North Bay Village made history on Sunday 30, 2012

 

North Bay Village made history on Sunday 30, 2012 by participating in The Junior Orange Bowl Parade for the very first time.  History began when North Bay Village was invited to participate by the Junior Orange Bowl Parade Committee. Mayor Connie Leon-Kreps thought it was good for our village and handed off the idea to the Youth Service Board.  Under the leadership of Mr. Kevin Vericker (Chair), the hard work of its members Alex Funkhouser (Vice Chair), Rosa Neely, Jorge Piedra and Ana Fonseca made it possible to parade with a beautiful float.  The Beautiful Float representing North Bay Village was funded by donations from individuals and companies.  This event had zero financial impact on North Bay Village.  Jenice Rosado Deputy Village Manager and Sam Zamacona of Public Works were also instrumental in the successful endeavor.  It was a beautiful day for a parade the sun took turns with the clouds to make it nice and comfortable to enjoy the festivities. We should all learn from the Youth Services Board that big things are possible when people work together “PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST”.  

 

Mario Garcia

”.  

Mayor Connie Leon- Kreps and Jenice Rosado Deputy Village Manager along with Honor Students from North Bay Village IB Elementary School adorned the float. Mr Kevin Vericker Chair of the Youth Services Board and Mr Sam Zamacona of North Bay Village Public Works walked along side the float making sure that everyone was safe...Great Job !!!!!

 

 

Chief Robert Daniels Addressing Crime in North Bay Village

Thursday December 27, 2012 at 5:00 pm North Bay Village Police Chief Daniels held a town hall meeting. Recent crimes in North Bay Village prompted Chief Daniels to arrange for this meeting. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss ways to prevent and or deter neighborhood crime. Concerns residents filled the City Hall Meeting Chambers totaling over forty.

The Chief and members of his staff discussed ways to make your home more secure. Things like professionally installed door lock bolts and securing sliding doors with simple homemade ideas.  Lighting, motion detectors, cameras, fencing, dogs and professionally installed alarms according to affordability were part of Chief’s Daniels presentation. Personal properties such as televisions, jewelry and other tangibles whenever possible should have a marking or an identifier that can be identified if recovered.

Many of these items are covered by the National Neighborhood Watch Program Home Security Inspection Checklist handouts available at the meeting. For further information you may call: North Bay Village Police Investigative Unit 305-758-2626. Remember to lock your cars, doors and windows.

Chief Daniels expressed his support for a Resident Neighborhood Watch Program for North Bay Village. Mr. Kevin Vericker asked the Chief: “what had happened to said program that was already in existence” back in 2009? The Chief explained that when he started his position the program had already been disbanded.   Chief Daniels told Mr. Vericker that he was committed to the Residents Neighborhood Watch Program provided sufficient volunteers stepped forward.    The Chief envision specialized patrol cars for trained neighborhood watch members that would help keep an eye on the village. Block Captains and lines of communication would be established for the neighborhood watch program.  The Chief encouraged everyone to call the NBVPD at 305-758-2626 if they see or hear anything of concern.

One resident pointed out that 5pm time start for the meeting excluded many from attending. The Chief explained that subsequent meetings would be held at 7pm or 7:30pm for easier accessibility. While another resident express his concern regarding safety and security for our Elementary School.

A concern resident asked: “these are the things we can do, but what is the police department doing?” The Chief informed everyone in the meeting that it was possible to implement a new auto tag identifier technology. The technology could be incorporated into the red light cameras already in place. Said technology can alert the police department of auto tags entering the area that are been sought out for various criminal reasons. 

Another resident was concern regarding the recent reduction of our patrol due to budgetary reasons. The Chief expressed concern as well but stated that safety and security can be accomplished in a united effort.  

Many things can be accomplished to keep North Bay Village safe and secure when the residents and the police department work together. Please attend the next meeting and see how you can help. Meanwhile if you see or hear anything suspicious call North Bay Village Police Department 305-758-2626.

