Showing posts with label Sue Gunzburger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sue Gunzburger. Show all posts

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Hallandale Beach's political corruption is hiding in plain sight -"Your Tax Dollars at Work" Hallandale Beach CRA (City Commission) Says Hands Off to Broward Inspector General; Mayor Joy Cooper's stonewalling initiative begins in earnest, since the true facts are NOT her friend

The iconic Hallandale Beach Water Tower on State Road A1A/South Ocean Drive, looking east towards the North Beach Community Center and the public beach. July 12, 2010 photo by South Beach Hoosier© 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

Hallandale Beach's political corruption is hiding in plain sight -"Your Tax Dollars at Work" Hallandale Beach CRA (City Commission) Says Hands Off to Broward Inspector General; Mayor Joy Cooper's stonewalling initiative begins in earnest, since the facts are NOT her friends

I was already planning on writing this email to Florida Governor Rick Scott, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Broward Inspector General John W. Scott, Broward County Commissioners Suzanne Gunzburger and Barbara Sharief -who each represent parts of Hallandale Beach- and the de facto County mayor, John Rodstrom, as well as some prominent members of the local South Florida news media, including Miami Herald Executive Editor Rick Hirsch about the unbelievable news that Hallandale Beach City Hall is actually considering defying a lawful request by the Broward IG's office to talk to HB's five city  commissioners and city employees.

But when I received an email from HB Comm. Keith London -a commissioner who actually wants to talk to them about what he knows and has observed over five years, and who wants to find out was REALLY going on- letting me know that there was yet another new development -more active pushback by HB City Hall, which wants to know the questions that will be asked beforehand to the commissioners and officials, people who have resisted telling the truth to a lawfully-authorized government agency whose creation was enthusiastically supported by Broward voters fed-up with the pervasive culture of corruption here, the most-corrupt in the entire state.

You get a full sense of how truly absurd and upside-down this city's government is, and this request is, if you try to think of a single film/TV crime and police drama that you've ever seen where the police, prosecutors or investigators revealed the questions they'd ask to a defendant's defense attorney BEFORE an interview with the client.
Really, just think about that for a minute.
That's the sort of people that HB citizens are used to having decide their city's future.
Is it any wonder they're angry?


Broward Bulldog
Broward Inspector General hits first legal hurdle; Hallandale CRA says hands off
By William Gjebre, BrowardBulldog.org 
June 27, 2012 AT 6:25 AM
http://www.browardbulldog.org/2012/06/broward-inspector-general-hits-first-legal-hurdle-hallandale-cra-says-hands-off/

After I read that article, I decided that I'd go ahead and send that email on Wednesday rather than wait until Thursday afternoon, in case any of them got an early start on the Fourth of July holidays.
The last thing I wanted was for my email to ferment in someone's email inbox for a week.

Below is the email that was sent to these named individuals, along with about 75 other interested parties in Hallandale Beach, Broward County and the state capital up in Tallahassee, which for those of you who are reading this far from me here in south Florida, is about the same distance from Miami as 

Roughly 95% of the people in this community have never been to Tallahassee for more than a few minutes while driving thru, and distance from the state capital here often accounts for why things in South Florida often get quite bad before the state (in the form of the governor or attorney general) is forced to act and do something because of both facts and circumstances.

-----
FYI: re corruption in plain sight -"Your Tax Dollars at Work" Hallandale Beach CRA (City Commission) Says Hands Off to Broward Inspector General

In the near future I'll be sending some of you a copy of my formal Ethics complaint to the Florida Commission on Ethics against Hallandale Beach City Manager Mark A. Antonio.
That will include the proof of his self-evident serial copyright violation, wherein photos taken by me and uploaded to my blog, have and continue to be used illegally by the City of Hallandale Beach on their official website, used unlawfully and posted in city hall offices, as well as illegally modifying those images for their own use on official city documents.
Most galling of all, though, has been to see my work being used illegally on the front of their distributed city maps!
(See my July 12, 2010 photo at top that is on those maps.)

All of this has been done without EVER seeking my permission or paying for the use of my proprietary rights.

This has been going on for more than a year now, and despite my pointedly telling Antonio at a public meeting that what he was doing was illegal, to stop his illegal activity and do the right thing -which I have video of- Antonio and the city have done nothing.

City Manager Antonio has, instead, continued to act like there's nothing that I as a citizen can do to prevent him and the city from continuing to engage in clearly illegal behavior and to use something they have stolen.
As you'll soon see, though, actually, there is.

Antonio and the city are about to learn that stealing doesn't pay, especially when you are so obvious and clumsy about your theft and continued illegal behavior.
But then our great misfortune in Hallandale Beach the past few years has been that THAT has
been the city's template for so many things done here, and who in a position of authority did anything about it?

After the Fourth of July holidays, I'll be visiting the Office of the Broward States Attorney as well as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, complete with all the evidence that connects -the-dots on the copyright matter, the veritable ribbon on the box.

I'll also be offering my assistance to the investigators and agents in charge of discovering where all the taxpayer money and CRA funds went in this city without any reasonable oversight, documentation or proscribed follow-up, to facilitate crony capitalism among friends of City Hall, including the faux newspaper.

My latest thoughts on the continuing issue of the Broward Inspector General's investigation into the illegal and corrupt practices of the City of Hallandale Beach, and their steadfast refusal to cooperate, were posted yesterday morning:

One last thought: Some of you, and you know exactly who you are, have greatly disappointed the beleaguered citizens of this community by your continued refusal to get engaged, and even worse, they are completely put off by your continuing to pretend that you don't know anything at all about what has been going on in this city for YEARS.
This didn't just happen overnight.

For those of you for whom this rings true, it would be a big mistake for you to continue to believe that ignoring the sad reality faced by citizens in this city, and the facts-on-the-ground, will somehow work to your long-term benefit.
They won't.

Trust me, though it may be the summer, people in this community are paying close attention to just whom is doing, saying and reporting on what has been transpiring, and that is especially true about them scrutinizing people who are consciously choosing to say and DO nothing at all.
We won't forget.

