The Gazette 03/3/22 V9iss5

THE

GAZETTE VOLUME 9 • ISSUE 5 MARCH 3, 2022

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WILTON MANORS

WILTON MANORS VICE MAYOR DISCUSSES RE-ELECTION BID

By John Hayden Twenty twenty-two is an election year.

While most political attention and money in Florida will be fixated on the race for governor and congressional seats, local elections can have the most immediate impact on day-today life in our neighborhoods.

Wilton Manors is electing a mayor and city commissioners. Commissioner Paul Rolli recently announced his re-election campaign and now is talking with the Gazette about his plans for a new term.

“I love Wilton Manors, and the reason I want to run again is to bring to fruition what we’ve started in the last four years.”

Rolli said he wants to solidify the work he and fellow Wilton Manors leaders have started, including automation to the city, long-term infrastructure plans, and a financially sound city.

“We have one of the best run governments in Broward County,” Rolli said. “We’re fiscally sustainable and have some top-notch people.

I’d like to see the top-notch people become great.”

COHESIVE VISION Rolli said he came in during a tough time in Wilton Manors history, which included the sudden death of Mayor Justin Flippen. Since being elected, he’s been part of a coalition that includes Commissioners Chris Caputo and Mike Bracchi, as well as Mayor Scott Newton, who is also running for another term.

“We have an excellent commission now, a commission that is focused, collaborative, and works together as a team, and I think we haven’t had that for many, many years.”

Working with surrounding cities is also a key component of Rolli’s strategy. You can’t access Wilton Manors without going through other cities.

“No man is an island, even though we’re the Island City.”

From infrastructure to a variety of regulations, Rolli believes it’s imperative to have consistency through our part of Broward County. He cites the COVID-19 pandemic as an example.

“We didn’t want to have other rules than Fort Lauderdale because the average person doesn’t know if they’re in Fort Lauderdale or Wilton Manors, especially at the edges, and then you’re in Oakland Park.”

PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE The city’s infrastructure master plan stretches 20-30 years into the future, when everyone currently serving in elected positions will likely be long retired. Short-term plans, including revamped zoning to allow new housing and business opportunities, will have a more immediate impact. But both will be at critical junctures over the next several years. Nurturing those plans are what Rolli said are his key goals of a new term. That includes leadership and change-management

Paul Rolli.

Photo credit: Carina Mask.

training for city employees.

As for his future, he’s intimated that this will be his last run for city office. But Rolli also knows to never say never.

“I’ve learned over the years that everybody says ‘This is my last run.’ Then

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when the time comes they change their mind. I could be one of those people, but I was really just looking to do one more term.”

The election is scheduled for Nov. 8. Early voting runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 6.

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OPINION

WILTON MANORS

THE IMPORTANCE OF LOCAL NEWS

THE

GAZETTE March 3, 2022 • Volume 9 • Issue 5 2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 Phone: 954-530-4970 Fax: 954-530-7943

By Sal Torre One of the many reasons why life is just better here is due to the local news coverage provided to residents of our Island City. SFGN’s local news supplement, the Wilton Manors Gazette, along with local newspaper, The New Pelican, provide a service that is growing ever scarcer throughout our nation. Local independent newspapers reporting on local issues and concerns continue to disappear, leaving community after community with no real local watchdog, no investigative reporting, no civic benefits.

The bleak picture is actually worse when you realize that of the remaining newspapers still in circulation around the United States, over half are owned by private equity firms or hedge funds. Once purchased, the staff and operating budgets are cut, local news coverage is sacrificed, and profits are syphoned off, leaving communities with national syndicated news articles and very little substance.

This is exactly what happened to the Sun Sentinel, with parent company Tribune Publishing being bought out by a private equity firm Alden Global Capital last year. This particular player is notorious for cutting staff, gutting newsrooms and slashing operating budgets. Not many reporters left to do any real investigative journalism on important local issues. Such bleak news highlights the importance for this community to support our local newspapers and support the businesses that advertise in them.

