When It Rains, It Pours?

What do you think of this sculpture?  It's 6 1/2 feet tall, made of aluminum, and the silver figure turns on the black base.

The sculptor is Steven Zaluski, and he's well-known and well-represented in contemporary American sculpture.  He was in town for Art Basel/Art Miami, and he had this piece with him.  Do you picture this sculpture at the entrance to the Recreation Center, or some place else in the Village?

The piece was priced at $12K.  Steve will sell it, in fact has sold it, to me and Chuck Ross for $6K.  Here's what we'd like to do with it.  We'd like to have any and all Village residents who like this sculpture, and would like the Village to keep it, reimburse us.  We'd like enough reimbursement that each of us would pay a normal share of the total cost.  If every house in the Park, including Chuck's and mine, donated $5, we'd each have paid $5, and the Village keeps the sculpture.  If half the houses donated $10, or a quarter donated $20, or a tenth of us donated $50 per house...

If not many people are interested, or not many people have $5-$50 to donate for public art, then Chuck and I will sell the piece to someone else to get our $6K, or more, back.  Neither of us feels like making a $3000 donation right now.

Let me know, or let Chuck know, that you would like to contribute and what your maximum contribution would be.  Don't give anyone any money yet.  We just want to see if this can work.  If it can, we'll let you know, and then you can pony up.  Part of this project working is that the Commission would agree to accept this piece for the Village, if the piece was offered.  That question will be asked at the January 7 meeting.  If the Commission agrees, Chuck and I will try to arrange that the sculpture will be displayed in front of the recreation center, so we can all "live with it" for about six months, to see if people like it enough to pay for it.

This opportunity is unrelated to the other impending campaign, to acquire the Lueza "Tower of Seasons."  We are also awaiting delivery of Lorenson's "Red Headlong," which I'm told we should expect in January.

Thank You, Dan.

I met Dan Dial when I was campaigning for Commissioner.  I was going door-to-door, and Dan happened to be home.  In fact, he had just arrived home when I got there, and he was unloading groceries from his car.  Dan was receptive, and he even allowed me to put a campaign sign in his yard.  I had never met Dan, and he wanted to know the standard things about me and my campaign.

Dan also allowed me to take his e-mail address.  I can't remember if he and I discussed this blog when we met, but at some point, he permitted me to include him on the list of people to whom I send regular notices of new posts.

I have come not to expect responses from the vast majority of blog readers.  Occasionally, someone posts a comment, and sometimes, someone will reply in writing separately, just to my e-mail address.  But most people either read the posts with interest, or they don't, and I don't hear from them.

Dan has on occasion replied to me privately.  I find this curious, since he and I do not have any relationship other than our one face-to-face meeting.  But I'm pleased to have made the connection, and to get the feedback, and I have come to think of Dan as a nice guy and an interested neighbor.

It would be fair to say I was quite surprised to have heard from Dan on December 7.  On the 6th, I had published a post about how one of Cecilia Lueza's sculptures apparently captivated people, and I indicated that I would consider that sculpture to be the next acquisition target.  Dan wrote to me to ask "How do I contribute to the purchase of the sculpture?"

Wow.  Out of nowhere.  I don't think Dan and I had discussed public art at our one meeting.  If we did, it would certainly not have been the main topic of discussion.  Since I didn't know Dan before, he had not been approached and was not a contributor to the Walker we have or the Lorenson we're awaiting.  He had just read the post, seen the Lueza, presumably liked it (or just liked the idea of public sculpture in BP), read about how easy and inexpensive it can be for us to acquire public art if we all chip in, and offered to participate.  He didn't say how much he had in mind to contribute or ask how much was requested.  The marked generosity was in the unexpected offer, and the willingness to take this kind of role in the Village.

The numbers I used for illustrative purposes in the blog post were $6.75 and $27.  I don't know if one of those was Dan's intention, or if he would contribute $50, or $100.  I told him I wanted to try community-wide contributing before I resorted to hitting up individuals.

The Lueza will be presented to the Commission on January 7.  If the Commission agrees to accept this piece if it's offered to the Village, I will go about trying to raise the money.  I'll ask the Commission about the possibility of a Village-wide appeal.  But one way or another, I will let Dan know it's time.  It's clear he will make himself available to contribute, and I, as a Village resident, an art-lover, and a Commissioner, will be grateful to him.

And this is not to overlook the others of our neighbors who, like Dan, seem always to make themselves available to help out, or to "contribute."  There is a distinct and growing list of them.  In the name of all of them, thank you, Dan.

Thank You, Jared.

You've heard this ad nauseam.  You've heard it from Ray Atesiano, you've heard it from Chuck Ross, and you've heard it from me.  If you see something that doesn't look right, call the police.

A couple of weeks ago, Jared Susi didn't like what he saw.  Someone was driving oddly, going too slow, looking around, weaving in the street.  So Jared did the right thing.  But first, he did the wrong thing.

Jared approached the driver to ask him what he was doing, and if he had any questions or needed anything.  I'm happy to report that the driver drove away, and did not accost, attack, or shoot Jared.

But Jared still didn't like what he had seen, and he had a sneaking bad feeling about it.  So he called our BP police.  When our police finally tracked the driver to his BP destination, they found a meth lab and a marijuana distribution system inside.  They found money, watches, and two guns.

The police made arrests, and we are now free of two felonious renters.  And their customers or distribution agents.

Now Jared.  Please don't confront people.  You're bigger than I am, but you might not be bigger than mischief-makers.  And if they're intent on making serious mischief, maybe they're carrying guns.  We want to keep you as a neighbor, Jared.  We're not interested simply in remembering you.

Having said that, and scolded you (you do feel scolded, don't you, Jared?), let me express my, and our, gratitude for your keen sense of something that was just not right, and for your quick call to our police.  You hit the nail precisely on the head.

Reasons Why Not

As a doctor, I have many patients who like to look things up on the internet.  One of the favorite topics to explore is medications, and the range of possible side effects.  At least the range according to whoever lists this stuff on the internet, or from the drug companies.  And boy, what a range of possible side effects there always is.  If you look at the list, and you believe it, and you assume that every listed possibility is likely to happen (to you), you would never take any medication, for anything.  It would be an act of self-destructiveness to ingest these toxins.  And I should probably be ashamed of myself for suggesting such treatment.  I must be more sadist than helper.  The result is that it takes me a lot longer to talk people out of misinformation and unnecessarily imposed resistance than it would to make and explain the treatment suggestion.

Similarly, if you take an interest in nutrition, and especially if you take an avid interest, or an overcautious interest, you will quickly discover that there is nothing at all that's guaranteed safe to consume.  Once you subtract all animal products, all foodstuffs grown with fertilizers and pesticides, all GMO foods, and avoid an imbalance of any nutrients, you can no longer eat.  And if you try to eat anyway, someone will tell you of the dangers of processing foods, like by cooking them, and you'll struggle with a raw food diet.  If you get careful enough, you will die of starvation.

