HomeMy WebLinkAboutOMNI CRA 2012-01-30 MinutesCity of Miami
City Hall
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Miami, FL 33133
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Meeting Minutes
Monday, January 30, 2012
5:00 PM
FREDERICK DOUGLASS ELEMENTARY
314 NW 12TH STREET
OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency
Marc David Sarnoff, Chairman
Francis Suarez, Vice -Chairman
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
Frank Carollo, Commissioner
Michelle Spence -Jones, Commissioner
CRA OFFICE ADDRESS:
49 NW 5th ST, SUITE 100, Miami, FL 33128
Phone: (305) 679-6800, Fax: (305) 679-6835
www.miamicra.com
OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency
Meeting Minutes January 30, 2012
FINANCIALS
1.
12-00020
Present: Commissioner Spence -Jones, Chair Sarnoff, Vice Chair Suarez and Commissioner Gort
Absent: Commissioner Carollo
On the 30th day of January 2012, the Board of Commissioners of the Omni Redevelopment
District Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Miami met in regular session at
Frederick Douglass Elementary, 314 Northwest 12th Street, Miami, Florida. The meeting was
called to order by Chair Sarnoff at 6: 07 p.m. and was adjourned at 6: 43 p.m.
ALSO PRESENT:
Pieter Bockweg, Executive Director, CRA
H. Bert Gonzalez, Assistant Executive Director, CRA
Veronica Xiques, Assistant General Counsel, CRA
Priscilla A. Thompson, Clerk of the Board
Todd Hannon, Assistant Clerk of the Board
CRA REPORT
FINANCIAL SUMMARY FOR THE PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2011
File # 12-00020 01-30-12 Cover Memo.pdf
File # 12-00020 01-30-12 Financial Summary.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Sarnoff. All right, we're starting the Omni CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency).
Vice Chair Suarez: One more time, hit it again.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, Omni.
Chair Sarnoff Thank you.
Vice Chair Suarez: Silence, please. Silence, please.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Quiet. Let's be respectful.
Chair Sarnoff. Okay, Omni CRA, financial report summary for the period ending December 31,
2011.
Miguel Valentin (Financial Officer, Community Redevelopment Agency): Good evening,
Commissioners. We are going to be presenting the combined statement --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Quiet, guys. There's too much noise in the building.
Mr. Valentin: -- of financial position as of December 31, 2011. The cash balance in December
2011 is 26,469,248, and there is no reportable condition to report to the board.
Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Suarez is recognized.
Vice Chair Suarez: Thank you, Board Member Sarnoff Yeah, I just wanted to make a point that
I didn't make in the Overtown one, but it really applies equally, which is I wanted to thank you
for listening to my recommendation in the last Commission meeting -- or in the last CRA board
meeting and breaking up the different categories so that we could better understand so that --
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Meeting Minutes January 30, 2012
'cause it was hard for us to justifir the fact that there's, you know, such a large carryover.
Mr. Valentin: Yeah.
Vice Chair Suarez: And so, you know, I just want to thank you for doing that and I know that
there's -- you know, we still talked about some further refinements that I think would shed more
light on our accounting, but you know, it's a very good first step.
Mr. Valentin: If you need more detail, just feel free to relay that to Pieter and he will --
Vice Chair Suarez: I did
Mr. Valentin: -- ask me.
Vice Chair Suarez: I did
Pieter Bockweg (Executive Director, Community Redevelopment Agency): Commissioner, and
I'll put it on the record now and -- so that we don't -- unless, of course, some of you want is a line
item attached to this, which I don't think you do want. But the question so that the board knows
had to do with the line item that says cash allocated for other redevelopment expenditures. And
the things that -- the programs that come under that let's say for Omni would be the police
visibility grant, you know, those kind of expenditures. For Overtown, it would be the Hospitality
Institute. It would be those kind of -- or NANA (Neighbors and Neighbors Association) or the
police visibility grant. Those kind of expenditures would fall under that line item, which I know
was -- and Commissioner Suarez, you were correct -- a little confusing, but if you want more
detail -- but those are the kind of items that fall underneath that.
Vice Chair Suarez: Yeah. I just thought it was a very broad category for such a large amount of
money. So, you know, I -- you know, to the extent that you guys in thinking about it that way
maybe find another way to categorize things or split it up, I don't -- I mean, I think it looks better
the way that it is right now so it doesn't just look like there's a bunch of you know, unallocated,
you know, funds that are, you know, not really being used. You know, anything that you can
come up with, Miguel -- andl didn't -- you actually weren't in the briefing. You were sitting
outside in my office, but I did mention it to Mr. Bockweg, you know, anything that -- any ideas
that you come up with to further define it, you know, I don't think is going to clutter it up too
much 'cause it's pretty small as it is.
Mr. Valentin: If you want --
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Valentin: -- all the details, a very itemized list --
Vice Chair Suarez: You don't have to get into it right now. I'm just saying to think about it.
Mr. Valentin: Okay.
Vice Chair Suarez: You already did a good job from step one to step two thinking about it and
coming up with the categories yourself. I'm just trying to push you a little bit to make it better.
Mr. Valentin: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Gort's recognized.
Commissioner Gort: I think it's important for the knowledge of the individual what the
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Meeting Minutes January 30, 2012
expenditure -- where -- what's going to take place. At the same time, my understanding is we
have made allocations and there's promises and commitment that we have made to bond issues
and we just want to make sure that we have the debt service to cover those promises that we have
made.
Mr. Valentin: Yeah, especially in Omni.
Chair Sarnoff Well, the Omni may not --
Commissioner Gort: Right.
Chair Sarnoff -- depending.
Mr. Valentin: In the Omni, I think we are going to start looking into the borrowing capacity for
the port tunnel but this is something that the City is taking the lead on our behalf. I think they
are going to be talking to Pieter.
