The Mayor's House

There's been a lot of negative coverage, particularly from Francisco Alvarado of the Miami New Times, about the problems Oscar Alfonso has faced in the rebuilding of his house. For an example of the coverage, follow the link: Miami New Times on Oscar Alfonso.

Alfonso had until March 19 to submit, or rather resubmit, his building plans so the final code inspections could be done and this long simmering issue put to bed. He did so, at considerable personal expense.

Before we go a lot further, the story of his house with its erratic code history has a few more elements than the media have covered. Alfonso has for some time stated that he filed the correct building plans back in 2000. The city has been unable to locate them. As a solution, Alfonso has had to refile these in order to get the job finished.

I found that story a little too convenient at first glance, but then two people individually have contacted me to tell me very clearly that they were working in the city offices and very specifically remember the filing, mostly because prior to accepting the plans, Alfonso had to clear some other code issues which he did. (One of those is in the comments section of a previous post.)

I didn't see the plans of course, there was no reason why I would have, but I tend believe people who are not necessarily “Friends of Oscar” when they come forward to say they witnessed it.

In the last decade, North Bay Village had to abandon the old City Hall owing to water damage and mold and Alfonso's plans were not the only ones lost. I understand a fair number were lost or destroyed during that time. Even the county ethics commission found there was a problem with the records across the board (which they seemed to want to pin on Yvonne Hamilton, a woman who loses nothing, like she controls the weather.)

It looks like this part of the mayor's tough times is coming to an end and I'm glad. It's a trivial distraction.

In the same article from the Miami New Times, there are references to financial issues. I've said it before and I'll repeat it, the financial stuff is none of my business or yours insofar as it does not affect the performance of the office of the mayor. Now, whether it is a matter for the electorate in November is another question and a valid one. That's the right time to decide who you want in that seat.

Reminder on comments: if you don't sign it, it doesn't get published.

Kevin Vericker

Code Compliance

For those of you who are not marginally employed as I am, or "funemployed" as I like to call it, you probably don't get too much of a chance to walk the streets of North Bay Village. I do. I like to get out of the house and get some air and sun and clear my thoughts. You can't walk Treasure Island without noticing the unevenness of the code compliance from add-ons to multiple cars stored on a lawn to landscaping overgrown on the sidewalk.

If you have been involved with commission meetings, there are always several resolutions about code or code variances and Good & Welfare, the open forum, always has comments about code enforcement or lack of in North Bay Village.

For several years now, there has been effectively no code enforcement here in North Bay Village. The laws are on the books but there has been little activity in ensuring compliance.

The city has finally filled the position of Code Enforcement Officer, and in a unique way. Officer Gus Cruz of the North Bay Village Police Department has been assigned permanently to Code Enforcement, a creative solution since it had the benefit of reducing police headcount, while putting a sworn officer with a long background in community policing in charge of the community compliance effort.

Cruz is full time now and I took advantage of him and the fine weather today to walk around Treasure Island, not to point out code violations but to get a sense of how he sees his position. It was a great conversation. He's an engaging guy with a young man's enthusiasm for doing the job but not so young that he doesn't understand that code compliance is more than just the exercise of authority.

The overall goal is clear - get North Bay Village back on track and Cruz is starting this with a three pronged approach.

Education: - using the philosophy of community policing, the fundamental belief is that most failure to comply comes from ignorance of the violation. People do want to comply but may not know the rules or how they apply. Citizens may not understand how their decisions affect their neighbors.

Towards that end, Cruz is planning a series of workshops or presentations in early summer with the residents to review the "Top 10" code violations, what they are, why they are and what can be done about them. An educated populace is an invested populace.

Code Modernization - Building codes are an elaborate combination of state, county and local regulations. These codes have grown organically and often conflict. Working with the city planner and the city attorney, Cruz is reviewing the code to identify areas of conflict and where clarity or practicality are lacking. These will be brought before the commission for revision, addition or deletion. This matters.

(Side note: Cool site WWW.MUNICODE.COM which has all municipal codes nationwide for free.)

Enforcement - There is a special magistrate in place ready and able to hear the complaints and issue decisions on code violations. This was a crucial missing element in our code compliance and when other efforts fail, these will be brought forward.

If you want to talk to Gus Cruz, his phone number is 786 566-1398 or you can email him at gcruz@nbvillage.com or click here if your browser allows you to send emails directly. Gus Cruz

Kevin Vericker

Argumentum ad Ignorantiam (Code Enforcement)

See, that Humanities degree did not go to waste! Argumentum ad ignorantiam is Latin for an "Argument from Ignorance", the classic logical mistake of attempting to prove something by demanding proof that something doesn't exist.

Since today is St. Patrick's Day, I'll offer the following argument.

You can't prove that leprechauns don't exist, therefore they must exist. See the error?

This seems to be the defense offered by the mayor in the Miami Herald article about his house and coding issues. Click here for the article. Alfonso says that he filed the papers but they got lost. Maybe it did happen that way. According to the article " The Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust ... did find ``a pattern of poor record keeping,'' claiming that City Clerk Yvonne Hamilton was unable to produce requested information to investigators."

The implication here is that Yvonne Hamilton did not produce the documents owing to poor record keeping, but the far more likely explanation is that the documents did not exist at all, making it impossible to produce them. [In response to the comment below, I want to make it really clear that I don't think for a minute that Ms. Hamilton "lost" or held back the documents. I don't think they were there.] Certainly, that's the simple explanation and as any humanities major can tell you, the simplest explanation is likely the true one. At this point, the onus is on the mayor to produce proof that he filed the required paperwork and that does not seem to be happening.

Code enforcement is a huge issue here from monster McMansions arising on South Treasure Drive that certainly violate the spirit of the code if not the actual law, to overgrown hedges forcing pedestrians to walk in the street, to cars parked on lawns, to additions tacked on without code approval or inspections. It's the next hot issue.

These laws exist for a reason. Partly for the aesthetics but importantly for the safety of the city. If your second story is unsafe, it is not just you at risk. Your neighbors are at risk if it blows off in a hurricane. If your hedges intrude on the sidewalk and make it impassable, pedestrians who include kids, old people and in our town, a Jewish community who must walk on Sabbath to attend services, are forced into the street.

The city is paying attention to the code enforcement. Gus Cruz has started as our Code Enforcement Officer. I met him last night for the first time. He seems like a nice guy. I am hoping he can be a tough one too because it's going to be tough sell from the top down.

Kevin Vericker