November 14, 2011 - In an effort to reduce the effects of flooding, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1968. For the first time in 14 years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is preparing a comprehensive review of Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) flood zones throughout Broward County. To enable consistent comparisons of land and water elevations across the nation, the agency is using a more accurate mathematical constant, or “vertical datum” to calculate floodplain statistics. Federally regulated mortgage lenders require homeowners who live in high risk FEMA-designated flood areas to carry expensive flood insurance, which is erratically provided by the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program. Depending on the zone that FEMA assigns to an association property, its members will see their insurance rates either skyrocket or remain relatively level.

As indicated on previous local Flood Zone maps (which used to be available of the City of Fort Lauderdale website), some association beaches are in the flood zone while the structure is not. For other associations, the structure cohabits two zones, the financially preferable X zone and the V zone – which warrants a significant insurance cost. FEMA has long promised to convene a series of local public hearings to both explain their drafting parameters and solicit input. After repeatedly postponing these meetings, the huge Federal bureaucracy recently notified Broward County that three public hearings are planned for County residents.

HERB SKOLNICK CENTER IN POMPANO BEACH

The open public meetings were scheduled for November 14, 15 and 16 at south, central and north Broward locations. A meeting to accommodate south county residents was scheduled on November 14^th from 4 PM to 7:45 PM in the South Regional Library at 7300 Pines Boulevard in Pembroke Pines, Florida 33024. The central Broward meeting was scheduled for November 15^th from 4 PM to 8 PM at the Volunteer Park Community Center at 12050 West Sunrise Boulevard in Plantation, Florida 33322. The meeting for North Broward residents, which includes those living along the Galt Mile, was scheduled for November 16^th from 4 PM to 8 PM at the Herb Skolnick Center at 800 SW 36^th Avenue in Pompano Beach, Florida 33069.

Flood hazard areas on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) are each identified as a “Special Flood Hazard Area” (SFHA). The SFHA is defined as the area that will be inundated by a flood event having a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The 1-percent annual chance flood is also referred to as the “base flood” or “100-year flood”. SFHAs are labeled as Zone A, Zone AO, Zone AH, Zones A1-A30, Zone AE, Zone A99, Zone AR, Zone AR/AE, Zone AR/AO, Zone AR/A1-A30, Zone AR/A, Zone V, Zone VE, and Zones V1-V30. Although the properties within all of these zones are subject to NFIP’s floodplain management regulatory enforcement and mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements, zones with an “A” prefix are inland high-risk zones while zones with the “V” designation represent coastal areas burdened by additional hazards such as storm-induced waves.

CLICK TO ENLARGE NEW BROWARD FLOOD MAP

Moderate flood hazard areas, labeled Zone B or Zone X (shaded) are also shown on the FIRM, and are the areas between the limits of the base flood and the area inundated by a flood event having a 0.2-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The 0.2-percent annual chance flood is also referred to as the “500-year flood”. The areas of minimal flood hazard, which are the areas outside the SFHA and higher than the elevation of the 0.2-percent-annual-chance flood, are labeled Zone C or Zone X.

FEMA released some preliminary estimates for changes to the Flood Zone Maps in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County. Initial Broward County findings indicate that 53 percent, or roughly 265,781 of parcels in the county, were removed from the flood zones requiring insurance; 16 percent, or another 77,945 parcels, remain out of the flood zone; 25 percent, or about 121,989 parcels, remain in the flood zone; and 6 percent, or roughly 31,026, were added to the flood zone. According to preliminary Fort Lauderdale estimates, 8,612 parcels in the City will be added to the flood zone and 10,215 parcels will be removed.

After the series of public meetings, during a 90-day appeal process starting in December, local governments, property owners and tenants will have an opportunity to submit scientific or technical challenges to the proposed new flood elevations. Upon expiration of the 90-day appeal period in March of 2012, FEMA will resolve any remaining challenges and issue a Letter of Final Determination (LFD) by June of 2012. Once they receive the Letter of Final Determination, Broward County, the City of Fort Lauderdale and each of Broward’s 30 other municipalities will have six months to adopt a new or updated floodplain management ordinance based on the revised flood maps.

When the updated flood maps are officially adopted by December of 2012, they will be used to determine flood insurance purchase requirements, set flood insurance rates and establish minimum finished floor elevations for new construction and substantial improvements to existing structures. It is critical that Galt Mile residents make a credible case for exempting their associations’ parcels from the V, VE, V1 - 30 and other zone designations that would explode flood insurance rates and/or require expensive new construction modifications.

By adopting the new flood maps, Broward County hopes that FEMA will offer assistance during emergencies and provide federally backed flood insurance coverage to county residents. However, lawmakers bankrupted the program four times last year, creating havoc for potential home buyers whose lenders require flood insurance. Unless the Congress extends it again, NFIP funding is set to expire on November 18, 2011. Associations and their members who are forced to depend on the FEMA flood insurance program will be engaged in a crap shoot.

One of the main goals of this effort is to more accurately define the boundaries of flood hazard areas, which are determined by comparing flood elevations with digital elevation data. To ensure that all the elevations used are based on a common reference system, a FIRM must reference a single vertical datum. A vertical datum is a set of constants that defines a system for comparing elevations. If someone were to measure the height of the ground you are standing on, they would need a point of reference, or a zero (0.0) point, to measure from. A vertical datum establishes a consistent zero point so elevations can be compared with one another even if the elevation measurements are taken by different people at different times or in different parts of the state.

For many years, the zero point used throughout the United States was based on “mean sea level” at 26 separate tidal stations in the US and Canada. This datum was referred to as the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29). The main assumption used to create NGVD 29 – that water level is equal all along the coast and thus represents the same zero-point – later proved to be erroneous and was shown to create errors in the elevation data obtained using this datum. Using the outdated vertical datum, two different points measured at 0.0' NGVD 29 can have different actual elevations. That’s right - all the previous flood insurance payments billed to the owners of mortgaged properties were based on vapor. Since Broward County first applied the bogus NGVD 29 standard on October 4, 1997, insurance carriers bilked county property owners for untold $billions by using statistical smoke and mirrors.

