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 Doral's
children will soon have a place to play. Doral's adults will
soon have a place to relax. But Doral's community leadership
isn't ready to rest quite yet.
Pictured (left to right starting second from left) Miami-Dade Interim
Director of Parks and Recreation Ana Garcia, Doral Community Council
Member Carolyn Casserta, WDFHA Vice President Jesse Jones, Miami-Dade
Commissioner District 12 Miriam Alonso, SOUTHCOM Advisor Michael
Rhodes, WDFHA President Morgan Levy, Doral Community Council Member
Max Salvador, and WDFHA Treasurer Rolando Oses.
While the groundbreaking of Miami West Park, Doral's
first, seemingly marked the end of a lengthy struggle and a victory
for the citizens of Doral, the majority of community leaders saw the
event as a beginning rather than a culmination.
"It's wonderful to see success stories like
this," said Miami-Dade County Commissioner district 12 Miriam
Alonso, who attended the event. "We've worked so hard to make it
a reality, but there is still a long road ahead."
Doral Community Council Member Max Salvador added,
"It's nice that this event, the groundbreaking, is finally here,
but we still have work to do to get to the point where we can actually
enjoy the facility. I commend Commissioner Alonso for her efforts to
make this a reality--her personal intensity is something I admire
about her a great deal, and I know we can count on her to keep the
pressure on until the parks are completed."
Jesse Jones, co-chair of the West Dade Federation of
Homeowner Associations (WDFHA) parks committee and vice president of
the organization, took a measure of satisfaction from the event but
mostly hoped to keep the ball rolling.
"I've worked as co-chair for the West Dade
federation with Miriam on this for a long time," he said, "
and I am very pleased that construction has started. But at the same
time, I have every hope that the other two parks--Doral Meadows and
Doral Park--will meet their current timetables for construction as
promised by the parks department and Lennar."
WDFHA President Morgan Levy was also happy about the
occasion, but indicated he believed it was critical to now finish what
had been begun.
"This park is six or seven years long
overdue," he said. "I sincerely hope this won't be another
disappointment to the residents of the area who want a totally
built-out park fully supervised that provides recreational
opportunities for the children and adults of this community."
However, Elisa Newsome, a spokesperson for the parks
department, moved quickly to dispel that pessimism.
"We are extremely excited about the park,"
she said, "as it should provide a great service to the area.
There are 200,000 residents that park will serve, both in Doral and in
the surrounding communities, and another 72,000 employees in the area
that should utilize it as well. We are very excited about the park
because a great potential for its use is there."
The park will be largely a "passive" one and
will include access roads and a lighted parking lot, picnic shelters,
bathrooms, and an activity center. The roads and parking lot will be
funded through impact fees, about $650,000 worth, while the rest of
the park's amenities will be funded through a $2.3 million Safe
Neighborhood Parks Bond program.
The first part of the project is supposed to be
completed in December but Newsome couldn't say for certain when the
second part would be finished.
"It is an asset to the community that we welcome
very gladly," said WDFHA Treasurer Rolando Oses.
Alonso, along with Levy and Jones, was widely
acknowledged for making the park a reality, and was praised by Michael
Rhodes, the advisor on installation and quality of life affairs for
the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), for her contributions. Rhodes even
made a special presentation to the commissioner during the ceremony to
show the gratitude that SOUTHCOM, which is headquartered adjacent to
the site, felt as a result of her efforts.
"Each commander has a coin," he explained,
"that is a symbol of excellence and it is given as a token of
great appreciation. It is a very coveted thing in military circles to
receive such a coin and our commander, who knew of the great effort
Commissioner Alonso put into the park, felt that it was certainly
keeping with the tradition to present her with one of his coins. Given
the hard work and support the commissioner lent to the project, he
felt that it was more than justified."
The commissioner herself, who in a interview following
ceremony movingly related her own childhood memories of time spent
with her grandmother in local parks, stressed that this wouldn't be
the last such event in Doral.
She said that even now she was pushing forward to
finalize both the Doral Park project and the on-again-off-again Doral
Meadows Park.
"Doral Meadows will be moving forward very
soon," she said, "and I am not going to tolerate any more
delays. I am very anxious to have it completed, and very confident
that it will be done before the end of the year."
Jones added, "I am currently involved with the
parks department and Lennar on problems we face with the construction
of those parks. I will continue to pursue aggressively the solutions
to the problems effecting the outcome of those parks with both
parties."
Newsome confirmed that the groundbreaking for Doral
Meadows should begin in early September, and that the park would
include ball fields, irrigation and a parking lot.
However, Alonso also made it very clear that the blame
for the delays at that site lay squarely on Lennar, who provided the
land but also apparently dumped debris on the site.
"They have lied to the community and lied to the
county," she said, "and they have a moral responsibility to
fix their mistakes. I have told Lennar to expedite the process and do
what they were supposed to do long ago or suffer the consequences. I
want results!"
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