The Village Council is not the City Commission
The Village Council meets tonight at 7 pm.
On the agenda: Crimewatch update, Update on effectiveness of Code Enforcement in relation to tree cutting violations, Discussion on the Grove Harbour Marina project, Update on Miami 21 and scheduling of special meetings.
As usual the Council meets at City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive. They may be seen on tv -- Channel 77 or streaming video on your computer at: http://videos.miamigov.com
Which brings me to this . . .
I got an email from someone who was complaining about the Village Council and he wanted to know why they are allowed to use the Miami City Hall building and wanted to know who is paying for the meetings to be shown on tv. He was really upset with this.
I had to tell him to direct his tirade at the City Commission, not the Village Council, who except for maybe one member is totally on our side. (I do question the thinking of one member). I think he doesn't realize they are two entities. I wonder how many people don't realize that.
I think he is confused because he was upset about the Grove Harbour project that is up for review Thursday. It is the City Commission who is making the decision. Not the Village Council.
I wrote him: You can see almost every council member out in the Grove daily going about their business, you can talk to any of them at any time.
At the Bookstore you'll find Felice Dubin (she is behind the counter daily). You can walk into Dave Collins's BID office any time of day or night at Mayfair. Right in the plaza off the main street. He's usually there and when he isn't he's out on the main streets somewhere.
I saw Gary Hecht at the Fresh Market the other day. He is out and about daily selling real estate. And Michelle Neimeyer emails me all the time and so does Lilliana Dones who you can see out and about daily, too.
They are on our side. That is a good thing. If he has issues, I am sure any of them would gladly speak with him at any time.
This guy actually wants to throw the Village Council off tv and out of City Hall. Again, I think he is confused. I think it is a good thing that the Village Council uses the City Hall dias for meetings and I think it is very good that anyone can turn on the tv and watch what is going on.
On the agenda: Crimewatch update, Update on effectiveness of Code Enforcement in relation to tree cutting violations, Discussion on the Grove Harbour Marina project, Update on Miami 21 and scheduling of special meetings.
As usual the Council meets at City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive. They may be seen on tv -- Channel 77 or streaming video on your computer at: http://videos.miamigov.com
Which brings me to this . . .
I got an email from someone who was complaining about the Village Council and he wanted to know why they are allowed to use the Miami City Hall building and wanted to know who is paying for the meetings to be shown on tv. He was really upset with this.
I had to tell him to direct his tirade at the City Commission, not the Village Council, who except for maybe one member is totally on our side. (I do question the thinking of one member). I think he doesn't realize they are two entities. I wonder how many people don't realize that.
I think he is confused because he was upset about the Grove Harbour project that is up for review Thursday. It is the City Commission who is making the decision. Not the Village Council.
I wrote him: You can see almost every council member out in the Grove daily going about their business, you can talk to any of them at any time.
At the Bookstore you'll find Felice Dubin (she is behind the counter daily). You can walk into Dave Collins's BID office any time of day or night at Mayfair. Right in the plaza off the main street. He's usually there and when he isn't he's out on the main streets somewhere.
I saw Gary Hecht at the Fresh Market the other day. He is out and about daily selling real estate. And Michelle Neimeyer emails me all the time and so does Lilliana Dones who you can see out and about daily, too.
They are on our side. That is a good thing. If he has issues, I am sure any of them would gladly speak with him at any time.
This guy actually wants to throw the Village Council off tv and out of City Hall. Again, I think he is confused. I think it is a good thing that the Village Council uses the City Hall dias for meetings and I think it is very good that anyone can turn on the tv and watch what is going on.
posted by Tom Falco at 7:32 AM
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14 Comments:
I think this post is rather unfair to the person who wrote the e-mail. I happened to have read the e-mail he/she sent you on September 18. His/her e-mail was asking questions. Questions about who is in the Village Council. It is a legitimate question. He/she asking if the Council has the Grove's best interest at heart or the city's. That is a legitimate question. He/she was asking if the Council had played a role in the installation of the black booths. That is a legitimate question. He/she was also asking who was paying for the TV transmission and space at the City Hall. Again, that is a legitimate question. Nowhere in his/her e-mail it says that he/she wants to throw off the Village Council. They were questions that any citizen interested in the present and future of the Grove would ask. I don't think he/she would expect his/her e-mail to be misinterpreted and used against him/her. This response is not a put down; it is a fact check. Thanks for posting it.
No, that is not that email. This email was a private email from someone I know and they were confused about the whole situation. The black booths were not mentioned. He wanted to know why the Village Council is allowed to be in the buidling on the bay, he wanted to know what they have ever done for the Grove and he wanted to know who paid for the TV time. He also was concerned about the Grove Harbour project and wanted to know how to stop them from building.
He was describing the City Commission, and I told him. The point of this story wasn't to make fun, it was to show that maybe people need to be more informed and maybe the Village Council can do something to inform them -- Have a "Meet Your Village Council Day?" Maybe they can get out and shake hands once in awhile. I don't know. But I am sure many people are confused by the City Commission and the Village Council.
