Urgent Hollywood Beach Erosion Update from Mayor Peter Bober; transit/Ft. Lauderdale Stadium connection blues

Below is an email I received today from Hollywood Mayor Peter Bober, whose election I supported last year, about a subject I support 100% because of its common sense and common benefit: larger beaches in SE Broward and NE Miami-Dade Counties.

The mayor's thoughtful letter is a rather eye-opening example of the reality of South Florida's regional inter-governmental cooperation, as opposed to the theory version so often preached at public meetings by local

MPOs and the South Florida Regional Planning Council, where, supposedly, everyone checks their parochial interests at the door.

(Speaking of parochial, I had planned on going to the latter group's meeting this morning on the controversial Davie Commons project, but decided to skip it.)

Below the information I received from Mayor Bober I've attached two items of special note.

The first item is an informative article on beach erosion written by Cynthia Barnett for Florida Trend

magazine that ran October 1st, 2008, and which I urge you to read.

The second item is video of an excellent in-depth news report from last February 15th that CBS-4's ace investigative reporter Stephen Stock and his I-Team did on the cost to taxpayers of beach renourishment, and the different approaches taken to this issue by governments in Florida and in North Carolina.

Sort of like the difference between a beach and a shore.

Tomorrow, February 3rd, will be a Broward County Commission meeting, starting at 10 a.m., and you can speak to this particular subject then if you choose -and are patient.

They're scheduled to also discuss Broward County's contribution to SFRTA (Tri-Rail) for Commuter Rail and

 Feeder Bus service in Broward County, and the establishment of an interlocal agreement between the county and SFRTA.

I plan on speaking to the Commission tomorrow about this subject, as less than two weeks before spring training starts up for the Orioles at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, the same absurd and infuriating longstanding situation continues there, wherein riders like me getting off at the Cypress Creek Tri-Rail station closest to the stadium, 1.4 miles away, find no transit connection of any kind to the stadium: no bus, no shuttle, no trolley, no nothing.

I can make do as I have in the past for Oriole spring training games, since the walk is just about a half-hour,

but not everyone in South Florida who want to go to a ballgame or any other event held held there, like the Broward County Fair, is physically able or interested in doing that.

For families with kids, Seniors, the Handicapped, et al, it's NOT a very realistic option,  esp. on warm days

or ones that look iffy for rain later in the day, since you can't bring umbrellas into the stadium.

It's an east to understand issue I first raised publicly at the Broward County Transit Forum in the Fall of 2007,

and one that I'll be doing an encore of for other attendees of at the upcoming regional Transit Summit on

February 21st at the Broward County Convention Center.

See http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/2009-south-florida-regional.html

To me, after five years of being back down here from D.C., and being both an ardent Orioles fan and transit enthusiast, it's the perfect case study on South Florida's dysfunctional transportation and government system:

NOT being able to connect people from one taxpayer-funded site, the Cypress Creek Tri-Rail station, to the taxpayer-funded stadium that taxpayers actually WANT to go to, owned by the City of Fort Lauderdale. 

See http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/orioles-woes-boston-red-sox-to-get-new.html

It's this inability to connect dots, especially dots that are close to one another, that led me to vote against

the proposed penny transit sales tax increase a few years ago, even though in other places,  my interests being what they are, I'd have happily voted for it and supported it publicly.

But not here.

As I stated pretty clearly to folks I spoke to back at that 2007 County Transit Forum, "As a matter of fact,

I don't HAVE to give the County the benefit of the doubt," when year-after-year, they've shown an

infuriating inability to work with SFRTA and the City of Fort Lauderdale to come to a common sense solution to this problem that would not only satisfy fans, residents and taxpayers, but also show that they are willing to work hard to arrive at those solutions.

So far, they haven't been, and I'd vote against the penny tax again, just as I'd surely vote now or in the

near-future against any proposed sales tax increase geared towards a new Broward Courthouse building.    

Also, it looks like Robin Rorapaugh of Hollywood will be formally approved to serve on the much-needed

County Ethics Commission as Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger's nominee.

As of now, I plan on attending after a quick chat at the State Attorney's Office, so if you have some time,

please consider heading-up, too.

Tusday's Broward County Commission meeting agenda is at:

http://205.166.161.204/agenda_publish.cfm?mt=ALL&get_month=2&get_year=2009&dsp=ag&seq=95#ReturnTo0

_________________________________________

Dear Beach Residents:

When we last met at my beach erosion town hall meeting, I promised to update you on the City of Hollywood's efforts to renourish its beaches. As you know, they are eroding at an ever-alarming rate.

The City has already made application to the State for matching funds for a truck haul project. As you may know, we are getting closer to Broward County beginning its much anticipated sand bypass program. The sand bypass project is, essentially, designed to help re-establish the ocean's natural flow of sand southward, which is being blocked by the jetties at Port Everglades. It is a great project that over time can help increase the volume of sand on our beaches. Below, please find a Fact Sheet regarding the sand bypass project for your information.

Unfortunately, not everybody sees it that way. In early January, I went to Fort Lauderdale City Hall, and addressed the Fort Lauderdale Mayor and Commissioners at a public forum. I was given an opportunity to speak, and tried to convey to them how important the sand bypass was to our residents and our way of life.