I assume you bought the house you inhabit.  You probably own a car, too.  And clothes.  Are there any potential dangers in any of these possessions?  Could any of the components of the structure harm you in any way?  Were they all responsibly and sustainably sourced and processed?  You don't use chemicals and cleaning compounds by any chance, do you?  What about the car?  I hope you won't say it runs on gas.  I hope we don't have to talk about the dangers of petroleum and the industry behind it.  What fibers are in the clothes you wear?  Please say you don't dry clean.

To be honest, I still don't really get why airplanes work.  I know they do, having flown on them many times, and knowing intellectually what the theory of aerodynamics is, but it's so improbable.  Airplanes are so big and heavy.  It doesn't make sense that they should be able to levitate from the ground. and at a taxi speed of less than 100 miles per hour.  There's nothing about this that makes any sense at all, except that it happens as predicted, constantly and invariably.

Yes, reality.  Despite all the warnings, medications help more than they harm.  We live long and adequately healthy lives, despite the ongoing assassination attempts perpetrated by the food industry.  Almost none of us are harmed by the vast array of possible allergens and other toxins that surround us all the time.  (We're not going to discuss the petroleum industry.  You won't like where the discussion goes.)  And airplanes take off, cruise, and land precisely as conceptualized.  It's almost creepy how well all the things that have every reason to fail, work.

It's worth keeping reality in mind when some of us can think of every reason, or potential reason, why not.  Why not to consider annexation?  Do you want the long list, or the short list?!  There are so many questions, and so many not yet answered, as about so many things in life.  There are potential flaws, faults, and crises lurking around every corner.  It's unimaginable that any idea is not a terrible one.  You want to know why not?  Ask people with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, or people who won't drive, on the highway or anywhere else.  They'll tell you why not.  Nothing good can come of stepping foot outside your house.  It's dangerous enough staying inside your house.  What with microwaves, televisions, computers, cell phones, and who knows what other enemies.  Look at the list of possible medication side effects.  Listen to the doomsday nutrition mavens.  Let me explain to you why airplanes can't really fly.  Life is fraught.  Every possibility is fraught.  Nothing is safe, and certainly not reliable.  If you pay close enough attention to every imaginable adverse possibility, you will become completely paralyzed.  That's a hell of a way to live.

A Rock and a Hard Place

There's a partial way out of our predicament.  At best, we can't do necessary improvements, but with adjusting, we can stop losing money, if only for now.  And we don't have to raise taxes or annex any other tracts to do it.

We've lost about $1M in reserves since 2001, or about 12 years.  That's an average of just over $80K per year.  Our Manager costs us a little more than that.  And the Assistant to the Manager costs about 50% more.  If we scrap them both, we stop losing money, and we actually build slowly.  And we can even keep our Clerk and all of our other office staff.  I mention this, because this is an idea floated by some BP residents: go back to a time without professional management, or at least get rid of the assistant to the manager.  There may even be some who observed that for about two months, between managers, the Village Clerk was Acting Interim Manager, suggesting to those people that perhaps a Village Clerk has the same capability as a Manager.  And can hold down several responsibilities, and the full time jobs of two people, at the same time and single-handedly.  Yikes.  Those people would have to explain, of course, why we went to such trouble to choose the best Manager we could find from a list of applicants, if it really didn't matter, and just any responsible person could have done it, in her spare time.  I mean, there's nothing wrong with this picture, is there?

I always have the same reaction to suggestions to get rid of things: why were they put there in the first place?  It always feels to me like deciding the chewing gum in the dike doesn't need to be there, or that the loose thread should be pulled out, or that some regulation seems on the surface to be just a problem.

Dan Keys says the suggestion was initially his.  He made his suggestion up to a decade or more ago.  Finally, a Charter Review Committee considered the matter, among other Charter matters, and decided to agree with Dan.  We need professional management.  I don't know of any municipalities that don't have professional managers.  So the Charter Review Committee agreed with Dan, the then Commission agreed with the Charter Review Committee, and the general residents of the Park agreed with the Commission.  The December, 2005, election resulted in universal agreement that we need a manager.  That's equal to concluding that our previous form of management, having lay Commissioners manage professional departments, wasn't working.  It appears there was unanimous agreement about that.

So here's the hard part.  It becomes difficult for us now to try to address our fiscal problem by dismantling a management system upon which we all agreed and which has helped us greatly.  Some have wondered if we could compromise by using professional management, but not paying them very much.  Presumably, our own bosses, clientele, or customers would like it if we would work cheap or free, too, but that doesn't appear to be how it goes.  People who work, and who do a good job, expect reasonable compensation.  They deserve it, too.

There's another problem with trying to reduce expenses.  It's related to the problem of trying to raise taxes.  We have a fiscal system that is not contained.  Expenses increase faster than revenues do, so in the end, we will lose the race against an unbalanced budget.  We can try to reset our deficit by lowering expenses some, or by increasing ad valorem residential tax revenue some, but expenses will still increase over time faster than revenues do, so it will just take a little longer for us to lose.  And we can't reduce our expenses to nothing, or have vendors and employees pay us, or increase taxes indefinitely, so sooner or later, the "game" will be over.

We're left with two choices.  Either have a neighborhood where property values, and taxes, are so exaggerated that they will forever exceed expenses, like Golden Beach, or take on a commercial component, as all other municipalities, except Golden Beach, do.  We simply have no place else to turn.

The reason I bring this up, again, is that we are about to try to solve some of our functional problems.  And solving our problems is the right thing to do.  To do it, we have to spend money.  But we don't have any.  Right now, that's our biggest problem.

I am not only available, but frankly eager, as always, to be shown the error of my thinking here.  What did I miss?

Not to Be Morbid, or Mercenary, But Before You Go...

I grew up on Miami Beach, and I've spent almost half my life there, off and on.  My parents grew up there, too.  The last time I moved back to south Florida was 2005, and I'm not leaving again.  I thought about moving back to the Beach, but it didn't work out.  House prices were way too high, and the Beach wasn't the same Beach on which I grew up.  It no longer felt like "home," for the first time in my life.  I have no further special feeling for Miami Beach, sad to say.  So someone put me onto Biscayne Park, I loved it, and I'm here to stay.  I feel very devoted to the Park, and I've invested here.  It's more than just the house.  I care about the Park, and I've made it my business to give of myself beyond just paying taxes, to enhance the neighborhood.  Here's a quote from Tony Goldman, a community activist who led the revitalization of Wynwood: "Feed the neighborhood, and it will feed you."  Great, huh?  I love this quote, and the sentiment behind it.

The first person, but not the last person, who made the following suggestion to me was Lee Evett, one of the applicants for the Manager position we filled last month: Get people to remember Biscayne Park in their wills.  This is a very cool idea.  There are people here, and in other communities, whose main "home," and "family," are their community, more than their relatives, of which some people have few or none.  So why not?  Why not leave something of yourself, more than just the memories your neighbors will have of you, to your Village?  After all, your neighbors will move away or die, too.  The Village stays.

