COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

September 12, 2019 - In her August 2019 Newsletter, District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis describes an ongoing City investigation into homeowner claims of price gouging by Fort Lauderdale's Water Utility, and outlines efforts to research and correct skewed billing protocols. The changes planned for implementation include technological upgrades, new digital metering equipment, a rate schedule that finally creates billing parity for Single-family and multi-family residential customers, and a Broward County cost-cutting water conservation opportunity. Moraitis also reviews Tropical Storm Dorian's impact, announces upcoming budget hearings, unveils a new District 1 Facebook page, updates scooter issues, provides FDOT Traffic information, Back-to-School Street Safety Tips, explains how to notify FPL about street light outages, and offers insight into local schools.

Water & Sewer Rate Debacles

COMM. HEATHER MORAITIS HEARS WATER BILL COMPLAINTS

Hoping to curb the growing constituent confusion - and anger - about their erratic water and sewer bills, District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis spearheaded a series of dedicated public meetings at the Beach Community Center. Seemingly stymied by the blizzard of inexplicable billing anomalies described by frustrated Coral Ridge and Imperial Point residents at the initial March 4 meeting, Water Utility staffers that accompanied Moraitis could only speculate about the roller coaster charges, and Moraitis promised to further explore the reason why water bills suddenly trebled or quadrupled.

CONSULTANT MIKE BURTON

While Moraitis actively solicits authoritative feedback about the inexplicable charges, and pursues a resolution, Galt Mile residents are more concerned with a longstanding invoicing disparity that has unfairly inflated their water and sewer bills for a decade. Ten years ago, Galt Mile officials uncovered a shell game in a Water & Sewer rate schedule created by City consultant Burton & Associates. While publicly applauding the plan�s standardized rate tiers for all residential customers, City officials never mentioned how an accompanying block rate schedule forced multi-family homeowners to subsidize their counterparts in Single Family homes.

Closing in on Rate Parity

After ten years of fighting to mitigate this abuse, Galt Mile officials may finally achieve rate parity for association homeowners in September, when the City Commission approves the proposed Water & Sewer rates. With the promised support of City Commissioners Moraitis, Steve Glassman and Ben Sorensen, an equitable new rate schedule should be enacted.

However, since city consultant Stantec acquired Burton & Associates in 2016, the same �expert� who created the billing disparity in 2009 has been integrally involved with the new rate schedule, and has a reputation for planting poison pills in his handiwork. As such, Galt Mile Officials will closely monitor the September Commission meetings, and will expand on this issue when � and if � a curative new Water & Sewer Rate Ordinance has been approved. More to come next month, when this comes out in the wash. Read on for Commissioner Moraitis� August 2019 message to constituents. � [editor]

August 2019

Water Issues

COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS CHAIRS WATER BILL MEETING

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

Over the past several months, many of you have expressed concerns regarding high water bills and irregular consumption. I take your input very seriously and want to thank you for continuing to bring these issues to my attention. Thanks to your participation, there has been a lot of progress on this issue.

We�ve had two public meetings in District 1 to talk about water billing, the City authorized an independent review of our utility billing process, we�ve begun expediting permits to install irrigation meters, and the installation of new digital water meters is on the horizon. Our most recent District 1 meeting on water services took place at the Beach Community Center on July 8, 2019. We heard from KPMG on the water meter audit, Stantec on the water rate study, Siemens on the digital meters, and Broward County on residential rebate programs.

KPMG was hired by the City to conduct an independent review of existing utility billing policies and procedures. They are analyzing three years of resident water consumption data and reviewing every step of the billing process, from reading the meters and collecting payment to resolving customer service requests, to determine if there are any irregularities or systemic issues that need to be rectified. They will provide a report of their observations and recommendations to improve our water billing process to the City in August. The Commission will discuss KPMG�s findings at a public meeting in September, and I plan to hold another District meeting to provide residents with an update shortly thereafter.

Stantec provided an update on the status of the citywide water and sewer rate study. It�s been about ten years since the City conducted a rate study, so it was time for us to reassess our costs compared to our rates, to ensure we are appropriately charging for services based on updated costs and that we have adequate funding to maintain services and keep pace with inflation. As part of the study, Stantec reviewed our projected revenue needs and compared our rate structure to neighboring communities.

In September, the Commission will vote on a new water and sewer rate structure, which will keep your rates the same and will go into effect with our new fiscal year on October 1, 2019.

The Commission will also vote on an ordinance change that will allow neighbors to prorate the charge to tap a new irrigation line over 18 months.

The new structure is designed to bring in the same level of revenue in FY20 that we captured in FY19. Beginning October 1, 2020, the rate structure will bring in 5% more revenue to help fund the $1.2 billion in remaining improvements needed to update our water and sewer infrastructure over the next 20 years.

SIEMENS DIGITAL WATER METER

A representative from Siemens gave an overview of the new digital water meters coming to Fort Lauderdale later this year. The new system will automate the meter reading process and allow you to log in to your account online, so you can monitor your consumption in real-time as opposed to waiting for your bill at the end of the month. Siemens will start installing the new meters later this year and estimates it will take about two years to convert all 60,000 meters and get the entire wireless system operational.

If you have any questions about your water bill, please contact our Utility Billing office at 954-828-5150 or [email protected] and copy my assistant, Melissa Coningsby, at [email protected] so she can track your inquiries. Thank you for continuing this ongoing dialogue as we work toward a resolution and look for a date for our next water meeting at the end of the summer.

Sincerely,

The City of Fort Lauderdale is closely monitoring Hurricane Dorian. According to the National Weather Service, Dorian is forecast to continue strengthening during the next few days over the Atlantic waters and, by Labor Day weekend, be located near Florida or the southeastern coast of the United States.

While the intensity of the storm�s impact to Fort Lauderdale remains uncertain, it could affect the �King Tides� that will begin occurring tomorrow. Currently, the tides are forecast to be approximately 7 inches above predicted levels, which could be compounded if Hurricane Dorian brings strong winds and storm surge to our area.

Neighbors are reminded to continue to monitor the storm closely and make sure their emergency plans are in place. Please visit the City�s website at www.fortlauderdale.gov/hurricane for hurricane preparation tips and steps you can take before, during, and after a storm.

The City of Fort Lauderdale has activated its emergency management plan and is taking numerous proactive steps to ensure it is fully prepared, including:

• Participating in pre-storm meetings and conference calls to stay up-to-date on weather conditions and City operations.

• Fire-Rescue and Emergency Management personnel have the Emergency Operations Center ready should it need to be activated.

• Police Department is gearing up and ready to put additional officers on the streets if needed.

• Building inspectors will begin visiting construction sites to ensure equipment and materials are secure.

• Parks, recreation centers, City buildings, and facilities will be inspected. Any vulnerable areas identified will be addressed and outdoor equipment will be prepared to be relocated if needed.

• Public Works crews will be testing back-up generators to ensure they are fully operational.

The City of Fort Lauderdale offers numerous ways for neighbors to receive important information and updates:

• Monitor the City website at www.fortlauderdale.gov

• Register for CodeRED alerts

• If you live in Fort Lauderdale, join NextDoor

• Follow us on Twitter @FTLCityNews

• Like us on Facebook @CityofFortLauderdale

• Get E-news delivered to your inbox

• Download the Lauderserv App on your smartphone or tablet

• Contact our 24-hour Neighbor Service Center at 954-828-8000

For the latest updates on Hurricane Dorian, visit the National Hurricane Center website at www.nhc.noaa.gov. For more emergency preparation tips, visit the City's website at www.fortlauderdale.gov/hurricane

The Commission will be voting on the proposed FY 2020 budget in September. Please see the link below to view the proposed budget and attend the public hearings on September 3rd and September 12th if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Monday, September 2, 2019
No meeting due to Labor day

Pre-agenda Meeting
Monday, September 16, 2019
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Beach Community Center
3351 NE 33rd Ave, Fort Lauderdale

Click the button below and go like us on Facebook. This is a great way to keep up with what I am doing in the community!

Attended the commissioning of USS Paul Ignatius- DDG 117 at Port Everglades. It was a privilege to meet Secretary Ignatius-WWII Veteran, Sec of Navy and President of Washington Post. Thank you to all the men and women who protect and serve this great nation!

Scooter Update

The scooter ban on the barrier island ended on August 18. City staff continues to work on recommendations for modifying the scooter program. The item is tentatively scheduled to be reviewed by the Commission at the September 3 meeting. In the meantime, each of the four scooter companies has agreed to continue to refrain from operating scooters on the beach.

 

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FDOT Traffic Report Update

Please click image below for all FDOT Broward County Traffic Impact Reports

 

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Neighbor Tree Giveaway

 

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Back-to-School Street Safety Tips

 

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Reporting FPL Street Light Outages

 

 

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Access the link below for information on the District 3 schools in the City of Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and Oakland Park. https://www.browardschools.com/Page/35216

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COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

August 15, 2019 - In her July 2019 Newsletter, District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis announces the Commission�s execution of an agreement with Miami Beckham United, to resurrect Lockhart Stadium as a high-end District 1 destination site - without squeezing taxpayers already burdened with funding unprecedented municipal infrastructure upgrades. David Beckham�s Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise (Inter Miami CF) plans to temporarily use the Lockhart site until construction of its new stadium in Miami Freedom Park is completed in 2022.

RENDERING OF LOCKHART STADIUM PLAN

To prepare the Lockhart complex for the upcoming 2020 season, Miami Beckham United will build an 18,000-seat modern stadium, a training academy, administrative offices, practice fields, a dog park, a public park with playgrounds, multi-purpose fields, walking/jogging trails along with facilities for dining, medical care and rehabilitation. The City Commission may use Parks Bond funds to build an onsite Community Center.

BARRIER ISLAND ELECTRIC SCOOTERS BAN

Moraitis also invites local residents to attend an August 19 pre-agenda meeting, notes a barrier island ban on electric scooters until August 18, 2019: offers 10 options for soliciting emergency information during a hurricane; explains how to notify FPL about street light outages; and provides constituents with access to information about local schools. Read on for District 1 Commissioner Heather Moraitis� July 2019 message to constituents. � [editor]

July 2019

Lockhart Stadium Pact

RENDERING OF LOCKHART STADIUM PLAN

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

It�s official! At our meeting on July 9th, the City Commission unanimously approved a comprehensive long-term agreement with Miami Beckham United that will allow the Beckham group to invest $60 million to transform the Lockhart Stadium site into a soccer-centric community destination.

The partnership breathes new life into this landmark 64-acre property. It brings professional soccer back to our community; provides our youth with opportunities for expert coaching, training, and instruction; gives our city much-needed new parks and recreation areas, athletic fields, and stadium access; and ushers in the return of high school games and athletic events.

With preliminary work already underway, the agreement gives the Beckham group the green light to move forward with the full scope of this game-changing project. It puts construction on the fast track to ensure a new 18,000-seat professional soccer stadium will be completed in time for the debut of Inter Miami CF, David Beckham�s Major League Soccer (MLS) team that will begin play in March 2020.

SOCCER ICON DAVID BECKHAM

In addition to the soccer stadium, the Beckham group will fund and construct team and administrative offices, locker rooms, weight rooms, classrooms, dining facilities, medical and rehabilitation facilities, practice fields, parking areas, and a turf field with seating that will be available for high school football games and soccer events.

RENDERING OF LOCKHART STADIUM PLAN

The Beckham group will also fund and construct numerous public improvements to the property including a public park, a dog park, playgrounds, multi-purpose fields, walking/jogging/fitness trails, and ancillary facilities all for use by our community.

RENDERING OF LOCKHART STADIUM PLAN

I�m happy to share the recent project rendering (below) produced by the Beckham group that illustrates the location of the stadium, practice fields, and community parks and recreation areas, in relation to Commercial Boulevard and NW 12 Avenue.

Under the approved agreement, the City will not be paying for any of the improvements being constructed by the Beckham group. Any investment we decide to make will only be for enhancements above and beyond what the Beckham group has already planned for the property, such as a community center or other public amenities. Our plan would be to fund these types of enhancements through the parks bond, which voters overwhelmingly passed in March.

I�m excited to move this project forward. For years, residents in District 1 have identified expanding parks and green space, developing unique and inviting gathering places, and creating active healthy lifestyles, as key priorities for our future. This project fulfills our shared vision and will have a lasting impact on our community for generations to come.

Thanks again to everyone who has already provided input and feedback on the project. I appreciate your participation and encourage you to stay engaged as we move forward. Please be on the lookout for more updates on the progress being made in the months ahead.

Sincerely,

Commissioner Heather Moraitis
Fort Lauderdale, District 1
[email protected]

Please Join Us For A District 1 Meeting

Monday, August 19, 2019
Beach Community Center
3351 NE 33rd Ave, Fort Lauderdale
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Pre-agenda Meeting

Monday, September 2, 2019
No meeting due to Labor day

Electric Scooter Update

SUMMER ELECTRIC SCOOTERS BAN

Between June 8 and August 18, 2019, electric or motorized scooters, and any other forms of dockless mobility (including those that are privately owned), will be prohibited on the entirety of the barrier island.

No scooter operations may occur at any time within the following boundaries: the Atlantic Ocean to the east, up to and including the westernmost bank of the Intracoastal Waterway to the west, Southeast 17th Street to the south, and Northeast 42nd Court to the north.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department will be monitoring summer activities to ensure that all City ordinances are followed.

Preparing for Hurricane Season

Access the link below for information on the District 3 schools in the City of Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and Oakland Park. https://www.browardschools.com/Page/35216

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COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

July 7, 2019 - District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis� June 2019 Newsletter speaks to the implementation of ramp signaling to reduce congestion along northbound and southbound Interstate 95 (I-95) in Broward County. Seemingly counter-intuitive, traffic signals placed on entrance ramps actually expedite the traffic flow. Moraitis also introduces new intern Clara Harms, invites constituents to a July 8 pre-agenda meeting, followed by a water rate study update and the results of a water meter audit, provides an opportunity to rack up irrigation rebates. recommends 10 options for hurricane preparations, and details how to prompt an FPL response to street light outages.

Ramp Signaling in Broward

RAMP SIGNALS

Although typically deployed during times of heavy congestion, such as weekday morning and evening rush-hours, Ramp Signals may also be activated when a traffic incident or special event impacts regular expressway operations. Productively utilized along I-95 in Miami-Dade, the expansion of ramp signals into Broward and Palm Beach counties enhances a regional strategy to abate growing congestion due to runaway development. The plan also extends the dedicated toll lanes of 95 Express to north of Commercial Boulevard (at milepost 15.537).

The signals respond to real-time traffic conditions and are used to control the rate which vehicles enter the highway. By breaking up the groups of merging vehicles, the ramp signals reduce the impacts of entering vehicles on the traffic flow along the highway. To date, Ramp signals have significantly improved mobility and travel speeds during the morning and evening rush hour periods by 11% and 16% respectively. While it may slow entering traffic on access ramps by a few minutes, it relieves the traffic plugs that constrict flow at merging mainline entrances.

How Does Ramp Signaling Work?

As per FDOT, here's how it works:

1. When the signal is red: Pull up to the marked white line on the pavement before the �Stop Here on Red,� sign to activate the ramp meter light.

2. When the signal light turns green: One or two vehicles, as indicated by the signage on the ramp, should proceed and merge onto the interstate.

3. Be patient: A short wait at the ramp will help reduce your travel times and improve your commute along the mainline.

They are, however, serious about enforcing this new protocol. Since ramp signaling regulations are fitted with penalties for drivers who violate the new law, State and local police won't hesitate to reverse course, and knowingly contribute to rubber-necking delays by pulling you over and grinding out a citation. You have been warned. Read on for Commissioner Moraitis� June 2019 newsletter . � [editor]

June 2019

Interstate 95 Ramp Signaling System

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) plans to install ramp signals at selected I-95 ramps in Broward and Palm Beach Counties starting this summer. In District 1, Cypress Creek Boulevard and Andrews Avenue on-ramps will have ramp signals by the end of this summer. Traffic signals located along several entrance ramps of I-95 will make merging into the highway easier and safer for all residents. Ramp Signals are traffic control devices that alternate between red and green flashing lights. These signals are designed to control the rate at which vehicles enter the highway, helping to reduce congestion and improve the traffic flow along mainline I-95.

These signals are monitored by the Traffic management Center via closed-circuit television cameras and are operated based on real-time traffic conditions. Ramp signals will turn on during peak traffic times or other periods of heavy use, such as weekdays, rush hour windows. Advanced warning signs will flash to alert motorists when ramp signals are turned of and operational.

The Ramp Signal System is part of an overall congestion-relief plan, which along with 95 Express, is helping I-95 become a safer, more efficient road to travel in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Below is the sequence of what ramps will get the signals. For additional information, please contact [email protected] or Guillermo Canedo at [email protected] or (954) 777-4302. Please see below for more information on the I-95 ramp signals in Broward County.

