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The historical content of the Galt Mile Community Association’s Web Site is catalogued and chronicled in these archives. This content is comprised of articles and anecdotes that are no longer current, but may be useful from a historical perspective. The categories are chronological. Scrolling down delves deeper into the past. If you encounter any difficulty locating a particular story, report, or graphic, feel free to Contact us with your dilemma and assistance will be forthcoming.
 Please Note - Many of the links included in these articles from the past are no longer active.
2004
Cuban Refugees
 
“A Day at the Beach”
December 2, 2004 - Daybreak...Tuesday...November 30th...the sun peeks over the Atlantic. It’s usually a quiet time for the condo dwellers of the Galt Ocean Mile. This Tuesday was different. A commotion on the beach attracted the attention of Regency Tower and Playa del Mar residents. “It sounded like the remnants of a party left over from the night before,” said an early riser from Regency Tower. “Men were walking up and down the beach checking the locked beach gates to the condos. Others were sitting in the sand.” These “men” were all grateful to be alive ... and free!
 | | PONTOON RAFT FROM SANTA CRUZ LANDS ON THE GALT MILE |
Ten migrants left Santa Cruz, Cuba on November 21st to elude the heavy arm of Fidel. The vehicle they pinned their hopes - and lives - on was a 16-foot cobbled-together raft that miraculously accomplished its mission. “A floor with balloons” said one onlooker. The “floor” of the unseemly craft was essentially several long wooden planks affixed to cross-hatched smaller planks. It was bordered on either side by pontoons made of styrofoam sheets and inner tubes. The inner tubes were wrapped in cloth and yellow plastic tarpaulins that were hooked to the wooden floor with large round metal rings. A makeshift railing sat above the wrapped rows of inner tubes. While this nautical wreck invoked onlooker curiosity about how it could have possibly made the crossing from Cuba, the ten refugees viewed it with love in their eyes. Román Eliezer Rodríguez (65), Eliezer Rodríguez (32), Hugo Rodríguez (29), Odi Pérez Reyes, brothers Vicente Miguel Reyna Modelo and Vicente Pascual Reyna Modelo, and four refugees who refused to identify themselves saw their battered raft as a golden chariot. It was, after all, their “Exodus”.
Their floating treehouse was powered by a small Honda outboard engine. They stowed food, water and two bicycle pumps in case the tubes started to deflate. Fortuitously, they packed some oars as back-up to their outboard motor and headed for Miami. A motorboat could ordinarily make the trip in about eight to ten hours. Normally, an unpowered raft could cross the Florida Straits in about three days. This, however, was not to be. Tropical Storm Otto decided to destabilize the Atlantic Ocean, creating unusually rough seas. After six days of fighting the north-flowing Gulf Stream, the little outboard sputtered. The intemperate ocean capsized the raft and claimed most of its passengers’ food and water. Hugo Rodríguez described the incident, “The Sea was very rough. It turned the raft over. We were lucky to get it back. Very lucky.”
 | | FIRE-RESCUE MEDICS CHECK REFUGEES |
The homemade oars they took along proved to be their salvation. One of the two brothers, Vicente Pascual Reyna, explained, “We spent four days rowing day and night. We split in two groups and would take turns rowing one hour at a time - each group.” After losing their meager supplies to the ocean, they survived by using a few remaining oranges to catch fish. They treated their catch with vinegar and orange juice prior to consuming the raw fish.
Early Tuesday, November 30th - after ten arduous days - they spotted the high-rise condos along the Galt Ocean Mile and paddled to the beach at 6 AM. Dehydrated from the trek, the travelers explored the beach for an exit in search of help. By 6:30 AM, residents slowly grew aware of the situation and started to call for police and medical emergency transports. Sgt. Andy Pallen of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department said, “Police started getting 911 calls about 6:45 AM, after condo residents in the 3800 block of Galt Ocean Drive saw an overloaded raft in the water.” The police gave the group blankets and drinking water. Shortly thereafter, Fire-Rescue Medical technicians evaluated their general medical condition. Despite their dehydration and extensive blisters covering their hands, ostensibly from the past four days of intense rowing, the men were in remarkably good condition.
 | | REFUGEE RAFT BEHIND REGENCY TOWER |
Surprisingly, 65-year-old Román Eliezer Rodríguez started to serenade the crowd of reporters and photographers that collected on the beach. His raft-mates cheered as they clapped a beat to his rendition of a Mexican ranchera song. Amid the laughter and rousing encouragement of his compatriots, Rodríguez chanted, “Hace un año que tuve una ilusión, hace un año que se cumple en este día,” (I had a dream a year ago, a dream that comes true today). Explaining this spontaneous ebullience, Rodríguez said, “We are happy to have made it here, to the land of liberty.” Filling the role of a stereotypical wet blanket, Border Patrol’s arrival quickly quashed the party mood. Before being escorted to Border Patrol’s Pembroke Pines facility at 7201 Pembroke Road for processing, Sgt. Pallen said the men were expected to be “released to family members who live in South Florida.”
Subsequent to their release by authorities later that afternoon, Robert Montemayor - a spokesman for the Border Patrol - said they were all in good health and had been debriefed. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials usually ask refugees that raft here from Cuba if they were assisted by smugglers. Montemayor would not reveal what the men told officials. As to whether the migrants’ story was deemed credible, Montemayor exclaimed, “We are still determining that.”
There was also suspicion about the refugees’ story circulating among area residents who attended the early morning surprise landing. A Regency Tower resident of Cuban descent noted that aside from some blisters on their hands, they all were in extremely good condition for having spent ten days battling the ocean deprived of viable sustenance. The “song-fest” also cast a shadow on their claim to having experienced such a debilitating ordeal. The Coast Guard and Border Patrol have extensive experience with the long-time smuggling tactic of drop and dash. This technique calls for an apparently disheveled group and a sea-worn raft to be ferried offshore by boat, dropped close to the beach and left to approach authorities for asylum.
Pursuant to “The 1996 Cuban Adjustment Act”, a group of undocumented Cuban migrants who have made it to land can stay in the country and work. After a year and a day in the U.S. the migrants are eligible for permanent resident status, the first step toward citizenship. If they are intercepted at sea, however, they are usually returned to Cuba. To determine whether this landing was a legitimate “break for freedom”, Coast Guard and police vessels launched an offshore search for a smuggling craft. Barring any evidence that a scam was perpetrated, the ten should have no difficulty receiving asylum. Eldest group member Román Eliezer Rodríguez described the sentiments of his fellow refugees following their arrival in the United States, “I'm not going to say that I was born [again] today, because I’m old, but these kids were born again today when they arrived at this beach.”
Whether or not our friends and neighbors on the beach Tuesday morning believed the raft refugees to be the “real deal”, every one of them walked away with a renewed sense of appreciation for what Román Eliezer Rodríguez calls, “the land of liberty.”
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Fortier “Smiles on the Mile”
Galt Ocean Drive to Get a Flora Facelift
 Phil Thornburg was tagged to run Fort Lauderdale’s Parks and Recreation Department, replacing former Director Ernest Burkeen. It’s a job that requires a delicate chemistry of diplomacy, political chops, fiscal efficiency, artistic proclivity and patience. The City’s budget boondoggle has taken a withering toll on every municipal department. Because departmental cutbacks in the Police or Fire-Rescue Departments would imply increased danger for the City’s residents, they are high profile media fodder. Therefore, every official news release expounding on the budget repercussions includes a disclaimer, “No Police or Fire-Rescue personnel will be cut!” When the Public Safety Aides (who assist the Police) were scheduled for termination, the City sponsored a Code Fine Amnesty Program to avoid laying them off. It allowed property owners who successfully brought their violated properties into compliance to pay a greatly reduced fine if they paid it quickly. The funds collected financed a temporary repeal of the Public Safety Aides threatened layoffs. What’s left? Where can the budget axe repeatedly fall with impunity? PARKS and RECREATION!
 | | GALT OCEAN DRIVE SIDEWALK BEDS |
Clearly, trimming the overgrowth in the City’s swales isn’t nearly as important as patrolling the streets or serving on an Emergency Medical team. We can afford to close a park an hour or two earlier well before we can afford to lose one minute of 911 response time. While every resident cares about Fort Lauderdale’s aesthetics, they care more about safety and/or survival. Police and Fire-Rescue will always take precedent over Parks and Recreation. As such, the Parks Department has learned to make do with less, more so than almost any other City service. Thornburg knows that his Parks Department is at the back of the line for resources. So does his staff. Despite a demoralizing effect on its personnel, living with a bare cupboard for the past year has also toughened up the Department. Every cent allocated in their new budget will be painfully stretched and meticulously distributed. They plan on doing more with less.
