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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOMNI CRA 2014-07-23 MinutesCity of Miami City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com Meeting Minutes Wednesday, July 23, 2014 12:00 PM Miami City Hall OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Marc David Sarnoff, Chair Francis Suarez, Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner Frank Carollo, Commissioner Keon Hardemon, Commissioner OMNI & MIDTOWN CRA OFFICE ADDRESS: 1401 N. Miami Avenue, 2nd Floor, Miami 33136 Phone: (305) 679-6868 www.miamicra.com OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 RESOLUTIONS 1. 14-00705 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Present: Chair Sarnoff, Vice Chair Suarez, Commissioner Gort and Commissioner Hardemon Absent: Commissioner Carollo On the 23rd day of July 2014, the Board of Commissioners of the OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Miami met in regular session at Miami City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida. The meeting was called to order by Chair Sarnoff at 12:36 p.m., and was adjourned at 1: 52 p.m. ALSO PRESENT: Pieter A. Bockweg, Executive Director, CRA Barnaby L. Min, Assistant General Counsel, CRA Todd B. Hannon, Clerk of the Board CRA RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE OMNI REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENTAGENCY ("CRA"), WITH ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE CRA'S PROPOSED GENERAL OPERATING BUDGETAND TAX INCREMENT FUND BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR COMMENCING OCTOBER 1, 2014 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2015; DIRECTING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO TRANSMITA COPY OF EACH BUDGET TO THE CITY OF MIAMI AND MIAMI-DADE COUNTY. 14-00705 Cover Memo.pdf 14-00705 Draft Legislation.pdf 14-00705 Exhibit 1-SUB.pdf Motion by Vice -Chair Suarez, seconded by Board Member Gort, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: Commissioner Hardemon, Commissioner Gort, Vice Chair Suarez and Chair Sarnoff Absent: Commissioner Carollo CRA-R-1 4-0048 Chair Sarnoff. Ready? All right, I want to welcome everybody to the Wednesday, July 23, 2014 meeting of the Omni CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency). We have I believe four items on our agenda -- three items on our agenda, and Mr. Executive Director, please describe item number 1. Pieter A. Bockweg (Executive Director, Omni Community Redevelopment Agency): Thank you, Mr. Chair. Item number 1 is the budget for the upcoming fiscal year '14/15, as we just did with the Midtown CRA. This is again an anticipated budget. We are anticipating a 10 percent increase in TIF (Tax Increment Fund) contribution from last year. This will be as amended, as well. The line item budget has been given to the Clerk. Operating budget, again, it is the same as last year. We're anticipating to be under budget; we won't know until October after we reconcile. From the special revenue side, there are a few items, and they are clearly laid out on the far right-hand column. The major contributions will be going to pay off the debt service for the port tunnel allocating in that line item, obviously, the PAC (Performing Arts Center) payments, the CRA Police, which will be in a line item corning up to you before; and also, a significant contribution to the MEC (Miami Entertainment Center). I am happy to report that we are on schedule on that, and we want to make sure we allocated something for unforeseen, and that is the item before you, Mr. Chair. City of Miami Page 2 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 Vice Chair Suarez: Mr. Chair, if I may? Chair Sarnoff Do you want to make a motion, and I'll --? Vice Chair Suarez: I wanted to ask for kind of a procedural clarification. Would it be possible to do the budget last instead of first? Simply because we have two allocations that are in the budget, so I think the proper way to do it is to discuss those allocations first, and then decide whether we want to -- Chair Sarnoff All right. Vice Chair Suarez: -- budget for them. Chair Sarnoff We'll table number 1. Later... Chair Sarnoff Wait, we have the budget. Board Member Gort: Number 1, the budget. Chair Sarnoff Budget. Mr. Bockweg: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Before you is the anticipated budget, projected budget for 2014/15. Chair Sarnoff Is there a motion? Vice Chair Suarez: Move it. Board Member Gort: Second. Chair Sarnoff Is there a second? Board Member Gort: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second. Vice Chair Suarez: Very briefly, just want to thank you -- Chair Sarnoff Any -- Vice Chair Suarez: -- Mr. Chairman, for taking it out of order, you know -- Chair Sarnoff No problem. Vice Chair Suarez: -- and not letting the cart go before the horse. Chair Sarnoff Anybody wishing to speak to this public hearing? Public hearing is now closed. Coming back to this Board. Mr. Bockweg: As modified with the line item, itemized budget. Chair Sarnoff As modified. All in favor, please say "aye." City of Miami Page 3 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 2. 14-00706 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency The Board (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sarnoff. Thank you all for corning. Mr. Bockweg: Thank you. CRA RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE OMNI REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF A GRANT IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED ONE MILLION TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($1,275,000.00) TO THE CITY OF MIAMI TO UNDERWRITE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH AN EXPANDED POLICE PROGRAM WITHIN THE OMNI REDEVELOPMENT AREA; AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AT HIS DISCRETION, TO DISBURSE FUNDS ON A REIMBURSEMENT BASIS OR DIRECTLY TO VENDORS, UPON PRESENTATION OF INVOICES AND SATISFACTORY DOCUMENTATION; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO GENERAL COUNSEL; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM OMNI TAX INCREMENT FUND, "OTHER GRANTS AND AIDS," ACCOUNT CODE NO. 10040.920101.883000.0000.00000. 14-00706 Cover Memo.pdf 14-00706 Draft Legislation.pdf 14-00706 Back -Up Documents.pdf 14-00706-Submittal-Commissioner Sarnoff-Police Presence.pdf 14-00706-Submittal-Eleazor David Melendez-Crime Statistics.pdf 14-00706-Submittal-Pieter Bockweg-OMNI CRA Police Program.pdf 14-00706-Submittal-Renita Holmes -Police Officer Along Track.pdf Motion by Vice -Chair Suarez, seconded by Board Member Hardemon, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: Commissioner Hardemon, Commissioner Gort, Vice Chair Suarez and Chair Samoff Absent: Commissioner Carollo CRA-R-14-0049 Chair Sarnoff. Going on to number 2. Pieter A. Bockweg (Executive Director, Omni Community Redevelopment Agency): Thank you, Mr. Chair. The item number 2 is something that the Omni CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) has been working on for some time. As you know, for the last several years, the Omni CRA has had the police visibility grant in operation. That grant allows for special operations taking place to increase the quality of life, to ensure the investment and attractiveness of the Omni CRA for future development. Because of the accumulation of all those police visibility grants, we thought that we'd propose to you before you a CRA police unit. In essence, that unit will be a problem -solving team that is -- currently exists within the Police Department. The grant before you would employ and fully cover the cost of five officers and one sergeant, and that is from everything from the shoes to the cars, as well as the installation of nine cameras. As you know, the Police Department is initiating a program to put police cameras around the City. The grant before you includes nine that'll be distributed within and located within the Omni CRA. We believe -- we are very excited about this from an Administration standpoint only because we truly City of Miami Page 4 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 believe that this will help with the quality of life within the Omni CRA District. Obviously, as part of our mission, we need to increase the attractiveness for future development, for investment, for industry relocation, and of course, continuing that live, work and play concept. Creating this unit will allow, we believe, for that operation. There's a few things that I want to make clear that I believe are very important as it relates to this unit. First and foremost, we are enhancing the current Police Department operations that are currently in the CRA. Currently, there are six officers patrolling "A," `B, " and "C" shift, and we are proposing before you an additional six, so we are enhancing the services from a safety standpoint. The second point I'd like to clam is that under no -- in no way -- and that is part of the operational plan, which is part of your backup -- will myself or the Board be allowed to direct or instruct the police unit exactly what to do. I think it's very important that we do not -- we keep that line very clear. As I'm sure you're aware, and I'm sure, as all of you do, I get calls from people within the CRA letting me know about problems, and the process would be no different than the police visibility grant currently. Currently, I get monthly sit-downs with the commanders of the area, and they provide crime stats and operational information they deem appropriate, and I let them know about certain things that myself or staff has seen, or calls that I've gotten of concern for the community, so I want to make that very -- those two points very clear, and I'll repeat those. Under no way do I or the Board instruct or command that unit; they are part of the City of Miami Police hierarchy, and they will remain so. There's no difference between these operations than what's currently going on with the police visibility grant other than this will be a full-time unit. They will also help with increase with community relations with the residents and business owners of the community, and it will be a full-time process. The item before you, like I said, includes five officers, one sergeant, as well as nine cameras, and the total cost of that is $1,275,000. There is a little bit of a cushion there for unforeseen, like overtime, or maintenance on property or whatnot. This is a one-year program. If we -- if the Board chooses to do it next year, the cost will be significantly reduced, 'cause obviously, we have an increase in cost now, 'cause we have to buy the cars, and equipment, and all that for the officers, and that is the item before you, Commissioner and Mr. Chair. Chair Sarnoff All right, is there a motion? Vice Chair Suarez: Move it for discussion. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Suarez. Board Member Hardemon: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Hardemon. Commissioner Suarez, you're recognized. Vice Chair Suarez: I'll yield to Board Member Hardemon. Board Member Hardemon: Just a few preliminary questions. I can see where the $1.2 million is coming from. My first question -- and then we can move it on to someone else -- is: What do you anticipate the revolving cost to be to operate this problem -solving team? Mr. Bockweg: The revolving cost -- like I said, the initial cost is high. Years going forward will be about 250 to $300, 000, 'cause then we would only be paying for salaries, and benefits, and things like that if the Board chooses to do so in the future. But let -- the initial cost is higher, because we have to buy the equipment, the cars, and everything else that comes along with a police officer. Board Member Hardemon: IfI may, when I'm looking at page 6 of the agreement, and I'm looking at point -- 8.1 -- it follows under or after the compensation to the City, it reads: On a monthly basis, the CRA shall pay for City services provided at the rate equal to the cost to the City for one police sergeant and five police officers, which at the time of entering this original City of Miami Page 5 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 agreement is approximately 588,718 -- sorry -- $588, 718.50. So that cost, that 588, is that plus -- is that what we should be considering will be the cost moving forward? Mr. Bockweg: That is part of the cost moving forward if the Board chooses to do so, so in next year, once this item expires, I will be bringing the item back to you for a vote if the Board chooses to move -- to do so. There obviously are some additional costs that might be incurred, but over the years, Commissioner, we have -- this year, for example, we have allocated $350,000 for the police visibility grants; the year before, it was three -fifty; the year before that, it was a half a million; all of which shows, and I believe, significant returns on our investment for the community. In total, we have spent more than this item before you is on the police visibility grants, and we feel this is the better route of going about it. Board Member Hardemon: And if I may, Mr. Chairman? Chair Sarnoff Yeah, please. Board Member Hardemon: The -- when you -- and I read that you said it will be subsumed; that visibility grant will be subsumed. Now, are we saying that the cost that we have not paid to this date will be available to the police force to use in this program? Mr. Bockweg: Well, I can't give you that exact cost, because we haven't done the full reconciliation. I can tell you currently in the budget over -- carryover from this, I am anticipating that the $350, 000 that was allocated this year to be fully spent on those special operations, so -- but once those -- once this item is approved, moving forward, there will be no more police visibility grant; this will be the main unit, and any leftover balance on the police visibility grant, I will be coming before the Board to de -allocate, and allocate as the Board wishes. Board Member Hardemon: And then my last question for the time being would be: As far as the equipment, I see that it appears that the Police Department gave us a list of what it will cost to have equipment for everyone within this task force, and it includes from handcuffs to the actual fingerprint readers and their firearms. So when it comes to the officers that will be there, my first question would be, is: Are these officers going to be a part of the City of Miami Police Force that -- are they a part of the -- are they -- are we choosing these officers from the force right now? And then, two: Would those weapons and other artillery that they have transfer with them, or is it necessary to buy totally new equipment for everyone? Mr. Bockweg: Well, I guess you can look at it different ways. Let me address your first question, Commissioner. As far as hiring the police officers, themselves, for this specialized unit, there are guidelines within the collective bargaining agreement that they will have to follow from an interview process and application process. Any police officer of the City of Miami can provide their application if they're interested in serving in this unit. Obviously, we do not play -- when I say "we, " the Omni CRA does not play a role in that process; we're out of there. As far as the equipment is concerned, to give you an example, if an officer is -- gets selected to this unit and he has a gun, then I would assume that that cost would not be incurred initially, but there might be maintenance or upgrades would happen in the future, but I need to assume from a budgetary standpoint that we are fully equipped and covered per officer for -- you know, he might -- who knows what happens, but I need to make sure from a budgetary standpoint, that we are fully covered per officer, completely, from handcuffs to gun to car to anything. Whether that cost would ultimately be incurred, that's something that I will need -- take a look with the commander and seeing if that's really necessary, if I need to buy a gun, or approve a gun purchase if he already has one, but again, that is -- I need to from a budgetary standpoint, assume that it's six officers fully outfitted. Board Member Hardemon: Thank you very much. City of Miami Page 6 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 Chair Sarnoff Do you mind ifI open up a public hearing and then -- Vice Chair Suarez: No, no, go ahead, go ahead I was actually going to invite the -- one of the public speakers who wrote me an email (electronic). I think he may have written one to some of you others, but definitely wrote me. Chair Sarnoff Go right ahead. Vice Chair Suarez: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I -- you know, you and I have been dealing with the police staffing issue, and I tag along on that issue, but you really started it, and you've been a pioneer on that, and you've been consistent and persistent, far beyond what anyone would probably think is reasonable, but what has clearly been necessary, and I think when dealing with an issue like this, it's hard, because we have two hats. We wear our CRA Board Member hat, and then we are also a City Commissioner. So the question is for me when I sit up here -- I guess it really shouldn't be a question -- I suppose the obligation is to the CRA. You know, you're acting as a -- principally here, your duty is to the CRA; that's where your loyalty is, even if there could be a spillover, somewhat negative consequence to the City, and that's the fear, because we always assume that if we were ever to get the City to the staffing levels that the City needs to be at, that would probably have some sort of a deleterious effect on Miami Beach or on other cities that are in the surrounding area where the criminals are inevitably going to go to when our areas are properly policed as we suspect that they should be. So I -- Mr. Eleazor came and wrote a very comprehensive email. I think he's doing a thesis on community policing if I'm not mistaken. Okay, I'll let him put it on the record, but he had a very good point, which is, look, you know, if we continue to concentrate police officers in this area, is it going to have a little bit of a spillover effect on areas that are in the City? So I guess my obligation as a CRA official is to make the CRA as safe as possible, but I think he found something in the State Statute that would allow us to have a little bit of flexibility with reference to some of the surrounding areas, and I'll let him make his presentation so that I don't kind of steal his thunder. Board Member Gort: I got a couple of questions, but I'll wait for his presentation. Chair Sarnoff. Sorry? Board Member Gort: I have a couple of questions, but 171 wait until he's made -- he makes his presentation. Eleazor David Melendez: Commissioner Suarez, thank you for the floor. Commissioners, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on this item. First off, I want to mention that even though I know some of the people here are going to speak on this item in terms of the ability of the CRA to do this and whether it's appropriate, I support it fully in its intent. I think that, as Commissioner Sarnoff and Commissioner Suarez and all of you had spoken before, the City is under policed, and we have a problem. We don't want to be Chicago in the news. The CRA executive director and the people involved in this clearly have looked at using TIF financing as a way to get something accomplished that the City needs, which is praiseworthy. So, again, the intent of me being here is not to impugn on the --intent of this legislation. However, I'm concerned about a couple of clauses in the agreement, particularly Sections 2.3 "C," `D, " and "F." Basically, what these clauses say is that because of the structure of the new unit, it will not be allowed to participate within the City's wider service rotation call, patrol outside the CRA boundaries to respond to criminal complaints except some very specific major ones, and even then, only with the express permission of the unit sergeant, and it's not very clear that the police officers would be, for example, allowed to go to court to testify in any issues that they would have if they, for example, stop a crime that's just outside of the CRA area, so that's a concern, as well. I understand why this is done this way. The CRA executive director actually called me to explain to me the legal issue behind it in terms of the CRA being bound to spending money in the City of Miami Page 7 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 CRA area, but I think that putting that kind of strict limitation down to the agreement is kind of short-sighted, and would be counterproductive to the program. As in the paper that I just gave you, it shows the different areas of the City, the communities that Commander Ferro has noted in his analysis that are high -crime areas. For the most part, I extended the boundaries west of Southwest -- Northwest 1st to make my point, but basically, if you look at the communities affected by crime in the CRA area and nearby, it's five or six distinct communities, and each of them has a different level and problem with crime. On Biscayne Boulevard, in that corridor nearest to the bay, you have a lot of property