Luis F de la Cruz
I have lived in Key Biscayne for more than 50 years. I met my wife and raised two Key Rat boys here. Through my civic endeavors, I served as Commodore of the Key Biscayne Yacht Club, was elected to the 2014-2018 Village Council, served as Chair of the Vision Board, and served as a Board member and VP of the KBAC. I am a longtime lector at St. Agnes Church.
I have recently become even more involved in Village Council issues. As many of you know, I led the effort to bring critical institutional knowledge of the island’s storm sewer systems to the Council—knowledge that helped shape a solution that was more scalable, sustainable, and environmentally sensitive than the unrealistic concept originally proposed by the administration’s engineers.
The Village faces many challenges ahead that require seasoned KB leadership.
We face the existential threat of the Bear Cut Bridge, the redevelopment of the Virginia Key, and overwhelming Rickenbacker Causeway traffic.
We need to put our utilities underground. We need a sustainable solution to our ever-disappearing beach sand, perhaps with offshore wave dissipators.
We need to find a way to save our K-8 middle school which once was the
pride of Key Biscayne.
Like many residents, I am deeply concerned about the Village’s direction. It is time for the Council to get back to its fundamental responsibility: setting clear policy, providing direction, and holding the administration accountable for delivering results.
This is only the beginning. Please stay tuned.