Posts by: ScottB

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Commissioner Moraitis Shares City Updates in New Newsletter

Commissioner Heather Moraitis, in her May newsletter, shares with us several important updates around Fort Lauderdale.  With the planned upgrades to Bayview Drive, this may cause some traffic slowdowns, so you may want to avoid the area during the construction period.  There will be a meeting on June 6 to discuss the plans for new structures at the Galleria Mall.  She shares an update on the City Commission priorities as of April 22 and pictures of her involvement in the community.

Click here to read the full May newsletter.

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Vice Mayor Lamar Fisher Reports on County Issues

Vice Mayor Lamar Fisher, in his latest newsletter, discusses several issues currently taking place in Broward County.  Broward County passed an ordinance banning single use plastic straws and stirrers on County property. We know the harmful effects of these products on our environment, from the impacts to our waterways to the major impacts on the ecosystem. Fisher sponsored a motion to accept the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Downtown Center Affordable Housing Implementation Plan. As we all know, housing affordability in our community is at its worst. Broward County’s Resilient Environment Department recently announced a two-year countywide planning effort focused on building community resilience to the impacts of climate change predicted over the next half-century. There are other important issues discussed in the newsletter.

Click here to read the full Lamar Fisher April Newsletter.

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Rep. Chip LaMarca Provides Legislative Wrap-up

State Rep Chip LaMarca, in his latest newsletter, provides a wrap-up the recent state legislative session that concluded on March 14 in Tallahassee.  The newsletter talks about funding coming to our area in the budget as well as bills filed and those that passed.  Overall, there were 3,755 bills filed and 285 bills passed both houses of the state legislature.

One issue of great interest to the Galt Mile was a bill to designate a section of A1A from the beginning to the end of Galt Ocean Drive as the “Pio Ieraci Memorial Drive.”  Pio served as the president of the Galt Mile Community Association for over 20 years, and was a leader on neighborhood, city, county and state issues important to the Galt Mile.  The bill was sponsored by Rep LaMarca. The bill is awaiting the governor’s signature.

Click here to read the full newsletter.

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Vital Information from Our County Property Appraiser – Marty Kiar

In his latest newsletter. Marty talks about two important items. The Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office gathers property sales information across the county on an ongoing basis. These monthly reports provide a visual representation of the properties sold along with the median sale prices for residential properties. The top five cities with the most sales are also listed. The BCPA Market Report can be found at https://web.bcpa.net/bcpaclient/#/Report-Market-Sales.

Veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 10% – 99%, or their surviving spouse, are eligible to receive a $5,000 exemption on their homesteaded property’s assessed value. Florida law also provides a full exemption for veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating or the veteran’s surviving spouse.

To read the full newsletter, click here.

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Vice Mayor Lamar Fisher Reports on County Activites

In his March newsletter, Vice Mayor Lamar Fisher recognizes the activities in our county.   We celebrate women with Women’s History Month, recognize safe bike measures with Bicycle Month and join together for water preservation with the 20th Annual Broward Water Matters Month. Additionally, our community has begun to see an influx of spring breakers on our beaches and don’t forget to wear your green on Thursday, March 17th for St. Patrick’s Day!

His newsletter also discusses the efforts to provide affordable housing for residents of our county and additional funding to advance flood mitigation and other waste management improvements.   Addressing traffic issues, the county, through the Penny for Transportation, has made significant advances on transit operations and capital improvements in county highways.  He also reminds those on the beach that turtle nesting season started March 1 – and the importance of protecting turtles during this time.

Click here to read the full newsletter from Vice Mayor Lamar Fisher.

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Vice Mayor Heather Moraitis Reports on Homelessness

Vice Mayor Heather Moraitis recently spent time in Los Angeles to look at the city’s response to homelessness.  This is a priority issue for the Fort Lauderdale City Commission.  She is committed to finding solutions to this issue in our city.  The bottom line is homelessness is a housing problem.  Tight housing markets accentuate vulnerabilities of people living in poverty.  In Broward County, with housing cost rising, 50% of households are struggling to find and afford housing.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department has a homeless outreach unit consisting of two officers whose primary mission is to assist homeless individuals in shelter placement and other services.  Any questions or concerns should be addressed to:

Officer Brian Blount:  [email protected] – 954-828-5279

Officer Scott Hagemann:  [email protected] – 954-828-4274

Click here to read Vice Mayor Heather Moraitis’ full newsletter.