Hallandale Beach seems to be in the news A LOT these days, and when has that ever proven to be a good thing in the past 12 years? From unchecked real estate development to lectures by unethical city officials about the need for the public to become properly "educated" about the law, things are getting worse not better in Hallandale Beach government

Hey Lazarow, take in a few extra NA meetings. Have a district meeting yourself. http://t.co/JGfK2qV0ie

— Chaz PBRFestivusPole (@TweetsByMAOS) May 7, 2015

https://www.myactsofsedition.com/blog/2015/05/06/michele-lazarow-political-blogging-sociopathic-asshole-whose-feelings-i-hurt-he-is-a-small-little-man-behind-a-keyboard/

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What happened to Hallandale Beach Commissioner Keith London? http://t.co/eq8PXDyl6Q

— Chaz PBRFestivusPole (@TweetsByMAOS) May 5, 2015

https://www.myactsofsedition.com/blog/2015/05/05/what-happened-to-hallandale-beach-commissioner-keith-london/

Just a warning to my readers.
I have been patiently biding my time for six months since the November city election.

To be honest, I've been more patient than I ever expected to be, given how disappointing things have gotten with people in a position to exercise leadership, especially among people I thought I could trust.

Well, the days of waiting for the right time to begin the release of a mountain of Hallandale Beach and broward-centric news, information and analysis about what happened before and after the election that, unfortunately, you never read or heard about elsewhere, is coming to an end.
Not to give too much away but I can tell you with some authority that a veritable avalanche of hard cold facts is about to descend on this part of Broward and South Florida, courtesy of yours truly.

And more to the point today, given the spot-on tweets above by Friend of the Blog, Chaz Stevens, like me, someone who has strongly supported Keith London and Michelle Lazarow in the past, my upcoming blog posts will seek to explain in detail why SO MANY people are unhappy with the performance of EVERYONE on the Hallandale Beach City Commission, including London and Lazarow.

More than ever, in a highly-apathetic yet highly-tribal community like Hallandale Beach, where for far too many years there were always too few people doing any of the necessary heavy-lifting to make this a genuinely pro-reform city, where instead time and energy was spent defending self and ego and not enough old-fashioned hard work spent solving and resolving real-world problems in this very poorly-managed city, the last thing this community needed was the pro-reform people we trusted and elected to NOT do the job expected of them.
And worse, see them become arrogant, condescending and disconnected to the residents and Small Business owners and their legitimate concerns.

How have things changed for the better in the past six months?
They haven't.

---

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Hallandale Beach ditches hotel moratorium

By Susannah BryanSun Sentinel
May 8, 2015 7:39 PM

Hallandale Beach

A moratorium on hotel permits was quickly shown the door this week after developers warned it would doom economic growth throughout the city.

It might have been one of the shortest moratoriums in city history, lasting only a few weeks.

At the commission's request, City Manager Renee Miller declared a moratorium April 16 to give staff time to research the impact of hotel-condo developments on nearby neighborhoods.

Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-hotel-moratorium-hallandale-20150508-story.html

Per the article above, and specifically the absurd comments: "I don't want to fine our residents. I want to educate our residents. I am in favor of holding off on this until we educate the public more."

So sayeth Hallandale Beach Commissioner Bill Julian, who for YEARS illegally and egregiously parked his car in the ONE and ONLY Handicapped Parking spot located at North Beach, next to The Beachside Cafe, knowing full well that his pals at the Hallandale Beach Police would NOT issue him a fine like they would you because they knew exactly whose car it was.

And just in case they didn't, he always made sure to leave his official ID right on the dashboard for everyone to see.
Julian didn't need to be "educated" about the law -he knew he was breaking it!

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/stone-cold-fact-bill-julian-serial.html

No longer a secret in Hallandale Beach: More details on Bill Julian's longstanding anti-democratic tendencies while HB City Commissioner - he wanted to require residency of 3 years in order to run for local office in HB!; The worst enemy of Bill Julian is a smart voter who pays attention and who possesses a good memory; @MayorCooper, @SandersHB, @AlexLewy

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/no-longer-secret-in-hallandale-beach.html

Oh, you mean THAT Julian?

Julian, the only one of four HB City Commissioners last May 20th who didn't vote for Etty Sims to be among his Top Three choices of the 8 semi-finalists for interim Commissioner when he had the 

chance. Julian was the idiot who rated Sheryl Natelson the highest of the final three - Leo Grachow, Etty Sims, Sheryl Natelson- despite the fact that she didn't know the answers to most of the questions asked of her, and completely whiffed on all three fact-based questions posed to all the three candidates by Comm. Michele Lazarow, unlike Etty Sims and Leo Grachow.

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@AnneBoca re #HallandaleBeach's threat 2 #DeerfieldBeach as #Broward "laughingstock" -Battle where ALL residents lose was clinched by HB :-(

— HallandaleBeachBlog (@hbbtruth) May 9, 2015

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/deerfield-beach/fl-deerfield-public-comment-20150505-story.html

South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Getting to the point: Deerfield Beach tries to shorten public comment time
By Anne Geggis, Sun Sentinel

May 5, 2015 9:48 PM

Deerfield Beach

Step up to address the Deerfield Beach City Commission and you'd better make it snappier.

