The Miami Lakes council caved Tuesday to the strong arm tactics of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and ignored the recommendation of a citizen selection committee, hiring Gimenez pal Ed Pidermann as the new town manager instead.
The committee, which met more than a dozen times over nine months to review 60 applicants, had recommended former North Miami Beach city manager Ana Garcia, principally because she has the experience they wanted and which, many believe, the charter explicitly calls for (though anyone can interpret it differently). Vice Mayor Nelson Rodriguez nominated her, but then withdrew the nomination when it became clear he didn’t have the votes — only Councilwoman Marilyn Ruano backed Garcia — and he wanted the new manager to start with unanimous support from the dais.
“I can count,” Rodriguez said. “Our manager, whoever that is, needs to have the full support of the council. and although it breaks my heart, because I know we are losing a superstar with super experience, I have no doubt that Mr. Pidermann will do a good job.”
Mayor Manny Cid said his vote was with Pidermann because the veteran firefighter is a resident of Miami Lakes and the other candidates hinted they were not eager to sell their longtime homes and move into the Northwest Dade town.
Read related: Carlos Gimenez pushes pal in Miami Lakes manager selection
But that can’t really be it, can it? Could Cid have completely alienated his citizens’ committee and shit on a painstaking transparent and public process just because of residency? “It’s a deal breaker,” he kept saying, me thinks protesting too much.
The process was intentionally and painstakingly public and transparent precisely to avoid political shenanigans or any perception thereof. To completely abandon it in light of the county mayor’s pressure seems to have also abandoned any attempt to keep the appointment politically clean.
Some observers think that maybe Cid made a deal with Gimenez and the residency issue gave him political cover. The city does need another fire truck. Is it possible that was dangled like a carrot? Or will Gimenez support Cid’s future bid for higher office? Gimenez holds the purse strings and the controls on so much of the planning around the American Dream megamall that will affect Miami Lakes residents probably more than anybody else, which could also be why it’s important to him to have someone close (read: controllable) at the top in the town.
The vote came after several firefighters — including the vice mayor’s brother — and the new Deputy Miami-Dade Mayor Maurice Kemp, another former Miami Fire Chief (photo, right), spoke on behalf of Pidermann. One firefighter suggested Nelson Rodriguez, who is a firefighter in Coral Gables, was betraying his own by backing Garcia.
Several residents spoke on behalf of preserving the process, including Maria Kramer, a longtime activist who was on the citizen review committee.
“Your fiduciary responsibility is to us, not the firefighters,” Kramer told the council. “Our number one recommendation on every vote we took was Ana Garcia (photo, right). No one had the kind of experience that she did. I remember Frank Bocanegra when we made that fatal mistake of going with the police chief because he had the knowledge. And it almost destroyed Miami Lakes.”
She is referring to the former police major turned town manager who has been accused of abusing his office in cahoots with former Mayor Michael Pizzi.
Read related: American Dream megamall developer would give us buses for our trouble
“Hiring a Miami Lakes resident has its pros and cons. You’re going to have a conflict of interest: ‘Am I going to do what’s right for my neighborhood or what’s right for everyone,’” Kramer stated.
“You have to choose who is most qualified. Mr. Pidermann is charming. he is committed to this town. But he has not even been an assistant manager. We need someone who can hit the ground running.
“Another Frank Bocanegra would be a disaster for this town.”
The surprise upset is a small political victory for new Councilman Josh Dieguez (photo, left), a Gimenez lackey who silently slid into the seat of former councilman Frank Mingo and had tried to stop the process to include more candidates (maybe Gimenez had a plan B).
“It’s about rounding out the list,” Dieguez said, because he wanted a shortlist of seven candidates, for whatever reason.
Then he started crying about some “gossip website” that called him a Gimenez minion — oh, wait, was he talking about little ol’ Ladra?
“It was just to give an option. It was not about distorting the will of the charter to even have this committee in the first place,” he said, although it is exactly what he was doing: Unhappy with the outcome of the process, he wanted to tweak it.
He eventually withdrew his motion, knowing it would have no support. But he spent several minutes showing his thin skin, talking about a public record being “leaked” — obviously he wanted to keep the Gimenez email secret — and how Ladra “attacked” him. Someone please ask the young councilman to explain how it is an attack to state the truth. And please explain that at no time did Ladra suggest that he “manipulated the mayor into writing this letter,” which is, indeed, absurd.
Dieguez is the mayor’s minion not the other way around. And that is why, after his big song and dance, Little Minion Dieguez nominated Pidermann.
Reading from an admitted script, Dieguez recalled a “stellar career in public service. Nt just that he was a firefighter. It’s that he has a service heart. He is someone who has managed a budget of over 100 million and hundreds of employees. M. pidermann was not my initial choice. additionally he comes highly recommended by members of this community.”
Dieguez said he met with Pidermann again just shortly before the council meeting Tuesday. “He assured me that he has a plan in place to ensure that the knowledge we will be losing when Mr. Ray leaves us. He ensured me he has a strong team to keep that institutional knowledge in town. That gives me great comfort.”
Well, I’m sure the members of the selection committee are comforted by that as well.
Councilman Jeffrey Rodriguez said he was “confident in his ability to work with people and I’m confident in his ability to work with this council,” especially after getting calls from residents, not the county mayor, he said.
And Councilman Carlos Alvarez first said he had a “duty to honor the time spent by the committee” and then did just the opposite by voting for Pidermann.
Mayor Manny Cid
Cid seemed somewhat ticked off that he didn’t get the same opportunity as his predecessors to name the next town manager. “That opportunity wasn’t afforded to me because of prior sins,” he said, adding that he would have suggested Tony Lopez, who never threw his hat into consideration.
“The process itself has been good. I think the committee did a great job. There are some bad parts of the process… the intrigue and discussions. I really dislike that I think it should be clear cut… but I didn’t get that opportunity.”
That’s when he said residency was a priority for him.
“We are a $40 million organization. I truly believe that the CEO of our town, whoever the next CEO of our town is,m should own stock,” Cid said. “I can envision all four of them doing the job. They all have their strengths. They all have their weaknesses. I come back to that question I asked.”
He wanted someone with “the same motivation to retire here, to raise their kids here. I really want to see that skin in the game.”
Nelson said the manager, whoever it was, could be fired within 72 hours at any time and that it was “unreasonable” to force candidates to move from longtime homes.
“But again I can count,” Rodriguez said. “The committee did their job. They recommended the number one person. I wish all these letters of recommendation would have materialized in their file in March.
Pidermann was visibly pleased. “I prayed to God and I think he produced the right result,” he said, thanking the council and offering that he was ready to start Jan. 1.
And Gimenezville seemingly expands.

