Mayor Addresses Galt Mile Association

Commissioner Herbst Helps Set City Priorities

Our city commissioner, John Herbst, met with other members of the city commission to set the 2023 top priorities for the City of Fort Lauderdale. Key themes from the workshop are: Infrastructure & Resilience, Housing & Homeless, Traffic & Transportation, Parks & Public Spaces, Economic Development & Diversification, and Public Safety. Staff will continue to refine these goals and bring them back to the Commission for final approval. These goals will help guide the preparation of the City’s annual budget for FY 2024, which will be adopted in September.

During the meeting, Commissioner Herbst raised a number of issues and concerns, including the hiring of additional police officers to deal with crime and expanding calls for service, increased focus on problems with short-term rentals, and panhandling at intersections along Federal Highway. He also raised questions about the proposed plan for the construction of a new City Hall. The city had been engaged in an effort to partner with the county to construct a joint governmental campus to house both the City and County offices. These efforts eventually were terminated for a variety of reasons. The need for a new building for the city remains however. He proposed that we construct the new building on the open space adjacent to our existing building, up against the parking garage. This allows us to avoid the cost of acquiring land and building a new garage. In addition, we will be able to continue operation in our existing building while construction is underway. Finally, his colleagues agreed to appoint him as the point person to finalize negotiations with Jorge Mas, Managing Owner of InterMiami for the completion of the park at Lockhart Park, which is in Commission District 1. 

President’s Report to the Galt Mile Community

As president, I am pleased to report to your once again. This year, the Galt Mile Community Association will be 55 years old, having been founded in 1968. We have come through some tough times. But we are stronger, and active in our neighborhood associations, city, county and state legislative arenas. 

We welcomed four new members: The Continental, Maracay, Hampton Beach Club and The Vue. This brings our membership to 35 high-rise buildings. 

We said goodbye to Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Heather Moraitis, and welcomed our new Commissioner John Herbst. We also said goodbye to Senator Gary Farmer and Rep. Ted Deutch. This year, we welcome state Senator Jason Pizzo, Rep. Jared Moskowitz and welcome back Broward Commissioner and Mayor Lamar Fisher, and Rep Chip LaMarca, both for another term. 

We saw the dedication of Pio Ieraci Memorial Drive, conducted CPR hands-on classes in association buildings, and had 100% participation in our yearly wage survey. 

We still have much on our plates. The Galt Ocean Drive renovation design and funding are a top priority. We were successful in revising the Automated External Defibrillator requirements to a reasonable level, stopping a 500’ building height in our neighborhood, controlling motorcycles racing, car noise, and completing beach renourishment. 

All condos and coops face some serious issues this year and the years ahead. The new condo bill, SB-4D will require new structural reserves for everyone, our insurance costs continue to skyrocket (some over 100%), concrete restoration will always be an issue as our buildings age, most are facing special assessments, elevators continue to give us issues, and the Engineered Life Safety System (ELSS) partial fire sprinkler installation deadline is December 31, 2023, unless we can get it extended.

The Galt Mile Community Association is ready for 2023.    

Please stay in touch with us through our website, galtmile.com, our Facebook page, facebook.com/galtmilecommunity, and this newsletter, On The Galt Mile. 

Fred Nesbitt, President

Staying in Touch with Fort Lauderdale

Our city shares a vast amount of information with its residents and citizens. It is important to stay abreast of this information and happenings as it impacts our neighborhood.

The first place to go is the Galt Mile website: galtmile.com. The next place is our Facebook page: facebook.com/galtmilecommunity. Your are reading On The Galt Mile – please share this with your neighbors and friends. 

From the city is an e-newsletter. The city has a website, fortlauderdale.gov and Facebook page. You can get information about the city at Lauderserve, which provides 24-hour customer service on service issues relating to city business. There is also an events calendar. Lastly, you want watch city commission meetings and other public meetings on Comcast channel 78. 

We are FTL – stay in touch.