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 | Week of May 25, 2000 |
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County to keep parks department as marina overseer |
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Local blasting ordinance blasted away by state bill |
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Insurer fights demolition of Key tower |
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Lakes gets green light for mill's worth of city tax |
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County to keep parks department as marina overseer By Sebastian del MarmolThe Miami-Dade Commission on Tuesday approved County Manager Merrett Stierheim's recommendation that the Park & Recreation Department continue managing all six county marinas. The measure passed 11-1, with Chairman Gwen Margolis dissenting, despite pleas from State Sen. Ron Silver, who argued that a private company should be allowed to manage two of the six. Mr. Silver, who lobbied on behalf of Westrec Marine, said the commission should allow the company to operate Haulover and Black Point marinas because its proposals to run them scored higher than the county. A selection committee ranked proposals from private vendors and the parks department as part of Miami-Dade's first-ever Managed Competition Initiative that allows county departments to submit bids along with private companies. Although the committee awarded the parks department the highest aggregate bid, it advised commissioners that Miami-Dade could collect the most revenues if it awarded Black Point and Haulover to Westrec while the county continued to run Crandon, Pelican, Matheson and Homestead marinas. Westrec Vice President Gary Groenewold said his company worked hard to win the selection committee's recommendation. "I'm disappointed the manager did not follow the recommendations of a committee that worked on the bids for over a year," Mr. Groenewold said. He said his company spent more than $100,000 on the bid and if it doesn't get the contract, the county's managed competition initiative would lose credibility. "I can't see how anyone would take the process serious again," he said. Mr. Stierheim said members of the parks department had suffered through very trying times in recent years and had rallied around the marina issue. He said he is confident they could produce as well as any private vendor. "I feel confident that the employees of the department can successfully operate the marinas as well, or better, than a private" company, he wrote in a memo to commissioners. Barbara Shuler-Carey was not present during the vote.
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