HomeMy WebLinkAboutSEOPW OMNI CRA 2004-06-05 MinutesMINUTES OF THE OVERTOWN
TOWN HALL MEETING
On the 5'h day of June 2004, at the Miami Arena, 701 Arena Boulevard (81h Street & N.W. I"
Avenue, Miami, Florida, the Overtown Town Hall meeting was called to order at 9:31 a.m., with
the following individuals found to be present:
Chairman Arthur E. Teele, Jr.
Priscilla A. Thompson, City Clerk, City of Miami
James Villacorta, Assistant City Attorney
Erica Wright, Assistant City Attorney
Antranette Pierre, CRA, Executive Assistant to the Director
Chelsa R. Scott, CRA, Planning Administrator
William Bloom, Esq., Counsel for the City, Holland & Knight
Jorge Cano, Deputy Director, Capital Improvement Program
.s
Note: As a result of misinformation,
the Town Hall meeting began on Page 75, Line 18
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1 VOLUME I
2 PAGES 1-200 LL'
3 CHAIRMAN ARTHUR TEELE: Good evening. Good
4 evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much. My
5 name is Arthur Teele. I am the District 5 Commissioner,
6 which includes among other places Overtown, and I would
7 respectfully ask those persons that -- because of the
8 acoustics, I would respectfully ask those persons that are
9 engaged in full conversations to continue to do so but
10 please take them out in the hall. Please continue to
11 talk, but just take it out in the hall. The acoustics in
12 here are not very good, and an administrative matter --
13 this meeting is a public meeting pursuant to the call that
14 I've made to the Chairman of the Oversight -- of the
15 Overtown Advisory Board for the Overtown Advisory Board to
16 convene a special meeting to advise me and to participate
17 publicly with me in an input process. This meeting will
18 be conducted by the Chairman of the Overtown Advisory
19 Board. It is my understanding that the Overtown Advisory
20 Board has a regularly scheduled meeting tonight at 6:00
21 p.m. at the normal place, Culmer, and that any action or
22 actions may be taken at that time, and for those of you
23 that are not familiar the Overtown Advisory Board is
24 established by chart -- by the City statutes ordinances to
25 provide advice to the City of Miami and this is one of the
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1 unique boards in the City in recognition of the unique and
2 historic nature of Overtown and as City Commissioner we
3 are obliged to take note of the advice provided to us by
4 the Oversight Advisory Board. Therefore, this meeting is
5 designed to fulfill in part the requirements of the
6 ordinance that gives the Oversight Advisory Board the
7 right to make advice. Mr. Chairman, I would also quickly
8 add that there are two things that will be happening; as
9 you are well aware, on the first Saturday in June the
10 Overtown entire community will be invited to participate
11 in our annual Overtown Town Hall meeting. We have these
12
town
hall meetings periodically
each year and we
discuss
13
as an
Overtown family all of the
activities that
are being
14 planned, and I would simply state for the record that
15 every project that the CRA has undertaken has been
16 approved by the Overtown Town Counsel, which is sort of
17 like a mini city -- like a mini -- not City Hall, but a
18 mini pure democracy, and the residents of Overtown are
19 afforded a vote. The public is invited, but the public
20 does not get to vote. The Overtown residents get to vote
21 on that, and so that meeting will be held tentatively for
22 the first Saturday in June. I think we're working with
23 the Overtown chairman -- Advisory Board Chairman to have
24 that at the Culmer Center, and the normal time that we
25 would convene that meeting would be 10:00 a.m. and
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1 normally
the CRA and City staff
and others would be
2 invited
to make presentations on
any projects that are
3 going to
be moved forward for an
Overtown referendum; if
4 you will, just an Overtown vote. The Overtown Advisory
5 Board of course will be a full participant as they always
6 have been and will be invited to make any presentations at
7 that meeting as well. Secondly, Mr. Chairman, this
8 meeting and subsequent discussions by no means are
9 intended to curtail or minimize the Overtown Advisory
10 Board or any person from Overtown to come and speak freely
11 before the City Commission or the CRA as an individual on
12 any matter. We are not here trying to cut off anybody's
13 rights, but we do have a process and that process is the
14 Overtown Advisory Board gives advice by resolution to the
15 City Commission and we do take that advice -- I take that
16
advice
under
careful
consideration.
Therefore,
pursuant
17
to the
notice
given,
this meeting is
a meeting
of the
18 Overtown -- a special meeting of the Overtown Advisory
19 Board with the District 5 Commissioner to provide some
20 discussion and advice in accordance with the manner that
21 the Chairman chooses to prescribe -- the Chairman of the
22 Overtown Advisory Board -- relating to development
23 activities in Overtown. I want to just take this time to
24 thank the Overtown Advisory Board for working in the
25 shadows for many, many years. Many of the Overtown
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Advisory Board I guess members have been here -- how long
have you been on the member board, Mr. Chairman?
CHAIRMAN IRBY MCKNIGHT: On and off from '85 on,
for eight years from '85.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: So almost 20 years this board
has been functioning, and I'm sure --
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Oh, the board has been
functioning since 179.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Since '79 -- I'm being
corrected. The Overtown Board was created in 1979 and has
functioned since then. So again, I think the public
should acknowledge and join me in saluting the Overtown
Advisory Board for keeping the home fires lit and burning.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you very much. Ladies
and gentlemen, we would normally start our meeting with a
silent prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance and I don't
want to deviate from that because we need all the divine
intervention we can get, so with that let us stand for a
few moment of silent prayer and then that will be followed
by the Pledge of Allegiance.
These are the blessings in Thy name, Amen.
COLLECTIVE: I pledge allegiance to the flag of
the United States of America and to the republic for which
it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty
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and justice for all.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: I'm Irby McKnight. We -- I
am the Board Chairperson and we will have Board members
introduce themself. We will omit that for audience unless
you speak.
MR. DEL BRYAN: Del Bryan, vice chair.
MS. DOROTHY JENKINS FIELDS: Dorothy Jenkins
Fields, member.
MS. DOROTHY WALLACE GRAHAM: Dorothy Wallace
Graham, member.
MR. MIKE WILSON: Mike Wilson.
MS. BARBARA LLOYD: Barbara Lloyd, member.
MS. LA PRINCIE WYCIECESS AZOTTA BESS: La Princie
Wyciecess Azotta Bess, member.
MR. STEPHEN PORTER: Stephen Porter, member.
MR. CHARLES J. FLOWERS: Charles J. Flowers.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Miss Graham, may we ask you
to welcome our audience?
MISS GRAHAM: You need a name? I'm --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: The mic, just pull it
out for her.
MISS GRAHAM: Thank you. I'm going to hold it.
Thank you. I'm pleased to see so many of us here and I
want to welcome you in behalf of the Board and welcome you
in behalf of the City and the rest of the City of
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1 Overtown. It means that we are good citizens. It means
2 that we know what we need to do and we have come to get
3 directions to actually do it. Please participate.
4 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you, Miss Graham.
5 We'll entertain a motion to adopt the agenda.
6 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: So moved, Mr. Chair.
7 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Second.
8 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: It has been moved and
9 seconded.
10 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Unintelligible)) LIFT.
11 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Okay, we're adding LIFT to
12 the agenda.
13 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Before the last one?
14 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Yes, before citizen concerns.
15 Are there any other additions to the agenda? Being that
16 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Unintelligible.)
17 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: And in my hasty, I left off
18 one of the CDCs; New Washington Heights. It's amazing
19 that I do that since I did the agenda in that office.
20 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Where are you putting them in?
21 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: After OCP where we have the
22 CDCs in a row and after OCP. Well, it should come before
23 OCP. Yeah, it will be before OCP.
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Let them go after BAM.
25 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Okay, go after BAM. Okay,
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being there are no other addition to the agenda, now we'll
ask the motion.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: So moved.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: And a second.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Second.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: It has been moved and second
that we will follow the agenda. All in favor aye.
COLLECTIVE: Aye.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Opposes have the same right.
The next item on the agenda is the -- is Overtown the
history and we'll ask Dr. Fields, a board member, to
please give us a update on our history.
DR. FIELDS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The
information I have is from the records of the Black
Archives History and Research Foundation, also from Arbor
Parks from McCabe, who is city historian, and records from
the City itself. What makes Overtown a sense of place, a
destination of choice, a place of purpose and a place of
value. A sense of place, it's a sense of place because of
the land and the people. Julia Tuttle, a white business
woman, relocated from Cleveland, Ohio in the late 1890's
to the area that later became the City of Miami. From the
U.S. Government's Homestead Act, she acquired 160 acres.
Enjoying Miami's winters away from Cleveland, Julia
Tuttle's vision was that Miami could and should become a
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place for tourists. She encouraged Henry Flagler, the
white industrialist, also from Cleveland, who had
relocated to Florida's east coast, to extend the railroad
from Palm Beach to Miami. She offered him some of her
land. Julia Tuttle then assigned the west side of the
land that she had near the bay to negros and factories,
and once the railroad tracks were laid the area on the
west side of the tracks became colored town. When the
time came to incorporate the City of Miami, black men were
asked to participate in order to have their -- the number
required by the State. If it had not been for those black
men agreeing for their names to be used for the
incorporation, the City of Miami would not have been
incorporated on July 28, 1896. As a matter of fact, 40
percent of the men who stood as incorporators on that day
were black men, and of course women were not included
because women could not vote in these United States until
1920. We know the names of the men who stood as
incorporators because most of them were active in helping
to establish the churches in colored town, the
congregation. One church congregation, Greater Beth El
A.M.E., was organized in March before the City was
incorporated in July of 1896. Another church, Mount
Zion's congregation, was organized September of the same
year. Several others followed, including St. Agnes and
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St. John and Cohen temple. For more than 100 years the
churches have and still anchor this community; colored
town Overtown. In later years, blacks were
disenfranchised and not allowed to vote in•the primaries
until a decade later and it is it has been ten years or
this is the anniversary of the Civil Rights Voting Act of
164. A place of purpose, Overtown, because of land and
people. Many families owned their land until imminent
domain took it away because of the expressway. The
expressway may have been good for the City of Miami. It
was destruction for a community that had developed itself.
The psychological impact of uprooting this community and
its culture has yet to be evaluated. Why is Overtown a
place of value? Because of land and people. Adjacent to
downtown, colored town Overtown is the same land that was
assigned to the negros by Julia Tuttle. It's a land that
the people who settled there developed and owned until
displaced by imminent domain. This land has never been
and for all indications will never be abandoned by the
original people. Unlike Harlem and other areas, which
inherited the lands that they now occupy, the indigenous
people of Miami's colored town by the CDCs are prepared to
participate in colored town Overtown's transformation with
housing and developing a mixed -use structure in a historic
setting. Mr. Chairman, it's the land and the people that
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make colored town Overtown a sense of place, a destination
of choice and a place of purpose and a place of value.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: We thank you, Dr. Fields. I
hope everyone paid close attention and I want the
residents of this community when you leave here to
remember just how important this community is. Keep in
mind location is everything, and we who live here in
Overtown, we have the best location in Dade county, okay.
And if you think I'm wrong, just follow me around and see
how quick without a car I can move from the beach to the
financial district to the legal center to the medical
Center to the entertainment center to the religious
center. Those are all the centers I need in my life.
Well, there are some other centers, but I don't need them.
But those are the ones that I need. So with that, Dr.
Fields, we thank you very much. Yes, and the
entertainment district, the club district, right. I said
that. I need that, so I'm there.
DR. FIELDS: Mr. Chairman:
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Yes.
DR. FIELDS: In my haste, there was one part that
I left out that I really must say, and that is that little
has been said about the physical conditions under which
the laborers worked because it was really the black
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1 laborers who made Miami. In order to make the streets, it
2 was necessary for them to use dynamite. Planting and
3 igniting the
dynamite
was
a job that they
had
alone. It
4 is not known
how many
of
them lost their
lives
in this
5 pursuit;
trying to
help
Miami become
the
magic city. The
6 black men
followed
the
railroad, and
by
1900 their
7 families and businesses followed. They developed a
8 community of their own, and according to the 1904 City
9 directory, the businesses included dry good and grocery
10 stores, fish markets, a milliner, that is a hat maker, and
11 many, many other small mom and pop stores as early as
12 1904. And located adjacent to downtown Miami, Miami's
13 colored town Overtown, it was always a prime location for
14 expansion of downtown businesses and residences and for
15 downtown workers. A destination of choice. Land and
16
people.
Five
hotels were in the immediate
area
in
17
Overtown,
two
of them owned by the Sawyers;
the
Mary
18
Elizabeth
and
the Marcia Ann; one was owned
by
D.A. Dorsey
19 and others were owned -- the Carver Hotel and the Sir John
20
were later owned by
corporations. Indulge
me for just a
21
moment while I tell
you that residents and
tourists of
22 this community were part of a dynamic neighborhood.
23 Geared toward tourism, this self-contained and self
24 sufficient area was alive and busy all day every day.
25 There was constant motion, day and night. Around the
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1 clock business
and cultural activities kept the lights on
2 and people involved.
White tourists
and white residences
3 frequented this
neighborhood to
enjoy the entertainment,
4 to partake of
the exotic foods
and to listen to popular as
5 well as gospel
music, at least
one national convention was
6 held annually
in Overtown when
sufficient hotels,
7 restaurants, cultural events and entertainment were in
8 full supply. The entertainment business brought by
9 business and tourists helped stabilize the economy of this
10 community, which in turn promoted pride in a people who
11 were self motivated and self sustaining. In addition to
12 regular goods and services, there were several fine
13 restaurants, a privately owned tennis court and several
14 first-class hotels. Again, the Dorsey Hotel, the Marcia
15 Ann, the Lord Calbred -- most people known know it as the
16 Sir John -- became favorite stopovers for tourists. One
17 hotel, the Mary Elizabeth, had three floors, and that was
18 the highest you could go and that was a skyscraper. The
19 Mary Elizabeth was the tallest building in Overtown.
20 People would come from miles around to look up to the
21
three
stores --
stories.
The Mary
Elizabeth; the
first
22
hotel
in this
community
to install
an elevator.
If you
23 were going up three stories, you definitely had to have an
24 elevator. It was a favorite retreat for such well known
25 persons as United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood
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1 Marshall, Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, labor leader A.
2 Philip Randolph and Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, then
3 president of Bethune Cookman College and the National
4 Counsel of Negro Women and internationally known
5 intellectual author and journalist Web Dubois vacationed
6 here on his way to and from conferences in West Indies and
7 Cuba. Overtown developed into quite a celebrity hangout
8 for both the famous and the infamous. Nearly all of the
9 arguments were available continuously through touring
10 music, dance and drama groups as well as through
11 travelling literary types. Singers Paul Robison and
12 Marion Anderson were among the featured artists. Cast
13 members from New York Broadway musical Carmen Jones lived
14 on Northwest 2nd Avenue after performing on the other side
15 of town. Overtown's Northwest 2nd Avenue, both known as
16 The Strip and Little Broadway developed into the Great
17 Black Way, focusing on popular music and entertainment.
18 For almost three decades, Northwest 2nd Avenue from 6th
19 Street to loth Street was Miami's Little Broadway. This
20 concept developed as the area became an annual retreat for
21 streams of entertainers. It was the place to see and be
22 seen. Colored town's Overtown, just a brief part of the
23 history. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
24 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you. Moving right
25 along with our agenda, the next item is the City, so if
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someone will be coming forth, the City attorney?
MR. JAMES VILLACORTA: Good afternoon, Mr.
Chairman. Is this on? Members of the Board, Chairman
Teele. I've been asked to come before you to explain
exactly how it is that the City and the CRA came to
discuss settlement discussions with an organization which
is now commonly referred to as Crosswinds. The City and
the CRA commenced litigation in the early -- in the late
90's with a group by the name of Sawyer's Walk. It arose
out of an RFP that was issued by the City of Miami in the
early 90's involving the parcels which are numbered 55, 56
and 45. That RFP was awarded to a group by the name of
Sawyer's Walk which required subsequently that a lease be
entered into. That lease was never entered into and in
the late 90's, I believe 1999, the City and the CRA
commenced litigation to extinguish whatever development
rights Sawyer's Walk would have on those three parcels;
55, 56 and 45. Approximately a year later with regard to
parcel 46, which is Poinciana Village, the remain in that
development agreement, the construction of a tower of
approximately 92 units, the development had not been
concluded and the CRA and the City commenced litigation to
extinguish the rights to continue to develop that parcel
and the tower that remained as part of the Poinciana
Village project. Sometime last summer, we received an
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1 unsolicited inquiry by this group by the name of
2 Crosswinds. Crosswinds advised us that they had reached a
3 settlement, an agreement --
I should
say an agreement with
4 Sawyer's Walk and Poinciana
Village.
That agreement
5 allowed Crosswinds to step
into the shoes
of Sawyer's Walk
6 and Poinciana Village. At
that time,
I confirmed that
7 there had been an agreement
reached.
We were actively
8 involved in litigation, so
I confirmed
the ability through
9 settlement discussions to continue to have that
10
conversation
and
advised
both
the City
Commission
and the
11
CRA that we
had
received
this
proposal.
Chairman
Teele
12
and the members of
the
City
Commission then
appointed
13
Commissioner Winton
to
head
the discussions
with regard to
14 Crosswinds and any potential settlement we could reach.
15 We have been actively discussing with Crosswinds a
16 settlement over the period of the last approximately nine
17 to ten months and that proposal is currently not
18 finalized, although I have been authorized to discuss
19
generally the
terms of the
agreement as they exist today.
20
I'm going to
ask Mr. Bloom
to come up and give you a
21
term -by -term
description of
the settlement as it exists
22 today.
23 MR. WILLIAM BLOOM: Yes, my name is William Bloom
24 with Holland and Knight, 701 Brickel Avenue. Mr. Chairman
25 and members of the Board, we've been working diligently
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1 with a representative of Crosswinds to negotiate the terms
2 of a settlement and if all of those terms are satisfied,
3 then we envision entering into an amended and restated
4 lease with Crosswinds. That lease would be executed when
5 all the conditions are met, which would probably be in the
6 beginning to
later
middle of next year. The
proposed
7 development
would
be 1,000 residential units
consisting of
8 townhouses,
lofts,
live -work units, mid -rise
construction,
9 high-rise structures and approximately 75,00 square feet
10 of retail office space at a price range of between
11 $125,000 and $250,000 initially. Crosswinds' proposal
12 would envision developing the entire project within
13 approximately five years from the date of commencement.
14 The developer under the terms of the settlement with
15 Sawyer's Walk, Limited, the respondent to the RFP, and the
16 original partners of Sawyer's Walk, Limited, would retain
17 a 5 percent interest in that legal entity with Crosswinds
18 Development buying out 95 percent of that partnership
19 interest. The settlement agreement contemplates a 120-day
20 due diligence period for Crosswinds to perform due
21 diligence of the site surveys, title work, environmental
22 studies and finalize their development plan during that
23 time frame. After that 120-day period is concluded, they
24 would proceed to seek MUSP approval, major use special
25 permit approval, from the City of Miami. That application
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1 must be approved by the Executive Director of the CRA and
2 it has to be consistent with the detailed development plan
3 which the Executive Director will have approved during the
4 120-day due diligence period so that we're requiring
5 Crosswinds to develop a project in accordance with the
6 development plan that the Executive Director of the CRA
7 has approved, and any variations in that development have
8 to be approved by the Executive Director. After the due
9
diligence period is up,
Crosswinds or Sawyer's Walk
will
10
then proceed to seek the
County approvals required
under
11
the interlocal agreement
with the CRA and the City
and to
12
obtain the approval of the
County with respect to the
13
reversionary lawsuit. There
is a lawsuit involving
blocks
14
45 and 56 and block 36 --
excuse me, it's 45 and 56
and 36
15
shown on
the
map
which
require the
property be
developed
16
by August
lst
of
2007
or the title
will revert,
so
17
Sawyer's Walk
will proceed to
deal with
the County and get
18
the approvals
required under
the terms
of that settlement
19 agreement and also seek to modify the terms of that
20
reverter.
The pertinent provisions
in the lease are
21
there's a
requirement that Sawyer's
Walk provide no less
22 than 20 percent of the units be affordable housing,
23 meaning that the purchasers have to have income levels
24 between 80 percent and 120 percent of a Miami Dade county
25 mean income. Again, it's a best efforts requirement and
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1 if they fail to comply with
that requirement
and the CRA
2 determines that they did not
use their best
efforts, there
3 will be a penalty of $20,000
per unit which
they failed to
4 comply with. There's also a
requirement that
they try to
5 recruit former residents of
Overtown to move
back into the
6 neighborhood and to the extent that they are able to
7 attract former Overtown residents to move back in,
8 irrespective of their income level, those units sold to
9 former Overtown residents would count against the
10 affordable housing requirement. There's also a
11
requirement
that up
to
25 percent
of
the
affordable units
12
be sold to
residents
of
Overtown
or
the
City of Miami
13 whose income is an average of 65 percent of the Miami Dade
14 County mean income. Now, these units will require them to
15 get subsidies from the County or from the State or from
16 the City, and there's no obligation on the part of the
17 City or the CRA to provide those subsidies. Again, it's a
18 best efforts obligation. The developer is also required
19 to comply with minority participation goals of a 51
20 percent minority/female participation goal on all aspects
21 of construction and property management and a 25 percent
22 minority or female participation goal with respect to
23 architectural aspects. They are also required to enter
24 into a first source hiring agreement, which will provide
25 first opportunities to residents of Overtown and the City
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1 of Miami and then the County with respect to new job
2 opportunities involved with construction and property
3 management, and the goal in that agreement is a 15 percent
4 overall construction requirement of new hires. The
5 developer is also obligated in coordination with the South
6 Florida Work Force or other similar job creation entities
7 to establish a skill training and employment program to
8 help train unemployed or underemployed individuals so
9 they'll have the opportunity to obtain jobs as part of
10 this development. Another key aspect is the tax increment
11 money generated from the site. The lease will contemplate
12 that 100 percent of the additional tax increment dollars
13 generated from the site be made available for this project
14 between the date construction begins and September
15 30th, 2013 when the existinq CRA expires. The lease also
16
contains
an option to purchase the property
and the
17
developer
would receive a credit against the
purchase
18
price of the
amount that they
have to
pay in settlement of
19
the existing
litigation with
Poinciana
Village and
20
Sawyer's Walk
of $6.5 million
dollars.
At this point an
21 appraisal was completed showing a market value as of
22 September 8th -- excuse me, October 18th, 2003, of
23 $6,950,000 for the property based upon the anticipated
24 development of the site. So this appraisal was not
25 highest and best use, but it was based upon the
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
MIJ
1 development
plan that was
being proposed by the developer.
2 What is now
being proposed
is that new appraisal be
3 obtained to
determine the
highest and best use of the
4 property,
and
the developer would
have
to
pay
that if they
5 exercise
their
option to purchase
and
the
CRA
would
6 provide financing and terms and conditions to be agreed
7 upon between the new appraised value and the $6,950,000
8 number that was originally negotiated. As a condition of
9 being unable to enter into the lease, the developer has to
10 obtain MUSP approval, they have to have been able to
11 satisfy the Executive Director that they have their
12
financing
in
place for
the first
phase of
the project,
13
they have
to
be able to
establish
to the
Director that
14
they have their
adequate
equity to
build the
first phase
15
of the project,
they also
have to
be -- have
the Executive
16 Director approve their plans and specifications, approve
17 compliance with the minority participation goals with
18 respect to the construction of the first phase. When all
19 those conditions are satisfied, then the lease would be
20 entered into, the litigation would be settled, the parties
21
would exchange
general
releases and
the development would
22
commence. If
all those
conditions
are not satisfied,
23 Sawyer's Walk would not enter into the lease with the CRA,
24 the transaction would terminate and at that point in time
25 the City and CRA would have an option of proceeding to
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
21
settle with the developer and pay the Sawyer's Walk and
Poinciana Village $6.5 million to settle the existing
litigation and exchange the releases or to continue the
litigation as has been going on for a number of years.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Board members?
MR. BLOOM: Thank you.
MR. VILLACORTA: Mr. Chairman, could I just wrap
up one --
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Yes.
MR. VILLACORTA: -- one issue before you get to
questions? As I mentioned earlier, the general terms and
conditions have not been agreed to, so to the extent as we
move forward when or if an agreement is reached which is
acceptable to Commissioner Winton as the appointee of the
City Commission, the City Manager, the Executive Director
Crosswinds, Sawyer's Walk and Poinciana Village, we will
then bring that agreement before the City Commission for
the City Commission's consideration. Following that
consideration, the consideration by the City Commission,
we will take it to the CRA to consider the settlement
terms and agreements.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you. Mr. Bryan.
MR. BRYAN: Is there any reasonable time frame
that, you know, this may be coming together in terms of
that or are there any specific items that's really
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22
1 challenged between the parties?
2 MR. VILLACORTA: We had anticipated coming before
3 the City Commission as early as May 27th. We were unable
4 to get there in part because there's not an agreement as
5 to the valuation of the property in the event that they
6 exercise their option under the lease to acquire the
7 property, so there's pending appraisals which would change
8 that. Right now, the deal had been contemplated at 6.9.
9 The new appraisals -- and we've discussed with Crosswinds
10 the new appraisals and bringing the appraised value up to
11 fair market value for 46 -- 55, 56 and 45, and -- but
12 that, those terms have not been agreed to. There's
13 another issue that's pending. I think that's the main
14 issue.
15 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Are there any other -- Mr.
16 Cutler?
17 MR. CUTLER: Yes, a couple of things. There's --
18 does 65 percent of Dade County mean income in terms of
19 defining the affordability of the housing, for affordable
20 housing, I think that it would be common sense I think to
21 -- to sort of break that down to the public so that we'll
22 know a sort of type of income that we're talking about,
23 because that's kind of vague in my perception.
24 MR. BLOOM: I apologize, I don't have the answer.
25 There's a schedule that was produced while we were doing
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Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
23
1 the negotiations that would tell you for a family of four
2 what the 100 percent of the income is and what the 70
3 percent or 60 percent and what the level is, but I don't
4 have that schedule with me.
5 MR. CUTLER: I think that in the future, just to
6 be able to eliminate some confusion, I think that instead
7 of coming with the formula I think that we should have
8 some figures so that when we do let the people -- make the
9 people aware that these opportunities actually exist to be
10 able to purchase housing in the area, then they'll know
11 exactly what type of income that we're talking about in
12 order take advantage of that opportunity.
13 MR. BLOOM: Right, and part of the proposal
14 though is to have Crosswinds or the developer aggressively
15 seek out member residents of Overtown and the City of
16 Miami to qualify them and they're required to hire
17 individuals to assist in that process because we really
18 are trying to make this very successful, so the word will
19 definitely get out but we will make the list available at
20 this next CRA meeting.
21 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: One other point.
22 MR. CUTLER: One other point; with the penalty
23 that you have for them not complying with that particular
24 rule, you got a $20,000 penalty per unit, correct?
25 MR. BLOOM: Yes.
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
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1 MR. CUTLER: With the value of these properties
2 and the way that this area is rapidly appreciating in
3 terms of the real estate, do you really think that that's
4 realistic? Because with just the equity that's in a lot
5 of these properties, I don't see that as being a real
6 deterrent in terms of actually getting these developers to
7 hold their feet to the fire as far as getting people in
8 this community into those houses.
9 MR. BLOOM: We tried to address that. If you
10 look carefully at the summary in front of you, you'll
11 notice the $20,000 is a minimum penalty and in the actual
12 agreement there's a formula, so they're paying a penalty
13 based upon the difference between what you could sell that
14 unit as an affordable unit and what it would sell as a
15 market rate unit, so we're trying to capture that the best
16 we can.
17 MR. CUTLER: Oh, okay.
18 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Dr. Fields?
19 DR. FIELDS: Yes, I would ask Mr. Bloom would it
20 not be appropriate for the CDCs to work with Crosswinds or
21 the developer? You said that they Crosswinds was going to
22 aggressively look for people who qualify. We've said as a
23 part of the history that the churches are anchors in this
24 community, and so it would seem to me that rather than
25 saying Crosswinds would get people to help them that would
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
25
1 be appropriate to name -- to first talk to the CDCs about
2 it but then to name them if they are willing to be the
3 conduits through which this aggressiveness would be done.
4 MR. BLOOM: We dealt with that in the settlement
5 agreement. We have a defined term community -based
6 organizations which includes the churches and the CDCs who
7 are to help identify former Overtown residents and help to
8 deal with the affordable housing issues and the employment
9 issues as well.
10 DR. FIELDS: Yes, but I'm still saying that
11 especially those CDCs, not just --
12 MR. BLOOM: Right, there's an obligation on the
13 part of Crosswinds to retain the community -based
14 organizations.
15 DR. FIELDS: Are they named? We know who they
16 are.
17 MR. BLOOM: They're not. They're not identified
18 because --
19 DR. FIELDS: I would -- I would again for the
20 groups who have been working; BAM, St. John and Mount Zion
21 in that area and St. John because of the because of its
22 relationship prior to this time with the land behind the
23 Lyric Theatre at least those three be named to do that
24 work because that's what they do in housing and, Mr.
25 Chairman, that's a suggestion that I hope will be
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
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W.
1 considered.
2 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you very much.
3 MR. FLOWERS: Mr. Chairman?
4 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Yes, Mr. Flowers.
5 MR. FLOWERS: Sir, you know I have sat on many
6 boards and what you are saying to me is really old news;
7 that I came into this neighborhood -- that 20 percent to
8 80 percent of the resident (unintelligible) that moved
9 back into the neighborhood. There always been a problem
10 with the financing. There have been all type of
11 organizations set up to help them to rebuild their credit.
12 Of my knowledge today of many years I have not seen it
13 happen. You said 20 percent of whatever you build would
14 be going to those that are residents. How many do you
15 expect to move back into the neighborhood with your prices
16 and how will you try and help them repair their credit to
17 make sure that they will be able to quality for a home
18 back in Overtown?
19 MR. BLOOM: That's really a question for
20 representatives of Crosswinds to answer. What we tried to
21 do is give them incentive to seek out former Overtown
22 residents irrespective of the income constraints because
23 if they found an Overtown resident who could qualify, that
24 would count towards their affordability requirement
25 irrespective of what their income is, so they're earning
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
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27
1
$50,000 or $75,000 where they wouldn't fall within the
2
brackets to be able
to qualify for the affordable housing
3
but they could qualify
to buy the unit on their own, that
4
would be treated as
if it was sold on an affordable basis.
5
DR.
FIELDS:
So you said former residents as well
6
as current residents
or just current residents?
7
MR.
BLOOM:
Former.
8
DR.
FIELDS:
Former residents.
9
MR.
BLOOM:
The concept was raised during the
10
negotiations
that it
would be wonderful for the community
11
to attract residents
who had moved out of Overtown
12
previously --
13
DR.
FIELDS:
Yes.
14
MR.
BLOOM:
-- to come back and live in the
15
neighborhood,
and this is trying to give them an incentive
16
to cause those residents to want to move back.
17
DR.
FIELDS:
Then that really makes a case for
18
the churches.
19
MR.
BLOOM:
Yes.
20
DR.
FIELDS:
Because --
21
MR.
BLOOM:
Exactly.
22
DR.
FIELDS:
Yes.
23
MR.
BLOOM:
The churches have been most likely to
24
be --
25
DR.
FIELDS:
Yes.
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
1 MR. BLOOM: -- able to identify those people.
2 DR. FIELDS: Correct.
3 MR. BLOOM: And that's why it mentions the
4 churches. But again, just like it didn't identify
5 specific CDCs --
6 DR. FIELDS: Yes.
7 MR. BLOOM: -- it doesn't identify specific
8 churches. Now, we all know which churches we're talking
9 about, but we kept the document neutral and it was just --
10 we're just requiring Crosswinds to identify for themselves
11 the CDCs or community -based organizations it was going to
12 work with.
13 DR. FIELDS: But without criteria, without some
14 basis for identifying them, any group could come in and so
15 I would think again it's important that those churches --
16 and the churches have CDC components, so in a way we're
17 talking about one and the same thing.
18 MR. BLOOM: Uh-huh.
19 DR. FIELDS: And again, I think it's important
20 that those three be named because they do have training
21 programs. I know Bill Mozzie has been working with
22 programs to train people to pre -quality. So has David
23 Alexander, and I'm sure when Mount Zion gets started
24 they'll be doing the same thing, so it's very important
25 that they be named so that other groups don't just come
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1 in.
2 MR. FLOWERS: Again, sir, where are you -- the
3 figure 20 for Overtown, what happened to the other 80
4 percent? Where you advertising for the other 80 percent
5 and when will the Overtown resident be able to move back
6 if they only have 20 percent of what you're building? I
7 was born in Overtown, I grew up in Overtown.
8 MR. BLOOM: Right.
9 MR. FLOWERS: And I have seen the same thing
10 we're talking about I grew up Overtown.
11 MR. BLOOM: Right.
12 MR. FLOWERS: And I have seen the same thing
13 we're talking about now a thousand times. If you say 80
14 percent coming from some other place and you only saving
15 20 percent for us, where is that magic number coming from?
16 Why not reverse that; the 80 percent from Overtown
17 resident and 20 percent to whoever.
18 MR. BLOOM: Then I'll defer to the representative
19 from Crosswinds to address that.
20 MR. FLOWERS: Thank you, sir.
21 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Sir, this is a reference to
22 what Dr. Fields said. Maybe you want to keep the document
23 neutral, so maybe you should -- in keeping it neutral,
24 maybe you should identify churches based in Overtown and
25 CDCs based in -- in Overtown.
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1 MR. BLOOM: I believe that's what the document
2 says.
3 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Okay.
4 REVEREND PORTER: Mr. Chairman.
5 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Yes.
6 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: A couple other things; we
7 need to know how much these units are going to cost,
8 because the bottom line in terms of eligibility and
9 affordability is going to be based on the cost of these
10 units because once we go out to try to identify people
11 that's going to be able to meet that income criteria and
12 just like you said with affordability, which that's still
13 not really clear in my mind, because in terms of the way
14 my thinking is in terms of affordable housing if you got
15 people in here and the mean income is say $20,0000,
16 $15,000, $20,000 a year, then that means that you're going
17 to have to come up with some type of subsidy to bring the
18 cost of those houses down so they'll be able to qualify
19 not only to be able to get those houses, to be able to pay
20 for them. And in terms of the actual cost, if we're not
21 dealing with actual cost and in terms of the formula that
22 you gave it for Dade County, the mean income for Dade
23 County I think
24 that that's being kind of elusive in my thinking because
25 in order for us to aggressively go out and pursue people to
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31
1 come into this neighborhood or to come back into this
2 neighborhood, then we have to know basically what kind of
3 figures
-- type of figures we're
talking about. First of
4 all, let
me -- the developer
is estimating the fees
5 initially
to be -- the prices
initially to be between
6 $125,000
and $250,000. From
the document's perspective,
7 there's
no obligation on pricing
in the document so that
8 there's
no restrictions that
they can't raise the prices
9 above that, nor lower the prices. As for the percentages,
10 you know, 80 percent of the 120 percent, I don't have the
11 table with me, as I said, but there is a table of
12 community development. Barbara Rodriguez has a schedule
13 and I would say to you I think a family of four is
14 somewhere in the neighborhood of $120,000 was my
15 recollection, but there is a precise schedule, so that
16 wasn't pulling dollars out of the sky. My other
17 recollection is on the 50 deeply subsidized units the
18 estimate was it was going to take four to five million
19 dollars in subsidies to be able to allow those 50 units to
20 be sold to people at 65 percent of the Miami Dade County
21 mean income, so it's going to take a lot of -- lot of
22 subsidies to be able to do that.
23 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: Excuse me. That 65
24 percent, the average gross income, that only applies to 5
25 percent.
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1 MR. BLOOM: There's -- there's a type-0. It's
2 supposed to be 25 percent of the affordable units not to
3 exceed --
4 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: That's a type-O?
5 MR. BLOOM: Right.
6 REVEREND PORTER: Repeat that.
7 MR. BLOOM: It was supposed to be 25 percent of
8 the affordable units not to exceed 50 units.
9 LA PRINCESS BESS: Mr. Chairman?
10 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Yes (unintelligible).
11 LA PRINCESS BESS: La Princess Bess. I was
12 wondering, since we have time, if you could call your
13 office and ask them to fax over the schedule so we could
14 have it.
15 MR. BLOOM: Sure.
16 LA PRINCESS BESS: Before we leave.
17 REVEREND PORTER: Mr. Chairman, I have a couple
18 of questions for you. On Mr. Bloom, and the first would
19 be clarify something for me; do the former resident 20
20 percent, if you -- if Crosswinds recruits former
21 residents, that 20 percent, did I understand that you said
22 that would count against the 20 percent of --
23 MR. BLOOM: Yes, you did.
24 REVEREND PORTER: Okay.
25 MR. BLOOM: So that if you got -- filled all 20
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1 percent of those units --
2 REVEREND PORTER: Sure.
3 MR. BLOOM: With former Overtown units, there
4 would be no affordable housing in this development.
5 REVEREND PORTER: Okay, I think that's a really
6 important point, and the reason why I think it's an
7 important point is as a member of one of the historic
8 churches
in Overtown,
many
of our --
our community members
9 from our
church, the
people
that you've
said that
10
Crosswinds
would recruit from, are
people who have done
11
quite well
financially and so they've
been able to move
12
out and so
I think there's a great
potential for
13
Crosswinds to be able to fill
up 20 percent and
really not
14
have to fulfill any commitment
to our community
that deals
15
with truly affordable housing,
and when we talk
about a
16 thousand units, when we talk about the revitalization and
17 the redevelopment of Overtown and we say a maximum of 50
18
units and
I
realize
this
isn't the
only project in
19
Overtown
and
that's
not
Crosswinds'
burden, but as a
20
community agency and trying to give
feedback to
21
Commissioner Teele, that
concerns me
significantly because
22
we are talking about it
could be 50
units made up of
23
people who make $80,000
a year when
the mean or the
24
average income of folks
in Overtown
hovers much closer to
25
$10,000 a year. And so
I wonder about
that as a minister
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34
1 in the neighborhood; is that really being fair to my
2 community? And it doesn't sound like it is, so I don't
3 know how to address that or what we can request or
4 require, but I -- that's disconcerting to me and it seems
5 like an immense loophole for a developer to come into our
6 neighborhood, take advantage of the beautiful location
7 that Chairman McKnight described and really not develop
8 our neighborhood and the human infrastructure in our
9 community, so it's a concern of mine.
10 MR. BLOOM: Well, it's a crossover of incentives
11 because obviously we tried to create the incentive to get
12 former Overtown residents to move back. We thought that
13 that was a good thing for the community.
14 REVEREND PORTER: It is not --
15 MR. BLOOM: What your question is is offsetting
16 that.
17 REVEREND PORTER: At the expense, yeah, of the
18 actual current residents, yeah.
19 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Mr. Chairman, I'm not going to
20 comment on the -- as I said, I'm going to listen, but I do
21 want to try to be helpful to the developer in this regard.
22 This --
23 (End of CD #1.)
24
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Are pitfalls than you're
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35
1 describing because what it could unintentionally do is pit
2 the current residents against the former residents and
3 that would be extremely, extremely divisive. It's what we
4 call the Willy Lynch syndrome, but it becomes very
5 important that you listen, Bill and Alex, to the comments
6 of the board members because while they're hitting a very
7 important issue, I think it's a much deeper issue here
8 that needs to be avoided. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
9 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you. Reverend Porter?
10 REVEREND PORTER: Yes.
11 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Maybe we need to ask that
12 former residents qualifying for the project means that we
13 welcome them back but you still have to have that set
14 aside for current residents. I want you to think about
15 that. Are there any other questions?
16 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: Mr. Chairman?
17 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Yes, sir.
18 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: On this employment
19 piece, what type of agreement do you have with the
20 developers in terms of providing actual employment
21 opportunities, and I see that you have training here also
22 and I'm very concerned about that because that was -- that
23 was one thing that was specifically left in the legacy
24 that D. A. Dorsey had for Overtown was to employ the youth
25 within this community. So in terms of the actual
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1 employment,
because I don't see -- I see
vaguely that you
2 mention the
15 percent the hiring goals
in terms of that,
3 but I don't
see anything that makes that
stick and -- and
4 I'm concerned
about that because I work
in -- in the
5 employment
field and I -- and I have been
there for years
6 and I understand
how a lot of this stuff
unfolds. On
7 paper it looks good, but as it unfolds, then the realty
8 exists where we have people from other communities
9 actually coming in benefitting from the economic
10 development and in my view economic development is not
11 even taking place when people when people inside the
12 community -- when it's not putting food on the table and
13 clothing on their backs, so in terms of actual employment,
14 what -- you know, I see South Florida Work Force, which is
15 good, and other agencies that you're suggesting that
16 you're -- but what are you actually doing with the
17 developers and what kinds of commitment have they made to
18 actually hire people within this community?
19 MR. BLOOM: They have a commitment, and -- and
20
again I think
it's 15 percent, saying
during
construction
21
and there's --
there's penalties built
into
the agreement
22
to the extent
they don't utilize their
best
efforts to
23
comply with
those goals, there's a monetary
penalty
24
assessed.
Now, obviously you have to prove
that they
25
didn't use
their best efforts to comply with
that goal
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
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1 before they'd have to pay the penalty, but there are
2 penalties associated with it.
3 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: Can I make a
4 suggestion? Commissioner Teele and Commissioner Winton
5 put together a project that they're spearheading that it's
6 called Miami works. I think that it would be a tremendous
7 benefit to the developers and to the community if would
8 you just sort of channel that through the Miami Works
9 project to sort of provide some assistance because they
10 have a very aggressive campaign where they're recruiting
11 people in Overtown and in other parts within the poverty
12 areas of Miami within the stiff City of Miami to pursue
13 employment opportunities.
14 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you.
15 MR. BLOOM: Mr. Chairman, it may be appropriate
16 for you to call up the representatives from Crosswinds to
17 field questions with respect to their marketing plan and
18 their minority participation compliance and their training
19 programs.
20 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you. The next agenda
21 item is the developer Crosswinds. Representing
22 Crosswinds, Mr. Matthew Schwartz, a former planner with
23 the City of Miami for this community.
24 MR. MATTHEW SCHWARTZ: Thank you, Irby. I don't
25 know if that's good or bad. But first of all, I'd like to
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
1 thank you for the opportunity to come here today and I'd
2 also like to thank Commissioner Teele because it really --
3 if it wasn't for Commissioner Teele coming through with
4 UMTA funds back in the 1980s, this project wouldn't have
5 gone forth. So thank you Commissioner Teele in advance.
6 See, I've been in Overtown so long and on and off
7 over the years I feel like I'm part of the history,
8 Dorothy.
9 DR. FIELDS: You are.
10 MR. SCHWARTZ: Good and bad, but I'll tell you,
11 30 years ago when I came to Miami I was sent to Overtown
12 for a meeting in the urban renewal area and I was
13 listening to this and I came back to the planning
14 department and I said this is terrible, there's no one in
15 charge, nothing's happening, these people will being are
16 being -- excuse me -- screwed in different ways. And the
17 Planning Director at that time told me that that's a
18 County project, the urban renewal, and we're just to sit
19 there and listen, take notes and report back. There was
20 frustration then. I attended a meeting about a month ago
21 with the Urban Task Force and -- not the one last night
22 but the one before that, and at that meeting I sat there
23 and I thought that I was back again 20 years ago. There
24 was the same frustration and the same lack of momentum and
25 I think I'm telling you I'd like to say this to someone
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1 who's a retired planner in the City and I -- maybe not
2 Crosswinds right now, but there really is an opportunity
3 here to really start the
ball rolling.
In the last 30
4 years, there's been -- or
probably 40
years there's
5 probably been no private
investment in
Overtown. The
6 money that's come in for
new housing has
been heavily
7 subsidized in projects or
public programs.
This is an
8 opportunity where you have
a developer
who's willing to
9 invest somewhere between
$150 and $200
million, and it's
10 not only looking at -- to be part of the development of
11 three and -a -half blocks. It would like to be part of the
12 development of all of Overtown, and in that regards they
13 have submitted proposal of Crosswinds to the Collins
14 Center for the development of everything in conjunction
15 with the community south of llth Street. The idea, this
16 is not just one little piece; it's part of a bigger
17 picture for the overall revitalization of Overtown.
18
There's one
other thing I'd like to
bring
out,
and that
19
the project
Southeast Overtown Park
West
from
its
20 inception, which is back in 1979, 1980, Dorothy, Irby,
21 Jackie, a number of people here sat through these meetings
22 and involved. There was a strong desire -- the priority
23 of the community at that time was to create middle income
24 housing for people in Overtown who left Overtown, the
25 ability for people when they got to a certain economic
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.K
1 level to be able to remain in Overtown and people to come
2 back. That was the one of the key criterias of this
3 project. Now back to 20 years later, Crosswinds is a
4 privately owned Michigan company and Florida company. It
5 is an experienced developer. Difference from the original
6 developers who came into this project, Crosswinds has
7 developed somewhere between 15 and 20,000 units
8 nationally. It operates in six states. It is the major
9 developer of downtown Detroit. Downtown Detroit makes
10 downtown -- well, Overtown look like Coral Gables. So I
11 think there's -- you know, someone who has had experience,
12 is developing 30 acres in downtown Detroit, 550 units of
13 town homes, selling them, and it's been very successful.
14 So it has the experience of building. This project is not
15 intended, and in the interest of Crosswinds -- I'm sorry,
16 I'm sorry to have your back. But the project, the
17 intention of Crosswinds is to build affordable market work
18 force housing. Work force housing is housing that's going
19 to sell from $125,000 to $250,000. The income range that
20 we're looking for, I think that's going to fall into
21 people earning between basically $40,000 and $80,000,
22 $90,000 a year. These are people who work in Jackson,
23 people who work for the government, people who work
24 downtown, also for Overtown residents because when we
25 talked about the 60 -- it's 50 to 80 -- it's 50 to 80
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1 percent for Overtown residents medium family income.
2 We're talking about housing for people probably the low
3 end would earn probably about 30,000 a year, in that
4 range. The problem is with cost of housing is this is not
5 subsidized housing. This is --
the City is providing some
6 -- two major
incentives in this
project. They are selling
7 the land at a
fair value based
on the creation of housing
8 -- of housing
in the range of this
$125,000 to $250,000,
9 and it's also
providing through
the tax increment
10 financing generated by this project assistance in covering
11 the parking, and we project that could be about $10
12 million between now and 2013. We're talking about
13 building 1,000 units of condominiums. This is
14 homeownership housing. Crosswinds is committed to work
15 with the community and the CDCs in this process. The key
16 to this project is to bring back former Overtown
17 residents. The 50 units we talked about before that would
18
require deep
subsidy are for existing
Overtown residents.