And it doesn't have to be as specific or as concrete as part of your estate.  Although there's certainly nothing wrong with including Biscayne Park as a beneficiary in your will.  It could be a contribution to public art that will be here after you've moved away or died.  Or, when we begin log cabin renovations, it could be bricks we'll "sell," or a plaque with your name on it.  You wouldn't like our restored meeting room to be the ________________ Meeting Room or Auditorium?  What about the ________ Family Wing for the addition we'll have to build?  Your name on a plaque outside the Manager's office?  Or the Police Chief's?  Or just a quiet bequest to your Village, the one where you may have lived for several decades?  How about one of the larger medians, which could easily be _____________ Park?  Arthur Griffing's name is on a plaque in the park across 6th Avenue from the log cabin.  Ed Burke's name is on the sign at the central park and recreation center.  And neither of them "gave" the Village anything.

Think it over.  Talk to your family or your tax advisor.  Make an appointment with our Manager, Heidi Shafran.  You'll be very proud of yourself, and your neighbors will be very grateful to you.  And all with very good reason.


Disclaimer: I am not personally authorized to offer or promise anyone anything.  I have a sneaking suspicion, however...  It's certainly worth your inquiring.

Or Maybe We Should All Be Living in Miami Shores

It's true it costs a lot more to live in Miami Shores.  It costs more to buy a house, and more to pay the property tax on that house.  And that's not all that costs more in Miami Shores.

We and the Shores share a system of funding solid waste disposal.  Each of us charges a separate fee, not part of the ad valorem tax bill, to pay for garbage pick-up.  This fund is self-contained, so that no more goes into the fund than it costs to run the service.  And supposedly, whatever it takes to run the service is the basis for calculating the fee.  Supposedly.  The fund doesn't make money, and it doesn't lose money.  Supposedly.

In fact, just about three years or so ago, some BP Commissioners complained about our solid waste fund, wondering if the "administrative fee" component wasn't excessive.  That's the level of scrutiny, and imagined precision, by which the fund is overseen.

As I said, the Shores has the same system for doing this as we have.  They hire people, they own trucks, and they dump wherever the authorized dumping is.  Assuming everything is about equal, Shores residents should be paying about the same amount for solid waste as BP residents do.  Although one possibility is that the Shores could be taking advantage of "economy of scale," and their residents could be paying less than we do.

Not...even...close.  We pay about $575 per dwelling per year.  Miami Shores residents pay about $130 per year more than that, or around $705 per dwelling per year.  They have the same rules about self-contained funds as we do, so how can they be paying much more?  Their fund isn't allowed to make money.  So where is the extra money going?

There are two answers.  And I'm checking on one of them, to see if it's correct.  The one I'm not sure about is what they pay their employees.  We're not good to the people who work for us.  We should be, because we're grateful to them, and they work hard, but we're not.  It may well be that Miami Shores pays their employees a more decent wage.

But here's the answer of which I am sure.  We have two garbage trucks.  We use them a lot, and we use them for literally heavy lifting.  Your car won't last forever, and garbage trucks have a much shorter life span than our cars do.  Both of our trucks are now in need of last gasp repairs.  Both trucks need to be replaced.  (They cost about $120K each.)  Guess what we never planned for, charged for, or saved for.  So now we need two trucks, and we have no money set aside to pay for them.  When Miami Shores needs repairs and replacements, they'll have them, because they have the wisdom and future-thinking to charge extra every year, so the money will be there when the equipment dies.

So now we scramble.  We can either find a way to assess ourselves enough to buy the two new trucks we need, or we can assess for less than that, for leasing or lease/purchase.  Some people will talk about "outsourcing" garbage pick-up, which will cost us the personal service from the employees we like, but don't pay adequately.  And it will only shift the responsibility from our administration to some private company, which will do what we should have done and what we should do now, what Miami Shores knows to do: charge what the work costs, including repairs and replacement.

I'm glad I chose to live in BP.  I'm glad my arm didn't get twisted into changing that.  And I'm glad to be here now.  I don't ever want to go any place else.  I don't want to live in Miami Shores, and I don't want us to be Miami Shores.  We are who we are.  But we have to live in the real world, and we have to provide for ourselves.  We have to pay for what we want, and for what we get.  That's life everywhere, and it's life in Biscayne Park.

Why I Don't Live in Miami Shores. Why We All Don't Live There.

There's nothing wrong with Miami Shores.  It's a nice Village.  It has a range of areas, some neighborhoods and some commercial, and there are appealing sections in which to own a house.  In fact, some of those sections are frankly upscale.

The fact is, I almost moved to Miami Shores in 2007.  I was planning to get married, and my then fiancee thought it would be more balanced if she and I didn't live in my house, in Biscayne Park, and we didn't live in her house, in the "High Pines" section between Coral Gables and South Miami.  She insisted we consider getting a different house: "our" house.  She wanted to look in Miami Shores.  Which we did.  And decided to stay in "my" house, because house prices in Miami Shores were way too high.  (I felt quite relieved, because I like it here, and I didn't at all want to move.)

And that's why I don't live in Miami Shores.  It's why almost all of us don't live there.  It's too expensive to have there the house each of us has here.  It costs too much to buy it, and the taxes are too high.  Not because the ad valorem rate is higher.  It isn't.  It's slightly lower.  It's because the market values, and the assessed values, are so much higher.

I pay a good deal less in ad valorem property taxes on my house in BP than I would pay on the same house in MSV.  If the BP tax rate was 10 mills, I would still pay much less here than I would for the same house there.

So I have no complaint about the seemingly unusually high property tax rate in BP.  I wouldn't care if it was higher.  It's a high tax rate, but a low tax.  And I get something very special for the tax I pay.  I get a unique and charming neighborhood, and I get the best police (lowest crime rate for a municipality like this?) in the state.  I get life on a small and friendly scale.  I get genuinely personal service from the people we hire.  I like it.  It's worth paying for.  The fact is, I'd have to pay a lot more, and I'd get less, if I lived in Miami Shores.

Bad Dog Alert

For over a year, there have been dogs prowling in Biscayne Park.  The prior conclusion was that they were coming from a house several blocks from our northwest corner, down West Dixie.  We thought we had identified the home of the owners, who were not locking up their dogs at night.  We thought County and local police had fined the owners and persuaded them to control their dogs.  That's what we thought.

Now, and for the past few months or more, there is a pack of dogs patrolling the Park, and they occasionally find and dispatch an outdoor cat.  I'm not sure we know what dogs these are, and if they're the same ones from last time.

The dogs come out at night, as dogs are wont to do.  Few of us have seen them.  Our police have sometimes tried to track them, but these dogs are hard to corral.  The County's Animal Control division can't or won't help us.  No one is allowed to harm the dogs if the dogs aren't harming any people.

Apparently, someone has tried to set traps for these dogs, but the dogs are reportedly too smart to get themselves trapped.  There's a contraption called a "net gun," but we don't have one.  They cost $500.  The net gun fires a projectile, like a regular gun does, but the projectile is a net, and it traps the dog.

