Issue Recap

Below is the text of an email I sent out yesterday. There are some minor edits (note below*) but I think it is worth sharing.

In all the negatives flying around during this campaign, it’s easy to lose sight of the issues. As I’ve walked the streets during the campaign, a shocking number of residents were unaware that NBV tax rates are going up this year, while side yard garbage pickup is being eliminated and hardly anyone knew about the status of the projects nor the plans for a “high end gentleman’s club.”

The following is my list of the major issues facing North Bay Village this year. Please take a look.

The Facts:

Taxes - our millage went up .5 for 2011. For a $250,000 home, this is a raise of $150 per year. Other cities, North Miami, Miami Lakes, City of Miami all held the line and cut spending.

Spending – there are no pay cuts and in fact, a number of raises for city employees including the police. Their health insurance went up and there is a higher contribution but there are no furloughs, no cuts, and the hiring freeze was revoked.

Garbage Side Yard Pickup - This service is being eliminated as the garbage is planned to be privatized. The city manager claimed this will save $500,000 per year but the real savings is $120,000 per year as reflected in the published budget.

Generous Employee Contracts – Very few people seem to know that if the new police chief is let go for any reason other than criminal, even for cause, he collects six months notice and three month’s severance, or about $82,000 plus 9 months of benefits (another $15,000). He is entitled to five weeks vacation the day he signed the contract. The first clause, nine months of severance regardless of the reason for the dismissal, is unheard of.

Development – the only new development in the city is a building at 1415 JFK Causeway (Channel 7). Its approval has been treated an emergency by the commission with four attempts to approve this before the November 2 election. The problem is that the lot is zoned for an “adult entertainment” complex and while the developer won’t say publicly what the plans are, on October 28 Robert Leider of WSVN testified under oath that the developer's attorneys met with his staff to tell them a “high end gentlemen’s club” was planned for the site. This will be the first building for our much needed baywalk and it's a bad choice to anchor it with an adult club.

Grants and Projects – the grants process has slowed to a trickle. North Bay Village received $11 million dollars in grants to offset our $35 million bonds and there are more on the table but the city is not acting on these. Millions are on the table from the Federal and State stimulus money and North Bay Village is on the sidelines.

Rey Trujillo either authored or supported every piece of legislation that contributed to these problems. Trujillo supported raising the tax rate as our property values declined. Trujillo stood against the furloughs and using the red light money to save police jobs instead of raising taxes. Trujillo voted to end side yard pickup and never challenged the fictitious $500,000 savings. Trujillo negotiated the police chief’s contract and voted for it. Trujillo took the maximum campaign contribution from Scott Greenwald. Then Trujillo claimed he did not know what the building at 1415 JFK is for and voted for it, even after Leider clearly laid out the plans. Trujillo led the charge to fire the city manager who had brought the $11,000,000 in grants.

These aren’t opinions, these are the facts.

This next part is opinion:

Corina Esquijarosa, a newcomer to our politics, is committed to fixing what we can – stop the garbage giveaway, support proper development, rationalize spending and stop the generous contracts. She has experience in seeking grants.

For me, the choice is clear.

A Subject No One Is Addressing – Our Declining Values.

This entire commission has ignored that North Bay Village property values have had the second steepest decline in Miami Dade County at 26%. The whole country has declined but why are we worse than most? Why is a single family house in North Bay Village on the market an average of 10 weeks longer than comparables in nearby cities? Why are the resale prices for single family houses 15% lower than comparables in nearby communities? (source: Realtytrac) We have more homes in foreclosure or in the process of foreclosure than any other city in Miami Dade (source: US Housing and Urban Development Neighborhood Stabilization Program.) We need to find the causes and fix them if we are going to recover. Our commission has ignored this problem but it’s our gravest by far.

