FPL's "Budget Billing" Program

Just to recapitulate, I got solar panels in about August, 2019.  My bill drifted down (as it would have in part for seasonal reasons anyway), and it hit $9.99 a month for two months.  It then inexplicably increased to $10.05 a month, and it stayed there, every month, all year, for about two years.  Early this year (2022), it started to destabilize, so that one month, I got a rebate of a little over $30 (I assumed they had a minimum monthly bill, so no one could go without being billed, no matter how little electricity they used, or how much they produced.  So it was unclear why I was getting a rebate.)  The fact is that I always produce more than I use, but I get a small bill anyway.  But it's a small bill, and FPL is desperately trying to hang on to income, so I don't worry about it.

But two months ago, I got a bill for $30.17.  That's two cents more than triple my "minimum" monthly bill.  So I called.  I got some meaningless song and dance from the agent (actual people are very hard to find in the FPL system), and it included some sketchy interpretation that my bill wasn't really triple the normal bill.  I couldn't get this poor fellow to explain to me how $30.17 wasn't almost exactly triple of $10.05.  He was dancing as fast as he could, and reading whatever script he was given to read, and I just wasn't going to make any progress with this pathetic attempted conversation.  But the e-mail I got letting me know about my upcoming bill did suggest that I could lower my bill to just over $17 (instead of $30.17) by signing up for the "Budget Billing" program.  The poor dope to whom I was talking couldn't exactly explain that, either, but I figured that $17+ was better than $30.17, so I agreed to be switched to this program.  And this new endeavor on FPL's part included that if I used little enough, my bill would be $25.  So at some point in this scheme, the less electricity you use, the more they bill you for it.

I just got the warning e-mail for the upcoming bill, and it's $20.25.  I had figured that the "good news" was that my bill would now be $17+ every month, but this one creeped up.  The fact is that I produce more than I use every day, and the daily estimate from FPL was always 36 cents, which is about $10.05 a month.  

It took me a long time to find a real person again, but eventually, I did.  I didn't say too much before this woman said that maybe the "Budget Billing" program wasn't right for me.  She seemed a lot smarter and level-headed than the first guy a month before, so I could have an actual conversation with her.

The sneaky/skanky program of the higher minimum bill (especially if you don't use too much electricity) is still FPL's new normal, but she also told me that the "Budget Billing" program is intended to prevent the summer high bills and the winter low bills, so people can pay a more or less similar amount every month.  But it's not the same amount, as the monthly estimate is not fixed for a year, but it "rolls" somehow.  And if someone has unpredicted usage, they're eventually going to get a bill that will make up the deficit.  So since my usage is low, and I can afford my electric bills, this woman and I decided I should cancel being in the "Budget Billing" program.

I also, of course, treated myself to a bit of a very frustrated rant, during which I said that I understood that FPL needed income, and wanted to stay in business, but it accomplished this by picking the pockets of people like me.  I said again that I can afford it, but it's just that I resent it.  And I said that I realize FPL will say the PSC gives it permission to bill people (like me) this way, but that the PSC is directed by the electeds, and the electeds are purchased by donors like FPL.

It was at this point that this woman told me I'm a smart man, which I don't consider particularly or uniquely true, but I did take her to mean that I had a very clear understanding of how the system works, and why it works that way.

When I see the resistance to transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy, including the complaint that people will lose jobs, I imagine the time that common transportation changed from horses to cars.  I wonder how many people connected to the horse industry railed against this change, and the fact that they know how to breed, train, care for, and shoe horses, but they don't know how to repair cars.  As if it was all so unfair to them.

The difference now is that people who drive cars that burn gas or diesel, or buy electricity from FPL, have no choice but to burn something.  But FPL does have a choice.  It is not limited to burning stuff.  FPL can create electricity the same way I do, if they want to.  And if they choose not to do it, why is that everyone else's problem?

Season Four, Episode Eight, Was Definitely the Best.