 

“Putting North Bay Village First”

Stay Alert report suspicious activity by calling 911 or call NBVPD 305-758-2626

 

Mario Garcia

 

December 27, 2012       

 

 

 

 

Home Security in North Bay Village

The Police Department is planning a Home Security Meeting for residents on Thursday, December 27, 2012 at 5 p.m. in the Village Commission Chambers. The purpose of this meeting is to review security measures with residents both for their homes and vehicles. The initiation of a Crime Watch Program will also be discussed. Please spread the word.

 

We must address the possible factors that give a thief or burglar the comfort to break into some one's home while they are sleeping. Burglarize the home and drive away with the victim's car. Securing your home is important, but maximizing the ability of The North Bay Village Police Department to prevent and deterred crime is equally important.

 

We can start by making the meetings more accessible to those who work. Scheduling meetings for 5 pm excludes many of us from attending.  Fixing the technical problem regarding the audibility of the telecast is a good starting point to get the information out. Chief Robert Daniels and the NBVPD have not been very impressive lately regarding crime and safety and must be held accountable. We the residents of North Bay Village deserve better.  Let us work together with Chief Robert Daniels to make North Bay Village safe and secure.

 

 

“PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST”

 

MARIO GARCIA  

 

This Holiday Season

We are wishing you the merriest of Christmas and the happiest holiday season along with the healthiest New Year.

Mario Garcia and Family

"PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST"

Recent Crimes In North Bay Village

North Bay Village Police Department is distributing flyers regarding the crimes that took place on Monday December17, 2012.   One of the crimes was a residential burglary located at the 7500 BLK of Adventure Avenue while they were sleeping. In addition to said burglary the victim’s vehicle was stolen by the perpetrator(s) a 2007 Honda Accord 4 door metallic blue.  Anyone with information is asked to call NBVPD Detective Ceasar Costa (305) 758-2626.   

Earlier that morning of December 17, 2012 in the area of South Treasure Drive the NBV Police answer the call regarding a suspicious   person.  There was no physical description given to the police and the police were unable to locate the suspicious person according to the flyer.  A red Huffy bicycle was found in a resident’s yard nearby.  It is believed that the bicycle belonged to the burglar according to the information.

North Bay Village Police Department along with the flyer is also distributing a National Neighborhood Watch Program Home Security Inspection Check List to help our residents assess how secure or unsecure their homes are.

NBVPD asks to please continue to report any suspicious activity by calling (305) 758-2626

 

Keeping Resident of North Bay Village Infomed

On Tuesday December 18, 2012 Special Committee Meeting for North Bay Village slated to begin at 6:00 pm was called to order at 6:15pm. The meeting began with one commissioner short that showed up at 6:25pm.

The first order of business after the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call was two ordinances that were discussed to its fullest on the previous meeting. These were land development regulations code of ordinances entitled “Land Use” relating to development of mixed use commercial and multifamily structures within the commercial district.  And “Zoning” entitled “Bay View Overlay District”.  The commission had no further discussion or question and was ready to push it through.  Mr. Rey Trujillo was compelled to delay the process by lecturing on what had already been discussed.  Finally public comments were closed and the commission voted 5 to 0 on both “no brainer” ordinances.

The next item on the agenda was reconsideration of presentations by proposers of RFQ for Legal Services pursuant to section 10 (D) of North Bay Village Agenda Procedures. Mayor Connie Leon-Kreps attempted to rail road the process and read from what appeared to be a rehearsed script to push for a decision. Not allowing the legal firms to make a fifteen minute presentation with ten minutes for Q & A as previously agreed. Rey Trujillo defended the motion by again lecturing how well the RFQs were processed and handled.

The commission was reminded that the process of the RFQs left various open doors for the other legal firms to challenge it, thus possibly creating more legal expenditures. Mr. Kevin Vericker very eloquently summarized his concerns. Common sense prevailed and the commissions will hear oral presentations from all the legal firms that bid on the contract. I have my preference but will not reveal it, thus allowing the commission to make their uninfluenced recommendations. This should be a priority from some of our influential residents that are attempting to pressure the commission with their preference.

