Assistant City Manager Alberto Parjus is in charge meanwhile
This story has been updated from its original.
Surprise, surprise.
A discussion on the succession plan for the Coral Gables City Manager turned into a new potential role for Miami-Dade’s Aviation Department Director Ralph Cutié, a 32-year veteran of the county government — who oversees operations at the crumbling, uncomfortable Miami International Airport.
Several speakers went to the meeting for the 10 a.m. time certain item on what amounted to the termination of City Manager Peter Iglesias on a second attempt by Commissioner Ariel Fernandez. Most of them spoke in favor of the manager in what seemed like an orchestrated campaign by many of the mayor’s friends and allies, including former Vice Mayor Mike Mena, former Mayor Dorothy Thomson and former Commissioner Wayne “Chip” Withers.
But Commissioner Kirk Menendez, considered the swing vote on the issue, asked Fernandez to amend his motion to include the commencement of discussions with Cutié to take over.
Menendez said Cutié was the right choice for a number of reasons: The city can’t allow projects to linger, they need to maintain a good relationship with Miami-Dade County and the job requires a veteran leader with experience.
“Stability has always been synonymous with Coral Gables,” the commissioner said.
Some people have suggested that there were Sunshine Law violations when Fernandez, Menendez and Commissioner Melissa Castro took a trip last week to Tallahassee for Dade Days. There’s no evidence of that, but it does seem like there was horse trading going on right there live at the meeting. Fernandez sort of asked Menendez if his vote to fire the manager hung on the amendment to talk to Cutié, if he wanted both things considered at once. Menendez said yeah.
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Fernandez was game, but Mayor Vince Lago — who had already defended the manager and urged the commissioners to keep him — was shocked that it was brought up in a public meeting. “That’s not the appropriate way to do things,” he said.
Lago also seemed concerned about the shape of the airport, the neglect and mismanagement, which has been in the headlines lately (and which some blame Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava for). “Has anybody here read the Herald over the last six months? What have they been saying about the airport,” the mayor asked.
In the end, the commission voted 3-2 to terminate Iglesias’ employ and start discussions with Cutié, who Menendez said was “ready, willing and able to start a conversation with the city.” They also voted unanimously to appoint Assistant City Manager Alberto Parjus as acting manager, but not before Parjus took a few minutes to talk to his boss about it. He then said they both agreed “for the sake of the city.”
From the Miami-Dade MIA website:
Ralph Cutié is the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department. He oversees operations at Miami International Airport (MIA) and four general aviation (GA) airports in the Miami area, which together generate $31.9 billion in business revenue and support more than 275,000 direct and indirect jobs. MIA leads the way, handling more than 50 million passengers and nearly three million tons of cargo annually, placing it among America’s busiest international passenger and cargo airports.
Previously, Mr. Cutié served as Assistant Director for Facilities Management and Engineering, overseeing the largest and most diverse division within the Aviation Department, comprised of more than 440 employees, an annual operating budget of nearly $123 million and a reserve maintenance budget of $30 million.
Mr. Cutié is a 32-year County veteran with more than 35 years of experience in the fields of project control, critical path method (CPM) scheduling, project management, construction contracting and construction claims administration. He began his County career in 1990 with the Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) Department as a Cost and Scheduling Specialist, later advancing to Manager of MDT’s Engineering Cost and Scheduling Section, and ultimately, to Chief of MDT’s Project Control Division. Mr. Cutié worked extensively in various capacities on numerous MDT projects of significance, including the $248 million Metromover Extension Project, the $88 million Metrorail Extension to the Palmetto Expressway and the $106 million Busway Extension to Florida City. In 2006, Mr. Cutié transitioned to the Office of Capital Improvements (OCI), where he served as the Manager of Project Scheduling and Compliance for the County’s $2.9 billion Building Better Communities – General Obligation Bond (BBC-GOB) Program, and where he also managed the County’s successful Economic Stimulus Plan (ESP), Miscellaneous Construction Contract (MCC) and Construction Manager (CM) Training programs. In 2011, subsequent to OCI’s consolidation into the newly-established Internal Services Department (ISD), Mr. Cutié served as Manager of Project Scheduling and Compliance in ISD’s Design and Construction Services Division, where he was involved in numerous large ISD projects while continuing to manage the County’s ESP, MCC and CM Training programs. Also, during his tenure at OCI and ISD, Mr. Cutié collaborated with the County Attorney’s Office and the County’s various capital departments to develop the Standard Construction Contract, which was adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in November 2012 as the standard for all non-MCC construction projects countywide. Mr. Cutié has also served as the County’s corporate representative during the resolution of various construction claims and as a hearing officer for numerous construction disputes.
Mr. Cutié obtained his degree in construction management from Florida International University in 1989. He possesses numerous certificates in scheduling, project management design-build and claims administration from the National Transit Institute and served as an instructor in the County’s Construction Manager Training Program – specifically in the areas of project scheduling, project documentation and construction claims and disputes.
He is married with three children and lives in southwest Miami-Dade.
Lago said that during one of the short breaks the commission took, he spoke to La Alcaldesa Levine Cava about the developments with Cutié.
“She was very disheartened with the process. She said it wasn’t the right thing to do. She said it taints the process,” Lago said, again stressing that he would prefer to go through a national selection process.
“Why don’t we look for the most capable person? Let’s not put ourselves in the position where we have just one person who I’ve never had a conversation with,” Lago said.
Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson also favored what she called a “true succession plan” where the city manager stayed as the city embarked on a long mission to find the next top administrator and through a transition period. She told Fernandez that he had misquoted the manager in the statements that the commissioner said were insubordinate and cause for termination.
“Merely protesting an assignment is not insubordination,” Anderson said, blaming the sour relationship between Fernandez and the manager on the commissioner. “This chaos didn’t start until after you were elected,” she said.
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Iglesias thanked the two of them and past mayors and commissioners — not the other three there — and his team, which he said was the best he had worked with. After he left, City Clerk Billy Urquia made some personal and heartwarming remarks.
“Thank you for your leadership, for your integrity,” Urquia said. “I’ll miss you my friend.”
Lago thanked Iglesias before the manager left, being a bit too effusive about how the manager made Coral Gables what it is today. Really? The increase in police and fire personnel, the new programs you credit him with wouldn’t have happened without him? He said the termination was “not only unjust but irresponsible,” blaming it on Lago also blamed the firing on “personal grudges and vendettas.”
“Today, we have witnessed an abuse of power,” the mayor said.
“We must question the rational behind this. I think it’s a shame to let this man go,” Lago said. “After a 40-year career as a professional, this is not the way he deserves to go.”
Coral Gables manager fired, MIA Director Ralph Cutie could replace him added by Ladra on
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