19
We will have
on staff a person whose
job will be to go
20
door-to-door
who knows the people in
the community and
21 those that can purchase this housing, there would be an
22 extremely deep subsidy in the project. Also the
23 affordable units will also have limitations on their deeds
24 that they'll be in place until 2013, so it restricts how
25 they're sold. This is an area of change and I think the
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1 concerns of the 1970s with this project was that if we
2 don't do anything, downtown was going to recapture
3 Overtown. It probably wouldn't have happened in the late
4 seventies, but what's happening now the building boom,
5 there will be some changes coming on. This is a way of
6 creating quality moderate neighborhood -- creating an
7 urban village in Overtown centered around the Lyric
8 Theatre„ commercial around there, neighborhood commercial
9 but basically building housing that are in the form of --
10 there's some two-story townhomes, there are live -work
11
units which you
don't
find
downtown, you're
going
to have
12
stacked -- what
they
call
stacked downtown
houses;
one
13
townhouse on
top of
another townhouse. The highest
14
building we
envision
will probably be between 15 and 17
15
stories, but
it will
have townhouses around the bottom.
16
Probably the bulk of the
buildings of
the housing will be
17
in eight -story buildings.
The first
two stories will be
18
town homes, and above it
will be six
stories of condos.
19 It's going to have swimming pools, recreation facilities.
20 This is going to be a first-rate project at a very
21 affordable price. That's what Crosswinds does. It has
22 lots of experience nationally in six states building
23 quality market -rate housing, affordable housing. The
24 other thing is -- the important thing is this is
25 homeownership housing. They're not building rental
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43
1 housing. This is to stabilize
the
community. The 64
2 residents of Poinciana Village
have
been sitting out there
3 for the last ten years waiting
for
the rest of the
4 neighborhood to come in place, and this will be designed
5 in conjunction with that character. We intend to use the
6
CDCs and
I know we've been nebulous in
the past in our
7
meetings
in the past with them. We were
waiting actually
8
for the
agreement with the City so we
knew exactly what we
9
-- what
our obligations were, but it's
crucial that we
10
work with
the CDCs, the community groups,
the archives in
11
creating
this neighborhood. This is a
joint effort. We
12
are
the
developer we
intend to develop it
and
sell
it back
13
to
the
residents in
the community and we're
in
here
for
14 the long haul. Our intention is to be here for more than
15
five
years,
hopefully. There's -- we believe
there's a
16
very
strong
project and this project will move
forth a lot
17
faster.
If
we could sell it out in one year,
we could be
18
like
some of
the projects downtown with much
higher --
19
we'll
be able
to, you know, turn this around
and build it,
20
you know,
within two years. We envision a four- to
21
five-year
buildout on this project,
but our -- the key to
22
this project and I think what is owed to this community is
23
to make sure that there are former
and existing Overtown
24
residents
part of this process and
we are committed to
25
that. We
are commit today working
with the churches. Our
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1 intent is
to offer pre -sales
to existing Overtown
2 residents
through the churches.
As far as the job
3 training,
there are requirements
for black participation
4 as far as
different types of
both in the construction jobs
5 and in the
maintenance jobs.
As this project develops,
6 we'll probably
have a demand,
you know, for -- this will
7 be a condo
association with a
thousand condos. That will
8 probably require 30 people to do the maintenance of the
9 grounds. This is to keep -- to really bring this above
10 the quality of what you find in the rest of Miami. The
11 intent is to have this as locally based. We will go out
12 and recruit those jobs for Overtown residents. I've heard
13 -- I've sat at meetings and I've listened to developers
14 tell you this, and if you don't see it written you don't
15 always believe it. The City has put in their agreement
16 lots of -- not -- not everything is so easy in the City's
17 agreement. It's this thick and there are about 40
18 different versions of it over the last eight months, but
19 what it does say very clearly is that the City doesn't
20 turn over everything until you know, we're you know, we
21 have proved in the first phase that we have met these
22 obligations. The City has been very careful in not
23
turning this over and
having to
worry about eight years
24
from now coming back
and things
not being done. The
25
penalties are high.
We intend
-- and we have already met
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1 with the
be
labor
unions
to discuss the
job training
2 program.
We
have
worked
with the South
Florida Work Force
3 and we would like to use this as a model both in Miami and
4 in our
companies
to
develop
this company,
so
I
thank you
5 and I'm
prepared
to
answer
any questions
and
I'm
sorry I
6 don't have any renderings yet but we just -- we retained
7 -- we had a company called RTKL up until about three, four
8 weeks ago and then we decided RTKL, that was -- that, you
9 know, you really needed to be local. We needed someone
10 who knew how to move a plan through the City's development
11 process, so we hired probably the premier Miami
12 architectural firm, Architectonica who has designed the
13 new Federal courthouse down here, who designed the Miami
14 Arena and more importantly they designed the building in
15 Miami Vice; remember, it has a hole in it, on Brickel
16 Avenue. So I think it will bring high quality to this.
17 We're going to bring high quality to this. It will
18 enhance the neighborhood, but the success of this project
19 will be dependent upon making sure that existing and
20 former Overtown residents are part of the process.
21 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Board members?
22 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: Mr. Schwartz, would
23
you elaborate a
little
bit more on your Detroit
program;
24
how it actually
worked
there, because this is a
whole new
25
experience for
all of
us. If you have had this,
how did
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1 you fulfill the requirements as far as to this so that we
2 can understand how it happened somewhere else and how to
3 expect --
4 MR. SCHWARTZ: In Detroit, the City -- it was an
5 urban renewal area that had remained vacant, been vacant,
6 had some environmental issues that I believe Crosswinds --
7 the City sold it to Crosswinds at $3,000 per unit, the
8 land cost. Crosswinds then was working with some of the
9 community groups, has marketed it and has sold it back to
10 residents. It actually -- in Detroit, it had to start
11 really creating anyone living downtown, so that was the
12 basis. I'd like to get -- next time I'll bring the expert
13 on that to explain it to you. I'm sorry, I -- my -- I
14 can't get into details on that, unfortunately. I'm not
15 the one.
16 DR. FIELDS: Matthew, I would just ask that -- as
17 I said before -- that you not be so vague, especially in
18 trying to recruit former residents; that instead of saying
19 churches, that our churches have established CDCs --
20 MR. SCHWARTZ It says that in the agreement.
21 It says churches, CDCs --
22 DR. FIELDS: No, no, but you name the churches
23 that have the CDCs.
24 MR. SCHWARTZ: Oh --
25 DR. FIELDS: And if those churches/CDCs want to
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1 hire others, because I'm sure there are others in the
2 community who can do it who want to do it, but let the
3 churches be the ones that you contract with rather than
4 just say churches --
5 MR. SCHWARTZ: Name the churches.
6 DR. FIELDS: -- that have the CDCs, yes.
7 MR. SCHWARTZ: Oh.
8 DR. FIELDS: Yes, and if those churches slash
9 CDCs want to -- to hire others because I'm sure there are
10 others in the community who can do it or who want to do it
11 but let the churches be the ones that you contract with
12 rather than just say churches, existing churches with
13 CDCs. I mean, name them, because we have them in this
14 Overtown who have training programs, who have to train
15 people who are trying to pre -quality. They have a
16 membership that they can pull from.
17 MR. SCHWARTZ: Thank you.
18 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: Mr. Chair, isn't it
19 the City's responsibility to have those things implemented
20 in the contract before the deal goes through?
21 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: The City of Miami has a
22 (unintelligible) hiring agreement that they don't live up
23 to themselves, so let's not leave that up to them. They
24 don't live up to theirs.
25 MR. SCHWARTZ: The -- my -- what the City's
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1 agreement is, before the first phase -- there's 250 units.
2 The way this agreement reads, before the City signs off on
3 it they have to verify that we have all the minority
4 contracting, that we have, you know, the units that were
5 sold, all the provisions that are adhered to.
6 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: My question is who's
7 going to oversee that? The City? You?
8 MR. SCHWARTZ: No, it has to be the CRA.
9 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: CRA?
10 MR. SCHWARTZ: The executive director of the CRA.
11 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: And how exactly is
12 that going to happen? That's a question for -- for you.
13 MR. FRANK RAULSON: For me? Frank Raulson,
14 Executive Director of the CRA. These items that are
15 stipulated in the CRA these items in the settlement that
16 are stipulated, the Executive Director will sign off on,
17 will come to me and I will determine if they have met it
18 or if they have not met it, and if they have not met it I
19 will not sign off on it.
20 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Can we take a motion all of
21 our action will be taken at the 6:00 p.m. board meeting?
22 MR. CUTLER: Mr. Chairman.
23 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Mr. Cutler.
24 MR. CUTLER: Mr. Schwartz, it seems as if we have
25 a model that you've done in Detroit.
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1 MR. SCHWARTZ: But Detroit, as I believe -- and
2 I'll get the expert here -- I believe in Detroit it didn't
3 have all these provisions on income levels and who we had
4 to sell it to. This is things that the City has put in
5 place that -- and I think the situation here is somewhat
6 different. Detroit there was it was a much -- the concern
7 of the City of Detroit was to get development going and to
8 resell it to bring anyone back at a certain price range
9 and to create a market for housing that sells for
10 $300,000. It was, you know, in Detroit was rather
11 phenomenal, so it was a quality product and it worked with
12 the community (unintelligible) I don't have the details.
13 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: Okay, so there were
14 -- there were no affordable housing goals?
15 MR. SCHWARTZ: I believe there may have been, and
16 I need to -- I will get that for you.
17 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: Will there be
18 multiple phases of development.
19 MR. SCHWARTZ: Right now we envision probably
20 four phases to the project, but a lot of it we would hope
21 to if we can get the agreement and it gets approved by the
22 City and the CRA, come the end of June we would open a
23 sales office in probably in the fall and it depends on how
24 fast you sell these units.
25 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: The 20 percent of
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1 affordable housing
2 MR. SCHWARTZ:
Goes
throughout each -- each --
3 UNIDENTIFIED
FEMALE
SPEAKER: Each phase.
4 MR. SCHWARTZ:
Each
phase of it. The same thing.
5 UNIDENTIFIED
FEMALE
SPEAKER: So that would be
6 four times the 20 percent.
7 MR. SCHWARTZ: No, it's the 20 -- it's the 20 --
8 it's
the
same 20
percent.
It's
--
if there
are 200 units,
9 it's
20
percent
of those
200
units
would be
affordable. I
10 think the one thing is that, you know, it's not 20 percent
11 of the people from Overtown or former Overtown residents.
12 The thing is that we're going to go out and try to get 50
13 percent because that is the market, and if you look at the
14 demographics of, you know, where the major employment are,
15 I think we would be advertising heavily in Miami Times.
16 We would bring to you a whole program of how we can
17
effectively -- but
I
think the
keys
is the churches,
and I
18
think this project
is
crucial
to the
churches because
it
19 brings back an opportunity for a lot of their parishioners
20 to live in Overtown. The problem is that mnst of the
21 churches' congregations moved from Overtown to Liberty
22 City to Caroll City to -- now they're in Miramar,
23 Plantation and heading north to Boca, so I think there's a
24
-- you
know, it's
-- if the churches
are going to
survive,
25
I think
bringing
this element to the
population is
very
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1 important.
2 REVEREND PORTER: Mr. Chair?
3 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Yes, Reverend Porter.
4 REVEREND PORTER: Mr. Schwartz I have a couple of
5 questions on that what sort of studies have you done in
6 the congregations to determine their interest level in
7 people moving back?
8 MR. SCHWARTZ: Well, we have not had that, but a
9 study was done last year in Liberty City looking at the
10 redevelopment area there and there were surveys done to
11 about 300 households looking at areas where people had
12 migrated to -- to find out their interests; what they were
13 like, what they wanted, profiles and also there were
14 surveys done with City of Miami employees which gave a
15 profile who would be interested in what, and I think from
16 there we, you know, a lot of similarities here. We're not
17
looking at building single family homes.
We're looking at
18
building larger condominiums, and I think
the average unit
19
will be 1,100, 1,200 hundred square foot,
which is a good
20
size for if you look at the downtown housing
market for
21
inner city. We will start now once we get
the go-ahead
22
from the City. In fact, we were going to
start this --
23
next month there's a series of focus groups
to sit down
24
with people from the congregations. We've
talked to the
25
ministers, we've talked to people from the
community, but
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1 to really do focus groups and understanding how we can
2 bring them in, what incentives, and I think one of the
3 incentives will be to offer a discount, you know, through
4 the churches where maybe there's a way of returning
5 through the CDC. These are the things -- there are a lot
6 of little -- a lot of lot of big pieces that need to be
7 put together, but once we get -- we start going on this,
8 we can start working. We see this as a joint effort of
9 the community, the Overtown Advisory Board with the
10 developer.
11 REVEREND PORTER: Well, I have a follow-up
12 question which is slightly different although a comment
13 would be, you know, I'm thinking about my church and I'm
14 thinking about the folks that did move out but moved out
15 30 or 40 years ago and I -- it's -- I just I have
16 difficulty seeing the retired folks who make up the
17 substance of the commuter churches in Overtown packing up
18 and moving, leaving the home they've had for 30 years in
19 Liberty City and moving back, but it's just -- maybe I'm
20 wrong, but the second question would be I don't know if
21 you received this from Mr. Bloom --
22 MR. SCHWARTZ: I have this one, but perhaps you
23 --
24 REVEREND PORTER: But perhaps you if you want to
25 glance at it and maybe you can explain something to me
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1
because I might be misunderstanding it -- if you look
at
2
your agreement, and let's say the affordable housing
is
3
between 80 and 120 percent and so that's looking at a
4
medium income of at least 38,550 to be able to afford
it.
5
Is that --
6
MR. SCHWARTZ: That's correct. You realize we're
7
providing this without a guarantee of any kind of
8
subsidies from a surtax program or other programs, so
some
9
of the units are just going to have to be provided at
that
10
cost by the developer, and that's what this agreement
11
calls for. The 50 units for the -- that are really
12
exclusively for existing Overtown residents --
13
REVEREND PORTER: Uh-huh.
14
MR. SCHWARTZ: If -- the problem is the cost
of
15
construction today, you can't -- you can't build anything
16
-- the cost of building a unit of minimum size is
17
somewhere you know $120,000, $130,000.
18
REVEREND PORTER: Yeah, I --
19
MR. SCHWARTZ: You know, construction costs are
20
$80 to $110 a square foot.
21
REVEREND PORTER: I'm just asking a question
22
about that.
23
MR. SCHWARTZ: Sure.
24
REVEREND PORTER: About the percentages, and
then
25
if you were talking about 65, I'm guessing -- I don't
have
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1 a calculator
-- it would be somewhere
around $30,000 --
2 MR.
SCHWARTZ: That's right.
3 REVEREND PORTER: -- median
income, now is that
4 what you're --
you're assuming their
kind of average
5 salary would
need to be -- or is that
what the purchasing
6 price for them would be?
7 MR.
SCHWARTZ: No, that would
be their income
8 would be --
9 REVEREND PORTER: Okay.
10 MR. SCHWARTZ: So someone --
11 REVEREND PORTER: Can you tell me then --
12 MR. SCHWARTZ: And the subsidy in those units may
13 be significantly higher. It may be a $180,000 unit that
14 is made affordable, and this is one of the reasons the
15 City's CD office is looking at this, working on this with
16 the deep subsidies, more so the Knight Foundation is
17 interested in doing this that we believe Barbara Rose has
18 been working with us and through the Collins Center, so I
19 think there's a real emphasis on creating this deep
20 subsidy for the Overtown residents. We estimated it
21 something like $100,000 per unit and basically a grant to
22 make it feasible.
23 REVEREND PORTER: Is --
24 MR. SCHWARTZ: So I mean, it -- that's the
25 problem, unless it's heavily subsidized.
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1 REVEREND PORTER: Yeah, I understand. I
2 understand the problem and it's a hard problem for you to
3 overcome. I understand that. I'm just looking at the
4 numbers, thinking if you have to have a 30 percent - a
5 $30,000 income, how many people that are currently
6 residents of Overtown come anywhere close to applying to
7 being able to do that?
8 MR. SCHWARTZ: It's -- it's rather a small
9 number, but there are residents in Overtown -- Mr.
10 McKnight has told me due to his expertise in income taxes
11 of Overtown residents that there is a segment of the
12 population, there are people who can afford it. We're
13 going to go out and find them and make sure they want to
14 stay here and they don't want to move to some other
15 neighborhood. That's part of our obligation.
16 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Mr. Brian.
17 MR. BRYAN: Reverend Porter, back to the
18 churches, there is another side of -- they say to every
19 coin it's two sides, where if the population that
20 presently visits a church or worships in the churches, if
21 they're not going to move back as they go on to the
22 ultimate life stage, who's going to go to the church? So
23 bringing new people back is essential but you want to find
24 reasonable mix. So there's no one answer to all the
25 problems is one, and secondly, as this -- if this goes
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1 forward as it is, what this is going to generate is a lot
2 more jobs, a lot more economic opportunities to
3 businesses, then there are more persons who can afford
4 more houses. This is a small portion of all the land that
5 is available, so it's -- there's no perfect -- no perfect
6 solution.
7 MR. SCHWARTZ: We're talking -- right now I
8 believe the population of Overtown is about 8,000 people.
9 This project in the first thousand units would bring in
10 probably 3,000 -- probably 2,500 to 3,000 new residents.
11 DR. FIELDS: Mr. Chairman.
12 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Dr. Fields.
13 DR. FIELDS: I also want to talk about the --
14 speak to the potential that we have through the churches.
15 Reverend Porter, I suspect that there are a lot of empty
16 nesters who are former members of the pioneer churches who
17 you've never met who's never been to church who haven't
18 been to churches in Overtown in the last 20 or 30 years,
19 and people are retiring earlier now so that the older
20 people that you see coming in on walkers and whatever are
21 really in their what, eighties and nineties, but there's a
22 group of late fifties and early sixties who now have empty
23 nests and who would I think be very interested in coming
24 back to the -- to their roots, to their churches, and so I
25 think there's a whole population out there that through
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1 the school reunions, high school reunions, class of --
2 class of 1939 Booker
T., having graduated 65 years ago, is
3 having a big banquet
this weekend,
and so I really think
4 that there are people
out there who
will be very
5 interested in this.
In fact, they
have expressed it and
6 have -- are looking forward
to it.
So Mr. Flowers can say
7 something more about that.
8 MR. SCHWARTZ: This is also from a developer's
9 standpoint the importance of the Lyric Theatre, the Folk
10 Life Village, it creates this character for this
11 neighborhood and the other thing is that downtown Miami 20
12 years ago when this project started was not an in place to
13 live. Today it's an in place. You're being surrounded by
14 80 -- I mean 50-story buildings coming in on Biscayne
15 Boulevard, so I think, you know, there's a whole -- this
16 is the people from Broward even think that this would be
17 an acceptable place now where they might not have.
18 Everyone wants to get into a real estate deal where the
19 prices keep on going up.
20 REVEREND PORTER: Yeah, my only concern like for
21 instance you invoked the knight Foundation anD the work
22 they've done through Collins Center, which I've watched
23 and had an interest in and supported, but even then when
24 they first began discussions with developers and we looked
25 at what it would take to restore Overtown, they were
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1 talking in percentages more along the lines of you could
2 bring in
two thirds and
30 percent of current residents
3 you would
have to keep,
so you can add -- add in, and so
4 when I am
looking at these
things,.I'm just asking if you
5 followed
this model, is
there really going to be -- when
6 you have
those -- those
jobs and you say more housing
7 later down
the road that
this would inspire and kick off,
8 would those things come back to current residents? And
9 I'm just not sure it will, and so that's why I'm asking
10 questions; because the people -- and the reason why I'm
11 even here today is the people I live with aren't going to
12 be eligible to buy these places.
13 MR. SCHWARTZ: That's the importance of I think
14 of follow-up programs and things that work with this, the
15 construction, to make sure if there -- there are 75, 100
16 thousand feet of commercial space, there will be 50, 100
17 jobs created here, retail jobs types of things. We will
18 go and work with Booker T., the students part-time and we
19 want to work with the OAB and set up these types of -- you
20 know, come back every month to review and give us ideas on
21 how we can proceed. We do not intend to do this project
22 in isolation or just solely dealing with Frank, who has to
23 review everything we do. This is a public project, public
24 private partnership, and we'd like to make sure this is a
25 model of what it should be, and Crosswinds is committed to
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1 do this.
2 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Okay, Mr. Cutler.
3 MR. CUTLER: Okay, looking -- looking at this
4 mean income and from -- from the information that we
5 received earlier, is it fair for me to assume that --
6 okay, now, you said with the affordabilities of the range
7 of these houses it will be from 100 and there is no -- no
8 really top threshold on that, so that's to say some of
9 these houses will go for more than $200,000?
10 MR. SCHWARTZ: Yeah, I think there will be a
11 range and I think the average unit by the time this gets
12 constructed will be somewhere between $190,000 and
13 $200,000, so there would be half above and half -- if you
14 look at the cost of housing, it's kind of a sticker shock
15 when you go around today. The cost of construction has
16 risen so much. Last year the housing in Miami Dade County
17 went up 20 -- 23 percent. I mean, it's an incredible
18 inflation. Compared to the rest of the market, this is
19 going to be very affordable. The units at 80 percent of
20 the median family income, without subsidies that's
21 probably the place where you can -- where we could really
22 start without the developer getting real deep subsidies,
23 there is a subsidy in the land and the land's at a fair
24 price. They keep the land, you know, within $8,000 to
25 $10,000 per unit, which is -- makes this thing feasible,
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Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
1 and there is a subsidy to help with the structured parking
2 which sometimes costs $10,000 to $11,000 per unit, and the
3 idea of this will -- from a developer's standpoint, was to
4 create a truly mixed community economically.
5 MR. CUTLER: Right.
6 MR. SCHWARTZ: It's not -- and it's not having
7 one building lower income and one higher. This is, you
8 know, apartment 407 can be selling for $200,000 and
9 apartment 408 can be one that would be one of these
10 subsidized units, and that's a requirement and that's
11 something we intend to do so as to create this as a real
12 up-and-coming neighborhood, the right image, and it's
13 going to spill over and it has to be very careful so we
14 don't have -- end up with speculators coming on other
15 blocks and building -- you know, putting things in and
16 forcing people out. This property has been vacant since
17 the mid 1980s --
18 MR. CUTLER: Right.
19 MR. SCHWARTZ: And so this doesn't involve any
20 displacement. The people who relocated back in the
21 eighties, there was 200 and the Culmer Place public
22 housing west of the expressway between 5th and 6th Street
23 was built really to relocate those people who wanted to
24 remain in Overtown. That relocation activity was --
25 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Mr. Schwartz.
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1 MR. SCHWARTZ: I'm sorry.
2 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: I'm sorry to cut you off.
3 No, no, no. I don't want you to leave. I'm glad you just
4 mentioned what you did. That development was built to
5 accommodate Overtown residents who lived in the line of
6 the Metro Rail because we didn't want anymore people
7 displaced from the community, but we had already asked you
8 not to bring us anymore low income housing because we
9 couldn't change the economic outlook of the community if
10 they kept dumping low income people, and then they we had
11 a choice and when we said we didn't want anymore public
12 housing they said, well, we will build these townhouses
13 and if the 200 people who will be displaced because of the
14 Metro Rail will not require relocation fees, we will take
15 that fee and make it as the down payment and they would
16 own these townhouses on Fifth Street that you see there
17 now. However, my good friend that lives there and moved
18 from 147th Street, which is where the Metro Rail Overtown
19 station stands, to this day, she does not own that unit.
20 They did not accept the relocation fees. Some people did
21 and those people moved on, but the ones who went there did
22 not accept the relocation monies because they wanted that
23 -- those dollars to go for downpayment and closing costs
24 on a unit that we were -- they were led to believe they
25 would own. All these years later, they still living in
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1 public housing. They do not own those units and it seem
2 like just they and I remember this promise. What can
3 happen now to make certain we do not repeat that mistake?
4 MR. SCHWARTZ: Okay, these are all going to be
5 for sale units, and those 50 units we're going to have to
6 provide this deep subsidy.
7 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Yeah, I understand
8 (unintelligible) that's what I'm talking about, the
9 subsidy, because that's what happened there because they
10 did not accept the dollars for relocation, they allowed
11 those dollars to be used in subsidy so that they could own
12 those townhouses. They do not own them.
13 MR. SCHWARTZ: Well, that's HUD. That was built
14 as a public housing project, straight public housing.
15 That -- and what you pointed out, Irby, was something the
16 Federal government when the City started this project,
17 that was it. They red -lined it and said there's no more
18 low income housing in Overtown because there's too --
19 there's a large concentration. They would mandate it to
20 mix the housing, mix the income levels in Overtown, and
21 that's what this Overtown Park West Redevelopment Project
22 was about; rental housing that was built in Park West and
23 homeownership. And in Overtown, since there was so little
24 homeownership left, by the time this project came by most
25 of the homeowners had, you know, abandoned the
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1 neighborhood many years before.
2 DR. FIELDS: Not just abandoned, no, no.
3 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: No, imminent domain threw
4 them out.
5 MR. SCHWARTZ: But there are also -- people left
6 on their own, you know, after, because the conditions of
7 the neighborhood declined. I mean, we could go between
8 40,000 and 8,000 --
9 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you. Thank you very
10 much.
11 MR. CUTLER: He still didn't answer my question.
12 What I'm concerned about, okay, the bottom -- the bottom
13 line cap that they put on these houses, okay, in the upper
14 threshold, okay, now some of these houses will be going
15 for in excess of $200,000. Okay, now my concern is that
16 this 38 -- this $38,000 is too high, and based on the
17 price that they're actually getting this property for and
18 based on the way the property taxes are going up and based
19 on the way that the equity is going to rise once this
20 project is finished, I think the profit -- the profit
21 margins in this development is going to be tremendous and
22 I think that -- that the residents in this community
23 should be able to benefit from those profits. I
24 understand about the deep subsidy, but the subsidies that
25 I'm looking at is not that deep considering what the
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1 actual value of this property is going to be once it's
2 developed and the actual equity that's going to be
3 accelerated within this property and I think it would be
4 to the advantage of the people that's here right now to be
5 able to benefit in some way shape or fashion with that
6 realty, and I think that the mean income that they have
7 here for those units is too high from my -- from my point
8 of view.
9 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: All right, thank you very
10 much. The next item on the agenda are Black Archives.
11 MS. LINDA LOGAN: Good afternoon. My name is
12 Linda Logan. I'm the Executive Officer of the Black
13 Archives. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the
14 Board, Commissioner. Black Archives is greatly in favor
15 of redevelopment in Overtown. As Dr. Fields so eloquently
16 said, we have documents of a time when Overtown was a
17 vital and thriving community and we want to make sure that
18 that comes around again. In that line, we are asking that
19 this Board ask for a resolution asking the CRA to
20 reappraise the three and -a -half blocks that is under
21 discussion by Crosswinds so that it is appraised at the
22 highest and best usage, allocate the difference between
23 the 6.9 million that is in the deal with the City and the
24 actual we think re -appraisal value of those properties
25 will be two to three times that much and that the
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1 difference in that be put into a trust for redevelopment
2 of Overtown. The $6.9 million appraisal price was arrived
3 on the average of two appraisals and
the standard that was
4 used was not the highest
and best use
valuation of the
5 property. We think that
the City is
being asked to
6 subsidize gentrification
of Overtown.
They're being asked
7 to give this land -- sell
this land to
Crosswinds at a
8 reduced price. Crosswinds is a very successful company,
9 as Mr. Schwartz has told us, and we know about their
10 projects. We feel that they are able or certainly could
11 find a way to do the project and we are in the support of
12 the project; anything that redevelops Overtown, but not at
13 the expense of giving this -- of selling this land to them
14
at a
price
that is
not the
true
market
value.
We ask that
15
this
Board
consider
asking
the
City to
form a
trust and
16 that the difference between the six point 9 million
17 dollars that the City was willing to accept and the true
18 appraised value of that land be put into that trust and
19 that trust be allocated in some way, shape or form to the
20 CDCs for the for use of job creation, affordable rental
21 and purchased housing, and in this ways that will preserve
22 the history and the cultural of Overtown that made it once
23 such a thriving community. Thank you.
24 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you. Board members,
25 are there any questions for Mrs. Logan? Thank you very
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1 much. Being that there are none, Mr. John Hall, did you
2 wish to speak at this time?
3 MR. JOHN HALL: (Unintelligible.)
4 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you very much. BAM,
5 Mr. Bill Mozzie. BAM is Beth El A.M.E.
6 MR. MOZZIE: (Unintelligible.)
7 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: You have to come up.
8 MR. MOZZIE: Bill Mozzie, CEO of BAM Development
9 Corporation and of Greater Beth El A.M.E. Church. I don't
10 want to regurgitate what the Black Archives just
11 expressed, but I want to be sure that it's understood what
12 this effort is all about. As this whole process have been
13 moving about we've always said that we would like to have
14 something at the end of the day so that the community and
15 the people in the community can hang their hats on, have
16 an opportunity to do some investments or maybe even
17 purchase a home because everything showing up to that
18 particular point left out the community as we saw it and
19 we kept trying to figure out the best way to do that.
20 When we began to learn that the cost of the land as it was
21 being presented to the current developers was below what
22 we considered a fair market value, to us that turned on a
23 great light as it relates to how to establish some benefit
24 for the people in the community, so to continue on what
25 was said just prior to my being here, the highest and best
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1 use is going to describe a different number and we would
2 like for the Overtown Advisory Board to go on record as
3 saying that if those dollars do occur based on a new
4 appraisal then some trust, whether it's used by CDCs,
5 private developers in the community or private individuals
6 or whomever, that will be decided at a later date but the
7 trust needs to be established somewhere so at the end of
8 the day the community Overtown itself will have something
9 to hang their hats on, will have a starting point and be a
10 part of this whole development effort.
11 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you. Board members?
12 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: Yes. I guess this
13 will be a kind of like searching up, maybe Mr. Raulson and
14 yourself and certainly Mr. Schwartz, there are a lot of
15 words maybe many of us don't quite understand the MUSP and
16 the rest of that and you're talking about highest and best
17 use. Just flipping the coin back, would the highest and
18 best use, Mr. Raulson, probably would that allow the
19 development to go forward and would that allow the
20 developer to have room to accommodate the 20 percent or
21 whatever that number is? This seems to be -- I don't know
22 if this has been in other conversations, but what would be
23 the effect of doing that?
24 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: Are you looking -- re
25 appraising the property.
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1 MR. BLOOM: Obviously if you're getting an
2 appraisal of the highest and best use, you know, that's
3 not taking into account restrictions. If to the extent
4 you impose a restriction of 20 percent affordable housing
5 and there's a cost associated with delivering that 20
6 percent, that -- that would have to be taken into account
7 in the appraisal to the extent that you limit the
8 developing rights, that has to be taken into account in
9 the appraisal to the extent that you limit the development
10 rights, that has to be taken in account in the appraisal
11 to the extent that those development rights are something
12 less than what would be determined to be the best and
13
highest use. The same
thing would go to the job
training
14
programs, the minority
participation programs.
Typically
15
someone is going out --
highest and best use in
the market
16 is what someone -- a willing buyer is willing to pay and
17
willing to seller is
willing to accept without
those types
18
of restrictions, and
what the CRA has already
ordered
19
based upon the action
taken at the last board
meeting is
20 an appraisal of those three and -a -half blocks based upon
21 their highest and best use.
22 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you.
23 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: I think in response
24 to that, if the difference would substantially establish a
25 trust, the community will probably be willing to accept
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1 those items that would shortcome or reduce the cost so
2 that if the monies, the difference between the base and
3 the high was available, you can absorb enough money in
4 there to take care of this 20 percent and all these other
5 kinds of things that you would want to do in the
6 community, so I think we ought to all be trying to figure
7 out how to make it work so the balance is there, okay, and
8 I understand what the developer is saying and that makes a
9 whole lot of sense but you flip the coin around, if the
10 dollars are there, then the decisions for the community
11 could be made based on what the dollars are and I
12 guarantee you there will be plenty of money to offset that
13 20 percent.
14 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you very much. Are
15 there any other questions, board members? Okay, thank
16 you. Washington Heights, Jackie bell.
17 MS. JACKIE BELL: Good afternoon. My name is
18 Jackie Bell. I happened to be a child of a property owner
19 mother father who was displaced by I-95. As Dr. Fields
20 told me once, her family saw it coming and they left
21 first. I will say this to this body. The City of Miami
22 Dade County Department of Transportation back in 1978, 179
23 wanted to build a Metro Rail. Now, go back and remember
24 in the forties and fifties they came through and took our
25 land for a highway. But in the late seventies, they came
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1 back
to that community and this
time they want to build a
2 rail
system that we all know as
metro transportation.
3 After
doing so much rape in the
first, what they came and
4 told
the property owners was that
we will pay you one
5 penny
per square foot for your
land. Now, that community
6 had a
community of about 40,000
people. The families was
7 moved.
Then
come urban removal
and they promised
the
8 black
people
who were there that
when they rebuilt
it they
9 could come again. They said the same thing with the road.
10 Now with Metro Movers and all of this, and today I stand
11
here
and I hear
you talking
about 50 people who
used
to
12
live
here could
come back.
Great. But I know
all of
you
13
who
are sitting
in here and
the people who are
in the
dais
14
probably have
made some deals
or want something else to
15
happen, but I'm
going to read
to you what Dade County
16
Department of
Transportation
said when they put together
17 the community's plan to send to Washington and
18 Commissioner Arthur Teele, who is a wonderful man -- no
19 buts, Commissioner. You in a hot seat today, okay,
20 and I think this black community you've been on a hot seat
21 for a while. You're too intelligent, okay. But today I
22 think this Board should be ashamed of itself, okay, and
23 the reason I said that is it seem mighty strange that you
24 all just became important so you all could pass this,
25 okay. But the way they -- the City, the way the County
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1 and the City wrote this and Matthew you know I'm telling
2 the truth 'cause you was there with me, okay. The way
3 they wrote this was that the Overtown Advisory Board would
4 be the monitoring and recommendation people then, so what
5 y'all been doing twenty-one years?
6 COLLECTIVE: Thank you. You go, girl.
7 MS. BELL: Okay, and I want to know if this Board
8
rescinding the resolution that
you all
passed and
9
supported that gave Washington
Heights
the original
10
initial development and I want
to know
if this board today
11 have rescinded the fact that you all said 50 percent
12
equity went
to black equity participation
and black
13
property owners. Y'all rescinded that?
Y'all put it in
14
writing and
send it to somebody? Did the
County rescind
15
its initial
resolution saying that? Did
y'all send it to
16 Washington and say well, now that you all have given us
17 the money and now we haven't been able to do anything, we
18 really don't think that it is okay that black
19
participation be
a part of this, okay. We don't
think the
20
black property owners got no right. We going to
give
21
Crosswinds and --
and Commissioner Teele, this is
only
22
four blocks, not
six. This was the initial four
blocks,
23 and the reason the City of Miami got that money, they
24 promised us -- okay, they promised us, okay, that they
25 knew that they had done that community terrible and they
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1 was continuing to ask black property owners to give up
2 their economics because a people without a land is a
3 hungry people, and African Americans from the beginning of
4 Dade County line to the end of it is losing their
5 property. And don't tell me, McKnight, they losing it
6 'cause they ain't paying the taxes. They losing it for a
7 whole bunch of other reasons. I mean, the real truth is,
8 Commissioner, you cannot let this go. I don't care what
9 it takes. You cannot, and if this board approves it, it
10 tells me a lot more. But you cannot give up that. You
11 are one of Gwen Cherry's like myself, people who mentored
12 you and who stood for you, and this black community do not
13 have any idea why the lady is dead but she stood for this
14 black community and as being my mentor and my sister I
15 would be remiss to stand here today and say that anyone
16 who gets that land and does not heed to how the City of
17 Miami -- first how Dade County -- and Matthew know I'm
18 telling the truth because I can name every one. None of
19 y'all who sitting around this table was there. I was
20 there. I was there. I'm the one who was there. I'm the
21 one Mayor Sturheim and Winkins made cry in the chamber,
22 and Beverly Philips, Ruth Shaclara Austin in there because
23 women -- and Dorothy, you blessed. Women were not allowed
24 to be big shots or head of nothing, but we fought this.
25 You cannot on no front give it to nobody but the way it's
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1 supposed to be.
2 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Thank you. St. John, Mr.
3 David Alexander.
4 MR. DAVID ALEXANDER: Good afternoon, ladies and
5 gentlemen. Good afternoon, audience. My name is David L.
6 Alexander. I'm president CEO of St. John Community
7 Development Corporation. Greetings, Commissioner. First
8 of all, let me add my thanks to you to have this meeting
9 in the community today. I think it's a very important
10 meeting and hopefully it will lead to others like it. My
11 comments will be brief today. I do have three or four
12 important points to make for the record. If we could have
13 the slide back on the screen please, showing the real
14 estate in question. That's a nice one. At St. John's CDC
15 we have been in a state of hiatus for a number of years
16 now because the initial development thrust which took
17 place approximately 12 years ago went through a series
18 of financial pressures that until now -- until very
19 recently we were not able to provide the kinds of
20 development and support to this community that we would
21 like to. However, I am glad to say that that is behind us
22 now and with this proposal we are actually looking forward
23 to the future. One of the things that did not happen is I
24 will call your attention to blocks 25 and 36 as have been
25 mentioned before by at least two different speakers. St.
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1 John's CDC in fact did have development rights and a
2 development project and development plans for those two
3 blocks, was awarded the properties by the City of Miami.
4 Title was never transferred. When this happened, the
5 property was worth maybe $4 a square foot, maybe $5.
6 Unfortunately, due to the exigence of the development
7 process itself and the fact that one major developer did
8 drop out of the project, the project was never built.
9
Today
we have
Crosswinds
in
a very
unique
situation. St.
10
John's
CDC did
enter for
the
record
into
some legal
11
dispute with
the
City
of Miami over
the transfer of that
12
real estate.
The
end
result was the
City transferred
13 another piece of property north of this site which was a
14 fraction of the value to even the $4 a square foot that I
15 referred to before. We are proceeding to develop that
16 property now and we believe that it will be a true
17 landmark project and with your help, Commissioner, we'll
18 be able to do that in a short space of time. We have
19 completed the first phase of pre -development and are
20 looking to finance the project now. Now our concern here
21 is that'as of May the 20th, 2004, there's a new day in
22 Overtown, a brand new day. This is not undesirable real
23 estate anymore. Evidenced by Crosswinds, we're looking at
24 a time when black people don't get bought out and kicked
25 out anymore but we are going to be facing a set of
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1 economic restrictions in terms of serving the poor people
2 in the community. It's one thing -- as my first point --
3 to set aside 50 units out of a thousand and add some
4 wraparound financing at deep discount for poor black
5 people or the working poor to purchase units in this
6 proposed development project. It is an entirely different
7 thing to expect that the community after so much
8 heartache, pain history, riots and anguish should not
9 share in the economic benefits of a development which was
10 bought in the name of that pain and suffering. I feel
11 it's my obligation to be part of a process to make sure
12 that whatever is built, and I will say right now I have
13 great admiration for the development acumen and
14 capabilities and track record of Crosswinds, I'll say that
15 right now. I believe they are legitimate. I believe they
16 can deliver.
17 (End of CD #2.)
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Good morning. You know, like
19 Overtown, good morning.
20 COLLECTIVE: Good morning.
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay. Thanks so much. As you
22 know, this is the Town Hall meeting. Many of you have
23 been here before for Town Hall meetings. Could I just see
24 real quick the people that have come to an Overtown Town
25 Hall meeting before? Great. We normally have about 100
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1 people,
and because of
the
size
of
the
building
it was
2 kind of
hard to figure
this
out
but
we
figured
it as
3 people come in
and go.
You've
always been at
every
4 meeting, every
meeting,
always
on time, always
here.
5 Everyone is invited to be here and there is absolutely the
6 right of everyone to attend. However, the meeting is done
7 primarily for the benefit of the Overtown residents,
8 property
owners,
business owners and
people that work and
9 live in
Overtown
to express to me as
your District
10 Commissioner and to express to the Overtown Advisory Board
11 an agency that was created by the City of Miami Commission
12 back in 19 what, Irby?
13 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: 182.
14
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
'82, which
is representative of
15
the community. In other
words, it's
elected by you the
16
residents of Overtown and
if you do
not go to Overtown
17 Advisory Board meetings every month we take this
18 opportunity to urge you to do so because there are a lot
19 of issues that come up from time to time in Overtown that
20 need to be heard and I know there are some people here
21 that want to be heard. You're going to be heard.
22 However, there are a few housekeeping and administrative
23 issues. The voters, the people who live in Overtown under
24 the procedures that we've had over the years have the
25 right to give us a vote in terms of how you feel about
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1 certain issues. We reserve -- what is -- what section,
2 Chelsa, is a for the Overtown voters? This area? So if
3 you are a voter in Overtown, if you are a resident of
4 Overtown, if you live in Overtown, if you own property in
5 Overtown, if you are employed and work in Overtown, if you
6 can have any Overtown connections as our procedures have
7 always provided you should be in this area right here or
8 in this area directly behind it, whatever is convenient.
9 What, Brenda? Oh. Wait, wait. If you live -- if you're
10 right here, it's fine. If you're not a voter or in that
11 category, if you would just move to the other section
12 right over here to my extreme left, your extreme right if
13 you're not an Overtown resident voter or whatever. If
14 you're in this building, you should either be in this
15 section, this section or that section. You should not be
16 in those sections. However, if anyone is a non voter and
17 would like to stay in this area, please do so. However,
18 if you are an Overtown resident Overtown voter, please
19 come to one of these sections down here please. Please.
20 Now, if you are elderly, handicapped, overweight like I
21 am, there are elevators, elevators over here and you can
22 come down by elevator. So what we're trying to do is
23 vacate this entire area and Overtown voters residents, et
24 cetera may sit here in the center on the floor or in this
25 area. Please now we're Optimists. I saw some Optimists
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
1 brothers back there, some Optimist youth, this is your
2 meeting, brothers. Come on down here. Well, at 10:00 we
3 can go but let them come down now. We're going to have
4 fellowship first. All right. Please, on either side.
5 Could we quickly -- I want to also acknowledge that many
6 of you have been to Town Hall meetings that I have called
7 before and many of you have followed up with our offices
8 and I really want to express my appreciation for you
9 caring about the neighborhood. Some of the people that I
10 recognize here are property owners that have moved away
11 from Overtown many many years ago, but you're keeping your
12 ties in Overtown and we are very grateful for that, for
13 that effort. Miss Slater, how you feeling this morning?
14 All right. Without further. ado, I'm going to call upon
15 one of the deacons of St. John's Primitive Baptist Church
16 to give us a little bit of morning devotion and then we
17 will formally start the meeting. We won't start the
18 meeting until after we've had prayer and is it missionary
19 Baptists or Institutional?
20 DEACON PHILIP BACON: Missionary Baptists.
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Missionary. All right, under
22 the leadership of Pastor Nevins, Reverend Nevins, so let's
23 give a warm Overtown welcome to a man who has worked all
24 over Overtown and is keeping the dream alive, Deacon
25 Bacon. Let's give him a hand now.
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1 DEACON BACON: Good morning. It's right, I came
2 here 45 years ago and I've been working in Overtown the
3 majority of my life. I retired from Dade County as a
4 county employee, so I have a heart for Overtown. So let
5 us bow our heads.
6 Almighty God, we come before you this morning, Lord,
7 asking for your guidance and your protection. Father,
8 have our minds of one accord that we can accomplish
9 something from this meeting to help the resident of
10 Overtown and keep the dream alive. Please you as in your
11 Holy name we pray, Amen.
12 COLLECTIVE: Amen.
13 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you again. As you know,
14 this meeting has been called to discuss a number of
15 issues. Does everyone have an agenda? Is there anyone
16 that doesn't have an agenda? Brenda, where are the
17 minutes of the previous -- one of the previous meetings,
18 et cetera? Let me take this opportunity -- thank you --
19 to introduce our guest the senior city official here first
20 and then we will introduce -- ask everyone -- Erica, we're
21 going to ask everyone to introduce themselves, but let me
22 start with the senior city of Miami official that appears
23 to be here now is one of the city constitutional
24 officials, charter officials, one of the officers that was
25 one of the four top people in the city, Priscilla Perry,
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
Me
1 the clerk of the City. Priscilla would you just introduce
2 your staff and say anything that you'd like to say?
3 MS. PRISCILLA PERRY: Good morning, ladies and
4 gentlemen. A lot of you who attend the Overtown Advisory
5 Board meeting will see my staff and I at the meetings.
6 This young lady is a resident of Overtown, Terry Thomas.
7 She's one of our premium prime transcribers and we also
8 have with us our assistant City Clerk Miss Sylvia
9 Scheider. We appreciate you coming out this morning and
10 we're working with you.
11 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you very much. Let's give
12 our City Clerk a (applause). The charter calls for four
13 officers to be appointed the City Manager, the City
14 Attorney, the Auditor General and the City Clerk, so you
15 can see that we are very well represented. Without
16 further ado, let me start on my extreme left and ask the
17 City or the -- and CRA staffs to please either stand, take
18 a microphone -- do y'all have a mic somewhere? Then go to
19 the podium please and each one introduce yourself so
20 everyone knows exactly who's here. Just line up right one
21 behind each other, please.
22 Commander Meeks, why don't you join us on the stage?
23 This is the Overtown residents' chance to throw spit balls
24 at you if they want to.
25 MS. ERICA WRIGHT: Good morning, everyone. My
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
1 name is Erica Wright. I'm an Assistant City Attorney for
2 the City of Miami. Good morning.
3 ANTRANETTE PIERRE: Antranette Pierre, Executive
4 Assistant to the Director.
5 MS. REBECA LOWE: Good morning. Rebeca Lowe,
6 Contracts and Organizational Liaison for the City CRA.
7 MS. ESPERANZA MARTINEZ: Esperanza Martinez, CRA
8 Agenda Coordinator.
9 MS. CHELSA ARSCOTT: Good morning, Chelsa
10 Arscott, Planning and Administrative Administrator for the
11 Miami CRA.
12 MR. CHUCK DEEB: Chuck Deeb with T.Y. Lynn H.J.
13 Ross. We're engineering consultants to the CRA.
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you. Mr. Bloom, are you
15 here in a pro bono capacity today or can we assume --
16 MR. WILLIAM BLOOM: William Bloom, Holland and
17 Knight's special counsel to the CRA and the City of Miami
18 with respect to the Crosswinds matter.
19 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, just so everybody
20 knows, and we'll start right here on the --
21 MR. JAMES VILLACORTA: James Villacorta,
22 Assistant City Attorney.
23 MR. CHRIS SMITH: Chris Smith, Overtown Net
24 Administrator.
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Chris, why don't you take this
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Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
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1 opportunity to introduce all of the City staff that is
2 here that needs to be introduced so if somebody gets
3 missed it's your fault, not mine.
