Last fall, a representative of Buckeye Development and Logistics contacted our City Planner and inquired whether our Council would entertain issuing a permanent pipeline Easement, Permit, or License, before Buckeye spent resources.  At the time, it appeared that the issue had been resolved.

However, on January 18, 2013, Buckeye Development & Logistics sent our City Planner a letter explaining that it was seeking to place a new route to complement or replace the current pipeline and that route would pass through the limits of the City of Miami Springs and the Village of Virginia Gardens.  

The letter fueled a story by Theo Karantsalis, which claimed that the proposed pipeline would be the sole source of jet fuel to the Miami International Airport.  Theo's story was overstated.  It was not being proposed as the sole source, but the overstatement certainly made residents stand up and take notice.   The Chairwoman of the County Commission was contacted as well as the City's lobbyist, Jose Fuentes.  The hoopla continued and Mr. Boone of Buckeye Partners, L.P. issued a news release clarifying that the January 18, 2013 letter was not a statement of intent, but instead a notice that Everglades Pipe Line Company, L.P. was conducting a feasibility study to assess potential options.  Theo Karantsalis wrote another story for The Miami Herald, which explained the status of the jet-fuel pipeline.

Thereafter, on February 28, 2013, the Manager and Mayor sent a joint letter explaining that there is no "form" City application for the type of project they were suggesting and reiterating the concern of the residents, schools and churches in the neighborhood.  Only a few days later, on March 5, 2013, Mr. Boone announced through a press release that the feasibility assessment had been concluded and that a pipeline relocation at the Miami Springs location was no longer an option under consideration.

I call this "the power of the press."  Theo's stories sure did stir up the residents of the City of Miami Springs, which in turn got the attention of the Chairwoman and County Commission.  If you look back to the beginning, it seems like much ado about nothing.  It goes to show that a little press can go a long way.

‪Last week a well-known local journalist asked me why I decided to run for Mayor, and I gave him a very direct answer.  Some perceived my answer as crossing the line of propriety.  The article can be found HERE.

It is challenging to be part of any campaign, and I believe that anyone with the courage to put themselves out there as a serious candidate for public office is worthy of our respect.  I also believe that those candidates have a responsibility to tell the truth as they campaign, and I will continue to do so during this campaign, and beyond. 

This campaign has some difficult truths to confront, and while it might be easy or comfortable to ignore them out of “respect for the candidates” – the reality is, our respect for good government in our City must come first.  You can expect me not to turn away, but to look those problems in the face.

Why am I writing this now?

I appreciate every single word and gesture of support I’ve received as a candidate.  As you can see at the bottom of this page, my blog posts are open for comments, but each comment is approved for content before it is posted.  I recently received a very positive and supportive comment from a reader that I would love to have approved, but it concluded with some not-so-nice words about the Mayor.  I know that I can’t single-handedly stop negativity in this election, and I acknowledge that there are strong opinions on both sides of this election – but I will not condone or approve comments that include personal attacks.

Please feel welcome to comment, but please keep it focused on the issues.  We all belong to the same community, and that will still be true regardless of who wins on April 2nd.

I look forward to hearing from you.

PS, many of you have asked about yard signs.  They will be arriving within the next week, and if you’d like one, please send an email to me at Jennifer@jenniferator.com with your name, address, and contact phone, and we’ll have one placed for you as soon as they’re in.

Thanks again for your support.

Movie night seems to be getting a lot of press lately -- and unfortuately, it is not good press.  After Ms. Owens complained at Council, and Theo Karantsalis wrote a story for Neighbors in the Miami Herald, we decided to move movie night back to All Angels -- the place that it started five years ago.

I am a bit disappointed at the tone the River Cities Gazette has taken with covering this story.  The Editor of the Gazette, Mr. Tom Curtis never contacted me prior to penning his editorial -- I imagine he thought he had all the information he needed from the Council meeting -- but his story suggests that he didn't have all the facts.

I was contacted by Theo over the weekend and asked via email why movie night was moving back to All Angels (a little surprising he had to ask since he wrote the Neighbors article criticizing it as a City sponsored event).  Since the story is still incomplete, I am going to post my response to Theo in its entirety.

Theo

 In 2007 and 2008, we
were holding movie nights at All Angels.  We moved it to the Circle because
we thought it would be a fun thing to do, and to create a greater sense of
community by broadening it just beyond the Church and Academy
audiences.
 
I had first suggested
moving it to the Circle in 2008 (before I was even on the Council).  We
talked to Jim Borgmann and he was very supportive, given that the City has been
trying to do things to support businesses downtown for a long time.  After
the first month, Chief Dilling (sp??) said he did not have it in his budget to
have officers at movie night and we would have to pay for police to assist
people in crossing the street.  The Church did not have the money so Jim
suggested we ask Council to reimburse us for the police support, which it turns
out is cheaper than having the City simply pay officers directly, because it’s
considered a private event instead of
overtime.
 