So there are a few things you can do at the moment.  First, if you have pets, keep them inside, especially at night.  Second, if you see anything, grab a camera, so we'll all know what you know, and we can try to identify the dogs.  Third, make sure the BP police have the picture you took.  And call the BP police if you see or hear anything.  After hours, call the non-emergency number, which is 305-476-5423 (4-POLICE).

And the Winning Lueza Sculpture Is...

A number of people who read the "Can I Interest You in a Piece of Public Sculpture" post responded by saying which sculpture they liked best.  It wasn't even typically "my first choice is..." but rather "the one I like is..." or "the one I like best is..."  No one even mentioned a second choice.  So a pretty clear statement.  And almost everyone who responded seemed to like the same one.  In fact, of the two that were very similar, all the respondents seemed to prefer the same example.

It wasn't, as it turns out, the one I like best.  It also wasn't the least expensive one.  Nor was it the most expensive one.  (It was, however, the next to least expensive one.)

People liked the shorter version of Lueza's "Tower of Seasons."

This piece is aluminum, and it's 8 feet tall.  Cecilia says the maintenance is very easy: about twice a year, it gets a soap and water wipe-down.  The thing that looks like a metal bucket at the bottom is the base.

We would have to pay $7500 for this sculpture.  If every house in Biscayne Park contributed, it would come to about $6.75 per house.  How would you feel about paying $6.75 to represent your house, then getting each of your neighbors to donate $6.75 for their houses?  If you don't think you could persuade each and every one of them, would you be willing to commit $10, or $15, for your house, then get the big spenders among your neighbors to do the same?  If only a quarter of BP houses contributed, each of us heros would have to pay a whopping $27.

The alternative is that we find a relative few of your neighbors who would commit $100 or hundreds of dollars, again, and the vast majority of us don't have to pay a thing.  But I have to confess, this is getting a little old for some of your neighbors.

Please let me know.  I'm not asking for money right now, just your sense as to how interested you are in this idea and in this particular piece, and whether you would be willing to donate something to pay for it.  If there's enough resolve, I'll tell Cecilia to hang onto it for us, and then I'll ask you to pledge an amount to which I can hold you.  If I get $7500 worth of commitment, I'll take it to the Commission, and if they agree to accept it, I'll tell you to get out your checkbook.  I'll ask you for that $6.75 you promised to contribute.  Or was it $27?


PS: Another confession: it's actually kind of fun to acquire something new and interesting that we get to look at any time we want, and that could cost each of us next to nothing.  It enhances our Village and our experience of living here.  It also results in a sense of pride and accomplishment.  All for $6.75 or so.

Congratulations, and Some Voting Perspective

I want to again congratulate the candidates, but especially the three elected commissioners: David Coviello, Roxanna Ross, and Fred Jonas.  They will join Bob Anderson and Barbara Watts, and among them, vote on our new mayor on December 10th.  This new commission promises to bring with it an era of civility, functionality, and progress that has been absent lately.  And together with our new village manager, Heidi Shafran, we're really ready to get rolling!

What's disappointing, however, is that only 460 residents voted in this election.  As of the 2010 census, there were 3056 residents, 2414 of which are over 18 years old (eligible voting age).  Of those, 1938 are registered to vote.  So, that works out to be about 24% voter turnout among registered voters, or about 19% of all eligible residents.  To put that in perspective, the national average over the past five midterm (non-presidential) elections has been about 57% of registered voters and 37% of eligible residents.

For the last time, our Biscayne Park election was held independently of the national election... that certainly has a negative and disengaging impact on turnout.  Our future village commissioner elections will coincide with the rest of the county, state, and federal elections.  Some people are simply not interested in how their local government functions, and are content to go along with whatever happens -- good or bad.  And there are people who perhaps were interested years ago, but have become disenchanted with the meetings and the commission and gave up caring.  Finally, there are those who don't think their single vote matters, so why bother voting.  In a small town more than anywhere, every single vote really does matter!

I encourage new-comers and long-time residents of Biscayne Park to attend the monthly commission meetings (if you want to be informed of when they are and what the agenda is, ask to join Commissioner Anderson's email distribution list: banderson@biscayneparkfl.gov; he's really good about sending timely information).  The next meeting, and first with the new commission, is Tuesday, December 10th at 7pm at the Rec Center.  There's more to your home than a single building, it's also your neighbors and community, so be a part of making it better!

What Can I Say? Thank You.

As you most likely know, we have our new Commission, and I have the profound honor to be part of it.  Roxy Ross was re-elected.  David Coviello was elected and had the most votes this year.  I had the least votes of the winners, so I have the shorter term.  I am very sorry to say that Harvey Bilt, whom I very much like and respect, had only six votes fewer than I did.  That placed him fourth, and he did not get a seat.  I will regret not having Harvey on the Commission with me.  He would have been a great partner.  Because Harvey and I were separated by less than 1% of the votes, there will be a "recount" in the morning, which is an appropriate precaution.  But since the tabulation is by automated vote-counting, there is essentially no chance the count is inaccurate.

A number of people, having learned about the results of the Commission election, have written to me in congratulations.  I am honored, I am flattered, and I am humbled.  I will tell you what I told them.  Please tell me what you think works, what you think doesn't work, and what I, and the Commission, can do for you.  This is your Village, and it's your Commission.  It exists to serve you as a resident of the Park.  This is not, of course, to say that you don't have a responsibility to your neighbors and the Village.  You do.  But as long as you are appropriately respectful of your neighbors and the Village's rules, you should take what you want.

I have heard from a number of people that they would like to be more active and involved in the Village.  There are Boards, and most of them need members.  If this interests you, I would like to know about it.  There are less formal collaborations of neighbors, too, such as the one-time "Civic Club" which some would like to revive.  Of interest?  Let me know.

I won't reiterate the agenda of things I hope we and the Village can accomplish together.  I have spelled them out clearly, specifically, and frequently enough in this blog.  One thing I will say is that I hope you will come to Commission meetings, at least from time to time.  Meetings occur the first Tuesday of every month, except when holidays disrupt the usual flow of activities.  So the January meeting is often on the second Tuesday, as is the July meeting, and the September meeting.  I will promise not to be party to interminable, rambling, and aimless meetings which do little more than waste everyone's time.  Attend these meetings.  Speak up.  Tell the Commission what works for you and what doesn't.  And check out and check up on your Commissioners.

Thank you again for your confidence.  I hope never to disappoint you, although I'm quite sure you and I will disagree about one matter or another.  I hope we can resolve any disagreements we may have, so that we can end discussions confident in each other's dedication to the good of the Village.  If at some point we do not find reconciliation, I apologize in advance.


By the way, I will not, for my Commission term, continue this blog as I have authored it before.  The blog will, however, remain open, and I will contribute non-political items to it.  I might also use it for informational purposes.  As I have always offered, if any of you would like to post something, please contact me, so I can make you a guest author.  Say whatever you like.  It's not only your Village and your Commission: it's your blog.

Thank You For Your Time.

