Moving forward with a referendum was stalled today at the City of Miami. By Geniusofdespair

The City Marina would be run by the other Marina, where there is a bid protest in the works. The City would no longer run the 2nd Marina of racks (at bottom of photo)

Lame Duck Mayor Tomas Regalado wanted a referendum to go forward on the redevelopment of Marinas on Virginia Key. There is currently a bid protest by the current private operator of one of the Marinas.

In any event, the vote needs to be done now in order to get the item on the November Ballot.

Commissioners Gort and Hardemon showed up for the special meeting this morning. Absent were Russell, Carollo and Suarez - no quorum. Should the 3 City Commissioners have come to debate the issue or was it too much of a hot button item for Commissioners facing an election? The meeting is rescheduled for Friday. I expect the same thing will happen.

My Conspiracy Theory on DEEPEST Injection Well in Florida now being dug at Virginia Key. By Geniusofdespair

Typical Injection Well --- NOT 2 MILES

I have my own theory on why they are digging the deepest injection well in Florida's history at Virginia Key, 10,000 feet deep (two miles almost). There is is one in Tampa to about 8,000 feet dug by TECO Energy.

Water and Sewer Department says they are exploring the geology to find out if any formation below the Boulder Zone is better for injection of treated effluent. Hmm. I don't believe that for a minute (unless of course they already know it will leak at shallower levels).

Here is my theory, remember an energy company did the one in Tampa. I think this very deep well is being dug with our tax dollars for the benefit of gathering data for Florida Power and Light's Nuke Plant's injection wells. Or maybe worse: Fracking Crap.

I originally saw the drill rig in July at Virginia Key.

After they dig the deepest well in Florida and data is collected the well will be plugged. The injection well they will use goes to about 3,000 below the land surface and they will be injecting a mix of secondary treated effluent, leachate from the landfill and process water. That would be into the boulder zone.

How safe is injecting waste underground (there are 680,000 injection wells nationwide):

"In interviews, several key experts acknowledged that the idea that injection is safe rests on science that has not kept pace with reality, and on oversight that doesn’t always work.

“In 10 to 100 years we are going to find out that most of our groundwater is polluted,” said Mario Salazar, an engineer who worked for 25 years as a technical expert with the EPA’s underground injection program in Washington. “A lot of people are going to get sick, and a lot of people may die.”

There is also Fracturing Threats: see The Pitfalls of Florida's Karst Geology and industrial scale application of aquifer storage and recovery wells. Last but not least we get those pesky earthquakes.

Human Induced earthquakes from deep well injection

Here is the scoop on the wells in Tampa dug by TECO:

Miami Dade Waterfront Only for the Wealthy? Guest Blog by Gregory Bush

Late one night in December 1902, after returning to his home overlooking Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami, Judge George Worley was shocked to see that Henry Flagler’s FEC company had constructed a large barbed wire fence for several blocks along the waterfront. He was so upset at his lost access to what he considered to be the public’s waterfront that he went to Budges hardware store, got a barbed wire cutter and tore down the fence. The FEC promptly put it up again and Worley cut it again and again until he was arrested. His case eventually wound its way up to the state Supreme Court that ruled in 1905 that the original plat dictated a public park along the waterfront. He won - but in recent decades battles for the public waterfront have gotten far more complex and the public understanding of the issues has gotten far more cloudy as wealth trumps public access.

Today, waterfront development in Miami has generally been forged through manufactured crises devoid of coherent long term planning. Miami Dade residents face multiple threats to what is left of our public waterfront. The issues remain complex and obscure to most residents. Yet this is a critical hour.

Look around our beautiful Biscayne Bay (if you can): Watson Island, Skyrise and Parcel B (waterfront of the American Airlines Arena) as well as the Marine Stadium basin at Virginia Key are all in the throws of complex development schemes that are taking away public waterfront land and access to beautiful Biscayne Bay – each to benefit a narrow set of wealthy or favored interests. Multiple lawsuits have been filed in the name of the public interest but the issue of standing by plaintiffs has been repeatedly used to thwart challenges towards government actions.

The loss of our public waterfront has been due, in large part, to the power of varied commercial interests – and their legions of consultants - who seize the initiative for land deals behind closed doors alongside government officials. Campaign contributions follow, public cynicism ensues, and public space is effectively lost. Years ago, for example, Miami passed the Carrolo Amendment, mandating public referenda on waterfront leases, but city officials established elaborate patterns of evasion such as using the Miami Exhibition and Sports Authority and “licensing” agreements.

