IT’S NAUGHTY TO COMPROMISE ON FULL PARKING EXEMPTIONS IN LAUDERALE-BY-THE-SEA …

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14. OLD BUSINESS

a. Parking Requirement Modifications (Town Manager Connie Hoffmann & Assistant Town Manager Bud Bentley) – Requested at the November 22, 2010 Roundtable meeting

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Dear Readers… Direction given for a 3 year “parking suspension program” with “fine print” attached for the ordinance 1st reading has left this writer at a loss tonight….The Commission needs to go back and look at the video online to recap and review the discussion and the decision made by them thus far…(It can always be changed at 1st /2nd reading)….

OOPS!…No date was set for that 1st reading despite it being offered up as a special Comm. mtg. on Jan 11th prior to the Roundtable at the start of Bud Bentley’s podium stint on the item…If it is not done this way it will be 1st reading Jan. 25th with 2nd reading Feb 22 …Delay..delay…delay …….

The Mayor sounded more like Nancy Pelosi a reader told this writer with her stance lately on government and business… On this I must agree…sorry to say….Her comments made on her choice of a yearly review of the parking requirements and the question of why the rush this exemption for restaurants is beyond my comprehension … I also am surprised over the lack of understanding she showed on the difference between parking requirement exemptions vs. parking revenue for the Town coming from the center seat…Who has her ear?… I was taken aback on her crossing guard point to aid with getting across A1A  and how that had anything to do with this particular issue…How in the world could the Mayor compare the cost left for this Commission contend with and the taxpayers to pay for due to the Esther Colon contract payout to a full exemption for restaurants..when there is no correlation? … Asst. TM Bentley spoke of the parking revenue increase that can be expected from the new parking pay stations under the Consent Agenda prior to this item…. A big thanks goes to Comm. Sasser’s and his question posed to the Asst. TM who again spoke of the retail stores and the parking requirement credits the owners of those parcels can offer to their tenants thus making the charges made by the Mayor of an inequity resulting for other businesses if restaurants are offered the exemption a moot point…….(Relaxation to hotels is to be addressed in the near future)…I believe the Town Atty. distanced herself from staff on the liability that could come if a requirement came back into play at an undetermined time in the future…I also think that Asst. TM Bud Bentley sorely misconstrued the comment made by VM Dodd at the Nov. Roundtable on dealing with the parking problem when and if it arose as a result of the parking exemption being successful and stating that comment gave way to a time certain ….implementing a “parking suspension program” ….stating it was something staff put at the top of the list rather than a full elimination as was directed by the majority …We hear staff spent lots of time this last week lobbying for the suspension program along with the TAtty. although they did not produce the backup until late afternoon last Friday…

This one needs to be readdressed and reconsidered ASAP….to get it back on track …back to the premise that LBTS is open for business …We need to be marketing a full exemption for restaurant type establishments and not a 3 year suspension program with lots of fine print…Note to anyone on the Commission making a motion……if Comm. Clottey makes 2nd to your motion… that’s gotta be a sign that something is amiss!… Vice Mayor Dodd was spot on in his opening remarks …He hit it out of the park…He was spot on as well in his remarks to counter Mayor Minnet’s …that is until he suddenly did a 180 and compromised making a motion for a 3 year parking suspension program that knocked this writer right off my seat!…… Clottey quickly seconded it… thus it was the time for VM Dodd to reconsider his motion….I have to believe he may have been put off by Asst. TM Bentley conferring on the bar/restaurant percentage requirement with Comm. Vincent and Bentley’s avidly referring to the “parking suspension program” …. Comm. Vincent…Comm. Sasser and VM Dodd all stated they were for the full exemption over suspension….in this writer’s opinion… They can fix it next week at the Roundtable ….It can be reworked then or at 1st reading to return it to the full exemption with no sunset time limit imposed ….. And while you are at it…. forget about less parking restrictions for 101 N. Ocean…they too should be fully exempt….

Definitely more on this to come….

Link to archived video …. http://lbts.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2

Tags: Lauderdale By The Sea Parking Exemption Plan Compromised?, Scoops
Posted in LBTS Agendas/Meetings, Local Politics, Scoops, local government

LIFE “HURDLES” ….

