Residents want Hardy Park to remain a neighborhood park; the feds want to bulldoze it and put up a new courthouse.

After months of debate and a petition drive by residents, Commissioner Tim Smith proposed a resolution giving the people an important say. Smith asked the City Commission to put a non-binding question on the March 11 ballot . That question asks the voters whether the City Commission should fight to protect Hardy Park.

Tim's proposal on behalf of the residents passed 3-2 -- with Mayor Jim Naugle voting "no."

A parliamentary move by Naugle kept Tim from bringing the matter up until about midnight, but Tim persevered. If he had not, a critical deadline would have passed and the question would not have been on the March 11 ballot.

Hardy Park is located between SE 7th and 9th Streets, and between South Andrews Avenue and the railroad tracks.

Also see: Naugle Could Get Windfall from Hardy Park Courthouse (South Florida Business Journal Story)

Read the Miami Herald's story about the Hardy Park ballot question.