Miami Herald Logo

Miami Gardens council to vote on $60 million bond plan | Miami Herald

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Site Information
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Herald Store
    • RSS Feeds
    • Special Sections
    • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Media Kit
    • Mobile
    • Mobile Apps & eReaders
    • Newsletters
    • Social
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • YouTube

    • Sections
    • News
    • South Florida
    • Miami-Dade
    • Broward
    • Florida Keys
    • Florida
    • Politics
    • Weird News
    • Weather
    • National & World
    • Colombia
    • National
    • World
    • Americas
    • Cuba
    • Guantánamo
    • Haiti
    • Venezuela
    • Local Issues
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • In Depth
    • Issues & Ideas
    • Traffic
    • Sections
    • Sports
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Pro & College
    • Miami Dolphins
    • Miami Heat
    • Miami Marlins
    • Florida Panthers
    • College Sports
    • University of Miami
    • Florida International
    • University of Florida
    • Florida State University
    • More Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Auto Racing
    • Fighting
    • Golf
    • Horse Racing
    • Outdoors
    • Soccer
    • Tennis
    • Youth Sports
    • Other Sports
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The Florida Influencer Series
    • Sections
    • Business
    • Business Monday
    • Banking
    • International Business
    • National Business
    • Personal Finance
    • Real Estate News
    • Small Business
    • Technology
    • Tourism & Cruises
    • Workplace
    • Business Plan Challenge
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Cindy Krischer Goodman
    • The Starting Gate
    • Work/Life Balancing Act
    • Movers
    • Sections
    • Living
    • Advice
    • Fashion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Pets
    • Recipes
    • Travel
    • Wine
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Dave Barry
    • Ana Veciana-Suarez
    • Flashback Miami
    • More Living
    • LGBTQ South Florida
    • Palette Magazine
    • Indulge Magazine
    • South Florida Album
    • Broward Album
    • Sections
    • Entertainment
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Games & Puzzles
    • Horoscopes
    • Movies
    • Music & Nightlife
    • People
    • Performing Arts
    • Restaurants
    • TV
    • Visual Arts
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Jose Lambiet
    • Lesley Abravanel
    • More Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Miami.com
    • Contests & Promotions
    • Sections
    • All Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Op-Ed
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Jim Morin
    • Letters to the Editor
    • From Our Inbox
    • Speak Up
    • Submit a Letter
    • Meet the Editorial Board
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Blog Directory
    • Columnist Directory
    • Andres Oppenheimer
    • Carl Hiaasen
    • Leonard Pitts Jr.
    • Fabiola Santiago
    • Obituaries
    • Obituaries in the News
    • Place an Obituary

    • Place an ad
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Apartments
    • Auctions/Sales
    • Automotive
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Employment
    • Garage Sales
    • Legals
    • Merchandise
    • Obituaries
    • Pets
    • Public Notices
    • Real Estate
    • Services
  • Public Notices
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Real Estate
  • Mobile & Apps

  • el Nuevo Herald
  • Miami.com
  • Indulge

Miami Gardens - Opa-locka

Miami Gardens council to vote on $60 million bond plan

By Lance Dixon

ldixon@MiamiHerald.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 24, 2015 06:14 PM

Miami Gardens’ City Council will vote on a plan at Wednesday’s meeting that outlines the placement of different projects for its $60 million general-obligation bond issue.

The plan identifies the placement of facilities that Mayor Oliver Gilbert discussed during the campaign for the bond last year including a culinary arts facility, an alternative sports complex, a recording studio, a science, technology, engineering and math facility and a senior center.

The alternative sports complex has been planned for Bunche Park and the plan calls for the current recreation building to be torn down and replaced with a multi-story gymnasium with a running track on the second floor and instruction in boxing, gymnastics, martial arts and dance. Additionally, the plan calls for either a water playground or renovated pool to be built at Bunche Pool. The complete renovation will cost about $3.8 million while the water playground option will cost $1.4 million, according to city staff.

The senior center is set to be built on property next to Enrico Dairy Farmhouse at the corner of Northwest 183rd Street and 12th Avenue. The center will also include a walking trail and equipment rooms.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

The STEM and recording studio facility will be set at Risco Park. The city announced last July that it negotiated a 40-year lease agreement with the Miami-Dade County School Board, with two 10-year extensions. Staffing for the STEM programs will be paid for by the school board, while the city will pay $1 a year for the lease and will handle maintenance of the land.