Silvio Diaz, running for Harbor Island Commission, has made finding the answer to that question and putting the solutions in place the cornerstone of his campaign. Corina Esquijarosa has already discussed her plans to form a public private partnership to address the issue. The old guard just doesn’t see the problem – neither Trujillo, Lim nor Kreps have mentioned it. Not once. If we don’t fix, we sink.

The old guard have failed. We can't go on that way we are. It's too important to vote without the information. These are our homes at stake.

Kevin Vericker
October 30, 2010

*note: The email I sent out contained several grammatical errors and misspellings. I have corrected for those in this post. My usual writing process is to create a first draft for content, the next draft is for clarity and organization and the final is for grammar and spelling. Yesterday, instead of hitting "Save", I hit "Send". Careless on my part.

Rey Trujillo And the Strip Club

Rey Trujillo lied from the dais by failing to disclose that he had received $500 from Scott Greenwald on 9/23 during the hearing on Greenwald's property on October 30, a meeting called by George Kane and seconded by Trujillo to rush through approval of the 1415 JFK Causeway project.

Under oath, Robert Leider, general manager of WSVN, recounted that Greenwald's lawyers approached WSVN and specifically explained the plan at 1415 is for a "high end gentlemen's club." Greenwald's team did not deny it.

Trujillo then bizarely asserted that it is "very hard for him to lie" and went on to claim that the commission was just voting on the "box", not the "use". Well, the "box" alone has more holes than swiss cheese. The plans as submitted are carelessly drawn and incompletely explained. Trujillo could have voted no on that grounds alone.

But let's go back to the "lie" quote. At the beginning of the quasi-judicial hearing, there is a part called "ex parte disclosure" where all those sitting in judgment are obliged to disclose any relevant conversations and dealings with the participants. Rey Trujillo certainly understands the concept of a "lie of omission", that is consciously leaving out information to create a different impression.

During ex parte disclosure, Trujillo never mentioned that Scott Greenwald donated $500 to his campaign on September 23. The donation information is relevant and deliberately failing to disclose the donation is a lie of omission.

Financial interests should be disclosed by those in sitting in judgment. It's a legal and ethical issue and Trujillo knows it.

Kevin Vericker
October 30, 2010

Strip Club To Be Continued

The North Bay Village Commission failed to act on the building proposed at 1415 JFK Causeway during the special session last night. They deadlocked 2 - 2 as Paul Vogel was absent owing to a family illness. Prior to that, the Planning and Zoning Board met, with only three members present. They voted 3- 0 to recommend denial of the plans, not based on use by the way, but on the number of incomplete items on the application.

This means that the subject is continued, not dismissed, and most likely will come up again at the next meeting, November 1 no less, of the City Commission, if Dr. Vogel is back. If he's not, it will be continued.

The developer's argument is that he is just asking for a building to anchor the proposed Baywalk. He has not marketed to any specific tenants and cannot speak to who would be interested. Further, the developer argues that North Bay Village does not have the right to consider use of a building when approving plans.

On the other side, Planning and Zoning is saying that there is an excessive number of items on the plans that have been left blank, including the much touted landscaping which was delivered last night, too late for consideration. The Commission had serious questions about the parking since Isle of Dreams (Scott Greenwald) and Channel 7 are currently in a lawsuit about that very subject. In other words, P&Z found the plans are not ready for full consideration, and the commission believes approval would put us in the middle of the current lawsuit.

Now, as regards the triple-D elephant in the room - what are they proposing? The lawyers for Scott Greenwald expressed shock and dismay at the rumors that this is intended to be an "adult" entertainment complex and wondered however did this vicious rumor got started.

Robert Leider, General Manager of Channel 7, was able to shed some light on that. It seems that Greenwald's attorneys met with Channel 7's attorneys a few months back and Greenwald's team wanted to know if Channel 7 had a problem with a "high end gentlemen's club" next door. Channel 7 in fact does have a problem with that as they are a 24/7 operation with over 300 staff members on varying schedules and they are not thrilled about employees leaving or arriving in the middle of the night to a parking lot full of strip club patrons.