So, let us take a look at some local news. Big question surrounding Wilton Manors elections this year will be if former Mayor and current City Commissioner Gary Resnick will seek re-election or go out celebrating a very successful public service career over the last 24 years. Still months away from the filing deadline, Islanders will most likely have to wait a bit longer for an answer.

Speaking of elections, come voting day, Islanders will also an opportunity to have their voices heard on the subject of term limits. City commissioners by-passed the recommendations from the Charter Review Board on the subject and drafted their own proposal that will now be on the ballot come November. Hopefully residents will reject

Publisher • Norm Kent norm.kent@sfgn.com Associate Publisher / Executive Editor • Jason Parsley jason.parsley@sfgn.com Webmaster • Kimberly Swan webmaster@sfgn.com

Editorial

Art Director • Brendon Lies artwork@sfgn.com Oakland Park Editor • Christiana Lilly Wilton Manors Editor • John McDonald

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Sal Torre • James Oaksun

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the ballot referendum and continue to use their vote and the power of the ballot box as the means to decide who gets to serve and who does not.

In our small very informed city, thanks to our local news coverage, imposing term limits is unnecessary and removes the will of our residents to choose who they want to have serve our community.

Much more attention needs to be on who we elect to serve on a state level — because if current state leaders continue to have their way, we will not have much local news to report on. Current legislative session continues to see bills introduced, and making it through to the governor’s desk, that take away local control and jurisdiction on a whole slew of issues. State legislators have for years sponsored many bills that seek to preempt local control over important issues such as vacation rentals in our residential neighborhoods and local gun regulations. Now

Much more attention needs to be on who we elect to serve on a state level — because if current state leaders continue to have their way, we will not have much local news to report on.

they want to empower businesses to use the threat of litigation against local regulations as a means to limit local control of what happens in our own communities. Not to mention losing any local control of what our children will be taught in schools, with bills such as SB 242 that forbids the teaching of our racial history and HB 1557, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. This insanity called the Parental Rights in Education bill would prevent teachers from talking about gender identity and sexual orientation with students.

Many years ago, Speaker of the U.S House of Representatives Tip O’Neal stated that, “All politics are local.” We need to start embracing that notion once again before we lose control of our community we call home. We need local regulations to control the quality of life here in our island City, we need local news outlets to thrive and remain independent, and we need our city commission to have the power to continue on with the on-going creation of a wonderful place we call Wilton Manors.

Thank you again South Florida Gay News for publishing the Wilton Manors Gazette. This wonderful and very important source of local news goes a long way in making like just better here.

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South Florida Gay News is published weekly. The opinions expressed in columns, stories, and letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of SFGN, or the Publisher. You should not presume the sexual orientation of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations. Furthermore the word “gay” in SFGN should be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire LGBT community. All of the material/columns that appears in print and online, including articles used in conjunction with the AP, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper. Nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher, at his law office, at Norm@NormKent.com.

SFGN, as a private corporation, reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs.

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NEWS

WILTON MANORS

COMMUNITY

WILTON MANORS

BOOK CLUBS, FAIRS, TAXES & MORE Wilton Manors Library Has it All

By Gillian Manning

Rabbi Noah Kitty. Photo via Facebook.

CONGREGATION ETZ CHAIM’S RABBI KITTY TO RUN FOR WILTON MANORS COMMISSION

By John McDonald Rabbi Noah Kitty of Congregation Etz Chaim Jewish community and allies. It currently rents is running for the Wilton Manors Commission. space from the Pride Center at Equality Park in Kitty has filed campaign documents with Wilton Manors.

Kitty said she would the city seeking a seat on the be stepping down from five-member commission. The her rabbi role in May to mayor and two commission begin campaigning for seats are up for re-election commissioner. In addition to in November. Kitty joins being the first challenger to Mayor Scott Newton and Vice formally announce, Kitty is Mayor Paul Rolli as declared the first woman to seek a seat candidates. on the all-male commission, “I am not running to a distinction not lost on correct a wrong and I have the former president of the no argument with current or Dolphin Democrats. former commissioners,” Kitty “Is there a perspective we said. “I think they are doing a are not making?” she asked. wonderful job. I love living in Kitty said with so much Wilton Manors and I feel it is rapid change taking place my responsibility as a long-term in the world now is the time resident to contribute to my for city leaders to engage beloved community.”