The Marine Stadium area is a classic case in point.

Commissioner Dennis Moss: Aren't you forgetting something? By Geniusofdespair

I know everyone, it was stupid of the Commissioners to vote for the waterfront Cuban Museum that has no money. But they did because they are always pandering. They did so with a promise of a Black History Museum for Dennis Moss. Well now Dennis Moss is calling in his favorable vote for the Cuban Community.  He wants the Black History Museum.  Maybe Commissioner Juan Zapata won't be far behind with a request for a Colombian Museum for his vote.

The strange thing is: Moss' choice of location preferences...He doesn't even mention my first choice, Virginia Key Park, with so much Black History, buildings already in place and a giant parking lot. (My second choice is the port property.)

Hear this Commissioners: WE HAVE ENOUGH MUSEUMS BLOCKING OUR VIEW OF THE WATER DOWNTOWN AND USING UP FUNDS WE NEED. Stop spending tax dollars and valuable land on edifices. 

The logical place for a museum on Black History is Virginia Key Park that is owned by the City of Miami. However all the choices will be underwater in a few years.

I am waiting for that Italian American Museum celebrating that rascal Columbus. We should serve spaghetti and honor MY ANCESTORS. They brought us some of my favorite food. We could have a wing for bricklayers and tailors (what my relatives did). I like Wiener Schnitzel, how about a German museum to amuse all the German tourists. Didn't Barbara Jordan give land to an Ethiopian (?) Museum?

Miami: Home to a museum honoring everyone!!!!

Virginia Key Consent Decree with Water and Sewer Missing a Key Component. By Geniusofdespair

They are spending $555 million on reconstruction of the plant, $1.5 billion overall.  The only problem with this Water and Sewer consent decree with federal regulators: there are no contingencies for sea level rise.  Virginia Key was underwater at one time:

“Doubling down on Virginia Key the way they’re doing it is just stupid,” said environmental attorney Albert J. Slap, representing the Waterkeepers. “There’s not a dime in it for armoring the plant, or raising it. It’s on a barrier island.”

Speaking of sea level rise I went to the first meeting of the task force yesterday.  At least a few people DON'T have their head in the sand about sea level rise.

Jack Osterholt Vice Mayor, T. Williard Fair, Sara Fain, David Enfield

James Murley, Harvey Ruvin, Jorge Gonzalez and Arsenio Milian

David Enfield made a good point: Are we going to wait for the insurance industry to dictate to us? Between getting mortgages and getting insurance, development in South Florida could be on its last legs. Both will be cost prohibitive with sea level rise. Enfield, research oceanographer, said the King Tides and flooding around Alton Road in Miami Beach could be a laboratory for us.

The next meeting of the Task Force will be at Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 N.W. 1st Street, 18th Floor, room 18-3, 10AM, Tuesday. It is a public meeting.

Mountain Bikers: Don't Succumb to Nimbyism at Virginia Key. By Geniusofdespair

In response to the Mountain Biking protest, on Australian Pine removal and a proposed beach on the North Point, scheduled for tomorrow:

I am one of the original people who saved the black beach from Development on Virginia Key and prevented the development of the North Point in 1993 with many others.

Mabel Miller stopped the blimp base on the North Point in the 1970's.  I walked the North Point with Frenchy and other mountain bikers BEFORE THE TRAILS WERE MADE. ENVIRONMENTALISTS ARE VERY involved with Virginia Key. Australian Pines ARE BAD they are invasive. The hardwood hammocks grow quickly. Just go on the trails Juan Fernandez planted on Virginia Key. They are fully shaded. Mountain Bikers are not seeing what we did to make it possible for what they have. there are hundreds of environmentalists who made and saved Virginia Key. Oleta has swimming and mountain biking right next to each other.

Share with others, your single-mindedness is selfish. You wouldn't have mountain biking if not for the Urban Environment League and Tropical Audubon and Friends of Virginia Key.

Here is a note from Barbara Falsey, President of the Urban Environment League And Blanca Mesa of Friends of Virginia Key, on the Mountain Bike trails on the North Point of Virginia Key:

Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper Testimony on Waste Water Issue Before the County Commission Yesterday

Honorable members of the Board of County Commissioners –

You have before you a bond authorization request that includes a capital plan for sewer and water. The EPA and BBWK have sued the county on the sewer side for massive violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA).

