Read Gimleteye's post yesterday so I don't have to explain the whole issue again. This post begins where that post left off. (above photos: Neighbors against the CSX)Why do I go to these county meetings? Am I a masochist? They make me angrier than a rabid dog. The big question is, how does Carlos Gimenez and Katy Sorenson sit through these meetings day after day? I would have to slap most of them if forced to listen. You see their lips move and you know the words were planted, because they all say almost the same exact thing. Sosa sounded like Edmonson and Diaz sounded like Martinez. It is so obvious they all conspire together. Sorenson wanted one person, out of the 200 or so people that showed up from the community, to be allowed to make a presentation. This courtesy is usually afforded a Commissioner. Commission Chair Dim Bruno Barreiro cut her off at the knees refusing to let citizen Eric Prince do a powerpoint he painstakingly had prepared. All these Commissioners always say: "I have to do for my constituents." But, with all these people in the audience, this time they were saying: "I have to think about what's good for the entire county." Very convenient.
I have so little tolerance for the county commission, and now for North Miami Mayor Burns too, who is also on the MPO committee. What happened to you Burns? You have no busway, no trains in the North, why don’t you concentrate rail money where the people are, like in your backyard where you have density, not by the Metro Zoo. They need an East West corridor not a North South in Kendall. Who are you talking to Burns, Kathy Sweetapple...I noticed she was at the meeting (the traffic planner for many, many, many bad development proposals beyond the UDB and the traffic planner who first mentioned the CSX line be used for future commuters traveling from proposed developments outside the UDB line).
We all want mass transit but mass transit that makes sense. This CSX line doesn't make sense unless you are a developer with a few hundred acres that you want to develop. Burns: You know better, especially since you were wearing that FP&L protest button, you know how things REALLY are.
All the County Commissioners (besides Katy and Carlos), led by Martinez, were going to vote to have a study done with the CSX line as the preferred alternative. They used this bullshit excuse: we aren’t approving it now, we are just going to do a study of it and then vote on it later. Well, if you only study one thing, what will happen? One by one I could seen them falling into Martinez’s line. Bruno said his usual: "We can't stop growth." Then came Souto, our senile Commissioner, talking about liberty and democracy and for 20 minutes no one knew what the hell he was talking about. Everyone got up and took a breather. One lady said to me: “Why doesn’t anyone stop him?” I said: “First time at a Commission Meeting?” I said "This is your government in action, you should be ashamed of it, you should care, this is how they always are." She said she didn’t have time with the upcoming presidential election. Well f—-k lady, that is why we have such a horrible government in Miami Dade County.
As I was leaving, despondent, Gimenez dropped an effective monkey wrench into Martinez’ well laid plans (which he has been laying out for 3 years). Gimenez said to the MPO, why are we going to study the CSX as the preferred alternative, let’s study more alternatives. And then I left. I don’t know exactly what happened but I think Gimenez put a big enough amendment on the resolution to dilute the CSX “only” scenario. They will have to make comparisons now. I really thought the CSX line was a runaway train. Maybe not.
I like Gimenez.
P.S. In case you were wondering where the vile one was, County Commissioner Natacha Seijas is on a Bad Will mission in India buying yellow cakes so she was not at the MPO meeting.
6 comments:
I found it interesting that all the Commissioners wanted to know more about the "preferred alternative" of the CSX, and yet few reacted when Commissioner Katy Sorenson asked that Dr. Eric Prince be recognized by the chair for the year's work he had done on behalf of his fellow residents. Commissioner Joe Martinez arranged for the MPO session today to be closed to public comment, no doubt to muzzle this concerned citizen whose power point presentation would have put a monkey wrench into his prepared sales pitch.
Dr. Prince is a well respected environmental scientist who works at NOAH. The CSX drama came in the middle of his trip to Madrid, where he was presenting a research paper. He actually arranged for an associate to present that paper in order that he might be present to speak at the proceedings. In the past twelve months, he has worked tirelessly analyzing the various transit studies proposed in the Kendall Link Study and talking around town in community outreach. His analysis has been so on-spot that the CSX proposal has been changed at least twice (perhaps more) in rebuttal to his remarks.
