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Mayor’s Message

he city is set to embark on two major undertakings that will improve our
Tcommunity for years to come.

During the March election, voters overwhelmingly gave us approval to upgrade our
park sys-tem and replace our police station. It truly speaks to the importance of
these needs and the faith that residents have in the stewardship of this City
Commission, which was elected just one year ago.
In the coming weeks, we will set up citizen oversight to ensure the proper
expenditure of the money. Discussions will also commence of how to proceed with
the police station construction and how to prioritize park projects. You have the
commitment of this commission to ensuring these tax dollars are spent as efficiently
as possible.
The current police station was built 60 years ago and was intended for about 100
officers and civilian personnel. There simply is no way to accommodate today’s
police force and its needs in this antiquated structure.

Frequent water and sewer leaks have raised a concern about mold. And, the
Dean Trantalis
Mayor, building’s struc-tural integrity has weakened over time and cannot withstand the
City of Fort Lauderdale strength of hurricanes today. It had to be evacuated during Hurricane Irma, putting
our officers – and our community – at risk.

We will build the new station on city property that surrounds the current station and
then de-molish it once our staff has moved. We will make sure that our police
officers and command staff have the facility that they need to meet today’s
demands in law enforcement.
There have been concerns, and we will address them.

When the proposal for the police station originated with the former city manager,
we were presented no layouts or designs. We only received a consultant’s report
that estimated the cost at $100 million. There was sticker shock among city
commissioners, particularly since other cities in the area have been replacing their
police stations or thinking of doing so for much less.
I doubt such a large sum is necessary to accomplish the task. The citizen committee
will be another set of eyes as we take each step. I am convinced we can cut costs
during the design and implementation process by value engineering and through
Office Contact: the extra oversight we are de-manding.
Scott Wyman
Assistant to the Mayor The park system has not seen any real investment over the past two decades, and
Email: swyman@fortlauderdale.gov yet the demand for our park facilities has never been greater. New fields, better
Phone: 954.828.5004
infrastructure, and more open space are an imperative for any growing city.
With the approval of the bond issue, all park buildings also would be improved,
lighting would be enhanced for better safety and visibility, and infrastructure would
be hardened to protect parks from sea-level rise. Four signature projects would be
undertaken, one in each section of the city.
Nearly every park would see upgrades and enhancements such as new
playgrounds, pools, fitness equipment, athletic fields and more. If land can be
acquired to build new parks, we will do so.

12 The Landings & Bay Colony