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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 1981-11-12 MinutesTY O H"+ _ °~C ~. F MIAMI ~~, ~' 1 111COltP~~-R~1TEii J'~k O'O ~e va FM FL~f` ~~ ?~6 ~ ~ NOVEMBER 12, 1981 (REGULAR) ~RE~IIRE~ sY TME OF~iCE of ~ . crn c~ lt11t ~Lt. RALPH G, ON G I E CITY CLERK ~ ~ It~X CIIYI~M~lISS10N OF MIAMI, FLORIA4 QRDI NANCE 0jj 1~ ~. (REGULAR) SECT NOVEMBER 12, 1981 K sol_lJl'ION tVO. PAGE N0~ I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS OF THE NEW COMMISSION. APPOINT JOE CAROLLO AS VICE-MAYOR OF THE CITY. CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY OF MR. MAX FRIEDSON CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY OF DR. JOSE VIDANA DISCUSSION OF OPERATION OF DINNER KEY MARINA STATUTORY CHANGES IN 1981 BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM (A) RESCIND FUNDS TO ALLAPATTAH DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY AND TRANSFER THEM TO A HOT MEALS PROGRAM. (B) APPROVE GENERAL POLICY AS PRESENTED BY ADMINISTRATION DISCUSSION OF ROOFING OF WEST COURTYARD OF COCONUT GROVE EXHIBITION CENTER (A) PROCEED WITH SELECTION OF ARCHITECT/ENGINEER (B) APPROVE GENERAL POLICY AS PRESENTED BY ADMINISTRATION. USE OF RESORT TAX REVENli'ES FOR ORANGE BOWL IMPROVEMENTS DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE REVOCATION OF LICENSE FOR CABLE T.V. RESIDENCY/WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY. DISCUSSION ITEM. CITY REPRESENTATION ON SPORTS AUTHORITY. DISCUSSION OF F.E.C. PROPERTY AND DEPOSIT OF INTERAMA FUNDS INCREASE FEES FOR DOUBLE DEPTH BURIALS AT CITY CEMENTERY AUTHORIZE ISSUANCE OF REVENUE BONDS FOR MULTI FAMILY HOUSING FIRST AND SECOND READING ORDINANCE: ESTABLISH MINORITY PROCUREMENT VENDOR PROGRAM FIRST AND SECOND READING ORDINANCE: INCREASE FEES FOR USE OF MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM AND COCONUT GROVE EXHIBITION CENTER. DISCUSSION AND DEFERRAL: PROPOSED ORDINANCE "PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEE" FIRST AND SECOND READING ORDINANCE: NEW TRUST & AGENCY FUND JUVENILE RUNAWAY PROJECT 3RD YEAR. STATEMENT S M-81-926 R-81-927 R-81-928 DISCUSSION M-81-929 M-81-930 M-81-931 M-81-932 M-81-932-A DISCUSSION M-81--933 DISCUSSION DISCUSSION ORD. 9339 ORD. 9340 ORD. 9341 ORD. 9342 M-81-934 ORD. 9343 I - V 1 2 3 3-10 IO-13 13-17 17-21 21-25 25-Z6 26-27 27 27-28 28-29 29-30 30-31 31- 32 32-33 F MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF MIAMI, FLORIDA On the 12th day of November, 1981, the City Commission of Miami, Florida, met at its regular meeting place in said City in Special Session to consider business of public import, namely Organizational Commission meeting. The meeting was called to order at 12:20 P,M. by Mayor Maurice Ferre with the following members of the Commission present: ALSO PRESENT4 Commissioner J. L. Plummer, Jr. Commissioner Joe Carollo Commissioner Demetrio Perez, Jr. Commissioner Miller J. Dawkins Mayor Maurice A. Ferre Howard V. Gary, City Manager George F. Knox, City Attorney Ralph G. Ongie, City Clerk Matty Hirai, Assistant City Clerk I _ ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS OF THE NEW COMMISSION Mayor Ferre: We are violating the Fire Code at this very moment, so we are going to immediately do the swearing in so that those of you who are here for that purpose can leave. Now, at this time, I would like to ask Reverend Martin Anorga and Max Salvador. I don't know if there are env other ministers here. Is Les Brown here? Reverend Rolle, we would like to have Reverend Rolle. How many ministers do we have here? We want to do _ this fair and square. All right. Now, would those of you that are ministers or priests come forward at this time? All right, we have four ministers here. I see another one coming. We have 5. So as we have this, what I think would be a balanced blessing that we get today. I would like to ask each one of them to give us blessings and a very short nraver, beca>>se there are 5. I'm not going to decide who the order is so as you wish. (AT THIS POINT, VARIOUS INVOCATIONS WERE DELIVERED BY THE VARIOUS MINISTERS FOLLOWED BY PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO OUR FLAG) Mayor Ferre: Now we will do the swearing in if the City Clerk is ready at this time. We will do it alphabetically. I'll be last. I'm going to reverse the role. Members of Commissioner Dawkins' family please step forward. And those of you that are not immediate family, I would be most grateful if you would leave the podium just for the family members and members of the City Commission. (AT THIS POINT, THE CITY CLERK