Council resists rushing stormwater vote despite referendum pressure | Key Biscayne

Hoping to avoid a potential public referendum vote by one block of Key Biscayne residents, Ed London last week asked his fellow Village Council members if they wanted to move up a possible final decision on which stormwater approach to take, likely between either AECOM or GIT Consulting, LLC.

That didn’t happen, as Mayor Joe Rasco and London had a difference of opinion and Village Manager Steve Williamson felt his mission was being minimized.

London explained to Islander News later in the week that he has been contacted by the Key Biscayne Neighbors Association and was told the group, led by former Councilmember Betty Sime Conroy, was likely trying to secure enough signatures for a public referendum vote later this year concerning the stormwater spending and several other issues that align with such a massive project.

Any public referendum can be divisive to the community, London said.

Conroy told London that the group has until July 27 to submit its request to the Supervisor of Elections, but by not starting the quest in mid-March, those efforts would likely fall short.

“I told her I know where you’re coming from,” London said. “Why don’t you let me have a meeting and I will propose we make a decision on March 10 (the next Council meeting) if that is satisfactory to you.”

GIT Consulting, LLC, however, has a contract of “deliverables,” calling for the second of three presentations for a Zone 1 project in March and the final one in April, Williamson said.

London was told by GIT’s Giorgio Tachiev that he could be ready for a final presentation in March.

Williamson later took exception with private conversations between a couple of Council members and Tachiev.

“Am I managing this contract or is every Council member who’s talking to Giorgio managing it?” Williams asked.

Williamson said his recommendation, and the way the contract is written, is to bring Tachiev’s final presentation to the Council in April, and there’s even another Ad Hoc Committee meeting set for early April with those costs, etc.

“If there’s no way to manage a political (conflict), so be it,” Councilman Michael Bracken said.

“Can I understand why he is not ready in March?” Councilman Fernando Vazquez asked.

“Specifically, I can’t tell you,” Williamson said, noting that Tachiev has only delivered a PowerPoint presentation, identifying 120 catch basins that need to be raised or lowered … and “he’s nowhere close. I’m not sure he’s going to get it (done) by April … (but) he may have stuff behind (the latest presentation).”

London is not sure what the Key Biscayne Neighbors Association’s referendum will entail, whether it’s favoring one engineering design over another or just be critical of the amount of spending to combat flooding issues.

On Friday, the Key Biscayne Neighbors Association delivered a memo to Islander News listing concerns, such as a “crushing debt” that could reach $1 billion and would drain the Village’s borrowing capacity for other improvements, the environmental impact of polluted water discharged into the bay and years of disruption with workers and vehicles and noise.

“If the Village Council refuses to adopt a more responsible plan (noting a less-intrusive, less costly plan like GIT), we are prepared to bring this to a referendum on the November 2026 ballot,” the document reads. “We have already retained legal counsel and secured support from a broad group of prominent neighbors who believe in fiscal responsibility and transparent governance.”

London said he was just trying to avoid a conflict and that if Williamson brought the matter forward in March “and we were happy with the conclusion” then, likely, a referendum would be moot.

“Why do we have to move it to March 10?” Rasco asked London.

“The final meeting (in April) is when we are presented with a full-baked plan,” Councilman Frank Caplan said. “That’s the time to decide, when we are responsibly able to decide.”

“I don’t think it’s ready,” Rasco said. “I had a conversation with Giorgio. He didn’t tell me he’s ready. It’s just not there yet.”

Vazquez explained there are two completely different designs, “completely different theories.” But, he said “it doesn’t necessarily mean one has to be thrown out completely.”

He was willing to see if the Village could test both, like a “modular process” and where a component of both could be used, or maybe, at least, explore what a $3.5-$4 million pump station could do in one location.

“Let’s test them out; it doesn’t have to be a one size fits all.”

Based on comments from the Ad Hoc Committee (of London, Bracken and Vazquez) made at recent workshops, London told Islander News he felt they were “probably leaning toward a vote for GIT over the AECOM system” after studying the costs, the systems, and the amount of pollution being discharged into Biscayne Bay.

AECOM’s pump system would reduce flooding but also discharge untreated water into the bay (although that permitting has been granted to Williamson by Miami-Dade County), while GIT’s distributed system is designed to inject water into the ground, yet still allow for some runoff into the bay.

Village Attorney Chad Friedman said the referendum issue would likely evolve into “some ordinance initiative, and if they had the proper number of signatures, and if the Village doesn’t accept (what those actions are), they can go to a referendum,” he said.

“The Supervisor of Elections then would have to consent to a special election; July 24 is the deadline for that. That would give 45 days to review for the Village and the Clerk to certify.”

Mayor Rasco, at one point, got animated in a conversation with London, saying that $250,000 was agreed on to look at an alternative solution, but it wouldn’t be fair to Tachiev and his team to rush through things. But, he said, “If, in fact, we are satisfied (on March 10) to make a decision, we do or we don’t.”

Williamson wanted to be fair to the residents.

“I’m not sure where we are getting this information, but we’re working with this guy who has a (final) deliverable (first at the workshop on April 8, prior to the April 14 Council meeting),” he said.

“We’re representing 15,000 people, not just a few who are putting a referendum out there.”

Caplan agreed.

“I won’t make a decision that is half-baked just to avoid an initiative,” he said. “If I have (all) the information and advice on March 10, then yes.”