On January 24, 2010, FEMA sent a memorandum to Broward County announcing that the new Flood Insurance Rate Maps scheduled for release in 2011 would be referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). Since it more accurately measures vertical elevation differences, FEMA plans to make the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) the official U.S. vertical datum. The letter further explained that NAVD 88 will be used to update existing FIRMs, which will result in an average difference of minus 1.51 feet (-1.51 ft.) between elevations shown on the new (2012) FIRM as opposed to the old (1997) FIRM. In a nutshell, this entire effort is an exercise in converting the old 1997 maps based on the 1929 data (NGVD 29) to the new maps based on the 1988 data (NAVD 88). For instance, if a building's finished floor elevation is shown on an existing elevation certificate as 10.0’ NGVD 29, subtracting the 1.51 average conversion factor roughly yields the new NAVD 88 elevation of 8.49’ (10.0’ [under NGVD 29] - 1.51 = 8.49’ [under NAVD 88]).

On the FEMA website, a resource record detail about NFIP Condominium Coverage reviews the eligibility requirements for an association’s flood insurance options. For associations in a high-risk flood zone, NFIP offers a Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (RCBAP), which insures all units in a condominium building under a single policy that requires only one deductible, creating a cost savings to unit owners. Since building coverage is provided on a replacement cost basis, to minimize uninsured losses, a co-insurance clause requires the condominium association to insure its building to at least 80 percent of the replacement cost value. While the policy makes available contents coverage for common areas and individual units, most associations hold their unit owners responsible for protecting their personal possessions via an individual HO-6 policy.

PARK SOUTH SIX CONDOMINIUM BEFORE FIRE

FEMA exhorts unit owners to closely scrutinize association insurance decisions. Specifically, FEMA states “If for any reason a condominium association elects to discontinue its RCBAP, individual unit owners may be responsible for covering flood damage. That is why having flood insurance and proper coverage is important for all residents living in condominium buildings, including high-rise condominiums. It doesn’t matter if you live on the first, third, or tenth floor, every unit owner has an undivided interest in the common elements of the building and can be assessed for unpaid damages to common areas even if their own unit remains undamaged. Also, condominium by-laws require all unit owners to be assessed for uninsured damages to common areas of a building if damaged by flood.” The 2010 missive was inserted into the FEMA library when the Park South Six Condominium in Lauderhill was barbecued soon after Board President Consywelia Howard cancelled their master insurance policy to save a buck, despite having collected the assessed premiums. Not exactly Consywelia’s finest hour. The unit owners lost everything.

For associations located outside designated floodplains, the National Flood Insurance Program’s Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) offers lower-cost protection for homes and apartments in areas of low to moderate flood risk. These areas are designated as B, C or X zones on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). Association properties newly mapped into a high-risk zone (e.g., labeled with A, AE, AO, AH or V, or VE on the flood maps) may temporarily preserve their prior low-risk PRP rate structure by applying for a two-year PRP rate extension and/or seek permanent relief by demonstrating eligibility for the NFIP Grandfather Rules.

Since the impending changes to floodplains and flood risks will drive changes in flood insurance requirements for some property owners, in publication number F-029 FEMA explores the possibility of accessing grandfathered NFIP flood insurance rates. Property owners and associations may be allowed to maintain the rate associated with the prior map’s flood zone if: 1) The flood insurance policy was bought before a new map became effective; or 2) The building was built to conform to standards of the earlier map.

The simplest way to grandfather a prior low-risk zone rate is to purchase a flood insurance policy before the new map takes effect and maintain coverage without a lapse. If a structure was built in compliance with the less exigent requirements in place at the time of construction, the zone and base flood elevation (BFE) that were in effect at that time can be used for future rating purposes. However, associations hoping to qualify must be prepared to submit proof that the structure was built in compliance with the flood map that was in effect at the time of construction. FEMA recommends that affected property owners or associations ask their insurance agents about the documentation they would need to be grandfathered to the old rates.

While the grandfather option may provide relief to associations that are suddenly mapped into a high-risk zone, disaster pundits have blamed NFIP’s shaky financial underpinnings on the agency’s lax collection policies. If political pressure forces the program to insure that properties in high-risk zones carry their weight, Congress could make these relief options disappear overnight. Since every beachfront Galt Mile association was “built to conform to standards of the earlier map,” we will also soon learn whether the Grandfather Option is a legitimate source of relief or a bureaucratic exercise in creative writing. The only permanent protection will auger from insuring that our associations are assigned to low-risk zones.

If Galt Mile associations can’t secure X zone status, we would confront an annual risk for $hundreds of thousands in additional flood insurance premiums. Since Broward County and the City of Fort Lauderdale must both adopt the new maps, we will have to depend on County Commissioner Chip LaMarca and City Commissioner Bruce Roberts to weigh in if FEMA’s NAVD 88 Vertical Datum saddles us with this additional financial burden - especially after learning that the expensive flood insurance premiums paid by millions of property owners for decades were a mandated gift to insurance industry shareholders.

Searchable Broward Map for Zone Assignments

Click on the parcel in the above graphic for info about how it was zoned under the new criteria (if map interactivity is temporarily down, check back later). To help save your association a bundle and dodge an unnecessary assessment, join your neighbors at the November 16, 2011 public meeting up the block at the Herb Skolnick Center in Pompano Beach from 4 – 8 p.m. The address is:

GMCA PRESIDENTS COUNCIL CHAIR PIO IERACI APPLAUDS PROJECT KICKOFF - Broward Comms SUE GUNZBERGER & KRISTIN JACOBS & former Hollywood Mayor MARA GIULIANTI

FORMER HOLLYWOOD MAYOR MARA GIULIANTI BROWARD COMMISSIONER KRISTIN JACOBS BROWARD COMMISSIONER SUE GUNZBERGER HALLANDALE BEACH MAYOR JOY COOPER AND DANIA BEACH VICE MAYOR PAT FLURY

August 9, 2011 - Six years after the Army Corps of Engineers finalized its environmental impact statement for Broward’s beach renourishment, the Mayors of Hollywood, Hallandale and Dania Beach threw a celebratory event marking commencement of the long delayed South Broward part of the Broward Shore Preservation project (Segment III) on May 6, 2005.

Following completion of the Segment III renourishment in March of 2006, monitors from Nova Southeast University Oceanographic Center and a coalition of outside engineers joined county scientists to begin examining the environmental effects of repairing the County’s shoreline from the Dade County line to John U. Lloyd State Park Beach. After an 18-month monitoring period, their report documented two species of coral Federally designated as “threatened” in 2006.

PORT EVERGLADES SAND BYPASS PLAN

A May 2007 project summary that reviewed the environmental and fiscal fallout of Segment III (south Broward beaches) and the outlook for Segment II (north Broward beaches) also touched on the Port Everglades Inlet Sand Bypassing Project – a separate but related adjunct to the County’s overall shore preservation strategy.