 | Sand that Frances Piled up on A1A Being Returned to
FORT LAUDERDALE BEACH BY FORTIER'S CREW |
Demonstrative of this new hungry attitude permeating department staff is Robert Fortier. Bob Fortier is a Parks Department Foreman whose responsibility includes managing the beach area. When Hurricane Frances tossed about 40% of the sand from Fort Lauderdale Beach across A1A, Fortier’s crews returned the silicon deluge to its original location. Despite the massive shock endured by the landscaping along the coastal highways from the windiest season in recent history, Fortier’s people have kept the beach boulevards verdant. This was done on a shoestring; imagine what they could do with adequate resources. Consistent with this “Eye of the Tiger” credo, Fortier has a plan for the Galt Mile.
 | | GALT MILE SIDEWALK BEDS |
Galt Ocean Mile underwent a massive rehabilitation several years ago. The extensive civic improvements known as “A Smile on the Mile” were paid for from an assessment contributed to by every Galt resident. President Robert Rozema of the Galt Mile Community Association described the arrangement brokered between the Community and the City, “We paid for it, the City built it and promised to maintain the improvements in a ‘Disney-like fashion’ - a reference to the meticulous manner in which Disney maintains their famous Park.” Rozema continued, “The Galt Mile Improvement Project is arguably the most successful neighborhood redevelopment project in the City’s history.” The pact has been sorely tested by FP&L, AT&T, Bellsouth and an assortment of contractors that failed to restore the street to its original condition subsequent to decimating it. While not always successful, at least the City has tried to live up to its obligation...until recently. When the City’s finances magically evaporated, so did their ability and their will to properly maintain the Galt Mile.
 | | INDIAN HAWTHORN AND SILVER BUTTONWOOD HEDGES |
On November 1, 2004, Mr. Fortier addressed the Presidents Council of the Galt Mile Community Association. After explaining the weather-related obstacles faced by his staff - hurricanes, severe winds that “fried” even mature plants, etc. - and the fiscal constraints that Parks and Recreation was operating under, Fortier revealed an optimistic plan to reinvigorate the neighborhood landscaping. Responsible for its maintenance throughout the City’s budget-based hard times, Fortier has had the opportunity to examine the block’s flora and has arrived at some productive conclusions. Consistent with the Statewide Greenways and NatureScape programs, Fortier is a proponent of propagating native plants. He contends that indigenous plant life, having adapted to our area’s environmental rigors, enjoys the natural protection afforded by millions of years of evolution. As such, native flora will better withstand the punishment that currently devastates the Galt Mile’s landscaping. He also stated that plant selection should take into account the specific environmental hazards found on the Galt Mile. Proximity to the ocean dictates that the plants be saline-resistant, owing to their constant exposure to salt. Since the ocean winds explode through the corridors separating the high-rise structures that line the Galt, only plants capable of surviving these gale-force vortices should be considered. While these constraints will preclude the selection of many plant types, there is still a wide enough variety available to provide an aesthetically pleasing arrangement that can withstand the wind and the salt. Bob Fortier has a wealth of ideas about the type and configuration of plants he would like to see along the Galt Mile.
 | | GOLD MOUND HEDGE |
Mr. Fortier first spoke about using two different types of plants and, “staggering them in the beds along the sidewalk for the entire length of the Galt.” This idea would alternate two green plants, Indian Hawthorn and Green Island Ficus, in the sidewalk beds. In a variation, he would replace one of the two green plants with another candidate, Gold Mound. The yellow Gold Mound would add interest by contrasting with either the Green Island Ficus or the Indian Hawthorn. Fortier said, “I believe the green and bright yellow from the Gold Mound would make an awesome statement.” A third option he described would combine three different colored plants. In a more opulent version, the Green Island Ficus and the yellow Gold Mound would be staggered with Silver Buttonwoods, creating some variation of silver, yellow, green, silver, yellow, etc. to adorn Galt Ocean Drive.
 | | GALT OCEAN DRIVE - SOUTH |
Fortier’s optimism is infectious. Addressing a room filled with Association representatives, he stated, “While I can make recommendations for the neighborhood landscaping, you have to live with them.” He then invited input from the residents. The excitement with which he explained his plan spilled over to the audience as they questioned him about the plan’s details. Fortier says that this plan can be done with existing resources. Since his address to the Presidents Council, Fortier has kept his commitment to apprise the Association of developments, emailing Council Chairman Pio Ieraci with permutations of his intentions for the Galt Mile. Whichever landscape architecture Mr. Fortier ultimately implements, it will have the benefit of being able to survive and thrive – in contrast with the current plants. Green, yellow, silver, etc. are all preferable to the drab brown of the dead or dying patches that intermittently mark the existing sidewalk beds. Hopefully, the lower maintenance costs of the sturdier arrangement will enable Fortier’s troops to help keep the block in a “Disney-like fashion”. If his intensity and commitment are successfully reflected in his plan’s outcome, the Galt Ocean Mile will again sparkle with the ambiance envisioned by Earl Lifshey and the Galt Mile leadership while first conceiving to put a “Smile on the Mile!”
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City Promises to Complete Galt Mile Landscaping Upgrades
New Parks Department Regime Confirms “Continuity”
June 28, 2005 - Galt Ocean Mile underwent a massive rehabilitation several years ago. The extensive neighborhood redevelopment project known as “A Smile on the Mile” was financed by the residents of the Galt Ocean Mile. The terms of an agreement with the city governing the project were uncomplicated. The City would plan the undertaking and supervise its construction. Once completed, the City would maintain the newly rehabilitated street in “a Disney-like manner”. In exchange, residents living along the Galt Mile would foot the bill. Ordinarily, the City waits until a neighborhood suffers severe deterioration before committing resources to its rehabilitation. By paying for the project, community residents hoped to bypass that unpleasant prospect.
 | PRESIDENT ROZEMA LAUDS
"SMILE ON THE MILE" |
The results of the project were exemplary. As described by Galt Mile Community Association President Robert Rozema, “The Galt Mile Improvement Project is arguably the most successful neighborhood redevelopment project in the City’s history.” Overnight, the Galt Mile was again competitive with other elegant high-end neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Palm Beach. As long as the City fulfilled its obligation to maintain the assessed improvements, the residents could concentrate their resources on rehabilitating their 30 year-old buildings.
The City’s maintenance of the Galt Mile had been, in a monument to understatement, disappointing. As part of their permit process, the City theoretically requires contractors who decimate the street to return it to its original condition. When they demolish the sidewalk, they are supposed to restore the area with the same pink aggregate that we paid for. Upon grinding a trench through a crosswalk, they are mandated to replace the damaged pavers that we paid for. The City has habitually overlooked construction “indiscretions” by FP&L, AT&T, Bellsouth and an assortment of developers as they pock-marked the Galt Mile with tar scars and asphalt patches. Fort Lauderdale’s obligation to maintain the improvements in “a Disney-like manner” extended to the landscaping. In the past ten years, the foliage along the block had evolved into a tangled mass of scraggly trees, dead grass and scrub brush. Community expectations had so deteriorated that frustrated residents considered themselves fortunate when graced with the removal of a long-dead tree stump or having the dead grass shaped.
Last November, a Parks and Recreation Department representative addressed the Galt Mile Community Association Presidents Council, offering a plan to revitalize the landscaping. Bob Fortier, the Parks Department Foreman of the Beach Area, promised to replace the dead foliage with a combination of plants better able to withstand the area’s environmental rigors. Jaded by years of broken promises, wary Association officials adopted a wait-and-see attitude.
| | GALT OCEAN DRIVE SWALES |
Surprisingly, the next few months produced a change in the maintenance routine practiced by Parks Department personnel. The Galt “brownfield” was replaced by Gold Mound, Silver Buttonwood and Green Island Ficus. In addition to being saline and wind resistant, Fortier’s selection of plants were aesthetically sound. By March, Fortier had installed decorative topiaries and trellises in the swales along the block to complement the new plantings. Dead grass was no longer the area’s dominant flora. He kept his word.
 | MANAGER GEORGE GRETSAS
SENT APPRECIATION LETTER |
Galt residents were delighted. Each day, people would see the tangible results of the City’s promise. To applaud the City’s efforts, the Galt Mile Community Association unanimously elected to commend Parks Department Director Phil Thornburg, Assistant Director Terry Rynard and City Manager George Gretsas. A letter conveyed our delight with the new landscaping, appreciation of Mr. Fortier’s contributions and our gratitude for the City’s holding true to its word. More importantly, after suffering a decade of landscaping mediocrity, the letter expressed the Association’s sincere wish that the current arrangement be permitted to continue. The City’s response was two-fold. First, they answered the letter, stating that they were happy to hear that we were pleased with their efforts. Second, they reassigned Mr. Fortier to other duties, relieving him of his Galt Mile landscaping oversight responsibilities!