crime; you have a lot of shop -lifting at that Publix; you have car breaks and so forth. On the area that's Omni West, so like between the Arsht Center and the train tracks, you have more of an issue of vandalism, some thefts; there's street -level prostitution, drugs and so forth. But when you get to the parts that we know as Overtown, west of the tracks, and which are only covered by part of the CRA, you have a lot of problems with assault and drugs, and right now, the way that the agreement is structured, if there were calls about drugs or just like general disturbances, not assaults that were happening right on the border on Northwest 2nd, for example, by the way the agreement is structured, it says that the police can't deploy their resources there. I think that decision should be left up to the CRA police unit commander. If he or she feels that the best way to patrol their district and the best way to secure the area of the Omni CRA is to deploy forces both within the CRA and the immediately surrounding areas, I don't think that it should be in the statute that they should be prevented from doing that. I understand that the CRA executive director has looked at this issue. I think that there's a couple of things that can be -- do here to give some wiggle room. The statute itself, Florida Statute Section 163.365, I don't know if that is the particular one that applies to this since I'm not an attorney, but it does say that when you're creating a neighborhood redevelopment plan for a community redevelopment area or areas, and I quote: "Together with any adjoining areas having specially -related problems" that you're allowed to cover that. So I think that under that, it would be allowed. As well, the previous interpretation of providing services to the CRA area has been pretty wide. In the past, for example, we have had the idea of using a global agreement with the CRA, and the other CRA and the City to fund things like a stadium in Little Havana and a streetcar, which are not necessarily going to be completely, completely set down to the area of the CRA, so in the past, the interpretation has been wide. In fact, now, we have another item for the funding to the PAM (Perez Art Museum) where, yes, that fund's going to go to the museum, but they're going to use it, for example, to provide arts, art resources and services to camps. That would be, as I understand, outside the CRA area. So again -- no? Board Member Gort: It's on. Mr. Melendez: Okay. Chair Sarnoff Not my understanding, but go ahead. Mr. Melendez: Okay, maybe not, but in any case, I think that in the past that the CRA -- the provision to provide services to the CRA area had been broadly interpreted, and it's a bad time to start interpreting it in a very narrow manner. Chair Sarnoff So why don't I do this: Why don't I let our City Attorney respond to you. Board Member Gort: That's a great response. Chair Sarnoff Hey. Vice Chair Suarez: Great response. Chair Sarnoff Very funny. City of Miami Page 8 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): Thank you, Mr. Chair. I respectfully disagree with the member of the public. Chapter 163 of the State Statutes indicates that the funds that are collected by the CRA are to be expended within the redevelopment area to rid the area of blight and slum. The section that's referred to by my esteemed colleague, Section 163.365 deals with the actual redevelopment plan, so if this body wanted to readdress the redevelopment plan, I agree that the surrounding areas could be considered, but as far as the expenditure of funds and the services that are provided by the CRA, it is meant for the redevelopment area in order to rid that area of the blight and slum. Mr. Melendez: Okay, so I didn't get the interpretation right. That's fine, but in -- regardless, I think that the Board should consider whether in providing services to the CRA area it needs to be as restricted to tell a police commander to tell a police sergeant, "You can't patrol in the immediate outside area. You have to keep" -- you know, because right now, for example, you don't have that in the visibility program. You give them money for overtime work, and you tell them, "Do the CRA patrol area," but I don't believe that there has been an agreement that says you can only deploy if there is like a robbery or homicide outside of the immediate CRA areas. And the problem here is all the other stuff that the CRA -- or most of the other stuff that the CRA does in terms of infrastructure, in terms of creating jobs. If you fix a pothole or a street in the Omni CRA area, it doesn't cost the streets to bring in overtime. If you create jobs in this Omni CRA area, it doesn't necessarily take jobs or industry away from elsewhere, but here, because crime is fungible and because these areas immediately in the vicinity of the CRA are already high -crime areas, I mean, it doesn't take -- it's pretty obvious what's going to happen here. Finally, I know that there's a legal liability issue here. Obviously, that's why this is being put in, in the first place, but there's a legal liability issue if the City provides this, you know, not -- unequal service in terms of police for different areas that are right next to each other, especially if one area is a minority area and the other one isn't. Right now, the City of Chicago is being sued by the ALCU (American Civil Liberties Union) and a neighborhood called the Central Austin Neighborhood Associations for providing disparate services to African -American communities versus the white communities next to it, so it's going to be a legal liability in any case. Finally, I'm here speaking as a resident, and I live on 555 Northeast 16, which is right in that area in front of Biscayne Bay, so I'm not in the Southeast Overtown community, but I think that this is going to be bad, not just for the residents of that community, but the residents of my community. I think if you create a system where you create a safe area, but the areas right around it are unsafe, you create this fortress mentality where people just want to go home, don't want to go out, don't want to interact with their neighbors, and that's not, I tell you, a mentality that you want to create in the district. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. All right, I'm going to let -- Commissioner Gort wanted to say something, and then I'm going to go back to the public hearing. Board Member Gort: No, let -- finish with the public hearings. Chair Sarnoff Okay. Board Member Gort: Do that first. Chair Sarnoff. Al Crespo. Al Crespo: Good morning. You're not smiling at me? Vice Chair Suarez: Of course I am. Mr. Crespo: Oh, okay. City of Miami Page 9 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 Vice Chair Suarez: I'm always smiling. Mr. Crespo: Good morning. So I just have a question. So if you do this with the Omni CRA and then you do this with the Southeast Overtown Park CRA, so in a way, you're kind of -- in a normal course of events, are this number of police that you want, which are actually supposedly more than five -- you're talking about a sergeant and five, plus am I correct in assuming that the other officers that you previously were using are part of that larger number? No? So it would just be five? Is that the normal accompaniment of officers that normally police that area? Mr. Bockweg: The answer to that is "no," but the commander's here, and he can address that question as far as what's normal or not. I don't -- the CRA office does not get involved in that process. Commander, if you will? Commander Lazaro Ferro: How you doing? I'm Commander Lazaro Ferro from downtown. To answer your question, normally, as it is right now in our geographical maps, we patrol this area with six officers; two in "A," two in `B, " and two in "C, " or morning, afternoons and midnights. This remains the same. What we're bringing forth is those additional officers, which will be able to assist everything that's happening with crime in that particular area, so it enhances the services that we already provide the community. Mr. Crespo: Okay, so, in fact, there are now more officers being allocated to a very small area of the City that will be paid for through the CRA. So if you take additional officers that are patrolling the City as a whole and assign them to the Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA, and then say to folks in Coconut Grove say, "Well, you're doing that for those people. Why can't we have these kind of extra officers, and why can't we set up a taxing district of some kind?" sooner or later, you're going to vulcanize the City. You're going to have a police force that's going to start being divided up and saying, "Well, they got more money, " or "They have money to pay for more officers, so we're going to apply officers to those people, " but -- because the five officers that are being assigned additionally to this district are being taken from somebody else's district, are being taken from somewhere else. And Commissioner, I have to agree with you. I've listened to you now for a year talk about the Police Department and the failure of the Chief to be able to meet these staffing requirements that you've raised. I think that's a really important issue, because this is the end of the fiscal year. Last year at this time, you were promised 100 new officers. Those hundred new officers are not going to be coming online. So if you're not having additional officers to meet the basic policing requirements of the City, and you're then taking some officers to provide security for a small 20-block area, 25-block area, and then you get another five, six, 10 officers for another small area, that leaves the larger City as a whole short by those number of officers. I think that's something that needs to be considered here. And as far as the cost involved, I really find that kind of amazing that you might -- why can't they -- they all -- every police officer -- in fact, I think every employee of the City of Miami who works for the Police Department has a car assigned to them. I know every officer on the street has a car assigned to them, so why would you need to buy new cars? The cars are assigned to them, you know? That comes -- that's part of the contract; that they get a vehicle, a take-home vehicle. So why would you need to buy more police cars for them, and weaponry or whatever? That's the police force -- Chair Sarnoff Okay, you need to wrap up. Mr. Crespo: Okay. