Town Council proposed actions on November 12

Community By David L. Snelling, The Miami Laker staff Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Miami Lakes Town Manager Alex Rey has requested a four-year contract extension but his proposal must initially be approved by councilmembers to allow the veteran and savvy top administrator to resume running the day-to-day operations after 2015.

At the November 12 regular Town Council meeting, lawmakers were to vote or perhaps postpone the elongation request, where Rey broached the issue as his contract expires on October 1, 2015.He’s seeking an extension until March 31, 2019, and a one percent pay raise consistent with the Cost of Living Adjustments granted to government employees.Rey wants to earn an $189,000 a year salary in addition to health benefits, a car allowance, travel and miscellaneous expenses.

According to Rey’s contract, the Town must evaluate his performance at least once a year within 30 days of his anniversary hiring date, in which he can receive a bonus equal to four percent of his annual base salary. However, if the town manager is terminated prior to the expiration date of his contract, Miami Lakes must pay him a severance package, which will consist of a payment of 20 weeks work of the town manager’s base pay and benefits at the time of his firing and a payout for all accrued and unused annual leave as of the date of his termination.

The Miami Beach resident is currently in his second stint as town manager for Miami Lakes. Mayor Wayne Slaton hired him in 2002 but lawmakers put his contract extension request on hold in 2008 during an election year. Slaton decided not to run for reelection and Michael Pizzi, who won the mayoral race, said he wanted to keep Rey but he had already accepted Miami Beach’s offer to be its building director before the election.

Pizzi brought Rey back in 2010 to replace Frank Bocanegra, who was forced to retire as part of the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) in order to collect his pension earned as a Miami-Dade police officer for more than 30 years.

In other Town Council news:

• Councilmembers on second reading were expected to approve an ordinance to adopt an modification to the existing building permit fee schedule. After utilizing the approved Building Permit Fee Schedule, there has been an expressed need for a change to the fee schedule for the purpose of facilitating the concurrent electronic plan review within Miami Lakes and outside agencies.

• Lawmakers on second reading were expected to approve an ordinance that would allow residents to decide through a referendum whether to increase the size of the town through annexation.Before, the decision was in the hands of councilmembers following a public hearing.

• Councilmembers on second reading were expected to approve an ordinance to revise the town’s election campaign finance and reporting law to revert to state law, which was substantially modified in 2013. The new law provides substantial additional reporting requirements, including contribution limits.

• Lawmakers on second reading were expected  to approve an ordinance limiting the mayor to having one assistant to help him with town business.

• Councilmembers were expected to approve an ordinance on first reading to amend the rules and regulation regarding zoning appeals. The proposed ordinance calls for the Town Council to review zoning appeals but only by a super majority vote of 5-2 instead of 4-3.Vice Mayor Manny Cid made the recommendation at the October 8 regular Town Council meeting, saying it’s too expensive and cumbersome for applicants’ appeals to be handled  by the courts after their plans were rejected by the town’s Zoning and Planning Board.

• Councilmembers were expected to approve a contract with Gastesi and Associates P.A. for town attorney services for $12,500 a month plus expenses and $200 an hour for litigation services when it is needed.

• Lawmakers were expected to approve a resolution by Councilmember Frank Mingo to create the town’s Par 3 Committee to make recommendations to councilmembers whether to purchase and how to best utilize the golf course property.

• Councilmembers were expected to approve Cid’s request for town staff to create a local housing trust fund in order to participate in the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program. SHIP funds will be used for emergency, life safety repairs to keep most vulnerable residents, housed and prevent unnecessary institutionalization.They were also expected to approve Cid’s request for the town’s community and leisure services department to create a Christmas tree Recycling program.

• Lawmakers were expected to approve Councilmember Nelson Rodriguez’s motion for a 90-day evaluation period to analyze what Miami Lakes has done and where the town is at. The request comes as the town is preparing to move forward with updating the Strategic  and Comprehensive Plans.Councilmembers were also expected to approve Rodriguez’s request for the town manager and town attorney to work together and explore the possibility of placing collective fees on an abandoned home’s tax bill. The move would allow the town to recover fees for any work done at the home from the bank yearly rather than waiting for the home to be sold.

• Lawmakers were expected to approve Councilmember Tony Lama’s proposal to ask the town manager to allocate up to $50,000 for state and county legislative services, and put out a formal solicitation, and for the town manager to put together a formal evaluation team made up of town staff and members of the community.

• Councilmembers were expected to approve Councilmember Ceasar Mestre’s motion to seek a recommendation from the town’s Neighborhood Improvement Committee regarding the Beautification Master Plan, and for his colleagues to vote on the appropriate selection of improvements to be made.

• Rey asked councilmembers to approve his proposal of four capital improvement projects to be considered for state funding. The town will apply for the projects, with a total project cost of $1.4 million.The projects include West Lake Drainage improvement, Miami Lakes Optimist Park refurbishment program, the N.W. 170th Street Greenway, and for the Florida Forever program to facilitate the purchase of Madden’s Hammock.