I know why I binge-watched "The Gilmore Girls."  Yes, it's an intensely girly series, and there's no reason I would ever have watched even one episode of it, except I have a mad crush on Lauren Graham.  What's more appealing about one person over another for a given other person?  How should I know?  It's a lot of things, and they're essentially all intangible and unconscious.  Especially if you've never even met the person.  Really, I think Lauren Graham is too skinny for my tastes, but I have a mad crush on her anyway.  I've now seen her in two series: "The Gilmore Girls" and "Parenthood."

The other things about Lauren Graham are that she's too young for me, she lives in Los Angeles (so there's no way I would ever meet her), and until recently, she was in an 11 year relationship with Peter Krause, who was one of the main actors in my favorite TV drama, "Six Feet Under."  What's interesting about Lauren Graham is that she plays (chooses?) roles which are women who are shockingly incapable of stable relationships.  At one level, actors are very eager to work, and they are sort of inclined to take what's available.  But one does hear of actors choosing certain roles, and declining others, for various reasons.  So I wondered if Lauren Graham chose these roles because they "resonate" with her: because she identifies with women who are incapable of maintaining stable relationships.  But then again, she did maintain a relationship, for 11 years (who knows how stable it was), with Peter Krause.  She has no children, though, and I have no information as to why not.  But that relationship reportedly fell apart recently.  So who knows about Lauren Graham's ability to be in a stable relationship (Peter Krause probably does).  Although one thing I read placed the blame for the break-up on Krause.

But I didn't really intend to talk about Lauren Graham, or my massive crush on her.  After all, she's still too young for me, and I'm still never going to meet her.  Any more than I'm ever going to meet Catherine Keener, who grew up in our area, and whose mother lives on the southern border of North Miami, very near us, and on whom (Catherine, not Candy, her mother) I also have a huge crush, and who is no longer married to Dermot Mulroney, and who is also too young for me, and whom I'm also never going to meet.  I wanted to talk about Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband, Daniel Palladino, and the series they created and produced, and for which they wrote many/most of the episodes, and directed many/most of them, too.  "The Gilmore Girls" was one of them, and the other -- "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel" -- was suggested by my daughter.  Now, there are a few things to note here.  One is that I do more or less whatever my daughter tells me to do.  Another is that one of my boyhood/school friends was Michael Maisel, whose name is pronounced Mai-SEL.  So it's very unnatural to me to pronounce the name of some of the characters in this series as MAI-sel, even though that's how Amy Sherman-Palladino wants it pronounced.  Third, the lead character in "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel" is extremely capable and talented, but she, too, appears to be incapable of stable relating.  (The series starts with her married, living with her husband and her parents, and being the mother of two young children, but her husband inexplicably announces he's leaving her, and he's having an affair, but we're never told why he cheated on this magnificent -- "Marvelous," which she is -- creature.  Frankly, the Palladinos leave us with a lot of unexplained loose ends, in both series.)  And fourth, it's interesting to note that the Palladinos seem to have some favorite actors, three of whom were in both series, and one of whom, from "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel," was the wife of an actor who was a regular in "The Gilmore Girls."  I know you're thinking "who cares," and you're not wrong.  It's just a curiosity.  After all, Chris Guest commonly uses most of the same actors in all of his movies (one of whom is Jane Lynch, who had a significant recurring role in "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel"), and so does Kevin Smith.

So I binge-watched as much as I could of "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel," too.  And just so you understand the mechanics here, I'm in Massachusetts from early May until early October, because that's what my daughter wanted.  I work (virtually), I help out, and I bond with my young grandchildren.  My daughter suggested I do this, so I told her how much I was in a position to spend, and I told her to go find me any place she wanted.  So now, I have a condominium apartment (not like the south Florida type: it's the first floor of what looks like a three story house).  My daughter furnished it with a lot of stuff she got for free (this is apparently a thing up here), and some stuff she bought.  Some of the stuff she got for free included the TV set I watch (and I can watch DVDs on it, too, once my son-in-law comes over to tell me how to make that function work), which she got as a "hand-me-down" from her mother.  (I'm sure you can do that arithmetic for yourself.  It's sort of creepy, but I try not to think about it.)  She put an Apple TV or a Roku on that TV, and she loaded it with her sign-in credentials for stations she thought I might like.  So now, I have things like Netflix ("The Gilmore Girls") and (Sc)Amazon Prime ("The Marvelous Mrs Maisel").