I imagine it was an annoyance to have me, and the other candidates, bother you at home.  We came by, sometimes more than once, to introduce ourselves, tell you about our platforms and other brilliant ideas, show you what charming people we are, and ask you to consider voting for us.  And we left you paper debris, again sometimes more than once, which you either read or simply discarded.

We invited you to contact us if you had any questions, as if you were looking for new friends.  The fact is, some of us made new friends among you, and maybe vice versa.  And some of you actually did contact us, for which we are deeply grateful.

But you put up with this, as you do every two years, and I, and I'm sure the rest of us, appreciate it.  Please reassure yourselves that we do take this seriously.  We didn't impose ourselves on you frivolously.  We learned from you and about you, and the goal was to know what's important to you, so that those of us who win Commission seats can cultivate a Village that serves you and works for you.  Or if we thought we couldn't, we took the time and trouble to explain why not.

So thank you for your time.  We owe you.  And whichever of us win, we want you to come to Commission meetings, at least from time to time, so you can collect on the debt.

Fred Jonas

The Truth Behind Biscayne Park Pride

Well, it looks as if the Bernard/Jacobs/Whitfield team were burning the midnight oil in producing their latest smear attack, emailed @ 1:23am this morning.  

I’m not sure how they are getting this sent out as their email address; biscayneparkpride@yahoo.com has been shut down by Yahoo for abusing their SPAM laws.

<This user doesn't have a yahoo.com account (biscayneparkpride@yahoo.com) [-5] - mta1355.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>

But this violation will only be added to what has now become a long and growing list of others.

This will be our last Biscayne Park stand-alone local municipal election on December 3^rd. So, this full court press will likely be their last ditch attempt to control both our elections and their majority hold. 

There is a great amount of fear and desperation over two candidates coming from the Bernard/Jacobs/Whitfield team. (Correction, that should read the Bernard/Jacobs team as Whitfield is only an obedient puppet in this matter) 

Steve has once again successfully found a marginal resident with a bone to pick. Geez, it’s like a sixth sense with him. You see, Whitfield likes to live in squalor and is against any code enforcement. See, it’s easy to manipulate the uninvolved and uninformed. Especially when they have no interest in speaking, or in this case, writing the truth.  

From self-proclaimed Village Dispatch Kelvyn Whitfield: When questioned about the lies contained in his emails he responded that he “didn’t care” if the information was correct or not. (That sounds a lot like Gaspar doesn’t it?) When pushed to disclose who had put him up to this he stated "I don't have to tell you" and that “he is not a child.” 

Let’s all just take a look at the drivel that has come from the Biscayne Park Pride group: 

Email #1) Anonymous: Subject- Adult anti-bullying. This one was so ridiculous that I won’t waste any time on it other than to say “pot… meet kettle.”

Email #2) Anonymous: Subject Pro annexation- see below. A likely cover up piece.

Email #3) Whitfield: Attack on the Jonas-Ross Ticket (whatever that is supposed to be)

Email #4) Whitfield: “see above”

Email #5) Whitfield: “see above”

For some strange reason, Harvey, David, “Noah” and Manny have not fallen under the ire of Biscayne Park Pride. Nope, their focus is squarely on Fred and Rox. 

Why? 

Could it be as transparent as that Rox was chosen among her peers to serve as Mayor over Steve? And that Fred has been critical about exposing Steve and his hand-picked commissioners? 

Nov. 2, 2013: “I hope he and his agents will stop attacking citizens and Candidates, knowing how it divides us as a Village. The facts should be enough to make decisions.” 

Sincerely,

Steve Bernard

Steve, you’re a FRAUD! I find it typical that neither you nor any of “your agents” have rebutted any of the points I have made in my Man Behind the Curtain series. What’s wrong Steve…can’t combat the facts? Is hiding behind Whitfield the best you can come up with? Do you think that our residents don’t see you for what you are? 

Okay so let’s wrap up this Anonymous Biscayne Park Pride nonsense for once and for all.  

1)    Noah has the exact same type of Constant Contact account as has been used by the “anonymous” Biscayne Park Pride. Both used Village Hall’s address. Posing as an official arm of the Village constitutes a fraud. THIS IS FACT.

2)    Nov. 20^th- Anonymous email #1 posted negative and libelous comments about one Candidate and current Commissioner. A candidate may not, with actual malice, make any false statement about an opposing candidate. (Section 104.271, F.S.) FACT.

3)    Noah has already been linked to Jo Schwenckert in Arizona. She requested the email addresses for ALL Commissioners and also for Crime Watch. P.S. Noah went to Arizona State University. They’re friends on Facebook.  This list is what has been used in these spam emails sent from “Biscayne Park Pride.” FACT.

4)    Nov. 22^nd-Anonymous email #2, sent titled Why, Mr. Mayor? This looks to be nothing more than a diversion to attempt to cover up tracks from email #1. These emails are being investigated by Constant Contact as they are in violation of their anti-spam and privacy laws. The Yahoo email address used by Biscayne Park Pride has been closed for being used for spam. Yet another violation. FACT.

5)    Nov. 22nd-Noah then sent out his plea using his Constant Contact account stating “I need your help. I need walkers, and talkers. I'm being accused of things, I've never done nor would I do. Without your help, Biscayne Park will end up with commissioners that none of us want.” Noah clearly cannot speak for the “wants” of all of our residents.

6)    Nov. 26^th- A change of strategy due to mounting pressure and fear of exposure. A rambling and nonsensical diatribe against now two Candidates running was issued from non-voting resident and self-proclaimed Village Dispatch Kelvyn Whitfield. When questioned about the lies contained in his email he responded that he “didn’t care” if the information was correct or not. When pushed to disclose who had put him up to this he stated "I don't have to tell you" and that “he is not a child.”  FACT.

7)    Nov. 27^th- We were treated to yet another attack on the same two Candidates mentioned from Kelvyn on Thanksgiving. This ridiculous tripe suggested, “Happy Thanksgiving (that is, if you do not have a huge concrete FPL pole in front of your house -- planted in our Village courtesy of the Ross-Jonas Team. Seriously, we hope you are having a happier Thanksgiving than those who now live with what Roxanna Ross and Fred Jonas -- two candidates for election -- supported. Please, think before you vote this December 3rd.” And in closing, Kelvyn made a veiled threat that if any “sane voter” would indeed vote for the Ross-Jonas team, we would possibly all end up with huge concrete poles in our front yards. FACT.

8)    Dec.1^st- Just more of the same.

These pathetic, libelous and desperate emails are all the results of our own apathy during the previous elections and in allowing a divisive element to gain control of the majority of our Commission. THIS NEEDS TO STOP AND STOP NOW! 

Use your OWN COMMON SENSE AND GOOD JUDGEMENT with what you’ve learned! It will be up to YOU to either endorse or remove this malignant movement from within our community.

We can now expect the traditional Election eve anonymous smear handouts to circulate our Village soon. Expect more of the same of what has been described above to be hanging on your door. Don’t be duped into believing anything posted from any cowardly anonymous source. Their tactic is to distribute their venom just before Election Day so not to allow time for discussion or rebuttal.  Now know and beat them at their own game. Be Better than this! Ask your questions… call any candidate in question for their side of the story. Find the truth. Get the answers for yourself!

