commentary

Apparently there has been around 100k in electrical bills we have paid for Mr Santana since he has been at the CC. When exposed by Mr Dotson, the City Manager said it wouldnt happen again. Does anybody have any record of that continuing? Simple enough to make a FOI request tho. It is also rumored that the gym roof is STILL leaking, even after paying $45,000 for a new one less than a year ago. The contractor has made a few patches since but STILL it leaks. Did we, or did we not pay for a new roof that obviously shouldnt leak. Why havent City officials INSISTED on a new roof that DOESNT leak? Dont we have a contract that specifies that? and DEMANDS that? Or is this another deal WITHOUT a contract? like those at the pool? a handshake and a wink? Why are City officials NOT looking out for the residents best interests? ANY resident who paid for a new roof and didnt get one would DEMAND to get what they paid for! or take them to court for non-performance? Why arent our officials? A copy of the roofing contract would probably clear up a lot of that problem, no? We scrap runoffs to save 30k or so, and throw away 45k on the gym roof, 280k on the bathrooms, 100k for Santana's electricity, lose 200k at the pool for a handful of Springs kids, and almost 400k disappears on the CC addition. How many MORE free handouts to contractors and other special interests can we afford to allow at the taxpayers expense ? How much did we pay for those dugout roofs? Incredibly unbelievable mismanagement at best; fraud and corruption at worst. Help Me Howard is a lawyer, right? Honest outside investigations are needed NOW, before the rest of our money disappears. OR they raise our taxes and fees AGAIN, to cover their butts.

pool numbers distilled

For those who want the numbers condensed down to the basics for the pool: there were about 10,500 in surcharges charged to the individual (30 x 350) swimmers, add 1500 from concessions, 1200 from 2 sesiions for gate fees, and 600 for heet sheets, and you get about 14,000 profits for the private swim teams. That is for ONE MEET, and there have been several this year. The total projected income from Aquatics to the City is 2150 for the ENTIRE YEAR. The private team also saved 2640 in pool rentals that WERENT charged, again profits to the private team, but that was pool rental fees that Springs residents SHOULD have realized. Everyday pool rentals for practice are ANOTHER 40k per year that SHOULD be charged but that residents wind up footing the bill for every year too. In addition, Springs taxpayers paid for additonal staffing and overtime for Sunday so that the private team could make that 14k in profits. Figure 3 or 4 meets a year and that private team (MDAC) makes at least 75 to 80 grand off us a year. Since when is the City in the business of bankrolling private businesses? especially when WE are losing at least 260,000 a year? THIS is good management of our tax dollars? Ridiculous. Preposterous. Absurd. Yet ANOTHER financial fiasco form the City Manager and his assistant, at the expense of the taxpaying residents. We need an outside independent audit done NOW to see what the exact numbers are. We have good estimates, and know this situation reeks, but need the exact figures to realize the extent of these horribly mismanaged and abusive, if not blatantly fraudulent, activities. They have creatively come up with some real concoctions in the past, so lets see how creative they can be THIS time.

annexation issues

As far as anyone can see, VG has done NO due diligence or addressed any of the other issues with annexation, besides talking to some of the owners of some of the possible annexed properties. Talking to several VG residents suggests NO other issues has been revealed or discussed with them in ANY Council session. The dozen or so didnt even know the other issues existed. If VG wants to annex polluted lands, that is up to them. If they want to have NO CONTROL over zoning and what can and cant be put into their lands that is THEIR business. MS has FIVE times their population and has a bigger stake in the proceedings, so if VG doesnt want to do DUE DILIGENCE, that is their choice. We do want, and REQUIRE, due diligence from our City officials before making any decisions. Who decided that VG should get the cream of the crop in those areas between 36th st and 41st street? That is clearly MS area, on the North side of 36th strett. Let VG have area 9.

annexation issues

Any area we might annex without control of the zoning would NOT be in our control and we would be vulnerable to whatever the County wants to allow there. The wants and needs of the County are not always in alignment with the wants and needs of MS. How could we control the QUANTITY and QUALITY of the businesses in the annexed lands if we cant control the zoning? How would we know that we are NOT annexing polluted lands? Does paying the County $338,000 a year for mitigation fees for FOREVER make any sense? Too many questions; too little DUE DILIGENCE done.

