Congratulations Palmetto Bay Village Clerk Missy Arocha - Has a year gone by already?

Time flies when you are busy improving Palmetto Bay.  It's been over a year since our Village Clerk Missy Arocha has taken over to serve our Village.

Village Clerk Arocha has aggressively pursued many recent council (and her own) initiatives that include improving our village record keeping and communication. Clerk Arocha is working hard to bring Palmetto Bay into the new age in regards to digital record keeping.

The Village Clerk is one of the most important positions of Municipal government. In Palmetto Bay, the position of Clerk is one of the three Chartered positions in the Village appointed by the Village Council. Reporting directly to the Council, the Village Clerk serves as secretary for the Village Council and of the Municipal Corporation. The responsibilities of the Village Clerk in the Village of Palmetto Bay include the following:
 
*Gives notice of all Council meetings to its members and the public, and shall maintain an accurate record of all Council proceedings
*Maintains the seal of the Village and attest the Mayor's or the Manager's signature, as the case may be, on all documents
*Serves as the municipal Supervisor of Elections
*Administers the publication of the Village Code and Charter
*Maintains custody of the Village's vital records including agreements, contracts, minutes, ordinances, proclamations, and resolutions
*Functions as the Information Technology Coordinator
*Manages all Public Information Requests
              
And as a reminder: Public record requests can be made to:
 
Missy Arocha, Village Clerk
Email address: marocha@palmettobay-fl.gov
Telephone number: 305-259-1234

A new e-blast was released Monday, July 24, 2017.  I have sent these periodic e-mails out since my very first term!  Are you a subscriber?  If not, I ask you to sign up.  Please also follow my Mayor Facebook page and follow me on Twitter!

Communication prevents miscommunication.

CLICK HERE to view this 7/24/2017 e-mail.

In this issue: Budget time in Palmetto Bay - I's your money - Let's hear from you. Village receives $550K state grant for stormwater projects Dover Kohl & Partners, Marcela Camblor & Associates present   recommendations regarding the Palmetto Bay DUV All Palmetto Bay area public schools receive an "A" Rating Take the Palmetto Bay Age-Friendly Initiative Survey Congratulations Village Clerk Missy Arocha Should Palmetto Bay reduce the internal street speed limit?

Village receives $550K state grant for stormwater projects

More grants coming to Palmetto Bay - and I want it used for Stormwater; addressing much needed drainage.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced on June 23 that it had awarded $550,000 to the Village of Palmetto Bay for stormwater infrastructure improvements as part of a nearly $3 million funding program awarding grants to communities across Florida.

The overall program is designed to improve water quality in impaired springs, rivers, lakes and estuaries, which need help meeting Florida’s stringent water-quality standards

The money for Palmetto Bay is to be used for catch basin retrofits, installation of additional catch basins, sedimentation boxes, baffle boxes and exfiltration trenches throughout the village. This will help reduce pollutants flowing into Biscayne Bay, which is southeast Florida’s largest coastal estuary.

CLICK HERE to view the complete Community Newspapers article by Gary Alan Ruse: Village receives $550K state grant for stormwater projects

" ... I’m resuming the policy of trying to bring back tax dollars to our area,” Mayor Flinn said. “Storm water is a huge issue."

"Whether you believe in sea level rise or not, everybody sees water sitting on their street and park lane, and it’s something we needed to address. That’s one of the reasons we incorporated. We were not getting the attention we needed to get being part of Greater Miami-Dade County. That money’s going to go very far in assisting us with our storm water efforts that we have done annually under my leadership."

I continue to pledge that our village tax dollars be spent for their intended purpose, to address village infrastructure needs.

Next Palmetto Bay debate: should we reduce speed limit on village managed roads to 25 MPH? Your voice matters

BREAKING NEWS- Friday, July 21,2017: Miami-Dade County has authorized the Village of Palmetto Bay to reduce the village speed limit  (on Village jurisdiction Roads) to 25 mph.

What are your thoughts?  Let us know.

