South Florida Regional Council to Feature Prominent Speakers at June 6th Board Meeting in Key Largo

HOLLYWOOD, FL – The South Florida Regional Council will hold its June 6, 2016 Council meeting at the Murray E. Nelson Government and Cultural Center at 102050 Overseas Highway in Key Largo at 10:30 a.m.    Featured speakers include Robert Johnson, Director of the South Florida Natural Resources Center/Science Advisor to the Office of Everglades Restoration Initiatives; Kimberley Taplin, Strategic Program Manager and Tribal Liaison at the Jacksonville Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; State Representative Holly Raschein; State Senator Anitere Flores; and Aileen Bouclé, AICP, Executive Director of the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization. 

These speakers will cover a range of topics, including Florida Bay and Everglades Restoration Initiatives; the Florida Keys Stewardship Act; the Florida Senate Review Process related to the Turkey Point Cooling Canal System; and the Miami-Dade MPO Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit Plan (SMART), which features the Dade/Monroe Express providing the southernmost connection to SMART network extending from Monroe to Palm Beach counties. 

The Council will consider numerous action items, including the Downtown Miami DRI Increment III Regional Impact Report and draft Development Order.  Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend.

“The Council is excited to be meeting in Monroe County,” Council Chair Patty Asseff said. “It’s important for the Board to have an opportunity to hear from Monroe County residents, stakeholders and experts about the issues that are important to them and the larger region.  We are looking forward to a great turnout next Monday.”

Monroe County Commissioner David Rice, a member of the council, added: “It is going to be a very broad and very interesting meeting, pertaining to water flow out of Lake Okeechobee and into the Everglades. The bottom line is we need more fresh water in Florida Bay. We understand many years ago the Everglades was plumbed to control flooding. Now we need to replumb the Everglades to both control flooding and protect the environment.”

The Council is a regional public policy and governmental agency created by Interlocal Agreement of Monroe, Miami-Dade and Broward counties and Florida Statute.  Established in 1969, the Council’s mission is to identify the long-term challenges and opportunities facing Southeast Florida and assist in the development and implementation of creative strategies that will result in prosperous, resilient and equitable communities, a healthier and cleaner environment and a more vibrant economy.  Its 19-member board consists of county and municipal elected officials, gubernatorial appointees and ex-officio members representing the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida departments of Transportation, Economic Opportunity and Environmental Protection.     

The Board is governed by a five-member Executive Committee chaired by Asseff, a City of Hollywood Commissioner.  Monroe County is represented by Monroe County Commissioners Rice and George Neugent, City of Key West Commissioner Jimmy Weekley, and Sandra Walters, a gubernatorial appointee and immediate past chair.  Additional information about the Council and its Board can be found at www.sfregionalcouncil.org

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