Friday, July 24, 2015
I'm Taking Two Polls. Please "Vote" By Leaving a Comment.
One of my friends who's a Village resident points out that the new building where Village offices will be should not be called the "annex." It should be called Village Hall. The other building, the "log cabin," should be called the log cabin. What we've lapsed into doing until now is calling the log cabin the log cabin or implying that it's Village Hall, and calling the new building the annex. Your thoughts?
Joe Chao had the idea of rezoning all of 6th Avenue in the Park, so that it could be used for commercial purposes. Joe teaches martial arts, and his house is sort of on 6th Avenue. It's actually on Griffing, with just a little piece of Griffing Park between him and 6th Avenue. If he could, he might like to have a martial arts studio in his home. When he raised the idea in a comment in this blog, Chuck Ross agreed that it might be an interesting idea to convert 6th Avenue in the Park to the equivalent of NE 2nd Avenue in the Shores. Of course, we don't have available parking, as they do on 2nd Avenue in the Shores, but again, what would you think of 6th Avenue here being zoned for storefronts or home businesses that could accommodate patrons?
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I wouldn't use my private home but would consider purchasing a property on NE 6 Avenue and turning it into a small but cute coffee shop, boutique clothing store and martial arts school for the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteI see that you are not interested in having your home become a commercial property. . Maybe it would be surprising to you, but neither am I. I live on sixth Avenue and I find your proposal insulting. I guess you think it would be nice for you to live where you live and take a nice short walk to work to my street after it's turned into a trashy area.
Deletebramblewitch sent a much longer and angrier complaint about this issue to the Commissioners. I responded that I doubted many people would favor such a change, and I all but promised that no BP Commission would ever approve one. bramblewitch then wanted to know why I even raised the issue, if I felt it was a complete non-starter. I said it was for fun and for the sake of having a discussion, and of course because it had been suggested by someone who commented on this blog. Frankly, I would have been beyond shocked if a large number and proportion of responders had said they favored and even wanted such a change. If that had resulted from this "poll," I would dutifully have reported it to the Commission, at least for some discussion. But clearly, what I expected is what happened: very few people were supportive.
DeleteFred
I am glad you had your fun Fred, because this discussion is not fun for me, nor would it be to any residents on 6th avenue I imagine. The fact that you, a Commissioner, put in on your blog, gave it some sort of credence in my mind, and made it seem like it was something that had a possibility of happening. This I find upsetting at the least. The arrogance of Mr. Modern Martial to assume that the people of 6th avenue (one block away from his home) do not deserve the same happiness in their homes is unbelievable to me, and because you were interested in discussing it on your blog made it even worse to me. Just because people don't physically come to the meetings and speak up does not mean that they don't pay attention, and care about what is going on.
DeleteFrom Linda Dillon:
ReplyDeleteI agree that the new building should not be called the “annex” and vote for Village Municipal Building (VMB for short). I’d say my second choice would be Village Hall. Either way, leave the moniker “Log Cabin” as is, or just call it the Cabin.
As for Joe’s thoughts….. interesting concept in many ways; but, if I lived on 6th Ave., I sure would not want to give up any of my property. Also, with no parking and/or sidewalks, I don’t see it as a viable option.
Since the log cabin was not intended to be an administrative village hall and is being returned to public use for meetings etc- so the new building should not have been called or referred to as an "annex"- should be the "New Village Hall". plus annex is a cool, rather unattractive governmental word.
ReplyDeleteAs for 6th ave- I disagree. There is no parking here much less sidewalks etc..6th ave is a pedestrian nightmare. We are trying to "Annex" a commercial area- is that not good enough to create whatever there? I have 2 houses fronting 6th ave in back of my property- I don't want a cute café with a critter filled dumpster in the back etc- or outdoor seating or activities in my backyard.
I like Linda's Suggestion I just saw for the VMB. Or VOBPMB!! haha
ReplyDeleteI think by default the new building will be Village Hall and the Log Cabin is just that.