SWORE IN COMMISSIONERS MILLER J. DAWKINS, DEMETR10 PEREZ, JR. AND MAYOR MAURICE A. FERRE). Mayor Ferre: We are now duly sworn in and this is a new City of Miami Commission. I think it's a new day for Miami. (APPLAUSE) Ladies and gentlemen, I am going to ask my two new colleagues to say a few words, but we do have a series of senior citizens that are here who need to go because their lunch time is now past due and they have asked that we just say a few words, so if you'll forgive me, I'm going to say a few words in Spanish, to those of you that do not speak Spanish, so that these I NOV 121981 Mayor Ferre (continued): elderly citizens can go to their lunch. (AT THIS TIME, MAYOR FERRE MAKES BRIEF STATEMENT IN SPANISH) Mayor Ferre: Ladies and gentlemen, on this occasion, I am going to reverse the order. We are now in session, so I would he crateful if you would all take your seats or if you are leaving for your lunch, please do it quietly. I am going to reverse the usual order of proceeding, and I will leave my words, as the duly elected Mayor, for last. And I will now, at this time, reco nize the two members of the C fission nd I~ going to do it by alphabetical order because they bot~i~iave eq~a~. stan~ing in their senority, so I will do it by alphabetical order, and if I'm no rtistakeu, "D" comes before "P". So at this time, it is my pleasure as the Mayor otf the City of Miami to congratulate the new incoming members of the Commission, to wish them Godspeed, best wishes, good luck. I know that they will do a fob that will make all of the people of Miami proud of their endeavors. And it's my pleasure, at this time, to recognize Commissioner Miller Dawkins. Mr. Dawkins: Thank you, Mr. Mayor; to all of my friends who voted for me -- as I campaigned, I told you I would be a Commissioner for all of Miami. 'The votes I received demonstrated that I have to fulfill that promise. I was elected with the majority of the, votes in the black community, I received the ~na~ority of the votes of the white community and I, a lonely black boy from Overtown and what have you, received 25% o~ the Latin votes. To me, that says that Miami has come a long ways from the time when we were splintered. Now we are united, and I promise you as I said when I was campaigning, from this day forward, we're going to do a little for Brickell Avenue, we're going to do a little for Overtown, a little for Little Havana, a little for Flagami, every hamlet or City out there will get some of what we have up here to do with your tax dollars. Thank you. (APPLAUSE) Mayor Ferre: And now at this time, I will recognize the other new member of this Commission, Commissioner Demetrio Perez. (APPLAUSE) Mr. Perez: Honorable Mayor, fellow Commissioners, President Lincoln told us that a house divided cannot stand. Miami divided cannot stand and prosper, and we received a strong demonstration in this election from the whole community. We are very proud of the support received from the different community groups in this election. We are very proud for the 82% that we received from our black community. At the beginning, I wanted to call some friends, but I think that all of you have taken strong participation in this campagin and it was impossible to bring all of you to take the oath. But I want to mention in the black community Mrs. Athalie Range, Charlie Hadley. Z have a special recognition for the black community today. I have also our message of gratitude for the white, non-Spanish speaking community that supported us also in this election. And to our Latin brothers, we are very proud of the campaign that we had, and the strong support that we received in all the neigborhoods of our community. The representation from Wynwood, from Little Havana, from Liberty City, from the whole City of Miami. I think that this is a great opportunity to work for the future, for our well-loved City of Miami. And now, with your permission, let me say a few words in Spanish. (AT THIS POINT, COMMISSIONER PEREZ GIVES BRIEF STATEMENT IN SPANISH) - Mayor Ferre: I would like to thank, first of all, the Lord our God for having safeguarded us through these difficult days, for having brought us to this victory. Secondly, I would like to thank the 31,500ielectors who voted for me and who broke a record. There has never been a Mayor of Miami elected, there has never been any member of the Commission elected that ha3 gotten...