Tim Smith's Fort Lauderdale

       This is the first update on our last discussion – Dissed Dean.

                                  

       Trantalis attempted to replace his appointment to the City’s Planning and Zoning Board, Bradford Cohen, with beach and historic preservation activist Steve Glassman, but was prevented on doing it by his colleagues on the City Commission. They instead chose to keep Cohen on the Board.

                                   
                                                       Glassman

       Trantalis felt disrespected, and asked for clarification from the City Attorney on the advisory board rules.

        This led to an e-mail this week from City Clerk Jonda Joseph, declaring that there were 25 Advisory Board members that had served past the stated term limits for their appointment, and would have to step down.

        This list includes many of our leading citizens, including ….

  Genia Ellis, who will leave the Citizen’s Board of Recognition, but already is slated to be appointed to the Planning and Zoning Board ….

    Diana Centorino, who will have to step down from the Board of Adjustment ( I appointed her to the Planning and Zoning Board back in 1997)…… and

                        Barry Flanigan, who has been serving on the Marine Advisory Board far past his stated term limit.

         Other big names that have to now step down from their advisory board positions include Patrick Mctigue, Thorney Jarrett, Betty Shelley,  Ella Phillips, and Pat Hale.

        Trantalis is still waiting for his clarification on the law of advisory board appointments, and there is certain to be talk of this whole SNAFU at the next City Commission meeting.

       Trantalis says of the hullabaloo – “all under the name of crony politics”.

       There is more news coming down, but as the old saying goes ” if I told you, I’d have to kill you”, and there’s too damn many of you ! ….

                        Stay Tuned  ……  Tim

    

     Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Dean Trantalis says he feels disrespected by his colleagues. And he says he is not going to let the dissing stand!…..

                                                     

                 Here’s the story  – and how he’s not going to let the issue go

      Trantalis wanted to replace his appointment to Citys’ Planning and Zoning Board, Bradford Cohen, (whose term on the Board, according to City records, was up,) with long time city activist Steve Glassman.

      Now if the name Bradford Cohen sounds familiar, it’s because Cohen, a local criminal attorney, is somewhat famous. He is a pundit on Fox and CNN, among other TV Shows.

                               

       And what makes the story somewhat ironic, Cohen was a contestant on Donald Trumps’ – the Apprentice, and was fired !  ….  So when Trantalis decided not to reappoint him to the Board, Cohen got defensive and put up a fight –  “I wasn’t going to be fired from this one”, he told me, laughing!

      So Cohen allegedly spoke to the Mayor and other Commissioners before the meeting, and was ready when Trantalis announced that he would be replacing Cohen.

      Trantalis’s colleagues said that the City records were flawed, and Cohen actually deserved another year on the Board. Trantalis asked the City attorney if that was correct, having been reassured before the meeting that Cohen’s term was up,  and Attorney Everett , said she agreed – with both Trantalis and the Mayor ???

                                                  

     ….    Anyhow, this morning Trantalis sent this memo to  Everett, asking for her to definitively clear up the whole debacle. 

     Cynthia-

      What occurred yesterday at the Conference Meeting was very troubling on many levels.

      I was informed by city staff that the term of one of my appointments on the Planning and Zoning Board was reaching its end, and it was my responsibility to either reappoint that person, or to appoint a new person.

   It appears that this information was based on my understanding of the following:

1.       The September 2012 resolution, signed by Mayor John P. Seiler, wherein it stated that Bradford Cohen would be appointed to complete the term vacated by Catherine Maus until May 2014.
2.       The board appointment roster from the Clerk’s office indicating that the term of Bradford Cohen was to conclude on May 2014.

     It seems that Mr. Cohen chose to challenge the accuracy of these documents, and he prevailed upon the majority of the Commission to interpret the rules regarding appointments in such a way as to permit him to serve until May 2015.

     By way of history, you should be aware that when I was concluding my first term of office in 2006, Charlotte Rodstrom, who was serving as my appointee on P & Z, stepped down to run for office and I appointed Steve Glassman to replace her. He served through the balance of Charlotte’s P & Z term, and then, during the tenure of Harry Stewart, was informed that he needed to be reappointed before he could continue to serve on the Board. When Charlotte was elected to the Commission, she then reappointed him. He was not informed that he could serve a term of three years when he was first appointed.