Mr. Bockweg: He's referring to a meeting, Commissioner, that we will have, you and myself and
Robin Jones -Jackson to set forth -- Omni, for all intents purposes -- Omni is a special case and
is not in the same situation as Southeast Overtown/Park West primarily because Omni has never
bonded or has never bonded out initially. So we are -- we need to piggybank [sic] on the City's
bonding capa -- or the City's credit, if you will, to be able to bond. But that's a discussion that
we'll have (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 6:07:04, Commissioner, with --
Commissioner Gort: I'm asking you about it now because you're going to use the City as a
conduit and I know a lot of questions going to be asked, if debt service is going to be provided
and so on.
Chair Sarnoff Well, and that's if we bond it.
Mr. Bockweg: Right.
Chair Sarnoff I mean, we may not want to bond it. We may want to continue to get with Wells
Fargo or another bank and not necessarily do something very different than what you're doing
with Southeast Overtown/Park West. You know, I'll say this very candidly. The Omni has the
capability of doing three things. It can pay for the tunnel, it can do Museum Park, and it could
do the MIC [sic]. And that's a stretch, all three of those things. And that is what it's capable of
doing because of the large undertakings of all the things that we did. And I know you remember
we ended up doing -- paying the debt service for the PAC (Performing Arts Center), which I don't
think was a bad thing, but it was something that we did. And while the Omni seems like it's the
rich CRA, as people like to put it, it's got a lot of debt service attached to it because once you put
a tunnel and a PAC to it, you've taken about 70 percent -- well, maybe not that much, but 60
percent of the ability to do anything in the Omni away.
Vice Chair Suarez: And --
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman, I have to tell you. I had some people that went to the --
they haven't been back in that part of town in a while and I ran into them the other day and they
were talking about the beautiful things that had been done at the Omni. That whole area has
really come alive and it has to give a lot of credit to the Omni and what you all have done. And
that's what we got to do here too.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just want -- Mr. Chairman, I want to just add on the -- just in
general on the Omni portion -- I don't know if you guys had a chance to have the briefing from
Armando Cordina and that group yet, Town Center?
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Mr. Bockweg: Town Square.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Have you had a chance -- Town Square? Okay. I'm assuming
you're going to get a briefing, though, right?
Chair Sarnoff I hope I get a courtesy of a phone call soon.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, have you gotten a briefing?
Vice Chair Suarez: No, not yet.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Commissioner Gort: Nope.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. All right. Well, I would make a suggestion, Pieter, that you
try to set up to make sure that they get a briefing. To my understanding, there's an
announcement happening on February the -- Oh, you know about it already?
Chair Sarnoff Oh, I did.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Oh, about -- on February 1.
Mr. Bockweg: I -- I'm sorry.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And -- let me just finish my thought. The reason why I'm
mentioning it is part of that briefing that I got, I discovered that a portion of the port tunnel's
revenue -- I mean, not the port tunnel's revenue -- the PAC's revenue actually was used toward
the New World building in Miami Beach. Did you know that?
Chair Sarnoff No.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. So that was one of the concerns from the briefing is that
they did not want the County to make these commitments. And to my understanding, that was
one of their main concerns. So I think that you definitely need to get the briefing because it is in
your district, you know, especially since we're taking money from the Omni CRA to give towards
the PAC and now they're taking that money and splitting whatever you're giving and giving it to
Miami Beach for the New World whatever. It's some new building that they're --
Chair Sarnoff New World Center Syp --
Vice Chair Suarez: The New World, yeah, Symphony.
Chair Sarnoff Yeah, Symphony.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So I -- during my briefing with them last week, they mentioned this
issue. So I just think that -- I know Pieter got a briefing already.
Mr. Bockweg: IfI may, Commissioner. Andl have expressed -- we -- yesterday -- well, I
shouldn't say yesterday. I did get a briefing, along with Clarence, Bert and Mark Spanioli, last
Friday. I did express in that meeting my sincere disappointments particularly with the planning
initiative that they were going towards -- because it is literally, Commissioner Sarnoff --
Chairman Sarnoff, in the heart of --
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Meeting Minutes January 30, 2012
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Your district.
Mr. Bockweg: -- the Omni CRA. And that was actually the first meeting that we were a part of,
not to mention that they are --
Chair Sarnoff I have a lot of confidence in former Mayor Diaz and Armando Cordina do very
nice planning -- do nice planning issues, but they simply need to still be elected officials to
actually plan for the City. And I have reached out to them. I have not received a phone call
back, but I'm sure I will when they want and need something from us.
Commissioner Gort: Yeah, of course.
Chair Sarnoff And I -- and by the way, I don't take it slighted at all because I love to see what
people's plans and ideas and thoughts are that they would like to, you know, enjoy. I do bear in
mind that it is the Omni CRA that is actually allowing the PAC to move forward.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I know.
Chair Sarnoff And while the PAC, I am supporter -- I suspect everybody is up here a big
support of the PAC -- I'm well aware of the fact that it takes a lot of Miami money, a lot of
County money, and a lot of other money --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff -- to run this facility. And I'm not talking about a little bit of money. I'm talking
in the neighborhood of $15 million a year above ticket sales to operate the PAC. So I also find it
intriguing that people take positions on something that requires 15 million and precluding others
who bring money. So I -- you know, I look at the thing very broad spectrum. I have a lot of
confidence in form -- I guess he is still Mayor Diaz. I have a lot of confidence in his planning
ability. Armando's always done right by the community. But inevitably, they're going to have to
come to the City and inevitably, they're going to have to realize that while it's a plan, it's just
that, simply --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff -- a plan. But I didn't know, by the way, that any money had been directed to
anything on Miami Beach.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff. I did not know that.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And so only reason why I'm mentioning it to you, I think that you
should probably get to the bottom of it because I don't know if that's going to have an impact on
what we pay from the Omni CRA to the PAC.