Anyway, the lead character in "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel" ("Mrs Maisel," played by Rachel Brosnahan, who's even skinnier than Lauren Graham) is also appealing (but not delicious, like Lauren Graham), and once her marriage ended, also turned out to flit from one man to another, at one point getting caught by his wife in the bed of the guy she thought was her new boyfriend.  And in "The Gilmore Girls" and "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel," the lead woman has an ongoing connection/attraction to some other character you know is right for her, and she should be with him, but they keep not connecting in the right way and with permanent commitment.  It's very frustrating, and I do wonder if this is something about Amy Sherman-Palladino, or if it's her idea of a sustaining device in a "dramedy"/"rom-com."

So, these people keep bungling around, and, at what I'm guessing is the end of season four of "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel," some important things come together, at least for a possibly fleeting moment.  That's episode eight.  Mrs Maisel finally has sex with Lenny Bruce (yes, that Lenny Bruce), and some other things happen.  I know there's a season five, and now knowing Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino as I do, I can only assume that nothing will sustain stability (I don't know for how long they themselves have been married, if they have children, or if they're stable), no matter how badly it needs it, but season five is not on (Sc)Amazon Prime yet.  So we'll see.

I sort of want Lauren Graham as a girlfriend (even though I can't have her.  And she wouldn't want me, anyway.  She should have someone of the age and with the bank account of, oh, let's say Peter Krause.  I did read her explanation of why that relationship ended, and it was sort of unconvincing/unbelievable, considering that it had reportedly lasted 11 years.  Unless she's truly like Lorelai Gilmore, and she gets herself into untenable relationships that really don't have a proper foundation.  Although in "The Gilmore Girls," what was unreliable enough in Lorelai Gilmore's relationships was Lorelai Gilmore.), and I want Amy Sherman-Palladino (and possibly her husband) as patients (even though I'm sure I can't have them, either).

"Just a Phase?"

It's two things, really.  One is that I finally gave up, and tuned out.  Nothing adaptive for the Village has happened since the end of 2016, and we elect inept, misguided, and sabotaging Commission after inept, misguided, and sabotaging Commission.  And we've had choices.  Roxy Ross and later Mac Kennedy have been our minorities of one since late 2016.  But apart from the two of them, we have selected Commissioners who don't want anything for the Village, and who don't know what they're doing anyway.  And those Commissions hire "manager" after "manager" who are similarly devoid of initiative that would favor the Village and its functioning.  Three of the four "managers" we've had since the end of 2016 haven't even had the minimum qualifications.  "We" (the Commissions) choose these people to (mis)manage the Village.

The second thing is that I happen not to be home this summer.  I left early in May, and I'll be back early in October.

So, between one thing and the other, I've given up.  The Village is content to underfunction, sometimes with dire consequences (like the choice not to provide adequate policing of our most treacherous street, leading to accidents, one of which was a near fatality).  But, like the Eloi from The Time Machine, we sit back and laze around, tuned out, mindless, carefree, and careless.

Yesterday and today, I had an e-mail conversation with one of our neighbors.  Our neighbor mentioned Louis/Luigi/Louie/"Hot Dog King" Diraimondo, who had made a fool of himself at a recent Commission meeting, and our neighbor interpreted from past interactions that Diraimondo is my "nemesis."  I said "He's not my nemesis.  He's just an immature misfit.  But Ginny's no bargain, either, and neither are Dan or Art.  [Somehow, I forgot completely about Judi.  Which I suppose is fitting.]  And as best I can tell, Mario is a loser."  Our neighbor replied "Actually I agree with you about all of those BP people you mentioned.  I am hoping that all most of what is going on here is 'just a phase' but I don’t really believe it is."  And our neighbor referred to 6th Avenue as a "speeding mess."

So I said "The 'phase' has been unrelenting since the end of 2016, and it has included a shifting cast of characters.  So I agree with you that it doesn't seem like a 'phase' out of which we will emerge.  At least not soon (enough).

"Sixth Avenue is a 'speeding mess' because the manager refuses to address it, and the majority of the Commission don't care."