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The Miami Lakes Town Council may choose its next town manager at Tuesday’s meeting. And Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has his pick.
Gimenez sent an email to Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid and the council members urging them to support veteran firefighter Ed Pidermann, a former city of Miami Deputy Fire Chief and one-time fire union president, for the job.
Not like anyone asked him. Que pinta Gimenez metiendo la cuchara aqui? The self-appointed king is interfering in a process that has been painstakingly transparent, with a selection committee of citizens has had more than a dozen public meetings since they were formed almost nine months ago after Town Manager Alex Rey announced his retirement in 2019. They reviewed almost 60 resumes, interviewed dozens of wannabes and came up with a shortlist of five hopefuls.
There was even a “meet and greet” for those five candidates catered by Anacapri Restaurant at the community center and attended by about 100 residents who were encouraged to give feedback to the mayor and council members, who make the final decision.
Councilman Nelson Rodriguez (photo right) will move at Tuesday’s meeting (6:30 p.m. starting time) that they accept the recommendation from the citizens committee and hire former North Miami Beach city manager Ana Garcia.
“The meet and greet with residents went overwhelmingly in her favor,” Rodriguez said, adding that he has had many residents support Garcia, photographed here, while Pidermann’s support is limited to his neighbors.
“She is a real talent. She’s the most qualified,” Rodriguez said.
Garcia, who recently returned to her native Cuba as one of the passengers on the first cruise ship in 50 years, was city manager in North Miami Beach for five years. She was pressured to leave earlier this year by Commissioner Phyllis Smith, who pushed her out saying the manager wasted city funds, especially with regards to public utilities and the water plan. Others, however, say that it was because the commissioners found out about her application to Miami Lakes.
The other three candidates in the shortlist are California Manager Howard Brown, Bay Harbor Island Assistant Town Manager Juan Jimenez (who withdrew), and Miami Lakes’ Chief Financial Officer Ismael Diaz.
But Ladra has been hearing for weeks that Gimenez, through his lacky Josh Dieguez — who coasted into Frank Mingo‘s seat without anyone noticing — has been pushing for weeks to get his buddy Pidermann the position. On Monday, he sent the email.
“It has come to my attention that the question of who will be your next town manager of Miami Lakes may be debated and voted on at your meeting on Tuesday,” Gimenez wrote. “One of the finalists for this position is somebody I have known for over 30 years… and I wholeheartedly endorse him as the new manager of your great town.”
No me digas.
Read related: Carlos Gimenez has new role as rainmaker — soliciting for 10 PACs
Knowing full well that Pidermann lacks the town manager experience that the citizen committee wanted — and Ladra believes the town charter calls for — Gimenez goes on to blow up his colleague’s experience in training, handling 911 calls, as emergency management director and even serving as public information officer, managing the media.
“Mr. Pidermann has also achieved many academic successes,” Gimenez wrote, citing six, count ’em, six degrees.
“I would also like to attest to Eddy’s work ethic and integrity,” Gimenez said, not realizing that this means nada because of his own lack of the aforementioned. “He is known to be ready to respond to the need of our customers, day and night. His integrity is impeccable and without question.
“I believe Eddy will easily and successfully transfer the skill and abilities that he has developed over the past 33 years to the role of town manager of Miami Lakes,” the mayor ended.
Said Rodriguez: “I’ve known Ed Pidermann for 35 years as well. But Ed has never been a manager of a city and I’m concerned about the learning curve.”
In truth, Pidermann wouldn’t even have made it into the top five if the selection committee had averaged out the two scores, one from the paper qualifications and the second from the interview. The only reason he is on the shortlist is because he interviewed so well, but he would have been off the list if they had averaged the score from the other criteria, which he did not meet.
And that’s because Pidermann is a nice guy. Everybody loves him. He is a firefighter, after all.
But what we don’t love is the Gimenez interference and those references to “our customers” he made. One might think he means Miami Lakes residents, but he could also mean the clients of his lobbying relatives, now that it’s not just one son but a family business. Our customers?
Miami Lakes might be where they are ready to expand their influence.
Read related: Add another son to Carlos Gimenez’s lobbying clan
If this were a genuine letter of recommendation, wouldn’t it be in the package that the committee got when they first considered Pidermann rather than a last minute hail Mary political posturing by the county mayor asking for a favor of some municipal electeds who depend on the county for so much? The answer is yes. This is practically extortion.
That’s why Dieguez — good little minion that he is — has introduced a competing item for Tuesday’s meeting — to throw the whole selection committee process out and start over. He wants to ensure that if it’s not Pidermann, his boss (read: Carlos Gimenez) gets to pick someone for that juicy position.
Seems like a real political maneuver if after nine months that the committee has worked on this very openly, spending about $20,000 during the process to vet the candidates and making a choice based on criteria that they determined early on, the whole process is thrown out because Gimenez didn’t get his guy.
Ladra hears Dieguez doesn’t have the votes. And that Nelson does have the support of other council members who want to respect the hard work and independent voice of the citizen committee they appointed.
Gimenez will have to stick to Hialeah, for now.

