Soccer fields, playground are approved

Another park will soon be built with two soccer fields.

Pinecrest officials approved plans to build two soccer fields and a playground at a future park and gave the manager a raise Tuesday night.

Officials have spent years planning the future Flagler Grove Park but had to make changes when the village recently purchased extra land to expand it. The park, a three-acre lot just east of South Dixie Highway on Southwest 104th Street, will have one large and one smaller field, a playground and parking.

Many soccer coaches, parents and players were supportive of the plans because they say there is a shortage of playing fields and practice space.

“This village has been lax in what we’ve given to the kids,” said Claire Ceballos, a mother of five girls, most of whom play soccer. She said the field “can be used for other things on off times.”

Some nearby residents said the park should not be tailored to just soccer.

“I moved into a neighborhood because it had a nice park, not to be next to wall-to-wall soccer fields,” said Robert Yates. “The plans don’t offer anything for me.”

Vice Mayor Gail Serota said other parks in the village offer amenities for residents without young children.

Village Manager Peter Lombardi said the earliest the park could be completed would be nine months.

The council also gave Lombardi a raise, from $151,600 to $165,000 a year. He also gets a $1,550 monthly housing allowance and a vehicle.

Mayor Gary Matzner, who negotiated the raise with Lombardi, said it is well-deserved considering “what he has accomplished and his future goals.”

He also said the village is “a little bit behind” compared to what other cities pay their managers. According to documents provided by Lombardi, Key Biscayne Manager Jacqueline Menendez earns $178,509, Aventura Manager Eric Soroka earns $177,758 and Coral Gables Manager David Brown earns $164,000.

Also at the meeting, the council decided to hire an outside attorney to handle litigation against Liberty Mutual Surety because the firm has declined to pay a bond claim for about $400,000 involving Aventura Engineering and Construction Corps. The village awarded Aventura Engineering a contract to build the library and community center but the company did not turn in required documents or sign a contract in April as scheduled, Lombardi said.

In other business, the council:

• Authorized Matzner and Lombardi to negotiate a contract for $40,000 with the Wren Group, a consulting firm, to help the village identify grants and other monies to pay for water projects. The council is researching ways to provide county water to residents still using wells.
• Authorized Lombardi to proceed with construction of a sidewalk on Southwest 73rd Avenue between 120th and 124th streets near Palmetto Elementary School.
• Authorized Lombardi to buy a new financial software system from New World Systems for about $368,000.
• Scheduled a workshop to discuss Pinecrest Gardens at 9 a.m. Jan. 11.