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mr. Crespo: Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Renita Holmes. City of Miami Page 10 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 Renita Holmes: Good morning, gentlemen. I'm Madam Renita Holmes, and to avoid being redundant, I was very concerned, and we initiated some conversations, and did some researches, those who now after hearing you all in the last meeting talk about holistic approaches to policing, and in this same meeting -- I'm sorry, I apologize; I have a cold -- we spoke regarding adding another line item for police officers, and so I wanted to submit to you how extra officers, and best practices in community policing, and now adding to the more police I see, the more problems I have with civil liberties or any other issue, or that matter of disparity, this Omni is adjacent to our area, and this is the picture, and I'd like to submit it. I sent some to the Clerk's Office; unfortunately, we didn't have it. We were late, and I didn't have the agenda (INAUDIBLE). Vice Chair Suarez: Thank you. Ms. Holmes: And it is a picture that's also been sent out and has a Facebook blog about -- and articles regarding police officers along the track stopping certain people. One had just been stopped. I reserved that video and pictures for myself and to be utilized, but we have Florida East Coast Police recently that Miami -Dade County has added, and I'm saying all of this because I'm reading Cop Block, and it's in -- it talks about how -- the difference between private security forces that CRA normally utilized versus addendums to line items that we've already been given to them for general public and reimbursement. I believe that this item should be deferred because there needs to be more discussion about how we utilize the police that's currently in the area, and give you all an opportunity, apply your request for more policing, and perhaps to avoid litigation from those of us who live in Overtown and Wynwood that are incurring -- this is just one -- there are several of these incidents. I'd like you to ask how many incidents have occurred in policing, or wrongful policing, or civil liberties issues, and call back Pottinger, and so when we do things we're culturally correct. When we talk doing community policing, when we talk about taxation or double taxation without representation; when we talk about putting a limit on it, timing is everything, and I don't think this is the time for that, either, when I know Commander Ferro has worked with my homeowners and renters association, Commissioner, right across and within that area when we didn't have police there, we got kids and people in wheelchairs crossing the street. So I'm concerned about the specialized unit that we also have, which I discussed with the Chief and several others last week on the sexual trafficking, crimes like that. It is -- Chair Sarnoff And in conclusion. Ms. Holmes: In closing, I think it needs to be deferred. I think -- Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Ms. Holmes: -- there are some litigation issues, and I believe that you're a lot stronger in addressing the needs for special policing -- Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Ms. Holmes: -- for private police to go to one side versus the other. Chair Sarnoff Jerome, Jerome Schiller. Ms. Holmes: Thank you. Schiller Jerome: Good morning, Commissioners. Schiller Jerome, president of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Association. Before I start, through the Chair, I just want to clam what the attorney said. In regards to his request, is it correct that the police officers who is going to City of Miami Page 11 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 be assigned to this unit cannot work outside of that particular area; is that what they're trying to clarify? Chair Sarnoff I'm going to let the attorney respond. Mr. Min: My response was that funds that are expended by the CRA are to be used for services within the redevelopment area. Mr. Jerome: Okay, 'cause I'm looking at Section "D" of the contract, of the agreement says: On -shift officers of the CRA unit shall not be dispatched to a location outside the Omni area unless communication advised of a signal 29, and so forth, of the immediate surrounding areas of the Omni area. So basically, an agreement, they can leave if they get permission, correct? That's what the agreement says. So, in essence, what he's asking for is -- can happen. Mr. Min: I will, of course, defer to the Police Department. Those signals that are referred to in that section of the agreement are extreme emergencies, such as a bomb threat, such as terrorist attacks, such as an officer under distress. So, obviously, in those types of circumstances, when we're more concerned about life rather than money, then, yes, police can respond. Mr. Jerome: So there are exceptions to this rule? Just want to clarJ that. Board Member Gort: Yes. Mr. Jerome: There are exceptions to you saying they cannot leave the surrounding area? Mr. Min: I never said they could not leave the area. I said that funds from the CRA could only be used for services provided to the redevelopment area. Mr. Jerome: No, I understand that, but based on this exception, these officers who are funded by CRA dollars will provide the services outside the CRA area. Am I correct to read this this way? Am I wrong to read it that way? Mr. Min: They are still City of Miami police officers. Mr. Jerome: But they're also being paid by CRA dollars and providing services outside the CRA area. Am I correct or am I wrong? Okay, I'll move to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) my presentation. Chair Sarnoff Let me clarify it for you. They're not going to be patrolling outside the Omni CRA. Mr. Jerome: You are correct, Commissioner, but again, per this agreement, if there is a request, they can step out -- Chair Sarnoff All he's trying to say to you -- and I'm going to say it as nicely as I can -- Mr. Jerome: Okay. Chair Sarnoff -- that there are certain signal levels that either a cop's life is in danger; maybe somebody else's life is in danger; a terrorist threat, and nobody's going to create a boundary effect. However, you would find these police officers in the Omni CRA, I would suspect, in the upper 90 percent of the time, because, simply put, we are a reasonably safe City, and they're not going to be patrolling exterior of their boundaries. Mr. Jerome: Again, per the agreement, they're an exception, but let me get back to my presentation. I'm a member of the Citizen on Patrol Program, a volunteer police program that City of Miami Page 12 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 goes out and basically patrol the neighborhood. We do it for free, without no -- it -- because we believe in our neighborhood. The past year, the Downtown Bachelor's Program is a program that was created that you guys are aware of that's basically doing the same kind of services as far as eliminating blight and slum within the Downtown Authority without going into the Police funds. I think when you move from a visibility program to a staffing program, that becomes a police issue. This kind of funding should come from the City budget. As far as taking Community Redevelopment dollars for police staffing, you're changing the whole -- in my opinion -- the whole premises, the whole reason you have CRA dollars. Thank you very much. Chair Sarnoff. Thank you. Eleanor [sic] David Melendez. Vice Chair Suarez: No, that was the last one. Chair Sarnoff That was you. I'm sorry. Mr. Melendez: Yes, it was. Chair Sarnoff Sorry about that. Mr. Melendez: No problem. Chair Sarnoff All right, any other Commissioner wish to say anything? Commissioner Gort. Board Member Gort: You going to close the public hearing? Chair Sarnoff I'm sorry. The public hearing is now closed. Board Member Gort: My question is, these six officers, and that was stated before, when you wear a uniform and there's an emergency, you're going to go, no matter where you're at. Mr. Bockweg: Yes, Commissioner. Board Member Gort: Just to answer that question, okay? My understanding, the patrolling is going to be taken inside, which is a regular patrol. Now, my understanding also, we also have the entertainment center. They still have a police force that they utilize. Now, these police, the one we're going to use at the Omni, are they full-time Omni employees, or there's going to be coming out of the different -- will they be taken out of service in the regular City? Mr. Bockweg: Are you talking about the six additional officers, Commissioner? Board Member Gort: Right, yeah. Mr. Bockweg: Well, Venida is a separate issue, like you were saying. That's something that's sponsored by the clubs on 11 th Street and within the Entertainment District. From a staff level -- could you repeat the question? Are they CRA employees? They are not CRA employees. Board Member Gort: But the same officers are going to be full-time with you at all time? Mr. Bockweg: With -- well, they're full -- in that unit? Yes. Board Member Gort: In other words, they will not be doing any work for the general police force. Mr. Bockweg: That's correct. City of Miami Page 13 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 Board Member Gort: They only -- simply dedicated to you, so the six officers are being taken away from the regular force. Mr. Bockweg: We're -- we are -- yes. The answer is: Yes, we are adding an additional six officers. Board Member Gort: Okay, but that is taking away, like it was stated before, from service in some other places? Mr. Bockweg: Well, as far from the staffing, I'll defer that to the commander and how that operation occurs. Commander, if you want to address that? Commander Ferro: Commissioner, great emphasis has been placed on the CRA grants and the way we utilize the CRA grants. My approach is simply to reward those officers that have been doing a great job in those areas; those are the downtown officers. Therefore, to ensure that I follow the bargaining agreement that is in place right now, we're creating a detail within the unit to allow me the flexibility to reward those officers that are currently in the downtown area. By allowing those officers to now perform this task and be part of this unit, it would also mean they'd need to be supplemented later on through the hiring process. Board Member Gort: That's what I'm going to. Commander Ferro: Correct. Board Member Gort: Okay. So in the long run, that's going to help to -- through the budget to bring additional police officers to the area. Now, Commander, you, as the commander have control of the whole area. Commander Ferro: Correct. Board Member Gort: You have the -- you assist on the "A," "B," "C" that are going to be working with you, but you also