The piggy back master plan beautification project for the causeway with The Florida Department (FDOT) Local Funding Agreement was scratched. This piggy back   project was estimated to cost North Bay Village over 2.5 million. The City Manager Dennis Kelly proposed spending $ 400,000.00 thousand on just the architectural plan alone and risk not finding the money on grants later. So much for fiscal responsibility and is not even 2013 yet. Mayor Connie Leon-Kreps led the charge to eliminate this proposition. No action necessary and the propose expenditure disintegrated on the spot.

The City Manager Dennis Kelly proposed combining the executive assistant position with the grants administrator position to save 6 thousand dollars a year. Credit goes to the city manager for thinking outside the box.  Mayor Connie Leon-Kreps quickly interjected to make sure that this bad idea was not adopted. The Grant Administrator was a position that survived the budget planning discussion. In previous meetings it was agreed how important this position was for North Bay Village.  Our city officials suffer from some form of collective amnesia because things that were discussed and agreed keep surfacing to be discussed again.  

“PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST”

Mario Garcia

December 19, 2012

 

 

 

MY VIEWS OF TUESDAY'S COMMISION MEETING

On Tuesday December 11, 2012 @ 7:30 PM North Bay Village had its commission meeting. Election of the Vice Mayor pursuant to section 3.05(B) took Place and Eddie Lim was again confirmed as The Vice Mayor for North Bay Village.  Presentations and awards were handed out to the board members that were not present at the award dinner. The different boards that were ready and present presented their reports.

 

Chief Robert Daniels offered his usual explanation regarding the increase in car theft; “lock your cars”. The traffic light camera program is up for renewal. The contract needs to be renegotiated because should the declining trend continue it will wind up costing the village money for 2013. Yet the real issue regarding the police department cost to the village continues to be ignored. 

 

The Commissioners report offered nothing useful or beneficial for the village.  The commission acted and voted through some clean house resolutions that were no brainers: Grant Funds for the Police Department Record Management Project.

Ordinance to expand “The Youth Service Board” to “The Youth and Education Services Board” was adopted by a vote 5 to 0. 

 

The unreserved reserves continues to shrink and only Commissioner Richard Chervony appears to be concerned. Vice Mayor Eddie Lim asked the commission to award $ 5000.00 from the unreserved reserves to subsidize the vendors at the Farmers Market. It is not even January 1, 2013 and the dipping into these funds has started.  It appeared to be about two hours back and forth regarding the $ 5000.00 and with no one putting an end to this madness. Mr. Bert Rains Financial Officer for North Bay Village finally offered part of the savings from position opening salaries not filled and already approved in the budget. The nightmare came to an end; after all North Bay Village’s future depends on the Farmers Market, according to Vice Mayor Eddie Lim. Get our financial house in order and pay attention to what is important; but I guess it is too much to ask from our elected officials.

 

SFM Services, Inc. will be North Bay Village landscaping company to manage the upkeep of our common areas; pending requests to reduce the contract amount by $ 6000.00 without affecting quality.

 

Commissioner At Large Jorge Gonzalez and North Bay Village Commissioner Wendy Duval were unprepared to participate on the North Bay Village Manager Performance Evaluation. It appears that they were not present as residents throughout 2012 commission meetings. If they had taken an interest on our village before they were commissioners, maybe they would have been able to do their jobs. This was again evident regarding RFQ for Legal Services; which appears to be a legal mess all on its own. The Old Commission had already pointed this out, but do politicians listen? Or care? Mayor Connie Leon-Crepes likes to see things as negative or positive; Yin and Yang. However finances need to be real and numbers need to be real and if these numbers show up in red then we will be faced with a financial crisis.

 

Mayor Connie Leon-Kreps and Vice Mayor Eddie Lim were chosen to represent North Bay Village in the Miami-Dade County League of Cities.

 

An item that really jumped out under the parks and open space availability that scared me is that the commission took interest in a property own by Dr Jonas. The North Bay Village commission is contemplating paying close to a million dollars for the property located on South Treasure Drive. General Obligation Bonds will mean higher taxes and we certainly don’t need any more parks and open areas. Instead we should be planning for the building that eventually will house the city hall. There is plenty positive to accomplish for NBV, but it will require the commission to work together “Putting North Bay Village First”.  We need real leadership and vision and our elected officials need to step up now.

