Isn't South Miami Great!

Sally B. Philips
3 hours ago
7 min read

Vol. 5, No. 4 3 June 2025

CIVIC PRIDE

There are recent beautiful blooming plants all around the front of City Hall. Have you noticed? One of the better touches is that the ugly, hot, black stones have been covered in mulch. I think it's worth a trip to see the selection and placement. If you click here, you will see a few pictures.

COMMUNITY MEETING

The Commission advertised a meeting to gather opinions from residents about what should become of the mango lots in the Marshall Williamson area. The announcement was not as specific as it might have been, since the name of the location was partially missing and the concern was about that portion of the lots that is not Anna Price Park.

I attended. I think there were about 15 residents from the Marshall Williamson area. I did not hear anyone introduced as a member of the Miami-Dade County Community Advisory Committee, and only two of the five members of the Commission were present.

Maybe five people expressed opinions. I did get clarification that the question is: Shall the City designate the remaining lots as a passive park, or shall it build apartments? A couple of people did say that the apartments should be designated for "low-income" and "workforce housing," not the vague (and expensive) "affordable."

The City Manager and one of the Commissioner (who was not in favor of designating a portion of the lots as Anna Price Park) explained how little power the City has when it came to insisting that developers follow original contracts. At the end, no one asked for a show of hands of the residents as to what their preferences might be.

There will be a third and final community meeting on Wednesday, June 18, at the South Miami Senior Center (6701 SW 62 Avenue).

DEFINITIONS

Affordable: According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), affordable housing is housing where the occupant pays no more than 30% of their income for gross housing costs, including utilities. …

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

30% Rule:

HUD uses the "30% rule" as a benchmark for affordability. This means that a household should not spend more than 30% of its gross income on housing costs (rent, mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, and utilities).

Gross Income:

Gross income refers to total income before taxes and other deductions.

Median gross income: Median gross income is the amount that 50% of households had gross incomes at or above, and 50% of households had annual gross incomes below.

Extremely low-income: The term "very low-income families" means families whose incomes do not exceed 30% of the median

Very low-income: The term "very low-income families" means families whose incomes do not exceed 50% of the median family income for the area

Low-income: The term "low-income families" means families whose incomes do not exceed 80 percent of the median income for the area

Moderate income: less than 120% of median income for the area

Workforce income: between 60% and 140% of the median

income for the area

South Miami's median annual gross income (according to the 2023 census): for families: $88,313 for individuals: $40,595

RECOMMENDED HOUSING COSTS in SOUTH MIAMI

Recommended Monthly

Level Percent of South Miami Median ____Housing Costs___

Extremely low-income 30% 30%

Family $26,494 $ 662

Individual $12,288 $ 307

Very low-income 50%

Family $44,157 $1,104

Individual $20,480 $ 512

Low-income 80%

Family $70,650 $1,766

Individual $32,767 $ 819

Moderate less than 120%

Family < $105,976 $2,649

Individual < $ 49,151 $1,229

Workforce

^ greater than 60%

| Family > $ 52,988 > $1,325

| Individual > $ 24,357 > $ 609

v and

Workforce less than 140%

Family < $123,638 < $3,091

Individual < $ 56,833 < $1,421

MINIMUM WAGE

Currently in Florida, minimum wage is set at $13/hour

at 40 hours/week 30% that’s

$27,040/yr. $8112 $676/mo.

On 9/30/2025, it is supposed to go to $14/hour

$29,120/yr. $8736 $728/mo.

SOUTH MIAMI 2023 CENSUS

Who lives where?

- Households with up to $20,000 annual gross income:

- 60-year-olds and over:

Looks like the Marshall Williamson area has a preponderance of low-income and senior (fixed-income) households.

MY TAKE

It seems to me that South Miami and the Marshall Williamson neighborhood need more Extremely-low, Very-low, and Low income housing. Not only for all the retail employees, the hospital workers and the City personnel who work in South Miami, but also for the former residents who would like to move back.

If people are concerned about additional traffic that might come with additional housing, how about the fact that so many workers in South Miami commute here? I know of one newly sworn-in Police Officer who drives from Homestead, because there is no housing here that the Officer can afford.