Incredulous Council members wavered between shock and anger. Normally passive members threatened to campaign against the re-election of incumbent City officials. Recommendations to sue the City for non-compliance with their contractual obligations proliferated. After years of tolerating inept landscaping followed by the service cutbacks, fee increases and tax hikes from the budget boondoggle, the single request made by the community of the City was roundly denied. Accommodating the neighborhood’s wish would have actually saved precious tax dollars.
| | GALT OCEAN DRIVE - SOUTH |
To mollify trepidations about the block reverting to its prior state of disrepair and cool anger over this blatant disregard for the community’s wishes, Fort Lauderdale Urban Forester Gene Dempsey addressed the June 6th meeting of the GMCA Presidents Council. His recently assumed Parks Department duties include Fortier’s former Galt Mile landscaping responsibilities. At the meeting’s outset, he promised to continue the progress Fortier had initiated. He explained that while Fortier was no longer involved in the community’s landscaping, he was still in charge of beach maintenance. Regency Tower resident Louise Collins asked why, “Mr. Fortier was uprooted from a job that was finally being done well only to be placed in charge of the sand?” Dempsey explained that the City hired “a professional horticulturist to oversee future Galt Mile landscaping.” While the new horticulturist was unable to attend the meeting, Mr. Dempsey promised to bring him to the next meeting when invited. He also repeated his promise to, “personally supervise the block’s landscaping.” When asked about his plan for the Galt, Dempsey said that he would, “communicate with Mr. Fortier to insure continuity.”
 | CHAIR PIO IERACI INVITES
GENE DEMPSEY TO RETURN |
Several Council members reiterated that Galt Mile residents were more concerned about the City’s intentions than about the internal reassignment of responsibilities. They described to Dempsey the community’s disappointment with the City’s efforts prior to Fortier’s short reign. Although hiring a professional horticulturist appeared to be a progressive idea, Council members were skeptical about whether the promised rehabilitation would proceed on schedule. Stating unequivocally that it would, Mr. Dempsey said that despite his having only recently been afforded the authority to complete the upgrades started by Fortier, he would “take personal responsibility” for their expeditious implementation. Dempsey described his full range of oversight responsibilities as including tree service, landscaping and horticulture. In addition, he maintains the Riverwalk development and street medians throughout the City
His assurances seemed to quell some of the suspicion surrounding the City’s decision to disregard the community’s stated wishes. Some members suggested that the City’s callous actions might simply be a case of bad timing and poor communication. Others voiced resentment over the Galt neighborhood being adversely impacted by suspected political maneuvering within the Parks Department. While opinions varied about the City’s motives, members concurred with Mr. Dempsey’s statement that we would know soon enough if the upgrades would be implemented and the City’s promise kept. Responding to a request by Presidents Council Chair Pio Ieraci, Dempsey agreed to address the Council again next fall, after the rehabilitation was completed. Time, as usual, will tell.
 For additional information please contact Gene Dempsey, Urban Forester, Parks and Recreation Department, 1350 W. Broward Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33312 at Phone: (954) 761-5785, email: gdempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.
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Mayor Naugle Fires Up
GMCA Advisory Board
 | | MAYOR JIM NAUGLE |
October 25, 2004 - Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle addressed the October 21st meeting of the Galt Mile Community Association Advisory Board for the purpose of educating the membership about the key issues facing the community on Election Day. The Mayor, a longtime supporter of Galt Mile issues, was accompanied by a retinue of Fire-Rescue officials and personnel. He reviewed some of the ballot questions that the electorate will decide on November 2nd. He explained the status of the Galt Mile with respect to other sections of the City and answered members’ questions about the new budget. However, the Mayor’s primary intent from the meeting’s outset was to clarify the upcoming Bond Issue designed to salvage the city's deteriorating Fire-Rescue facilities. To this end, he brought a carefully prepared presentation replete with visual aids (slides) and expert witnesses charged with the dual task of explaining the problem facing the Fire-Rescue Department and testifying to the need for its resolution. (See “Fire-Rescue Bond Issue: One Way or Another” below!)
Question 4: Fire-Rescue Bond Issue
 | | Deputy Chief Keith Allen |
The referendum for the Fire-Rescue Bond Issue will be Question 4 on the Fort Lauderdale section of the official Broward County General Election Ballot. Fire-Rescue’s Deputy Chief of Operations Keith P. Allen and David Ebert were called on by the Mayor to explain the deplorable state of Fire-Rescue’s existing facilities. Chief Allen compared the environment under which the existing facilities were built to conditions today. He stated, “While the Department has kept pace with the City’s needs, the Department’s facilities have not.” Fort Lauderdale experienced explosive growth following its identification as the nation’s “Spring Break” capitol, its 1960 population of 83,648 doubling to about 168,000 today. Chief Allen expanded, “In 1992, the Department responded to 19,423 incidents as compared to its current rate of about 40,000 per year. A doubling of the incident rate mandated a comparable increase in the Department’s personnel from 292 in 1992 to about 400 today.”
 | | NARROW STATION BAY |
“Fire Departments” and “firefighters” are antiquated misnomers. Even Fire-Rescue is an inadequate description of what is expected of today’s Department. The Mayor explained, “Their responsibilities have grown from extinguishing fires and rescuing cats from trees to a wide variety of emergency response situations.” These include medical emergencies, crisis and consequence management of terrorist threats, preparation for and response to severe weather threats, general domestic preparedness; every social challenge of modern life has been placed on Fire-Rescue’s plate. Almost all of these new responsibilities require specialized training and equipment. The Mayor commented, “This additional equipment was never contemplated when the original stations were planned and built.” To keep pace with technological advances and meet federal guidelines for mandated decontamination stations, effective medical response and treatment areas, and specialized gear of every stripe, jury-rigged solutions were quickly cobbled together. The impact of the “Quonset hut” solution to overcrowding in our schools was limited to student discomfort and a moderate loss of efficiency. The impact of the overcrowding in our Fire-Rescue is not only the extreme discomfort suffered by the personnel who spend a third of their lives in cramped quarters, but also in time - valuable minutes lost in emergency response time.
 | | Station 54 at NE 32nd Street |
Lieutenant Ed Webster of Station 54 (located at 3200 NE 32nd Street - down the block from the Coral Ridge Towers complex) explained how the stations’ deficiencies impact firefighters and response time. “Fire-Rescue needs to keep pace with the technological advances that boost the success rate of their life-saving objectives.” Computerization, advanced equipment and vehicles, and systems upgrades are the tools acquired by the Department to achieve these goals. Enigmatically, the 83 new vehicles barely fit in the old bays.  | | EXPOSED WIRING |
The Lieutenant asserted that the stations’ archaic wiring is “incapable of servicing the intense electrical demands of modern communications and information technology.” The recent pummeling suffered by South Florida from Charley, Frances and Jeanne points to another dogma. Mayor Naugle interjected, “The Department that we need to adequately prepare and recover from hurricanes and other weather catastrophes is operating out of stations that aren’t weather-proofed.” The majority of the City’s 30 - 40 year-old Fire-Rescue stations were built prior to the advent of the stringent building codes created to make buildings as hurricane resistant as possible. When Hurricane Charley damaged more than a half a dozen fire stations in Charlotte and adjoining counties on Florida’s west coast, it rendered engines useless and prevented firefighters from providing much-needed emergency response.
 | Exposed Outdoor
Decontamination Station |
During the decades-long expansion, Fire-Rescue strove for universal inclusion, trying to be reflective of the City’s ethnic composition. As the “Glass Ceiling” dissolves, women are successfully filling positions at all levels. Sleeping and restroom facilities in many of the stations do not provide the needed gender separation for the Department’s diverse workforce. Webster spoke to the embarrassment suffered by firefighters, male and female, having to “wash down in slapped-together outdoor decontamination stations in full public view.”
