Latest News from City Hall
At its last meeting in April and its first meeting in May, the City Commission:
DECLARED MAY 2-5 AS SMALL BUSINESS Week and recognized that 98 percent of businesses in Coral Gables have less than 50 employees. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy,” said Althea Harris, deputy director for the regional SBA, who addressed the Commission.
DECLARED MAY 9-13 AS ECONOMIC Development Week and recognized four businesses for their contribution to the city. These are businesses “that represent who we are,” said Julian Perez, head of the city’s Economic Development Department. A certificate of appreciation went to Carlos Beckman of The Plaza; Stephanie Cheung of Stephanie’s Crêpes; Silka Gonzalez of Enterprise Risk Management; and Elena Stele of Ben & Guiles.
VOTED 4-1 TO TURN DOWN A $2.7 million state grant for converting septic tanks to sewer connections in Kings Bay (see story pg. 20).
VOTED 5-0 TO RENEW THE DOWNTOWN Business Improvement District (BID), a marketing agency promoting downtown businesses, for five years pending approval by a majority of the property owners.
VOTED 5-0 TO ASSIGNED AT $110,000 contract to Gables-based firm Dover, Kohl & Partners to design a beautification project for Biltmore Way. The contract calls for at least eight meetings with community residents to come up with three alternatives.
VOTED 5-0 TO APPROVE A FINAL SETTLEMENT with Coral Grand and Coral Gables Athletic Club for $295,000. The agreement cleared the final hurdle for the city’s assumption of full management and control of the Coral Gables Country Club and all its equipment.
CELEBRATED THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF former mayor W. Keith Phillips, acknowledged as the leader who saved the Biltmore Hotel from demolition. After an ovation for the recognition, Mayor Lago commented, “We’ve never been applauded. They [must be] confused.”
VOTED 5-0 TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT to the city’s Comprehensive Plan to allow additional height bonuses to PADs (Planned Area Developments) in exchange for reduced density and increased green space. The amendment allows for the commission to approve buildings with up to 18 floors.
VOTED 5-0 TO SELL A CITY PARKING LOT at 5151 University Drive to Doctor’s Hospital for $3.5 million, but only after Mayor Lago’s insistence that they agree to pay for sidewalks, landscaping, and lighting (estimated cost $400,000-$500,000). The funds will be used to acquire and upgrade city parks. The property will now go on the tax rolls for $20,000 a year, with another $17,485 annually to be collected for leasing an adjacent to the public right of way property.
VOTED 5-0 TO APPROVE FUNDING FOR a new dog park on the south side of Salvador Park, proposed by Commissioner Rhonda Anderson after she spoke with neighbors to make sure none objected. The final design calls for removal of several black olive trees to be replaced by flowering and satin leaf trees. The cost is currently estimated to be under $200,000.
DELAYED A DECISION TO CREATE A temporary “pop-up” dog area at Catalonia Park until the completion of the Salvador Dog Park. Catalonia Park has been a neighborhood flash point between dog owners and families with children who share the park. Proposed by Commissioner Kirk Menendez.
LISTENED TO AN UPDATE ON PLANS to rebuild and bring back Burger Bob’s diner-style restaurant on the Granada Golf Course. The estimated cost is now $580,000, with a contingency fund of nearly $55,000 built into that price. Staff estimated it would take 300 days to complete; Mayor Lago insisted that it be completed in 270 days, emphasizing that all materials should be locally sourced and
LOOKED AT THE RESULTS OF THE RECENT inspections of damage at the Coral Gables Country Club, which the city will now repair and manage. The city has already spent $2 million on repairs that included repair of the roof. New inspections revealed subfloors of the ballroom eaten through by termites and rusting beams beneath the swimming pool. “You can’t call it just neglect. It’s gross neglect,” said City Commissioner Jorge Fors, Jr.
VOTED 5-0 TO OFFER THE CONCESSION to run Burger Bob’s to Rita Tennyson, Bob McGuire’s No. 2 for decades and a favorite choice by neighboring residents who patronized the diner.
LISTENED TO SEVERAL UPDATES ON keeping the city clean and well-landscaped, part of the mayor’s campaign to keep the commercial areas in pristine form. “We are going to beautify this city, even if it’s going to give me a heart attack,” said the Mayor.
VOTED 5-0 TO BAN GAS LEAF BLOWERS in the city by 2024, and to fine employers of landscaping workers who blow leaf debris into neighbors’ yards or into public drainage.
IN AN EMOTIONAL SHOWING, UNANIMOUSLY voted its support for City Manager Peter Iglesias, in response to recent blogs that claimed (falsely, according to commissioners) discord between the Commission and city manager.