We won't address the state of our medians, we won't enforce our Codes, we do painfully little for our streets and drainage problems, we don't enhance anything (any more), we keep paying more to managers and getting less from them, and we act as if it's all beyond us.  We just don't care.  We cared when we wanted a better Village, and we had agendas, and hired managers like Ana Garcia, Heidi Siegel, and Sharon Ragoonan.  And then, we just stopped caring.

I don't know what's to become of the Village.  Not nearly enough people who are in a position to make decisions (except the decision to vote) care, which either means hardly anyone cares, or it means not enough people who do care run and get elected.

But the point is that it's not clear whether this mess is "just a phase" from which we will emerge, or awaken, or if it's become our solidified new normal.  If it's the latter, it's a shame to agree to allow all of our potential, including our potential (which I would have said was also our responsibility) to provide for others apart from ourselves, to deteriorate and decompose, or float down the river to its demise, like the Eloi did.

A Nice Evening Coming Up.

 Yeah, OK, it's Orchestra Miami again.  So?  They happen to produce some first rate entertainment, for very low cost.

This time, it's a special occasion: the Quinceanera of Orchestra Miami.  That's Miami cute, isn't it?

The date is Saturday, May 21, the time is 8:00 PM, and the location is the Scottish Rite Temple at 471 NW 3rd St.  Orchestra Miami uses that venue frequently, and it's a pleasant place to enjoy a concert.  You can park on the street, unless you'd rather park behind (north of) the building.  The main difference is that street parking costs money, and the Scottish Rite Temple's parking lot is free.  But it's your money, so you decide.

Orchestra Miami is very eclectic in what they present, and this program will feature an orchestra, but also renowned local jazz singer, Wendy Pedersen, and one of my favorite jazz pianists, who's also local, Jim Gasior.  The information I have doesn't list the program, except to say it will be an "exciting array of [jazz?] standards and classics."

The cost is $30 per ticket, which is highish for Orchestra Miami, and low for anyone else, and the evening, festive and special as it is, will include "drinks, light bites, dancing, and prizes for the best quinceanera outfits."

I don't know if there's a way to transfer the link to get tickets, but you can go to www.orchestramiami.org, or you can call 305-274-2103.

I won't be there, because I'll be out of town, but I hope you go have yourselves a wonderful time.  And whatever a "quinceanera outfit" is, you ought to wear one.  You might win a prize.

Do You Have Plans Saturday Night, April 9?

Orchestra Miami is putting on a special program.  Elaine Rinaldi, Orchestra Miami's founder, organizer, conductor, and pianist, calls it the "must-see event of the year."  She says it's taking place in Miami's only remaining airplane hangar in Coconut Grove.  (They had airplane hangars in Coconut Grove?   Maybe it was for military planes during WWII.  Although this one is described as having been built by the USCG in 1932 -- way before WWII -- on Dinner Key, and it's at Shake-a-Leg Miami.)

Anyway, "Dinner Key was once the site of the first continental US Naval station, which opened in 1918, and beginning in the 1930s, the home base for Pan Am(erican) World Airways."  Now, this site is the home of Shake-a-Leg Miami, which is an organization that serves local children and adults with disabilities.  So, how did Shake-a-Leg Miami get interested in this project?  Beats me.  But they are, and Orchestra Miami is all too glad to join forces with them.

So, on Saturday, April 9, beginning at 8:00 PM, here's what's taking place: Michael Yawney is directing two pieces.  They will include Kurt Weill's "Lindbergh's Flight" and Marc Blitzstein's "Airborne Symphony," and they'll include the Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre and the Gay Men's Chorus of South Florida.  There will be projected images courtesy of HistoryMiami Museum, and you can either attend in person, or stream at home.

I hope this link works, but here's how you can get tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/discover-miami-through-music-airborne-tickets-277609426267.  If the link doesn't work, you can call Orchestra Miami at 305-274-2103.

This show is being called "Airborne."  However many former Pan Am employees are still around, and still interested in their old jobs, are promoting this project.  They asked Elaine to do it, and she said "YES!!"

By the way, if you're thinking "but wasn't Lindbergh famously anti-Semitic," yes, he was.  But Weill was Jewish, and if he was willing to write this piece, then we can listen to it.