Email notification from Manager Silva:

From: Edward Silva
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2017 12:31 PM
To: Council
Cc: Olga Cadaval
Subject: FW: Final Report regarding reduction of village wide speed limit to 25 mph - SR 2017028829

See below we just got approval to lower our speed limits on internal roads. This was part of the council direction requesting this and staff and the consultant worked hard in getting this accomplished. Special thanks are due to the County in expediting this.

Respectfully,

Edward Silva

Village Manager

Village of Palmetto Bay

July 2017 - Palmetto Bay Awarded $1 million TAP grant for bicycle lanes project

Another welcomed grant received a $1,000,000.00 (One Million Dollars) "TAP Grant"- to assist us in implementing our master plans. Congratulations to our Village Staff who work so hard to stretch our Village dollars through seeking (and most importantly - ) obtaining significant grants!

This has been a long time coming - please see my related/prior post of January 26, 2015
Preparing to update the Palmetto Bay plans - partial list of materials available online. Some reference materials for following the Palmetto Bay Strategic Plan process.  This grant will assist greatly in reaching our infrastructure goals.

CLICK HERE to view the actual Palmetto Bay Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.

I am a proponent of transparency of our local government and having documents online for 24/7/365 access.  CLICK HERE to view our TRAFFIC STUDIES AND MASTER PLAN PAGE (Thank you to our management team, Manager Ed Silva and Village Clerk Missy Arocha - and their team for getting these documents online!)

I ask for your support and support from my colleagues on the Village Council to complete and close out these long-standing projects.

Thank you,

Eugene Flinn

E-mail message from Village Manager Ed Silva:

Council, the grant has a two year window and our match is scheduled to come from CITT revenues and not from general funds. This grant to build bicycle lanes as per our bicycle master plan and will help considerably in beginning this long overdue process in complying with this approved master plan. Congratulations are in order for the staff who worked hard in acquiring this grant.

Respectfully,

Edward Silva

Village Manager

Village of Palmetto Bay

Here are the recommendations made by Dover Kohl & Partners, Marcela Camblor & Associates regarding the Palmetto Bay DUV - updated to add new links to the report and powerpoint presentation

Dover Kohl presentation regarding the Palmetto Bay DUV Code - more updates to follow, for now you can review the link available online: CLICK HERE to view. Note that the village will have this document online ASAP.

Presentation to Village of Palmetto Bay, of 7/19/2017, document entitled "DUV Assessment
Dover Kohl & Partners, Marcela Camblor & Associates, July, 2017"

Update, 7/20/2017 - 4:00 PM: Wednesday, July 19th, renowned architect & planner, Victor Dover presented his team's recommendations for updating the current Downtown Urban Village (DUV) code, which are now available online.   Download or view the DUV Assessment Report or the Powerpoint Presentation made to the Council during the Committee of the Whole meeting. 
 

Another opportunity to hear from the experts and participate in the future of Palmetto Bay

Important public meeting to be held this Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at our Palmetto Bay Village Hall. #YourParticipationMatters.

"Downtown" Palmetto Bay.

“What’s missing are the retail stores, restaurants. How do we make sure to bring those in without having traffic explode?”

This one of the topics set for July 19 at village hall: a presentation by Dover, Kohl & Partners, a national architectural and land-planning firm, hired to review the code and provide suggestions. This is a public meeting. Please attend or watch live on WBAY.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/…/palmett…/article161430718.html…

 

Best wishes for MDPD/Village Policing Unit officer M. Valdez.

It's a bittersweet day for our speed abiding residents. One of our motor officers, Ofc M Valdez, is returning to the County. We will miss him. He has served our Palmetto Bay village Policing Unit with distinction and we wish him the best. #PalmettoBay #MDPD #Police #MiamiDadeCounty

Friday, June 9, 2017 - Village Manager issues recommendation to demolish exisiting Coral Reef Park recreation room

Village Manager Ed Silva announces an intent to demolish the Coral Reef Park building as unsafe.

