Some days you just can’t win… we hear that Village Hall staffers are a wee bit frustrated that some Palmetto Bay residents are complaining about a road by the new Village Hall being torn up, when it’s actually a countyproject, not one of theirs. And another crabby person seems to think the parking lot outside Village Hall is too big. Funny…most folks complain about not enough parking at places.
Mark your calendars…Don’t forget that Village Hall will be closed on Monday, January 17th, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
EDC Keynote Speaker… on Tuesday, January 18 at 8:00 a.m., the Economic Development Council will welcome Commissioner Lynda Bell. Bell represents the municipalities of Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, and Homestead, as well as the unincorporated areas of South Miami- Dade. She was recently appointed “Chair of the Internal Management and Fiscal Responsibility Committee” by the Board of County Commissioners chairman Joe A. Martinez. In addition, she was also named to the “Public Safety and Healthcare Administration and Economic Development and Social Services Committees.” Commissioner Bell says she is committed to ensuring that County government is “efficient, fiscally responsible and that every tax dollar is spent wisely, not wastefully.” The EDC is located at 900 Perrine Avenue in Palmetto Bay.
County Mayor Carlos Alvarez will be the Guest Speaker at the Cutler Bay Business Association Meeting on Thursday, February 10th, from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m., we hear from Chris Himmel of the mayor’s office. The C.B.B.A. meeting will be held at the Palmetto Bay Village Center at 184th and Old Cutler Road, in the Palm Room.
Commissioner Joe Martinez transferring his Kendall office downtown while he takes over the reins as Miami-Dade Commission Chair in 2011, but still paying attention to home folks with his “Mom and Pop Small Business Grant Program” to boost small town business entrepreneurship. To see if you qualify for up to $5,000 to jump-start a home-grown enterprise, call 305-552-1155 or log on to www.miamidade. gov/district 11 for on-line details.
Chairman Joe will have the hot potatoes in his lap at a special Commission meeting set for Thursday, January 13, to discuss dating of both the Mayor Carlos Alvarez and District 13 Commissioner Natacha Seijas recall elections, both political footballs (to mix metaphors). By the time you read this, Seijas may have a decision in a pending suit to reject what she claims are falsified signatures, addresses or other details to reduce the margin needed for the vote.
Just 48 hours after the Gazette went to press with the service announcement for Paul Barrow, police announced the arrest of a 21-year-old who is alleged to have confessed shooting the popular Devonairebased service center owner on December 16. Held without bond, the individual is also said to have shot and killed Harry Ray, 64, a Devonaire neighbor, on November 18. Full details are still unknown as this issue went to press. Kendall District police reportedly had linked the two killings by matching ballistics from the same gun used in both crimes, confirming suspicious circumstances reported to a Citizens Advisory Committee meeting to anxious Devonaire residents who were shaken by the earlier shooting in an otherwise quiet neighborhood.
Getting the new year off to a busy start in Cutler Bay
Lots of meetings… Cutler Bay-ites, don’t forget the Committee of the Whole Workshop (Town Council) is on Tuesday, January 18, at 4:00 p.m. located at Town Hall. Then there’s the regular Town Council Meeting on Wednesday, January 19, at 7:00 p.m., which is located at the South Dade Regional Library, 10750 SW 211 Street. And last but not least, there’s a Zoning Workshop on Wednesday, February 2, at 7:00 p.m. located at Cutler Ridge Park, 10100 SW 200 Street.
Mark your calendars…Don’t forget that Town Hall will be closed on Monday, January 17th, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
EDC Keynote Speaker… on Tuesday, January 18 at 8:00 a.m., the Economic Development Council will welcome Commissioner Lynda Bell. Bell represents the municipalities of Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, and Homestead, as well as the unincorporated areas of South Miami- Dade. She was recently appointed “Chair of the Internal Management and Fiscal Responsibility Committee” by the Board of County Commissioners chairman Joe A. Martinez. In addition, she was also named to the “Public Safety and Healthcare Administration and Economic Development and Social Services Committees.” Commissioner Bell says she is committed to ensuring that County government is “efficient, fiscally responsible and that every tax dollar is spent wisely, not wastefully.” The EDC is located at 900 Perrine Avenue in Palmetto Bay.
County Mayor Carlos Alvarez will be the Guest Speaker at the Cutler Bay Business Association Meeting on Thursday, February 10th, from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m., we hear from Chris Himmel of the mayor’s office. The C.B.B.A. meeting will be held at the Palmetto Bay Village Center at 184th and Old Cutler Road, in the Palm Room.
But before that… On Thursday January 13, Mayor Ed MacDougall will be addressing the CBBA and Business community, letting them know “ Cutler Bay is now a Business friendly Community.”
Commissioner Joe Martinez transferring his Kendall office downtown while he takes over the reins as Miami-Dade Commission Chair in 2011, but still paying attention to home folks with his “Mom and Pop Small Business Grant Program” to boost small town business entrepreneurship. To see if you qualify for up to $5,000 to jump-start a home-grown enterprise, call 305-552-1155 or log on to www.miamidade. gov/district 11 for on-line details.
