HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubmittal-Shawn Beightol-Letter and Photos RE Miami RiverA Call for Funding 24/7 ACTIVE Law Enforcement of The Miami River and Its Access Points
(Parks & Boat Ramps) Submitted into the public
recordorite(
Shawn Beightol (heights@yahoo.com) on � 2S I1 kty rni-rk
First I want to thank commissioners Gort and Russell and Mayor Suarez for taking a personal interest in this topic and
scheduling time for me to bring my concerns to the Commission. I also thank Brett Bibeau and Horacio Aguirre and
other members of the Miami River Commission (past and present), the Miami River Marine Group, the Miami River
Foundation, the home owners groups, the law enforcement (I want to specifically thank Commander Sierra of
Allapattah) and park rangers (thank you Facey) for what you have done and are doing for the river, for Miami, for the
environment, for our industry. It is a monumental task to juggle all the competing demands and you ALL have brought
the river back from its recent era of filth and crime to one where we are actually enjoying it and so is the wildlife again.
It is a tribute to your success with reclaiming and restoring the river that more people feel safe and wish to live and
recreate on the increasingly beautiful river you all have fought for.
History
Like many cities, Miami's history is tied to its liquid soul, the river. Initially a source of drinking water,
transportation, food, waste disposal, and work, Miami has grown up around its river — the Everglades fed river
and adjoining bay are distinctive birthmarks of Miami's unique blend of natural wonders and human recreation
And History runs in cycles.
Miami's earliest citizens knew a pristine waterway with waterfalls and cold fresh springs.
Miamians dredged the river and dynamited the waterfalls. Muck and silt flooded downstream and clogged the
mouth of the river. The City of Miami intervened and dredged the mouth of the river and restored the flow.
The river recovered.
Miami grew and began dumping raw sewage into its waterway, the river — raw sewage covered its surface and
under the hot sun produced noxious odors and was visually offensive until the City of Miami intervened and
redirected the sewage. The river recovered.
Miamians dammed the river and pollution filled the river. Rum runners ran their speed boats up the river with
bootleg alcohol. The City of Miami learned to regulate the dams and flushed the river, hired police and brought
the coast guard in. Gun battles ensued and law and order was restored.
Miamians polluted the river with paint, aircraft maintenance waste, ship bilge water and industrial runoff. Drug
runners ran their boats and ships up the river with narcotics. The City of Miami brought federal assistance in
and dredged the river and arrested the drug runners. The river recovered, law and order was re-established.
Current Situation
Miamians began returning to the river for pleasure and living. Manatees, alligators, porpoises, tarpon, jack,
snook, ospreys also began returning to the river. The City of Miami and Miami -Dade County pursued and
obtained "No Wake" laws on the River and its tributaries in 1987 to protect the increasing personal assets and
lives on the River daily and to protect the endangered manatee when it was recognized the River was a critical
habitat for them.
In 2007, the Miami River Commission called for the marine patrol to increase their patrolling of the river and
enforcement of "no wake" rules. In 2011, a Coast Guard press release stated: "In light of increasing concerns
conveyed by local property owners and marine environmental conservationists, a joint -agency task force
comprised of Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Miami -Dade Police and
City of Miami Police Marine Patrol units will substantially increase law enforcement operations in manatee and
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no -wake zones throughout the Miami area. The increased patrols will ... focus on the Miami River (near Bayside
and Bayfront Park) and ... have a zero tolerance policy regarding failure to obey posted speed zone" And law and
order was re-established.
Yet, on November 6, 2017, River experts, including the "Miami River Marine Group, [reported to the MRC and
FWC] problems of increased recreational vessels violating the idle no wake speed limit, boating under the
influence of alcohol, and illegally docking in the federal navigable channel, causing hazards to navigation for the
shipping vessels under tow in Port Miami River."
We had, once again, a cycle of increasing lawlessness. Unfortunately, the City of Miami's response, through the
MRC, was to print 250 pamphlets and pass a resolution "to increase resources for the Florida Fish and Wildlife,
and City of Miami Marine Patrol, for increased enforcement of public safety and security laws along the Miami
River, considering the increase in vessel traffic on the Miami River with new riverfront restaurants, etc."
And here we are — residents and businesses, 2 years after that resolution, asking you to do more than pass out
250 pamphlets at restaurants, write unenforced laws and ordinances or pass toothless resolutions, but to put
teeth into the resolutions, laws and ordinances by backing financially and directively 24/7 ACTIVE law
enforcement of the River, Miami's Gem that adds value to our commerce, adds value to our aesthetics, adds
value to adjoining properties, adds value to quality of life by way of safe and organized recreational access
points, be they parks, river walks, restaurant vistas, or boat ramps.