(AFPLAliSL)At the conclusion of this term, God willing, I will have served 10 years and 3 months as Mayor of the rir•~ c-f -~~~~i, - which will again be a record. (APPLAUSE) I wish to thank the members of _ my family, in particular, my wife who has taken a great deal of time, interest, she has put her heart into this campaign. This is the first time in the 12 years that I have been involved in politics that she really campaigned. And I am very grateful to her because I want you to know that serving, and running for public office is a very painful experience. It is not an easy experience. NOV 1 ~? X981 ~~ Mayor Ferre (continued): It takes a great deal of sacrifice, and~it takes a great deal of stomach, and the ability to be equanimous and calm when everything about you seems to be going into a hurricane, and so, I'm very grateful for the patience and endurance of my wife. I would also like to thank all of the people that so diligently worked in my campaign. I have run for public office 9 times in my life. I have been in tougher campaigns. This was not the toughest campaign I've had. My campaign in 1970 against, or with Steve Clark for the Mayor of Metropolitan Dade County, was a more difficult and a more tiring campaign than this one. However, I have never been in a campaign where more sensitive issues were involved, where the thread was thinner, where the issues at stake were greater, and where more people had something at stake than this particular campaign. I would be unwise for me to start recognizing the many individuals who spent untold hours, and when I say untold hours, there were people that would literally work 15 and 16 hours straight, and get up the next morning and go back and do it again, at« again, and again, week after wee~t. !:ie vast majority of these people were volunteers. They were not paid. These were people who gave of themselves continually, continuously, and I must say that I have never felt more comforted, or more comfortable in the campaign than in this particular campaign, and I as assured and felt sure of victory, not so much because of the debates and the things that I was doing and saying, but because of the tremendous tenacity, and dedication, and personal commitment of literally hundreds of people. If I were to start naming the individuals, I would have to be here for half an hour, and therefore, I am not going to do that because the other day I offended some of you because I did not mention you, and I apologize to some of you, particularly that they are here, for having inadvertently offended you by not mentioning you. And I am not going to do that today. I am just going to say a very, very sincere and deep thanks to each and every one of you. (APPLAUSE) I would, however, be remiss if I did not thank officially my campaign manager, and the assistant campaign manager, and I'm talking about Marie Petit and Lazaro Albo. And now, let me share a few thoughts with you. The apparent main issue during this campaign was crime. But there was an issue, which was an underlying issue, which was much, much, much more important because it is the glue that keeps us together as a community, and it is what is in danger of coming apart, and would be the cause of civil disturbances and many, many other things. Now, I don't know whether it can be called racism, or nation pride, or protecting my own, it is a theme which is not unique to the City of Miami, nor is it unique to 1981. In yesterday's New York Times there was an article that said, and it's entitled "Mayor of Burtningham is assailed for endorsing black council slate". In this article, it points out, similar to Miami, that the newspaper critics say "played upon political decisions to stir, primarily among whites, of a black-take over of city government." The election campaign ended in a dramatic defeat for the Mayor, who had sponsored an all black city commission, with four whites and a black, an incumbant, being elected, and with a white majority of a 9-member city council rising to 7 from 6. In burmingham, it was a black Mayor who sponsored a black, an all black city commission, and it backfired on him. Fortunately, in Miami we have had a happy experience. We saw in the election several weeks ago of Andy Young, the again tragic division, where 95% of the white community voted for the white candidate, and 98% of the black community voted for the black candidate. Now, in Miami we have a wonderful story to tell and I think it is a national story. (APPLAUSE) It is a victory for the people of Miami and no matter what the editorials of the Miami Herald, or the Miami News say, they are not going to take away this victory from us. They are not going to divide us. (APPLAUSE) Now let me tell you, lastly, what this means in particular terms. Miller