ReplyDeleteIt's just something to talk about, but you can solve the parking issue by making 6th Ave one lane on each side (I have thought for some time now that this would be a great idea in any case, then you would have room for sidewalks). Also the types of businesses allowed would be very narrow in scope, for example they could be restricted to professional office's only.
Andrew, please weigh in on this, wouldn't the value of those properties on 6th Ave escalate? So the other side of the equation is are you of the opinion that it would decrease the value of those properties adjacent to those properties on 6th Ave?
Chuck
Hate the idea for 6th ave- no need to discuss- will not happen anyway- sorry!
DeleteWhile under construction it is the Annex. Once everyone moves in it becomes the Village Administration Building.
ReplyDeleteOr Village Hall. The LOG CABIN is the LOG CABIN. I don't think we should change it's historical name.
Let's not complicate this, People are used to those names.
At this time, no to rezoning 6th Ave.
The idea of rezoning all of 6th Avenue in the Park, so that it could be used for commercial purposes is far more complicated than a couple of posts on this blog. I really can't believe that anyone would consider this when annexation makes much more sense and is a "work in progress."
ReplyDeleteConsider those residents complaining about ruining the sense of our Village by annexing areas "outside" of our borders. What would they say to converting 6th Ave?
Well said, Milton. Absolutely right.
ReplyDeleteLog Cabin has always been Village Hall - for 47 years at least - probably before that too when it was aledgedly just a meeting place and Cousel Chambers. Leave it that way. "Log Cabin" does not tell the outsider anything. Call the new building the Biscayne Park Administration Building. Tells everyone what to expect inside. If we had 10 buildings they would all have descriptive names - we ID Public Works as Public Works, for instance.
ReplyDeleteI said it in a previous post. Leave the zoning as is on 6th Ave.
ReplyDeleteSo how do we solve the budget issue?
ReplyDeleteNo rezoning of NE 6 Avenue so no commercial properties
No raising of the mileage since we already have the highest mileage rate in the county
No raising of taxes because they are already too high for the services we get
My wife suggested either cut gov't expenses either by laying people off, cutting salaries or cutting projects. Another she suggested is being taken over by Miami Shores that seems to run their gov't better with a lower mileage rate.
Heavy thinking...
Say it ain't so, Joe.
DeleteNo, no commercial properties here in the triangle. That is precisely what annexation is all about.
Whether we have the highest millage in the county is irrelevant. We are a unique neighborhood (that's why each of us lives here), and we have to do fiscal things differently than everyone else does. Ignore the other municipalities. We tax ourselves as we need to, to meet our fiscal needs. (Also, keep in mind that our property values are comparatively low. So high millage does not mean high taxes.)
How do you calculate that we pay too much tax for the service we get?
Tell Michelle we've done all that. We're lean. You or Michelle can go hang around Village Hall and see if anyone is slacking, or if anyone is doing something that doesn't need to be done.
Miami Shores is not going to take us over. They don't want to, and they would be crazy if they did. The reason we don't maintain ourselves as we should is that it costs a lot, and we don't want to pay it. For precisely the same reason, MSV would not pour money into this neighborhood, either. If BP residents don't care enough to provide properly for ourselves, why should MSV care? How do you know MSV's government runs better than ours does? Their millage, which is only slightly lower than ours, is supported by higher value residential properties (a slightly lower percentage of significantly higher assessed properties is more money, a higher tax bill), and commercial properties. If we eventually do this right, we will improve ourselves, so that our values are higher, too (and we can then lower our own millage), and we'll annex, so we'll have a commercial/industrial component, too.
It's not the thinking that's heavy. It's the resolve to do what needs to be done.
Fred
We have under funded most things the Village needs for decades and it is catching up with us. We relied on new residents paying more tax wise than long time residents. However with the recent real estate bust taxes tended to even out. Look at your market value vs your appraised valve.