Sincerely,
DBS, 8-year Hallandale Beach resident

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Commissioner Keith S. London <newsletter@keithlondonformayor.com>
Date: Wed, Jun 27, 2012 at 10:10 AM
Subject: "Your Tax Dollars at Work" CRA Says Hands Off to IG



Keith S. London - City Commissioner Hallandale Beach

Broward Inspector General hits first legal hurdle; Hallandale CRA says hands off

Filed under Hallandale Beach {one comment}
By William Gjebre, BrowardBulldog.org 

Hallandale Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency, run by the city’s five elected commissioners, has sent a message to Broward’s new Inspector General’s Office – you can’t touch us.

Numerous questions have been raised about the business dealings of the CRA, in which city commissioners also serve as directors of the agency.

To read the complete article click here.

At least one city commissioner disagrees with the CRA’s position. “The IG does have jurisdiction,” said London, who is running for mayor against incumbent Joy Cooper. A part of the state law, he said, speaks to the mingling of city and state funds and that would give the investigators authority.
If called by the IG, London said, “I’ll go; I look forward to it.”
One Comments Post a Comment
  1. FrustratedInHallandale
June 27, 2012 at 9:31 am
City Manager said “On our part, we need more information as to why the Inspector General wants to interview commissioners.”
Where do you want to start:

Buying Sanders property for over the appraised value in a down market?
The purchase NEVER being an official agenda item?
Jessica Sanders signing her own time sheets?
Why is Jessica Sanders in the Hepburn Center, is she a city employee?
Giving $50,000 of Weed and Seed money to Jessica Sanders and PCAC never an agenda item?
Properties bought with CRA funds and titled in the Cities name?
Who voted for all the above items?
“On our part, we need more information as to why the Inspector General wants to interview commissioners. There needs to be some structure; what do they want to discuss.” said the City Manager.
City Manager, City Attorney, and CRA Attorney can you start with just the above questions?

Keeping you informed,

Keith
Commissioner Keith S. London
Phone: 954-494-3182
Twitter

613 Oleander Drive
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
email: keith@keithlondon.comwww.keithlondon.com
Political Advertisement paid for and approved by Keith S. London for Hallandale Beach Mayor, Non Partisan

















Thursday, June 21, 2012

What's the difference between clean and Broward taxpayers 'being taken to the cleaners'? Bob Norman & Brittany Wallman on firm charging Broward taxpayers a million dollars a month to clean-up Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport


Above, looking NW at the Broward County Government HQ at 115 S. Andrews Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. January 3, 2012 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

What's the difference between clean and Broward taxpayers 'being taken to the cleaners'? Bob Norman & Brittany Wallman on the firm charging Broward taxpayers a million dollars a month to clean-up Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport; 

WPLG-TV, Channel 10, Miami, FL
Broward Commission tosses low bid
By Bob Norman
Published On: May 02 2012 08:45:27 AM EDT  
Updated On: Jun 11 2012 11:58:07 AM EDT
http://www.local10.com/news/blogs/bob-norman/Broward-Commission-tosses-low-bid/-/3223354/12481944/-/6dnvn7z/-/index.html
Be sure read the reader comments!

Meanwhile, as the 13-month old Sun-Sentinel article below proves, just like the above, over a year ago, Seth Platt, supercilious flack-for-hire, and a living-and-breathing reminder of much of what currently ails the Broward Democratic Party with moderate voters, was trying to throw his light-weight around and kill the messenger.

In 2011, his target was Broward County Auditor Evan Lukic and in 2012 it's Bob Norman of Channel 10 who pops Platt Junior's balloon full of hot air, bombast and self-importance.

(This blog post today is one of the ones that got delayed by my bad service from AT&T last month, due to their server.) 

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-05-10/news/fl-janitorial-waste-20110509_1_cleaning-contract-airport-director-kent-george-county-auditor
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Broward overpaid almost $1 million to clean airport, audit says
By Brittany Wallman, Sun Sentinel
May 10, 2011

FORT LAUDERDALE — Broward visitors overpaid almost $1 million to clean the airport over the 2008-09 budget years, and the county still pays more than other Florida airport authorities for janitorial work, the county auditor says.

The new audit raises an alarm about a $63 million cleaning contract the county has with Sunshine Cleaning Systems Inc. Its 280 workers wash windows, clean toilets, vacuum carpets, and clean parking garages and sidewalks at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

At about $7.56 of cleaning per square foot, Broward's airport is paying more than twice what Miami's airport pays for similar work, county auditor Evan Lukic says in the just-released audit.

Relatively little in Lukic's audit -- about $15,500 worth -- is tied to alleged overbillings by Sunshine Cleaning. Rather, the mistakes he points to, totaling $950,000, were the county's. And county officials, including Airport Director Kent George, say they'll accept responsibility.

"Our aviation personnel did not do a great job in administrating this contract,'' George said on Monday. "Changes have been made. And it won't happen again.''

County Administrator Bertha Henry wrote to commissioners in a memo Thursday that "the underlying cause for this problem is a combination of staff insufficiency and to a lesser extent, competency.''

County commissioners are scheduled to talk about the audit on Tuesday, though the company has asked for a postponement. They will also consider extending Sunshine's contracts to clean the library and the South Regional Courthouse.

The scope of the problem with the airport spreads beyond George's turf. Sunshine's contract was vetted by county purchasing director Brenda Billingsley, placed on the September 2008 county agenda for Lukic, Henry, county attorneys and others to review at the time, and then approved by county commissioners.

George said the audit didn't shake his support for Sunshine.

"The company's performance at the airport has been very, very acceptable,'' he said on Monday. "They have done a good job with an aging facility and a growing passenger base.''

The contract included annual 4.1 percent raises for the cleaners that were higher than they should have been, Lukic says.

Just a few weeks after the cleaning contract was approved, the county changed its Living Wage Ordinance in a way that could have saved taxpayers $950,000 on the cleaning contract. On top of that, Sunshine paid its employees the lower wage but got to keep the extra that the county paid, Lukic says in his audit.

Lobbyist-attorney George Platt, who represented Sunshine in the contract negotiations, said the county insisted on creating the deal the way it was. He said the extra money was spent on employee benefits.

