HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Item Summary FormAGENDA ITEM SUMMARY FORM
File ID: #11967
Date: 05/12/2022
Commission Meeting Date: 05/12/2022
Requesting Department: City Commission
Sponsored By: Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Ken
Russell, Manolo Reyes
District Impacted: All
Type: Resolution
Subject: Co -Designation - State Road 953 as Oswaldo Paya Way
Budget Impact Analysis
Item has NOT an Expenditure
Total Fiscal Impact:
City Commission
Legislative Division
Office of the City Attorney
Office of Management and Budget
Office of the City Attorney
Office of the City Clerk
Maricarmen Lopez
Valentin J Alvarez
Amber Ketterer
Marie Gouin
Victoria Mendez
City Clerk's Office
Reviewed B
Meeting
Legislative Division Review
ACA Review
Budget Review
Approved Form and Correctness
Rendered
Completed 05/12/2022 9:00 AM
Completed 05/13/2022 9:47 AM
Completed 05/13/2022 2:46 PM
Completed 05/13/2022 3:45 PM
Completed 05/19/2022 8:24 AM
Completed 05/19/2022 1:19 PM
City of Miami
Legislation
Resolution
Enactment Number: R-22-0179
City Hall
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL 33133
www.miamigov.com
File Number: 11967 Final Action Date:5/12/2022
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION DECLARING NO OBJECTION
AND SUPPORTING THE CO -DESIGNATION BY THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE,
PURSUANT TO SENATE BILL 160, DESIGNATING THAT PORTION OF STATE
ROAD 953/NORTHWEST 42ND AVENUE/LE JEUNE ROAD BETWEEN NORTHWEST
11TH STREET AND NORTHWEST 14TH STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS "OSWALDO
PAYA WAY"; FURTHER DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF
THIS RESOLUTION TO THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION,
DISTRICT SIX, FOR SIGN INSTALLATION WITHIN THE NEWLY DESIGNATED
ROADWAY.
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature, during its 2022 session, passed Senate Bill 160
(2022), approving, inter alia, several road designations, including a co -designation for Oswaldo
Paya ("Paya"); and
and
WHEREAS, Oswaldo Paya was born on February 29, 1952 in El Cerro, Havana, Cuba;
WHEREAS, Paya was brought up as a Roman Catholic; and
WHEREAS, in 1969, Paya was sentenced to three (3) years of hard labor on Isla de
Pinos for refusing to transport political prisoners during his mandatory military service; and
WHEREAS, while serving time on Isla de Pinos, he discovered a locked Catholic church,
Nuestra Senora de Dolores, that received permission from the Bishop of Havana to reopen as a
mission, giving religious talks and caring for the sick; and
WHEREAS, after his release, Paya enrolled at the University of Havana as a physics
major, but was expelled when authorities discovered he was a practicing Christian; and
WHEREAS, he then attended night school, eventually studied to become an engineer,
and later worked at a state surgical equipment company; and
WHEREAS, Paya had an opportunity to leave Cuba in the 1980 Mariel boatlift, but chose
to remain and work for change; and
WHEREAS, in 1986, he married Ofelia Acevedo in a Catholic wedding ceremony; and
WHEREAS, the couple went on to have three (3) children together: Oswaldo Jose, Rosa
Maria, and Reinaldo Isaias; and
WHEREAS, in 1987, Paya founded the Movimiento Cristiano Liberacion (Christian
Liberation Movement), which called for nonviolent civil disobedience against the rule of the
Cuban Communist Party and advocated for civil liberties and freedom for political prisoners; and
WHEREAS, he also began a publication for Catholics, titled Pueblo de Dios (People of
God), which called upon Christians to lead the struggle for human rights; and
WHEREAS, the publication was shut down the following year by Cuba's bishops under
pressure from the government; and
WHEREAS, in the late 1990s, Paya and other activists began collecting signatures for
the Varela Project, a petition drive that would become one of his most significant endeavors;
and
WHEREAS, named in honor of Felix Varela, a Catholic priest who participated in
Cuba's struggle for independence from Spain, the petition drive relied upon a clause in the
Cuban Constitution requiring a national referendum to be held if 10,000 signatures of Cuban
voters were collected; and
WHEREAS, by October 2003, Paya had collected and delivered over 25,000 signatures
calling for a referendum on safeguarding freedom of speech and assembly, allowing private
business ownership, and ending one party rule; and
WHEREAS, according to the Los Angeles Times, the petition drive was "the biggest
nonviolent campaign to change the system the elder Castro established after the 1959 Cuban
revolution," and gave Mr. Paya an international reputation as a leading dissident; and
WHEREAS, Paya's efforts were recognized by the European Parliament, which awarded
him its Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought; and
WHEREAS, the Varela Project progress was blocked when the government launched its
own petition drive to declare the socialist state "irrevocable"; and
WHEREAS, through the years, Paya received multiple threats from the Cuban
government due to his efforts to ensure human rights, freedom, and lasting change; and
WHEREAS, on July 22, 2012, near Bayamo, Cuba, Paya died in a car crash at the age
of 60 under suspicious circumstances; and
WHEREAS, many suspect that the Cuban regime was responsible for Paya's death; and
WHEREAS, despite his untimely death, Mr. Paya touched many lives and proved to be a
strong agent for change and freedom in Cuba; and
WHEREAS, through the years both before and since his passing, Mr. Paya was
nominated for, and received, many awards recognizing his accomplishments and efforts
towards change, including the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought of the European
Parliament (2002) and the Truman -Reagan Medal of Freedom, posthumously (2018); and
WHEREAS, he was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the former Czech
president Vaclav Havel; and
WHEREAS, the City would like to honor Mr. Oswaldo Paya by supporting the co -
designation by the Florida Legislature of that portion of State Road 953/Northwest 42nd
Avenue/Le Jeune Road between Northwest 11th Street and Northwest 14th Street, Miami,
Florida as "Oswaldo Paya Way"; and
WHEREAS, that portion of State Road 953/Northwest 42nd Avenue/Le Jeune Road,
specifically between Northwest 11th Street and Northwest 14th Street is a state road located
within the City limits; and
WHEREAS, Section 334.071, Florida Statutes, provides that the erection of markers for
a state road designation shall be contingent upon the appropriate city or county commission
passing a resolution in support of the particular honorary designation; and
WHEREAS, in addition, Miami -Dade County adopted Resolution No. R-66-22 on
January 19, 2022 urging the Florida Legislature to codesignate that portion of State Road
953/Northwest 42nd Avenue/Le Jeune Road from Northwest 11th Street to Northwest 14th
Street as "Oswaldo Paya Way", urging the City to approve such codesignation, and approving
such codesignation; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 2-33(f) of the City Code, the City Commission,
by a majority vote, hereby deems this Resolution to be of an emergency nature;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are
adopted by reference and incorporated as if fully set forth in this section.
Section 2. The Miami City Commission declares no objection and supports the co -
designation by the Florida Legislature, pursuant to Senate Bill 160 (2022) designating that
portion of State Road 953/Northwest 42nd Avenue/Le Jeune Road between Northwest 11th
Street and Northwest 14th Street, Miami, Florida, as "Oswaldo Paya Way".
Section 3. The City Clerk is directed to transmit a copy of this Resolution to the Florida
Department of Transportation, District Six, for sign installation within the newly co -designated
roadways.
Section 4. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS:
ndez, City Attor ey 5/19/2022