     I bring this up because you had indicated that based on the reading of the law and past practices, the decision of the commission was consistent. To me, common sense and decades of practice by successive city commissions was turned on its head yesterday, all for the purpose of placating the interests of one individual. The entire episode was not only embarrassing, but it showed the public that personal interests trumped the rule of law. Future commissions are now left with at best only a vague notion of term succession as it is practiced in the city of Ft. Lauderdale.

     For this reason, I am seeking a legal opinion from you for the following:

       Please reconcile the practice of what occurred yesterday with why Mr. Glassman had to be reappointed by Charlotte Rodstrom when  Mr. Glassman was appointed to complete the balance of Charlotte’s term

      Please define the words “term”, “expired term”, and “interim term” , and how those words relate to appointments for the Planning and Zoning Board as well as other Boards.

       I am hoping to bring some clarity to the process so that we do not have to subject applicants or the general public again to what occurred yesterday.

     Thank you
        DEAN

         I’ll keep you informed ….. Tim

      I got a mysterious letter in the mail today.

      Now when I first ran for public office in 1997, Cindy and I came home to find an anonymous blackmail letter attached to our front door. The blackmail letter ordered me to get out of the race for Commissioner, or be destroyed!

       Fortunately for me, I didn’t have any tax problems, and I did have my act together, but the blackmailer didn’t have his act together !

     Needless to say, I didn’t get out, but went to the authorities, and the sitting Commissioner at the time was arrested for felony extortion. I won the race.

     So when this funny looking letter came in the mailbox today, I reflected back –

                  

       No return address …..   West Virginia stamp ……  and the addressee label was cut and pasted like a ransom note!

      I opened it with concern …..

      But it wasn’t another blackmail letter, not a ransom note, but this somewhat odd letter –

                      

         The letter, like the envelope, doesn’t say who it’s from, but it clearly wants Cindy and I to help oppose a 60- unit townhouse project proposed for a 4 acre parcel in the South Middle River neighborhood.

         The parcel now houses a weak Catholic Church, and the Diocese wants it sold. The developers will need a zoning change to do the deal, and this group is calling for help to stop that. The neighborhood association opposes the project, but there is also plenty of support.

        I’ll keep you posted –  Tim

                      

                                              What ????

                        go ahead   …leave a comment …. I dare ya !

       The neighborhood association was dwindling. Down to its last few paying members, (the neighborhood treasurer even refused to publish the paltry list) – something had to be done!

     So, the new Middle River Terrace leaders got a bright idea – let’s fool the suckers !

              Here is the letter they sent to all the residents –

                 

       The envelope said it came from “Concerned Citizens of Middle River Terrace” and warned its receiver to ……

    “OPEN IMMEDIATELY – TIME SENSITIVE INFORMATION FOR YOUR PROPERTY located in Middle River Terrace !
           ………………………………………………………………………………………………

     Well hell yes everyone opened it! . What was going on? Was the City secretly putting a waste dump in the hood? ….burying more arsenic? … placing another  Homeless Shelter on Dixie?

                                   

       ….. Nope, when you opened it, it was a standard plea for membership. Please send in  $25.

                                                   Shame on MRTNA ………..

        This post is for Earl Rynerson.

                   
      
       Former Mayoral candidate, and tile store owner -Earl Rynerson-  has been pretty critical of the leaders in Fort Lauderdale. He doesn’t much like the City Manager, Lee Feldman, has the most contempt for Mayor Jack Seiler, and lately has been kicking around Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley quite a bit.

                                  

        Rynerson has been blasting Chief Adderley for making so much money.

      In a recent posting on Rynerson’s blog, he added all the earnings Adderley will receive over the next 6 years. He included the pension Adderley earns from his 30 years of Police Officer service in Fort Lauderdale, and questioned whether Adderley was “double dipping”.

      He also added in the retiring bonus that Cops get for getting out to his Chief salary –   and was totally  aghast, angry, downright apoplectic that Adderley would be making 1.8 million during those 6 years.