have some additional police officers. You do coordinate all of them, don't you? Commander Ferro: Yes, I do. Board Member Gort: 'Cause that's very important. Commander Ferro: Yes, I do. And you asked a question about Mira [sic]; the officers that work the Entertainment District. Board Member Gort: Right. Commander Ferro: Those officers are independent. They're being paid privately -- Board Member Gort: Correct. Commander Ferro: -- on an off -duty basis, and they do perform a specific function for that Entertainment District. I do manage those officers, as well, andl oversee their operations. Board Member Gort: And my understanding, also, any emergency that takes place, officers will have to provide service. Commander Ferro: Exactly. To clarify that, let's say for example our officers -- if you're an Omni officer and you have to go to the station to pick up whatever paperwork or documentation, City of Miami Page 14 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 on the way back, somebody flags you down and they say, "That gentleman right there, he stole my purse, and he's running down the street." That officer's not going to stop and say, "Okay, let me call another City of Miami officer so they can handle that." They're going to go ahead, assess it, make the arrest, take over the case, whatever needs to be done. Like the Commissioner said 90 percent of the efforts and the target of operations are going to be constrained to that area of the CRA, but if they, in their daily routine and operations, and their business, encounter any crime, they're going to address it, just like any City of Miami police officer. Board Member Gort: Okay. That's -- I want to hear that. Thank you. Vice Chair Suarez: Mr. Chair, if I may? Chair Sarnoff Yes, go ahead. Vice Chair Suarez: Okay, I just wanted to kind of summarize and go off a little bit of what Commissioner Gort said, which is it seems to me that -- and this goes to Eleazor's point -- that Provision "D" in the -- with -- to give the maximum amount of flexibility as allowed by law, and I just want the City Attorney to express that; that similar to, for example, in Bay Heights, they have a police officer that's assigned there; that's a special taxing district. They have the right to leave that special taxing district under certain circumstances, so I think that this does what you're asking for. Certainly, I can understand your desire to have more, want more flexibility. I just think that we have to be very careful as a CRA not to jeopardize ourselves by doing something that's -- in an effort to do a good thing, we cross the line. And I think our City Attorney keeps us on the right side of that line, and, you know, having been here for four years, we've been a pretty careful Commission, and I think our new member has continued in that regard to be very careful, because none of us wants to be in a situation later on where we're dealing with some ethical issues or legal issues. To Mr. Crespo's point -- 'cause I don't think this was really answered -- his point was we have a crisis. We have a staffing crisis in the City, and I think the Commissioner has certainly been needing -- is this in any way going to make that worse? Is this going to exacerbate that crisis, or in some way, would this somehow alleviate or help that crisis in a way? Mr. Bockweg: It will in no way, shape, or form, hinder or hurt that crisis, and it will help it. Vice Chair Suarez: So we're not going to be taking from already existing staffing levels of officers and putting them in the CRA for a certain portion of time, correct? Mr. Bockweg: This program will allow for the ability to hire six additional police officers by the City of Miami Police Department. Vice Chair Suarez: Got it. So I just wanted to be clear, 'cause I think he -- Board Member Gort: Come on, let -- Chair Sarnoff All right, let's not address -- Let's not -- I got it. All right, so let me kind of -- Nothing we're doing up here -- and I suspect Commissioner Suarez has been one of the biggest proponents with me -- is going to change the fact that the City of Miami still needs to hire about 260 more police officers before you get to a staffing level of 3.5 police officers per thousand. As we presently stand right now, we are at about 2.2 police officers per thousand; however, at certain daytime populations, with one or two events, we go down to 1.8 police officers per thousand. That is a meaningless number unless you put context to it. The context to it would be New York City, 4.5; Chicago, or Atlanta, 4.5; Philadelphia, 4.7, so it shows that on any kind of staffing day, at 2.2, we are half any major metropolitan city; however, what I handed to each Commissioner was the Omni CRA detail City of Miami Page 15 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 operational plans. In that operational plan, you'll see that the Omni District, utilizing the current population there of 21,560 people, daytime population, you have .5 police officers per thousand. This is an article which says which cities in America have the biggest police presence, and it is written by Mike Massiac (phonetic), and it lists about 400 police units throughout the United States, and you'll see Miami in there, and by the way, they happen to have gotten our number wrong. Commissioner Gort, when we get to 1,360 police officers, we will be a 3.3 police officers per thousand; however, I looked to see if there was any city in America -- any -- I looked at Greece Town, New York; Del Monte, California -- these are big cities; I'm sure you all know these cities -- Westland, Michigan; Shelby Township. I could not find one city in America that attempts to police with .5 police officers per thousand. If you don't think there's a police issue in the City of Miami, you simply don't want to believe the numbers. And to our cops' credit, it doesn't mean that we are the most violent; it doesn't mean we are the worst; it doesn't mean by any stretch of the imagination we're not doing a good job. It's just that they -- they're asked to do a great deal with a very thin layer. So if the Omni CRA can increase to one police officer per thousand, which is, I think, pretty horrible, then we should take that action. And nothing here today is going to do anything to change my opinion or vote when it comes to the next budget that we simply put 100 more police officers in there, and if you don't know where they're coming from, they can come directly from the County, 'cause the County is going to lay off at least 100 of them, and you will be on your way to 2.9 police officers per thousand, which is still a horrible ratio to police a city. And then next year, when you get another hundred police officers, you could then get to about 3.1 to 3.2 police officers per thousand, which is still an inadequate amount of policing, but at least you would be in the big leagues; and at least, as Commissioner Suarez would say, with the right Chief of Police, you would then have enough resources to not only prevent crime, but to investigate crime. And as I said to you before, if the clearance rate is acceptable to this Commission of across ththe boardl5 percent, then we really are not doing our jobs, 'cause we've got to get clearance rates above 50 percent in categories of crime; in all categories of crime. Vice Chair Suarez: Mr. Chair, if I may. I just want an affirmative statement from the executive director that this grant will not negatively impact the department, the general department's identified hiring crisis. Mr. Bockweg: No, it does not, sir. Vice Chair Suarez: Okay. And I'm going to rely on your investigation and your expertise in this matter, and the commander's, on that statement. I just -- I think we're all very frustrated, you know. The Chair has been the instrument of that frustration, and, you know, I think it all came to head in the last meeting, and I'm hopeful that, as the Chair just indicated that, you know, the Manager -- and I think the Manager understands that, you know, this is now going to fall on his shoulders. This responsibility no longer is going to be the blame of the Justice Department, or the HR (Human Resources) director, or even the Police Chief. I think we've gone beyond that, and as Commissioners, we do have the right, and we do have the obligation to judge the City Manager; our executive director, as well, and those are the limited number of positions that we have almost supervisory control over under the right circumstances, but I think born out of our frustration, we've gotten to the point where we have had to put the spotlight on someone who I think we all believe is doing a very good job, but, you know, I don't think it's fair to the citizens of the City of Miami that we give anybody a pass on what I consider to be one of the biggest responsibilities as a City Manager that a City Manager can have. So I just appreciate the fact that from everything I've heard from my colleagues, we all seem to be on the same page, and one of the things I've been very happy about is for the four years I've been here, we've been on the same page a lot more than we haven't been on the same page; a lot more. So -- and this issue that's as important as it is, I'm just really glad that we all seem to be kind of backing each other up. Board Member Gort: That issue is very important, but let me ask you a question. My City of Miami Page 16 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 understanding, you go through the numbers according to population, and you have certain daytime population that takes place, certain area. I would like to compare the crime in those area compared to crime in other neighborhoods where you have so many thousands of people compared to other neighborhood where crime is a lot higher and have less people. So my thing is not only the officers, but how do we employ the officer? What kind of plan to we have to really make sure that we get rid of the crime in the different districts? That's a problem that we need to look into it; although we don't say it's an excuse anymore. You can get the hundred -- the budget for the hundred officers and because the opposition that we have here from HR or whoever you want to call it, it'll be very difficult to recruit them. I mean -- Chair Sarnoff Well, Commissioner Gort, I think what you're saying is: Is there going to be a direct correlation between the number of police officers and crime going down? And studies have shown more times than not, yes, but it's not an exact science. You're right; doesn't mean, a definitive that there's going to be less crime, but -- Board Member Gort: How we use it. Chair Sarnoff How we