. The item on the left is a con, the item on the right is a pro for incorporation:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOS-Cq_OJfZb6zAVmLnNCv843IJpuVfgHu-O9s_VpR5iYBA0zsQUwnMWm8cd6CXA8Amaf_8koRgvQNU7uA2szfOmro9lfrFdfbAmEhVy8nEo2v0BKYg161C0ItbX9XqK6XGc2wKxKnd2k/s1600/pro+con.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="58" data-original-width="761" height="48" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOS-Cq_OJfZb6zAVmLnNCv843IJpuVfgHu-O9s_VpR5iYBA0zsQUwnMWm8cd6CXA8Amaf_8koRgvQNU7uA2szfOmro9lfrFdfbAmEhVy8nEo2v0BKYg161C0ItbX9XqK6XGc2wKxKnd2k/s640/pro+con.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
While I don't hold it against them, these items reveal the diversity of thought on the subject. While many neighbors in favor of incorporation argue that the city can succeed without raising taxes, this presentation from 2014 explicitly categorizes the LOW level of county taxes as a <b>burden</b> on a new city, and that at the time of its publishing the understanding seemed to be that the incorporation area had a budget shortfall. I will certainly look more in to that.<br />
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zwQqCh98fITquQtIYPksE9uvHUrGWW0S/preview" width="640"></iframe>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-827259264521690912018-08-06T23:19:00.003-04:002018-08-06T23:30:35.500-04:00May 2018 "Incorporation?? Information Sheet for NE MAC Area"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rophEUa7ed_zUDP0yDQRAPPvcosvYbYT1t_geLRQm20BQTSFyicLGST4IqgQCOC6lVaY1UfSuXXl8SlJqyHQFWNmUrmob_qh7wRLfgwX4Zyjw3BQHFuljtVMbWmS3_wOu_Yyhm2G2SM/s1600/title.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="685" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rophEUa7ed_zUDP0yDQRAPPvcosvYbYT1t_geLRQm20BQTSFyicLGST4IqgQCOC6lVaY1UfSuXXl8SlJqyHQFWNmUrmob_qh7wRLfgwX4Zyjw3BQHFuljtVMbWmS3_wOu_Yyhm2G2SM/s400/title.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Commissioner Sally Heyman representing the Northeast unincorporated municipal service area (among other places) on the Board of County Commissioners in Miami-Dade County handed out this information sheet at recent public meetings regarding incorporation of the Northeast UMSA.<br />
I wanted to make this available for my neighbors and, as usual, make comments about whatever stood out to me in light of all the things I have read and written in the last few weeks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtIk6QOqQhkRuVBS28aurRPDyVt_69fB0ItpqeNEGms2XzcE2mWPfn_11n2O_EaxzmlSPebmE-RqrunPjfv_MG3FcpTziXVDpJ1EMW4tC5T7Vvhh7C3ikDkvWaoMVMmpXa4XDvKbUV7A/s1600/police.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="105" data-original-width="675" height="61" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtIk6QOqQhkRuVBS28aurRPDyVt_69fB0ItpqeNEGms2XzcE2mWPfn_11n2O_EaxzmlSPebmE-RqrunPjfv_MG3FcpTziXVDpJ1EMW4tC5T7Vvhh7C3ikDkvWaoMVMmpXa4XDvKbUV7A/s400/police.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The resolution actually requires the new city to contract with Miami-Dade County Police Department for a total of four years. Three regular contract years and at least one year of transition, as I wrote about in my <a href="http://wordmiami.blogspot.com/2018/07/to-be-or-not-to-be-part-3-exhibits.html" target="_blank">review of the resolution exhibits</a>.<br />
I wouldn't find this technicality such a big deal if it weren't for the fact that MDCPD wants a lot more money for policing than they currently charge us. You can see this clearly in the Office of Management and Budget's "Estimated Impact on UMSA Budget."<br />
I don't have this document by itself, but it pops up in a few different places, (including <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m48pTdteGIDIbRuFGYoPUfPycB1pDxeK/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">this budget review</a>) and I have recently E-mailed someone in the OMB with a request for more information about these estimates.<br />
As regards these numbers, I want to also point out, <a href="http://wordmiami.blogspot.com/2018/07/june-5-2018-mayors-memorandum-part-2.html" target="_blank">again</a>, that the OMB estimated we spent $3.8M on policing in 2015-16, but the NEMAC decided the new city should spend $4.8M on policing for 2016-17. That's a 26% increase in one year! They based that amount on numbers given them by the county police department and as <a href="http://wordmiami.blogspot.com/2018/08/incorporation-question-police-budget.html" target="_blank">I shewed</a>, that number also increases 8% the next year based on county police numbers. My neighbors need to consider this mandated expense.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOzq9tibkgHmcz59ENpq8pT0jlf-dP0Qf8dcc8oqrqtmEwEDXj3A3yX865vvHHbzM97tofKVVs_lweKa6imkEnkcAF2kpj705Z7vi9XJ1cogeZvY6BCYbBCQ7OnSguUjeNDsh2NUS8plI/s1600/taxes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="129" data-original-width="652" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOzq9tibkgHmcz59ENpq8pT0jlf-dP0Qf8dcc8oqrqtmEwEDXj3A3yX865vvHHbzM97tofKVVs_lweKa6imkEnkcAF2kpj705Z7vi9XJ1cogeZvY6BCYbBCQ7OnSguUjeNDsh2NUS8plI/s400/taxes.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These details are the same for Condominiums/Multi Family</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Taxes serves as a great point of contention between those who oppose and advocate for incorporation. Some against incorporation argue taxes will go up, the people for incorporation tout the official line, that we could create "a new municipality without increasing the Ad Valorem Tax Rate."<br />
None of the reports suggest the likelihood the new city could succeed without raising taxes, it only gets argued that it <b>can </b>succeed. Color me skeptical of the argument. Most other cities in the county have raised taxes. All but a handful really!<br />
Given the weight of facts it seems likely a new city <i>would</i> raise taxes. I certainly understand why many object to the idea of higher taxes, but at the same time I also understand the argument for more revenue. Regardless of the needs a community decides on, I definitely think public officials have a tremendous responsibility to uphold the strictest standards for how they spend the money of their neighbors.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpen2pC2qG8yNK_7CwuGvp9Bc2RQe5WZzz1lLylgc65GCG-sCpOj70AyBl2zJRWs_qaGoJsqT1h9y2eAZ52OLJ_tBqpElAdck_0tDRB3HnhPPWyNZDgIt0w_soc-l1axhaVnhOCmCHw3s/s1600/mitigation.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="117" data-original-width="679" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpen2pC2qG8yNK_7CwuGvp9Bc2RQe5WZzz1lLylgc65GCG-sCpOj70AyBl2zJRWs_qaGoJsqT1h9y2eAZ52OLJ_tBqpElAdck_0tDRB3HnhPPWyNZDgIt0w_soc-l1axhaVnhOCmCHw3s/s400/mitigation.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Estimated in the resolution at around $600,000 the first year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I definitely think neighbors should read this document if they haven't read the 71 page resolution as it does provide a basic and honest overview. I don't think addresses issues at the forefront of my mind, but I can't fault anyone for my personal preferences.<br />
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I do find misleading suggestions that a new city could succeed without raising taxes. The documentation provided to the public in regards to the incorporation vote resolution do not sufficiently justify the suggestion. More importantly, the members of the charter committee, or the city council, will determine the tax rate at their will, despite and regardless of promises made today. My neighbors should understand these things.<br />
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/10_Q35kEu9TBgvScQBKyOOBPcaj-EyJ3D/preview" width="640"></iframe>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-13299757889841182982018-08-02T12:10:00.000-04:002018-08-06T23:39:23.736-04:00Incorporation Question: Police Part 1: Budget<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I reviewed the <a href="http://wordmiami.blogspot.com/2018/07/june-5-2018-mayors-memorandum-part-2.html" target="_blank">NEMAC Pro-forma budget</a>. I harped on the line item for policing services because it came out to over half the budget. Combine that with <a href="http://wordmiami.blogspot.com/2018/07/to-be-or-not-to-be-part-1-whereas.html" target="_blank">what I pointed out</a> as number 4 in my first analysis of the resolution, which explains that the area already pays a special tax for special services.</div>
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In this post I review the police budgets provided by county staff, used by the NEMAC in estimating their police service number of $4.86M and how much that number grew in a year.</div>
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From the top they specify many things about what this budget represents:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Personnel costs. Including what I assume are the leasing costs of 30 vehicles. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7icN9iX1gafdzsowwh_Vwn-5cywWnWiZqsxa1Z1bKk5YIqYXDF49Ha3G7HVtVFl-p-79S4PLEtBhlhKUXRG1IzwZXbD22e572SApPe5Hw8gZ8uhwr6jBeavGSmCs0Q-aYPJXLmKHDw8/s1600/marked+vehicles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="23" data-original-width="1201" height="11" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7icN9iX1gafdzsowwh_Vwn-5cywWnWiZqsxa1Z1bKk5YIqYXDF49Ha3G7HVtVFl-p-79S4PLEtBhlhKUXRG1IzwZXbD22e572SApPe5Hw8gZ8uhwr6jBeavGSmCs0Q-aYPJXLmKHDw8/s640/marked+vehicles.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With 6-10 on duty at a time for what does this new city need 24 marked vehicles?</td></tr>
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<li>Recommended. From my understanding a county police representative recommended these numbers.</li>
<li>Minimum staffing. This represents what the county perceives as the low end of the acceptable options, presumable all others costing much more.</li>
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With this in mind I admit an intuition that the county police will demand at least $4.86M from the new city, and will demand we accept their terms. I wonder if the inclusion of this budget in the resolution somehow contractually obligates the new city to accept these terms, or if representatives of the new city would have the power to scrutinize and negotiate the terms of the three year minimum contract.<br />
No one ever negotiated the budget as it exists now, the numbers came from the NEMAC reviewing and approving information given them by county staff, as in this particular instance. As I learn more about the internal workings of the NEMAC process I can refine and correct this understanding.<br />
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I don't have much to say about the numbers of the budget, other than to comment on and point out the extremely archetypal process of envisioning and implementing policing in a new area.<br />
Based on conversations with my neighbors it seems the current level of policing represents a fraction of this proposal. Given the remarkable, almost overwhelming increase in police presence this represents I hope a future city manager and council would analyze with great skepticism the proposal made by the county police department and demand options presented with expected returns, as well as other proposals with lower and higher levels of service for comparison. <b>Most importantly the charter committee must audit current police services AND expenses. <i>Only fools would accept the first offer and not demand as much as possible for their neighbors</i>.</b><br />
For a ever-growing line item already more than half the budget the new city must tread with extreme caution and fidelity to the residents, and not accepting on-face what the county offers.<br />
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Which brings me to the final part of this post: the <i style="font-weight: bold;">NEW</i> police personnel costs estimate for 2017/18. A member of the Sky Lake & Highland Lakes Area Homeowners Association (the HOA from now on) provided me with an updated budget.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQk4uID5LoqMovNgqvXJLh5kTo6ZUtpV1Z5_6ZxSj-7w59dUeQCv-JJjWpdKmTnD_21EXuqmNRi5D6BpUXKoV4JomcTqz96H0AutzlI00KR0MYyvaL4Kc0YieGk3M1Auh7ro6UwA-WLM0/s1600/min+patrol+total+2017-18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="17" data-original-width="661" height="16" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQk4uID5LoqMovNgqvXJLh5kTo6ZUtpV1Z5_6ZxSj-7w59dUeQCv-JJjWpdKmTnD_21EXuqmNRi5D6BpUXKoV4JomcTqz96H0AutzlI00KR0MYyvaL4Kc0YieGk3M1Auh7ro6UwA-WLM0/s640/min+patrol+total+2017-18.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">$5,265,496</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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From one year to the next personnel costs increased over $400,000. That's over 8% increase in one year! Truly concerning given the often repeated argument that taxes need not go up.<br />
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That pill gets harder to swallow.<br />
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_Z_8eUkTg5Yc2ldZ8nKaPMHpIMQGVC3y/preview" width="640"></iframe>
<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pBujqqHXfspqqvkUTJgGz1UXZLaRupOS/preview" width="640"></iframe>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-74155217652311971022018-07-30T18:56:00.001-04:002018-07-30T18:59:01.702-04:00NEMAC Timeline Part 2 April 13, 2004<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAOEvCdhJMMu5sm_89siU_g2O4t4RFTP3I8ftvd98jl7nrBhKHCyVCnBWYz7ysCzuy4ar91dvHbGO5zjVgayNpGj769Y0hvqd5x4rCvt8iFRM9WlYa3oruFf1hy1SysiFqOulooYpJcM/s1600/been+meeting+a+year.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="71" data-original-width="641" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAOEvCdhJMMu5sm_89siU_g2O4t4RFTP3I8ftvd98jl7nrBhKHCyVCnBWYz7ysCzuy4ar91dvHbGO5zjVgayNpGj769Y0hvqd5x4rCvt8iFRM9WlYa3oruFf1hy1SysiFqOulooYpJcM/s400/been+meeting+a+year.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
When the Board of County Commissioners created the Northeast Municipal Advisory Committee they gave it one year to complete its duties. A year later when they failed to do so the BCC had to create and establish the committee again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_lrqADz91FcOmlX22H3JKnJHMoZB7CeF9ZEmX0d-ElbYuD5aRvlGCyFAgj0s3cg15aVFUtMaNB58XiNIxaOZa7NJWl4nfoqeIc5EUqvr6qsUofJI3lBeHgdyLX0tWMhlfWh0a7BFheM/s1600/ordinance+creating+and+establishing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="450" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_lrqADz91FcOmlX22H3JKnJHMoZB7CeF9ZEmX0d-ElbYuD5aRvlGCyFAgj0s3cg15aVFUtMaNB58XiNIxaOZa7NJWl4nfoqeIc5EUqvr6qsUofJI3lBeHgdyLX0tWMhlfWh0a7BFheM/s320/ordinance+creating+and+establishing.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
As with part 1, I want to highlight the important details of the ordinance. It does little more than resuscitate the ideas passed a year prior.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EQeTuqRsAx58FYsx6IJcgHV5QaG1XfLhoBJwfJW0mqo4XJsvm5gkzULyptIjyuJDdhLyDmQ8qSMs8Han5RcmKRNyuHIwvag27kL3-nE7K0PeQs6opZc7_nxaxTE1UI2NmRP9sTAmVg0/s1600/section+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="45" data-original-width="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EQeTuqRsAx58FYsx6IJcgHV5QaG1XfLhoBJwfJW0mqo4XJsvm5gkzULyptIjyuJDdhLyDmQ8qSMs8Han5RcmKRNyuHIwvag27kL3-nE7K0PeQs6opZc7_nxaxTE1UI2NmRP9sTAmVg0/s1600/section+2.JPG" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjYoFvI8H4jQqohDpjo-98OdY3LCbIQMGdJhSMzHACvGLY9Q4buwox-fIPR388zEqOgfa6g26T12Yc6JIwPDaH3B22gELd7xmrhloZj0OoWXsC3nRQ3LMjY8eNXvulvW8roklWioevTc/s1600/section+2+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="122" data-original-width="444" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjYoFvI8H4jQqohDpjo-98OdY3LCbIQMGdJhSMzHACvGLY9Q4buwox-fIPR388zEqOgfa6g26T12Yc6JIwPDaH3B22gELd7xmrhloZj0OoWXsC3nRQ3LMjY8eNXvulvW8roklWioevTc/s400/section+2+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
