New Lauderdale leaders delay vote to kill ‘Wave’
The newly seated Fort Lauderdale commission took swift aim at The Wave streetcar project Tuesday, saying the city will cancel its agreements and kill the multimillion-dollar proposal.
But three of the five City Commission members, who had pledged to kill The Wave at their first meeting, didn’t go that far, delaying a vote until May 1.
“I’m disappointed, for sure,” said Stan Eichelbaum, a downtown civic leader who got candidates to sign pledges that they “commit to voting to cancel The Wave at the first meeting of the newly elected Commission.” He added, “But we are moving for-
ward, and we have three votes.”
New Mayor Dean Trantalis and new commissioners Ben Sorensen and Steve Glassman, all elected March 13, said they do not support The Wave, a mass transit steetcar that would run on embedded rails, powered by overhead electrical lines, amid traffic on downtown roads.
In a meeting buzzing with controversies, the three also voted to fire City Attorney Cynthia Everett, and made plans to vote in two weeks to consider canceling a lease for gun shows at the city-owned War Memorial Auditorium.
Heather Moraitis, who was unopposed, and Robert McKinzie, who was reelected in the January primary, also were sworn in as commissioners on Tuesday. Both support The Wave and voted against firing Everett.
Commissioners rode into office on a wave of voter discontent with the status quo, including the rapid pace of development, plans for The Wave, failing watersewer infrastructure, important city votes taking place in the wee hours of the morning, and a highly visible homeless population.
Former Mayor Jack Seiler told the incoming group that “this will be the greatest job you’ve ever had.”
“We’re at the dawn of a new day in Fort Lauderdale,” Trantalis told the crowd at Parker Playhouse, after he was sworn in, and Seiler and departing Commissioner Romney Rogers said their goodbyes. “There was a mandate, clearly there was a mandate, to tell us one thing: We need to get things done.”
Departing Commissioner Bruce Roberts, who lost the mayoral race to Trantalis, didn’t make it to the swearing-in. Seiler said Roberts is in the hospital.
The new commission dove right into the biggest controversies, including debating whether to terminate City Manager Lee Feldman. Trantalis said he was ready to do it Tuesday night.
“I think we should take a fresh approach,” he said.
Glassman and Sorensen said it’s important for the mayor and manager to work well together.
“I am not inclined to sit here for three years and watch the mayor and city manager butt heads,” Glassman said.
But Sorensen said Feldman has been “responsive” to him so far, and he suggested Trantalis lay out his expectations and allow Feldman a chance to meet them.
Sorensen made a motion to fire Everett, citing high turnover in her office, a poor working relationship with the public, and sluggish turning around of contracts. Trantalis said he thought she wasn’t up to the demands of the job, but is a “wonderful” person.
“I’m more than competent to handle this job,” Everett said before the vote. She said she was proud of the legal team she built, and her office’s accomplishments.
She was placed on paid administrative leave and replaced for now with assistant city attorney Alain Boileau. She picked up her purse and walked off the dais shortly after the vote to terminate her.
Though Sorensen, Trantalis and Glassman were also prepared to take a symbolic vote opposing The Wave, they agreed with Moraitis and McKinzie to wait for new competitive bids to come in. They said if the bids remain too high, the project will die, anyway.
The city tentatively scheduled an April 30 workshop to discuss The Wave and possible alternatives, a few days after new bids are expected. The first round of bids for the $195.3 million project exceeded the budget. The city has agreed to pay a portion of the project cost, as well as a portion of cost overruns. The Wave is based on a partnership with local, state and federal funds.
All five commissioners said they want new mass transit, but Trantalis said technologies have improved over the 16 years The Wave has been in the works.
“I’m going to continue to work to see if we can repurpose this money use toward a different type of mass transit system,” Trantalis said.
In other action, city
commissioners:
Allowed Broward County to renege — at least temporarily — on its promise to allow public parking in a new parking garage on South Andrews Avenue. The county says it will happen one day, but wanted the written requirement that it “must be available for public use” removed. The former City Commission met for five minutes before the swearing-in and approved the change. They said Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry wrote a letter promising the garage eventually will be open after-hours for public use.
Appointed city activist Fertig to the planning and zoning board. Fertig, a leader of the civic group Lauderdale Tomorrow, was a key slow-growth supporter of Trantalis and Glassman.