The stations are going to be upgraded - there is no alternative. The only question that the Bond Issue will answer is how they will be paid for. If the Bond Issue doesn’t pass, every current resident will see an additional tax increase - almost immediately. People who move to the city after the stations are upgraded will get a free pass. Mayor Naugle explained, “The Bond Issue provides for a more equitable alternative. It will allow the expense to be treated like a mortgage. The future residents of Fort Lauderdale will also contribute to the improvements that they will benefit from. The financial load will be shared by current and future beneficiaries alike” - relieving the current residents of having to foot the bill alone. This is a no-brainer. The Mayor, the Fire-Rescue officials and Galt Mile Community Association Advisory Board members are all on the same page - vote YES to the Fire-Rescue Bond Issue (Ballot Question 4).
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Other Fort Lauderdale Ballot Questions
 Mayor Naugle addressed the other Fort Lauderdale Questions on the November 2nd ballot. Ballot Question 1 is, “Should the Charter of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, be amended to authorize the City Commission to appoint and supervise commission assistants?” The Mayor feels that the City Commissioners should be able to hire their own staff. We agree. The second Ballot Question is, “Should the Charter of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, be amended to provide for the appointment of a City Auditor who shall report directly to the City Commission and be responsible for conducting financial and compliance audits of City Government and City Officials?” The Mayor thinks that this is also a good idea. However, when the Mayor was asked whether or not this might be construed as the Commission financially policing itself, he admitted the dilemma. In response, he offered that control over the audit could be “a very effective tool in the hands of the Commission.” The City Auditor is currently under the control of the City Manager. Vote your conscience. Ballot Question No.3 asks, “Should the Charter of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, be amended to require that any conveyance of City-owned land zoned Park in accordance with the City’s Unified Land Development Regulations or the removal of such zoning designation be approved by a unanimous vote of the entire City Commission?” Absolutely - the city’s parks should enjoy “lock box” style protection. Requiring a unanimous vote instead of a simple majority to transform “Public Trust” assets into commodities substantially raises the bar to an unsavory “exchange” of assets. Theoretically, the benefit to liquidating Park land should be universally transparent before being permitted. Again, we agree with the Mayor that this inures to the public benefit. Question 4 is the Fire-Rescue Bond Issue (Click Here for a complete analysis of the Fire-Rescue Bond Issue).
Taxes and the City
 Mayor Naugle favorably compared the strength of Fort Lauderdale’s $20 Billion Tax Base to those of other Florida Cities (Click Here for Tax Base Table). The Mayor stated, “Our Tax Base, the strongest municipal Tax Base in Florida, is roughly equal to Miami’s with half Miami’s population. We recently surpassed Tampa in taxable value and are ahead of Orlando and Saint Petersburg.” The Mayor also noted that we have the dubious distinction of being the most heavily taxed urbanites in Florida, primarily due to Fort Lauderdale’s generous employee compensation packages absorbing roughly 75% of tax dollars. While the recent budget crunch has imbued the municipal work environment with tension and uncertainty, city employees here enjoy the most lucrative remuneration in the State (See Table Below). After extolling the quality of our employees, the Mayor intimated that getting a handle on labor costs would go a long way to muting the tax bite.
Total Compensation (Police & Firefighters)
| Major Florida Municipality |
Police Officers |
Firefighter - Paramedic |
| |
|
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| Fort Lauderdale |
$97,990 |
$100,952 |
| Miami |
$86,210 |
$111,651 |
| Jacksonville (Duval) |
$61,303 |
$59,841 |
| Tampa |
$79,248 |
$66,527 |
| Orlando |
$88,809 |
$94,837 |
| Saint Petersburg |
$86,243 |
$105,543 |
| Hialeah |
$72,618 |
$83,844 |
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Ongoing Wage and Salary Survey For Police Officers and Firefighters
Top Cities - 10 years
Source: Focus on Fort Lauderdale
 The Mayor stated that the Galt Mile’s contribution to Fort Lauderdale’s tax structure is proportionately shrinking. “As new construction comes online in high growth neighborhoods, the percentage elicited from stable communities such as the Galt Ocean Mile diminishes.” Before you nourish a warm fuzzy feeling, understand that we still contribute as much as the downtown business district and receive embarrassingly fewer resources than we give. While this is not likely to change anytime soon, we do appreciate the Mayor’s effort to keep our neighborhood abreast of the current issues that concern us!
Click Here to access the Fire-Rescue Bond Referendum page on the City of Fort Lauderdale Web Site. If you would like to send an email to the Mayor concerning the Bond Issue, Click Here!
Click Here to access detailed review of the Fire-Rescue Bond Issue form “Focus on Fort Lauderdale”. Click Here to access a sample Broward County General Ballot.
Click Here for the answers to the Fort Lauderdale Election Day Questions! The Election results and their impact are reviewed. Click Here to access the Broward County Supervisor of Elections Web Site and Here to view the raw Election Results for Broward County.
Tax Base Benchmarks in Major Florida Cities
Major Florida
Municipality |
2003
Population |
Total Taxes
Levied |
2003 Taxes
(Per Person) |
| |
|
|
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| Fort Lauderdale |
167,000 |
$95,174,434 |
$569.91 |
| Miami |
366,496 |
$166,338,250 |
$453.86 |
| Jacksonville (Duval) |
765,826 |
$348,061,136 |
$454.49 |
| Tampa |
311,880 |
$119,401,358 |
$382.84 |
| Orlando |
194,913 |
$74,507,570 |
$382.26 |
| Saint Petersburg |
250,354 |
$71,115,152 |
$284.06 |
| Hialeah |
231,270 |
$48,521,124 |
$209.80 |
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Source: State of Florida
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 Fire-Rescue Bond Issue:
One Way or Another
Bond Referendum Set for November 2nd Ballot
 | | Mayor Naugle |
October 22, 2004 - At the October 21st GMCA Advisory Board meeting, Mayor Jim Naugle explained the importance of passing the Fire-Rescue Bond Referendum on November 2nd. Of all the ballot issues affecting life in Fort Lauderdale, this will have the most direct impact on every resident. Its passage can shave minutes off the critical response time for our Firefighters and Emergency Service Personnel. Our lives, and those of our families, are the table stakes.
In a Nutshell
The importance of these upgrades dictate that they be implemented one way or another. The only question is how they will be paid for! If the expense is built into our taxes, the cost will be borne only by the current taxpaying residents. Passage of the Bond Issue will allow the cost to treated like a mortgage expense, paid over 20 years by the future residents as well - creating a more equitable method of paying for the necessary construction. Present and future residents benefitting from the modernization will bear the cost. Keep this in mind as you read about the actual improvements...
The following information is a compilation of a correspondence from the Mayor’s office, an article in “Focus on Fort Lauderdale” (the City’s newsletter) and the City of Fort Lauderdale web site. The choice is simple, either we will foot the bill right now - or the expence will be shared by future residents as well. In light of the recent tax increase required to bail the city out of its budget woes, this is a no-brainer. Please read what’s at stake and vote your conscience. The Galt Mile Community Association endorses passage of this Bond Issue.
Here’s the Deal
Saving lives and property requires vital fire-rescue equipment, vehicles, protective gear, an adequate and efficient infrastructure to effectively support an evolving Fire-Rescue Department that serves a growing population.
The City of Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Department has been saving lives and protecting property since 1912. Today, the department consists of a diverse workforce of more than 400 sworn employees who work from 12 stations. The Fire-Rescue facilities are operating at a deficient level of capacity and do not meet standards required to house equipment and workforce efficiently and safely.
On November 2nd, Fort Lauderdale residents will have an opportunity to make a long-term investment in their Fire-Rescue services by approving a $40 million Fire-Rescue Bond Referendum. The bond will enable the Department to replace nine deficient Fire-Rescue stations and add one new station to the southeast section of the City.
Challenges Facing The Stations
 | | TIGHT QUARTERS |
The City of Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Department responds to all fire, medical and hazardous materials emergencies within the City. With new advances in fire prevention, life saving equipment, and building codes, the need for emergency medical services and personnel has risen steadily since the department’s inception. The City’s firefighters serve more than 168,000 residents and a daytime population of more than 300,000 workers, commuters and visitors. Firefighters spend approximately one-third of their careers (120 days a year) living 24 hours in one of 12 stations. | | NARROW STATION BAY |
Today’s fire-rescue services consist of more emergency vehicles that are larger in size, additional life-saving equipment and protective clothing and an expanded and diverse workforce.