The previous ordinance specifies a study by the Office of Budget and Management, but this one does not, simply alluding to "the study prepared by County staff."<br />
As with my part 1 I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the language "concerns of members of the Board" because it emphatically establishes the responsibility of the NEMAC to the BCC to address their concerns as a fundamental purpose of that committee. It also colors the direction of HOW the NEMAC would fulfill purpose 1, "review the possible incorporation" with the satisfaction of the BCC in mind.<br />
Let me keep this in perspective to not seem unrealistic in my analysis. As the elected representatives of Miami-Dade County the BCC has the power and the will to decide on these matters and therefore has every privilege to demand satisfaction of any incorporation request made to them however it bothers me that addressing the <i>concerns of </i><b style="font-style: italic;">resident electors</b> was never a part of the NEMACs purpose. That they were required to listen to their concerns serves as nothing more than lip-service when the ordinance language stands clear.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXsLtTZTg_pMnSUBXAwseS05LAjSyUGPJjNyUbCjWvnd3wPMOK8RpKV_9CeD0JCImluK-emkG0kJm6FbBFqnDpVPlvCRnN1nV-co8oy8Y0QLVMIVxn_cJX-T7bAnV6f4NozcGAVulj_bY/s1600/section+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="45" data-original-width="330" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXsLtTZTg_pMnSUBXAwseS05LAjSyUGPJjNyUbCjWvnd3wPMOK8RpKV_9CeD0JCImluK-emkG0kJm6FbBFqnDpVPlvCRnN1nV-co8oy8Y0QLVMIVxn_cJX-T7bAnV6f4NozcGAVulj_bY/s320/section+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0_I7uoXRRMqO12t8vtCXMOYF3D9kquxl5xrF1d9rxKsRxcyYFYsCuI-h9g9zpvP6WV3LBQ3xeUkYl2Dh-ryY3JxTU77qSwlLa8uNEK96C6PqwR3R07fLJBt1pimOd-KsBW6Tvr141xA/s1600/section+3+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="455" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0_I7uoXRRMqO12t8vtCXMOYF3D9kquxl5xrF1d9rxKsRxcyYFYsCuI-h9g9zpvP6WV3LBQ3xeUkYl2Dh-ryY3JxTU77qSwlLa8uNEK96C6PqwR3R07fLJBt1pimOd-KsBW6Tvr141xA/s320/section+3+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I bring this up again as a reminder to myself that I at least want to get my hands on these things</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">The BCC only gives the NEMAC one year along with the secondary cut-off of the completion of their report. As we all know they did not succeed this time either. In late 2005 the county placed a moratorium on incorporation, stopping the question temporarily.</span></div>
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QJ50QfIRFU_HDwNXrC7DnX4qoiy--iPR/preview" width="640"></iframe>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-43907335566410647402018-07-30T11:50:00.001-04:002018-07-30T11:59:15.418-04:00NEMAC Timeline Part 1 April 8, 2003 <b>April 8, 2003</b><br />
Commissioner Sally A Heyman placed on the BCC agenda a "Resolution creating and establishing the Northdeast Dade Advisory Committee."<br />
The resolution language states that "a group of residents...expressed an interest in creating a new municipality...or annexing to one or more existing." <a href="http://www.miamidade.gov/incorporationandannexation/library/resolutions/r-341-03-north-east-dade.pdf" target="_blank">Resolution No. R-341-03</a> attempted to attend to that interest in six sections.<br />
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<u>Section 1</u> establishes boundaries. With North Miami Beach serving as the southern boundary one can't help asking questions about how City of NMB got to look the way it does.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7VREooVWMQl1mXQuk6xfBgNdw5Bfg34CVqsjNaTh-Ev9M_Un9cR8Bjf_56zO4rtKalPdXTZmpI-2aPVRhbm5C9_c25RI-qFCTeQ50Dy1c0yyanTCVCcYxN3wuXmMObaGFkVDNxFHZ2A/s1600/nmb+boundaries.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="900" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7VREooVWMQl1mXQuk6xfBgNdw5Bfg34CVqsjNaTh-Ev9M_Un9cR8Bjf_56zO4rtKalPdXTZmpI-2aPVRhbm5C9_c25RI-qFCTeQ50Dy1c0yyanTCVCcYxN3wuXmMObaGFkVDNxFHZ2A/s640/nmb+boundaries.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of <a href="https://www.miamidade.gov/incorporationandannexation/library/maps/northeast-dade.pdf" target="_blank">Miami-Dade County</a></td></tr>
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Starting at the upper left/north-west side of the border, how did they get that triangle on the east side of Snake Creek Canal? A private religious school sits there. I presume there are demographic reasons why that became part of NMB, however I wonder when and how that happened. I also wonder why the giant doughnut hole just to the south of this.<br />
Then there's the peach colored hand of NMB ripping up through the proposed area to surround Skylake only. Dozens of houses on either side of this odd boundary line sit in different jurisdictions for some historical reason I hope to soon discover. Again one wonders why and when this happened. Persons with knowledge of these oddities can feel free to contact me with information.<br />
Finally please where I circle the golf course of Greynold's Park<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9EeAoWKZck42zPraKuSvjyZ9Xt6obBJgawwd4tObnfEN8pdN16f5_f_Whhiqgy1A9P5xIve2GUdt5TicW-B58ReqqNJExazz4AiraochgcDAP6tL2i2crvM5GIWQq-GpVhCM2zeBEq4/s1600/what+exactly+is+the+map..JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="337" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9EeAoWKZck42zPraKuSvjyZ9Xt6obBJgawwd4tObnfEN8pdN16f5_f_Whhiqgy1A9P5xIve2GUdt5TicW-B58ReqqNJExazz4AiraochgcDAP6tL2i2crvM5GIWQq-GpVhCM2zeBEq4/s400/what+exactly+is+the+map..JPG" width="361" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=867b0fd887174f45bcf6ac02a6ba60cf" target="_blank">Fancy zoning map</a></td></tr>
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According to this zoning map, the golf course is not a part of NMB. Google maps also corroborates that the golf course is not a part of NMB.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK0NoKGMwMMLBy93ufBQd3paQVm3BCLgFA9NZ2z5i-dw_KmuXAMqLGVQEq6dJ1RP3Qq161QOPsvcmt65KxM42vblNAgch07toRljUOFrGyVLD6G8gjUVsT3Qn8NI5NDu7O3UYh_cs4TuM/s1600/google+maps+borders.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="444" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK0NoKGMwMMLBy93ufBQd3paQVm3BCLgFA9NZ2z5i-dw_KmuXAMqLGVQEq6dJ1RP3Qq161QOPsvcmt65KxM42vblNAgch07toRljUOFrGyVLD6G8gjUVsT3Qn8NI5NDu7O3UYh_cs4TuM/s320/google+maps+borders.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
All this simply leads me to ask, why does the first map at the top show the golf course in one color as if it were a part of North Miami Beach, and the <b>rest</b> of Greynold's park in green, as if it would become part of the new city? I find this extremely misleading. When did the county first start using this version of the map? What would the map accurately look like if the county had the land it would retain control of in a <i>different</i> color? (Someone submit such a thing to me!)<br />
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<u>Section 2</u> details the composition of the NEMAC, including that all members should live in the area and get appointed by Commissioner Heyman<br />
<u>Section 3</u> sets a minimum of two public hearings where the public can express their views.<br />
<u>Section 4</u> requires, prior to the first public hearing, NEMAC members watch "County Commission Workshop on Incorporation" of January 14, 1999; become familiar with related written materials presented to the BCC.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNdmQveAj0zBmCGSOhjuOIgEs-vlvj-v4K-bC9KEkaL4GS0-RSRkirGL3NaT6RaAi_pChtwFulYoEwu-oQCdrhyixJ_38hw0sc-42IeaRkaBAgFyeD2qjEl4ps_7OO802ne1AwFom5ds/s1600/resolution+section+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="615" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNdmQveAj0zBmCGSOhjuOIgEs-vlvj-v4K-bC9KEkaL4GS0-RSRkirGL3NaT6RaAi_pChtwFulYoEwu-oQCdrhyixJ_38hw0sc-42IeaRkaBAgFyeD2qjEl4ps_7OO802ne1AwFom5ds/s400/resolution+section+5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I would very much like a copy of this report!</td></tr>
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<u>Section 5</u> likewise requires, prior to the first public hearing, that the Office of Management and Budget prepare a report concerning incorporation or annexation according to procedures and guidelines of Code Of Miami Dade County 20-22(A) and (B), 20-23(B), and 20-26 and shall prepare a study to be reviewed by the committee and presented at the public hearings.<br />
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This report and study hypothetically set the paradigm in which the NEMAC explored the possiblity of incorporation. This may be an important document.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuj9zL7c4BuCQieOt9jbWK23tjeqrgiALHJC0Mb87g7DrEeuxo_X_kNj5Hcq6aYDyKiy7JD9Ni9cFxN-MmV0kF-KIU0pnGz_GPO5um1lj9QfddopstDpM15oSpTRR856v4v5brFuBfJ5k/s1600/resolution+section+6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="609" height="62" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuj9zL7c4BuCQieOt9jbWK23tjeqrgiALHJC0Mb87g7DrEeuxo_X_kNj5Hcq6aYDyKiy7JD9Ni9cFxN-MmV0kF-KIU0pnGz_GPO5um1lj9QfddopstDpM15oSpTRR856v4v5brFuBfJ5k/s400/resolution+section+6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u>Section 6</u> gives the NEMAC one year to prepare and submit an advisory report, their responsibilities terminating thereafter. Of particular importance, the resolution states regarding the report that it "shall address the results of the report prepared by the county staff and the incorporation or annexation concerns" of the BCC and county staff, "and the manner in which those concerns may be alleviated in the event" of incorporation.<br />
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The final section stands out for particularly confusing jargon. What does it mean to "address the results of" a report? And likewise "the manner in which those concerns may be alleviated" in the case of incorporation or annexation? From the inception of this process the county already stipulates a negotiation between selected members of the community, and the interest and directions of the BCC and county staff. While these parties need not engage in adversarial negotiation, it seems important to at least note the ultimate responsibility of the NEMAC in responding to and addressing the concerns of the county.<br />
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<br />Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-35312942111807064332018-07-28T14:39:00.001-04:002018-07-28T14:39:35.742-04:00June 5, 2018 Mayor's Memorandum, Part 3: Exhibit 2 NEMAC Budget Review<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDyJvUzndkiceTybyHN1wo8ZQxnQEA-xZqf573floof0Ben-iayfFJYFPxPjoJTP8BxoF_O1wh3TPW-1OjY72azPYZGMPHhwN_rM9GiuCQkUyoqj-GGssfKERkvIotal4Jnk5Jsb_eYxU/s1600/exhibit+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="496" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDyJvUzndkiceTybyHN1wo8ZQxnQEA-xZqf573floof0Ben-iayfFJYFPxPjoJTP8BxoF_O1wh3TPW-1OjY72azPYZGMPHhwN_rM9GiuCQkUyoqj-GGssfKERkvIotal4Jnk5Jsb_eYxU/s320/exhibit+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mayor included this budget review as the second exhibit to his memorandum.</td></tr>
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"Northeast Dade MAC Budget Review," drafted by PMG Associates, Inc., a company which provides economics, marketing and management services, provided a final, third party approval of the NEMAC budget necessary to bundle everything together before the Board of County Commissioners.<br />
The BCC voted in June of 2018 to pass a resolution filled with information compiled most recently in 2016, much of it older than that.<br />
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I greatly expected this report to finally provide the rigorous statistical methodology appropriate for the question at hand. After all everyone wants to know whether a city can run on the same level of taxes the residents currently pay to the county. Proponents argue our status as a donor community implies we could get improved services for the same level of taxation. Opponents point to the overwhelming majority of municipalities in the county who raised taxes to pay for maintaining their cities.<br />
Given the general lack of accounting anywhere else in the resolution I prayed that here, in the words of unbiased, objective, third party, private professionals--HERE of all places--I could get some data crunching, but no! Not a bit. What an utter disappointment.<br />
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A better familiarity with bureaucratic jargon could have set off emergency alarms with the first sentence of this review. A little further they clarify that they will recommend changes.<br />
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One hopes an expensive firm would help a bunch of volunteers work out their numbers, but little of that actually happens because as they then state, this firm didn't use any numbers other than the ones used by the NEMAC to begin with.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinAZZGyCOmc_rpHkAEH0T6mAgzwC_A8GyKsH55kbXUXXcNsrZ7pAT9NJ9fS2w2scrIODFYHrByiVABkX_7gWTh5efI_JQ38RavTgCnwNxxmxdBcw30dFHgN18FvwMBa5VBw2NlPjME3qE/s1600/basis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="47" data-original-width="615" height="48" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinAZZGyCOmc_rpHkAEH0T6mAgzwC_A8GyKsH55kbXUXXcNsrZ7pAT9NJ9fS2w2scrIODFYHrByiVABkX_7gWTh5efI_JQ38RavTgCnwNxxmxdBcw30dFHgN18FvwMBa5VBw2NlPjME3qE/s640/basis.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Based on this I hope the MAC budget used REALLY good numbers.</td></tr>
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As the fancy firm chose not to do any research of their own, the potential problems stem from the quality of the numbers used in creating the NEMAC budget. A few sentences prior we read:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1GFrZ-3rnu_-aDuRNa7LzV4s3XxCYqTseGdOy_QHCyWa68jrfvpFNdhMXNmZcx2uvI0frWlc7RFmvukp5gzO24PID-cgU43ZV2SSYWSixQoSAUusMx9NT74zeRIhHtWZUJ6QEaRPOAtw/s1600/county+provided.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="64" data-original-width="612" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1GFrZ-3rnu_-aDuRNa7LzV4s3XxCYqTseGdOy_QHCyWa68jrfvpFNdhMXNmZcx2uvI0frWlc7RFmvukp5gzO24PID-cgU43ZV2SSYWSixQoSAUusMx9NT74zeRIhHtWZUJ6QEaRPOAtw/s400/county+provided.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Therefore moving forward keep in mind that they're using data (but I really think they just mean numbers) provided by the county AND review of comparable municipalities. At no point do any numbers get explained other than in calling them reasonable compared to hand picked cities.<br />
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Miami-Dade County has over 30 municipalities. I couldn't name most of them if you asked me, and therefore I don't really know which are good comparisons. Here they don't explain them other than to call them "comparable."<br />
The options with populations closer than these are Sunny Isles Beach (20,000, 1.8 sq mi), Pinecrest (18,223, 7.54 sq mi), and Opa-locka (15,219, 4.48 sq mi), but perhaps they based their comparison on multiple data points.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7UMMa3-3FgpK-nBWcvimOE-a3IWCjhjBunhcifJuwWwkNX11W53CT52KHhVPyZg_I_1OBAkPIHJx3keR07IXgfv4tt14Ry6_VS_tT4yhX7ur3ZNz_7sRZNOyjOdh8ZWsQORVYdnKtLwQ/s1600/sleected+due+to.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="68" data-original-width="487" height="55" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7UMMa3-3FgpK-nBWcvimOE-a3IWCjhjBunhcifJuwWwkNX11W53CT52KHhVPyZg_I_1OBAkPIHJx3keR07IXgfv4tt14Ry6_VS_tT4yhX7ur3ZNz_7sRZNOyjOdh8ZWsQORVYdnKtLwQ/s400/sleected+due+to.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh nevermind, just population size.</td></tr>