Chair Sarnoff And I know you were here and I just want you to know that I have always taken
the global agreement as a contract.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Chair Sarnoff I expect them to fulfill their part of the bargain and we will fulfill our part of the
bargain. And the moment in time they don't fulfill their part of the bargain --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: That's why I'm mentioning it to you.
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Meeting Minutes January 30, 2012
RESOLUTIONS
2.
12-00021
Chair Sarnoff Right -- they will be in breach of contract and I have no problem whatsoever in
hiring the best law firm in Miami to take the County on and make sure they fulfill their end of the
bargain. And if they'd like to be in breach, then we could also find out what the results and
incidence -- or they say the incidence and consequence of that breach might be 'cause I would
love for the City to get a $42 million check corning right back to us, which is what we've put
towards the PAC so far.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I know.
CRA RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE OMNI
REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
("CRA") AUTHORIZING THE REIMBURSEMENT OF FISCAL YEAR 2011
CHILDREN'S TRUST REVENUES COLLECTED BY THE CRA, IN AN
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $413,563.00, TO THE CHILDREN'S TRUST,
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, AN INDEPENDENT SPECIAL TAXING DISTRICT;
AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE ALL
DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE; ALLOCATING FUNDS
FROM OMNI TAX INCREMENT FUND, "OTHER CURRENT CHARGES AND
OBLIGATIONS," ACCOUNT CODE NO. 10040.920101.549000.0000.00000.
File # 12-00021 01-30-12 Cover Memo.pdf
File # 12-00021 01-30-12 Financial Form.pdf
File # 12-00021 01-30-12 Backup.pdf
File # 12-00021 01-30-12 Legislation.pdf
File # 12-00021 01-30-12 Legislation (signed).pdf
Motion by Vice -Chair Suarez, seconded by Board Member Spence -Jones, that this matter
be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: Commissioner Spence -Jones, Commissioner Gort, Vice Chair Suarez and Chair Sarnoff
Absent: Commissioner Carollo
CRA-R-12-0004
Pieter Bockweg (Executive Director, Community Redevelopment Agency): Item number 2.
Chair Sarnoff Item number 2.
H. Bert Gonzalez: Good afternoon, Commissioners. Bert Gonzalez, assistant director, Omni
CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency). This is the portion from the Omni side for the
payment of the Children's Trust. It is a resolution of the Board of Commissioners of the Omni
Redevelopment District Community Redevelopment Agency authorizing the reimbursement of
fiscal year 2011 Children's Trust revenues collected by the CRA, in an amount not to exceed
$413,563, to the Children's Trust, Miami -Dade County, an independent special taxing district;
authorizing the executive director to execute all document necessary for said purpose; allocating
funds from the Omni tax increment fund
Vice Chair Suarez: Move it.
Chair Sarnoff Is there a motion? There's a motion by Commissioner Suarez.
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Meeting Minutes January 30, 2012
3.
12-00022
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second, discussion.
Chair Sarnoff. Second by Commissioner Spence -Jones. Spence -Jones is recognized for the
record.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Again, I'm supporting the item. Again, after looking at the
numbers, the projects basically are in the Omni so I support that, but in the future I just -- not
necessarily Omni. We just really need to make sure the Children's Trust is a lot more
accountable to the folks that are funding them. So that was the only thing that want to put on
the record.
Chair Sarnoff Any other board members wish to comment? Hearing none, then --
Vice Chair Suarez: Just real quick.
Chair Sarnoff Go ahead, you're recognized.
Vice Chair Suarez: 'Cause I agree with what Commissioner Spence -Jones just said and I just
wanted to understand the -- their fund -- I mean, this is -- we're required to do this by virtue of
the fact that they got a tax, essentially, a half -cent tax passed, so this is their portion of that.
Mr. Bockweg: It's an interlocal agreement that we have with the Children's Trust; based on their
ad valorem taxes they have --
Vice Chair Suarez: Right.
Mr. Bockweg: -- generated, that we reimburse that to them on a yearly basis.
Vice Chair Suarez: Okay.
Mr. Gonzalez: And it's an interlocal.
Vice Chair Suarez: Got it.
Chair Sarnoff All right. Any further comments? Hearing none, then all in favor, please signify
by saying aye."
The Commissioners (Collectively): Aye.
CRA RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE OMNI
REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF AN AGREEMENT IN SUBSTANTIALLY
THE ATTACHED FORM WITH EDGEWATER CONSTRUCTION GROUP, INC.
FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE INTERIOR BUILD -OUT AND PARKING
LOT OF HISTORIC FIRE STATION NO. 2, LOCATED AT 1401 N. MIAMI
AVENUE AS THE CRA OFFICES, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED
$940,500; AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO DISBURSE
FUNDS, AT HIS DISCRETION, UPON PRESENTATION OF INVOICES AND
SATISFACTORY DOCUMENTATION; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE AND AMEND ALL DOCUMENTS
NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO GENERAL
COUNSEL. FUNDS TO BE DRAWN FROM THE OMNI TAX INCREMENT
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OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency
Meeting Minutes January 30, 2012
FUND, "CONSTRUCTION IN PROGRESS," ACCOUNT CODE NO.
10040.920101.670000.0000.00000.
File # 12-00022 01-30-12 Financial Form.pdf
File # 12-00022 01-30-12 Backup.pdf
File # 12-00022 01-30-12 Legislation.pdf
File # 12-00022 01-30-12 Legislation (signed).pdf
Motion by Vice -Chair Suarez, seconded by Board Member Spence -Jones, that this matter
be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: Commissioner Spence -Jones, Commissioner Gort, Vice Chair Suarez and Chair Sarnoff
Absent: Commissioner Carollo
CRA-R-12-0005
Chair Sarnoff. Item number 3.
