Is there another no-bid deal for his wife’s friend?

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A group representing 35,000 Brickell area homeowners is suing to stop the Ultra Music Festival — which was kicked out of downtown Miami this year — from happening on Virginia Key at the end of this month.
The emergency complaint filed Wednesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court claims the city schemed to bypass the public bidding process by calling the agreement a license rather than a lease, which would also require a public vote. But one can tell from the language of the lawsuit that is not the only problem the plaintiffs have with the three-day, electronic music party.
“This is an action challenging whether the city can lease certain environmentally sensitive public park land to a for-profit corporation without complying with the competitive bidding process,” the lawsuit states.
The city entered into the licensing agreement with Event Entertainment Group, the outfit that puts on Ultra, in November, after downtown residents complained about the Bayshore Park location. They said the noise and traffic brought by the three-day festival make their neighborhood unlivable for the weekend.
Read related: Ultra out for Formula 1 could be Joe Carollo nod to CJ Gimenez
Some observers believe the move, orchestrated by Commissioner Joe Carollo, was meant to make downtown residents more amenable to a future Formula One race event, which was being pushed by his then pal, CJ Gimenez, son of the county mayor.
But this new agreement cannot be terminated or revoked by the city as easily as a license could, in most cases, which makes it more of a lease, argues attorney David Winker , who also filed complaints against the city in regards to the Melreese Golf Course referendum (more on that later).
“Virginia Key is an utterly inappropriate venue for ULTRA,” Winker said in a statement. “The City of Miami circumvented its own laws and disenfranchised its own citizens to force this deal through… a deal that is a disaster for the environment and our residents.
“My lawsuit asks the judge to declare the License Agreement entered into between the City and ULTRA void and force the City to follow its own laws regarding competitive bidding and participation of its citizens in the process.
“We have to be able to expect more from our elected officials.”

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People watching the City of Miami meeting last week were surprised when Commissioner Joe Carollo went with the majority and voted against the very contract he helped negotiate with Ultra Music Festival organizers, even after getting everything he demanded.
The three-day electronic music event was kicked out of Bayfront Park, its home the past 18 years, when commissioners voted Sept. 27 unanimously not to renew their contract for next year. They cited the noise and traffic bothering downtown residents as their prime concerns.
But in reality Carollo is just trying to trade in one noise and traffic nightmare for another: Formula One racing. He thinks that if he can appease the downtown residents on Ultra — there, I did that for you — then it will be easier to sell the Miami Grand Prix.
Read related: Joe Carollo files late campaign report, with $60K to mayor’s daughter-in-law
And he’s doing it for his new BFF, lobbyist CJ Gimenez, son of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez. CJ represents Formula One racing interests.
But what people need to know is that its not apples for oranges.
Yes, the Formula 1 racing would likely not extend into the wee hours of the morning like Ultra does. But the noise is arguably worse and the traffic is still going to be a nightmare. And the agreement negotiated so far with the city manager provides far less rent to the city than Ultra, whose organizers had agreed to pay $2 million annually to the city for the three day use of the park, a demand Carollo had made.
Read related: Why is Joe Carollo on Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s camp’s payroll
But Carollo and the Gimenez clan have a very special relationship. It’s a relationship where Mayor Gimenez was paying him $6,000 a month through his political action committee — for what? nobody knows — and where Crazy Joe paid the mayor’s daughter-in-law Tania Cruz, an attorney, almost $60,000 for mailers and campaign work. Both CJ and Tania, photographed right at a 2017 campaign event, were very present during Carollo’s commission contest and Cruz helped represent him after Alfie Leon challenged his residency.
Yes, it was an anonymous vote to deny Ultra another year. But Carollo was the one who negotiated and brought the contract to the table. Was it sabotage? Did he bring a poison pill?
Why wouldn’t he make it easier for his pal CJ to get Formula One passed? Todo en familia.

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