Over 200 elected officials, friends and family gathered on Saturday, January 25, to formally unveil the designation of the Roberto Alonso Community Center at Royal Oaks Park in Miami Lakes.
“It was great to see the community come together to celebrate the legacy of Vice Mayor Robert Alonso,” said Mayor Wayne Slaton. “I had the privilege of working alongside this great community leader and I am proud that his legacy will continue to live on in Royal Oaks, a place he loved and called home for many years.”
Alonso, a leader of the Royal Oaks community for several decades, eventually represented Royal Oaks in the movement to incorporate the Town of Miami Lakes. Elected to the founding council in 2001, he served as the town’s first Vice Mayor. After being elected to a second term, he served his community as an elected official for eight years with a passion.
Alonso was a man of “action,” focusing on enhancing townwide public safety. He was a strong advocate of neighborhood community policing, and was instrumental in the development of infrastructure on the west side of town, lobbying for the Fire Rescue Station, which is now under construction, and the procurement of additional land for new parks.
He was an ardent advocate for the planning and development of Royal Oaks Park and his memory will be forever honored with the designation of the parks community center as the “Robert Alonso Community Center.”