Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Palmetto Bay officials notified to be ready for a Thalatta Site visit from a representative of the Florida Communities Trust (FCT) this April 10 -12.

Palmetto Bay is sprucing up for a little short notice visit from the Florida Communities Trust (FCT).  The timing is interesting, but I am sure it is coincidental.  Palmetto Bay was notified via e-mail of March 26, 2012, that the Florida Communities trust is implementing a stewardship site assessment program.

The stated purpose of this visit is that the state will be assessing the progress made in the implementation of the management plan and the development of the (Thalatta) site.  I have posted the complete notification e-mail as embedded JPEGs.

Here is a list of the issues and facilities that the State (FCT) “…will be paying close attention to during this site visit:”
1.  Whether the required FCT acknowledgement sign has been installed;
2.  Quality of the management of the natural communities – specifically the status of invasive exotic plant removal;
3.  The status of the infrastructure development – are at least some of the recreational facilities constructed – such as trails, benches and picnic shelters (depending on what was committed in the management plan); and
4.  An update on the time line for construction of the remaining structures and facilities.

This site visit will take place between April 10 – 12, which is just a few days away.

It is interesting that neither mayor or vice mayor disclosed this upcoming site visit to the public at the Monday council meeting.  The timing is most interesting as, just as reported in the Miami Herald, Palmetto Bay scraps plans for proposed buildingon Thalatta Estate (Published online 4/3/2012, and Thursday, 4/5/2012, Neighbor’s Edition). 

The Herald Article by Howard Cohen discussed how the future face of Thalatta spawned much debate during Monday night’s council meeting. Now the FCT, a $3.6 + million donor, is going to weigh in for a little check up.  As reported, Thalatta is supposed to be used primarily as a public park but its hours of operation — 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Tuesday; 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday and closed on Friday and Saturday and during private events — incensed some residents, including council member Howard Tendrich.

“A park is supposed to be open to the public and this is not open enough to the public,” he said. “A park should be open Monday to Friday, 10 to 6. This needs to have standard hours.”

Numerous other speakers also complained about the non-standard hours, some opining that “This facility is called a park, a park where you can not sit in a shady place to have a nice picnic or family hour. I agree with Mr. Tendrich. This is not a park. Call it something else. Do you want this to be a park or do you want it to be a money maker for the village?”

Now the FCT is involved and let’s hope that the Thalatta site visit passes FCT review.  Thalatta is to be a crown jewel for Palmetto Bay, a park that I proudly proclaimed to put the “Bay” back in Palmetto Bay at the 2005 state of the village.  Miami-Dade is rich in coastline, but suffers from a lack of public access to the water.  Thalatta was purchased in 2005 to provide this public access and obtained at nearly no cost to village taxpayers through millions in grant monies covenanted for a public park.  We received over $3.6 million from the FCT alone.  I do not want to leave out the staff of the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) who provided the original bridge loan to obtain Thalatta as well as efforts on the permanent grants. 

I sincerely hope that the FCT finds a clean bill of health and moves along, not questioning whether the ill-fated and abruptly abandoned plans announced by Mayor, but abandoned last Monday evening do not create any cause for alarm with the FCT.  I do want the FCT to note that the Palmetto Bay speakers provided a huge “thank you” to those aforementioned groups who granted us this park and are serious about making sure that this present council keeps the promised made on their behalf by the original council in 2005.  (Click the Lable “Thalatta Estate” below to read additional articles I have posted on this blog regarding the Thalatta issue).

13 comments:

  1. I saw the gate open there today. Parks need to be open on weekends... that is when family's can go play. Weekdays are used for tourists, young moms (and baby) and grandmas/pas. You have to open on the days that you have the most traffic. Don't forget to build an audience... and that takes time.

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  2. My messaage to the Florida Trust is to please make the Palmetto Bay officials honor the committment and provide open access to the bay for all residents. We want our park, not a for hire wedding facility that no one can afford.

