Under my leadership, Palmetto Bay continues to take the lead in
transparency. There will be no back room
meetings – if I have way.
Council Member Larissa Siegal Lara is next to hold Sunshine meeting – Tues. Dec. 19, 2017, at 6:00 PM at Village Hall, with representatives of Florida Power & Light and CalAtlantic Group, Inc. to discuss future development of the FPL Cutler Plantation property located in the Village of Palmetto Bay. Members of the public are encouraged to attend, observe, and provide public comment. (CLICK HERE – to view the official notice posted on the Village website).
Council Member Larissa Siegal Lara is next to hold Sunshine meeting – Tues. Dec. 19, 2017, at 6:00 PM at Village Hall, with representatives of Florida Power & Light and CalAtlantic Group, Inc. to discuss future development of the FPL Cutler Plantation property located in the Village of Palmetto Bay. Members of the public are encouraged to attend, observe, and provide public comment. (CLICK HERE – to view the official notice posted on the Village website).
I would encourage our other two members of the village council to initiate
holding any meeting relating to zoning, quasi-judical proceedings – in the public
view.
From all reports, Council Member David Singer had a great meeting in
the public view with representatives of FPL and CalAtlantic Group.
Please see my related post of 12/1/2017 –
regarding how my first-ever meeting with a developer went [it was also Palmetto
Bay’s (if not first-ever for any elected official in Miami-Dade County) first-ever
meeting in the public view where a developer met with an elected official]. See: First-ever public meeting - transparency and public access protected - a successful meeting held with representatives of Florida Power and Light and CalAtlantic Group, Inc., discussions/presentation regarding FPL Cutler Plantation property held before public
You “want to thank FPL and Cal Atlantic” (a potential developer showcasing out of touch ideas of sardine-like density that would leave behind untold traffic for a lifetime), for their so-called “public meeting”?
ReplyDeleteA key ingredient of a “public meeting” is to inform all parties of such... And FPL committed to communicate meeting dates and times with everyone in the public “in a variety of ways”.
Unfortunately, the Village of Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Cutler Bay and every family who drives single-lane historic Old Cutler Road each way in the mornings and afternoons was not informed as FPL publicly declared they would and represented.
FPL intentionally went on the official record at the October 30 Council meeting that during their moratorium they were strongly “committed to advertising and notifying” all residents via local newspapers and other means — for their town hall workshop and five meetings with council members.
“FPL’s public commitment” was not a legal requirement but one they stood up and represented to the community:
“In transparent fashion we want to take everyone’s feedback“.
“We will advertise the five meetings”.
“We will disseminate information to let the community know about the meetings“.
“We will advertise in local newspapers”.
“We have nothing to hide”.
“We will let the world know”.
“We are making this commitment to the community”.
Councilmember Singer even affirmed FPL’s public commitment to run advertisements in a variety of local newspapers and make each meeting well known in advance.
FPL easily could have run the schedule well in advance and then informed the community several weeks in advance of meetings. However, they made a choice to not to do what they said they would do.
We actually took FPL’s public commitment in good faith, but as they intentionally did otherwise, then constantly changed their ideas with significant density and over-develop that would leave behind traffic... residents, groups and the public have been gathering and meeting behind the scenes and are in the process of retaining several lawyers to deal with numerous concerns and numerous potential lawsuits, including issues with the traffic engineering, 2018 data and peak methodologies, DOT issues, DERM issues, Miami-Dade County, State and Federal issues, contaminants to residential/not industrial standards, a host of environmental issues, Biscayne Bay runoff issues, impediments on four immediate schools, potential implications on school zones, FPL’s ability to profit more than 11% on land that was granted to them for a public service as a utility (which they’ve never paid a penny on nor contributed paying any property taxes on), etc.
In reviewing the video of the October 30th Council meeting, in FPL’s “public commitment statement” they went on the official record in making their vow to the public but have failed to live up to their commitment and have misled your constituents, Mayor Flinn.
FPL has proven they do not want the residents of the Village fully engaged to truly participate and do what’s best for Village residents, families, traffic, and our quality of life.
That much is clear.
Village residents now know how FPL plays their game... make a public declaration and commitment to inform all, in word — then intentionally fail to live up to it in deed.
Through the lens of their misleading public commitment — to thank them is wrong Mayor Flinn.