WMG Volume 5 • Issue 23 December 19, 2018
Wilton Manors Gazette Facebook.com/groups/WMGazette
community
City to Offer Assistance to Two First Time Home Buyers But some are skeptical of how much good it will do
By Sallie James “The (recipients) will become One of the least affordable cities in the Broward County will soon be offering taxpayers. Again, what do you do with first-time buyers affordable housing not very much money?,” Green said. “It seemed the most efficient way for the assistance. But get in line fast if you think you city to use this money to help someone qualify: Wilton Manors only has enough without incurring continuing costs if it money to assist two buyers in this city of were a rental subsidy program.” The city is entering into an interlocal 12,000 residents. agreement with The city is earmarking Broward County to the last $100,000 from its “The (recipients) administer the first time Affordable Housing Trust homebuyers program, at Fund for this endeavor. will become a cost of $15,000. The Distribution of these funds remaining $85,000 will will deplete the city’s taxpayers. be distributed to two Affordable Housing Trust Again, what do homebuyers, according Fund, which is composed to city records. of money developers had you do with An income category to contribute if they didn’t chart provided by the include affordable housing not very much city states that eligible units in their projects. homes for assistance Earlier this year, an money?” must have a maximum additional $200,000 from - Tom Green sale or assessed value of the fund was earmarked Vice Mayor $317,647. for a 48-unit LGBT-friendly According to the affordable housing project for seniors slated for construction at the Broward County Property Appraiser’s website, the average market value of a Pride Center at Equality Park. Vice Mayor Tom Green, a strong Wilton Manors home is $410,764. And supporter of the initiative, said the property values here continue to rise. program will add new taxpayers, as Wilton Manors property values rose 7.73 opposed to using the money for rent and percent from a year ago, according to City Manager Leigh Ann Henderson. repair subsidies.
The Wilton Manors City Commission.
Wilton Manors realtor Jimmy Cunningham, ranked among the top 100 realtors in Florida, wondered how someone who fit HUD’s income parameters for “extremely low” ($25,100 for a family of four), “very low” ($40,400 for family of four) and “low” ($64,650 for a family of four) income could afford a house in Wilton Manors even with assistance. “A mortgage basically costs you $500 per $100,000 plus taxes and insurance,” said Cunningham, whose annual real
estate sales total about $12 million. “Here’s my reality: in my world if somebody called with me a family of four on a tight income, I would probably encourage them to buy somewhere else. It’s not really an affordable family neighborhood or even an affordable neighborhood period. It’s one of the most expensive areas in the county.” Wilton Manors condos aren’t cheap either, Cunningham pointed out. Continued on page 4
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December 19, 2018
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Opinion
Christmas is Cancelled! By Sal Torre
Word spread quickly across the land that our pugnacious leader had decreed that Christmas would be cancelled this season. No merriment and joy for all while he had to suffer the humiliation of this past week from his public squabble with Pelosi and Schumer right on his own turf at the White House. Adding to the fury and anger was the ongoing bad news of investigations, prison time for colleagues and the dwindling list of those willing to serve top posts within his beleaguered inner circle. Executive Orders have been issued and sent to the North Pole giving notice that entrance visas for Santa and his entourage of reindeer and elves have been rescinded. It’s a good thing for us that Santa was already here in Wilton Manors this past week before the travel ban was put into place. Santa came to town for his annual boat ride around our Island City and breakfast with our young ones. He also made a surprise visit to our City Commission meeting on Tuesday. I have to say that Ole Saint Nick looked a bit disheveled, spoke not in his usually boisterous and jolly manner, and had lost a lot of weight. His outfit looked like it never made it to the dry cleaners after last year’s travels. Perhaps it was due to receiving notice from the West Wing about the impending cancellation of Christmas that put the ole guy into such a state, or perhaps it was the stiff trade tariffs Time to turn off the news, decorate your house, bake holiday imposed on Chinese toys that were keeping Santa up at night, cookies, attend a party or two, and enjoy the season with family, wondering how he was going to fill all those stockings hanging friends and neighbors. from mantles within budget and a hard and fast delivery date Unfortunately, Santa needs to get back to the North Pole and on the morning of the 25th. Adding to those worries is the harsh finish the final preparations before the big day. Fearful of not reality of climate change that has started to affect the North Pole. being able to make it back due to the imposed travel ban, Santa Santa might just not have a lot to be jolly about this year. has plotted his course to get back into the country through But then a Christmas miracle happened while visiting our Canada, defying the no-fly orders from Washington. The Island City. assistance by Thrudeau to help preserve Christmas from being The joy and happiness that Santa came across while visiting our extinguished by the evil forces in Washington will only add to the little Island City, where life is just better, renewed growing acrimony between the leaders of the two his jolly spirit and filled him with holiday wonder neighboring countries. and magic. Mustering his elves and reindeer, they Santa has a back -up plan in case the northern plotted and planned on how to bring Christmas to route is thwarted. The plan is to then to head But then a all in such dark and turbulent times. south to Mexico. Under the cloak of darkness on Christmas