pool info needed

Of course its a legitimate question to question ANYBODYs figures, and vice versa. It IS hoped, however, when challenged, one has facts and figures to back up and verify ones claim. Making a grandstand play for the cameras in vain hopes of intimidating residents takes the risk of exposing oneself as a would-be bully when he has NO FACTS or figures to back up and confirm his statements. None were offered then and NONE have been offered since then. Perhaps the City Manager and his assistant are imaginatively preparing those numbers even as we speak! How long do you think it would take any competent Rec Director to put his hands on those figures? Where are the daily logs? Who handles the money? Where are the daily and monthly revenues recorded? Who makes the deposits? Where are the deposit slips kept? How does anybody know how many Springs residents and/or nonresidents actually use the pool every day? How is Springs residency verified? These too, are legitimate questions for the Rec Director. When can we look forward to these answers? Is another Freedom of Information request necessary to obtain this information? The Council instructed the residents to seek information from the City Manager and his assistant before coming to the Council but Mr Gorland has refused to answer pertinent questions when requested. Perhaps the City Manager knows the answers to these questions. We shall see.

commentary

Mr Gorland was acting pretty sure of himself that the residents numbers werent accurate when he confronted a resident in Open Forum, only to be found out later to have NO real numbers to back up his claim. He loses whatever credibility he may have when he does that, but it DID look very authoritative on the video. It is what it is - a grandstand play to the cameras to try to dissuade and discourage residents from asking tough questions of City officials. To the contrary, he embarrassed himself when it was found later that he had NO real basis on which to make that claim, just a vague guess about some possible percentages. When are we going to get a current list of the MDAC swim team and how many Springs kids there are now? If, what Mr Gorland says is true (which IS possible), that it varies from month to month, then a list of verifiable and confirmed kids for the last YEAR or two might give a better idea of the average participation, and this part of this issue can be put to rest. That should be NO problem for the Rec Director, right? When can we expect that information to be released? Soon? EVER?

six degrees of Borgmann

The City is not in the business of using our tax dollars for the benefit of private special interests, be it Santana, the MDAC swim team, OR the parents of a handful of Springs kids. It is shameful and embarrassing enough that hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars disappear on EACH and EVERY City construction project, but now we find out that the City is also providing free money in the form of free pool services to other private entities, again at the expense of the taxpayers. The Finance Dept puts out different numbers regarding revenues 3 and 4 years ago, and apparently has NO IDEA how much in revenues we actually took in... where and when does it end? The connecting thread in all this disarray, disorganization, and disappearing funds- ultimately the bottom-line responsibility - is the City Manager. All of these things are happening on HIS watch, and apparently with his approval and direction. How much arrogance, disorganization, and incompetence, if not corruption, can we put up with? We are being bled dry in several areas of city functions that were intended to put money INTO our coffers and benefit the residents, not private businesses. There are only two constants in all of the these financial fiascos- a City Manager run amuck, and a Council that does NO oversight on him. Both need to be changed, ASAP.

Whats with these adolescent racist comments? Is the junior high out on Thanksgiving break already? They are supposed to be learning something and becoming leaders of the future, not showing their ignorance here. Do you suppose their parents need to know about this?
This is a response to NIGGER comments at the MS.com website blog.

commentary

According to reported City of Miami Springs website figures in the Fiscal Year 2003-04 Water Polo/Aquatics revenue was ZERO; FY 2004-05 was $1872 ($4400 on another page); FY 2005-06 was $1250 ($100 on another page); FY 2006-07 $4200; FY 2007-08 was projected to be $2150. Which of those numbers are the correct ones? Does ANYBODY know? THREE and FOUR years later and they STILL dont know how much revenue we took in? Different and contradicting numbers are NOT unusual with this administration and management team (to use the term loosely), as they are seemingly in a general state of chaos, confusion, and disorganization. Whose on first? Did they forget their original story? This is why we need a complete and thorough audit by an outside independent auditor. These figures are straight from a packet from the City Clerk, a result of a Freedom of Information request. They may have been ADJUSTED in the past couple weeks by City personnel but a THIRD number to consider doesnt add to our confidence in ANY of those numbers! Only a comprehansive forensic audit wll reveal the true numbers. Why are they resisting it so, if they have NOTHING to hide? Those who doubt what the conversation was in Mr Gorlands office need to ask the principals involved. Is Mr. Gorland denying that he ordered DR. Johnson out of his office? Is he denying that he told him to go ask for a Freedom of Information form after refusing to answer Dr Johnsons question? If he is denying it, then one of the participants is NOT telling the truth. The one question Dr Johnson asked him was, "Are you aware of any padding of the admission numbers at the pool?" It was a YES or NO question. Mr Gorland became upset and defensive, saying that he was being attacked because Dr Johnson hated his boss. Dr Johnson DOES hate having his tax dollars disappear by the HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS on a regular basis in EVERY project the City Manager is associated with. The pool is just one more stage where our tax monies disappear, magically, somehow. He doubts he will EVER get used to being ripped off, and believes that most Springs residents are hard-working and honest, and dont like it either.

