Commission in
the Community Meeting Recap
Our first “Commission
in the Community” forum was held last Saturday at the log cabin. It featured a
lively discussion on various Village topics and concerns.
At
the conclusion I asked our Mayor if this was a “one off meeting” or if this concept
would be repeated in the future. He mentioned that ideally we could hold these mini-think tank sessions each quarter. I
personally applaud any and all efforts made by our elected officials to gain a
better understanding of what our residents’ concerns are. As I see it, it was a
good government initiative.
Topic Overview:
·
Recent
code changes and the possibility of hosting a Home Improvement Expo to assist
homeowners affected by these changes
·
The
lack of support and understanding of why the Village is pursuing a storm water
survey
·
Discussion
of the problems with our aging water pipes and infrastructure.
·
And
much more!
Please join us
in reviewing the meeting and add any comments in the section below. As the
header states, “Be the Change, Lead the
Change.”
Video part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh0UuH4PLGQ
Standing Watch,
Milton
Hunter
The Biscayne Parker
All,
ReplyDeleteIn reviewing the videos I thought to point out a couple of comments made from our Commission. In video 1 at the 41.50 time mark, a remark was made regarding our roads as to “how do you know that the condition of the streets doesn’t have something to do with oversaturation (water) below those streets.” This seems to be a continuance from a previous personal opinion of “water seeping up from the ground and into yards” which was debunked as an incorrect statement. I for one would like to see his research to support such a claim.
In my view, statements such as these made by a commissioner without any verifiable proof is both irresponsible and unacceptable. Esoteric talking points (or opinions) provided little value to the conversation. Moving on now to video #2.
I would like to clarify a comment I made during the meeting. When I made a comment about not wanting to just blindly accept the results of the storm water study without knowing the scope, magnitude, costs and how the residents feel about the project, I was referring to an agenda item from last Tuesday's commission meeting. The maker of that agenda item - admitting the study isn't done yet - advocated that the study be accepted - I believe his words were - with "resolve and enthusiasm". I interpret that as blind acceptance and unacceptable from an elected official.
ReplyDeleteAdditional: Beginning on video #2: The question was poised regarding the problems of blind acceptance of the storm water survey before we have even seen what’s in it.
DeleteAt the 6:51 mark, the manager states to “embrace the professionals and that this is (now?)a regional storm water mitigation” discussion. Really? Has the story now changed mid-stream from our own alleged standing water issue? This seems to be somewhat of a contradiction of what David had mentioned earlier.
Further, the suggestion that we must fall in line with other local cities is faulty logic and in my opinion, misleading. Just because El Portal (or Miami Shores, or any other city for that matter) has undertaken storm water flooding work doesn’t mean that we need to do the same. Why? Because our elevations (and natural percolation and/or evaporation) could be superior to that of El Portal and as such not require us to take similar actions. It is common knowledge that many surrounding local areas experience more standing water on their streets than we do.
So, unless El Portal (or any other city) is planning to pump their storm water back into Biscayne Park, this remains our standalone issue to consider.
One other thing I’d like to add. Several commissioners spoke using the term “piece meal” as if it was a negative thing when referring to prior road repair work. As if road repairs done in sections or “piece meal” had some undesirable overall effect. This is a biased agenda driven mindset, IMO. Dan Keys corrected them in explaining that those patches are still viable today.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, the assertion that patching our roads in sections was the problem with the roads was misleading.
Correction: The term used was "patch work", not piece meal. My mistake. The conversation starts on video 1 @ the 7:18 time mark.
DeleteI was at the meeting and I was also surprised when the Village Manager spoke about the Storm Water Survey and said that this was a regional storm water mitigation issue. The original language for the grant said that Biscayne Park had extensive flooding even in minor rain storms. Now it's really about regional storm water mitigation. Nice try. I think most will agree there are a few streets with standing water for a few hours. The representative from Craig Smith said most communities consider it a flooding issue when the water is still standing after 12 - 24 hours. Not our case. I think we should look at areas that do collect water and start by cleaning our existing drains and maintaining them and see if this solves the problem. We may have a few areas that need to be addressed but to say new drainage needs to be done through out the village is absurd. The same goes for fixing the roads. Look at the roads. Some are fine and some have extensive deterioration. Make a list, get some proposals then get some quotes. We don't need to spend another $150,000, to tell us which roads are in bad shape. Oh, we didn't really spend $150,000, for the flood survey. Our state tax dollars paid for that and I could think of many better uses for the money.
ReplyDeleteAs Milton said, other important topics were discussed at the meeting. Notifying residents of code changes was one. Wouldn't you like to know when there were changes to our code that's going to effect every homeowner? Does everyone know there were code changes about parking on grass, driveways and swales?
The other important issue was the North Miami water service. This week I got another email that there was a break in the pipes and my water might be involved. I get these notices every few weeks. I'm beginning to wonder about the lines and if the water is safe. The Mayor asked for a report from N Miami about this. Are we going to have to make substantial changes in the pipes in the village in the next 5 years? What about the road damage that will be done?
I hope more residents come to these meetings but I think it's great that you provided the videos. I hope anyone with comments lets the Commissioners know too.
Hi Barbara,
DeleteGood to know that I wasn’t the only one to find this mid-stream change of scope perplexing. I was also glad to hear residents educate us about other more realistic and cost effective measures (when bidding work) other than in relying on full blown master plans. And speaking of master plans…
After the storm water workshop last September I emailed Gene Schriner (president of Craig A. Smith) to inquire… well, truthfully moreover to verify several survey points I had been told previously. I was dubious about these issues and wanted confirmation from the professional.
My first question was “are these master plans a mandatory requirement for state funding?” His answer was “*the plan is NOT a mandate and is a plan or “road map” for the Village to implement construction of improvements.“
My second question was if the $135,000 master plan you detailed yesterday indeed "shovel ready?" His response was “*upon completion of this study we will provide the Village with 30% construction plans for the selected alternate. By having the 30% plans speeds up any of these scenarios in which the Village may choose. 30% plans are considered preliminary plans and need further detail (and I’ll assume costs- MH) and information before they can be used for construction.”
Sounds a little assumptive doesn’t it? What do you all think?
*these are excerpts from the entire conversation. It will be posted at a future date in its entirety.