Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall takes a stand: MDX tolls keep rising: Let your voice be heard - Other Views - MiamiHerald.com

MDX tolls keep rising: Let your voice be heard - Other Views - MiamiHerald.com
Thank you to the reader who pointed out Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall's article posted in the opinion section of the Tuesday, June 18, 2013, Miami Herald: MDX tolls keep rising: Let your voice be heard

Mayor MacDougall is showing great leadership on this issue. Take a stand! Mayor MacDougall's actions are in stark contrast to what is NOT happening in Palmetto Bay.

Mayor MacDougall states that he has attended the last two MDX board meetings and was so disappointed by the lack of attendance by our elected officials at these critical hearings. Incredibly, he was the only elected official to watch the MDX board actions.
 
He is asking for you, the taxpayers to get involved in the MDX process, that (a)lthough these important hearings are public there is a sparse audience and the board seems to act in a bubble without any thought to the people who travel these roads daily.

I personally join Mayor MacDougall in thanking the efforts of the grassroots group, RollBackTolls.com, these MDX issues are getting the attention they deserve.

Thank you Mayor MacDougall.  Be sure to let your neighboring counterpart know when it is safe to surface and take part in issues of regional importance. She has been strangely silent on this issue as well.

Note that this is not the first complaint I have issued regarding a strange lack of leadership within Palmetto Bay's current electeds.  See:
A great example of action, follow through, by the Village of Pinecrest on Neighborhood Protection; and
Update on the 3/19 MDX South MIami-Dade meeting. Toll hike on state roads 836 and 112 might not be final - MiamiHerald.com

Early Voting has started, but will it count? Providing you with a compilation of info on the Dolphins Stadium Bed Tax increase

Miami-Dade County - Elections - Welcome to the Elections Department!

Early Voting - on the Dolphin Stadium Bed Tax increase issue

Early voting officially starts today, Monday, April 29, and runs through 5 PM, Sunday. May 12. All this to lead up to the May 14 election on the Dolphin Stadium Bed Tax increase - MAYBE.   Absentee ballots were mailed out and many are already tricking back in, but as Patricia Mazzei, of the Miami Herald, reported, This is a "...Miami-Dade election so unusual that the whole thing could be called off by the end of the week." So what else is new here. Isn't that why we live here? 'Cause it is just so darn interesting to see how things will turn out.

(Following info from Miami-Dade elections website): Why Wait? Click here to see the Early Voting wait times The Early Voting period's range of days and choice of a convenient voting site near your home or place of employment makes it an ideal option.

Please go to the Voter Toolkit for details on what to bring.
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Can't decide how to vote? I have posted some additional information taken from online Miami Herald, blog or website posts of information (I will add the official pro-tax website link if someone sends the link to me):

Eye on Miami: How The Marlins Stadium Deal Has Changed South Florida and
       Absentee Ballots Have Gone Out on Corporate Welfare for Dolphin's Billionaire Owner.
South Dade Matters: The Dolphins Deal: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
Stop the Stadium Madness
Prior Post, South Dade Updates: Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall says "Stop the Stadium Madness!" and he wants other elected officials and everyone to join him.
Political Cortadito: Get informed: Dolphins stadium debates kick off  and 
       Anti Dolphins stadium team’s silence is not golden
Miami Herald: Early voting for Miami Dolphins stadium referendum begins Monday amid uncertainty in Tallahassee

Are we due for a political "quick kick" in Tallahassee on diverting tax dollars for stadium funding?

Elaine De Valle of Political Cortadito has a sinking sensation that the Tallahassee legislation for the Dolphins is not dead, but that in fact, there’s another political bait and switch in the works and we all may be hit with a surprise by the end of session next week. 

Read on: Sinking feeling on stadium scam as game clock ticks | Political Cortadito. Read what is being represented and what is not being disclosed in the present absentee vote campaign for the May referendum.   

Cutler Bay Mayor Edward “Mac” MacDougall is ready. He’s already put quite a bit of coin into the operation, hiring a campaign strategist and interviewing phone bankers. He told Ladra Monday that he was ready to go, ready to invest more, ready to hire people and put them in his insurance office building near South Dixie Highway and ready to get the ball rolling. But he doesn’t want to do it alone.