Shaving one minute off the four minutes allotted each person during the public comment period is one of the new rules proposed for City Commission meetings.

But other rules that Commissioner Joseph Miller proposed to tame what can be a colorful and lengthy part of the city's twice-monthly commission meeting did not get a receptive audience Tuesday night.

A proposal to set a flat 20-minute limit for all public comment and other rules failed. But City Commission members agreed that it might be a good idea to prohibit speakers from loaning or transferring their allotted speaking time to others.

"I'm hoping to get a little more organization," Miller said..

But Deerfield residents have a lot on their minds.

Tuesday's topics for the public comment period included fears of soil poisoning by big agribusinesses, Hallandale Beach's threat to Deerfield Beach as the laughingstock of Broward County, and the cost of Broward Fire Rescue. Resident Joe Hines is a regular at the lectern on that topic — bringing a garden hose with him last month to demonstrate how he believes the city is getting hosed on its public safety contracts.

Resident Kathy Naggi said she doesn't think the public has been demanding too much air time.

"To me, 45 minutes to listen to the taxpayers and the citizens is no big deal," she said.

The resolution will be up for more discussion at the next meeting May 19.


Coming soon -

The Continuing Follies and Sorry State of Policing in Hallandale Beach under Police Chief Dwayne Fluornoy: Crime, public safety, bad judgment, lack of accountability...

Under Flournoy, the public perception is that things are going from bad to worse, even while he and his City Hall apologists continue to dramatically understate the lack of support Flournoy has in the community among residents and Small Business owners who pay attention

Csaba Kulin: Hallandale Beach taxpayers & residents want straight answers from Hallandale Beach City Hall about the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa's future plans. Please attend 6 pm meeting tonight at HB Cultural Center

My friend and fellow Hallandale Beach & Broward civic activist Csaba "Chuck" Kulin is sounding the alarm bells today so that the city's residents, taxpayers and Small Business owners can become properly informed about development plans afoot by the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa before something else happens that the public will regret.

The Diplomat's past project, the Diplomat RAC, being a source of dozens of fact-filled blog posts here over the past 8 years, especially my effort to highlight the deliberate efforts of the not-so-fine folks at Hallandale Beach City Hall to keep the community in the dark until the last possible minute, so that their developer friends and associates can keep a lid on facts and plans.

Well, we know how that finally wound up, with me often making like Paul Revere at the time...

The community won, the developer lost.  

See also: via @trdmiami
25th new condo tower completed in South Florida this cycle At least 50 units have been recorded at Related's new Beachwalk in Hallandale Beach April 21, 2015 12:00PM
By Peter Zalewski
http://therealdeal.com/miami/blog/2015/04/21/25th-new-condo-tower-completed-in-south-florida-this-cycle/

Below, my blog post on the current news about the Diplomat Resort & Spa, but first, two helpful
reminders from early 2010, the first of which has generated 2,556 individual pageviews since then:
Sore loser Mark Kukulski & Westin Diplomat renew threats: they'll huff and puff and blow the Diplomat Golf Course down
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/sore-loser-mark-kukulski-westin.html

With friends like Gregory M. Dell, concerned citizens of Hallandale Beach don't need enemies in their battle against the
Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa's ill-conceived plans that threaten the area's Quality of Life
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/with-friends-like-gregory-m-dell.html

 -----

Friends

During the April 21, 2015 City Commission meeting there were several comments made about the Diplomat Golf Resort and the need for the City to define “condo-hotels”. Nothing definite but if you read between the lines, the Diplomat’s new owners are getting ready for something new and big.

If you remember the Diplomat in February 2007 requested to build 1,050 condominium units and 349 hotel rooms. The Planning and Zoning Board rejected that idea and the Diplomat withdrew the application.

In September 2009 the Diplomat filed a new application asking for 1,078 condominiums, 500 room hotel and 3,000 square feet of commercial space. On December 16, 2009 our City Commission approved it 3 to 2. Commissioners Julian and London voted NO. Mayor Cooper, Commissioners Sanders and Ross voted YES. The City Commission voted at 2:30 AM (yes, after midnight) in front of a “standing room only” full of residents to approve the application.

On April 27, 2010 the Broward County Commission denied the application. A bus full of residents were in attendance and many spoke in opposition to the application.

I believe that it is time to ask questions now of your elected mayor and city commissioners about the Diplomat project. What is requested? What is allowed? What is in the best interest of the residents?

An excellent place to start asking questions is tonight, April 21, 2015, at Commissioner Keith London’s monthly meeting at the City Community Center at 6:00 PM. Since it is a “Publicly Noticed” meeting, there may be more than one city commissioners in attendance.

I know it is a late notice but it is an important meeting. Please, try to attend.

Chuck Kulin
President
Fairways North, Inc.  