STEPHEN HIGGINS BEACH WIZZARD

Broward’s former Beach Administrator Stephen Higgins reported, “The County is investigating the feasibility of moving between 50,000 and 90,000 cubic yards of excess sand from the upland beach north of Port Everglades to a hot-spot location along south Hollywood and north Hallandale Beach.” Performing smaller, more frequent sand placements at erosion hot-spots would only require what he called “sands of opportunity,” relieving pressure on thinning dredge sites. Higgins also anticipated using erosion control structures to slow erosion along other coastal hot-spots. He said, “The County is currently monitoring the equilibration of the beach fill to ascertain any impacts that might occur to the nearshore hardbottoms from migrating sand.”

T-GROINS EXPOSED SOUTH OF PORT INLET

The sand bypass had a larger purpose. In contrast with past beach projects that were largely neglected once completed, the County planned a maintenance component to ensure the extended health of the rehabilitated beaches, thereby postponing the need for (and expense of) future renourishments. Although sand naturally migrates south along the coast, intermittent special attention to certain “erosion hot spots” that evacuate at an accelerated rate could slow the need for future full scale renourishments.

PORT EVERGLADES INLET SAND COVERS GROINS

By interrupting the alongshore movement of sand, stabilized inlets such as the Hillsboro Inlet and the Port Everglades entrance channel are responsible for 85% of beach erosion in Florida. Sand bypassing is a process by which sand is artificially captured on the updrift side of the inlet and transferred to downdrift beaches. The Port Everglades Sand Bypass Project will modify the Port Everglades inlet by constructing a 7.1-acre sand trap on the north side of the Port entrance channel to a depth of – 49 feet (below mean sea level), a depth comparable to that of the existing Port channel.

The purpose of the project is to reduce sand accumulation in the federal navigational channel and provide an opportunity to transport the sand to the beach south of the Port Everglades inlet by dredging the sand trap at 2 to 4 year intervals. After being transferred to the John U. Lloyd State Park beach, the sand would continue migrating down the coast.

FORMER COMMISSIONER CHRISTINE TEEL

In November of 2008, former District 1 Commissioner Christine Teel forwarded an email to GMCA officials about an agenda item from the November 13, 2008 Broward County Commission meeting. Entitled “Beach Erosion,” it divulged 1) how a sand shortage could delay the Fort Lauderdale (Segment II) renourishment, 2) the need to “reevaluate the Segment II project in the context of current economic and environmental conditions” and 3) a study update about “erosion control structures to be employed along the County’s shoreline to reduce the rates of erosion and help sustain our beach nourishment projects.”

One month earlier, Higgins attended an unpublicized meeting in Hollywood. Complaining that their recently renourished beaches had lost a few feet of sand, powerful South Broward business leaders and politicians pressed Higgins to leapfrog the project schedule and give their marginal erosion deficit priority over the Segment II renourishment. When Galt Mile residents learned that their sand was covertly coveted by Hollywood officials, they went ballistic.

MARA GIULIANTI, ELEANOR SOBEL AND SUE GUNZBURGER

In 2002, the south county Segment III part of the project was facing fierce opposition from pseudo-environmental groups hastily recruited by the Scuba Industry (which stood to lose $millions during the project’s planned temporary reef closures). Former Hollywood Mayor Mara Giulianti, District 6 Broward Commissioner Sue Gunzburger and Hollywood legislator Eleanor Sobel (former Statehouse Representative now in the Florida Senate) pleaded with Barrier Island beach communities to help them convince Tallahassee of the project’s necessity.

HOLLYWOOD BEACH COMMUNITY CENTER

The only substantial response came from the Galt Mile Community Association. On April 30, 2002, more than 150 residents of the Galt Ocean Mile (2 busloads) descended on a public hearing at the Hollywood Beach Community Center in support of the Army Corps of Engineers plan to renourish the County’s shrinking beaches. On May 13, 2003 (one year later), a contingent of eight Galt Mile residents flew to Tallahassee and testified at a Florida Cabinet hearing convened to ascertain whether the project should include Fort Lauderdale’s eroded beaches and if beach community homeowners supported the County plan. Their overwhelmingly favorable testimony elicited the Cabinet’s unanimous approval.

Indebted to their Galt Mile neighbors for the impending rescue of their eroded beaches, grateful South County officials promised to return the favor by pledging their support for Segment II (in Fort Lauderdale). In a bald-faced act of betrayal, these same politicians later launched a stealth campaign to hijack the sand earmarked for Fort Lauderdale’s beaches.

Anger over the attempt to usurp Segment II renourishment resources was exacerbated by its perpetration by the community’s supposed “allies”. Empathetic with Galt Mile civic leaders, on January 6, 2009, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission passed Resolution 9-11, Section 2 of which “requests that construction of the Segment II beach renourishment project be completed prior to any permit being issued for the construction of the Port Everglades Entrance Sand Bypass Project.”

FORMER FDEP SECRETARY MICHAEL W. SOLE

Things soon got worse. When Higgins failed to respond to inquiries about Segment II delays in 2008 and 2009, GMCA officials contacted then Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Secretary Michael Sole, who confirmed that Higgins’ Broward Biological Resources Division hadn’t responded to State Departmental inquiries for more than a year. While the two agencies were locked in this eerie limbo, the Federal and State permits authorizing the project expired.

Prior to proceeding with Segment II, Broward beach officials would first have to repeat the environmental testing required for a new federal permit. Since Michael Sole – by training an accredited Marine Biologist – worked with Higgins in Broward County prior to his FDEP appointment, he was familiar with the project’s scientific and engineering parameters. While a painful repetition of the federal permit process was unavoidable, Secretary Sole granted Higgins a 5-year State permit extension through June 4, 2014, saving County beach officials months of bureaucratic tedium. The extension proved to be a parting gift. A year later, Sole stepped down as FDEP chief while overseeing the State’s response to the Deepwater Horizon fiasco and accepted an offer from Florida Power & Light to serve as Vice President of their Governmental Affairs Department. Welcome to Florida!

BROWARD Administrator BERTHA HENRY

When public officials in Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Pompano Beach and other Segment II project stakeholders learned that the County fell asleep at the wheel, they went looking for scalps. Hoping to quell the exploding rancor, Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry sent a beach renourishment update to former Fort Lauderdale City Manager George Gretsas on May 27, 2010. She concluded her summary of beach project issues with the comment “Broward County-conducted beach construction in Segment II is targeted for November of 2011, pending completion of the engineering/design and permitting processes in a timely fashion.” Shortly afterwards, Beach Administrator Higgins announced that he would retire in 2011. Although he would continue as a consultant, his primary duties would be assumed by his boss, Deputy Director Eric Myers of Broward’s Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department.

