Councilman Angelo Cuadra Garcia received a censure from his fellow councilmembers at the August 18 council meeting.
The censure for Cuadra Garcia was recommended by Councilman Alex Sanchez following a cease-and-desist letter received by the town from Vista Memorial Gardens Cemetery. A censure is a move to discipline a member of a governing body, but it does not remove them from office.
“I was very disappointed to read the cease-and-desist letter received from Vista Memorial Gardens,” Mayor Josh Dieguez said.
The Town of Miami Lakes received the letter, dated July 24, regarding Cuadra Garcia’s visit to the cemetery. In the letter, the cemetery alleges that Cuadra Garcia came onto the property, said that violations had been issued to the property by the town, and conducted an inspection of the property. According to the town, violations have not been issued.
“The Cemetery is private property,” the letter read in part. “You have no legal right to enter private property to conduct an inspection. You have no legal right to make demands to Cemetery personnel based upon your status as a town of Miami Lakes Councilmember. Your right to enter the Cemetery, which right can be withdrawn, is limited to the Second Floor of Oakwood Mausoleum.”
Cuadra Garcia said the letter was wrong about his actions, and he never went to perform any kind of inspection on the property.
“I never went there to tell them what to do,” he said. “I went there representing myself, I have eight family members there.”
The letter alleges that Cuadra Garcia initially arrived at the property “under the guise” of visiting family members.
Cuadra Garcia said that his brother’s body had been mishandled by the cemetery when he died, and that had upset him at the time.
“I have no vendetta with them … somebody needs to go there to see what I’m talking about, the place is falling apart,” Cuadra Garcia said.
Cuadra Garcia alleged that there is damage to the building, including the mausoleum.
Vice Mayor Bryan Morera said Cuadra Garcia’s statements made it sound like he had a vendetta.
“‘I have something against this cemetery because of what they did to my brother, and I have an axe to grind’ … whether that’s right or wrong, that’s quite literally a vendetta,” Morera said.
The problem, Morera said, was that he was acting in his capacity as a member of the council.
“Everything that I saw in that cease-and-desist
letter, you absolutely were trying use your position as a member of this council to effectuate some behavior or action from the cemetery,” Morera said.
Morera also said he saw the photos Cuadra Garcia submitted, but those photos did not show anything that would lead to a Town of Miami Lakes violation.
Dieguez, who brought forth the report on expected behaviors, said concerns about potential violations was something better left to the code enforcement department or to the town manager.
“We also need to respect the responsibilities that properly reside with the code department,” Dieguez said.
Dieguez advised Cuadra Garcia to seek out the town manager or the head of the department if he had any kind of issue with a property.
“Your actions that you took could result in legal jeopardy for the town, and it is a problem,” Dieguez said.
The cemetery’s legal team will not be taking legal action, according to Deputy Town Attorney Lorenzo Cobiella, but Cuadra Garcia is now limited to where he can visit on the property.
Sanchez, who suggested censuring Cuadra Garcia, said that even if saw someone’s house needed a paint job, it’s not his job to inform that resident.
Councilman Ray Garcia wanted to give Cuadra Garcia a second chance rather than going ahead with the censure.
“I think a censure is too far,” Garcia said.
Councilman Steven Herzberg said he believes Cuadra Garcia knows he took it too far.
“I’ve always said we’re different here,” he said. “I think we hold ourselves to higher standards than most municipalities. Let’s be honest; a lot worse has happened in other municipalities.”
The censure was approved with Garcia and Cuadra Garcia dissenting.