More parks ahead for our city

By Michael Dipietro
Vice Mayor of Doral In recent conversations with residents, constituents, business owners and even our children who play in our parks, I have been asked the status on the different projects and events going on in our beautiful city. I certainly welcome any and all questions and concerns that you, the reader, may have about any other community activities. If you have any questions about our city , feel free to reach out to me — I’ll always let you know “the way it is.” RECENTLY, we held another fantastic Fourth of July celebration at JC Bermudez Park that included carnival rides and games, live entertainment, raffles, great food and, of course, culminating with our fireworks show.

However, several people asked: “What happened to our city parade?”

With the current economic climate, the City Council decided it was best to consider moving the parade date and venue. We are now in a “documentation mode” to build the new park at NW 33rd Street to be dedicated to veterans who have served our great country.

As we prepare for a sealed bid procedure to award a construction contract, it appears most likely that we will award the bid during our October City Council meeting with park construction to take an estimated seven months before opening. (Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will recommend an official name of the park sometime this fall). A parade to celebrate the park opening was suggested as an alternative to this year’s July 4 parade but no formal action or adoption or action was taken at that time.

As most of you know, parks and green space are one of my major passions because this is where our residents have the opportunity to come together and enjoy not only the beauty of Doral but one another as we continue to build upon our sense of community.

We establish stronger “people” bonding while providing all ages the opportunity to become involved in this city, play sports, and enjoy the great outdoors.

BERMUDEZ PARK ENDING PHASE I JC BERMUDEZ PARK has just completed Phase One of its future development, including a feasibility/expense study for build out and operations, installation of two restroom facilities and a partial lake filling.

We are currently reviewing and monitoring the economic conditions as we study the best funding sources for this 86- acre park.The master plan for future development includes an aquatic complex, community center, football/soccer stadium, baseball fields, multipurpose fields, tennis center, a walking trail and pavilions.

Doral’s other new park and green space is our upcoming dog park. The city received the property from the Sonoma development, transferred to us in June. We are currently in the planning stages for this 10-acre parcel at the SW corner of NW 114th Avenue and NW 50th Street.

We have formed a Dog Park Subcommittee to provide input into the park needs and design, and a recent organization formed as a result is The Pet Chamber of Commerce, initiated by Monica Rimada, a committee member.

If interested in becoming a member, reach out to Monica and join the Chamber as my children did with their dog, Peanut! And if you are a dog lover and have been taking your pet elsewhere to let them “run wild”, you’ll be excited to hear this news.

PALM PLANTINGS BEAUTIFY DORAL THE CITY HAS recently planted 150 Washingtonian Palms at Doral Meadow Park and an additional 40 palms are scheduled to be planted in the upcoming weeks as we wrap up the third and final phase of the Street Tree Master Plan.

The implementation of the plan resulted in the planting of approximately 2,600 trees. In addition we performed a Geographic Information System “GIS” inventory of the street trees to create a way to measure improvements to the tree canopy within the right of way.

You may recall The National Arbor Day Foundation in July 2008 named the City of Doral, “2008 Tree City USA,” an award that “recognizes communities that have proven their commitment to an effective, ongoing community forestry program” that is “marked by renewal and improvement.”

STREET SURFACING FOR US COMMAND NEW PUBLIC WORKS projects include completion of NW 33rd Street from NW 87th Avenue to NW 97th Avenue, related to the preparation of the U. S. South Command’s new home.

Reconstruction of NW 36th Street between NW 79th and NW 87th Avenues has also gotten underway, as well as a resurfacing project on NW 112th Avenue from NW 25th Street to NW 33rd Street. Resurfacing of NW 82nd Avenue from NW 12th to NW 25th Street was also completed recently.

With the initiative to beautify Doral, we will be installing median improvements along NW 107th Avenue between NW 58th and NW 90th Streets, Florida Department of Transportation will install landscaping at the NW 58th Street interchange and State Road 826 (the Palmetto Expressway).

You may have also noticed land clearing on NW 41st Street from 109th to 112th Avenues. The property owner cleared this land per our Code Compliance Department. The site plan is approved for mixed retail and office space but no plans have materialized to build in the near future. Still another land clearing recently completed for code compliance bordered NW 58th Street at the NW corner of 102nd Avenue.

Vice Mayor Michael DiPietro can be reached via email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at City Hall (305) 593-6725.