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Residents tell Hialeah council privatized parks limit resident access; city attorney urges contract review
Summary
Speakers at the Hialeah City Council public-comment period urged the council to investigate privatized park operations, asserting contracts or resolutions requiring 75% Hialeah resident use were not being honored. The city attorney advised staff-level review of the contracts and outreach to the parks department.
Multiple members of the public told the Hialeah City Council they are being excluded from parks and pools run by private contractors and asked the city to enforce a previously passed resolution that, speakers said, required 75% of users be Hialeah residents.
At the microphone Jose (identified in the record as Jose Aldi) said residents cannot use some park facilities on certain days because private providers limit access to their patrons. "They privatized 5 parks, and we were told that 75 of the users were gonna be Hialeah residents," he said, and later added that residents "can't use the pool Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday because it's only available to the Raul residents." He asked the city to "look into that" and said the resolution was not being honored.
The city attorney, Rafael, responded from the dais that the issue requires analysis of the contracts to determine whether the 75% pledge is a mandatory contractual requirement or an aspirational goal. He recommended the parks department first raise the concern with the provider if staff believes the contractor is in violation before escalating to legal action. "That would require an analysis of the contract, whether it has that as a mandatory or aspirational clause," he said.
Council members and staff said they would follow up. No formal council action was taken during the meeting; the matter was raised during the public-comments portion and at least one speaker asked for the mayor and council to require staff inquiry and enforcement where warranted.