The original stations can no longer support the Fire-Rescue services of today because they have:
Inadequate Storage: All stations lack the adequate storage space to safely house medical supplies, protective clothing and life-saving equipment. The photo on the above left demonstrates how two firefighters are unable to quickly retrieve their gear for a call. Inadequate Equipment and Vehicle Quartering: Many Fire-Rescue vehicles barely fit in the station bays. Vehicle doors hit the walls causing damage to the vehicles and hindering access to them. This can impact safety and response time. The photo on the right shows how the stations do not house the newer equipment efficiently.  Insufficient Workforce Capacity: The stations are too small to accommodate the number of personnel needed to respond to the increased call volume. Today, the stations are housing nearly twice as many firefighters than they were originally built to accommodate. In addition, the stations do not support the diversity of the workforce, which now includes male and female fire-rescue personnel. Gender separation in sleeping and bathroom quarters is needed.
| | EXPOSED WIRING |
Outdated facilities: Today’s stations are not equipped with the infrastructure to accommodate adequate work areas that require computers and other types of technology. All the recent technological advances that would normally serve to expedite response cannot be accomodated in the cramped existing physical area available for them. This creates inefficient work areas and potential safety hazards a result of exposed wiring and electrical panels, as shown in the photo on the right. | Exposed Outdoor
Decon Stations |
Insufficient decontamination facilities: Current stations are too small to accommodate designated decontamination areas to wash down gear, equipment and personnel. Outdoor stations were constructed to meet federal safety guidelines, however they offer no privacy for the firefighters, are accessible to the public and are an eyesore in the neighborhoods. Every outdoor decontamination experience, often necessary to protect the lives of the firefighters, is an embarrassment for the personnel and the public alike!
How Will Citizens Benefit From The Bond?
 | | Exam and Treatment Room |
The needs of the City’s communities and its citizens remain the first priority for the Fire-Rescue Department. In keeping with that philosophy, the department has designed its new stations to be more community friendly.
 | | New Community Room |
Each of the new stations will include two new rooms to help serve the community needs. The new stations will include a medical examination and treatment room (pictured at left) to treat walk-in patients who have minor emergencies or need blood pressure screenings.
A multi-purpose room (shown at right) will be available for community meetings and in-service fire training.
While these improvements will make the Stations more community-friendly, the greatest benefit to the citizenry will be the greater efficiency to be built into the system, resulting in life-saving minutes shaved of the critical response time!
To Renovate Or Rebuild
Expanding facilities will increase the Fire-Rescue system capacity. Renovating the current stations to accommodate the growing needs of the department is, in most cases, more costly than rebuilding the station. Because existing facilities have already been modified to their maximized capacities, further modifications would require costly and inefficient remodeling that would not effectively accommodate the current needs. In keeping with building codes, to plan efficiently, cost effectively and responsibly for current and future needs, rebuilding the already maximized stations is the most responsible - and least expensive - approach.
What Is The Cost To Residents For the Fire-Rescue Bond?
The Fire-Rescue Bond Referendum is a General Obligation Bond that is regulated by the State of Florida. The cost of the Fire-Rescue Bond Referendum for Fort Lauderdale residents with an assessed property value of $200,000 and a homestead exemption of $25,000 would be $30 per year, or eight cents per day, for 20 years. This figure is based on the average Fort Lauderdale property value. For more information about costs and taxes for specific properties, please call the City's Finance Department at (954) 828-5615.
The Bond At A Glance
With the passage of the Fire-Rescue Bond Referendum, the City of Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Department will be able to:
Construct nine Fire-Rescue stations and add a new station to the southeast area of the City (south of the New River, east of Andrews Avenue and north of 17th Street). Relocate Station 29 and construct a new station on property already purchased on East Sunrise Boulevard. Combine Stations 53 and 88 and construct a new station that will also house the Emergency Operations Center, Special Operations and Training Bureau and the Hazardous Materials Unit. Construct new Stations 3, 13, 46, 47, 49 and 54 on present sites. Purchase property to relocate and rebuild Station 35 or rebuild a new station on current site. Construct new stations with hurricane resistant building materials. Enhance fire-rescue station domestic security with new security systems. Construct new stations indoor decontamination rooms to clean uniforms and protective clothing. Construct new stations with a designated bunker gear room that is secure. Construct new stations with separate bathroom and sleeping areas for male and female personnel.
The Timetable
| | Station 54 at NE 32nd Street |
Click Here to view a “Station Map” showing the locations of the various Fire-Rescue Stations. Stations 13, 49 and 54 are on the Barrier Island. The construction timetable for the impending project is as follows:
Phase 1 - Stations 29, 47, 53 and 88 will be built in 2005. Phase 2 - Stations 46, 49 and 54 will be built from 2006 - 2009. Phase 3 - Stations 3, 13 and 35 will be built from 2009 - 2012.
To volunteer your time or for more information about the Bond, please contact Alison Hibbert by e-mail at ahibbert@fortlauderdale.gov or by phone at (954) 828-4749.
Click Here to access the Fire-Rescue Bond Referendum page on the City of Fort Lauderdale Web Site. If you would like to send an email to the Mayor concerning the Bond Issue, Click Here!
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“Fort Lauderdale” Questions
Asked - Answered
November 4, 2004 - On November 2nd, Fort Lauderdale affirmatively answered the four questions asked on the Broward County General Ballot - a resounding YES! The official inquiries posed to the electorate were a necessary prerequisite to altering the Fort Lauderdale City Charter. Now that the citizenry of Fort Lauderdale has assented to the amending the Charter, city officials can proceed with the housekeeping required to implement the issues framed in the questions. What does this mean? For example, the Charter designates the City Manager as the official responsible for selecting the Commission assistants and aides. Commissioners agree that they are, in fact, capable of choosing their own assistants despite the language in the City Charter. In order to transfer this “hiring authority” from the City Manager to the City Commission, the language in the Charter had to be changed. The Fort Lauderdale City Charter, a municipal Constitution of sorts, cannot be changed without consent by the voters of the “Venice of America”. Since “permission” was given on Election Day, City Commissioners will henceforth choose their own aides, control the City Auditor and safeguard City Park land. The cost of modernizing Fire-Rescue's dilapidated facilities will be equitably shared by all. On the whole, it was a productive day for our fair city.
 | SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
DR. BRENDA SNIPES |
OK...what happened at the polls? The results from the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, Dr. Brenda C. Snipes, reflect 124 precincts (100%) tabulated. Question 1 asked if the City Commissioners could select their own assistants. As mentioned, that task was previously performed by the City Manager. Surprisingly, the vote was relatively close, with 32,803 (54.15%) positive and 27,770 (45.85%) negative responses. Apparently, many voters were confused by the question, “Should the Charter of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, be amended to authorize the City Commission to appoint and supervise commission assistants?” Voters thought that the Commissioners were asking for permission to hire additional assistants immediately, thereby inflating the city’s hefty payroll during the budget crunch. In fact, no such intention exists. The question refers to assistants that will be retained in the future. Question 2 transfers control of the City Auditor’s Office from the City Manager to the City Commission. Despite a marginal controversy because it envisions the Commission financially policing itself, the issue passed with landslide support, 47,421 (77.58%) vs. 13,701 (22.42%). Question 3 positioned the Commission to offer better protection for our City Parks, requiring a unanimous vote by the City Commission to alter the protective zoning of City Park land. This effectively invests every Commissioner with a veto power over any suspicious arrangement that threatens “Public Trust” park assets. The question passed with 45,553 (74.59%) YEAS vs. 15,522 (25.41%) NAYS.
The Fire-Rescue Bond Issue, Question 4 on the Ballot, enjoyed heavy support by city officials, neighborhood associations (including the Galt Mile Community Association), residents, businesses and municipal employees. It passed by a 2 to 1 plurality, with 42,209 (66.68%) YEAS and 21,096 (33.32%) NAYS. It relieves current city taxpayers of the full financial burden posed by the modernizing of our antiquated Fire-Rescue facilities. Its mortgage-like structure will “spread the pain” equitably to both future and current residents. Simply put, everyone that benefits from the upgrade will participate in its financing! The question met with minor resistance from some realtors and the “time-share” industry because those “future residents” with whom the cost will be shared comprise their customer base. Additional expenses for Fire-Rescue facilities or anything else are additional obstacles that interfere with attracting new business for Realtors.
Passage of the Fire-Rescue Bond referendum yielded a serendipitous benefit. Owing to the City’s budgetary woes, bond rating agencies have cut the precious rating assigned to the City of Fort Lauderdale. The diminished rating makes it more expensive for the city to raise money in the secondary market. Any demonstration of fiscal stability will encourage a positive reevaluation of the risk factor that determines the City’s rating. The sensible financing structured in the Fire-Rescue Bond Issue will serve as a palliative to those that pass judgment on the municipality’s fiscal health - a step in the right direction.