Dawkins, who is black, and whose power base is black, would not be sitting where he's sitting right now if 20% of the Latin, the Cuban vote had not come out...Now whether the Puerto Ricans voted for him, 80% of the 3,000 votes, or whether the Cubans voted for him of the 4,000 votes, so much percent, I don't think is germain to the point. That the Cuban, Puerto Rican and other Latin community, 20% of 24,000 votes is well over 4,000 votes and since his margin of victory was less than 2,000 votes, he would not be sitting here if the Cubans and Latins of this community had decided that they would vote the way Atlanta had voted, and the way the Mayor of Burmingham was recommending that people vote, and if they had voted strictly on racial lines, Miller Dawkins would not be sitting here today. ~ Nov z ~ 1ss? ~~ Mayor Ferre (continued): Now, Demetrio Perez worked diligently in the Latin community, and yet, similar to what happened to Miller Dawkins in the black community in the primary, when another black received more black votes than Miller Dawkins did, and similar to what happened in other races when blacks have gone against blacks in Miami, the fact is that Demetrio Perez did not carry the majority of the Latin vote. And Demetrio Perez would not be sitting here if it had not been for the overwhelming support of the black community. And so there you have it. (APPLAUSE) And there you have it in Miami. That's the story that Time Magazine should carry when they come out talking about Miami next week or the following week. And the story is that the black commissioner got elected because of the Latin vote; and the Latin commissioner got elected because of the black vote. (APPLAUSE) Now, I am a relatively young man, I've got to use that word now. I'm a relatively young man and I'm still learning a lot. And I want you to know that I am learning, and I try to Iearn every opportunity that I have. Now, one of the ways I learn is from people. who I consider to be wiser, smarter, and who have lasted a long time. And one such man is Claude Pepper. Now, Claude Pepper was a man when he started who I think would have been classified as a redneck politician. He started up in Alabama, and then he came to Florida and he was a member of the Florida Legislature, and he was part of that world. He was a "southerner" in every sense of what a "white sourtherner" was. Then as time moved along and when he was elected to the United States Senate, he adapted to what the world was like at that point, and he became the leader of the "New Deal" legislation for Franklin Roosevelt in those difficult years in the United States Senate. Then, after his defeat, he came to Miami and ran again, and in those days, he had to find a new constituency. The new constituency was the Jewish community and the senior citizens of Miami. And this was a new world to Claude Pepper, but Claude Pepper knew how to serve his constituency and well he did. And recently, in the last election, Claude Pepper had anew constituency to deal with, and that was the Cuban-American community. Now, Claude Pepper did not carry the majority of the Cuban-American community. He got 49% of it. So he just barely missed it. But the point that I'm trying to make to you is that the lesson to be learned, and that Claude Pepper learned long ago, and that I have learned, is that when you live in America, in the United States of America, you must deal with the people that are your constituents because...that does not mean that one changes one's principles or one`s allegiances to principles. It does mean that politics is a pragmatic world and that in politics, if your constituency and your base is Latin, then you serve the Latin community, and if your constituency shifts on you, then you must learn how to shift with your constituency. (APPLAUSE) And the Mayor of the City of Miami, and let this lesson be learned I hope for many years to come, must be the Mayor for all the people of Miami. (APPLAUSE) I do not, this is not a moment to talk about campaigns and opponents, but I think it is a moment to learn an important lesson, and so I would Like to share this lesson with you. There was a time in my political life, and I think it cost me the election to be Mayor of Metropolitan Dade County-when I did not quite know where my loyalties lay and, therefore, I was reluctant to say whether or not I was a Puerto Rican first or an American first, and this is not an easy statement for me to make. I am now 46 years old. This election has taught me a very, very important lesson which perhaps I knew but had not recognized before. It is a