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Power of the Press and the End of the Ludlam Pipeline

3/5/2013

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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.


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Arbor Day in Miami Springs!

5/30/2012

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City Manager Ron Gorland, Councilwoman Jennifer Ator, and Park and Parkways Chairperson Eric Richey. Photo courtesy of Wally Clark at www.beautifulmiamisprings.com.
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.
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At My Chair: January 9, 2012

1/10/2012

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Another edition of At My Chair, with all the documents left at our seat at the City Council meeting last night.

A list of documents left at my chair last night: 

Agenda Item 10G:  Optimist request for funding



1.9.12 Emails between attorneys regarding MS General Employee Pension Plan


1.9.12 Emails between Seiden and Wishneff regarding Curtiss Mansion Historic Tax Credits


Sample Ballot


Announcement regarding Commissioner Rebeca Sosa Commission "Mom and Pop Grant Program" for 2012


1.9.12 Memo from City Manager regarding September 2011 City of Miami Springs Public Works Dept Organizational Review and Operating Cost Analysis

As you well know, my least favorite thing is agenda items left at my chair.  Unfortunately, my own husband is to blame this week as the only late agenda item was the Optimist request.  

The first meeting of the New Year was relatively short, as the Council Chambers seemed giddy with the prospect of the National Championship Game.  (I am a bit disappointed that LSU did not pull out the win.)  But there was some controversy with respect to some of the recreation related proposals.  And, a group of Angels from All Angels Academy stopped by to lead us in the pledge.  The short meeting was certainly worth watching.  You can find the video at miamisprings-fl.gov under webcasts or just link here.

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At My Chair: September 12, 2011

9/13/2011

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    If you have not guessed by now, I really don't like to receive materials on the day of the meeting.  I understand when there is an emergency, but when I ask that something be put on the agenda, I ask days, if not more than a week, in advance of the materials being distributed and uploaded to the City website.  
    My husband suggested that I include a short description of what was included -- great idea Bill!  The documents attached here were either provided the day before the meeting or at the meeting:

        Agenda item 10F:  Purchase Order for PBSJ for production of plan to address DERM concerns on the golf course.
        Agenda item 10G:  Recommendation that Council waive competitive bid process and approve expenditure of $9,900 for a consulting service to develop a master strategic plan for the City.
        Memo from Mike Aldridge to Jim Borgmann, with documents attached, discussing the request to review the possibility of having vanity gift cards for our golf pro shop and golf department.
        City of Miami Springs analysis of Millage Changes (prepared by Finance Director).
        Draft GIS Zoning Map prepare by Calvin, Giordano & Associates, Inc.
        Powerpoint of Update on Redevelopment and Revitalization Activities from Calvin, Giordano & Associates, Inc. 

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What is the status of the City Manager search?

8/2/2011

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    Hiring a City Manager might be the most important thing the current Council does.  We must find someone who is prepared to develop our 36th Street corridor because we must increase our tax base.  As we have learned throughout the stalled annexation process, we must do what we can to equalize our tax base while maintaining our quality of life.
    The tax base is not the only reason to develop 36th Street, however.  We also need to develop 36th Street because it is dangerous and not just unkempt, but kind of ugly.  Our residents know about the businesses that are "little gems" on 36th Street, but because of its appearance and crime rate, visitors are not encouraged to stop and have dinner, spend money, stay the night, etc., etc., etc.  
    Where do we stand on the City Manager search?   Our HR professional drafted an adverstisement and job description that was discussed at the special meeting on July 28, 2011.  After some discussion, we agreed the requirements should include a Masters Degree with three years experience, a BA degree in Public or Business Administration with five years experience, or progressive experience in local government of at least five years.  We also agreed that we needed to include "economic development" as one of the preferred characteristics.  
    Once the ads are posted and resumes begin to come in, the received resumes will be public record.  There has been quite a bit of chatter about the process being "open" and "transparent."    For goodness sakes, this is government, by law the process will be open and transparent.  The reality is, after the resumes are received and catagorized by Human Resources, if a citizen is interested, he or she could request to see all the applications that were submitted and the spreadsheets that are prepared and presented to Council "drilling down" the applicants for comparasion purposes.  Then, in this age of amazing technology, he or she could go to our website and WATCH the Council meeting and/or special meeting where the candidates are discussed and the decision as to who to interview is made.  Finally, the candidates are going to be interviewed in public at a noticed  meeting of the City Council. 
     Any resident or business owner that wants to be involved in the process can keep up with the process, attend the meeting where candidates are interviewed, and then even discuss his or her opinion with the individual Council members.  Is this a great country or what?  While I can't speak for the other council members, if you are interested and have a strong opinion as to a candidate, I want to hear from you.    There is an African proverb that says it takes a village to raise a child.  In this case, I am not afraid to tell you, we will be better off if our village is interested, educated, and opinionated about the hiring of a City Manager.

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Why the Council Should NOT Terminate Jim Borgmann.

