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churning out brown water, I hear — now, all of a sudden, 
nobody is saying that can’t happen and, indeed, new Water and Sewer Department Director Lester Sola says the county can handle it.
Say what? Can’t you just see the mice scrambling?
Gimenez said again, and seemingly without an inkling as to how bad it smells, that little more than a year ago, the “private company approached me and senior members of my administration. They had an interest in vacant land” at the intersection of I-75 and the Florida Turnpike, which Ghermezian admitted was key to the development.
Read related story: Miami-Dade mega mall: A new, and shinier, insider deal
The whole thing stinks of an inside deal that has been put on the fast track. I mean, this is the very definition of fast track, isn’t it? Why is Gimenez acting as a self-described facilitator or pass-through to get a rich developer — who, by the way, says he doesn’t need anything from the county — a dream price on land available only to government?
Actually, Ladra found Eskandar Ghermezian‘s visit to commission chambers rather refreshing. Everybody should talk to Commissioner Barbara Jordan and the rest of ’em the way that he did. Those two locked horns over how many people 
would be hired to monitor the hiring of local residents and minority vendors. The agreement with the county says three. Jordan wanted six. Ghermezian nearly flipped out. He doesn’t even want one. He laughed at the notion.
“I am also at an age where I know I can’t do any more after this. I don’t have to do it. I don’t need to it. I d onot have to build here. Really, I don’t need it,” he said over and over, because they are so rich already he doesn’t really need the headache of dealing with Miami-Dade to build a mega mall the way he sees fit.
“I get it, I get it. I don’t get it, I don’t get it,” he said in super candid, broken English that had the audience in stitches.
“Don’t make it hard for me, please, so I have to report to anybody,” Ghermezian said, asking also not tio be subjected to “20 conditions.” Does he know the county or what? His son stood next to him, head down most of the time, maybe trying to hide that smile and his obvious bulging pride from commissioners.
The only thing I didn’t like much was the threatening manner in which he pulled that same old hat trick every sports team owner has pulled: There are four, count ’em, four cities knocking down his door for Ghermezian to build a mega mall there.
Please. We are Miami. You’re kinda cute and bold, Mr. Ghermezian, but go to Albuquerque if you want and build your theme park there.
Still, he sounded a whole lot more genuine than the speaker after speaker — mostly architects and builders who Ladra can’t help but think want a piece of the pie — who spoke in favor of this “major family attraction” because of the jobs or because they could take their kids.
Manuel Diner even suggested that we need a mega mall to put Miami on the international map. “We don’t have that which makes us an international city. We need something more,” Diner said. “When I saw it in the paper, I thought ‘This is what we needed.'”
Really? Really? This is what Miami needs to be more international? A mall like the one in Minnesota? Yeah, because Minnesota is such an international city. Much more so than Miami.
The speakers and the mayor weren’t the only cheerleaders. Several commissioners talked about having stepping stone jobs and nearly tripped all over themselves to thank Ghermezian for meeting with them personally and then coming before them Tuesday.
Chairman Jean Monestime said he was moved by Ghermezian’s description of the project as his legacy. “And what a better place than South Florida for that? This statement is what turned me to consider your development positively,” Monestime said.
Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, the former chair, warned her colleagues about making too many demands.
“This is why people go to other counties — 
it’s because of how hard we make it,” Sosa said. “We should welcome whoever comes and invests without using taxpayer dollars. We are the vehicle to make it happen, so our people out there can have jobs, can bring bread to the table, and our students also can have jobs, and summer jobs.
“Who am I to set conditions when we are not investing dollars?”
Maybe they’re not our dollars. But the developer wouldn’t be getting that sweet price without the county.
Commissioner Esteban Bovo gets it. “The only reason we can make any conditions, is because we act as a pass through. Either we are going to welcome people to invest in our community or we’re just going to pile it on so they say, ‘Let me go somewhere else.’ If this is the welcome mat we are laying for folks, they are going to go to Broward, Palm Beach. They are going to go somewhere else,” Bovo said, adding that he would address traffic another day.