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The Good
Wildlife — anecdotal observations are that the wildlife is returning to the river. Boaters are reporting
dolphin/porpoises and manatees. Fishermen on the river are reporting tarpon, jack, sharks, snook.
Sightings of Alligator and possibly crocodiles have been reported.
Ospreys are hunting their fish meals from the river.
A
To the left you see a full grown
manatee and in the middle a
juvenile. You can see from the
adult's back scars that they dont
"get out of the way' of our
pollution and reckless behavior.
o the left you see a dolphin. They frequent the
freshwater river pursuing game/tood all the way up
_.._ t he river to the flood gates.
Property Values — Perhaps a "no Brainer," especially in light of the current residential building boom upon the
banks of the Miami River, but the River adds property value to adjoining properties. A review of property values
both anecdotally and data -wise suggests that the River doubles or triples the value of properties. A 2015 study
by the Florida Realtors group showed that ensuring that the waterfront properties have a quality water
experience increased waterfront property values over non -waterfront property 3-10 fold, adding hundreds of
millions to the property value roll and thusly returning investment of municipalities in maintaining law and order
on the water — higher property values will subsidize through higher tax value the investment this City of Miami
makes in maintaining law and order of the River and waters of the city.
— ik
Recreation — River sports have returned to the Miami River!
Fishing, Canoeing, paddle boarding, kayaking (and, perhaps unlawfully, jet skiers — wake is a function of hull
length. It has been shown that a hull length associated with a typical jet ski produces a wake at speeds greater
than 4 mph) have returned to the river.
Do you think we ever see the day swimming might return?
These are all pictures of the river as a treasure, as a place to live & recrteat'- .
responsibly. We need law & order - increased patroling, increased fundiin
for patroting. enfolrlWernentj rvs+ecut on on existing laws. & better rulesAaw'
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Industry/Jobs — there are people in this room that will tell you better than I can what the latest figures on
commerce are — but I know the numbers are in the hundreds of millions, if not billion, of dollars of commerce
and a proportional amount of tax dollars going in to the City of Miami budget.
Again, there is the return on the investment and you have industry representatives on record telling you to
invest in providing more law and order.
The Bad —
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Submitted into the public
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8-10 passengers, no life jackets visiblein
open craft, possibly unlawful charter, i31 y'.'C Fid
2nd boat dumped at Curtiss Park this summer. This was removed the
day 1 reported it with the Miami Herald present. All of the river is used r
for navigation and thus all vessels abandoned on the river should be __ a
secured with proper preventative measures for owner response.
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The Solutions:
We need a few things from the policy makers (legislators) and rule makers (commissioners). We also need
enforcement of existing policy and rules from law enforcement (Miami Police, Miami Marine Patrol, FWC, Coast
Guard):
1) We need abandoned boats removed immediately. Supposed owners can be notified of where to claim their boat.
Leaving them in the water is irresponsible and a fantasy. The owners do not claim them before environmental damage
and thievery occurs. It is far more cost effective for taxpayers to have a boat trailered or towed to a dry setting than to
have to pay a salvage operation to remove it after it has endangered lives, shipping and shut down taxpayer access to
the boat ramp. City attorney's should review existing laws regarding abandoned vessels & counsel
commissioners to direct Law Enforcement to aggressively use latitude to protect the vessel, our public
waters & access points, & environment
2) Once again, we need funding and authorization for 24 hour supervision of the boat ramp facility: Park Rangers need
to be stationed at the park from sunrise to sunset. Park Rangers need authorization, training, and accountability to
enforce rules/laws. Law enforcement (Miami PD, Marine Patrol, FWC) needs funding, manpower, and direction to
monitor the park after hours.
Suggestion: Build and commit to manning a Marine Patrol Sub -station on the empty lot and seawall at the park.
Rotate duties between FWC, Marine Patrol and USCG for patrolling the river through the day and night. Alternatively,
the newly built swimming pool complex may be able to provide an office to house River Law Enforcement Officers
between patrols ... or one of the many river front government offices (homeland security? DOT? DEA?).
3) The boat park and ramp need to be closed when they are posted closed (Sunset). Cheap chain and locks have
proven ineffective to accomplish the closing of the ramps. I have called 911 multiple times to report people cutting the
locks. Something more effective needs to be in place. Lack of effective enforcement of operational hours breeds
contempt for law and order and is exhibited in the behavior of those utilizing the ramp (see the picture of the after
hours boater "shooting birds" at me when I approached him to slow down on the river).
4) The entire river and its tributaries are no wake zones. Why aren't they marked such? There must be regular (every
couple hundred yards) signage posting the "No Wake" rule.
