With the Florida legislative session set to begin in March, the Miami Lakes Blasting Advisory Board is working to get elected officials to help residents, who say their properties have been damaged by limestone mining.
The board, which advocates for the town and communities in northwest Miami-Dade County is recruiting other municipalities to the cause. The mining industry operates on the west side of the county.
Councilman Steven Herzberg told The Miami Laker on Feb. 11 that he had meetings planned with the cities of Hialeah Gardens and Doral.
The City of Miramar is already working with Miami Lakes on the issue and was the first to respond to Herzberg, he said.
“We’re reaching out to every single state elected official in Miami-Dade County, south Broward County and actually reaching out to Lee County (where a new mine has opened) as well,” Herzberg said.
The board is hosting a workshop at Town Hall on Feb. 27 for residents and elected officials.
“My goal, and also the Blasting Advisory Board’s goal, is assuming we get attendance from other municipalities and elected officials is to send a message of what we’re asking for,” Herzberg said.
Eighty-four elected officials from the three counties are invited to the workshop, he said.
Rep. Tom Fabricio, R-Miami Lakes, and Sen. Bryan Avila, R-Miami Springs, have filed companion bills to allow owners of damaged properties to file claims for compensation with the Division of Administrative Hearings.
Town council members and Blasting Advisory Board members plan to travel to Tallahassee to lobby state officials.
“We’re no longer seen as the crowd with the pitchforks,” Herzberg said of their efforts that have happened over the past several years.
The public workshop on Feb. 27 is at 6:30 p.m. in Miami Lakes Town Hall, 6601 Main St.