“The area most impacted is my district and I am concerned about quality of life issues. But that is not before us today. All we have is the purchase of the land,” Bovo said.
Gimenez called it a 3-minute transaction because the Ghermezian’s — who have already put $20 million in escrow for the land — will have it turned over to them immediately.
It had its share of detractors, too. But only Commissioners Xavier Suarez and Daniella Levine Cava voted against it.
Levine Cava said that the fast track (my words, not hers) had not given commissioners enough time to review and press for better wages “as we have done with other developers when we are essential to its approval.
“We also can press for clear transportation conditions. We need some economic analysis to ensure ourselves that we are not hurting existing malls,” Levine Cava said.
“This was negotiated in secrecy beyond public scrutiny and its insufficient time for the public to express their concern. The public deserves a more meaningful opportunity to be heard,” she said, adding that neighbors need to have more input and that she would have been willing to call a special meeting later in the county’s 40-day window.
“I am concerned about the speed with which this is moving forward,” she said, admonishing the mayor. “This is not the first time you negotiate things and they come to us at the zero hour. I’m sure there is a reason… but it does put us in a difficult situation.”
Said X: “We are kind of put under a deadline here that doesn’t seem 100 percent fair and transparent.”
Even Jordan, who wasn’t entirely comfortable with the details said she was concerned that the mayor asked this to sidestep the committee process because of the timeline.
“We really had an opportunity to ask a lot of questions if it went to committee. That would have been the time to really dig deep and ask a lot of the questions that the community would have liked to have asked. We have been in situation before where evetything has been promised but not delivered to the full extent,” Jordan said.
Then she went ahead and voted for the land deal anyway.
Commissioner Sally Heyman said she liked the jobs angle and the fact that it gives us another thing to do inside the urban development boundary. But even she felt hesitant about what she was voting on and brought up the Miami Marlins deal.
“Mr. Mayor… you are giving us an amendment and substitutes with exhibits. I have a concern that this is just the land agreement today,” Heyman said, adding that she had real concern about the language on the water source approval.
But she went ahead and voted for the land deal anyway. Maybe she didn’t see the mayor roll his eyes at her.
Commissioner Juan Zapata said this was just the kind of inside deal that withers away at the public trust.
“We need to be welcoming. But I think in the past what’s happened is we’ve given away to much. With that in mind, we need to be careful,” Zapata said. “We are being facilitators. We are somehow using our public trust to make this happen.
“Developers always want you to focus on a little piece of land. but for you to do the job right, you have to stand back and look at the regional picture,” Zapata said, citing traffic, water usage and the county’s own master plan as issues to resolve.
“We should have a discussion about what water we are going to use, not just now but 20, 30 years from now,” Zap said. “The whole thing just makes me a little bit uneasy.”
“It’s incredibly uncomfortable for us to stand here and make these decisions that have a significant regional impact,” Zapata said, adding that much of that impact has not been assessed. “These last minute items, with last minute substitutes, are really in poor form. I don’t think it respects this community, respects this commission the way it should be respected.
“Because, again, we’ve been burned in the past,” Zap said.
Then he went ahead and voted for it.
Nobody asked what would happen if the project doesn’t see the light of day for one reason or another. As the mayor said, the project is not yet approved and has to go through multiple steps before it is. But what if it’s not? Do the Ghermezians get to sell the land at what is likely a huge profit?
And does Gimenez get a commission on that?
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The Miami Lakes, Palm Springs North, and County Club of Miami residents will be meeting to discuss on a plan to vote Carlos Gimenez and Esteban Bovo out of office.
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I would argue this is so much inside baseball the average voter doesn’t get it. The mayor clearly understands his11th fast and furious technique is the only way to get anything by the media, the public and the BCC.
