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Commissioner’s Message

Neighbors,

appy New Year! I hope 2019 is a fantastic year for you and your loved
ones. I am excited for a wonderful new year for our City. Our year begins
Hwith a new City Manager! I am very happy to say that on Tuesday, Nov. 6,
the Fort Lauderdale City Commission unanimously voted to name Chris Lagerbloom
as our next City Manager effective Jan. 1, 2019!
Thank you to Lee Feldman for his excellent service and tireless work for our city. Lee
captures Chris's experience well here: "Chris has served as our Assistant City
Manager for nearly three years and, during that time, has spearheaded a number of
major projects, including improving operations and enhancing service delivery in our
Department of Sustainable Development; [and] advancing the massive 'Go Big, Go
Fast!' infrastructure improvement project…." Chris is a consummate professional,
works incredibly hard, has already formed very good relationships with our
neighbors, and likes to say that one of his sayings is, "How can we get to yes?"
Ben Sorensen I continue to have major concerns with the 680 unit proposal by AIDS Healthcare
Vice Mayor Foundation (AHF). I recently met with the leadership of AHF and I raised many of
our significant concerns about the proposed building. Unfortunately, AHF is
completely unwilling to consider another site for this project. Furthermore, AHF
does not believe it would be operating as a social services residential facility
(SSRF), per the City's code. AHF is also unwilling to change the size of the
individual micro units. Finally, AHF seemed unwilling to change the number of total
units. I continue to have major concerns about this project. I will ensure that our
concerns continue to be heard and I would like us as neighbors to meet again on
1/7/19 @ 6 PM at City Hall to discuss the project.
I have been co-leading the Las Olas Mobility Working Group with Commissioner
Glassman and I am proud to say we are making tremendous progress. During our
first two meetings we developed our mission statement: “Connecting residents,
businesses and visitors of Fort Lauderdale through the enhancement of this iconic
boulevard representing our history and future.” We also defined tasks to be
included in the Scope of Consultant Services for the street redesign, and Bike Walk
FTL made a presentation. At the Dec. 7 meeting, we heard about projects on Fort
Lauderdale Beach with the potential to impact travel on Las Olas. Jenni Morejon,
Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority, discussed the potential of an
Urban Land Institute national advisory panel for Las Olas. Our next meeting is Jan.
24 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., City Hall. We will hear about the Landscape
Beautification Project proposal, among other projects. For the Working Group
webpage, go to http://www.fortlauderdale.gov/lasolasproject.

To receive the latest updates and other information in your email inbox, please
email me at BSorensen@fortlauderdale.gov.

To schedule a meeting, please contact MJ Matthews at 954-828-5028 or
MMatthews@fortlauderale.gov. RV
Sincerely,
Ben Sorensen
Vice Mayor
CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE
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