Preamble to our County Charter: We, the people of this County, in order to secure for ourselves the benefits and responsibilities of home rule, to create a metropolitan government to serve our present and future needs, and to endow our municipalities with the rights of self determination in their local affairs, do under God adopt this Home Rule Charter.Outgoing Commissioner Katy Sorenson will be supporting our charter from this assault. Where is the Miami Herald? Article 7 of our Charter (a.k.a. the Dan Paul Amendment says in part:
Parks, aquatic preserves, and lands acquired by the County for preservation shall be held in trust for the education, pleasure, and recreation of the public and they shall be used and maintained in a manner which will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations as a part of the public's irreplaceable heritage. They shall be protected from commercial development and exploitation and their natural landscape, flora and fauna, and scenic beauties shall be preserved.
In other words: Advertising is banned from Parks. Commissioner Bully, Little Joe Martinez is trying to change that this week. He wants a 'Charter Amendment' on the ballot to allow advertising in parks. He is taking advantage of anger over park entrance fees with an unholy trade that will sully our parks with advertising. Please call your County Commissioner or your legacy to your grandchildren will be 300 foot advertising towers taller than the trees in our beautiful parks. Where will future generations go for tranquility? On August 26th at 11am: Katy we need you! Dennis Moss we need you! Carlos Gimenez we need you! Rebeca Sosa we need you! Most of all, Sally Heyman I am counting on you to take the lead on this!! You have showed vision and courage to protect our Parks. Who else on the County Commission will step up to the plate with long term vision. What we all need is for Dorrin Rolle to be voted out of office so we don't have to keep fighting these assaults from members of the Unreformable Majority of the County Commission.
BTW: This includes most of our city parks as well (some cities opted out of Article 7 when it was adopted.)
36 comments:
I spoke to Bruce Matheson (yes Matheson Hammock and Crandon Park) and he is firmly against this change to our charter.
Didn't Annette Taddeo state publicly at the UEL forum Thursday that she opposes the parks advertising proposal? It is good to know she is on point again with Katy Sorenson. No to advertising in parks.
Yea, and Flinn said that it "depends on what kind of advertising."
So it looks like Flinn is not completely opposed to Joe's idea.
The Private Corporation Young Mens Christian Association is already on Our Miami Dade Public Lands, in our Miami Dade Public Schools, Miami Slave County District 11 Commissioner, Joe Martinez is just trying to Make it Official/Legal after the fact. This is also true for all the Private Adult /Youth Sports Leagues the Boot Camp, Soccer, Flag Football, and Y Banners etc.....
"Throughout the 1950s, Batista's corrupt and repressive regime systematically profited from the exploitation of Cuba's commercial interests, in partnership with U.S. corporations and the American Mafia." Batista left Cuba for the United States. "I just felt safer there," - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What the hell is your point here??? This isn't about sponsorship of events:
this is in the charter: It allows for
issuance of temporary permits for:
J. Advertising in connection with sponsorship of events or facilities in the park, provided however all such facilities and uses are compatible with the particular park
and are scheduled so that such events do not unreasonably
impair the public use of the park or damage the park.
K. Programming partnerships with qualified federally
tax exempt not-for-profit youth, adult, and senior cultural,
conservation, and parks and recreation program providers; ALSO:
----------------
The restrictions applying to parks in this Article shall not apply to the Dade County Youth Fair
site, Metro Zoo, Tamiami Stadium, Haulover Fishing Pier,
the Dade County Auditorium, the Museum of Science,
the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, Vizcaya Museum and
Gardens, Trail Glade Range, the Orange Bowl, the Com-
modore Ralph Munroe Marine Stadium, the Seaquarium,
Curtis Park track and stadium, Fairchild Tropical Gardens,
and mini and neighborhood parks except that no mini or
neighborhood park may be leased or disposed of unless a
majority of the residents residing in voting precincts any
part of which is within 1 mile of the park authorize such
sale or lease by majority vote in an election.