"It's just wonderful you can have a Monday-morning quarterback who was on the field and is now finding fault with a process he was part of,'' Platt said.

In the Thursday memo to commissioners, Henry says, "gaps still remain'' in county staff's ability to watch over contracts.

She asked staff to review the way the contracts are negotiated and said she will report their findings in 90 days. She also said she agrees with Lukic that the airport cleaning contract must be put back out for competitive bids.

Here's what happened, according to those involved: Inflation was so high when the cleaning contract was in the works, at 5.8 percent, that the county was afraid to pay for a contract that used the Living Wage Ordinance as its basis. The county's Living Wage was tied directly to increases in inflation.

So Sunshine agreed to pay $13.24 an hour in wages the first year, with a flat 4.1 percent raise each of the next four years. The contract was approved on Sept. 16, 2008.

Weeks later, on Oct. 7, the county voted to change its Living Wage to limit annual increases.

Lukic says purchasing director Billingsley knew the Living Wage law was about to be changed and asked George's aviation staff to reflect it in the contract. Yet no one followed up to make sure the contract was changed during negotiations, according to the auditor.

Henry said in her memo that after lots of explanations to her from staff about what happened and why, she heard "none that is acceptable to me and it will be addressed accordingly.''

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Please stick to your guns on stronger ethics and do everything in your power to prevent Mayor Resnick & Co. from beginning the race to the bottom of the ethics barrel in Broward

Above, looking NW at the Broward County Government HQ at 115 S. Andrews Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. January 3, 2012 photo by South Beach Hoosier.


Below is a copy of an email that I sent Friday morning to Broward County Commissioners Suzanne GunzburgerBarbara Sharief and Chip LaMarca, along with Broward's Inspector General John W. Scott, with a cc to Robert Wechsler, one of the national voices for ethics and transparency in local and state government in the U.S. at cityethics.org, where he blogs on what's going on -or isn't- at http://www.cityethics.org/Blog-RobWechsler


I later sent a copy of it to selected people I know in Broward, South Florida and Tallahassee who have a strong  interest in the issue of stronger ethics at the local level in Florida, where most of the corruption currently exists for the most obvious of reasons -opportunity, lack of oversight, morally-compromised and beholden city attorneys, and lack of adequate press coverage.


The same group whom I sent a copy of my previous posts last Sunday about Wilton Manors mayor Gary Resnick and Cooper City mayor Debby Eisinger, whom in my opinion, thru their own words and actions, have come to personify the anti-ethics reform crowd in this county. 
Apparently, nothing can be allowed to stand that threatens their perceived power in their respective fiefdoms.


Broward cities need tougher ethics laws, not self-serving pols like Gary Resnick & Debby Eisinger, whom we need like more bad restaurants, more ruined-views of the beach... -NOT at all! http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/broward-cities-need-tougher-ethics-laws.html 

My coda to "Broward cities need tougher ethics laws, not self-serving pols"; Debby Eisinger's curious fact pattern



From my perspective, to put it bluntly, this issue will go a long way towards deciding, before this year's elections, whether or not Broward County's civic activists and organizations are actually prepared to 'walk-the-walk' and get actively engaged, or whether it will be yet another completely uninspiring example of them collectively taking-a-powder, and shying-away from the issue and opportunity to both say and do the right thing for the larger Broward community.


In other words, being a real 'player' in the community who has earned their reputation from actually doing something more than sending out press releases, holding press conferences or taking the side of the real estate/development and business establishment in every fight.


And do I even have to mention here how laughably preposterous objective and well-informed people here view individuals and groups who continually and blindly take the side of the local Broward Democratic Party's top honchos, and the way the party does business?


Especially given what a laughingstock so many of them have made of themselves over the past ten years, given how dependent so many of them are on lobbying local, county and School Board officials?
They are walking-and-talking conflicts-of-interest, unable to separate the personal from the professional and hoping to deal with others with a similar personality.


In my opinion, there are a lot of civic, professional, ethnic community and business groups in South Florida, and Broward County in particular, that want to be taken seriously by the public at large and the press corps, but who seem to have gotten a little too comfortable over the past few years sitting on the sidelines, when it would've been better for everyone involved to have had them actively engaged on community issues that were outside their usual or parochial bailiwick.


I've mentioned the name of some of them to those of you whom I communicate with fairly regularly, and as you more regular readers to the blog know, I was personally less-than- thrilled at the apathy shown in Broward by some of these same groups when the official Florida Senate congressional and legislative redistricting meeting finally hit town.


Nobody had the foresight to actually host a pre-meeting get-together so that open-minded citizens could get an overview of what they would later see presented, and what other options were reasonable that were in compliance with the FairDistricts requirements that Florida voters overwhelming approved.
Instead of seizing the opportunity that was just sitting there, these Broward groups, individually and collectively, did NOTHING.


Simply put, it's time for them to get off the sidelines and cowboy up, or risk becoming superfluous to what takes place in the future.
I'm not the only one who's paying close attention to see who does what.
Just saying...


-----



Per Brittany Wallman's to-the-point Broward Politics blog post of Thursday,
Wilton Manors' Resnick seeks to undo parts of new ethics code, on Jan. 31 ballot
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2012/01/wilton_manors_resnick_seeks_to.html
I merely reiterate to you all what I wrote Sunday - 
Broward cities need tougher ethics laws... 
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/broward-cities-need-tougher-ethics-laws.html


Having read her story that included this newest grab-bag of excuses offered up by Mayor Resnick, I will make arrangements next week to try to speak to you all for just a few minutes to let you know why I believe that standing silent in the face of this frontal assault on the new ethics rules is a losing proposition for everyone in Broward County who wants this area to not obly have a higher Quality-of-Life, but a higher quality of civic life, too.


Lower standards might be why some businesses choose to relocate to some foreign countries, but lower standards and the perception that some municipal elected officials in Broward have an upside-down understanding of what public service is, should never allow that to become SELF-SERVICE.


But that seems to be exactly what Mayor Resnick desires for himself.
Me, I don't think the people of his city or this county actually owe him a certain economic position in life, nor do I believe that a city should be allowed to simply opt-out so that that their mayor and his pals can ignore laws he finds personally constricting economically.


