Disgraced Miami Beach Building Director Replaced

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Three months after her predecessor was booked into a Miami-Dade County jail on corruption charges, Ana Salgueiro was unanimously named building director of Miami Beach Wednesday, becoming the first woman to hold that title in the city's history. She replaces Mariano Fernandez who was fired in November when city officials learned he was facing charges. Fernandez is accused of allegedly trading favors with a South Beach hotel.

"Miami Beach broke a glass ceiling yesterday," Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez told Patch Thursday morning. The commissioner said she initially had reservations about hiring someone from within city government to fill such a high profile position, but that she was moved by the outpouring of support for Salgueiro from the city staff. Salgueiro had served as deputy building director for the past year.

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"At the beginning of the hearing I had some questions because we recruited from within and we did not do a national job search. I was hesitant," explained Rosen Gonzalez. "To see this overwhelming show of support for her is a testament to the fact that she is good leader."

Fernandez allegedly solicited and accepted illegal "benefits" for himself and others over a 19-month period from Riutel Florida Inc., which owns the Hotel Riu Plaza, a 284-room hotel at 3101 Collins Avenue. The organization is a wholly owned subsidiary of Spanish hotel chain Riu Hotels and Resorts, one of the largest chains in the world. He is facing two counts of corruption-related offenses, including unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior.

Despite the turmoil, the Miami Beach Building Department recently received an ISO 9001 international quality management system certification, becoming the first city department to do so, according to city officials. The third-party certification attests to the fact that the building department has a suitable system in place to provide a defined level of services to residents with the added scrutiny of self audits that are verified by external auditors.

“Ana is transforming the department into a more user-friendly office that provides equal access to all residents,” added City Manager Jimmy L. Morales. “She’s built a practice of quality customer service and a culture of staff that strive to continually improve on these methods and beyond. For these reasons and her decorated portfolio, I’m proud to welcome her as the new — and first female — building director for the city of Miami Beach.”

Salgueiro is credited with developing a new method of walk-through plans ticketing — successfully cutting service wait times by more than 75 percent, according to city officials.

She has more than 30 years experience in municipal engineering and construction, having worked as a professional engineer in both the private and public sectors, officials said. Salgueiro has also spearheaded a number of commercial and residential design projects throughout South Florida and is one of only nine of the 35 building officials in Miami-Dade County who possess professional engineering degrees in addition to her building official credentials.

The building department's ISO 9001 certificate was issued by Bureau Veritas Certification, one of the world's largest certification bodies. The certificate carries British accreditation through the United Kingdom Accreditation Service and covers "the provision of permit reviews, recertification, records, inspections and code compliance for the city of Miami Beach Building Department."

Photo by Paul Scicchitano