Author: commtims

     This year’s Citizens Tours ( I like to call them Tim’s Tours, since I organize them!), have been very interesting, educational, even a blast. These are tours meant for YOU, so you can see things that the ordinary citizen seldom sees.

     The intricate Sewage Treatment Plant, going deep inside the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, getting tipsy on the veranda of the Bonnett House, just as the Bartletts did in the 1920’s, how do we deserve so much fun ? 

                    
                                   the Sewage Plant had it’s challenges!

     Anyhow, the last tour (until the fall), will take place next Wednesday, May 16th at 6:30 p.m., at Holiday Park.

     I want you to go over to your calendar right now and put it on there, even before I tell you about it  …..  because it might scare the dickens out of you and I want you to commit!   …… scroll down slowly !!




                     

     that’s right, we’re going to exercise! …. YIKES!

     We’re going to be joining up with Mayor Jack Seiler, and his last Jog with Jack until the fall. You have seen how skinny Jack has gotten haven’t you?
 
     City Manager Lee Feldman will also be joining us, as will some City employees, as part of their “Get Fit” City Program.

     And don’t worry, there will be professionals there to help us with the exercise stations. And you can do as little or as much of the grueling work out as you are comfortable with.

     Wear good shoes, and work-out attire.

     We did a short run through with some of the drill sergeants last week!


          
         That’s the Mayor’s assistant, Safea Ali, leaning on the push up bar!

    
     So get ready for the fun, I been getting some private coaching to make sure I look good on the 16th!


                


     See you at Holiday Park, at the first exercise station ( over by the football fields/ Social Center/ gym)  ……

                                    6:30 p.m. May 16

      ….. call me if you need more info … 954-822-4727

                                                Tim

     

    

     You might remember that Las Olas merchant Robin Merrill began a mission to save the little Las Olas Post Office from closing last year.

     The U.S Postal service is in trouble (mostly due to e-mail), and needs to close down offices. Closing some Post Offices makes good sense. Offices in Muddy Ill. and Odd, W.Virginia, for example, are set to close, probably for good reasons!
 
     But Fort Lauderdale Fla.? 

     Well for now the Fort Lauderdale Las Olas branch is still open, but is still on the chopping block, so Merrill is not giving up.


 Merrill 

     Merrill’s next big effort to save the station is tomorrow, when she’s planned a rally, unlike no rally I’ve seen!

                    

     Merrill has pulled out all the stops. She’s got a Seminole Chief, alligators, barefoot mailman re-enactors etc. !

     I’m half expecting the President to show up!

     The rally starts at noon at the Stranahan House, where the mail will be taken down river by the Seminoles, just like the old days.

     For more information, call Robin at her store – Mission Gifts Fair Trade & Upper Room Art Gallery on Las Olas.
    

     Two items on Tuesday’s City Commission meeting of interest!


     1.) Extending terms for the elected officials ?

                     


     The Charter Review Board is recommending that each term of office for Mayor and City Commissioners be extended from 3 to 4 years.
 
     Currently, the terms are three years long, and the Mayor and Commissioners can serve for up to three terms ( nine years total). The Advisory Board ( I’ll get to their make – up in a minute), says the City Charter should make the terms 4 years long ( which will give Mayor/Commissioners a possible total of up to 12 years).

  Also, the Board says the current Commission’s term should be extended 20 additional months, so that their terms will go to the next Presidential election in 2016, instead of expiring in March of 2015 as it says now.

     Now changing the elections to November is a good idea, there will be a much larger turn out of voters, but making the elected officials terms longer is a very bad idea. 

     Fort Lauderdale finally enacted term limits in 2000. Before that, Mayor/Commissioners could serve forever ( and some did!). Nine years of service on the City Commission is plenty. As the saying goes –  

     Politicians are like diapers, and need to be changed often for the same reason!

     The Board recommending these changes had only 4 members – here are three of them  ….

                               
                                  Clay Shaw – former politician


                                   
                                Alain Jean – works for politicians



                                   
                                            Judy Stern !            
     
                                           (need I say more ? )

     2.) Red Light Cameras


     The Red Light Cameras are back on the City Commission agenda to add a whole bunch more of the little bastards!

                                    

     There are about 8 of them now, and I got snagged at the one just east of I95 on Sunrise Boulevard..  I ( just barely) cruised through that red light, costing me about $150.

     The stats on the cameras are troubling.

     Although it’s called the Red Light Safety Program, accidents at the Red Light Camera locations have actually gone up!

     And the financials are ridiculous. The cameras grossed $1,062,000, but after the State gets its share, the company gets its share, and the costs for the program are taken out, the City only netted $74,000 so far.

     If we are going to keep them – and get more – at least drive a better bargain!

     Popeye has moved.

               

     But it’s not like he has to fill out a change of address form for the Post Office.

     He has been booted out of his old home – the outdoor elevator at the Home Depot. He says the new boss at H.D. “is a ball buster”.
 

               

     He says his life has gotten tougher. He says he spends most nights out on the corner of Sunrise Blvd. and NE 4th Avenue with a tarp over him and his wheelchair….