The sewer Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is about $1.5 billion. About half of that is for fixing pipes and pump stations and the under-bay force main from miami beach to Virginia Key. the bbwk has no problem with that and, we encourage even faster fix to these problems, which, by the way, constitute the source of most of the raw sewage overflows in the system (most of the CWA violations)

The other half of the $1.5 billion is to fix the 3 wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). 37% of the $1.5 billion alone or $555 million is for a major rebuild to the WWTP on Virginia Key. BBWK and its experts have studied the 3 WWTPS and the issues of sea level rise and storm surges.

According to our internationally-renowned experts from UM, FAU and FIU, the county’s 3 WWTP are at serious risk of damage and losing operational reliability (violating the cwa) due to the failure of the cip to protect the plants from rising sea levels and storm surge expected – and acknowledged -- in the 4-county compact that you have approved.

Now, after reviewing BBWK's expert reports, Miami Dade Water and Sewer (WASD) says that it will address sea level and storm surge, but not in the consent decree. But, these protective measures are not in the CIP and bond authorization that are before you. So, where is the money going to come from? and, how much? and when?

The WASD's hastily commissioned hazen and sawyer study showed that WASD would need an additional $80m to protect the 3 WWTPs from flooding and storm surge (sea walls and building hardening). First, that $80m is not in the CIP before you. Secondly, our experts who are peer reviewing the Hazen and Sawyer study (done for WASD in 3 weeks at the cost of $17,500), have indicated that study is very flawed and that the protections needed to the 3 WWTPs will be much more costly.

In order to make reasoned decisions, the BOCC must use “apples to apples” comparisons for multi-billion dollar capital improvements.

Apparently, the WASD has now, in response to the BBWK lawsuit, greenlighted the new western WWTP, which, at ~143 million gallons per day of capacity, will likely cost over $2b. Where is that money in the bond authorization? It is not in the sewer CIP that is before you.

If the appropriate, sound science and engineering vulnerability studies are done, it may turn out that the costs of adequately protecting the Virginia Key WWTP from sea level rise and storm surge are so great, that it makes more sense to de-commission that plant and build a bigger and safer WWTP at the western site. Plus, the state requires the county to eliminate ocean outfalls by 2025, thereby significantly lessening the locational value of virginia key for the site of a major WWTP.

BBWK doesn’t know the answer to this question, yet. The BOCC doesn’t know the answer to this, and, neither does wasd, because wasd has refused to do the sound science and engineering vulnerability assessment and alternatives analysis of the 3 wwtps that BBWK and its experts have been strongly recommending for six months.

If the EPA and the WASD sign a zero sea level rise consent decree and you, the BOCC, approve it, the losers are going to be the residents and businesses and visitors of Miami Dade County.

You will be taking the county down the road of a self-fulfilling prophecy – to a future where what mayor gimenez and director renfrow predict comes true – “coastal property abandonment.”

If you have not heard their public statements about the future of “coastal property abandonment”in Miami Dade County, please ask them to provide them to you. there are many such statements that they have made to the press, at public meetings, and even in a recent letter to Mayor Frank Caplan of the Virginia Key, etc.

BWWK is not only advocating, here, to stop the pollution of Biscayne Bay that the county’s crumbling sewer systems are causing, it is advocating for the BOCC to begin implementing a climate ready critical infrastructure for Miami Dade County – starting with the sewers – that will extend the habitability of the county long into the future – in this era of rapidly rising sea levels and increasing storm impacts, as Hurricane Sandy so savagely demonstrated.

One of My Favorite Paintings. By Geniusofdespair

I am an amateur artist...Do you know who this is? You should.

Environmental Regulation in the Rick Scott Era: Whatever business wants it to be ... by gimleteye

In the year, 2011, that the Rick Scott administration and the GOP-led legislature pole-axed growth management, it is fitting to read the story in the Herald to close out the year, that the state of Florida has awarded permits to dispose of the waste from the Miami tunnel project on Virginia Key, long after that horse was out of the barn. Why would the environmental permitting take place after the fact of the construction start?

Outcome of Virginia Key Master Plan Vote at the City of Miami. By Geniusofdespair

The Virgina Key Master Plan was deferred till May. Landfill remediation on VK was approved because it won't be costing money, same with the mountain bike trails for the North Point. I believe the mountain bikers are going to make the trails. The City Commission also voted to identify a funding source for Virginia Key Beach Park Museum (that was Michelle Spence-Jones' motion).