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  3. Interesting timing indeed. This Council seems to make so many decisions contrary to what this community wants - great parks, police, roads, community events. NOT reviewing every rule and regulation and correcting them. NOT building wedding venues, NOT building retail/parking garages in an almost vacant location (maybe in a few years when there is a NEED...but now???) And how about deleting some rules and streamlining procedures?? Are we not a community of highly educated, affluent people? Incorporation has given this community some wonderful assets, but bad leadership is slowly chipping away as our progress.

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  4. Gene, you know what is happening in preparation for this official visit:

    1. FTC needs to age the fresh cement propping up the FCT acknowledgement sign;
    2. The unmistakable smell of Round Up or Weed B Gone drifts from Thalatta to kill any invasives;
    3. The wedding gazebo looks more like it was designed to sit under and eat a picnic rather than stand under and exchange wedding vows. Village employees are riding bicycles through mud and then riding on the bridal path to create dried tire marks to create an illusion that area bike riders actually get to use the bike path. Watch for some picnic tables to suddenly ‘disappear’ from Coral Reef Park and show up at Thalatta; and
    4. I don’t have a clue on what the timeline involves. Does that mean the proposal of the Manager, before this council so smartly high jacked the prior plan and substituted their fiasco on Thalatta?

    I am sure that the FTC can spot fakes. I bet they have already surveyed the site to flush out last-minute fakes. Will Palmetto Bay put on a show by busing in seniors and kids to make use of the bay view? It will be like the charter commission where predetermined speakers will read their answers from typed scripts, telling any State inspectors how much they enjoy this park and that it has always been open 24/7/365.

    If staff is smart, they will send Mayor Stanczyk on one of her ‘official’ junkets to a shopping center convention in Las Vegas, until the coast is clear. Coincidentally, all the information Mayor Stanczyk may have gathered about economic development at the Las Vegas trip, appears to have stayed in Las Vegas (as the saying goes). Perhaps North Carolina, Washington DC, Albuquerque, New Mexico or Seattle, Washington would be suitable choices. I heard that she has travelled to all on official, but undisclosed business and each location is quite nice this time of year.

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  5. Palmetto Bay better be ready. This is a serious matter. The State can demand repayment of grant monies not properly spent.

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  6. Absurd. This is simply unbelievable.

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  7. Does this mean I might not be able to spend a quiet day having a picnic on the water at Thalatta? Like I can now anyway. The place is always closed and I hope the State is not fooled. My message to the State is that Palmetto Bay should be REQUIRED to keep this park open regular hours for everyone, not just those who pay for a fancy private event. Please make Palmetto Bay open this park!

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  8. Can they punish the elected officials and make Palmetto Bay open the park to we, the little people?

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  9. How do we make a complaint to the state to force Palmetto Bay to actually use Thalatta as a park?

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  10. I have yet to hear of one person who thought this was a good idea. How did it get this far?

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  11. Great article… Thanks for having the courage to report the misuse of grant money to the Florida Communities Trust. Keep up the good work on behalf of the residents of Palmetto Bay.

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  12. Hey Gene, this one if for you. We are singing it in your honor

    Palmetto Bay officials better watch out
    Palmetto Bay officials better not cry
    Better not pout
    I'm telling everyone why

    The FCT is coming to town
    They’re making a list
    And checking it twice;
    Gonna find out Who's compliant or not

    The FCT is coming to town

    They see Thalatta when it’s open
    They know when Thalatta is closed

    They know if Palmetto Bay officials have been bad or good
    So Open Thalata for goodness sake!

    O! Palmetto Bay officials better watch out!
    Palmetto Bay officials better not cry
    Better not pout
    I'm telling Palmetto Bay officials why

    The FCT is coming to town

    The FCT is coming to town

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  13. Gene, any predictions on what happens? Has anyone been out there to see if there is any last-minute activity?

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