Unfinished Business
The current Fort Lauderdale City Commission will be out of a job in March, 2009.
Term Limits, that I first proposed over a decade ago when I was a City Commissioner, finally kick in. It's sometimes hard to believe, but the era of Jim Naugle, with his nearly 25 years on the City Commission, will be over - (Yes Virginia, there is a Santa!)
But lots of unfinished business will surely remain. Below is just a partial list of some of the important things that have not gotten done. Some have been languishing for a long time.
In all fairness, some of the following issues are very difficult ones. Some are not. Regardless, they will all be waiting for the new City Commission, who will have at least three new members, a majority, that could conceivably get them done. They're not listed in any particular order.
#1
The international Swimming Hall Of Fame
........... It's the City's biggest and best Public Swimming Facility, world renowned, but old and tired. It's built like a fortress to keep the citizens out instead of inviting them in. It will take a lot of consensus and team work for the new City Commission to get this one right.
#2
The Northbeach Sunrise Lane Area
............. It's the area just south of Sunrise Boulevard and the beach. The latest motif is Tattoo Parlors and Sexy Lingerie. It could be a wonderful beach enclave if the City finds a way to help them bring in adequate parking, sidewalk cafe's, and a new theme!
#3
City Owned Lots at NW 7th Avenue and Sistrunk boulevard
............. The City bought the massive acreage decades ago, and a mixed-use development with a grocery store and affordable housing was supposed to have been built. Instead, it's a shoddy lot with frequent homeless encampments.
#4
Durrs Neighborhood Environmental Problems
.............. The Federal Report said you could live safely in the impoverished Durr's neighborhood just north of the old incinerator, as long as you didn't walk outside barefoot, smoke in your yard, or grow vegetables (other than in raised planters!)....... anybody want in?
#5
The Courthouse and Judicial Campus
................ It's been talked about for decades. A Judicial Campus - with the County and Federal Courthouses, and the State building all in the same area. It's planned to be located near the current decrepit County Courthouse. The City will have to lead the way if this multi-jurisdictional effort has any chance of really happening.
#6
The South Andrews Business District
............. The business people along this corridor have been pushing for years to upgrade their area. They have developed plans that mostly just sit on a shelf in City Hall. A strong push could make this a dynamic area bordered by the Courthouse at one end and the Broward General County Hospital at the other.
#7
Beachlot at the Las Olas Bridge and the Intracoastal
.............. It was supposed to be a European style mixed use project but the developer got a little greedy and the anti-development forces at the beach got a lot crazy .... the rest of us got nothing but this trash strewn lot.
#8
Sand
.......... The State's been promising it to us for years. Pompano got theirs. Hollywood got theirs! Where's ours? The City will need to be vigilant or our sand will end up in the budget cut sand pail.
#9
The 13th Street Corridor
........... The City dumps a bundle of money every year sending Cops to this one mile crime corridor to keep the criminals and dopers at bay. Redevelopment is the real answer. A commitment to make it happen is needed.
#10
Police Station
......... The City has been talking about a new Police Station to replace the worn out one on Broward Boulevard for a least a decade. It was built about the time this picture was taken!There's been talk of selling off the land the current one is on and building a new Station in a more appropriate location.
........ Here's wishing our new leaders lots of luck in advance!
Term Limits, that I first proposed over a decade ago when I was a City Commissioner, finally kick in. It's sometimes hard to believe, but the era of Jim Naugle, with his nearly 25 years on the City Commission, will be over - (Yes Virginia, there is a Santa!)
But lots of unfinished business will surely remain. Below is just a partial list of some of the important things that have not gotten done. Some have been languishing for a long time.
In all fairness, some of the following issues are very difficult ones. Some are not. Regardless, they will all be waiting for the new City Commission, who will have at least three new members, a majority, that could conceivably get them done. They're not listed in any particular order.
#1
The international Swimming Hall Of Fame
........... It's the City's biggest and best Public Swimming Facility, world renowned, but old and tired. It's built like a fortress to keep the citizens out instead of inviting them in. It will take a lot of consensus and team work for the new City Commission to get this one right.
#2
The Northbeach Sunrise Lane Area
............. It's the area just south of Sunrise Boulevard and the beach. The latest motif is Tattoo Parlors and Sexy Lingerie. It could be a wonderful beach enclave if the City finds a way to help them bring in adequate parking, sidewalk cafe's, and a new theme!
#3
City Owned Lots at NW 7th Avenue and Sistrunk boulevard
............. The City bought the massive acreage decades ago, and a mixed-use development with a grocery store and affordable housing was supposed to have been built. Instead, it's a shoddy lot with frequent homeless encampments.