Fred’s number: (305) 891-5030

Rox’s number:  (305) 710-0620

That or we shall all suffer the consequences.



Respectfully,

Milton Hunter
Biscayne Park Resident

Here's My Plan

My central aim is to keep the Village alive and thriving.  This is essential.  I like where and how I live, we all like our neighborhood, and keeping it the way it is, or improving it, takes our being independent.  We must call our own shots.

We need better fiscal support.  We could raise taxes as high as is necessary, but few have much enthusiasm for super-taxes.  And even if we decided it was the best thing for us to do, we could not plan a future that way, because future Commissions and residents might not agree.  It's unstable.  It also depends on healthy and endlessly increasing property values, and we've already seen how unstable that is.

Grants are good, and they're valuable.  They're also not easy to come by, they're very specific, they're not repeating, and they typically require us to match them.  And, given the right, or the wrong, Governor, the plug can get pulled just when we think we have one of these grants, as we have recently seen.  We cannot plan a future on the hope of living off grants.

We have economized valiantly.  We have no meaningful fat in the budget.  In that we are already unable to meet our responsibilities as a municipality, it makes little sense to try to confront our fiscal problems by seeing if we can do even less.

We very simply need more income.  We need to stabilize our budget, we need to preserve what's great about Biscayne Park, and we need to improve.  All of that takes money the Village does not now have. Our best opportunity to reinvent ourselves is presented by the possibility of annexing.  We must explore and pursue this possibility.  Every relevant professional and knowledgeable person who has crossed our path has told us that.  If, as the ante is raised, we are reassured that annexation is a good and workable idea for us, we have to do it.  If we find out it will not do for us what we need it to do, we have to "know when to fold 'em" and walk away.  We cannot answer the questions without being part of the process.

There is no sense in trying to create our own tiny commercial component next to the log cabin.  First of all, such a plan directly defies the reasons some of us don't want to annex something else.  It very materially and considerably changes the Park in exactly the direction annexation opponents do not want to go.  Second, those opponents also criticize the primary annexation plan, because of what they describe as inadequate information.  There is absolutely no information as to what could possibly be expected from the construction of a small office and storefront building, and no reason at all to think it would produce remotely meaningful income for the Village.  Third, such a scheme aggravates the traffic problem of which annexation opponents complain.

The question is, what if we cannot annex.  The answer is that we may be sunk, or it may be that we will have to try a very different approach to saving ourselves.  If, as some suggest, we had to rely on unusually high property values to produce more substantial revenues, then we would have to do something to raise value.  And there's no reason we shouldn't do that anyway.

To improve ourselves this way, we must improve and enhance the condition of the neighborhood.  We need to improve, through development and furnishing, our public spaces.  Dan Keys and Parks and Parkways have begun some of this, with the landscaping improvements around our entrance sign and at the entrance to the recreation center building.  We need more.  We need first rate medians.  We need all our public spaces to be impressive.

We also need individual private properties to be brought up to appropriate and respectable condition.   We need Codes that permit our neighbors to keep properties in a way that fulfills them, while respecting all of us and the style and standard of the neighborhood we share.  And we need strict adherence to those Codes.  We need our Boards and our Commissions to unite in raising the standard of the neighborhood so that it's a credit to all of us and a place we can all be proud of.

This raises the further problem of gradual alienation of Park residents.  Ironically it is those residents and neighbors who have been most active and most devoted who are being most alienated.  We need to welcome and enable resident/neighbor participation, not deflect and frustrate it.  In my Commission campaign, I have met BP residents who are clamoring to participate and to help out, while Board seats sit empty, and some Commissioners refuse to fill them and instead talk about minimizing or suspending the Boards.  This is an inclusive neighborhood.  We need to engage the eager, resourceful, and dedicated.  We need to help stragglers and marginal neighbors, not create more of them.

Our signature log cabin needs action.  In my opinion, the preferred action is to renovate it.  It can serve as the seat of Village functioning, including, as in years past, hosting our meetings.  It also needs expansion, so that it can house all municipal and administrative functions, including the Biscayne Park Police.  All it takes is what we do not now have: money.  We can get money by raising taxes, assessing ourselves, or annexing other tracts.  But we must find the money.  I'm not afraid, and I do not surrender.

With an outdoor sculpture and a mural now owned and proudly displayed by the Village, and another sculpture awaiting delivery, we have every reason to expand a real public art program.  I strongly advocate for a program like this.  It brings class, self-respect, and broad enrichment to municipalities.  And I pledge never to take Village money for such a program without a clear consensus that this is what residents want to do with their taxes.

We should continue to consider whether there may be real and substantial value to erecting a wall along the train track.  Construction like that would no doubt be very expensive, but it may be very worthwhile, to increase quality of life for our neighbors who live along the track and for all of us.  Improved quality of life increases the commitment, dedication, and investment of property owners, which increases the condition of properties, which increases value as well as comfort.  This is what we want.

We have a wonderful Village.  We have some great neighbors.  For as long as we want to promote and encourage it, we happen to have the best police department in the state.  If we thought our police accomplishment was due to Mitch Glansberg, or Ana Garcia, or Ray Atesiano, two of them no longer work here, and the other will eventually retire, or get lured away by someone else.  The individuals won't stay forever, but our commitment can.

We just need to take a deep breath, and develop vision and the courage to pursue it.  That's my plan.


"For the Best We Can Be."

New Math

It appears agreed that the Village is in fiscal trouble.  We spend more than we make, and/or we do not have enough money to pay for the kinds of things a successful municipality must do.  Various people have described this problem in various ways, and a range of suggestions have been made to correct it.  At most dire, some feel either that the municipality will become defunct in up to 10 years, or that it will be annexed, presumably either by North Miami or by Miami Shores.  Neither of those municipalities, by the way, has any reason to want to absorb the erstwhile Village of Biscayne park.  We would be the same fiscal problem to them that we are to ourselves.

Standard approaches to our problem have included solutions like raising taxes, economizing more, and annexing some other tract of land and land use.  Each one makes a certain kind of sense, with some being a bit more sensible, or workable, than others.

But very recently, I heard two other approaches.  They are creative, unusual, and perhaps even counter-intuitive.  I always like thinking "outside the box," so approaches like these grab my attention.

The first of these approaches was suggested by Noah Jacobs.  Noah, by the way, is one of those people who says he recognizes that we are in fiscal trouble.  His recommendation was summarized at the special Commission meeting to negotiate salary and benefits with our new Manager.  There were actually two orders of business at that meeting.  The second was the Manager's contract, and the first was acceptance of the ad valorem tax rate and the coming year budget.  Noah had two proposals.  One was an objection to the tax rate and budget (he voted against both of them), and he reminded us of his wish for lower taxes.  The other was persistently, at each and every instance, to advocate in favor of any salary or benefit concession the new Manager requested.  So Noah's solution to the Village's fiscal problem, the problem that can be summarized as the Village's spending more than it makes, was to have it make less and spend more.  I told you this might seem counter-intuitive.