ERIC MYERS

Apologizing for his predecessor’s enigmatic behavior, Myers twice told GMCA officials attending the February and May Presidents Council meetings “I understand that you have repeatedly been told that the project is scheduled for late 2011. I don’t believe that’s possible. Since we must first complete the Federal permit process and collect the State and Federal funds allocated to the project, a far more realistic target date is late 2013.”

Myers has also worked to diffuse local animosities and refocus the feuding parties’ objectives to rehabilitating the County’s beaches. Since 2008, City officials have repeatedly stonewalled County requests to implement the bypass project. With time, the angry reaction by Galt Mile officials to south county duplicity took a back seat to our shared objective - restoring the beach.

Rather than repeatedly relocate mountains of sand whenever tidal erosion shrinks the beach, planners engineered the project around sustainability. Designed to mesh with the natural southerly migration of sand along the shore, each of the interdependent plan segments lends stability to the overall shoreline. The soundness of each segment depends on the integrity of adjacent segments with special attention to “erosion hot spots”. In short, since Hollywood sand migrates from Fort Lauderdale, delaying Segment II also threatens Hollywood’s beaches.

CITY COMMISSIONER BRUCE ROBERTS

When Myers pitched the bypass at the May 17, 2011 Fort Lauderdale City Commission meeting, Commissioners salted some additional factors into the County formula. Commissioner Bruce Roberts told Myers that Galt Mile residents – whose staunch project advocacy was grounded in the belief that a healthy beach was critical to the area’s economy – have been waiting since 1998 for the County to make good on promises to renourish the Segment II beaches. Roberts insisted that its economic impact on both tourism and area businesses be incorporated into project protocols for cost effectiveness. Recalling that the last load of sand was deposited on the Diplomat Hotel beach, Commissioner Romney Rogers concluded that Fort Lauderdale should receive the next available infusion of sand.

FSBPA PRESIDENT DEBBIE FLACK

According to President Debbie Flack of the Florida Shore and Beach Preservation Association, Commissioner Bruce Roberts is on the money. Flack confirms that every dollar spent on beach restoration yields an $8 return in tourism income. Roberts’ recommendation recognizes that beach-driven tourism is one of the healthiest sectors of the State’s unstable economy.

And then came Charlotte. Instead of locating a sand catchment devise north of the inlet, Commissioner Rodstrom suggested using the Port’s entrance channel as a sand trap - which could be dredged when shipping began piling up in the increasingly impacted channel. Senior Engineer and Vice President Christopher Creed of Olsen Associates, Inc., a specialty engineering firm retained by Broward County, diplomatically exclaimed “I am not aware of any federal navigation channels that are used in that way.”

HOLLYWOOD MAYOR PETER BOBER

After almost four years of infighting, it appears that north and south county beach municipalities finally realize that the alternatives to working together are unacceptable. Since the initial rift in 2008, Hollywood Mayor Peter J.M. Bober offered two reasons why Hollywood won’t benefit from placing their interests above those of Fort Lauderdale. While admitting that there are places in Hollywood where the ocean abuts the seawall, sand conserved from the bypass wouldn’t reach them for years. Stressing the importance of maintaining municipal collegiality, he added “Hollywood is not interested in doing anything that would give us any unfair advantage or cause any detriment to Fort Lauderdale residents or the City’s reputation.” The politically correct rhetoric aside, Bober knows that if the project is frozen by another conflict, everyone loses.

If the parties fail to reunite behind assurances from Eric Myers, Fort Lauderdale and Pompano beaches will remain skeletal and beaches in Hollywood and Hallandale will quickly surrender their newly infused sand to tidal erosion. Accessing ever-tightening Federal funds and circumventing a Tallahassee Administration that wiped renourishment funds from the State budget will require the combined political muscle of every stakeholder. In addition to rehabilitating Broward’s muddied credibility and coalescing coastal municipalities behind the project, Myers is actively lobbying support from every beachfront neighborhood.

SAINT SEBASTIAN CHURCH

His next informational meeting about the sand bypass is scheduled for 7 PM on August 17^th in the St. Sebastian Parish Hall at 2000 SE 25^th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. While Myers details the project’s overview, construction methods and environmental protections, attendees will likely be focused on the oversized storyboards behind the speaker. They dramatically contrast the healthy beach north of the inlet with the limp ribbon of sand to the south. The stated purpose of the meeting is “to review the current status of the project and ongoing efforts of determining the best way to construct the sand trap and jetty improvements.”

When Mayor Seiler opened the May 17^th Commission meeting to public comment, Point of Americas resident Ina Lee (associate publisher of the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood edition of Travelhost magazine) rattled off a spate of disparate reasons for the Commission to refute Myers’ advocacy of the sand bypass, culminating with an exhortation against “interfering with mother nature,” a strange admonition from someone who openly supports Broward’s beach renourishment. Not surprisingly, the Point of Americas Condominium sits directly on the “healthy beach north of the inlet.” Welcome to the world of NIMBY (not in my back yard).

GALT OCEAN MILE READING CENTER

May 6, 2011 - On April 28^th, residents from every Galt Mile association ignored the mid-afternoon soup-like humidity and streamed to the Galt Mile Reading Center at 3403 Galt Ocean Drive. They were responding to notices posted in their mail rooms, building offices and security stations announcing a celebration sponsored by the Friends of the Galt Ocean Mile Library. The event was ostensibly a reception to acknowledge having swelled their ranks from 120 to 200 members. In fact, it was a strategy meeting called to prevent the county from closing the Galt Mile Library.

TERRY CLAIRE

About 100 supporters squeezed into a meeting room also known to many Galt Mile residents as their official Election Day polling site. Another 30 monitored the proceedings from an adjacent room where a light luncheon buffet was available to patrons. Terry Claire, a Plaza South activist integrally involved with the Library’s survival for the past three years, opened the meeting with a criticism of the County’s annual attempt to sacrifice the popular local venue to highly dubious budget considerations. Leann Barber, a Commodore resident who joined Claire in last year's successful effort to keep the Reading Room afloat, reviewed tentative strategies for privately financing a variety of supplemental Library programs.

LEANN BARBER

While managed by Claire and Barber, the event was conceived by Galleon resident Herman Gardner, President of the Friends of the Galt Ocean Mile Library. Persevering and amicable, Gardner has worked tirelessly to improve the Library’s inventory and secure its survival. In preparation for the annual budget struggle with the Broward County Commission, Gardner launched a recruitment drive that nearly doubled the strength of his Library support group. For the third straight year, Gardner also convinced the Galt Mile Community Association Advisory Board to leverage the neighborhood association’s member outreach and political access in support of the Reading Room.