Commissioner Martinez stepped down from his exalted chair (never a good sign) to address his fellow Commissioners from the podium below. He thanked the audience for being so involved and then insulted them in the next moment by insinuating that they were NIMBYs. Evidently he did not wish to address the activists and other concerned citizens in the crowd who rallied to support Dr. Prince on behalf of clean water, clean air, and responsible development. The CSX alternative has local environmentalists reeling with its implied connections to development beyond the UDB. Red-shirted citizens squirmed in their seats. Clearly, the hand-waiving thing did not provide sufficient relief of their frustration. At one point, Dr. Prince looked over his right shoulder with that “don’t make me pull this car over” look on his face. I smiled at that.
Each Commissioner was furnished with a glossy, three-color-art booklet detailing the findings of the very expensive Kendall Link Study. The audience sat agape while most Commissioners (with the exception of Sorenson and Gimenez) made one incorrect assumption after another. Eventually Commissioner Gimenenz was able to wrangle his associates to tell them where the dog died. I heard the exhale from an AARP card-carrying resident beside me. “At last, intelligent conversation,” she signed. The whole experience reminded me of “book report day” in the fourth grade. There were always those kids who tried to skate by reading the inside jacket of their book and bluffing their way through the class presentation. Not only was I not impressed, I was horrified to realize that these were the people running my county.
Fortunately, “Engineer Joe” (I got that off a blog site) was out-maneuvered in the end with an amendment to the motion on the floor, calling for more study. This time, the scope of the study will include alternatives that will potentially benefit the citizens in addition to alternatives that will benefit the South Florida and Latin American Builders Associations. All-in-all, it was a good day, and we thank you Eric Prince.
I like Gimenez too. He gets it, all the stuff about urban sprawl, how that affects a city or county. Thank God for him and Katy.
so how long will this debacle delay any progress??
It will be delayed a long time and will cost us another $1M or 2 because the cronies aren't comfortable going up against Martinez and the good guys like Sorenson and Gimenez don't have the backing to get the votes. (ya da ya da ya da, I state the obvious). So, we spend, because we can. That makes more sense that listening to a thoughful, intelligent scientist who offered his assistance for free. (Money grows on trees around here, evidently). I understand Sorenson and Gimemez' actions, however, because they saw it as the only out. I truly appreciate the work they do.
Absolutely disheartened and disgusted with our processess and "Commissioners"... For God sakes I know children with a first grade education that can carry on with better sense than these "idiots" Whay a real "eye opener".
Joe Martinez already well known as a "crooked" politician, displayed his arrogant bullyness and sly tactics once again. The show he put on at the podium sporting his suit and arrogant attitude, truly made me and most others in the crowd simply want to VOMIT...More so, the way they allow this character to waist their time is amazing!!! The woman Commissioner Sosa is pitiful.She looks like she should be on a spanish soap opera!! Again, last meeting when the train was supposed to go through her district she was totally against it...now that it is proposed to turn on Kendall Drive "she wants the technology for Miami" What she failed to realize is the freight trains will now run all night through her district instead of sporatically throughout the day. What the hell are these "brain dead idiots" doing sitting up there trying to represent us? The other old man that was babbling on about a fence and his mountain bike....well at least he was able to say to Martinez one thing that made sense - "A study is a study is a study is a study" LOL
The bottom line seems crystal clear to any educated person - too much money for too little return - need other cost effective measures and by the way WHAT ABOUT THE REAL PROBLEM HERE FOLKS -EAST WEST TRAFFIC -- HELLO IS ANYBODY OUT THERE? - JUST NOD IF YOU CAN HEAR ME. IS THERE ANYONE AT HOME?
I must say that the only positive thing I saw in the whole circus was Commissioner GIMENEZ and at times - SORENSON (a little weak) God at least this man (Gimenez) spoke with intelligence and did not allow himself to get sucked into the BS crap that round tabled for hours. GOD HELP OUR CITY !!!
Martinez you SUCK!!!
We need to make sure that there are changes on the BCC in 2008, so Gimenez will have a chance to become the chairperson. Unfortunately, he may decide to run for City of Miami Mayor in 2009, which will be a huge improvement for the City, but devestating loss to the County.
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