480 Units at the Palmetto Bay Village Center - Village tax dollars were used to create a record that supports the applicant for this zoning hearing. Is this what you voted for?

I am shocked. A full unqualified recommendation has been issued to approval for 480 units on Old Cutler Road. Shocking considering how the current officials played the "485" in the 2016 and 2018 elections.

Read it here:  

Recommendation:

“The requests meet the criteria that are presented in detail in the Staff Analysis. The staff recommendation is to approve to approve (sic) the site plan for a multi-family development consisting of 480 multifamily development units ....”

From Gregory Truitt, Village Manager (apparently no longer Interim?)

Are you ready for 480 units on Old Cutler Road? This is more than I ever envisioned. This is more than what the current mayor promised, yet here it is a full recommendation, with supportive traffic studies (paid for by Palmetto Bay tax dollars), which all support the FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION from her hand-picked Interim Village Manager.  480. So technically, this is not “485” but it is also not less than the 400 that I was working to reduce this project down to. Ask yourself, go ahead, ask the question: Is 480 what Karyn promised to you for your vote?

Perhaps this tax and spend council needs the revenues to fund their pet projects. The same recommendation also shouts out the very favorable positive impact:

"A positive fiscal impact is expected from the Village portion of the ad-valorem property tax on the 480 residential units. In addition, there is a positive impact to Village assets through the donation of a total of 35 acres of park and preservation land.”

Abandoning Government lite has costs. More development is needed to increase the tax base needed for all the entitlements this current mayor and council are dishing out to their political base.

Vindication. I recommend that Village voters pay special attention to the development of the PBVC; what was stated when, what was promised in the 2018 elections and what is being now being delivered in 2020.

I should have fought harder for the truth as Karyn Cunningham and her supporters continued to misrepresent my position on the Palmetto Bay Village Center (PBVC) for their political gain. Her mission, if I understood it correctly was elect her over me because she would stop the alleged overdevelopment. Yet, if I read the staff report correctly, and I am sure that I am, her hand-picked Interim Village Manager has RECOMMENDED 480 units. 

This is a full acceptance of maximum development of the PBVC which, in my opinion, clearly and completely contradicts her campaign promises.

What will really happen? The project will be voted down for the political show and the proceeding will then move on to courts where the decision will be overturned at great public expense, both in budget and in public angst, all so the spineless mayor and council can then blame the court and prior councils – we have seen this before. See my prior posts on the Palmer Litigation (CLICK HERE).

THE TOOLBOX:

CLICK HERE to review prior blog posts laying out the history and facts related to the PBVC and the 485., included in this is the post of January 27, 2020, Fact Checking the Palmetto Bay Village Center issue. Facts, not conjured up rumors and outright lies.

CLICK HERE to view the prior blog posts relating to the extensive, expensive and fruitless litigation on the Palmer Litigation.

CLICK HERE to view a link to the 11 page agenda to read it for yourself.

Special notes – items of interest that you will find in the 11 pages:

The proposed site plan has been reviewed for traffic impacts by the Village's Traffic consultant that concluded that the study intersections and roadway segments are expected to operate at adopted levels of service or better under all analysis conditions during the A.M. and P.M. peak hours, with report completed and submitted to the Village, October 2019 by Kimley Horn & Associates, Inc; ….

The proposed site plan has been reviewed for compliance with Ordinance 2016-14 requirement for limitations of trip generation to Old Cutler Road by the Village's Traffic consultant and concluded that the proposed development meets the requirements of the ordinance, with report completed and submitted to the Village, November 22, 2019 by Kimley Horn & Associates, Inc ....

Palmetto Bay’s own evidence. This is significant: The traffic engineers hired by Palmetto Bay reviewed the plan and approved it in reports rendered in October and November 2019 – a year after the current mayor and new council members were elected. All this going on behind the scenes. I thought they were going to 'get tough on traffic' instead, Mayor Cunningham and council have blessed this traffic.

Impact: Ask any competent lawyer how Palmetto Bay would defend a council denial in the courts when Palmetto Bay’s own experts provide the evidence that the PBVC applicant would rely upon? Crazy! Traffic concerns are the #1 reason to reject or scale down a project.

Closing statement – for those who have read this far: I feel quite vindicated here. The Village officials keep kicking this can down the road as they know that their campaign promises don’t mesh with the factual or legal realities. Considered yourself played.

But then again, far too many vote based upon what they want to hear rather than focusing on the facts and the truth.