Virginia Key future in hands of Miami City Commission today ... by gimleteye

The Virginia Key Master Plan is before the Miami City Commission today ... The Herald writes a good editorial on the subject. Here it is:



The Miami Herald Editorial, Oct. 8, 2009

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/1271894.html

Preserve Virginia Key

OUR OPINION: Redesign master plan needs more of the public's ideas

The Virginia Key Master Plan coming before the Miami City Commission Thursday is better than the version pulled from the agenda by Mayor Manny Diaz in June, but it is not nearly good enough to warrant approval.

There are still too many brick and mortar projects and not enough natural features.

The commission should send the plan back to city staff and the consultant it hired to redo this long-neglected but priceless jewel with instructions to incorporate more of the proposals developed by the public during a Sept. 26 charette. There should be explicit orders to downscale, and in some cases discard, proposed building projects.

The whole point of redeveloping the publicly owned 1,000 acres on Virginia Key was to make it an ecological wildlife refuge and recreational destination for a city with too few parks and public access to the waterfront. The island is home to bird and turtle nesting, manatee breeding areas, mangrove swamps and hardwood hammocks.

It's a perfect place to capture South Florida's native assets and preserve them for generations.

But the island's environmental treasures, along with the historically designated Miami Marine Stadium, have been woefully neglected. The master-planning process was begun after public outcry thwarted a city plan to lease much of the public space for hotels and other money-making ventures.

The new master plan still includes five-story parking garages, which are utterly out of keeping with the overall redesign intent. The proposed retail village and possibility of including a conference center have no public support. They appear, in fact, to be another attempt to give private enterprise a big footprint on public property.

There's no solid plan for restoring the marine stadium. Also missing: a public boat ramp.

In approving the master plan on Monday, the Waterfront Advisory Board took note of the lack of a boat ramp and other items on the public's wish list.. The board amended the plan to include one or two boat ramps, a welcome center, an island transportation plan and restoration of bicycle courses.

The board also included an amendment to clean up the old landfill first -- a must by any sensible calculation -- and increasing native tree buffer areas. The most telling amendment was one that said: No hotels.

Another good suggestion from Monday's meeting is to create an ``implementation committee'' to oversee the plan once it's finalized.

Beyond such oversight, the City Commission also needs to restore funding for the Virginia Key Beach Park trust. The historic ``colored only'' beach was reopened by the city not long ago with great fanfare. To defund the park's trust now would be tantamount to telling Miami's black residents that, in the eyes of the City Commission, they are still second-class citizens.

More than 100 people attended the Sept. 26 charette, giving up a Saturday to show their support for restoring Virginia Key in a way that befits Miami's last large open-space oasis. They and many others have spent hundreds of hours advocating on behalf of the island. The public has spoken, and the City Commission must heed its call for Virginia Key's green future.

Your voice. Your island.

The City Commission could adopt the plan as is or make changes or delay approval.
Now is the time to speak up. Call or send comments to the Mayor and Commissioners:

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz: mannydiaz@miamigov.com; (305) 250-5300
Marc Sarnoff, (whose district includes Virginia Key): msarnoff@miamigov.com; (305) 250-5333. Aide: Ron Nelson
Angel Gonzalez, (305) 250-5430; agonzalez@miamigov.com
Joe M. Sanchez, (305) 250-5380; jsanchez@miamigov.com
Tomas P. Regalado (305) 250-5420; tregalado@miamigov.com
Michelle Spence-Jones (305) 250-5390; mspence@miamigov.com

Virginia Key Beach Park is Threatened to be UNFUNDED! By Geniusofdespair

The largest city park in the City of Miami, Virginia Key Beach Park, funding will be eliminated for fiscal year ’09-’10; effectively terminating all positions at the property. In other words, the staff funding will go but the City of Miami claims the Park's Department will continue to maintain the property.

Established in 1945 as ‘The Colored Beach’ this site immediately became a spot for social gatherings for Black residents who made weekly trips to enjoy things such as the carousel, the dancing pavilion or the mini-train. During this era, there was a lack of beach facilities for Blacks and this 1000-acre barrier island characterized by a unique and fragile natural environment, served as the recreational location for those who wanted to swim in the ocean or picnic on the beach. (Historic photo of park - hit read more)

The public is urged to lend their endorsement for the proposed budget contribution from the City by telephoning, writing and e-mailing all City of Miami officials (including commissioners and the mayor), to voice their messages of support in addition to attending the two public budget meetings scheduled for September 10th and 24th at Miami City Hall.