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They also put that little line in about recency of incorporation, but Miami Springs incorporated in 1926, Hialeah Gardens in 1948, Palmetto Bay in 2002, and Miami Lakes in 2000. Not only were two of them incorporated in the last century, they likewise were definitely not subject to county mitigation fees. Palmetto Bay and Miami Lakes paid those fees, as did any other municipality incorporated after 2000.<br />
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Returning to the budget review, based on this understanding I find it hard to take document seriously. PMG wasn't hired to determine the viability of the proposed budget in reality, just vaguely in comparison to the chosen cities.<br />
With that in mind I don't think it's important to analyze this document in detail, but let me point a few things out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbY3ajzDDzayH2JtQGtF8D1mIFIJjWESYMhRZXdHev84EtVmKytKAjaMsXjgCTn69zUn1ZJE9F0Ofh7ZqaNiVKIC841979Q4dg5FcCBtO5CdoGllCUb7hWU9tON8rxqir7pyJlCEwzyh0/s1600/omb+numbers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="63" data-original-width="633" height="38" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbY3ajzDDzayH2JtQGtF8D1mIFIJjWESYMhRZXdHev84EtVmKytKAjaMsXjgCTn69zUn1ZJE9F0Ofh7ZqaNiVKIC841979Q4dg5FcCBtO5CdoGllCUb7hWU9tON8rxqir7pyJlCEwzyh0/s400/omb+numbers.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
The OMB document provides estimates the financial impact of incorporation on the Unincorporated Municipal Service Area budget based on fiscal year 2015-16. At this point I assume the document represents amounts based on actual population data kept by the Office of Management and Budget.<br />About half the question of financial viability depends very how much the residents spend now and how much service they get now. The budget review shows no indication they verified the numbers.<br />
Therefore it seems we cannot likewise double check to make sure the various proposals make sense for <b>our</b> community.<br />
<h3>
Revenues</h3>
Do all tax related line items represent current level of taxes? Doesn't the state determine distribution of sales tax revenue? Aren't things like franchise fees negotiated between cities and businesses?<br />
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<h4>
Franchise Fees</h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-7MsGDoRaBceMnbavmKKZRUA4kbnnZfiMIj5Ccc9WNgXfjf8OWJkKlKM1HbYjKglV3XbJjJ2sWczRUer78XWlZBe13shNs8A4DaDfHHLQQBzV7Adh3s5y3p5N5Y5OzIVmk4AImxNzPI/s1600/nemac+franchise.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-7MsGDoRaBceMnbavmKKZRUA4kbnnZfiMIj5Ccc9WNgXfjf8OWJkKlKM1HbYjKglV3XbJjJ2sWczRUer78XWlZBe13shNs8A4DaDfHHLQQBzV7Adh3s5y3p5N5Y5OzIVmk4AImxNzPI/s1600/nemac+franchise.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NEMAC estimates nearly $1M in franchise fees</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAeMSXKkzA_QBCux4MiIGFIoLgqZlOJXr_Zz2hXlN9OYVj-kY1PzFF-7Ls18gWWkJ7SEXMAcHzX7dmQj4YtaqV-mQsBwdYoqp5Wp-M6edgt60pY-CYemN6pDbzl-lHnahtr452CpZyOA/s1600/omb+franchise.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="795" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAeMSXKkzA_QBCux4MiIGFIoLgqZlOJXr_Zz2hXlN9OYVj-kY1PzFF-7Ls18gWWkJ7SEXMAcHzX7dmQj4YtaqV-mQsBwdYoqp5Wp-M6edgt60pY-CYemN6pDbzl-lHnahtr452CpZyOA/s400/omb+franchise.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OMB offered half that amount</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Despite a 50% difference between the NEMAC number and OMB the private firm PMG found the NEMAC numbers "to be reasonable," but don't offer any explanation whatsoever. This kind of oversight represents potentially different outcomes in analysis.<br />
You see the same issue in the next item.<br />
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<h4>
Business Tax Use</h4>
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<div>
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Yet again PMGA does not state why they are approving NEMAC numbers that are multiples of the OMB numbers. If the OMB estimates the incorporation area only gets $28k in business use tax fees, how can the NEMAC quadruple that number without raising taxes?<br />
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<h4>
Summary of Revenue</h4>
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In summary PMG rubber stamped the NEMAC numbers based on this review. I again wonder what the original NEMAC budget and draft review said.</div>
<h3>
Expenditure</h3>
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As with the revenue, NEMAC seems to have based their numbers for expenditures on best guesses. Since municipal government sets salaries and other expenses, the NEMAC had no choice but to estimate, however this review suggests they did not do a comparison here to other municipalities.</div>
<h4>
Police<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcF83lM0UXP8zMyn15zPEi7nlm4pYuJj2N7A0o5m_nt1zG1DpR7Egm9MqIHqQzEF2LSMlrA0-QWS1W0kI9FEYzBI0SqVJOK-jjtUm5VwdSu4Puo-8DOTb3iguzAE4bAxwwwVbOqMzpmo/s1600/police+budget.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="794" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcF83lM0UXP8zMyn15zPEi7nlm4pYuJj2N7A0o5m_nt1zG1DpR7Egm9MqIHqQzEF2LSMlrA0-QWS1W0kI9FEYzBI0SqVJOK-jjtUm5VwdSu4Puo-8DOTb3iguzAE4bAxwwwVbOqMzpmo/s400/police+budget.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
</h4>
<div>
About halfway through the review we get to the elephant in the room: a million dollar increase in cost provides the new city "minimal staffing for police patrol."</div>
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<h4>
QNIP</h4>
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Again PMG accepts a discrepancy in numbers without offering explanation.</div>
<h4>
Estimated Expenditures</h4>
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<div>
As I mentioned previously this budget does not account for the mitigation fee demanded by the mayor. And given more recent information about a significantly more expensive cost of minimum police services, I just don't see how anyone can so easily agree with the feasibility conclusion of the new municipality.</div>
<h3>
Conclusion</h3>
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Based on the fact that incorporation should increase services at lower cost, I find these words by PMG very sobering. And yet I found nothing critical in this review, just a rubber stamp:</div>
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m48pTdteGIDIbRuFGYoPUfPycB1pDxeK/preview" width="640"></iframe>
<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z-_Ayjlbsi54y2HEVBf0xW9vPwccfPgE/preview" width="640"></iframe>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-28730882037796426892018-07-27T09:47:00.000-04:002018-07-27T09:47:23.002-04:00June 5, 2018 Mayor's Memorandum, Part 1<div>
On June 5, 2018 County Attorney Abigail Price-Williams sent memorandum to the Board of County Commissioners regarding Incorporation of Northeast Miami-Dade. Given that the resolution to the Board appears more than half way through the document I don't really understand the order, but the first several dozen pages cover other important documents referenced in the resolution on incorporation:</div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #3e3f3c; font-family: "lora" , serif;">Mayor's Memorandum</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3e3f3c; font-family: "lora" , serif;">Northeast Dade MAC Adopted Pro-forma Budget (Exhibit 1)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3e3f3c; font-family: "lora" , serif;">Northeast Dade MAC Budget Review (Exhibit 2)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3e3f3c; font-family: "lora" , serif;">Northeast Dade Incorporate Report (Exhibit 3)</span></li>
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<span style="color: #3e3f3c; font-family: "lora" , serif;">In this post I cover the first point. As usual go to the bottom of this post for the entire 71 page document.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3e3f3c; font-family: "lora" , serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeQzD3GU0is6z_NaCiX0oods411g80bb1dTwK7ngmKHsDNQAjAk3ovyPbBc-KDyjod7j1wwHEB7gPAl835Qeet-EJDgoz1IjqCYoAgLpLlk6zc_YhFA4lsdvpGRWBjjrVVwnWo4EuPC0/s1600/memo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="687" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeQzD3GU0is6z_NaCiX0oods411g80bb1dTwK7ngmKHsDNQAjAk3ovyPbBc-KDyjod7j1wwHEB7gPAl835Qeet-EJDgoz1IjqCYoAgLpLlk6zc_YhFA4lsdvpGRWBjjrVVwnWo4EuPC0/s640/memo.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SPOILER: If you read the end you find out the mayor didn't write this.</td></tr>
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Although unmentioned, it seems the Mayor did a lot of thinking prior to June 5 because their demands feature prominently in the text of the resolution, with unambiguous reference to this memorandum, which appears before all other documents. If you recall I concerned myself with the extent to which his demands were requirements of the Charter, and whether they represent a reasonable responsibility to the residents of the area under concern.<br />
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1. To determine the fairness of this requirement one would need to look both at what changed in 2000, and the terms of mitigation payments from all municipalities since 2000. I also wonder about who required all municipalities to pay so, since 2000, whether it was a resolution of the board, or something else.</div>
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2. I've mentioned issues here, both regarding the OUAD and Greynolds Park. The latter primarily because the residents remain unaware of the effects this jurisdictional control will have upon the city, and what responsibilities it will have for the portions of the park within its boundaries. The former, Ojus, concerns the community because of whatever decisions the county might make in contradiction to the interests of the adjacent community. It also seems like a chilling precedent to demand jurisdictional control within a municipality. One neighbor stated:</div>
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There are 14 such designated districts in the county...I was able to determine that only one district currently lies within the borders of a municipality.</blockquote>
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This definitely deserves more research.</div>
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While I expect to cover the various budgets thrown around as part of the incorporation effort, it concerns me in all of them that the cost of Policing represents over half the proposed budget. While it may be an appropriate amount of money given what our community may need, I have to wonder how much an increase in spending that represents, and what exactly we get out of spending nearly $4.5M a year on policing.</div>
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Moving on..</div>
Notice various things left out of the financial analysis by County staff:<br />
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<li>Canal maintenance revenues and expenses</li>
<li>proprietary activities such as building, zoning, and solid waste</li>
<li>fire and library districts</li>
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Neighbors also have concern that the proposed budgets did not include mitigation fees. Therefore I warn myself that I will need to do some research and writing about the budget as that seems like the most important concern of all in the incorporation debate, specifically, "can the city run itself at current tax levels, or must it increase taxes to achieve its basic promise of service?"</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click on the picture to see a larger version</td></tr>
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I find this background so useful that I wanted to feature it in my first post on the incorporation issue, but I didn't want to lose focus of the question at hand. I have plenty of time yet to document the minutiae of the incorporation process begun on April 8, 2003. At some point I may go further back still.</div>
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I will again note that the last point reiterates the PAB recommendation that the new municipality retain control of the Ojus Urban Area District. This particularly irks me because on the next page it says</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actually I can't find this notice previously.</td></tr>
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Where? Where exactly was this <i>previously noted</i> because I can't find it anywhere!?</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This paragraph kind of confuses me.</td></tr>
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Anyone feel free and chime in to explain this one for me. It seems the proposed municipality will not be required to contract for specialized services with county police because the residents pay that directly to the county, and prior to 2008 municipalities were required to pay for these services separately? Who provides special services to the municipal government? Eh, still confused about this.</div>
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Here's the paragraph that got me aggravated just a minute ago. I understand the importance of the SMART Corridor to county mobility planning, but this paragraph does not establish the precedence for this demand. What's more, looking at recent activity of the BCC we have no indication they will do anything with this area any time soon. I wonder what logic the PAB had in recommending the new city retain that control. Perhaps they believed a city could help prepare the area for the county's vision better than the county currently does?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBG6V4WZJwh9rCJp4FFlvpqIjTyJBZnkqk5jTmxpsRRTa8bKu5ggHo69-IE-gna_613bFBt7tp1dVQwsRAsMw5Td5jzYEFW5fRXKtr48KzzrWgNYjAVUvnjzWtiZFp-Ia5ml7BpB-AaA/s1600/greynolds.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="65" data-original-width="671" height="37" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBG6V4WZJwh9rCJp4FFlvpqIjTyJBZnkqk5jTmxpsRRTa8bKu5ggHo69-IE-gna_613bFBt7tp1dVQwsRAsMw5Td5jzYEFW5fRXKtr48KzzrWgNYjAVUvnjzWtiZFp-Ia5ml7BpB-AaA/s400/greynolds.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I love Greynolds Park and am glad the mayor pays at least some lip service to the reason why they plan to maintain control. It doesn't answer any of my concerns as to why any of the park will be within the boundaries of the new city at all, and what responsibilities that will bring to the new city.</div>
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These four pump stations have come up before. The only things I'd want to know regard who owns and manages them, and what control of or responsibilities to the new city would have for the stations.</div>
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The mayor's memorandum raises plenty more questions, but also provides directions of where to look for some answers. Some of my next posts will cover the exhibits to the mayor's memorandum. </div>
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Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-31974722226309048562018-07-27T09:00:00.001-04:002018-07-27T12:47:03.898-04:00June 5, 2018 Mayor's Memorandum, Part 2: Exhibit 1 NEMAC Budget<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Only 3 pages the NEMAC budget looks like something put together with little effort. One assumes they base the revenue portion on information given by county staff, and that the expenditures are a mix of available data and best guesses.<br />
Whatever the case please find the most important information at the bottom of the budget:<br />
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Yes, neighbors, after years of exhaustive study and analysis the NEMAC approved a budget which nets the new city an excess of $42 in revenue a year!<br />