I know what side of this ethics fight that I'm on, and having attended those early morning Broward Ethics Comm. meetings, I'm equally happy if not more so to let everyone I know learn what sorts of characters are behind this effort, and the sorts of damnable, self-serving excuses that are being trotted-out to try to justify this insulting end-run around a standard that actually means something.


Mr. Scott, IF you need a Broward citizen to make a formal complaint to you in order to get your office officially involved in this matter, I'm only too happy to volunteer. 
Frankly, given what I've seen and heard first-hand from attending those Ethics Comm. meetings, often dumbstruck at the transparent early attempts by some members to water-down anything that had any teeth to speak of, it'll be my pleasure.


-----
Since I wrote this on Friday and Monday is a holiday, I'll post any received email comments, official or otherwise, later in the week to give people some time to formulate their own thoughts. But you're welcome to respond here on the blog, too, of course. 

Friday, December 9, 2011

Mass Transit reality check from Reason TV: 17 Miles in Just 78 Minutes! Light Rail vs. Reality in LA; backwards South Florida can hardly laugh at LA!


Reason.tv video: 17 Miles in Just 78 Minutes! Light Rail vs. Reality in Los Angeles. Watt Smith plays the role of guinea pig going from LAX to Burbank to see what's true and what's not re LA's Light Rail system, and discover's that even riders would prefer faster buses, not expensive and slow trains. December 2011.

Don't act so smug in watching this, South Florida!

As I've detailed previously here and in emails, blog and newspaper comments elsewhere over the years, when the Miami-Dade Metrorail system was in the development stages, wonky transit nerds and Good Government public policy types were completely out-muscled and out-hustled by the local taxi cab industry -and their campaign contribution$- which is why a Metrorail route between Miami International Airport -aka M.I.A.- and the downtown Miami business/legal area then on Flagler Street, and beginning to rapidly move south to Brickell Avenue, was NOT the very first route completed, like it would be in almost any other normal community that didn't have natural obstacles between them.
But in Miami, it didn't happen.

In fact, you STILL can't get straight from MIA to downtown Miami or Brickell Avenue entirely via Metrorail in the year 2011, can you?

And in Broward County, despite the name, Tri-Rail's Airport station isn't really at Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale International Airport, is it?
No, it's a few miles away in Dania, and you have to take a bus to actually get to the airport.

And there's currently no rail service to Port Everglades and all the thousands of tourists and employees there to... anywhere.

(And who can forget all my many -fascinating!- blog posts here in the past about the lack of a bus at the Tri-Rail station closest to Ft. Lauderdale Stadium & Lockhart Stadium -Coconut Creek- where the Orioles used to have spring training, and the complete lack of a city or county bus or shuttle that goes directly from the Tri-Rail station to the City of FTL-owned stadiums when events are taking place there, despite it being well over a mile away?)

Yes, South Florida has really been blessed the past forthy years with lots of real geniuses in charge of public transportation!

To better illustrate these points, especially for those of you reading this now who live far from the heat and humidity -and sunshine- of South Florida, here are two excerpt of email I've sent
the past four years.

The first was sent to Gabriel Lopez-Bernal, the founder of the very popular public policy and transit-oriented blog, Transit Miami, back on November 7th, 2007.

Gabriel listed this blog on the Transit Miami blogroll a few months after I started it and the South Beach Hoosier blog, the latter of which will be seriously tweaked and improved by the beginning of the new year. http://southbeachhoosier.blogspot.com/

Dear Gabriel:
Per Larry Lebowitz's insightful article about the latest "only in Miami" controversy, around the North corridor of the extension of the Metrorail, something the Herald neglected to mention when discussing the issue of the U-M's move to Chez Huizenga, and your good take on the situation which I read just a few minutes ago, http://www.transitmiami.com/2007/11/could-north-corridor-be-threatened-by.html

"MIA got luggage carts when?" is going to be my new generic response to how things can be the way they are in South Florida.
For instance, the Herald suddenly discovering that there are no general interest bookstores within the City of Miami city limits.

Luggage carts at MIA? That happened like, what, just 4-5 years ago???

When I was still living the Beltway Life up in Arlington, I could get a luggage cart at the Reagan National Airport Metro exit just seconds after going thru the farecard taker.

Don't quote me on this, but I think they had luggage carts at Le Bourget Airport in Paris when Lindbergh landed in 1927


Come on, you know how long it takes for all the good ideas to finally make their way to Miami!
-----
Want more proof of the lack of common sense on transit?

Here's an excerpt from a 2007 email of mine to Broward County Comm. Sue Gunzburger, the Commissioner for my part of Broward, telling her about a series of problems I had noticed even BEFORE the County initiated a new -and long overdue- express bus service along U.S.-1/
Federal Highway called The US-1 Breeze.

The route starts south of me in Aventura at the Aventura Mall, come north thru Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Dania, stops at FLL airport, and then continues to downtown Ft. Lauderdale, near the County and Federal Courthouse and Broward Schools HQ, ending at the Broward County Central Terminal on Broward Blvd., just around the corner from the Broward County Govt. Center.

Since this service started four years ago, if nobody I know wants to come along in my car, I take this when I need to go up to Broward County Commission meetings -or the Ethics Comm. meetings- so I can read the newspaper, listen to ESPN Radio and drink some Iced coffee and be there in less than 45 minutes for less than two bucks -and don't have to pay for parking:

1. Considering the amount of public back-slapping Broward County engaged in after they finally decided to create the #1 Breeze, an idea that should've been done 10-20 years ago, how is it that less than one week before the service actually began, there were still NOT any printed schedules for the Breeze service available on existing #1 buses, the natural constituency of a new line?
Could you possibly sabotage your own efforts any worse?

Actually you could, since there were no easily visible symbols of some sort on US-1 in advance, indicating where the small number of stops would be.
That was the icing on the Breeze cake for me.
As it happens, I spent quite some time investigating this, not only on the phone talking to customer service folks with Broward Transit, but also employing old-fashioned shoe leather, actually walking US-1. You know, the route involved.

