Dear Friends and Neighbors:

We are back and 2024 is already shaping up to be a special year for our Village. This year you can expect to see ground breaking for three new park amenities including our Pickleball Center, Coral Reef Park Recreation Room, and Phase one of the Veterans Park. Click here to look at a quick review of all we accomplished together in 2023.

As we get back into the post holiday groove, tonight we have our Regular Council Meeting. Click for the agenda. Recognitions start at 630 pm and our meeting begins at 7 pm. Your participation is important. Click here to see how you can join us.

Schools are back in session and that means speed zones will be enforced. Give yourself some extra time on your morning commute and pay extra attention in and around the schools. Additionally, the County is continuing its work on the Old Cutler Traffic Circles. Work is currently taking place at 136th street and Old Cutler and 184th street and Old Cutler. Detours are posted. Some of those detours move commuters through residential streets. Please be mindful of those areas. This is a Miami-Dade County project and they are making efforts to minimize the impact from the construction activities to area residents, schools, businesses and motorists. For additional information regarding this project, please call 786-469-5365 or send an email to DTPWOutreach@miamidade.gov.

Legislative Session begins this week. Later this month, I will be traveling, along with Council and our Manager, to Tallahassee to discuss our appropriations and other policy items impacting the Village, including policy impacting rising insurance premiums, sustainability, and policy impacting Home Rule. You can read more about legislative session here. We will be following up with an update on our advocacy throughout the Legislative Session process.

Now that the holidays are over, it's time to say a fond farewell to your Christmas tree. Miami-Dade County residents can take their clean, decoration-free tree to a participating Trash and Recycling Center (TRC) or the West Miami-Dade Home Chemical Collection Center (For tree drop off only). All Centers are open seven days a week from 7 am to 5:30 pm. Christmas trees dropped off at the TRCs and those collected at curbside during dedicated Christmas tree collection will be recycled into mulch.

County crews will collect Christmas trees from the curbside beginning Wednesday, Jan. 10. Trees will be collected throughout the service area during two sweeps. Do not place whole trees or cut up trees in the green garbage carts or blue recycling carts.

• First Christmas Tree Collection Sweep: Jan. 10-21
• Trees will be collected on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays
• Place tree at the curb by Wednesday, Jan. 10
• Final Christmas Tree Collection Sweep: Jan. 24 through Feb. 4
• Trees will be collected on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays
• Place tree at the curb by Wednesday, Jan. 24

You spoke and we listened! Back by popular demand, Camping in the Park is returning to Palmetto Bay! On Feb. 3 and Feb. 4, Coral Reef Park will host an event filled with sports, games, family activities, campfires, a movie, and a relaxing evening under the stars in one of our beautiful parks! Registration will begin soon, so save the date and keep an eye on our Parks Events page for updates. We hope to see you there!

I look forward to seeing you in and around the Village for the upcoming meetings and events! As we enter the new year, I encourage you to stay tuned into reliable information sources. You can subscribe to the Village Newsletter by clicking here and Download our Palmetto Bay Connect and Street by Street Apps. As always, I am here to answer questions or lend a helping hand. I can be reached at kcunningham@palmettobay-fl.gov or at 305-799-0695. 

Warm regards,