DERM

It is only at Mr Dotson's insistence that the DERM representative will be coming to address the pollution issues in the areas under consideration for annexation. Nobody else has said a WORD about this concern. NOBODY. The County has said they have cleaned up some of the areas but has NOT said how much more needs to be done. There were some SIGNIFICANTLY polluted areas out there and we need to know how much pollution remains, as it could entail considerable financial risks to us if we annex polluted properties. This is, hopefully, a part of the process of DUE DILIGENCE if the DERM info is accurate and timely. To say that bankrupt businesses that have not been viable or are extinct for the past 20 years are responsible for the cleanups, is preposterous, of course. They went out of business for a reason. Some current or past businesses wont clean up a mess they didnt make, and really shouldnt be held responsible. Others may simply refuse, or dont have the financial means to do a cleanup. Some cleanups have run into the millions of dollars. THEN what do we do? Aerodex has been defunct for over 20 years, likewise Miami Drum. ALL of these issues need to be addressed, discussed and debated before any intelligent decision can be made. The same process needs to happen with mitigation fees, boundaries, FEC, and zoning, not to mention taking a hard look at the basic numbers that the City Manager suggested.

meet mechanics

How do the meets work? Do the individual swimmers pay individually to compete, or does their dues to the swim club handle that? Perhaps the swim team rents the pool and the swimmers pay individually? How are practices usually handled? by the swim team? Reference is made to the teams that actually pay for practice and meets, not MDAC, Columbus, or Reagan HS, because apparently they dont pay anything! NO WONDER we are losing $260,000 a year! WHO is responsible for this incredible lack of management and oversight? Gymbo? Gorland? BOTH?

no clue

Gorland said that Springs residents make up 30-50% of the team, and that the membership varies. A weekly or monthly roster of kids swimming over the past year or two would clear this up immediately. Could it be that he has NO CLUE as to how many Springs kids use our pool for practices? He certainly has NO real numbers! Why do we NOT have a contract with Reagan HS or Columbus? How often do they use our pool facilities and what do they pay for that privilege? Where is THAT money reflected? A complete and thorough audit by an outside independent agency is needed to clear up ALL these questions NOW. Gorland was appointed by Gym, right? Another fiasco.

When Pinocchio said something that wasn’t true his nose grew. For Mayor Bain to say, or even suggest, or imply, that ALL of the gymnasium alternatives have been explored is simply NOT TRUE. I believe the Mayor is being somewhat disingenuous and that he is making a misleading statement with NO basis in fact. Call it what it is.

I am aware that, of the four times Pistorino has been mentioned by the Council, at the Council session August 13, 2007 Mayor Bain agreed with the Council that the gymnasium CAN be refurbished and IS a viable option. If they had reservations at that time it would have brought up, but it wasn’t. Mr. Borgmann stated at that time that Mr. Pistorino had provided the City with “ good starting point because it identifies certain areas of need and provides cost estimates”. That meeting concluded with The Council directing the City Manager to obtain a cost estimate for refurbishing the existing gym.

Instead, the City Manager came back two weeks later with two absurdly low bids for a new structure. The Pistorino report has not been heard of since then. Why not?
If what Mayor Bain wants for the City is ‘something special” and means a totally unnecessary waste of MILLIONS of our tax dollars and possible bankruptcy, this is a sure path to it. Is the Mayor’s ego so large that he would force a new gym upon the residents that we don’t need and can’t afford? Is his need for a “legacy” project overriding what’s left of his common sense? Does he really want the Bain legacy to be one that will be known for a generations to come as the one that mortgaged their future and sold them out? Is it possible he thinks we DON’T KNOW that neither he nor the Council has looked seriously into the merits of the refurbishing alternative at all, and apparently has no intentions of doing so. What is he afraid of?

Due diligence is a detailed and thorough process where ALL the options are carefully scrutinized and examined item by item, weighing the pros and cons, like they did with the Recreation survey, among others. How can they come to a rational and responsible decision without doing that? The Council, led by Mayor Bain, is not even bothering to make an APPEARANCE that they have examined ALL the options!!! What arrogance! He just ignores the Pistorino report like it didn’t exist. He asked for it and then buried it when it didn’t fit his preconceived notions, agenda, and legacy.

Why Mayor Bain? Does he think that can simply make a mental Mayoral proclamation that the Pistorino alternative doesn’t exist as a viable option, without SOME explanation? That would be a distortion of reality, or perhaps a delusion of grandeur. If a report falls on the Mayor's desk and the Mayor ignores it, is it still a report?

If he thinks its not a viable option he should go on record in a workshop as to his objections. The workshop should explore ALL the pros and cons of, at least, this report, in detail. Afterward, a comparison could be made with the other, much more costly, proposals and hopefully, a rational and reasonable decision made. There IS no local groundswell for this new gym project, except the vendors and contractors who will make BIG bucks.