However, unless the City is very clear that the housing be strictly limited to households with extremely, very and low incomes, what will be offered are dwelling units that can not be afforded by the many of the people working in this City.

PROCEDURAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS

On the agenda for the March 18, 2025, Commission Meeting was an item (F.1. Add-On) to require the Commission's approval for the City Manager to sign an agreement with other agencies so that the City and these agencies could provide help to one another. Mostly it was about providing law-enforcement help; committing South Miami's Police Department to help when asked. A resolution had been passed about a year ago, giving the City Manager the authority to commit the City to such agreements.

Here is the explanation in resolution language:

WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of the governments of the City of South Miami and surrounding jurisdictions, to ensure the public safety of their citizens by providing adequate levels of police services to address any foreseeable routine or emergency situations; and

WHEREAS, on March 5, 2024, the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 024-24-16129, which authorized the City Manager to execute mutual aid agreements, memorandums of understanding, and other law enforcement agreements with other governmental entities, including any amendments or renewals thereto on an on-going basis, that are necessary for the safety of the City and incur no direct financial impact on the City, subject to the approval of the City Attorney as to form, content, and legal sufficiency

The item to have been considered would have made it the responsibility of the Commission to agree to the City's commitment of its law-enforcement personnel. However, because one Commissioner saw it as an insult to the City Manager to remove from him that delegated authority - as though the City did not trust him to make the "right" choice, the item was withdrawn. In the end the Commission asked the Attorneys to get a judgement about whether the City had the right not to help ICE, if it so chose.

The proposed change in responsibility was the question about whether the City wanted to leave it to the City Manager, its employee, to decide whether or not to sign a "287(g) agreement" with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Signing or not signing such an agreement has possible serious consequences.

Signing a cooperation agreement with any agency commits South Miami's police to perform duties that might be dangerous to them. So, such signing may increase our officers' chances of being hurt or killed. Signing or not signing a 287(g) agreement with ICE could have serious financial and community relations consequences as well. To read about some of the consequences experienced by other communities, click here.

A decision about committing our police officers to other agencies -it seems to me -is much more serious than other decision that require the Commission's approval. Recently the Commission had to vote on what janitorial services the City would hire, whether an agency could use the pool for swim lessons, and whether a street could have a connection built. It had to approve vendor permitting procedures and a contract for postal meters. I think decisions about police lives and federal retribution belong with the elected officials who are and who represent South Miami's residents.

CIVIC PRIDE REVIEWED

The City has been quibbling with a resident about who is responsible for removing the huge Ficus tree that was blown over on May 4. The resident maintains that it was a tree planted some time ago by the City in the easement.

Although the City somewhat cleared the road, its barriers were left, I suppose, because the crew knew that the road was not safe to travel at usual speeds. The City is claiming that the tree was planted on the resident's property, and that it is the resident's responsibility to clear the rest of the debris. The resident is a single, ill, senior who has been living there for about 40 years.

A City arborist says the roots are on the resident's property. The tree removal experts the resident has consulted say the roots are in the easement (swale).

How is it that the City can afford to pay an estimated $10,760 to do planting around the City Hall, but has not cleaned up the tree mess that is rapidly getting to be a fire hazard? The City Hall planting was done in-house. That includes the cost of designing the layout and labor. The design work or its execution was clearly done by a non-expert. S/he had four Pritchardia palms planted under the eaves of the Sylva Martin building. The flowers around the swimmer are so close to the grass that they will probably be mowed down before long.

Pritchardia palms can grow to 30+ feet. That means in a few years they will be brushing the rafters of the Martin building's porch - or they will be destroyed when the City Hall gets replaced. From what I've heard from nursery owners, Pritchardia plants of this size costs something like $130 each. So the City will have wasted more than $520 - if they and the swimmer's bouquet are left where they have been put.

I understand the City may have a $90,000 grant to plant trees in swales. I've heard that homeowners, who want to keep the swale open for visitor parking, may ask to be given the trees to plant on their own property. I wonder if the City is planning to care for the trees it plants. Will it prune and open up the trees so that wind will go through them rather than knock them down? Will it remove them if they start to die?