Bill Johnson, the director of the Port of Miami, characterized environmental groups, two Fisher Island condominium associations and me as “lunatics” for challenging the viability of the port’s deep-dredge plan. Johnson, as a high-ranking public servant, demeans concerned citizens who have raised serious issues with the project’s viability.
This language is not only uncalled for, it also degrades Miami-Dade residents who value the continued health and well-being of Biscayne Bay.
His statement, “Time is money. . . . One thing we cannot do, which is delay the dredge,” shows that money will always trump sound decisions. Biscayne Bay is too important a resource to rush ahead with a project that, if executed with the same disregard for the bay as were the last three dredging projects, will destroy this finite resource.
For the past 13 years, I have known the challenges of executing a project of this size. I have been intimately involved in the planning long before Johnson showed up on the scene. My past positions as a Biscayne Bay Management Committee member, city of Miami Waterfront Board Vice Chairman, Florida Marine Fisheries Commissioner and Biscayne Bay Regional Restoration Coordination Team member place me in a unique position to appreciate the complexities of the issue.
I haven’t taken my commitment to do the right thing for Biscayne Bay lightly.
As a lifelong resident of Miami-Dade County, I have seen many “build it, and they will come” schemes, usually with disastrous results. This time, Johnson will have to wait until the parties involved reach a settlement in the negotiations that begin next month or take his chances with an administrative judge in Tallahassee who has deemed our concerns credible enough to schedule a hearing date.
This time maybe money won’t trump good judgment, especially when the viability and vitality of Biscayne Bay is on the line.
Dan Kipnis, Miami Beach
via miamiherald.com