The Mayor claims he always does what is in the best interest of the residents. I respectfully disagree. A new gym is NOT in our best interests. A completely refurbished gym in like-new condition THAT WE CAN AFFORD is in our best interests. We are in a time of diminished tax revenues, daily dropping property values, large job layoffs, cutbacks on services, and overall ever-deepening economic recession. NONE of that suggests that we should take on a significantly larger debt load because we won’t be able to pay it back, unless they raise our taxes considerably. WE will be paying for THEIR mistakes, AGAIN. WHAT are they thinking?

If you believe the city’s laughable lowball bids of around six million will be anywhere near the final cost just look at their recent construction history. The Country Club project started at $150,000 and ended up very close to triple that figure. The current bathroom project currently is also triple the usual and customary construction costs and they aren’t even finished yet. The flood plain elevation could be done in one day for less than $5,000; instead we paid $38,500, which is SEVEN TIMES what it should have cost. When you add in the $33,000 we paid to hook up the sewers, a $5000 job (at 8 dollars a linear foot and SIX TIMES THE COST), its just one financial Black Hole after another. Two bathrooms cost over 414k.

This Council, Mayor, and City Manager can’t build a BATHROOM for less than TRIPLE the normal costs, why would we think that they could build a 35,000 foot gymnasium and attached structures for anything less? Millions of our hard-earned tax dollars will disappear this time, as opposed to HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS before.

To allow this travesty would be an act of Mayoral, Council, and community insanity.
For Mayor Bain to state, or even suggest or imply, that ALL the options have been explored, in open Council session, is so patently false, fictitious, absurd, and so lacking in credibility that it makes me wonder WHAT he was thinking at the time, if anything.

Earth to Mayor: The Pistorino alternative has NEVER, EVER been examined at any time in any detail. Willfully denying its existence by ignoring it will not make it go away or disappear. The people have a right to know where their taxes are going, and why.

If you are thinking the Mayor’s steadfast refusal sounds incredibly hard, if not impossible, to believe, you are right. How can we trust them? Has he somehow wished the report into nonexistence by ignoring it? Has he magically made it disappear? If the Mayor (King?) decrees Pistorino is not an alternative it is so (?), and he somehow doesn’t have to explain to anybody how or why he came to that decision. This is democracy in action???? How so? Debate and discussion are the foundations of our democracy and THE AMERICAN WAY!!

The Mayor has leaned heavily in the past on his political slogan, “I will listen”, but has obviously stopped listening to the people, his own consultants, and the financial realities of life in a deepening recession in Miami Springs, the state, and the US of A. The nose knows, and this idea stinks.

When Pinocchio started telling the truth again his nose stopped growing.

oversight overdue

Watch the Comcast video. Dotson is the only one pressing the City Manager for figures on the pool. He is also the only one asking pertinent questions about the police retirement fund loss of 4 million and shortage, which the City could have to make up for down the line. He takes his job to oversee the activities of the City and the City Manager seriously, and is usually the only one fully prepared. Human, and not perfect, but far and away the pick of the litter. Let those without sin cast the first stone.

pool info needed

A Freedom of Information request was made a couple days ago requesting a copy of the new Rec Directors application. Another FOI request was made today for a record of all the revenues derived from special events ie meets, etc., and swim team practices,for the past 3 years. The last FOI so far has to do with the weekly or monthly records of pool admissions and the resultant revenues for the past 5 years. Lets see how long it takes them to respond and what the numbers are. The City Clerk is NOT aware of ANY contracts associated with pool activities. A resident asked the Asst City manager today in his office if the Asst City Manager was aware of any fabricating or padding of admission numbers at the pool. The Asst city Manager refused to answer and ordered the resident out of his office, saying that the resident will have to make a FOI request for any pool information. It was a simple YES or NO question and is peculiar in that just last night Mr Gorland directed the same resident to come to him with any questions he may have about the pool or Rec Center. When the resident agrees to his request and follows thru, he is ordered out of his office. Some alternative honest reponses might have been, "NO". "YES", "No but I will seriously look into it and let you know what we find"; "YES, it has been a problem in the past but we have resolved it, and THIS IS HOW we did it"; or "I have no idea what you are talking about". None of those possibilities happened. If somebody was making up numbers or stealing money by not reporting admissions in MY business, I would want to know it, and I think most honest businessmen would want to know too. Why do our City officials NOT want to know? There is no reason to suspect any of the lifeguards at the present time but it WOULD have to be somebody who handles the monies on a regular basis.

pool audit needed

Hmmmm. Civil disobediance as a tool for change. Very interesting. Hmmm. Anybody fabricating numbers would be guilty of fraud, right? If the Rec Director was aware of numbers being fabricated and did nothing to stop it, he would be an accessory, right? If he ORDERED the numbers fabricated he would be guilty of fraud himself, right? The same would apply if the City Manager was involved in fabricating nunbers, right? We need some ex pool employess to shed some light on this topic, no? A complete and thorough outside independent audit for the past 5 years or so would answer ALL these questions.

