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Readers had plenty to say about where else the money could go.
Maria Luisa Castellanos of Miami wrote that the county should hire “the best litigator in town.” That person’s assignment: to get Miami-Dade out of the steep debt payments that will come due on the largely publicly financed Miami Marlins ballpark.
“We could use the money as enticement to get the litigator on board and maybe he would take it on contingency,” Castellanos wrote. “After all, if he won, he would be famous and the people of Miami would be very grateful.”
But the ideas didn’t stop there. Taken as a whole, the suggestions — a small, unscientific sampling — amounted to a laundry list of areas where county residents see unmet needs.
Seniors meal programs trimmed by federal budget cuts. Worn-down roads in the county’s western suburbs. A lack of trees.
Several readers suggested putting the cash toward fixing leaky water and sewer pipes or old bridges. Others wanted expanded public transit. A few said the money should be distributed among taxpayers, or given as a bonus to county employees. A couple even said the money should go to public schoolteachers, though they work for a separate government entity.
A half-dozen readers — apparently campaigning for their request — asked for the creation of an all-terrain vehicle park.
“I own 4 atvs and I have no where to take my family and enjoy them,” lamented Gustavo Montoya of Miami.
Even if the money is not refunded to the Dolphins, some readers said, the county should spruce up the area around Sun Life with new street lighting, for example, or fund youth football programs or donate the money to a Dolphins charity.
So what do the Dolphins think?
The team declined to comment Monday.
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