North Miami public works director outlines stormwater, water-plant, septic-to-sewer and street repairs

The Planning Commission heard an update from Carrick Fiddler, North Miami’s Public Works Director, on multiple infrastructure projects, including a completed stormwater master plan, ongoing water‑system planning, and a three‑phase septic‑to‑sewer program.

The presentation matters because the projects affect citywide drainage, drinking‑water capacity, sewer connections for homes currently on septic, and day‑to‑day safety issues such as sidewalks and street lighting.

Fiddler told the commission, “Our stormwater master plan is complete. We'll be having a workshop tomorrow evening for council at 6PM,” and encouraged commissioners and the public to attend. He said the plan covers the entire city and incorporates problem areas identified after a heavy rain event last summer.

On traffic, Fiddler said the city’s traffic‑calming study was approved by the city council and is now with Miami‑Dade County for adoption as a county resolution; he said county approval will allow the city to implement some measures without returning for further county sign‑off. On water, he said staff and consultants have developed four scenarios for a new water treatment plant and that council has authorized an application for a “WIFI loan” to help finance whatever scenario council selects.

Fiddler described several water and sewer main upgrade projects that are currently in permitting and said the goal is to replace or expand aging infrastructure. He also summarized the septic‑to‑sewer effort: “We have three phases. We're wrapping up the first phase. Second phase, we're gonna put that out to bid here shortly, and we're waiting approval from Miami‑Dade County for our third phase,” and said the project will allow more households to connect to the municipal sewer system rather than private septic tanks.

On sidewalks, Fiddler explained that temporary asphalt patches often follow utility repairs and are later replaced with concrete as part of annual sidewalk repair budgets. He said the city budgets for concrete replacement each year and that temporary asphalt is a safety measure until the permanent work is scheduled.

Several residents raised concerns about long‑standing streetlight outages along Biscayne Boulevard and NW 125th Street (referred to in the meeting as “A Hundred And 20 Fifth Street”). Fiddler said ownership varies—many lights are owned by Florida Power & Light (FPL) or FDOT—and encouraged residents to report outages through FPL’s call center so the city and FPL can track repairs. He said staff planned to follow up with FDOT representatives.

The presentation closed with invitations to the council workshop on the stormwater master plan and an open offer for commissioners to follow up with staff on any of the projects.

Ending note: Commissioners did not take a formal vote on any capital allocations at the meeting; the items reported are at planning, permitting or bidding stages and will return to council or the commission if specific approvals or funding decisions are required.