     I worry for Popeye. But he’s the “Man that won’t come in from the cold”!

     He has tried the shelters, says they are dangerous. His life fell apart years ago, and there doesn’t seem to be any forward progress.

      I always expect the next thing I hear about him
won’t be good. 



            

     Popeye only has one good foot, the right one. Last time I wrote about him, some good samaritan brought him a pair of shoes. He says that right shoe now has a big hole in it.  He says he wears ten and a half, but if you bring him a left shoe only, make it an eleven  ..

      As I drove away he yelled ” and I need a shirt!”

     People have called me lots of things    …..   but one that I actually like is

                                  Neighborhood Activist

     Little did I know, until I looked through that box that Mom sent me long ago, that I was 

                                       Predestined

    to be one of those “activists”  …..  Check out the following writings from “Timmy”,  when he was just aged seven !


                              
                                     Timmy at 7, musings below !

                                                                                  November, 1963
       
       
        

          Predestined !
     
     
     

     Almost.

     Earlier in the week, it looked like Sistrunk Blvd. had made it all the way to Federal Highway!


                   

     You see, lots of efforts have been put into our most needy part of the City for the last few years, including this multi- million dollar road project on Sistrunk Blvd.

     And this week, the new signs went up for that project, but inexplicably, Sistrunk Blvd. crept eastward, all the way to Federal Highway (Sistrunk used to stop at Andrews Ave.) 


                 


     But that didn’t last long.

     Victoria Park resident and rogue activist Charles King saw it and sent an e-mail inquiry to Commissioner Rodstrom’s office.


                                     
                                              King

      Here are some excerpts from King’s inquiry –

     It must be a mistake or a conspiracy at this point so late in the game, one or the other. It isn’t just one sign, there are a bunch of permanent ones along those streets through there. I just think if they were going to change addresses and rename the street for 3 blocks, they should have told people first, publically….
 
     From my point of view as a 39 years old native, Sistrunk Boulevard is probably the scariest street in Broward County, a place where terrible crimes, drugs and prostitution went on for decades without anyone caring……
 
     Saddling Flagler Village with that baggage would be highly counterproductive to getting young professionals who might be living with their parents right now out in the western suburbs to move to an area bordering Sistrunk Blvd. The young people might not care but the parents most certainly will. …. 

      …. doing it as a giant secret if this isn’t a mistake is really wrong…..
 
     I keep re-hearing Commissioner Dubose’s words in my ears from the late night you guys voted to give that government subsidized low income developer $125,000 in taxpayer CRA dollars. He gave a little speech about “being the most offended he had ever been in his entire life that night” and that the government subsidized low income high-rise towers proposed being part of the process of “finally crossing the tracks in this city.”
                                 ……………………………………….

      Well King can worry no longer – according to the City, the Sistrunk street signs were a mistake, and the signs have been removed – east of Andrews …


                       

     ….. the signs remain, over by the RR Tracks, where many think Sistrunk still belongs!
     
    

      Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor Charlotte Rodstrom will have to submit her resignation for her City Commissioner seat next month, (the one she won a few months back!) as she is running for the County Commission seat currently held by her husband, County Mayor John Rodstrom ( who is term limited, we think, but the Florida Supreme Court will say definitively next month).




     But Rodstrom won’t have to quit the City just then, as the resignation won’t take effect until the County Commission election day in November. 
 
     If Rodstrom wins in November, it’s off to the County Commission, and a special election is called to fill her City Commission seat. If she loses, most people think she would be able to join in and run in the special election to regain her old seat. ( The law regulating that is somewhat murky, and the lawyers haven’t opined yet).

     But there are some that aren’t waiting to see how that plays out –  they are poised and ready to start running for the open District II City Commission seat now!

      Here’s what I’m hearing

 Lester Zalewski, who ran against Rodstrom last time around, says he is running.


 William Stanton, who ran LXR, locally ( think Bahia Mar), until last year, and has served on numerous Boards around the City, is telling folks that he is looking at getting in.


  Friends of Bradford Cohen, local criminal lawyer and infamous for being fired by Donald Trump on Apprentice, say Cohen is toying with idea of running again ( he ran in the District II open seat in 2003), and has recently run and won the President seat of the neighborhood Progresso Village.
 

Steve Glassman, who ran the Central Beach Alliance for quite awhile, and ran  unsuccessfully against Rodstrom in 2006, says he is looking at running for this open seat, but hasn’t made his mind up yet.


 Chuck Black, President of the Lake Ridge neighborhood, and  former head of the City’s Navy League, is talking to people about possibly getting in.


 Former District II Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Dean Trantalis, who didn’t run for re-election after his first term (2003-2006), but came back three years later to run for the open Mayor seat election that Jack Seiler won, has told friends he is definitely running for the seat, and will probably announce next month when Rodstrom submits her resignation.


      There is only one person who some rumors say might run, that I’ve been able to put the rumor to rest- because he says unequivocally that he won’t run…. no way…no how !..



                                                    ……


                         Let me know if you’ve heard anyone else thinking of running


                                                        …. Tim

    It’s a good time to challenge Team Seiler to tackle some big issues! 