 

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Why we're FOR Chuck Kulin for Hallandale Beach City Commission Seat 1: On one important issue after another -but esp. development- ineffective, incompetent incumbent Comm. Anthony A. Sanders has consistently disrespected & disappointed HB residents & Small Business owners. Here are the cold hard facts you need to consider -and that Sanders wishes you'd forget!

June 2, 2010 photo of Hallandale Beach City Hall by South Beach Hoosier. 
© 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

Dear Friends:

For many Hallandale Beach voters, especially those living on the beach in our many large condominium towers, the most-populous part of the city, this may well be the first time that anyone has attempted to connect-the-dots and facts on how someone as ineffective and incompetent as Hallandale Beach Commission Seat 1 incumbent Anthony A. Sanders came to mis-represent you on that five-member panel that makes the public policy and budget decisions that you and your family has to deal with everyday. That's why taking the time to do it right matters.
And that's why I'm doing it right now -while your vote can still make a positive difference to give us all a very different sort of future and a much-better city.

(If you know someone who doesn't follow what's going on in our city and want themn to make an intelligent choice, please forward this to them BEFORE the election!)

I'm happy to be writing today as I've got positive and encouraging news to share with you about how well my friend and fellow Hallandale Beach activist Chuck Kulin's campaign is going to bring 
increased levels of financial accountability, common sense and ethical integrity to Hallandale Beach City Hall. As many of you know, due to Chuck's steadfast hard work over the years to help give Hallandale Beach residents and small business owners like you the sort of open and transparent city government we deserved -but were NOT receiving- he recently earned the endorsement of two individuals with well-known track records for demanding genuine accountability and responsiveness from government for all taxpayers: outgoing District 6 Broward County Comm. Sue Gunzburger and Beam Furr, the former Hollywood Comm. and District 6 County Comm. Democratic 
nominee. 
More recently, Chuck earned the endorsement of the pro-business South Broward Board of Realtors.

Those endorsements are positive signs that what he's been saying and doing is resonating with people, and I'm happy to say that he's earned those endorsements based on his solid record of civic activism and refusal to buckle to the powers-that-be at Hallandale Beach City Hall. 
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2011/04/hallandale_mayor_joy_cooper_budget.php
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/csaba-kulin-and-i-re-long-trail-of.html

But what's really heartened me over the past few weeks is the very positive reaction that his pro-reform campaign is receiving from so many of you and your neighbors as he makes his way thru the city, walking the precincts and talking about the important financial and policy issues facing our city.
Specifically, discussing in detail what sort of positive changes he and so many of us believe need to be implemented at HB City Hall to create a better Quality-of-Life for residents and a better business environment for Small Businesses.

Do you want to know who is NOT happy about Chuck Kulin openly discussing those issues, 
especially the nuts-and-bolts details about what's been going wrong in our city for FAR TOO LONG? The person Chuck Kulin is running against - ineffective incumbent Hallandale Beach Comm. Anthony Sanders.  
And it's no wonder that Sanders is not happy, given his consistently unsatisfactory track record in office the last six years on so many important issues that affect all of us on a daily basis. 
Let's take a quick look at that track record of Comm. Sanders on an important issue that concerns everyone in this city, regardless of where you live -development- and specifically examine what Sanders said and did when three controversial development projects came before the five-member HB City Commission.

The first project we'll examine is the Diplomat LAC project, a project that was completely incompatible in every respect to the residential N.E. neighborhood for which it was planned. But the folks in power at Hallandale Beach City Hall loved it like crazy!
In case you forgot or are somewhat hazy on the details, that project would've resulted in 5-7 large condo towers the size of The Duo being constructed on the perimeter of the Diplomat Country Club, making the already-terrible traffic problems we encounter there worse, with resulting ripple-effects throughout the city. 

Single-family home owners and residents of the 3-4 story condo/apt. complexes on Diplomat Parkway, Atlantic Shores Blvd and N.E. 14th Avenue -along with residents all over the city, including me- were not just shocked that the HB City Commission tried to steamroll public opposition to it, but angry that the city thought it could successfully play hide-and-seek with public documents in order to make it difficult for HB residents like them to get their hands on the up-to-date changes to the plan prior to public meetings, so they could be as well-informed when they spoke at public meetings as the lawyers, consultants and lobbyists working for the developer.

Those same concerned residents repeatedly emailed and telephoned Comm. Sanders, urging him to meet with them in their neighborhood so that he could get a first-hand perspective on how the plan would directly affect them, even to the point of putting some people's backyards in permanent shadows, to say nothing of taking away the very views that had caused many of them to decide to move there in the first place.
But when Sanders had the chance to do the right thing, he didn't care about the concerns of these HB residents -and never responded.


Instead, Sanders voted FOR the incompatible plan, even speaking in favor of it at the Broward County Commission, despite the neighborhood/community's vocal opposition.
On the other hand, my friend Chuck Kulin was not only one of the plan's most-fervent opponents, he helped educate and organize the public opposition against it over several months, consistently speaking against it before the City Commission, County Planning Commission and the County Commission. Eventually, the County Commission had the good sense to vote the plan down, and in doing so, echoed many of the same sensible reasons Chuck had given over the preceding months.