Top on the list was to enjoy some good dinners Christmas Eve, disguised as Central American around town to put some girth back on the ole migrants, Santa and his crew will slip through our miracle tummy. There were Santa sightings at Rosie’s, porous southern border. Santa’s elves are ready happened while Tee-Jays, Wilton Creamery, The Grille, and other with special gifts for those who have not voted dining establishments around our city. Rudolph to fund the great border wall that will singlevisiting our got into some trouble as he stumbled home one handedly keep Americans safe at night nestled Island City. night from the Alibi, and elves were spotted snug in their beds. frolicking all over town. You can hear Santa scurrying around town as he The merriment began to pick up pace. Homes gathers his flock and readies for departure, calling throughout the neighborhoods are stringing up holiday lights. for Dancer, Prancer and Vixen. “Come along Comet, Cupid, Residents are coming together and enjoying holiday parties. Donner and Blitzen” he shouts. Rudolph’s very red nose, no doubt Our new Mayor is showing up around town wearing his holiday from hitting the happy hours up and down the Drive, lights the lights and hat while delivering words of good cheer. The recent way as he slumps in the rear of Santa’s sleigh as Donner takes the cold snap last week made it seem almost believable that we could lead as the designated Reindeer this evening, leading all safely dream of a white Christmas. As Santa and his helpers continue to back to the North Pole. spread their merriment and joy throughout the Island City, the As Santa’s sleigh reaches past the roof tops of our Island magic of Christmas is alive and in full swing. The fever has spread City and flies out of sight, you can hear him shout back to us, far and wide beyond our borders. We may still have Christmas “Merry Christmas Wilton Manors, where life is just jollier. Happy after all! Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” WMG
WMG December 19, 2018 • Volume 5 • Issue 23 2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 Phone: 954-530-4970 Fax: 954-530-7943
Publisher • Norm Kent norm.kent@sfgn.com Chief Executive Officer • Pier Angelo Guidugli Associate publisher / Executive Editor • Jason Parsley jason.parsley@sfgn.com Copyeditor • Kerri Covington
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Sales Manager • Justin Wyse justin.wyse@sfgn.com Advertising Sales Associate • Edwin Neimann edwin.neimann@sfgn.com Advertising Sales Associate • Clark Rogers clark.rogers@sfgn.com Accounting Services by CG Bookkeeping South Florida Gay News is published weekly. The opinions expressed in columns, stories, and letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of SFGN, or the Publisher. You should not presume the sexual orientation of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations. Furthermore the word “gay” in SFGN should be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire LGBT community. All of the material/columns that appears in print and online, including articles used in conjunction with the AP, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper. Nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher, at his law office, at Norm@NormKent.com. SFGN, as a private corporation, reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs. MEMBER
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Wilton Drive gets festive! Photo credit: Justin Musial.
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December 19, 2018
Real Estate
An Inventory Carol By James Oaksun In this final installment of my 2018 Wilton Manors real estate review, I will share my impressions on the levels of inventory we are seeing in the market. In simplest terms, available inventory should be low when sales in the next few months are anticipated to be low, and high when there is anticipation of higher sales. Having a low inventory when headed into a slow selling time, for example, is not an indication of a tight market. (This is different than the “official” calculation method. But that doesn’t make the official method correct.)
The chart here looks at inventory across all three neighborhoods of the Island City. Read the chart like this: Let’s say a perfectly balanced market would have an inventory index of 100. If the index is above 100, that means there are more sellers than buyers, and the opposite if the index is below 100. Of course, real estate is not a “perfect” market like, say, the stock market. There’s always going to be variability here and there. I account for some of that in my calculation, but assume further that some “wobble” around that 100 level is normal. Certainly in 2012, as the market had begun to recover, inventories were dropping dramatically. By late 2013, inventory reached a low point and then generally started increasing as owners and investors could sell into a rising market. Inventories (relative to anticipated volume) peaked in early 2015 and have been wobbling around the 110 level ever since. In other words, WilMa inventories have been relatively balanced - perhaps at the upper end of the “balanced” range - for some time. Right now, market conditions favor neither
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buyers nor sellers. As I mentioned in my two previous columns, however, there are some storm clouds on the horizon. Just like they do in the winters up north, please monitor weather conditions keenly as we enter the New Year. In closing, a personal note. This is my last column of 2018. I am grateful to be able to share with you my research and observations, almost in real time. I hope they are making you a better informed consumer and prospective property buyer
December 19, 2018
or seller. Maybe you’ve even noticed a witticism or pun here and there; facts and figures need not be dreary. My best wishes to you all for a splendid 2019, wherever your path should take you. WMG James Oaksun, Florida’s Real Estate Geek(SM), is Broker-Owner of New Realty Concepts in Oakland Park. In addition to having degrees from Dartmouth and Cornell, he is a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (GRI).