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Is the fix in for the next town manager of Miami Lakes? Lots of people apparently think so.
Town Manager Alex Rey isn’t leaving until next March, and a selection committee that is supposed to keep the process super transparent and clean hasn’t even met once yet (it will next week) because Town Attorney Raul Gastesi hasn’t shortlisted the 55 — or 58 or 57 or 59, “in high 50-s and not 60,” but he doesn’t remember exactly (really?!?) — candidates that had applied as of the April 20 deadline.
But at Tuesday’s council meeting, a move by Councilman Tim Daubert to speed up the process was seen as evidence that the rampant rumors about an in-house “preferred” candidate (read: Assistant Town Manager Andrea Agha) were true. Daubert withdrew his agenda item after a number of residents complained that it was inappropriate and smacked of cronyism.
“I don’t want an heir apparent and that is what seems to be occurring,” said Abel Fernandez, a retired firefighter and town activist. “What is the hurry? It is inappropriate, it is a travesty that we circumvent the power of a committee.”
Longtime activist Maria Kramer, a member of the selection committee, said she had heard the rumors about the fix from two veteran municipal administrators, a manager and an assistant manager, who had told her for years that the minute the position opened in Miami Lakes, they would jump on it. When they didn’t, she asked them why.
“They said, ‘Why would I apply? It’s fixed. It’s going in house. Why should I upset my council members?’ This pisses me off beyond belief,” Kramer said. “And whoever has been putting that rumor out, this council and this mayor needs to extend this process and go on record and say that this is an open process. If not, you are cheating yourselves and you are cheating us.
“You are going against the will of the voters of Miami Lakes,” she said. “This process was set up by the voters, by a huge number of voters.”
Robert Ruiz agreed with her about opening up the process again. “I am getting calls from city managers that are 10 and 15 years working in this community who decided not to apply because they thought this was a done deal prior to the selection process,” Ruiz said. “There are good names we want to consider.”
Kramer and Fernandez noted that there was plenty of time to vet all the candidates and go through a thorough selection process, which the charter had recently changed to be a citizen driven process. They have until December at the earliest.
“We deserve a process that is fair. We deserve the very best possible administrator in all of South Florida to apply. We need to take Miami Lakes to the next level,” Kramer said. “Please don’t make a mockery of the process. If someone takes another job [in the meantime] they weren’t meant to be our manager.”
In fact, all the residents concerned about the process asked the council to extend the application period, rather than speed up the selection process. The council unanimously set a new deadline for any applicants that stayed away the first time: June 15. Kramer said the town should do the same as Key Biscayne, which kept its selection process open through the end, but some of the council members weren’t willing to leave it open that long.
Gastesi seemed to try very hard to get the council to leave the application deadline closed.
He said the process that resulted in more than 55 — but less than 60, he’s not sure exactly (seriously?!) — applicants was “open, public, recorded, advertised. It can’t be any more transparent as to what we were looking for. We discussed every aspect of what were the minimum qualifications, the educational requirements, size of their management experience, private vs public.”
He dismissed the rumors. “If you didn’t apply, you made that decision on your own. We’re adults and whoever decided not to apply, maybe the reason they didn’t apply is they didn’t want to create friction from where they are. It’s kind of an affront to everybody sitting up on this dais. It’s an affront to everybody on the committee, that somehow they have made that decision.”