The other approach was shared by someone who brings fresh eyes to our problem.  Manny Espinoza is a very new BP resident.  He's been here for about 13 months now.  But he's fallen in love with the Park already, and he decided that he should be a Commissioner by now.  He already identified one problem, which was that the P&Z Board and the Commission did not think he should have a fence in front of his house.  It may even be that he will, in time, discover other imperfections.  But the present issue is that it just so happens that Manny is an accountant.  Manny informed us at the candidates' forum that in that he is an accountant, once he takes office, money will simply appear.  He didn't use the term "magic wand," but that was the sense I got in listening to him.  Or maybe he just meant that he is a devotee of "creative accounting."

So those of us who look at fiscal situations, and address them with standard addition and subtraction, may have it all wrong.  We may be suffering from lack of creativity, or the confinement of conventional thinking.  Adam Smith's "invisible hand" theory was intended to suggest that capitalist systems find their own homeostases and thereby regulate themselves.  The "invisible hand" theory "on crack" may suggest the possibility of entirely alternative realities, where amplifying deficits somehow resolves them, or money grows on trees or falls from the sky.

biscayneparkshame@yahoo.com

Today, the third installment of "biscayneparkpride@yahoo.com" was sent to some collection of people.  This one was like the first one, in that it was not fact-based.  In fact, there was not one correct assertion in the whole letter.  It was different from the other two, however, in that it was signed.  The person who sent it was Kelvyn Whitfield, and he included his street address, instead of the impersonation of the Village address that was listed on the other two mailings.  Like the other two, this one was sent not directly, but through "ConstantContact."

I went to see Kelvyn at his house this morning.  I asked him about the letter he sent out, but he said he didn't want to talk about it.  He did acknowledge having sent it.  I pointed out to him that not one of the assertions contained in his letter was true.  He said he considered them all to be true.  I reminded him that he almost never appears at Commission meetings, making it unlikely that he would know what happens there, but he said he sometimes watches them, presumably on Comcast.  When I persevered, and told him that the things he claimed were true and happened were not true and did not happen, he said it was not possible for anyone to check facts about someone else.  I disagreed, and I offered to show him proof of what was actually true.  He wasn't interested, he "didn't care," and he said he accepted it as his mission to save the Village from poor Commissioners.  I pointed out that I am not a Commissioner and am therefore not to blame for whatever are his complaints about the Commission.  He fell silent.

Recognizing that Kelvyn could not be relying on anything he personally witnessed or knew, and further recognizing that the material he sent out was eerily similar to the complaints of certain other people, I suggested to Kelvyn that perhaps he was relying on what someone else told him.  I wondered who that someone might be.  "I don't have to tell you," countered Kelvyn.  True enough.  And for what it's worth, Kelvyn pointed out to me today that he is "not a child."

The other interesting fact about my conversation with Kelvyn today is that apparently, if what Kelvyn says is true, he did not receive the other two biscayneparkpride/ConstantContact letters.  He has not previously been included in this campaign.  Thus, it appears someone has come to Kelvyn, presumably provided him with something to circulate, and told him it was now his turn.  Clearly, he doesn't know anything about any of this, including the contents of the letter he signed.

Let's all await the election eve drive-by anonymous bill of accusations, not to mention more installments in the biscayneparkpride@yahoo.com/ConstantContact series.  (Interestingly, biscayneparkpride has been decommissioned by yahoo, so it's unclear how it was used to send out today's missive.)  It's beginning to look like it will be about Roxy Ross and me this year, or perhaps, if we can take Kelvyn as an indication, the "Jonas-Ross Ticket," whatever that is.

Can I Interest You in a Piece of Public Sculpture?

Persistent?  Incorrigible?  Suit yourself.  If there's a problem, tell me what it is.  One Commission agreed to accept a gift of public sculpture for the Village, and a very different Commission agreed to accept another.  Now, I'm on the trail of a third, which I'll come to shortly.

For an important piece of perspective about what probably appears to be my project, between the first piece and the second, Gage Hartung suggested a sculptor of whom I had not known.  I found the sculptor, and I met with him.  He was a very interesting guy, and his sculptures were magnificent.  They were also very pricey.  So much so that there was no chance we (a few donors) could raise that kind of money.  So it was a great idea, but I couldn't make it work.  As I was wrapping up raising funds for the second sculpture, David Tunnell said he preferred something more "organic" for the Village.  His image was something maybe made of stone, with a rounded contour and an abstract representation. I don't know of such pieces, and I asked David to find one, or to help me find one.  He did not get back to me.  So I can understand why it seems like I'm driving this bus, but I'm going to plead not guilty.  I would be more than delighted to have someone else take over the choosing and the fund-raising.

Cecilia Lueza painted our new mural at the recreation center.  If you go to her website, lueza.com, you will see other murals she has painted.  You will also see paintings intended for indoors.  And you will see outdoor sculptures.  As it happens, I saw a series of her sculptures last year at Art Miami (the design district/Wynwood branch of Art Basel).  I didn't know they were hers, and I had never heard of her before.  They were very captivating pieces, however, and I recognized them instantly when I saw her site.  They are the series of three face profiles.  Now that I've seen her site, I can say they are not at all the only pieces I think would be great in BP.

Here's an example of what I have in mind.  I've spoken to Cecilia about this, and she's offered us a discount.

The sizes and materials are 8 feet aluminum, 11 feet aluminum, 10 feet aluminum and urethane, 8 feet aluminum and urethane, over 8 feet aluminum and urethane, and 9 feet aluminum, steel, and urethane.

These are not easy, although $5000, the price for the third one down, is what we paid for the second sculpture we got.  So not out of sight for "Ascending."  My favorites are the two "Diversity," or triple faces, series.  The "Tower of Seasons," the ones with the colored circular discs, are appealing, and the shorter one may be accessible, cost-wise.  I like "Dual Nature," the multi-colored head, very much, but it's expensive for us.  Cecilia has more.  These are just the ones I liked best.  Go to her site, and see if something else appeals to you.

When I ask "Can I Interest You..." I mean would you contribute to paying for these.  I have every reason to assume the fund-raising for another sculpture would be the same as it was for the other two pieces.  As you know, I'm running for Commissioner, and I will promise you I would never make a move against the Village coffers to pay for something like this.  What I absolutely would do is canvass the neighborhood and the Commission, and place the matter on an agenda, or better yet, a workshop, to see if BP residents would like to pay a yearly assessment for public art.  Just to remind you, it would cost about $1.66 (that's one dollar and sixty-six cents) per person in BP to collect enough money to buy a $5000 piece of art.  For a $10K piece, it's about $3.35 per person.  Once, or once a year.  So we're talking about meaningless amounts of money.    If we wanted to skip the concept of counting heads, and just go to households, we could call it $5-$10 per house, and we collect about $6K-$12K.  If we got really ambitious, and collected $20 per house, we would have a very nice public art program pretty quickly.