The second controversial development plan where Comm. Sanders' behavior and vote is well worth recalling was the Beachwalk condo/hotel project next to the Intracoastal Bridge. Located on the site of the old Manero's restaurant property, which had sat empty for years, this plan would've required the city to give the developer not only a high number of variances, but also required the city to give the developer critical land it owned as part of the deal.
Just as was the case with the Diplomat RAC plan, Comm. Sanders was NOT at all interested in what HB residents in the S.E. neighborhood thought, even though they'd be the ones living with the consequences of a large tower being constructed and casting its giant shadow over them daily in an area with no road alternatives.

When Chuck and I and many other concerned HB residents publicly urged the City Commission to delay for just one month the first of its two public meetings on the project, so that the majority of residents and property owners along Diana Drive and Layne Blvd. who'd be most-directly affected -and who were mostly out-of-town for the summer- could return to town and have their three minutes to speak their peace publicly, Comm. Sanders said and did nothing to offer them any hope. 
Is it because Sanders simply didn't care about the neighborhood or its residents? 

See, Latest info & photos re The Related Group's proposed 31-story waterfront Beachwalk project in Hallandale Beach; Vote is set for Wednesday night despite the fact that many nearby homeowners are away for the summer and can't participate. It needs to be rejected! Don't give away North Beach!
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/latest-info-photos-re-related-groups.html

When you examine the public records on the city's own website, it's clear that Sanders was a YES vote for the developer from the beginning, and soon after the vote, the developer and his team delivered some nice-sized checks to Sanders' 2012 campaign chest, just after they delivered $20,000 to Mayor Cooper's re-election campaign. 
Is that the reason that no amount of logic or reason -or even appeals to basic fairness- would interfere with Comm. Sanders giving the developer everything they wanted -and at a cheap price, too?

The third and most-recent controversial development project worth re-examining Comm. Sanders voting record for is the one on the beach located at 2000 S. Ocean Drive, next to Parker Towers and The Hemispheres. Sometimes referred to as the "Regency Spa" project for the site's former use, this unpopular project, with a ridiculous number of variance requests, was voted down twice before the HB Planning & Zoning Advisory Board, with Chuck asking hard-but-fair questions of the developer's team before casting votes against it both times.
But when the plan came before the HB City Commission in May, it was approved on a vote of 3-2, with Sanders providing the deciding vote FOR the developer -and against the best long-term interests of the residents of the neighborhood.

Yes, it was Comm. Sanders who was the final nail in the coffin that made certain that a building that's completely incompatible to the neighborhood will now be there for years to come. Unless something
unexpected happens, it will serve as a daily reminder to our city's residents of the complete folly of ever trusting their city's fate and our collective Quality-of-Life to him.

And now as you can see for yourself when you drive by there, no doubt in part to thank him for his YES vote back in May, the developer on that project has allowed a large Sanders campaign sign to be erected right out front of the property. 
Draw your own conclusions folks.

So with just over 10 days to go, I'm very enthusiastic because when Hallandale Beach voters know the facts and know the issues, they are consistently supporting Chuck Kulin for Seat 1 on the Hallandale Beach City Commission. 
You can not simply ignore the fact that Comm. Sanders has consistently shown bad judgment and disrespect towards HB residents over six long years. 
That sort of consistent behavior in office should NOT be rewarded now with four more years, since we know from experience that would only mean nothing but more grief and regret on one important issue after another.

I'm happy that Chuck's campaign is being so well received but with just under a dozen days of hard work ahead, I don't want any of us to take anything for granted. In order to get Chuck's message out to as many concerned and frustrated Hallandale Beach voters as possible, I'm asking you now directly for your help in any way that you can provide it to him. 
Whether that's helping with phone calls, walking the condos & streets with him, providing talent/resources, or helping the campaign financially with a campaign contribution, I'll be very appreciative of whatever you can do now to help him.


Trust me, I know as well as anyone how many of you want this effort of Chuck's to succeed, so
we can all finally have what we wish we had right now -a more open, responsive and accountable city govt. that provides a better Quality-of-Life we can all take pride in.

If you can support his candidacy, please go to his PayPal account
http://chuckkulin.com/hallandale_beach/index.php/jce/paypal-donate


Or, you can send him a check to:
        Chuck Kulin Campaign
        1835 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd, #130
        Hallandale Beach, FL 33009Cell 954-804-2210 
E-mail ChuckKulin2014@gmail.com

Hallandale Beach, please vote like your family's future depends on it, because it really does!
Vote Chuck Kulin for Seat 1 on Tuesday November 4th.
Dave

Today's the second anniversary of Hallandale Beach citizens coming together and winning an important victory at the Broward County Comm. over the Diplomat LAC project. We'll need a similar effort to eject Joy Cooper & her Rubber Stamp Crew in six months

Above, Hallandale Beach City Hall and HB Police Dept. HQ. March 19, 2012 photo by South Beach Hoosier

Above, the very helpful rendering created in 2010 by N.E. Hallandale Beach resident Don Boudria that I used in numerous emails and ran on my blog in the hectic days before the Broward County Commission had their final vote on the Diplomat LAC project and rejected it.