laughable management

Mr Gorland said that the resident's numbers about how many Springs kids participate on the swim team were inaccurate. The resident acknowledged that other numbers were POSSIBLE. When confronted to present those different numbers Mr Gorland produced NOTHING. NADA. ZIP. The original numbers of 6 Springs residents on the swim team will stand until other validated, accurate numbers are presented. Action talks, BS walks. If the numbers reflecting how many people are utilizing our pool are inflated and fabricated, at least they will be reflected in the admission revenues, right? What ARE those revenue numbers? The projected revenues from water polo and Aquatics this fiscal year are $2150. Double or triple that amount was taken in just this past weekend, no? What DID we charge for that meet? Sixteen rental hours time $165 per hour = $2640, no? After over THIRTY years with a pool and hundreds of meets and special events, NOT counting several hundreds and perhaps thousands of practice sessions, Mr Gorland says we dont really KNOW how many people use our pool? He told Mr Dotson they are only NOW trying to put something in place that will allow them to know those figures? Incredible. It really IS unbelieveable! Over the past thirty-plus years NOTHING has been done? How can THAT be? IF THATS not poor management I dont know what is! They dont even KNOW how many people use their services, how many are really residents, OR how much money was collected! They have NO contracts with these private organizations either, refuse to reveal how much was charged for each individual meet, OR swim practices. How do you spell incredibly, stupendously, horribly POOR management, at best, if not corrupt. He who laughs last, laughs best.

bad business and management

What are the chances that those who are NOT concerned that 13,000 residents pay taxes so that a half dozen or so kids can swim, are the parents of those kids? or affiliated with the private MDAC swim team we somehow support? IF there are NUMEROUS organizations and individuals who utilize the pool those revenues should be reflected somewhere. Where is that revenue reflected? Where is the revenues from last weekends meet reflected? Is a Freedom of Information request necessary? What are the chances this closing the pool issue could be put on the ballot with the annexation issue? Let the people vote. Losing hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to indulge a few is just bad business, and bad management, especially in an ever-deepening recession. Its a luxury we can no longer afford. To lose those hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars so that a private organization can profit, is HIGHLY questionable at the very least! WE are losing money while they profit? Incredibly poor management of our tax dollars, at the very least. At worst.... well, you decide if it sounds like corruption and/or kickbacks for yourself.

steel recycling benefits

By the staff of
Earth911
Updated: 6/5/2008 2:50:01 PM

Steel is a part of many curbside collection programs, primarily to accept steel cans used for anything from coffee to soup to pet food. Here are some of the important reasons to recycle steel:

Steel cans are so abundant in our daily life that you probably go through one every day
Steel is the building material of choice for most construction projects because of its strength and durability
Because steel is a metal, in can be easily separated from other recyclables (e.g. paper, glass) using magnets
Steel recycling saves landfill space as well as provides a scrap resource to the steel industry
Recycling steel prevents the need to mine for additional iron and coal, the primary ingredients to make new steel
Producing new steel takes valuable non-renewable energy, which is conserved when steel is made from recycled steel
Steel is a key component of car parts and household appliances, and recycled steel has the same strength as new steel when used in these devices
Unlike other materials (paper, glass), steel does not have to be separated by color or size before it is recycled; it can all be melted down at once
Steel containers have the versatility to hold a variety of products, from food to paint to shoe polish, and they simply need to be rinsed before they are ready to recycle
Steel containers are usually comprised entirely of steel, meaning that the entire container can be put in with your steel recycling (including caps and lids)

steel recycling

By the staff of
Earth911
Updated: 6/5/2008 2:47:46 PM

Each year, North America recycles more steel than aluminum, glass, paper and plastic combined
Americans use 100 million steel cans every day
The steel industry has been recycling for over 150 years
The steel industry’s largest source of raw material is scrap metal, which is commonly collected by recycling steel
Recycling steel saves 75 percent of the energy that would be used to create steel from raw materials, enough to power 18 million homes
Over 65 percent of the steel produced in the U.S. is recycled into new steel every year
A ton of recycled steel saves 2500 pounds of iron ore, 1400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone, since they are the raw materials for making new steel
A steel frame for a 2,000 square-foot two-story house is equivalent to the material of about six recycled cars; a comparable wooden frame would take over 40 trees to produce
A typical household appliance (also known as a "white good") is produced using approximately 65 percent steel
Steel cans contain at least 25 percent recycled steel, with many nearly 100 percent recycled content

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), approximately 35 percent of the municipal solid waste stream (MSW) is made up of paper and paperboard products. Paper makes up the largest portion of the municipal waste stream, and also one of the most recovered materials. Recycling produces numerous direct and indirect benefits:

Conserves resources
Prevents emissions of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants
Saves energy
Supplies valuable raw materials to industry
Creates jobs
Stimulates the growth of greener technologies
Reduces the need for new landfills and incinerators
Source: U.S. EPA
According to a 2005 AF&PA Community Survey, 254 million people (86 percent of the U.S.) have access to some form of community paper/paperboard recycling, either through curbside collection or drop-off programs.