Me? I have always fought to save the 22 acres on Palmetto Bay. This needs to happen, but it could have happened either by purchase that would have cost the village less than $1.8 million or at a development number of approximately 389 (more on those in later blog posts). I remain the only mayor who ever served Palmetto Bay who has fought against development on those 22 acres. Which mayor first recommended development? I will point you to a Miami Herald article for that fact nugget: July 22, 2014, Palmetto Bay council defers old Burger King property zoning; approves Palmer Trinity’s site-plan changes, by Lola Duffort. Yes, that is correct, Mayor Stanczyk first proposed development within the 22 acres on the PBVC. Where was the alleged covenant then?  And I never heard a peep in opposition from CCOCI.

Please don't cite me $150 through Code Enforcement as I am following the County rules. Please, Palmetto Bay, do not interfere with my essential County services.

No Palmetto Bay resident should fear a $150 citation from Palmetto Bay for a garbage cart, especially when the residents are following County rules. This post will provide information on how to request service for broken county trash carts, provide necessary links as well as to educate our current members of our village council how to not to put residents at risk of fines. The interesting part is that the vice mayor is terming out (serving nearly 8 years to date), the mayor is entering her 6th year of service, and this is the second time in office for council member Fiore. They all should know better.

The background: see May 19, 2020, Q: How much does it cost to leave your garbage can out in Palmetto Bay? A: $150. Palmetto Bay has gone mad.

I remember the fight to incorporate Palmetto Bay. The promise was we could (and did) do more for our residents by keeping our UMSA money home. A specific issue was staying government lite and not becoming the next Coral Gables or Boca Raton by way of aggressive code enforcement. But new administrations bring new policies and new priorities. The current mayor promised a new direction for Palmetto Bay in the 2018 elections and, well, you've got one. Palmetto Bay certainly has embarked upon a new direction under this current mayor, has reduced transparency, held far too numerous to easily track special council meetings - or keep up with, as well as busted budgets and increased taxes and park user fees.

I detailed the story of Palmetto Bay Code Enforcement issuing a $150.00 ticket to a homeowner, a nurse - for leaving her garbage cart out too long! Not that they actually have the power to, but I am betting that this code enforcement citation has been ‘torn up’ in response to the justified outrage that followed this $150 citation (this will make for a interesting public records request, to track this ticket and its resolution).

My request: Please Palmetto Bay officials - do not interfere with my right to receive Miami-Dade County services, as per the protocol put in place by Miami-Dade County. Take any issues up with the County, but please refrain from issuing citations to any residents following County rules. 

My current situation: My trash cart is broken and it requires repair or replacement. I really wasn't paying attention until several residents contacted me regarding the homeowner ticket as detailed on May 19. One in particular advised that Miami-Dade County requires the homeowner to leave their trash cart out front (by the street) in order to receive a repair or replacement. I went to the online 3-1-1 page and sure enough, this information is correct:

I have made my request for service to my trash cart - see photos documenting damage. I am following the County instructions. 

I do have a Service Request Number:

20-10335909

Following county guidelines:  My trash cart will remain out and accessible as requested by the County - this repair or replacement should be perfected anywhere from today to 10 days (similar to bulk waste pickup). 

Please Palmetto Bay - I am following the County protocol - please don't issue me a ticket for following the process set by Miami-Dade County.

INFORMATION AND LINKS TO MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ONLINE 3-1-1 FOR SERVICE

CLICK HERE to be taken to Miami-Dade County's 311 Direct - the page to submit a service request. Services include (but many others are listed): Animals, bulky waste pick-ups, missed garbage pickups or recycling, mosquitoes, senior meal assistance and, of course, requesting repair / replacement of the damaged green waste cart as well as blue recycling carts.

Please Palmetto Bay officials - do not interfere with my right to receive Miami-Dade County services, as per the protocol put in place by Miami-Dade County. Take any issues up with the County, but please refrain from issuing citations to any residents following County rules. 

A total lack of transparency. Why you have to ask. It now takes a formal public records request to obtain information from Palmetto Bay. No resolutions posted since February 5, 2019. No updates to the index since July, 2019.

Information. You are entitled to it. It used to be easily accessible. However, it is like the Internet doesn't even exist for our local Palmetto Bay officials. For those interested in what is happening, who really want to be kept in the loop, current information must be obtained the 'old fashioned way' - you need to ask in the form of a formal public records request - but make sure you ask the right question or you will get what they want you to see, not what you need.

Why is Transparency important? An Example: Transparency prevents behind the scenes deals and protects residents from abuse - as once exposed, bad government acts are forced to be withdrawn. There would be no controversy forcing elected officials to change bad policy or bad acts if you never knew about them. See:  Q: How much does it cost to leave your garbage can out in Palmetto Bay? A: $150. Palmetto Bay has gone mad (May 19, 2020). There would be no public outcry if there was no public knowledge of incidents such as the infamous $150 ticket for a garbage can left out. Picking on the little guy. Has the $150.00 ticket been withdrawn yet, can it be legally 'torn up' once issued?