8/2/2011

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Updated: August 2, 2011.  Jim Borgmann has been a good City Manager for Miami Springs -- not perfect -- but very good.  Now that he has decided to retire effective January 1, 2012, there are a lot of residents and business owners who would like the Council to terminate his employment sooner (for a variety of reasons).  Many of the reasons are good reasons.  In fact, on June 13, when I received the report from Finance Director William Alonso providing a preview to the large deficit for the next budget, due in part to Jim’s end of employment payout, I too thought that maybe the City could get by without our City Manager for the next six months in order to save money and balance the budget without cutting services.  After all, one of the things that Jim was best at was bringing on very competent people in senior management within the City. 

My first thought was, maybe Jim could leave after the August budget meetings to save money? Certainly, Assistant City Manager Ron Gorland is well qualified to serve as interim City Manager during the search process, and William Alonso could guide us through the final part of the budget process. 

In addition, I immediately wondered why the City was going to owe Jim $115,000 upon his separation from employment.  As a result, I obtained a copy of his
contract.  The contract provides that Mr. Borgmann is entitled to accrued sick, vacation, holidays, etc.  It also provides on Page 3 that he must provide at least 30 days notice of resignation.  Finally, it provides that if the City terminates him, it must provide 120 days of pay in lieu of notice. 

Obviously, this changes the analysis of what is in the City’s best interest.  It clearly does not make ANY sense to terminate Mr. Borgmann when we are contractually bound to pay him anyway.  Especially when we consider that we presently do not have a City Planner and we are aggressively working to finalize commercial zoning revisions while also expanding code enforcement throughout the city. 

Some believe we can circumvent our contractual obligations with Mr. Borgmann by “
accepting his resignation immediately” thereby saving the City about $100,000.  That is some pretty big wishful thinking -- even I wish it were so.  Cute and clever opinion and argument, but no basis under the law.  Lawyers have this saying that was recently articulated by David Cole, a Georgetown University Law Professor, “When you're a law student, they tell you if say that if you can't argue the law, argue the facts. They also tell you if you can't argue the facts, argue the law. If you can't argue either, apparently, the solution is to go on a public relations offensive and make it a political issue... to say over and over again "it's lawful", and to think that the American people will somehow come to believe this if we say it often enough.”

We must not treat Mr. Borgmann’s employment as a political issue.  His retention is a business decision for the City.  We cannot ignore the basic legal principles that govern his employment contract, or for that matter, any other issue before the Council.

Upon his return from vacation, our Budget Director drafted a memo outlining the costs associated with Mr. Borgmann's seperation from the City.  It establishes that the actual NET savings for terminating the City Manager on June 27, 2011 (and obviously that did not happen), would be $44,918 -- not $140,000 as was suggested by members of Council.  While the memo is not exact, it appears that terminating Mr. Borgmann on August 8, 2011 would save the city less than $30,000.  Indeed, my argument stands, it does not make sense for the City to terminate Mr. Borgmann's contract while searching for a new City Manager -- it saves the City very little money and it creates another void in our workforce, which is already very, very lean.

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Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

6/24/2011

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“Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!”  A classic line from The Wizard of Oz scene where Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow are fearful of the forest because of the unseen (and imagined) dangers that must lie within it.

Lately, it seems that Miami Springs has been ground zero for the same kind of hand-wringing, rumor-induced speculation that Dorothy confronted outside the forest.  While I’m always glad to listen to the opinion of a fellow citizen -- it is distressing to hear so many that are based on incomplete information at best -- and rhetoric, speculation or plain old gossip at worst. 

In reality, sometimes we simply don’t have all the facts.  And, that is OK.   But, rushing to judgment and opining with little in the way of concrete evidence does not do anyone any good.  Worse, it distracts attention from the important business of the city -- and we have a lot of important business to attend to here in Miami Springs.

I do not speak for the Council, only myself, but I do not want to stand by while the rumor mill continues to dominate public discussion of the issues we all face.

Therefore, I am going to use this blog as a means to address some of the current “hot topics” of discussion here in Miami Springs over the next week or so by responding to questions I’ve been asked in various conversations:

    Why am I letter Jim Borgmann stay on as City Manager when he has already resigned (effective January 1, 2012)?

    Why am I concerned for the City about the initial proposal by CMI related to selling tax credits to raise money for the Mansion?

    Why won't I demand that the Mayor respond to the accusations about his integrity, and/or demand his resignation?

    And finally, what is going on with the search for a New City Manager?

In the future, I would like to continue to respond to issues such as these on this blog.  I invite you to email me at
[email protected] and ask me your questions - especially the “hard” questions.  If I don’t have enough information to respond, I will work on getting the information.  If it is something relating to the broader community interest, I will post my response to this blog.  It would be impossible for everyone to like my position on every issue that comes before the City.  But, everyone should understand why I am taking the position I am taking -- that is what transparency is all about.

Information is our best weapon in the fight against ignorance, rhetoric, and the poor decisions that often flow from them.  Miami Springs is filled with intelligent, caring, and passionate residents.  We are a smart community.  We are smart enough to evaluate the evidence before becoming part of the gossip mill and, we are smart enough to demand the facts before getting sucked into the rhetoric.

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    Beautiful Miami Springs.  There is no place like it.  THANK YOU for re-electing me to our City Council in April 2011.  It is going to be difficult to share information with our residents during or after Council meetings.  As a result, I will post to my blog often: Council items, neighborhood happenings, local events.  Please subscribe, bookmark the site, and visit often.

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