After this clarification, the lawyers dropped the subject and returned to stressing all "legal use" and sternly warning the city that we have no rights regarding the decision to approve or disapprove the building. You know, if the glove don't fit, we must acquit.

Citizen turnout was light, which surprised me. This is a big issue. Speaking in favor of the proposal was Skipper Fane Lozman, who lives on a garbage scow west of Harbor Island. He threatened to not invest his many millions earned from lawsuits his brilliance as a financial guru, in North Bay Village.

Then he mentioned me! (OMG, he knows who I am!) In the first mention, he said I was probably hanging out at the new gay club The Bay here in North Bay Village. (Well, I was there Wednesday for disco night with Nancy.) Then he confusingly said that I had a group of young people illegally voting from my address. Later, I asked him what he was talking about but he turned and walked back to the safety of the brightly lit auditorium without explaining what he was referring to but did shout that I am the subject of a criminal investigation which is news to me. The mystery remains. Fane's like that.

Kevin Vericker
October 29, 2010

Strip Club Tomorrow Night

In a rare series of double emergencies, the city is holding two meetings tomorrow (October 28, 2010) to force approval of the project plans for 1415 JFK Causeway, developed by Scott Greenwald. This has already come before Planning and Zoning, who deadlocked on its approval.

The P & Z attorney wrongly told the board that if the project meets code, it must be approved. This is not true. P & Z is an advisory board and the commission must decide, no one else. This was a blatant attempt to pressure the members to approve. They even held a second meeting on the spot, which had to be discarded as that's illegal under Sunshine Law.

Tomorrow night is another attempt to get unanimous P&Z approval to give the Commission cover to approve the project.

Rey Trujillo and George Kane are safe votes for the project since Greenwald has already bought and paid for them. They will combine their votes with Paul Vogel and try to ram this through. These three, for whom the sun doesn't shine, have probably already agreed it.

Here's what you'll hear. There are no definite plans for this to be an adult complex and all "legal uses" will be open. Nonsense, the only thing that makes this parcel valuable is its singular zoning as the only place in NBV where you can have a strip club. That's why it's an emergency to get it passed now before the election.

Now you might hear some bland statements from the three, asking that Greenwald consider promising that it won't be a strip club, and maybe Greenwald will, but it won't be legally binding.

We need to stop this. This project should not be approved, not now, and certainly not as an emergency.

Kevin Vericker
October 27, 2010

Emergency Commission Meeting 10/28/2010

In order not to risk losing the three man lockstep majority on the commission, the Commission is meeting at 7:30 PM, Thursday 10/28, at the school for one item, one item only - APPROVE THE STRIPCLUB AT 1415 JFK CAUSEWAY.

The commission trio, Trujillo, Kane and Vogel, will argue that the approval is for a nonspecific commercial use but there is only thing that makes this parcel valuable. It's the only parcel in North Bay Village that is zoned for Adult Entertainment. Take special note that the plans include a swimming pool, not a normal amenity for a restaurant, but a really special amenity for an adult entertainment complex.

There is a P & Z planned at 6:30 to ram the item through, followed by this meeting. I hope P & Z votes no.

This is so transparent. Scott Greenwald gives Rey Trujillo $500, Rey promises approval, P & Z refuses and now at Rey's insistence, there will be "emergency" meetings until his money man gets paid.



10-28-2010 City Commission Meeting
Kevin Vericker
October 26, 2010

How to Vote - A Modern Civics Lesson

In 2008, Floridians voted with a 52.1% majority to retain a section of the Florida Constitution which empowers the legislature to create laws against Asians owning land in Florida. All Amendment 1 would have done was repeal an archaic provision of the constitution that was put in place to support The Asian Exclusion Act of 1924.

I don't think most Floridians who voted on this knew what it was about. There may have been some who thought it was irrelevant because the legislature never acted on it, and there may have been some with a deep seated fear of Asians, but most just saw "immigrant" in the text and voted against it.