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this, justin
community
City to Offer Assistance to Two First Time Home Buyers
Wilton Manors Strategic Plan
Roadmap to Our Future
Continued from page 1
“A two/one condo averages about $140,000 and they are 650 square feet. They are pretty small and that is probably the most affordable,” Cunningham noted. “In general terms condos require about 20 percent down … and that is not really a first-time home buyer’s budget.” He noted that most of people who are buying in Wilton Manors are not first-time homebuyers. “The people who buy homes here for the most part are the people who are coming from other areas like Chicago, New York, and Washington DC,” he said. City commissioner Gary Resnick, who was late for the Dec. 11 commission meeting and missed voting on the first-time homebuyers program, said he doesn’t believe it is a good use of taxpayer dollars. “I wanted to cap the amount of money that
The Priority of Sound Governance By Justin Flippen
anyone could get or the value of the home so it could help more people,” Resnick said. Commissioner Julie Carson said the Affordable Housing Trust Fund sat dormant for years and she is glad to see it going to good use. “Is it a good use of taxpayer dollars? I think it absolutely is because we are assisting people to purchase homes in Wilton Manors. That is why the fund was established,” Carson said. WMG
Have you joined the Gazette’s Facebook group? Visit Facebook.com/groups/WMGazette to join the discussion. The Gazette welcomes feedback for its community initiative. Email Jason. Parsley@sfgn.comwith comments, suggestions, etc.
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As we prepare for and enter 2019, allow me to first and foremost wish you and yours a Happy New Year. In our city’s Strategic Plan, five priorities were set in the area of Sound Governance. Most of the goals in this priority area require continued diligence, because they are ongoing objectives that demand constant updating. The first of these is to operate in a fair and transparent manner. These days, transparency means providing access to information electronically. Did you know you can access the city commission agenda the Thursday before the meeting on our website, wiltonmanors.com? There is also a calendar on the main page that provides up-to-date details on upcoming classes, meetings, and programs. If you’d like a permitting form, a video of a previous commission meeting, or details about the Strategic Plan, all are available on our website. In 2019, I will push our city to seize upon a clear area of opportunity and make more of the city’s website from our applications, forms, reservations, surveys, and payments as technology based and user friendly as a government doing business in the 21st Century should be. Each year Wilton Manors works to enhance visitation and usage of our city website, and to this end we have seen a 5 percent increase in web traffic over the past year. We’ve made great strides in this area, and our staff has great plans for even more transparency. Social media engagement continues to grow with a 41 percent increase of followers across our platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), giving the city the ability to direct message stakeholders without relying on outside sources. Our city staff takes real pride in providing excellent services to our community. Park and library visits exceeded half a million annually and our Leisure Services Department coordinated, organized, and facilitated more than 40 diverse, multi-generational, community based special events. But again, online reservations of our meeting and park space needs to be something we adapt and evolve towards. And did you know that if you are a senior, we may be able to provide transportation to the grocery store, library, or doctor’s visits? Last year we provided more than 750 trips of this sort. Wilton Manors is also in fine shape financially, meeting the goal of promoting and maintaining financial stability and integrity. In light of the continuing growth in Wilton Manors property values, and the city’s policy of budgetary restraint, the city commission reduced the millage rate for
the seventh year in a row. We received a rebate of more than $78,000 for utilizing purchase cards instead of traditional invoice billing, and a returned premium of almost $20,000 related to lower than expected insurance claims for workers compensation, liability, and property. Our unassigned fund balance (reserves for emergencies) increased to about 17 percent. Finally, the members of our Wilton Manors City Commission appointed boards and committees are contributing their time and energy toward making our small town a better place to live. There are many examples for the hard work of these volunteers. As one such example, the Community Affairs Advisory Board (CAAB) conceived of, created, and printed a brochure called the Senior Resource Guide, which was distributed citywide and featured on our website and social media. The Island City has now been designated as an Age Friendly Community by both the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and CAAB is conducting a survey to develop an action plan to make our city even more age friendly. Are you a senior? Take the survey! Go to wiltonmanors. com for more information. Sound governance is just one more reason why “life‘s just better here“ in Wilton Manors. Next month, I’ll review the city’s efforts in Strategic Growth and Redevelopment. In your service,
Justin S. Flippen, J.D. Wilton Manors Mayor WMG
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December 19, 2018
Wilton Manors By J.R. Davis
Photos
Holiday Spectacular On december 10, the Holiday Spectacular in the Park was hosted by the Wilton Manors Business Association at Richardson Historic Park. The concert featured America’s Got Talent’s Yoli Mayor, The Bombshell’s Heather Lundstedt, and famous tenor Jonathan Hawkins along with Floridian musicians such as Jennifer McClain. Jennifer McClain lights up the stage.
