Below is the letter I sent earlier this afternoon to Armando Linares, the staff liaison to the 15-member City of Hollywood General Obligation Bond Advisory Committee, which includes more than a few friends and acquaintances of mine, and whose first few meetings I attended in-person at Hollywood City Hall, as I've written previously in this space.
The other important agenda item that I reference below on Wednesday's Hollywood City Commission meeting is the Time Certain item at 1:30 p.m. affecting recreational activities on Hollywood beach which my friend Catherine Uden has been spearheading. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBjlsLgHTv9/
More about that tomorrow, Tuesday.
The other important agenda item that I reference below on Wednesday's Hollywood City Commission meeting is the Time Certain item at 1:30 p.m. affecting recreational activities on Hollywood beach which my friend Catherine Uden has been spearheading. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBjlsLgHTv9/
More about that tomorrow, Tuesday.
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June 29th, 2020
2:00 p.m.
Dear Mr. Linares:
I'm writing to you today in your capacity as the staff liaison to the Hollywood GO Bond Advisory Committee, which meets tonight at 6 p.m.
Due to COVID19, the last public meeting of this group was conducted using Webex, and the appropriate access information about that meeting was included on the city's website prior to the meeting so that any interested Hollywood citizen, including Hollywood civic activists like myself and many of my friends, could properly access the meeting, and see/hear for ourselves the interplay of the members about an important subject of community interest.
But last week, and then again on Saturday afternoon, I specifically went to Hollywood City Hall to personally look at the temporary Sunshine Board at the south main public entrance. My purpose in doing so was to see if the official announcements about tonight's meeting had been changed so they would, in fact, provide the necessary public access information that was NOT included previously on the temporary Sunshine Board or at the city's website.
Here's why, in my opinion, that failure to include that information is both ironic AND problematic.
Tonight's meeting is supposed to include information about the proposed new Hollywood Police HQ, which, as it happens, will also be on the agenda at the City Commission's Thursday Workshop.
A Workshop that comes the day after the City Commission meeting contemplates not just an important POSITIVE change regarding recreational activities at the beach, but also an agenda item, #27, the Public Participation Ordinance that I strongly support.
Dear Mr. Linares:
I'm writing to you today in your capacity as the staff liaison to the Hollywood GO Bond Advisory Committee, which meets tonight at 6 p.m.
Due to COVID19, the last public meeting of this group was conducted using Webex, and the appropriate access information about that meeting was included on the city's website prior to the meeting so that any interested Hollywood citizen, including Hollywood civic activists like myself and many of my friends, could properly access the meeting, and see/hear for ourselves the interplay of the members about an important subject of community interest.
But last week, and then again on Saturday afternoon, I specifically went to Hollywood City Hall to personally look at the temporary Sunshine Board at the south main public entrance. My purpose in doing so was to see if the official announcements about tonight's meeting had been changed so they would, in fact, provide the necessary public access information that was NOT included previously on the temporary Sunshine Board or at the city's website.
Here's why, in my opinion, that failure to include that information is both ironic AND problematic.
Tonight's meeting is supposed to include information about the proposed new Hollywood Police HQ, which, as it happens, will also be on the agenda at the City Commission's Thursday Workshop.
A Workshop that comes the day after the City Commission meeting contemplates not just an important POSITIVE change regarding recreational activities at the beach, but also an agenda item, #27, the Public Participation Ordinance that I strongly support.
This item also has the support -see below- of my friend, Terry Cantrell, the elected head of the Hollywood Lakes Civic Association, the Hollywood Council of Civic Associations, AND, as you know well, the elected head of the GO Bonds Advisory Board itself.
Mr. Linares, leaving aside the fact that I and many other concerned Hollywood citizens believe that not one foot of earth should be touched regarding the establishment of a new Hollywood Police Dept. HQ until AFTER the Hollywood Police Department is equipped with reliable body cameras, on every officer that is in the public realm, I think you can well appreciate how badly it looks if a public meeting of the GO Bonds Advisory Board is held tonight without the public being able to access the meeting, simply because the current pandemic prevents the Board as well as the general public from appearing in-person tonight at Hollywood City Hall.
I think you can also appreciate why I believe that in view of the Public Participation Ordinance, in the future, the GO Bonds Advisory Board agenda needs to include a line marked "Public Comments," since I can tell you from attending most of the previous in-person meetings, the printed agendas did NOT include that line.
If you are now aware of information that will allow me and/or other members of the Hollywood public to access tonight's meeting -rapidly approaching- please respond as soon as you are able so that I can relay word of this to them so they can see what happens next.
Mr. Linares, leaving aside the fact that I and many other concerned Hollywood citizens believe that not one foot of earth should be touched regarding the establishment of a new Hollywood Police Dept. HQ until AFTER the Hollywood Police Department is equipped with reliable body cameras, on every officer that is in the public realm, I think you can well appreciate how badly it looks if a public meeting of the GO Bonds Advisory Board is held tonight without the public being able to access the meeting, simply because the current pandemic prevents the Board as well as the general public from appearing in-person tonight at Hollywood City Hall.
I think you can also appreciate why I believe that in view of the Public Participation Ordinance, in the future, the GO Bonds Advisory Board agenda needs to include a line marked "Public Comments," since I can tell you from attending most of the previous in-person meetings, the printed agendas did NOT include that line.
If you are now aware of information that will allow me and/or other members of the Hollywood public to access tonight's meeting -rapidly approaching- please respond as soon as you are able so that I can relay word of this to them so they can see what happens next.
2:55 p.m.
Mr. Linares, I now see that three-and-a-half hours before tonight's 6 p. m. meeting, at 2:30 p.m., someone at Hollywood City Hall has FINALLY noticed the problem I've written about, and sent an email out about tonight's meeting with the appropriate access information.
Information that should have been publicly posted... LAST WEEK.
Wow!
That 'whatever' attitude towards the public here is a very troubling sign and one that I suspect will not go down well at Wednesday's City Commission meeting.
Sincerely,
David B. Smith
Hallandale Beach/Hollywood Blog
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Those of you interested in catching the meeting tonight -expected to go up until 7:30 p.m. or so- can hear what's what via the following URL, event number and password:
https://hollywoodfl-
Event # - 132 922 8842Password: DCM2207629
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Mayor and Commission,
On behalf of the Hollywood Council of Civic Assn and all concerned residents of the City, I would like to thank you in advance for approving Item #27, PO-2020-09, the Public Participation Ordinance. This much needed legislation will, once and for all, eliminate a major problem for residents and civic associations. That is, lack of knowledge or information about redevelopment projects in our neighborhoods. With the City embarking on major redevelopment, especially in the recently created Regional Activity Center (RAC,) the requirement for developers and applicants to reach out to the neighborhoods is desperately needed. This ordinance codifies this process.
In the present environment of the virus crisis, this ordinance can still function despite our civic groups inability to hold public meetings at City facilities. The process of notification can be simply accomplished via email or Dropbox distributions from the applicant as well as phone and/or Zoom meetings. The applicant can confirm this outreach prior to the application processing in a way suitable to City Staff.
Never again will a civic or neighbor group stand before you or your planning boards and say "We never knew about this project." Thank you!
TERRY CANTRELL
President - Hollywood Council of Civic Assns.
Dave
David B. Smith
Hallandale Beach/Hollywood Blog: http://www.
Instagram: https://www.
Travel Massive: https://
