South Miami commission recognizes climate change, mosquito virus
In the last commission meeting of his third term as South Miami mayor, Philip Stoddard on Tuesday spoke about the mosquito virus Zika, while the dais voted to further inform the city on climate change.
The main item
A free, 10th-anniversary screening of the climate change film, An Inconvenient Truth, will take place 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, March 13, at City Hall after a unanimous commission vote passed a resolution Tuesday. The film stars Nobel Peace Prize winner former Vice President Al Gore and speaks to the relevance of Miami-Dade’s most vulnerable areas, compromised by rising sea levels.
Commissioner Gabriel Edmond, who also wants to invite community members to the showing and host a forum, sponsored the add-on item. The resolution calls for the invitation of all local elected officials of all the 33 municipalities of Miami-Dade County; all local elected officials at the county level in Miami-Dade; all Florida lawmakers in the Miami-Dade delegation; and all members Congress who represent Miami-Dade.
“We have our government in Tallahassee,” Edmond said from the dais. “One of us will win the Powerball before they act on these issues. I wanted to do this on a local level. I do feel like here in Miami-Dade County, there are a number of leaders that understand what is happening. Just my opinion, but I think this commission, we disagree on certain issues, but I think one issue we all get is climate change.”
“My thought was, ‘Let’s do something to raise consciousness in terms of climate change.’”
Other business
▪ Environmental study: The commission unanimously approved a consent resolution authorizing City Manager Steven Alexander to pay Stanley Consultants to complete an environmental study for Southwest 64th Street. The city wants to hire the consultant to fulfill grant requirements.
▪ MLK Parade: The commission voted 3-2 on a resolution, with Vice Mayor Walter Harris and Edmond dissenting, to authorize Alexander to waive $5,000 in fees for the MLK Committee to hold its MLK Unity Parade and Remix Festival on Feb. 13 at the Gibson-Bethel Community Center.
▪ Deferred code amendment: A first-reading ordinance amending the city’s land development code, adding criteria for the city’s approval of subdivision of land, including subdivision by waiver of plat or through the process defined in the county’s code, was deferred.
They said it
“I’d be very happy to work with you (Edmond) on this. I think one of the things we can really focus on is what people in here can do. I think your point is that lacking support at a number of state levels, a lot of it is in our hands. There are things we can do in Miami-Dade County that we are not doing. There are things we can do as South Miamians to advance that process.” — Mayor Philip Stoddard
The next meeting
▪ When: 7 p.m. Feb. 16
▪ Where: City Hall, 6130 Sunset Dr., South Miami
This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 11:19 AM with the headline "South Miami commission recognizes climate change, mosquito virus."