Trust me, Comm. Gunzburger, whatever you are told by Broward Transit on this matter needs to be completely disregarded, because it could hardly have been more self-evident they didn't know what they were doing.
How botched was it?

Well, customer service people I spoke to at Broward Transit, just days before the service began, couldn't tell me with any degree of certainty where the stop(s) in Hallandale Beach were to be located.
Or, as it turned out, where the ONE stop in Hallandale Beach was.
The whole subject of the lack of a sufficient number of city-created bus shelters in SE Broward in HB and Hollywood, will be the subject of a future blog post here, though I've broached it here in the past.
I mention this because the north-bound stop in HB for The Breeze consists of two benches across the street from McDonald's -with no sheltered roof to keep you out of the rain or sun.
The one south-bound stop is roughly the same but in front of a gas station.

In the entire length of Hallandale Beach, along very busy U.S.-1, there is exactly one bus shelter on the north-bound side of the road, and it's just two blocks south of Pembroke Road, the cityline with Hollywood.
Welcome to Joy Cooper's Hallandale Beach!

-----

seventhmetro'd video: Los Angeles Metro: The past, Present and Future of LA's Mass Transit


From today's Transit Miami blog, relative to FDOT:


StrongTowns video: Conversation with an Engineer, Street Project

-----


Rail-Volution's 2007 Conference in Miami, Florida

Summary of Lake Worth Charette; Transit Oriented Development

Papers, Presentations and Highlights of other Rail-Volution annual conferences:

Creating a Positive Future for a Minority Community: Transportation and Urban Renewal Politics in Miami: By Milan Dluhy, Keith Revell and Sidney Wong




Friday, November 25, 2011

Unless you have a long extension cord... Electric Cars could be nothing but paperweights in So. Fla. as govt. bureaucracy stalls re-charging stations



CBS4/WFOR-TV video: CBS4's Al Sunshine investigates how "Electric Cars" could be largely useless without high-voltage re-charging stations that even its supporters acknowledge are years away in South Florida.

Article at:

Unless you have a long extension cord... how Electric Cars could be nothing but large paperweights in South Florida as govt. bureaucracy stalls high-voltage re-charging stations. And should the U.S. government even be in the business of giving grants or loans to some syndicates given how poorly the selection process is in this sort of crony capitalism, given the recent experience with Solyndra?

I'm still waiting for the hard-hitting multi-part investigation by local Miami-area TV stations into how it came to be that in the year 2011, South Florida doesn't have a single successful solar power, wind power or thermal power company down here that employs a reasonable amount of people paying good upper-middle class salaries and that AREN'T dependent on government handouts for its very existence.

Certainly more than even I would have guessed while living up in Washington all those years, the Miami Herald has gone out of its way since I returned to the area in late 2003 -esp. its business reporters!- to avoid publicly asking such basic yet troubling questions of the local business community and its so-called leadership, since if the newspaper was, the answers to those simple questions would be known by the majority of the well-informed populace here.

For those of you reading this who live far from Area Code 305 & 954, the fact that many American states much farther north in latitude are MUCH farther along in developing solar power capabilities than its natural capital, South Florida, should tell you plenty about the inadequate government/venture capital vision, planning and leadership in this part of the Sunshine State.

No, in this area, people with more money than sense still prefer to sink money into real estate and take advantage of out-of-state and foreign buyers.
You know, since they can't sell you swamp land any more.

-----
EPA worksheet: Clean Alternative Fuels: Electric Vehicles

South Florida Regional Planning Council: http://www.sfrpc.com/

Map of Broward County electric vehicle charging facilities; 14 as of 2011.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

The Florida Panthers hockey team's owners & mgmt. are about to get a cold dose of economic reality falling on their head -no taxpayer money for you!

In my opinion, the Florida Panthers hockey team's owners and management are about to get a cold dose of economic reality falling on their head -no taxpayer money for you!
And that lesson may well come as soon as the Broward County Commission meeting I'll be attending on Tuesday when agenda item #31 comes up.

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South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Broward Politics
blog
Florida Panthers asking Broward commissioners for $7.7 million loan
By Brittany Wallman
November 5, 2011 09:57 PM
The company that operates Broward County’s hockey arena in Sunrise and owns the Florida Panthers who play there wants a $7.7 million loan from the county to renovate the facility.

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I wrote to Broward County Comm. Sue Gunzburger -the presiding official here- and Comm. Chip LaMarca in June about the original $14.4 million request the Panthers asked for, and they responded quite reasonably that given the poor state of the economy in Broward County -and the sorts of belt-tightening that has taken place here, where salaries have been cut and job openings have gone unfilled- they will NOT support that request.

Given that, I can't imagine that Commissioners Gunzburger and LaMarca will change their minds for even for half that amount NOW, especially given that 99% of Broward County's resident taxpayers never utilize the BankAtlantic Center in a typical year, given what I and most reasonable people believe is its inconvenient location in Sunrise.


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Personally, I love NHL hockey -as has been stated here previously with my post on Les Habs, see the two links below- and exponentially prefer it to the NBA, but the best thing the Florida Panthers could do for all concerned is move to Kansas City after this season and end the pretense that they will ever be more than a largely-ignored novelty here in South Florida.



The number-one rule of politics and marketing is know your "universe."
In my opinion, the Panthers never learned that when it would've actually mattered, with completely with predictable results.

Below is the most recent list of myriad Panthers/Yormark/Sunrise Sports officials and lobbyists calling upon Broward County Commissioners, though given the apparent limitations of the county's website, and the all-too-obvious spelling mistakes, I'm sure there are likely more: http://webapps.broward.org/Lobbyist/VisitorContactList.aspx

I've re-arranged the info below to make it more legible as the columns on the county's website played havoc with the blog.