Please click the picture below for a slideshow presentation and more information:

Sincerely,

Commissioner Heather Moraitis
Fort Lauderdale, District 1

Welcome Clara Harms as District 1 Summer Intern

Clara Harms, a rising high school senior in Fort Lauderdale, is interning with our office this summer. She is enjoying her experience at City Hall where she is learning more about local government and her own involvement in the community. Clara hopes to pursue a career in politics one day.

 

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Please Join Us For A District 1 Meeting

Monday, July 8, 2019
Beach Community Center
3351 NE 33rd Ave, Fort Lauderdale
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Pre-agenda Meeting

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Special Water Bill Update Meeting

We will present an update on the water meter audit, water rate study, prorating the cost of an irrigation meter, and the digital meter installation plan.

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Apply for an Irrigation Rebate

Broward County now offers four types of rebates for upgrading your outdoor Irrigation. If you have any questions, please reach out to the County at 954-519-1270 or [email protected].

Please click the button below for more information and to apply.

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	Congratulations to Westminster Academy, in District 1, S tate Champion Boys' Basketball Team and Cheerleaders!	Great time celebrating our Fraternal Order of Police and Fort Lauderdale Professional Firefighters at Chops and Hops.

 

	Congratulations Westminster Academy on the new Dr. Kenneth P Wackes Media Center.	Memorial Day Service at Lauderdale Memorial Park Cemetery. We salute those who have served and sacrificed for our country.

 

	Attended the Rising Leaders Mixer and celebrated the graduates of Leadership Fort Lauderdale. Congratulations!	It was a pleasure speaking to the kids at Christ Church Career Day Summer Camp about Lockhart Stadium.

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Preparing for Hurricane Season

Hurricane Season has officially arrived for the next couple of months. It is important that everyone is prepared and able to respond quickly, safely and efficiently in the event of an emergency.

10 Ways Employees Can Stay in Touch During a Storm:

1. Call the Employee Hotline at 954-828-5900 for updates on operations

2. Monitor the City website at www.fortlauderdale.gov

3. Register for CodeRED alerts

4. If you live in Fort Lauderdale, join NextDoor

5. Follow us on Twitter @FTLCityNews

6. Like us on Facebook @CityofFortLauderdale

7. Follow us on Instagram @cityoffortlauderdale

8. Get E-news delivered to your inbox

9. Download the Lauderserv App on your smartphone or tablet

10. Contact our 24-hour Neighbor Service Center at 954-828-8000

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Reporting FPL Street Light Outages

 

 

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Access the link below for information on the District 3 schools in the City of Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and Oakland Park. https://www.browardschools.com/Page/35216

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Links For Additional Information

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COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

June 10, 2019 - In reviewing a litany of bills recently considered in the 2019 legislative session that were relevant to municipal constituents, District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis identifies two big wins in her May 2019 Newsletter. . By seeking to strip local governments of the right to regulate vacation rentals, legislation that threatened to turn homes into unregulated flop joints and devalue properties in residential neighborhoods was abandoned on the calendar. Conversely, an approved bill that allows local governments to retain full regulatory authority over roads and sidewalks can expel motorized scooters from those sidewalks and consign them to the street (i.e. bike lanes). Moraitis applauds a �Lock it Up!� program that inveighs against leaving unlocked guns around children and teens, announces completion of the quiet zone infrastructure project that eliminates unnecessary train horn noise pollution along the FEC railway corridor in Broward County, and welcomes the recent revival of Broward County Solar Co-ops.

The Airbnb Virus

At the top of her 22 legislative reviews, Moraitis features the defeat of an annual attempt by Airbnb to fatten its bottom line by devaluing homes in residential neighborhoods � and community associations. To realize its corporate agenda, Airbnb spends 100s of $millions in Florida jurisdictions to eliminate obstacles that hamper expanding its inventory by quashing local laws that bar single-family and multi-family properties in residential neighborhoods from operating as unlicensed transient motels or overnight flops. By packing a dozen people (or more) into rooms legally zoned for two occupants, and providing for near daily turnover, the strategy often mimics the impact of �blockbusting� by unscrupulous developers.

TENANTS FROM HELL TRASH RENTAL

Since an army of transients in homes functioning as commercial properties creates a security threat that forces neighborhood home values to nose dive, local homeowners staunchly support local zoning and anti-blockbusting laws that ban commercial or industrial venues in residential neighborhoods. Condominiums and co-operatives in residential neighborhoods have become prime targets, as snowbird owners circumvent association rental rules by claiming that paid short-term tenants are relatives or guests.

FORMER REPRESENTATIVE MICHAEL HORNER

To neuter these local laws, in 2011, the $38 billion vacation rental goliath Airbnb bought former Statehouse Representative Michael Horner (R - Kissimmee) - and key vetting committee chairs - to enact House Bill 883, which preempted cities and counties from prohibiting or regulating short term rentals. Since the ill-conceived prohibition was absolute, speculating landlords drawn to an unregulated operating environment could rent out a dozen damp mattresses on the floor of a spare room or an unventilated storage shed. Horner later resigned when police discovered his name on the client list of an Orange County brothel.

Corporate juggernauts like Airbnb or Expedia subsidiaries Homeaway and VRBO � which seek to evade regulatory oversight by masquerading short-term rentals as �home-sharing� � also deplete the availability of affordable housing in many jurisdictions, as speculators accrue depressed properties to exploit the lucrative vacation rental market. By scooping up inexpensive single-family homes and apartment units that might ordinarily serve as long-term housing stock, and converting them into short-stay rentals, it strains an already short supply of low-cost homes.

Online blogs savaging the company like Airbnb HELL went viral. Faced with declining home values, a statewide outcry by millions of angry Florida homeowners and local officials prompted lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 356 in 2014, which eased the broad state preemption on regulation of vacation rentals, and empowered local governments to regulate short-term rentals through life safety and building codes.

Since then, Airbnb has annually engineered bills that would recapture a right to enhance profits by snubbing local laws and transforming condominiums, co-operatives, HOAs and stable residential neighborhoods into transient way-stop ghettos. Short-stay rentals are critical to Florida�s tourism economy, but they should be subject to protective life-safety regulations, and confined to neighborhoods zoned for commercial enterprises.

Although House Bill 987 and companion Senate Bill 824 fortunately died on the calendar, they will most assuredly be reincarnated next year � like a recurring virus. Read on for District 1 Commissioner Heather Moraitis� May 2019 message to constituents. � [editor]

May 2019

Brief Recap of How The 2019 Legislative Session Affects Our Residents

LEGISLATIVE SESSION IN TALLAHASSEE

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

I am committed to working with the county, state, and federal government to ensure our concerns are addressed at all levels of government. I spent time with legislators and the Governor�s office in Tallahassee during session advocating against a vacation rental bill that gave the city less control and advocating for a bill to get motorized scooters off of sidewalks. Both efforts were successful and I thank Rep. Chip LaMarca for his support. I also spent time with the Commissioner of Education�s office discussing the plans for the new aviation high school I am proposing in collaboration with the Executive Airport in District 1.

The Legislature passed a budget which provides $250,000 in funding, requested from the City of Fort Lauderdale, for the Homeless Collaborative of Broward County. This project is a collaboration between the United Way of Broward County, the City of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County.

Local government advocates were able to prevent the Senate bill that further preempted local vacation rentals ordinances from being heard in its first committee of reference. The House bill passed its final committee of reference only one vote shy of failure after meeting extensions and several amendments that called into question the motives of those advancing the bill. The perennial bill provided that any regulation imposed on one property must apply uniformly to all regardless of the transient nature of its occupancy. The bill would have also invalidated ordinances that had been previously passed before 2011 and taken authority from HOAs.

The Legislature passed with only 1 vote in opposition a bill that would create a regulatory framework to authorize motorized scooters and micromobility devices and place them under the same road requirements as a bicycle (i.e. get them off sidewalks and into bike lanes.) The final language allowed local governments to retain full regulatory authority over roads and sidewalks. It also requires persons offering the devices to secure them during a storm.

The House voted 108-7 and Senate voted 33-5 to make texting while driving a primary offense.

The Legislature unanimously passed legislation from the Sober Home Task Force. The bill continues to tighten up sober home standards and address unintended consequences of past legislation. The bill strengthens patient brokering and deceptive practices statutes, provides for certification and background checks of peer specialists, expands background check requirements for recovery residence administrative personnel and expands violations eligible for exemption, and covers residences that have day/night treatment centers.

The Senate voted 23-17 and House voted 76-39 to advance a bill that implements many of the priorities announced by the Senate and Governor earlier this Session on school choice on the premise that access to a high-quality education should not be based on zip code. The bill creates the Family Empowerment Tax Credit program that expands publicly funded (through business tax credits) vouchers for children to attend private schools. Children currently enrolled in charter schools or in the school for the Deaf & Blind are not eligible for the vouchers. It also expands and funds wrap around services for kids in after school care. It allows schools of hope to be operated in Opportunity Zones. It permits schools of hope funding to be used for directors and other outreach prior to operating. It allows hope scholarship students to be able to exchange for a transportation scholarship. It removes what had become a perverse incentive to report incidents of bullying. It also allows a governing charter to require charter schools to reimburse the school district for any costs incurred in a charter school violation of Civil Rights or Equal Employment Opportunity.

After days of emotional debate, the Senate voted 22-17 and House voted 65-47 to pass its School Safety package. The bill controversially expands the Guardian program to include willing teachers in districts that have opted to use the program. The bill contains a wide range of recommendations from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Commission, including collection and sharing of data, strengthening school security plans and oversight, and more. The MSD Commission had recommended the expansion of the guardian program in order to make up for the shortfall of SRO officers in schools. Supporters argue that very few teachers and very few school districts will volunteer for the Guardian program. Instead, it would increase flexibility for the security dollars to be used.

The House voted 87-23 and Senate 24-15 voted to advance a bill from last year that requires local governments to address contamination in their contracts with waste companies and processing facilities. The House amended the bill before it sent it to the Senate to include a moratorium on plastic straw ordinances until 2024 with no DEP study of environmental impacts or alternatives. Rather, the bill requires OPPAGA to study the data local governments used in determining their ordinances. In the underlying bill, contracts executed or renewed after July 1, 2019 must: define �contaminated recyclable material� in a manner that is appropriate for the local community; include strategies by both parties to reduce contamination; include procedures for identifying, documenting and handling contamination; authorize actions in addressing contamination; and provide for education and enforcement measures. The bill does not restrict type of materials being recycled and does not mandate how local governments should structure their contracts. The bill also includes an expansion of an exemption from environmental regulation permits (ERP) for reconstruction or repair of docks that are within five feet of the original dock and do not cause additional adverse impacts.

The Governor vetoed this bill due to the moratorium on plastic straws. In his veto letter, he stated that the plastic straw bans do not frustrate any state policy and that, if citizens do not like these bans, they can work to elect local officials that share their values.

The Legislature unanimously passed legislation that would: direct the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission to study impacts of longterm storage of vessels anchored and moored outside of mooring fields; create �no-discharge zones� for sewage dumping near certain waterbodies near rural areas; require boater safety identification cards for boats 10 horsepower and above; and designate a portion of registration fees collected by counties for the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund.

After the House reversed course on a firefighter cancer benefit proposal under pressure from its membership, the public and the CFO, the House and Senate both voted unanimously to pass the bill. Upon initial diagnosis of cancer, firefighters would be provided cancer treatment at no cost and a one-time cash payout of $25,000. Diagnosis and treatment of cancer would be presumed to have been contracted in the line of duty. To be eligible for benefits, firefighters must be full-time, must have been employed by the same employer for at least five years, must have not used any tobacco products in the preceding five years, and cannot have previous employment that has a higher risk of cancer. Employers must provide coverage through an employer-sponsored health plan or group insurance plan. Firefighters cannot be required to pay co-pays, deductibles, or co-insurance or a local government must timely reimburse these out-of-pocket costs. The bill would raise FRS contributions to the Special Risk Class by .08% in order to fund benefits and would prohibit employers from requiring employee increases to the FRS in order to fund the benefit.

The Legislature unanimously passed C-51 reservoir project legislation which advances an alternative water source for local governments in Palm Beach and Broward. The bill instructs the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) to acquire any portion of the reservoir not committed to utilities and any available land needed for the project. The final product provides that the project must be used to maximize reduction of harmful discharges to the Lake Worth Lagoon, permitted water supply, and natural systems. The project must be operated under the rules and maintenance agreements of the SFWMD and may also be funded by an appropriation of the Legislature.

The Legislature unanimously passed the human trafficking bill as its final bill of the 2019 Legislative Session. The bill would establish a Direct Support Organization to foster private and community partnerships to provide resources to human trafficking victims. It requires the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to develop and implement a training program for law enforcement. It sets up a massage establishment database modeled after the PDMP to prevent someone convicted of trafficking or prostitution from opening a new business license. It provides a penalty for adult strip clubs that falsify age verification documents. It requires employee training on identifying and reporting suspected trafficking activity for public lodging and massage establishments, and licensed medical practices. It requires that all of these businesses post signage containing the National Human Trafficking hotline and establish hotline procedures for employees. The bill would not provide a cause of action or liability for public lodging establishments where human trafficking takes place. However, it does fine them $2,000 per day if it doesn�t meet training requirements. Fines would go to fund the Direct Support Organization. It creates the Soliciting for Prostitution Registry for �johns� and �pimps� to deter demand. Finally, it would allow victims of human trafficking to petition for expungement of kidnapping charges that occurred due to being forced to participate in a human trafficking scheme. Law enforcement and local governments supported the bill.

Early in Session, the legislature rushed to adhere to the Governor�s March 15th deadline to permit the use of smokable marijuana. Members shared concerns over the use of marijuana in general, others shared the same concern, but ultimately voted in favor of the bill to honor the intention of the voters with the House voting 101-11 and the Senate voting 34-4. The bill allows minors to smoke medical marijuana only if they are terminally ill and approved by a second physician. It limits patients to 2.5 ounces every 35 days, unless the Department of Health approves an increase at a patient�s request. Physicians would be required to show why smokable marijuana is the best avenue for the patient to ingest the medicine. The bill was quickly signed into law by Governor DeSantis (Chapter No. 19-001).

Please see additional information from this year's legislatiion session below

Sincerely,

Commissioner Heather Moraitis
Fort Lauderdale, District 1

Please Join Us For A District 1 Meeting

Monday, June 3, 2019
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Pre-agenda Meeting

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Special Lockhart Community Park Presentation

Monday, June 8, 2019
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Pre-agenda Meeting

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Special Water Bill Update Meeting

We will present an update on the water meter audit, water rate study, prorating the cost of an irrigation meter, and the digital meter installation plan.

Memorial Day Collection Schedule: No interruption of service

Memorial Day: For your convenience, there will be NO service interruptions on May 27, 2019. Collections will remain on schedule for all curbside collections including garbage, yard waste, recycling and bulk collections.

2019 History Makers Celebration

What a wonderful evening attending the History Makers honoring Commissioner Glassman and the Forman Family for their contribution to preserving historical landmarks in our city.

Lock it Up! Program Saves Lives

Last September the Broward League of Women Voters started their life-saving Lock it Up! program, a county-wide, non-partisan, public safety campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of unlocked guns around children and teens and to encourage gun owners to lock up their guns. In the U.S., 4.6 million children live in homes with unsecured guns. Over 75% of teens who commit suicide with a gun use a gun from home and a child is shot every 17 hours on average in Florida. In addition, a gun is stolen every 26 minutes on average and most of those guns are used to commit crimes. Florida is 3rd in the nation for gun theft, so locking up guns would save lives and reduce crime significantly. Like MADD's "don't drink and drive" campaign, this program aims to change the narrative and make everyone feel responsible for gun safety in their community. The League has partnered with the Miami VA Suicide Prevention team to provide free gun locks. The goal is to place brochures and free gun locks in all pediatricians' offices, as well as in schools, pre-schools, government facilities, parks, YMCA's, police stations, mental health providers, churches, synagogues, mosques, etc.

The League has also partnered with MOMS Demand Action for Gun Sense in America as well, the Brady Campaign as well as BSO and many local police department and city commissions. To date, the League has acquired 180 community partners, made 60 presentations about gun safety, and distributed over 11,200 gun locks and over 23,000 brochures. The program was featured on WLRN, and in the Broward New Times. Broward County is the model for the program which will be expanded statewide through the Florida League of Women Voters.

The idea for this program originated with an article about a pediatrician in Bozeman, MO distributing free gun locks to other pediatricians. Good ideas spread! If you would like more in formation about this program or a gun safety presentation for your group, please e-mail: [email protected].

Brightline Quiet Zone Update

BRIGHTLINE QUIET ZONE INTERSECTION

It�s about to get a whole lot quieter in Fort Lauderdale! The City received outstanding news regarding the Brightline (Virgin Trains USA) quiet zone, an initiative designed to eliminate the use of train horns along the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) corridor in Broward County. Late yesterday, the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) informed the City that construction work on the quiet zone has been completed.

