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“I’m not Republican and I’m not Democrat. 
We don’t have that in Canada. I just come to build here,” Ghermezian said, taking forever to painstakingly explain every little part of the mega mall, including the hockey rink tournaments, a live theatre, bowling, music classes. “And real submarine, Madame Chairman. Real submarine. Not phony submarine.”
He had a whole list of new details about concerts and sports tournaments. It was like the school board got more information about the project than the commission did.
As he did before the commission, the 75-year-old Ghermezian said he didn’t want to be burdened with government oversight. “To raise that money is very hard. I don’t want conditions that make it hard for me to raise money in the market.”
Regalado had a chance to chat with Ghermezian after the vote and explained that she wasn’t against the project, per se. “I told him we’ve had 20 project where we were promised A and didn’t get it. That’s where the mistrust comes from. This hasn’t been walked through.”
Ghermezian told her he didn’t realize that, she said, that he didn’t know how government worked here. She should have suggested he call David Beckham.
Looks like Carvalho is also a fan of the mega mall project.
“It is not often,” the Sup said, “that we have the opportunity to do a good thing and the right thing at the same time and today we are doing so.”
The most interesting thing he said, however, was that he knew about this secret deal that was still in negotiations in 2013.
“Fifteen months ago, the Beacon Council in conjunction with county representatives approached staff to discuss a piece of property not owned by the county, owned by the state, that included about 44 acres over which the district had a lease hold provision,” Carvalho said. “The Beacon Council and the county at that time indicated that, as part of a developmental proposal, a large land assemblage of both publicly and privately owned lots would be needed to bring about this project.
So, they county and the developer were discussing land that was not yet on the state’s surplus list.
Read related story: Miami-Dade mega mall: A new, and shinier, insider deal
At first, Carvalho added, the county just wanted them to release the lease hold. For nada.
“From them to now, everything has changed,” the Sup said, adding that the scchool doesn’t need the land. “Nor does it have a intent of building a school on this property.”
“Since that first approach by the Beacon Council and county officials, then the manner went into a black hole. We were not engaged in conversations until about five months ago, when we were again approached by the county and got a significant request from the county for the land
“We conveyed to the parties involved that at no point would the school district release its lease hold on the property without fair compensation. We have to protect interest of the taxpayers,” Carvalho said. “I believe we have done so.”
Based on the appraised value of $12.3 million for the 82 acres, the 44 acres in the school’s lease hold would be worth about $6.7 million. But they negotiated up to $7.25 mil.
“This recommended action protects the board’s interest in this transaction and goes beyond what was declared the value,” he said. “But like I say, it’s never done until its done.”
Wednesday morning, the developer “proferred” an additional “contribution” of $1 million over the course of five years to support academic programs, internships, job programs for high school students in engineering, robotics, tourism, hospitality and finance.
Carvalho urged the school board members not to get caught up in the controversy over the merits of the mega mall and whether or not it was an inside deal because “district assets are protected,” he said.
“I know some will question the speed with which this project evolved,” Carvalho said, reiterating the Gimenez cry from Tuesday that this is on a state deadline (even though they could have each had special meetings on it; they’ve had them for less).
Chairwoman Perla Tabares-Hantman and several of the school board members seemed like they were on board with the proposed 200-acre mega mall anyway. Board Member Martin Karp wanted to know if there was a possibility the district could open a satellite school at the mall in the future. Staff told them that the district stood to gain $8 million or $9 million in new taxes once the $4 billion project was built.
But everyone’s eyes were on Regalado and if she would use the dais here to “rail” against the mall as another one of Gimenez’s secret backroom deals.
Read related story: Carlos Gimenez’s ‘mega mall’ on fast track with shell firm
“We normally don’t get a lot of visitors so I’m excited to see the Beacon Council and some of our friends,” Regalado said, smiling broadly because she knows why they were there.
“One of the things we are most proud of is the transparency with which this board has worked over the past five years. If you compare us to the county or other municipalities you’d be hard pressed to find someone more open in government,” she said, as a galleta sin mano.
“We represent a community that has a lot of mistrust with government. There’s been a lot of bad decisions made over the years that created that mistrust. And the only way to get rid of that is with transparency,” she said, citing the $1.2 billion bond referendum. “We did it with town hall meetings and access to every step of the process.”
Then she did what she said she would. “Even though I disagree with a lot of the project and the way that it came out, I am going to vote for it today because it is the best thing for my board,” Regalado said.
She represented her constituency instead of her own interest. Which is what a leader does.
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