It gave everyone who really wanted to know the facts a reasonable sense of perspective on the effect in the immediate neighborhood of suddenly having numerous large condo towers alongside the Diplomat County Club of the size that the Diplomat's owners -Diplomat Properties LP- originally wanted.

(It obviously doesn't depict the many large condo towers over on the beach in both Hollywood and HB, as well as the parent Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa.)

This was created looking east towards the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean from what is roughly Atlantic Shores Blvd., the east-west street that also serves as the eastern entrance to the Mardi Gras Casino over on U.S.-1/Federal Highway/.

I should've thought of using Google Maps then, too, but I didn't.

That successful collaborative effort was proof positive that everyone working together towards one common sense goal has worked before in Hallandale Beach, and I was very happy to play my small part in it, both writing about the process and in speaking against it before the various govt. entities that had to decide its future after it passed the HB City Commission 3-2 at 2:47 a.m. days before Christmas 2009/

Some people who DIDN'T have a part in that success and who actually thought that original, completely incompatible Diplomat proposal was fine include HB Mayor Joy Cooper and Commissioners Dotty Ross and Anthony A. Sanders, the latter of whom whom I know for a fact consistently refused the neighborhood's invitation to walk around the area with homeowners who'd be directly effected so he could get a first-hand point-of-view. 

That is, if you call NOT responding to emails asking him to come listen to Hb residents a refusal, and not a complete snub, as most NE residents took it. 

Surprise!

Also supporting the Diplomat project then against the majority of informed Hallandale Beach citizens was Alexander Lewy, who was elected a City Commissioner about six months later.

The very good news for all of us in Hallandale Beach and environs is that the first three individuals -Cooper, Ross & Sanders- all have commission seats that expire in November, and Ross isn't running for re-election, while the other two are.

Obviously, thinking the way we do here at the blog -pro-reform, pro-accountability, pro-transparency- we plan on making sure that the two of them have to continuously publicly defend their actions and votes in 2009 on this particular proposal, and explain why that was yet another instance where they were on the wrong side of the majority of informed citizens in this community. 

Did I say "yet again"?

For good reason, too!

A similar sort of collaborative effort will be necessary again in November, six months from now, if we're going to have any success in reclaiming this city from the Joy Cooper Rubber Stamp Crew and transforming it into the sort of normal, reasonable place where common sense and good ideas -along with constructive criticisms- are welcome at City Hall, not strangers, as has been the case there for far too long.

What Hallandale Beach residents actually want is NOT so very complicated: a well-run and pro-active city where elected officials and city employees are held accountable for what they do or don't, where decisions and votes at Hallandale Beach City Hall are made based on commonly-accepted facts and analysis -and agendas that are known to everyone in the community long before votes are taken, NOT just available to interested lobbyists and attorneys- and made in the best long-term interests of all of this city's residents and neighborhoods.

Don't kid yourself, though.

Six months will be here sooner than you think, so it's time to get organized and get working to make that change we so desperately need in Hallandale Beach a reality. 

Keith London reviews the latest ponderous HB Comm. mtg. that started after Noon and went past Midnight, and featured more anti-democratic antics by Comm. Lewy; London's Resident Forum mtg. tonight at 6 p.m.

Above, Hallandale Beach City Hall. March 19, 2012 photo by South Beach Hoosier

Having attended the March 7th City Commission meeting that is the subject of this post, or more specifically, sat thru most of the evening portion of it in-person, and having spoken and recorded most but not all of what transpired on my camcorder, I'm in a position to know exactly what happened, and to be fair, there's actually quite a lot more disturbing facts and context Comm. London doesn't even bother to mention below that he could, due to lack of time, but which were, all the same, very distressing to many residents in the room, who were forced to wait far too long to speak on the subject of the Marcum report that shows how oblivious the city has been for years with regard to important public records.


I left to go home after sitting in the Commission Chambers after 4 hours and 45 minutes, around 11:40 p.m., and it still kept going...


As most of you more regular readers know from my dozens of previous posts over the past five years on how Mayor Joy Cooper runs these meetings as presiding officer -one of only two powers that she has that the other four commissioners do not- which is the exact opposite of how smoothly and fairly Mayor Peter Bober runs things in next-door Hollywood, these sorts of never ending meetings in Hallandale Beach are no accident.


They're both part strategy and part unwillingness on the part of the mayor to change her own behavior to move the meetings along, and not talking all the time after every nearly single response.


In Hollywood, Mayor Bober, after any opening remarks of his, then asks the city attorney and city manger if they have anything to share with them and the public, and then asks the city clerk to get things rolling.
AND, he usually speaks AFTER all of his colleagues have had the chance to weigh-in on a subject..


Mayor Cooper speaks first, during and after any speakers, public or from the city, as well as before and after her colleagues, that is, when she is not busy interrupting them.


