In our Village of Pinecrest there are streets and avenues that do not have fire hydrants. It is difficult to imagine that a community that prides itself on being ‘A great place to raise a family’, leaves friends and neighbors vulnerable to the rare but potentially fatal disaster of fire in the home. A reputation for community projects with neighbors helping neighbors is how we’ve come to have the tag ‘The Pinecrest Way’, and now more than ever we should reinforce that reputation with a Yes vote for the referendum that unites our infrastructure and unifies the protections for all Pinecrest families.
The deficiency of services is not the making of our Village government; it is the Policy of Miami-Dade County to not use funds for new projects. Again, it is ridiculous to think our families’ wellbeing is considered a project, not a priority. All the tales of Miami-Dade abandoning their responsibility of quality services is true. For decades the county has been deaf to our repeated requests, only a past Miami-Dade referendum, voted on by all Miami-Dade voters gave water access to part of Pinecrest; there is no repeats of help from Miami-Dade coming. Does this story sound familiar, today we again are faced with a referendum vote that can finally cure our illness of lack of access to county water and the deficit of over 200 fire hydrants, but this time it’s us that controls our destiny by fully funding the project for infrastructure. The county is a no-go for assistance and while past efforts to the state gave us hope, the result has consistently been a red-line through our project. We must look in the mirror for leadership to close this chapter of Pinecrest history. Voting yes is the best of all the options for our residents, for both families with water and fire hydrants, and those without. For the 70+ residents that paid for construction of water lines, it’s dramatically unfair, but to vote no, means we perpetuate that same unfairness for future families, not one more family should be our reason to vote yes.
In Pinecrest we proudly define projects differently. We use terms like “benefit to a sustainable future”, “family first”, and “neighbors helping neighbors”. While this may be very Mayberry-esque, we don’t count how many families will use the park, or what benefit the general public gets from Pinecrest Gardens, and we don’t ignore opportunities to be problem solving leaders. We incorporated to make a change from the big government that controlled our future, we knew we could do it better.
The Referendum vote in March is about our Pinecrest infrastructure, closing the gaps and providing a quality city for our families, today and always. Finishing the equal coverage of fire hydrants and providing access to County water is a priceless gift to our families and future, we must keep eye on the prize by voting yes. Think about the dollars and it makes sense. It is common-sense to be pro-active on the strategies we can control. It will cost us a little to gain a lot. The Council can simultaneously look for funding via other legal or lobbying efforts, but right now the clock is ticking. We have less than 120 days until hurricane season. Let’s Vote Yes and be the leaders, the neighbors, and smart citizens that know how to build a better future. Ask yourself, what does the Pinecrest Way mean to you?
Cheri Ball Former Vice-Mayor, Village of Pinecrest
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