Newly-elected county commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez had his feet held to the proverbial fire Tuesday as commissioners once more dove into where to build Miami-Dade’s new waste-to-energy plant to replace the one real fire destroyed some 661 days ago. And, for the most part, Chairman Rodriguez emerged unscathed, or at the least, no worse than outgoing chairman Oliver G. Gilbert III. Commissioners once more deferred a decision, at least until after the fire’s second anniversary next Feb. 12. The commission overwhelmingly agreed on the need for a deferral before vocal skirmishes broke out. But, in spite of that agreement, they chose – no, insisted – on speaking out before actually voting. Some remained silent during the more-than-hour-long on debate where tempers neared the boiling point as commissioners opined on the very same issue that’s plagued them since an errant conveyor belt at the Doral facility sparked a three-week smoldering blaze that destroyed all but the plant’s tire-shredding equipment in early 2023. Comments ranged from whether the word “race” was used, as a “social construct” not a test of speed, to Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez asking Mayor Daniella Levine Cava if the county has explored “a public-private partnership to the building of this facility.” Indeed, offered chief operating officer and Harvard-law graduate Jimmy Morales, “a P3-type option (public and private partnership) that could include financing and whatnot” was explored, he told Mr. Bermudez, who was the commissioner who brought up Mr. Morales’s alma mater. And while Mr. Morales said the county had been invited by companies to “dog-and-pony shows” … “we’re not at the point of having to make that recommendation or decision, and, if I may just to add, there is no free money.” Well, countered Mr. Bermudez, “when we meet in January, I’m going to ask those questions … I’d be derelict” otherwise, “not just to the residents of Doral, Medley, Hialeah Gardens, Sweetwater and Hialeah,” he said, running through municipalities in his 12th district, “but I’d be derelict to the residents of Miami… So, I mean, I hope you’re ready for that, because I’m gonna have a lot of questions.” The reference by Mr. Bermudez to January stemmed from an at-long-last decision by the commission to have a workshop on the question in January and decide on a location by the second meeting in February. Financing is always an issue, Mr. Morales said, “and that’s a discussion that hopefully will be part of this workshop, or what we’re calling it… But keep in mind, we still do have the cheapest money when we issue bonds. That is the lowest rate we’re going to get, compared to generally the private sector.” “We’re going to talk about fairness and equity,” Mr. Bermudez said. “It’s not based on race, it’s not based on gender, it’s not based on ethnicity. The people of District 12 … deserve the same respect as any other community in this county. “I don’t know if anybody has questioned my … concern about how this impacts people of different races and genders and whatever.” Bermudez said, but … “you know, I’m the son of a Puerto Rican waiter and Cuban waitress.” Commissioner Gilbert picked up the diversity gauntlet as tempers simmered: “It is important to note and listen and understand how people hear. I used the word marginalized. I never implicated race once. I didn’t implicate race once. I never said race… rewind the tape. Listen to it. I never said race. You might have heard race…” “I said marginalized and lower income. That is what I said. I compared it to townhouses that were sold for a million dollars. That is what I said. I don’t divide this community in terms of race. I represent every race in my district,” Mr. Gilbert said. “If Commissioner Gilbert felt that I made reference to that [race], then I can’t help that,” Mr. Bermudez responded. “The bottom line is, when we speak on this in January, what I want is fairness and equity for all communities in Miami-Dade County.” With a move to lower the temperature, Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez offered: “I just want to bring up what [Commissioners] Raquel Regalado and Keon Hardeman and Commissioner Bermudez have been saying, we have to have a meeting and a conversation.” Ever the peacemaker, Commissioner Regalado turned to humor: “For those of us that remember taking computer science when it was DOS … you guys remember DOS … and they used to … teach us how to program,” now “young children just click on an icon. “For those of us that remember those days, they used to tell us that ‘trash in, trash out’ … Whatever you code in is what comes out. And my concern with this conversation is that it’s always had a bias. It’s always had a bias… we’ve never really been able. It’s always had a bias. It’s always preferred a modality, and we’ve never really been able to consider all the different pieces of it. “And I think that now, if we do it in the way that it’s being presented, there is going to be a different outcome, because we’re going to be considering all the different options,” Ms. Regalado offered. “And when we talk about expanding the capacity, we don’t, you know, historically, this board has said if you expand the capacity of landfill, you must use that capacity. It doesn’t have to be that way. We can actually say we’re going to expand the capacity so that we have options, should there be a hurricane or should there be a national disaster. “So, we need to be honest about all these different components and weigh them and have a portfolio, because what we need is a solid waste portfolio.” Commissioner Hardemon said: “Good morning everyone. I must say … first, this is not a sword. It does not cut both ways. It’s more like a blunt force object with a sharp end. It’s like a hatchet… “However, it is not the only measuring stick. Now, I understand that because time has passed in one way or another, that there are going to be some decisions that will be made on a federal level that could affect how and where we build or not build this facility. “I just want that to be on the record, so that when we are moving forward in this, that all of us, at least, thinking through, at least, some of those things about how we can, at least, lighten the burden that our dear commissioner (Bermudez) has to fight for in his request in having this facility moved. “And I think it would behoove of the commissioner (Bermudez) to also to think of it that way, because not every vote against you is against you, you know. “And so here we are just considering the facts and the figures, and right now seeing what the facts are changing and that the facts change, and perhaps the figures should change as well. And so, I support the” deferral.” Related Posts:Debris blocks use of waste-to-energy plantCounty reverses decision to build new waste plant at…Doral mayor looks for way to keep out a new incineratorMayor looks beyond Doral incinerator to manage wasteDoral incinerator location might get a second lookThe post Under fire, incinerator site choice put off to February appeared first on Miami Today.