The meetings should generally never last longer than about three hours, but they are, instead, often epic battles to not fall asleep in the chambers or in front of your computer.


Mayor Cooper and her Rubber Stamp Crew of Dotty Ross, Antony A. Sanders and Alexander Lewy, all of whom are largely opposed to if not entirely indifferent to proving genuine oversight and transparency of what happens in this city, esp. in regards to financial matters, allow these meetings to go on-and-on because they know that if they can keep people sitting in the audience for hours waiting to speak, or now, waiting at home watching via the city's website -which streams the meetings but displays no basic information about agenda items or subjects- it greatly discourages participation.

At the meeting on March 7th, the subject of Comm. London's comments, as he notes below, it started around 1 p.m. and ended AFTER Midnight.
That's no way to run a meeting and certainly no way to run a city.


There's a reason that the Diplomat LAC (to benefit the owners of the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa and the Diplomat Country Club) was not finally voted upon until 2:43 a.m., just a few days before Christmas in 2009.

That very controversial item, which I strongly opposed and spoke out against at HB City Hall and before the Broward County Commission, and wrote about here at least two dozen times, was later correctly rejected by the County Commission because of its clear-cut incompatibility with the NE Hallandale Beach neighborhood it seeked to force itself onto, next to the Diplomat golf course, by placing numerous giant condo towers next to some pretty pricey single-family homes, some of which would've been placed in almost perpetual shadows after Noon.


A real victory for common sense and an embarrassing public defeat for Cooper, Ross and Sanders, who voted for it at 2:43 a.m., as well as her pals and business cronies in the city, almost all of whom ignored the very negative effect it would have in a city that has gridlock that is greatly disproportionate to its size due to both geography and its physical layout.


Because there is literally so much information I know and have been given by others regarding subjects that were mentioned at least in part at this particular meeting, I will be posting my own comments about some of the things Comm. London describes below, separately in another post over the next few days.


I've edited what Comm. London emailed me on Friday by removing some of his original indents so that more information could appear on each line, take-up less space and largely eliminate any dangling sentences or URLs.

His monthly Resident Forum meeting is tonight from 6-8 p.m. at the HB Cultural Center behind HB City Hall, so come by and check it out and get better informed about what's really going on..

-----

Date: Fri, Mar 16, 2012 at 2:50 PM
Subject: Wrap Up of the City of Hallandale Beach City Commission Meeting March 7, 2012
To: klondon@hallandalebeachfl.gov

Everyone,

The following is an update of agenda items discussed at the March 7, 2012 City of Hallandale Beach Commission Meeting.


Highlights of the Meeting

* Mayor Cooper and her surrogate Commissioner Lewy are attempting to change our election rules after I announced to run for Mayor of Hallandale Beach

* Commissioner Lewy wants to change the dates for the Charter referendums from the November general election to the August primaries -disenfranchising independents and democrats

* Commissioner Lewy again prevents questions being asked to staff and debate amongst the commission regarding important issues - yet another blow to representative government

* Six residents waited for more than two hours to voice their unanimous disagreement with shifting liability for decorative signs in GISND

* Mayor Cooper called these six individuals "under minders" because they disagree with her

* Security Alliance LLC has been chosen as the new security company for GISND and TISND - tentative date of commencement is 4-1-2012

* "No Surprises with the audit" said Mayor Cooper, even though there are over 250 exceptions

* Chad Lincoln sums up the "audit" by saying "in Hallandale the exception is the rule"

* Commissioner London made a motion to perform a Management Audit of the Finance and Purchasing Departments of the City - NO SECOND

* Commissioner Lewy states using temporary labor is "unfair labor practices".

REGULAR AGENDA

CITY COMMISSION, CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 07, 2012 1:00 PM & 7:00 PM

http://www.hallandalebeach.org/files/2012-03-07/Agenda%20Outline%20for%20201
2-03-07%2013-00.htm

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. ROLL CALL

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

4. STUDENT CITIZEN OF THE MONTH AND SCHOOL ACTIVITY UPDATE

5. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - Items not on the Agenda (To be heard at 1:30 P.M.)

6. PRESENTATIONS

A. Proclamation Proclaiming April 1, 2012 as Parents & Children's Day
(Staff Report ,
Supporting Docs )

B. Proclamation Proclaiming March as Women's History Month (Staff Report
,
Supporting Docs
)

TO BE HEARD AT 8:00 P.M.

C. Presentation of the Findings of the 2011 Municipal Green Initiatives Survey (Jill Horwitz, Natural Resource Specialist I, Broward

County Natural Resources Planning and Management Division)
(Supporting Docs )

TO BE HEARD AT 1:30 P.M.

7. CONTINUATION OF CITY BUSINESS FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

8. CONSENT AGENDA

A. Approval of Draft Minutes

1. Regular City Commission Meeting of February 15, 2012
(Supporting Docs http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/files/2012-03-07/Item%208.A.1/index.html)
* Passed 4:1 London

9. CITY BUSINESS

A. Consideration of the Conceptual Design for the Layne Blvd. Sidewalk Improvement Project, Entailing the Marking and Striping of a Bike Lane and Sidewalk Along Layne Boulevard from Hallandale Beach Boulevard to Holiday Drive.