Michael Yormark
Principal/Employer: Sunrise Sports & Entertainment Center
Client:
Meeting-Other - provide specific detail
Improvements at Sunrise Sports Complex
Visited Comm. Kristin D. Jacobs on 10/13/2011 at 4:18 PM

William D. Rubin
Principal/Employer: The RubinGroup, Inc.
Client: Sunrise Sports & Entertainment
Meeting-Other Improvements at Sunrise Sorts Center
Visited Comm. Kristin D. Jacobs on 10/13/2011 at 4:17 PM

Heather L. Turnbull
Principal/Employer:The Rubin Group, Inc.
Client: Sunrise Sports & Entertainment
Meeting-Other Sunrise Sports stadium improvements and meetings with staff
Visited Comm. Kristin D. Jacobs on 10/13/2011 at 3:37 PM

John M. Milledge
Principal/Employer: John M. Milledge PA
Client: Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, LLP
Meeting -Other - provide specific detail
Improvements to the Sunrise arena
Visited Comm. Ilene Lieberman on 09/06/2011 at 3:21 PM

Here's the information on Agenda item #31 as it currently appears on the county's website:



Below is 99% of the the original email I sent to Comm. Sue Gunzburger and Comm. Barbara Sharief, both of whom represent Hallandale Beach on the commission, and which I later sent Comm. Chip LaMarca as well.
Much as I'd like to, I can't provide links to the Bob Norman segments on Channel 10 involving the Florida Panthers owners that I reference below, who continue their attempts to get their hands on Broward taxpayer's money, because the TV station is currently re-doing their website and the story links I have aren't working.
(Wonder if they'll lose the archives of stories he's done since he moved over there from the BrowardPalmBeach NewTimes?)

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Friday June 17th, 2011

Dear Commissioners Gunzburger and Sharief:

As I suspect you both recall from my previous conversations and emails with you both, I'm a big sports fan, always have been, but personally, I'm completely against this proposed BankAtlantic Center bailout -regardless of what the Panthers officials might prefer to call it- as long as Broward County taxpayers are paying more than 60% of the total costs involved.
They NEED to do more of the heavy-lifting.

Given that this snake-bit, poorly-run organization has already received a loan from the county, which hasn't been paid back in full yet, it seems an especially ill-conceived idea to me for them to expect the public to buy-in to the abstract idea of making the product better, esp. when the ultimate product is wins and losses (and excitement) on the ice, something which the Panthers have been woeful at demonstrating to the public for well over ten years.

Especially when they haven't tried to engage the public first in a meaningful way BEFORE coming to speak to you all about it.
Talk about the cart before the horse...
That's a real disconnect for me!

I saw the Channel 10 interview by Bob Norman earlier this afternoon, having missed it when it first aired, and think he framed the narrative quite fairly and accurately.
That the Panthers refused the opportunity to say anything to him about the story, even if just another self-serving bit of tripe, only makes them look more confused and desperate, and makes me wonder if it wouldn't be better for everyone if they didn't just move to Kansas City.

As it happens, as both a sports fan and a Broward taxpayer, per the LA Times story below from this morning, if the LA Coliseum Comm. can turn down USC, with all their history, I definitely think you all can turn down the Florida Panthers if they aren't willing to pay 60% of the renovation costs at the arena.

Growing-up in NMB, I always planned on attending USC, and didn't finally decide to go to IU until I received my financial aid package statement back from LA -I was devastated...

I mention this tidbit only as a way of mentioning to you that despite the ubiquity of you all usually seeing me wearing this cap whenever we've run into each other and spoken somewhere in the county,


Hallandale Beach Blog

it well could've been this instead.
Nike USC Trojans Cardinal Wool Classic Hat
It's the difference between calling red 'crimson' and calling it "cardinal' and
calling Home Sweet Home, Bloomington or Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Times
L.A. Coliseum officials tell USC they can't afford $60 million in renovations
The Coliseum Commission can't keep its promise to USC to make $60 million in renovations at the aging stadium. The university has several options under its contract.
June 17, 2011

Read the article at:

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Today's Broward County Comm. action on red-light cameras; My take on "Sight distances" of red-light camera signs; county won't be involved the future


Today's Broward County Comm. action on red-light cameras; My take on "Sight distances" of red-light camera warning signs - Agenda Item 33- Allows traffic infraction detection equipment by municipalities to connect to the County’s traffic signal infrastructure
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Below is a copy of an email that I sent early Tuesday morning to Hallandale Beach's two representatives on the Broward County Commission, Sue Gunzburger and Barbara Sharief, plus County Administrator Bertha Henry, regarding Agenda item #33 on this morning's schedule. Below it is the response I received from Comm. Gunzburger, the presiding officer.

October 11th, 2011

Dear Commissioners Gunzburger and Sharief:

Despite my longstanding interest in this issue, I will be unable to be present in person for today's, Broward County Commission meeting and therefore am sending this email to you to to represent, my personal thoughts and to share with you some facts that I fear will otherwise NOT come up today, namely, Broward cities taking advantage of their citizens and NOT acting in a manner that's reasonable, prudent or even legal with regard to their use of red-light cameras.
For months I've waited for the opportunity to formally share this bit of information with you, where it would do some public good, and show that not all municipalities in Broward County are eager to comply with the specific standards set to allow red-light camera enforcement to take place in Broward County.

Below are some photos of a self-evident fact that I and many tens of thousands of other Hallandale Beach and Hollywood residents have known about ever since the red-light camera was installed on Hallandale Beach Blvd. & N.W. 10th Terrace, Hallandale Beach, with the so-called warning sign posted a block farther east on the corner of N.W. 9th Terrace, which, as it happens, is also a popular area for dangerous U-turns.

It's here somewhere...



It's right around here somewhere.
In what way, exactly, is the red-light camera warning sign "visible" from this distance?
September 25, 2011

Or this distance? August 19, 2011




Or from this distance? September 25, 2011



Where did it go? Shouldn't we see it by now? September 11, 2011



Oh, there you are, red-light camera warning sign, intentionally placed right between two trees!
You only see the sign above because of the reflection of my camera flash.
You'd almost say they were hiding it, yes?
Looking west on W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. & N.W 10th Terrace, Hallandale Beach, April 24, 2011.

In fact, it's not until you are almost parallel to the sign itself, assuming you notice it among the other signs preceding it, that it's visible to west-bound drivers in the road lane that is actually CLOSEST to the sign. That seems illogical on its face doesn't it?

Shouldn't the lane closest to the sign at least see it at roughly the same instant others do?
Instead, the driver closest to it is the one driver most likely to NEVER see it.
How exactly is that common sense?