     I’ll get to them in a minute!



             
                             Commissioner Roberts …. Fire Chief …..  Mayor Seiler

     
      John “P” Jack Seiler has been good for Fort Lauderdale.

     He’s just begun his second term ( fourth year) as Mayor.
 
    When he took over from Jim Naugle, ( 25 years on the Commission), the City didn’t act like a team. It was the greedy developers and their lobbyists against the whiny neighborhoods. It was the right wing religious against the protesting gays and lesbians. It was Naugle against Carlton Moore, and progress in the Northwest. 

    The City was often marginalized, sometimes a  national embarrassment!

                        ……………………….

     Seiler and his team has mostly changed that.

     That’s why I think it’s a good time to challenge that TEAM to do more!

     Because maybe they can!

    

     The Homeless Problem

     I have to give the TEAM credit as of late. They have pushed new laws to stop the aggressive panhandling, bussed people back to their homes up north, landscaped the tortured Stranahan Park. 

     But it’s time to double down. Soon it will be summer, many of the homeless will leave, and the Commission should take that respite to enact more solutions and be ready for the seasonal onslaught next winter.



            

      American (NOT) Golf Course

     Now here’s a problem that needs a big solution ! …  This 18 hole golf course closed down in 2006. It’s been sitting here like this ever since. It’s in Commissioner Roberts’ District, which has the biggest tax base and no big park.

     The Commission is pretty smart and resourceful. I think they could come up with a plan to make this a big winner – they should!


                


        The Missing RiverWalk

     Here’s another very tough problem. Our Riverwalk is supposed to start at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, and go right onto Las Olas. It doesn’t. It stops here behind the old Pantry Pride grocery store and drops into the river. 

     It’s not connected due to a dispute with the property owner – developer Jorg Perez. Perez was ready to build the City its’ Riverwalk connection in conjunction with a high rise condo, but was stopped when the City sued him in an attempt to take his land for a park. The effort failed, and the building lot is just an eyesore on trendy Las Olas and the Riverwalk is a casualty.

                   ………………………………………..

     I challenge TEAM Seiler, because they are acting like a team, have lots of capability between them, were just elected, and have three years before the heavy political pandering has to start again!

     I hope they take the challenge!   

     Who says all of the Fort Lauderdale Motels are too expensive !


                


      This beauty will only set you back $17. – for the half hour!


        


     The “motel”, is just off Sistrunk Boulevard, just west of I-95.

     And it’s quite well known – to the area’s prostitutes, the Fort Lauderdale Police, and the City’s Nuisance Abatement Board!

     It’s currently under control of the Nuisance Abatement Board – for the second time.

     Here is a Police Report which will tell you all you need to know about the “services” provided within! 


                
     The Motel is a scourge for this low income neighborhood, but has been tough to control, or shut down, even though the Nuisance Abatement Board and the Police Department continue to try.  

     But they have been able to arrest the owner – 

                                 
                  owner – 60 year old Tania Ouaknine, booking photo

      Ouaknine says – “They say I am running a whorehouse,”  “I run a motel. The only thing that I don’t have is the five stars.”

     The City and the Nuisance Board don’t buy it. They have imposed conditions that Ouaknine must abide by, or face stiff fines and possible closing, including –

     ….. placing a sign saying the property is under control of the Nuisance Board

     ….  Place 16 cameras around property, making the video available to Police

     ….  Prohibit room rentals for less than one day duration

    …..  Pay investigative fees of $672.00

    ….. Face a $250.00 daily fine if the items in the Nuisance order are not followed 


                         I’ll keep you posted – Tim
    

     You should have come!

Bonett House and grounds!

The private, after hours tour of the 1920’s Bonett House was truly a blast!

The 35 acre historic House is well hidden, just off the beach, south of Sunrise Blvd..

We were only supposed to come with 20 people, but somehow 26 showed up ( I was never good at math!).

The tour group was composed of neighborhood presidents, business leaders, historic group leaders, even a City Commissioner (Rodstrom).

The tour got off on a good footing, when the World Famous Parrot Lounge owner Tim Schiavone, showed up with a giant (free!) tub of the Bonett House drink –

…….. the Rangpur Rum Punch!

     …..the recipe is a well guarded secret, but the house owners, Frederick and Evelyn Bartlett, reportedly belted down a few, daily, on the veranda of the amazing house. People can also navigate to this website if they need mold services.

the Bartletts


     The citizen’s group was lucky to be given the tour by the House Director, Karen Beard, and the House’s Development Director, Patrick Shavloske.

Shavloske behind screen door

The house is so full of wonderful art and whimsy. I was so taken, I even tried this old, but dangerous, circus trick –

The House doesn’t allow pictures inside the very open style home, so you’ll have to go see the amazing inside yourself. The drawing room, kitchen, music room, art studios, etc. were all very impressive.

We finished the tour out back on the pond that used to have gators, until Sunrise Blvd. was cut through and denied access.

The tour over, I thanked Karen and Patrick and Tim, and the House workers, and Art Seitz for some of these pictures  –

…..there was only one thing left I wanted to do –

 Have another one of those Rum Puches!