              Here’s something that might make Earl feel better

         ……….   A new Police Chief has just been hired down in Miami,

                                      
                                                     new Miami Chief Oates

         and his total salary ( including his former pensions from NYPD, Ann Arbor, and Aurora, Colorado – triple dipping ? ) during those same 6 years when Adderley is making the scandalous $1.8 million, will be

                                                  $2.1 million

                …… geez, I hope Adderley doesn’t ask for a raise now !!!

               They call themselves Sundays at Five, and are a smashing 60’s – 70’s band ….  

               The members come from different neighborhoods ( mostly in Fort Lauderdale) …..

     ….. Maybe you will recognize some of the players in the video below.  Tonight, they played at five (on Sunday !) at probably the only non-gay bar in Wilton Manors, (Reds) –   though they won’t ever discriminate!  ….     now turn up your speakers !!          

                              

                    They are good, and play cheap ( tonight is was for whiskey

                    Call Tim if you need more info  …954-822-4727 !

   

      
       Last night was the ribbon cutting, and the community couldn’t have been happier!

       Businesses are finally coming back to the long delinquent 13th Street corridor. The opening last night was an upscale Auction House named   …………

                                            

        The Auction House is right at the FEC RR tracks and NE 13th Street.

        The room was packed, (the free draft beer, wine and snacks help !) and the ribbon was cut just in time for the fun two-hour auction that followed –

                   

           Those are the proprietors on the left, Rachel and Ray (yes, like the Chef), Mayor Seiler with the big scissors, former LakeRidge President Shannon Harmeling, President of South Middle River, Lawrence Rosen Jackson, and yours truly!

       They had gads of neat, different items –

                                            

         A lot of pricey things for sure, but I made off with a fancy Chinese planter for just $50!

         Former SMRCA President Sal Gatanio waited to the end for item #72 …..

                                              

            … a one of a kind –  bust of Romeo – entirely made out of nuts and bolts! Sal dug deep for the piece – $600 – but said it was a gift for his Romeo and worth every penny!

           ………   Curiosities has their auctions on Wednesdays, but are open daily to inspect the merchandise from 12 to 4  …   to get more info, give Ray a call on his cell … 310-291-1626 …. 

                  … tell him Tim gave you his cell number

     
            
                           

      

     
        I have been covering the major burglary problems in some of Fort Lauderdale’s neighborhoods a lot, and it’s nice to be able to say that things might finally be beginning to improve, at least for the first few months of this year.

       But that progress has not come quick enough for the former
                    President of the South Middle River neighborhood – Robert Alcock.

       This weekend, his house, at the hotbed intersection of NW 3rd Avenue and NW 11th Street was burglarized for the 10th time in 5 years.

                   

      This time, a small burglar smashed in a kitchen window and squeezed through.

      Alcock, a leader in the sustainable energy movement, lost one of his prize possessions – an electric bicycle.

                               

     Alcock is offering a $100 reward for the return of the bike.

     I’m offering another $100 for the burglar !!
   
    

      Former 22- year City Commissioner Carlton Moore is dead and gone, but deserves to be remembered.

                                        

      The man lived and breathed the Northwest. He fought tirelessly, convinced that the area he grew up in could be made right. He fought slum, blight, crime. He refused to accept the status quo, arriving at every City Commission meeting with renewed vigor, and a new idea.

     Many of the improvements to the area that we our now seeing can be directly tied to initiatives and battles Moore fought for during his long and hard tenure. He often closed his correspondences, “to progress”.

                                 Here is one suggestion

        Two of those many important improvements are along the same road, NW 20th Avenue, just off Sistrunk Boulevard.

      One of the improvements is what is missing – the trash transfer station. For years, we trucked our lawn debris, our defunct furniture, our general junk down Sistrunk to NW 20th Avenue to the “city dump”. Moore worked hard to get that closed, an important milestone.

                                     

        And then Moore fought an even tougher battle – to move the City’s building department (since the old building was unsafe and had to be abandoned) out Sistrunk to NW 20th Avenue. It was an unusually tough battle, with many residents opposing. But in the end, the tenacious Moore won out, and it has been a success.

                                

        How about we pay some due respect and rename NW 20th Avenue   ……..

                     Carlton Moore’s Way

        What do you say?