The quiet zone infrastructure project began in November 2016. According to federal regulations, if trains are not required to sound their horns when approaching railroad crossings, additional measures must be implemented to make the crossings as safe as possible. Safety upgrades and railroad crossing improvements, including additional gate arms; upgraded warning devices; improved lighting; and new medians, curbs, and signage have been installed at more than 20 locations along the FEC rail corridor in Broward County. In addition to the City of Fort Lauderdale, this 26-mile stretch of tracks includes portions of Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, Dania Beach, Hollywood, and Hallandale Beach.

The MPO will now move forward with filing a Notice of Establishment (NOE) with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration so that the quiet zone can be implemented. The MPO expects the quiet zone to be activated at midnight on May 18. Once activated, train horns will be silenced except in emergencies or other threatening situations as determined by the train engineer.

For more tips about railroad crossing safety, visit Operation ifesaver at https://oli.org/.

Reporting FPL Street Light Outages

Access the link below for information on the District 3 schools in the City of Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and Oakland Park. https://www.browardschools.com/Page/35216

Additional Highlights from the 2019 Session

The Senate voted 36-1 and the House voted 80-31 to pass CRA reform. The legislation includes a phase out of CRAs with no outstanding bond obligations by 2039 or by the date adopted in its charter by October 1 2019, whichever is earlier. A creating local government can extend the life of the CRA by a majority vote. The bill also includes ethics training for CRA commissioners; procedures for board appointments and procurement; and reporting requirements. It requires CRAs to stick to an annual adopted budget and requires CRAs created by a municipality to send adopted budgets and amendments to the County within 10 days of adoption. It also authorizes a creating local government to establish the amount of Tax Increment Financing (between 50-95% of the increment) available to the CRA and removes a three-year limit on roll over funding for adopted projects.

The Senate and House unanimously passed beach management legislation supported by advocates for beach preservation, tourism and coastal communities. The legislation would require DEP to create three-year Comprehensive Long-Term Beach Management Plan that lays out a long-term strategy for beach re-nourishment and inlet management projects. The plan must include a critically eroded beaches report. The bill requires DEP to create a four-tiered scoring system for evaluating and prioritizing beach management projects, including economic importance, storm damage and sand management. The bill also revises criteria for DEP to rank inlet management projects, allows for DEP to fund up to 75% of a large inlet project. Supporters believe the bill would provide stability and continuity similar to the FDOT work program for Florida�s beaches.

The House voted 66-42 and Senate voted 26-13 to pass huge legislation for developers. There are several elements to this package: a rewrite of the impact fee bill passed earlier this Session; inclusionary housing; private inspection providers; attorneys fees in development challenges; school impact fees; shortened or specific timelines for local government actions and limitations on reviews; and data collection on high-rise condominiums (above 75 ft) that are not retrofitted for sprinklers or life safety systems. Some of the main provisions: Inclusionary Zoning: The bill requires local governments to provide incentives that would make developer whole for any inclusionary zoning (affordable housing) requirements. This is slightly watered down from an outright ban on inclusionary zoning policies, but still limits local government models.

Supporters claim this is a �carrot� rather than a �stick� approach that will lead to more affordable housing in the market while driving down costs. It carves out the Florida Keys as an Area of Critical State Concern. Private Providers: it prohibits local governments for charging building inspection fees if the fee owner or contractor hires a private provider, however they may charge a reasonable administrative fee. This is problematic for several reasons: Many local governments charge a flat rate and do not track an inspection fee v s. administrative fee. Local governments must also still fund the costs associated with (among other things) hiring inspectors that can immediately provide inspections should a contract with a private provider be terminated midway through a project. It also limits audits of private providers to only four times per year per company despite some private provider companies performing dozens of inspections. It also limits the scope of subsequent reviews to only those cited in the initial written notice, which could exclude deficiencies arising after initial inspections and those arising from repairs to deficiencies. Development Orders: Local governments will have 30 days to review a development order application for completeness, 30 days for applicants to address deficiencies, 120 days (or 180 days for quasi-judicial) to make a final decision to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application. Both parties can agree to extend this timeframe. Attorney Fees: The bill provides that prevailing parties are entitled to reasonable attorney fees incurred in challenging or defending development orders brought to enforce local comprehensive plans. Some opposed this provision as harming the ability of local neighborhoods to enforce local comprehensive plans. Impact Fees: This bill overrides the bill passed previously this Session that codified the �dual rational nexus test� for impact fees. It provides that fees must be �proportionate and reasonably connected to� OR have a rational nexus with the impact / benefits of the new construction. It also requires local governments to credit contributions from public education facilities based on the amount of the impact fee, not on the type of school. It also authorizes local governments to waive impact fees for affordable housing without having to offset the cost.

The House and Senate unanimously passed a bill that would require local governments to post their schedule of building permit and inspection fees on their websites by December 31, 2020 and thereafter provide a detailed utilization report prior to making changes to the schedule. The utilization report includes costs related to enforcement of the Florida Building Code, number of permits requested / issued, number of inspections / re-inspections conducted, number and salaries of personnel employed to enforce the building code, revenues derived from permit fees, investment revenues derived from investing fee revenue, and balances carried forward / refunded by the local government.

The Senate voted 39-1 after the House voted 101-12 to codify court requirements that impact fees bear a rational nexus to needs for additional capital facilities, expenditures of collected revenue, and benefits to new construction. It would prohibit any local government from requiring payment of impact fees any time prior to issuing a building permit. Impact fee revenues would be designated for acquiring, constructing or improving capital facilities to benefit the new users. Impact fees collected by a local government couldn't be used to pay existing debt or for prior approved projects, unless their is a rational nexus to the impact generated by the new construction. It excludes fees charged for connecting to water and sewer systems. However, the provisions of this bill were rewritten by HB 7103 to include that they must be �proportional or have a rational nexus.� The rule being that the bill passed last has the ultimate say.

The House voted 106-9 and the Senate unanimously passed legislation intended to streamline the process of establishing and growing Community Development Districts. Local governments would identify parcels of land adjacent to the CDD that may be annexed over the next ten years and provides a process to petition local governments to add identified parcels. It would allow for CDDs to merge with other CDDs and with Special Districts. It would retain the one-acre, one-vote elections process for CDD boards.

The Senate voted 39-1 and House voted 109-7 after adding in provisions that prohibited firearms and ammunition on fire apparatus and EMS vehicles and required the law enforcement agency to issue any firearms or ammunition carried. The House previously voted 111-2 without those provisions. The bill will allow certain physicians and paramedics embedded in law enforcement SWAT teams to carry firearms while in active support of a tactical operation. In his introduction, the bill sponsor clarified that this does not allow firefighters to carry firearms any time they want, he clarified that it only for when they are engaged in SWAT operations. The medics have advanced life-saving skills and respond to calls with SWAT teams in order to quickly address medical emergencies and save the lives of victims, law enforcement, and even perpetrators. Current law would force these medics to train to become sworn officers in order to carry during an operation, which is cost prohibitive in both funding and manpower. The bill is supported by the Florida Sheriffs Association, Florida Fire Chiefs Association, Broward Sheriff's Office, Broward Police Chiefs Association, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Plantation Police Department, Coral Springs Fire Department.

After adopting a sunset provision to access of data, the Legislature voted unanimously to authorize the Attorney General to have indirect access to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program for use in pending controlled substances criminal and civil litigation. The bill hit a snag over concern whether the bill adequately protects identities of those in the database. Under the bill, each patient in the database would be given a unique identification number and data collected is limited to only what is relevant to case discovery. The unique identifier is a combination of birthdate and zip code.

The AGs office filed a lawsuit in May that alleges opioid manufacturers, distributors, and sellers (including Purdue Pharma, CVS and Walgreens) pushed sales of opioids despite knowledge of the dangers and of increasing demand that clearly showed addiction and abuse. The lawsuit alleges they engaged in a deceptive marketing campaign, which included funding ostensibly neutral physicians and organizations, and continuously allowed diversion of their products and filled suspicious prescriptions despite alarmingly high numbers. Without the legislation, the Attorney General believes it could take years and millions of dollars to build a case.

The Senate and House unanimously passed a bill to expand the Good Samaritan Act to give immunity from arrest, charge, prosecution, or penalties for persons who, in good faith, seek help for themselves or other individuals believed to be in need of medical attention while experiencing an alcohol or drug related overdose. The bill is intended to prevent the loss of life in situations where people do not seek needed help due to fear of being charged with underage drinking and drug possession. In order to qualify for immunity from charges related to providing alcohol to minors, the individual is required to stay with the minor until medical assistance arrives and to cooperate with law enforcement. The bill includes immunity from charges related to possession of paraphernalia, possession of drugs below a certain amount, and probation violations.

The Senate voted 27-13 and the House voted 93-22 to establish two international drug importation programs. This bill overcame a massive marketing campaign to drum up public opposition to the bill mostly due to a commitment from House leadership and the Governor to see this through passage. Originally, the House bill established two programs, the first is narrowly focused to only allowing importation from Canada, and the second sets the state up to import from any other nation if authorized by the federal government. The Senate originally only had the first program. The Canadian importation program has been permitted in federal law for over a decade but has never been authorized by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Ultimately, the Senate gave in and agreed with the House version establishing the framework for the two programs, although they were able to require surety bonds and extra safety protocols. On Monday, the 6th, Governor DeSantis met with President Trump to accelerate federal approval for the program.

COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

May 5, 2019 - In her April 2019 Newsletter, District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis describes the rebirth of an iconic Fort Lauderdale site that will once again house a major sports team - at least for two years. The City approved a plan to transition Lockhart Stadium from a browned out wasteland overgrown with weeds to a major league soccer venue with an 18,000-seat modern stadium, a training academy, administrative offices, a community center, a dog park, a running trail, playground, public park and facilities that will accommodate a second professional soccer franchise from the United Soccer League (USL). She also applauds the �Uptown 5k on the Runway� - a Run / Walk event at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport; congratulates the Westminster Academy men�s basketball team for winning their third consecutive FHSAA Class 4A Basketball State Championship; and celebrates April as Water Conservation Month by promoting the Broward Water Partnership�s (BWP) Conservation Pays program .

Reincarnating Lockhart

SOCCER SUPERSTAR DAVID BECKHAM

Lockhart Stadium owes its suddenly bright future to two converging events, competing private sector development bids and the recent approval of a Parks Bond issue. Led by soccer superstar David Beckham, Miami Beckham United will temporarily deliver Inter Miami CF (AKA � Club Internacional de F�tbol Miami), his soccer franchise in the Major League Soccer (MLS) organization.

MIAMI FREEDOM PARK

The Beckham group plans to begin demolition in July and open for business by March, 2020. Two years later, Beckham's team will occupy a brand-new 25,000-seat stadium in a planned $1 billion commercial complex called Miami Freedom Park, replacing the 73-acre city-owned Melreese golf course in Miami. Thereafter, Beckham will still maintain the Lockhart training facility.

While the Fort Lauderdale sports venue will also be used by local schools, the city could later cut a deal with another professional sports club, perhaps the FXE Futbol franchise that made a losing bid to build and occupy Lockhart. Miami Beckham United will invest $60 million to develop the Lockhart complex. As a consequence of the March 12 voter approval of a $200 million Parks Bond, another $25 million could be funneled into Lockhart improvements.

Lockhart is Born

Lockhart Stadium and the adjacent Fort Lauderdale Stadium baseball park were built in 1959. Named for former city commissioner H. Y. "Doug" Lockhart and dedicated at a football game on September 18, 1959, the sports complex was originally expected to host football games and track and field competitions for four local high schools (Fort Lauderdale High School, Stranahan High School, Northeast High School, and Dillard High School).

After twenty years of hosting high school football and track events - and occasional state football and soccer competitions, in 1977 Lockhart Stadium became the home field of the Miami Toros of the original North American Soccer League (NASL) - who rebranded themselves as the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

This launched Lockhart's long association with soccer. At the November 23, 1980 World Cup qualifier in Lockhart, the United States men's national soccer team orchestrated the first U.S. defeat of Mexico in over 46 years, winning by 2�1. When the Strikers moved to Minnesota in 1982, Lockhart returned to hosting high school sports and the occasional Miami Dolphins pre-season scrimmage.

The Miami Fusion F.C. of Major League Soccer (MLS) renovated the stadium in 1998, increasing seating capacity to 20,000 and redesigning the field expressly for soccer. Since all other MLS teams typically played in football stadiums, this was a sea change that triggered the league's eventual trend toward soccer-specific stadiums. As the Fusion was contracted by the league in 2002, Lockhart was refitted once again in 2003 for use by the Florida Atlantic University Owls college football team until 2011, when the Owls relocated to their on-campus FAU Stadium in Boca Raton.

During this period, the stadium hosted D.C. United's high-profile 1998 victory over Vasco da Gama in the Interamerican Cup, Billy Graham's final South Florida crusade in 1985, and the 2007 Caribbean Carnival for Broward County (after Miramar gave them the boot).

Fight for Lockhart

Two years after moving to Lockhart Stadium from Miami in 2009, Miami FC also changed its name to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, although the team abandoned Lockhart in 2016 and moved to a stadium at Central Broward Regional Park. Within months, the Strikers were disbanded and Lockhart became an empty shell. A $70-million Water Park proposal for Lockhart Stadium by Schlitterbahn was legally challenged and tied up in court by the owners of competing Rapids Water Park in Riviera Beach, in cahoots with FXE Futbol. Having achieved their objective of discouraging a prospective competitor, Rapids Water withdrew its rival water park proposal, but FXE Futbol still had plans for Lockhart.

FXE FUTBOL BOSS JOHN P. REYNAL

Led by Managing Director John P. Reynal, in 2017 FXE Futbol proposed renovating Lockhart Stadium for a future Division II USL Championship squad. While Beckham�s Inter Miami CF is in the top-tier Major League Soccer (MLS) organization, FXE Futbol has applied for a second tier United Soccer League (USL) franchise. For the next two years, Reynal sought approval from the league and the City to develop a complex at Lockhart that included soccer and multi-purpose fields, park space, dining and retail options, and a Topgolf facility.

RENDERING OF LOCKHART STADIUM PLAN

On January 28, 2019, Miami Beckham United (representing Inter Miami CF) submitted a competing proposal to the Fort Lauderdale City Commission for the design, construction and maintenance of a state-of the-art soccer training facility, a multi-purpose sport stadium and a sport-centric community destination in the Lockhart site.

FORT LAUDERDALE MAYOR DEAN TRANTALIS

At an April 2, 2019 meeting, the City Commission unanimously conferred a higher rank on Inter Miami's plan for the Lockhart Stadium site. To shed light on the Commission�s preference for Beckham's bid over Reynal�s problematic proposal, Mayor Dean Trantalis explained �FXE Futbol did not have a commitment from their league and therefore even if we approved them there was no saying they�d ever have a team playing here.� City officials also cited how Beckham's star power would guarantee his venture's success.

BROWARD CIRCUIT JUDGE RAAG SINGHAL

Skull-blocked by the adverse Commission vote, on April 15, Reynal sued Fort Lauderdale for violating State law by neglecting to convene a third-party professional review of the competing proposals, and filed an April 23 injunctive motion to block the impending demolition. To Reynal�s dismay, on May 3, Broward Circuit Judge Raag Singhal denied the motion, citing how FXE Futbol failed to provide �evidence of the likelihood that its proposal would have been ranked first if any such �professional review� had been performed on the proposals.� In short, the Commission�s rationale for selecting Beckham proved legally bulletproof, and the demolition should begin in July. Read on for Commissioner Moraitis� April 2019 Newsletter. � [editor]

April 2019

New Life for Lockhart Stadium

LOCKHART STADIUM OVERGROWN WITH WEEDS

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

Great news for the Lockhart Stadium site! Earlier this month, the City Commission took a major step toward redeveloping this important property. We unanimously voted to enter into an agreement with Miami Beckham United, a group led by soccer legend David Beckham, on a visionary project for the 64-acre site.

SOCCER ICON DAVID BECKHAM

The Beckham group is ready to invest up to $60 million to transform the property into a �soccer-centric community destination.� Preliminary plans call for the construction of a new state-of-the-art 18,000-seat soccer stadium where Beckham�s Major League Soccer (MLS) team, Inter Miami CF, would play its first two seasons. An interim agreement is currently being negotiated that will allow the Beckham Group to expeditiously move forward with site preparation and demolition so that the stadium can be completed by February 2020 in time for the start of next year�s MLS season.

In addition to the stadium, the Lockhart site would serve as Inter Miami�s base of operations, main training center, home to a United Soccer League (USL) farm team, and headquarters for a youth soccer academy that would groom the next generation of elite soccer players. The complex would also include team and administrative offices, locker rooms, weight rooms, classrooms, dining facilities, medical and rehabilitation facilities, and practice fields.

RENDERING OF LOCKHART STADIUM PLAN

The Beckham group would bring millions of dollars in public enhancements to the property including the development of a public park, dog park, playground, public multi-purpose fields, and a walking/jogging/fitness trail. The Commission is also committed to building an additional stadium that our local public schools could use for football and other athletic activities.