The fact that there is no street light there only makes it even worse at night, as this photo below
amply demonstrates.


Above, the red-light camera warning sign on the north-side of west-bound W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. at N.W. 9th Terrace on February 27, 2011 at 6:40 p.m., a bit past sundown.
The ONLY reason that you even see the sign above is because I'm standing on the curb and pointing my camera directly at it, using my camera's flash.

And that assumes that you the driver aren't distracted -and a bit un-nerved- by the sight of the over-grown palm fronds that obstruct the electronic message board directly behind it.

September 11, 2011

Hmm-m... erecting an electronic message board behind a palm tree on a west-bound road where a setting sun is often brutal at times?
No, nothing bad could ever go wrong with that sort of well-organized plan.
Well, unless it rains .. and the palm fronds get larger.
And aren't properly maintained and cut.
Like the reality in Hallandale Beach since that particular red-light cameras went up.


Where's that red-light camera warning sign?
Looking west on W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. approaching N.W 10th Terrace, Hallandale Beach. About 6:50 p.m., April 24, 2011.


Where did you say that red-light camera warning sign was, again?
No, it's not that silver-colored one next to the curb, that the Merge/Bike lane sign. Looking west on W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. & N.W 10th Terrace, Hallandale Beach, April 24, 2011.

That red-light camera is there merely to catch drivers trying to get onto I-95 ASAP, not because of any dangerous safety situation there ever mentioned or disclosed by the City of Hallandale Beach or known by its residents prior to the installation of a camera.

In fact, the last very bad accident near there, in front of the Denny's, was actually caused by a high-speed police pursuit from... the other direction. Yes, a high-speed pursuit approaching slow-moving traffic trying to get onto the I-95 entrance ramps.
Sure, because nothing could go wrong with that sort of strategy.

Proof of the lack of safety concern here is how how many street lights near that area have been out for months or years, and yet the city seems never quite able to make that necessary phone call to FDOT or FP&L.
They act completely oblivious, but the facts are common knowledge.

Going south-bound on N.W. 10th Terrace, as you approach that same intersection at Hallandale
Beach Blvd., the one that the city says is a problem without ever offering a scintilla of proof, tell me, when can you even see the traffic signal because of all the obstructing tree branches?
Answer: When you are one of the first two cars there, maybe, otherwise, forget it.
The traffic signal can barely be seen.

This longstanding safety situation with obstructions as you approach BCTE traffic signals
exists all throughout Hallandale Beach and Hollywood and neither city does a thing about it,
even when they are specifically told about it.
In one ear, out the other.

Rhonda Calhoun of the Broward League of Cities and their counsel, Sam Goren -that is, when he isn't wearing his other hat as Pembroke Pines City Attorney- where so many of his city's red-light cameras cases were dismissed by judges back in January, are saying all the predictable things their bosses, the cities of Broward, want you all to hear, but they are wrong, particularly as it applies to the City of Hallandale Beach.

Here, it's about revenue, not public safety, as red-light cameras were specifically cited by city residents (in a $38,000 City Commission-paid poll) as their number-one complaint about Hallandale Beach.

That's not by accident. That's from personal experience in seeing the city do whatever it wanted even before the state approved the cameras for July of 2010, even to the point of having the one-and-only red-light camera warning sign on U.S.-1 hidden away for months and months by a County Bus shelter. (And even then. unbelievably, the warning sign was on the other side of the sidewalk!)
How, exactly, was that "visible" to drivers and consistent with sight distances?


It wasn't, but the city didn't care.
They did it anyway.

I've got contemporaneous photos of that 'invisible' warning sign from every single angle, having been there when the red-light camera was erected. On purpose!

I even spoke to the engineer/technician installing it and specifically asked him about the fact that
the so-called required 'warning" sign was, for all practical purposes, "hidden" by the bus shelter.
He said that was the city's decision.
And he would know.

The City of Hallandale Beach is NOT trusted by its citizens on this matter, and for very good reason: personal experience.They've even told the city, via the poll conducted by an independent company in Kansas,
but the city STILL refuses to listen because it doesn't care.

Pages 11, 68, 106 and 135 deals with red-light cameras.

Question (Q6) Satisfaction with Various Aspect of Public Safety ranked the use of red light cameras at an “unsatisfied” rating of 45%. According to ETC Institute, the entity administering the survey, any rating above 20% requires the City’s immediate attention.
The Public Safety Importance-Satisfaction Analysis (Section 3, page 4) red-light cameras rates “High Priority” ahead of visibility of police and crime prevention.

Therefore, in my opinion, based on the preceding facts, the county-wide policy you should adopt is a simple one: "Trust but verify."


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Meeting Agendas

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AI-9448Item #: 33.
Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Date:10/11/2011
Director's Name:Thomas Hutka
Department:Public Works

Information
Requested Action

MOTION TO APPROVE standard form, shell revocable license agreement for use between Broward County and various municipalities for their use of County equipment to connect traffic infraction detection systems, effective for five years from date of execution; authorizing the County Administrator, or designee, to execute the approved standard form, shell agreement on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners; authorizing the County Administrator to approve renewal for additional five-year terms if the County Administrator determines it is in the best interest of the County; and authorizing the County Administrator to amend the standard form, shell agreement or executed agreements to add or remove affected intersections and revise the affected locations and layouts (Exhibit A of agreement), to revise the conditions of use (Exhibit B) or special technical provisions (Exhibit C), as may be necessary. (All Commission Districts) (Deferred from September 27, 2011 - Item No. 65)

Why Action is Necessary
Broward County Commission approval is required for all agreements between the County and municipalities.
What Action Accomplishes
Allows traffic infraction detection equipment by municipalities to connect to the County’s traffic signal infrastructure.
Is this Action Goal Related
Previous Action Taken

This item was deferred from the December 14, 2010 Commission meeting (Item No. 50), from the March 1, 2011 Commission meeting (Item No. 23), from the August 30, 2011 Commision meeting (Item No. 51), and again from the September 27, 2011 Commission meeting.