Notwithstanding, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission voted to OPPOSE the sand bypass project, and are urging the Broward County Commission to NOT move forward. In short, our Fort Lauderdale elected official counterparts are getting an earful from their residents who believe that we are trying to "take" their sand, so we simply have more. Truth be told, OUR sand is not getting to OUR beaches, because Port Everglades is blocking the natural flow of sand southward. Period.

I am emailing you because we need to re-double our efforts to protect the sand bypass project. I'd like to tell you that the forces who oppose this valuable project are a fringe group, but they are not. Two Broward County Commissioners who represent Fort Lauderdale beach residents, and are listening to those folks, may try to block the project.

I believe that a majority of the Broward County Commission will listen to reason, listen to the scientists who support the project and listen to objective facts about why the sand bypass project must move full steam ahead. But, it wouldn't hurt to have one thousand beach residents write the Broward County Commission about why the sand bypass project is so important.

As mayor, I will do everything in my power to prioritize beach renourishment, including spending City funds in a strategic way, to get the desired result we all wish to see. I hope you will write (as opposed to e-mail, which might be less effective) your Broward County Commissioners at the following address:

Broward County Commission Offices
954-357-7000
www.broward.org/countygov
115 S. Andrews Ave., Room 421
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Mayor Ritter
sritter@broward.org

Vice Mayor Keechl
kkeechl@broward.org

Commissioner Gunzburger
sgunzburger@broward.org

Commissioner Wexler
lwexler@broward.org

Commissioner Rodstrom
jrodstrom@broward.org

Commissioner Wasserman-Rubin
dwassermanrubin@broward.org

Commissioner Lieberman
ilieberman@broward.org

Commissioner Jacobs
kjacobs@broward.org

Commissioner Eggelletion
jeggelletion@broward.org

Tell your Broward County Commissioners that we have been waiting decades for the beach renourishment project to begin. I NEED YOU TO FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO EVERY HOLLYWOOD, HALLANDALE BEACH AND DANIA BEACH RESIDENT YOU KNOW. There are hundreds of people, right now, trying to kill the sand bypass project, and we must speak up. If we don't, who will?

Thank you for your time,

Peter Bober
Mayor
CITY OF HOLLYWOOD
954.921.3321 Tel
954.921.3386 Fax
pbober@hollywoodfl.org

---------------------------------------------------------------

 FACT SHEET: Broward County Sand By-Pass Project

• Sand by-passing is the process of artificially transferring near shore sand around a beach barrier (Port Everglades).

• 85% of beach erosion in Florida is caused by inlets that interrupt the movement of sand.

• The proposed project will build a sand trap, modify the North Jetty at Port Everglades, modify the rubble shoal, create a rubble barrier, and provide up to 80,000 cubic yards of sand on the adjacent beach.

• Sand will be collected from the excavated deposition basin adjacent to the north jetty of the Port, anticipated to be approximately 50,000 cy/year.

• Basin will be dredged every three years and transported south and deposited on the beach at John U. Lloyd State Park.

• Expect to see a benefit to Hollywood's beaches over the coming years, as the sand slowly drifts southward.

• Permits are anticipated to be issued by the summer of 2009.

• Broward County anticipates Port Everglades Sand Bypassing project to commence in 2010.

_________

The Cynthia Barnett article that ran in Florida Trend magazine October 1, 2008

FLORIDA'S BEACHES

Fixing Florida's Beach Erosion Is Expensive

Sand Trap: Another storm, another round of beach erosion, another round of questions about renourishment.

http://www.floridatrend.com/article.asp?aID=49227486.4529268.647114.9201924.5324948.079&aID2=49769

___________

Last February 15th's CBS-4's report, Millions Wasted Trying To Stop Beach Erosion

http://cbs4.com/iteam/beach.erosion.Dr.2.653210.html

________________________________________

Fort Lauderdale Stadium, 1301 N.W. 55th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309

South Florida transit issues and govt. agencies relative usefulness

It's been mentioned more than a few times to Hallandale Beach Blog (South Beach Hoosier) by recipients of his emails, that he ought to strongly consider using parts of those past emails as building blocks to buttress certain public policy points he's tried to make in the past on the blog.

Up 'till now, I've largely resisted the urge, but today, I thought this one might actually be of enough interest to you all to make posting it worthwhile, so that you might learn what I've learned about some Florida government agencies that are part of the planning process governing transit, but which rather than taking a pro-active approach and being an example of good management -aren't.

It's an excerpt of an email to Gabriel over at Transit Miami, one of the most influential blogs in South Florida for a reason, even if I don't necessarily share their political viewpoint on an everyday basis.

But even when I disagree with what they say, there's usually something to be learned.
__________________________________________________
Dear Gabriel:

Started this email last weekend but decided to wait 'till after Memorial Day to send it along.

Earlier this week, I watched the WGN-TV noon newscast and saw their up-close camera shots of the CTA derailment the same day it happened, and also saw how damn impressive the neighborhood Chicago Fire/EMT response was -one minute.

