Joe Carollo’s referendum to keep outdoor gym in downtown Miami park wins
Miami voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot question about keeping already-installed outdoor gym equipment in Maurice A. Ferré Park, according to unofficial election night results. The decision means a legal challenge from a group of downtown residents who sued the city last week over what they described as “misleading” referendum language will proceed.
The ballot question, sponsored by Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo, asked voters if exercise equipment installed at the behest of the Bayfront Park Management Trust, a semi-autonomous city agency that Carollo chairs, should remain. When a contractor installed the outdoor gym in the fall, a group of downtown residents filed an appeal. After a review, the city’s Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board in November reversed the city’s approval of the outdoor gym, determining that it did not adhere to proper permitting and design procedure.
Last week, a half-dozen residents sued the city in an effort to bar officials from tabulating and releasing the referendum’s results, arguing that the ballot question language was “misleading” because it omitted important details, like the appeals board’s ruling. But a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge denied their request for an injunction because of the fact that, according to the county Elections Department, it was too late to stop the tabulation of results.
Instead, Judge Jose Rodriguez wrote in his order that the issue could be taken up “post-election.” Marc Burton, an attorney for the residents suing the city, said his clients intend to do so.
According to records the city included in court filings, it cost about $280,000 to purchase and install the outdoor gym, which consists of about 20 pieces of exercise equipment, including a rowing machine, leg extension machine and an elliptical cross trainer, according to an invoice from the contractor.
Regardless of the legal challenge, the next steps for the outdoor gym are unclear.
In response to the lawsuit, the city said in court records that voter approval of the ballot question “could” result in a new permit being granted for the gym — but not that a permit would be issued with certainty.
Further complicating matters, in late May, the City Commission upheld the appeals board’s ruling, effectively directing the gym equipment to be removed. But two weeks earlier, the commission had already agreed in a 3-1 vote to send the question to voters. (That proposal came from Carollo in the form of a “pocket item,” meaning the item did not appear on the publicly available meeting agenda prior to the meeting.)
“What the City Commission did in referring the question to the ballot is essentially seek an unlawful third-level appeal of the City Commission,” Burton said at a court hearing last week.
Office of the Independent Inspector
Voters approved a pair of referendums relating to government oversight, replacing the auditor general’s office with a more powerful watchdog office through a change to the city’s charter, according to unofficial election night results.
By approving the two questions, voters eliminated the existing oversight office and created a new Office of the Independent Inspector General that has the authority to subpoena witnesses and to self-initiate investigations — actions that the existing office could not take.
The new office will be able to review procurement and bidding processes, as well as past, present and future city programs, accounts, records, contracts and transactions.
District 4 Commissioner Manolo Reyes championed the two government oversight ballot questions. In a statement Tuesday night, Reyes said the new oversight office “will ensure that our government operates transparently and efficiently and inspires confidence in our city’s future.”
“With the creation of the Inspector General’s office,” Reyes said, “Miami is poised to overcome its challenges and emerge stronger. I want to thank the residents of our City for supporting this initiative, setting our city on a path to a brighter future and moving forward.”
The installation of the new Office of the Independent Inspector follows a year in which multiple elected officials found themselves embroiled in lawsuits, ethics investigations and, for one, criminal charges relating to their public office.
This story was originally published August 20, 2024 at 9:04 PM.
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