Davie Update

By Mayor Judy Paul

The Town of Davie is excited for the upcoming Fun on the 4th event and festivities on Monday, July 4th. This event will be for Davie residents only and we ask everyone to pre-register to receive a ticket for the event by calling the Pine Island Multipurpose Center at (954)327-3941. The gates at Bamford Sports Complex will open at 5:00 pm and the event will begin at 6:00 pm. Activities include live music by Whiskey County and The Yacht Rock Club on the main stage, children’s activities, a petting farm, food trucks, fireworks, and more! We look forward to seeing all our residents at this wonderful event.

Remember to leave the fireworks to the professionals and be mindful of your neighbors.

Congratulations to all our high school graduates. You survived a pandemic and succeeded under the most difficult circumstances. As part of my ongoing commitment to honor students, I presented three scholarships this year. Two graduates from Western High School are Nicholas Cristea and Alex Soto. They will be honored at our July meeting. Susan Rosanno, a graduate of Nova High was honored on June 8 and presented with her certificate and check. Susan graduated second in her class, was tops nationally and in the state in Congressional Debate, received the Silver Knight Award for general scholarship, and will be going to The University of Florida. Susan shadowed me when she was in elementary school as Mayor for the Day. I asked her then what she wanted to be when she grew up. Her answer was, “President of the United States”. She is well on her way. I will detail Alex and Nicholas after their appearance at Town Hall next month.

The Town of Davie hosted a Town Hall Closeout Ceremony on Saturday, June 11, 2022, at the former Town Hall, 6591 Orange Drive, Davie, FL. The ceremony honored the former Town Hall over the years. Held in the Council Chambers, followed by refreshments on the lawn. All existing and past Town Council members who have served the community since 1961 were invited to attend the event. Recognized were: Carl Weismann who was the oldest serving member from 1961-62, Richard Moss, David Thomson, Thomas “Tommy” Gill, John Primeau, Richard Lyle, Jim DeLeo, Pat Brennan, Scott Cowan, Joan Kovac, Kathryn “Kathy” Cox, Monroe Kiar, Richard Weiner, Terry Santini, Geraldine Clark, Tom Truex, Lisa Hubert, Michael Crowley, and Bryan Caletka. Davie representatives who have passed were honored posthumously.

This was a sad day, saying goodbye to so much history, but exciting to be moving forward with a modern, state-of-the-art facility of which everyone will be proud. The event was the last time members of the public had the opportunity to visit the site or enter the former Town Council Chambers. We were honored to have State Representative Robin Bartleman and County Commissioner Steve Geller present as well as representation from the offices of Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and State Representative Michael Gottlieb. This ceremony provided an opportunity to honor, reminisce and rekindle relationships.

The next step is for the Town to begin preparations of the site for demolition.

Our new home will be at the same location and the entrance will be a replica of our present Town Hall. All the trees are being preserved and we will be adding about an additional acre of green space.

The First budget workshop was held on June 8. The most important takeaway is that we have a balanced budget with no increase in the millage rate or fire assessment. We have set aside 17 million dollars for Capital Improvement projects including, but not limited to: Cardiac Monitors & Equipment, Fire Apparatus, Fire Station 65 Roof Replacement, License Plate Recognition Equipment, Public Arts Installation, Asphalt Trail Replacement, Road Resurfacing, Sidewalk Replacement, improvement of Utilities infrastructure, repairs and structural improvements at many of our parks and a number of drainage projects.

Having just experienced a serious rain event with localized flooding, I would like to remind everyone to be mindful of keeping any catch basins on your streets clear of grass cuttings, branches and any other objects that might clog the drain. A serious flood in Shenandoah was caused by mulch which had floated away and clogged the drain. Public Works cleared it and the water drained. Public Works crews were out day and night pumping in neighborhoods and vacuuming clogged drains, Thank you!

Have a wonderful summer and stay safe!