Chairman Joe will have the hot potatoes in his lap at a special Commission meeting set for Thursday, January 13, to discuss dating of both the Mayor Carlos Alvarez and District 13 Commissioner Natacha Seijas recall elections, both political footballs (to mix metaphors). By the time you read this, Seijas may have a decision in a pending suit to reject what she claims are falsified signatures, addresses or other details to reduce the margin needed for the vote.
Just 48 hours after the Kendall Gazette went to press with the service announcement for Paul Barrow, police announced the arrest of a 21-year-old who is alleged to have confessed shooting the popular Devonaire-based service center owner on December 16. Held without bond, the individual is also said to have shot and killed Harry Ray, 64, a Devonaire neighbor, on November 18. Full details are still unknown as this issue went to press. Kendall District police reportedly had linked the two killings by matching ballistics from the same gun used in both crimes, confirming suspicious circumstances reported to a Citizens Advisory Committee meeting to anxious Devonaire residents who were shaken by the earlier shooting in an otherwise quiet neighborhood.
WK rock pit? Horses in Horse Country?
For those concerned with the Urban Development Boundary or just plain neighborhood zoning, a couple of petitions will be called for public hearing Thursday, January 13, before West Kendall’s Community Council 11, sitting as a Zoning Board of Appeals. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Civic Pavilion at Kendall Village Center, the town hall adopted by both Kendall Councils, lacking meeting places of their own.
We call it to your attention because those who do not normally deal with these things may be unaware that one application is by Sante Fe Haciendas L.L.C. (suspiciously, the usual initials that often mask a development interest).
The applicants ask for an unusual use to permit a lake excavation and ancillary rock crushing and screening plant on a 412-acre site, west of SW 177 Avenue (Krome Avenue) and south of a theoretical SW 90th Street (theoretical because in that territory, streets are platted but non-existent).
Now, it may be the application is only an innocent property owner seeking to make a few bucks out of non-developed land, or it may be the first step (of many disguised) to build Giganti-City, for all we know. The details lie in what is known as the “Kit,” the accompanying details which the Planning/Zoning Department tries (but often fails) to get on line at its Miami- Dade.gov site before the hearing actually occurs.
Such was the case when the Gazette locked up its press negatives last Thursday – so if you want to know more, you’ll have to log on to the Community Council 12 site under the Department to fish out any details, when and if they are posted, during the current week.
The same goes for Sunrise Equestrian, Inc. that wants to put a riding academy and caretaker quarters at a location lying east of SW 125 th Avenue and about 1000 feet south of SW 56th Street (Miller Drive, generally in the Horse Country territory where stables belong).
While Plan/Zone officials do work hard and have done their best to keep us up to date, the wheels of government often move at a slower pace than even weekly newspapers require, so we’re flagging these two items when P/Z couldn’t furnish the details at press time.
In fairness to them, a query for prior release was answered: “We can’t approve the Kit until the Planning Department has completed its own recommendations and kits are E-mailed to each member of the Council.” As of last Wednesday, neither had occurred. (The holidays probably had something to do with laxity rather than outright laziness).
The press is often referred to as the “Watchdog of Government” which can account for anything from Fox News reports on the failing economy (a favored headline) or The Herald’s latest digs at conservative thinking (anti-everything).
While we play only a small role, we consider it vital until someone proves otherwise. Snafu’s or not!
Seth Gordon, Miami market guru, economist and historian, kicks off the first West Kendall Business Association luncheon in its new digs, the Grand Salon at Killian Palms Country Club, 9950 SW 104 Street, Thursday, January 27, at noon after the group met five years at Signature Gardens on SW 122nd Avenue. Gordon’s topic: “Business people are from Venus; Techies are from Mars.” Call 305-386-4030 for details.
Commissioner Joe Martinez transferring his Kendall office downtown while he takes over the reins as Miami-Dade Commission Chair in 2011, but still paying attention to home folks with his “Mom and Pop Small Business Grant Program” to boost small town business entrepreneurship. To see if you qualify for up to $5,000 to jump-start a home-grown enterprise, call 305-552-1155 or log on to www.miamidade. gov/district 11 for on-line details.
Chairman Joe will have the hot potatoes in his lap at a special Commission meeting set for Thursday, January 13, to discuss dating of both the Mayor Carlos Alvarez and District 13 Commissioner Natacha Seijas recall elections, both political footballs (to mix metaphors). By the time you read this, Seijas may have a decision in a pending suit to reject what she claims are falsified signatures, addresses or other details to reduce the margin needed for the vote.
Just 48 hours after the Gazette went to press with the service announcement for Paul Barrow, police announced the arrest of a 21-year-old who is alleged to have confessed shooting the popular Devonairebased service center owner on December 16. Held without bond, the individual is also said to have shot and killed Harry Ray, 64, a Devonaire neighbor, on November 18. Full details are still unknown as this issue went to press. Kendall District police reportedly had linked the two killings by matching ballistics from the same gun used in both crimes, confirming suspicious circumstances reported to a Citizens Advisory Committee meeting to anxious Devonaire residents who were shaken by the earlier shooting in an otherwise quiet neighborhood.
Thought for the Day:
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.
— Benjamin Franklin
Richard Yager contributed to this column.
Got any tips? Contact me at 305-669- 7355, ext. 249, or send emails to michael@communitynewspapers.com.