4 MR. SMITH: Well, then I would ask if there are
5 other City staff if you'll please stand or signal at this
6 time. Want to introduce yourself?
7 MR. JORGE CANO: Good morning. My name is Jorge
8 Cano. I'm Deputy Director of the Department of Capitol
9 Improvements of the City of Miami.
10 MR. DAVID ROTHMAN: Good morning. My name is
11 David Rothman, Chief of Staff to the City Manager.
12 MR. BOBBY MEEKS: Good morning, Bobby Meeks, City
13 of Miami Police Department, Commander Overtown Windwood.
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Let's give Commander Meeks and
15 all of the City staff a real hand because like all of us,
16 they could be somewhere else. They took time from their
17 schedules and their families to be able to join you.
18 MS. BEATRICE GILBERT: I'm sorry but we'd like to
19 say something real quick because we had other events
20 scheduled for today.
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Just one minute.
22 MS. GILBERT: It will be real quick.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Just one minute, and we'll do
24 one thing. Let me now present the elected representative
25 of the Overtown community who serves in the capacity as
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Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
MIR
1 the Chairman of the Overtown Advisory Board, Mr. Irby
2 McKnight.
3 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Good morning.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And Irby, please acknowledge the
5 OAB members that you --
6 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Would all the Overtown
7 Advisory Board members please stand. Thank y'all for
8 coming. Are there any members of the Neighborhood
9 Assembly Board here? Thank you.
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right. There are several
11 people who have asked to be acknowledged early on and
12 we'll yield to you. Thank you for being here. You are an
13 Overtown resident and --
14 MS. GILBERT: Yes, I am.
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay. Just give us your name
16 and address, and when people come up to the mic and speak
17 please give us the benefit of giving your name and address
18 so that the clerk can get the information correct.
19 MS. GILBERT: My name is Beatrice Gilbert. My
20 address is 275 Northwest loth Street. I just wanted to
21 state that participating in this meeting is encouraging
22 the marginalizing of Overtown residents. This meeting was
23 not announced or truly encouraged participation. For one,
24 people barely got 48 hours notice, and most people
25 don't even get the newspaper, which means they got 24-hour
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
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1 notice.
And
that was
only a
select
few; not
all Overtown
2 residents
got
notice
of this,
and I'm
pretty
sure that
3 most people here had other scheduled arrangements for
4 today, like me. That's
why I have to go,
but
I would like
5 to -- well, I'm not going to -- I don't even
think people
6 should vote today because
it's not fair.
All
the people
7 here, I'm pretty sure a
lot of them have
been
talked to
8 already about what they're
going to get if
they
vote a
9 certain way, but number
one, not everyone
can
vote. We
10 have people there, you know, who are staying in subsidized
11 housing or whatever whatever and they can't vote like
12 that.. Number two, not properly informed of the matters to
13 be discussed to be voted on. I called to find out what
14 was going on. People didn't even know what I was -- they
15 knew what I was talking about, they couldn't give me the
16 answers I wanted. And then 9:00 a.m. with no end time is
17 not acceptable, okay. We want to know how long -- how
18 late we gonna stay in here and nothing and nothing plus
19 nothing was posted in the community. How you supposed to
20 get the community involved when nothing was posted in the
21 community? How can we move together as a community when
22 the entire community was not properly informed and brought
23 together in the first place, and to my Overtown residents
24 I know y'all ain't gonna let, you know, people use our tax
25 monies like this, so you could --
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
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1 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: They been using it
2 for 30 years.
3 MS. GILBERT: Well, we got to do something about
4 that.
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Ma'am, ma'am.
6 MS. GILBERT: We got to do something about is
7 that they want to put us together to keep this --
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Ma'am, you're free speak. You
9 have a two -minute limit, but make your comments to the --
10 MS. GILBERT: Oh, it's about to end right now,
11 right now, and I know my people are better than this. I
12 know for a fact a lot of other people would have been here
13 if they were informed of earlier, you know, like I heard
14 somebody was -- had to decide on going to a funeral and
15 being here. Imagine having to decide against -- to decide
16 which one they should go to. So that's all --
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you very much.
18 MS. GILBERT: -- I can say. Thank you.
19 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you four your comments.
20 We're going to move right on and --
21 MS. GILBERT: Reschedule.
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes, ma'am. We'll take that
23 under advisement. We're going to get an update now from
24 the Overtown Net Office and issues by the Overtown Net
25 Administrator, Mr. Smith.
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
1 MR. CHRIS SMITH: Thank you, Commissioner. Good
2 morning, everyone, and these remarks -- I'll be brief, but
3 I want to get right to it. There's several areas I want
4 to make sure that I cover. As you know, the Net Office is
5 here to serve as in a capacity as a liaison between City
6 government and the residents as well as to provide access
7 to City services. Now, having said that, some of the
8 issues that that need to be looked at as we move forward,
9 one obviously is the issue of crime in our neighborhood
10 and we need to look to support and strengthen the existing
11 efforts particularly around drug activities in the
12 community. That's an area where I know there's been a lot
13 of community voices raised about that issue and it's for
14 good reason, and so I want to first of all commend the
15 commander for his work around Operation Difference and
16 their efforts in recent weeks and months, but we need to
17 strengthen that and we need to do more and I want to look
18 to the community and ask for your help as we continue to
19 fight the crime and the drug issue. Secondly, another
20 issue that continues to be on our radar screen is around
21 the homeless and the concerns about the chronic homeless.
22 There's a effort underway to try to stem the tide of
23 homelessness in our area, but we need to continue to be
24 vigilant and please feel free to contact my office or
25 myself if you see things that you believe shouldn't be
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
7*-N
1 there in our areas. We're out at least twice a week now
2 addressing this homeless issue, but there needs to be more
3 done. There needs to be more done. We need to make sure
4 that we are not -- we are not allowing illegal street
5 feedings in our neighborhood, that we understand that
6 these things are not to our benefit, okay. Thirdly, doing
7 more in terms of animating and having events in the
8 neighborhood. Overtown come alive June loth Black History
9 Month. I know the Overtown Optimists has a large program
10 in the public parks. Ideas and activities in our parks
11 and in our public spaces help us as a neighborhood improve
12 our area, and so if you have ideas and there are
13 activities you'd like to do, I'd like to work with you and
14 I'd like to say to you that those ideas are going to be
15 heard as we move forward. Strengthening our code
16 enforcement activities. This is an area around the trash
17 dumping, illegal trash dumping, overgrown lots, things
18 that of that nature. We need to be vigilant and be aware
19 of these activities and again work with the Net Office and
20 work with other City departments to help stem the tide of
21 that. There's way too much trash. It's just not
22 acceptable. So we can do more and we will do more in that
23 area. This should have been number one in my
24 comments but it wasn't but it's around the issue of jobs
25 and linking residents and linking particularly our youth
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
1 to jobs in our neighborhood and linking them to jobs
2 outside our neighborhood and providing assistance needed,
3 whether that be around transportation or that be around
4 access to resources and people that can help support
5 providing our residents with gainful employment. There
6 are some wonderful activities, Commissioner, around
7 historic preservation. The Dorsey Library is one facility
8 that I know is being contemplated as well as the black
9 policemen precinct, which I know there'll be a
10 presentation later on. The library -- the Lyric Theatre
11 expansion is under way, one of the jewels of our
12 community, and you have other areas including the Clyde
13 Killens residence that should be looked at to be
14 maintained in our area. Lastly is around the issue of
15 education and our schools, and our feeder pattern for our
16 residents needs to be improved and strengthened. There
17 are after school programs, there are activities that
18 occur. We need as a community to look to involve
19 ourselves in our schools and do more and -- and seek more
20 from our institutions of learning to improve the status of
21 our educational system. Thank you, Mr. Commissioner.
22 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: (Unintelligible.)
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Anyone can make a comment, but
24 we would ask just please so that everyone can hear and
25 that there can be a correct record of what's being said to
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
:•
1 please -- and if necessary if you would just raise your
2 hand, we'll even ask somebody to bring the mic to you if
3 you --
4 MS. LAVERNE WILKERSON: Good morning. My name is
5 Laverne Wilkinson. My address is 540 Northwest 7th Street
6 apartment 5 Miami, Florida. On the Net program, you said
7 that you have set our services of crime support. What
8 type of crime are you indicating under a set of money?
9 First of all, where do you suppose to get your money for
10 your homeless, your events of parks, to strengthen your
11 code? How do you pay your people who's who under your
12 education? Who are your supporters of money with the drug
13 program under racketeering? Is there not a program of
14 payroll to strengthen crime settlement? Where do you get
15 your money from?
16 MR. SMITH: Well, we work with the City of Miami
17 and our -- our efforts and our resources are from --
18 primarily through the City of Miami. There are a number
19 of departments that would address each area, so let's take
20 crime. Well, the commander sitting behind me works in the
21 police department.
22 MS. WILKERSON: Well, where does he get his
23 budget? Where does his money come from? Is this tax --
24 MR. SMITH: Well, it would come from the police
25 department.
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1 MS. WILKERSON: Well, police department is --
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, if I may, just to clarify,
3 the money comes from you and every other tax payer.
4 MR. WILKERSON: Okay, a tax payer.
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: These dollars are what are
6 called general fund dollars, and every year in September
7 under the Florida Constitution, we have two public
8 hearings with the public at City Hall. The County does
9 the same, and every city and municipality is required to
10 do the same thing and we allocate dollars by department
11 and let me just put it -- you don't work with the City,
12 you are the City.
13 MS. WILKERSON: So this is a --
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: So this is a City
15 departmenthead.
16 MS. WILKERSON: So you're basically a beg
17 program; you're begging for money, you're begging for tax
18 payers. You say homeless here. Where are their tax
19 payers if they're not settlers? If you are high in crime,
20 where your tax payer paying money you're not apt right now
21 so I would suggest that City of Miami give some type of
22 referendum of the type of programs that the department
23 puts out for types of money fund budget because right now
24 you're telling me City of Miami and City of Miami is part
25 of Dade County, Dade County's part of State of Florida,
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1 State of Florida is Federal government. Now, where is
2 your money coming from? You're not sure right now. Okay,
3 I thank you.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you very much. All
5 right, Commander Meeks, did you want to make any comments?
6 And I really think that one of the things that Commander
7 Meeks has done is really shown a commitment. Are there
8 any questions of the police department, Commander Meeks?
9 This is a good opportunity. Commander Meeks. Do we have
10 a hand-held mic?
11 COMMANDER MEEKS: Good morning.
12 COLLECTIVE: Good morning.
13 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Good morning.
14 COMMANDER MEEKS: As I stated before, I'm the
15 Commander of the Overtown Windwood area. I know in this
16 particular area here in Overtown we have an extreme
17 terrible problem with drugs. We try to combat it the best
18 that we can and I know a lot of complaints are -- from the
19 community is going to be about drugs. This year the chief
20 came up with an initiative Operation Difference and during
21 that operation what the police department do is go to
22 different Net areas, different districts, the North
23 Central and south districts and deploy something like 100
24 police officers to do quality of life operations and to
25 try to factor drugs in that area, particular area, and the
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1 objective
of this operation is to make the
City of Miami a
2 city -- a
drug -free city, and this is done
-- I think it
3 comes into
the central district at least once
every other
4 month, but
during the times when we are not
doing that
5 operation
we still have the police officers
that staff
6 this particular
area out in the field and we
also have a
7 PST team. Most of the time when the people call with the
8 complaints and stuff like that, I try to send the problem
9 solving team into that particular area to see if we could
10 solve the problems that are happening, but what happened
11 they go into the area, they stay there for a period of
12 time. Once they see the presence of the police officers,
13
then it tend to eliminate for
a while.
Once the police
14
officers move out, then they come
back.
So it's like a
15
revolving door. At this time
I'll take
questions.
16
MR. DARRICK RUDOLPH:
My name
is Darrick Rudolph.
17
I reside at 225 Northwest 22nd
Street,
and it's not pretty
18 much of a question, it's pretty much under that there's
19
many problems and there
are
many ways of attacking those
20
problems and Mr. Chris
just
speaking about jobs and stuff
21
like that. If you can,
Mr.
Commander, you can do the
22
operation
Make a Difference but you
got to understand that
23
it's like
recruitment; you take some
out, there's some
24
ready to
get back in. So you could
lock up many, but if
25
you don't
have nothing pertaining to
education and
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
1 teaching them how to get jobs you going to continue having
2 that problem, so
I'm
asking Mr. Chris -- we understand
3 also that it's a
lot
of (unintelligible) because I am also
4 a member of Local
272
Iron Workers and from my local I
5 understand it's a lot of work coming and me and Irby
6 McKnight, we even know (unintelligible) got a call at one
7 time pertaining to try and help some of the Overtown
8 residents get some of those jobs that was going on
9
pertaining
to some of the building on 20th
Street and we
10
had issues,
so I say this here; how do you
go about
11
reeducating
the mindsets of the people in
each town
12
pertaining
to they self love to be able to
begin
13 rebuilding the mindset of themselves and part of them
14 being part of the Overtown Optimists Club and being part
15 of other -- you know what I'm saying, organization that's
16 inside there. We know that we do a lot for the youth, but
17 we now recognize that there is a problem pertaining to
18
reeducating the
parents.
We understand
they doing a lot
19
of things
might
be wrong
considered in a
lot of people
20
eyes but
if you
go -- you
know what I'm
saying, trying to
21
help, we
got to
learn how
to forgive and
forget and try to
22
deal with
the problem and
come up with a
solution, and I
23 think that if you continue to assist Mr. Washington and
24 other members that's dealing with the people that is in
25 Overtown that is doing something positive for their
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1 people, you come let us see you more. Come communicate
2 more and stop making judgement or being prejudice before
3 the fact and I think more things could be done than we
4 really could imagine. That's all.
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE TOKEN5: All right, let's move
6 right along with are there any other comments directed at
7 Commander Meeks, please?
8 MS. PATRICIA PRESTON: Yes, sir.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Hold on. Yes, ma'am.
10 MS. PRESTON: Hi, I'm Patricia Preston 352
11 Northwest llth Street apartment 11 Booker T. Washington
12 Senior High School Planetarium Technician and Overtown
13 Youth Center tutor, so I've lived over here maybe a year
14 or so and I've grown to love it. I'm SOS, straight out of
15 Scott, and I saw that tore down and I say you know, I want
16 to take a active part in this here because this is my
17 residence now and I see the drug -- you know, I don't know
18 what the police don't see. I can stand on the corner five
19 minutes, I know who got the drugs, where they put the
20 drugs, where they stash the drugs, and I don't understand
21 it how kids pick them up and yet the police will sit right
22 there talk oh, well, we got to make sure we send in an
23 undercover to do this but just any human could stand there
24 five minutes and see who got the drugs, where they stash
25 the drugs, who's holding the money. But yet a trained
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1 officer of the law can't see this? You know what I'm
2 saying? I don't understand it. It could be cleaned up
3 but if it was in the Grove, Coral Gables, Pine Crest, it
4 would be done. So the point that it can't be, it can be
5 done to clean up Overtown.
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you for your --
7 MS. PRESTON: Or over downtown.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes, sir.
9 MR. ANTHONY CUTLER: Thank you, Commissioner
10 Teele. My name is Anthony Cutler. I was -- I was born
11 and raised in Overtown. We have moved from Overtown to
12 Scott and from Scott to North Miami and in other words,
13 you know, I go to any meetings that concern African
14 Americans because I see what the problem is and I try to
15 be a -- a factor to those problems. I be trying to give a
16 solution to the problems that African Americans face and
17 even with the drug situation, can't no one particular
18 person or even one organization actually do it. It has to
19 be the residents. This is our community. We the ones who
20 allow our community to do -- or the shape it's in, even
21 mindsets, and see this way where our leaders come in at
22 when you look at these stress areas, you should understand
23 that the mindsets in these communities has to be changed.
24 It's no way you can say you going to solve a problem and
25 you don't start with their -- that mindset. That's the
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
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1 first example. Now, I submitted a lot of proposals --
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Mr. Cutler, Mr. Cutler.
3 MR. CUTLER: Yes sir.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Now, it's early but we got a
5 long agenda. We're going to limit everybody to 30 seconds
6 to ask a question. At the end of this we'll allow
7 everybody to give a speech.
8 MR. CUTLER: Okay.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: But see, what's going to happen
10 is everybody going to come give their speech and walk
11 outdoor and then we are all going to be standing around
12 waiting to get to the business so I'm asking you know
13 there's a lot of people here that have important
14 information and to get out and then let's have a round
15 table discussion later on but I'm asking you respectfully
16 for your indulgence and for that of everyone that's going
17 to come to the Mike if you have a command err to Commander
18 Meeks or any other question, please limit your question to
19 about 15 seconds after question, please. And then.
20 MR. CUTLER: What? Okay.
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And then we'll allow everybody
22 to come up and say anything, anything you want. The
23 agenda calls for everybody to come up and discuss anything
24 you want to say, but you got to respect everybody else's
25 time and commitment, please.
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1 MR. CUTLER: Yes. Yes, sir. I do.
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And I apologize.
3 MR. CUTLER: That's okay. I apologize for --
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Did you have a question for --
5 to Commander Meeks?
6 MR. CUTLER: Yeah. Well, not actually a question
7 but a solution because maybe I should get with Commander
8 Meeks and you know, show him the solution that I have to
9 offer, you know, so --
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: With your permission, why don't
11 you come up right now and meet with him on the dais and
12 y'all talk as long as y'all want to and let us know at the
13 end of the meeting what you all have agreed on.
14 MR. CUTLER: Will do.
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Are there any other questions of
16 Commander Meeks? Yes.
17 MS. MARY JEAN: My name is Mary Jean. I am a
18 eight month resident of Overtown. I live at 275 Northwest
19 10th Street apartment 106. I just was reiterating what my
20 friends had said. I too -- because when I called
21 yesterday, I saw that notice in the newspaper and I called
22 and I wanted to know and I was told it was mailed out to
23 everybody. When I got home at 5:00 p.m., 5:30 the mail
24 carrier came by, that's when I got the notice in the mail.
25 So I don't think that's adequate notice for people because
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1 I'm looking across at this cross section of this -- of the
2 audience and I don't think this is a true representation
3 of the --
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right.
5 MS. JEAN: Overtown population.
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you very much for your
7 comment.
8 MS. JEAN: And honestly, this meeting is
9 concerning those people; us that lives here, and I think
10 therefore that those people that live here should be here.
11 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right.
12 MS. JEAN: Because this affects our daily lives
13 because those people that live here should be here.
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right.
15 MS. JEAN: Because this affects our lay daily
16 lives because honest --
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Ma'am, as I said to the previous
18 speaker, if you have a question you can do that. You've
19 reiterated the point and we take that under advisement.
20 MS. JEAN: And my thing is that you guys are
21 making decisions but you don't live here.
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you very much.
23 MS. JEAN: Thank you.
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you.
25 MR. WILLIAM CALHOUN: Good morning. My name is
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Will Calhoun and I'm calling in reference to the
properties at 100 Northwest llth Terrace. My mailing
address is P.O. Box 1510092 Miami, 33150. I would like
this is addressed to the Net officer. I would request
that you would publicize the procedure for reporting
illegal dumping. You have -- I've asked our attendants to
report illegal dumpings and some of them get such a
runaround in the way that they get answered. You call
Code, Code send you to Net. Net sends you to solid waste
and solid waste back to Net and then you are told that it
takes three days for a Code Enforcement officer to come
out. Illegal dumping is dumped on the minute and if you
don't have someone to deal with that then the trash is
left on the street. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you very much, and your
point is very well taken and I think if you follow the
meetings you know my concern. I think the City has made a
tremendous mistake with the separation of Code Enforcement
from Net. All over the City, particularly in Model Cities
we're hearing the same complaint of homeowners and people
who are getting the runaround by calling Code Enforcement
and Net. It's a -- we're going to look into it, but we
will publish that. Ma'am, T Metro -- well, T Metro is
Miami Dade County and but --
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Unintelligible.)
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CHAIRMAN TEELE: The address that he gave is at
where?
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: 100 Northwest llth Terrace,
City of Miami.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: He gave a City of Miami address?
Okay, and if it's in the City and Overtown, then it's
right, and he knows the City. This guy was a cop for 50
years, so -- all right. Well, a long time. All right,
let's -- let's move on. There are a number of young
ladies and gentlemen -- let me just say this about the
notice just on the record. The notice was done as we've
always done. First a notice was done two weeks ago in the
Miami Times. The notice was also done in the Miami
Herald. The notice was done at the commission meeting
where we made the notice. The notice was done at the last
meeting, which was held three weeks ago that we would be
holding this meeting. The notice by mail that went out
was late. The notice that went out by mail was late, and
that is ultimately my fault and I have to assume
responsibility for that. But again, the purpose of these
meetings is to hear from the Overtown residents and those
people and we want to take this opportunity to recognize
two special people; first, there's a lady whose family
hosted presidents, judges, Thurgood Marshall, dancers,
entertainers. They built one of the first and most
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1 important hotels in the south. The hotel we all know as
2 the Mary
Elizabeth
Hotel,
and
her family went
on to
3 produce
the first
female
state
representative
in the State
4 of Florida that's black and I'm talking now
about
a lady
5 who is a few years young but Bernie Sawyer,
who's
over the
6 very end, let's give Miss Sawyer, the wife
of Bill
Sawyer,
7 a long long long time owed and in fact Miss
Sawyer
donated
8 the land --
the Sawyer
family donated the land which is
9 right next
to the Lyric
Theatre so that the Lyric Theatre
10 could have parking and donated lands all over this city
11 just like the D.A. Dorsey family has done and we can never
12 acknowledge what Bill and Bernie Sawyer and their father
13
Dr. William Sawyer
did. In
fact, Dr.
Sawyer was really
14
the person who came
up with
the idea
of creating Jackson
15
Hospital, but that's
another
story of
how our history has
16 always (unintelligible). The other person is a person who
17 if you live in Overtown, especially on the west side of
18 95 you know him. You probably have eaten his food. He
19 comes to these meeting and he's the guy that most of us
20 just sort of take for granted, but he's the gardener, Mr.
21 Murray. Brother Murray, stand up. The Overtown gardener.
22 He got the (unintelligible) in town, so for those of you
23 from the Allens, you know Mr. Murray.
24 We have Town Park residents that have some serious
25 issues that they want to put on the table. Miss Jackson,
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Miss Copeland, where you all? Are they here? Is there
any representative of Town Park North? If not, we'll go
straight to Town Park Village. We're going to hear from
the president of Lyric Jones and as you know, Town Park is
one of these -- hold on one minute.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Let her go if she'd like
to, Commissioner. She could go.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Come right on if you'd like to.
Town Park is one of these unique residential centers in
Miami, there's only one or two of them like it. Back in
the seventies, there was this thought of building homes
and everybody was told they'd own their home and it wound
up being something called a co-op, which are very common
in New York, but Town Park has gone through a lot of
different variations and we've always let the Town Park
residents to have their say if there are some matters that
need to come before us. Thank you for being here.
MS. MARIE WIMMS: Thank you. Good morning. My
name is Marie Wimms and I live at 1780 Northwest 5th
Avenue apartment M in Town Park Plaza South. So as I got
my notice yesterday afternoon at 5:00, I read it and Town
Park Village was on it being recognized, town Park North
was on it being recognized but Town Park Plaza South is in
the middle of that and they wasn't recognized.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Let me clarify what you got.
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MS. WIMMS: Please.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Those people wrote my office,
wrote the Overtown Net and asked to be heard and to make a
presentation, and if your association ever wants to be
heard at the Overtown Advisory Board or in a Town Hall
meeting, all they have to do is ask to be recognized.
MS. WIMMS: Okay.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay.
MS. WIMMS: I thank you, and so --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you very --
MS. WIMMS: That's my question.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: But you are welcome to be here,
and the problems of each of the Town Parks are unique
because these are co-ops; one, Town Park North, has gone
to the condo conversion.
MS. WIMMS: Yes, I know.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: That's been completed and
there's a whole lot of issues that we're hearing from
there that those residents want to have some help or some
support on, and we're going to hear right now from Town
Park Village.
MS. WIMMS: And Town Park South do needs help and
we would --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, let the association -- let
the association have a meeting, you all pass a resolution
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1 of what kind of help you want and get it to my office and
2 we'll work with you.
3 MS. WIMMS: Thank you.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Town Park North, Town Park
5 Village just held a board meeting couple of months ago and
6 the City at my request has earmarked $200,000 to help them
7 with some emergency repairs, and so we're going to hear
8 from Mr. Jones, the president of Town Park Village, and I
9 want to compliment Mr. Jones. You're the president of the
10 association?
11 MR. LEONARD JONES: Yep.
12 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You're elected by the members of
13 the association?
14 MR. JONES: Yes, sir.
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And you have one of your board
16 members here who --
17 MR. JONES: Yeah, my vice president.
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes.
19 MR. JONES: And it's Lillian Slater.
20 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, so go right ahead,
21 sir.
22 MR. JONES: We had scheduled a meeting with the
23 City of Miami in March and we was glad that the City of
24 Miami was glad to hear from us because we been struggling
25 for years, even before I got over there, and I been there
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1 17 years and the people before me, they been struggling
2 longer than me. So therefore, you know, we was glad that
3 the City had heard our case and rewarded us that type of
4 money to help us out. Maybe one day we could be better
5 than Town Park North as homeowners and don't go through
6 the problem what they going through as homeowners. Thank
7 you.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you.
9 MS. LILLIAN SLATER: To the Mayor, the
10 Commissioner and to Commissioner Teele especially, we
11 thank you for your help. When we went to you, you said to
12 us --
13 CHAIRMAN TEELE: We need your name and address
14 for the record.
15 MS. SLATER: Oh, Lillian Slater.
16 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Especially if you're going to
17 say something nice, I want everybody to know who said it.
18 MS. SLATER: Oh, 16 -- oh, Lillian -- okay,
19 Lillian Slater 1640 Northwest 4th Avenue. I've been in
20 Town Park over 20 some years and this is where I want to
21 live from ndw on, so I stated about the Commissioner, the
22 Mayor and especially to Commissioner Teele, when we went
23 to you and asked for help you said to us yes, we will help
24 you but we have to go before all the Commissioners. So I
25 thank you, thank God that this is what happened. We went
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1 to you and you did your best and we thank you for
2 everything, and some day we hope we can reward all the
3 Commissioners one day to give us a free -- a place to
4 stay, thank God, and I just hope that everything goes well
5 and we going to continue to work with the Commissioner and
6 Commissioner Teele I want you to be right there to see
7 that everything goes well and carries through. Thank you.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you very much. Thank you
9 very much. As you may know, the -- one of the problems,
10 for example, is that the gas bill for the -- for the Town
11 Park, that particular unit went from -- what -- how much
12 was your gas bill, natural gas bill?
13 MS. SLATER: It was over $6,000.
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: But it went from like $1,200 to
15 $7,000 in a matter of four months, so obviously when you
16 have an association like that you don't have those kind of
17 reserves. The price of natural gas just shot up on them,
18 so we're working with them and we are providing an
19
emergency grant to them
of $200,000 to
try to stabilize
20
the repairs that are necessary
to keep
everything current.
21
Okay, we'd like to
move right into
the -- the issues
22
that we have before you
for discussion
and for your input.
23
If I may, Mr. McKnight
and to the public,
the next group
24 of items is scheduled to be the community development
25 organizations and corporations. I would like to go
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1 straight to the old colored precinct because I see a
2 number of the people are here. That item is scheduled for
3 a referendum vote. Madam clerk, would you get somebody
4 from Brenda or office here so I know exactly how this is
5 going to
be handled and let me just
give you as the
6 retired
police officers association
gets their thinking
7 ready at
the last, at the last vote
meeting that we had,
8 referendum vote meeting, we had seven items on the ballot.
9 The first one that we voted on, just to refresh your
10 memory, was to allow the St. Frances Catholic Church to
11 use a portion of the Williams Park for their school and it
12
was
requested
that --
the Overtown community requested
13
that
the St.
Frances
Church take responsibility for the
14 Williams Park maintenance, et cetera, and it was very
15 controversial because as a result of this meeting the
16 church increased the number of scholarships that they were
17 giving to Overtown residents. That's St. Frances Catholic
18 Church Xavier, and they increased the number of
19 scholarships to 40 percent of all of their scholarships
20 had to go to children in Overtown, and I want to commend
21 those community leaders who called the Catholic church and
22 it's hard for me to hold a priest accountable but I know
23
y'all don't have any problem
holding anybody
accountable
24
and that referendum passed by
60 percent of
the votes,
25
passed. The next item was 69
percent of the
votes cast.
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
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1 The next item
was the
approval
of the CRA
program,
which
2 passed with 91
percent
of the
votes cast.
The next
item
3 related to Booker T. Washington; Booker T. Washington High
4 School utilizing a portion of Gibson Park, and that item
5 passed overwhelmingly. The two items of allowing the
6 Overtown Optimists and approving the site for the Overtown
7 youth center passed with about 96 percent of the vote for
8 the Optimists and for the youth center and then the street
9 designation designating streets for Tornado Way in honor
10 of -- well, if you don't know who Tornado Way is, maybe
11 you're in the wrong meeting. Gwen Sawyer -- well, Tornado
12 Way is the designation of Booker T. for those of you who
13 may be guests here and a street designating in honor of
14 Gwen Cherry who we said was the sister of Bill Sawyer, the
15 daughter of the late Dr. Sawyer, (unintelligible)
16 Commissioner Shaw and Clyde Killens, and so those items
17 were also passed with overwhelming votes and those are the
18 kinds of issues.
19 Today the first referendum item in the three revenue
20 -- the seven referendum items will be the restoration of
21 the Overtown colored police precinct, the next will be the
22 Lyric Theatre, the next will be related to the Clyde
23 Killens Plaza, the next one is involving the creation of a
24 multi -million dollar trust fund for the benefit of
25 Overtown residents funded from Crosswinds or any other
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development project built on Overtown land, our land in
Overtown. The next one is the approval of the chair of
the Overtown Advisory Board and the District 5 Commission
as spokespersons for Overtown. The next is approval of
the actual demand for parking for the International
Longshoremen's Union and Lyric Theatre as a condition of
any development that takes place in Overtown and the last
one is the approval of the CRA plan which will be
presented to you. So the first item is the colored police
precinct, and I'm going to yield to -- who am I yielding
to? Who's going to take the --
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Unintelligible.)
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right. Well, what -- no,
no. Why don't you get on the mic and tell us exactly how
you're going to do -- and identify yourself and if you
haven't been arrested by this man --
MR. CLARENCE DICKSON: Hi. My name is Clarence
Dickson and the address I'm giving is 6102 Northwest 7th
Avenue.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: And for the benefit of the
public, Clarence Dickson, who's very modest, was the first
African American police chief in the City of Miami and we
owe him a debt of gratitude for opening the door very
wide. You probably remember him with his cowboy hat, and
we're very proud of -- and Chief, would you ask all of the
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1 former police officers and current that are here to stand
2 before you?
3 MR. DICKSON: Absolutely.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Turn it over.
5 MR. DICKSON: Would you guys please stand?
6 Officer Bud Hill and also our current active vice
7 president, would you please stand? (Unintelligible) from
8 the MCPBA, the Miami Police Benevolent Association.
9 That's the black police organization that's in the City of
10 Miami right now, and we --
11 CHAIRMAN TEELE: She's out of her jurisdiction.
12 She works Model Cities.
13 MR. DICKSON: Yes.
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: She's a Model Cities NRO, folks,
15 so let's give them all a good Overtown welcome. Make them
16 feel warm.
17 MR. DICKSON: (Unintelligible) Marshall William
18 Jackson, Brother Calhoun, and standing to my left here is
19 brother Otis Davis. He's the president of Cumapaba (sic),
20 past president of the MCPBA and a retired police
21 lieutenant, so I've given the address already but Mr.
22 Commissioner, we're here and to the panel we're here to
23 just introduce for the first time the story of the old
24 black precinct, and I will make this very short because I
25 want Otis Davis to say a few words and to also acquaint
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1 himself with you, but the old precinct sits on llth Street
2 Northwest 5th Avenue. Right now it's an old building that
3 probably
everyone in here has seen
it and passed by and
4 say what's
that old building sitting
there; you know, what
5 was it?
Was it a post office? Was
it a warehouse or what
6 was that
old building? Well, that
old building was home
7 to the first
black police officers
to serve this
8 community, and there is a lot of history in that old
9 building and there is a -- that old building at one time
10 had up to 84 black police officers serving out of there
11 because we could not go to the main white station.
12
It
was segregated
and that
building
was built
in 1950 for
13
the
black police
officers
to -- when
they come
on duty,
14 that's where they would go. They would not go to the main
15 station. It was segregated. You could not go there. We
16 served the black community out of that building and
17 there's a lot of history in that building and so we went
18 before the Commissioner, the City Commission and we asked
19 the City Commission to preserve and save that building and
20 allow us, the retired old guys, black police officers who
21 served this community for up to 25, 30 years to preserve
22 that buildinq. The Commissioner Teele became our
23 champion. He championed us on this to save that building
24 for the Overtown community because that building provide a
25 snapshot of your history, of Overtown's history. And so
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1 at the present time we are starting to build and construct
2 and restore, and the black police officers organization
3 that I'm talking about went out and got $300,000 from the
4 State to begin to reconstruction to construct that
5 building, and this City -- as I said, our champion is
6 Commissioner Teele. He came in and organized the process
7 that we're in now where the City is also assisting us and
8 we're going to restore that building and make that a place
9 where our kids will be able to be; to go in there and know
10 about the history, and you will be able to go in there and
11 know about the history of the days of segregation. This
12 building was built in 1950 and it served us up until the
13 department integrated where blacks could work -- blacks
14 worked with whites. We began to integrate, but before
15 that there was strict segregation and we worked very well
16 out of that building. That building served a purpose and
17 provide a base by which your black police officers served
18 the Overtown community, and it's stood there since; from
19 1950 to 1963.
20 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Chief, one thing; you know, I
21 know you're a cop and you think -- but I'm a lawyer. It
22 was also more than a police station.
23 MR. DICKSON: Yes, thank you. Thank you very
24 much, Commissioner Teele. It was also more than a police
25 station. It was a courthouse, the courthouse is on top,
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1 the police station was at the bottom. The three jail
2 cells in there one -- one for men, one for women -- two,
3 rather, and at the present time we are converting those
4 jail cells into a -- they're going to stay there but it's
5 going to be a classroom and I'll let Otis Davis tell you
6 about the tutoring that's going to be set up in there but
7 I just want to tell you -- let you know that you can take
8 pride in this historic building. We're going to make it a
9 beautiful place. You're going to see some remnants over
10 there in a few minutes, so that what we're asking is for
11 you to focus your attention on the progress of this
12 building because there will be things happening in there
13 that's going to include everybody, all of you, and it's
14 also -- it's going to be provided for a -- for the people
15
who live
in Overtown a place where you
can have your
16
meetings
and
your banquets or whatever
it is that you're
17
going to
be,
you know, want to do. So
as I close this out
18
now for
Otis
Davis to continue, I want
to thank you very
19
much for
the
participation. I want to
thank Commissioner
20
Teele for
his
support, and this is Otis
Davis; as I said,
21
retired
lieutenant
from the Miami Police
Department. He's
22
the present
president of the
Cumapaba (sic). That's what
23
we call our
organization, and
he's the past president of
24
the MCPBA,
which is the black
police officers organization
25 of the City of Miami.
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1 MR. OTIS DAVIS:
Thank you. We
are also
going to
2 have a tutoring there for
our schools in
there.
We are
3 still for schools in that
area, and those
schools
are D
4 and F schools, so we are a tutoring service for them. I'd
5 like to also tell you that construction will start
6 somewhere around August/September. We are also going to
7 be monitoring to make sure that the resident in that area
8 get jobs. The construction company will hire people who
9 live in that area. I'd be remiss if I didn't call another
10 lady to the podium, and that's Erica Wright. She's with
11 the City Attorney Office and she's worked diligently with
12 us in order to make sure that we stay on track and do the
13 legal kinds of thing, so at this time I'd like for Miss
14 Erica Wright to say a few words, then following her will
15 be Mr. Cano, who will give you an update as to where we
16 are with the project and those kinds of things; what it's
17 going to cost.
18 MS. WRIGHT: Again, my name is Erica Wright. I
19 am an Assistant City Attorney. The staff of the City of
20 Miami, along with the City Attorney Office has been
21 meeting regularly with (unintelligible) to work on the
22 effort of restoring the colored police precinct. There's
23 nothing more I can tell you about the history. I think
24 Clarence Dickson and Otis Davis has told you a lot. I
25 think now that Jorge Cano, the Assistant Director of
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1 Capitol Improvement Projects should come forward now to
2 talk about what are the efforts that the City has been
3 doing to restore the police precinct and courthouse.
4 Jorge.
5 MR. CANO: Thank you and good morning. Once
6 again, my name is Jorge Cano, Deputy Director of Capitol
7 Improvements at the City of Miami, and I have to admit
8 that it's been my distinct pleasure in the 15 months since
9 I joined the City to have been associated with Chief
10 Dickson, Officer Davis and the other members of the City
11 of Miami Police Retired Officers Community Development
12 Association because it is because of their dream and their
13 vision with the support of Commissioner Teele and the City
14 administration that this dream is about to become a
15 reality. I wanted to give you a brief update on the
16 status of the cost, the funding sources and the schedule,
17 and as Chief Dickson mentioned we've got on the easels
18 here architectural renderings, elevations, plan views of
19 how the police precinct will look like once it's restored
20 to its former glory. Starting project costs, this is a
21 $1.7 million project and --
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: V all have a -- should have a
23 sheet of paper. If you don't, raise your hands and
24 somebody get it and turn to the back of the document that
25 you were passed out.
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MR. CANO: The handout looks like this, and I
think it's currently being passed out.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right. Brenda and Miss
Slater and I hope -- all right, we'll get you some more.
You got some more, Brenda? Here's some. Go right ahead.
MR. CANO: Thank you. Construction costs are
estimated at approximately a million and five. Total
project costs are going to be about a million seven. I'd
like to go over the funding sources because a project this
magnitude and importance has received support from a
number of sources. Starting with the Historic
Preservation funds of the Homeland Defense Safe
Neighborhood Bond that everyone voted on a couple of years
ago with a million, this was followed by Commissioner
Teele's Quality of Life funds contribution of $377,000.
The $300,000 from the State of Florida Bureau of
Historical Preservation grant that was secured by the
police officers, and I have to say that this is the most
critical of all grant funding sources because without this
the project couldn't have gotten started, and thanks to
Chief Davis and the rest of the officers who went to
Tallahassee and lobbied hard, they were able to secure I
think a top three ranking as far as Historical
Preservation Project funding from the State, so that was a
high recognition of the importance of making this project
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come to fruition, and lastly from the City of Miami
Community Development Block grant funds, the project
received $168,000. As far as the schedule, the
construction bids have been advertised since May 7th. We
expect to open the bids on June 22nd. At that point we
are going through all the bids very carefully to make sure
that all of the responding contractors are qualified and
are responsive in every sense of the word as far as the
contract. We'll review the contracts and route it for
approval and we estimate that the award of the contract
will be in the first Commission meeting of September,
about September 9th, with construction starting a couple
of months afterward in November of this year. We estimate
construction to last about a year, so by November 2005, we
should have a fully restored and functioning historical
police precinct museum and community center, so I'd be
happy to entertain any questions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: (Unintelligible.)
MR. CANO: Yes, ma'am, we're shooting for
September 9th Commission meeting for awarding the
contract. Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Sir, do you have an agreement
with the contractor? Because everybody tell us that
they're going to hire from the neighborhood, but then once
the contract is let and the contractor goes, he already
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1 have a staff before he bids of workers that he can count
2 and depend on, so if it's not written in the contract that
3 he agreed to, there is no way to enforce that. Because I
4 am a general contractor and I'm in business for ten years,
5 obviously I know the best drywall people, the best mud
6 people, the best iron workers, and they'd be on my staff.
7 So I want your contract, my workers who have gotten me to
8 that point is expecting to work on any new contract I get.
9 So if you don't have wordings in the contract that say
10 that there is a penalty if I don't do this, I'm not going
11 to do that.
12 MR. CANO: Mr. Irby, the contract is -- that will
13 read that way; there is a provision in there that has to
14 be heeded to as it relate to minorities, and we will be
15 monitoring to make sure that these things happen. We will
16 be on the construction selection talking about the
17 organization and when they make that selection, we will be
18 there to make sure that these things are covered.
19 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: I'm not concerned about
20 minorities. It's 700,000 of them. I'm concerned about
21 African Americans.
22 MR. CANO: Okay, let me let me back up and tell
23 you I have the same concern.
24 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Good. Thank you.
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, are there further
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comments? All right, on this item? Yes, go right ahead.
Please. Thank you.
MR. RUDOLPH: Like I was saying, that's --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Give them your name again for
the record.
MR. RUDOLPH: My name is Darrick Rudolph of 225
Northwest 22nd Street. I am a member of the local 272
Iron Workers and like Mr. McKnight said, but who do we go
to when those jobs comes to us? Y'all got nothing to say
that we going to be able to communicate with them.
Because y'all say this in the meeting, but in the
community we don't know nothing about it.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right. Let's --
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Unintelligible.)
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Wait, wait, wait. Chief, look,
this issue of jobs is a very real, very important issue.
There's probably nothing more important. We're going to
have to deal with that issue on all of these accounts, so
let's don't focus in on this one at this point but let's
come back to that issue. It's a very valid issue and I'm
glad you are raising it. Okay, this is about a 1 point
what? $1.5, $1.6 million job?
MR. CANO: Yes, 1.7.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay, and I don't want to get --
I don't want the $200 million jobs to go by we start
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arguing over the million dollar -- every job's important,
every job's important.
MR. RUDOLPH: Just putting the seed in, just
planting a seed, that's all.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Plant the seed. You done a good
job and you're on your job. In fact, here's the head of
the Laborers International Union that just -- that used to
be in Overtown. They got all uppity and moved to Liberty
City, Model City, but Al Huston, it's a pleasure to see
you coming in and we respect very much the roots of your
union, that Old Joe union which was right here in
Overtown. We're going to move on. Miss Reddick, Miss
Reddick, would somebody give her a mic, please?
(Unintelligible) thank you for being here, Miss Reddick.
MS. LUCILLE REDDICK: On the -- on the
development of the --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Miss Reddick, give us your name
and address for the record, please.
MS. REDDICK: Lucille Reddick, 517 Northwest loth
Street, and I would like to know on the development of the
police station and around, would that affect the
homeowners of any way?
CHAIRMAN TEELE: No, ma'am. The police -- the
police station is on 5th and loth, llth.
MS. REDDICK: Yes.
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CHAIRMAN TEELE: 5th and -- llth and 5th, and the
only thing that is there, of course, is the health center
now.
MS. REDDICK: Health center, yeah.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: The health center has really
impacted negatively --
MS. REDDICK: Yes, I know.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Your home and other people
living right across the street there on loth.
MS. REDDICK: Right.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: And what we're doing is
arranging for the parking for this to be on the llth
Street side so you won't have the problem that we've got
right now with the health center. But one of the things,
Miss Reddick, that I think if you know me and you've
watched the Commission meeting, this parking situation in
Overtown is horrendous. It is horrendous, and your
family, you all have just been stressed out over the way
the parking because there's just no place to park, and you
know when Overtown was built 75,000 people lived here,
virtually nobody had cars and all of that and we still
have the same streets the same sidewalks but now we got
cars. So one of the things that we're looking at very
closely is to make sure that this police precinct does not
negatively impact and there is parking, adequate parking
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1 for that without -- on the llth Street side and not on the
2 10th Street side. Does that answer your question?
3 MS. REDDICK: Yes, thank you.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you, Miss Reddick, for
5 being here, too. All right, ladies and gentlemen, this
6 job is moving on a very, very quickly. It is a lot of
7 work. These people have gone to Tallahassee any number of
8 times, they've gone out and raised grant money. This has
9 got -- they brought to the table over $300,000, but I want
10 it to be very clear; the money that is building this is
11 tax payer money that you approved when you approved the
12
$255 million bond issue.
You remember
when we did the
13
$255 bond issue Homeland
Security, there
was a category
14
called Historic Preservation?
This is
the largest single
15
grant coming out of that
category. That
category was I
16
think $8 million. This
is the largest
single grant coming
17
out of the preservation
category, and
it's going to
18
preserve this City venue.
One of the
things that we're
19 going to be asking the community to work with this retired
20
police officers association
and
the
current
police
21
officers and Miss Reynolds,
this
may
be --
Officer
22 Reynolds, this may be a good time for you to take the mic
23
-- is we are going to
need a lot of community
support
to
24
operate programs once
this is built. This is
going to
be
25
built within the next
few months, okay. This
is going
to
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be built within the next few months. The timetable
continues to slip, but it's scheduled to be completed by
November of '05. We're going to need your support in
programming for the children and the afterschool programs
that go in there. Officer Reynolds, would you just
address how your association is going to be working with
the retired association?
OFFICER BURNELLE REYNOLDS: First of all,
Commissioner Teele, you indicated that I'm a part of Model
City. When it comes to our kids, I'm a part of everywhere
when it comes to our youth. The present Miami Police
Association will be working with our retirees, attending
our meetings so that we can get our tutoring off the
ground for all kids that's in need of tutoring, and we all
know how important that is behind our FCAT program, so we
will be working diligently to try and bring our kids'
scores up. That's all our kids; Model City, Overtown; it
doesn't make a difference. We've got to do something as
it comes to that education aspect with our kids.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, thank you very much.
Did you give your name and address for the clerk's
records, please?
OFFICER REYNOLDS: Burnelle Reynolds 1000
Northwest 62nd Street.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, let's give Officer
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1 Reynolds ad all of the police officers a hand.
