FSUMarlins did a great job of reporting this in the comments yesterday, but I wanted to bring it to the front page.
Sarah Talalay will take the helm.
Miami-Dade County Commissioners signed off on a plan Tuesday to split the police and fire patrols at a new Marlins ballpark between the county and city of Miami, but the heated debate could still spell trouble for a ballpark at the Orange Bowl. Armando Aguilar, president of Miami’s Fraternal Order of Police, objected to the plan and several commissioners still have serious reservations about the financing for the $515 million ballpark and $94 million garage, which relies heavily on tourist taxes. Commissioners voted 7-3 for the security plan, with Commissioners Natacha Seijas, Javier Souto and Joe Martinez voting no and Commissioners Katy Sorenson, Rebeca Sosa and Carlos Gimenez absent at the time of the vote. The security plan will be part of the ballpark management agreement, which along with the financing and construction agreements must be in place by July 1, under the terms of the Baseball Stadium Agreement approved in February. --- Gimenez, too, opposes the baseball stadium agreement, over concerns the Marlins’ contribution has been reduced and the funding for infrastructure has not been determined. He and Martinez also expressed concern that there aren’t enough votes on the commission to move the project forward. The agreement reached in February only required a majority vote of commissioners, but subsequent votes on the final agreements require a two-thirds vote of the commissioners present – or nine if all 13 commissioners are in attendance.
Hopefully this is just political posturing and when push comes to shove the county commissioners will come through. If it isn't, we can only afford to lose one more commissioner, that or hope that the ones who plan to vote against the project find something better to do on the day of the vote.