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RVCA President’s Message

Dear Rio Vista Residents,

Here is your neighborhood update for this edition. I hope you find it informative.
Virginia Young & Hector Parks
On August 5, 2021, the City Commission held a Special Meeting. The meeting was
held to address the lack of progress in finalizing work on the parks and surrounding
areas in our neighborhood which were impacted by the 113 million gallon raw sewage
spill in December of 2019. During the meeting it was brought to light that someone at
the City was sidestepping procedures which require commission approval and the
competitive bidding process. An audit will be occurring to figure out what went wrong
in the process and hopefully make sure it does not occur again. Ultimately, the
necessary action was taken and we should see both sites come back to life and be
completed in the near future. The City Manager’s latest estimate as of the date this goes
to press is approximately six weeks to complete it.
Christina Currie, Esq.
President I want to address remarks made on the dais during the Special Meeting which some
residents have emailed me about, perceiving them as putting blame on Rio Vista
residents. I hope to provide some clarification.
OFFICERS
President About the Playground Equipment
Christina Currie, Esq.
president@riovistaonline.com Proposed park plans were provided to the Rio Vista Civic Association by City
representatives. The circulated plans included playground equipment which was selected
Vice President by whoever put the plans together. Rio Vista Civic Association and/or neighbors did not
Mark Snead
vp@riovistaonline.com select the equipment, brand or country of manufacture. The accusations that the
neighbors said "we want this European equipment" and this "gold plated swing set" are
Secretary totally fabricated. In fact, the same brand of equipment can be found at other
Julie Hough
jbethhough@gmail.com playgrounds in Fort Lauderdale. Residents engaged in online surveys and multiple public
feedback meetings with City representatives to collaborate on plans for both parks after
Treasurer the 2019 sewage spills. Plans for both parks were approved by the Fort Lauderdale
Mark Snead Parks, Recreation, and Beaches Board and then the City Commission at a regular
treasurer@riovistaonline.com
meeting. The approved plans included the playground equipment and turf which were
BOARD MEMBERS referenced at length in Special Meeting.
Nancy Messing Brand
Resident Requests
Julie Hough
Subsequent to the 2019 sewage spills various solutions to ongoing storm water problems
William (Bill) Kirk
were presented by staff to residents. Residents relied on the expertise of staff and
Sam Koster welcomed the various solutions. Unfortunately, some on the dais portrayed the solutions
Jean-Jacques Rajter as dreamed up resident requests.
Lori Sterling Thank you to all the residents who have reached out to the RVCA Board recognizing our
efforts and advocacy. The members of the Board share the frustrations of the entire
Fred Stresau
neighborhood in this ongoing matter and thank you for being as patient as possible
COUNSEL TO THE BOARD during this time. Don’t forget- we still have to get through the Tarpon River dredging.
Charles Tatelbaum That means even when the park areas are done there will be more work to do and the
RVCA Board will continue to convey the concerns of the residents to City officials.

License Plate Reader Update
Remember the License Plate Reader Camera (LPR) discussions? Here is an update and
refresher. RVCA (with the help of many resident donations) purchased 2 LPR installations

4 rio vista civic association • www.riovistaonline.com