2 CHIEF DICKSON: Thank you, and I would just like
3 to say that this museum, it is a museum that we're --
4 we're restoring here, has three classrooms in it. Those
5 are the classrooms that will be used and converted to be
6 used for the tutoring that we just got through talking
7 about. Thank you very much.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right. Reverend Ross,
9 please. Reverend Ross, Pastor Ross, pastor of Mount Zion,
10 Historic Mount Zion.
11 PASTOR RALPH M. ROSS: That's right, my name is
12 Ralph M. Ross. I am the pastor/teacher of the Historic
13 Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church. I just want to make
14 a comment. I was born in Overtown and I spent my young
15 years in Liberty City and toward the end of that I lived
16 in Brown Slope. Now they call it Brownsville, which it
17 becomes -- anyway, I remember when the first African
18 American -- we said colored then, but the first African
19 American police officers were organized. Many of them
20 were men that we admired and who were our role models, and
21 I want to lift that up because something has happened that
22 the concept of the police has deteriorated in our time but
23 when I was coming up the men who were police officers were
24 sort of like father figures for yours and they could speak
25 to us outside of their official authority and we would
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respond to that. Having said that, I guess I could say a
whole lot and I'm not going to do that. I just want to
simply commend these fine officers for their efforts to
preserve this building. Our history is a rich and
illustrious history. Unfortunately, our community has
been systematically dismantled and the only thing that we
have left are some buildings that represent to some extent
some of our labor and some of our life and I want to
commend the Commissioner and these men on preserving that
building, and our historic building is one of the fine
buildings of this community. Unfortunately, we are a
church and there's always some ambivalence about the
separation of church and State but we -- I would like to
have that kind of assistance in preserving our
building. Our building was one of the great structures in
our community and we hosted people like Dr. Martin Luther
King Junior and Thurgood Marshall and other outstanding
people of our history, and since that building is the only
thing left to represent that kind of involvement I would
like to see us do all that we can to preserve all of the
buildings that represent something of the history of
Overtown. Thank you so much.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you, Reverend Ross. Let's
give Pastor Ross -- always appropriate --
REVEREND PORTER: Stephen Porter 371 Northwest
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1 3rd Street. I'm also Director of Touching Miami with Love
2 at 711 Northwest 6th Avenue, and I'd simply ask a question
3 of the --
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And a member of the Overtown --
5 REVEREND PORTER: And a member of the Overtown
6 Advisory Board, and most importantly a member of Mount
7 Zion, and so I
would ask the
police officers to
please
8 discuss plans
for afterschool
programming with
the
9
afterschool
programs
that are already operating within a
10
four -block
radius of
the proposed site. We would be glad
11 to work with you, and I am especially -- as a background
12
and as
a historian
excited that you're doing
this project,
13
and we
desperately
need more activities. I
think
14 preserving African American history, particularly in our
15 neighborhood within the lives and lines of our children --
16 but there are operating programs, at least three currently
17 in that neighborhood of afterschool programs and so I
18 would love to see collaboration rather than competition
19 and make sure that we are reaching new children who aren't
20 being currently served rather than, you know, kind of
21
swapping children
from the
other programs, so I'd be happy
22
to speak with you
later in
the morning.
23
CHAIRMAN
TEELE:
Excellent point, excellent
24
point, and
that goes especially in
conjunction with the
25
Optimists
as well, and I also saw
the Worshipful Master of
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1 the Masonic Lodge who's here --
2 (End of CD #3.)
3 The agenda, but in the context of what we're
4 talking about, the lodge, the Masonic Lodge which was
5 built in blank is up for a restoration and a part of the
6 things that we have in the five-year plan, Chelsa, is
7 putting the Net office in the Masonic Lodge building on
8 3rd Avenue and loth Street. When was the Masonic Lodge
9 building built? And give us your name and address for the
10 record, and one of the things we're concerned about is not
11 competing programs between the Masonic Lodge, the
12 Optimists, the Overtown Youth Center and all of the
13 competing programs that have been raised. That's an
14 excellent point.
15 MR. RICHARD EL' AMIN: My name is Richard El'
16 Amin. I am the past Pastor of New Providence Lodge. Our
17 Worshipful Master is Tracy Yalledy.
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I'm sorry, Worshipful Master is
19 Tracy Yalledy. I'm sorry, Worshipful Master. I -- I
20 don't mean to -- please don't pull my registration. Don't
21 pull my membership card.
22 MR. EL' AMIN: I'm presently the president of New
23 Providence, Inc., and the both of us -- I'm going to let
24 the Worshipful Master speak for a second.
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: What year was the lodge built?
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1 MR. EL' AMIN: 1917.
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: 1917. Okay.
3 WORSHIPFUL MASTER TRACY YALLEDY: Now, we're
4 currently undergoing construction for the New Providence
5 Lodge. We're hopefully to get that completed this month
6 and approved. I think it's still --
7 MR. EL' AMIN: And we want to say -- I want to
8 recognize chief -- former Chief Dickson and he and I would
9 go way back back in the day when I was employed by the
10 City of Miami Police Department and he's been like a
11 father to me and has been that way for years and a mentor
12 to me and being a person that has been under a lot of
13 people that's been under mentors, we have a mentorship
14 program in the New Providence Lodge which would be
15 complimentary to all the other programs that we have. The
16 mentorship program is not geared around the tutorship, but
17 there are a lot of young men that do not have fathers, do
18 not have strong leadership, do not know the right
19 direction to take, so they look at the dopers, they look
20 at all the negative that is in the community --
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, all right. Now let's
22 -- we're going to have to -- you not on the program. I
23 got a whole bunch of people, but let the Worshipful Master
24 speak before he puts me out of -- I'm not in this lodge,
25 not my blue lodge, but I'm always going to be respectful,
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Worshipful Master.
WORSHIPFUL MASTER YALLEDY: There's no need of
concern on that, Commissioner Teele. Basically --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Your name and address for the
record.
WORSHIPFUL MASTER YALLEDY: Tracy Yalledy. I'm
representing New Providence Lodge 971 Northwest 3rd
Avenue.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: In the context, Worshipful
Master, of the police precinct that we're talking about, I
was only just trying to acknowledge that this lodge has
been where it is now since 1917.
WORSHIPFUL MASTER YALLEDY: 17.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: That's on 3rd Avenue. D.A.
Dorsey Way and loth Street. Currently it's not on the
agenda, but the City is planning to put approximately 200
-- $150,000 to put in an elevator, which we will be having
a Community Development hearing on soon. We hope you all
will come out and support that because we need to make
sure that the people who have paid their dues are not
penalized by having to walk upstairs, et cetera, and we
also intend to do a buildout of the Net Office and that's
projected at about $250,000. That's out of CRA budget,
right? $270,000. That will be discussed as one of the
last items. It's in the five-year plan, but we are
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1 directing through my office approximately $500,000 into
2 the New Providence Lodge to stabilize it and to ensure
3 that developers don't come along and try to knock it off
4 the board so that it becomes a permanent representation of
5 the history of Overtown, and we want to acknowledge that
6 those Masonic Lodge is a positive role model for young
7 boys and girls, and their health fair every year,
8 back -to -school health program is one of the most
9 successful in the County, so let's thank the New
10 Providence Lodge. Again, Worshipful Master, thank you all
11 for being here.
12 All right. We're going to have to move the agenda
13 and we're going to pass out the ballots. If you live in
14 Overtown or are a part of the voting and came in late,
15 please move down to this -- the center or to the right to
16 receive a ballot. Ma'am, you need to be over here in this
17 side right over there. Yes, everybody over there if you
18 -- if you intend to vote now, we're going to do two
19 things; we're going to entertain very briefly Habitat for
20 Humanities. That's on the agenda. Miss Manning, you need
21 to come down and then we're going to go directly into the
22 largest program and project that is being planned for
23 Overtown. It's very -- it's very, very high visibility.
24 It's controversial, but so that we make sure that
25 everybody who's here today hears this, we would like very
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much for you to allow us to bring up the Crosswinds
project before Mark -- Reverend Cotes has to leave, so
Miss Manning, would you just take the mic, introduce
yourself. Mr. McKnight, if you could not -- Mr. McKnight,
if you could not -- I'm not going to ask you not to do
something. It will fall on deaf ears, anyway, but Miss
Manning, there are some real concerns and I don't want to
entertain all of those concerns but we will let some of
the concerns come out.
Miss Manning has taken the opportunity to bring
Habitat time to the City of Miami. They could have gone
anywhere in Dade County, any of the other 30 cities, and
virtually all of the houses that have been built by
Habitat in the last five years have been built in the City
of Miami; is that a fair statement?
MS. MANNING: No, we're building throughout the
County.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: How many -- what --
MS. MANNING: About 40 houses a year, and about
half of those are in the City.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: So half of all of the Habitat
houses throughout Dade County are being built in the City,
and we want to thank you for your effort, Miss Manning.
Introduce yourself for the record and just make any
statement you'd like.
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1 MS. ANN MANNING: Ann Manning, Executive Director
2 Habitat for Humanity. Address 2641 Southwest 30th Court.
3 Habitat has been building in Overtown for the last couple
4 of years. We have finished 33 houses in that time on
5 properties donated by the City and the County. Prior to
6 that we built 31 houses in Highland Park, which is not
7 historic Overtown as we know but it is a part of the
8 community development target area of Overtown, so for a
9
total of
64 houses
in the CD or community development
10
Overtown
area. We
are still permitting houses in
11
Overtown.
We have
approximately 12 more. Those will be
12
two-story
models.
I think most of you have seen the
13 two-story models on 20th Street. We are building in
14 partnership with private donors and contributors; that's
15 how Habitat works and is able to proceed as quickly as it
16 does -- because we're not tied into government funding.
17 We do work with the government to get the property and
18 Commissioner Teele is very aware of that and that's what
19 we're looking to him for now. The homeowners that are in
20 this Overtown, they are done through where you have
21 leafletted the neighborhood, our homeowners have gone
22 through all of Overtown to all of the apartment complexes
23 letting folks know about our program. On our vacant lots,
24 we have signs telling folks how to apply. Monthly we have
25 meetings at the Greater Israel Primitive Baptist Church to
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1 let families apply there, and we also -- thanks to Mr.
2 Smith, we have information at the Net Office. I think Mr.
3 Teele was referring to some issues about whether all the
4 Habitat homeowners are Overtown residents. I think the
5 question is more are they all African American. No,
6 they're not, but what must be realized is there are
7 Hispanics, there are Haitians that live in Overtown and
8 they are eligible for that houses as well. While
9 initially, Mr. Smith, I wanted to thank you here
10 publicly for your work with us in code enforcement
11 issues and responding to us quickly and would request that
12 you are even more aggressive on code enforcement violators,
13 including if Habitat homeowners are not doing what they're
14
supposed
to be doing, go after
them
and
keep
a high
15
standard
for that neighborhood.
We
have
been
just
16
recently asking the
Mayor's office
to work aggressively to
17
not only place liens
on properties
that are in violation
18
but to foreclose on
those liens and
move them forward.
19 Lastly, our --
20 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Michelle, the -- Michelle, the
21 people up there are not -- the way we have set this up,
22 the people who are voting must be in these two areas
23 before we compromise this, and I guess you all weren't in
24 here. I'm sorry, Miss Manning, go right ahead.
25 MS. MANNING: Sure. Our last issue, since Mr.
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1 Cano is here, Commissioner Teele, is also where we've
2 asked for improvements to 2nd Avenue, which abuts probably
3 15, of the houses, and we hope that that's in the cue for
4 being repaired, widening what looks like an alleyway --
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: It is an alleyway.
6 MS. MANNING: It's a -- it's an avenue, 2nd
7 Avenue; two-way traffic on there.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: (Unintelligible) for the most
9 (unintelligible) Habitat housing on the map. Miss
10 Manning, let's just hold there. There are a number of
11 issues. The City is primarily providing the lands to
12 Habitat for a dollar or no consideration, I guess.
13 MS. MANNING: Maybe a dollar.
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And we're contributing the lands
15 and of course Habitat uses volunteers. One of the
16 important things about Habitat is to get a house you must
17 volunteer. That's -- you -- you just can't sign up and
18 get a house. You got to help build some other people's
19 house before you get your house.
20 MS. MANNING: Right.
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Now, Mr. McKnight and I know the
22 Overtown Advisory Board has raised a number of questions.
23 I don't want to have a long debate about it, but I would
24 welcome and invite you or a Habitat representative to
25 appear before the Overtown Advisory Board at the next
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1 regular meeting and Mr. McKnight, I want to yield to you
2 as Chairman of the Overtown Advisory Board because you've
3 raised a number of issues.
4 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Yes. Good morning, Miss
5 Manning. Thank you for coming.
6 MS. MANNING: Sure.
7 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Your statement in reference
8 to the people who are residing in the Habitat houses, we
9 don't agree with that at all, not whatsoever. I have
10 lived in the neighborhood for 38 years, so you're not
11 going to get a lot by me because it's a one square mile
12 two-story neighborhood, so it's not like we have people on
13 the 16th floor and I'm on the ground floor, I don't know
14 what they're doing. We all are on the ground here, so we
15 know what's going on. The meetings -- when did you start
16 holding meetings at Greater Israel?
17 MS. MANNING: It's been over a year.
18 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: And how long have you been
19 building the houses?
20 MS. MANNING: Well, I've been there for two
21 years. I've been building for two years.
22 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Okay, so I asked that
23 question because I actually attacked to find out why there
24 were no meetings in the neighborhood. There were -- in your
25 first year of building, the meetings were held in Perrine.
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1 Just going to go through this. I have done my homework.
2. The Knight Foundation provided money to that church to
3 make certain that people in this community were notified.
4 You stated that they passed out flyers. I live at 1040
5 Northwest 3rd Avenue and there are other -- there are
6 eight other families that live there. Not a one of us
7 ever received the flyers. I don't go to jail, I go home
8 every day. The wind didn't below it away because there
9 are four people there all day long, so one of the persons
10 who live there would have seen the flyer. I'm not -- this
11 conversation is not about that. It is about coming to the
12 Overtown Advisory Board, getting the word out to the
13 people in this neighborhood. You have homes completed
14 that families are afraid to move in. That's 'cause they
15 not from this neighborhood. They are boarded up. I know
16 because they have been parking for us, so we know.
17 MS. MANNING: I don't agree.
18 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: No, we know, so -- and that's
19 -- I agree that there are Hispanics and Haitians living in
20 the neighborhood. I totally agree to that. Not before
21 1960, but I still agree to it. And in the meantime, the
22 number of people brought into the homes does not equal any
23 percentage in line to the number of ethnic groups that you
24 mentioned, and I don't want them to go anywhere. I want
25 them to be here. The neighborhood is changing, and it is
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going to change.
MS. MANNING: Uh-huh.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: But if the City's giving our
land, then we need to be somewhere.
MS. MANNING: But you still have to qualify for
the program. It's not a gift.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Oh, I understand that you
have to qualify for the program. We understand that, and
we also know that we would not want the qualifications to
be flexible, either. We like --
MS. MANNING: Not (unintelligible) you wouldn't.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Meaning we don't want to do A
B and C and then think we are qualified and then somebody
tell us about D E and F that was never mentioned to us
before. Those are flexible rules. We don't want those,
we want A B C D E and F, and you must do those things and
you -- or you can't be here.
MS. MANNING: And that's true for our program.
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: And we want that told up
front. Well, that's not basically what happens. There's
usually good intentions with everyone, but a disconnect
happens. When the zip code is 33136, there's a
disconnect. People are waiting on government checks on
the 3rd along 3rd Avenue and the postal authorities will
make you believe that come rain or shine they deliver the
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1 mail. Well, those people can tell you they didn't get it.
2 MS. MANNING: Well, I think the best thing to do
3 is not to have me standing before you but the 33 families
4 who are buying those houses and you can tell them that
5 they had all that not knowing what they're qualifying or
6 they don't live in the house because I don't think it's
7 true, so not me but --
8 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: No, no, no. I don't think
9 you are understanding what I'm saying --
10 MS. MANNING: Oh, I understand --
11 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: -- the 33 families that are
12 living in the house don't have anything to do with this
13 whole mess. They picking the ones that are going to be
14 there, and since they are not the ones picking them, then
15 I don't want to see them.
16 MS. MANNING: Actually, they are involved in that
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Miss Manning and --
18 MS. MANNING: They are involved in selecting.
19 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Miss Manning and Mr. McKnight,
20 as I started out, I think it would be very, very
21 advantageous if a representative from Habitat could just
22 sit down with the Overtown Advisory Board over one of
23 their nice meetings. Maybe you all could have a meeting
24 just on that issue.
25 MS. MANNING: Yeah, maybe the homeowners
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1 association could come to that.
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And maybe -- it would be open to
3 the public, but Miss Manning, I think the real issue is
4 this; there is a massive effort which everybody's antennas
5 are up for now gentrify Overtown; that is, to bring people
6 into the community --
7 MS. MANNING: But you know that's not happening
8 with Habitat.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well --
10 MS. MANNING: In fact, it's saving that from
11 happening by selling to low income families.
12 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I believe that the long-term
13 benefits of Habitat for Humanity,, even if it does
14 gentrify, is worth it because to put homeowners in what is
15 right now -- in what according to the American census is
16 the lowest concentration of homeownership of any census
17 tract in America -- not in Florida but in America -- it is
18 a positive thing. I think what needs to happen really is
19 we need to have a more proactive effort with the churches,
20 the CDCs and the Overtown Advisory Board in helping to
21 qualify people in Overtown and in the Overtown area to
22 fully meet and qualify for the Habitat program. I think
23 that's really where -- and we don't need to attack each
24 other on this. Could I just see the hands for a minute of
25 anybody who doesn't own a home -- wait, hold it. Not --
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1 that ain't the issue 'cause -- but who would be interested
2 in sitting down and seeing if you could qualify for a
3 Habitat house.
4 MS. MANNING: And that --
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, there's about one, two,
6 three, four, five -- if you could -- if you would leave
7 your hands up, I am going to ask the City staff if, ladies
8 And gentlemen, if you all would just get the names of the
9 people and the address and phone number of the people who
10 have their hands up and let's use this as a starting point
11 to get information and then I'm going to charge the
12 Overtown Advisory Board with really working in a proactive
13 program to do recruitment because we can't ask you all to
14 do everything, you know, and we've got to come to the
15 table and partner, be a partner, an equal partner with
16 you. And Mr. McKnight, if you all would accept that as a
17 challenge or an opportunity --
18 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: We will.
19 CHAIRMAN TEELE: We'll work to try to find
20 support funding for the Overtown Advisory Board to be
21 proactive in reaching out. And by the way, if you qualify
22 you may be living in Overtown but you may be living in
23 anywhere there is a home that's available; is that right?
24 MS. MANNING: They can select anywhere they want
25 to live.
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1 CHAIRMAN TEELE: So you can select where you want
2 to live. Now we don't want you to leave Overtown.
3 MS. MANNING: We're not red -lining.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: But we are running out of land
5 and the critical issue for everybody to understand is
6 this; the City and the County are running out of land for
7 Habitat houses, and the reason is this; as property values
8 increase, and they're increasing very rapidly, people are
9 not abandoning the property. We get land that has been
10 abandoned after nobody pays the taxes for three years.
11 Those are called Cork 90 properties, and we turn those
12 properties over to Habitat. We are not out buying land
13 per se. We are acquiring property through the -- through
14 land that is not being -- taxes are paid on it, so keep
15 your hands up if you would like for somebody -- Michelle,
16 y'all need to move around here and get these people's
17 names real quickly. Pascal, where you?
18 MS. MANNING: And I think instead of deriding the
19 program, we should be -- you should be very happy that
20 Overtown residents are in fact homeowners, and being the
21 poorest neighborhood that they are eligible and are
22 qualifying. I think that's amazing, and you should be
23 happy about that instead of tearing a program down, you
24 should be applauding those families have done that.
25 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: Miss Manning, I am not
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1 tearing your program down.
2 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: I agree.
3 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: But let me say this to you;
4 Miss Manning, there was an article in the newspaper where
5 a Hispanic family was very appreciative to Habitat for the
6 house in Windwood, when the house was actually in
7 Overtown. So not only are you gentrifying the community,
8 you have changed its name.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: But she doesn't write the
10 headlines; God knows that.
11 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: I know she doesn't write the
12 head -- I know she doesn't write the headline, but she
13 knows that this is a sensitive issue and the next day I
14 didn't see her letter asking for a correction.
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: But I think the real
16 opportunity, Miss Manning and Mr. McKnight, is to have a
17 dialogue and work together. Now, I see people up here.
18 Are you all participating in this? Are you all -- you're
19 welcome to be here, but if you want to vote and get all of
20 that, you need to come down here.
21 MS. MANNING: I just have one comment I'd like to
22 make.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Hold on just a minute. One,
24 two, three.
25 MS. MANNING: I think she was first.
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1 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I apologize. Go right ahead.
2 JACQUI COLYER: Good morning. My name is Jacqui
3 Colyer. I am a resident of Overtown. I live at 425
4 Northwest 6th Street, and one of the things that I'd like
5 to bring to the table that I think is really critical and
6 I notice that the black police precinct and courthouse
7 museum is going to be restored at a cost of $1.7 million.
8 I'm not going to even do the math on 6,000 square feet for
9 $1.7 million, but at any rate I know that operations for
10 programs in Overtown is always a major issue and as the
11 Vice Chair of the State Advisory Group for Juvenile
12 Justice and Delinquency Prevention one of the things that
13 I'd like to bring to the table is a way to assist the
14 black police precinct provide programming for the
15 children, children that they would like to have in that
16 precinct, and one of the programs that the State Advisory
17 Group has is called -- it deals with disproportionate
18 minority representation in the juvenile justice and in the
19 criminal justice system and last year we gave over $2
20 million to programs throughout the State that dealt
21 specifically with dealing with overrepresentation of
22 minorities in the juvenile justice system, and if anybody
23 would like to work with me on that I will work with you to
24 make sure that you get some funding at least for
25 operationalizing programs in the museum because I think
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1 that one of the things that we keep looking at that
2 happens over and over in this community -- nobody says
3 anything about it, and that is the disproportionate number
4 of children -- of black children, and it used to be just
5 boys but now it's boys and girls -- that are over
6 represented in the criminal justice and in the juvenile
7 justice system. So I am going to leave my card -- I have
8 my card, I am going to leave it with you. Whoever would
9 like to have it, I'm going to give it to you and it has
10 all my good numbers on it, so I would be more than happy
11 to help with helping you with operations because see, you
12 can build a building but it will sit there empty with no
13 money to run programs, and the thing about what you really
14 need to do is have the monies to run the programs because
15 that's where the rubber meets the road.
16 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Miss Colyer, you are absolutely
17 right, and I think one of the other areas you could be
18 very helpful is working to help the police understand the
19 Work Force Development issues as well, because the biggest
20 problem that we have in the City of Miami and Kendall and
21 Dade County is the lack of money for programming. Because
22 of your efforts in approving the bond issue, we have money
23 to build things; now build parks. Every park if you go by
24 it has got a sign on it; something is being upgraded.
25 That's because you approved the bonds issue, but you can't
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1 use bond dollars to operate programs and that's the
2 hardest thing to explain. Miss Colyer, thank you very
3 much and I hope we will take you up on that.
4 Okay, as it relates to Habitat for Humanity, very
5 quickly yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.
6 MS. ROSA GREEN: You only want to hear about
7 Habitat?
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: At this point.
9 MS. GREEN: Okay, Rosa Green, and I think it's a
10 excellent gesture that they are doing and I don't know
11 what the qualifications is but we don't know what hardly
12 anything is because of nobody getting the information out
13 and I just want to say this; since you are putting that on
14 the Overtown quote unquote Advisory Board, Commissioner
15 Teele, according to the documents, the reason that the
16 Overtown Advisory Board was established in 1982 was for
17 historic preservations but it seems as though they are
18 doing everything and I'm totally disappointed with it.
19 It's a comment upon you to straighten that so-called board
20 out, and I think it's time for change of a color of the
21 guard. I been in here ten years. Nothing has been
22 accomplished. 30 and 40 years nothing has been
23 accomplished. So it's change -- it's time for a change,
24 and I am totally disappointed about this referendum. We
25 have not had enough time. I have to agree with the young
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1 lady, because I hadn't seen this. We have not had enough
2 time to go over these issues and find out exactly what
3 they are talking about.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Ms. Green --
5 MS. GREEN: We should not be able to vote today.
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay, Miss Green, we're going to
7 vote today. It's not binding, and you don't have to vote
8 but let me just say this --
9 MS. GREEN: It's not binding?
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Let me just say this; those
11 ballots were done inappropriately, and I stand on that. We
12 never pass out the ballots other than one at a time after
13 the issue has been explained. The only thing that people
14 is going to be voting on now when they pass out these
15 boxes as this other group starts is item number one.
16 MS. GREEN: Okay.
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: That is the police precinct.
18 There will be no votes on anything until it's been
19 explained, Miss Green.
20 MS. GREEN: Oh, okay.
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You know I wouldn't do that.
22 MS. GREEN: Okay. One other thing --
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: No, we talking about Habitat for
24 Humanity. I am going to shut this down and go right into
25 Crosswinds because --
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1 MS. GREEN: Okay.
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: We going to -- yes, ma'am, I
3 can't do that to you.
4 MS. LINDA WATSON: Can I speak?
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes, ma'am.
6 MS. GREEN: I'll be back.
7 MS. WATSON: My name is Linda Watson. I live in
8 1670 Northwest 4th Avenue apartment 12B. I'm tired to
9 hear what is happening in my co-op. (Unintelligible) sell
10 us a management. The management stole the money.
11 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Wait, wait. What co-op is this?
12 MS. WATSON: Town Park Village number one.
13 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay. Listen, ma'am. I will
14 hear this, and let's all -- we have some serious problems
15 in all those Town Park Villages. That's why I've got it
16 on the agenda. I'm trying to get -- we're going to have
17 to have a --
18 MS. WATSON: This is serious.
19 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I understand, but we are not
20 going to start accusing people of stealing, even if it's
21 true, until we get every --
22 MS. WATSON: That's the reason we are not no
23 owner; because I live there 32 years, I never owe a penny
24 and like me there's more people that live there never owe
25 a penny.
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1 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay.
2 MS. WATSON: And that's the reason we are not no
3 owner.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, let me do this;
5 that's -- it's a lot more complicated than that, but let's
6 do this; if the Overtown Advisory Board will agree to it,
7 Mr. McKnight, let's hold a joint meeting with all of the
8 Town Park people in the Town Park area within the next 30
9 days. Let's get the notice out, Adrian -- just hold on
10 now. When you were called -- you know, we're going to
11 acknowledge that, but this is a serious issue, Town Park
12 village. There are three different associations, three
13 different sets of problems, three different sets of
14 issues, and it's going to get very confusing if everybody
15 starts talking about their issue in this context. So what
16 we want to do is get on the table that we've got some
17 concerns in Town Park Village. The Town Park Village, all
18 three of those associations has a board of directors.
19 All of those boards of directors are elected by the
20 residents, and we have to be very careful that we are not
21 coming in and interfering with the board of directors,
22 and we need to have a meeting on that issue so that those
23 associations -- you'll see when we allow the Town Park
24 people to speak. We heard from the president of the
25 association, and it's not fair to have a discussion about
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1 somebody, especially if you're going to accuse them of
2 stealing, and not have everybody there. So respectfully
3 we are going to ask everybody to hold the Town Park -- we
4 are -- we'll get back to that before we end today and
5 we're going to hear right now from -- did Reverend Cotes
6 leave? He had to leave? Who's going to be representing
7 Crosswinds? Let me -- let me ask Steve if you would come
8 forward in addition. Thank you very much. We're going to
9 get back to that, ma'am.
10 MS. WATSON: Thank you, because see, like me we
11 went to the (unintelligible) the poll, the
12 (unintelligible) didn't keep the money. The one that keep
13 the money is the management, and they haven't do nothing
14 to them and --
is CHAIRMAN TEELE: I wish y'all --
16 MS. WATSON: -- we are losing our place.
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I wish y'all wouldn't accuse
18 people of stealing in this meeting 'cause see, that always
19 gets back wrong. One more question on Habitat and we're
20 going to close that out. Was there one more question?
21 MS. DOROTHY JACKSON: Hi, my name is a door
22 Dorothy Jackson. I stay at 1805 Northwest 2nd Court
23 apartment 303. I was going to talk about Habitat. When
24 they say low income, half of us over here are lower than
25 income. Half of us don't even make $5,000 a year you see
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1 and we want a house but we barely can afford where we stay
2 at, so I want to know how can we get a house. Now, I work
3 with National Longshoremen, but I don't even get two days
4 a month and I've been working with them since 1994, so
5 when they say low income, you know --
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You work with Longshoremen?
7 MS. JACKSON: Yes.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: In the office? As a --
9 MS. JACKSON: No, I'm a laborer.
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You're a laborer? Are you in
11 the office? You're a laborer or you a runner --
12 MS. JACKSON: I work on the port.
13 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yeah, but are you a member of
14 their union or are you waiting to be in?
15 MS. JACKSON: No, I'm in -- I'm in there.
16 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, I can tell you right now
17 you can qualify.
18 MS. JACKSON: I qualify, but I don't even get two
19 days of a month, so how can I qualify?
20 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You don't what?
21 MS. JACKSON: I don't get two days of a month
22 there.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You still going to qualify.
24 MS. JACKSON: All I get is child support --
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You still -- if you are a member
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1 of the union, you're going to qualify.
2 MS. JACKSON: Okay.
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay, let's -- what -- give all
4 these people here -- just Michelle, would you get her
5 name, phone number.
6 MS. JACKSON: I gave it to her already.
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Give her my home phone number
8 and we're going to get you into qualifying. .
9 MS. JACKSON: Okay, that will be good. Thank
10 you.
11 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right.
12 MS. JACKSON: I hope to have a home over here.
13 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, now see, there you go;
14 instead of saying thank you you're going to start
15 picking and choosing.
16 MS. JACKSON: That's what I --
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: We hope you -- we hope you will
18 be over here. All right, we're going to ask Steve
19 Feldman, who's the National President of the National
20 Division of the Crosswinds Community, Incorporated.
21 Ladies and gentlemen, there is no issue -- there is no
22 issue that is going to determine the future and the fate
23 of Overtown that I'm aware of more than the presentation
24 you're going to hear from now. Let me say this again so
25 nobody -- anybody asleep, huh?
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1 COLLECTIVE: (Unintelligible.)
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Hold on just one minute. There
3 is no issue that is going to change and affect Overtown
4 more than the presentation that you're going to hear about
5 right now. I'm going to let them explain it the way they
6 want to. The item that he will be talking about relates
7 to referendums four, five and six. Okay, after this
8 presentation, after the discussion we will vote on four,
9 five and six and we will let anybody make comments and we
10 modify our referendums to include comments if people want
11 to do that before we vote. At this time I'm going to ask
12 the clerks's office to collect the ballots on item number
13 one, on item number one only related to the police
14 precinct. Do not give them a ballot on anything else
15 because the only ballot that is going to be counted will
16 be on ballot number one, so pull that off. The
17 presentation you are hearing now will -- relates to item
18 numbers four, five and six, so without further ado -- and
19 I want everybody to pay very close attention to the
20 presentation and we are going to welcome in a very warm
21 Overtown way the President of Crosswinds, Mr. Steve
22 Feldman. Let's give him a very warm hand. Thank you,
23 Steve, for being here.
24 MR. STEVE FELDMAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
25 Thank you all very much. Again, my name is Steve Feldman.
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1 I live on Brickel Avenue just down the street and have
2 been a resident in Florida for almost 30 years now. I'd
3 like -- I'd like very much, first of all, to recognize the
4 chairman.
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Hold on one minute, Steve.
6 MR. FELDMAN: Yes, sir.
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Where is Brenda Lee? Brenda,
8 y'all need to move these people around to help -- anybody
9 that's got a question or a concern, please raise your hand
10 and somebody will help you, okay? We really need your
11 cooperation and I really need for everybody that's here
12 today to pay close attention to Mr. Feldman. This
13 presentation is going to take a few minutes, so let's all
14 settle down and hear that. Murray, you need to come down
15 here. You don't need to make everybody come to you, you
16 need to come on down here and join us. Did you bring some
17 peppers or corn?
18 MR. FELDMAN: Thank you. Thank you. Mr.
19 Chairman, I do want to acknowledge -- I do want to
20 acknowledge the Reverend Mark Cotes. Mark had to take his
21 mom to a funeral and hopefully will be able to return
22 before this meeting is adjourned. Again, Mr. Chairman, I
23 do want to thank you in particular for inviting us today,
24 in addition to that certainly for your leadership, your
25 ideas and your vision regarding the -- our Overtown
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1 initiative as a public/private partnership. Your
2 contributions as late as yesterday have significant merit
3 and I think more than adequate testimony of your concern,
4 your representation of your constituents regarding the
5 Crosswinds Overtown initial public partnership initiative.
6 Just very briefly, I'm President of Crosswinds National.
7 We are a national community development firm. We are
8 developing throughout State of Florida, Michigan,
9 California, Arizona, Virginia and North Carolina, and we
10 do traditional development work that you see in suburban
11 living as most other home builders and community
12 developers do such as Lenar as an example of another local
13 firm, but we've developed a national reputation for urban
14 development. There are very few in the country that truly
15 do urban development. We see a lot of highrises going up
16 here, there and particularly in South Florida now almost
17 everywhere. While that may be your branch development, it
18 is differentiated from what our product is and
19 particularly as it applies to Overtown and downtown
20 Detroit and elsewhere where we are delivering this product
21 line. It is in fact an urban village; an urban village
22 characterized as multiple housing styles and in this
23 instance as Matt Schwartz will soon explain will feature
24 townhouses to midrise residential units as well as retail
25 and commercial opportunities, live -work units that provide
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1 opportunities for -- as many of us did in growing up,
2 living over the store, if you will, or over the office,
3 and other unique features of urban living because Overtown
4 in the 21st Century has become an urban development. As I
5 said before, Matt Schwartz, our Director of Urban
6 Development, will explain in more in detail about the
7 community. I just wanted to touch very briefly on the
8 process that we have been going through over the past
9 actually year and -a -half in working with in particular in
10 Phase 1 on the Poinciana and Sawyer's Walk, and I
11 certainly want to acknowledge our partners Ted Weitzel and
12 my dear friend and I think one of the indeed grand grand
13 ladies of all of South Florida, Bernie Sawyer and her
14 husband Bill. While I -- while I certainly acknowledge
15 and revere the lessons in Overtown history from the Black
16 Archives and Dorothy in particular, there is a different
17 kind of a message when Bernice Sawyer tells me stories.
18 It is a beautiful thing, and I need for everyone to
19 understand right from the get -go that we came to this
20 community, this community of Overtown, sort of as a -- a
21 canvas that has no paint on it, a spongy kind of a canvas
22 that says let us learn, let us, my team, learn what this
23 history is, understand its value to those who care and
24
then
execute a
plan that carries
forward
the legacy of
25
those
elements
of this community
that are
indeed important
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1 and can be incorporated into this
first
development, this
2 Phase 1 of what hopefully we perceive
to
be the beginning
3 of something significantly grander
as it
moves through the
4 square mile of Overtown and beyond
that.
We create this
5 strong, strong sense of community
and enrich
it with a
6 legacy
of its
history. Now, I
want to -- once
again, I
7 want to
thank
the Commissioner
because in each
and every
8 case we
look
for the essence of
the community;
what is it,
9 what amenity or amenities can we bring that are consistent
10 with its history that expand on the premise of its growth,
11 and I thank the Commissioner for enlightening us in
12 particular as we have consistently characterized the
13 centerpiece of this community is the Lyric Theatre and 2nd
14 and 8th become really pretty much main and Main Street for
15 us, and the Lyric Theatre as it -- not only as it is today
16 but as it is being developed becomes a critical element of
17 our development theme, and as Commissioner Teele
18
understood that he then
came back to
us and said you know,
19
what you really need to
understand is
more again about the
20
history of Overtown and
its contribution,
its legacy and
21
it's contribution to entertainment
in
particular. And we
22
thought about that and
said you know,
that is a
23
phenomenal,
phenomenal awakening for
each of
us. We knew
24
that, but we
didn't quite understand
it until
Commissioner
25 Teele enlightened us, and in conversations that I've had
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1 with Mrs. Sawyer
and others
about
the beautiful
legacy of
2 entertainment.
Because one
of the
things that
we do know
3 is that -- is that entertainment, politics and religion
4 are the three largest employers of minorities; that the
5 barriers to entry into those elements, those industries,
6 are relatively
low, and that if
we can expand this theme
7 and bring forth
this premise of
entertainment, there may
8 very well be a
uniqueness that
we can create that not only
9 brings residents here to live permanently but again
10 brings visitors and tourists to our community that
11 obviously help enrich the Overtown future. Back to our
12 product line. This is designed to be a market -rate middle
13 income development for homeownership. We believe that
14
homeownership is quintessential
to all elements of
15
community building that provide
for the cohesiveness and
16
ultimately the
stability of the
entire neighborhood.
17
Again, and the
retail elements
as Mr. Schwartz, Matt, will
18
explain are in
support of that;
of the homeowners who will
19
ultimately live
in this community.
Through the course of
20
this
past year,
we have
consistently worked
with initially
21
with
the Collins
Center
and Phil Bacon and
his team,
22
who
have helped very very much our ability to reach into
23
the
community -- deeper into the
community and work with
24
the
Black Archives and Mount Zion
and Reverend Nevins and
25 his group at St. John's and BAM, Bill Mozzie and everyone
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1 else
who has
willingly offered
us their ideas,
their --
2 their
facts,
their interests,
their energy, and
it has
3 been
no easy
task in arriving
here to this day
that I have
4 the opportunity to show you something
that
we think has an
5 enormous amount of merit. I'll tell
you,
I get -- I do
6 get somewhat emotionally involved in
this
because it is an
7 emotional experience for all us. All of us, we care a
8 great deal about this community and we want to make
9 certain that what we bring to this community makes all the
10 sense in the world, and while it may not feature an
11 opportunity for everyone who lives in Overtown we think
12 that we are certainly covering the majority in terms of
13 the elements of our development and we want -- we want you
14 to understand what those elements are. There is an
15
executive summary included in
your package
today of the --
16
what's known as the Settlement
Agreement,
which is in
17
effect our agreement with the
City CRA to
execute this
18
development.
I'd
like -- before
we -- before I go on any
19
further, for
Matt
Schwartz, our
Director of Development,
20 to please describe to you in much greater detail our plan
21 for Overtown Phase 1.
22 MR. MATTHEW SCHWARTZ: Thank you, and I won't be
23 too much detail. I think -- does everyone have a copy of
24 the map, the plan? Okay, plans change and let's see if it
25 mentioned -- actually, with Commissioner Teele's and as
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1 Steve had mentioned, actually with Commissioner Teele's
2 input yesterday, this map was modified. So any planning
3 process is something that keeps on changing. We hope to
4 have approvals in the month of June both from the City
5 Commission and the CRA will allow us to initiate sales
6 sometime late this year next winter and actually start
7 construction sometime about a year from now. This is --
8 this program has -- this plan is really a follow-up to
9 something that the City did and the County back in the
10 late 1970s, early 180s; the Southeast Overtown Park West
11 Redevelopment Plan, and as you recall and if you look at
12 your map, nine blocks was acquired by Dade County and the
13 City of Miami to build a -- to initiate the development of
14 middle income housing in downtown and in Overtown to sort
15 of bridge. Back in the old days, in the late 1970s, and I
16 attended lots of meetings, one of the major concerns of
17
the Overtown community was -- and I
know a
few people
18
here, Sonny Wright and Mr. and Mrs.
Sawyer,
Irby, Jackie
19
Bell and others, many others were at
these
meetings, and a
20
concern was that there was a need to
create
middle income
21
housing
in Overtown; something that
when someone got to a
22
certain
economic level could afford
a house, could afford
23
a better
product. It would be in the
community. People
24
weren't
forced to move out. First
it was the expressways
25
and urban
renewal, later on it was
that there was nothing
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1 to buy in Overtown as you got a little up the economic
2 ladder, so the idea was to create middle income housing
3 and to create a bridge between downtown because of the
4 fear that, you know, with the government center and what
5 was
happening
downtown that
Overtown would be swallowed up
6 by
downtown,
so to remain as
basically a residential
7 community
and a bridge
between Overtown and
downtown was
8 also very
important to
retain Overtown, and
especially
9 this area,
as part of
the black community.
That's one of
10 the reasons the Black Archives was initiated and became
11 very active. The restoration of Lyric Theatre is an
12 outgrowth of these activities that Dorothy Fields and the
13 really pioneers back in the middle -- middle to late
14 1980s, the first project in Overtown was constructed and
15 it was built over a few years; the 64 units on Poinciana
16
Village, and that really the
residents
there are really
17
the urban pioneers. This is
what they
-- they took a
18
risk. They came back to this
community,
bought, invested
19
their money. Unfortunately,
the rest
of the neighborhood
20
didn't come about and part of
that was
when the arena was
21
built the NBA was required --
the City
was required to
22
provide 4,500 parking spaces,
so what
became -- was
23
supposed to be housing starting
in the
late 1980s ended up
24
becoming parking lots for the
arena.
Well, back to today
25
it looks like after a long delay
we're
about to start this
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1 development with the approvals of the City hopefully this
2 month, but what we're talking about, we're talking about
3 areas from 8th Street -- excuse me, 8th Street on the
4 north, 6th Street on the south, the transit station on the
5 east and the I-95 on the west. We're talking about three
6 and -a -half blocks for this initial activity. We're
7 talking about in that area to construct about a little
8 over a thousand units of middle income housing, and I'll
9 explain a little more about the housing what it is on this
10 sheet. We're talking about quality housing that's going
11 to be in a different variety of types, things that have
12 not -- you don't even find in the downtown market. We're
13 going to have live -work units where people can actually
14 operate businesses, live within the unit. We're going to
15 have units that are townhomes that -- what we call stack
16 townhomes, which is one townhouse on top of another
17 townhouse. We're also going to be involved -- also
18 construct midrise -- we're talking about 8 -- and the
19 tallest building would be 17 stories, so we're talking
20 about a scale that really fits into Overtown. Right
21 across from the Overtown transit station right now if you
22 look there's some construction going on. There's a new
23 17-story office building going under, so the -- our
24 tallest building, and there will only be one of them in
25 this initial phase, is -- would be the same height. The
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1 bulk of the housing is in low-rise and mid -rise
2 structures. The
units
have -- will have amenities.
3 They're going to
have
swimming pools. This is going to be
4 quality housing.
Most
of the units will be built there
5 will be two stories of townhouses and above that will be
6 either
six stories,
so
it
will be
an 8-story
building, and
7 in one
case it will
be
a
17-story,
so there
will be
8 structured parking, plenty of recreation areas, and this
9
is
really going
to be an
architecturally distinct
project.
10
We
retained the
services
of Architectonica and if
any of
11
you can
remember Miami
vice
you
know the
building
on
12
Brickel
Avenue with the
hole
in
it, and
it's still
there,
13
they are the designers of that.
But they also are the
14
designers of the new courthouse
that's coming up
right
15
across the street on the other
side of Overtown,
that
16
brand new building. A key to this is
that
this housing is
17
a mixture of housing and also key to
the work
of the City
18
of Miami and the initiatives working
with
the
19
administration the Commissioner's office,
the Mayor's
20
office was the intent make sure that
there
is benefits to
21 the Overtown community. Part of the housing and one of
22 the questions that when I went to a meeting recently at
23 the Overtown Advisory Board is, you know, what price range
24 -- who can afford this, what we're talking about. And I
25 don't think it was adequately answered to the community,
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1 so these are just some basic things about the project; we
2 anticipate that the bulk of the housing will sell in the
3 range of $125,000 to
$250,000.
Right now the
housing I
4 believe at St. Agnes
is edging
up in price.
The new units
5 in St. Agnes I think
start over
$130,000 now,
so these are
6 homeownership housing, so this is basically the next
7 sector of the market we're talking about. This is a
8 condominium project, so there will not be any single
9 family homes. These will be apartment -type units. The
10 price range or the income levels for this that we
11 anticipate -- and 80 percent of these units are free
12 market, so basically if you can afford it you can buy it,
13 but we agreed with the City that we will keep it within a
14 price range that's the market we want to hit, and this is
15 -- this is what we -- you generally call the City and the
16 County call work force housing or when I used to work in
17 the Planning Department years ago it was for the working
18 poor; people who, you know, the key to this type of
19 housing, we're talking about people, family incomes
20 generally with $40,000 to $80,000 range. That's what
21 we're talking about, and most residents of Overtown do not
22
- would not
qualify,
but there are other
housing programs
23
in Overtown.
But to
ensure that there is
Overtown --
24 existing Overtown residents have an opportunity to
25 purchase units in this, there is a proposal to have at
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1 least 50 of the units within the project set aside for
2 existing Overtown residents and with incomes -- and I
3 don't
want to
get
everyone
all
confused -- we're
talking
4 50 --
there's
80
percent,
the
median family no
one knows
5 what we're talking about, but we're really talking about
6 if you go to a family of four we're talking about
7 individuals that earn for a family of four the low end
8 would be incomes about $26,000 and the high end would be
9 $42,000, and that makes that a lot more affordable, and
10
there
are a significant
number
of people in
Overtown
who
11
would
qualify for this
housing.
These units
will be
built
12
interspersed
within
the
project.
Someone
will
be
paying
13
$210,000 for
a unit
and
right next
to it
will
be
one of
14 these units, and the units will be similar in size,
15 character, so we're going to provide quality housing
16 through that mechanism. They will also be built over the
17 length of the project, and we're talking about building
18 this out probably in four years unless we're lucky when we
19 open a sales office next fall and there's a massive
20
influx, which
you
think
may happen. We may be
able
to
21
build this a
lot
faster.
There's another 150
units
in
22 this first Phase that we call affordable housing, and this
23
is
housing
for income levels between
80 and 120
percent of
24
the
median
family income, and that if
you look
at the --
25
if
you turn
the page, the handout, it
will tell
you that
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1 for a family of four it's people with incomes between
2 $42,000 and $63,000, to
just give
you an
idea. Probably
3 the maximum selling price
of these
units
would be
4 $165,000, so that will
be
the same
unit
that some units
5 will sell for $200,000
and
some will
be
at $165,000, and
6 it may be almost the same
unit. I
mean,
may have a little
7 less of the amenities,
but
those are
set
aside as
8 affordable units. They will be set aside in that price
9
range
through
the
year 2013,
and the
way
this deal
works
10
with
the City
and
as part of
this --
but
there's a
big
11 benefit if you are an existing Overtown resident or a
12 former Overtown resident -- you will get priority to these
13 units and also you will not have the restrictions on the
14 sale price that you -- you could sell it earlier at a
15 profit, and what's happening in the downtown housing
16 market, fortunately and unfortunately, it's escalating
17 very fast. Last year the cost of housing, the value of
18 housing and homeownership in Miami increased 28 percent,
19 and that's astronomical. So we're keeping the value of
20 the housing, the price of the housing in a very affordable
21 price range of the -- also, the key to this project is the
22 fact of not everyone in Overtown may qualify or could
23 afford to live here, but we are going to make sure that we
24 provide as many jobs, link them to the project similar to
25 what was talked about with the police station. We have a
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1 commitment to set up in conjunction with the labor unions
2 -- Florida Work Force have a first horse hiring agreement
3 that priority
jobs
first go
to
Overtown
residents and
4 second go to
City
residents
and
then if
there's any jobs
5 left to County residents, but we won't hire anyone from
6
Broward County. I
guarantee that. The next aspect of
7
this is that we are
required to
provide strong minority
8
participation in the
project as
far as jobs and stuff, and
9
there are penalties
in it, and
to produce this project the
10
City is providing --
proposing
to provide Crosswinds some
11
benefits, and what
the benefits
are Crosswinds will be
12 leasing -- will lease or purchase the property from the
13 City at fair market value, and what you call fair market
14
value,
it's based
on what the proposed redevelopment
15
project
is so the
City is evaluating the value of the land
16
on the
development
of creating a thousand units of middle
17
income
housing, not
another 70-story office building,
18
which you couldn't
build here anyway, and the other
19
benefit
that we have
requested from the City is that what
20
we call
the taxes,
the tax increment generated from this
21
project between now
and the year 2013 go
back to the
22
project and that's going
to be utilized
for
public
23
improvements and for
park structures for
the
project.