The idea to move movie
night to the Circle came from my first run for Council in 2005.  Residents
told me that the City does not provide activities for middle school aged kids
and suggested that we renew the movie night on the Circle from years ago. 
The City has taken the position since 2005 that it does not have the funds to
run a movie night, a position I find believable now that I have sat through four
  budget cycles.  Essentially, All Angels was partnering with the City to
  provide a service to everyone that the City could not afford to provide on its
  own without making a more significant investment.  All Angels provided the
  equipment and volunteers to put the event on, and the City granted the permits
  and reimbursed for the traffic control.  For four years, it was a win/win
  arrangement that created a lot of smiles and fond memories on the
Circle.
 
The Movie Night
committee decided to stop hosting the event on the Circle and move it back to
All Angels in light of the concerns voiced by some of the residents. 
They’re committed to the event, but not at the cost of putting the Church, the
City or the Council in a compromising position.  The cost to the City,
together with the negative publicity made it unrealistic to continue on the
Circle.  The Movie Night fan base has grown over the years, and the
committee is optimistic that the audience will follow the move back to
Ludlam.
 
When Ms. Owens spoke
at Council, it wasn’t the first time I had heard the baseless allegation that the
City was funding movie night because of my position as Councilwoman.  To
set the record straight, the City has been subsidizing Movie Night since before
I was elected to Council.  Since I have been elected, I have taken every
opportunity to make clear my relationship with All Angels and have always sought
to recuse myself.  
 
All the same, I agree
with Mr. Seiden.  The City has done nothing wrong by reimbursing the
Church, who is providing a service to the City, for police support.  
 
 
Regards,
 
Councilwoman Jennifer
Ator


Dedicated volunteers from All Angels Church and Academy (including my husband Bill Tallman and I) have been the month-in-month-out "worker bees" behind Movie Night since the beginning.  We do not plan to stop doing it as it is something we can enjoy as a community.    However, we also take our community responsibility seriously and so we moved swiftly to protect the community's interests.

It is disappointing (and really unfair to the hardworking volunteers behind the program) when the same news outlet whose reporting precipitated the move in the first place, now publicly criticizes those volunteers for "taking away" movie night from the community.  The volunteers did not create this problem, they are just doing their best to deal with it.

The same newspaper had the Mayor joining in the chorus of criticism:

"I am disappointed that it is not being held on the Circle," said Mayor Zavier Garcia who expressed dismay the location was being moved.  "I would love for it to continue being held on the Circle as a community event, which is what we as a Council voted unanimously to support."

The only thing that has changed with movie night is the location.  It is still free and open to all.  We are inviting the community to our property over on Ludlam -- the same location as the popularly-attended Saturday Farmer's Market -- to enjoy the movies on the third Friday.

The bottom line is, the show  will go on!  I hope to see you at Movie Night on December 21, 2012 at 1801 Ludlam Road at 7 p.m.  Bring your lawn chair or blanket and a few dollars for the concession stand  - I might even make home made Hot Chocolate if it is a bit nippy.

p.s.  Since nobody on the Council has said it, to the volunteers of All Angels I would say:

"While the Council is saddened by the decision to relocate Movie Night, we recognize and sincerely appreciate all of your effort over the years to make this program happen and keep it going.  We trust that you are making this move based on what you believe are the best interests of the community, and we're hopeful that we can quickly resolve any outstanding issues so that the program can return to the Circle in the near future."

    Friday, October 12, 2012 was Ethical Governence Day.  We [lawyers, public officials, city employees -- I got hit up twice] were asked to speak at local schools by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics.  While I asked to speak in Miami Springs, I was told that MSSH was not participating.  Kind of a shame.
    I had a great experience at Hialeah Gardens High School.  Because of block scheduling, I spoke to two  Honors Government classes taught by Mr. Chait.  Only one or two students were falling asleep (I am sure it is because they were up late doing homework).  The students and the teacher were interested and engaged.
    I was also impressed with the facility.  I am not sure how long it has been open, but it was clean and well organized.  Kind of reminded me of my days in the classroom.
    Some of the things we discussed were the significance of the First Amendment; what the Sunshine Law means and how to access public records; why it is important to vote; and the difference between community service and public service and how each benefits our government.  The Ethics Commission also included a short case study to discuss, which was short on facts and created more questions than answers -- but that is a good thing, it means the students were paying attention.
    Thank you to the Commission of Ethics for putting this event together.  I am not sure how everyone else did, but I enjoyed it and would be willing to speak again in the future.
   

Today is Arbor Day in Miami Springs.   Mayor Richard Wheeler led the agenda, which included a proclamation, a poem recited by a student from All Angels Academy, and the planting of a tree at Curtiss Mansion.

In addition, I was THRILLED to learn that this year we are on track to plant 100 trees in the City.   Since I have been on Council, I have encouraged the City to plant 100 trees a year and finally are meeting the goal. It is fair to say I am pleased!

Thank you to City Manager Ron Gorland, the City Arborist Tom Nash, the community partner that donated the tree, the Board of Park and Parkways, all the citizens in attendance, and Wally Clark of www.beautifulmiamisprings.com for the photo.   It was a beautiful day all around.