Who is the best candidate running against Rolle? Joe Celestin? Jean Monestime? Someone else?
Pap Doc, Anastasio Somoza or Fulgencio Batista
As for signs in parks of course Joe "Billboard" Martinez wants signs there because it creates more places for him to put his mug on and tell us all the wonderful things he's doing (at our expense).
Confession; I made comment about Uncle Joe
Against Rolle it is DEFINITELY NOT Celestin.
I would go with Jean Monestime or Mack Samuel. I think they are both admirable people that would represent the district well. Don't know much about Flomo Florence Moss.
The problem is that the devil is in the details. For instance, an Italian Ice vendor selling ice in a park, advertising something on his cart or dispensing ice cups that have a Miami Heat ad on it or something - this seems ok to me. Truthfully, however, I would like the Ice guy standing on the perimeter of the park, not inside it. A soccer team with shirts that have advertising on them - this is ok. A park bench with a political ad or something - this is visual pollution. So, when we talk about advertising, its important to be specific.
The Amendment spells out what is allowed. It doesn't refer to coke machines or team shirts, or advertising at events (that don't interfere with normal use of the parks).
The County wants to COLLECT MONEY FOR ADVERTISING. People will want bigger banners/billboards to pay money.
The children's museum is just one big friggin' ad. I brought my child there and all it is, is an advertising vehicle for the Micosukee tribe, Publix, and the cruise lines. What a joke that trip was. They should have paid us to attend it.
I've been stressed out lately, I need to go to Burger King Park. Next week I'm going to visit the McPark on Enron Blvd.
http://www.miamidade.gov/district11/home.asp
Ugh, he's the worst.
I don’t think that Flinn is pro-advertising –
I grilled him on the advertising question after that event the other night and the point he was trying to make was that parks (and even the schools) already have advertising in them - like the coke machines, sport league registration and event banners with sponsors. He said that those sorts of ads were allowed under county amendment 7, but the Calvin Klein type ads weren’t.
Apparently, Flinn and his wife have kids that use the park system, so he is sensitive to things that aren’t kid friendly. He doesn’t support anything that hinders the enjoyment of a park. (Sound or visually).
The cities down here are pretty good about keeping banners and stuff to a minimum. Cutler Bay is working on some nice parks and Palmetto Bay has built some really great parks as has Pinecrest. However, I noticed that Deering Estate has large permanent banner poles on the west side of Old Cutler on the way to the Ridge.
He said there is a move to put advertising in county parks, which I suppose is what this post is about. From what he indicated to me, he definitely not supporting that.
PS: Of course, Joe wants ads, he loved putting himself on county buses.
I was at the UEL Forum on Thursday night and although I was pleased to learn from all of the candidates that they would be against charging residents for the use of the parks, I was struck by Mayor Flinn's statement that - "it depends on the type of advertising."
That really got under my skin because he, of all people, should know the value we all put in our parks. Isn't Palmetto Bay's motto - "The Village of Parks?"
A park is supposed to be a complete distraction from the worries and cares of our busy, stressful lives - an escape from the everyday. Its a conduit for us to get in touch with nature, our families and even ourselves.
And, WE PAID for these parks with our hard-earned property taxes. I think that any attempt to commercialize our parks or even charge us for using them (after we paid for them) is outrageous!
Any attempt to commercialize our parks to raise revenue is a non-starter with me.
Strike ONE, Mr. Flinn!
I was at the same meeting and I questioned him afterwards to clarify. Did you?
He stated to me that he is not interested in having nor would he support non-park related ads in parks. Period. (That is why I used Calvin Klein as an example)
Flinn told me the county hearing was trying to undo the current protections and it affected all of us in the county except a handful of cities.
So, if you have a concerns about an answer ask for clarification, just like I did. That is why the hostess of the event said stay around.