I�m excited about partnering with the Beckham group to bring significant improvements to the site and expand public access to new facilities and amenities in our community. The group�s investment, coupled with the recent passage of the Parks Bond, will provide additional options to fund even more enhancements and amenities on the property, like the new community center.

This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime project that offers our City a unique opportunity to create a family-oriented destination on one of our largest remaining unused tracts of land, and in doing so, leave a lasting legacy for future generations to use and enjoy.

I have already had numerous meetings and discussions with many of you, regarding the community amenities and I plan to continue to seek your input, thoughts, and ideas as this project moves forward. Please keep an eye out for more details and further updates in the months ahead!

Sincerely,

Trustbridge Hospice Foundation partnered with the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport to host a 5k on the airport's runway, and for the first time in FXE's history, people, not planes took off from the runway during this inaugural run/walk event!

Congratulations WA Men's Basketball Team

The WA Men�s Varsity Basketball Team accomplished a historic feat yesterday afternoon, with a 77�73 win over Seffner Christian in Lakeland. The victory was the third consecutive FHSAA Class 4A Basketball State Championship for the team.

This marks the first time in WA school history that a team sport has won three straight state championships. It is also noteworthy that this has only occurred one other time in the sport of men�s basketball by a Broward County school.

There was a large contingent of students and fans that made the trip to Lakeland to support Coach Ehren Wallhoff and the team. Those who remained in school were able to view the game at an all-school �watch party� in the Kennedy Fellowship Hall.

It was fitting that the Lions were led yesterday by seniors, Sam Griffin and Chase Johnston. Sam tallied 24 points to lead the team and Chase totaled 19. Freshman Ben Middlebrooks contributed 18 points on perfect 8 for 8 shooting.

The Lions finished with an amazing 25-4 record after a rigorous regular season schedule. The season also included extraordinary accomplishments such as Chase Johnston surpassing the national record for total three-pointers made in a career and Sam Griffin breaking the 1,000 point mark for his career.

Coach Wallhoff�s program has indeed reached �dynasty� status! Congratulations to our players and coaches on the three-peat. You are forever in the record books!

 

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Access the link below for information on the District 3 schools in the City of Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and Oakland Park. https://www.browardschools.com/Page/35216

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	Special thank you to the Law Firm of Kelley/Uustal for their generous contributions and support of the St. Patrick's Parade and Festival!	The City proudly welcomed Consul General of Japan Kenji Hirata!

	Thank you to Bayview Elementary student council for leading the Pledge of Allegiance at our commission meeting.	Thank you Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce for inviting me to attend and briefing your Board of Directors on the plan for Lockhart Stadium.

	It was a pleasure to attend the celebration of the new 20-acre Northside Hanger Complex and Banyan Air Service's upcoming FBO at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.	Had a blast at the Imperial Point Spring Fling!

	I joined the Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International and Florida Turkish American Association to present a Proclamation declaring April 23, 2019 as International Children's Day in the City of Fort Lauderdale. As part of the celebration, the group recognized the winners of the annual "If I Were Mayor" student essay contest! The students then took over the dais!

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April as Water Conservation Month

The City has declared April as Water Conservation Month to increase awareness about the importance of conserving water. As such, we would like to promote the Broward Water Partnership�s (BWP) Conservation Pays program through the Commissioners� newsletters this month.

The BWP was formed in 2011 as a regional water conservation initiative among Broward County and 18 municipalities, including the City of Fort Lauderdale, to implement the Conservation Pays program which offers rebates for installing high efficiency toilets and free water saving devices such as showerheads and aerators. To learn more about the program, please visit www.conservationpays.com .

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Apply Today to Serve on a District 1
Advisory Board

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Venice of America

Scooter Ban || Water Bills || Bonds Approved

From The Desk of
Commissioner Heather Moraitis

COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS CHAIRS WATER BILL MEETING

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

On March 4, I held a community meeting in District 1 to listen to concerns about inconsistent water bills and high water bills. We are currently working with 63 neighbors to address individual water bill concerns. Citywide, we will implement the following action plan:

• STONE AGE WATER METER

  We will audit water meter reading citywide. This will be conducted by a nationally known and independent auditing firm. The commission will vote on the independent water meter reading audit to be performed by KPMG on Tuesday, March 19. If the commission approves this audit, the work will begin promptly.

• We will test and replace meters upon request by residents.

• We will meet with the water meter reader contractor (Bermex) to address concerns.

• We will expedite permits for an irrigation water meter.

• We will move to digital water meters starting as soon as this year.

The Commission has committed to a 4 year plan to stop the Return on Investment (ROI) from the water and sewer fund transferred into the general fund. This is the second year we have reduced the ROI to the general fund. By 2021, all of the ROI previously taken will stay in the water and sewer fund to help offset the costs for the water and sewer infrastructure projects.

Please visit the webpage created to keep you updated and informed at www.fortlauderdale.gov/district1waterHeather. I have included all of the handouts that were shared at our initial meeting. A link to the commission conference meeting discussing your concerns is also on this webpage.

This action plan will be expanded until we solve the problems you are facing. Please email any additional questions you may have and we will get back to you promptly.

Sincerely,

Commissioner Heather Moraitis
Fort Lauderdale, District 1
[email protected]

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Voters Approve Police and Parks Bond and
Changes to the City Charter

Please click the button below for more information regarding the March 12th election results and overview

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Electric Scooters Prohibited on Fort Lauderdale
Beach During Spring Break: March 1- April 7

ELECTRIC SCOOTERS SPRING BREAK BAN

Between March 1 and April 7, 2019, electric or motorized scooters, and any other forms of dockless mobility, will be prohibited on the barrier island, per City of Fort Lauderdale Ordinance C-19-03, Sec. 8-55.5. The boundaries of the barrier island include the beach property, and up to the westernmost bank of the Intracoastal Waterway to the west, Southeast 17 th Street to the south, and Northeast 42 nd Court to the north.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department will be monitoring Spring Break activities to ensure that all City ordinances are followed. The City of Fort Lauderdale looks forward to a safe and fun-filled Spring Break!

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	I had a wonderful time attending the Broward Health Imperial Point luncheon with businesses and community leaders.	Thank you to everyone who helped make the 42nd Annual Broward County Waterway Cleanup a success!

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Apply Today to Serve on a District 1 Advisory Board

The following boards are available to serve on for District 1:

• Cemetery System Board of Trustees

• Community Appearance Board

• Education Advisory Board

• Fire-Rescue Facilities Bond Issue Blue Ribbon Committee

If you are interested, please Apply Online

Feel free to contact our office or Erica Franceschi at [email protected] or 954-828-5288 for any questions

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COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

March 14, 2019 - District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis� February 2019 Newsletter speaks to a collaborative process used by the City Commission, the City Manager, and department wonks to formulate spending plan priorities. To ensure that the City remains responsive to an evolving operational environment, the City Commission identifies and incorporates significant initiatives into The Commission Annual Action Plan (CAAP) for the fiscal year. The initiatives are thoroughly vetted by teams of City staffers who define the project parameters and estimate required funding. These initiatives are then incorporated into the annual Operating Budget and Community Investment Plan (CIP).

At the heart of this effort is the annual Commission Prioritization and Goal Setting Workshop, which took place on January 17 & 18, 2019, and distinguished critical objectives for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. To maintain the plan�s relevance, the impacts of ongoing departmental cross-collaboration and quarterly progress reports are also passed to the City Commission. Why should we care? The taxes and rates we pay will fund these projects, either directly or through the repayment of bond obligations.

Affordable Housing & the Homeless

Some of the initiatives have special relevance for the Galt Mile. Since the Galt Mile is unfortunately still earmarked as a lucrative squeeze toy for the homeless, it has also attracted those who prey on them, predators who also threaten our families. A City initiative to expand homeless outreach services was developed in conjunction with a new county-wide collaborative plan to end homelessness. While the Affordable Housing initiative is a key element to Broward�s �Housing First� homeless plan, it will also help fill the nation�s most egregious workforce housing gap, while benefitting cash-strapped families and the disabled.

Sidewalks Policy

GALT MILE PATCHWORK SIDEWALK

An initiative to revise the City�s sidewalks policy might address two complaints by the neighborhood association. Due to the City�s intermittent enforcement of color and structural sidewalk panel specifications mandated by Building Services design review, Galt Mile sidewalks have become a patchwork quilt fraught with tripping hazards. Following years of abuse by scofflaw contractors, it would be less expensive to simply replace the existing sidewalks than to replace hundreds of individual non-compliant panels.

Additionally, the proliferation of electric scooters in Fort Lauderdale has proven anathematic in certain communities. Especially in neighborhoods with roads too narrow for a dedicated bike lane, a predisposition to cruise local sidewalks endangers elderly pedestrians who are understandably ill-equipped to dive for cover. Hundreds of Galt Mile residents have contacted the City and the neighborhood association, requesting a local scooter ban � mirroring prohibitions in Hollywood and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Similar concerns expressed in other City neighborhoods, and a growing number of serious accidents, have placed this issue on the City Commission�s front burner.

Infrastructure Recovery

CRUMBLING SEWER LINE

Fearful of how increasing the millage might taint their political legacies, for decades, City Administrations neglected sewers, water treatment and distribution venues, and storm drains. The neglect extended to roads, sidewalks, seawalls, parks, municipal structures (i.e. FLPD Headquarters, City Hall, etc.), canals, bridges, and other municipal infrastructure.

FORT LAUDERDALE WATER MAIN BURSTS

Instead of adapting inadequate infrastructure to meet the exigencies of advanced deterioration, economic expansion and population growth, Commissioners limited allocations to repairing catastrophic failures in aging sewers, storm drains and water lines originally built to service the city�s population when it was a fraction of its current size.

STORM DRAIN BACKFLOW FLOODS STREET

Repeated City assurances of infrastructure sufficiency were belied by the increasing frequency of exploding water mains, sewer failures and backflowing storm drains that engulfed entire neighborhoods in salt-water ponds. Despite the specter of infrastructure collapse, water and sewer funds were annually hijacked and used to balance the budget.

INFRASTRUCTURE TASK FORCE COMMITTEE

Unprecedented public pressure forced the City to empanel an infrastructure task force, and quantify the impact of other chronic maintenance failures. Official findings confirmed that the City�s future functionality would minimally cost $1.4 billion to salvage heavily eroded infrastructure, $1 billion for stormwater improvements, and roughly another half $billion to upgrade roads, seawalls, sidewalks, bridges, etc. Whether financed through bond issues or direct levy, taxpayers and ratepayers will have to cough up roughly $3 billion to help secure the City�s future. The Utility Infrastructure initiative addresses those aspects of the projects that are planned for completion in the next fiscal year.

The Green Slime Initiative

TOXIC BLUE-GREEN ALGAE BLOOM

Last September, toxic foul-smelling blue-green algae blooms were discovered in Intracoastal canals near Annie Beck Park and the Las Olas Isles neighborhood. Caused by discharges of excess water from Lake Okeechobee, the blooms feed on nitrogen from lawn fertilizers and pet waste and draw oxygen from the water. Toxic bacteria that thrive in the bloom kill marine life and afflict people with respiratory and other health problems.

ALGAE BLOOM COVERS CANAL

When Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in seven counties due to the algae last July, he included West Palm Beach but omitted Broward. After preforming more than a dozen tests in Fort Lauderdale, a Florida Department of Environmental Protection report advised �Results to date for this specific sampling indicate low levels of toxins.� However, given the State�s failure to prevent red algae on the west coast from covering local beaches with dead sea life, the City will launch its own prevention and mitigation initiatives. Read on for Commissioner Moraitis� February 2019 newsletter . � [editor]

February 2019

Planning for the Future!

MORAITIS FAMILY CAMPAIGN TRAIL

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

One of the most important duties the Commission annually undertakes is setting the City�s strategic priorities for each fiscal year. This collaborative process is an essential planning component to help ensure we are focusing on what is most important to our neighbors. It is also a key element that guides the preparation of our annual budget to make sure proper funding and resources are being allocated to support our goals.

This year, the Commission agreed to meet in January in order to get a head start on identifying these important objectives. The 2019-2020 Commission Prioritization and Goal Setting Workshop took place over a two-day period, January 17 and 18, and included extensive discussions on a wide range of topics affecting our City. After much deliberation, the following items were identified as our top priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.

• Affordable Housing: Incentives
  Focus on developing incentives to encourage developers to construct more affordable housing in our community.

• Water Quality and Algae Blooms
  Test and monitor our waterways to determine sources of algae blooms, provide mitigation strategies, and educate the public on preventative actions.

• Homelessness Response and Action Plan
  Build upon programs to assist the homeless including community court, rapid rehousing, reunification, food repatriation, day respite centers, and other permanent housing solutions.

• Critical City Infrastructure: Utilities
  Strengthen our critical utility infrastructure by implementing a comprehensive, citywide plan investing over $460 million in water and sewer projects.

• Stormwater Management Master Plan: Implementation
  Carry out a comprehensive plan to provide and construct solutions for stormwater challenges.

• Sidewalk Policy: Review
  Review the sidewalk policy and make recommendations for improvements.

With guidance from the City Manager, staff will further define the scope of these priorities, and identify resources, milestones and deliverables for each initiative. The priorities will be incorporated into the City Commission Annual Action Plan and integrated into the City's Annual Operating Budget and Community Investment Plan. Updates on the progress being made toward achieving each goal will be provided to the City Commission throughout Fiscal Year 2020.

I look forward to sharing periodic updates on our progress toward achieving each goal. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please give me a call at 954-828-5033 or send me an e-mail at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Commissioner Heather Moraitis
Fort Lauderdale, District 1

Please Join Us For A Pre-agenda Meeting

• March 4, 2019 from 6:00 PM � 7:00 PM at the Beach Community Center, 3351 NE 33^rd Avenue

• March 18, 2019 from 6:00 PM � 7:00 PM at George English Community Center, 1101 Bayview Drive

Check Out Events Happening in Our City!

Apply Today to Serve on a District 1 Advisory Board

The following boards are available to serve on for District 1:

• Cemetery System Board of Trustees

• Community Appearance Board

• Education Advisory Board

• Fire-Rescue Facilities Bond Issue Blue Ribbon Committee

If you are interested, please Apply Online

Feel free to contact our office or Erica Franceschi at [email protected] or 954-828-5288 for any questions

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Links For Additional Information

COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

February 20, 2019 - In her January 2019 Newsletter, District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis allays concern about the departure of storied City Manager Lee Feldman and applauds a Commission decision to dodge the uncertainties that often plague an extended search for a competent replacement. By reaching into the City cupboard and promoting Assistant City Manager Chris Lagerbloom, Commissioners sidestepped the prospect of a months-long mistake-ridden learning curve as Lagerbloom hit the ground running. In a thinly veiled segue from her December message, Moraitis also offers a preparation primer for a March 12 Special Election soliciting voter approval for two 30-year general obligation bonds and a municipal election makeover.

Municipal Ballot Measures

On March 12, 2019, Fort Lauderdale�s electorate will decide the fate of a $100 million Police Bond (funding the replacement of a heavily eroded obsolete Police Headquarters) and a $200 million Parks Bond to salvage aging infrastructure, expand recreational assets and create some new green spaces.

FORT LAUDERDALE CITY COMMISSION

Finally, voters will consider a proposed City Charter amendment that would use the general elections as a template for municipal elections, morphing the 3-year March City elections into a 4-year November event, while scrubbing the need for primaries. The 3-year terms served by the current Mayor and City Commissioners would be extended by 8 months through November, 2020 - after which candidates elected to these seats would serve 4-year terms.

To harvest political capital for freezing the millage rate, previous administrations spent decades watching roads, sewers, structures and other critical infrastructure liquify, until backflowing drainage lines and 60-year old bursting water mains turned entire neighborhoods into salt-water ponds for weeks at a time. As such, the $300 million we need to borrow for police and parks will be piled onto $1.4 billion for infrastructure improvements, $125 million for roads, seawalls and sidewalks � and a $1 billion stormwater mortgage. Get used to the idea � local taxes and rates are going up. Of course, we can move inland � or sit idly by as the Federal Highway corridor becomes beachfront property.

Assuring constituents that Lagerbloom was the right man for the job, Moraitis describes an impressive list of accomplishments and major municipal projects driven by the former Assistant City Manager since his arrival in 2016. However, this is only the most recent chapter of Lagerbloom's Bio.

City Manager Chris Lagerbloom

CITY MANAGER CHRIS LAGERBLOOM

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Georgia State University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbus State University, Lagerbloom served in the Police Department in Alpharetta, Georgia, from 1995 through 2006, working his way up from Police Officer to Police Captain.

When the City of Milton, Georgia was incorporated in 2006, Lagerbloom helped establish the inaugural City of Milton Public Safety Department while serving as the city�s first Police and Fire Chief. After acting as Interim City Manager from 2007 - 2008, Lagerbloom officially took the reins as City Manager in 2009.