Summary Explanation/ Background
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT/TRAFFIC ENGINEERING DIVISION AND HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING DIVISION RECOMMEND APPROVAL. The Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act (Act) was signed into law, with an effective date of July 1, 2010, authorizing the use of traffic infraction detectors, commonly known as red light running cameras, on State, County and municipal roadways in the State of Florida. Broward County is somewhat unique among most Florida traffic maintaining agencies in that the County operates all traffic signals (the County owns all signals on County and local roads and maintains all signals on State roads for FDOT). However, the traffic infraction detection equipment is being installed by municipalities within their municipal boundaries. Prior to the passage of the Act, several cities installed and operated non-intrusive traffic infraction detection systems (no connection to the County’s traffic signals) outside of the road right-of-way. With the passage of the Act, these systems can be installed within the road right-of-way as long as they comply with traffic safety conditions (i.e. outside of clear zone, crash worthiness standards, sight distances, etc.). In general, non-intrusive systems in the County's right-of-way can be permitted by the Broward County Highway Construction and Engineering Division under Section 6.48, Broward County Administrative Code; non-intrusive systems in State or city rights-of-way are permitted by those respective agencies. Recently, County staff became aware, from a vendor (American Traffic Solutions, Inc.) representing several municipalities, that the municipalities would like to install intrusive systems (systems with some equipment connecting to the County’s traffic signals) to supplement the required photographic evidence of violation. If the Board were to approve the municipalities’ request to connect to the County’s traffic signals, staff has developed the subject shell revocable licensing agreement (RLA) that would protect the County’s interests. This shell RLA will only be required as part of the permit review and approval process for the installations that connect to the County’s traffic signals. Municipalities installing non-intrusive systems would not be subject to this RLA. The main conditions of the shell RLA are as follows:
  • Establish the locations and conditions that the traffic infraction detection equipment can be connected to the County’s traffic signals without compromising the signals' effectiveness and reliability.
  • Establish the responsibility of the municipalities to install, maintain and operate the traffic infraction detection equipment and to remove the equipment from the right-of-way when no longer in use.
  • Establish the responsibility of the municipalities for repairs and damages to the County’s infrastructure as a result of the connections between the municipality and County equipment.
  • Establish the County’s right to disconnect any equipment connected to the traffic signal control system, if necessary during emergency repairs, in order to maintain or return the traffic signals to normal operation as quickly as possible. Municipalities may reconnect to the County infrastructure at a later time at their own costs.
  • Establish an hourly rate reimbursement schedule for County staff to inspect equipment installation, adjust signal timing, and to provide court testimony for traffic infraction violations. The hourly rates will increase at the same annual increases to salaries, administrative support, benefits, and vehicle costs.
As part of the Board's approval of the municipalities' request, staff is requesting approval of this shell RLA, effective for five years from date of execution; authorizing the County Administrator, or designee, to execute the agreement on behalf of the Board; authorizing the County Administrator to approve renewal for additional five-year terms if County Administrator determines it is in the best interest of the County; and authorizing the County Administrator to execute amendments to the agreement or the approved shell agreement to add or remove affected intersections and revise the affected locations and layouts (Exhibit A of agreement), or to revise the conditions of use and special technical provisions (Exhibits B and C of agreement), as may be necessary. This agreement may be terminated by County, through the Broward County Commission or the Broward County Administrator, or Licensee, with or without cause and at any time during the term hereof upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other of its desire to terminate this agreement. Attachment B-1 of the agreement, Reimbursement Hourly Rates, has been updated to incorporate the clarification on future annual increases that was yellow-sheeted for the December 14, 2010 meeting and to include the provision to charge overtime for work required outside of normal business hours. At the December 14, 2010 meeting, the Board deferred this item and directed staff to solicit comments from the League of Cities and the Clerk of the Court. Comments from the Broward League of Cities dated February 8, 2011 are attached as Exhibit 3. At the March 1, 2011 meeting, the Board deferred this item and directed staff to provide additional information on several issues and also requested that the Broward League of Cities consider developing uniform traffic enforcement procedures among the cities. Responses from County staff and the Broward League of Cities are included as Exhibits 7 and 8, respectively. At the August 30, 2011 meeting, the Board deferred this item and directed staff to bring the item back to the Board with recommendations relating to initial permitting fees and annual fee costs. A memo of the recommendation is included as Exhibit 11. At the September 27, 2011 meeting, the Board deferred this item at the request of the Mayor on behalf of the City of Pembroke Pines. If a license agreement is approved by the Board, staff will provide a quarterly report to the Board summarizing the number of license agreements that have been submitted or executed over that period. The Office of the County Attorney has approved the agreement as to legal form. Sources of additional information: Anthony M. Hui, P.E., Deputy Director, Public Works Department, 954-357-6308; Thomas J. Hutka, P.E., Director, Public Works Department, 954-357-6410.

Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary:
Fiscal impact is anticipated to be cost neutral. The reimbursement schedule will allow the County to recover costs for its involvement with the traffic infraction detection systems.

Attachments
Exhibit 1 - Agreement Summary
Exhibit 2 - Revocable License Agreement
Exhibit 3 - Broward League of Cities Position Statement
Exhibit 4 - Additional Agenda Material Item 23-1
Exhibit 5 - Additional Agenda Material Item 23-2
Exhibit 6 - Additional Agenda Material Item 23-3
Exhibit 7 - Memo to the Board
Exhibit 8 - Letter from League of Cities
Exhibit 9 - Additional Information - Item 51-1
Exhibit 10 - Additional Information - Item 51-2
Exhibit 11 - Additional Information
Exhibit 12 - Additional Material
Exhibit 13 - Additional Material
Additional Material - Information
Additional Material - Information
Additional Material - Information

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See also:

Later in the morning, I received this response from Comm. Gunzburger, who is the presiding officer, whom I last spoke to in person in June at Comm. Keith London's monthly Resident Forum meeting, where she spoke and answered citizen's public policy questions for about an hour. Comm. Sharief had attended the previous month.

This item has been permanently pulled from our agenda by the cities. The county will not be involved in the red light cameras. The place to protest is at the city.

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Sue Gunzburger, Mayor

Broward County Commission - District 6

Phone 954-357-7006 Fax 954-357-7129

www.broward.org/sue

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