Why do Palmetto Bay officials complain about transparency? Yet, we hear complaints about people making public records requests by the current elected officials and their supporters (horrors! – people wanting to know what is going on in their community, with their tax dollars - and it is the absolute right to have access). Do you want to know why? Information is being withheld as I explain below. And all is documented on the official website.

There would be far fewer public records requests if full transparency was restored to the Village website. I always made sure that the actual resolutions were posted within 30 days of passage as well as keeping the index updated. Policy and priorities change when there is a change in administrations. Your voice doesn't matter if the village fails to provide you with access to information to see how the government is, or is not, functioning. The online location of resolutions passed by the Village of Palmetto Bay remains. But it is being neglected by the current mayor and council. To review it would lead readers to believe that very little has happened over the last year, year and three months. Not that the reader would be wrong.

Note that there is no listing for "Resolutions - 2020" Photo 5-19-2020

Serious neglect. The index has not been updated since July 29, 2019 (nearly 10 months ago). The last resolution indexed is dated July 29, 2019. (Resolution 2019-109):

A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND VILLAGE COUNCIL OF

THE VILLAGE OF PALMETTO BAY, FLORIDA, RELATING TO

TRANSIT; URGING THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ORGANIZATION TO STOP

EXPLORING ALL OTHER ALTERNATIVES IN SMART PLAN

CORRIDORS UNTIL ALL FUNDING OPTIONS FOR THE

CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHT RAIL AND/OR METRORAIL

(ONE-SEAT RIDE) ON THE EXISTING SOUTH DADE

TRANSITWAY ARE FULFILLED,

How did that resolution go by the way?  This was yet another failed effort - a photo op resolution without follow up or success. The county (Miami-Dade TPO & Miami-Dade County government) is proceeding at full steam ahead with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), so resolution 2019-109 had absolutely no effect. See prior related post of May 11, 2020, Update on the ‘Gold standard BRT”. A single qualified bid was received by Miami-Dade County for the BRT line along US1. The Final Bid is $326,172,000.00. What this means for Palmetto Bay. Renderings posted.

CLICK HERE to view the alleged list of resolutions passed by the village of Palmetto Bay. The resolutions were posted within 30 days under my administrations. However, the current Mayor apparently does not feel that public information or transparency is important.

Record setting procrastination – adversely affecting your rights to know. Would a teacher allow students to withhold their work for this long? I want see your work!. The answer should be that we can see it on the website, not you will see it if and when we feel it is necessary - and then take more than a year to post it.

What about the actual resolutions? After all, the index is just an index. The details are contained in the full resolution, not the heading. Are you sitting down? The last complete resolution posted dates back to February 4, 2019, resolution 2019-033.  That is more than 15 months. It takes more than a year and 3 months to post the full resolutions? Well, we will see as there is no hint that any updates are actually set to be posted so the record setting official procrastination continues to run, setting new records by the day.

Why would the mayor not want the resolutions posted? The details are important. Headings fail to tell the full story. Fellow residents would see the long string of wasted time and unfulfilled promises that many of the legislation, resolutions and ordinances would reveal. At some point this mayor probably will release all resolutions in a big dump update, relying upon people not having the time or energy to review years’ worth of wasted council action.

Hide the actions that demonstrate that the council actions are not working. That appears to be the mantra of this current mayor.

The Tool Box for this topic:

January 7, 2019, Eroding Transparency gains in Palmetto Bay. 3 voted yes in 2017, but new council, new rules, new goals for 2019. Where is Elvis Costello when you need him most in this dark time for transparency roll back in Palmetto Bay!

April 24, 2019, Tactical Transparency in Palmetto Bay - who is managing information, the elected officials or campaign consultants?

April 25, 2019, Palmetto Bay - Transparency - on sale to those who can afford it

Q: How much does it cost to leave your garbage can out in Palmetto Bay? A: $150. Palmetto Bay has gone mad.

The current mayor promised a new direction for Palmetto Bay in the 2018 elections. Well you've got one. Palmetto Bay certainly has embarked upon a new direction under this current mayor, reduced transparency, numerous special meetings - far too numerous to count or keep up with, busted budgets, and now this:

Palmetto Bay Code Enforcement issuing $150.00 tickets to homeowners - for leaving their garbage can out too long! Have our Palmetto Bay officials gone nuts?