(e-mail of Friday, June 9, 2017):

From: Edward Silva
Sent: Friday, June 9, 2017 4:28 PM
To: Council
Cc:
Subject: Coral Reef Park Community Center

 

Council,

 

As we all know the recreation room at Coral Reef Park has serious structural issues that have taken a long time to address and fix.  While we await for your direction on how to best proceed, the building was temporarily shored and roof leaks were repaired.  However, the building has developed a number of new roof leaks and we should not continue to keep it open for public use especially now that we have entered a new, potentially active hurricane season.  I am therefore recommending that we proceed with demolishing the existing structure.  We will issue an Invitation to Bid for the demolition and also to reestablish the electrical connections.  We can replace the building with a temporary trailer as a short-term measure until a final decision is made on a new recreation room or center. 

 

The picture below shows the buckets that staff is using to collect the water from 2 of the 5 current roof leaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Respectfully,

 

Edward Silva

Village Manager

Village of Palmetto Bay

305-259-1234 

Guest Post - Coyotes in Palmetto Bay? What have you seen?

Guest post - legitimate concerns about Coyote sightings here in Palmetto Bay.  I have posted a poor quality photo.  Please send me your sightings.

From Suzanne Dundee Bonner:

Last week, I came across several postings in the site nextdoor.com, from Palmetto Bay residents, of coyote sightings.

These sightings took place near Deering Estate and adjacent to Bill Sadowski Park. At one such sighting, the coyote was seen going after a cat in their backyard.

I have checked with a reliable source at Miami Dade Parks, who confirmed that coyotes, as well as foxes, are in this area, and have been for some time. My source also confirmed that coyotes will target small animals and mammals.

According to many news articles, there are precautions that can and should be taken, to help prevent these encounters from turning bad. Here are some of the highlights:

Do not let small children or pets out from dusk to dawn, unattended. It is said that any pet smaller than a German Shepard should not be let out alone in your yard. Do not leave any pet food dishes, bird seed, or fruit in your backyard. Be careful of any confrontation with coyotes, since many carry diseases, and could attack, if provoked.

I am attaching a link to provide you with a photo of a coyote that are known to roam the South Florida areas, including the Palmetto Bay Village areas.

https://www.wuft.org/news/files/2014/12/10733121054_9d2212a48e_k.jpg

Suzanne Dundee Bonner

Palmetto Bay

Memorial Day 2017 - We remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Monday, May 29, 2017 - the day we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom.

We owe our peace and democracy to them. Please observe a minute of silence at 3:00pm local time to pay tribute to Americans who've died in military service.

YOU ARE INVITED - to remember Memorial Day Monday, May 29, at the American Legion Marlin Moore Post #133, Village of Palmetto Bay.  See my 2016 post: "Memorial Day 2016: You are invited to American Legion Post 133.The remembrance poppy and the poem In Flanders Fields."

All patriotic members of our community are cordially invited to attend the Memorial Day Ceremony  honoring our departed sister and brother veterans on May 29 at Marlin Moore Post #133, 16401 SW 90th Avenue.

Coffee and donuts will be served from 9:30am to 10:30am.

The Ceremony will begin at 11:00am. After the service a hamburger and hotdog  cookout for all.

Please feel free to stop by and thank a veteran.
  
Visit USA.gov's Memorial Day page to learn about the origins of this federal holiday; read veterans' stories; find patriotic songs; get tips on barbecue, boating, and swimming safety; and more!Brief History: 

The first Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868, by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic.

 

Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery each year with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Traditionally, the President or Vice President lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The occasion is also marked in almost every State on the last Monday in May. 

 

Congress established the National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day, asking Americans wherever they are to pause in an act of national unity. The Moment does not replace traditional Memorial Day events; rather it is an act of national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, honor those who died for our freedom.  

 

The flag should be flown at half staff until noon on this Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds and naval vessels throughout the United States, and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. All people of the United States are requested to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the customary period.

_______ 

What’s the Difference Between Veterans Day and Memorial Day?