Dear Readers … Life is all about the “hurdles” …dealing with what “hurdles” come your way and getting over them rather than going around them…under them or … God forbid…letting them stop you in your tracks…… Hurdles” can come at any time…at any height …and in any number …. If you’re lucky …… they are standard issue “hurdles” …. spaced far apart …… offering us time to “warm-up” in order to be able to jump over them with little effort while taking it all in stride……Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for us to figure out there are a rare number of “hurdlers” who are able to stay on that course throughout their lives …..Most of us…from time to time encounter “hurdles” created by others that are placed in our path …way too high…way too close together ….and in numbers we are sure can only be cruel joke on us at best!…. The only certainty about life’s “hurdles” is that you never see the last one until your life is over….unless…. that too becomes a “hurdle” leading to yet more “hurdles”…be they up or be they down…Hmmm…….

POLITICAL “HURDLES” ….

As I looked at the agenda for tonight’s LBTS Reg. Commission Meeting at 7 pm … http://www.lauderdalebythesea-fl.gov/ …. I see that it appears a “hurdle” has been placed in it… under Old Business …item 14…

“14. OLD BUSINESS

a. Parking Requirement Modifications (Town Manager Connie Hoffmann & Assistant Town Manager Bud Bentley) – Requested at the November 22, 2010 Roundtable meeting”

This was not what the majority at the Roundtable on Nov. 22, 2010 directed the staff to present on this agenda…(prev post) ….  It appears this is a deja vu type “hurdle” with staff and/or the Town Atty. going in a direction of their own choosing from the limited backup supplied… sad to say!… The direction given was to eliminate the parking requirements for restaurant “types” and offer a jumpstart for hospitality to come to LBTS as long ago included in the Goodkin Feasibility Study to offset the major loss of hospitality we were faced with in 2005 from the loss of hotels that are now condos/townhomes and the many motel/hotels that are currently not up to snuff in order to offer sustained tourist business coming our way…(prev. posts) …. To take the direction given for action to be taken (1st reading ordinance)  changing it from exempting parking requirements for “restaurant types” to an item under old business offering a “Parking Requirement Modification” is a “hurdle” that requires immediate action from the Commission and a check of the “rule book” … Thus far there have been no valid reasons offered by staff as to why a parking requirement exemption should not be implemented to the fullest extent …in an expedient manner…

One Avid Reader sent the following to this writer… “Governing should not be about the worries created by the success of action but rather about the failures that happen from doing nothing. ” … Inspirational words to govern by tonight …in this writer’s opinion….

It is hoped the majority on the dais will nip this staff inaction in the bud in order to carry out the “out-of -the-box” forward thinking plan they had in mind …Vice Mayor Dodd has already put forth an item on the Dec. 14th Roundtable to remove the Notice of Intent Resolution which was approved on Nov. 9, 2010 in a 5-0 vote without discussion …(see archived backup on website/minutes on this agenda)…. It has already proven to be just another added layer to the length of getting business done …

Of note…. in the archived backup it was to be on this evening’s agenda after it was passed…It was not…That is until today (online agenda states “Amended Dec. 6, 2010) ….after VM Dodd alerted Town  ….It is being used to stop the parking exemption 1st reading from going forth before January…Case-in-point for why it was a misstep to pass it…and it should now be removed tonight…as they deal with item 11. Reso 2010-39…That action should then lead to action on the exemption…

Also on the agenda is a presentation of the Proposed Interlocal Agreement for Solid Waste Disposal…with a Rep from the Broward County Resource Recovery Board coming to get us on board….Comm. Sasser is the Commission liaison on this one and has met with staff to discuss this prior to tonight’s meeting…/ No Public Safety monthly reports…BC-Hmmm… on hold til end of January…doubling up a few months in the process most likely…/ Consent Agenda includes ….A1A FDOT extension of contract services with Post Buckley & Multi-spaced Parking Pay Stations../ Ord. 1st Reading for the Sewer Increase …to get 2nd Reading in Jan. and to be up and running by Feb…. No specifics beyond what we were already advised in backup …VM Dodd previously put SRC on the next Roundtable on Dec. 14th to discuss/2nd Readings are accessory buildings & Choice Waste changes/As stated above the agenda was “amended” to add item 11 Reso. 2010-39 NOI ../ Old Bus. as discussed above “Parking Requirement Modifications” which includes the staff recommended “parking suspension program” for 2 yrs with a reso for an extension rather than a flat out parking exemption for restaurant types The backup has no grandfathering or specifics included in it … & The proposed Interlocal Agreement …/ The El Dorado ( a BJHarris claimant ) wants a change in the code for cement walls and Comm. Vincent put it on for them…./ TM Report is short this time …No finalization on the Coral Reef contract as of this report Friday…BC- Time to go to Fort Lauderdale…. and cut our losses…/ Fiscal Year-End Budget-To- Actual Report /TM Progress report is an old one as the TM warned in her report …But it’s from August and it’s s cut off …come-on…BC-Time to get the Government Efficiency in full gear…starting with a new Town Clerk …the backbone of government efficiency or lack thereof!…/ No backup for TAtty…