Gastesi disclosed that he and the human resources director are going through the resumes to decide whether or not the applicant meets the requirements before passing them along to the final selection committee, which will then make a recommendation to the council, any one of whom, by the way, can bring in their own recommendation. If Gastesi has a doubt about anyone, he will submit them to the committee, he said. He was visibly and audibly upset by the accusations that the position had already been promised or decided for someone (read: Agha).
“I don’t know how else we can make it more transparent,” Gastesi said. “If someone decided not to apply, that’s on them… If there’s a rumor out there as to who’s in the bag or who’s going to get this, it’s not appropriate.”
Councilman Frank Mingo, who is running for the seat in House District 103 — where Manny Diaz Jr. is jumping off to run for the Senate seat vacated by Rene Garcia (more on that later) — agreed with Gastesi.
“It’s sad to hear some people didn’t apply because they made assumptions or heard rumors,” he said. “Nobody controls that committee and nobody controls this council. There is nothing set in stone. that I’ve learned.”
Well, maybe not stone.
But Gastesi tried again, really hard it seems, to talk the council out of re-opening the window of opportunity.
“We have a deadline to apply to get the recommendation to the committee,” Gastesi explained. “The committee process that we set up is the committee process that we set up. We worked long. We worked hard. People worked long and hard to get their applications in under the deadline and comply with the rules and procedures. There are 50-some people who did that.”
Remember, he can’t remember the exact number. Around 57. Or 58 maybe. Or 55. Something like that. No, that doesn’t sound sketchy at all.
Then Gastesi went on and on and on about how opening up the application window again would interfere with “a bunch of work to get to where we are” in the process.
“The fact is that this committee has done a lot of work, met, discussed parameters, input, emails back and forth to us inquiring of certain issues,” Gastesi said. “We’ve gotten public records requests from members of the committee. So we’ve done a lot of work so far.”
Councilman Nelson Rodriguez asked the right question when he asked what committee? What work? The committee, remember, will meet for the first time May 8.
Um, er, Gastesi stammered. “The only work that’s been done… the committee itself has not met. We’ve called meetings… by May 8, I will have reviewed all the resumes, discussed what piles they are going to go into and then turn them over to them and then they can decide what steps to take next.”
So in other words, the committee — whose own members asked for the window to be opened again — hasn’t done any work yet. Not “a bunch” of work. Not any.
Rodriguez was the one who pushed the issue. Daubert expected it to go away when he withdrew the item from he agenda, but Rodriguez wanted to talk about it and was assured that it would come up in the attorney’s report.
“The name of Miami Lakes is being smeared and I dislike it a lot,” he said, adding that he, too, had heard “it’s a done deal” was in the rumor mill. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to discuss this. I wanted to make it clear that nothing is a done deal. Nobody is going to control my vote and tell me how to vote.”
Councilman Ceasar Mestre said the council should “stick by our procedure” and not change the process midstream. He said this could also set a precedent for more changes which is contrary to what the committee was about.
“We are trying to be transparent and now we are coming out with a little way to get around it,” Mestre said “That kind of bypasses everything and if we do get a resume that did not apply on time and for some reason that person gets picked… if there’s rumors now can you imagine what it’s going to be like?”
Which does raise the question that maybe this is being done for a particular applicant.
Said Gastesi: “There is not a process in the country without a rumor mill.”
Councilwoman Marilyn Ruano said that her opinion was guided by the committee members who wanted to open the window again. “We’ve been abundantly transparent. That’s been the idea. And it has backfired.
“There were several committee members here tonight and it was their desire to reopen the process. It’s an abundance of caution at this point,” Ruano said. “We want to make it clear that this didn’t happen…I don’t want the perception to remain that we’re closing it off because that is what we wanted to do from the beginning.”

