Forget the quarry blasting in Western Miami-Dade--it was the recent announcement by the State Department of Juvenile Justice that they would attempt to build a Juvenile Detention Center in the heart of Doral that shook the community to its very core.

The site is located behind the new Miami-Dade Fire Rescue offices, at NW 97 Avenue and NW 33 Street, and is nearly adjacent to the proposed Miami West Park.

State agencies are allowed to claim any land the state plans to put it up for sale, and the Juvenile Justice Department did just that.

Deputy Secretary, Department of Juvenile Justice Francisco Alarcon said that the Doral site, a maximum security detention center, would house female offenders and was "desperately needed".

"They are the fastest growing segment of the juvenile justice system, and we have very limited resources with which to house them," he said.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue announced their opposition to the detention center, which would be located immediately behind them. They argued that it would not only be inappropriate for Doral but also could threaten Miami-Dade County's Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which will be based at the same location.

Fire Rescue also expressed their interest in the site as a potential training center (should the proposal for the detention center not succeed), a plan met by mixed reactions within the community.
However, opposition to the juvenile justice facility gathered swiftly; even while the governor's office deferred comment on the issue until they could better assess the situation, other local, state, and even national political figures and groups rushed to denounce the plan.

Amongst that number were Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, State Senator Mario Diaz-Balart, Representative Alex Villalobos, and the West Dade Federation of Homeowners Associations (WDFHA).

Morgan Levy, president of the WDFHA, rushed to Tallahassee to contest the issue before the cabinet aides during their March 22 meeting and as a result of the pressure of the WDFHA and their allies, they decided to defer judgement on the issue until a later date.

Levy said that the West Dade Federation was unconditionally opposed to the detention center being built in Doral, and was still considering the Fire Rescue training facility.

He said, "We've been talking to Fire Rescue for some time now, and our major concern is that they're planning on training people from outside of the county as well, which might increase the tax burden on Miami-Dade citizens."

WDFHA Vice President Jesse Jones said, "It (the training center) has to be revenue-neutral."

As for the detention center, Levy did say that the WDFHA would be willing to help the department find another suitable locale should they renounce their claim to the Doral property.

Levy explained, "I sat down with Francisco Alarcon, and Robert Sechen (attorney for the Department of Juvenile Justice), and explained to them that we managed to keep the INS from relocating here. That was another project unsuitable for this community, but as a part of that agreement we are still helping them find an alternate site, and that we would be willing to do the same for them."

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department Fire Chief Robert D. Paulison agreed and said, "We worked with Doral on convincing the INS that Doral was not a good site, particularly since they would have been just to the west of us. There are frequently demonstrations at the INS building--and I fully support the right of citizens to demonstrate, it's an important part of our society--but it's not appropriate for that to potentially occur right next to our office, which would house the EOC. We oppose the detention center for similar reasons; it's just not a good place for that type of facility."

One of the lynchpins in the success of the INS negotiations was the unwillingness of Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart to allocate funds for the construction of the facility.

Representative Alex Villalobos, who represents Doral in the state house, is in a position relative to the juvenile detention center similar to that which Diaz-Balart was with the INS--he chairs the appropriations committee that would allocate the funds for the center.

Villalobos is unconditionally opposed to the facility, a view he made clear in an interview with the Tribune.

"To build a center of this nature," he explained, "in the heart of a residential community like Doral is ridiculous. It makes no sense whatsoever to stir up a community by threatening to build it in the heart of that community when there is so much land, more appropriate land, available elsewhere."

And Villalobos said in no uncertain terms that he would use his clout, his position as chairman of the criminal justice appropriations committee, to keep this center from reaching fruition.

He explained, "If they decide to continue with this plan, well, I do write their budget. I fund their projects, and I'm not going to pay for it."

In the grand scheme of things, he said, "the department works for the community, not the other way around, and should respect the wishes of the community that employs them. There is no need for this in a residential area; build it somewhere else. It is the same argument I made with the sexual predator facility they tried to build here--if you build it in Doral, it will have to be for free, because there won't be any funding for it."

