Manager explains why planner is now consultant
The Village’s planning consultant, designer of Beach Park and architect of the proposed fire station, was once a Village employee and now seems to have an inside track in securing Village contracts for himself and his firm, OBM Miami.
Some residents have questioned why Raul Lastra continues to work for the Village as an independent consultant and wonder if there is some sort of cronyism involved. Others have remarked that the competitive bid process has been compromised where Lastra is concerned.
“I just want to make sure that the Village is going through the proper process,” said resident Rocco Pace, who owns an architectural engineering firm. “It seems that the Village is stuck with one contractor and that’s not competitive.”
Among other things, Pace questioned Lastra’s qualifications, fees and the propriety of his relationship with the Village.
“I’d like to find out what other municipalities pay for similar projects,” Pace said of Lastra’s designs for the fire station. “I don’t know if he’s ever even designed one before. There are dozens of architects who would love to design a fire station. It looks great on the resume.”
Pace is not alone in his doubts.
Past Councilmembers have questioned hiring Lastra so regularly. He is currently consulting on potential sidewalk construction, traffic calming projects, the redesign of Crandon Boulevard and bus shelter construction. In fact, it’s hard to find a capital improvement or public works project that the former Village planner doesn’t have a hand in.
Is there no one else available? Should the Village hire its own planner?
Village Manager Sam Kissinger said that it makes more sense to pay Lastra as a contractor rather than bring in someone new.
“We currently have three architectural firms available to us, but the Council has approved four or five separate contracts with Raul,” Kissinger explained. “We’re using him for Phases 1 and 2 of the fire station, but we haven’t ruled out bringing in someone else for Phases 3 and 4. Either way, it’s actually cheaper for him to come in and do it than pay anyone else because they’d have to do a lot of the work all over again.”
Kissinger contended that no rules have been broken or even bent to keep Lastra involved with Key Biscayne projects, and specifically the fire station. The competitive bid process doesn’t apply to professional services, such as architects, because in those cases it isn’t always in the best interest of a municipality to hire the lowest bidder.
While the competitive bid process might apply to a planning consultant, Kissinger explained that the deal between the Village and Lastra is both legal and logical.
“He’s our planner under a continuing contract and everyone seems to be very pleased with his work,” Kissinger said. “Quality and aesthetics are very important to the people out here.”
Key Biscayne Motorcycle Club
The Key Biscayne Motorcycle Club celebrated its one-year anniversary with a party at the Key Biscayne Yacht Club. Organizer Tony Corallo handed out business cards with titles custom-made for each member. Pictured are Wendy Coralla, Tony Corallo and Donatella Dillon.
Christmas trees
Key Biscayne firefighters, including Ron Erbel and Dan Feeney, are selling Christmas trees at the corner of Crandon Boulevard and McIntyre Street. Proceeds benefit the Key Biscayne Professional Firefighters Association.
Business Card Exchange
Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce members exercised their right to network at a business card exchange at the Fitness Club of Key Biscayne. Pictured are Mark Fried and Dr. Robert Kirkman.
Council approves five bus shelters
Soon, people who ride county buses will have a place, or five, to duck in out of the rain as the first of five proposed bus shelters won approval by the Council.
Bus shelters have been discussed and/or planned for about four years, but the new Council finally approved a $21,000 contract to build the first such structure at the corner of Crandon Boulevard and East Heather Drive. This particular shelter was included in the Grand Bay Resorts development of regional impact mitigation settlement, meaning that Grand Bay will shoulder $12,000 of the cost.
Despite Grand Bay’s contribution, Councilmember Bob Oldakowski voted against awarding the contract because he thought that $21,000 was too much to spend on a bus shelter, especially with four more planned in the near future. Village planning consultant Raul Lastra characterized the structure as a “pedestrian shelter” due to its size and architectural style.
“It’s really just a matter of semantics,” Lastra said.
Police issue warrant for Taylor Millard
Taylor Millard.
After more than five months of a time consuming and detailed investigation, the State Attorney’s Office issued a warrant last Wednesday for the arrest of Taylor Millard on charges of grand theft in the first degree.
The warrant states Millard stole in excess of $250,000 from Coldwell Banker, a real estate company where he was a property manager. The State Attorney’s Office issued a no jurisdiction warrant, which means if Millard is caught by authorities there would be no mile limit for extradition. The warrant also stipulates that if apprehended, Millard’s bond would be set at $1 million.
The whereabouts of Millard, who had lived on the Key for 23 years, are unknown. He was last seen by his family on April 4, before heading to a Lions Club meeting in west central Florida. There were reports of Millard being spotted on the Key in June.
State Attorney’s Office accountants and a private firm hired by Coldwell Banker traced every check Millard wrote from an account the company thought had been a private firm hired by Coldwell Banker. Millard took money mostly from property owners outside Florida and the U.S., who were leasing their properties. Instead of paying bills with rental income, Millard siphoned cash out of the account.
Beautification Foundation claims public landscaping ‘unsightly’
“Medians do not have any continuity in design and often conflict with the condo planting on the east side of Crandon,” reads the Foundation report. “An efficient irrigation system is essential for optimum health.”
Key Biscayne Beautification Foundation president Cecile Sanchez wasted little time in informing the new Village Council about the state of public landscaping on the island paradise. At the Council’s first meeting, Sanchez described some of the landscaped public property as “unsightly” and “an eyesore.” She asked the Council to allow the Beautification Foundation to take a more active role in making the swales, medians and traffic circles more aesthetically appealing.
“There is no reason why the swales and medians should look the way they do,” Sanchez said. “We would like to serve in an advisory capacity if the Village would allow us. But we’ve met with some resistance.”
Village manager Sam Kissinger implied that the problem was more of a lack of communication than resistance.
“We have been working with the Beautification Foundation and (former Councilmember) Michele Padovan all along,” Kissinger said. “While Cecile is correct in some of her observations, there are answers to her comments. If she’d have called us, we could have given her those answers. In the meantime, we’re preparing a report to the Council addressing those concerns.
At the Council meeting, Sanchez focused on five “sore” spots in Key Biscayne: the Village entrance, Crandon Boulevard medians, the bus stop at Crandon and West Wood Drive, traffic circles on West Mashta Drive and swales on Ocean Lane Drive.
Jesus Fuertes Exhibition
The works of noted artist Jesus Fuertes were recently shown at a reception at the Grand Bay Club. Pictured are Marilyn Borroto, Vera Bubson and Marivi Prado.
The New Council
Newly elected Mayor Joe Rasco and Councilmembers Scott Bass, Alan Fein and Bob Oldakowski were sworn into office by Judge Linda Dakis at the Sonesta Beach Resort. The ceremony also gave recognition to outgoing Mayor John Festa and Councilmembers Michele Padovan, Betty Sime and Hugh O’Reilly. Seen here are outgoing Councilmember Betty Sime with Councilmember Gregory Han and Mayor Joe Rasco.
Patrick’s Party
A trip to Patrick’s Salon was not for a haircut but for a bit of holiday cheer and goodwill. In addition to a fun time at Patrick’s annual holiday gathering, toys were collected to give to those less fortunate. Pictured are Stuart Ames, Bonnie Cooper, police chief Michael Flaherty and Patty Flaherty.
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