24
This really provides
-- this is probably
the
first time in
25
50 years that there
is a significant public
investment in
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1 Overtown; not governmental. This is private investment
2 we're
talking
about an
expenditure
of somewhere between
3 $150
and $200
million,
and it's not
just one building here
4 or one building there. We're talking about if you look at
5 the map building a neighborhood, and we hope very much to
6 submit a proposal on block 36 working with the Black
7 Archives and working very closely with the Collins Center
8 and other Community Development Corporations like Mount
9 Zion, St. John's, BAM within the community to work and
10 help to redevelop everything moving up from llth Street
11 moving up past 8th Street up to llth Street and assisting
12 in the revitalization of Overtown. Key to this project is
13 Steve had mentioned that we are not coming in and slicing
14 this project off from Overtown. We intend to become part
15 of the community. I've also listed my phone number and
16 unfortunately Reverend Cotes, Mark Cotes, who I think many
17 of you know, had to actually go to -- I think he was also
18 not only driving his mother to the funeral, I think he was
19 officiating at the funeral, so he had to be there. Please
20
give us a call. The other aspect that
I think is very
21
important and I've noted when
I used to
work for the City
22
many years ago a lot of these
things,
you say you're going
23
to do things and things don't
happen.
Well, we're going
24
to ensure that we're going to
hire one
or two key people
25
from Overtown initially who are going
to be out there
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
recruiting employees, potential employees, getting people
on a one-to-one basis to make -- insure they're in the job
programs for this project going out and finding people in
Overtown who are qualified and help them make them
qualified for these units. We will start that this fall.
It's crucial that this project provide a benefit to the
existing Overtown residents. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right. We're going to have
one or two public comments first, then we'll have general
comments. Miss Green, you've been waving your hand the
whole time he's talking. I do not want you to have a
coronary in here, so I'm going to ask you to go to the
mic. I don't know what you want to say, but please get up
and say it, and Miss Bell, back there has -- you're not --
okay, thank you, Miss Bell.
MS. GREEN: Thank you. Commissioner, I have two
things to say.
CHAIRMAN TEELE
address.
Your name, your name and
MS. GREEN: Rosa Green, 415 Northwest 6th Street.
The first question I'd like to ask the gentleman is how
many square feet is he talking about 'cause if he's
talking about building a little but -- he said you're
going to build a thousand, and that's not a lot of space
there, so how many feet are you talking, square feet are
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1 you talking about?
2 MR. SCHWARTZ: Per unit --
3 MS. GREEN: One and two -- are you going to have
4 three bedroom? One, two and three or just --
5 MR. SCHWARTZ: Yeah, no, we're going to have one,
6 two and three and maybe a few studios, but we're talking
7 about -- since the condos, there are larger units and
8 generally speaking I think a one bedroom would be in the
9 range of 750 to 900 square feet. Two bedroom would be 900
10 to 1100 square feet, and it's going to vary, and a three
11 bedroom will be probably up to 1400, 1500 square feet,
12 possibly. This is -- if you look, these are good size
13 units.
14 MS. GREEN: They are very small. You have to get
15 in the bed to make up the bed. I guess -- I mean, seven
16 -- I mean, 900 square feet for two bedrooms, that's very,
17 very small. So I mean, why would you just crowd a whole
18 bunch of people in there and charge that amount of money,
19 but later for that. The next question I have is for you,
20 too. Now, item four approval --
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Miss Green, Miss Green --
22 MS. GREEN: You said we're going to vote on this.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: No, no, but that's not up right
24 at this moment. Before we finish we'll discuss all of
25 those items.
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1 MS. GREEN: Because it's about the Crosswinds.
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay, yes, ma'am. Just give us
3 a few minutes.
4 MR. BENJAMIN BROWN: My name is Benjamin Brown
5 and I reside at 218 Northwest 14th Terrace. Listening to
6 Matthew Schwartz --
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Pull that down a little bit for
8 you.
9 MR. BROWN: Listening to Matthew Schwartz, I've
10 heard this before. Back in the seventies when I was
11 co-chairman with Reverend Johnson of the Overtown Advisory
12 Committee, I heard this from Matthew Schwartz and Brenda
13 Rivers and how they were going to revitalize the Overtown
14 area. It was a failure then and most likely it will be a
15 failure again. I think the people here need to take some
16 kind of an advice from me because I don't see how in the
17 world you're going to have homes selling for $100,000 and
18 people in the area are going to be qualifying and you're
19 going to have maybe two or three people that are -- would
20 be able to buy these homes for $40,000. I've heard this
21 before. People, be careful.
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, sir, come right up.
23 Thank you for your comments.
24 MR. REGINALD CHARLES MUNNINGS: Good evening. My
25 name is Reginald Charles Munnings. I live at 1130
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1 Northwest 2nd Avenue apartment 302. I'm a long time
2 resident of Overtown. As I said before at the last
3 meeting I was here, I think this is a very good idea what
4 these people are trying to do for our community. As I
5 said before also that they are not tearing anything down;
6 they are building something up. These are vacant lands
7 and there's nothing on these lands. They are not taking
8 away, they are adding to something. I know there's a
9 problem with people being able to afford them. There's
10 always going to be a problem like that in the world, but
11 we're all about progress. I may not be able to afford one
12 of them, but I'm still a resident of the area and I'd like
13 to see the area being beautified.
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right.
15 MR. MUNNINGS: And I thank these people. They
16 deserve a profit and the community deserves a profit and
17 so does the City.
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, listen. Let me --
19 let's try to understand, and let me -- I don't know if Mr.
20 McKnight is going to make any comments as the Chairman of
21 the Overtown Advisory Board, but there are three or four
22 issues that are very important and it piggybacks on what
23 everybody said; first Miss Green and everybody, everybody
24 can't speak for Overtown. You all elect -- hold on now.
25 Hold -- you all elect an Overtown Advisory Board.
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1 Primarily Miss Green, I know you've got some concerns and
2 we are going to sit down and you and I and the Board are
3 going to sit down and try to clear some of those concerns
4 up. But the Board has existed -- you were on the Board in
5 what, 1970 what?
6 MS. GREEN: 1972.
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: 19, Vice Chairman in 1972, so
8 this Board -- we've had -- this Board is elected by the
9 residents of Overtown primarily. There are two
10 appointments. I think the Mayor makes an appointment and
11 I make an appointment, but the primary membership is
12 elected. One of the first things we got to understand is
13 this everybody can't be in charge at the same time. Now,
14 there's a real danger here when you start talking about
15 money. The amount of money that's on the table in the
16 first phase is about $150 to $200 million. $150 to $200
17 million. You know and I know what happens when that kind
18 of money starts getting thrown around. I would not make
19 any comments about this development team. They have the
20 highest character, but we have all been black all of our
21 lives, those of us that have been black or are black, and
22 we know what happens. Now, one of the items that I'm very
23 concerned about is people coming up saying I speak for
24 Overtown. Everybody who lives in Overtown can speak for
25 themselves in Overtown. However, there's only one
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1 Overtown Advisory Board which is chartered for 30 years
2 now speaking
for
Overtown and I
think it's
important and I
3 do not agree
with
this young man
75 percent
of the time --
4 put it on the record, my dear colleague Mr. McKnight, but
5 he is a representative and it's important that Mr.
6 McKnight, based upon a Board vote, be recognized as one of
7 the people who will be speaking for Overtown. Anybody can
8 come and speak about Overtown, anybody who lives --
9 whether you live in Overtown or not, but the danger we got
10 right now is people are coming up right now saying I speak
11 for Overtown, and that's just the Willy Lynch 101; divide
12 everybody up and have everybody going in 100 different
13 directions. So one of the items that we are talking
14
about, Miss
Green, you're
not
going to agree with me. I
15
know you're
not going to
agree
with me, I know, but I
16
think it's
very important
that
we register our views that
17
we don't want
everybody saying
I'm speaking for Overtown,
18
okay, and in
that regard there
are two people elected by
19
the Overtown
residents to speak
for Overtown that I know
20 about; the Overtown Advisory Board and the District 5
21 Commissioner, so that's one of the items on the agenda. I
22 saw in the newspaper the other day -- not to cast any
23 aspersions on anybody, but when individuals -- whether it
24 be the Net Office or the Planning Staff from Overtown or
25 the police commander, all of these people may have a role
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1 but they can
-- they cannot speak for Overtown, and I
2 think it's very
important that
if the Net Administrator
3 for example
wants to speak for
Overtown he stands up and
4 say I am the
Net Administrator
and I'm speaking from my
5 point of view,
and if anybody else
wants to do that, stand
6 up and speak
from your point of
view, but do not let
7 people start
saying I speak for
Overtown because what's
8
going to happen is nobody is going to
get heard and so
9
that's
one of the issues I think that
is on the agenda for
10
your
consideration. Before we start,
Miss Green, hold on
11
just
one minute. Let's talk about the
real issue here
12
because you've heard a lot of nice words
and I am trying
13
very
hard to support the development concept,
but let's be
14
clear
and -- have a seat, Miss Green,
please. I don't
15
want
to make you have a heart attack.
Somebody give her a
16
seat
there. Miss Green, just sit down
a minute. Please,
17
Miss
Green, I'll respect you but just
give me a minute.
18
Let's
be real clear and let's
let everybody hear
what
I as
19
your
elected Commissioner am
saying; this project
of
1000
20
units
is being built on land
that is vacant. How
the
land
21 got vacant is a whole other story and it's an important
22 story not to lose sight of because this land if we were
23
native Americans and
if we were Indians
they do would not
24
let anything be built
on this; would be
called sacred
25
land. This would be
called tribal land.
But we are not
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1 native Americans, we are African Americans. Please. And
2 we understand that some development must happen, but it
3 does tear at the very fabric of my heart to see the land
4 of the Mary Elizabeth Hotel, the lands of important
5 grocery stores and pharmacies, et cetera, being paved over
6 to be built for something. I had a hand in this. I will
7 admit it. In 1980 when I went to Washington, I gave money
8 back to Miami. Three of the lots were grants from me as
9 the Undersecretary of Transportation. Can you go back and
10 read the Miami Times '82, 181, 182, 183. I had a big Afro
11 and I gave the City, you know, millions of dollars to try
12 to work toward the redevelopment of Overtown. The land is
13 there. It's parking lots. It's vacant. It's not going
14 to move anybody out. The City is in a development binge
15 right now and something's going to get built there whether
16 you like it or not, whether I like it or not, because it's
17 a parking lot. We've already lost that battle. Now, the
18 question is one, what's going to be built there? This
19 developer, Mr. Feldman, is in my mind one of the toughest
20 men I've ever dealt with across the table. He makes no
21 -- no secret about the fact that he is not here to save
22 souls. He's leaving that to the churches. He's going to
23 work with the churches, he said. He's not here to do
24 association programming. He said he'll work with them.
25 He is here to make a profit, and I respect that. He's
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1 proposing to build 1,000 units. Of those 1,000 units, at
2 least 800 to 900 are going to be white folks and Cubans.
3 They are going to gentrify the hell out of Overtown.
4 Let's be real clear about that. Their own numbers say
5 that.
Their own
numbers
say at least --
their own numbers
6 state
two things;
number
one, 20 percent
of the units will
7 be set
aside, and
that's
a misnomer but
on a first -come
8 first -serve if nobody else does it. 20 percent of the
9 units are roughly 200. This is easy mathematics 1,000
10 units, 20 percent, 200; 10 percent, 100; 5 percent, 50.
11 20 percent of the units will be set aside for former
12 Overtown residents, but if no former Overtown residents
13 come there is no requirement that they have to hold those
14
units. I'm
believing that the Overtown Advisory Board,
15
the CDCs,
the Collins Center and people like yourselves
16
will come
out and you will call your grandsons or your
17
nephews.
Some of them may be in the Bahamas, some may be
18
in New York.
They may want to come back and say here's
19
your birth
right, you have a right to claim these units,
20
and we're
talking seriously about how we are going to
21
prove that
these were people who formerly lived in
22
Overtown.
We talk about the heirs of Overtown and a heir
23
could be a
grand cousin. He -- all they got to do is
24
prove that
their great grand uncle lived there. Didn't
25
have to live
there for a year, just live there. Prove it.
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1 But we know who lived in Overtown. We know from the day
2 Mr. Flagler brought -- came to the railroad and Dorothy
3 Fields, don't get upset, I'll let you get a history but we
4 know from the time Mr. Flagler brought the railroad here
5 in 1896 when Mount Zion and Greater Beth El were
6 organized, we know who lived in Overtown. It was a
7 colored town, in fact, so when we talk about the heirs of
8 Overtown, this is not to discriminate against white folks
9 or Cubans but we talking now about the history of Overtown
10 and they have committed to 80 -- 20 percent of those units
11
will
be put in
a pool on a
first -come first -serve
basis,
12
and
with some
modifications
for them but there's
no
13 assurance that any of those units will go. If they have
14 the money if they come up -- and there's going to be some
15 affordability issues that have been set aside that are
16 built into the contract that will be inducement that way
17 to encourage people by those units being a little cheaper
18 and there are going to be -- there'll be promise programs
19 which they're going (unintelligible) will be counting on
20 the City to come up with the money to get those people in
21 those units. To be honest, of the 20 percent, 35 of the
22 20 percent, 5 percent -- I'll state it a different way.
23 Of the 100 percent, 20 percent will be those former
24 Overtown. Within that is 5 percent or 50 units that will
25 be set aside for current Overtown residents, okay. That's
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Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
IL:I
1 50 units at the end of the day, folks. The only real
2 commitment that I have been able to discern at this point
3 and that we all have agreed on is that there is a real
4 commitment that 50 out of 1,000 of those units will be a
5 African American, will be Overtown residents, current
6 Overtown resident. And as far as I am concerned, that's
7 the real commitment. And I will be very candid with you
8 about this; a number of foundations, a number of
9 organizations have said that they will take those units
10 now. He's not donating these units, okay. What he said
11 is that 50 units will be set aside, not given away. So
12 let's be real --
13 (End of CD 43.)
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: -- real clear. Will be set
15 aside and held for Overtown residents. A very firm and --
16 and close way, and which I think the City and foundations
17 and others are committed to making sure that happens. 50
18 of a thousand is 5 percent. Now, the whole issue in my
19 minds is very simple. I have no objections to the
20 development, but I do have a strong objection to what Mr.
21 Schwartz called fair market value. We have never sold any
22 lands in the City using fair market value. Sounds normal,
23 doesn't it? Sounds good. That's a trick. We use a
24 different criteria, and Mr. Attorney, what is the standard
25 we have used for all of the property to date that we have
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1 sold in Overtown?
2 MR. VILLACORTA: Highest and best use.
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Highest and best use. The
4 difference between fair market value and highest and best
5
use could very well be let's say a minimum of
$7 million
6
and probably upwards of $20 million, could be.
Maybe $30
7
million. Nobody wants to even deal with it.
So in effect
8
what the developer is doing and what the City,
the Mayor's
9
office and the City has tentatively agreed to
-- the City
10
hasn't voted on anything, the City management
-- is to
11
subsidize the gentrification of Overtown by giving
the
12
land at a substantially lower price than Jackson
Soul Food
13
paid for the lot they own. They paid highest
and best
14
use. In fact, the lot that Jackson Soul food
bought will
15
be higher -- will be paying more than the value,
than the
16
price that these people are paying, if you can
believe
17
that. I'm going to say that again. That lot
that the
18
Miami Herald wrote me up about time after time
after time
19 that we sold to Jackson Soul food on a highest and best use
20
basis is a
higher price per square foot in
the interior of
21
Overtown than
what the City is negotiating
to sell this
22
land, this
historic land, this sacred land
to the
23
developer
for to gentrify Overtown. I can't
live with
24
that. I cannot
live with giving away land
at a lower
25
price than
the fair market value or the highest
and best
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
1 use value because then I have to answer the question is
2 there two systems of law in
this country?
Is there one
3 for black people and one for
white people?
And so I mean
4 I'm just putting it out here
so everybody
can understand
5 what the issues are, because
I'm telling you
people are
6 being paid to distort the record.
People
are being paid
7 that look like you and me to
come out here
with a whole
8 lot of foolishness and mess, which candidly -- and those
9 of you that know me know I am not going to tolerate it. I
10 am not going to tolerate it. I am going to speak up for
11 what I believe. Not everybody -- everybody is entitled to
12 their opinions. I am putting it out here people are being
13 paid to distort what's really going on. Anybody who
14 doesn't understand, this is not about all of the nice
15 words. This is about one thing, folks. It's about money.
16 It's about money, and it's nothing wrong with that. This
17 is America. But somewhere along the line we have got to
18 stand -- I have got to got to stand to ensure that if
19 there's money going around, some of that money comes to
20 the benefit of the residents and the future residents and
21 the historic residents of Overtown, and what -- and so
22 what I have offered to you as a referendum is two issues.
23
First and foremost, the
land that we're
talking about is
24
parking lots. Parking
lots for who?
Parking lots for the
25
Miami Arena? Well, the
Miami Arena
is no longer being
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1 used as an arena so there is
very little parking
there
but
2 parking lots at 4:00 a.m. and
5:00 a.m. and 6:00
a.m.
for
3 who? For the Longshoremen.
The Longshoremen's
Union
that
4 is the cornerstone
of virtually
every
church in
this
City,
5 and there's not a
pastor in this
City
starting
with
Mount
6 Zion that has a Longshoreman in that union -- in the
7 church will not acknowledge that Longshoremen are a very
8 important part of the economic fiber of the historic and
9 the current black community. I cannot allow the
10
Longshoremen's
Union
to be forced
out of
Overtown because
11
of development.
I'm
not going to
allow
that. Because
12
they
have to have a parking somewhere, someplace, and it
13
needs
to be better organized and it should
have been
14
better
organized sometime ago. So one of
the things that
15
I am
putting on this developer, the Mayor
and everybody
16
else
is before we do any real development
deals there has
17 got to be a plan for the Longshoremen parking and that of
18 the Lyric Theatre parking because it doesn't make sense to
19 build a theatre the way Dr. Fields and the Black Archives
20
are
doing and
not have
adequate
parking, and we're going
21
to
be running
through
the grass
and walking through the
22 sand in high heels and I guess women in stockings with no
23 place to park. That's not -- that doesn't even make
24 business sense, and so one of the items on referendum,
25 item number 6, is that we are demanding -- I am demanding
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1 that the Longshoremen and the Lyric Theatre have parking
2 as a condition prior to any of the development really
3 going, a plan for their parking, and the other item is
4 very important and this is -- this is the -- this is the
5 business issue, folks, that you need to pay attention to.
6 If the
value of
the land
is what the
Mayor of the
City of
7 Miami
and this
developer
have agreed
on, which is
$6.9
8 million based upon -- fair market value is not the true
9 value of the land at the highest and best use, which I
10 believe to be let's just say for sake of discussion $20
11 million -- just for the sake of discussion, whatever the
12 spread is needs to go into a fund for the benefit of
13 Overtown residents in perpetuity, forever. Let us not
14 give away this land, let us not give away this land or let
15 this land be transferred or sold without the residents of
16 Overtown getting something. Look, 50 residents are going
17 to get something, but to me that's symbolic. That's good.
18
I'm not
against anything that this developer has
proposed,
19
but --
20 percent for former Overtown residents
coming
20
back, I'm
for that. I'm not against that. But
what I'm
21
saying
is 50 years from now your grandchildren need to be
22
able to
drive by these developments and look at
these
23
beautiful people that
will be walking
around on like they
24
do on Brickel, looking
like they do on
Brickel, and say
25
this is where the Mary
Elizabeth Hotel
was built and
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1 because these development came here this fund is here to
2 help educate children or to send kids to college or to do
3 certain kinds of things or to provide programming for the
4 Lyric Theatre which (unintelligible) folks will be my
5 number one issue; educational scholarships and programming
6 for the Lyric Theatre would be if I could create this
7 fund, but I'm appealing to you to support me to demand
8 that a multi -million -dollar fund, trust fund be set up in
9 perpetuity so that whatever the spread of the value of the
10 land that this developer will come up with -- and a
11 majority of the Commission vote will support at a price --
12 at a price higher than $6.9 million -- be put into a fund
13 in perpetuity for the residents of Overtown. Those are
14 the three issues that I have asked you to certify and to
15 voice your support or opposition to the position that I'm
16 taking, and by -- and the right of the Overtown Advisory
17 Board to be able to speak on this after a vote and the
18 right of everybody to come down and talk. Now, I would
19 like to entertain any questions, comments or criticisms
20 regarding my remarks from any member of the Overtown
21 community. Hold on just one minute. Yes, ma'am. Yes,
22 sir.
23 MS. GREEN: Hold on.
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Hold on one minute. Yes, ma'am.
25 You put your hand up first. Yes, sir. Three, four, five.
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
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1 L M
1 Miss Green, you'll be number five. Sir, you'll be number
2 six.
3 MS. GREEN: I was here first.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: No, but you monopolizing. Let
5 others -- let other people speak that haven't spoken. Mr.
6 Masonic, Mr. Masonic, you're number two. Ma'am, you were
7 number three. Just line up so we can go right in. Yes,
8 ma'am.
9 MS. VELMA EASON: Yes, good morning. Velma
10 Eason, 411 Northwest 6th Street. Been there about eight
11 years, eight or nine years. The question I have, fair
12 market value versus the highest and best use, the figures
13 that you spoke 6.9 million versus 20 million or whatever
14 that is, where -- how are these being established? What --
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, very simple; the fair
16 market value as Mr. Schwartz correctly said is a number
17 that the seller -- that the buyer has proposed based upon
18 -- based upon what they are proposing to build. In other
19 words, the buyer is establishing that price based upon
20 what he or they propose to build. They are proposing to
21 build 1,000 units. When the $6.9 million was established,
22 the actual fair representation would be they were
23 proposing to build 600 units; is that right, Mr. Feldman?
24 It was 600 units on those four blocks that we're talking
25 about, and that number comes from if they built 600 units
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185
1 on those four blocks they would pay the City $6.9 million,
2 and that's the number that the Mayor and the management
3 had tentatively accepted, which I've rejected. I have
4 said two things; first, now they're proposing to build
5 1,000 units on that, so obviously that number is going to
6 go up by something, whether it's one million or four
7 million or five million. On the fair market value,
8 however, I have said this; using fair market value is not
9 the manner in which we have appraised lands anywhere in
10 the City. Since I have been a City Commissioner or County
11 Commissioner, we've always used the highest and best use
12 valuation. That valuation is being done now. That
13 valuation will speak for itself. I'm representing that I
14 think it would be north of let's say $15 to $20 million,
15 in that range, and all I'm saying is whatever -- whatever
16 number that can be agreed upon by three Commissioners that
17 is higher than $6.9 million needs to be put in a trust
18 fund for the benefit of Overtown residents.
19 MS. EASON: What about the value of Poinciana
20 Village, which is right there? What kind of value that
21 has been?
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, that's in the four blocks
23 that we're talking about, and what we're talking about
24 will be the vacant strip of land for which a development
25 plan and order was issued, and that is for the 100 -- and
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1 it's for the 96 or 104 units on the multi -level -- was it
2 96 or -- what was it, Mr. White? 91 units? So based upon
3 that, but that plan has already been approved some years
4 ago and this developer would be basically standing in the
5 shoes of the old development team.
6 MS. EASON: Okay.
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right.
8 MS. EASON: Thank you.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Next question. Yes, sir, Mr.
10 Masonic. Those people that have spoken, just give us a
11 chance. Del, you're next.
12 MR. EL' AMIN: Richard E1' Amin from the New
13 Providence Lodge. First of all, I want to commend your --
14 what you're doing in fighting for us and being in the
15 fight for us when we are not around. I think that in the
16 past we haven't had that from many Commissioners but you
17 have been a lion for us. If you're going to -- if Jack
18 had to pay the use value for that land, then I don't think
19 because this is a developer that he should be allowed to
20 come into our -- to our area and to get it for a cheaper
21 value. If the value is going to -- like you say, is six --
22 is -- they're trying to offer six million and that's
23 cheaper than what it's supposed to be, then that's not
24 fair. That's not fair to the residents who has to pay
25 more and can't afford it. A big developer that can afford
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187
1 it should be -- should be paying what it costs.
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right. Thank you very much.
3 Yes, sir.
4 MR. BRYAN: Mr. Chairman, thank you, sir. There
5 is a lot of fear about this whole program and you know you
6 brought an issue to the table here and my mind always asks
7 what's the other side of the coin. If the highest and
8 best use was an additional $20, where would the units that
9 get being built, where would they end up in terms of cost?
10 What would they cost and would that then not make it even
11 less affordable for those of us who live here and would
12 like to stay here? That would guarantee gentrification a
13 lot faster. We do know that at those price ranges --
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Are you asking me the question?
15 I'll respond.
16 MR. BRYAN: Yes. Okay, go ahead, sir.
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Let me tell you how I see it,
18 and that's a fair statement. The value of the land, you
19 say if they pay more, if the developer pays more or state
20 it -- let's state it the right way. If the developer pays
21 what the market rate is for the land, it's going to raise
22 the value, it's going to raise the pricing of the units.
23 That's a true statement, and my position is I'm not
24 prepared to fight for those 800 to 900 non Overtown white
25 people and Hispanic people at the expense of the Overtown
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
..,
1 black Hispanic and whites that are already here, and so to
2 me it's just a trade-off. Are you going to basically --
3 are you basically going to subsidize people to come into
4 Overtown and are you going to subsidize people to come
5 into -- 800 to 900 people to come into Overtown? Are you
6 going to basically say if you come into Overtown you're
7
going
to come at fair market value? I choose
to say they
8
are going
to come at fair market value. I may
not be
9
right.
I mean, it may -- my -- I respect the
fact that
10
you may
have a different point of view, but I
can tell you
11
this;
if you watch what's going to happen now,
that's
12
going
to play out very quickly. One block away
at the
13
Miami
Arena right here. The lowest bid price
that has
14 been established is $25 million for this piece of land,
15 assuming that the building is bulldozed, okay. The
16 bidders -- the City has approved an auction at a highest
17 and best use for this piece of land based upon not the
18 building but the dirt at $25 million. The people that buy
19 this I can assure you will build residential units around
20 it. And those units are going to be based upon the
21 market. Why does Overtown have to be treated differently?
22 If you want to build in Overtown I'm saying fine, build,
23 but don't ask the residents and the community of Overtown
24
to
subsidize
the development. Stated another way,
don't
25
ask
them to
subsidize the gentrification because we're
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 522-6401
1 talking now about your raising the issue of the Overtown
2 residents but we've already established there's only 50
3 units going to be set aside for the Overtown residents.
4 They are
going
to be
taken
down at whatever price
-- at
5 whatever
price.
The
City
is guaranteeing that, so
we're
6 talking now about another potential 100 units, so what's
7
your --
150
units total maximum, so what you're basically
8
suggesting,
Del, is
that we should let -- for the benefit
9
of those
150
units,
we should basically give up on any
10
type of
support
for
the people who are remaining in
11
Overtown
who
are not
going to be affected. You know and I
12 know, Del, that the vast number of people that live in
13 Overtown will never live in those units.
14
MR. BRYAN: Mr.
Chairman, I beg to disagree.
15
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
So you think the vast number of
16
people in Overtown will
live in those units? There are
17
9,000 people living in Overtown
--
18
MR. BRYAN: The
population of Overtown cannot
19
presently repopulate all
the lands that's available. We
20
have to start somewhere.
What I'm saying, and we have
21
been doing some work in
this regards, that there are many
22
ways to get people to afford
the $150,000 houses and we're
23
-- we would invite you to
put your genius to work here --
24
is how can we bring that
to the table too?
25
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
I wanted to bring that to the
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1 table, but the first thing is this; they are going to ask
2 for and I am going to support on top of everything that we
3 are talking about a subsidy of $45,OOO to $60,000 for
4 every Overtown resident from the City. The same way we do
5 in Model Cities right now where we have the single family
6 homeowner program for scattered site houses. If you get
7 lined up for a house, the City writes a check for $45,000
8 to $60,000 to support that. This developer is going to be
9 asking for that subsidy as well. Now, on the land that we
10 did at the Bobby Medura Stadium, I put a proviso on that
11 land that says we will sell you this lands at this price
12 provided you accept that there will be no subsidies for
13 anybody moving into this or any more City money. Your
14 developer is not going to want that, so be very careful
15 what you wish for. If you ask me to -- if I lose on this
16 issue, trust me, there will be no City subsidies being
17
provided
to support
this developer. He's
got to do it on
18
his own,
and as it
relates to affordable
housing, because
19
you can't
have it both
ways, if you get
a subsidy on the
20
land you
can't get
a subsidy on the unit
because now
21
you're asking
for two
subsidies.
22
MR. BRYAN:
Well, my reference
was for subsidies
23 available outside of just the City. There's Federal
24 monies and there's an expert in the house from LIS, (sic)
25 Dennis Russ. Perhaps he could instruct us some more on
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1 that.
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, he's not going to instruct
3 us in this meeting but -- this is my meeting right now, so
4 we're not going to start bringing your consultants in. I
5 respect LIS. If LIS wants to come and help, they need to
6 meet with Mr. Raulson from the manager's office and a
7 whole bunch of other people. Yes, sir.
8 MR. JOHN HALL: Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr.
9 McKnight. My name is John Hall, 7365 Southwest 132nd
10 Street. I'm here today representing the Black Archives
11 and (unintelligible). And with your indulgence, Mr.
12 Chairman, I'd like to use the five minutes that were
13 allocated to CDCs for this comment because it's related to
14 the Crosswinds deal and to these three issues. First --
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I don't like it, but I'm going
16 to do it. I don't want somebody else to come by and say
17 oh, you let him do it.
18 MR. HALL: I appreciate it.
19 CHAIRMAN TEELE: So we make an exception not for
20 you but for Dr. Fields.
21 MR. HALL: I understand.
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right.
23 MR. HALL: And I'd like to start by saying that
24 the reason I'm here and the reason I am involved with the
25 Black Archives is because of Dr. Fields and her dream for
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1 the Folk Life Village, and she is the keeper of the flame
2 and the one who created this plan and I want to just
3 briefly describe of the ten components of what used to be
4 a village concept is now turning into a plan. I want to
5 describe four elements of the plan that benefit residents
6 of Overtown. The first is 200 jobs of which 49 would be
7 jobs in a hotel that black people would own --
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I can't let you do that. If
9 you're going to do that -- because see, now you're
10 confusing apples and oranges. We're talking about this
11 development, you're talking about a hotel that's not even
12 a part of what we're talking about. You got to respect
13 the referendum process. I'll let you come right up next,
14 John, but let's don't start confusing apples and oranges
15 because the hotel is not a part of what we're getting
16 ready to vote on, not a part this development and now I
17 know there are no 200 jobs for hotels in the four blocks
18 that we're talking about now.
19 MR. HALL: Okay. Well, if I may, then, I'll just
20 speak to the Crosswinds deal because it is --
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: The four blocks?
22 MR. HALL: The four blocks.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Limit it to the four blocks.
24 MR. HALL: Yes, the four blocks. It is our view
25 that what is good for the goose can also be good for the
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1 gander, and I'm
speaking here
from
John Hall. This is
not
2 something that's
been approved
by
the Black Archives,
but
3 --
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, you just lost your right
5 to speak. You see, that's what I'm saying. No, you're
6 going to have to hold that, sir. Let's focus in on this
7 one issue and then we'll come right to that, John, but
8 what I don't want to do is get people confused right now.
9 This is about Crosswinds and their deal. Let's don't --
10 don't jump on that ship; it may sink and it may swim, so
11 Miss Green, you're -- I have been very rude to you. I
12 want to apologize because you've asked to be heard five
13 times. John, don't go anywhere, but let's just stay on
14 this Crosswinds thing, please.
15 MS. GREEN: I know the audience might be sick of
16 me but y'all don't know what I've been through. I'm
17 probably -- other than Miss Sawyer -- the oldest
18 Overtowner that is in the house, so I'm just frustrated
19 and upset because we've heard all these great things and
20 saw all these beautiful pictures and that's as far as it
21 get. But now let me just set the record straight with
22 that Sun Post. Are they in the house today, the writer
23 for Sun Post? Because they misquoted me on a issue to the
24 last meeting that we had --
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Don't worry about it.
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1
MS. GREEN: They said something that Miss Green
2
said they
are going to build the building and not give
3
anything
to Overtown. I did not say that and I am glad
4
that you
did recall that meeting. I want this to be very
5
clear.
I am for the development of the Crosswinds.
6
Whatever
they want to do I would welcome it. I'm sorry,
7
Commissioner.
I will welcome any kind of development in
8
Overtown
because as far as I know and I got to bring this
9
up right
quick and I know I shouldn't but the Chapman
10
House, the
Lyric Theatre has been -- they being every line
11
getting
running for over 20 years and it's still not
12
built.
So if these people are bringing something to the
13
table and
going to build something in Overtown, then we
14
need to
get ready for it and then they are not going to
15 build it right away so while they are trying to get it
16 built we can get qualified to do whatever we have to do,
17 and I'm going to tell you I'm going to be in Overtown if I
18 have to go down to Camillus house because y'all truly
19 respect those people and I have some mattresses and I
20 don't intend to leave. So speaking of gentrification, all
21 you want -- and I think that's why Dr. King died. He died
22 that we could come together, and I could think of no
23 better way, whether it be Protestant, Jew, Gentile,
24 Chinese or whatever living in the building, they going to
25 be in their house and I'm going to be in my house. So I
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1 would love to see them come together. Maybe we will have
2 a cleaner community, because we now have a garbage can
3 community. So let me just say this right quick, and I use
4 mortgage as a synonym for rent. Believe me, if you don't
5 pay your mortgage you going to get put out and if you
6 don't pay your rent you're going to get put out.
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay.
8 MS. GREEN: So there is no difference.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right.
10 MS. GREEN: So now --
11 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you, Miss Green.
12 MS. GREEN: Let's get stop knocking stuff and be
13 ready and welcome it, because I'm sick and tired, and let
14 me just say this in reference to the one you want to speak
15 for Overtown; I can work with a snake if somebody hold its
16 head. I have no problem with that, but you have to
17 respect me if you want me to respect you. I'm a
18 74-year-old woman. You cannot get in my face 'cause I
19 don't allow my children to curse and I try not to curse
20 nobody and curse me out because I don't agree with you.
21 No, if you want respect and you going to do it in a honest
22 way -- he's very knowledgeable. He knows all the ins and
23 out of Overtown and yet he's a new kid on the block as far
24 as I'm concerned because I was here walking the street
25 barefoot and I said 74 so that means I been around a long
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1 time. So now let me tell you; we should welcome any kind
2 of development in Overtown, and those people who talking
3 about Overtowners speaking for Overtown, they don't even
4 live over here and that's why we need to postpone and try
5 to have this meeting when more people from Overtown will
6 have a voice in it, Commissioner.
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes, ma'am.
8 MS. GREEN: We talking to the sponges now who
9 come and sponge off of Overtown and give nothing back.
10 Thank you.
11 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you, Miss Green. All
12 right, Miss Green, I hope that you're not referring to me,
13 the person you are insulting.
14 MS. GREEN: No. You have never --
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, you need to clear that up
16 on the record, Miss Green. You need to say that on the
17 record 'cause see, somebody reading the records --
18 MS. GREEN: I am not talking about Commissioner
19 Teele. He might curse me behind my back, but he hasn't
20 done it to my face, and if he did, I'll be down to see
21 Miami Herald. I might have to do like Ann Marie Acker;
22 sue some people to get some things done over here. Thank
23 you.
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you, Miss Green. I just
25 -- you know, the record gets read a year later, two years
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1 later and da da da. Thank you very much again for being
2 here.
3 All right, we're going to end with these two and then
4 we're going to go on to some other aspects. Yes, sir.
5 MR. BROWN: First of all, I'd like to say that I
6 agree with the Commissioner but I'd like to ask a couple
7 of questions here because I'm not familiar with Crosswinds
8 even though I have lived in this community all my life.
9 What I am hearing is that this land is going to be donated
10 to Crosswinds and if they make a profit they pay the City
11 of Miami. Is that what I'm hearing?
12 CHAIRMAN TEELE: No, no. Let me clarify it. The
13 lands is currently owned by the CRA. The City of Miami
14 purchased the land, the City transferred the land to the
15 CRA as they transferred most of the City property. The
16 developer -- and just bear with me for one minute because
17 I think it's important to clarify two records -- the
18 developer-- the CRA and the City are in a lawsuit with a
19 developer about these four pieces of land. Actually two
20 different developers, but the same person. This developer
21 Crosswinds is coming in saying I want to settle the
22 lawsuit between the CRA and the two development entities,
23 one developer, Mr. Weitzel, and I am proposing to pay the
24 City/CRA $6.9 million to -- for the right to move forward
25 and develop these four blocks of land. The $6.9 million
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1 is based upon a concept that is well recognized but rarely
2 used in this kind of situation. The concept is fair
3 market value. In most situations -- in every situation to
4 date the City and the CRA have sold land, they have sold
5 land at highest and best use value. The difference
6 between fair market value and highest and best use is
7 substantial. It's substantial millions of dollars.
8 Whether it's 4 million or 10 million or 15 to 20 million
9 we don't know at this point, but we will know, so that's
10 sort of what is being discussed. So that it's clearly
11 disclosed here with everybody understanding -- Jay, don't
12 leave. The $6.9 million, of the 6.9, 6.4 million of the
13 6.9 will be paid to the developer Mr. Weitzel and his team
14 to -- for his costs and his injuries, and this settlement,
15 would be a fair way to say it. So the City/CRA under the
16 agreement that the Mayor and the management have agreed to
17 would only see $500,000 of the 6.9. 6.4 would go to the
18 previous developer and his development entities and
19 development team. What I'm suggesting is the right number
20 is not 6.9, it's substantially several million dollars
21 higher than that, and whatever that number is that
22
everyone
can agree to should be
put in
perpetuity
in
23
trust.
In other words, before
somebody
else comes
up with
24 some cute uses of the money, I want to take that money out
25 before somebody else comes up and says I want the money or
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1 the City or the CRA says well, let's do this, let's do
2 that, and to put that money in a perpetual trust for the
3 residents for the benefit of the historic residents of
4 Overtown. Does that answer your question?
5 MR. BROWN: Yes, but -- I agree with you, but
6 you're saying that they are going to put up 6.9 million.
7 The lands is worth a whole lot more, but the City is only
8 going to get $500,000 of it?
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: As the proposal that is on the
10 table now, the answer to that is yes, sir. The other 6.4
11 will go to the previous developer.
12 MR. BROWN: Doesn't make a whole lot of sense,
13 but I agree with what you are saying.
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, we're going to ask
15 that the staff pass -- collect the ballots for items
16 number four, five and six, I believe only four, five and
17 six.
18 MR. ROY HARDEMON: Mr. Teele, may I say --
19 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Hold on one minute.
20 MR. HARDEMON: Mr. Chair, may I speak?
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Hold on one minute, Mr. --
22 MR. HARDEMON: Commissioner, Roy Hardemon, 655
23 North 28th Street.
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Roy, good to see you here.
25 MR. HARDEMON: Thank you, sir. I just have a
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1 comment based on this Crosswinds deal and what's been
2 happening throughout the urban quarters, Commissioner.
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I'm listening.
4 MR. HARDEMON: All right. In this talking about
5 the subsidies to this Crosswinds deal, is the Crosswinds
6 getting any type of HUD dollars for their infrastructure
7 or are they going to cap this thing off, pay for it all
8 themself?
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, the answer to your
10 question is no, they're not getting HUD dollars at this
11 point for infrastructure. Yes --
12 MR. HARDEMON: Uh-huh.
13 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes, they are proposing to take
14 down about $14 million of tax increment funding, which
15 would be a grant from the City of Miami, on top of -- in
16 addition to the sales price, whatever that number is
17 agreed to.
18 MR. HARDEMON: Uh-huh. I asked that question
19 because I just think that the residents of Overtown --
20
21 (See VOLUME II, consisting of pages 201-330.)
22
23
24
25
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1 VOLUME II
2 PAGES 201-331
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and
4 gentlemen, you need to hear -- the gentleman just asked a
5 question which really hasn't come up before. Mr. Schwartz
6 made a very veiled reference to it. I'm not trying to --
7 but I think everybody needs to understand what the deal
8 is. I hope everybody just heard that the developer is
9 also proposing to receive $14 million in tax increment
10 money that is back from the development from the CRA over
11
the -- I
think it's the period 2013?
2013. My position
4
12
on that
is
-- I want everybody to hear
this now because
13
see, these
numbers are beginning --
you're beginning to
14
understand
what my frustration is.
My position is I
15
support
in
concept a tax increment support
for this
16
project
assuming
the developer pays
the highest and best
17
use for
the
land. We have done this
for developers
18 before. We just did it in midtown where we provided a
19 subsidy very similar to what they're asking for upwards of
20 let's say roughly $100 million over a 30-year period of
21 time to the developer who's building a one -build
22 development $800 million development. This development at
23 this point is about 150 million, so if you look at the
9 e:
24 math, that is not out of line in the concept. Again, but
25 it's all predicated on in my mind the developer paying the
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1 same price that everybody else pays for land or something
2 that approaches that. I will be standing before you if we
3 can agree on this supporting this developer or a mechanism
4 for this developer to receive the benefit of at least $14
5 million of more money in what is called tax increment
6 funding over the period between now and 2013 for an
7 additional $14 to $15 million, but again for me it's one
8 issue; the developer has got to pay something close to
9 what everybody else that we've sold land in Overtown has
10 been required to pay. Now, we've given a lot of land in
11 Overtown for a dollar Mount Zion Greater Beth El, Dr.
12 Fields, Black Archives, and we have the right to do that.
13 But where we have sold land, we have sold land at 110
14 percent. That's what Jackson Soul food paid; 110 percent
15 of the highest and best use value. So it's hard for me to
16 on one hand apply a standard to Overtown residents that is
17 more onerous or more financially than others. So Mr.
18 Hardemon, thank you for your question.
19 MR. HARDEMON: And -- and --
20 CHAIRMAN TEELE: But they are not getting a HUD
21 subsidy --
22 MR. HARDEMON: Okay.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: -- to speak of as yet, but who
24 knows? I am sure if there's a HUD dollar that can be
25 granted they'll come through the back door as soon as they
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1 get this deal and ask for
it and why not I
mean
I'm
not
2 penalizing the developer
like I said, this
guy
is
one of
3 the most honest guys that
I've ever dealt
with
he
says I'm
4 in this to make money and I respect that.
5 MR. HARDEMON: Commissioner, we want to make --
6 make sure -- I want to make sure that the residents stand
7 in the front door of that subsidy and when we talk about
8 the ship money, the home money, I don't -- I haven't seen
9 community development in none of these meetings, okay, and
10 these people should be held liable for the residents that
11 we talk about so much; the low income, the low and very
12 low, the ones that don't make the $13,000 to $20,000. We
13 need to make sure that these subsidies -- that the
14 residents have the right to begin to talk about them; not
15
only on this project, on all of
these projects.
The town
16
parks project we have a serious
problem because
we have
17
-- we have the less knowledge of
how we utilize
subsidies
18
and we have the best minds that
know how to use
them. You
19 all, you all need to begin to really help the residents.
20 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Look --
21 MR. HARDEMON: Own not only these apartments
22 because it don't have to be 50. If you you've got this
23 type of money in subsidies, we can own 85 percent of these
24 properties, but you got to tell the truth. Thank you.
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, Mr. Hardemon, I hope I'll
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always tell you the truth. Look, truth isn't always
pretty. First and foremost, we cannot have -- contrary to
what you've just put on the record, there's no way and
there's no need in confusing people that we going to have
80 percent of this project. If the project is being
developed as this developer is doing it based upon the
fair market value, that is the fair market value across
the board. If that's the case, then we can go and buy
anything on Brickel or downtown Miami or anywhere else.
This developer -- let's be very clear -- this development
is not a subsidized development. This developer is not
proposing and Mr. Feldman I need you to come to the table
and clarify before people start confusing the record.
This is not a subsidized development, folks. This is --
hold on. Wait one minute. This is a market -rate
development. Mr. Feldman, you need to put this on the
record before people are walking away saying 80 percent
and all of the -- of the good -- hold on, Mr. Hardemon.
Just hold on. Let Mr. Feldman -- he knows what he's going
to build. Are you telling him what he's going to build?
MR. HARDEMON: No, I'm not telling him what he's
going to build --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right. Well, let him tell
US.
MR. HARDEMON: But can I just -- can I tell you
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1 what I was speaking of so you won't distort what I'm
2 saying as far as the development being 80 percent
3 ownership of the people? All I was simply saying to you
4 is that we have abilities to reach out and be able to
5 afford Mr. Feldman or whatever his name is project, but
6 I'm looking to my people --
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Mr. Hardemon, you are 100
8 percent wrong.
The Federal government
does
not
allow you
9 to subsidize and
provide subsidies on
units
that
are going
10 to be sold at the rate they're going to be selling them.
11 I cannot take -- and there's no need in me setting up here
12 trying to lead people down the wrong road and start taking
13 subsidies and putting them down on Brickel.
14 MR. HARDEMON: It's done already, sir.
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: What? Mr. Feldman, are you --
16 would you please explain that this is a market -rate
17 development that you're proposing with price points that
18 are the same as throughout this City except how you want
19 to -- how you want to place your -- place your price
20 points in terms of a median?
21 MR. FELDMAN: It is a market -rate middle income
22 residential community. It does have a 20 percent
23 set -aside committed to by my company for those who are --
24 who earn the limits that Matt suggested, rather than not
25 talking about percentages but everybody's aware of that.
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1 Now, with -- inside the 20 percent and 50 units on a
2 1,000-unit development specifically set aside for Overtown
3 residents that have a deep, deeper subsidy -- require a
4 deeper subsidy in order to enjoy homeownership --
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Are you putting that subsidy up
6 or are you looking for the City and other organizations to
7 put the subsidy up?
