At the February 11 Town Council meting, several Miami Lakes residents urged lawmakers to rescind a fine that was issued to a land owner and developer who allowed a BBQ event on his private property to celebrate the grand opening of N.W. 87th Avenue on a Saturday afternoon.
The official grand opening of the roadway took place two days later with town and county officials, but suspended Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi hosted the event on the property of the Lowell Dunn family for a celebration of his own, saying he was the catalyst for putting together the N.W. 87th development agreement to open up the roadway between N.W. 154 and 162 streets.
About 300 people showed up for the party.
However, the Lowell Dunn family never pulled a permit for the event and was fined $250.
“I don’t think people should be fined for having a gathering on their own private property,” said one resident. “We were also celebrating the birthday of an 80-year-old resident who’s originally from California.”
Town Manager Alex Rey said the Lowell Dunn family disagreed about the permit requirement and was cited and fined.
He said the permit was needed because of the large amount of people, parking and access issues and additional toilets needed to accommodate the people.
“If the event is open to the public, a permit is needed,” Rey said.
He said the developer can appeal the fine during a future special master hearing.
Councilmember Tony Lama said Miami Lakes strives for fairness in the town but rules must be obeyed.
“I don’t want residents to think big bad Miami Lakes is out to squash their party,” he said. “However, there is a process that needs to be followed. No one, and I mean myself as well, is above the law.”
Pizzi is awaiting trial in early May on public corruption charges and was suspended from office in August by Florida Governor Rick Scott.
In other Town Business:
• Councilmembers gave their final approval for an ordinance to impose a per-space fee for landowners and business owners to enhance on-street parking spaces in exchange for including additional parking spaces in the required parking zones in the Miami Lakes Town Center area.
• Councilmembers gave their final approval for an ordinance to amend the 2012-2013 budget to carryover about $900,000 from the previous year to complete a series of projects already budgeted and started in the previous fiscal year that were not finished.
The ordinance will allow the town to allocate a portion, about $360,000, of the carryover money to fund park capital improvement projects and create a reserve fund for the town council to pay for new initiatives throughout the current fiscal year.
Additionally, due to changes in legislation affecting People’s Transportation Plan (PTP), Miami Lakes has added a new section to the special revenue fund to better track the use of these funds.
The Town Council approved the current budget’s first amendment on first reading on January 14. The following revisions from first reading are proposed for approval on second reading:
- An allocation to community programs in the amount of $14,000 for the town’s summer programs, including Tai Chi, beginners and intermediate computer classes, arts and crafts, and sewing and knitting/crocheting. The programs would run from May 12 to August 22.
- An allocation to Mayor/Council memberships for the National League of Cities, the United States Conference of Mayors and the Florida League of Mayors. The annual membership dues are approximately $6,000.
- A transfer within the Capital fund in the amount of $225,000 from reserve for stormwater to address the flooding on N.W. 83 Place north of 158 Terrace to 162 Street. The drainage project will consist of creating five new manholes, connections to existing catch basins and resurfacing the road once the project is completed.
• Lawmakers approved a resolution to ask Miami-Dade County to co-designate N.W. 87 Avenue to Royal Lakes Boulevard.
• Councilmembers approved Vice Mayor Manny Cid’s recommendation to eliminate business tax receipts for small businesses that pay an average of $74.81 per business.
Cid said there are 1,417 businesses in Miami Lakes that pay an annual business tax receipt. In 2013, he said the town collected $98,000 from the 1,310 BTR renewals. This year the Town is estimating revenues of $100,000 via the BTR.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), 89 percent of all businesses in Florida have 12 or fewer employees. Recently, the Miami Lakes Economic Development Committee stressed the important role that small businesses play in our town.
Cid’s recommendations include complete elimination of the Business Tax Receipt, elimination of BTR for Small Businesses (utilize the SBA standard of 12 or fewer employees), and reforming of BTR to a much more equitable system.
• Councilmembers approved a proposed resolution by Mayor Wayne Slaton and Councilmember Lama to change the town’s charter to allow the mayor and each councilmember an equal number of appointments on each of the town’s committees and task forces.
The proposed charter change will appear on November’s ballot.
Currently, the town charter allows councilmembers to nominate their choices of committee members and the mayor subsequently appoints them to serve on the boards.
• Councilmembers approved Cid’s recommendation to initiate efforts to reduce the speed limit on residential roads from 30 mph to 25 mph to help prevent accidents in Miami Lakes.
“My recommendation is to endorse the town’s Public Safety Committee's recommendation and direct the public works departments to submit a fiscal analysis to the Council,” Cid said. “I personally believe that we should make the change, but do so in a thoughtful and well-planned manner.”
The state and county has the sole discretion to reduce the speed limit in Miami Lakes.
• Lawmakers approved Councilmember Nelson Rodriguez’s suggestion for town staff to create a measure to regulate the use of golf carts in the town of Miami Lakes. He said some drivers are using golf carts to take kids to schools and one of his concerns is occupants not using seat belts.
• For remote public comments at regular meetings, Rey said the town may conduct its first test at the March meeting to determine if it works. He said the plan is to allow two people to comment during the public speaking portion of the meeting and if successful, the town may want to place a limit of the number of speakers.