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President's Message

Lake Estates Improvement Association, Inc.

Dear Neighbors,

"If we would learn what the human race

really is at bottom, we need only

observe it in election times."

- Mark Twain
his election season has been especially nasty. With political postcards landing
in our mailboxes on a regular basis, it is easy to just drop them in the trash
T can. I remember one City Commission election where one candidate put his
opponent's face on a piece of Bologna. You get the point. Negativity works. He got
elected. It is my hope that you will vote in this election for Mayor. Please take a
moment to do your own investigation and vote for the candidate who is most
responsive to your community's needs.

Linda W. Bird, President We have some important issues facing our community. Many of you received an
Lakes Estates email from Alan Hooper, FTL DDA Chairman which said about the support of The
Improvement Association, Inc. Wave streetcar project, "The County and City Commissions took a leadership role
when they committed to the Wave. Now, as Fort Lauderdale elections are heating
up, rather than using the Wave as a badge of smart growth, candidates are
grasping for controversy, driven mostly by neighbors adverse to change.”

Our answer to this email is that there are better ways to spend our taxes.
We are all so busy, it is difficult to stay on top of all of the proposals that the City
of Fort Lauderdale considers which take money out of our pockets for issues that
impact our lives. We want to elect candidates who have a fiduciary responsibility
with us to do what is right even when we are not looking. The canal dredging tax
was a good example of the City Commission's tone-deaf concern to the taxpayers.
2018 Annual Dues Thank you to all who worked to defeat it!
are due. $25 The "Wave," is a downtown streetcar that will be costly to install and maintain. The initial
vision was to have a planned stop at the airport and seaport but the route has changed.
Name
A concerned citizen, Cal Deal wrote an article that I would like to share with you...
Phone
Email "The Wave streetcar project has been in development for 15 years, and the planners still
can’t tell us with precision how often the cars will run and how much the rides will cost.
Address
They want to spend $200 million to shuttle people on a ground-based loop-de-loop
between Flagler Heights on the north, and Broward General on the south — a 2.8-
mile "Streetcar to the Sick.” In 30 years, your grandkids will be plenty sick when
Please make check payable to Lake they realize they’ve been saddled with the infrastructure replacement costs, which
Estates Improvement Association Inc. should run another $200 million. Those costs are NOT included in the budgeting.
and mail them to:
This is the wrong project for a vital and growing city. We need to dream. We need
to reach out to the pioneers of 21st Century transit and deploy a network of
Linda W. Bird, President
2790 NE 57th Court, computer-coordinated vehicles that — with speed and flexibility — can adjust to our
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 myriad transportation challenges. We need to think smart, not cram our clogged

20 The Landings & Bay Colony