That's a shame. If you're smart enough to vote, you probably have access to a computer and a simple search to educate yourself. My favorite source is Ballotpedia. It's easy to use and lays out the issues clearly.

Now these Amendments and retaining Judges look like boring technical issues but they often have a more direct effect on our lives than any governor, senator or even mayor can have. Looking at the ones on the 2010 Ballot, they include

• Amendment 1, which will change the way campaigns are funded in Florida.
• Amendment 2, which will give serving military an additional homestead tax relief
• Amendment 4, which will change the way our natural resources are protected
• Amendments 5 & 6, which will change the way our legislative districts are drawn.
• Amendment 8, which will change the size of Florida classrooms.

Take some time to educate yourself on these issues and others. Again, Ballotpedia is a great resource. So's Google. I know I made my decisions on retaining Supreme Court Justices by Googling "Who endorsed fill in the name?" and saw much useful information.

Kevin Vericker
October 22, 2010

Meritorious MAST and Silvio Diaz

Silvio Diaz of Harbor Island is running a quiet, focused campaign for Commissioner from Harbor Island. Under our peculiar voting system, there are three seats restricted to residents of one of the three major neighborhoods - Harbor Island, North Bay Island and Treasure Island. The whole city votes but the standing candidate must live there, except for Vice Mayor George Kane who gives his permanent address as 1080 NE 105th St, Miami Shores, on his arrest report.

Anyway Diaz lives on Harbor Island and entered the commission race because he is a small businessman (real estate), father of two, and a long time resident of North Bay Village. He entered the race because like so many of us, he's seen and suffered the consequences of the North Bay Village politics as usual. Diaz believes it's time for a change - the North Bay Village Trujillo Tax is killing us, the rubber stamping of any requested project regardless of merit is driving our property values down, and the city's reputation is a leading economic impediment.

A citizen legislature is designed to be community governance but North Bay Village has been taken over by politicos and corporate socialists.

Diaz, as a realtor, is particularly concerned with why it takes ten weeks longer to resell a single house in North Bay Village and why our prices are 10 - 15% lower than Surfside, Miami Shores and Morningside. He doesn't pretend to have all the answers but what he has been doing, unlike his opponent, is talking and actively seeking advice from the North Bay Village Real Estate Professionals and getting our housing market stabilized is his top priority.

Along with that, he is working to prevent further foreclosures in North Bay Village, where the rate of foreclosure is nearly double that of any community in Miami Dade County. He himself was caught in the foreclosure vise and knows deeply and personally the havoc this wreaks. He will work with the city, the property owners, the federal government and the financial institutions to stop the foreclosure hemorrhaging that is destroying property values in our city.

Silvio Diaz like so many others is an immigrant from Cuba where his own father was imprisoned for political reasons, and like so many, deeply loves his adopted country. He served in the US Marines and was decorated during his time in a Meritorious Mast, a traditional Marine Ceremony that acknowledges exceptional service. Following his honorable discharge, he has successfully built the kind of business in and of our community that have brought the immigrants of Miami to the successful positions they hold today. In his mid 50's, Diaz told me "it's time to give back to the community that adopted me." and that's why he's running.

His opponent, Eddie Lim, is also a long time small businessman in North Bay Village, in real estate, and in my acquaintance with him, is a decent and honorable man who has volunteered on several boards over the years. He's also a nice guy.

But he has no plans, no platform, to change the picture of North Bay Village. In normal times, that might have been enough but not in these dangerous economic times. Lim has aligned himself with Trujillo and this bodes badly for us. We can't afford more of the same, higher taxes, lower services, strip clubs, utility bills unpaid, and it's time for a change.

Note: There has been an emailing about Diaz, filled with the usual vitriol. Who it's from is in doubt, but it's time to stop this tiresome anonymous attacking.

Kevin Vericker
October 21, 2010