When you think about how many different ways government budgets can go this little number represents a pretty big argument for incorporation: without raising taxes (or so they say, I still haven't got that far in the budget analysis to agree or not) a new city can run itself and provide equal or better services to its residents than the county currently does. Well that at least raises the question whose answer may represent a pretty big argument for incorporation: does this budget provide equal or better services, and not raise any taxes? Hopefully members of the NEMAC can address this with me and I can publish a follow up to this post in the near future.<br />
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On to the budget!<br />
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Revenue</h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH31YFKFzoQ2FshXKGOqiZxpGWnZuNnCGr17ypsTQgyqVHI96zQSFjeo3EHKT-1mT0_c_p9WINtWnXOgbKJJ9M-LbkSkaE6MASyGl22PUvDZj9ILg2gl60JPtl2rxQEzLXIsMJdfY6tvc/s1600/property+taxes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="615" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH31YFKFzoQ2FshXKGOqiZxpGWnZuNnCGr17ypsTQgyqVHI96zQSFjeo3EHKT-1mT0_c_p9WINtWnXOgbKJJ9M-LbkSkaE6MASyGl22PUvDZj9ILg2gl60JPtl2rxQEzLXIsMJdfY6tvc/s400/property+taxes.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Property taxes at their current rate pull in $2,197,560</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-i9Ca9xeRb171zNQSTFyyM7BzKNeEYgnpMI9spqswY75Lvjw-4ry3i-01U39YTHJa9dEtDEkmR9xTk_ThBDm4vIfqSJ7b2t927sZhDePkNXH_n846IuKQ7FqZ8kjmLpaWh7EskPR3BV8/s1600/other+revenues.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="623" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-i9Ca9xeRb171zNQSTFyyM7BzKNeEYgnpMI9spqswY75Lvjw-4ry3i-01U39YTHJa9dEtDEkmR9xTk_ThBDm4vIfqSJ7b2t927sZhDePkNXH_n846IuKQ7FqZ8kjmLpaWh7EskPR3BV8/s400/other+revenues.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Property taxes as well as other revenue equate to $9,197,943</td></tr>
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I can only wonder: are these numbers real? Does the county currently get $25,000 for bus bench permits in our area? What loans have we given for which we would receive $15,680 in interest? The budget provided by the third party in Exhibit 2 will answer some questions, but it's important to account for ALL revenue the city should get that currently goes to the county or some other body.</div>
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Expenditures</h4>
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These numbers represent what the NEMAC believes could run the new city. The first six items seem completely speculative, and I bet a comparison to various other municipalities within 20 miles could provide many different numbers. The police department represents over half the budget!<br />
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It gives me pause, and I can't help but wildly speculate what that means for a city. Lest we forget: police get periodic raises, guaranteed benefits, and other costly quality of life expenses like taking vehicles home. These expenses grows like few other line items can. Retirement means municipalities paying retirement benefits while simultaneously taking on the costs of hiring and training replacements.<br />
We face this scenario even under the county, but this budget assumes a substantial increase in policing service in this incorporated area, <i>substantially</i> increasing costs.<br />
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Two more things to notice before I set this out into the wild:<br />
Fist, look at the bold letters <b>A</b>, <b>B</b>, and <b>C</b>. The bottom of the page states "Revenues offset Expenses," accounting speak for these lines equal each other. A from revenue equals A from expenses, B from revenue equals the Bs from expenses, etc..<br />
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Finally, the penultimate line-item called "Contingency Reserve" for $500,000. Other than police, this may be the most important line. The explanation appears as follows:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGQKLEiaLWxCQFXcm12r547U7MCPNQQLpFI_ckP4xoDaWKQqHTdetVAhuCXpHZaVx8WZH58ENwGto27i5cntiehwGfvKXjx8i6pnZRbKESEiLuiGELgxNICHvIRM_2qNz_0zfUyAYuds/s1600/contingency+reserve.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="97" data-original-width="632" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGQKLEiaLWxCQFXcm12r547U7MCPNQQLpFI_ckP4xoDaWKQqHTdetVAhuCXpHZaVx8WZH58ENwGto27i5cntiehwGfvKXjx8i6pnZRbKESEiLuiGELgxNICHvIRM_2qNz_0zfUyAYuds/s640/contingency+reserve.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The NEMAC did not necessarily expect to pay a mitigation fee, but they noted this money might get used to pay one. The County anticipates a higher fee than the contingency. This budget reflects a city which must cut services to afford its police!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGdr6I_LYJ9SHdtviQSc5g4Py5Ckt-SohITeO6XF34_pQIjQNcemeOkqAOMuRZDpVgbn8Uu1ZKT49bWiPtSNkswdnPRran31glSYzLdGATQXd96Y4KdxzIUTcNJcexg1NUe2dtfeyqdY/s1600/mitigation+fee.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="138" data-original-width="708" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGdr6I_LYJ9SHdtviQSc5g4Py5Ckt-SohITeO6XF34_pQIjQNcemeOkqAOMuRZDpVgbn8Uu1ZKT49bWiPtSNkswdnPRran31glSYzLdGATQXd96Y4KdxzIUTcNJcexg1NUe2dtfeyqdY/s400/mitigation+fee.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recall from the terms of the Mayor's Memorandum that they expect it to cost $574,000 the first year, going up for seven years. This non-existent city needs to cut $74,000 from other line items ASAP!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Suffice it to say these numbers don't add up. Rumors abound of a new budget in the works. I will write about that when I acquire it. My next post closes out analysis of the exhibits, with a very important piece of evidence: a budget review by a private firm!<br />
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/18jXFmnIslZQN_uKbFoD8zD0o4Mw_F5Sa/preview" width="640"></iframe><br />
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Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-2035321390453455902018-07-24T15:24:00.003-04:002018-07-24T15:24:53.160-04:00To Be or Not to Be, Part 3: Exhibits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here I briefly summarize the various exhibits to the resolution I reviewed previously, however I will analyze some of the included documents later--especially the NEMAC and PAB resolutions respectively; the Ojus Urban Area District; where exactly the county demands retention of certain roads; and eventually the other documents included in the 71 page file at the bottom of these post.</div>
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If you're just jumping in to the fray you can read the other posts in the series:</div>
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1. <a href="http://wordmiami.blogspot.com/2018/07/june-5-2018-resolution-calling-special.html" target="_blank">Resolution calling special election</a></div>
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2. <a href="http://wordmiami.blogspot.com/2018/07/to-be-or-not-to-be-part-1-whereas.html" target="_blank">To Be or Not to Be: Whereas</a></div>
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3. <a href="http://wordmiami.blogspot.com/2018/07/to-be-or-not-to-be-part-2-resolution.html" target="_blank">To Be or Not to Be: Resolution</a></div>
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<a name='more'></a><h4>
Exhibit A</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6AwxJejyN_9nS1OV8ovK_RveOZwWjx0VUCDSSIYjdH7lSqDvIygvFWmvC5rTkNtTyloB3rSuNmkqyW03xGq6kPh-Kcqfn2K9krx9_rWKoJ7cbaj3mpK6J2befnUORVhkvG3hr2lIq12I/s1600/exhibit+a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1052" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6AwxJejyN_9nS1OV8ovK_RveOZwWjx0VUCDSSIYjdH7lSqDvIygvFWmvC5rTkNtTyloB3rSuNmkqyW03xGq6kPh-Kcqfn2K9krx9_rWKoJ7cbaj3mpK6J2befnUORVhkvG3hr2lIq12I/s400/exhibit+a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
I spoke briefly about this map already because it featured at the end of a portion of the resolution discussing the boundaries of incorporation:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhits53X1aAEuBwulbm3fpp347Zc3Zf9Er_Uq5Ln2Vl4lF_Ux9tr38cORp6ROnruyQF7QP_Pd5WJ0cw0xQTKuk5olnGHtaJw5tD_3OisIMWe_AFuRJhqH8lRnHXMKp1CmOil45Fr0-QvHQ/s1600/as+is+generally+set+forth.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="65" data-original-width="622" height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhits53X1aAEuBwulbm3fpp347Zc3Zf9Er_Uq5Ln2Vl4lF_Ux9tr38cORp6ROnruyQF7QP_Pd5WJ0cw0xQTKuk5olnGHtaJw5tD_3OisIMWe_AFuRJhqH8lRnHXMKp1CmOil45Fr0-QvHQ/s640/as+is+generally+set+forth.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The resolution references various sets of boundaries, including this map. Note the map includes the open space portion of Greynold's Park and any roads over which the county would hypothetically retain control.<br />
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<h4>
Exhibit B</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEXHhXmzrFpZMdhOiVJ1HSfOaG3zfhskUaEle7dfiEDcauu5VFJj9LeccKi-MzKkWGW0Q6uuiuDWxgQpGqr4yV6SWE5Orb5DJ85dJvd5dsgAYClt9bjoPyQKKdAhFVS3K3mD_CTC91HLA/s1600/exhibit+B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="548" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEXHhXmzrFpZMdhOiVJ1HSfOaG3zfhskUaEle7dfiEDcauu5VFJj9LeccKi-MzKkWGW0Q6uuiuDWxgQpGqr4yV6SWE5Orb5DJ85dJvd5dsgAYClt9bjoPyQKKdAhFVS3K3mD_CTC91HLA/s400/exhibit+B.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
I plan to more explicitly detail the North East Dade Municipal Advisory Committee. You need to know BCC created it to write a report, it then approved its own report and sent it to BCC. Much of what we see in this resolution and accompanying agreement coincide with the BCC resolution, but includes many important things not seen earlier. For that reason I mostly bring up the new things not in my previous posts.<br />
Hopefully I can resolve some of these issues.<br />
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The following claim stuck out to me:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9ZwRgEVecVKM6-dnv-SYr-u_m0leGtYFvFrTivUqrishyphenhyphenWOkBWahb-f2buukUDbmT2tklVQQpSUJHwOoQcXrUusRSDt9vSFloykHA6M7lNZjEDYVc9r7U0ciXY5wbUVD63BKPXuv_Co/s1600/nemac+has+met.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="48" data-original-width="524" height="36" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9ZwRgEVecVKM6-dnv-SYr-u_m0leGtYFvFrTivUqrishyphenhyphenWOkBWahb-f2buukUDbmT2tklVQQpSUJHwOoQcXrUusRSDt9vSFloykHA6M7lNZjEDYVc9r7U0ciXY5wbUVD63BKPXuv_Co/s400/nemac+has+met.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
As highlighted in the County resolution by Commissioner Heyman, part of the terms as set by the BCC were the result of the "conceptual agreement" written by the NEMAC based on the discussions they had with County staff.<br />
The Conceptual Agreement hypothetically depicts the mutually agreeable conditions which the Committee decided upon after discussions with County staff, and two public hearings.<br />I want to know more about this. Did any of you attend any of these discussions? Feel free to tell me about them, whether the hosts provided any documentation, and especially if you remember any claims made by any of the attendant parties. (Lots of the local back and forth revolves around promises people make about what will or will not happen under incorporation.)<br />
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<b>Conceptual Agreement</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Vxiqpq7I25wHBZvF7ivZgVTCqyy7C0_xfk3zA3uWclIw5BHKJKNn6yhvjkqJUm6hapT9sMuVBXIFVUFsyK4R4x4uclHH0GwoE4f22yrQqGrFSR08HlpmqH9sRyz9tPIIwSm3Ja5fRTw/s1600/actually+4+years.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="58" data-original-width="611" height="36" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Vxiqpq7I25wHBZvF7ivZgVTCqyy7C0_xfk3zA3uWclIw5BHKJKNn6yhvjkqJUm6hapT9sMuVBXIFVUFsyK4R4x4uclHH0GwoE4f22yrQqGrFSR08HlpmqH9sRyz9tPIIwSm3Ja5fRTw/s400/actually+4+years.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This agreement makes the minimum service with MDCPD 4 years actually, because even if after 3 years the new city decides to go with its own PD they have to give the County a transition period fo no lass than 12 months</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UQ8s6Zvn05COXj25TDcExTb1dHDxFm2796y3HgTGnV2rcT9tkiG_uA75ozGY-tgqnymw1C2ynFLo6SQDpPJuLTtQ_hTSwojWrvixtDiXNT0TqaZvKwlT4w9LRry5Q2U7E6JfduBBAMY/s1600/understands+and+agrees.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="25" data-original-width="620" height="15" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UQ8s6Zvn05COXj25TDcExTb1dHDxFm2796y3HgTGnV2rcT9tkiG_uA75ozGY-tgqnymw1C2ynFLo6SQDpPJuLTtQ_hTSwojWrvixtDiXNT0TqaZvKwlT4w9LRry5Q2U7E6JfduBBAMY/s400/understands+and+agrees.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suddenly start beginning some paragraphs with this,</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aO6Yri9RzRruePmYXiBdOIR1Hpjpkwe5aAtfZQKCi82DtW0w746Ip6ncr260gxp7vwMO4MAVyymL2MGHhDaP88DZYb_EAvz6Ool4ykkMFynjYpK-Rb8uHwx7zj7WbWASCC8-ToqwS0g/s1600/as+is.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="45" data-original-width="625" height="46" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aO6Yri9RzRruePmYXiBdOIR1Hpjpkwe5aAtfZQKCi82DtW0w746Ip6ncr260gxp7vwMO4MAVyymL2MGHhDaP88DZYb_EAvz6Ool4ykkMFynjYpK-Rb8uHwx7zj7WbWASCC8-ToqwS0g/s640/as+is.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
One can't help but wonder why the this parks "in as-is condition" requires explicit statement? As called elsewhere in the resolution the BCC already expects the new city to help pay for county projects, and they're currently prettying up Greynold's Park, but we HAVE to understand and agree that our parks come as they are and the county will NEVER help us make them nicer. HAHA. If that isn't some really odd and seemingly fire-sale tactic I don't know what is.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK6BjeslWyBZGNFQgbmP23-8ctFe_82QDHKyoNEYZJt7oS1ZcGaYbR57Fs8Z1BUgtnV9MZ4NsT0oYeR7j4wVz95IK1BuiGlmDitO7pmE7ep30A86w8xg_IZWiX5KzSurEB2J0V3ogFW7I/s1600/roads++keep.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="107" data-original-width="621" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK6BjeslWyBZGNFQgbmP23-8ctFe_82QDHKyoNEYZJt7oS1ZcGaYbR57Fs8Z1BUgtnV9MZ4NsT0oYeR7j4wVz95IK1BuiGlmDitO7pmE7ep30A86w8xg_IZWiX5KzSurEB2J0V3ogFW7I/s640/roads++keep.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5PGeRrGMPgwUOG99sAz0enMpgc21wkLClUa_Y9VHWQhwiLf-bHGOhNYoWYNhfugVK6TtFRfIgfZaEMqFMvrEETFONZI1pXuNf2DbIQLq4_M1oHOVTtD9f6RVUR9YyG3QFGYJT1wDfZM/s1600/roads+keep.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="157" data-original-width="478" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5PGeRrGMPgwUOG99sAz0enMpgc21wkLClUa_Y9VHWQhwiLf-bHGOhNYoWYNhfugVK6TtFRfIgfZaEMqFMvrEETFONZI1pXuNf2DbIQLq4_M1oHOVTtD9f6RVUR9YyG3QFGYJT1wDfZM/s400/roads+keep.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Now we get to the first mention of an issue on which most resident electors seem to agree: the county shouldn't get all these roads. Even some members of NEMAC didn't support the agreement, two voted no on the resolution to adopt.<br />
The county got most of the NEMAC to agree to capitulate important roads which connect different parts of the propose city, but different parts of our sector of the county also! Most egregious perhaps the retention of Ives Dairy Road and Highland Lakes Boulevard, hotbeds of traffic congestion.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqPNye6hPqaP8kEf9EnVJzCaLsBkLPPJc4GtBxrZK0rZ83n2phgiZHFlrif5er1Ba6mkXJHhM3V78_jPhCgpZILW71DS8blX4_lTMLWpp6iSD9ZcRO8ZViJHBkKSdQodMZ8KzkM853dHg/s1600/only+to+the.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="90" data-original-width="613" height="56" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqPNye6hPqaP8kEf9EnVJzCaLsBkLPPJc4GtBxrZK0rZ83n2phgiZHFlrif5er1Ba6mkXJHhM3V78_jPhCgpZILW71DS8blX4_lTMLWpp6iSD9ZcRO8ZViJHBkKSdQodMZ8KzkM853dHg/s400/only+to+the.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