Palmetto Bay has great parks. My kids love to go there and to Greer Park in Pinecrest. And we are not charged and I don't pay for parking.
G.o.D.:
Why is it every time someone posts on here it becomes a pissing contest? I don't know why you even bother to host this site. You must have lots patience to put up with the sucky attitudes.
G.O.D, Where did you get the Aug 26 date for this meeting. I was told the deadline for submitting ballot initiatives in Miami Dade was Aug 20th.
Will check on date.
Date correct-- cut off is 60 days before election.
I guess you would rather we pay heavy admission and parking fees than put up a sign at the park. That way parks can keep out the riff raff and be the exclusive territory of the rich.
Sig: You are not a sheep, repeat that to yourself. Don't let them dictate your choices to you.
No. Parks are one of the fundamental services that the government should supply to its citizens. We paid for the land, we pay taxes for the upkeep. A nominal entrance fee of a couple of dollars I can live with. But, you should think long term Sig. Look at other cities, like New York and Atlanta. No ads. Once you start something it keeps snowballing. This would be a bad precedent to start. I have been fighting to keep development out of parks for 15 years. This isn't the first assault. Parks are one of the only places people can bond with nature. Putting advertising in them would only defeat their purpose. One small sign will turn into 3 or 4 or...more.
It is not always an either or decision. You have to stand up and say: NOT ONE OR THE OTHER. Stop being a sheep and letting them box you in to choices you shouldn't have to make. Don't lecture me, tell the commissioners neither choice is good for you. Here is an idea, each of the commissioners will have a lot of money after their campaigns, why don't they donate them to the park's department instead of funding the people who put them in office. Why should the LBA get money when parks are underfunded. Why should Seijas be funded to travel to Warsaw, when we can't provide people with cheap park entrance fees. Don't be a putz.
If Seijas cared about her constituents she would have given less to the Chamber of Commerce, didn't she give them $25,000?, and given some to the parks department.
"A park is supposed to be a complete distraction from the worries and cares of our busy, stressful lives - an escape from the everyday. Its a conduit for us to get in touch with nature, our families and even ourselves." ANON
So the Joe Martinez sign should read "Joe Martinez a stress fee and natural Leader?"
Sig please spare us the singing of the international nobodies arguing in favor charging the five bucks for parking (still cheaper than the No Tell Motels) just against the Billboards which will end up with a bunch of paid political ads on them.
Yo! Last Anon! I don't want ANY kind of advertising whatsoever at ANY of the County Parks! No commercials, no public service announcements, no mushy messages from my County Commissioners - NADA! Get it!?
And we should not have to pay ANY extra for their upkeep! We paid for them, We keep them up with our taxes. THAT's IT!
Go raise money someplace else! It thought I made myself clear before.
Note to commenters: if you give a damn about parks, start making your voice heard with the Commission starting now - not just on this blog, but make a call.
Parks is slated to cut another 200 positions, more than half in parks programming.
take a peek at the budget and instead of huffing about how you "pay your taxes," figure out what your funding priorities are and make that clear to your commissioner. As much as everyone thinks there's a magic hat full of money, there isn't. If you want parks to be left alone instead of taking the brunt of two straight years of 20% reductions, you have to yell loudly that you want them protected.
Joe's billboards in parks idea is stupid but expected since he wants to be mayor when he grows up. By seeming to try to find an "out of the box" solution, he can hack away at the parks budget while claiming he tried to save them and therefore isn't responsible for their fate.
Thank you g.o.d. for highlighting the issue and lets hope a few of your readers pick up the phone.
Well said, and Amen. My sentiments exactly Anon right above me.
Sig is right (sorry Cato... and I didn't go after you, as I can't for this entire month).
Money has to come from somewhere. Are you for parking fees?
I don't think advertising, if done with taste, is a huge no-no.
I am open for it....
Everyone wants everything free, but it is not reality.
Get with the program...
offer alternative solutions.
Previous anon said: PS: Of course, Joe wants ads, he loved putting himself on county buses.