But fortunately for the more deliberative among us, most of these things are ticking time bomb’s probably due to go off by June 2016 when the public and the media and the BCC are paying attention.
Where is the FBI? Please continue investigating these crooks we have running amuck at the county before they screw us over again. Oh, that’s right, they’ve already done that. Mayor Gimenez rewards his crooked lap dogs once again, just look at Lester Sola. Helps Marlins Stadium deal at our expense and is rewarded with MDC WASD promotion just in time for more Fed money to squander and he can help out this rich Canadian develop his tacky mega mall. This whole “Deal” just stinks to high heaven!
Thank God we have Levine Cava and Suarez, the only two that said NO. Sally Haymen and Rebecca Sosa should have joined them, instead they caved; shame on you both. Don’t be dazzeled by the “dog and pony show”, it’s the usual load of crap.
One has to wonder if the mayor is “digging for dollars” to cover the Federal Grant money the county has to pay back for transit improvements NOT done. Remember the 88+ miles we were to get to extend MetroRail to the north and south so we could start providing a REAL transit system just like other big, international cities. Instead we get 2.1 miles and almost no money left in the bank. Where did that money go? And now we also have to pay the feds back 10+ mil because MDC didn’t use it for it’s intended purposes nor did they comply with the terms of the funding.
Then to add salt to our already festering wounds, the one person who catches this “mistake” is fired by Transit Director Kapoor, who is then rewarded with generous retirement package when he resigns in 2011. Only problem is now the whistleblower has won 5+mil lawsuit for wrongful termination, as well she should, and MDC must pay for this too…or rather WE get to pay for this too. Feeling sick yet?
And while we’re on the subject, whatever happened with Biotech Park? Why are our buses in such bad shape, and running over their drivers? Why is our stormwater drainage system falling apart, and we have flooding all over the place? Why is the courthouse such a mess? Didn’t anyone check the line items budgeted for mainteneance and repairs? Were you hoping if neglected long enough, the courthouse would just fall apart and we would build you a new one? Oh yes, that was the plan, and we said NO!
So what exactly is our mayor and his team, and all his Department Directors doing for Miami Dade County and its citizens? No oversite for all the federal grant money and voter approved bonds and tax increases to improve our way of life? How come we keep feeling the pinch and they keep living large? Would love to see a flow chart laying out all Directors, where they were and where they are now, and how mach they are making. Also need comapartive chart for all their outside work and pet projects; before, during and after employment at MDC. Maybe you shouldn’t be funding stadium deals, assiting with mega malls, or Skyrise Miami, or anything else that should be accomplished with private sector funds and tax payer dollars.
We need to bring these crooks to justice, and they need to stop rewarding bad behavior and crimes. If any of us attempted these crimes at our workplace, we’ld be in jail so fast our heads would spin. Kapoor needs to be brought to justice, make restitution to the county for his wrongful termination, re-pay the last 4 years of his pension payments as he did not deserve them, and lose his county pension for the future. Any other public servant caught breaking the law should also be brought to justice and lose their benefits if found guilty.
MDC needs to be cleaned up from the top down, starting with our mayor. We pay these people huge salaries so we can compete with the private sector for top talent, but we are not getting our monies worth. Maybe it’s time all the top dogs had their big salaries slashed like the mayor did to the rank and file. All the salary cuts were on the backs of the people who really work; none of the head honchos lost a dime. All that budget adjusting and department reorganization by Mayor Gimenez, was nothing more than “3 card monty”; I still see most of the big money makers at the top, they’ve just been cleverly shuffled about. Oh yes, except for that million dollar dream team he brought in…remember? The one’s he just couldn’t do without, and couldn’t find from within MDC. Several of those rats already jumped ship, also with big fat pensions. None of them have had to sacrifice diddly squat.
No wonder so many of our new cities seperated themselves from MDC, and look how well they are all doing without MDC! Some of you new cities should get together and sue the county for misappropriating funds that were intended to expand MetroRail into your area, and all the other public project funds they re-directed at your expense.