Mark Spanioli (Director of Engineering and Construction): Good evening, Commissioners.
Mark Spanioli, CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency). Item number 3 is a resolution of the
Omni CRA authorizing the execution of an agreement in substantially the attached form with
Edgewater Construction Group, Inc. for the construction of the interior build -out and parking lot
of historic fire station number 2, located at 1401 North Miami Avenue, as the CRA offices, in an
amount not to exceed $940,500. Just for reference, Edgewater Construction Group was the
lowest responsive bidder on this project. The $940,500 figure includes a 10 percent contingency
above the bid amount. And the funds for this project are coming out of a previous allocation of
$3.5 million that was passed by resolution for the firehouse construction. Edgewater is the
current contractor completing phase one. They are on schedule to complete phase one in March
and phase two, which is this portion of the project, will be completed by November of this year.
Chair Sarnoff Opening in time for Christmas.
Mr. Spanioli: We will be at the offices there in time for Christmas, yes.
Chair Sarnoff All right.
Mr. Spanioli: Just for reference, having the same contractor obviously gives us some consistency
and efficiencies in the implementation of the construction. And another thing I wanted to put on
the record was that with phase one and phase two, we are currently under budget by $175,000.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Move it for discussion.
Chair Sarnoff We have a motion by Commissioner --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second, discussion.
Chair Sarnoff -- Suarez, a second by Spence -Jones. Suarez is recognized for the record.
Vice Chair Suarez: Thank you, Chairman Sarnoff. I just want to put a comment on the record
that I discussed with the executive director in our briefing, which is that once this construction is
finished, he's not going to have any kind of ostentatious furnishings, furniture, anything like that.
And he assured me that there would be nothing -- there would be no golden toilets.
Pieter Bockweg (Executive Director, Community Redevelopment Agency): No, sir.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: You have extra money left over now.
Mr. Bockweg: No, there will not be golden toilets.
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Meeting Minutes January 30, 2012
Vice Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff And no flat -screen TVs (Televisions) there either.
Mr. Bockweg: Well, I don't know about that.
Chair Sarnoff All right.
Commissioner Gort: That's a different ballgame.
Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Spence -Jones is recognized.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: The only thing that I want to -- you know I'm always going to say
the same thing, jobs, jobs, jobs. So when we decide to actually put this thing out, I would like for
the CRA to work along with Miami Works through the City of Miami to at least do some sort of
job fair. I know we can't -- most of these construction companies kind of have people that they
bring on board already, but we need to definitely push to make sure that we have the local
participation part of it. I think it's extremely important. It sends the right message.
Mr. Bockweg: Madam -- Commissioner Spence -Jones, sorry, I'm glad you brought that up. And
I think it's important to point out for the board initially when this project was bidded out four or
five years ago, it was done by (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 6:18:32. There weren't any requirements in
that as far as from local participation. When we put out the bid for the interior remodeling or
the interior rehab of that building, we did make it mandatory for minority -- not necessarily
minority, but local participation from the community. It's laid out on page 10, paragraph 16 of
the bid, as well page 11 -- it continues on page 11 to kind of show you that our requirements are
in there. The requirement is twice the -- two times better than that ofFDOT's (Florida
Department of Transportation) and it is required to hire local subcontractors and -- well, I'm
sorry -- to select a local subcontractor to utilize work to reside within the boundaries of the Omni
or Southeast Overtown/Park West. So we have those provisions in the bid for the interior rehab.
We were not able to do that for the bid in the demolition --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Mr. Bockweg: -- but it is for the interior rehab.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No problem. I just want to make sure we have a concerted effort
to do it.
Chair Sarnoff All right. Any further comments?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Nope.
Chair Sarnoff We have a motion. We have a second. All in favor, please signify by saying Eye."
The Commissioners (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Sarnoff Item number 4.
Mr. Spanioli: Thank you.
4. CRA RESOLUTION
12-00053
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE OMNI REDEVELOPMENT
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OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency
Meeting Minutes January 30, 2012
DISTRICT COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AUTHORIZING THE EXPENDITURE OF
FUNDS, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $4,482.38 TO THE MIAMI DOWNTOWN
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, FOR TROLLEY SERVICES, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 2011
ART BASEL EVENT. FUNDS TO BE ALLOCATED FROM THE OMNI TAX INCREMENT FUND,
ACCOUNT CODE NO. 10040.920101.883000.0000.00000.
File # 12-00053 01-30-12 Cover Memo.pdf
File # 12-00053 01-30-12 Financial Form.pdf
File # 12-00053 01-30-12 Backup.pdf
File # 12-00053 01-30-12 Legislation.pdf
DEFERRED
Chair Sarnoff.. Item number 4 is off.
Pieter Bockweg (Executive Director, Community Redevelopment Agency): I pulled --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: It's off?
Mr. Bockweg: -- item number 4, Mr. Chair.
5. CRA DISCUSSION
12-00088
DISCUSSION ITEM REGARDING THE FILM AND ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT.
File # 12-00088 01-30-12 Cover Memo.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Sarnoff All right, then it's Commissioner Spence -Jones discussion item on the
entertainment district -- film and entertainment district.
Vice Chair Suarez: Do you want -- is there a motion on --?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Just a very quick observation I kind of wanted to share with the
Chair 'cause we are not able to talk all the time -- at all, unless it's sunshine.