- Rabbi Noah Kitty in meaningful action to Kitty migrated to South determine what the city will Florida from Vermont in 2002 look like for years to come. She and became executive director and rabbi of Congregation Etz Chaim in is hoping her faithful followers agree.

“Let’s stick together,” she said. “That could 2009. Born in Miami in 1974, Congregation Etz Chaim is the spiritual home for the LGBT be my campaign slogan.”

“I love living in Wilton Manors and I feel it is my responsibility as a long-term resident to contribute to my beloved community.”

There’s nothing as magnetic as the pull of an electric screen — most of us have probably had days where we sit on our phones or in front of the TV longer than we should.

The good news is that despite minimal funding, libraries have been able to keep up with us.

The Wilton Manors Library makes many of its resources available with a few clicks of a button. From book clubs and fairs to providing help during tax season, the library has a little bit of everything for residents.

For those who want to get back into reading, the library provides digital book clubs for various genres and ages.

“Book clubs in general foster a sense of community,” Mike Hesson, interim director of the Richard C. Sullivan Library, said. “[It] Wilton Manors Library. Photo via Facebook. enhances the benefits of reading for all readers. For our younger readers, it engages students and enables our young readers to library can help with that too. The Broward have a deeper understanding of what they County library system gives free tax assistance read. In addition, it is important for readers to to people who make $66,000 or less per year. learn other people’s perspectives of the books You can thank Rick Sterling, the former they are reading.”

Wilton Manors library director, for most of There’s another digital book club that these modern resources. Sterling was the will allow you to download director for 17 years before he books to your reading devices died in December. like Kindles, Nooks, and “Rick expanded the library iPads. It also provides digital to three times its original size discussion boards so you can since becoming library director have an open discussion with in 2004,” said Patrick Cann, the others who are reading the director of Leisure Services. book with you.

“He is remembered for being a There are plenty of strong advocate of the Friends e-books, magazines, and even of the Wilton Manors Library, language courses available for and for his continual fight free online. They even have to secure and maintain the a delivery service for Wilton library’s funding. Thanks to his Manors residents. dedication and expansion of the “Contrary to popular belief, library, services were expanded Google has not made libraries for both children and adults.”

- Mike Hesson obsolete,” Hesson said. “Our The Friends of the Wilton Interim director of the website provides a ton of Manors Library hosts a monthly Richard C. Sullivan Library information about what we book fair that raises funds to can do for people, and we’re keep the library on its legs. always happy to assist patrons “Monetary donations for by phone or in person.” used books, videos, and music CDs received The digital catalog makes it easy to look at at these events are an important source of what’s trending on Amazon and which books revenue, which enables the Friends of the are on the New York Times bestseller list.

Library to underwrite the cost of children’s If you’re overwhelmed by the tax season and adult programming,” Hesson said. (the deadline is April 18 for most people), the

“Contrary to popular belief, Google has not made libraries obsolete.”

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MARCH 3, 2022

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27

OPINION

WILTON MANORS

PAC PASTRIES IN WILTON MANORS CLOSES ITS DOORS

By Christiana Lilly After three years in business on the Drive, PAC Pastries in Wilton Manors has sold its last cupcake.

Owned by Shelbey Chiavari, the vegan and gluten-free bakery closed its doors on Saturday, going out with a bang selling treats for Valentine’s Day and loyal customers who wanted to get their last tasty bite.

“I got a lot of love in that last week,” Chiavari said. “It was nice, but it is sad.”

Prior to opening her brick-and-mortar in Wilton Manors, Chiavari sold her baked goods wholesale through commissaries or businesses like Raw Juice. In January 2019, she made the next move to open on Wilton Drive between Johnson’s and Shades of the Past. She was drawn to the location because of the foot

traffic, its proximity to her home, and that she could walk to some of her favorite spots on The Drive.

The business was known for its cakes by the slice, as well as the Slutty Brownie, a threelayered brownie bar. But it stood out because it’s perhaps the only place you can buy baked treats that are vegan and gluten-free.

