Ariel Fernandez
Founder & Editor
[email protected]
After nearly two years of denying Gables Insider‘s reports of mold at City Hall, the City Manager’s office has been vacated to allow for mold remediation beginning Monday, January 30th.
Multiple sources have confirmed that the City Manager’s office moved to the newly renovated 427 building on Friday, in order for mold remediation to take place.
Gables Insider had been reporting mold issues at City Hall since 2021. A public record request showed that no mold specialist had ever submitted a report for testing the mold or addressing the issue.
Employees in several offices have been reported to have been suffering from illness which could be mold related. The City Manager still refused to address the issue, explaining that the issue would be addressed when the building is renovated.
However, now that the issue arose in the City Manager’s office, it is immediately being addressed.
Gables Insider has also learned that asbestos was found in the third floor of City Hall. Sources claim the issue was addressed.
Mold and asbestos can cause serious, and in some cases deadly consequences for those who inhabit the space. This ranges from members of staff, to members of the Commission, to members of the public.
Although the Manager wants to address the issues when City Hall is renovated, at the present moment there are no immediate plans for that to take place. In fact, staff confirmed to the Commission last year that the City had $6 million in a fund for the renovation, but that fund has been depleted to just over $57,000.
When asked about the whereabouts of the funds, staff claimed it was all used for the roof repairs at City Hall and the “City Hall Complex” which they claim the funds were earmarked for.
However, a search of Commission meetings and City budgets shows the use of the term City Hall Complex was only used once before, but not in reference to these funds.
As to the other areas of concern at City Hall, sources state that they remain cordoned off and unaddressed by the City Manager. The scope of the remediation is expected to only be the Manager’s office.
No notice of the temporary change of location of the Manager’s office to 427 Biltmore Way was provided to residents.
The city of Coral Gables is all but a facade. From mismanagement of funds, closed-door deals, firefighters at an impasse, virtually no mechanics, police officers migrating in droves to other departments, 911 communications center in crisis, huge salary boosts to SOME specific department executives, and who knows what else. Gables is basically just a pretty house as a front, but all decayed and putrid inside.
$6 million in roof repairs and no record of the expenses in the commission meetings. REALLY!?!?!
That’s outrageous! Can we request an audit? Do the citizens have a right to know how their tax dollars are used?
There are entirely too many conflicts-of-interest in both the Mayor’s office and the City Commission. The City Manager does and spends as he pleases. Have we no legal recourse?
Where is the Miami Herald in all of this? The 4th estate is all but non-existent in this town. Why is it left to Ariel to uncover this mess? They say Ariel is a busy-body who sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong as they continue making no-bid deals with cronies behind closed doors and spending funds with no public approvals. Too much happens behind closed doors, seemingly to keep the one person who reports the news in the dark. I for one am grateful that he is there to watch and report on the goings-on.
@City Employee: If you believe Ariel has an ulterior motive, why not call him out for it in more explicit terms? To vaguely suggest that he is motivated by an agenda and offer nothing in the way of evidence only calls your own motive into question.
I suspect the agenda you speak of is his run for office. If this is the case, then please explain what self-interest you believe motivates him. If he is as conflicted as the Mayor, the Vice-Mayor, and the Commission, I would very much like to know.
The fact of the matter is that we need NEW REPRESENTATION. Speak with your neighbors. Let them know that most of our elected leaders are proxies for building contractors and real estate firms.
We need to replace these puppet proxies with citizen representation.
We need to take our City Hall out of the darkness and into the light.
VOTE THEM OUT!!
Over and over, comment after comment, issue after issue….everything comes down to the horrible way our City Manager is running this City. What has to happen before Lago and the Commissioners realize the majority wants the manager out. Here is an example of you not listening to us and the poor leadership we have here. Funny how the mold has affected some employees but the KING Of CITY HALL gets his office done first. What’s wrong with you Lago? Are you deaf and blind on what has been going on the past few years? You have proved to be a terrible Mayor supporting a more terrible City Manager.
Instead of spending most of their time on stupid projects (the mobility hub, buying fancy, useless art, etc.), the city leaders might want to spend some of their time lowering taxes.
The mold and the City Manager Peter Iglesias are the same.
Great. Add another reason why employees have been leaving left and right, ESPECIALLY the last 2-3 years. I mean, just look at the regular job postings on the City website. Unless you’re Assistant Director of something, it’s mostly part-time for crap pay. I’m so done. Good-bye, Coral Gables. Hello, Miami-Dade County! Heck! Maybe even City of Doral! I’m sure they EACH have their own DESK in a decent building without technology issues every few hours!
City employees do as directed by Commission through the City Manager. This is defined in the code. “Support Ariel” isn’t too far off the mark that they are puppets.
City employees do as they are told even when they don’t like it or disagree. That’s their job. It’s almost refreshing to see that fact be recognized.
If indeed there is harmful mold they have been exposed to, without remediation, they have every right to be upset about it. Wouldn’t you be upset if you were exposed to a harmful substance at your place of employment? Or your children were exposed to a harmful substance at their places of employment?
Dear Employee #3,
Ariel is not insulting the City employees, the City Employees are insulting the residents of this City. We have dealt with mishandling of many items, kept in the dark, not listened to as you all think you know what we need more than we do. Stop the back push and do what you were hired to do, support the residents of Coral Gables, not run this City behind our backs.
Dear support Ariel. You continue to insult employees like they are all garbage, but expect excellent service. Realty check my friend, if you don’t support the employees both morale and services suffer.
Instead of being thankful for a report that may lead to the elimination of these issues for the employees, we get someone issuing a threat. How typical of the mentality that seems to permeate that toxic environment, literally and figuratively. Ridiculous!
The city has been lying and making promises for years. We all knew and know that building has asbestos just like the newly renovated 427 Biltmore Way had asbestos. The city does not take care of its employees nor the residents that visit the building.
Newer politicians at City Hall pretend to be anti-Development with a cute tiny remodeled annex building, when they could have had so much space to temporarily relocate with brand new Spillis Candela annex. Instead they authorize demolition of more significant MAJESTIC colonial brick portico bldgs at corner of Biltmore Way & Anderson for silly townhomes. Why? More tax revenue
Dear City Employee, I would believe Ariel over any City employee ANYDAY. You all are manipulated puppets for an autocratic City Manager, Mayor & Commission.
You are basically saying that HR has lied to employees and staff when they themselves have instructed, due to employees concerns in those years mentioned with a hired mold specialist, that stated there is no mold. Ariel Fernandez, those are fighting words, therefore, your words better be true and not some ploy for your agenda.