Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s longest-serving deputy resigned abruptly on Wednesday, a result of the fuel depot debacle on Fisher Island.
Jimmy Morales, chief operating officer, and PortMiami Director Hydi Web are out of their county jobs, Political Cortadito reported. The county is being sued over its pending deal to acquire the site from developer HRP Group for $400 million, half of which would be paid at closing and the remaining half over the subsequent 20 years.
HRP paid $180 million for the property in October, simultaneously signing two deals with Fisher Island: a development agreement stating HRP would demolish the fuel bunk, remediate the land and develop luxury condos on the site, and an option agreement requiring HRP convey 4 acres to the Fisher Island Community Association (FICA). Those agreements are at the center of the lawsuit the Fisher Island Community Association and the Fisher Island Club filed in May against HRP, to force the firm to honor its original deal with island residents.
The fuel depot, which helps keep cargo and cruise ships running, has little time left on its lease, which is set to expire in 2027. The county has been criticized for failing to buy the nearly 10-acre property in 2024 when it hit the market.
This failure is at the center of Morales and Web’s departures. Morales, who joined Levine Cava’s administration after her election in 2020, acknowledged in his resignation letter friction over the pending purchase and stood by the deal that’s tentatively in place.
“I acknowledge that you and I have a difference of opinion with respect to the purchase and sale transaction of the fuel facility on Fisher Island,” Morales wrote in the email, according to the Miami Herald. Morales said the county made an offer in 2024 that was initially declined.
Political Cortadito also reported that Levine Cava is expected to reject the $400 million deal and pursue eminent domain to acquire the property, a process that could drag on for years. Fisher Island filed a lawsuit seeking to stop an eminent domain acquisition earlier this year.
Island residents are trying to get rid of the fuel depot, which they say could leave the families of Fisher Island and surrounding areas like Key Biscayne and Miami Beach, in “perpetual danger.” The 28 million gallons of combustible fuel is stored in tanks that are “a century old, violate current fire safety codes, and occupy a hurricane flood zone,” according to the opening line of the most recently filed lawsuit.
— Katherine Kallergis
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