The Milton Test

While the recessionary economy blistered neighboring towns and cities, Lagerbloom buoyed Milton by leveraging public-private partnerships. Building a progressive and dynamic city government from the ground up, Lagerbloom implemented cutting edge service delivery, innovative problem solving, and results-driven operational strategies, saving $millions for city taxpayers. It worked.

In 2011, the Atlanta Business Chronicle ranked Milton as having the best quality of life in the metro area. The same year, Milton was awarded the No. 9 spot in the South for quality of life by The Business Journals. The National Council for Home Safety and Security � and Safewise � both named Milton the second safest city in Georgia. Milton is also a Certified Green Community; and a Certified City of Ethics.

Lagerbloom has staunchly supported Galt Mile efforts to quash the inequitable water and sewer rates that unfairly burden Multi-family homeowners in Fort Lauderdale. Although his resume doesn�t feature 30 years of experience, Lagerbloom is �wicked smart�, and is one of the few candidates who built an award-winning, thriving municipal government from scratch. In addition to the ballot question projects, Lagerbloom must now steer the city through a $3 billion maze of tricky infrastructure and stormwater improvements. Read on for District 1 Commissioner Heather Moraitis� January 2019 message to constituents. � [editor]

January 2019

Fort Lauderdale is Moving Full Steam Ahead in 2019!

CITY MANAGER CHRIS LAGERBLOOM

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

It is truly an exciting time to be in Fort Lauderdale! We began the new year by welcoming Chris Lagerbloom as our new City Manager. Chris replaced Lee Feldman effective January 1st. We thank Lee for the excellent service he provided to our City, and we look forward to continuing our success under Chris� leadership.

Chris joined the City in 2016 and for the past three years has served as one of our Assistant City Managers. He has spearheaded a number of major projects including streamlining operations, improving technology, and enhancing service delivery in our Department of Sustainable Development; advancing the massive �Go Big, Go Fast!� water and wastewater infrastructure improvement project; working closely with the Police and Parks and Recreation departments on two bond referendums; and leading discussions with Broward County on the potential for a future shared City/County downtown governmental complex.

Having Chris in place ensures a seamless transition as we continue to work together to achieve our goals, fulfill our vision, and enhance quality of life for our neighbors. We congratulate Chris on his new role and wish him well as he begins this new and exciting chapter in his career.

OBSOLETE POLICE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS

Finally, as I mentioned last month, on Tuesday, March 12, a Special Election will take place for registered voters in the City of Fort Lauderdale. The ballot will include two bond proposals and changes to the City Charter. If approved, a public safety bond would allocate up to $100 million to construct a new police headquarters; a parks bond would allocate up to $200 million for major upgrades and improvements to our City parks; and Charter Amendments would move City elections from March to November beginning in 2020; eliminate primary elections; and increase the terms of the Mayor and Commissioners from three years to four years to coincide with the new election cycle. For more information about the bonds please see the Ballot Questions.

Please be aware of the following important dates related to the Special Election. Voter registration for the March 12 Special Election closes on February 11. To register to vote, visit the Broward County Supervisor of Elections� website at www.browardsoe.org or call (954) 357-7050. If you prefer to vote by mail, you may request a vote-by-mail ballot from the Broward County Supervisor of Elections. The request may be made in person, by mail, by telephone, or online. The last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot is March 6. Again, for more information, visit www.browardsoe.org.

Sincerely,

Commissioner Heather Moraitis
Fort Lauderdale, District 1

Please Join Us For A Pre-Agenda Meeting

February 4, 2019
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Beach Community Center
3351 NE 33rd Avenue

February 18, 2019
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
George English Community Center
1101 Bayview Drive

SaferWatch App

Congratulations to Cardinal Gibbons and their football team for winning the 2018 5A State Championship! Kudos to the players and head coach Matthew Dubuc! We look forward to celebrating this win at our February 5th Commission meeting at City Hall!

The following boards are available to serve on for District 1:

• Cemetery System Board of Trustees

• Community Appearance Board

• Education Advisory Board

• Fire-Rescue Facilities Bond Issue Blue Ribbon Committee

• Northwest Progresso Flagler Heights Redevelopment Board

If you are interested, please Apply Online

Feel free to contact our office or Erica Franceschi at [email protected] or 954-828-5288 for any questions

COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

January 20, 2018 - In her December 2018 Newsletter, District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis spins a March 12, 2019 special election as salvation for the City's parks, and an anchor for future public safety. Its actually a solicitation for voters to approve a tax hike, as two planned bond issues totaling $300 million will be folded into ballot questions. While $200 million will be dedicated to renovating, building out or creating municipal parks, $100 million will fund an upgraded Police Headquarters. After a decade of restraining the millage, City officials concluded that its time to pay the piper. Moraitis thanks the North Beach neighborhood for hosting the successful November 28 Light up the Galt street fair; announces upcoming municipal events; and recruits District 1 volunteers to serve on their choice of several municipal Advisory Boards.

Parks and Police

BEACH COMMUNITY CENTER

Of the 94 municipal parks, marinas and school greenways scheduled to benefit from the prospective Parks and Recreation bond issue, 2 are located in the Galt Mile neighborhood. Along with ADA improvements proposed for every project, the Beach Community Center would receive $3,545,000 for general renovations, a parking structure, a rooftop park peppered with solar panels, new lighting and patio furnishings. The $86,000 estimated for beach gateway Earl Lifshey Ocean Park will buy bike racks and new lighting.

EARL LIFSHEY OCEAN PARK

Like the Beach Community Center�s allocation, 23 other distributions will exceed $1 million - including $6.6 million for Bass Park, $3.5 million for the Beach Community Center, $1.2 million for Cooley�s Landing Marina, $2.6 million for Croissant Park, $6 million for Floyd Hull Stadium, $1.3 million for Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, $5.3 million for George English Park, $2.6 million for Hardy Park, $21 million for Holiday Park, $2 million for Hortt Park, $13.6 million for Joseph Carter Park, $1.8 million for Lauderdale Manors Park, $5 million for Laudertrail, $25 million for Lockhart Stadium, $5.3 million for Mills Pond Park, $3.2 million for Osswald Park, $1.2 million for Poinciana Park, $2.7 million for Riverland Park, $4.3 million for Shirley Small Park, $6.6 million for Snyder Park, $1 million for Sunset Park, $1.5 million for Warfield Park, $1.7 million at Sunrise Middle School, $5 million for Tunnel Top Park. $30 million will be set aside to purchase land for new parks in underserved areas and $2 million for a few new dog parks.

FORT LAUDERDALE POLICE CHIEF RICK MAGLIONE

Other than Moraitis� brief rundown of the new Police Headquarters, few details were provided about the allocation of $100 million to be raised for public safety. Built in 1958, the 85,000 square-foot Headquarters structure at 1300 W. Broward Boulevard would be supplanted by a new 165,000 square-foot Hi-Tech plant and parking garage projected for completion by 2021. Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione commented �This isn�t a building for the police officers. This is a building for the community.� Also, 18-month old documents released by the city at the December 4 Commission meeting disclosed expenditures of $149 million on city parks, only 75% of the planned $200 million Parks bond issue.

DISTRICT 2 CITY COMMISSIONER STEVE GLASSMAN

District 2 Commissioner Steve Glassman complained that taxpayers should be provided with a updated fleshed out spending plan prior to exploring a foray into the bond market. Two weeks later, staffers released an updated agenda for budgeted improvements on December 18. Depicting how the full $200 million would be disbursed, the new list increased the number of beneficiary parks, marinas and schools from 90 to 94, and cached $14 million for future projects. Residents also expressed concern about the planned implementation of the proposed improvements. In 2004, Fort Lauderdale voters approved a $40 million bond issue to fund the construction of 10 new fire stations. The city still hasn�t completed all of them.

Taxpayer Weight

Based on a Debt Service schedule given Commissioners at the December 4 meeting, Moraitis estimates a $3 weekly taxpayer cost (roughly $150 annually) for homesteaded properties valued at $300,000. This annual debt service tax bite on future TRIM notices will be dwarfed by the repayment of $1.4 billion in infrastructure debt.

FORT LAUDERDALE MAYOR DEAN TRANTALIS

Concurrently, Broward officials are facing pressure to increase the County millage. In 2014, the electorate supported a property tax increase to fund $800 million in Broward school enhancements. Last year, Broward voters approved the use of property taxes to pay for teacher raises, school resource officers and student mental health services. While trepidatious about the thickening tax burden, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis joined with Commission peers, and agreed to send both measures to the voters for approval on March 12, conceding that the improvements are long overdue.

DEVELOPER JIM ELLIS

At the January Galt Mile Advisory Board meeting, developer Jim Ellis, a Lauderdale Beach resident who helped organize off-duty Fort Lauderdale police officers into the Beach Security Patrol, expressed his support for the two bond issues. Ellis observed that City parks hadn�t been improved since 1996, when a $35 million 20-year Bond issue marginally stemmed decades of neglect, and characterized the obsolete police headquarters as an impediment to public safety. A longtime friend to the Galt Mile, Ellis lamented that the City can�t afford another 20-year delay - as illuminated by the city�s Herculean infrastructure crisis. In short, proponents assert that we can either cough it up now, or pay a lot more later. \Read on for Commissioner Moraitis� December 2018 Newsletter. � [editor]

December 2018

Special Election on March 12 for New Parks and Public Safety Complex

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 12, 2019! That�s when voters will have an opportunity to participate in a Special Election that will shape the future of our City.

The City Commission unanimously approved placing two bond proposals on the March 12 ballot that, if approved, would allocate up to $200 million for citywide improvements to our parks and recreation facilities, and up to $100 million to construct a new police headquarters and improve public safety.

LOCKHART STADIUM OVERGROWN WITH WEEDS

The parks bond would fund signature projects in each Commission District, plus hundreds of additional capital improvements throughout our community. In District 1, we would see a complete redevelopment of Lockhart Stadium and the surrounding property, including rehabilitating the football/soccer complex, adding new multipurpose synthetic turf athletic fields, and developing the adjacent open space with walking trails and fitness stations.

HOLIDAY PARK

Other major initiatives would include extensive renovations at Holiday Park, including the addition of a water playground, sand volleyball courts, a parking garage, fitness trail, tennis courts, and new playground. A new community center would be built at Joseph C. Carter Park, along with new synthetic turf athletic fields, security lighting, and a vibrant destination playground. Las Olas Boulevard would be home to a new Tunnel Top Park, which would be constructed on top of the Henry Kinney Tunnel above Federal Highway.

JOSEPH C. CARTER PARK

Nearly every park in our City would see significant upgrades that would encompass a wide range of enhancements including new playgrounds, walking trails, pools and splash pads, boat slips and ramps, outdoor fitness equipment, athletic courts and fields, lighting, solar panels, and shade structures, pavilions, restrooms, ADA improvements, and even new dog parks.

A portion of the parks bond would also be used for land acquisition to expand our green space and help us continue to promote active, healthy lifestyles, increase leisure and social engagement, and enhance quality of life.

Ensuring the safety and protection of our neighbors remains the City�s top priority. Maintaining and enhancing the outstanding level of service provided by our Fort Lauderdale Police Department requires proper resources, equipment, and modern facilities.

FORT LAUDERDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS

The public safety bond would enable us to replace the current police headquarters which was built in 1958 when the police department and our City were both significantly smaller. The 85,000 square-foot building is 60 years old, functionally obsolete, and parts of it are in deteriorating condition. The new facility would offer 225,000 square feet, provide expanded work space and integrated state-of-the-art technology to a department that has grown to 525 sworn officers and 727 sworn and non-sworn personnel. The station would be constructed with energy and operationally efficient features, along with hurricane resistant materials and techniques to better serve the public safety needs of our City which is expected to grow to over 203,000 in the next decade. The complex would also include a parking garage and additional training rooms, public meeting areas, and community space where residents and officers could work together on crime prevention and safety initiatives.

If approved, the bonds would bring more than $300 million in much-needed public safety and parks and recreation improvements to our City, strengthen our economic viability and livability, and enhance our stature as a great place to visit and an even better place to call home!

The bonds would be paid off over a 30-year period. Based on preliminary estimates, the owner of a single-family home with a taxable assessed value of $300,000 after a homestead exemption would pay about $3 a week more in City taxes, which is less than most people spend on their morning drink at Starbucks!

We will provide additional updates about the bond proposals, as well as ways that you can be involved in the process as more information becomes available.

Sincerely,

The Inaugural Light up the Galt in District I was a great success! Thank you North Beach Restaurants and Shoppes owners and city staff for working with us to plan this event. We can't wait for next year!

Out and About in the Community

Check Out Events Happening in Our City!

Apply Today to Serve on a District 1 Advisory Board

The following boards are available to serve on for District 1:

• Cemetery System Board of Trustees

• Community Appearance Board

• Education Advisory Board

• Fire-Rescue Facilities Bond Issue Blue Ribbon Committee

• Northwest Progresso Flagler Heights Redevelopment Board

• Parks, Recreation and Beach Board

If you are interested, please Apply Online

Feel free to contact our office or Erica Franceschi at [email protected] or 954-828-5288 for any questions

Links For Additional Information

COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

December 18, 2018 - After opening her November 2018 Newsletter with an expression of gratitude appropriate to Thanksgiving, District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis details the City�s participation in a collaborative plan to assist the County�s homeless population, an effort to provide housing and offer services ranging from healthcare to employment preparation - in an environment that functionally decriminalizes homelessness. The business community, homeless advocates, charitable non-profits and Broward County are all on board with this �Housing First� homeless initiative. Moraitis also welcomes constituents to attend her Pre-Agenda Meetings; reviews upcoming municipal events; announces the City�s implementation of a Dockless Mobility plan (fostering the overnight city-wide proliferation of electric scooters) and encourages District 1 volunteers to fill a variety of available municipal Advisory Board positions.

Community Court Pilot Program

Commissioner Moraitis� November missive characterizes a �Community Court� as beneficial to the homeless. Funded by a $200,000 grant from the Center for Court Innovation, and avidly supported by Chief Judge Jack Tuter, Broward�s 17^th Judicial Circuit will soon implement this unique judicial alternative.

Currently, homeless people arrested for minor municipal code violations are held in lockup prior to arraignment. At a cost of about $150 per prisoner per day, pre-trial jail warehousing is a ridiculously expensive option for non-violent offenders who committed minor codes infractions.

CHIEF JUDGE JACK TUTER

Shortly after being named chief judge on July 1, 2017, Tuter learned that 321 people were being held on bonds of under $5,000. The cost to taxpayers of keeping 30 inmates who can�t meet a small bond in jail for 30 days is about $135,000. The annual tax burden of this systemic pitfall approaches a sobering $18 million.

While miffed about the daunting taxpayer impact, Tuter is primarily concerned about the disparate treatment of minorities and the indigent, observing �If you are in jail more than a couple of days on a low bond, you are probably there because you can�t afford to post the bond. People shouldn�t be waiting in jail simply because they are poor.�

Other factors complicate the issue. Since the court system must notify defendants when they should appear in court (to avoid the need for dispatched deputies to round them up), a viable address is required for pretrial release. That typically eliminates eligibility for homeless persons who would otherwise qualify. To help circumvent this wasteful and inequitable judicial tripping hazard, Tuter assigned a full-time first-appearance judge to focus on pre-trial release and other methods of deterring unnecessary custody.

FORT LAUDERDALE HOMELESS INTERVENTION ADMINISTRATOR JERI PRYOR

At a May conference in Birmingham, Alabama, Tuter learned how community courts reduce both recidivism and the use of pre-trial incarceration while enhancing public trust in the justice system. After investigating substantial relevant research, he worked with Fort Lauderdale homeless intervention administrator Jeri Pryor to secure sufficient grant funding to hire a program manager and address other start-up costs.

New York Experiment

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COURT

The first community court opened in 1993 in Midtown Manhattan as a 3-year experiment, and targeted quality-of-life offenses in the Times Square neighborhood - such as prostitution, illegal vending, graffiti, shoplifting, farebeating, and vandalism. Offender sentences often hinge on paying back the community through neighborhood work projects - caring for street trees, erasing graffiti, cleaning subway stations and sorting recycled cans and bottles. The court also links offenders with social services specific to their needs, such as drug treatment, health care, education, child care, etc.

The results were stunning. During the first 18 months, arrests for prostitution in the Midtown neighborhood dropped by 56 percent, arrests for unlicensed vending fell by 24 percent, and graffiti all but disappeared along the adjacent Ninth Avenue commercial corridor, reflecting a visible reduction in criminal activity on the streets. Not surprisingly, staunch approval by the entire community explosively expanded the Midtown Community Court�s docket to an average 65 daily cases by 1997, annually arraigning more than 16,000 alleged scofflaws.

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COURT RESIDENTS

Since then, more than thirty community courts have emerged in major cities across the country � often convened in storefronts, libraries, schools and other non-traditional venues. Whether conceived to thin jail overcrowding, relieve chronically cramped dockets, or empower long impotent communities to pro-actively address the causes and conditions of local crimes, these courts leverage input from impact panels of local residents to deliver a form of community-based justice that elevates recovery and restitution above punishment.