Chair Sarnoff. But you could take me to a Heat game.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Just don't talk, right? I just wanted to mention -- Where's
Bert? Oh, okay, Bert. We have been -- along with Pieter -- working to really look at some
interesting things that we can do as a part of the whole film and entertainment portion of the
district. I wanted to use this opportunity to perhaps have -- I know we talked about having some
sort of sunshine meeting, so I want to at least be able to say -- you know --
Vice Chair Suarez: Definitely.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- I'd like to officially go 'head and put one into motion so that we
can have one and all of its can discuss it. But we did get a chance to go to Atlanta to visit a few
sites in Atlanta. As you know, for those that don't know, Queen Lat fah's actually -- her studios
are actually based here in Hialeah. And currently she probably has about three shows that are
actually on networks right now and over -- hires probably over 2 to 250 people. What I would
like to do is see her leave Hialeah, and what I'd like to do is see her leave the tapings that they
actually do in Atlanta to come here. I think that could be great for the City to be able to have
someone that already has existing deals with CBS, FOX, and -- what's the other channel? --
Viacom. And I just think it would be a great booster for what we're trying to do in the overall
area. Bert, along with Pieter, we have looked at the MEC (Miami Entertainment Complex),
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Meeting Minutes January 30, 2012
right, as an option. Tommy Mottola actually owns the land around the fire station. And Latifah's
people know Tommy Mottola really well. There's like a -- there's land around --
Mr. Bockweg: Behind the firehouse there is a -- there's a lot, as well as next to it.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right, that's owned by Tommy Mottola. And Tommy Mottola
actually called back and told Latifah's people, definitely, anything that he could do. If they want
to do something with it, he'll partner up to make it happen. His exact words was every time you
try to do something with the City of Miami -- with the government, it just never works. So if you
can make it happen, then I'm open to it. And then, of course, Gloria and her husband -- Gloria
Commissioner Gort: Emilio.
Chair Sarnoff Gloria Estefan.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- Emilio --
Vice Chair Suarez: Oh, right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- owns land right in the overall vicinity. So it could just be like a
great synergy if we can get these individuals to kind of come to the table. And I think that if you
take maybe a leadership role to sit down with them and talk to them, I think that there's some
great possibilities to be able to have them coming to the film and entertainment district. In the
meantime, I wanted to let you know that I did finally meet with the owners of the Trade Zone.
Mr. Bockweg: Right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Is it called the Trade Zone?
Mr. Bockweg: Free Trade Zone.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Free Trade -- where they had Charlie's Angels. I met with him the
night before last. His name is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 6: 22: 38 -- I don't know if I'm saying it right
-- Israeli guy.
Chair Sarnoff Israeli guy, right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right. He actually has Milk Studios, which is world-renowned in
the Meat Packing District in New York and also in L.A. (Los Angeles). I mean, very high -end
stuff. He actually owns that place. And he also told me that he has about 22 acres actually of
property or real estate that he's bought in the Wynwood area, which I thought was very
interesting. And they have an idea and a concept to put together a production village. And we
did get a chance to set up a meeting with Queen Latifah's people and they actually toured the
site. And they said if we can work this out, we can move here, which is great because then you'll
at least have -- he'll have one tenant that's moving in with three different shows that we know we
can count on right now. So what I would just wanted to officially put on the record -- 'cause I
know that you've been taking the leadership on this whole thing. I would hate to see this
business go somewhere else. I think that it could be a great shot in the arm to make it happen.
They're already talking to Mark Wahlberg -- is that -- I guess that's his name. He's doing --
they're partnering up on some other deals and there might be even some opportunities for him to
join. I just think that it could be a real cool thing for us to have happening in the -- in City of
Miami. And we already hear this left and right that production people, film people are dying
because they don't have no work, you know. And I know that you guys have the MIC [sic] on
this -- on the track to move, but here's something that they say that they can move as of
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September. They can take their existing shows that they have right now and move them in
September, you know. So I just would like to -- I think you should probably have your
one-on-one discussion with them -- not one-on-one. You know what I mean. And then I would
like to do in the next 20, 30 days, have some sort of sunshine meeting, invite some of the
film -related people, invite them, invite the production company that's there -- 'cause some -- let
me tell you basically what their concerns when I met with them. It's like, you know,
Commissioner -- I don't know how much money he spent, but I'm assuming he spent decent
money if he spent -- he has 22 -- bought 22 acres of property in Wynwood.
Chair Sarnoff. We know what he spent on the FTC [sic].
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff I mean, he spent a little over $6 million on the FTZ (Free Trade Zone).
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. So -- and then he bought the RC Cola -- the old RC Cola
plant he bought. So he owns about 22 acres. And his concern is that he doesn't want to compete
with whatever you guys have going on. And he -- I just think that -- I think, one, you guys, if you
put your head together, it could be very interesting. I think the MEC is a great concept and I
think that it all can be tied together. You know, even though it's not in the same vicinity, but
maybe that's like the main, you know, like headquarters or something but all the main production
studios are there right there in the heart of Wynwood because that's exactly -- they need that kind
of space in order to do these big kind of show -- to do these type of shows. So I just wanted to
make sure you were open, you know, to at least sitting down with them to discuss it.
Chair Sarnoff. No, I am. I just -- I guess I want you to know that the MIC [sic] was a very -- I
always call it the skills center. They like to call it the MIC [sic].
Mr. Bockweg: MEC, MEC.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I like the skills center, but go ahead.
Chair Sarnoff I do, too. I like the skills center better.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: But it's okay.