I understand the BCC created this group, and the District 4 commissioner appointed the group, but at what point did they get the power to negotiate on behalf of the resident electors? The "Special Conditions" sections of the as yet non-existent charter more and more seem like both a necessary aspect of incorporation, and an affront to democracy.<br />As a counterpoint, I recall that the county currently retains control of everything, so regardless of these concessions the resolution still represents significant devolution.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpPzM_rIIzcQ2hinTKje_OZcMFdqKcylYsqWWASiEiHyHLMVEB08_DOVxLtTX6aqbuG7-QeGVvnw1nqd3dPMnWAjvs2W3b9sSE12tHLifw2I1veXn-OWPNxpSmhhvu1baZ5e5lKDpwT0/s1600/nemac+bonds.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="54" data-original-width="502" height="33" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpPzM_rIIzcQ2hinTKje_OZcMFdqKcylYsqWWASiEiHyHLMVEB08_DOVxLtTX6aqbuG7-QeGVvnw1nqd3dPMnWAjvs2W3b9sSE12tHLifw2I1veXn-OWPNxpSmhhvu1baZ5e5lKDpwT0/s320/nemac+bonds.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">$71M and $55M each</td></tr>
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I have little problem with taking on a portion of the county debt, but this agreement doesn't state how much we owe. Despite this NEMAC agrees that the city will pass a bunch of taxes immediately upon incorporation. Public service tax, communication services tax at an equal or greater level than the county rate. Keep referring to the pro-rata share of these bonds, without explaining what it is. I'll figure it out eventually!</div>
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The next couple sections didn't jump out to me though I did find the following interesting:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5jCkFUfIuTh7SY649c2_Tc9A1cab4Pe9EXo7D6BmOOh3Xth8Rie6a8W_72LHj8CKn8EJazHtX1ksNwqPEGQPSudpmhR_C4SL1jFbb2at4ohQm6kgotDWssVYy9sEMX0obArQY2onIOg/s1600/section+5+favored+nation.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="613" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5jCkFUfIuTh7SY649c2_Tc9A1cab4Pe9EXo7D6BmOOh3Xth8Rie6a8W_72LHj8CKn8EJazHtX1ksNwqPEGQPSudpmhR_C4SL1jFbb2at4ohQm6kgotDWssVYy9sEMX0obArQY2onIOg/s400/section+5+favored+nation.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As I can tell this is the only mention in the whole discussion about making sure the new city gets a fair deal on anything, but it only applies to Fire, Library, Solid Waste, and Police.</td></tr>
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<h4>
Exhibit C</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHUY7Xm0l0I-i88bP2FAvLbQR_hsHhIZfpzxNgphVkYP25zjLadFGLapCgv0jjutbxBz2fZpdkPxv3bYZvWp5V-HimcTMcQTSLJWlDKUWizMRMy4aWuepBxrD7MquppdPowoqOtHcTZY/s1600/exhibit+c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="177" data-original-width="579" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHUY7Xm0l0I-i88bP2FAvLbQR_hsHhIZfpzxNgphVkYP25zjLadFGLapCgv0jjutbxBz2fZpdkPxv3bYZvWp5V-HimcTMcQTSLJWlDKUWizMRMy4aWuepBxrD7MquppdPowoqOtHcTZY/s400/exhibit+c.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
This resolution luckily only takes up two pages but I feel like it's going to come back to haunt me shortly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNsFC4BoymVXjXRqqniEPrmC5bmrK1w06Bsbvf9br0gEMuFnLrhWEwXdSBkV1bJcvrPIGPRNleMlDkWPmc4ctOhGbA1jz8HS9YjrXqGKhNx1mm5znHAj3E79czmD9CLk-2-URk0GxO9VE/s1600/pab+public+meeting+2005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="577" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNsFC4BoymVXjXRqqniEPrmC5bmrK1w06Bsbvf9br0gEMuFnLrhWEwXdSBkV1bJcvrPIGPRNleMlDkWPmc4ctOhGbA1jz8HS9YjrXqGKhNx1mm5znHAj3E79czmD9CLk-2-URk0GxO9VE/s400/pab+public+meeting+2005.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wonder what the numbers looked like in 2005 compared to 2016</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNsCvP-du5L1v7640jiauqc19N2KZZKtTrocHiKeOU25Ib5wMEbKlkll07i-A3WGotNDwF8-V-JKYYTJvmGjV3_uNkZGhTiinkOZ7lk6P0gTnr6LETuHc3NvBvwmYsLsJ0I6dfumUdXk/s1600/pab+gets+nemac+report.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="127" data-original-width="586" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNsCvP-du5L1v7640jiauqc19N2KZZKtTrocHiKeOU25Ib5wMEbKlkll07i-A3WGotNDwF8-V-JKYYTJvmGjV3_uNkZGhTiinkOZ7lk6P0gTnr6LETuHc3NvBvwmYsLsJ0I6dfumUdXk/s400/pab+gets+nemac+report.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PAB given NEMAC report by BCC to conduct hearing and provide recommendation.</td></tr>
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Note the language which directs the PAB to base their recommendation of the NEMAC Report. We again see this cirular logic where public boards aren't asked to give a common sense assessment, or necessarily use their best judgment, but rather to make use of reports generated with very guided intent.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5GRl_G-TClVGbrYpKlRls479p6gjdNJ-i3iEWsNJdr23K00m6uYtcDcD0I0NhjLk5yUBnRAX4sFsv9K87F1hvRon7JEhJGPu4xlk2kddhMfnACJCLHlfTKN_sgMGnbjmUVEsbjTsvi0/s1600/pab+holds+second+meeting.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="583" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5GRl_G-TClVGbrYpKlRls479p6gjdNJ-i3iEWsNJdr23K00m6uYtcDcD0I0NhjLk5yUBnRAX4sFsv9K87F1hvRon7JEhJGPu4xlk2kddhMfnACJCLHlfTKN_sgMGnbjmUVEsbjTsvi0/s400/pab+holds+second+meeting.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wonder how this second meeting compared to that held over a decade prior.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOG4eNaSoFcbti20nauV_dlp4k6FOoHNNaFWKC2LaqqW6xzwrMVfLVmDb2N2ortvSxn2g9hYS7lT2owZkpnPI6njeR9N5EQHEcjkFZJyPdWejhXPXTeWCMmxfVSvijngR4ZY5pFekvPs/s1600/pab+resolution.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="602" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOG4eNaSoFcbti20nauV_dlp4k6FOoHNNaFWKC2LaqqW6xzwrMVfLVmDb2N2ortvSxn2g9hYS7lT2owZkpnPI6njeR9N5EQHEcjkFZJyPdWejhXPXTeWCMmxfVSvijngR4ZY5pFekvPs/s400/pab+resolution.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Based on this quick read through the most substantial divergence the BCC makes rests here, where the PAB recommends the "new municipality retain regulatory control of the Ojus area but not interfere with the implementation of the SMART Plan, essentially a form of shared jurisdiction."<br />
As someone attracted to the concept of more local control it seems a slap in the face that the county would ignore this recommendation.<br />
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<h4>
Exhibit D</h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYNfghl0fpUm2wZSvVM-Aw4tl6I7bpF76PrjQ144ZRZPhidKIk3qhSKnIUEPMzLZaIKFv6g0Y6zXUHfDdRnme2OeGZT1IMPfAFbKkqZ2t3GlEX0oN3LE7FI7JwyKkH6SXwltZnK2Ag9k/s1600/exhibit+d+OAUD.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1014" data-original-width="721" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYNfghl0fpUm2wZSvVM-Aw4tl6I7bpF76PrjQ144ZRZPhidKIk3qhSKnIUEPMzLZaIKFv6g0Y6zXUHfDdRnme2OeGZT1IMPfAFbKkqZ2t3GlEX0oN3LE7FI7JwyKkH6SXwltZnK2Ag9k/s640/exhibit+d+OAUD.JPG" width="454" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This map highlights the portion of the new city over which county would maintain control.</td></tr>
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<h4>
Exhibit E</h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9m7JnsCK8-U6YTLk6EGp_smovXlZAj4Zs84ZW5OolD4fHaRETQSj9hWOiop7QiOTl_1JVd5iY8AAMnbFn4auQrPZOW7T5pwFMKGfAGeE4PwMBTtuyrTSfGnGKWhElzxbY_YTkrDxvAYI/s1600/exhibit+e+proposed+boundaries.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1006" data-original-width="1300" height="495" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9m7JnsCK8-U6YTLk6EGp_smovXlZAj4Zs84ZW5OolD4fHaRETQSj9hWOiop7QiOTl_1JVd5iY8AAMnbFn4auQrPZOW7T5pwFMKGfAGeE4PwMBTtuyrTSfGnGKWhElzxbY_YTkrDxvAYI/s640/exhibit+e+proposed+boundaries.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Open in a new tab to see this in greater detail</td></tr>
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<h4>
Initial Conclusion</h4>
At this point we have gone through the entirety of Miami-Dade Board of County Commission Resolution <span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3f3c; font-family: Lora, serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3f3c; font-family: Lora, serif;">R-576-18, however this does not incorporate all information the county saw. To make a decision on whether I support this or not I have to look at the rest of the packet Commissioners saw that day.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3f3c; font-family: Lora, serif;">This includes</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #3e3f3c; font-family: Lora, serif;">Mayor's Memorandum</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3e3f3c; font-family: Lora, serif;">Northeast Dade MAC Adopted Pro-forma Budget (Exhibit 1)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3e3f3c; font-family: Lora, serif;">Northeast Dade MAC Budget Review (Exhibit 2)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #3e3f3c; font-family: Lora, serif;">Northeast Dade Incorporate Report (Exhibit 3)</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: #3e3f3c; font-family: Lora, serif;">I will go over these documents soon in my continued quest to understand a simple question</span></div>
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Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-38171672300336668372018-07-19T21:35:00.003-04:002018-07-19T21:35:42.689-04:00To Be or Not to Be, Part 2: Resolution<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I continue my analysis of R-576-18, picking up here I left off yesterday. Luckily I don't have nearly as much to say today.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnt3SUfW6WzDFQHJnrWDF-d-SC1r3XCyMX8KcpqP9f8cximJGjFrJnVOaDHws8hEN4nSm212lmHU4YahEmm-kb5o7OIBeoqaE5-R9xElc0_DM8ovqq18LBkTUloq0fwpxKbnkgdh1ff4/s1600/resolved1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="223" data-original-width="701" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnt3SUfW6WzDFQHJnrWDF-d-SC1r3XCyMX8KcpqP9f8cximJGjFrJnVOaDHws8hEN4nSm212lmHU4YahEmm-kb5o7OIBeoqaE5-R9xElc0_DM8ovqq18LBkTUloq0fwpxKbnkgdh1ff4/s640/resolved1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The resolution, the real push and shove of this whole dog and pony show seems to come from this portion of the document. "<b>BE IT RESOLVED</b>" And they resolve that the matter in the recitals and Mayor's memorandum and attached exhibits incorporated with the resolution. Whatever that means.<br />
Then suddenly the matter goes in a very odd direction,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdC-MkrYIob5_4ZhniifFmO_t2KVhjv6vc89TsGx8RKpa3N3uwPnCHqn0o1sc70GMVAstBgvEc9sBKR41TSPUTrlL6NWmXnhs_3iFzxpRvP1EIIMdUzjt5P-kBBKZcKnkGEnjznNR0zZ0/s1600/resolved2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="595" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdC-MkrYIob5_4ZhniifFmO_t2KVhjv6vc89TsGx8RKpa3N3uwPnCHqn0o1sc70GMVAstBgvEc9sBKR41TSPUTrlL6NWmXnhs_3iFzxpRvP1EIIMdUzjt5P-kBBKZcKnkGEnjznNR0zZ0/s400/resolved2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't worry if this didn't make any sense to you, it didn't make much sense to me.</td></tr>
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For the time being I have to roll past section 3, despite it seeming important because its written in a very strange way.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6ZmhyphenhyphenWCHEPPfQd-XQ6BkpKoNIxxR4VTCpQHERsBWaOV2XndGZU9wYd1wyrOdoCcMe_E3RR2ao1sTBHTjbdYAxAQVn1fuSQsatvOPi5w2K7_Eyaxagxi_2s7o3JYLp-G-LEtUE-g-qcc/s1600/resolved3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="361" data-original-width="664" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6ZmhyphenhyphenWCHEPPfQd-XQ6BkpKoNIxxR4VTCpQHERsBWaOV2XndGZU9wYd1wyrOdoCcMe_E3RR2ao1sTBHTjbdYAxAQVn1fuSQsatvOPi5w2K7_Eyaxagxi_2s7o3JYLp-G-LEtUE-g-qcc/s400/resolved3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Section four in a very convoluted way reiterates the call for the special election, specifically to coincide with the general election on November 6, 2018.<br />
Section five specifies the "election is called in reliance upon the representations of the NEMAC contained in the MAC report, as well as agreement to conditions for incorporation recommended by the Mayor."<br />
The first part of the statement suggests the BCC can blame the NEMAC report if the budget doesn't look anything like that report.<br />
The second part reiterates the constant crack of the county debt whip, specifically the Mayor's personal demand for financial mitigation.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0MerdUpVaZGgRN5WefkQ-v0dmXoojjAJvhlL9rWAQIW1p0Hdrs0JoOpd4qDM-IVDapujAR_P68YhH4WaOgfR1oTkj4VJtbpVqWPgMBiKZdeOJXgXPu5bNt8lzjk22DIdztIMeGDoO7wo/s1600/resolved4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="664" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0MerdUpVaZGgRN5WefkQ-v0dmXoojjAJvhlL9rWAQIW1p0Hdrs0JoOpd4qDM-IVDapujAR_P68YhH4WaOgfR1oTkj4VJtbpVqWPgMBiKZdeOJXgXPu5bNt8lzjk22DIdztIMeGDoO7wo/s400/resolved4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqztfEdbR6jQtbm2UlIDmnYFZATH4fVwS5_HC9NhwsysMQMmwyzGLZkLRkGDyDg4tKCGHuCLL80ZxIupxqp6-HE7Vc1DybU3NQfdCNCvnw-uDiNsu2TVG5FNNwT7a0-dijtS1IkH5xTk/s1600/resolved5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="643" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqztfEdbR6jQtbm2UlIDmnYFZATH4fVwS5_HC9NhwsysMQMmwyzGLZkLRkGDyDg4tKCGHuCLL80ZxIupxqp6-HE7Vc1DybU3NQfdCNCvnw-uDiNsu2TVG5FNNwT7a0-dijtS1IkH5xTk/s400/resolved5.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
As I showed a few posts ago, Section eight lays out the actual ballot language. It seems absurd to ask resident electors in such a direct manner to approve or reject what I've spent the last two days trying to explain to myself! And I haven't even gotten to exhibit B!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiUH0Ini8dn5bwWRbiXKO5NzFeVW-d7pIFJCC6zmobrGjtGiNa2phoA0zoxEeQayLfm3sVFQBjjKCzbQa6s9yhIt1Ssedgxjw84QFVRKnbCB2n2hBpSiGKay6DpCXgXmlrgLHbDS6eWvo/s1600/resolved6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="665" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiUH0Ini8dn5bwWRbiXKO5NzFeVW-d7pIFJCC6zmobrGjtGiNa2phoA0zoxEeQayLfm3sVFQBjjKCzbQa6s9yhIt1Ssedgxjw84QFVRKnbCB2n2hBpSiGKay6DpCXgXmlrgLHbDS6eWvo/s400/resolved6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Section nine and ten like a few others seem mostly like legal housekeeping, but I wanted to point out language in nine that really stuck out to me. Aside from that you can find the entire document below, the resolution starting on page 46.<br />
"Those qualified electors desiring to reject or disapprove the question shall be instructed to select "NO" as set forth in general law."<br />
This speaks to me because as much as I like the idea of incorporation I don't like the terms of the question. Perhaps as I discover more information about the details I will find myself at greater ease. It almost seems unfair to simplify the terms of the agreement so much in asking the public at the polls.<br />
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<iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z-_Ayjlbsi54y2HEVBf0xW9vPwccfPgE/preview" width="640"></iframe>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-79202731858875202282018-07-18T19:31:00.001-04:002018-07-18T19:36:53.162-04:00To Be or Not to Be, Part 1: WHEREASI remembered quickly in the last weeks...<br />
As stories about the Beckham group soccer deal coalesced around a last minute vote of the City of Miami Commission to approve a referendum on leasing public land. A soccer stadium deal, eventually revealed as a gigantic real estate deal for a local hotshot.<br />
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I remembered: No matter what happens it seems the people will lose.<br />
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Much closer to home, the County Commission voted in June for a referendum in my neck of the woods, North East Municipal Service Area, an unincorporated sector of the county, will get to choose to become a city. However this offer comes with many strings, and lots of loopholes. Citizens beware.</div>
