Committee adds Hialeah linear-trail management resolution, sends item to full commission

On March 10, 2025, the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commission Recreation and Tourism Committee added to its agenda a resolution directing the county mayor's designee to negotiate and develop a management agreement with the City of Hialeah for a linear trail (item 2b) and voted to forward that item to the full County Commission for its March 18 meeting by voice vote with no opposition recorded.

Committee members said the resolution would begin formal talks about who will operate, maintain and fund the proposed linear trail. During discussion, members raised questions about whether the trail should be managed under a city's parks department or through county transportation/public works structures, how fundraising and donor recognition would be handled, and whether portions of the county's agreements for other linear projects should be mirrored for Hialeah.

The county attorney summarized the procedural action on the agenda, saying, “Matters on today's agenda are those listed on the official agenda, which includes the changes set forth in the changes memo, including the addition of item 2 b, a resolution directing the county mayor designee to negotiate and develop a management agreement with the city of Hialeah for a linear trail.”

In committee discussion, a member noted the need to address maintenance, security and fundraising and asked who would perform those functions and handle donor acknowledgments. Members referenced the county's recent Underline project as a precedent, including signage, donor recognition and possible changes to the comprehensive plan and mobility and park-impact-fee approaches that could help fund capital and operations.

Commissioner Cabrera asked to be a co-prime sponsor of the item, saying he was representing a district that contains roughly half of the proposed trail and that he wanted to be involved in the item’s development. “I was gonna ask if I could be a co prime on this item,” Commissioner Cabrera said during the meeting.

Committee members said the City of Hialeah has indicated it would place responsibility with its parks department, but several commissioners suggested the asset might be better served under transit or public works because of connections to transit and procurement contracts. Members asked staff to coordinate with the mayor's office and Hialeah staff and requested a written memo outlining the proposed arrangement and any contractual or procurement implications.

Formal action at the meeting included a motion to set the agenda, which passed without objection, and a subsequent motion to forward the newly added item (2b) to the full County Commission for its March 18 meeting. The referral was approved by voice vote with no opposition recorded.

Next steps: the resolution directs the county mayor's designee to negotiate and develop a management agreement with the City of Hialeah; the matter will be considered by the full County Commission on March 18. Committee members requested a written memo from staff to capture details on funding, operations and procurement to inform negotiations and the full commission review.