5) In 1987, the county limited speed to "No Wake" on the river for human safety. At that time Manatee mortality was
also tracked. In 2007, the Miami River Commission called for the marine patrol to increase their patrolling of the river
and enforcement of "no wake" rules, in 2011, a Coast Guard press release stated: "In light of increasing concerns
conveyed by local property owners and marine environmental conservationists, a joint -agency task force comprised of
Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Miami -Dade Police and City of Miami Police
Marine Patrol units will substantially increase law enforcement operations in manatee and no -wake zones throughout
the Miami area. The increased patrols will ... focus on the Miami River (near Bayside and Bayfront Park) and ... have a zero
tolerance policy regarding failure to obey posted speed zone" We need a return and sustained commitment to this
initiative.
6) Currently, access to the boat ramp is often by "might makes right," particularly for returning boats. As aggressive,
rushed individuals return (they often all return at sunset or shortly thereafter, see photos of the chaos), they push past
waiting boats. Fights breakout, threats are made. We need a dockmaster—a trained ranger with a VHF radio to
control boat traffic and ramp traffic.
Suggestion: charge $10-15 for launching/recovery. The parking approach isn't working (see photos), they either ignore
the parking requirement or park on the swale down the road, in our parking lot, or in the condo parking lot next door
that is empty since it is being renovated. Train the park ranger on duty to function as dock master. Require returning
boats to call in on VHF and obtain a position in the ramp sequence. The dock master/park ranger would then call the
boat to let him/her know it is time for them to que up.
Submitted into the public ,
record f�em(s)onCity Clerk
7) It takes 40-45 minutes to go the 3 miles from curtiss park boat ramp to the bay (and the same to return). Jet skiers
do not rent or pay parking to wait 45 minutes ... and they don't. They zoom off down the river. They do the same at
sunset, trying to beat the long line of waiting boats. Many of them come back after dark. Law enforcement needs to
stop them and inspect for lights and noisemakers. "Because jet skis are small and highly maneuverable ... it's often easy
to forget how much wake they can generate. Most jet skis start making a sizable wake at about 4 — 5 mph" see
http://www.smithmountaineagle.com/news/article-9cacfc08-7dc8-11e7-93de-2bd990402ee0.html for more accounts
of PWC and their damaging wakes. We need enforcement of the "No Jetski" rule and inspections of visible unsafe
boats.
8) We need a 24 hour monitored central phone number/email (to send photos) to call in water based violations,
concerns, safety numbers. A recent phone call to the coast guard regarding a dock maintenance worker cutting loose
and sending adrift a section of a floating dock resulted in ... merely a promise of a safety bulletin over the radio (which I
dont even know if it was broadcast). When I called Miami PD, the dispatcher recommended I call ... CODE
ENFORCEMENT?! I was watching the criminal as he released the dock into the river. I watched boats having to navigate
around it to avoid damage. But no one could handle this problem (even the contracted River Clean up boat drove right
past the boat, navigating to get out of its way - see attached picture). Thankfully, Commander Sierra of Allapattah
Miami PD took charge of securing the dangerous obstruction. But no one understood that I was reporting a crime in
progress and a potentially dangerous situation to life and property was being caused. Similar frustrations have occurred
trying to report speeders, unsafe boating practices (see attached photos), dumping of hundreds of gallons of oil, diesel
and gas into the river (I spoke to 4 agencies about a sheen of diesel so thick and dispersed it could be smelled from the
top of 22nd ave bridge from my vehicle and in the apartment and all along the stretch of the river. Days later an
investigator showed up to observe ... long after it had dispersed).
When citizen/tax payers hit informational or actional brick walls, they give up trying to be involved as citizens. This is
exactly opposite of the team work required between public servants and private citizens needed to provide law and
order.
9) Water is a major part of Miami's "landscape"/geography/culture. Lets make water safety and awareness part of
required physical education in the schools. I would be happy to bring the personnel from MDCPS into that
conversation.
10) We need a dumpster and waste management sufficient for the volume of party traffic that comes through the park
on holidays and weekends. Currently, garbage overflows the barrels and leads to additional garbage thrown on ground.
11) We need traffic controls to regulate traffic coming from all over the county to the free boat ramp where they feel
they can park anywhere — speed bumps, cul-de-sacs, and parking enforcement.
To Summarize, basically what I am asking for are:
-The City attorney's review existing laws regarding abandoned vessels & counsel commissioners to direct
Law Enforcement to aggressively use latitude to protect the vessel, our public waters & access points, &
environment.
*The budget prioritize that the river, adjoining parks, and access points be staffed with trained law
enforcement & rangers to enforce existing laws, codes, and regulations.
*The boat ramps implement a fee in addition to parking. Provide appropriate sanitation and traffic
controls.
•The City establish a 24/7 marine emergency number either in addition to or through the Miami River
Commission.
-The City coordinate with MDCPS to initiate a water safety education program (see NASBLA)
Submitted into the public
recor for . em s) ,
on,� 2 1 City Clerk