The taxpayer's dollars at work in the City of Miami...

Let's rewind a couple of years to this contentious ribbon cutting ceremony commencing the rebuilding of a boat ramp located on the Miami River at Curtis Park.  This project was a sore spot for the City of Miami's employees that were facing huge pay and benefit cuts, as the caption accompanying the video says...

During a Ribbon Cutting ceremony at the Curtis Park Boat Ramp, Mayor "Tomacito" Regalado is interviewed about City Employees and their drastic pay cuts. During the interview, disgruntled employees can be heard blowing air horns (while on their boats) in protest. The City of Miami continues to cry poor, but still has plenty of money for many projects that is costing the tax payer a lot of money during these "tough times".

Ok, to be honest with you, I don't remember this boat ramp being in poor condition or needing any kind of rehab.  It's always been a shitty boat ramp in a pretty shitty location.  Take a look at the video of the ribbon cutting ceremony and the subsequent forced statement by Mayor Tomas Regalado...



According to Mayor Regalado, the ramp is "...very well utilized by shrimpers and workers on the river that come and bring their products to Allapattah..."  No kidding?  That's interesting as I have never seen a single commercial fisherman use this boat ramp to launch a boat let alone "bring their products to Allapattah".  WTF?    

He goes on to say that "...we are in the process of saving money for the city and making business more profitable."  Oh really?  More profitable for whom?  Mind you, back when this ceremony was going on, City of Miami employees were so pissed off that they decided to protest this event to highlight what a waste of money this project was in light of the pay and benefit cuts that were being rammed down the employee's throats.  

Kearns Construction employees

What's even stranger about this whole ordeal is that when some employees decided to protest at this event from the water, a tug boat and barge from Kearns Construction mysteriously appeared blocking access to the event from the water.  When asked about why the barge was blocking the ramp, Regalado says "I have no idea...", whatever the fuck ever.  Listen closely at the 4:09 mark on the video where the guy from Kearns construction tells Regalado the barge was put there to keep the protesters out, so much for him not having any idea why it was there!

So what's the big deal about all of this?  Why drag up this nonsense after nearly two years?  It's rather simple actually, take a look at what happened last week when a business owner on the Miami River actually tried to use this boat ramp that had recently been "rebuilt"...

Wait a minute, why the hell is the place locked up?  I know I've used this ramp at least once after it was "rebuilt"!  A closer inspection reveals the reason why the ramp is locked up...

No shit?  The boat ramp is now "UNSAFE" shortly after it was "rebuilt"?  WTF?  What the hell happened here? What did all the money that was spent on this ramp do?  Was the money simply spent on smearing around some paint for the parking spaces?  The concrete barriers were already there, as was the fence, so where did the money go?

What's even more interesting about this whole fiasco and waste of taxpayer's money is what comes next.  What's going to happen to this boat ramp now?  How much money is going to be spent on making this "unsafe" ramp "safe"?  The more tantalizing question though is who do you think is going to be doing the work?  Anyone doubt that those folks with the nifty barge blocking the protesters in the video are going to get a piece of the pie?


Oh well, just another day and another shitty deal for the citizens of Miami...