To inform yourself about the Fort Lauderdale issues decided on Election Day, Click Here. For details concerning the critical Fire-Rescue Bond referendum, Click Here. Click Here to read the Fort Lauderdale City Charter. If you want to review the raw election data from the Broward County Supervisor of Elections web site, Click Here. The Galt Mile Community Association wishes to thank all of our residents for VOTING ON ELECTION DAY. When we vote, we stay strong!
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“Do it Yourself ” Urban Development
Park Permit Hijinx
October 22, 2004 - On October 21st, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle told Galt Mile Community Association Advisory Board members that an affirmative answer to Fort Lauderdale Ballot Question No. 3 on Election Day would help protect precious park areas throughout the city. The Question, “Should the Charter of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, be amended to require that any conveyance of City-owned land zoned Park in accordance with the City’s Unified Land Development Regulations or the removal of such zoning designation be approved by a unanimous vote of the entire City Commission?” Since each Commissioner represents a different area or “district” of Fort Lauderdale, passing this amendment would give the Commissioner whose park space was at risk a “veto” over its loss or “transformation”. That Commissioner would then have to explain to constituents why the loss of valuable “green space” was allowed - no wiggle room. The Mayor is right. If park space in a particular district is to be forfeit, the benefit to the City should be so self-evident and all-encompassing that the representative Commissioner will be comfortable explaining the loss to constituents.
 | | SE 13th STREET MEDIAN BEFORE CONSTRUCTION OF PARKING LOT |
Ironically, a recent incident questioned the efficacy of this amendment. Galt Mile residents aren’t the only unfortunates that are unceremoniously awakened to the soft strains of construction equipment. It happens throughout the “Venice of America”. On Southeast 13th Street in Poinciana Park, the inhabitants awoke one July morning to find a tree-dotted median park being noisily transformed into a parking lot. The grassy street medians that afford that neighborhood some “green space” are generally used by joggers and dog walkers. The residents of the neighborhood didn’t ask for the 15-space parking lot. They preferred the greenery. A Broward County powerbroker, Hamilton Forman, wanted the parking lot.
The resilient real estate investor who’s Charter School of Excellence (currently serving as Secretary of the school’s Board of Directors) lies adjacent to the parking lot (as well as his church), applied for a permit to accommodate their parking needs. The neighborhood, zoned for residential and commercial use, is home to some influential county icons including Broward Circuit Judge Kathleen Ireland and Broward County Mayor Ilene Lieberman’s law practice. Not coincidentally, the area is also home to Ham Forman’s Way, a tribute street that meanders through Poinciana Park to SE 11th Street.
Local residents were never consulted about their median park’s conversion into an asphalt strip. Angry community activists are engaged in a whirlwind of damage control, contacting and meeting with City officials to reverse what they consider to be a perversion of the permit process. They want their park back. Intransigent, Forman responded that, “I have no intention of giving up those spaces. I personally have parked in those medians there for 75 years.” The cost to Forman for the construction was $8000 plus a few bucks for the permit. He asserted, “I regard my ability to park there as kind of a constitutional right.”
 | PATRIARCH HAMILTON WITH
AUSTIN AND COLLINS FORMAN |
83 year-old Hamilton Forman once owned most of Davie. He is probably the individual most responsible for West Broward’s explosive growth. He sued the State to prevent the Florida Turnpike from being built on its originally intended site, the corridor currently occupied by Interstate 95. Instead, he maneuvered the Turnpike’s placement further west to snake through his land, eliciting additional overpasses and exits that provided the access required for West Broward’s ultimate development. Nova Southeastern University and the four Nova public schools were built on Forman’s land and financed, in large part, through his efforts - in recognition for which Blanch Forman Elementary School was named after his mother. Forman fostered the growth of the North Broward Hospital District, engineering the construction of the North Broward, Imperial Point and Coral Springs medical centers. Forman also developed Broward’s first County Charter, wherein the powers and responsibilities of county government are delimited. During his 55 years as a shaper of worlds, he has sponsored a huge collection of elected officials who are a phone call away. Campaign support in the form of professional advisors, poll workers and buckets of money has inflated Forman’s political black book to unparalleled stature. As such, he has cultivated a crop of new “power brokers”, all indebted to Forman. The community activists trying to reclaim their green space have their hands full.
Although the Ballot Question amendment would enable a City Commissioner to slam the front door on an unsupportable loss of “Public Trust” park land, this incident outlines an elephant-size loophole that effectively subverts the amendment’s intention. There is no need to change the zoning designation of a park when anyone can apply for (and receive) a permit to legally construct self-serving projects on city-owned park property. Using the permit process as a fast track to “back-door” the loss of green space sets a dangerous precedent. Genia Ellis, president of the Council of Fort Lauderdale Civic Associations, explained, “It tells you that any area in a neighborhood can basically be acquired for private use through a permitting process; the public isn’t even queried on it.” What use is providing Commissioners with de facto veto power over zoning indiscretions if a permit will provide the applicant with permission to build a parking lot, or anything else, on park land?
Again, the Mayor is correct in supporting this amendment. It’s a laudable first step. However, city officials would do well to consider plugging this permit loophole before they come to City Hall one day and find construction of a toxic waste dump underway in Stranahan Park!
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A King’s Loophole Gets Plugged!
 February 20, 2005 - The King’s Loophole - a bedtime story. Once upon a time during the summer of ‘04, a very powerful figure in the County of Broward decided that he wanted a parking lot across the street from an establishment with which he had an affiliation. This County Icon served on the Board of Directors of an exclusive private Charter School called the harter School of Excellence<. Down the block from his Charter School was his Church, the First Christian Church of Fort Lauderdale at 201 SE 13th Street. The School and the Church were nestled in a beautiful residential boulevard with a park-like median separating the alternating lanes of traffic. Community residents took long walks along the grassy median. It set the tone for the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the powerful man decided that he would prefer a parking lot for easy access to his School and his Church. Despite the “No Parking” signs, the influential man illegally parked on the median for years. He unabashedly demolished the wooden barriers that the City foolishly emplaced to deter parking on the grass. In fact, at a September 20th Planning and Right-of-Way Committee meeting, he announced, “The first time (the city) put some in front of the church, I went out and got a sledgehammer and knocked ‘em down.” Having wearied of destroying City property while parking his car... he built the lot ...on the grassy median... that the City owned.
Coincidentally, the City was promoting the passage of a new ordinance. This ordinance said that City-owned Park land couldn’t be bartered without the unanimous consent of the City Commission. Giving every Commissioner a veto over the injudicious use of valuable green space would protect the precious dwindling naturescape. In fact, a special referendum in the form of a ballot question posed to the City’s electorate confirmed that 74.59% of the City’s residents wanted the City Commission to have this power; they agreed that no one should be able to capriciously adulterate their green space.
When this influential man’s Poinciana Park neighbors saw that their median was gone - replaced by a parking lot - they went to City Hall and complained, “Someone covered our grassy median with asphalt!” On October 17th, they told the Mayor and the City Commission, “We don’t want the parking lot; we want our park-like median back.” City officials said, “Bedebeep bedebop bedeboop, hmmm... we didn’t know blah blah...!” But...there it stayed...hard, black and sticky.
| PATRIARCH HAMILTON WITH
AUSTIN AND COLLINS FORMAN |
Octogenarian Hamilton Forman once owned most of Davie. During a long and prosperous career, he fostered the development of West Broward, engineered the growth of the North Broward Hospital District, helped finance the Nova Educational Complex (which was built on his land) and shaped the original Broward County Charter. A classic powerbroker, Forman’s influence was more than adequate to blacktop the median occupying the place he wanted to park... even if it did belong to the public. His rationale was simple, “I regard my ability to park there as kind of a constitutional right.”
In view of just having passed their “park-protecting” ordinance, the City Commission was placed in the awkward position of explaining this inequity. If an “average” citizen could circumvent the process and use park property (or street medians) for a personal agenda simply by applying for a “permit” to do so, the new ordinance would appear as a useless bit of political fluff. The Poinciana Park Civic Association decided to raise hell about the dangerous precedent. They enlisted the aid of Genia Ellis, president of the Council of Fort Lauderdale Civic Associations. She framed the loophole as, “It tells you that any area in a neighborhood can basically be acquired for private use through a permitting process; the public isn’t even queried on it.” As neighborhood associations throughout the City became aware of the travesty, their survival instincts led them to offer their support to Poinciana Park. After all, this could just as easily have happened to any one of them!