Chair Sarnoff. I have trouble getting my mind around the MIC [sic]. But I mean, I don't think
there was a person in Miami we didn't invite -- I mean, I could name them because I have a sheet
of paper here.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff I invited everyone -- you name it. 'Cause I'll be the first one to admit it. I don't
know how to run a movie production studio. I don't even know if this could be a movie
production studio. I knew -- here's what I did know, Commissioner. And they were -- when I say
they were both here -- Commissioner Gort was here; Commissioner Suarez was here. We know
we got a great price for it.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff Then to add to the great price, we got a million, one hundred thousand or a
million, sixty-seven thousand dollars back from FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation)
because they wanted to be able to expand and we rent it back from them for one dollar a year. I
thought that was a great lease --
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Chair Sarnoff -- a great idea. So we knew we had something good. I'll go back to a time when
we both shared this -- Mayor Diaz.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff And I used to sit with him and say what do you think of a production studio. You
know, and he had connections -- you got to admit, Mayor Diaz had unusual connections.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff And he would sit there and he'd say, well, you know, let's see if private industry
will fund this. And we sat there and we waited and we waited and we waited. And Lord knows,
I'm a private sector guy. I'm not sure where government should begin and where it should end.
But one thing became clear to me. It became very clear to me that no private sector person was
willing to step up in the City of Miami -- maybe in Hollywood --
Vice Chair Suarez: To take the risk.
Chair Sarnoff -- but in the City of Miami to take that big financial risk, that $10 million or
whatever that number is and put it in there. I mean, we met with Emilio. I even had a phone
conversation with Steven Spielberg. So it was like it became very, very clear that we needed a
venue, a locale and an investment.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff Now I wasn't going to get the electrical right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff I could just about get the ceiling heights right 'cause that's standard -- you know,
kind of standard in the industry. Whether we did two 15,000 sound -- foot sound stages or
whether we did any number of different things -- we've actually hired an -- I guess an architect to
tell us exactly what can be done and can't be done. And you know, if you're telling me people
are coming in and they're going to build a movie production studio and that's the case, then I can
tell you this, we can still sell the skills center at a profit because a lot of people have contacted us
to buy that building.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff But this is sort of -- I don't want to say a dream of mine. I -- you know, I believe
that there are industries that need to be attracted to Miami. And when I say industries, I'm not
talking about a CVS (Consumer Value Stores) pharmacy. I'm talking about either a
pharmaceutical industry, a movie production industry, a technology industry that doesn't exist
because industries bring huge amount of jobs and it's sort of like an incubator --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff -- and people grow from that. And I thought this together with -- if you didn't
read what I wrote in the paper -- the tech sector because movies today are really technology
driven --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
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Chair Sarnoff. -- was a great opportunity for a whole new and whole different way of looking at
Miami. You know, I sold it as keeping our kids here, which is true.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff I mean, if your kid has talent, guess where he's leaving. Miami.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: L.A. -- right, and going to L.A or New York.
Vice Chair Suarez: New York.
Chair Sarnoff And then -- and labor intensive. I don't think you could appreciate how labor
intensive the making of a movie is and we got to see it with Rock of Ages. I think at one time 360
people were employed there.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Chair Sarnoff So -- you know, and I'm not going to say they were employed 365 days a year,
but they were employed. And you saw the difference of what that street looked like. I'm willing
to meet with anyone. I'm willing to relinquish the idea. I'm also willing to go forward with the
idea.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. I think there's a place for both. And what I said to
(UNITELLIGIBLE) 6:29:51 -- I can't even (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- I'm sorry.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) 6:29:54.
Chair Sarnoff The Israeli guy.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: The Israeli guy -- was -- because his concern was, you know,
Commissioner, you know, I'm investing in the City and, you know, I'm putting -- the studio's here.
I have no one coming in it now because the thought was Charlie's Angels was going to be there
and then, of course, I think they aired maybe like one time.
Chair Sarnoff Four shows, I think.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. I don't remember what it was. So now they have the space.
It's moving -- I mean, and it's at a standstill. So my thing is we want to try -- if we see people
investing in our city, whatever way we can help them and drive business, that's what I was trying
to do. So I think that probably the next step -- and I'm going to ask Bert and I'm going to ask
Pieter to set up that meeting -- if you can have a meeting with Latifah's people and if we can
close them for September to come here and we have those three shows and they can go into that
space, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 6: 30: 45 or whatever said that he would work along with them to get
them in the space 'cause if he gets one group in there, that opens up the door for other people to
come there, you know. So I just wanted to make sure -- I don't want -- I know Bert has worked
very hard to do this. This is not about, you know, abandoning the idea. I'm just seeing how we
can expand the idea to include someone that has invested, like you said, their own money on a
dream, you know, that we can at least support the effort of you know, building it in a certain
area. And that's the only thing that I really wanted to say.
Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: I don't know if you all were able to attend the seminar they had at the
Fontainebleau where they had all the producers and all the people including the film industry.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: When, this week?
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Commissioner Gort: I had the opportunity to be there. The reason being last year the Greater --
the CAMACOL (Latin Chamber of Commerce), we put together in our conference with the
hemisphere conference that we've been doing for thirty -some years. Last year we had the first
entertainment and film industry seminar and we had great participation. But I can tell you, I
went to one of the segments in the Fontainebleau where they were talking about the producers
that produces segments here in the City of Miami. And they had about five or six different ones.
And what's happening is a lot of the people before, there was only -- the film industry, it was
produced by three major firms and they're the one that produced all the films. Today, you got a
lot of independent producers.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Commissioner Gort: Now the one thing that brought them to Miami and that brought them to the
state of the Florida is the incentive that we created with the $240 million tax credit, and that's
what brought a lot of them in here. So the private sector can do it, but the government has to
take a step and the government's got to help them start -- get started. Once it gets started, let me
tell you, there's a lot of independent producers right now that look at Miami as the place to
come.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And ifI can add -- that's a great point. And ifI can add, and I
think one of the things that could be helpful, Commissioner Sarnoff, that maybe you can also
help lead on this charge is that that was one of their concerns. In Atlanta, I think it's 30 percent
they get back in tax rebates, so it's attractive for them to come there. I think that with Rock of
Ages -- last year we had some pretty big films. So that monies that could have been available,
quite frankly -- or that opportunity is not -- was not -- would not be available for the rest of the
year. But if they come in September and the new fiscal year starts in October and if we're talking
to our state legislators now, we're not talking about them needing a big rebate, you know. That's
not a big number compared to a Rock of Ages or any of those major films, that that can also, you
know, be the thing that kind of attracts. So I know that Pieter's already been working on that
and hopefully, you know, we're able to at least lock something in for now for the new fiscal year.