DeleteThe Shores charged $750 a year for trash, building up a reserve for new equipment and we charged $565.00. A comparable house in the Shores pays at least 50% more in taxes.
So what can we do as our millage rate is almost topped out? No one wants less service. We maybe able to create special taxing districts to remove some items from our property tax rate thereby lowering the effective rate we pay.
For example, my numbers are a guess. Make police a special tax district and remove them from property taxs. It would lower the general budget 50% and the tax rate would drop to 5 mills We then have 5 mills before topping out at 10 mills. We still pay taxes out of the same pocket, but legally we could have an effective rate of 15 mills.
If you want the services we all have to pay for them
This is just a thought.
Joe,
DeleteThe "heavy thinking" should be more about the business model we're operating under and if it is sustainable in today's world. Being that we've run a deficit in 9 out of the past 11 years... this should be the subject of conversation. But, this seems to be "too much out of the box thinking" according to some.
Of course, it's easy to continue to tax and spend... as we've always done right up to the cap. And yes, there is a cap and it is in place for a reason. Speculative risks with our taxpayer dollars is not the answer.
This is akin to any sports franchise that is not getting the results it wants. Most too are held to a budget or "spending cap." They have to find alternatives within their budget to attempt to right the ship.
Milt,
ReplyDeleteIt's an easy, and mindless for some, reflex to decry "tax and spend" government. But you're forgetting who we are and who we have always been. Taxing ourselves is all we've had. It's been our only way to survive. And if you look around you, you can see that we have not survived in a very stylish way.
I know you're a proponent of annexation, and so am I, but it takes time for this to come through, if it does. In the meantime, we have obligations (to ourselves) we don't meet. You can always climb on board the other train, the one that says we should reduce our responsibilities to the level that we feel like meeting them, but that's not responsible, or very mature. It is part of the unique nature of the neighborhood where we have all chosen to live that we have to dig deeper. And keep in mind, the deep digging is a matter of percent, or millage. It is not about money spent. Our millage is high, but our taxes are low, owning to very modest property values here. As I have said, and Harvey reiterates, you will pay much more in tax on exactly the same property, if you locate that property a few blocks away, in MSV.
Ten mills has no meaning, because the denominator is not fixed. In the VBP denominator, 10 mills are not enough. In the MSV denominator, or ,many others, 10 mills are more than enough.
Fred
Fred,
DeleteWell, first off my comment was in response to Joe, but since you decided to jump in, I would offer that it is also easy and mindless to decry “tax and spend” as an only alternative when there are always other options. Your refusal to understand this does not diminish this fact. And as far as maturity is concerned, I will refer you back to your previous post on 7/23/15 and the petulant tone aimed directly at your peers and staff. And this was, as far as it reads to me, due to your failure of not gaining support for your wants on taxation.
I take offence of your aspersion of me “climbing on board the other train” as if that is somehow incorrect thinking. You should know me well enough by now to know that I "call them the way I see them" and am independent in my thought process. I owe no allegiance to either train, so to speak.
You know, your ideas and slogan you seem to be so proud of “for the best we can be” (or whatever it is) is purely subjective. Each homeowner here could have a different or unique opinion as to what “the best we can be” actually is. You do get this, right? Or are you suggesting that only “your view” is correct - and that the rest of this community and Commission are wrong? And if so, what are you basing this on?
Fred, you seemingly fail to realize that none of the wants you’re advocating for are possible without the majority support from our community. Do you think you have it? You act as if you don’t even consider or care about this point. And that is a mistake of judgement on your part.
I have not forgotten who we are and who we have always been. If you’ll remember, I’ve lived here a lot longer than you have. I’m just taking a more realistic view on what we can reasonably accomplish when considering the whole of our community - and not just myself.
Milt,
DeleteIt's an open space. You cannot only have been communicating with Joe.