GMCA LIBRARY SUPPORTERS ENTER BUDGET MEETING

Terry Claire introduced District 4 County Commissioner Chip LaMarca to an apprehensive audience. For the past two years, they successfully kept the Library’s doors open by following a strategy prescribed by former County Commissioner Ken Keechl. Each year, they filled support petitions with thousands of signatures, collected dozens of association and civic resolutions and topped it off with hundreds of residents flooding the Commission Chamber during the final County budget meeting. Attending library patrons who never met their new Commissioner anxiously awaited LaMarca’s take on their concerns.

LAMARCA TO LIBRARY PATRONS

BROWARD Administrator BERTHA HENRY

At the outset, Commissioner LaMarca assured constituents that he has a personal stake in keeping the Library open. He also informed attendees that it wouldn't be necessary to follow his predecessor’s dramatic blueprint for saving the library. Instead, he intends to implement a political solution. When stunned library supporters questioned his commitment, LaMarca said “I’ve seen for myself how important this library is to the people living here. I’ve been here when the place was packed and spoke with the patrons and the staff. I used to live in Coral Ridge Towers. There’s no way I could stand by and watch it close.” LaMarca explained that he had already discussed the issue with County Administrator Bertha Henry and was confident that he could protect the reading center without the convulsive histrionics previously orchestrated by the community. LaMarca continued “If I hadn’t been asked to help with this effort, I would have offered.” His audience collectively took a deep breath.

UTILITY GRAFFITI

Having participated in each of the prior years’ rescue efforts, an attending GMCA official declared “When Chip LaMarca was elected last November; he was an unknown quantity to many of us. Since then, I’ve watched him lead the charge to secure our beach renourishment funding, team with City Commissioner Bruce Roberts to remove the Utility Graffiti that mars our streets and throw a safety net over the Reading Center. He’s for real."

ALLEN WEST ENERGY POLICY

Following his statement, LaMarca welcomed questions from the audience. Seemingly satisfied that their library’s future was provided for, audience members took advantage of LaMarca’s invitation and quizzed the Commissioner about other recent sources of controversy. When asked how he felt about offshore drilling, LaMarca said that although he opposes oil wells off Broward’s beaches, he supports energy independence and new exploration. When someone added “Don’t you mean any Florida beaches,” he pointed in the opposite direction and answered “Inland, way over there, where you can’t see it.” A Playa del Sol resident asked if he supported Congressman Allen West’s energy agenda. After describing such issues as outside the Broward Commission’s jurisdiction, LaMarca confirmed that he was working with West to draw down Federal funds owed to the County for beach renourishment. He also said he was extremely disappointed with Tallahassee’s failure to fund beach renourishment in the current State budget.

After the meeting, the audience members filed out to the adjacent room. While consuming the buffet spread, the post-meeting conversations were dominated by the low-key rescue plan outlined by LaMarca. If our new County Commissioner could save the Reading Center without a community-wide major mobilization, Herman Gardner’s 200-strong Friends of the Galt Ocean Mile Library could revisit their primary mandate, enhancing the mini-library’s programs.

RESIDENTS ENJOY READING CENTER

While the beach is the heart of our neighborhood, the Galt Mile Library is certainly its soul. Arguably the most popular local resource on Galt Ocean Drive, it provides hundreds of mostly elderly residents with a convenient location to research almost anything, meet with friends or simply book some quiet time. Most of the locals are on a first name basis with every staffer, including temporaries and substitutes.

Longtime Librarian Marlene Barnes and her staff help the nearly 2,400 residents that visit the Center each week locate “New York Times” best-sellers, DVDs of foreign films, health-related audio books, Wall Street Journal stock reports or search Google for exotic recipes. Visiting authors review their works, local poets recite their creations and culture groups celebrate their unique ethnicities. Despite its modest designation as a “Reading Room”, since the library is networked into the nation’s largest library system, it is a doorway to the planet.

GALT READING CENTER COMPUTERS

Thousands of previously technophobic local residents who were first introduced to the internet in Reading Room classes keep the six free online computers busy through closing time. While used to update resumes, do homework, check retirement portfolios, hunt for jobs and pay bills, the Reading Room desktops provide hundreds of local seniors with daily or weekly email and “instant Messenger” access to friends and family around the world - without draining precious dollars from Social Security checks that are already stretched to the breaking point.

Despite its critical importance to thousands of local residents, Broward County’s 4^th consecutive whopping budget deficit has once again placed our tiny storefront branch of the huge Broward County Library System on the chopping block. When reducing expenses, The County Commission is theoretically obligated to balancing the sacrifices required of each District’s residents. It is preferable to implement milder, less traumatic service cuts across the entire county than to confine the fiscal burden to certain neighborhoods while selectively exempting others. For instance, budget reductions that cut the service hours for every park or library are far more equitable than completely stripping these amenities from certain neighborhoods while leaving others unmolested.

Unfortunately, commissioners occasionally try to shield their District from sharing painful service concessions by manipulating the criteria used to frame a prospective budget cut. Some proposals sponsored by certain Commissioners only target resources and programs located in neighboring districts, freeing their own constituents from related fiscal impacts.

COUNTY COMMISSIONER LOIS WEXLER

One such proposal urges the County to close library branches situated in rented facilities. Since the library in Commissioner Lois Wexler’s district is housed in a County-owned property, closing the County’s 7 tenanted libraries would only burden the constituents of other commissioners. Ms. Wexler has repeatedly tried to torpedo the Galt Ocean Mile Reading Center in Fort Lauderdale, the Beach Branch in Pompano Beach, the Hollywood Beach Library, the Riverland Library in Fort Lauderdale, the Pembroke Pines Library, the Century Plaza Library in Deerfield Beach and the Lauderhill Mall Library. Fortunately, the County Commission has repeatedly refused to benefit certain neighborhoods on the backs of others.

Earlier this year, Broward officials hired a library consultant to review the County's library system and make downsizing recommendations. Instead of visiting the various locations and evaluating their importance to their respective neighborhoods, MGT of America utilized a software program more appropriate to measuring manufacturing efficiencies. After crunching data collected by each branch and pumping out a formulaic report, they sifted the results through a series of skewed assumptions. For instance, they assumed that the average library patron has no problem traveling 6.7 miles to the branch, ignoring the age demographics of the surrounding neighborhood. By considering rental expense for leased branches and ignoring amortization costs for owned facilities, they scored leased libraries at a 12.5% deficit to owned units. Incomprehensibly, they assigned four times the weight to the number of customers attending programs per staff member than they did for the weekly door count. On reading the final report, the County Commission tossed it out.