So, I'll see you there, and if you're not there, I'll be thinking about you Livestreaming this from home.

                                              

Increasing Centralization of Government in a State that Claims to Honor the Wishes of the Citizens.

Let's start with my electric bill.  As I have reported before, my bill was very consistently $10.05 a month for about two years, including summers.  This can only have been attributable to my solar panels.  But FPL has been leaning on the state legislature to allow it to bill, and charge, differently, so that people with solar panels will pay more for the electricity they're not using (so they'll be less motivated to have solar panels, which interfere with FPL's profits and dominance).  My bill last month was in the mid $20s (I had the heat on for parts of two days), and the one I got today is $15.97.  ($16, OK?)  No heat this past month.  And no AC until May.

I don't care that much about the bills, because they're still much less than I was paying before, and besides, I think it was insane that FPL was paying me the same amount per kWh that they were charging me per kWh.  The proportion of people with solar panels is (still) small, but FPL has to make a profit.  And they still have to create power even for me, when I'm not making my own.  So they have to maintain the wires, etc.  They had to charge me more than they were paying me, unless they already were, as represented by the minimum monthly bill.

The problem is that legislators, whose constituency is donors, not voters, do whatever the donors want them to do.  Excuse me for putting it this way, but fuck the voters.  Candidates know that campaign war chests are important, because it's worth much more to be visible than it is to make a good argument, because voters -- excuse me again -- are idiots.  Voters chase shiny objects (and empty and moronic catchphrases).  It's the donors who pay for the bling.

A few election cycles ago, there was an item on the ballot, and it was about "medical marijuana."  I'm not going to get started on what a scam "medical marijuana" is, but whatever anyone thought it was, or wanted it to be, the voters wanted it.  They passed it with a considerable margin.  But for also who knows what reason, the legislators didn't want it.  So they encumbered it, so it would be very hard to actualize.  What was it I said?  Oh, yeah: fuck the voters.

And then, of course, there's the coronavirus issue.  "Dr" Ron DeSantis has decided that there should be no mask or vaccination mandates, no matter how badly they're needed, nor how badly the "people" want them.  So he and his state congress stooges prevented localities or even large enough businesses (and schools) from requiring them.

I heard on the radio today that Tallahassee (the legislature) is on a frenzy to arrogate to itself as much power as it can, at the expense of counties and municipalities.

Sometimes, we're a "purple" state.  Usually, we're a "red" state.  But the current administration acts like what it most commonly bitterly criticizes, which is a state/government that controls everyone's lives, and tells everyone what they can and can't do, no matter what the residents of this state want.

I've listened to Ron DeSantis speak.  He's one of the stupidest people I've ever heard.  (No, not as stupid as Donald Trump, OK?  But he's up there.)  And a dishonest hypocrite...?  And he's being talked about as a likely, even possibly favored(!), candidate in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.  I told you about voters.

The Problem With Speed Traps.

On my walk this morning, I had two experiences that reflect each other.

First, I was talking to two of my BP friends (about this blog, and particularly about the last post), and one of them suggested we need speed traps.  I told him I don't think we do, and that what we really need is conspicuous enforcement, or just patrolling.  My friend was thinking about attracting drivers' attention by nailing them with a ticket for speeding, and how they'd think about that next time they're in our area.  My thought was that if our cruisers are visible, then drivers are already thinking about the rules, and if we do no more than stop them for a little safety chat, we will have gotten their attention sufficiently (and wasted more of their time than they intended to invest driving through BP).

Second, I turned from Griffing onto 119th, on the final way home, and when I reached about 5th, I saw one of our cruisers on 119th heading west, and stopped at 6th.  The turn signal was not on, so I imagined maybe the officer was waiting for a break to cross 6th.  As I got to 6th, the cruiser turned onto 6th, going south.  By the time I could see where the cruiser went, I saw it tucked onto the swale off the right side of the road, maybe at about 117th or 116th.  This was very clearly a speed trap.

