Yesterday (4:00 PM to 10:00 PM!), the Village held one of its outdoor events. This one was centered on jazz music, and there were some vendors, mostly selling food and some drinks.
I was there from about 5:30 to about 8:00.
In the past, we've engaged one combo/band/ensemble, and it played for maybe 1 1/2 hours. Yesterday, we engaged at least three that I saw and heard, and there could well have been more. Tal Cohen, a jazz pianist I have seen and heard many times around town, was there, Mike Gerber, who, with his wife, does or did live in the Park, was there (dressed to the nines!), and performers I didn't know were there.
The music was terrific (that was the best of the great news), and the crowd was a decent size. Rain threatened from time to time, but didn't interfere much.
The food was excellent. There were plates of what amounted to dinner (and I was able to avoid eating animals or dairy), and there were exceptionally good baked items, some of which were vegan. All of the food and drinks, except for the offerings from one vendor, were overpriced. But we were all there to have a nice time, the event/music was free, and it was worth the not-terribly-painful pocket-picking.
My nextdoor neighbors were there with their six month old twins, and various other neighbors were there. My impression was that everyone was having a good time. That, of course, was the point, so that was the great news (not to mention the quality of the music).
So, here's the terrible news. Mac Kennedy was there, of course, and he was mingling avidly, and being his usual friendly, outgoing self. Art Gonzalez was sitting, possibly with some family members, in a corner, not interacting with anyone, except probably his presumed family members. Veronica Amsler eventually showed up. I had spoken to her once on the telephone when she was "running" for office, and I had a real opportunity to meet her in actual person, and talk to her more about her sort of impossible self-inflicted project of being a Commissioner, and how to negotiate it. As of about 8:00, Jonathan Groth, Veronica Olivera, and Mario Diaz never showed up. I asked someone -- not unlikely Mac -- where Mario (you know, our supposed manager) was, and I was reminded that yesterday was Saturday. That never, ever, not once stopped Ana Garcia and Heidi Siegel, and we pay low, but not chicken feed. There was absolutely no possible excuse for Mario not to have been there, not to mention the other people who had been elected by their neighbors to be Commissioners. That kind of disinterest never used to happen, at least not when I was ever involved. I'm very sure that was true of all of us who, you know, gave a shit. I, personally, was probably always one of the first ones there and the last to leave, unless Issa and Derrick told me everything was under control, and I could go. (Yes, of course Issa and Derrick, and a number of our police, were there yesterday, even though it was...Saturday. Did we pay any of them overtime? Good. I hope so. They had a lot to do.)
It would never have happened like that starting when I moved here in 2005. Even Steve Bernard would have been there in his time. Things held up until 2016, and then, they crashed. If our best effort to get ourselves back on some sort of adaptive track, that reflected self-esteem, is electing Mac Kennedy, it's the least we could do, and it's not good enough. We need a whole Commission, or at least a majority of one, like that.
No one needs me to defend, but let's be fair that folks have other obligations. I missed the music event for kids a few weeks ago because of a business conflict. We need elected officials at meetings, prepared, and that's happening. If they also show up to dance in the field to a NoLa-style brass band, all the better but not the end of the world when they can't/don't. Every current commissioner is attending some of the many fabulous events that provide the heart and soul of our "Oasis in the Heart of Miami."
ReplyDeleteMac,
DeleteIt's a tiny municipality. There aren't that many things going on. My past experience, and my current expectation, is that every Commissioner, and the manager, will attend all events. I'm glad to hear that they bother to show up at meetings, although you and I and all of us have seen how unprepared they can be, and how pathetically little they can accomplish. They can count this as 1) a ceremonial function, and 2) an opportunity to meet some of their constituents whom they didn't meet when they weren't bothering to campaign. This is an informal part of their job. As best I know, every one of them, including Mario, cashes the checks.
And by the way, while they're attending the monthly meetings, it would be nice to see them focus, and address issues, consider motions that should be made, and vote. (I'm told the Commission now loads way too much of its imagined responsibility as "discussion items," so there isn't even an expectation that anything will come of it. Except endless and aimless chatter.) I've seen it. I've been there. It's not that complicated (even less complicated if we had a competent manager), and we should be able to move meetings along so they can be resolved quickly. For some frames of reference, BP meetings used to take two hours, unless they were so complicated that they needed 2 1/2, back in the days of John Hornbuckle, etc. Other nearby municipalities (larger than BP, and with commercial components) complete meetings in under an hour.
One way or the other, these Commissioners need to show up, exactly as you did, and do their connecting, glad-handing, meeting their neighbors, and whatever else they can do in six hours. And they can console themselves for the time they might think they wasted by listening to wonderful jazz, and having some food and drink. Most of these Commissioners have no or very minimal Village functioning experience anyway (and didn't bother to campaign), so any opportunity is a great one.
Fred
Mac,
DeleteI'll give you an example of what I mean. I know, because you and I talk about it, and agree about it, that you feel something should be done about the feral cats. You could research this (call the Humane Society, the Village attorney, or anyone else), come up with a specific suggestion, and present it as a Resolution or, better yet, an Ordinance. Your Commission colleagues will know about this in advance, when they get the meeting agenda, and they can make calls, or think about it, and you can either just vote on your proposal or have a short discussion preceding the vote.
Fred