Given its intensive concentration of non-homesteaded snowbirds, the Galt Mile community makes enormous annual contributions to the County’s tax coffers, in return for which it receives almost nothing. Although half the County budget funds the Broward Sheriff’s Office, virtually no BSO resources protect the Galt Mile neighborhood. Since we pay the City of Fort Lauderdale for providing our Police and Fire Protection, our county tax assessments actually subsidize neighboring jurisdictions that do use BSO services. We enjoy no local county parks or recreational resources and even fund our own beach maintenance and security. Other than our inexpensive mini-library, the County spends nothing for our slice of the Barrier Island.

What's more, in thirty of the thirty-seven neighborhoods deemed worthy of branch libraries, the County invested in purchasing the structure housing the facility. No such outlay was ever planned for the Galt Mile neighborhood. Instead, the County leased space in 1992 to save money. When the community's population demographics warranted a modest expansion in 2005, the County leased the adjacent space. Had they inspected the site in compliance with county law, they might have discovered the asbestos later found in the floor tiles and textured ceiling materials. Since the toxic material poses no danger if left undisturbed, library patrons were forced to scrap long awaited expansion plans and limit use of the new space to storage.

The County's gaffe shattered any prospect for receiving the modernization or expansion improvements that regularly benefit branches in every other community. Our neighborhood hasn't demanded parity and pressured the cash-strapped Broward Commission to provide us with a new county-owned facility. However, since closing the library would save less than a half year’s salary for one entry level management staffer, Galt Mile residents won't tolerate losing a resource that means so much to so many for a budget-based political ploy. At last year’s strategy meeting, almost 100 local attendees shouted their approval when an animated 92 year-old Southpoint resident promised, “If anyone tries to close my library, I will spend my few remaining years making their lives hell.” WOOF!

2003 FLORIDA CABINET - AG CHARLIE CRIST SEC. OF AGRICULTURE CHARLES BRONSON GOV JEB BUSH, CFO TOM GALLAGHER

THE HOLLYWOOD BEACH COMMUNITY CENTER

March 6, 2011 - On April 30, 2002, two busloads of Galt Mile residents attended a public hearing at the Hollywood Beach Community Center in support of the Army Corps of Engineers plan to renourish our shrinking beaches. On May 13, 2003, a contingent of eight Galt Mile residents flew to Tallahassee to refute allegations by vested interests in the Real Estate and Scuba lobbies that coastal residents “don’t want their beaches renourished.” Upon hearing our neighbors’ testimony, the Florida Cabinet decided to include beaches from Fort Lauderdale to Pompano in the Broward County Shore Protection Project. To enhance environmental protections for the upcoming Segment II (Fort Lauderdale) stage of the County’s coastal rescue plan, the Florida Cabinet mandated an 18-month monitoring period following the renourishment of South Broward’s Segment III beaches.

HOPPER DREDGE LIBERTY ISLAND AT JOHN U. LLOYD BEACH STATE PARK

When the hopper dredge “Liberty Island” pumped a last load of sand onto the beach at John U. Lloyd Beach State Park on February 8, 2006, it marked an end to the South County portion (Segment III) of the project and triggered the 18-month monitoring countdown. In late August of 2007, a report compiled by academicians from the Nova Oceanographic Center, a joint venture of coastal engineering consulting firms (Coastal Planning and Engineering, Inc., Olsen Asssociates, Inc., etc.) and Broward staff scientists arrived at the Tallahassee headquarters of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

THREATENED ELKHORN AND STAGHORN CORALS

Noticing that the report documented two species of coral Federally designated as “threatened” in 2006, FDEP advised their Broward counterpart to add these new corals to the list of protected marine organisms prior to the upcoming Segment II project. Since Broward Beach Administrator Stephen Higgins built an impeccable reputation compiling scientifically bulletproof responses to similar modification requests, FDEP officials were understandably perplexed when Higgins seemingly fell off the map.

STEPHEN HIGGINS BEACH WIZZARD

For decades, Higgins spearheaded the County’s world class beach maintenance policy. He won staunch support for the renourishment program by addressing scientific concerns expressed by a formidable gauntlet of Federal, State and NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) environmental watchdogs. His authoritative environmental treatises satisfied the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in the Federal government. On the State level, his comprehensive reports made the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) into allies. Higgins’ landmark environmental impact statements earned the respect of the Florida Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy, Florida Communities Trust and prominent environmentalists like Roy Rogers.

FORMER FDEP SECRETARY MICHAEL W. SOLE

Suddenly, when asked by GMCA officials about the Segment II project, County beach officials responded with a series of irrelevant diversions throughout 2008 and 2009, focusing instead on additional erosion control devices and a nondescript search for sand. Concerned about the lack of progress, the Galt Mile Community Association contacted Michael Sole, who served as FDEP Secretary under former Governor Charlie Crist. Sole informed GMCA President Pio Ieraci that Broward Beach officials hadn’t responded to Departmental inquiries for more than a year. While the two agencies were locked in this dilatory two-step, the Federal and State permits authorizing the project expired.

Prior to proceeding with Segment II, Broward beach officials would first have to repeat the environmental testing required for a new federal permit. Since Michael Sole, a Marine Biologist, worked with Higgins in Broward County before his appointment to FDEP, he was familiar with the project’s scientific and engineering parameters. While a painful repetition of the federal permit process was unavoidable, Sole granted Higgins a 5-year State permit extension through June 4, 2014, saving the Broward Beach Administrator months of bureaucratic tedium. The extension proved to be a parting gift. A year later, Sole stepped down as FDEP Secretary while overseeing the State’s response to the Deepwater Horizon fiasco and accepted an offer from Florida Power & Light to serve as Vice President of their Governmental Affairs Department.

BROWARD Administrator BERTHA HENRY

When public officials in Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Deerfield Beach, Pompano and other project stakeholders learned about the County’s monumental misstep, they went ballistic. Hoping to quell the exploding enmity, Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry sent a beach renourishment update to former Fort Lauderdale City Manager George Gretsas on May 27, 2010. She concluded her summary of beach project issues with the comment “Broward County-conducted beach construction in Segment II is targeted for November of 2011, pending completion of the engineering/design and permitting processes in a timely fashion.” Shortly afterwards, Beach Administrator Higgins announced that he would retire in 2011. Although he would continue as a consultant, his primary duties would be assumed by Deputy Director Eric Myers of Broward’s Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department. Myers was Higgins’ boss.