Despite adaptations that meet the differing needs of various jurisdictions, the collaborative nature of community courts forges improved relationships between the justice system and local stakeholders � including residents, merchants, service providers and law enforcement.

Broward Takes the Plunge

�There�s something wrong with housing people in the jail who have committed minor, non-violent offenses,� remarked Chief Judge Jack Tuter. In explaining the new venue, he added �Our court is focused on therapeutic treatment for people charged with non-violent crimes. The idea is to have service providers in the courtroom,� enabling homeless people picked up on municipal code violations to go directly to shelters, rehabs, or halfway houses, thereby saving taxpayers a bundle on pre-trial jail warehousing.

Some members of the legal profession oppose any divergence from the traditional courtroom model, holding that anything less than an adversarial Armageddon cheats justice and insults the Constitution, a contention convincingly refuted by the proven success of drug courts. Other skeptics are leery of how community concerns might adulterate sentences. Of course, alternative models also shrink the pool of potentially lucrative client opportunities.

Tuter has no illusions about the court�s limitations with respect to homelessness, exclaiming �It�s a societal issue that the county and city will have to wrestle with.� Since more than half of the 2,450 individuals living on Broward streets are in the City of Fort Lauderdale, that's where the community court will be convened when it opens for business in January 2019. Read on for Commissioner Moraitis� November 2018 Newsletter. � [editor]

November 2018

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy time with family and friends this week. I am thankful for each of you and the opportunity to serve as your commissioner. It is an honor to work every day with the commission, residents, businesses and staff to plan for the future of our city!

Sincerely,

Commissioner Heather Moraitis
Fort Lauderdale, District 1

Please Join Us For A Pre-agenda Meeting

• December 3, 2018 from 6:00 PM � 7:00 PM at the Beach Community Center, 3351 NE 33rd Avenue

• December 17, 2018 from 6:00PM � 7:00PM at George English Community Center, 1101 Bayview Drive

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Check Out Events Happening in Our City!

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Fort Lauderdale Dockless Bike and Scooter Sharing

DOCKLESS SCOOTERS

Dockless Mobility Program has arrived to Fort Lauderdale! This program allows users to rent bikes and electric scooters from almost anywhere. Please check out the Fort Lauderdale website for more information.

Fort Lauderale Link

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Apply Online Today!

The following boards are available to serve on for District 1:

• Budget Advisory Board

• Cemetery System Board of Trustees

• Community Appearance Board

• Education Advisory Board

• Fire-Rescue Facilities Bond Issue Blue Ribbon Committee

• Northwest Progresso Flagler Heights Redevelopment Board

• Parks, Recreation and Beach Board

If you are interested, please Apply Online

Feel free to contact our office or Erica Franceschi at [email protected] or 954-828-5288 for any questions

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Links For Additional Information

COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

November 20, 2018 - District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis wove her October 2018 Newsletter around a tribute to her �favorite state representative�, as term limits pulled the plug on husband George Moraitis� 8-year career in the Florida Statehouse. Commissioner Moraitis also announces the inaugural �Light up the Galt� event on November 28 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. amid the North Beach Restaurants and Shoppes (formally known as the Galt Ocean Village neighborhood) - at A1A and Oakland Park Boulevard; cites a monthly opportunity for local businesses to renew parking permits at the Beach Community Center (apply for an initial permit in the Parking Office at 290 NE 3^rd Avenue); recruits volunteers for the Community Service Board; notes a variety of Fort Lauderdale events; invites constituents to attend her Pre-Agenda Meetings; once again recommends implementation of a virtual neighborhood watch - a dividend of downloading the free Neighbors App by Ring; and closes by facilitating communication between constituents and the City through the Lauderserv app.

The Number 1 Fan

In her Newsletter, Heather Moraitis paints politics as a family function - like sharing holiday dinner or taking family vacations. Since popular Republican Statehouse Representative George Moraitis bagged four consecutive elections in a District with a clear Democrat majority � an area disparaged by Tallahassee Republicans as �The Killing Fields� � her virtually unchallenged first foray into elected office was often credited to their shared namesake. Ironically, his repeated success at the polls was largely attributable to the roles she played in his campaigns.

HEALTHCARE MOGUL DAVID MAYMON

When former Statehouse Representative Ellyn Bogdanoff ascended to the Florida Senate, Broward�s Republican Party Leadership hand-picked healthcare entrepreneur David Maymon to fill her shoes. While serving as Director of Capitol Development for the YMCA, Heather Moraitis fine-tuned a skillset that included scaring up cash and networking with local Masters of the Universe. Heather�s blue-chip speed-dial list and access to resources helped catapult George passed Maymon in the Primary and Democrat Barbara Stern in the election. The local GOP big shots backed the wrong horse.

FORMER BROWARD MAYOR KEN KEECHL

She spearheaded his 3 subsequent biennial Statehouse campaign victories over Gerri Ann Capotosto in 2012, Scott Herman in 2014 and Ken Keechl in 2016. Moraitis' popularity was fueled by a steady stream of legislation that enabled municipal improvements, fanned the State and local economies or protected, expanded and clarified the rights of association homeowners.

Term Limits ends Moraitis' Statehouse tenure this year. With his mandated departure from the Statehouse months away � on January 22, 2018, George Moraitis was elected Chairman of the snake-bit Broward Republican Executive Committee. Now he decides which local Republican candidates get a taste of Party resources that were initially denied to him. What goes around, comes around.

Light up the Galt

NE 33rd STREET - NORTH BEACH

On November 28, 2018, the City of Fort Lauderdale and the North Beach Restaurants and Shoppes will present the City�s newest light up event - and launch the holiday season along the Galt Ocean Mile! From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., �Light up the Galt� will offer our families an enchanted evening of live music, entertainment, food and fun along NE 32^nd and NE 33^rd Streets between A1A and the Intracoastal. This seasonal block party will feature food and drink specials from over 15 restaurants and bars! A tree lighting ceremony will take place at 7 p.m.

FT LAUDERDALE SYMPHONIC WINDS ORCHESTRA

ELISA REGO BAND

Attendees will enjoy live performances on four stages, a holiday concert by the Fort Lauderdale Symphonic Winds orchestra and a kids zone. On another stage, the Elisa Rego Band will perform Rock & Roll, Pop and Soul. The Florida Sweet Tarts will fill the third stage with sugar plum music from an earlier era and the fourth stage will feature the jazz stylings of Cindy Curtiss & Company. Supported by the City, Light up the Galt could prove the signature event that has long eluded the Galt Mile neighborhood. To bring the celebration back annually, all we have to do is show up and chill.Read on for Commissioner Moraitis� October 2018 Newsletter. � [editor]

October 2018

Thank you George

MORAITIS FAMILY CAMPAIGN TRAIL

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

I would like to thank my favorite state representative, Rep. George Moraitis, for his service to our community over the past eight years. His term is over in November and I know he will miss representing our neighbors in Tallahassee. Our family will always have fond memories of knocking on doors, calling voters, waving signs, and getting to know your concerns. Of course we look forward to making more memories as I continue the family campaign tradition! I am proud of what George accomplished for our community and the appropriations he worked for to improve Port Everglades, our beaches, seawalls at Birch State Park, A1A roads & landscaping, and most recently funding for a new Henderson Health facility. Thank you George!

Your number #1 fan,

Commissioner Heather Moraitis
Fort Lauderdale, District 1

Parking Customer Service at Beach Community Center

BEACH COMMUNITY CENTER

The City will have a customer service representative at the Beach Community Center on the last Wednesday of every month to issue monthly parking permits for local businesses. Staff will be there from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm except for a lunch break between 12:30 pm - 1:00 pm. They will only be able to accept checks as a method for payment.

If you are not a current North Galt permit holder and would like to purchase one, you must make a new permit request at the Parking Office located at 290 NE 3^rd Avenue. A parking agreement will need to be signed with the vehicle information and tag number required. Once the agreement has been signed and an account established, the permit holder may pick up future permits at the Beach Community Center location.

Apply Online Today!

The Community Service Board is available to serve on for District 1.

If you are interested, please apply online by clicking the link. Apply Online

Feel free to contact our office or Erica Franceschi at [email protected] or 954-828-5288 for any questions

Check Out Events Happening in Our City!

Please Join Us For A Pre-agenda Meeting

• November 5, 2018 from 6:00 PM � 7:00 PM at the Beach Community Center, 3351 NE 33rd Avenue

• November 19, 2018 from 6:00PM � 7:00PM at George English Community Center, 1101 Bayview Drive

Neighbors App by Ring

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department encourages our neighbors to download the Neighbors application (iOS/Android), join their neighborhood and discover the power that can emerge from combining neighbors, cameras and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Visit www.flpd.org/ring to learn how to download the Neighbors app by Ring.

City of Fort Lauderdale 24-Hour Customer Service Center
954-828-8000

The City of Fort Lauderdale is here to serve our neighbors 24-hours-a-day, and now you can easily contact us right from your smartphone or other mobile device when you are on-the-go.

You can report a streetlight outage, clogged stormdrain, pothole, or broken waste cart; find out your sanitation pick-up days or how to pay your water bill; and more.

Download the FREE Lauderserv app from the Apple App Store or Google Play today.

Links For Additional Information

COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

October 23, 2018 - In her September 2018 Newsletter, District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis explores a Broward ballot question certified for the November election. If approved by the electorate, a planned bump in the sales tax from 6% to 7% will provide County officials with a 30-year funding resource for the buildout and maintenance of countywide transportation improvements - a growing burden that will otherwise bloat homeowner and merchant property taxes. In outlining a County plan to relieve congested roadways and enhance connectivity, her report also seeks to mitigate the confusion and distrust that tanked a similar ballot measure in 2016. Moraitis notes a monthly opportunity for local businesses to buy parking permits at the Beach Community Center; invites constituents to attend her Pre-Agenda Meetings; endorses a free Neighbors App by Ring to enhance community safety; and suggests using the Lauderserv app to conveniently contact the City.

Back on the Ballot

Broward County currently funds its transportation programs through gas tax revenues and general revenue funds (drawn primarily from property taxes). Since the federal gas tax (a flat amount unrelated to the price of gas) has remained unchanged for 20 years, gas tax revenues are declining as people drive less - in ever more fuel-efficient cars. At the same time, the costs of upgrading, operating and maintaining a fleet of public transit buses, myriad traffic signals, and aging roads have exploded. Absent some alternative funding source, that leaves general revenue funds - squeezed from your neck - to fill the widening gap.

The November 6, 2018 ballot includes a transportation question (back of page 3) asking voters whether to levy a 1% local option sales tax for funding countywide transportation system improvements. The tax will apply to all tangible goods (i.e. clothing, appliances, electronics, jewelry, etc.) and ready-to-eat food (from restaurants or delis), although ordinary groceries, medicines, and medical equipment are exempt.

Every dollar you spend on a taxable item will cost you one cent in additional sales tax. For example, if you go to Ace Hardware and spend $20 on a set of metric wrenches, another 20 cents would be added to the existing 6% State sales tax. Since visitors and tourists generate between 30 and 40 percent of sales tax revenue, they will shoulder a comparable share of the incremental transportation levy.

Supporters lament that Broward is dead last among Florida�s 67 counties in per capita expenditures for roads and streets, and observe that 62 of Florida�s 67 counties have already levied a transportation surtax.

Here's the rub. Whenever the County board pursues consideration of a �sales tax�, Broward voters sweat bullets. Given the number of Broward officials sent to the Big House for unspeakable acts with the County cookie jar, County residents have come to equate approving a sales tax with offering heroin to a junkie. Prior attempts to graft an incremental levy to the statewide 6% sales tax in Broward were surgically dismembered on Election Day.

Flashback to 2016

The County�s recently launched �Penny for Transportation� campaign is entering its second incarnation. An earlier version of this voter question was placed on the November 8, 2016 ballot. As the 2016 County board entertained visions of a regional transportation funding spigot, officials in Broward�s 31 municipalities were frying up their own agenda. The cities were (and still are) losing a race to repair or replace infrastructure claimed by age and erosion. Deteriorating water and sewer systems, aging municipal buildings, battered fleet vehicles, erratically maintained parks and city streets heavily peppered with potholes and cracks were melting down city budgets.

Working separately, the County board had approved a ballot measure soliciting a 75-cent increase to the sales tax while the cities sought an infrastructure surtax of one dollar. With the County and cities both chasing independent sales tax ballot initiatives, Broward voters would have been confronted with a 7.75% sales tax - the highest in the State. This ludicrous 29% increase would have virtually guaranteed the failure of both ballot measures. Instead, City and County officials temporarily set aside long-simmering turf feuds and began negotiating a formula that both sides could live with.

BOGEN AND STERMER BROKER COMPROMISE PLAN

At the June 22, 2016 County Commission meeting, in a room packed with Mayors and City Commissioners from across the county, the issue came to a head. Spearheading negotiations for the municipalities was Weston Mayor Dan Stermer, who opened the meeting with an eerie proposition to the county board, �Will you marry us?� After two deadlocked County Commission votes, a plan brokered by County Commissioner Mark Bogen and Stermer was approved.

Married Life

Under the proposal, a combined 30-year surtax increase would be downsized to one cent on each dollar, hiking the existing 6% sales tax to 7%. The penny increase would be equally divided between a County Transportation Tax and a Municipal Infrastructure Tax, and posed to voters as two separate ballot questions. If both measures were approved, the half-penny County Transportation tax would be dedicated to Broward�s transportation wish list.

For the first 20 years, the other half-penny would be distributed to Broward municipalities based on population demographics, and budgeted to infrastructure improvements � spin for slush funds. After 20 years, Broward would also snag 40% of the infrastructure tax proceeds, providing the County with a 70% share of the combined surtax over the final ten years of the levy.

If either measure failed, the other would die by proxy. In hindsight, this �Victory or Death� protocol was overly ambitious - and arrogant. The sales tax increase was rejected. Although the county proposal squeaked through by 51 percent to 49 percent, voters crushed the city levy by 38.2 percent to 61.8 percent, effectively killing both measures. The result wasn�t unexpected. Waves of voters who knew little about the county transportation surtax and less about the municipal infrastructure levy were also largely oblivious to the fact that both half-penny sales tax proposals had to pass for either to be enacted. In a testament to futility, thousands of confused voters said yes to one and no to the other.

Why it Failed

Spending plans patched together by the County and a handful of cities for anticipated tax revenues were widely criticized as eleventh-hour exercises in creative writing; many cities were mute about how their share of the windfall would be allocated. After voting, many Broward residents complained that efforts to educate the public in their city were obscure, disjointed, lacking in credibility or simply never attempted. Others condemned sales taxes as unfair and regressive (creating a disproportional burden on lower-income residents). However, it wasn't the vague municipal spending librettos - or an inherent social inequity that killed the surtax.

COUNTY COMMISSIONER STEVEN GELLER

While conceding the need for infrastructure and transportation upgrades, thousands of Broward voters - already distrustful of local government spending - were skull-blocked about delivering annual truckloads of discretionary cash to a string of unknown future politicians for 30 years. Despite the creation of an Oversight Board to safeguard the integrity of future disbursements, several Broward Commissioners feared this vulnerability before the 2016 vote.

COUNTY COMMISSIONER TIM RYAN

A staunch advocate of enhancing Broward�s Transportation infrastructure, Broward Commissioner Tim Ryan believed the 3-decade assessment was snake-bit, exhorting �Many, many people will look at it skeptically. Why? �because government has a long and storied history of wasting money.� Questioning the spotty ballot data fed to the public, County Commissioner Steven Geller remarked, �When somebody tells me what they�re going to build in 30 years, I have very little confidence. Those are not even accurate guesses.�

In contrast, Palm Beach officials had asked for a sales tax capped at $2.7 billion to fix roads, upgrade schools, fund several new projects in different cities � and sunset after 10 years � or when the cap was reached. It was approved by 57% of Palm Beach voters. In Broward, officials asked for a 30-year Golden Goose and said �trust me�. It failed. What a shock.

Trust Issues

Convincingly defeated, seventeen Broward municipalities headed to the bond market to address worsening infrastructure deficits. Since the County transportation surtax would have been approved � albeit by a hair � if it hadn�t been linked to the City proposal, Broward officials want a second bite at the apple. Hopefully, they learned from the 2016 beatdown, since they will face many of the same obstacles this year � one in particular.

BEVERLY GALLAGHER, FITZROY SALESMAN, JOSEPHUS EGGELLETION

For decades, Broward residents watched scores of local elected officials and government bureaucrats being arrested, tried and jailed for monkeying with public funds � and many others who dodged �Club Fed� by selling out crooked cohorts after being caught and later turned by Federal Prosecutors. Having accepted bribes from undercover FBI agents in 2009, former Broward Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, School Board member Beverly Gallagher and Miramar Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman were arrested and jailed for corruption. In 2010, Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Cindi Hutchinson was booked on 11 counts of public corruption and later jailed. More recently, on January 25, 2018, the FBI scooped up longtime Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper for money laundering and engineering a campaign funds shell game.