Yoli and Bianka.
Steven, Travis and Joe Pallant.
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photos
Island City Yard Sale By J.R. Davis
On the second saturday of each month - from november to march - the wilton manors city hall and hagen park transform into a community yard sale. Everyone from local artists to book lovers come together in search of new treasures to share or bring home. Brian.
Carlos and Kai.
Below: Nancy, Lorraine and Wanda with their Wind Tin Collection.
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Above: Joe and Diane Montrose with Assemblages Mirrors.
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December 19, 2018
parking
Wilton Manors Offers New Discount Codes for Uber and Lyft By Natalya Jones
No need to take your car for a night out visitors,” said Mayor Justin Flippen. “Our hope in the town. Uber and Lyft has become even is that the discounts will further encourage more affordable, thanks to new ride sharing people to rideshare to reduce traffic, parking discount codes provided by the City of Wilton congestion and carbon emissions.” The Lyft and Uber promo codes for Friday Manors. These codes are available to residents, and Saturday nights change each week. The visitors, and businesses who choose to use website (below) will be updated through the aforementioned ride services to travel September 2019 every week with the new to Wilton Drive on both Friday and Saturday codes. Promo codes for special events will also evenings. Intended to alleviate the never-ending be offered from time to time. Two upcoming search for parking spaces during peak hours, events include New Year’s Eve and the the cost for rides after the promotion codes Classical Concert at Hagen Park. On Monday, Dec. 31, the Lyft promo code is equate to the price of three hours and twenty NEWYEAR1231 and the Uber minutes of parking. promo code is enky87j. The Making things even more "Our hope is Concert on Wednesday, Jan. difficult for visitors to The Drive that the discounts 9 at 7 p.m. has a Lyft promo is the ongoing construction code of CLASSICAL0109 taking place. Although the ride will further and an Uber promo code share promotion is not entirely encourage people of eh5ysf2. The Wilton credited to the construction, it Drive Improvement District will certainly assist in easing to rideshare is sponsoring those two congested traffic. to reduce special event promo codes. More specifically, discounts traffic, parking To enter the discount code are $5 each and are available manually, open the Lyft app for the first 25 Lyft and first 25 congestion and on your phone. Next, select Uber rides who request to go to carbon emissions." the menu, which is the three any Wilton Drive destination - Justin Flippen lines in upper left corner. between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. Mayor of Wilton Manors Select “Promos” and then The codes will work from any type in the code. pickup destination and can be To manually enter the Uber promo codes, redeemed once per person per night. The idea of the promo codes was a combined open the Uber app on your phone. Next, effort of the City Commissioners, those on select the menu, which is accessed by clicking the City’s Wilton Drive Improvement District the three dots in upper left corner. Choose Board, and the Economic Development Task “Payment,” scroll to the bottom and select “Add Promo Code.” Here, you can type in the Force. “The City of Wilton Manors proudly discount code. Note that it’s case sensitive, so embraces commuting options to increase all of the letters must be entered in lowercase. mobility choices for our residents and WMG
Visit bit.ly/WMRideShare or follow the City’s Facebook page for more information.
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Photos
On December 15, the Hagen Park Community Center welcomed in santa himself to meet with families for an early event that included story time, crafts and even a pony ride! The event helped fundraise for Joe DiMaggi Children's Hospital.
By J.R. Davis Mayor Justin Flippen, Chief Paul O’Connel, and Commissioner Julie Carson.
Santa.
Some of Santa’s helpers greeting younger residents.
DJ Alex Roy.
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Above: Patrick Cann, Gabriel Sims, and Augustus Haynes.
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December 5, 2018