using? Board Member Gort: How we use the officers. Chair Sarnoff Right. I think that's fair. Commissioner. Board Member Gort: What's the plan? Board Member Hardemon: Well, first, I'd like to say to Al Crespo's comment that at least he was able to see in the future that this is not something that is going to be an issue that Omni and the Midtown CRA does in a vacuum. I mean, this is obviously something that I know that I've been considering, I've been speaking to the executive director about, and I think we're moving in the right direction, because we have issues that we have to tackle in slum and blighted areas, and believe it or not, crime is one of those things, is one of the indicators of a slum and blight area, especially where -- I mean, when you're trying to encourage people to move into that area. And we can build as much as we want to in these areas, but if it's not safe, then people won't move there. So part of our obligation is to ensure that these communities are safe. So the question then becomes, well, does it create an unequal police force? Does it -- and when I think about that, in some ways, someone may say, "Well, if you take from here, you give to there, then it exacerbates our issue." But to me, in a sense, it looks -- it's almost like fool's logic, because any time you create a problem -solving team in any type of way -- you could have a robbery problem -solving team, you can have a prostitution problem -solving team, you could have a child molestation problem -solving team -- whatever you do, I mean, you're enhancing the services that are available to that community, because you're tackling an issue that is of great need, and that's why you create these teams. And obviously, in these areas, part of the reason that we were eligible to be -- for them to be community redevelopment areas is because we had a problem in these areas, and continuing on into the town of Overtown, the community of Overtown, we have issues that the presence of these police officers, the ability to police these communities and to add more resources there is something that we need. Now, so the question is -- becomes do you -- when people -- when you have more police officers in one area, do they push out to other areas? Well, I would hope not. I would hope that the -- you make an arrest, and you prosecute that person, and they get put into jail, or prison, or whatever it deems necessary. Sometimes, the people get out, yes. Sometimes, they have enough sense to move, yes. But, you know, criminals, what I've learned over the time in representing people -- so I'm talking about people and criminals -- criminals typically don't respect the law. I mean, that's part of why they're criminals. You can create however many laws you want to, how many police officers you want to. If someone is hell bent on breaking the law, they will do it. So in this case, where I'm looking at a budget that is used to supplement the services of the City of Miami Police Department to do City of Miami Page 17 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 exactly what I'm asking for my Police Chief to do in Liberty City -- give me more off cers in the community -- which he then has to find officers to place in that community so he can raise it from six patrolling this area to the number of eight, or nine, or whatever it may be, and he may do that across different communities within my district. To me, this is the same thing, but I'm -- but we're helping in putting them in this area; just the same way as I intend to help in putting them in the community of Overtown, because we have to have the ability to tackle these issues. From what I've read, I don't see any problems in doing this. I know this has been done in other areas before, and I mean, I applaud the executive director for finally bringing this about, and, you know this is why we're here. We're here to tackle challenging issues within our community using creative and trailblazing ways to do it, and that's what I see this to be. So the responsibility that I have at this moment is to the Omni and the Midtown CRA areas, and when we meet again, I'm sure we'll have this same discussion about the Overtown area, and I assume then I will have the support of this Board, just the same as I think that most of us support this one. So with that being said, I mean, I am greatly in favor of this measure. Vice Chair Suarez: I'm sorry, I'm sorry for beating a dead horse, but sometimes, I get wrapped up in these arguments, which I actually enjoy this debate, 'cause I think it's one of the more interesting debates that we've probably ever had here since I've been here. But areas like Coconut Grove, they have a BID (Business Improvement District), and they have security. Areas like Wynwood has a BID -- by the way, I'd love for Coral Way to have a BID, you know, but there are some areas that also take on these additional responsibilities on themselves. They decide to self -tax. You know, DDA (Downtown Development Authority), the same -- you know, these are areas that do heighten their patrol. Whether they do it through off -duty officers or there's some combination of off -duty officers and security guards or whatever, those other areas do get it. There are some pockets that don't, you know; Allapattah is one of them, you know; Flagami is another one, you know, that there is no -- they're kind of -- Little Havana, parts of Little Havana. So, you know, we have to -- which is why I think we're so concerned about the overall number, because that -- there is no boundaries on that so -- anyhow, sorry for that last digression. Board Member Gort: And let me tell you -- Board Member Hardemon: I think it's important though, Mr. Chairman -- and sorry -- Board Member Gort: Go ahead. Board Member Hardemon: -- Commissioner Gort -- because one thing I've said, when you take in more money in a district or in an area, it frees up additional funds to be used elsewhere. Vice Chair Suarez: Of course it does. Board Member Hardemon: So, for instance, when I was able to secure the money for the Liberty City area, well, I'm going to have CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) dollars, and now, I have more CDBG dollars that I can put in another area besides Liberty City, because I have these private dollars coming in. So here, where we're adding six officers, well, guess what? That's six officers that the Police Chief does not necessarily have to provide to the area, 'cause we've supplemented this area. So now, we can say to Allapattah, "We need more officers." We can say to Flagami that we need more off cers, and the budget is there to support it. Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Gort. Board Member Gort: Let me tell you, when you look at this, it's a win/win. Six cars, you buy six cars. When you had the additional officers coming in, you don't have to buy cars for them; the cars are there, so that's an expense. When you buy all the equipment, the new six officers you bring in, you save that out of our budget, so that's the one -- one point something that we save out of our budget. So I -- and I think a pilot program is very important, 'cause if this works, we City of Miami Page 18 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 3. 14-00707 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency got to work for -- look for places to do it -- and how we put it together so we can do it in other neighborhoods with so much need, so I'm all for it. Chair Sarnoff. All right, I'm going to call the question. Vice Chair Suarez: Yeah. Sorry. Chair Sarnoff. All in favor -- Mr. Min: Mr. Chair, if I may, there's one scrivener's error that needs to be corrected on page 2, Section 2 of the resolution, which I would hope that you would make that a part of your motion. It currently says, "$1, 000, 275. " Board Member Gort: Right. Mr. Min: It should say, "$1,275, 000. " Chair Sarnoff. Now, that changes everything. All right, would the makers accept? Vice Chair Suarez: Yes. Chair Sarnoff All right, all in favor, please say "aye. " The Board (Collectively): Aye. CRA RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE OMNI REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AUTHORIZING AN AWARD, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,000,000.00, TO THE PEREZ ART MUSEUM OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY FOR VARIOUS COMMUNITY BENEFITS TO THE REDEVELOPMENT AREA; AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE, IN FORMS ACCEPTABLE TO THE GENERAL COUNSEL; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO DISBURSE FUNDS, AT HIS DISCRETION, ON A REIMBURSEMENT BASIS OR DIRECTLY TO VENDORS, UPON PRESENTATION OF INVOICES AND SATISFACTORY DOCUMENTATION; FUNDS TO BE ALLOCATED FROM OMNI TAX INCREMENT FUNDS, ENTITLED "OTHER GRANTS AND AIDS," ACCOUNT CODE NO. 10040.920101.883000.00000. 14-00707 Cover Memo.pdf 14-00707 Draft Legislation.pdf 14-00707 Back -Up Documents.pdf Motion by Vice -Chair Suarez, seconded by Board Member Hardemon, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: Commissioner Hardemon, Commissioner Gort, Vice Chair Suarez and Chair Sarnoff Absent: Commissioner Carollo CRA-R-14-0050 Chair Sarnoff CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) Number 3. City of Miami Page 19 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 Pieter A. Bockweg (Executive Director, Omni Community Redevelopment Agency): Thank you, Mr. Chair. Number 3 is a community benefits agreement with the Perez Art Museum. Let me kind -- touch up on our redevelopment plan that, as you know, is basically the bible that we follow from a redevelopment agency standpoint. As part of the Omni CRA's redevelopment agency, the second objective of that development plan clearly states that a part of our mission is to create a cultural hub and center within the CRA. It also talks about helping create a cornerstone to create a cultural and entertainment hub. Obviously, there are a lot of -- we are within the Miami Entertainment District within the CRA. We're moving forward with that as the Board has addressed with the MEC (Miami Entertainment Center). We have the Performing Arts, and now, we have PAM (Perez Art Museum), the Art Museum. We feel that PAM is an important component in continuing creating that cornerstone from a cultural and entertainment hub within the Omni CRA. All this falls underneath the umbrella of creating jobs, attracting people to develop, attracting investment, increasing the quality of life, increasing the cultural awareness of art and entertainment within the Omni CRA, and bringing attention to the Omni CRA so people will start living there, working