The Village of Pinecrest is moving forward with its request to be allowed to locate its proposed Village Hall on two acres of Wayside Veterans Park, at So. Dixie Highway and 112th Street, in exchange for creating a new neighborhood park on the two acres on 104th Street, which it has purchased for the proposed Village Hall.

At the March 14 Council meeting, the Village Council approved the purchase of two acres located on 104 Street at 77 Avenue across from the Kendall United Methodist Church. The selection of this site came after three years of searching for a location on So. Dixie Highway that was accessible, suitable in size and affordable, and after the Council had voted not to move forward on two prior contracts. The 104th Street site was centrally located with excellent access, right sized and reasonably priced.

The neighborhood was strongly opposed to this purchase and the many neighbors who spoke before the Council on March 14 expressed both emotional and practical reasons as to why the site was not appropriate. One neighbor asked whether it would be possible to use Wayside Veterans Park as a location. I responded that the County Charter prohibited it ­ but the comment got me thinking that a swap, rather than a purchase, might be acceptable.

Following the meeting, I called County Attorney Bob Ginsburg, who advised that, in fact, the County would not permit the use of the park for Village Hall, but that a swap was possible. Bob Ginsburg explained that the County had already done almost the same thing ­ taken a parcel of land known as the Tamiami North Park, sold it to the Fire Department for a fire station and promised to use the money for park improvements in the neighborhood.

Bob further explained that the exchange proposal would need Parks Department approval, County Commission approval and an affirmative vote at an election of those voters living in precincts within one mile of the park. This is a tall order, but it is not a NO ­ which was good enough for me to move forward.

So I called Vivian Rodriguez, Interim Director of the Miami-Dade County Parks Department, and we had a friendly chat. Ms. Rodriguez was quite familiar with Wayside Park. She understood that, due to the location of the park on So. Dixie Highway, Pinecrest was reluctant to develop the park in a way that attracted children, who might run out into traffic, and that the park was not a restful, peaceful place. I advised that we only wanted to use the north end of the park and still leave a large park area on the south side of the "borrow" pit. I also suggested that a two-acre park on 104th Street with a tot lot and a large open area would be much more useful for the area.

Ms. Rodriguez agreed to request that Howard Gregg, a County Parks Department planner who has worked on Suniland Park for years, be assigned to review our proposal. I mentioned that our 104th Street neighborhood was fully supportive of the proposed park and that, in fact, Pat Kyle, a neighborhood activist, had delivered to Village Hall a petition with more than 100 names in support of the proposed neighborhood park. I agreed to write a letter presenting the proposal, which I did immediately (copy to Commissioner Jimmy Morales).

Howard Gregg telephoned the next day and promised to look at the situation promptly. I believe that our efforts to improve Sunniland Park and to build Pinecrest Park have demonstrated to the Parks Department our commitment to providing recreational opportunities for children in south Dade. We are making progress, but have a long way to go. I will keep you informed on developments and invite you to express your pros and cons on this issue by fax 305-854-8782 or email evelyngreer@greerco.com.