The City decided to act. Having carefully investigated and properly navigated the loophole, Ham Forman’s median transformation was accomplished legally. By using the tactic of securing a simple building permit as authorization for his plan, he avoided the public scrutiny that he would have been subject to had he brought his intentions before the City Commission and the Mayor. When queried about reconsidering his actions, he made it clear that he was not predisposed to returning the median to its original state. “I have no intention of giving up those spaces. I personally have parked in those medians there for 75 years.” The writing on the wall read, “Too little, too late”. The community would have to acclimate to the asphalt. Walkers and joggers would have to find another route. The battle was lost.
But not so the war! If Poinciana Park would be forced to bear the asphalt scar, it wouldn’t be for nothing. The defeated but irate community vowed to prevent this loophole from being used again to injure some other unsuspecting neighborhood. They would plug the loophole. On January 12, 2005, Poinciana Park Civic Association President Karl Gloekner notified the City that they were throwing in the legal towel. However, they requested that an ordinance amending the City Charter’s Chapter 25-100 right-of-way permits, “include appropriate wording to ensure input and review of all proper channels, including but not limited to: adjacent property owners, Civic/Homeowner Association, Property and Right-of-Way (PROW), Planning & Zoning, DRC, BOA, Parks & Recreation, Code Compliance and Commission as appropriate.”
| NEW CITY MANAGER
GEORGE GRETSAS |
The next day (January 13th), City Manager George Gretsas sent Memorandum 05-101 to the Mayor and the 4 other City Commissioners recommending that they “approve the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 25-100 right-of-way permits...” In Gretsas’ memo, he outlines the process in which “permits issued for conversion of landscaped medians into parking areas or travel lanes be approved by the City Engineer, only after review by the City’s Property and Right-of-Way Committee (PROW) at a meeting for which the public is given notice and an opportunity to comment.” In addition to posting signs identifying the PROW agenda - including the meeting time, place and subject - notices will be mailed to the relevant Homeowner/Business Association and to property owners within 300 feet of the intended alteration. After eliciting public input, the City Commission would be afforded the opportunity to adjudicate the desirability of the project and, if found worthy, issue a permit.
Unlike most stories that reflect a failure of our laws to protect us, this anecdote carries a message of hope. The system failed miserably. The victimized community that lost an irreplaceable asset will receive neither justice, restitution nor an apology. What, then, can be considered “positive” about this municipal molestation? Instead of quietly sweeping this nasty mess under a rug, the City Commission acted to prevent it from happening again. They reacted consistently with the rhetoric supporting their “ballot question” - to prevent our parks from being bargained away as political fodder. New City Manager George Gretsas could have pleaded “unfamiliarity” with the political food chain. Instead, he worked with the injured community in a sincere but futile effort to undo what was unjustly, yet legally, perpetrated. By enacting this ordinance, they’ve admitted that the City, not only the community, was victimized. On one side was an angry community that will be slow to forgive city officials for this legal manipulation on their watch. On the other was a cornucopia of political resources that could prove extremely useful on Election Day. Our municipal guardians opted to side with those they’ve sworn to protect, not with a re-election insurance policy. When our elected officials remind us why we elected them, we all get to share a warm fuzzy feeling.
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District 1 F.L.P.D. Review
by Major Mary N. Negrey
 | | MAJOR MARY NEGREY |
November 19, 2004 - On November 17th, Galt Mile’s Commissioner Christine Teel received a crime update for our neighborhood from Major Mary Negrey of Police District 1. Included in the report are the first steps taken towards revitalizing the budget-ravaged Police Department. Our new City Manager, George Gretsas, helped settle the new contract with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. He successfully traded the “longevity” provision wanted by the Union for new hires to fill budget-related vacancies. Commissioner Teel decided that this information should be shared with the affected community – us! As such, this is the original report as delivered to Commissioner Teel and forwarded to us. - Editor
To: Commissioner Christine Teel
In reviewing our statistical information in October, comparing to last October and the previous three months, we note a reduction of 23 part one crimes or - 12% Sept 04 to Oct 04. However, there was a 12% increase when comparing Oct 03 to Oct 04. For the first 2 weeks of November, we have reported a decline in the second week in virtually all part 1 crimes (except larcenies). Week to week changes do occur frequently, but our close monitoring of these help us direct our Tactical Officers quickly to address problems as they occur.
 | | Comm Teel |
Burglaries continue to be of concern, especially vehicular burglaries. Vehicular burglaries occur in any setting - mall parking, shopping center parking, restaurant parking lots, schools and aftercare parking or at your home. They occur all times of the day and during the night. Recently, the most problematic are those burglaries of vehicles along major roadways such as N. Federal Highway where someone parked their car and left valuables clearly visible from the outside in the passenger compartment. Commonly, the driver only ran inside a store for a short while (for example, just to get a cup of coffee). Frequently stolen items are laptops, purses, briefcases, and cell phones. We’ve been distributing flyers to businesses where more frequent occurrences have been reported, placing our mobile message board on heavily traveled roadways, issuing Beat Watches, covertly surveillance of targeted lots, and speaking at every opportunity to remind folks to be more aware and diligent when securing their belongings. (As an aside - I saw one of the news channels is doing a story on this tonight, I think it was channel 6 or 7 - I’ll have to watch for that!).
Over the last month, we also noted an increase in the number of burglaries of the kiosk’s inside the Galleria Mall. We have been using decoy officers to monitor the activity here. The burglaries are occurring just before the mall opens in the early morning hours. We’ve found that due to the continued construction of the shops inside the mall, many doors are open to allow worker (and possibly others) access. We have identified a suspect and continue with working towards making an arrest.
Traffic issues continue to be a significant concern. We request our Motor Unit to conduct traffic enforcement action on those sites when requested. The round-about at NE 15 Ave and NE 18 St. has been one where we have issued numerous warnings as well as citations. We are working with Traffic Engineering to suggest some changes to the intersection that we feel will resolve the problem of drivers failing to yield as they travel through that area.
We have started hiring Police Officers again after more than a year. We have hired 11 new Police Officers, 7 are in the Academy and 3 are certified (meaning they are already Police officers and will start training on the road immediately). Our background investigators continue to process applicants as quickly as possible so we can fill vacancies. Our current total sworn staffing will be 498 sworn and 49 PSAs [Public Safety Aides - editor]. We currently have 45 Police Officer vacancies (9%) and 6 PSA vacancies (12%). As we continue to bring our staffing levels back toward full strength, we will work to address community concerns, quality of life issues, traffic and crime in those creative and problem solving ways.
As we approach the Holiday Season, we ask that everyone work to keep themselves as well as their belongings safe and secure. We will continue to provide information to all our Homeowners Groups regarding tips on security, both personal as well as for your property.
Major Mary Negrey
We wish to thank Major Mary Negrey and Commissioner Christine Teel for their service to our community!
Click Here to access Commissioner Teel’s City of Fort Lauderdale web page. To email Commissioner Christine Teel, Click Here. Click Here to access Major Mary Negrey’s City of Fort Lauderdale web page or to email the Major, Click Here. Click Here to access links to the City of Fort Lauderdale Crime Statistics. To access links to the State of Florida crime statistics, Click Here!
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Let George Do It!