Chair Sarnoff. Just answer Commissioner Spence's [sic] question. If you're going to answer her
with regard to tax rebates and where we are, 'cause I think there's more out there and I know
you've spoken to some senators.
Mr. Bockweg: On our trip to Tallahassee with the Commissioner and then Bert and I the last
time, we have met with the Senate majority leaders, the House majority leaders, as well as -- and
this is a meeting that is forthcoming -- the brainchild so to speak, and that's Representative
Precourt, who actually came up with the tax incentives for the movie industry. And every single
person that we have spoken to was very positive and very supportive of continuing those
incentives. And I, of course, urged them to continue those before they -- before the five-year
period, but they were all very encouraging and they saw the value in the industry and the
benefits of this industry coming to not only Florida but particularly South Florida. Based on the
research that we've done, you know, everybody wants to come to South Florida 'cause apparently
it has the best light. So they're very supportive of that idea of extending those benefits. And Mr.
Chair, ifI may, real quick, the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 6: 34: 39, it was the -- is the organization
you're referring to, Commissioner Gort. I had an opportunity to present to them on Wednesday
night at the Eden Roc, which was -- and I had an opportunity to present to them the MEC and
our proposal and what we will be building there in the future, and we actually got a lot of good
reviews. We brought a PowerPoint presentation and they took it and they were -- they seemed
very interested. So that's good news, you know, in the future. Obviously, right now we have
finished our design criteria. We have -- and that will be coming to the board. And I know that
we're in high speed to take care of that and we will start talking with the first respondents to at
least start negotiations and start doing that right now, and that'll be coming before the board
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ultimately for approval. But that design criteria aspect has been completed. Once that been
appointed -- the contracts -- and one of the firms that was selected number one did commit, from
what I was told 'cause I was not in that selection committee, but from what I was told was able to
turnaround the design criteria with four to six weeks.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: All right.
Mr. Bockweg: So from there we will go to design -build.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And only thing that I would like to add, Mr. Chairman, is that --
and I support that 100 percent. But I would like for us to at least have the sunshine meeting, if
we can at least get feedback from people that are in the industry that are -- I know you have done
that already, but I think that, honestly, there's like a major movement happening and you should
go see the space. I mean, when this man showed me all the stuff he bought, I'm like -- and it's all
about film. It's all about TV (Television). It's all about, you know, bringing Milk Studios --
which if we have Milk Studios Miami, do you know -- I mean, that's --
Vice Chair Suarez: The Clerk's trying to get our attention.
Priscilla A. Thompson (Clerk of the Board): I'm sorry. We need to pause for a minute so they
can change your tape.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff. You're ready?
Vice Chair Suarez: We're good?
Chair Sarnoff Let me go to Commissioner Suarez. He sat very comfortably and quietly.
Vice Chair Suarez: No, no, no. I'm willing to -- I think -- I mean, as a matter of fact, as I was
listening to everything that you all were saying, I was wondering if there was anything that I can
add to it because I don't want to just repeat everything. Other than to say since is the only
opportunity we have to talk about it --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, I know.
Vice Chair Suarez: -- other than a sunshine meeting, to say that I'm supportive of the effort, you
know, to make the MEC successful. And I'm engaged in it as well and I'm going to do everything
that I can because you took leadership on this issue. I remember the meeting very clearly. And
you know, once we make a decision to make a commitment like this, we have a responsibility, I
think, to follow through with that commitment and make sure that it's successful. I'm also a big
believer that we can bring more industries to the City of Miami and that by doing that we're
empowering the people of the City of Miami.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Vice Chair Suarez: And as a CRA, for example, we can play a support role in that
empowerment. And I think that's something that you have been very critical, Commissioner
Spence -Jones, in mentioning, but you know, you're absolutely right. You've been harping on
having more industries -- the one that I think is also perfect and prime to come to Miami is the
technology --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
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Vice Chair Suarez: -- industry because I really feel that there is a brain drain with reference to
technology, with reference to, you know, talent. And I've spoken to some people who had
basically told me, listen, Miami is ripe. It just needs a little push because they have the
production capabilities since we do so many television shows, so many Latin-American stuff to
really seamlessly integrate the movie industry at a very, very large scale.
Chair Sarnoff. The inventor ofAmazon.com, Steve [sic] Bezos, a Miami boy.
Vice Chair Suarez: Napster, Miami boy.
Chair Sarnoff. Napster, a Miami guy. And number -- and the number -two person in Facebook,
a Miami guy so --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just think that there's so many -- I mean, the leadership you've
taken and Bert and what you guys have worked on has been awesome. I just want to make sure
that if there's any way we can put it all together -- I hate to see a person spend private money to
do something and they feel like they have to compete with the City. That's my -- and that's what
the feeling is is like I'm investing my money to make this grow, then I have to try to figure out
how I'm competing with government and it's difficult for me to do that, you know, if Pm using my
own money. So I just think that -- I know you would appreciate and value at least sitting down to
talk and he's a very interesting guy.