8 MR. FELDMAN: I think -- Commissioner, I don't
9 know the answer to that today because we are investigating
10 a variety of opportunities that may -- that may very well
11 be presented to us, including --
12 CHAIRMAN TEELE: But it's not included in your
13 performer. It's not out of your performer. I mean, I
14 respect --
is MR. FELDMAN: Yes, sir. Yes, sir there are
16 dollars that we would contribute to this. We don't know
17 what those dollars are, obviously. It's going to have to
18 be that way to get it down into --
19 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Get it down that low.
20 MR. FELDMAN: To get it down that low.
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: But you're not committing to set
22 aside 50 that you're going to pay for and make available
23 to the Over -- I just don't want to have -- I'm trying to
24 help you.
25 MR. FELDMAN: No, sir. You were asking am I
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1 going to give 50 units; is that what you're asking?
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I want that to be very clear
3 because I don't want people calling you tomorrow saying I
4 want to be one of the 50. Are you committing to those 50
5 that you're going to do it or are you expecting --
6 MR. FELDMAN: We've committed to that in the
7 contract, sir. Yes, sir.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: That you're going to provide --
9 Matthew, you better -- you better -- you better help him
10 because he don't want to commit to what he's --
11 MR. SCHWARTZ: No, the contract's this big --
12 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I understand.
13 MR. SCHWARTZ: What it is -- no, what it is is
14 that is committed to have those units there --
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Available.
16 MR. SCHWARTZ: With another funding source for
17 the deep --
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: With other funding sources.
19 MR. SCHWARTZ: Right; there will be -- there will
20 be some money coming out of Crosswinds for that to lower
21 the price to make it feasible, but it's basically
22 outside --
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Steve -- Steve correctly said
24 he's providing a subsidy, but he's not committing to pay
25 for those 50 units, and that's all I'm trying to make sure
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that the public doesn't walk away saying that he said
something that he didn't say.
MR. FELDMAN: I appreciate that.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right. Yes, sir.
MR. JORDAN: Yeah, Mr. Teele, my name's Al
Jordon, 201 Northwest 7th Street unit 202 Poinciana
Village. I'm listening to the discussion both pro and con
and I think it's very admirable as to the difference
between the fair market value and the highest use in terms
of dollars and I am understanding that. However, my
question runs to there's a gray area that has not in my
mind been satisfied. I'd just like to take a retrospect
back in history a little bit. There have been many
projects that come into the Model Cities area -- the black
folks know about these things -- that have not developed
or in fact benefitted the masses sufficiently as far as
I'm concerned. My question to you is realizing that, you
know, your effort is to to craft money for the residents
that are going to be left in the Overtown area from this
very worthwhile development, it has not been spelled out
as to what use that money might go to, how it will be
dispersed and the various other gray areas in terms of --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, trust me, trust me on
that we have not announced or made a decision because at
this point we don't have any money.
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MR. JORDAN: Well, you --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: And until a fund can be created
-- but -- but we would have a meeting with the Overtown
residents, the Overtown Advisory Board. There would be a
lot of concentration, but my -- if you want to know my --
MR. JORDAN: Yeah.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: -- know my view is that I will
tell you my view is that a in-perpetuit trust fund would
be set up in which primarily the interest income would be
available to be expended each year. The two things that
come to mind that I would personally be pushing for very
hard would be funding for programs and activities at the
Lyric Theatre in perpetuity. You know, you can't --
MR. JORDAN: Okay, I understand.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Have theatre, and every theatre
in this country requires some kind of subsidy from
somewhere. Doesn't make sense to have a Lyric Theatre
that everybody just drives by, you can't go to watch -- so
my number one priority, and I have a bias for culture, is
to have programming at the Lyric Theatre. My second bias
is for higher education for children that live in this
Overtown and I would love to see scholarships for kids
that are going to college or trade school as a part of the
interest income from that type of trust. Those are the
kinds of things what I would be opposed to would be
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1 creating some jobs for some people to just have some --
2 some paper jobs to say that I'm running this
3 organization or that organization; things that really
4 benefit an individual as opposed to a community. But I
5 think the focus should be on children, especially trying
6 to encourage children to get an education and to go
7 forward.
8 MR. JORDAN: I -- I appreciate what you're
9 saying. My only comment has been and is in fact that
10 under the circumstances and what we stand as I see it to
11 gain by allowing Southwind to come in and develop as
12
proposed as -- I'm sorry, Crosswinds
as proposed against
13
what you're suggesting is in my mind
I'm just
not clear on
14
how those proceeds would be used. I
know you've
just said
15
something, but I believe Crosswinds
is -- has
taken the
16
time to come forward to present create
facts,
issues as to
17
what they propose, how it's going to
work, and
that in my
18
mind --
my feeble mind,
there
aren't
so many gray areas.
19
Perhaps
in more advanced
minds
there
may be, but in terms
20
of where
other monies is
going
to go,
I believe that yeah,
21
well,
after
you get
the
money
you can decide
what
you want
22
to do
but I
believe
you
bear
a responsibility
to
the
23 community to develop something --
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, we will develop --
25 MR. JORDAN: To put forth and then to say this is
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1
what you
are -- we're asking for as opposed to that and
2
this is
why we want to increase this; so that we can do
3
this. Not
just a so that we gonna have a fund somewhere
4
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, I --
5
MR. JORDAN: And that's my --
6
CHAIRMAN TEELE: I think you make a very good
7
point, but
I think that you have to start somewhere. If
8
there is
no fund, then you don't have anything to talk
9
about.
The fact of the matter is this; my position is the
10
position
that I am going to advocate and I will just say
11
so that
it's very clear to everybody; if Crosswinds does
12
wind up
with three votes and they pay less than the fair
13
market value
I'm going to basically work to ensure that
14
that all
of the subsidies that they're asking for are
15 subjected to a very difficult and process because of the
16 fact of the matter is Crosswinds is not just asking for
17 this subsidy. They are -- they're asking for a lot more
18 subsidies and we don't even know what subsidies they're
19
going to
be asking
for,
but I can tell you this; what we
20
put on the
Bobby Medura
Stadium would basically be the
21
kind of
legislation
that
I would be proposing that would
22
have the
support of
the
other Commissioners because that's
23
what we've
done in
the
past where we give away land at a
24 lower value or where land gets away and we say okay, now
25 it's yours, you develop it in accordance with your plans
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1 but don't keep coming back to us asking us for more money.
2 So I'm willing to entertain additional subsidies to
3 Crosswinds if they pay fair market value. As I said
4 today, I'm willing to support an additional $14 million
5 which by the way could go up to as much as $25 million, so
6 you know --
7 MR. JORDAN: I hear you.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All of the money shouldn't just
9 go to one entity, and that's Crosswinds. Some of the
10 money should get back into the benefit of the community,
11 and again again I think you -- you need to understand
12 from my point of view if this was just dirt I would -- I
13 may not take this so strongly, but this is Overtown land
14 for which the history of black America and Miami was built
15 on and it's not just dirt. And so I think if people drive
16 by, just like we talked about the colored precinct, that's
17 1950. That precinct is 1950. The land we're talking
18 about was land from 1896, 1897. What year was the Mary
19 Elizabeth built in; 1920 -- 1921. So I mean, we need to
20 keep all of this in perspective.
21 MR. JORDAN: Well, that's -- I understand, but
22 that was my comment.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And I appreciate very much your
24 point of view because you have a very valid point. Yes,
25 sir.
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1 MR. DONALD F. BENJAMIN: Yes.
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Hold on just a minute. If you
3 have not voted, please do so. If you have a ballot on
4 items number -- what is it? Four, five and six, please
5 raise them so that they can be collected. Go right ahead,
6 Mr. Benjamin.
7 MR. BENJAMIN: My name is Donald F. Benjamin,
8 416 Northwest 6th Street. With respect to referendum
9 four, I need a little clarification before I cast my vote
10 because it seems to me that we are assuming there would be
11 funds from Crosswinds and there is no referendum on
12 Crosswinds as far as I see.
13 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, Crosswinds has represented
14 to me that they have the vote, so I don't want to create
15 an issue that the community can stop -- I don't want to
16 mislead the community by making you believe that you can
17 stop it or make it happen or not. They said they have the
18 vote. The Mayor has said publically that he's going to
19 make it happen. I'm telling you I'm not voting for it
20 until there are some more changes being made, but it's
21 beyond -- at this point it's beyond a referendum to voice
22 that view. Apparently two Commissioners, Commissioner
23 Winton and Commissioner Sanchez have publically said that
24 they are going to vote for Crosswinds with or without any
25 kinds of conditions as one or two people have spoken for,
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1 and I respect that right. All I can say is as long as I'm
2 the Commissioner representing this direct, I am going to
3 try and get the best deal that I can for the community
4 that I represent.
5 MR. BENJAMIN: I just wonder whether we should
6 have had the opportunity to cast some sort of vote here.
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, you will when Crosswinds
8 comes up, and that's how we're going to end this. When it
9 comes up for a vote in the City, I'm going to invite
10 everybody -- I will send everybody a letter indicating my
11 support or opposition to Crosswinds and invite you to come
12 down and cast your vote at City Hall.
13 MR. BENJAMIN: Well, isn't this item a little
14 premature, wouldn't you say?
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: No, sir not at all, not at all.
16 I'm trying to catch up right now, dog. If they got three
17 votes, I'm trying to get the best deal I can for the
18 community. Yes, ma'am.
19 MS. LINDA WATSON: My name is Linda Watson, 1670
20 Northwest 4th Avenue apartment 12A. I'm sick but I still
21 come to speak up. I don't speak the English very well but
22 I still come and speak up. One question I want to ask
23 you, Mr. Commissioner, is right now the people in Overtown
24 as you know is the poorest people in Miami, the people
25 from Overtown. They can't afford to pay where they're
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1 into, you believe they could paying for a condo for 200
2 and thousand dollar? I sure they couldn't do it,
3 especially me that from one moment to the other I will be
4 in the other world and like me there's plenty of people
5 live where I live. I believe that this is to take we out
6 little by
little because that is what
happening.
They
7 taking out
people from Overtown little
by little
and I
8 will like
to stay where I am and like
me the rest
of lady
9 as old as
me said the same thing; that
they would
like to
10
stay where they are, and I
sorry
to worry you.
11
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
No, you're
not worrying me. I
12
want to hear your point of
view,
and I think part of what
13 some of us are saying is that we cannot allow development
14 to take over and consume all of Overtown. I think there's
15 a portion of Overtown that I support development, and
16 candidly I don't -- I haven't said it before because I
17 don't want to sound hostile but, you know, if the City is
18 prepared to have an auction for the Miami Arena for the
19 highest price, I'm prepared to have an auction for that
20 land for the highest price, and all over 6.9 go into a
21 fund. I mean, I've said that, too. I mean, I'm not
22 trying to stop development. I'm for development and I'm
23 for development on these four blocks. I am not for
24 development at the expense of the Overtown residents not
25 receiving any long-term benefit. That's all I'm saying,
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1 and all of the benefit the way the deal is being
2 negotiated right now is going for the benefit of the
3 developer. I
don't blame the developer. If you can find
4 cheap money --
if you can
find cheap land, buy it. I'd
5 buy it, you'd
buy it.
There's nobody in here -- but
6 somebody, and
it falls
my lot at this moment, has got to
7 say you can't
have the
land cheap without putting
8 something back
into the
community. That's all that I'm
9 saying, and I'm prepared to support additional subsidies
10 for this developer based upon the quality of the product
11 that they're building. They are not building a
12 skyscraper, which they could build, or a 30-story. They
13 are proposing to build primarily 7 to 9 stories that --
14 with one or two towers that will be 17 stories, 18
15 stories, something that will fit into the community. I
16 mean, I don't mean to give the developer a hard time at
17 all. I think the developer is trying to balance in some
18 ways the uniqueness of Overtown, the history of Overtown
19 with the pure opportunity just to make money, but the fact
20 of the matter is the biggest subsidy that this developer
21 is looking for is from the City of Miami from the CRA both
22
in terms of
the value of the lands,
the
TIF (sic) and
23
other grant
opportunities, and I'm
not
blaming the
24 developer.
25 MS. WATSON: Yeah.
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1 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I was
simply
saying; one, that
2 this developer, who appears to
be a quality
developer, has
3 got to put more money into this
project
to support the
4 people who are not going to be
able to
move in there from
5 Overtown and, you know, this thing has
turned into almost
6 like into a lottery; everybody's
waving
the 50 -- the 50
7 people who will be in there and saying this is going to
8
benefit
Overtown. Well, I don't choose to agree with
9
that. I
mean, I think it's going to benefit those 50. I
10
think it's
going to be positive. I think it's going to be
11
positive
for the City of Miami, the development, but for
12
Overtown
per se, these four blocks are not going to
13
benefit
Overtown from my vantage point. It's going to
14
gentrify
Overtown. In 20 years the Town Hall meetings
15
will not
be looking like anything like this. It's going
16
to be a
whole different view. The issues are going to be
17
different.
They're going to be complaining about the
18
noise from
the Longshoremen and where they're parking.
19
They're
going to be complaining about this, there's going
20
to want
to be other kinds of churches and temples and all
21
of this
and you know, and that's all a part of -- you
22 know, you can't freeze time. But what we can do is make
23 sure that those 9,000 to 10,000 and their children that
24 live in Overtown have a way out to move up the ladder, and
25 I'm suggesting that the scholarship funds and those kinds
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1 of things should be made available and so we can all say
2 we're
proud of
the development.
So somebody's living in
3 public
housing
and let's say face
it, the statistics are
4 75, 80
percent
of the people in
Overtown live in some form
5 of subsidized
housing or public
housing. We have not even
6 talked
about public
housing here
at all but, you know,
7 that's
the core
of what's there.
Those children should
8
have the right
to
get
out
and to go up, and all that I'm
9
saying is I'm
not
trying
to
put the whole thing on
this
10
developer. We
got
to
work
with this developer and
other
11
developers to
come
in
and
come in with strategies,
but at
12
the end of the
day
my
goal
as the Commissioner is
to say
13
this building
is going
to
be built here and there
will be
14 for the next 100 years some benefit that will accrue to
15 the residents, whoever they are in Overtown, the historic
16 residents, whatever they are. And I think the general
17 makes a good point; well, we want to see more definition
18
of what
it is. I've
said very
clearly scholarships, Lyric
19
Theatre.
Someone
has
suggested
-- I think the Collins
20 Center has suggested a banking facility such as a credit
21
union.
I am not opposed to
that.
I would be supportive
22
of those
kind of things if
that's
what the community felt
23
would be
helpful. But if there's
no money, there's
24
nothing
talk about. All of
this
thing becomes an academic
25
theoretical
discussion and
I don't
think that we've got
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1 the cart in front of the horse by having that kind of
2 discussion, so thank you very much and yes, ma'am.
3
MS. WATSON: You asked that gentleman the
4
question.
5
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay.
6
MS. WATSON: And he told you that he couldn't
7
answer
it today. What mean to say when they finish there
8
will be
some change? If he can't answer it today, what
9
mean to
say when they finish there's something different
10
will come
out? Remember that.
11
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you for your point of
12
view.
13
MR. HARDEMON: Commissioner, can I get a point
14
order?
One point of order is about --
is
CHAIRMAN TEELE: You can always get a point of
16
order,
Brother Hardemon.
17
MR. HARDEMON: It's about the -- the comment on
18
telling
the truth. The comment wasn't directed to you.
19
It was
directed to the point of having the proper
20
information
when it comes down to the subsidies when I was
21
talking
about Miss Rodriguez --
22
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Right.
23
MR. HARDEMON: -- and her program, HUD. That's
24
what I
was talking about; have those type of people to
25
come in
and bring the proper information. That's what I
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1 meant.
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And you make a very good point
3 and I apoligize if I misstated your point of view.
4 MR. MEL REEVES: Commissioner Teele, you make a
5 good point. I think about raising the fact that the
6 Crosswinds people aren't paying --
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: We need to get --
8 MR. REEVES: Yeah, I gave her my -- Mel Reeves is
9 my name. You make a good point. In fact, to me that's
10 what makes this meeting to me a little more problematic.
11 I mean, if we were going to galvanize the community, it
12 seems to me it would make more sense to have sent out
13 notices for the meeting two weeks ahead of time or a month
14
ago and we could have
galvanized the community for
a real
15
fight around this, so
I'm a little puzzles by, you
know,
16
the fact that this was
done kind of a last minute
deal
17
when you are saying
that you have issues with
the
18
development, and I agree
with you; the onus is
not
on the
19
developer, the onus
is on the City of Miami,
and I
think
20
if they're giving up
tax -- nobody's talking
about
this --
21
the tax increment financing,
just by the very
word
taxes,
22
everybody knows that
we pay the taxes. It's
our money
23 that basically they're going to put back into these guys'
24 program and to a parking lot. So on that level at least
25 from my simple addition, we have some kind of leverage in
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1 this thing, right?
So
I think what it would behoove you
2 to do is to help us
to
get what we can out of this, and
3 you keep saying it
but
I think we ought to talk
4 specifically. For
example,
I've been working with some
5 folks who already have
apprenticeship programs. The South
6 Florida Work Force
is
talking about creating one, but why
7 do that when we have folks in the Overtown community who
8 work with the -- like the young man spoke earlier, the
9 iron workers, Al Huston with the laborers, the carpenters.
10 They have -- they have apprenticeship programs that are
11 already working and successful. They have members in the
12 neighborhood. Why don't we have these guys put into the
13 contract as folks who can provide the apprenticeship
14 programs that they're saying they want? Why don't we make
15 sure there's a way to maintain these houses. Remember he
16 said in the set aside they're setting aside 200 houses.
17 Now, folks, you all need to understand this; they won't
18 exist forever, and he said earlier they'll be able to sell
19 them back at market rate. Well, we need to maintain these
20
houses. If there's going to be
some benefit
for Overtown
21
residents, you have to maintain
the houses.
You can't set
22
aside 50 and allow them to sell
it at market
rate next
23
year. That won't work. Then you're
right;
that will be
24
totalling gentrified, so I think
we do have
pressure
25
points that we can -- that we can
leverage the
City and I
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1 think it behooves you to help organize us, or help
2 organize the community. Call another meeting. Why don't
3 you give people enough time where we can actually have a
4 decent discussion. This is only -- I've counted -- 75
5 folks. This is
not really
representative
of
the
6 community, and
I think in
order to really
get
this done
7 you've got to call folk out and say this is what we want
8
to have happen.
I think people will support
you. The
9
other important
thing I think you have to do
is in years
10
past every time
something gets built in this
town --
11
everybody knows
this is true -- the paperwork
gets
12
written, what we
want gets written down, but
there's no
13
oversight, and I
think again it behooves your
office to
14 make sure we have -- help us make sure we have real
15 oversight, have real live people on oversight committee
16 like Irby, people like Del or people sitting around in
17 this room.
18
MS.
GREEN: Have sister Rosa.
19
MR.
REEVES: Have sister Rosa,
people who are
20
serious, who
have Overtown's concern at
their -- at their
21
heart who are
passionate about Overtown
ought to be on
22 these. In other words, we'll get everything we want in
23 these contracts, but if nobody's watching, folks, we will
24 look out and watch this Crosswinds development being built
25 by people who don't look like us. Now, somebody tell me
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1 I'm not telling the truth here.
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE:
True, true.
3 MR. REEVES: We
need to have real
oversight.
4 That's something that we
can do. I think
we can
argue and
5 fuss, but you're right;
this thing is coming,
so
let's get
6 what we can out of this
thing. I -- if it
was up
to me
7 I'd say hey, I don't want
any development
if it's
not
8 going to benefit folks.
But it's coming.
Let's
get what
9 we can out of it.
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: If I could just very briefly
11 respond. This development process, I would like for you
12 to think that it's being done in a neat quadrant. The
13 manager and the Mayor and one of the Commissioners had
14 been meeting with the developer I learned about three
15 weeks ago for seven months longer than I even knew that
16
the discussions were being held.
I was brought in on the
17
discussions when they had a deal
in March and they were
18
preparing to bring that to the commission
in March. As
19
late as yesterday at -- it's not
funny to me, Mr. Bloom.
20
As late as yesterday at what, one
o'clock? The developer
21
and I were negotiating, talking,
and a substantial number
22
of changes for the benefit of the
community were made. In
23
the presentation that you have here
today, for example, if
24
you look at 9th Street, the white
parking lot that's there
25
now, the parking lot primarily which
we're looking at
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1 where it's on the corner of 3rd Avenue and 9th Street,
2 that was added at one o'clock yesterday to address the
3 issue that the developer is aware that I'm concerned about
4 parking for the Lyric Theatre and the Longshoremen as late
5 as two
o'clock yesterday -- one
o'clock yesterday. Is
6 that a
fair statement, Matthew?
100 percent
-- you need
7 to say
it on the record, I mean,
because all
of this is
8 being
-- I want to clean up the
record just a
little bit
9 about
the time lines and all of
that because,
you know,
10 I'd like for everybody to think this is a neat and tidy
11 process, but there are going to be a whole lot of more
12
meetings held at the last minute if you want
input. Now,
13
if you don't want to have any input I'm not going
to call
14
any meetings, but I can tell you right now you
will not
15
get two -week notice and three-week notice of
a meeting.
16
You'll probably get 72-hour notice at maximum
because the
17
City moves on a 24-hour notice basis, so to everybody
who
18
expects notice greater I apologize. I wish I
could do
19
something different, but if we had met a week
ago we would
20
not have any -- most of the issues that we're
talking
21
about now were not even on the table a month
ago. In
22
fact, in March the developer absolutely said
they are not
23
going to change the number at all from 6.9.
At least at
24
this point the developer is talking about it.
So folks,
25 you know, it's not a pretty picture. It's sort of like
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1 watching sausage get made. So everybody who wants more
2 time or notice, when we had the last Town Hall meeting we
3 gave three weeks notice and I think a total of 95 people
4 cast their votes in the highest referendum, 95. I mean,
5 we have the actual vote tallies here. Three-week notice.
6 Two mailings that were received three weeks before. In
7 fact, the people -then said well, give us notice the week
8 of; we got the notice and forgot about the meeting and
9 that kind of thing. So folks, we put the notice in the
10 Miami Times, we put the notice in the Miami Herald, the --
11 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: (Unintelligible.)
12 CHAIRMAN TEELE: The clerk's office, did you all
13 not get -- hold on one minute. Madam Clerk, when did the
14 notice go into the Miami Herald? That's the formal notice
15 for all the -- all documents in a newspaper of general
16 circulation.
17 MS. THOMPSON: Our office met the deadline. It
18 was in yesterday's paper, sir. Given when we were given
19 the notice, it was in yesterday's Miami Herald.
20 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: (Unintelligible.)
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: It was in Miami Times.
22 MS. THOMPSON: It was.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And on the website? Okay, but
24 look, I apologized about the notice. You know, the
25 question that I have to decide, do I really want to
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1 subject
myself
to anymore
of these kinds of
meetings,
2 because
I can't
give you
notice much greater
than I'm
3 doing just --
4 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: (Unintelligible.)
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Hold on, ma'am. You got to get
6 on the record and say it on the mic, please, and please
7 don't keep coming back on the Overtown Advisory Board.
8 Look, I am totally responsible for this meeting and
9 calling this meeting and I apologize to anyone who feels
10 that they didn't have enough time. We have as many people
11 today as we had two years ago who were casting votes when
12 there was three-week notice being given. Now, one of the
13 things that will happen, and I can assure you that the
14 manager staff and anybody who wants to nitpick this
15
process will
use the
comments that
are being made now
to
16
say well, it
doesn't
matter because
they didn't have
time
17 so let's disregard it. So just keep that in mind how you
18 play into other agendas. The manager and I are in total
19 disagreement on the concept that this developer is going
20 to pay $6.9 million take it or leave it, and the fact that
21
I was told
that the votes
are
there,
you
know, only
22
strengthens
me to say that
the
votes
may
be there but the
23
public
is going to
be
accountable
and
know what the
deal
24
is. So
the point
that
I want to
make
to everyone is
this;
25 this deal is a moving target. This deal is a development
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1 deal that the developer is being very, very positive,
2 very, very forthright, and he is at the table with 100
3 different entities from the Mayor, the manager,
4 Commissioner Winton's office, my office, the CRA and
5 everybody's got a different agenda and I hope I'm stating
6 it fairly, Steve. So I can only represent the agenda that
7 I understand as it relates to the people of Overtown and
8 I'm going to continue to do that. If you don't want to
9
give me advice
in this
a formal setting
-- and we can do
10
it this way; I
can put
a toll -free number
in, a dedicated
11
line, and the
next time
we'll just let
everybody call in
12
and give their
comments.
But the point
I'm trying to do
13
is I'm trying
to reach
out and make sure
that the
14 community has information other than the information that
15 you read in the newspaper or what somebody who's on a
16 consultant are being asked or assigned to come out and say
17
what you are
being --
what they want you
to know
or what I
18
want you to
know; you're
hearing a full
dialogue
back and
19
forth, and I
think that's
helpful. But
I want to
again
20
apologize to
anybody,
anyone who feels that
they
didn't
21
get adequate
notice.
The notice that was
given was
the
22
best we could
do under
the circumstances
and we will
try
23 to do better; however, and this is the most important
24
point,
if you
have an
opinion
about this
development you
25
will be
given
adequate
notice
to come to
the City
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1 Commission meeting for you to speak for you, not on behalf
2 of Overtown but for you to come down and say how you feel
3 about this project based upon what has happened today,
4 what is going to happen between now and the vote on this.
5 I'm saying publically I want to support this project. I
6 have great trepidations about it. I recognize it's going
7 to gentrify, I recognize those things. I'm prepared to
8 swallow a part on that provided there are some long-term
9 benefits for the residents of Overtown, and I don't know
10 how I can say it any more than that what they are. We can
11 negotiate, we can talk, but there's got to be something in
12 it for more than the hundred or the thousand people that
13 are going to be living in those units and the developer
14 and the investors who are in this deal. Finally, on this
15 discussion I -- this is not a political statement. I will
16 not endorse you --
17 MR. JAY LOVE: Me?
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: -- or oppose you, but I do want
19 to acknowledge a candidate who is running for Mayor who
20 has been here since nine o'clock. It is now one o'clock.
21 We all know politicians walk in for ten minutes and leave,
22 and so I just want to acknowledge the candidate for the
23 Mayor of Miami Dade County. This is not an endorsement.
24 Why not, huh? Jay Love. Let's give Jay a hand for coming
25 in and Jay, thank you for taking the time. Thank you very
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much for taking the time.
Yes, ma'am?
MS. ANNIE SMITH: My name is Annie Smith. I live
at 1620 Northwest 4th Avenue apartment 13A. Commissioner,
first of all I want to thank you and the board of
Directors for what they have done for Town Park Village.
My second question is what is going to be done about the
Dorsey Library? The second one -- the third one is we
haven't said anything about our senior citizen. Those is
my questions, and I really, really appreciate Town Park
village because it's been a long, long time now.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Which village are you in?
MS. SMITH: Town Park Village.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Village, okay (unintelligible).
You the village, right? Okay.
MS. SMITH: Mr. Jones is the President and Miss
Slater is the Vice President.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay, thank you so much. The
D.A. Dorsey library, how many of you know where it is,
raise your hand. Mr. Dorsey, who was one of the first
millionaires in Miami, he loaned money to Mr. Burdines to
organize and get Burdines started, gave a lot of lands to
public bodies.
MS. SMITH: He did.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Including Miami Dade County
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1 School System, where he gave hundreds of acres and
2 including the City of Miami where he gave some lands. At
3 the time the City of Miami ran its own library system and
4 he donated the lands and built a library and that library
5 is in the most horrible state of disrepair of any
6 City -owned building that you can talk about.
7 MS. SMITH: Yes.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: It's located at?
9 MS. SMITH: In Northwest 1st Avenue.
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: 17th and lst Avenue, 1700 1st
11 Avenue, and the City has put it at my request, asked that
12 -- management has put it on the list to make sure that the
13 historic preservation designations are done and we have
14 approved --
is UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: Do you all have it in
16 your plan?
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: We are in the process now of
18 approving the money to do the engineering to upgrade to
19 stabilize the building and to maintain it as a building.
20 It's a wonderful piece of history of this City but it
21 speaks volumes of again the people who built Miami and who
22 built Overtown.
23 MS. SMITH: That's right.
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Like Mr. D.A. Dorsey, so thank
25 you for bringing it to our attention.
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MS. SMITH: If you don't do something about it,
it's going to cave in.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well you know what? This would
be a good opportunity -- maybe would you agree to serve as
an interim chair of the D.A. Dorsey Library Restoration
Committee?
MS. SMITH: Any way I can help.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: And then we'll just begin to
organize. See, government respondents to footsteps and
the reason the police precinct is moving so as fast is
because these people that are still here, they not running
out, have been down there hours and hours days and days
weeks and weeks fighting to get that police station
restored.
MS. SMITH: Would --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: I will join with you and work
with you, but we got to have people to go out there and
I'm so sure the Dorsey family, D.A. Dorsey family, which
really is underrecognized by all of us --
MS. SMITH: That's true.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: And the City will join you and
we'll talk to them about that.
Chelsa, would you -- that's outside of the
redevelopment area, I'm sorry. Brenda, would you make
sure that we get this as a note and as a request coming
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from the community?
MS. SMITH: Just let me know and I'll be there.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Lance, would you like to be on
that committee as well? Okay, all right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: That's the gentleman
standing.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Dr. Fields is asking to be on
the committee, the Masonic Lodge wants to come on board.
Anybody else? So let's get it on the record now so we can
move forward with that, and one other action item coming
out of this, Madam Clerk will be a --
(End of CD #5.)
CHAIRMAN TEELE: -- a referendum to form a D.A.
Dorsey Library Restoration Committee. All those in favor
say aye.
COLLECTIVE: Aye.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Is there anybody going to be
against this?
MS. GREEN: No, not against it, but let me just
say something.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Oh --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: Oh, my God.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Let the record reflect a
unanimous vote of the remaining people present on --
MS. GREEN: Back again, Rosa Green. I think I
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1
resurected that library,
and I understand that $50,000 has
2
already been donated to a
individual but I mention it to
3
the historic preservations
and that lady has mentioned it,
4
she has it on the books,
she has appeared before the
5
County that that place is
to be restored and I don't -- I
6
can't understand why it wasn't
included in the Lyric
7
Theatre because it was the
same D.A. Dorsey, so we don't
8
need all these different
kinds of committee, Commissioner,
9
because when you get too
many committees they stand in the
10
welfare line and we never
get it done. Let's just go with
11
the Historic Preservation
so we can get that thing, that
12
ball a rolling because I'm
going to be filing the
13
paperwork.
14
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
Thank you.
15
MS. GREEN: And
I would like to be on the
16
committee.
17
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
Well, you just said don't get a
18
committee and then you said
--
19
MS. GREEN: I said
on the committee that's
20
supposed to be doing it.
I want to know what they doing
21
'cause I know y'all going
to do it anyway.
22
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
Well, you just told me don't
23
form the committee but now
you said you want to be -- so
24
we're going to put you on
it and hopefully you're going to
25
try to do it. Yes, ma'am.
Now on elder -- you raised the
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question of senior citizens.
MS. SMITH: That's right, I did raise the
question.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: And madam, Mr. Net Director,
would you like to respond to that?
MR. SMITH: Well, right now there's a seniors
program at the Culmer Center and we trying to work with
that senior's program and Jesca actually is the program
coordinator for that to help upgrade and improve the
program activities. It's been my understanding that Miss
Reddick and others have been concerned about the program
activities and they'd like to see more things, so we're
trying to work with them and get resources.
MS. SMITH: Mr. Smith?
MR. SMITH: Yes.
MS. SMITH: I been around a long time.
MR. SMITH: Yes, ma'am.
MS. SMITH: And I want to say how long?
CHAIRMAN TEELE: How long?
MS. SMITH: How long? I'm 74 years old and I
want to ask you how long. I was here when they started
it. How long is that we going to have to suffer at the
hands of others? We was once the prime people that went
out here and worked and caused this, but then when we get
old we're throwed to the -- to the side and not
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recognized. Only thing we get is words. We get sometime
food we don't like to eat, so everything especially the
food need to be improved.
MR. SMITH: Yes, ma'am.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right.
MS. SMITH: And there's no refreshen (sic) it's
just terrible for us to be seniors, so -- and I -- I'm not
trying to make a big thing out of it.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, look --
MS. SMITH: I'm --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: You're right here at the right
time and this is the right place. Look, we just took CD
-- community development applications. They just closed
on the -- I think on the loth of June. We'll be
allocating money. We did not receive -- and just bear
with me -- we didn't receive to my knowledge one
application for a senior's program in Overtown. Now, now
hold on one minute. We need to take what you're saying
under advisement right here right now. I'm happy that
Commissioner Burke is here in the audience taking notes
and I'm going to ask -- and usually some executive because
we've got to bring this to a close. I'm going to ask
Mount Zion if they will initially take the lead and let's
do an assessment review and let's see how we can come up
with some programs for the seniors, and I will commit to
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1 find some pilot funding within the next -- between now and
2 the middle of September when our budget year starts to see
3 how we can address this issue.
4 MS. SMITH: All right, I will get with Deborah
5 Ross.
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: There's -- do you know
7 Commissioner Burke right here, Jimmy Burke, and --
8 MS. SMITH: Yeah, I know Commissioner Burke.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: He's a great man and we're very
10 happy that Mount Zion has retained him. Let's give
11 Commissioner Burke another hand for staying the course and
12 he's a model to all of us for coming back and fighting for
13 the community.
14 MS. SMITH: Okay.
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: We will agree to that. This is
16 what I am going to try to do now as a matter of executive
17 decision we will have another Town Hall meeting within the
18 next 30 days, before the Crosswinds vote. There will only
19 be two items for discussion; Crosswinds and the CRA
20 five-year plan. Chelsa, does that help you? Where is
21 Chelsa? She left? She went home.
22 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: No, no. She's here.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: So what we will do is we will
24 bring -- we will bring those people back that would like
25 to come back. We will not provide more than 72-hour
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1 notice in all probability. We'll try to do five days but
2 we want to get -- right when the Crosswinds matter is
3 going to go before the City Commission. Are you -- are
4 y'all trying to take that up on June loth, Steve? Did the
5 Cross -- Steve, are you all trying to get that up on June
6 10th?
7 MR. FELDMAN: We'd like to put it on.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right. We'll entertain -- I
9 mean, I know that Crosswinds has been very anxious to get
10 it moving. We'll try to -- it would probably come up on
11 June 24th or a special commission meeting. I probably
12 would favor a special commission meeting, but we'll
13 discuss that with Crosswinds and we'll try to have a
14 meeting so that the final Crosswinds deal will at least be
15 there and hopefully that will reduce the need for people
16 to feel that they need to come to City Hall if you choose
17 to and we'll do the CRA plan at that time. What I'm going
18 to do is ask the Black Archives to come forth and limiting
19 them to five minutes or whatever, John Hall, you say you
20 needed to leave. That's why he wanted to get ahead. To
21 Dr. Fields, and with that we're going to open the door to
22 everyone to make any comments you'd like.
23 Before we do, there are two other items we're going
24 to vote on today. One of them is the Lyric Theatre, which
25 we will vote on by voice vote, and the other one will be
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1 designating the Clyde Killens Plaza. Does anyone here
2 object to the area directly in front of Mr. Killens' house
3 and underneath the Metro Rail station going to the Judge
4 Thomas office there which is called 2nd Avenue mini park,
5 that area in front of Clyde Killens house that we started
6 looking
at building
a plaza there
where
people
can have to
7 sort of
sit around,
play checkers,
chess
and do
what
8 they're doing already anyway without it being organized
9 and that -- make it more comfortable, at least have a
10 toast to Clyde is there anybody here who's against that?
11 And can we then ask that the Overtown Advisory Board
12 chairman -- no, could we ask Miss Rosa Green, could we ask
13 to make -- could we ask the Overtown Adisory Board
14
Chairman to make
a motion to approve the designation
of
15
the Clyde Killens
Plaza along 2nd Avenue at llth Street
16
south to the mini
park --
17
TOKEN6:
(Unintelligible) Mr. chair I offer
a
18
motion that the we
approve the area along northwest
Second
19
Avenue and llth street
south to the mini park as the
Clyde
20
Killens Plaza in
honor of a gentleman that provided
21 entertainment and accurately put the designation of Little
22 Broadway on the map.
23 DR. FIELDS: Second the motion.
24
CHAIRMAN
TEELE: The motion is
second
by
Dr.
25
Fields. Is there
objection from anyone
here?
All
those
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1 in favor say aye.
2 COLLECTIVE: Aye.
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All opposed? Let the record
4 reflect that it was unanimously adopted by a voice vote.
5 We're going to hear now from Dr. Fields we will also hear
6 from the Overtown civic partnership or any other CDC or
7 organization that wants to be heard. Then we'll hear from
8 the public. Thank you. Dr. Fields.
9 DR. FIELDS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ladies and
10 gentlemen, it's important that we're here today. You can
11 hear from my voice that I have -- I'm under the weather,
12 but it was important to be here today for this historic
13 meeting. Just to say that Clyde Killens certainly was an
14 entrepreneur, a term that I think we have forgotten and
15 don't use enough, and so I might start off by saying that
16 at the turn of the 20th century, Booker T. Washington, who
17 was a national educator and President of course of the
18 National Negro Business League, promoted business
19 development and real estate, and the record shows that in
20 cities all over this country including Miami blacks owned
21 and operated successful businesses, owned their own homes,
22 owned -- homeownership was important. Certainly at the
23 turn of the 20th century and in Miami by 1915, blacks in
24 Miami Dade County owned $800,000 worth of land, so land
25 ownership and business development certainly is not new to
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1 us and is something that we cannot lose. The Commissioner
2 mentioned the term paved over a few minutes ago or an hour
3 ago -- I can't
remember now -- but as he
mentioned that I
4 thought very
quickly about three places
that I've -- two
5 places that I've
visited and one that I
have heard about
6 recently that
has been paved over. That
is a community
7 where blacks
started, owned businesses,
owned homes, had
8 vibrant communities like Overtown and now development came
9
in and there's
nothing left
because it's been
paved over.
10
How many of you
have been to
West Palm Beach
recently?
11
Well, if you go
to West Palm
Beach and you go
to Center
12
City -- we were
at a chamber
meeting and they
was --
13 everybody was so excited; you got to go to Center City,
14 you got to go Center City. So me, I'm excited about going
15 to Center City because I've got relatives from Palm Beach
16 and so I'm thinking that I can at least tell them that I
17 was downtown. And when I went to -- when I got to Center
18 City, look up at the sign, I mean, I saw Macy's and all
19 this beautiful development. I mean just development.
20 Look up at the sign and the sign said Sapadilla and I went
21 to the next street and it said Tamaron. So the tears lust
22 started streaming. So I called my cousin. I said, "The
23 sign says Sapadilla and Tamaron. What happened?"
24 She said, "Child, the developers came, we didn't have
25 a chance to do anything and that's what you see." She
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1 said, "There were black people who fronted for them and we
2 believed them and we lost everything."
3 Now, that's one example. I went to Ebo City. I have
4 not been to Ebo City, but I understand in Ebo City it's
5 the same thing. We had an opportunity about two years ago
6 thanks to the Collins Center and Phil Bacon and the
7 Overtown Civic Partnership to go to Pittsburgh so I have
8 daughter who lives in Pittsburgh, daughter and son-in-law
9 and family and I said well, we must go to the Manchester
10 Craftsman's Guild because that's what we want for the Folk
11 Life Village. These are cultural entrepreneurs, these
12 individuals in this culture and hospitality and tourism
13 who are cultural entrepreneurs. They -- it's a cottage
14 industry that is home -based businesses. That's what we
15 want in the village. We want the people who are involved
16 in the culture and in the performing and literary arts to
17 be able to own a place right there on 2nd Court, live
18 upstairs, work downstairs. And the downstairs would be a
19 gallery for you to come and look; you can see them
20 training. I mean, Manchester's Craftsman Guild is already
21 there, but we were told you are here for housing and I
22 didn't understand. I didn't understand. We made
23 arrangements to go and see Manchester. They said, well,'
24 we can see it on the way to the airport. And we did, but
25 when we got to the development, a beautiful housing
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1 development and again we looked around. All new, new
2 construction, and in the community center they had a wall
3 with some beautiful pictures. The pictures of the negro
4 baseball league. And I said that's wonderful. Where was
5 it? On this land. Again, the land is gone and except for
6 a few pictures there was nothing there to show the
7 indigenous people. We cannot let this happen. We have
8 been working, we the Black Archives, and this is what John
9 was going to say; that the Black Archives have been
10 working with Crosswinds and as you can see from the map
11 that you have that we are coming to some understanding
12 about helping to preserve the culture. Mr. Chairman, I
13 had hoped that this referendum would have included the
14 Folk Life Village because it is there as a living history
15 process that we'll not only be able to preserve the
16 history but make it a destination of choice because
17 Overtown is a place of value. It's important to us that
18 homeownership and that the ownership of the land -- that
19 the people have some ownership of the land. We've talked
20 -- this is one of the things that we've talked with them
21 -- to Crosswinds about, which we have not been able to
22 come to an understanding on, but know that we are
23
continuing to talk and we are
look --
we are working now
24
with the Convention Bureau in
helping
to develop work
25
force development and working
through
the Overtown
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1 Advisory Board work force development in culture,
2 hospitality and tourism, and Mr. Chair, we have submitted
3 a grant proposal to
community development to help
develop
4 the infrastructure
that we need for the programs
that we
5 have and we certainly hope that as we move on with this
6 project that the things that are being considered will --
7 the things that are being considered will get funding,
8 because without the funding for the projects, then all of
9 this will be for nought. I'll end by saying that I --
10 someone said to me the other day do you really expect to
11 keep the Lyric Theatre? Do you know that that's one of
12
the reasons that
you don't have parking;
because they --
13
and it's always a
very nebulous group --
don't want you to
14
have it? I said
well, I know that's not
Chairman Teele
15
because I know he
understands the issues
of parking.
16
We've talked with Matthew and talked with
Stephen
and
they
17
seem to understand the issues of parking
and the
fact
that
18
we need to have a viable theatre in order
for all
of
this
19
to work.
Amenities
-- when people come
for housing, they
20
need to
have goods
and services. Again,
for the Folk Life
21
Village
we're looking
to do cultural entrepreneurship
so
22
that the
live -work
units will be an area
where people can
23
live and
work, and
an example that we're
using is the --
24
one of them
is the
Manchester Craftsman
Guild in
25 Pittsburgh. There are many successful programs like that
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1 throughout the country. And Mr. Chair, I would hope that
2 we'd have an opportunity to investigate some of the others
3 so we can use the best of what others are doing for
4 entrepreneurship. Thank you.
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Dr. Fields, Dr. Fields, please give
6 Dr. Fields a hand. Dr. Fields, it never amazes me the
7 depth by which you make your presentations and you know,
8 we can always find things to disagree on if we look for it
9 but I don't think -- it's very difficult for anyone to not
10 first of all understand that the Lyric Theatre is so much
11 a part of the legacy of Overtown. We talk about
12 entertainment, we talk about you know -- Steve, did he
13 leave? Steve misquoted me on one thing. He said when you
14 and I -- he and I talked, we talked about entertainment.
15 We talked about that. I said Overtown is essentially two
16 things, entertainment and its religious institutions, and
17 he left out religious institutions while Reverend Ross was
18 here, so I want somebody to tell Reverend Ross that I did
19 say that, but in a word when you talk about the night
20 clubs and what were the night clubs, Irby?
21 CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: The Mary Elizabeth, Sir John,
22 the Fiesta Club. Yes.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I thought the Fiesta, that was
24 the night club?
25 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: And Allen club.
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1 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Allen Club, but --
2 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: Of course.
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Hold up. I'm going somewhere.
4 This is very important.
5 MR. JESSE W. HILL: As a young man --
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Your name for the record.
7 MR. HILL: My name is Hill, Jesse W. Hill. I
8 started my career in music pretty early. My oldest
9 brother James Hill, alto saxophone player, Jesse Hill,
10 yours truly, alto and clarinette, my twin sister piano and
11 alto, and my youngest brother who was a excellent tenor
12 saxophone player. Now, I go way back in music. I'll be
13 76 on my next birthday, so when you start talking about
14 entertainment on 2nd Avenue, 2nd -- music entertainment
15 you can't forget who we call Bill Rivens, The Rockin
16 Palace. Everybody that came to Miami, I don't care where
17 you came from; Chicago, New York, California, you came to
18 the Rock. Next door at the Reno Bar they had one of the
19 best tenor saxophone players you want to -- you want to
20 listen to. His name was Pascal. Pascal quit, but he was
21 -- he was one hell of a tenor saxophone player. Also a
22 good tenor man was Leroy Lange, who stayed on 2nd Avenue
23 and 6th Street right on the corner. There was -- there
24 was several -- well, Willis Jackson, Willis Jackson came
25 along a few years in front of me but he was the top man in
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1 Miami in 19 -- when you start talking about entrepreneurs
2 and promotors, you got to mention the top man Bill Rivens.
3 He had the amateur hour. He started with it. Just across
4 the street over here, and I was about 14, they had the
5 Fiesta
Club, which was
later
turned into
a cleaners.
Then
6 it went
to 3rd Avenue,
pried
the door at
3rd Avenue.
I
7 was about 11 years old when the Fiesta was on 3rd Avenue
8 to -- 3rd Avenue to 6th Terrace. Incidentally, Cafe
9 Society came along in the later years. I was in school up
10 in Georgia. My brother at the age of 16 years old played
11 tenor Cafe Society. 16 years old making $100 a week,
12 twice as much as a man that was making in labor. So
13 entertainment and the top entrepreneurs I mentioned.
14
Entertainment, it was almost
-- if you ever
been
to New
15
Orleans and you go down the French
Quarters,
you
can start
16
on 5th Street. First you hit
the Mary Elizabeth
Hotel.
17
Sir John ran from 3rd Avenue
to 2nd Avenue.
You
walked
18
down 2nd Avenue, you into more
lounge sounds
like
across
19
the street the Mary Elizabeth
Lounge. Odell
was
opened
20 when I was at high school right about '43, 7th Street and
21
3rd Avenue. The lounge
came along later.
You cross the
22
street, 8th Street
and
2nd Avenue you at
the Lyric
23
Theatre. The next
place
Reno Bar across
the street was
24
Chop Suey and next
door
to the Chop Suey
was -- well, 8th
25
Street, 2nd Avenue
was
Open Door and the
chef that cooked
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1 the steaks next to
2 DR. FIELDS: Famous chefs.
3 MR. HILL: Yeah, famous chefs. Then you go on
4 down it's the Ritz Theatre, then next to Ritz Theatre you
5 got Mr. Dorsey and then the place that was -- I forgot
6 Baby Cones.
7 DR. FIELDS: Yes.
8 MR. HILL: You walk across the street and you got
9 -- you got the Harlem Square and they had the biggest
10 dance floor and the largest balcony in the State of
11 Florida. So all those places you go -- well, when I was
12 small then Shelley Ward was on 3rd Avenue and 9th Street,
13 who later during those times moved to 15th Avenue and
14 about 67th Street.