As recited on the Facebook post:

(Name redacted) I’m a bit upset at a PB inspector. Last week he apparently came by my house and states he gave a verbal warning to someone.... that the garbage can was out.... funny thing is I didn’t even take out the garbage on Tuesday.... he then returned to my house Saturday morning and left a $150 citation in my door because my garbage can was out! None of my neighbors seem to have received citations and saw multiple garbage cans out. It was pouring rain and couldn’t bring it in before leaving to work at the hospital. This is ridiculous! Since when are garbage cans citations $150? And much less when it’s not enforced unanimously!!!!!"

As one person commented: "Regardless, $150 seems quite excessive!!!!"

OMG. This certainly marks a new direction for Palmetto Bay. In some places, a friend, neighbor, or even a government official would bring in the can. Believe me, it takes much more in village resources to make good on a $150.00 ticket. 

This is insensitive. So many people are losing money (and their sense of well-being) during this coronavirus and this is how they are being treated!

I give this ticket a ZERO PERCENT chance of holding up in court (a hearing before the Palmetto Bay Special Master).

Why the sudden change of direction of this nature; why are we citing our fellow residents over a garbage can being left out for too long? Don't blame our code enforcement department. I personally know this code enforcement officer. This is not his MO. He assists residents. He is obviously under strict new directions. New mayor and council = new policy for our code enforcement officers must comply with.

Could it be that Palmetto Bay officials are so desperate to fill an alleged (yet still unconfirmed) $1 million budget deficit that they plan on making it up $150 at a time against our valued residents?

I'm calling BS on this one. This is a garbage punk move by an administration that is at war against its own residents.  How about issuing $150.00 tickets to the current mayor and council members for blowing up the current Palmetto Bay budget and costing us in time, services and increased taxes?

Tallahassee budget final - Palmetto Bay and other local governments need to get ready to get back to business. Budget prep time is coming up. What did Palmetto Bay and surrounding areas receive from Tallahassee to assist in the upcoming budget year? Let’s deal with some non-Coronavirus news for a change of pace

How Palmetto Bay fared with the 2020 Florida Legislature: 

No better, no worse than neighboring Pinecrest and Cutler Bay. Pinecrest appears to have $150,000 in the budget for stormwater. Palmetto Bay has $100,000 for stormwater. Cutler Bay has $100,000 in the budget for the Cutler Bay Wetland Restoration Project (HB 3757). All contingent upon survival of the Governor's line item veto. 

Palmetto Bay may receive $100,000 out of the $3.2 million requested: For Palmetto Bay, out of the $3,245,900 requested, there is a paltry $100,000 in the budget, or barely over 3% of what was being sought. But, this $100,000 is $100,000 more than made it into the budget at this time last year (2019).  This post updates the legislative mid-term post of February 20, 2020 and closes out the 2020 regular legislative session. There has been no definitive word yet as to whether or not there will be any special sessions to address Coronavirus or other issues. 

Please be mindful that nothing in the budget is final until the Governor signs the budget (after any line item vetoes). The Coronavirus pandemic may trigger many line item vetoes, removing some of those items initially thought to be safe in the budget.

The grading process: In evaluating the possible success for this legislative session, we start with the original 2020-2021 appropriation requests from Palmetto Bay officials totaling $3,245,900. This is an enormous  request, an amount of money  that appears worthy of significant travel and constant advocating in Tallahassee, but not the final drop to the $100,000 total that is currently earmarked in the State budget. There was brief talk of another $125,000 for an education center placed in State Education Funding, but that $125,000.00 was a drop in the budget to the total project cost for Palmetto Bay taxpayers – $745,900 was the original funding ask from the State. The claimed local contribution was proposed to be $1,500,000 for a project optimistically estimated in 2019 dollars to be $2,245,900 (and this request was voted in favor of by a vice mayor who has been critical of Palmetto Bay’s “million dollar hotdog stand”). Note there has never been an operational plan – coverage for operation and maintenance, costs of personnel, even considered by Mayor Cunningham and Council before requesting the money for this potential boondoggle.

Revenues - but factor in costs to obtain: Also note, the $100,000 is the appropriation, but there were significant costs related to the playtime in Tallahassee for Mayor Cunningham and company. These taxpayer funded costs include a full time employee grant writer (salary, benefits, internal costs such as office and other employee related costs are at least $70,000 per year), apportioned time of the Deputy Manager for her time spent in set up, preparing for, travel and ongoing communication (I have been told this is valued in the $30-50K range) as well as other personnel in preparing for and traveling with (and without the elected) locally and in Tallahassee. Add in what I am told (but have not personally seen evidence of) a last minute no-bid hire of $10,000 for undefined lobbyists, and it appears that it would have been far cheaper to spend our money locally and not seek money in another recent losing effort in Tallahassee, especially when the elected were distracted in Tallahassee which may be a reason they took their attention of the moratorium, allowing it to expire. Long story short – what did Palmetto Bay taxpayers put up to receive the $100,000?