(Staff: Director of DPW,U&E) (See Backup) BP #004/12 (Staff Report
,
Supporting Docs )

* After a Golden Isles community meeting it was decided to try temporary painted stripping instead of building a permanent concrete sidewalk and bike lane

* The striping will commence in the next 30 days and should take 90 days to complete

* This will be piloted for approximately a year to see how the public responds to the new striping and delineation of a side walk and bike lanes

* The following are some of the facts regarding this issue:

o The inside travel lane will increase in width to 12 feet from 10 feet - the bike lane will be 4 feet and the sidewalk will be 6 feet

o The bike lanes and sidewalk will be delineated by striped paint

o There may be some large potted planters installed to help define the areas

o This hopefully will increase the bike safety and pedestrian usage in Golden Isles

* Passed 5:0

B. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, Authorizing the City Manager to Apply for Financial Assistance Under the FY-2012 Waterways Assistance Program for The Hallandale Beach City Marina Project, Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Necessary Documents and Establish Appropriate Accounts to Implement the Project, and Providing and Effective Date.

(Staff: DPW, U&E)(Backup)CAD#031/03 (Staff Report
,
Supporting Docs
)

* Passed 5:0


C. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, Authorizing the Award of Bid #FY 2011-2012-009, Temporary Labor Services Option I, Option II, and Option III, to the Lowest Responsive, Responsible Bidder, Hire Quest, LLC d/b/a Trojan Labor, in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $215,000.00 for Leased Labor, Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Agreement with Hire Quest, LLC d/b/a Trojan Labor; and Providing an Effective Date.

(Staff: Director of DPW, U&E) (See Backup) BP #020/12 (Staff Report
,
Supporting Docs )

* Commissioner Lewy stated that using temporary labor in his opinion was an unfair labor practice.

* Commissioner London asked the following questions:

o How long can an employee be temporary? Answer, the city has had people as long as two years

o Please give an example of this. Answer, retirees who want part time work or for a specialized position

o Why use temporary labor? Answer, when the City requires extra staffing for a project for a specific period of time or requires specific expertise not currently in house - this provides a large savings by not needing to train personnel when outside labor may be contracted with all the training and licensing required to complete projects or tasks.

* Resident Chad Lincoln spoke regarding the advantages of having contracted employees expertise on hand in many disciplines

* See a video of Chad here:

Here, Comm. London refers to a FLIP video that I recorded at the Commission meeting and sent last week to a few dozen citizens, activists and politicians around Hallandale Beach and Broward County, plus a few TV/print reporters and columnists.
That video will be the subject of a separate blog post later this week, due to its great importance.

* Passed 3:2 Lewy and Sanders No - London, Ross, Cooper - Yes


D. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, Authorizing the City Manager to Award RFP FY#2011-2012-001 to Security Alliance, LLC, to Provide Security Guard Services for the Golden Isles Safe Neighborhood District and the Three Islands Safe Neighborhood District; Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Agreement with Security Alliance, LLC, and Providing an Effective Date.

(Staff: Police Chief) (See Backup) CAD #024/93 & CMD #041/92
(Staff Report ,
Supporting Docs )


TO BE HEARD AT 2:30 P.M.

TO BE HEARD IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE GOLDEN ISLES SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD DISCTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA ITEM #3.C.

TO BE HEARD N CONJUNCTION WITH THE THREE ISLANDS SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD DISCTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA ITEM #3.B.

* The new company was chosen in adherence with the new Broward County ethics laws and City of Hallandale Ordinance requiring the City Commission to chose the vendor ranked number one by City staff

* The new company will seek to hire the existing guards if they meet the requirements, pass a drug screening and meet professional standards

* The new contract is expected to commence April 1, 2012

* Passed 5:0


E. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, Authorizing the City Manager to Execute an Agreement of Participation with the Golden Isles Safe Neighborhood District to Install Decorative Traffic Signage throughout the Golden Isles Safe Neighborhood District Area; and Providing an Effective Date.

(Staff:Director of DPW,U&E) (See Backup) BP# 012/09 & CMD #041/92
(Staff Report ,
Supporting Docs )

TO BE HEARD IN CONJUNCTION WITH GISND BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING AGEND ITEM #3.D.

* Six residents from the Golden Isles attended the meeting and patiently waited for over two hours to unanimously voice their opinion AGAINST shifting all the liability from Broward County and the City of Hallandale Beach

* Commissioner London stated he, too, would like "pretty/decorative" signs in Golden Isles but was very concerned about the potential ramifications of shifting the legal liability from Broward County to only the residents of Golden Isles

* The shift from Broward County and the City of Hallandale to the Golden Isles residents would be in perpetuity for any and all costs associated with these signs for instance:

o Buying, maintaining, replacing, ordering, paying the city to do any maintenance, defending lawsuits, answering lawsuits, setting up procedures

* Passed 3:2 London and Ross NO


F. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Second Amended and Restated Development Agreement Between RK Hallandale Limited Partnership and 17070 Collins Avenue Shopping Center, Ltd, and the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida; and Providing An Effective Date.