“People who couldn’t actually have the regular stuff could feel like they could indulge or actually have a birthday cake for once or have a treat like that,” she said.

When she first opened her doors, Chiavari said the “first year was amazing,” especially with newcomers popping their heads in as they walked along the drive. She was also getting custom orders for birthday cakes and other celebrations.

Then, COVID hit, and like many other small

PAC Pastries stood out because it’s perhaps the only place you can buy baked treats that are vegan and gluten-free.

PAC Pastries. Photo via Facebook.

businesses, PAC Pastries was hit hard. She started curbside pick-up for clients and even offered delivery as far north as Jupiter to keep things moving. But coupled with the tough economy was difficult to find employees, and a high rent didn’t help.

“We would have to sell a lot of cupcakes every month to meet that,” she said. “It was a lot.”

Unfortunately, she decided during the holidays that she would make it to their third-year anniversary before closing for good. While it’s “definitely bittersweet,”

the business owner is also looking forward to not having to be a boss for a while. Local businesses are eager to buy up her equipment, some are offering up commissary space for her to bake like she used to, and she’s received offers from restaurants looking for pastry chefs. As a self-taught baker, she said “I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would be qualified.”

“A lot of the local businesses have kind of surrounded me with open arms as well which is really nice,” she said. “I really need to take a breather, I’m so burnt out.”

WILTON MANORS

BELOVED WILTON MANORS OFFICER DIES AT AGE 52

By John McDonald He is remembered as a calming presence amid the chaos.

Alberto Carrillo, a criminal intelligence specialist for the Wilton Manors Police Department, passed away on Tuesday, Feb. 22, following a brave bout with cancer. He was 52.

“He was more than my husband,” Brian Percival said. “He was my best friend, my calm in any chaos and the greatest man I have ever known. I will miss him deeply every day for the rest of my life.”

While living in New Jersey, Percival met Carrillo at a friend’s birthday party on Fire Island. They were together for 20 years before officially tying the knot in 2016.

“He had this glow about him and a calmness

that brought a smile to everyone when he entered the room,” Percival said. “He never wanted to be in the spotlight. He was a caring person. That was his nature, whether it was lending an ear or sending encouraging notes.”

Carrillo served in the WMPD for 10 years, Police Chief Gary Blocker said.

“Selflessness comes to mind,” Blocker said.

Carrillo wore many hats in the department, from helping with the Zoom broadcasts of meetings to serving as a victim advocate.

“He was so compassionate when providing support to victims,” Blocker said. “Officer Carrillo made everybody better human beings and was the definition of what it means to be a public servant.”

There is a GoFundMe account to cover the medical costs.

If you would like to donate, visit www.gofundme.com/f/help-alberto-conquer-cancer.

The tests were plenty. Blocker said Carrillo was instrumental in the multiple agency response to the Surfside condominium collapse and provided vital support to families suffering in the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and last summer’s Stonewall tragedy.

“He will certainly be missed by everyone in our city,” Blocker said.

Longtime community activist Michael Rajner said he was crushed and heartbroken upon learning of Carrillo’s death. At a Tuesday evening’s commission meeting, Rajner shared a story of how Carrillo offered emotional support to a friend during an incident of domestic violence.

“Alberto was so helpful withholding his hand and keeping him calm,” Rajner recalled.

Rajner asked the commission to establish an annual service award in Carrillo’s honor.

“He was one of the most amazing people the city has ever had,” Rajner said.

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MARCH 3, 2022

Alberto Carrillo. Courtesy of Brian Percival.

An aggressive form of throat cancer took Carrillo’s life. Percival described it as unexpected, but the support from his husband’s colleagues in blue has been phenomenal.

He specifically thanked Chief Blocker, Dets.

Bonnie Owens and Frantz PetitPapa and Sgts.

Robert Cohen and David Turner.

“The police are going above and beyond anything I could imagine,” Percival said.

Prior to the start of Tuesday evening’s commission meeting, Mayor Scott Newton asked for a moment of silence in Carrillo’s memory.

