Remarks by Julian Perez

Senior Program Manager and Urban Planner 

The Water Supply Challenge

We need to understand that our water supply will be a major challenge in the near future. It is something that I have been talking about since 1985, when I graduated from the planning department at Florida State. As an advisor to Governor Graham, I was assigned to assist in the development of the “Save our Everglades” initiative. It was then that I realized that water supply was going to be a mayor issue in Florida.  In the 1980s, a lot of us were saying “come and build it – water will never be a problem in South Florida.” Well folks, water is a problem in South Florida, like it or not, it’s a very, very, very serious problem.

Everyone who is here will see an increase in their water bill in the near future.  If you live in Miami-Dade County your bill may double because we have to meet the County’s commitment to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program and address the water and wastewater system improvement projects identified in the County’s Capital Improvement Program. We have to do better at recycling our water.  We have to do better in every aspect of water supply.

Working with Communities to Make Things Happen

Developers need to work very close with local governments. If you work with the elected officials and staff before you start your development project, you are going to save yourself a lot of headaches.  In some communities you think that they will welcome new development, but you are always going to have a small group that will say “no, no.”

There was talk about innovation. It is extremely important. We have to reinvent ourselves constantly so we don’t hurt those who have less. We want to make sure that we bring the economically disadvantaged communities into the decision making process.  We need to create new jobs and training programs for the people living in these communities. We also need to create public-private partnerships in these communities. Communities that are growing and are prosperous make an honest effort to include all their residents in the decision making process.

Infrastructure Issues

We all need to be aware that there is a movement in Congress, that it is very late coming, that calls for the creation of a National Infrastructure Commission. Please follow the development of this Commission. If adopted by Congress, we would probably see state government doing the same thing.  (Note: This could be similar to the Environmental Justice Committee established at USEPA during the early 1990s in response to President’s Clinton Executive Order 12898. As a result, Florida and several other states created Environmental Equity and Justice Commissions.)  If created, the National Infrastructure Commission will be tasked with the evaluation of our nation’s infrastructure needs. The Commission’s report will have to be submitted to Congress by 2010. 

I think that our communities’ success is a reflection of how well our elected officials carry out their duties and commitments. We need to communicate with our elected officials and make sure that we have real plans that reflect the needs of the entire community.  We should not get caught up in the emotions of a few residents that are against progress.

Home insurance are very high.  We need to do something about it, but think about how we address this issue.  This also applies to the real estate tax issue.