The meeting started precisely on time, and the room was nearly full. It got more full as time went by. It was a very satisfying sight.
A road engineer named Ekri Suarez presented the State's plan to resurface 6th Avenue. Suarez brought two colleagues with him, though they mostly weren't needed, and he congratulated himself on finishing his presentation in 10 minutes. Little did he realize, however, that it wasn't going to be that simple. He explained in some detail why the project would not include installing sidewalks along 6th Avenue, and the reason was simply that very few people cross that street, at least not during a certain Tuesday and a certain Thursday in September last year. And to make it more clear, no one even got killed there. So what do we need sidewalks for? He added a half a dozen other irrelevant reasons, but no pedestrian traffic, or even an attention-grabbing death, was the real reason. This was the reason we're not getting crosswalks, either. Roxy Ross and Harvey Bilt tried to explain to Mr Suarez that the reason there is so little pedestrian traffic along or crossing 6th Avenue is precisely because there are no sidewalks or crosswalks (Harvey said we "would have to be crazy" to walk along 6th Avenue as it is), but Mr Suarez either didn't get it, or it just wasn't what he wanted to hear. He did tell us we could ask the State to install crosswalks, at least, but he sort of reassured us we're not going to get them, for the aforementioned reason(s). This discussion took much more time than it should have, what with all Mr Suarez's pussyfooting about our not getting sidewalks and crosswalks.
The Consent Agenda passed quickly.
There was a lively discussion about annexation. Several of our neighbors expressed opinions about whether we should or we shouldn't, and who should decide. One of our neighbors thought we shouldn't, and that the decision should reflect the opinions of Village residents at large. All other neighbors agreed we should, we should annex as much as we can, and then maybe more, and that the Commission should decide. Three Commissioners thought we should annex as much as we can, one thought we should annex the small piece only, and one didn't want to annex anything at all. The vote to apply for the larger tract was met with vigorous applause from the audience.
There was also a surprising amount of discussion regarding the structure of our Boards, and of adding a new one: a Public Art Advisory Board. In the end, we agreed to make some changes in how our Board members are chosen, and to add the Art Board.
We're moving ahead with plans to landscape our entry: both sides of the bridge. Parks and Parkways has devised a plan, and the Commission was fully supportive. Roxy Ross' MLK Day of Service wound up raising just over $1000, and this will enhance the money we were planning to earmark for the landscaping. The result should be very pleasing.
Bob Anderson thinks we should have an "Art Park," as they do in Chattanooga (Bob and Janey love Chattanooga), and he'd like to see it be Griffing Park. This is where we already have one sculpture on display, and it's where a combined Board decided to display Zaluski's "Ballplayer." Whether the Lorenson we're expecting will go there remains to be seen, but I have a suspicion it will. Bob says in Chattanooga, the art is for sale (neither Chattanooga nor anyone who lives there had to buy it to get it to be there), and he'd like to see us make a similar offer to artists. Manny Espinoza and I were thinking alike: how about if we charge successful artists a fee or commission of some sort, if they make sales. Instead of our buying art from them, they're buying "gallery" space from us. And we get a nice display in the meantime. That Manny, he's got a good head for business.
In a related vein, Dave Coviello wants us to "market" ourselves. He's looking for us to develop a brand of some sort. It could involve art, or it could involve something else. Homes, trees, birds, or who knows what. It's on the table for continued discussion and consideration. He's looking for a motto, too. If you have any ideas, leave a comment in this blog, or write to Dave at dcoviello@biscayneparkfl.gov.
We may be on the hunt for grants. Barbara Watts got wind of one or two, so we'll pursue.
I already told you about where the Zaluski is going, and that's it. Everyone, more or less, was happy.
The problem is that all of this took us until about 10:50, which is way over the limit. We did not succeed in keeping the meeting to two hours. Next time.
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