FORMER COMMISSIONER CINDI HUTCHINSON

HALLANDALE BEACH MAYOR JOY COOPER

While the need for a long-term transportation funding vehicle is legitimate, approval of the surtax in November may hinge on the extent to which our elected officials can reclaim credibility systematically auctioned off by avaricious peers and predecessors. Since Broward Commissioners are revisiting their request for a 30-year supply of blank checks, the electorate will once again face the daunting prospect that some of those who may ultimately select funding targets are currently exploring the mysteries of Nursery School.

Preparing for Round Two

To help win over skeptical voters in each city, the County board has solicited the assistance of municipal officials countywide in framing the surtax as vastly preferable to bleeding transportation dollars from local taxpayers � while confirming that the surtax permanently shifts roughly a third of the fiscal burden to visitors and tourists. To secure proactive municipal cooperation, County officials came bearing gifts. Each city that executes an Interlocal agreements with the County will lock up a healthy windfall.

Of the approximately $15.6 billion that the County would soak up over 30 years, a minimum of ten percent (10%) of those proceeds will fund projects annually submitted by municipalities and ranked for implementation by the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) based on how productively each project alleviates traffic congestion or enhances connectivity. Taken together with federal transportation grants, Broward cities would divvy up a projected $3.3 billion share of revenues collected by the County over 30 years � not exactly chicken feed.

Funding demands on cities with Community Bus Services (i.e. Sun Trolley, Pelican Hopper, etc.) will be replaced by surtax revenues � those cities will receive $540 million for operational, maintenance and capital costsl. Other eligible municipal projects include street lighting, roadway runoff drainage, buffer/sound walls, fiber optics for transportation systems, landscaping, transit or a transportation related parking projects, and roadway improvements.

By September 4, when Fort Lauderdale approved its interlocal agreement with the County, Broward cities had already requested funding for 709 local projects with an estimated total cost of $2.8 billion. To allay fears wrought by decades of knee-jerk spending, the County will empower a seven-member appointing authority to establish an Oversight Board charged with approving revenue disbursements. Read on for District 1 Commissioner Heather Moraitis� September 2018 message to constituents. � [editor]

September 2018

Broward County Transportation System Surtax

AQUATIC CENTER

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

On September 4, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission approved a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an Interlocal Agreement with Broward County for the Transportation System Surtax. The Broward County Commission voted on June 5, 2018 to place a Transportation Surtax Levy on the November 6, 2018 ballot. The one percent sales surtax (penny sales tax) will need to be approved by the majority of voters during the election.

The proposed surtax is for a 30-year period and is estimated to receive approximately $15.6 billion over the duration, while leveraging up to an additional $3 billion from federal, state, and other sources. The Broward County Transportation System Surtax will fund countywide transportation projects to relieve traffic congestion in all 31 municipalities that include improvements to traffic signalization, county roadways, intersection improvements, senior mobility options, public transportation (transit and rail), and to fund future investments in Broward�s transportation system.

The State of Florida has completed a performance audit of Broward County�s transportation plan. The audit results show that the plan meets all requirements, including clearly stated objectives, fiscal responsibility, tested projects, and compliance. The plan is ready to work, and this audit shows that we are prepared if it is approved.

Broward County is home to 1.9 million residents and over 10 million visitors come here each year creating additional traffic and stress on our roads. Approximately 30 percent of the revenue generated by this surtax would be paid by those who visit Broward County each year. More than 64 households move to Broward each day and our elderly population is rapidly increasing. The surtax will fund on-demand transportation services for persons with disabilities (paratransit) and provide seniors with community shuttles.

The Broward County Transportation System Surtax is designed to address:

• New traffic control technologies to reduce traffic congestion

• Intersection improvements, including resurfacing, pavement markings, mast arm upgrades, drainage improvements, sidewalk and Americans with Disabilities Act updates

• Reduced road flooding

• Fiber Optic network improvements on critical roadways to support new technologies

• Miles of drainage and resiliency projects

• Greenways, bike lanes and pedestrian amenities

• School Zone safety improvements

• Improved routes and overall transit service, including proposed light rail on high-ridership corridors

• On-demand transportation services for persons with disabilities (Paratransit)

• Community shuttles

With traffic congestion ranked as a top concern across Broward County, the surtax will reduce traffic congestion, increase accessibility, and provide for sustainable transportation infrastructure for all of Broward�s residents.

Please attend my October 22 meeting at 6PM at the Beach Community Center to discuss the Broward County Transportation System Surtax on the November 6th ballot. Many of the facts in this article came from the Broward County website and for additional details please visit www.broward.org/pennyfortransportation

Sincerely,

Commissioner Heather Moraitis
Fort Lauderdale, District 1

Parking Customer Service at Beach Community Center

BEACH COMMUNITY CENTER

The City will have a customer service representative at the Beach Community Center on the last Wednesday of every month to issue monthly parking permits for local businesses. Staff will be there from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm except for a lunch break between 12:30 pm - 1:00 pm. They will only be able to accept checks as a method for payment.

Please Join Us For A Pre-Agenda Meeting

September 24 & October 22, 2018
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
George English Park Community Center
1101 Bayview Drive

October 8 & November 5, 2018
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Beach Community Center
3351 NE 33rd Avenue

Neighbors App by Ring

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department encourages our neighbors to download the Neighbors application (iOS/Android), join their neighborhood and discover the power that can emerge from combining neighbors, cameras and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Visit www.flpd.org/ring to learn how to download the Neighbors app by Ring.

City of Fort Lauderdale 24-Hour Customer Service Center
954-828-8000

The City of Fort Lauderdale is here to serve our neighbors 24-hours-a-day, and now you can easily contact us right from your smartphone or other mobile device when you are on-the-go.

You can report a streetlight outage, clogged stormdrain, pothole, or broken waste cart; find out your sanitation pick-up days or how to pay your water bill; and more.

Download the FREE Lauderserv app from the Apple App Store or Google Play today.

Links For Additional Information

JACK SEILER AND CITY MANAGER LEE FELDMAN

October 5, 2018 - When Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis served as District 2 City Commissioner, he repeatedly called for City Manager Lee Feldman�s resignation, took issue with his recommendations and opposed a proposed pay increase under consideration by his Commission peers. However, Trantalis� sentiments weren�t shared by former Mayor Jack Seiler, former Commissioner Romney Rogers and others on the City board, who supported Feldman.

FORT LAUDERDALE MAYOR DEAN TRANTALIS

Although Feldman is widely acclaimed as an effective - yet controversial - City Manager, when the City board was repopulated last year, and Trantalis took the reigns as Mayor, he told Feldman in March that it was �time to move on� shortly before commissioners voted to give Feldman a 3 percent raise, to $255,523 a year.

FORMER TALLAHASSEE CITY MNGR RICK FERNANDEZ

Not surprisingly, Feldman decided to test the waters. He threw his hat in the ring when former Tallahassee City Manager Rick Fernandez resigned in January after the state launched an ethics investigation into his receipt of free Florida State football tickets from Adam Corey, a former local lobbyist and a central figure in an ongoing FBI public corruption probe of City Hall in Tallahassee. Although Feldman was one of three finalists in a field of 34 potential candidates, the Tallahassee Commission opted to promote an insider, and on September 17, voted 4 - 1 to have deputy city manager Reese Goad fill the City Manager position vacated by the beleaguered Fernandez.

TALLAHASSEE LOBBYIST ADAM COREY

NEW TALLAHASSEE CITY MANAGER REESE GOAD

Trantalis is unlikely to relent, and Feldman�s six-year Fort Lauderdale tenure may soon end, but even his detractors concede that Feldman�s proven work ethic will preclude an imminent departure from affecting his performance as City Manager. In 33 years of public service, he has never slacked off on fulfilling his obligations prior to transitioning between venues � as might ordinarily be expected of a lame duck administration.

At the October 9 Commission meeting, Mayor Dean Trantalis pulled the plug. Exclaiming that the city is taking a new direction, Trantalis was joined by Commissioners Steve Glassman and Ben Sorensen in a 3-2 vote to pink slip Lee Feldman at the end of 2018. As Feldman is knee-deep in certain issues critically important to Galt Mile residents (such as parity with single-family homeowners with respect to water, sewer and stormwater rates), Galt Mile officials will closely follow unfolding events and report on their impact. More to come...

COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

September 8, 2018 - In her August 2018 Newsletter, District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis looks at how the City plans to mitigate the advese impacts of sea level rise with a series of infrastructure tweaks; invites constituents to attend the September budget hearings, visit her Pre-Agenda Meetings, serve on a municipal board and participate in her Telephone Town Hall Meeting. She also reminds us about the planned resurfacing of Bayview Drive from Sunrise Boulevard to Commercial Boulevard; asks that we Save a Life over Lunch; suggests using the free Neighbors App by Ring to enhance community safety; offers contact with the City through the Lauderserv app; and closes with boilerplate links for additional information. Of course, if those who marginalize the threat posed by carbon pollution are wrong, and greenhouse gasses irreversibly warm earth's climate, local or regional resiliency adaptations may be tantamount to shooting an elephant with a potato gun.

Sea Level Rise � a Commie Plot?

A 1990 law, known as the Global Change Research Act, requires federal agencies to provide the president and the Congress with an overview of the latest climate science and a thorough review of the impact of climate change throughout the U.S. every four years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the lead federal agency on the report for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which produced the Climate Science Special Report (CSSR) in November, which is Volume 1 of the 4^th National Climate Assessment in November. The full National Climate Assessment will be published in 2018.

TEXAS TECH CLIMATE SCIENTIST KATHARINE HAYHOE

Summarizing the assessment�s findings, Katharine Hayhoe, one of the report authors and a professor and director of Texas Tech University Climate Science Center in Lubbock, concluded �This report underscores the vast body of evidence that firmly establishes how climate is changing, humans are responsible, the risks are real, and the window of time to prevent serious and even dangerous impacts is closing.�

A cooperative product of 13 federal agencies, the report affirms that climate change is driven almost entirely by human action, warns that sea levels in South Florida could rise another 2 feet by 2060 - and as high as eight feet by the year 2100, accompanied by an increase in the frequency and intensity of heavy rainfalls and hurricanes. Federal researchers document how climate-related damage across the United States is already unfolding as a result of an average global temperature increase of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900.

Factors driving temperature increases since 1951 include greenhouse gas emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere, widespread clearing of oxygen-generating forests and agricultural activities. The report highlights how fossil fuel emissions have the potential to accelerate human-induced climate change and contribute to unmanageable changes that may ultimately become irreversible.

Bad News for Fort Lauderdale

This places Fort Lauderdale in the cross-hairs. The 165 miles of waterways that once functioned as the city's gravity-based drainage system have succumbed to rising seas and record rainfalls. While eroding roads, bridges and overtopping seawalls, seawater is undermining municipal infrastructure from below.

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI CLIMATE SCIENTIST HAL WANLESS

Protective strategies used by coastal cities like New Orleans and Amsterdam � repelling ocean flooding with levees and seawalls � won�t work in South Florida. Hal Wanless, a climate scientist at the University of Miami, explains that porous limestone bedrock under Fort Lauderdale allows water to penetrate the foundations of structures in oceanfront and low-lying neighborhoods. Usurping a 1969 Time Magazine phrase referencing reforms in the Catholic Church, Wanless likened the futility of efforts to defend against rising sea levels to �rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic�. We either stop the damage or risk an unimaginable price.

TIDAL VALVE

The 152 tidal valves installed by the Public Works Department on drainage pipes in at-risk neighborhoods (at roughly $25,000 apiece) were meant to prevent high tides from backflowing into streets. However, if rain floods the street or canal levels top seawalls during high tide, the valves don't open, temporarily turning flooded neighborhoods into multi-block bathtubs.

NO WAKE ZONE

To prevent the seawater and sewage from spilling into homes, residents build sandbag walls, dozens of storm drains are plugged to limit backflow, vacuum trucks drink some of the seawater from roads, as signs admonishing �No Wake� are erected along each block. Tiger Dams proved a bust, as these plastic tubes filled with fresh water simply float atop the denser seawater.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS NANCY GASSMAN

Explaining that Fort Lauderdale is concentrating its flood mitigation efforts on those immediately at risk, Assistant Director of public works Nancy Gassman said, �Wealthy neighborhoods closest to the ocean have the worst flooding right now.�

CLIMATE SCIENTIST KEREN BOLTER

Keren Bolter, a local climate scientist who studies sea level rise, observed �There are winners and losers,� adding �In a few decades, most waterfront properties in Fort Lauderdale will flood for days, weeks at a time.� The risks will be borne by millionaires on oceanfront lots and the working poor who live along low-lying inland canals.

Mayoral SOS

In 2016, 15 South Florida Mayors asked Florida�s Presidential candidates for help, describing how rising sea levels will spell disaster for millions of local residents. In an open letter, they wrote �We are already experiencing the effects of a changing climate. Sea levels off the coast of South Florida rose about eight inches in the twentieth century. As a result, we have seen more tidal flooding, more severe storm surges, and more saltwater intrusion into aquifers. By 2050, mean sea level around Florida is expected to rise about a foot, a shift which could wipe out as much as $4 billion in taxable real estate in the four-county region of Southeast Florida. At three feet of sea level rise, the loss could total $31 billion, with large sections of the Everglades, the Florida Keys and the Miami metropolitan region under water."

JEB BUSH AND MARCO RUBIO

Citing how helping their hometowns would collapse the US economy and put energy providers out of business, Marco Rubio laughed it off and Jeb Bush said �There�s someone in a garage somewhere, parochially I hope it�s in Miami, that�s going to have a clue, to have an answer to this.� Bush also said that he told his wife that she should prepare for a move if things got worse.

The Obama administration had pledged to cut US greenhouse emissions from all sectors up to 28% below 2005 levels by 2025. Far ahead of schedule, the energy industry had already cut its carbon footprint by 25% in 2018. In contrast with their perceived fiscal disaster, the decreased emissions were accompanied by record industry profits.

Chinese Con Job?

Since limiting global average temperature increases to a safe threshold of 3.6 F would require significant reductions in carbon pollution levels and a severe drop in net greenhouse gas emissions, the National Climate Assessment acknowledges that such a shift will be particularly difficult to achieve given the current administration�s attempt to justify a policy that rewards increased emissions by supplanting science with political rhetoric.

GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT - NO CLIMATE CHANGE

In 2015, Florida Governor Rick Scott placed a gag order on the state�s Department of Environmental Protection, banning the terms �climate change� and �global warming�, although the state is among the most vulnerable to sea level rise, as three quarters of the State�s population who generate 79% of Florida�s annual economy are domiciled along the 1,000 miles of pounded coastline and adjacent low-lying areas. When questioned about the unprecedented coastal flooding and rising seasonal temperatures, Scott repeatedly answered, �I�m not a scientist.�

DONALD TRUMP BOOTS PARIS CLIMATE PACT

Donald Trump has called the science of climate change a �con job� and a �myth� that was �created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.� Having scrubbed references to climate change, greenhouse gases and clean energy from government websites (Energy Department, Transportation Department, Environmental Protection Agency, and State Department), the Trump administration is dismantling the Clean Power Plan, blocking enforcement of clean air and clean water laws and defunding NASA�s four satellites that monitor the earth�s climate. Last June, he withdrew the U.S. from the UN-sponsored 195-nation Paris climate accord.

Abandoned by myopic federal and state administrations politically driven to rationalize ignoring both the current ravaging impacts and foreseeable dangers by denying their existence, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach county commissions and hundreds of besieged municipalities created the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact to mount a regional defense and protect a demographic comprising 30% of the state�s population. Whether you agree with the new federal evidence of a potentially catastrophic warming climate, or if you believe we are caught in some natural cycle that may eventually shift back, the current dilemma remains the same.

Despite annually expanding local and regional efforts to enhance resilience while beating back ever-intensifying tidal floods, Fort Lauderdale and other South Florida cities lack the resources to stave off sea levels rising at this accelerated rate for the rest of this century and into the next. Without Federal and State subsidies, skyrocketing mitigation costs may ultimately trigger an inland migration. Given the current political environment � in the interim you might consider buying a wetsuit. Read on for District 1 Commissioner Heather Moraitis� August 2018 message to constituents. � [editor]

August 2018

Creating a Resilient Climate in Fort Lauderdale

FLOODING ON LAS OLAS BOULEVARD

DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

Often referred to as the �Venice of America,� our community is fortunate to enjoy seven miles of shoreline and 165 miles of inland waterways. Our flat topography, location on a peninsula, dense coastal development, and shallow porous aquifer; however, make us particularly vulnerable to the changing conditions of the waters that surround us. Seasonal high tides cause localized flooding and compromise our drainage infrastructure, while rising seas and tropical storms erode our coastline.