lesson that Jack Kennedy learned and projected in West Virginia when he had a head-to-head confrontation with those fundamentalist ministers who were against him because he was a Catholic. And what he was able to convince those Protestant ministers with was that he was an American before he was anything else. (APPLAUSE) That does not, that did not deny Jack Kennedy his Catholicity and it does not deny me my feelings, my strong convictions and loyalty to being a Puerto Rican. I am proud of my origin; I am proud of my nationality, but I am a citizen of the United States of America, and when I project myself, I don't have any more questions about the duality. There is no conflict. First and foremost, my allegiance is to the United States of America. (APPLAUSE) I would like to, in closing, very briefly, make a statement to my Cuban brothers and sisters, because there was a traumatic experience, that if I went through it and it took me 46 years to get here, you can well understand how difficult it is for the Cuban community in Miami to go through this experience. There was an article in yesterday's Miami Herald, the day before yesterday, written by a Cuban-American by the name of Carlos Salas. And he ends that article NOV 121981 ~ ,.~. Mayor Ferre (continued): talking about the "municipal fatherland", "la patria municipal." That, I totally reject. This is not "a patria", this is not the substitute for the Republic of Cuba. The Cubans that are freedom- loving Cubans must understand that their role is to liberate and reconquer the freedom of their homeland, Cuba. (APPLAUSE) Those that are ' Cuban-Americans, and that are citizens of the United States of America, when they become involved in the political process, must do it as Americans. (APPLAUSE) And the message is that we must get away from the confusion of these editorial writers and these so-called intellectuals who are telling us, as Luis Conte Aquero tells us, that we must vote for our - own, that we must vote for...the Cubans must vote Cuban, that we must remain united as Cubans, that the exile is a prolongation of the Cuban fatherland, that we must involve ourselves in the foreign policy of the United States in the City Hall of Miami, that we must involve ourselves in the political process of communist Cuba from the government of the City of Miami. I want to tell you that in the same way that I fight and will continue to fight for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state of the union, and will not - stop in my endeavors to do so, these Cuban members of the City of Miami Commission have much more right, and much more of a cause to help in the cause of Cuba, and that cannot be denied, but it is a very different thing to say that the government of the City of Miami is going to become an alter-government to what should be a government of a free Cuba. (APPLAUSE) I think the lessons of these elections are very, very significant. I would hope that because the returns were, as they were, and as we were elected, that we will, along with Abraham Lincoln and with Thomas Jefferson, the two clearest minds that this country has ever had, recognize that the democratic system dOf?S function; that political machines do not really win the elections; that they involve, that they impact. I think it is absurd, for example, for my former opponent to be saying that he lost the black community because he tried to get Reagan's picture and that was a mistake. :~iy answer to him is yes, instead of his getting 8% he maybe would have gotten 12%, but it wouldn't have made that much of a difference in the election. And the point is that I think we must trust the people, black and white, Spanish-speaking and English-speaking. The democratic system does work. (APPLAUSE) It works in very, very funny ways that none of us can totally understand, nor can we predict. And all of the analysts, all the surveyers, and all of the strategists cannot properly figure out what exactly is going to happen, when it happens, and after it happens, the will of the people has been expressed. God bless the will of the people. (APPLAUSE) Thank you. We'll now take a 5-minute break so that the people that are in these chambers will have an opportunity to leave and to go to their lunches and respective homes. When we convene again we will be involved in the business of the City of Miami. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. THEREUPON, THE CITY COMMISSION WENT INTO A BRIEF FECESS AND RECONVENING WITH ALL MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION FOUND TO BE PRESENT. .~~ v NOU 12 1981 ....