City Manager George Gretsas – the First 100 Days
November 22, 2004 - George Demetrios Gretsas was going about his business as the Mayor of White Plains’ strong right arm when a colleague handed him an advertisement taken from the New York Times. The “ad” described a nightmare employment opportunity in Fort Lauderdale - the City Manager position. Come to sunny South Florida - Fort Lauderdale has no money - low employee morale - contract disputes - budget crisis...etc. He immediately applied for the job for which he was ultimately chosen. This anecdote demonstrates the reason that the City Commission selected Mr. Gretsas over candidates that were academically and experientially more qualified. Mr. Gretsas thrives on challenges. Nonetheless, it didn’t disappoint the Commission when Mr. Gretsas remarked that his primary loyalty would be to “the elected officials” as opposed any particular constituency or city staff. Despite his lack of credentials as a City Manager, the City Commission’s gamble on his exuberance and intensity seems to be paying off.
| NEW CITY MANAGER
GEORGE GRETSAS |
Our new City Manager addressed the Galt Mile Community Association Advisory Board on November 18th. He summarized his first 100 days’ experience in the new position. His first major impact on City Hall was an expeditious reorganization of City government. Over the years, the city embarked on a program of consolidation, combining Departments to realize a financial benefit. Unfortunately, the city overzealously pursued this program to the point of gross inefficiency. Officials were charged with control of services outside their experience. According to Gretsas, “Department heads couldn’t properly organize or control in-house or field staff.” Bloated, poorly administered departments suffered from, “ineffective internal communications as well as poor communication with other Departments.” Mr. Gretsas instituted on an “anti-consolidation” effort, expanding the 9 City Departments into 16. After relieving the effects of overconsolidation, he imbued the heads of the reconstituted Departments with some clear and non-negotiable responsibilities. Gretsas elaborated, “Every Department head is required to enumerate their goals and objectives to the City Manager within 70 days.” Depending on their success or failure, this list of “expected accomplishments” becomes the springboard for either their advancement or dismissal. Serendipitously, Gretsas’ restructure of municipal departments to promote improved communication and control carried a rather pleasant side-effect - a $250,000 savings!
 | | F.L.P.D. GETS CONTRACT |
Contract disputes are anathema to productivity and morale. The City had little chance of maximizing its critical “Public Service” resources while City Police and Fire-Rescue personnel operated within an employment “fog”. The prolonged contract negotiations had dispirited the workforce and made budget projections impossible. Gretsas expeditiously achieved agreement between the City and its unions, refocusing the criteria for advancement from longevity to merit. The main determining factor for promotion would be, as required of Department Heads, one’s success in achieving their goals and objectives - not the static “time in” a particular position. The downside to guaranteeing a “job for life” is clearly visible at every level in every city department (or, for that matter, in any business where it proliferates!) Mr. Gretsas struck a balance among “job security”, merit-based advancement and the betterment of the overall Force. “We traded longevity for new hires,” he explained. In addition to budget-based morale problems, unfilled vacancies have placed additional responsibility and pressure on the rest of the Police Force. He continued, “Now that the contract is settled, employees know where they stand and the City has started to fill vacancies.” Gretsas said that he is “also adding 13 new positions.”
The City Manager pointed to another longstanding municipal quagmire. Apparently, staffing levels are being determined by the “gut feelings” of the various Department Heads. Dogmatically, when poor administrative decisions lead to departmental difficulties or excessive overtime, those in charge have a tendency to blame insufficient personnel. Gretsas intends to engage a Consultant with expertise in this area. This will allow City officials to determine whether or not the claim of being understaffed is credible or if it is a smokescreen for inefficiency or incompetence.
 | | WASTE MANAGEMENT - SOLE PROVIDER |
Another feather in Gretsas’ cap was the privatization of waste removal services within the city. The City of Fort Lauderdale shared the responsibility for trash collection with Waste Management, Inc. on a 40% - 60% basis. By dividing the work, the city was able to compare costs and control quality of service. Being “in the business” allowed the city to pass authoritative judgment on its partner’s performance. Gretsas carefully assessed Waste Managements’ potentially assuming sole collection responsibilities for the entire city. After satisfying himself that their record warranted “high marks” for their performance, his “package” to the private company included a $565,000 purchase of the City’s equipment and vehicles and directly hiring 14 sanitation employees currently working for the City. The estimated annual savings of $890,363 would be warehoused in a reserve fund pending the success or failure of the effort. Should Waste Management’s service levels deteriorate, the city wants to be able to reinitiate in-house collection. The roughly $4 million savings realized over the first 5 years would approximately equal the City’s startup costs should the experiment fail and require the City to reassume control. Gretsas said, “More likely, the program will be successful and the City will have some money socked away in a reserve fund.”
Upon arriving in Fort Lauderdale from New York, Mr. Gretsas applied for a permit to do construction on a deck. He got a taste of the frustration suffered by residents when facing the City’s permit process. After reviewing the problem, he decided that the dilemma needed attention in two areas. Anyone that has recently dealt with the Building Department will attest to the fact that they suffer from severe understaffing. Inspectors, investigators, reviewers, etc. will all confirm that the budget gaffe has crippled the department’s ability to function commensurate with current demand. As with other City Departments, Gretsas intends to reorganize the Building Departments’ staff. The City Manager also pointed out that “there are two categories of Building Department staff - the Community Inspections and the Construction Services personnel involved in the permit process.” Gretsas continued, “I intend to merge them into one unit, thereby speeding up the process. Once accomplished, the Department will be better prepared to focus on customer service.” Gretsas spoke optimistically of this occurring sometime soon. When questioned about the timing, he said that the Department was in the process of moving into improved accommodations…a new building. Unfortunately, the building “can’t currently pass inspection because the roof leaks.” Sometimes life is poetic.
 | | COUNTY CONTROLS CITY TRAFFIC |
Mr. Gretsas found the division of labor between the City of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County to be disconcerting. In White Plains, for instance, he was able to access “traffic central”, a room populated with “computers and monitors that actively reflected and controlled the City’s changing traffic patterns in real time.” Flow, compensation and emergency response were at his fingertips. In Fort Lauderdale, Broward County controls traffic within the city’s borders. He is therefore developing a working relationship with Broward County Administrator Roger Desjarlais - his county counterpart of sorts.  | | ROGER DESJARLAIS |
As the City’s “point man”, Gretsas has also assumed a leading role in settling the war with Broward County over control of Land Use. “Land Use” is a buzz word for development. While the political decisions for Fort Lauderdale rest with the Mayor and the City Commission and the Broward County Commission will similarly decide the County’s position, Gretsas will be working with Mr. Desjarlais behind the scenes. He stated that, “the City considers this to be a ‘Home Rule’ issue.” The Governor has already weighed in on this issue by canceling a piece of legislation that would have given the County’s municipalities complete control of development with their borders. Tallahassee has intimated that they want to see a settlement between the County and the cities. It now falls to the various city governments and the Broward County Commission to allow Desjarlais, Gretsas and other city managers to do the heavy lifting.
 | | OFFICER SCOTT RUSSELL |
Gretsas related an experience he had while returning to City Hall at 1 AM with Officer Scott Russell of the Homeless Outreach Team, the City’s “Homeless Squad” that receives special training in crisis intervention. Russell has distinguished himself as a paragon of Police relations with the Homeless, receiving an award for his model efforts in 2000 from the Florida Coalition for the Homeless. They found an 82-year-old World War II veteran living on the steps of City Hall. They awoke the “Homeless” vet and spoke with him at length. The vet wasn’t aware that he was entitled to a virtual buffet of benefits - including medical help - from the government. He didn’t return to the steps again the following evening. Gretsas decided to use the City Hall steps as a microcosm. If he “could keep the steps clear by helping those who wanted help and clearing out those who didn’t,” he could expand the formula throughout the city. It will be interesting to see if the new City Manager can keep his balance while walking a tightrope between improving the city’s image and avoiding a backlash by civil liberties proponents - a walk that former Mayor Rudy Giuliani successfully took in New York City.
 | CITY COMMISSION BUDGET MEETING
HUTCHINSON - NAUGLE - GRETSAS |
Whether the City Commission did an excellent job of scientifically selecting the new City Manager or simply “lucked out”, George Gretsas seems to be getting the job done. City Commission meetings are peppered with contentious distractions, often arising from personal disagreements among Commissioners. Anyone watching the Commission meetings in person or on Cable Channel 38 has seen Mr. Gretsas perform numerous “respectful interventions”, wherein he would encourage the Commissioners to focus on the issue being considered. Some of the benefits from Mr. Gretsas’ output, such as the new mood in the Police and Fire-Rescue Departments since the contract settlements, are obvious. New officers are filling vacancies, shaky shifts have been stabilized and the general sense that things are improving is slowly permeating City Hall. Other unexpected, yet positive, outcomes from his efforts are below the radar. During the City Commission’s second budget meeting on September 21st, some of the Commissioners questioned whether Fort Lauderdale could afford a departmental restructuring amid this belt-tightening environment. Several Commissioners were surprised to learn that the restructuring actually saved the City a quarter of a million dollars.
Since Fort Lauderdale was knee-deep in a sordid fiscal morass when Mr. Gretsas took control on August 2nd, he never experienced the usual “Honeymoon Period” afforded to municipal saviors upon entering the fray. A budget disaster, hurricanes, contract nightmares - and he’s still standing. An unasked question at the Advisory Board meeting was whether he could sustain this torrid pace? Unasked because of an anecdote he related early in the meeting. After the hurricane onslaught, he visited Punta Gorda, a city that was tragically lambasted. The dramatic distinction between the mind-boggling challenges faced by Punta |
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