#4
Durrs Neighborhood Environmental Problems
.............. The Federal Report said you could live safely in the impoverished Durr's neighborhood just north of the old incinerator, as long as you didn't walk outside barefoot, smoke in your yard, or grow vegetables (other than in raised planters!)....... anybody want in?
#5
The Courthouse and Judicial Campus
................ It's been talked about for decades. A Judicial Campus - with the County and Federal Courthouses, and the State building all in the same area. It's planned to be located near the current decrepit County Courthouse. The City will have to lead the way if this multi-jurisdictional effort has any chance of really happening.
#6
The South Andrews Business District
............. The business people along this corridor have been pushing for years to upgrade their area. They have developed plans that mostly just sit on a shelf in City Hall. A strong push could make this a dynamic area bordered by the Courthouse at one end and the Broward General County Hospital at the other.
#7
Beachlot at the Las Olas Bridge and the Intracoastal
.............. It was supposed to be a European style mixed use project but the developer got a little greedy and the anti-development forces at the beach got a lot crazy .... the rest of us got nothing but this trash strewn lot.
#8
Sand
.......... The State's been promising it to us for years. Pompano got theirs. Hollywood got theirs! Where's ours? The City will need to be vigilant or our sand will end up in the budget cut sand pail.
#9
The 13th Street Corridor
........... The City dumps a bundle of money every year sending Cops to this one mile crime corridor to keep the criminals and dopers at bay. Redevelopment is the real answer. A commitment to make it happen is needed.
#10
Police Station
......... The City has been talking about a new Police Station to replace the worn out one on Broward Boulevard for a least a decade. It was built about the time this picture was taken!There's been talk of selling off the land the current one is on and building a new Station in a more appropriate location.
........ Here's wishing our new leaders lots of luck in advance!
Tim - as usual you are right on the mark. Unfinished business is an understatement in some cases - and many of those items could be resolved easily and quickly with a some leadership!
With the upcoming election, it is an opportunity to again move our city forward and make it the world class destination and residential community it should be....perhaps you should get back on that dais and help lead this charge. Fiscal responsibility is needed and solid priorities set and you have the history and experience to assure that result....get in the race!
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Much of the blame for the stagnation and lack of proactivity can be laid at the door of atrocious leadership. Unfortunately, although major change is needed, there will be a lack of institutional memory on the new commission. That's why I say: "RUN TIM RUN!" This is your chance to really inact change under new leadership.
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As Commissioner Moore's mother had always taught him, "Wishing Won't Work, Work Will."
Hopefully when we get our new commission they will do everything in their power to resolve the unfinished bussiness that the "old" commission left behind.
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Terrific piece! I'd love to hear from ALL candidates on these issues, right here on this blog. I'll be watching.
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That's a very inclusive and ambitious agenda; Gremlim wonders whether the incoming Commission will be up to the task(s). Somehow my inner self says NO WAY!!
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Great item, Tim.
We have had twenty-five (25) years of the absence of leadership under Jim Naugle. When we had money for worthwhile projects, Naugle, Teel, and the others wasted our money on such things as making Stewart and Gretsas two of the highest paid public employees in the United States.
Now we stand at the precipice of a major recession, if not Depression. Voters have said no more to increased taxes, and people like Weston’s Flint have thumbed their noses at the voters. The real estate market is in a tailspin, assessed values are down, and tax revenues are falling. The only things that are up are the rate of defaults and foreclosures.
The money for these worthy projects was squandered by Naugle, Teel, and the Nauglettes. What can Fort Lauderdale do now? We face some very difficult decisions. Establishing priorities means that some projects will be funded, and others will not.
Beyond these worthy projects is the grim picture of the retirement benefits that Naugle, Teel, and the Nauglettes have given to city employees. We have retired employees drawing six-figure incomes, and more to come. These will lead Fort Lauderdale into begging the Feds for money as more of our budget goes to pay exorbitant retirement incomes of people like Bruce Roberts. Imagine the nerve of the man – drawing nearly $100,000 and he wants to pick up another $30,000 as a City Commissioner.
Public service should not mean profiteering. It is time for some very fundamental changes. It is time for Fort Lauderdale to be run like a business, instead of a patronage system. Who has the business background and the decision-making experience to lead Fort Lauderdale? Rossi? No. Trantallis? No. Seiler? Not even close. It seems the only business man with ANY executive experience is Earl Rynerson. God help Fort Lauderdale if Rynerson is not elected, because nobody else will.
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As to "God help Fort Lauderdale" ...She can cast a vote too if she is registered.....but it is doubtful it will be for Rynerson....
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