One does not have to travel and shelter in Tallahassee to follow legislative requests. Many projects approved where hometown grassroots projects.

Status of appropriations in Budget – making it into the budget to be submitted to the Governor:

     Made it

   into budget                                                                                                                                   Midterm February 20 figure
    600,000  Deering Estate Foundation’s Field Study Research Center Phase 2 (HB 2627)   250,000  
    100,000  Cutler Bay Wetland Restoration Project (HB 3757)                                                    100,000
    150,000  Homestead Automatic Flushing System (HB 3165)                                                    150,000
    100,000  Palmetto Bay Sub-Basin 61 Construction (HB 3461)                                                  100,000

      ZERO    Nature Educational Center (Coral Reef Park) (HB 3809)(Details)                            125,000
    150,000  Pinecrest Stormwater Improvements (HB 3807)                                                        100,000

Some did improve from the February report: Team Deering Estate worked hard and raised their number from $250k in February 2020 to an impressive $600,000 in the final legislative budget approved by the legislature on March 18! Otherwise, the numbers for the sampling of local projects listed above February 20 stayed the same.

Many local items did not hold their place. An example is the Coral Reef Park Nature Center, hidden in an educational portion of the budget at $125,000, but was cut to ZERO.

FINAL WORDS / IMPACT UPON PALMETTO BAY BUDGET(S): The $100,000 for stormwater improvements will move into the Palmetto Bay FY 2020-21 budget where it will be matched with $100,000 of Palmetto Bay tax revenue in order to support $200K in stormwater projects.

Traffic calming - public works - leadership. What is happening with that lawsuit so critical to address an “emergency…”? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

Rumor has it (actually, well-placed sources that are honest)  that there is a deal pending that this suit will be ‘dropped’ (dismissed) in exchange for Miami-Dade County funding and installing the traffic circle at the intersection  of SW 87th Avenue and SW 174th Street. This 'rumor' has neither been admitted nor denied by Village Council. It just sits there - like the stalled traffic mitigation programs in the pipeline in 2018 (CLICK HERE to view October 17, 2018, Update on Palmetto Bay Traffic Projects - and further updates will be posted as available - under a different mayor and council and, therefore, different priorities.

Back to the lawsuit. What is up with the lawsuit to protect public safety at 87 & 174? Neither the facts, nor the law are on the side of Palmetto Bay, yet it is strange that this is not being discussed publicly; that the allegations of the alleged deal were conspicuously not addressed at the Special Council Meeting held on Thursday, January 23, 2020. Item 3 of this meeting (III) was "A traffic circle on SW 87th Avenue and SW 174th Street.” The can keeps getting kicked down the road and, what, another ninety (90) days has been requested by the Village. Really? What for? The Village dodged a bullet of a prior January 17 removal date thanks to grassroots resident action (the ‘in spite of the elected officials’ result). See January 13, 2020, Palmetto Bay - salvage what you can before the door actually closes on the traffic circle for 174 and 87th Avenue

Will Palmetto Bay officials accept the inevitable on the traffic circle or, if not, why does it take 90 more days to simply say no to the county and move on the lawsuit? Is there another plan other than delay, delay, delay?

Experience matters as does maturity. It is time for Palmetto Bay to move forward on the traffic circle – and this should be done before the 4-way stop signs are removed and the “do not block the box (intersection)" paint is placed on 87th avenue.

What has been accomplished to date?  Nothing – there has been no action on the lawsuit which sits dormant to date. 

Screen shot of official court docket -
Palmetto Bay v Miami-Dade County as of 3:00 PM, Friday, 1/31/2020

Why must this important item of traffic safety proceed behind the scenes? How are the various members of the Village Council being advised/included without violating Florida’s Sunshine Law?

It is beginning to look more and more like there is deliberate foot dragging (if not actual hiding under the bed to avoid responsibility) calculated to make the county take unilateral action; just as the county did after the current Palmetto Bay Village Council denied the traffic circle at  SW 87th Avenue and SW 144th street which forced Miami-Dade County to step in and unilaterally install the 4 way stop signs.