there, and ultimately building and investing there. As part of that umbrella, we felt that the community benefits agreement before you would help with that overall mission that we have and is clearly stated in the redevelopment plan. The item before you is a community benefits agreement that will allow for educational and art and entertainment programs that will be held in the Perez Art Museum, which, of course, as you know, we have supported in the past with providing funds for the remediation of the properties. We're proud to say that the Omni CRA has just recently complete -- sorry -- completed the construction of Museum Park. As you know, the Board has allocated over $14 million for that. It's open to the public. In part of the budget, you'll see we have allocated some more funds for future programs, but the item before you is for the Perez Art Museum to help with our objective in the redevelopment plan to create that cornerstone for a cultural and entertainment hub. With us here is Michael Spring, and Joe Garcia and, of course, Tom Collins, from PAM. They are here to address any questions you may have; that's the item before you, Commissioner. Chair Sarnoff All right, does anyone wish to make a motion? Vice Chair Suarez: Move it for discussion. Chair Sarnoff Motion. Do we have a second? Commissioner Suarez, you're recognized. Vice Chair Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. You know, this is one kind of like the last one where I struggled with it a little bit, because, you know, the City has or the CRA, I should say, has already contributed money for the remediation and the cultural center is already there, so, you know, one of the things that I took solace with was that 75 percent of the money was for programming, you know, hard cost, so, you know, I'll let, you know, any other Board Member, if they want to get into the nitty-gritty on the expenditures of those funds that are programmatic in nature, or the executive director, or Mr. Collins. The other piece was advertising, and that, for me, I think was really a tough one, because it's roughly four or five times the size of the entire advertising budget for the CRA. You could argue the CRA doesn't advertise enough. You can make all kinds of arguments about that, but it's -- I think it's a struggle for us. Advertising a lot of times is seen as a sofi cost, and when you talk about the mission of the CRA in curing slum and blight, and you look at soft cost, and I think a third of those sofi costs were dedicated to an outside agency coming in -- it was like 85,000 to an outside agency -- you know, one of the things that I challenge, you know, the people who are here on behalf of PAIVI was, look, you need to really just. You know, we could be using this money to cure slum and blight in other ways, and it's hard for us as Board Members to reconcile all the different needs of the CRA with spending a quarter of a million dollars in advertising; a third of which is going to go to an outside advertising agency. So I think, you know, I leave it to them to -- we spoke candidly before, but I think it's important that they make a little bit of a public presentation on why they think they need that amount of money, where it's going to go to, how it's going to benefit the CRA, and why do we need an outside agency. What are they going to be doing with those funds? City of Miami Page 20 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 Chair Sarnoff. Mr. Collins, you want to come up? And if you would, just address Commissioner Suarez' comment. Tom Collins: Absolutely. Good afternoon. Thank you for having me. I'm Tom Collins. I'm the director of the Perez Art Museum, Miami. This particular issue, the question about one quarter of the requested funds being directed, as he said, toward advertising, I think I want to back away from the word "advertising." One quarter of the funds that we've requested are in support of the communication, the critical communication about those programs for which we seek support. We have a museum that has exhibitions. People know that the museum is open, and they come to see the exhibitions. We've requested funding for education, entertainment and public programs that take place on an almost daily basis in the museum in the Omni CRA, and it is about those programs that we must be communicating regularly with all of the audiences that we target, including schools and teachers, children and families, and the broader tourist population that visits Miami, so I want to back away from the idea that that's advertising. Of that $245, 000 we've requested, fully half of that is the hard costs associated with the kinds of advertising you do see on Biscayne Boulevard. You see banners, you see wraps on the Metro Mover. You will, I hope, in the very near future see some signage that will at least partially disguise the otherwise very attractive pumping station there at the base of Museum Park and so forth. So we are talking about half of that money supporting direct costs that communicate to people on the street, people in the community and so forth what is happening in that park, because, remember, our museum is entirely screened at the present moment, and for the foreseeable future, by an enormous construction site, so we need to be visible in that way to everyone. Of the remaining half of the funds we request, of course, quite a bit of it is for digital communication, which includes strategy, audience research strategy. How do we speak to the audiences we're trying to bring in? It also covers things -- I just made a short list of some of the things that are in that, the remaining amount of the allocation request. Community relations, including street level grassroots communications, where we're sending teams into neighborhoods, including the Omni CRA, but in other neighborhoods, getting on the ground in Little Haiti and so forth to hand out materials to bring people into the neighborhood, into the CRA and the museum; media relations and media events that bring attention to the Omni CRA and to the museum; audience research and audience development strategy, as I've already described, and this is, of course, quite a bit of that external consulting fee to which the Commissioner referred; and finally, the all-important digital and social media strategy, the programming and so forth that supports that kind of outreach, which we know is critical to reaching young audiences. Finally, we are archiving -- recording and archiving almost all of the programs or aspects of all of the programs that are addressed in this grant request, and we make them available digitally and in other formats, including television and radio, to a much broader audience outside of the museum; that is what is in that $245,000. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. All right, any question? Any other questions of Mr. Collins? Vice Chair Suarez: Can I follow up a little bit on --? Chair Suarez: Yeah. That's what I'm suggesting. Vice Chair Suarez: Yeah, my follow-up is as follows: We, as a CRA, contribute on an annual basis to the Performing Arts Center at -- what is it? -- it's in their budget now. It's -- Mr. Bockweg: Next year, we're projecting 4.3 million. Vice Chair Suarez: Okay. So I think one of the challenges that we have as a CRA Board is that we have a population of children and young adults that grew up in our community that are not exposed partially because they don't have the money, you know, to some of these cultural iconic structures, facilities that the taxpayers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars, and in some cases, over a billion dollars, and, you know, I've always struggled with trying to find a way to City of Miami Page 21 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 connect those two things. And so I think what would help me reconcile my vote is knowing that a good portion of those funds or if not all of it are going to be dedicated towards bridging that gap; for me, that's essential. I mean, that is -- got to be one of the primary missions of your organization, the -- you know, the Children's Museum and the Performing Arts Center. I don't know what happened with the Performing Arts Center when the mega deal, I guess, was done; whether any sort of public benefits concessions were made. I don't know, 'cause I wasn't here and, you know, I'll let someone else speak to that, but I feel like if we're going to make these kinds of mega investments in our community, we have to make sure that we don't leave our children who are growing up in our districts -- in all of our districts, there are pockets of areas where we have children that can't afford to pay $150 a ticket to watch a Broadway show in the Performing Arts Center, you know? So, you know, I think that was where I was coming from on this issue, and I just want to make sure that even to the extent that there's a quarter of it that's ad -- oh, you're right, I'm not going to go -- I'm not going to characterize it that way -- that's being used to communicate -- and we discussed some very legitimate issues. That park has been -- and we've talked about this before at the Commission level -- not used, it's been closed, it's been -- you know, they have challenges, just like the Children's Museum had challenges operating in the midst of the construction of a port tunnel, you know, getting people over to it, you know, and I think we've made some concessions for them that I can still see from 30, 000 feet in the air when I'm flying into Miami. But, you know, I think -- so I think there is room for and there is a precedent for helping some of these cultural centers; particularly those that are being very careful about targeting their services to the least in our community that really can't afford otherwise to partake and enjoy of these facilities, so that's my point on it, and love to hear what, you know, the other Board Members have on it. Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Hardemon. Board Member Hardemon: Good afternoon. Mr. Collins: Good afternoon. Board Member Hardemon: My first question is: For some of these services that you're requesting -- for instance, the talks and lectures, the after -school studio, the brick -- I'm guessing brick by brick and PAM teams, and art to go -- are these programs that are currently in existence, or are these proposed new programs? Mr. Collins: Unless they're otherwise indicated here, there are a couple of programs that are new, but almost all of these have been piloted over the last couple of years, so what we're looking to do is to consolidate and grow those programs. Vice Chair Hardemon: So will the CRA be giving the only dollars that will go towards the implementation of these programs? Ms. Collins: No, not at all. In fact, there's quite a bit of private money that's directed towards these programs already, and we hope to be able to grow that. Board Member Hardemon: One of the issues -- and I think it was well articulated by Commissioner Suarez -- that I've thought of are the children that don't have an opportunity to visit these -- this place. I mean, I would have been one of those children who didn't have an opportunity to do this. So -- and with that being said, I mean, I know hundreds of children who live in my community that would not be able to do this. And as I read through it -- through some of it, for instance, many of these things say that these are probably tours that are available to the residents of the Omni CRA, and I get it. I mean, we have to use the money within our boundaries, but when I think about certain services, for instance, that have nothing to do with this, but like, for instance, Camillus House. City of Miami Page 22 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 Mr. Collins: Yes. Board Member Hardemon: Right? So Camillus House is a -- provides a service to homeless residents. The CRA's -- all of them -- have given dollars towards the programs that -- and I think most recently, we gave for the mat program. Well, I can argue, to play devil's advocate, that no one who is homeless that is picked up, say, for instance, from the Overtown area, is a resident of the Overtown area, and why should they benefit from the service or the dollars that we provide to eradicate some of the issues that we're having within the CRA boundaries? So with that being said, what do you do when you have children that come from other areas that may want to drop in on a free daily drop -in tour? Mr. Collins: Much as the money that we've requested for support of communications, we'll reach many people outside of the Omni CRA to bring them into the CRA. The money that we're requesting for programmatic support here is focused on that piece of the programs that actually bring children and adults into the CRA. And the case of one -- I'll give you one example. One of our largest service programs is a program called PAM in the Neighborhood. This is a program where we send trained teachers into community centers, and to churches, and schools, and summer camps in underserved neighborhoods throughout the City over the summer. This summer, we have about 9,000 children registered to be served by that program. A part of that program and a part for which we seek funding is the part where we actually bring those children or a great number of those children to the museum free of cost. We also give them take -away materials, art tools and these kinds of things. That's what's in this request. Vice Chair Suarez: Mr. Chair, if I may? Board Member Hardemon: I'll yield my time. Chair Sarnoff Okay. Vice Chair Suarez: Thank you. I just -- you know, I think just to refine Board Member Hardemon's question -- I hope he considers this a refinement of it -- I think there should be a provision in this grant that the programs that we're offering are going first to children that are -- that live and go to school in the CRA and what -- and I'll give you an example. We have tennis programs all across the City; I'm sure you guys have it in your district, as well. Some of them are very successful, but they bring kids from all over the County, and sometimes, kids in our -- the surrounding areas are not allowed into the tennis program, so it's kind of a bone of contention that I've had with the Administration, you know, that we have these successful tennis programs on the one hand, but we're kind of cherry picking on the other. So, you know, I think first and foremost, City -- you know citywide, or City services, or CRA services should be for CRA residents; then to the extent that they continue another mission, which is to attract people to the CRA, I think that's a subordinate mission to helping people that live in the CRA. So I personally would like to see the agreement amended to reflect that refinement. Board Member Hardemon: And I will support that amendment. Mr. Bockweg: We can make that amendment to the agreement, Commissioner. Vice Chair Suarez: Thank you. Chair Sarnoff All right, anyone else? All right, we have a public hearing. Renita Holmes and Al Crespo, the two speakers; any order is okay with me. Ms. Holmes, you're recognized for the record. Renita Holmes: Let Al go, 'cause it might be redundant. Go ahead, Al. City of Miami Page 23 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 Al Crespo: After -- Ms. Holmes: Okay, I'll go ahead. Mr. Crespo: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Ms. Holmes: Okay, great. You've pretty much said it, and that was basically my concern. I've watched Perez Museum grow and some of the local artists, so what we did, Commissioner, through the Chair, was have a conversation, and, of course, Mr. Muhammad was invited to the conversation, because he's always astute as to what's being proposed when it comes to resources in our neighboring unit, and it was a consensus that it was about the children. I have targeted public housing -- I'm going to be brief -- that's right next to the film industry unit over there, and then across the street, they have two soccer parks, and I guess you can say the thin line is this little funky -looking border, which should be painted very nicely by some artists, is still rusted out and the kids are looking out. These are the kids in Rainbow, and as you know, this is the location where the mother was shot several times, and the kids were left in the door. Who's still servicing this family? But my thing is that we have programs established where we use art. We even use our Police Equestrian Center, which is another program that we do, Commander Ferro. We're very innovative when it comes to policing and dealing with victims and children and culture. I'd like to extend you and hope that this language, provision that you're about to -- will offer us an opportunity to connect what's already there, because it should not be a dividing line between what a child sees as the rest of the world, and its art, and its opportunity to get out of this violent or traumatic situation that they're living across the street. And so also, that allows you to focus on doing culturally competent education and outreach, because I can't imagine that -- I have numbers of artists from Booker T. Washington, and from the Urgent Inc. Program; you don't have to go looking. They're already coordinated; they're already been designated as traumatized victims, and they're already pretty much organized, so I thank you for having that connection, but I would love to work with them on making sure that the education and outreach is great, 'cause little plastic carts that I see a lot of folks use in entertainment and that I've seen them put out in the performing arts and give the people to throw out and around and about is not efficient, and that happens a lot when you just post them in the CRA office or in places where the kids or the neighboring children do not go, and it's a waste of money. So I don't -- I like the eight -and -a -half -by -fifteen glossies, but I can bring you a bagful next time I come. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Ms. Holmes: So culturally competent outreach and connecting with us is extended to you. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Ms. Holmes: Thank you so much. Chair Sarnoff All right, Mr. Crespo. Mr. Crespo: Al Crespo. So the first thing is, if these folks need money, why don't you let them put a LED (light -emitting diode) billboard on the building, just like the Children's Museum? You see it from 30, 000 feet, do you? Every time you fly over, it's shining in the night. So the second thing is, I asked the executive director -- I sent the executive director an email (electronic) two weeks ago asking for a public records request of the correspondence leading up to this document. Somehow, I never got any response to that; yet, here it is. You now have a proposal before you, and the documents that led up to this proposal I still haven't received. You know, I don't think it was that difficult to provide me the documentation before this meeting. So my question is, you know, is this another instance where the documents leading up to a document being presented to you were not made available for public scrutiny before you all vote on this? I think this is a serious problem, you know, this refusal to comply with public records in a timely City of Miami Page 24 Printed on 8/18/2014 OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes July 23, 2014 ADJOURNMENT fashion, but as to the issue at hand, you know what I find interesting? I find interesting that the money, the actual dollars never go to the people inside the district, right? It's always, "Oh, we're going to provide services." The people who get the money are not living in Overtown, not living in Omni, not living in -- "Oh, well, we're going to invite the children to look at the art." Yeah, but who's making the money from this, right? Who gets the money, right? Advertising agencies, you know, computer programmers, all these people, this is welfare for those folks. This is not -- you know, this isn't benefitting, you know, in a real hard way -- Chair Sarnoff And in conclusion? Mr. Crespo: In conclusion, the taxpayers continue to get screwed while the folks who, you know, get the money, get the money, right? Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mr. Crespo: Yeah. Chair Sarnoff Appreciate those comments. Anybody else wishing to make any comments in the public hearing? Public hearing is now closed. Coming back to this Commission, all in favor, please say "aye." Board Member Hardemon: Mr. Chair. Chair Sarnoff Thank you all for coming. Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): I apologize, but unfortunately, this one also has scrivener's errors, and I take fault for that. The title incorrectly spells "basis." And the sixth "whereas" clause says "PAM is located with." It should say "located within, " so if you can incorporate that as part of the motion. Board Member Hardemon: And that motion was as modified? Chair Sarnoff. As modified. Board Member Hardemon: Okay. Chair Sarnoff So as modified, maker okay with that? Vice Chair Suarez: Yes. Chair Sarnoff You are. All right, all in favor, please say "aye." The Board (Collectively): Aye. Mr. Bockweg: Thank you, Mr. Chair. The meeting adjourned at 1: 52 p.m. City of Miami Page 25 Printed on 8/18/2014