So, here's the problem.  Speed traps are intended to fool people into doing what they're not supposed to do, then punish them for doing it.  At the very best, the goal is either to raise money from writing tickets, or give the driver such a horribly memorable experience that s/he will either obey the rules in the future, or drive somewhere else.  But in the meantime, speed traps seduce, or enable, people to do exactly what we don't want them to do.  But if we don't want them to do it, then we should think of something preventative, and not just impose a consequence after they've already done this thing we don't want them to do.

From the driver's perspective, the best version of the bad news is that they get punished (hundreds of dollars in fines for maybe only going 36 mph on a 30 mph street, points, increased insurance premium).  The worst version of the bad news is that they crash, into another car, a house, a pedestrian, a concrete FPL pole, have lots of damage to their car, maybe get killed, or kill someone else.  Because we think we're being clever and mischievous, and popping out of hiding just in time to sting them with a radar gun and a ticket book.

Two days ago, someone on a motorcycle apparently got hit by a car crossing the street.  The motorcyclist was reportedly speeding, and the car driver didn't see him or her, or wasn't paying attention.  As best I understand, all of this happened in the southbound lane of 6th, right around 121st.  A BP cruiser stealthily waiting to pounce at 117th or 116th wasn't going to prevent any of that.  Had that cruiser been at that spot on that day, s/he would have missed the whole thing.  Is it a lot less work and trouble to sit in a cruiser with a radar gun?  Sure it is.  But we don't pay half of our budget for officers to take the easy way out of enforcement.

We simply need very visible cruising by marked BP cruisers.  It doesn't do good to blame people for doing the wrong thing.  We should try to prevent them from doing the wrong thing.  And if they need a safety chat, about their speed, or being distracted by their phones, we can add that as a bonus intervention.  No charge.

Paying For Our Mistakes is Sometimes Not Cheap.

I just got a text message from one of our neighbors who lives on 6th Avenue.  Apparently, we can stop waiting.  I am told there was a "possible fatality crash" on 6th Avenue, and it involved a motorcycle.

If it was only a motorcycle, then 1) I doubt the driver was using a mobile phone, and 2) there was presumably no other vehicle involved (if the person who sent me the text message was correct that this event only involved one vehicle, and it was a motorcycle).

It's not wet out this morning, and the only things that come to mind to account for this event are excessive speed or an oil patch.

I'm up and down 6th Avenue often enough.  It's very uncommon I see a BP cruiser there, and when I do, they're almost always sitting between sections of median (not driving/cruising on 6th Avenue).

The "Don't Even Think About Speeding" signs are not posted in the Village any more.  I don't know where they are.  Either they're stored somewhere, or they've been discarded.

If we are a real municipality, and worthy of the designation, then we simply must do better than we have been.  We need those signs back, and we need the enforcement and cruising to show we mean it.

6th Avenue has always been our most precarious street.  It has always accounted for almost all of our speeding tickets.  It's a problem street, and it's not under our control.

What is under our control, and always has been, is enforcement.  We are endangering other people and ourselves by ignoring our biggest traffic problem.

If we can't man ourselves up, and rise to this occasion, then I agree with Bryan Cooper: we should close up shop as an independent municipality, and let ourselves be controlled by someone who cares.  Most likely, that would be CNM or the county.  Either one would be better than what we're doing.

Here's My Beef with Mac Kennedy.

I essentially don't have one.  Everyone in the world has his or her style, and those styles can be more or less effective, for whatever is the purpose.

I have spoken to Mac, who is a friend of mine, many times, and I've talked about it in this blog, that his tendency to fill a room with himself, and talk a lot, and remind everyone that he's a Commissioner, and that they voted for him, and that he works hard at being a Commissioner, is unnecessary.

The question is whether, apart from its being unnecessary, it works in any way counter to his goals.  The adverse possibility is that his Commission colleagues would either be offended or jealous, and take positions against him, because they don't like his style.  (They would take positions against the Village and its residents, who are their neighbors and constituents, because they want to get back at Mac Kennedy?  Yikes!)  But I'm sorry (for them) to say they're seemingly not sophisticated, strategic, or perhaps mature enough even for that.  They are essentially inert, and they offer nothing to any of us, or this place where we all live together.  Because we have chosen to live together, we depend on each other.  It's a small place.  To take one example, if your part of the Village looks nice, it's good for me, too.  And vice versa.