Chair Sarnoff. And I want you to know that we bid on that property. We were outbid by him. We
were told he was putting a storage facility in there and we were very disappointed. And
apparently, he didn't put a storage facility in there. I'm actually very comfortable --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Oh, he -- I didn't know he -- so he did bid?
Chair Sarnoff Oh, yeah. We --
Commissioner Gort: Yes. We should have had that property.
Chair Sarnoff -- were actively -- Well --
Commissioner Gort: Didn't we have the first right of refusal?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: We did.
Chair Sarnoff We did years ago. You're going back year -- yes. You're going back -- actually,
your time probably. You're right. That was a J.L. Plummer --
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff I think you know the history of that one.
Commissioner Gort: We had first right of refusal if any settlement would come.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Well, if I get your commitment to have the sunshine --
Chair Sarnoff Oh, I will.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- meeting, we want to try to do it in the next two weeks. I don't
know if we work that out with you, Commissioner -- Commissioner, I'm sorry.
Vice Chair Suarez: Madam Clerk.
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: Pieter?
Ms. Thompson: With both of us.
Mr. Bockweg: It was -- I believe Neil Shriver [sic] on your staff was going to set that up --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Mr. Bockweg: -- through the Clerk's office.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And if we can maybe -- I don't know if we can do it maybe at
Eugene's or we could be -- do it in Wynwood. We've never done --
Chair Sarnoff Wherever you want.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- anything in Wynwood at all. I would like for it if we could do it
in Wynwood --
Chair Sarnoff That's fine. We could --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- because Wynwood is actually a part of the new area now in the
CRA.
Chair Sarnoff We'll make the Goldmans have a dinner table for us.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes, yes.
Chair Sarnoff But bear one thing in mind --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And they're on me too.
Chair Sarnoff -- and I really want everyone at this table to bear this in mind. We're obligated
to do a good portion of Museum Park by contract.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Chair Sarnoff We are obligated -- and I'm very proud of this -- to pay for the tunnel.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Chair Sarnoff. If we do the MIC [sic] -- trust me, you're going to be saying, I'd like you to fund
this, I'd like you to fund this -- there is no more money. I mean, the MIC [sic] is pushing it to the
nth degree.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And that's why I want -- before we get to the point that we have
totally committed everything, let's figure out like really what our options are. Maybe there's a
way that there's a partnership that they can -- I don't know. I just feel like, you know, once you
spend that 10 million, it's gone and then you still have to operate the building. We still got to
convince somebody to move in it. I mean, there's a lot of things that go along with making -- and
quite frankly, I know Bert and Pieter have been working on this issue, but the reality is, we got to
find somebody that's willing to go in and run a production facility, which is a whole nother
animal. So I would hate for us to be in a situation where we build something out for $10 million
and then we're trying to figure out how we take care of it, you know, and then that's a whole
nother issue. So I think that we do the sunshine meeting. I would like for you to meet with
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(UNINTELLIGIBLE) 6:41:38 or whatever prior to that meeting so at least you could have gotten
in his -- got an idea of their thoughts first.
Chair Sarnoff I'll have Pieter set up all my meetings.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, all right.
Chair Sarnoff All right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Vice Chair Suarez: Mr. Chairman, just --
Chair Sarnoff Yes.
Vice Chair Suarez: -- ifI can just say one last thing on the last thing you said, which is, you
know, I don't think it's necessarily -- it's not necessarily a bad thing that a CRA only does three
things --
Chair Sarnoff Oh, I agree.
Vice Chair Suarez: -- you know. I think what frustrates people is not really a CRA that doesn't --
you know, what frustrates people is not a CRA that has a clear direction even if it's doing a
limited amount of things. What frustrates people is if -- when they see a lot of money without a
clear direction as to how it's going to be spent. I think that's what really frustrates people. You
know, I think one of the best created CRAs and certainly in this area is Midtown.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Vice Chair Suarez: And Midtown took an area that was completely abandoned --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Blighted.
Vice Chair Suarez: -- and terrible and made it into something beautiful and it was done in a
cohesive way and all the money was reinvested and there's nothing to manage, and that's the
brilliance of it. It is there. And by the way, just so you all know -- you may already know -- that
an investor has come in and bought the remaining parcels in Midtown. So you know --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And we know who that is, right?
Vice Chair Suarez: I've met the group, yeah.
Chair Sarnoff Good group, good guys.
Vice Chair Suarez: Yes. So, you know, it's a, you know, 40, $50 million purchase. I forget
exactly how much it is. But you know, I mean, that's a serious investment. And that -- you know,
so what I'm saying is to your point, it doesn't really matter how many things you do in a CRA.
What matters in my opinion is that it addresses the core concerns and that it's done in a way that
is organized and thoughtful and followed through.
Chair Sarnoff Well, I think your vision and my vision are the same --
Vice Chair Suarez: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff -- and that is -- you know, it's -- no -- I want to bring an industry, something that
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doesn't exist in Miami and watch it grow --
Vice Chair Suarez: Right.
Chair Sarnoff -- and I think you do too.
Vice Chair Suarez: Yeah, absolutely. And I think -- you know, going back to your -- the last
thing that we talked about, I'm reading the Steve Jobs biography, which I recommend it, and one
of the things he did when he came back to Apple was they were in a bunch of different product
lines and they were involved in a variety of different things. And he basically killed everything
and said we're going to do four things and we're going to do four -- the four things well, better
than anybody else. And he's revolutionized, you know, personal assistants, you know,
telephones, music players and computers. So four things and he just, you know, did those things
better than anybody else does.
Chair Sarnoff All right, anyone else? I guess we're done then. Thank you all very much --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thank you.
Commissioner Gort: Move to adjourn.
Chair Sarnoff -- for coming.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Meeting's adjourned.
Chair Sarnoff Meeting's adjourned, right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thank you.
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