An impressive 53.4 percent of the paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling in 2006. In fact, if measured by weight, more paper is recovered for recycling than all glass, plastic and aluminum combined. Not yet satisfied, the American Forest & Paper Association has set a goal of 55 percent recovery by the year 2012. It will take your help to get there.

Earth911

paper recycling

In 2006, the amount of paper recovered for recycling averaged 357 pounds for each man, woman, and child in the United States
Every ton of paper recycled saves more than 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
By 2012, the paper industry’s goal is to recover 55 percent of all the paper Americans consume for recycling, which is approximately 55 million tons of paper
More than 37 percent of the fiber used to make new paper products in the United States comes from recycled sources
86 percent (approximately 254 million) of Americans have access to curbside or drop-off paper recycling programs
Earth911

aluminum recycling benefits

Aluminum can recycling provides many environmental, economic and community benefits to individuals, communities, organizations, companies and industries.

Environmental Benefits

Recycling aluminum cans saves precious natural resources, energy, time and money.
Aluminum cans are unique in that in 60 days a can is recycled, turned into a new can and back on store shelves.
Aluminum is a sustainable metal and can be recycled over and over again.
In 2003, 54 billion cans were recycled, saving the energy equivalent of 15 million barrels of crude oil—America's entire gas consumption for one day.
Economic Benefits

The aluminum can is the most valuable container to recycle and is the most recycled consumer product in the U.S. today.
Each year, the aluminum industry pays out over $800 million dollars for empty aluminum cans — that's a lot of money that can go to organizations, like Habitat for Humanity, the Boy or Girl Scouts of America or even a local school. Money earned from recycling cans helps people help themselves and their communities. Recycling helps build new homes, pays for a group trip, supports a project or buys a lunch!
Today it is cheaper, faster and more energy-efficient to recycle aluminum than ever before. The aluminum can is 100 percent recyclable and can be recycled indefinitely. The can remains the most recyclable of all materials.
Other types of aluminum, such as siding, gutters, car components, storm window frames, and lawn furniture can also be recycled.
Aluminum has a high market value and continues to provide an economic incentive to recycle. When aluminum cans are recycled curbside, they help pay for community services.
Community Benefits

Aluminum can recycling enables charitable organizations and groups to earn funds to further local projects. The money earned enhances programs, communities and improves the quality of people's lives. From a local can drive to raise money for school improvements, to a Boy or Girl Scout troop Cans Into Cash competition to pay for camp, recycling is used all over the country to help others.
A perfect example of this is the Cans for Habitat program. Through a national partnership between the Aluminum Association and Habitat for Humanity International, aluminum cans are recycled via a network of drop-off locations to raise money for Habitat for Humanity to build decent, affordable housing with low-income families. To think, just by recycling a can once destined for the landfill, you are keeping our local environment clean, providing a needed resource for the aluminum recycling process, and most importantly, helping provide local housing to those in need. It's a win-win for the individual, community, business, industry and the environment.
Source: The Aluminum Association and Earth911

aluminum recycling facts

Discovered in the 1820s, aluminum is the most abundant metal on earth.
Over 50 percent of the aluminum cans produced are recycled.
A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days.
Aluminum is a durable and sustainable metal: 2/3 of the aluminum ever produced is in use today.
Every minute of everyday, an average of 113,204 aluminum cans are recycled.
Making new aluminum cans from used cans takes 95 percent less energy and 20 recycled cans can be made with the energy needed to produce one can using virgin ore.
Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for almost four hours or run your television for three hours.
Tossing away an aluminum can wastes as much energy as pouring out half of that can’s volume of gasoline.
In 1972, it took about 22 empty, aluminum cans to weigh one pound. Due to advanced technology to use less material and increase durability of aluminum cans, in 2002 it takes about 34 empty aluminum cans to weigh one pound.
The average employee consumes 2.5 beverages a day while at work.
The empty aluminum can is worth about one cent.