This blog is more or less about one thing: BP.  You might think that people who are, let's say, elected officials in BP would care about the topics discussed here.  Three (of the five) of them never comment (or request guest authorship, so they can talk to us about their vision, or whatever else is on their minds), and give no evidence of reading these posts, knowing what issues are discussed, or caring what's discussed.  Another chimed in a couple of times, but couldn't stand the heat, and asked me to remove him from the new post announcement circulation.  Yeah, someone who insists upon having a job in the kitchen, but can't stand the heat.  Great.

I don't agree with everything Mac thinks.  I don't have to.  But I trust him to have at heart goals that he genuinely believes are adaptive and progressive for the Village.  And Mac is the only one of the current five Commissioners who can be bothered to engage with his neighbors/constituents here.  There is no apparent alternative but to conclude that he's the only one who cares.  And all of the evidence is that he cares a lot.

 By: Kelly Mallette

Just this week, the state of Florida announced $404 million in flooding and resilience grants (http://publicfiles.dep.state.fl.us/CAMA/FRCP/Resilient%20Florida%207.14.21%20Resources/Resilient%20Florida%20Grant%20Program%20Awards%20Fiscal%20Year%202021-22.pdf).  A bipartisan vote on the 2021 state budget demonstrated a bipartisan commitment flood prevention and resilience throughout our state and provided communities with unprecedented access to funds to address such needs.  

The list includes over $160 million for Miami-Dade County - funds for dozens of projects for the County as well as cities both large and small.  Included in these awards were funds for our closest neighbors:  Miami Shores and El Portal.   Miami Shores received $1.0 million for its Bayfront Park Seawall Elevation project and the Village of El Portal received $926,962 for its El Jardin Storm Water Improvements. Guess which community is notably absent from this list?  That’s right… the Village of Biscayne Park.  I don’t know whether or not our community even put in an application for said grant, if they did not, it begs the question, why?  Don’t we have a need to address flooding in our community?

Now, now, I can probably predict what the response to my inquiry will be…we don’t have the money for matching funds, we don’t have the staff to write such a grant.

Well, that response does not hold much water for me.  Approximately 15 years ago, the Village of Biscayne Park voted to support a professional manager form of government.  As voters, we were told professional management would improve our Village and that a professional manager would be able to apply for grants and we would see progress like we had not seen in decades.  Early on, with Village Manager Ana Garcia, we did see some progress.  Renovations to park facilities and later, a new administration building.  The new admin building is nice, but did it do anything to increase your property values?  When that was approved, we were told that the Log Cabin could be rented out for events and that would raise funds and we would be able to use those revenues for other city improvements.  That never happened.

Of course, while Biscayne Park still cries poor, revenues have grown over time – without doing much.  That is because our taxable values have grown.  So, even if we don’t increase the millage, we are getting more money simply because homes are selling for more.  That does not include additional revenues from permits and redevelopment of existing properties.  Now, I know our expenses have grown too and that’s the case for everyone.  Who is working to find efficiencies?  On the occasions that I have asked, I am always given a list of all the things the administration needs to function better.  What about the residents?  Who is putting us first?

The resilience grant is not the only one we won’t be getting.  For several years, the state Legislature has fully funded the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) small project grant list.  The FRDAP grant is for recreation and the small development grant provides $50,000 for projects, no match required.  Does anyone think we could use $50,000 for our park? What about some of our larger medians that are, in many ways, passive parks?  Could any of those use $50,000 for irrigation, lighting, trees, benches?

Here’s some improvements that I think should be considered.  Some are urgently needed.

• Flood control on many, many streets
• Road paving (anyone driven down 121^st Street lately, between 6^th and 7^th.
• Tree trimming.  I have seen occasions where trees in the median have overgrown into resident properties.
• Reimagining of our park – our ball field is nice, but it’s not used much.  Lots of places have pickle ball courts – they are gaining in popularity.  Has that been considered? How about new play equipment, or programming?  These thoughts may not be what the residents want, but is anyone exploring what they do want?

I would imagine those reading this, my neighbors, probably have some thoughts about improvements as well.

We need to demand more – more effort and more accountability.  It’s been too long since we have seen progress.