Cheat’s Guide to the Village Council Meeting: Dec. 10

The Key News cheat’s guide

The final Village Council meeting of the year is surely the pinnacle of your holiday shindig list, so don your gladrags and read our cheat sheet before you RSVP. Bonus points for whoever brings the eggnog.

Festive fun aside, there’s serious business on the agenda for the Village Council Meeting Tuesday, Dec. 10, the last of 27 this year. Let’s get to it.

Vote Y/N

A diverse group of issues are up for a vote Tuesday, starting with a request for Council to approve $77,384 for ballistic helmets and assault rifles from the dedicated Law Enforcement Trust Fund. In the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting — one hour north of Key Biscayne — state public safety commissions made several recommendations. The island’s police force has ramped up training and drills, but supporting documentation says “training is only half of the solution,” and that “in order for trained officers to be effective, they must also be adequately equipped.”

(While we’re talking policing, there will also be a decision Tuesday on the date for a Town Hall on policing, which arose during lengthy discussions at the last Council meeting Nov. 19).

Should elected officials be compensated for legal fees if they are investigated? This ethics question will be central to the next vote, no doubt stirring debate on the dais. Public comments will be heard before Council discusses and votes on Council Member Ignacio Segurola’s draft amendment to Village code. Will they decide to allow the Village to “provide for the defense of officials” should they be involved in any investigations related to their position? If history teaches us anything, the answer may be yes. After all, the item arises after a tense series of events ended with former Mayor Mayra Pena Lindsay receiving $35,000 from this Council for fees incurred during an ethics investigation into her conduct. The wording proposed is short and — perhaps intentionally — broad.

The last vote sees Mayor Mike Davey asking the Council to take a clear stance on climate change, by proposing a resolution urging Florida Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio to support legislation levying the fossil fuel industry. The resolution says that despite local action, municipalities that are at the forefront of global warming — especially coastal ones like Key Biscayne — cannot fight alone. There is a sense of urgency about the wording of the resolution, backed up by scientific studies, that local climate warriors will likely find refreshing and reassuring.

This dovetails nicely into Davey’s discussion item on the Chief Resilience Officer position. We are promised a ‘position description update.’ While we don’t wish to get overexcited, here’s hoping Captain Planet is dusting off his resume.

All things nice

There will be a special recognition of local Winn-Dixie store manager Jose Llanes, who presided over a summer-long schedule of store improvements which seem to have (mostly) gone down very well with islanders. Except those who take exception to the new taproom at the store entrance. No eggnog for them.

Segurola also has an agenda item to discuss his Council internship program. Perhaps we’ll get some clarity on what exactly Council is looking for here — will interns be paid, who wants one, what will they do — all a mystery at the moment, but hopefully something positive will come of this idea both for time-poor Council members and, perhaps, a few bright students.

More mystery courtesy of Council Member Katie Petros, who teases with a discussion on ‘potential green space expansion at the end of Harbor Drive.’ Who, what, why and which end? All good questions. Tune in to find out whether more public land purchases could be on the cards.

Everything else

Also look out for: an update on septic tanks and beach renourishment from the Village Manager; questions about stormwater and about the 2020 Miami Boat Show from Segurola; a presentation on Crandon Boulevard pedestrian safety from engineering consultants Corradino, and — interestingly — an item on ‘waste management,’ also from Segurola, which may be about trash cans being strewn across driveways like stinky confetti. Tune in to find out.

Watch the meeting live at 6 p.m. Dec. 10 on Channel 77/99 and check back for coverage in Key News. 

ahayward@keynews.org