Controversial scooter program could be reconsidered
Will there be paparazzi?
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez may make a special rare appearance at the city commission meeting on Thursday, when he is personally involved in several items.
Ladra can’t imagine he wouldn’t be there to personally advocate for the establishment of the Miami Baywalk Greenway. The move would take the concrete boardwalk along Biscayne Bay and make it “park land,” a move many see as an assist to the Miami Freedom Park developers who have to invest in and return park space.
Even if Suarez has to take precious time away from his national spotlight tech tour, he is expected to be there. After all, Baby X needs four of the five commissioners to approve the Baywalk Greenway because he needs this to pass to get Commissioner Ken Russell‘s possible swing vote on the Freedom Park 99-year lease coming up later this month — if it’s not delayed again.
Suarez also needs four of five commissioners to approve mitigation of a code enforcement lien on a property at 3485 Northwest 17th Ave. for more than $670,000 — that’s $250 a day for the past seven years. Ladra wonders how much Suarez thinks is fair and why he is metiendose in this code enforcement issue when he didn’t bother to show up during the difficult redistricting process.
Read related: No veto for Miami’s new map as Mayor Francis Suarez bows out — again
Mayor Postalita did not return calls and texts to his phone.
Other items on the agenda include a reconsideration, again, on the controversial electric scooter program, which has had its share of ups and downs in the city. Late last year, the commission voted to suspend the program and ban electric scooters, which are mostly concentrated in the downtown and Brickell area.
But the ban only lasted a little more than a week before the program was reinstated with additional safety requirements.
Read related: Scooters are legal again on Miami streets and sidewalks, with more rules
Also on Thursday’s agenda:
- Commissioner Manolo Reyes wants to give the city manager 90 days to present a written plan on the installment of lightning warning systems in all city parks. The plan should include environmental impact analysis, estimated costs, potential funding sources and timelines.
- Commissioner Christine King wants the manager to negotiate and execute a four-year lease agreement with the Martin Luther King Economic Development Corporation to rent about 6,355 square feet of office space for a District 5 office at $9,532.50 a month, which comes out to $18 per square foot. Oh, and they can increase the rent 3% a year. The funds will come from King’s office budget.
- City Attorney Victoria Mendez wants the commission to approve a $149,000 settlement with the mother of a boy who was mauled by a police dog in 2019. Saile Herrera sued the city after Maddox, the K9 partner of Officer Mario Urrutia, attacked her son Javier, who was then 9, as the boy rode his bicycle outside. The police officer was the Herrera’s neighbor.
- Commissioner Joe Carollo wants to terminate the revocable license agreement with Event Entertainment Group, Inc., for the Ultra Music Festival at Bayfront Park. He also wants to authorize the Bayfront Park Management Trust’s executive director to negotiate and execute a revocable license agreement with EEG for Ultra, so the Trust manages the festival in the future. Carollo is chairman of the Bayfront Park Trust y esto no tiene buena cara.
Carollo also has a secret discussion item — just “a discussion item” — again. Or still. Because it’s the same undisclosed discussion item that was deferred from the last meeting.
It’s unknown if he really has anything to bring up or if he is just trying to create drama and intimidate someone.
The commission meeting begins at 9 a.m. Thursday at City Hall, 3900 Pan American Drive. It can also be viewed on the city’s website.
Miami City Commission may get rare visit from Mayor Francis “VIP” Suarez added by Ladra on
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