Town co-founder Hartmann best choice to serve on council
There seems to be a template for those who serve as council members in the thriving Broward County Town of Southwest Ranches: Longevity as residents, and a role in founding the nearly 20-year-old jurisdiction, which was formed so homeowners could avoid falling into the clutches of the expansion-minded City of Pembroke Pines.
So it should come as no surprise that Bob Hartmann, 60, and John Eastman, 58, both council candidates for an open seat in District 1, are decades-long residents who have helped Southwest Ranches grow into one of the county’s most prosperous areas.
The 13-square mile town, population 8,000, offers lush neighborhoods, plenty of land for horses and even alpacas to roam, and lots of space for children to safely play. The town motto: “Preserving Our Rural Lifestyle.”
Through their service on local drainage boards, Hartmann, an information technology professional, and Eastman, a commercial airline pilot, both helped to resolve nagging flooding and drainage problems that they say are now largely under control.
District 1 voters, though, would be best served by Hartmann, who has a broader bandwidth through 15 years of service as a chair or member of boards at all levels of town government. Over the years, he has attended meetings for all of the town’s advisory boards and homeowners associations. In business, he has managed project teams of over 500 members.
The two men say they are friends. Their differences, says Hartmann, are “polite differences.” Says Eastman, “I think we share 90 percent of views on current issues confronting the town.”
Each firmly believes Southwest Ranches is getting soaked by high fees for outsourced services, such as fire protection and waste removal. Each believes the town needs to crack down on homeowners who violate the town code by operating full-blown businesses in their front and back yards.
But then there’s that 10 percent gap of separation on the issues.
Hartmann sees a town “with many strengths.” But Eastman asserts: “Our town is broken.”
We agree with Hartmann that the town is more functional than his opponent allows.
For example, homebuilder Toll Brothers started selling luxury houses this summer in a development called Rolling Oaks Estates. The starting price for homes that sit on two acres: $1.2 million. Around town, median home values are $672,500, up 14.1 percent in the last year, with another 4.6 percent hike in store for next year, Hartmann says, citing statistics from Zillow, the online real estate database.
And when celebrities — particularly professional athletes — move to South Florida, many choose Southwest Ranches as their home.
But Eastman says the town needs someone with a sharp pencil because spending by the local government “is out of control.” The town, he says, overpays for contracted services, employs too many people and is developing parks it doesn’t need.
As an example, he says Southwest Ranches maintains a volunteer fire department even though most of its fire protection is provided under a contract with neighboring Davie. He asserts the volunteers aren’t certified to provide lifesaving duties or drugs, are not adept at extinguishing major fires and should be phased out.
“We have police services we don’t need,” he adds, as “we’re not a crime area.”
Hartmann contends the volunteers are needed to compensate for long response times to calls answered by the Davie department. He says they are “cost and operationally effective.” The team’s total cost, he says, “is less than adding a single fire rescue person to the Davie fire rescue department.”
In the end, we think Hartmann has the connections, time and capacity to devote the most time to the job. Eastman, who flies for American Airlines, says he can make town meetings by planning his flights well in advance.
But Hartmann seems better positioned to organize and manage projects and keep in touch with residents.
“I am present at almost all town council meetings and have had an attendance record better than some former council members,” he said. “There are few town issues that I am not well-informed on. I know how to manage people and money.”