PS, today is Sept. 18, the email came in a few days ago, and it was a private friendly email, no one was cc/d.
Good point, Grapevine. Maybe this citizen just wanted to make a point that the distinction isn't obvious and wanted to know if the Council is Coconut Grove's friend or a foe. Now he/she did raise an interesting question, nonetheless: if the Council is allowed to use the City Hall + TV transmission (at no cost?), does that mean that there is an alliance between the Village Council and the City Commission?
Thank you, Grape, for your comments. I know some residents have no idea what the Village Council is or the purpose it serves. I didn't when I first got involved in the community.
For those who don't know, the Coconut Grove Village Council was originally formed to serve as the interim government when the Grove tried to secede from the City of Miami in the early '90s. Our nine members are elected by the residents of the Grove every four years. At this time, three of our members are appointed until the next election, due to the fact that Marc Sarnoff, Ron Nelson, and Yvonne McDonald left the Council when Marc was elected to the Commission. We have other jobs and are not paid for being on the Council, and we have no staff or offices. Our operation is truly bare bones and as efficient as possible.
The Council has a small budget which has been funded by County Commissioner Jimenez in the last couple of years. We use the money to run our website, to donate funds to various Grove events and causes, to send mailers to residents informing them of issues that are happening in the Grove, and for election expenses if we are not able to piggyback onto the City's ballot for free. In that event the County would charge a very large fee for the election to be on the ballot. We do not pay anything to use the City Hall Commission Chambers. The City gives us that privilege as a courtesy, and having our meetings televised gives residents a chance to see the meetings if they can't get there. It also gives us a large room with comfortable seating, something that is not otherwise available in the Grove, especially for free.
We try to make a point of learning about issues that will affect Grove residents, bringing people representing various sides of the issues to our meetings, and finding out what residents think. We make recommendations to the Commissioner's office, the City Commission and sometimes the County and other governmental agencies through our resolutions. Sometimes they are followed, sometimes they are not, but at least through our voice the residents are heard.
It would be nice to see more residents attending our meetings. It is a chance to be heard on issues that affect you. Although we have no official power, City officials watch our meetings and often listen to the Council's recommendations.
Sincerely,
Michelle Niemeyer, Chair
Coconut Grove Village Council
No one was cc/d on that e-mail, you are right. But the e-mail was later forwarded to me. It was originally sent to you on September 16 at 18:04 (whatever time zome that is). Sorry for the typo.
The person was totally confused in the email as to who the Village Council was. My point here is that the Village Council needs to "introduce themselves" to the community, since people are confused. Enough on the email, who cares when it came in and if you received a copy. If you did indeed receive a copy, you would know the writer didn't have a clue.
think this post is rather unfair to the person who wrote the e-mail. I happened to have read the e-mail he/she sent you on September 18. His/her e-mail was asking questions. Questions about who is in the Village Council. It is a legitimate question. He/she asking if the Council has the Grove's best interest at heart or the city's. That is a legitimate question. He/she was asking if the Council had played a role in the installation of the black booths. That is a legitimate question. He/she was also asking who was paying for the TV transmission and space at the City Hall. Again, that is a legitimate question. Nowhere in his/her e-mail it says that he/she wants to throw off the Village Council. They were questions that any citizen interested in the present and future of the Grove would ask. I don't think he/she would expect his/her e-mail to be misinterpreted and used against him/her. This response is not a put down; it is a fact check. Thanks for posting it."
Precisely, anonymous, thanks.
I will now repost what I wrote, you'll see where Tom didn't have his morning tea on this..
No, that is not that email. This email was a private email from someone I know and they were confused about the whole situation. The black booths were not mentioned. He wanted to know why the Village Council is allowed to be in the buidling on the bay, he wanted to know what they have ever done for the Grove and he wanted to know who paid for the TV time. He also was concerned about the Grove Harbour project and wanted to know how to stop them from building.
He was describing the City Commission, and I told him. The point of this story wasn't to make fun, it was to show that maybe people need to be more informed and maybe the Village Council can do something to inform them -- Have a "Meet Your Village Council Day?"
PLAIN FALSE, Tom: if you are referring to me, Tom.
And I would like for you to post this, in its entirety, I doubt you will, and repost what I wrote.
I bet you will not. Let's see.
I am not referring to you Carlos, I get 100s of emails a day, please don't have such a guilty conscience. In fact, the email came from a lady, and I said it was a "he" to protect her identity.
This carlos dude sure has a big ego. who the hell is he?
Oh, C'mon Tom,, a "guilty conscience" now? Everyone knows what post you are talking about. (See above posts)
See if you post this.. I don't have time for this devious nonsense now. Let your audience decide.
NOW ! NOW! BOYS.......WHO REALLY CARES......BACK TO MORE IMPORTANT THINGS.
People come before the Village Council to bring up their issues. Some even come before them thinking that the Village Council has the authority to change things or make a decision. They are merely a sounding board. The Village Council airs items the community may want to be aware of. The City Commission makes the decisions.
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