Saul Gross

The Man Who Would Not be Mayor
Termed Out Former Commissioner Saul Gross Speaks Out

By Lee Molloy

Although, as with any politician, former Commissioner Saul Gross has his detractors, he was often referred to by residents and political insiders alike as ‘articulate’ and ‘smart,’ and it is very difficult to find anyone that doesn’t at least respect him.

After serving on the city commission since 2001, Gross was termed out as of November’s municipal election, and will be taking a break from elected office. “I have no plans to run again,” he told The Lead when asked about the possibility of a future mayoral run — even though he obviously enjoyed his eight years on the commission.

“It was a great ride,” Gross said, “I loved every minute of it.”

Gross graduated from Cornell University and gained a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania before going to work as a real estate attorney in New York City. Re-locating to Miami Beach in the early ’80s, Gross began renovating historic apartment buildings and was one of the early developers in the revitalization of the Art Deco district. His company, Streamline Properties, remains a leader in the Miami Beach real estate market.

Before serving as a city commissioner, Gross was Chairman of the Design Review Board, Chairman of the Business Resolution Task Force and he sat on the Board of Governors of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Now that Gross is no longer on the commission, however, there are definitely some things that he is not going to miss.

“Running around the city for eight years gets a little tiring,” he says, there are “a lot of events, lots of social obligations.”

Although Gross enjoyed building consensus on the commission, the “endless discussion” can be tiring, although still rewarding, he says.

But, he isn’t completely done yet.

Mayor Matti Bower has asked that Gross serve as the Chairman of the Capital Improvements Oversight Committee beginning in January, which he sees as a good fit. (Gross had a short stint as Bower’s opponent for the Mayor’s seat in 2007, but withdrew from the race.)

“My orientation is construction,” Gross said, “I have a good background for that.”

Gross also plans on being active in issues that are important to him, which include the new Lincoln Park project (previously slated to be designed by Frank Gehry) adjacent to the New World Symphony site. Gross also will keep a watchful eye on the Botanical Gardens and Washington Avenue, where he owns property “and it affects me personally,” he said.

Gross weighed in on a couple of issues that will affect the city in the coming year.

Tobin v. Wolfson

One of the challenges that the commission faces on the departure of Gross is the apparent lack of congeniality between Commissioners Jonah Wolfson and Ed Tobin.

“I recommend that Wolfson and Tobin go have a lunch together and come to some terms,” Gross told The Lead, and “get past the animosity that has developed over the past two years.”

According to Gross, on the night of the Nov. 17 runoff election, celebrations were held at candidate (now commissioner) Jorge Exposito’s house. Wolfson and Gross, who had endorsed Exposito, were there and Commissioner Jerry Libbin, who had endorsed Maria Mayer, stopped by to offer his congratulations to the new commissioner. In the spirit of trying to build bridge the gaps on the commission, Gross called the other two sitting commissioners who had endorsed Mayer — Deede Weithorn and Ed Tobin. Weithorn came by to offer her congratulations, but Tobin “said he would not do it,” Gross said.

Wolfson and Tobin have gone head to head over several issues, and are hunkered down in separate corners. Wolfson is on one side, unofficially aligning with Mayor Matti Bower and the newly elected Exposito. On the other side, Tobin is unofficially aligned with Weithorn and Libbin. That leaves newly elected Commissioner Michael Gongora, who some observers believe to be a potential swing vote on the commission.

Gross, however, is not ready to make that call.

“I think it’s way too early to say who is the swing vote,” Gross said. “There are different issues that I think will have different constituencies, and on resident issues there’s going to be near unanimity.”

Capital Improvements Projects (CIP)

With the City budget in crisis, fingers are often pointed at what some say is wasteful spending on citywide projects like parking lots, parks and neighborhood beautification.

Commissioner Tobin, his friend, campaign donor, and millionaire developer Fred Karlton (who sits on the Capital Improvements Projects Oversight Committee) and developer Bill Goldsmith have all shown dismay at the way in which the city puts out projects to bid and believe that the city is paying too much money to construction companies and those carrying out city projects.

“I don’t believe in my heart that Bill Goldsmith, Karlton, or Tobin’s agenda is to get work for construction companies that they do business with,” Gross said. “They are not bad people.”

As a businessman, Gross understands the frustrations that CIP projects are not run like private sector projects.

“The city has to negotiate with its pants pulled down around its ankles,” Gross said.

Gross is referring to the fact that because the city’s finances are public record, potential vendors know exactly how much the city has in the budget to spend. Furthermore, due to procurement laws for government spending, the city cannot compare bids and negotiate with vendors on a line-by-line basis. For example, comparing bids for asphalt or the cost of new windows. “That’s the way I do it,” when conducting business Gross said. “I negotiate line by line. In addition to the restrictions imposed on government, everything is done in the ‘sunshine’ – which is why things take so long.”

Gross is referencing the Florida Sunshine laws which mandate that all meetings must take place in public with notification given in advance.

There have been improvements made in the system, for example, accurately analyzing the costs before putting a project out to bid.

“If the city knows up front what [a project] should cost,” says Gross, “then they can put out a bid to say that they want someone to do it for that price or lower.”

Gross thinks that the new CIP Director, Charlie Carreno, has “brought that expertise to the process,” he says.

Legacy

After 25 years of renovating and protecting the historic buildings of Miami Beach, Gross hopes that someone else will pick up the mantle of ensuring their continued safety.

“I’m a little nervous about historic preservation, with both myself and Victor Diaz leaving the commission,” he said. But there is “no imminent danger to the historic district.”

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