Want more information?  Then please do not forget about the town hall meeting today in Cutler Bay to discuss this issue.  See South Dade Updates:  “Town Hall” Meeting About Funding For Sun Life Stadium - Wed.April 24, at 4:00 PM, in Cutler Bay for full information. All area residents are invited.  This will be a valuable local meeting regarding the potential spending of taxes: a “Town Hall” Meeting About Funding For Sun Life Stadium. 

Hey, I hate to mix issues, but wouldn’t it be nice to see tax dollars be used for public good, like transportation? Maybe once we could use this type of “flexible tax dollars” that 'do not cost property tax payers a dime' (the uses of taxes such as 'bed taxes' are designated by the Florida Legislature) in place of more toll roads. Help Joe and Jane lunch bucket who are getting road taxed out of their wages in commuting daily to work rather than helping billionaires make their next billion in private assets.  There is a real economic impact - allowing people to actually get to work without having to turn over all their income to pay for public infrastructure. Heck, no highways, no routes to stadiums. 

 It is merely a matter of priority (not the people) and another example of the golden rule.

“Town Hall” Meeting About Funding For Sun Life Stadium - Wed. April 24, in Cutler Bay. All area residents are invited

A valuable local meeting regarding the potential spending of taxes: a “Town Hall” Meeting About Funding For Sun Life Stadium

  

Wednesday, April 24, 2013, at 4pm at Cutler Bay Town Hall. Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall invites elected officials and the general public to attend a town hall style meeting to discuss use of additional tourist room taxes for the modernization of Sun Life Stadium. Read the press release for more information.

Thank you Tom and Barbara Condon of cutlerbay.net for pushing out information to the community on this important Countywide issue and a presentation taking place in our South Dade community. cutlerbay.net is an independent community website serving the Cutler Bay area and is not the official website for the Town of Cutler Bay.

From the press release:

Please join Mayor MacDougall and guest speakers for a 30 minute presentation, which will include a Certified Public Accountant who will provide financial views for the proposed Sun Life Stadium financing.

Upon completion of the meeting, a joint press release will be issued expressing the positions of individual Mayors on the Stadium financing proposed.

This meeting is being held to express the opinions and/or position of any elected officials and the general public.

Press is expected to be available for questions following the meeting.

Please RSVP via email to RSVP@cutlerbay-fl.gov 

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SDU Editor Note: This is an issue of great public importance and all area elected officials should make it a point to attend, participate and take a stand, pro or con on this issue.

Mayor Ed MacDougall gets first PACE program solar installation | Cutler Bay

Mayor Ed MacDougall gets first PACE program solar installation | Cutler Bay

Should the elected leaders leed, or this this case, LEED, by example? There is an important policy question and that is whether leaders should set examples with their money or the community tax dollars? Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall is putting his personal money forward to lead. He is taking the plunge rather than push you into the water from behind.

South Dade Matters raised an interesting issue regarding government purchases of electric cars: PB: Volt Demands Jolt of Reality.  This post was raising alarms about an item on the Palmetto Bay Village Council agenda for January 7, 2012, the proposed purchase of two(2) 2012 Chevrolet Volts from Grand Prize Auto in the amount of $74,300.00.

The article ended with the statements that:

The Village of Palmetto Bay is wasting at least $37,000 so that certain elected officials can run around pretending to be green.

SDM Says: If the village council is so insistent on wasting money on untested technology, please step up to the plate and pay for it with your own money.

Comments to the blog were furious, SDM further commented that:

Here’s the problem: Palmetto Bay’s purchase of two electric vehicles is not leadership; rather, it is following blindly. Worse, it very well may be politics, meaning that some elected officials are purchasing these vehicles for more than twice the cost of a comparable alternative merely to make a political point.