“This is one person who never had anything but a smile on his face,” Newton said.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

WILTON MANORS

S

COMMISSIONER CAPUTO TALKS TRASH

erving as city commissioner is a pretty great job. While it’s not necessarily glamorous, it is generally filled with events and meetings that are fun to attend and often interesting.

That being said, not every important meeting occurs at one of our beautiful businesses or in a clean city hall meeting room.

This past Monday, I took advantage of an opportunity to tour Waste Management’s recycling facility located west of Pembroke Pines. It was an important tour for two reasons. First, I am keen to understand how we pay for waste services in our city since it is a significant cost to residents. Second, many residents (myself included) are keen to know what actually happens with our recycling.

Both issues had been hot topics recently as we experienced a shift in our recycling pickup schedule and had to approve a renewal in our Waste Management contract.

One important thing for residents in Wilton Manors to understand is that we do not send our trash to a landfill. Nonrecycled waste is actually sent to a trash-to-energy plant which burns our garbage to convert into energy without polluting the environment. Doing so is actually more expensive than sending it to a landfill, and we can expect the cost for disposing of our waste this way to increase.

On the flip side, it is certainly better than having it all end up in a landfill.

It’s also important for residents to know that a lot has changed about how recycling works over the last two decades. There was once a time when Chinese buyers paid a decent price to take our recyclable materials. That came to a screeching halt with the Chinese Government’s Operation Green Fence, which essentially stopped the export of our recycling materials to China. The market for recycling materials essentially fell out, and as I understand it, there was a period of time when recycling material actually just ended up in the landfill.

Today, the market for recycled goods is

slowly returning and is primarily US-based, although there are some serious challenges that we need to be aware of. Essentially, many of us have been “green-washed” by product marketers to believe that the green “recycling symbol” means that product are automatically recyclable. In reality, Waste Management (and many other South Florida recycling facilities) can recycle only certain goods for which there is a resale market. Goods like metal, paper, glass, and cardboard are generally recyclable but with different values on the resale market.

Some products, like cardboard, have a strong resale market while others like glass can actually have very poor resale value or even cost money to recycle.

The most confusing or challenging items to recycle are plastic items. A good general rule of thumb is plastics with a narrow neck (like plastic water bottles) are recyclable, while those with a wide neck (like Starbucks cups or wax cups) are not.

The term neck refers to the size of the opening relative to the size of the body. One really important note: plastic bags are not recyclable, so never place them in a recycle bin or use them to bag other recyclable items. You can read more about what is and isn’t recyclable on Waste Management’s Recycling 101 web site at https://www.wm.com/us/en/recycleright/recycling-101.

As I mentioned earlier, part of my tour was to better understand the costs associated with our Waste Management contract. Since we earn a credit based on the resale of our recycling on the commodity market, I asked Waste Management staff to explain how

One important thing for residents in Wilton Manors to understand is that we do not send our trash to a landfill.

A driver poses in front of a Waste Management-operated vehicle. Photo via WM, Facebook.

that is calculated. Several times a month a random sampling of several hundred pounds of our recycling is pulled off a truck. Their team literally picks through the trash, sorting it out by the type of recycling material (i.e. plastic, glass, cardboard) it is and weighs each type. They also weigh the amount of “contamination” in the sample.

Contamination is the amount of trash or non-recyclable content that is in the sample.

Contamination reduces our payout and actually has a cost associated with it. Our city has historically averaged less than 20% contamination, which is considered great, but I believe we can get better.

When residents remain cognizant of what they throw in the recycling bin, they can ensure more of our waste actually does end up being recycled and actually reduce our city’s collective bill for services by helping us earn a higher credit from recycling. If residents regularly contaminate our recycling stream with trash like plastic bags, baby diapers, or non-recyclable plastic like Starbucks cups, they are potentially increasing the cost of waste services for all of us as well as

contaminating the recycling stream.

I certainly learned a lot from my visit to the Waste Management recycling plant. It also opened my eyes to how much deeper I need to dig to understand what happens to our waste and the exactly what can and can’t be recycled. Thankfully, the staff at Waste Management has agreed to hold more public education workshops through our neighborhood associations this year. Be on the lookout for announcements from your neighborhood association about upcoming educational events.

