Funds budgeted for park, library and new center

Deck

Village officials discussed a mediation meeting with a developer and hiring a lobbyist, and adopted a $44 million budget Tuesday.

Pinecrest officials approved a $44 million budget Tuesday and finalized plans for a mediation meeting with a developer who was denied a zoning change in June.

The village’s 2006-07 budget sets aside funds to build Flagler Grove Park, construct a library and community center, and make improvements at Pinecrest Gardens. But some residents asked the council to consider lowering the rate in the future.

Lloyd Foley suggested selling Pinecrest Gardens, which costs about $1.1 million a year to maintain. The village could use the extra money to lower the tax rate, he said.

“It’s a win-win to sell that land,” he said.

But council members disagreed. Mayor Gary Matzner said the village has to spend money to maintain all parks and called the gardens a “treasure” and “asset” to the community.

Resident Georgia Ruiz had another idea: spend more money on Pinecrest Gardens, not for playgrounds and renovating buildings, but to hire a landscape architect to make improvements.

“Start detailing the vegetation we have - the good, the bad and the ugly,” she said.

The 2006-07 spending plan keeps the tax rate at $2.40 per $1,000 of assessed property value, but homeowners still will pay more in village taxes because of higher property values.

A resident with the average $500,000 home and the standard $25,000 homestead exemption would pay $1,140 in village property taxes. That does not include state or school district taxes that also appear on a homeowner’s bill.

The council also discussed a Thursday mediation meeting with a developer who was denied a zoning change. GREC Pinecrest LLC asked for the mediation after losing a request to build townhomes on a site now occupied by a single-family home and a mango orchard at 7520 SW 100th St.

Residents who live near the property and oppose the rezoning had asked to attend the mediation, a legal proceeding, even though the sessions typically are not open to the public, said Village Attorney Cynthia Everett. Both sides agreed to open the doors, but residents were unhappy to learn that the meeting is set for 9:30 a.m. when most people are at work.

Resident Brian Piper said he will be out of town and had not found anyone else to attend. Council members asked GREC’s lawyer, Jerry Proctor, to reschedule but he declined, saying his client has been waiting for the meeting since June.

Everett, Village Manager Peter Lombardi and zoning director James Holland will participate. Matzner stressed that no zoning changes can be approved at the mediation and that all proposals have to go to the council for a vote. In other business, Lombardi reported on the progress of capitol projects, including plans to supply county water to residents still using wells. He said Coral Gables-based engineering firm C3TS should have a project master plan done by March or April.

Residents with wells will decide whether to form special taxing districts to fund the cost of laying water pipes under roads. They will have to hire their own contractors to hook up their home to the pipes in the street, Lombardi said.

In other business, Matzner said he plans to interview lobbyists, including Ronald Book and Frank Bernardino, to help obtain grants. He said state Reps. J.C. Planas and Julio Robaina suggested Book and Bernardino.

Book represents nearby cities including Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay. Matzner said Bernardino has worked with the South Florida Water Management District.