Malik's Message

Cocoa Beach Mayor Ben Malik

City of Cocoa Beach,

January in Cocoa Beach as we enter the full throes of winter, our small town swelling in size from our snowbird friends up north and cooler temps abound. The brutal arctic air descends upon us as we break out the sweaters to deal with the 50-degree nights (yet, very thankful to not deal with blizzards, icy roads, etc.). I mean the struggle is real! Having to wear socks with our flip flops is pretty miserable, but it is really all relative! And, how about that Christmas miracle Miami Dolphins’ win over the Patriots with 0 time left!

The new year is a great time for a fresh start: take some time off to enjoy your family, learn new things (such as not electrocuting myself putting up Christmas lights with a staple gun and then once more to untangle such before I unplugged the cord. I now have nice plastic clips to hold the lights in place!), visit other cities in our state (go surf in aqua blue water in Delray Beach during a cold front— just be ready for crowds), catch the holiday lights in downtown St. Augustine (through February 3, 2019!), get involved in a civic organization in our community (Kiwanis, Rotary, Elks, Surfrider, Keep Brevard Beautiful, Women’s Club, etc.), take notice of the amazing things we have right here in our community (catch a play at Surfside Playhouse, enjoy a fine meal at one of our local eateries, go explore the Thousand Islands, visit the Dinosaur Store which has an amazing museum-quality collection of artifacts, try a new water sport, check out our amazing public library, golf, tennis courts and skate park!).

We have lots of exciting things going on in our city: new parking garage underway, plans getting finalized for a new police station, and over $5 million in new wastewater plant upgrades (there are 40-year plus filters that have been rebuilt twice and fully outlived their useful life). The wastewater plant upgrades will also improve our capacity to handle large rainfall events, ensure our sewers are not backing up into people’s homes, and address the malodorous sulfur smell on the northside lift station.

All right folks, our fittest city title is on the line; let’s keep it in Cocoa Beach! The 2019 Health First Mayors’ Fitness Challenge begins in February, and all participants must register online before January 15, 2019. T-shirts are available while supplies last. Go to uwbrevard.org for more details on the 2019 Health First Mayors’ Fitness Challenge which runs from February 2 through March 30, 2019. The winning team will be determined by the total number of minutes exercised by the members of each team. The municipality with the most points will win the challenger trophy, “Most Fit City 2019.” And, guess what, Surfing/Skating counts! Keep those New Year’s resolutions by staying active!

Thank you for your support and allowing me to serve as your Mayor. Please feel free to contact me with any suggestions at bmalik@cityofcocoabeach.com or my cell at 321-794-6668.