If you have questions or comments about how we manage garbage or recycling in our city, do not hesitate to reach out to me via email at ccaputo@wiltonmanors.com or text at 954.557.2801.

— CHRIS CAPUTO

WILTON MANORS CITY COMMISSIONER

P.S. You can view more photos and videos from my tour of the recycling facility at https://bit.ly/35hx3vk

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

WILTON MANORS

NEWS

WILTON MANORS

NEW CITY SURVEY! CRAP!

Photo via PxHere.

Mayor Newton and City Manager Henderson, I cannot express to you in words how disappointed and livid I am with the new “city survey.” Again, the WestSide has been relegated to an afterthought. While 26th street and Dixie Hwy and of course The Drive get their own feedback questions there is NO mention of Powerline and Oakland Park Blvd. and Andrews have been combined in to one question: Why, explain to me, why those streets were combined?

Why not The Drive and Oakland Park Blvd.?

Why is it that the WestSide is continually regulated to a “less than” position if thought of at all by city government? This “survey” is another example of Wilton Manors’

government historical indifference to the WestSide.

I want this survey taken down and reworked to truly include the WestSide and all its stakeholders with Powerline Rd., Andrews Ave., and Oakland Park Blvd. fully represented just like the rest of the city was. If not, I will pursue a very public discussion on WestSide issues with WestSide voters and our lack of representation with our current representatives. Oh, and by the way, question 10 you can’t answer because you have not gotten to question 13 yet: Who designed and made this did we pay for this?

Another Wilton Manors PR embarrassment.

I want to know who approved this for final disbursement?

— JAKE VALENTINE

THE

ISLANDER A WILTON MANORS NEWSLETTER

THE NEWSLETTER YOU NEED NEED. WILTON MANORS NEWS... RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX. From events to local announcements, fun facts and so much more, the Islander is everything you need to wake up ready for a beautiful day in the Island City.

Photo courtesy of Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.

ONE MAN INJURED IN WILTON MANORS APARTMENT EXPLOSION

By Christiana Lilly An explosion in a Wilton Manors apartment Tuesday morning has left one man in the hospital with burns on his arms.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue received numerous 911 calls around 11:30 a.m. from Manors Grove Village with reports of an explosion on the second floor of the apartment complex, according to Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan.

When fire rescue arrived, they saw smoke and flames that reached into the attic area of the building and the windows were blown out from a corner apartment. The damage was spreading to nearby apartments and the

Had this occurred over the weekend, Gollan said, there may have been more injuries because of the shock waves and glass being blown out.

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building’s residents were evacuated.

Gollan said that an adult male was found with burns to both of his arms; he was treated on scene and taken to Broward Health Medical Center before being transferred to Jackson’s Miami Burn Center.

“At this time, what we believe transpired was there was remodeling taking place in the apartment,” Gollan said. “There was a solvent being used in an aerosol type form that created a hazardous environment that was ignited by a device that was there, which caused the explosion.”

The apartment itself was not occupied since it was under renovation, and the evacuated residents were able to return to their homes. Had this occurred over the weekend, Gollan said, there may have been more injuries because of the shock waves and glass being blown out.

“Burns are very serious and a very painful injury,” he added. “From experience in an explosion, there’s always some kind of traumatic effect that could have life lasting for him, as well as the second-degree burns.”

While the exact details of the remodeling aren’t known, Gollan reminds the public to do your due diligence when doing renovations in the home to avoid injury: reference the building codes, pull the proper permits, work with a licensed contractor, and follow the state statutes that are in place.

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NEWS

WILTON MANORS

WILTON MANORS REVISITS MARIJUANA REGULATIONS & MORE FROM THE COMMISSION

By John McDonald

I

n light of the Broward State Attorney’s decision to stop prosecuting misdemeanor marijuana cases, Wilton Manors commissioners are revisiting the city’s cannabis regulations.

In a memo dated Feb. 2, State Attorney Harold Pryor informed law enforcement agencies his office would be handling misdemeanor marijuana cases in a “noncriminal” manner.

“Prosecuting these cases has no public safety value and is a costly and counterproductive use of limited resources,” the memo reads.