So let me know what you think.  Do you like the idea?  Do you happen to like these pieces?  Do you like the idea, but you have some other pieces in mind?  Tell me about them, and where they are, and how much we would have to pay for them.  I'll go inquire, or haggle.  Or you do it, and tell me how I can help.

A Very Bad Sign.

My day started with a call from a supporter who had accepted one of my yard signs.  She left me a message to say that it seems the wind or the rain must have blown my yard sign away.  The wire stand was still in the ground, but the sign was gone.  The sign from one of my competitors, Manny Espinoza, must have been sturdier.  It was still there.  Furthermore, my supporter observed, a yard sign for Roxy Ross, which had been across the street, was also gone.  Elsewhere on 119th Street, not far from where my supporter lives, signs for Roxy and David Coviello, were gone.  Only a sign for Manny Espinoza remained.  A block away, at 119th and 9th, Roxy Ross' sign and my sign were gone, and only Noah Jacobs' remained.

Last Sunday, I replaced a sign on 111th Street.  By Monday, a day later, the replacement was gone.

Today, Noah Jacobs sent around a plea for assistance from whoever is on his circulation list.  He wants "walkers and talkers," and he adds that he's "being accused of things [he's] never done nor would [he] do."  Without his supporters' help, he pleads or admonishes, Biscayne Park "will end up with Commissioners that none of us want."

Among candidates Noah would like to accuse of something or other, there is probably no one as outspoken as I am.  I have never said an out of the way or criticizing word about Noah during my campaigning, nor would I, nor do any of the others, as best I can tell.  We all have enough to do to explain our own positions about the issues.  No one asks me about other candidates, and I don't discuss them, either to criticize them or to praise or support them.

So either people are inexplicably telling Noah something that is in no way true, or Noah is telling his circulation list, and anyone else who reads what he writes, something that is in no way true.

As for the Village ending up with Commissioners Noah deems unwanted by any BP residents, could I take the liberty to suggest that that is Noah's distorted and self-serving opinion?  Is it possible that Noah is so frantic that he resorts to this kind of misrepresentation because the Village already has some Commissioners people don't want?  The fact is, everyone running for office feels he or she is more desirable, or has more to offer, than others running.  Why else would anyone run?  Is it really necessary to try to whip people into a frenzy of antipathy toward unnamed evil-doers, just to make the case that one should be elected, or re-elected?  Is Noah's best argument for why people should vote for him that his competition is toxic to the neighborhood, or at least that no one would want them?  And is he having to tell people that they don't want his competition, because he thinks people are too stupid to decide that for themselves?

I can't help but think back to Gaspar Gonzalez's column, in which he wrote about the friendliness and the spirit of cooperation and single-mindedness of purpose of BP residents.  He said it was the reason he chose to live here.  Or the argument made by Barbara Watts and Steve Bernard, as to why we shouldn't have combined the BP election with the general election: it would take that small town, quaint, friendly feeling out of the campaign and election process.

It appears Noah isn't in line with me, with most of the other candidates, with Gaspar, with Barbara, with Steve, or perhaps with anyone.  He seems to be cultivating a rogue position from which he resorts to anything and takes swipes at anyone.  Maybe at everyone.  He never tells us who he believes, or alleges, "accused [him] of things."  I'm reminded of Noah himself, too, and his comment about being nothing more than reactive.  There is no agenda, no purpose, only reaction.  Friendliness?  Spirit of cooperation?  No, I wouldn't think so.  More like pervasive disdain, divisiveness, underhandedness, and dishonesty.

I guess it's going to be a long week and a half until the election.

Happy Anniversary, More or Less

I don't know how or if BP residents celebrated the 25th and 50th anniversaries of the Village.  In 1958, the year of the 25th anniversary, men wore suits and slicked their hair, women wore dresses and high-heeled shoes and had their hair done, very many people smoked, and celebrations of many things had a formal tone to them.  I remember my own parents' involvement in outings like these.  I'm imagining a cocktail party, at least, if not a full banquet.

In 1983, the year of the 50th anniversary, people still enjoyed celebratory get-togethers.  In the Village, there was a vibrant garden club.  My first BP next door neighbor, Lois Roberts, had been very active in the garden club.  There was also an active sense of community here.  I can only imagine there must have been some eager marking of the BP "half century."  On the other hand, I have asked two families who lived here in 1983.  One imagines he might have been at the 50th, if there was one (he doesn't remember), and he wonders if that was the time Ed Burke rode down the street on an elephant.  The other family doesn't remember any celebration of the 50th and suspects there wasn't one.

I moved here in 2005, and the 75th anniversary was in 2008.  The "party" was held at the Miami Shores Country Club and included a dinner, a lecture on local history, and a floor show.  We all dressed up, and the event doubled as a fund-raiser for the Village.  The program was devised and planned by a group of BP residents who worked for months on it.  One of the planners was the then Mayor.

It's not clear why an 80th anniversary event was planned.  Some BPers say they think an 80th anniversary is not worthy of much fanfare.  Maybe others just like to celebrate: if we like to party, who cares what the excuse is?  Planning was executed by the team of Candido Sosa-Cruz and Barbara Watts, who relied on historical interest grants for all funding.

The plan for the celebration became informal.  The date, a Friday, instead of the Saturday we might have expected, conflicted with an intended Food and Tunes, which turned out to be symbolic.  The 80th anniversary schedule much more closely resembled a glorified Food and Tunes itself than it did a gala.  Added were the presentation of a mural, an event partially tainted by a faulty process, a lecture presented by a different historian than five years ago (very lively and well-received), a concert by a symphonic band from North Miami, and a flag football game the next day, contested by our PW/Recreation staff and our police.  Vendors sold arts and crafts both days.  Two vendors, our own David Blake and Tim Tierney, sold comestibles.  David is marketing specialty coffee and chocolate, and Tim is selling pickled produce he prepared himself.  (Both were very good.)

The Saturday chapter of the 80th anniversary celebration was essentially rained out.  No one's fault, but also symbolic never-the-less.

Maybe the event-planning suffered from the decision not to involve the people who care, or theoretically would care, the most: BP residents.  During the most recent similar opportunity, BPers  wanted something more upscale.  Maybe, as some BP residents have said, the 80th anniversary simply did not carry the emotional impact to make it worthy of much hullabaloo.  Whatever attracted people, or would have attracted them, it was a nice evening.  The lecture was a nice feature, the band was very good, and if you like food truck food, you ate adequately.

The 80th anniversary celebration seems either to have been too little or too much.  Either it deserved more elaborate planning and greater pomp, or it was an exaggerated response to a minor marker.  The other possibility, that few of us might want to consider, is that it was just right.  As with a person, an 80th birthday is well worth noting, because of the decreasing likelihood of more birthdays, or of many more of them.  At that age, we take what we can get.  The same is being said of Biscayne Park.  Lifespan numbers have been mentioned lately.  Ten more years to live.  Maybe less than 10.  If that's what's ahead of us, sure, we'll seize the 80th.  Maybe we should make a plan for an 81st.