(Staff Director of Development Services) (See Backup) CAD #016/04
(Supporting Docs )


TO BE HEARD AT 7:15 P.M.

TO BE HEARD IN CONJUNCTION WITH ITEM #12.B.

* Commissioner Lewy made a motion to limit discussion and would not let me do the job I was elected to do and ask questions to City staff

* I cannot and will not vote yes for a project increasing traffic which will impact all residents and businesses in Hallandale

* Commissioner Lewy's new tactic making motions to limit discussion and questions is NOT Democratic

* Passed 4:1 London No


G. Presentation of Independent Accountants' Report on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures.
(Staff: Director, Finance) (See Backup) CAD #015/10
(Staff Report )


TO BE HEARD AT 7:30 P.M.

TO BE HEARD IN CONJUNCTION WITH HBCRA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING AGENDA ITEM #4.C.

* Commissioner London asked the following questions:

o Was this an audit? Answer NO

o If not an audit, what was this exercise? Answer - "Agreed Upon Procedures"

o Was there any executive summary included with the Agreed Upon Procedures? No - that was not part of what Marcum was contracted or engaged to perform

o Were there formal recommendations included as part of the Agreed Upon Procedures? No

o Was Marcum engaged to look for fraud? No

o Did Marcum look to see if the taxpayer received a reasonable return on their investment? No

o What did Marcum find? The City of Hallandale's written policy/procedures were ignored or broken over 250 times

o What was the outcome of these broken policy/procedures? Answer - the written policies ignored by the city would be re-written on the spot (the exception was now the rule)

o Examples of broken policy/procedures:

* Mike Good forgave a $50,000 loan to a developer for a potential $600 per year savings off an employee rental lease

* City Commission voted yes (4:1 LONDON NO) for a CRA loan of $125,000 to a pornographer with no collateral as required - this loan is now in default

* Approved $150,000 CRA loan when the maximum allowable amount is $100,000

* Purchased three $142,000 condominium units for friends - Former Vice Mayor Julian signed off on one incomplete set of documents- limited documents available for others

* No documents and missing documents in the files for over 10 million dollars in real estate acquisitions

o Commissioner London made a motion to perform a Management Audit of the Finance and Purchasing Departments - NO SECOND

o Commissioner London made a motion to perform a stand alone AUDIT of the CRA - No affirmative vote but consensus is to bring this item back for a future discussion

H. Reconsideration of Charter Review Committee Recommendations -Title of "Mayor-Commissioner." (Mayor Joy F. Cooper)( See Backup) CAD #003/11
(Staff Report ,
Supporting Docs )


10. COMMISSION PLANNING

11. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - Items not on the Agenda (To be heard at 7:00 P.M.)

* Robert Fisher from Sea Edge Co-op spoke about the red tape his building has experienced to obtain permits for work being performed on their building

* Dr. Judy Selz questioned Commissioner Lewy and wanted to know why he is loose with taxpayer's money with regards to Golden Isles - just because there is money in the account does not necessarily mean it needs to be spent

* Andrew Markoff

* Qunia Gordon spoke about woman's health

* Reginald LaGross spoke with regard to questions he had about his very high water bills

12. PUBLIC HEARINGS (To heard at 7:15 P.M.)

A. An Ordinance of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, Approving and Authorizing a Contract with AAAA Crosstown Towing and Recovery, Inc. ("AAAA") for Towing Service. (First Reading) (Staff: Police Chief) (See Backup)

(Staff Report ,
Supporting Docs )

* Passed 5:0


TO BE HEARD AT 7:15 P.M.

B. Application # 72-10-DB by RK Associates Requesting Major Development Review Approval Pursuant to Section 32-782 of the Zoning and Land Development Code in Order to Build a 3,950 Square Feet Freestanding Building and a 538 Square Feet Addition at the RK Diplomat Center Located at 1725 E. Halladale Beach Boulevard. (Staff: Director of Development Services) (See Backup) CAD#016/04

(Staff Report ,
Supporting Docs )

TO BE HEARD IN CONJUNCTION WITH ITEM #9.F.

13. COMMISSIONER COMMUNICATIONS - Items not on the Agenda

A. COMMISSIONER LEWY

B. COMMISSIONER LONDON

C. COMMISSIONER ROSS

D. VICE MAYOR SANDERS

E. MAYOR COOPER - Adjourned the meeting after midnight approximately 11 hours after opening the meeting

14. CITY ATTORNEY COMMUNICATIONS - Items not on the Agenda

15. CITY MANAGER COMMUNICATIONS - Items not on the Agenda

16. ADJOURN


Keith S. London
City Commissioner
Hallandale Beach
954-457-1320 Office
954-494-3182 Cellular

www.KeithLondon.com

http://www.facebook.com/KeithSLondon