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Commissioner’s Message

AIRPORT NOISE – We are working with the law firm that prevailed on behalf of the
City of Phoenix against the Federal Aviation Administration. We are creating a
Request for Proposals to hire an airport noise consultant to help assess the impact
and options.
BUDGET – One campaign promise of mine was to stop the shifting of ROI (return
on investment) funds from the Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund to the General
Fund. We are moving forward with a four-year plan to phase this out, beginning in
the upcoming fiscal year. It will average approximately $5 million per year being
transferred into the General Fund. We have made corresponding $5 million cuts to
the budget. On Sept. 12, we adopted the FY 2019 City Budget, calling for no
increase in the current millage rate of 4.1193 per $1,000 of taxable value and no
increase in the fire assessment fee for FY 2019, which begins on Oct. 1. This
marks the 12th consecutive year we have kept the same millage rate.

CANAL AND WATERWAY DISCHARGES – The City has taken a hardened posture
on enforcement. Building code inspectors visit the sites daily and issue citations
Ben Sorensen where violations are observed. I am working to determine how we can heighten
Vice Mayor our initial penalties for discharges into our waterways.
CODIFYING PORTIONS OF THE MASTER PLAN – City staff is meeting in the coming
weeks to talk about portions of the Master Plan that they feel should be considered
for codification based on the recent input from the City Commission. Once staff has
a better handle on the issues and has developed a recommendation, staff will
present at a City Commission meeting.
KING TIDES – Primarily impacting low-lying areas prone to flooding and the effects of
sea level rise, these tides are expected to occur Oct. 24-28, Nov. 4-9, and Nov. 23-25.
LAS OLAS MOBILITY WORKING GROUP – Commissioner Glassman and I formed
this working group to bring representative stakeholders together to work collectively
to vision, plan, and execute a connected streetscape for the Las Olas Boulevard
corridor between South Andrews Avenue and Fort Lauderdale Beach. Future
meetings are set for Nov. 2 and Dec. 7 from 2:30 PM to 4 PM in the 8th Floor
Conference Room at City Hall.
SE 17TH STREET BYPASS ROAD – Broward County’s project has been delayed
because of a complete turnover of its consultant's project staff. The County said it
hopes to submit a proposal to the City soon.
SE 17TH STREET MOBILITY PLAN WORKING GROUP – We requested and received
from Broward County a signal timing plan change for SE 17th Street between U.S.
1 and Eisenhower Blvd that improved vehicle delay (time spent fully stopped) on
average by 3% eastbound and 63% westbound. The City also procured an Origin
and Destination Study to better understand where vehicles taking SE 17th Street are
coming from and heading to in order to better prioritize design and policy
interventions aimed at improving the travel experience along the corridor. The 11th
Meeting of this group was held on Oct. 12.
SEAWALLS – The seawall adjacent to Cordova Road is the first of two City seawall
projects ready to move forward. With funding in place, we are beginning a
competitive solicitation for design of the project. We will work with our neighbors
CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE to remove (or cause to be removed) the privately built docks attached to the current
20 rio vista civic association • www.riovistaonline.com