Alarcon said when reached for comment by the Tribune that while he was receptive to the concerns of the community, there was a need to look at the "big picture" as well.

"Since its creation five years ago," he explained, "the department (of juvenile justice) has grown tremendously. It was created out of the hue and cry of the public to do something about juvenile crime."

Furthermore, he said, "despite the fact that we have 8,000 beds for juvenile offenders, we still have waiting lists, and we can't just build centers where its convenient, but where they're needed."

Northwest Miami-Dade, he said, desperately needed its own detention center, because it was too difficult and costly to send them elsewhere, and that a large percentage of the state's juvenile offenders are from that area.

But he also stressed that juvenile justice would be more than happy to work with the community in finding other options.

Alarcon said, "We scoured South Florida, looking for land that the state already owned; that's got to be our first option. And while we're looking at this site seriously, it's our first option, it's not our only option. We hope that the community can help us find other alternatives that everyone can be happy with."

But if another alternative can't be found, he said, "I believe it's possible to get a favorable vote--our need is at least as great if not greater than anyone else that wants that site. I believe we would have a favorable vote."

As for Villalobo's assertion that he wouldn't fund the site, Alarcon said, "The representative has to do what he thinks is appropriate in order to best represent his community--I wouldn't hold it against him."

But, he added, if the center does move into Doral, they, "want to be good neighbors. Wherever we've been located, we've been good neighbors--and if you ask leaders from those communities, they'll confirm that."

"For example," Alarcon continued, "we could start a landscaping program under supervision of security officers and maintain local parks for the community. Something like that isn't threatening or taking away from the community, rather it adds to it. It can be a mutually beneficial situation--with proper screening and proper supervision, these young people can learn an important skills and give back to the community."

Rosalie Neff, vice president of the Costa Verde Homeowners Association (a member of the WDFHA), certainly didn't see it that way. She gave Levy a petition signed by 300 Costa Verde residents (there are 354 homes in the community) to take with him to Tallahassee.

She said, "We will assist the West Dade Federation and Morgan wherever we can--we will follow their lead."

Levy, for his part, said that no amount of community service could mitigate the fact that, "the only path to the park for the kids from Costa Verde to the park (Miami West) is down NW 33 Street--the kids shouldn't walk down a busy street like NW 36 Street. If they build that detention center there, those kids would have to walk past fences topped with razor and barbed wire."

Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, whose offices are located just a few miles from the proposed site, was so infuriated about the proposal that he sent a letter to Governor Jeb Bush as soon as he heard the project would be seriously considered.

He said, "I first heard of the possibility of this in October, and I recall that I immediately thought it was being placed in an illogical and impractical site, one that shouldn't have a detention center at all, especially one that would house violent criminals. It was shocking when I first heard, and then when I heard they might go forward with it, I sent the letter to the governor so that it would be stopped in its tracks."

Diaz-Balart dismissed the fact that this is a state issue and not typically something that should concern him.

"I know this is not necessarily seen as a federal issue," Diaz-Balart said, "but its not a matter of jurisdiction here. It's a matter of myself as a concerned citizen lending my voice and position, one which is on loan from the people of this district, to help the community achieve goals like stopping this facility."

The congressman's brother, Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, himself a member of the state house, has also become very involved in opposing the project, even though he doesn't represent Doral personally.

He explained that he got involved because, "these are important issues for everyone; Dade County is Dade County, we are all a part of one community, and I acted in the interest of protecting that community."

Villalobos said, "I spoke to Mario about the issue and he was absolutely of the same opinion: that the center did not belong in Doral."

Villalobos and Diaz-Balart went to the department of juvenile justice after meeting with Levy, and spoke to Alarcon about the issue.

Diaz-Balart said, "We made it clear to Mr. Alarcon that--and he was very nice, pleasant, and receptive to the discussion--that this was not an issue that was going away. We won't be forgetting about it next week. And I think that we have a good track record of not letting things go away that could potentially threaten our community."