What about it? Should elected official set the policy with the public’s money or their own?  Read where Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall is putting his personal money where his political mouth is in the Cutler Bay News article: Mayor Ed MacDougall gets first PACE program solar installation, by Gary Alan Ruse, Date posted: January 9, 2013

The article reveals that Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall, an early supporter of the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program, now has set an example by participating in it. His own home has the first PACE program solar power roof installation in the area.

 “I’m very excited about it,” MacDougall said in an interview on Dec. 27. “Most of the array is on the front of my house. The way they put it on is they first figure what portion of your roof is best angled for the sunlight. Mine happens to be the front of the house.

“There are quite a few panels. They’re arranged where people can see them, which I think is really good because I want people to see them. I want people to think, ‘wow, maybe I should do that.’ I think it’s important that I lead the way. I strongly believe in PACE. I’m very environmental with pretty much everything I do, including the cars that we drive.”

MacDougall’s business, Choice One Companies, uses only Smart Cars for its staff. He said he hopes the new 10,000 kilowatt photo voltaic solar panel system on his home will reduce his electric bill by 75 percent. “My bill already is pretty low,”

Kudos to Mayor MacDougall for setting an example with his own money.  I have not heard whether current Palmetto Bay Mayor Shelley Stanczyk intends to set a similar leadership example or continue to “lead” with other people’s money.

South Dade Busway update. Pinecrest and Cutler Bay are engaged in neighborhood protection. Palmetto Bay continues to ignore this important issue

Update from Pinecrest (taken from the Pinecrest e-news, April 2013 edition):

South Dade Busway Update

We continue to question and oppose the concept of building an above grade toll express lane over the Busway along US 1.  MDX continues to study this ill-conceived proposal, which will not be completed until 2015, and the opposition through out South Miami-Dade grows with each public presentation.  The Village has recently responded to a grant program, by the Metropolitan Planning Organization, and applied for a grant to undertake additional studies for enhanced transit as opposed to putting more cars on the road, all of which would dump back onto US 1 somewhere in Pinecrest. We are proposing the county study a light-rail alternative or enhanced bus transit as a parallel proposed study to the express lanes study. I have asked Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and our local county commissioners (Moss, Bell and Suarez) to support our proposal. Please read this article from the Miami Herald for more information.

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Thank you Mayor Lerner and Pinecrest council for continuing to step forward on this issue that will profoundly impact the quality of life for the US1 neighborhoods.

Cutler Bay has been engaged as well.  Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall appeared before the MDX board at the local meeting held on March 19.

See my prior post for more information: Update on the 3/19 MDX South Miami-Dade meeting.

Palmetto Bay held its council meeting on Monday, April 1.  Surprisingly, no action continues to be taken by Mayor Stanczyk or any other member of the Palmetto Bay Council. Not a peep or hint of interest in protecting the Palmetto Bay neighborhoods. Perhaps their lack of attendance at the March MDX meeting has left this political council ill-advised and unable to formulate a coherent transit policy. I can't point out often enough that for Palmetto Bay Mayor and Council to show up after others do the heavy lifting and then try to lead the parade is worse than never showing up at all.

Get involved. The future is being determined now.

Update on the 3/19 MDX South MIami-Dade meeting. Toll hike on state roads 836 and 112 might not be final - MiamiHerald.com

Toll hike on state roads 836 and 112 might not be final - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

What will be the future for South Dade roadways? 

Pay significant tolls or have roads suffer from neglect? Will we be forced to pay a daily toll to travel in ‘Lexis Lanes’ on the former buslanes (RIP dreams of mass transit – there has been a huge backslide, why invest in mass transit when we can relieve the pressure, for revenue, and create more incentive to stay in your cars).  There are many transit needs and this is a discussion that must involve as many people and officials as possible. Decisions will impact home values and desirability due to practicality for residents in some areas to be able to commute to work in various areas of the County or may promote additional urban sprawl by moving highways out to areas not currently developed. How will future decisions affect infill?

The locally held March 19 MDX meeting was very well attended.  Well attended that is by Roll Back Tolls group and interested residents, but the local elected officials were suspiciously absent and conspicuously silent on an important issue; the future transit policy for south Miami-Dade.  

Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall was the only local elected official to attend. Thank you Mayor Mac. It is sad to report that there was not a single representative from Palmetto Bay present at the meeting. What a shame – an opportunity avoided to take some leadership or at least gather first-hand information from the MDX representatives as well as the many interested residents.

It would have been a good time for local leaders to share concerns and some constructive ideas with the MDX board. Perhaps even make some common sense proposals such as proposing that the Florida Legislature repurpose the proposed Hotel Bed Tax from funding for private sports stadiums for billionaire owners to instead a broad use, funding meaningful and widespread transit improvements rather than continue to literally ‘nickel and dime’ (or in some cases $2.40 each way) commuters to death. 

Read the Miami Herald article:

“All I hear is more tolls, more concrete and more cars,” said Cutler Bay Mayor Edward MacDougall, one of the speakers who addressed the MDX board.

Carlos Garcia, co-founder of the anti-toll group RollBackTolls.com, voiced the general feeling of people who spoke, urging board members to delay the increase.

“Please hold off,” said Garcia, who like other group members wore a T-shirt with signs saying “Enough is Enough.”

It is a shame that Palmetto Bay’s Mayor and council are missing in action on this debate. It could not have been the location.  The MDX board held this meeting in our neighborhood.  Palmetto Bay’s Mayor and council were not required to face rush hour traffic or car pool to downtown Miami, but despite the convenience, it is more than apparent that these horses could not be led to this water.

Remember the lack of attendance in the very new future when you find that you had no voice in the direction of the transit policy for US1 and South Miami-Dade in general or when you travel the local highways and find yourself paying more in tolls than in gas while billionaires are collecting tax dollars from tourists for their private property instead of investigating in the common good and community infrastructure.

Thank you Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall for showing interest and political spine. A rose to you for your participation.  And thorns to all those elected officials who choose to avoid participating in the dialogue in setting long-term policy for South Miami-Dade transit. Showing up after others do the heavy lifting and trying to jump to the front of the parade Madam Mayor and Council members is worse than never showing up at all.

Get involved. The future is being determined now.

Mayor’s rock band to headline Seafood Festival - Cutler Bay - MiamiHerald.com

Mayor’s rock band to headline Seafood Festival - Cutler Bay - MiamiHerald.com
Ed MacDougall is returning to his rock ‘n’ roll roots.

The mayor of Cutler Bay will reunite with his band, the Mosquitoheads, to close out the ninth annual Deering Seafood Festival on March 24.

Click on the headline at top to read the entire article about both Mayor MacDougall and the Seafood Festival.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/14/3285618/mayors-rock-band-to-headline-seafood.html#storylink=cpy

Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall in Tallahassee: Stadium renovation bill survives amendments, wins House panel approval - Legislature - MiamiHerald.com

TALLAHASSEE: Stadium renovation bill survives amendments, wins House panel approval - Legislature - MiamiHerald.com

Follow up to prior article Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall says "Stop the Stadium Madness!" and he wants other elected officials and everyone to join him.

Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall traveled up to Tallhassee today, Friday, March 8, 2013, and testified against use of taxpayer dollars for Dolphin Stadium. 

“I have spoken to almost all of the mayors of Miami-Dade County and they have asked me to share their opposition to this bad bill,” MacDougall said. “If Stephen Ross feels these improvements are necessary to keep his team competitive, we believe he should pay for them himself.”

The Dolphins proposal made it through its first committee stop in the Florida House, passing by a 12-4 vote. 

It survived numerous amendments including a proposal from Rep. Carlos Trujillo to have Broward County help foot the bill for proposed improvements to SunLife Stadium.  Rep. Trujillo said Broward had amassed $58 million in revenue in 2010 when the Super Bowl was held in South Florida, while Miami-Dade had collected $40 million.   “I think it is fair that if some people are going to receive the majority of the benefit, they should at least pay half the tax,” Trujillo said.

I am not surprised that the Herald reported that Broward officials thought otherwise.   Bottom line for now is that the Miami-Dade taxpayers are closer to being handed the entire costs for a project that enriches Broward County more than Miami-Dade. 

Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall says "Stop the Stadium Madness!" and he wants other elected officials and everyone to join him.

Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall has announced his opposed to spending tax payer dollars for stadium renovations; and the use of general funds from the County to pay for a special election for a private entity. Mayor MacDougall has accepted the position as Honorary Chair of "Stop the Stadium Madness!" and is seeking support from the fellow Mayors of incorporated Miami-Dade County. Mayor Ed MacDougall hopes that the County's Mayor's unite in opposition.

·         Listed below are actions that Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall has taken or will take to demonstrate that he is fully committed:

·         Accepted the position of Honorary Chairman for the (ECO) Stop the Stadium Madness! This political committee will be the vehicle to be used to fight this waste of tax payer dollars 
·         Invested thousands of dollars from his personal assets to fund the outreach process because, as he states, he feels so strongly about this wasteful spending
·         Proposed and unanimously passed a resolution in the Town of Cutler Bay to oppose the  stadium renovation proposal (CLICK HERE to view a copy of that resolution)
·         Will speak in opposition to the stadium proposal and the special election when the issue comes before the Miami-Dade County Commission (he is looking for others willing to attend the Commission Hearing)
·         Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall is also scheduled to speak in opposition of the stadium proposal at the next League of Cities meeting scheduled for March 7, 2013 (A Dolphin's representative will also be speaking at the dinner)

 

CLICK HERE to view the official white paper of the Stop the Stadium Madness! organization. This provides details on the effort and reason they are engaged in the fight.   

 

Mayor/Chair Ed MacDougall is looking for support in a County wide opposition effort. He states that together, we all can convince our county commissioners and state officials that the stadium proposal is a bad idea. The Dolphins will spend millions of dollars to seek this 199 million dollar windfall.

Cutler Bay passed their resolution opposing the spending tax payer dollars for stadium renovations; and the use of general funds from the County to pay for a special election for a private entity on February 20, 2013. The resolution opposes House Bill 165 and Senate Bill 306 currently pending before the Florida Legislature.  

The Palmetto Bay council met on March 4, 2013, holding no discussion of this issue, even though the current mayor sponsored numerous resolutions regarding various legislative issues.  A bill is presently pending in the Florida Legislature and it is important to get on board, one way or another if Palmetto Bay is going to weigh in on this issue. Perhaps the vice-mayor or other member of the Palmetto Bay Village Council can move this item to discussion and action, if the council agrees to take a position on this matter.

 

The Florida legislature is in session from March 5 to May 13, 2013.  Once again, we are waiting to hear from Palmetto Bay. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Palmetto Bay council is April 1, 2013.

EDC presents important updates on the Green Corridor from Joe Spector, Director of Operations for Ygrene Energy, Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.

Interested in the status of the Green Corridor?  Make plans to attend the EDC Community Outreach Meeting, on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. to hear from Joe Spector, Director of Operations for Ygrene Energy.

Cutler Bay’s Mayor Ed MacDougall appeared before the Palmetto Bay Village Council Monday, May 7, 2012, and presented the current Palmetto Bay mayor and village council members with an update on the status of the Green Corridor.  Additional information is now available not only from Mayor MacDougall, but in partnership with the Economic Development Council of South Miami-Dade (EDC). 

This meeting will be held at the Palmetto Bay Village Center, 18001 Old Cutler Road, Palm Room (3rd Floor), Old Cutler Road at SW 184th Street.

There is no charge for this meeting. 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:   Joe Spector, Director of Operations for Ygrene Energy, responsible for leading the implementation of PACE programs throughout the state of Florida.

YGRENE ENERGY FUND FLORIDA, LLC:  Ygrene has been selected as the administrator of the PACE program for the country's first ever PACE district, known as the Green Corridor.

Additional information about going green and the Green Corridor and PACE program, is available on the Cutler Bay official town website (Going Green section) at http://www.cutlerbay-fl.gov/going-green/index.html

More information on this meeting as well as general information on the EDC and its mission can be found at http://www.edcsouthdade.com/