This is all most irregular – no action, little communication, no leadership. Miami-Dade County removed a 4 way stop at SW 82nd Avenue and SW 148th Street in Mangowood in 2016 (which did lead to significant Village council uproar, but under a prior Mayor and Council). Things have certainly changed under this current mayor and council: 

• Miami-Dade County installed a 4 way stop at SW 87th Avenue and SW 174th Street– that it now wants to remove in favor of a fully funded and installed traffic circle. 
• Miami-Dade County has installed, apparently as a permanent solution, the aforementioned four way stop at SW 87th Avenue at SW 144th street (mere blocks from where the Mangowood signs were removed - the irony!)

All this without a peep, and with no comment by the current mayor or other village elected officials.

There is no action (resolutions or other foreshadowing of discussion) relating to any of these areas listed on the official village agenda for the February village council meeting for Monday, February 3, 2020 (CLICK HERE to view the agenda as it was posted as of Friday, January 31, 2020).

It is all beginning to look like the current mayor and council continue to abdicate their responsibilities in order to simply throw shade and point fingers, all the while waiting on Miami-Dade County to tire of the endless delays and take action without them, thereby allowing Palmetto Bay officials to maintain plausible deniability and blame others – in this case Miami-Dade County.

The tool box on this issue - prior relevant posts:

• BREAKING NEWS - County was set to remove stop signs, but will wait for Village Council to reconsider Traffic Circle
• Palmetto Bay - salvage what you can before the door actually closes on the traffic circle for 174 and 87th Avenue
• What is next for traffic management in Palmetto Bay. I missed a report if there was one on Jan 6. Where is the plan?
• South Dade Updates Guest Blog- view of the 12/12/2019 Palmetto Bay / Miami-Dade County conflict resolution proceeding
• Waiting for Palmetto Bay’s official response – Cutler Bay site alleges that the 174/87th 4 way stop to be removed January 17. Where is the announcement, what about the lawsuit?

Palmetto Bay - salvage what you can before the door actually closes on the traffic circle for 174 and 87th Avenue

Experience matters as does maturity. It is time for Palmetto Bay to move forward on the Traffic Circle – and this should be done before the 4-way stop signs are removed and the “do not block the box (intersection)" paint is placed on 87 avenue. This change is currently scheduled for January 17, 2020 - just days from this post. The Palmetto Bay lawsuit seeking injunctive relief is not going anywhere and it will go nowhere – at least anywhere productive. 

It is easy for our current members of the Palmetto Bay Village Council to talk tough and hide behind a lawsuit. It is harder to make the right choice, even if it is far from an easy choice. After all, bad litigation allows Mayor Cunningham and the Village Council to scapegoat; to blame the courts for the adverse rulings or others (and boy, does this current mayor and council love to sit back and do nothing but delay and point fingers at others!). 

The facts:

• The County basically ignored the lawsuit, VILLAGE OF PALMETTO BAY, FLORIDA VS MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, case number 019-031036-CA-01, case filed 10/18/2019.
• The lawsuit was very weak, particularly as the alleged facts “verified” (sworn to on the complaint filed) by Karyn Cunningham where she verified unsupported allegations made in the lawsuit that were not based upon an actual traffic expert. Not that this would have made a big difference, but it would have provided something of substance for a Judge to consider at an initial hearing for a preliminary injunction.
• There were obviously no grounds for a preliminary injunction (something that would have alleviated the need for pre-suit dispute resolution and allowed for the injunction - until the case can progress on the merits). The current Village Attorney has not even seen fit to file anything with the court post conflict resolution meeting of 12/12/2019.
• The County pushed back hard at the Dispute resolution conference. (see letter pictured here) and see: January 7, 2020, South Dade Updates Guest Blog- view of the 12/12/2019 Palmetto Bay / Miami-Dade County conflict resolution proceeding
• Palmetto Bay officials have all but admitted to the fact that this lawsuit is baseless, which can be argued by the fact that the current village attorney has not filing anything with the court to advise that the conflict meeting was held and seeking the injunction to prevent removal of the signs currently scheduled for this week, January 17, 2020. The lawsuit simply sits there, untended, which is a reflection of how useless a tool this suit is to force the county to maintain the 4-way stop.
  
  Here is the short version, cutting to the chase, as to what was offered at this meeting of 12/12/2019:

Miami-Dade County officials offered to do 1 of 2 things:

1.  Remove the stop signs and paint a "do not block" (the "box") at the intersection, (see posted pictures for an example) or 
2.  Miami-Dade County will fund and install a traffic circle at 174 and 87th Avenue.

It is time for Mayor Cunningham and, if not her, the others on the village council to face reality and take some action based upon the facts and not their political pandering. 