CONGRESSMAN ALLEN WEST AND STATE SENATOR ELLYN BOGDANOFF

On February 3, 2011, Myers attended the Town Hall meeting convened to introduce newly elected Congressman Allen West and Florida State Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff. Since the beach renourishment project is a joint federal, state and county effort, he was soliciting Allen West’s assistance in securing promised federal reimbursement for funds advanced by the County. After offering an unqualified apology for Broward’s gaffe, Myers asked attending GMCA officials what he could do to help “make things right.” Myers would have to accept responsibility for his agency’s breakdown prior to resurrecting its ruptured reputation. He was invited to attend the February 7^th Presidents Council meeting at Coral Ridge Towers, where he would have an opportunity to confront flustered constituents.

ERIC MYERS AND STEVE HIGGINS

At the meeting, Myers shared the floor with City Commissioner Bruce Roberts and County Commissioner Chip LaMarca. Admitting to the County’s exasperating lapse, he told association officials that he would hereon in provide regular updates about the renourishment project. He also promised to avoid sugar coating reports with political spin. Exclaiming that he wants to build a relationship based on mutual trust, Myers said that he will need community support to achieve our common objectives.

When irate attendees roasted Myers for his predecessor’s dereliction, he conceded their right to be angry. Myers then lowered the boom, stating “I understand that you have repeatedly been told that the project is scheduled for late 2011. I don’t believe that’s possible. Since we must first complete the Federal permit process and collect the State and Federal funds allocated to the project, a far more realistic target date is late 2013.” Roughly 80 attending association officials groaned in unison.

For the past decade, increasingly frustrated Galt Mile residents have been anxiously awaiting promised repairs to what the Florida Department of Environmental Protection characterized as “Broward’s severely eroded beaches.” Given the County’s cosmic blunder, beach officials must now also address its residents’ severely eroded nerves. After offering an olive branch to the Galt Mile community, Myers said that he assigned himself that task.

ERIC MYERS

True to his word, Myers returned to address the May 2^nd Presidents Council meeting at Ocean Manor. He reported some success with collecting funds reimbursed to Broward for the completed south county segment of the renourishment project. He estimated that the federal permitting hurdles for Segment II (Fort Lauderdale – Galt Mile) would consume the next 18 to 20 months, after which the county can begin accepting contractor bids. He further refined the projected start date to October 2013.

Myers explained that the Army Corps of Engineers, an agency whose Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), General Reevaluation Report (GRR) and Record of Decision (ROD) are prerequisites to the Federal permit, will be performing tests along the entire Segment II oceanfront, including the Galt Mile beach. Since beach ownership is shared by the associations lining the shore, the agency’s engineers must request access before they can proceed with fulfilling the terms of the permit. Reminding attendees that he promised to expedite the project whenever possible, Myers said, “If each beachfront association would sign an easement providing beach access to the Corps of Engineers, it would speed things up. I will send a copy of the easement to Pio (Ieraci) and Eric (Berkowitz), who can then distribute the document.”

Following Myers’ update, the two GMCA officials asked member associations to have their respective attorneys review and approve the easement prior to signing off. The legal review will insure that the easement is strictly limited to construction-related renourishment efforts, precluding any unintended concession of general access rights. Yes, boys and girls, we do own our beaches (subject to public riparian rights – of course).

NEW COMMISSIONER "CHIP" LAMARCA

December 19, 2010 - At the December 16, 2010 GMCA Advisory Board meeting, the Galt Mile’s two local Commissioners reviewed neighborhood concerns with association officials. Newly elected County Commissioner Charles “Chip” LaMarca, returning to the Galt Mile for the first time since making a campaign stop at the September 16^th Advisory Board meeting, clarified some of his initial performance priorities as our District 4 Representative to the County Board.

CITY COMMISSIONER BRUCE ROBERTS

City Commissioner Bruce Roberts, nursing his right arm after undergoing shoulder surgery, gave brief updates about progress toward next year’s budget, neighborhood landscaping improvements, selection of a new City Manager and the Centennial Celebration before fleshing out a report about the Sun Trolley’s Galt Ocean route. Commissioner Roberts was accompanied by FLPD District 1 Acting Major Michael Gregory.

After formally introducing himself as our new voice in Broward Government Center, Commissioner “Chip” LaMarca declared an unwavering commitment to security issues. He opened by exclaiming “My views about security are based on the fact that if people don’t feel secure, nothing else we do will really matter.” LaMarca explained that since he grew up in Fort Lauderdale, he has a unique bond with the City’s communities. He also served as a City Commissioner in Lighthouse Point while operating a local construction business specializing in Turnkey Power Generation and Fuel Systems. From these varied perspectives, he observed that residents and visitors who fear for their personal safety are largely unable to appreciate the District’s many assets.

BROWARD SHERIFF AL LAMBERTI

Describing a longstanding relationship with Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti, LaMarca said “I have always been a friend and supporter of our Sheriff. I will see to it that Al Lamberti has whatever he needs to guarantee Public Safety. We are fortunate to have such a committed Sheriff.” While a majority of the Galt Mile’s security needs are met by our Security Patrol and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, the Sheriff’s Office protects our northernmost members in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea (Caribé, Fountainhead and Plaza East). Although he and Lamberti share Republican credentials, LaMarca held throughout his campaign that Broward’s Sheriff should not be a partisan position. He also favors a non-partisan County Commission.

BOB WOLFE

Whenever he campaigned on the demoralizing toll exacted by the corruption of Broward Commissioners and School Board members, LaMarca’s demeanor visibly soured. He promised Advisory Board members that he would pursue a “no tolerance” policy for public officials who abuse their office. Taking a cue from Property Appraiser Media specialist Bob Wolfe while he served on the Broward County Ethics Commission, LaMarca insisted “Let them do something else.” Two weeks before throwing his hat into the Commission race, LaMarca wrote an article entitled, “It’s Time to Clean It Up!” It featured a memorable corruption cure originally prescribed by Mahatma Gandhi, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

BROWARD COMMISSIONER KRISTIN JACOBS

LaMarca announced that he is currently working with his Commission peers to tailor an environmental agenda, specifically with the Commission’s primary environmental proponent Kristin Jacobs. The Commissioner easily segued to Beach Renourishment. Expressing concern about recent attempts to usurp the sand earmarked for Segment II beaches in Fort Lauderdale, LaMarca remarked “While I’m quickly learning a great deal about this project, I do know that the delays are inexcusable.” He promised to play a leading role in facilitating repairs to Broward’s severely eroded beaches, stating “I understand the importance of our beautiful beaches to every County resident. I intend to reach out to our new Congressman, Mr. West, and work together to insure that our beaches are healthy.”