15 DR. FIELDS: Yeah.
16 MR. HILL: So those were the places.
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right.
18 MR. HILL: And as I grew up and I used to walk
19 around and all these bars was in -- right here in Overtown
20 and all of them stayed full and I just wonder how the
21 people -- well, whole lot of people going to different
22 bars and I look at all the places and it wasn't that much
23 money being made but it was a lot, lot of people in the
24 business of entertainment.
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right. Let's give a big
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1 hand. Dr. Fields, he actually stole my thunder.
2 DR. FIELDS: Okay.
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And I didn't cut you off for a
4 reason, and this is the point. Overtown was religious and
5 cultural institutions like the Masonic Lodge and garden
6 clubs, et cetera, and it was entertainment. It was
7 entertainment. Now, Chelsa is a -- where is Chelsa? Did
8 she get back? Two things need to come out of this,
9 Chelsa; I'm going to request for you to organize at the
10 next. CRA board meeting a resolution under my sponsorship
11 that the CRA in working with the Black Archives and other
12 people identify people and do a film, a video of
13 Overtown's entertainment. 1896 to until the interstate
14 came through. What year did the interstate -- what year
15 did 95 come through?
16 DR. FIELDS: 166.
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: So from 1896 to 166, and what we
18 need to do is we need to get on film anD on record this
19 kinds of dialogue, and everything you said is part of a
20 transcript but we don't have the film and we don't have
21 that and we really need to capture the essence of what
22 Overtown was from people who lived it and who walked it.
23 You say -- I don't know if you could hear it, Madam Clerk
24 but Miss Hubbard was shouting out the names and reminding
25 and it was very clear from the record there's not a night
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1 club or a hole in Overtown that she did not know, so --
2 MS. HUBBARD: (Unintelligible.)
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Some you didn't go, but you knew
4 where they were? But the point is this; we need to
5 capture this energy. Now, the point that I wanted to make
6 is this; those clubs are all gone. We can't undo that.
7 What is remaining is perhaps the symbol and the essence of
8 all of them, and unlike -- Dr. Fields did not say this but
9 it's her view and her thought; unlike the Apollo Theatre
10 in New York, the Lyric Theatre was owned by African
11 Americans.
12 DR. FIELDS: Owned, built and operated.
13 CHAIRMAN TEELE: But wait, wait. Unlike the
14 Apollo Theatre, it was operated by African Americans and
15 so the Lyric Theatre is more than just a building. It is
16 in effect the embodyment of all of the clubs that were
17 just -- roll was just called on it all because it's the
18 only fabric that we can all still see and touch, et
19 cetera, and I and -- I get very, very strong on the sense
20 that we have to preserve and we have to make real the
21 dream that Dr. Fields and the Black Archives, the historic
22 Folk Life Village are trying to maintain for us and it is
23 in that spirit that we ask for the approval on referendum
24 number two with one modification, and the modification is
25 and further to support -- to reaffirm our support, to
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1 reaffirm our support for the Folk Life Village made up of
2 the four blocks consistent with the proposals of the
3 historic Black Archives. Is there anybody here who's
4 going to be opposed to this? Please don't be. If not is
5 there a motion to approve referendum two as amended?
6 Madam Clerk, do you have the amendment? Please take a
7 mic. And comments on the Lyric Theatre expansion which we
8 really didn't get into that much and the concept of
9 reaffirming our support for the four blocks of the Black
10 Archives, and in your map those four blocks are different
11 from the four blocks of Crosswinds. Those blocks are
12 listed as F, G, 25 and 36 on the little map that you have.
13 Those are four blocks seperate from the Crosswinds
14 project. On your map they are listed as F, G, 25 and 36.
15 DR. FIELDS: Mr. Chairman, when you talked about
16 the video documentary --
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Before we do, can we just try to
18 get this referendum approved, and Dr. Fields, don't go no
19 where because we need your instruction on that. Mr.
20 Bacon, you had some comments, please, and we commend you
21 again for your leadership in the area.
22 MR. BACON: Mr. Chairman, I'm Phil Bacon and I'm
23 here today as a --
24 MS. BELL: I'm fixin to get mad.
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Huh?
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1 MS. BELL: I'm fixin to get mad.
2 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: She been standing up
3 there.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Wait, wait, wait. We're talking
5 now about -- she's here on a different issue. Are you
6 here on the -- are you going to be talking about the Black
7 Archives? Well, of course she's standing up there but we
8 can only take one subject matter at a time. Mr. Bacon,
9 please.
10 MR. BACON: Mr. Chairman, I'm Phil Bacon and I'm
11 here today as a trustee of the South Florida Land Trust of
12 the Collins Center which owns a significant amount of
13 property in the area that is commonly referred to as the
14 Folk Life Village and I just have a question on the -- on
15 your question on the referendum. I think that this land
16 -- we agree with you that this land is sacred land and it
17 belongs to the people of Overtown. We have always
18 supported and endorsed the concept of the Folk Life
19 Village. The -- as some people say, the devil is in the
20 details, and if the referendum is asking to endorse a
21 specific plan at this point we would need to have more
22 information. If it -- if the referendum is calling for
23 overall support of the Folk Life Village, then we
24 certainly would be supportive of that referendum.
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: We are calling for a
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1 reaffirmation of the support of the concept of the Folk
2 Life Village in the four blocks as stated for the last 15
3 years by Dr. Fields.
4
MR. BACON: Thank you very much.
5
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Is there anyone
else? If not
6
can we get a motion please from anyone on
the
7
reaffirmation of the plans to expand the
Lyric Theatre and
8
the reaffirmation of our support for the
concept of the
9
Folk Life Village in blocks F, G, 25 and
36 in the handout
10
provided by Architectonica? Moved by Dr.
Fields, seconded
11
by (unintelligible). No, no. Come to the
mic, sir. Mr.
12
Kelly, yes, go ahead.
13
MR. KELLY: As -- yes, I second
it.
14
CHAIRMAN TEELE: State your name
and address.
15
MR. JAMES E. POWELL: My name is
James E. Powell
16
from New Providence Lodge.
17
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, and
you are a
18
significant property owner in that parcel
in the four
19
areas as well?
20
MR. KELLY: Yes.
21
CHAIRMAN TEELE: And you do live
in Overtown?
22
MR. KELLY: Yes.
23
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, moved and seconded
24
and also Mr. Calhoun, a sworn police officer, wants to be
25
the third of the motion. Further discussion?
All of
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1 those in favor of the motion that's amended, say aye. All
2 opposed?
3 Now, Dr. Fields, let's yield to Miss Bell, who stood
4 there. Miss Bell, are you ready now? We're going to come
5 back to the concept of the entertainment village, the
6 entertainment family film and one or two other things
7 because I want to talk about that in the context of block
8 36. Jackie Bell, thank you for being here.
9 MS. BELL: Thank you, chairman, and thank you for
10 having this community to come out and speak. I am Jackie
11 Bell, 1600 Northwest 3rd Avenue, the Executive Director of
12 New Washington Heights Community Development Corporation.
13 Since 1973 we have been in Overtown. The purpose of
14 today's meeting is to receive community opinions about the
15 Crosswinds project. This community is concerned about
16 Overtown's future development that may or may not be
17 Crosswinds plan. Some historical and legal knowledge is
18 necessary not only because those who are involved should
19 know but what is happening now is just a continuation of
20 decisions made more than 20 years ago. But also because
21 this development may be decided in Federal court as much
22 as City or County Commission chambers. I will leave an
23 extended copy of my comments today and the exhibition that
24
I listed in my
presentation.
Where a
wise person
once
25
said those who
do not remember
their
history are
doomed to
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1 repeat it, this process of Overtown development did not
2 begin with Crosswinds proposed development. That surfaced
3 last year and it will not end with the City resolution.
4 Please give the clerk Mr. Teele --
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And Madam Clerk, would you make
6 a copy of her extended comments and the Exhibit that she's
7 requested a part of the record?
8 MS. BELL: We're going to give them -- we're
9 going to give each one of you a copy.
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I'm asking that she make it a
11 part of the record.
12 MS. BELL: Exhibition 1, in 1979 the City of
13 Miami passed resolution 79-724 that adopted the Overtown
14 Redevelopment Plan. Exhibit 2, the minutes and the report
15 of the City Commission passed by Father Gibson resolution
16 number 81-920 approving the Southeast Overtown Park West
17 Redevelopment Plan. Exhibition 3, a composit of
18 resolution 82-940 passed October 4th, 1982 authorizing
19 City Manager Howard Hill to go into -- to agree with the
20 County on an Overtown redevelopment initiative
21 redevelopment project, and attached in there is the
22 interlocking agreement. Exhibition 4, the County
23 resolution 82-691 directed the County Transit Authority to
24 designate as a community development corporation projects
25 within the Overtown transit area. This passed on May
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1 18th, 1982, followed by City Commission resolution 84-40,
2 1984. Exhibit 5, City resolution 85-755 is the most
3 important document that we have,
and
it states that that
4 is the most important document in
the
Overtown
5 redevelopment process because not only reaffirms priority
6 resolutions around Overtown redevelopment plan but it also
7 lists specific goals
and objectives
and a national
8 community development
program such
as Promise included in
9 Overtown special identity preserving buildings with a link
10
to
your
history
and encouraging
new development
contribute
11
to
the
vitality
of the district
such as stores,
night
12 clubs, restaurants, theatres. On the second page of that
13 resolution it encouraged new building and incorporated in
14
selection
and design.
It is
clear
in
resolution 82-755,
15
which was
adopted July
29th,
1982,
to
encourage
16
preservation
of Overtown's past
and its future.
Exhibit 6
17
is also very
important because
resolution 83-187
adopted
18 the concept of a trust which Commissioner Teele is talking
19
about now.
It is already a
law in
the
City
of Miami
tax
20
increment
financing and it
should
have
been
used for
the
21 community to do its own redevelopment, okay. In Exhibit
22 7, resolution 83-909, which recognized New Washington
23 Heights as the community development in the transit area
24 October 25, 1983. Exhibit 8, a composit of several
25 related documents. City resolution 83-972 was passed on
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1 October
25th, 1983, which
approved the over -- Phase 1 of
2 Overtown
transit station
impact area development. That
3 included specifically a program that involved an equity
4 participation by Overtown property owners, okay.
5 Resolution -- I mean Exhibit number 9, resolution 83-980,
6 which recognized the major development projects within the
7 City had been unfair to minority property owners, minority
8 business and by not giving the proper opportunity to
9 participate in the redevelopment of Overtown. The
10 resolution included a plan that was supposed to prevent
11 that from happening again, okay. It included 50 percent
12 equity goal. Resolution 83-980 was passed on October
13 25th, 1983. Exhibit 10, resolution 84-40, which
14 reaffirmed 82-755, 82-972 and 83-980, okay, also approved
15 the equity participation plan and the 50 percent equity
16 plan as directed to City Manager Howard Hill. Number 12,
17 resolution 84 -- number L resolution 84-40 was passed
18 January 14th, 1984; over 20 years ago.
19 I know maybe some of you sitting here are wondering
20 why am I saying this? Because Crosswind is here. It is
21 only here because you're letting it. Commissioner Teele,
22 I know you are the third black Commissioner sitting there.
23 I know Father Gibson was there when it started. I know
24 Miller was there after, but I also know that Matthew
25 Schwartz, who is now with Crosswinds, and Herb Bailey and
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1 Dena Spillman and all of those made sure that it did not
2 happen for this community and it didn't happen because
3 they wanted to make sure that it happened when they want
4 it to happen and with whom they want it to happen and yes,
5 I did put together a hotel. I spent more than five -- and
6 Miss Green said 100,000. No, she's wrong. I spent more
7 than $500,000 putting together a hotel. Everything that
8 had to be done was done, even to yes, we did have
9 financing for it twice. It was not permitted to happen
10 because it was not wanted to be happened and in those
11 resolutions that I've addressed it identifies exactly how
12 Overtown are to be redeveloped. I know someone have said
13 to me that was yesterday -- but you know, yesterday could
14 have been yesterday and tomorrow is tomorrow. But
15 everybody else, every other ethnic group, every other race
16 wants their children's history preserved. They are
17 interested in their children's education. They are
18 interested in their economics. Only when it comes to
19 African Americans, we have -- now we have Haitians in this
20 Dade County, and I'm not anti -Haitian. They want their
21 culture preserved. The Hispanics want their culture and
22 all of the different groups, the Jews want theirs
23 preserved. Everybody want their history and economics
24 preserved, but when it comes to African Americans we can
25 be put to the side. Yes, Miss Green, I'm old too, but I
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1 have given 35 years
of my
life whether I got paid -- I did
2 not steal anything,
okay.
I am not looking for the money.
3 I am saying to you
I have
-- our children have a right to
4 our heritage and an
economic
future. Thank you.
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE:
That is probably one of the most
6 profound historical
and contemporary
statements, and I
7 commend you, Miss Bell.
I
know you've been laboring for
8 many years and I know that Senator Jack Gordon, who really
9 -- long before, and long before Senator Gordon, but I know
10 he fought very hard in Tallahassee for many years along
11 with Gwen Cherry to make sure that what you're saying is
12 not lost, which gets me back to the Lyric Theatre as well.
13
And I mean, you can't argue --
I can't argue with
anything
14
that you have said, and I just
wish Mr. Attorney,
Madam
15
Director, Madam -- Mr. Manager,
that the City was
as well
16
documented as Miss Bell is because,
you know, some
of the
17
documents that she's bringing
forth now, some of the
18
documents she's bringing forth
now have not really
been
19
properly scrutinized. I have
very difficult times
dealing
20
with myself sometimes because
I know very clearly
the
21 history of when I gave the City the land, the money for
22 the lands, there were certain requirements. Specifically
23 I got in trouble with the President of the United States
24
who I learned
today
is
at
the
point of
death,
Ronald
25
Reagan, that
is, but
I
got
in
trouble
are with
Ronald
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1 Reagan and his whole staff, Attorney General Meese,
2 because I did something that has never been done, and that
3 is I didn't do a minority requirement for this land. I
4 did a black business plan, over the objections of the
5 Attorney General, okay. It's -- it's documented. There
6 is a black business plan for this land as a condition of
7 getting the Federal grant from me that went with it
8 because I knew if you just turned the money over to the
9 City of Miami what would happen, so I would also quickly
10 say for the record that I believe that the life and the
11 terms of those conditions are no longer enforceable.
12 That's my personal opinion and based upon my understanding
13 of the law they -- they would probably not be enforceable,
14 but I could see how anybody would want to bring a lawsuit
15 or would raise the issue because that's what courts do;
16 courts make those decisions, not lawyers. And if you got
17 -- how much money does it take to file a lawsuit, Jimmy?
18 MR. VILLACORTA: (Unintelligible.)
19 CHAIRMAN TEELE: About $80 or something to file a
20 civil claim. I don't know where the fees are now, but you
21 know, courts will decide those issues. But we need to be
22 very careful, and this is what I tried to get this
23 developer to understand; that there's more to this record
24 than what this Mayor and this Manager and my colleague and
25 my dear friend Commissioner Winton understand and have --
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1 and for that matter even the Collins Center and others
2 that are coming to this thing with good intentions but not
3 with the depth of the history that you can only be a part
4 of if you've read the records or if you've lived it, and
5 the records are not available in the City because I've
6 asked for them three times from the law department. So
7 there's a lot of different sides. Somebody said there's
8 two sides to every story. There's a lot of different
9 sides to these stories, particularly as it relates to
10 Overtown.
11 Dr. Fields, if we could close this out with this;
12 this whole entertainment and this film thing that we need
13 to talk about, is there any objection to the City, the
14 CRA, the City of Miami Communications Department, Mr.
15 manager, if we could get you all's support, sort of
16 organizing a memory lane video of the entertainment venues
17 of Overtown and we bring forth people who actually had
18 something to say from 1896 to 1968 to have that
19 discussion. Dr. Fields, do you have a problem with that?
20 Is that something that you would like to help us organize,
21 because I think it's important to get people not just on
22 record, on paper --
23 DR. FIELDS: Sure.
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: But to get their voices.
25 DR. FIELDS: Very much so. You're talking about
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1 a documentary, you're talking about an oral history
2 program.
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: An oral history program.
4 DR. FIELDS: Yes.
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Immediately, and their --
6 DR. FIELDS: Very much so. You're talking a
7 documentary.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Immediately.
9 DR. FIELDS: Yes.
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Relating just to the
11 entertainment concept and component.
12 DR. FIELDS: And as a part of that, Mr. Chairman,
13 it would be good to do a mapping so that we actually get a
14 sense of all of the places that people are talking about.
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Is there anybody here who would
16 be opposed to the CRA, the City and the Black Archives and
17 other parties noticing to the public and inviting people
18 who were a part of Miami of the eras from 1896 to 1968
19 from an entertainment venue -- we ought to call it the
20 Elsie Hubbard memory lane but a documentary in just
21 getting the raw film footage for that. Commissioner --
22 oh, did you want to speak on that issue?
23 MS. ANDREA COPELAND: Yes.
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes, ma'am, please.
25 MS. COPELAND: Good afternoon. My name is Andrea
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1 Copeland. I reside at 1940 Northwest 4th Court apartment
2 15 and my comment -- I'm not opposed to the Lyric Theatre
3 or you guys presenting something in Overtown to show the
4 culture of Overtown, but what my concern is is that the
5 Lyric Theatre is still -- yeah, is not -- yeah, the Lyric
6 Theatre and the Black Archives were there, but what I want
7 to suggest is that you reach out to the public and the
8 kids because you have the Overtown community Optimists
9 that is -- targets over 400 children as well as the
10 Overtown Youth Center, you have the different town parks
11 that has many, many of the kids there. You have different
12 project cooperatives in Overtown that basically have not
13 yet to see or benefit from different programs teaching
14 them about the historical Overtown. I've been born and
15 raised here as well as I work in Overtown for over 34
16 years now and I just have yet to see where the Lyric
17 Theatre Black Archives have put on a presentation for the
18 kids in Overtown to be educated on. That's just -- just
19 my comment.
20 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay, and Dr. Fields I'm sure
21 wants to --
22 DR. FIELDS: Thank you, yes.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: -- put that in a different
24 context.
25 DR. FIELDS: Well, no; thank her for that. We
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1 are working with the Overtown Advisory Board, as a matter
2 of fact,
for
a program called
career awareness. It
was
3 approved
last
month trying to
-- I mean, we've done
things
4 before.
We --
last summer we
had theatre ettiquette
or
5 two summers ago because the theatre was closed last summer
6 but through the Main Street program we have the Red Velvet
7 Cake Festival and Happy Birthday Miami, so we have
8 involved children from those areas that you've talked
9
about. Certainly not
enough, not as many as the
400, but
10
we certainly will work
with those children or I'm
glad you
11
just came back, Irby,
because I was talking about
the
12
career awareness for grades
6
through 16 -- ages 6 through
13
16 where we will be working
with
students through the
14
Overtown Advisory Board or
the
Empowerment Zone, the
15
Empowerment Zone trust and
the
Greater Miami Convention
16
Bureau in hospitality, tourism
and in culture.
17
CHAIRMAN TEELE: But
--
18 DR. FIELDS: And the Knight Foundation, yes, and
19 Mr. Chairman I want to say to you because I should have
20 said it earlier to put it on the record as you said that
21 while Booker T. Washington was the first President of the
22 National Negro Business League, our own chairman, Arthur
23 Teele Junior was also the President of that national body,
24
and which number were you
in the
presidency?
25
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
I was
the number 12, the 12th
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1 National President of the national -- so in Washington --
2 DR. FIELDS: Well, that's the reason that we -- I
3 mean, this whole entrepreneurial spirit --
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Right.
5 DR. FIELDS: And people talk about culture and
6 the arts. For the most part they think oh, they're
7 non-profit, they are not interested in trying to do
8 something, you.know, in that area, so --
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Dr. Fields, if you would just
10 yield on that one point because I think Andrea makes a
11 very good point and I think her point is very constructive
12 especially when you talk about the Optimists, who the
13 president's right there, been here through this whole
14
meeting,
and
I really want
to
commend you for --
and we
15
need to
hear
very briefly
from
you, but this is
the point;
16 one of the best ways to encaulcate, to train, to teach
17 children about Overtown is to have videos and films, with
18
all
due respect,
and
I think a
part of
what
we've
got to
19
do
is the point
that
-- I think
Jackie
Bell
said
it very
20
well;
if
we don't
know
our history, we're
doomed
to
repeat
21
it.
But
we also --
if
we don't know our
history,
we
the
22
people
will
perish, we
will perish as a people. What mean
23
these
stones
is the way
the the prophets write it in the
24
Bible;
what
mean these
stones? If we don't put some
25
stones
down
so that our
children and their children will
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1 come back and ask the parents what do these stones mean,
2 we will be totally bulldozed and wiped away, so I think
3 the question reoccurs for the support of the CRA, City of
4 Miami, Black Archives, Overtown Advisory Board and others
5 organizing a documentary of -- around entertainment to try
6 to get original people to discuss and talk about the
7 entertainment venues and the bands and the entities that
8 were there. Is there anyone opposed to that? If not we
9 have a motion by Dr. Fields to so move and Andrea, would
10 you like to be the person seconding that we put this
11 historical document for our children together? Okay, so
12 it will be seconded by Andrea Copeland.
13 DR. FIELDS: Be working with her.
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And is there objection to that?
15 All those in favor say aye.
16 COLLECTIVE: Aye.
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All opposed? And Madam Chair --
18 Madam Clerk, please ensure the record. Now let me just
19 get to my final point on this entertainment thing. Dr.
20 Fields gave us some very rich information. She talked
21 about her experience in Palm Beach, which everybody can
22 figure out how to get up to Palm Beach and go see for
23 yourself, and it just hurts to see how the history of
24 black Palm Beach was just erased just with one development
25 process. She talked about going to Pittsburgh. It's a --
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1 one
of
the
things that I
would
hope that
we could move to
2 do
is
to do
a field trip.
How
we finance
this I don't
3 know, but we
need
to
do a field
trip
in my opinion to
two
4 cities; one
is to
New
Orleanes
to the
Frency Quarters,
and
5 the problems with going to the
French Quarters is
this;
6 somebody 75, 50, 25 years ago made a conscious decision
7 we're going to preserve this.
The City of Miami
made a
8 conscious decision we're going
to demolish this.
You can
9 -- we can all remember when the
Carver Hotel was
bulldozed
10
down by order
of
the
City
Commission,
okay,
because it
11
looked bad.
But
in
this
New Orleanes,
that
Commissioner
12 and that Commission would have been run out of town if
13
they had talked about bulldozing a
-- but that's history,
14
that's
past.
So the problem of going back to New Orleanes
15
is it's
just
going to end up making
everybody that goes
16
mad.
That's
the problem with going
to New Orleanes. I
17
think
another
example in this trip
that I would like to
18 urge -- and Matthew, I hope you're listening to me on this
19 -- is that we should also go to Memphis Tennessee, where I
20 think a more contemporary view of a redevelopment but a
21 redevelopment that is very sensitive to entertainment and
22 to the role and participation by black Americans, African
23
Americans
-- when you
go to Memphis, you're going to see
24
beautiful
restaurants,
beautiful night clubs, beautiful
25 establishments that are in historic Memphis on Bill Street
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1 but are owned by African Americans, and so I would just --
2 we're not going to vote on it and I don't know how we're
3 going to fund it, but Dr. Fields, I would hope that you
4 the Black Archives and the CRA and Crosswinds in
5 particular could begin to work to organize so that we
6 could take 200 or 300 people to Memphis and to New Orleans
7 to do a field trip, an entertainment field trip to allow
8 Overtown residents to look at what has been done and what
9 has -- what the potential could be in the context of the
10 Folk Life Village and other activities if you don't
11 consider that to be an intrusion or --
12 DR. FIELDS: Not at all, and we'll be glad to
13 work with Matthew on that.
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Matthew, will you all agree to
15 to offer --
16 DR. FIELDS: Matthew Schwartz.
17 MR. SCHWARTZ: Participate.
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yeah, will you agree to
19 participate?
20 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: And fund it.
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Let the record reflect that he's
22 agreeing to participate but he's not making a financial
23 commitment yet. But the key is going to be getting the
24 Overtown resident and taking a very good cross section of
25 Overtown residents, particularly people who are still in
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1 this meeting here today, and I hope we can, Madam Clerk,
2 figure out who's here to try to capture some of the
3 commitment that we have because everybody -- when you say
4 trip, it will be a line ten blocks long and everybody
5 that's here that's sitting through a five -hour meeting
6 will get pushed right to the back, so what I'd like to do
7 is -- you to do is before you leave, anybody who's
8 interested in signing up for a field trip to please give
9 your name to the clerk or my staff on your way out,
10 especially those of you that have been in Overtown for
11 over 20 years but anybody that's still here. Further
12 discussion, Dr. Fields?
13 DR. FIELDS: Just want to thank Jackie Bell for
14 saving those records. Whether they're enforceable or not
15 we don't know, but at least it's a historical record, and
16 that's important for us to have.
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you again. Now two -- two
18 quick issues. The Overtown Optimists and the Town Park
19 Village. Andrea, you were not here when we called it. We
20 called it. What we agreed on and what I want to state for
21 the record and commit on the record is that we are going
22 to call for a joint meeting. I'm -- the Chairman of the
23 Board of the Overtown Advisory Committee has agreed that
24 the next Overtown Advisory Board meeting will be on June
25 17th at 6:00 p.m. and the agenda item will specially
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1 include the Town Park Village I, II and III Village North,
2 south and any issue that you'd like to put on the table at
3 that time and and I'll attend the meeting and I will ask
4 the City Attorney and Community Development to participate
5 in that so that we don't give this a short shrift if
6 that's all right with you. Did you want to say something
7 else, Miss Copeland?
8 MS. COPELAND: Yes. I just want to tell --
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Just say your name for the
10 record.
11 MS. COPELAND: Andrea Copeland, 1940 Northwest
12 4th Court, apartment 15. I just want to say on the record
13 that you did committed at the Overtown Advisory Board
14 meeting on May 25th that you had agreed to meet with the
15 Town Park condominiums. We had contacted your office on
16 numerous occasions with no response from your office, so I
17 just want to --
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Brenda Lee, come forward and
19 explain why you all haven't communicated back. Where's
20 Brenda? She's gone? But Andrea, what we did is one of
21 the things that we did was agree to have this this
22 morning; we had you as number one on the agenda this
23 morning.
24 MS. COPELAND: Yes.
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And I think you know that, so I
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1 don't think --
2 MS. COPELAND: And I do apologize.
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: No, no, no. You don't owe an
4 apology, but I don't think it's fair for you to make it
5 look like we're not communicating. But what we're trying
6 to do is make sure that we have a meeting in the open.
7 What I don't want to do 'cause I been black all my life,
8 Andrea, I don't want to get caught up in a side meeting
9 where some people who are supposed to be in the meeting
10 are not there and things are said like was almost said
11 this morning; somebody's accused of being stealing, and
12 this, I want to have a meeting that is a public meeting.
13 I do not want to meet privately with anybody from an
14 association like this and we want to have a noticed
15
meeting,
so I'm agreeing now -- I'm agreeing now
to meet
16
with your
Village Town Park Association on June
17th at
17
6:00
p.m.
at the Overtown Advisory Board
meeting, which
18
will
be at
the Culmer Center at 6:00 p.m.
The concern
19
that
my office has is
that I don't want to get
dragged
20
into
a side meeting where
I don't know who I'm
meeting
21
with.
I know you and
I respect you and all of
that, but I
22
want
to make sure that
it's a noticed meeting,
okay.
23
MS. COPELAND:
I understand, Commissioner Teele,
24
but
I didn't
make that
comment what
I
just
said --
just
25
made
to put
anybody on
notification
as
far
as who
did what
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1 and who didn't do what.
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE:
No, before you
got here --
3 MS. COPELAND:
Oh, okay.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE:
Before you got
here, people
got
5 up and spoke about Town
Park. There was
discussions
about
6 people misappropriating
dollars and this
and that and
I'm
7 just saying we got to be
very sensitive
not just to your
8 issues but to everybody's
issues because
you do have
an
9 association, you do have an association and leadership
10 that you elected, right?
11 MS. COPELAND: And I was going to talk about that
12 because you did made that comment about the board being
13 elected by the people for the people but our current
14 situation is that our board has been violated for doing an
15 improper election and we're doing -- right now, we are
16 doing our third election for this year. So that's all I
17 just want to say that on the report.
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, if you or your board would
19 like to request observers to come and participate by
20 observing, I'll work to get observers there. Mr.
21 Attorney, I would also formally request -- hold on. Mr.
22 Attorney I would like to formally request of your office
23 for you all to contact the Florida Bar and to determine if
24 there are any law firms that be would be willing to
25 provide pro bono legal assistance to the Town Park Village
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1 residents -- in which one are you; North?
2 MS. COPELAND: Yes.
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Town Park Village residents
4 North in providing legal assistance not to the association
5 but to the residents to try to bring this matter to an
6 intelligent discussion and conclusion. Would you take
7 that under advisement?
8 MR. VILLACORTA: Yes, Commissioner.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: So what I'm going to try to do
10 is get a lawyer from a law firm that understands the
11 Florida Bar rules that will provide legal support to
12 people like yourselves who need to get -- hear from a
13 lawyer and have legal advice and they will not have to be
14 paid by you if we can find somebody like that. So you
15 need to see this lawyer at the end so he knows who to
16 contact, please, but what you're trying to get me into and
17 which I'm willing to get into in an organized way is a
18 dispute among the corporation and the board members, and
19 it is going to be a dispute among the association and the
20 association board of directors and the people that are
21 there, Andrea.
22 MS. COPELAND: Okay, but let --
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Right?
24 MS. COPELAND: Let me go on the record and say,
25 Commissioner Teele, that we're not trying to get you into
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1 any dispute. What we're trying to do is to have you come
2 in and assist us. Can I finish? Can I finish my point?
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.
4 MS. COPELAND: We're trying to get you to come in
5 to target certain issues that we have. We have crime
6 activity that's inside the -- inside our area and it's --
7 and it's other issues that I feel that we could have a
8 meeting with you and the other Town Park. I just want to
9 go on record and say that I do opposed to having a meeting
10 with the Overtown Advisory Board, and the reason being is
11 that because they have they own agenda as well that night.
12 I would like for us to sit down with the other Town Parks
13 with yourself and representatives from your office so we
14 could stick to the agenda which is the different Town
15 Parks and the issues and concerns that we have there as
16 opposed to being in a public forum with the Overtown
17 Advisory Board and I know Irby ad them have their own
18 agenda as well and sometimes our issues get discarded with
19 other issues that's involved in Overtown.
20 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You make --
21 MS. COPELAND: Thank you.
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Could we compromise it by this
23 way, as saying this; I will request respectfully of the
24 Overtown Advisory Board not to take up any other items
25 that night and allow me to be there with the Overtown
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1 Advisory Board and allow you and whoever you'd like to
2
come to come and do it in that context. Is that a
3
compromize, please?
4
MS. COPELAND:
Thank you very much, Commissioner.
5
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
Would you accept that as a
6
compromise?
7
MS. COPELAND:
Yes.
8
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
Okay.
9
MS. COPELAND:
Thank you.
10
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
Thank you, Andrea. Is -- Mr.
11
Chairman of the Overtown
Advisory, is that all right with
12
you?
13
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: We have no other item on the
14
agenda.
15
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
And you will allow the residents
16
and myself and the Board
to have sort of a open and round
17
discussion?
18
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: We allow that at every one of
19
our meetings since 1982.
20
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
You told me to get out one
21
night, I heard.
22
CHAIRMAN MCKNIGHT: You weren't a resident
23
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
All right, let's -- let's
24
welcome the heads of the
Overtown Optomists. You've done
25
a wonderful job, Mr. Washington, and you've been here
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1 through all of this and we've got great things in store
2 for the Overtown Optimists. Let's give him a big hand
3 because he's really turned it around.
4 MR. EMANUEL WASHINGTON: Commissioner, before I
5 start, did we conclude the issue with the Lyric Theatre?
6 Is that all settled?
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes.
8 MR. WASHINGTON: Lyric Theatre?
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes.
10 MR. WASHINGTON: Is that all settled? Okay,
11 great.
12 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Sir, your name and address for
13 the record.
14 MR. WASHINGTON: My name is Emanuel Washington
15 Senior. I am eight President of the Overtown Community
16 Optimists Club. I reside at 16464 Southwest 32nd Street
17 Miramar, Florida. I'm a property owner in the Overtown
18 area. I own a building at 155 Northwest loth Street. I
19 also am a city employ with the city of Miami Fire Rescue,
20 21-year employee. First of all, I want to give thanks to
21 the Commissioner Teele and Mr. McKnight, Mr. Meeks, Chris
22 Smith, the community, all the Overtown Optomist volunteers
23 and of course the members of the Overtown community
24 Optimists Club. I wanted to basically first say that the
25 Overtown Community Optimists Club, a lot of people know
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1 about them but I just want to give you a few bullets about
2 who we really are and just some things that we've
3 accomplished and some thing things that we've done. First
4 of all, the Overtown Community Optimists is experiencing
5 its llth year of being existent in the Overtown community
6 and we have right now on record 93 members that are
7
actually
members of our club. The
Overtown Optimists and
8
you know
in the City there's a lot
of Optimists Clubs.
9
Matter of
fact, in Dade County there's
probably over 25
10
different
Optimists Clubs in Dade
County, maybe more than
11
that. But
the Overtown Community
Optimists Club is the
12
only
100 percent
volunteer -driven Optimists Club. Other
13
Optimists
Clubs
have staffs where they're being paid. Not
14
that
that's a bad
thing. It should be that way, because
15
you
need staff in
order to run an operation effectively,
16
but
right now I
think the Overtown Optimists is the only
17
last
dinousaur I
would call it left in the community where
18
they're
running s
program
and
there's
no paid
staff or
not
19
no staff
there to
do that,
and
as a
matter of
fact we're
20 servicing as Andrea said over 400 kids with no staff to
21 actually do that. And I say over 400 kids because when we
22 have our events we have kids that not even registered with
23
the Optomists that we service
in the sense
of feeding,
24
providing transportation for,
assisting in
doing things
25
with them that's not even on
our records.
So when we say
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1 over 400, that's really an
-- you know,
a minor under
2 exaggeration of the number
that we deal
with and
3 predominantly right now we
are a sports
and educationally
4 oriented program that have
no facility
to work out of.
5 Now think about that, folks; eleven years the Overtown
6 Community Optimists Club -- in the last two years since I
7
have been President I have
been, you know, working with
8
Commissioner Teele and the
City of Miami
Parks and
9
Recreation where now they
are building us
about a
10
1,200-square-foot facility
in the back of
Gibson Park but
11
this club has operated where
they've had
to take vital
12 records of kids registration, birth certificates and all
13 things like that and put it in the trunks and suitcase of
14 their apartments and their home. They are operating
15 really out of trunks and cars and now until I came in we
16 basically realize that's a problem and, you know, I am
17 saying this because it's very important. We're dealing
18 with our future tomorrow our, children. I know that a lot
19
of people came
forth
with the educational programs and
20
things and we'll
talk
about that in a minute but for the
21
most part now, right
now the
Overtown Community Optomists
22
is moving forward to
getting
facility space to actually
23
house its operation
and do the
things that we're
24
progressively doing
now, and
we're working well at it
25
because currently now
we just
completed our baseball and
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1 our basketball season. We're entering into our football
2 season right now, which is our biggest program where we
3 have cheerleading and football and we're going to do a
4 kickoff registration at Williams Park not this Saturday
5 but next Saturday on June 12th. It's going to be from
6 twelve noon to four o'clock where we're going to have
7 games and activities where we feed the kids, a little
8 music and basically do registration. Our major focal
9 point of what we really have not had or handled on our
10 side of the sports and education is education which we
11 have not been able to to this point come together and put
12 on a decent educational program for the kids that we're
13 housing. But as you noticed in the community I want to
14 call the name of it but we have about eight, maybe ten
15 different educational tutorial facilities in our community
16 right now that those -- that the Optomists program have
17 not been able to filter their childrens into or to utilize
18 in an effective manner so that these kids can now pass
19 that FCAT and now raise the standard of these schools
20 that's in the area, both Phyllis Wheatley Douglas and all
21 -- I believe, McKnight correct me, are F schools or that
22 may -- are F or D schools.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: F or D.
24 MR. WASHINGTON: D. Well they graduated to D.
25 But the bottom line is that this program has, like I said,
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1 been
existing
over eleven
years
and
we really
have
not --
2 have
been able
to now get
these
400
plus kids
into
these
3 tutorial programs that are in the community, so -- and
4 that's become a problem, so when it comes down and like I
5 said I don't want to --
6
CHAIRMAN TEELE: You
know, Mr. Washington, on
7
that
point -- and I'm asking
even the Net Administrator to
8
pay
close attention -- along
with the rest of -- because
9
Miss
Colyer I think made this
comment also, there's a real
10
need
to coordinate link ages.
Everybody's -- everybody
11
sort
of creates their own CDC
or their own church or their
12 own Masonic or their -- and they want to write a program
13 without working with what it's already there and you know,
14 we've done that in the area of health care where we've got
15 the Camillus house, which is a state of the art health
16
facility, within four
blocks of
Jackson
Hospital, state of
17
the art health care.
You know,
and it
doesn't make sense
18 and every -- -- so we really need to -- I don't know, I
19 think the best vehicle to coordinate these delivery of
20 after school and parks programs and CDC programs and all
21 that is through the Overtown Net Administrator. Mr.
22 Manager, I don't know if you agree but -- the existent
23 Chief of Staff is acknowledging his agreement, but I
24 really think we need to take this under advisement
25 seriously and figure out how to do that and you make an
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. 1;
1 excellent point, Mr. Washington.
2 MR. WASHINGTON: And you know, Mr. Chairman, I
3 just want to say to you that I'm 47 years old, I've lived
4 in this community all my life. Just basically the last
5 twelve, thirteen years I have not lived in the community
6 but I am over here every single day and for the last 32
7 years I've been working in Parks and Recreation and
8 working with childrens and one thing that I've realized
9 just like Reverend Ross said is that our community has
10 been systematically disassembled our community has been
11 disassembled in the areas that he was talking about but
12 I'm talking about systematically disassembled when it come
13 down to programs related to our children because we have
14 educational and tutorial promise programs all throughout
15
the community
but
none of them
are
making
any
16
collaborative
and
me and Chris
have
talked
about that
17
because
that's
been one
of my
desires, one of
my
goals as
18
a former
park
director
to now
bring together
all
of these
19
entities so that we
can do something
for the children.
20
Everybody got their
own agenda and it
seem like nobody
21
really want to come
to the table and
that's a sad thing
22 because and I'm not knocking any organization that's in
23 place but one of the things that we hoped for was when the
24 Overtown Youth Center -- and a lot of people fought real
25 hard against that, but when it finally came it was under
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1 the pretense that they would work with the entities that
2 are already in place and that seemed just to be just a
3 totally different strategy. We just -- you --
4 (End of CD #6.)
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: demonstrated.
6 MR. WASHINGTON: Just yesterday, matter of fact,
7 we had a retreat, the executive board, and I attended that
8 executive board retreat and it's almost like we created
9 ideas of --
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Aren't you on the board of the
11 --
12 MR. WASHINGTON: Yeah.
13 CHAIRMAN TEELE: (Unintelligible.)
14 MR. WASHINGTON: Yeah, I'm on the executive
15 board. We had a re treat yesterday and in that retreat
16 they basically came up with ideas to formally -- what
17 they're going to do as far as the executive, the Overtown
18 Youth Center vision or moving forward but basically that
19 vision of moving forward kind of didn't employ or bring in
20 other entities in the area. They may -- they said that
21 they're going to do that, but it was creating a plan of
22 what the Overtown Youth Center is going to do. Well, like
23 I said to them when I first came on board is that you came
24 in this community with the intent of working with
25 organizations already in place, the City of Miami Parks
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1 and Recreation
have done
this since they've
been
in
2 existence, the
Overtown
Optomists have been
doing
it for
3 the last eleven years, so when they came in those two
4 entities pretty much provided recreational activities for
5 the community.
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: What did you do with the Masonic
7 Lodge?
8
MR. WASHINGTON:
Well,
right now we're
not doing
9
anything
but I've got Mr.
Young
number. We're
going to
10
talk
because
there's some
things
that they're
doing that
11
we're
now
going to plug into.
But
my goal is
to -- like I
12
said,
is
to constantly deal
with
anyone who's
willing to
13
work
with
the Optimists,
and outside
of what
we're doing
14
now,
our
next step is to
really
reorganize.
At the last
15 board of directors meeting we now moved from a board of
16 directors running the organization to an executive board
17 and we've -- it created a staff. It's unpaid staff, but
18 we're seeking funds in the near future to now pay that
19 staff so that we can drive and direct this Optomists Club
20 in the way that it needs to be so we can now have all the
21
things that we
need for
children in the community and I'm
22
going to wrap
it up, Commissioner,
because like I said, I
23
don't want to
hold you
all here but
I wanted to come today
24
to let you know
and the
community
know that the Overtown
25
Optomists club
is here
and we need
certain things. We
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1 need a bus and
all those things, but
what we really need,
2 what we really
really need is staff,
a full-time staff to
3 compliment or
to really enhance the
volunteer staff that
4 we already have, because the volunteer staff for the last
5 eleven years have drove this program and did everything
6 that they could, but at the same time in order to
7 effectively operate, you need a staff. You need a
8 building, you
need
a place you
can
sit
down
and
now
have
9 your records
and do
the things
that
you
need
to
do
as an
10 organization, and outside of that we also need the
11 technical and the fiscal assistance so that we can make
12 sure that the financial parts of the records is kept free,
13 because when you're getting Federal money, there's
14 responsibilities with that. That's why for the last year
15 and -a -half we did not apply for City grants, nor did we
16 apply for County grants; because I refused a lot of
17 organizations who now apply for those grants and not
18 prepared to sit down and do the technical thing that they
19 require in order to administer that money. I'm not going
20 to be a party to getting monies and not administering and
21 doing the right things with it. We want to do it right,
22 and that's why I'm asking you today -- we not only need
23 the money, but we need the technical assistance to put
24 that money to work and be done properly.
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Again, I would urge you to meet
Capital Reporting Service, Inc.
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1 with Commissioner Burke. One of the most important new
2 initiatives that's happened in Overtown in the last year
3 in my mind is Mount Zion making the commitment that rather
4 than trying to go out and build buildings and run
5 programs, what they're going to do is work with
6 organizations to provide coordination, technical
7 assistance and support; is that correct, Commissioner
8
Burke? And what you're
putting out
there
right now is
9
exactly what Mount Zion
has said it's
one
of the missions
10
that they would like to
work with y'all.
I certainly will
11 commit publically that one of my number one priorities for
12
this
coming
fiscal year will
be to find
corporate
sponsors
13
and
partners
for the Overtown
Optomists.
I don't
think we
14
want
to, you
know, one
this is
very frustrating
but this
15
whole
thing
of profit
and black
poverty is such
a vicious
16 cycle. When you go and you look at the Cuban community
17 and you go down to Kendall, all those Optomists programs
18 have Metro Ford, Casa Juancho or La Careta on the back
19 because they have hundreds and thousands of businesses
20 that support the community. How many black businesses do
21 we have that are black owned that are successful? You can
22 count them literally on one hand in Overtown, literally,
23 and it's not fair to put the burden on those one or two to
24
do
everything,
although
they got
to do a
little more, but
25
we
got to find
corporate
sponsors
for our
Optomist program
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1 in Overtown just like other communities have. Most
2 Optomists programs, you know and I know are not funded
3 with government money. They are funded with corporate
4 sponsorship and activities that the Optomists do and I
5 think to get a lot of government money, which I fought to
6 give you money and I've probably given the Optomists close
7 to $200,000, $300,000 in the last six years in Overtown
8 since I've been here, but -- for uniforms and that kind of
9 stuff -- but we don't want to distort what the Optomists
10 program is about. We need to find corporate sponsors and
11 community organizations like sororities an fraternities,
12 Masonic Lodges, Longshoremen's Union or others to be the
13 sponsors of the Optomists, so I'll commit publically that
14 we're going to -- what's your -- what do you think your
15 annual budget shortfall is right now based on how you'd
16 like to go?
17 MR. WASHINGTON: Commissioner, basically I've put
18 together a budget and it looks -- it's around with
19 staffing and supplies about $350,000.
20 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And what's the shortfall?
21 MR. WASHINGTON: All of it.
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, you -- that's not true.
23 You got to be selling them hot dogs for something out
24 there. They charge me a lot of money every time I eat a
25 hot dog.
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1 MR. WASHINGTON: No, Commissioner, you ate free
2 that day. But we have the -- when we have the sale at the
3 football game, basically that money is being raised
4 predominantly to pay the referees because we have to pay
5 them, so --
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, how do the other Optomists
7 -- well, I don't want to get into a debate. Huh? They
8 charge the kids to play? Well, I mean, you know there's
9 got to be a way that there's some money generated from the
10 Optomists program, and we need to but I'll ask
11 Commissioner Burke to advise me on that but we got the
12 president of one of the biggest unions in town sitting in
13 here, Mr. Huston, Al Huston. I know he's over in Model
14 Cities now, but that union came out of Overtown. What was
15 the address where you all were before you got uppity and
16 moved?
17 MR. HUSTON: (Unintelligible.)
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Mr. Huston, you got to put it on
19 the record. He's saying on the record he did not get
20 uppity, the union did not get uppity.
21 MR. HUSTON: llth.
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: llth Street and what avenue?
23 You know?
24 MR. HUSTON: Right, we were on llth -- 3rd Avenue.
25 CHAIRMAN TEELE: 12th Street and 3rd Avenue.
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1 That's where the laborers union was before Joe Calup.
2 came to power, that union which is the Calup union, but we
3 need to reach out and appeal to these entities to support
4 us, Mr. Washington, and I'll ask the Laborers Union and
5
others to take this under advisement.
Maybe we can all go
6
to the Longshoremen and ask them for
support.
7
MR. HUSTON: Commissioner?
8
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes, sir.
9
MR. HUSTON: I just want to
add that I know that
10
the Youth Center -- I know you're on
the executive board,
11
but I know the Youth Center I know is
very involved with
12
trying to identify corporate sponsors
and industry
13
partners. Perhaps that's a way to get
them more engaged
14
in the Overtown Optomists program is
to help and assist
15
you identify corporate partners, and
I'd be more than
16
happy to work with you.
17
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, I'm going
to tell you this
18
now; I mean, you putting it on -- he's
putting on record,
19
you putting it on record. The Youth
Center is looking for
20
money too, and the worst thing you can
do is ask somebody
21
begging for money to go to somebody else
begging for money
22
because that's -- because that --
23
MR. WASHINGTON: Thank you.