Since the beach/park’s grand-re-opening in February 2008, praises have poured in from local residents, tourists and members of the press about the enormous strides made in the popular environmental, preservation and educational programs taking place at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2008, for example, the Children’s Trust presented the Marine Biology Summer Camp with the prestigious ‘Youth Development Program Award’ while Miami New Times readers voted the only Atlantic shoreline in the City of Miami, the ‘Best Beach’ in Miami-Dade.

Among the city’s independent agencies, Historic Virginia Key Beach Park stands out as a prime example of what local advocacy can achieve for the betterment of the community. As decision-makers contemplate ways to prioritize limited tax dollars, the total withdrawal of future funding for Virginia Key Beach Park Trust would not only be very wasteful and shortsighted, but, would also send an ominous signal about what is truly deemed significant in the City of Miami.

Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, once called ‘Bears Cut’, was frequented in the early 1900’s by Black settlers arriving on the island by ferry from a dock at the end of Fifth Street, in downtown Miami.

Former City of Miami Commissioner, M. Athalie Range was instrumental, together with the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust, in adding this remarkable landmark to the National Register of Historic Places in June 2002.

Virginia Key: Why ask the public if you aren’t going to listen? By Geniusofdespair

Tonight is the City of Miami Planning Advisory Board Meeting to approve the fast-tracked Virginia Key Plan, fondly called Paving Over Paradise. I took a quick look at the plan and found 4 parking garages with 4,520 spaces. That is not counting all the surface parking. That sounds like an AUTO park to me. Activists are counting 12 garages. Hmmm. Didn’t see that but I looked quickly, have a look and you count garages.

I think that the planning meetings, where they asked people what they wanted, were a sham. Why gather people to waste time putting blue dots on amenities (no one put a blue dot on a parking garage) when you aren’t going to listen to them?

Do you really need 4,520 spaces (plus) and massive 5 story parking garages for a passive park? That is what people wanted: a passive park. Granted, much of the parking is in the more commercial basin area, but still it seems excessive. The over-the-top wellness center on the former landfill calls for 2,666 spaces. In comparison Bill Baggs, a 400 acre State Park has 1,200 spaces. BTW, Baggs is passive:

Virgina Key Master Plan: Is this your vision? By Geniusofdespair

There is much negative talk around town about the Virginia Key Master Plan by EDSA which includes about 10 parking garages. Hmmm. The pictured complex at top is also proposed for the North Point. View the proposed plan and then attend the meeting to tell them what you think: The City of Miami Planning Advisory Board, 7 p.m., June 17 at the City of Miami Commission Chambers, 3500 Pan American Drive or City of Miami Commission meeting at 9 a.m., June 25, same place.

Opening Day at Virginia Key Beach Park by Geniusofdespair

Yesterday was opening day at Virginia Key Beach Park and there were about 5,000 (Herald estimate) people there to celebrate. Plenty of good food, picnics and activities. The kids were all enjoying themselves as were all the parents and the extended families.

Correction to the Miami Herald: There is no TILE dance floor. It is cement. And, the Good Rev. Lowery was on a plane home the day before...he did not speak on Saturday.

Rev. Joseph Lowery Speaks at Virginia Key Park Opening Ceremony. By Geniusofdespair

Check out Civil Rights Leader, Rev. Joseph Lowery's speech at Virginia Key yesterday. Hit on the audio on the Herald page. It is a very funny speech and also touching. He starts his speech with a reference to his good friend Arthur Teele. He also talks about the significance of Virginia Key Beach Park in the civil rights movement.

From The History Makers:

"Lowery began his work with civil rights in the early 1950s in Mobile, Alabama, where he headed the Alabama Civic Affairs Association, an organization devoted to the desegregation of buses and public places. During this time, the state of Alabama sued Lowery, along with several other prominent ministers, on charges of libel, seizing his property. The Supreme Court sided with the ministers, and Lowery's seized property was returned. In 1957, Lowery and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and Lowery was named vice president. In 1965, he was named chairman of the delegation to take demands of the Selma to Montgomery March to Alabama's governor at the time, George Wallace."

He calls himself a Northerner, from "Northern Alabama". In one instance Lowery talked about asking for a hamburger and Coke at a lunch counter. The waitress said: "We don't serve Negroes. He said: "I didn't order a Negro." Much more to the speech, check it out.