Most of the parks will receive renovated lighting systems, new playgrounds, ADA-compliant parking and lighted walking trails. All of the parks will install new fencing and video surveillance systems and have landscaping and irrigation work done.

The plan indicates that the city has the right to modify projects based on costs, revenue or other unforeseen circumstances.

On the public-safety side of the plan, the city plans to upgrade its mobile command center and build a real-time crime center as part of its new police station. The new police department headquarters, at the city’s municipal complex, remains unfinished but is expected to be done by July, with final completion scheduled for September.

The city will also install automated license plate readers at select intersections of main roads in the city including County Line Road, Northwest 151st, 175th, 183rd and 199th streets. The plan also includes two mobile reader systems.

Assistant City Manager Craig Clay said at a community meeting Saturday that the focus is trying to make Miami Gardens police more proactive when dealing with crime.

“It allows our police officers to do better preventative policing,” Clay said.

Residents passed the bond issue last April through a mail-out ballot election, with about 13 percent of registered voters participating.

The $60 million bond will be paid out over the next 30 years and will cost the average homeowner about $44 per year. That’s based on the city’s average taxable home value of about $34,000 after the homestead exemption, and a tax increase of about $1.30 per $1,000 in taxable home value.

Also at the meeting, the council will vote to approve plans for the 2016 Jazz in the Gardens festival, including a one-year extension of its contract with Sun Life Stadium.

Council members will also vote on awarding a bid to Limousines of South Florida to handle a proposed circulator-transit system in Miami Gardens. The Miami Gardens Dash program has been in the planning stages since 2013. The free bus service is estimated to have a ridership ranging from 16,700 to 48,600 riders.

The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 18605 NW 27th Ave.

  Comments  

Videos

Former-Commissioner Timothy Holmes gets his SUV back

Police respond to a shooting in Miami Gardens

View More Video

Trending Stories

Military planes carrying 180 tons of aid for Venezuelans fly from Miami to Colombia

February 16, 2019 08:00 AM

Panic at the Orlando airport when a man alarms passengers at security checkpoint

February 16, 2019 02:52 PM

Dolphins hire ex-Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie, the league’s 2016 executive of year

February 16, 2019 04:27 PM

One dead in shooting near South Beach’s Ocean Drive

February 17, 2019 06:47 AM

Mark Walton, former Canes star now with the Cincinnati Bengals, arrested in Miami

February 16, 2019 11:05 AM

Read Next

He threatened to blow up her home and her kids’ schools, cops say. Then came the chase

Miami Gardens - Opa-locka

He threatened to blow up her home and her kids’ schools, cops say. Then came the chase

By Carli Teproff

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 14, 2019 07:10 PM

A man faces charges including making false bomb threats and fleeing after police say he threatened his ex-girfriend at her Opa-locka home. He later led police on a chase from Florida Memorial University, cops say.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE MIAMI GARDENS - OPA-LOCKA

Drive-by shooting leaves one dead in Opa-locka, cops say

Miami-Dade County

Drive-by shooting leaves one dead in Opa-locka, cops say

February 14, 2019 07:18 PM
How did a shot-up Mercedes end up in Key Largo?

Florida Keys

How did a shot-up Mercedes end up in Key Largo?

February 13, 2019 03:26 PM
Student accused of cheating on her SAT drops legal battle, may just take test again

Education

Student accused of cheating on her SAT drops legal battle, may just take test again

February 08, 2019 06:07 PM
Family behind Miami gold refinery raided coffers to fund ‘lavish lifestyle,’ lawsuit claims

South Florida

Family behind Miami gold refinery raided coffers to fund ‘lavish lifestyle,’ lawsuit claims

February 07, 2019 01:27 PM
Who will perform at Miami’s Super Bowl? There’s a push for Pitbull, but there are others

Super Bowl

Who will perform at Miami’s Super Bowl? There’s a push for Pitbull, but there are others

February 07, 2019 04:31 PM

Miami Gardens - Opa-locka

Judge tells city to return repossessed wheelchair-accessible SUV to ex-official

January 28, 2019 12:30 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Miami Herald App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Public Insight Network
  • Reader Panel
Advertising
  • Place a Classified
  • Media Kit
  • Commercial Printing
  • Public Notices
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story