THE FACT – there is a resolution ready and waiting. The County’s offer of to fund and build a traffic circle at 174 and 87th Avenue is still available – if Cunningham and Co gets out of the way and allows the proper response to the dangerous intersection. My advice to them: ‘when in a hole (and mayor, you are deep in this hole) STOP DIGGING!’ See Law of Holes.

I originally asked this question on December 12, 2019, and nothing good has happened over the month relative to this issue:

FAIR QUESTION: How do our village officials feel their aggressive negotiation through threats and litigation is proceeding, is it effective so far?  Does Mayor Cunningham feel that this process will provide the results worth the probable negative impact on joint projects planned for other areas of Palmetto Bay?  Will we need to litigate all these projects?

TRAFFIC RELIEF PLANS ARE GLOBALLY ON HOLD: Planned traffic relief set for implementation in early 2019 has come to a screeching halt – Malbrook, 152/77th Area, Old Cutler Road (south of 168th), Farmers Road/Old Cutler North, bike lanes for SW 136 Street (morphing to an enlarged sidewalk solely borne by Palmetto Bay residents), as well as the right turn lane on Ludlum, turning right onto eastbound Old Cutler Road – all currently off the rails. See October 17, 2018, Update on Palmetto Bay Traffic Projects - and further updates will be posted as available 

Well?
Grassroots government: INTERESTING POINT – unique to local government. This current Palmetto Bay Village Council has created another first – a local government where the County Mayor and other County Officials get more done through meeting with involved residents than the current elected officials. Not a good sign for anyone looking for any relevance of results from Palmetto Bay officials.

Perhaps this credibility gap is caused by Palmetto Bay officials negotiating and reaching 'agreements' only to renege on that promise (as occurred when the traffic  circle and other projects agreed to were voted down by the village council). 

Again, this litigation will go nowhere productive. Dismiss it and allow Miami-Dade County to fund and install a traffic circle at 174 and 87th Avenue.

The choice (far from 'Sophie's choice') as demonstrated through photos below (but it may be more of a 'Hobson's choice').

Photos above demonstrate the options for Palmetto Bay on 87th Av at 174:

"Do Not Block" paint versus landscaped traffic circle. Which looks and performs better?

PAST RELEVANT POSTS – the ‘toolbox’ on this issue. 

January 7, 2020, What is next for traffic management in Palmetto Bay. I missed a report if there was one on Jan 6. Where is the plan?

January 3, 2020, Waiting for Palmetto Bay’s official response – Cutler Bay site alleges that the 174/87th 4 way stop to be removed January 17. Where is the announcement, what about the lawsuit? - There is just no other way to say it - Mayor Cunningham and the Village Council tell you only what they want you to know. You need to look elsewhere for most information. 

December 5, 2019, Meeting noticed: Conflict Assessment Meeting set in Village of Palmetto Bay vs. Miami-Dade County, Florida, for 2:00 PM, Thursday, December 12, 2019, at Village Hall, as well as:

October 25, 2019, Thoughts on the most recent litigation FILED by the village: Good faith or is this a less than good faith attempt to avoid a deal that the Mayor and Council had no authority to make?

December 10, 2019, Agenda for the Conflict Resolution/Mediation set for 2:00 PM, Thursday, 12/12/19. Agenda includes public comment. Should you/must you go to state your position. Fair questions in advance.
November 20, 2019, Litigation Update. Court approves agreement between Palmetto Bay & Miami-Dade County to stay proceedings pending exhaustion of conflict resolution procedures

We all are waiting to see how this plays out. We could have at least had a traffic circle, funded by Miami-Dade County. We will now, as things stand now, have the "Do Not Block The Box" paint. Hardly as effective, but that is just my opinion.

Palmetto Bay’s current Mayor needs to stop hiding behind proxy attacks and build coalitions, not angry mobs through misinformation. 2020’s first textbook example of poor leadership.

There's a Spanish idiom, in English literally "to throw the stone and hide the hand" which means "to start some kind of trouble and then not take responsibility for that"

The current Palmetto Bay mayor couldn't go 48 hours into 2020 before she stirs her behind the scenes proxies to attack fellow village council member David Singer. It is truly sad that Palmetto Bay could not make it more than 48 hours into the new year without the first behind the scenes attack from one council member to another. I term this as a textbook example of bad leadership because once again, our current elected officials, who put forth the public personas of being friendly and engaging in public, bear fangs once again (and far too often by proxy) to engage in an attack on the person and not on the discussion.

This comment made through this attached e-mail is, in my opinion, quite  unprofessional. We often disagree (that is everyone's right to disagree) but to denigrate a fellow council member is uncalled for, especially in such a crude manner in stating: “It’s complete and utter BS.”