Joe's mug is every where. I saw a pic of him at the JCC. Some put lipstick on him. I would like to think it was a subtle (non kosher) slam.
Advertising in parks is a lousy idea. If the Commission does the wrong thing and approves it, can Mayor Alvarez veto ?
Very good idea to the Anon who suggested we get off our butts - I already called this afternoon (spent a good 2 hours calling) and made my voice heard. It's YOUR turn now.
Here's a money saver - How about we renegotiate all the bloated Union contracts and bring them them down to reality. No firings, no ads, no added fees, no higher taxes! Make do with what we already have.
Times will get better, til then, suck it up and live within your means - we do! Why not the rest of government?
Here are the numbers to the members of the Commission. Start Dialing!
Dennis Moss - 305-375-4832
Pepe Diaz - 305-375-4343
Barbara Jordan - 305-375-5694
Dorrin Rolle - 305-375-4833
Audrey Edmondson - 305-375-5393
Sally Heyman - 305-375-5128
Bruno Barreiro - 305-643-8525
Rebeca Sosa - 305-375-5696
Carlos Jimenez - 305-375-5680
Katy Sorenson - 305-375-5218
Javier Souto - 305-375-5218
Joe Martinez - 305-375-4835
Natacha Seijas - 305-375-4831
You Want solutions?
-How about cutting some salaries and positions at the mayors office you can easily reduce that budget by 100K Thats 20,000 X$5 parking fees
-How about cutting staff and reducing salaries at the county attorneys office you can cut $200,000 with you eyes closed thats 40,000X$5 parking fees
-What about cutting each commissioners slush fund down to 0 and cutting their office budget by 20% that would save over $3,000,000good for at least 600,000 X$5 parking surcharges.
-If you want to generate income from parks charge $5 for overnight parking between the people getting foreclosed out of their homes and the horny folks who can't afford to get a room the county would rake in millions.
With your $5 you'll also get
a "free" Joe Martinez for Mayor bumper sticker which you will be required to place on your car.
At least CATO is thinking the right way.
Those are certainly some suggestions. g.o.d says I have to be nice to CATO, so here I am being nice and just offering some info
The slush funds evaporated last year to much wailing and gnashing of teeth from some of the commissioners. The Commission's total budget was reduced 10% last year too, but further reductions are most certainly in order. The Mayor's budget calls for another 20% reduction for a total savings of about $4 million.
You say the Mayor's budget can afford a similar treatment. his budget calls for three positions being cut but only a budget reduction of $400,000 or about 6%.
Those are the cuts already proposed, so you'll need to come up with other funding (beyond conjugal park experiences) in order to close the $10 million cut to Parks.
My point was not that you have to find the cuts but to call and tell the commission what is important to keep. Let them figure out where the money will come from.
Thanks to the commentor above for making the calls!
Last Anon
I'll get with the BIG #s if you went back to 1993 Budget ( year one of the 13 Emperors) which was approx 2.5 billion and adjusted for Inflation and population growth you would get about $5billion, county budget today actually hovers arounf 7 Billion.
2 Billion pays for a lot of $5 parking you could probably throw in a millage rate cut with that.
These keeps up we'll have floating billboards on the bay and forehead tattoe ads on county employees.
Last anon! LMAO!!!
CATO, I'm not sure where you're getting those numbers from, but they don't mesh with the ones I'm seeing.
Besides, I was here in 1993 and the County government SUCKED. Services were terrible, roads were third world, code enforcement was only a suggestion, and crime was rampant. South of Kendall drive was virtually a lawless domain post Andrew.
That's what you want to compare?
PLZ I and everyone on this blog survived 1993, my recollection is different, I don't remember any huge difference as far as loacl government services are concerned. They suck just as bad today as then. The only difference is we pay about 50% more for the same service that still sucks today, which tells me the problem can't be fixed by throwing dinero at it.
Post a Comment