a revelation

It was quite surprising to see the Assistant City Manager dispute strongly figures presented at Open Forum by a resident. It was even MORE surprising later, when asked for figures he considers accurate, he had NO figures of his own to dispute with, just a vague range of possible percentages. He twice repeated that it was NOT his job to produce numbers he believes to be accurate when requested by residents. That IS amazing. Astounding. What IS his job when he is requested to produce numbers he believes to be accurate? Especially after protesting the numbers presented earlier so strongly, wouldnt you think he would have some reliable and validated figures to back up his position? NADA. NOTHING. ZIP. He loses credibility if he has no credible and validated numbers to back up his strong protest, no? Accurate figures are always welcome, IF they are reliable and can be validated by other sources. If a City official believes it is NOT his job to give accurate figures upon request, we can only surmise that he DOES believe its his job to NOT reveal accurate numbers OR to reveal only numbers he KNOWS to be inaccurate. Which is it?

pool audit needed

It is interesting how we rent to Doral, who then turns around and rents to Goulds to host a meet. Why dont we just rent directly to Goulds? Why do we need Doral as the middle man? Does Doral charge the same fee to Goulds that we charged them? Or do they charge a fee for brokering the deal? The numbers of verified Springs kids on the swim team would have to be examined over a couple past years to be able to average out the ebb and flow of those numbers and get an accurate figure. That information should be easily available to the Rec Director, no? Having swim meets at our pool could be a good thing IF they bring in additional revenues to help defray the costs, but NOT if they only benefit private enterprises and add to OUR debt.

save 200k ?

Mr Gorland is on record, as of last nights meeting, saying that the quoted numbers of 6 Springs kids on the swim team and using our pool, is erroneous. He reports that at times in the past the number was in single digits, but is NOT currently. He says the number of Springs swimmers vacillates between 30% and 50% of the swim team, but couldnt, or wouldnt, give an accurate current number. Gym said tonight that if the swim team leaves to another pool we will get to host NO more meets. That is hard to understand and believe, as this past weekends meet was hosted by a team from Goulds, via a contract with Doral swim team. We can rent our facilities out to anyone who wants them. No problem. While it may be true that, if we close the pool down from Sept-May, we will not be able to rent it for any meets, we arent realizing any revenue from having these meets anyway, so its not a big loss. What revenue did we make from this past weekends meet? The GMAC two weeks before that? We need to at least break even. If we cant do that we should shut it down and save 200k per year. As soon as Mr Gorland provides accurate numbers and the supporting data it will be duly noted here. There was NO reply to a request to produce a contract for anything at the pool.

accurate figures not City's job

If there were erroneous numbers being circulated about the performance, or lack of same, by City officials, wouldnt you think they would be the first ones to set the record straight? When questioned regarding those supposed erroneous numbers City officials refuse to give any numbers they believe to be correct, saying its not their job to provide residents with numbers they believe to be accurate!?? Does that mean they are ONLY to give residents numbers they know ARENT true? How does that work? Could it be that they just DONT have any other numbers to contradict the numbers presented? If they DID, they would have presented them long ago. Most people can believe accurate numbers that have facts to back them up - the truth shall set you free!

need Dotson duplicated

There are several people in the community who want, need, and have come to expect Mr Dotson to stand up for them against the ineptitude, egos, personal agendas, ambitions, and/or corruption going on in our town. He has gladly, selflessly, and willingly taken up the regular resident's battles on numerous occasions and spoken for them, becoming the people's champion in the process. Perhaps he has set the bar too high, as even batting champs strike out sometimes. He HAS listened. A review of the Council video tapes for the past year or two will testify to that. MORE like Dotson is what we need.

free electricity

A local electrician who knows says there are three meters. One is designated for the Pro shop, one is dedicated for Santana, and the other was also for Santana, until Paul sniffed it out and exposed it. Those electrical costs to us for Santana were over 100k in total and had been going on for years. When confronted in Council session the City Manager said that it wont happen again. Nobody else on the Council said a word. NOT ONE.

Dotson savings

I dont see how you can say Dotson failed to deliver. While he probably should have taken a stronger stand in the vote of confidence, all of those 4-1 votes will come back to haunt those political hacks in April. They are on record how they voted, and who was opposed. That is all he could do, at the time - oppose the spending sprees, wastefulness, poor mamangement, etc. What more were you expecting him to do? Dotson pointed out during the budget process that we were paying Santanas electricity bills, and the City Manager admitted that we were- but said we will NOT do it again. Those bills alone were costing us over 100k, and Dotson got them stopped by looking at the details, doing his homework, and providing the oversight that the Council is SUPPOSED to provide. Nobody else even asked a question about it, did they?