24
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Huh?
25
MR. WASHINGTON: Thank you.
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1 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Because the Youth Center has
2 advised my office that they have a major shortfall that
3 they're looking for funds to do and I mean, I'm all for
4 the Youth Center and you all working together but you
5 know, that's the challenge; we've got to find some
6 corporate sponsors for the Optomists. And if the Youth
7 Center will do it or the Overtown Advisory Board will do
8 it or the Collins Center will help to do it or the union
9 halls, but we've got to come up with -- we all said we
10 care about the children, but there is no more positive
11 program in Overtown that I'm aware of that affects more
12 Overtown children than the Overtown Optimists. They have
13 how many kids out there playing football?
14 MR. WASHINGTON: With cheerleading and football,
15 we have over 400.
16 CHAIRMAN TEELE: With cheerleading and football,
17 over 400 kids. And when Overtown Optomists are playing a
18 big game, that's the biggest thing that happens in
19 Overtown all year. Huh?
20 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: Yes.
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Am I right?
22 UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: Yes.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: So you know, you may have 4,000
24 people out there sometime.
25 MR. WASHINGTON: Man, that's true.
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1 CHAIRMAN TEELE: To watch Overtown Optimists and
2 cheering them on, and speaking of that we got to get out
3 of here because I want to see shortie.
4 MR. WASHINGTON: Thank you.
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: What's shortie -- I want to see
6 Shortie Jones. Huh? Smartie Jones. Okay, Smartie Jones
7 do his thing today.
8 RIGHTI: He's not going to win. Okay, hi.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Don't you put mouth on that
10 horse.
11 MS. PATRICIA PRESTON: Patricia Preston, 352
12 Northwest llth Street. I just want to make a few comments
13 over the meetings and stuff and I applaud the
14 revitalization of Overtown and like I say, it's
15 regentrification of Overtown. It's fine with me, but only
16 50 units set aside for people that in the medium range
17 income is $42,000? In America, but in Miami is what?
18 $30,000? I make $30,000 a year, I can't afford no
19 $150,000 house. I would love to have one. You say we
20 could get $60,000, right, but it's -- where's the
21 revitalization plan for Overtown? We want to see the plan
22 that the County had for the revitalization of Overtown.
23 What is the County doing that going to enhance the City
24 monies that you guys are redeveloping? Not just
25 redevelop, revitalizing Overtown 'cause it still look --
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1 like the lady said, it look like a trash yard, the
2 revitalization of Overtown.
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, look, that's a very
4 complicated issue.
5 MS. PRESTON: Okay.
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: This -- I can't speak for the
7 County. The County and the City are working together in
8 creating the tax increment district. All of the money
9 that is paid to the County and all of the money that is
10 paid to the City is put into money, one fund as it relates
11 to everything south of 14th Street, south of 14th Street
12 in Overtown.
13 MS. PRESTON: Yeah, that's where I live.
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And it is -- that is the
15 redevelopment area. The County is doing a lot through the
16 Empowerment Trust. They're doing the St. Agnes projects,
17 the Overtown -- they just announced the Overtown transit
18 project, and so I think I would refer you to the County
19 Commissioner, Commissioner Barbara Kerry.
20 MS. PRESTON: Okay.
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: For a better discussion on that,
22 but I think the real question is how can we all work
23 together and guide this redevelopment, and I want to make
24 this very clear again. We've done it generally, the CRA
25 program which is the redevelopment program that we talked
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1 about that
was deferred today is not
really Overtown. I
2 mean, even
though the newspaper talks
about it like
it is,
3 it's categorically incorrect. It is
categorically
4 incorrect.
The redevelopment of the
CRA is between
14th
5 Street to the
south of wherever you
think Overtown
ends;
6 6th Street,
5th Street or wherever you
want to end
it, and
7 that's all.
Less than 20 percent of
the residents
of
8 Overtown live within the redevelopment boundaries, less
9 than 20 percent. But when you read it in the press, it
10 makes it sound like da da da da. It's totally misleading,
11 totally miscorrect, misstated. The CRA boundry stops at
12 14th Street. It always has, it always has done that. I
13 propose to take it straight up 3rd Avenue all the way up
14 to 20th, but not the exterior areas, but still at least
15 you can get a better corridor for development. But when
16 we talk about the CRA, it doesn't include any of the
17 Overtown -- the massive land of Overtown which is west of
18
95. Nothing west of 95 is
included, so by
definition the
19
CRA and Overtown, the CRA
is only impacting
about 15
20
percent, 15 to 20 percent
of the land mass
and probably 15
21
percent of the population.
So we have to
stay focused on
22
the County and the City doing
their job as
it relates to
23
redevelopment of Overtown
and not just the
CRA but the CRA
24
part
is a very
important
part because it
links Park West
25
with
Overtown,
which is
everything from
Biscayne Boulevard
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1 coming over. We're going to have to close this out. I
2 want to hear from anyone who has not spoken yet that would
3 like to be heard. If you would like to be heard and you
4 have not spoken, please go to the mic, then we will hear
5 from those persons that have not -- that have had an
6 opportunity to speak. Ma'am, have you been heard? You
7 been heard? Well, nobody --
8 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: She's the only one
9 I think that haven't been heard at all.
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you. All right, we're
11 going to hear from these one, two, three, four, five
12 speakers. Anybody else? Six speakers, seven speakers and
13 that will be it. We're going to have to recess the
14 meeting. All right. Yes, ma'am, thank you for being
15 here.
16 MS. DORIS HALL: Thank you for allowing the
17 forum. Doris Hall, 2201 Brickel Avenue. It's a pleasure
18 to be here and also hear the rich history of Overtown and
19 feel part of the community. Thank you for the
20 opportunity. Today I'd like to bring focus to the issue
21 involving the Crosswinds development in so far as June is
22 going to be national housing month and in that respect I'm
23 a fair housing advocate and I'd like to speak please to
24 the gentrification issues that have been brought forth
25 today insofar as this particular master plan that is
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1 presented before us today. It indicates with
2 Architectonica Overtown master plan. The thought would be
3 and the suggestion would be that in keeping with issues of
4 balance in the Overtown community as it currently exists,
5 that you look at what is formally
called in
planning the
6 neighborhood impact study and that
you take
a snapshot of
7 Overtown today and what exists in
the way of
affordable
8 housing. For instance, how many units were built? How
9
many units are
needing to be
replaced?
How many units
10
would you want
to designate for
affordable
housing, and
11
then in the CRA
plan that is
going to be
discussed, the
12
recommendation
would be that
there would
perhaps be
13
consideration
for a component
to protect
the existing
14 housing that has not been addressed with for instance
15 rehabilitation dollars. In other words. vniir
16
gentrification impact
is not only
with new
development
17
that doesn't meet the
caps for the
load of
the low to
18 moderate income, but I'm also a member of the national low
19 income housing coalition and one of the recommendations
20 before Congress is a set aside for a land trust that would
21
make the emphasis
be placed on existing
housing, existing
22
affordable housing
and also fair play in
replacement
23
housing that would
bring dollars towards
those who --
24
those tax payers and those who are seeking
first time
25
homeownership that
it would actually be
planned into the
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1 Overtown master plan. That would be in the form of again
2 a needs assessment, and the corporations that I have been
3 speaking with would be delighted to donate free to the
4 City a very sophisticated system that would identify those
5 units and those housing units that would need let's say
6 rehabilitation, ongoing maintenance and a -- and a true
7 affordable housing plan that does not get washed away with
8 the CRA redevelopment.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You make some very good points.
10 I hope Commissioner Burke heard you very clearly because
11
the -- and
Phil
Bacon.
Let me tell you the concern about
12
the points
you make.
Number one, this cannot be done by
13
the CRA at
all because
the CRA is such a small percentage
14
of Overtown
and
while
all of the development that we're
15
talking about
is
in --
is in the CRA boundary, again, 85
16
to 90 percent
of
the housing
is outside of the CRA
17
boundaries,
so --
and
they are limited by State law that
18
they really
can't
do a
lot outside of the boundaries. I
19 mean, I would probably argue with the lawyer who probably
20 would disagree with me and he would prevail that they
21 can't do a study outside, but I think any study needs to
22 be done through the proper department of the City Planning
23 Department, or Community Development or both with the CRA
24 supporting it, but that would really skew. The other
25 concern that I have is this: The number of single
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1 detached houses in Overtown is among the lowest in the
2 nation, so when you start talking about the preservation
3 of the housing stock in the context of the urban land
4 institute and
the organizations
that
really have done a
5 lot in this,
again, it's one of
these
Overtown sort of
6 doesn't fit the model. Most of your housing in Overtown,
7 virtually 90
some percent
of it with
the exception of what
8 the Habitat
has built is
multi -family
publically owned
9 publically supported housing. Section 8, Section 8
10 subsidy, straight out Section 8 mod rehab, the co-ops,
11 public housing, which -- so again, I think what you're
12 saying makes a lot of sense, but I think we got to tweak
13
the model to
make sure that
we're
matching Overtown
14
because some
things I'm not
sure we really want to
15
preserve per
se. Because what
we are really trying to do
16
is move the
economic ladder
up
and some things we clearly
17
want to preserve
but I think
Overtown is a really unique
18
model within
the nation and
it
sticks out in all of the
19 census tracts as a part of a nationwide survey, so I'd
20
like very much to meet with you.
I'd like
our planning
21
staff, for our planning staff Miss
Arscott
from the CRA
22
and the Net Administrator and our
planning
people to meet
23
with you because I think you make
an excellent point.
24
MS. HALL: Thank you.
25
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you.
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1 MS. HALL: I would be delighted to add the
2 corporate sponsors and bring them towards the City and
3 they're national corporations and they would be delighted
4 to also -- they have agreed in principal to donate much of
5 the technology to assist with the focus on maintaining
6 viable sustainable communities.
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you very much. All right.
8 Now, has everyone spoken -- at least spoken once? Have
9 you spoken before, sir? All right, could you let the
10 gentleman speak and then we'll hear from everyone else
11 that would like to speak.
12 MR. RENE WALKER: My name is Rene Walker. I'm
13 over at 2009 Northwest 7th Avenue. My concern is because
14 of all this developing that is going on over here with
15 being in the same place -- my mother is living there now.
16 She's 91 years old. I --
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: What's the address again?
18 MR. WALKER: 2009 Northwest 7th Avenue, which is
19 part of Overtown.
20 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yeah.
21 MR. WALKER: And my concern is that we are trying
22 to -- with all the development that is going on over here,
23 we are trying to clean this area, and as Mr. Kenneth
24 Wilson spoke before about clearing the homeless people out
25 of this area, I'm concerned about the move over to
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1 Camillus house over to that area because it will be next
2 door to me and that will negatively impact not only myself
3 but it also negatively impact the Dunbar Elementary School
4 and St. Frances Savior Elementary School and I don't think
5 that that is a development that should be moved over
6 there. I think that what we need -- what we need there is
7 for example some of these museums are going over to
8 Bicentennial Park. I think that will help greatly for the
9 children of the area of the Dunbar and St. Frances Savior
10 and it's, you know, it's something that is -- we have been
11 there 30 years and my father used to own the gas station
12 across the street. There was a Gulf Station there and I
13 also would like to point out that I am a Cuban American
14 who lives in that area and I have been there. I did not
15 move, I did not move down to southwest, you know. We've
16 made that area our home for the last 30 years, so my
17 concern is you're trying to clean this area over here with
18 -- and moving the Camillus house over, and that area is
19 also Overtown and that is my concern and I just make it
20 that short and that's all I had to say. Thank you very
21 much.
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I'm really happy that you took
23 the time to come. This is the first issue that has been
24 raised today and in a couple of our other meetings. It's
25 one of the most controvercial. It's --
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1
MR. WALKER: Commissioner, I just raised it
2
because --
3
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
No, it's important.
4
MR. WALKER: At
this moment it was part of open
5
--
6
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
You're 100 percent to correct to
7
raise it and I'm pleased
that you raised it. It's been
8
the subject of probably the
most heated debate that I've
9
ever served on the commission
of, and what the gentleman
10
is talking about are the
long-term plans to redevelop the
11
Camillus house along 7th
Avenue somewhere between 14th and
12
20th Streets.
13
MR. WALKER: Between
17th and 20th, and that
14
whole area is, you know,
is where Camillus house is going
15
to be. And on 20th -- on
20th Street, half a block away
16
from Dunbar Elementary, and
on the other end will be on
17
17th is about a block or
a block or two blocks away from
18
St. Frances Savior.
19
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
And Booker T.
20
MR. WALKER: And
will be next door to me, you
21
know, and --
22
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
And I understand that.
23
MR. WALKER: And
also to -- I'm sorry, go ahead.
24
CHAIRMAN TEELE:
No, and also? Go ahead.
25
MR. WALKER: No,
what I was going to say, it's
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also going to impact -- negatively impact the residents of
Park Town, you know, which are right next to that area.
So this is my concern. That's one of the reasons why I'm
here, and like I said before, we have been in this, you
know, there 30 years and I intend to be there a lot
longer. That building was built in 1926 and I have put
-- we have put a lot of work into trying to preserve it.
It's an old, old building. I know it might not be part of
the -- I'm sorry, it might not be part of the Overtown
history, but it is also part of Overtown and that is my
concern, sir.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right. Let me just say this
very quickly; the issue we're talking about is the
Camillus House. The concerns that the gentleman is
stating are well founded and well placed and are valid
concerns. They have very valid concerns, and you're at
the right place at the right time to express them. I
don't know when that issue is going to move again. It's
-- I think it's very important that the City and the
Camillus house meet with the owners of property in the
area, especially Town Park and others because what the
Camillus house is proposing to do is totally different
from what you described or what most people think, if I
may finish.
MR. WALKER: Sure.
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1 CHAIRMAN TEELE: If you go to where the Camillus
2 house -- Camillus House Health Clinic is, which is on 3rd
3 Court and 5th Street and 4th Street, they have a homeless
4 facility there. If you drive by, 4th Street day and night
5 it looks just like a Marriott Courtyard. I mean it. You
6 can't tell the difference between that and a Marriott
7 Courtyard. That's what they're saying they're going to do
8 over on 7th Avenue; that they will not replicate what is
9 there. I think there's a tremendous amount of concern.
10 Your concern is well placed, and I respect that.
11 MR. WALKER: Commissioner, there is also
12 something else that it hasn't been brought up. If
13 Camillus house is -- Camillus house need that state of art
14 the facilities, we can build it where it is upwards.
15 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: That's right.
16 MR. WALKER: There is plenty of room where it is
17 to build it upwards and they can have all the -- all of
18 the different state of the art facilities right over
19 there.
20 UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: That's right.
21 MR. WALKER: There is plenty of room where it is
22 to build up it upwards and they can have all the different
23 state of the art facilities right there. It doesn't need
24 to go into Overtown, doesn't need to get out of this area
25 and into Overtown.
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1 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I can tell that you you have a
2 very valid point. I tried to support balancing everything
3 with the City and the community.
4 MR. WALKER: Exactly.
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: If I lose on Crosswinds, I can
6 tell you right here right now the Camillus house coming
7 there is going to be your last concern because --
8 MR. WALKER: Commissioner.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I mean, I'm just being honest.
10 I mean, all I got is one vote, just one little vote and I
11 can tell you if the Camillus House -- if the Crosswinds
12 does not -- if there is not a major significant trust fund
13 established for the residents of Overtown, that's going to
14 be your last concern because Camillus house can stay
15 there --
16 MR. WALKER: It is --
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: -- for a long long time.
18 MR. WALKER: I'm just going to make one short
19 comment and I -- I'll be off, please. That right now
20 Camillus house is in another district. It's in
21 Commissioner Johnnie Winton's district, correct, so we are
22 proposing taking it out of there because they don't want
23 it and bringing it into our own district, your district?
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, that's interesting. When
25 you read the Miami Herald and you read the Miami Today,
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they say it's in Commissioner Gonzalez's district and --
MR. WALKER: Well, yeah. Let me --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: And I'm telling you it's not in
Commissioner Gonzalez's district.
MR. WALKER: I know that.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: But it's very --
MR. WALKER: It's in yours, sir.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: It is. Trust me, I understand
that. Trust me, I do know.
MR. WALKER: I know that.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: But I just want you to
understand how the -- how the public can be manipulated on
certain things when it's convenient.
MR. WALKER: I understand that.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: And all I'm saying to you is no
decision has been made on the Camillus House yet but you
are right and correct to express your fears and concerns.
MR. WALKER: I will step out now, but if I could
also at any other time talk to you about this issue, I
would like to.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Madam Clerk, would you ensure
that the gentleman's full information is transmitted and
we can set up a meeting with you.
MR. WALKER: Thank you very much. I appreciate
it.
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CHAIRMAN TEELE: In July, okay. I want to stay
focused on Crosswinds right now.
MS. GREEN: Public.
MR. WALKER: Whatever you'd like, sir.
MS. GREEN: Un item [-D] woman says let it be
public.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Huh?
MS. GREEN: Let it be public.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: It won't be a public meeting.
It will be him and me, me and him.
MS. GREEN: Private meeting?
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yeah, him and me. It's all
right.
MS. GREEN: Let him wait. Hold your breath.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: You know, you just having too
darn much fun. You must have waited up all week for this
meeting so you could come down here --
MS. GREEN: No. I'm so glad you having this
meeting and the only thing I could stay say, Commissioner,
is you should have them more frequently --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: No. God no.
MS. GREEN: Because we love to talk to you, and
look, I had the opportunity to go into Washington so I
don't know if we gonna ever get better because you see, I
went up there and what people think it is, it isn't. I
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1 went there and people were down on the floor --
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Tell us what you want to talk
3 about right now so we can --
4 MS. GREEN: Let me just say this right quick
5 filling out applications for jobs on the floor. They
6 didn't even have a table, but let me tell you this;
7 everything is told to us to take to the Net Office, okay.
8 Take it to the Net Office. And then the Net Office is
9 going to convey it, but what the Net Office does is take
10 it and I'm a tell you, I got to have a way to do this now.
11 The Net Office take your ideas and give them to somebody
12 else and I like Chris if he -- he's very respectable. I'm
13 going to tell you I think he's the right man and he can
14 become a great man, but if he'll recall, I sat down with
15 him and talked about career awareness. Now, let me just
16 get this clear, too. Let me make this clear. When I talk
17 about Overtown Advisory Board, get -- get this in your
18 head. I'm not speaking for me to be the dictator, which I
19 feel like they have --like we have -- Overtown is a
20 dictatorship. Two, it seems as though you feel like
21 nobody else in Overtown can do nothing and I'm not talking
22 about myself but some certain people. Everything is
23 turned over to them and therefore we aren't getting
24 anything, and like Miss Smith -- and I usually talk about
25 that, that's the senior citizens, and it's not about
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1 taking a trip 'cause I've taken many, many trips. I done
2 been to all the places that you named and more, French
3 Quarters and all, but we got to do something about it and
4 piggyback on what Jackie Bell said about every other
5 ethnic group is ahead of us and that is because the way we
6 are socialized in the United States. Only the black
7 Americans -- and when I said that, people that was not
8 born in the Caribbean or other countries. When those
9 people come here, they come here ready to work. They have
10 some skills. Only in America do you let the people stand
11 on the corner and do absolutely nothing and figure out a
12 way they can beat the system and they do too, you know,
13 and I've worked all my life but let me tell you this; we
14 need, Commissioner, some accountability. You're going to
15 have to stop all these different organize -- it's too many
16 giving money and everybody coming here steal babies for
17 money. To my knowledge like the Lyric Theatre, they been
18 getting money for 20 some -- where is the money that you
19 give them? Who's getting the interest, and I need an
20 answer to this question I'm fixing to ask; do the Overtown
21 Advisory Board have a budget? Do they get a budget,
22 Overtown Advisory Board? I need a answer. Do they have a
23 budget?
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Mr. McKnight.
25 MR. MCKNIGHT: Miss Green is a former board
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1 member.
2 MS. GREEN: I don't -- no, but I -- but I want to
3 -- I never did know. You kept me out. They never gave me
4 the rules.
5 MR. MCKNIGHT: I wasn't on the board along with
6 her.
7 MS. GREEN: But you been there ever since I was
8 retired; ten years.
9 MR. MCKNOGHT: (Unintelligible.)
10 MS. GREEN: Like the supreme court.
11 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Wait.
12 MS. GREEN: Wait a minute, Mr. --
13 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You asked a question.
14 MS. GREEN: Commissioner, please.
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: May I answer your question?
16 MS. GREEN: Yes, sir, you can.
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: To my knowledge, there is no
18 direct appropriations to the Overtown -- for the Overtown
19 Advisory Board from the City of Miami or the CRA. I
20 cannot speak for the County or the Empowerment Trust or
21 any other, and they are a corporation. They are free to
22 go out and raise money in accordance with their bylaws and
23 the wishes of the Board of Directors.
24 MS. GREEN: The bylaws don't state that they can
25 raise money, but according to the bylaws they are not even
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1 active according to Tallahassee.
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, Miss Green, what's
3 your point?
4 MS. GREEN: All right, but let me just finish.
5 Let me just finish this because the reason I asked
6 you'cause another thing about parks and recreation, I saw
7 the brochure that Javier has issued.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Javier who?
9 MS. GREEN: The one over parks and recreation,
10 one that took over I think it's Gonzalez or Rodriguez, one
11 or the other, but his first name is Javier. Okay, he has
12 nothing, absolutely nothing planned for a park in Overtown
13 and I think Mr. McAleese (sic) or whatever his name that
14 gave the money for the Youth Center, that's what he said
15 inspired him to give the money when those children from
16 Overtown got drowned. Do we -- they need a swimming
17 program in Overtown and I just can't understand if you
18 gave the Optomists Club -- what's wrong with the Gibson
19 Park? They can't use that building there to house some
20 stuff? What is being done in there in the Gibson park
21 right there by the Gibson library? They can't use it?
22 They tell me -- they tell me they don't have no where to
23 put stuff. That's what -- Commissioner, you don't want to
24 hear it but somebody has to come out there and get a grip
25 on Overtown and what's going on.
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2 the manager's Chief of Staff is here. The Manager's
3 office is responsible for running things. Commissioners
4 are like legislators, Congressmen.
5 MS. GREEN: True.
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: We make the laws and the rules
7 and approve the budget. We don't run things. I am more
8 than willing to convene an oversight meeting and get the
9 Parks Director and the Net Administrator and anybody else
10 and figure out what your concern is if you would express a
11 concern that can be dealt with in a legislative manner,
12 but Mrs. Green, you know, you have had a wonderful
13 opportunity today, you've been heard from a lot. There is
14 no reason why you don't make an appointment with me and
15 the Mayor's Chief of Staff and let's just sit down and go
16 through this.
17 MS. GREEN: Oh, the Mayor's -- okay, because you
18 know, I made one and you never showed and your staff was
19 so -- they were hurt. They said Miss Green, when you see
20 the Commissioner in the street you have to call us and
21 make sure that he knows.
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I gave you a proclemation and
23 you didn't show, but I didn't put it on the record and try
24 to embarrass you with it.
25 MS. GREEN: But didn't I come back because I
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1 wasn't there? I came back and I certainly appreciate it.
2 That showed you that your heart is bigger than I thought,
3 really, and you know that I'm out here really and I mean
4 everything I do because I haven't got a dime from nobody
5 to do anything.
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Miss Green.
7 MS. GREEN: But I see the need -- wait, just let
8 me finish this here and go sit down. I'm talking about my
9 ideas. I started that career awareness.
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You can't license and you can't
11 patent an idea.
12 MS. GREEN: Smith, that's what I want to know;
13 how can we -- and wait, this young man right here. Now
14 let me -- let me tell you what happened and you can --
is CHAIRMAN TEELE: Miss Green, I'm not going to
16 allow that. Look, we got all -- I got somewhere to go if
17 you don't have no where to go and everybody else --
18 MS. GREEN: I should have been -- I should have
19 been to a funeral right now but I missed it because I --
20 you don't come out that often, you see, and that's why,
21 and we wouldn't be so -- we don't be so --
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Miss Green.
23 MS. GREEN: This the second one, Commissioner.
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You talking about a meeting, but
25 let me tell you something -
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1 MS. GREEN: In four years, you and --
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I am in churches in Overtown, I
3 am in restaurants --
4 MS. GREEN: Well, come visit us at New Birth,
5 please.
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: That ain't in Overtown.
7 MS. GREEN: I know it isn't, but I'm just telling
8 you just come visit us.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, you come visit --
10 MS. GREEN: Maybe I get a chance to talk to you.
11 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You come visit me at Pastor
12 Dubois' church this Sunday. What's --
13 MS. GREEN: Who is Dubois? I can't come. That's
14 --
is CHAIRMAN TEELE: No, Pastor Dubois' is 17th and
16 3rd Avenue, Temple Baptist Church. Come see tomorrow at
17 Temple Baptist and then tomorrow I'll be at Booker T.
18 Washington's graduation, so don't you put on the record
19 that I'm not -- I'm over in Overtown too much.
20 MS. GREEN: But I mean with meetings where we can
21 talk.
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I don't want to be in a whole
23 lot of meetings.
24 MS. GREEN: We can't break the sunshine law,
25 violate it.
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CHAIRMAN TEELE: All y'all want to do is --
MS. GREEN: Mr. -- Mr. -- tell him now.
MS. EL' AMIN: I just -- I just want to make an
announcement, that's all.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, we going to hear from
you. Go ahead.
MR. EL' AMIN: Richard El' Amin, Providence
Lodge. We have a big function that we have every year
anually and it has grown tremendously, so we I wanted to
catch some of the people before they left but --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: What's the date, time and place
of the event?
MR. EL' AMIN: The event is -- well, first of all
I want everyone to try to make it to the meeting. The
meeting is October 19th, the affair is the back -to -school
giveaway for the kids to get --
CHAIRMAN TEELE: October or August?
MR. EL' AMIN: June. I'm sorry. June the 19th
is the meeting. It's a back -to -school giveaway for the
kids --
giveaway?
the 7th.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Is that the date of the
MR. EL' AMIN: The date of the giveaway is August
CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, August 7th.
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1 MR. EL' AMIN: It's August the 7th and also we're
2 having a concert on that day also but what I'm trying to
3 get is to get the people, the community to try to come to
4 the meetings so that we can make it a perfect day. We
5 don't have enough participation from the community and it
6 has grown too too large and we need more people to involve
7 and especially the different home en owners association
8 and especially Irby, the Advisory Committee because we
9 sent out notices and somehow they don't get to you or
10 whatever, but now that I got your attention, please please
11 come to the meeting.
12 MR. MCKNIGHT: Where is it.
13 MR. EL' AMIN: It's going to be at the Masonic
14 Lodge, 10:00 a.m. We only hold our meetings for an hour
15 and we're very strict, so a whole lot of conversation we
16 do not allow. Strictly business from 10:00 to 11:00,
17 11:00 we stop.
18 MR. MCKNIGHT: I'll be there.
19 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes, ma'am.
20 MS. JACKSON: Hi, I have to state my name again
21 right?
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes, ma'am.
23 MS. JACKSON: Dorothy Jackson. I was listening
24 to the young lady about the Lyric Theatre and I never seen
25 a Overtown tour bus for culture. You know, I think that
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1 we should have our own Overtown tour bus for the kids and
2 the grown people or whatever and people that's visiting
3 like for all the buildings that are being tore down or
4 whatever. I think that'd be nice.
5 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I think that's a very good
6 point. I think Dr. Fields has taken that under advisement
7 but one of the things we need is we need buses that are
8 not just tour buses. We need multi purpose -- what we've
9 got to stop doing is just everybody going out having their
10 own little program and with their own office and their own
11 bus and their own this, we really got to get like the
12 Overtown Youth Center has got buses and we're -- I think
13 didn't we buy buses for the Optomists? Brenda, did I buy
14 some buses for the Optomists? But I thought we bought a
15 bus for the Optimists. Did we buy -- are you all getting
16 a bus?
17 MR. WASHINGTON: (Unintelligible.)
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Okay, but you are getting a bus
19 so the Overtown -- and we need to be able to double up and
20 use those resources in more than just one way, but it's an
21 excellent point.
22 MS. JACKSON: It would be nice to have a name
23 like that on it too, but it's just -- instead of just --
24 but earlier when you was talking about the polices and the
25 drug dealers and all of that, I wanted to speak up. I
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mean, when you call 911 for emergency, they don't even
answer they phone. You know, they call you back 15
minutes later. Somebody could be dead or whatever and
throw across the building.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER: I mean, are you
kidding?
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, look, if you have that
problem you should contact my office and my office will
put you in touch with the civilian independent panel.
There is absolutely no reason why a 911 call is not
answered if it -- if it relates to a police matter, and if
you're having that problem we need to make a formal
complaint with the internal affairs.
MS. JACKSON: Especially Overtown where I stay
at, 1805.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, when you do a -- well,
okay, and we'll put you in contact with internal affairs
if you are making a 911 call for an emergency -- for an
emergency.
MS. JACKSON: Yeah.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Then internal affairs needs to
get a record of that.
MS. JACKSON: And could I say something else?
When you do call the polices, someone get slick with you
when you want to tell them what happened and then you know
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and then like one incident where my son was coming home
from school they was trying to bust some drug boys and he
was coming from school and he had $170 in his pocket and
they put him on the ground with they foot on his back and
I was like what is y'all doing, that's my son. He coming
home from school. No, we need to take him riding around
asking questions.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, again, I think Commander
Meeks is the person you should come up here and talk with.
Now, I don't like to discuss --
MS. JACKSON: Who? This him?
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Yes, he's the handsome officer.
MS. JACKSON: Oh, okay, yeah.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: And talk to him one-on-one
because we don't want to discuss -- we don't want to talk
about children. You put your name on the record and all
that, but there's a way to handle this and if necessary my
office will support you going to internal affairs and
making a formal complaint.
MS. JACKSON: Uh-huh.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: I mean, and we should not make
complaints to the internal affairs loosely or just
frivolously because those complaints stay there forever.
MS. JACKSON: Okay.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: But if you have a legitimate
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1 concern and it's not being addressed in accordance with
2 police procedures, that's the protection that we provide
3 you.
4 MS. JACKSON: Okay. Can I saying something else?
5 Is that -- that's your lawyer, right? That's the lawyer?
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: He's not my --
7 MS. JACKSON: I wanted to say something to him.
8 CHAIRMAN TEELE: He's not my lawyer.
9 MS. JACKSON: I'm having a problem and I can't
10 afford a lawyer and I wanted to know --
11 CHAIRMAN TEELE: He'-s not that kind of lawyer.
12 MS. JACKSON: Oh, well he can't point me to no
13 lawyer?
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Maybe so, but you ought to come
15 talk to him.
16 MS. JACKSON: Okay.
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: He's the City lawyer and he's
18 the lawyer for the City Manager, the Mayor and City
19 Commission. All right, the last two speakers. Yes,
20 ma'am. Yes, sir, and you all have been very wonderful and
21 patient and I hope the Overtown -- Chairman of the
22 Overtown Advisory Board is going to take us all to lunch.
23 MS. EASON: And so have you, so thank you first
24 of all before I start real quickly here. Again, Velma
25 Eason, 411 Northwest 6th Street. I've heard a lot today
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about the --- a lot of concerns and programs that are
being run into Overtown. There's another situation that I
just want to bring up as an educator. Now that we have
Booker T. back on board as a high school and the first
class coming out of there in 2002 of which my son was a
part there was a large number of those students who did
not graduate due to the FCAT circumstance and some other
issues and that was in 2002. 2003 same thing happened
2004 four it's getting ready to happen again and when did
you say graduation is, tomorrow?
CHAIRMAN TEELE: What time is graduation tomorrow
what time is the graduation tomorrow at Booker T. ? 4:00
MS. EASON: 4:00 tomorrow.
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Dedication of Tornado Way is at
6:00 immediately following Booker T. Washington graduation
bacheloreat services at 4:00 p.m., yes, ma'am.
MS. EASON: So if we look at this, though, over
what three years we're talking now there is a group that
doesn't seem to be addressed that I have a concern about
and these are the young adults that are coming out without
the diplomas and we don't need to get into a lot of
technicalities as to why here because it's just a fact
that this is happening and yet when they graduate, they
cannot go into college. Even Miami Dade I was informed
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1 recently has decided to just take a back seat and not, you
2 know, they don't even want to touch the situation. So we
3 will have another what I call second class of citizens
4 that will be out here that's multiplying over the years
5 that cannot get jobs, they cannot go into the universities
6 or colleges and we really need to look at some of these
7 issues and maybe try to set up some programs or something
8 to help that group.
9 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I agree. I think we -- again,
10 we've got just a whole lot of organizations out there and
11 a lot of it needs to focus -- say it again. Her
12 suggestion is that we need to try to formulate a program
13 to --
14 CHAIRMAN MCKIGHT: No, no, no. What does she
15 suggest we do (unintelligible)?
16 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Mr. McKnight is saying what do
17 you suggest we do.
18 MS. EASON: Well, I mean, I'm just throwing it
19 out and we can brainstorm about it but perhaps even with
20 the Crosswinds if there's something we can put in place or
21 maybe they have some ideas on as a part of that
22 development or the whole community, we have a lot -- I
23 mean not a lot but we have like the afterschool activities
24 through the schools, we have the Optomists Club, we have
25 the Overtown Youth Center, we have Greater Beth El.
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1 CHAIRMAN TEELE: What do you suggest -- I know
2 what we got out there, but what are you suggesting we do?
3 That's Mr. McKnight's question, what --
4 MS. EASON: Training. We need some type of
5 training for these students. Not just -- I mean, the
6 tutoring is one thing --
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: When you say training, you're
8 talking about like --
9 MS. EASON: Training, maybe jobs.
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Job training?
11 MS. EASON: And training -- yes, now that I --
12 you know, McDonalds has decided they don't even want to
13 hire them without the diploma now, so we do -- we just
14 need to come up with some --
is CHAIRMAN TEELE: Thank you.
16 MS. EASON: -- types of programs for that.
17 Greater Beth E1 and I just make this last comment because
18 my son was a member of that 2002 class from Booker T.
19 He's attending Miami Dade Wolfson, although I received a
20 phone call and I have been struggling -- I'm a parent, a
21 single parent of two children --
22 CHAIRMAN TEELE: How much does it cost to go to
23 Miami Dade Wolfson now?
24 MS. EASON: Depending on how many courses you
25 take, the credits is about 52 something a credit now.
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1 CHAIRMAN TEELE: So for what --
2 MS. EASON: As opposed to 30 -- 30 something, $35
3 I believe it was two years ago when my son started.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: It's gone up a lot.
5 MS. EASON: Yes, yes.
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: So one full semester is about
7 how much now?
8 MS. EASON: About close to a thousand. You're
9 talking 800 to a thousand for -- yeah.
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: All right, but -- okay, I think
11 the important thing is this; you put it on the record. I
12 think the Overtown Advisory Board and other organizations
13 really need to look at it, but one of the things that I
14 would urge you to do or not to do is this; number one, I
15 am not -- I mean, I'm going to hold Crosswinds accountable
16 especially as it -- when it comes to money, but I'm not
17 going to try to make Crosswinds a social engineer piggy
18 bank hold on forever in the community because in a lot of
19 ways it just doesn't work. These are developers. They
20 ain't here to build a school -- I mean, to build a unit
21 here, a thousand units and some retail. We didn't talk a
22 lot about the parking. One of the things that I'm
23 fighting with them about and we're in firm discussions is
24 parking and how we can address that. Del, you you'll be
25 interested to know that one of the first things I told
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1 them yesterday at one o'clock and he's still here that on
2 that block where Poinciana is, we need at least 40 more
3 parking spaces because the existing parking dedicated is
4 not enough; is that correct?
5 MR. BRYAN: That's correct.
6 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Is it about 40 or 50 or 20 or
7 30?
8 MR. BRYAN: We actually need at least double what
9 we have.
10 CHAIRMAN TEELE: What do you have now?
11 MR. BRYAN: Only one assigned per unit.
12 CHAIRMAN TEELE: What do you have now?
13 MR. BRYAN: We have 64.
14 CHAIRMAN TEELE: So you have 64 so he's saying
15 you need double that, so that's what I was saying -- at
16 least 50 units have to be added in there if we want to
17 solve that problem, even though I didn't talk about that
18 in the context of the Longshoremen and the Lyric Theatre
19 I'm talking about the whole issue and my point yesterday
20 was that Poinciana Village, existing Poinciana Village
21 parking has got to be solved and I'm putting that on
22 Crosswinds, just so you know; however, and it was not on
23 the table, it was not on the table at one o'clock but what
24 I'm not prepared to put on the table with Crosswinds are
25 the social engineering issues that a lot of people have
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1 talked to me about that are legitimate issues but we got
2 to put the development burden on Crosswinds but we've got
3 to figure out a way to deal with what you're talking
4 about. It's so important, and again the City of Miami and
5 the Overtown Advisory Board is not a mini God, a you know
6 -- we've got school boards and school board
7 representatives and all job training has nothing to do
8 with the City. It is all County, the South Florida Work
9 Force Development program has how much money a year,
10 about? South Florida Work Force Development.
11 MR. MCKNIGHT: About $60 million.
12 CHAIRMAN TEELE: At least $60 to $100 million
13 right now for job training and you know, people come to
14 the City and it's okay, I don't have a problem with that
15 but we've got to look at how we can also as an Overtown
16 community parcel out responsibilities to government
17 agencies that have had the opportunity to ignore us to
18 hide behind things and not get it done, just like you
19 wouldn't come to me and talk about a health care issue
20
you'd go to
Jackson Hospital, really the
issue of job
21
training is
not a municipal issue it is
a County issue
22
that which
the Federal government funds
hundreds of
23
billions of
dollars a year. Miami gets
at least $60
24
million a year.
Last time I looked they
had $70 million
25
of unspent
money from previous years on
top of the annual
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1 money, so those are the kind of legitimate issues that we
2 really got to get our hands around.
3 MS. EASON: Okay.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Because the program that you're
5 talking about is the kind of program that maybe we should
6 take the initiative in writing a special grant with the
7 South Florida Work Force Development for the graduates of
8 Booker T. that did not get degrees, and I commend you for
9 bringing it forward.
10 MS. EASON: Right, and that I bring that up
11 because as we talk about a trust from --
12 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I hear you.
13 MS. EASON: This trust now, and let me just state
14 someone from somewhere there was a trust, Overtown trust
15 set up that went to Miami Dade I was a part of that that
16 went in for --
17 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Honey, let me tell you this -- I
18 don't mean to get informal --
19 MS. EASON: That went in for retaining.
20 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I'm tired, these bugs are eating
21 me up, but let me tell you this; there have been more
22 things set up in Overtown --
23 MS. EASON: Uh-huh.
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: That came and went and and it
25 was --
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1 MS. EASON: Wait, wait --
2 CHAIRMAN TEELE: When the media -- when the media
3 left and when the great editorials and newspaper articles
4 were written, they all left. All of those things,
5 including some man who said he was going to give some
6 money for kids in Overtown and that turned into being a
7 sham, didn't it?
8 MS. EASON: Well, this, the one that I'm speaking
9 of, the funding was there. It was in place because I used
10 it.
11 CHAIRMAN TEELE: I can assure you that that money
12 is gone.
13 MS. EASON: Wait, wait. What -- wait a minute.
14 Wait. I used it. I was under for retaining at Miami
15 Dade.
16 CHAIRMAN TEELE: That was at Miami Dade a trust
17 that they set up?
18 MS. EASON: Overtown, but wait a minute. Wait a
19 minute. And I was still there, went to enroll and had
20 been there using it for a couple of semesters, went back
21 and they said oh, well, the money, it's down in Kendall
22 now. I said Kendall? But this was Overtown money.
23 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Honey --
24 MS. EASON: So -- wait. So then I researched it,
25 I researched it. It showed up at the Medical Center
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1 under --
2 MR. MCKNIGHT: Miss Eason, Miss Eason --
3 MS. EASON: -- center --
4 MR. MCKNIGHT: I sent someone two weeks ago and
5 they were told that you have to go to the international
6 campus in order to --
7 MS. EASON: Oh, that's --
8 MR. MCKNIGHT: -- accept --
9 MS. EASON: Wait a minute. That's the next issue
10 I was just about to bring up; when my son graduated, I got
11 a phone call to tell me -- someone from international
12 campus told me if my son chooses to go to the
13 international campus, he will get a full scholarship
14 because he was in the top 20 percent of that class, okay,
15 the A plus program and all of that, but he didn't get the
16 money but they told me if he goes to Wolfson, which is in
17 walking distance to our house, I have to pay the full
18 ride.
19 MR. MCKNIGHT: Same problem other residents in
20 Overtown have.
21 MS. EASON: But Overtown -- the only - because
22 again I used it for some years was Flagler Biscayne View
23 20th Street and 7th Avenue was the criteria.
24 MR. MCKNIGHT: Yeah, you are referring to the
25 Kelloggs Foundation grant of '92 but we are -- there's
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1 another person in the neighborhood that actually got the
2 scholarship, you and two other people, and I can't find
3 anybody else who did.
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Well, my point is, Mr. McKnight,
5 we need to make a record of this. I think Jackie Bell has
6 sort of done a tremendous service by at least doing her
7 homework coming up. We need to make a chart, an outline
8 of all of these programs that have been promised that have
9 been taken away. That's why I'm so passionate about a
10 trust in perpetuity that is outside of anybody's hands
11 that's with a bank or an institution outside of the City
12 that is in perpetuity, because you know, I like to think
13 about the native Americans because nobody including blacks
14 have been treated as badly as native Americans but --
15 MS. EASON: True.
16 CHAIRMAN TEELE: But there is a story that they
17 tell, the Cherokee, called the Trail of Tears. Overtown
18 is a modern day black American story of a trail of tears.
19 The stories -- and the problem is we don't record our own
20 history. We're -- with all due respect, Dr. Fields, we
21 don't record it enough, particularly these contemporary
22 things where people have come and promised this and
23 promised that and once they get something you never see
24 them again or once -- once the dissertation has been
25 written, you never see the people again, and so we've got
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1 to be a little bit more accountable and we cannot be so
2 trusting and as Ronald Reagan, God bless him, used to say
3 to the Russians, trust but verify. We got to figure out
4 how to trust but verify anything that anybody's promising
5 us because it just doesn't happen.
6 MS. EASON: Right.
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Final comments, I want to just
8 acknowledge the people that never get acknowledged and we
9 wouldn't even be talking to each other if they weren't
10 here. They're the nameless, faceless City employees that
11 make it work; Michael Arnold and Richard Robinson from GSA
12 Communications they're. The people that run the PA
13 systems. Guys, I know you tell your wives or your family
14 or your other you'd be there at noon. We'll give you a
15 memo saying -- okay, so you've been a wonderful audience.
16 How long are you going to take?
17 MR. ANTHONY CUTLER: Not long.
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Like 30 seconds?
19 MR. CUTLER: Not -- no, not that short. I'll
20 make it shorter. I'll try. It will be -- it's short.
21 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You're on.
22 MR. CUTLER: You said I can come back to the
23 floor a few times.
24 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You're here.
25 MR. CUTLER: What about --
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1 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Cutler, give your name, please.
2 MR. CUTLER: Oh, Anthony Cutler. I'm sorry.
3 When you start talking about affordable houses, affordable
4 houses can be determined a numerous of ways but when you
5 come into a community like Overtown and in the African
6 American communities I think the mechanism that affordable
7 housing should be
based on is
the
income that
coming in
8 those households
and that way
you
know you --
you giving
9
these
people here a
opportunity to be homeowners based on
10
they
income instead
of going by some other criteria that
11
they
don't meet and
then like with this place were full of
12 people and I know they all had the desire that these
13
projects here was going to benefit them an then when you
14
tell them that and don't get me
wrong it's a good project
15
and maybe not on this particular
project but maybe the
16
next particular project that you
bring that the majority
17
of the -- of the people will be
-- have some type of home
18
just saying that the majority of
this development will go
19
to low income families because,
you know, when you bring a
20
project in and then they feel as
though this don't even
21
-- if it don't benefit them, but
it does --
22
CHAIRMAN TEELE: Mr. Cutler.
Mr. Cutler, I'm not
23
cutting you off --
24
MR. CUTLER: Okay.
25
CHAIRMAN TEELE: But that's
the whole point; this
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1 is not low
2 MR. CUTLER: I understand. I understood that
3 that's --
4 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And this developer --
5 MR. CUTLER: That's why I said it's a good
6 project, don't get me wrong, I believe that --
7 CHAIRMAN TEELE: This developer walked in the
8 door and said what we want to build is market -rate
9 housing. Market -rate means just what you would buy on
10 Biscayne and 19th, the ones they're building there.
11 MR. CUTLER: Right.
12 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Just what you'll buy in Kendall
13 or in Brickel.
14 MR. CUTLER: Right.
15 CHAIRMAN TEELE: Or anywhere else.
16 MR. CUTLER: On the beach, and I understand that
17 but --
18 CHAIRMAN TEELE: They're going to provide some
19 inducement for 20 percent or up to 20 percent.
20 MR. CUTLER: What I'm saying, what I'm saying is
21 the residents that come in here knowing they are tax
22 payers, is their money that you're using to develop the --
23 to revitalize the communities and then they -- they not
24 actually giving the household to provide for these
25 families, I mean, look like they are being left out. And
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1 that's why a lot of them just done walked out of here I
2 guess because --
3 CHAIRMAN TEELE: No, the reason they walked out
4 of here because it's almost four o'clock, so let's don't
5 put some stupid stuff on the record now because they're
6 talking -- so see, someone will read this record, Mr.
7 Cutler and say apparently the meeting was a flop, the
8 people walked out because they didn't like what they were
9 hearing. But what you understand, nobody's had lunch,
10 everybody's been here from nine o'clock for at least six
11 hours straight and you're getting ready to start so --
12 MR. CUTLER: No.
13 CHAIRMAN TEELE: You all have been a wonderful
14 audience. We're going to have another meeting.
15 MR. CUTLER: I'm bringing up issues --
16 CHAIRMAN TEELE: And you're going to be given
17 another opportunity to speak. God bless you. Stay safe
18 and don't forget Booker T.'s graduation.
19 (End of final CD, CD #7.)
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331
STATE OF FLORIDA )
COUNTY OF DADE )
I, MICHELLE RUBIN, Shorthand Reporter and Notary
Public in and for the State of Florida at Large, do
hereby certify that the foregoing transcript, Pages 1
to and including Page 330, is a true and correct
transcript of seven CDs provided to me by the City
of Miami Clerk's Office of an Overtown Town Hall
Meeting held on June 5th, 2004.
Dated this 16th day of June, 2004.
MICHELLE RUBIN, SHORTHAND REPORTER
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