People living in the immediate neighborhood said that in riding the El the day before the accident, the track seemed "loose" in the same exact spot as where the derailment took place. Can't vouch for whether that's a fact or someone saying something provocative to get attention.
(Temps were in the mid-50's, so unlikely a joint/heat expansion problem.)

The top CTA administrators are really angry because this is the third one since April 21st, and it occurred while the CTA is waiting to hear how much money the state legislature in Springfield is going to give the CTA.

Dave
_______________________________________________
Saturday May 30th, 2008

Dear Gabriel:

From my perspective, long story short of this latest Minneapolis Star-Tribune account of policy and process under a legal microscope after a disaster: there but for the grace of God goes the Sunshine State.

I strongly suggest you run a link to this story at your Transit Miami blog so that folks around the state, with an interest in transit and public policy, might be able to read this for themselves and imagine how this'd be handled here.

Frankly, though I've written about transit issues, esp. as they apply to Broward County and the SFECC, as well as the Broward County Charter Review Comm., it just seems a much more natural fit for your blog than mine at South Beach Hoosier or Hallandale Beach Blog.

The insightful Star-Tribune reader comment below about the DFL-friendly law firm being brought in by the MN state legislature to try to undermine NTSB results, sounds 100% plausible to some savvy, politically-connected Dem friends of mine up there, who are rarely wrong about this sort of thing. (As opposed to their sports analysis and predictions!)

Maybe it's just me, playing the role of cynic, but I can totally picture both Dan Gelber and Steve Geller trying pull something like that off here, too, perhaps with Ron L. Book involved for good measure, too.

You know him, he likes to be a 'party' to everything important -sometimes against even himself.
Just something to think about.

(Also, in case you've forgotten, the Republican Nat'l. Convention will be at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul the first week of September, exactly one week after the DNC is held in Denver. Expect a spate of stories on the 35 W bridge come August, right after the Olympics in Beijing.)

As I mentioned to you recently when you gave me a call, in the near future, I'm planning on querying the FDOT Secretary, Stephanie Kopelousos, and find out whether or not she's EVER planning on being somewhere in South Florida where citizens, esp. those with an interest in transit, like you and me, can actually ask her some non-softball questions, rather than the sort of convivial industry forums, govt. official-only chat fests or ASCE events that her agency seems to prefer.

For instance, take a look at what I found when I checked the archives of the Gold Coast Chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers at http://www.itegoldcoast.org/events.html

Curious what you'd find when you go to the link at the bottom, titled, The State of Transportation in Broward County?
I was.

(The URL is http://www.itegoldcoast.org/PDF/ASCE-FES.pdf in case the link is dead when you go to it.)

Answer: An invitation to their New Year's Eve Italian Dinner Party!
On January 12th.

To her credit, in a new and very fair-minded Florida Trend profile of her by Cynthia Barnett, Kopelousos claims that she's anxious to change the way things are done at FDOT, and bring them firmly into the 21st century.

(But the article also points out her weaknesses, the most obvious being her non-engineering background, which, apparently, has always been a predicate for the top FDOT job.)

Those positive qualities notwithstanding, where's the proof that this is resulting in any tangible positive changes for South Florida? http://floridatrend.com/article.asp?aID=49017

While I appreciate that more than most state agencies, FDOT is, necessarily, decentralized, in my opinion, despite her short tenure and clear aptitude for hard work and long hours, given the sheer amount of hard work that's required down here, I think she's got a lot to answer for.

Not least of all, being practically M.I.A. for South Floridians like you and me -and the folks who read our blog posts, here and around the state.

So where's the interaction with taxpayers who aren't engineers and public officials?

(As it happens, I think I actually ran into Kopelousos a few times while I was up in Washington and she was working for the late Rep. Tillie Fowler, whom I always found to be a real straight shooter, just like Rep. Charles Bennett had been earlier for the Jacksonville area when I moved to DC. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/cebennett.htm )

The other day, largely as a result of the foolish actions in Miami regarding the Miami River, and the common sense of the Charles Lewis commentary, If the Miami River is really dead, why do the bridges go up? http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/080522/story-viewpoint.shtml
I decided it was about time I made plans to attend the next meeting of the South Florida Regional Planning Council. http://www.sfrpc.com/

Well, turns out that it's Monday at their Hollywood HQ.
So naturally I was curious if they'd put up an agenda for Monday on their website, since the meeting was Monday, the next day they were open.
Maybe get familiar with any staff reports in pdf., so I can better follow the proceedings while I'm there.

Do I really even have to tell you that when I pulled up the web page that was supposed to have agendas, it was largely blank? (At least, as seen on my computer monitor.)
Or that their website itself, which needs to be red-done if not tweaked, seems like it was put together by not-too-bright ninth-graders?

Call me old-fashioned, Gabriel, but that's really NOT my idea of proper planning.

It's also NOT my idea of wisely spending taxpayer dollars, either.

Trust me, I'll try to make a point of mentioning all these things at the meeting, if I can.
___________________________________________
http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/19133569.html
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
MnDOT missed opportunities to note bridge flaws, study finds
By Mike Kaszuba, Star Tribune
May 21, 2008

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