Gymbos giveaways

I have know Paul Dotson for years as found him to be an honest and smart guy with a LOT of experience and common sense. He has brought up several times in the past the City Managers secrecy and lack of transparency, horrible construction performance, misleading statements, and failure to respond in a timely fashion to requests by residents, and himself. All of that SHOULD have been duly noted at that time- agreed. The good things Gym has accomplished should also have been noted at that time, like..... uh... well.. it only took TWO YEARS to get the bathrooms built, and uh.... the only cost TRIPLE what they should have cost.... and.. we finally DID get water, sewer, and electric connections to those bathrooms! Yeah ! Hooray for Gym!!! And at only 300% to 400% more than they usually cost anybody else!! To those naysayers out there who say he is a horrible and deceptive manager and control freak I say, take that! Yes, Gymbo gets things done! And he has NEVER quibbled about paying several hundred thousand EXTRA dollars in the process to GET them done! Git 'er done, Gymbo! Unemployment at a 14 yr high? Gymbo helps reduce that number by hiring his high school buddy for 100K! What a guy! Naysayers may say that everyone else in the country is REDUCING their payrolls, and only if absolutely necessary, hiring people with real qualifications and experience, but not Gym! Those details do NOT stand in HIS way! He stands resolute against the economic facts and figures that might concern the average guy. He discerned early on that, if we are going to be able to pay for all the legacy projects the Council would like to have, our taxes and fees were WAY too low, and recommended that they be raised. Yep, Gymbo DOES get things done.

Dotson defended

Is the person suggesting that Mr Dotson hasnt made any changes under the impression that one vote carries more weight than the rest of the Council? That misconception would be patently ridiculous of course, as it has NO basis in reality. He has been the lone dissenting vote on numerous issues and the voice of reason in a sea of insanity. He is the only Council member who is fully prepared for a Council session and asks the tough questions that SHOULD be asked, if they were actually exercising their obligation to oversee the City Manager. He asked DOZENS of hard questions during the budget process and was the only one doing so. He was closely involved in two of the Rec Center taping and firing issues, all of his Board appointments are filled and have been since taking office, and he has NO personal agendas to fulfill. Billy is focused on his legacy gym project, at ANY cost; Best wants a theater named after him; Youngs wants annexatation as HIS legacy; and Garcia wants to repay his backers, no matter what it costs us. The only one WITHOUT a personal agenda is Paul Dotson, but he cant do it without help. Some of his contributions to our community have been posted several times in the past week by several different posters. Respond to those posts if you want, with some facts if you have them. If you have no facts, just baseless biased opinions, maybe you should calm down, and learn something. When anybody just states their prejudied opinions and give no factual basis for them, ignoring logical explanations and facts offered, and continues insisting they are right, it sounds a LOT like the City Manager's method of operations.

curiosities

Wonder how many of those 1371 residents who wanted to vote on annexation, want to vote on the new gym? Wonder how many of them will remember next April and be unhappy that they havent had a chance to vote on the new gym? Mr Dotson was instrumental in the Rec Center firings a while back and has been the ONLY voice of reason and fiscal responsibility on the Council! Unfortunately, he is only one voice. He needs some assistance and support from others to stop the current Council insanity. In April he will get that help from the people. In these times of ever-deepening recession we need sound fiscal policy and accountability, both of which Mr Dotson can provide in spades. He is an honest and experienced accountant with over thirty years experience, knows numbers, and when they make no sense or are being manipulated. EXACTLY what we need to stop this march FORWARD (?) right over the financial cliff. The Mayor and Council have completely lost touch with the average resident by not listening to them long ago. They STILL have NO response to the economic restrictions that our economic situation demands-they just added a 100k Director, built two bathrooms that cost OVER 400k, and allow the pool to lose 260k a year while private businesses profit, to name a few examples. They just dont care how much of OUR tax money disappears, because its NOT their money thats disappearing! THEY need to disappear before ALL our tax monies are gone. C'mon April!

pool info needed

I too, went to the swim meet and found they had between 320-350 swimmers on Saturday. There were swimmers from Rockway Swim team, Goulds, Hialeah Gardens and various other clubs ie Neptune, etc. The estimate was roughly 750 people if you count the parent and friends. Apparently all were volunteers, so the costs were minimal. It was great seeing all the kids swimming, as its probably THE healthiest sport around. It was NOT financially healthy for the residents of MS tho, as we took a proverbial bath. We do not need to make a huge profit, BUT we shouldnt take a big loss either. We should AT LEAST cover our expenses. What revenue did we take in? Did it cover our expenses? If not, why not? Being a fundraiser for a private swim team should NOT mean we should NOT cover our expenses! Not at THIS meet, or the rest of the year by keeping the pool open for team practice. At the very LEAST we should break even. WHY arent we breaking even? Also a LOT of recyclable plastic bottles and aluminum cans in the garbage-apprently because Mr Gorland is not really concerned with recycling and never told the staff to fill up the available, almost-empty bins in front of the gym. There were easily 20 bags of garbage thrown away yesterday. 80% of garbage is normally recyclable- was that just an oversight? or a total lack of concern about recycling? There are several meets in Broward and Palm Beach that recycle, why not us? When will City officials become aware of the environment and the effects of recycling? EVER?