January 2019
Phase 2 of homeless plan: Community Court commences

This is our first newsletter of the New Year, and I wish everyone great success and good health in the months ahead.

Following on the success in December of closing the encampment next to the main library, the community initiative to end homelessness has launched its next phase.
 
This past week, Chief Judge Jack Tuter began a community court program at City Hall that deals with homeless people who are charged with minor offenses. The specialized court addresses the root causes of homelessness by offering alternative sentencing for certain misdemeanor offenses.

Instead of going to jail, the homeless are connected with essential health, rehabilitation, and social services, as well as housing. They also are required to complete community service. This compassionate approach will reduce jail costs, provide life-building assistance and reduce homelessness in our community.

The city worked with Judge Tuter, the 17th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Broward County, the Clerk of Courts, the Public Defender, the State Attorney’s Office and treatment providers for almost a year to create the community court.

It is the first of its kind in Florida. Judge Tuter traveled out of state to observe the operation of similar programs before putting ours into effect. Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson joined me and others at the court’s opening, and the hope is that the program can become a model for other communities in the state.
 
Both the city and the judiciary were concerned by the revolving door of homeless going through the court system and jail.

Arrested on charges such as panhandling and camping in public, homeless individuals filled precious court time and expensive jail space. The underlying issues of why they were homeless went unaddressed. Released from jail, they were back on the street in Fort Lauderdale. They frequently found themselves returning to court and jail.
 
In his order creating the court, Judge Tuter said the community has an “ethical obligation” to help those who have “lost control of their lives.” He said his goal is to hold people accountable for their conduct, but also get them the help that they desperately need.
 
The first case was a man arrested for an open container at one of the city’s busiest intersections. He agreed to enter a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program and perform community service while also receiving emergency housing.

We have witnessed incredible results in a very short time from the homeless coalition that the city formed with Broward County, the business community and social service providers.

Almost 70 individuals from the downtown encampment have either been provided services along with either permanent supportive housing or temporary housing. We continue to recruit landlords to offer apartments for the program’s use. If you know any landlord willing to participate in the housing program in which market rate rents are paid to house these individuals, please contact my office.

More action is yet to come.

The United Way is negotiating with the Salvation Army and Hope South Florida to provide day respite programs for the homeless. A meal-sharing program is also being developed.  
Scooters

Last November, several companies began offering motorized scooters for rent across Fort Lauderdale. Residents and tourists have since used them thousands of times as an alternative to driving. But numerous accidents have occurred, and the city has been deluged with complaints about how they are used and where they are parked.

The city is committed to ending the dangerous conditions.

Our staff is reviewing regulations from other communities and expects to discuss the options with the City Commission in early February. In the meantime, as mayor, I will soon meet with the vendors to discuss solutions that they should undertake on their own immediately.

The city agreed last summer to allow four companies to offer dockless scooters and bicycles for rent. Scooters have become prevalent in many American cities in recent years, and our goal was to be proactive in establishing regulations based on national standards and best practices.

The hope was that the scooters would provide some relief to the heavy traffic that drivers often face on our streets.

Many of the users over the last couple months have used them for short trips downtown or along the beach. Those are trips that typically would have occurred by car.

Unfortunately, our streets and sidewalks have become the Wild West. Public safety has suffered.

Emergency room doctors and dentists report numerous cases of people injured using scooters. Despite general traffic regulations and the city’s rules regarding scooters, it is not uncommon to see scooters swerve in and out of traffic or multiple people using one scooter. People are texting while riding scooters, and children and teens are using scooters despite age restrictions.

Two of the most serious accidents received news coverage. A 14-year-old boy sustained serious injuries in a hit-and-run collision while riding a scooter at 4 a.m. A woman was seriously injured when she crashed her scooter in the Kinney Tunnel on Federal Highway.

Where scooters are left by their riders has also become a significant concern.

Our rules say they must be left upright with four feet of clearance on the sidewalk. Also, they cannot be left on private property or block business entrances, fire hydrants or handicapped ramps. The reality too frequently is the opposite.

City staff believes there are ways to better regulate the scooters. I’d like to see them remain an alternate mode of transportation, but the current situation is untenable. If solutions cannot be found, the City Commission will need to reconsider the program entirely. 
Parks and Public Safety Bonds

In my last newsletter, I wrote about how the city will ask voters on March 12 to consider two bond issues: one to improve our park system and the other to build a new police station.

Please remember the importance of voting. There are no early voting locations in this election, so your two options are to vote on Election Day at your polling precinct or to cast a mail-in vote.

Absentee ballots will be mailed by the Supervisor of Elections beginning Feb. 5. You may go to the SOE web site and request a ballot be mailed.

While you have until March 6 to request an absentee ballot, please remember that there may be delays with the Post Office and to mail them back as soon as possible. You can also hand-deliver them to the SOE offices. The Supervisor of Elections must receive your ballot by Election Day.

The parks bond would allow us to upgrade and modernize our parks.

There would be four signature projects at Holiday Park, Joseph Carter Park, Lockhart Stadium and above the Kinney Tunnel on Las Olas Boulevard. Also, the city would upgrade amenities such as pools and community centers. We would provide new offerings from more wellness opportunities and dog parks to walking trails and improved sports fields.

With the public safety bond, our 60-year-old police station would be replaced.

This bond issue, like the one for parks, is to give the city the ability to spend up to the amount of the bond. I believe that the price for the station can be achieved well below the bond amount, and we will know more as details continue to be worked out.

The current one on Broward Boulevard is too small to accommodate today’s police force. Elevators and restrooms don’t meet current code. There is no fire sprinkler system, and there are water and sewer leaks in the basement. Experts say it’s questionable if the building can survive a major hurricane.
Kudos to the city

In closing, I have some good news to announce. Bloomberg News Service recently named Fort Lauderdale as one of the top 21 bucket-list travel destinations around the globe.

Only two other U.S. cities made the list. Fort Lauderdale shared this honor with such places as Paris, Hong Kong, the English countryside, Costa Rica and Spain’s Balearic Islands.

Mentioning the new Dune restaurant at the Auberge on the beach and downtown’s new Dalmar Hotel, Bloomberg said Fort Lauderdale is no longer a sleepy community. The article said tourists should come here “for the ease of a Miami getaway without the 24-hour party vibe.”

Tourism is a vital part of our economy, and articles like Bloomberg’s shows the incredible work that has occurred to make us a world-class destination. It’s quite a transformation from the ‘80s to today.

Sincerely,



Dean
Mayor Trantalis speaks at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival during a showing of Hurley, a film about race car legend Hurley Haywood.
Mayor Trantalis meets the staff of Sun Serve to thank the staff there for their work in providing social services to the LGBT community .
Mayor Trantalis rings in the new year with other city officials at the annual Downtown Countdown anchor drop.
Mayor Trantalis is interviewed as the Winterfest Boat Parade began its route along the New River downtown.
Mayor Trantalis joins in the family fun on New Year's Eve at the city's Downtown Countdown . 
Mayor Trantalis congratulates the football team at Cardinal Gibbons High School for winning the state championship.
Mayor Trantalis attends the Council of Civic Associations' holiday party with Vice Mayor Ben Sorensen and commissioners Steve Glassman and Heather Moraitis .
Mayor Trantalis speaks  to students in the pre-law and public affairs program at Fort Lauderdale High about why he became interested in the law and politics..