 

 

Mario Garcia

“PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST”

December 12, 2012

 

NORTH BAY VILLAGE RESIDENTS NEED TO STEP UP!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

North Bay Village Residents Need To Step Up!

We are a small village and our city goverment is a small goverment with big problems; limited resources.  Our city officials need our help. Volunteers are needed for different advisory board seats that are available. Some of these boards may not be able to continue due to lack of members. You may thing that there is nothing you can do or provide. However, you may be suprise to know that you have that special quality, talent or knowledge to help. The only way your are going to know is by attending our commision meetings. Our future depends on you. Commissioner for North Bay Island Richard Chervony in an email provide us with the December Calandar.

You can also visit: WWW.NBVILLAGE.COM for more details.

Hope to see you there, "PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST".

Hello,

After a very quiet November with no Commission Meetings, except for the swearing in ceremony we now have a packed December, right before the Holidays.

Tuesday, December 11th @ 7:30 PM

REGULAR VILLAGE COMMISSION MEETING

1700 Kennedy Causeway, #132

Some highlights of items to be discussed at this meeting are (full Agenda can be found at WWW.NBVILLAGE.COM)

- Election of Vice Mayor

- Increasing the Scope of the Youth Service Board to Youth and Education Service Board

- Improvements to Dr. Paul Vogel Park

- Planning and Design of the Baywalk Plaza - Phase I

- Creation of the Foreclosure Registry

- Choosing of a Landscaping Company

- Discussion and possible action on the RFQ (Rquest for Qualification) for Legal Services

- Discussion and possible action to choose our External Auditing Service

- Discussion and possible action with Florida Dept of Transportation (FDOT) Local Funding Agreement

- Discussion and possible action in acquiring open space land for a future park

Saturday, December 15th @ 2:30 PM

Winter Wonderlan Event

Galleon Street, Treasure Isle

We are closing down the street and letting our residents, especially the little ones frolic and enjoy our Winter Wonderland.

Tuesday, December 18th @ 7:30 PM

SPECIAL VILLAGE COMMISSION MEETING

1700 Kennedy Causeway, #132

Some highlights of items to be discussed at this meeting are (full Agenda can be found at WWW.NBVILLAGE.COM)

- Request to operate a Subway at the Public Storage Building on the Causeway

- Request to operate a boat, jet ski, kayak rental business at Commercial Marina at 7904 West Drive.

Looking forward to seeing you at some or all of these events.

Sincerely,

Richard Chervony

North Bay Island Commissioner

rchervony@nbvillage.com

786-999-3732

WHERE'S THE PRIDE?????

North Bay Village Police Department

I read Mr. Kevin Vericker’s piece on “It’s time for the police to step up” of November 28, 2012. Mr. Vericker makes the comparison of the importance of response time vs. actual effect on public safety. I respect Mr. Vericker and usually he can back up with facts what he writes about. However he happens to be way off base on this one. In my humble opinion, and in the spirit of always putting North Bay Village first, I have seen how well our police department works.

 I am satisfied with Police Chief Robert Daniels performance and the job our police force does in keeping our streets safe.  Law enforcement is a difficult job and at times a thankless job. This brave men and women risk their lives on a daily basis to keep us safe. Join me in applauding Chief Daniels and his police staff on a job well done.

If there is one area that we must continue to look at is the cost to run our police department. We must all work together to have our police force continue to do an excellent job but on a smaller budget. This is critical if we are to keep our budget solvent for the future. It will come a time, if not already,  where we simply will not be able to afford it. In today’s economy we all have to make adjustments and these adjustments can be painful at times. Great leaders think about ideas and ways to make things better.

 

“KEEPING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST”

Mario Garcia

December 2, 2012

Commission Meeting

Residents of North Bay Village participate in shaping our future! Attend the commission meetings. There is one scheduled for this Monday at 7:00 PM. Hope to see you there, get involved our village needs you. "PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST".