Update on LUXCOM – this is a question, not a statement.

I was advised that the mediation did go forward on Tuesday, July 14. And, like I predicted, there was no resolution. Unconfirmed reports are that the parties are to meet again in the near future, perhaps or week or two.  It is now July 17, and not a peep has been reported to the general public.

This all lines up with the prediction that I made in a Prior related post: LUXCOM - Tuesday, July 14, 2020 is mediation day. a day that will set the future of development in Palmetto Bay. Some thoughts.

“PREDICTION: Mediation will start, but will suspend and reset for another day further down the road, ….”

This was hardly a risky prediction as the behavior of this current council and their employees have become so predictable. But we move on to the next question: when will this mediation reconvene? I was hoping that someone would keep me in the loop, but even though this information is obviously made available to our elected officials, it clearly is limited in distribution only to those insiders who they deem need to know. The general public appears to been deemed non-essential for updates. Mushrooms anyone?

THE REALITIES: All of you should be aware that the process would be visible; that residents would be able to give testimony and participate, if only this zoning issue was being held at a publicly noticed zoning hearing. But it is not a zoning hearing, so we cannot observe and participate.

FAIR QUESTIONS: What if?

Things break down. It has become the new normal in Palmetto Bay. It is happening with the Franjo Road modifications, the bridge at Coral Reef Park, our legislative requests, and most recently with the sudden hiring fiasco of the manager-select, where a deal that wasn't was announced and celebrated prematurely, but in fact, behind the scenes negotiations broke down (as reported in the Barrow News-Journal) leaving egg all over the faces of the Palmetto Bay officials.

So chew on the above for a moment. Then look ahead to some of the very important issues:

“What if” an ‘agreement’ is reached on LUXCOM and this village council reacts the same way as the manager-select's proposed contract: where the council again substitutes their judgement for those whom they sent to negotiate and subverts this process by using the mediation process as a starting point and not a complete negotiation. Will council members bust that agreement in the same way the manager-select’s proposed contract went south, doomed to failure once brought before this mayor and council?

The public has been excluded so far in this mediation process with LUXCOM. And remember, this mediation is VOLUNTARY (vol·un·tar·y) – meaning this mayor and council set about this process acting upon their own free will. Their decision. Mediation was not forced upon this Village by lawsuit or any other reason. It could have gone through the usual zoning application process. We shall see if this non-traditional process was a wise decision or another “oops I did it again” fiasco.

Again, we will see how this unique process plays out; hopefully better than the manager selection process to date.

FINAL THOUGHTS: There are two opportunities to properly update the public next week - the first is the special council meeting for Tuesday, July 21, 2020 at 5:30 PM. There is a single item noticed, only the following Resolution with public comments is currently notice to be heard during this special meeting:

• A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF PALMETTO BAY, FLORIDA, RELATING TO EMPLOYEE BENEFITS; APPROVING A TWO-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION WITH RISK MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES, INC., D/B/A PUBLIC RISK INSURANCE ADVISORS TO PROVIDE AGENT-OF-RECORD SERVICES TO THE VILLAGE OF PALMETTO BAY AT A COST OF $22,500 PER YEAR; AUTHORIZING THE VILLAGE MANAGER TO EXECUTE APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 

And if one special council meeting was insufficient to satisfy your hunger to watch zoom council meetings, perhaps there is still time to notice a LUXCOM update to be presented at the second special council meeting of that week, set for Thursday, July 23.  This second special council meeting starts at 6:30 PM and involves attempting to resurrect the search for a new village manager.

Perhaps, for once, either item on either day can move smoothly through approval and the Village Charter officers can in good faith determine how to add on items in order update the council and the residents regarding LUXCOM. However, it would be a shame to hear that we, the people, should be locked out for the loop as it “may adversely impact the negotiations.” Really? This is not secret information as we all know LUXCOM representatives and those they report to have are in the loop as to the status, so by the same token, shouldn’t those who our elected officials report to (HINT: “We, the people”), be similarly situated in the know?

This is representative government. Government in the Sunshine. It is our right to know. Again, not your legal theory, but the status of demands, offers and counter-proposals.