Preview of Town Council October 2 general meeting

Government By David L. Snelling, The Miami Laker staff Thursday, October 4, 2018

 

At its October 2 regular meeting, the Miami Lakes Councilmembers were scheduled to discuss, and expected to approve four ordinances on first reading, a host of resolutions and new business items that include setting up a committee to review the town’s police contract with Miami-Dade, and a proposal for an ordinance in which the entire town council would be required to knock on 100 doors before the budget hearings to better understand the concerns and ideas of residents.

• Council members were expected to give their initial approval for an ordinance to amend the town’s land development code to permit standing metal seam roofs for single-family and two-family buildings.

The proposed ordinance stemmed from the damages Hurricane Irma caused on residents’ roofs.

• Council members were expected to give their initial approval for an ordinance to permit decks in the street side yard setback of residential corner lots, offering a minimum setback of four feet and to allow up to 60 percent of the required yards of such lots to be impervious.

• Council members were expected to give their initial approval for an ordinance to establish regulations for community homes in residential districts.

The proposed ordinance is to address somber homes in residential areas, where houses can be used as drug treatment centers under the U.S. Fair Housing Act and the American with Disabilities Act.

• Lawmakers were expected to give their initial approval for an ordinance to amend the town code to exclude hemp derived projects and commercial and industrial activities related to medical marijuana treatment facilities and independent testing laboratories related to state law.

The proposed ordinance calls for all commercial and industrial activities related to the sale and manufacture of products within genus cannabis to be banned within the town’s boundaries.

• Council members were expected to approve a resolution to update the town’s Strategic Plan including making schools safe since the Stoneman Douglas School shooting massacre that took the lives of 17 students and teachers, a top priority.

The revised version of the plan includes creating Miami Lakes Autism Charter School in conjunction with private providers; creating a special population center for developmentally disabled adults; and establish Autism Shines in Miami Lakes.

• Council members were expected to authorize the town manager to execute a contract with Metro Express for the Windmill Gate Road improvement project in an amount not to exceed $116,000.

• Council members were expected to authorize the town manger to execute a contract with H and R Paving for the Miami Lakeway South resurfacing project in an amount not to exceed $200,000.

• Lawmakers were expected to authorize the town manager to execute a contract with Florida Sidewalk Solutions for as-needed repair of sidewalk trip hazard projects for $170,000.

• Council members were expected to authorize the town manager to execute an agreement with Lansight Technology for information technology services in an amount not to exceed $745,000 for three years.

• For new business, council members were expected to discuss and vote on Councilmmember Luis Collozao’s proposal to create a police contract review committee; Mayor Manny Cid’s suggestion for a resolution to outline the process as to which the town receives yearly input on special taxing district budgets; and Cid’s proposal for an ordinance in which the entire town council would be required to knock on 100 doors before the budget hearings to better understand the concerns and ideas of residents.