Wilton Manors Police Chief Gary Blocker said the department’s civil citation program is in alignment with Pryor’s mission of alternatives to physical arrests. Blocker said officers have a duty to seize marijuana as contraband, enter it into evidence and generate police reports. The work takes approximately 90 minutes, Blocker said.

Fines from the civil citation program go into the general fund. Commissioner Mike Bracchi asked for data from the program prior to the second reading of chapter 12 “miscellaneous offenses” in the city code of ordinances. Bracchi and Commissioner Chris Caputo expressed support for removing violations for small amounts of cannabis.

The state attorney office’s threshold for a felony charge is 24 grams. Wilton Manors is considering 20 grams or less as the threshold for its civil citation program and Mayor Scott Newton said the program is needed.

“If you don’t, you’re gonna have 500 people smoking pot down the street because Wilton Manors is not going to do anything and do you want that?” Newton asked. “So, you have to at least have the citation.”

Caputo disagreed with the notion crowds would be specifically drawn to Wilton Manors to smoke pot and raised concerns people with diagnosed medical conditions that require prescription cannabis could be penalized.

City attorney Kerry Ezrol said there are exemptions for medical marijuana, hemp and industrial hemp.

OTHER NOTES FROM THE FEB. 22 MEETING: Bracchi questioned the city’s lease agreement with Echo Air Conditioning for 1,200 square feet of floor space at 2200 NE 12th Avenue. The company is moving from Oakland Park, said City Manager Leigh Ann Henderson, and has tentatively agreed to share expenses with Horton/Jones Electrical Contractors. The three-year lease agreement comes down to $11.40 per square foot. Bracchi noted the numbers quoted were for retail space and rent was half of the current going rate per square foot.

“I don’t think we are negotiating these leases appropriately so I’m not going to support this,” Bracchi said. Commissioner Gary Resnick sided with Bracchi, pointing out the new tenant is not obligated to make any upgrades to the space.

“I have a tough time with this amount also, it seems to me like it’s a favorite son kind of deal,” Resnick said.

Vice Mayor Paul Rolli said he toured the property and witnessed a different story than basic numbers would indicate.

Wilton Manors is considering 20 grams or less as the threshold for its civil citation program and Mayor Scott Newton said the program is needed.

Photo via MaxPixel.

“Frankly, the space is pretty bad,” Rolli said.

“Before we talk about rental and compare statistics you have to look at the space as well and, honestly, the space is quite dingy.”

The ordinance passed on first reading on a 3 to 2 vote with support from Rolli, Newton and Caputo.

Carl Shearer presented the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board’s goals and accomplishments report.

“Our board is the most diverse and one of the youngest in tenure among all city boards and we are proud of it,” Shearer said.

On his list of accomplishments, Shearer touted efforts to secure public approval for the use of Community Development Block Grant funds to repair the closed playground at Hagen Park.

“We secured 75 signatures of parents at Wilton Manors Elementary School that represented 120 children that were very interested in supporting that,” Shearer said.

Some of the board’s goals for 2022 include seeking renewal of the park system master plan and pursuing renaming opportunities for Site 92 and the Kiwanis Club after the city takes ownership.

Resident Harry Redlich said he has complained to no avail to code compliance

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about a neighbor feeding ducks.

“I want to know if it’s legal to create a duck preserve on a residential property,” Redlich said.

Redlich said Muscovy ducks are a menace and causing problems around Island City Park Preserve.

“They’re an introduced species, they don’t belong here,” he said.

Redlich said the ducks are eating up grass in yards and pooping on the street. Vehicles, he said, are running over the water fowl and leaving carcasses behind in his neighbor’s driveway. “It’s really upsetting, it’s bringing down property values and it’s just a big bummer,” he said.

Meanwhile, a total of 27 new cases were scheduled for a Special Magistrate Hearing on March 2.

Devon Walsh, Administrative Program coordinator for the Leisure Services Department, was presented with the Employee of the Quarter award.

Chandi Lawrence accepted the city’s Black History Month proclamation in honor of her mother Lynn Lawrence, owner of the Wilton Drive Dairy Queen.

The next regular commission meeting is March 8.