CONGRESSMAN ALLEN WEST

Before addressing the Board, LaMarca discussed some of his predecessors and the recent election. He characterized the negative campaign ads as an unfortunate consequence of a heated election race, exclaiming “I don’t have any hard feelings against Mr. Keechl.” Identifying former Commissioner Jim Scott as one of Broward’s most historically productive County Commissioners, LaMarca mentioned that, like Scott, his status as the County Commission’s only Republican carries a unique responsibility.

FORMER DISTRICT 4 COMMISSIONER JIM SCOTT

When the County transacts State business, his fellow commissioners will have to depend on LaMarca’s Republican credentials to promote County concerns in Republican Tallahassee. While Chairing the Broward County Republican Party from February 26, 2007 until his recent run for the District 4 County seat, LaMarca cultivated statewide ties that are unique to the Broward Board. Issues such as Land Use sovereignty, the County’s legislative agenda and State appropriations for Broward projects will unquestionably land in LaMarca’s lap. He commented “Although I will have to spend time in the State Capitol fighting for the County, my primary allegiance is to you.”

Having updated the Board, LaMarca invited questions from the floor. One Board member inquired, “Ken Keechl sat on the Boards of several County organizations. Will you step into those positions or explore other opportunities?” Although he expressed an interest in the Broward Alliance, LaMarca said that he hadn’t as yet been officially appointed to any of the organizations that reserve Director Posts for Commission Representatives. After listening to his Broward counterpart, City Commissioner Bruce Roberts informed LaMarca that he and Keechl shared seats on the Board of the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Transportation Management Association (DFLTMA). Explaining that they worked together to help rescue the Sun Trolley, Roberts invited LaMarca to join him in that endeavor. Confirming an avid interest in the County’s transportation hubs, LaMarca assured Roberts that he would investigate TMA participation.

CITY COMMISSIONER BRUCE ROBERTS

Taking the baton from LaMarca, District 1 City Commissioner Bruce Roberts delivered his Municipal report. Roberts told the Board that a Search Organization has been chosen to guide the selection of a new City Manager (MBN Services, Inc., a California corporation authorized to transact business in the State of Florida as Bob Murray & Associates Inc.). Briefly touching on next year’s budget, he confirmed that recommendations from the Budget Advisory Board would be incorporated into the City Commission's Annual Budget requirements. He also invited members to help with the Centennial Celebration by identifying individuals who've made notable contributions to the City. Finally, he reached across the table to recognize Commodore resident Jose “Chepo” Vega for the many neighborhood landscaping improvements on which they commiserated.

Roberts described a unique survival opportunity for the Sun Trolley’s fiscally embattled Galt Ocean Route. A few years ago, the Galt Ocean route was extended past its original Coral Ridge Mall turnaround site to bring patients to and from Holy Cross Hospital. Roberts said that the Hospital’s Administration is very pleased with the arrangement and has since been one of the Sun Trolley’s staunchest supporters. However, to insure the route’s continued financial viability, the TMA was considering a new operational formula. Although designated as a local community bus service, the Sun Trolley has evolved into a courtesy wagon with destinations that primarily feature tourist appeal. Roberts hopes to roll back the Trolley’s mission to carrying City residents to locations that better service their daily needs.

Roberts explained that Sun Trolley officials were speaking to Galleria merchants. The well known shopping outlet is continually exploring new methodologies for enhancing its customer base. If the ongoing negotiations pan out, a minor route restructure might mutually cure the Galt Ocean Route’s erratic ridership and the Galleria’s need for new shoppers.

There are currently two Sun Trolley routes that cater to the shopping interests of city residents and visitors. The “Las Olas – Beaches” Route connects Fort Lauderdale’s downtown tourist Mecca’s such as the Performing Arts Center, IMAX, the Himmershee neighborhood and the Riverfront to Las Olas Boulevard and Beach Place. The “Convention Connection” route connects sizable visitor concentrations in Port Everglades and the Convention Center to shopping venues like the Harbor Shops and Galleria Malls. The two weekend-only routes overlap at Beach Place.

SUN TROLLEY STOP AT HOLY CROSS

In addition to connecting Galt Ocean Drive to Holy Cross and the Coral Ridge Mall, the Galt Ocean route stretches south on A1A to the Palms. Commissioner Roberts wants to extend the route south to the Galleria. In addition to providing 14,000 Galt Mile residents with dirt-cheap comfortable transportation to the Galleria, the route restructure would create an overlap with the “Convention Connection” Sun Trolley, consequently providing riders with access to the Harbor Shops.

ACTING MAJOR MICHAEL GREGORY

Following Commissioner Roberts’ report, GMCA President Pio Ieraci requested a security update from Acting Major Gregory. The congenial 23-year FLPD veteran smiled while announcing the neighborhood’s encouraging crime stats. Thanks to the combined efforts of our Security Patrol and Gregory’s Operations Unit leadership, only one “Part 1” crime was recorded in the Galt Mile Community since the previous month’s report.

Gregory reminded the Advisory Board about a prospective seasonal increase in vehicle thefts and burglaries. The Department is recommending that local residents stow all items they might otherwise leave exposed on the car seat or floor. In addition to the usual wallets, purses, cell phones, radar detectors, CDs, DVDs and PDAs that provide easy boosts during the Holiday Season, Gregory focused on ever-shrinking GPS units. He ascribed their increasing popularity with crooks to portability combined with heightened marketability. As usual, his prescription is simple. “Hide your valuables and lock your car door.”

"CHIP" - SCORES POINTS

Prior to departing early for another engagement, Commissioner LaMarca assured constituents that he would be a regular participant in future meetings. Since many of LaMarca’s political accomplishments were achieved “below the radar” while providing leadership to Broward’s Republican Party, few constituents were adequately familiar with the new Commissioner’s views and strength of commitment – including many that supported his candidacy. Upon his departure, while several Board members were impressed with LaMarca’s intensity, most commended his pro-active solicitation of Community input.

Commissioner Roberts also seemed pleased by LaMarca’s participation. After inviting his involvement with the DFLTMA, Roberts told LaMarca that he would enjoy working with him on Galt Mile constituent issues. All told, LaMarca scored points during a productive introductory visit, encouraging supporters and winning over skeptics. How he actualizes promises will determine whether or not the Galt Mile has a new secret weapon. As always, time will tell...

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