More than 100 people came out tonight for our Special Council meeting, some to speak before the Council in person while others provided public comments by written form or virtually. The Special Council Meeting was held to review the Village’s next steps as it relates to the SW 87th Avenue Bridge.
For the first hour of the meeting, our Mayor and Village Council listened to public comments regarding the project. Mayor Cunningham then proceeded to explain the Conflict Resolution Process with both the Miami-Dade County Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and Miami-Dade County. This conflict resolution process is being led by Village Attorney John Dellagloria and co-counsel Gerry Greenberg. Vice Mayor Tellam and Councilmembers Cody, Fiore and Matson all spoke about the resolution and clarified their questions and concerns with the Village Manager and Village Attorney.
During tonight's Special Council Meeting, the Village Council was to consider and vote on a
resolution pertaining to the Florida Governmental Conflict Resolution Act, expressing the intention of the Village to initiate the Conflict Resolution Process pursuant to Chapter 164 of the Florida Statutes, Section 164.1052 with the TPO, which is required prior to initiating any court proceedings. This process is in addition to the ongoing Conflict Resolution Process currently underway with Miami-Dade County. Meeting videos for the
Conflict Assessment meeting and
Carryover Conflict Assessment meeting with the county are available on our
website. The process addresses a conflict with the TPO's Governing Board arising from its passage of Action Item No. 6A1 on Thursday, March 18, 2021 at their Governing Board meeting. Such item approved an amendment to the 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and and amendment to the 2021 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to include the SW 87th Avenue Bridge Project. Mayor Cunningham explained that bringing the TPO into the process allows the Village the opportunity to request and present to the community the list of items that have yet to be provided to Village residents, such as impact to the immediate area, protecting neighborhood streets, community presentation, etc... Village Attorney Dellagloria clarified that the item before the Council was not for the purpose of engaging in mediation but rather to initiate the conflict resolution process with the TPO. Village Attorney Dellagloria added, "to be clear, this is not litigation that we are engaging in."
The Village Council passed tonight’s resolution unanimously. The entire conflict resolution process will be noticed for public meeting and the Mayor, Council and Village Staff will continue to update the community on any developments and post all opportunities for public participation in the process. Stay engaged, stay safe and thank you for continuing to work for hard for our community!