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I continue my series with an extensive analysis of the June 5th, 2018 resolution. I plan at least two more posts on this county law, with a particular concern for responsibilities or debts the proposed city would owe the county from the start.<br />
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<h4>
Warning Signs</h4>
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Totaling over 71 pages, the entire packet for the resolution has many points from which to start picking knits.On page 46 find the actual text of the ordinance. Regardless of all the accompanying literature the only part of this packet which represents law is the ordinance as read and passed by the Board of County Commissioners.<br />
For the purposes of this post I plan only to deal with the ordinance language and its implications for the referendum in November.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIeHMyR5e1iBZni10WH-cyKl73szdH9_iHQM8I2NHUQoa3Yaw6Wsz35BiD1l56C0YSJaLGazQp4MqJeTFP9JRlnJOMzb-SMsEJ8ULRiedEE4gd_0tQmY_LLN_qf4MyT_Z2NIKI0DWLyeY/s1600/ordinance+title.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="464" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIeHMyR5e1iBZni10WH-cyKl73szdH9_iHQM8I2NHUQoa3Yaw6Wsz35BiD1l56C0YSJaLGazQp4MqJeTFP9JRlnJOMzb-SMsEJ8ULRiedEE4gd_0tQmY_LLN_qf4MyT_Z2NIKI0DWLyeY/s320/ordinance+title.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ordinance Title</td></tr>
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And what a long title it is!<br />
This mouthful of a sentence says almost everything, while leaving out so many important things.<br />
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This is technically the first sentence of the ordinance itself. These types of laws generally get introduced with a series of statements of facts. This opener references two important segments of county code pertinent to establishment of new municipalities, Section 6.05(A) of the Miami-Dade County Home Rule Charter and Chapter 20 of the Code of Miami-Dade County. I expect to read these soon and comment on them in another post.<br />
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This WHEREAS provides the first actual actions of the ordinance, note the language closely. <i>"This resolution proposes calling a special election for area resident electors to authorize [Board of County Commissioners]...to take additional actions necessary to create a new municipality." </i>Therefore the referendum actually authorizes the BCC to create the new city, not poetically the people themselves creating it through the vote.<br />
Then we get boundaries laid out, including "as is generally set forth in the map attached." The repetitive description of the boundaries in the ordinance make it difficult to determine which are the actual, technical boundaries of the proposed municipality.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7B48cd8G4yFGE1KkYQ_pdPZxA3lBH0ksriOvcLnMPBiBhdxAPbC4k-is4EuRadZ0V5nHJELNnXiaYwGLy4OIDYeWpShh4wimXhec3VxJhX5Jfms4y9r-tjmgOjmPJAFBp0wrlU2o-yEs/s1600/exhibit+a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1052" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7B48cd8G4yFGE1KkYQ_pdPZxA3lBH0ksriOvcLnMPBiBhdxAPbC4k-is4EuRadZ0V5nHJELNnXiaYwGLy4OIDYeWpShh4wimXhec3VxJhX5Jfms4y9r-tjmgOjmPJAFBp0wrlU2o-yEs/s640/exhibit+a.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note various oddities in this map, including a right of way along interstate 95 ending at Snake Creek Canal; the inclusion of the open space park portion of Greynold's Park, despite the ordinance elsewhere specifying the county would maintain control.</td></tr>
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I take issue with some of the language in this third WHEREAS because although she did it with the power of the BCC, all members of the NEMAC were appointed by the district 4 Commissioner, and not the Board as such. What's more, this description of the duties of the NEMAC fall short in addressing the very particular statutory responsibilities of the NEMAC. Please see a future post regarding the creation of the NEMAC and the language specifying its purpose and responsibility.<br />
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This language fails to depict the BCC as creating the NEMAC with the express requirement of it submitting a report to the BCC, based on information provided by county staff, the content of which were specifically meant to respond to the concerns of the BCC and County Staff. I hope the circular nature of that process didn't lose your attention.<br />
Due to the length of these posts I will also address the Exhibit B resolution by the NEMAC in another post. Especially because this is where things start to get very interesting in the ordinance.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This WHEREAS explicitly lists the demands of the BCC</td></tr>
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"As required by the Code," in this WHEREAS suggests that everything to follow simply complies with the County Code. Definitely something worth verifying! However until I get to that let me simply restate these requirements of incorporation, along with my first thoughts:<br />
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<ol>
<li><b>Contract with MDCPD for patrol police services for an initial period of three years.</b> Do we have to do it for one three year term, can we do three one year terms? Who negotiates this contract, or do we have to accept a predetermined contract for the duration of the three years?</li>
<li><b>Contribute to County's Municipal Service's Trust Fund (MSTF) in an amount which sall be determined by the board.</b> Woah! Shall be determined by the board? Again I have to wonder who will, or is even allowed, to represent the fiduciary interests of the elector residents? What recourse do we have that the determination will fairly represent our reasonable debt to the trust fund?</li>
<li><b>Agree to remain part of MD Fire Rescue District, Public Library System, Solid Waste collection system. </b>As with everything else, I wonder about the money. If we're a "donor" community it suggests we overpay for some if not all the services provided by the county. How can we assure the charges levied against us for these services get accounted for properly.</li>
<li><b>Contract and pay for specialized services from MDCPD, but will not be required to additionally pay beyond countywide taxes paid by residents</b>. The language here is particularly confusing. It seems like we need to contract for special services, even though we don't have to charge extra for them? Because we already pay them? If we already pay for everything it worries me that they're mentioning it at all. I have found information elsewhere regarding this item and hopefully that will clarify this point.</li>
<li><b>Be responsible for and pay respective share of debt service with any debt made on behalf of the unincorporated area.</b> Who makes sure that we're ONLY paying our respective share? How much of the Greynold's mark remodeling will the new city have to pay for? How much money have they actually spent on our behalf? This is another project which would require hours and hours of research and compiling data to make sure that reality matches up with whatever numbers the county submits.</li>
<li><b>BCC retains authority over declaration of restrictive covenent or development agreements in place at the time of incorporation.</b> I don't yet know what either of these two things are, but I have to wonder what they are and how many exist right now that the BCC will retain authority over, and what impediments if any that can give to a new municipal government.</li>
<li><b>County will retain regulatory jurisdiction over certain facilities, as may be revised from time to time</b>. This one more than any other one sticks out to me like a sore thumb for the phrase "as may be revised from time to time" because this suggests, at least upon my initial understanding, that the county can claim regulatory jurisdiction of other facilities if they see fit. I wonder the scope of regulatory jurisdiction, and what OTHER jurisdiction that leaves for the new municipality to retain. Finally, the residents should sufficiently understand exactly which facilities the county plans to maintain as well as its history and plans for these facilities.</li>
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I think these are serious concerns that need clarity before I can decide if I support this ordinance.</div>
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To leave no doubt in anyone's mind the ordinance makes it clear that those seven requirements are pre-agreed by the resident electors if they vote for incorporation. Despite the vague terms the new city must honor them with the county. The final portion describes the only way to change that, which hinges on what section 6.05(A) of the Charter means by "prior to a vote of the qualified municipal electors." Does that vote refer to the one for incorporation, where I believe we would be called resident electors, or does it refer to the second vote, after incorporation, approving the charter? That's an extremely important distinction and the difference between having to submit any changes in the next few weeks or instead several years to submit changes for BCC approval.</div>
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This suggests another document for me to read, the PAB resolution attached as Exhibit C. It seems in this WHEREAS that the PAB recommended the new city have regulatory control over Ojus, but the county ignored that suggestion. You can't tell that from this language here, but it should be showing up eventually.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another document to read, the reading never ends!</td></tr>
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You might think this WHEREAS very fishy because it suggests that the Mayor's recommendation is not a part of the Code. He recommends the new municipality mitigate the fiscal impact of incorporation on the county by paying seven annual fees based on the net loss to the Unincorporated Municipal Service Area, as determined by the Office of Management and Budget's "Estimated Impact on UMSA Budget." Mind you, they don't include this document in the ordinance, and yet again I have the feeling that the residents don't have anyone defending km their fiduciary interests in any of these financial impacts.</div>
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And yet again, conditions which aren'tp ml very clearly or reasonably established are "pre-agreed conditions to the incorporation." I wonder what discussion if any the Commissioners had regarding these conditions.<br />
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"Areas of Countywide Significance persuant to sections 20-8.6 and 20-28.1 of the Code, which would allow the County to retain regulatory jurisdiction over such areas for the purposes of comprehensive planning, zoning, and buildings and other development approvals." Which begs the aforementioned question of what other jurisdictions that leaves to the city, and if the city retains regulatory jurisdiction over the same areas for all purposes not categorized in the WHEREAS?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seems self explanatory, but if anyone has any comments, please let them with me.</td></tr>
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I have a lot of interest in the way the Board creates the charter committee, and whether or not section 6.05(A) addresses that or leaves it to the Board to set specifics. I also find it interesting that they will only choose 5 members of this committee. I would like to compare this to other examples of incorporation in Miami-Dade County.<br />
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And here again it gets laid out that ALL the demands made of the new municipality will be special conditions in any charter that this committee would submit to the Board.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAS9WhLNTc9aW4uUkXyWiltQJRxUKTeMad6DDumA0Vs4fzIqNhBhpnVtSzDuaHy_wvGMZnSZSNewJub98aJfJbWXlmklbL9eZJh_tYJZSjIC4RHfNsAkD1q5rmctM0oN3HLqXkgTKGUs/s1600/whereas16.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="672" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAS9WhLNTc9aW4uUkXyWiltQJRxUKTeMad6DDumA0Vs4fzIqNhBhpnVtSzDuaHy_wvGMZnSZSNewJub98aJfJbWXlmklbL9eZJh_tYJZSjIC4RHfNsAkD1q5rmctM0oN3HLqXkgTKGUs/s400/whereas16.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Self explanatory, except reference again to the Charter</td></tr>
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With the WHEREAS now out of the way, I will focus my next post on deconstructing and addressing the resolution section of this ordinance.</div>
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Also look forward to which roads the county plans to keep control of, and what exactly is the Ojus Urban Area District?<br />
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Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-38916949927386392942018-07-17T15:49:00.005-04:002018-07-17T15:49:56.341-04:00June 5, 2018 Resolution calling special election in Miami-Dade County, Florida, to be held in conjunction with the General Election on November 6, 2018, for the purpose of submitting to the electors residing within the proposed new municipality in unincorporated Northeast Miami-Dade the question of whether the BCC should be authorized to create the new municipality with the following general outermost boundaries: County line to the north; the city limits of the City of Aventura to the east; the city limits of the City of North Miami Beach to the south; and Interstate 95 to the west; and designating Greynolds Park, Water and Sewer pump stations, and the Ojus Urban Area District as areas of countywide significance.If you found the title too long to read then society may have bigger issues than whether NE unincorporated Dade should incorporate into a city. However that title, dear readers, serves as the title of a June 5th ordinance before the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, proposed by District 4 Commissioner Heyman, to decide whether or not to give the voters of the affected area an election to incorporate. (form a new city)<br />
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While on face I like the idea of a smaller, more local government implementing policy in my neighborhood, my initial enthusiasm made way for more long-term critical thinking. As an idealist I regularly forget that other opinions exist in the universe, and likewise other concepts of local governance. What conditions would exist in this new municipality? What debts and responsibilities would it have before existing? And what would might it look like if we voted Yes to the ballot question in November on incorporation?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEjppsSjma0w0LyNzuBdCy_NT_zDAdcjPLcFZ8IqfwC4onFurmLIixFX2puQLBZvkyp0HX1IczQgmI2_7opS-SJOSdfNhn_u6FjrREIT_xqRZGZCY1khLZ4w43mg8SFTIXWQQjvCUP2c/s1600/ballot+question.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEjppsSjma0w0LyNzuBdCy_NT_zDAdcjPLcFZ8IqfwC4onFurmLIixFX2puQLBZvkyp0HX1IczQgmI2_7opS-SJOSdfNhn_u6FjrREIT_xqRZGZCY1khLZ4w43mg8SFTIXWQQjvCUP2c/s1600/ballot+question.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actual ballot language.</td></tr>
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I have to wonder how anyone could make a reasonable decision without further research? This language, without important details, does not nearly convey the extensive structure which already exists around this as-yet non-existent city.<br />
On June 5, 2018 the BCC decided to ask resident electors in the North East Municipal Service Area the question, shall the BCC create a new municipality? In attempting to decide for myself the answer to the question I started a series of blog posts to inform my neighbors of facts, as explained in governing documents, and to raise questions to which I haven't found the answer or for which the answer necessarily requires a <b>new</b> effort by the community.<br />
I welcome you on my journey, encourage you to put forth the effort to read provided documents, to comment with your opinions and concerns, and finally to do your own research and contribute it to the public discussion.Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-3809524178022633212018-06-22T10:53:00.001-04:002018-06-22T10:53:44.729-04:00Millions for what? A brief summary of Visit Florida and Emeril's FloridaAnyone who reads my blog knows I haven't updated in a long time, or that I don't update very often anyway. As a perennially preoccupied millennial I often divide my attention among many things, and don't usually have the will to gather those thoughts in to words, but sometimes ideas push me.<br /><br />I concern myself greatly with journalism, specifically quality of journalism because sometimes it's hard to follow a story.<br />
<a href="https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2018/01/25/producer-of-visit-floridas-emeril-show-netted-800k-for-two-seasons-state-records-show-214240" target="_blank">Take for instance the battle</a> between the Florida House of Representatives and the producer of TV Program called "<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2568488/" target="_blank">Emeril's Florida</a>". The producer of this program, Pat Roberts, got the State of Florida's promotional wing to give the show millions of dollars in production funds. For reasons still unclear to me the Florida House decided to find out how the money was spent. (Generally I promote state funds and actions being aired for public viewing.) Citing trade secrets, Pat Roberts has fought a request to turn over financial documents to the state.<br /><br />Since I could not immediately find recent updates to the story I decided to make this very brief write-up in case anyone else tries to do some digging.<br />
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In <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/g00/news/sns-bc-fl-xgr--visit-florida-emerils-lawsuit-20180120-story.html?i10c.encReferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS5ici8%3D&i10c.ua=1&i10c.dv=14" target="_blank">January a Federal judge denied</a> Roberts' injunction request, demanding he turn over documents within 5 days., but a few weeks later a Florida judge reverse the decision and "<a href="http://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/02/14/judge-quashes-final-subpoenas-in-visit-florida-lawsuit-signaling-loss-for-corcoran/" target="_blank">quashes final subpoenas</a>."<br />
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Although the House promised to continue its pursuit, I can't find any other updates to the story. If anything else comes up in this regard, I will update.<br />Does sort of make me want to look in to the tussle between the <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article121035953.html" target="_blank">House and Pitbull</a>...Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-70025508109566676222017-04-04T05:00:00.001-04:002017-04-04T05:00:30.605-04:00North Miami Beach Water Utility Operations Question 04/03/2017 Overview and thoughts<br />
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To Privatize or Not to Privatize</h2>
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Last year the City of North Miami Beach opened a <a href="http://www.citynmb.com/index.asp?Type=B_EV&SEC={87C05223-A2FB-430D-9611-04F4E9CC5A57}&DE={22302E38-00DE-48D8-8C13-4A4494C174A1}" target="_blank">Request for Qualification for "Water Operations, Maintenance, and Program Management Services."</a> On the evening of Monday, April 4, 2017, the city commission took the city manager's recommendation, permitting the manager by 4-2 vote to negotiate for a contract proposal to privatize the program management, operations, and maintenance services for the city's water and waste water utility. I attended the meeting to find out why some in my community felt concern about the future of the area's tap water.<br />
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Preface</h4>
A few firms responded to the initial request, but city management chose CH2M as the most qualified respondent, leaving them as the only firm eligible to negotiate a contract proposal. From the <a href="http://www.citynmb.com/vertical/sites/%7B7D026603-3FD1-47D7-B72B-A998702CDBDA%7D/uploads/RFQ-2016-08_NMB_Water_Operation_Maintenance_and_Program_Managment_Services.pdf" target="_blank">request for proposal</a> (RFQ) Section 3.0 Description of Purpose:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
3.1 Purpose and Intent<br />...The City intends to use the Statement of Qualifications (SOQs) submitted in response to this RFQ to rank order the Respondents
according to the most qualified and to then initiate contract negotiations with the top ranked Respondent.</blockquote>
While I can recognize the utility in pre-qualifying candidates before entertaining proposals, I did not notice any specified reason for only selecting one respondent to offer a proposal. Section 1.7 does give the city some leeway on the matter however:<br />
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The City may, at its sole and absolute discretion, reject any and all parts of any and all responses without prejudice or
liability; re-advertise this RFQ, postpone or cancel, at any time, this RFQ process</blockquote>
While choosing a most qualified candidate suggests the completion of the RFQ process, phrases like "sole and absolute discretion," "without prejudice or liability," "postpone or cancel at any time" put the benefit of the doubt on the city and not the chosen respondent. I wonder if the city can legally open the negotiation process to more candidates, as suggested by Carl Smith, a director at competing respondent, US Water Services Corporation.<br />
Despite this suggestion, the RFQ made contract negotiations with the manager's choice a foregone conclusion. "The City intends to...initiate contract negotiations with the top ranked Respondent."<br />
Clear as day.<br />
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Regarding the actual scope of the project, it worries me in the RFQ that the city gives the responsibility of defining that scope to the chosen respondent, and not a direct employee of the taxpayers who will view the problem in the light of the community, and not business potential.<br />
Two specific concerns voiced during public comment in the regards involved control over the pay rate for water use, and maintaining employment for the current utility employees.<br />
Despite their vehement protests to the contrary the legally binding language of the RFP does not require any of these as conditional for negotiation<br />
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The City <b>intends </b>to provide functions including, but not limited to the following: oversight for the selected Respondent; policy
development; and setting of rates and charges for services to customers. </blockquote>
<i>The road to hell is paved in good intentions</i>.<br />
On the labor pool:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Respondent shall provide all existing employees of the City’s NMB Water organization an
opportunity to apply for positions with the selected vendor.</blockquote>
Opportunities don't guarantee employment, not that the city should guarantee employment, but the comments made in the meeting both by the city commission and the public suggests upper management, and not the employees, caused the current state of NMB's water infrastructure, which makes an <i>opportunity to apply for positions</i> a crap deal to the employees, many who live in the city limits.<br />
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<br />The NMB Commission Meeting of April 3, 2017</h4>
I arrived about an hour late to a meeting I heard about a week ago. NMB wants to privatize their water!<br />
Of course warning signs fly high. Not because I oppose privatization, but rather due to a strong skepticism of the propensity for governments to sufficiently represent the public interest in the process of privatization.<br />
I do not live in the boundaries of North Miami Beach, but they provide my tap water. Honestly, I came in with very little idea of the issue, only concern. I left significantly more concerned with a much better idea of the issue.<br />
I hope to reasonably clarify both for those in attendance and the greater community.<br />
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Commissioners made it clear that the water utility neglected many responsibilities, while maintaining service to rate payers. They spoke of a tour of the water plant in which they saw dilapidated or broken equipment and infrastructure. At some point in the growing consciousness of the state of the utility the city <a href="http://webcasts.citynmb.tv/Other/NMB_Water_Operational_Assessment_Report.pdf" target="_blank">commissioned a study</a> at $194,000 to review current operations. The Eisenhardt study backed up the Commissioners' anecdotal evidence.<br />
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Various members of the public brought up staffing and qualification issues. Chuck Cook, a former member of the Public Utility Commission, said the utility had a 30% decrease in employees. A retired employee Mr. Rose said that at one point the city only had two mechanics in its water department, and unqualified people in engineering positions who made costly, incorrect decisions in handling utility operations. Unfortunately the public dropped few names, and I could not catch the few they did.<br />
The theme of mismanagement seemed the primary critique of the city's current direction. One after another asked in their own words that if the city can oversee a private company operating their utility, why can't they oversee their own utility company?<br />
The mayor went to lengths to express that the problems started long before his administration, but never mentioned any steps taken to solve the problem other than to cut a check to a third party.<br />
A brief discussion I had with Commissioner Kramer after the meeting led me to believe city management did not seriously consider an internal solution to the problem. The language of the RFQ suggests to me they only ever considered a very narrow path to a solution, a yellow brick road of sorts leading to Oz by another name.<br />
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My Takeaway</h4>
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<li>The biggest risk of all, in every scenario, seems continued negligence of duty by city management to properly oversee the water utility. Their inability to manage it over the last few decades of apparent neglect bode very poorly for their ability to ensure a new layer of bureaucracy and obfuscation would sufficiently address the reasons for their employment, rather than simply offer comparable service. Either city management can or cannot adequately oversee the water utility.</li>
<li>Suggestions of transparency seem misplaced when in reference to the process of choosing a contractor, but not applying any transparency to the contractor themselves. Contractors can and do hide any aspect of their operations considered a trade secret, proprietary, or confidential, eliminating access to all the most important information about the utility which the public could use to conduct their own oversight. While I do no suspect the city manager's intentions, I question their ability to adequately interpret private operational data without public input.</li>
<li>The city cannot guarantee that CH2M or any other firm would pass the savings of their economies of scale on to the city. Unless they include such a provision in the contract one cannot assume any savings. Look for language or lack thereof in the final contract which specifies how the city can possible know it will save any money at all.</li>
<li>CH2M may find they need increase staffing levels.</li>
<li>Normal operation of the utility will not increase rates, but the city did not address the effects of the tremendous capital improvements necessary to bring the water system up to current standards.</li>
<li>Increased staff and capital improvements will eat away at the current financial cushion of the water utility. </li>
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The process lacks the dynamism necessary for creative, timely solutions. The mayor explained at one point in the meeting that if the contract resulting from this negotiation offers something better than the status quo he must support the contract.</div>
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They have no intention to ever consider other proposals. This raises a concern that the city will not pick the best possible proposal, but rather one that meets their standards and improves on the current situation at all. </div>
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Next Steps</h4>
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<ol>
<li> If you take for granted that the city must privatize operations of water services focus on the RFQ and whether or not this guarantees the best possible service for citizens. The city may have the right to issue another RFQ, or entertain unsolicited proposals from competitors who may have better offers. It seems if the city commissioners only see the contract from CH2M they will likely pass it. If someone makes a better offer the commissioners may see that as a compelling reason to entertain other options besides the RFQ negotiated contract, to which they do not have any obligation as far as I can tell.</li>
<li>If you want a public solution reach out to city commissioners and city management to see if they would explore the feasibility of hiring another utility director and restructuring the department from within.</li>
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Either way you have little time. The commission will consider the contract as soon as they negotiate it. If allegations of CH2M already establishing some presence in the utility turn out true that process may go very quickly.</div>
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Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-83886041576247605402017-04-04T02:47:00.001-04:002017-04-04T02:47:10.871-04:00North Miami Beach and the condescension of chairpersonsI arrived at the end of the formal presentations by paid representatives on the value promised to North Miami Beach in exchange for privatizing the operation of the city water utility, which serves an area beyond the bounds of the municipality.<br />
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Like many in the audience I learned of this local privatization question recently, found it important enough to come out and witness the fuss.<br />
What fuss!<br />
"I've already told folks," Mayor Vallejo starts in after a comment shouted from the audience, "that during a meeting you have to learn how to, you have to know how to conduct yourself in a meeting. If you cannot follow the rules you're not going to be able to be here."<br />The Mayor's equanimity seemed fleeting at some points during the night. The Commission seemed genuinely flustered by, as I imagine, and untypically packed crowd. Standing room only when I arrived around 7. At previous meetings in other jurisdictions I witnessed similar condescension from chair-persons. To preface the public comment portion of the meeting he continued in that tone.<br />
"I would ask everyone to make sure that your comments, please do not recycle your comments or be repetitive with previous speakers. Please also make sure that when you speak, when you add something to the conversation that it's something based on facts...this is not a question and answer forum."<br />I couldn't hold back quiet chuckles, but I didn't come for the entertainment! I wanted to learn about the question at hand, specifically approval for management of the City of North Miami Beach to negotiate a management contract for their water utilities.<br />
