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The Town of Southwest Ranches, Corrections Corporation of American (CCA), and DHS / ICE want to build one of the largest immigration detention centers in the nation within walking distance of thousands of homes; thus, reducing the quality of our life and our community. We do not agree with the federal government privatizing our immigration detention centers throughout the nation when there is clear evidence that privatizing our prisons creates a clear public safety threat. For ICE to continue to privatize these institutions and bring this safety threat through their "secure communities Initiative" to our community is unacceptable. Depriving someone of their liberty is a non-delegable governmental function and privatizing of such a function is infecting our nation like a virus.

The Town of Southwest Ranches has now entered into it's THIRD Fire Contract within the last year now with the Town of Davie, costing taxpayers $120,000 in ramp up fees. They are now closing several roads in western Southwest Ranches charging the tax payers $80,000 for the gates. They have paid an unknown amount of money for lobbying with ICE regarding this prison. They have several lawsuits against the Town, 1- Involving Open Meeting Violations on a November 5th meeting concerning the ICE Detention Center, 2- Open Records Violations, and 3- The Town is putting together a lawsuit to sue Pembroke Pines for breach of contract because the City utilized their exit clause and cancelled for convenience their Fire/EMS contract which included water and sewer at the last minute for the CCA prison. In the contract it states that there should be no third party beneficiaries. CCA would be a third party in this instance.

CCA has also filed suit in Federal court against the City of Pembroke Pines saying they are denying them water however the City had never seen a water application. The City did file for a Declaratory Judgement in State Court but that has been put on hold until the Federal Court hears the suit from CCA.

Is ANYONE CONFUSED as to why the Pembroke Pines/Southwest Ranches Fire Agreement was cancelled? The Town Attorney Keith Poliakoff attempted to "slip" into the agreement a portion that guaranteed water for the prison at CCA's request. This is something that should have been brought up separately. CCA should have brought it forward on their own in a water application. This is sleight of hand that CCA and the Town attempted to do because they were so afraid of CCA being on the Pembroke Pines agenda.

As of June 2012, ICE put out a statement that the site selection was no longer needed due to the fact that the extra bedspace was no longer needed. READ UPDATE HERE!


Monday, November 24, 2014

City of Pembroke Pines WINS Declaratory Action on Water!





BREAKING NEWS.  

 DATELINE NOVEMBER 24TH, 2014.  PEMBROKE PINES, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA.

 IN A DECISION DATED NOVEMBER 20, 2014, THE BROWARD COUNTY 17TH CIRCUIT COURT, JUDGE CAROL-LISA PHILLIPS HAS RULED REGARDING THE CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES VS. CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA DECLARATORY ACTION REGARDING WATER SERVICES. (ENTIRE DECISION BELOW)


 IN SUMMATION, JUDGE CAROL-LISA PHILLIPS RULED THE FOLLOWING:

1) THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE A "DUTY" TO PROVIDE SERVICE TO THE CCA SITE.  

 2) THE CONDUCT OF THE CITY TO CCA WAS NOT LEGALLY SUFFICIENT TO BIND THE CITY TO PROVIDE SERVICE.

 3) NO CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT EXISTS UNDER FLORIDA LAW TO PROVIDE SERVICE TO THE CCA SITE.

 4) THE CCA SITE IS NOT PART OF ANY SERVICE ZONE.

 5) SHOULD THE CITY VOTE TO PROVIDE WATER AND SEWER TO THE CCA SITE, THE CASE LAW CLEARLY STATES THAT THE CITY MAY RESTRICT THE QUANTITY OR THE AMOUNT OF SERVICE PROVIDED AND SET RATES, ETC.

 6) THE CITY IS NOT EQUITABLY ESTOPPED FROM DENYING WATER AND SEWER TO THE CCA SITE.

7) THE CITY HAS NOT WAIVED ITS RIGHT TO DENY WATER AND WASTEWATER TO THE CCA SITE.  

 AS THE HONORABLE JUDGE PHILLIPS POINTS OUT SO ELOQUENTLY MULTIPLE TIMES IN HER RULING, THE CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES IS NOT OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE WATER OR SEWER TO THE CCA SITE.

THE CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES HAD THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT ON
11/24/2014, 
"The City of Pembroke Pines has won its legal battle in state court today against Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), a private company that sought to compel Pembroke Pines City officials to provide water and sewer service to a proposed federal detention center in Southwest Ranches. Broward Circuit Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips ruled in the lawsuit, which was filed after City Commissioners voted to not provide water and sewer services to the facility, that Pembroke Pines does not have a “duty” to provide service to the CCA site. The judgment stated that the conduct of the City to CCA was not legally sufficient to bind the City to provide the service, and that there was no contractual agreement under Florida law for the City to provide such service."

 THIS IS A CHECK MATE FOR THE CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES IN THIS CHESS GAME WITH CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA.    



RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES AND THE TOWN OF SOUTHWEST RANCHES ARE BOTH VERY HAPPY WITH THE NEWS OF THIS DECISION.  THIS WAS MONEY WELL SPENT BY PEMBROKE PINES TO ENSURE THAT THE RIGHTS OF THE CITY WERE UNDERSTOOD FULLY. 

 THE CITYS ATTORNEY'S SAM GOREN, JACOB HOROWITZ, USHER L. BROWN AND BRUCE JOHNSON ARE TO BE COMMENDED ON THE EXCELLENT JOB THEY PERFORMED THROUGHOUT THIS TRIAL.    

 ONE MORE COURTROOM BATTLE IS LEFT TO FINALLY PUT THIS ISSUE TO BED, THE DAMAGES LAWSUIT BROUGHT FORTH BY THE TOWN'S ATTORNEY KEITH POLIAKOFF FOR AN IMAGINARY CONTRACT WITH IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOM ENFORCEMENT (ICE) THAT THE TOWN NEVER HAD AND CAN'T PRODUCE....NO MATTER HOW HARD THEY TRY.  

 NO ONE CAN EXPLAIN THIS ONE...THE ABILITY FOR ONE SUE FOR DAMAGES REGARDING A CONTRACT THAT NEVER EXISTED...  JUST ANOTHER FRIVOLOUS LAWSUIT FILED TO MAKE MORE MONEY FOR THE TOWN'S ATTORNEY, AND ANOTHER BAD DECISION BY THE TOWN COUNCIL. 

 ALSO, IT'S WORTH MENTIONING THE ATTORNEY FOR CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA IS LEONARD SAMUELS OF BERGER SINGERMAN WHO HAD ADVISED CCA TO FILE IN FEDERAL COURT WHICH DELAYED THIS DECISION AND IT WAS LATER DISMISSED BY JUDGE ZLOCH TO BE HEARD AT THE STATE COURT.  MORE ON THIS CAN BE READ HERE.


 THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED AS MORE NEWS COMES IN.  STAY TUNED.

NEWS COVERAGE
BROWARD BEAT - ARTICLE
SUN-SENTINEL - ARTICLE

 END TRANSMISSION...

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