Honoring The Past & Making Changes For The Future

By Hallandale Beach Mayor, Joy Cooper

October 7, 2021

Fellow commissioners and friends paid final respects to former Hallandale Beach Vice Mayor Bill Julian this past weekend. Vice Mayor Julian was the longest serving Vice Mayor in the City’s History, funeral Services & Memorial were held this past Saturday. Services were held at St. Matthews Catholic Church. Following the mass, The Celebration of Life proceeded to the Veteran’s Memorial at Hallandale Beach City Hall where the honor guard paid tribute to Bill's three tours of military service and a wreath was placed next to a memorial brick in his honor, refreshments followed at the American Legion Post 310. In tribute to Bill, donations can be made in honor of his life service and can be made payable to the American Legion Post 310: American Legion Post 310: 225 Southeast 1st Avenue Hallandale Beach, Florida 33009.

This past Saturday there was a beautiful mass held at St. Matthew’s Church to celebrate the life of Vice Mayor Bill Julian. Former Hallandale Beach Mayor, Joy Adams arranged the mass and her granddaughter Sabrina Adams-Oliveras delivered a beautiful eulogy. I was honored to share a message as well. After mass a dedication was held at our Veterans Memorial with the Hallandale ROTC presenting the colors. Many of Bill's friends gathered at the American Legion Post 310, where Commander Ed Pickett made a beautiful historical speech about Bill's rich history in Hallandale Beach. I would like to thank Joy Adams on behalf of the City, the many friends that gathered to honor Bill and he will be missed by many.

Chief Sonia Quiñones Retiring:
Last week our City Manager received the retirement request from Chief Quiñones, who was made Chief in Transition on September 24th and Deputy Chief Michel Michel was appointed Chief. Chief Quiñones has been with the City for over 28 years. She rose through the ranks as a Sergeant, a Captain, a Major and was made Chief 4 years ago. Throughout her tenure she established many new initiatives and programs to reduce crime. She served as a DEA Agent at one time performing many undercover operations. She will not be formally retired until October 29th, 2021. Dr. Jeremy Earle will be conducting a national search to find a new Chief.

Update on our Building Department:
Over the past weeks our City Manager has hired Mrs. Shellie Jackson as our Head Building Official. Mrs. Jackson was our building official when City Manager Renee Miller was overseeing our day-to-day operations. We are very fortunate to have her back. The department has expanded to address implementation of the 40 year inspection enforcements. In partnership with the IT Department, we have adapted newer technology to streamline our online application process even further. Due to the increase in staffing our department has been split between the City Hall and the Annex at our Fire Station on Northwest 1st Avenue and Foster Road.

The department is open now at the City Hall from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. We do encourage applicants to make an appointment if necessary. Our online system does allow for full access to all of the documents and comments for the status of permits. There is an easy portal where constituents can put in the permit number to find and follow the status. Applicants can upload documents and respond to comments. It is important to note that all contractors should be well versed in the process and of all requirements applicable to the permit itself. South Florida Building Codes are the same as other jurisdictions other than the rule starting with hurricane building standards.

Please note that permits do take time. If permits are not filed with even the simplest of information, such as: contractor certifications, insurance and business licenses will hold up the application process. They will receive a denied response and enter it back into the cycle. My colleagues and I have been answering many calls about building permits requests. In these cases I have filled them in most of the time, this is due to the lack of documentation. When this happens, it can set back the applicant for weeks. The typical cycle has been three weeks, but it is actually 12 twelve working days. Our City Hall is open from Monday to Thursday. I will be hosting a Town Hall Zoom Meeting to introduce our new official, the new systems and discuss the 40 year inspection process within the month.

As we approach the holidays, many non-profit organizations are having difficulty securing turkeys for their giveaway events. I received a call from Joe Rodrigues from Rodriguez Charites. They are always extremely generous for those in need and typically sponsor a large turkey giveaway at the Cheetah Club here in Hallandale Beach. While they cannot provide a giveaway, he has generously donated the funds so they could be used at our Hepburn Center to supplement our feeding program. Due to COVID-19, we will not be hosting an in person dinner but we will be providing drive through meals, the date, time and details will be forthcoming.

As always, I am available anytime for your questions, concerns and ideas to make our City, a better place, on my phone/text at: (954) 632-5700. Or you can e-mail me at: jcooper@cohb.org Please visit my Facebook Page: MayorJoyCooper. Like It! Friend It! Share It!