Can we please have a return to civility and be positive: to bring your advocacy to the council meeting rather than tearing things down through building a mob behind the scenes? Especially when she, as mayor, hasn’t stated publicly her position on the bridges. And, by the way "hoping" is not advocacy.

Is the problem that she has nothing to offer on her own, so she resorts to rounding up others to come and attack in order to allow her to sit back and not take blame? She obviously does not want to discussion to be held - at least in the Sunshine of open government proceeding.

Speaking in riddles - different responses carefully tailored to different and opposing people? A common tactic for politicians without principles:

What does this response to a bridge proponent mean? From Mayor Cunnigham, 10-18-2019, advising a resident that "Our (meaning Palmetto Bay's) opposition is not keeping the county from moving forward if they deem it appropriate."

There are two ways to rescind a resolution. 
The first is to put forward a resolution actually rescinding by stating that this current council has changed its position - and note there is no such resolution pending.  
The second is to make sure that the resolution is ignored, to no longer back up that prior resolution. 

The 10-18-2019 e-mail from Mayor Cunningham appears to state that the prior anti-bridging resolution exists on paper, but is not being actively pursued by this current mayor and counsel.  This is a backdoor way to allow things to happen, but deflect criticism for allowing it to happen.

This all relates back to Spanish idiom I opened this post with - "to throw the stone and hide the hand" which means "to start some kind of trouble and then not take responsibility for that.” It’s all about ‘don’t blame (Mayor Cunningham – who appears to be doing a great job at avoiding responsibility), who appears to be saying different things to different people and not going to advocate for or against the prior resolution, blame the County for what even happens either way.’ Leadership? Transparency? speaking straight to Constituents? Hardly. This is a coward’s way out. Palmetto Bay deserves better.

Postscript. Elected officials should use official Village e-mails, not personal or third party emails, when communicating with constituents on official business. The posted e-mail concerns an official agenda item; it is therefore concerning official village business. Why then, is the mayor not using her official village e-mail? Is this to enable her to avoid public records laws in regard to transparency in her communication to others relating to village business? 

Public services for some. Perhaps there is a political order. Friends and allies first?

From a friend:

Photo taken 12-2-2019

During the campaign of Mayor Cunningham, one of the items she made a big deal of was her “Street by Street Initiative.”  So far, all I see out of this initiative is an opportunity for our mayor to have taken another selfie.

Since October 31st, when FPL came by and removed the street signs in order to completely kill the property values of a few homes in Palmetto Bay by putting huge power poles practically in the yards of my neighbors, the signs have not been replaced. Even with several calls to the Village Public Works Department, the signs are missing, or laying on the ground.

So far, the only things I have seen happen is for a crew to come by about two weeks ago and decide to leave one of the signs on the ground, and take the other away.

After a month and a half, the corners of SW 148 St/SW 75 Ave and SW 148 St/74 Place are still without street signs.  I know that the crew that came by took one of the signs because they said it was damaged and in need of repair.  I don’t know what this would have to do with the other street sign that is still laying on the ground.

I am not impressed.
(UNSIGNED)

EDITOR’S NOTE: The statement I posted above was sent to me by a FOSDU, but the person asked to remain anonymous. This post stands out to me for two reason, the first is the difference between actual service levels most receive from that presented on village controlled social media.

The second is this is what happens when you remove village operations from the Manager and Staff and create a process where it becomes political. It becomes more important to make a 'bid splash' for the photo ops than making sure our 'quiet residents' are taken care of in a timely manner.

The 'Street by street' should be an end of this current Mayor and Council scapegoating the manager and staff as now the council is directing provision of services. They own it.

Non-political public services means priorities are established as to what needs done, regardless of location.

Politicizing public services means its more likely for our elected officials to see that those who will send praise out on social media get served first, even if that means the quiet residents have to wait longer.

How has the process been going? Information is being carefully controlled in Palmetto Bay. It started with the current Mayor and council placing the shade down over transparency by removing agendas, minutes, full resolutions from the website that actually documents what is going on in the Village, how tax dollars are being spent.

The next step that followed was replacing that information with the self-promotion and carefully crafted controlled information – some might call propaganda.  

And that, my friends, is where the term 'selfies over substance' came about and we certainly saw evidence of that at the most recent State of the Village Address.

And finally, why do some areas seem to receive all the attention at the expense of others? The answer is obvious, services based upon political favoritism, rather than professional management.

Let's get those signs reinstalled. They weren't cheap. Someone may have an accident, either through inability to know their precise location or possibly even running into the signs.The manager and staff would have had it done long ago, but they probably don't have time to go off list (or possibility the authority to go off list). 

IMHO