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Former Miami Lakes Mayor Michael “Muscles” Pizzi is out of the limelight and out of politics, losing the mayoral election last November to Manny Cid. But he’s not out of the legal debt stemming from that elected office.

Pizzi has been sued by Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, one of the lawfirms that represented him during his battle with the town of Miami Lakes to get his seat back. They say he owes them $56,795. Pizzi says he doesn’t owe them squat.

“Carlton Fields was paid every penny they earned,” Pizzi told Ladra Wednesday. “I’m not going to pay them a penny more. And for them to do this two years later is absurd.”

Let’s bring the newcomers up to speed, shall we?

Read related story: Chatty Michael Pizzi claims innocence, blames Michael Kesti

After Pizzi beat federal charges of bribery stemming from a bogus grant scheme set up by undercover FBI agents, he sued to be reinstated as mayor, even though the town had elected someone else during his trial after he was suspended by the governor. A court forced the governor to unsuspend him and then forced the town to take him back. Then the court found that the town was liable for his legal fees in that fight to regain his office.

Those fees originally were somewhere around $600,000, but the town refused to pay more than what they paid for their own legal fees during the case, which was approximately $460,000. A settlement with Pizzi and the attorneys in question meant that they would each have to lower their fees by a certain percent. Apparently, Carlton Fields was not happy and never signed on to a discount figure. It’s unclear if they got any of the pie. 