The agenda for tonight is currently available on the Town website as well as the backup information provided to the Commission…(link above) …PIO Steve D’Oliveira is actively re-working the site to include more and more transparency as well as community events ….(Still awaiting Granicus fix to allow the small video livestreaming to be  converted to full computer screen size)….

Unite Our Town Chair Ray Wolowicz has stepped it up to offer to his long list of UOT supporters an e-mailed copy of tonight’s agenda as well as reminder of tonight’s meeting…He also sent out e-mails for the upcoming LBTS Vision “Series” beginning January 7 & 8th as well as reminders of the Menorah lighting last Sunday …and the Chamber’s Christmas-By-The-Sea event tomorrow night … (To get on the UOT e-mail list and become a supporter of UOT  just e-mail Ray at… “Ray Wolowicz” <uniteourtown@gmail.com> ) …

ByTheSeaFuture is actively out and about covering the Town meetings and events which will continue to appear in print every month ….So there are plenty sources available to those who want to keep up on what’s happening in our town…

In other political “hurdles” we hear the shrinking CIC-PAC is still stumbling around in the dust …Chair Liliana Pomareda demanded once again in an e-mail for an answer from the Commission for the cost increase for the residential parking permits…Vice Mayor Dodd responded and informed Chair Pomareda once more it was called for and it was not mandatory to obtain a permit…Pomareda responded she represents “hundreds” of CIC members and threatened a protest to come… VM Dodd …we are told …. responded and asked Pomareda to produce her “Active” paid-up CIC membership list to verify her claim…BC- If and when that list is produced…this writer will make the time to check out the member’s”active-paid-up” status …and post it…Pomareda’s claims run counter to what previous CIC members have long told this writer…They have not re-upped …they receive e-mails/ requests to do so …but have no intention of walking through those CIC Palm Ave. Surf & Yacht Private Club doors again…OUCH!…Of note we are informed sales for residential parking permits are ahead of where they were last year at the same time …..DOUBLE OUCH!…

2012 “HURDLES” …JUST AROUND THE BEND ….

Time and distance are the biggest “hurdles” being faced right now by both this writer and this current Commission/Administration/Boards …

For this writer … it is as I knew it would be once I took on the role of primary caretaker for my granddaughter Lilly now almost 8 months old as her mom has now increased her research/lecturing out -of-town travel ….My best intentions of going back and forth each month will not be possible now faced with this new itinerary received upon my return last week …It now appears to extend well into 2012…. It’s a “hurdle” that calls for even more big time changes in posting on my site …. as witnessed over the last week …Thanks to my “teammates” referenced above ….the change will not leave readers without the schedule or more importantly the results….they are looking for to keep themselves well informed ….

For the current Commission/Administration/Boards …..2012 is only a few “hurdles” away as they face another municipal election….They have to know they must be on the cutting edge when it comes to the “hurdles” placed before them as we approach 2011 in order to be proactive and to produce positive real change that can be definitively acted on rather than to be relegated to longtime government inaction …thus never even getting to the “starting line”…  “Governing should not be about the worries created by the success of action but rather about the failures that happen from doing nothing. “…. This writer is looking forward to a record breaking year!……..

The meeting is at 7 pm in Jarvis Hall..Public Comment is welcome after signing up… It can be seen on Comcast Ch.78/ Livestream & archived on the Town website …. http://lbts.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2

more to come….

Tags: Hurdles, Lauderdale By The Sea Action/Inaction On Eliminating Parking Requirements For Restaurant "Type" Business In 2011, Scoops
Posted in Boards, LBTS Agendas/Meetings, Local Politics, Opinions, Scoops, local government