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Early on in the public comment and exchange between Mayor Vallejo and resident Ed Navarro got out of hand.<br />
When Navarro brought up the subject of Flint, Michigan, leading to some stirring in the audience, the Mayor chimed in like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4Q7zuci5n8" target="_blank">Kanye West</a>.<br />
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"I'm going go to let you finish. I'm going to give you your time. Folks, I've said it three times. This is not a political rally. This is not a political rally."<br />
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Ed Navarro visibly upset for the interruption says, "you're here to serve us, this is my time."<br />After a little more exchange the Mayor kicks Ed Navarro off the podium with 35 seconds left on the clock leading to a louder exchange and various uproar from the audience.</div>
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"How can we have respect for you if you don't have respect for us?"<br />The Mayor states, "we're not here to be insulted."</div>
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Later, clearly disturbed by the ruckus audience, the Mayor makes a comment about members of the audience never having run for office.</div>
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Eventually the mayor and police ask more people to leave. </div>
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Toward the end of the meeting the more exuberant members of the audience erupted in quite a loud spectacle which stopped the meeting in its tracks for a few minutes.</div>
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It ended rather peacefully once all the protesters left.</div>
Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-34505377175265608352017-04-04T02:36:00.002-04:002017-04-04T02:36:56.225-04:00North Miami Beach Water Utility Operations Question Public Comment 04/03/2017The following concerns a public meeting of the North Miami Beach city commission concerning potential negotiations over private operation of their water utility.<br />
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I decided to type up notes on public comment in a different place than my general meeting write-up. I do not write a <a href="https://soundcloud.com/prem-barbosa/north-miami-beach-city-commission-water-utility-management-public-comment" target="_blank">transcript </a>here, only what I found worthy of follow-up for the topic of discussion.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/316005641&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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Chuck Cook, a resident, notes that staffing levels of the utiliy dropped 30% in recent years. He suggests deliberate neglect by the administration. The water fund has millions of dollars for projects sitting unused. He believes in deliberate managerial neglect to make privatization of management a foregone conclusion. He ends with "shame on you".<br />
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US Water Services Corporation, VP, Carl Smith, suggests that rather than only negotiating with one company that the city negotiate with multiple companies. He suggests that from a fiduciary stewardship of the city perspective they should consider that option.<br />
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Dawn Grayson demonstrated a concern about finding out so recently of the issue. Specifically that her resident mother received no mail notice about the proposal.<br />
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Ed Navarro, a resident and architect, brings up the issue of oversight. "the city manager says that you guys are going to provide oversight. if you're going to provide oversight it means you know what they're doing better than they do so why don't you do it?" To which he gets applause.<br />
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Elizabeth Tetreault notes the water utility has good bank accounts, and lots of money laying around. She suggests they may just need a better manager. Mentions she had some issue accessing the Eisenhardt report. Given the excess funds she wondered why the city didn't attempt to address the issues internally. She mentions $3M in training funds they could use to "keep our resources in house."<br />
She says she read a water quality report which did not suggest such a dire state of the city's water.<br />
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William B brought up CH2M's contract to oversee the Qatari World Cup project, objecting to the vast human rights violations of that country.<br />
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Michael K of Sunny Isles brings up various fines CH2M paid in the past for regulatory violations.<br />
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Janice Coakley, city employee, launches into a laundry list of points asking, "why give out 25-65 percent raise when you plan to outsource, why did you have CH2M to do the master plan for utilities and then allow them to bid, why did you have one of CH2M staff attend procurement training, I was at that training. Why did you have CH2M Hill senior managers give directions to city employees. Why did you have CH2M recommend discipline for employees. Why do you have two senior managers that does not have the proper license and certificate by the state and miami dade county healthy department, so if you want to check into that you have people overseeing who does not have the certificate and the license."<br />
"They have never spoken with the union." To which the city manager later responded that the responsible for communication with staff about changes to the utility falls on the commission and not the potential future operator.<br />
She also noted that after public presentations for the RFQ, members of city management or the commission physically greeted the representatives from CH2M but not the other presentors, which she seemed to suggest implied some manner of tomfoolery. She mentions the various awards the city water received.<br />
"Keep the employees, hire someone that can manage the water plant," she concludes.<br />
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Omar Kazan says the commission hijacked the charter with <a href="http://webcasts.citynmb.tv/council2013/AG010213.pdf" target="_blank">ordinance 2012-35</a> passed on january 2, 2013. (I may not have heard the number correctly, and could not immediately discern the relevance of the ordinance to the current situation) Claims top staff stole money, brings up the <a href="http://webcasts.citynmb.tv/council2011/AG030111CouncilConf.pdf" target="_blank">case of Marty King</a>, former city Director who stole $2.3M from the city. First person to bring up the FBI, and says, "they're going to get some information" and "there's a lot I'm going to be saying." Brings up Eisenhardt as a no-bid contractor. They have the city water 18 Fs and 6 Ds but he still drinks the water without issue. Then mentios the city hiring unqualified directors since Mayor Marin left, pinning blame directly on the current administration.<br />
"Even until now...because you lowered the qualifications...so that individual could be hired" Suggesting nepotism.<br />
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Alexandria Smith, of Miami Gardens, a ratepayer, brings up some issues she read about in the media, noting specifically that the city only seems to respond to criticism by arguing for misleading or incomplete reporting, but fail to supplant the false notions with a fact based alternative view. She mentioned transparency, "especially something as important as water."<br />
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Jamie Miller, a current commissioner on the public utilities commission, notes "they are not going to beselling the public utility but they will be releasing the employees to a private contractor. outsourcing in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing...that being said the residents need to know one things. when this issue came up in front of your public utility commission board we were not given the written findings from Eisenhardt. Why was that? Why were we not given the opportunity to read the findings in that report, digest it, debate it, discuss it, argue it, and [inadubile] engineering that might offer us alternatives?"<br />
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Mr Rose, a retired city employee of 25 years of service, 12 years in flood control lab and 13 years at the water plant. Mentioned a local and statewide award for water taste and quality.<br />
"Don't tell me about neglect at the water plant with only two mechanics for over two years...and expect the water plant to run..." He brings up the hiring of unqualified engineers. He mentions that CH2M, presumably in the master plan, recommends downsizing employees. He goes in to some detail about wasteful practices in the department due to managerial incompetence. He does not believe the current director of the utility has the abilities to run the plant. Mentions that known problems continue without address.<br />
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<br />Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318902358279181628.post-3382279481282777792016-11-09T04:39:00.001-05:002016-11-09T04:49:48.280-05:00Donald Trump presidential election victory speech, transcription. With some omissions.<br />
Thank you. Thank you very much, every one.<br />
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Sorry to keep you waiting. Complicated business. Complicated business.</div>
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Thank you very much.</div>
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I just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us, it's about us, on our victory and I congratulated her and her family on a very very hard fought campaign.. I mean she, she fought very hard. Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. I mean that very sincerely. And now it's time for america to bind the wounds of division. We have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats across this nation I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It's time.</div>
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I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all Americans and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country. As I've said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign, but an incredible and great movement made up of millions of hard working men and women who want a better future for themselves and their families. IT's a movement comprised of people from all races, religions, and beliefs, who want the government to serve the people, and serve the people it will.</div>
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Working together we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and rebuilding the American dream. I've spent my entire life in business looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world. That is now what I want to do for our country.</div>
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Tremendous potential. I've gotten to know our country so well. Tremendous potential. It's going to be a beautiful thing. Every single american will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.</div>
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We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airport, schools, hospitals. We're going to rebuild our infrastructure... which will become, by the way, second to none. And we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it. WE will also finally take care of our great veterans, who've been so loyal. And I've gotten to know so many over this 18 month journey. The time I've spent with them during this campaign has been among my greatest honors. Veterans are incredible people.</div>
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We will embark upon a project of national growth and renewal. I will harness the creative talents of our people and we will call upon the best and the brightest to leverage their tremendous talent for the benefit of all. It's going to happen.</div>
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We have a great economic plan. We will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world.</div>
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At the same time we will get along with all other nations willing to get along with us. We'll have great relationships. We expect to have great great relationships.</div>
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No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach. America will no longer settle for anything less than the best. We must reclaim our country's destiny and dream big and bold and daring.</div>
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We have to do that. </div>
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We're going to dream of things for our country. And beautiful things. And successful things once again.</div>
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I want to tell the world community that while we will always put Americas interests first we will deal fairly with everyone. With everyone. All people and all nations. </div>
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We will seek common ground not hostility. Partnership, not conflict.</div>
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Now I'd like to take a moment to thank those who helped me with this what they're calling tonight a historic victory...</div>
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...What great group. You've all given me such incredible support. We have a large group of people. You know they kept saying we have a small staff. Not so small. Look at all the people that we have...we have go tremendously talented people up here. I tell you. It's been very very special...</div>
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Our partnership with the RNC was so important to the success of what we've done. So I also have to say I've gotten to know some incredible people, the secret service people. They're tough and they're smart and they're sharp. And I don't want to mess around with them, I tell you. And when I want to go and wave at a group of people they rip me down and they put me back down in the seat. But they are fantastic people so I want to thank the secret service.</div>
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And law enforcement in New York City. They're here tonight. These are spectacular people. Sometimes underappreciated, unfortunately, but we appreciate them. We know what they go through.</div>
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So, it's been what they call a historic event. But to be really historic we have to do a great job. And I promise you that I will not let you down. We will do a great job. We will do a great job. I look very much forward to being your president and hopefully at the end of two years or three years or four years or maybe even eight years you will say, so many of you worked so hard for us, but you will say that, you will say that that was something that you were very proud to do. And I can only say that while the campaign is over our work on this movement is only just beginning.</div>
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WE're going to get to work immediately for the American people. And we're going to be doing a job that, hopefully, you will be so proud of your president. You'll be so proud of your president.</div>
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Again, it's my honor. It's been an amazing evening. It's been an amazing two year period. And I love this country.</div>
Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684519026246781551noreply@blogger.com0