And, no, Pizzi didn’t pocket the money himself. It’s the first thing Ladra thought, too. But the town paid the lawfirms directly after reaching the settlement. And it was apparently Pizzi’s decision to leave Carlton Fields out of it. So they sued him.

Read related story: Michael Pizzi and his legal dream team — at what cost to who?

The lawsuit, filed in February, includes an agreement Pizzi signed in August 2014 agreeing to the schedule of fees for video taping, secretarial work, messanger services and a slew of other incidentals, plus the $870 an hour for Peter Webster, the attorney who represented Pizzi for the petition to the state to have him reinstated. The motion says that Pizzi saw the invoices every month and never objected, further approving the fees.

Pizzi played possum with Ladra.

“It’s ridiculous. A big law firm trying to get money they’re not entitled to,” Pizzi said. “I’m offended by their conduct.”

The former mayor, who is still fighting County Hall on the megamall on behalf of a group of residents, says that the firm should sue the town. After all, he is not responsible for those fees. The attorneys won him that battle.

Pizzi said that Carlton Field was paid a portion of their “exorbitant” fees. “If they feel they are entitled to any more money, they should have filed a claim against the town.”

The documents filed with the lawsuit show the total balance as $56,795, so it’s unclear if they were paid anything.

Read related story: Michael Pizzi sues Miami Lakes for $3.2 million in legal fees

Meanwhile, the town is still fighting Pizzi’s attempts to have taxpayers pay the $2.5 million legal fees for his federal bribery trial, for which he had more attoreys than O.J. Simpson (read: too many). The town says nana nina.

“We don’t believe any of the conduct was in the course and scope of being mayor of Miami Lakes,” said Town Attorney Raul Gastesi. He is talking about when Pizzi backdated bogus documents and took a $3,000 campaign contribution in an office closet. At the very least, he added, half of the charges in the indictment stem from actions Pizzi took as town attorney in Medley.

A court agreed with the town and ordered Pizzi to be deposed so he could answer questions about the fees, which the town believes are also excessive. Pizzi has refused to be questioned and appealed that decision.

Of course he did! He is facing $2.5 million in lawsuits!

Miami-Dade Commissoner Esteban Bovo wants the Florida Department of Transportation to open up the Northwest 170th Street bridge over I-75 so that people who live on the west side in Hialeah — where more development is coming, including the American Dream Miami mega mall — can cross over more easily to the Palmetto Expressway and 87th Avenue.

And, of course, vice versa.

But many residents in Miami Lakes and the unincorporated Palm Springs North — who believe the cut-through traffic would destroy their residential neighborhoods — don’t necessarily want easy access to the west side and are none too happy about having the bridge opened to vehicular traffic.

“The traffic we have now is bad enough. This is going to bring more gridlock,” said Robert Scavuzzo, president of the Palm Springs North Civic Association. He is upset that this is coming onto the agenda without any public input on the impact it would have to their neighborhood.

Bovo will ask the commission on Wednesday to urge the FDOT to open up the bridge, a two-lane road built at least as far back as the 1980s for absolutely no reason (read: someone made money off that), because “extending NW 170th Street over I-75 may minimize traffic congestion and increase the flow of traffic, benefitting those who reside and work in the area,” according to the resolution. Key word: May.

It may minimize traffic congestion? Now we’re urging the FDOT to open a bridge to traffic on conjecture?

“About four or five years ago, these bridges — really bridges to nowhere — had no reason to be opened and activated,” Bovo said, talking about both the 179th and the 154th street bridges, which he says will eventually be opened also. “That has changed. You have substantial development there now.

“I firmly believe that this is going to alleviate an area of congestion that is basically gridlock. It’s going to bring connectivity,” Bovo told Ladra, using one of his favorite buzzwords. “This is an area of Northwest Dade that has been very sleepy for a long time and, unfortunately or fortunately, depending on whose lens you are looking through, it is waking up with a lot of development.

“Both bridges are going to be required to alleviate the traffic that is coming.”