No, taxation is not at all the only possibility. That's why I, like you, advocate for annexation. The advantage of that, too, is taxation. Absent that, make a list of other revenue opportunities for us. We already have non ad valorem taxes, to the displeasure of some. We rent out the recreation center. We charge for permits. Do you want to install parking meters? You won't be the only one who does. Is there something else?
I'm sorry about the reference to maturity. I didn't mean it in a personal way.
If you have proposed something other than annexation and expense reduction, please remind me what it was. Those are the only two trains for which I have known you to possess a ticket.
Is it someone's idea that skanky and undeveloped medians, and unrepaired streets, are the Best We Can Be? (Yes, that's what it is.) I sometimes want to do things on the cheap, too, but I don't kid myself into thinking it's the best I could do.
Of course I realize that my ideas, or anyone's ideas, need support from others. I've been outvoted at times. If you become a Commissioner, or join any of the Boards, you'll be outvoted sometimes, too. Does that make you wrong?
I have found the "realistic" view to be curious regarding this budget. The majority this time, who didn't want to tax above 9.7 mills, seemed to say they didn't want to increase taxes. 9.7 mills IS a tax increase. The millage that's no tax increase is 8.7. So if they agree to increase taxes, why wouldn't they agree to go as far as an elected body could? Even Heidi, who proposed the 9.7 millage, told us that with that millage, we would fail to meet a number of responsibilities. So what exactly does "realistic" mean?
Fred
Fred,
ReplyDelete"Is it someone's idea that skanky and undeveloped medians, and unrepaired streets, are the Best We Can Be?"
What if I told you yes, that some here, perhaps many don't care or share your views on the medians and streets. Perhaps they couldn't care less about "The Best We Can Be." They live here too you know, pay their taxes -but they may have other priorities that are more important to them.
Does that make them wrong and you right?
What if what is important to them is better Village wide street lighting? What if they simply want their local government to reduce spending, cut expenses and pass those saving back to them? We need to look at all sides of this... and not just through our own eyes.
Yes, maintaining a 9.7 millage IS a tax increase and makes sense for this year due to the new debt load taken on. However, it is naïve to believe that our property values will continue to climb at a 10% rate. Or, at any rate for that matter. A reasonable argument can be made that our real estate market is in yet another bubble -and we need to prepare for this possibility.
Have we?
In regards to possible annexation, we may also need to be financially prepared in the event of merging our higher millage rate with what they are now paying. I'm sure we can't jump them up to 9.7 during the first year or two. And if you think that our millage rate is attractive to them, then your fooling yourself.
One of the problems here for years has been poor follow through. We, at one point in time were fixing the streets... little by little and without asking for higher taxes/assessments or some engineering master plan to do so. But, somewhere along the line the ball got dropped. We bought storm water drain systems, installed them - but forgot to maintain them... until recently. We were, at one point, taking care of the Log Cabin but guess what... yup, dropped the ball again. And so on and so forth.
My point is that there are plenty of "existing needs" we have without looking to create new ones. I think the pitch of wanting more would go down better if we had a proven track record of performance.
We gotta learn to crawl before we can walk Fred.
P.S.
DeleteYou know I for one, would love to see all of the efforts spent on trying to conjure up higher millage rates and additional forms of new taxes, spent rather towards tougher code enforcement.
• Something we know is within the scope of what we can accomplish.
• Something that has a direct and meaningful effect on our property values.
• And something I hear little to nothing about coming from the dais.
I'm reading between the lines here, Milt, but you sound like someone with a platform. I know you can't declare before September next year, but I like your vision. I'll vote for you. I feel sure you're going to show us all how it's done. And with your commitment, confidence, and enthusiasm, I have a funny feeling no one will disagree with you, or complain, or criticize you.
DeleteFred
Nope, you've read the wrong line Fred. Sorry-
DeleteAs I've told you and others before, I have no interest in politics. I do however, have interest in our Village and am just trying to do my part. For what it's worth.