Readers of Political Cortadito are going to get sick of the city of Miami this week. That’s because the commission has four back-to-back meetings over three days — including the much-anticipated no-bid, 99-year deal for development of the Melreese golf course.
The dates on the dais begin Wednesday with a special meeting to establish the Miami Baywalk Greenway along Biscayne Bay. It passed last month on first reading with only Commissioner Manolo Reyes dissenting.
The ordinance would designate and recognize the Baywalk Greenway as a linear “public-private” park, which has been built in segments over the past 20-plus years. Last year, the city voted to join all the segments and give it one unifying look.
“The Miami Baywalk Greenway along Biscayne Bay is to be located on public lands and, as described herein, on private lands,” the item on the agenda says. “Public rights-of-way may be included within the Baywalk Greenway, but not part of the City’s park inventory.”
That’s so some of the land is still taxable. But public access shall be provided to the bayside promenade — the width of the entire waterfront setback — for the whole stretch along Biscayne Bay from the city limit at about Northeast 87th Street to the southwestern city limit at North Prospect Drive.
“I’ve been working on this for six years… trying to create different ways to get it finished,” said Commissioner Ken Russell of District 2, where the Baywalk Greenway is located.
Read related: Closing Melreese is political drama to benefit soccer mall developers
The next day, there’s a regular commission meeting with a pretty full agenda of land use and zoning amendments, park grants for a bunch of kayak launches, a code amendment on conflicts of interests (I know!) and a resolution on a city charter amendment, for the August primary ballot, to allow 4/5ths of the commission to waive competitive bidding and enter into a lease with Riverside Wharf for city-owned property on the Miami River.
Oh, and the conceptual design for Morningside Park. That’s all.
Maybe. Commissioners may defer Morningside Park again. Because there’s a special meeting within the regular meeting that is supposed to start at 2:30 p.m. (read 4 p.m.)
That meeting is to consider the no-bid, 99-year deal for Miami Freedom Park, a retail/hotel/restaurant complex with a soccer stadium planned for the Melreese golf course. A 100-page lease that commissioners will not have gone through will, no doubt, be presented by Mayor Francis Suarez, whose only job, apparently, is to push crypto currency and this real estate deal disguised as a stadium (more on that later).
Jorge Mas, who owns the InterMiami soccer team with David Beckham, painted a pretty picture in an op-ed last week that doesn’t mention all the shortcomings and unresolved issues (more on that later).
But, just in case people don’t buy his “transformative” pitch, Mas also donated to political action committees for commissioners Joe Carollo ($25,000) and Alex Diaz de la Portilla ($50,000), the latter of which has his community meeting on the redistricting Monday evening, so he’s going to be tired and crankier than usual by the end of the week.
On Friday, the commission will have to get together again to consider giving final approval to the redistricting map that’s been drawn, which, among other things, cuts Coconut Grove into three districts and puts Carollo’s $2.2 million Morris Lane house into D3 so he can protect it from lawsuits.
Read related: Miami redistricting cuts Coconut Grove into three rather than add districts
By then, they should be at each others’ throats.
Doesn’t it seem that the Melreese vote and redistricting — two things that have proven to be somewhat controversial — are purposely jammed together so that nobody can focus too long on any one of them?
Miami Freedom Park is coming up more than three years after voters passed a referendum to negotiate the deal. Since then? Nada. Residents certainly haven’t had a chance to weigh in. The referendum passed in 2018 was to allow the manager to negotiate. It doesn’t mean Miamians have to accept a hotel and restaurants as what gets developed with the stadium.
And the March 11 deadline on redistricting is not set in stone. It won’t cost the city anything to extend it because they don’t have any election coming up. Carollo’s hard deadline is a false one. And it’s worth the time to get it right. The current maps prepared by consultants already has some voters feeling disenfranchised and uprooted — and these are districts they have to live with for the next 10 years.
Maybe one of those meetings should be postponed until next week. That way, everyone can get a little rest. And time to read that mammoth lease that, as of two months ago, still had 28 points of contention, according to the city’s outside counsel (more on that later).
So much more on all of this later.
Busy week for Miami, with Baywalk Greenway, Melreese and redistricting added by Ladra on
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Melreese Park Demolition. We expect Mas has bought newly elected commish Christine King. Mas and his lobbyists will have funneled money to the Hardemon family especially Barbara Hardemon. Did any of these crooks register as lobbyists? Plus, Francis the promoter of killing Melreese Park gave King the Chairman position, so she owes him. Taxpayers are getting screwed. Even the Miami Herald Editorial Board read the Memo lambasting the “draft” lease.
Attorneys who work for the City of Miami Legal Dept wrote a Memo that clearly states the lease Francis Suarez is demanding Cuban commissioners approve sucks and this lease is “not ready”. The Memo states taxpayers will definitely get screwed. Of course, screwing the taxpayers is exactly what Jorge Mas, Marc Sarnoff and Francis Suarez are trying to do. Will an honest commissioner speak up to oppose this scam?
Who on the City Commission has roots, anything close to ninety-nine years , in Miami-Dade ? And on City employ, for that matter, given the current state of things? It’s a bold move to commit the citizenry of South Florida, and it’s unique location, and climate, that’s a strong attraction to visitors from far and wide, to a contract involving public property of green spaces , for near 100 years. Which are the astute businessmen in our City Government? Please, stand up ! .
NO MORE Parks Greens For Corrupt MILIONAIRES , DIDN’T WE LEARN FROM MARLINS BAD DEAL for The ORANGE BOWL ?
Demolishing 120 or 140 acres Melreese Park so Francis Suarez and Joe Carollo, Alex DLP and novice Christine King can collect a few $1,000’s in campaign contributions is a crime. The City needs open green space. The taxpayers will get shafted again. Elected officials made the taxpayers pay over $3 Billion for the Marlins scam. Is this scam worse? Maybe much worse?
On Coconut Grove redistricting. There are 1903 electronic petitions against it and hundreds signed hard copies yesterday at the Gifford Lane Art Stroll. 96 people spoke to oppose on February 25th. Over 140 people protested out in front of City Hall. Not one person was in favor. But ADLP left the room and only came back to sarcastically call the crowd ‘actors and activists’. The three Amigos can’t stand Grovites. Sixty percent of voters in Coconut Grove vote, vs. around 15% in their districts. So breaking up this voting block is a high agenda item for people like them that are drunk on power and don’t want to listen to voters and those pesky ‘activists’. Their lawyer admits alternatives exist that he has modeled that keep the Grove intact. What a shameful trio Reyes, Carollo and ADLP make. At least Christine King gave ADLP a hard verbal slap. Too bad it wasn’t on the back of his head.