Read related story: American Dream moves along without any ifs, ands or buts

But Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid says he can’t support Bovo’s resolution without a traffic study that says it’s definitely going to help congestion and flow. Not that it may help.

“We do things a little differently in Miami Lakes. We base our actions on fact,” Cid told Ladra.

“They keep saying it’s going to help connectivity in the area, but we’re skeptical,” he said, adding that he would send an email to Bovo on Tuesday and would be at the meeting Wednesday to oppose the resolution. “We think it’s just going to change traffic patterns and make traffic worse.”

The opening a few years ago of Northwest 87th Avenue, which was controversial back then too, is an example. “Although it was good for Northwest Dade on connectivity, it was bad for Miami Lakes,” Cid said.

In fact, the town council voted unanimously last year to reject any attempt to open the bridge without a traffic study — paid for by either the county or the private developers on the west side of I-75 who are pushing for this — that finds it will benefit the people of Miami Lakes. Which, let’s face it, is a long shot. Opening that bridge might benefit the people west of I-75, who only can get out via 138th or 183rd streets. But it’s unlikely that it will benefit the people on the east.

Except to make it easier to get to the American Dream Miami mega mall.

Bovo and other sources close to the American Dream discussions told Ladra, however, that the owners of the mega mall are not the ones pushing for this. They are working on other entrance and exit points that would be less disruptive to the surrounding residential neighborhood — there has been talk of developing ramps directly onto the property from the Turnpike or I-75 — and their traffic study indicates no need to have the Northwest 170 Street bridge opened.

Though, certainly, it would be a welcome bonus, wouldn’t it?

Read related story: Miami Lakes mayor wants a piece of American Dream pie

More likely, several sources say, this is being pushed by Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez — a Bovo pal and ally — on behalf of and in partnership with

There’s more. Please press this “continue reading” button to “turn the page.”

Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid believes the American Dream mega mall have a bigger impact on his town than anywhere else. And, so, he thinks they should be compensated.

Cid wrote a letter last month to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Chairman Esteban Bovo stating his desire to have not only 100 percent of the impact fees spent in Northwest Dade but also a recurring amount of tax dollars to be funneled to Miami Lakes.

“As you are already aware, our community is concerned and is monitoring the progress of the proposed American Dream Miami project. We are anxiously awaiting the agreement between MDC planners and the mall’s developers that will outline a proposal to address the traffic impact.

What is abundantly clear is that Miami-Dade County will receive millions of dollars in impact fees and millions of dollars on a recurring basis once the mall is open. My request is to have 100% of all the impact fees stay in Northwest Miami-Dade County, both in the incorporated and unincorporated areas, to alleviate the impact on our roads and public services. Additionally, to assist us in dealing with the day-to-day traffic impact, Miami Lakes should receive a percentage of all recurring revenue on a yearly basis to fund our strategic transportation initiatives, which will hopefully alleviate the mall’s impact for Miami Lakers (attached you will find our transportations initiatives list with a cost as of July 2016).

As elected officials, we represent the people’s interests. Ensuring that we get the best deal possible for our residents is paramount. I look forward to working with you both on this very imporant issue for Miami Lakers.”

In other words, is Miami Lakes for sale? Because what Ladra is hearing is that they would oppose this development unless they get a piece of the American Dream pie.

Ladra expects Cid to be at the meeting Wednesday when county commissioners consider changes to the Comprehensive Devlopment Master Plan, the first of many applications to amend land use and zoning requirements in the way of the megamall’s development.

Read related story: American Dream megamall seeks first county approval

Once open, the American Dream megamall would provide close to $35 million a year in property and sales taxes. The Miami Lakes wishlist of transportation projects cost about $12 million. But the key word here is recurring and Ladra is sure that Cid and his colleagues in Miami Lakes can find other projects that they “need” to mitigate whatever impact the megamall has.

Cid has talked about a 15% size piece of the pie, though he has said it should be proportional to the impact on the town.

But if they get a piece, won’t Hialeah wan’t one? Hialeah Gardens? Ladra is sure they have wish lists of their own. How about Broward?

How many pieces does the pie have?