Since May I have been asking the Mayor and the City Manager to re-vitalize the resolution that died in February. That was a resolution to extend the range of the FreeBee contract so that the cars would be approved to take South Miami residents to grocery stores outside of the City's boundaries. I do not know what action has been taken, or whether any possibilities have been negotiated. I thought that there might be a resolution increasing FreeBee range on this up-coming Commission meeting agenda. There isn't.
INSTEAD
There are six agenda items that will be changing how the City spends money.
(1) One is to put in sewer mains in the Dante Fascell area. Again, of all the parks in the City, Dante Fascell is getting special treatment - which, by the way, will be a boon to the immediate homes around the Park when it becomes possible to hook up to sewer and discontinue septic tanks. ($95,233.50)
(2) The second is a block-long landscaping design work about the median running down 84th Street. Again, this is the Dante Fascell area of the City. ($63,990)
(3) The third is to charge parents double what they have been paying as the fees to have their children attend after-school programs at the Community Center. Currently it's $50 per child; it will be $100 for the first child in a family and $75 for any others.
(4) It is proposed developers be allowed to sell any apartments they build in the South Miami City Center as condos. This is a boon to the developers.
(5) The City will be authorizing the City Manager to buy two Christmas trees for City's Center. ($23,250)
(6) Lastly, the proposal is to fix the drainage for a block along 63rd Avenue. ($163,563)
SoMi MARKET
As you may know, the Commission approved allowing the construction workers who will be working at building on the current Winn-Dixie site, to park their vehicles in the City's parking lot for a discount lasting 2.5 years.
For a resident to buy a month parking permit is $65. The developer is being granted 120 spaces at a 90% discount. 120 x $65 x .1 = $ 780 loss in revenue a month. That's $23,400 over 30 months.
MY CRITIQUE
It looks to me like the choices the Commission is being asked to approved all have some merit. Certainly, street drainage and sewer systems are important.
However, what the City will gain from charging parents more for their children to attend after school programs is (comparatively speaking) peanuts. The potential gain can't be worth the cost of two extra holiday decorations for the South Miami shopping area.
Sure, pretty landscaping down the middle of a two-way street is nice, especially when all the rest of the City's residents and parks are in good shape.
During the December holiday season, it seems to me that the decorations in the downtown area are more than adequate. (I have a hard time imagining that more people will flock to the City's business center as a result of two additional fake Christmas trees.) If anything, new decorations should include symbols of religions/beliefs not currently represented - Kwanzaa, Pandra Ganapati, Di Wali, Solstice, Rohatsu, Ashura, Zartosht No-Diso, Eid al-Fitr.
Why the developer of SoMi Market needs all the favors he has asked for, I can't imagine. From what has been published, this developer has already contracted with a food store that is NOT a full-service grocery store. It is also a local food store that charges the highest prices. The developer has already been given the option of selling the apartments as condos and has been relieved of the necessity of offering workforce and low-income housing if things don't go well for him in the future.
CONDOS
I understand there may be benefits to a home owner if s/he owns rather than rents his/her apartment. However, as I see it, the developer now will get the highest market prices possible in the last few years. As sea level rises, and potable water becomes scarce and sewage can not be handled well, the landlord (individual condo owner) may be stuck. I suspect that the housing market will dwindle as the beaches are inundated, streets are flooded, and temperatures become unbearable. People will be moving to more welcoming areas.
SOUTH MIAMI RESIDENTS
My preference is that the Mayor and Commission care more about the current residents of South Miami. That they take care of the residents in our city who can not afford private schools, or live-in nannies. That they care more about the residents who are on a fixed (and devaluing) income or cannot drive.
That they plan more for those low-lying areas (Twin Lakes?) of South Miami which will need to abandon septic tanks for sewers soon.
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