Many of you helped define community aspirations in our citywide vision plan, Fast Forward Fort Lauderdale, which identifies sustainability as a top priority and offers long-term mitigation and adaptation strategies to address the environmental challenges we face. As a community, we realize that our capability and willingness to adapt to sea level rise and climate change is crucial to the long-term sustainability and prosperity of our City. By planning in anticipation of changing climate conditions, we can reduce our risk, minimize our impact, maximize our response, and expedite our recovery.

We take our responsibility to safeguard our community very seriously, and we are working with our neighbors and regional partners to strengthen our resilience and create a safe and sustainable Fort Lauderdale. We have developed, adopted, and implemented policies that outline guidelines for development and operations including a Floodplain Management Ordinance that sets elevation requirements for new buildings and a Seawall Ordinance that sets a minimum elevation for new seawall construction.

We take climate issues into account during our planning process to ensure investments we make today will withstand future conditions. Master Planning initiatives�from the Stormwater Master Plan and Comprehensive Utility Master Plan to the Parks Master Plan and Seawall Master Plan�reflect potential climate impacts and include resiliency measures. We have identified 17 Adaptation Action Areas and funding for 42 capital projects in the 2018 Community Investment Plan. We are implementing our Sustainability Action Plan and nearing our goals to reduce water, fuel and electrical consumption, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, by 20% by the year 2020. We are also developing a Design and Construction Manual to guide future growth that incorporates resilience into design and construction.

We are making great progress to protect our city by installing the improvements we need to be more resilient. We have completed 37 Stormwater Master Plan projects, installed 152 tidal valves, rebuilt A1A, renourished the beach, and lined wastewater pipes to reduce groundwater infiltration.

Because climate change extends beyond our borders, we are working with local partners and sharing resources to help us understand and address it. Broward County is leading an effort to develop a regional resilience plan in collaboration with city governments and local businesses. They are also conducting a flood risk assessment and developing a 100-year flood map based on projected future conditions. Working together, we can develop a holistic view and strategic approach to ensure our improvements are part of a comprehensive countywide initiative.

We are well on our way toward creating a climate resilient Fort Lauderdale. Thanks to partnerships with our neighbors, local governments, and the private sector, we have a solid foundation to initiate collaborative solutions to protect our region�s economy and quality of life, while continuing to build a strong, livable and sustainable community.

Sincerely,

Commissioner Heather Moraitis
Fort Lauderdale, District 1

Upcoming Public Budget Hearings

Please join us for our upcoming budget public hearings if you would like to give any input. To review the proposed 2019 budgets please visit the City�s website.

September 6th and 12th
6:00 PM
City Hall, Commission Chambers
100 N. Andrews Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301

Please Join Us For A Pre-Agenda Meeting

August 20, 2018
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Beach Community Center
3351 NE 33rd Avenue

September 3, 2018
No meeting due to Labor Day

Apply Online Today!

The following boards are available to serve on for District 1: Cemetery Board, Community Services Board and Parks, Recs and Beaches Board.

If you are interested, please apply online by clicking the link. Apply Online

Feel free to contact our office or Erica Franceschi at [email protected] or 954-828-5288 for any questions

Neighbors App by Ring

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department encourages our neighbors to download the Neighbors application (iOS/Android), join their neighborhood and discover the power that can emerge from combining neighbors, cameras and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Visit www.flpd.org/ring to learn how to download the Neighbors app by Ring.

City of Fort Lauderdale 24-Hour Customer Service Center
954-828-8000

The City of Fort Lauderdale is here to serve our neighbors 24-hours-a-day, and now you can easily contact us right from your smartphone or other mobile device when you are on-the-go.

You can report a streetlight outage, clogged stormdrain, pothole, or broken waste cart; find out your sanitation pick-up days or how to pay your water bill; and more.

Download the FREE Lauderserv app from the Apple App Store or Google Play today.

Links For Additional Information

CASINO POOL

August 29, 2018 - Following decades of deterioration and increasing obsolescence, Fort Lauderdale�s swimming and diving Mecca is finally being renovated. The City�s swimming / diving legacy dates back to the early 1900s before the Civilian raft moored off the beach at the end of Las Olas Boulevard was replaced in 1928 by the Casino Pool in what later became DC Alexander Park.

KATHERINE RAWLS

The Spanish-style facility built for $150,000 housed the first Olympic size pool in Florida at 50.38 meters by 18.3 meters (55 yards by 20 yards), and nurtured the 1932 and 1936 Olympic careers of Elbert Root and the iconic Katherine Rawls, who later went on to capture a record 30 national titles in swimming and diving as the City�s � and the nation�s � athletic ambassador.

FORT LAUDERDALE AQUATIC COMPLEX

Built in 1965 just west of the Casino pool (which closed a year later), the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex featured two 50-meter Olympic-size pools, a diving pool, a teaching pool and a spa. Reinforcing Fort Lauderdale�s stature as the nation�s swimming and diving capital, the facility was also made home to the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF).

YMCA MASTERS AT AQUATIC COMPLEX

In the past, the complex hosted an average of 50 events each year over 100 days, including the Annual College Swim Forum; U.S. National Swimming Championships; YMCA National Swimming & Diving Championships; U.S. Masters National Swimming Championships; NCAA National Water Polo Championships; the FINA/U.S. International Diving Invitational and national and international synchronized swimming competitions.

Olympic medalists that called it home include Mary Ellen Clark and Paige Zemina (Bronze); Elbert Root and Scott Donie (Silver); and Katherine Rawls, Shirley Stobbs, Dave Edgar and Joel Thomas (Gold). This hometown Olympic legacy extended to Jenny Keim, Karen LaFace, Kent Ferguson, Michelle Davison, Jevon Tarantino and renowned coaches such as Dr. Ron O'Brien, Tim O'Brien, Dave Burgering and Jack Nelson, who had been an Olympic swimmer twenty years earlier.

The Bidding Process from Hell

Plans to bring the Glory Days back to the Aquatic Complex were repeatedly derailed. In 2002, a Swim Center improvement plan was quashed by a 3 - 2 vote in the City Commission. A 2009 $76.2 million renovation plan by Recreational Design and Construction (RDC) which included restaurants, entertainment venues and artificial surf machines also hit the wall. With the collapsing bleachers condemned in 2011, a scaled-back 2012 RDC proposal to rehabilitate the complex for $32.4 million climbed to $41 million in 2015, and was scratched. No other proposals were elicited for the down-sized project.

The suspicious bidding process was condemned in a July 24, 2013 report issued by the Office of Inspector General (OIG). Entitled �Misconduct by the City of Fort Lauderdale in the Award of the Contract for the Design and Construction of the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex�, the report concludes that the City �conducted an inadequate procurement and legal review process�, and details how the city�s skewed request for proposal (RFP) sent �mixed signals that dissuaded competitive participation�.

BROWARD INSPECTOR GENERAL JOHN SCOTT

In his report, Broward Inspector General John Scott summarizes evidence of statutory violations, exclaiming, �the City Commission was told the contract contained language that was never, in fact, incorporated, and the contract also allocated $60,027 for unidentified costs. Most significantly, the City agreed to a provision in the contract that shielded $1.66 million of reimbursable labor costs from audit, despite RDC�s history of double-billing the City and maintaining inadequate accounting processes. This exclusion would prevent the City from determining if it was being overbilled for RDC�s supervisory and administrative labor costs.�

The OIG�s reference to an RDC predisposition for double-billing was based on a January 24, 2003 City internal audit disclosing how RDC was overpaid $89,374.17 that the company had admittedly double-billed to the City for a project in Welcome Park, which the audit attributed to an RDC �practice of charging for the same equipment and personnel as direct reimbursable costs and as part of a �general conditions� multiplier in the task order.� Two bills � two payments � same job. Nice work if you can get it.

Milking City Projects

FORMER CITY AUDITOR ALLYSON LOVE

ALAN SILVA

At the time, the City was neck-deep in a hand-to-mouth free-spending culture that ultimately imploded the budget and brought Fort Lauderdale to the brink of bankruptcy. Acting City Manager Alan Silva had crafted a program of financial reforms, service cuts and tax/fee increases designed to ensure that Fort Lauderdale �lives within its means�. To help rein in the fiscal flea circus, then Finance Director Terry Sharp sought to track down tens of $millions in tax dollars doled out without authorization or otherwise unaccounted for. Former City Auditor Allyson Love launched a series of internal audits.

FORMER ASSISTANT CITY ENGINEER PETER SHERIDAN

WELCOME PARK

In reviewing RDC design and build contracts for Welcome Park, Civic Peoples Park and other city projects, staff auditor Renee Foley wrote, �we found significant issues of a material nature that jeopardized the City�s assets.� Unrelenting abuses documented in the audits led to a scandal. Former Assistant City Engineer Peter Sheridan was overseeing the RDC project in Welcome Park when he signed off on a series of bogus payments to the contractor. In addition to being double-tapped for more than $89,000 � of the $328,614 paid to RDC for Welcome Park, Foley found that $110,666.57 (34%) was disbursed for ineligible or unverified expenses.

CIVIC PEOPLES PARK

Two weeks later, on February 6, 2004 Foley released an audit of RDC�s construction of Civic Peoples Park (since renamed Dr. Elizabeth Hays Civic Park) in southwest Fort Lauderdale, wherein RDC overbilled the City $85,000 for project expenditures, direct labor, and multiplier costs. A neighborhood park built between 1999 and 2001 at 3781 SW Riverland Road, it included a walking path, playground equipment, picnic shelter, landscaping and a half dozen parking spots. Foley stated �The City paid RDC $258,114.48, of which $110,010.94 (43%) was determined to be questionable costs.�

RDC PROJECT MNGR SCOTT GREINER

With Sheridan�s approval, the City paid RDC extra for items like a portable toilet, which were already included in the main contract. The City also picked up lunch tabs for RDC project manager Scott Greiner. Fort Lauderdale was billed for a slew of items that were unsupported by any documentation � including permit fees and concrete. They reimbursed RDC for undocumented American Express and Home Depot bills. The City also paid RDC for consultant work done before the project was even approved.

LAUDERDALE MANORS RECREATION CENTER

In a March 3, 2004 audit of RDC improvements to the Lauderdale Manors Recreation Center, Foley concluded that �RDC overbilled/charged the City $242,918.70 in vendor expenditure, direct labor, equipment and multiplier costs.� When an RDC subcontractor damaged a support wall in 2001, a $536,540 RDC contract to renovate the center was abandoned when Sheridan approved a change order allowing RDC to demolish the entire structure and rebuild a new Center for $918,826.

Beating the Rap

ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY JOHN COUNTRYMAN

Based on Foley�s audits, an investigation by Assistant State Attorney John Countryman revealed that RDC had installed an $11,000 spa in Sheridan�s private home in September 2001, roughly coinciding with when he nearly doubled RDC�s contract price for the Lauderdale Manors project. The hot tub installation was managed by RDC�s Scott Greiner, for whom Sheridan had repeatedly approved RDC payment requests for ineligible expenses and lucrative change orders. With the intensifying investigation threatening to expose the hot tub as a payoff, in a classic �CYA� maneuver � nine months later RDC hand-delivered a bill for the spa to Sheridan�s mother.

HARRY STEWART AND LEE FELDMAN

Countryman said the collusion between Sheridan and RDC spanned years � and more than $1 million in contracts. Despite a truckload of circumstantial evidence, absent an airtight quid pro quo linking the gift with the rip-offs, Countryman decided to forego prosecution � Sheridan dodged a bullet. While exposing this chronic conflict of interest culminated in Sheridan�s departure, RDC continued racking up City contracts, and was only forced to return a miniscule fraction of their fraudulent windfalls.

When Sheridan finally resigned as the media trumpeted Countryman�s findings, the City rewarded his misdeeds with a $60,000 parachute. In an eerie post-script, Sheridan�s subsequent transition to the private sector was realized by Keith and Schnars, a Fort Lauderdale consulting firm that does substantial repeat business with the City � and evidently viewed Sheridan�s sticky fingers as an asset when they snatched him up. Ten years later, Block�s OIG report intimated that former City Attorney Harry Stewart and City Manager Lee Feldman were central to the aquatic complex bidding gaffes, despite that both bureaucrats took their marching orders from the City Commission.

Hail Mary Rescue

FORT LAUDERDALE MAYOR DEAN TRANTALIS

Tucked into the southeast corner of District 2, the aquatic center�s prospects dimmed as the sole bidding contractor held fast to its planned windfall. Stunned by the unwavering astronomical price tag, in April 2016 former District 2 Commissioner Dean Trantalis likened repair estimates to �a punch in the gut.� Convinced that the renovations couldn�t be performed at a price-point sufficiently low to justify rehabilitating a facility running annual losses in excess of $1 million - returning less than 23 percent of operational expenses - City Commissioners viewed the project as snake-bit and threw in the towel. ISHOF announced relocation plans to Santa Clara, California, where City officials were building a new facility.

JOHN SCHERER

CITY COMMISSION APPROVES AQUATIC COMPLEX PLAN

Seeking to revive the paralyzed project, Trantalis and City Manager Lee Feldman orchestrated a last-ditch solicitation on November 17, 2017. To enhance the facility's affordability for patrons, Commissioners hoped to land a proposal of less than $20 million. When Trantalis later took the mayoral reins, Steve Glassman filled the vacated District 2 Commission seat. However, the project attracted proposals of $35 million by John Scherer�s Gulf Building LLC and $27 million by bid-winner Hensel Phelps Construction Co.

Although $7 million more than anticipated, at the July 10, 2018 City Commission meeting, Glassman and Trantalis convinced Commissioners to blind-eye the budget and approve the project. Targeted for completion in 2020, the project may yet necessitate a trip to the courthouse. As part of a group that � although uninvited � submitted a competing proposal for a new aquatics complex and a hotel built on nearby city land, developer Sherman Whitmore couched a threatened legal action in his post-meeting comment that the Commission had exposed the City to lawsuits by altering the budget to accept the $27 million bid.

CITY ATTORNEY ALAIN BOILEAU

Explaining that beach development regulations would prohibit construction of the proposed hotel, City Manager Lee Feldman rejected Whitmore�s unsolicited proposal. To meet the $27 million burden, the CRA will cough up $23.3 million, $1.7 million will be drawn from the General Fund, $1.5 million from Park Impact Fees and $500,000 from the Parking Fund. Interim City Attorney Alain Boileau seemed unconcerned by Whitmore�s thinly veiled threat, imparting that the negotiations could proceed.

Pyrrhic Victory?

ISHOF CEO BRENT RUTEMILLER

Elated by the vote to salvage the complex, ISHOF CEO Brent Rutemiller remarked �This milestone, along with ISHOF�s commitment to sign a 30-year lease to remain in Fort Lauderdale, accomplishes two important goals that ISHOF�s Board and the community set out late last year.� While many project proponents appear relieved, others expressed disappointment, citing the funding as insufficient for redeveloping a world-class facility.

FORMER ISHOF CEO BRUCE WIGO

Before exchanging his CEO hat for that of a consultant in December, former ISHOF CEO Bruce Wigo said that without adding new features that attract the public, fixing the pools and grandstand would be a waste of resources, as Broward�s dwindling number of swimmers are already using the County�s 18 other Olympic size pools. Wigo�s trepidations were echoed in a recent letter from the Center�s former Olympic swimming coach Tim O�Brien.

FORMER OLYMPIC SWIMMING COACH TIM O�BRIEN

With the City�s impending immersion in Herculean infrastructure debt, their concern may not resonate with taxpaying residents distracted by water mains exploding like pi�atas, and a planned $1.4 billion fix proposed by the infrastructure task force. In contrast, City Commissioners were primarily focused on winning back the prestigious annual tournaments that underscored the site�s historical status as a national shrine.

DISTRICT 2 COMMISSIONER STEVE GLASSMAN

By finding a middle ground between those opposed to funding the revival of a money pit and those advocating for an additional $70 million in themed recreational bells and whistles, District 2 Commissioner Steve Glassman precluded the eroding aquatic center�s demolition and inevitable rebirth as an overpriced glass-balconied condominium. By realizing a balance that eluded his predecessors for decades, Glassman not only delivered for District 2 constituents, but affordably preserved the City�s Olympic legacy. Not a bad night�s work for a rookie Commissioner.

COMMISSIONER HEATHER MORAITIS

August 10, 2018 - In her July 2018 Newsletter, District 1 City Commissioner Heather Moraitis welcomes a Commission decision to green light a Hensel Phelps Construction Co. proposal for renovating the fast decomposing Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex, the heart of the city�s century-long swimming and diving legacy. She also awaits All County Paving's planned resurfacing of Bayview Drive from Sunrise Boulevard to Commercial Boulevard; once again recommends implementation of a virtual neighborhood watch - a dividend of downloading the free Neighbors App by Ring; seeks to improve communications between constituents and the City through the Lauderserv app; announces her return to City Hall by August 13, before the August 21 Commission meeting and her first Telephone Town Hall Meeting on August 22 from 7 to 8 p.m.