We still have a few good people left at MDC. It’s time to clean house once again starting from the top down, before its too late. It’s time to remind our leaders, ALL of them, that they work FOR the public; too many have forgotten the meaning of public service. We also need to drive home that crime does NOT pay, PERIOD! And after the Feds are done cleaning up here in South Florida (yes Broward, you’re a mess too!) we need to send them to Tallahassee where they also require some real federal intervention by the FBI.
There, I feel a little bit better now but not as good as I would IF we the people could get some REAL JUSTICE.
It was not an easy vote. I met the guy sans lobbyist at a Wendy’s on Bird Road. He is a determined guy and his vision is compelling so it gave me confidence that this will get done. The project brings many positives and it would be great if we could build a Sawgrass Mall competitor in Miami Dade. That is a prime piece of property intersecting two major roads and better have something big and bold than another industrial park. But you are right on with your last point…what happens if it doesn’t get built? The Commission has other bites at the apple and in the next steps we need to increase the financial penalties if this deal doesn’t get done. We also need to make sure the transit issue is addressed and we need to protect the Biscayne Aquifer and force him to tap into other sources of water. There is more work to do. Stay vigilant! You do us all a big service. Your fan….Zap
Sorry Jez, but you sound like part of the problem. Not an easy vote you say…. there should not have been another 11th hour crisis created by our Mayor, every commissioner should have put the brakes on this immediately, PERIOD! Maybe then Gimenez would start to understand he needs to play by the rules. If you continue to enable him, you are part of the problem.
And I beg to differ that we need this guy or his project. I don’t believe we need a tacky mega mall at all. We have many beautiful malls all over Miami Dade county, which is a good thing since our mass transit system is unable to get us anywhere. These area shopping centers like The Falls, Dadeland, Sunset Place, the Shops at Bal Harbour, just to name a few, that privide convenient area shopping for residents. The also provide entry level jobs for residents, which is fantastic because as previously stated, our mass transit system sucks!
Personally, I loath Sawgrass Mills just about as much as any other mall to the west or notrth of where I live because let’s face it, even if you own a car, traffic is horrible everywhere here because WE HAVE HORRIBLE MASS TRANSIT. You really can’t survive or thrive in South Florida without a car.
And let’s not even discuss South Beach, can barely stand to go there even when I’m hosting out of town tourists; no mass transit, ridiculous traffic, ever changing parking rules and availability, ttow trucks, horrendous flooding, overpriced tourist traps and too many rude people.
We need to fix our transit system and infrastructure first, before we start developing new areas. Let the Canadians take their project somewhere else,. There are plenty of people wanting to come to MDC and spend their own funds; there would be even more if we had better tmass transit and infrastructure. Creating a more functioning and prosperous county would make us a truly world class city that business would flock too. Until then, it’s the usual dog and pony cheap carnival show, where the rich get richer and the working class get whetever is left over.
And sorry Mayor Gimenez, this project will not create the kind of jobs we need in Miami Dade; we don’t need more minimum wage positions
So what if the man was compelling, there are sales people everywhere who can be most compelling, doesn’t mean you hurry up and give them what they want without performing your due diligence and investigating thoroughly. Have you forgotten Biotech Park? Another rush deal, not well investigated. Or Marlins Stadium…ops didn’t read the fine print, no full disclosure on what we the taxpayers would be paying to help some rich business owner make more money!
If this is such prime land, then lets not rush into any deal before selling it. And let it be sold to the highest bidder, without special favors.
And let’s have total transperancy with these deals; they shouldn’t be done behind closed doors. It’s called the Sunshine Law, and mayor Gimenez, you broke the law once again. Had you been honest and allowed everyone to know what was going on, there would have been no 11th hour crisis. Is your team unable to present the issues in an organized and legal manner? Just how long have you and your team been in discussions regarding this project?